Candy Cane Kisses Cookie

I love Christmas!
I especially love the food,
one perfect combination is mint and chocolate, yummy.

I found this wonderful recipe on Our Best Bites,
Candy Cane Kisses Cookies.
I love this site and it has never steered me wrong.
I did tweaked the recipe a little bit for my personal tastes.
Give it a try, I dare you to eat just one!

Candy Cane Kiss Cookies
Recipe adapted from Our Best Bites

1/2 c. butter-flavored shortening
1/2 c. real butter
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. white sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 1/2 c. flour, lightly spooned into measuring cups and leveled with a knife
1/4 c. + 2 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4c. milk chocolate chips
48 Hershey's Candy Cane Kisses, unwrapped

Preheat oven to 350.

Cream together softened butter, shortening, brown sugar, and white sugar for 1-2 minutes on medium-high speed or until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla. Meanwhile, combine the baking powder, baking soda, salt, flour, and cocoa powder. Add to the butter/sugar mixture and mix until combined. Mix in the chocolate chips.

Drop the dough by the tablespoonful onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the centers are set but still soft. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 1-2 minutes. Top each cookie with an unwrapped Candy Cane Kiss. Allow to cool completely, long enough for the Kiss to harden. If necessary, after the cookies have cooled, they can be placed in the refrigerator or freezer to re-solidify the Kiss.

Please Mom, can I have just one?

Oh yes yes yes, YUMMY!

How could I resist those blue eyes?

Fudge Crinkle Cookies

My husband worked some crazy overtime this weekend,
8:00PM to about 4:00AM.
Since he was going to get to stay up all night and work while I
slept in the middle of the bed I figured the least I could do was make him a few cookies.

He first requested peanut butter cookies, but in my attempt to grocery shop as little as possible so we don't have to move our food to our new house, I ran out of butter.

I was a little shocked that I ran out of butter.
Butter is almost as important as oxygen to me!
Being a few ingredients short for most cookies, I knew that I had everything for this recipe.
Because it only takes 4 ingredients!
We have a winner.

1 box chocolate cake mix

½ cup vegetable oil

2 large eggs

Powdered sugar

Stir cake mix, oil and eggs until ball forms. Shape dough into balls. Let “dry” for a few minutes, then roll in powdered sugar. Bake @ 350 for 8-10 minutes, until just set and “cracked”. Remove from oven and let cookies set for about a minute before removing from pan.

Here are the boys sharing a cookie, for quality control of course!

Skor Cookies

It is national cookie month! Isn't that a wonderful idea? I am not sure if other desserts have their own months to be celebrated, but if they don't I am going to start.

To celebrate cookie month I am going to share on of my all time favorite cookie recipes. I love Skor Bars, they are just such a yummy candy. Well they use to sell the toffee from the Skor Bar as baking chips, I am not sure what happened, but they stopped. They sell Heath chips, but they just aren't the same.

Well a few months ago I was walking through Cash and Carry and what did I spy? Skor Bar Chips, like manna from Heaven. I have not seen the real Skor Bar Chips in years. So I ended up getting this.....



Yes, that is a 3 POUND bag of Skor Bar Chips. I may never see them again, I had to act.

My first recipe using these wonderful little bites of deliciousness was my good old Skor Cookie recipe. This was one of the very first recipes that I perfected back in my beginning years of baking.

My husband thought that these were going to be a bit strange, but he was quickly converted. Once baked in the cookies the Skor pieces become soft and chewy. Crispy on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside, perfect!



Skor Cookies

• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
  
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 eggs
  
• 1 (10 ounce) package Skor English toffee bits (you can use any toffee chips, but if you find Skor Chips,use those)
  

1. Cream together butter, both sugars, eggs and vanilla
2. Mix in pre-mixed dry ingredients
3. Stir in toffee chips
4. Drop rounded teaspoons full on lightly greased cookie sheet
5. Bake 9 to 11 minutes, until lightly browned
6. Cool slightly on cookie sheet, remove from sheet and place on wire rack.
7. Try not to eat them all yourself!

Cake Mix Cookies

Today I had the pleasure to attend a very special event. I went to a tea party. Not just any tea party, I went to tea with some very special ladies. My 3 year old neighbor Jane invited me over to share a cup of tea with her and her Mom. Jane received a her beautiful new tea set for Christmas, from neighbors who love her to death, my husband and I.

I didn't want to come to the tea party empty handed, so I whipped up these fun cookies. They are super easy, and only use 3 ingredients. It doesn't get much easier than that. I topped them with pink frosting and sprinkles, perfect for a little princess tea party. Jane loved them, and I was happy to leave the left overs for my favorite little hostess.



Cake Mix Cookies

1 boxed cake mix- I used funfetti, so there were sprinkles inside too!
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs

Mix all ingredients together until thoroughly moistened. Scoop dough into 1 inch balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten slightly with the back of a spatula.

Bake 6 to 8 minutes at 375. Edges should be a light golden brown. Cool cookies for one minute before removing from sheet.

Spread with your favorite frosting while still warm.

Caramel-filled chocolate cookies

Last night as I was whipping these up I realized that this is the first recipe that I have done for the blog that included chocolate and/or caramel. I was shocked, I love chocolate and caramel, I especially love them together.

My husband bought me a new cookbook for Christmas. My Mom laughed at that because it is like a man buying a woman lingerie. He says it's for you, but it is really for him. He gets to be the recipient of all of the wonderful fruits of the cookbook, without actually cooking. It is a win win situation for him.

These cookies come from that wonderful cookbook. Actually, they are featured on the cover. You know it is good looking food when it is on the cover of the cookbook. When I opened the book on Christmas the first thing my husband informed me was that he wanted those cookies. The he showed me a few more that he had picked out that he really wanted, he's so cute. So last night I made his dreams come true and made these cookies. I think they were everything he dreamed of and more. They were amazing cookies! And as is true with most cookies, they were the best warm, because the caramel was still warm and melted.

These are caramel-filled chocolate pieces of heaven!!! Paired with a gallon of milk, I probably could have eaten the who batch. As I was nibbling on my second cookie I would see the numbers on the scale at this weeks Doctors appointment going up, but it would totally be worth it. These cookies are great, and will become part of our regular cookie rotation. I find it hard to believe that I have lived this long without them.




2 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup unsweetened baking cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup butter
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 eggs
1 cup chopped pecans
1 Tablespoon sugar
48 round chewy caramels in milk chocolate

1. In small bowl, stir together flour, cocoa and baking soda; set aside. In large bowl beat 1 cup sugar, brown sugar and butter, until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla and eggs. Slowly beat in flour mixture until well blended. Stir in 1/2 cup of pecans. If necessary, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes for easier handling.

2. Heat oven to 375. In small bowl, mix remaining sugar and pecans. Shape about 1 Tablespoon dough around each caramel, covering completely. Press one side of each ball into pecan mixture. Place nut side up 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.

3. Bake 7 to 10 minutes or until set and slightly cracked. Cool 2 minutes, remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 15 minutes.

* The original recipe then called for drizzling white chocolate over the top of the cookies. My husband insisted that they were perfect the way they were, so I did not touch them. I drizzled one with caramel for the picture. Also, my husband is not a huge fan of nuts, so I left them out of the sugar mixture that goes on top. I figured that inside the cookies would be enough for him.

Cookie Monster

Me want cookies! I really love these cookies. This is one of the things that I miss most about Rexburg. One of our favorite places to eat was Craigo's. Craigo's specialty is pizza, which they do amazingly well, but there desserts are out of this world. I am sure that most dates that share a Cookie Monster end in eternal bliss. Well maybe that is a bit of an exaggeration, but it is almost that good.

The Cookie Monster is simple, yet profound. It is a giant cookie topped with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, caramel and hot fudge. We had a craving for some Cookie Monsters, so we invited some friends over that also went to BYU-Idaho.

I was able to find the perfect dish for our Monsters at Michael's. They are ceramic pie dishes that are about 9 inches across. One dish was the perfect portion for 2 people. I whipped up some of my Mom's wonderful chocolate chip cookie dough, recipe to come another time, and patted it down in the bottom of the pan.



The "giant cookie" baked for about 15 minutes, until it was just browned on the edges and cooked in the middle.



After the cookie came out of the oven I let it set for about 10 minutes. It is really important to let the cookie cool enough so your ice cream doesn't melt, but at the same time you want the cookie to be warm when you eat it. I was a little excited and added the ice cream too soon and it melted a little too much.


Top your cookie and ice cream with whipped cream and chocolate and caramel. Sorry there is no chocolate or caramel in the picture. I was too excited to start eating that I didn't bother taking a picture, so you will just have to imagine it there.

Molasses Gingersnaps

It is another cold, rainy day here in Seattle. I am ready to start hibernating. To warm things up a little bit I decided to make a batch of some of my favorite cookies.

I got this recipe from Family Fun magazine, and it has been a winner. I was searching for a good combination of a molasses cookie and a gingersnap, something smooth from the molasses and spicy from the ginger, and this is it. It is soft and chewy, yet crunchy on the edges. Aside from the great cookies, now my house smells like warm gingerbread. YUM

The woman who submitted this recipe told a the great story about how she got the recipe. It was her Great Aunt Erma's, and they would always make them together. Her Aunt Erma passed away several years ago, but when she pulls out the recipe card and looks at the recipe, lovingly written by Aunt Erma, she feels like she is right back in her kitchen. I love how cooking brings people together and creates such amazing memories.


Molasses Gingersnaps
3/4 cup shortening
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1 large egg
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 cup sugar(for rolling cookies in)

1. Cream shortening, brown sugar, molasses and egg
2. Blend together dry ingredients
3. Add dry ingredients to the creamed mixture, blending after each addition, until the dough is evenly mixed
4. Heat oven to 375
5.Roll scoops of dough in sugar, place on lightly greased cookie sheet
6. Give a slight pat with the spatula to flatten slightly
7. Bake 8-9 minutes.
8. Cool on baking sheet for 1 minute before transferring to cooling rack.

Makes about 2- 2 1/2 dozen cookies

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

Last night our friends had a little pumpkin themed get together. This gave me the opportunity to try out a new pumpkin recipe that I have been longing to try. I was also hoping to make some mini pumpkin pies, but I was out of eggs and my car battery was dead, so everything got postponed until later in the day, leaving time just for the cookies.

This is a Racheal Ray recipe, and it was a huge hit! I was really nervous throwing a new recipe together just minutes before we went to our friends, but this was quick, easy and very delicious.

Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter and brown sugar until smooth. Whisk in the eggs, pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, 1 teaspoon vanilla, the baking powder, the baking soda and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the flour.

Using an ice cream scoop or tablespoon, drop generous mounds of batter, spaced evenly, onto each baking sheet. The recipe says it makes 12 pies, I got about 18, it just depends how big your scoop is. The dough was a little wetter then it seemed it would be, but I trusted Rachael, and they turned out perfect. Bake until springy to the touch, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely. We were in a bit of a time crunch, so we set them outside for a few minutes, and they cooled of very quickly.

Meanwhile, using an electric mixer, cream the softened butter with the cream cheese. Add the confectioners' sugar and the remaining 2 pinches salt and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla; mix on low speed until blended, then beat on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes.

Spread the flat side of cakes with the cream cheese frosting. Top each with another cake.



A special thanks to my husband who snapped the pictures while I was busy baking and getting ready to go. Thanks sweetie!


Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter, 1 stick melted, 1/2 stick softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten
1 cup canned pure pumpkin puree
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon plus 2 pinches salt
1 2/3 cups flour
4 ounces cream cheese, chilled
1 cup confectioners' sugar