Tag Archives: cooking

December 9, 2010 · 9:47 pm

Even More Christmas Cookies

If you are still looking for more Christmas cookies, here are some other great ideas for giving (and keeping).

Swedish Peppar KaKar:
(a soft mild gingerbread; even more fun when you make them tiny)

Mint Oreo Cookies:
(super easy: start with a cake mix)

Christmas Chocolate Chip Cookies:
(soft, chewy cookies all dressed up for Christmas)

Cherry Nut Mudslides:
(a great cookie for more discriminating tastes)

Snickerdoodles:
(as much fun to eat as to say)

Raspberry Almond Linzer Cookies:
(my favorite cookies ever)

Peanut Butter Kisses:
(try using some of the fancy Kisses flavors)

Chocolate Rolo and Andes Chocolate Mint Cookies:
(two very different cookies from one easy dough)

Russian Tea Cakes:
(these are the kids’ favorites-they are suckers for a little colored sugar)

Chocolate Caramel Thumbprints:
(Santa’s favorite indulgence)

Sugar Cookies:
(soft and slightly sweet; the anchor of any respectable Christmas cookie tray)

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Tagged as baking, christmas, Christmas plate, cookie plate, Cookies, cooking, dessert, easy, holiday, recipes

December 8, 2010 · 7:57 am

2010 Twelve (More) Days of Christmas Cookies Recap

Here is a recap of our Second Annual Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies. For me, I am off to the gym to try and burn off a few of these calories.

Happy Baking!

—

DAY 1: Raspberry Crumb Bars

DAY 2: Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

DAY 3: Chocolate Nutella Cookies

DAY 4: Glazed Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies

DAY 5: Almond Macaroon Brownies

DAY 6: Trail Mix Cookies

DAY 7: Cream Cheese Cut-Out Cookies

DAY 8: Chocolate Revel Bars

DAY 9: Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl Cookies

DAY 10: Caramel Pecan Bars

DAY 11: Turtle Pretzel Snaps

DAY 12: Coconut Macaroons

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Tagged as baking, candy, christmas, Christmas cookies, cookie tray, Cookies, cooking, dessert, food, holiday, recipe, twelve days

December 6, 2010 · 9:23 pm

Twelve (More) Days of Christmas Cookies: Old-Fashioned Coconut Macaroons

DAY 12: For our final Christmas cookie this season, a traditional coconut macaroon. This is a flourless, gluten-free cookie made from coconut, egg whites, sugar, and almond extract. They can be made sugar-free as well by using unsweetened coconut and a sugar substitute. The ones pictured here are the full-sugar variety.

The “dough” is cooked on the stove prior to baking, which leaves you with a wonderful chewy macaroon on the inside and slightly crispy toasted coconut on the outside. Dipping the bottoms in chocolate is optional, but I definitely recommend it.

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RECIPE:

Coconut Macaroons

Servings: 4 dozen
Print

1 (14 oz) pkg flaked sweetened coconut
6 egg whites
1 cup sugar
¼ tsp salt
2 tsp almond extract
1 cup semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate chips, melted (optional)

Preheat oven to 325°F.

In a medium saucepan, stir together coconut, egg whites, sugar, and salt. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring constantly (a spoon drawn through the mixture should leave a clean path). Remove from heat; stir in almond extract.

Drop onto greased cookie sheets (or line with a Silpat) by rounded teaspoonfuls. Let stand on cookie sheets for 15 minutes before baking. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool on pan for 2 minutes before removing to wire rack. Cool completely.

Dip bottoms of macaroons in melted chocolate, if desired. Place on waxed paper until chocolate has hardened.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies

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TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS COOKIES (2010) RECAP:
DAY 1: Raspberry Crumb Bars
DAY 2: Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
DAY 3: Chocolate Nutella Cookies
DAY 4: Glazed Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies
DAY 5: Almond Macaroon Brownies
DAY 6: Trail Mix Cookies
DAY 7: Cream Cheese Cut-Out Cookies
DAY 8: Chocolate Revel Bars
DAY 9: Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl Cookies
DAY 10: Caramel Pecan Bars
DAY 11: Turtle Pretzel Snaps

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Tagged as almond extract, baking, chewy, chocolate, chocolate dipped, christmas, coconut, cooked, Cookies, cooking, dessert, egg whites, food, gluten free, one bowl, recipe, stovetop, sugar free

December 5, 2010 · 9:14 pm

Twelve (More) Days of Christmas Cookies: Turtle Pretzel Snaps

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DAY 11: Technically, these are a candy, not a cookie, but they still make a great addition to any holiday cookie tray. Sweet & salty; crunch & chewy. A great combination of tastes and textures.

These candies are a simple, fun alternative to traditional Turtle Candies. They are also an easy treat to make with kids. They can do almost all of the work themselves.

The base of these treats is a Pretzel Snap: the square criss-crossed shaped pretzels that look kind of like a window pane. Place the pretzels in a single layer on a lined baking sheet. You can use a Silpat, parchment paper or foil to line the pan. Top each pretzel with half of a caramel. Instead of a caramel, you can also use a Rolo candy. I prefer the flavor of the plain caramel, topped with a bittersweet chocolate chip. Using plain caramels also allows me to make some “chocolate free” candies for Little A. But the Rolos do save you one step.

Bake the caramel topped pretzels for about 5-7 minutes, until caramels (or Rolos) are soft. Remove from oven and immediately top with a chocolate chip. I like the Ghirardelli bittersweet chips, for both the flavor and the fact that they are slightly bigger than normal semi-sweet chocolate chips. (If you are using Rolos, you don’t need to use any chocolate chips) The chocolate will melt by the time you have finished putting one on each caramel. Press one M&M or toasted pecan half into the soft chocolate. Let candies cool completely before moving from baking sheet.

RECIPE:

Turtle Pretzel Snaps

Pretzel Snaps (criss-cross shaped)
Caramels or Rolos
Chocolate chips (if using plain caramels); I like the larger Ghirardelli bittersweet chips
Peanut M&Ms
Whole Pecans, toasted (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Lay pretzel snaps in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with a Silpat, parchment paper or foil. Cut caramels in half and place one half on each pretzel (Alternately, top each pretzel with a Rolo candy). Bake for 5-7 minutes, or until caramels are soft. Remove from oven and immediately top each caramel with one chocolate chip (omit chocolate chips when using Rolos). When chocolate is soft, press an M&M or pecan half into the chocolate. Let chocolate harden before moving to a serving plate.

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Tagged as baking, baking with kids, candy, caramels, christmas, cooking, cooking with kids, dessert, food, kids, pecans, pretzel snaps, pretzels, recipe, rolos, snaps, turtles

December 5, 2010 · 8:37 am

Twelve (More) Days of Christmas Cookies: Caramel Pecan Bars

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DAY 10: Rich and chewy caramel coated pecans on a shortbread crust. Drizzled with melted chocolate and sprinkled with just a bit of coarse sea salt. I was a little short on pecans, so I ended up using about one cup of chopped almonds and 2 1/2 cups pecans. Thanks to Alice at Savory Sweet Life for a great cookie bar! The original recipe has you dip half of each triangle into the melted chocolate. I tried this, but I was not very happy with the results, so I ended up drizzling the chocolate over most of them.

To easily drizzle chocolate: melt chocolate slowly in the microwave. Pour into a Ziploc bag. Use a toothpick or skewer to poke a hole in one corner. Squeeze gently over cookies.

Cut into 24 squares while in the pan.

Remove bars from pan and place on waxed paper.

Cut each square in half to make 48 triangles.

Drizzle with melted chocolate (I used bittersweet) and sprinkle lightly with coarse sea salt.

RECIPE:

Caramel Pecan Bars

Servings: 48
Print

Crust:
½ cup salted butter
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp baking powder
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

Caramel Topping:
1 cup sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
½ cup water
1 Tbs vanilla extract
1 cup heavy cream
3 ½ cups coarsely chopped toasted pecans
1 cup melted chocolate chips (semi-sweet or bittersweet)
coarse sea salt

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light. Add egg and vanilla and beat for one minute. Add baking powder and flour; mix well. Spray a 9×13” baking pan with non-stick spray. Press cookie dough mixture evenly throughout the bottom of the pan. Bake for 20 minutes or until the edges are just beginning to brown. Allow to cool.

For the topping, combine water, sugar, and corn syrup in a large sauce pan. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar is completely dissolved. Continue to cook until mixture turns a dark amber color (like a dark honey); turn off heat, but leave pan on the burner. Carefully add vanilla and heavy cream, stirring until smooth. Add toasted pecans, stirring and coating everything. Spread caramel pecan mixture over the cookie crust evenly. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or until cold. Cut bars into small triangles.

Drizzle bars with melted chocolate (or dip half of each triangle into the melted chocolate). Sprinkle sparingly with coarse sea salt.

Makes 48 triangles.

Recipe from Savory Sweet Life

NoEmptyChairs.me

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Tagged as baking, caramel, christmas, Christmas cookies, cookie bars, Cookies, cooking, dessert, drizzled chocolate, food, pecans, recipe, sea salt, shortbread crust, triangles, turtles

December 4, 2010 · 8:37 am

Twelve (More) Days of Christmas Cookies: Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl Cookies

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DAY 9: The great American classic taste combination: Chocolate & Peanut Butter. This fun-looking swirl cookie was inspired by a cookie failure last year. Unlike last year’s Peppermint Swirl Cookies, which looked cute but tasted awful, this cookie is both delicious and fun to look at. The kids’ memories were better than I thought: they were leery of trying these after being so disappointed last year. One bite and they were hooked though!

I used my standard Peanut Butter cookie dough recipe and pieced together a chocolate dough from a few that I like. The textures of the two doughs swirled together nicely for a soft, fun cookie. Creating the swirl is an easy process:

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Lay 2 logs of dough side by side.

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Press together and gently twist.

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Pinch off a tablespoon-size chunk of dough and roll into a ball.

RECIPE:

Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl Cookies

Servings: Makes about 4 dozen cookies
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Peanut Butter Dough
½ cup butter
½ cup creamy peanut butter
½ cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 ½ cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder

Chocolate Dough
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1 ¼ cups cocoa powder (I used Hershey’s Special Dark)
2 tsp baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Peanut Butter Dough: Cream butter, peanut butter, and sugars. Beat in vanilla and egg. Add dry ingredients and mix well.

Chocolate Dough: Cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla until well combined. Add 1 cup flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt to mixing bowl; beat slowly until well combined. Mix in remaining 1 cup flour.

Roll half of each dough into a log. Press the two logs (of peanut butter and chocolate doughs) together and gently twist the doughs. Repeat with remaining halves of dough. Break off tablespoon-sized pieces of dough. Roll into balls. Place on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 9-11 minutes.

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