Cookie Carnival: Almond Macaroon Sandwiches

I'm barely getting this posted in time! I forgot all about the recipe until today and decided to throw it together. I didn't want to be like last month when I missed it and posted late.

This month Kate chose Hazelnut Macaroon Sandwiches. I was nervous about making these because 1) I'd never made Macaroons before and 2) I don't get along so well with sandwich cookies. Luckily, the recipe was pretty simple.

Everything was going well while I prepared this until I went to pipe the mixture on the parchment paper. I sort of missed the part where it says pipe MOUNDS. I guess I saw the word diameter and just assumed I was supposed to pipe circles. Well that certainly didn't work for me and I was annoyed so I decided to just take a measuring cup and pour the mixture on the baking sheet. So it really doesn't look like I have macaroons, I have flat circles. But they are still so good! I substituted ground almonds for the hazelnuts and it tastes great . The cookie itself is delicious, it's light and sweet with a hint of almonds. Add the chocolate ganache filling and it's just amazing. I'm looking forward to trying to make this again... the right way!

Almond Wanna-Be Macaroon Sandwiches
Source: Williams-Sonoma

INGREDIENTS:
* 4 egg whites, at room temperature
* 1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
* 1/4 cup superfine sugar
* 1 tsp. vanilla extract
* 1 cup toasted, skinned and ground almonds
* 2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
* About 2/3 cup ganache filling (see below) refrigerated until cool and thick enough to spread

DIRECTIONS:

Line 2 rimless baking sheets with parchment paper. Have ready a third rimless baking sheet, unlined.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the egg whites and cream of tartar and beat on medium speed until the whites begin to thicken. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat just until soft peaks form. Slowly add the superfine sugar and continue to beat until stiff, shiny peaks form. Beat in the vanilla until blended. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the almonds and confectioners sugar until incorporated.

Scoop the mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain tip. Pipe mounds 1 1/2 inches in diameter onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing the mounds 1 inch apart. With a damp fingertip, gently smooth any pointy tips. Let the cookies stand, uncovered, at room temperature for 35 to 45 minutes.

Preheat an oven to 350°F.Bake the cookies, 1 sheet at a time, putting the cookie-filled baking sheet on top of the unlined baking sheet. (This insulates the top bak­ing sheet so the cookie bottoms do not darken too much.) Bake until the tops and bottoms are firm and golden, 10 to 13 minutes. That wasn't quite enough for me (as you can see they look a bit light, not so golden.)

Remove the baking sheet from the oven, carefully lift the parchment, one end at a time, and sprinkle about 2 Tbs. water under the paper. Be careful that the steam does not burn you and that water does not splash on the cookies. (The steam loosens the cookies from the paper.) After 3 minutes, slide the parchment paper off the baking sheet, peel the cookies from the paper and transfer them to wire racks to cool completely.

Turn half of the cookies bottom side up. Spread a thin layer of the ganache filling (about 1 rounded tsp.) over the cookie bottoms. I piped my filling in because the cookies were huge! Press a plain cookie, bottom side down, onto the ganache. Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Makes about 24 cookies.

Chocolate Ganache Filling

INGREDIENTS:
* 2 Tbs. unsalted butter
* 1/2 cup heavy cream
* 6 oz. bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

DIRECTIONS:

In a heatproof bowl, combine the chocolate and butter.

In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the cream just to a boil. Remove from the heat and immediately pour the cream over the chocolate and butter. Using a handheld whisk, stir the mixture until the chocolate and butter melt and are smooth. Let cool until spreadable.

Makes about 1 1/3 cups.

Thanks Kate for another great month!

Cookies For Breakfast

But first things first. The other day I received a notification that I had a new comment on one of my posts. It was from Anonymous but I quickly found out it was actually from my Grandma:

Hi Stacey-This is the 23rd of May and I just went in to your blog to see what's new. Surprised and "thrilled" to see the group at the winery for Ann's birthday celebration.. And for anyone else seeing this that birthday cake is fantastic!! Have a good one-love to you and Matt--G'ma M.

The post she's referring to is here. 1) I love that my grandma reads my blog and comments on posts. 2) You know if Grandma says a cake is good, it MUST be good. So everyone needs to make the Italian Birthday Cake!

Ok, now on to cookies for breakfast.

I saw this recipe for Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Cookies on Baking Bites recently and decided I needed to make it ASAP. Peanut Butter and Bananas make such a good combination I couldn't wait to try. The recipe is fairly simple and the cookies seem fairly simple but the taste is far from simple. One bite and I felt like I was eating a bowl of oatmeal with PB and bananas mixed in. I added some chopped honey roasted peanuts to add to the texture of the cookies and bring out the peanut flavor a bit more. The cookies are soft and chewy, similar to traditional oatmeal cookies, but the peanut butter gives them a bit more substance.

I made these 2 days in a row. The first day in cookie form and the second day in bar form. I took them to work and got rave reviews and requests for seconds. Overall my coworkers seemed to go for the bars over the cookies. Matt loved these - he was definitely not happy when I took them into work. Keeping them in my house would have been trouble. Like I said, they tasted like a bowl of oatmeal and with only 2tbsp of butter I rationalized they were a good choice for breakfast and a good pre-workout snack. :)

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
Source: Baking Bites



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 (I used chunky)
1/4 cup mashed banana
1 1/2 cups quick-cooking rolled oats
1/2 cup finely chopped Honey Roasted Peanuts





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 and chopped peanuts.

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.

Bakes approx 2 dozen. I got 2.5 dozen.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I hope everyone had an awesome day. I know I sure did! I took the day off to enjoy some green beer and the gorgeous weather. I also made some cookies.....



I took them into work on Monday. My coworkers all loved them. I made Chocolate Shamrock Rollout Cookies with my favorite Dorie Recipe and made Cookies on a Stick with a Candy Four Leaf Clover. I used Royal Icing which I am still learning how to use the right way. I know it's famous for it's smooth look, but I do love when it's a little bit thicker, it gives me an opportunity to practice using my different decorating tips. When I decorated the cookies on a stick though, I thinned it out and got the smooth look.

For the Candy Four Leaf Clover, I used an idea I saw on Pennies on a Platter last week. I printed off an image from the Internet, placed it under a piece of wax paper and piped green candy melts over the image. When the candy set I just CAREFULLY peeled it off.

Blurry Pic of my Cookies on a Stick:

My chocolate cookies and you can also see my candy clovers:

Close up of some of the decorating detail:

I still have a long way to go in the world of decorating, but I think I'm definitely improving.

Recipes

Chocolate Rollout Cookies

Cookies on a Stick

Royal Icing

Peanut Butter, Chocolate, and Oats

I can't believe it's been 2 weeks since I last posted. I've made a few things including these fabulously yummy cookies. Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies. I took the ATK Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies and messed around with the recipe a bit. I don't remember why I made these, but my coworkers were crazy for them. I had multiple people ask if I put crack in them because they were so addicting. My bosslady had 6! When you take a bite it's like a flavor explosion. The peanut butter makes these especially moist and the oats give them a somewhat crunchy texture. I must say I agree with my coworkers, these are damn good.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
Adapted from: ATK



1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
2c rolled oats
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
12 Tbsp (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted & slightly cooled
1 c peanut butter
1 c brown sugar, packed
1/2 c granulated sugar
1 large egg plus
1 yolk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Adjust oven racks to upper- and lower-middle positions. Mix flour, oats, salt, and baking soda together in medium bowl; set aside.

2. Either by hand or with electric mixer, mix butter and sugars until thoroughly blended. Mix in egg, yolk, vanilla, and peanut butter. Add dry ingredients; mix until just combined. Stir in chips. I didn't follow this next step. I just used my good old PC cookie scoop. Although I did use parchment paper and refrigerate my dough for a bit. For an illustration of step 3 click here

3. Form scant 1/4 cup dough into ball. Holding dough ball using fingertips of both hands, pull into two equal halves. Rotate halves ninety degrees and, with jagged surfaces exposed, join halves together at their base, again forming a single cookie, being careful not to smooth dough’s uneven surface. Place formed dough onto one of two parchment paper-lined cookie sheets. (Dough can be refrigerated up to 2 days or frozen up to 1 month—shaped or not.)

4. Bake, reversing cookie sheets’ positions halfway through baking, until cookies are light golden brown and outer edges start to harden yet centers are still soft and puffy, 15 to 18 minutes (start checking at 13 minutes). (Frozen dough requires an extra 1 to 2 minutes baking time.) Cool cookies on cookie sheets. Serve or store in airtight container.I found the trick to these cookies was taking them out of the oven before they looked like they were done. They stayed moist on the inside but slightly crunchy on the outside.

The Latest in Baby Shower Dessert

Hosting a baby shower soon? Tired of traditional baby shower food and games? Pay attention to this post.

Jules is having a baby. Somewhere along the line an idea for a Fetus theme came to light. (I think this happened at a lonnnggg happy hour one night.) It may have been a joke at first, but it slowly turned into reality. The evite, the games, the cookies, the shirt Jules wore... all fetus themed.

Around Christmas Julie stopped by and happened to see some of my mad cookie decorating skillz. I had put all the decent looking cookies away, but the super ugly ones were still out. I think it was then she knew I'd be the perfect partner to decorate the fetus cookies

So on Wednesday I headed over to her house and we got busy decorating cookies. Some were normal and others had stories. Each cookie had a bottle in hand, an umbilical cord (Twizzlers Pull and Peel), and a placenta (prune). The whole time we were decorating we just kept cracking up... it was just weirdly hilarious that we were actually decorating these cookies.

I couldn't make it to the shower because I had a wedding to go to, but I went over after the reception (the shower was still goin on... my friends know how to throw one hell of a party!) and found out they were a big hit. There were still a few cookies left so I had to try one, they were surprisingly tasty and believe it or not, it wasn't strange taking a bite out of one of the cookies.

So if you're hosting a shower and are running out of original ideas, consider the fetus theme... you too can have cookies in the shape of a fetus from "America's #1 Fetus Cookie Cutter" (no really that's what the package the cookie cutter came in says).

The somewhat normal cookies...

These fetuses had stories...

And these guys REALLY had stories...

Cookie Carnival: Fudge Cookies with Toffee and Dried Cherries

Well, maybe not quite. But, Cookie Carnival is Back!

CC was on a break in January and I just didn't have time to participate in December. I'm so glad it's back. This month Kate chose Fudge Cookies with Toffee and Dried Cherries from Regan Daley. I was happy to see we were baking chocolate cookies this month, but cringed when I saw the dried cherries. I don't like cherries. I planned on just leaving them out when I decided to take the cookies a whole different route.... Chocolate and Orange.

Have you ever had a bite of an orange and then popped a piece of dark or bittersweet chocolate in your mouth? Heaven. It's a simple combination that tastes (almost) luxurious. It's a wonderful way to indulge. I've been on an orange kick the past couple weeks. I like to pair it with dark Hershey kisses from time to time. With all the chocolate in this recipe I knew adding orange would be a sure winner. I've also developed an obsession with lime recently and at the very last minute decided to add lime zest and lime juice to the recipe as well.

The result was a fresh, citrus-y flavored cookie. The orange and lime didn't overpower the chocolate, but they really complimented it. Matt liked these, I absolutely loved them. I was going to give them to Matt to take the work, but decided my freezer would make a much better home. Next time we have Mexican and some Corona I think these cookies will make a great addition :)

Fudgy Orange Cookies

(orange fudge cookies? chocolate chunk orange cookies?)

INGREDIENTS
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened dutch-process cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup tightly packed dark brown sugar
3/4 + 1tbsp granulated sugar, separated
2 large eggs
1 cup dark chocolate chips

Zest and Juice (mine was about 1/4 cup) of 1 orange

Zest and Juice of 1 lime

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. line two heavy baking sheets, not non-stick, with parchment paper and set aside. sift the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt together into a bowl and set aside. In a small bowl mix orange and lime zest with 1tbsp of sugar.

In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of an electric or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and both sugars until light in colour and fluffy, about 2 minutes. add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl. beat in the orange and lime juice. stir in the flour-mixture in 3 additions, blending just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Stir in the chunky ingredients and mix until they seem evenly distributed.

Drop the batter by heaping tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheets and place them in the center of the oven. bake the cookies for 15-18 minutes, or until barely set in the center and just firm around the edges. I have no clue how long mine baked, I just watched them until they looked almost done, but still sort of gooey. cool the cookies on the tray for 5-10 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely before storing.

So Kate, thank you so much for choosing this recipe. I know I wondered pretty far off the reservation with this one, but I definitely used the guidance of the original recipe. To check out the original recipe, please go visit Kate at The Clean Plate Club!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Just a few days late. Matt and I have been together for almost 7 years and we've never been big Valentine's Day people. This year however I was super exctied. Almost the whole fam was going to be in KC this weekend. I love my family and am so sad most of them live in STL and we don't get to see each other all the time.

My cousin and wife that live in DC had a baby back in November. (Actually, I blogged about. It was the day I realized I am not and will never be Martha.) They were coming in so we could all meet little Collin. Saturday night consisted of a fabulous Steak Dinner compliments of Kent (proud member of Gremlin Grill) and then an open house/shower for friends. I decided to make roll out cookies so I could practice using the new Wilton Decorating Tips I got for Christmas.

I'm still not Martha, but the tips make decorating so much easier than the plastic bag trick. I used Royal Icing, but for some reason my icing was super thick. I tried to thin it out by adding extra water/vanilla/food coloring, but it remained thick. It didn't tase bad, but some of the cookies didn't turn out as smooth a I would have liked. I made these cookies last year and don't remember them being this awesome. They are soft and the hint of cinnamon in the dough gives the chocolate just a little kick. The cookies are so good, they honestly would be amazing without the icing. The recipe I used was Chocolate Rollout Cookies from Dori Greenspan and can be found here. Click here for the Royal Icing Recipe

I made between 3 and 4 dozen cookies and there was only one left in the morning. They were a big hit!

And of course, the best Valentine's Day is the one you get to spend with those you love.... (yeah, yeah so corny!)

The guest of honor...

Peanutty Gooey Bars

These bars are good. Seriously Good.

Does anyone else acquire used cookbooks on a pretty regular basis? I always seem to end up with a new(to me) cookbook in my hands. Last month I was over at my aunt and uncle's house and left with 2 or 3 cookbooks and a handful of other books to read. One of those cookbooks is full of Nestle Tollhouse recipes. How can you go wrong with Tolhouse? May not be gourmet, but it's always good.

I found this recipe for Peanutty Gooey Bars in the Nestle Tollhouse book. I woke up a few Sundays ago and had the urge to throw together a yummy treat. I read the recipe name to Matt and his first words were Oh my God, those sound great. Make them. So I did and he was right, they not only sounded great but the tasted great. These are very similar to a Hello Dolly... but better. The recipe is super simple. It comes together in no time. This kind of treat would make a perfect addition to an open house type of gather or a potluck at work.

I did make a few changes to the recipe. I cut back on the nuts and added some chopped PB M&Ms. Also, after I took it out of the oven I decided to add some extra Chocolate (used a mixture of milk and dark) and PB chips while it cooled.

Peanutty Gooey Bars

Crust:

2 cups chocolate graham cracker crumbs

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened

1/3 cup granulated sugar

Toppings:

1 Cup each Peanut Butter Chips Chocolate Chips (plus extra to sprinkle on top if desired)

1 can (14 ounces) Nestle Carnation Sweetened Condensed Milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup coarsely chopped nuts

1/2 cup chopped PB M&Ms

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Spray 8-inch square pan with vegetable cooking spray.

For Crust:

Combine graham cracker crumbs, butter and sugar in medium bowl; press onto bottom of ungreased 13 X 9-inch baking pan.

For Topping:

Microwave 1 cup morsels, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla extract in medium microwave-safe bowl on HIGH (100%) power 1 minute; stir. Microwave additional 10- to 15-second intervals stirring until smooth. Pour evenly over crust. Top with nuts and remaining morsels. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until edges are bubbly.

Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars.
Makes: 2 dozen

Gooey Double Chocolate Cookies

I found this recipe over on Patsy's blog and decided I had to make it right away. Any recipe with the words Double and Chocolate in name are right up my alley. One thing I love about this recipe in particular is Patsy created it.

I wasn't quite sure how I would do with the recipe because it involves marshmallows. Anytime I've used marshmallows in cookies they end up leaking out of the cookie while in the oven and the cookie spreads quite a bit. I made sure to chill the dough before baking to try and prevent the cookies from spreading. Unfortunately it didn't do much good with the first dozen I baked..



They ended up thin and crispy, not soft and gooey. The next batch I threw in the oven, I made sure the marshmallows were not touching the baking sheet. This seemed to work out much better. The cookies were definitely softer and gooier (is that even a word!?). I loved the chocolate and marshmallow combination, particularly right out of the oven.

I made two changes to the recipe based on the ingredients I had in my house. I used regular cocoa powder instead of dark and used dark chocolate chips instead of milk.

Gooey Double Chocolate Cookies
Source: Family, Friends and Food



Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups packed dark brown sugar
3/4 cup Butter flavor Crisco shortening
2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoons vanilla extract
1 egg
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup Hershey's Special Dark cocoa powder
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1 cup mini marshmallows



Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.Combine brown sugar through vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Beat a medium speed on a mixer until creamy. Add egg, and blend well.

Combine flour through cocoa powder, then add to the shortening mixture. Beat at a low speed just until blended. Stir in chocolate chips and marshmallows.

Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper or a silpat mat. Allow about 1-2 inches between each cookie, they don't spread too much.Bake for 9-11 minutes.

Allow to cool on pan for about 4-5 minutes, then remove to a wire rack. Store in an airtight container for 5 days, if they last that long.Makes about 3-4 dozen cookies.

Want to wreck your diet?

How about cancel out all that hard work you put in at the gym this morning? These cookies may just do it for you.

In November/December when I was a baking fiend, I was spending a ridonkulous amount of money at the grocery store on flour, sugar, butter, and all that good stuff. Gold Medal flour happened to be on sale quite a bit. The bag also had a coupon for Hershey's Chocolate Chips and a recipe for Caramel-Pecan Snappers. When I bought the first 3 bags, I saved the coupon, but didn't think much of the recipe. After buying a few more bags the recipe grew on me. When I got the urge to bake last weekend, I knew exactly what I wanted to make.

After I'd started on these I realized I was out of Cream of Tartar. I just threw in a little more vanilla to make for that. The cookies turned out good, but I really want to make them again with the Cream of Tartar. The cookie part itself isn't really a sugar cookie, it reminded me of a shortbread cookie. The topping of pecans, caramel, and chocolate was perfect. It was just enough sweetness without overpowering the actual cookie. This is sort of like Turtle Candy.

My only gripe with this recipe is the amount it's supposed to yield. The recipe says 3dozen cookies. I got 17 cookies.

Caramel-Pecan Snappers
Source: Gold Medal Flour Bag

Ingredients:
3/4 Cup Sugar
1/4 Cup Shortening
1/ Cup Butter, Softened
1tsp Vanilla
1 Egg
1 1/4 Cups All-Purpose Flour
1/4 tsp Cream of Tartar
1/4 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp Salt
3/4 Cup Pecans, Chopped
36 Caramels, unwrapped (I used a bag of the caramel bits)

2 Tablespoons Milk
1 Cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Heat oven to 350. Mix sugar, shortening, margarine, vanilla and egg in large bowl. Stir in flour, cream of tarter, baking soda and salt.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place about 3 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten slightly with greased bottom of glass dipped into sugar. I didn't like the way that turned out, so I ended up using the back of my cookie scoop. Press pecans onto cookies.

Bake 9 to 10 minutes or until set, but not brown. Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet. Cool on wire rack.

Place caramels and milk in small microwavable bowl. Microwave uncovered on High 2 to 3 minutes, stirring every minute, until smooth. Spoon over cookies. Melt chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl on high 1 to 2 minutes, stir until smooth. Spoon melted chocolate over caramel. I put the chocolate in a plastic bag and piped it over the caramel, then with the back of a spoon smoothed it out. Cool completely, about 30 min. YIELD: 3 dozen cookies

Where I've been

The past 4 weeks of my life been a blur of projects, papers, finals (all leading up to a 4.0!), and all of this......







I know the pictures aren't that pretty, but I took them at work.

The plates included....

Cookies
Chocolate Chipperdoodles
Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip
Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Chocolate Gingerbread
Gingersnap
Gooey Butter
Snickerdoodles
Sugar Cutout

Candies
Chocolate Walnut and Triple Chocolate Toffee
Peppermint Bark
PB Fudge


I'm looking forward to easing up on the baking a bit, doing a little cooking, and relaxing the next 3 weeks before school starts again. I know my husband is thrilled to have the deep freeze back now that 35 dozen cookies are no longer taking up all the room!

Sugar Cookies

At work we decided to celebrate the 12 days of Christmas by bringing in a treat each day. I signed up for Sugar Cookies for some odd reason. As I recently learned I'm no Martha, so why in the world I would volunteer to bake and decorate sugar cookies is beyond me. I spent the day last Sunday baking and decorating these bad boys. I think I made around 50 and only half of them were decent enough to take out of my house and show people besides my husband.

Sugar Cookies
found on: Good Things Catered
originally from: A Year in the Kitchen




Ingredients:

1 1/2 c. butter
1 1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/2 c. powdered sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 Tbsp lemon zest
5 c. flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
Powdered sugar, for rolling

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cream butter and sugars in a mixer for 5 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly. Add vanilla, almond, and lemon zest. Sift in flour, baking powder, and salt a little at a time. Do not over mix, this process should take about one minute. Chill dough for up to a week in the fridge, or roll out and cut right away. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and bake cookies for 7-8 minutes. Wait until cookies are cooled before icing.

I used a powder sugar/water icing, royal icing, and sprinkles to decorate.

Gingersnaps

I came across this recipe on Erin Cooks. When I saw the recipe was from the book A Field Guide to Cookies by Anita Chu, I knew I had to make them ASAP. The last cookies I baked from that book have become one of my favs. These cookies were very good, but the molasses flavor was a tad too strong for me. My husband on the other hand fell in love with these.

Gingersnaps
Found on: Erin Cooks
Adapted from: A Field Guide to Cookies by Anita Chu
(I followed the changes Erin suggested)



3 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup softened unsalted butter
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1 egg
1/3 cup molasses
Extra sugar for rolling

Sift flour, baking soda, and salt into a bowl and set aside. In a stand mixer, cream butter and sugars on medium speed for several minutes until smooth, light, and fluffy. Add spices and mixed until combined. Add egg and mix to combine. Add molasses and mix to combine. Add flour mixture and mix to just combine

Shape the cookie dough with a small ice cream scoop. Roll the dough into uniform balls, placing them in batches into a large bowl with one cup of sugar. Swirl the container to coat the gingersnaps completely with sugar. Place them onto a cookie sheet. For small chewy cookies you should bake each batch for 8 minutes at 350º. (mine baked a little more than 8 min) Let the cookies stand for two minutes before carefully moving them to a wire rack.

Chocolate Gingerbread

A few weeks ago a fellow RB asked if anyone had a recipe for a Chocolate Chip Gingerbread cookie. I didn't, but I turned to Martha and she didn't let me down. I made a few adaptations to this recipe because once again I didn't read the recipe all the way though before starting. I have this bad habit of just looking at the ingredients and throwing everything together. I didn't start making these until about 7pm and didn't have time to refrigerate for almost 2 and half hours, I also ended up throwing in an egg at the end, because I didn't care for the consistency of the dough after it was mixed together.

Despite the changes I made, the cookies turned out awesome! I absolutely loved them and included them on the goodie plates I gave away. I'm usually not a big fan of molasses, but these were fab.... especially right out of the oven!

Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies
Adapted From: Martha Stewart



7 ounces best-quality semisweet chocolate
1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
1/2 cup dark-brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup unsulfured molasses
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup granulated sugar


Line two baking sheets with parchment. Chop chocolate into 1/4-inch chunks; set aside. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and cocoa.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and grated ginger until whitened, about 4 minutes. Add brown sugar; beat until combined. Add molasses; beat until combined.

In a small bowl, dissolve baking soda in 1 1/2 teaspoons boiling water. Beat half of flour mixture into butter mixture. Beat in baking-soda mixture, then remaining half of flour mixture. Mix in chocolate; turn out onto a piece of plastic wrap. Pat dough out to about 1 inch thick; seal with wrap; refrigerate until firm, 2 hours or more. When I was done beating the ingredients together, I added an egg because the dough seemed a bit dry, I then stuck the entire bowl in the fridge for about 30 min (I do this with all my cookies)

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Roll dough into 1 1/2- inch balls; place 2 inches apart on baking sheets. Refrigerate 20 minutes. (skipped this part) Roll in granulated sugar. Bake until the surfaces crack slightly, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

I'm No Martha

This are super crazy here. We're so busy every weekend, school is full of 10 page papers, projects, and presentations, and my google reader has over 500 unread posts! Yikes!

A few weeks ago my cousin and his wife welcomed their son Colin in the world. I decided to send them a gift and wanted to include some goodies too. My first thought was some chocolates using a baby candy mold. I went to the store, had the mold in my hand and then saw the Wilton Round Cookie Pan . I felt my inner Martha itching to get out. I had these grand images of beautifully decorated cookie lollipops dancing around my head. In reality, this is what I got:



So I'm totally not Martha. However, the cookies tasted very good! Besides, it's the thought that counts, right?

Vanilla Sugar Cookies On-A-Stick



1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
2 3/4 cup AP Flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
Royal Icing

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In mixer bowl, cream butter with sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and extracts. Mix flour, baking powder and salt; add to butter mixture 1 cup at a time, mixing after each addition. Do not chill dough.

Spray pan with vegetable spray. Fill cavities with cookie dough to 1/8in below the top of the edge; insert sticks into dough covering 2 in of end. Bake 10 - 12 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned. Cool 5 minutes, gently loosen with spatula. Tip pan upside down to remove.

Makes about 12 cookies