Category: Drop Cookies
A Cool Minty Riff for #10 on the Holiday Cookie List

A Cool Minty Riff for #10 on the Holiday Cookie List

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Only 2 more cookies after this post for my holiday cookie list and COINCIDENTALLY there’s only 2 more days until Christmas.  Yikes, I’m cutting it pretty close!

When I’m in a grocery or cookware store I feel like a kid in a candy store.  I go bonkers.  It’s really not my fault, there is just too much STUFF out there to entice me.  Take chocolate chips, for example.  Back in the day you had  semi-sweet chocolate chips and that was it.  Now the chocolate chip universe has expanded to include milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate, and bittersweet.  They come mini, midi and maxi size, in chunks or bits.  It’s easily a 15 minute decision in the supermarket just picking chocolate chips!  And to make matters worse there are peanut butter chips,  butterscotch chips, and EVEN candy bars that come in chips.  The other day I found Andes Creme de Menthe Chips (the holy grail for mint and chocolate lovers), and it would have taken a stronger person than I to walk out without a bag…..or two.

And so, I give you Cookie number 10, The Andes Mint Chocolate Chip Cookie, right off the back the bag!  The dough is fairly soft and the cookies will spread quite a bit if not chilled before baking.  I used a tablespoon ice cream scoop to make cookies approximately 2.5 inches in diameter.  Bake the cookies on a Silpat to minimize spreading.  Baking time was around 9-10 minutes.

And a song to listen to while you’re baking these minty morsels, 12 Days of Christmas as sung by The Disney Princesses!

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Andes Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

  • Andes Crème de Menthe Chunk Cookies
  • Servings: 4 Dozen
  • Preheat oven to 350
  • • 1/2 cup salted butter softened
  • • 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
  • • 1/2 cup white granulated sugar
  • • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • • 2 eggs
  • • 1 package 10 oz Andes® Creme de Menthe Baking Chips
  • • 2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

Instructions

  • Blend butter, sugars, baking soda, baking powder, vanilla and eggs until mixed.
  • Stir in baking chips or chopped candy and then flour.
  • Chill at least one hour in refrigerator.
  • Measure out approximately 1 ounce of dough.
  • Raise oven rack one level above middle and baking on non-stick cookie sheets.
  • Bake at 350-degrees for approximately 8-10 minutes.
  • Cool on pans for two minutes before removing.
Almond Cookies: Homage to Mrs. F

Almond Cookies: Homage to Mrs. F

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My brother-in-law’s mother passed away unexpectedly a few days ago.  Through the years we would see her at family functions and exchange pleasantries.  Every Christmas we were the lucky recipients of one of her signature pink cake boxes filled with a variety of delicious homemade holiday cookies.  We all had our favorites.  Me, I loved her almond cookies.  They were just like the ones in the windows of Chinatown bakeries, crumbly, full of almond flavor and finished with an almond pressed into the center.

Unfortunately I do not have her recipe but I do have one by Belinda Leong of B patisserie in San Francisco.  Bursting with almond flavor and buttery goodness this is an amazingly delicious cookie that for me pays tribute to Mrs. F.  Baking these lovely morsels conjures up the image of her pink boxes stacked on the holiday table. Most of all it reminds me of her warm smile and her kind and generous spirit.  She will be missed.

Dona Nobis Pacem (Give Us Peace)/Auld Lang Syne performed by Yo- Yo Ma and Chris Botti

 

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The recipe for these wonderful almond cookies is from Andrea Nguyen’s blog post Viet World Kitchen.  The recipe was first published in the book Chef’s Table by Carolyn Jung.  There were some glitches in the recipe and luckily food people are of the most generous spirit.  No sooner had I emailed Ms. Nguyen she responded answering all my questions and updating her website.  Here is the link to the recipe on her blog, Viet World Kitchen.  I weighed the flour using the 8.75 ounces and used 1/2 cup volume measurement for the sugar.  Start checking the cookies early. My batch only took 12 minutes to bake.  If you like crisp, buttery, almond flavored cookies..BAKE THESE, you won’t regret it.

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Almond Cookies

Buttery, crispy, full of almond flavor.  These cookies from B's Patisserie are a winner.
Course cookies
Cuisine Asian
Keyword Almond Cookies

Ingredients

  • 1 3/4 cups 8.75 oz / 250 g all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 4 ounces 120 g almond paste
  • 1/2 cup 3.5 oz / 100 g sugar
  • 2 sticks 8 oz / 225 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 4 ounces 120 g sliced or chopped slivered almonds
  • Powdered sugar

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350F (180 C / gas mark 4) with a rack in the middle position. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment and set aside.
  • Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and soda. Set aside.
  • Use a stand mixer with the paddle attachment to make the dough. Cut the almond paste into thick slices or big chunks. Put them in the mixer with the sugar. On low speed, mix the ingredients together until the almond paste has broken up into big pea-like pieces.
  • Pause to add the butter. On medium-low speed, beat the ingredients until fluffy, about 2 minutes.
  • Add the sifted dry ingredients. Mix on low speed until just combined (you no longer see flour bits). Add the almonds and use the lowest speed (“Stir” on a Kitchen Aide) to mix into the dough.
  • Put 2 to 3 tablespoons of powdered sugar in a small bowl or on your work surface. For slightly gnarly/textured cookies, pinch off balls of dough – each the size of a big cherry tomato (1.5 inch / 3.75 cm wide). Roll in powdered sugar, then place on the prepared sheet pan, spaced 2 inches (5 cm) apart. Flatten each ball slightly as you work. (If you want neater cookies, squeeze and roll the dough into a fat log and cut crosswise into pieces. Roll them into balls, coat in the sugar, etc. See the photo above.)
  • Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until golden brown at the edges. Cool completely on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container for several days.
A Ridiculously Easy Peanut Butter Cookie

A Ridiculously Easy Peanut Butter Cookie

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Are you ready to start baking for the holidays?  I tried two new cookie recipes yesterday to take to our annual holiday cookie swap and both are winners.  We started our swap way back when the kids were in pre-school and through the years we have managed to keep the tradition alive.  Our early gatherings were during the day with kids and babies in tow but have now morphed into a mom’s happy hour. We eat, drink, catch up on what we are doing as well as the kids and of course trade cookies.  Amazing how quickly 17 years have flown by.

The first thing you should know is that both recipes are STUPID EASY.  My favorite cooking category.  If you are looking for cookies that are delicious and will illicit oohs and aahs, look no further. Oh, did I mention they are both GLUTEN FREE?  BAM! The trifecta.  I did not choose them because of that, they just happen to be gluten free. Here is the first one, Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies.

FlourlessPeanutButter

To go along with these crazy good cookies here is a Peanuts favorite The Charlie Brown Christmas Song sung by Mariah Carey.

 

As the song is playing, pullout the peanut butter (smooth or chunky), brown sugar, white sugar, baking soda, vanilla and 1 egg.  That’s all you need for this recipe!  I found multiple versions of this recipe online and adapted the one from Our Best Bites.  These cookies are soft, chewy and scream peanut butter flavor.  You can add chocolate to take it to another level, its entirely up to you.  Enjoy!

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Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients

  • 1 cup peanut butter smooth or chunky
  • 3/4 cup packed brown sugar (I use 1/2 cup white sugar & 1/4 cup golden brown sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon table salt
  • Sugar for rolling
  • Chocolate chunks I use the chunks from TJs, you can use chips if you like
  • optional: heaping 1/2 cup chopped chocolate or chocolate chips I recommend dark or semi-sweet

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Combine peanut butter and sugars and until smooth (1-2 minutes on medium speed).
  • Add egg, vanilla, baking soda, and salt. Mix for about a minute.
  • If adding chocolate, fold into dough now. Chocolate is optional, really.
  • Using a tablespoon ice cream scoop, scoop and shape dough into balls, roll in sugar.
  • Place balls on parchment lined cookie sheet, approximately 11/2 inches apart.
  • Using a fork, flatten with a criss cross pattern, or simply flatten with the bottom of a glass.
  • Press one chocolate chunk or chip into the center of cookie after flattening the dough.
  • Bake for 8-9 minutes, don’t overbake!
  • Let them sit on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Makes approximately 2 dozen cookies. Recipe can be doubled easily.