12 Days of Cookies! Day 10: Rice Krispie Treats....I know not technically cookies....

I know its cheating a little since Rice Krispie treats aren't technically cookies but for me they go hand and hand with Christmas and the Holidays.  Since we all know the basic components of Rice Krispie treats (Butter, Rice Krispies, & Marshmallows) I thought it'd be a little more fun to find festive ways to use them.  Here are some fantastic Holiday ideas:

12 Days of Cookies! Day 9: Chocolate Mice!

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse....or were there?  These are the cutest cookie creations yet! Fun & quirky, kids will love them!

4 (1 ounce) squares semisweet chocolate

1/3 cup sour cream

1 cup chocolate cookie crumbs

1/3 cup chocolate cookie crumbs

1/3 cup confectioners' sugar

24 silver dragees decorating candy

1/4 cup sliced almonds

12 (2 inch) pieces long red vine licorice

Directions

1.     Melt the chocolate, and combine with sour cream. Stir in 1 cup chocolate cookie crumbs. Cover and refrigerate until firm.

2.     Roll by level tablespoonfuls into balls. Mold to a slight point at one end (the nose).

3.     Roll dough in confectioners sugar (for white mice), and in chocolate cookie crumbs (for dark mice). On each mouse, place dragees in appropriate spot for eyes, almond slices for ears, and a licorice string for the tail.

4.     Refrigerate for at least two hours, until firm.

12 days of Cookies! Day 8: Lemon Pistachio Biscotti!

Not to sweet perfectly crunchy and delicious with tea!

FOR THE BISCOTTI

1/3 cup unsalted butter , softened

2/3 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 teaspoons lemon zest , finely minced

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups unsalted pistachio nuts

FOR THE ICING

1 cup powdered sugar , sifted

1 teaspoon lemon zest , finely minced

1 -2 tablespoon lemon juice or 1 -2 tablespoon milk

Directions:

FOR THE COOKIE ~ Preheat oven to 375 degrees F & lightly grease several cookie sheets or 1 LARGE one. In large mixing bowl, beat butter with electric mixer on medium-high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar, baking powder & salt, beating to combine & scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in eggs & vanilla until combined. Beat in lemon zest & as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Using a wooden spoon or your hands, stir or knead in remaining flour & pistachio nuts. On lightly floured surface, divide dough into 3 equal portions. Shape each portion into an 8-inch-long loaf. Flatten loaves to about 2 1/2 inches wide, & place them at least 3 inches apart on prepared cookie sheet(s).Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown & tops are cracked. (Loaves will spread slightly.).Cool on cookie sheet for 30 minutes, When cooled, preheat oven to 325 degrees F, then transfer loaves to a cutting board to cut each loaf into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Place slices, cut sides down on previously used cookie sheet(s), & bake 8 minutes. Turn slices over & bake 8-10 minutes more or until dry & crisp. Transfer to wire rack & cool.

THE ICING ~ In a small mixing bowl, stir together sifted powdered sugar & 1 teaspoon lemon zest. Stir in enough lemon juice (or milk) to make icing of drizzling consistency. Either dip 1/4 of one end of each cookie into icing OR drizzle each with icing.

12 Days of Cookies! Day 7: Triple Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies...it could be a meal!

This was one of the first cookies I ever made and immediately I was in love.  Super hearty from the oatmeal, sweet from the chocolate & tart from the cranberries....this cookie is to die for!

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup old-fashioned oats

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

1/2 cup white chocolate chips

1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh or frozen cranberries

2 ounces milk chocolate or white chocolate, chopped (for drizzling)

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in medium bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat butter and both sugars in large bowl until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla. Add flour mixture and oats and stir until blended. Stir in all chocolate chips and cranberries.

Drop batter by rounded tablespoonfuls onto prepared sheets, 2 inches apart. Bake cookies, 1 sheet at a time, until edges are light brown, about 16 minutes. Cool on sheets 5 minutes. Transfer to rack; cool completely.

Stir chopped milk chocolate in top of double boiler until melted and smooth. Using small spoon, drizzle melted chocolate over cookies in zigzag pattern. Let stand until milk chocolate sets, about 1 hour. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Store in airtight container at room temperature.)

12 Days of Cookies! Day 6: Coconut Lime Shortbread Cookies!

Normally I only like soft chewy cookies but these are one of the few exceptions.  Buttery and rich and full of flavor these shortbread cookies have made it on the list of my favorite cookies!

Coconut-Lime Shortbread Cookies

Ingredients:

Cookie Ingredients:

1/2 cup flaked coconut, toasted

1/2 cup sugar

2 Tbsp. lime peel

1 tsp. vanilla

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup cold butter, cut into pieces

Lime Glaze Ingredients:

2 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp. lime peel

1 Tbsp. lime juice

2 to 3 Tbsp. water

Method:

To Make Cookies:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  In a food processor, combine coconut, sugar, 2 tablespoons lime peel, and the vanilla.  Cover and process until coconut is finely chopped.  Add flour; cover and process for one or two pulses until combined.  Add butter; cover and process until mixture starts to cling.  Transfer to a very large bowl (dough will appear dry).  Knead dough until smooth.  Shape dough into a ball; divide in half. 

On a lightly floured surface, roll out one of the dough portions to about 1/4″ thickness.  Using desired 1.5″ to 2″ cookie cutters, cut out dough.  Place cutouts 1″ apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake for 15-17 minutes, or just until bottoms start to brown.  Transfer cookies to a wire rack; let cool.  Repeat with the remaining dough portion.  If desired spread tops of cookies with the lime glaze and sprinkle with additional lime peel.

To Make Lime Glaze:

In a small bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, lime peel, and lime juice until combined.  Add in the two or three tablespoons of water, and whisk until it reaches a good consistency for spreading.

recipe from GimmeSomeOven

12 Days of Cookies! Day 5: Peppermint topped Sugar Cookies!

These is the simplest cookie and easiest cookie to make that always puts me in the holiday spirit.  Using a basic sugar topped with a little cream cheese frosting and crushed peppermint makes this easy cookie super festive and super delicious!

Sugar Cookie
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups white sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract.
       

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients. Roll rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into balls, and place onto ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden. Let stand on cookie sheet two minutes before removing to cool on wire racks.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 cup butter, softened
8 ounces cream cheese

2 cups confectioners' sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Beat softened butter and cream cheese until well blended.
Add powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat until creamy.

12 Days of Cookies! Day 4: Chocolate Puddle Cookies!

The first time I made these I thought they were the most delicious ugliest things I've ever tasted! So waht they lack in looks they totally make up in flavor.  Super fudgy and totally chocolately I love these best with a warm cup of coffee.  A little hint, I'm known for my under baking, it's what makes a cookie delicious in my opinion but don't under bake these.  They'll be too gooey and impossible to remove from the baking sheet.

3 cups halves, toasted & cooled
4 cups confectioner's (powdered) sugar

1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons

1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
4 large egg whites, room temperature
1 tablespoon real vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 320 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Make sure your walnuts have cooled a bit, then chop coarsely and set aside. Sift together the confectioner's sugar, cocoa powder, and sea salt. Stir in the walnuts, then add the egg whites and vanilla. Stir until well combined.

Spoon the batter onto the prepared sheets in even mounds of about 2 tablespoons each, allowing for LOTS of room between cookies. These really expand! Don't try to get more than 6 cookies on each sheet, and try to avoid placing the batter too close to the edge of the pan.

Bake until they puff up. The tops should get glossy, and then crack a bit - about 12 -15 minutes. Slide the cookies still on parchment onto a cooling rack, and let them cool completely. Makes 18 large cookies.

Back to school...

It's so amazing to see how many people will support you if you're willing to take a risk and put it out there. I know I posted an update about my old UCSD professor asking me to come in and give a talk about Kickstarter and my project when it first launched... well 20 days later it finally happened and it was awesome! In preparation for my presentation, I did a little research on Kickstarter and found a very encouraging statistic that I hope holds true. I read that 90% of all projects that get funded up to 20% get fully funded and 100% of projects that reach 50% eventually make 100% too!!! I'm up to 37% with only 14 days left and I'm starting to feel the pressure but so excited to see the results!! Thanks to all my 17 backers so far! You guys have no idea how much this means to me and I truly truly appreciate it! Here are some pics on my speaking debut.....:)

12 days of Cookies

Since we're getting ready for the season of eating and for some reason we all seem to develop a small love of baking this time or year, I've decided to create 12 days of cookies - a collection of my absolute favorite cookie recipes I've tried, tasted, and in some cases tweaked until they're absolutely too die for! I'm thinking of sending out a recipe a day in an email blast, starting November 15th. Sign up for it on my wesbite in my contact us page!