Tag Archives: Cookies

December 13, 2013 · 5:44 am

Fifth Annual Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies Round-up

Twelve more cookie and treats to help you celebrate this Christmas season.

As you whisk and sift and bake this year, be sure to look up from your bowls of flour and melted chocolate to appreciate the joy and wonder of the Christmas season. As we share and give our love to those around us (whether that is through cookies, gifts or service), may we also remember the gift of love given to each of us on that very first Christmas.

DAY 1: Scottish Shortbread

DAY 2: Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

DAY 3: Raspberry Swirl Blondies

DAY 4: Oreo Truffles

DAY 5: Ninja-bread Men Cookies

DAY 6: Hot Cocoa Mix

DAY 7: Peppermint Swirl Marshmallows

DAY 8: Nutella Marbled Cheesecake Bars

DAY 9: Glazed Cranberry Orange Cookies

DAY 10: Rocky Road Cookies

DAY 11: Christmas Fortune Cookies

DAY 12: Peppermint Bark Snowflakes

For forty-eight more cookie and candy ideas, there are links below for the four 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)

—-

My best wishes to each of you for a faith filled Christmas season. May God be with you and your family.

Click the photo above or HERE for videos, music, cards and messages reminding us of the true meaning of Christmas, the gift of the Savior of the world, and how we can incorporate that meaning into our lives every day.

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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
Print

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)

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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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December 3, 2013 · 6:14 am

Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies: Raspberry Blondies

DAY 3: Raspberry Swirl Blondies

Raspberry is a popular flavor around here. These bars start with a simple-to-make cookie base (you don’t even have to soften your butter first), then have raspberry jam swirled into the top.

I used this homemade Low-Sugar Red Raspberry Jam that we made from home-grown raspberries.

I originally tried baking these in one 9×13” pan, but I could not get the center to set without burning the edges. So now I cook them in two 8” square pans to get more even baking. If that is more cookies than you need (is that possible?), halve the recipe and use one square pan.

RECIPE:

Raspberry Swirl Blondies

Servings: 32
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1 cup butter
1 ½ cups sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp almond extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 ½ cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
¾ cup raspberry jam

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease two 8” square baking pans (or spray with Baking Pam).

Melt butter in a large bowl in the microwave. Stir sugar into melted butter until incorporated. Mix in the eggs, vanilla, and almond extract. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Spread the batter into the prepared baking pans. Spoon the raspberry jam over the batter. Use a knife to swirl the jam through the batter.

Bake at 350°F for 25-28 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely and then cut into squares.

Makes 32 bars

Note: Heat jam in the microwave until warm for easier swirling.

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December 2, 2013 · 9:05 am

Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies: Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

DAY 2: Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

Raisins in cookies have never been my favorite, but I really love oatmeal cookies. This recipe adds chocolate, chocolate chips and coconut to the traditional oatmeal cookie to give it a whole new dimension.

Using Dutch process or Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa will make these cookies extra rich and chocolately, but you can use regular cocoa as well.

RECIPE:

Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

1 ¼ cups flour
1/3 cup Dutch process (or Hershey’s Special Dark) cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup light brown sugar
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a medium bowl, mix flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

In a separate bowl, beat butter and sugars with a mixer. Beat in the egg and vanilla. On a low speed, gradually add the mixed dry ingredients. Slowly beat in the oats, coconut and chocolate chips. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto a baking sheet.

Bake at 350°F for 10-11 minutes.

(Adapted from Little Yellow Kitchen)

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