Three times now I’ve walked past the eggnog display at the grocery store. The first two times, I convinced myself that it wasn’t eggnog season yet – even for a baking blogger – and the recipe spinning around in my head could wait. Besides, my life is insanely busy right now and there isn’t much time for blogging.
The third time I went past the eggnog, I caved and went back for a carton. I was a little burned-out on pumpkin, apples, and even (gasp!) maple, so maybe it was time to forge ahead and start the Christmas recipes rolling!
So…more cookies. There are never enough good cookie recipes, right? And these are sweet, light little cookies. They turned out exactly as I pictured them on my first try. Did your grandma ever make you cake-like sour cream cookies? Mine did (neener neener) and my whole family loved them. They were a little plain – basically just a sugar cookie with loft – but sugar cookies by definition are a little plain, which is part of their charm. Hers had the magical combination of sour cream and baking soda though, so they rose proudly and were surprisingly light when picked up and aimed at the mouth.
So light. So addictive.
I took Grandma’s recipe and added eggnog, changing the quantities of flour and leavening to keep them from going flat. I used a spiced vanilla eggnog, but this isn’t necessary. If you use regular eggnog, just be a little generous with both the spices and the vanilla and they will turn out great!
I always use a thin glaze to add a little interest. In this case, the cookies have a mild spicy eggnog flavor, so I kept it to a simple vanilla and nutmeg glaze. You may, if you wish, use eggnog instead of water (if they aren’t going to be eaten quickly, you’ll want to refrigerate or freeze them because of the dairy) or………….rum, brandy, or whiskey for a spiked eggnog treat.
Add a handful of raisins if you like – they go very well with the eggnog flavor. Speaking from experience though, (BLEH!) chocolate chips are not a good option. Trust me on this.
These sugar cookies have a light, soft texture. They are mildly flavored with eggnog and spices. Makes approximately 5 dozen cookies.
Ingredients
1 cup butter softened
1½ cups sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
5½ cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1½ teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup sour cream
1 cup eggnog
..............
Glaze:
½ cup water (or milk or eggnog, OR replace part of the liquid with rum or whiskey)
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 cups powdered sugar
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
pinch of salt
Instructions
Heat oven to 375 F.
Cream together the butter and sugar.
Add eggs one at a time, beating well between additions.
Add vanilla and mix well.
In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Set aside.
In a small bowl, combine the sour cream and eggnog, whisking well.
Beginning with the sour cream mixture and ending with the flour mixture, add alternately in three separate additions.
On parchment covered or very lightly greased cookie sheet, place small scoops of cookie dough at least an inch apart.
Bake 10-12 minutes, until the cookies are just slightly golden brown around the bottom edge. Move cookies to a rack to cool completely.
To make Glaze:
Combine water (or optional liquids) and vanilla. Add the remaining ingredients and whisk well until smooth. It will be thin. Turn each cooled cookie over and dip the top, shaking off excess. Set on waxed paper to dry.
Scoop the dough. (Smooth and shape with a damp finger if you want them perfectly round. Pffft.)
Dip ’em.
These are deceptively ordinary looking. No strong flavor, no added goodies, just a soft, plain cookie. A soft, plain cookie that you can’t stop eating! And now it is officially THE SEASON!!! Falalalalala.
You will rarely find me in the cookie aisle at the grocery store. Oh, believe me…I love store-bought cookies. Chips Ahoy are my favorite road food! Vanilla wafers make a lovely dessert crust. Ginger Snaps really call to me once in a while. However, for the most part I avoid the temptation because I know I can make a better quality cookie for less money.
BUT (you knew that was coming, right?) occasionally I just have to buy a package of those lovely maple leaf shaped cookies with maple frosting in the middle.
I’ve posted my recipe for Maple Shortbread before, and absolutely love those cookies, but this time I wanted to make a sandwich cookie with a sturdier dough since shortbread is a little fragile. My first batch was a flop. Too crispy and buttery, though definitely yummy (there were no complaints from the menfolk) but not what I was looking for.
So I played with my shortbread dough a bit and think I have found a winner. I’ll never get the dense crunchy texture of the store bought variety, but this is very close, and satisfies my craving in a big way. The dough itself has a very mild maple flavor, with the frosting in the middle carrying the maple “punch”.
I even thinned some of the dough and piped leaf veins on the top cookies. I love the look of it, and will probably play with the dough-on-dough decorating idea in the near future.
Makes about 18 sandwich cookies, depending on the size of your cookie cutter. Mine was approximately 3" x 3".
Ingredients
1 cup butter, softened
1½ cup powdered sugar
1 egg yolk
¼ cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon milk
3 cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup cornstarch
............
Frosting:
½ cup brown sugar, firmly packed
½ cup white sugar
4 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons maple flavoring (like Mapleine)
1 cup powdered sugar
milk for thinning frosting
Instructions
Heat oven to 350F.
Lightly grease two baking sheets. (Or use parchment.)
In a large bowl, combine butter and powdered sugar. Beat until light and fluffy.
Add egg yolk, maple syrup, and milk. Blend well.
Add the flour and cornstarch and mix until it forms a smooth dough. The dough should be very stiff. If it's sticky, add a little more flour.
Working with half the dough at a time, roll the dough out on a generously floured surface. (To make it really easy, roll it out between pieces of floured parchment.) You want the dough to be no more than ¼" thick. A little thinner is even better.
Cut out shapes with a maple leaf cookie cutter.
In a small bowl, combine ¼ cup of dough with a couple of drops of maple flavoring and enough milk to make it easy to pipe. Put the dough in a pastry bag, or in a plastic zipper bag with the tip cut off, and pipe leaf veins on half of the cookies.
Bake 9-10 minutes, or until the cookies are just beginning to show a little brown around the bottom edges.
Cool completely on a rack. Frost the plain half with maple frosting (instructions below) and top with the decorated half.
TO MAKE FROSTING:
In a medium pan, combine the brown sugar, white sugar, milk and butter. Bring to a boil and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes.
Add the maple flavoring and powdered sugar, beating well with a wooden spoon or whisk.
Add milk, if necessary, a little at a time until the frosting has a consistency that's good for spreading. If it gets too firm while you're working with it, heat it on low or add a little more milk.
Flour generously. You actually want these cookies to be tough and crunchy!
Cooking the frosting.
Add some frosting and top with another cookie.
Now THIS is a cookie!
These are incredibly rich. Two is my limit, and I’m usually satisfied with one. They do disappear quickly though, so hide a few for yourself and savor the flavor when you have a peaceful moment.
>If you read last year’s blog about my preference for a crispy, sinful peanut butter cookie made with shortening (Traditional PB Cookie recipe) you might remember that I wasn’t willing to compromise my ideal of the perfect peanut butter cookie for the sake of wholesome eating. Nope. And I still stand by my original recipe; it is just what you need for a crispy cookie.
BUT. I have a new love, and it is a buttery, tender, chocolate covered raisin-studded confection that is pretty darn good. You can ask my husband, who ate a dozen in five minutes. Seriously!
I baked them for 12 minutes, and they were delicious, but just a wee bit fragile. I broke a few when I piled them in the cookie jar. I don’t know why I even bothered in the first place, though, since they just got hauled back out of there and mauled by The Man. The last batch was left in for an extra minute, and it made all the difference. So, since all ovens are different (and mine happens to be a piece of crap that I don’t trust at all) go for 12 minutes on your first sheet of cookies and see what you think.
2 cups (or more) milk chocolate covered raisins (if you don't like raisins, substitute chocolate chips)
Instructions
Heat oven to 375 F.
Beat together the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until light.
Add the peanut butter, egg, vanilla, and buttermilk and beat well, until fluffy.
Stir in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Add chocolate covered raisins and stir until combined.
Scoop onto ungreased cookie sheets (don't flatten!) and bake for 12-13 minutes. Cool on the sheet for several minutes, as they're soft when first removed from the oven. Transfer to rack until completely cool.
When I was in my teens I made a batch of peanut butter cookies and ate a lot of the dough. A lot. Then I ate the cookies warm out of the oven. It was at least ten years before I could look at a peanut butter cookie. Just the smell made me ill. So, please, PLEASE pace yourself. A little dough, one or two warm cookies. This is the voice of experience speaking!
Also, just fair warning, it’s about time to start posting pumpkin recipes. I held out as long as possible, but other bloggers are putting theirs out there and I can’t let them get the jumpstart on me that way! Ready or not…
Every month a group of bloggers post what a fly would have seen and heard if it had been on a wall in their household. Little snippets of life that don’t add up to a blog, but may be worth tattling about. After you’ve read my post, please click on the links at the bottom and check out the others.
Do you wonder, little fly, why you’re still there on my wall? It’s because I can’t reach you and my husband can’t hear your constant buzzing. It’s no secret that he doesn’t hear well. We have the $7,000 hearing aids in a box in the bedroom as proof. He often doesn’t hear me when I talk to him (surprise, surprise) and then randomly thinks he hears me when I haven’t said a word.
Him, bellowing from the kitchen: “I can’t hear you!”
Me, from bedroom: “I didn’t say anything!”
Him, from kitchen: “Okay, that’s why.”
It’s a good thing he can’t hear eye-rolls.
Each summer I wait anxiously for huckleberry season. Those beautiful purple berries are featured prominently in my baked goods (yeah, yeah, and margaritas) throughout the year, and a good huckleberry year is cause for celebration. This was a GREAT year for huckleberries, but unfortunately my participation in it ended on our first outing when I sprained my ankle. My hero husband, however, went back out three times and brought home fifteen pounds of berries, which helped to ease the pain a bit.
Picture this: I feel and hear my ankle snap at the same time as the stick I stepped on snapped. Not a good sound. This ankle has been sprained several times, so I’m not new to the sensation, but this one really, really hurt! AND, to add insult to injury, I lost almost my whole bucket of berries. Any lurking bears got an earful. By the time it numbed up a bit and I could breathe again, my husband and our two friends helped me with the long hop back to the vehicle. I absolutely couldn’t make it any farther and dramatically flopped on the hood of the car. Then…then…popped my head up and demanded that my husband take a picture of me for Fly on the Wall.
Is that dedication to you guys or what?He took one look at me and said he didn’t think it was a good idea, but I insisted. When I got home from the ER and looked at the photos, I realized that he was rrrrrriiii right. (Please don’t tell him I said that!) I love you all dearly, and was willing to put a photo out there of my filthy, red-faced, ponytailed self, but these were heinous and you are NOT going to see them. Just use your imaginations if you must. Trust me, even the bears would have turned up their noses at the sight.
The Man really stepped up to the plate—not only with his ability to make gourmet meals, but with his artistic flair in the presentation of the food. Salads had perfect slices of tomato arranged around the edge and cucumber slices that looked like flowers. He toasted pecans and grated fresh Parmesan cheese. He sliced chicken breast and fanned it on the plate. He created a green bean dish that would make you cry happy tears.
He’s pretty much screwed, because I now know what he’s capable of. (And that, my friends, is the reason I have never learned to use the lawn mower, snow plow, or weed-eater.)
Chef’s salad supreme!
Weeks of cooking, doing dishes, and general fetching and carrying has taken its toll, however, because the other day he was complaining:
Him: “I feel like I started cooking two weeks ago and haven’t stopped!”
Me (smugly): “Welcome to my world”
Him: “No, thank you!”
Ah. Validation.
I knew I was pushing my luck, but I had this recipe developing in my brain (you have to do something when you’re lying on the couch all day being waited on) for huckleberry cookies and was desperate to see if it worked. It took four days, but I finally coaxed him into baking them for me. I printed up the recipe with lots of special notes on how to smash bananas, where to find the brown sugar, which kind of oatmeal to use…that kind of thing. I even got the crutches and went in the kitchen to help him, but was accused of micro-managing, so back to the couch I went.
The cookies smelled good. Really good! They looked perfect. Then I bit into one. Salty. Worried that I’d misjudged, I asked if he was sure he’d only used a half teaspoon and he assured me he had. Then he went and got the spoon. The half tablespoon. So…triple the salt, cinnamon, and baking soda. Yikes! Still edible, but not blog-able.
Banana Blueberry Cookies
Since I can put weight on my foot now with one crutch, I tried making them again yesterday (using blueberries since most people don’t have access to mountain huckleberries) and they were much better without half the spice cabinet in them. Here’s the recipe.
The same mild winter and cool spring that gave us a good year for berries gave us a VERY bad year for yellow jackets. I mean, ghastly. Here is a photo of a pile-o’-bees that were dumped out of three bee traps. One year I counted the yellow jackets in a full trap and it was over 1,000, so you’re looking at a minimum of 3,000 nasty, mean, relentless wasps, with a few bald-faced hornets mixed in. In case you’re wondering, bald-faced hornets have the temperament of yellow jackets on steroids and will chase you down until you reach the safety of a building. They must die.
Eeeuw. Have some wasps!
Right after this picture was taken, fresh traps were hung and by that afternoon the traps were almost half full again. It is making a dent, though, and hopefully we’ll be out of lockdown soon. Right now we (and the dogs and chickens) are only able to go outside early in the morning or after the sun sets. I will always remember this summer as the “Reign of Terror”.
I’m pretty sure I’m older than 90% of the foodie bloggers out there, so you’ll have to try to imagine the angst that goes into the prospect of a 40th high school reunion. My last minute weight loss hopes were dashed by two inactive weeks on the couch with my own professional chef who was discovering the joys of cooking. Damn. So the focus was on clothes.
Three events were planned: a Friday “casual night” at the local tavern, a Saturday “evening casual” dinner event, and a Sunday picnic in the park for my elementary school.
Casual night. Hmmmm. I think we’re the first generation to be heading into our 60s wearing jeans―no polyester pants for us! I’m pretty sure my overalls wouldn’t be appropriate, though. So…jeans and a comfy top. Easy. But on crutches, shoes were the problem. I’m vertically challenged, so I like to wear heels. The dog has systematically chewed up most of my flat shoe options, so I had the choice between wearing the checkered tennis shoes that don’t go with the patterned top, (though this meant I could use just one crutch), or the sandals with a nice wedgy heel that I wouldn’t topple off of unless I really hit the wine hard (with both crutches for support). I guess you know which one I chose.
Hmmm. Which would YOU choose?
Evening casual. What the hell is that??? A cocktail dress? (chubby knees, not happening) Did you know that there are almost no dresses out there for evening casual that aren’t sleeveless? (flabby arms, not happening) or form-fitting? (Where did my waist go? Not happening.) This was getting grim. I ordered a dress I liked but it needed heels, otherwise I looked like I was heading to church. Crap…back it went. Remember, the only store in our area is WalMart (SO not happening) and I was stuck on the couch, so a trip to the nearest city was out of the question. Time was running out and I was at the mercy of Amazon.
I ordered a fun skirt with sequins, which wasn’t as tacky as it sounds. After consulting with my fashion expert/daughter, it was determined that this skirt needed a green top. Not just any green…kind of a deep blue green. Two blouses were ordered. Neither one matched. I settled for a red and white dress, but then had the shoe conundrum again. Rush shipping delivered red shoes with crutch-friendly heels the day before I left. Just for the record, I’m wondering―who is the genius that said women aren’t allowed to wear pantyhose anymore? Pffft.
The picnic would be a slam-dunk, thank goodness. Tee shirt and jeans.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. There’s hair, nails, and all those girly things that a much-abused husband will NOT shop for. (Bye-bye, push-up bra…definitely not happening.) There was also my lovely green and brown ankle that wouldn’t go with anything except a camo outfit from Cabelas. Green, brown and swollen. At 58 (and yes, I’m sure you’ve already done the math and this is not a big surprise) the only thing on my body that was TRIM was my ankles. Sigh.
So much was not happening. I won’t even go into my various attempts to give myself a French manicure. I garden, play guitar, and wash loads and loads of dishes every day. My nails were a mess. To do something about it I would have needed to have a steady hand and two eyes that focused at approximately the same distance. I settled for making sure they were clean. Meh.
But in the end, the whole thing was a riot! I didn’t notice if shoes matched dresses, if nails were done, and Lord knows I didn’t notice if push-up bras were worn. As a matter of fact, if it hadn’t been for pictures I couldn’t tell you what anyone wore. These people were friendly and fun; the rest just didn’t matter. It really, truly didn’t. It wasn’t high school, wasn’t about fitting in, and most of us had grown up and realized that it was friendship and memories that were important.
Well…except for the guy that commented to me that he liked the name tags because that meant he could stare at women’s boobs without getting in trouble. I guess there’s always one that’s lost in the 70s.
I’ve noticed you’re sort of buzzing in weak circles. Either you’re past your prime or my high drama is exhausting you! Why don’t you go check out these other blogs. If you’re still around, I’ll see you next month.
So I bought this bag of Key limes the other day. Well…let’s back up. First I bought a 6-pack of Corona beer, and as I raced through the produce department I saw the Key limes. I glanced around for regular limes but didn’t see any and was too lazy to go hunt them down, so I grabbed the bag, knowing full well that I’d have to come up with some kind of a recipe to use them all in – long after the beer was gone.
It’s your lucky day, because out of that impulse purchase emerged a recipe for a cookie that is rich and buttery, bursting with coconut, and has a subtle “pop” of lime. Perfect with a glass of iced tea.
I tried them three ways: plain, sporting a fresh raspberry in the center, and with a dollop of raspberry jam. My favorite? The fresh raspberry cookie calls to me, because if you refrain from shoving the whole cookie in your mouth (no names will be mentioned here) you can nibble at the cookie and savor the anticipation of the moment you bite into the berry and get that burst of contrasting flavor. I would like to note, however, that if you aren’t planning to serve them within 24 hours, you may want to stick with the plain or jam version. Fresh berries aren’t very appealing after a day or so.
I used virgin coconut oil to add extra coconutty flavor, Key lime juice (those little buggers are a pain to squeeze) and a teaspoon of grated lime peel. If you want a stronger hit of lime, double the lime peel. DO NOT TASTE THE DOUGH, because you won’t want to stop, I promise. I got 24 cookies out of this recipe, though I’m sure without two people “testing” the dough there would have been a few more.
“Plain” (if you could call it that!)
Fresh raspberry center.
With raspberry jam.
When you buy Key limes, look for fruit that is more yellow than green, which means it’s riper and not quite as tart. Those little guys pack a wallop, especially when they’re dark green, but any bitterness is hidden in these cookies.
Chewy coconut, tart lime, and buttery dough make a perfect cookie to serve with a glass of iced tea. Makes 24 cookies.
Ingredients
½ cup butter, softened
¼ cup virgin coconut oil
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup powdered sugar
½ cup cornstarch
1 egg yolk
½ teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons Key lime juice
1 teaspoon (gently packed) finely grated Key lime peel (or more - your call!)
2 cups flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup shredded coconut
fresh raspberries or raspberry jam, if desired
Instructions
Heat oven to 375 F.
In large bowl, cream together the butter, coconut oil, sugar, powdered sugar, and cornstarch.
Add egg yolk, vanilla, lime juice, and lime peel and mix together well.
Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix well.
Stir in coconut.
Using cookie scoop or rounded tablespoon, drop cookie dough onto ungreased baking sheet. If you are not adding raspberries, flatten the dough slightly with the bottom of a drinking glass and bake for 12-14 minutes, until the cookies are golden brown around the bottom.
If you are adding raspberries, use your thumb to make a well in each ball of dough and fill with either a fresh berry or a small spoonful of jam. Bake 12-14 minutes, until the cookies are golden brown around the bottom.
Cool on the cookie sheet for a few minutes and then transfer to a rack to continue cooling.
If you’re looking for a crispy little cookie to dunk in your tea or coffee, Buttershots Crisps are perfect for the job! They are a very sweet, thin cookie with a mild butterscotch flavor. If you are really, really into butterscotch and want an intense flavor, you can add a little butterscotch flavoring and it won’t hurt my feelings at all.
They’re good just sprinkled with coarse sugar before baking, but even better with a Buttershots glaze!
The garden is out of control (and so is the house) and with company coming soon I don’t have much time for blogging, so I’m going to keep this short and sweet and just go right to the recipe:
Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and mix until combined.
Wrap dough in plastic and chill for at least an hour.
Heat oven to 350 F.
Working with half the dough at a time, and keeping the rest refrigerated, roll dough very thin (about ⅛-inch) on generously floured surface.
Cut out shapes and place on baking sheet, about 1 inch apart.
Bake for 9 to 10 minutes, or until the cookies are a rich golden brown. Allow the cookie sheet to sit on a rack for a minute or two and then move the cookies to a cooling rack.
While the cookies are completely cool, prepare glaze:
Sift together the powdered sugar, salt, and powdered egg whites (the egg whites will help make the glaze firm) and place in a small bowl.
Add the Buttershots and mix together well.
Spread over cooled cookies with a knife or pastry brush, or drizzle over the cookies using a zipper bag with the tip cut off.
Allow the glaze to dry and then put the cookies in an airtight container.
Roll them out nice and thin and place on baking sheet. (In this picture I’d sprinkled them with coarse sugar, but the glaze is much better!)
Bake them to a nice, rich, crispy brown.
Mix up some glaze.
To apply the glaze, left to right, knife, pastry brush, ziploc bag.
I adore crunchy cookies, but if you prefer them chewy, you can roll the dough out thicker OR give them a little shorter cook time, OR leave them out overnight, lightly covered. Just don’t blame me if you try to dunk them and end up with cookie sludge in the bottom of your coffee!
Here’s a light little “puff” of lemony sweetness for you – perfect for a summer dessert. Reminiscent of cotton candy, it disappears in your mouth the second you bite into it…surprising and addicting. One is definitely not enough! Making these won’t heat up your kitchen and they can be as simple or creative as you like.
I began by piping roses and butterflies, but then (curse this lack of stick-to-itiveness) I took the easy route and used a scoop for the remaining batter, sprinkling them with nonpareils.
You can see by the photo that the butterflies were a little overcooked. They’re thinner than the other options, and I should have compensated for that. If you decide to make butterflies, only bake them for 25 minutes before turning off the oven.
Meringues are very versatile. In the past I’ve added pecans, cocoa powder, chopped chocolate and cherries. The important thing is to limit the amount of added goodies, and fold additions in gently so the egg whites stay fluffy. And I have to say, sometimes they’re better without all the bells and whistles. These just have lemon extract in them, and they’re light and refreshing.
Here’s the recipe. I’ll explain how to make the different shapes below.
Prepare two baking sheets by spraying with cooking spray containing flour, or by using parchment.
In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whip the egg whites and cream of tartar on medium high speed until they hold a soft peak.
Add the sugar, a little at a time, beating with each addition. Continue to beat until the mixture holds a stiff peak.
Mix in the lemon extract and food color. The extract will thin the egg mixture. Beat on high until it holds stiff peaks again.
Pipe or drop onto prepared baking sheets.
Bake for 35 minutes, then (without opening the oven door) turn off the oven and allow the cookies to sit for one hour. If you make these at night, just leave them in the oven to cool overnight.
If you’ve ever made frosting roses, you already know how to do these. Put a 2″x2″ square of parchment on a flower nail using a little meringue to make the paper stick firmly. Fill a pastry bag with the meringue and, using a rose tip, make a cone shape in the middle.
Begin with a “cone” of meringue in the center of parchment square.
Squeeze the pastry bag firmly to make nice, fat, petals, going around two or three times.
Adding rose petals.
Carefully slide the parchment and rose onto a baking sheet. Repeat until you get tired of it, then scoop. Hahaha, oh yeah, that’s me. I’m sure you’ll diligently pipe all of the roses.
Meringue butterfly.
I made my butterflies using just two colors, but you could definitely go a little wild here. Add a little food coloring to small bowls of meringue, stirring gently, and put each color in a plastic zipper bag, snipping a tip off for piping.
If you’re the artistic type, go ahead and freehand your butterflies. Mine would have probably looked like vultures or something if I’d tried that, so I printed out a butterfly shape I liked from the internet and put a square of parchment over it. I could see the shape clearly through the parchment and simply outlined the wings with my darker color, added a couple of designs, then filled in with my lighter color. You may want to paint the “body” with chocolate after the cookie cools, but I kept it simple.
Piping the butterflies.
Don’t forget to cut your baking time back to 25 minutes to avoid browning.
Scooped meringues. (You could also use a generously rounded tablespoon.)
And…easiest of all, the cookie scoop method. Line the baking sheet with parchment and just scoop them on there. Sprinkle with nonpareils if you like – I think they look really festive that way.
Don’t forget to store them in an airtight container – that is, IF there are any left. Just a suggestion: dump out a box of some ghastly cereal that no one likes (something with “bran” in the name is good) and hide them in there. It works well for me! My lips are sealed.
Party cookies – that’s what these are! Fun and festive, with a surprise in the middle…perfect for any celebration.
It took a couple of batches and the inevitable screw-ups for the finished product to match what I had envisioned during my 3:00 am “voilà” moment. I can tell you that no matter how cute you think the cookies would look with cherry stems poking out of the top, don’t buy cherries with the stems on, because they:
Dry up when they bake, and get very crispy. Not attractive!
Don’t pull out. The whole cherry comes with the stem. So unless you plan on holding the cookie by the stem and popping the entire thing in your mouth, then pulling the stem out between your teeth, it isn’t going to work for you.
Make it impossible to dip in the chocolate, so you have to smear smear it on with your finger pipe it on. Not the look you want.
Cost a freaking fortune. Seriously – I paid $5.00 for a small jar that had a dozen cherries in it. This cookie recipe makes 6 dozen. Even I can do that math!
Oh, the variations you can try! I made some rolled in finely chopped peanuts, plain with peanuts on top, rolled in sprinkles, and plain with sprinkles on top. I topped them with red Sixlets, but M&Ms or Skittles would be fine, too.
Left to right: topped with sprinkles, rolled in sprinkles, topped with peanuts
For my first batch I made a simple pink frosting out of powdered sugar and maraschino cherry juice, which was good, but it took a while to harden, and I tend to get impatient, so I used Wilton Candy Melts for my second batch. Much better; they were easy to melt, easy to dip the cookies into, and dried almost immediately. Sweet!
Here’s the cookie dough recipe. It’s basically my shortbread recipe with an extra teaspoon of half & half to make it a little easier to wrap around the cherry.
L to R: scooped, rolled into ball, cavity, cherry added, rolled into ball, covered with nuts.
The next step is to dip the cooled cookies in pink Candy Melts. I melt mine in a glass bowl in the microwave, beginning with 30 seconds and then switching to 15 second intervals, stirring well each time. Dip about halfway down, let the excess drip off, and then set upright on a baking sheet or plate.
CHOCOLATE TOPPING
1 ounce unsweetened chocolate
3.5 ounces good quality dark chocolate
1/2 plus 2 tablespoons cup heavy whipping cream
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Melt both chocolates in a small bowl in the microwave, beginning with 30 seconds and then switching to 15 second intervals, stirring well each time. Heat just until melted.
Add 1/2 cup of the whipping cream and stir until completely blended.
Add the powdered sugar and vanilla. Stir.
Dip the top of one of the cookies in the chocolate. If the chocolate sticks to the pink candy melts, it’s just right. If it’s too thick to stick well, add the remaining cream 1 tablespoon at a time. The chocolate mixture should be thin but not runny.
If the chocolate starts to harden as you’re dipping the cookies, put it in the microwave for 10 seconds and stir well.
After dipping cookies in the chocolate, sprinkle with chopped nuts or sprinkles and add a red candy on the top. Allow to sit at room temperature until firm.
Dip the tops in chocolate, add sprinkles and a candy topper.
Ta Da!
I’d like to stay and chat, but I have a little cleaning up to do. The dog already took care of the sprinkles and chunks of dough on the floor (when will I ever learn to put the guard on my mixer?) but for the sake of sanitation, I’d probably better take care of the counters myself. Know what? It was totally worth it! I love, love, love these cookies.
How on earth do I describe these cookies? They’re basic, light, and a little ordinary looking. They’re soft on the inside (but not exactly cake-like) and crusty on the outside. When you bite into them it takes a moment to discover the tiny bits of candied ginger and lemon peel, but then the flavors pop.
Personally, I don’t like crumbs in my tea, so I don’t indulge in dunking, but if you are a “dunker”, these cookies are for you!
Blogs right now will be few and far between, I’m afraid. Gardening season is upon me and I have an enormous vegetable garden, so even though I won’t quit baking, the posts will probably be brief and pithy. (Don’t you just love that word? Pithy, pithy, pithy.) I’m sure you will survive a few months without my rambling!
This recipe calls for sour cream. Since we live in the hills and I can’t just run to the store when I’m missing a key ingredient, I’ve learned to adapt. If you find yourself in the same position, a cup of evaporated milk (straight from the can) with a tablespoon of vinegar and a tablespoon of lemon juice stirred in and left to sit for 15 minutes worked perfectly. Your call!
2 tablespoons grated lemon peel (about 3 large lemons)
2 tablespoons crystallized ginger (chopped into small bits)
4¾ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 cup sour cream
½ cup sugar in a small bowl for coating balls of dough.
ICING:
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
milk (or water) - enough to thin to drizzling consistency
Instructions
Heat oven to 375 F.
Lightly grease (or use parchment) baking sheets.
Cream together the butter and sugar.
Add eggs, one at a time, beating well between each.
Add lemon juice, vanilla, lemon peel, and ginger. Beat well.
In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and ginger.
Beginning with the flour and ending with the sour cream, add alternately, approximately one third of each mixture at a time.
If you prefer to roll the cookie dough out and cut it with a round cookie cutter, refrigerate for an hour, then roll ¼" thick and sprinkle with sugar. Otherwise:
Drop dough by rounded teaspoons (or a small scoop) into sugar. Turn to coat, then - using your hands - roll into a ball. Put on the cookie sheet and press with the bottom of a glass to flatten a bit. Repeat, leaving 2 inches between cookies.
Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until just showing a little golden brown around the bottom edge.
Cool cookies on a rack until cool, and drizzle with icing if desired.
Are you interested in seeing what other people do at home when they think no one is watching? Every month a group of bloggers give you a glimpse on “Fly on the Wall”. Here’s mine – hope you’ll read through to the bottom, where you’ll get the links for the other 11 blogs!
Cookies, cookies, cookies. Every surface was covered with cookies in different stages, because I somehow decided that hitting 1,000 “likes” on my Rowdy Baker Facebook page meant I should make 1,000 cookies. I thought I’d have plenty of time, but a sweet blogger pimped me out a bit and the last 50 “likes” happened very quickly.
Do I need to tell you I didn’t make 1,000 cookies? Not even close. I think I hit 250, which was still pretty impressive, since they were large rolled cookies (what was I thinking?) and I added icing and put names on some of them before I pooped out. If you don’t see your name it’s because it’s off to the side and I cropped the photo. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!
Keep your fuzzy little fly butt off my cookies!!!
I was doing the happy dance when I hit 1,000 but The Man was less impressed. I believe he just grunted “yeah?” (such a charmer) so I didn’t share my bottle of champagne with him. I was a little sorry about that the next morning. I will say he perked up a bit and showed some enthusiasm when he realized the photos were done and the cookies were fair game.
Baking in a Tornado posted a comment on her Facebook page about ironing, which immediately took me back to my childhood. I spent a lot of time ironing since Mom worked and it seemed like everything in our house was pressed. When I was younger and less skilled I ironed handkerchiefs, dishtowels, sheets, and pillowcases. As I grew older I was trusted with actual clothing, including nightgowns. Yes, nightgowns. I can tell you right now that you should NOT use a hot iron on a sheer gown. Nope.
What my mother taught me – and I think of this every time I iron anything – was to go slowly and spend more time smoothing than ironing. It takes less time to do it right than to go back and try to remove a crease in the wrong spot.
Heads up! This is more than a tip about ironing; it’s very wise, and applies to so many circumstances. I need to remember to smooth things over so I don’t say the wrong thing. I need to learn to think before I speak because it’s a lot harder (or impossible) to backpedal and take back wrong or hurtful words. Sometimes you just can’t iron out those creases.
Smooth, smooth, smooth!
I have messes everywhere. Little bits of paper cover the dining room table and floor as I wrap the stems of almost 100 paper flowers for my Homemaker’s Club spring tea. A small group of us made the flowers, but ran out of oompf before the stems were wrapped, and we wanted some daisies too, so…I volunteered. I don’t mind – it’s actually kind of fun, but with my short attention span I just do a few and then get bored and walk away. That’s okay; we like eating in our recliners. I should just give up and call it a craft table.
Making messes…it’s what I do.
Leftover oatmeal usually goes to the chickens. Somehow I always make way too much! (They love it, and I love to indulge them a bit.) But today I looked at that oatmeal and then looked at the bag of dark chocolate-covered raisins, and experimented. Though my method of adding and mixing defied the rules, and the dough seemed heavy and sticky, it made really nice, puffy, cake-like cookies with slightly chewy bottoms and plump chocolate raisins peeking out.
I should have added the whole bag, but a lot some of them spilled out…into my mouth.
Leftover Oatmeal Cookies with chocolate covered raisins!
I made these cookies with leftover oatmeal, which had raisins and cinnamon in it. Add a little cinnamon if you like.
Ingredients
2 cups cooked oatmeal ("Quick" or "Old-Fashioned". Just follow the cooking instructions)
½ cup coconut oil, softened but not melted
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup chocolate covered raisins (or more!)
Instructions
Heat oven to 350 F.
Lightly grease cookie sheet.
In a large bowl combine the cooked oatmeal, coconut oil, brown sugar, white sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Mix well with an electric mixer - about 2 minutes.
Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt and add to cookie mixture. Mix well.
Stir in the chocolate covered raisins.
Scoop onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving an inch between cookies; they won't spread much.
Bake 12-14 minutes, or until the bottoms are golden brown. Cool on a rack.
Add the chocolate covered raisins. Oh, go ahead…dump in the whole bag!
Our young rooster has finally found a home. I take him to town tomorrow to rendezvous with his new owner. She has a brand new chicken coop and has even rounded up a few hot babes for my randy roo. He should be in heaven. He’s been bullied by our old rooster for months, and now will be cock of the walk. Here he is, running from Big Red!
Run, Rooster, run!!!
While you’ve been rubbing your legs together on my wall, I’ve been out working with The Man to get our greenhouse ready. New dirt, compost, and straw to (hopefully) keep the weeds at bay…it’s a thing of beauty. And we didn’t kill each other. This is a big plus, because we DO NOT WORK WELL TOGETHER. We have a lower garden and an upper garden, and I try to always be in the one where he isn’t. Today I wasn’t raking out the dirt “correctly” so I gave up and screened compost instead. He wasn’t pulling off the flakes of straw neatly and butting them up against each other…grrr…so he gave up and went to cut cardboard. See? We’ve got it all worked out. Separate corners.
Yep…you just stay there, and no one will get hurt!
Proud Mama alert! My daughter Brenna just started her own blog, and I expect nothing but amazing posts in the future. She’s a wonderful writer, cook, mother, and photographer, and has a wicked humor to boot. I’m setting your bar high, Honey! Go give her some love, my friends. Click on the picture of my (ahem) beautiful grandbabies to see her introduction. Nut Without a Shell
Here is a list of links to eleven wonderful bloggers who played along this month. Please buzz over to their house and visit!
Three times now I’ve walked past the eggnog display at the grocery store. The first two times, I convinced myself that it wasn’t eggnog season yet – even for a baking blogger – and the recipe spinning around in my head could wait. Besides, my life is insanely busy right now and there isn’t much time for blogging.
