No Fail No Bake Cookies

I grew up eating No Bake Cookies.  My mom has made hundreds of these simple and delicious cookies.  They get their name because they are made on the stove top, spooned onto parchment paper, and they set up as they cool.  They are a simple cookie but they can be a little tricky, this recipe is as close to perfect as it gets, but you will still need keep an eye on the clock as you boil the butter and sugar mixture.  If you boil them too hard and too long they will crumble and if they do not boil long enough they will not set up.

No Bake Cookies

2 cups sugar
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup butter

Bring to a strong but gentle boil and time for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Remove from heat and mix in the following all at the same time.

2 tablespoons cold milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
3 cups rolled oats

Mix thoroughly and spoon heaping tablespoons onto parchment paper.  Let sit at least 30 minutes.

Cookie Party

We celebrated my daughter's birthday at our local pool with a cookie themed party in early June.  I baked hundreds of cookies to prepare for the party and learned a few tips and tricks to share with you if you ever plan to host a cookie themed party.  These tricks would also work wonders during the holidays to prepare cookies for cookie swaps or have a batch ready at a moments notice when you have unexpected company coming.

I made 8 varieties of cookies and pretzel treats for the favor table.  Each guest was able to take a paper bag and pick out a half dozen of their favorite cookies to take home at the end of the party.  The kids and parents seemed to enjoy the large selection of goodies.

I bought these petite paper bags at Hobby Lobby and printed the word "Cookies" in a cute font on the bag.  At some point the printer started to jam so I cut one paper bag apart and printed "cookie" on the brown paper a bunch of times and then cut and pasted it onto the rest of the bags.  Either way they looked cute.  A mini clothes pin and a piece of cute ribbon dressed them up even more.

 I arranged the cookies in a variety of different ways to add a little visual interest.  Decorated sugar cookies fit perfectly on the three tiered rack towards the back giving the table some height and my big wooden crate was perfect for the 8 dozen peanut butter cookies we had made.

We served ice cream treats instead of doing a cake at her party, but this cookie cake we made the week before would have been the perfect treat for her cookie themed party.

Cookie Baking Tips and Tricks for a Cookie Themed Party or Swap

1. The first thing I did was to pick out exactly what cookies I wanted for my display.  I tried to pick a variety of colors and textures to make my display visually appealing.  I made chocolate crinkles for their dark versus light color, peanut butter for their texture, chocolate covered pretzels for the  festive sprinkles and packaging, and decorated sugar cookies for their cuteness.
2. Plan to prepare and bake your cookies well in advance because you will be busy with so many things the day or two before the party.  I baked the sugar cookies a week before the party and stored them undecorated in the freezer.  The day before the party I took them out to decorate. 
3. Collect display or serving pieces from around the house that coordinate and offer visual interest.  My mom happened to have some table runners and basket liners that tied everything together perfectly.
4. Cookies freeze beautifully.  I originally made a double batch of chocolate chip cookies.  I froze half of the dough and I baked the other half and then stored the cookies in the freezer.  I found that the frozen cookies tasted identical to the freshly baked ones so it would be wise to go ahead and bake all of your cookies and store them in the freezer.  That way you are not trying to bake batches of cookies the night before your party. 
5. Bake all of your cookies on parchment paper.  Use three cookie sheets and then you can bake one tray, have one tray cooling, and you can prepare the cookie dough on the third tray.  Let trays cool completely before using so your cookies do not spread too much on the hot tray.

Links to recipes:

Perfectly Spicy Molasses Cookies

Peanut Butter Oat Cookies

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Festive Sprinkle Cookies

Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies

Simple Sugar Cookies-base recipe

Simple Starfish Sugar Cookies

Chocolate Chip M&M Cookie Cake

Sugar Cookies

We had a bit of house drama from mid-November thru New Year's which rendered our beautiful kitchen, not to mention our entire main level, uninhabitable.  After a few weeks of constant construction crews coming in and out of our house we were able to get it put back together during the month of January. The thing I was most sad about besides the incredible mess and huge amount of work, was missing out on so many holiday traditions that take place in our kitchen during November and December.  Making cut out cookies was among the the list of things we missed out on so I was determined to make them for the next holiday.  So thank you February for bringing us Valentine's Day because it is definitely a holiday that deserves a good sugar cookie decorated with pink frosting and a few sprinkles.

Sugar Cookies

3 1/2 cups flour, divided
1/2 teaspoon making soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup plain yogurt, (I used Mountain High brand)
1 teaspoon almond extract

Whisk 2 cups flour and remaining dry ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.  Cream sugar and butter in a stand mixer with paddle attachment until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.  Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well between each addition.  Add yogurt and almond extract, mixing well.  Add flour mixture and mix until incorporated, scraping down bowl as needed.  Continue adding flour 1/4 cup at a time until dough reaches a thick consistency and is not too sticky.  It will be soft and it should take about 1 cup but not more than 1 1/2 cups.  Place on parchment paper and flatten into a disc.  Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment.  Take 1/4 of the dough and roll out on a generously floured work surface.  Cut into shapes and transfer to pans.  Bake for about 6 1/2 minutes.  Repeat with remaining dough.  Makes about 3-4 dozen cookies depending on size of cut outs.

Molasses Cookies

These molasses cookies turned out deliciously spicy, chewy, and moist.  They were the perfect cookie to make on a crisp day and were enjoyed with a cup of tea after our dinner.  I made them rather petite, using my small ice cream scoop, and we had over 60 cookies from this recipe.  Quick tip, they freeze beautifully and can be defrosted by leaving at room temperature for an hour or two before serving.

Molasses Cookies

4 cups flour
3/4 tsp. salt
2 1/4 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. ground ginger
2 tsp. ground cloves
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. espresso powder (optional)
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon unsulfured molasses
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and line two sheet pans with parchment paper.  In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, ginger, cloves, espresso powder, and cinnamon; set aside.  In the bowl of a stand mixer beat together the butter, shortening, and both sugars until light and fluffy.  Beat in the molasses and then add the eggs, one at a time, beating well and scraping down the bowl after each addition.  Slowly add the flour mixture until combined and no flour remains.  In a small bowl add 1/2 cup sugar and form dough into 1 inch balls (I use a small ice cream scoop) and roll in the sugar.  Place on trays leaving 2 inches between cookies.  Bake for 12 1/2 minutes.  Transfer cookies to a rack to cool.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

We love a good chocolate chip cookie and these definitely hit the spot the other day.  These cookies are chuck full of chocolate chips and I wouldn't think twice about adding a cup of chopped walnuts the next time I make a big batch of them.  They hold up well to dunking as well, so say the kids (wink, wink)!

Chocolate Chip Cookies
adapted from Smitten Kitchen

2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 T vanilla
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line a couple of baking sheet with parchment paper.  Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.  In a stand mixer, cream the melted butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until blended.
Beat in the vanilla and eggs until light and creamy.  Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended.  Stir the chocolate chips into the mixture using a wooden spoon.  Drop the cookie dough a tablespoon at a time (I use a small ice cream scoop) onto the prepared cookie sheets.  Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.  Bake for 10-12 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.  Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to cooling racks.  Use two pans and make sure each pan cools between batches or do what I do and use a third sheetpan and just transfer the parchment paper to reduce waste.

Peanut Butter Cookie Sandwiches

These peanut butter cookie sandwiches are pretty delicious. They are definitely fun to make and they were a hit with the kids. They are reminiscent of a nutter butter...but better!

I even tried a Nutella filling in half of the "sandwiches" making a doubly delicious combination. A big glass of cold milk is a must with these treats!

Peanut Butter Sandwiches
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup old fashioned oats

1 tablespoons butter, softened
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
2 1/2 tablespoons milk

Cream together 1/2 cup butter, 1/2 cup peanut butter, white sugar, brown sugar, and the vanilla. Next add the egg and beat well.
In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture. Stir to combine. Place oats in a food processor and pulse for about 5 seconds. Add the oatmeal to the mixture and stir.
Lightly roll a heaping tablespoon of dough into a ball and then roll in white sugar. Place onto a parchment lined baking sheet, press each cookie down with a fork and then a second time in the opposite direction. Bake at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes, or until cookies are a light brown.

For the Filling: Cream 1 tablespoon butter with the confectioners' sugar, 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter, and the milk. Add more milk to thin if necessary. Spread filling onto half of the cooled cookies, then top with the other half to form sandwiches.

(For the Nutella filling I simply took 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 1-2 tablespoons milk, and 1/4 cup Nutella and stirred to combine.)

Best Cookies Ever...Really

I must confess that I'm really skeptical when I try new chocolate chip cookie recipes. They all claim to be the best and often they are not. They don't live up to expectations...so we were thrilled when we took our first bites of these tasty cookies. They were big and beautiful. They looked like bakery cookies. They tasted better than bakery cookies. Between bites I heard "Best cookies ever." You should run into the kitchen and make these right now. Seriously!!!

Make sure you follow the directions as printed...it is really important.

Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

(Source: Baking Illustrated, page 434) as posted by brown eyed baker
Makes about 18 large cookies.

These oversized cookies are chewy and thick, like many of the chocolate chip cookies sold in gourmet shops and cookie stores. They rely on melted butter and an extra egg yolk to keep their texture soft. These cookies are best served warm from the oven but will retain their texture even when cooled. To ensure the proper texture, cool the cookies on the baking sheet. Oversized baking sheets allow you to get all the dough into the oven at one time. If you’re using smaller baking sheets, put fewer cookies on each sheet and bake them in batches.

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (10 5/8 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled until warm

1 cup packed (7 ounces) light or dark brown sugar

1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar

1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1-1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1. Adjust the oven racks to the upper- and lower-middle positions and heat the oven to 325 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or spray them with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl; set aside.
3. Either by hand or with an electric mixer, mix the butter and sugars until thoroughly blended. Beat in the egg, yolk, and vanilla until combined. Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed just until combined. Stir in the chips to taste.
4. Roll a scant 1/4 cup of the dough into a ball. Hold the dough ball with the fingertips of both hands and pull into 2 equal halves. Rotate the halves 90 degrees and, with jagged surfaces facing up, join the halves together at their base, again forming a single ball, being careful not to smooth the dough’s uneven surface. Place the formed dough balls on the prepared baking sheets, jagged surface up, spacing them 2 1/2 inches apart.
5. Bake until the cookies are light golden grown and the outer edges start to harden yet the centers are still soft and puffy, 15 to 18 minutes, rotating the baking sheets front to back and top to bottom halfway through the baking time. Cool the cookies on the sheets. Remove the cooled cookies from the baking sheets with a side metal spatula.

Sugar Cookies

It's that time of year...the time when I search for the best sugar cookie recipe I can find. This year I found a keeper. I really love this recipe because you don't have to wait for the butter to come to room temperature. That is key because I never plan ahead enough for that to happen. I always work on the fly...if the kids are happy and my hands are free then I bake. Today my hands were free so I grabbed some butter from the freezer and got to work.

This simple recipe bakes a batch of tender sugar cookies that don't last long around here. We baked a couple dozen and hardly had any left by the time I got around to snapping a few picture. We invited the neighbors over to decorate cookies. The kids ate a bunch while decorating, we gave a few away, we ate some more, we gave some to my guitar teacher, and then we ate a few more. It's a good thing this recipe makes a big batch of dough, because we can cut off a big chunk of dough and have terrific cookies anytime we want them.

Sugar Cookies

1 1/2 cup butter melted

2 cups white granulated sugar

4 eggs (jumbo)

1 teaspoons baking soda

1 tbs almond extract

5 cups of flour

Melt the butter in a small saucepan or in the microwave. Whisk in the sugar. Beat in the eggs and almond extract once the butter/sugar mixture has cooled enough so that it won't scramble the eggs. Mix the flour and baking soda. Add a bit at a time (I used the paddle attachment on my KitchenAid and just let it whirl around 5 or 6 times before adding another big scoop of flour.) Chill for about 2 hours in the fridge.Roll out about 1/4 inch thick on a floured board, cut, and place on baking sheets lined with parchment. Bake at 35o for 8-10 minutes. Cookies will be a very light golden at the edges. Let them completely cool and then decorate with icing and sprinkles.

Icing

2 cups confectioners sugar, sifted

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup cream cheese, softened

Food coloring

Whip together with the mixer. Separate and color as desired.

Sugar Cookies and a Great Dinner

The second cookie this season is the basic sugar cookie. I modified a sour cream filled cookie recipe to use for my sugar cookies and they turned out great. These cookies can be rolled out as thick or thin as you like and they stay soft days. This is an old family recipe so there are no flour measurements...this is all by feel.

Sugar Cookies

2 c sugar

1 c sour cream

1/2 c softened butter

1 tsp vanilla

1 egg

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

flour

Cream sugar and butter. Add egg, vanilla, and sour cream to mixture. Combine dry ingredients with 1 cup flour. Slowly add dry mixture to wet. Add flour 1/2 cup at a time until mixture pulls away from the sides of the bowl. It should be very soft but not too sticky. I often stop slightly before it is ready just to make sure I don't overbeat the dough. Then I flour the counter, turn out the dough, and slightly knead in a little more flour until the dough isn't too sticky. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for a few hours. Then roll out as you would normally. Bake at 350 until edges just begin to turn color.

I also wanted to mention the yummy dinner we had last night. I usually hate deep/shallow frying anything because of the mess it makes, but last night I tackled fried chicken. I made a couple alterations to make it extremely easy. First of all, I only used drumsticks for a couple of reasons...the pieces are all the same size so the cooking time is the same for everything, they cook very quickly, and they are kid friendly. The second thing I did was to fry them in batches and finish them off in the oven. This way I could quickly fry them and clean up the mess before we even sat down to eat. This was a very basic flour, salt, and pepper coating but it was very tasty and very crisp. We enjoyed it with some mashed potatoes and some garden green beans from the freezer. All were winners last night. Just take a look at my little potato masher for evidence!

Easy Fried Chicken

2 lbs chicken drumsticks

2 c buttermilk

1 1/2 cups flour

1 T salt

1 T pepper

peanut oil

Bring 2-3 inches of oil up to 360 degrees in a high-sided pot. Meanwhile soak chicken legs in buttermilk for 5-10 minutes (if you have time you could soak them overnight for even more flavor). When oil comes to temp., coat drumsticks in flour, salt, and pepper mixture. Fry 2-3 pieces at a time for 3 minutes on each side and then transfer to a lined baking sheet and place in the oven. Fry remaining batches and finish off in the oven. This should take about 20 minutes.

A Little Christmas Baking...Finally

It seems like the past few months have utterly flown by. It seems as though we were just getting ready for Halloween and in a blink we've been transported to Christmas.

I feel like I am behind. I do have my shopping done, and the tree and house have been decorated for weeks, but I haven't done much baking. I have a hard time getting into the Christmas spirit without sugar cookies to decorate, my grandma's date nut cookies, or things covered in chocolate. So, last night I set to work and whipped up a few batches of cookies that I'll be sharing with you in the next few days.

The first batch of cookies was a super simple macaroon. I made these for a church brunch during the summer and they were a huge hit. People were asking for more long after they had disappeared from the buffet table. I never knew they were such a popular little cookie.

Having these around make it feel a little more like the holidays.

Coconut Macaroons

14 ounces shredded coconut
14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
1 t vanilla
2 egg whites, room temperature
large pinch of salt

Whip egg whites and salt on high speed until medium firm peaks are made. Combine remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Carefully fold whites into mixture making sure not to deflate egg whites too much. Drop spoonfuls on parchment lined baking sheets. Bake at 325 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Mamool

My mother-in-law generally makes these middle eastern cookies around Christmas each year. They are interesting because they are made using a special wooden mold and they are filled with a nut mixture.  It is a great cookie to have with a cup of coffee or tea.

Mamool
Adapted from the Syrian-Lebanese Cook Book

1 lb unsalted butter
3/4 cup sugar
2 Tbsp whiskey
1 egg
1 tsp. ground mahlab (middle eastern cookie spice)
1 cup farina
4-5 cups flour

Filling
1 1/4 lbs. walnuts, ground
1/3 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. mazahar (orange flower water)

Mix the 3 filling ingredients well and set aside.

Whip the butter until light and fluffy. Add sugar, whiskey, egg, mahlab, and farina while mixing. Gradually add flour while mixing and kneading until enough has been added to make good dough, not too soft, not too firm.  Take a walnut-sized piece of dough and flatten in the palm of your hand.  Add a teaspoon of dough to the center and wrap the dough around it and roll in your hands to seal.  Press ball into mold gently.  Firmly whack the mold on a cutting board or sheet pan had enough to get the cookie to fall out.  Repeat with additional cookies.  Bake at 350 degrees until bottom is light brown.  Sprinkle cooled cookies with powdered sugar before serving.

If not using a mold, pinch off small balls of dough (walnut size). In the palm of your hand make a hollow in the ball. Place 1 tsp of the nut filling in the hollow and close opening. Use a fork to decorate much like a peanut butter cookie. Bake at 350 degrees until bottom is light brown. Sprinkle tops with powdered sugar before serving.

A Family Tradition - Filled Cookies

There are a few cookies that grace our holiday table each and every year. This particular one holds a special place in my heart since this is one that my Grandmother always brings to our Christmas get togethers. We can't wait for her to bring in her cookie tins filled with filled cookies and her amazing date cookies.  My brothers and I greet her with hugs and kisses and then snatch up a couple of cookies which always makes her smile.They are the very best cookies, mainly because they are with lots and lots of love.

Filled Cookies

2 cups sugar
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup shortening/butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
Enough flour to roll it out.

This is actually a very old recipe so it comes with no more direction than this. What I do is cream the butter and sugar and then add in the rest of the wet ingredients. Then I add the dry ingredients to about 1 cup of flour. Mix the wet and dry together. Then I gradually add flour by the 1/2 cup until the dough is not too wet and not too dry. It should be quite soft though. I place it in the refrigerator for an hour or two so that it firms up enough to roll out. Once I have it rolled out I cut circles out using one of my big wine glasses. Place a spoonful of your favorite jam or preserve (our favorites include raspberry, strawberry, and apricot) in the middle. Wet the edges of the cookie and place another cookie on the top and seal the edges. Bake at 350 degrees until the edges just start to brown. They will be quite pale in color...but oh so tasty.

Slow As Molasses

Today I had a craving for cookies. Molasses cookies seemed fitting as the summer turns into fall. These turned out very yummy. I followed the recommendations made by people who had tested our this recipe earlier. I decreased the sugar and increased the molasses to make a chewier cookie. Very good indeed.