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Margarita Sugar Cookies

Posted on May 17, 2013 by Kaitlin

My goodness, cookie decorating is not a skill of mine. (You may recall my Christmas cookies that look like they were made by a 6 year old.) But I couldn’t pass up the chance to try a new sweetener option available for baking. In the Raw brand (as in Sugar in the Raw), sent the attendees of the upcoming Eat Write Retreat conference a bag of their new Monk Fruit in the Raw, a zero calorie sweetener that can be used scoop for scoop like normal sugar in baking applications. (It weighs considerably less so if you’re used to weighing ingredients, that would not work with this ingredient.) In the Raw also sent a top secret sugar cookie recipe and asked us to bake, decorate, and try these cookies. I figured no matter how they looked, I still got to eat sugar cookies! So… here’s my “decorating”. I went with making margarita cookies because I can’t get summer out of my mind. I am willing summer to be here! I added a little bit of fresh lime juice to the green icing to give a little margarita taste to the cookies. I also topped them off with some nonpareils to … Continue reading →

Chai Tea Eggnog Sugar Cookies

Posted on December 22, 2012 by Kaitlin

Last year, I made sugar cookies and attempted to decorate them myself (attempted being the key word). I may be getting better at cooking, but my decorating skills are still really sub par. I didn’t want to give away funny looking cookies again this year but wanted to still make sugar cookies. Cooking Light’s Chai Tea Eggnog Cookie was the perfect choice. Plus, these cookies are really quick to whip up because you can absolutely use sugar cookie mix! Ingredients: 1 chai tea bag 1 (17.5-oz.) package sugar cookie mix 1/2 cup melted butter 1 large egg 4 tablespoons eggnog, divided 1/2 cup powdered sugar 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg Note: These cookies are non-alcoholic so they are fine for all ages of cookie lovers.

Oatmeal, Chocolate Chip, and Pecan Cookies

Posted on December 12, 2012 by Kaitlin

This year, I participated in the Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap.The Cookie Swap is in its second year and helps raise money for Cookies for Kids’ Cancer, a national non-profit organization committed to funding new therapies used in the fight against pediatric cancer, which claims the lives of more children in the US than any other disease. I was assigned three food bloggers and made one dozen cookies for each of them. In return, I received three different boxes of cookies from other bloggers. I wanted to make a cookie that was a spin on a traditional cookie. This Cooking Light recipe was perfect: Oatmeal, Chocolate Chip, AND Pecans! Ingredients 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (about 5 1/2 ounces) 1 cup Steel Cut oats 3/4 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 3/4 cup granulated sugar 1/2 cup packed brown sugar 1/3 cup butter, softened 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 large egg 1/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted 1/4 cup semisweet chocolate minichips

Rainbow Cookies (a.k.a Seven-Layer Cookies)

Posted on December 6, 2012 by Kaitlin

If you’ve never heard of these lovelies, you are not alone. Rainbow cookies are made of almond cake died fun bright colors with apricot preserves all sandwiched in between two thin layers of chocolate. They really aren’t cookies at all, more like thinly packed cake. But whatever the heck they are called, they are delicious. I don’t really recall these cookies growing up, but my boyfriend (who is from Long Island) absolutely loves them. In fact, he was kind of taken aback when I mentioned I didn’t really know what they were. One of his friends was absolutely horrified; he basically forced me to eat one right then and there which I didn’t complain about. I love them now! So I wanted to try to make these little guys… I’m not sure why. They are awfully difficult (well, more time consuming than difficult). But I was so darn proud of myself when they were done, I don’t even care about the effort I had to put in! The cookies go by a ton of names … Rainbow, Seven Layer, Neapolitan, Tricolor… but I’m pretty sure they tend to be a Christmas staple in Italian households. I found … Continue reading →

Marble Peanut Butter & Dark Chocolate Cookies

Posted on October 15, 2012 by Kaitlin

This time of year, I love finding recipes that incorporate candy bars. I tend to have an influx of candy in my house so I might as well use it to make awesome baked goods right? I received a couple of Equal Exchange Candy Bars recently and couldn’t stop snacking on them! Equal Exchange is the nation’s leading Fair Trade brand of coffee, chocolate and tea. They recently launched a new line of organic, fairly traded candy bars with flavors including milk chocolate peanut butter, milk chocolate crisp with puffed rice and quinoa, and dark chocolate fruit and nut with raisins and almonds. The milk chocolate crisp lives up to its name, the puffed rice and quinoa added a nice crunch to the milk chocolate. The dark chocolate fruit and nut is the perfect mix of chocolately goodness, nuts, and fruit. The website describes it perfectly as trail mix in candy bar form. My favorite of the three though was the milk chocolate peanut butter bar a perfect and classic combination for a reason! I decided to use the chocolate peanut butter bars in a cookie but wanted to find a cookie that sort of resembled the chocolate bar itself. … Continue reading →

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

Posted on October 13, 2012 by Kaitlin

One of my favorite parts of reading other blogger’s pages is checking out the “about me” sections of their blogs. It’s always so interesting to read how bloggers began cooking, how they decided to start and blog, and what else in life interests them. So when I was offered a copy of White Jacket Required: A Culinary Coming-of-Age Story written by Jenna Weber of the wonderful blog Eat Live Run I couldn’t wait to dig in! The book follows Jenna as she graduates college and makes the decision to go to culinary school to fulfill her dream of becoming a food writer. The book allows the reader a deep dive into Jenna’s journey to follow her dreams while dealing with life along the way. Like me, Jenna seems to pinpoint specific times in her life by food that sticks out from that time period. Throughout the book, her story is peppered with delicious recipes from her childhood as well as recipes she developed through her career. One of the recipes stood out to me: Jenna’s recipe for Pumpkin Whoopie Pies. I am pumpkin obsessed, and I have wanted to make whoopie pies for a while now but was always kind … Continue reading →

Homemade Chipwiches

Posted on May 29, 2012 by Kaitlin

I have many childhood memories of me chasing down the ice cream truck to get my absolute favorite ice cream treat: a Chipwich. I mean, honestly, what more could you ask for in a dessert? Two chocolate chip cookies with ice cream sandwiched in between. Mmm. So I was, well, horrified, to find out that the Chipwich brand name is no longer in existence as of 2007. At that time, Nestle bought the rights to the name and stopped all production because it competed with their “Chocolate Chip Cookie Sandwich.” I mean, come on. The name Chipwich is exponentially more catchy. But hey, whatever floats their boat. Since finding out this information, I can’t get the idea of making my own “Chipwiches” or “Chocolate Chip Cookie Sandwiches” out of my head. I was sent an Airbake cooking sheet recently and wanted to test it out. The Airbake Nonstick Insulated sheets are pretty snazzy. They are made of 100% aluminum and are comprised of two sheets surrounding a layer of air. This is said to reduce the temperature of the metal that actually comes in contact with the food which should result in more even baking. Airbake also claims that cookie … Continue reading →

Tim Tam Tarts with Raspberries and Rose Water Whipped Cream

Posted on May 12, 2012 by Kaitlin

Tim Tam Tarts. Isn’t that oh so fun to say? A Tim Tam is a chocolate cookie from Arnott’s in Australia. You might see them every now and then in America, but don’t be fooled, those are made by Pepperidge Farm and I’m sorry, they just don’t live up to the originals. These happy little biscuits covered in chocolate are absolutely delicious. Their motto is “The Most Irresistible Chocolate Biscuit” but I think it’s more appropriately “Visitors to Australia’s Biggest Australian Obsession”. Seriously. They are the best. So when one of my friends traveled to Australia recently and asked what I’d like, I basically yelled in her face “TIM TAMS!” which can be quite alarming to someone who has zero idea what a Tim Tam is. I clearly made an impression, because she returned with two boxes! Now, Tim Tams are perfectly delicious on their own, maybe with some milk. But I’m a food blogger, so I had to try to turn the cookies into something even better. A Dark Chocolate Tart with Tim Tam Crust, Raspberries, and Rose Water Whipped Cream? YES! (I adapted this recipe from taste.com.au Note: I am currently taking the Melt Buttery Spread Challenge and … Continue reading →

Rose Water Sugar Cookies

Posted on February 9, 2012 by Kaitlin

With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, I figured February 14 was the perfect holiday to use rose water again. (I originally used it for a Rose Scented Berry Prosecco, which would also be lovely for Valentine’s Day). What better way to incorporate rose water but in sugar cookies? I adapted a traditional sugar cookie recipe from Allrecipes.com, and then also added a drizzled rose water icing. Ingredients: Rose Water Sugar Cookies: 3 cups flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1 cup (4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened 1 1/2 cups sugar 2 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 teaspoon rose water Rose Water Icing: 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar 1 tablespoon milk 1/8 teaspoon rose water 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 drop of food coloring, if desired Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. To make the cookies, add the flour, baking soda, and baking powder to a medium bowl. Mix to combine. In a large bowl, add the butter and sugar and mix using a hand mixer on low until well combined (about 2 minutes). Add the eggs, vanilla extract, and rose water and mix on low for another minute. Add half of the dry mixture to … Continue reading →

Sugar Cookies

Posted on December 23, 2011 by Kaitlin

I am always so excited to make sugar cookies. To be more precise, I’m actually really excited to decorate the cookies. (Mind you, I’m awful at it. A 6 year old would beat me by a mile in a cookie decorating contest). But it is so fun to see the cookies transform from flour, sugar, and butter into cute little Christmas trees, snowmen, and candy canes. I used a traditional sugar cookie recipe from Cooking Light. Ingredients: Cookies: 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (about 11 1/4 ounces) 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 cup granulated sugar 10 tablespoon butter, softened 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract 2 large eggs Icing: 2 cups powdered sugar 2 tablespoons skim milk 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract Decorations: Cookie cutters Sprinkles Other edible decorations Add the flour, baking powder and salt to a medium bowl, stir with a whisk. Add sugar and butter in a large bowl, beating with a mixer until combined. Add vanilla and eggs. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until combined. Mine looked very very crumbly. So if yours looks like this, don’t panic. Add the mixture to a large piece of plastic wrap and wrap … Continue reading →