Red Velvet Peppermint Crinkle Cookies

These cookies are amazing! I love discovering new things (which is probably what spawns my love of cooking) and this is a new discovery of a mixture of lovely things (peppermint, red velvet, cookies). Such a beautiful, delicious, holiday-rific treat! This is another one that would be perfect for a cookie exchange. 

From Cookin' Cowgirl

Makes about 30

Prep Time: about 30 minutes

Bake Time: about 30 minutes

Total Time: about 1 hour

INGREDIENTS:

1 box red velvet cake mix (I used Duncan Hines)

6 Tablespoons butter

2 eggs

1 teaspoon peppermint extract

1/2 cup crushed peppermint candy or candy canes (about 6 large candy canes)

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon cornstarch

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Melt the butter and set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, crush the candy canes. (I find it easiest to use the mini candy canes that are individually wrapped...keep them in their packaging so you don't make a big mess. If you only have big candy canes, unwrap them and place them in a plastic bag. Then use a meat mallet and whack away!)

In a large bowl, mix together the cake mix, cooled butter, eggs, and peppermint extract. Add in the crushed peppermint and stir. The dough should be very thick. 

In a shallow dish, mix together the powdered sugar and cornstarch with a fork. 

Form dough into balls and cover with powdered sugar mixture. Place on a cookie sheet 2 inches apart. Bake for 9-11 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack. 

Plate up and serve or give away as gifts.

Merry Christmas!!

Gingerbread Cookies with White Chocolate

I think I've mentioned my love of white chocolate before. It makes everything better. And who knew it was such a great complement to gingerbread? This is such a great recipe for the holidays: soft, chewy gingerbread with a little extra candy on top. It would be perfect for a cookie exchange. Or for Santa Claus.

From Culinary Concoctions by Peabody

Makes about 34 cookies

Prep Time: 30 Minutes

Waiting Time: 4 hours*

Bake Time: 10 Minutes

Total Time: about 5 hours (or about 90 minutes if you follow my tip at the bottom)

INGREDIENTS:

3 cups flour

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature

3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup molasses

1 egg

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup white chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

Mix flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg and salt in a medium bowl and set aside. Beat butter and brown sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. 

Add molasses, egg and vanilla. Beat well. Gradually beat in flour mixture on low speed until well mixed. 

Place dough on plastic wrap and form into a flat, thick disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.*

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Shape dough into 1-inch balls, roll in granulated sugar, and place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets

Bake 8-10 minutes or until edges of cookies just begin to brown. Immediately press about 5-6 white chocolate chips into center of each cookie. Let cool on wire racks. 

*I was impatient, so instead of waiting 4 hours for the dough to cool in the fridge, I put the dough in the freezer and let it cool for 30 minutes. It worked just fine. Just don't forget about it!

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

It is very possible that my most favorite food in the whole world is homemade chocolate chip cookies. There is something so comforting about drinking a glass of cold milk accompanied by a perfect disc-shaped, chocolate-speckled treat. My go-to recipe is my mother's prize-winning recipe (hint: you can find it on the back of a bag of toll house chocolate chips) but, if you can recall, we currently don't have white flour in our house.

So, the search for a great whole wheat chocolate chip cookie has been at the top of my cooking priority list. I tried one that was OK, but not great. And then I found this one. This one.

My. Oh. My.

I'm pretty convinced that this is better than chocolate chip cookies made with white flour. Right before my mother tried this cookie, she said, "This looks like a Mrs. Field's cookie!" And then she made her "Mmmmm" noises that always make me feel good about my cooking. And I know it's my own mother, but she really is a connoisseur of all things chocolate. And let's face, I am my harshest critic. And this cookie is delicious! I'll try to stop rambling my excitement, but it's a little hard to contain when you've just found an amazing and beautiful chocolate-chip cookie recipe. Oh, and then top it off that it is 100% whole wheat. Eek! Could it be better? I think not. Ok, I'll be done now. Just go make this.

From Orangette

INGREDIENTS:

3 cups whole wheat flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 sticks butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1 cup lightly packed brown sugar

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped into 1/4- to 1/2-inch pieces or chocolate chips (I don't have bittersweet, so I used semi-sweet chocolate chips)

DIRECTIONS:

Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat it to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment (or tin-foil).

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl and whisk to combine.

Put the butter and sugars in a large bowl. With electric beaters (or a stand mixer with paddle attachment) on low to medium speed, mix just until the butter and sugars are blended. (This may take a while depending on how cold the butter is.) Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla. 

Add the flour mixture to the bowl and blend on low speed until the flour is just incorporated. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. 

Add the chocolate and incorporate with a wooden spoon. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then use your hands to turn and gently massage the dough, making sure all the flour is absorbed.

Scoop mounds of dough, about 3 tablespoons in size (yes, larger than your typical c.c. cookie), onto the baking sheets, leaving about 2-3 inches in between each cookie. You should be able to fit about 8 cookies on each sheet. 

Bake the cookies for 16-20 minutes, rotating the sheets halfway through, until the cookies are evenly browned. 

Let cool, pour some milk, and go to your happy place.

Snickerdoodles

I'm not sure if there's any better childhood memory than coming home from school to the aroma of freshly baked cookies. My mom practiced this trick a couple times in my youth and it was just the thing to make me fall in love with her over and over again. Now, I practice this trick on the hubs.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup butter
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 3/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

2 Tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:

Soften butter. Add sugar and mix with beaters until creamy. Add eggs. Then add combined remaining ingredients. Mix until smooth and creamy. Put in refrigerator for one hour (or longer if needed).

After an hour, mix 2 Tablespoons sugar and 2 teaspoons cinnamon in a small bowl. Roll batter into 1" balls and roll in the cinnamon/sugar mixture. Place on a cookie sheet 2" apart. Bake at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

Enjoy.