Italian Chocolate Balls

I've been baking like crazy this month...Cake and Cupcakes for Ben's 5th birthday party, a baby shower cake for a coworker and friend, cookies for The Great Food Food Blogger Cookie swap, cookies for a work cookie exchange....and then good old christmas cookies for family and friends. Woohoo! I've used some of my old standby recipes- Orange Drop Cookies (15 dozen made so far...woah!), Cutout Cookies (6 dozen), and Angeletti (3 1/2 dozen) as well as some new recipes. Preparing for Christmas stresses me out....but the baking relaxes me, which explains why I am making so many cookies!!

Two of the new recipes I tried came from a little box set of cookie recipes I found in the gift shop at the hospital I work in. It's called One Smart Cookie, and it's published by Daymaker inspirational gifts, and it has 50 cards with cookie recipes. It's a cute little gift set...and I have one to give away to one of you as well!

This is a great recipe...coconut, nuts and chocolate all rolled into one, and the best part is that it doesn't require any baking!

Italian Chocolate Balls adapted from One Smart Cookie
Makes 2 dozen


1/2 Cup butter, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
1 cup flaked coconut
1 can sweetened condensed milk
2 cups chopped pecans or walnuts
1 tsp salt
1 16 oz bag milk chocolate chips

Mix all ingredients except chocolate chips in large bowl, and stir  with wooden spoon until combined. Roll into small balls. Melt chocolate chips according to package directions, stirring until smooth. Dip* balls in chocolate and pace on waxed paper to cool.

* I have issues dipping things in chocolate...so I melted the chocolate, and spooned it onto each of the cookies. Might not be as pretty, but they're still a big hit around here!

Giveaway Time!- 

Leave a comment here telling me what your favorite christmas cookie is, and you're entered to win. You can gain additional entries by following Baked by Beth on  twitter and/or facebook and then leave me another comment with your handle(s). Winner will be chosen 12/30 and notified by email.

Congrats to Cindy B, the one and only entrant! Those are some odds...I'll email you to get your shipping info, Cindy. Enjoy the recipes!
Enjoy!

My Cookie Swap Recipe: Orange Drop Cookies

Today is the big link up of allllllll 625 bloggers recipes for The Great Food Blogger Cookies Swap 2011. The guidelines for the swap were pretty simple. Make 3 dozen homemade cookies, use a recipe you haven't posted on your blog before, and send em to three unsuspecting food bloggers.

I decided to use my all time favorite cookie recipe for the swap. This recipe is a family favorite- it came from my mom's childhood nanny, Grammy Grace, and I try to make these cookies every year at Christmas. These are Orange Drop Cookies...soft, citrusy pillows that are amazing with or without the orange glaze. I know this because I'm impatient, and typically eat a cookie or two four before they are iced.

My cookies went to Vanessa of  French Foodie Mom, Monica of Sweet Bites Blog, and Jenny of Jen eat, then speak. I'm hoping they arrived in good condition, and quickly..The post office around here definitely isn't the fastest on the planet! One of the best parts of this project was being introduced to 6 bloggers you may not have heard of...I checked out the blogs of each blogger I sent cookies to, as well as the bloggers I received cookies from. I'll definitely be back for more!

Sneaky little elf...tryin to hijack my cookies!

Orange Drop Cookies 
Makes 5 dozen cookies


1 3/4 cups sugar
1 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1 whole orange
4 cups flour (I used whole wheat, just as yummy as all purpose)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda

1 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper. Finely grate orange rind, then remove remaining orange peel. Place orange slices in blender or food processor and grind until fine. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then beat in eggs, orange and rind. Sift dry ingredients together, and add to butter mixture, alternating with milk. Using medium scoop, drop on prepared cookie sheets 1 inch apart. Bake 9-10 minutes, or until bottoms of cookies start to brown. Remove from oven and cool completely on wire racks before adding glaze.

Orange Glaze:

6 tbsp melted butter

6 tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice

2 tbsp grated orange rind

Powdered sugar to thicken

Combine butter and orange juice and mix well. Add enough powdered sugar to thicken to desired consistency. Stir in orange rind, and spread on cookies.

Enjoy!!

The Great Blogger Cookie Swap 2011

When I found out about The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap 2011, I *knew* I had to participate. I love cookies...who doesn't love cookies! I love making cookies, especially during the holidays, and getting 3 mystery packages of cookies in the mail sounded like a no brainer!

When registration closed, there were 625 bloggers signed up to participate. That's 1875 dozen cookies flyin' through the mail over the past few weeks. How cool is that!! 

Monday is the official link up of the cookie exchange, with recipes and all. For now, I can share the cookies I  received in the mail! Talk about fun! 3 packages, addressed to me, full of cookies! 

My first box of cookies arrived Wednesday- and I couldn't wait to see what was inside! Amanda from Sweet Fix sent me "London Fog" cookies...Earl Grey Tea Butter Cookies with White Chocolate Filling. These were thin, crispy cookies with a hint of earl grey tea filled with white chocolate, and they were to die for. I may or may not have eaten half of this tin of cookies myself!

London Fog cookies...photo from Beth at Just So Parenting

Thursday's mail brought a beautifully decorated box from The Lushers...filled with oatmeal, cranberry and white chocolate cookies. Yum, yum, yum. Yum. No other words necessary. Yum. 

How pretty is that box? Photo from Beth at Just So Parenting

The Lushers' Oatmeal Cranberry White Chocolate Cookies. Photo from Beth at  Just So Parenting

My final box of cookies arrived today , and I while I was sad it was the last box, I was not disappointed in the least as to what was inside! Beth from Just So Parenting sent me these slightly highly addictive Chewy Lemon Lavender Snowdrop Cookies. Soft, sweet, chewy, tangy....the list of adjectives goes on and on. Once I have my hands on this recipe, I'll definitely be making these!

Chewy Lemon Lavender Snowdrop Cookies from Beth at Just So Parenting
(this is my photo....I actually got the camera out before the cookies disappeared!!)

Thanks to these three ladies for some amazing cookies, and thanks to Lindsay of Love and Olive Oil and Julie of The Little Kitchen for organizing this event. I'm sure it was a huge success! 

My recipe will be up Monday...can't wait to share my all time favorite cookies with you!

Christmas Cookies: Angeletti

I love baking Christmas Cookies, and this year is no exception. I have been trying some new recipes this year, and am excited to share them with you! This recipe is a new one, at least new to me- and I love it. I've made 4 batches in the last 2 weeks. This recipe came to me in an email from Real Simple highlighting 50 recipes for Christmas Cookies. I flipped through, and decided that these sounded simple as well as yummy. I was definitely right on both counts! This is a kid friendly recipe- no mixer required. My little guy enjoyed helping me make these, from the stirring all the way to adding the sprinkles as a finishing touch!

Angeletti  adapted from RealSimple.com

Makes 36 cookies

Cookies:
1 stick unsalted butter,melted
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 large eggs
2 cups flour, plus more for rolling
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Glaze:
1 1/3 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons heavy cream

Preheat oven to 375, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Combine melted butter, sugar, vanilla and eggs in a medium sized bowl and whisk until combined. Add flour, baking powder and salt and stir with a wooden spoon until dough comes together. Flour your hands, roll even tablespoons of dough into balls, and place 2 inches apart on baking sheet. Bake 7-8 minutes or until cookies are puffy and bottoms are lightly browned. Cool completely before adding glaze.

Combine powdered sugar, vanilla and heavy cream in a small bowl. If you're watching your waist (it's Christmas...so splurge!) you can replace the cream with water or milk. Stir until combined, then dip the top of each cookie in glaze to coat. Apply festive sprinkes and enjoy!

Enjoy, and let me know what you think!

Ghosts in the Graveyard

 

This project was an entry in the Nestle's Toll House Spooktacular Baking Activity Contest. The contest requirements were to create a baking activity that could be done as a family using Nestle's Toll House Refrigerated Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. I decided to do a graveyard, as I really wanted to try my hand at fondant- and ghosts seemed like an easy option!

I'm sad to say that my entry didn't move on to the top ten to be voted on by the public, but I'd still like to share it with you. I had a great time with this project, and was really pleased with the end result. I wasn't able to convince The Cooker Boy to help me with this project, but there are several elements he could have handled.

Printable Recipe

You will need:

1 Big Batch Roll of Nestle's Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

1 can chocolate icing (or make some Chocolate Buttercream, using this recipe)

20 Oreos, finely crushed

1 package white fondant

Candy Pumpkins

Royal icing

2 cups powdered sugar

2 tbsp meringue powder

2 tbsp water

Black Gel Food Coloring

Preheat the oven according to cookie dough package directions. Line a 13x9 baking sheet with foil.Set aside enough dough to make 3-4 cookies. Press remaining dough into a rectangle covering 3/4 of the baking sheet, and place cookies on bottom 1/4 of baking sheet. Bake 14-15 minutes. Remove from oven, and let cool completely.

While cookies are cooling, make fondant ghosts. Knead fondant with hands until nice and pliable.Take a small piece of fondant and roll between hands to form an oval. Press on table to flatten the bottom. Repeat for desired number of ghosts, and set aside. Roll remaining fondant out to 1/16 in thickness. Cut out circles using cookie cutters or drinking glass, depending on size of ghost desired. The radius of the circle should be wider than the oval is tall. Take a circle and drape over each oval, draping to get a nice ghostly shape. Set aside to dry. When dry, use a toothpick dipped in black gel food coloring to apply faces. When not using fondant, keep wrapped in plastic wrap as it will dry out quickly.

When ready to assemble, prepare "tombstones" by using a knife to cut cookies into a tombstone shape. Prepare royal icing by mixing all ingredients except food coloring in a small bowl. Continue mixing until icing has lost its shine, and is at the desired consistency. Add more powdered sugar for thicker icing, more water to thin if needed. Add a small amount of food coloring, and stir until desired gray color is achieved.

Cover tops and sides of "tombstones"  with gray icing, and let dry. Spread a thick layer chocolate icing on big cookie, and top with crushed oreos. Reserve some of the crushed oreos to mound in front of tombstones. 

When tombstones are dry, use a toothpick dipped in black food coloring to write RIP or desired messages. Place tombstones in desired location on big cookie, and prop up with toothpicks if necessary. Mound crushed oreos in front of tombstones.

Place ghosts and pumpkins where desired. I even tried to make fondant bones. Sit back, relax, and enjoy your ghostly creativeness.

Enjoy, and let me know what you think!

Halloween Cutout Cookies!

It's almost Halloween! I love fall, but I especially love Halloween- even more so since I've become a mom. I've made Halloween treats for The Cooker Boy's Daycare since his first Halloween. Most of the mom's bring goodie bags with more candy..I take personalized cutout cookies for each of the kids. I love cutout cookies as much as I love Halloween, but I have to say that until this recipe, I've never found one that has been both user-friendly as well as tasty. I lucked out BIG TIME when I found this recipe. I found a blog post at The Way The Cookie Crumbles that took 4 different sugar cookie recipes, made them all at the same time and did a side by side comparison. That, my friends, is commitment! I read the comparisons, and decided to go with the recipe that was declared the blogger's favorite- which happened to be her own standby sugar cookie recipe. I have to say that this recipe is now also my standby sugar cookie recipe. It mixed well, rolled well, cut out well, baked evenly, and tasted great! I made one slight change in that I added an extra egg- when I was mixing the dough it didn't seem to want to bind together. It could be that my measurements were off, so I'll list the original recipe. 

This was also my first time using the outline-flood-detail method of decorating the cookies.  I've been a sloppy decorator in the past, but have always wanted to have neatly decorated cookies to share. I found a step-by-step tutorial on Brown Eyed Baker that made this process so easy! This was time consuming, but equally as enjoyable and rewarding. I took these cookies to work, and my coworkers loved them. Needless to say, I can't wait to make these cookies again for my son's Halloween Party at his Daycare..and maybe for work again if my coworkers are nice!

This is why I love Halloween...See that smile? 

Roll Out Sugar Cookies adapted from The Way The Cookie Crumbles

Printable Recipe

2 1/2 cups (12 oz) all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon lemon extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup (7 oz) sugar

1/4 teaspoon lemon zest

Combine flour and baking powder in a medium bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, cream butter and salt with electric mixer on medium speed, mixing until smooth. Add sugar and lemon zest while mixer is running. Continue beating on medium speed until mixture is fluffy. Keep mixer running and add in egg and extracts mixing until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Decrease mixer speed to low, and add in flour slowly and mix until combined. 

Using the rubber spatula or your hands, form a ball with the dough. Place on a length of plastic wrap, and press dough into a 1 inch thick disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in refrigerator. Refrigerate at least 2 hours, preferably overnight.

When ready to roll out dough, preheat oven to 375, and prepare baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick spray. Remove dough from refrigerator,divide in half, and let one half sit at room temperature for 15-20 minutes before rolling out (place the other half back in the refrigerator until 20 minutes before you need it). Lightly flour your work surface, and place half of the dough on the counter. Cover with a piece of plastic wrap, and roll out to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut with a floured cookie cutter, place similarly sized cookies on baking sheets, and bake for 5-9 minutes depending on size of cookies. Don't let the cookies brown on top- pull them out of the oven when the edges begin to brown, and the tops no longer look wet. Reroll the scraps of dough and repeat.

Let cookies rest on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring them to cooling racks. Cool completely before decorating.

Royal Icing from Brown Eyed Baker

4 cups powdered sugar

2 tablespoons meringue powder

6 tablespoons water

Simple, simple, simple. Dump ingredients into bowl, and mix with electric mixer until the icing loses its shine. About 7 minutes. It will be thick, but if you're doing the outline-flood-detail method, you need it thick to pipe the outlines.

I'm not about to try to recap the excellent tutorial at Brown Eyed Baker on decorating sugar cookies with royal icing. Do yourselves a favor and check it out. There are excellent directions as well as pictures. I'll just post the pictures of some of my finished cookies!

Oh, and The Cooker Boy decided that he needed to be the one to roll and cut the cookies out. I wasn't too keen on that idea. So, I did it while he was napping...and saved him some scraps. I let him roll out the scraps, cut out, and decorate his cookies. Problem solved! 

The Cooker Boy's Cookies

Enjoy, and let me know what you think!!