Holiday Cookies!

You can't go through a holiday season without baking some sort of treat. This year I made Adam's favorite, Kiss cookies, which I had to call his mom for recipe. I also made these hazlenut chocolate cookies which were a big hit as well. I think it was a draw as to which was the better, more delicious cookie. I'll let you be the judge.

Chocolate-Hazelnut Thumbprints (Cooking Light, December 2009)

4.5 oz. all-purpose flour (about 1 cup)
1 cup powdered sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 large egg yolks
1 tsp. instant espresso (optional)
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2/3 cup finely chopped hazlenuts, toasted
1/3 cup hazlenut-chocolate spread (such as Nutella)

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, sugar, cocoa, and salt; stir with a whisk. Place butter in a large bowl, and beat with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes). Stir egg yolks with a whisk, adding espresso, if desired. Add the yolk mixture and vanilla to butter; beat well. Add flour mixture to butter mixture; beat at low speed just until combined.
3. Turn dough out onto a sheet of wax paper; knead 6 times or until smooth and shiny. Shape dough into 28 (1-inch) balls. Roll sides of balls in nuts, pressing gently. Arrange balls 1 inch apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Press thumb into center of each cookie, leaving an indentation. Bake, 1 batch at a time, at 350 for 10 minutes. Remove cookies from pans; cool completely on wire racks. Spoon a scant 1/2 tsp. hazlenut-chocolate spread into center of each cookie.

Kiss Cookies (June Magruder, from Adam's Grandmother)

1 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
1 cup walnuts, finely chopped
1 package Hershey's kisses (I used dark chocolate kisses)

1. Beat sugar, vanilla, and butter until fluffy. Add flour and nuts, beating until combined.
2. Chill dough about 1 hour.
3. Preheat oven to 375.
4. Shape dough around kisses. Bake for 12 minutes on ungreased cookie sheets, or until slightly golden.
5. Cool briefly and then roll in confectioner's sugar. For maximum sugar, re-roll in the confectioner's sugar after a little cooler.

Cookie Monsters

Saturday night was deemed Cheese and Cookie Night by our neighbors and us. We recently discovered that my and Scott's favorite food is cheese, while Adam and Jen's (Scott's fiance) is cookies. Adam and I went to Berkeley's Cheeseboard to find some fantastic cheese, including a sheep's milk and stitlon-like cheese. All I can say about that experience is that I will be returning to the Cheeseboard as frequently as possible. In addition to getting some cheese, we, of course, had to bake some cookies. We chose to be a little different and bake cookies that we don't normally make. Both the Hello Dolly Bars and White Chocolate, Strawberry, and Oatmeal Cookies were huge successes!


Hello Dolly Bars (Cooking Light, December 2007)

These were definitely the hit of the night. And, even better, they take no time at all to make!

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 9 cookie sheets)
2 Tbs. butter, melted
1 Tbs. water
1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup butterscotch morsels
2/3 cup flaked sweetened coconut
1/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted
1 (15-oz.) can fat-free sweetened condensed milk

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Line bottom and sides of a 9-inch square baking pan with parchment paper; cut off excess paper around top edge of pan.
3. Place crumbs in a medium bowl. Drizzle with butter and 1 Tbs. water; toss with a fork until moist. Gently pat mixture into an even layer in pan (do not press firmly). Sprinkle chips and morsles over crumb mixture. Top evenly with coconut and pecans. Drizzle milk evenly over top. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until lightly browned and bubbly around edges. Cool completely on wire rack.

White Chocolate, Strawberry, and Oatmeal Cookies (Cooking Light, May 2007)

We had a difficult time finding plain dried strawberries, so we ended up using a combination of dried cherries, blueberries, and strawberries in the cookies, which worked perfectly.

1/4 cup all-purpose flour (about 3 1/2 oz.)
1 cup regular oats
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 large egg
3/4 cup coarsely chopped dried strawberries
1/3 cup premium white chocolate chips (such as Ghirardelli)
cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, oats, baking soda, and salt; stir with a whisk. Place sugar and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer; beat at medium speed until well blended (about 3 minutes). Add vanilla and egg; beat well. Gradually add flour mixture, beating until well blended. Add strawberries and chips; beat at low speed just until blended.
3. Drop dough by tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto baking sheets coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 for 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from oven; cool on pan 1 minute. Remove cookies from pan; cool completely on wire racks.

That's in My Cookie?

We had a serious need to use up some zucchini that was at the end of its life. I decided to use it in a bit of an untraditional manner-cookies! I remembered reading the recipe while devouring Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. Her daughter Camille inserted stories about growing up surrounded by food and recipes that accompanied the theme of each chapter. This is one of her recipes that will now be part of my cookie repertoire. They are healthier than your average chocolate chip cookie with the whole wheat flour and zucchini additions, yet still wonderfully delicious. The best part is that this cookie makes you think outside the box about what can be considered a dessert ingredient.


Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies (Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, Barbara and Camille Kingsolver)

1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup honey
1 Tbs. vanilla extract
1 cup white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cinnamon [I doubled this]
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 cup finely shredded zucchini
12 oz. chocolate chips

1. Combine the first 5 ingredients, the egg through the vanilla, in a large bowl.
2. Combine the flours, baking soda, salt, and spices in a separate, small bowl and blend into the liquid mixture.
3. Stir zucchini and chocolate chips into other ingredients, mix well. Drop by spoonful onto greased baking sheet, and flatten with the back of a spoon. Bake at 350, 10 to 15 minutes.

It's Just Cookies Guys, Just Cookies!

Having just come back from L.A., where I participated in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer (an amazing 2-day, 39.3 mile walk), and seeing Adam for the first time in a few days, we decided to do something we do best together--bake. Since this was an impromptu baking session, we had to use what we had. Luckily, we had butterscotch chips with a yummy recipe on the back of the bag for Oatmeal Scotchies. Maybe it's not the most high-class cookie recipe ever, but it sure is delicious (and the oatmeal makes you feel not so guilty for eating them all). We made only a half batch so that we could bake something else a little sooner, but I'm going to give you the recipe for the whole batch.


Oatmeal Scotchies (Nestle Tollhouse Butterscotch Morsels Bag)

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract or grated peel of 1 orange (we used the vanilla)
3 cups quick or old-fashioned oats
1 2/3 cups (11-oz. package) Nestle Tollhouse Butterscotch Flavored Morsels

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in oats and morsels. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto ungreased baking sheets.
3. Bake for 7 to 8 minutes for chewy cookies; 9 to 10 minutes for crisp cookies. Cool on baking sheet for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Salty Cookies? Yes, Please!

Adam and I were watching Paula Deen on Food Network, as usual, and saw her making all sorts of cookies and treats. Naturally, we decided that cookie-making was going to be part of our Sunday afternoon. We started looking through cookbooks and found one for which we had all the ingredient: Sweet and Salty Peanut Chocolate Chunk Cookies. Let the cookie-making begin!

Sweet and Salty Peanut Chocolate Chunk Cookies (Cooking Light, March 2007)

The recipe, as the title denotes, calls for peanuts, but Cooking Light suggested that any nut could be substituted. We had pecans, so we used pecans. The combination of the nuts, sweetness of the sugar and chocolate, and the addition of the sea salt make these cookies absolutely delicious and satisfying for every palate. And, they are fairly low-fat, at least as low-fat as a cookie can get while still tasting fantastic.

1/3 cup coarsely chopped unsalted, dry-roasted peanuts (or pecans)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 large egg
1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Place nuts in a small baking pan. Bake at 350 for 8 minutes or until lightly toasted, cool.
3. Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, and baking soda, stirring well with a whisk.
4. Place sugars and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 2 minutes). Add vanilla and egg; beat until combined. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture; beat at low speed until well blended. Stir in peanuts, chocolate chips, and salt.
5. Drop dough by teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart onto baking sheets coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool on pans 5 minutes. Remove cookies from pans; cool completely on wire racks.
6. Devour!