S'mores

Not just for camp fires anymore.  These cookies are amazing and everyone loves them.  I've actually had to make 3 batches in the past few months--1 for a party, one for birthday gifts for my nephew and a friend's son, and these for the holiday gifts.  Over the summer my nephew was quite disappointed when we couldn't find a way to make S'mores at a family picnic.  We thought we'd get a fire pit, but it turns out we didn't have one.  So I promised him I'd turn all the ingredients into cookies.  And when I promise a kid cookies, I don't come up empty-handed.

I found the recipe at Cookie Madness a while back.  I first baked them exactly as the recipe stated, but was a little disappointed in the end result.  The original recipe states to use mini marshmallows and break up bits of chocolate, using them as a topping for the cookie near the end of the baking time.  This wasn't enough of a solid S'more flavor for me--I wanted chocolate and marshmallow goodness in every bite.  So I adapted it slightly by using the large marshmallows, cut in half, and a full piece of the Hershey bar (the part you get when you break it up into 12 mini bars).  I stacked them up and not only do they look like adorable campfire S'mores, they taste great with a hit of gooey marshmallow in each bite.  The graham cracker in the cookie dough really brings the whole thing together.

S'mores

Ingredients:

3/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups flour
1 cup graham crackers, crushed fine
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cups semi-sweet mini chocolate chips

2 1/2 dozen jet puff marshmallows, cut in half
5 Hershey bars, broken into mini bars

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars until fluffy. Mix in egg and vanilla until combined.  

To get 1 cup of crushed graham crackers, you'll only need one of the three sleeves that come in a box.

Crush graham crackers by pulsing in a food processor until you have a fine consistency.  

Not sure how to get those crumbs out?  Dump the bowl of your food processor on a flexible cutting mat. Then bend the mat and use it as a funnel to pour the crumbs into a jar or other container.

 

In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, graham crackers, salt and baking soda.  Add to the butter mixture and mix well.  Stir in the chocolate chips.

On a parchment or Silpat lined baking sheet, drop by spoonfuls (I use a small cookie scoop) about 2 inches apart.

Bake in a 375 degree F oven for 8 minutes.  Turn baking sheet 180 degrees halfway through. If using more than one sheet at a time, rotate positions in the oven for more even baking.   

While cookies are baking, break up Hershey bars into 12 mini bars each and cut marshmallows in half using a sharp knife. 

Remove from oven.  Push 1 marshmallow half onto each cookie.  

Pre-marshmallow baking

Return to oven and bake an additional 3-4 minutes until fully cooked and light brown.  Remove from oven and immediately top with mini Hershey bar.  

Post-marshmallow baking. They really are different--
the marshmallows are a little puffier and gooey now.

Cool on pan for a few minutes and then move to wire rack to cool completely.

For storage, you'll want to be sure the cookies cool completely.   I suggest putting one layer of cookies in your container and popping it in the freezer for 5 minutes. Then place a piece of wax paper on top and repeat layers.

You'll probably want to have a few extra marshmallows and an extra Hershey bar on hand in case your dough yields a few extra cookies.  Eat any leftovers.

Makes 5 dozen.

Happy Baking,

The Cookie Princess

Mint Chocolate Chip

What pretty little festive yummies do we have here?  A little mint and chocolate to satisfy those Andes Mint cravings.  I actually wanted to use the Andes Mint creme de menthe baking chips, but I couldn't find them in any of my grocery stores this year.  Disappointing, but I did find a good alternative--Nestle's morsels with mint chips and dark chocolate chips mixed together.

This recipe comes from the Betty Crocker website and is another cookie mix based creation and a 2010 prize winner.  A strong mint flavor and a kick from the dark chocolate in a soft cookie makes for a great treat.  I did add a splash of milk to the recipe to help my dough come together better (I don't think my butter was soft enough).  I really like how easily these came together--makes for a quick dessert to take to a holiday gathering or a fast homemade gift for someone who suddenly popped on your list.

Mint Chocolate Chip

1 pouch (17.5 ounces) Better Crocker sugar cookie mix
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon mint extract
6-8 drops green food coloring*
1 egg
1 package (12 ounces) creme de mente and dark chocolate chips

*I realized when I was getting this recipe together that apparently I was out of green food coloring.  Who knows how many months it had been--probably since last Christmas.  Nonetheless, the ever-resilient baker that I am, I recalled my primary colors lessons from Kindergarten and successfully used yellow and blue coloring to make green.  

In a large bowl, stir cookie mix and butter (I use a pastry cutter at first, then stir).  Add extract, food coloring and egg, stirring until a soft dough forms. If you're having trouble, add a splash of milk (no more than a Tablespoon).  Stir in the chips.

On a parchment or Silpat lined baking sheet, drop by spoonfuls (I use a small cookie scoop) about 2 inches apart.

Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned.  Turn baking sheet 180 degrees halfway through. If using more than one sheet at a time, rotate positions in the oven for more even baking.

Cool on pans for 2 minutes then remove to wire racks to complete cooling.

Makes 4 dozen.

Happy Baking,
The Cookie Princess

Old Fashioned Sugar Cut Outs

Don't they just make you smile?  They are the perfect cookie for Santa, or any time of year.  I use this as my go-to sugar cookie year-round: Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, I even made them for my wedding.  I'm not huge on decorating, but I've done glaze and sprinkles or colored sugar (seen here), as well as glaze and royal icing details.  If you have the patience (and skill) to do all royal frosting details, go for it.  But the flavor isn't that great, so I like the glaze to give it some sweetness.  I also love this recipe because I get to use my plethora of cookie cutters.

This recipe comes from the Food Network, submitted to their online library by Cathy Lowe.  I picked it up in 2002 and over the years, the only thing I've come to change is the baking. I've learned that chilling your cut outs for 10 minutes prior to baking helps keep the integrity of their shape and give you a soft cookie without browning the edges. But the ingredients and the rest of the process remain the same.

Old Fashioned Sugar Cut Outs

Ingredients (for cookies):
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until combined, scraping sides of bowl as needed.  Beat in eggs and vanilla.

In another bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt and mix thoroughly.  Stir flour mixture into butter mixture one cup at a time.

Divide dough in half, mold into a disc shape and wrap in plastic wrap.  Chill dough 3-4 hours or overnight.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick and cut out using cookie cutters.

Place on a parchment or Silpat lined baking sheet and chill for 10 minutes.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 10-15 minutes, depending on the size of the cookie.  Turn baking sheet 180 degrees halfway through. If using more than one sheet at a time, rotate positions in the oven for more even baking.  (I use approximately 2-3 inch cutters and bake for 10 minutes.  You want to catch these just before the edges turn brown, so if you're not quite sure, pull them out and let them cool on the pans a few extra minutes where they will continue baking.)

Cool on pans for 2 minutes then remove to wire racks to complete cooling.

Glaze

Ingredients (for glaze):

3 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 Tablespoons milk

In small bowl, stir all glaze ingredients together until smooth.  Place a piece of parchment or a silicone mat under a cooking rack.

Using the back of a spoon, spread glaze onto the center of the cookie (it will spread to the edges), and allow to set on cooling rack.  Any glaze that drips off the edges will  fall onto the parchment and not your table or counter, making for easy clean up.  Sprinkle with colored sugar if desired.

For storage, allow glaze to set before packing into airtight containers. If you are going to layer the cookies, I suggest putting one layer in the container and popping it in the freezer for 5 minutes. Then place a piece of wax paper on top and repeat layers.

Makes approximately 6 dozen.

Happy Baking,
The Cookie Princess

M&M Cookies

What's that? Another candy/cookie combo? What can I say, I like candy and I like cookies. Two of my major food groups.  This is actually my standard Chocolate Chip recipe, and I just substituted M&M's for the chocolate chips.  Oddly, a few years ago I searched for an actual M&M cookie recipe and when I tried it, I was highly disappointed.  The cookies were flat and greasy (the recipe called for shortening) and spread out very thin during baking.  So why bother with that when I have a perfect cookie recipe in my arsenal?  Occasionally, when I make this recipe with chocolate chips, I will add 1 cup of chopped nuts.

This recipe comes from Capitol Cookies, a cookbook collection of a cookie from every state, submitted from various non-profit groups who had created cookbooks as fund-raising tools.  The recipe is originally titled Abbey's Chocolate Chip Cookies and comes from a 5 year old girl in New Hampshire who had submitted the recipe, in her own words, for her school's cookbook.  Her mom double checked the recipe and the one that was submitted is the version Abbey and her mom would make often.  Hey, I'm not going to challenge a 5 year old!

M&M Cookies

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 eggs
10 ounces M&Ms

Mix flour with baking powder and salt in a medium mixing bowl and set aside.

Beat butter until light and fluffy, then add sugars and beat until creamed thoroughly, scraping sides of bowl as necessary.  Mix in vanilla and eggs.  Stir in flour mixture until incorporated.  Add M&M's and stir to combine.

On a parchment or Silpat lined baking sheet, drop by spoonfuls (I use a small cookie scoop) about 2 inches apart.

Um, yes, that's residual powdered sugar from the Cocoa Snowflakes I'd made just before.

Bake in a 375 degree F oven for 8 minutes or until lightly browned.  Turn baking sheet 180 degrees halfway through. If using more than one sheet at a time, rotate positions in the oven for more even baking.

Cool on pans for 2 minutes then remove to wire racks to complete cooling.

Makes 6 dozen.

Happy Baking,
The Cookie Princess

Cocoa Snowflakes

I've seen these under many different names (Cocoa Pixies, Cocoa Crinkles, etc.) and slightly altered recipes, but the end result is a similar cookie.  It's almost brownie like (if you don't overbake them) and a rich, chocolately flavor.  I prefer this recipe over ones that call for oil, and I love the chewiness this cookie has.  You could add 1 cup of finely chopped nuts, but I've never felt compelled to do so.

This recipe come from a Penzey's Spices catalog several years ago.  They're easy to make, but I did alter the recipe slightly.  I cut the temperature back, and increased the baking time because I kept getting burnt bottoms, which of course ruined the entire cookie.  I cannot stress enough--do not overbake these guys.  If you're just on the cusp and not sure if you should leave them in, take them out of the oven, but let them cool longer on the pan where they'll continue to bake a little bit, finishing them off.

Cocoa Snowflakes

Ingredients:

1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 Tablespoons butter
6 Tablespoons cocoa powder
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1/2 cup powdered sugar for rolling

In a medium bowl, sift flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.

In a small, heavy saucepan, melt butter over low heat, then add cocoa powder and blend well with a fork or small whisk until smooth.

Remove pan from heat and stir in sugar until combined--you'll have a very dark brown, gritty lump.

Transfer to a large mixing bowl and add vanilla extract, then eggs one at a time, stirring well with a wooden spoon or spatula.  Add flour mixture and mix well.
 

Cover and chill for at least 2 hours or overnight.  The dough doesn't get really stiff, but it's easier to handle if it's not warm.

Divide dough into 4 chunks, and using one chunk at a time (leave the rest in the fridge), roll the dough into 3/4 inch balls, and then roll each ball in powdered sugar.

Place the sugar coated balls onto a greased or parchment/Silpat lined baking sheet, about 2 inches apart.

Bake cookies for 8 minutes at 350 degrees F.  Turn baking sheet 180 degrees halfway through. If using more than one sheet at a time, rotate positions in the oven for more even baking.

Let cool a minute on pans, then remove to complete cooling on racks.

Makes 4 dozen.

Happy Baking,
The Cookie Princess