Tag Archives: cookies

Chocolate Dipped Rosemary Butter Cookies + 5 Can’t Miss Holiday Cookie Links

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Do you know 2am?  I’m guessing, yes.  You see the pitch-dark shadows, you hear creaking pipes.  Nearby deep,heavy breaths attempt to lull you to…sleep.  And yet.  One side proves as uncomfortable as the other, stomach, back, side again.  Round and round you go. Thoughts simultaneously occur, then evaporate into the cool night air, as if never thought.

Do not believe everything you tell  yourself late at night.  [Who said this?]   But, you do.  And then you carry them around with like a small child, tending to their needs.  They don’t need you. The people in this house/home, they need you.  

So, you drag your weary body out of bed, walk around a bit, looking for answers in another room.  [Cold floor meets warm feet, shocking you from the bottom to the top, leaving goosebumps on your bare arms.  Shiver followed by a longing for the bed that provides no respite.]  Answers are not found.

What’s the alternative?  Return.  Try again.  This time…

The god awful bed you curse at 2:37am welcomes you back like desperate lover.  You give in, conceding, this time, because a bit of comfort and rest is better than none at all.

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Chocolate Dipped Rosemary Butter Cookies

A savory, sweet, even floral cookie with a crunchy exterior meets chocolate and falls in love.  Cookie conceived at 2am.

Makes about 2 dozen

Butter Cookie Recipe adapted from Epicurious

Ingredients:

2 cups of all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

2 sticks or 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature ( I used Plugra Butter)

1 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 + 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted

1 egg white

4 tablespoon raw sugar

festive sprinkles for decorating, optional

2 inch round cookie cutter, optional

Directions:

Using a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt and baking powder.  Set aside.

Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or an electric mixer, beat butter until light and fluffy.  Add sugar and continue to beat for about 5 minutes, scraping down the sides and bottom once or twice.  Add the egg and vanilla and beat until well combined.

Slowly add the flour, beating until the dough just comes together.

Place the dough on a large piece of plastic wrap and press into a 8 inch circle.  Chill the dough for at least 4 hours or overnight.

When ready to bake, pre-heat your oven to 375F.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.  Set aside.  Place chilled cookie dough on a lightly floured piece of parchment paper.  Lightly flour rolling-pin and roll out dough to 1/4 inch thick.

Using a 2 inch round cookie cutter, cut out cookies and place on prepared baking sheets. (If cookies become difficult to cut out, freeze dough for 15 minutes, then proceed.)  Brush cookies with egg white and sprinkle with raw sugar.  Bake until puffed and golden brown at the edges, about  10-12 minutes.   Allow to cool on pan for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

While the cookies are cooling,  gently melt chocolate chips on the stove-top or in the microwave.

Once cookies are cool, dip in melted chocolate and place on a wire rack set inside a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Add festive sprinkles to chocolate, if desired.  Enjoy!

*Cookies will last up to 5 days.  Store in an air-tight container at room temperature.*

5 Can’t Miss Cookie Links for the Holidays

If you are a fan on linzer cookies, head to The Whole Bite for a chocolate linzer cookie recipe with dulce de leche.   I love this twist on a classic!

Still craving all things pumpkin?  Satisfy your craving with a batch of pumpkin cookies with brown sugar frosting.  Head to Creme de la Crumb for the recipe.

Crackle cookies are always a hit the holiday cookie swap.  Check out She Wears Many Hats double chocolate crackle cookie recipe.  Yum!

Have you ever tried an alfajore cookie?  I have the recipe for you.

This is a chocolaty twist on my favorite holiday cookie.  Check out the recipe here.

Chocolate Chip Granola Cookies + 5 Bake Sale Hits For the School Year

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My sister took refuge in baking long before I joined her.  While I retreated from our volatile family life with a book in hand, she baked.  Chocolate chip cookies, dozens at a time, made in our grandmother’s no frills kitchen.  And when my grandmother chirped “chocolate chip cookies again?!”, both a question and a criticism, she remained intent on producing another dozen of warm, gooey, crisp chocolate chip cookies.  Unwavering and focused at just 10 years of age.

Flour, baking soda, salt set aside in a small, banged up metal bowl.  Butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla mixed in a large, partially chipped glass bowl until fluffy, while a timeworn  hand-held mixer rested on a white and gold-speckled Formica countertop.  Ten year old hands eager to the add the chocolate chips and sample the raw dough.

She immersed herself in a simple formula, soothed by nearly the same, pleasing results every time.  Her quiet, almost mechanical process allowed for an escape from our uncertain reality.  Just three years her senior, I admired her peaceful focus from a distance, unable (or unwilling) to fully understand it.  And though I enjoyed every sweet bite, dozens after dozens, I never asked “chocolate chip cookies again?”  Unspoken air and a smile were enough.

Twenty-five years later and I bake for the same reasons she began baking: a refuge from that which we cannot control.  I should thank her.  And yet, once again, unspoken air and a smile seem to be enough.

Chocolate Chip Granola Cookies

A crisp and light chocolate chip cookie with the addition of a nut-free granola makes for a fun twist on a classic combo!

recipe adapted from Brown Eyed Baker Levain Chocolate Chip Cookies

makes 2 dozen

Ingredients:

3 cups of bread flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup or 2 sticks, unsalted butter, cold and cut into chunks

3/4 cup light brown sugar

1/2 sugar

2 eggs, cold

1 tablespoon of milk (any kind)

2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 + 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips

1 cup of granola (Your favorite recipe, store-bought or the recipe listed below)

Directions:

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

Grab a medium bowl and whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside.

Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or a hand-held electric mixer, beat the butter at medium speed until it comes together as one.  Add brown sugar and granulated sugar and beat for an additional 5 minutes.  Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula after each addition.  Add the vanilla.  Reduce the speed to low and add the flour and 1 tablespoon of milk.  Do not over mix!  Stir in granola and chocolate chips.  Place dough in an air-tight container and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or overnight.

When ready to bake, pre-heat the oven to 375F.  Scoop out a 1/4 cup of cookie dough with your hands and roughly shape it into a ball. Place on prepared baking sheet, leaving about an inch between each cookie.  Continue with remaining dough.  Bake until a light golden brown, about 18-20 minutes.  Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes and then place on a wire rack to cool completely.  Cookies stored in an air-tight container will last up to 2 days.  I think these cookies are best the day they are made.  Serve with a cold glass of milk.  Enjoy!

Nut-free Granola

recipe adapted from Cookie + Kate’s Healthy Granola

makes about 6 cups

Ingredients:

4 cups old fashion oats

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 cup millet, rinsed

1/2 wheat germ

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup maple syrup or honey

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Pre-heat the oven 350F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  In a large bowl combine, oats, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, millet and wheat germ.  Add the oil, maple syrup and vanilla.  Stir until every oat is covered in the oil and maple syrup.

Spread granola evenly across prepared baking sheet.  Bake until golden brown, about 20-25 minutes.  Allow the granola to cool completely, undisturbed,  on the sheet pan.  Break into chunks and store in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.  Enjoy!

5 Bake Sale Hits You Should Check Out!

Looking for a gluten-free cookie option for your next bake-sale?  Head to My Gluten-Free Kitchen for a chewy chocolate chip cookie recipe that will win the hearts of all kids.

Brownies are always a hit.  Head to Alexandra’s Kitchen for Fine Cooking’s rich, fudgy brownies recipe.

Cupcakes make people smile.  Head to Sweetest Kitchen for a chocolate cupcakes with fudge frosting recipe that is sure to pull in some fast cash!

Sugar cookie bars with lemon cream cheese frosting.  Just make them.  Head to Two Peas and Their Pod for the recipe.

Check out Baked By Rachel’s snickerdoodle blondie bars.  They are on my must make list!