cookies

I was very excited to participate in this year’s Food Blogger Cookie Swap.  In it’s second year, this swap is hosted by Love and Olive Oil and The Little Kitchen.  It’s a great concept – send a dozen cookies to three fellow bloggers and three dozen will be sent to you. 

I wasn’t too sure what to make so I had to do some experimentation.  I finally settled on shortbread and this great recipe from Family Circle.  Little disks of brown sugar shortbread with walnuts and dipped in chocolate.  Easy and super delicious, I’ve made them a few times since the first trial.

These delicious little cookies went to Elizabeth from A Sweet Baker, Kelsey from K&K Test Kitchen and Celeste and Alicia from The Chronic Masterbakers.

It was really fun and exciting to get boxes of cookies in the mail.  I lucked out and got three amazing cookies!  Thank you ladies!!

The first box to arrive were the Double Chocolate Espresso Cookies from Savour Sisters.  These were moist and chocolatey and so delicious.

The second to arrive were shortbread from The Goodie Girl. I loved the little balls with chunks of chocolate and pecans.

I also received a box of thumbprint cookies from the Gourmet Housewife. Another classic shortbread filled with raspberry jam, so good!

It was a fun swap to participate in.  Looking forward to next year’s!

Chocolate Dipped Walnut Shortbread
Adapted from Family Kitchen

2 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup butter
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup toasted walnuts
12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted

In a bowl, stir together flour and salt.  Beat together the butter, brown sugar and vanilla until well blended.  Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture until well blended.  Stir in the walnuts.

Turn dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap and roll into a log.  Wrap securely and refrigerate for several hours.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Cut the chilled dough into slices and place on parchment lined baking sheets.  Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Once cooled, dip the shortbread into the melted chocolate.  Let stand at room temperature until chocolate is firm.

There is nothing more satisfying than a really good chocolate chip cookie and a tall glass of milk.  There are so many great cookie recipes out there but the one I found that was featured both on Patent and the Pantry and Dinner with Julie has become my new favourite cookie. 

With the help of Q, I made this today with the addition of 1/2 cup of pecans.  It was probably a bad idea because the combination of the nuts with the chocolate was too irresistible!

The recipes can be found on Gwendolyn’s site here and on Julie’s site here.  Definitely give this recipe a try.  Or maybe don’t – it’s hard to just eat one!

It is quite obvious to anyone that knows me how much of a sweet tooth I have.  To find that the resort had little shortbread cookies everywhere for us to enjoy was quite the treat!  Some of these were chocolate, some had nuts, others had coconut.  They were so yummy.

One of the chefs, Manuel, was kind enough to share how to make these delectable cookies.  He was very sweet and worked with the hostess to translate the recipe for me.  I haven’t made these yet myself at home.  I’m afraid they won’t last long if I do!

Moon Palace Shortbread

2.5 cups sugar
1 pound butter
5 eggs
5 cups flour
1 TB baking powder
splash of vanilla

Cream together the sugar and butter and until fluffy.  Add in the eggs, one at a time followed by the vanilla.  Add the flour and baking powder and mix until the dough comes together.  Bake at 350 degrees until the cookie sets but doesn’t brown.  Makes lots!

It’s no secret that I love whipped shortbread cookies.  Easy and fast, they are a staple for any occasion. They are even great to give to little kids to decorate, keeping them entertained for some time. 

The addition of chocolate and nuts make these shortbread even more of a favorite.  This recipe can be found in Club Club’s Community Cookbook.

Chocolate and Almond Whipped Shortbread

1 cup butter
1/2 cup icing sugar
1 1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
1/4 cup sliced almonds

Cream the butter and icing sugar together.  Add the flour and beat for 10 minutes.  Add in the chocolate and nuts until well incorporated.  Place spoonfuls on an ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes.  Makes 3 dozen small cookies.

The end of August was spent in the Okanogan.  Our week in Kelowna included quality family time and enjoying the sun, sand and water.  What really excited me was having a working oven for a week! I’ve been a little lost with mine still not working, and I’ve been missing baking with Q.

I had most of the ingredients with me, but no baking soda or a mixer.  I made a few changes and within twenty minutes, we were eating warm cookies with cold milk.  The cookies were also great later in the day when we sandwiched some vanilla ice cream between them.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 stick butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp baking powder
2 1/4 cups flour
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 375°.

Combine the sugars and softened butter.  Once combined, add the eggs, one at a time.  Add vanilla.  In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients and add to the wet mixture.  Mix until completely blended.  Add the chocolate chips.  Drop dough on a greased cookie sheet.

Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes.  Makes 3 dozen cookies.

Any excuse for my toddler and I to make cookies together, we take it.  With Valentine’s Day around the corner, we just had to make cookies to celebrate.  Q gets up on the counter and helps pour things into the mixing bowl, watching as everything is incorporated.  His favorite part is decorating, especially when sprinkles are involved.

These are cookies from my childhood.  Almond cookies shaped into crescents.  Sometimes topped with icing sugar, sometimes dipped in chocolate and nuts.  Not too sweet, they are perfect with a cup of chai.

We dipped the ends of these ones into chocolate and covered them in heart-shaped sprinkles.  A delicious surprise for all of Q’s little friends.

Almond Crescent Cookies

1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup margarine
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup finely ground almonds
1 1/2 cups flour

Beat the sugar and margarine until fluffy.  Add the egg and vanilla and mix.  Next add the almonds and flour until the dough comes together.  Make dough into a disk and refrigerate for 10 minutes.  Take rounds of dough and shape them into crescents.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.  Makes 1 1/2 dozen cookies.