Pecan Sour Cream Sandies

Pecan Sour Cream Sandies for Valentines Day

When I was young my favorite cookies were Keebler’s Pecan Sandies. What I loved about them was the thickness of the cookie, and how rich and crunchy they were. That was my after school snack with a glass of milk. I don’t know if they even exist anymore. I no longer look for them because I don’t buy packaged cookies at the grocery store when I bake so frequently at home.

This recipe came to my attention one year around the holidays when I was lining up the cookies I planned to bake for Christmas. It has since become a favorite, and if I don’t make it for the holidays, I usually make it at some other time during the year. The dough is easy to make and although initially a little sticky, after chilling a while it firms up and becomes a very forgiving and manageable dough for cut-out cookies. Since there are all sorts of cookie cutters available for just about any occasion, this dough is a good one to have in your recipe box as a dependable go-to when you want to make a cookie that will always come out good. If you bake for someone who is nut-sensitive, just leave out the nuts, they will still be a delicious butter cookie.

On a side note: I used to wonder what it was about pecans that makes them so expensive, when they are widely grown in the South, and used lavishly in southern cuisine. During my vacation in North Carolina last fall, I think I learned the answer. The folks we visited have a large pecan tree on their property–see photo below–and it was laden with pecans that hung in clusters. I thought the tree was beautifully shaped and so I took a picture of it. I did not realize that a pecan tree can grow to such a large size.

A pecan tree.

Not quite ripe pecans in their pods.

When the nuts are ripe the pods which hold them crack open and the pecan in its shell falls to the ground where they are picked up. The quantity of nuts a tree will produce in any one year varies, some years are “good’ and other years “not so good”. Weather and rainfall play a big part. The pecan is one really protected little nut. It resides inside the tan-brown shell that we recognize, but that shell is covered by another outer green shell or pod. If you have ever shelled pecans you know how difficult that can be especially if you want perfect halves. I don’t know how they are harvested commercially, but for folks who have a pecan tree, harvesting and cracking pecans is a lot of work. Knowing this helps me to understand and appreciate their price.

Here is the recipe for the pecan sandies. I made these as part of my cookie packages for Valentines Day this year. I like to give gifts of home-baked treats to close friends and family for V-Day, a day for love, hearts and all things frilly!

PECAN AND SOUR CREAM SANDIES

Decorated treats!

YIELD: Makes about 5 dozen cookies, depending on size of cutter used.

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup pecans
2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 recipe Royal Icing (recipe below)

1. Grind the 1/2 cup pecans in a nut grinder or food processor. Stir together the nuts, flour and baking powder in a bowl.

Mix finely chopped nuts with flour.

2. In large mixer bowl beat butter about 30 seconds. Add sugar; beat till fluffy. Add egg, sour cream, and vanilla; beat well.

Creaming butter, sugar, egg, sour cream and vanilla.

3. Add dry ingredients, beating till well combined. Divide dough in half, cover and chill at least 3 hours, or overnight.

An easy to work with dough.

4. Working with half the dough at a time, on a lightly floured surface, roll to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut with desired cookie cutters. (Or dough may be shaped into 1-inch balls). Place on silpat or parchment-lined baking sheets. Chill each pan of cookies while you cut the next batch. Bake cutout cookies in 375*F oven for 7 – 8 minutes, shaped cookies for about 10 minutes. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

Cookies cooling before frosting.

5. Spread with Royal Icing, sprinkle with nuts, decorative sugars, or other kinds of trims.

Royal Icing, tinted pink

Royal Icing is a smooth fluid icing that holds its shape well and sets hard. Once it is set you can carefully write on it with gel-food pens.

ROYAL ICING

In a mixer bowl, beat 1 egg white till frothy. Add 1 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar, 1 Tablespoon lemon juice, and a dash of salt. Beat well. Add a drop or two of food coloring (optional) to all or part of the glaze. Decorate as desired.

Various sizes of square cookies.

I cut my cookies with several sizes of square cutters, divided the icing and tinted half of it pink, then stacked some of them, sprinkled some of them, and wrote on others with food-gel pens. Simply done, but pretty. Oh, the large cookie with the heart on it (a one of a kind) I will put into Mr. D’s lunch as a surprise!

SOURCE: Better Homes and Gardens Special Edition, Baking for the Holidays

Nutella Crackles

Posted by deliciousonadollar in Bars and Cookies and tagged with baked goods, chocolate, cookies, dessert, hazelnut, Nutella, recipe, snack February 12, 2013

Nutella Crackle Cookies

Does the thought of Nutella make you swoon? It does me. I love the stuff, but I tend to forget about it hiding there in the back of the cupboard. Then when I see the jar it’s like meeting up with an old friend, picking up just where we left off. You might say we have an “on and off” relationship.

Wouldn’t you like to taste one?

I had that same reaction when I saw George Clooney recently in the movie, The Descendants. He was so good in that role. I had forgotten how much I like him, until I saw him again. The same for Rosemary Clooney, she is one of my all-time favorite singers. There is nobody who can make you feel a song like she could, and I love to dance to her music. It’s so romantic, dreamy, jazzy, and cool. Isn’t it odd that I have such strong feelings for the two of them? They both make me swoon. You could say that I get swooney for Clooney. Did you know that Rosemary was George’s aunt? Yes, his father’s sister. Such a talented family.

Likewise, just a taste of Nutella is all it takes to make me swoon for it and want to create something sinfully delicious. I think this recipe for Nutella Crackles has what it takes on all counts: crispy sugary exterior, crunchy with nuts; a surprisingly chewy interior, the perfect blend of hazelnuts and chocolate. Try them, you might get “swooney”, too.

NUTELLA CRACKLES

YIELD: about 4 dozen cookies

INGREDIENTS

Beat up the Nutella, butter and sugar.

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 – 1/4 cup Nutella spread
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 – 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon instant expresso powder
2 large eggs,
1/3 cup milk
1 – 1/2 cups hazelnuts, chopped fine
1 cup confectioners’ sugar

1. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.

2. With electric mixer on medium speed, beat Nutella, butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add vanilla, expresso powder, and eggs and mix until incorporated. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture and milk, and mix until just combined. Fold in 2/3 cup hazelnuts. Refrigerate dough until firm, about 1 hour.

3. Preheat oven to 375*F. Line baking sheets with silpat or parchment paper.

4. Place remaining hazelnuts in a shallow bowl. Place confectioners’ sugar in another shallow bowl. One at a time, roll dough into 1-inch balls, roll in nuts, then in confectioners’ sugar. Place balls 1 1/2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Refrigerate the first sheet while preparing the next sheet. Bake the first sheet and all others for approximately 8 minutes. As each sheet is baking, chill one while you make up the next.

Cooling Cookies.

5. Transfer to wire cooling racks to cool completely. Repeat with all dough.

Crispy, chewy, deliciousness

SOURCE: Taste of Home Baking

Sandwiches, Sweet and Pink!

Posted by deliciousonadollar in Bars and Cookies, Holiday, Snacks and tagged with baked goods, cookies, heart shaped cookies, recipe, sandwich cookies, valentines day, vintage valentines February 4, 2013

Now what kind of sandwich is sweet and pink? I’ll give you some hints: Valentine’s Day, hearts, sugar cookies. You got it! A heart-shaped sugar cookie sandwich tinted pink and filled with butter cream. WOW! Does that sound fabulous or what? Here’s a first look at how they turned out.

Pink heart sandwich cookies with cream filling.

This recipe is from the current issue of Martha Stewart Living magazine, and it met my needs exactly because I am baking cookies for the Chocolate Festival that I mentioned last week in the post on Funfetti Truffles. These cookies are so cute I just had to make them.. Since I have a set of heart cookie cutters I made them in two sizes; the small ones are the cookies sandwiched together with cream filling, as the recipe describes, the larger ones I made with a heart cutout “window” in the top cookie with a layer of raspberry jam over the cream. Then I sifted powdered sugar over all of them.

Jammy heart cookies.

I love Valentine’s Day with all the lacy trims, sentiments, and especially vintage valentines. I have a sizable collection of all things vintage related to V-tines Day and I get them out each year to celebrate and enjoy all month. I thought you might like to see a few things from the collection.

A small part of my collection of vintage valentine memorabilia.

This display is on a console table in our foyer. Hanging on the wall is a valentine quilt that I made.

Vintage valentines and an old vase.

The heart-shaped vase is just the right size for a bouquet of roses.

Candy box and a February angel.

The heart box opens at the top where it is tied, to reveal a pocket for some candy or a handkerchief. The little angel has such a sweet face, and even though the paint on her heart is half gone, she is no less dear. Her base is printed with the words, “February Angel”. I hope you enjoyed this glimpse of my valentine treasures from the past.

PINK HEART SANDWICH COOKIES

YIELD: depends on size of cookies. I got 44 1 1/2 -inch cookies, and 6 2 1/2-inch cookies.

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling out cookies
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
red and pink food coloring
cream filling—recipe follows

1. Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. In mixer bowl, beat together the butter and sugar on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in egg and vanilla. Reduce speed to low and gradually add flour mixture beating until just incorporated.

2. Divide dough into as many pieces as you will color, depending on how many shades of pink you would like your cookies to be. Working with one piece of dough at a time, add food coloring, 1 drop at a time, mixing and kneading to combine until desired shade is reached. Flatten each piece of dough into a disc and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour or up to over night. Bring back to room temperature, about 10 minutes, before rolling.

3. Preheat oven to 325*. Prepare baking sheets by lining with parchment. Roll out each disc of dough on a lightly floured surface to just under 1/4-inch thick. Cut out cookies using various sizes of heart cutters ( if you have them), making sure you have an even number of each color and size. Place cookies 1 – inch apart on prepared baking sheets and freeze until very firm, about 15 minutes.

4. Bake until barely golden brown around edges, about 8 minutes for 1 1/2- inch cookies, 10-minutes for 2 1/2 inch cookies. Let cookies cool completely on baking sheets set on wire racks.

Cooling on the baking sheet.

5. Spread or pipe filling onto bottom side of half the cookies, and sandwich with remaining cookies, pressing gently. Cookies can be stored in an air-tight container at room temperature up to 1 week.

Making the sandwiches with cream filling.

CREAM FILLING

YIELD: about 1 1/4 cups, enough to fill one recipe of the above cookies.

1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 – 2 Tablespoons milk, if needed

1. Beat butter with a mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low, and gradually add the sugars, beating until thoroughly combined. Beat in vanilla. Add milk as needed to make mixture a spreading consistency.

So pretty and festive, just right for a sweet gift.

SOURCE: Martha Stewart Living Magazine, Feb. 2013

Pumpkin-Spice Cookies

Posted by deliciousonadollar in Bars and Cookies and tagged with baked goods, pumpkin, snack, spice cookies, two-ingredient cookies January 11, 2013

I am still baking with pumpkin on Day #2. of living without a refrigerator.

They look good. How will they taste?

I keep running into recipes that promise fantastically delicious baked items using just two ingredients. That’s what I said, only two ingredients(?) and one of them is a boxed mix of some kind. With all this pumpkin puree on hand and needing to be used, I decided to give this concept a test run with this recipe for cookies. Some of you may remember that I made a two-ingredient recipe once before and that was this one.

For this recipe all you need is a box of Spice Cake Mix, and a can (or two cups) of pumpkin puree. It couldn’t be simpler.

Two ingredients; that’s all you need!

Empty the cake mix into a large mixing bowl. Whisk to remove lumps. Add the pumpkin.

Add pumpkin to cake mix.

Stir well and voila, a thick spicy dough for cookies.

Makes a nice thick dough.

Drop dough by heaping teaspoons-full onto parchment-lined baking sheets. Using a cookie scoop makes uniform size cookies.

Drop dough by teaspoons onto baking sheets.

Bake in preheated 350* oven for 13 – 15 minutes.. Cool on cooling racks.

After baking.

These cookies are cake-like in texture, rather dense, and chewy. Ok, now the truth comes out. I added 1 more ingredient: 1/2 bag of Heath Toffee Chips. The cookies would be very good –nice and spicy–without adding anything but the toffee bits made them just that much better. At this stage they were pretty terrific, but then I went and frosted some of them with cream cheese frosting (using up what was in that old refrigerator, remember?) and for the remainder after the frosting was gone, I sprinkled them with confectioners’ sugar. Oh, La-La-La!

Looking good just dusted with confectioners’ sugar.

🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

Sorry, no pics of the frosted ones. I gave them to my husband to take to his Lodge meeting for the guys. Get them out of here before I eat them all!

TWO INGREDIENT PUMPKIN SPICE COOKIES

1 box Spice Cake Mix
1 can pumpkin or 2 cups homemade pumpkin puree

Empty cake mix into a large mixing bowl. Whisk to remove any lumps.

Add pumpkin and mix to combine well. (Here’s where you get to add any other “goodies”, like nuts or chips.)

Drop by heaping teaspoons onto parchment-lined baking sheets.

Bake at 350* for 13 – 15 minutes. Mine took almost the full 15 minutes, but start checking them at 13 minutes. If undercooked, they well be doughy. I got a total of 30 cookies.

SOURCE: Duncan Hines.com

Oatmeal Cookies with Peanut Butter Cream Filling

Posted by deliciousonadollar in Bars and Cookies and tagged with cookies, dessert, oatmeal cookies, peanut butter filling, recipe, sandwich cookies December 21, 2012

Oatmeal Sandwich Cookies with Peanut Butter Cream Filling.

The thought of making these cookies has been circulating around in my head now for some time. Another blogger ( Joy the Baker ), who I follow, first wrote about them, and I was intrigued enough to make note of the recipe. The reason I didn’t rush into making them immediately was because they are basically oatmeal cookies, which I find kind of boring on their own. But every once in a while I would hear a little voice saying “oatmeal with peanut butter filling”.

“oatmeal with peanut butter filling”.

I don’t normally hear voices, but cookies do occasionally speak to me, and when they do I’ve learned to listen because if I make them they usually turn out to be something special. And so it is with these cookies.

They contain all sorts of good things, beginning with the oatmeal. Everyone knows how good that is for us; add some brown sugar, butter, and spices.

Oats, brown sugar and spices. so proud of themselves.

Oh yeah, gotta have some spices. You see where this is going? If you like nuts, add some chopped nuts to the batter, it can only get better. It is the kind of batter you will want to eat by the spoonful, but don’t. This is only the beginning, it gets even better.

Here’s all that good looking, good tasting batter.

Once the dough is all mixed, you will form it into small balls.

Form dough into small balls.

These are not big cookies because two of them get sandwiched together with more butter, sugar and peanut butter as a filling. You should get a total of about 2 dozen sandwich cookies.

After baking. Note how they spread.

It will be difficult to keep from eating one of these cookies fresh and warm out of the oven, but remember we are making sandwiches and that requires and even number. I know you’re thinking well, I could eat two, but that line of reasoning will soon get you out of control. Who knows where it will end? So hang on a bit longer, you’ll be so glad you did.

Hello, peanut butter!

Measure out the peanut butter, and combine it with butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and some milk. OOOOH, so creamy and good. Now start putting the cookies together. Spread some filling on the bottom of one cookie and top it with another cookie. Now that’s something to swoon over!

Match up cookies in pairs. Spread filling on the bottom of one and top with the other.

OATMEAL COOKIES WITH PEANUT BUTER CREAM FILLING

YIELD: about 2 dozen

FOR THE COOKIES

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cups uncooked old-fashioned oats
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup chopped nuts, optional

FOR THE FILLING

3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1 cup powdered sugar
3-4 Tablespoons milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Beat the sugar and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat well till creamy, 3-4 minutes. Add egg and beat on medium for about 1 minute. Add the vanilla extract and beat in.

In a medium bowl whisk together the oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the butter/egg mixture slowly on low speed just until incorporated. Stir in the nuts last.

Portion about 1 heaping teaspoon of dough into your hand. Roll into a ball an;d place on the prepared cookie sheet. Leave adequate space between the cookies to allow for spreading. If cookie dough begins to stick to your hands as you’re making the balls, rinse your hands and portion the dough with just slightly damp hands.

Bake for 10 – 13 minutes or until they reach your desired doneness. A little underdone is good as they will firm up as they cool. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.

To prepare the filling, place butter, peanut butter and powdered sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat on medium speed adding in the vanilla. Add the milk one tablespoon at a time until you have your desired consistency. The filling should be creamy and spreadable.

Pair up the cookies and flip half of them over. Spread the cookie bottoms with peanut butter filling. Top with a similar size cookie.

These cookies will keep for about 5 days if kept covered and cool or chilled ( i.e., in the refrigerator ).

Sandwiches made. Aren’t they pretty?

SOURCE: http://joythebaker.com

White Chocolate Cherry Shortbread Cookies

Posted by deliciousonadollar in Bars and Cookies and tagged with almond flavor, Christmas cookies, cookies, dessert, Holiday, Maraschino cherries, recipe, shortbread, white chocolate December 20, 2012

White Chocolate Cherry Shortbread Cookies

When I first saw a picture of these cookies I knew I had to make them. They were so pretty in the picture, with the pale pink cookie dipped into white chocolate, then just the edge dipped into the colorful red sugar. I thought they would make a great addition to a tray of Christmas cookies.

The other ingredient these cookie have going for them is the addition of Maraschino Cherries. These sweet, almond-tasting cherries are made from a bitter cherry. The name Maraschino is from the Italian word marasca– the name of the cherry. and amaro which means bitter. Somehow they become sweet as they soak in their liquid, and I just love them, but don’t find many ways to use them in cooking or baking. So I was really happy to have come across this recipe. After I made them, I found them to be everything I had anticipated and more. Just imagine for a moment biting into a buttery shortbread cookie that also includes the flavor of these cherries and almond. Really good, yes? Now add the smooth sweetness of white chocolate. Oh, WOW! If you are drooling at this point, you need to go make them NOW!

Do you know what else? There’s no need to get out your mixer. It all gets mixed by hand, and there’s no chilling involved ( well, you can if you want to). Pretty easy and quick to make. And believe me, just as easy and quick to eat.

The recipe: WHITE CHOCOLATE CHERRY SHORTBREAD COOKIES

YIELD: about 60 cookies. The recipe divides in half easily, which I did, and got 30 cookies

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup Maraschino cherries, cut up and drained well
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup ( 2 sticks ) cold butter
12 oz. white chocolate chips or squares, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 drops red food coloring ( I used a little cherry juice instead for a paler color)
2 teaspoons shortening
decorative sugar or sprinkles

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine flour and sugar. Cut in butter with a pastry blender. Stir in cherries and 4 ounces ( 2/3 cup ) chopped white chocolate. Stir in almond extract and food color ( or cherry juice).

2. Stir as well as you can and then knead to form a smooth ball.

3. Break off small pieces of dough and form into 3/4 inch balls. Place on prepared cookie sheets. (Greased or lined with parchment paper.)

4. Using a glass dipped into sugar, flatten into 1 1/2 inch rounds.

Flatten with a glass dipped into sugar.

5. Bake at 325 degrees, for 10 – 12 minutes. Cookies will firm up as they cool. Transfer to cooling racks to cool completely.

6. In a saucepan over hot – not boiling-water, melt the remaining white chocolate with the shortening. Dip half of each cookie, then roll the dipped edge into decorative sugar or sprinkles. Stand upright between the tines of a cooling rack to dry.

Standing at attention to dry.

Note: I never find white chocolate easy to melt or dip into, so what I do is this. When the chocolate becomes soft enough to stir, I use a small spatula to spread it on the cookie, making sure to cover the edge so the sugar will adhere. This works for me. However, my cookies don’t get that perfectly half-dipped look.

SOURCE: Martha Stewart Cookies, I-Pad newsletter

Here’s an advance look at tomorrow’s cookie recipe. Y’all come back then.

Chocolate Caramel Pecan Thumbprints

Posted by deliciousonadollar in Bars and Cookies and tagged with baked goods, caramel syrup, Chocolate thumbprint cookies, dessert, pecans, recipe, Thumbprint cookies December 19, 2012

Chocolate Caramel Pecan Thumbprint Cookies

Well, that’s rather a long title for a cookie. I could call them simply chocolate thumbprints, but then you would miss out on the fact that there’s caramel in that little indentation, not jam as you might expect. And why pecan? Aren’t pecans always paired with chocolate and caramel as in “turtles”? Of course, I could have called them Chocolate Turtle Cookies, but I wouldn’t want you to get the wrong idea and think there were turtles in them either. So, Chocolate Caramel Pecan Thumbprints it is. You’re gonna love em.

Usually when I see thumbprint cookies they are a light color with a red or green jam in the thumbprint, so I thought one with a chocolate cookie base would be a nice addition to a cookie tray. These could be rolled in powdered sugar or chopped nuts if you really want to fancy them up in addition to the caramel and pecan.

In this recipe I also pass along my trick for getting a perfect indentation to fill with jam or whatever when you make these kind of cookies. A Cork. Save a cork from a wine bottle and use it to make that dent and it will be symetrical and perfectly round and hold just the right amount of filling. S0000, here we go—-

CHOCOLATE CARAMEL PECAN THUMBPRINTS

YIELD: about 2 dozen

INGREDIENTS

Chewy chocolate, gooey caramel, and crunchy pecan.

1/2 cup ( 1 stick ) butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg
2 Tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1/3 cup baking cocoa
1/4 teaspoon salt
caramel ice-cream topping
pecan halves, or large pieces

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, milk, and vanilla.

2. Combine flour, cocoa and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or until easy to handle.

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 2 baking sheets, or line with parchment paper.

4. Shape dough into 1 – inch balls. Place 1 1/2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Using a cork, make an indentation in the center of each cookie. If you wish you can roll the balls in powdered sugar or chopped nuts before making the indentation.

Using a cork makes a perfect indentation for the filling.

5. Fill each indentation with some caramel sauce, and place a pecan half on top.

Top each cookie with a pecan half.

6. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 – 12 minutes or until center is set. Remove from oven to cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire cooling racks to cool completely. Store in an air tight tin or container with wax paper separating the layers.

Pretty cookies inviting you to take a bite.

SOURCE: adapted from The Taste of Home Baking Book

Peppermint Patty Brownies

Posted by deliciousonadollar in Bars and Cookies and tagged with Brownies, dessert, peppermint patty brownies, recipe, squares December 14, 2012

Peppermint Patty Brownies

York Peppermint Patties are one of my husbands’s favorite candies. So I attempted to recreate those sweets in this brownie recipe. The candy has a peppermint filling encased in a dark chocolate shell. To make it into a quick recipe I started with a brownie mix which in this case is Ghirardelli Triple Chocolate Brownies that have chocolate chips in the mix. After the brownies were baked according to the directions on the package and thoroughly cooled, I made the peppermint filling, then topped it with dark chocolate.

My intention was to casually drizzle the chocolate over the top so some of the white filling would show through. However I had just gotten the chocolate melted when I was interrupted, and couldn’t continue for a few minutes and so the chocolate began to harden in the bowl. As you can see by the pictures, it went on in dabs rather than a drizzle. The taste was unaffected by that, and the whole brownie did recreate the taste and cool sensation of eating a peppermint patty. I keep them refrigerated as I just love them when they’re cold. My husband thought my experiment was a success, even though they didn’t come out looking exactly as I had planned.

PEPPERMINT PATTY BROWNIES

SERVINGS 16

A. Brownie Layer: Prepare a boxed brownie mix that makes an 8 or 9 – inch pan of brownies, according to the package directions.

B. Mint Layer: In the small bowl of a stand mixer beat together till smooth and creamy:

2 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 Tablespoon butter, softened
3 Tablespoons milk, half and half, or light cream
1/4 teaspoon vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract

Spread evenly over the brownie layer.

Spread peppermint cream over the brownie layer.

C.. In a small bowl place 1 cup dark chocolate chips, and melt in micro-wave for 1 minute. Stir to smooth. Spread or drizzle over the top of peppermint layer.

Spread, drizzle or “plop ” chocolate over white layer.

Place in refrigerator to cool and firm up. Cut into 16 squares and enjoy!

These are so cool and refreshing when served cold.

SOURCE: slightly adapted from How Sweet It Is

Another Elf!

This is another of my elves. He usually sits in a cookie cutter on my kitchen window sill where he can watch all that I do. However this morning I found him perched on an old scale that I keep on one of my cupboards. I think he has been eating too many cookies and wanted to check his weight. ( I think I should check mine too. La-la-la )

Mandelbrot

Posted by deliciousonadollar in Bars and Cookies, Holiday and tagged with almonds, anise flavor, Biscotti, cookies, German cookie, mandelbrot, recipe, twice-baked cookies December 12, 2012

The Elf on the Shelf!

Before telling you about today’s cookies, I thought I would introduce you to one of our elves. I have several of these little guys and every year I bring them out and “Hide” them on shelves and other places where they can get into mischief. Occasionally they get moved from one spot to another so I find them in unexpected places. They add a little fun to our Christmas preparations.

Today’s cookie recipe is for Mandelbrot. They are crunchy cookies very similar to biscotti and so I include them in that general category of cookies. They always contain almonds as “mandelbrot ” is the German word for “almond bread”.

Mandelbrot

I have tried a variety of recipes for mandelbrot but I always come back to this one. It has very few ingredients, is so easy to put together and is dependable in that the cookies never fail to come out good. Everyone to whom I’ve given them loves them and asks for the recipe. This is one example where simple is always better. If you really want to dress them up a little a drizzle of dark chocolate over the top makes them especially appealing. Biscotti-type cookies go great with a cup of coffee, and it’s OK to dunk!

MANDELBROT

YIELD: 3 1/2 — 4 dozen cookies

INGREDIENTS

1 cup sugar
3/4 cup salad oil
3 eggs
3 cups all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon anise seeds, crushed
OR 1/2 teaspoon almond flavoring
1 cup finely chopped almonds

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a baking sheet or line with parchment paper.

2. In a large mixer bowl, mix at medium speed, the sugar, oil, and eggs until well blended and aerated .

3. Add flour, salt and anise seeds, OR almond flavoring and continue beating until well mixed. If the dough becomes too stiff, stir in the remaining flour by hand.

4. Stir in the almonds.

5. Divide the dough in half. With floured hands, on the prepared baking sheet, shape each half into a 12 x 3-inch loaf about 3 inches apart.

Form dough into two long loaves on lined baking sheet.

6. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until light brown. Remove from the oven and immediately cut each loaf crosswise into 1/2 inch diagonal slices.

Slice baked loaves into diagonal slices.

7. Turn each slice on its side. Return to oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes more, turning the slices over at the half-way point to insure even browning.

Lay slices flat and bake again, turning over once until crisp.

They should be crisp and toasted, pleasantly crunchy, but not too hard. Adjust baking time to your liking.

Mandelbrot. a welcome gift.

SOURCE: Cooking Light, 2009

Gingerbread Biscotti – Dipped in Chocolate

Posted by deliciousonadollar in Bars and Cookies, Holiday and tagged with baked goods, Biscotti, dessert, gifts from the kitchen, gingerbread cookies, recipe, twice-baked cookies December 11, 2012

Chocolate-dipped gingerbread biscotti

Biscotti, those twice-baked Italian cookies, have been on my must-make-for-Christmas-list for the past few years. The Holidays wouldn’t be the same without them. I have made a variety of flavors over the years, some of them we really loved, others were just so-so. Some kind of biscotti always ends up in the cookie-gifts I put together for friends and family. This particular recipe is one of our very favorites, and becomes a favorite of everyone who has it. I either get asked for the recipe, or “are you making those spicy biscotti cookies this year?” The answer is Yes, Yes,Yes.

These cookies are just great as a light dessert, with a cup of coffee, on a dessert buffet, or for a cookie swap. I can’t imagine anytime when they wouldn’t be welcome, and not just for the Holidays. They can be made and enjoyed any time of the year. Dipping them in chocolate may be omitted, but the combination of gingerbread and chocolate is so good and a little decadent! I’ve even gone so far as to sprinkle the chocolate end with finely ground nuts or decorative sugar while the chocolate is still moist.

CHOCOLATE-DIPPED GINGERBREAD BISCOTTI

YIELD: Makes about 2 1/2 dozen biscotti

INGREDIENTS

Molasses, spices and ginger are the essentials for these cookies.

3/4 cup crystalized ginger, chopped
2 Tablespoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 large eggs
1/4 cup light molasses
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2/3 cup ( 4 ounces ) chopped bittersweet chocolate, or chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the the spices and the sugars. Sift in the flour and baking powder, and whisk to blend well.

2. In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter until light and creamy. Beat in the eggs, 1 at a time, followed by the molasses, until the mixture is smooth.

3. Add the flour/spice mixture and mix to blend. Add in the chopped ginger. The dough will be thick and slightly sticky. You may need to stir in the last of the flour and the ginger.

Cover the dough and chill for at least as hour.

Cover the dough and chill for 2 – 3 hours.

4. Divide the dough in half, wrap each half in wax paper or plastic wrap, and chill for 2 to 3 hours. (When tightly sealed, the dough will keep for up to 1 week in the refrigerator.)

5. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a baking sheet, or line with parchment paper, set aside.

6. With lightly floured hands, shape each portion of dough into a loaf about 1/2 inch thick, 2 inches wide, and 12 to 14 inches long.

Shape the dough into two long loaves with your hands.

Place the loaves on the prepared sheet at least 2 inches apart. Bake until the loaves are completely set and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean—-about 25 minutes. Do not turn off the oven.

7. Place the baking sheet on a wire rack and let the loaves cool on the sheet for 5 minutes. With a serrated knife, firmly cut each loaf on the diagonal into slices 1/2 inch thick.

Cut each loaf crowd-wise into slices.

Place the slices upright on the baking sheet and return to the oven for 10 minutes, or longer if you like a crisper cookie. Remove the biscotti from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

8. Melt the chocolate in a heat-proof bowl over boiling water or in the micro-wave. Dip one end of each cookie into the chocolate, and using a knife or spatula, smooth as needed. Do not dip more than half of each cookie. Set the cookies upright on a wire rack until the chocolate has set.

After dipping stand the cookies upright to allow the chocolate to firm up.

Cookies may be stored in an airtight container, separated by wax or parchment paper between the layers.

Biscotti are always good with coffee or a glass of wine.

Nutrition summary: per cookie: 135 calories, 4 g. fat, 1 g. fiber, 21 mg. cholesterol, 33 mg sodium.

SOURCE: Martha Stewart, Gifts From Your Kitchen

Delicious on a Dollar

Devoted to the preparation of healthy & economical foods that taste fabulous!

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