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

Checkerboard Cookies laced with Orange

I've been wanting to try my hand at Checkerboard Cookies for a l-o-n-g time now. And finally had slight gap in my schedule so I got to work. But first I had to find a recipe and whenever I'm searching for an adaptable cookie recipe I always start by looking in my handwritten 3by5 family recipe file. It's fun to go back and look at these recipes. I usually recognize the handwriting of the person who gave me the recipe or the name of a long ago neighbor.

When I was looking for a recipe I knew it was important that the vanilla and chocolate doughs be as close as possible in bulk, so I was looking for a dough that I could easily divide for the vanilla and chocolate doughs. When I came across my Great Grama's Ice Box Cookie recipe, I knew I had found the right one!

I remember whenever we were at Grama's house she always had what she called Ice Box Cookies. And she did keep them in a long small bread box container in the refrigerator. I remember whenever we were especially good Grama pulling out the box of Ice Box Cookies and sitting at her small kitchen table and eating them one by one.

Grama's recipe was easily divided into 2 bowls. I eliminated the brown sugar and because I added vanilla I cut the sugar to 1/2 cup and of course added cocoa powder to the chocolate dough. Also added some orange zest to the vanilla dough because I have a thing for Orange!






Ice Box Cookies
Adapted from my Great Grandma Will

1 c. butter, softened
2 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 c. flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 c. finely chopped nuts

Mix well in order given one at a time.

Press and shape dough into three loaves, about 2 inches square and 5 inches long on sheets of waxed paper.

Wrap tightly in waxed paper and put in refrigerator.

Chill at least 2 hours.

Place on inch apart on ungreased baking sheet.

Bake 350 degrees until just lightly brown on the bottoms.






Checkerboard Cookies
Recipe developed by Big-Black-Dog

Vanilla Shortbread:
3/4 c. butter, softened
1/2 c. sugar
1 egg, slightly whipped
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 c. flour
Optional: Zest of 1 large orange

Chocolate Shortbread:
3/4 c. butter, softened
1/2 c. sugar
1 egg, slightly whipped
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 c. cocoa powder
1 1/2 c. flour

1 egg white, slightly whipped with 1/2 tsp water (for sealing layers of dough)

In 2 separate bowls cream the softened butter and sugar. Add the egg, baking powder, salt, baking soda and vanilla. For the vanilla dough blend in the orange zest. And for the chocolate dough blend in cocoa powder. Add the flour and mix just until all flour is incorporated.

Lay 2 pieces of plastic wrap on your counter. Put the vanilla shortbread on 1 piece of plastic wrap and pat it into a rough 5" by 8" rectangle, making sure that it is of even thickness. Now with light pressure roll over the top with a floured rolling pin to smooth the top. Repeat for the Chocolate dough.


Now I'm going to refer you to the below video by Dyann Bakes for an excellent demonstration on the construction of the Checkerboard Cookies.







All Rights Reserved 2008-9 © Big Black Dog

I think I nailed it **The perfect Chocolate Cookie

I've been looking for a good chocolate cookie for years now. Finally took matters into my own hands, started experimenting and I think I've nailed it!

My Chocolate Peanut Roll Cookies are soft, chewy, deliciously rich in chocolate with a slight tinge of mint and a grand finale of crushed peanuts. GAWD, they are so good! I was not sure about the mint flavor with peanuts but it is excellent and this is definitely an adult cookie. It's a small recipe because I was experimenting, so I'm not sure if it would work well doubled or not. As written below it will make 10-12 cookies and I ate every single 1 of them.







Chocolate Peanut Roll Cookies
Recipe developed by Big-Black-Dog

1 stick of butter, softened
1/2 c. powdered sugar
1 c. flour
1 egg
4 TBL unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp powdered instant espresso powder (see **NOTE)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp peppermint extract (or any kind of mint extract would work)
3/4 c. crushed salted peanuts


With a hand mixer or by hand mix butter and powder sugar until blended. Blend in egg. Add vanilla, mint, salt, espresso powder and chocolate powder. When I add chocolate powder I mix by hand. Add flour and blend only until flour is completely incorporated.

Dough will be very soft. Turn out onto a floured board and knead for a minute.

On a clean board or pastry cloth roll dough into a log about 10" long and 2 1/2" wide. Cookies do not raise during the baking process so the width of your log is the size the cookie will be after baking. Smaller cookies, 2", are better if you're making them for a party or buffet so just make the diameter of the log the size you want for the finished cookie.

Place the dough log on plastic and wrap it up tightly. Refrigerate for about 15 minutes until firm for not hard.

Crush peanuts. I have a nut grinder but you can use a food processor or put the nuts in a zip lock bag and crush with a meat mallet or rolling pin. If you use your food processor, just pulse until the peanuts are crushed.

Remove cookie dough from refrigerator and unwrap but leave the dough log on the plastic wrap. Sprinkle the crushed peanuts on the plastic wrap along one side the dough log. With gentle pressure roll the Dough Log over the peanuts embedding the crushed nuts into the dough, careful to completely cover the log the peanuts. You might have to roll the log over the peanuts several times to completely cover the log.

Rewrap the Dough Log in the plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours until very firm. Remove log, unwrap and with a sharp knife cut 1/2" slices. Even if you make your log a smaller diameter, I would still cut 1/2" slices.

Place sliced cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for about 8 minutes or until cookies are barely firm on the bottom. Remove cookies and cool on a rack. Enjoy!

**NOTE: Espresso Powder enhances the chocolate flavor but so does Balsamic Vinegar. Next time I make these I'm going to add a little Balsamic and see what happens. I love to experiment with recipes!












Courtney of Coco Cooks is hosting the April's 10th Helping of "My Legume Love Affair" and my Chocolate Peanut Roll Cookies are my entry.



All Rights Reserved 2008-9 © Big Black Dog

Pistachio Cranberry Cookies

Here are more of my Christmas cookies that I made post Christmas. Oh well, I had some other issues going on and December was just not a baking month for me. I dearly love true shortbread cookies but wanted to dress them up a bit. And what could be better then a shortbread cookie dressed with crushed pistachios and dried orange-flavored cranberries.

These cookies are just delicious!




Shortbread Cookies
Recipe adapted from Ann's Mom

1 lb. butter, soft
1/2 lb margarine, soft
6 1/2 c. flour
2 c. powdered sugar

Cream butter and margarine and add powdered sugar.

Gradually, add flour 1 cup at a time.

This is a true shortbread cookie so no vanilla is needed. It is also very SHORT and cracks easily.

Either roll out dough and cut cookies. Or roll into a log, refrigerate and with a very sharp knife, slice the cookies.

Cranberry Pistachio Cookies
Recipe developed by Big-Black-Dog

3 sticks of butter, softened
3 1/4 c. flour
1 c. powdered sugar
1/2 c. chopped dried cranberries
1/2 c. chopped pistachios

Cream the butter and powdered sugar. Add the chopped cranberries. Gradually add flour. Roll dough into about a 2" diameter log. On a piece of plastic wrap sprinkle the chopped pistachios. Roll the cookie log over the chopped nuts, gently pressing down so the nuts embed into the dough evenly. Wrap the log in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. With a sharp knife, slice into 1/2" slices.

Place cookie slices on parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees until slightly brown on the bottom.

NOTE: These cookies do not rise. So the diameter of your log will be the diameter of the cookie.


All Rights Reserved 2008-9 © Big Black Dog

A double take on Peanut Butter Cookies

Much to the disappointment of Mr. Tastebuds, I made no holiday cookies this year and he reminds me of this fact at least once a week. Hey now, I had a good excuse and was recovering from surgery but I did miss my cookies too. When I received Martha Stewart's Cookie of the Day notice featuring a new look for Old-fashioned Peanut Butter Cookies I knew I had to give them a try. Of course this does not make up for the absence of my Christmas Cookies but hopefully this wonderful cookie will ease Mr. Tastebuds through his withdrawal.



I used my Mom's Peanut Butter Cookie recipe and they are so good. But now I've discovered the recipe is actually from Aunt Phyllis! Where Aunt Phyllis got the recipe is anyone's guess, but it's been one of our official family recipes since I can remember.


Peanut Butter Cookies
Recipe via my Mom...via Aunt Phyllis

1 c. sugar
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. peanut butter
1 c. butter, softened to room temperature
2 eggs, slightly beaten
2 1/2 c. flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla

Chocolate Ribbing:
4 ounces of chocolate chips, semi-sweet or milk chocolate
1 TBL shortening

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, combine sugars and add butter and beat until creamy. Add peanut butter, soda and vanilla. While mixing gradually add flour. Chill for 1 hour. With a rounded teaspoon form dough into balls. Press down each ball with the palm of our hand or the bottom of a flat glass. With a fork press the tynes into each side forming 4 ridges. With your fingers, reshape the cookies into a rounded square. Bake until lightly browned. Cool.

Melt the chocolate either in a heavy sauce pan on low heat, double boiler or the microwave. Add the shortening to the warm chocolate and blend. Put the melted chocolate in a small zip lock baggie, careful to zip it shut. Clip the corner of the baggie just to make a tiny hole. If you've never piped chocolate before, just practice a little bit before attempting the cookie. Carefully fill in each ridge on the cookie with chocolate. Allow the chocolate to harden. Serve.



All Rights Reserved 2008 © Big Black Dog

It's Snowing inside and out!!

A few months ago I received a surcie, a surprise package, from my friend Marigene and included in it was "Cookie Craft" by Valerie Peterson and Janice Fryer. It is an excellent book full of ideas for decorating cookies and I've read the entire book, cover to cover. I love baking fancy cookies, so there could not be a more perfect book for me! I've been unable to make any decorated cookies since my surgery, but due to an early Spring blizzard, I thought I might try doing a bit of simple cookie decorating today and bring some of the snowflakes inside!! And oh boy did I have fun!



I am experimenting with sugar cookie recipes and choose 2 different Sugar Cookie recipes for my Snowflakes. I've had the first 2 recipes for a long time now and I have no idea where I found them. The 1st recipe was actually pretty good, but I did not care for the 2nd recipe and won't be making it again. So far my favorite Sugar Cookie Recipe is one from Martha Stewart and I will post it below.


Sugar Cookie #1

1 cup butter, room temperature
3/4 cup powdered sugar
2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon red food coloring

Place butter in mixer and beat until light and fluffy and add vanilla. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour and powdered sugar. Slowly add the flour and sugar to the butter, mixing on low. With all the flour and sugar added, the dough won't completely come together in the mixture, so you will need to finish it off by hand. Pull together the dough and form into a ball, pounding the dough with the palm of one hand. Once the dough is a consistent ball, use a knife to divide the dough in half. Return one half of the dough to the mixing bowl and add 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of food coloring—your hands will stain less if you do the initial mixing of coloring in the blender. Run the mixer for a minute to help incorporate the coloring. The dough will crumble, so finish kneading by hand until color is more uniform.Wrap each dough half in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Don't over chill or else the dough will crumble and you will need to warm it by kneading.


Sugar Cookies #2

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt, and set aside. Cream butter and sugar. Add egg and vanilla. Add flour mixture. Roll out to about
1/2" thick and cut into shapes. Bake for about 15 minutes.


My Favorite Sugar Cookie
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

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).

Cookies can be rolled out and cut or rolled into a ball and crisscrossed with a fork.





All Rights Reserved 2008 © Big Black Dog