Brownie Brittle

This week I needed to make something fairly quickly, so I started looking through all of the recipes I have saved. I had one recipe that I wanted to make, but it makes quite a few cookies so I will wait to make those. Bar cookies are usually quick to make, but I like to let them chill for a while before cutting them into bars, so those were off the table. I came across these brittle cookies, and they looked perfect.

I have made a brownie cookie that is similar to this recipe, so I figured that these would also be successful. Those cookies were gluten free, but these cookies have ½ cup flour, so a little bit different. Gluten-free cookies are often sticky, and the original blogger noted that these should be crispy. Mine came out of the oven a tiny bit sticky, but I figured that it would lessen as they cool.

The brittle did become firmer as they cooled, but I wouldn’t call them crispy. The edges are crispy, but the edges tend to fly across the kitchen when I cut them. I topped my brittle with chocolate and peanut butter chips, as I didn’t want to chop nuts. You can honestly top these with anything you’d like, which I love! I cut my brittle with a pizza cutter and that worked great! This makes some very tasty cookie in a short amount of time!

Brownie Brittle
2 egg whites
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla 
1/2 cup flour
3 tablespoons cocoa powder 
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
 1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter chips

Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large mixer bowl, beat the egg whites until frothy. Beat in the sugar and mix well to combine. Add the oil and vanilla and beat to combine. With the mixer running on low, add the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. 

Spread the brownie batter on the parchment paper. Using a metal spatula, spread the batter thinly; when I was finished the batter was about 9”x 12”. Top the batter evenly with the chocolate and peanut butter chips.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, until set and firm, but not too dry. Allow the brittle to cool before cutting into random pieces.

Recipe from Princess Pinky Girl

Rice Krispie Chocolate Chip Cookies

I was gathering recipes recently and one of the recipes that I wanted to make called for Rice Krispies. When you buy those, you have to buy a box, so I figured I had better find other uses for the cereal. I suppose you can eat Rice Krispies as a breakfast cereal, but you’d have to add so much sugar! Off I went to find more recipes using Rice Krispies cereal.

My husband often claims I never make him chocolate chip cookies, so when I came across this recipe for a chocolate chip cookie that contained Rice Krispies, I figured I should make them! I hadn’t made anything like them previously, which was a relief. Sometimes it’s hard to find a recipe that’s different from others.

This recipe is typical, with the exception of the inclusion of Rice Krispies. This recipe calls for chocolate chips, but I think you could add any number of ingredients: different chips, coconut, nuts, etc. The cookies do spread and brown quickly along the edges, so you need to watch them carefully. The ones I refrigerated before baking did the best, so I feel that this is a useful step. These cookies are tasty and crunchy, with the addition of the Rice Krispies, and were enjoyed in my house!

Rice Krispie Chocolate Chip Cookies
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup Rice Krispies cereal

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

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter, sugar, and brown sugar until light. Add the egg and the vanilla and mix on medium until combined. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour mixture, stirring until almost combined. Fold in the chocolate chips and Rice Krispies with a spatula.

Scoop onto the prepared baking sheets. If desired, refrigerate the cookies for 15-20 minutes before baking to reduce spreading.

Bake for 10 minutes, until browned along the edges. The centers will firm up as the cookies cool. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack.

Recipe from Clara Quick Dinners

Chocolate Cookies with Reese’s Pieces Bunnies

I came across this recipe from Practically Homemade on Pinterest, and I was inspired! We had recently bought a large bag of Reese’s Pieces from nuts.com, and my husband had said that we had those available for baking. The original recipe used M&Ms, but Reese’s Pieces are nearly the same and I figured I would be fine. The colors worked, but I wanted to use a chocolate cookie.

The most difficult part of this recipe was finding a pill splitter to cut the Reese’s Pieces in half. I could have just cut them, but I had read a comment about using a pill splitter and that seemed easier. I went to two stores to find a pill splitter, and I was finally able to find one when I asked someone. I guess people often get them when they pick up a prescription, so the tool was not easy to find. I was happy that I eventually found one.

I altered the recipe slightly, as I didn’t want Reese’s Pieces in the dough, so I added mini chocolate chips instead. I baked them before adding the Reese’s Pieces, as I didn’t know what would happen and how the dough would shift while baking. I had the cut Reese’s Pieces ready to go once the cookies came out of the oven, and that’s really important. These cookies are super soft and chocolatey! The Reese’s Pieces add a subtle peanut butter flavor, which is just perfect.

Chocolate Cookies with Reese’s Pieces Bunnies
12 tablespoons butter, softened
½ cup sugar
½ cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoon molasses
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1 ⅓ cups flour
½ cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 cup mini chocolate chips
Reese’s Pieces, whole and half, for decoration

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter on medium until very creamy. Add the sugar, brown sugar, and molasses and mix on medium to combine. Add the egg and vanilla and stir to incorporate. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour mixture; mixing until just combined. Add the chocolate chips and stir with a spatula to incorporate.

Shape the dough into 1-1/2 inch balls. Place on a parchment-covered baking sheet. Once all the cookies are formed, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30-60 minutes.

Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

Place the chilled cookies on the baking sheet. They don’t rise a lot, so there is no need for extra space between the cookies.

Bake for about 10 minutes, until set and firm around the edges. Once the come out of the oven, immediately top the cookies with Reese’s Pieces (whole and half pieces) to resemble bunnies.

Recipe from Partylicious and inspiration from Practically Homemade

Chocolate Wedding Cookies

Wedding cookies, usually made with pecans, are one of my favorites that you see around the holidays. I have made a couple of variations with different holiday flavors, but there are so many more flavors to explore. Tim’s sister Maria and I are both big baking fans and we have gotten together to bake things, and we sometimes send recipes to each other. She is the one who discovered this chocolate version, and I knew they would be good!

These “Mexican” wedding cookies are so called because of the combination of chocolate and cinnamon. These call for so little cinnamon that you can’t really taste it, so I would think you are safe calling them chocolate cookies. The original cookies called for chopped pecans, but I followed Maria’s advice and made them all chocolate, adding mini chocolate chips to the dough.

These cookies are quick to assemble, but you do need to make sure that the dough comes together completely and there are no dry areas. If there is dryness, it will be impossible to shape them into balls. This recipe made about 30 cookies, which I was able to bake in two batches. Since they don’t spread, you don’t have to worry so much about spacing. Yes, powdered sugar-coated cookies are always messy, but you are rewarded with a super chocolatey cookies, lovely with chunks of mini chips!

Chocolate Wedding Cookies
1 cup butter, room temperature
3/4 cup powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 3/4 cups flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup mini chocolate chips
Additional powdered sugar

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

In a large mixer bowl, combine the butter, powdered sugar and vanilla. Mix until the ingredients are creamy. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, cinnamon, and salt. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour mixture, mixing until a dough forms with no dry patches. Stir in the mini chocolate chips.

Shape the dough into 1-1/4” balls and place on the prepared baking sheet. As these cookies don’t rise or spread, there is no need for extra space between the cookies.

Bake for about 12 minutes, until the cookies are set. Allow the cookies to cool for 5 minutes, and then roll them in a bowl of powdered sugar, coating the cookies evenly.

Recipe from Marie Saba

Browned Butter Chocolate Pistachio Cookies

This is the final recipe that I made with the bag of cinnamon pistachios that I purchased during the holidays. I feel like making three recipes was a victory! Some of the recipes that I found are quite similar, but there are little nuances to set them apart. This one uses browned butter, which does add an extra layer of flavor. It looks a lot like a traditional chocolate chip cookie, but it is more than that.

I have used browned butter in a number of different recipes. It’s frustrating that I can’t provide times for how long the butter will take to brown, but there are so many factors that make a difference. I will say that if you step away from the stove for even a moment, your browned butter will become burnt butter and that’s not good at all. I’m not sure why this happens, just be careful! You could also simply melt the butter, but that wouldn’t impart the same flavors.

Yes, I suppose this is a traditional chocolate chip cookie, but it has some extras. I used dark chocolate chunks and not milk chocolate. I felt this would pair better with the cinnamon pistachios. You really could use any type of chocolate, because it is the pistachios that make the big difference. There are lots of interesting flavors of pistachios out there on the market, and this cookie would lend itself to all sorts of flavors.

Browned Butter Chocolate Pistachio Cookies
½ cup butter
¼ cup sugar
¾ cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 ⅓ cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
¾ cup chocolate chunks
¾ cup cinnamon pistachios, roughly chopped

First, brown the butter. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Once the butter melts, continue cooking, swirling the pan frequently, until the butter browns and smells nutty. Watch carefully so that the butter doesn’t burn. Transfer the browned butter to a separate dish to cool slightly.

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

In a larger mixer bowl, combine the browned butter, sugar, and brown sugar. Mix on medium to combine. Add the egg and vanilla and mix again to incorporate. With the mixer running on low, add the flour and baking soda. Stir in the chocolate chunks and cinnamon pistachios with a spatula.

Shape the dough into 1-1/4” balls and place on the prepared baking sheets.

Bake for about 10 minutes, until the cookies are browned along the edges. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from Kale Junkie

Graham Crumb Chocolate Chip Cookies

If you read this blog with any frequency, you will be aware that my husband often complains that I don’t make enough chocolate chip cookies. That is true, as it needs to be quite a different chocolate chip cookie for me to add it to my blog. I came across this recipe and it seemed interesting. I have made a couple of items with graham cracker crumbs, but not this recipe exactly. I figured it would be nice to make a chocolate chip cookie variation.

This recipe originally called for mini milk chocolate chips, but I didn’t have those on hand, so I used regular sized milk chocolate chips. I need to restock some of my baking chips, and I will see if that’s something that is available here. I gather recipes from bloggers that live all around the world, so sometimes I have to be creative with specific ingredients.

These cookies come together like traditional chocolate chip cookies, simply with the addition of graham cracker crumbs and cinnamon. I like cinnamon a lot and it pairs well with milk chocolate, so I wasn’t surprised to see that added to this recipe. Some people don’t like the idea of adding extra flavors to chocolate chip cookies, but I think this one is fine. The graham cracker crumbs and the milk chocolate chips add a lovely sweetness to these cookies, which is hard to resist!

Graham Crumb Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 cups milk chocolate chips

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 for several minutes until light. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and graham cracker crumbs. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture. When the dough is almost cohesive, add the milk chocolate chips and mix on low to incorporate.

Shape the dough into 1-1/4” balls on the prepared baking sheets.

Bake for 10 minutes, until cookies are set. The cookies will continue to bake a little as they cool. Cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from Lord Byron’s Kitchen

Chocolate Mint Truffle Snowball Cookies

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate! I try to make something that looks very festive for the Christmas holiday. By the time I get to Christmas, I have done a lot of baking, and then cooking for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We also celebrate Boxing Day, so I will be making something for that as well, but I plan that to be easy. This year I also remade a couple of recipes that were in great demand. I’m tired!

These cookies look fancy, but they really were easy to make. The dough is simple and doesn’t have any leavening, which means the cookies end up being the same size as when you start. I did add an extra egg yolk, as the dough seemed a little dry, and that was perfect. Shaping the dough around the Kisses was easy, as there was plenty of dough.

My only issue is melting the white chocolate, as I have discovered some brands melt well, and others don’t seem to melt at all. I need to remember this for the future! My first batch of melted chocolate didn’t work at all, so I tried again with different chips, and while there weren’t a lot of those chips, they were fine. I bought some fancy sprinkles so these would be extra nice, and I think they are a fun cookie for a holiday selection. Enjoy!

Chocolate Mint Truffle Snowball Cookies
24 mint truffle Hershey kisses
½ cup butter, room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all flour
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup cocoa powder
3-4 ounces white chocolate
1 teaspoon vegetable shortening
 Sprinkles

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

Unwrap the Hershey Kisses and place in the freeze while you make the cookie dough. In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter and powdered sugar on medium until combined. Stir in the egg and vanilla. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour, salt, and cocoa powder; mix just until a thick dough forms.

Roll the dough into 24 balls. Flatten each dough ball slightly and place a frozen Hershey Kiss in the center of each. Wrap the dough around the Kiss and seal it in completely. Reroll the cookies and place on the prepared baking sheets.

Bake for about 10 minutes, until set. Allow to cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.     

Once the cookies are cool, melt the chocolate and vegetable shortening in a small microwave bowl. Dip the tops of the cookies in the melted chocolate and finish with sprinkles.

Recipe from Inside Bru Crew Life

Cranberry Pecan Christmas Fudge

There are quite a few Christmas fudge recipes that are out there, and sometimes they have similarities and sometimes they are very different. I actually made a Christmas Swirl Fudge last year, but that was a white fudge with red and green swirls. The recipe that I am making this year, also a variation of Christmas Fudge us a two-toned fudge, with a chocolate pecan layer and a white chocolate cranberry layer. It is very different from last year, but also very festive for Christmas.

I was concerned that it may be difficult to make the fudge layers and keep them completely separate, but that was no concern at all. I ended up using my 9” square pan, so the fudge is thinner than had a used a smaller pan. I worried at first, but when I cut the fudge, the pieces looked great, so I need to learn to worry less.

I made one change to the recipe- the original called for a cinnamon and chocolate chips in the chocolate layer, and I just used traditional chocolate chips. I do love cinnamon chips, and probably are festive, but I kept this one simple. I also used dried cranberries from Nuts.com and they were perfectly round! I had never seen that before, but they taste wonderful. My husband deemed this my best fudge of the year, and it is hard to disagree!

Cranberry Pecan Christmas Fudge
1 ½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
4 tablespoons butter, divided
1 can sweetened condensed milk, divided
½ teaspoon salt, divided
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ cup pecans, toasted and chopped
1 ½ cups white chocolate chips
½ cup dried cranberries

Line a 8" or 9” square pan with foil and spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray.

In a medium microwave-safe bowl, combine the chocolate chips, 2 tablespoons butter, ¼ teaspoon salt, vanilla, and half of the sweetened condensed milk. Heat in 30 second increments, stirring in between, until the mixture is smooth. Add the pecans and stir to combine. Spread the chocolate layer evenly in the bottom of the prepared pan.

In a separate microwave-safe bowl, combine the white chocolate chips, 2 tablespoons butter, ¼ teaspoon salt, and the remaining half can of sweetened condensed milk. Heat in 30 second increments, stirring in between, until the mixture is smooth. Stir in the dried cranberries.

Pour the white chocolate layer on top of the chocolate layer, spreading evenly.

Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight. Once the fudge is chilled, remove the fudge from the pan and cut into 1-inch squares.

Recipe from Midwestern HomeLife

German Nussecken Bars

When I was selecting cookies to make this season, I kept coming across European cookie recipes and they just sounded so good. Germany is known for their baking, and to this day I am sad that a local German bakery/café closed without them releasing a cookbook. Some of those recipes aren’t easy to replicate, but if I know what I am looking for it helps.

This recipe is for German Nut Corners (Nussecken) and it uses hazelnuts, a favorite of mine. You can use either almond or hazelnut flour, and while I used whole hazelnuts, I used almond flour as I had that on hand. The other ingredients are somewhat flexible. The original recipe called for apricot jam, and I ended up using apricot/pineapple preserves, and it was great. The jam just adds a little bit of flavor, and I think many different jams would work.

My biggest struggle with this recipe, if you can call it that, was what pan to use. The recipe called for a jelly roll pan, which the recipe said was 13” x 18”. That is a contradiction (unless sizes are different elsewhere) as a jelly roll pan is 10” x 15”. The other size is a half sheet pan. I knew it would be hard to spread the dough, so I used the jelly roll pan. That worked fine, and thankfully the cookies didn’t boil over while baking. It takes a little time to cut these and dip in chocolate, but it’s worth it. They aren’t as sweet as many American cookies, which is refreshing this time of year.

German Nussecken Bars
½ cup butter, room temperature
½ cup sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 ½ cups flour
⅓ cup apricot jam

1 cup butter
5 tablespoon rum
1 cup light brown sugar
2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup whole hazelnuts, roasted and roughly chopped
2 cups almond/hazelnut flour

1 cup dark chocolate chips
1 teaspoon vegetable shortening

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a jelly roll pan (10” x 15”) with aluminum foil and spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large mixer bowl, combine the butter and sugar and mix until smooth. Add the eggs and vanilla and stir to combine. Stir in the baking powder and salt, and then gradually add the flour, until the dough comes together. Press the dough evenly into the prepared pan. Dock the surface of the dough with the tines of a fork and then spread the base layer evenly with the apricot jam. If needed, you can heat up the jam slightly to ease in spreading.

Make the topping: in a medium saucepan, combine 1 cup butter, the rum, brown sugar, and vanilla. Heat over medium until the sugar is dissolved, but do not bring to a boil. Add the roasted and chopped hazelnuts and the almond/hazelnut flour to the melted butter mixture and stir to combine.

Spread the topping mixture evenly over the base crust.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the bars are golden. Allow the bars to cool completely, ideally overnight.

Using a sharp knife, cut the bars into squares and then triangles.

If desired, melt the chocolate a vegetable shortening to make a glaze and dip the corners of the cookies in the glaze or drizzle over part of the cookies. Allow the glaze to set before serving.  

Recipe from Bake It With Love

Peppermint Nanaimo Bars

I have been waiting to make these bars for a very long time. I pinned the recipe and then the URL of the post changed so I had to look again and find a viable recipe. I found it and saved it again. I had planned to make these bars last year, I had even started the write-up, but then I ended up changing what I made. I kept the recipe, because I knew that I would eventually make these.

This was the year that I made these bars! I am so glad that I did as I love Nanaimo Bars, and a holiday variety is not to be missed. A few years ago, my husband and I traveled to Vancouver Island, and stayed a couple of days in Nanaimo. We went to the museum there and thought that we would find out the origin of the Nanaimo Bar. Unfortunately, no one really knows who created the Nanaimo Bar. That’s ok, I’m just glad that someone created these wonderful bar cookies and made a cookie that is so adaptable.

These no-bake cookies have a couple of layers, but they really don’t take long to make. I will admit that making a no-bake cookie in the winter, heating things up on the stove, is much better than making them in the summer. These are quite traditional, with the addition of peppermint extract and the topping. My only challenge was the topping, as the topping called for butter and that never works with chocolate! I substituted vegetable shortening and that was much better. These cookies have all the flavors of a Nanaimo Bar with the refreshing peppermint flavor!

Peppermint Nanaimo Bars
1/2 cup butter, cut into pieces
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup cocoa
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped

1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
3 tablespoons cream
2 tablespoons custard powder
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon peppermint extract

4 ounces chocolate, chopped
2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
2 ounces white chocolate
1 teaspoon vegetable shortening
Crushed peppermint candies

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

In a medium saucepan, combine the butter, sugar, and cocoa. Heat over medium-high heat, whisking until the mixture is smooth. Add the egg, and quickly stir over the heat to set the egg. Remove from the heat and add the graham cracker crumbs, coconut, and pecans. Press into the base of the prepared pan.

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter, cream, custard powder, powdered sugar, and peppermint extract. If needed add additional powdered sugar if too thin or extra cream if too thick. Spread over the graham cracker base and refrigerate for 30 minutes to an hour.

In a small microwave-safe bowl, melt the chocolate, stirring frequently. Pour the melted chocolate over the bars, smooth the top, and refrigerate until almost firm. Melt the white chocolate and then drizzle over the partially cooled chocolate. Sprinkle with crushed peppermint candies. Refrigerate overnight.

Remove the bars from the pan by lifting the foil. Cut into squares.

Recipe from Parents Canada

Gluten Free Almond Flour Oat Chocolate Chip Cookies

The next cookie that I made, related to last week’s cashew toffee cookies, was a gluten free cookie. It isn’t quite the same, but I wanted to have something similar to the chocolate chips of the other cookie. When I am making gluten free cookies, I look for recipes that inherently have no flour, something that uses almond paste, almond flour, cocoa powder or similar. The measure-for-measure gluten free flour mixes are fine, but can add an extra flavor that I don’t always want. These use almond flour; perfect.

I do have special measuring cups that I use for gluten free baking, and I use disposable parchment instead of a silicone baking mat, to help lessen the likelihood of cross contamination. It’s not perfect but I try to be careful. At the store these days it isn’t too difficult to find “free from” chocolate chips that have no dairy, gluten, soy, etc. I always try to keep those on hand. I did make these dairy free as well, using vegan butter.

Gluten free baking is different, and you are never going to get dough that is super cohesive. Shaping these you must be careful, as they don’t form into a perfect ball but you can get pretty close. They do spread some, very common with gluten free cookie. I have a spatula ready when they come out of the oven to coax them back into shape if needed. These cookies are a bit fragile, but the chewiness and mix of flavors overcomes that! These are very tasty and perfect for those with particular food avoidance.

Gluten Free Almond Flour Oat Chocolate Chip Cookies
½ cup butter (or vegan butter), room temperature
½ cup sugar
½ cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 ¾ cups almond flour
½ teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon baking soda
1½ cups gluten free rolled oats
1 cup (or more) “free from” dark chocolate chips or chunks

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large mixer bowl, combine the butter/vegan butter, sugar, and brown sugar. Mix on medium until light. Add the egg and vanilla and stir too combine. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the almond flour, salt, and baking soda. Mix just until a dough starts to form. With a spatula, fold in the oats and chocolate chips.

Shape the dough into 1-1/2” balls and place on the parchment-lined baking sheets. The cookies may spread so only put 8 cookies per baking sheet.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, until golden. The cookies will be soft but will set somewhat while cooling. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet before removing to cool completely.

Recipe from Lemons and Zest

Browned Butter Toffee Cashew Chocolate Chip Cookies

It’s back to school time and for our opening meeting at work I try to make different cookies that fit different dietary restrictions. These cookies are the original inspiration, full of dairy, gluten, and chocolate. As this was the starting point, I also made a gluten free cookie that was somewhat similar. I felt so accomplished having made two types of cookies, and then I realized I needed a chocolate-free cookie, so I made a cookie similar to this one with no chocolate.

These cookies are also inspired by my lack of chocolate chip cookie making. My husband complains about this, and there are only so many variations of a chocolate chip cookie that I can come up with. These are different, with the browned butter, and the addition of cashews and toffee chips. I’m never sure if browning the butter changes the flavor a lot, but I think it does. As always, watch your butter carefully when it is on the stove, as it can burn easily.

These cookies aren’t so different from chocolate chip cookies, and browning the butter is the only step that takes a touch longer. There’s no chilling, which is helpful when you are making several different varieties! I used toffee chips that contained chocolate, as they also contained chocolate chips, but you can use anything you have on hand. I love cashews and they add a lovely sweetness, and toffee adds a buttery flavor that is hard to resist.

Browned Butter Toffee Cashew Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 3/4 cups flour
1 cup salted cashews, chopped
3/4 cup toffee bits
1 1/4 cups chocolate chips

In a small saucepan, heat the butter over medium low heat. Melt the butter, swirling the pan occasionally, until the butter begins to brown and starts to become nutty. Transfer the butter to a small dish and cool for 30 minutes.

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

In a large mixer bowl, combine the cooled butter, sugar, and brown sugar. Beat on medium until combined, then stir in the eggs, vanilla, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer running on low, slowly add the flour, stirring until the mixture is almost cohesive. Fold in the cashews, toffee bits, and chocolate chips.

Using a 1-1/2 tablespoon scoop, shape the dough into mounds on the prepared baking sheet. Place 8 balls of dough on each baking sheet, as the cookies may spread.

Bake the cookies for 8 minutes, then rotate the cookie sheet and bake for an additional 4 minutes. The cookies may be ever so slightly under baked, but they will firm up as they cool. If necessary, use a small spatula to reshape the cookies into rounds.

Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from Cookies and Cups

Chocolate Covered Hobnobs

I was at home the other day, and the house is getting more temperate and I wanted to bake. I really wanted to make Hobnobs, but I had made those already for the blog. I figured I could make the cookies and make change and that would be different. I did a little searching and found that many Hobnobs are chocolate covered, so I thought I would try that. It made sense, as I have seen chocolate covered Digestive Biscuits and other similar items.

This is the classic Hobnob cookie/biscuit recipe that I have used many times. They are the easiest thing to make and I think that they taste better than the packaged variety. I’m always nervous when I look at the recipe and they bake for quite some time, but you do use a lower oven temperature and it always works out. In this case I made the cookies and let them cool, then topped with chocolate.

I used a small amount of chocolate, perhaps less then 100 grams, as I don’t really measure when I am melting chocolate. I typically have extra, but that’s ok. You melt the chocolate and spoon it on the backs of the Hobnobs, and then you want that to set before you drizzle on additional chocolate. I put the Hobnobs in the refrigerator to set the base layer of chocolate, and that made the process very efficient. These cookies are great with the chocolate, great in their original form, just great overall!

Chocolate Covered Hobnobs
140 grams butter
140 grams sugar
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon golden syrup
140 grams flour
1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
110 grams rolled oats
100 grams chocolate, chopped
1 tablespoon vegetable shortening

Heat oven to 300 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter and sugar on medium until light. Add the milk and golden syrup and mix again on medium. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour mixture and then the oats. Stir just until the mixture comes together.

Shape the dough into 1-1/2 tablespoon balls and place on the prepared baking sheets.

Bake for 22-25 minutes, until the cookies are light brown. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Once the cookies are cool, place the chocolate and vegetable shortening in a medium bowl. Microwave in 30 second increments, stirring frequently, until the chocolate is smooth. Spoon a small amount of melted chocolate on the backs of the cookies and use a small metal spatula to smooth the chocolate over the back of the cookie. Allow the chocolate layer to cool slightly and then drizzle the remaining chocolate over the chocolate layer of the cookies.

Recipe adapted from The English Kitchen

Terry’s Chocolate Orange Cookies

I was deciding between a couple of different cookies, but wasn’t sure which I should make. Both were more European, these with Terry’s chocolate orange (from the UK) and a recipe that called for candied fruit. I didn’t quite have enough candied fruit, and I had recently picked up a Terry’s chocolate orange bar so I went with these cookies. The bar I bought was on the small size, so I just used that for the topping.

These chocolate cookies don’t require chilling, which I thought was amazing! You can use Terry’s chocolate orange that you chop up or chopped chocolate and orange zest. I used semi-sweet chocolate and the zest of an orange, and that provided an excellent orange flavor. I still topped the cookies with a slice from the Terry’s chocolate orange bar, so the orange/chocolate nature of these cookies is clear.

The final recipe made very few cookies, so I made mine a little smaller. They were still on the larger side of cookies I typically make, and I made a little over two dozen. Using the Terry’s chocolate orange bar was challenging, as I couldn’t get clean orange slices from the bar. I had to trim each piece so it looked proper, and that wasn’t great. None the less, these are some of the best cookies that I have made! They have a beautiful fragrance of chocolate and orange and you just can’t wait to eat them!

Terry’s Chocolate Orange Cookies
110 grams butter, room temperature
200 grams packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
165 grams flour
Pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
30 grams cocoa powder
200 grams Terry’s chocolate orange, chopped or 200 grams chocolate chunks + 1 teaspoon orange zest
Terry’s Chocolate Orange Slices

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

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter and brown sugar on medium until light. Add the egg and vanilla (and orange zest if using) and mix again on medium to combine. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cocoa powder. Mix until the dough is almost cohesive. Add the chopped Terry’s chocolate orange OR the chocolate chunks and stir until all of the ingredients are evenly incorporated.

Shape the dough into 1-1/2” balls and place on the prepared baking sheets. I typically put about 8 cookies per baking sheet.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the cookies are set. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes and then, if desired, top each cookie with a slice of Terry’s chocolate orange. Allow the cookies to cool completely on the baking sheet before removing to a wire rack.

Recipe from What Jessica Baked Next

Cherry Almond Cookies with Chocolate

These cookies are described in the original recipe as Cherry Garcia cookies, and they do have the elements that you find in that ice cream: cherries, almonds, and chocolate. I have made a version of Cherry Garcia cookies, but they were a little different. I also made some changes to the recipe, so it felt a bit strange calling them by the same name as the other cookies.

The original recipe called for chopped maraschino cherries, but I didn’t have as many as I needed. One of the commenters on the original blog asked if you could use dried cherries, and she thought that would work. I ended up using dried cherries, which is just a little different. I didn’t want to add chocolate chips, so I added chocolate by way of the melted chocolate on top of the cookies. I think they turned out just fine and I used up ingredients that I had on hand.

These cookies are not difficult, but chopping dried fruit is never easy. I was trying to find equivalent volume measure for the maraschino cherries, but I gave up and eyeballed about 1 ½ cups. The dough starts fairly wet and runny, but that dissipates when you add other ingredients. Finally, my main issue was that my kitchen was really warm, and the chocolate wasn’t setting, so I did have to refrigerate the cookies to help the chocolate set. These are very tasty cookies, with good chocolate and cherry flavor, with a hint of almond, and with the chocolate drizzle they look very fancy!

Cherry Almond Cookies with Chocolate
1 ½ cups dried cherries, chopped
½ cup butter, room temperature
½ cup vegetable oil
½ cup sugar
½ cup powdered sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon cherry extract
2 ¼ cups flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon cream of tartar
¼ teaspoon salt

About 1 cup chocolate chips
1 tablespoon vegetable shortening

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

Chop the dried cherries into small pieces and set aside. In a large mixer bowl, add the butter, oil, sugar, and powdered sugar. Mix on medium until the ingredients are well mixed. Add the egg, almond and cherry extracts and mix again on medium to incorporate. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt. Mix until the flour has almost disappeared into the dough. Add the chopped dried cherries and stir to distribute them throughout the dough.

Shape the dough into tablespoon-sized balls and flatten the cookies slightly with the palm of your hand.

Bake for about 10 minutes, until the edges are lightly browned. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Once the cookies are cool, place the chocolate chips and vegetable shortening in a medium bowl. Microwave, in 30-second increments, stirring frequently, until the chocolate is melted and smooth.
    
Drizzle some of the melted chocolate over the cookies and then dip them partially in chocolate. Allow the chocolate to set before serving.

Recipe from Crème de la Crumb

Cookie Dough Brownie Cookies

In the spring, I have a fair number of birthdays and celebrations that I help celebrate, and I always want to find just the right thing to make. I will say that this year has been fairly challenging, and even if I think of the right recipe to make it may or may not happen on the expected timeline. That’s ok, as I bake because I want to and because I enjoy it, not for other reasons. Hopefully time works out well, but sometimes it doesn’t.

For one friend, cookie dough recipes are a good choice. I picked a few different recipes that were different than what I had made before and let her choose her favorite. She picked what would have been my first choice and I love when that happens. The basis of this recipe is a brownie mix, and it’s nice to use that type of convenience every once in a while. Due to the unbaked cookie dough, this recipe is every so slightly different, but it is quite minimal.

I will say that this is the first recipe that has you cook the (potential) bacteria out of the flour. This may be cautious, but takes little time. Other than that, you make the dough balls, bake the cookies, then put everything together. I think the brownie-based cookie was a little crumbly, but I think I needed to mix it a little better. When these cookies are said and done, they are a substantial cookie! They are large any way you look at them, but oh so good! They are very chocolatey, but would you want it any other way?

Cookie Dough Brownie Cookies
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

18-ounce box fudge brownie mix
1/4 cup butter, melted
4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 egg
Semi-sweet melting chocolate

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spread the flour on a baking pan and bake for 5 minutes, killing any existing bacteria. Allow the flour to come to room temperature before using in the recipe.

In a large mixer bowl, combine the butter, sugar, and brown sugar. Beat on medium until creamy. Stir in the milk and vanilla, stirring to incorporate. Stir in the cooled flour and mini chocolate chips. Shape the dough into 24 balls and freeze for 30 minutes.

Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

In a separate mixing bowl, combine the brownie mix, melted butter, cream cheese, and egg, making a thick, sticky dough. Shape the dough into 24 cookies, smoothing the edges to make a round cookie.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, until set. Once the cookies come out of the oven, immediately press a frozen dough ball into the center of each cookie. Allow the cookies to cool completely before proceeding.

Melt the chocolate in the microwave or in the top of a double boiler. Top each cookie with about ½ tablespoon of melted chocolate, covering the cookie dough. Allow the cookies to set before serving.

Recipe from Tastes of Lizzy T

Brown Sugar Toffee Bars

I had built up a fair number of recipes to post but I was getting to the point where I needed to start baking some treats! It starts to get hard this time of year when there are many commitments, weekend trips away, and that sort of thing, so I rely on having some recipes ready to go. I have a lot of recipes planned, but then figure I will change this thing or that, which makes deciding what to bake a bit more challenging.

These bars don’t call for much that is different, but does require rice flour. I didn’t have that on hand, and I was surprised at how difficult that was to find at some grocery stores! There are different types of rice flour, and they do vary so that was more complex. Since I needed such a small quantity, I ended up going to the local organic/community market and they had rice flour in their bulk section, which was exactly what I needed. The rice flour gives the shortbread base that classic sandy texture.

When you bake these bars, the shortbread is thin, but I didn’t have any trouble covering the base of the pan. I have had much more difficulty with other recipes! I do think I baked the shortbread base a bit too long, and likely should have taken it out of the oven after 25 minutes. As a result, my bars are quite crunchy. They taste wonderful, but they do have that crunch!

Brown Sugar Toffee Bars
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup packed brown sugar
½ tsp almond extract
1½ cups flour
½ cup rice flour
¼ tsp salt
12 ounces chocolate chips
4 ounces sliced almonds, finely chopped

Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Line a 9” x 13” pan with foil and spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray.

Beat the butter on medium in the bowl of a mixer for 2 minutes. Add the brown sugar and beat on medium until light. Add the almond extract and stir to combine. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour, rice flour, and salt. Press the dough in a thin layer into the prepared pan.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, until firm along the edges. (Keep the oven on.)

Once you have removed the shortbread from the oven, immediately sprinkle the chocolate chips in an even layer over the bars. Return the bars to the oven for 3 minutes.

Remove the bars from the oven and spread the chocolate into a smooth layer. Sprinkle the bars with chopped almonds.

Allow the bars to completely cool before cutting into bars. It helps to refrigerate the bars right before cutting.

Recipe from Sweet Recipeas

Peanut Butter Marshmallow Cookies

From time to time, in an effort to make something resembling a chocolate chip cookie in order to appease my husband, I try to find something that is close to chocolate chip cookies. When I first came across this recipe, I wasn’t sure how close it would be, with the peanut butter in the dough and the mini marshmallows, but in the end, these were a very interesting take on chocolate chip cookies.

There isn’t anything unusual in these cookies, and the combination of peanut butter and marshmallow is becoming more common. I was sure that I had all of the ingredients for these, and I went to bake them and realized that I didn’t have mini marshmallows. I did have freeze-dried marshmallow bits, which are significantly smaller than mini marshmallows, but I figured they would work. I used all the marshmallow bits I had and now I have to find those again. Oh well!

These cookies come together like a traditional peanut butter cookie, but then you shape them before chilling. I have come across this in a handful of recipes and I think it helps cookies keep their shape, but I honestly haven’t done any sort of real testing to be sure. Chilling the dough did keep these cookies together very well, and I didn’t have an issue with them spreading. The combination of chocolate, peanut butter, and marshmallows was really interesting, and I really liked these cookies. It didn’t make a huge number of cookies, so I guess I will have to make them again!

Peanut Butter Marshmallow Cookies    
10 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1 egg
1-1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup mini chocolate chips
1/2 cup mini marshmallows

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter, sugar, brown sugar, and peanut butter on medium until creamy. Add the egg, stirring to combine, and then the vanilla. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour, baking soda, and salt. When the dough is almost together, add the mini chocolate chips and mini marshmallows and stir with a spatula to incorporate.

Shape the dough into 2-tablespoon balls and place on a plate lined with parchment paper. Refrigerate the dough for an hour.

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

Place 6-8 cookie dough balls on the prepared baking sheet, leaving plenty of room between the cookies as they may spread.

Bake for 13-15 minutes, until the cookies start to brown slightly along the edges. Allow to cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes before removing to a rack to cool completely.

Recipe from Parsley and Icing

Hot Chocolate Cookies

After I looked and looked and couldn’t fine marshmallow bits, once I did find them I had enough to use in a couple of recipes. There aren’t a lot of recipes out these, but honestly, these sounded good. They are nearly the same recipe that is on the package, but I read a little more about that and I found something interesting. The cookies on the blog came first, then the manufacturer asked to use her recipe. I hadn’t heard of that but it was a very positive sign for me.

Looking at this recipe, I figured that I would likely cut it down or make half a recipe. When I look at a recipe I look at the quantity of flour and similar ingredients to guess at how many cookies the recipe will make. This recipe calls for over three cups of flour, which is a lot. I made a half recipe (which is what is written below) and it still made about 30 cookies. The original recipe called for 3 tablespoons per cookie, which is a lot. I made mine smaller, and they are still plenty substantial.

I have hot chocolate mix on hand, so that wasn’t hard. We buy the container of it and measure it out, which is cheaper in the long run. We do but the name brand as we find that the store brand just doesn’t blend as well. If you have a favorite that you use, it will be perfect for this recipe. The dough isn’t too sticky, but the marshmallow bits are stubborn to work with. I flattened my cookies, but they become fairly flat as they cool, so perhaps that isn’t necessary. They have a wonderful chocolate taste, but with a little something special!

Hot Chocolate Cookies
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 2/3 cups flour
6 tablespoons or 2 packages Hot Chocolate Mix
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup Marshmallow Bits

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

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter for 1 minute. Add the sugar and brown sugar and beat on medium to combine. Add the eggs and vanilla and stir to combine.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, hot chocolate mix, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour mixture. Stir in the chocolate chips and Marshmallow Bits.

Scoop the dough into the prepared baking sheets, using about 1-1/2 tablespoons dough per cookie.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, until set. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from Love From The Oven

Strawberry Chocolate Thumbprints

I know that it is a little late for Valentine’s Day, but these were the cookies that I wanted to bake. I actually didn’t make them in time for the actual day, but that’s ok. For Valentine’s Day I made sugar cookies and decorated them with colored royal icing. That was a fun activity for my husband and I to do on Valentine’s Day, nice and quiet, and then we got to eat the cookies!

These strawberry and chocolate thumbprints have a beautiful strawberry filling. I had used freeze-dried strawberries for another recipe, so I had those available. You make a ganache with white chocolate, which I had not done before, and it turned out well. The original recipe had you make the cookies first, then make the ganache while the cookies bake. My ganache was easy to make but took several hours to thicken, so I would suggest making that first.

The cookies are quick and simple to make. The biggest challenge is that they crack a bit when you make the thumbprint, but you can simply press the cookie back together. If you flatten the cookies slightly first, the thumbprint is easier to make. After the cookies bake, make the thumbprint indentation again, widening it a bit, so you have more room for filling! These cookies taste great and look just perfect for the holiday.

Strawberry Chocolate Thumbprints
1/2 cup white chocolate
1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream, separated
1/3 cup freeze-dried strawberries, ground into 1 tablespoon
Red food coloring

3/4 cup butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
Additional sugar
Additional crushed freeze-dried strawberries

Make the strawberry ganache: in a small bowl combine 1 tablespoon of powdered freeze-dried strawberries and 1 tablespoon heavy cream to make a paste. Add the paste and the ½ cup heavy cream to a saucepan. Heat over medium heat and whisk until the mixture is hot and it starts to bubble around the edges. Place the white chocolate chips in a medium bowl and microwave for 30 seconds. Remove the bowl from the microwave and pour the hot cream mixture onto the white chips. Allow to stand for a few minutes and then stir with a small spatula until the mixture is smooth. If desired, add a few drops of red food coloring to enhance the color. Allow the ganache to cool and thicken slightly; this may take 1-2 hours.

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

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter and sugar on medium until light. Add the egg yolks and salt and mix on medium. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour and cocoa powder, mixing until the dough comes together.

Shape the dough into 1-inch balls. Roll the balls in sugar and place on the prepared baking sheets. Use your thumb or other implement to make an indentation in the top of each cookie, then enlarge the indent. Seal any cracks that have formed in the dough as the indentation is made.

Bake for 9-11 minutes, reform the indentation as needed when the cookies come out of the oven. Cool completely.

To assemble the cookies: place the ganache in a piping bag and fill the indentation in each cookie with the strawberry ganache. Sprinkle with additional crushed freeze-dried strawberries, if desired. Allow the ganache to set before serving.

Recipe from The Cozy Plum