Spiced Spritz Cookies

Spiced Spritz Cookies

I have got a busy cookie baking weekend ahead of me, and I’m starting it all off with these Spiced Spritz Cookies – Christmas Cookie #3. Now I ask that you please try not to laugh too hard at my spritz cookies; I’m not very skilled with a cookie press. Just kidding. Feel free to go ahead and laugh… I did.

I love spritz cookies, but I sometimes find that they can be a little lacking in flavor. This recipe includes ground cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves, which adds tons of flavor to the cookies.

Later on today, I’ll be baking up a big batch of Eggnog Snickerdoodles (Christmas Cookie #4) for the annual office cookie exchange on Monday. Of course, I’ll have to be sure to make extra to add to my own Christmas cookie platter, or my family will never let me hear the end of it. (They are one of my family’s favorite holiday cookies)

If you’d like to view the recipe for the Eggnog Snickerdoodles, you can find it here.

Well, I think it’s about time for me to head on back into the kitchen.

Tis the season to be busy, fa la la la la, la la la la.

~Enjoy~

Spiced Spritz Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
1 egg
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

With an electric mixer, beat butter, egg, powdered sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves and vanilla until light and fluffy. Gradually add flour, mixing until blended.

If desired, divide dough into sections and color each section with food coloring. (one section could be green, one red, etc…)

Push dough through cookie press onto ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake for 7 to 9 minutes, or until cookies are set.

Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool.

Makes approximately 48 cookies.

Christmas Pinwheel Cookies

Christmas Pinwheel Cookies

Wow, for the first time in several days, the morning temperature here is above zero. Granted, it’s only 5 degrees outside this morning, but since our high temperature for the past couple of days has only reached 4 degrees, the warmer morning temperature looks promising. They are forecasting that our temperatures will climb into the 20′s this weekend, and we’ll even get a bit more snow. I’m sure all the winter outdoor recreation enthusiasts out there will enjoy the snow, since we’ve only received about 3 inches of it so far this season.

Even though it’s still pretty chilly out this morning, at least I have my baking to help keep me warm. Today we have Christmas Cookie #2 – Christmas Pinwheel Cookies! These light, crisp, peppermint flavored cookies are perfect for the holidays. I think the swirls of red and green look so festive, and I just know these cookies are going to look great on this year’s Christmas cookie platter.

~Enjoy~




Christmas Pinwheel Cookies

3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons peppermint extract
red food coloring
green food coloring

Directions:
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy; approximately 2 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Stir in the peppermint extract. Add the flour mixture and beat on low until just combined.

Divide the dough in half. Add several drops of red food coloring to one half of dough, and several drops of green food coloring to the other half. Mix until well combined. Form red dough half into a 4″ x 4″ square; wrap in plastic wrap and set aside. Form green dough half into a 4″ x 4″ square; wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate both dough halves for at least 30 minutes.

On parchment paper, roll red dough into a 16″ x 12″ rectangle, about 1/8 inch thick. On another sheet of parchment paper, roll green dough into a 16″ x 12″ rectangle, about 1/8 inch thick. Place green dough over red dough; peel away parchment paper. Cut dough horizontally in half. Roll each half into a tight log. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Slice logs into 1/4 inch pieces. Space 1 inch apart on cookie sheets.

Bake for 8-10 minutes. Remove cookies to a wire rack to cool.

Makes approximately 4 dozen cookies.

Dark Chocolate Mint Chip Cookies

Dark Chocolate Mint Chip Cookies

Let the Christmas cookie baking begin!! Christmas cookie #1 – Dark Chocolate Mint Chip Cookies.

I love the flavor combination of dark chocolate and mint, so I was thrilled when I found the limited edition Nestle Toll House Dark Chocolate & Mint Morsels at our local Target store. Limited edition items like these go pretty quickly around here, so you have to snap them up when you find them. Unfortunately, there were only a few packages left on the shelf when I found them, so I was kind and only purchased one.

After sampling these soft & fudgy Dark Chocolate Mint Chip Cookies though, I may have to go back to the store and see if they’ve received another shipment.

~Enjoy~




Dark Chocolate Mint Chip Cookies

1 cup all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons unsweetened baking cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup Nestle Toll House Dark Chocolate & Mint Morsels

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a small bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until smooth. Add the egg and vanilla and beat well. Add the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Stir in the dark chocolate & mint morsels.

Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 8-10 minutes.

Cool the cookies on the sheets for 1 minute, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes approximately 2 dozen cookies.

Caramel Apple Cookies

Caramel Apple Cookies

Autumn is in full swing here in Alaska and now that the storms have passed, I’m continuing my Fall baking with these incredibly flavorful and very yummy Caramel Apple Cookies.

I hate to admit it, but sometimes I can be a bit lazy when it comes to baking. I really wanted to make a caramel apple cookie, but I didn’t want to use those individually wrapped Kraft caramels, because I didn’t want to mess with unwrapping them. Yes, I know… that is pretty lazy, because those caramels are not that difficult to unwrap. Anyway, I took a trip to the grocery store and started browsing through the baking and candy aisles to see if there was something else I could use. That’s when I stumbled upon a package of Hershey’s Rolo Minis. I couldn’t see through the bag, so I couldn’t tell how big the candies were. They did have a picture of a caramel candy on the front of the bag that stated “actual size”, but I’ve learned from experience that those pictures are not always accurate. I decided to test my luck though, and I purchased a bag anyway.

When I got home and opened the bag, my first thought was that the candy might be a tad too big to use in the cookies, but I decided to mix them into the batter anyway. After they finished baking, I was thrilled to see that the cookies turned out great! The caramels melted a bit, but held their shape pretty well. The cookies were soft, and the chocolate caramel flavor paired beautifully with the apple. The graham cracker crumbs also added a delightful texture and taste.

These cookies are the perfect treat to enjoy on a Autumn day. I better enjoy them quickly though because, even though we’re only one week into the Autumn season, I can tell that it won’t be long before snow arrives, and then it will start looking more like Winter than Autumn around here. In fact, the weather forecast is calling for a mix of rain & snow to fall this weekend. If the wind doesn’t howl and the rain doesn’t cause any more flooding, I guess I’m okay with a bit of snow falling – as long as it doesn’t accumulate.

~Enjoy~




Caramel Apple Cookies

2 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon apple pie spice
1 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 small granny smith apples
1 (8 oz) package Hershey’s Rolo Minis

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder, salt, and apple pie spice. Set aside.

In a large bowl cream butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla extract. Gradually add dry ingredients and mix well. Peel, core, and dice apples into small pieces. Fold apples and Rolo Minis into dough.

Drop batter by rounded tablespoonfuls, 2 inches apart, onto prepared cookie sheets.
Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool.

Makes approximately 4 dozen cookies

Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

I found some beautiful organic bananas at the grocery store the other day, and I just couldn’t resist buying a big bunch. I knew I wanted to save some for eating as-is, but I decided the others were destined to be used for baking.

I thought about making the usual things like banana bread, banana cream pie, etc…, but then I settled on making something I have never tried before – Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies.

The cookie dough was a breeze to mix together, and the cookies turned out wonderful; soft, moist and really, really tasty. It is a bit surprising when you take that first bite of these cookies, because you don’t usually expect to taste banana in a cookie, but everyone that tasted them thought they were really good. It was even mentioned that they taste similar to banana bread, but in cookie form.

I think they turned out great, and I’m definitely planning on making them again. The next time I do though, I might just toss in a few nuts too – to give it a banana nut bread taste.

~Enjoy~




Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
3/4 cup mashed ripe banana
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups milk chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or spray with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, banana and vanilla extract. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Drop batter by rounded tablespoonfuls, 2 inches apart, onto prepared cookie sheets.

Bake for 9-11 minutes, or until the edges are lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool.

Makes 3 dozen cookies.