Chocolate Surprise Cookies

When you look at these cookies, you probably think they're rich and chocolately and delicious.  You'd be correct.  However, what you can't tell is that there's a gooey marshmallow inside AND the cookie base has an infusion of peanut butter.  That's right--chocolate, peanut butter, AND a gooey marshmallow inside.  I won't tell you that they are addictive.

I found this recipe in the December/January 2013 issue of Cook's Country magazine.  If you're an online subscriber, you can see their recipe here.  Their version makes a LOT, about 5 dozen cookies, so it's perfect for a cookie exchange.  But it's long and sort of complicated, and I don't really know if I'm interested in typing it all out!

Which makes it really nice that Martha Stewart has a similar recipe on her website here.  Martha's version makes 2 dozen, which might be more manageable for those who, like us, were having some fun on a random January snowday.  The ingredients are nearly the same, though the version I made adds 1/2c creamy peanut butter during the sugar/butter creaming process (so you'd probably want a bit less for the smaller proportions in Martha's recipe).

Banana Caramel Whoopie Pies

Do you say it cahr-uh-mel or car-muhl?

We had plans to go to a Memorial Day party, and I was asked to bring a dessert.  I went to the internet and got some ideas.  When I told my husband about these ideas, he heard "whoopie pie," giggled, and said "Make those!"  I really hemmed and hawed, since they involved so many steps plus wouldn't have been cooking in my own kitchen.

But, I went for it anyway, and forced my husband to help.  Because, after all, I was only making these at his request.

So, they involved a lot of steps, took a lot of time, but otherwise were really EASY.  And they were AWESOME.  I took them to the party, and don't really know how folks liked them because we had to leave early with an unhappy baby, but WE loved them.  It was much like eating a banana pancake with deliciousness on top; I think they'd be even better with the addition of walnuts to the cookie part.

I wasn't happy with how the caramel sauce turned out; I think I overcooked the sugar a little bit, and on its own, it tasted...weird.  But in the whoopie pie, it was delicious!!

Another WIN from Annie's Eats! 

Banana Caramel Whoopie Pies

Yield: 30-36 sandwich cookies
Ingredients:
For the caramel sauce:
½ cup sugar
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream
¼ tsp. coarse salt
½ tsp. vanilla extract

For the cookies:
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
½ cup mashed banana (about 1-1½ bananas)
½ cup sour cream
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup light brown sugar
1 large egg
½ tsp. vanilla extract

For the filling:*
3 large egg whites, at room temperature
¾ cup sugar
Pinch of salt
16 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into 1 tbsp. pieces, at room temperature
½ cup caramel sauce (above)

*This will make more filling/frosting than you actually need for this recipe (I had about 1 cup extra).  You could reduce to 2/3 or simply save for another use.

Directions:
To make the caramel sauce, spread the sugar out in an even layer in a medium skillet or saucepan over medium heat.  Once the sugar starts to liquefy around the edges, stir it gently with a spatula towards the center.  Continue stirring gently until all of the sugar is melted and no hard bits remain.  Once the caramel reaches a deep amber color, remove it from the heat.  (If you are using a dark pan, test a drop on a white plate or towel so you can accurately assess the color.)  Off the heat, carefully whisk in half of the cream.  The mixture will bubble and steam violently.  Stir until the cream is thoroughly combined, then whisk in the remaining cream.  Some of the sugar will likely have clumped up around the whisk.  Return the pan to medium-low heat and continue to whisk gently until everything is melted and smooth.  Stir in the salt and vanilla.  Remove from the heat and let cool.  (This sauce can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator and reheated.)

To make the cookies, preheat the oven to 350˚ F.  Line baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.  In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; whisk to blend, and set aside.  In a small bowl, combine the mashed banana and sour cream.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugars on medium high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Blend in the egg and vanilla.  With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients in three additions alternating with the banana mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.  Mix each addition just until incorporated.

Pipe the batter using a plain round tip onto the prepared baking sheets into 1¼-inch rounds, spacing a couple of inches apart.  Bake until the cookies are just set and the bottom edges are starting to brown, about 10-12 minutes.  Let cool on the baking sheets 5-10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the filling, combine the egg whites and sugar in a large heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water.  Heat the mixture, whisking very frequently, until the sugar is completely dissolved and reaches 160° F on an instant read thermometer.  Transfer the mixture to the clean, dry bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.  Beat on medium-high speed until the mixture holds stiff peaks.  Reduce the speed to medium low, add in the salt and begin adding the butter one piece at a time, beating well after each addition.  Stir in ½ cup of the cooled caramel sauce until well blended.

Once the cookies are completely cooled, match them up in pairs by size.  Fill a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip with the caramel filling.  Pipe a dollop of filling onto the flat side of one cookie of each pair, and sandwich the cookies together, pushing the filling to the edges.  Store in an airtight container.

Source: caramel sauce slightly adapted from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz, cookie from Martha Stewart, frosting from Half Baked, all via Annie's Eats

Sugar Cookie Madness!

I've never really made sugar cookies in the past, at least, not that I can recall.  I know my husband made them with our son a few Christmases ago, rolled them super thin and they were...crisp.
But our budget for our son's first birthday party required getting creative, so I made these as the party favors for all the guests, after being inspired by a friend with whom I planned a baby shower doing an awesome job and assuring me they were so easy!  I contacted that friend, and she mentioned a Paula Deen recipe, but I went to allrecipes and found this one.

I remembered to make sure I rolled the dough about 1/2" thick.  These cookies came out awesome, and I went ahead and froze the cookies after they cooled.

Then, I defrosted them on Wednesday and frosted them using the Wilton recipe and directions, which I found on Brown Eyed Baker's website (her tutorial was super helpful!)

I then used a stamp on card stock and made a tag, wrapped them in a cellophane bag, and had a really nice looking favor.  I thought they looked really professional, for a not professional.

The Best Rolled Sugar Cookies, from allrecipes

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups butter, softened
• 2 cups white sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely. 

Royal Icing, from Wilton, via Brown Eyed Baker

4 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons meringue powder
6 tablespoons water
Mix all ingredients on low speed for 7-10 minutes or until the icing loses its shine. Add more water by the teaspoon if it appears too stiff. At this stage you want to be able to pipe it easily:

Chocolate Raspberry Thumbprints

One more batch from Cook's Country's Christmas cookie special.  We made these to leave out for Santa, and Santa loved them. 

We had blackberry jam instead of the called for raspberry, so that's what we used and it was a great substitution, though I love the combination of raspberry and chocolate so much that I will be making them as written in the future.

The magazine suggested drizzling the chocolate using a zip bag, and I really struggled with this one--my bag popped as I tried to drizzle, and it just globbed.  My husband did this in another way, so he's responsible for the drizzling.

Eggnog Snickerdoodles

 

Here's another one from my Cook's Country Magazine and their collection of the best Christmas cookies.  I really wanted to make a bar cookie, but my son chose this one based on the picture.

These were tasty, but not so good as to be among the best Christmas cookies Cook's Country had ever tasted.  They also tasted like regular Snickerdoodles, not so much like Eggnog (even with the addition of rum extract). 

I had some troubles with these; they spread a LOT, making them very thin and crispy, and maybe even a little bit burnt.  I made some changes in the second batch, and so they came out better, but the first batch was not for me.

Hazelnut Lemon-Curd Kisses

Oh wow.  I really didn't expect to like these.

I love these.

Love.

Can't stop eating them.

Love.

I like hazelnut in my coffee, but wouldn't say I really know much about hazelnuts themselves, and really am not a huge lemon-ish fan.  But I really like these.

This came in my Cook's Country magazine.  They ran a cookie contest, and this was the grand prize winner.  So you know it's got to be good.  Did I say these were good?  They are great.
I really wish I could share these, because they are so good.  (I *can* be bought)

Apple Spice Cookie Bars

Thirty pounds of apples.  Mmm, apples.  Still going through old apple recipes that we've loved, I made apple spice cookie bars again.  They were delicious.

I don't really know what else to say, except that these will be in my apple picking rotation for a very long time.

Apple Spice Cookie Bars

From: Good Things Catered

Ingredients:

2 c. plus 2 Tbsp all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1/8 tsp allspice

small pinch ground cloves

1/2 c. butter, melted

1 c. packed brown sugar

1 c. white sugar

2 eggs

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

2 apples, cored and diced (a little less than 2 c.)

cinnamon sugar for sprinkling

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 9x13 pan with foil and baking spray.

In medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves. Whisk to combine well and set aside.-In bowl of stand mixer, combine sugars and butter and beat on medium high until light and fluffy, about 1 minute.

Add eggs, one at a time, beating well to combine.

Add vanilla extract and beat to combine.

Turn mixer on slow and fold in flour mixture a little at a time until just combined.

Fold in apples.-Spread mixture evenly into prepared pan and sprinkle top generously with cinnamon sugar.

Place in oven and bake until cooked through, when top slightly bounces back to the touch, about 30 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool completely before removing from pan, cutting and serving. (bars will be very soft)

Empanada cookies

For the Fourth of July, we went to a party that had a Mexican fiesta theme. Strange, I know, but it was a lot of fun!

I really had no ideas as to what to make for a crowd, since guacamole was called, enchiladas were too, and the hostess was making taco fixins. I was going to make sopapillas, which I loved so much way back when I worked at the now defunct Chi Chi's, but they required a deep fryer. Instead, I moved to empanadas. I went to allrecipes, and found this recipe for empanadas. I realized they were cookies; score!!

These were REALLY tasty. I'd say the recipe makes about 15 cookies as written, and they went fast at this party, even though many had left for fireworks by the time dessert was served! I chose to use blackberry preserves and strawberry preserves, and both were an excellent choice.

One thing to note is to make sure you use lots of flour for your counter, rolling pin, and hands, because the cookies are fairly sticky (especially in the heat and humidity we're dealing with around here). Also, line your cookie sheets with parchment paper because they are really sticky and hard to clean without!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese
• 1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
• 1 cup fruit preserves
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

1. DAY BEFORE: Cream butter and cream cheese together until smoothly blended. Beat in the flour. Shape dough into a smooth ball, wrap in foil or cling wrap, and refrigerate overnight or up to a week.
2. AT BAKING TIME: Remove dough from refrigerator 30 minutes before using. Start heating oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
3. Roll chilled dough thin. Cut with 3 or 4 inch round cookie cutter. Place small spoonful of jam in center of each round, moisten edges with water.
4. Fold round over and press edges together. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet 15 to 20 minutes. Immediately roll in sugar mixed with cinnamon (traditional) OR in confectioners' sugar if preferred.

Holiday Jar Gifts

This year, we were short on time and on money. I didn't really want to just give A's teachers gift cards, so instead decided to give them jars to make cookies. I really hope they use them and like them too!

The recipe came from here.

Chocolate Cranberry Cookies Mix in a Jar

Layer the following ingredients in order in a 1-quart wide mouth canning jar:

3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup cocoa powder (clean inside of jar with tissue after this layer)
1/2 cup brown sugar (pack firmly)
1 1/2 cup dried cranberries I used one cup
1 cup chocolate chips
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour plus 1 teaspoon baking powder plus
1/2 teaspoon baking soda (mixed)

Remember to press firmly between each layer. Place lid and ring onto jar.

Attach the following instructions on a gift tag:

Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

Empty jar of cookie mix into large mixing bowl. Add 1 1/2 sticks butter or margarine, 1 egg, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Mix until completely blended. Shape into balls and place 2 inches apart on sprayed baking sheets. Bake at 375 degrees F for 13-15 minutes.

Makes 2 1/2 dozen cookies.

I was unable to fit all the listed ingredients into the jar. I google chocolate cranberry cookies and found this recipe in the exact same form all over the place, but it still seemed like a lot of cranberries when compared to other recipes I found. So, I cut it down so everything would fit. Hopefully, they still come out delicious!

Chocolate chip cookies

I made these from the ATK cookbook, and I brought them as a "birthday" celebration at A's school. The kitchen was VERY hot, so I had a hard time rolling them into balls, and so just used a tablespoon to drop them on the cookie sheet. They came out very tasty and puffy, but because of the stickiness, I figured I mismeasured the flour and added a little more. BAJ said he could taste the extra flour, but he might have been busting my chops... this has been known to happen on occasion.

Anyway, this was a really good chocolate chip cookie recipe. I think I liked it better this time than the last.

Apple Spice Cookie Bars

I saw this in my google reader and had to make it, especially after our recent trip to the apple orchard yielded 26 pounds of apples. For two people and one young toddler. Yikes.

OUT-FREAKING-STANDING is all I can say about this. It smelled fantastic while it baked, and was so easy to put together. The hubs liked it, as did his doesn't like a freaking thing I make father. I brought half into work, and they were gone by lunchtime. When I offered one to hubs the other night, he said no because he had had "three or four" for breakfast.

YUM!

I even thought I had goofed, adding 1/8t of the ground cloves, but it wasn't at all bad.

Thanks to Kayla for posting about this, as well as to Good Things Catered's Katie for providing the original recipe!

Apple Spice Cookie Bars

From: Good Things Catered

Ingredients:

2 c. plus 2 Tbsp all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1/8 tsp allspice

small pinch ground cloves

1/2 c. butter, melted

1 c. packed brown sugar

1 c. white sugar

2 eggs

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

2 apples, cored and diced (a little less than 2 c.)

cinnamon sugar for sprinkling Omitted

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 9x13 pan with foil and baking spray.

In medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves. Whisk to combine well and set aside.-In bowl of stand mixer, combine sugars and butter and beat on medium high until light and fluffy, about 1 minute.

Add eggs, one at a time, beating well to combine.

Add vanilla extract and beat to combine.

Turn mixer on slow and fold in flour mixture a little at a time until just combined.

Fold in apples.-Spread mixture evenly into prepared pan and sprinkle top generously with cinnamon sugar.

Place in oven and bake until cooked through, when top slightly bounces back to the touch, about 30 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool completely before removing from pan, cutting and serving. (bars will be very soft)

Chocolate chip cookies, part deux

My sweet tooth got the best of me last night, so I pulled out the frozen chocolate chip cookie dough from a few weeks ago. My first time using REAL frozen cookie dough (as a teacher, I've purchased, made, and eaten lots of fundraiser cookie dough in my time), and they turned out great!!

The instructions asked that the heat be lowered to 300 and the cookies were to bake for 25-30 minutes.

They were much crisper than the fresh kind, but the taste was still outstanding.

And luckily, they turned out great shape-wise too... no massive spreading and flattening like in the first batch!

Chocolate chip cookies

ATK..coming soon.

These babies are baking and boy do they smell good.

Apparently, the dough was not the best cookie dough The Man had ever had. I wouldn't know, because ever since my neighbor told me a hundred years ago that eating raw cookie dough gives you worms, the mere thought of doing it turns my stomach.

Seven more minutes until the DING!

These were pretty darn tasty. Of course, our finicky oven decided to be just that and the cookies on the lower rack (despite switching them midway) came out very flat and BIG. But they still tasted incredible, and the ones on the top rack look gorgeous!

Molasses Spice Cookies

America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

1/2c plus 1/3 c granulated sugar
2-1/4 c all purpose flour
1t baking soda
1-1/2 t cinnamon
1-1/2t ginger
1/2 cloves
1/4t allspice
1/4t pepper
1/4t salt
12 T unsalted butter, softened
1/3c packed dark brown sugar
1t vanilla extract
1/2 c molasses

1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 375 degrees. Spread 1/2 c of the sugar in a shallow dish for coating and set aside. Whisk the flour, baking soda, spices, pepper, and salt together in a large bowl and set aside.
2. Beat the butter, brown sugar, and remaining 1/3c white sugar together in a large bowl using an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3-6 minutes. Beat in the egg yolk and vanilla until combined, about 30 seconds. Beat in the molasses until incorporated, about 30 seconds, scraping down the bowl and beaters as needed.
3. Reduce the speed to low and slowly mix in the flour mixture until combined, about 30 seconds. Give the dough a final stir with a rubber spatula to make sure it is combined.
4. Using wet hands, roll 2 tablespoons of dough at a time into balls, then roll in the sugar to coat and lay on two parchment sheet lined baking sheets, spaced about 2 inches apart. Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, until the edges are set and the tops are cracked bu the centers are still soft and underdone (peek through the cracks to check the centers), 10-12 minutes, rotating the sheet halfway through baking.
5. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, then serve arm or transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.

I was bored tonight so thought I'd take a whirl at baking some cookies. I took the cook's route and eyeballed my spices (except for salt; I think for some reason it's important to measure the salt when baking). I also don't have any parchment paper and so turned to the internet. My brain said "There has got to be a way that people made cookies before Parchment paper was invented. Sure enough, I found a recommendation to spray the cookie sheet, so that's what I did. Worked like a charm.

There's a picture of this cookie in the cookbook, and, well, it looks pretty much nothing like what came out of my oven. This cookie has some height and nice little cracks throughout. Mine are flat and for some reason don't have the cracks either. I turned to my fantastic ATK Cookbook and if I'm understanding correctly, I probably overcreamed the butter. I'm not sure how that worked, since I did it for exactly 3 minutes, but perhaps my mixer speed was too high.

Despite the unprettiness of my cookies, they are quite tasty. I like the nice kick of cloves that I got when I bit in.