Happy Halloween Cookies

One of my favorite snacks is candy corn and peanuts mixed together. It's the perfect combo of sweet and salty and tastes like a pay day candy bar.

Oh goodness, these cookies are divine. The combo of candy corn and peanut butter and peanuts is HEAVENLY!

I ate three alone when they came out of the oven and have now eaten one more. Insane. And I still have more candy corn and peanuts in the house and want to make another batch.

Realistically you could use your favorite peanut butter cookie recipe as a base, but this is the recipe I used.

Peanut Butter Candy Corn Cookies

1/2 cup shortening (you can also do 1/4 shortening and 1/4 butter)

1/4 cup dark brown sugar

1/4 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 egg

Combine all of these ingredients together in a large bowl and beat until light and fluffy

Add in the following ingredients

1 1/4 cups flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

pinch of salt

Once the dough is formed, fold in about 1/2-3/4 cups chopped salted peanuts. Then fold in about 1/2 cup chopped up candy corns. You'll want some whole candy corns for the tops of the cookies - about 3 dozen of them.

Roll the dough in to balls and make sure the candy corns are tucked inside the dough and not sticking out - this will help the cookies stay moist and chewy and ensure the sugar doesn't just melt all over the pan. Do not flatten out the cookies!

Bake for 10 minutes at 375. After 10 minutes, pop a candy corn on top of each cookie and bake for another 2 minutes. Let them sit for about 2 minutes on the cookie sheet once out of the oven before moving to a cooling rack.

I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

That was Easy

Are you on Pintrest? If not, you should be! It's a great forum for posting photos in categories of things you want to make/do/buy/read/share, you name it. And you can connect with your friends or anyone else in the world. It's a great place to find some great ideas. And the best part is it's all images/pictures - what's more fun to look at that pictures of cool things?! Once you click on the picture, you're taken to the link of where it was initially posted - and from this you are able to open yourself to a whole world of new bloggers, websites, you name it!

I found a picture post on Pintrest for these killer Nutella cookies... I mean, it's Nutella, how could I not make these??

These came to me from a blog that is new to me now, again thanks to Pintrest! ShowFood Chef is a great little blog, you just must check it out! And she has some very creative recipes - including these awesome Nutella cookies.

Now, brace yourself for how "difficult" this recipe is.

Take 1 cup Nutella

1 Egg

Stir until it's all incorporated and smooth and creamy.

Place on a silpat or parchment covered pan. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes.

VOILA!!

It takes like a brownie - the crispiness edge and the chewy center!

I made these with my tiny scooper, next time I"m making with a larger scoop so they are a little softer.

YOU MUST MAKE THESE!!!

Did I Find It?!

The most perfect chocolate chip cookie that is.

I had a thought of what cookie I was going to try next, but then found a recipe in a magazine in a McCormic's ad. The cookies sounded wonderful, so I decided they would be my next adventure in baking. And well, I just may have to stop.

Well, I thought I'd stop until the other week everyone on blogs started posting the recipe from the NYT and Jacque Torres... damn' you people - more recipes I feel the need to try now.

But as of now, these are my first place cookie in the contest.

McCormic Vanilla Rich Chocolate Chip Cookies

3 1/4 cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 ts. salt

1 1/3 cups butter, softened

1 1/4 cups sugar

1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

2 eggs

4 tsp. vanilla

1 pkg semi-sweet chocolate chip cookies

1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Mix flour baking soda and salt in medium bowl. Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well. Gradually beat in the flour mixture on low speed until well mixed. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts.

Drop by T full on to cookie sheet - ungreased.

Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Makes about 5 dozen.

The Verdict?

Chocolate Chip Used: Ghiradelli Semi-Sweet

Ease of Recipe: comes together very easily and quickly and with no chill time.

Out of Oven Texture: Crispy edges soft chewy center, metly goodness - quite possibly perfect - I used the smaller cookie scoop so it's a greater ratio of crispy to softness/chewiness.

Out of Oven Taste: Very smooth, mild, not overly sweet - not so brown sugary sweet like other cookies, the ratio of vanilla to sugar to butter is actually supreme in this recipe, making a very mild, vanilla and sweet sugar flavor - these chips may be the very best I've used so far, it's not too bitter, not overly sweet, keeps its shape well and has a great melty center on the chips.

Milk Dunk Test: Absorbs a good amount of milk without getting mushy and goopy - still stays firm and has a nice hint of milk throughout the cookie once dunked.

1 Day Texture: still some crispyness on the edges and nice and soft inside - a very soft cookie - very soft.

1 Day Taste: Still buttery and mild, the chips have still a nice creamyness as well.

Appearance: made these mini - they are so adorable - and the perfect 2-3 bite size cookie. They look so light and golden buttery without being over done or too wonky.

Husband Rating: Out of the oven, without chips - that's really good - that's a good cookie.

General Notes: Great flavor - the amount of butter makes it have a nice spread in the oven. The cookie is buttery, vanilla-y and mild, not too overwhelming with a brown sugar flavor. These are certainly the best chips I've used in a cookie so far and hold up the best to baking far better than any other brand. I think my quest may be over.

Cookie Challenge, Take 3

So take 3 - still no perfect cookie.

I had really high hopes for this recipe, but to be honest, as much as I have a girl-crush on Nigella Lawson, her chocolate chip cookie recipe just didn't do much for me.

Don't get me wrong, it was good - and quite frankly the taste was the best in my opinion (think more buttery and shortbread-esque) - but the texture lacked for me. I think that's because I know I want a thinner and crispier cookie now and not something big and poofy.

Overall, I did enjoy these but the next day they were really hard. I think because they cook low and long, it makes them really dry out and that causes a harder cookie the next day. Even the reviews at my office were that these were not as good as the Alton Brown recipe texture wise,

but taste wise it was an even split between these and the AB cookie recipe.

Nigella Lawson's Chocolate Chip Cookies

10 T butter softened, unsalted

2/3 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

2 t. vanilla

1 egg - COLD

1 egg yolk - COLD

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 t baking soda

1 bag chocolate chip cookies

Preheat oven to 325. Line cookie sheets with Silpats or parchment

melt the butter and let it cool. Put the brown and white sugar in a bowl, pour the slightly cooled butter over them and beat together.

Beat in the vanilla, cold egg and egg yolk and mix until light and creamy.

Slowly mix in the flour and baking soda until just blended, then fold in the chocolate chips.

Scoop the cookies in to quarter cup measures and bake 3 inches apart. Chill dough in between batches.

Bake 15-17 minutes or until the edges are lightly toasted.

ENJOY!!

My review

Chocolate Chip Used: Hershey's Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chip. After playing around with milk, dark and now semi-sweet, I've determined s-s is the best chip to use - a little sweet creaminess, a little bite of bitter - the perfect mix. Perhaps that's why it is called semi-sweet

Ease of Recipe:Comes together really quickly, no chill time excpet for when cookies are baking, which I love! And she uses all ingredients from cold except the butter so it's even easier

OOO (Out of Oven) Texture: I think the 2nd yolk here adds a fluffiness and cake-like texture to this cookie. The are not browned on top and are a more "rustic" looking cookie, they do have a nice lightly crispy bottom though and are so soft
OOO Taste:The taste is spot on - really hardly much sweet, prob. The least sweet of any cookie we've made so far. This is a wonderful baking chip and I've determined now that all cookies need a semi sweet, for the creaminess, the sweetness and the bitterness combo. They taste buttery, rich and have more of a sugar/shortbread cookie taste to me than a traditional choco. chip cookie batter taste

Milk Dunk Test: doesn't soften the cookie or anything, just a milky harder cookie.

DA (Day After) Texture: Certainly a harder cookie than any other cookie we've made. It doesn't retain any thing soft about it. It's dense and firm and dried like a store bought cookie.

DA Taste: Taste is still really good though.

Appearance: love the rustic feel of them, there's no shame here in an inperfect cookie. They bake poofy and rounded and don't really flatten out but more poof up as they bake creating a really fluffy light cookie.

Husband Rating: Finally made him one with no chips and he said it's good but he prefers Alton's recipe that it's a bit sweeter and had a better texture for him.

Overall Notes: The cookie has a great flavor and is pretty close to the flavor I'd like for a cookie, buttery and mild, but the texture just isn't doing anything for me on the second day, they are great out of the oven and warn, nice and fluffy, cakey and soft, but once they sit, they become like little rock nuggets and the only thing that saves them is re-nuking in the microwave. How can i combine the softness of Alton's recipe with the taste of this recipe??

Cookie Challenge, Take 2

So I made the 2nd cookie in my quest for the most perfect chocolate chip cookie... and it was pretty darn good.

I went with Alton Brown's The Chewy for round 2. It certainly was a good cookie, good enough in fact that I used the same batter recipe to make the hubs butterscotch cookies the following week.

I think I've run in to an issue with this cookie challenge though - I think the problem is I can't figure out what type of cookie I like!! This week, to try and figure things out, since I have been too sick to bake lately, I bought a break and bake package of the Pilsbury Simple chocolate chip cookies - you know the ones that are all natural ingredients? Well, aside from them being overly greasy - I think I really like that thin crispy type of chocolate chip cookie. And while I do enjoy the thick and chewy ones too - I think I really dig the thin ones - crispy edges, squishy center.

So now I'm on a mission to find that type of chocolate chip cookie recipe as well - you know I want to be fair and equitable to all of the recipes I can :)

But now on to the Chewy

Ingredients

2 sticks unsalted butter

2 1/4 cups bread flour

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/4 cups brown sugar

1 egg

1 egg yolk

2 tablespoons milk

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Hardware:

Ice cream scooper / cookie scoop

Silpat

Baking sheets

Mixer

Directions

Heat oven to 375 degrees F.

Melt the butter in a heavy-bottom medium saucepan over low heat. Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda and set aside.

Pour the melted butter in the mixer's work bowl. Add the sugar and brown sugar. Cream the butter and sugars on medium speed. Add the egg, yolk, 2 tablespoons milk and vanilla extract and mix until well combined. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture until thoroughly combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Chill the dough, then scoop onto parchment-lined baking sheets, 6 cookies per sheet. Bake for 14 minutes or until golden brown, checking the cookies after 5 minutes. Rotate the baking sheet for even browning. Cool completely and store in an airtight container.

I took a pile of cookies to my office - these seemed to get a better review from most people than the brown sugar ones the weeks before.

My review:

Chocolate Chip Used: Toll House Milk Chocolate Chip

Ease of Recipe: Pretty easy to put together, not too many ingredients, did get tedious though with 2 T of this, 1 of this and the bonus egg yolk but overall still easy.

OOO (Out of Oven) Texture: only crispy thing about the cookie is the bottom. Nice shape, full and poofy, light cookie, spongy-cake like when you get a piece without chocolate chips in it.

OOO Taste: Not too sweet, the chips are extremely creamy - seems like this is a good baking chip.

Milk Dunk Test: doesn't absorb much milk or get mushy or anything. Better not dipped in milk.

DA (Day After) Texture:Denser than the day before, not so spongy, but still has a cake-like quality. A little crunch on the outside but interior is still really soft.

DA Taste: flavors blended more but still a choc. Chip cookie.

Appearance: Very even dimension, very poofy/tall cookie, gets a little crinkly top crust on it. A nice looking cookie.

Husband Rating: Better if no chocolate. Very soft, just spongey, not so chewy. Good, but too much chocolate (all 6 chips he had!). I did make these with butterscotch chips too and he said it was a great cookie without the chocolate chips!

Overall Notes: I like the cakey texture of this cookie but do wish it was a bit crispier. It's really a great cookie warm and fresh out of the oven or re-heated in the microwave. Overall a good cookie, I think I like it better than the brown sugar cookies the other week.

I'm on a mission

I made myself a bucket list for 2011. Things I want to try, accomplish, do. One of the cooking related things on my 2011 bucket list is to find the PERFECT chocolate chip cookie recipe.

Now, I know, it's a chocolate chip cookie Steph, who cares? I care! I don't have a go to chocolate chip cookie recipe. And I love a good chocolate chip cookie, so I'm really ready to find the PERFECT recipe.

So I'm taking my time and making cookies this year, hoping to find the ultimate recipe for a basic chocolate chip cookie - nothing fancy, nothing with add ins, just a basic chocolate chip cookie.

In order to keep track of my baking, I've made myself a spread sheet. DORK? YES! But this way I'll be able to recall the cookies and really find the best recipe for me. I've also started freezing one dough ball of each cookie - and at the end of the year, I'll bake all of them and figure out really, once and for all, which one is superior for my tastes.

So what am I judging on? Appearance, out of oven taste/texture, milk dunk test, day after taste/texture, and the hubs take on the cookie. I mean, he HATES chocolate chip cookies, and really cookies in general. But if I can find a cookie he even remotely enjoys, than that has a lot to do in the ratings scheme as well.

So I started the other weekend with this recipe from Baking Bites for Brown Sugar Chocolate Chunk Cookies.

My review:

Chocolate Chip Used: Ghiradelli Dark Chocolate Pieces

Ease of Recipe: Super easy recipe, very few ingredients, no chill time. Quick to prep and bake. Done in 3 cookie sheets and 1 hour total, start to finish.

OOO (Out of Oven) Texture: Crispy bottom, fluffy - taller cookie, soft center that is still moist, crispy edges.

OOO Taste: Not too sweet, mild chocolate flavor (dark chocolate)

Milk Dunk Test: Doesn't absorb a ton of milk but it does help make it a little moister. When dunked when the cookie is hot it's DELICIOUS!!

DA (Day After) Texture:Firm, center is still soft as is cookie, lost its crispy edge, a very dense and solid cookie

DA Taste: a little sweeter, still the same. Just cold

Appearance: Not all pieces have chocolate chunks at the surface but just brown flat tops, but very symmetrical in size, not too much spreading

Husband Rating: Not bad, better if no chocolate. Soft interior but the bottom is too crunchy, top is fine

Overall Notes: Overall a really nice cookie, good taste, texture and not too sweet. I think the chocolate pieces tended to sink during the cooking process a bit compared to how the recipe was pictured. Should have floured my chips perhaps? The cookie is great the 2nd day if you warm it in the microwave for 7 seconds. Determined this is really a cookie that is best served warm because it is so dense.

Brown Sugar Chocolate Chunk Cookies

from Baking Bites

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt (pref. kosher salt)

14 tbsp butter, room temperature

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

1 large egg

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups dark or semisweet chocolate chunks

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

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

In a large bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar until smooth and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla extract. With the mixer on low, gradually blend in the flour mixture until no streaks of dry ingredients remain visible. Stir in chocolate chunks.

Shape dough into balls just over 1-inch in diameter. Place on prepared baking sheet, allowing for room to spread.

Bake for 12-14 minutes, until cookies are very lightly browned around the edges. Cookies may look slightly “wet” – but not raw – at the center (bake until golden all over for crispier cookies).

Cool for 3-4 minutes on baking sheets, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Makes 2 1/2 – 3 dozen cookies

A Baking Challenge - FAIL!

A group of my girlfriends and I are taking part in a Woman of the Year Challenge. We're doing a monthly challenge together, keeping score, and at the end of the year, we will name a Woman of the Year. We're trying to find out who is the best all around woman. Now, no mean comments or anything, this is all in good fun. We're making new friends, laughing A LOT!, getting out more often with the girls, and trying things that put some of us out of our comfort zone.

Our first challenge was a Dave & Buster's Ticket Challenge. With $2o bucks, how many tickets could you win. And no secretly re-loading your card!

Our second challenge was a cookie baking challenge. Some of the girls were doing test runs, really putting a ton of effort in to this challenge. I chose what I was going to make the night before the big event. And I chose a cookie I've never made before. Risky, yes. Did it pay off? HELL NO! I came in second to last.

I have to say, I don't think it was the cookie's fault for placing poorly, it was a GOOD cookie. But the competition was tough - Andes mint cookies, peanut butter balls, meringue, maple white chocolate chip. No wonder I placed near the bottom.

But, my cookie loss turned in to triumph at the office the next day when everyone raved about them at work!

Silly husband judges, not understanding the flavor combination of sweet and salty.

I got this recipe from Simply Recipes for Butterscotch Cookies. They were really quite easy to make (a prerequisite for all of my cookie making endeavors!), tasty, and had that wonderful combo of sweet and salty.

I do think mine cooked a little too long - could be I was the last cookie in the oven at the night and it was too hot or that I went too long on the time. I will certainly adjust that next time I made these - and there will be a next time - they were really good!!

(Please note, apparently my pink heart doilies made no
difference to the judges....)

Butterscotch Cookies
From Simply Recipes via guest cook Garrett McCord

NGREDIENTS

12 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon sized slices (I diced my butter, I found it easier to work with)

1 3/4 cups dark brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1 egg yolk

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Sugar Dredging Mixture

1/4 cup dark brown sugar

2 tablespoons sugar

Fleur de sel, Maldon, sea salt, or Kosher salt for sprinkling * I used Kosher salt and that worked out just fine!

METHOD

1 Preheat oven to 375°F and line baking sheets with parchment paper. Sift together the flour, baking soda, and baking powder and set aside. Mix together the sugar dredging mixture in another bowl and set aside.

2 Place 10 tablespoons of butter into a thick-bottomed skillet over medium heat. The butter will foam a bit before subsiding. Once the butter takes on a tan color and begins to smell nutty take it off of the heat. Add the other two tablespoons of butter and mix it in until it melts.

3 Pour the brown butter into a mixing bowl fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the brown sugar and salt and mix. Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract and mix together, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl at least once. Add the flour mixture in three increments being sure to scrape down the sides and bottom once or twice. Mix just until the flour is incorporated. The dough will be very thick.

4 Take 1/2 to full tablespoon-sized pieces of dough (you can make them a bit bigger or smaller to your liking, just make sure the pieces of dough are all the same size) and gently roll them into ball shapes. Dredge them in the sugar dredging mixture until well-coated. Place on the baking sheet and sprinkle with a little bit of the sprinkling salt (be reserved with the salt as very little goes a long way).

5 Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges have browned a bit. Be careful not to over-bake. Allow to cool on the sheet for one minute before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Tastes best with a glass of milk for dipping (THAT IT DOES!!!)

Makes 4 dozen

Madeline's for my favorite Madeline

Our good friends have two little ones who are near and dear to us. They are our East Coast nieces. We recently had the oldest of the two for her first sleep-over. We all had a wonderful time, playing, watching cartoons, painting, coloring, swinging on the swings at the park, you name it.

A while back I had told Madeline how she had a very special cookie named after her. So I had promised her when she was ready to spend the night at our house we would make them together. Little did I know that sleep-over would be scheduled for 4 weeks later and I had to scramble to find a Madeline pan - Thank you Amazon!

I researched for a while about what recipe I should make for the Madeline's and consensus around the web was that there was no better recipe than Dave Lebovitz's lemon glazed Madeline recipe.

So when Madeline came over, we made her namesake cookie. And boy were they delicious. We had a great time baking together - she zested her first lemon and tried the zest, she measured out her ingredients and dumped them in the mixer and did it all with poise and perfection! Such a great baker helper!

However, Auntie didn't read the recipe all the way through and neglected to notice how the batter had to chill for an hour. So it was a mad dash after our spaghetti dinner to get the batter in the pan and baking so she could at least try one of her namesake cookies before bedtime with a glass of milk.

These are probably the most perfect Madeline I've ever had! Light, fluffy, moist, soft and a great lemon flavor. I admit I did not bother with the glaze because, well, I had an anxious 4 year old at my heels asking for cookies - but next time I will make the glaze for them. I have a couple of tangerines hanging around the house currently and may have to do a tangerine Madeline next!

Everyone on the web, thank you - the recipe was foolproof and garnered great results!

I did read a tip - and I wish I could remember where now on what blog, that said to butter the pan instead of spray it - it will give you better results - and that it did - I did it both ways as well and the buttered ones were far superior to the PAM ones. And the buttering of a Madeline pan is the most perfect job for the fingers of a little 4 year old!!

Enjoy!

David Lebovitz's Lemon Glazed Madelines

3 large eggs, at room temperature
2/3 cup (130g) granulated sugar
rounded 1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cup (175g) flour
1 teaspoon baking powder (optional)
zest of one small lemon
9 tablespoons (120g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature, plus additional melted butter for preparing the molds

This is the recipe for the glaze, again I omitted this part this first time - a nice dusting of powdered sugar would have been nice too though!

3/4 cup (150g) powdered sugar
1 tablespoon freshly-squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons water

1. Brush the indentations of a madeleine mold with melted butter. Dust with flour, tap off any excess, and place in the fridge or freezer.

2. In the bowl of a standing electric mixer, whip the eggs, granulated sugar, and salt for 5 minutes until frothy and thickened.

3. Spoon the flour and baking powder, if using, into a sifter or mesh strainer and use a spatula to fold in the flour as you sift it over the batter. (Rest the bowl on a damp towel to help steady it for you.)

4. Add the lemon zest to the cooled butter, then dribble the butter into the batter, a few spoonfuls at a time, while simultaneously folding to incorporate the butter. Fold just until all the butter is incorporated.

5. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. (Batter can be chilled for up to 12 hours.)

6. To bake the madeleines, preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

8. Plop enough batter in the center of each indentation with enough batter which you think will fill it by 3/4′s (you’ll have to eyeball it, but it’s not brain-surgery so don’t worry if you’re not exact.) Do not spread it.

10. Bake for 8-9 minutes or until the cakes just feel set. While the cakes are baking, make a glaze in a small mixing bowl by stirring together the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and water until smooth.

11. Remove from the oven and tilt the madeleines out onto a cooling rack. The moment they’re cool enough to handle, dip each cake in the glaze, turning them over to make sure both sides are coated and scrape off any excess with a dull knife. After dipping, rest each one back on the cooking rack, scalloped side up, until the cakes are cool and the glaze has firmed up.

Something a little sweet

Thank you to Baking Bites for yet another wonderful recipe. I had bananas that were ready to go bad and decided I'd try her Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Cookies. I also had to add a little bit of chocolate to it for me of course! And the chocolate chips on top are a great addition.

These were a hit at home and the office!

Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

2 tbsp butter, room temperature

1 large egg

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup mashed banana (from 1 sm/med)

1 1/2 cups quick-cooking rolled oats (not instant)

Chocolate Chips to top on cookies - about 6 per cookie.

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In a large bowl, cream together sugars and butter. Beat in egg until smooth, then mix in the peanut butter and mashed banana. Working by hand or with a mixer on low speed, blend dry ingredients into the peanut butter mixture. Stir in the oats.

Shape dough into tablespoons and place on baking sheet, flattening each slightly with your fingers.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, until cookies just begin to turn golden around the edges.

Cool on a wire rack.

Makes approx 2 dozen.

What's Up Doc?

Well I posted earlier how I made that coconut cream cake, which left me with a ton of delicious leftover cream cheese frosting. So I had thought, hmmm I'll make a carrot cake, but was just not in the mood for dealing with a cake. So I actually found a recipe for Carrot Cake Cookies and oh dear heaven were they out of this world! They were really good with the frosting on them, but even better just plain.

Sweet, crunchy from the nuts, and totally carrot cake satisfying without the deal of having to make a full cake!

I will be adding this recipe to my regular cookie rotation!

The recipe comes from Dozen Flours food blog and is found in full here.

Carrot Cake Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon good quality cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup fresh, coarsely grated carrots (2 medium)
1 scant cup pecans (3 oz), chopped (optional but note that if you omit them, you will end up with slightly less yield. The nuts really bulk up the batter. * I used a mix of pecans and walnuts because it's what i had on hand.)
1/2 cup raisins (2 1/2 oz)

8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sifted powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 375°F. Butter 2 baking sheets.

Whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.

Beat together butter, sugars, egg, and vanilla in a bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in carrots, nuts, and raisins at low speed, then add flour mixture and beat until just combined.

Drop 1 tablespoons batter per cookie 2 inches apart on baking sheets and bake, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until cookies are lightly browned and springy to the touch, 10 to 12 minutes total. Cool cookies on sheets on racks 1 minute, then transfer cookies to racks to cool completely.

While cookies are baking, whip cream cheese and vanilla together until well combined. Add sugar and continue mixing until smooth.

*Eat without frosting or with - It worked well to frost them as I ate them and keep the cookies in a tupperware on the counter.

Cookies without guilt

I adore cookies, I mean absolutely adore cookies! Store bought, bakery, home made, I've never met a cookie I don't like.

I try very hard to keep cookies OUT of the house because they are quite deadly for me. Actually all of my cookie swap cookies I got I gave away to the neighbors so I wouldn't eat them.

But I made this WW recipe for me... But i cheated, I'm WAY too lazy to chill and roll out and cut cookies so I just made balls, rolled them in sprinkles and flattened them out and they came out soft and poofy and nice. And the addition of the nutmeg was wonderful. One point each- how can you go wrong??

Classic Sugar Cookies

From Weight Watchers

3 cup(s) all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 cup(s) butter
1/4 cup(s) Neufchatel cheese
1 cup(s) sugar, granulated
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg(s)
1/2 cup(s) fat-free skim milk
1 tsp all-purpose flour, for rolling out dough
1/3 cup(s) sugar, colored (for decorating)

Preheat oven to 350ºF.
In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and nutmeg; set aside.

Place butter and cheese in a large bowl; cream using an electric mixer. Add sugar and beat until batter is pale yellow; beat in vanilla extract and egg.

Add about 1/3 of flour mixture and 1/3 of milk to cheese mixture; mix batter on low speed until just combined. Repeat 2 more times with remaining flour mixture and milk, until thoroughly combined into cheese mixture.

Shape dough into a ball and loosely cover with plastic wrap. Using your palms, press down on plastic wrap to flatten dough into a hamburger shape; refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 days.

Sprinkle a teaspoon of flour on a flat work surface. Pull off about 1/3 of dough and, using a rolling pin, roll out dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Using a 3-inch circular cookie cutter, cut cookies out of dough and place on ungreased baking sheets. Roll up dough scraps and add back to dough ball. Pull off another 1/3 of dough and repeat process until all dough is used — recipe will make approximately 45 cookies.

Sprinkle cookies with colored sugar and bake until edges just start to turn golden, about 10 to 12 minutes. Remove cookies to wire racks and cool completely. Yields 1 cookie per serving.

Cookies fit for PMS

I saw these on I think it was Baking Bites and some other blogs and knew I wanted to make these. Made these for my cookie swap at work and they were a hit. Two of my friends have now made them as well and we have renamed them PMS Cookies.

Peanut Butter Pretzel Cookies

Adapted from Sheila Lukins USA Cookbook

Makes 5 dozen good sized cookies.

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup solid shortening, at room temperature

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 large eggs

1 cup chunky peanut butter

1 cup salted pretzel pieces

chocolate chips and kosher salt for toppings

Heat oven to 350°.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt, set aside.

Cream the butter, shortening, sugars, and vanilla in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy.

Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, then mix in the peanut butter.

Add the flour mixture a cup at a time and beat at low speed to mix well.

Add pretzel pieces, and turn mixer on low to mix them in and break up any pieces that are too large.

Shape the dough into 1 inch balls and place on parchment lined baking sheets about 2 inches apart.

Press each cookie twice in each direction with a fork to make the classic pb cookie criss-cross design.

Press about 3 chocolate chips gently into each cookie--no need to squish, be gentle.

Sprinkle each cookie with a pinch or two of kosher salt.(after a batch, I decided to do the salt when they came out of the oven so the shimmer of the salt was still on top to look pretty)

Bake 10 minutes. Let cool on sheets for about 2 minutes and transfer to cooling racks

Froggie-Licious

Each summer I try to help out one of my co-workers for a Camp she cares very deeply about in our area. I offer to bake a dessert for the campers that will provide enough for two desserts in a week. I always like to do something different that the kids will go "Wow that's fun and cute!"

This year I came across the idea to make cookie frogs on the Betty Crocker Website.

Talk about easy - yes a little time consuming when you make 140 treats - but so easy and really not that expensive to make. And no oven is required which was great for the extremely hot day when had when I was making them.

You'll need the following

Sandwhich cookies

Twist Pretzles

Frosting

candies for the eyes

First start by making or using a store frosting. I used powder sugar and water for a more firm and quick drying icing. Place a dollop of icing on one side of the cookie and then stick two pretzles to that frosting side and lay face up on a cookie sheet to let dry. On the first batch with the chocolate ones I tried a second dollop of frosting over the pretzles to ensure firmness and stability - as you can see here....

However, that extra dollop made the frogs a little off balance once placed right side up.

Once dry, flip them over and using a toothpick - I found that to be the easiest - put two frosting dollops on the top of the cookie and stick your candy eyes on the top - I used skittles - they were so colorful and cute!

Let dry and then pacakge up.

With the vanilla cookies i just went for the main dollop and that worked much better.

They were a hit with the campers, staff and counselors. Certainly a make again!

Citrus and Crunch all in one

I wanted to make some cookies to send to my friend Carrie in MN the other week since she's preparing for a move into their new house, I figured she and her Adam could use a sweet pick me up treat among all the boxes.

I found this recipe on Simply Recipes a few weeks back and finally made them and whoa, they did not disappoint.

Citrus-y, crunchy, light, buttery goodness. You must make these - and they'd be great with lemon and lime as well.

Orange Poppy Seed Cookies
Ingredients
2/3 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of butter, room temperature
1 egg, room temperature
1 tablespoon of orange zest
1 1/4 cup of flour
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 tablespoon of poppy seeds

Method
1 Beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
2 Add the egg and the orange zest, beat for thirty seconds, scraping down the bowl part way through to ensure even mixing.
3 In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Slowly sift it into the butter mixture until just combined. Fold in the poppy seeds.
4 Place heaping teaspoonfuls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or Silpat, allowing them space as they will spread as they bake.
5 Bake at 350°F for 10-12 minutes or until just turning golden around the edges. Remove from oven. Let sit on the baking sheet for a minute or two to let the cookies solidify a bit, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Makes 3 1/2 dozen cookies

A Secret Baker Shout Out!

The girls on the RI Nest board recently did a Secret Baker Swap. I signed up and sent out one of my favorite recipes for Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies.

I in turn received these wonderful Molasses Sugar Cookies from Diana. It's so funny that Diana was my secret baker - we're always back and forth on email about things and she was just accepted to do the Art Show at my office with her wonderful photographs.

These are the cookies she sent - they were out of this world - I highly recommend them - and so do my neighbors and co-workers and husband!

Diana's Molasses Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:
3/4 Cup(s) shortening
1 Cup(s) sugar
1/4 Cup(s) molasses
1 egg
2 Teaspoon(s) baking soda
2 Cup(s) flour
1/2 Teaspoon(s) ground cloves
1 Teaspoon(s) ground cinnamon
1/2 Teaspoon(s) ground ginger
1/2 Teaspoon(s) salt

Directions: Preheat oven to 375 Melt shortening and add molasses and egg. Mix well. Add sugar and mix. Sift together dry ingredients and gradually add to mix. Chill. Roll into balls and coat with additional sugar. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes. Remove from cookie sheet immediately.



Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies
(very moist cake like cookie)

Ingredients:
2 1/2 Cup(s) flour
2 Teaspoon(s) baking powder
1/2 Teaspoon(s) salt
1/4 Teaspoon(s) baking soda
1 Cup(s) sugar
2/3 Cup(s) softened butter
2 egg
1 Teaspoon(s) vanilla extract
1 Cup(s) mashed banana
2 Cup(s) semisweet chocolate chips
Optional Ingredients:1 chopped nuts

Directions: Preheat oven to 350. Grease cookie sheets. Sift flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda together, set aside. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Mix in banana. Add flour by spoonfuls. Stir until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips (and nuts). Drop by spoonfuls onto cookie sheets. Bake for 12-15 minutes.

Cookies, Sweets & Treats everywhere!

So the kitchen has been baking central for over a week now as I'm feverishly making cookies and candies to give as gifts for the holiday season.

So far I've made 10 items but still thinking I want to make a few more. I'm just doing one batch of each thing to save time too.

So far:
Spritz
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Gingerbread
Jan Hagel
Oreo Truffles
Almond Coconut Truffles
Butterscotch Pudding Candies
Key Lime Cookies
Vanilla and Walnut Fudge
Rocky Road Fudge

I'd still like to make macaroons - cause I have an extra bag of coconut, snickerdoodles, and pretzle haystacks.

We'll see how far I get!