Tag Archives: Cookies

December 6, 2012 · 7:12 am

Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies: Almond Joy Cookies

DAY 6: Almond Joy Cookies

I have always been a sucker for anything coconut. Add almonds and I am hooked for sure. When I saw these on Heather Christo Cooks, I knew that I had to make them as soon as possible. They are really amazing eaten warm.

RECIPE:

Almond Joy Cookies

Servings: Makes 4 dozen cookies
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1 cup salted butter, softened
1 ½ cups sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 ¼ cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 cups sweetened, shredded coconut
2 cups chocolate chips
2 cups coarsely chopped almonds, toasted

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

Using a mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. Add dry ingredients to the mixing bowl and mix. Stir in coconut, chocolate chips and almonds; dough will be thick.

Scoop onto baking sheets and bake for 10-12 minutes. Don’t overcook.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

(Recipe adapted from Heather Christo Cooks)

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December 4, 2012 · 5:24 am

Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies: Peanut Butter Snowflake Cookies

DAY 4: Peanut Butter Snowflake Cookies

A Christmas version of the traditional Peanut Butter Kisses cookies. I love the fun molded chocolates for different holidays!

RECIPE:

Peanut Butter Snowflake Cookies

1 cup butter
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups flour
1 ½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
Dove Snowflake Chocolates

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Cream butter, peanut butter and sugars. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Mix in flour, baking soda and baking powder.

Roll dough into balls. Place on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake for 8-10 minutes. Immediately press one unwrapped snowflake chocolate into each cookie; cool.

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Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies: Pumpkin Chocolate Chunk Cookies

DAY 3: Pumpkin Chocolate Chunk Cookies

These pumpkin cookies are a soft, spiced cookie studded with chopped dark chocolate.

Pumpkin cookies often have a very soft, cake-like texture with very little spread. For a chewier, less-cakey texture, combine and mix all of the wet ingredients (butter, sugar, pumpkin, eggs) at once until just blended instead of the more traditional method of creaming the butter and sugar until light and fluffy and then beating in pumpkin and eggs.

RECIPE:

Pumpkin Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Servings: Makes 3 dozen cookies
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3 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ginger
1/8 tsp cardamom (optional)
pinch of cloves & allspice
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 ½ cups sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 ½ cups (about 8-10 oz) coarsely chopped bittersweet chocolate

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

Use a whisk to combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices. Set aside.

Use an electric mixer to combine the butter, sugar, pumpkin, egg, and vanilla; beating just until blended (don’t cream butter and sugar first; beat together all wet ingredients at once). Mix in the dry ingredients until just combined. Stir in the chopped chocolate.

Drop tablespoons of dough onto baking sheets. Use the palm of your hand to flatten cookies slightly.

Bake for 13-15 minutes or until lightly browned. Let the cookies cool on the sheets for two minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

(Recipe adapted from Erin Cooks)

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Chocolate Covered Bat and Mummy Cookies

Mummy Cookies have long been a tradition for Halloween baking at our house. It is our only Halloween baking tradition. Until today! We have now added chocolate covered bat cookies to our short list of Halloween favorites.

I added mint extract to a chocolate cut-out cookie recipe and covered the cookies in a dark chocolate coating. These quickly became the adult favorite. Neither Brian nor I are a big fan of white chocolate. But a cookie that tastes like a Girls’ Scout Thin Mint cookie? Absolutely!

I used an orange gel icing for the eyes, but it didn’t set firmly. Next time I will use a bright orange melted colored candy coating to make eyes. I had a pale green colored chocolate that I thought would look nice, but it was too pale, so I went with the gel icing.

A naked bat ready to take the plunge:

These white chocolate covered chocolate mummies are still the kids’ favorite (except for Little A- I usually make a few vanilla mummies for him, and he picks the eyes off).

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For recipe and details on making Mummy Cookies, click HERE.

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RECIPE:

Chocolate Covered Bat Cookies

Servings: about 4 dozen
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2 ½ 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 ½ cups sugar
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1 tsp pure peppermint extract, optional
about 2 pounds dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
colored candy coating or frosting for eyes

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. Wrap dough securely in the plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 1-2 hours, or several days.

When ready to bake, place dough on a new piece of plastic wrap. Press with hands to make a thick disk of dough. Place another piece of plastic wrap over dough and use a rolling pin to flatten dough to about 1/4 inch. Remove top piece of plastic wrap and cut out cookies with a cookie cutter.

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. (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) To make eyes, place melted candy coating in a Ziploc or pastry bag. Poke a small hole in the end with a toothpick and pipe eyes onto bats.

Makes about 4 dozen, depending on the size of your cookies.

Cookie dough recipe adapted from Martha Stewart

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October 2, 2012 · 2:07 pm

Autumn Spiced Fall Leaf Cookies

Leaves are starting to change here in Pennsylvania, so it seems only right to reflect the changes outside with some multi-colored fall leaf cookies made with delicious warm autumn spices.

These cookies are actually easier to make than regular sugar cookies, because you don’t need to frost them. Colorful dough with a shiny glaze makes them beautiful all on their own. And much less sweet than a traditional sugar cookie.

I used a brown sugar cookie dough from Bake at 350 that is spiced with wonderful fall flavors like cinnamon, ginger and allspice. I like this dough for making these leaves because the dough doesn’t lose its shape as it cooks, so the cookies keep their sharp edges and leaf “veins” etched into the top.

To make multicolored leaf cookies:

Separate cookie dough into four portions. Place in Ziploc bags. Add gel food coloring (I like the Ateco brand) to bags and knead until dough is a uniform color.

To make multicolored leaves, place small balls of different colored dough on a floured pastry mat. Press with hands to flatten and fill in spaces. Roll gently with a rolling pin to flatten evenly. Make sure that the seams between the different colors are all sealed.

Cut out leaves with cookie cutters and place on parchment paper or silicon mat lined baking sheets.

Use a sharp paring knife to draw veins into dough.

Baking leaves plain will result in a rustic, matted look to the leaves:

For a shiny finish on your cookies, brush with a glaze (add a little almond or orange extract for a great flavor) before baking:

As you re-roll the dough, the colors take on more of a tie-dyed or marbled look.

These cookies are great fun for kids, and really taste great.

RECIPE:

Spiced Brown Sugar Cut-Out Cookies

Servings: about 3 dozen
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3 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp grated nutmeg
1/8 tsp allspice
½ cup sugar
½ cup light brown sugar, packed
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350˚F.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and spices with a whisk to mix. (The amounts of spices given make a mildly spiced cookie. For a more pronounced flavor, increase spice amounts)

Using an electric mixer, mix the sugar, brown sugar, and butter. Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla. On low speed, beat in the dry ingredients just until incorporated. Dough will be stiff.

Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to about ¼-inch thickness. Cut out dough with cookie cutters and place on baking sheets. Bake for 9-12 minutes, depending on the size of your cookie cutter. Decorate as desired.

Yield: about 3 dozen cookies using a 3” cookie cutter

To make Fall Leaves:

Additional ingredients:
Gel food coloring (I used red, green orange and yellow)
Glaze:
½ cup water
½ cup sugar
2 Tbs ClearJel or cornstarch
2 Tbs water
1 tsp almond or orange extract

Prepare cookie dough and divide into four portions. Place in Ziploc bags. Add gel food coloring (I like the Ateco brand) to bags and knead until dough is a uniform color. Place small balls of different colored dough on a floured pastry mat. Press with hands to flatten and fill in spaces. Roll gently with a rolling pin to flatten evenly. Make sure that the seams between the different colors are all sealed. Cut out leaves with cookie cutters and place on parchment paper or silicon mat lined baking sheets. Use a sharp paring knife to draw veins into dough. Baking leaves plain will result in a rustic, matted look to the leaves.

For a shiny finish on your cookies, prepare glaze: combine 1/2 cup each water and sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil; boil 2 minutes. Stir together ClearJel or cornstarch and 2 Tbs water; stir into pan a little at a time until glaze just begins to thicken. Return to a boil and cook 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in almond or orange extract. Brush lightly onto raw cookie dough (after cutting out and placing on baking sheets). Bake as directed above.

Fall leaves inspired by HGTV, as seen on Pinterest

Cookie dough recipe from Bake at 350

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December 12, 2011 · 1:29 pm

How To . . . Keep Cookies Fresh

Now that you’ve made all of those Christmas cookies, how do you keep them from going hard and dry before delivering them to all of your friends and neighbors?

Here are a few tips for keeping large quantities of cookies fresh:

Refrigerate or freeze uncooked dough. Uncooked dough can be kept in Ziploc bags or wrapped in plastic wrap (especially logs of dough) in the fridge. Take out dough and bake small batches of cookies. Many types of cookies actually taste better after letting the dough sit in the fridge overnight before cooking. For drop cookies, freezing dough is very helpful. Prepare cookie dough and place scoops of dough on parchment lined baking sheets. Freeze raw dough until solid, then transfer dough balls to Ziploc bags. Pull out just as many cookies as you want to bake.
Refrigerate or freeze cooked cookies. Baked cookies will also stay fresh longer if stored in the refrigerator or freezer. Store cookies in Ziploc bags or seal-able containers and freeze or refrigerate until ready to serve. Be sure to keep different kinds of cookies in different containers. Mint and gingerbread cookies do not go well together!
To store cookies at room temperature: You can still keep cookies fresh without freezing all of them. Use containers that are as air-tight as you can find. Place a small piece of BREAD in the container with the cookies. The bread will lose its moisture more quickly than the cookies, allowing the cookies to stay soft longer than they normally would. Replace the bread with a fresh piece as it dries out. This will not keep cookies soft indefinitely, but it will extend their shelf life to more than a week.

Just a note of warning: if you put bread in your cookie jar, every time your kids open the jar, they will ask, “How come there’s bread in the cookies?” Some may even choose to eat the bread over the cookies, which will prompt you to ask (when you go to sneak another cookie for yourself get a cookie for a starving child), “What happened to the bread I put in the cookie jar?” No one, of course, will admit to eating the mysteriously disappeared stale bread.

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P.S. This also works to keep your brown sugar soft. The bread will last much longer in your canister of brown sugar than in the cookie containers. Maybe because it doesn’t get opened quite as many times throughout the day!

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Tagged as Cookies, freezing cookie dough, hard brown sugar, how to, keeping brown sugar soft, keeping cookies fresh