Snickerdoodles

My go to for banking recipes is almost always Sally's Baking.  She has never steered me wrong.  This recipe is no different.

Ingredients:

3 c flour 

2 tsp cream of tartar

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1 c butter, softened to room temperature

1 1/3 cup  sugar

1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk (room temperature)

2 tsp vanilla extract

Topping:

1/3 c sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375°F. 

Prep topping: Combine the granulated sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl.

Cookies: Whisk the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt together in a medium bowl.

In a large bowl using a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and granulated sugar together on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes.  DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP!! 

Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract. Beat on medium-high speed until combined. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. The dough will be thick.

Roll cookie dough into balls, about 1.5 Tablespoons each.  I use my cookie scoop. Roll the dough balls in cinnamon-sugar topping. Sprinkle extra cinnamon-sugar on top if desired. Arrange 3 inches apart on the baking sheets.

Bake cookies for 10 minutes. The cookies will be very puffy and soft. When they are still very warm, lightly press down on them with the back of a spoon or fork to help flatten them out.

Cookies remain soft & fresh for 7 days in an airtight container at room temperature.

Shortbread Cookies

2 c. all purpose flour
2 sticks salted butter (1 c.), softened
1/2 c. powdered sugar
2 tsp almond emulsion

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Mix butter, powdered sugar and vemulsion together.  Stir in flour.

Chill dough for  20- 30 minutes

Scoop dough into balls.  Flatten to 1/2 inch thick with the bottom of a glass using plastic wrap in between to keep the cookies from sticking to the glass. 

Bake 12 - 15 minutes

No bake cookies

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups sugar
4 Tbsp cocoa powder
1 stick butter
1/2 c milk
1 c peanut butter
1 Tbsp vanilla
3 1/4 cups quick cook oats

INSTRUCTIONS:

Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside

In a medium sized sauce pan combine sugar, butter, cocoa and milk. 

Heat until boiling and then stir while boiling for one minute. Add peanut butter, vanilla, and oats and stir until combined. 

Drop by spoonfuls onto your prepared cookie sheets and refrigerate until hardened. 

Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is my current favorite.  I struggle with flat cookies so I am always trying new things.

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1 heaping teaspoon baking soda
10 tablespoons butter, room temperature
2 cups packed light-brown sugar 

2 large egg, room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup milk-chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Whisk together flour, salt, and baking soda. Beat butter and sugars with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture and beat until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips by hand. Cover, and freeze for 10 minutes.

Use an ice cream scoop or a tablespoon, drop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment, spacing about 2 inches apart. Bake until centers are set and cookies are pale golden brown, 10 to 11 minutes.

Makes about 2 dozen.  I make the balls and flash freeze.  That way when I want to pull a few out of the freezer they are ready to go.

Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 1/2 sticks butter, softened
2 c. sugar
2 eggs
3 tsp vanilla extract
2 c. flour
3/4 c. cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3/4 c. milk chocolate chips
3/4 c. mini semi sweet chocolate chips
2 c. white chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy.  Add eggs one at a time.  Add vanilla extract.  In separate bowl sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.  Add to wet mixture until combine.  Stir in chocolate chips

Bake at 350 degrees for 9 - 11 minutes.

Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies

½ C shortening
1 C sugar
1 egg
½ C milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 ¾ C flour
½ tsp soda
½ tsp salt
½ C (or a little less) cocoa
½ C nuts (optional)

Mix together shortening, sugar, egg, milk and vanilla. Add the remaining dry ingredients. Drop on cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes. Cut large marshmallows in half. During last 2 minutes place marshmallow halves on top of each cookie and finish baking. Frost.

Frosting:
2-3 TBS butter
2 C powdered sugar mixed with ¼ C cocoa

Mix together with 1 tsp vanilla and dash of salt .

Add milk until desired consistency is reached.

Peppermint Meltaways

Cookie Ingredients                                                   Glaze Ingredients
1 c. butter, softened                                                  1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
1/2 c. powdered sugar                                              2 Tbsp butter, softened
1/2 tsp. peppermint extract                                        1/4 tsp peppermint extract
1 1/4 c. flour                                                             1 to 2 Tbsp milk
1/2 c. corn starch                                                      2 to 3 drops red food color, if desired
                                                                                 candy canes or hard peppermint candy, crushed
Cookies:
Combine butter, powdered sugar and 1/2 tsp. peppermint extract in large bowl.  Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy.  Reduce speed to low; add flour and cornstarch.  Beat until well mixed.  Cover; refrigerate until firm (30 to 60 minutes)

Shape rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into 1 inch balls.  Place 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until edges are lightly browned; let stand 1 minute; remove from cookie sheet and cool completely.

Drizzle glaze over cooled cookies.  To make glaze combine powdered sugar, butter, peppermint extract and enough milk for desired consistency in a small bowl.  Stir in food color, if desired.

Sprinkle with crushed candy.

Kiss Cookies

1/2 c. butter                                                          1 3/4 flour
1/2 c. peanut butter                                               1 tsp baking powder
1/2 c. sugar, plust extra to roll balls in                     1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c. brown sugar                                                 1/8 tsp baking soda
1 egg                                                                     2 Tbsp milk
milk chocoate kisses, unwrapped (quantity depends on how many are left once your done unwrapping)

Beat butter, peanut butter on medium speed until well blended.  Add sugars and beat until fluffy.  Add milk, egg, and vainlla, mix well. 
In a seperate bowl mix flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda.
With mixer on low add flour mixture to butter mixture. 
Shape dough into 1 inch balls and roll in sugar
Place balls on cookie sheet 2 inches apart.
Bake at 375 degrees for 10 - 12 minutes
Press kisses into balls immediatly after removing them from the oven.

They can be frozen and they defrosted prior to distribution/party and they are still great!

Christmas Baking

It is officially upon us!  The holiday season that is.  Just wanted to remind you where you could find recipes I use each year for Toffee, Carmels, Sugar Cookies, and Gingerbread Cookies.  I will post some pics once I get my treat trays ready!  Happy Cooking!

Coming up are recipes for Peanut Brittle and Sea Turtles!

Peanut Butter Cookies

INGREDIENTS
1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup crunchy peanut butter
1 cup white sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

DIRECTIONS
Cream together butter, peanut butter and sugars. Beat in eggs.
In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir into batter. Put batter in refrigerator for 1 hour.
Roll into 1 inch balls and put on baking sheets. Flatten each ball with a fork, making a criss-cross pattern. Bake in a preheated 375 degrees F oven for about 10 minutes or until cookies begin to brown. Do not over-bake.

NOT my Mama's Spritz Cookies

1 cup butter, softened

2/3 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. almond emulsion 
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

In large bowl with mixer at low speed bead butter with sugar until blended. Increase speed to high and beat until light and creamy, occasionally scraping bowl with rubber spatula. At low speed, beat in egg and almond extract until mixed. Beat in flour just until blended.

Roll dough into a log approximately 2 1/2 in in diameter.  Then you can either bake now or refrigerate until you're ready. The dough can also be frozen and defrosted prior to baking.

When ready to bake preheat oven to 375°.  Onto ungreased large cookie sheet, cut log in 1 inch rounds.  Place them on an ungreased cookie sheets 2 inches apart.

Bake cookies 15 to 17 minutes, until lightly browned around the edge. DO NOT OVERBAKE.  

Let cookies remain on cookie sheet set on wire rack for 2 minutes to cool slightly. Transfer cookies to wire rack to cool completely.

 
Store cookies in tightly covered contained up to 1 week.

Makes 1 ½ dozen

Jake's Favorite Gingerbread Cookies

Since Jake was very little it has been our tradition to make these together. I keep waiting for him to be too old to want to make them with me, but, thankfully, that time has not come. They are his favorite, so that might help too!

One word of caution, this is a very thick dough and somewhat hard to work with so wear your patient hat and make sure your food processor is up to it!

3 cups bleached all-purpose
1 tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
2 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. grated nutmeg
¼ tsp. ground cloves
¾ cup packed dark brown sugar
¾ (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter (if using salted butter omit salt from above) cut into pats
½ cup unsulfured molasses
1 egg

Sift together flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves into small bowl.
Place sugar in food processor. Whirl until very fine. Add butter. Whirl until smooth and creamy, aprox. 1 minute. Add molasses and egg. Whirls until blended. Add flour mixture. Pulse just until dough clumps together.
Scrape dough onto sheet of plastic wrap. Press dough together to form disk. Wrap disk and refrigerate 2 hours or overnight.
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly great baking sheets or use parchment paper
Roll dough out on floured surface to 1/8 inch thick and cut out shapes.
Bake in 350 degree oven for 8 to 10 minutes or until edges being to color.
Cool cookies on sheets for 3 minutes then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.
Decorate and enjoy

Fresh Apple Cookies

1 cup butter softened
1 1/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg
2 ¼ cup flour
1 tsp soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. nutmeg
1 cup apples


Mix butter, brown sugar and egg. In separate bowl, combine flour, soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Mix dry ingredients slowly to wet ingredients. Fold in apples. Bake at 400 degrees for 9 minutes. Glaze warm cookies.

Glaze:
1 ½ cup powdered sugar
2 ½ Tbsp. milk
1/8 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. vanilla
1 Tbsp. butter melted

Mix thoroughly.

Best Ever Sugar Cookies

Sorry mom but these are the one thing I do better than you!!
2 cups sugar
1 cup creamed softened butter
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup yogurt or sour cream 
2 tsp. baking powder
1 ½ tsp. salt
¾ tsp. baking soda
5 ½ cups flour – can be substituted with 3 ½ cups all purpose and 2 cups whole wheat

Cream together sugar and butter. Add eggs and mix well. Add vanilla and yogurt mix well. Set aside. Mix together remaining ingredients. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients slowly until completely mixed. Chill for 2 hours or over night. Cut into shapes on floured surface. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 -12 minutes or just set. Cool. Frost (see recipe). Enjoy

Oatmeal Cookies similar to the Great Havest ones I love so much!

The secret to Great Harvest's cookie is in their flour. They use whole-wheat flour instead of white flour.I was told that the cookie recipe is quite standard and that you could use your favorite recipe to obtain a taste similar to theirs just by substituting flours. Here is a great old classic with one change.

Classic Oatmeal CookiesAdapted from "Joy of Cooking" by Irma S. Rombauer, Marion Rombauer Becker and Ethan Becker, Simon & Schuster, Inc., 1975.
1 3⁄4 cups whole-wheat flour
3⁄4 teaspoon baking soda
3⁄4 teaspoon baking powder
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
1⁄2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1⁄2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1⁄2 pounds (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1⁄2 cups packed light or dark brown sugar
1⁄4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 1⁄2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup raisins, chopped
3 1⁄2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

1. Position a rack in the upper third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease cookie sheets.
2. Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl combine the butter, sugars, eggs and vanilla. Beat until well blended. Stir in the flour mixture and blend until smooth. Stir in raisins and oats.
4. Drop dough by heaping measuring tablespoonfuls onto baking sheets, spacing about 3 inches apart. With lightly greased hands, lightly press cookies down to form 1⁄2-inch-thick rounds. If necessary wipe off your hands and regrease to prevent dough from sticking to them.
5. Bake, one sheet at a time, until cookies are lightly browned all over and almost firm when lightly pressed in the center of the top, 6-9 minutes; rotate sheet halfway through baking for even browning. Remove the sheet to a rack and let stand a until the cookies firm slightly, about 2 minutes. Transfer cookies to racks to cool. Makes about 3 1⁄2 dozen (3-inch) cookies