Aggression Cookies

I came across these cookies, and I had a good laugh. Aggression cookies? How interesting. With a little research, I discovered that the idea of aggression cookies came from humorist Erma Bombeck, and this and similar recipes have been circulating for quite some time. The idea is that you simply add all the ingredients in a bowl, and then mash them together with your hands, thus getting out all of your aggression. 

This cookie is an oat cookie flavored with cinnamon and nutmeg. I have seen variations with added chocolate chips or dried fruit, but the base recipe is the same. I looked through the possible add-ins that I had in my kitchen, and I decided I would use crystallized ginger. Adding raisins or dried fruit can be troubling to some, and chocolate chips didn’t catch my fancy. Oats and ginger are a great combination anyway!

Unlike the advertised recipe, I didn’t use my hands to mix the dough as I made it in my mixer. I did find, however, that as I was shaping the cookies, I needed to knead the dough with my hands to keep it together, so the aggression idea works! These baked up well, spread just a little, which meant I shaped them as they came out of the oven. I baked the batches for slightly different times, and with these cookies it didn’t seem to make much of a difference. I loved the ease of these cookies and will have them in mind when I have a particularly bad day.

Aggression Cookies
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla 
2 cups rolled oats
½ cup diced crystallized ginger

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

Place all of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Using a mixer or clean hands, mix/knead the dough until the dough comes together and no loose oats or flour remains.

Shape the dough into 1-1/2” balls and place on the prepared baking sheets. Flatten the cookies slightly. Allow room between the cookies for the cookies to spread. 

Bake for about 10 minutes, until they are golden along the edges. The cookies will likely be misshapen; place a round cookie cutter around each cookie and swirl the cookie cutter around to shape the cookie. Allow the cookies to set on the baking sheet for at least 10 minutes to allow them to set fully.

Recipe from Southern Recipes

Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars

I have had a streak lately of a few recipes that simply didn’t turn out the way that I had hoped. I was chatting with friends about this and one of them mentioned that it was encouraging that even someone with lots of experience even has days when things don’t work. That is absolutely true! I try my best to read through the recipe in advance and sometimes I pick up on potential issues, but it’s not a perfect process.

When the cookies I was making didn’t turn out, I had already planned these as a backup. (Yes, I did have some concerns about the first recipe.) They use mainly prepared ingredients, which isn’t my first choice, but comes in handy occasionally. This uses refrigerated crescent rolls, which are widely available in the states but not really anywhere else in the world. Perhaps pastry crust would work, but I haven’t tried that. 

I was able to get the crescent rolls to cover the pan with little problem, and while I could have sealed the seams better, it wasn’t an issue. I added the filling and then spread the remaining crescent rolls on a piece of parchment, otherwise getting the top on would be challenging. Topping with cinnamon sugar covers all potential issues! These were quick to make. My only issue was I only let the bars cool about an hour before cutting, which wasn’t nearly long enough. Make these, but make sure that you have plenty of time to cool the bars before serving. 

Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars
Two packages refrigerated crescent rolls
16 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla 
½ cup butter, melted
3/4 cup cinnamon sugar

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9” x 13” pan and set aside.

Roll the dough from one can of crescent rolls in a single layer in the bottom of the pan. Pinch together any seams to seal them shut. 

In a large mixer bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla on medium until combined. Spread the mixture over the bottom layer of dough.

Unroll the second roll of crescent dough onto a sheet of parchment paper and shape into a rectangle, pinching the seams to seal. Carefully transfer the top sheet of dough to the pan, covering the filling completely.

Pour/brush the melted butter over the top of the bars and then sprinkle evenly with cinnamon sugar. 

Bake for about 30 minutes, until golden. The filling will be somewhat jiggly, but that is expected. Allow to cool for several hours in the refrigerator before cutting into bars.

Recipe from The Domestic Rebel

Biscoff Caramel Cinnamon Bars

I had been looking for recipes to use the cinnamon pear caramel that I had on hand. I found a recipe and then looked in my cupboard, and I thought that I had grabbed the cinnamon pear caramel, but I had not. Who knew that I had both cinnamon pear caramel and cinnamon pear preserves? While I found this to be shocking, it also meant that I needed to find a recipe for the caramel. 

I found this recipe and since the caramel contained cinnamon, I had planned on making my own version of cookie butter, using cinnamon graham crackers. Biscoff is already cinnamon based, so I ended up using the store-bought product. This saved a little time, which was good since the layers of these bars take a bit of effort.

You par-bake the bottom crust and then add the caramel and finish baking. My caramel needed to be heated a bit in order to make it spreadable, but 25 seconds in the microwave was all it needed. I refrigerated the bars before cutting, and I do think they taste better once they were at room temperature. I thought that the layers would be more distinct, but they weren’t obvious. I really love these cookies- they have a terrific cinnamon flavor from the caramel and Biscoff spread. They are gooey from the caramel, and the oats give them good substance. They are a great combination!

Biscoff Caramel Cinnamon Bars
2 cups flour
2 cups old fashioned oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup Biscoff cookie butter
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 1/3 cups packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 cup caramel sauce

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

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt; set aside. In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter, cookie butter, sugar, and brown sugar on medium until creamy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula, then add the eggs and vanilla and stir to combine. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour/oat mixture, stirring until the dough just comes together. 

Press half of the dough evenly in the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake for 12 minutes. 
Remove the pan from the oven. Carefully pour the caramel over the partially-baked base.
 
Flatten pieces of the remaining dough and place on top of the caramel. Continue with additional pieces of dough until the dough covers the caramel. You can spread the dough slightly with damp hands, but the top layer won’t be perfect. Make sure that the dough is even and press the dough down gently.

Bake for an additional 25-30 minutes, until the bars are golden. Allow the bars to cool completely and the caramel sets before cutting into bars. 

Recipe from Two Peas & Their Pod

Cinnamon Pear Crumb Bars

I had a little bit more time to bake this week, so I was determined to make a recipe with one of the specialty caramel or jams that we had recently purchased. My plan was to use the Pear Cinnamon Caramel that we had picked up when we vacationed at the end of summer in Leavenworth, WA. It’s a cute down decorated as a Bavarian Village, with little shops and lots of outdoor activities. (There was too much smoke in the air at the time from forest fires, so we didn’t do much outdoors.)

This recipe was originally an apple/salted caramel recipe and I thought I could adapt that without too much trouble. I used pears instead of apples, and used cinnamon as the primary spice. You can use fresh or canned pears, depending on what is available near you. The pear mixture was easy to put together, and after sitting for a few minutes, a second stir helped incorporate all of the flour/sugar mixture. 

I went to get the cinnamon pear caramel and I found cinnamon pear jam, and I initially thought that was what I needed, but it wasn’t. I am not sure where the caramel was, but I am certain I will find it. The cinnamon pear jam worked great with this recipe, so I’m not too sad! These bars are quite substantial, but they cut easily and while they are a little soft, they are so good. I’m sure these would be great with caramel as well, but now I need to find a recipe to use with the pear cinnamon caramel (when I find it).

Cinnamon Pear Crumb Bars
5 cups diced pears
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
3/4 cup cinnamon pear jam

3 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup cold butter, cut into pieces
1-2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon vanilla 

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a 9” x 13” pan with foil and spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray.

Make the filling: in a medium bowl, combine the diced pears and lemon juice. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch, sugar, salt, and cinnamon. Add to the bowl with the pears and stir gently; set aside.

Make the crust: in the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Pulse to combine. Add the pieces of butter and pulse the food processor 10 times to cut in the butter. Whisk 1 egg and the vanilla together and then add to the food processor. Pulse until the dough comes together. While the dough will be crumbly, if the dough is too dry, whisk an additional egg and add the to the food processor, mixing it into the dough.

Pat half of the dough into the base of the prepared pan. Stir the pear mixture over the base and then top with pear cinnamon jam. Crumble the remaining dough over the bars and press down lightly. 

Bake for 45-50 minutes, until the top is golden. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

Recipe from Two Peas and Their Pod

Cinnamon Chai Blondies

They are doing a lot of road construction around our area, and I have gotten to the point that I almost don’t want to go anywhere. First, they closed the road to the left of our place. That’s back open but now they have closed the road to the right. That is more inconvenient in some ways, as now I have to take a different route to work. And there are many more stoplights to contend with. I’m just hopeful that all of these closures will make the area better in the end.

I’m in the house and when I am home, I want to bake. For this recipe, I wanted something homey, but I also knew that I wouldn’t be taking them elsewhere. I looked for a small batch recipe, and this recipe was perfect. The blondies are a simple brown sugar blondie, then you top it with a mix of chai-inspired spices. The original recipe called for ¼ teaspoon of cardamom, which isn’t my favorite, so I simply added some additional ginger.

These baked up well but sank a little as they cooled. Sometimes that means that they needed to bake more, but I would be hesitant to do that with these blondies, which seemed perfectly baked. You want these to have a soft texture, so baking more would likely dry them out. Some bakers noted that they were unable to find cinnamon chips, which can be a challenge. I tend to order them online, where they are consistently available, as I love cinnamon chips and I’m happy to use them whenever I can!

Cinnamon Chai Blondies
½ cup butter, room temperature
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla
1¼ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup cinnamon chips

2 tablespoons sugar
1½ teaspoons cinnamon
½ teaspoon ginger
⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
⅛ teaspoon cloves

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8” square baking pan with foil and spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large mixer bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar on medium, until the mixture is light. Add the egg and vanilla and mix again on medium to combine. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour mixture, mixing until the dough just comes together. Fold in the cinnamon chips with a spatula. 

Spread the dough in the prepared pan. Make the chai topping: in a small bowl, whisk together the sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Sprinkle the chai topping over the unbaked blondies.

Bake for 20 minutes, until the bars begin to brown along the edges. Allow the blondies to cool before removing them from the pan and cutting into bars.

Recipe from The Salted Sweets

Cinnamon Apple Bars

It’s fall and I am so excited to have many recipes to make and a cooler house to bake in! Work is starting back, and despite all the stress of work, a sweet treat is always appreciated. This week, I had a big meeting with colleagues, some who aren’t aware of all of the baking I do. I brought these cookies, and they were a big hit! 

I love baking with apples, and my husband had purchased some cinnamon dried apples to use in recipes. I had used these before, and used up all of them very quickly, so I was happy to have more. They can be used (in most recipes) in the place of fresh apples. Sometimes I have fresh apples, sometimes I don’t This recipe also gave options to use for the additional chips: cinnamon, caramel, toffee, etc. I used cinnamon chips since the apples I used also contained cinnamon.

I did bake these on what turned out to be a warm day, but they were quick to assemble and baked up in under 25 minutes. The dough is sticky, and it isn’t the easiest thing to spread in the pan but do your best. These were a dream to cut, and the flavors are fantastic! The dried cinnamon apples give the bars some chewiness, and the combination of brown sugar and cinnamon is fantastic. These are so easy, and it would be fun to try different fruit and chip varieties.

Cinnamon Apple Bars
1 cup butter, room temperature
2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla 
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup diced cinnamon apples
1/2 cup cinnamon chips

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

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter and brown sugar until light. Add the beaten eggs and vanilla and mix to combine. With the mixer running on low, add the flour, salt, baking powder, and cinnamon. Using a spatula, fold in the cinnamon apples and cinnamon chips.

Spread the dough as evenly as possible in the prepared pan.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the top of the bars look set. Allow to cool before removing from the pan and cutting into bars.

Recipe from Closet Cooking

Graham Cookies with Cinnamon Glaze

A little while ago, I made chocolate chip cookies with graham cracker crumbs. That turned out to be a wonderful addition, and it made me think of what other recipes I could try with graham cracker crumbs. I typically have the crumbs in the cupboard, so I am ready to go whenever I find the right recipe. I have found a couple of recipes, some that I pinned and then disappeared, and this one, which is a lovely graham cookie.

I made these up, very simple and came out perfectly round. I did think that they looked a little plain, so I tried to figure out what I could do. In that situation, my most common response is to add a glaze. Since these cookies were already flavored with brown sugar and cinnamon, I decided to make a cinnamon glaze. That ended up being a good choice.

The glaze makes a tasty, but somewhat plain, cookie and makes it more delicious. Without the glaze, the cookies don’t have a distinct flavor- the brown sugar and cinnamon are subtle. The glaze helps bring out the cinnamon flavor, and it was simple to put together. Perhaps the glaze could have been thicker, but it worked fine just as it is. 

Graham Cookies with Cinnamon Glaze
135 grams flour
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
113 grams butter, room temperature
150 grams brown sugar
1 egg 
1 teaspoon vanilla 

1-1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
3-4 tablespoons milk

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

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, graham cracker crumbs, cornstarch, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter and brown sugar on medium until light, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and mix again to combine. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour mixture. Allow the dough to rest for 10 minutes before proceeding. 

Scoop the dough into the baking sheet and roll them into 1-1/4” balls.

Bake for 8-10 minutes, until set. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before removing toa wire rack to cool completely.

Once the cookies are cool, make the glaze: in a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, cinnamon, and about 2 tablespoons milk. Continue whisking, adding additional milk as needed, until the glaze is of the desired consistency. Dip the cookies halfway in the glaze and place on a wire rack to allow the glaze to set.

Recipe from Fresh April Flours

Peach Cobbler Cookies

I came across these cookies and thought that they were so different. It can be very difficult to bake with fresh fruit, as they can make things soggy. I have noticed that so many recipes now call for freeze-dried fruits, which removes the liquid but keeps the fruit’s flavor. That is a good option, and freeze-dried fruit is easier to find at the store than it used to be. But sometimes you just want to use real peaches.

Peaches in the western part of Washington state vary a lot. I worried that the ones I bought were a little hard, but they were perfect and juicy when I chopped them up. I got sticky peach juice everywhere, but I knew the flavor would be good. There is also the option of adding peach flavoring, but I left that out. If you happen to use it, add it in with the vanilla.

The other change I made was the size of the cookies- the original recipe made 8 giant cookies and baked them at a higher temperature. I knew I would make smaller cookies, and I reduced the oven temperature to 375 degrees. That worked, but you do have to watch the baking time since ovens vary a lot. These have a great peach and cinnamon flavor. They were certainly something different and perfect for when the weather has started to improve.

Peach Cobbler Cookies
1 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cornstarch
3 1/2 cups flour
1 cup oats
1 cup cinnamon chips
1 cup finely chopped peaches (1-2 peaches) 

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

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter on medium until light. Add the sugar and brown sugar and mix for three minutes until well combined. Add the vanilla and eggs and mix on medium until evenly distributed. If the dough looks slightly curdled, it will come together after adding the other ingredients. 

In a separate bowl, whisk together the cinnamon, cornstarch, baking soda, salt, and flour. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour mixture to the dough. When the flour almost disappears, add the oats and cinnamon chips, stirring on low to incorporate. Remove the bowl from the mixer and fold in the chopped peaches with a spatula. 

Shape the dough into 1-1/2” balls and place on the prepared baking sheet. Flatten the cookies with the palm of your hand.

Bake for 10-14 minutes, until browned on the bottom. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before removing them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from Baking with Blondie

Cinnamon Toast Bars

Cinnamon toast: the food of choice for when you aren’t feeling great! I have some fond memories of cinnamon toast, although I couldn’t really tell you how often I had it when I was growing up. I do recall that if your tummy wasn’t feeling great, it was the standard. I don’t think I have had cinnamon toast in ages, but it remains a good memory.

This bar cookie version was just too good to pass up! When I find a recipe, I always check my blog to make sure I haven’t made it previously (which is important since my blog has over 1400 posts). This was such a favorite from growing up that I was sure I had made something similar, but I had not!

Initially the recipe called for large quantities of the ingredients, but that was double this recipe, for a 13” x 18” pan. I halved everything and made it in my 9” x 13” and it was perfect- even the baking times. These have a cake-like base and then the lovely cinnamon sugar topping. The cooled quickly and cut beautifully! They look great with the cinnamon sugar topping, but it’s the flavor that makes these a winner. They are so good!

Cinnamon Toast Bars
2 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
2 cups flour
1 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoons salt
1 cups milk
2 teaspoons vanilla

10 tablespoons butter, melted
2/3 cups sugar
2-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

Heat the oven to 250 degrees. Line a 9” x 13” with foil and spray the foil with nonstick spray.

Melt the butter; set aside to allow it to cool while you make the bars. In a large mixer bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt; stir to mix evenly. With the mixer running on low, stir in the melted butter, milk, and vanilla. Spread the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake for 23 minutes.

During the last five minutes of the baking time, prepare the topping. Melt the butter in a large measuring cup. Once the butter is melted, whisk in the sugar and cinnamon, until the mixture is smooth. If the mixture sits for any length of time, give it another whisk, as you want the mixture to be smooth when you add it to the bars.

When the bars come out of the oven, immediately pour the butter/cinnamon sugar mixture over the bars, slowly starting at the edges and then gradually working towards the center of the pan. If you need to even out the topping at all, you can do so using the back of a spoon.

Bake for an additional 8 minutes. The topping will be bubbling when you take the bars out of the oven. Cool before cutting into bars.

Recipe from Barefeet in the Kitchen

NY Crumb Cake Cookies

My weird week has continued, and the cookies I had planned to bake made a larger batch. I had planned to take them to work, but that wasn’t happening. I searched for a recipe that was fairly small and I came across this recipe. I chose it for a couple of reasons; I love crumb cake, and in a cookie form? That sounds great! Also, Jessie Moore (CakeSpy) used to have a shop in Seattle that I visited. I have a number of things she created, including an illustration of a library staffed with cupcake librarians. Yes, I am a librarian!

The original recipe made two dozen, but I made a half batch and got exactly 12 cookies, which was fine. I made the dough and then refrigerated the cookies for about 15 minutes. I usually have little issue making streusel by hand, but it’s warm in the kitchen and I ended up using my pastry cutter. Did you know that a pastry cutter with wire is old fashioned and made for cutting lard, but modern ones with flat metal strips are best for butter. Who knew?

You will have more streusel than you need, but I think things like streusel and frosting are always best to have more than you need. Some of the streusel did get on the baking sheet, but that was ok. I had a few bits stick to the baked cookies, but I just brushed them off. These are so tasty, my husband, who did live in New Jersey, approved. He also made the little plate in the picture at the pottery class we recently attended. Isn’t it lovely?

NY Crumb Cake Cookies
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ cup butter, room temperature
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
¼ cup butter, cut into pieces
Powdered sugar

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

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon; set aside. In a large mixer bowl, add the butter and beat about a minute until creamy. Add the brown sugar and mix again until fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and mix to combine. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour mixture, mixing until the dough forms.

Shape the dough into 24 balls, and place on the prepared baking sheets. Flatten the dough balls slightly with the palm of your hand. Place the cookies into the refrigerator while you prepare the crumb topping.

In a medium bowl, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, flour, and salt; stir to combine. Add the pieces of butter and using your hands or a pastry blender, mix the topping until it resembles streusel.

Sprinkle some of the streusel topping on each cookie, pressing the topping firmly onto the cookies. Some streusel will fall onto the baking sheet; that’s ok.

Bake for 8-11 minutes, until the cookies are lightly browned and set. Allow to cool on the baking sheet before sprinkling with powdered sugar.

Recipe from Jessie Unicorn Moore

Cinnamon Toffee Cookies

It’s been a weird week, but I realized that I didn’t have any cookies ready to post this week! One of the great relaxations in my life is baking, and even when the week is weird, I have a great drive to bake! I knew that I wouldn’t want to make a very big batch, since I didn’t have a place to take them. I also needed to find a recipe that did not require a trip to the store, since that wasn’t in the cards.

This recipe fits the bill, well, for the most part. The original recipe called for toffee bits with chocolate. I’m not really sure why, as there is no other chocolate in this recipe. I use chocolate and non-chocolate toffee chips interchangeably.  I had non-chocolate toffee bits, so I used those. Also, I thought that a cinnamon toffee cookie that didn’t contain cinnamon chips was just wrong. I decided to add those.

This dough is easy to make, and I am glad that I changed the recipe slightly to add the cinnamon chips. I started baking these at the requested 8 minutes, but they were nowhere near fully baked, so I added more time. I found that 11 minutes worked for me, but every oven is different. When I topped the hot cookies with toffee bits, they went everywhere! Pressing the toffee bits into the top of the cookies made an indentation and that helped so much. These have a great buttery cinnamon sugar flavor, and the extra toffee bits on top add an extra crunch.

Cinnamon Toffee Cookies
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
½ cup cinnamon chips
¾ cup toffee bits
Toffee bits plus more for topping

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

In a large mixer bowl, combine the butter, sugar, brown sugar, egg, and vanilla. Beat on medium until creamy. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. When the dough is almost completely together, stir in the cinnamon chips and toffee bits.

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

Bake for 9-12 minutes, until the cookies are lightly browned. As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, press additional toffee bits into the tops of cookies. Allow the cookies to cool for at least 10 minutes before removing them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from I Dig Pinterest

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

Chocolate Cherry Cinnamon Pistachio Cookies

Another recipe that I found where I could use the cinnamon pistachios was this chocolate chip cookie recipe with dried cherries and pistachios. This comes from a blog that focuses on bread and sourdough items. I edited this recipe a little, based on the ingredients that I had and the attempt to make a fairly standard cookie.

This recipe initially called for sourdough starter discard, which was not something that I had on hand. I have never had good luck with sourdough starter! Later I found out that this is something that my friend at work has, since her husband bakes sourdough bread. Of well, it was not a large quantity, so I omitted it from the recipe. I am not sure what the sourdough discard would add to the cookies, maybe a little more flavor? It wasn’t something that you traditionally see in a recipe.

This cookie started as a chocolate chip cookie, and the original recipe had you sprinkle the cookies with chopped pecans and then top them with dried cherries. I decided to add the pistachios and dried cherries to the cookie dough, which makes for a very chunky cookie, but they were great. A couple of cookies really spread around the edges, but that was just a few. The rest baked up without issue, and just looked wonderful. The cookies are chock full of add-ins, but that just makes these cookies interesting.

Chocolate Cherry Cinnamon Pistachio Cookies
1 cup butter, melted
200 grams sugar
70 grams brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
275 grams flour
300 grams chocolate chips
50 grams cinnamon pistachios, chopped
1 cup dried cherries

In a large mixer bowl, mix together the melted butter, sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. Once the mixture is cohesive, add the eggs and vanilla, beating on medium-low to combine. Stir in the flour and the chocolate chips. Once the dough is almost uniform, add the pistachios and dried cherries and stir in low until the dough comes together.

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

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

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and shape the dough into 1-1/4” rounds. Place the rounds on the prepared baking sheet, leaving space between the cookies.

Bake for 11-13 minutes, until the cookies are browned around the edges and set. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from Art, Bread, Love

Cinnamon Pistachio Biscotti

My husband and I often pick up special ingredients at the store when we see them. Then we have to figure out what to make with those ingredients. Sometimes it isn’t too difficult, but for this particular ingredient, we had to think a little more. We had bought cinnamon pistachios, which naturally goes into any number of recipes, but we wanted to make a couple different things with the pistachios.

We both looked online and found a few recipes, including this recipe for biscotti. I will say that biscotti can be awfully dry, so I don’t usually bake mine quite as long as the recipe states. For this recipe, I used cinnamon pistachios in place of the cinnamon and plain pistachios. I still added some ginger, because I love ginger, but it’s up to you. I left out the cloves; that seemed like too much. Don’t skip the cinnamon chips. They really do add a lot!

Since I want to make multiple recipes with the cinnamon pistachios, I ended up making half of the recipe of biscotti, instead of the full recipe that I have here. Biscotti is quite forgiving, and you can mix it up somewhat depending on what you like or don’t like. I really liked the flavor of this biscotti, which is different for me! The cinnamon pistachios are excellent, and I am glad that I have more to use in another recipe!

Cinnamon Pistachio Biscotti
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons ginger
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup chopped pistachios
1/3 cup cinnamon chips

4 ounces white chocolate
2 tablespoons vegetable shortening

Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat.

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter and sugar on medium until light. Add the eggs, one at a time, then mix in the vanilla. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, and salt. Once the dough is almost together, stir in the pistachios and cinnamon chips.

Divide the dough into two halves, shaping each half into a log about 12 inches long and about 3 inches wide. Place on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, until firm and lightly browned. Allow to cool 15 minutes.

Slice each dough log cross-wise into ¾” thick slices. Place the slices flat on the baking sheet.

Bake for an additional 10-15 minutes. Remove from the oven; the cookies will firm up as they cool

Melt about 4 ounces of white chocolate with 2 tablespoons of vegetable shortening in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds until smooth. Drizzle the melted chocolate over the cooled biscotti. Allow the white chocolate to set before serving the biscotti.

Recipe from Italian Food Forever

Sticky Toffee Pudding Cookies

I really need to get back in the swing of baking, but now that my schedule is getting back to normal, I am very hopeful that will happen. My husband sent me this recipe for Sticky Toffee Pudding Cookies, as he knows that we both love sticky toffee pudding. He asked if I had dates, a critical ingredient, and I did. I typically buy chopped dates, since dates are so sticky, but I had whole dates. For this recipe, that was fine as it all goes into the food processor.

This is a different method of making cookies than I am used to. You mix the flour in the mixer bowl and then handle the wet ingredients in the food processor, then mix the two together to make a dough. It worked fine, although I think if you quizzed someone about whether these contain dates, they may not know as they aren’t obvious.

I used fairly small caramels that I had bought at a local fair, which were about 2 centimeters square. I cut them in half and that was great for these cookies. If you have larger caramels, then adjust accordingly. You are supposed to roll the dough balls in sugar, but I forgot and they seemed to turn out fine. These taste so much like sticky toffee pudding, with the wonderful dates and the spices, and the caramel adds that sticky element that makes it that much more special.

Sticky Toffee Pudding Cookies
235 grams flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon ginger
½ teaspoon cinnamon
⅛ teaspoon grated nutmeg
85 grams dates, roughly chopped
67 grams sugar
3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
¼ cup molasses
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla
170 grams butter, melted and cooled slightly
Soft caramels, cut in pieces

In a large mixer bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg; set aside. In a food processor, combine the dates, sugar, brown sugar, molasses, egg, and vanilla. Pulse until smooth (or nearly smooth). Add the butter and pulse again, until the ingredients come together.

Add the date mixture to the flour mixture in the mixer bowl. With the mixer running on medium-low, stir until the dough comes together, scraping down the bowl with a spatula as needed. Once the dough forms, refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

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

Shape the dough into 24 balls, each about 1-1/2” inches. Place a piece of caramel into the top of each cookie, flattening the dough slightly.

Bake for 8-9 minutes, until the cookie looks set. The caramel will be molten at this point, so be careful. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from Hailee Catalano

Maple Cinnamon Mummy Cookies

I have been saving these cookies to make for Halloween and the time finally arrived! While these cookies could be made without candy eyes and simply look like a maple cinnamon cookie with a drizzled glaze, why would you not go that extra step to celebrate the holiday? I will be honest that I bought candy eyes some time ago and then realized that package was quite small, prompting me to make am 8 pm dash to the local store to find more. I do plan, it just isn’t always quite enough.

These cookies come together quickly, a spiced cookie with maple syrup. I used some bourbon-barrel aged maple syrup as we had some and my husband thought that would taste great. You can use whatever maple syrup you have, but do make sure it isn’t pancake syrup. That is a completely different ingredient. You can also use heavy cream, milk, or half and half for the glaze. The type of milk you use will impact the fluidity of the glaze, but you can adapt to that.

This recipe made a fairly big batch of cookies, so I experimented a little. I flattened some cookies and not others, and the ones that I didn’t flatten looked better in the end. The recipe I give here for the glaze is double the original, and I could have used more glaze. I made about 1-1/2 recipes of the glaze and still ran out. I’d rather have too much glaze than too little. These cookies are quite sweet, but that’s to be expected with the maple and the glaze and the candy eyes!

Maple Cinnamon Mummy Cookies
1 cup butter, melted and cooled
1½ cups packed brown sugar
⅓ cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon maple extract
1 egg
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5-6 tablespoons heavy cream
Candy eyes

In a large mixer bowl, combine the melted butter, brown sugar, maple syrup, vanilla ad maple extract. Mix on medium until the mixture comes together. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour mixture. Mix just until the dough comes together evenly. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for one hour.

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

Shape the dough into balls, about 1-1/4” in diameter. Place them on the prepared baking sheet.

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

Once the cookies are cooled, make the glaze: in a medium bowl, combine the powdered sugar, vanilla and 4 tablespoons heavy cream. Using a small whisk, beat the mixture until a glaze forms, adding additional heavy cream as needed to reach drizzling consistency. Drizzle over the cookies and add candy eyes if desired. Allow the glaze to set before serving.

Recipe from Cooking with Carlee

Chai Sugar Cookies

I have made some cookies in the past that were similar to these, but you can never go wrong with the spices in these cookies! These cookies call for five different spices, and you have the option of using the spices that you prefer. The original recipe called for cardamom, and that isn’t my favorite, so I took that out and added some nutmeg. I know that cloves can be strong, so I decreased the amount slightly. In the end, they are spice cookies of your own creation, and that is great!

This recipe uses a combination of volume and weight measurements. When I bake, I do like using weights, as that’s always going to be precise. For a teaspoon, the weight might be too small, so it makes sense to use a combination. The one cup of sugar weighs 200 grams, but I find sugar very easy to measure. When you are baking, and I hope you are doing it because you enjoy it, and you can do what works for you.

This dough comes together easily, but make sure you make the flour mixture first. With so many spices, it’s best to make that combination first so you don’t have to think about it later. I flattened the cookies slightly, but I don’t know how much that changed the shape of the cookies. For the glaze, I changed the coffee glaze to a cinnamon glaze, which I preferred. I tried to be artistic with the glaze, and I think the look good. I love the flavor of these cookies, perhaps they are a fall cookie, but I could make these any time of the year.

Chai Sugar Cookies
270 grams flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon cloves
142 grams butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons honey
1 egg + 1 yolk

1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2-3 tablespoons milk

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

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cornstarch, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves; set aside. In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light. Add the honey, egg, and egg yolk and stir on medium to combine. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour mixture. The dough may be slightly crumbly and doing the final mixing with a spatula helps bring the dough together.

Shape the dough into 1 tablespoon balls and place on the prepared baking sheets. Flatten the cookies slightly with your hand or a flat spatula.

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

Once the cookies are cool, make the glaze: in a small bowl combine the powdered sugar and cinnamon. Whisk in 2 tablespoons milk, adding additional milk until the glaze reaches a thick drizzling consistency. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cookies and allow the glaze to set before serving the cookies.

Recipe from Handle the Heat

Cinnamon Sugar Blondies

I was planning what cookies to bake, something that would make a decent-sized batch that I could take and share with others. I had my recipe all planned and there was only one ingredient that I needed to get. I thought that was great but then did that final check on my blog and I had made those cookies previously. Once I made a recipe I typically move that recipe to a different Pinterest board, but I guess I hadn’t done that. I’ve been blogging for a long time so I suppose that is bound to happen.

I adjusted and decided to make these cinnamon sugar blondies instead. While I have made similar recipes, this one was new to me. Anything with cinnamon sugar or anything snickerdoodle-like is well received, so I figured these would be a good choice. I had everything on hand, so great! I usually have cinnamon sugar on hand, if you want to make your own I use 3-parts sugar to 1-part cinnamon. You can adjust your ratio depending on your taste.

These bars are simple, just using brown sugar, and then the cinnamon sugar goes on top of the dough before baking. Depending on how dark your cinnamon sugar is, it may be difficult to tell when the bars are done. Mine didn’t quite seem done after 25 minutes, but perhaps the few extra minutes was too much. The glaze is nice, and it does spread but I liked that. It didn’t fully cover the bars, but it was close! These bars are simple bit very tasty. I am used to the flavor of a snickerdoodle, which is slightly different, but they are very yummy.

Cinnamon Sugar Blondies  
1 cup butter, room temperature
2 cups packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 ½ cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons cinnamon sugar

1 cup powdered sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
2-4 tablespoon milk

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

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter and brown sugar on medium until creamy. Add the eggs and vanilla and stir to combine. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour, baking powder, and salt. Press the dough evenly into the prepared pan. Top the dough with cinnamon sugar.

Bake for 25-28 minutes, until the bars begin to pull away from the sides of the pan. Allow the bars to cool for 30 minutes before adding the glaze.

Make the glaze: in a small bowl whisk the powdered sugar and cinnamon. Add 2 tablespoons of milk and whisk until the glaze comes together. If needed, add additional milk to make the glaze more spreadable. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled bars in a crisscross pattern. Allow the glaze to set before cutting into bars.

Recipe from This Delicious House

Snickerdoodle Cheesecake Bars

If you follow this blog at all, you will likely know that snickerdoodles are my favorite thing to make. It was the first cookie I recall baking, and that is something that is good to start with. Some folks are very protective about their favorite recipe, but I grew up with the recipe from the Betty Crocker cookbook. They aren’t fancy but they taste exactly the way they should taste.

Over the years, there have been many variations of snickerdoodle recipes. Sometimes, I feel like anything that contains cinnamon sugar is name “snickerdoodle” and that doesn’t feel right. Usually, I expect snickerdoodles to contain cream of tartar. Again, that is what I am used to baking. These bars don’t contain cream of tartar, but they smelled like a classic snickerdoodle while baking.

I have made snickerdoodles with white chocolate filling, but never a cheesecake filling. I was a little surprised that I hadn’t made something similar to this, as the flavors naturally go together so well. You have to pay attention to the recipe, as you make parts then wait until you assemble the bars. I didn’t make a very solid layer of snickerdoodle dough on my bars, maybe covered about 60%, but this made no difference once the bars were baked. They smelled great baking, and they are great! The creamy center paired with the snickerdoodle cookie is so good. I cut the bars, and had mainly edges left and all cookies were consumed quickly.

Snickerdoodle Cheesecake Bars
16 ounces cream cheese
½ cup sugar
2 eggs
½ teaspoon vanilla
¼ teaspoon salt

2-1/4 cups flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter, melted
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

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

Make the cheesecake layer: in a large mixer bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar on medium until light. Add eggs, vanilla, and salt and mix again on medium until combined.

Make the snickerdoodle layer: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt; set aside. In a large mixer bowl, combine the melted butter, sugar, and brown sugar. Beat on medium until combined, then stir in the eggs and vanilla. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour mixture and mix until just combined.

In a separate bowl mix together the 1/4 cup sugar and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon. Press about half of the snickerdoodle mixture into the prepared pan and sprinkle with half of the cinnamon sugar. Pour the cheesecake batter over the dough and spread evenly with a spatula. Break up the remaining dough into small pieces and top the cheesecake layer. Do your best to cover the bars as much as possible. Sprinkle the bars with the remaining cinnamon sugar.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, until set along the edges but slightly jiggly in the center. Cool for 15 minutes on the counter and then refrigerate to cool completely. Cut into bars when completely cool. If desired, store the bars in the refrigerator.

Recipe from Delish Christmas Baking, 2023

Cinnamon Apple Bakewell Bars

When my husband and I visit places, we tend to purchase interesting preserves. I always think that “I can use this in a recipe” and usually I have little trouble finding the right thing to make. Occasionally I do forget that I purchased something, and discover it when I clean and sort the kitchen. I knew I had cinnamon apple preserves, but I also found pear cinnamon preserves that I had bought for fall baking. I asked my husband which I should use for these Bakewell Bars, and he suggested the cinnamon apple preserves.

This recipe started as Lemon Bakewell Slice, which the use of “slice” immediately tells me this is a British or Australian recipe. I wanted to use apple cinnamon preserves, so I substituted that for lemon curd and used almond and vanilla extract instead of lemon zest. The original recipe doesn’t give a pan size, which was tricky. It looked like a rectangular pan, and I have used my 20 x 29-centimeter pan for different slice recipes I’ve made. It works great.

My pastry was a little small for my pan, but I was able to cover the base of the pan and two of the sides. I figured it would be fine in the end, and it was. You do need to be careful when you spread the almond filling over the preserves, as you want to seal in the preserves. I dotted the preserves with almond filling and then nudged it into place. Everything stuck and moved too much otherwise. You don’t want these bars to be too browned, but mine could have baked a little longer, as the pastry was a little soggy. These bars have a lovely flavor, not too sweet, and so good for fall.

Cinnamon Apple Bakewell Bars
1 pastry sheet
200 grams cinnamon apple preserves
100 grams butter, room temperature
125 grams sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
150 grams ground almonds
80 grams flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup powdered sugar
1-2 teaspoons milk

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Have a rectangular pan ready. I used a 20 x 29-centimeter tart pan.

Line the pan with pastry, piecing it as needed to cover the bottom of the pan. Cover the sides of the pan if possible, but I didn’t have enough dough to cover every side. Spread the preserves over the pastry in the pan.

In a large mixer bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs, vanilla, and almond extract and stir to incorporate. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the ground almonds, flour, baking powder, and salt. Spread the mixture on top of the preserves.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, until golden. Cool before adding the icing.

In a medium bowl whisk the powdered sugar and milk until drizzling consistency. Drizzle the icing over the cooled bars. Allow the glaze to set before cutting into bars.

Recipe from What the Redhead Said