Tag Archives: Cookies

December 9, 2015 · 3:07 pm

Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies:Buckeye Brownie Cookies

DAY 9: Buckeye Brownie Cookies

These cookies start with a simple cookie made from a brownie mix (and cream cheese to make them soft and gooey). Then they are topped with a mound of peanut butter fluffiness and drenched in dark chocolate. The topping is similar to the traditional Buckeye Candy, but not quite as sweet and dense (again, thanks to the addition of cream cheese). I think cream cheese is probably the most versatile of ingredients. It is perfectly at home in just about any recipe!

RECIPE:

Buckeye Brownie Cookies

Cookies:
2 boxes brownie mix
½ cup butter, melted
8 oz cream cheese, softened
2 eggs

Topping:
1 cup creamy peanut butter
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup powdered sugar
8 oz dark/bittersweet chocolate (about 1 ½ cups chips)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.

Topping (Prepare topping before baking cookies):
In a mixing bowl, combine peanut butter, 8 oz cream cheese, vanilla and powdered sugar. Beat with an electric mixer until smooth and fluffy. Set aside.

Cookies:
In a large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to beat together the brownie mixes, melted butter, 8 oz cream cheese and eggs.

Use a medium cookie scoop, or tablespoon, to drop batter onto baking sheets. Bake for 12-15 minutes.

Use a small cookie scoop, or teaspoon, to spoon a ball of peanut butter topping onto each HOT cookie. Flatten topping just slightly with the palm of your hand. Allow cookies to cool for 5-7 minutes on the baking pan. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.

Melt chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave (in 30 second increments). Spoon melted chocolate over the top of each cookie. Allow chocolate to set before serving or storing.

If cookies are not going to be eaten the same day, store them in the refrigerator.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies

(Adapted from Inspired by Charm)

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December 7, 2015 · 3:13 pm

Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies: Cake Mix Snowball Cookies

DAY 7: Cake Mix Snowball Cookies

Cookie Making Simplified. Easy to throw together, and a delicious cookie for those who like their cookies soft and gooey.

These cookies are also delicious made with a lemon cake mix, but then you might not want to call them Snowball Cookies. You might not get many takers when you offer “Yellow Snow”ball Cookies.

RECIPE:

Cake Mix Snowball Cookies

½ cup butter, softened
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
1 box white or yellow cake mix (or lemon)
Powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.

In a large mixing bowl, combine butter, cream cheese and vanilla. Use an electric mixer to beat until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and then cake mix. Chill dough in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

Place powdered sugar in a small bowl. Roll dough into balls (about 1” in diameter) and then roll in powdered sugar. Place on baking sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes, and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Dust cooled cookies with additional sifted powdered sugar.

Makes 2 ½ – 3 dozen cookies

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Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies: Texas Sheet Cake Cookies

DAY 6: Texas Sheet Cake Cookies

A cookie for fans of the crowd-feeding chocolate cake with pour-on frosting known as Texas Sheet Cake. Now you don’t need a crowd to feed to have an excuse to indulge in a rich, chocolaty, nutty treat.

Also available without nuts. In fact, a great alternative is to make the icing without nuts, and stir in ¼ tsp peppermint extract for a fudgy, mint brownie-like cookie.

These cookies are super rich and fudgy: serve with a tall glass of ice-cold MILK!

RECIPE:

Texas Sheet Cake Cookies

Cookies:
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 2/3 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup chocolate chips

Icing:
½ cup butter
2 Tbs cocoa powder
3 Tbs milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups powdered sugar
¼ cup finely chopped pecans

Cookies:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or use silicone mats.

Combine butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Beat until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Mix in flour, baking powder and salt.

In a microwave safe bowl heat chocolate chips on high for 30 seconds. Stir. If chunks still remain, add another 20 seconds and stir again. Mix warm melted chocolate into cookie dough until evenly mixed.

Use a medium cookie scoop (or Tablespoon sized measure) to drop dough onto baking sheets. Bake for 7-8 minutes until cookies just appear set. Do not overbake. Cool for 2 minutes on baking sheet and then cool completely on a wire rack.

Icing:

**DO NOT MAKE ICING UNTIL COOKIES ARE COOL AND READY TO ICE

In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in cocoa powder and cook for 30 seconds, stirring with a whisk. Stir milk and vanilla into pan. Remove from heat and whisk in powdered sugar. Stir in pecans.

Spoon 1-2 tsp of frosting over each cooled cookie. Stir icing if it begins to harden on top. If icing becomes too hard to easily spoon, place pan over low heat and stir until smooth.

Allow icing to set on cookies completely before serving or storing.

Makes about 4 dozen

**NOTES: These can also be made without nuts. For a mint chocolate icing, stir ¼ tsp peppermint extract into icing with the vanilla (do not use nuts).

(Adapted from Cookies & Cups)

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December 3, 2015 · 2:56 pm

Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies: Homemade Thin Mint Cookies

DAY 3: Homemade Thin Mint Cookies

Sometimes you just can’t wait a whole year for those cute little Girl Scouts to knock on your door selling contentment in a box. If you absolutely must have Thin Mints before cookie selling season comes around again, this recipe is for you.

You could also dress them up for Christmas by adding some crushed candy canes.

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RECIPE:

Homemade Thin Mint Cookies

2 cups flour
1 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
10 Tbs butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1 1/2 tsp pure peppermint extract
about 2 pounds dark chocolate, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 325°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.

Whisk flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. In another bowl, beat butter and sugar with a mixer on medium-high speed for 1 minute. Reduce speed to medium-low, and add eggs and peppermint extract. Slowly add flour mixture, and beat until just incorporated.

Divide dough in half and place on two large pieces of plastic wrap. Using plastic wrap, shape dough into 2 logs about 2″ in diameter. Wrap logs securely in the plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 1-2 hours, or several days.

When ready to bake, unroll plastic wrap from dough logs. Use a sharp knife to cut dough into 1/4” disks. Gently reshape edges into circles, if necessary. Place cookies on lined baking sheet, keeping unused dough in the refrigerator until ready to slice. Bake cookies for 10 minutes, or until dry to the touch. Cool 2 minutes on baking sheet before transferring cookies to wire racks to cool.

Melt chocolate in a heatproof bowl in the microwave or in a double boiler (melt chocolate slowly). Dunk cookies into melted chocolate. Use a fork to turn the cookie over in the chocolate. Pick up the cookie with the fork, let excess chocolate drip off, and gently scrape bottom against edge of bowl. Place on parchment (or waxed paper)-lined baking sheets. Let chocolate harden before storing.

TIME SAVING NOTE: You can also just use your fingers to hold the cookie and only dunk the top and sides of the cookie, gently scraping the excess chocolate off of the top of the cookie before placing it on the parchment paper

Makes 4-6 dozen, depending on the size of your cookies

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Tagged as chocolate, chocolate covered, christmas, Cookies, copy cat, girl scout cookies, mint, recipe, Thin Mints

December 2, 2015 · 5:04 pm

Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies: Oatmeal Pumpkin Spice Chip Cookies

DAY 2: Oatmeal Pumpkin Spice Chip Cookies

Nestle introduced these Pumpkin Spice chips earlier this fall. Paired with a chewy oatmeal cookies, they are delicious.

Brian objects to these cookies on principle, however. He believes that pumpkin (as a vegetable) hijacks recipes for way too many months of the year. Why don’t Brussels sprouts or asparagus get equal time? For these pumpkin-nay-sayers, you can make these cookies any time of year with regular chocolate chips (or raisins, but why?).

RECIPE:

Oatmeal Pumpkin Spice Chip Cookies

1 ¼ cups (2 ½ sticks) butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 Tbs milk or cream
2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
3 cups flour
1 Tbs baking soda
2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
4 cups rolled oats
1 -2 bags (10 oz each) Nestle Pumpkin Spice Chips**
1 ½ cups chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mat.

Beat butter and sugars with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add milk, vanilla and eggs; mix well. Add flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Mix. Mix in oats, pumpkin chips and pecans.

Drop by tablespoonsful onto baking sheets. Bake for 9-10 minutes, or until barely brown around edges. Cookies will still look slightly undercooked in the middle. Cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes, then cool completely on a wire rack.

**I use one bag of pumpkin spice chips, but if you like lots of chips, use up to two bags.

Makes 5-6 dozen cookies

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7th Annual Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies: Pecan Sandies

DAY 1: December is here, so it’s time for another Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies! Twelve days of ideas for your Christmas Cookie Plates.

Pecan Sandies are a traditional crispy/crumbly shortbread type cookie. I am usually a soft cookie kind of girl, but I really like these not-too-sweet, melt in your mouth cookies.

RECIPE:

Pecan Sandies

½ cup butter
½ cup vegetable oil
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup powdered sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 ¼ cups flour
½ tsp salt
½tsp cream of tartar
½ tsp baking soda
scant 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1 cup chopped pecans
Whole pecans (about 72)

Preheat oven to 375°F.

In a large mixing bowl, combine butter, oil, and sugars. Beat with a mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Add flour, salt, cream of tartar, baking soda and nutmeg and mix just until combined. Stir in chopped pecans. Chill dough for 1 hour.

Use a SMALL cookie scoop to make rounded balls (about 2 tsp dough). Place on ungreased cookie sheets. Press 1 whole pecan into the top of each dough ball. Bake for 8-9 minutes.

Makes about 5 dozen small cookies

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For lots more cookie and candy ideas, there are links below for the six previous years’ Christmas Cookies:

First Annual Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies (2009)

Second Annual Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies (2010)

Third Annual Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies (2011)

Fourth Annual Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies (2012)

Fifth Annual Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies (2013)

Sixth Annual Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies (2014)

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Tagged as christmas, Christmas cookies, Cookies, dessert, pecan sandies, pecans, recipe, shortbread