Category: Cookies

Creature Cookies

Here’s another great cake mix-based recipe for busy bakers. I found this recipe on several other blogs, so it’s difficult to give credit to whoever came up with it – I imagine it was an inventive test kitchen baker at a cake mix company.

I chose to add princess cake and cookie flavor to the dough, an amazing product available at King Arthur Flour that promises – and delivers – that classic “from the bakery” flavor. It’s kind of similar to the flavor of an animal cookie and makes a subtle yet wonderful addition to this dough. If you don’t have it, you can substitute vanilla extract if you like, or just leave the dough as-is.

Just a few notes about handling the dough: it’s incredibly sticky, so when you stir in your food coloring, you’ll want to use a mixer. I started out with three separate colors, then realized after some orange dough got into the green dough from my cookie scoop that mixing the colors would also be fun. Lastly, I used two different methods for placing the eyeballs; on the first two batches, I baked the cookies first, then pressed in the eyes when they came out of the oven (resulting in the look of the orange and purple cookies above). On the last batch, I pressed them into the dough before baking, and you can see the difference in the green/orange cookie above. Either method would be fine – you’ll just end up with a slightly different look based on what you choose.

Ingredients

  • 1 box white cake mix
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 teaspoon princess cake & cookie flavor
  • Purple, orange, green, and yellow food coloring
  • Candy eyeballs

Preparation

In a large bowl, combine cake mix, vegetable oil, eggs, and flavoring; stir very well to completely combine. Divide dough into three portions. Tint one purple, one orange, and one green (I found that using both green and yellow yields a Frankenstein-like color, which is what I wanted); I used my stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, to really work the food coloring into the dough. Chill dough for 30-60 minutes, until easier to handle; it will remain quite sticky, but the chilling process does help.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 3 baking sheets with parchment.

Using a 1-inch cookie scoop, scoop portions of dough, then divide each portion in half – you want your portions to be about the size of a gumball. Roll into balls, combining colors if you like.

Place balls on parchment-lined baking sheets and press in candy eyeballs if you like, or wait until after baking and press eyeballs in then, whatever you prefer.

Bake for 9-11 minutes, until cookies are set. Remove from oven and allow to cool on baking sheets for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Makes 40.

 

Scout’s Honor Peanut Butter Sandwiches

If you looked through my cookbooks, you’d be able to tell which ones I use the most by the condition of their pages. The books with the best, most reliable recipes have pages that have gotten splattered with batter, sprayed with water, dusted with flour, sprinkled with powdered sugar, and all other manner of baking-related slips and spills.

My King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion is now such a cookbook, its pages warping with good use. Today’s scout’s honor peanut butter sandwich cookies come from the peanut butter chapter, a wonderful collection of classic peanut butter cookies and delicious adaptations. These treats are a home-baked version of Girl Scout peanut butter sandwich cookies, and this recipe yields hearty, peanut buttery treats with a delightful mellow flavor and great texture from the rolled oats that get mixed into the dough. These would also be delicious with a chocolate filling, but the classic peanut butter – which I adapted to include some vanilla extract – is just perfect.

Ingredients

For the dough

  • 5 1/3 tablespoons butter
  • 2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 egg
  • 3/4 cup flour
  • 1 cup old-fashioned (rolled) oats

For the filling

  • 1 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 3/4 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line three baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine butter, peanut butter, sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and vanilla. Cream together, scraping the sides of your bowl a few times. Add egg and beat until fluffy.

Add flour and oats mixing (or stirring, if you prefer) until combined.

Using a 1-inch cookie scoop, drop scoops of dough onto prepared cookie sheets about 2 inches apart. Gently flatten with the heel of your hand to 1/4 inch thickness (the original recipe said to do this with the bottom of a drinking glass, but mine kept sticking, even after I greased it). Bake for 9-11 minutes, until edges are very light golden brown. Remove from oven and cool on the cookie sheets for a few minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Once cookies are completely cool, make filling. Combine peanut butter, honey, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract and beat to combine; filling will be fairly thick, almost like the center of a buckeye, and this is the texture you want – don’t thin it out.

Use a 1-inch cookie scoop to scoop filling onto half the cookies; gently press filling down with your fingers and top with another cookie, pressing very, very gently to bring the cookies together but not tear them.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Makes 17 sandwiches.

Confetti Cookies

As a busy working mother, my mom had little time for scratch baking, relying on mixes for many of our home-baked treats. Her peanut butter cookies involve a box of yellow cake mix, eggs, oil, and Jif peanut butter, and they are just as delicious to me as ones made completely from scratch.

Whether you bake completely from scratch or from mixes, what really matters is that you make things for the people you love. These cookies, adapted from a recipe from Better Homes & Gardens to include some vanilla extract, are bound for my goddaughter Maureen and her little sister Margo. I suspect they’ll enjoy them just as much as they would cookies made completely from scratch.

Ingredients

  • 1 box white cake mix*
  • 1 egg
  • 8 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup sprinkles

*I used Duncan Hines cake mix; your dough may take longer to chill depending on which brand of mix you use. 

Preparation

In a large bowl, stir together cake mix, egg, melted butter, and sprinkles. Cover and chill for 30 minutes or until dough is easy to handle.

On a very lightly floured surface, roll dough into a log about 2 inches wide. Wrap in plastic and chill until completely firm, about 30 minutes in the freezer or 1 hour in the fridge.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line three baking sheets with parchment paper.

Remove plastic wrap from dough and slice into 1/4-inch slices. Place cookies on prepared sheets, leaving about 2 inches between each cookie, as they spread when baking.

Bake for 9-11 minutes, until edges are light golden brown. Remove from oven and cool on baking sheets for 3 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Makes 30.

Cinnamon Roll Cookies

Last weekend at the grocery store, as I waited at the self-checkout, I spotted a Better Homes & Gardens fall baking magazine. Flipping through, I saw chapters on maple, cobblers, whole grain treats, apples, cinnamon, and peanut butter…and I simply had to get it.

The next time I make this recipe, I’ll remember to leave about 1/4 inch of dough uncovered to make a seal; I had a hard time getting my dough to stick together because I spread my cinnamon-sugar mixture all the way to each edge, which I’m sure I wasn’t supposed to do. Oh well. The cookies were delicious anyway! I added a bit of vanilla extract to the icing for a richer flavor, but you could certainly leave it plain. These cookies are also delicious without the icing, so you could skip that step if you prefer (see the photo below).

Ingredients

For the cookies

  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon

For the icing

  • 2 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 1 tablespoon butter, softened
  • 3/4 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • About 2 teaspoons milk

Preparation

In a mixing bowl fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter on medium speed for about 30 seconds. Add sugar and salt and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes, scraping the bowl a few times.

Beat in 1 egg and vanilla, then beat in flour.

Wrap dough in plastic and chill until easy to handle, about 30-60 minutes.

In a small bowl, stir together brown sugar and cinnamon until well-blended.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to a 15 x 10 rectangle. Brush with lightly beaten egg and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, leaving about 1/4 inch edge of the far end to make a seam. Roll up from the long end closest to you to make a log; cover with plastic wrap and freeze for about 30 minutes, until firm enough to slice.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line three cookie sheets with parchment.

Remove cookie log from freezer and slice into 1/4 inch slices; place about 2 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheets.

Bake for 8-11 minutes, until edges are very light brown. Remove from oven and cool on the cookie sheet for a few minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the icing, beat cream cheese and butter in a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until smooth. Add powdered sugar and beat well; add vanilla extract, then add milk about 1/2 teaspoon at a time until you have an easily spreadable consistency.

Frost cookies and place in the refrigerator to set the icing; store iced cookies between sheets of waxed paper in airtight containers in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Makes about 40 cookies.

The un-iced cookies are delicious, too!

Whale Cookies

My beach/aquatic cookie cutter set that yielded last week’s octopus cookies also includes this adorable whale. It’s just such a fun, happy-looking cookie, I feel kind of bad eating them (but only for a second, because this recipe really is delicious).

I chose a light blue frosting for these cookies and frosted them by hand, then piped on the whiles of the eyes and water spouts, then the pupils and mouths. I decided to give these happy little whales smiles, but you could leave them without mouths if you like.

Ingredients

For the cookies

  • 4 cups flour
  • 4 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the frosting

  • 6 tablespoons vegetable shortening
  • dash of salt
  • 2 egg whites
  • 4 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
  • Blue food coloring
  • Black food coloring

Preparation

Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.

Cream together butter and sugar until fluffy; add eggs and beat well.

Add vanilla and about half the flour mixture, beating until combined; beat in remaining flour.

Note: if your dough is too crumbly, you can add just a bit of water or another ¼ teaspoon of vanilla.

Divide dough in three portions and knead each just slightly until dough sticks together.  Form each portion into a disc and wrap in plastic.

Refrigerate until just barely firm, about 20-30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line several baking sheets with foil or parchment.

Roll dough to 1/8 inch thickness and cut with an octopus cookie cutter, placing cookies a few inches apart on your baking sheets; I fit 6 cookies on each sheet.

Bake for 8-10 minutes, until just golden.

Cool on a wire rack before frosting.

To make the frosting:

Combine shortening, egg whites, salt, and one cup powdered sugar in a mixing bowl.  Beat on low speed until combined, then increase speed to medium, then high, and beat for one minute.

Add additional cup powdered sugar and beat on low speed until combined, then on high speed for one minute.

Add vanilla and almond extracts.  Beat on high speed for one or two minutes, until very well combined.

Check the frosting’s texture; it should be like very, very soft peanut butter and very easily spreadable.  If necessary, add one to two teaspoons of water to thin the frosting and beat well to combine.

Reserve a small portion (about 1/2 cup) of white frosting for eyes and water spouts; set aside.

Reserve a very small portion (about 4-5 tablespoons) of frosting for pupils and mouths; tint black and set aside.

Tint the remaining frosting pale blue and frost the bodies of the whales first.

Fit a small piping bag with a small plain tip and fill with white frosting. Pipe on eyes, then switch to a star tip and pipe on water spouts.

Fit a small piping bag with a small plain tip and fill with black frosting. Pipe on pupils, then mouths.

Allow frosting to set before storing; store cookies in an airtight container between sheets of waxed paper at room temperature for up to 3 days. The eyes and suction cups may flatten a bit, but that’s okay.

Makes about 48.

Octopus Cookies

Starbucks has these adorable octopus cut-out sugar cookies right now. I posted a picture of one on Facebook a few weeks back, and a friend of mine commented that I should make them. And so, I did.

I have a set of beach/sea life cookie cutters, and they just happen to include an octopus. The next time I make these, I may pipe their little eyes further down on their heads so they look more like real octopuses (much to my surprise, the plural of octopus is not octopi), but I think these turned out really well. I used a combination of piping/hand frosting for these, as it’s much easier to pipe the frosting onto the tentacles and up onto the body than it is to frost the whole cookie by hand.

Ingredients

For the cookies

  • 4 cups flour
  • 4 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the frosting

  • 6 tablespoons vegetable shortening
  • dash of salt
  • 2 egg whites
  • 4 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
  • Blue food coloring
  • Green food coloring
  • Black food coloring

 

Preparation

Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.

Cream together butter and sugar until fluffy; add eggs and beat well.

Add vanilla and about half the flour mixture, beating until combined; beat in remaining flour.

Note: if your dough is too crumbly, you can add just a bit of water or another ¼ teaspoon of vanilla.

Divide dough in three portions and knead each just slightly until dough sticks together.  Form each portion into a disc and wrap in plastic.

Refrigerate until just barely firm, about 20-30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line several baking sheets with foil or parchment.

Roll dough to 1/8 inch thickness and cut with an octopus cookie cutter, placing cookies a few inches apart on your baking sheets; I fit 6 cookies on each sheet.

Bake for 8-10 minutes, until just golden.

Cool on a wire rack before frosting.

To make the frosting:

Combine shortening, egg whites, salt, and one cup powdered sugar in a mixing bowl.  Beat on low speed until combined, then increase speed to medium, then high, and beat for one minute.

Add additional cup powdered sugar and beat on low speed until combined, then on high speed for one minute.

Add vanilla and almond extracts.  Beat on high speed for one or two minutes, until very well combined.

Check the frosting’s texture; it should be like very, very soft peanut butter and very easily spreadable.  If necessary, add one to two teaspoons of water to thin the frosting and beat well to combine.

Reserve a small portion (about 1/4 cup) of white frosting for eyes and suction cups; set aside.

Reserve a very small portion (just a few tablespoons) of frosting for pupils; tint black and set aside.

Tint remaining frosting using blue and green food coloring for a blue/green shade. Fit a large piping bag with a large plain tip and pipe frosting onto each cookie, filling in the tentacles first and piping up onto the rest of the body; use a small offset spatula to spread the frosting.

Fit a small piping bag with a small plain tip and fill with white frosting. Pipe on eyes, then pipe suction cups on tentacles.

Fit a small piping bag with a small plain tip and fill with black frosting. Pipe on pupils.

Allow frosting to set before storing; store cookies in an airtight container between sheets of waxed paper at room temperature for up to 3 days. The eyes and suction cups may flatten a bit, but that’s okay.

Makes about 36.

Almond Joyful Cookies

The folks at King Arthur Flour came up with this wonderful take on the Almond Joy candy bar, an interesting blend of an almond coconut cookie, rich chocolate icing, and chopped toasted almonds. I suspect that the cookie base would also be delicious with an almond drizzle icing for those of us who can’t have chocolate, so I’ll have to try that next time.

While the original recipe was supposed to yield 39 cookies, my batch made about 28, as I used a 2-inch cookie scoop. I also adjusted the recipe slightly to use 1/2 cup of chopped toasted almonds instead of a full cup, which was more than enough.

Ingredients

For the cookies

  • 1 cup butter, at room temperature
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract
  • 1 teaspoon coconut extract (or flavor)
  • 1/4 cup almond paste
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup shredded sweetened coconut
  • 2 1/3 cups flour

For the icing

  • 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
  • 2 tablespoons corn syrup
  • 2 tablespoons butter

For the topping

  • 1/2 cup blanched almonds, toasted and chopped*

*To toast almonds, place them on a rimmed baking sheet and toast at 350 degrees for about 8 minutes; almonds will become golden brown and fragrant when done. 

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line three baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a mixing bowl, cream together butter, sugar, salt, almond extract, coconut extract, and almond paste; batter will be slightly lumpy, but that’s okay. Add egg, beating until fairly smooth, then beat in coconut. Once coconut is incorporated, beat in flour.

Using a 2-inch cookie scoop, drop scoops of dough onto baking sheets and flatted with your fingers slightly.

Bake for 14-16 minutes, until the edges are light golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool for about 5 minutes on cookie sheets before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the icing, combine chocolate chips, corn syrup, and butter in a medium saucepan over low heat, stirring well until chocolate chips are melted and mixture is smooth.

Dip tops of cookies into icing, then top with chopped almonds. Allow icing to set before storing; store cookies between sheets of waxed paper in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Makes 28.

Snickerdoodle Sandwich Cookies

Some time ago I started thinking about a snickerdoodle sandwich cookie, based on the vanilla bean sandwich cookies that my dear friend Diana absolutely loves. I’m proud to say that I adapted that recipe with great success and created a wonderful treat with the perfect balance of cinnamon and vanilla, two of my favorite flavors.

The cookies themselves would be fine on their own, but sandwiching them with vanilla cream filling takes this recipe up a delicious notch. You’ll have plenty of filling left over (I’m making chocolate cupcakes and filling them with the remaining portion), so you can be generous with your portions. Someday I’ll need to figure out how to cut the filling recipe down!

Vanilla Snickerdoodle Cookies

Ingredients

  • 1 3/4 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon, divided
  • 10 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
  • 2 cups sugar, divided
  • 1 egg
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line three baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a small bowl, stir together 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon with 1/2 cup sugar; set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, kosher salt, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon; set aside.

In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and remaining 1 1/2 cup sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

Add egg and vanilla extract and beat on medium speed until smooth.

With the mixer running on low, gradually add flour mixture.

Shape dough into 1/2 teaspoon-sized balls, about the size of a gumball, and roll in cinnamon sugar.

Place on baking sheets about 2 inches apart and bake for 10-11 minutes, until tops are very light golden and just set.

Cool on baking sheets for 2-3 minutes, then transfer on the parchment to wire racks to cool completely before filling.

Vanilla Cream Filling

Ingredients

  • 8 tablespoons butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup shortening
  • 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Preparation

In a mixing bowl, beat together butter and shortening.

Add powdered sugar in small batches, beating until combined.  Once all sugar is incorporated, beat on medium speed for two minutes

Add vanilla and beat to combine.

Place about 1 teaspoon of filling onto half of the cookies, spreading to the edges. Top with another cookie; store at room temperature for up to 3 days. Makes 28 sandwiches.

Chocolate Chip Meringues

What do you do with a leftover egg white? You make a small batch of meringue cookies. I had a leftover egg white from this weekend’s M&M cookies and didn’t want it to go to waste, so I cut down a standard meringue recipe, stirred in some miniature chocolate chips, and pow: chocolate chip meringues.

Meringues are both easy and tricky at the same time. They require few ingredients, but a very long mixing time. And for heaven’s sake, don’t try to make them by hand; get yourself a mixer so you can put it on high speed and tidy up your kitchen while the egg whites whip themselves into a cloud of deliciousness. When folding in chocolate chips or coconut or whatever strikes your fancy, do so very gently to preserve the volume of air in the batter.

Ingredients

  • 1 egg white, at room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/16 teaspoon cream of tartar*
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1/3 cup miniature chocolate chips

*One-sixteenth? Yep, just fill your 1/4 teaspoon measuring spoon 1/4 full. 

Preparation

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a mixing bowl fitted with the whisk attachment, combine egg white, vanilla extract, and cream of tartar. Beat on high speed until soft peaks form (soft peaks curl over). Slowly add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, and continue to beat on high speed until stiff peaks form (stiff peaks stand straight up). Gently fold in miniature chocolate chips.

Transfer batter to a pastry bag without a tip, or place in a large zip-top bag and snip off one corner. Pipe meringue in circles, making them as large or as small as you like. My batch yielded 8 medium-small cookies.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until meringues are set and bottoms are very light brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely on the baking sheet. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

M&M Cookies

Easter is just around the corner, and I’m sending a little treat package to my goddaughter Maureen and her family. In it are these M&M cookies, a classic recipe that’s probably been made for many a school bake sale, church picnic, and holiday.

How does one get the M&Ms to look so perfect on the top of each cookie? One places them there immediately after removing the baked cookies from the oven, that’s how. You can certainly add a few to the top before the bake (notice the cracks in the purple and yellow M&Ms in the photo at left- those were ones I’d placed on the raw dough before baking), but to get that pretty food stylist look, you need to press them gently into the tops of the cookies the moment they come out of the oven.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 egg, at room temperature
  • 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cup pastel M&M candies, plus another handful for decorating

Preparation

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

In a mixing bowl, cream together butter, brown sugar, and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and beat to combine.

With the mixer running on low, slowly add flour mixture, about 1/4 cup at a time, mixing until dough is completely combined. Stir in M&Ms.

Cover and chill dough for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 325. Line several baking sheets with parchment.

Using a two-inch cookie scoop, drop scoops of dough onto the baking sheet at least 2 inches apart; press a few M&Ms into the top of each cookie.

Bake for 12-14 minutes, until edges are light golden brown. Remove from oven and immediately press more M&Ms into the top of each cookie. Cool on baking sheet for about 5 minutes, then place on a wire rack to cool completely.

Store at room temperature for up to 4 days. Makes 26.