Small Batch Christmas, Cookie No. 3

Holiday Checkerboards!

I am a complete sucker for checkerboard sweets, even tho’ I can't usually make them come out even to save my soul. But I wasn’t about to let that stop me when I saw how cute these are. (You always need a little something for color, right?)

The good news is that this dough wasn’t as challenging for me to work with as others I’ve tried in the past, so my checkers actually don’t look half bad! However, the melted chocolate portion of the program once again served as a reminder that I should not quit my day job. No nice smooth dip for me, more of a chunky, frosted look. (Every year I think, “I’ll get this this time!” … and every year, the chocolate wins.)

I think I’ll skip it on the rest of them and just dip them in my magnificently-matching sparkly Christmas sugar to cut down on disappointment.

BUT…

Fussy chocolate whine aside, this makes a nice, tender sugar cookie that is very tasty and that’s what counts, right? (Plus, did I mention, CHECKERS!?!)

I’m building quite the festive little cookie plate with these small batches!

Holiday Checkerboard Cookies

makes about 18 cookies

Recipe by: foodnessgracious 

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour 

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

 4 oz butter, softened
1 cup sugar 

1 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg
1-2 drops green food coloring 

1-2 drops red food coloring 

1/2 cup white chocolate chips 

Christmas sprinkles 

Instructions: 

Preheat the oven to 350º F. 

Line a large baking sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone mat.

Cream the softened butter and sugar until light and creamy (high speed for about 3-4 minutes)  Add in the vanilla and the egg and beat again, making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl a few times.

Combine baking powder and flour, then gradually add the mixture to the butter mixture on low speed. Once all of the flour has been added, mix until the dough comes together into a ball. (Mine wouldn’t come together until I got in there with my hands, but it did!)

Transfer to a surface lightly dusted with flour and divide the dough into 4 even pieces.

Take one quarter of the dough and add a few drops of green food color to it. Knead the dough until the color has worked its way through and it looks a nice even shade of green.

Repeat this process with one of the other remaining dough quarters, using red this time. The remaining two quarters of plain dough will stay uncolored.

Shape each of the four balls of dough into long blocks about 8 inches long. 

Place a block of the plain sugar cookie next to a block of the green cookie dough and gently press them together. Stack the other plain sugar cookie dough on top of the green cookie dough and finally place the red cookie dough on top of the other plain cookie dough.

Carefully mold the block of dough together and wrap in plastic wrap. 

Place it into the fridge for 30 minutes to chill.

Once the dough has firmed, cut the block of cookie dough into individual cookies about a half inch thick.

Place each cookie onto the prepared baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes or until the cookies are slightly golden around the edges.

After the cookies have cooled, melt the white chocolate and dip a corner of the cookies into the melted chocolate. Add some Christmas sprinkles and let the chocolate set before putting cookies into containers.

Small Batch Christmas, Cookie No. 2

OK, this one wasn’t truly a small batch… but the dough freezes for up to 3 months, so the cookies can be baked one small batch at a time. And… I just really wanted to try them.

So enthusiastic was I, in fact, that assembly was well under way before I realized I was out of ground ginger, dark brown sugar, and only had blackstrap molasses…, so I was punting right left and sideways before I'd even gotten half the ingredients in the bowl. I was undeterred, however - this cookie was going to happen! I substituted some pumpkin pie spice and allspice for the ginger (I would have done all pumpkin pie spice but I ran out of that, too *le sigh*) and went with light brown sugar and the blackstrap molasses. (I was basically just swapping the light and dark of the sweeteners, right?)

Happily, this cookie is not fussy. The allspice did make mine darker than those shown in the original recipe, so it looks more molasses-y than ginger-y but they are still shiny and cute, and very tasty little morsels.

Small Batch recipe #2 is another win!

Ginger Pennies

      Yield: 10 dozen bite-size cookies

From: Simply Recipes

Ingredients:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), at room temperature
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/3 cup molasses
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• Zest of one lemon (optional)
• 3 tablespoons candied ginger, finely chopped
• 3/4 cup turbinado sugar, for dipping

Directions:

1. Mix the dry ingredients: 

Whisk the flour, ginger, cloves, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl.

2. Combine the wet ingredients: 

In a large bowl, beat the butter and brown sugar together for 3 minutes at medium speed, or until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula as needed.

Add in the molasses, egg, vanilla, lemon zest, and candied ginger, beating until well combined, about 1 to 2 minutes. (I’m not a big lemon fan, so I omitted the zest.)

Gradually add the dry ingredients. (I don’t have a stand mixer, so I moved to a wooden spoon for this step.)

3. Form the logs:  

Lay out 3 sheets of plastic wrap and, working with a third of the dough at a time, form 3 logs that are roughly 12 inches long and an inch and a quarter wide each. The dough is fairly soft, so don’t try to roll it until you get it encased in plastic. (Don’t ask me how I know this…) 

Place the logs on a baking sheet or tray that will fit in your freezer, and chill for 1 to 2 hours, or overnight. The dough will keep in the freezer for 3 months or longer.

To Bake:

Once the dough has chilled and you’re ready to bake cookies, (yay!) preheat the oven 350°F and line your baking sheet(s) with parchment paper.

Pour some turbinado sugar into a shallow bowl. Slice the rolls into 1/4-inch-thick cookies and press one or both sides of each cookie into the sugar. Place them on the baking sheets, sugar side up if you only did one side.

Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the bottoms of the cookie are lightly browned. Cool on the baking sheet. 

They will keep for at least two weeks in a tightly closed cookie tin.

Small Batch Christmas, Cookie No.1

This one is truly “small batch”. The recipe says it makes 10 cookies but even with adding a third of a cup of diced cranberries, I only got 9 out of the deal. However, sometimes that’s all you need, right?

This recipe was more of a test run for the future, when I’ll be once again sharing goodies with my lactose & gluten intolerant loved one. There's a lot of good gluten-free stuff out there but there's also a lot of it that misses the boat completely. I often find myself reading gf recipes and thinking, “this is either going to be a marvelous find, or a waste of almond flour.” When they work, tho', they're great, so I'm always game to try!

Which leads me to this inaccurately named 3-Ingredient Almond Cookies. (OK, salt and water maybe don't really count - but I am the Queen of Pernsnickety.) I honestly wondered if this could possibly taste like much, given how little is in it, but... (see above)

As it turns out, the name was the only thing I could grumble about with these cookies. This turns out to be a fantastic recipe to have up your sleeve. Incredibly easy to throw together (5 minutes max, including digging in the freezer for the almond flour), mess is minimal, and the result is a very yummy little batch of DF/GF almond macaroons - with some highly versatile variations. (I’m going to try the chocolate chip version, but use chopped Andes mints instead.)

You could even throw together the dry ingredients and freeze the mixture in a small ziploc bag for a truly effortless dump & bake emergency cookie.

Yes, indeed, I’m very pleased with my first small batch test drive!

3-Ingredient Almond Cookies {Vegan, Grain-Free & Paleo}

Recipe from Powerhungry.com

Ingredients (>3, ahem)

1 cup blanched almond flour (not almond meal) 

3 tablespoons coconut sugar (I used brown sugar)

1⁄2 teaspoon baking powder

1⁄8 teaspoon fine sea salt

2 tablespoons water

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silpat.

2. In a small bowl, whisk the almond flour, sugar, baking powder and salt (breaking up all lumps.) Add the water and stir until blended.

3. Drop by tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing 2 inches apart.

4. Bake 13 - 16 minutes, until golden brown and set at the centers.

5. Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheet. Transfer cookies to a rack and cool completely.

Keep in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 days, the refrigerator for 1 week, or the freezer for 2 months.

Variations:

Chocolate Chip: Add 1⁄4 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips to dough.

Thumbprints: Indent the top and add a dollop of jam

Dried Fruit Cookies: Add 1⁄3 cup very finely chopped dried fruit to dough.

Sesame Almond Cookies: Add 1⁄8 teaspoon almond extract to dough and sprinkle tops of cookies with sesame seeds before baking.

Toasted Almond Cookies: Add 1⁄4 teaspoon almond extract and 1⁄3 cup toasted sliced almond, coarsely crushed, to dough.

A Christmas Without Cookies?

I was talking with Tiny Woman yesterday and we got on the subject of Christmas and cooking (possibly because I was moaning about all the cooking I’m not getting done, since there’s no water to wash dishes?) and she informed me that she wasn’t intending to do cookies this year anyhow. 

“Just one batch of sugar cookies for the kids to decorate but that’s it.”

Right on the heels of that conversation, greengirl emailed me to commiserate about my well woes and she closed with, “No cookie exchange, huh?” 

Yep. There’s a cookie shortage this year.

For a moment, I was tempted to dub this “The Christmas Without Cookies”… but then I thought, “No, dammit! I am not going to let this flippin’ pandemic preempt all the joys of the holiday season! I am simply going to adapt!” (*insert emphatic nod*)

I contemplated what kind of cookie compromise could be reached and finally hit upon an idea. My recipe stash contains a number of cookies that I think sound terrific but that I’ve never tried because they don't make a lot. (If it doesn’t make at least 36 cookies, I don’t bother with it at Christmas - and if it’s not Christmas, I don’t bother with fussier cookies.) So, I’m going to go through those recipes and pick out 3-4 that I most want to try, and I’m going to make this a Small Batch Christmas!

It won’t be a proper swap but I will share the recipes with you…

Because it’s just not Christmas without Cookies.

(I’d love to tell you what days to watch for the recipes but honestly, I’m way too out of control at the moment to make any kind of reliable declaration about that. Just keep an eye peeled, ‘k?)

It's Been Said Many Times, Many Ways...

…but I always mean it, from the bottom of my heart.

This would not, could not, happen without all of you...

and I appreciate you, each and every one.

Thank you for putting a smile on my face.

(And a recipe in my book.) :-)

Happy Tenth Cookie Day!

Welcome to the (Especially Celebratory) TENTH Annual

Great Online Cookie Exchange Extravaganza!

At the risk of sounding like a parent bemoaning how fast their child is growing up…

I can’t believe it’s been ten years since my wild hair of an idea was launched. The baking ranks have fluctuated through time, gaining and losing as people’s lives change, but we’re still here… and still exchanging recipes!

A heart-felt Thank You! to everyone who has played along over the years, both bakers and armchair nibblers, for making this such a joyous part of my holiday season. (Not to mention how much my Holiday Goodie repertoire has increased!) 

And with extra-special thanks to Greengirl and Little Monkey, who’ve been with me for Every Single Exchange (under various nom de plumes) since the very first one. 

Bonus shoulder-bumps to each of you. :-)

Now, on to the cookies!

Years ago, I included these in a cookie package that I sent to a friend. He apparently wasn’t familiar with biscotti, because while he listed them in his thank you note as the Number One Favorite Cookie, he referred to them as “those chocolate jaw breaker thingies”.

What can I say?

This is definitely a dunking cookie.

But a very tasty, deeply chocolate, not-too-sweet, oddly-addicting dunking cookie.

Like any biscotti, this recipe is time-consuming, but mostly because of all the rounds of baking that you have to go through. The actual assembly is fairly simple. Altho’, if you have a stand mixer, I’d recommend using it because this is a dry, sticky dough that can be a challenge for the hand-mixer. (Since I don’t have a stand mixer, I usually just use my hands, rather than fry my mixer or sprain a bicep from wielding a wooden spoon…)

Also - after you’ve gotten these on the tray, your hands (and possibly parts of your kitchen) will look like you’ve been playing in mud puddles. Manipulating the dough is kind of like working with chocolate paste. Believe the recipe when it says, “moistened hands”, ok?

But the taste is well worth the little bit of extra mess, I promise you.

So here you go, my special celebratory tenth-anniversary cookie recipe:

Chocolate Walnut Biscotti

Makes: approx. 48 

2 C walnuts, coarsely crushed

2 C flour

2 C cocoa 

2 C sugar

1 t baking powder

1 t baking soda

6 eggs

1/8 t salt

1/4 C brandy or coffee

2 t vanilla

Preheat oven to 325º

Spread walnuts on a cookie sheet and toast in oven 5-8 minutes, shaking pan several times, until walnuts are light brown.
Let cool.

Lower oven temperature to 300º.  

(Converters for measurements and oven temperatures here)

  In a large bowl, combine flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder, and soda. Stir or whisk gently until well mixed. Make a well in the center.

  In a medium bowl, beat eggs with salt until well blended. Mix in brandy and vanilla. Pour egg mixture into well in dry ingredients. Beat together until a soft dough forms, then stir in toasted walnuts.

  With lightly moistened hands, divide dough in half. On a parchment-lined baking sheet, shape dough into 2 loaves about 12 x 3.5 x .5. Bake 50 minutes, or until dough appears dry. Remove from oven and cut loaves into 1/2" slices.

  Arrange slices on baking sheet and bake 17-20 minutes. Turn over and bake 17-20 minutes more, until firm and dry. Let cool.

Pour yourself a coffee and start dunking. :-)

But wait!

I’m not done yet, because I have a recipe from selkie!

CHOCOLATE WHISKEY BALLS 

1 cup pecans

1 cup chocolate wafer cookie crumbs

1 cup icing sugar

1-1/2 tbsps light corn syrup

1/4 cup whiskey (I use Irish!)

Powdered sugar for rolling

1 Grind the pecans and chocolate wafers (I buy the already crushed Oreo crumbs) in a food processor and empty into a large bowl.

2 Mix in sugar, corn syrup and whiskey thoroughly (I use my hands). Shape the mixture into balls the size of a quarter and roll in powdered sugar.

3 Keep in an airtight container in a cool place or freeze on a baking sheet then store in tightly sealed plastic bags.

2-3 dozen.

Now that we’ve whetted your appetite, please go check out the rest of the goodies:
(just remember, different time zones = different posting times)

Baker

blossom

Cat

greengirl

Hermione

Lindy

little monkey

messymimi

morningstar

Mrs. Fever

olivia

Ronnie

Ryan

Sassy

To The Bakers

and everyone else who enjoyed the day:

It would never happen without All of You.

(And I'm very grateful that it does!)

Let Us Eat Cookies...

Welcome to The Ninth Annual 

Great Online Cookie Exchange Extravaganza!

You have to have figured out by now that I really love doing this every year. I also really love the fact that so many of my faithful bakers keep coming back - yet each new exchange also sees one or two new people joining in the fun, as well. That makes me smile, to see that you all seem to enjoy this as much as I do. Thank you for making it so much fun.

Now, on to the cookies ('n' stuff)!

The original plan this year had been to present one short and simple recipe (an eggnog riff on the classic Oreo truffle) and one slightly more involved recipe that is dairy and gluten free. (I have a new family member who’s both lactose and gluten intolerant, and Tiny Woman has recently developed lactose intolerance, as well... not to mention the recent influx of vegetarians and vegans into my social circle. All of which means that increased vigilance is now A Thing for me… because, you know, the holidays weren’t already challenging enough.)

But anyhow, my plan didn’t work out so well. The eggnog truffle recipe turned out to be an absolute flop. Tasty, to be sure, but thoroughly miserable to work with - far too wet, droopy, and unmanageable… even an excess of freezing couldn’t salvage the process. I think the recipe proportions need massaging but unless or until I figure the problem out, there’s no way I’m disseminating this particular recipe. (Altho’ I *will* snack on the resultant misshapen blobs now stored in my freezer- let us not kid ourselves.)

The DF GF Magic Cookie Bars, however, made up for the disappointment - they are super!

The recipe comes from Food, Faith, Fitness

Her recipe, but I’ve been fairly unrestrained about adding my own notes to the directions.

Gingersnap Chocolate Magic Cookie Bars 

     (Paleo, GF, DF) - from Food, Faith, Fitness

Ingredients 

For the topping: 

1 Can Full-fat coconut milk (14 oz) 

1/4 C Honey (or agave for vegan) 

1/4 C Molasses
2 tsp Ground ginger 

1 tsp Cinnamon 

For the bars:

    

2/3 C Pecans
1/3 C Coconut oil, at room temperature (should be like softened butter) 

3 Tbsp Honey (or agave)
3/4 C Coconut flour, sifted
1/2 T Instant coffee
Pinch of salt
1/4 C dairy-free mini chocolate chips (or regular, if DF isn't a concern)

Instructions 

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and spread the pecans on a small cookie sheet. Toast until golden brown, about 8-10 minutes. (Watch them! Nuts go from toasty to burned very quickly.) Roughly chop and set aside.

2. Whisk together all of the “topping” ingredients in a large saucepan over high heat. Bring the mixture to a boil and boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Then, turn the heat down to medium and simmer until the sauce reduced by about half. 

(Jz note: Taylor (FFF lady) estimated this would take 10-15 minutes. That was decidedly not my experience - mine took WAY longer than 15 minutes. The time is not important, however, what matters is that you get the sauce reduced to about about 1.25 cups of liquid. 
Taylor suggests that you keep pouring the sauce out into a large measuring cup to check, then returning to the saucepan until it’s cooked down sufficiently. This struck me as much-too-much of a nuisance, so I made a little measuring device. I put 1 1/4 C of liquid in the saucepan, took a short length of florist’s wire and fitted it so that it just touched the liquid when clipped over the side of the pan. 

the device

But you do you… just cook it down to the right amount, however you measure it.)

3. Take the sauce off the heat and let cool, stirring occasionally. (Helps the cooling and prevents a skin forming, so really… please stir.)

4. Line an 8x8 inch pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang up the sides to use as a handle when you de-pan the bars. (Note: It helps to spray the bottom of the pan with spray before putting in the parchment paper, to keep it in place.)

5. In a medium bowl, using an electric hand mixer, beat the coconut oil and honey until smooth and creamy. Stir in the flour, coffee and pinch of salt until a wet dough forms. (By the way, if you're worried about being overwhelmed by the taste of coconut, I've found that refined coconut oil has a much more neutral flavor than the unrefined kind.)

 

6. Press the dough evenly into the bottom of the pan. This is one of those doughs that you really need to press with your palms and fingers, so toss all thoughts of dainty out the window. Get right in there with your (well-washed) hands!

7. Bake the crust just until lightly golden brown, about 6-7 mins. (Taylor says 7-8 but mine was just starting to scorch at 7, so I’m dropping it down a bit.)

8. As soon as the crust comes out of the oven, sprinkle the chopped nuts on top, and lightly press them into the crust. Then sprinkle on the chocolate chips.

9. Pour the slightly cooled coconut milk mixture EVENLY over the top of the surface and gently shake the pan to encourage co-mingling. (Or use the “push with the back of a spoon” method I had to adopt - I hadn’t grabbed my potholders and the pan was too hot to hang onto… whoopsie!) 

Just agitate the coconut milk mixture in some manner until it begins to sink between the layers, ok? 

10. Bake until the sides are lightly golden brown, about 25-28 minutes. (The original recipe says 27-28 minutes but again, mine didn’t need that much time. Just check ‘em earlier and add time if need be.)

11. Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature. Then cover with tinfoil and refrigerate overnight. (Don’t skip the refrigerating overnight - the coconut milk mixture really needs the time to chill and thicken.)

12. After the appropriate chilling time, run a sharp knife around the edges of the pan, and pull the bars out with the parchment paper handles. Cut into bars. (Taylor suggests 16, I tend to cut smaller bars when it’s for holiday cookie plates. Again - your call.)

the cookies
(eggnog blobs included)

Now, please join me in visiting the rest of the Exchange Crew.

Just remember that there are significant time differences around the world. 

If someone hasn’t posted yet, be patient and check back later.

Baker

Bogey and Bacall

Cat

DelFonte

Fondles

greengirl

Hermione

Katie

Kelly

Lindy

messymimi

Mrs. Fever

Olivia

ronnie

Ryan

Sassy

the bakers

Apparently I Cannot Count

The Great Online Cookie Exchange Extravaganza is actually turning NINE!

Of course, I always make some mistake or other when I post the cookie announcement but I’d really hoped I’d broken the curse this year. At least this is better than getting the dates wrong.

So, chalk it up to another year of keeping holiday traditions and move on, Jz! 

However old it is, there’s still time to sign up if you haven’t already. 

Noon on Monday...

(Assuming you’re willing to share recipes, of course!)

Speaking of Food...

This year…

The Great Online Cookie Exchange Extravaganza Turns Eight!

That’s right - the increasingly inaccurately named 

         Great Online Cookie Exchange Extravaganza 

will celebrate its eighth Blogland appearance on Wednesday, December 5th… 

and I really hope you’ll consider being one of the participants.

It’s simple to play along, really.

All you need to do is to post a recipe for a holiday goodie on the appropriate day.

         (Wednesday, Dec 5th)

Your recipe doesn’t even actually have to be for a cookie. 

Anything that you consider yummy and festive is something I want to know about!

Sign up by noon on Monday, December 3rd in order to get your name on the list of participants. (I need some lead time time to assemble and distribute the list to participants.)

To sign up:

         Email me by noon on Dec 3rd

With this information:

         Your screen name and the URL of your blog. 

         (OK, I also need your email address but I’ll have that if you email, right?)

                  If I don’t get those 3 things, you won’t make the participant list. 

                  (Sorry, but I’m done with chasing people.)

That’s it - just one email, three details, and a post!

     It's gonna be fun!

Cookie Day At Last...

Welcome to the (astonishingly) eighth annual

Great Online Cookie Exchange Extravaganza!

This one is especially significant to me because it was during cookie time last year that my relationship with BG took a nosedive - and I really wasn’t sure how much longer I was going to maintain a presence in blogland. I honestly thought this was going to be “it”… but decided to take it one day at a time and see what happened.

Three-hundred-sixty-four “one day”s later, I’m feeling pretty good about still being here - and ready to celebrate. So, let’s not wait any longer!

Bring on the Cookies!!!

I say that, but actually, I had every intention of bustin’ out this year and doing something other than cookies. (I know!) I’d found this amazing-sounding recipe for little tea tarts, you see… altho’ I had to test drive the recipe first, of course. 

But I was excited (and confident) about these tarts. Simple, easy, and I’d finally get to try my hand at frangipane! It was going to be good, I just knew it. I had even started composing my little tart post in my head already.

While I was at it though, since it was crappy weather outside and I was messing up my kitchen anyhow (not to mention that the oven would already be at the correct temperature,) I decided I’d go ahead and try this other cookie recipe that I’ve had my eye on for a while.

So I made my little tarts... and they were quite tasty. Pleased, I hummed carols and arranged the pretty goodies on a plate, to snap pictures while the cookies baked.

Then… I tried one of said new cookies.

       Holy Mother Of God!!

I took another bite to make sure I hadn’t misunderstood my tastebuds…, 

        and nearly wept tears of joy.

And just like that, plans changed. The tarts were quickly whisked away to make room for the clear winner. So, without further ado, the Jz Holiday Goodie for 2017:

Tahini Shortbread

       It’s like halvah in a cookie… 

       (Did I mention tears of joy?)

Ingredients:

2 sticks (1 C) softened butter (I used salted)

1/2 C tahini

1 C granulated sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

3 C unbleached all-purpose flour

3 tbsp half and half

Directions:

Beat the butter and tahini together until light and creamy.

Next add in the sugar, salt and vanilla, blending until smooth. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl.

Add in 1 cup of flour, mix until just combined before adding in 1 tablespoon of half and half, then repeat until all of the flour and cream are incorporated.

Tip the cookie dough onto a clean surface and divide in half. Form each portion of dough into roughly a 2x6 log, wrap and refrigerate 45-60 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 350° and line a metal, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

Working with one log at a time, remove the dough from the fridge. Slice cookies 1/2-inch thick (12 cookies) and bake 1-inch apart for 18 to 20 minutes•• or until the tops of your shortbread are slightly golden. Leave cookies on the cookie sheet for 2 to 3 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.

Once cool, store in an air-tight container for up to 1 week.

Yield: 24 cookies

••(The recipe says to bake for 18-20 minutes but I’d start checking at a lot earlier. Of course, my oven was well-preheated and I probably sliced these somewhat thinner than I should have, but mine only took 8-9 minutes to bake. I did the first batch for 15 minutes and scorched the beejeepers out of them. 

       Those tears were decidedly not ones of joy…

(recipe adapted slightly from simplyscratch.com)

***************************************************************

The other thing I’m celebrating in this Cookie Exchange is the return of my friend selkie!

No, she’s not back to actual blogging quite yet… but she did toss in a cookie recipe!

“These are a HUGE hit - all FOUR adult kids requested these for Christmas.

I double the recipe.”

Caramel Thumbprint Cookies

1/2 cup butter

2/3 cup sugar

3 oz Baker's semi-sweet chocolate, melted and cooled

1 egg - separated

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup flour

1 cup finely chopped pecans (or walnuts)

15 Kraft caramels

2 tbs milk

Preheat oven to 350°F. Beat butter and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Blend in chocolate, egg yolk and vanilla. Add flour; mix well. Shape dough into ball; cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate 20 minutes or until slightly firm.

Roll dough into 24 balls, each about 1 inch in diameter. Dip each ball in lightly beaten egg white, then in pecans, turning to evenly coat each ball. Place, 2 inches apart, on ungreased baking sheets. Use your thumb or the end of a wooden spoon to make a deep indentation in the centre of each ball.

Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove cookies to wire racks to cool. 

Meanwhile, melt caramels and milk in microwaveable bowl on MEDIUM 1 minute or until caramels are completely melted when stirred. Fill centres of cookies evenly with the caramel mixture. Refrigerate until firm.

***************************************************************

OK, once you finish salivating over these, please go visit the rest of the baking crew 

(and really complicate your goodie-making decisions!)

Just remember that there can be significant time differences around the world. 

If someone hasn’t posted yet, be patient and check back later.

Baker

Bleue

blossom

Bogey and Bacall

Cat

collaredmom

DelFonte

Ella

Greengirl

Katie

Kelly

Lindy

Mrs. Fever

Ms Dixie Wrecked

nilla

Olivia

ronnie

Ryan

Sassy 

~~~
and special, post-deadline, linked here and only here...
Fondles' Last Minute Fruitcake Recipe