Cookies Posts

29Jul
1

The Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

I’ve been searching for the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe for years. I’ve had plenty of amazingly delicious chocolate chip cookies, but have never been able to make the recipe my own. Some people swear by the Toll House recipe on the back of the package of chocolate chips. Others have a recipe that’s been passed down in their family for 723 years. But for some reason, a good chocolate chip cookie has alluded my baking repertoire, despite the recipes and tips that have been thrown my way.

They’re either too flat, too hard, too gooey, never perfect. I am a bit of a chocolate chip cookie snob, and have dejectedly defended my lackluster attempts…until these.

Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies

Keep reading and get the recipe…

Posted by Suzy in Cookies and tagged with ,
25Mar
2

Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookies

At the ripe age of 26, I’ve realized I’m just like a little kid. I like to play outside, I still dream of being a marine biologist, and my favorite foods are pizza, grilled cheese, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. This was mostly my inspiration for this week’s treat. When things in life start to suck, who doesn’t want to revert back to the good old days when your biggest problems were which friend to sit next to in class or deciding which Pokémon is best? (The answer is Charizard, btw).

Most peanut butter and jelly cookie recipes I researched were peanut butter cookies with a thumbprint filled with jelly. Um, that’s not like the peanut butter and jelly sandwich I know. I need my PB&J cookie to be a sandwich, too. Deliciously creamy peanut butter mingling with sweet strawberry jelly between two pillows of carbs. Well, I imagine anything between two pillows of carbs would be delicious.

I could have just put regular peanut butter in the middle of these, but who are we kidding. I need to buttercream-ize everything. Plus it made it easier to pipe it all nice on the inside of the cookies with it looking like a kindergartener made them. See?

Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookies

Keep reading and get the recipe…

Posted by Suzy in Cookies and tagged with , ,
05Dec
1

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

December is here, which means it’s almost time for Christmas cookies! I’m planning on taking a whole Sunday in the next week or so and just baking  a few different kinds of cookies. I love doing some traditional Christmas cookies (sugar cookies, gingerbread people) and then experimenting with some new ones (last year I tried my hand at Linzer tarts). Still trying to finalize this year’s cookie list.

My most favorite cookies to make at Christmastime are peanut blossoms. You know, peanut butter cookies with a Hershey’s kiss pressed into the center. I’ve been making them for years and they’re always the first cookie to disappear.

This year, I decided to try something a little different: mini Reese’s peanut butter cups instead of kisses. And wow. Wow.

Wow.

These are absolutely amazing. I baked the cookies in a mini muffin tin, since the peanut butter cups are a little taller than the kisses.

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

Keep reading and get the recipe…

Posted by Suzy in Cookies and tagged with , , , , , ,
13Aug
1

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

Baking in my house growing up was very traditional. We made all the classics, and we made them damn well. It wasn’t until moving out on my own that I really ventured out into more unique cookies. Not that white chocolate chips are some kind of rare treasure, but I had never really experimented with them. Before recently, my only experience with white chocolate had been stuffing my gullet with a white chocolate Easter bunny and subsequently getting very ill.

I’ve since learned that white chocolate can be a lot classier than that.

Most cookies that call for chocolate chips (white or otherwise) usually suggest adding 1 to 1 1/2 cups, but I always add the entire 12-ounce bag no matter what. Who like cookies with stingy add-ins? No one, that’s who. Maybe Quakers or something.

I could have sworn that Magnolia Bakery had a recipe that I used, but I couldn’t find it. Instead, I used the Magnolia Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Pecan cookie base with a 12-ounce bag of white chocolate chips and 1 cup of macadamia nuts.

Keep reading and get the recipe…

Posted by Suzy in Cookies and tagged with
22May
0

Chocolate Cookies with Chocolate and Peanut Butter Chips

Sadly, it’s been a while since the last post. Like, 2 months. But I am back (!) and I solemnly swear I will post more regularly. No more vacations, no more reasons not to bake!

Since I’ve been short on time lately, I’ve opted for cookies. I adore baking cupcakes, but they are multi-step treats: bake cupcakes, make icing, wait for cupcakes to cool, rewhip icing because it went flat, pipe icing onto cupcakes, try again because it looks like crap, give up and use a frosting spreader.

Yea, cookies are easy.

Keep reading and get the recipe…

Posted by Suzy in Cookies and tagged with ,
21Mar
4

Magnolia’s Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies

I’ve mentioned these before on the blog, and these are without a doubt the most fabulous, delicious, simple cookies. Ever. They combine the best ingredients (chocolate and peanut butter chips AND toasted pecans), and have a fantastic base that can be used with any number of other ingredients. They’re easy, they’re decadent, and they’re perfect.

When I first bought my Magnolia cookbook, this was the recipe I tried out right away and have been perfecting ever since. While they were always amazing, I recently discovered the key to making this cookie outrageous: heavy cream instead of milk. Never mind that the reason I had to use cream was because I didn’t have any milk in the house; this is the kind of serendipitous feat that doesn’t need an enlightening back story.

While the milk makes these cookies insanely smooth, the heavy cream makes them even more unbelievable.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies

Keep reading and get the recipe…

Posted by Suzy in Cookies and tagged with , , , ,
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 , , , , , ,
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 , , ,