Food | Travel | Family | Life
Here’s a fun little treat for Valentine’s Day – Oreo Pops! Food on a stick is always fun and these cookies are no exception. These are perfect for a class party or a Valentine’s favour.
These pops are super easy to make. Take a cookie stick or a straw and put it in the middle of the cookies. If you’re using a straw, you will have to flatten the end of it. Melt chocolate wafers for dipping. I melt them in the microwave at 30 second intervals until it’s nice smooth. Finish with sprinkles.
It’s December! That means it’s time to get baking for all those cookie exchanges, holiday parties and homemade gifts for family and friends. Here’s a round up of some cookies perfect for the occasion!
Cherry Jam Palmiers
One of the easiest cookies to make, these palmiers are fast with only a handful of ingredients.
Peppercorn Shorbread
An odd combination, but these buttery peppery cookies are delicious!
Hazelnut Nutella Cookies
Soft and chunky, these are the perfect cookies to leave for the big man!
Lavender Shortbread
A little bit of lavender goes a long way in these buttery morsels.
Mint Chocolate Cookies
Mint and chocolate are a match made in heaven. These cookies are soft and rich and pair perfectly with a glass of cold milk.
Chocolate and Almond Whipped Shortbread
These are one of my favourites and always a fun one for the kids to decorate. They are whipped for ten minutes and are buttery and delicious!
Heart Sugar Cookies
Made with love, the glaze on these babies is so delicious!
Chocolate Dipped Walnut Shortbread
The humble shortbread is elevated by the addition of walnuts and dipped in chocolate.
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Everyone is happy for a classic at a cookie exchange. These chocolate chip cookies are decadent and delicious.
Q was home sick for a few days last week. It seems like something nasty is definitely making its rounds. While most of his time involved naps and movies on the couch, we also managed to squeeze in some cookie making. I love chatting with Q while we are busy making something delicious. You can learn a lot from a six year old in the kitchen while they are distracted with stirring and measuring.
I had noticed a bag of hazelnuts sitting in the pantry just waiting for something tasty. I decided that these roasted would be perfect with some chocolate chips in cookie form. We decided a swirl of Nutella would be nice too.
We roasted the hazelnuts in a 350 degree oven just until we could smell the oils. I got a little distracted though, and almost burnt the lot! The nuts that we were using had skins on them so I dumped them into a tea towel and rolled them around until they were peeled. I chopped the nuts while Q measured out the sugar and flour. Once the batter was done, we took a big spoonful of Nutella and did a rough mix so that it was swirled through.
The cookies turned out amazing! The nuts and chocolate made them chunky but the cookies were soft and chewy. They were a great afternoon snack with a cold glass of milk. The toasted nuts added a great crunch and flavour. Even hubby, who normally stays away from the sweet stuff, enjoyed a few!
Hazelnut Nutella Cookies
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup hazelnuts, roasted and chopped
1 TB Nutella, heaping
Cream the butter and the sugars. Add the egg and vanilla. In the center of the mixture, add the flour, baking soda and salt. Mix until combined. Add the chocolate chips and nuts and mix until incorporated. Roughly mix in the Nutella. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes. Makes approximately 2 dozen.
Although I haven’t been getting on my computer much to share some tasty treats, we have been busy in the kitchen. I’m hoping to catch up in the next little bit!
We have been using the same recipe for chocolate chip cookies for a while. If a recipe is good, why not let it be your go-to, right? Q and I decided to change things up last week and came up something new. These cookies are soft and chewy and contain not only chocolate, but some of our other favourites like pecans and coconut.
Just to warn you, these moist cookies are very addictive! Made even more perfect with a glass of milk.
Chocolate Chip, Pecan and Coconut Cookies
1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup pecans
1/2 cup shredded coconut
Beat the butter with the sugars until well mixed. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Add the flour, baking soda and salt and beat. Stir in the chocolate chips, pecans and coconut. Using a small cookie scoop, drop onto a parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake for 12 minutes at 375 degrees.
Yesterday was Q’s fifth birthday. I can’t believe he is five! He has brought so much joy to our lives and I am thankful for him everyday.
Since our Disney cruise is coming up, we have Mickey on our minds. It made sense that the theme for his school celebration should be of our favourite mouse. Chocolate chip cupcakes were topped with buttercream, finished with a couple of mini Oreos made to look like Mickey ears.
To continue with the theme, I was eager to use my new Mickey Mouse cookie cutters. I rolled out some chocolate shortbread and made the cutest little cookies.
Want to win one of these Mickey cookie cutters for yourself? Just leave a comment, either here or on Facebook, telling me who your favourite Disney character is. Contest closes on Monday, November 11th at noon MST.
These. Are. Amazing. When you can’t decide what kind of cookie to have, this is the perfect one. It incorporates peanut butter, oatmeal and chocolate. It’s crispy and chewy all at the same time. Absolute perfection.
Q and I had a free afternoon and we spent some time in the kitchen making these cookies. Really, any excuse to help mamma with a recipe that includes chocolate, Q will take it. We measure and mix and talk about the day. I’m not sure which reward is greater, time in the kitchen with my little guy or sharing cookies with him after they are out of the oven.
I was happy to have these cookies on hand when we had a fire on our block. The fire started in the morning and unfortunately the house a few doors down was destroyed. The firefighters were amazing and stayed around for most of the day, ensuring that all the hot spots were extinguished. These cookies provided them with a sweet treat after battling the flames and smoke.
The recipe is from Skinny Not Skinny and is amazing! I have written the recipe as halved, more for myself, so that I don’t end up with more than 30 cookies at one time. It’s too dangerous! I have also reduced the amount of chocolate chips.
Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted From Skinny Not Skinny
1/2 cup margarine, softened
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
1/2 cup oatmeal (quick or old fashioned oats)
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Cream the margarine, peanut butter, and sugars in a mixer. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix. Combine the flour, oatmeal, baking soda and salt and add to the cream mixture. Add chips to the dough and mix by hand.
Scoop the dough into 1″ balls and slightly flatten. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes and then enjoy with a tall glass of milk.
We love avocados around here. We put them in everything, from eggs to sandwiches, and guacamole is a regular in this house. When I saw pictures of avocado chocolate chip cookies pop up on Instagram, I quickly went searching for the recipe. This recipe comes from Gaby Dalkin‘s new book “Absolutely Avocados” and I was happy for the find over at Eat Live Run.
I wasn’t sure what to expect so the first time I made these, I just made half a batch. We took them to soccer and the cookies were gone in a flash. The cookies were hearty and chocolatey and were a hit among both the kids and the parents.
The second time I made these cookies, some of the avocado didn’t get mixed in as well and you could see flecks of green among the oats and chocolate. I was happy to find that the bright green didn’t turn colour like raw avocados do. I also added a handful of nuts for some crunch. I’ll definitely be making these again. Surely, if a cookie has some greens, its good for you, right?
Avocado Chocolate Chip Cookies
From Absolutely Avocados via Eat Live Run
1 avocado
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
1 3/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips
Cut the avocado in half and scoop out the flesh into a large bowl. Add the butter and brown sugar. Cream together until fluffy.
Add the eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla. Mix well until well combined.
Add the flour, baking soda, salt and baking powder. Mix slowly then add the chocolate chips and oats. Be careful not to overmix here. Place the dough in the fridge to chill for one hour.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. After the dough has chilled, scoop out spoonfuls of dough on the baking sheet and press down gently with your hand to flatten. Bake for 18 minutes, until golden brown. Repeat with remaining dough.
This month, we are playing with pink peppercorns.
Unlike how the name suggests, these are not related to actual peppercorns. They are the dried berries of Baies rose plant. They taste peppery but are not spicy in flavour. The pink peppercorns are sweet and mild.
These delicate little spices are rosy in colour and are brittle compared to the black peppercorn. They are soft with papery skins and can easily be ground by hand. I love how the colour accents the dishes that they are added to. They are very eye-catching and I’m so happy I stocked up the last time I was in France.
Although great with chicken and fish, I was hoping to find a sweet way to showcase these pink berries. I was intrigued when I found Martha Stewart’s Peppercorn Shortbread. Instead of using a variety of peppercorns, I stuck with the ones I wanted to showcase.
The combination of the buttery shortbread with the peppery berries sounds strange but it really works!
Peppercorn Shortbread
Adapted slightly from Martha Stewart
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tsp pink peppercorns, coarsely ground
3/4 cup icing sugar
Topping:
3/4 tsp pink peppercorns, coarsely ground
2 TB granulated sugar
Preheat oven to 300 degrees, with rack in center. Lightly butter a 10-inch springform pan, and set aside.
Stir together flour, salt, and peppercorns; set aside. Put butter and icing sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, and mix on medium speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Reduce speed to low. Gradually add flour mixture, and mix until combined.
Using a small offset spatula, spread dough evenly into prepared pan, smoothing top. Bake until shortbread is golden brown, about 1 hour 20 minutes.
Transfer pan to a wire rack. Immediately sprinkle with granulated sugar and remaining peppercorns. Remove springform; let shortbread cool completely. Cut into wedges.
Happy Valentine’s Day! Hope you all have a fabulous day celebrating with sweets and chocolate.
This year, Q wanted to make some cookies for his friends. I thought it would be a great time for us to try a new roll out shortbread recipe. I found one that had gotten some great reviews but for some reason it didn’t work for us! I ended up with a really dry and crumbly dough that just wouldn’t come together. I played around, added butter, then more butter…. Finally a splash of cream turned it into a pliable dough. Despite the additions to the recipe, the cookies tasted great – butter and cream makes everything good!
Q had fun rolling out the dough and cutting out the hearts. It was a great Valentine’s activity.
I wanted to decorate the hearts but needed something fast and without sprinkles. This glaze worked perfectly. One dip of the heart in the glaze and they were fully decorated. Half the recipe coated 35 hearts.
Sugar Glaze for Cookies
2 cups icing sugar
1/3 cup milk
food coloring
Mix the ingredients together and it’s ready to use.