Brownie Cut-Out Cookies: Christmas Version

I posted this recipe before as a Valentine's Day cookie, and this year decided I would try these as a Christmas cookie. As stated in my last post: these are cookies that taste like brownies, and they are amazing. Last time around I didn't spend the time to do nice frosting - I mean, you already have to roll out the dough and cut out the shapes, so also having to decorate the cookies makes the whole process take a few hours.

However, I have never done serious cookie decorating, so I figured I would give it a shot. I followed the instructions on this website. It's not overly difficult - you just have to get the frosting to the right consistency, and then you outline the frosting on your shape and fill it in. (According to the instructions you are supposed to have one consistency for detailing and one for flooding - but I used the same consistency for the outlining and the flooding.) At the end of the day, though, this can take quite a bit of time and I don't really think it's worth it. So, I did it once and had the experience, but we'll see if I will actually do it again!

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.

Chocolate Crackles (or Krinkles, whichever you prefer)

I love these cookies. My family uses a different recipe that calls for espresso - but I prefer the chocolate on its own. Only downside is that you need to chill the dough, which I always forget! I think it's easiest to leave the dough in the fridge overnight, instead of sitting around for 4 hours waiting....but, whatever works.

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups granulated sugar
½ cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup confectioners’ sugar

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a separate medium bowl, stir together cocoa, white sugar, and vegetable oil. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then add vanilla, stirring to combine. Add in flour mixture and stir until combined. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator for 4 hours, or up to overnight.
(Or you can do what I did, and just mix all of the ingredients together at once! I don't buy the mixing the ingredients separately.)

2. Preheat oven to 350F. Line cookie sheets with parchment or a silicone baking mat. Put confectioners’ sugar into a small bowl. Using a 1-inch cookie scoop or rounded tablespoons, roll dough into balls with your hands, then roll in confectioners’ sugar to coat. Place on prepared cookie sheets 2 inches apart. Bake 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Original recipe here

Sugar Cookies

 

Sugar cookies might be my new favorite thing. How come they're not the same if you just make them as drop cookies? Because there's not as much love in them? The mystery remains unsolved.


4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup butter (1 1/2 sticks)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

In a bowl, stir together flour and baking powder. In another bowl, beat butter with sugar until fluffy and light. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in flour mixture, a third at a time to make a stiff dough. Roll out a portion of cookie dough to 1/4 inch thick. Cut out shapes using cookie cutters. Place on lightly greased or nonstick cookie sheets. Bake at 350 degrees until lightly golden, about 10-11 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through cooking time. Cool completely on pans about 5 minutes, transfer to cooling racks and cool completely before decorating. (Sprinkles can be added before baking!)


Original recipe here (with frosting recipe) 

Ginger Molasses Cookies

IT'S COOKIE SEASON!!! I've been getting into the Christmas spirit this week, and I am especially excited for Christmas cookie season. I've seen a lot of houses with lights up already, and I walk past 2 different places selling Christmas trees when I walk to/from work (depending on which way I go). I love December/Christmas time - it's a good time to celebrate before the gloomy/wet months of January and February come along.

I have a lot of cookie recipes to come - as this blog was nonexistent during cookie season last year, I can post all of the recipes I use! This is definitely a favorite - and I have dough chilling in the fridge so I can make Chocolate Krinkles tomorrow!


1 1/2 sticks butter
1 cup sugar, pluc 1/2 cup for rolling
1 egg
1/4 cup molasses
2 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp ground ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Cream butter and one cup sugar in a large bowl. (Easy method: melt the butter in the microwave and then mix in the sugar.) Add egg and molasses and beat until smooth. Add flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon and cloves and stir until just combined.

Put the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar in a shallow bowl. Roll the cookie dough into tablespoon sized balls and roll in sugar. Place the balls about 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake for 8-10 minutes until edges are cracked and the centers are just set. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes and then transfer them to a wire rack (if you wish - no need for the wire rack step if you're lazy like me!).

Original recipe here 

Shout-out for gluten free cookies

 

I like to find any excuse possible to bake, and lately that has mostly been for work meetings (you may think this is sad, but we have a pretty cohesive group working on Data Management for the BP oil spill, and we have fun). This past week we had the developers of our web site visiting, so of course I had to impress them with my baking skills. Per usual, I hit up http://www.tastespotting.com/, and found an easy recipe for flourless peanut butter cookies. I couldn't believe how easy these were, so they made for a fun after-work project. I doubled the recipe and used a whole can of peanut butter (which was a little less than 2 cups), but they turned out deliciously. 

2 cups peanut butter
1 1/3 cup sugar, plus extra for rolling
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 eggs
Chocolate, for drizzling (I used chocolate chips and melted them in the microwave)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium mixing bowl, cream together the peanut butter and sugar. It is much easier to do it by hand than to use a machine; just use a tough spatula. Mix in the baking powder and egg until evenly combined.

Form small balls and roll cookie dough in extra sugar. Place evenly on an ungreased baking sheet and flatten slightly with a fork. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for at least 5-10 minutes before moving to a cooling rack to cool completely. The cookies will be very fragile and need to harden before they can be moved. Drizzle with chocolate, if desired.

Homemade Samoa Bars

 

What's the best type of Girl Scout Cookie? Caramel Delights, of course (previously Samoas). When I found this recipe, I knew it had my name written all over it. I actually made it during GS Cookie season with a box of caramel delights sitting in my pantry, but of course, now the homemade Samoas are gone, and the boxed cookies remain in their box!
Anyway, this recipe is great, and you don't have to hunt down any Girl Scouts to enjoy a delicious Caramel Delight (or many). I followed the recipe fully through, except I didn't toast the coconut, which seemed to be OK. The most time-consuming part is unwrapping all of the caramels, but it's not so bad if you eat a few along the way :)

Original recipe here

Valentine Brownie Cut Out Cookies

Flash back to Valentine's Day. I wanted to make sugar cut out cookies around Christmas, but decided not to because my family received a batch from our neighbors, and we had more cookies in the house than we could eat in months (and one of us is gluten-free!). I also received a rolling pin and a pastry sheet for Christmas, and wanted to put them to use. Anyway, along came Valentine's Day, and another excuse for baking. I looked around at many different recipes, and finally stumbled upon this, deciding it was perfect for my chocolate-obsession and an opportunity to use my new tools.

I didn't have all of the ingredients for the royal icing with the cookie recipe and didn't feel like going to the grocery store, so I found one that was simple and that I had the ingredients for. I also had food coloring on hand (from Halloween, long story), which came in handy.

The cookie dough was really easy, but I left out the espresso powder since I didn't have any, and it didn't seem essential. The dough has to be refrigerated for about an hour, which I did not enjoy, but it was well worth the wait.

My roommate Kara has tons of cookie cutters, and I borrowed a few different heart shapes to use. It was pretty easy to roll the dough and cut the cookies, but the recipe does make a lot of cookies, so it took a while to get all of the cookies cut and baked (I enlisted some help from my boyfriend, Dave).

Now for the fun part: icing. I don't particularly enjoy icing things, but these cookies look much better when they are decorated. Maybe someday I can make icing like the photo with the recipe, but that was not an achievable goal for the day. So, I made the royal icing and separated it into three batches to make 3 different colors: white, pink, and red (I just used different amounts of red dye). I started by trying to cover each cookie in icing, but it was too runny and started dripping off most of the cookies. Dave had the bright idea of splattering the cookies with the icing - which ended up looking nice, and was really easy!

Bottom line: these cookies taste like brownies and cookies at the same time. They are phenomenal. Try them.

Original recipe here