Cookie Carnival: Wild Blue Energy Chews

It's time for the Cookie Carnival again! As a refresher, it's a monthly group hosted by Tami at Tami's Kitchen Table Talk. Tami scours the recipes and comes up with two cookie recipes for the members to make throughout the month. I really like this group for a lot of reasons:

1) Tami always seems to find recipes I'd never run across on my own. 
2) There is no pressure to bake.With that, there is no due date (with the exception of the end of the month). You can bake them and post them at any time throughout the month.
3) Cookies! They may be my favorite type of dessert!

This month, I chose to make the wild blue energy chews since I had another group making a chocolate-based cookie in the same time frame. It is a Betty Crocker sponsored recipe and starts with their oatmeal cookie mix. While I usually try to avoid using mixes, it certainly does make these quick. I was done from start to finish in about 30 minutes! The resulting cookies were good. I underbaked mine just a tad because oatmeal cookies HAVE to be a little bit chewy. We've recently found that we really enjoy dried blueberries, and the combination of them with the almonds and wheat germ really do give these a "healthier" vibe. One deviation that I had from the published recipe was the yield. The website claims this should make 30 cookies. If you've ever seen one of those packages, they aren't very big. I never really measure my dough balls, but I finished with 18 cookies that are probably 1-1/2-inch in diameter. It's really not a big deal, but I have no idea how you would get 30 cookies. They would be cookie bites!

Would I make them again? Sure, but I think I'll substitute a from-scratch oatmeal cookie recipe. Thanks Tami for another great pick! Be sure to stop by her blog in the next few days to catch the cookie round-up!

(Printable Recipe)

 Wild Blue Energy Chews
From Betty Crocker

Ingredients:
1 pkg. Betty Crocker oatmeal cookie mix
1/4 toasted wheat germ
3 Tbsp. butter, softened
3 Tbsp. canola oil
3 Tbsp. water
1 egg white
1/2 cup dried blueberries
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, stir cookie mix, wheat germ, butter, oil, water, and the egg white until soft dough forms. Stir in blueberries, almonds and chocolate chips. Roll dough into teaspoonful balls and set on the cookie sheet. Flatten the balls slightly with your hands or a spatula.

Bake 11 to 13 minutes or until edges are light brown. Cool on the pan for 5 minutes. Remove from the cookie sheet to a wire cooling rack to cool completely. 

May Cookie Carnival: Strawberry-Rhubarb Bars

This month's Cookie Carnival was guest hosted by Krista from Meet the Swans. I was really excited to get the recipes for this month because they both looked great. When you are choosing between these strawberry-rhubarb bars and homemade ice cream sandwiches, it can be a hard choice! In the end, I probably will not get around to making the ice cream sandwiches before the end of the month, but I am definitely saving that recipe for later in the summer!

The bar recipe is originally from Better Homes and Gardens, and I went with this one since I love rhubarb in desserts! Unfortunately, I haven't been able to locate any fresh rhubarb since moving to Arizona, so I went the frozen route and it worked just fine although I had to boil my mixture for much longer than 10 minutes to get it to thicken. I stayed true to the ingredients called for in the recipe, but used my food processor to mix the dough together because I was feeling a bit lazy. In the end, I think this "chopped" up the oats a little more than the recipe intended, but the crumb layer still turned out really well. 

One thing that is unique is that the recipe calls for ground ginger that is mixed in with the filling and into a ginger glaze that tops the bars. I sneaked a taste of the glaze before I added it to the bars and wasn't a huge fan, but on top of the bars, all the flavors melded together wonderfully. In fact, my husband's exact comment was, "Wow. These are good. Really good." Enjoy!

(Printable Recipe)

Strawberry-rhubarb Bars
From Better Homes and Gardens

Ingredients:
Bars:
Non-stick cooking spray
1-1/2 cups quick cooking oats
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter
1-1/2 cups fresh or frozen rhubarb, thawed
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
2 cups chopped fresh strawberries

Ginger Glaze:
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
3-4 Tbsp. orange juice or milk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8x8 inch baking dish with foil, allowing the foil to extend over the edges of the pan. Coat the foil with non-stick spray. Set aside.

In a bowl, stir together the oats, flour, and 3/4 cup sugar. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs (alternately you can use a food processor). Remove 1-1/2 cups of the oat mixture; set aside. Press the remaining oat mixture into the bottom of the pan. Bake 20 minutes.

For the filling, in a medium saucepan, combine rhubarb, 1/3 cup sugar, water, and 1/2 teaspoon ginger. Cook and stir over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes until mixture is thickened and bubbly (May take longer. Just keep going until the fruit starts to break down and the mixture begins to thicken). Stir in chopped strawberries. Remove 1/2 cup of filling. Cover and set aside. Spoon remaining filling over the hot baked crust. Sprinkle with reserved oat mixture (you may have to crunch this with your hand to make "crumbs" if you used a food processor). Lightly press the mixture down into the topping. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes more or until the top is golden and the filling is bubbly. Cool in a pan on a wire rack. 

For the ginger glaze, in a small bowl, stir together the powdered sugar, ground ginger. Add the orange juice/milk slowly until it reaches drizzling consistency. Set aside. Lift the bars from the pan using the foil and carefully pull the foil away from the sides. Cut into bars. Just before serving, top each bar with a spoonful of filling and drizzle with the ginger glaze. 

April Cookie Carnival: Toasted Coconut Shortbread with Pineapple Topping

It's been a few days since I promised my last strawberry ice cream recipe, but I promise it is still in the plans! Since today is actually the first day of May, my calculations indicate that I have ran out of time to post my goodies from the April Cookie Carnival. We've had quite a busy week culminating with running the Arizona location of the muddy Warrior Dash today. If you are waiting for the ice cream, I promise it will make it up here in a couple of days after I finally get all the dirt cleaned off my body and running clothes! :)

We had some friends over yesterday for the first barbecue in our newly finished backyard, and these cookies turned out to be the dessert hit of the party! This is particularly impressive in my book because the other option was a no-fail caramel brownie :) I have to admit that the coconut-pineapple combination in these proved to be pretty awesome!

While the end result was worth it, I struggled a little with the recipe. After pulsing the dough in my food processor, there was no way it was going to hold together enough to form a cohesive ball of dough. Did anyone else have trouble with crumbly dough? I tried to avoid it, but ended up needing to add 2-3 tsp. milk to the dough to get it to hold together. After this, it cooperated much better. My other complaint is that my yield was much lower than the recipe indicated. I used a coffee cup to cut my circles and ended up with a total of 12 spheres. I don't feel that my coffee cup was that big, so they must have used a really small cookie cutter to end up with 12 sandwich cookies in the test recipe. Since I wanted to have 10-12 servings of each dessert option for people to choose from, we ended up eating them open-sided and added the topping immediately before eating our individual servings. Despite my troubles, I feel like I could now make these rather quickly in the future. I will certainly keep them in mind because they were really enjoyed by our guests! Enjoy! 

(Printable Recipe)

Toasted Coconut Shortbread with Pineapple Topping
Adapted from Anna Olson's recipe on Food Network Canada

Ingredients:
Shortbread:
1/2 cup sweetened coconut, finely shred
1 cup and 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, unsalted, room temperature
2-3 tsp. milk, if needed

Pineapple Cream Topping:
1/2 cup (4 oz) cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup crushed pineapple, drained
2/3 cup whipping cream, whipped to soft peaks

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spread coconut on a baking tray and toast for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown, stirring once. Watch it closely so it does not burn. Set aside and allow to cool to room temperature.

Combine flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor. Add butter in pieces and pulse just until dough is crumbly. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and sprinkle toasted coconut over the dough. Work it into the dough until the dough comes together. May add milk as needed to bring the dough together. Dust work surface again and roll out dough into a rectangle about 1/8-inch thick, and cut into circles using a 3-inch glass or round cookie cutter. Use a spatula to lift cookies onto a parchment-lined baking tray and bake for 10-12 minutes, just until the edges of the cookies begin to brown. Cool cookies on the pan for 5 minutes before removing the cookies to wire racks to cool completely. 

For the pineapple topping, beat whipped cream with an electronic mixer until soft peaks have formed. Set aside. Beat cream cheese until soft and fluffy. Beat in icing sugar and vanilla. Stir in pineapple and fold in whipping cream. Chill until ready to serve. To plate, place a cookie on a plate and spoon or pipe about 2 tablespoons of pineapple cream onto the cookie. 

March Cookie Carnival: Chocolate Brownie Oatmeal Cookies

Our Cookie Carnival recipes this month were both loaded with a special ingredient -- chocolate! Both Chocolate Mint Sandwiches and Chocolate Brownie Oatmeal Cookies were on the March menu. While this thought might be pure bliss for many, I usually shy away from chocolate-based desserts. Don't get me wrong, I love things like chocolate chip cookies, but if given the choice between chocolate and vanilla, I will go for the vanilla every single time. Oddly enough, several days ago, my husband decided that he was craving brownies to go along with his ice cream, thus we decided to give these cookies a go (see below for his cookie-ice cream creation). 

Our verdict: the cookies on their own were just okay. Of course, they were good when served straight out of the oven with ice cream, but the ones that I baked separately as traditional cookies were a little eh. They weren't bad, but they also are not a cookie that I will be moving to my "make again" list. To be completely fair, I did change the recipe by increasing the butter-cream cheese ratio because I was a little short on the amount of cream cheese called for in the recipe, however I don't think this would have greatly affected the taste. 

 You win some, you lose some, and I think that my experience with these cookies is more personal taste than anything else. Check out the others' results after the 1st of April on Tami's blog. I've seen a couple other bloggers, including Tami, that have made these cookies and really enjoyed them! 

(Printable Recipe)

Chocolate Brownie Oatmeal Cookie
From QuakerOats.com

Ingredients:
1 pkg. (8oz) cream cheese
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups (12 oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 tsp. baking soda
3 cups oats (quick or old fashioned)
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
powdered sugar (optional)

In a large bowl, combine flour and baking soda; set aside. In a separate large bowl, beat cream cheese, butter, and sugars until creamy. Add in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla; beat well. Add melted chocolate; mix well. Stir in the flour and baking soda mixture. Add oats and nuts (if using). Stir until just incorporated. Cover and chill for at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place cookies 3 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes or until cookies are almost set. Centers should still be moist. Do not overbake. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets. Remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired. Store tightly covered.

Yield: 6 dozen

February Cookie Carnival: Cosmo Cocktail Cookie Bars

The Cookie Carnival is a pressure-free monthly baking group hosted by the wonderful Tami at Tami's Kitchen Table Talk. Each month, Tami finds 2 cookie recipes - 1 regular recipe and 1 kid-friendly recipe - and as members, we bake along as often as we can. It has been a couple months since I have baked along with these gals, but I'm glad to be back. I love this group because Tami always seems to find cookie recipes that I'd never choose on my own. Because of this, I've enjoyed lots of cookies that I never would have chosen on my own!

The recipes for this month were Cosmo Cocktail Bars and Vanilla Shortbread Hearts. I didn't get a chance to make the Vanilla Shortbread Hearts, but we loved the Cosmo Cocktail Cookie bars. The basic idea of the bars reminds me of a lemon bar. They have that classic shortbread crust with the fruited topping sprinkled with powdered sugar, but the lime zest in the crust and the cranberry-orange topping definitely make them both unique and delicious.

I made the crust for the bars in my food processor, so the process of putting the bars together couldn't have been simpler. Despite this, I still managed to forget the 1/4 c. flour that is suppose to be added to the filling, so I was glad to see that my bars set-up in the middle. This may be evidence that these bars are even "fool-proof." My only intentional change was to omit the vodka since my husband had plans to take them to work. I know that the alcohol "cooks-off," but I just felt better leaving it out in this case. I do have a question about these type of bars. Does any one know how to avoid the "foam" that always ends up on the top of my fruit layer? It doesn't affect the taste at all, but I think the bars are much prettier without it.

Try these out and check out Tami's blog in the next couple days for the February cookie round-up! I know that we'll be making them again (with the correct amount of flour this time) next time I need to bring a dessert. 

(Printable Recipe)

Cosmo Cocktail Cookie Bars
Adapted from the McCormick website

Ingredients:
2-1/4 c. flour, divided 
2/3 c. powdered sugar, plus more for dusting
1 Tbsp. lime zest
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 c. (1-1/2 sticks) cold butter, cut into pieces
4 eggs, beaten
1-1/2 c. granulated sugar
1 can (6 oz) frozen cranberry juice concentrate, thawed
1 tsp. McCormick's orange extract
1 Tbsp. vodka (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9x13 inch pan with a piece of foil that hangs over the edges to create "handles." Spray with cooking spray and set aside.

Add 2 c. flour, powdered sugar, lime zest, and salt into the bowl of a food processor. Add the pieces of butter in one at a time and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Press the mixture evenly into the foil-lined pan. Bake 20 minutes or until the edges of the crust begin to turn golden brown.

Meanwhile, beat the eggs in a large bowl. Mix in the granulated sugar, cranberry juice concentrate, remaining 1/4 c. flour, orange extract, and vodka (if desired) until well blended. Pour evenly over hot crust. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until filling is set. Cool pan on a wire rack. Use foil handles to remove baked dessert from the pan. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and cut into bars.

Yield: 36 bars per recipe (I got 24 bars)

November Cookie Carnival: Sassy Cinnamon Cookies

It's been several months since I've baked along with Tami and the others at the Cookie Carnival, but it's always fun when I get to bake along! The Cookie Carnival is an online baking group that makes 1 cookie recipe a month. Recently, Tami's been sending out 2 recipes - one "adult recipe" and one you can make with kids. We can make one, both, or neither recipe depending on our schedules and preferences, and there are no participation requirements. This has been good for me because I've really tried to keep up with my baking groups during rotations this year, but without a house and especially kitchen of my own, I fear it's been more miss than hit. Despite my spotty participation, I've always enjoyed the recipes when I get to bake along!

Anyway, on to the cookies! Our November choices were these rugalach from the Food Network and these cinnamon chip cookies from Betty Crocker. I made the Sassy Cinnamon Cookies to take into work together with these beauties from last November's cookie carnival. I was originally attracted to this recipe because of the cinnamon chips. While they can be a little hard to find, I really enjoy them in baked goods! I'd definitely recommend picking up a couple bags once you find them because I promise you'll use them!

The cookie dough came together really easily although it seemed a little dry if anything. I also noticed that I needed to flatten my cookie dough balls a little before baking them so that the cookies would flatten better in the oven. As for taste, I sent them into work with a co-worker and forgot to save a couple for home. She brought me back an empty container, so I didn't get to have one of the finished cookies. Nevertheless, I didn't miss out entirely because the dough passed my taste test =) 

 
Both of these recipes seem like they'd make a great addition to any Christmas cookie tray, so if you're looking for some Christmas cookie recipes, check out Tami's blog for the round-up after the 1st of December!

(Printable Recipe)

Sassy Cinnamon Cookies
From Betty Crocker

Ingredients:
1/2 c. butter
1-1/2 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
2-1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. cream of tartar
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. cinnamon chips
1 c. chopped pecans
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon

Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, beat together 1-1/2 c. sugar and butter with an electric mixer on medium speed. Add the eggs, one at a time, and the vanilla. Mix until creamy. Stir in flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt until combined. Mix in cinnamon chips and pecans.

In a small, shallow bowl, mix together 2 Tbsp. sugar and the cinnamon. Shape dough into balls and roll in the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Flatten slightly on the pan. Bake for 8-11 minutes or until the cookies are just starting to brown on the edges. Remove from the cookie sheet and cool on a wire rack.

Yield: 2-1/2 dozen 1-1/2-inch cookies, or 16 large cookies

June Cookie Carnival: S'mores Sandwich Bar Cookie

It's been a couple months since I've participated in the Cookie Carnival, so I'm glad to be back. This month, Tami sent us two recipes - this thumbprint cookie recipe from Cooking Light and s'mores bar cookie meant as a recipe to make with the kids. You can tell from the title which one I made =)  My husband and I do not have any children (unless you count pets), so I'm just going to say that the "kid" in me thought this recipe might be kind of fun. Besides, I'm technically still in school for another 10 months anyway, and who doesn't love s'mores =)

 

 

Making these bars was pretty simple. I don't have any complaints. I actually found these cute red, white, and blue marshmallow stars at the store that I thought would be fun if you wanted to take these bars to a 4th of July picnic this summer.  Mine went with me to work one Saturday, and I came home with two little pieces that were just barely big enough for a picture. Like I said previously, who doesn't love s'mores.

If you have kids or just still consider yourself a kid like me, try these out. They definitely make for a fun afternoon project. Stop by Tami's roundup after the first of the month to see how the cookies or bars turned out for the other bloggers! 

(Printable Recipe)

S'mores Sandwich Bar Cookie
From Hershey's website

Ingredients:
1/2 c. butter, softened
3/4 c. sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1-1/3 c.all-purpose flour
3/4 c. graham cracker crumbs
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
5 Hershey's milk chocolate bars 
3 c. miniature marshmallows

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.

Beat butter and sugar together until well blended in a large bowl. Add egg and vanilla; beat well. Stir together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder, and salt. Add to butter mixture, beating until blended. Press half the dough in the prepared pan. Bake for 15 minutes.

Arrange unwrapped chocolate bars to completely cover the cookie layer, breaking as needed to fit. Sprinkle the marshmallows over the chocolate; scatter the remaining bits of dough over the marshmallows, forming a top layer. Bake 10-15 minutes or until the marshmallows are just lightly browned. Cool completely on a wire rack and cut into bars.

March Cookie Carnival: Mint Cream Cheese Bars

 

The cookie chosen for March's Cookie Carnival was a Hershey's recipe for Walnut Mint Bars. The green color of the bars fell right in line with St. Patrick's Day, so these bars seemed perfect for March!

When making the bars, I left the nuts out of the crust layer - hence the name mint cream cheese bars. I like nuts on their own. I just tend not to be a fan of them in my food. In most recipes, they really aren't an integral ingredient, and the same proved true here. The bars worked just as well without them.

Other than that, I stayed true to the recipe.  The verdict on the taste was alright. I've seen the blogs of a couple other carnivalers, and it seems that the mint flavor was pretty mild for many of us. I used the peppermint extract instead of creme de menthe, so I don't know if that made the difference? 

Despite the mini-mint flavor, I really liked the idea of the bars. They came together really easily and seem like they would support other flavors well. I'm finding myself wondering what they would be like in a citrus variety with zest included in the crust layer? Head over to Tami's blog in the next couple days to check March's round-up and join up with us for April!

(Printable Recipe)

Mint Cream Cheese Bars
Hershey's Kitchens

Ingredients:
1/2 c. (1 stick) plus 2 Tablespoons butter, divided
1-1/2 c. vanilla wafer crumbs (about 45 wafers, crushed)
1/3 c. powdered sugar
1/3 c. cocoa powder
1 pkg. (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
1 egg
1-1/2 tsp. peppermint extract or 1 Tbsp. green creme de menthe
green food coloring (optional)
chocolate almond bark

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Melt 1/2 c. butter in the microwave or on the stove top. Stir in crumbs, sugar, and cocoa. Press firmly on the bottom of an ungreased 9x13-inch pan.

Beat cream cheese, remaining 2 Tbsp. butter and cornstarch in a small bowl until fluffy. Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk, then the egg, and peppermint extract and food color. Pour carefully over prepared crust.

 Bake 25 minutes or until center is set. Cool. Melt 2 squares chocolate almond bark and decoratively drizzle over the bars. Refrigerate until thoroughly chilled. Cut into bars. Store covered in refrigerator. 

Yield: 24 to 36 bars

Cookie Carnival: Dark Chocolate Chipotle Cookies

After taking December off, January's Cookie Carnival recipe was literally kicking up the heat a little bit. The recipe chosen was dark chocolate chipotle cookies from the Nantucket Cookie Company. The recipe can be found here.

Upfront, I wasn't super excited for this recipe. Truthfully, I'm not much of a chocolate fiend. I like small doses of milk chocolate (read plain m&m's) and things with a little bit of chocolate mixed in like chocolate chip cookies. But when you venture into the chocoholic world, I could really take it or leave it. Derek doesn't seem to be too distressed by this. He basically eats what I bake without complaints.

Combine that with the chipotle pepper problems that I had and these cookies almost weren't. At first, I couldn't find the chipotle peppers at any grocery stores in the area. They had other dried peppers, but alas, no chipotles. The other weekend I had the great idea to chechk for them at the Penzey's spice store that is near our apartment. Sucess. I finally had the peppers, but the misfortunes continued.

I halved the recipe at the beginning because I didn't know how well we would like them for reasons discussed above. I don't know why but I had it in my head that the full recipe called for 2 Tablespoons of crushed pepper (at this point bells should have been going off in my head, these are cookies right?). So in halving the recipe, I added 1 Tablespoon of crushed pepper. After taking a swipe of the dough, I quickly realized my mistake. I had effectively tripled the pepper - the orginal recipe calls for 2 teaspoons. In addition, I somehow must have touched my nose with my hands after I handled the peppers and it was burning big time! So with a burning nose and burning mouth, I scraped my dough into the trash and started over. Thankfully, I realized it fairly early, so I was basically only out some butter, cocoa powder and sugar.

The second try went much smoother and I acutally got a batch of edibly spicy cookies. The verdict - okay. I took them back home with me when we went home last weekend, although I think everyone agreed that they would be better without the pepper. Desipte all the mixing, you never quite knew when you were going to find a spicy one. Mom also wanted to swap in white chocolate chips for the semi-sweet ones. They were good for something different to try, but I don't know if I'll make them again or not. If I do, I'm quite sure it will be without the pepper :-)

My other complaint is that the recipe makes a TON of cookies. The original recipe states that you should get 3 dozen 1-1/2 inch cookies. I cut the recipe in half and definately still had 3 dozen decently sized cookies. It was just more cookies than I was expecting this time.

Check out the blogroll here at the beginning of February to see everyone's cookies!

(Printable Recipe)

Dark Chocolate Chipotle Cookies

Adapted from Nantucket Cookie Company

Ingredients: (full recipe)

3 c. all-purpose flour

1 Tbsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened and cut into 1-inch cubes

2 cups packed light brown sugar

1-1/2 c. sugar, plus more for topping

1/2 c. cocoa powder

2 tsp. crushed, dried chipotle peppers

4 eggs

1 Tbsp. vanilla extract

1 Tbsp. water

1/2 lb. semi-sweet chocolate, melted and cooled slightly

1 pkg. semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, add butter and beat until smooth. Scrape the sides of the bowl as necessary to evenly cream it. Add the sugars, cocoa powder and chipotle peppers and mix again at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Add eggs, vanilla, and water. Beat at medium speed until combined, about 30 seconds. Add slightly cooled, melted chocolate and mix again, scraping bowl to evenly mix everything. Add the flour mixture, scraping sides and bottom of the bowl as necessary. When well incorporated, add the chips and mix briefly, about 5 seconds.

Refrigerate the dough in the bowl until cool and fudge-like, but not solid, for approximately 1 hour. Use an ice-cream scoop to create large, evenly sized cookies. The cookie dough balls can be frozen at this point and baked right from the freezer.

When ready to bake, roll the tops of the balls in sugar. Place on baking sheets, allowing space for the cookies to spread. Bake for 10-14 minutes. Remove the cookies from the oven when they are still a little underdone. Allow to cool for a couple minutes on the pan before removing to a cooling rack. Cool completely before storing.

November Cookie Carnival: Pecan Pie Cookies

We held a vote again this month to determine the cookie that we would all bake for November's Cookie Carnival. I do have to admit that this wasn't the cookie that I had voted for (gingersnaps with pumpkin dip). Nevertheless, all the cookies sounded amazing, so I wasn't too concerned with which would be the winning recipe. This recipe was submitted by Jen at Beantown Baker.

These cookies were amazing for 2 reasons: 1) bite sized pecan pie, who can refuse that? 2) they were very, very easy to make. As a student, I only work afternoon-evening shifts during the week because of class. After coming home from class one day last week, I was acutally able to make this recipe from start to finish in about an hour befor work. That worked out great because the cookies got there just in time for my co-workers to have a sweet bite on the way home. I'm pretty sure they enjoyed them because I probably got more compliments on these that I ever have on any recipe I've taken in to work and that includes my mom's recipe for chewy chocolate chip cookies!

The recipe states that it yields about 3 dozen cookies. I got almost exactly that amount - 35 to be exact although I did have extra topping. This may be the only bad thing about it - if you are planning to take them anywhere, I would definately double the recipe!  Enjoy!

(Printable Recipe)

Pecan Pie Cookies - Jen at Beantown Baker (Land'O Lakes)

Cookie Ingredients:

3/4 c. butter, softened

1 c. firmly packed brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

2 c. all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

Filling Ingredients:

1 c. chopped pecans

1/2 c. firmly packed brown sugar

1/4 c. whipping cream

1 tsp. vanilla

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all cookie ingredients except flour and baking powder in a large bowl. Beat at medium speed until creamy. Reduce speed to low; add flour and baking powder. Beat until well mixed.

Shape dough into 1-1/4 inch balls. Place 2 inches apart on a baking sheet. Make indentation in the center of each cookie with your thumb; rotate thumb to hollow out slightly.
 
Combine all filling ingredients in a small bowl; fill each cookie with 1 rounded teaspoon. Bake for 8-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool 1 minute. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack to cool completely.
 
Yield: 3 dozen
 

 

October Cookie Carnival: Chocolate Citrus Biscotti

This month's Cookie Carnival recipe is from Giada De Laurentiis. Once again, biscotti is a new venture for me. In fact, every single recipe I've made along with the other bakers in the Cookie Carnival has been a new recipe. Not bad. It has definately allowed me to expand my horizons which I am enjoying!

The recipe can be found here on the food network website. Giada even has the recipe linked to a video which I did actually watch. Having never made biscotti before I wanted to make sure I wanted to make sure that I followed the recipe PRECISELY. When it says to beat the egg and sugar together for about 3 minutes, I set my running watch for three minutes and stopped at the beep :-)  I actually made only 1/3 of the recipe for a couple of reasons: 1) I've been baking quite a lot lately and did not want a whole bunch of sweets sitting around for awhile, 2) I wasn't sure if I would like it. In reference to the second one, I am a self-proclaimed chewy cookie fanatic, so I wasn't really sure what I would think of the crunch in biscotti.

As far as making the recipe, everything went really smoothly! I used my stoneware pans since I don't own a silpat mat. The biscotti stuck to the pan a little bit when I went to slice it after the 1st bake, but it came off just fine when I slid a metal spatula underneath.

In the video, Giada says that you could use either white chocolate or milk chocolate in place of the semisweet chocolate that she uses to dip the biscotti. I had a few extra white chocolate chips from a different recipe, so I decided that I would try both because I am not the biggest chocolate fanatic (GASP!) As far as the verdict, I enjoy these as a change up from the usual cookie, but I think my husband liked them more. The 1/3 of a recipe only made about 10 biscotti, and my husband is already requesting more! In both of our opinions, the white chocolate-dipped ones were better, so I think I would do it all that way next time.

(Printable Recipe)

Chocolate Citrus Biscotti- Adapted from Giada De Laurentiis

2 c. all-purpose flour
3/4 c. fine yellow cornmeal
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 c. sugar
1 Tbsp. orange zest
1 Tbsp. lemon zest
1-3/4 c. semisweet chocolate chips (can use milk chocolate or white chocolate)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Stir the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs and sugar in another large bowl until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the orange and lemon zests to the dry ingredients. Add the flour mixture to the eggs and sugar and beat until just blended (the dough will be soft and sticky). Let stand for 5 minutes.

Using a rubber spatula, transfer the dough to the prepared baking sheet, forming two mounds spaced evenly apart. Moisten your hands with water and shape the dough into two 11x4-inch logs. Bake until lightly brown, about 35 minutes. Cool the logs for 5 minutes. Using a serrated knife, cut the logs crosswise into 1/2-inch thick diagonal slices. Arrange the biscotti cut side down on the same baking sheet. Bake until the biscotti are pale and golden, about 25 minutes. Cool the biscotti on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Using a medal spatula, transfer the biscotti to a rack and cool completely.

Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave, stirring every 20 seconds, about 1-1/2 minutes total. Dip 1 cut side of each biscotti into the melted chocolate. Gently shake off excess chocolate. Place the biscotti on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. REfrigerate until the chocolate is firm, about 35 minutes.

The biscotti will keep in an airtight container for 4 days or frozen in foil and resealable plastic bags for up to 3 weeks.