Potato Chip Cookies

My Mom was not an ordinary 1960's cook or homemaker. She would not allow TV Dinners although we begged her to buy us those yucky things every time we were at the grocery store. Mom would not let us eat sugary foods for breakfast like Fruit Loops or Captain Crunch, it was either Cheerios, Corn Flakes or Oatmeal! And she never, and I mean never, made anything from a box. My Mom also canned all summer long, made bread several times a week and sewed the majority of our clothing. I know most people have fond memories of their Grandmother kneading bread dough and canning Strawberry Jam but this was my Mom! And my sister and I cook just like my Mom did and in turn so do my nieces and yes we all sew and knit and the list goes on. "My Mother, Myself" is coming to mind which I think is a title of a book that I read sometime way back when.

But sometimes you just have to make something because it sounds like fun and that's how I feel about the Potato Chip Cookies. Although this is my Mom's recipe, I don't remember her ever making them. And when I asked her about it, she outright said and in a rather disgusted tone of voice "No and I don't think that's my recipe either." But one thing I did before I left Michigan was to copy, one at a time, all of my Mom's recipes in her handwritten 3" by 5" card file. And I know that I copied this recipe because I dated it and it has "Mom" written on the top line! LOL!

I've wanted to try the Potato Chip Cookies for a long time now but I honestly did not think I would like them. But they actually were a very buttery, rich cookie that tastes great with my afternoon latte! I put the cookies in my Great Grama's Cookie Jar that always sits on my kitchen counter and the jar was empty within three days! So I wasn't the only one that thought they were good!






Potato Chip Cookies

1 cup butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup crushed potato chips
1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

In a medium bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth.

Add the egg yolk and vanilla and mix in the crushed potato chips and pecans. Gradually stir in the flour until just blended.

Drop by rounded spoonfuls on a parchment lined baking sheets. Criss-cross the top using a fork dipped in water.

Bake until edges are lightly browned. Cool on racks.







All Rights Reserved 2008-10 © BigBlackDog

Savory Cheddar and Pepper Jelly Cookies

My goodness my blog has been orange lately! In fact I've posted three orange-colored recipes in the last few weeks, Carrot Cake Jam, Basil Banana Pepper Jelly and Pickled Carrots! And since I had several people ask me what I do with my Hot Pepper Jellies, I am posting another orange recipe today but this time it's cookies!

I have to admit that I think the Savory Cheddar and Pepper Jelly Cookies are about the best cookie I have ever tasted and I remember exactly the day I tasted my first one. I was at a friend's house for a long weekend and she loves to cook and bake. So you can imagine how much food there was plus at least six or seven different varieties of cookies. I remember looking at the platter of cookies and picking out a few to try. Well, when I bit into the Cheddar cookie with the delicious tangy, spicy filling, I immediately returned to the platter and took a few more cheddar cookies and then a few more. No one else could get near the cookie platter...LOL!

The Cheddar Cookies are very easy to make and only have four ingredients, butter, Cheddar Cheese, flour and Pepper Jelly. But don't let the limited ingredients fool you, these cookies pack a punch, an excellent tasting punch too! Also, it is a small recipe and I always double it but still the cookies are gone within 24 hours. I use my home-canned Pepper Jellies and for this recipe I used the last of my Habanero Gold Jelly. But you can use any store brand of Pepper Jelly as long as it's made with some variety of hot pepper. You do need the spicy, hot pepper flavor to balance the Cheddar Cheese so make sure to read the label carefully.





Savory Cheddar and Pepper Jelly Cookies
Recipe adapted from "Thanksgiving 101" by Rick Rodgers

8 oz (2 cups) Sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded
6 TBL (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup flour
1/3 cup hot pepper jelly

Place cheese and butter in a food processor (could be creamed by hand or mixer); add flour and process until the mixture forms a soft dough. Gather up the dough and divide into two flat disks. Wrap in wax paper and freeze until chilled, about 45 minutes. (You really don't need to chill the dough)

Position two racks in the center and top third of the oven and preheat to 400°. Line two baking sheets with parchment or use nonstick sheets.

Using 1 teaspoon dough for each, roll the dough into small balls and place 1 inch apart on the sheets. Bake 5 minutes. Remove from the oven. Using the handle of a wooden spoon or 1/2-inch-thick dowel, poke an indentation in each cookie. I use the handle of my dough whisk to form the indentation for the jelly. Place a dollop of the jelly into the indentations.

Return to the oven and bake, switching the positions of the sheets from top to bottom halfway through baking, until the tops are very lightly browned, about 10 minutes. (Cookies will continue to crisp as they cool.) Transfer to racks and cool completely. Recipe makes about 20 cookies.

Can be baked up to two days ahead. Store at room temperature in an airtight container and separate layers with wax paper.








All Rights Reserved 2008-10 © BigBlackDog

Pomegranate Molasses Cookies!

Haven't the Olympics been fun so far! Maybe it's just me but I cried right along with Lindsey Vonn when she won the Gold Metal in the Women's Downhill. I was just so happy for her! So thrilling to work so hard and meet your own personal goal and to do it with so much grace and style!

And Shaun White...is this guy cute or what! Loved it when twitter went viral with "Super size it Shaun" as Shaun prepared for his second run at the Half Pipe. So exciting and with no fear what.so.ever and then to top it off with a Double McTwist 1260 and all in Super Hero Style! And he did it after hitting his head on the top of pipe wall during a practice run! Unbelievable!!

I'm not a big fan of David Letterman but Shaun's commentary is wonderful. Please take a minute to view the below video.





I don't know about you but this winter weather is getting ridiculous and thank goodness I have my baking and the Olympics to keep me sane, otherwise I'd be climbing on the roof and waving a white flag of surrender for sure! I'm not a big Milk and Cookies person, but a tall, cold glass of milk with some chewy Molasses Cookies seemed like the perfect treat while watching the Olympics.





I used my Mom's Molasses Cookie Recipe but of course I had to tweak it a bit! And sorry Mom but I think my tweaked Pomegranate Molasses Cookies are beyond delicious!





Pomegranate Molasses Cookies
Recipe adapted from my Mom

1 c sugar
3/4 c. shortening (I used butter)
1 egg
4 TBL Molasses (I used 1 TBL Molasses and 3 TBL Pomegranate Molasses)
1 tsp Vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
2 tsp baking soda
2 1/4 c. flour

Mix all ingredients. Chill dough for at least an hour. Makes ball into size of walnut and roll in coarse white sugar. Place balls of cookie dough on baking sheet lined with parchment paper. DO NOT PRESS DOWN. Bake at 350 degrees until bottoms are just slightly browned about 10-12 minutes.






All Rights Reserved 2008-10 © BigBlackDog

Cream Cheese Cookies -- My Favorite Cookie!

When I was growing up every Christmas my Mom made Cream Cheese Cookies. She used her old-fashioned Cookie Press and made hundreds of little Christmas Trees, Camels and Wreaths. I remember the cookie sheets covered with green and red cookies laying on every flat surface of our kitchen and dining room. And I remember my Mom shaking colored sugars and confections and placing red hots for Christmas balls and silver dagrees for eyes. And I remember the wonderful smell of cookies baking!

And when I moved into my first apartment I, too, made Cream Cheese Christmas Cookies and covered them with confections and colored M&Ms. But I used a new manual Cookie Press which was smaller but still not comfortable to use but I persisted after all these are my favorite cookies! Until finally in 1986 I heard about an Electric Cookie Press and believe me I was at the store within hours and bought my first Super Shooter by Wear-Ever and it worked wonderfully.

I could not believe how fast the Super Shooter made the cookies. I could make two sheets of cookies in less then two minutes and every cookie was perfect and no more blisters on my hands from using the manual press! I now have three Wear-Ever Super Shooters just in case one burns out!









Cream Cheese Cookies
Recipe adapted from my Great Aunt Mil

1 c. Butter
1 c. Sugar
1-3oz pkg. of Cream Cheese **See Note
1 Egg Yolk
2 1/2 c. Flour
1/2 tsp. Vanilla

Cream butter; Add Cream Cheese and Sugar. Beat egg yolk; Add Vanilla and Flour;

Chill dough over night; Must use either a Cookie Press or dropped tsp and pressed with fork.

Bake at 350 Degrees for about 8 minutes or until lightly brown on bottom. Cookies should be soft not crispy.

**Note: I always double the recipe and just add 1-8oz package of Cream Cheese. I think the extra Cream Cheese makes a better cookie dough. And I sift all my dry ingredients. You must make the cookies within 24 hrs of making the dough, otherwise the cookies will loose flavor.









Flavor of the Month is graciously hosted by Bridget of Bake at 350. Hop on over and you'll find some fabulous ideas freely shared by many highly creative people.





Gadgets that Work







I love my Wear-Ever Super Shooter and although it's no longer made, you can still find them at local garage sales and on Ebay. I bought my extra Shooters at local garage sales and church rummage sales and neither had even been used and were completely intact including manual and in the original box. I think I paid around $5 for each of them but I would have paid much more. Just the thought of having to go back to a manual cookie press makes my hands hurt!

The Super Shooter is very easy to use. Just fill the barrel up with cookie dough, choose a cookie die and pull the trigger et viola...a cookie is born!

All Super Shooter parts are dishwasher safe except the actual gun which houses the motor and this can be easily wiped down with a damp cloth.

There are other brands of Electric Cookie Presses on the market now, some are even cordless. I did try the Salton and it was returned within a week. I'll stick with my Wear-Ever Super Shooter which is still going strong since 1986!





All Rights Reserved 2008-9 © Big Black Dog

Nuts to You! **Almond Cookies with Chocolate and Apricot

There's really no reason why I chose Bon Appetit's Chocolate and Almond-Dipped Sandwich Cookies as my seventh cookie for our 12-Days of Cookies Extravaganza except I thought the cookies were pretty! It's just an innocent cookie and I had no idea I would be heading into cookie combat! But I was not taken by surprise and since I had chocolate on my side and apricots as my right flank, I was very prepared. Bring it on........

Okay "Bon Appetit" this is my first official smackdown!

I have baked cookies forever. I've made 100's of recipes. I've created my own cookie recipes. I've added this and that, sweet and savory, even used fresh fruit and have always produced a good cookie. But yesterday I had my first cookie failure and it was a total failure. Nothing I tried saved this recipe. I know some will say "it's your flour" or "it's your oven" and I'm going to flat out say the problem was the recipe!

I knew this recipe was going to be touch and go when I was mixing it up. The cookie dough had the consistency of frosting. How in the world can you make cookies with dough that is soft like frosting? So I thought if I refrigerated the dough for 24 hours it might help. But in the morning the dough was still much too soft.

Since the dough was like frosting, the logical thing to do is pipe the cookies. So I got out my pastry bag and largest star tip and piped 2 1/2" bars. And after baking and cooling the bars, I thought I'd dip one end of the cookie into chocolate, sprinkle with chopped nuts and the cookies would look delicate and Christmasy and gorgeous!! The cookies piped beautifully and as I popped the full cookie sheet into the oven, I thought all the problems were behind me. But within three minutes of baking the cookies were completely melted into one big paper-thin mass of cookie dough! FAIL! Double FAIL! No, make that a Triple FAIL!

So I got to work and made a new cookie dough, MY WAY! For reference I used Bon Appetit's Chocolate and Almond-Dipped Sandwich Cookies which is the recipe that failed and King Arthur's Almond Cookies with Praline Chocolate Filling.

And my Almond Cookies with Chocolate and Apricot were fantastic and so much fun to make!







Almond Cookies with Chocolate and Apricot
Recipe developed by Big-Black-Dog

Cookies:
1/2 c. butter, room temperature
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 c. confectioner's sugar
3/4 tsp vanilla
1 egg, slightly whipped
1 1/4 c. flour
1/2 c. Almond Meal

Topping or Filling:
8 oz of semi-sweet Chocolate Chips
4-5 dried apricots, finely minced

Mix the sugar and butter. Add vanilla, egg, salt and almond meal. While mixing gradually add flour.

Chill at least 4 hours.

Cookies can be rolled out to 1/4" thick and cut into shapes. Or 1 tsp of dough can be rolled into a ball and flattened by crisscrossing with a fork or palm of hand or you can use a cookie press or cookie mold.

Bake at 350 degrees until cookies are lightly browned on the edges. Remove to cooling racks.

Chocolate Decoration:
Stir chocolate in top of double boiler set over simmering water until melted and smooth. Remove from over water. Cool melted chocolate until slightly thickened but still pourable, about 10 minutes.

You can either drizzle by dipping a fork into melted chocolate, then wave fork back and forth over cookies. Or you can dip half the cookie into the chocolate and place on parchment paper. Sprinkle minced apricot on top of chocolate while it is still warm.

And you also can make a sandwich cookie: Place half of cookies, bottom side up, on work surface. Spread chocolate on the back of 1 cookie careful to leave a small border near the edge. Sprinkle the chocolate filling with some minced apricots. Top each with another cookie, gently pressing to adhere.

Set chocolate by placing cookies in refrigerator for 8-10 minutes.


Below is a picture of the Walnut Cookie Mold I used to make my cookies. I've had the molds for a long time now maybe 4-5 years and as I remember I ordered them from Amazon. Molded cookies are easy, yet time consuming to make but I love the effect of a molded cookie!!




Susan @ Thoughts from Over the Rainbow is having a Deck the Halls Party and I'm entering my Almond Cookies with Chocolate and Apricot. Please visit Thoughts from Over the Rainbow and see some more wonderful holiday ideas, I know you will enjoy it!







Please visit the rest of our 12-DaysofCookies Crew and see what they've baked today!

Andrea of Andrea's Recipes.(honorary member and our founder but not participating this year)
Claire of The Barefoot Kitchen
Courtney of Coco Cooks <--Glamorous Courtney
Di of Di's Kitchen Notebook
Judy of No Fear Entertaining
Kelly of Sass & Veracity<--Sweet Kelly
Michelle of BigBlackDog <--Hey that's ME!
RJ of Flamingo Musings <--Feathered Friend Renee
Sandy of At the Baker's Bench
Tiffany of The Nesting Project








All Rights Reserved 2008-9 © Big Black Dog

Gingerbread Trees with Juniper Berry Glaze

Juniper berry; A juniper berry is the female seed cone produced by the various species of junipers. It is not a true berry but a cone with unusually fleshy and merged scales, which give it a berry-like appearance. The cones from a handful of species, especially Juniperus communis, are used as a spice, particularly in European cuisine, and also give gin its distinguishing flavour. According to one Food and Agriculture Organization (FOA)document, juniper berries are the only spice derived from conifers.

The flavor profile of young, green berries is dominated by pinene; as they mature this piney, resinous backdrop is joined by what is describes as "green-fresh" and citrus notes. The outer scales of the berries are relatively flavourless, so the berries are almost always at least lightly crushed before being used as a spice. They are used both fresh and dried, but their flavor and odor is at their strongest immediately after harvest and decline during drying and storage.

Juniper berries are used in northern European and particularly Scandinavian cuisine to "impart a sharp, clear flavour" to meat dishes, especially wild birds and game meats. They also season pork, cabbage, and sauerkraut dishes. Traditional recipes for choucroute garnie, an Alsatian dish of sauerkraut and meats, universally include juniper berries. Besides Norwegian and Swedish dishes, juniper berries are also sometimes used in German, Austrian, Czech and Hungarian cuisine, often with roasts.







There are many reasons I chose the Gingerbread Trees with Juniper Berry Glaze as my sixth cookie for the 12-Days of Christmas Cookies Extravaganza. I happen to love Gingerbread, so much so that I can remember the first time my Mom made it. We were living in Cuyahoga Falls, OH and I was about 10 years old. I remember the chunk of dark, luscious Gingerbread sitting in front of me, topped with whipped cream and sprinkled with Nutmeg. With my first bite I knew it would always be a favorite of mine and it still is!

I discovered Juniper Berries were used in cooking several years ago and I've wanted to do something with them ever since. The berries have a gentle odor of evergreen and smell so fresh and clean. On the other hand, my childhood memories of Juniper Berries were as a much sought after weapon. We used to pick the berries off our evergreens and wing 'em at each other all the time!

I've been very good about not changing any of the recipes so far for the Christmas Cookie Extravaganza but from now on I'm busting out! It's difficult for me to bake when I know I can make the recipe better or at least better for us. So, yes I did change this recipe. Since I wanted to enhance the Juniper Berry taste I increased the Juniper Berries to 1/2 cup. And for the cookies I added 1 egg and cut down the Molasses to 2 TBL and eliminated the Allspice.

I loved these cookies and they are my favorite so far!! They were not easy to roll out even with chilling the dough overnight in the refrigerator. So once again I just took a small amount of dough and patted it down with my hands to about 1/4" and cut the cookies. The Juniper Berry was not as pronounced as I would have liked, in fact it was barely detectable at all which was a disappointment. But I was very happy with the cookie overall and I will try and find some fresher Juniper Berries for future experimentation.







Gingerbread Trees with Juniper Berry Glaze
Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit's Holiday Cookie-a-Day Collection

2 1/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground allspice (I skipped)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1/4 cup mild-flavored (light) molasses (I used 2 TBL)

My addition: 1 egg, slightly whipped

Glaze and decoration:
3/4 cup half and half
1/3 cup (1 ounce) juniper berries, lightly crushed (I used 1/2 c.)
1 pound powdered sugar
Assorted decorations (colored sugars, nonpareils, and dragées)

For the cookies:

Whisk first 6 ingredients in medium bowl. Beat butter and sugar in large bowl until fluffy. Beat in molasses. Beat in dry ingredients. Gather dough; divide into 4 pieces. Shape into disks. Wrap; chill at least 2 hours and up to 2 days.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Roll out 1 dough disk to 1/8-inch thickness. Using 3 1/2-inch cutter, cut out cookies. Transfer to sheet. Gather scraps; chill.

Bake cookies until almost firm in center, 12 minutes. Cool on sheets 2 minutes, then cool on racks. Repeat, using all dough. DO AHEAD Store airtight at room temperature up to 3 days or freeze up to 2 weeks.


For glaze and decoration:

Bring first 2 ingredients to simmer. Cover; chill 5 hours. Strain. Place powdered sugar in bowl. Whisk in half and half by spoonfuls until glaze is spreadable. Frost cookies; decorate. Let stand until glaze sets. DO AHEAD Store between sheets of waxed paper in airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.






Susan @ Thoughts from Over the Rainbow is having a Deck the Halls Party and I'm entering my Gingerbread Trees with Juniper Berry Glaze. Please visit Thoughts from Over the Rainbow and see some more wonderful holiday ideas, I know you will enjoy it!






Please visit the rest of our 12-DaysofCookies Crew and see what they've baked today!

Andrea of Andrea's Recipes.(honorary member and our founder but not participating this year)
Claire of The Barefoot Kitchen
Courtney of Coco Cooks <--Glamorous Courtney
Di of Di's Kitchen Notebook
Judy of No Fear Entertaining
Kelly of Sass & Veracity<--Sweet Kelly
Michelle of BigBlackDog <--Hey that's ME!
RJ of Flamingo Musings <--Feathered Friend Renee
Sandy of At the Baker's Bench
Tiffany of The Nesting Project








All Rights Reserved 2008-9 © Big Black Dog

Chocolate Mint Cookies with Pearls and Gold

My fifth cookie choice for 12-Days of Christmas Cookies Extravaganza was not a hard decision at all. I happen to love Chocolate and Mint, but this particular dough was awful sticky and difficult to work with. The directions say to roll the dough into a log and chill for two hours and then just slice the cookies. WRONG! The dough, thoroughly chilled for a good four hours, was still too soft and even though I used my porcelain knife I could not cut through the dough and the cookies were a squished mess.

So rather then try and roll out the dough and fight with my rolling pin I chose to just pat the dough down with my hands in small amounts and cut the cookies. After the cookies were baked and I had a chance to taste them and I honestly think my own Chocolate Mint Cookie Recipe taste much better and the dough is not difficult to work with at all!

Of course I had to get foo-foo fancy with the chocolate and gold dragees and edible pearls but it's Christmas and I love decorating cookies! I must have at least a 100 different varieties and colors of sprinkles, sanding sugar, non-pareils and jimmies. A month or so ago I organized the basement closet that holds all my cookie confections and candy making equipment and if you'd like to take a peek just click here.







Chocolate Mint Cookies
Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit's Holiday Cookie-a-Day Collection

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-process)
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup sugar
1 large egg

Topping: 6 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped

Whisk flour, cocoa powder, and salt in medium bowl to blend.

Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until smooth.

Beat in peppermint extract and vanilla extract.

Beat in sugar in 3 additions. Add egg and beat until blended.

Add dry ingredients and beat just until blended (dough will be sticky).

Divide dough between 2 sheets of plastic wrap.

Using plastic wrap as aid, form dough on each into 2-inch-diameter log. Wrap with plastic and refrigerate dough until well chilled, at least 2 hours. (Dough can be prepared 1 day ahead. Keep refrigerated.)

Position 1 rack in center and 1 rack in top third of oven; preheat to 350°F.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Unwrap cookie dough logs; roll briefly on work surface to form smooth round logs.

Cut logs crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick rounds. Place rounds on prepared baking sheets, spacing 1 inch apart.

Bake cookies until tops and edges are dry to touch, about 15 minutes. Transfer baking sheets with cookies to racks; cool completely.

Stir chocolate in top of double boiler set over simmering water until melted and smooth. Remove from over water. Cool melted chocolate until slightly thickened but still pourable, about 10 minutes. Dip fork into melted chocolate, then wave fork back and forth over cookies, drizzling melted chocolate thickly over cookies in zigzag pattern. Refrigerate cookies on baking sheets until chocolate is set, about 10 minutes. (Cookies can be made 1 week ahead. Refrigerate in airtight container between sheets of parchment paper or waxed paper.)







Please visit the rest of our 12-DaysofCookies Crew and see what they've baked today!

Andrea of Andrea's Recipes.(honorary member and our founder but not participating this year)
Claire of The Barefoot Kitchen
Courtney of Coco Cooks <--Glamorous Courtney
Di of Di's Kitchen Notebook
Judy of No Fear Entertaining
Kelly of Sass & Veracity<--Sweet Kelly
Michelle of BigBlackDog <--Hey that's ME!
RJ of Flamingo Musings <--Feathered Friend Renee
Sandy of At the Baker's Bench
Tiffany of The Nesting Project




All Rights Reserved 2008-9 © Big Black Dog

Holiday Biscotti with Cranberries and Pistachios and a Christmas Cloche Party

Well here I am with my fourth recipe for 12-Days of Christmas Cookies Extravaganza and I decided to make the Holiday Biscotti with Cranberries and Pistachios. I keep at least one cake plate with dome on the island in my kitchen and it's always full of goodies. I noticed that anyone entering my kitchen was always looking around to see what was available to eat and so I thought I'd just make it easy for them! And here's all my cookies decked out for Christmas.







I have to admit I'm not a Biscotti lover, in fact I've only made it once before and as I remember I was just married so that will give a hint how long ago it was. It's not that Biscotti tastes bad, it's just that I prefer soft, cake-like cookies. But this Biscotti was so Christmasy with the white chocolate, red cranberries and green Pistachios, I just could not resist making it and Mr. Tastebuds loved it!



I only made a few changes to the recipe. I used Vanilla Almond Bark instead of White Chocolate and I sprinkled the Bark with a little coarse sugar to give it some Christmas sparkle!


I also made a trip to the Dollar Store...don't you just love that place! And I picked up the cutest stuff to dazzle up my Christmas Cookie photos! I bought a roll of red felt snowflakes, big red and green lollipops, miniature ornaments, teeny tiny garlands and I even bought a bag of Christmas M&Ms to sprinkle around my light tent!







Holiday Biscotti with Cranberries and Pistachios
Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit's Holiday Cookie-a-Day Collection

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon whole aniseed
1 cup dried sweetened cranberries
3/4 cup shelled natural unsalted pistachios

Preheat oven to 325°F. Line 3 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Sift first 3 ingredients into medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter and sugar in large bowl to blend well. Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Mix in lemon peel, vanilla, and aniseed. Beat in flour mixture just until blended. Stir in cranberries and pistachios (dough will be sticky). Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface. Gather dough together; divide in half. Roll each half into 15-inch-long log (about 1 1/4 inches wide). Carefully transfer logs to 1 prepared baking sheet, spacing 3 inches apart.

Bake logs until almost firm to touch but still pale, about 28 minutes. Cool logs on baking sheet 10 minutes. Maintain oven temperature.

Carefully transfer logs still on parchment to cutting board. Using serrated knife and gentle sawing motion, cut logs crosswise into generous 1/2-inch-thick slices. Place slices, 1 cut side down, on remaining 2 prepared sheets. Bake until firm and pale golden, about 9 minutes per side. Transfer cookies to racks and cool.

Line another baking sheet with waxed paper. Stir white chocolate in top of double boiler over barely simmering water just until smooth. Remove from over water. Dip 1 end of each cookie into melted chocolate, tilting pan if necessary; shake off excess chocolate. Place cookies on prepared sheet. Chill until chocolate is firm, about 30 minutes. (Can be made 5 days ahead. Store airtight between sheets of waxed paper at room temperature.)







The Holiday Cloche Party is the brilliant idea of Marty of A Stroll Through Life Please visit Marty's blog and see some wonderful creative ideas for the Holidays all freely shared by many generous people.



Please visit the rest of our 12-DaysofCookies Crew and see what they've baked today!

Andrea of Andrea's Recipes.(honorary member and our founder but not participating this year)
Claire of The Barefoot Kitchen
Courtney of Coco Cooks <--Glamorous Courtney
Di of Di's Kitchen Notebook
Judy of No Fear Entertaining
Kelly of Sass & Veracity<--Sweet Kelly
Michelle of BigBlackDog <--Hey that's ME!
RJ of Flamingo Musings <--Feathered Friend Renee
Sandy of At the Baker's Bench
Tiffany of The Nesting Project




All Rights Reserved 2008-9 © Big Black Dog

Hazelnut Shortbread Sticks

My next cookie selection for 12-Days of Christmas Cookies Extravaganza is Hazelnut Shortbread Sticks. This is my least favorite cookie so far, not because the cookie itself was not good but because the chocolate is a little over powering for the delicious buttery, nutty taste of the cookie. If I was making these again I would skip the chocolate and just top with chopped hazelnuts or maybe just a slight drizzle of White Almond Bark and a sprinkle of finely chopped hazelnuts.

I did make an error with these cookies. I was dipping the cookies in chocolate and making Almond Chicken for dinner and I accidentally sprinkled the cookies with crushed almonds rather then the hazelnuts! Ooops! And I was so distracted prepping for dinner, feeding the dogs, letting the dogs out, watching the news and dipping cookies in chocolate I was almost done sprinkling with almonds before I realized I had grabbed the wrong nut!







Hazelnut Shortbread Sticks
Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit's Holiday Cookie-a-Day Collection
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup finely ground husked toasted hazelnuts (about 2 ounces)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 ounces high-quality milk chocolate (such as Lindt or Perugina), chopped
1/3 cup coarsely chopped husked toasted hazelnuts

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 325°F. Line large baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat butter and sugar in large bowl until smooth. Beat in 1/2 cup finely ground hazelnuts and vanilla. Beat in flour mixture until just combined.

Shape dough by tablespoonfuls into 3-inch-long logs. Place on prepared baking sheet, spacing 1 inch apart. Bake cookies until light golden brown around edges, about 20 minutes. Cool on baking sheet 5 minutes. Transfer to rack; cool cookies completely.
Stir milk chocolate in top of double boiler over barely simmering water until melted and smooth. Remove from over water. Place 1/3 cup coarsely chopped hazelnuts in small bowl. Dip 1 end of cookie into melted chocolate, then into coarsely chopped hazelnuts. Return to rack. Repeat with remaining cookies. Let stand until chocolate is set, about 1 hour. DO AHEAD Cookies can be made 2 days ahead. Store in airtight container at room temperature.








Please visit the rest of our 12-DaysofCookies Crew and see what they've baked today!

Andrea of Andrea's Recipes.(honorary member and our founder but not participating this year)
Claire of The Barefoot Kitchen
Courtney of Coco Cooks <--Glamorous Courtney
Di of Di's Kitchen Notebook
Judy of No Fear Entertaining
Kelly of Sass & Veracity<--Sweet Kelly
Michelle of BigBlackDog <--Hey that's ME!
RJ of Flamingo Musings <--Feathered Friend Renee
Sandy of At the Baker's Bench
Tiffany of The Nesting Project



All Rights Reserved 2008-9 © Big Black Dog

Triple-Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

I am double posting today to catch up with the other 12-DaysofCookies Crew because my blog was a bit jammed up yesterday with other obligations. I honestly never in my wildest dreams thought I would run into scheduling problems with my blog! If you have a minute just scroll down to the next post and see my Hazelnut-Butter Cookies with Mini Chocolate Chips or you can just click the link.

I chose to make Triple-Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies for my next cookie for the 12-Days of Christmas Cookies Extravaganza. It was not a hard decision because I love oatmeal cookies and I love cranberries. And I also love to drizzle chocolate although I do need practice and tend to get carried away and just keep drizzling and drizzling and drizzling! But even with my squiggly drizzling the cookies were very good...in fact amazingly good!

I've had a hard time working with white chocolate in the past so this time I bought Vanilla Almond Bark. The Vanilla Bark was so much easier to work with then the White Chocolate. And it has a nice white color compared to the White Chocolate which has a yellowish cast to it and can make baked goods look like they've been sitting for a while!







Triple-Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies
Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit's Holiday Cookie-a-Day Collection

1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh or frozen cranberries
2 ounces milk chocolate or white chocolate, chopped (for drizzling)

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in medium bowl to blend.

Using electric mixer, beat butter and both sugars in large bowl until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla. Add flour mixture and oats and stir until blended. Stir in all chocolate chips and cranberries.

Drop batter by rounded tablespoonfuls onto prepared sheets, 2 inches apart. Bake cookies, 1 sheet at a time, until edges are light brown, about 16 minutes. Cool on sheets 5 minutes.

Transfer to rack; cool completely.

Stir chopped milk chocolate in top of double boiler until melted and smooth.
Using small spoon, drizzle melted chocolate over cookies in zigzag pattern. Let stand until milk chocolate sets, about 1 hour. DO AHEAD Can be made 2 days ahead. Store in airtight container at room temperature.








Please visit the rest of our 12-DaysofCookies Crew and see what they've baked today!

Andrea of Andrea's Recipes.(honorary member and our founder but not participating this year)
Claire of The Barefoot Kitchen
Courtney of Coco Cooks <--Glamorous Courtney
Di of Di's Kitchen Notebook
Judy of No Fear Entertaining
Kelly of Sass & Veracity<--Sweet Kelly
Michelle of BigBlackDog <--Hey that's ME!
RJ of Flamingo Musings <--Feathered Friend Renee
Sandy of At the Baker's Bench
Tiffany of The Nesting Project



All Rights Reserved 2008-9 © Big Black Dog

Hazelnut-Butter Cookies with Mini Chocolate Chips

Hmmmm....a new baking group is forming. And the plan is to make 12 different Christmas Cookies and post on 12 consecutive days. I want to play but........

Let me introduce you to some friends of mine, Ms. Push and Mr. Pull.

Push: I want to join the 12-Days of Christmas Cookies Extravaganza!

Pull: Michelle do you really need another thing to pile onto the load you're carrying? I mean really, don't you think you have enough in your life? And you do not need 12 different batches of Christmas Cookies..now do you? And remember that job you have...the one where you make no money?

Push: Well, come to think of it, I love making Christmas Cookies and making cookies does not take that much time. And besides I already have most of the ingredients in my pantry. So what's the problem? And about the job...why am I working for no money?

Pull: Let me just say that I only have your best interest at heart. And since you apparently want a list, for one thing you've done absolutely no Christmas shopping yet! And the cats only have a day or so of food left. The windows are getting awfully grimy and for crying out loud you have not even hung the artwork in the living room yet. As for the job, YOU own the company, right?

Push: Let's see...the artwork can wait, I'm the only one that goes into the living room anyway so what's the diff? And it's almost winter and no one's looking out the windows again until at least March. My cats are working cats and there's plenty of mice in our pastures and I can do my Christmas Shopping at Amazon. And since I own the company, I guess it's none of your business!

It was a tough decision but I knew that the cookies would prevail. They always do.



Let the cookie baking begin!



OH I had so much fun deciding what cookies I will make from the wonderful list at Bon Appetit's Holiday Cookie-a-Day Collection.

I had my recipe selection all done and printed out and then discovered that I had chosen 15 recipes instead of the 12 I needed. I let Mr. Tastebud's do the final elimination and I also let him pick the first cookie. Of course he picked the recipe that closely resembled Chocolate Chip Cookies being he's a Chocolate Chip fanatic to the point where I have to hide my bags of baking bits! Well he hides his socks so I can't wear them, so I don't feel guilty at all hiding my chocolate chips! What's with men and their socks any way?

I made this recipe exactly as written except I added some of the swirled chips to give the cookies some spark. And since the cookies were sort of plain looking I did roll them in Coarse Raw Sugar which gave them a nice Christmas sparkle! I loved the Hazelnut Butter in these cookies! It added just enough flavor to make the cookies unique and I will definitely be buying more of the nut butters with Almond and Pecan next on my list to try!






Hazelnut-Butter Cookies with Mini Chocolate Chips
Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit's Holiday Cookie-a-Day Collection

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup creamy unsalted hazelnut butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 12-ounce package semisweet mini chocolate chips (2 cups)

My Additions:
1/4 cup Swirled Chocolate Chips
Coarse Raw Sugar to roll the cookies in before baking.

Sift first 4 ingredients into medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter, hazelnut butter, and both sugars in large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Beat in flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours. DO AHEAD Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Keep refrigerated. Soften dough slightly at room temperature before shaping.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Using 1 level tablespoon for each cookie, roll dough between palms of hands into 1-inch balls. Arrange 1 inch apart on prepared sheets. Bake 1 sheet at a time until cookies are golden brown, about 12 minutes. Let cool on sheets on racks 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to racks and cool. DO AHEAD Can be made 5 days ahead. Store airtight between sheets of waxed paper at room temperature.







Please visit the rest of our 12-DaysofCookies Crew and see what they've baked today!

Andrea of Andrea's Recipes.(honorary member and our founder but not participating this year)
Claire of The Barefoot Kitchen
Courtney of Coco Cooks<--Glamorous Courtney
Di of Di's Kitchen Notebook
Judy of No Fear Entertaining
Kelly of Sass & Veracity<--Sweet Kelly
Michelle of BigBlackDog <--Hey that's ME!
RJ of Flamingo Musings<--Feathered Friend Renee
Sandy of At the Baker's Bench
Tiffany of The Nesting Project




All Rights Reserved 2008-9 © Big Black Dog

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Maple Cream Frosting

FINALLY!


Due to the pumpkin shortage I've not been able to bake anything pumpkin yet this year. I was near panic all week but on Saturday one of my local markets finally came through. Their canned pumpkin display consisted of a huge mound of box after box of pumpkin about 100 cases deep and stacked 10 cases high. YES!!!!! And I stocked up and have enough pumpkin for a few years now!

If you have not noticed I'm participating in the GreatHallowTweet, which is organized by my twitter buddy, Renee of Flamingo Musings. We've all decorated up our blogs for Halloween and I must say, we all outdid ourselves this year! Great job guys! If you have a minute please hop over to my sidebar and click on the links in the big orange banner. I promise you will not be disappointed. So fun!

The recipe I used for my cupcakes is all over the internet yet I've never made Pumpkin Cupcakes. I know hard to believe being I've had a pumpkin obsession for years now. But boy is this recipe a keeper, just fantastic!! Of course I had to have a little fun with Halloween and decorate the heck out of them.






Pumpkin Cupcakes
Recipe adapted from Leite's Culinaria

1/c c butter, softened
1 c packed dark-brown sugar
1/3 c sugar
2 c flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 large eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cups canned solid-pack pumpkin

Makes about 16 regular sized cupcakes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix the butter and sugars until well blended. Add the eggs, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, salt, pepper and vanilla and mix well. Blend in the buttermilk and pumpkin then gradually add flour and mix until completely incorporated.

Fill cupcake liners about 2/3 full of batter. Bake cupcakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean about 12-15 minutes. Remove cupcakes from tin and cool on a rack.








Maple Cream Frosting
Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 c (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 TBL pure maple syrup
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 c confectioners' sugar

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat cream cheese and butter together until smooth. Add maple syrup, vanilla, and confectioners' sugar; continue beating until well combined and smooth.

I had to double the frosting recipe to have enough for all the cupcakes. But I tend to pipe a thicker frosting for cupcakes to get a nice top dome and ..well because I love it! But if you're frosting the cupcakes with a spatula, the recipe as is should be fine.






In case you've missed them, pictured below are more of my Halloween Treats. Just click on the title links for the recipe and post.


Halloween Lollipop Cookies





Snow-flecked Brownies






Candy Corn Kiss Cookies








All Rights Reserved 2008-9 © Big Black Dog

Halloween Lollipop Cookies

A year or so ago I set out to test sugar cookie recipes. I probably made six or seven different recipes. Some were good and some were not to be made again! But I found the most wonderful Sugar Cookie Recipe. Shhhhh...don't tell but it has now replaced my Mom's recipe which was my favorite for years. And the Lollipop Cookies seem to be a big favorite from my kitchen!

During our construction, even though my kitchen was completed, I still had crews of men working on my house. And when I would bake I would offer some of the goodies to my guys. Being I have hundreds of sprinkles for every holiday imaginable, I bake the Lollipop Cookies quite often and decorate accordingly. It was so funny looking outside and see all the men walking around eating the Lollipop Cookies. I think they enjoyed eating the cookies on a stick!

Last year my youngest niece, Julia, sent me the Flat Stanley letter and I sent back a box of goodies from IL and Halloween Lollipop Cookies for her class. One little boy wanted another cookie and my niece told him if he wrote me a nice letter, I would send him a box of cookies. Isn't that cute! Actually Julia is correct, I would have sent the cookies to the little boy but it is funny that she so casually volunteered me! LOL!! The innocence of children is just so darn sweet!







Halloween Lollipop Cookies
Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Colored sanding sugar or sprinkles (preferably Halloween theme)
24 wooden ice-pop sticks

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla; beat until combined. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture; mix just until combined (do not overmix).

Prep all your confections into small prep bowls and line them up within easy reach.





Roll dough into balls, using 1 1/2 tablespoons for each.

Roll in confections, pressing lightly to coat completely. Insert a wooden stick in center of each ball.





Place on baking sheets, about 1 1/2 inches apart, with wooden sticks lying horizontally. Lightly press down on each ball with the bottom of a glass to flatten slightly.

Bake until edges are just golden, about 20 minutes. Transfer cookies immediately to a wire rack to cool completely.










Tasty Tuesday is hosted by Jen of Beauty and Bedlam. And Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays is hosted by Lisa of Blessed with Grace.




All Rights Reserved 2008-9 © Big Black Dog