Christmas cookies

Well, I haven't gotten much cooking done in the months since getting my puppy, but I obviously had to make time for Christmas cookies. I found it works pretty well to schedule a party and set baking goals in order to actually get it done. Making five batches of cookies over the course of a week doesn't sound too difficult...but it was with the dog around and with general holiday stress! I tried a few new recipes, and used a few of my old favorites.

Chocolate Crackles

Ginger Molasses Cookies

Brown Sugar Cookies (I think I used this recipe...but sugar cookies are pretty basic anyway. Had to go with the brown sugar when I ran out of white sugar!)

Oatmeal Cinnamon Chip Cookies (these got the best reviews - even though I just used the recipe off of the cinnamon chip bag...)

Macaroons
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
14 oz package shredded coconut
¼ tsp salt
14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
2 tsp vanilla extract

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the flour, coconut and salt, then stir in the sweetened condensed milk and vanilla until well blended. Place roughly golf ball size drops onto cookie sheet covered with parchment paper. Bake for 12-15 minutes.

Brown Sugar-Hazelnut Cupcakes with Blackberry Buttercream Frosting

I figure my first recipe entry should start on a good note. So, this is a flash back to a few months ago, but this is also one of my greatest baking accomplishments.

I found this recipe on the New York Times potluck page, and it sounded too delicious to pass up. I don’t love cake because I usually find it too dry, and don’t usually choose to bake cake or cupcakes. However, I couldn’t escape the cupcake craze.

So, one weekend last fall I ventured home (to the parents’ house) so I could use all of their fancy baking tools, mainly their KitchenAid mixer (I need to buy one of these soon, but don’t want to shell out the 200 bucks). I wasn’t very optimistic about these cupcakes, but they came out amazingly well. They were very rich, and even though they were so good, I couldn’t eat more than one in a sitting (a rare feeling for me!) So even though the recipe only makes 8 cupcakes, this was actually just enough for me and for sharing. 

Original recipe here