This shortbread-like cookie recipe comes from Gourmet.  Here is the link.  I didn’t change a thing about this recipe.  The resulting cookies were so deliciously buttery, crunchy, sweet and just the perfect touch salty.  I’m sad that they are almost gone.

The only tricky thing is browning the butter without burning it.  Just keep the heat moderate, stir consistently and take the pot off the heat when you start to get more and more browned bits.  Once the bits begin to brown the process speeds up, so watch it closely.  Just don’t let it burn or you’ll have to start over.  After you’ve browned the butter, let it cool in the fridge until it is solid, mine took about an hour and a half.  It doesn’t have to be hard like the stick of butter you took from the fridge, just not liquidy.  Does that make sense?

I liked the crunchy sugar on the edges of the cookies, but if you don’t have raw sugar on hand you can leave it out.  If you are going to use the sugar, cut about 1/3 of the log of raw dough, roll it in the sugar, pressing firmly.  Then slice into pieces for baking.  I found it was easier to roll parts of the log instead of the whole thing.  While a batch is baking, keep the rest of the dough refrigerated so it remains easy to slice.

Brown Butter Ice Box Cookies

From Gourmet.com

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/3 cup flour
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 cup raw sugar

Directions

1. Cook butter in a small heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until it has a nutty fragrance and flecks on bottom of pan turn golden, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer butter to a bowl and chill until just firm, about an hour and a half.
2. Beat together butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Beat in vanilla, then mix in flour and salt at low speed until just combined. Transfer dough to a sheet of wax paper or parchment and form into a 12-inch log, 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Chill, wrapped in wax paper, until firm, at least 1 hour.
3. Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Roll dough in raw sugar.  Slice dough into 1/4-inch-thick rounds, arranging 1 1/2 inches apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment. Bake until surface is dry and edges are slightly darker, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool.

Yesterday was a rainy day here.  I wanted to bake, but didn’t want to venture out.  Before my son was born I would have braved almost anything outside my front door if there was something I needed from the store.  Not the case anymore!  So I raided the pantry.  I had a half of a package of Oreos, but no chocolate chips.  I did have cocoa, butter, flour, sugar and eggs.  So I decided to make a chocolate cookie dough and use that to encase the Oreo.  I ended up with these little…ok, fine, rather large beauties.

These were good.  Gooey, chocolatey, decadent and perfect served with a cold glass of milk or a nice little scoop of vanilla ice cream.    If I had to choose between these and the chocolate chip version, I’d choose the chocolate chip.  I think the texture of the chocolate chip dough against the Oreo was better.  Adding chocolate chips to the chocolate dough might be a good way to get closer to the other version while still giving the chocolate lover in you a nice treat.

My first batch spread quite a bit, making the Oreo inside pretty obvious.  So, prepare the cookies, then chill them on the cookie sheets in the fridge for 15 minutes or so.

Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients

• 2 sticks (1 cup) butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups flour
• 2/3 cup cocoa
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 15-18 Oreo cookies

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes.
3. Add in eggs, one at a time, then mix in vanilla.
4. In a separate bowl whisk flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.
5. Mix dry ingredients into butter mixture on low speed until all flour is incorporated.  Use a spatula to get dough from the bottom of your bowl, then mix again until dough is uniform.  Chill dough for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
6. Scoop 2 rounded tablespoons of dough, slightly flatten one scoop and place Oreo on top.  Cover Oreo with the other scoop of dough and press dough around edges, making sure the Oreo is enclosed and the cookie is even in thickness.
7. Repeat, and bake cookies (about 6 to a sheet) for 11-13 minutes.  They will look done, but still be soft.  Let them cool on the sheets for 2-3 minutes, then move to cooking racks.

Since this makes a lot of sturdy dough, make sure to use a stand mixer.  Or make half the recipe so that a hand mixer won’t give up on you.  Or, if you’re looking for an arm workout, mix them up with a big wooden spoon.  Enjoy, and Merry Christmas!

Chewy Ginger Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups shortening
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 4 cups flour
• 4 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cloves
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ginger
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Beat shortening and sugar until light and fluffy, beat in molasses, and then eggs. Mix until combined.
2. Whisk together flour, soda, cloves, ginger, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl.
3. Add flour mixture to wet ingredients in 2-3 additions, beat until well combined.
4. Roll into golf ball sized balls, roll in sugar, and place on a baking sheet with about 2 inches in between.
5. Bake at 350°F for 10-12 minutes.

Our family has been busy.  And it’s not just the wonderful chaos that ensues once November hits.  We just moved to Houston from Amarillo, and have been spending the last 3 months living apart and driving all over the great state of Texas.  So I haven’t had the time or the energy to blog.  But now that I have a kitchen of my very own I have started baking and cooking again.  It feels good to be settled…even if I still have a bedroom full of boxes that I have absolutely no desire to unpack.

These white chocolate cranberry cookies were pretty good. I’d say maybe a touch too sweet for some people, but the tang of the cranberry and the right amount of salt balance it out well.  If you’re making cookie plates to give to neighbors and friends a few of these among some spicy gingersnaps and rich chocolate cookies would make for a great gift.

Thanks to Baking Bites for the recipe!  The only thing I changed was to add a little cinnamon.  I didn’t taste it as much as I would have liked, so maybe a full teaspoon of cinnamon would be better.

White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

Ingredients

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3/4 cup butter, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 oz white chocolate, melted and cooled
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup dried cranberries
• 2/3 cup white chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silpat.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
3. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light. Beat in egg, followed by melted white chocolate and vanilla extract. Gradually incorporate the flour mixture, mixing until no streaks of dry ingredients remain. Stir in dried cranberries and white chocolate chips.
4. Shape dough into 1-inch balls and place on prepared baking sheet, leaving about 2-inches between each cookie to allow for spread.
5. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until cookies turn lightly golden around the edges. Allow to cool on baking sheet for 3-4 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

This was one of those times in the kitchen where you begin to wonder, “Is this just not in the stars for me?”  First the butter exploded in the microwave, with great flair, I should add.  Loud popping clumps of butter going everywhere.  Then I was separating eggs and almost added the whites instead of the yolks to the bowl.  Then I spilled cake flour all over myself and the floor, something I really hate cleaning up for some reason.  Really?  It was just one thing after another.  A lesson in patience and being slow to anger?  Maybe so.

Madeleines are beautiful little treasures, but impossible to make without a madeleine pan.  I only have one small madeleine pan and I didn’t feel like waiting for it to cool, washing it out and re-greasing it before making another batch, so I used my remaining batter to make little lemon rosemary muffins.  Simply grease 24 mini muffin cups, fill them 3/4 full and bake for about 12 minutes, rotating halfway through, until the tops are just beginning to brown.  Dust with powdered sugar and enjoy!  They don’t have the same cute little ruffled shell shape, but they are just as good.

Fresh and light lemon flavor with just a subtle rosemary flavor, these little cake-like cookies are wonderful.  I think they’d be perfect for a tea party, baby or bridal shower.

Lemon Rosemary Madeleines

Adapted from Martha Stewart

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1 1/2 cups cake flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
• 3 whole eggs + 2 egg yolks
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 teaspoons lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• powdered sugar

Peanut Butter Pretzel Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, softened
• 1 cup peanut butter (chunky or smooth)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup coarsely ground pretzels
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar for rolling

Directions

1. Beat butter and peanut butter until thoroughly combined.
2. Add sugars and beat until light.
3. Add egg and vanilla, and beat until fluffy.
4. Mix in flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt until combined.
5. Mix in pretzels and chocolate chips.
6. Roll into balls (about the size of a golf ball) and roll in granulated sugar.  Place on cookie sheet lined with parchment and flatten slightly.
7. Bake @ 350°F for 10 minutes.

These cookies are called English Toffee Cookies in the cookbook, but I took the liberty of changing their name to be more descriptive.  They are a little like toffee with their salty sweetness, but not sticky or chewy like toffee.  These cookies are crispy and light.  They are sweet, but not too sweet.  The cinnamon is wonderful.  I think a little nutmeg would be nice as well.  They are quite tasty on top of vanilla or coffee ice cream, next to a cup of coffee or tea, or all alone.

So very easy.  Mix up the dough, roll it out in one big slab on a cookie sheet (use parchment or a silpat to avoid sticking) brush with egg white, sprinkle with pecans, bake, cut and enjoy!

Crispy Cinnamon Pecan Cookies

Courtesy of The Collection from the Junior League of Austin

Ingredients

• 1 cup shortening
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg, separated
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 cup ground pecans

Directions

1. Cream shortening and sugar.
2. Add beaten egg yolk and vanilla.
3. Sift dry ingredients together and blend into creamed mixture.
4. Roll dough out onto a cookie sheet to 1/4 to 1/8 inch thickness.
5. Coat with egg white then sprinkle with pecans.
6. Bake at 300°F for 25-30 minutes.
7. Let cool, then cut into squares or break into pieces.

Even though making these requires quite a bit of time, and even though my hands and nails have been dyed by black gel color, I really do love making them.

Like many of my baked goods these days, this one was an attempt to use things I had on hand.  I had a cake mix, a jar of peanuts, and chocolate chips.  So, I made these cookies.  And they are not bad.

These cookies taste like a cake mix, and that’s OK with me.  I happen to like that flavor every now and then.  The mix I had already had some little chips in it, so add a few more chocolate chips if your mix does not.  I used half butter and half margarine since I had half sticks of both in the fridge.  These were crazy delicious while still warm and gooey in the middle.  They weren’t quite as good the next day for some reason.  Just pop one…or two…or five in the microwave for 5-10 seconds to warm them up, and enjoy with a cold glass of milk. Mmmmm…

Switch the chips for whatever you want.  Use different nuts.  Whatever. Enjoy!

Fudgy Chocolate & Peanut Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 box chocolate cake mi
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter or margarine
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups salted peanuts
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1 cup peanut butter chips

Directions

1. Beat butter or margarine until smooth.  Beat in cake mix, then oil, eggs and vanilla until smooth.
2. Stir in peanuts, and chips.
3. Bake cookies at 350°F for 9-12 minutes.

Not only is trail mix delicious, but it’s an easy snack to take along with you, and we almost always have a bag (or a few bags) of it in our house.  I was planning to make cookies for a trip we took to Angel Fire this past weekend.  My original plan was oatmeal raisin, but then I thought I’d use the trail mix instead.  Pure genius.

The trail mix I buy for Ben can be found at Sam’s Club, but when I don’t feel like going to Sam’s just for a bag of the stuff I buy it at Wal Mart.  It is a perfect mix of peanuts, almonds, cashews, raisins and M&M’s.

I used a simple oatmeal raisin cookie base, but instead of the cup of raisins I measured out 1 1/2 cups of trail mix, chopped up the larger almonds and cashews and stirred it in to the dough.  I added a few dark chocolate M&M’s I had left over from Valentine’s Day just to be sure there was enough chocolate in there : )

The combination of peanuts, raisins, M&M’s, almonds and cashews was terrific.  The final product was hearty and delicious.  Enjoy!

Trail Mix Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 stick butter
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3 cups oats
• 1 1/2 to 2 cups trail mix, larger nuts chopped

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Beat butter and shortening until smooth, then beat in both sugars, then eggs until light.
3. Add in vanilla.
4. Stir in flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
5. Stir in oats and trail mix until well combined.
6. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto cookie sheets.
7. Bake for 8-10 minutes.