Soft Gingerbread Cookies

 

This is our second time baking gingerbread cookies this month. The first batch were shared with family, friends and co-workers. This second batch are to share with my husband’s family for Christmas Eve dinner. I’ll be bringing a few other goodies along as well.
I wanted to share this recipe because if you like a soft but firm gingerbread cookie, this is a great one to try. It would also be great for making gingerbread houses because it holds it shape pretty well. I would just bake it for a few a few additional minutes if you were going to build a house with it.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 margarine or butter, softened
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2, 3/4 cups flour plus 2 tbsp.
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda

Directions:

1. Beat the sugar and butter together. Add the molasses, egg and vanilla extract.
2. In a small bowl combine the flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.
3. Then add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until combined.
4. Turn the dough out onto the counter and press it into a flat disc. Place inside seran wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. I wait overnight.
5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a few baking trays with parchment paper.
   *Flat baking sheets with no edges work best because you can slide the whole piece of parchment off of the sheet onto the cool counter as soon as you remove the cookies from the oven. This stops the cookies from continuing to bake on the hot sheet…which in turn keeps them soft.
6. Roll out the dough no thinner than 1/4″ and use cookie cutters to cut out shapes.
7. Bake on parchment lined baking sheet for 8-10 minutes. Exactly 8 minutes works great for me every time.
   *But keep in mind different altitudes result in various baking times.
8. Let cool completely before decorating.
9. I used Royal Icing. View my recipe here.
   Alternatively, you could sprinkle icing sugar on top, or even leave them plain.
10. Keep sealed in an air tight container.

They hold their shape pretty well.These ones have edible glitter / disco dust sprinkled on them while the icing was still wet.

My Little Helper. Below are the cookies we decorated together on a previous day.

Enjoy,

~ Crystal

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Dessert Cookie II

For my daughters 10th birthday, she requested a giant dessert cookie instead of a cake. We did this last year and it was a huge hit with her friends and super easy to serve at her Claire’s party in the mall.

Here’s my original post with the recipe. https://bakingmadesimple.wordpress.com/2014/07/10/dessert-pizza/

As she’s still a picky eater, the toppings I could use on it were limited. We ended up with peanut butter cups, gummy penguins, and mini m&m’s.

We had a separate gathering for family  and I baked a triple chocolate bundt cake. I’ll post the recipe for this another day. It’s incredibly moist and rich.

I love this photo of her little cousin licking her lips!

I can’t believe my baby is 10!

 

Dessert Pizza

This is my first time baking a dessert pizza. I should have titled this entry “Birthday Cake For My Picky Eater”.  My daughter doesn’t like any sort of cake or cupcakes so I struggle each year with finding something that will please both her and her birthday party guests. Some years I’ve prepared two cakes in the hopes of pleasing everyone! Once in a while she’ll have a few bites of ice cream cake or a store bought cake… but for the most part it gets wasted.

This year I changed it up and decided to bake a Dessert Pizza. Each child can have a slice and if they’re not in the mood to eat it at the party, I can send it home with them in a cute bag for later consumption. Win-Win. Lizzy chose her toppings for this pizza, so that may explain why I have this random assortment of goodies.

Side note: her birthday party was held at Claire’s accessories store in the mall and this dessert pizza was so easy to transport on a silver tray, it didn’t need to be refrigerated, and it was easy super to cut into slices.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup softened butter
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 package semi sweet chocolate chips ( set aside a few tablespoons for last step)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees (f)
2. Line a round cookie sheet with parchment paper
3. Cream together the butter and both sugars.
4. Beat in the eggs and vanilla.
5. Add the flour, baking soda and salt, blend.
6. Add the chocolate chips, stirring in with a wooden spoon
7. Press the cookie dough onto the prepared pan. Leave at least 1 inch of space between the dough and the edge of the pan. (The dough will spread out as it bakes). NOTE: you might not need to use all of the dough, depending on the size of your cookie sheet/ pizza pan. I had approx 1/2 cup dough left over.
8. Place the whole pan in the refrigerator for 30 minutes, if you have time for this step.
9. Bake for 20-22 minutes. This is meant to be a soft cookie so be patient and let it cool and firm up.
10. Allow the cookie to cool on the pan on a wire rack.
11. Carefully transfer the cookie onto a fancy tray or serving dish.
12. When ready to decorate, melt a few tablespoons of chocolate chips in the microwave and use it as the “glue” to attach the candy pieces.

Cookie dough ready to go in the oven

Happy 9th Birthday to my beautiful girl!

p.s. The kids really enjoyed the pizza, they were fighting over the the last 3 pieces and any candy on the tray that happened to fall off the slices when I was cutting it up.

———

I really felt like I had to make this pizza kid friendly, but if I had my way I would have made a dessert pizza that looks like one of these beauties found on Pinterest.com

Enjoy!

Crystal

Hershey’s Eggies Cookies

I had a bag of these Hershey’s Eggs in my cupboard and “needed” to bake them into something. Once again, I’m using my Soft Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe as a base, but I’ve added some festive chocolate mini eggs in place of the usual chocolate chips.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter or margarine, salted
• 1/4 cup, plus 2 tbsp packed brown sugar
• 2 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1/2 package vanilla pudding mix, dry
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup, plus 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 cup chopped Hershey’s Chocolate Mini Eggs

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F.   Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Cream together the butter, both sugars and the dry pudding mix.
3. Add the eggs and vanilla, blend well, be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
4. Sift the flour and baking soda in a separate bowl , then add it to the butter mixture.
5. Stir in the mini eggs with a wooden spoon or spatula.
6. Scoop the cookies onto the prepared baking sheets, using a cookies scoop or a tablespoon. I use this scoop (1 5/8″) and it yields about 2 dozen cookies. (26 cookies with these huge pieces of chocolate mini eggs).
7. Bake for 10 minutes. Don’t overbake, the cookies will firm up as they cool off. Let cookies sit on the pan for a few minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.
8. Store in a airtight containing for up to one week. These freeze really well too!

Enjoy!

Crystal

Orange Chocolate Chip Cookies

Looking at the photo, you may assume that these are just a simple chocolate chip cookie recipe, but the zest and juice from an orange really gives them their sweet flavour. If the orange flavour is too subtle, you could add a tsp of orange extract.

Orange chocolate chip cookies

Orange Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup margarine, cold & diced
• 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp packed brown sugar
• 2 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1/2 package vanilla pudding mix, dry (I buy the 102gram package)
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp orange zest (zest from 1 large orange)
• 3tbsp orange juice, freshly squeezed (half a large orange)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F.   Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. With an electric mixer, cream together the butter, both sugars, and the dry pudding mix.
3. Add the eggs, vanilla, orange juice and zest; blend well, be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
4. Sift the flour and baking soda in a separate bowl, then add it to the wet mixture.
5. Stir in the chocolate chips evenly.
6. Scoop the cookies onto the prepared baking sheets, using a cookie scoop or a tablespoon. I use this scoop (1 5/8″) and it yields 2 dozen cookies.
7. Bake for 9-10 minutes. Don’t over bake, the cookies will firm up as they cool off. Let cookies sit on the pan for a few minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. Or if you’re using a baking pan with no rim, slide the whole piece of parchment paper off onto the counter and leave them on the sheet to cool.
8. Store in a airtight containing for up to one week. These freeze really well too!

Zest from 1 large orange, and juice from half of it.

Pre-scoop and chill the cookie dough balls in the fridge prior to baking. Butterfly plate optional 😉

Don’t over bake these! They will not brown on top. If the bottom of the cookie is golden brown, they are done.

Orange Chocolate Chip Cookies, ready to fill the cookie jar!

Enjoy!

Crystal

Peanut Butter Cup Chocolate Chip Cookies

Peanut Butter Cup Chocolate Chip Cookies…so soft and chocolatey that they melt in your mouth.

Last week my husband asked me to make a batch of chocolate chip cookies. At the point of adding the chocolate chips to my batter, I realized I only had half a bag left. So I rooted through my cupboards until I found a couple of packages of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups… I chopped these up and substituted them for the missing choc chips. These were delicious by the way, even my picky daughter ate them, although she asked if I would omit the chocolate chips next time and just add more peanut butter cups.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 /2 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 3/4 cup margarine, softened
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 small eggs
• 2 cups +  2 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 8 peanut butter cups, chopped (I used regular sized, not the mini’s. It was almost 1 cup after chopped)
• 3/4 semi sweet chocolate chips, or more if you prefer.

 

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 375°F. Line a couple of baking sheet with parchment paper.
   If you want soft cookies I suggest using baking sheets without edges so you can slide the whole sheet of parchment paper off when removing them from the oven. This allows cookies to stop baking immediately after removing them from the hot cookie sheet. They may not seem fully baked at 8 minutes but after these cookies cool they firm up and remain soft.
2. In a large mixing bowl beat all 3 sugars and margarine until light and fluffy.
3. Add the vanilla and eggs, mix until well blended.
4. Mix in flour, baking soda and salt.
5. Stir in chopped peanut butter cups and chocolate chips.
6. Use a small cookie scoop (1 5/8″) and place dough 2 inches apart on parchment covered baking sheet.
7. Bake 8 to 9 minutes or until light golden brown.
8. Immediately after removing them from the oven slide the entire sheet of parchment paper onto the counter. Leave cookies on the paper until cooled.

Store in a sealed container.  This batch made exactly 41 cookies using my small cookie scoop.

Enjoy,

Crystal

SOFT Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup margarine
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup demerera sugar
•  2 egg
• 2 1/2 cup flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Line a few cookie sheets with parchment paper.
3. Use an electric mixer to combine the butter and peanut butter until smooth.
4. Add both sugars and the egg, mix until combined.
5. In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda & salt.
6. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mix until a soft dough forms.
7. Use a small cookie scoop and place dough at least 2 inches apart on the lined cookie sheets. (I use a cookies scoop that’s 1 5/8″.
8. Bake the cookies for approx 8 to 9 minutes. (The trick to keeping these cookies soft is to not over bake them.)
9. Remove the cookies from the oven and slide them onto a cool countertop. (keeping the cookies on the parchment)

 

      10. They will firm up as they cool. Don’t stack them into containers until they are completely cooled off.

**Makes approx 50 cookies.

Here’s the cookie scoop I use to make normal sized cookies, it’s 1 5/8″.
My husband bought me these air-bake T-Fal cookie sheets with no edges, so it’s easier to slide the cookies off onto the counter to cool.

 Enjoy!

Crystal

Turtle Cookies

How about some experimental Christmas baking? I  had a few items in my cupboard that I thought I’d use up… I wanted to try this package of Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie mix since I’ve never tried this product before. I thought the cookies themselves were tasty but if I ever use it again, I’ll pre-sift the mixture because there were quite a few clumps in the mix.
The caramel drizzled on top is a super easy recipe to make, as long as you pre-measure your ingredients and set them aside so there’s no reason to step away from the stove. The lingering scent of burnt caramel in your home is terrible!
Last but not least, the chocolate drizzle on top is just chocolate chips melted with a bit of vegetable shortening to make it shiny and easier to drizzle over the cookies and dip the pecans.

Ingredients:

Cookies:

• 1 package Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie Mix (or any soft sugar cookie recipe, here’s a recipe)
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened

Caramel:

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter, room temp
• 5 tbsp whipping cream/heavy cream

Chocolate Pecans & Chocolate Drizzle:

• 24 whole pecans (I like to have some extras available just in case you break them or a few go missing…)
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 tbsp vegetable shortening (optional)

 

Instructions:

1. Begin by preheating your oven to 375°F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Mix the sugar cookie mix according to package instructions. Note: I have written the ingredients above that are on the package of the US version of the Betty Crocker mix. I’ve noticed that the Canadian packaging instructions use oil and water instead of butter, so read the package carefully.
3. Use a small cookie scoop to place 24 cookie dough balls in the prepared sheets. Bake for 7-9 minutes on shiny metal pans or 6-8 minutes for dark non-stick pans. (again, follow instructions on the package for oven temp and baking times). Don’t over-bake!
4. As soon as you remove the cookies from the oven, transfer them from the pan to a cool countertop, otherwise they’ll continue baking on the hot pan. (Slide the parchment paper off the pan carefully so you don’t break them.
5. While the cookies are cooling, start preparing the caramel topping.
6. Melt the sugar over medium/high heat in a large pot.  Occasionally stir the sugar as it melts and cook until it becomes an amber color.
7. Remove the pan from the heat and add the butter and stir it in until melted.
8. Add the cream (the mixture will foam) and whisk until the mixture is smooth and combined. You may have some lumps but keep stirring until they have melted.
9. Set a sifter overtop a heatproof bowl and strain the caramel through to eliminate any hard pieces of sugar.
10. Set the caramel aside and let it cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally so it doesn’t form a film on top.
11. Place 1 cup of chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl in the microwave on med/high, stirring every 30 seconds. Add 1 tbsp of shortening and stir until smooth.
12. Dip the pecans one at a time, gently tapping off the excess chocolate. Place them on a parchment lined sheet to dry.
13. Scoop the remaining chocolate into a parchment triangle or plastic piping bag. Cut a small hole in the tip.
14. Now that the cookies and caramel have had time to cool, it’s time to assemble them. Use a teaspoon to scoop a small dollop of caramel onto the middle of the cookie. The caramel will spread out and drizzle if the mixture is thin.
15. Place a chocolate covered pecan on top.
16. Drizzle the cookies with the piping bag full of chocolate.

I also like to chop the pecans up and sprinkle them on the caramel. There’s many ways to decorate them, use your imagination. 🙂

Enjoy!

Crystal

Cookie Glaze

Pink Ribbon Cookies. I know, I know, I’ve posted these in the past for a sugar cookie recipe, but I wanted to share them because I used a smaller cookie cutter and added some pink edible glitter this time.  I was happier with the cookies I made last time using my own parchment stencil, I wasn’t a fan of this new cookie cutter, it kept bending, and the middle portion would fill up with dough, so I had to use a knife to clean it out continually. No fun.

These cookies were baked for someone special, a co-worker’s wife actually. Him and his wife bring the hard-working hospital staff a treat every few weeks when his wife has a treatment. This week, he requested breast cancer ribbon cookies. A few of them were plain pink, but I wanted to play with some edible glitter, so 2 dozen of them were sparkly goodness.

This cookie glaze can be used for piping and filling in cookies, or simply dipping them. I like the piping method. For these specific cookies, I used royal icing to pipe a border and then I used the pink glaze to fill them in. It dries glossy and non-sticky, so you can stack them in little gift packages if you let them sit out for a few hours after decorating.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup light corn syrup
• 1 tbsp milk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cup SIFTED icing sugar, give or take a couple of tablespoons depending on the consistency you want. If you don’t add enough sugar, the glaze will be too runny and the cookies will take a lot longer to dry.

Directions:

1. In a medium mixing bowl, add the corn syrup, milk and vanilla extract, stir together.
2. Add the icing sugar 1/4 cup at a time, so you don’t have icing dust coating your kitchen cupboards. 😉   (I use a hand mixer for this because it’s such a small amount, and it’s easier to make sure the glaze is smooth and evenly combined.)
3. If your glaze is too thick, try thinning it down with additional light corn syrup, 1 tbsp at a time.
4. Add any food colouring you desire, starting with 1 drop. If using gel colours, use a toothpick to scoop it into the glaze.
5. If you want to use the glaze to outline the cookies, you will need a thicker consistency, so scoop 1/4 of the glaze out and add some more icing sugar unti it has thickened enough to hold it’s shape.
6. For filling in the designs, scoop the thinner glaze into piping bottles or bags with a #2 or #3 tip and decorate away.
7. If you’re careful not to over-whip the glaze, you won’t have to worry about air bubbles in the cookies.

Optional Step: (But how could you not want to)… Add some edible glitter! When the glaze is just about dry, sprinkle on some edible sparkles. The type I used is really fine and glittery, and it’s called Disco Dust. I purchased the baby pink colour. It’s a small jar, and a tad bit expensive, but it goes a long ways! You could pinch it and sprinkle on with your fingers, but I find that dipping a small paint brush and tapping the handle on my wrist, while holding the brush over the cookies, gives an even covering.

p.s. One batch of glaze covered about 2 1/2 dozen sugar cookies.

Enjoy!

Crystal

Easy Butterfly Sugar Cookies

I’m not a huge fan of decorating cookies with a knife and icing. I like to whip up a batch of Buttercream Frosting [see below for recipe], fill a piping bag that’s fitted with a small star tip, and decorate away!  These butterfly cookies are really easy to make, and you can use a variation of tips to design them. I find the star tip is easiest for beginners, it  fills in the gaps without looking messy.

 

Icing Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 3 cups icing sugar, sifted
• 1/4 cup whipping cream, or 2% milk
• 1 tsp white vanilla extract (Watkins or Wilton brand, if possible)

Directions:

1. Using an electric mixer, combine the butter, whipping cream and vanilla. 
2. Add the sifted icing sugar, 1/2 cup at a time.
3. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl to incorporate the icing smoothly.
4. Whip the icing until it’s fluffy and smooth. 
5. Add desired colouring.
6. Scoop some icing into a piping bag with your chosen tip and decorate your cookies however you like!

I like to use a plain#3 or a star#20 tip to outline my cookies with white icing, then I add a different colour to the remainder of the icing and pipe it on using a star tip (#18).

Try it!

Crystal