Cookies, Cookies, Cookies!

Peanut Butter Pretzel Bars

I love cookies. I mean LOVE cookies (and cupcakes, and brownies and fudge...okay, any dessert, LOL). I try not to make cookies the rest of the year, because then I'll EAT them, but at the holidays, I go on a baking spree :-) This week, I made White Chocolate Raspberry Thumbprints, Peanut Butter Pretzel Bars, and Melted Snowmen cookies.

First up was the Peanut Butter Pretzel Bars, a request from a friend after I saw it on Pinterest. They were delicious, and really easy! I bought the Peanut Butter Pretzels at Meijer--there was a plastic jar of them on the potato chip aisle, by the pretzels. I used Nestle's Chocolate Chip Cookie dough. I ate all the crumbs :-)


Next up is my White Chocolate Raspberry Thumbprints, which is one of my own recipes (and is featured in Sugar and Spice). It's a favorite with my whole family, and an annually requested recipe. The kids have already eaten all the extras :-) They freeze super well, and are quick and easy. See below for the recipe.

Then I made my Melted Snowman cookies. They weren't as pretty as last year's, and that's because I used the canned Betty Crocker frosting instead of buying the pro tips at the candy and cake decorating store. I almost always forget I've got those metal cake decorating tips in the sink and grind one or more up in the garbage disposal, LOL.


Melted Snowman Cookies
 

These ones are pretty easy. I use the recipe from The Somewhat Simple blog. I use Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix (I find that works better than the refrigerated, already made kind), Then I buy the Royal Icing mix, add enough water to make it at "flood" stage, and do the decorating on top of waxed paper.

I bought the Betty Crocker black, green, orange and red icing cans this year, but would definitely recommend pro decorating  tips if you can get them. It takes a little practice, but overall, the decorating is pretty easy, especially for non-crafter like me :-)

I assembled them all on a tray for a party I'm going to tomorrow night. I was going to decorate the tray, then figured the cookies were enough decoration :-)


White Chocolate Raspberry Thumbprints
(from Sugar and Spice)

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla (I always use real vanilla)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup seedless raspberry jam
1 cup white chocolate chips
Red sugar sprinkles
 
Trust me, these ones are so good, you won’t have any left for guests (and whoever invented that rule about sharing your cookies, anyhow? It’s Christmas, indulge yourself a little). In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and the shortening with an electric mixer (or use a stand mixer and let the machine do the work), then add the sugar, powdered sugar, baking soda, cream of tarter, and the salt. Beat just until combined.

Add the egg and vanilla, then mix in the flour gradually. Cover the dough and refrigerate for three hours. I know, it’s a long wait, but it’ll be worth it later. Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Roll the dough into 3/4-inch balls and put them on an ungreased cookie sheet. With your thumb or the end of a wooden spoon, press a circular indentation into the center of each cookie. Drop a 1/4 teaspoon of jam into each thumbprint. Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes, then cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, pour yourself a glass of milk and get into serious cookie-eating mode. Skip lunch if you have to-there’s no way a tuna on rye can compete.

Put the white chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high in 30-second bursts, stirring each time, until the chips are melted. Pour the white chocolate into a resealable plastic bag and snip off a tiny bit of one corner. Drizzle the white chocolate over the cookies. Sprinkle cookies with red sugar to add that festive flair.

Now you’re ready to indulge-don’t worry about the calories until January 1st. Makes three dozen, just enough for you and a friend!

 

Did you catch my post on the cupcakes and the Salted Caramel Shortbread I made the other week? Tell me, what cookies are you making this year? Which ones are your MUST HAVE cookies for the holidays?

 

Shirley

Salted Caramel Shortbread

I may never eat another vegetable again. I think I'm going to go the rest of my life, eating these every single meal. They are that good. Just awesomeness, in every bite.

Salted Caramel Shortbread Cookies

1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
kosher salt

3 sticks butter (3/4 pound), unsalted, room temperature
1 cup sugar, plus extra
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 1/2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

First, make the caramel. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Pour the milk into a pie plate, stir in 1/4 teaspooon kosher salt, and cover it tightly with foil. Put the pie plate in a big roasting pan, and fill it halfway up the pie plate with hot water. Bake for 1 to 1 1/4 hours, adding more water if necessary. Let cool, then whisk until smooth.

Meanwhile, make the cookies.Set the oven at 350 degrees. The butter has to be room temp for this to work well, so what I did was set the butter out first thing in the morning, make the caramel, then about 15 minutes before that was done, I made the cookies.

Cream the butter and sugar in a mixer. Add the vanilla. Mix the salt with the flour, then add the dry ingredients a little at a time and mix until the dough comes together. I formed the dough into square logs (though you can make it into a plate shape and roll it out; I just hate doing cut-out cookies). Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes.

Slice or cut the dough into 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick cookies (mine were like 1/3 an inch). They don't spread much, so you can get quite a few on an ungreased cookie sheet. Sprinkle with reserved sugar. Bake for 20-24 minutes, switching the cookie sheets halfway through to get even cooking. Keep an eye on them because they go from perfect to burned fast.

Put wax paper under your cooling rack. Remove cookies from the oven, place on the cooling racks. Heat the caramel for 30 seconds in the microwave, then put it in a Ziploc bag and snip one end (to make a homemade pastry bag). Drizzle cookies with caramel, then sprinkle with kosher salt.
Eat. Repeat ;-)

Shirley

Christmas Treats :-)

 

I love baking at Christmas. It's a nice excuse to have a few thousand extra calories, all in the name of a holiday, of course ;-) I know I'll be running off these calories for the rest of winter, but hey, these desserts are worth it.

Peanut Butter Surprise Cupcakes
 

 

I've been spending WAY too much time on Pinterest lately, pinning cupcakes and cookies and all kinds of dessert ideas. I saw these Peanut Butter Surprise Cupcakes and HAD to have them. Reese's are, after all, my favorite candy eva, and these were like big Reese's. They're cupcakes with buckeyes in the center, and Reese's on top.

I mean, really, what more does one need?

Not to mention, they were EASY.

PEANUT BUTTER SURPRISE CUPCAKES

Center: 1 1/2 cups Peanut butter

1 cup butter, softened

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

6 cups confectionary sugar

Mix all in a mixer (my trusty Kitchen Aid was busy tonight!) then form into balls a little smaller than 1-inch around.

 

For the cupcakes, I mixed up Devil's Food cake mix. Line your cupcake pans with liners, add a little cake mix on the bottom, put in a peanut butter ball, then top with enough cake mix to cover. Bake as directed on the box.

 

The frosting is a Peanut Butter Buttercream  (I know, the calories in this...I can't even think about them!)

3/4 cup butter, room temperature

1/2 cup shortening

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1/4 to 1/2 cup heavy cream (I used half-and-half)

4-5 cups confectionary sugar

 

Blend all in the mixer, whipping on high speed until fluffy. Add more or less cream and confectionary sugar to get the consistency you want. Frost, top with a mini Reese's, and eat!

 

 

These are the ones I made for my husband's company (along with some Kiss cookies).

Then I made these fun Santa cupcakes. It's a basic yellow cake cupcake (from my trusty Betty Crocker), topped with white buttercream (what I did was double the above recipe for buttercream, but left out the peanut butter. Frosted the Santa ones first, then mixed in the PB and frosted the Peanut Butter Surprise Cupcakes).

The legs are Twizzlers, cut in thirds. Dip in frosting, then top with black frosting boots. I sprinkled the cupcakes with white sparkles. Easy and cute!!

 

Follow me on Pinterest, or let me know if you're a foodie like me and I'll follow you! Also, look for info soon about a new book!

 

I'm off to have cupcakes and milk! :-)

 

Shirley

Join Me on Mystery Lovers Kitchen!

I'm over at Mystery Lover's Kitchen today, blogging about the exciting re-release of several of my books and sharing a low-calorie cookie recipe. Join me and tell me your favorite low-call sweet treat!

Shirley

More Christmas Cookies: Macadamia Nut Yummies

During my baking frenzy a couple weeks ago a friend of mine asked if I was making white chocolate macadamia nut. I've eaten plenty of these in my lifetime, but never made them, so when I got a few free minutes (my Christmas presents are all bought and wrapped--yeah!), I made a couple batches of these.

I had a bunch of my daughter's friends over last night for "Soup-a-Palooza Dos." I'd held one a month or so ago (and just realized I didn't blog about it...sorry! Will remedy that in the next few days). Anyway, I made these cookies as dessert to go with the soups. They were light and sweet, the perfect compliment, IMO.

I know Macadamia Nut cookies generally call for White Chocolate chips, but I had trouble finding those in the store...for some reason there weren't ANY. So I mixed half white chocolate chips that I had left in my cabinet and half Vanilla Chips, which is what the store had. I think it gave the cookies another dimension of flavor, and each chip was a little surprise, with the two working together nicely. Hence the name "Yummies." :-) You can do a little of both, as I have in my recipe below, or do one or the other (total is one cup of chips)

Macadamia Nut Yummies
Makes 2 1/2 dozen

1/2 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour (plus a little extra if the batter is too wet)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3 1/2 ounces macadamia nuts, chopped
1/2 cup vanilla chips
1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, Beat in the egg, then the vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine flour and baking soda, then add to the batter a little at a time. If the batter is too moist, add another 2 or 3 tablespoons of flour. You want it pliable but not sticky. Stir in the nuts and chips.

Cut a sheet of parchment paper for each cookie sheet (trust me, it's worth it. You end up with pretty much zero cleanup). Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls onto the ungreased sheets, about two inches apart. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool on the sheet for one minute before transferring to a wire rack.

I made 2 1/2 dozen with this recipe. You can get more or less, depending on the size of your cookies. Or how much raw batter you eat (not recommended by lawyers, salmonella and all that) while waiting on the first batch to cook ;-)

Shirley

Christmas Cookies #3: Snow-Capped Macaroons

For those of you who are on Facebook with me, you know the dog (not my dog, but DH's pointer, who does his best to drive me nuts) ATE MY COOKIES yesterday. He ate the ginger cookies, and the thumbprints. ALL of them.

Darn dog. And yes, he's okay. And I have forgiven him.

Mostly.

So I spent today in my kitchen baking some more. (argh). I made Peanut Butter Cookies, more thumbprints, some of these Snow-Capped Macaroons as well as a cake. Didn't make more Ginger cookies because I didn't have any more candied ginger so those will have to wait until next week.

I also tried another Food Network Mag recipe for Chocolate Malted Sandwiches. They were a disaster. I don't know if my butter was too soft/warm or what, but the dough refused to cooperate, so I scrapped them halfway in. And they sounded so good, too :-(

Instead, I made these Snow-Capped Macaroons. Quite easy, and very tasty. They don't make very many--I got just under two dozen from this recipe--but they're good. I wished I had some cool white sprinkles for on top, because the sprinkles I did use don't really show very well :-(


Snow-Capped Macaroons (recipe from Food Network Magazine)

2 large egg whites
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup sliced almonds, crushed
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups sweetened shredded coconut

For the Glaze:
6 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
3 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Coarse sugar crystals, for decorating

Make the cookies: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Lightly beat the egg whites in a medium bowl until frothy, then stir in the granulated sugar, almonds, vanilla and salt. Fold in the coconut.

Drop tablespoonfuls of the batter 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets. Dampen your hands and form into tall pointed mounds. Bake until the edges are golden brown and the macaroons look dry, 16 to 20 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Make the glaze: Put the chocolate, corn syrup, butter and 3 tablespoons hot water in a microwave-safe bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave until melted, about 2 minutes. Whisk until smooth.

Dip the tip of each macaroon about halfway into the glaze, then place on a clean parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with coarse sugar, then refrigerate until the glaze sets, about 1 hour. Store in an airtight container up to 1 week.

Shirley

Christmas Cookies #2: Ina Garten's Ultimate Ginger Cookies

I love ginger cookies. They're the perfect treat with a cup of coffee in the morning, or a cup of tea in the afternoon (okay, so are the White Chocolate Raspberry Thumbprints I made yesterday, LOL). The problem with most store bought ones is that they're either too bland in flavor or so hard, you need to sit them in the coffee for a while to soften them ;-)

Ina Garten is my go-to chef for when I want something I know will be awesome. Her Ultimate Ginger Cookies were no exception.

The only thing I changed was making them smaller so I could get more out of the batch (her recipe makes 12-16). They cooked exactly 13 minutes, like her recipe says, and they were, as promised, crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside. Just delicious all around :-)




Ina Garten's Ultimate Ginger Cookies

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup unsulfured molasses
1 extra-large egg, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups chopped crystallized ginger (6 ounces)
Granulated sugar, for rolling the cookies

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, and salt and then combine the mixture with your hands. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the brown sugar, oil, and molasses on medium speed for 5 minutes. Turn the mixer to low speed, add the egg, and beat for 1 minute. Scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula and beat for 1 more minute. With the mixer still on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the bowl and mix on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add the crystallized ginger and mix until combined.

Scoop the dough with 2 spoons or a small ice cream scoop. With your hands, roll each cookie into a 1 3/4-inch ball and then flatten them lightly with your fingers. Press both sides of each cookie in granulated sugar and place them on the sheet pans. Bake for exactly 13 minutes. The cookies will be crackled on the top and soft inside. Let the cookies cool on the sheets for 1 to 2 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Shirley

Christmas Cookies #1: White Chocolate Raspberry Thumbprints

Today was a day of baking. I made three different kinds of cookies and twelve loaves of chocolate banana bread (Tyler Florence's recipe).

These cookies in the picture are my White Chocolate Raspberry Thumbprints. Readers will remember them as the featured recipe in Twelve Days, my novella in Sugar and Spice. I liked them so much, I've made them every year. :-)

They're delicious...just a light sugar cookie base, with raspberry jam filling and then white chocolate drizzle and red sugar sprinkles. A couple things I sometimes do (that aren't in my recipe)....add a teaspoon of vegetable oil to the white chocolate when it's melting to make it more pliable, and keep it from hardening too fast. I also sometimes roll the sugar cookie dough balls in sugar before flattening them and filling them. What's a little extra sweetness at the holidays? ;-)

Shirley's White Chocolate Raspberry Thumbprints

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla (I always use real vanilla)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup seedless raspberry jam
1 cup white chocolate chips

Red sugar sprinkles

Trust me, these ones are so good, you won’t have any left for guests (and whoever invented that rule about sharing your cookies, anyhow? It’s Christmas, indulge yourself a little). In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and the shortening with an electric mixer (or use a stand mixer and let the machine do the work), then add the sugar, powdered sugar, baking soda, cream of tarter, and the salt. Beat just until combined.

Add the egg and vanilla, then mix in the flour gradually. Cover the dough and refrigerate for three hours. I know, it’s a long wait, but it’ll be worth it later. Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Roll the dough into 3/4-inch balls and put them on an ungreased cookie sheet. With your thumb or the end of a wooden spoon, press a circular indentation into the center of each cookie. Drop a 1/4 teaspoon of jam into each thumbprint. Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes, then cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, pour yourself a glass of milk and get into serious cookie-eating mode. Skip lunch if you have to-there’s no way a tuna on rye can compete.

Put the white chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high in 30-second bursts, stirring each time, until the chips are melted. Pour the white chocolate into a resealable plastic bag and snip off a tiny bit of one corner. Drizzle the white chocolate over the cookies. Sprinkle cookies with red sugar to add that festive flair.

Now you’re ready to indulge-don’t worry about the calories until January 1st. Makes three dozen, just enough for you and a friend!

Shirley

Yummy Peanut Butter and Chocolate Cookies

I was in a cooking mood today! I made monkey bars (from a recent issue of Woman's Day), 7 quarts of homemade chicken stock (more on that in another post), my Creamy Wild Rice and Mushroom Soup and White Chicken Chili. I had already made Tyler Florence's Ultimate Roast Chicken (two chickens) so that produced all the stuff for the stock. I'll write about the chicken in another post.

But because I'm the kind of girl who believes in dessert first, LOL, I made these low-fat Peanut Butter and Chocolate Cookies from Cooking Light's Annual Recipes for 2009.

They. Were. Amazing.

I love peanut butter, I love chocolate (I'm a pushover for a Reese's) and this was PERFECT. Just the right amount of everything, and best of all, they're only 96 calories a cookie. Several steps involved, but you can do a lot of the frosting prep while the cookies are baking and cooling.

Cooking Light's Peanut Butter and Chocolate Cookies

Cookies:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon regular salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1/4 cup low-fat milk

2 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Icing:

1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, divided

3 1/2 tablespoons low-fat milk, divided

2 tablespoons half and half (I used lowfat), divided

3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter

1 ounce chocolate chips

1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Either line two cookies sheets with parchment paper or spray them with non-stick spray.

In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt, stirring well. In a mixer, combine sugar, peanut butter, butter, eggs and beat at medium speed about 2 minutes. Add 1/4 cup milk, then add eggs, one at a time, until well blended. Add vanilla. Then add flour to sugar mixture and beat on low until well mixed. This is a thin-ish dough, not at all thick like chocolate chip cookie dough. That's okay--it makes light, fluffy cookies.

Put dough mixture into a big zip-type bag. Snip off a 1/2 inch on one corner, then pipe 1 1/2 inch circles onto the cookie sheets (makes about 36, so 18 cookies per sheet). Bake at 375 for 11 minutes (mine took 12 1/2). Cool for 1 minute on the pans, then remove to wire racks and let cool completely.

To prepare icing: in a bowl, stir together 3/4 cup of the powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons of milk, 1 tablespoon of cream and peanut butter. It should be thin, but not runny (you can always add a tad more milk or powdered sugar to get the right consistency). Put it into a quart-size zip-type bag. In another bowl, melt the chocolate chips in the microwave at 30-second intervals, until almost melted. Stir until smooth. Add remaining 3/4 cup of confectioners' sugar, 1 1/2 tablespoons of milk, 1 tablespoon of cream and cocoa (add extra liquid if necessary). Stir well, then put the chocolate icing into a separate quart-size zip-type bag.

When the cookies are COMPLETELY cool, you can ice them. Snip off a small corner of the peanut butter icing, then drizzle on the cookies. Do the same with the chocolate. Let stand until icing is set (about 10 minutes).

Eat. :-)

Shirley