Cherry Almond Jello Cookies

Okay, random thought but on second viewing perhaps I shouldn't have quite placed those cookies in that fashion on the plate. Looks a bit like I left two burlesque pasties for Santa, oopies. Heh.

So how late is this recap, yeah? Sadly I thought I had prepped a few more blog posts to go up around the holidays (when I was traveling all over this blessed little state). Thought. Apparently not. And then add my post-holiday chaos of trying to catch up on other parts of my life, and there you go. Just now posting my Santa cookies. Only a few weeks late isn't bad, right??

Now, in truth: I started this whole blog thing to keep myself busy. I love to bake/cook, I love to play with my camera, and I needed a low-budget yet highly-interesting hobby while I waited for us to finally buy a house and get a move on with this thing called life. So was born my blog.

Only: these days I have quite a bit on my plate. Work's been more hectic for the past several months, so I've been working long hours. I have a house to renovate, and Hubs and I are expecting our first child in the early summer, so there's plenty to plan around that as well :)

I kept up the good fight through most of the excitement of the past few months, posting loyally every other day, but the last couple of weeks have really walloped me. I couldn't even get the Daring Bakers Challenge finished. I have thought about just taking a hiatus from the blogging, or perhaps shutting the blog down altogether, but in truth? I've grown to love my little "hobby", and it's one of the things that has kept me sane for the past year and a half.

So I made a pact with myself, or actually a New Years Resolution: the blog stays, even if it is extra work. Only the posts might start coming every 3 days instead of every other day as I've kept up for the past year. A few posts a week are better than nothing, I figure. And I get to keep up with you lovely darlings :)

So there you go! Now on to the important part of this post, the cookies: the dough was super-simple, and very very cherry. My favorite, mmmm. I tried to make this work with my new cookie press, but had a bit of an issue - I just couldn't get it to press through, even after adding some water. So hrmph, but still they rolled out just fine. And tasted good, and that's all that matters really, in the end :)

Cherry Almond Jello Cookies

(adapted from allrecipes.com)

Ingredients:

3 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 c. butter, at room temperature
1 c. granulated sugar
1 (3 oz.) pkg. cherry jello
1 egg
1 tsp. almond extract

Preheat oven to 400 F. Whisk together flour and baking powder in a medium bowl. Set aside.

Cream butter, sugar and gelatin. Add egg and almond extract. Beat well. Gradually add flour mixture. Blend until smooth.

If using a cookie press: use dough immediately. Press shapes onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment, and make for 7-10 minutes (until just slightly beginning to brown).

If rolling cookies: refrigerate dough until firm, about 2 hours. Roll into balls and press with bottom of glass with sugar on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 7-10 minutes (until just slightly beginning to brown).

Aunt Syl's Pecan Sandies

I yanked this recipe out of one of my Penzey's catalog, oh - maybe 5 winters ago? Like, seriously one of my holiday favorites. I'm lucky if the cookies survive from baking day to the holidays a few days later (I have no self control with these things).

They are so easy to throw together. And yeah, lots of butter but other than that seem fairly heavy for holiday cookies - not much sugar, no eggs (which makes eating the dough guilt-free!). I adore the crumbly texture and buttery pecan flavor. With chocolate chips to boot, mmm. These suckers are perfect.

Aunt Syl's Pecan Sandies

(from Penzey's)

Ingredients:

1 3/4 c. flour, sifted

1 c. pecans, chopped small

6 oz. chocolate chips or chopped chocolate (semi-sweet or bittersweet)

3/4 c. butter

1/3 c. powdered sugar, sifted

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 tsp. cold water

1/4 c. powdered sugar for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 325 F. Mix flour, nuts, and chocolate chips, and set aside.

In a separate bowl, cream butter, add sugar gradually and cream until fluffy. Add vanilla extract and water and mix. Gradually add flour mixture and blend well.

Mold dough into balls, using 1 tsp. dough for each ball. Don’t worry if the dough is crumbly–add 1 extra tablespoon of water if you have a hard time making a ball.

Bake on ungreased baking sheets for about 23 minutes. While cookies are warm, sprinkle with powdered sugar (or give them a good roll in it, like I did). Store in an airtight container.

Chocolate Cut-Out Cookies

Pretty stained glass cookies! After getting the low down from Leslie (personal chef extraordinaire) about these cookie cutters at Williams Sonoma, I couldn't resist. Too cute! And there's a million different ways to use them, with shortbreads or maybe as linzer cookie cutters and for gingerbread or sugar cookies... They are a PITA to clean, though, just FYI if you purchase them yourself...

These chocolate cut-out cookies are great - they only spread slightly, have a wonderful deep chocolate flavor, and are nice and soft. If you want to make stained glass cookies like I did, just crush some Lifesaver or other colored hard candies, and fill the gaps in your cut shapes with the crushed candy. They will melt nicely while your cookies bake up.

Thanks again Leslie! :)

Chocolate Cut-Out Cookies

(adapted from AllRecipes.com)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
3/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. salt

½ tsp. cinnamon
3/4 c. butter, softened
1 1/4 c. granulated sugar

1 egg + 1 yolk
1 tsp. vanilla

Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt; set aside. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg. Gradually stir in the sifted ingredients to form a soft dough. Divide dough into 2 pieces, flatten and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 375 F . On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/4-inch in thickness. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Dough is sticky so be sure to add more flour to the rolling surface as needed. Place cookies 1 1/2 inches apart onto cookie sheets.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven (mine were more on the 7-8 minute range, to keep them soft). Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Ambrosia Macaroons

Recently I had a few long-ish flights to a 4-day business meeting that I was attending. I did my usual, stocked up on a few magazines and grabbed a book. This time, I picked up Twilight, because I was hearing about this "Twilight Phenomenon" and how it was "the New 'Harry Potter' for our time" from practically everyplace I went. It was on sale for like 3 bucks, so why not.

So have you read this yet? If you haven't well, let's just say it was a teenage love story about vampires who are sparkly in the sunlight, and leave it at that. The author's writing wasn't the best, and some parts made me crack up where I was probably supposed to sigh over the passion of it all. It is humorous and entertaining in a campy way but I also must say I am slightly embarrassed that I ever picked it up from the Bargain Bin. Jeez, you guys are supposed to warn me about this stuff. To top it off, people kept seeing me with the book on my flights and interrupting me to discuss about the darn thing. They were all "Ooo, Twilight! How-do-you-like-it-what-part-are-you-at-are-you-going-to-see-the-movie??" and I wanted to be like PLEASE LADY JUST LAY OFF I CAN'T GET PAST THIS PART WHERE THEY ARE PLAYING VAMPIRE BASEBALL. (* And yes, they play vampire baseball. With fancy special uniforms and everything! Yeah, it was insanely awesome.)

In the author's defense, so I don't come across as "that jaded mean a-hole Nemmie", I will say that I guess I can see why some of the kids like this book (it is Young Adult fiction, after all). I am just a bit too old and un-romantical for all of that stuff. And I'm not a Mormon. So carry on, little romantics out there. Enjoy your vampire love in all its glittering glory.


So anyway, that story really has nothing to do with these macaroons. However I did get the latest Bon Appetit magazine to get me through the trip as well, and I loved it much much more than the sparkly vampire book. As per usual for the holiday issues of food magazines, there was lots I want to make in that issue, and the first I decided to give a shot was Ambrosia Macaroons. I am not a huge lover of coconut but I do enjoy a nice macaroon, plus the whole "Southern ambrosia style" was kinda cute to me. These guys are totally yummy, too - lots of orange flavor, and the bittersweet chocolate is just right for off-setting the sweetness of the macaroon. Yum! Oh, and easy. Did I mention the easy? They totally are. So give them a shot.

Ambrosia Macaroons

(from Bon Appetit magazine, December 2008)

Ingredients:
1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 c. sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
2 tsp. finely grated orange peel
3 large eggs
24 oz. sweetened flaked coconut (about 6 c. firmly packed)
6 oz. bittersweet chocolate, melted

Position rack in center of oven; preheat to 325 F. Line 3 large rimmed baking sheets with parchment.

Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until smooth. Add sugar and salt; beat until blended. Beat in orange peel, then eggs, 1 at a time. Mix in coconut. Drop batter onto sheets by tablespoonfuls, spacing 1 1/2 inches apart.

Bake macaroons, 1 sheet at a time, until golden on bottom and browned in spots, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool completely on sheets.

Using fork, drizzle chocolate over macaroons. Chill on sheets until chocolate is firm, about 30 minutes.

Sugar Cookies

There is a photo somewhere floating around in a photo box in my house (and for the life of me I can't find it, or else I would have scanned it and included it here). It is a picture from an office holiday party, back in my college days. There is a lone subject in the picture, a sweet college-aged girl with her unruly curly hair in a loose ponytail, sitting in a recliner. She's wearing a festive sweater with reindeer on it, and there is a large Tupperware tub full of sugar cookies perched on her lap. She has a huge smile on her face, she's actually laughing to be honest, in fact her face is kinda red from laughing so hard. She's looking at someone off to the side, waving a pretty, perfect, frosted (and be-sprinkled) sugar cookie in her hand.

Now let me tell you the story behind that picture: this was my darling coworker, who had just spent 15 minutes in front of an audience of all our other coworkers, trying everything in her power to break one of the (Nemmie-made) super-Teflon sugar cookies.

Yes, to somehow get a piece or chunk or heck, even a crumb to fall off one of those cookies. You see, the cookies were sure pretty and kept their shape and decorated like a dream, but ah... Were not edible. At all. And this poor girl spent all night trying to get a piece off of just one cookie. My cookies that year, they were the talk of the party let me tell you. Not in a good way. I was totally a sucky baker in college.

Since that time, I have much matured (in many ways). Thankfully, I have also found a much better sugar cookie recipe. I have tried many, believe me: you know how a lot of recipes are either pretty when decorated but too hard/tasteless to enjoy eating? Or on the flip side: taste good, but the shapes spread while baking and you're stuck with 48 undecipherable blobs? Well, this is truly the best sugar cookie recipe I've ever used: they never spread. They taste yummy (it's the citrus, methinks). And they aren't rock hard, the biggest factor of all for me. Total win!

Sugar Cookies

(from Williams Sonoma)

Ingredients:

1/2 c. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 c. granulated sugar
2 tsp. grated lemon zest (don't like zest? Try 2 tsp. vanilla paste)
1 large egg
1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
Royal icing for decorating

Preheat oven to 350 F.

In a food processor, combine the butter, granulated sugar, and zest and pulse until creamy. Add the egg and pulse 5 or 6 times until fluffy and blended. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add one-third of the flour mixture to the food processor and process until blended, about 45 seconds. Add the remaining flour in two batches, processing after each addition until the dough is smooth.

Turn the dough out onto a well-floured work surface, shape into a ball, and then roll out 1/8-inch thick (you can also chill the dough for about half an hour if you'd like, it helps in rolling out the dough). Using cookie cutters, cut the dough into desired shapes. Then, using a spatula, transfer the cutouts to the baking sheets. Gather up the dough scraps, form into a ball, roll out and cut more shapes, and add to the baking sheets.

Bake until lightly browned on the bottom and pale golden on top, 6-8 minutes. Transfer to wire racks and allow to cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to the racks alone to cool completely.

Decorate the cooled cookies with royal icing, chocolate ganache, sprinkles, etc. etc. etc.

Cinnamon Roll Cookies

Uh ohs! Almost forgot that today was a posting day... Well, let's see. I have some brownie bites to post, and ice cream, and soup... But I'm still on a cookie kick, at least for now, so that's what you're getting.

I picked up this recipe from Pea's site, yet again. I am like a stalker, no? But these were worth it. I love the little cinnamon roll shape! Plus, the kitchen will totally smell like (yeast-free) cinnamon rolls while baking. And they have the cinnamony, buttery taste down pat. Very glad to find this one floating out in the Interwebs. All I did was add a little zest into the mix, and they were pretty much like my favorite cinnamon roll recipe, just in cookie form :)

Cinnamon Roll Cookies

(from Pea)

Ingredients:
½ c. sugar

2 Tbsp. ground cinnamon

3 c. all-purpose flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

½ tsp. salt

1 c. unsalted butter, at room temperature

Zest of 1 lemon, or 1/2 an orange

1 c. brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 c. powdered sugar

¼ c. warm water

½ tsp. powdered egg whites

For the filling combine sugar and 2 TBSP cinnamon in a small bowl, set aside.

Whisk flour, baking powder, 1 tsp cinnamon, and salt together for the dough in a bowl; set aside.

Cream butter, zest, and brown sugar in a bowl with a mixer until smooth. Add the eggs and vanilla; mix until incorporated. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients, blending just to incorporate; do not over mix.

Trace a 16-x-9-inch rectangle on a sheet of parchment or wax paper. Pat the dough into the rectangle using your hands, then sprinkle half the cinnamon mixture over the dough.

Beginning on a long side and using the paper to help you, roll the dough into a log. Dust the outside of the log with the remaining cinnamon mixture (I forgot to do this). Wrap log in plastic and chill for at least 3 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 F; line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Slice chilled dough into 1/4-inch thick slices and arrange on prepared baking sheets, spacing 1 inch apart. Bake 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cookies cool on the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack.

Combine icing ingredients in a bowl. Drizzle icing over cooled cookies, let stand at room temperature.

Buttery Jam Cookies

Try-Outs for Christmas Cookies! The time is yet again here! And this one's a beaut...

First let me just say: I beat you, Tuesdays with Dorie people! Ha! TAKE THAT!! Everybody is gonna see my fabulous cookies before you can post them all over the blogosphere and back in a few weeks! SO. THERE.

Er, um. Here's some buttery jam cookies. They are tres delicious, at first sweet and buttery, and then you are whacked with chewy bits of tart jam. Mmmmmmm. While simple and not much to look at, I truly think these are my new favorite cookies. An added plus is that they are teeny, so you can stuff at least 3 or 4 of these suckers in your mouth before you start to feel guilty...

Buttery Jam Cookies

(from Dorie's Baking: From My Home To Yours, 2006)

Ingredients:
2 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
8 Tbsp. (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 c. sugar
1 large egg
2 Tbsp. whole milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 c. jam of choice (Dorie recommends apricot; I used cherry)
Confectioners sugar for dusting (optional)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and place two racks in the oven, one in the upper third of the oven and one in the lower third of the oven. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar (on high speed) for 2 to 3 minutes until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat on high speed for an additional minute. Add the milk and the vanilla extract and beat on high speed for 30 seconds. Add the jam and beat on low speed for 1 minute.

Add the dry ingredients, with the mixer on low speed, just until they're mixed in. The dough will be extremely thick and stiff.
With a an ice cream scoop our a teaspoon, drop spoonfuls of the dough onto baking sheets, forming cookies that are about 1 inch to 1-1/2 inches in size (I used a piping bag, with my largest tip).

Bake the cookies for 10 minutes, rotating the trays from top rack to bottom rack halfway through. Once baked, let the cookies sit on the pan for a minute or two and then remove to a wire rack and let cool completely. Dust with confectioner's sugar, if desired.

Mincemeat Cookies

First off: enjoy this image of chopped figs in all their glory. This was the only picture I could snap off before the winter storm blew in, blocking any natural light and dumping sleet and snow everywhere. Should make for a fun drive to my parents' house later today. Super. Can't wait to scrape all the ice and snow off the car and freeze my butt off and potentially drop presents in the white stuff while trying to pack up the car and then forget something in my rush to get out of the weather...

Anyhoo.

Mincemeat seems to scare a lot of people, but I've always been fascinated by it. The first time I heard there was actual meat involved, it had me hooked. Meat in a fruit pie? Wha...? Can you taste the meat? Is the texture there? It's difficult to actually figure this out, though, because it seems like no one makes mincemeat anymore.

Mincemeat was first made centuries ago in England, as a method to stretch a small amount of meat by adding fruit (therefore creating a sweetmeat mixture). This mixture was preserved with warm spices like cinnamon and nutmeg, as well as brandy. Today most mincemeat is made with fruit and spices only (not a speck of actual meat in sight). And yet people still won't touch the stuff when it's presented to them. To be honest, the thought of meat in pie is very interesting to me but I can't promise I wouldn't eat more than a bite or two. Certainly not worth making an entire pie.

However? That whole fruit/spice/citrus combo in a not-meat product sounds rather good! So this year, I have taken up the challenge to bring mincemeat to the masses. I was making some for Christmas this year, and people were going to eat it. Even if I had to fool them into it.

Instead of breaking out an actual mincemeat pie (which I am almost certain only my father would touch), I decided to ease the family into it by hiding the mincemeat in cookies. I found a fig and walnut cookie recipe, and altered it from there to replicate mincemeat filling. These cookies taste like figgy-apple-citrus mini pies. The lemon and figs really stand out the most, which I love. And I'm only telling my family about the mincemeat after these cookies have been gobbled up...

Mincemeat Cookies
(Adapted from Giada De Laurentiis)



Pastry Dough:
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 2/3 c. all-purpose flour
2/3 c. sugar
1 tsp. lemon zest
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 c.) unsalted butter, room temperature


Filling and Cookies:
9 oz. dried Mission figs, stems discarded
1/2 c. dried currants
3/4 c. honey
1/4 c. orange juice
2 Tbsp. applesauce
3/4 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
A generous pinch of the following ground spices: cloves, nutmeg, and ginger
1 tsp. grated lemon zest
Splash of rum
1 c. almonds, chopped
1 large egg, beaten to blend

For the pastry dough: Whisk the eggs and vanilla in a small bowl to blend. Mix the flour, sugar, lemon zest, and salt in a large bowl. Add the butter and rub in with your fingers until the butter is the size of small peas. Add the egg mixture and mix with a fork until the dough comes together. Gather the dough into a ball. Divide the dough in 2 and flatten into disks. Wrap the dough disks in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour.



Preheat the oven to 350 F.



Line 2 heavy large baking sheets with parchment paper. Finely chop the figs and currants in a food processor. Add the honey, orange juice, applesauce, spices, rum, and lemon zest, and pulse just to blend. Scrape the fig mixture into a medium bowl. Stir in the almonds. Transfer the fruit mixture to a pastry bag.



Roll out 1 disk of dough on a floured work surface to 1/8 to 1/4-inch thickness. Using a 2 1/2-inch diameter biscuit cutter, cut out dough rounds. Gather the dough scraps into a disk, then cover and refrigerate while assembling the cookies. Spoon the fruit mixture in the center of each dough round. Lightly moisten the edges of the dough with the egg wash. Fold the dough over the filling and press the edges to seal. Arrange the cookies evenly apart on the prepared baking sheets. Brush the tops of the cookies with egg wash. Bake until the cookies are pale golden, about 18 minutes.



Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack and cool completely. Repeat with the refrigerated dough scraps and remaining filling.

Strawberries and Cream Cookies

I got this recipe out of the Washington Post's Food section. Very different, I thought. Plus I absolutely adore the dried strawberries I can pick up at my favoritest market in town, The Merc. So off I went, spent my pennies on some good white chocolate and strawberries, and hit the kitchen.

And then the problems began.

First off: do yourself a favor, just buy some superfine sugar. I was out and didn't restock, thinking a quick whirl in the food processor (as the recipe instructs) would be quick. Around and around spun my sugar, but it never really got fine. Instead all I got out of it was (1) regular sugar mixed with (2) powdered sugar. No super-fine anything.

Then: chopping dried strawberries is not a pleasant task. I tried sprinkling them with powdered sugar and going at them with a knife. I was lucky I didn't cut my finger off, that knife just rolled all over the place and really didn't chop much. Then I threw them in the food processor (HA! That was a gummy mess). I tried a nut chopper, I went at them with the mezzaluna; then I became desperate and began tearing those sticky suckers apart by hand. I did everything short of gnawing on them with my teeth (I'm sure my family and friends are appreciative that I stopped there). Then I gave up and just tossed the biggish chunks in the dough.

And finally? The cooking portion of this recipe is rather odd. Maybe it's because I'm a novice, but - why the two sheet pans? And I always had to pull my batches early, like 20 minutes early. Plus they weren't supposed to spread - I had chilled dough, I didn't flatten it - but mine sure did a lot of spreading (hence the blobby strawberry-ish shaped cookies in the photos, instead of the nice neat strawberries like my dear cookie cutter usually produces).

These issues withstanding: the cookies are still The Yum. Still worth it, dear readers - just keep in mind the above notes. Crunchy, creamy from the white chocolate, and nice chewy bits of strawberries. Mmmm. Very different for the wintertime and holidays, and yet just special enough to be perfect for Christmas time. And yes: I'd still totally make them again.

Strawberries and Cream Cookies

Ingredients:
3/4 c. sugar (may substitute superfine sugar)
16 Tbsp. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 c. flour, plus more for dusting
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 Tbsp. heavy cream
1/4 Tsp. salt
1/2 c. finely chopped white chocolate
3/4 c. dried strawberries, finely chopped

Finely pulverize the sugar in a food processor, letting the machine run for about 10 seconds. (Skip this step if using superfine sugar.)

Combine the sugar and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer or a hand-held mixer; beat on low speed for several minutes, until fluffy. Add the flour, vanilla extract, cream and salt; mix well. Stop the motor and stir in the white chocolate and dried strawberries, mixing until evenly distributed. The dough should be firm (if not, add up to 2 tablespoons flour and incorporate well). Transfer to a lightly floured work surface; knead gently for about 1 minute, until it holds together and becomes firmer. Flatten the dough into a disk, wrap well with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and as long as 12 hours.

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 325 F. Stack 2 baking sheets together and line the top sheet with parchment paper.

Gently roll out the dough to a thickness of about 1/2 inch; use a 2-inch round cookie cutter to cut out the cookies. Place at least 1 inch apart on the baking sheet; reduce the temperature to 300 degrees and bake for about 40 to 50 minutes, until lightly browned around the edges. Let cool on the sheet for 5 to 10 minutes, then transfer carefully to a wire rack to cool completely.

Cocoa Cappuccino Cookies

One problem that I tend to have while Christmas shopping is that, well, I find lots of fun things for myself. Usually not of the apparel or electronics kind, though – more of the cooking/baking supplies kind. Christmas is the one time of the year when I’m baking for a distinct gift-type purpose, and I take full advantage of that fact! Anytime we’re out shopping for holiday presents, I make a point to check out the baking products if possible.

Hubs made the mistake of walking into World Market with me a few days ago, and we came out with a nice supply of baking paraphernalia (er, and no gifts for anyone else). Aside from the decorator’s chocolate and paper loaf pans and other baking toys, I had picked up some Guittard cappuccino chips. Armed with a new recipe from dianasdesserts.com, I set to work (although I changed it a wee bit so I could incorporate my new cappuccino chips).

I didn’t roll the cookies in sugar as in the recipe below; instead, I added about a cup of the chips to my dough. One thing I must say about these cookies: I’m not fond of the cinnamon in them. I love love love me some cinnamon, but I do not like it paired with chocolate. The taste just doesn’t do anything for me, so these cookies weren’t a favorite of mine. No matter though: Hubs gobbled up my test cookies, so I figure they can’t be half bad. They are very very cakey, so I recommend storing them in an air-tight container with parchment or wax paper between layers (otherwise they will stick like mad).

Cocoa Cappuccino Cookies

Ingredients:

1/3 c. butter, softened

1 c. packed brown sugar

2/3 c. unsweetened cocoa powder

1 Tbsp. instant coffee granules

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

2 large egg whites

1/3 c. vanilla yogurt

1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1/4 c. granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Beat butter in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add the brown sugar, cocoa powder, coffee granules, baking soda, and cinnamon. Beat until combined, scraping sides of the bowl occasionally. Beat in egg whites and yogurt until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in remaining flour with a wooden spoon.

Place granulated sugar in a small bowl. Drop dough by heaping teaspoons into sugar and roll into balls. Roll again in sugar. Place balls 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are firm. Transfer cookies to wire racks and cool.

Jam Thumbprint Cookies

What does a lady do when she has little time but needs to bring cookies into the office for a party? And therefore needs an easy, delicious, and impressive cookie recipe? Why, she turns to the lovely Barefoot Contessa, of course!

Another goodie from Ina Garten. The dough reminds me of spritz cookies, for some reason: firmer than a spritz dough, but the flavor is similar. The coconut is the perfect flavor match to the jam. I used raspberry jam and cherry preserves (all I had on hand), and they turned out great; use whatever jam/preserves you love, I'm sure they'll all turn out perfectly too.

Jam Thumbprints

Ingredients:

3/4 lb. (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 c. sugar

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

3 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp. kosher salt

1 egg beaten + 1 Tbsp. water, for egg wash

7 oz. sweetened flaked coconut

Raspberry and/or apricot jam (or anything else you like)

Preheat oven to 350 F.

In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until just combined, and then add the vanilla. Separately, sift together the flour and salt. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture to the creamed butter and sugar. Mix until the dough starts to come together.

Dump on a floured board and roll together into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.

Roll the dough into 1 1/4-inch balls. (If you have a scale, they should each weigh 1-oz each.) Dip each ball into the egg wash and then roll it in coconut. Place the balls on an ungreased cookie sheet and press a light indentation into the top of each with your finger. Drop 1/4 tsp. of jam into each indentation.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the coconut is a golden brown. Cool and serve.

Cherry Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Is anyone surprised that I have a Christmas cookie recipe with dried cherries in it? I mean honestly? You should be aware at this point that I salivate at the mere thought of cherries.

This goodie comes from the book Baking Boot Camp. It's actually more of an instructional book, and very cool. It's a diary of sorts of one woman's experience attending a CIA Baking course, including the disciplines of baked-good recipes, the science behind baking, and some wonderful recipes at the back of the book. Hubs gave me this book (and a few other cookbooks) for our anniversary this year, and for that I'm eternally grateful. I highly recommend this sucker if you don't have it already!

Anyhoo, wouldn't you know - the author's recipe for chocolate chunk cookies also happens to include dried cherries(!). Perfect, considering I have quite the stash of dried cherries at my disposal for such a thing. And I wanted to make a chocolate chip-ish cookie for Christmas. This one is good, a nice basic chocolate chip cookie recipe. The cookies end up very soft and the use of bittersweet (instead of semi-sweet) chips is a nice surprise. It plays off the cherries quite well!

So here you go, you knew the cherries were going to be included in a recipe somewhere this holiday season. And they are perfect in this recipe.

Cherry Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Ingredients:
3 c. all-purpose flour
¾ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 c. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 c. granulated sugar
¾ c. packed brown sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 c. bittersweet chocolate chunks or chips
1 c. tart dried cherries

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Lightly spray cookie sheets with cooking spray, or line with parchment paper.

Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars until fluffy (about 2 minutes). Add the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla extract. Blend until incorporated.

Mix in the sifted dry ingredients, the chocolate chunks, and cherries. Use one of the following methods to shape the cookies: use two spoons to drop the dough onto cookie sheets, about 2 inches apart. If desired, slightly flatten the cookies before baking. Or, roll dough into a log, chill until firm, then slice and place on prepared baking sheets. Bake about 12-14 minutes, and transfer to wire racks to cool.

Molasses Cookies

I read a wide variety of food blogs on a daily basis (an addictive habit, I must admit). When I found out that Susan (at FoodBlogga) was hosting a blog event called Eat Christmas Cookies, I decided that I had to make something. Seemed too fun to pass up. And I wanted to bake the most amazing cookie. I thought of making the rosemary-mint cookies I read about in the LA Times, or maybe something delicate with lots of icing detail. Or perhaps a rolled cookie that would photograph well. To be honest, a million different "impress the masses" recipes were floating around in that brain of mine.

I pondered it for awhile, but it was yesterday when the perfect recipe finally came to me: the molasses cookie. Yup, the very same molasses cookie that everyone makes this time of year. No ma'am, no gourmet twist. No icing, no fancy cookie cutting action. Nothing out of the ordinary, just my regular old recipe. But hear me out.

Yesterday was a terrible day. Work was quite stressful and I was exhausted after a very long day at the office. And yet still behind on my deadlines, ugh. The house was a mess, I still had loads to do before the weekend, and it was dark and cold outside. An icky day that was turning into a yucky evening as well. However: I put aside the cleaning, the dinner-making, the million other chores. Instead, I put on some Christmas music, rolled up my sleeves, and started pawing through the cabinets for my jar of molasses. Days like this can almost be salvaged by the presence of warm molasses cookies.

I've always loved the taste of ginger and molasses together, the spicy and sweet combination. Gingerbread cake, bars, gingersnap cookies, I enjoy them all. I even have a great recipe for gingerbread waffles that I'm dying to try this winter. But most of all, I love the molasses cookie. Soft and chewy with crispy edges and a nice sparkly coating of sugar. My mother always imprinted hers with wooden cookie press, so they came out of the oven with a pretty concentric-circle pattern.

Molasses cookies are definitely a family favorite, and probably why I find them so comforting. I try to make these as close as possible to my Mom's recipe, although I don't have that fancy schmancy cookie press she uses. I tend to add an extra bit of ginger (spicy spicy spicy!) and I like to roll my cookies in raw sugar – just a bit more glittery and festive that way, methinks.

So here's my entry, my favoritest cookie of them all: the humble molasses cookie. A basic, uncomplicated, and yet oh so soothing and homey recipe. Totally satisfying. There's a reason this cookie is a Christmas classic, my friends. And that's why I went personal for my entry instead of flashy.

Enjoy!

Molasses Cookies

Ingredients:

2 ¼ c. all-purpose flour

2 tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

1 ½ tsp. cinnamon

1 ½ tsp. ginger

¾ tsp. ground cloves

¼ tsp. allspice

¾ c. shortening

½ c. dark brown sugar

½ c. granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp. vanilla

1/3 c. molasses

Preheat oven to 375 F.

In a medium bowl, sift and mix together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and allspice. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the shortening and sugars, until fluffy (about 2 minutes). Add the egg, vanilla, and molasses. Beat until combined, about 30 seconds.

Add dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated. Roll dough into small balls, and roll balls in sugar. Place on ungreased cookie sheets, about 2 inches apart. Bake 11-13 minutes, then cool on racks. NOTE: be careful not to overbake! They are done when the centers are still soft and puffy.

Chocolate Mint Brownie Cookies

I figured I'm going to fill out the rest of the month with my Christmas cookie recipes for this year. Festive! Topical! And makes my life oh-so-much easier, given how hectic things are right now. Heh. Although I have also made a few stellar soups, if I do say so myself, so those will be posted once I get through all my goodies.

So, this cookie. Even the Abominable Snowman adores this cookie. I originally found the recipe at this site, and I actually enjoy this cookie a lot too. First and foremost, they taste exactly like Girl Scout Thin Mints. Seriously, it's uncanny. Only they are poofy and soft and oh so much nicer. And not to mention: much, much cheaper than Thin Mints. And you can have them year-round. Which is a total win in my book.

Chocolate Mint Brownie Cookies

Ingredients:
1 1/2 c. (9-oz.) semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided
1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/4 c. packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp. peppermint extract
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 large eggs
3/4 c. chopped nuts

Melt 3/4 cup of the chocolate chips in small, heavy saucepan over lowest possible heat. When morsels begin to melt, remove from heat; stir. Return to heat for a few seconds at a time, stirring until smooth. Cool to room temperature. *Or, you can do what I did and melt them in your own beloved microwave.

Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, peppermint extract and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in melted chocolate. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in remaining morsels and nuts. Drop dough by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

Bake in preheated 350° F. oven for 8 to 12 minutes or until sides are set but centers are still soft. Let stand for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Lemon Slice Cookies

It's freezing rain outside, Kansas is supposed to really get walloped by the weather tonight and tomorrow. And clearly, we aren't alone. All of the States, it seems, are getting battered by the chilly weather. And thus my inspiration: how about a batch of sunny little cookies to help brighten up these frigid winter days?

This recipe is from a REALLY old copy of Good Housekeeping. A little more time-consuming than your usual cookie, but oh so worth it! I love the lemony flavor (in fact, a secret: I usually juice my zested lemon into the dough as well, for an extra lemony punch). This time I didn't have any yellow sparkling sugar and was too lazy to make some, so I used the pink sugar in my cabinet. Think of them as pink lemon(ade) cookies.

Thoughts and prayers to all my fellow winter warriors! Hang in there.

Lemon Slice Cookies

Ingredients:

3 c. All-purpose flour

1 1/2 c. Powdered sugar

1 1/4 c. Butter, softened

1/4 tsp. Salt

1 tsp. Vanilla

1 Large egg

2 tsp. Lemon extract

1 tsp. Lemon zest

Yellow food coloring

Egg white

Yellow sparkling sugar

In a large bowl, mix together flour, butter, sugar, salt, vanilla, and egg. Reserve 1/4 of dough (cover and refrigerate).

Knead lemon extract and zest as well as yellow food coloring into dough. Roll dough into a thick (4-in. long) log. Roll out reserved dough so that it is long enough to wrap around log. Wrap rectangle around log. Wash outside with egg white, then roll in sparkling sugar. Wrap tightly in Saran Wrap and chill at least 3 hours.

Preheat oven to 375 F.

To bake: cut log in half lengthwise, then slice into 1/8-in. thick slices. Place cookie slices on greased cookie sheets (or sheets lined with parchment paper), then with a butter knife add 5"spokes" to each slice. Bake about 6 minutes and cool on racks.

Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies

I had some leftover hazelnuts from a prior baking experiment (posted soon my dears, I promise). I decided to make some hazelnut cookies. Found this recipe at allrecipes.com and adapted them a bit. I actually think this came from a Giada DeLaurentiis recipe to begin with (I recall her making a cookie strikingly similar to this, on a long-ago episode on Food Network).

I made these these early this morning around breakfast time, and let me just say: these suckers are perfect with a nice hot cup of coffee. Thin and crunchy, full of hazelnut flavor with a nice drizzle of chocolate on top. Yum. A crispy cookie form of biscotti, essentially. Dunk away!

Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies



Ingredients:
2 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. packed brown sugar
3 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 Tbsp. instant espresso powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1 c. unsalted butter, cubed
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2/3 c. hazelnuts, toasted, skinned, and coarsely chopped
2 (1oz) squares semisweet chocolate

Preheat oven to 350 F (175 C).

Blend flour, brown sugar, cornstarch, espresso powder, and salt in a food processor. Add butter and vanilla. Using the pulse cycle-or pressing on/off button on your food processor, process until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add nuts; blend until finely chopped. Transfer dough to floured work surface. Knead just until dough comes together.

Divide dough in half. Press each half into 9-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom.
Bake at 350 F (175 C) until deep golden brown, about 25 minutes. Transfer to a rack and let cool for 2 minutes then remove sides of pan. Cut each shortbread round into 24 wedges. Cool completely. (Or! Use cookie cutters like I did.)

Stir chocolate in a saucepan over medium-low heat, until chocolate is smooth. Remove from heat. Cool slightly. Drizzle chocolate mixture over cookies. Let stand until chocolate sets.

Peanut Butter Cookies

Not much time to write today, it's a busy one. Have to fly out to WI early on Friday. So here's a goodie from my archives. This recipe is for a chewy cookie (not a huge fan of crunchy cookies), and a very poofy one at that (thank you, shortening). And at my house we don't add Hershey kisses, we put Hershey bars on them. Kinda rations out the chocolate with the peanut butter better. This time I placed two bars on each cookie, as they turned out a bit large.



Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients:
¾ c. peanut butter (creamy or crunchy will work)
½ c. shortening or butter-flavored Crisco
1 ¼ cup brown sugar, packed
3 Tbsp. milk
1 Tbsp. vanilla
1 egg
1 ¾ c. flour
¾ tsp. salt
¾ tsp. baking soda

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine peanut butter, Crisco, sugar, milk, and vanilla in a bowl. Beat at medium speed until well blended. Add egg. Beat until just blended.

Combine the last 3 ingredients in a separate bowl. Add to creamed mixture at a low speed until just blended. Chill dough in the fridge for at least an hour.

Drop onto baking sheet, and flatten slightly with a fork dipped in sugar (making a criss-cross pattern). Bake for 7-8 minutes.

After removing from the oven, immediately push candy bar piece into cookie. Let cool for a few minutes on the baking sheets, and then carefully transfer to a cooling rack (be careful to not smash the chocolate, which will be melty at this point). Allow chocolate to harden before storing.