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Frosted Shortbread Cookies

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These cookies have that amazing melt in your mouth texture.

Frosted Shortbread Cookies

Shortbread cookies are one of my all time favorite types of cookies. I’ve seriously never had a shortbread cookie I didn’t like whether it was homemade or store bought (and I don’t like store bought cookies normally).  I’m crazy about sugar cookies too but the thing about shortbread cookies compared to sugar cookies is that they usually have less ingredients, these only have 5 ingredients!  They are really simple & yet they are buttery deliciousness. I have never made a cookie that had more of a melt in your mouth texture as this recipe.

Frosted Shortbread Cookies

Since this cookie recipe doesn’t contain any leavening like baking soda or baking powder they won’t rise or really change there shape at all during baking so make sure you flatten them out to the thickness you want them to be before you place them in the oven.  I like to use the bottom of a glass cup to flatten the cookies. This recipe made about 34 cookies but you can easily make half a recipe if you want to make less.

Frosted Shortbread Cookies
 
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Recipe type: Cookies
Ingredients
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup salted butter, softened
  • ½ cup confectioners sugar (powdered sugar)
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • Frosting:
  • 3 cups confectioners sugar (powdered sugar)
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 4 tablespoons milk
  • 4 tablespoons butter, softened
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.
  2. In a medium sized mixing bowl add sugar & butter & beat with electric mixer on medium speed until light & fluffy (about 30 seconds).
  3. Add egg yolk & vanilla & mix on medium speed until combined.
  4. Gradually add flour to mixture & beat on medium speed until just combined.
  5. Roll dough into 1 inch balls & place on cookie sheets about 2 inches apart. Using the bottom of a cup or fork flatten the balls to about ¼ inch thick. (Use powdered sugar to coat the bottom of the cup to prevent the dough from sticking).
  6. Place in oven for 8-10 minutes & rotate cookie sheet halfway through baking.
  7. Remove from oven, after 2 minutes transfer baking mat/paper to wire rack to cool completely. Frost when cooled if desired.
  8. Frosting: Combine the confectioners sugar, vanilla, milk, & butter in a medium sized mixing bowl, beat with electric mixer on medium speed until frosting is smooth & creamy. If you want it thinner just add a little more milk or if you need it thicker add more milk until the desired consistency is achieved.

This recipe was adapted from Grace’s Sweet Life.

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The New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

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These cookies have a crispy edge, a chewy middle & a melt in your mouth soft center.

The New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

This recipe is nothing like the classic chocolate chip cookie recipe your probably used to making. I found this recipe to be very unique & extremely tasty! Now I can safely say I understand why it was printed in The New York Times. These cookies reminded me of when I was a kid & my Grandma would take me to a local restaurant that is sadly no longer around. At the end of the meal she would always let me get a really big chocolate chip cookie for dessert (which of course was my favorite part of the meal).

New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookies

These cookies are really BIG! They ended up being about 5″ in size after baking!  I don’t know about you but I’m used to cookies that are less than half that size. Since they are so BIG they offer something that small/regular sized cookies don’t…a crispy edge, a chewy middle, & a soft center (doesn’t that sound delicious?).  The first time I made these I used my digital scale to weigh the dough because the directions say each ball of dough should weigh 3.5 ounces. I wanted to make them the exact size the first time I made them but now I just guesstimate. The recipe says to bake only 6 cookies on each cookie sheet because they take up so much room.

The New York Times Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

Katie’s Notes: I chose to omit the sea salt that goes on top of the cookies because I was worried the cookies would taste really salty but the sea salt does give them a nice gourmet look. The recipe calls for bittersweet chocolate disks or fèves (at least 60% cacao) but since those are hard to find & expensive I used Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate chips instead. They worked out great because they have the correct amount of cacao in them, are readily available at most grocery stores, & they are much bigger than your average chocolate chips.  Really the hardest part about this recipe is waiting until the next day to bake the cookies. I ended up baking mine after the dough had set for about 24 hours.

New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookies
 
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Recipe type: Cookies
Ingredients
  • 2 cups minus 2 tablespoons (8½ ounces) cake flour
  • 1⅔ cups (8½ ounces) bread flour
  • 1¼ teaspoons baking soda
  • 1½ teaspoons baking powder
  • 1½ teaspoons coarse salt
  • 2½ sticks (1¼ cups) unsalted butter
  • 1¼ cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar
  • 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract
  • 1¼ pounds (20 ounces) bittersweet chocolate disks or fèves, at least 60 percent cacao content (I used Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate chips)
  • Sea salt (optional)
Instructions
  1. Mix flours, baking soda, baking powder & salt together in a bowl. Set aside.
  2. Cream butter & sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes, using an electric mixer. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla.
  3. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
  4. Stir in chocolate chips/disks.
  5. Refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours in a sealed container. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.
  6. After waiting at least 24 hours, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or baking mat. Set aside.
  7. Scoop 6, 3.5-ounce balls of dough (about 2.5" in size) onto baking sheet.
  8. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt (optional) and bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown. Yields: 1½ dozen 5-inch cookies. Source: The New York Times

Source: New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe printed July 9, 2008 & Adapted from Jacques Torres

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Peanut Butter Cookies Recipe

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A Classic Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe. Soft & Chewy.

Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe

Peanut butter cookies!  This is another recipe I got from my aunt a long time ago & it’s one of my favorites. This is one cookie that I never tire of eating. I’m pretty sure I could eat these everyday for the rest of my life & still not get sick of them.  I make this recipe way too often because I love it that much.

Peanut Butter Cookies

This recipe is easy to make & the cookies always turn out the same every time, I wish I could say the same about every cookie recipe I’ve tried. ;) I think it’s important to use melted butter with this recipe, if I only use softened butter (room temperature) then these cookies don’t have quite the same texture. These cookies are sweet but full of peanut butter flavor & they are soft which I love.

Makes about  2 1/2 dozen cookies (I usually end up with about 32 cookies).

Peanut Butter Cookies
 
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Recipe type: Cookies
Serves: 32
Ingredients
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • ½ cup packed brown sugar
  • ½ cup (1 stick) butter, melted (microwave for 25-30 seconds)
  • ½ cup smooth peanut butter
  • 1 large egg
  • ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1½ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. In a medium sized mixing bowl add sugar, brown sugar, & butter together & stir until creamy. Add peanut butter, egg, & vanilla & stir until smooth & creamy.
  3. Add flour & baking soda & stir until well combined.
  4. Scoop or roll dough into 1 inch balls & place on ungreased cookie sheets. Flatten each ball using a fork making a criss-cross pattern on top.
  5. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until edges start to slightly brown. (Don't over bake or your cookies will turn out hard).

 

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Vanilla Buttercream Frosting Recipe

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This is my favorite vanilla buttercream frosting recipe for frosting cupcakes.

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

I have newly discovered the ingredient vanilla bean paste (amazon affiliate) and found that it works great for making vanilla frosting. It does not contain any alcohol like vanilla extract so you end up with a richer creamier vanilla flavor plus it contains real vanilla bean seeds in it. However before discovering vanilla bean paste I made it the traditional way with vanilla extract so don’t worry if you don’t have any you can just use pure vanilla extract instead.

Depending on what your using the buttercream frosting for whether it’s for cupcakes, a cake, or cookies you will have to adjust the consistency to suit your needs. The recipe below is what I like to use when I’m piping cupcakes so it’s fairly stiff and hold its shape well. If I was going to use it to frost a cake I would make the consistency slightly thinner by adding more whipping cream so it would spread easier. If you want the frosting thicker then just add more powdered sugar to thicken it up.

 

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
 
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Creamy Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
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Recipe type: Frosting
Ingredients
  • 3½ tablespoons heavy whipping creme
  • 2½ cups powdered sugar
  • 6 tablespoons butter, softened
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste (may substitute with vanilla extract)
Instructions
  1. Combine ingredients & beat on medium speed with mixer until the consistence you want has been reached. Add a little extra whipping creme if you want the frosting thinner or add more powered sugar to thicken it.

 

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Vanilla Cupcake Recipe

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Light and moist vanilla cupcakes topped with vanilla buttercream frosting & sprinkles.

Vanilla Cupcake Recipe

For years I have searched and tried to find a vanilla cupcake recipe that I would like enough to make again and again. I think this recipe is a keeper because I’ve made it at least 25 times now.  I didn’t realize I was so picky when it came to vanilla cupcakes but I truly am. I expect a vanilla cupcake to be light, moist, tasty, and full of vanilla flavor. This recipe sort of reminds me of store bought cupcakes but only in the good ways.  I think that the sour cream is one of the secret ingredients that make this cupcake recipe so good!

This recipe makes about 18 cupcakes. I usually use one cupcake pan that holds 12 cupcakes & one that holds 6 when I make these. Source: this recipe was adapted from cupcake project.

Vanilla Cupcakes

Vanilla Cupcake Recipe
 
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Recipe type: Cupcakes
Serves: 18
Ingredients
  • 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • ¼ cup soybean oil or vegetable oil
  • ⅓ cup sour cream
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • ⅔ cup milk (I used 2%)
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pan with paper liners.
  2. In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, & salt & mix together. In another bowl cream sugar & butter together with electric mixer until light & fluffy.
  3. Add the creamed butter & sugar to the flour mixture & mix on medium-low speed for about a minute, you will end up with a crumb texture.
  4. Add eggs, oil, sour cream, & vanilla to the flour mixture & beat on medium speed until just combined.
  5. Slowly add in the milk on low speed until just combined.
  6. Fill cupcake liners ½ full. Bake for 14-16 minutes. Insert toothpick in center of a cupcake until it comes out clean or you can gently tap the top of the cupcake with your finger, if it springs back its done.
  7. Remove from oven & let cool in pan for a few minutes then move to a wire rack to finish cooling.

FROSTING– To frost the cupcakes I used my favorite vanilla buttercream frosting recipe.

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