December 2009 Archive

27Dec
3

Magic Cookie Bars

I should not be eating these right now.
I should not be eating these right now.
I should not be eating these right now.

But they’re so good I can’t help myself.

Totally overindulged the past few days. The holidays are the worst for that. And with New Year’s Eve swiftly approaching, there is no end in sight. I’ve found it’s futile to try and resist temptation this time of year. Who wants to be crunching on carrots and cucumbers when there are delicious things abound?

Did get lots of baking gear for Christmas though, including…FROSTING TIPS!!! Be on the lookout for some professionally-piped cupcakes in your future…well, okay, they won’t be professionally piped but they will look more appetizing than the pumpkin cupcakes!

Sidenote: if anyone is looking to purchase me a gift (my birthday is in June!), I just found the most awesome baking-inspired prints at Jenny’s Bake Shop…the store also sells cupcake jewelry but they are currently sold out! ::sad trombone::

At first blush, these didn’t look to appealing to me. I’d never had Magic Cookie Bars as a kid, so I thought the combination of chocolate, coconut, and condensed milk to be pretty weird. Who knew these things were so damn amazing.

Keep reading and get the recipe…

Posted by Suzy in Cookies and tagged with , , , ,
22Dec
4

Christmas Cookies Galore!

Finally, the Christmas cookie post! And let me tell you, this literally took me ALL day. Not that I’m complaining, it was well worth it.

I baked cookies with my mom every Christmas when I was younger, and it’s something that I try to continue today. Even though I miss spending afternoons in the kitchen with her, elbow-deep in dough and covered in flour, keeping the tradition alive makes me feel like a kid again. It’s when I really start feeling like it’s Christmas!

While traditionally, my mom and I would make classic cookie press cookies, chocolate chip cookies, and oatmeal cookies, I decided to venture a little outside of my comfort zone. Having a pretty strong German heritage, I’d always wanted to try making Linzer tarts. I’d never really had them as a kid, but they are a quintessential Christmas cookie. Since they are pretty Old World-y, I didn’t think I’d get too many takers, but they actually turned out to be the most popular cookie!

Along with the Linzers, I’d decided pretty early on that I wanted to make peanut blossoms (from a recipe I’ve been using for years), sugar cookies, and gingerbread people (they’re not gingerbread MEN, for god’s sake).

Christmas Cookies

Keep reading and get the recipe…

Posted by Suzy in Cookies and tagged with , , , , , ,
18Dec
1

Christmas Cookie Extravaganza

Warning: Sunday is massive-Christmas-cookie-baking day. Be prepared!

Posted by Suzy in News
13Dec
3

Snickerdoodles

Ok, I know I usually only bake on Fridays, but today is snowy, I’m wrapping Christmas presents, and the mood just struck. Since it’s so close to the holidays, I decided on Snickerdoodles, a perennial Christmas favorite.

No, they have nothing to do with Snickers or doodles or even Snick for that matter. Though I’m sure you could watch Snick while eating them. Snickerdoodles remind me of Old World German women baking in the dead of winter (you can read alllllll about the history of Snickerdoodles here).

This is another Magnolia recipe…surprise! No but really, while Snickerdoodles are hard to mess up, anything from Magnolia is guaranteed to be perfect. This is my second favorite cookie recipe from Magnolia (I will post my very favorite at some point…they are OMGZ so good).

Snickerdoodles

Keep reading and get the recipe…

Posted by Suzy in Cookies and tagged with , , ,
03Dec
4

Pumpkin Cookies with Brown Sugar Icing

It’s the beginning of December and I’ve already gone through 3 super-sized cans of pumpkin puree this season…shocker. And there are still 3 weeks of acceptable pumpkin baking left! While the pumpkin cupcakes are pretty damn awesome in their own right, there are times when you don’t want to fuss of a cupcake. The wrapper, the frosting, the maneuvering into your mouth…it can be cumbersome. Sometimes all you want is a cookie. And since these cookies are pretty much little punkin cakes anyway, it all works out in the end.

Next week’s mission: bake something that makes me feel more like Betty Draper. Maybe a pie? Something with booze?

Spoiler alert: I’m making red velvet cupcakes. Recipe and pics on the way.

If only I had my Jessie Steele apron…

Pumpkin Cookies

Keep reading and get the recipe…

Posted by Suzy in Cookies and tagged with , , ,