Toffee Triangles

Recipe from Hershey's Canada

My dear friend, Christy, over at Full of Beans made these scrumptious bars at Christmas time. I do believe there was a challenge for me to make them and I finally got a chance!! This recipe makes a large amount of rich, sweet, buttery Toffee Triangles. Great for a holiday or party when lots of people are around. I promptly packed these all up and sent them to my husband's work.

The recipe was quite easy and came together quickly. You make your dough and push it flat onto a baking sheet. This was the trickiest part - getting the dough even all the way through.

When your bar comes out of the oven sprinkle immediately with chocolate chips. The heat will melt them in only a few minutes and then you can spread the chocolate.

Sprinkle with your toffee bits. I left my cookie sheet out on the counter for a couple hours, then cut it, then popped it in the fridge overnight.

Toffee Triangles

1 cup butter or margarine, softened

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1 egg yolk

1 1/4 cups Chipits Skor Toffee Bits

2 cups Chipits Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350 F

2. In a large bowl, beat butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in egg yolk and vanilla until creamy.

3. Stir in flour and 1 cup of the toffee bits. Press into ungreased baking sheet.

4. Bake 18 - 20 min of until light brown. Immediately sprinkle semi-sweet chocolate chips over top. Let stand until softened, about 5 minutes; spread evenly over top. Sprinkle with remaining toffee bits. Let cool completely. Cut into 3 inch squares; cut each diagonally into 4 triangles.

Makes 60 triangles.

Enjoy

CC

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

This recipe was originally supposed to be shaped like a pizza - but I was too lazy and just put it in a cake pan instead. I used these cute mini peanut butter cups instead of chocolate chips! They were very tasty. A nice treat.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips (or mini PB cups)

1. In a bowl with an electric mixer, cream together butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, egg and vanilla. Blend in flour, baking soda and salt. Stir in chocolate chips.

2. Place dough in a 8 x 11 cake pan and pat down. Bake in preheated 350 F oven for approx 12 minutes or until golden brown.

Enjoy

CC

Double Chocolate-Hazelnut Biscotti

Recipe from Weight Watchers



No matter what we tried, we just could not get a good photograph of these little Italian cookies. I tried, my husband tried, and bless him - my little boy tried. Please just trust us - they are divine! I have never made biscotti before (one of those daunting tasks). The recipe was very easy and basic, the hardest part was shaping the dough into the logs. It was really sticky and I found it easier if I wet my hands before shaping.

I toasted my hazelnuts in the oven to start.


Once they come out you put them in a towel and rub them together to remove their skins. This was fun. This was messy. Be careful - those little guys are hot!

Shape dough into logs and bake. Then you need to slice them up into your biscotti sized cookies.

Lay them on a cookie sheet and get ready for the next round of baking. I only have one oven and needed to do 4 trays once the cookies were sliced, so 2 batches.

They were very good. My husband, who informed me he would not be eating them as he does not like biscotti; nor does he drink tea or coffee, ate almost all of them. Seriously, keep your husbands away.

Double Chocolate-Hazelnut Biscotti

makes 80 (I managed approx 60)

3/4 cup hazelnuts, chopped

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cup mini semi sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa

1 tbsp instant espresso or coffee powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

2 large egg whites

1 tbsp vanilla extract

1. Place racks in upper and lower thirds of oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 large baking sheets with foil; spray with nonstick spray.

2. Spread hazelnuts in a jelly-roll pan; bake, shaking pan once or twice, until lightly browned, about 8 minutes. Wrap hot nuts in clean kitchen towel and rub nuts together to remove as much of the skins as possible. Let cool.

3. Combine 2 tbsp of hazelnuts, the flour, 2 tbsp of chocolate chips, the cocoa, espresso powder, balking soda, and salt in food processor. Pulse until nuts are finely ground; transfer to large bowl.

4. Combine sugar, eggs, egg whites, and vanilla in food processor (no need to clean bowl); process until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Add to flour mixture, stirring until blended well. Stir in remaining hazelnuts and chocolate chips. Spoon one-fourth of batter (about 3/4 cup) along one side of prepared baking sheet to form log about 14 inches long and 1 1/2 inches wide; repeat with remaining batter, forming 2 logs on each baking sheet.

5. Bake until toothpick inserted into center of log comes out clean, about 15 minutes, rotating baking sheets after 8 minutes. Let cool on baking sheets on wire racks 10 minutes.

6. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees F. With two spatulas, transfer 1 log to cutting board. With long serrated knife, cut log on diagonal into 1/2 inch slices. Repeat with remaining logs, making total of 80 biscotti. Stand slices, about 1 inch apart, on prepared baking sheets. Bake until dry to touch, 20 - 25 minutes. Let cool completely on wire racks. (Biscotti will continue to crisp as they cool).

WW PointsPlus Value: 2

Enjoy (no coffee or tea required)

CC

NO-BAKE Peanut Butter & Chocolate Cookies

Recipe from Jamie Cooks It Up!



After an EPIC failure in the kitchen. I mean throw-away epic... I felt the need to redeem myself. And quickly. Thank goodness for this recipe.

Start by melting.... melting... melting all the good stuff together.



Quickly add the best part (peanut butter) and the oats. These start out fairly runny, so you may want to wait a few seconds before spooning it on the wax paper, it will help them keep a nice shape rather than flattening out.

These were delicious the way they were - but I have different plans for the them the next time I need to redeem myself. Stay tuned...

No Bake Peanut Butter & Chocolate Cookies

Yield: 30 cookies

2 cups sugar

3 tbsp cocoa

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup milk

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter

3 cups quick oats (use 3 1/2 cups if you are using regular oats)

1. Put the sugar, cocoa, butter, milk and salt in a large sauce pan. Over medium-high heat bring to a boil while stirring occasionally.

2. Boil for 3 minutes while stirring constantly.

3. Remove from heat and add your vanilla, peanut butter, and oats.

4. Stir it around until it is all incorporated. It will seem a bit thin at first, but it will set in a few minutes.

5. Drop by large spoonfuls onto wax paper or greased cookie sheet.

6. Let the cookies cool and set up for about 20 minutes. Store in fridge.

Enjoy

CC

Snowmen Cookies

I was completely finished my Christmas baking. Completely. Then, my friend over at The Sassy Sissy Cooks (and if she ever blogs it, I will link you there) posted pictures of these adorable snowmen. I could NOT resist. I tried too, honest.

It starts out as a simple round sugar cookie. You can get the recipe I used over here at my previous blog post.

Then I whipped up some very thin icing using just using confectioner's sugar and milk. I made it thin so I could either just dip the cookie right in there or pour some on top and lazily spread it around. One thing is for sure - this is a super fast way of cover a cookie but it will RUN. Do not put any candy on it until it has set a little.

My husband felt the lifesavers were out of place on these cookies. I kind of agree, they are bulky and have an overpowering taste. You could use any large round candy you like though - it is up to you. Regardless they look cute, taste great and the lifesavers are my 3 yr old's favorite part!!

Happy Holidays

CC

Top Secret Gingerbread!

I recently was lucky enough to get a gingerbread recipe from a friend of ours. It was her mother's and it is the best I've ever had! I am trying to acquire a few recipes that can become somewhat signature for me. This is the first one!

This recipe allows the cookies to still stay soft yet able to be rolled and shaped! Be sure to use COOKING Molasses when you make gingerbread. I used Fancy Molasses the first time (it was already in my pantry) and the cookies were not the same. They were a light brown color and if you had never had the original - you would have thought quite good. I knew differently though.

So of course I sent the rejects to my husband's work (they will eat anything) and made an entirely new batch! The recipe makes 3 discs like the one above and about 3 large freezer bags full of cookies once baked. It is a huge batch!

Decorating was a disaster. Definitely not my favorite thing to do. After 2 separate attempts I gave up and ended up at Superstore at 9 pm one night. This is what I brought home. They were fantastic!!! I used almost 6 full tubes to do just the little bit of icing I did - but boy was it hassle free!

Happy Holidays Everyone!

CC.

Chocolate Mint Cookies

Every year my Mom hosts a Goodie Exchange. Several of our friends and family get together and swap the baked goods we've made. I have done everything from cookies & candy to canned jellies. This year I found a recipe that reminded me of the mint Girl Guide Cookies (seriously - who doesn't love those??) I wanted to test the recipe out though because it said they should only be stored for 3 days. Obviously anything given at the Goodie Exchange needs to keep frozen as we have this at the beginning of December. So, here is my trial run....

The dough was easy to make and like sugar cookies, you need to chill it for at least an hour up to 2 days before rolling it and cutting it!

The recipe said after you have chilled it, roll it out and chill again for 15 minutes BEFORE cutting out the shapes. Once you cut the shapes you need to chill AGAIN for 15 minutes. I tried it both like the recipe said and with cutting out the chilling process after the rolling. It made no difference to the cookies. Basically, the dough needs to be cold to roll and cut and cold when baked. Just watch the temperature!

You cook at a low temp for around 12 minutes to dry out the cookies. Which of course, smell heavenly!!

The dipping in white chocolate was tedious as expected. And I actually found that the white chocolate over powers the taste of the mint. Next time I make these I will be brave and add extra mint extract - that is my only complaint. Not minty enough!!

Anyway after running out of enough chocolate to dip with, I just put it on a spoon and splattered it on the cookies. Then sprinkled course sugar on top. I actually liked the look of this better and found the chocolate not so over powering. Plus this way you didn't lose so much of the shape of the cookie either!! As you can see above, they were a hit with my son!

This container has about 6 dozen mini (1 inch) cookies in it. That was only from half the dough, so it does make lots. I will bake off the rest tonight and pop them in the freezer, then splatter chocolate on close to serving. The recipe used crushed mints or candy canes to decorate - which would be fantastic, but those candies go soft if chilled or left out too long. That is why I opted for the sugar and sprinkles.

All in all, a yummy and different cookie!! You can get the recipe here.

Enjoy

CC

Okay so the second disc of dough, I finally got smart and decided to scrap the white chocolate and use mint chocolate instead!!! It really helps add to the minty taste. I sprinkled some colored sugar over it and then unfortunately I can't capture it on photo - but I dusted the cookies with edible glitter... They look so sparkly and shimmery! My favorite new product!!

Sugar Cookies

I never make these. Not only do you have to plan far enough ahead to chill the dough, there is the whole rolling, cutting, baking (not burning), then icing... the list goes on. However, I had a craving. So, I planned ahead. Made the dough late one night and chilled it overnight - so I could make the cookies when I had time!!

Found the best product ever. You just squeeze it onto the cookie and it slightly melts and spreads. It sets nicely so you can stack the cookies without them getting messy. Beware though - one bag did not do this whole batch. Either you have to be less generous or buy 2 bags!!

These were delicious!!!

Really really delicious!!!

Sugar Cookies

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light, about 2 minutes. Beat in the eggs and vanilla until combined. Blend in the dry ingredients. The dough will be soft.

3. Gather the dough in a ball, wrap in plastic wrap or aluminum foil, and refrigerate for 1 hour or longer, or until firm.

4. Cut the cookie dough in half and work with one half at a time, keeping the other half refrigerated. Sprinkle a pastry cloth with granulated sugar and roll out the dough to between 1/4 and 1/2 inch thick. Cut out cookies and transfer to a greased cookie sheet.

5. Bake in the center of the oven for 10 to 12 minutes (some of mine only needed 8 min), until the cookies are firm to the touch and beginning to turn faintly golden around the edges.

Enjoy

CC.

Sweet Banana Peanut Butter Cookies

I had some bananas that either needed to be frozen or used up. My freezer has a couple bags of frozen bananas already - and quite frankly I am getting bored of plain old banana bread. So, I found this recipe that combined the bananas with alcohol and peanut butter cookies - ummmm yum!!

Okay, I didn't have any rum. We aren't drinkers in my house (besides a glass of wine here or there), but I have a good stock of amaretto for Christmas time!! Eggnog and Disaronno... Hello.

Okay, the end result wasn't all that great. It was really messy to eat and the banana filling didn't really meld with the cookie all that well. However, separately this was a success. One of the best PB cookies I've made in awhile. The filling would make a fantastic dip too (or filling in a muffin maybe)?? They were fun to make though and looked really nice!!

You can find the recipe here!! Enjoy.

CC

The Best Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

I grew up with my Grandmother's famous Jumbo Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. You can imagine the fear I had trying out a "new" oatmeal raisin recipe. I could hear the gasps from my Aunts and Cousins all the way from their homes right into my kitchen!! Now I know a lot of people enjoy the light cakey texture of the Jumbo cookies but I am a huge fan of a chewy cookie, and this is exactly what this is!

The batter is incredibly thick. This is one batch - it makes a huge amount!

Don't skip the step of soaking the raisins!! It really helps to keep them a bit moist during all the cooking! I have also thrown in a couple handfuls of mini chocolate chips when adding the raisins to the batter. A very nice combination.

The Best Oatmeal Cookies

3 eggs, Beaten

1 cup raisins

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup white sugar

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp baking soda

2 cups rolled oats

3/4 cup chopped pecans

1. In a small bowl combine the eggs, raisins and vanilla. Cover and chill for 1 hour.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

3. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar and white sugar. In a separate bowl combine the flour, salt, cinnamon and baking soda; add to the creamed mixture and stir until all of the dry ingredients are absorbed. next, stir in the egg and raisin mixture, then stir in the rolled oats and pecans. Dough will be stiff. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto a prepared cookie sheet.

4. Bake for 10 to 12 min until the edges are golden. Allow cookies to cool 5 min on the baking sheet before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Enjoy

CC