Cookies – Page 30

Heart Shaped Peanut Butter Cookies

January 19, 2015 By Katie 68 Comments

Valentine’s Day Heart Shaped Peanut Butter Cookies (No Cookie Cutter Required)

Since Valentine’s Day is coming up I figured this was the perfect time to share with you how easy it is to make heart shaped peanut butter cookies! I love peanut butter! Seriously peanut butter cookies are definitely in my top 3 list for favorite kinds of cookies! So for this post I took my favorite peanut butter cookie recipe that my aunt gave me years ago & I made them into heart shapes. It’s really quite simple. No cookie cutter required & no rolling out dough either.

You start by scooping out some dough & rolling it into a ball. Next use the bottom of a glass (which can be dipped in sugar to keep the dough from sticking) & press the cookie down.

Top form the top of the heart take a butter knife or the handle of a fork & cut into the top center & move the dough outward to the right & left to form a “V” shape.

Now take your thumb & index finger & pinch the bottom of the cookie to make the bottom “V” shape of the heart. You can use your hands to perfect the heart shape a little. (I had to touch up the top of the heart on some so it wasn’t pointy).

Now take a fork & press the dough down making a criss-cross on the heart. Now they are ready to bake.

Be careful these peanut butter cookies can be very addicting! ;)

Heart Shaped Peanut Butter Cookies

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

10 mins

Total time

20 mins

Recipe type: Dessert

Serves: 20-25

Ingredients

½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup packed light brown sugar
½ cup (1 stick) salted 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

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a medium sized mixing bowl add sugar, brown sugar, & melted butter, stir until creamy. Add peanut butter, egg, & vanilla, stir until smooth & creamy.
Add flour & baking soda & stir until well combined.
Scoop or roll dough into 1½ inch balls & place on ungreased cookie sheets. Flatten each ball using the bottom of a glass (coated in sugar).
To make the top of the heart use a butter knife or the handle of fork to cut into the top center of dough. Press it outwards to the right & left to make the "V" shape.
Use your thumb & index finger to pinch the bottom of the dough to make the bottom "V" shape of the heart. You can use your hands to perfect the heart shape if needed.
Take a fork & press the dough down on each side making a criss-cross on the heart.
Bake for 10-12 minutes. Be careful not to over bake them or your cookies will turn out hard.

Valentine’s Day Heart Shaped Spritz Cookies

January 14, 2015 By Katie 2 Comments

Buttery, Sugary Heart Shaped Spritz Cookies

When I think of spritz cookies the first thing that comes to my mind is Christmas cookies. My family loves making the tree shaped spritz at Christmas time! However my aunt just reminded me that the heart shaped disc makes cute heart cookies which are perfect for Valentine’s Day. So if you didn’t have time to make spritz for Christmas then Valentine’s day is the perfect time to make some! These cookies are easy to make you just need a cookie press with the heart shaped disc. If your not sure what the heart disc looks like I’ve posted a picture below.

I used half the cookie dough to make tie-dyed cookies & half regular. My niece was partial to the tie-dyed ones, her first response when she saw them was “Oh Cool!”

You can make all red or pink cookies, plain ones, or if you want to try making some tie-dye ones you just separate the cookie dough into different bowls. Then add a few drops of whatever food coloring you want to use to each bowl & mix it in. Then when your loading the cookie press break off little pieces of different colored dough & drop it in. When you press the dough out to make the cookies you will end up with multicolored cookies! I used 3 different colors, pink, blue, & yellow (the yellow didn’t show up well though).

If the dough is giving you problems you should try chilling it for 10-15 minutes or so in the refrigerator.

Valentine's Day Heart Shaped Spritz Cookies

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

8 mins

Total time

18 mins

Recipe type: Dessert

Serves: about 70

Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, softened
¾ cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla (or 1 teaspoon almond extract)
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon baking powder
food coloring (optional)
sprinkles for decorating

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Mix butter & sugar together. Stir in egg, vanilla, (or almond extract). Add flour, salt, & baking powder & mix well.
(If making tie-dyed colored spritz divide dough into separate bowls & add food coloring. Break off small pieces of each color & drop into cookie press until full).
Scoop dough into cookie press fitted with the heart pattern disc. Press cookies onto ungreased cookie sheet.
Decorate with sprinkles.
Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes. If you like your cookies soft then bake until cookies are set, if you want them crisper bake until edges are starting to brown.

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Giant Heart Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

January 14, 2015 By Holly Leave a Comment

Nothing says “I love you” like a giant heart shaped chocolate chip cookie for Valentine’s Day :) It’s really easy to make and you can decorate it any way you want to, and add chocolate chips and/or M&M’s.

If your anti Valentine’s Day you could always make one like this:

Make sure you stay a few inches away from the edges since it will spread a little. It should be about 3/4 inch thick before cooked.

Giant Heart Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

13 mins

Total time

23 mins

Author: Holly

Recipe type: Dessert

Serves: 12

Ingredients

1½ sticks melted butter (12 tablespoons)
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla
2¼ cups flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 cup of chocolate chips and/or M&M's

Instructions

preheat oven to 325 degrees
line a pizza pan with parchment paper
in large bowl mix together butter, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla
in small bowl mix together flour, salt, and baking soda
slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture
fold in chocolate chips and M&M's
spread dough onto cookie sheet and flatten staying 1-2 inches away from edge and shape into a heart.
bake for 13-15 mins.
let cool and serve

How To Make Homemade Fortune Cookies

January 8, 2015 By Katie 29 Comments

Crispy, Crunchy Authentic tasting Fortune Cookies

Did you know you could make your own fortune cookies at home? I love this recipe & I think you will too! These were a lot of fun to make but I have to tell you the first time I made them I folded them the wrong way…rookie mistake. I won’t be making that mistake again ;). I folded them in half then I folded them in half again & I couldn’t figure out why they didn’t look right. So don’t make the same mistake as me! *Make sure when you bend them over the mug that the seam is facing up.

Homemade fortune cookies look paler compared to the factory made ones because they put food dye in them to give them a golden color but don’t worry these taste just as good!

You can hand write your fortune cookie messages or type them up. I chose to type them up on the computer using size 11 font, print them, & cut them into strips. If your message is too long to fit inside the cookie you can fold it in half. If you need some ideas on fortune cookie messages to write try looking at fortunecookiemessage.com.

*The trick with these cookies is to work quickly. You only have about 30 seconds before the cookie becomes too cool to shape & mold into form. I have made them by myself but it helps to have an extra pair of hands so you can work faster. There’s a video on how to make them on youtube if you want to see how its done in action.

*Tip: I have heard that wearing tight fitted cotton gloves helps so you don’t burn your hands when working with the hot cookies.

You want to whisk the egg whites until they are frothy for this recipe. What is frothy? Well it takes about 30 seconds to a minute to make the eggs frothy. Lots of little bubbles will start to form. Here’s a picture:

Once the batter is all mixed together you will scoop tablespoons of it onto a cookie sheet & use the back of a spoon to smooth it out to form a 4″ circle.

This is what they look like when they are baked. The outside edge is golden brown.

Then you want to quickly flip it over with a sharp edged spatula, I prefer the metal ones. Then place your fortune in the middle.

Next use the spatula to bend the cookie in half. Then you pick it up with your hands & gently fold it over the edge of a coffee cup (as shown below). You pull on the ends to bend it. Make sure the seam or opened end is facing up.

Then you place it into a cupcake tin so it holds it’s shape while it cools. It cools quickly in about 10 minutes.

Homemade Fortune Cookies

Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

10 mins

Total time

25 mins

Author: Katie

Recipe type: Dessert

Serves: 18

Ingredients

2 egg whites
½ teaspoon vanilla
3 Tablespoons oil (I used soybean)
½ cup cake flour (may substitute with all purpose flour)
1½ teaspoons corn or potato starch
½ cup sugar
pinch of salt
3 teaspoons water

Instructions

Write out fortunes or type them up & cut them into strips. (You want them to be about 3" by ¼") Fold them in half if they are really long.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.
Whisk flour, sugar, starch, salt together in bowl, set aside.
In a separate bowl whisk egg whites until frothy. Add in vanilla, oil, & water & whisk together.
Add egg white mixture to flour mix & whisk together until smooth.
Scoop tablespoons of batter onto prepared cookie sheets. Spaced about 3 inches apart. You should be able to fit about 6 on each cookie sheet. Using the back of a spoon spread out the batter to form a 4 inch circle.
Bake for 8-12 minutes or until the ½" of the outside edge is golden brown.
Remove from oven & flip it over with a metal spatula. Place fortune in the middle. Use the spatula to fold the cookie in half. Pick it up (it will be hot so be careful). Still holding the the folded cookie in both hands (between your thumb and index fingers) pull the ends down over the rim of a coffee mug, until the ends almost meet. Remember the opened side of the fortune cookie should be facing upwards.
Place each cookie into a cupcake tin laying down so it will hold its shape while it cools. It should cool in about 10-15 minutes.

NEIMAN MARCUS CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

December 30, 2014 By Katie 1 Comment

THE NEIMAN MARCUS CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE RECIPE

I love a good chocolate chip cookie! When I first saw this recipe I was anxious to try it because I love making chocolate chip cookies! You can never have too many chocolate chip cookie recipes in your recipe box!

If you like crunchy crispy cookies then I think you will like this recipe. If you like soft chewy chocolate chip cookies then this is probably not the recipe for you. This recipe reminded me of those Famous Amos boxed cookies they sell at the grocery store. They are really crunchy! I think next time I make these I will make them into little bite sized chocolate chip cookies. These cookies went 50/50, half the people I had taste test them liked them the other half thought they were too crunchy.

I omitted the coffee powder when I made them because I didn’t have any on hand. I’m sure it probably helps to give them a unique flavor but if you don’t have any or just plain don’t like the taste of coffee then it’s fine to leave it out.

NEIMAN MARCUS CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

35 mins

Recipe type: Dessert

Serves: 24

Ingredients

½ cup (one stick) butter, softened
1 cup light brown sugar
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 ½ teaspoons instant espresso coffee powder (optional)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Grease cookie sheets, set aside.
Cream butter, brown sugar, & granulated sugar with an electric mixer until light & fluffy. Beat in the egg & vanilla.
In another mixing bowl, wisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Slowly add flour mixture to the first bowl. Lastly, stir in the chocolate chips & espresso powder (if your adding it).
Using an ice cream scoop or a large cookie scoop, drop the cookie dough onto prepared cookie sheets about 3 inches apart. Gently press the dough down with the back of a spoon to make 2-inch circles. If you want the cookies to be more visually appealing, take some extra chocolate chips & press them onto the top of the cookies. 6-8 cookies should fit on each cookie sheet.
Bake for about 20 minutes. The cookies will not brown much in the oven. If you want crispier cookies bake for a little longer.

Recipe source: Neiman Marcus.

Candy Cane Christmas Cookies Recipe

December 14, 2014 By Holly 6 Comments

I have been making these Christmas cookies for as long as I can remember. My mom and I used to make them when I was little. They are so good and the cutest things ever. I am not a peppermint cookie fan, so that is why I gave you the option of using peppermint or almond extract. I always make mine with the almond, but it’s your call.

I also hate making cookies that you have to refrigerate before you bake, no one wants to wait 5 hours to make cookies. With these you just need to pop them in the refrigerator for 15 mins while the oven is preheating. They are just easier to roll out that way, not so sticky.

And once again I am the meanest mom ever……. I made these with my daughter last week and let her do ALL the work, the twisting and shaping. They came out a little crazy looking, so I didn’t take blog pics of them. Today I try and make a quick batch while she is watching tv. I get to the part where you start twisting and she wanted to help. I told her to let me make one tray and she could make the other, that way I would get some pictures of the ones I made. Then she tells me that I’m mean and that she doesn’t want to help anyways :)