Peppermint White Chocolate MandM Cookies (Merry Christmas!)

This year, I'm spending Christmas with the Monkey Scientist's family.  His mom is an expert baker and I wanted to help contribute to the endless flow of Christmas cookies she's producing.  I picked up a couple bags of these MandMs at Target (uhh they were white chocolate and peppermint, of course I bought 2 bags) a few weeks ago but I'd been fighting not to eat them so I could make cookies! (I knew if I opened the bag without a plan, I'd eat it all in a day or two. I lack self-restraint.)




I whipped these up yesterday so that I wouldn't be contributing to the chaos once the Christmas cooking really begins.  We have them in an airtight container (along with his mom's famous sugar cookies) and I think they might last through tomorrow!  There is never a lack of good food around here - especially baked goods.  I was glad I could contribute a little something.



This is my first year not heading up north in New Hampshire to ski over Christmas, I think in my whole life.  Things were just a little too crazy for me to travel over the holidays.  Luckily, the Monkey Scientist and I will get a good weekend of skiing in just after the New Year.  It doesn't sound like the skiing I'm missing has been very bad lately, anyways!  I'm certainly missing my family, but looking forward to seeing most of them in a few weeks. I'm also lucky the Monkey Scientist's family takes me in as one of their own!  It's my first Christmas with a tree, rather than a pile of presents at the bottom of the stairs or under the fireplace.



These cookies are super sweet and minty - just how I like them!  They would be perfect to leave for Santa under the tree as well.  They came out a little bit puffy for me, which I tried to fix with my rapping against the oven door trick, but I think you could also reduce the flour a bit.  I also left out the candy canes because the Monkey Scientist thinks they stick in his teeth too much.  Regardless, they taste wonderful!

Have a happy holiday!



White Chocolate Peppermint MandM Cookies
slightly adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod

Ingredients
2 1/2-3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup White Chocolate Peppermint MandM's

Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. Mix the flour, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl.
3. In the bowl of the standing mixer, cream the butter and sugars until blended. Add the egg and vanilla and mix to incorporate.
4. Slowly add the dry ingredients, mixing on low until fully incorporated. Mix in the white chocolate chips and MandM's.
5. On a baking sheet (I lined mine with a Silpat) drop the cookies in tablespoon-sized balls about 2 inches apart. Bake for 5 minutes, then remove from the oven. Bang the pan against the open oven door or your stove-top to flatten the cookies. Bake for an additional 5-7 minutes or until the cookies are browning around the edges (but still soft in the middle).
6. Remove from the oven and let rest on the cookies sheet for 2 minutes, then move to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! Unfortunately, I am not spending the holiday at home, waiting for trick or treaters.  I guess I will have to check with the boys to see if any kids show up.  I have been stuck in DC for the last few days due to Hurricane Sandy.  At least I got plenty of use out of my Pumpkin Shirt while I have been here!

At least a few days inside led to some super tasty treats.  I made homemade ice cream sandwiches Sandy-wiches for my friends who let me stay with them while I waited until I could get a flight.  I used the regular old Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe, but halfway through baking I took the tray out of the oven and banged it on the open oven door to flatten the cookies out and make them extra crispy.  It's my mom's college roommate's trick and the key to her amazing cookies. (Although mine never come out quite as good as hers).

My friends don't have a standing or hand mixer, so I actually made the dough totally by hand (don't worry, we didn't lose power from Sandy, but I would have been prepared!).  In a bit of kitchen trickery, I used a lemon juicer (like this) to cream the butter and sugar.  It actually worked amazingly well!  While the cookies were still a little bit warm, I put blackberry ice cream between 2 cookies and wrapped them in Saran then threw them in the freezer for an hour or two.  They came out perfectly!



We finally escaped the storm on Tuesday night and made it to the restaurant where the Monkey Scientist and I had our first restaurant date - Nam Viet - for some delicious Pho.  It hit the spot on a cool, rainy evening.

It's been great being back in DC - I had missed it (and my camp friend) a lot - but I'm ready to head back to Chicago.  Cross your fingers that I make it back tomorrow!

Have a great Halloween!

Cookie Decorating (with Sari's Sweets!)

I have been wanting to try some serious cookie decorating for a long time, but I always always intimidated by fancy ingredients like Meringue powder and ...well my serious lack of artistic ability.  I love blogs like Bake at 350 and I'm amazed by the works of art she creates on her cookie canvas.  I knew if I was ever going to attempt this, I'd need some serious hands-on instruction from an expert.



This week, I had my chance!  Sari of Sari's Sweets hosted a cookie decorating party for our office!  Sari works by day with me, but by night is an amazing cookie decorator.  For anyone with a big event coming up (engagement party, bachelorette party, wedding, bar/bat mitzvah, baby shower, etc), I seriously recommend checking out some of Sari's creations.  She's incredibly talented, not to mention an absolute sweetheart, and will come up with fabulous creations to make your event special. She even makes gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free creations!



Our cookie decorating party was an absolute blast.  While my first attempt was a bit of a flop (it was supposed to be a flower...I think I got a little over ambitious/overdecorated), I think by my 4th and 5th cookies - the starburst and the Block M) I improved a bit!  Sari taught us all sorts of neat techniques, like how to make the firework-like shapes.  It definitely wasn't as easy for me as Sari makes it look, but I enjoyed experimenting.




Have you tried cookie decorating?  How did it go? I'm excited to keep trying new designs, especially with the holiday season coming up!

If you'd like to have a cookie decorating party with Sari, be sure to check out her website!

S'mores Cookies

Today is the birthday (and a special one at that) of one of my favorite people in the whole world - my mom.  I think a lot of people probably say this, but I am completely convinced I have the best mom in the whole world.  A lot of moms have trouble finding the balance between being a friend to your child, letting them make their own decisions, and teaching them to make good choices, even if that means acting strict at times.  My mom (and my dad for that matter) were able to find this balance really well, and I think it helped me to become the person I am today.  I am lucky to always be able to call my mom for advice and trust her to guide me when I have trouble making decisions on my own (even if it's just silly things like picking a moving company). She really is the best!!

In honor of my mom, I wanted to share this recipe for cookies in her favorite variety - s'mores.  Anyone who has ever been near a campfire (or even just a charcoal barbecue) knows my mom loves s'mores.  Mom isn't even a big dessert eater, but there are a few trips to Sebago Lake where I remember her eating quite a few s'mores.  The Monkey Scientist and I are headed to the beach this weekend, so I wanted to bring some s'mores for a beach snack.  This recipe was the perfect way to think of my mom all day at the beach!  Happy birthday, Mom!

This batter, by the way, is ridiculously tasty.  I definitely spoiled my dinner by tasting the dough.  You know, to make sure it wasn't poisoned.  Plus, look how cute the cookies came out!

S'mores Cookies

slightly adapted from Tracey's Culinary Adventures

Ingredients

1 cup graham cracker crumbs

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 oz (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar (I used dark but the original called for light)
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups milk chocolate chips
1 cup mini marshmallows (approximately, I didn't exactly measure how many I used)

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a silpat.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together the graham cracker crumbs, flour, baking soda, and salt.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (a beater blade is great here), cream the butter and both sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture and beat just until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.
4. Drop heaping tablespoons of the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Bake for 8-9 minutes (I did 1 tray at a time), then remove from the oven and quickly, but gently push a few marshmallows into the top of each cookie. Return the cookies to the oven and bake for an additional 2-3 minutes, or until the edges are set.
5. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for about 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.



PS - don't worry, I brought some cookie variety to the beach.  I also used my last bag of Cadbury Mini Eggs stored over from Easter to make Cadbury Mini Egg Cookies.  YUM!

Basic Oatmeal Cookies

On Saturday night, the weather was icky which made going out sound dreadful.  We've been pretty obsessed with Draw Something lately, thanks to my brother (it's a terrible addiction don't even start!) which inspired me to want to play Pictionary.  At the last minute, I was able to organize a few friends to come over and join us for an exciting game night!




We had such a wonderful time.  We started with CatchPhrase (if you have an iPhone, download Phrase Party and you don't actually need to buy the game!), and then moved onto Pictionary, Charades, and a game I'd never played before - Chinese Telegraph.  You can find a great explanation of how to play the game on Jenna's Everything Blog.  Next time you gather a bunch of your friends, I highly recommend playing this game.  I had to pull out a box of tissues because I was laughing so hard.  It was one of my favorite Saturday nights in a long time - I hope we'll get to have another game night again soon!



Since I threw the gathering together pretty quickly, I felt bad that I hadn't made many treats for my guests.  I am usually pretty good about keeping the ingredients for baked goods in the house, so I decided to throw together some cookies.  I wanted a pretty basic recipe so I went to my reliable Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook.  My college roommate always used this cookbook, so when a Border's was going out of business I picked up a copy of my own and I love it!  I had all of the ingredients for these Oatmeal Cookies, as well as about 1/4 bag each of chocolate and butterscotch chips, so I quickly threw a batch together.



What a great recipe!  They're super easy to make and tasted delicious!  These are chewy cookies, but I bet if you took them out halfway through baking and gently banged the cookie tray on the oven door before putting them back in, they'd flatten out and turn out crispy if you're into that.  I don't usually add cloves or cinnamon to my oatmeal cookies but I will from now on.  They added a new level of flavor that we all really enjoyed.  Even though I only had 1/2 cup combined of chocolate and butterscotch chips, I thought they were the perfect amount to prevent the cookies from being too sweet or too chocolately (yes, I just said that.  I'm not a huge chocolate lover).  These were a great cookie that I could throw together in no time with the ingredients I had on hand!




Basic Oatmeal Cookies
slightly adapted from Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook

Ingredients
3/4 c butter, softened
1 c packed brown sugar (I used light)
1/2 c granulated sugar (or Vanilla Sugar)
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4-1/2 tsp ground cloves
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 c whole wheat flour
1 c all-purpose flour
2 c rolled oats
1/4 c milk chocolate chips (optional)
1/4 c butterscotch chips (optional)

Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or, even better, a beater blade) beat the butter on medium speed for 30 seconds.
3. Add the brown sugar, granulated (or vanilla) sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and cloves and beat on medium speed until combined.  If you don't have a beater blade, make sure to scrape the sides down with a spatula. Beat in eggs and vanilla.
4. Add in the whole wheat flour and beat on low until incorporated.  Add AP flour, 1/2 c at a time, and beat on low until incorporated.  Add the oats and beat for 15 seconds or until incorporated.  If desired, add chocolate and butterscotch chips (or anything else, like raisins or craisins) and stir with a spoon until mixed throughout.
5. Drop dough by rounded teaspoons 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet (optionally lined with a silpat mat or parchment paper).  Bake 8-10 minutes (mine actually needed closer to 12 min but they were a little big) until the edges are golden brown.
6. Cool on cookie sheet for 1 minute then transfer to a wire rack to allow to continue to cool.

Cookie Cake

For Valentine's Day, I wanted to make a heart shaped dessert.  It only seemed appropriate.  I have a heart shaped pan that was my grandmother's, and a heart shaped cookie cutter, and I was actually able to use both for this dessert!



I'm going to come right out and be honest here - I got really sick from this dessert.  I tend to get a tummy ache pretty frequently, especially when I have too many sweets, but this one definitely did not make me feel too good.  I have a strong feeling this was from under baking.  My heart shaped pan is ceramic and probably a bit smaller than a 10" round pan, so I think I should have left it in the oven longer than 20 minutes.  The Monkey Scientist was fine though, so maybe I'm just a bit sensitive.  Just make sure it's really done before you take it out of the oven!



The fact that I used incredibly sweet butterscotch chips definitely didn't help my cause here either.  I recommend you go with something like bittersweet chocolate chips or even M & Ms when you make this.  Regardless, it absolutely needs to be topped with ice cream to cut the sweetness.



Despite the toll my tummy took, this was really very delicious.  The Monkey Scientist loved it and continues to stand by the fact that this is a great dessert.  I debated even posting it, but in the true spirit of recipe reviews I have to share the good, bad, and the ugly - and this one was a little bit of all 3.  A good recipe, bad execution, and ugly tummy rumblings.  If you do try it out, let me know how it goes with a metal pan!

Candy Cane Biscotti

One of my favorite parts of the holiday season is baking cookies.  Last year, we had an office cooking baking contest.  I'm a litttttttle bit competitive, and in the end I squeaked by and won by 1 vote with these cookies.  Seriously delicious.



This year, I was thrilled that I was invited to a cookie swap that 2 of my friends were holding.  I was very torn about what I wanted to make, but in the end I decided on these Candy Cane Biscotti.  I feel like biscotti can be a little controversial, because people expect it to be rock hard, but it's one of my absolute favorite cookies to make.



Let me start by saying homemade biscotti is completely different than the small bricks that you might find somewhere like Starbucks.  They're crunchy, but not break-your-teeth hard by any means. My go-to cookie last winter was gingerbread biscotti and it was always a hit. I also loved making cinnamon sugar biscotti, and it made me fully trust Tracey's biscotti recipes.  I also love that biscotti stores well for a bit longer than other cookies - I actually brought some home on the plane for my family last December.



These particular biscotti are perfect for the holiday season.  It turns out crushing candy canes is not so easy - we crushed right through several plastic baggies.  I recommend using freezer bags.  I also over-tempered the white chocolate so I was only able to dip 4 biscotti.  Listen to Tracey, use bars instead of chips.  You also might need to bake them a little bit longer than the recipe says, although my oven might be off.  I wanted to brown the tops a little bit more. I really should purchase an oven thermometer one of these days.



Our cookie swap ended up being so much fun! I was really impressed with some of the cookies the girls made.  Folks seemed to enjoy these biscotti, and I think they turned out pretty delicious.  They weren't hard, and the peppermint gave great Christmasy-flavor.  Plus, even without the white chocolate, they're quite pretty!  This is a great recipe to make ahead of time and put out for Santa on Christmas Eve.  They're sure to put you in the holiday spirit!



Candy Cane Biscotti
from Tracey's Culinary Adventures

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
2/3 cup crush peppermint candy canes, plus extra for garnish
14 oz white chocolate (use bars, not chips)

Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together in a medium bowl. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients and beat just until incorporated. Use a rubber spatula to fold in the candy cane pieces.

3. Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces. Shape each into a log that is roughly 9-inches by 1 1/2-inches. Transfer them to the prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 3 inches apart. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until the logs are light golden brown and cracked and top. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let the logs cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheet. Reduce the oven to 325 F.

4. Working with one log at a time, cut into 1/2-inch slices on the diagonal using a serrated knife. Transfer the biscotti to the baking sheet, cut side down. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the biscotti are light golden brown and crisp on both sides. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and cool completely.

5. Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water. Stir occasionally until melted. Dip half of each biscotti cookie into the melted chocolate, letting the excess drip off before transferring to a sheet of wax paper. Garnish with extra crushed candy canes while the chocolate is wet, if desired. Let the chocolate set then store in an airtight container.

Makes about 3 dozen

In the meantime...

I realize I have been leaving you in the lurch lately... I do have a recipe that I need to edit photos for and there will be many to come after Thanksgiving.  In the meantime, I wanted to remind you of a recipe I posted earlier this year that we're bringing back out for Thanksgiving.

These mint chocolate chip cookies are the BOMB.  One of the weirdest cookie doughs I've ever made, but they come out like mint chocolate brownie cookies.  I think they were the first cookie I ever made for the Monkey Scientist and I believe they were the key to winning his heart. Mom and I are baking a batch up tonight and then heating them up again on Thursday.  If you need a chocolate dessert I promise they'll be a winner.

Read the full original post and see the recipe by clicking here!

Honey Cookies

Now I know I'm way late for Rosh Hashanah, but I debated whether or not I'd share these, since it isn't my favorite recipe of all time.  However, they are parve and do not contain eggs, so I thought they may excite those of you with egg allergies out there.

You could use butter, of course, but to keep them parve I used Fleischmann's margarine.  Growing up my mom always called this "Dad's butter" because my grandfather is highly allergic to dairy and we always used it when we baked for him.  Every time I see the silver foil wrapper I think of him.

The margarine creams well enough, although it doesn't get that sugary crunch like when you cream sugar and butter.  Maybe the honey affects this as well.  Additionally, the recipe doesn't call for any eggs (even egg replacement) which is unique for me in a cookie recipe.

The dough itself is good enough.  It rolls out quite nicely so that you can cut it into any shape you like.  I loved this adorable apple shape for the Jewish New Year - it's a fun riff on "apples" with honey!  The apples are a little sticky so it may help to cut them right on the parchment paper or silpat where you're going to bake them. I didn't find a fantastic way to make this work but you probably can!

I have to admit, these cookies come out really dry.  They'd be good for sandwich cookies - spread the middle with apple jam, cream cheese frosting (if you didn't need them to be parve of course!), or you could dip them in chocolate.  I think it would help cut the dryness.  They do have a wonderful honey flavor, which you can alter using different types of honey.  It's a very easy recipe for a last minute parve dessert!

Honey Cookies

adjusted slighty from Chick in the Kitchen

Ingredients

2 sticks margarine, room temperature (I used Fleichmann's)
1/2 c. white sugar
4 Tbsp. honey (I used clover honey)
1½ c white flour
1 c whole wheat flour

Instructions
1. With a hand mixer, cream margarine, sugar, and honey in a large bowl. (If you spray your measuring spoon lightly with non-stick spray first, the honey will slide right out.)
2. Slowly add flour, continuing to mix, until dough is smooth. Form into a large ball and wrap with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
3. Preheat oven to 300° F.
4. Cut dough into thirds, and work with each piece individually. Roll out to 1/2-inch thick on top of waxed paper or foil. Cut out cookies with a glass or cookie cutter, and place on a non-stick baking sheet.
5. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 25-30 minutes, or until cookies are golden and edges have just begun to dark. Allow cookies to cool — they will harden as they do so. Use a flat, stiff spatula to remove them from the baking sheet.

My apologies to the vegan community - these cookies are not vegan - obviously veganism is not my fortay!

Cowboy Cookies in a Jar (a gift!)

I know, it's been FOREVER.  But I've been away! And I really didn't do a whole lot of cooking while I was on vacation.  First, I was up at my parents house on the lake in NH with some friends, where we did things like grill and make lobsters.  Not the most exciting food to blog, but it sure was delicious.



Then, I headed up to Chicago to visit the Monkey Scientist's family, as well as some of my closest friends.  It was his mom's birthday, so I wanted to bring a little something special for her.  She loves to bake, so I thought this recipe was a pretty and fun gift to bring her.



Well, it turns out, going through security, a mason jar looks a bit...suspicious.  Fortunately, when my friendly TSA agent unwrapped the jar, he actually thought it was the smartest idea ever.  Apparently, I was informed, you can't bring actual cookie dough on planes because it is unstable, but as long as you remove the liquids, you're good to go.  I told him he should put this recipe up on the TSA website!



My little trip to the North was amazing - I saw so many great friends and family, and had a fantastic time jet skiing, swimming, kayaking, waterskiing, and then experiencing the "beach" in Chicago.  The cookie mix jar went over great, and I definitely recommend it as a gift.  Make sure you REALLY pack down each layer, as I had trouble stuffing in the last of the flour...and then the sugar, chocolate chips, and pecans got a little shaken up on the plane.  I suggest using a wide mouth jar (not like the one I used) so it's easier to pack it in. I'll definitely perfect it by the holiday season!



Cowboy Cookies in a Jar
from all recipes

Ingredients
1 1/3 c rolled oats
1/2 c packed brown sugar
1/2 c white sugar
1/2 c chopped pecans
1 c semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/3 c all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Instructions
1. Layer the ingredients in a 1 quart jar in the order given. Press each layer firmly in place before adding the next layer.
2. Include a card with the following instructions:

Cowboy Cookies Mix in a Jar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).  Grease cookie sheets.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together 1/2 c melted butter or margarine, 1 egg, and 1 tsp vanilla.  Stir in the entire contents of the jar. You may need to use your hands to finish mixing. Shape into walnut-sized balls. Place 2 inches apart on prepared cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 11 to 13 minutes in the preheated oven.  Transfer from cookie sheets to cool on wire racks.