Category Archives: COOKIE RECIPES

CHEWY GINGER MOLASSES COOKIES WITH CANDIED GINGER

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OK, I know, I already have several ginger cookie recipes on this site. But, as far as I’m concerned, you can never have too many ginger cookie recipes from which to choose.

So, yesterday I decided to make a couple changes to one of my existing recipes and came up with these cookies. And it being fall and all, they just fit in perfectly with the season.

Fall means starting to hunker down for winter. And the warm spices (ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, etc.) are especially delightful this time of year. They just make you feel warm inside.

So, if you too are a ginger cookie lover, this recipe may just be what you need. Because it was exactly what I needed. And the cookies were very easy to build.

Along with baking these cookies, I also decided to bring a bit of autumn into our home.

When we got back from our recent trailer trip, our good friend and house sitter/cat sitter Peggy had a nice vase filled with leaves, foliage, and blossoms waiting for us. And I wondered why I had never thought to use all those late blooming and color changing stalks with leaves before in an arrangement.

So, I thought seeing a picture of what I subsequently put together might inspire you to do the same thing. It’s really a nice feeling to be able to bring a bit of color and texture into your home. And when it’s free of charge, all the better!

Well, that’s it for today. We are getting ready to go to the Lincoln Theater in Mount Vernon to see Arsenic and Old Lace. One of my favorite plays of all time.

So, on that happy note, I am going to “charge” into my bedroom and change into the proper clothing to attend this theatrical production. (In other words, I’m going to change into my dress jeans!)

And as always, peace and love to all.

¾ c. (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

½ c. granulated sugar

½ c. brown sugar

1 lg. egg

¼ c. molasses

2¼ c. all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/8 tsp. salt  

2 tsp. ground ginger

¾ tsp. ground cinnamon

½ tsp. ground cloves

½ c. finely chopped candied ginger

sparkling sugar, opt.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until well combined. Beat in egg and molasses. Whisk together the flour, soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and chopped candied ginger.  Add to the creamed mixture; mix well.

Using an ice cream scoop (your choice for size), form balls and dip top into sparkling sugar before placing on a parchment paper lined baking sheet, sugar side up, and refrigerate several hours or overnight.

Bake in a pre-heated 350-degree oven for 10-12 minutes or until the cookies are just set. Do not overbake.

Remove from oven and allow to sit on the hot pan for 3-4 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

PEANUT BUTTER AND PEANUT M&M BAR COOKIES

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Hear ye, hear ye, all you peanut butter and Peanut M&M lovers out there. This is the bar cookie for you! But let me be perfectly clear about this cookie. If you don’t absolutely love peanut butter and chocolate or are of the persuasion that can take or leave either one, then this is not the cookie for you. Because these babies are super rich and absolutely chock full of chocolatey, peanut butter, and crunchy peanut goodness. So, consider yourself warned.

These cookies are not for wimps or people on a diet. These bar cookies are fattening, sugar laden, nutritionally challenged, decadent bites that should come with a dietary warning label. But good? OMG are they good! And the redeeming feature, if there is such a thing, is that you can’t eat more than one small square before your whole system screams – that’s enough! They are just that rich.

So, next time you get a hankering for a cookie that is easy to make, will feed an entire army of friends and family, and satisfy your peanut butter and chocolate craving for at least a week (or longer), get thee to your kitchen and bake up a pan of these tasty treats.

But please do not blame me if your family and friends keep requesting more, more, more. They are a bit addictive as I can attest to personally. But then, there are worse additions. (At least that is my justification for even passing the recipe on to you.)

But you are all adults and many with years of justifications of your own for eating food with no nutritional value. So, let your conscience be your guide.

And as always, peace and love to all.    

1 c. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted

2 c. brown sugar

½ tsp. kosher salt

2 lg. eggs

1 T. vanilla extract

1 c. peanut butter (not natural) (I use crunchy, but creamy if fine too)

2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour, fluffed

2 c. Peanut M&Ms (10.05 oz. bag)

Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking pan (glass is best) with cooking spray. Set aside.

Combine the melted butter, brown sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl until well blended. Add the eggs, vanilla extract, and peanut butter and mix until thoroughly combined.

Mix in the flour just until smooth and then stir in the Peanut M&M’s.

Spread the batter evenly into the prepared baking pan. (I smooth out the top with a small offset spatula.)

Bake in a pre-heated 350-degree oven for 28-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. (Don’t overbake.)

Remove from oven and let cool completely before cutting into squares using a sharp knife.  

Store in an airtight container in your refrigerator. Or freeze and let sit at room temperature for an hour or so before serving.

GANACHE FILLED SHORTBREAD SANDWICH COOKIES

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So, what do you do with leftover ganache? (Oh, what a horrible problem to have. Not!) After recently making Chocolate Ganache Topped Cream Cheese Danish Pastries, (recipe on site), I had leftover ganache. But what to do with the ganache? Well, why not use it as a filling for a sandwich cookie. But not a chocolate cookie, because ganache is very rich. And although some would argue that there can never be too much chocolate, I felt that a ganache filled chocolate sandwich cookie would be over kill. So then, why not 2 shortbread cookies stuck together with ganache? So, that’s what I came up with. And it worked. Because who doesn’t love shortbread? No one I know, that’s for sure!

So, if you ever find yourself with extra ganache, (lucky you), give this recipe a try. Or just for grins and giggles you could actually make ganache just for this recipe. Because if you look at the recipe for both the cookie part and the ganache, you will find only 6 ingredients listed. (Butter being used twice, so you can call it 7 ingredients if you must.) But regardless, this is a very easy cookie to make. And perfect for chocolate lovers and as one of your afternoon tea or Christmas cookie offerings. Because frankly, these cookies are darling. And who doesn’t love a darling cookie.

Anyway, just make the darn things and be happy.

Well, that’s it for today. As I am writing up this post, our living room is being used as a rehearsal hall. Mr. C. (piano), Mike (guitar), and Brian (fiddle) are preparing for a gig on Lummi Island. So much fun for me to have live music to listen to as I diligently work to bring you one more way to spend your hard-earned money on a food item with no nutritional value. I should legitimately feel guilty for not posting another recipe with quinoa, kale, beets, lentils, or other totally healthy ingredients. But I feel justified because I do post a lot of recipes that include really healthy ingredients like spinach, lemons, garlic, lentils, raspberries, walnuts, avocados, and salmon. But culinary bliss doesn’t come from just eating healthy. At least for me it doesn’t. I need a treat once in a while. And these cookies are really a treat.

So, may everything you feed your family and friends be a perfect balance of mostly healthy, with an occasional not-so-healthy treat to make life worth living. Life is short my friends. And we must remember to live it to the fullest.

On that happy note, and as always – peace and love to all.

For the Shortbread Cookies:

1 c. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp.

½ c. powdered sugar

2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour, fluffed

¼ tsp. fine sea salt

In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine butter and powdered sugar until well blended. Add flour and salt and mix until well combined.  

On floured surface, roll dough ¼-inch thick. Cut with 1½-inch to 2-inch round or scalloped cookie cutter.

Place ½-inch apart on parchment paper lined cookie sheets.  

Bake in a pre-heated 350-degree oven for 14 to 15 minutes or until set. Don’t over bake.

Remove from oven and cool for 1 minute before removing to a cooling rack.

Cool completely before placing about 1½ teaspoons ganache on bottom of half of the baked cookies. Top with remaining cookies bottom sides down.

Store in an airtight container in your fridge.

For the Ganache:

¾ c. semi-sweet chocolate chips (I use mini chocolate chips)

3 T. unsalted butter, room temp. 

¼ c. whole milk 

In a small mixing bowl, combine the chocolate chips and butter.

In a liquid measuring cup, heat the milk in your microwave until the milk begins to bubble.

Pour the very hot milk over the chocolate chips and butter. Allow to sit for about 3 minutes, then use a whisk to stir until smooth and creamy. (It may take a minute or two to come together; it often looks separated at first. There also might be small chunks of chocolate that never melted. That’s just fine.)  

Allow to cool for about 45 minutes at room temperature before using as the filling for your sandwich cookies.

SALTED CARAMEL CHOCOLATE CHIP AND OAT BAR COOKIES

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OK, you suddenly get an overwhelming desire for a caramel chocolate chip bar cookie. You search the internet and all you find are recipes that either require purchased caramel sauce or even more recipes that call for melting caramels together with evaporated milk or heavy cream. What? Who wants to unwrap a gazillion caramels or go to the grocery store to purchase caramel sauce? Which BTW, is not cheap. When you can bloody well prepare caramel sauce from scratch in about 10 minutes!

OK, granted you must have butter, brown sugar, salt, heavy cream, and vanilla extract on hand. And most of the time I do have all these ingredients safely tucked away in either my pantry or fridge.

So, when I got frustrated by all the recipes I was reviewing, I decided to step up and figure out at least the caramel part on my own. (I was really hoping to find the perfect recipe online so that I didn’t have to think too hard. I told you I was getting lazier and lazier.)

I finally found the “next to perfect” recipe on the melskitchencafe.com site. The crust part I followed to the T. But I didn’t use Mel’s caramel sauce recipe because mine is easier to make and perfect every time. But the crust recipe is Mel’s and absolutely delicious. So, thank you Mel. And I almost forgot, I wanted this to be a salted caramel bar, so I added the final touch. A light sprinkling of flakey sea salt on top.  

Anyway, if you too are a chocoholic who strongly believes that caramel (and especially salted caramel) is God’s gift to humankind, this is the bar cookie for you!

I reverently hope you love this bar cookie as much as I do.

And as always, peace and love to all.  

For the Caramel Sauce:

1 c. packed brown sugar

½ c. (1 stick) unsalted butter

pinch fine sea salt

½ c. heavy cream

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Whisk butter, brown sugar, and salt together over medium heat in a small heavy saucepan until brown sugar has dissolved completely. (This happens after the mixture comes to a boil and is allowed to burble for a couple of minutes and it turns kind of shiny. Continue whisking the whole time the mixture is on the heat.)

Remove from heat and gently whisk in the heavy cream and vanilla extract.  

Set aside to cool while you make the crust.

For the Bar Cookies:

1 c. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 c. brown sugar, packed

1½ c. unbleached all-purpose flour, fluffed

½ tsp. fine sea salt

1 tsp. baking soda

1½ c. old-fashioned oats

caramel sauce (from recipe above) or 1 generous c. purchased caramel sauce  

1 c. semisweet chocolate chips (or chips of choice)

flakey sea salt 

Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking pan (preferably glass) with cooking spray.

In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and brown sugar together.

In a mixing bowl, whisk the flour, sea salt, and baking soda together. Stir in the old-fashioned oats. Add to the butter mixture and mix just until combined.

Press about 2/3rds of the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. (I build up the sides a bit as I am pressing the dough into the pan. This “lip” helps contain the caramel and chocolate chips during the second baking.)

Bake the bottom crust in a pre-heated 350-degree oven for 13-14 minutes or until the crust is lightly golden and puffy.

Remove from oven and carefully spread the caramel sauce evenly over the partially cooked crust with an offset spatula. Sprinkle the chocolate chips evenly over the caramel. Finish by dropping small chunks of the remaining cookie mixture on top.

Bake for another 12-13 minutes or until the edges of the crust are golden and the caramel is bubbling.

Remove from the oven and let cool completely in the pan before cutting into squares.

Please note: These bars are addictive. And very, very rich. A small piece is plenty. (You can always have more.) And BTW, my recipe for caramel sauce is great on ice cream. Or any time you need caramel sauce. Just saying!

CANDIED GINGER AND ALMOND BISCOTTI

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There is one type of baked good that goes so well with coffee that it ought to be a misdemeanor not to serve the two together. I mean really, what is coffee without a biscotti on the side? Just coffee, right?! But when the two are served together, then it becomes a match made in heaven. And the best way ever to start a day! 

So, when thinking about which of my several recipes for biscotti to make for our upcoming trailer trip, I decided to think outside the typical biscotti box. And this, non-traditional Italian cookie recipe is what I came up with. Sure, it’s still a biscotti, doubled baked and all, but the flavor is more like you would find in candied ginger shortbread. So, this is basically Italy and Scotland sharing an adventure together. And I’m telling you the truth, they make a great team!

So, next time you want to liven up your biscotti repertoire, I suggest you give this recipe a try. But be warned. These are very gingery cookies. If you are not a true ginger lover, these are probably not the cookies for you. Or if you have young children, I’m sure they would not appreciate the flavor either.

But if you love Candied Ginger Shortbread (recipe on site), you will definitely love these biscotti. And have no fear, just like my other biscotti recipes, these cookies are not jaw breakers.

So, enough for today. It’s gray outside, with sprits of rain every so often. Not enough to add to the water table, but enough to warrant carrying an umbrella had either of us the energy to go for a walk. Which we don’t.

But hey, it’s May. Our lilacs are in full bloom and perfuming the air with their lovely scent. (In the picture below, this is part of the view I see from my desk. The lilac bush being dead center in this picture. No mountains today, but they’ll come back. They always do!)

And I’ll come back again too. But until then – peace and love to all.

2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour, fluffed

1½ tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. ground ginger

¼ tsp. kosher salt

⅔ c. finely chopped candied ginger

½ c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temp.

⅔ c. granulated sugar

2 lg. eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 c. finely chopped almonds

Place a piece of parchment paper on a large baking sheet. Set aside.

In a small bowl whisk the flour, baking powder, ground ginger, salt, and candied ginger together. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and then slowly mix in the flour mixture. Add the almonds and mix just until blended.

Divide dough in half and using your hands, form each portion into a flat rectangle about 12-inches long and 2½- inches wide on the prepared baking sheet. (I kind of roll the dough into a long round tube before placing it on the baking sheet. Then I pat it into the shape described above.)

Bake in a pre-heated 325-degree oven for about 30 minutes, until lightly browned.

Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5-6 minutes on the baking sheet. Then cut into 1-inch-thick slices.

Place the slices cut side down back on the baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until firm.

Remove from oven and cool on wire racks. Store in an airtight container.

GINGER MOLASSES REFRIGERATOR COOKIES  

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OK, just so you know, when I first bit into one of these cookies, I loudly proclaimed it “the best cookie I ever made”! Now, I may have said that a few times before about cookies I have baked, but I still say, this recipe really produces one heck of delicious, very crisp cookie. And I happen to love crisp cookies. I also love chewy cookies, and soft cookies like my “Pink Cookies”. Which probably means that I am basically a cookie monster. (I’m fine with that BTW!) But more about this recipe, which is based on a recipe I found on the onceuponachef.com site. (A wonderful site that I visit often and know you too would appreciate.)  

Now, the main thing I changed was the shaping of these cookies. I am absolutely in love with refrigerator/ice box/rolled into a log in plastic wrap and placed in the refrigerator overnight, and sliced and baked the next day cookie recipes. Why? The answer is simple. I’m lazy. It is just plain easier to wrap the dough in plastic wrap, than to either roll it out and use cookies cutters, or even shape the dough into balls using ice cream scoops. And I almost always refrigerate cookie dough for several hours or overnight before baking them anyway. Which is not always part of the original instructions. (But should be!)

Which brings me to another thing I always do, even though the directions may differ. If the dough is to be rolled into balls, I use an ice cream scoop. And even if the recipe says to refrigerate the dough before shaping, I shape the balls and then place them in the refrigerator. I mean really, have you ever tried to shape cold dough? Either by hand using a spoon or with an ice cream scoop. What in the name of all things holy are some cooks who write out recipes thinking? Have they ever actually shaped a cookie from cold dough? Do they not realize how easy dough is to shape when it’s first made, and not at all easy to shape when it’s BLOODY COLD AND HARD? Idiotic! OK, I feel better now, having gotten that off my chest.

Anyway, if you too love crispy, very spicy ginger cookies, this is the recipe for you.

Well, that’s it for today. We will be taking a short holiday to Long Beach, Washington in the near future. So, I am busy preparing food to take along. (This cookie among other goodies.) There’s a full kitchen in the condo where we are staying, but I don’t want to spend all my time cooking. So, preparing some dishes ahead is always a good idea. Gives me more time to sit in front of the fire and read. Or play a board game with our dear friends Jim and Margo who are going along mainly to keep us out of trouble. Just kidding. We are too old to get in too much trouble – anymore! This will just be quality time spent with our dear friends.  

We are truly blessed to have so many wonderful friends. And to have family members that we absolutely adore. Can’t get much better than that! May you too be as lucky.

And as always, love and peace to all.

2⅓ c. unbleached all-purpose flour, fluffed

2 tsp. baking soda

¼ tsp. kosher salt

2 tsp. ground ginger

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

½ tsp. ground allspice

¼ tsp. ground cloves

⅛ tsp. freshly ground black pepper

½ c. finely chopped candied ginger

¾ c. (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, room temp.

¼ c. plus 2 T. granulated sugar

¼ c. plus 2 T. packed light brown sugar

1 egg

⅓ c. molasses (not blackstrap or sulfured)

raw, turbinado, or demerara sugar, for rolling cookies

Whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, and black pepper together in a small mixing bowl. Stir in the candied ginger making certain every little piece is covered in flour.

In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, granulated sugar, and light brown sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and molasses. (Be sure to scrape the sides of the mixing bowl several times during this process.) Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix just until combined.

Divide the dough roughly in half. Place each piece of dough on a long piece of plastic wrap. Shape the dough into a round log about 1½-inches wide. Sprinkle raw sugar over and around the dough. Using your hands, wrap the dough into the plastic wrap still working to evenly shape the dough into a log. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight.

Remove from fridge and un-wrap logs. Using a sharp, thin bladed knife, slice dough ½-inch thick. (If the slices aren’t round or bits of candied ginger are sticking out here and there, just reform gently with your hands.) Arrange slices, at least 2-inches apart on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.

Bake in a pre-heated 350-degree oven until lightly golden on the bottom and around the edges, 14-16 minutes. (Do not under-bake this cookie.)

Remove from oven and cool on baking sheets 1 to 2 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.   

  

BOOZY CHOCOLATE ORANGE BALLS  

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So, after making these chocolate orange balls, I asked Mr. C. to give one a try and see if they were fit to share with others. Once he stopped smiling, he assured me that they were more than alright, and could I please save him at least 5 dozen for his own consumption. I quickly explained that I hadn’t even made that many to begin with, but yes, there would be plenty left for him. (As if he ever had to give a thought to me not saving some of the goodies for him!) (Silly guy!) Anyway, I’m no dummy. I quickly figured out that he REALLY LIKED THESE TASTY TREATS.

So, if you too are thinking about giving something homemade to one of your nearest and dearest for Christmas, this might be the perfect recipe for you.

Now I know, this is not a quick and easy recipe to prepare. But I suppose if push came to shove, you could buy shortbread cookies for the crumbs part of the recipe. Or as I read in some recipes, you could use vanilla wafers. But using vanilla wafers just wouldn’t be the same. Nothing could ever possibly replace a true shortbread cookie for depth of flavor or consistency. Plus, if you make the shortbread yourself, you will have leftover shortbread to go with your eleven o’clock cup of coffee or tea. And how delightful a contemplation is that?

So, since I am also very busy getting ready for Christmas, I will stop writing today and get on with ticking off more items on my “to do” list. (And yes, at my age I must make a list, or important things like wrapping gifts simply wouldn’t get done.)

So, from one harried Mrs. Santa to all the rest of you Santas out there – have fun, stay sane, take frequent short breaks, and think up ways to lift the spirits of others. It starts with each of us. And we all know that a positive attitude is contagious. And if we are having fun, so will those around us. On that happy note – have a holly, jolly Christmas and the best New Year ever!

And as always, peace and love to all.  

3 c. shortbread cookie crumbs (see shortbread recipe below)

1 c. powdered sugar, plus more for rolling

1 c. lightly toasted pecans, finely chopped

7 tsp. good cocoa powder

3 T. corn syrup

½ c. Cointreau or other orange liqueur 

Mix the shortbread crumbs, 1 cup powdered sugar, pecans, and cocoa powder together in a mixing bowl.

Whisk the corn syrup and Cointreau together in a small bowl and add to the dry mix. Mix well. (If the mixture seems a bit wet, you can always stir in a couple more tablespoons of shortbread crumbs to the mix.)

Using a small ice cream scoop, form the mixture into equal sized balls. Place on a small parchment paper lined baking sheet. After the balls have all been scooped, use your hands to compact the mixture into smaller balls. Then roll them in powdered sugar and place back on the parchment paper. Refrigerate for about an hour. Transfer to an airtight container and store in your refrigerator.

Shortbread Recipe:

1½ c. (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1½ c. powdered sugar

1½ tsp. vanilla extract

¾ tsp. salt  

3 c. unbleached all-purpose flour, fluffed

With an electric mixer, beat butter, sugar, vanilla, and salt until smooth.  With your mixer on low speed, add flour, mixing just until dough forms. Place dough on a long piece of plastic wrap. Using your hands, wrap the dough into the plastic wrap gently shaping it into a compact round log about 1½ inches wide.  Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Un-wrap log and using a sharp knife, slice dough at least 3/8-inch thick. (If dough feels really hard, leave at room temperature for 5 to 10 minutes).

Arrange slices, about 1-inch apart on parchment paper lined baking sheets. Prick each cookie about 3 times with a fork.

Bake the cookies until golden brown around the edges, 15 to 20 minutes. (Do not under-bake.) Cool on baking sheets for 1 to 2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Place a few cookies in your food processor. Whirl until you have cookie crumbs and repeat until you have 3 cups of crumbs. Use the crumbs as directed above.

Store the remaining cookies in an airtight container. (This is a good thing. To have extra cookies that is. Because there is no better cookie than a simple shortbread cookie. And you’ve now built 2 treats for the work of one!)  

  

MY FAVORITE COOKIES

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To misquote Lewis Carroll terribly, I offer my version of part of his delightful poem “The Walrus and the Carpenter”.

The time has come,’ Patricia said,

      To talk of favorite things:

Of lamb — and pork — and kosher salt —

      Of casseroles — and wings —

And why to use freshly grated cheese —

      And the taste fresh lemon brings.’

Now I too have no idea why Mr. Carroll’s poem jumped into my head just as I laid my head on my pillow the other evening. But I instantly knew that I had to incorporate a bit of the poem (horribly disfigured) in my next blog post because, well, it’s kind of the way my twisted mind works! And it was time for me to post yet another in my series “My Favorite Recipes”.

So, I’m not going to keep you any longer from getting back to your list of things still to be done for the holidays. Except to remind you to enjoy the time spent and to give yourself a break periodically. Put your feet up, have a cup of coffee or tea, and think how nice it will be when everything is done. (As if that could ever happen!)

And if you have never read anything by Mr. Carroll, or it’s been a while, you are in for a treat. (Think of it as your Christmas present to yourself.) 

So, for now, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and as always, peace and love to all.

MY FAVORITE COOKIE RECIPES

Almost Knockoff Levain Bakery Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Anise Biscotti with Slivered Almonds

Berry Pie Bars

Candied Ginger Refrigerator Shortbread Cookies

Chewy Caramel Pecan Squares

Chocolate and Pecan Toffee Bars

Chocolate Chip Peppermint Shortbread Cookies

Chocolate Peppermint Sandwich Cookies

Coconut-Lime Shortbread Cookies

Fruit Filled Oatmeal Bars

Fudgy Espresso Walnut Cookies

Knockoff Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies

Knockoff Levain Bakery Dark Chocolate peanut butter chip cookies

Mincemeat Bars with Brandy Whipped Cream

Molasses Cookies

No-Bake Chocolate Topped peanut butter bars (could be considered candy too)

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies with Toasted Coconut

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Outrageous Brownies

Payday Candy Bar Bars

Pink Cookies

Russian Teacakes

Shortbread Crusted Lemon Bars

Speculaas (Dutch Spice Cookies)

White Chocolate Dipped Coffee Bean Shortbread

CANDIED GINGER MOLASSES COOKIES

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Well, this is just another experiment with gluten. And although I have made at least a million cookies over the several decades I have been allowed to use an oven without supervision, this recipe for ginger cookies is just enough different from my other ginger cookie recipes to make it worthy of sharing with you. Because these cookies come out flat and very chewy rather than what my other recipes tend to produce. And sometimes, a thin and chewy cookie is exactly what I am craving.

So, not to put too fine a point on it, these cookies are amazingly delicious. And easy to build. And very easy to eat. Too easy if truth be known.

Now you may be wondering what makes the flavor of these cookies any different than any other delectable ginger cookie. Well, I’ll tell you. They have little bits of candied ginger in the mix. And more spice is used than in most ginger cookie recipes. Which results in a cookie that is an absolute treat for anyone with a sophisticated palate. But if you are not a true connoisseur of ginger cookies, then don’t bother with this recipe. They might be a bit too flavorful for your liking. And I seriously doubt if a small child would appreciate the wonderful qualities of these babies. They might prefer a peanut butter cookie, for example.

But for an adult who might think a ginger cookie would go well with a nice glass of zinfandel or a lovely glass of Scotch, you will have found a pairing made in heaven. These cookies are the bomb!

Well, it’s only 3:30 pm here on Camano Island. But it’s suddenly gotten quite dark outside. And I’ve seen some lightning and heard a bit of rumble, and the lights just flickered. Oh, and it’s beginning to rain. No, scratch that. It is pouring buckets. (Which we need, so no complaints.) I do believe we are in for a bit of a storm.

So, I will leave you for today. I’m thinking Italian Chicken Pastina Soup for dinner. Desperate times call for desperate measures, after all!

And as always, peace and love to all.

¾ c. (1½ sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes 

½ c. + 2 T. granulated sugar, divided

½ c. brown sugar, packed 

1 lg. egg

¼ c. molasses (not blackstrap)

2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour, fluffed

2 T. cake flour, fluffed (or additional all-purpose flour) 

2 tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. coarse sea salt

2 tsp. ground ginger

2 tsp. + 1 tsp. cinnamon, divided

½ tsp. cloves

¼ tsp. nutmeg

⅓ c. finely chopped candied ginger  

In the bowl of your stand mixer, cream the cold butter, half cup granulated sugar, and brown sugar together until well combined. Beat in egg and molasses.

Whisk the all-purpose flour, cake flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, 2 teaspoons of cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg together in mixing bowl.  Slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture mixing until fully combined. Then, add the candied ginger, mixing just until incorporated.

Mix the remaining 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar and the remaining 1 teaspoon of cinnamon together in a small bowl.    

Using an ice cream scoop (your choice for size), form balls and dip top into sugar/cinnamon mixture. Place sugar topped side up on a small parchment paper lined baking sheet close together and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. (Better overnight.)

When ready to bake, cover a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Place cold dough balls, sugar side up, about 1½ inches apart. Bake in a pre-heated 350-degree oven for about 15 minutes or until you start to see some slight cracks on top. Do not overbake.

Remove from oven and let cookies sit undisturbed for 3-5 minutes. Then, transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Store in an airtight container.  If you don’t end up baking all your cookies at once, place your scooped and sugar-topped extras in the freezer. Then bake them off when you are darned good and ready!   

TRIPLE PEANUT COOKIES (with a bit of chocolate thrown in for good measure)

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Sometimes you just get thwarted when you go to the grocery store. And this happened to me when I decided to make my Peanut M&M Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies (recipe on site) for an upcoming trailer trip. My very own local grocery store had the audacity to be out of Peanut M&Ms! How could this happen? To me! But it did. So, I bought a 9-oz. “share size” package of Peanut Butter M&Ms thinking I could probably think up a cookie recipe that included this “new to me” M&M varietal. And in case you haven’t shopped for any M&Ms lately, there’s a whole new world of possible flavors out there from which to choose. (I really do have to get out more!)

So, when I got home and opened the bag, I found the Peanut Butter M&Ms to be just a little bit bigger than the regular old-fashioned M&Ms of my youth. And instead of being candy coated chocolate, they were filled with peanut butter. Pretty darn tasty if truth be known. And there had been other varieties I could have brought home with me. Now my interest was piqued. So, when I got home, I went online and did a little research on M&Ms.

M&Ms have been around since 1941. And presently, there are 60 flavors on the market. (I thought there were only two. Regular and peanut M&Ms.) Some of the varieties are only offered for holidays. And to my thinking, some of the flavors look pretty scary. But as they say, to each his/her own! But M&M Cookies & Screeem, M&M Pumpkin Spice Latte, and M&M White Chocolate Candy Corn, I would simply have to say – no thank you! But back to this recipe.

Since I had already pulled my recipe for the Peanut M&M cookies from my file, I decided to start with that recipe, and see what I could come up with. So, what you find below is certainly similar to my original recipe but with enough kinks to be interesting and delicious on its own. I hope you enjoy this recipe for really peanutty cookies.

And as always peace and love to all.  

½ c. rolled or quick oats 

½ c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

½ c. brown sugar, packed

¼ c. granulated sugar

¾ c. crunchy peanut butter (not natural) (creamy unnatural peanut butter is fine too)

1 lg. egg

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1¼ c. unbleached all-purpose flour

½ tsp. baking soda

¼ tsp. kosher salt

1¼ c. peanut butter M&Ms (I use the 9-oz. share size for this recipe)

½ c. roasted and salted peanuts

If using regular rolled oats, place in a food processor. Pulse a few times to break the oats down a bit. Set aside. (If using quick oats, they don’t have to be messed with at all. But they still need to be set aside at this point.)

In the bowl of your stand mixer, cream the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the peanut butter and mix together. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until well combined.

In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, and oats together. Add to the wet mixture just until incorporated. Do not overmix. Gently mix in the M&Ms and peanuts.  

Form the dough into about 2-inch diameter balls. (I use my #30 ice cream scoop to form the balls.) Place on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet close together. (They are going to spend the night in your refrigerator, so at this point they can cozy up to one another.) Just before baking, place them on a large parchment paper lined sheet about 1½ inches apart.  

Bake in a pre-heated 350-degree oven for about 16 minutes total. I took the pan out of the oven at about 8 minutes baking time and took a small glass and flattened the cookies a bit before placing them back in the oven. So, you will want to adjust your baking time to accommodate the time the cookies are out of your oven. The cookies will be a bit soft and look slightly undone. But don’t fret. They will firm up nicely as they cool. And you don’t want to overbake these cookies.

Remove from oven and allow to cool a couple minutes on the cookie sheet before transferring to a wire cooling rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature. Makes about 25 good sized cookies.