Chocolate Sugar Cookies

I know what you are thinking. Why am I making sugar cookies in the middle of August? Because I'm a rebel like that, that's why. Actually I was hanging out over at Daily Dish Recipes again. Nicole (being her awesome self) always inspires me. She has these cookies as part of her Christmas baking spree last year and I couldn't stop thinking about them, so I just gave in and made them. They don't exactly remind me of Christmas in the traditional sense and I can tell you right now, I will be making them year round, rebel or no rebel. They are amazing! Soft and chewy....delicious.

Nicole's recipe is surprisingly simple for a sugar cookie. A great cookie recipe that won't take you all day. It was so easy that I had enough time to eat all the cookies in the above picture. :) Then I went for a walk and came back and ate some more. 

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 sticks butter, room temperature
1 egg
1/2 cup cocoa

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray cookie sheet with non-stick spray. Line with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and sugar. Using low speed your mixer, add the butter. Then add the egg and mix well.

Add cocoa, mixing until dough sticks to itself (as opposed to everything else).

Using an ice cream scoop, place balls of batter on parchment lined sheet about 2 -3 inches apart. Moisten the back of a spoon and gently flatten each ball just a  little bit.

Bake 8 -10 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Chocolate Caramel Thumbprint Cookies

These little bites of goodness were so much fun to make. Rich chocolate, gooey caramel and crunchy pecans in every bite. What's not to love. The extra prep time to make this is well worth the end result. They also look so good, don't they? Again, I am such a sucker for cuteness. Hence, why Spencer gets away with so much!


So if you have a little extra time, like cookies and want to show off your baking skills a little, give these a try. This recipe makes 36 but they won't last long.


Ingredients:
1 egg
1/2 cup butter, softened
2/3 cups sugar
2 TBLS. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp. salt
16 caramels
3 TBLS. whipping cream
1 1/4 cups finely chopped pecans
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1 tsp. shortening


Separate egg; placing white and yolk in separate bowls. Cover and chill egg white until needed. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer for 30 seconds. Add sugar and beat well. Beat in egg yolk, milk and vanilla.


In a separate bowl, stir together flour, cocoa powder and salt. Add flour mixture to butter mixture and beat until well combined. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for 2 hours.


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a cookie sheet. In a small saucepan, heat and stir caramels and whipping cream low heat until mixture is smooth. Remove from heat and set aside.


Slightly beat reserved egg white. Shape the dough into 1" balls. Roll the balls in the egg white, then in the pecans, to coat. Using your thumb, make an indentation in the center of each cookie.


Bake cookies for 10 minutes or until edges are firm. If the centers puff back up during baking, push back in with your thumb again. Spoon melted caramel into the indentations of the cookies. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.


In another saucepan, heat and stir chocolate chips and shortening over low heat until they are melted and smooth. Let cool slightly. Drizzle chocolate over the tops of the cookies. Let stand until chocolate is set.


Done!

Raspberry Meringue Cookies

Meringue isn't for everyone and that usually includes me. I mentioned awhile back that I wanted to incorporate more raspberry into my menu just because it is one of my favorite flavors ever. I just felt like trying something different from all the flour based cookies I tend to lean towards. Spencer picked up a raspberry jello package in the grocery store and it all began. 


These melt in your mouth with a big pop of raspberry, followed by a hint of chocolate from the mini chips. You can certainly leave out the chocolate chips but I would highly recommend adding them in. For such small cookies, the flavor is big without being overwhelming. I promise you won't be able to eat just one.


Ingredients:
3 egg whites
1/8 tsp. salt
3 1/2 tsp. raspberry jello mix
1 TBLS. vinegar
mini chocolate chips (optional)


Preheat oven to 250 degrees.


Beat egg whites with salt until foamy. Using an electric mixer, add jello and sugar to the egg whites. Beat until mixture stands in peaks.


Add vinegar and mix gently.


Add the mini chocolate chips now if you are using them.


Spoon small circles of mixture onto a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper. 


Bake for about 25 minutes; turn off oven and allow the cookies to sit in the oven for an additional 20 minutes.


Remove from oven and allow to cool completely. 


I had to try these as soon as they were cool enough to eat and they are amazing warm too!

Valentine Cowgirl Cookies

 recipe from buddingbaketress.blogspot.com

I am not much of a cookie person. When searching for some Valentine's Day recipe ideas, I came across this recipe for Cowgirl Cookies. The name is really what got me first. They just sound interesting. Upon further reading, I found out these are really Cow"boy" cookies but with red, white and pink M&Ms, so the baker changed the name. Not only do I think they look great for a Valentine's Day snack, they are so very yummy too. Needless to say, they didn't last very long.

Ingredients:

1-1/3 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1 cup cooking oats

3/4 cup Valentine M&Ms

3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1 slightly beaten egg

1/2 cup butter, melted slightly in the microwave

1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Stir the first 10 ingredients in a large bowl. Mix the egg, melted butter and vanilla into the dry ingredients; using the back of large spoon to work it all together. You may need to use your hands to get everything incorporated.

Roll the cookie dough into 1-1/2" balls. Place on greased or parchment covered baking sheet. Bake for about 10 minutes.

Makes 26-30 cookies.

Make Your Own Girl Scout Cookies ~ Samoas Bars

 recipe from bakingbites.com

When I first saw this recipe floating around Pinterest, I ignored it. First off, I believe in supporting the Girl Scouts and second, I hadn't had much luck with copycat recipes up until this point. They usually require a lot of prep time and rarely taste close to the original. However, after seeing so many say they were amazing on top of the fact that for the last few years, Girl Scout cookies starting taking on that whole processed flavor so many foods have these days, I thought "Why not?". 

Conclusion, I am so glad I did! These are, in my humble opinion, much better than the original. Same texture, better flavor and I can make them whenever I want. Plus, these are bars. So you get the same concept without having to decorate each individual cookie. You decorate (top) the pan of bars and cut them to cookie size. If you can get over the fact that they are squares instead of circles, which I definitely can...

Cookie Base:

1/2 cup sugar

3/4 cup butter, softened

1 large egg

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 tsp. salt

First, make the crust. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 9 x 13 inch pan. In a large bowl, cream together sugar and butter, until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Working at a low speed, gradually beat in flour and salt until mixture is crumbly, like wet sand. The dough does not need to come together. Pour crumbly dough into prepared pan and press into an even layer. 

Bake for 20 - 25 minutes, until base is set and edges are lightly browned. Cool completely on wire rack before topping. 

Topping:

2 cups shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)

12 oz. good quality chewy caramels

1/4 tsp. salt

3 Tbls. milk

10 oz. dark or semi sweet chocolate (chocolate chips are ok)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Spread coconut evenly on parchment lined baking sheet and toast 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until coconut is golden brown. Cool on baking sheet, stirring occasionally. Set aside.

Unwrap the caramels and place in large microwavable safe bowl with milk and salt. Cook on high 3-4 minutes, stopping to stir a few times to help the caramel melt. When smooth, fold in toasted coconut with spatula. Put dollops of topping all over the shortbread base. Using a spatula, spread the topping into an even layer. Let topping set until cooled.

When cooled, cut into 30 bars with a large knife or pizza cutter. Once bars are cut, melt chocolate in a small bowl. Heat in the microwave at 45 second intervals, stirring thoroughly to prevent scorching. Dip the base of each bar into the chocolate and place on a clean piece of parchment paper. Transfer all remaining chocolate into a piping bag or ziploc bag with the corner snipped off and drizzle the tops with chocolate 

Let cool completely before storing in an airtight container. Enjoy!

Caramel Filled Chocolate Cookies

Good morning, friends! Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. Mondays come around again so quickly, don't they?


Well, here is a recipe for some ooey gooey, completely decadent cookies to help get you through the week. Chocolate has a way of making any day that much better. Now add some caramel to that equation...


These cookies are so soft and chewy. Don't let the extra steps involved keep you from making them; the effort is well worth the finished result!


Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbls. white sugar
48 chocolate covered caramels (Rolos, Riesens, etc.)


Beat butter until creamy. Gradually beat in the 1 cup white sugar and brown sugars. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda, cocoa powder and salt in separate bowl. Gradually add flour mixture to sugar mixture, beating well.


Cover and chill for a minimum of 2 hours.


Preheat oven to 375 degrees.


Put 1 Tbls. of sugar (or more as you need it) into a small bowl. Divide dough into four equal portions. Work with one part at a time, chilling the remainder until use. Now divide that portion into another 12 portions. Quickly press each piece of dough around chocolate covered caramel. Roll into a ball and dip the tops into the sugar. 


Place sugar side up, 2 inches apart on greased baking sheet. Bake for around 8 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes out of oven before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.


If desired, drizzle with caramel or sprinkle with tops with extra sugar.


Store in an air tight container for up to 5 days.

I realize the colors are a bit off in these two photos and am working on better indoor lighting for my photos.

Big, Flat, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

I think all of us have our favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe. Years ago I found, modified and perfected our family's. Soft, bite sized and extremely yummy. About a month ago, I mentioned to John that I thought I would mix up a batch. He ,casually, mentioned that his favorite were the big, flat chewy kind. What? After 8+ years he decides I should know?


I was now trying to reprogram my cooking making mind back to what I had been avoiding all these years. From the "Oh, man" I hear with each bite, I think I may have succeeded.


There is some extra work involved with this recipe. If you follow it (i.e. all the specific amounts, temps) you will see it is worth it!


Ingredients:


2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 cup salted butter, melted
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg, room temperature
1 egg yolk, room temperature
2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips


Stir together flour and baking soda in a small bowl. Set aside.


In a medium bowl, cream together melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in vanilla, egg and egg yolk until creamy.


Add flour mixture (that you set aside in first step), stirring until JUST blended. Stir in chocolate chips.


Refrigerate minimum of 45 minutes. You want the batter to set up enough that when a spoon is put in it, it is somewhat like "quicksand" to get back out. You can keep these refrigerated up to 2 days before baking.  


Preheat oven to 325. Grease cookie sheet.


Drop about 1/4 a cup at a time of cookie dough onto cookie sheet. Place dough 3 inches apart.


Bake for 15 minutes or until edges are lightly toasted. The middle may look slightly undone, but the cookies will continue to set up outside the oven. Cool for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack.


When still slightly warm, transfer to airtight container to keep the cookies softness. 


*keep batter refrigerated between batches when baking. 


Happy Thursday!