Oatmeal CookieBlog

12 Days of Christmas Cookies: #12 Coconut, Walnut & Chocolate

(This recipe is a repost from The List.)

Last Saturday, my friends Bill and Jim hosted a Christmas party at their superbly decorated home. (At last count, I believe the total for illuminated trees--ranging in size from humble to huge--was 34.)

They know how to put on quite a spread. And on top of that, everyone always brings something of his own to contribute to the feast. Jack brings his home-smoked ribs, which are a group favorite. And I, of course, bring my homemade cookies to top off the dessert table.

Bill and Jim and the rest of the boys are fans of my recipes, and I've even started taking requests. At the top of the wishlist of ingredients are coconut, walnuts, and chocolate, and I decided to roll them all into a single cookie for the Christmas party.

Something I saw a few weeks ago on an epsiode of Top Chef: Just Desserts has stuck with me. It came up during a cake challenge when one of the guest judges was Sylvia Weinstock, cake decoratory extraordinaire. One of the contestents made a coconut cake, and Sylvia asked why the person hadn't soaked the coconut in anything to moisten it and, ultimately, the cake. "A-ha!" I thought. "She's talking about enplumpening!"

I soak dried fruit in all sorts of stuff--tea, booze--to get them juicy and plump. But it never occurred to me to try enplumpening coconut. And, boy, does it work. Thanks, Sylvia Weinstock!

Next up: walnuts. I could have toasted them to bring out their nuttiness even more, but I decided to just use a whole mess of them instead. Two cups' worth, as a matter of fact. With that many walnuts in the dough, you're guaranteed to get some crunch in each bite.

The final element was chocolate. A simple twist on a standard semisweet chocolate chip cookie recipe wouldn't do. I had to bust out the milk and the dark chocolate in addition to the standby semisweet chips if I wanted to knock the boys' socks off with this cookie. I used one of those rotary cheese grater contraptions to grind up a big bar of Hershey's milk chocolate, and then I roughly chopped a big bar of Ghirardelli dark chocolate.

The final flavor element was just a hint of cinnamon to tie everything together.

Out of 48 cookies, there were only 3 left at the end of the night. So trust me: These babies are good! Chewy and crunchy, nutty, sweet, and rich. Absolutely delicious.

Makes 4 dozen cookies. (To see this recipe in process, check out Coconut, Walnut, and Chocolate Cookies.)

Creamables	1 stick butter 1 cup dark brown sugar 1/4 cup white sugar
Wet Ingredients	1 egg 1 tablespoon vanilla
Enplumpenings	1 1/2 cups coconut 1 cup milk 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 1/2 teaspoon coconut extract
Dry Ingredients	2 cups roughly chopped walnuts 1 1/2 cups finely ground oatmeal 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips 1 4.4 oz. milk chocolate bar, grated 1 4.4 oz. dark chocolate bar, chopped 3/4 cup flour 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Soak the coconut in the milk, vanilla, and coconut extract for 30-45 minutes. Set aside until Step 6.
2. Preheat oven to 350º.
3. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
4. In a small bowl, combine the wet ingredients. Whisk together until smooth.
5. Add the combined wet ingredients to the creamables. Mix together until well incorporated.
6. Drain the coconut, discarding the remaining liquid. Add the enplumpened coconut to the combined wet ingredients and creamables. Mix together until well incorporated.
   
7. In a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed.
8. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the combined creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
9. Scoop dough into balls--about 2 tablespoons each.
10. Place the dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
11. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.

12 Days of Christmas Cookies: #11 Cheesecake Cookies

(This recipe is a repost from The List.)

This oatmeal cookie with a cheesecake filling and a graham cracker outside "crust" is one of one of my most popular recipes. It's also a perfect example of a stuffed cookie. 

When I thought up the idea of cheesecake-stuffed cookies, of course I had to name them the "Golden Girls" after one of my favorite 80s sitcoms. Whenever Dorothy, Rose, Blanche and Sofia couldn't sleep (which, let's face it, was pretty often...because they're old ladies) and needed to work out their problems (which, let's face it, are a given when an ugly duckling, a dimwit, a slut, and a Sicilian live together), they went straight to the refrigerator, grabbed a cheesecake, and sat around the kitchen table talking, eating, laughing, eating, fighting, and eating some more. 

 

Many of the funniest moments in TV have taken place in their kitchen. I'm sure my Golden Girls cookies would meet the girls' standards!

Filling	8 ounces room-temperature cream cheese 4 tablespoons sugar 2 teaspoons vanilla
Creamables	2 sticks butter 1 1/2 cups brown sugar 1/2 cup white sugar 1 tablespoon cinnamon
Wet Ingredients	3 eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla
Dry Ingredients	2 cups finely ground graham crackers 1 1/2 cups flour 2 1/2 cups oatmeal 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon cinnamon

1. Add the filling ingredients to a medium bowl and mix well.  Let the mixture cool and solidify in the refrigerator until step 7.
2. Preheat oven to 350º.
3. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients and then add to the creamables. Mix together until smooth.
5. In another large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
6. Shape dough into balls—about 2 tablespoons each.
7. Remove the filling mixture from the refrigerator and stuff each dough ball with 1 teaspoon of the mixture.  Put the stuffed dough balls in the freezer for five minutes to firm up.
8. Place chilled dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
9. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.

12 Days of Christmas Cookies: #10 Salted Caramel Cookies

(This recipe is a repost from The List.)

I've had salt-topped chocolates before, and the flavor is just delicious. The saltiness and the sweetness bounce off each other in your mouth. If you haven't tried this flavor combination, you must!

For this cookie, I stuck with my signature chocolate base that I also used in my Fake-Out-Eos. The next layer I wanted to add was caramel because I wanted not only a contrast of salty and sweet but also a contrast of crunchy and chewy. Caramel was the obvious choice. Plus: who (other than Mumma) doesn't like caramel? I decided to do a thumbprint cookie filled with caramel sauce and topped with a pinch of sea salt.

I ran out of my favorite caramel sauce and couldn't find a replacement at the grocery store, so I tried using a thinner caramel sauce that Jon found at Williams Sonoma. I filled the thumbprint holes with a 1/2 teaspoon of the caramel sauce, but as the cookies baked, the sauce got absorbed by the dough and disappeared.

I thought about it for a while and came up with a sure-fire fix: Rollos! These candies are the perfect caramel delivery system because the caramel itself is creamy and stays semi-soft at room temperature, and the chocolate coating prevents the caramel from "bleeding out" into the surrounding cookie dough. I used Rollos to great effect in my Girl Scout Samoa knockoffs, so I knew they would work here.

Push a Rollo into each dough ball and then top with a pinch of sea salt before baking. For a gooier caramel center, pinch the Rollos to crack the chocolate coating before pushing into the dough balls. (Remember to unwrap each candy!) Makes about 4 dozen.

Creamables	2 sticks butter 2 cups dark brown sugar 1/4 cup cocoa powder
Wet Ingredients	2 eggs 1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla 2 tablespoons milk
Dry Ingredients	3 1/2 cups roughly ground Cocoa Pebbles cereal 2 1/2 cups oatmeal 1 1/2 cups flour 1/4 cup cocoa powder 2 1/2 ounces milk chocolate, microplaned 1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, microplaned 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt
Filling	48 individual Rollo candies
Topping	sea salt

1. Preheat oven to 350º.
2. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients and then add to the creamables. Mix together until smooth.
4. In another large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
5. Shape dough into balls—about 2 tablespoons each.
6. Push a Rollo candy into each dough ball.
7. Place Rollo-studded dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
8. Top each dough ball with a pinch of sea salt.
   
9. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.

12 Days of Christmas Cookies: #8 Cranberry Crunch Cookies

(This recipe is a repost from The List.)

This recipe was my entry in this year's cranberry recipe contest. I don't know how I did yet, but these guys are pretty darn good! I won. This is an award-winning recipe!

I used dried cranberries (craisins), of course, and orange, which is a cranberry's best friend. Toasted almonds and a roll in turbinado sugar add the crunch. (If you've got almond extract on hand, feel free to add a 1/4–1/2 teaspoon to the wet ingredients.)

Jon and I are heading up to Massachusetts next weekend for the cranberry harvest festival. I'm sure Mumma will have me baking something while we're there, so stay tuned for more cranberry recipes and pictures of the harvest and other local specialties.

(Check out this video of an olde tyme dry harvest in my hometown of Carver. Wow! Dick Ward, my high school gym teacher, is the town's agricultural commissioner.)

Makes 3 dozen cookies. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing Cranberry Crunch Cookies.)

Creamables	1 stick butter 1 1/4 cups dark brown sugar
Wet Ingredients	1 egg 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla 1 1/2 teaspoons milk 1 1/2 teaspoons orange zest 1 1/2 teaspoons orange juice
Dry Ingredients	1 1/4 cups dried cranberries (craisins) 1 cup finely ground graham crackers 1 cup toasted slivered almonds 1 cup oatmeal 3/4 cup flour 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt
Topping	turbinado sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350º.
2. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients and then add to the creamables. Mix together until smooth.
4. In another large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
5. Shape dough into balls--about 2 tablespoons each.
6. Roll each dough ball in turbinado or raw sugar.
7. Place sugared dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
8. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.

12 Days of Christmas Cookies: #7 Boston Cream Pie Cookies

(This recipe is a repost from The List.)

These cookies are for Em, who challenged me to come up with a Boston cream pie cookie. Ta-dah...I did it!

When I wrote this recipe, I thought a lot about Boston cream doughnuts. The doughnutty part is airy and chewy, but its flavor is pretty light because the doughnut itself is really just a delivery system for the custard filling and chocolate glaze. Simple enough, right?

So I got to work on a cookie base that would have a good texture and a yummy flavor but that wouldn't steal the show from the headlining duo. The solution? An oatmeal sugar cookie as the delivery system. (Stay tuned for more holiday-themed creations that use my oatmeal sugar cookie recipe as a base.)

Real Boston cream pie is filled with custard, but I used store-bought instant vanilla pudding instead because I wasn't sure if real custard would be stable enough--or thick enough--to hold up in the oven. (And because I've only made custard once or twice before and didn't want to risk it.) I also used 1/2 cup less milk than the package instructions called for so that the pudding would be thick and sturdy. (There's nothing worse than a filled/stuffed cookie whose filling/stuffing "bleeds out" in the oven.) Though I made a thickened pudding mixture, I wasn't convinced that it would hold up as the center of a stuffed cookie. So I decided to use the pudding as the filling for a thumbprint cookie instead.

A Boston cream pie wouldn't be Boston cream pie without the chocolate topping, of course. I decided to use semisweet chocolate chips that I melted over a double boiler. I then dipped the baked, cooled cookies, top-sides down, in the chocolate.

Makes 21 cookies. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing Boston Cream Pie Cookies.)

Thumbprint Filling

1 pack (1 ounce) instant vanilla pudding 1 1/2 cups milk 1 teaspoon vanilla

Creamables	1 stick butter 1 cup white sugar
Wet Ingredients	1 egg 2 teaspoons vanilla
Dry Ingredients	1 1/4 cups finely ground oatmeal 1 1/4 cups flour 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt
Glaze	1 1/4 cups chocolate chips, melted

1. In a small bowl, make the pudding. Use 1/2 cup less milk than the box instruction call for, and add 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Put the pudding in the refrigerator to cool until Step 10.
2. Preheat oven to 350º.
3. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
4. In a small bowl, combine the wet ingredients. Whisk together until smooth.
5. Add the combined wet ingredients to the creamables. Mix together until well incorporated.
6. In a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed.
7. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the combined creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
8. Shape dough into balls--about 2 tablespoons each.
9. Place the  dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
10. Use your thumb to make an indentation in each dough ball. Fill each indentation with about 1/2 teaspoon of the thumbprint filling.
11. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.
12. Melt 1 1/4 cups chocolate chips in the microwave or over a double boiler. Dip the tops of the cooled cookies into the chocolate. Return the cookies to the wire racks so that the chocolate cools and solidifies.
    

 

 

12 Days of Christmas Cookies: #6 Peppermint-Bark Stuffed Cookies

(This recipe is a repost from The List.)

Boy, oh boy. It's like I blinked, and it's Christmas week. It's about time I posted a new seasonal cookie here! And so here it is: an inside-out (or is that outside-in?), stuffed version of my Yuletide (A.K.A. Peppermint Bark) Cookies.

This recipe uses my basic oatmeal sugar cookie base--but with a twist. I cut the white sugar to 1/2 a cup and added 1/2 a cup of light brown sugar because I wanted a chewy exterior to contrast with the crunchy bits of candy cane in the interior.

An all-white sugar version is great, especially if you want a crispy cookie. (I know because I've made that version before a bunch of times.) But because this recipe is for a stuffed cookie, I wanted a soft, pliable dough that would hold up to scoping, stuffing, rolling, and baking and still come out of the oven chewy. I chose right!

The semisweet chocolate chips are just right for the filling. They're rich and chocolaty and sweet but not too sweet--they compliment, not overpower, the crushed candy canes.

When I put the first tray in the oven, I had my fingers crossed because I was a little afraid that the candy cane bits would melt and solidify and turn into a tooth-shatteringly hard chunk o' peppermint flavored rock candy. You know I breathed a sigh of relief when these guys came out just right.

Here's a tip, though: you don't won't big pieces of candy cane here. I put my candy canes in a plastic sandwich bag and used a pan to crush them down into mostly powder. If you have any pieces that are bigger than a pencil's eraser, keep smooshing.

The finished cookies come out perfectly round, perfectly plump. Kinda like Santa.

Makes 2 dozen cookies. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing Peppermint Bark-stuffed Cookies.)

Filling	1 cup semisweet chocolate chips 2 tablespoons milk 8 candy canes
Creamables	1 stick butter 1/2 cup light brown sugar 1/2 cup white sugar
Wet Ingredients	1 egg 1 tablespoon vanilla 1 teaspoon milk
Dry Ingredients	1 1/4 cups finely ground oatmeal 1 1/4 cups flour 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt

 

 

1. Melt the chocolate chips and milk over a double boiler or in the microwave. Add the crushed candy canes and mix. Let the mixture cool and solidify in the fridge until step 7.
2. Preheat oven to 350º.
3. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients and then add to the creamables. Mix together until smooth.
5. In another large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
6. Shape dough into balls—about 2 tablespoons each.
7. Remove the filling mixture from the fridge and stuff each dough ball with 1 heaping teaspoon of the mixture. Put the stuffed dough balls in the fridge for 5 minutes to firm up.
8. Place chilled dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
9. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are firm. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.

12 Days of Christmas Cookies: #5 XXX Cranberry Cookies

(This recipe is a repost from The List.)

If you liked my Blueberry Muffin Top Cookies, you'll love these. The two recipes are almost the same, but there's an added dash of orange juice and orange zest in the cranberry version. (Oh...and you can feel good about eating these because they're eggless.)

Longtime readers know I hail from cranberry country, so cranberry cookies are a no brainer. But why did I call these guys XXX? Simple...because I use three forms of cranberries: dried (craisins), fresh (or thawed frozen), and cooked. And because they taste so good it's obscene.

The cranberries cooked with orange juice and orange zest have a fresh, bright flavor that's the perfect background for the sweetness of the craisins and the tartness of the fresh cranberries. The white chocolate chips provide richness, and the ground-up Nilla Wafers lend a light vanilla-y note. A final roll in turbinado sugar before baking gives the cookies a crunchy exterior that contrasts the moist, chewy interior.

Makes 3 dozen cookies. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing XXX Cranberry Cookies.)

Creamables	1 stick butter 1 cup dark brown sugar
Wet Ingredients	1/2 cup fresh cranberries 4 tablespoons milk 2 tablespoons orange juice 1 tablespoon white sugar 1 tablespoon orange zest 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
Dry Ingredients	2 cups oatmeal 1 cup finely ground Nilla Wafer cookies 3/4 cup flour 1/2 cup dried cranberries 1/2 cup halved fresh cranberries 1/2 cup white chocolate chips 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt
Topping	turbinado sugar

1. In a small saucepan, heat cranberries, milk, orange juice, orange zest, and white sugar over medium high heat. Stir with a wooden spoon, crushing the cranberries until the the mixture is smooth and evenly red.
2. Remove cranberry mixture from the heat and set aside to cool until Step 5.
3. Preheat oven to 350º.
4. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
5. Add vanilla to the cooled cranberry mixture. Whisk together until smooth.
6. Add the combined wet ingredients to the creamables. Mix together until well incorporated.
7. In a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed.
8. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the combined creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
9. Shape dough into balls--about 2 tablespoons each.
10. Roll each cookie dough ball in turbinado sugar.
    
11. Place the sugared dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
12. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown and the tops are firm to the touch. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.

12 Days of Christmas Cookies: #4 Peppermint Bark Cookies

(This recipe is a repost from The List.)

Here it is: my new and improved Yuletide Cookie!

In version 1.0 of this cookie, I used ground-up candy canes as the sugar. But that didn't work out so well.

For version 2.0, I decided to put shattered candy canes on the outside and to use chocolate as the glue to hold them in place. To add to the spectrum of colors and flavors, I used three kinds of candies: red peppermint candy canes, green spearmint candy canes, and blue wintergreen starlight mints.

This is the  first non-"drop" cookie I've made, so I was a little nervous. (My cookie scoop is my security blanket for creating perfectly round, perfectly uniform cookies every time.) But it was really easy-peasy. I used chopsticks as thickness guides as I rolled out the dough, and I used a biscuit cutter to cut out perfectly round dough circles.

I used melted semi-sweet chocolate chips as the glue on these cookies because that's what I had on hand, but white chocolate, milk chocolate, and even dark chocolate would work.

I put each kind of candy in its own plastic bag and than tap-tap-tapped each one with a hammer to shatter the candy into nibble-sized pieces. This is a really good way to exorcise your holiday angst. If you're feeling less violent, you could always just drop the still-wrapped candy canes on the floor a couple times.

Makes 2 1/2 dozen cookies. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing Yuletide [A.K.A. Peppermint Bark] Cookies.)

Creamables	1 stick butter 1 cup white sugar
Wet Ingredients	1 egg 2 teaspoons vanilla
Dry Ingredients	1 1/4 cups finely ground oatmeal 1 1/4 cups flour 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt
Topping	1 1/2 cups chocolate chips, melted 10-12 candy canes, crushed

1. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
2. In a small bowl, combine the wet ingredients. Whisk together until smooth.
3. Add the combined wet ingredients to the creamables. Mix together until well incorporated.
4. In a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed.
5. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the combined creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
6. Place the dough in the refrigerator for 20-30 mintutes.
7. Preheat oven to 350º.
8. Roll the cookie dough into a sheet about 1/8-1/4 inch thick. Use a round cookie or biscuit cutter to cut out the individual cookies.
   
9. Place the cookie cutouts about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
10. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.
11. While the cookies are baking, shatter the candy canes and place the pieces in a shallow bowl or on a plate.
    
12. Melt 1 1/4 cups chocolate chips in the microwave or over a double boiler. Dip the tops of the cooled cookies into the chocolate and then into the crushed candy canes.
    
13. Return the cookies to the baking sheets and place in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes so that the chocolate cools and solidifies.
    

12 Days of Christmas Cookies: #3 Stuffed Red Velvet Cookies

(This recipe is a repost from The List.)

A rerun of Paula's Party on Food Network last night inspired this cookie. Red velvet cake is a Southern specialty, y'all! [Insert bawdy double entendre here.]

According to the admittedly cursory research I've done on the topic, red velvet cake got its color as a result of sugar rationing during World War II. Because people couldn't run next door to borrow a cup of sugar, bakers started using boiled beets as a sugar substitute in their cakes. Along with the beets' sweetness came the beets' blood-red color. And lo, an American classic was born

About five years ago, Jon and I baked a red velvet cake for Christmas. We made this cake only once because...well...let's just say all the red food coloring caused a certain reaction, so we never made it again.

Paula got me thinking that I should give the red velvet recipe another try, but this time in oatmeal cookie form--and with a twist. Instead of icing the cookies, I decided to stuff them.

Be careful when you work with the food coloring. That stuff stains, and you don't want to spend the night scrubbing your hands and mumbling like Lady Macbeth about getting damned spots out.

Makes 2 dozen cookies. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing Stuffed Red Velvet Cookies.)

Filling	6 ounces room-temperature cream cheese 1/3 heaping cup toasted, chopped pecans 1/4 cup confectioner's sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla
Creamables	1 stick butter 1 cup white sugar
Wet Ingredients	1 egg 3 tablespoons red food coloring 2 teaspoons vanilla 1 teaspoon milk 1/2 teaspoon white vinegar
Dry Ingredients	1 1/2 cups finely ground oatmeal 1 1/4 cups flour 1/2 cup cocoa powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Toast the pecans then roughly chop them.
   
2. Add all the filling ingredients to a small bowl and mix with a spatula until well blended. Let the mixture cool and solidify in the freezer until step 8.
3. Preheat oven to 350º.
4. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
5. In a small bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients and then add to the creamables. Mix together until smooth.
6. In another large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
7. Shape dough into balls—about 2 tablespoons each.
8. Remove the filling mixture from the freezer and stuff each dough ball with 1 teaspoon of the mixture. Put the stuffed dough balls in the freezer for 5 minutes to firm up.
9. Place chilled dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
10. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are firm. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.

12 Days of Christmas Cookies: #2 Eggnog Cookies

(This recipe is a repost from The List.)

'Tis the season! Break out the punch bowl...or, in this case, the cookies.

This is a tweaked and much-improved version of a recipe I improvised at Mumma's house last Christmas. This time around, I used finely ground Nilla Wafers instead of graham crackers, and I cut way back on the nutmeg.

The original cookies were good, but the graham crackers distracted from the vanilla and butter flavors I wanted to highlight, and 2 tablespoons of nutmeg were just too much. (With this potential side effect, what was I thinking?)

As far as I know, there is no eggnog extract, and store-bought eggnog alone isn't enough to impart the right amount of eggnogginess. (Update: See here.) I use a small shortcut to capture the rich, smooth, calorie-laden flavor I want: butterscotch. Melt a mere 1/4 cup of butterscotch chips and add it to wet ingredients that include (surprise!) store-bought eggnog, vanilla and rum extracts, an egg yolk, and nutmeg, and you've got yourself a super shot of flavor. (If you've got rum on hand, feel free to use it to replace or supplement the rum extract.)

To finish these cookies off, I give the dough balls a quick glaze of eggnog before baking.

Makes 3 1/2 dozen cookies. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing Eggnog Cookies.)

Creamables	2 stick butter 2 cups dark brown sugar 1/4 cup white sugar
Wet Ingredients	1/4 cup butterscotch chips, melted 1/4 cup store-bought eggnog 1 egg yolk 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla 1 1/2 teaspoons rum extract 1 teaspoon nutmeg
Dry Ingredients	3 cups oatmeal 1 1/2 cups flour 1 cup finely ground Nilla Wafer cookies 2 teaspoons nutmeg 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon salt
Glaze	store-bought eggnog

1. In a small bowl, heat the butterscotch chips and eggnog in the microwave in 20-second increments until the chips melt. Stir to combine the melted chips and eggnog, and set aside to cool until Step 4.
2. Preheat oven to 350º.
3. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
4. Add the egg yolk, vanilla and rum extracts, and nutmeg to the cooled butterscotch-eggnog mixture. Whisk together until smooth.
5. Add the combined wet ingredients to the creamables. Mix together until well incorporated.
6. In a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed.
7. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the combined creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
8. Shape dough into balls--about 2 tablespoons each.
9. Place the  dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
10. Glaze each dough ball with a small amount of eggnog.
    
11. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.

12 Days of Christmas Cookies: #1 Toffee Figgy Pudding Cookies

(This recipe is a repost from The List.)

Or should they be called Figgy Toffee Pudding Cookies? Or am I thinking of sticky toffee pudding? One thing's for sure, though: These guys are a tastier, chewier, homemade version of Fig Newtons. (Incidentally, I learned in Francine Segan's cookie talk at the 92nd St. Y that Fig Newtons were named for the town Newton in Massachusetts, not for Sir Isaac of apple/gravity fame.)

Figgy pudding is a traditional English Christmastime treat. In the U.K., a "pudding" can be anything from a steamed cake to a sausage. I know...wacky, right? (I have a feeling Jell-O won't be making Blood Pudding Pops anytime soon.)

I got the idea for this cookie from an episode of Nigella Lawson's show on Food Network. She made a chocolate fig cake for her Christmas episode. It was so English-y! Scenes from Love Actually and all my favorite Britcoms ran through my head. And so I started researching figgy pudding and how to turn it into a cookie.

Traditional figgy pudding has four main components: figs, spice, citrus, and a sweet, creamy topping. To incorporate all those flavors into a cookie, I used plumped-up dried figs, two kinds of ginger, cinnamon, and orange and lemon zests. To duplicate the sweetness of the pudding's creamy topping, I used toffee bits.

This is the second version of the recipe. In the first, I used fig preserves as the main wet ingredient. The taste was there, but the cookies were hard as a rock when they cooled. To correct that, I eliminated the fig preserves and decided to reconstitute the dried figs in warm water to plump them up and to add some more moisture to the dough. Success! (If you enjoy a little nip now and then, try reconstituting the dried figs in some booze. A mixture of 2/3 cup rum and 1/3 cup water would be brilliant!)

One bite of these cookies will have you saying "God bless us, every one." Happy Christmas!

The baked cookies don't spread or flatten much because the figs are so thick. For a flatter cookie, smoosh the dough balls a little with a spatula about halfway through baking.

Makes 3 dozen cookies. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing Toffee Figgy Pudding Cookies.)

Creamables	1 stick butter 1 cup dark brown sugar
Wet Ingredients	1 egg 2 tablespoons milk 2 teaspoons orange zest 2 teaspoons lemon zest 2 teaspoons microplaned fresh ginger 2 teaspoons vanilla 1 cup chopped dried figs, soaked and strained
Dry Ingredients	2 1/2 cups oatmeal 1 1/2 cups flour 3/4 cup toffee bits 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon dried ginger 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Roughly chop the dried figs and soak in 1 cup warm water to plump for 15-20 minutes.
    
2. Preheat oven to 350º.
3. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
4. In a small bowl, combine the wet ingredients. Whisk together until smooth.
5. Add the combined wet ingredients to the creamables. Mix together until well incorporated.
6. Strain the figs, discarding the remaining water. Add the plumped figs to the combined wet ingredients and creamables. Mix together until well incorporated.
   
7. In a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed.
8. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the combined creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
9. Shape dough into balls--about 2 tablespoons each.
10. Place the  dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
11.   
    Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool. (For a flatter cookie, smoosh the dough balls a little with a spatula about halfway through baking.)

 

 

Toblerone (Chocolate, Almond, and Honey) Cookies

A little while ago, my friend Gary asked me about doing a Toblerone cookie. Since then, I've been trying to think of a way to make these more than just standard chocolate cookies made with one particular brand of chocolate.

I thought about different methods for getting the chocolate into the recipe. Using shaved, chopped, or even melted chocolate would work, but what could I do that would really speak to the nature of the key ingredient? What could I do to make these chocolate cookies Toblerone chocolate cookies?

I couldn't come up with any solid ideas, so I decided to pull together ingredients and brainstorm. And there was the answer--right in front of me--printed on the triangular tube: "Swiss Milk Chocolate with Honey and Almond Nougat."

Aha! What makes this particular kind of chocolate unique--aside from it's great taste--are the sweet, nutty, crunchy, chewy bits of nougat studded throughout.

And so I found my answer: This recipe includes Toblerone chocolate (of course), almonds, and honey.

Makes 3 dozen cookies. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing Toblerone (Chocolate, Almond, and Honey) Cookies.)

Creamables	1 stick butter 1/4 cup white sugar 1/4 cup honey
Wet Ingredients	1 egg 1 tablespoon vanilla
Dry Ingredients	1 3/4 cups finely ground oatmeal 1 1/2 cups roughly chopped almonds 1 14-oz Toblerone bar: 1/2 shaved, 1/2 chopped 1/2 cup flour 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 350º.
2. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients and then add to the creamables. Mix together until smooth.
4. Add the combined wet ingredients to the creamables. Mix together until well incorporated.
5. In a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed.
6. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the combined creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
7. Shape dough into balls--about 2 tablespoons each.
8. Place dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
   
9. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown around the edges. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.

Repost: Sweater Weather (Orange, Tea, and Cinnamon) Cookies

'Tis the season for wool sweaters! And Sweater Weather Cookies.

As you know, I love fall. I came up with this recipe specifically for this sliver of time on the calendar.

Oranges probably don't spring to mind when you think of fall. (Ba-dum-dum.) After all, this is apple-picking season. But for me, the smell and taste of orange and spice instantly fill my head with images of low-angled sunlight filtered through golden leaves fluttering gently on a crisp breeze that carries the scent of the season's first wood-burning fire. Ah, yes. I do love this season.

My main concern when developing this cookie was to balance the orange and spice flavors. I knew I was going to use my old trick of tripling the citrus--zest, juice, and extract--to infuse the cookies with flavor, but I knew I had to be careful. Too much orange would make these cookies taste as though you were biting into a glass of Tang. The same is true with the spice. Too much cinnamon or clove would taste as though you had just swallowed a mouthful of potpourri.

To solve the problem of overdoing the orange, I used 1/4 cup of orange juice, 1 tablespoon of orange zest, and 1/4 teaspoon of orange extract. It's the perfect amount to flavor the cookies.

For the spice, I hit the pantry and dug out a few secret ingredients. The first was Celestial Seasonings Mandarin Orange Spice tea. Simply empty the contents of six Mandarin Orange Spice tea bags into your wet ingredients. The second secret ingredient was King Arthur cinnamon chips. A cup of these in the dry ingredients does the trick.

Believe me. These cookies taste as good as they smell. Orangey, spicy, bright, slightly smokey, and autumnal. Delicious.

Makes 2 1/2 dozen cookies. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing Sweater Weather Cookies.)

Creamables	1 stick butter 1 cup dark brown sugar
Wet Ingredients	1 egg 1/4 cup orange juice 1 tablespoon vanilla t tablespoon orange zest 1 tablespoon milk 1/4 teaspoon orange extract 6 Mandarin Orange Spice tea bags
Dry Ingredients	3 cups oatmeal 1 1/4 cup flour 1 cup cinnamon chips 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 350º.
2. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
3. In a small bowl, combine the wet ingredients and whisk together until smooth.
4. Add the combined wet ingredients to the creamables. Mix together until well incorporated.
5. In a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed.
6. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the combined creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
7. Shape dough into balls--about 2 tablespoons each.
8. Place dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
9. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.

Peanut Butter Snickerdoodles

A snickerdoodle is just a sugar cookie with some twists. Twist #1: Cream of tartar is used as the leavening agent. (I don't really know why. I've done some research, but nothing really says that the cream of tartar is an absolute must. I think it would be fine to use 1/2 teaspoon in total of baking soda if you didn't have or didn't want to use the cream of tartar in this recipe.) Twist #2: The dough balls are rolled in cinnamon sugar before baking.

For my Oatmeal Snickerdoodles, though, I did some more twisting:

Twist #3: In addition to the cinnamon sugar coating, I put cinnamon in the creamables and dry ingredients.

And then I made another twist for this version:

Twist #4: I use creamy peanut butter in the creamables and ground-up peanut butter Cap'n Crunch cereal in the dry ingredients. This is the best way to get big peanut butter flavor.

After rolling the dough balls in the cinnamon sugar, smoosh them with a fork a little to flatten them before baking and to give them a nice little finishing touch.

Makes 2 1/2 dozen cookies. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing Peanut Butter Snickerdoodles.)

Creamables	1 stick butter 3/4 cup white sugar 2/3 cup peanut butter 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Wet Ingredients	1 egg 2 tablespons milk 1 tablespoon vanilla
Dry Ingredients	1 cup finely ground peanut butter Cap'n Crunch cereai 3/4 cup finely ground oatmeal. 3/4 cup flour 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon 1 teaspoon cream of tartar 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt
Coating	cinnamon sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350º.
2. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients and then add to the creamables. Mix together until smooth.
4. In another large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
5. In another small bowl, mix the coating ingredients together.
6. Shape dough into balls—about 2 tablespoons each.
7.  Roll the dough balls in the cinnamon sugar coating.
8. Place the sugared dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
9. Using a fork, smoosh the dough balls down a little to flatten them.
   
10. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are firm. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.

Raspberry, Almond, and Coconut Cookies

Here it is! The raspberry version of my crowd-pleasing Strawberry, Coconut, and Almond cookies.

Longtime readers are probably familiar with my XXX cookies recipes, which are so named because they include three forms of fruit--fresh, dried, and cooked. But finding dried or dehydrated strawberries and raspberries can be a difficult. And when you make berry- or fruit-flavored cookies, you always have to address the moisture factor. Fruit is wet, and cookie dough that is too wet often yields too-moist, cakey cookies, which is fine if that's what you like.

For this recipe, as with source strawberry recipe, I wanted to tackle the fruit cookie from another angle, which meant finding a dry ingredient to boost the berriness of the berries. In the strawberry recipe, Strawberry Quik did the trick. But what was I going to us as a raspberry equivalent?

The first thing that came to mind was Kool Aid, but I couldn't find packets of raspberry mix at any of the grocery stores near me. Dang! After an afternoon of poring over the shelves of powedered drink mixes, I found just what I needed: raspberry ice Crystal Lite.

Makes 3 dozen cookies. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing Raspberry, Coconut, and Almond Cookies.)

Creamables	1 stick butter 1/2 cup white sugar 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
Wet Ingredients	1 1/2 cups roughly chopped raspberries 1/4 cup white sugar 2 tablespoons milk 1 tablespoon vanilla 1 teaspoon raspberry extract 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
Dry Ingredients	2 cups finely ground oatmeal 2 cups coconut 1 1/2 cups roughly chopped almonds 3/4 cups flour 2 packets raspberry ice Crystal Lite. 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt.

1. In a small saucepan, heat strawberries, white sugar, milk, extracts, and lemon juice and zest over medium high heat. Stir with a wooden spoon or spatula, crushing the strawberries until the the mixture is smooth.
2. Remove raspberry mixture from the heat and set aside to cool until Step 5.  
3. Preheat oven to 350º.
4. Cream together the butter and sugar.
5. Add the combined wet ingredients to the creamables. Mix together until well incorporated.
6. In a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed.
7. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the combined creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
8. Shape dough into balls--about 2 tablespoons each.
9. Place dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets. Flatten each dough ball a little with your hand or a spatula.
   
10. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown around the edges. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.

Strawberry, Coconut, and Almond Cookies

I know it sounds weird, but this is a salad-inspired cookie. Yup...that's right.

Weeks ago, I had a spinach, coconut, strawberry, and almond salad and knew I needed to translate it into a cookie. (Minus the spinach, of course.) What can I say: inspiration's where you find it, right?

Longtime readers will know that I've made a few berry cookies that use three forms of fruit--fresh, dried, and cooked--to deliver the yumminess. This time, though, I wanted to try something a little different because I couldn't find dried strawberries at my grocery store. But what to use? Even more fresh or cooked strawberries?

When you make berry- or fruit-flavored cookies, you always have to address the moisture factor. Fruit is wet, and cookie dough that is too wet often yields too-moist, cakey cookies, which is fine if that's what you like. But I prefer the perfect balance between chew and crunch. And so the search for an alternative ingredient for dried strawberries began.

And then it hit me: Strawberry Quik! Some pink stuff in the creamables dry ingredients will do the trick.

This is an eggless recipe because I use cookied strawberries for the wet ingredients. And to maximize the berry flavor, I used a little raspberry extract.

Makes 3 dozen cookies. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing Strawberry, Coconut, and Almond Cookies.)

Creamables	1 stick butter 1/2 cup white sugar 1/2 cup dark brown sugar 1/4 cup Strawberry Quik
Wet Ingredients	1 1/2 cups roughly chopped strawberries 1/4 cup white sugar 2 tablespoons milk 1 tablespoon vanilla 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest 1/2 teaspoon raspberry extract
Dry Ingredients	2 cups finely ground oatmeal 2 cups coconut 1 1/2 cups roughly chopped almonds 3/4 cups flour 1/2 cup Strawberry Quick 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt.

1. In a small saucepan, heat strawberries, white sugar, milk, extracts, and lemon juice and zest over medium high heat. Stir with a wooden spoon or spatula, crushing the strawberries until the the mixture is smooth.
2. Remove strawberry mixture from the heat and set aside to cool until Step 5.  
3. Preheat oven to 350º.
4. Cream together the butter, sugars and Strawberry quick.
5. Add the combined wet ingredients to the creamables. Mix together until well incorporated.
6. In a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed.
7. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the combined creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
8. Shape dough into balls--about 2 tablespoons each.
9. Place dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets. Flatten each dough ball a little with your hand or a spatula.
   
10. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown around the edges. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.

Repost: Fourth of July Cookies

(This recipe is a repost from The List.)

This recipe has been on The List for a long time. I meant to make it last Fourth of July, but I got distracted by the parade, fireworks, and--of course--all the hamburger eating I was doing. So, at long last, here's the Fourth of July Cookie. Happy Birthday, America!

The ingredients for this cookie are really obvious: I just needed to find red, white, and blue stuff. Cue the cherries, white chocolate, coconut (because Mumma loves it) and blueberries.

To maximize the blueberry flavor and color, I decided to use my signature no-egg process and replaced the traditional egg and vanilla wet ingredients with cooked blueberries amped up with white sugar, lemon juice, and milk. The result is a moist, flavorful, and colorful cookie. The splash of lemon juice really balances out the sweetness of the berries and brightens the flavor.

Makes 3 dozen cookies. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing Fourth of July Cookies.)

Creamables	1 stick butter 1 cup light brown sugar
Wet Ingredients	1 1/4 cups halved fresh blueberries  2 tablespoons lemon juice 1 tablespoon white sugar 1 tablespoon milk
Dry Ingredients	3 cups oatmeal 1 1/2 cups coconut 1 1/2 cups flour 1 cup white chocolate chips 1 cup dried cherries 1/2 cup halved fresh blueberries 1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh cherries 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt

1. In a small saucepan, heat blueberries, milk, lemon juice, and white sugar over medium high heat. Stir with a wooden spoon or spatula, crushing the blueberries until the the mixture is smooth and evenly purple.
2. Remove blueberry mixture from the heat and set aside to cool until Step 4.
3. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
4. Add the combined wet ingredients to the creamables. Mix together until well incorporated.
5. In a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed.
6. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the combined creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
7. Preheat oven to 350º.
8. Chill the dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to firm up a little.
   
9. Shape dough into balls--about 2 tablespoons each.
10. Place dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
11. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown around the edges. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.

 

 

Repost: Margarita (Cinco De Mayo) Cookies

(This recipe is a repost from The List.)

There are three ingredients that make a margarita: tequila, lime, and salt. Simple enough to turn into a cookie, right? Well...sorta, but I had to tinker with this recipe as I went along. It took a little more time than usual for me--and a few trips to the liquor store--but I have to admit that the final cookies came out great and tasted just perfectly margarita-y.

When I make citrus-based cookies, I usually use a combination of zest, juice, and extract to really punch up the flavor. But I knew I was going to use a lot of tequila in the wet ingredients and needed the tequila flavor to shine. Lots of lime zest and just a small amount of lime juice would do the trick, I thought, without adding too much liquid to the recipe.

When I tried a bit of the dough, though, the the amount of lime was fine, but the tequila flavor wasn't as strong as I wanted. I thought about starting over and upping the amount of tequila in the wet ingredients, but I was afraid that would give me a really wet dough that produced cookies that spread out too much in the oven and that came out flat and crispy, which wasn't what I was looking for. I decided to move forward with my dough and figure out what to do about the tequila later.

My plan was to salt the dough balls before I baked them, but I forgot that step. (Oops!) And the cookies came out of the oven a little more rounded than I wanted. So I smooshed them slightly with my hand to flatten them out a bit. And then it came to me: top the cooled cookies with a tequila-infused icing and then sprinkle them with salt. This trick would up the tequila flavor and give me a second chance to top the cookies with salt. Eureka!

The key to achieving the margarita flavor is the icing and the sprinkle of sea salt. The icing gives you the sweetness and the raw tequila flavor you expect in a drinkable margarita. The salt balances the sweetness and ties the lime and tequila together perfectly.

I used sea salt to top my cookies, but I'm sure kosher salt would work just as well. If you don't have either on hand, give regular old table salt a try--whatever salt you'd use to rim a margarita glass. Put some plastic wrap or wax paper under the cooling racks before you ice the cookies. This will make cleanup a lot easier.

There's a good amount of tequila in these cookies, so you might want to avoid operating heavy machinery after having a few.

Makes 2 dozen cookies. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing Margarita Cookies.)

Creamables	1 stick butter 1/2 cup light brown sugar 1/2 cup white sugar
Wet Ingredients	1 egg yolk 1/2 cup tequila 3 tablespoons lime zest 1 tablespoon lime juice 1 teaspoon vanilla
Dry Ingredients	2 1/2 cups finely ground oatmeal 1 1/4 cups flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt
Icing	1 1/4 cup confectioner's sugar 3 tablespoons lime juice 3 tablespoons tequila sea salt for sprinkling

1. Preheat oven to 350º.
2. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
3. In a small bowl, combine the wet ingredients. Whisk together until smooth.
4. Add the combined wet ingredients to the creamables. Mix together until well incorporated.
5. In a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed.
6. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the combined creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
7. Shape dough into balls--about 2 tablespoons each.
8.  Place dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
9. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Smoosh the cookies slightly to flatten them a bit.Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.
10. While the cookies are cooling, whisk together the icing ingredients in a small bowl.
    
11. Using a fork or a whisk, drizzle the icing over the cooled cookies. 
12. Sprinkle a pinch of sea salt on top of the wet icing.
    
13. To get the icing to set quickly, place the cookies in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes.
    

 

 

Royal Wedding Cookies

With all the hype surrounding William and Kate's wedding and the coverage of every minute detail of the ceremony, it's hard to believe it didn't dawn on me to come up with an appropriately themed cookie. So I've got to thank two people for this recipe idea: Sarah, a reader and real-life recipe user, who emailed me to see if I had plans to do a royal wedding cookie, and my English friend Gary, who clued me in that English wedding cakes are traditionally fruitcakes. Thanks, guys!

And so I started researching English fruitcake recipes to see what kind of ingredients I would need to pick up before I started experimenting. There were four elements to each of the recipes I found: booze, fruit, nuts, and spice.

For the booze, brandy was pretty popular, so I rummaged around the house and found an old unopened bottle of--yup, you guessed it--royal brandy. Serendipity!

Fruitcakes, obviously, have lots of dried fruit. Some recipes called for candied red and green cherries, but those seemed a little too fluorescent and "common" for a cookie fit for a royal wedding. Raisins were a no-brainer, but I liked the idea of also including dried figs for their flavor and texture. To balance the sweetness of the raisins and figs, I needed something a little acidic/bright, so I decided to add some craisins. I also added some citron because I found it in quite a few of my "source" recipes and because I had never used it before.

My research showed that most traditional fruitcakes included hazelnuts. I had some of those on hand but not enough to make a full batch of cookies, so I pulled out my almonds and walnuts. If one kind of nut is good, why not three, right?

For spice, I found that quite a few of the recipes were really heavy on the clove, nutmeg, cinnamon, and mace. I couldn't find mace, so that took care of that. I stuck with cinnamon, nutmeg, and just a little bit of clove. I think I got the balance right.

Fruity, chewy, spicy, and crunchy. Congratulations, William and Kate!

Makes 3 dozen cookies. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing Royal Wedding Cookies.)

Creamables	1 stick butter 1/2 cup white sugar 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
Wet Ingredients	1 egg 1/4 cup brandy 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 teaspoon orange zest 1 teaspoon orange juice
Enplumpening Liquid	2 cups hot water 1/2 cup brandy 1/4 cup orange juice
Dry Ingredents	1 1/4 cups finely ground oatmeal 1 cup flour 1 cup roughly chopped dry figs 1 cup raisins 1/2 cup roughly chopped dry citron 1/2 cup craisins 1/2 cup slivered almonds 1/2 cup roughly chopped walnuts 1/2 cup roughly chopped hazelnuts 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 1/4 teaspoon clove 1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Enplumpen the figs, raisins, citron, and craisins in the emplumpening liquid. Let sit for 30 minutes, until Step 6.
   
2. Preheat oven to 350º.
3. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
4. In a small bowl, combine the wet ingredients. Whisk together until smooth.
5. Add the combined wet ingredients to the creamables. Mix together until well incorporated.
6. Strain the enplumpened dried fruit and discard the remaining enplumpening liquid.
7. In a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients, including the enplumpened dried fruit. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed.
8. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the combined creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
9. Scoop dough into balls--about 2 tablespoons each.
10. Place the dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
11. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.

Maple, Walnut, and Raisin Cookies

I'd had a craving for maple all day last Tuesday when I came up with this recipe. It was the strangest thing. All I wanted to eat was french toast or pancakes drowned in syrup. When cookie inspiration knocks, I listen!

With maple nailed down, it was time to figure out the other ingredients.

I was going to bake this batch of cookies for the fellas at my Wednesday night supper club, which is what helped me figure out the next ingredient. Jack loves walnuts, so that was a no-brainer. Walnuts! The sweetness of the maple and the earthiness of the nuts would make a wonderful combination. Plus, I figured, if it works for an ice cream flavor, it'll make a wonderful cookie.

I knew I wanted to includes lots of walnuts so that each bite would be full of flavor and crunch. For balance and a chewy counterpoint, I decided to include some raisins.

To make sure the maple flavor had a strong presence, I used both maple syrup and maple flavoring  in the wet ingredients. (I got my maple flavoring a while ago online at the King Arthur Flour store.) And for an added hit of maple, I decided to drizzle each dough ball with syrup before baking.

There were only six cookies left at the end of the night, so you know these were good. I had three of the leftovers the next morning for breakfast. What do you know? I fulfilled my maple jones after all!

Makes 4 dozen cookies. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing Maple, Walnut, and Raisin Cookies.)

Creamables	1 stick butter 1 1/4 cups dark brown sugar
Wet Ingredients	1 egg 1/4 cup maple syrup 1 tablespoon vanilla 2 teaspoons maple extract/flavoring
Dry Ingredients	3 1/2 cups toasted, roughly chopped walnuts 2 cups oatmeal 1 1/4 cups flour 1 cup raisins 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon salt
Topping	drizzle of maple syrup

1. Toast the walnuts and set aside until Step 7.
2. Preheat oven to 350º.
3. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
4. In a small bowl, combine the wet ingredients. Whisk together until smooth.
5. Add the combined wet ingredients to the creamables. Mix together until well incorporated.
6. In a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed.
7. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the combined creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
8. Scoop dough into balls--about 2 tablespoons each.
9. Place the dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets and flatten slightly with your hand or a spatula.
10. Drizzle flattened dough balls with maple syrup.
    
11. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.

Nutella, Peanut Butter, Hazelnut, and Coconut Cookies

Based on the popularity of my Coconut, Walnut, and Chocolate Cookies, I knew the combination of coconut, nuts, and chocolate was a hit worth revisiting. And I was right. Some twists and tweaks and I came up with another crowd-pleasing recipe.

In the source recipe, I used three kinds of chocolate: milk, dark, and semisweet. But as I pulled all my ingredients out of the pantry, I discovered that the only chocolate I had was cocoa powder and some Nutella. I had hazelnuts instead of walnuts and some coconut, a bag of peanut butter chips, and the last of a box of Peanut Butter Cap'n Crunch cereal.

I didn't feel like running out to the grocery store at that point, so I decided to add another challenge to this recipe redo and use only what I had on hand. It's a good thing I found butter and eggs in the fridge! (Hmm...but that's another challenge.)

I've already done Peanut Butter, Coconut, and Chocolate Cookies and Nutella-Stuffed Peanut Butter Cookies. So I figured I could combine those two recipes and come up with something sure to be tasty.

Yup. That's a really roundabout way to develop a new recipe, but it really worked!

Makes 4 dozen cookies. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing Nutella, Peanut Butter, Hazelnut, and Coconut Cookies.)

Creamables	1 stick butter 1 cup dark brown sugar 2/3 cup Nutella
Wet Ingredients	1 egg 2 tablespoons milk 1 tablespoon vanilla 1/4 teaspoon coconut extract
Dry Ingredients	2 cups roughly chopped hazelnuts 1 1/2 cups oatmeal 1 1/4 cups coconut 1 cup finely ground PB Cap'n Crunch cereal 1 cup peanut butter chips 3/4 cup flour 1/2 cup cocoa powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 350º.
2. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
3. In a small bowl, combine the wet ingredients. Whisk together until smooth.
4. Add the combined wet ingredients to the creamables. Mix together until well incorporated.
5. In a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed.
6. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the combined creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
7. Scoop dough into balls--about 2 tablespoons each.
8. Place the dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
9. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.

Repost: Hot Cross Bun Cookies

(This recipe is a repost from The List.)

Every year around Easter, grocery stores and bakeries start making hot cross buns, which are a seasonal specialty.

I remember getting up on Sunday mornings in early spring when I was a kid and finding pastry boxes on the kitchen counter filled with these soft, sweet, yeasty, raisin-filled buns topped with thick, wide lines of white icing. My dad, who got up ridiculously early every day, would pick them up on his way home from having breakfast with the other crack-of-dawners at the coffee shop in town.

I'd eat a whole bun every once in a while. But more often than not, I'd just scrape off the icing and eat it, leaving behind a naked, finger-streaked mess. (I also did this with the chocolate icing on eclairs.) What a great kid I was, right? But as I got older, I learned to love more than just the icing.

Some buns contained nuts and candied fruit--chewy little pieces of red, green, and yellow--but my favorite buns had only raisins. For my cookie version, I decided to stick with just raisins.

I started with an oatmeal sugar cookie base, added raisins and nutmeg (for light spice flavor), and chose a light drizzle of icing. Whodathunk a raisin sugar cookie would work, but it really, really does! The nuttiness of the ground oatmeal balances the sweetness of the white sugar, and the hint of nutmeg sets off the raisins perfectly. The little drizzle of icing wraps up the package.

Makes 2 dozen cookies. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing Hot Cross Bun Cookies.)

Creamables	1 stick butter 1 cup white sugar
Wet Ingredients	1 egg 2 teaspoons vanilla 2 teaspoons milk
Dry Ingredients	1 1/4 cups finely ground oatmeal 1 1/4 cups flour 1 cup raisins 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt
Icing	1/3 cup confectioner's sugar 1 tablespoon milk 1/4 teaspoon vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350º.
2. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
3. In a small bowl, combine the wet ingredients. Whisk together until smooth.
4. Add the combined wet ingredients to the creamables. Mix together until well incorporated.
5. In a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed.
6. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the combined creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
7. Shape dough into balls--about 2 tablespoons each.
8.  Place dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
9. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.
10. While the cookies are cooling, whisk together the icing ingredients in a small bowl.
    
11. Using a fork or a whisk, drizzle the icing over the cooled cookies.
    
12. To get the icing to set quickly, place the cookies in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes.
    

 

 

Repost: Spicy Valentine's Heart Cookies

(This recipe is a repost from The List.)

I know. I'm a few days late with this recipe, but I have a good reason. I was trying to develop a cookie recipe that incorporated popular Valentine's flavors and hit a brick wall. There was nary a cinnamon heart candy to find in Manhattan! Just when I was about to give up, I tried a few more places. And guess what...it was Walgreens to the rescue, ah-ooh!

I didn't find cinnamon hearts, but I did find Red Hots candies. They're the same thing but round. Considering I had been planning on chopping up these little guys all long, what difference would the shape really make? Not much.

I'm really not a sugar cookie fan, but I have to admit that my oatmeal version is pretty darn good. I cut my cookies in the shape of hearts, thanks to a cookie cutter that my blog buddy Alicia sent me. For the full Valentine's effect, I dipped these cookie hearts in chocolate and then topped them with the chopped Red Hots candies.

Yum: heart shapes, chocolate, and spicy cinnamon. I think I nailed it, but I'm already planning some tasty variations for next Valentine's Day. (NB: No jewelry will be involved.)

Makes 2 dozen cookies. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing Spicy Valentine's Heart Cookies.)

Creamables	1 stick butter 1 cup white sugar
Wet Ingredients	1 egg 2 teaspoons vanilla
Dry Ingredients	1 1/4 cups finely ground oatmeal 1 1/4 cups flour 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt
Topping	6 ounces milk chocolate, melted 1 1/2 cups Red Hots candies, roughly chopped

1. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
2. In a small bowl, combine the wet ingredients. Whisk together until smooth.
3. Add the combined wet ingredients to the creamables. Mix together until well incorporated.
4. In a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed.
5. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the combined creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
6. Place the dough in the refrigerator for 20-30 mintutes.
7. Preheat oven to 350º.
8. Roll the cookie dough into a sheet about 1/8" thick. Use a heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut out the individual cookies.
   
9.  Place the cookie cutouts about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
10. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.
11. While the cookies are baking, roughly chop the Red Hots candies in a food processor and place the pieces in a shallow bowl or on a plate.
    
12. Melt 6 ounces of milk chocolate in the microwave or over a double boiler. Dip the tops of the cooled cookies into the chocolate and then into the roughly chopped Red Hots.
    
13. Return the cookies to the baking sheets and place in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes so that the chocolate cools and solidifies.
    

 

 

2010: The Year in Cookies

12 Days of Christmas Cookies: #12 Coconut, Walnut & Chocolate

(This recipe is a repost from The List.)

Last Saturday, my friends Bill and Jim hosted a Christmas party at their superbly decorated home. (At last count, I believe the total for illuminated trees--ranging in size from humble to huge--was 34.)

They know how to put on quite a spread. And on top of that, everyone always brings something of his own to contribute to the feast. Jack brings his home-smoked ribs, which are a group favorite. And I, of course, bring my homemade cookies to top off the dessert table.

Bill and Jim and the rest of the boys are fans of my recipes, and I've even started taking requests. At the top of the wishlist of ingredients are coconut, walnuts, and chocolate, and I decided to roll them all into a single cookie for the Christmas party.

Something I saw a few weeks ago on an epsiode of Top Chef: Just Desserts has stuck with me. It came up during a cake challenge when one of the guest judges was Sylvia Weinstock, cake decoratory extraordinaire. One of the contestents made a coconut cake, and Sylvia asked why the person hadn't soaked the coconut in anything to moisten it and, ultimately, the cake. "A-ha!" I thought. "She's talking about enplumpening!"

I soak dried fruit in all sorts of stuff--tea, booze--to get them juicy and plump. But it never occurred to me to try enplumpening coconut. And, boy, does it work. Thanks, Sylvia Weinstock!

Next up: walnuts. I could have toasted them to bring out their nuttiness even more, but I decided to just use a whole mess of them instead. Two cups' worth, as a matter of fact. With that many walnuts in the dough, you're guaranteed to get some crunch in each bite.

The final element was chocolate. A simple twist on a standard semisweet chocolate chip cookie recipe wouldn't do. I had to bust out the milk and the dark chocolate in addition to the standby semisweet chips if I wanted to knock the boys' socks off with this cookie. I used one of those rotary cheese grater contraptions to grind up a big bar of Hershey's milk chocolate, and then I roughly chopped a big bar of Ghirardelli dark chocolate.

The final flavor element was just a hint of cinnamon to tie everything together.

Out of 48 cookies, there were only 3 left at the end of the night. So trust me: These babies are good! Chewy and crunchy, nutty, sweet, and rich. Absolutely delicious.

Makes 4 dozen cookies. (To see this recipe in process, check out Coconut, Walnut, and Chocolate Cookies.)

Creamables	1 stick butter 1 cup dark brown sugar 1/4 cup white sugar
Wet Ingredients	1 egg 1 tablespoon vanilla
Enplumpenings	1 1/2 cups coconut 1 cup milk 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 1/2 teaspoon coconut extract
Dry Ingredients	2 cups roughly chopped walnuts 1 1/2 cups finely ground oatmeal 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips 1 4.4 oz. milk chocolate bar, grated 1 4.4 oz. dark chocolate bar, chopped 3/4 cup flour 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Soak the coconut in the milk, vanilla, and coconut extract for 30-45 minutes. Set aside until Step 6.
2. Preheat oven to 350º.
3. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
4. In a small bowl, combine the wet ingredients. Whisk together until smooth.
5. Add the combined wet ingredients to the creamables. Mix together until well incorporated.
6. Drain the coconut, discarding the remaining liquid. Add the enplumpened coconut to the combined wet ingredients and creamables. Mix together until well incorporated.
   
7. In a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed.
8. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the combined creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
9. Scoop dough into balls--about 2 tablespoons each.
10. Place the dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
11. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.

12 Days of Christmas Cookies: #11 Cheesecake Cookies

(This recipe is a repost from The List.)

This oatmeal cookie with a cheesecake filling and a graham cracker outside "crust" is one of one of my most popular recipes. It's also a perfect example of a stuffed cookie. 

When I thought up the idea of cheesecake-stuffed cookies, of course I had to name them the "Golden Girls" after one of my favorite 80s sitcoms. Whenever Dorothy, Rose, Blanche and Sofia couldn't sleep (which, let's face it, was pretty often...because they're old ladies) and needed to work out their problems (which, let's face it, are a given when an ugly duckling, a dimwit, a slut, and a Sicilian live together), they went straight to the refrigerator, grabbed a cheesecake, and sat around the kitchen table talking, eating, laughing, eating, fighting, and eating some more. 

 

Many of the funniest moments in TV have taken place in their kitchen. I'm sure my Golden Girls cookies would meet the girls' standards!

Filling	8 ounces room-temperature cream cheese 4 tablespoons sugar 2 teaspoons vanilla
Creamables	2 sticks butter 1 1/2 cups brown sugar 1/2 cup white sugar 1 tablespoon cinnamon
Wet Ingredients	3 eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla
Dry Ingredients	2 cups finely ground graham crackers 1 1/2 cups flour 2 1/2 cups oatmeal 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon cinnamon

1. Add the filling ingredients to a medium bowl and mix well.  Let the mixture cool and solidify in the refrigerator until step 7.
2. Preheat oven to 350º.
3. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients and then add to the creamables. Mix together until smooth.
5. In another large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
6. Shape dough into balls—about 2 tablespoons each.
7. Remove the filling mixture from the refrigerator and stuff each dough ball with 1 teaspoon of the mixture.  Put the stuffed dough balls in the freezer for five minutes to firm up.
8. Place chilled dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
9. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.

12 Days of Christmas Cookies: #10 Salted Caramel Cookies

(This recipe is a repost from The List.)

I've had salt-topped chocolates before, and the flavor is just delicious. The saltiness and the sweetness bounce off each other in your mouth. If you haven't tried this flavor combination, you must!

For this cookie, I stuck with my signature chocolate base that I also used in my Fake-Out-Eos. The next layer I wanted to add was caramel because I wanted not only a contrast of salty and sweet but also a contrast of crunchy and chewy. Caramel was the obvious choice. Plus: who (other than Mumma) doesn't like caramel? I decided to do a thumbprint cookie filled with caramel sauce and topped with a pinch of sea salt.

I ran out of my favorite caramel sauce and couldn't find a replacement at the grocery store, so I tried using a thinner caramel sauce that Jon found at Williams Sonoma. I filled the thumbprint holes with a 1/2 teaspoon of the caramel sauce, but as the cookies baked, the sauce got absorbed by the dough and disappeared.

I thought about it for a while and came up with a sure-fire fix: Rollos! These candies are the perfect caramel delivery system because the caramel itself is creamy and stays semi-soft at room temperature, and the chocolate coating prevents the caramel from "bleeding out" into the surrounding cookie dough. I used Rollos to great effect in my Girl Scout Samoa knockoffs, so I knew they would work here.

Push a Rollo into each dough ball and then top with a pinch of sea salt before baking. For a gooier caramel center, pinch the Rollos to crack the chocolate coating before pushing into the dough balls. (Remember to unwrap each candy!) Makes about 4 dozen.

Creamables	2 sticks butter 2 cups dark brown sugar 1/4 cup cocoa powder
Wet Ingredients	2 eggs 1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla 2 tablespoons milk
Dry Ingredients	3 1/2 cups roughly ground Cocoa Pebbles cereal 2 1/2 cups oatmeal 1 1/2 cups flour 1/4 cup cocoa powder 2 1/2 ounces milk chocolate, microplaned 1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, microplaned 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt
Filling	48 individual Rollo candies
Topping	sea salt

1. Preheat oven to 350º.
2. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients and then add to the creamables. Mix together until smooth.
4. In another large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
5. Shape dough into balls—about 2 tablespoons each.
6. Push a Rollo candy into each dough ball.
7. Place Rollo-studded dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
8. Top each dough ball with a pinch of sea salt.
   
9. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.

12 Days of Christmas Cookies: #9 Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookies

(This recipe is a repost from The List.)

A few weeks ago, my blog buddy Alicia asked if I could do a pumpkin version of my cheesecake-stuffed Golden Girls cookies. And then Mumma got wind of these and asked for them as well. How could I say no?

Here you go, Alicia and Mumma! This is the perfect cookie for season because it combines two of the most popular desserts: pumpkin pie and cheesecake. Yes, they're rich and decadent, but they're perfectly sized for portion control. (Or not!)

Stuffing the cookies is a labor-intensive process, but it's well worth the effort. These pumpkin cheesecake-stuffed cookies taste amazing and will definitely wow your holiday guests.

Makes 2 dozen cookies. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookies.)

Filling	6 ounces room-temperature cream cheese 1/3 cup canned pumpkin pie filling 3 tablespoons sugar 2 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
Creamables	1 stick butter 3/4 cup brown sugar 1/4 cup white sugar 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Wet Ingredients	1 egg yolk 1/4 cup canned pumpkin pie filling 1 teaspoon vanilla
Dry Ingredients	1 1/4 cups oatmeal 1 cup finely ground graham crackers 3/4 cup flour 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Add the filling ingredients to a medium bowl and mix well.  Let the mixture cool and solidify in the refrigerator until step 7.
2. Preheat oven to 350º.
3. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients and then add to the creamables. Mix together until smooth.
5. In another large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
6. Shape dough into balls—about 2 tablespoons each.
7. Remove the filling mixture from the refrigerator and stuff each dough ball with 1 teaspoon of the mixture.  Put the stuffed dough balls in the freezer for five minutes to firm up.
8. Place chilled dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
9. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.

12 Days of Christmas Cookies: #8 Cranberry Crunch Cookies

(This recipe is a repost from The List.)

This recipe was my entry in this year's cranberry recipe contest. I don't know how I did yet, but these guys are pretty darn good! I won. This is an award-winning recipe!

I used dried cranberries (craisins), of course, and orange, which is a cranberry's best friend. Toasted almonds and a roll in turbinado sugar add the crunch. (If you've got almond extract on hand, feel free to add a 1/4–1/2 teaspoon to the wet ingredients.)

Jon and I are heading up to Massachusetts next weekend for the cranberry harvest festival. I'm sure Mumma will have me baking something while we're there, so stay tuned for more cranberry recipes and pictures of the harvest and other local specialties.

(Check out this video of an olde tyme dry harvest in my hometown of Carver. Wow! Dick Ward, my high school gym teacher, is the town's agricultural commissioner.)

Makes 3 dozen cookies. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing Cranberry Crunch Cookies.)

Creamables	1 stick butter 1 1/4 cups dark brown sugar
Wet Ingredients	1 egg 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla 1 1/2 teaspoons milk 1 1/2 teaspoons orange zest 1 1/2 teaspoons orange juice
Dry Ingredients	1 1/4 cups dried cranberries (craisins) 1 cup finely ground graham crackers 1 cup toasted slivered almonds 1 cup oatmeal 3/4 cup flour 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt
Topping	turbinado sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350º.
2. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients and then add to the creamables. Mix together until smooth.
4. In another large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
5. Shape dough into balls--about 2 tablespoons each.
6. Roll each dough ball in turbinado or raw sugar.
7. Place sugared dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
8. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.

12 Days of Christmas Cookies: #7 Boston Cream Pie Cookies

(This recipe is a repost from The List.)

These cookies are for Em, who challenged me to come up with a Boston cream pie cookie. Ta-dah...I did it!

When I wrote this recipe, I thought a lot about Boston cream doughnuts. The doughnutty part is airy and chewy, but its flavor is pretty light because the doughnut itself is really just a delivery system for the custard filling and chocolate glaze. Simple enough, right?

So I got to work on a cookie base that would have a good texture and a yummy flavor but that wouldn't steal the show from the headlining duo. The solution? An oatmeal sugar cookie as the delivery system. (Stay tuned for more holiday-themed creations that use my oatmeal sugar cookie recipe as a base.)

Real Boston cream pie is filled with custard, but I used store-bought instant vanilla pudding instead because I wasn't sure if real custard would be stable enough--or thick enough--to hold up in the oven. (And because I've only made custard once or twice before and didn't want to risk it.) I also used 1/2 cup less milk than the package instructions called for so that the pudding would be thick and sturdy. (There's nothing worse than a filled/stuffed cookie whose filling/stuffing "bleeds out" in the oven.) Though I made a thickened pudding mixture, I wasn't convinced that it would hold up as the center of a stuffed cookie. So I decided to use the pudding as the filling for a thumbprint cookie instead.

A Boston cream pie wouldn't be Boston cream pie without the chocolate topping, of course. I decided to use semisweet chocolate chips that I melted over a double boiler. I then dipped the baked, cooled cookies, top-sides down, in the chocolate.

Makes 21 cookies. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing Boston Cream Pie Cookies.)

Thumbprint Filling

1 pack (1 ounce) instant vanilla pudding 1 1/2 cups milk 1 teaspoon vanilla

Creamables	1 stick butter 1 cup white sugar
Wet Ingredients	1 egg 2 teaspoons vanilla
Dry Ingredients	1 1/4 cups finely ground oatmeal 1 1/4 cups flour 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt
Glaze	1 1/4 cups chocolate chips, melted

1. In a small bowl, make the pudding. Use 1/2 cup less milk than the box instruction call for, and add 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Put the pudding in the refrigerator to cool until Step 10.
2. Preheat oven to 350º.
3. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
4. In a small bowl, combine the wet ingredients. Whisk together until smooth.
5. Add the combined wet ingredients to the creamables. Mix together until well incorporated.
6. In a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed.
7. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the combined creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
8. Shape dough into balls--about 2 tablespoons each.
9. Place the  dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
10. Use your thumb to make an indentation in each dough ball. Fill each indentation with about 1/2 teaspoon of the thumbprint filling.
11. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.
12. Melt 1 1/4 cups chocolate chips in the microwave or over a double boiler. Dip the tops of the cooled cookies into the chocolate. Return the cookies to the wire racks so that the chocolate cools and solidifies.
    

 

 

12 Days of Christmas Cookies: #6 Peppermint-Bark Stuffed Cookies

(This recipe is a repost from The List.)

Boy, oh boy. It's like I blinked, and it's Christmas week. It's about time I posted a new seasonal cookie here! And so here it is: an inside-out (or is that outside-in?), stuffed version of my Yuletide (A.K.A. Peppermint Bark) Cookies.

This recipe uses my basic oatmeal sugar cookie base--but with a twist. I cut the white sugar to 1/2 a cup and added 1/2 a cup of light brown sugar because I wanted a chewy exterior to contrast with the crunchy bits of candy cane in the interior.

An all-white sugar version is great, especially if you want a crispy cookie. (I know because I've made that version before a bunch of times.) But because this recipe is for a stuffed cookie, I wanted a soft, pliable dough that would hold up to scoping, stuffing, rolling, and baking and still come out of the oven chewy. I chose right!

The semisweet chocolate chips are just right for the filling. They're rich and chocolaty and sweet but not too sweet--they compliment, not overpower, the crushed candy canes.

When I put the first tray in the oven, I had my fingers crossed because I was a little afraid that the candy cane bits would melt and solidify and turn into a tooth-shatteringly hard chunk o' peppermint flavored rock candy. You know I breathed a sigh of relief when these guys came out just right.

Here's a tip, though: you don't won't big pieces of candy cane here. I put my candy canes in a plastic sandwich bag and used a pan to crush them down into mostly powder. If you have any pieces that are bigger than a pencil's eraser, keep smooshing.

The finished cookies come out perfectly round, perfectly plump. Kinda like Santa.

Makes 2 dozen cookies. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing Peppermint Bark-stuffed Cookies.)

Filling	1 cup semisweet chocolate chips 2 tablespoons milk 8 candy canes
Creamables	1 stick butter 1/2 cup light brown sugar 1/2 cup white sugar
Wet Ingredients	1 egg 1 tablespoon vanilla 1 teaspoon milk
Dry Ingredients	1 1/4 cups finely ground oatmeal 1 1/4 cups flour 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt

 

 

1. Melt the chocolate chips and milk over a double boiler or in the microwave. Add the crushed candy canes and mix. Let the mixture cool and solidify in the fridge until step 7.
2. Preheat oven to 350º.
3. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients and then add to the creamables. Mix together until smooth.
5. In another large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
6. Shape dough into balls—about 2 tablespoons each.
7. Remove the filling mixture from the fridge and stuff each dough ball with 1 heaping teaspoon of the mixture. Put the stuffed dough balls in the fridge for 5 minutes to firm up.
8. Place chilled dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
9. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are firm. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.

12 Days of Christmas Cookies: #5 XXX Cranberry Cookies

(This recipe is a repost from The List.)

If you liked my Blueberry Muffin Top Cookies, you'll love these. The two recipes are almost the same, but there's an added dash of orange juice and orange zest in the cranberry version. (Oh...and you can feel good about eating these because they're eggless.)

Longtime readers know I hail from cranberry country, so cranberry cookies are a no brainer. But why did I call these guys XXX? Simple...because I use three forms of cranberries: dried (craisins), fresh (or thawed frozen), and cooked. And because they taste so good it's obscene.

The cranberries cooked with orange juice and orange zest have a fresh, bright flavor that's the perfect background for the sweetness of the craisins and the tartness of the fresh cranberries. The white chocolate chips provide richness, and the ground-up Nilla Wafers lend a light vanilla-y note. A final roll in turbinado sugar before baking gives the cookies a crunchy exterior that contrasts the moist, chewy interior.

Makes 3 dozen cookies. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing XXX Cranberry Cookies.)

Creamables	1 stick butter 1 cup dark brown sugar
Wet Ingredients	1/2 cup fresh cranberries 4 tablespoons milk 2 tablespoons orange juice 1 tablespoon white sugar 1 tablespoon orange zest 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
Dry Ingredients	2 cups oatmeal 1 cup finely ground Nilla Wafer cookies 3/4 cup flour 1/2 cup dried cranberries 1/2 cup halved fresh cranberries 1/2 cup white chocolate chips 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt
Topping	turbinado sugar

1. In a small saucepan, heat cranberries, milk, orange juice, orange zest, and white sugar over medium high heat. Stir with a wooden spoon, crushing the cranberries until the the mixture is smooth and evenly red.
2. Remove cranberry mixture from the heat and set aside to cool until Step 5.
3. Preheat oven to 350º.
4. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
5. Add vanilla to the cooled cranberry mixture. Whisk together until smooth.
6. Add the combined wet ingredients to the creamables. Mix together until well incorporated.
7. In a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed.
8. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the combined creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
9. Shape dough into balls--about 2 tablespoons each.
10. Roll each cookie dough ball in turbinado sugar.
    
11. Place the sugared dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
12. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown and the tops are firm to the touch. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.

12 Days of Christmas Cookies: #4 Peppermint Bark Cookies

(This recipe is a repost from The List.)

Here it is: my new and improved Yuletide Cookie!

In version 1.0 of this cookie, I used ground-up candy canes as the sugar. But that didn't work out so well.

For version 2.0, I decided to put shattered candy canes on the outside and to use chocolate as the glue to hold them in place. To add to the spectrum of colors and flavors, I used three kinds of candies: red peppermint candy canes, green spearmint candy canes, and blue wintergreen starlight mints.

This is the  first non-"drop" cookie I've made, so I was a little nervous. (My cookie scoop is my security blanket for creating perfectly round, perfectly uniform cookies every time.) But it was really easy-peasy. I used chopsticks as thickness guides as I rolled out the dough, and I used a biscuit cutter to cut out perfectly round dough circles.

I used melted semi-sweet chocolate chips as the glue on these cookies because that's what I had on hand, but white chocolate, milk chocolate, and even dark chocolate would work.

I put each kind of candy in its own plastic bag and than tap-tap-tapped each one with a hammer to shatter the candy into nibble-sized pieces. This is a really good way to exorcise your holiday angst. If you're feeling less violent, you could always just drop the still-wrapped candy canes on the floor a couple times.

Makes 2 1/2 dozen cookies. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing Yuletide [A.K.A. Peppermint Bark] Cookies.)

Creamables	1 stick butter 1 cup white sugar
Wet Ingredients	1 egg 2 teaspoons vanilla
Dry Ingredients	1 1/4 cups finely ground oatmeal 1 1/4 cups flour 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt
Topping	1 1/2 cups chocolate chips, melted 10-12 candy canes, crushed

1. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
2. In a small bowl, combine the wet ingredients. Whisk together until smooth.
3. Add the combined wet ingredients to the creamables. Mix together until well incorporated.
4. In a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed.
5. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the combined creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
6. Place the dough in the refrigerator for 20-30 mintutes.
7. Preheat oven to 350º.
8. Roll the cookie dough into a sheet about 1/8-1/4 inch thick. Use a round cookie or biscuit cutter to cut out the individual cookies.
   
9. Place the cookie cutouts about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
10. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.
11. While the cookies are baking, shatter the candy canes and place the pieces in a shallow bowl or on a plate.
    
12. Melt 1 1/4 cups chocolate chips in the microwave or over a double boiler. Dip the tops of the cooled cookies into the chocolate and then into the crushed candy canes.
    
13. Return the cookies to the baking sheets and place in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes so that the chocolate cools and solidifies.
    

12 Days of Christmas Cookies: #3 Stuffed Red Velvet Cookies

(This recipe is a repost from The List.)

A rerun of Paula's Party on Food Network last night inspired this cookie. Red velvet cake is a Southern specialty, y'all! [Insert bawdy double entendre here.]

According to the admittedly cursory research I've done on the topic, red velvet cake got its color as a result of sugar rationing during World War II. Because people couldn't run next door to borrow a cup of sugar, bakers started using boiled beets as a sugar substitute in their cakes. Along with the beets' sweetness came the beets' blood-red color. And lo, an American classic was born

About five years ago, Jon and I baked a red velvet cake for Christmas. We made this cake only once because...well...let's just say all the red food coloring caused a certain reaction, so we never made it again.

Paula got me thinking that I should give the red velvet recipe another try, but this time in oatmeal cookie form--and with a twist. Instead of icing the cookies, I decided to stuff them.

Be careful when you work with the food coloring. That stuff stains, and you don't want to spend the night scrubbing your hands and mumbling like Lady Macbeth about getting damned spots out.

Makes 2 dozen cookies. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing Stuffed Red Velvet Cookies.)

Filling	6 ounces room-temperature cream cheese 1/3 heaping cup toasted, chopped pecans 1/4 cup confectioner's sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla
Creamables	1 stick butter 1 cup white sugar
Wet Ingredients	1 egg 3 tablespoons red food coloring 2 teaspoons vanilla 1 teaspoon milk 1/2 teaspoon white vinegar
Dry Ingredients	1 1/2 cups finely ground oatmeal 1 1/4 cups flour 1/2 cup cocoa powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Toast the pecans then roughly chop them.
   
2. Add all the filling ingredients to a small bowl and mix with a spatula until well blended. Let the mixture cool and solidify in the freezer until step 8.
3. Preheat oven to 350º.
4. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
5. In a small bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients and then add to the creamables. Mix together until smooth.
6. In another large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
7. Shape dough into balls—about 2 tablespoons each.
8. Remove the filling mixture from the freezer and stuff each dough ball with 1 teaspoon of the mixture. Put the stuffed dough balls in the freezer for 5 minutes to firm up.
9. Place chilled dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
10. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are firm. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.

12 Days of Christmas Cookies: #2 Eggnog Cookies

(This recipe is a repost from The List.)

'Tis the season! Break out the punch bowl...or, in this case, the cookies.

This is a tweaked and much-improved version of a recipe I improvised at Mumma's house last Christmas. This time around, I used finely ground Nilla Wafers instead of graham crackers, and I cut way back on the nutmeg.

The original cookies were good, but the graham crackers distracted from the vanilla and butter flavors I wanted to highlight, and 2 tablespoons of nutmeg were just too much. (With this potential side effect, what was I thinking?)

As far as I know, there is no eggnog extract, and store-bought eggnog alone isn't enough to impart the right amount of eggnogginess. (Update: See here.) I use a small shortcut to capture the rich, smooth, calorie-laden flavor I want: butterscotch. Melt a mere 1/4 cup of butterscotch chips and add it to wet ingredients that include (surprise!) store-bought eggnog, vanilla and rum extracts, an egg yolk, and nutmeg, and you've got yourself a super shot of flavor. (If you've got rum on hand, feel free to use it to replace or supplement the rum extract.)

To finish these cookies off, I give the dough balls a quick glaze of eggnog before baking.

Makes 3 1/2 dozen cookies. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing Eggnog Cookies.)

Creamables	2 stick butter 2 cups dark brown sugar 1/4 cup white sugar
Wet Ingredients	1/4 cup butterscotch chips, melted 1/4 cup store-bought eggnog 1 egg yolk 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla 1 1/2 teaspoons rum extract 1 teaspoon nutmeg
Dry Ingredients	3 cups oatmeal 1 1/2 cups flour 1 cup finely ground Nilla Wafer cookies 2 teaspoons nutmeg 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon salt
Glaze	store-bought eggnog

1. In a small bowl, heat the butterscotch chips and eggnog in the microwave in 20-second increments until the chips melt. Stir to combine the melted chips and eggnog, and set aside to cool until Step 4.
2. Preheat oven to 350º.
3. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
4. Add the egg yolk, vanilla and rum extracts, and nutmeg to the cooled butterscotch-eggnog mixture. Whisk together until smooth.
5. Add the combined wet ingredients to the creamables. Mix together until well incorporated.
6. In a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed.
7. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the combined creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
8. Shape dough into balls--about 2 tablespoons each.
9. Place the  dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
10. Glaze each dough ball with a small amount of eggnog.
    
11. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.