Today is Valentine’s Day. Yes, I tend to agree with many of you that it’s a made-up holiday with an inordinate amount of associated pressure. I also think it’s a good excuse to give the loved ones around you a little treat, a little smile, an acknowledgement that they mean something special.
Here’s a little treat (literally) that you can bake up to surprise your kids/spouse/significant other tonight. Or this weekend… who says you have to give Valentine’s treats *on* Valentine’s Day anyway?
Valentine’s Pixie Bites
6 TB butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp corn starch
1 box Red Velvet Cake Mix (or a Devil’s Food and add red food coloring)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp lemon zest
Preheat oven to 375. Melt butter and set aside to cool slightly. Mix powdered sugar and corn starch together in a shallow bowl, set aside.
Place cake mix, cooled butter, eggs and lemon zest in a large bowl. Mix with your hands until well-blended. It should feel like a dough not a cake batter.
Form dough into 1-inch balls and roll in the powdered sugar mix. Place on an ungreased baking sheet about 2 inches apart.
The last day of school is here. While that means many things, in this house it also means last day of school cookies will be baking. Any kid that stops by my house on the last day of school gets a fresh-baked cookie to celebrate the start of summer. I bake a different type each year, this morning I’ll be whipping together a batch of these:
Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies
1 cup (2 sticks) butter at room temp
1 cup sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups oats (quick or old fashioned)
1 package of chocolate chunks
1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Cream the butter and sugars. Add the eggs and vanilla.
3. Mix the dry ingredients together and then add slowly to the wet ingredients. Stir in the chocolate chunks.
4. Drop by heaping tablespoons on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until edges are golden brown.
It’s no secret that baking is one of my favorite things to do with the kids. They learn a few cooking skills, a little bit of math and the results are yummy. Baking is something we do a lot of in the fall and winter but it’s also a wonderful rainy day activity for summer. A few months ago someone pointed me to a recipe for peanut butter cookies that claims it is the “last peanut butter cookie recipe you’ll ever try.” I’m not sure about that but I do know that they were gone in a flash!
These are are not your typical peanut butter cookies – they are soft and filled with chocolate chips. My husband said they were like normal chocolate chip cookies with some peanut butter mixed in. They are drop cookies so they are easy to make and this recipe makes a ton of them. I got 7 dozen out of it and I make big cookies.
Soft Peanut Butter Chocolate Cookies Thanks to RecipeZaar for the original.
1 1/2 cups butter – let this sit on the counter for an hour or two before you bake so it creams really well
1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter or crunchy peanut butter, your choice
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
3 eggs
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
3 3/4 cups flour
12 ounces chocolate & peanut butter chips (thank you Nestle for making a mixed bag!)
1. Cream butter & peanut butter; add sugars and mix well. Don’t be afraid to keep the mixer going for an extra minute or two to get a light & fluffy batter. While this is mixing, get a large bowl and combine your dry ingredients.
2. Add eggs and mix until creamy. Add dry ingredients a little at a time.
3. Stir in your chocolate & peanut butter chips by hand.
4. Drop by tablespoon full onto cookie sheets, do not flatten. Place batter in the fridge between batches to keep it chilled and easier to handle.
5. Bake at 325°F for 15 minutes.
6. Cool on cookie sheets for about 5 minutes then transfer onto newspaper – the newspaper soaks up extra grease so the cookies don’t become crumbly.
7. When completely cool store in an airtight container.
but before you store them away, be sure to eat a few!
So I’m working out a few weeks ago, watching Regis & Kelly while jogging on the treadmill. They have a baker from NYC on the show making her famous “compost cookies.” The best way to describe these cookies is a match of sweet & salty. Or you could just say they are awesome like my kids did when they tasted them. These are fun to make and even more fun to eat. Go ahead – get the kids in the kitchen and go crazy!
Crazy Cookies courtesy of Momofuku’s Christina Tosi with minor home kitchen modifications by yours truly
1 cup Butter
1 cup Sugar
3/4 cup Light Brown Sugar
1 Tbsp Corn Syrup
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 Large Eggs
1 3/4 cups AP Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
2 tsp Kosher Salt
1 1/2 cups Your favorite baking ingredients!
(we used chopped reese’s cups, chocolate chunks and butterscotch chips.)
1 1/2 cups Your favorite snack foods (yes, really – we used fritos, pretzels and ritz crackers)
In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream butter, sugars and corn syrup on medium high for 2-3 minutes until fluffy and pale yellow in color. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl with a spatula.
On a lower speed, add eggs and vanilla to incorporate. Increase mixing speed to medium-high and start a timer for 10 minutes. During this time the sugar granules will fully dissolve, the mixture will become an almost pale white color and your creamed mixture will double in size. the fluffiest cookie batter I've ever seen
When time is up, on a lower speed, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix 45-60 sec just until your dough comes together and all remnants of dry ingredients have incorporated. Do not walk away from your mixer during this time or you will risk over mixing the dough. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl with a spatula.
On same low speed, add in the hodgepodge of your favorite baking ingredients and mix for 30-45 sec until they evenly mix into the dough. Add in your favorite snack foods last, paddling again on low speed until they are just incorporated.
Refrigerate the dough for at least an hour (or for up to a week). DO NOT BAKE your cookies from room temperature or they will not hold their shape.
Heat the oven to 400F. Place a generous scoop – I used an ice cream scoop – of cookie dough onto a parchment lined sheetpan, a couple inches apart in any direction. I really mean a couple inches apart. Don't make this mistake!
Bake 9-11 min. While in the oven, the cookies will puff, crackle and spread. note: I baked mine for about 12 – you need to watch them because ovens vary and how cold your dough is will change the spread and the size of your scoop makes a difference… you get the point – start watching them at 9 minutes and then you’ll know how long to bake the rest of the pans. Basically – take them out when the edges are browned and they’re not doughy in the middle.
Cool the cookies completely on the sheet pan before transferring to a plate or an airtight container or tin for storage. At room temp, cookies will keep fresh 5 days. (they lasted 2 in my house) In the freezer, cookies will keep fresh 1 month.
Friends have been on my mind this week. I wrote a post about friends earlier this week. A friend completely surprised me by sending a package of homemade cookies to my house (which my kids decided was about the most awesome surprise ever). I spent last evening catching up with friends. Friendship was the subject of one of my Lenten reflections. Friends. Friends. Friends. All I’m missing is a tv marathon with Courtney Cox, Jennifer Aniston and the gang. It only seems appropriate that I feature a recipe given to me by a friend today! I have no idea where she got it but I do know that it’s a good one!!
Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies
1 cup (2 sticks) butter at room temp
1 cup sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups oats (quick or old fashioned)
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup white chocolate chips
1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. In a large bowl, cream the butter with the sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well. Mix in vanilla.
3. In another bowl, mix flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Beat this into the creamed mixture until well blended.
4. Stir in the oats, nuts, cranberries and chocolate chips.
5. Drop by heaping tablespoons on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until edges are golden brown.
6. Try not to eat them all before the kids get home from school.
Today is Valentine’s Day. Yes, I tend to agree with many of you that it’s a made-up holiday with an inordinate amount of associated pressure. I also think it’s a good excuse to give the loved ones around you a little treat, a little smile, an acknowledgement that they mean something special.
quick like a bunny! 