Our Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies

Back when I started on this real food adventure, I knew there would be a lot of pushback from my three kids.  They hate that I won't buy Kraft Mac & Cheese, pop tarts or American cheese slices.  They grumble that Hostess snacks and Entenmann's Little Bites are never purchased for packed lunches.  (I actually rarely to never bought Hostess snacks, but my kids have been known to eat a Twinkie or two.)  So when my husband said the kids might take it easier if the former snacks and foods were replaced by something equal, but healthier, things might go easier.  Queue the whole wheat chocolate chip cookie recipe.  I would not necessarily call this cookie healthy.  But, I do know what ingredients are in it, and compared to the gmo laden processed crap at the grocery store, they're fantastic!

I found this recipe online originally at the Betty Crocker website.  I read the reviews and tweaked the recipe just a little.  I reduced the sugar just a bit and upped the flour by 1/4 cup.  They come out perfect every time and my family scarfs them down faster than I can make them.  They make a large batch, and you can feel good that everything that goes into them is all natural.  Give them a try, you won't be disappointed.

Before baking

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from: Betty Crocker recipe here

⅔ cup sugar
⅔ cup packed brown sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
2 ¼ cups whole wheat flour, regular or white whole wheat
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 package (12 oz.) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375ºF.

Mix sugars, butter, vanilla and egg in large bowl until well combined. Mix in flour, baking soda and salt. Stir in chocolate chips. Make 1 inch balls of dough by rolling in your hand. Place about 2 inches apart on parchment lined cookie sheets.

Bake 8-10 minutes or until bottom edges of cookie are lightly browned. Cool on cookie sheets 2-3 minutes, then remove to wire rack to cool completely. Store in airtight container.

Yield:  about 4 dozen

Spiced Spritz

I have been making spritz cookies for my husband for almost as long as we have been married.  His Grandma and mom both used to make them every Christmas, and so I started making them, too.  We always made the basic butter variety, simple and delicious.  Through cookie exchanges I have tried chocolate spritz and frosted spritz, but never any that were as good as the basic butter version I had been  making for years.  Then I saw this recipe for spiced spritz cookies and thought that I must try these.  I am so glad I did.  So are my kids.  And the husband.  They still love the traditional butter version, and these do not replace those.  But if you are looking for something a little different, something with a lovely spiced flavor, then this recipe is for you!

Spiced Spritz

1 cup butter, softened
⅔ cup sugar
1 egg
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2¼ cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
Glaze:
1½ cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons milk
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 400ºF.

Combine butter, sugar, egg, salt and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Beat at medium speed until creamy and well combined. Add flour and all the spices. Beat on low until mixed well.

Place dough into cookie press fitted with desired disc. Form cookies 1-inch apart onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake for 6-8 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Remove to rack to cool.

To make glaze: Stir together the powdered sugar, milk and vanilla until smooth. Drizzle over cookies.


Notes: If dough is too soft after mixing, refrigerate for 30-45 minutes.  Place cookies on a cooling rack with wax paper underneath. When drizzling cookies with glaze, glaze will drip onto wax paper instead of your counter.  Glaze can be drizzled over warm or cooled cookies. These cookies will perfume your kitchen with spicy sweetness!

Only 1 more recipe until Christmas!  (It is a very special one - come back Monday for my last recipe of the year!)

Chocolate Caramel Thumbprints

Whenever I think of thumbprint cookies, I think of the traditional butter cookie with jam in the middle.  My husband loves these.  They were never a part of my holiday traditions growing up, and I'm just not a huge fan of jam in baked goods.  Seems too healthy.   So when I came across this gem of a recipe, I knew I had to make it.  And let me tell you, these do not disappoint!  It is a chocolatey cookie (tasty in it's own right) then filled with gooey caramel, then drizzled with more chocolate!!!!  Oh yes, this is a good cookie!

Chocolate Caramel Thumbprints
from Christmas Cookies: 50 Recipes to Treasure for the Holiday Season by Lisa Zwirn

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1¼ cups sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
½ teaspoon salt

Caramel Filling:
20 caramels, unwrapped
¼ cup heavy cream, (or whipping cream)

Chocolate Drizzle
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

Using an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar together until fluffy. Beat in the whole egg and egg yolk. Mix in the vanilla extract. With the beaters on low speed, add the flour, cocoa powder and salt. Mix until well combined. Gather the dough into a ball, then divide in half. Wrap each half in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line cookie sheets with parchment or a Silpat.

Remove one dough half from the refrigerator. Roll pieces of the dough into 1-inch balls. PLace about 2 inches apart on prepared cookie sheets. Make an indentation in the center of each ball using the handle end of a wooden spoon (or your thumb), being careful not to go all the way through the dough.

Bake for about 13 minutes or until the cookies feel just slightly firm. Immediately upon removing the cookies, again use the handle on the wooden spoon to reinforce and slightly widen the indentation. Transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

For the Caramel Filling:
Heat the caramels and cream in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring often, until the caramels are melted and the mixture is smooth, about 5 minutes. Using the smallest, narrowest spoon you have, spoon the caramel into the indentations of the cookies, filling just up to the rim. If the caramel becomes too thick, place the saucepan back over low heat for a few seconds. Let the caramel set before drizzling the cookies with chocolate.

For the Chocolate Drizzle:
Melt the chocolate in the microwave at 30 second intervals on medium power, stirring after each interval, until melted and smooth. If not too hot, spoon (or pour) chocolate into a disposable decorating bag. PLace the cookies close together, but not touching, on racks set over wax paper. Cut just the tip of the decorating bag and drizzle chocolate in a zigzag pattern over the cookies. Let the chocolate completely set before storing cookies.

Store layered between sheets of wax paper in an airtight container.

Yield: 60 cookies

Notes:  This cookie is like a Rolo in cookie form!  For longer storage, store in refrigerator.  I used a metal 1/8 teaspoon to spoon the caramel into the cookies.  Any spoon small and pointy will work best for this.

Only 2 more recipes until Christmas!

Chocolate Shortbread Wedges

I have looked at many shortbread recipes and notice how simple the ingredient list is.  I have longed to make shortbread, but worry I'll be the only one in the house to like it.  Then I found this recipe.  And I decided it didn't matter whether I was the only one who liked it, or everyone liked it,  I was going to try this recipe.  And I'm so glad I did.  These not too sweet shortbread wedges are rich, crumbly, and oh so chocolatey.  The perfect accompaniment to a hot cup of coffee in the late morning or early afternoon. 

Chocolate Shortbread Wedges

From "Christmas Cookies: 50 Recipes to Treasure for the Holiday Season" by: Lisa Zwirn

1½ cups all purpose flour
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Grease a 9 1/2-inch tart pan with removable bottom.

Beat the butter in a large bowl until creamy. Add the sugar and beat well until fully blended. Mix in the vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, mix in the flour, cocoa powder and salt until fully incorporated. Spread the dough in the pan, pressing evenly with your fingers to make the dough as smooth as possible. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or until firm.

Preheat the oven to 300ºF. Prick the dough with a fork all the way to the bottom of the pan in two concentric circles. Bake in the upper middle of the oven for 63-65 minutes or until the shortbread feels mostly firm around the edges and semifirm in the center. Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes.

Carefully remove the outer ring of the tart pan. Place the shortbread, still on the pan bottom, on a cutting board. Using a pizza cutter, cut the shortbread into quarters while it is still warm. Cut each quarter into 4 equal sized wedges. Using a spatula, carefully transfer wedges to a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes: Be sure to cut the shortbread while warm (too hard to cut when cool) and cool on a rack - they are difficult to remove if left to cool on pan bottom.

Only 4 more recipes until Christmas!

Cranberry and Pistachio Icebox Cookie

I heard about the Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap in October and found myself intrigued.  I love a good cookie swap, and thought it would be fun to mail my cookies to someone else.  I looked into it and signed up.  I have received two of my three packages and the kids and I have enjoyed tasting and eating them!

So far I've received Double Tree Chocolate Chip Cookies from David over at From Ballparks to BBQ and Peanut Butter Hot Fudge Cookies from Susan at The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen.  Both were super yummy!  I hope whoever gets my cookie creations enjoy them, too!

These cookies are a sturdy butter cookie studded with salty pistachios and sweet cranberries.  The combination is out of this world! 

Cranberry and Pistachio Icebox Cookies
Adapted from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook Icebox Cookies recipe

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
¾ cup sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2½ cups plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup pistachios, chopped and sifted
½ cup dried cranberries, coarsely chopped
½ cup sugar, for rolling

Beat butter and sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg and vanilla extract and beat to combine. Add the flour, salt, pistachios and cranberries. Mix on low until combined.

Divide dough in half. Take one half and roll into a log about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap log completely with parchment paper, making sure to cover ends. Repeat with second half of dough. Refrigerate until firm at least 1 hour or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove one log at a time from refrigerator. On clean surface spread out 1/2 cup sugar so it is the length of the cookie log. Unwrap cookie log and roll in sugar to coat outside completely. With sharp knife, slice dough into 1/4-inch thick rounds. Place rounds 1 inch apart onto prepared baking sheets. Bake 13-15 minutes or until cookies are golden brown around the edges. Leave on cookie sheet one minute before removing to cooling rack to cool completely.

Yield: 50 cookies


Notes: If you want to make half of the dough plain for a delicious icebox butter cookie, cut pistachio and cranberry amounts in half. Instead of adding them with the flour, spread half of dough on a piece of wax paper. Cover with chopped pistachios and cranberries. Gather dough up and work the pistachios and cranberries in by kneading the dough with your hands. Roll into log. Proceed as above.

Only 7 more recipes until Christmas!

Birthday Cookies

My two oldest nieces, Rose and Hannah, turned 16 this December, 6 days apart.  I wanted to make something special for the two of them.  I also had to make something that would mail safely and taste good after being in the mail for a few days.  So I came up with these sweet sugar cookies and a little birthday cash.

Here are some of Rose's cookies:

Her favorite color is blue so I chose green as a complementing color and then made these sweet little cupcake cookies. 

Hannah's cookies ended up being very similar, but I chose orange (her favorite color) and used pink as the complementing color.

 I really love how they turned out, and I'm really happy I was able to surprise them both on their special birthday!

Mint Ravioli Cookies

When I saw this recipe, I knew I needed to make it.  These are such fun little cookies. It is essentially two sugar cookies with a chocolate mint sandwiched between the layers.  A truly fun and delicious cookie.  I didn't buy enough mints for this batch of cookies, so if you look closely in the picture with the mints lined up, you will see pieces of a Hershey's milk chocolate bar.  This actually worked out great for us, as my youngest daughter does not like minty foods.  So, feel free to substitute chocolate squares for the mints if you prefer, it will still taste delicious.

Mint Ravioli Cookies

½ cup butter, softened
½ cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 egg
2½ cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
3 dozen Andes Creme De Menthe thin mints, unwrapped

Beat butter, shortening, sugar and egg in a large bowl with electric mixer until fluffy. Stir in flour, baking powder and salt. Cover and refrigerate about 1 hour or until firm.

Heat oven to 400ºF. On a lightly floured surface, roll half of dough into a rectangle 13 x 9 inches. Place mints on dough, forming 6 uniform rows of 6.

 Roll remaining dough into a rectangle 13 x 9 inches on floured wax paper. Place over mint-covered dough. Cut dough between mints with a pizza wheel.

If edges of cookies are not sealed, gently press edges together with your fingers to seal. Place 2 inches apart on parchment lined cookie sheets. Bake 7-9 minutes or until light brown. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack to cool completely.

Yield: 3 dozen cookies


Notes:  If you want sprinkles on your cookies, add them before baking to give them a festive touch.

Only 4 more recipes and 6 days until Christmas!

Santa Cookie

 Just wanted to share a cute cookie I made this past week.  It is Santa, of course!  I got the idea from Cookie Craft and think it is one of the cutest cookies I have ever decorated!  Hope this gets you into the Christmas spirit!

Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Logs

 I made these for the first time just a week ago, and the recipe just had to be shared.  First of all, this cookie pairs two classic flavors, peanut butter and chocolate.  Second of all, this recipe makes a lot of cookies, I had more than 9 dozen!  Third, they are delicious.  And finally, they look beautiful and festive on a cookie platter.

I made these to send to our local homeless shelter, Hesed House, as part of a meal our church was preparing for the residents there.  Lucky for both my kids (and me, too) there was enough for a few extras for us.  And boy did we enjoy eating them!

Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Logs

1 cup creamy peanut butter
½ cup butter, softened
½ cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2½ cups all purpose flour
1½ teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
8 ounces chocolate candy coating
8 ounces chocolate chips
Optional:
chopped peanuts, sprinkles

Preheat oven to 350ºF.

In a large bowl, cream the peanut butter, butter, shortening and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually add the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt to the creamed mixture and mix well.

Shape into 2 inch logs. Place 2 inches apart on parchment lined cookie sheets. Bake in preheated oven for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Let cool for 1-2 minutes on cookie sheet before removing to wire rack to cool.

In microwave or double boiler pan, melt candy coating and chocolate chips. Stir until smooth. Dip one end of each cookie into coating; allow excess to drip off. Dip or sprinkle peanuts or sprinkles on chocolate if desired. Place on wax paper to set.

Yield: Approx. 9 dozen


Notes: These cookies are perfect for a cookie exchange because one batch makes so many!  These are also great for picky eaters (like my daughter), just don't add anything to the chocolate.  I found that the dough was a a little easier to work with after it had chilled slightly, so I kept the dough in the refrigerator while I was baking each pan of cookies.  I also laid the wax paper on the cookie sheets as I dipped the cookies in the chocolate, then when the tray was full I put the tray in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes until the chocolate was set.  You can store these cookies in a tightly covered conatainer on your counter once the chocolate has set up.  One final tip:  I did not melt all the chocolate at once.  I melted enough to fill a coffee mug (using a mixture of the coating and the chocolate chips) in the microwave and dipped as many cookies as I could until I ran out of chocolate.  As I needed more chocolate, I would add more to the mug, microwave it until melted, and continue dipping.

Only 7 more recipes and 13 days until Christmas!

Cocomac Dreams

Let's face it.  Christmas is a time of indulgence.  A time when you buy special ingredients, a time when you make once a year treats.  These cookies qualify as special.  And indulgent.  They are soft cookies filled with coconut, macadamia nuts and white chocolate chips.  If those three ingredients together don't scream "special" to you, then I don't know what does.  (Except maybe gross amounts of dark chocolate.)

So, go find the ingredients in this recipe and make these cookies.  You will not be disappointed.

 

Cocomac Dreams

2⅓ cups all purpose flour
1 package (3.4 oz.) instant vanilla pudding mix
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
2 cups sweetened flaked coconut
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
½ cup vegetable shortening
⅔ cup sugar
⅓ cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1½ cups white chocolate chips
1 cup chopped roasted macadamia nuts
 

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

In a bowl, stir together flour, pudding mix, baking powder, baking soda and salt until well combined. Stir in coconut. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter, shortening, sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla extract. Scrape down sides of bowl. On low speed, gradually add flour mixture, beating just until blended. By hand, stir in white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts.

Using a tablespoon, drop dough by tablespoonfuls onto parchment lined cookie sheets. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until edges of cookies are light brown.

Remove from oven and cool on cookie sheets for 2 minutes. Remove cookies to cooling rack and cool completely.

Yield: 4 1/2 dozen

Notes: Do not make the mistake I made and buy whole macadamia nuts.  Only because they cost so much more than already chopped macadamia nuts.  I did not have time to shop around and had to buy what the one store I went to had, 4 oz. of whole macadamia nuts.  That bottle cost me $8!  A few weeks later I went to another store and they had 4 oz. of chopped macadamia nuts for almost half that price.  

In my opinion, these cookies actually taste better a day after they are made.  The flavors have time to meld and come together when they sit a day in a tightly closed container.

Only 9 more recipes and 18 days until Christmas!

Snickerdoodles

I always love to start my 12 Recipes with a cookie recipe. Christmas cookies are such a tradition in our house. We have tins of Christmas cookies in our house from about the 2nd week in December until after Christmas. There are always lots of different kinds and we always have one or two after dinner, not to mention after school or in the middle of the afternoon for a quick treat.

I know Snickerdoodles are a fairly common cookie, but my mom never made them when we were growing up. When I was engaged to my husband, his Aunt Kathy threw me a bridal shower where family members each gave me a recipe for a recipe box. Two of his cousins gave me a snickerdoodle recipe. After I made them, I was hooked! Their cinnamony sweetness along with the crunchy cookie is a match made in heaven.

Snickerdoodles

¼ cup sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1½ cups sugar
½ cup shortening
½ cup butter, softened
2 eggs
2¾ cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt

Heat oven to 400ºF. Mix 1/4 cup sugar and the cinnamon; set aside. Beat 1 1/2 cups sugar, the shortening, butter and eggs in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed. Stir in flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt.

Shape dough into 1 1/4 inch balls. Roll in sugar-cinnamon mixture. Place about 2 inches apart on ungreased (or parchment lined) cookie sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes or until centers are almost set. Let stand on cookie sheet one minute before removing to wire rack to cool completely.

Yield: 5-6 dozen

 
Enjoy!

 Only 11 more recipes and 22 days until Christmas!

Easter Cookies

I am going to rename myself the Lazy Baker. I didn't make the cookie dough (Pillsbury makes such good sugar cookie dough!), I used the fewest colors of icing possible, and I used mini chocolate chips for the eyes. Whenever I bake, I find myself more and more thinking, "How can I make this with only two colors?"

Anyways, I was inspired by Kate over at Grin and Bake It. For Easter this year I am making her Snickerdoodle Bars as well as some hatching chick Easter egg cookies. Her cookies are so sweet and beautiful, and full of many colors. Mine, mine are cute, but only have a few colors. The bare minimum in my opinion. I would love to make some like hers, with Easter egg colors and lovely fancy eggs without chicks, but as usual, time crunched and I needed to get my family packed up to go to Ohio. And, I'm lazy.





But, I still think my cookies turned out pretty darn cute, even for a lazy baker! (The cookies are huge - Pillsbury dough spreads pretty significantly, so the nieces and nephews are going to get quite a treat!)

Chocolate-Mint Cookies

A few years ago my aunt gave me an entire cookbook dedicated to cookie recipes. She obviously knows me well! I read the cookbook cover to cover, keeping a half sheet of paper inside that I could jot down the title and page number of the recipes I wanted to try. While I have tried several, the list is still very long. So at the beginning of December when my church was asking for volunteers to bake cookies as a dessert for a meal at Hesed House, a homeless shelter in our city, I decided to pull out my cookbook and try one of the new recipes. This is the recipe I picked, and the results were delicious!

Chocolate-Mint Cookies

1 cup sugar
½ cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
2 squares (1 oz. each) unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
1 cup all purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
Peppermint Frosting
2 ½ cups powdered sugar
¼ cup butter, softened
2 ½ tablespoons milk
½ teaspoon peppermint extract
Chocolate Drizzle
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon corn syrup
½ cup semisweet chocolate chips
crushed peppermint candies, if desired

Heat oven to 375ºF. Beat sugar, 1/2 cup butter, the vanilla, egg and unsweetened chocolate in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed. Stir in flour and salt.

Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto ungreased or parchment lined cookie sheet. Flatten cookies with bottom of glass dipped in sugar. Bake until set, about 8 minutes. Cool 1-2 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely.

Peppermint Frosting:
Mix all ingredients until smooth and of spreading consistency.

Spread peppermint frosting over each cookie. Melt 2 tablespoons butter, the corn syrup, and chocolate chips over low heat stirring constantly, until smooth. Drizzle mixture over each cookie; sprinkle with crushed candies.

Yield: 3 dozen


Notes: This recipe originally called for double the ingredients in the chocolate drizzle, but I had entirely too much leftover, so I cut the ingredients in half. These cookies are soft and fudgy, and the chocolate drizzle just takes them from good to over the top fantastic. I made some with the candy pieces on top and some without. Both ways were good.

Only 4 more recipes and 8 days until Christmas!

Butter Meltaways

I had to start my third "The 12 Recipes of Christmas" with a cookie. Nothing says Christmas to me more than Christmas cookies. This is a fairly simple butter cookie that looks pretty on the cookie plate, but more importantly tastes great. It has a great crunchy texture and a sweet, buttery taste that children and adults alike enjoy. You can easily sprinkle this cookie with plain granulated sugar, but at Christmas time I like to mix some red and green sugar in to give it a festive appearance.


Butter Meltaways

½ cup butter, softened
½ cup vegetable oil
½ cup sugar
½ cup powdered sugar
1 egg
½ teaspoon vanilla
2 ¼ cups flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon cream of tartar
additional sugar

In a mixing bowl, cream butter, oil, and sugars. Add egg and vanilla. Mix. Combine flour, baking soda and cream of tartar; gradually add to the creamed mixture. Mix until all ingredients are incorporated. Chill several hours or overnight. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart on ungreased or parchment lined baking sheets. Flatten each dough ball lightly with a glass dipped in sugar. Bake in preheated oven at 350ºF for 12-14 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on wire racks.

Yield: 5 dozen


Notes: To make the sugar stick to the bottom of the glass, flatten one dough ball first, then dip in sugar and press on cookie again. Next dip glass bottom in sugar before flattening each cookie. You an easily add colored sugar to granulated sugar, or use all colored sugar if desired. Please use a vegetable oil with little to no flavor. I use pure canola oil. Enjoy!

Happy Halloween - Cookie Style

I have been dying to make new cookies and test out my decorating talents. I finally did! I am the room mom for my daughter's first grade class, and as such was in charge of her Halloween party this year. Along with planning crafts and games, I came up with some cute cut out cookies to decorate and take in for the kids to eat.


I already had several Halloween cookie cutters, but while hunting for a (cheap) cape for my third grade daughter's vampire costume at Goodwill, I found a set of brand new, still in the package, Wilton Halloween cookie cutters, three of which I did not have. I bought them for 99 cents and added them to my other cookie cutters.


I decided on five different cookie shapes: a ghost, pumpkin, black cat, two different bats, and a Frankenstein. I didn't actually have a Frankenstein cookie cutter, so I used a crimped round cutter and made the face myself. The cookies are chocolate sugar cookies, and the cookie glaze is an allrecipes.com cookie icing recipe. So simple!


The results were pretty much what I was looking for, and the kids all really loved them! I had a lot of fun, too. I think my favorite are the Franks and the ghosts. Now I'm dreaming about pretty Christmas cookies!

Cookies!!!

I have been away from the blog for awhile now, and I'm trying to get my toes wet again with a new post, hopefully to be followed by more posts.

So my new found passion is cake and cookie decorating. I can't call it new, really. I have been making my kid's birthday cakes for many years now. And I have always aspired to make pretty cookies. But my husband reignited a passion when for an anniversary gift he signed me up for a Wilton cake decorating class. I have thoroughly enjoyed it, and have started searching out cake and cookie related sites and blogs. One of my new favorites is Bakerella. She has some amazing recipes and something called cake pops that I'm dying to try my hand at. (I'll post if I ever actually do!) While searching her blog, I discovered her pretty cookies and found out that she was inspired by a book called "Cookie Craft". I checked it out of the library and was hooked!

I made my first set of fancy cookies two days ago, and decorated them yesterday. I have to admit, for a first effort I'm pretty impressed. I used the sugar cookie recipe from the book but used my own cookie icing recipe that I had tried previously. I loved the results. I used an apple cookie cutter that I've had for quite some time but had never used, and my brand new cupcake cookie cutter I bought at Crate and Barrel last month.

Because I didn't want to make too many icing colors (I am a bit lazy) I frosted the leaf of the apple with white icing and covered it with green sugar. The stem was the same brown I used for the cupcake cups, and then I used red for the perfect apple. I think anybody who loves apples would love a plate of these yummy cookies!

The cupcake cookies reminded Brendan and I more of sundaes than cupcakes, but I love them anyways. I struck to a simple white frosting for each one (see note above about laziness) and made brown cupcake cups for each one. I did try various different sprinkles and designs so that there were several different kind of cupcakes on the plate. I topped most of the cookies with the a red cherry on top (made with the apple red frosting).

All in all I'm quite satisfied with my cookies. The best part is they taste great, too.

Pig Cookies

I made these little piggy cookies yesterday for my daughter's second grade class. They spent almost a month reading Charlotte's Web and yesterday took the big test over the whole book. Today they are watching the movie and I thought these would be the perfect treat to eat during the show.

They are really easy to make and don't even need any cookie cutters! Take your favorite sugar cookie dough and roll it out. Cut into circles with a drinking glass. Use a small spice jar or extract lid to cut out the small circle for the snout. (I actually used the large side of a frosting decorating tip.) Cut out a small square out of the dough scraps. Cut in half into two triangles. Place at top of circle like two ears. Cut two slits into the snout with sharp knife. Sprinkle with pink sanding sugar and use two chocolate chips for eyes. Bake as directed. Simple, cute, and yummy!

Ginger Creams

The third recipe for you all is Ginger Creams. I made these on Tuesday to deliver to my church as a part of our PADS program. Our church provides one dinner and then the next morning's breakfast once a month at Hesed House, the homeless shelter in our city. The parishioners can sign up for whatever items they would like to donate (according to a menu), and three dozen cookies, along with two packages of brown-n-serve sausage was my responsibility this month. Lucky for my kids and husband, this recipe makes four dozen, so there were still cookies left to be munched on after the delivery.

I found this recipe in an old cookbook in which they grouped cookies not by type (drop or refrigerator), but by categories like: Lunch Box Surprises, Picnic Stars, and Fun for the Youngsters. This recipe was categorized under "Beau-Catchers (and Husband-Keepers.)" I kid you not. With a category like that one, I knew it had to be good!


Ginger Creams

1/4 cup soft shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup molasses
1 tsp. baking soda dissolved in 1/2 cup hot water
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. cloves
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Mix together thoroughly shortening, sugar, egg, and molasses. Stir in soda and water mixture. Combine remaining dry ingredients and stir into mixture. Chill dough for two hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Drop dough by small rounded teaspoonfuls on lightly greased cookie sheet (or use parchment paper) about 2 inches apart. Bake 7-8 minutes or just until set. Remove to cool on racks. Frost with Quick Cream Icing.

Quick Cream Icing:
Stir together 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 1/2 tsp. vanilla and 1-2 Tbls. cream or half & half until easy to spread.

Yield: Approx. 4 dozen

The dough for this cookie looks very much like cake batter. I made the mistake of forgetting that the dough needed to be chilled, and ended up only chilling it about 45 minutes (I threw it in the freezer for part of the time). The cookies were fine. Do use very small spoonfuls as these spread and puff up a lot! These are really soft, cake-like cookies. My children declared these to be the best cookies EVER (disclaimer: they do that a lot when I make cookies), but my husband also emphatically agreed that they were very good cookies. I guess these really are husband keepers!

Frosted Orange Cookies

My very first recipe is for Frosted Orange Cookies. I have found this is one of those recipes that people either love or hate. There doesn't seem to be any in between. For me and my family, we love them. I got this recipe from my mom. she used to make them for us when I was a kid because they were one of my Dad's favorite cookies. They are simple and yummy, and most kids can't resist a frosted cookie!


Frosted Orange Cookies

1/3 cup shortening
1/3 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup orange juice
2 T. grated orange rind
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

Orange Butter Icing:
2 cups sifted confectioner's sugar
2 T. butter, softened
1 T. grated orange rind
2 T. orange juice

Preheat oven to 400 ºF. Mix shortening, butter, sugar and egg. Stir in orange juice and rind. Blend dry ingredients together. Stir in. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets (for easy clean up and cookie removal, use parchment paper). Bake 8 - 10 minutes.

Icing: Combine butter and sugar. Mix. Add orange rind and juice, mix until smooth. Frost cookies when cool.

Makes about 3 dozen.

I always squeeze the juice out of the oranges I've zested, and if there is not enough for the recipe, I simply add juice from the carton in my fridge to equal the amount needed in the recipe. The fresh juice really makes a difference.

These are a soft cake-like cookie with a great orange flavor. So delicious and special on a Christmas cookie tray. Hope you enjoy them as much as we do!