Irish Cream Brownie Cookies

I have had my eye on a couple of different recipes that use Irish Cream liqueur. I was just about ready to make one and I read the reviews and they noted that the cookies were bland. I didn’t want bland cookies, but I did want to make something with Irish Cream, so I looked for some alternatives. I found two recipes that I pinned, and in the end, I made these Irish Cream Brownie cookies.

When you read through the recipe, the important thing to take away is that these are brownie cookies. They are extremely chocolaty, and the dough is very brownie-like. What that means in a practical sense is that the dough is basically batter. The recipe suggested chilling the dough for about 15 minutes to firm it up, but I knew that would make little difference. I refrigerated the dough overnight and that worked best. The dough was soft, but workable.

Despite chilling, these cookies are still quite sticky, and I found that working the dough with slightly damp hands worked best. I baked these for 10 minutes, I think, but I was doing something else, and I realized that my timer was going off. Oops! They come out of the oven quite puffy, and I ended up topping each cookie with a few extra chocolate chips. These are super fudgy, and you can immediately taste the Irish Cream in these cookies!

Irish Cream Brownie Cookies
9 ounces bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
3 tablespoons Irish cream liqueur
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup chocolate chips
Place the chopped chocolate and butter in a small saucepan. Set over low heat and melt the  chocolate/butter, stirring until the mixture is smooth. Allow to cool for 10 minutes.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a large mixer bowl, beat the brown sugar and eggs on medium until combined. Add the melted chocolate/butter mixture and stir to combine. Add the Irish Cream and vanilla and mix on medium to incorporate.

With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour mixture. Stir in the chocolate chips with a spatula. The dough will be extremely soft, so refrigerate overnight.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

Shape the dough into tablespoon-sized balls and place on the prepared baking sheets. Flatten the top of each cookie slightly.

Bake for about 10 minutes, until the edges are done but still soft in the middle. If desired, press additional chocolate chips into the tops of the hot cookies. Cool for 15 minutes in the pan before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from Bake or Break

Irish Triple Threat Cookies

Yesterday was St. Patrick’s Day and I while I don’t think that it is much of a baking holiday, I still was curious if there were any cookies I could try. I came across a couple of different recipes, which claim to be Irish in a few different ways. Some recipes made cookies that looked like potatoes, others called for Irish Cream or whiskey. I think we have Irish Cream, but I know for certain that we have Irish Whiskey.

I have to say that I am not the most experienced whiskey drinker. When my husband and I traveled to Scotland, the host where we stayed welcomed us with Scottish whisky. It was very strong! I tried to drink it but had better luck with my whisky-infused tea. I had Irish whiskey at home for this recipe, with the same name as an old family name. It’s a blended whiskey and very nice!

This recipe is called a triple Irish cookie. Yes, you have Irish whiskey, and I actually bought Kerrygold butter to make this. At first, I thought that the third Irish ingredient was Irish Cream, but it wasn’t. I guess the third Irish ingredient is oats. I use oats all the time and don’t think of them as particularly Irish, but I suppose they are. These cookies, since they contain whiskey, burn quite readily, so I refrigerated the cookies before baking and that seemed to help. These cookies have a wonderful flavor, the whiskey mellows and pairs perfectly with the oats and Irish butter.

Irish Triple Threat Cookies
6 tablespoons Kerrygold Irish butter, room temperature
6 tablespoons sugar
6 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons Irish whiskey
¾ cup flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup oats

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

In a large mixer bowl, combine the butter, sugar, and brown sugar. Beat on medium to combine. Add the egg and Irish whiskey and stir again to combine. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt and stir on low until almost combined. Add the oats and stir with a spatula to combine.

Shape the dough into 1-1/2 inch balls. Place 6 cookies on each baking sheet. Refrigerate the shaped cookies for 15 minutes.

Bake for 8-10 minutes, until golden around the edges. The cookies burn easily, so watch them carefully. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheets before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from Dessert for Two

Christmas Chocolate Tiffin

What is a tiffin? I have had multiple people ask me what a tiffin is, and the short answer that it is a no-bake bar cookie whose main component is biscuits (or cookies, as we call them in the states). This is a great recipe in that it combines the ease of the tiffin with the flavors of Christmas such as brandy, chocolate, and candied cherries. Now I find all sorts of tiffin recipes that sound good, and I can’t wait to try some once the weather is warmer.

As is often the case with British recipes, I don’t convert grams to ounces or volume measure. In a way, I think this is easier as I have my scale and a single cup to measure. It makes for less washing and right now that is appreciated. I did buy glacé cherries and the Rich Tea biscuits from the UK, and golden syrup is also British in origin. The British cherries looked so much better than the weird, bright red candied cherries that we get here in the states. I also wonder if the topping could be any sort of chocolate, or some sort of semi-sweet chocolate? I’m sure it would work.

I was slightly delayed in making this tiffin as I kept forgetting gallon sized Ziplock bags at the store! After what seemed like the twentieth trip to the store, I finally got them home with me. I had already soaked the candied cherries and raisins in brandy, but I figured that they would be just fine if they were in the brandy a little bit longer. Oh, and as sticky as candied cherries are, don’t forget to cut them in half. That was not fun when they were both sticky and soaked with brandy. This tiffin needs some time to chill in the refrigerator, to make sure it sets properly, so this isn’t the recipe to make at the last minute. These squares are very rich, with chocolate and candied cherries, but I love the bites with little bits of crushed tea biscuits!

Christmas Chocolate Tiffin
200 grams glacé/candied cherries
125 grams raisins
80 ml brandy
300 grams Rich Tea biscuits
150 grams butter
40 grams brown sugar
200 grams golden syrup
25 grams cocoa powder

100 grams dark chocolate
100 grams milk chocolate

Line an 8” square pan with aluminum foil and spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray.

Cut the candied cherries in half and place in a small microwaveable bowl. Add the raisins and the brandy and microwave for 30 seconds. Allow to stand for 5 minutes before proceeding.

Put the biscuits in a large ziplock bag and bash with a rolling pin or similar object until the biscuits are a combination of powdery bits and larger pieces. The powdery pieces help the tiffin stick together, so don’t be concerned with pulverizing the biscuits too much.

In a medium saucepan combine the butter, brown sugar, and golden syrup and heat on medium until smooth. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the crushed biscuits and the cocoa powder, mixing until the tiffin has an even color. Add the fruit/brandy mixture and mix.

Press the mixture into the prepared pan and refrigerate until set.

Make the topping: remove the tiffin from the pan and remove the foil. In a medium bowl, microwave the dark and milk chocolate, stirring frequently, until smooth. Top the tiffin with melted chocolate, spreading evenly to ensure complete coverage. Allow the chocolate to set before cutting the tiffin into squares.

Recipe from Everyday Cooks

Irish Cream Thumbprints

I came across this recipe and I was intrigued. I like thumbprint cookies, but I can’t recall how many chocolate ones I have made, and I’m quite certain I haven’t made them with a boozy filling. In reading the original recipe, it didn’t use Irish Cream liqueur, but instead used Irish Cream coffee creamer. I don’t like sweet and coffee, so I certainly never use flavored coffee creamer. It called for such a small amount, so I figured I would just use regular Irish Cream liqueur. Call me a daredevil!

The recipe also called for 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon butter, which is such an unusual amount! I decided to use 1 cup as that was much easier. The dough was slightly dry, so I added an extra egg yolk, and it came together nicely. I shaped the dough and refrigerated it, which is supposed to help the cookies keep their shape. This can be an issue with thumbprint cookies, so I was happy to try that.

These baked up well, and you do need to be careful with chocolate cookies. It’s very easy to over bake the cookies, so I took them out of the oven when they looked almost finished. The still have a little shine to them, but I knew that even if they were under baked, it would be better than a try cookie. The filling comes together quickly, and the Irish Cream liqueur works just as well as coffee creamer!

Irish Cream Thumbprints
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon espresso powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

4 ounces white chocolate
1 tablespoon butter, softened
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons Irish Cream
1/2 cup powdered sugar

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until light. Add the egg and vanilla and mix again on medium to combine. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour, cocoa powder, espresso, and salt.

Shape the dough into balls and place on a parchment lined baking sheet or large plate. With your thumb or the end of a wooden spoon, press a well into the center of each ball of dough. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees and line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

Place the chilled cookies on the prepared baking sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes. When the cookies have been -removed from the oven, reshape the well in the center of each cookie. Cool completely on a wire rack before filling.

Make the filling: in a small bowl combine the white chocolate and butter. Place the heavy cream in a measuring cup and heat until just at the boiling point. Pour the hot cream over the white chocolate mixture and allow to set for 5 minutes. Once the mixture has sat for 5 minutes, whisk until smooth. Add the Irish Cream and powdered sugar and stir until smooth and creamy.

Fill the well in each cookie with the white chocolate/Irish Cream mixture. Allow to set for an hour before serving.

Recipe from Cinnamon Spice & Everything Nice

Maple Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies

I’ve had these cookies marked for a little while now, and when I was looking through my recipes, I was wondering why I would pin an oatmeal raisin cookie, even one with maple glaze. I was reading through the recipe and I was thinking that I could change it up a little bit. In terms of dried fruits, we have a good variety on hand. We have lots of dried cranberries, so I thought I would try those. I could have used brandy to soak the cranberries, but I looked and noticed we had cranberry liqueur that we purchased last year while on holiday.

Since I am trying to make small batches, I ended up making half of this recipe. The original yield was two dozen cookies, so I figured that half would be perfect. I should have paid closer attention to the amount of flour and oats used, because halving the recipe still made two dozen cookies. I suppose that’s better than 4 dozen, but still a lot. I did make the full amount of glaze.

 The cookie itself is quite traditional, with the exception of soaking the fruit in alcohol. If you don’t drink alcohol, you could skip that step, but it does add an interesting flavor. The maple glaze makes these cookies unusual. It is a bit tricky to know when these are baked, as I made mine smaller than the original. At 8 minutes they weren’t done, at 10 they were perhaps too done, but they were good. I needed the entire amount of glaze to top my two dozen cookies. The glaze sets very quickly, so don’t take your time topping the cookies! I spooned on the glaze and then used a brush to smooth it out. The cookies are soft, and the glaze adds a nice bit of sweetness. They aren’t your typical oatmeal cookie, but that’s what I was looking for!

Maple Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies
3/4 cup cranberry liqueur/brandy
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
3 cups old-fashioned oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 cup pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup powdered sugar

Slightly warm the cranberry liqueur and then remove from the heat. Combine the warmed liqueur and dried cranberries in a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to sit for at least 30 minutes.

In a large mixer bowl, combine the butter, brown sugar, and sugar. Beat on medium until light. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix on medium to combine. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, oats, baking soda, and cinnamon. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour mixture. When almost combined, drain the dried cranberries and add them to the dough. Mix on low until incorporated.

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

Shape the dough into 2” balls and place on the prepared baking sheets. Flatten the dough balls slightly with the palm of your hand.  

Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes, until lightly browned. The cookies may look under baked but will set as they cool. Cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheet, and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely. 

Once the cookies are cool, make the glaze. In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the maple syrup and butter. Once melted, remove from the heat and whisk in the powdered sugar. Top each of the cookies with a small amount of glaze.

Recipe from https://iambaker.net/maple-oatmeal-raisin-cookies/

Holiday Fruitcake Bars: 12 Days of Cookies Day 12

Merry Christmas! For Christmas Day, I’ve decided to make Fruitcake Bars. Fruitcake has a terrible reputation here in the States, but in our household, we always make Christmas cake, which is a fruitcake. I think many people dislike the candied fruit, and I don’t disagree. We don’t use candied fruit in our Christmas cake or in these bars; dried fruit is much better. This bar recipe uses quite a few ingredients, some that I had to stock up on. If you are unable to find certain dried fruits, you can certainly substitute for what you can find, just ensure that you use the same total quantity (5 cups).

I hadn’t initially planned on making these bars, but when we were in downtown Seattle at Thanksgiving, we stopped in the Dahlia Lounge Bakery and they had these one for sample. I was distracted and didn’t try them, but Tim did, and he thought they were great. He went online and found the recipe and I knew they would be perfect for Christmas.

The original recipe had you make these in one go, but I wanted to give the fruit some time to soak up the brandy. You barely heat the brandy and the add it to the dried fruits. The recipe had you let this sit until cool, but I waited until the next morning to bake the bars. I think that made the bars even better, but I am a big fan of fruitcake so perhaps I am not the best judge. These take a bit of time and energy, but it really isn’t Christmas in our house without fruitcake.

Holiday Fruitcake Bars

1 cup brandy

1½ cups dried tart cherries

1½ cups prunes, chopped

1 cup golden raisins

½ cup raisins

½ cup dried currants

2 cups flour

¾ teaspoon allspice

¾ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon cloves

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup butter, room temperature

2 cups packed brown sugar

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup pecans, toasted and chopped

Powdered sugar

Heat the brandy in a small saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a simmer; remove from the heat. In a large bowl, combine the dried fruits. Add the brandy and stir to combine. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to steep overnight.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9” x 13” pan with parchment or foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, allspice, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and salt. Add 1 cup of the flour mixture to the dried fruits and stir to combine. In a large mixer bowl beat the butter and brown sugar until well combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the vanilla and stir to combine. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the remaining flour mixture.

Remove the bowl from the mixer and stir in the dried fruits and pecans with a spatula. Spread the mixture evenly in the prepared pan. The mixture will be thick and heavy.

Bake for 50-55 minutes, rotating once during baking, until a toothpick inserted into the fruitcake comes out nearly clean. Cool in the pan for an hour and then remove from the pan and cool on a wire rack until completely cool, about an hour. Peel off the parchment and cut into bars. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.

Recipe from Tom Douglas, The Dahlia Bakery Cookbook

Cranberry Port Cookies: 12 Days of Cookies Day 9

It can be a challenge each year to find Christmas cookies that are new and different. I have found, though, that many folks make tried and true classic recipes for their Christmas cookie trays. One of my fondest memories of Christmas was when we got a tin of cookies from Grandma. I know she didn’t make different recipes, in fact I remember that her tins contained peanut butter cookies, chocolate chip cookies, and surprise cookies. Not fancy, but that’s what I looked forward to each year.

When I was choosing cranberry recipes this year, I came across this recipe in a compilation of Christmas cookies. They are kind of different, as they use pie crust as the basis of the cookie, but that’s ok. The filling is simple, and it cooled very quickly. I made the filling and the cut out the pastry rounds while the filling was in the refrigerator. These turned out well, so I should check out the other cookies in that compilation!

I halved this recipe, which is what is shown here. The original recipe called for double the pastry and using 4 rounds of pastry seemed excessive. You are supposed to cut 21 rounds from each piece of pastry, which I think is impossible. I got 18 rounds from each piece, and that made 18 cookies total. I also used every bit of the filling, so I felt like 18 was the right number. It feels like they didn’t seal, but I had no problem while they were baking. I made the icing and it is very thick, so I added a little vanilla and that helped.  These are really different and are an interesting addition to holiday baking.

Cranberry Port Cookies

2/3 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup port wine

1/8 cup water

1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

1/2 tablespoon lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Pie crust (for a double crust pie)

   

1 cup powdered sugar

1-1/2 tablespoons water

1 tablespoon light corn syrup

¼ teaspoon vanilla

In a small saucepan, combine the cranberries, sugar, port wine, water, lemon zest and juice, and the cinnamon. Heat on medium high until the mixture boils. Boil for 2 minutes and then remove from the heat. Transfer the mixture to a food processor and then process until chopped. Allow to cool completely.

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

Roll the dough about 1/16” thick. Using a 2-1/2-inch round cookie cutter, cut out 36 rounds. Place about 1 teaspoon of filling on half of the rounds and top with a plain round. Press around the edges with a fork to seal.

Bake for 14-16 minutes, until the cookies are golden brown. Allow to cool before icing.

Make the icing: in a small bowl whisk together the powdered sugar, water, corn syrup, and vanilla. The icing will be thick. Drizzle over the cooled cookies.     

Recipe from Taste of Home