Dark Chocolate Cherry Cookies

Concerts on the Square, Madison WI 

I don't do much baking these days but when I do, it's usually these cookies.  I have to have people to share them with because I'm not able to stay out of the cookie jar, they're that good!   Today's my opportunity as we're having a picnic with family and friends.  In the summer every Wednesday evening is an outdoor concert by the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra held on the lawn of the Wisconsin State Capitol.  It has been called "The Biggest Picnic of Summer."  It's really a sight to see all the families and friends gathering around the Capitol lawn, having a fun summer evening.

I've posted this recipe a long time ago but thought I'd post again as it's really one of my all-time favorite cookies.  The combination of dark chocolate and dried cherries are amazing.  I got this recipe from Cooks Illustrated.  One thing I've learned from making recipes from Cooks illustrated is that if you follow the recipe that they worked very hard to get just right and it will turn out for you too.  Their little tricks like measuring the ingredients, toasting the pecans for more nut flavor, or using cool butter so that the cookies hold their shape and don't spread too thin.  Also the timing on the mixing, one minute here and 30 seconds there, not to add to much air into the batter.  So, if you follow the directions they'll turn out perfect every time.  Crispy, chewy, chocolate and cherry in every bite.  They are worth every calorie!

Ingredients

1 1/4 (6 1/4 oz) cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon  salt
1 1/4 (3 1/2 oz) cups rolled oats, old-fashioned (not instant)
1 cup toasted pecans (4 ounces), chopped (*see note)
1 cup (5 oz) dried tart cherries (chop coarse *I leave them whole)
3/4 cup (4 oz) dark chocolate chips
1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons)  butter, softened but still cool 
1 1/2 (10 1/2 oz) cups packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. In a second medium bowl, stir together oats, pecans, cherries, and chocolate.
3. In a standing mixer fitted with the flat beater, beat butter and sugar at medium speed until no sugar lumps remain, about 1 minute. Scrape down sides of the bowl with rubber spatula; add egg and vanilla and beat on medium-low speed until fully incorporated about 30 seconds. Scrape down bowl; with mixer running at low speed, add flour mixture; mix until just combined, about 30 seconds. With the mixer still running on low, gradually add oat/nut mixture; mix until just incorporated. Give dough final stir with a rubber spatula to ensure that no flour pockets remain and ingredients are evenly distributed.
4. Roll between palms into balls about 1 1/2 inches in diameter (2 oz); stagger 8 balls on each baking sheet,  flatten slightly spacing them about 2 1/2 inches apart. Bake 12-15 minutes until cookies are light brown. Do not over bake.
5. Cool cookies on baking sheets on wire rack 5 minutes; using a wide metal spatula, transfer cookies to wire rack and cool to room temperature.

Makes about 20 cookies

*  To toast pecans place on cookie sheet and place in oven while preheating.  When the oven reaches 350 pecans are toasted.   Every oven heats up differently so keep a close eye not to burn nuts.  Make sure they are cool before adding to cookie batter!

*  If chopping dried cherries, it works better if you freeze them slightly before. 

                                                                                                       

Iced Cinnamon Cookies

Iced Cinnamon Cookies

 Soft and buttery cinnamon cookies with chocolate chips and glazed icing is a delicious holiday cookie. It gives you all the Christmas season joy of making and sharing treats. They taste amazing and is so easy to make.While planning to make holiday treats, I asked my kid what is his favorite one. Out of all he answered chocolate chip cookies.Now I get it, not everyone is a big fan of decadent cakes and treats.I also get cravings to eat cookies once in a while and cinnamon flavored cookies are simply irresistible.

 I used the basic short bread cookie recipe recipe.What is best about short bread cookie dough is that it is very versatile recipe.You can make hundreds of adaptions and add different flavorings. Cinnamon and chocolate chips cookies is perfect tea time snack, or just with a glass of milk.If this wasn't good enough,here is another way you can make it even more amazing with cinnamon glazed icing.This recipe will yield around 16 cookies. Try this you will surely love it.

Ingredients

Butter -1/2 stick
 Margarine - 1/2 stick
All purpose flour- 2 cup
Sugar- 1/2 cup
Brown sugar- 1/2 cup
Cinnamon powder- 1/2 tsp
(or pumpkin spice powder)
Egg- 1

Baking soda- 3/4 tsp
Salt- 1/2 tsp
Vanilla extract- 1/2 tsp
White chocolate chips- 4 oz.

For icing
Confectionery sugar-3/4cup
Milk-3 tbs
Cinnamon powder- a pinch
salt- a pinch

Combine flour, cinnamon,salt and baking powder. In a large mixing bowl add butter,  margarine and sugars. Blend till it is smooth and creamy.
Beat in egg and vanilla. When combined gradually add flour and mix well.
Fold in the chocolate chips. Gently roll the dough into a log shape, cover with cling wrap and refrigerate for two to three hours.
Slice and shape and place onto an greased baking sheet. Bake in 350 degree over for 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and place on wire racks to cool completely.

To make the glaze, in a bowl whisk sugar, milk salt and cinnamon powder, till smooth and has a dripping consistency. Spoon this glaze over the cookies.


Try it,
Hope you will all enjoy!

Vanilla - Almond Sugar Cookies with Royal Icing

Today was a nice day with my daughter and mother-in-law as they came over and decorated Christmas cookies.  Frosted cookies are a favorite of ours.  Every year I go searching for the perfect recipe and  I'm  excited to say  I finally found the recipes I will use for cut out cookies and royal icing for now on.  I found the recipe on the blog Bake at 350.  The dough is easy to roll out and it doesn't have to be chilled first.  The icing uses meringue powder instead of egg whites (purchased at Michael's Craft Store), it's easy to work with and sets up nicely on the cookie. Most importantly they taste good with a touch of almond flavoring.  You'll have to check out the amazing blog, Bake at 350,  it's written by Bridget.  She has great step by step instructions about decorating and baking cookies.  Also here is a video showing Bridget making the cookie dough, video on University of Cookie.

Vanilla-Almond Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:

3 c unbleached, all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 c sugar
 2 sticks (salted) butter, cold & cut into chunks
 1 egg
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp pure almond extract

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine the flour and baking powder, set aside.

Cream the sugar and butter. Add the egg and extracts and mix. Gradually add the flour mixture and beat just until combined, scraping down the bowl, especially the bottom.

The dough will be crumbly, so knead it together with your hands as you scoop it out of the bowl for rolling.

Roll on a floured surface to about 1/4" to 3/8" thick, and cut into shapes. Place on parchment lined baking sheets and bake for 10-12 minutes. Let sit a few minutes on the sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack.


Royal Icing
(This will cover 2-3 dozen)

4 TBSP meringue powder
1/2 c. water
1 lb. powdered sugar
1/2 - 1 tsp light corn syrup
few drops almond extract

Combine the meringue powder and water. With the paddle attachment of an electric mixer, beat until combined and foamy.


Sift in the powdered sugar and beat on low to combine. (Do NOT skip the sifting!)


Add in the corn syrup and extract if desired. ( The corn syrup helps keep the icing shiny.)

Increase speed to med-high/high and beat for about 5 minutes, just until the icing is glossy and stiff peaks form.

Do not overbeat.

Cover with plastic wrap touching the icing if not using right away or divide and color using gel paste food colorings.

This "stiff" icing is perfect for outlining and detail decorating. To fill in your cookies, add water to your icing a teaspoon at a time, stirring with a rubber spatula, until it is the consistency of stiff syrup. This technique of filling a cookie with thinned icing is called "flooding.


I didn't use piping decorating bags but instead I used squeeze bottles (purchased at Michael's craft Store) to decorate.  If using squeeze bottles don't use the "stiff" icing but thin out a little but not too thin.  With the squeeze bottles you can't do the fine detailed work but  otherwise work GREAT! 

Pecan Tartlets

It's that time of year to make cookies and these are requested by my husband every year.  They freeze well so I can make them now and have them ready all month long.  This recipe comes from my Mom. They are like eating a miniature pecan pie.  Makes 24 but I  doubled the batch so I can share these with friends. 

INGREDIENTS:
3 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup all-purpose flour

Filling:
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
dash salt
1/2 cup chopped pecans

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees

2. To Make Crust: In a medium mixing bowl blend softened cream cheese and 1/2 cup butter until thoroughly combined. Add flour and mix well. Place in refrigerator to chill. (1 hour is enough)

3. Shape dough into 24-1 inch balls. Press into bottom and up sides of ungreased nonstick miniature muffin tins. Pour in filling, distributing evenly between all cups. Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes.

4. In a medium mixing bowl combine brown sugar and 1 tablespoon butter. Add egg and vanilla, and blend well. Stir in pecans.



Hint: You should use nonstick miniature muffin pans for these to come out perfect.

I have this neat tool that I got from Pampered Chef.  I dip the end in flour and push down and twist out to make dough cup.  Makes this step a lot easier but you can do this by hand because they are worth the effort.

Fill cups with filling almost to the top.  Being careful not to get filling on the pan.   If the filling gets all over the pan, the cookies won't come out easily, they'll stick to the pan.

Using a  non-stick pan they will pop right out. 

Peanut Butter Cookies

Here is a delicious and easy to make cookies,with its traditional crisscross fork mark.Peanut butter cookies is one of the favorites especially among kids and is easy to put together.

Ingredients
Flour-1 1/3 cup
Baking powder- 1 1/2 tsp
Butter 1/2 cup ( or margarine)
Creamy Peanut butter- 1/2 cup
Sugar-1/2 cup
Brown sugar- 1/3 cup
Milk-3 tsp
egg - 1
Vanilla extract- 1 1/2 tsp


Mix flour and baking powder and keep aside. 
Cream butter,peanut butter sugar and brown sugar till light and fluffy.Add in eggs, milk and vanilla essence. Beat well till fluffy.Mix in the flour till it forms a single dough. Cover and refrigerate for two hours.
Line cookie sheets with butter paper. Shape dough into one and one half inch balls, press down a little and gently flatten in crisscross design using a fork. Bake in 250 degree F for 10 minutes,cool in the cookies sheet for 3-4 minutes and remove to cooling rack. Store in air tight containers when the cookies is completely cooled.

Try this..
Hope you will all enjoy..

Nankattai

Nankattai  is a very popular Indian tea time cookie and has the perfect crumbly melt in mouth texture. It is buttery, with the inviting fragrance of cardamon. It has been my favorite cookies and still remember those inviting and beautiful round cookies arranged in glass jars in bakeries and canteens. I had no idea that it was so simple and easy to make. ya much easy than baking a cake. It has very little ingredients and can be put together quickly. Serve this with a cup of tea and enjoy :)

Ingredients

All purpose flour- 1 cup
Corn starch or Rava-2tsp
Baking powder- 1/2 tsp
Baking soda- a pinch
Salt- a pinch
Powdered sugar- 1/2 cup
Butter- one stick( 1/2 cup)
Cardamon-1/2 tsp

Mix and combine flour,corn starch,baking powder,baking soda and salt and set aside.
 In a mixing bowl combine room temperature butter and powdered sugar till it is light and fluffy. Add cardamon powder and mix well. Add the flour mixture little by little till it is well combined and one smooth ball. Cover and let it rest for half and hour.
Preheat oven to 200 degree F and line cookie sheet with butter paper. Divide the dough into small balls and roll between your palms and gently press. Bake them for 15 minutes. Take out of the oven and allow to cool completely and store in air tight container.

Try this...
Hope you will all enjoy..