Gourmet Cookie Bouquets Recipe Blog

Posts Tagged ‘cookie recipes’

There are a few ways to go about decorating your Christmas tree with cookie ornaments. One way is to actually bake cookies and hang them on the tree. The other is to make a cookie-like dough that you won’t eat, cut it into shapes, and shellac the ornaments for years to come. Whether you make the edible or non-edible version, it’s a fun craft to do with children.

The Edible Version

To bake Christmas cookies to hang on the tree that are actually edible, you’ll just want to whip up a batch of sugar cookie dough. You can also purchase rolls of store bought sugar cookie dough. Don’t use a chocolate chip batter. But gingerbread is a great substitute to sugar cookie dough.

The only difference between baking cookies to eat and to hang on the tree is that you will need to make a small hole in the cookies before you bake them. This will be the hole that you will thread ribbon or an ornament hook through for hanging on the tree.

The rest is the same. Blend the dough, roll it and bake it as directed in the recipe. Decorate with royal icing so the frosting will dry hard and not stay sticky.

You can find recipes for sugar cookies and for royal icing online and in most baking cookbooks. After you have completed your cookie ornaments and hung them on the tree, allow guests to come and pick off cookies they would like to eat. Or let kids hand out the sugar cookie favors to guests as they arrive. They can eat them or save them as gifts.

The Non Edible Version

There are a few reasons you might want to make inedible cookie ornaments for your tree. First, they are easier to make and use fewer ingredients. Second, they last longer. They’ll look pretty even though you won’t be eating them.

The reason the dough is not edible is because it contains too much salt. Any child who has made handmade play dough in Kindergarten this way can tell you that it tastes terrible. It won’t harm you if you eat it, but it isn’t advised.

All you need is flour, salt, and water. You’ll also want to round up some cookie cutters with Christmas motifs and some decorating materials such as paint, glitter, sequins or feathers. Remember, it can be anything since you are not eating the final product.

Here’s the ratio of ingredients.

Salt Dough Ornaments

Flour: 4 cups

Salt: 1 cup (yes, it’s a lot)

Hot Water: 1-1/2 cups

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. Knead and roll out the dough as you would for sugar cookies. Cut into fun shapes. Poke a hole with a pencil point through the top of each ornament. This will be where you’ll run your string or ornament hook through. You must do it before baking or lose your chance. Once the dough hardens, there’s no good way to make a hole without shattering the cookie.

Bake the dough in a toaster oven for a few minutes until it turns golden. Or you can bake at a low temperature (300 degrees) for three or four minutes. Watch the ornaments as they bake so they don’t burn. Let the ornaments cool. Then decorate, paint, glue on eyes, or add clothing. String a ribbon through the hole.

If you use a good craft shellac, you can preserve these ornaments from year to year. Ask at your craft store for craft shellac that will work on dough ornaments. It’s easy to find and you will have no trouble using it. Brush it on with a paintbrush on the front and back and sides of the ornament. Just remember to throw out any brushes you used for paint (or wash and put them away for another craft). Don’t use the brushes for food-grade ornaments you plan to eat. It’s ok to wash and reuse any cookie cutters on food as the dough is perfectly safe.

Fans of cookies, brownies, and bar cookies alike will delight in the combination of delicious ingredients that make up a Cookie Brownie. It’s simply taking the ingredients of brownies and chocolate chip cookies and turning them into a sort of cake-like cookie brownie, and they make a great, inexpensive gourmet cookie treat!

Here are some recipes. If you don’t have a jelly roll pan, simply use any non-stick cake pan. Usually a 13x 9 inch pan will work exactly the same way.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Brownies (from food.com)

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups unsalted butter

2 cups brown sugar, packed

2 teaspoons vanilla

5 eggs

1 teaspoon baking soda

3 1/4 cups flour

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 cup walnuts (optional)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Line a 10 x 15 jelly roll pan with foil, and coat with non-stick cooking spray.

Using a large saucepan over medium-high heat, melt the butter. Remove from heat. Stir in the sugar, vanilla, and 3 of the eggs until smooth. Add the baking soda in pinches. Mix in the flour and stir until smooth. Pour half of the batter into the pan and spread in a thin layer.

Press the chocolate chips into the batter.

Beat the remaining eggs and cocoa into the batter until smooth. Mix in the walnuts. Pour into the pan on top of the first layer and spread evenly.

Bake on the lowest rack for 18 minutes, until the top is dry but the interior is not yet firm.

Store for up to one week, wrapped in plastic.

Cookie Dough Brownies (from tasteofhome.com)

When I take these rich brownies to any get-together, I carry the recipe, too, because it always gets requested. Children of all ages love the tempting "cookie dough" filling. This special treat is typically the first to be gone from the buffet table - even before the entrees!

Ingredients

4 eggs

1 cup canola oil

2 cups sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup baking cocoa

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup chopped walnuts, optional

FILLING:

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup all-purpose flour

GLAZE:

1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

1 tablespoon shortening

3/4 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

In a large bowl, beat the eggs, oil and sugar. Stir in vanilla. Combine flour, cocoa and salt; gradually add to egg mixture. Stir in walnuts if desired. Pour into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until brownies test done. Cool completely.

For filling, in a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in milk and vanilla. Gradually beat in flour. Spread over the brownies; chill until firm.

For glaze, in a microwave, melt chocolate chips and shortening; stir until smooth. Spread over filling. Immediately sprinkle with nuts, pressing down slightly.

Don't forget your friends. Put some of each cookie brownie in a cookie tin and let your friends know that you're thinking of them!

Jerry Seinfeld made it famous and New Yorkers have claimed them as their own. The black and white cookie is in a class all by itself. Anyone who has ever eaten one can tell you why.

In an episode called, “The Dinner Party,” Jerry Seinfeld, on his namesake show, eats a black and white cookie while waiting for his friend Elaine to come out of a New York bakery. Jerry likens the cookie to a perfect metaphor for racial harmony. He advises that everyone should “Look to the cookie!” for world peace.

Despite the hilarity of the situation, the cookie has always been a serious New York icon. The iced cookies are simply a circular shortbread, sponge-like cake/cookie that is frosted on one-half of the top in chocolate fondant and the other half in vanilla fondant. The icing is sweet and when combined with the cake-like texture of the cookie, is pure eating delight.

The origin of the black and white cookie is really a mystery. It may have something to do with a cookie called the Half Moon which originated in upstate New York. The cookies look similar, but are actually quite different in texture. So, any stories traced back to the Half Moon fizzle out when held under scrutiny. The mysterious black and white has no definite birth place. But New Yorkers are still crazy about it nonetheless.

The black and white is a bakery favorite in its larger version as well as in its mini version. Grocery stores have tried to emulate that classic flavor and texture, but end up falling short. Perhaps only a hand-made batch of batter can turn out the perfect black and white. Maybe it needs to be made by someone’s Uncle Joe in a basement bakery in Brooklyn to taste right.

Anyone visiting New York City, in addition to seeing the Statue of Liberty and eating a dirty water hot dog from a street vendor should rush to a bakery and grab hold of a luscious black and white cookie. It matters little whether you eat the vanilla or the chocolate side first. One bite and you’ll be hooked. You may require weekly shipments of cookie boxes to your home after that first delicate bite. Or, you can try making them yourself if you dare. Here’s how.

This recipe is from epicurious.com.

Black and White Cookies

For cookies

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/3 cup well-shaken buttermilk

• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

• 1/3 cup (5 1/3 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar

• 1 large egg

For icings

• 1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar

• 1 tablespoon light corn syrup

• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla

• 1 to 2 tablespoons water

• 1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

Make cookies:
Preheat oven to 350°F.

Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Stir together buttermilk and vanilla in a cup.

Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes, then add egg, beating until combined well. Mix in flour mixture and buttermilk mixture alternately in batches at low speed (scraping down side of bowl occasionally), beginning and ending with flour mixture. Mix until smooth.

Spoon 1/4 cups of batter about 2 inches apart onto a buttered large baking sheet. Bake in middle of oven until tops are puffed and pale golden, and cookies spring back when touched, 15 to 17 minutes. Transfer with a metal spatula to a rack and chill (to cool quickly), about 5 minutes.

Make icings while cookies chill:
Stir together confectioners sugar, corn syrup, lemon juice, vanilla, and 1 tablespoon water in a small bowl until smooth. Transfer half of icing to another bowl and stir in cocoa, adding more water, 1/2 teaspoon at a time, to thin to same consistency as white icing.

Ice cookies:
Turn cookies flat sides up, then spread white icing over half of each and chocolate over other half.

Cookies that are soft are moist and delicious. Cookies that were meant to be soft but have turned hard are a disappointment. To avoid having your gourmet cookies turn out like hockey pucks, follow these guidelines.

First off, get an oven thermometer. Every oven is different and if a recipe says to bake your cookies at 350 degrees, you can’t just assume your stove is an exact 350 degrees when the dial says so. Test it. Make sure the internal temperature matches what it says on the dial. Then you can compensate for it if it’s not accurate. Don’t just stick your cookies in the oven and walk away. Come back eight or nine minutes later and you may find that you have discs as hard as steel that are going to have to end up in the trash.

Another way to get soft cookies is to store them properly. You may bake up the perfect batch but then store them incorrectly. Air will lead to drying out of the cookies. If you want your cookies to stay soft, store them only after they are cooled. Place them in an airtight cookie tin and stick a piece of bread in there with them. The bread will emit moisture that will be absorbed by the sugar in the cookies. That will keep them soft for a little while. Of course they won’t last forever because they have no preservatives in them. And change out the bread every two days or so to ensure that mold won’t grow. But more likely the cookies will be eaten before they can ever go stale!

Be sure to use the freshest ingredients and don’t over bake your cookies. Allow for the fact that they will harden a little when they cool, so take them out before they feel hard in the oven.

Here are some recipes from Allrecipes.com for soft cookies you can whip up today.

Soft Oatmeal Cookies (courtesy of allrecipes.com)

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup white sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

3 cups quick cooking oats

Directions

In a medium bowl, cream together butter, white sugar, and brown sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon; stir into the creamed mixture. Mix in oats. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets. Roll the dough into walnut sized balls, and place 2 inches apart on cookie sheets. Flatten each cookie with a large fork dipped in sugar.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Big Soft Ginger Cookies (courtesy of allrecipes.com)

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup margarine, softened

1 cup white sugar

1 egg

1 tablespoon water

1/4 cup molasses

2 tablespoons white sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Sift together the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the margarine and 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, then stir in the water and molasses. Gradually stir the sifted ingredients into the molasses mixture. Shape dough into walnut sized balls, and roll them in the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar. Place the cookies 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet, and flatten slightly.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an air tight container.

Snickerdoodle cookies are delicious round, flat delicacies dusted in sugar and cinnamon. These cookies are beloved by most cookie aficionados because they are light and fluffy and crispy. However, because they are so basic in their ingredients and simple in their form, no one really knows for sure where the snickerdoodle first originated.

Some sources, like The Joy of Cooking cookbook, say that the snickerdoodle could have come from Germany in days of old. Their culture has a cookie similar to the snickerdoodle. It is a flat cookie featuring the delicious sugar and cinnamon coating. The word snickerdoodle may actually have come from the German word “schneckennudeln,” which is the name for their version of the same cookie. Many recipes of old come close to the snickerdoodle, so it’s impossible to pinpoint the exact time in history these favorite cookies were born.

Regardless of the origins of the snickerdoodle, people all over the world know and love them. Home bakers can easily whip up a batch of snickerdoodles with common ingredients. If you want to try your hand at baking these treats, be careful. People will come running when they smell that cakey, sugary goodness in the air!

Because snickerdoodles are easy to make and are flat when baked they make ideal gifts. They can be wrapped in pretty cellophane or in decorated jars and given to teachers, office coworkers, moms at the Playgroup, and hairdressers. Brighten someone’s day with a just because gift of snickerdoodles.

Growing up, I  remember Snickerdoodles as being a cookie only seen during the holiday cookie exchange, but why wait for the holidays?

The Betty Crocker web site, www.bettycrocker.com, lists a recipe for snickerdoodles that’s easy to follow. You can make them in about 40 minutes and get four dozen cookies easily from this recipe. That’s enough to bring to a bake sale or feed a group of hungry carolers at the holidays.

Betty Crocker Snickerdoodles

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened

1/2 cup shortening

2 eggs

2 3/4 cups Gold Medal® all-purpose or unbleached flour

2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Heat oven to 400º F.

Mix 1 1/2 cups sugar, the butter, shortening and eggs in large bowl. Stir in flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt.

Shape dough into 1 1/4-inch balls. Mix 1/4 cup sugar and the cinnamon. Roll balls in cinnamon-sugar mixture. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until set. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.

Nutrition Information:

1 Serving (1 Serving) Calories 90 (Calories from Fat 35 ),Total Fat 4 g(Saturated Fat 2 g, Cholesterol 15 mg; Sodium 55 mg; Total Carbohydrate 13 g(Dietary Fiber 0g,Protein 1 g; Percent Daily Value*:Calcium; Exchanges:1 Starch; *Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

You should always try to follow the ingredient list carefully when baking. Baking is a science. Try not to substitute margarine for real butter and don’t use processed butter substitutes. In baking, the chemical makeup of these spreads can break down and create a cookie that’s nothing like what you intended. Use exactly what the recipe calls for and you will find you get the results you’re after.