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Posts Tagged ‘cookie recipes’

Spiced Chocolate Krinkles

Posted in Gift Ideas, In The Kitchen, Recipes, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 19, 2013 | Leave a Comment »

spiced chocolate krinkle cookies

Add a little spice to your life and tantalize your taste buds with one of these cookies. At first bite, you’ll discover a rich chocolate flavor with a touch of sweetness, but then, as you’re about to swallow this little bit of naughtiness, a warm and spicy sensation floods your mouth. Ground ginger, freshly-grated ginger, and cayenne pepper provide the cookie with a surprising “afterglow.” A perfect treat anytime, but especially on a cold and rainy day like today!

Spiced Chocolate Krinkles
From The Sweet Spot by Pichet Ong

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons canola, vegetable, or other neutral oil
1 ounce (28 grams) bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup (2 ounces/54 grams) all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons almond flour or coconut powder
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 large egg
1/2 cup (3¾ ounces/106 grams) sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup (2 ounces/55 grams) confectioners’ sugar

Directions:
1. Put the oil, chocolate, both gingers, the cardamom, cayenne, and salt in a double boiler or in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of gently simmering water and melt the chocolate, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat, transfer to a bowl if necessary, and cool completely.

2. Sift together the flours, cocoa powder, and baking powder and set aside.

3. When the chocolate mixture has cooled to room temperature, add the egg, sugar, and vanilla extract and stir just until combined. Gently fold in the flour mixture until well incorporated. Transfer the dough to a large sheet of plastic wrap, flatten into a 1-inch-thick disk, and wrap tightly in the plastic. Chill until hard, at least 2 hours or up to 5 days.

4. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

5. Put the confectioners’ sugar in a small bowl. Pinch off a piece of dough, form it into a 1/2-inch ball, roll in the confectioners’ sugar until well coated, and place on a prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough, putting the coated balls 1 inch apart on the baking sheets.

6. Bake the cookies until the tops look cracked and are dry to the touch, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. The cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

Makes 3 dozen cookies

Linnell’s Notes:
1. An easy way to peel fresh ginger is to scrap off the “skin” with a teaspoon.

2. The cookbook author noted, “Don’t be tempted to make these cookies bigger. They look more appealing when small and the flavors and texture are best enjoyed in a single bite.”

3. My cookie dough turned out to be more loosely formed than a dough. I attribute this to using an extra large egg. The dough did firm up a bit after chilling it for a couple of hours.

4. To prevent the dough from sticking to my hands while rolling it into balls, I repeatedly wet the palms of my hands with water. Keep a small bowl of water nearby.

ENJOY!

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Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies: Choosing Between Light and Dark

Posted in About me, In The Kitchen, Recipes, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on January 15, 2013 | Leave a Comment »

peanut butter oatmeal cookies

Two peanut butter oatmeal cookies lay temptingly before you. Each contains 13 ingredients. Which one will you reach for – the light-colored cookie that is deliciously thick, chewy, and on the healthier side or the divinely dark and crunchy one that not only has butter in it, but is loaded with chocolate as well? Tough decision. After making the two different recipes and tasting the cookies, I concluded that I liked them both, but for health’s sake and for ease of preparation, I’ll be making the light ones more frequently.

Chewy Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
Recipe from passtheplate.blog

Ingredients:
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup peanut butter (smooth or chunky)
1/4 cup cinnamon applesauce (regular works too)
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Couple dashes cinnamon
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1½ cups quick-cooking oats
1/4 cup ground flaxseed

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, ground flaxseed, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.

3. In a large bowl, beat together peanut butter, sugars, applesauce, egg and vanilla. Working by hand, stir in the flour mixture and the oats until just combined and no streaks of flour remain.

4. Drop tablespoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake for about 10-12 minutes.

5. Let cool on sheet for 3 or 4 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

6. Store in an airtight container.

Makes approximately 30 cookies.

Linnell’s Notes:
1. I did not use quick-cooking oats. I could have pulsed my old-fashioned oats in a food processor to turn them into quick-cooking oats, but I decided to leave them whole.
2. These cookies supposedly only have 73 calories each!

Jose’s Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Recipe from Epicurious

Ingredients:
1½ cups old-fashioned rolled oats
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup peanut butter
2 large eggs
12-ounce bag semisweet chocolate chips
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, grated

Directions:
1. In a food processor pulse 1 cup oats until ground fine.

2. In a large bowl stir together ground oats, remaining 1/2 cup whole oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

3. In another large bowl with an electric mixer beat together butter and sugars until light and fluffy and beat in vanilla and peanut butter. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, and gradually beat in flour mixture. Add chocolate chips and grated chocolate, beating just until combined. Chill cookie dough, covered, at least 2 hours and up to 1 week.

4. Preheat oven to 325°F.

5. Form rounded tablespoons of dough into balls and arrange about 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Flatten balls slightly.

6. Bake cookies in batches in middle of oven 15 minutes, or until just pale golden. Cool cookies on baking sheet 5 minutes and transfer to racks to cool completely.

Makes approximately 60 cookies.

Linnell’s Notes:
1. Grating the 8 ounces of chocolate was a lot of work. A large chunk of chocolate would have been easier to grate than the thin chocolate bars I used. If you have a grating disc on your food processor, that might also work. Chocolate should be at room temperature for hand-grating, but frozen for machine-grating.
2. I only baked half of the cookies. The remaining dough I froze for future use.

ENJOY!

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Browned Butter Cashew Shortbread Cookies

Posted in About me, Recipes, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 21, 2012 | 1 Comment »

Other than me, my husband’s favorite nut is the cashew. After one bite of these buttery, crunchy, cashew cookies topped with a creamy browned butter frosting, he’ll have to decide which nut rules his heart. Which will it be . . . the baked or the baker?

Browned Butter Cashew Shortbread Cookies
Recipe from Land O’Lakes

Cookie Ingredients:
1-1/2 cups butter
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup finely chopped cashews

Frosting Ingredients:
1-1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 to 2 tablespoons fat free half & half or milk

Directions:
1. Melt butter in a 2-quart heavy saucepan over medium heat. Cook stirring constantly and watching closely, until butter just begins to turn golden brown (7-11 minutes). The butter will get foamy and bubbly. Immediately remove from heat.

2. Pour 1-1/4 cups browned butter into small bowl; pour remaining butter into another small bowl. Refrigerate both bowls of browned butter until cool (1 hour).

3. Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

4. Combine 1-1/4 cups cooled brown butter, brown sugar, 1/2 cup powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla in a large bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. Reduce speed to low; add flour. Beat until well mixed. Stir in chopped cashews.

5. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place 1-inch apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 10-13 minutes or until set. Cool completely.

6. Combine remaining browned butter, powdered sugar and vanilla in small bowl. Beat at medium speed, adding enough half & half for desired frosting consistency, until smooth. Spread frosting over cooled cookies. Top each with cashew half.

Makes 4-1/2 dozen cookies.

Linnell’s Notes:
1. Make sure to use at least a 2 quart saucepan to brown the butter. The butter will foam up as it is heated and you don’t want it to spill over on your stove top.

2. Cool the bowls of hot browned butter on the counter top before placing them in the refrigerator. You don’t want to lower the temperature of your refrigerator by placing something hot into it.

3. By the time I measured out all the other ingredients, the large bowl of browned butter had cooled sufficiently in the refrigerator to be used in the dough.

4. I used unsalted butter and salted cashews, because that is what I had on hand. I favor low sodium food, so the cookies tasted fine to me. For those of you who like food a little saltier, go ahead and add a pinch of salt to the dough mixture.

5. If the dough is too sticky to shape into balls, place it in the refrigerator for a while. Also, keep a small bowl of water nearby. Wet your hands with water before rolling the dough balls. The water helps to keep the dough from sticking to your hands.

6. Because these are butter-rich cookies, I used parchment paper to cover my cookie sheets. Remember you can reuse parchment paper. After the cookie sheets have cooled, wipe down the parchment paper with a wet paper towel. Let dry and store paper on top of cookies sheets in your cabinet.

Enjoy!

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Yugoslavian Christmas Cookies

Posted in About me, Holidays, Recipes, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on December 20, 2011 | 4 Comments »

Christmas just wouldn’t be the same without Christmas cookies. After all, how would Santa maintain his energy during his night-long trip, if no one left out a plate of cookies for him? When my daughter and her friends were looking for something to do the other day, I suggested they bake Christmas cookies. Narrowing down which Christmas cookie to bake was easy for my daughter. The recipe for Yugoslavian Christmas Cookies, a holiday family favorite of ours, is one of the first recipes I received from my mother-in-law after I first got married. No, her family did not originate from Yugoslavia and no, I don’t know the history behind this beloved recipe. I do know, however, that the combination of the buttery cake/cookie crust, slathered with red currant jelly, and topped with a delicate lemony-nutty-meringue is worth savoring. Some recipes were meant to be kept in the family, but others, like this one, beg to be shared! Happy Holidays!

Yugoslavian Christmas Cookies
Adapted from a family recipe

Bottom Layer Ingredients:
1/2 pound butter (2 sticks), room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon salt
2½ cup flour, sifted

Middle Layer Ingredient:
1 cup blackberry or currant jelly, stirred

Top layer Ingredients:
4 egg whites
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup ground walnuts
1 teaspoon lemon extract
1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Cream butter and 1/2 cup sugar thoroughly. Add egg yolk and salt.
3. Sift flour and stir into butter mixture. Pat dough into a 9-inch by 13-inch pan.
4. Beat egg whites until stiff. Gradually add 1 cup sugar. Continue beating until egg whites are a meringue consistency.
5. Fold in ground walnuts and lemon extract. Set aside.
6. Spread slightly whipped jelly on dough crust and swirl meringue over the jelly layer.
7. Sprinkle with chopped walnuts.
8. Bake for 40 minutes.

Makes 3 dozen squares.

Linnell’s Notes:
1. Please note there are two ingredient entries each for sugar and for nuts. I have italicized the measurements in the recipe text to avoid any confusion.

2. After baking, these cookies must be allowed to completely cool in the pan. They are much easier to cut once cooled, since the jelly will not be as “oozy.”

3. When cutting these cookies, remember that the meringue layer is fragile. The meringue will crack, but that’s okay. It’s part of the charm of these cookies!

4. Since they are a little messy to serve and eat, I always serve these cookies in muffin/cupcake papers. See photo.

Enjoy!

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Healthy Cookies!

Posted in Health, In The Kitchen, Recipes, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , on August 23, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

Healthy cookies? Really? Other than a “dieting baker” there may be no greater oxymoron in the world of sugar and flour than the term “healthy cookies.” Since one of my sons is getting married next year, I’ve started watching pesky calories, which in turn, means not a morsel of cookie has passed through my lips in a while. Well, that is until this morning! I whipped up a batch of these soft, yet crunchy, cookies earlier in the day, sampled one and totally enjoyed my wholesome and almost guilt-free treat! Made with cooked quinoa, whole wheat flour, oats, coconut, and a trifecta of seeds – sunflower, sesame, and flax – they are indeed “healthier cookies.”

Healthy Cookies
From Quinoa 365 by Patricia Green & Carolyn Hemming

Ingredients:
2/3 cup water
1/3 cup quinoa
1 cup butter, softened
1-1/3 cups packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1-1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 cups whole wheat flour
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1-1/4 cups quick-cooking rolled oats
1 cup flaked unsweetened coconut
1/3 cup sunflower seeds, unsalted
1/3 cup flax (ground or whole seeds)
1/3 cup sesame seeds

Directions:
1. Bring the water and quinoa to a boil in a small saucepan. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 10 minutes. Turn the heat off and leave the covered saucepan on the burner for an additional 6 minutes. Remove the lid and fluff with a fork. Set aside to cool.

2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

3. Cream the butter with the brown sugar in a large bowl. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix thoroughly.

4. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl. Add the oats, cooked quinoa, coconut, sunflower seeds, flax and sesame seeds to the flour mixture and stir until well blended. Combine with the butter mixture and stir until well mixed.

5. Roll the dough into 1-1/2-inch balls. Place 2 inches apart on a baking sheet. Flatten each cookie slightly with the palm of your hand.

6. Bake on the center oven rack for 8 to 10 minutes, until the bottoms are light brown. Allow the cookies to cool completely on the baking sheet.

7. Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Makes 5 dozen.

Linnell’s Notes:
1. Don’t forget to rinse the quinoa before cooking it. This needs to be done to remove the saponin coating on the grains or else they will taste bitter.

2. I only stock steel cut or rolled oats in my pantry, so to make quick-cooking oats, I just put some of the rolled oats into my food processor and whirled them a bit to break down the flakes.

3. Like walnuts and pecans, sesame seeds are more flavorful when they are toasted. Toast some in advance and then put them in the freezer for later use.

4. Cover the cookie sheets with parchment paper to make sure the cookies don’t stick. Don’t forget that parchment paper can be reused. After baking and cooling I wipe the paper down and store them on the baking sheets.

5. To handle the sticky dough, moisten your hands with water first. Re-wet hands as often as needed.

Enjoy!

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Carrot Cake Sandwich Cookies

Posted in Husbands, In The Kitchen, Recipes, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , on June 14, 2011 | 3 Comments »

What could be better than a moist, spicy, carrot cake slathered with cream cheese frosting? Not much! But what if all that delicious goodness could be held in your hand in the form of a cookie? A portable carrot cake – how perfect! Since carrot cake is my husband’s favorite type of cake and since Father’s Day is this coming weekend, I whipped him up a batch of wholesome carrot cake cookies and sandwiched them together with a rich, not-too-sweet, cream cheese filling. After wrapping them individually in plastic wrap and freezing them, he can now have his “cake” (whenever he wants) and eat it too!

Carrot Cake Sandwich Cookies
Recipe by Martha Stewart

Ingredients for Cookies:
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 1/2 cups finely grated carrots, (about 3 large carrots)
1 cup raisins

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with Silpat baking mats or parchment paper, and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine sugars and butter; beat until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla, and beat on medium speed until well combined.

2. In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger; stir to combine. Gradually add flour to butter mixture; mix on a low speed until just blended. Mix in oats, carrots, and raisins. Chill dough in refrigerator until firm, at least 1 hour.

3. Using a 1/2-ounce ice-cream scoop, scoop dough onto prepared baking sheets, leaving 2 inches between cookies. Transfer to oven, and bake until browned and crisped, rotating pan halfway through baking to ensure even color, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Repeat baking process with remaining dough. Once cooled completely, use an offset spatula to spread about 2 teaspoons of cream-cheese filling onto a cookie. Sandwich together with a second cookie. Repeat with remaining cookies. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days in the refrigerator.

Makes about 25 sandwiches

Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients:
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, room temperature
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:
Place cream cheese in a medium mixing bowl. Using a rubber spatula, soften cream cheese. Gradually add butter, and continue beating until smooth and well blended. Sift in confectioners’ sugar, and continue beating until smooth. Add vanilla, and stir to combine.

Makes about 2 cups

Linnell’s Notes:
1. To make the cookies more wholesome, I used whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose flour.
2. Because I like the smaller size of currants, I used them instead of raisins.
3. For a bit more texture and some added nutrients, I added 1 cup of chopped walnuts.
4. Although it is easier to buy a bag of grated carrots, the moisture content and fresh flavor of freshly grated carrots add much to this recipe.
5. I used a smaller ice-cream scoop for the dough and made 72 perfectly round 2 1/2-inch to 3-inch cookies.
6. These cookies spread – allow the specified 2 inches. If cookies seem to be spreading too much, chill the dough a little longer.
7. I doubled the cream cheese frosting which was the perfect amount to fill 36 cookie sandwiches.
8. These cookies absolutely have to be refrigerated! Not only because they have a cream cheese filling, but primarily because they will become too soft and will fall apart easily if left out at room temperature.
9. As mentioned in the introduction, I individually wrapped my sandwiched cookies with plastic wrap, placed them in Ziploc-type plastic bags, and froze them for future cravings.

Enjoy! Enjoy! Enjoy!

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