I don’t make these too often because they do use a lot of candy, but with the Holidays coming I thought they were special enough to put on the list. They’re kinda fun because they look like regular chocolate cookies… until you find the surprise inside — then they’re a delight.

The night I made these, I presented some to the boyfriend/taste tester, and a big grin immediately appeared on his face, and the words “Oh! These!” popped out of his mouth. He ate one all in one bite. I bake a lot of cookies, and it’s safe to say that the boyfriend/taste tester hasn’t been given the nickname “Cookie Monster” without merit — he eats a lot of them and would even if I wasn’t baking them — so when he lights up at one in particular, you know it’s worth it.

These freeze well but the caramel will be a little less fluid after defrosting. Don’t worry — they’re still delicious!

The Recipe

From Right at Home
Makes approx. 55 cookies

1 cup / 250mL butter
1 cup / 250mL sugar
1 cup / 250mL brown sugar
2 egg
2 tsp / 10mL vanilla
2 1/2 cups / 625mL flour
3/4 cup / 185mL cocoa
1 tsp / 5mL baking soda

50 – 60 chocolate-covered caramel candies (I used 5 1/2 pkgs of Rolos)

1/2 cup / 125mL sugar

How-To

Beat butter briefly until smooth, then add in sugars and continue to mix until well combined. Mix in eggs and vanilla.

Measure out the flour, cocoa and baking soda, and combine with the wet ingredients above. Mix well until all is moistened and no dry bits are left. Refridgerate for approximately 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees (F) / 190 degrees (C).

Scoop dough by tablespoon (a 1 tbsp cookie scoop works really well for this). Push a candy into the dough and wrap the dough around it so that it’s fully enveloped. Place the sugar in a bowl and roll each ball of dough in it so that it is well covered, and place on a baking sheet. Bake for 7-9 minutes — the cookies should be dry to touch and slightly cracked (don’t over bake!) Allow to cool on sheet for 1 minute before removing to a cooling rack.

Enjoy!

It seems like everyone on the interwebs is falling in love with spiced chocolate right now, and they should — it’s very tasty stuff.

These are a traditional drop-cookie with an untraditional flavour. They are spicy enough that you know you’re not eating a plain ‘ol chocolate cookie, but not so strong that your mouth is on fire — a perfect balance, if I do say so myself.

Another great thing about these cookies: this recipe can easily be halved if you don’t trust yourself around 5 dozen delicious nuggets of spicy chocolatey goodness. *And* they go perfect with a glass of milk or a cup of coffee.

The Recipe

Adapted from MJM Knitting
Makes approximately 5 dozen

3/4 cup / 185mL butter
2 cups / 500mL brown sugar
2 egg whites
2 tsp / 10mL vanilla extract
2 cups / 500mL flour
1 cup / 250mL cocoa powder (dutch-processed recommended)
1/2 tsp / 2mL baking soda
1/2 tsp / 2mL salt
1 tsp / 5mL cinnamon
1/2 tsp / 2mL ground black pepper
1 tsp / 5mL cayenne pepper
1 1/2 cup / 375mL chocolate chunks or chips

How-To:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees (F) / 165 degrees (C)

Cream the butter until smooth, then add the sugar and continue mixing until fluffy. Beat in the egg whites and vanilla. Measure out the dry ingredients (flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt and spices) and mix into the wet until nearly combined. Add in the chocolate chunks or chips and continue to mix. The dough is ready when it’s evenly moistened with no dry powder left.

Scoop by the tablespoonful onto cookie sheets and bake for 11-13 minutes or until they appear dry on the outside. Remove to racks to cool.

Enjoy!

I admit that I *love* slice & bake – style cookies. *Love*. You can make the dough, and leave it in the freezer and when you need cookies, just pull out the roll and slice off what you need. Whad’ya know — you’ve got fresh-baked cookies in minutes. This is especially perfect for making now to have on-hand for the upcoming holidays.

When I first spotted this recipe, I was a little intrigued — rosemary in a cookie? I was quickly won over. These cookies are sweet but with a hint (just a hint) of rosemary and lots of butter flavour — very nice, if I do say so myself.

Normally I make these with regular unsalted butter, but this time I tried using some whey butter we had on hand. It’s a great tweak to these yummy cookies. Whey butter isn’t always easy to find, so even if you don’t use it, make sure you do use a good quality butter (ie. one with good flavour). Why? Depending on the butter you choose to use, the flavour can be strong in this cookie, so if you use one of a lesser quality, either you won’t taste it, or what you do taste won’t be good. Trust me — it’s worth it!

The Recipe

From Martha Stewart
Makes approximately 5 dozen

1 cup / 250mL butter (use ‘whey butter’ if available)
3/4 cup / 185mL sugar
1 egg
1 tsp / 5mL vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups / 375mL flour
1 tbsp / 15mL chopped fresh rosemary
3/4 tsp / 4mL coarse salt

1 egg white
1/2 cup / 125mL sugar

How-To

Cream the butter until smooth, then add the sugar and continue mixing until fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Measure the flour, rosemary and salt and mix until well combined.

Halve dough, and roll into a log shape, approximately 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap in parchment or wax paper and place in freezer for at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees (F) / 190 degrees (C)

Brush frozen log with a thin coat of egg white and roll in sugar. Slice log into coins 1/4 inch thick and place on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper.Bake for 13-15 minutes or until edges are golden. Remove to wire racks and allow to cool.

Enjoy!

Tip

• Dough logs can be placed inside paper towel rolls to help make or maintain the log shape — place one end of log at top of a vertically held roll and tap until the log is fully inside the roll.

Perfect Pairings

• Chamomile tea

This cookie goes by many names but I did realise it until I went away to university and found out that everyone I’d met called it something different — “Chocolate Haystacks” and “Cow Pies” were two of the most memorable and obvious names encountered.

I remember asking my mom why they were called “Eskimo Cookies” and she said that it was because you didn’ t bake them so they stayed cold like Eskimos. (Of course my impressions of said Eskimos looked something more like this than what life in the arctic is actually like.)

Nowadays, whenever I think of these cookies I consider the political correctness (or lack thereof) of the name. It’s been many years since I’ve heard Inuits referred to as “Eskimos” but somehow the name “Inuit Cookies” just doesn’t have the same ring. With that said, the name my grandmother referred to Brazil Nuts with I found astounding and I would never dream of using but in spite of the other names used to refer to these cookies, I always think of them with the name I grew up with. I’m sure there’s a socio-linguistic study to be found there.

This is getting far more complicated than I anticipated. Consider these to be yummy comfort food cookies (no matter what you call them or why!)

The Recipe:

1 cup / 250mL coconut
3 cups / 750mL rolled oats (not quick oats)
6 tbsp / 90mL cocoa
1/2 cup / 125mL butter (my mom used solid margarine and it worked fine)
2 cups / 500mL sugar
1/2 cup / 125mL milk
1 tsp / 5mL vanilla

How-To:

Spread out waxed or parchment paper on a dry, flat surface.

In a bowl, mix together the coconut, rolled oats and cocoa and set aside.

In a large sauce pan, bring the butter, sugar, milk and vanilla to a rolling boil and boil for 1 minute. Mix in the dry ingredients and stir to combine.

Drop by spoonfuls onto the waxed paper and allow to cool. Peel from the paper and place in a sealed container. If in a humid environment, these are best kept in the fridge so that they stay solid.

Enjoy!

I’ll just come right out and say it: slice and bake cookies are awesome. You make the dough and it’s ready for when you need it. It might be now, it might be later, but it’s ready. What’s even better, is that at that later point, there’s next to no clean-up involved and you still get fresh baked cookies.

Like I said, slice and bake cookies are *awesome*.

This particular recipe is essentially a shortbread with some tea added for flavour. The original used Earl Grey tea (yummy) but really, you can use whatever you want. Make sure you like whatever tea you use though, because the taste of the tea is the focal point of the cookie.

The Recipe

A variation of the original from Martha Stewart Cookies,
found via Recipe Zaar

1 cup / 250mL butter
1/2 cup / 125mL icing sugar
1 tbsp / 15mL grated dried apricots or citrus zest
2 cups / 500mL flour
2 tbsp / 30mL finely ground tea (I used Apricot-Peach Black Tea, but your favourite will do)
1/2 tsp / 2mL coarse salt

How-To

Beat butter until fluffy, then add sugar and dried fruit or zest and mix thoroughly.

Combine flour, ground tea leaves and salt, then mix into the butter-sugar mixture until integrated. Divide dough in half, and roll into a log shape that is 1 1/4 inch / 3cm in diameter.  (Great trick: use a paper towel tube to shape the log. Roll the dough into nearly the right diametre, then press through the length of a paper towel tube — the results will come out the other end nice and round!)

Freeze for 1 hour or up to 3 months.

When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 350 degrees (F) / 180 degrees (C). Slice into 1/4 inch / 0.5cm thick disks and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet. They will not spread a lot, but there needs to be some room for the air to circulate — aproximately 1inch / 2.5cms.

Place in oven and bake for 11-13 minutes or until lightly browned at the edges. Remove from sheets and cool on racks.

Enjoy!

Ever thought of having a whipped chocolate bar in cookie form? This would be the recipe for you. These are light, with a meringue-like exterior and a chewy interior — it’s like the best of both worlds. As a bonus, they use (up) 2(!) egg-whites.

I’ll say no more and cut right to the chase:

The Recipe

a variation on the recipe for Chocolate Souffle Cookies from Fine Cooking
makes approximately 3 dozen (36) cookies

6 oz. / 170g chopped chocolate
1/4 tsp. / 1mL ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. / 1mL ground cayenne pepper
2 large egg whites at room temperature
1/8 tsp. / 0.5mL cream of tartar
1/2 tsp. / 1mL vanilla extract
1/4 cup / 60mL sugar

How-To

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (F) / 180 degrees (C). Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Melt the chocolate, remove from heat, then add the cinnamon and cayenne pepper. Set aside.

Beat the egg whites and cream of tartar until they form soft peaks. Slowly add the vanilla and sugar (if possible, do so with the beaters running). Continue to beat until the mixture can form stiff peaks, but do not beat so long that they look dry.

Carefully pour in the chocolate, then fold the mixture with a spatula to combine. Try your best to not let the mixture deflate — so do not stir or over mix.

Drop by teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheets leaving approximately 1 inch / 2cm between cookies. The cookies will not spread, but do need to allow the heat circulate. Bake for 10 minutes or less. The cookies are done when they are still moist inside and have a firm exterior. If they are over baked, will seem hollow inside. Transfer to racks and let them cool.

Enjoy!

Notes

These cookies are best eaten sooner rather than later. If they need to be kept a little longer (more than a day or so) keep them in the fridge and they’ll keep much better.

I know I’m not the only one who first heard of Snickerdoodles once she was all grown up, but given how many people count the cookies as childhood favourites, I’m pretty surprized that I hadn’t heard of them before the age of majority (and then some!) No matter — they’re a welcome addition to the repertoire.

They remind me a lot of the cinnamon biscotti I made recently, and are just as good with coffee. The main difference is that they’re not as crispy-crunchy — they’re more crispy-light. They’re a lot lighter than a chocolate chip or other drop cookie — probably because of the crispy-rather-than-chewey texture — and really easy to make.

The recipe I was working from says that they’re crispy on the outside and cake-y on the inside, which I didn’t quite achieve — perhaps a few minutes less in the oven might have done it, but I can’t complain about the results. Would I make them again? Sure — especially as a gift. I don’t think they will become a go-to cookie though, and that’s mostly because I’m a sucker for rich, chewy and mostly chocolaty cookies.

This version comes from Fine Cooking… which is only about 2 tbsp of flour away from Smitten Kitchen’s… which is a variation of Martha Stewart’s… which tells me that most Snickerdoodle recipes are pretty similar. I’m cool with that — I like a classic that is consistent across kitchens.

The Recipe

makes 3-4 dozen cookies

1 cup / 250mL butter, softened to room temperature
1 1/2 cups /375mL sugar
2 large eggs
2 2/3 cups / 680mL unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp. / 5mL baking soda
1/4 tsp. / 1mL salt
2 tsp. / 10mL cream of tartar

1/4 cup / 60mL sugar
2 tbsp. / 30mL ground cinnamon

How-To

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (F) / 180 degrees (C)

Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy, scrapping the bowl as necessary. Add the eggs, and beat until well combined.

Measure out the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, salt and cream of tartar) on top of the wet, then slowly mix to combine. Set aside.

Mix together the second measure of sugar and the cinnamon in a small bowl.

Drop tablespoonfuls of dough into the cinnamon mixture and roll to coat. Place on cookie sheet 2-3 inches / 5-8 cm apart — these cookies won’t spread drastically, but like most drop cookies, will flatten out.

Bake 13-15 minutes until golden brown (mine could have been cooked less.) Let cookies cool on sheet for 1 minutes, then transfer to a rack cool fully.

Enjoy!

Cookies in cookies? That’s outrageous! Who would do that? It’s absurd! It’s over the top. It’s unnecessary. It’s crazy.

Wait! Cookies in cookies? That’s interesting. No! It’s brilliant!

And it’s following a general trend I’ve spotted of putting junk food into cookies. Some call them kitchen sink cookies; some call them compost heap cookies, but either way, it involves putting something you wouldn’t expect into your batter.

And you know what? They often taste pretty damned good. These ones tasted addictingly good — so good I had to send them across country to make sure I wouldn’t eat too many.

The Recipe

I used the recipe from Lovin’ from the Oven. And it worked out great. Rather than re-copy it here, go check it out and say ‘hi’ — she’s pretty great :-)

There’s something about the combination of chocolate and peanut butter that seems to get anyone and everyone excited. I brought a package of these into the office yesterday, and it was empty by mid-morning. That typically doesn’t happen in my diet-conscious office very often, so I’m taking it as a compliment.

So why did I bother making these (other than the fact that they’re a combination of peanut butter and cocolate?) Well, I’m making a wee care package for someone who loves chocolate and peanut butter — especially when they’re together. I’ve already put in my Reeses Pieces Peanut Butter Cookies but I wanted something else too. I figured that regular PB Cookies might be a little too plain, and too much like the others. So I turned to Martha Stewart for help. I liked the idea she presented: a cookie version of a Reese Peanut Butter Cup.

The thing is though, the container I’m filling is on the small side (it has to fit in a suitcase with the people who are delivering it), so bigger cookies might not fit so well. Also, I don’t like big cookies (you can eat more small ones and not feel as much guilt!) and since I won’t be sending the whole batch, I might as well make them how I like them since I get to eat the left overs.

The kicker is that when you make these cookies smaller, it’s harder to get enough of the PB mix into them and keep it hidden. Also, the PB should have enough prominence to contribute flavour. As such, they morphed into “swirl” cookies — the size could be kept down, and enough PB could be added to make it all worthwhile.

The Recipe

A variation of Peanut Butter Surprises by Martha Stewart.com
Makes approximately 4 dozen cookies

1 cup / 250mL unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup / 125mL sugar
1 cup / 250mL firmly packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon / 5mL pure vanilla extract
2 cups / 500mL flour
1/2 cup / 125mL cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon / 2mL baking powder
1/2 teaspoon / 2mL baking soda
1 cup / 250mL chocolate chips

1/2 cup / 125mL creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup  / 60mL brown sugar

How-To

Cream the butter until fluffy. Add sugars and combine well. Mix in eggs and vanilla.

On top of the wet ingredients, measure out the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda & powder. Blend. Add in the chocolate chips and mix until all ingredients are well distributed. Chill for one hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F) / 180 degrees (C)

In a new bowl, combine the peanut butter and the second instance of brown sugar.

Drop 1 tbsp / 15mL lumps of chocolate dough onto a cookie sheet. Slice lumps open with a knife or other utensil. Drop approximately 1/2 tsp /2mL of the peanut mixture onto each opened lump of chocolate dough. Close each with your fingers (no need to conceal the peanut butter completely, just tighten the cookie up.)

Bake until firm, 10-12 minutes. Let cool on sheet for 5 minutes, then remove cookies to cooling racks.

Enjoy!

Years ago a friend passed on to me a community-fundraiser-cookbook for his school band. I always find these books are always great snapshots of a community — they show what are peoples’ favourite dishes and often these dishes won’t be found elsewhere.

As I flipped though the book, I found this recipe. It was notable not just because it called for Reeses Pieces (yum!) but because throughout the recipe were little of asides saying “yum!”. With more than a few “yum!”s noted, how could I not take this for a spin?

Holeykamoley! I’m so glad I did — it’s been a favourite ever since. It’s like an already great cookie taken up to the next level of “yum!” The boyfriend, who is a Cookie Monster (ie. a cookie lover), commented “Ohmygodthat’sagoodcookie” after his first bite, and I don’t think I could say it better myself. (How’s that for a testimonial?)

For the stickler’s out there, the following recipe has been put down in my words, but with the original spirit in mind, I’m adding in the “yum!” asides where appropriate. It wouldn’t be the same without them :-)

The Recipe

From “A Symphony of Taste” and the Wetaskiwin Composite High School Music Department, 1994
Original recipe by Jamie Thompson
Makes aprox. 4 dozen (if you don’t eat the dough before you’re done!)

1/2 cup / 125mL butter
2/3 cup / 165mL peanut butter
2/3 cup / 165mL lightly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup / 125mL sugar
1 egg
1 1/4 cups / 310mL flour
1/2 tsp. / 2mL baking soda
1/4 tsp. / 1mL salt
1 1/2 cups / 375mL Reeses Pieces candy

How-To

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F) / 180 degrees (C)

Cream butter for 1 minute (enough to soften). Add the peanut butter and mix well. Repeat with sugars, then with egg. Beat until smooth.

Measure out dry ingredients (flour, baking soda and salt) on top of wet. Stir to combine. Mix in candy and make sure they are well distributed (yum!) I find that the dough is a little softer than a regular peanut butter cookie (as I make) and more like a chocolate chip cookie dough. No worries though, the end texture is very much like a regular peanut butter cookie (yum!)

Spoon 1 tbsp / 15mL sized drops of dough onto sheets (a small cookie / ice cream scoop works well for this). Press each drop with a fork so it is approximately 1/2 inch / 1cm tall (this might be hard if any candy is at the wrong angle — don’t worry if so). It might help to flour the fork.

Bake for 12-15 minutes. (These cookies look done before they are. You’ll know they are underdone if they break when you’re taking them off the cookie sheet.) Allow to cool on the sheet for at least 2 minutes before you remove them to a cookie rack. (yum!)

Enjoy! (yum!)

Notes & Thoughts

• Unlike regular PB cookies, these can be a little bit fragile and break easily, so if you’re mailing them somewhere, pack them carefully. Don’t let that scare you — they’re worth it, and I might be exaggerating for the sake of caution.
• Because this recipe uses so many Reeses Pieces, I recommend buying them bulk rather than as individual packages.