Try a delicious and very simple scratch made cookie even toddlers can help make

I love to bake during the holidays.  Some of my favorite cookies are more difficult to make.  But what if I want to bake with kids....small kids?  I have the perfect recipe for that. 

Kids always seem to love making cutout cookies, but with all the fabulous cookies I make, I do not enjoy making cutouts.  So in my hunt to find something that tasted like a sugar cookie but did not require that I spend hours rolling, cutting and worst off, decorating them, I found a recipe for No Roll Sugar Cookies.  The original recipe was different and still required a little patience to complete.  I do not remember the original source of the recipe, but we made several changes to it anyway.

The recipe is simple and uses ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry.  You can use sprinkles, colored sugar or leave them plain.  You can also color the dough with food coloring if you like. 

To show you how easy these are to make, my friend Tram Mai who is on Channel 12 in Phoenix prepared these cookies with her twins. 

There are a few hints that will make these cookies successful.  First, you can use the heel of your hand to press the cookies from a ball into a disc.  Be sure to press hard enough so they are about 1/4 to 1/2" thick.  Not pressing them hard enough will make the cookies very thick and may not bake as nicely.  If 'little hands' are doing this, you may want to assist with the pressing to make sure they are not too thick.  Second, and I learned this from my friend, Tram, it works really well to use sprinkles that are in a shaker top.  It certainly creates less mess.

This picture was taken for a TV segment with Tram and her adorable twins Zak and Zoey actually making the cookies.  They are about 2 1/2.  I told you they are easy...and tasty too.

Here's the recipe.  They are delicious and will be wonderful on your cookie platter.  One other plus; we are at 5700 feet altitude and no adjustments are needed for these.

No Roll Sugar Cookies 

Prep time 30 minutes;

Bake time 10 minutes

Makes 42 cookies 

• 2 sticks (1 cup) salted butter softened
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup powdered 10x sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 ½ cups all purpose flour
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp cream of tartar
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 cup sprinkles (jimmies) or colored sugar 

Heat oven to 375°. 

Beat butter, margarine and both sugars in a large bowl until fluffy.  Beat in egg and vanilla until well blended.  Beat remaining ingredients in with mixer on low until just blended.  Do not overmix. 

Roll tablespoons of dough into 1 inch balls.  Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.   

The easiest way I found to shape these is to press the balls with the palm of your hand, then put sprinkles on the cookies, lightly pressing sprinkles into the dough.   

 You can also put plastic on the cookie ball and press with a glass, then spread sprinkles on top. 

Bake about 10 minutes or until cookies are lightly golden.  Cool on a wire rack. 

Nathan Odom's chocolate chip cookies with a twist

Usually all the recipes I post are my own but I recently came across a few interesting recipes and thought I would share them.

 

The first is a series of recipes by Nathan Odom.  Nathan is an accomplished child-chef, culinary student and winner of MasterChef Junior Season 3. After joining a cooking program at his school at the age of 10, Odom was hooked on cooking and knew he wanted to pursue it as a career and hobby. Using the skills he learned during the program, Odom went on to win Season 3 of MasterChef Junior and continues to use his skills to create unique and incredible recipes.  

Nathan stated: “One of my favorite parts of the holiday season is making cookies to share with family and friends. Nothing provides me with more satisfaction during the Christmas season than a warm cup of hot chocolate, and some of these homemade cookies. These recipes all stem from one basic cookie dough recipe. I hope you’ll enjoy these three twists on the classic chocolate chip cookie as much as I do.”  

Chocolate Chip Cookies – with a Twist

Makes 15-20 cookies per recipe depending on size 

Basic Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe (Version 1)

INGREDIENTS

2 1/2 cups white flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 sticks of room temperature butter
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
1 1/4 tsp. of baking soda
1 tsp. salt 

DIRECTIONS

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Whip the butter until fluffy.

3. Add both types of sugar, mix until combined, and crack in both eggs. Whip on low speed until well mixed.

4. Add the flour and mix on low until the dough sticks to the beater of the stand mixer.

5. Add the chocolate chips, and mix on the lowest setting until chocolate chips are distributed evenly.

6. Place a sheet of parchment paper on the baking sheet(s), and scoop tablespoon-sized balls of dough about an inch apart from each other. Press slightly to flatten the dough balls a bit, and then bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes, or until golden brown. 

Kitchen Sink Cookies (Version 2) 

Get creative with your basic chocolate chip cookie by throwing in some things you probably already have in your refrigerator or pantry. The extra chewiness from the peanut butter and crunch from the walnuts add awesome texture and I love that these cookies remind me of chocolate peanut butter cups. 

INGREDIENTS

2 1/2 cups white flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 3/4 sticks of room temperature butter
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
1 1/4 tsp. of baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 frozen waffles; thawed and chopped into small pieces
2 tbsp. peanut butter
1/4 cup chopped walnuts

 

DIRECTIONS

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Whip the butter and peanut butter until fluffy.

3. Add both types of sugar, mix until combined, and crack in both eggs. Whip on low speed until well mixed.

4. Add the flour and mix on low until the dough sticks to the beater of the stand mixer.

5. Add the chocolate chips, chopped walnuts, and mix on the lowest setting until chocolate chips are distributed evenly.

6. Using your hands, gently knead in the waffle pieces into the dough.

7. Place a sheet of parchment paper on the baking sheet(s), and scoop tablespoon-sized balls of dough about an inch apart from each other. Press slightly to flatten the dough balls a bit, and then bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes, or until golden brown. 

Spice Cookies (Version 3)

This next variation is like a marriage between a Gingerbread and Chocolate Chip cookie.  Just by adding three common spices, you’ve turned an ordinary cookie into a festive holiday treat. 

INGREDIENTS

2 1/2 cups white flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 sticks of room temperature butter
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
1 1/4 tsp. of baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp. fleur de sel 

DIRECTIONS

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Whip the butter until fluffy.

3. Add both types of sugar, mix until combined, and crack in both eggs. Whip on low speed until well mixed.

4. Add the flour, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, and fleur de sel and mix on low until the dough sticks to the beater of the stand mixer.

5. Add the chocolate chips, and mix on the lowest setting until chocolate chips are distributed evenly.

6. Place a sheet of parchment paper on the baking sheet(s), and scoop tablespoon-sized balls of dough about an inch apart from each other. Press slightly to flatten the dough balls a bit, and then bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes, or until golden brown. 

Maple Bacon Cookies (Version 4)

We’ve all heard of the popular Candied Bacon Maple Donut, but have you tried adding bacon to cookies?  Mixing salty, savory and sweet flavors is one of my favorite things to do and this cookie is a winner!

 

INGREDIENTS

2 3/4 cups white flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 sticks of room temperature butter
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
1 1/4 tsp. of baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. maple syrup
6 oz. cooked and chopped bacon pieces 

DIRECTIONS

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Whip the butter and maple syrup until fluffy.

3. Add both types of sugar, mix until combined, and crack in both eggs. Whip on low speed until well mixed.

4. Add the flour and mix on low until the dough sticks to the beater of the stand mixer.

5. Add the chocolate chips and mix on the lowest setting until chocolate chips are distributed evenly.  Mix in the bacon pieces by hand.

6. Place a sheet of parchment paper on the baking sheet(s), and scoop tablespoon-sized balls of dough about an inch apart from each other. Press slightly to flatten the dough balls a bit, and then bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes, or until golden brown.

 

Easiest candy recipe ever; M&M pretzel kisses that dont break apart

I was entrusted with the job of making candy for hundreds of veterans this year.  While I wanted to make some more difficult items, I also wanted to make something that was easy peasy.  I love chocolate coated pretzels, but they are time consuming to make.  I decided to make M&M pretzel kisses instead.  I can whip them out in just a few minutes rather than hours.

Last year I made some but found that some of the kisses fell off the pretzels once they cooled.  That wouldn't be a good thing, so I devised a way to assure the kisses stuck to the pretzels.  Here is my revised method for making chocolate pretzels with M&Ms.

Equal number of pretzels, Hershey's Kisses and M&Ms. (I like to use square pretzels, but the twists work well too.)

Several ounces of chocolate for melting (can be milk chocolate, semi-sweet or bittersweet)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 

Unwrap the Hersheys kisses.  Set aside.  If you find the ones already unwrapped, even better, but they are hard to find.

Place parchment paper on a baking sheet, or use a Silpat if you have them. 

Melt the chocolate.  I like to use a microwave and zap the chocolate for about 15 seconds at a time.  Stir the chocolate and continue until the chocolate is melted.

Dip the bottom of one kiss into the chocolate, then immediately place on a pretzel.  Set on the parchment or silpat lined baking sheet.  Repeat until you have as many pieces done as you want.  (One note....do not put too many on at one time since they may cool before you can fit with an M&M.

Place the baking sheet into the oven for about 3-5 minutes.  You just want to get the chocolate kiss warm.  Remove from the oven and begin to work quickly.  Take an M&M and carefully and gently push into the chocolate.  Make sure the M&M is IN the chocolate nicely or it may fall off.  Repeat until all the kisses are topped with an M&M.  Cool before bagging up.  I like to put in the fridge to harden.  It takes a few minutes to harden versus an hour on the counter.

Now, a few words about these.  Last year I thought the hugs would be nice, but they didn't melt as nicely.  I stay away from the peanut M&Ms because they won't melt nicely either.  I had mixed luck with the caramel filled M&Ms for the same reason.  To me, the milk chocolate M&Ms are perfect.

These are so cute, so easy and yup, they're tasty; and with my method, the kisses will not fall off the pretzels either.

Have fun making and eating these. 

Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk now in caramel flavor

Recently while I was shopping I noticed that Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk came in 2 new flavors.  I was waiting to determine what holiday baking I was going to do before I bought the new flavors.  Lucky for me, they sent me a few cans to try out. 

If you are reading this, you probably know that I make homemade caramel several times during the year.  But if you do not, you probably end up buying the little caramel squares with the cellophane wrapper on them.  They are quicker than making it homemade but still a pain to unwrap and melt.  So I was really excited to try the canned caramel flavor sweetened condensed milk.

I have seen many recipes where people boil or steam a can of regular sweetened condensed milk to make caramel.  I understand it tastes wonderful, but worry that this can be dangerous because the can may explode.  This is a much safer method to get that delicious caramel flavor easily.  If you need your caramel thicker, you should be able to empty this into a glass bowl and cook down in the microwave. 

I decided to make my samoa cookies which use about a pound of caramel anyway.  I opened the can and in it was a nice liquid texture caramel.  No unwrapping or melting required.  What a timesaver.  But would it taste good?

I have to say it was an easy swap and the taste was fantastic.  Here's the recipe that I previously posted but modified to use Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk in caramel flavor.  The flavor was wonderful and it cut quite a bit of time out of my recipe.

Samoas Cookies copycat recipe
Makes about 4 dozen

Shortbread recipe

¼ cup	Confectioners’ sugar
¼ cup	Granulated sugar
1 ¼ cups	Unsalted butter (1 ½ sticks) refrigerated and cut into 8 to 10 pieces
2 ½ cups	All purpose flour
Dash	Kosher salt

 
Preheat oven to 325°

Place both sugars in food processor and process until very fine. 

Add butter, pulse until sugar disappears.  Add flour and salt, pulse until no dry particles remain.  (Mixture will be moist and crumbly.)   

Cookies w/hole in center

Make balls about 1 inch and place on a cookie sheets 2 inches apart.  Flatten each ball with the bottom of a glass or a rolling pin.  Each cookie should be about 2” when flattened.  Using the back of a round wooden spoon, make a small circle in the middle of the cookie.  My circles were about ½ to ¾”.   Optionally you can try to roll out this dough…but it can be difficult to roll out nicely. 

Bake 20-25 minutes until pale golden.  Remove from cookie sheets; cool completely on wire racks. 

 

Topping recipe:

·       2 ½ cups          Shredded unsweetened coconut, toasted

·       1  can               Eagle Brand caramel flavored sweetened condensed milk

·       Dash                Kosher salt

·       ½ lb.                Dark or semisweet chocolate chips

·       1-2 tbsp           Shortening (such as Crisco)

·       4 dozen           Shortbread cookies

To toast the shredded coconut, put it in a large frying pan on medium to low heat.  Stir the coconut until it is toasted.  Do not look away or it goes from perfect to burned in seconds.  Remove from heat and place on a plate to cool.  See the video for easy instructions.   

 

Pour the caramel into a medium sized bowl, then stir the toasted coconut into the caramel. 

Gently spread the caramel/coconut mixture on top of your cookies.   

Melt the chocolate chips and shortening in the microwave 15 seconds at a time, stirring well after each interval.  When the chips are almost melted, remove from the microwave and stir, using the residual heat to melt the remaining chips.  DO NOT OVERHEAT or you will ruin your chocolate. 

Bottom of cookie dipped in chocolate.
Top has caramel/coconut, then
 drizzled with chocolate

Now, be prepared to get messy.  Spread some of the chocolate on a plate.  Hold the cookie on the edges and dip the cookie into the chocolate to cover the entire bottom.  Place the chocolate cookie on either parchment paper or a Silpat.  Continue with the remaining chocolate.  (Do not discard the remaining chocolate as you will use it in a few minutes.)  If your kitchen is really hot, you may want to put the cookies in the refrigerator for a few minutes.

Use the remaining melted chocolate to drizzle over top of the cookies once they're all dipped. We used a fork to drizzle uneven strokes of chocolate on the top of the cookie.  Let the chocolate harden and enjoy.  Store in an air tight container for up to a few days. 

 

 

 

 

 

Copycat samoa girl scout cookie recipe

We recently had a taste for some Girl Scout cookies but they are no longer available.  Rather than wait until it’s cookie time again, we decided to make our own.  We had a store-brand knock off cookie to taste and knew it would be easy to re-create.  We also ‘googled’ and found some recipes that looked like ‘sort of’ what we wanted to do.   

We used someone else’s shortbread recipe, but decided next time, we would use our own.  The recipe for shortbread cookies is one we have used for years and love.  If you want to make it really easy, use purchased shortbread cookies.  Just know that they may not have the hole in the middle. 

You can use caramel from the grocery store, purchase ‘fresh’ caramel from a candy store such as Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory or make your own.  There is a Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory in Arizona Mills (if you live in Mesa) or Outlets of Anthem (if you live in Prescott).  We always have homemade caramel in the freezer for dishes like this. 

 

Samoas Cookies copycat recipe

Makes about 4 dozen

Shortbread recipe

¼ cup	Confectioners’ sugar
¼ cup	Granulated sugar
1 ¼ cups	Unsalted butter (1 ½ sticks) refrigerated and cut into 8 to 10 pieces
2 ½ cups	All purpose flour
Dash	Kosher salt

 
Preheat oven to 325°

Place both sugars in food processor and process until very fine. 

Add butter, pulse until sugar disappears.  Add flour and salt, pulse until no dry particles remain.  (Mixture will be moist and crumbly.)   

Cookies w/hole in center

Make balls about 1 inch and place on a cookie sheets 2 inches apart.  Flatten each ball with the bottom of a glass or a rolling pin.  Each cookie should be about 2” when flattened.  Using the back of a round wooden spoon, make a small circle in the middle of the cookie.  My circles were about ½ to ¾”.   Optionally you can try to roll out this dough…but it can be difficult to roll out nicely. 

Bake 20-25 minutes until pale golden.  Remove from cookie sheets; cool completely on wire racks. 

 

Topping recipe:

·       2 ½ cups          Shredded unsweetened coconut, toasted

·       1 lb      Caramels (soft) (we used homemade but store bought will work, too)

·       Dash    Kosher salt

·       2-3 tbsp           Milk

·       ½ lb.    Dark or semisweet chocolate chips

·       1-2 tbsp           Shortening (such as Crisco)

·       4 dozen           Shortbread cookies

To toast the shredded coconut, put it in a large frying pan on medium to low heat.  Stir the coconut until it is toasted.  Do not look away or it goes from perfect to burned in seconds.  Remove from heat and place on a plate to cool.  See the video for easy instructions.   

Place your caramels, milk and salt in a microwave-safe bowl.  Microwave for 1 minute; stir well.  Put back in the microwave for another minute at a time.  When the caramel is smooth, it is ready.  Adjust the amount of milk you use so that the caramel is a spreading consistency.  Some caramels are more firm than others. 

Stir the toasted coconut into the caramel mixture. 

Gently spread the caramel/coconut mixture on top of your cookies.   

Melt the chocolate chips and shortening in the microwave 15 seconds at a time, stirring well after each interval.  When the chips are almost melted, remove from the microwave and stir, using the residual heat to melt the remaining chips.  DO NOT OVERHEAT or you will ruin your chocolate. 

Bottom of cookie dipped in chocolate.
Top has caramel/coconut, then
 drizzled with chocolate

Now, be prepared to get messy.  Spread some of the chocolate on a plate.  Hold the cookie on the edges and dip the cookie into the chocolate to cover the entire bottom.  Place the chocolate cookie on either parchment paper or a Silpat.  Continue with the remaining chocolate.  (Do not discard the remaining chocolate as you will use it in a few minutes.)  If your kitchen is really hot, you may want to put the cookies in the refrigerator for a few minutes.

 

Use the remaining melted chocolate to drizzle over top of the cookies once they're all dipped. We used a fork to drizzle uneven strokes of chocolate on the top of the cookie.  Let the chocolate harden and enjoy. 

Store in an air tight container for up to a few days. 

 

We love these cookies and are sure they are going to show up on a goodie table soon.