Category Archives: Cookies

December 11, 2013 · 5:45 am

Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies: Christmas Fortune Cookies

DAY 11: Christmas Fortune Cookies

Fortune Cookies aren’t just for takeout anymore.

Fill these with fun holiday wishes or fortunes, “Name that Christmas Carol” lyrics or quiz, or funny quotes from Christmas movies.

Ideas for Christmas Fortunes:
Quotes from Christmas movies
Name that Christmas Carol quiz quotes
Christmas Jokes
Christmas Fortunes 1
Christmas Fortunes 2

For more photos and detailed instructions on baking and folding homemade fortune cookies click:
Homemade Fortune Cookies

RECIPE:

Christmas Fortune Cookies

Servings: 36-40
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1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 Tbs cornstarch
½ tsp salt
4 egg whites
1/3 cup oil
2 Tbs water
1 ½ tsp orange or almond extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
Fortunes cut into strips about 3 ½” long by ½” wide
Melted chocolate, sprinkles and/or crushed candy canes

Preheat oven to 300°F. Line baking sheets with silicone mats or parchment paper.

Use a whisk to mix flour, cornstarch, salt and sugar in a small bowl.

In a separate bowl, use the whisk to lightly beat the egg whites, oil, water, vanilla, and orange or almond extract until frothy.

Stir the flour into the egg white mixture and mix until you have a smooth batter. The batter will be thin, with the consistency of a sticky pancake batter and not stiff like a normal cookie dough.

Place one tablespoon of batter onto the cookie sheet. Using the back of a spoon, spread batter in a circular motion to make a circle about 3-4 inches in diameter. Place 4-6 cookies on a baking sheet (start with fewer cookies until you get the hang of folding quickly). The batter should be very thin on the baking sheet. If it’s too thick the cookies won’t fold without breaking.

Bake for 11-14 minutes, or until the outer edge of each cookie barely begins to brown.

TO FOLD: Immediately after removing baking sheet from the oven, working very quickly, remove a cookie with a thin metal spatula and flip it over onto a clean plate or mat. Place a fortune in the middle of the cookie (let one end slightly extend beyond edge of cookie, if desired). Fold the cookie in half, but do not flatten center crease; just make the edges meet gently. Fold cookie in half again by gently pulling the edges downward over the rim of a mug or glass. Place the finished cookie in the cup of a muffin tin so that it keeps its shape while it cools. Continue with the rest of the cookies.

Let cookies sit, uncovered, for 1-2 hours (so that they harden completely).

Dip half of each cookie in melted chocolate. Sprinkle immediately with crushed candy canes or sprinkles. If you are piping contrasting colors of chocolate onto the cookies, do this AFTER the chocolate coating has hardened.

Yield: 36-40 cookies

NoEmptyChairs.me

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December 10, 2013 · 5:43 am

Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies: Rocky Road Cookies

DAY 10: Rocky Road Cookies

Chocolate cookies packed with chopped almonds, chocolate chips and dried marshmallow bits. Your favorite ice cream flavor in cookie form. Perfect with a tall glass of super cold milk.

These are the marshmallow bits that are used to make these cookies. They are very small dried marshmallow bits. They are perfect for cookies because when they are cooked, they don’t melt like regular marshmallows. Don’t substitute real marshmallows in your cookie dough: they will melt all over your cookie sheets. These bits do tend to dissolve some if over-mixed, so add them last to your dough and only mix until barely combined. I like to reserve a few and press them into the tops of each cookie dough ball just before baking.

RECIPE:

Rocky Road Cookies

Servings: 4 dozen
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2 ½ cups flour
¾ cup Dutch processed cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup mini chocolate chips
1 cup coarsely chopped almonds
1 ½ cups (1 jar) Mallow Bits, divided

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

With a mixer, cream butter and sugars together until smooth. Add in eggs, one at a time. Mix in vanilla extract until blended.

Slowly add flour mixture to sugar mixture and mix until dough is smooth. Mix in chocolate chips and chopped almonds. Gently mix in 1 cup Mallow Bits. Drop cookie dough by rounded tablespoons onto an ungreased baking sheet. Press a few mallow bits into the top of each cookie.

Bake at 350°F for 10-11 minutes, or until the cookies are set around the edges, but still soft in the center. Don’t over bake. Remove from oven and let sit on baking sheet for 2 minutes. Move to a cooling rack and cool completely.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies

(From TwoPeasAndTheirPod)

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December 9, 2013 · 5:48 am

Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies: Cranberry Orange Buttermilk Cookies

DAY 9: Cranberry Orange Buttermilk Cookies

Cranberries and oranges are flavors that pair so well together. This is a soft cookie with a cake-like texture topped with an orange glaze. I like that they are not overly sweet.

A note on storing glazed cookies: The glaze will continue to set as the cookies sit at room temperature, but it does not become hard enough to stack the cookies, especially in humid climates. To store these cookies (or other frosted/glazed cookies, allow the glaze to set at room temperature for at least an hour. Then place the glazed cookies in a single layer on a baking sheet and place in the freezer until completely frozen. Transfer the completely frozen cookies to a tupperware container and store in the freezer. To serve, remove individual frozen cookies from the freezer and allow them to thaw in a single layer (not stacked).

My kids usually skip the thawing step. They just grab cookies straight from the freezer and eat them.

RECIPE:

Cranberry Orange Buttermilk Cookies

Servings: 2 dozen
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½ cup dried cranberries
1 ½ cups flour
Zest of half of an orange (about ½ tsp), use other half in glaze
¼ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
6 Tbs butter, softened
¾ cup sugar
1 egg
½ tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup well-shaken buttermilk

Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1 Tbs fresh squeezed orange juice
1 Tbs heavy cream
Zest of half of an orange (about ½ tsp)

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Put the dried cranberries in a small bowl with about 1 cup of hot (but not boiling) water. Allow them to sit for 5 minutes; drain.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, orange zest, baking soda and salt.

In a mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar until creamy. Add the egg and vanilla, and beat well to mix. Mix in the flour mixture and the buttermilk alternately in batches at low speed, beginning and ending with the flour. Mix in the dried cranberries.

Drop the dough by tablespoons onto baking sheets. Bake at 350°F for 10-11 minutes. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 1 minute; then transfer them to a wire rack. Cool cookies completely.

For the glaze, whisk together the sifted powdered sugar, orange juice, cream and orange zest. Add additional juice or sugar until glaze is spreading consistency. Use an offset spatula or the back of a spoon to spread the glaze over the cooled cookies.

STORAGE NOTE: The glaze will continue to set as the cookies sit at room temperature, but it does not become hard enough to stack the cookies, especially in humid climates. To store these cookies (or other frosted/glazed cookies, allow the glaze to set at room temperature for at least an hour. Then place the glazed cookies in a single layer on a baking sheet and place in the freezer until completely frozen. Transfer the completely frozen cookies to a tupperware container and store in the freezer. To serve, remove individual frozen cookies from the freezer and allow them to thaw in a single layer (not stacked).

Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

(Adapted from TwoPeasAndTheirPod)

NoEmptyChairs.me

Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies: Nutella Marbled Cheesecake Bars

DAY 8: Nutella Marbled Cheesecake Bars

Cheesecake and Nutella. I don’t think any more enticement is needed.

An easy cheesecake bar recipe that will feed a crowd, and you don’t have to fight with a water bath.

RECIPE:

Nutella Marbled Cheesecake Bars

Servings: 48
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Crust:
2 cups crushed chocolate graham crackers (about 1 ½ sleeves)
6 Tbs butter, melted
2 Tbs sugar

Filling:
4 (8 oz) pkg. cream cheese
1 cup sugar
2 Tbs flour
2 tsp vanilla
¼ tsp salt
3 eggs
1 cup Nutella

Crust:
Preheat oven to 350°F.

Mix crushed graham crackers, butter and sugar and press into a 1/2 sheet pan for thin bars or a 9×13” pan for thicker bars (you may want less crust for 9×13” pan).

Filling:
Using a mixer, blend cream cheese, sugar, flour, vanilla and salt until well blended. Beat in eggs just until mixed through. Pour over crust. Warm Nutella in the microwave for about 30 seconds. Drizzle over cheesecake batter. Use a knife to swirl.

Place a broiler pan (or other large pan) on the bottom rack of the oven. Pour about 1/2” of hot water in the pan. Place cheesecake pan on the middle oven rack. Bake at 350°F for 25 minutes for a 1/2 sheet pan, or about 45 minutes for a 9×13” pan, or until set.

Makes about 48 bars (in a ½ sheet pan)

NoEmptyChairs.me

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December 6, 2013 · 5:48 am

Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies: Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix

DAY 6: Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix

Homemade hot cocoa mix makes a great gift for friends and neighbors, and if you have a lot of people you are giving to, it is also easy to make ahead of time and takes a lot less time than a dozen different kinds of cookies on a fancy cookie plate.

Unless, of course, you are me. And then it ends up taking you exponentially longer and costing you much more that you had originally budgeted.

As I was giving these for gifts last year, I bought some large bars of expensive dark chocolate. Only the best for my friends! I broke the bars into chunks and combined them in my food processor with cocoa (I also sprung for a $$$ brand) and sugar. I turned on the food processor to finely chop the chocolate, and the force of the chocolate hitting the sides of my food processor caused the bowl to crack all the way around the bottom of the bowl, leaving the bowl in two pieces: a flat bottom piece and the now bottom-less sides. Unfortunately, this did not stop the food processor blade from turning. Cocoa powder, sugar, partially chopped chocolate and possibly chips of plastic sprayed across my kitchen in a 5-foot radius as I fought my way back to the off switch. Also on the counter were open containers of Vanilla Sugar, cocoa and other ingredients that were now covered in possibly plastic-laden chocolate, so all of those things got dumped into the trash can.

What was supposed to be a quick gift project turned into an all-day kitchen cleaning. Cleaning cocoa powder out of the grooves of kitchen cabinets and hardwood flooring is no fun at all. And gone was my expensive dark chocolate and cocoa powder. And my Bosch food processor.

Back to square one (and the grocery store) the next day, I opted for less-expensive chocolate (Ghirardelli 60% cocoa bittersweet baking chips and Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa) and ground the chocolate in my blender since I was still out one food processor (I am still out one food processor, come to think of it!).

The resulting Hot Cocoa mix was still delicious and makes a great gift. Just beware of chopping large chunks of chocolate in your food processor.

This makes a very rich dark chocolate cocoa. For a sweeter cocoa, use milk chocolate instead of semi-sweet.

One special ingredient that makes this cocoa mix really good is Vanilla Powder, a powdered version of vanilla extract. I also like to use Vanilla Sugar: granulated sugar macerated with vanilla beans. To make Vanilla Sugar: Split and scrape 2 vanilla beans (don’t throw away the pods!). In a large bowl or canister, mix granulated sugar and vanilla bean seeds and pods. Use your fingers to mix the seeds throughout the sugar. Bury the pods in the sugar, cover bowl and let sit at least overnight. I like to keep a canister of Vanilla Sugar stocked in my pantry. Every 3-4 months (or more often during baking season), I refill the sugar and replace the vanilla beans.

RECIPE:

Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix

Servings: 96
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4 cups granulated sugar (or Vanilla Sugar: sugar + 2 vanilla beans**)
2 cups Dutch process cocoa powder (or Hershey’s Special Dark)
1 ½ Tbs vanilla powder
1 ½ lb semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (or chocolate chips)
9 oz bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

In a large bowl, mix sugar (or vanilla sugar), cocoa powder and vanilla powder. In the bowl of a food processor, combine about 1 cup of the sugar/cocoa mixture with about 1 cup of the chopped chocolate. Pulse to blend and finely chop chocolate. Empty into a separate large bowl. Repeat with remaining sugar/cocoa and chopped chocolate. Stir cocoa mix well to evenly distribute ingredients. Store in an airtight container.

To make HOT COCOA: Mix 2 Tbs cocoa mix into 8 oz of hot milk. Stir until well blended.

Makes 12 cups mix (enough to fill 3 quart jars), about 96 servings.

**To make Vanilla Sugar: Split and scrape 2 vanilla beans. In a large bowl, mix granulated sugar and vanilla bean seeds and pods. Use your fingers to mix the seeds throughout the sugar. Make sure the pods are buried in the sugar. Cover bowl and let sit at least overnight. Vanilla Sugar will keep for months when covered at room temperature. Remove vanilla bean pods before using sugar. I like to keep a canister of Vanilla Sugar stocked in my pantry. Every 3-4 months (or more often during baking season), I refill the sugar and replace the vanilla beans.

(From Annie’s Eats)

NoEmptyChairs.me

Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies: Ninja-bread Men

DAY 5: Ninja-bread Men

A fun twist on regular Gingerbread Men cookies, these Ninjas are a real kid pleaser!

I am including my favorite gingerbread recipe, which is a very mild gingerbread called Swedish Peppar Kakar. Pipe details on with Royal Icing. You can completely frost the cookie first (as the cookie cutter package shows) and then pipe on details, or skip the icing and just pipe the details (as I did).

I bought my NinjaBread Men cookie cutters at Target last year.

RECIPE:

Ninja-bread Men

2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 ½ tsp ground ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp ground cloves
½ tsp salt
½ cup butter
¾ cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
2 tsp molasses

Combine dry ingredients; set aside. Cream butter and sugar. Blend in egg and molasses. Add dry ingredients; mix well. Add a little bit more flour (up to ¼ cup), if necessary, to get a dough that is soft, but not sticky.

Chill dough for 1 hour. Roll and cut into shapes.

Bake at 350°F for 8 to 9 minutes. Don’t overbake, or they will become crispy instead of soft. Pipe details on Ninjas with Royal Icing

Royal Icing
——(from Bake at 350)

2 Tbs meringue powder
scant ¼ cup water
½ lb powdered sugar
½ tsp light corn syrup

Combine the meringue powder and water. With the paddle attachment of an electric mixer, beat until combined and foamy. Sift in the powdered sugar and beat on low to combine. (Do NOT skip the sifting!)

Mix in the corn syrup. Increase speed to med-high/high and beat for about 5 minutes, just until the icing is glossy and stiff peaks form. (You should be able to remove the beater from the mixer and hold up and jiggle without the peak falling.) Do not overbeat.

To store for later use: cover with plastic wrap touching the icing and refrigerate.

NOTE: This makes “stiff” icing which is perfect for piping details. If you want to flood (totally frost) your cookies first, double the recipe above. Reserve some stiff icing to outline and pipe details. To fill in your cookies, first tint the remaining icing with food coloring. Then add water to your icing a teaspoon at a time, stirring with a rubber spatula, until it is the consistency of syrup. Outline the cookies first with stiff icing, then flood the center with the thinner icing. Wait several hours until icing has completely hardened before piping on additional details over the flooded icing.

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