Baklava Cookies

I really like all of the flavors in baklava, but it’s never quite right. I get a piece and I’m so excited, but then I can’t finish it because it’s usually dry. I’m not quite sure what I can do to overcome that, but this cookie with the flavors of baklava might be just the thing. 

This cookie starts with a cake mix base, which is a nice time saver. That in itself should help from the dryness I associate with baklava. You can use any nuts that you have on hand. Walnuts and pistachios are traditional, but I don’t usually have walnuts on hand. I used pistachios, almonds, and pecans. Not traditional, but more to my tastes! 

You partially bake these cookies, then make an indentation and fill it, then finish baking. That’s a slightly different technique that I am used to, but it makes sense as the indentation usually disappears while baking, and the filling doesn’t need much extra time in the oven. These were all that I dreamed of, without being dry! A nice soft cookie topped with a flavorful filling!

Baklava Cookies
1 box vanilla cake mix
2 eggs
⅓ cup vegetable oil

¼ cup melted butter
1 cup assorted nuts, chopped
⅓ cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon honey
½ teaspoon cinnamon

2 tablespoons honey
½ cup powdered sugar
½ teaspoon lemon juice
½-1 tablespoon warm water

Heat the oven to 350°. Line two baking sheets with silicon baking mats.

In a large mixer bowl, beat the cake mix, eggs, and oil on medium until combined. The dough will be thick. In a separate bowl, mix together the melted butter, chopped nuts, brown sugar, 1 tablespoon honey, and cinnamon. 

Scoop the dough into the prepared baking sheets, using about 1 tablespoon per cookie. 

Bake for 9 minutes and then remove from the oven. Make an indentation in the cookies with a tart tamper or similar tool. Fill the indentation with the baklava nut filling. 

Bake for an additional 2-3 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheet and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Once the cookies are cool, make the glaze. In a small bowl whisk together the 2 tablespoons honey, powdered sugar, lemon juice and half of the water.  Add additional water if the glaze is too thick. Drizzle over the cookies and allow the glaze to set.

Recipe from Practically Homemade

Butter Toffee Cookies

My husband often orders things from nuts.com but I don’t know what he has ordered, so it’s a surprise for me. In the most recent order, there were a couple of varieties of mixed nuts, including some that were coated with butter toffee. I knew right away that they would be great in a recipe. I chose this one, since I liked the flour and oats combination. If you don’t have these specific nuts, you could always use honey roasted peanuts or something similar.

We had also recently visited the Farmer’s Market and picked up some honey. We got two varieties, a mellow variety and then coriander honey. I have used coriander in cooking, but I wasn’t sure what the honey would taste like. My husband said it was noticeable, but it didn’t really taste like coriander since it is from the plant. I didn’t use the coriander honey here, as I didn’t want any potential flavor conflicts.

This makes for a fairly large batch of cookies. With a good quantity of flour and oats, I made about 60 cookies. Because the cookies contain honey, which burns easily, you need to be careful that they aren’t in the oven too long. I tried for 8 minutes, then added one minute at a time. 11 minutes worked for me, and the cookies still looked a little under done when I took them out of the oven. Thankfully they set as they cooled so I think that was the right amount of time. You are left with a soft, every so slightly sticky cookie, with lovely oat and nut flavors.

Butter Toffee Cookies
2-1/4 cups flour
2-1/2 cups oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup  butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup butter toffee mixed nuts
Additional nuts

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

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, oats, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In a large mixer bowl beat the butter and brown sugar on medium for 3 minutes, until light. Stir in the honey. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour/oat mixture. Fold in the butter toffee nuts.

Using a medium cookie scoop, place 12 rounds on each baking sheet. If desired, top each cookie with a butter toffee nut.

Bake for 9-11 minutes, until beginning to brown. The cookies may look undercooked, but they will set as they cool. Allow to cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from Wanna Come With?

Raisin Spice Cookies

A while ago, I was chatting with my friend about raisins. Raisins are a key ingredient in a lot of British baking, especially in the Christmas cake and related items. As we like to buy new ingredients each year, that has left us with a plethora of raisins. We have regular raisins, petite raisins, sultanas, Hunza raisins currents, as well as a raisin medley. It’s a bit ridiculous looking at how many choices there are, just in my cupboard! For this recipe, I used petite raisins as they are a nice size for baking.

I find that raisins are often dry, but you can steep them to plump them up. This is a good step to take, and you’ll always have softer raisins. You can steep them in hot water, but I usually use an alcohol that will complement the recipe. In this case, I used cinnamon whiskey, as the dough also contained cinnamon and other spices. You can steep the raisins for a short while, but I let mine steep overnight, as it enhances the flavor and gives you some extra time. Don’t worry, the alcohol dissipates while the cookies bake, so you can’t taste alcohol at all.

When I was typing up this recipe, I noticed that it said you could refrigerate the dough before baking, for better results. Well, I didn’t see that and baked them as soon as the dough was ready, and they turned out fine. The raisins are soft and lovely, and the cookies have a great spice flavor. When you eat them, it seems like there is oatmeal in these cookies, but there isn’t. These cookies remind me of favorites from the past, and I may try taking this dough and adding white chocolate and cranberries, trying to recreate that favorite I had years ago.

Raisin Spice Cookies
3/4 cup raisins
1 1/3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla

In a medium bowl, steep the raisins in hot water or alcohol. Cover the bowl and allow the raisins to plump for at least an hour. Drain the raisins thoroughly before using.

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

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves; set aside. In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter, sugar, and brown sugar on medium until light. Add the egg and vanilla and mix on medium to incorporate.

With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour mixture. When the flour is barely incorporated, remove the bowl from the mixer and add the raisins. Mix the raisins into the dough with a spatula.

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

Bake for 11-13 minutes, until the cookies begin to brown, and they do not look doughy. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from Rock Recipes