Tag Archives: cookie

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Cinnalmond Bites and a Giveaway!!

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Hey, guys!

I’m super excited to share this recipe today because it comes with a giveaway for the cookbook No Bake Makery, for you! Though it doesn’t happen as often as I’d like, I love an opportunity to give you stuff. I’m a gifter and I love it. BUT! let’s talk these little cookie, truffle bites.

These little bites are dead-easy to make. Everything gets whirled in the food processor all at once–chocolate cookies, cinnamon toast cereal, almonds, salt, a teensy bit of milk, and some honey.  The dough is then scooped, rolled, and chilled before getting dressed with some candy coating (or tempered chocolate). These bites are sweet-sweet-and-salty. I could see kids going crazy-nuts for these (and they could totally help!), but they make the perfect two-bite indulgence–which is sometimes all I want, just a few bites of sweetness.

No Bake Makery is a cookbook of sweet little treats by Cristina Suarez Krumsick (Tweet or Like), in the book you can find the recipe for these Cinnalmond Bites, along with dozens of other little, two-bite, no-bake treats…Now, for the giveaway details!

To enter, simply leave a comment sharing what your favorite no-bake treats are, as well as a good contact email address. I will choose one winner at random Wednesday, May 15th. Unfortunately this giveaway is only open to US residents with non-PO Box addresses.  (Don’t fret, I have another giveaway schemed up that will be open to all :)

*A copy of No Bake Makery was provided to me by the publisher, as well as the giveaway copy. As per usual, all opinions are my own. 

Cinnalmond Bites

From No Bake Makery

The recipe calls for almond milk, but I’m sure you could use whatever milk you’d like. These are also great from the freezer. 

12 chocolate sandwich cookies (Like JoesJoes or Oreos)

1 cup cinnamon toast cereal

5 tablespoons sliced almonds

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons honey

1/4 cup almond milk

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 1/2 cups candy melts or candy bark (or temper some chocolate, if you dare)

Line a cookie sheet with wax (or parchment) paper and set aside.

In a food processor, process the cookies and cereal until fine crumbs form, about 1 minute. Add 3 tablespoons of the almonds and 1 teaspoon of the cinnamon and process for another 30 seconds. Add the honey and almonds milk and process another 30 seconds. Transfer to a clean bowl.

Roll the dough into 1-inch balls (I chilled the dough for 30 minutes before beginning this step). Place on the prepared cookie sheet and chill another 45 minutes.

Roughly chop the remaining almonds and mix with the remaining cinnamon and salt. Set aside.

Melt the candy coating according to package instructions. Dip balls into the chocolate and place back on the sheet, sprinkle with almond mixture, and chill until coating is set, about 1 hour.

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Peanut Butter Pretzel Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Heeeeeey, guys! I totally missed you AND I made cookies!

There’s nothing like getting out of a cooking/baking/life-rut than an indulgent cookie. Many ailments of life can be cured via the humble cookie. It’s just a fact.

These cookies combine the ultimate sweet-tooth trifecta — salty-crunch, peanut butter, AND chocolate. Only good things can happen with this trio, believe it! These cookies are thick, dense, and chewy. They’re the kind of cookie that holds it shape and has a little heft — not the daintiest, these cookies mean serious crave-curing business.

Peanut Butter Pretzel Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes about 30 cookies.

(highly) Adapted from THIS recipe. 

Go ahead and use crunchy OR smooth peanut butter, baker’s choice! I used a natural, peanut-only, peanut butter with great results (THIS brand). It was unsalted, so you may need to dial back the salt if you use a salted brand. 

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 cup (4 ounces) unsalted butter, room temperature

2/3 cup peanut butter

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups crushed, salted pretzels

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

30 mini pretzel twists (optional)

Preheat oven to 350˚F and line baking sheets with parchment or silicone liners.

In bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, soda, and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of a mixer, beat the butter, peanut butter, and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing completely before adding the next and scraping the bowl after each. Add the vanilla. Dump in all of the flour mixture and pulse to combine. Fold in the pretzels and chocolate chips.

Scoop about 2 tablespoons of dough, place on baking sheets 1 inch apart, and press a pretzel (if using) into the top of each cookie and flatten with gentle pressure. Bake cookies one sheet at a time in the center of the oven for about 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on racks. Can be stored in an airtight container at room temp for 4 days.

 

 

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Smoked Salt and Almond Shortbread Stars

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Oh, hi!

It’s been a little quiet around here, but baking/sugar cooking has been happening. Next week I’ll have an iteration of my fave caramels, but for today I have these sweet and salty shortbread stars.

I love a shortbread. The dough is easy to put together, it can chill in the fridge or freezer for days, they are super buttery, and they appeal to children and adults alike. I also love that there are multiple ways to shape them–you can press the batch into a round pan for wedges, roll it up and slice as needed, or roll it out and use cutters.

I opted to do a star shape since I got it into my head that I wanted to paint a navy background, and wouldn’t it be cute to put tiny star cookies all over it, so it could be kind of like a magical-cookie-night-sky? Yes, yes it would be and it is.

These cookies are nutty, buttery, smoky-sweet & salty. I coarsely ground the almonds so there would be some crunchy nubbins as well as fine bits throughout each bite. I used smoked salt from Allstar Organics–I love this salt for it’s intense charcoal color, deep smoke flavor, and satisfying crunch. The salt really makes these cookies–it plays so nicely with almond and lots of butter. Since these are shortbreads and shortbreads are a sturdy cookie when well packaged, they travel like a dream. The salty-nutty and just sweet flavor of these cookies make me think these would be just as welcome on a festive cheese plate as they would on a holiday cookie tray.

*As usual, all opinions are my own. Allstar Organics probably doesn’t even know who I am, I just love their Applewood Smoked salt and thought you should know it.

Smoked Salt + Almond Shortbread Stars

adapted from Martha Stewart

There are many brands of smoked salt, Maldon makes a nice, lightly smoked, flaky one. I like the Allstar salt since it is so dark and contrasts nicely. You could also just use whatever salt you have on hand–there won’t be any smoke flavor, but the cookies will be delicious regardless. The cookies hold their shape best if you chill the cut cookies on the pan before baking–about 10-15 minutes will do the trick.

2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup confectioners sugar

scant 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon smoked salt, plus more for sprinkling

1/3 cup coarsely ground almonds (grind in a food processor or chop by hand)

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling

With an electric mixer, beat the butter, sugar, extracts, and salt until smooth and combined. On low speed, mix in the almonds and flour until just combined.

Divide the dough and flatten into two discs. Wrap discs in plastic and chill for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 300*F.

Using one disc at a time, roll out the dough to about 1/4 inch thickness. Using desired cutter, cut out cookies and transfer to parchment lined baking sheets. Sprinkle a bit of salt onto the tops of each cookie. Chill sheets in the refrigerator 10-15 minutes, bake 22-25 minutes or until cookies are just turning golden around the bottom edges. Remove and cool on a wire rack. Repeat with remaining dough/cookies. Can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 weeks.

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Oatmeal Cherry Cookies w/ Chocolate Chips + Walnuts

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I made these cookies for my mom.

Well, I made the recipe for my mom so she’d have something to bake for my aunt’s annual holiday cookie party. In her usual fashion, my mom doesn’t want to bake anything.

To quote her, “I hate-dat-dang-baking…”(to get the full effect, say it in one word, in your head like a scolding-Korean-mother would).

What she really wants is to bribe one of her baking-friendly pals into make something totally cute and delish for her… except, according to my aunt, that is cheating. And, my aunt is totally right! You cannot show up to a cookie party with another persons baked goods–it’s a tragic holiday charade. I told mom to suck it up and get to baking! Usually moms dole out the tough love, but sometimes adult-daughters have to step it up.

So, after figuring out what my moms dream cookie would be–something chewy and oat-y, with mix-ins, and the possibility of sandwiching some cream cheese frosting between two–I came up with these lightly spiced, chewy oatmeal cookies full of dried fruit, nuts, and chocolate. It also had to come together quickly and with the least amount of fuss possible–since my mother thinks  the no-bake, rice krispy treat is fussy and somehow a baked good. While mom will most certainly switch out the chocolate chips for white chocolate (excuse me while I weep, I have a white-chocolate bias), and the dried cherries may become cranberries, these cookies are everything she asked for–chew, chunky texture, endless mix-in possibilities, sandwich capability, easy assembly…the works.

These cookies have molasses and thick oats, for lots of rich and chewy goodness. The dried cherries are tart and deep, the walnuts are toasty, and the chocolate does it’s chocolate thing. These are a great cookie-jar cookie. They are not too sweet and would totally welcome a slick of tart-creamy frosting to make the best holiday cookie sandwich. Like those oatmeal cream pies in the cellophane but, well, better.

Oatmeal Cherry Cookies

These don’t have to be cherry-walnut-chocolate cookies, you can use whatever nutty, dried fruit, chocolate-y mix-ins you’d like. I made small cookies, about the size of a silver dollar–but you could make these larger, just bake a few minutes longer. I used my favorite Extra-Thick Rolled Oats, but regular Quaker rolled oats will work just as well. 

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup rolled oats

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1 stick (4 ounces) butter, softened

1 cup sugar

3 Tablespoons molasses

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup each dried cherries, walnut pieces, chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350*F. Line two baking sheets with parchment, set aside.

In the bowl of a mixer, beat butter until creamy, about 1 minute. Add the sugar and molasses, beat well until combined, scraping bowl as needed. Add the egg and vanilla, mix to combine well.

Scrape bowl and add the dry ingredients, pulsing mixer until all of the dry ingredients are incorporated. Mix in the dried fruit, nuts, and chocolate. Scoop cookies in desired amount (I used a mini disher for these) and place on a baking sheet spaced about 1-2 inches apart (1 for smaller cookies, 2 for larger) and bake 1 sheet at a time in the center of the oven for 11-13 minutes–possibly more for larger cookies–until the bottoms are golden brown and cookies are just done in the center. Over-baking will make for a less chewy cookie. Cool on sheet pan about 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Repeat process with remaining dough. Can be kept in a cookie jar or other container at room temperature for 3-4 days.

 

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Recipe: Brown Butter Cookie Ice Cream

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Sometimes we don’t get to all the cookies in the cookie jar before they get all stale and sad. In this case the cookies were those delightful bars I made last week. I l-o-v-e those bars, but sometimes even I can’t eat a whole batch…and most of the time, I really shouldn’t. Instead of letting them go stale on the counter, I chopped them up and toasted them crouton-style in the oven.

Cookie Croutons!

That happened and it was a pretty amazing idea…not to high-five myself or anything. Anyway, I’ve been wanting to try out a brown butter ice cream for a while now and I thought it would be great with the cookie croutons as a mix-in. This ice cream is toffee-like from the brown butter and brown sugar, crunchy from the cookies, and creamy-dreamy from all that cream and those egg yolks. It’s definitely a special treat.

Those little cups up there are compostable, super cute, and the perfect size for a decadent little sampling of this crazy ice cream. I got them c/o Susty Party, home of biodegradable, eco-friendly party supplies.

Brown Butter Ice Cream with Cookie Crouton Mix-In

Adapted from Epicurious

I put rum in this ice cream to keep it from freezing solid…and because, butter + rum = love. Feel free to leave it out for kiddos or if you don’t want to add it. 

6 Tablespoons unsalted butter

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup milk

5 egg yolks

2/3 cup brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1 tablespoon rum (optional)

1 cup cookie croutons*

Melt the butter in a small skillet over medium-low heat, until solids brown and turn fragrant like toffee. Be sure to watch closely so the butter doesn’t burn. Pour into a small heatproof bowl and set aside.

Pour rum into a large bowl, set a fine mesh strainer over the top, and set aside.

In  a mixing bowl, whisk egg yolks, sugar, and salt to combine. Set aside and heat cream and milk in a saucepan to scald (just before boiling, look for tiny bubbles along the perimeter of the saucepan). Slowly whisk hot milk mixture into the egg yolks to temper. Scrape the mixture back into the saucepan and whisk in the browned butter. Stir constantly over medium-low heat until the mixture coats the back of a spoon and thickens. Remove from heat and pour the custard mixture through the fine mesh strainer into the bowl and stir to incoporate rum (if using). Set the bowl over a large bowl of ice water and stir to cool. Cover the surface with plastic and chill well (I like at least 6 hours).

Process in an ice cream maker according to manufacturers instructions. Fold in cookie croutons by hand before storing in the freezer.

*to make the Cookie Croutons, chop up 4-5 cookie bars (or cookies). Preheat oven to 300F, place cookie pieces on a baking sheet in a single layer and toast until golden brown and crunchy.

 

 

 

 

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Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

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These cookie bars are after my heart.

They are everything I crave and love about a chocolate chip cookie–all crisp edges, chewy middles, toffee-like butteryness, dark chocolate, and crunchy nuts–except, there’s none of that portioning/scooping business. This means that these go from oven to mouth in a little less time with a bit less hassle.

Cookie Heaven.

When I spied this recipe on Not Without Salt, I needed it in my life with a quickness. I made them the same day, with what I had on hand–sharing them with neighbors and Sean’s co-workers–then, made them again 2 days later with a few adaptations of my own.

It’s not often that I make the same recipe twice in a month, let alone in a week. This is a recipe for the recipe box. It deserves a handwritten card and coveted space among the favorites…the ones you go back to over and over again, endlessly adaptable, always familiar.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Adapted from Not Without Salt

I used black salt for sprinkling over the top. It was a purely aesthetic decision and I had some on hand in my salt hoard–a gift from my brother-in-law–you can use any sea salt you have or like. I think smoked salt would be a nice as well. Also, I would encourage switching up the mix-ins if you like…different or no nuts, peanut butter or butterscotch chips, toffee bits, etc. 

1 stick (4 ounces), plus 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter, browned

4 ounces (1/2 bar) cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup granualted sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 eggs, room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, plus 1/4 teaspoon sea salt for sprinkling

12 ounces dark chocolate chips, or chopped chocolate

5 ounces nuts–I used walnuts–toasted and cooled

Grease a 9×13 pan, line with parchment and grease again. Preheat oven to 350F.

Toast nuts on a sheet pan for about 5-10 minutes, being careful not to burn. Remove from oven and cool.

Brown the butter in a skillet over medium low, until milk solids are brown and fragrant like toffee. Remove from heat and scrape into the bowl of a mixer, allow to cool slightly while you gather your ingredients.

In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In a seperate bowl, toss together chocolate and nuts and set aside.

Add sugar and cream cheese to the browned butter in the mixing bowl and cream for 5-7 minutes until light and fluffy. Scrape the bowl and add the eggs 1 at a time, mixing well after each addition and scraping the bowl. Mix in vanilla.

Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix to just combine, allowing a few streaks of flour to remain, it will be incorporated when you fold in the mix-ins. Fold in the nuts and chocolate by hand so as not to overmix.

Spread the batter into the prepared pan–I used clean and oiled fingertips–and bake in the center of the oven for 30-40 minutes until the edges are deeply golden and the center is just set. Remove from oven and cool in the pan.

 

 

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Recipe: Chocolate Pecan Cookies with Sea Salt

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Sometimes you get attention when you really don’t want it. This happened to a friend of mine yesterday. Some dude, creeping her out in a coffee shop. So instead of feeling weird and awkward and creeped out…she did something weird and a little gross.

She picked her nose in an ultra-obvious way.

She texted me as she was doing this, knowing that this is the sort of thing that is right up my alley. I would totally do something like that. I’ve been known to do something weird to make a point. It not only turned the creeped-out table on that dude, but gave us both a good laugh.

So, if you don’t want that attention, be a weirdo. It works like a charm.

But…if you want some non-creepy attention, if you want someone to maybe even like you, cookies are always a good route. These cookies want your attention, even if they aren’t beauty queens. They have deep, chocolatey flavor, nutty-sweet pecans, rich bits of dark chocolate, and crunchy, sea salt sprinkles. They are dense, yet soft and yielding. Perfect with cold milk.

Chocolate Pecan Cookies with Sea Salt

Adapted from The Kitchn. Makes about 2 dozen. 

The original recipe suggests using the best dutch-process cocoa, fresh nuts, and quality chocolate or chips. I agree whole-heartedly, the flavor of the cookies will be totally worth the quality ingredients. I used Valrhona cocoa powder, ghiradelli chips, freshly-toasted pecans, and Maldon salt. You can use just all-purpose flour if you do not have/want the white whole wheat. 

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup white whole wheat flour

2/3 cup unsweetened, dutch processed cocoa powder

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon instant espresso powder

1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter, softened

1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup bittersweet chocolate chips/chopped chocolate pieces

1 cup pecans, toasted and broken into pieces

flaky sea salt for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 375F and line sheet pans with parchment or silicone baking mats.

In a medium bowl whisk together flours, cocoa, baking powder, salt, and espresso. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer or with a hand mixer on medium, beat the butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Scrape down sides and add eggs one at a time until well-combined, scraping as needed. Mix in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low and mix in dry ingredients, just until combined. Fold in the chocolate and nuts.

Drop or scoop dough onto baking sheets, spaced 2 inches apart, sprinkle with sea salt, and bake for 10-15 minutes (mine took 11) until puffed and still slightly shiny in the middle. Transfer to a cooling rack to cool and store in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Serve with cold glasses of milk.

 

 

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Recipe: Iced Eggnog Cookies

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So, I don’t know if you noticed, but, there are some big changes around here!

By here, I mean this here blog. I have a new design (duh!), a little space for some ads (so I can fund some more giveaways and fun things!), I’ve updated my links page with some of my favorite reads and inspirations, I’m also working on a recipe index and a new about page! Yay! All this change has been a long time coming, I’m an indecisive gal, so there have been many tweaks and changes along the way and more than a few complete do-overs. Luckily, I have a really understanding and patient web/tech guy–my husband, Sean. By day he’s an engineer, by night he dabbles in web design (not only did he do this page, he also did this one). What a guy.

Instead of paying him in dolla-bills, I pay him in undying affection and an endless supply of sweet treats. Sometimes it’s a spin on a favorite, sometimes I force him to try something he claims to dislike…only to win him over in the end (usually).

Lately, these treats have been holiday-centric, like this coffee cake, and these Iced Eggnog Cookies. Though, neither Sean nor I enjoy really drinking eggnog,–it’s a consistency thing–we both really love it in baked goods. It easily replaces the milk in many a recipe and brings it’s nutmeg-y richness to the party. These cookies are soft, cakey, and get a double hit of nog in both the cookie batter and the glaze. I also added some fresh nutmeg for additional spice and holiday cheer.

P.S. If you notice any quirks or difficulties with navigating this new site, definitely let me know so we can fix it.

Iced Eggnog Cookies

adapted from Orangette 

I made these cookies for the first time years ago for my first-ever blog post. Lots of things have changed around here since then, I’m much less woe-is-me and I’ve worked on honing those baking and camera skills, but these cookies–in any form–remain a favorite. 

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (or ground)

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons softened, unsalted butter

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/3 cup dairy eggnog, well shaken

for the glaze

1 cup confectioner’s sugar

pinch of salt

1/8 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg (or ground)

2 tablespoons eggnog

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350F. Line 2 baking sheets with silicone liners or parchment, set aside.

In a medium bowl whisk together flour, nutmeg, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer or with electric beaters, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg, beat to combine and scrape bowl well. Add vanilla, beat to combine. Mix in flour and eggnog alternately, beginning and ending with flour, until just combined. Scrape down sides of bowl as needed.

Drop tablespoons of dough on cookie sheets about 1 1/2 inches apart-cookies will flatten slightly while baking, but still be domed. Bake sheets 1 at a time until cookies are puffed and slightly golden around the edges (9-12 minutes). Cool the cookies on sheets for 1 minute before transferring to a cooling rack.

To make the glaze: Whisk together all of the ingredients until combined. Add more confectioner’s sugar or eggnog to acheive the consistency you like. Spoon glaze over slightly warm cookies. Allow to set on wire rack until cool and glaze hardens slightly.

Cookies are best the day they are made when they are tender and cakey. They do keep well in an airtight container for a few days, but will be slightly chewier and less tender.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Recipe: Chocolate Mint Creme Sandwich Cookies

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It’s chocolatey and minty around here still.

Since Andes are my husbands fave candy, since he’s a choco-saurus rex, since it’s Christmas time and that means cookie time, I made chocolate sandwich cookies with minty, whipped buttercream. It just seemed appropriate.

I think these cookies would make a fine addition to any holiday cookie spread, especially for those mint+chocolate loving guys and gals. The chocolate cookies hold their shape like a champ in the oven and have a little give on the tooth–which is totally necessary since we don’t want minty buttercream squishing out the sides with each bite. Cookie to creamy filling ratios are maintained and all is well. The buttercream is light and pleasantly minty–not punch-your-face-minty. It’s made with the crazy milky-flour-paste method, which I think makes such a creamy, dreamy, whipped up buttercream that melts oh-so-nicely on the tongue. It’s good stuff and even better sandwiched between two deep, dark cookies. At room temperature this frosting is pretty soft, so if you want something a little more stable I’d go with a butter+powdered sugar+extract sort of deal. You do what you want. You’re the boss.

Chocolate Roll-Out Cookies

adapted from Martha Stewart’s Holiday Cookies magazine 2010

The butter for this dough is melted, which makes it super easy to pull together if you haven’t thought about softening your butter ahead of time. This dough is pretty soft, even after being chilled. I would suggest dividing the dough and working with 1/3-1/2 at a time, leaving the remaining dough in the refrigerator. 

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup unsweetened, Dutch-process cocoa powder

2 teaspoons instant espresso powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

2/3 cup packed, brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 large egg

buttercream for filling

Whisk together flour, cocoa, espresso powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. In another bowl, whisk together melted butter, brown sugar, vanilla, and egg–add flour mixture and stir until dough forms.

Divide the dough in half, pat into disks and wrap well. Chill for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350F. Roll out dough between 2 pieces of parchment to 1/4-1/8 inch thick. Using desired cutters, cut out shapes and transfer to parchement or silicone lined baking sheets. Chill cut-out cookies on sheets in the freezer for 5-10 minutes, until firm to the touch. Bake 1 sheet at a time in the center of the oven for 8-10 minutes–depending on size of cookie shapes–remove from oven and allow to cool completely on the sheets on a wire rack. Repeat, re-rolling scrap dough once or twice.

Spread cooled cookies with filling. Drizzle with melted chocolate if desired. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Mint Whipped Buttercream

adapted from Baked Explorations

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

pinch of salt

1 1/2 cups milk

1/3 cup heavy cream

1 1/2 cups unsalted butter (3 sticks/12 ounces)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons peppermint extract

green food color gel (I used a teeny, tiny amount to get a pale green color)

Fill the sink halfway with ice and water.

In a medium saucepan, whisk together sugar and flour. Add the milk and cream, whisk to combine and heat, whisking occasionally, until the mixture comes to a low boil and has thickened.

Transfer mixture to the bowl of a stand mixture and submerge the bowl halfway into the sink of ice water, and stir mixture until it cools to room temperature, making sure to not let any water into the bowl. Dry the bowl and fit it onto the stand mixer, fitted with paddle attachment. Beat on high until the mixture is completely cool, reduce the speed to low and and add butter, mix until incorporated thoroughly. Increase the speed to medium-high and and beat until the frosting is light and fluffy, about 1-2 minutes.

Add the vanilla, mint extract, and food color gel (if using), and beat to combine.

 

 

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Recipe: Citrus Gingerbread Trees

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I am so not a “Black Friday” shopper. I don’t fare well in crowds of bargain insanity. Gifts at majorly discounted prices, while enticing, simply aren’t worth my mental well being and I’m not sure that I could recover from that sort of retail hell. I commend those of you that can handle all that spirited heat, but I’ll stick to weekday and internet shopping.

I’ll just be one less person in the holiday horde.

Truth is, I’ve been in the mood for Christmas since the beginning of November, but I held back my holiday-spirit-crazy and waited for the day after Thanksgiving. Instead of shopping it up on “Black Friday”, I like to bust out all of my Christmas decor, our well loved fake tree (don’t hate, it’s pre-lit and not a fire hazard), light some pine-y candles, drink some coffee with Bailey’s, and deck those halls. I love trimming the tree and I have quite the ornament collection. Most are from a childhood tradition of picking an ornament out every year–one each for my mom, brother, and myself. I carry on this tradition with Sean. It’s pretty much my favorite and makes for an eclectic tree covered in Barbies and robots, sweet treats and dinosaurs, dragons and glittered baubles. This year I discovered that I have nearly 20 heart ornaments as well…apparently I love heart shaped things.

Another thing I love about the holidays are the cookies. If there were a season for cookie-baking and eating, this would be it. To commemorate this season of sugar and spice, I baked up a batch of citrus-y gingerbread tree cut-outs. When I worked in a bakery before we moved, I cut-out, literally, thousands of sugar, chocolate, and gingerbread cookies, then decorated them and it really wore me out on cut-out cookies for a while. I enjoy decorating cookies for fun these days but, nothing too fancy. They are spicy from ginger, allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg and a little black pepper, and zesty from lemon and mandarin. They aren’t too sweet, but a little vanilla scented royal icing makes them just sweet enough and pretty too.

Citrus Gingerbread Trees

adapted from Martha Stewart’s Holiday Cookies Magazine 2010

Makes about 24 trees

2 sticks (8oz) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup packed, dark brown sugar

zest of 3 mandarins and 1 meyer lemon, about 2 tablespoons of zest, loosely packed (can use any citrus zest you like)

1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger root

1 large egg

1/2 cup unsulfured molasses

2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground allspice

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the rolling surface

royal icing , sanding sugar, disco dust, and sugar pearls for decorating

Beat the butter, brown sugar, zests, and fresh ginger together with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes. Add the egg and mix well. Beat in the molasses. In a separate bowl whisk together cinnamon, ground ginger, allspice, nutmeg, black pepper, baking soda, salt and flour. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture, 1 cup at a time, mixing just until incorporated. Divide dough into quarters, shape into disks and wrap well with plastic. Chill for 3-24 hours.

Preheat oven to 375F. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out 1 disk of dough to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut out shapes using desired cookie cutters and place on parchment or silicone lined baking sheets. Repeat with remaining dough, re-rolling scraps as needed. Chill cut-outs on baking sheets for 20 minutes, until firm.

Bake 2 sheets at a time, rotating pans halfway through, for 12-15 minutes. Let cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely before decorating. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 week.

Royal Icing

adapted from Joy of Baking

4 cups sifted confectioners sugar

3 tablespoons meringue powder

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

6 tablespoons warm water (more or less for desired consistency)

Using an electric mixer, combine sugar and meringue powder, add vanilla and water and beat until glossy and stiff peaks form. Dilute with water as needed for desired consistency. Spoon icing into bowls and stir in food coloring to combine. Either use immediately or store in an airtight container. Fit icing bags with tips and fill with desired colors. Ice cookies as desired, sprinkle with sanding sugar while icing is wet, and allow to dry uncovered, at room temperature overnight to harden.