White Chocolate Peppermint Mocha Cookies

Just like every tweens' order during the holidays at Starbucks, this cookie has a little bit of everything.  Couple pumps of peppermint mocha in the espresso, a bit of white chocolate, and a pretty garnish - this cookie is all those things and more! Aaron is saying these are his new favorite Christmas cookie - they are a little sweet, but not too much, soft but with a sugary crust, pretty but not too time-consuming to decorate.  These cookies come together easily and make a festive impression!

White Chocolate Peppermint Mocha Cookies

Makes about 2 dozen cookies

For the Cookies:

• 12 tbs. butter, softened
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 2 tbs. molasses
• 1 tbs. instant espresso (or coffee) powder/granules
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar, plus extra for rolling
• 1/2 dark brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 - 1/2 tsp. peppermint extract (this stuff is strong, so a little goes a long way, but if you really love peppermint, go for it - do not use Mint extract or it will taste like toothpaste, make sure its Peppermint)
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 3/4 tsp. salt

For the drizzle:

• 3/4 cup white chocolate chips
• 2-3 tbs. vegetable shortening
• 1/4 tsp. peppermint extract (optional)
• Crushed peppermint candies/candy canes, for garnish (optional)

Preheat your oven to 375° and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicon baking mats. Set aside.

Melt 4 tbs. of the butter in a small bowl.  Whisk in the cocoa, molasses, and espresso.  Mix until smooth and set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the other 8 tbs (1 stick) of butter with the sugars. Beat until light and fluffy.  One at a time, beating after each addition, add the chocolate mixture, egg, and extracts.  Mix well and scrape the bowl.

Slowly mix in the flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix until combined.

Roll one tablespoon of dough into a ball and then roll in granulated sugar.  Place it on the cookie sheet and pat the top just slightly to flatten it.  Repeat with remaining dough, placing each cookie an inch and a half apart on the cookie sheets.

Bake for 9-12 minutes, until the tops crack and the middles are set.  Do not over bake! If you like a soft cookie make sure you take them out just as they are cooked, the long they are in the crunchier they will be.

Cool the cookies on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then move them to a cooling rack, placed over paper towels.

While the cookies are baking, prepare the drizzle.  In 5 - 10 second increments, in a microwave safe bowl, melt the white chocolate chips and shortening. It will burn VERY easily so seriously, go ten seconds or less at a time and stir it super well between heating. Once it is melted, stir in the peppermint extract. Using a spoon, lift some of the chocolate out of the bowl and drizzle it back in.  If it is too think, melt more shortening into it, in five second intervals, until it is thin enough to drizzle well.

Once the cookies are cooled to the touch, drizzle the white chocolate over the cookies and then sprinkle the crushed candy canes on top. Let the drizzle set at room temperature until no longer soft.  Store cookies at room temp, in a sealed container.

Grinch Cookies

There are a few things that just scream "Christmas" to me from my childhood - and without a doubt How the Grinch Stole Christmas is on that list.  I read the book as a kid, I watched the movie laying on my Noni's floor in her den at Christmastime, and I could probably recite the whole thing to you now if I tried.  I love to pass on these memories I have a kid, to my own kids, so Townes and I have watched The Grinch more than a couple of times already since Thanksgiving and the book is in our bedtime rotation.  So when he asked me to bake something today - these seemed like the perfect idea.

Aside from being festive, fun and creative, they are also really, really easy to make and don't require much skill or many ingredients!  They are a version of my shortbread cookies (a recipe from my Noni) that I used on Valentine's Day last year - these are almond flavored instead and obviously these are green!

Grinch Cookies

Makes 2 dozen (depending on cookie size)

For the Cookies:

• 1 cup butter, softened to room temp (very important)
• 3/4 cup sugar (I used granulated, but powdered is okay too)
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 tsp. almond extract
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• Green food dye (or yellow and blue)
• 1-3 tbs. shortening
• Powdered sugar, for rolling
• Red decorators icing

Preheat your oven to 350° and line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicon baking mats.  Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar.  Really beat it until its super smooth and creamy - its basically the whole cookie.  Beat in the vanilla and almond.  Add the flour a half cup at a time and beat until combined after each addition.  If the dough is too crumbly (it will need to hold together like playdough when squeezed in your hands, but should NOT be sticky) add 1 tbs. of shortening at a time.  After each addition make sure you have given it a solid few minutes to beat in and see if its come together enough.

Once the dough is the right consistency, beat in the food dye.  Once the dough is your desired shade of green, scoop out a small tablespoon of dough and roll into a ball with your hands.  Roll in powdered sugar, then place the ball on your cookie sheet and flatten with your hand to about 1/2 inch or thinner. Repeat with remaining dough.

Bake for 12-18 minutes, until the edges are JUST starting to brown (the time will vary depending on the thickness of your dough and the size of your cookie so just watch carefully).  Let the cookies cool completely on the cookie sheet.

Once the cookies are completely cooled, apply the hearts. I used a "leaf" tip on my tube of red frosting and made the heart in two halves.  You can also just use a small round piping tip and draw a heart with the icing.

Raspberry Shortbread Cookies

I know it's still January, but I started thinking about what little treats I could make that would be appropriate for Hondo's baby class Valentine's day party.  The older kids you can be so much more creative with - rice crispie treats, fudge, all kinds of things.  But babies and one year olds? You don't want it to be too messy, you don't want it to be too full of sugar, you don't want it to have anything kids might be allergic too, it has to be soft and not a choking hazard.  Really, most of this stuff is just trying to look out for the teachers and make their life easier.

I have a couple of ideas, but this was my first go to, but I needed to give it a dry run to make sure it would end up and delicious in actuality as it was in my head.  And you know what, they totally were.

These are a gussied up version on the gold standard of cookies.  The shortbread cookie.  If there was a cookie evolution, this cookie was the big bang.  Its as basic as they come and delivers a lot of taste. Nothing but butter, sugar and four - the foundation upon which all cookie recipes are built.

The base of this recipe is what my Noni has been making forever - so probably out of an original Betty Crocker or home magazine from the 40's. I added raspberry flavoring, a hint of vanilla, some spinkles for color, cut them into hearts and then decorated with a dark chocolate and white chocolate zebra stripe. 

These are seriously so good and so soft and not too sweet.  They feel like the perfect Valentine treat for the little ones - but don't worry, I still have a few more ideas to flush out before then!

Raspberry Shortbread Cookies

Makes 2-4 dozen (depending on cookie cutter size)

For the Cookies:

• 1 cup butter, softened to room temp (very important)
• 3/4 cup sugar (I used granulated, but powdered is okay too)
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 tsp. raspberry flavor
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tbs each of pink and red sprinkles
• 1-3 tbs. shortening
• 2 tbs. butter, melted

For the Drizzle:

• 1 cup each of dark chocolate morsels and white chocolate morsels
• 2 tbs. shortening, divided

Preheat your oven to 350° and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.  Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar.  Really beat it until its super smooth and creamy - its basically the whole cookie.  Beat in the vanilla and raspberry.  Add the flour and beat until combined.  If the dough is too crumbly (it will need to hold together to roll out) add 1 tbs. of shortening at a time.  After each addition make sure you have given it a solid few minutes to beat in and see if its come together enough.

Once the dough is the right consistency, stir in the sprinkles.  Roll the dough into a ball on a lightly floured surface.  Using a rolling pin, roll the dough to 1/2 inch thick, and cut out your cookies with your desired shape.  Place each cookie on the prepared cookie sheets.

Brush the tops of each cookie with the melted butter.  Bake for 12-18 minutes, until the edges are JUST starting to brown (the time will vary depending on the thickness of your dough and the size of your cookie so just watch carefully).  Let the cookies cool completely on the cookie sheet.

While they are cooling, prepare the drizzle.  In two bowls combine the morsels with 1 tbs. each of shortening.  One at time, microwave each bowl in 10-15 second increments, stirring in between, until the morsels are melted.  When the cookies are cool, using a spoon, drizzle the chocolates over the cookies.  Let the chocolate set over night before stacking.

Kitchen Sink Cookies

I had never heard of such a thing as a kitchen sink cookie until Aaron brought home a box of some from Central Market's bakery.  I was hooked.  I was also PMSing so they were kind of perfect.  They are sweet, salty, crunchy, dense, and chocolaty with a crunch.  So ya know, PMS perfect. 

When I started googling some recipes, I couldn't find any that seemed anything like the ones I had from Central Market.  They were just chocolate chip cookies with like candy and stuff tossed in, instead of just chocolate chips.  That was not the case with the Central Market cookies - they had a distinctly fantastic flavor.

So I decided to use my smarts I have acquired from 18 years of school and two advanced degrees to...read the ingredients list.  I know, revolutionary.  I was pretty impressed with my own deductive skills, too.

Good thing I did, because I NEVER WOULD HAVE GUESSED what was in these cookies.  Not in a million years.  You will probably laugh, because I did too - they have pretzels, oats, chocolate chunks, butterscotch bits (so far not CRAZY), coffee and potato chips.  Yup - potato chips. 

NO WONDER I LOVED THEM.  Coffee and potato chips and chocolate! Its everything a mom needs in life.  So, without saying more, I figured out my own recipe that its really close and pretty much awesome.  Go forth and eat your coffee, moms.

Kitchen Sink Cookies

Yields 2 Dozen Large Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted and cool
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 1/8 cup strong brewed coffee or espresso
• 2 1/3 cups flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 generous cup old-fashioned oats
• 3/4 cup crushed traditional potato chips (like Lay's Classic)
• 1/4 cup toffee bits
• 1/4 cup butterscotch bits
• 8 oz bar semi-sweet chocolate, roughly chopped into chunks

In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter and sugars until well blended.  Beat in the vanilla and eggs, until smooth.  Beat in the coffee or espresso.

Mix in the flour and baking powder until evenly combined.  Beat in the oats and scrape down the bowl.

Add in the chips, toffee, butterscotch and chocolate chunks. Mix until all add-ins are evenly distributed.

Place the dough into the fridge while you pre-heat your oven to 350°.

Once the oven is ready, line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicon baking mat.  Scoop out large tablespoons of dough, roll into balls, and drop two inches apart on the cookie sheet. 

Bake for 9-11 minutes until just browning on the edges.  DO NOT OVER COOK. 

Allow the cookies to cool on the sheet for at least 15 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yesterday when I was deciding what sweet treat to bake to send with Hondo to school, I hit a snag and couldn't decide what to make so I made two things.  I went the pumpkin route because its October and I'm very excited and because little ones really seem to like pumpkin (as do lots of big ones too).

I made these fantastic Pumpkin Cream Cheese Blondies and then I made these Oatmeal Chocolate Chip ones that I gussied up with pumpkin as well.  Its a variation of my favorite Oatmeal Raisin recipes from Sally's Baking Addiction - replace some egg with pumpkin, brown sugar and the right spices, replace raisins with chocolate chips and off we go!

Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yields 2.5 Dozen Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 7 generous tbs. of pumpkin puree
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 generous tbs. molasses
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 3 cups old-fashioned oats
• 1 generous cup milk chocolate chips

In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugars until fluffy.  Beat in the pumpkin, vanilla, and molasses until smooth.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon.  A little at a time, beat the dry ingredients into the wet until combined.

Stir in the oats until evenly distributed.  Fold in the chocolate chips using a spatula, the dough will be thick and sticky.  Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Roll generous tablespoonfuls of dough into balls and place an inch and a half apart on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or silicone baking mat.

Bake for 10-20 minutes depending on desired chewiness.  You can take them out as soon as they begin to brown at the edges and just as the centers have set, or you can wait until the tops are golden.  Removing them earlier will yield a chewier cookie, but you will have to wait until completely cooled to remove from the cookie sheet.