Chip & Chunk Cookies

These are what I like to call definitive holiday cookies. Seriously, they have all the bits of a perfect holiday cookies: cinnamon, chocolate, nuts and coconut. Baked up in a tender cookie with a lovely crunch to the exterior, these flavors really just remind me of the holidays, so they are perfect for your baking list this month. For an little extra flavor, toast that coconut first and you'll get a little more depth to these cookies. Coconut burns pretty quickly, so keep an eye on it while it toasts--I had to try twice since I forgot to pay attention the first time. Whoops.

Cinnamon Roll Bread

I've really been craving cinnamon rolls lately, but I've been to lazy/tired/pregnant to actually make them. But a quick bread that tastes like cinnamon rolls? Yeah, I can do that. Especially because it whipped up fast, makes the kitchen smell awesome and tastes amazing. A slightly sweet vanilla quick bread is marbled with a cinnamon-pecan gooey ripple throughout and a sweet glaze drizzled over the top. The crumb is light and the filling has so much gooey goodness, just like you'd expect from a cinnamon roll. Yes, I think this bread can take the place of cinnamon rolls just fine, thank you very much. And this recipe makes two loaves, one for you and one for a friend. But warning, give the second loaf away before you taste the first. Because otherwise you may not share.

Orange Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies

I've been working on these cookies for about a month. For real. To say this was a challenge is an understatement. My director Ann gets a similar cookie from Otter Creek Bakery in Middlebury, VT. She and a friend adore these cookies and have been searching for a make at home version to no avail. So she shared a sample and wondered if I might be able to come up with a recipe. Challenge accepted and conquered. Well, conquered after 5 rounds of recipe adjustments. What can I say, I was determined. While my interpretation has a slightly lighter coloring and a bit of a flatter look, from the sample I had and Ann's feedback, these are pretty spot on in flavor and texture. And the list of goodies is endless: browned butter, chocolate chips, pecans, oatmeal, orange flavoring and all topped off with a candied orange slice. The resulting cookie is hearty with perfect sweetness and nuttiness, a hint of chocolate, vague caramel-like nut flavor from the brown butter and subtle orange flavor that your not sure is in the cookie or wafting from the garnish. No wonder Ann wanted to make these at home--you just can live without them!

Apple Blondies with Pecan Pie Topping

Yummy!  And an original recipe, although based in part on the standard Blondies recipe. This is what happens when frugality meets innovation and they run into necessity.  I had a good bit of the pecan pie topping leftover from the Pecan Pie Cookies and I didn't want to see it go to waste.  I thought it would make a good topping for something with apples, maybe a bread.  Then Cindy texted me that she and her brood were coming over (they were invited) and I knew I needed to make a dessert for the occasion (since I was in the middle of making holiday cookies so I knew they'd be disappointed seeing all the tasty goodies on the racks but not allowed to eat them).  So I quickly put together these Apple Blondies and used the remaining pecan topping to create this delicious treat.

The apples keep the bars moist without them being gooey and the pecan topping is a very subtle nuttiness.  The cinnamon and spice in the blondie compliment the crunchy brown sugar top.  And they are delicious with or without a bit of vanilla ice cream.  A clever fall combination of flavors if you want to do some more apple baking before the orchards are empty.

Pecan Pie Cookies

Welcome to holiday cookie season!  I've started making some of my freezer friendly recipes and this is the first in the group.  And just to give you some variety this year, I'll also be including things other than cookies throughout the season.  I've got birthdays and Thanksgiving to bake for in the coming months, so I promise you there will be some variety. The decision making process for which cookies to bake this year was tough and I limited myself to just nine repeats from last year's list because they are fan favorites.  Those are:

Almond Swirls
Cinnmon Snaps
Fruit Filled Thimbles
Gingerbread Cookies
Hotel Cookies
Oatmeal Cranberry
Old Fashioned Sugar Cut Outs
Orange Cranberry
Snickerdoodles

Banana Coffee Cake

Did you make the Banana Coffee Cake with Chocolate Chip Streusel that I made a couple weeks ago?  If not, hold on.  I've discovered something awesome.  This coffee cake is moist and flavorful and turned out perfect.  Plus it was easy to make. There is a lightness to this cake that I think comes from the cream cheese.  And while I enjoyed the pecan topping, Dave and I agreed that the chocolate chip streusel paired with this cake would be a winner.  It'd be the lovechild of two good recipes to make a great brunch addition, dessert or snack.

This recipe comes from allrecipes.com and was posted by Georgia Courtney.  I made an addition to the batter, which is good because I also forgot something from the batter.  I added a teaspoon of Penzey's Spices Baking Spice to the batter.  But Georgia's recipe says to put half of the pecan topping into the batter.  Oops.  I forgot to read that bit until I already had the batter in the pan. In hindsight, though, I'm glad that happened because I don't think there would have been enough topping to cover the whole cake if I'd only had half.  Below is the version I used, but play around with the toppings by either adding some to the batter or layering like my previous attempt.  No matter what you try, it'll turn out good.

Turtle Cookie Cups

These are amazingly good.  (So good I apparently forgot to take a display photo.)  Another very simple recipe using a prepackaged mix to have a great dessert or treat, plus it's a candy-cookie combo, so I know it's a winner.  I took these to work for a meeting and everyone loved them.  They are very chocolatey so be warned, but they certainly live up to their name with the caramel and pecan cutting through with a sweet/salty flavor.

Again, from the Betty Crocker website, these were easy to prepare and because I'm obsessive, I actually have all the ingredients in the house on a regular basis.  You could experiment with different candies and nuts, but just be warned--then they won't be turtles. 

Turtle Cookie Cup

Ingredients

1 pouch (17.5 ounces) Betty Crocker double chocolate chunk cookie mix
3 Tablespoons oil (as called for on package)
1 Tablespoon water (as called for on package)
1 egg (as called for on package)
36 chocolate covered caramel candies, unwrapped
36 pecan halves

In a medium bowl, mix together cookie mix, oil, water and egg until all is moistened and you have a soft dough.

Grease the cups of a mini muffin tin (mine holds 24, so I worked in batches).  Using a small cookie scoop, scoop dough into each muffin cup.

Bake at 375 degrees F for 8-9 minutes.  Remove from oven and press a chocolate covered caramel into the center of each cookie cup.  I found that pushing them in upside down gave me more of the effect I wanted.

Top with a pecan half.

Cool in pan for a few minutes, then remove to wire racks to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough.

Makes 36 cookie cups.

Happy Baking,
The Cookie Princess