Category Archives: Cookies

Chocolate Chip Nut Cookies

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Do you know what these are? They may very well be the best cookie you’ve ever had. No joke.

Almonds, pecans and walnuts are ground using a coffee grinder. I substituted a cup of this nut flour for some of the all-purpose flour, adding protein and tons of flavor to the traditional chocolate chip cookie.

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The usual characters are used here. The sugar, the butter, the chocolate chips, but the stars of the show are the nuts.

This idea of adding ground or mashed nuts in recipes is not new here people, but it’s still amazing. I’ve done it in pancakes, in macaroni and cheese and french toast.

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Chocolate Chip Nut Cookies

Print Recipe for Chocolate Chip Nut Cookies

  • 1 cup ground nuts
  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 stick unsalted butter (I plan to use less next time as the dough was a bit wet)
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 4 Tbs. granulated sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F.

Whisk together the dry ingredients in a medium bowl.

Cream room temperature butter and sugars in a large bowl until it is light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until combined.

Add the nut and flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until fully incorporated.

Fold in the chocolate chips.

Drop by spoonfuls onto a baking sheet and bake for approximately 10
minutes

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Enjoy :0)

 

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Chocolate Macadamia Nut Vanilla Chip Cookies

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I was on my own at the age of sixteen, so I worked part-time all throughout high school. During the summer, I worked at the local motor speedway, directing traffic. For a while, I drove to CVS after school several days a week, to work until 9pm, as a cashier. At one time, I also worked at D’Angelo’s Sandwich Shop taking orders and constructing sandwiches. It’s demanding work, dealing with the public in a restaurant atmosphere. People know what they want and aren’t afraid to let you have it if you screw it up. On those days when the drive-thru headphones became overwhelming, I’d take a deep breath and remember those Macadamia Nut cookies that I would be taking home to Thomas when my shift was over.

I don’t know why I never tried reconstructing these cookies until now, but I am glad I chose today to do so.

I know the name is a mouthful, Chocolate Macadamia Nut Vanilla Chip Cookies, but your mouth will thank you after you’ve tried just one. I found myself tasting testing a second and a third and a fourth. They are scrumptious and reminiscent of those long ago cookies that I found myself longing for after a long day’s work.

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This recipe starts like many other cookies…with flour and cocoa.  The dry ingredients go in one bowl and the wet in another. The importance of this is to get the leavener all throughout the flour before it hits liquid. Once the leavener, whether it’s baking soda or baking powder touch the wet ingredients, it starts to activate.

mac cookiesChocolate Macadamia Nut Vanilla Chip Cookies

  • 1 3/4 cup flour
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup butter, softened
  • 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cup vanilla or milk chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup chopped macadamia nuts

Preheat oven to 350F. Whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Using a hand-held electric mixer, cream the butter until fluffy. Add both sugars and mix for a minute. Add the egg and the vanilla and mix until well blended. Add the dry ingredients to the bowl a half cup at a time until fully incorporated. Fold in the chips and the nuts.

Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the pan for a minute and then transfer to a wire rack and enjoy :)

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Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies

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Today I spent the day in the kitchen, mixing and measuring, stirring and sifting, while dancing and singing Christmas songs. It was really therapeutic. I made two pans of Lemon Squares, Christmas sugar cookie cutouts, banana bread with walnuts, cranberry orange nut bread and a new cookie that I had never tried before, oatmeal butterscotch cookies.

These are so very good.  I am shocked that I had never heard of them before.

First things first, cream the following in a large bowl with an electric mixer:

  • 3/4 cups of unsalted butter, softened
  • 3/4 cups granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cups brown sugar

Add 2 eggs and 1 tsp. vanilla. Add one egg at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition.

In another bowl whisk to combine:

  • 1 1/4 cup flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and combine.

Add 3 cups old-fashioned oats and 1 cup butterscotch chips.

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Drop cookies onto parchment lined cookie sheets and bake at 375F for 10-12 minutes.

Ethan says they taste great with a cup of half eggnog and half milk.

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Spritz

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To me, baking is very therapeutic. I enjoy the measuring and mixing, the sifting and stirring. But today, I found a way to take all the fun out of it. They’re called Spritz cookies.

On Sunday, we went to a flea market and I found a brand new, in the box, Wilton Spritz cookie press for just $1.00.

Wilton cookie press

These cookies take patience and a lot of it. The dough has to be chilled. The cookie sheet can’t be warm.

The cookie dough is quite basic. Butter and sugar are creamed together until fluffy. An egg and some vanilla are incorporated and then comes the flour and a pinch of salt.

After the dough is chilled, you should shape it into cylinders that will fit into the cookie press. You then pick your shape and hope and pray that they come out okay.

Shapes

It’s not all bad. The cookies are buttery and sugary. They slightly resemble and definately taste like those danish butter cookies in the blue tin at the grocery store. It’s just the back and forth in the fridge and the waiting that got to me. Maybe I was just in a mood.

The end result is what I was after though, so it all worked out.

Yummy cookies

I will just have to remember to chill the dough and expect to spend the night in the kitchen :)

Basic Spritz Cookie Ingredients

  • 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 1/4 cup flour
  • 1/4 tsp salt

Cream the butter and sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer until fluffy (2-3 minutes). Add the egg and vanilla. Mix about a minute. Add the flour and salt and continue mixing until combined. Bake in a 350F oven for 6-8 minutes.

Enjoy!

Oatmeal PB Sandwich Cookies

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Sometimes you just need to bake something, well I do anyway.

Last night I made a deliciously satisfying cookie.

It has all my favorites in it…

Oatmeal.

Walnuts.

Cinnamon.

Brown Sugar.

Peanut Butter.

The original recipe can be found here.

For the cookies:

  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 cup oats
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

For the filling:

  • 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 3 Tbs. softened butter
  • 1 cup confectioners sugar
  • 3 Tbs milk

Cream sugar and butter in a bowl with an electric mixer, about 3 minutes. Add egg and vanilla and mix for another minute.

In a separate bowl, whisk the dry ingredients. Add to the creamed mixture.

Using a 1 tsp spoon, scoop dough onto cookie sheet lined with parchment (for easy clean up).

Bake for about 7 minutes in a 350F oven.

To make the filling: Beat peanut butter, butter and sugar with a handheld mixer. Add milk 1 Tbs at a time until it is spreading consistency.

Sandwich like sized cookies together with peanut butter filling and try not to eat too many at once :)

Homemade Butter

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My boy recently went on a field trip with his class to an 1800′s homestead where they helped churn butter the old fashioned way. Because I love the idea of making whatever you can yourself, I immediately went out and bought a pint of heavy cream to make our own butter.

There are numerous ways one can make homemade butter. I started by shaking the cream in a container with marbles. When it started becoming too hard to shake, I finished it with a handheld mixer. You could also use a blender to seperate the butter and buttermilk. When it starts to clump, you pour out the buttermilk (save for homemade buttermilk waffles or pancakes) and then wash the butter with cold water. The butter will keep longer if you remove as much buttermilk as possible.

We ended up with about a cup of butter and 6 ounces of buttermilk.

Later in the day, I ran out to the mailbox and was pleased to see the December issue of Martha Stewart Living. I truly treasure sitting down with a steaming cup of coffee and a new issue of my favorite magazine. Inside I found a recipe to try out our freshly made butter with… Brussels Cookies.

I started with this:

In a bowl, whisk:

  • 3/4 cup flour
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
  • 1/4 tsp salt

In another, cream:

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 3/4 cup sugar

Mix the butter and sugar until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Then add:

  • 1/2 tsp finely grated orange zest
  • 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 2 egg whites at room temperature

Beat on high for another 3 minutes until well combined.

Add the flour mixture to the creamed ingredients, along with:

  • 1/3 cup finely chopped nuts of your choice (hazelnuts, almonds, walnuts)
  • 1/4 cup quick cooking oats

Transfer the batter to a pastry bag with 1/2 inch plain round tip. Pipe 2 inch long fingers onto a parchment lined baking sheet. I got about 9 fingers on each sheet.

Bake in a 350F oven for 8-12 minutes or until slightly browned on the edges.

After they cool for a bit, place about 8 ounces of bittersweet chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl. Heat until spreading consistency.

Sandwich the cookies and enjoy.

I made mine with hazelnuts but have come to realize that I like walnuts and almonds better. The next time I make these (and there WILL be a next time) I will try almonds.

They have a better consistency a day later when the mixture of chocolate and cookie has had a chance to mingle :)

Autumn cookies

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I am definately a creature of habit. I’ve wanted to add a new recipe to the blog, really I have, but we’ve had our usual goodies for the past couple weeks. Things like peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, chicken pot pie, chicken soup, and bison and cheese with mushrooms and mayonnaise. But last night I changed that. I made Buttermilk Crumb Muffins for next month’s TWD. They came out fantastic. Check back in a couple weeks for the link to the recipe.

Being a creature of habit, we also made our weekly trip to the library and I found this amazing cookbook, Gooseberry Patch’s Taste of Autumn. It was one of those books that the library “promotes”. You know the ones, they are propped up instead of in the racks. Gooseberry Patch is quite the brand name, with over 100 published cookbooks, a blog and videos. I wish I could buy them all!

From this cookbook I wanted to make a cookie that said “Autumn”. There is a Staff Appreciation luncheon next week and I agreed to make cookies for it. I think I’ll make these little gems.

Molasses Sugar Cookies

Start out with 1 stick of butter, 1 cup of packed brown sugar, 2 eggs and 3 Tbs. molasses. Blend well.

Now in another bowl whisk together 2 cups of flour, 1 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp each: ginger, cloves (or allspice) and salt, and 1 tsp cinnamon.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet and refridgerate for a while. You want the dough to be easy to handle and not sticky.

When the dough is chilled, roll into one inch balls and roll in granulated sugar. Place cookies on a cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes in a 350F oven. They will flatten out, like this:

They came out beautifully and they taste even better. A perfect autumn cookie :)

Ginger Walnut Chocolate Skillet Cookie

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Candied ginger or crystallized ginger is sliced ginger root that has been preserved in a sugar syrup and then coated with granulated sugar. There are many uses for ginger. Some swear by it for reducing hot flashes, preventing nausea, helping with sea sickness, alleviating indigestion and even curing the common cold.

You can usually find it in the produce section of your grocery store. The package boasts, “Great for snacking and baking”. It was much to gingery for me to eat plain. I wanted to find a tasty recipe for baking with it. Of course, Joy the Baker had one. Ginger Walnut Chocolate Blondies. I decided to just pile everything into my trusty ole cast iron skillet. It came out so good. It’s almost gone already. Last night I had a slice with coffee ice cream and whipped cream. Wowza.

You start by melting butter on the stove top. Add brown sugar and stir. It will look a little grainy. Let it sit and cool before adding an egg. That egg will make it all come together. Eggs are the ever faithful binding agent.

See? What’d I tell you. Look how beautifully smooth it is.

Now add your other ingredients. First the vanilla. Then the flour, salt, leaveners and sugary bits.

Ginger Walnut Chocolate Skillet Cookie

  • 1 stick butter
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/8 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/3 cup chocolate chips
  • 1/4 cup chopped candied ginger
  • 1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Bake for 25-30 minutes in a 350F oven.

Oatmeal Choc Chip cookies

Oatmeal Cookies

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Sometimes you just want a good old fashioned cookie. I love traditional oatmeal raisin cookies but my family doesn’t. So, I came up with this recipe to satisfy my oatmeal wants with their chocolate and peanut butter needs.

Oats are a rich source of fiber, thiamine and manganese. Oats have been proven to lower blood cholesterol and they also have cancer fighting phytochemicals.

The base is adapted from Martha Stewart’s recipe for Homemade Oatmeal Cream Pies. I decreased the butter and granulated sugar a bit and added chocolate chips. I also obviously omitted the cream filling.

This is a great cookie that will travel well. Which is especially important because we are going camping again! This will be our fourth camping trip so far this summer. Four days of sleeping under the stars, swimming in the rivers and lakes, hiking in the woods and cooking over an open fire. Roasted marshmellows, here we come!

Homemade Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp baking powder
  • 1/3 cup butter or margarine, softened
  • 1/2 cup peanut butter
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup oats
  • 1 cup chocolate chips!

Preheat oven to 350F. Combine flour, baking soda, salt and baking powder. In another bowl, combine butter and peanut butter. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until combined. Beat in granulated and brown sugars until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla just until combined. Stir in flour mixture and oats. Fold in chocolate chips.

Drop dough by teaspoon onto baking sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes or until edges are browned. Cool for a minute on baking sheet and then transfer to a wire rack.

Beautiful Biscotti

Hazelnut Biscotti (TWD)

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I have always been a big coffee drinker. Since the age of thirteen, I have had at least two cups of coffee a day (minus those months of pregnancy 8 years ago) and biscotti is the perfect accompaniment to that steamy cup of joe. It’s crunchy and sweet; dipping it into your coffee gives you that grown up version of milk and cookies. It just so happens that the coffee of choice in our household is…yup, you guessed it…hazelnut. We freshly grind the beans before each pot. It’s no wonder that I wanted to try this recipe for Hazelnut Biscotti (page 315) from Dorie Greenspan’s Baking with Julia.

Biscotti are twice baked cookies or biscuits that originated in Prato, Italy. They were twice baked and therefore dry, so they could be stored for longer periods of time. In Italy and parts of Spain, they are more commonly served with wine as an after dinner dessert.

Hazelnuts are full of protein and rich in unsaturated fat, thiamine and vitamin B6. About 75% of all the cultivated hazelnuts come from Turkey. They also come from Italy and Greece and in America, they are produced in the states of Oregon and Washington.

I was chosen as a host for this week’s Tuesday’s with Dorie, so I have the honor of displaying the recipe on my blog. Please check out the Tuesday’s with Dorie blog for other member’s versions of biscotti. Especially if you are not a fan of hazelnut, there will surely be something for everyone. Some tips that I found to be helpful were: Use a stainless steel pot for boiling the nuts, so as not to stain other metals and wet your hands when shaping the logs. Make sure not to over toast the nuts or you will end up with a burnt flavor.

I strictly followed the recipe and was rewarded with a delightfully crunchy and flavorful cookie.

Hazelnut Biscotti from Baking with Julia (contributing baker- Alice Medrich)

  • 2 cups water
  • 3 tablespoons baking soda
  • 2/3 cup unblanched (raw) hazelnuts
  • 1  2/3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons hazelnut liqueur, such as Frangelico, or brandy
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cup sugar

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350F.

Preparing the Nuts- To skin the hazelnuts, bring the water to a boil in a medium saucepan, add the baking soda and the nuts, and boil for 3-5 minutes, until the water turns black. To test if the skins have loosened sufficiently, drop a nut into a bowl of cold water and rub lightly against the skin- if the skin just slides off, the nuts are ready to go. Turn the nuts into a colander and run cold water over them. Slip off the skins, toss the nuts onto a towel, pat dry, and transfer to a jelly-roll pan.

Place the pan in the oven and toast the nuts, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes, or until evenly browned. The best way to test for total toastiness is to bite into a nut- it should be brown to the center. Remove the nuts from the oven and cool. Lower the oven temperature to 300F.

When the nuts are cool enough to handle, coarsely chop them and set them aside.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and reserve until needed.

Making the Dough- Put the flour, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl and whisk just to blend. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, liqueur, vanilla and sugar. Add the dry ingredients to the liquid and stir with a wooden spoon to mix. Add the nuts and continue to mix, just until well incorporated. (Since the dough is stiff, sticky, and hard to stir, you might find it easier just to reach in and mix it with your hands.)

Flour your hands and lift half of the dough onto one side of the parchment-lined baking sheet. Pat and squeeze the dough into a chubby log 12 to 13 inches long. Don’t worry about being neat or smoothing the dough- it will even out as much as it needs to in the oven. Repeat with the other half of the dough, leaving about 3 inches between the logs.

First Baking- Bake the logs for exactly 35 minutes. Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and let cool for at least 10 minutes. At this point, the logs can remain on the pan overnight, if that’s more convenient for you.

Second Baking- Using a serrated knife, cut the logs into 1/2 inch thick slices, cutting straight across or diagonally. (You can make the biscotti thinner or thicker, as you wish, and adjust the baking time accordingly.) Lay the biscotti on their sides on a cooling rack- you may need to use a second rack- the place the cooling rack in the 300F oven, directly on an oven rack. (Baking the biscotti like this allows the oven’s heat to circulate around the cookies, so there’s no need to turn them over.) The cookies may need to bake for as long as 15 minutes, but it’s a good idea to start checking them after about 10 minutes. When the biscotti are golden brown, dry and crisp, remove the cooling racks from the oven. Let the cookies cool to room temperature before packing them for storage.

Storing- The cookies will keep in an airtight container for about a month.

The batter with toasted hazelnuts

Logs after the first baking

On racks ready for the second baking

Perfection