Funfetti Cookies

As a kid, 24 was my “I’m old” age.  When, I got to be 20, the age became 30.  As I approach 30, I find this exercise unnecessary and meaningless.  Age is a number and despite the fact that my back aches almost every morning until I walk it out, I’ll be as old as I feel.  One morning, I walked it out on my way to the kitchen.  And, I baked these cookies.

Because when you went to sleep the night before wondering how that wrinkle got there and assuming it is because you have not slept a solid 8 hours in more than a year, you need a little pick-me-up.  Pick-you-up?  My feeble mind doesn’t mind either.

Whatever it may be that ails you, I encourage you to make these cookies.  In addition to the use of the mood-lifter sprinkles,  I adapted the recipe, adding lemon zest to give the cookie a bright flavor.

While these cookies may not have solved my back ache, they did give me the sugar rush I needed to forget about it.  Until my next sleep-deprived morning.

What ails you?  And do you have an “I’m old” age?

Funfetti Cookies

adapted from Tasty Kitchen via Two Peas And Their Pod originally from Fat Girl Trapped in a Skinny Body

yields approximately 20 cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, room temperature
• 1 and 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• grated lemon zest from one lemon
• 1 egg
• 2 and 3/4 cups cake flour
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup sprinkles
• 3 tbsp nonpareil sprinkles

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. Cream together the butter and sugar in a mixer for about 2 minutes until light/fluffy and pale.
3. Add the vanilla extract, lemon zest and egg and mix well until completely incorporated.
4. In a separate bowl, sift together the cake flour, baking soda and salt.
5. Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter/sugar mixture.  Mix on low-speed until all combined.
6. Finally, mix in the sprinkles.  Do not over mix at all because you do not want the color to bleed into the dough.
7. Scoop cookie dough onto a parchment lined cookie pan and bake for 10-12 minutes.  You want the cookies to remain quite pale in the center and only lightly browned on the edges.  Don’t let it get too browned or golden because then you will just end up having a crispy cookie.
8. Cool on a wire cookie rack and store in an airtight container.

Mexican Wedding Cookies

Meet one of my all-time favorite cookies. I can almost guarantee that they are my second favorite, right after the obvious chocolate chip. I prepare these cookies often, as they are a favorite among all members of the family. I also prepare them for my family because they are not overly sweet and the flavors are subtly sweet and rich from the walnuts. I have also displayed them on the blog several times on the blog as well. I cannot say enough about these cookies. So, instead I just eat them.

As I make them often, I have adapted it over time to perfect the balance of all flavors. If you have not yet tried these cookies, I highly suggest that you. Perfect for any occasion, these light and crisp cookies can be made all-year round.

Mexican Wedding Cookies
– adapted from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter, room temperature
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 6 tablespoons powdered sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup walnuts
• 1/3 cup powdered sugar, for rolling the cookies

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. In a pan, over medium-high heat, roast the walnuts for about 3-5 minutes. Do not burn. Once cooled, chop the walnuts quite finely. Set aside.
3. In a medium-sized bowl, cream the butter.
4. Add vanilla extract.
5. Slowly add the powdered sugar and flour until fully incorporated.
6. Add the chopped walnuts.
7. Using a cookie scoop, place each cookie an inch apart on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
8. Bake for 12 minutes. When cooled, roll twice in powdered sugar.
9. I place them on cupcake liners to keep them in tact.

Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies

One of my favorite cookies is the chocolate chip coconut cookies from Paradise Bakery.  Have you had them?  If you have a Paradise Bakery near you, I highly recommend it.  I have had it exactly two times.  I was pregnant for both of those times.

Time #1:  Random day wherein we passed Paradise Bakery on the way home and happened to stop by for a treat.

Time #2:  (Later on in the pregnancy where food was on my mind constantly)  A long day after coming back from a court hearing where I talked about the cookie and how wonderful of a treat it would be after the long day.  So, Binks (probably sick of me talking about the cookie) said he would take me, despite the fact that the bakery was not at all on the way home.

We got the cookie.  Delicious, especially paired with a cup of decaf coffee with tons of milk.  I devoured it in the car while Binks looked on (probably waiting for me to offer him a bite).  Five minutes after I finished the cookie, and while we were driving home, the car starts coming to a slow stop.  I quickly realized that I had ignored the empty gas light for a couple of days.  ‘Twas my car and Binks had no clue.  It was quite hot that day.  Unfortunately, my iPhone was dead and Binks’ phone was on the verge of dying.  Both our computers and important case-related documents were in the car.  “Luckily” we were near a local library.  Unfortunately, the entrance into the library required us to push the car up an incline.  At my 8-month pregnant stage, any ability for me to push was to be saved for another month.  Binks was left with this task.  “Luckily” some police offers came by after an hour of just being on the road and helped Binks pull the car into the parking lot.

Well, turns out that the police officers could only do that much, for which I’m grateful.  When we asked them to take us to the gas station, a mile away, they said they couldn’t.  So, Binks walked it.  In the heat.  And walked back.  In dress clothes – suit and uncomfortable dress shoes.  I waited in the library.  I made myself useful by perusing the movie section.  I also observed this random guy managing his online dating account using the public internet.  A much more interesting selection than the movie section.

Binks came back, sweaty and cranky.  He put gas in the car and we drove home.  On the way, he turned to me in disgust and said, “your cookie better have been worth it.”

It was.

Ever since that day, when we drive by Paradise Bakery, I hold back from any urge to say, “let’s get a cookie.”

Instead of dealing with the wrath of Binks, I decided to replicate this beloved cookie.  And, believe me – this cookie is worth it.

Chocolate Chip Coconut Cookie

Adapted from Allrecipes
Yields about 2 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup sweet flaked coconut

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy.
3. Beat in the egg until incorporated.
4. Add vanilla and mix.
5. In another bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and salt.
6. In three portions, add the flour mixture to the butter mixture until it’s all mixed together well.
7. Fold in the chocolate chips and coconut.
8. Drop onto parchment lined cookie sheets.
9. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.
10. Take the cookies out of the oven and let it sit for another 10 minutes on the cookie sheet.  After 10 minutes, remove the cookies to a cookie rack for complete cooling.

Hazelnut Chocolate Chip Cookies

What’s better than one cookie?

Two of these cookies.

Lame joke but an absolutely true statement.

I recently had a craving for a substantial flavor-filled cookie.  I found it.  These cookies are full of goodies:  chocolate chips, hazelnuts, toffee chips and oat flour.  What’s not to love?

With all the chocolate chips and toffee, I reduced the sugar in the original recipe.  The result?  Delicious and a great cookie with tons of flavor.  The oat ‘meal’ in the recipe adds a substance to the cookie and a flavor depth that you will notice and appreciate.

Hazelnut Chocolate Chip Cookies
slightly adapted from here

Ingredients:
–  1/2 cup rolled oats
–  2 cups all-purpose flour
–  1 tsp baking powder
–  1 tsp baking soda
–  1/2 tsp salt
–  1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
–   3/4 cup (packed) light brown sugar
–  1/2 cup granulated sugar
–  2 eggs
–   1 tsp vanilla extract
–  4 ounces toffee candy, finely chopped (I used one Skor bar; also can use Heath bars or the toffee chips you find in the baking aisle)
–  1 cup hazelnuts, lightly roasted and chopped
–  1 large cup of chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 F.
2. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
3. Grind oats in a food processor or grinder until it resembles a coarse meal.
4. Transfer the oats into a medium-sized bowl.
5. Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt to the oat mixture.
6. In your kitchen mixer (or a large bowl – if you are using a hand mixer), beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in the eggs and vanilla until incorporated and mixed well.
7. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture until blended.  Don’t over mix.
8. Stir in the toffee, hazelnuts and chocolate chips.
9. Drop 1 tablespoon of dough onto the baking sheet, spaced 1 inch apart.  Bake for 15 minutes until cookies are golden brown.
10. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Covered Oreos

You think you know but you have no idea.

When you assume that this is just a Levain-style chocolate chip cookie, you make a cookie “ass” out of you and me.

It’s the inside that matters.

Yes, I went there.

And, it started like this.

That led to me deciding that these would serve as a perfect baby shower favor.  Now the only question is how many to put in one bag.  Each cookie is quite hefty, which is perfect for those that want to die of an immediate sugar high right after the shower.  Or those that want to kill themselves from baby shower boredom (I don’t fool myself into thinking that it’s fun just because it’s mine – that’s why we’ll serve liquor.)

I tested these at our neighborhood National Night Out and everyone LOVED it.  I cannot stress LOVED enough.  So much that one neighbor said these cookies were ‘sick’.  It took me a while to realize it’s a good thing.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Covered Oreos

Recipe from Picky Palate  (she is a genius)

Ingredients:
–  2  sticks of unsalted butter, softened
–  3/4 cup light brown sugar
–  1 cup granulated sugar
–  2 large eggs
–  1 tablespoon vanilla extract
–  3  1/2 cups all-purpose flour
–  1 teaspoon salt
–  1 teaspoon baking soda
–  10 oz bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips*
–  1 package of Double Stuffed Oreos

Directions:
–  Preheat oven to 350F.
–  In a bowl or with your stand mixer, first beat your butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar.
–  Add in the two large eggs and vanilla extract just until incorporated.
–  Once the wet ingredients are mixed together well (be careful not to over mix), add the flour, salt and baking soda, and mix until combined.
–  Add chocolate chips and stir.
–  Once you have your chocolate chip cookie dough ready,  take a cookie scoop and place one scoop of the dough on the top of the Oreo and one scoop on the bottom ( as pictured above).
–  Press the dough down a bit without cracking the Oreo and once the sides of the chocolate chip cookie scoops meet, seal them together.  Make sure the entire Oreo is covered with dough.
–   Place each covered Oreo onto your baking sheet (I ran out of parchment paper so I used foil paper) and bake for approximately 9 – 13 minutes (12:30 minutes worked for me perfectly).
–  Cool the cookie for about five (5) minutes before moving to a wire rack.

*When I repeat this, I will use less chocolate chips.  My chocolate chips were actually in a 12 oz bag.  So, next time, I’ll double the dough and use only one bag of 12 oz chocolate chips.

My batch made 21 perfect cookies.

The Second Cousin

So, I missed my cousin’s graduation party.  Except she was my mom’s second cousin’s daughter and I really don’t even know what that means.  Do you?  If so, don’t explain.  I have read about it, heard about it and different people have given me 15 different variations on it, but I still don’t get it.

But, they are at all the family get-togethers, so I just call them cousins.  And, I missed her high school graduation party.  This was totally my scheduling error and not the error of a careless school (sorry, Ameena).

If I had gone, I would have gotten her money.  Because, let’s be honest.  A high school graduate doesn’t want a pen as much as she wants money.  This also applies to a college graduate and just about any person.  Maybe I’m projecting?

I also understand the impersonal nature of handing someone money with some exceptions.  If you attend a party/get together and hand the money in person, then all is well.  There is some personal-ness to it.  However, if you missed the graduation party and just send money, it might seem a little distant.  Right?  (Mind you, I would accept money with no care but others may care.  Except from Binks – wherein homemade and/or thoughtful are requirements.)

I’m sure this follows no rules of etiquette as I clearly have none, but hey, that’s how I roll.

So, I’m going to mail her a gift package with the following: pens, pencils, highlighters, a desk organizer, cookies, and of course – money.

I was most excited about the cookies.

Specifically, snickerdoodles.  (Recipe)

I love snickerdoodles.  The light and crisp (yet chewy) texture is perfect for a summer treat.

Who knew cookies could be seasonal?

Snickerdoodles are in the same family as sugar cookies to me, just with a bit more pizzazz.

They’re probably second cousins.

Are you a fan of snickerdoodles?  What do you usually give to a high school graduate?

So, A Priest and A Lawyer Come for Lunch…

Binks and I had our priest over for lunch.  I was given one day’s notice (he travels a lot) and thought of a great easy lunch idea that won’t leave you weighed down.

Hot mini ham and cheese sandwiches (spread with a mustard and butter mix – trust me it was good)

Cucumber sandwiches with a dash of Tabasco mixed into the cream cheese – it totally makes a difference.

Salad with homemade dressing (red wine vinegar, dijon mustard, lemon juice, olive oil, fresh black pepper, and a pinch of cumin).  And you can see a tiny portion of the M&M cookies we had for dessert.

The most delicious pasta salad ever!  (I reduced the oregano and the whole salad could have easily been missing the pepperoni.)

I ate this pasta salad for the remainder of the week.  Refreshing and totally hits the spot.  I have to say the tiny bits of cheese were perfect to bite into.

All in all, it was a great time with a good friend and food.

The lunch inadvertently lasted from noon to 5 p.m.  Thank goodness for sandwich snacks along the way.

What would you serve for a lunch gathering?  (I might be the only one but I love dreaming up menus for different events.  Judge me if you wish.)

Therapy.

I stress about my little sister – 25 years of age little.

I could write a thesis about all the stressors and graph it for you, but let’s go with the latest stressor.

My sister is dating a guy that I don’t like.  And neither does she, but she feels bad leaving him.

After getting off the phone with her about this, I accumulated quite a bit of stress from things I did not say (i.e., “I’m sick of talking to you about the same problem,” “You are an idiot,” “Dump him,” “He is a loser,” “I know what’s best for you,” “I’m smarter than you so do what I say!”).

One thing I’ve learned through time and experience is that telling someone that they are doing the wrong thing over and over doesn’t mean a darn thing unless the other person realizes it for themselves.  And also because I said all these things at least 5 times to her in the past month. Whoops! 🙂

You would think she would learn from her past – like the time she was allegedly IN LOVE with a guy she met during summer vacation – a 5 day vacation.  Hasn’t she heard of the term “summer fling,” or in this case “summer mini-hit-it-and-split-it-fling”?

I needed relief.  It was cookie time.

It started with one.

That led to many.

That led to this.

I think I’ll send this to her with a note: “Plenty of fish in the sea, and you had to find this flop…”

🙂

I won’t!

What kind of note would you send?  To who? Why? How do your relieve stress in a non-exercise way?

Christmas 2010: My Dessert Smorgasbord

Hello Post-Christmas to all!

hope each of you had a fabulous Christmas.  I know I did. This year my mom did it up right.  And let’s just say, I overdid it with the desserts.  If you follow me on Twitter, you would have read that I really almost had a panic attack at the amount I was baking.  But, in the end, it made for a great spread and I left with no left-overs!  Always a great sign.

All in all – I made 7 desserts (I cut it down from eight):  cranberry and walnut shortbread, thumbprint cookies, homemade Pocky sticks, brownies, Mexican wedding cookies (aka Russian tea cakes), mini cheesecakes, and a delicious rum cake to boot!

The best rum cake I have ever tasted – and I promise you I’m critical with my cooking!

These are my all-time favorite go-to brownies.

I cannot believe that it took me this long to make these Mexican wedding cookies.  This will not be my last time – let me tell ya!

Yes, I did use Halloween cupcake liners, but would you deny these treats for that reason?!  I think not!

I used blackberry jam for these thumbprint cookies.  My favorite!

And my MIL did it up right by bringing the classic Jalebi.

So, basically I caused a diabetic’s nightmare! 🙂

Not to fret, there was other food at dinner.  First, some appeteasers with Indian puffs – puff pastry filled with ground beef:

and my mom’s infamous samosas:

The blurry picture doesn’t do it justice.

And the main course had fried rice, beef/chicken kabobs, raita, salad, green beans, and even a pasta casserole my dad whipped up last-minute that was a hit!

In addition to this fabulous food, the night itself was fantastic.  I have a great family and I was truly blessed that Christmas 2010 included ALL of them!

In addition to my family, I am extremely thankful for you, my blog readers.  I have only been doing this a short time, but the people I have ‘virtually met’ have been absolutely short of wonderful.  I love the positive energy that everyone exudes and I have to say that it has changed my life.  So, thank you from the bottom of my happy holiday heart!

Mandelbaum Mandelbaum!

Now…just replace the baum with bread and you get —-  MANDEL BREAD!

“It’s go time!”

I am a big fan of Ashley.  I am also a big fan of biscotti (although I have never made it – just inhaled it).  Now, when Ashley said that she thought she found something “better than biscotti“, I just had to give it a go.  (Afterall, she did convince me to make my own coconut butter!)

After reading her recipe, I knew I wanted to try the vegan version!

Can I tell you something?  I have never ever made a vegan-version of anything before – let alone desserts!  It has been ingrained into me that to bake, you have to use butter, sugar and eggs.  This recipe blew that idea out of the water.

I made my first ever flax egg!

And then there was mandel bread!

Now, honey – let me teeeell you!  I just came from a week of eating chocolate chip cookies and this – as proclaimed by both Binks and I – this was one of the most delicious refreshing cookies ever!  I will absolutely be making these again.

The recipe was full-flavored, nutty, crunchy, and light.  Had a great crumb and went fabulously with my tea , and at night when I couldn’t help but grab more! 🙂

I used Ashley’s veganized recipe, but I used half whole wheat and half unbleached all-purpose flour.  I loved the flavor of this cookie!

And just like Mandelbaum – Mandel Bread won’t be beat!