Blueberry White Chocolate Ginger Cookies

Last time I was home, mom gave me this recipe. I've gotten into a routine of making the same kinds of cookies over and over again lately. This looked new and interesting, so I thought I'd give it a try! These have a unique texture--they're a little more dense than most cookies, but the flavors work well together.

Blueberry White Chocolate Ginger Cookies
-1 1/4 c. flour
-1/2 t. salt
-1/2 t. baking soda
-1 t. ginger
-1 egg
-3/4 c. packed dark brown sugar
-1/3 c. canola oil
-1 t. vanilla
-1/2 c. oats
-1/2 c. dried blueberries
-1/2 c. white "chocolate" chips

1. Whisk together flour, salt, baking soda, and ginger in a small bowl.
2. Beat together sugar, egg, oil, and vanilla until smooth. Add flour mixture.
3. Stir in oats, blueberries, and chips.
4. Drop heaping tablespoons onto a cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes at 375*.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

(A whole month late...)

Cranberry Spice Cookies

I went home a few weekends ago for a quick visit with the family; most people assumed that I was *actually* going to visit the mixer... Maybe.

While there, mom suggested trying a new cookie recipe. These were different, but very good, and REALLY quick to make! I'll definitely be making these again soon.

Cranberry Spice Cookies
-1/2 c. unsalted butter
-2 c. flour, divided
-1/4 c. milk, divided
-1 c. brown sugar
-1 egg
-2 t. cinnamon
-1 t. baking powder
-1/2 t. cloves
-1 1/2 c. chopped fresh or frozen cranberries

1. Combine butter, HALF the flour, HALF the milk, sugar, egg, baking powder, and spices. Mix in the remaining flour and milk.
2. Drop rounded teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased (or parchment lined) cookie sheet. Bake at 375* for 10 minutes.

Cranberry Shortbread Squares

Here's a nice variation on the classic shortbread recipe. The cranberries add some tartness to the buttery shortbread, and they make a basic cookie a little bit fancier.

Cranberry Shortbread Squares
-1 c. unsalted butter, softened
-3/4 c. confectioners' sugar
-1 t. vanilla
-2 c. flour
-1/2 t. salt
-1/2 c. dried cranberries (optional: chopped)

1. Combine butter, sugar, vanilla, flour, and salt in a bowl. Use a wooden spoon or a pastry cutter to mix ingredients. Add cranberries.
2. On a lightly floured surface, flatten dough to 1/2"-3/4". Cut into 2" squares. (Optional: sprinkle with sugar before baking.)
3. Bake at 325* for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown.

The Gingerbread Post!

So with the new mixer in the kitchen, mom and I decided that we could do some serious gingerbreading this year. We were trying to remember how long making gingerbread cookies had been a tradition for us--we think our first attempt was in 1993. This time we made a double batch (that's *12* cups of flour in the mixer!), so we ended up with about 120 cookies. The decorating took the better part of two nights, but as usual, we had a lot of fun being creative.

AND. This year, decorating coincided with the arrival of a beautiful new 50mm lens, so a HUGE thank you to Blake for making these photos possible!

Let it Snow!

Happy Holidays!

Double Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

Back again with a handful of posts! The semester is nearing its end, and finals are in full force. I'm taking a bit of a break from paper-writing now to offer a few more recipes....

I saw the recipe for these in a magazine while at home for Thanksgiving, and they looked too good to pass up. The recipe calls for a full pound of chocolate, so needless to say, they're rich. Next time I make them, I think I'll add in some more cranberries--their tartness contrasted with the sweetness very nicely.

Double Chocolate Cranberry Cookies
-16 oz. bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (I used chocolate chips; they worked well too)
-1 c. flour
-3 T. unsweetened cocoa powder
-1 t. baking powder
-1/2 t. salt
-1/2 c. unsalted butter, room temperature
-3/4 c. sugar
-1/2 c. packed light brown sugar
-2 large eggs
-1 t. vanilla
-1/2 c. dried cranberries

1. Melt 10 oz. of the chocolate over simmering water, or in the microwave on low power. Let it cool slightly.
2. Mix together dry ingredients, set aside.
3. Cream together the butter and sugars. Add in eggs and vanilla. Stir in melted chocolate--make sure it isn't too warm.
4. Add in the flour mixture. Stir in remaining 6 oz. of chocolate and the cranberries.
5. Drop heaping tablespoons onto ungreased baking sheet.
6. Bake at 350* for 15-17 minutes.

(Low-Sugar) Chocolate Chip Cookies

I'm back with more chocolate chips! This is a recipe that mom discovered a few years ago, and it turned out to be a big hit with Gib, so we had these with some regularity. Ordinarily I make the full-sugar variety, but I had a craving for these a few weeks ago--they're a little bit lighter, and the recipe is fantastically simple.

[I'll add in the recipe in a few days; I don't have it handy at the moment.]

Happy Thanksgiving!

Greetings from Vermont! I'm home for the holiday weekend, and the time off has been greatly appreciated. And it has given me some time to address my posting back-log...

For Thanksgiving this year, I decided to give turkey cookies a try. Even though gingerbread is my go-to recipe for the colder seasons, I decided to give a brown sugar & spice cookie recipe a try (in addition). Sugar cookies would rarely be my first choice, but the brown sugar used in these adds a bit of complexity, and the spices make them especially seasonal. I decorated both these and the gingerbread with some royal icing once again--pretty pleased with the results!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Oatmeal Cranberry Chocolate Chip Cookies

During the summer, my mom brought one of these cookies home from work. They're delicious and filling, and with the oats and the cranberries they almost feel healthy! After a few bites, I was determined to find a recipe that would help me recreate them. This is what I ended up with.

Oatmeal Cranberry Chocolate Chip Cookies
-1 1/2 c. flour
-1 t. baking soda
-1/2 t. salt
-1 t. cinnamon
-1 c. softened butter
-3/4 c. sugar
-3/4 c. packed light brown sugar
-2 large eggs
-1 t. vanilla extract
-3 c. oats
-1 1/2 c. dried cranberries
-1 1/4 c. chocolate chips

1. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a small bowl.
2. Beat butter, sugars, eggs, and vanilla in large bowl.
3. Add in flour mixture. Stir in oats, cranberries, and chocolate chips.
4. Drop onto ungreased baking sheet.
5. Bake at 350* for 10-12 minutes.

Pumpkin Spice Sandwich Cookies

Here's another post that's a week late in coming--but midterms are over! Perhaps I'll bake something to celebrate?

My project for last weekend featured pumpkin again--somehow it seemed fitting for Halloween week. Here I used the same base as I did for the pumpkin chocolate chip cookies (minus the chips). Instead of dropping, I piped the dough into two-inch circles and baked them for 7 minutes. These have a very cakey consistency, which seemed like it might pair quite nicely with cream cheese frosting...

It did. These went over very well with the taste-testers, and I must say, these might be the best thing I've put together in a while--worth a try!

Pausing here to comment on how fantastic the Silpats were with this particular recipe. (No, they aren't paying me to advertise--they're just that amazing!)

Former Favorites: Happy Halloween!

Chocolate shortbread with royal icing (Halloween 2007).

Gingerbread with Royal Icing

We've been lucky enough to have a wonderful autumn here in New England, so I decided to try a baked tribute to the season. Gingerbread is probably my all-time favorite type of cookie to make (and possibly my favorite to eat), and I think the pairing of the spiced cookie with the subtle lemon flavoring of the royal icing is just wonderful.

This post is happening a whole week after the baking--the photos were forced to stay in my camera while I tackled week two of midterms. One more week of exams left, so hopefully my baking frequency will be a bit better come November...

Royal Icing
-2 large egg whites
-3 1/2 c. sifted confectioners sugar
-juice of 1 lemon (~4 t.)
-2 drops glycerin (optional--it adds a nice shine when the icing dries)
-food coloring (I like to use the gel colors, but the liquid works quite well too)

1. Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry.
2. Add sifted sugar, lemon juice, and glycerin. Beat 1 minute, until smooth. If necessary, add more sugar or water to achieve the desired consistency.
3. Divide into smaller bowls and tint.

Gingerbread Cookies
-6 c. sifted flour
-1 t. baking soda
-1/2 t. baking powder
-1 c. unsalted butter (2 sticks)
-1 c. dark brown sugar
-4 t. ground ginger
-4 t. ground cinnamon
-1 1/2 t. ground cloves
-1 t. ground pepper
-1 1/2 t. salt
-2 large eggs
-1 1/2 c. molasses

1. Sift together flour, baking soda, and baking powder.
2. In large bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Mix in spices. Beat in eggs and molasses.
3. Add flour mixture; mix well. Divide dough into 3-4 parts and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate dough for at least 1 hour.
4. Roll dough on floured surface to ~1/8". Cut as desired. Chill on ungreased baking sheet for 15 minutes.
5. Bake at 350* for 8-10 minutes. Cool completely on wire rack before decorating.

(The Silpats make another appearance--they did an excellent job with this recipe!)

UNfreezing Cookie Dough

Believe it or not, I wasn't planning on baking today. However, the surprise arrival of the Silpats today left me with absolutely no choice! The frozen snickerdoodle dough from last weekend was pretty ideal for testing. (Icy!)

Not bad! And not even a little bit of sticking. Non-stick and reusable? Better than parchment!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Well, it's mid-week, so by this afternoon I had gone about as long as I could without clocking some more kitchen time. It's fall, and there's no debating--it's time for pumpkins and spice. So, add some chocolate to those things, and you've got a pretty phenomenal cookie. I first tried these a few years ago, when Jaime brought some to the lab--fell in love, found a recipe, and the rest was history.

First of all, I need to introduce the newest addition to my kitchen--the "Hand-Stand Mixer". A smaller (less expensive!) version of a stand mixer that packs a lot of punch, and that can be used as a hand mixer too. Bonus! This came to live with me earlier this month, and we have quickly bonded. Here it is, all shiny, and in action...

And the final product... I have every intention of sharing these with classmates tomorrow, but by morning I may have changed my mind?