Category: Cookies

Almond Biscotti

Sadie3 Comments

Something about biscotti makes me feel civilized. I’ve toyed around with a few recipes over the years and I think my favorite is definitely the almond variety.  They’re nice and basic and it’s kind of a throw back to the traditional Italian-American bakeries of my homeland (NY/NJ metropolitan area).

I also enjoy making biscotti because they are easy and yet they require an extra step so they seem fancier. I like to make them when I’m going to hang out with my family for a few days.  My parents and grandparents prefer them to the brother focused chocolate and peanut butter baking creations.  I think these cookies provide some much needed range to any baking repertoire.

Almond Biscotti

from Epicurious

Yields about 40

Ingredients

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 stick unsalted butter (melted)
  • 3 Tbs brandy (optional)
  • 2 tsp almond extract
  • 1 cup whole almonds (toasted and chopped)
  • 3 large eggs
  • 2 3/4 cups flour
  • 1  1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt

Method

  1. Cream together butter and sugar.
  2. Add brandy, extracts, and eggs one at a time.
  3. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt.  Add dry mixture to wet.  Mix in almonds.Toasted Almonds
  4. Allow dough to chill for at least 30 minutes.  Preheat oven to 350.
  5. Shape chilled dough into two flat logs, bake for 30 minutes until slightly golden.
  6. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
  7. Slice logs at an angle with a serrated knife into cookies about 3/4 inch thick and lay flat on cookie sheet.
  8. Bake slices about 20 more minutes until lightly toasted.

“Surprise” Cookies!

Sadie1 Comment

The men folk in my family are way into the peanut butter and chocolate combination.  Don’t get me wrong, I love it too, but not like these guys.  My default favorite dessert flavors are more in the vanilla, strawberry, or apple directions.  But I digress…  Anyway, the last time one of my brothers got a year older, I decided to find a good chocolate and peanut butter cookie recipe to try out.  I found a good one from Martha, who else, and have a made it a few times since, because it’s just that good.  It’s a little extra effort because the “surprise” means that there’s a special filling inside the cookies.  But it’s worth it!  My brother can testify!

Chocolate Peanut Butter “Surprise” Cookies

slightly adapted from Martha

yields about 2 dozen

Ingredients

  • 2 cups AP flour
  • 1/2 cup cocoa powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp instant coffee or espresso powder
  • 1 stick unsalted butter (room temp)
  • 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1 1/4 cups light brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup peanut butter

Method

  1. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, dry coffee, and cocoa.  Set Aside.
  2. Use an electric mixer to cream together butter, shortening, white sugar, and 1 cup of the brown sugar. Mix until fluffy.  Add eggs and vanilla extract gradually and mix until light and fluffy.
  3. Add dry ingredients gradually to wet, then mix in the chocolate chips until combined.  Chill dough for at least 1 hour.
  4. Mix together peanut butter and 1/4 cup of brown sugar for filling.
  5. Preheat oven to 350.
  6. Spoon chocolate cookie dough onto parchment lined baking sheets 1 Tbs at a time.  Form dough into little cups and fill the cups with a small amount of the PB filling.  Cover up the cookies with more cookie dough and make sure to seal in the peanut butter so it doesn’t leak out.
  7. Bake for about 12 minutes.  Remove and allow to cool.

Nothing Beats a Classic

Sadie1 Comment

First order of business: Happy Birthday to my Best Best Friend Karla!

Sometimes when I’m in the mood to bake and I haven’t gone shopping for specific ingredients, I play the pantry game.  What can I make (that I would want to eat) with the items that I already have?  I’m usually short on anything perishable, but if I have butter, the answer is usually: shortbread.  And frankly, it’s hard to get better than shortbread.  Delicious.  Plus you can eat it with some tea and pretend to be British and sophisticated.

Classic Shortbread

Adapted from Ina on the Food Network

yeilds 20 cookies (depending on the size you choose)

Ingredients

  • 3/4 lb unsalted butter (that’s 3 sticks)
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3 1/2 cups AP flour
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 8 oz. Semi-Sweet Chocolate (Ina uses bitter-sweet)
  • chopped nuts or sprinkles for decoration

Method

  1. Cream together butter and sugar with electric mixer.  Add vanilla.
  2. Sift in flour and salt.  Mix until dough starts to come together a little bit.
  3. Turn the dough out onto the counter and form into disks to chill in the freezer.
  4. Allow dough to chill for at least 30 minutes.
  5. Preheat oven to 350.
  6. Roll dough out to about 1/4 to 1/2 inch think and use desired cookie cutters to cut shapes.
  7. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes.  These are probably better a little on the blond side.
  8. Allow cookies to cool.  Heat chocolate up in microwave for 30 seconds at a time.  Use a fork to stir chocolate and make it shiny.
  9. Use fork to paint chocolate on desired portion of cooled shortbread cookies.  Dip chocolate portion into chopped nuts or sprinkles.  (During the holidays these look great with red and green bead sprinkles)
  10. Stick them in the frige or freezer to help accelerate the cooling process.