Brownie Roll-Out Cookies

After a very, very long hiatus, I'm starting to think about baking and blogging again. And since today is Valentine's I thought I would share these yummy cookies I made to celebrate this day of everything red, pink, heart-shaped and chocolatey

Orange Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies

• I have no picture of these cookies to show you.
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• The reason being I ate them all before I had the decency to take out my camera and have some proof that these existed.
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• Now the proof is on my waist and I am working on eliminating it.
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• I originally started making milk chocolate chip cookies but decided I didn't really want any. Of course I made some though, D wouldn't be happy with me if I changed my plans completely. So I divided the dough in half before adding the milk chocolate chips and used the other half of chipless dough to make these cranberry cookies. I just added the orange zest, white chocolate chips and dried cranberries until the mixture looked about right.
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• And now, I really don't have any need for the regular chocolate chip cookies. 
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• The following recipe makes the full amount of cranberry cookies. You can do what I did and just divide it in half after making the basic dough or half it before you even begin.
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• Orange Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies (original from allrecipes.com)
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• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• zest of one large orange
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons hot water
• 1 to 2 cups dried cranberries
• 1 to 2 cups white chocolate chips
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• 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• 2. Cream together the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla and orange zest. Dissolve baking soda in hot water. Add to batter along with salt. Stir in flour, cranberries, and white chocolate chips. Drop by large spoonfuls onto ungreased pans.
• 3. Bake for about 10-12 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are nicely browned.

Pepparkakor - Gingerbread Cookies

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These are by far my favorite holiday cookies. The Swedish Pepparkakor are identical with Finnish Piparkakut and taking a bite of one of these takes me back home for a moment. We would use our gingerbread boy, girl, pig and scalloped cookie cutters and decorate the baked cookies with Royal Icing. I also use the same recipe for Gingerbread houses and Christmas trees. I just bake them a little longer so they are sturdy enough for building.

This year I actually decided to bake some of these before Thanksgiving, thus the pictured leaf shapes.

• Pepparkakkor (from Allrecipes.com)
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• 8 ounces butter (2 sticks)
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1 tablespoon dark baking syrup, see note below (or light corn syrup, or molasses)
• 1 egg
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons ground cloves
• 1/4 cup orange juice 
• 2 teaspoons orange zest
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• 1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
• 2. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Stir in egg, corn syrup, orange juice, and orange zest. Sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves; stir into the creamed mixture until combined. Chill in the fridge at least a few hours. I generally wait till the next day.
• 3. Roll dough out to 1/8 inch thickness, and cut into shapes with cookie cutters. Bake for 7 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool cookies on wire racks.

Note: Dark baking syrup is something that I grew up with in Finland. It is used instead of molasses or corn syrup and has much nicer taste than regular American molasses. If you'd like, you can find it at Ikea's Swedish Food Market.

Royal Icing (also from Allrecipes.com)

• 3 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 2 egg whites, beaten (see note below)
• Lemon extract, optional
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• In a bowl, sift together confectioners' sugar and cream of tartar. Using electric mixer, beat in 2 beaten egg whites for about 5 minutes or until mixture is thick enough to hold its shape. 
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Note: I do not use egg whites for my Royal Icing. I substitute Meringue Powder which has substitution instructions on the container. Meringue powder is basically dried and powdered egg whites and poses no health risks. You can find it on the cake decorating aisle at your local craft store or walmart.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

To celebrate December 1st I made these puppies. I found them on a blog that I just discovered. They're yummy, delicious and so addicting. I like to eat them when they've chilled a bit in the fridge. Make them, they're so easy and fun!


Pumpkin Whoopie Pies (from eatliverun.com)

3 cups all purpose flour
2 cups packed dark brown sugar
1 cup canola oil
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups pumpkin
1 tsp baking power
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground white pepper


Frosting: I used my cream cheese frosting (using vanilla instead of lemon)


1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, beat together the brown sugar and oil. Add the pumpkin and eggs and mix well. Set aside.
3. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ground cloves, ginger, cinnamon, ground white pepper, salt and nutmeg.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix.
5. Scoop (or pipe) golf ball sized portions of batter onto lined baking sheets. Bake for twelve minutes. Let cool thoroughly before sandwiching together with frosting.


Have we had enough pumpkin and cream cheese recipes yet? I sure don't think so...

Homemade Oreos - Whoopie Pies

This is a recipe I got from a coworker of mine while I was finishing my internship at a local hospital's lab. He would bring them to work on Fridays and I would take some home and have them for breakfast on Saturday. Talking about healthy eating...

Homemade Oreos

2 pkg Devils Food Cake Mix (Betty Crocker)
1 1/2 cups shortening
4 eggs
2 Tbsp milk

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix all ingredients together. Roll into 1 inch balls, or smaller. Place on ungreased baking sheets.
3. Bake for 9 minutes (I always bake for 9 minutes, no matter what. I really don't know what to tell you to look for when determining whether they're ready or not.) Let cool for 5 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack to cool completely. Fill with cream cheese frosting, homemade or store-bought.

Cream Cheese Frosting

2 cups confectioner's sugar
1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese, softened
1 Tbsp butter, softened
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
milk

Beat cream cheese and butter together until smooth and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Gradually beat in confectioner's sugar until fluffly. If needed, add milk 1/2 Tbsp at a time to get desired consistency.

Note: I regularly half the cookie recipe and then just use half of the frosting. That way I'm not tempted to eat a whole bunch of these delicious cookies. Half a batch makes plenty for my husband and I, and a couple of our friends.

I have also flavored the filling with raspberry or orange extract after leaving the vanilla out. Then I dipped half of the cookie in chocolate candy coating and let it harden. But I warn you, one of these dipped cookies will take your blood sugar levels over the top.

My Apologies

I made you cookies. Lots and lots of cookies! Every single day. Just for you. Will you forgive me?

But really, I'm sorry I've been gone. I've been busy with things. I don't remember what those things were, but still... I have been baking though. Monkey bread, broccoli quiche, banana cream pie, blackberry cobbler... but writing about it has been a challenge. All in due time.

Oh, and the sugar cookies? I tested some Halloween ones. Didn't have black food coloring though so had to live with purple. They do need a little tweaking. We'll see about those on October 31st.

The moons, leaves and pumpkins? They were just for fun, and I loved brushing the icing on. Now I consider them my lazy cookies. No piping, no waiting. Just brush and sprinkle, and eat. Makes me wonder why I didn't try that before.

Speaking of sugar cookies, if you'd like to see some amazing and inspiring decorated cookies, visit Bake at 350. Just click on Cookie Index and browse away. My favorite? Beer and Hot Dogs!

Cookie Fun!

Here are some pictures of the sugar cookies I made with my new cutter set.

I was afraid they would lose their shape while baking, but to my delight the turned out fabulous.

Here are the fall themed cookies.

I also made some more summery ones since D. didn't want to think about fall yet.

Simple and cute!

And if you want more colorful ones...

I found a tutorial for Shortbread Buttons the other night and decided to try it out with sugar cookie dough.

Not quite as neat-looking as with shortbread dough but still fun and girly.

p.s. I didn't end up decorating the chili pepper cookies. They were sacrificed for common good and eaten by a hungry mob while still warm.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Here's another cake mix favorite, and my husband's favorite cookie. Delicious, fragrant and oh so easy!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 box Spice Cake Mix
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two cookie sheets or line them with parchment paper.
2. Place all ingredients in a large bowl and stir with a spoon until well mixed.
3. Drop spoonfuls of batter on cookie sheets and bake for 10-15 minutes, until set. Let cookies cool on pans for 5 minutes before removing to a cooling rack. Let cool completely.

Mint Chocolate Biscotti

I saw people making biscotti on TV. I thought about it for a day or two and I knew I had to make some. Otherwise there would be no peace for me.

Luckily there was a bag of Andes Creme de Menthe baking chips calling my name in our kitchen cupboard. 

I must use them!

I must make biscotti!

I must make Mint Chocolate Biscotti!

The peace has been restored!

Mint Chocolate Biscotti

1/3 cup butter, softened

2/3 cup white sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa

2 tsp baking powder

3/4 cup Andes Creme de Menthe baking chips

1 egg yolk

1 Tbsp water

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

2. Combine flour, cocoa and baking powder in a bowl. Set aside.

3. Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time. Stir in vanilla. Stir in flour mixture and mix in baking chips until well combined. 

4. Divide dough into two equal parts. Shape into 9x2x1 inch loaves on the parchment paper, 4 inches apart. (If the dough is sticky, wet your hands to shape it easier. Do not add more flour.) Brush with egg yolk/water mixture.

5. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until firm. Let cool for 10 minutes. Decrease oven temperature to 350 degrees.

6. Use a serrated knife to carefully cut diagonal 1-inch slices. Place slices flat on their sides on a baking sheet (no paper). Bake for about 10 minutes on each side, or until dry. Watch so they don't burn. Cool completely and store in an airtight container.

I used some melted leftover Andes chips to dip the biscotti in. Yum. 

If you feel like the biscotti burn or get too dry during the second bake, you can decrease the oven temperature to 250 degrees.

"How do you like them apples?"

I watched Good Will Hunting last Saturday. That movie has nothing to do with my sugar cookies. Except that while I was baking them all I could think of was Will saying "How do you like them apples?!?"

Yes, I'm weird.

Weird in so many ways. Especially while decorating the 55th apple sugar cookie at 11 pm.

I made these cookies for a couple my husband's coworkers who requested them for Teacher Appreciation Week. The best part was that I got paid for making them. My first cookie order!

After a moment of utter panic and stress (I'm out of toothpicks! I'm out of frosting bags! The icing is running off the darn cookie! My baby is crying! My world is coming to an end!), I finally calmed down, stop thinking about all the people who would glare at my cookies and think "well, that's a funky looking cookie if I've ever seen one!".

I don't think I could be a professional baker. I worry too much. Can you tell?

They did turn out quite fun, after a couple of practice runs.

Practice run #1

This one looks like something Snow White would take a bite of.

Practice run #2

And this one is just lumpy. That's what happens when your icing is too thick. Duh.

Rest of them turned out better though. And the cute packaging just makes it all look like I almost know what I'm doing.

Maybe my world isn't coming to an end, after all.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

These warm my heart.

I originally made them for my brother who was visiting from Finland. They warmed his heart too.

Then I ended up taking some to my husband's graduation party. They were gone to the last crumb.

Warm, chewy, slightly spicy, and oh so yummy!


Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 whole eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups quick-cooking oats
1 1/2 cups raisins

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt. Set aside.
3. Cream butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time adding vanilla with the last egg. Beat until smooth. Stir in the flour mixture. Stir in the oats and raisins.
4. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 9-12 minutes until light and golden. Do not overbake. Let cool on sheets for 2 minutes before removing to a cooling rack to cool completely. Store in airtight container.

I ended up keeping the dough in the fridge for a couple of days while baking some everyday. I thought they turned out nicer after having the dough chilled. And it was great to have some warm cookies everyday. Made me feel spoiled!

Alfajores

These are dulce the leche filled cookies that one can find from South America. That's all I know, and I won't pretend to know anything else about them.

What I do know is that these are yummy!

Alfajores

1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups cornstarch
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup white sugar
3 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp lemon extract
2 tsp lemon zest

1 (11.5 oz) jar dulce de leche, or you can make your own
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (optional)
Powdered sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking soda and baking powder. Set aside.
2. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in yolks one at a time, adding extracts and zest with the last egg yolk.Fold in the flour mixture, forming a crumbly dough. Press into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 min to 1 hr. ( I had to add just a little bit of water to get it shaped, but it was still quite crumbly. It'll be ok!)
3. Roll out the dough (if still too crumbly, add a little water) to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut out small round cookies and place them on the parchment paper 1/2 inch apart. Continue pressing the dough together, rolling it out and cutting.
4. Bake until set, not browned, for 7-10 minutes (mine only needed 8 minutes). Remove cookies immediately to cool on a wire rack.
5. Spread some dulce de leche on the underside of a cookie and top with another cookie. Roll the sides with coconut and dust powdered sugar on top.

Original recipe:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Alfajores-Argentinean-Style/Detail.aspx

Note: Adding water may be against the rules but they still turned out great. Who said I was going to follow any rules anyway?

Thanks to my dear friend Corinne for inspiring and helping me to make these!

Rolled Sugar Cookies and Icing

I have completely lost it now.

A lot of you know I love baking, but I do have other things in my life that should get done.

Such as laundry, dishes, cleaning, cooking, feeding, diapering, bathing, grooming the dog, walking the dog, showering the dog slobber off of me after walking the dog, etc.

Instead of doing all that, I decided to use my 'spare' time on this.

Hours later my hand, and my brain (why, I do not know) were exhausted and I thought to myself: They better taste good.

Oh, they did.

Here are the recipes.

Rolled Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

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

Directions

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

Recipe modified from:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/The-Best-Rolled-Sugar-Cookies/Detail.aspx

Sugar Cookie Icing

Ingredients

• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 tbsp milk
• 1 tbsp light corn syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon lemon extract
• assorted food coloring

Directions

• 1. In a small bowl, stir together confectioners' sugar and milk until smooth. Beat in corn syrup and lemon extract until icing is smooth and glossy. If icing is too thick, add more corn syrup.
• 2. Divide into separate bowls, and add food colorings to each to desired intensity. Frost away!
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Note: You may need to tweak the amount of corn syrup and milk, depending how thick or thin you want the icing. 

Recipe modified from:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Sugar-Cookie-Icing/Detail.aspx

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go and exercise all that butter off of my buttocks.