Cooking During Stolen Moments» Baked Goods

Citrus White Chocolate & Macadamia Cookies

Kate — Tue, 15 May 2012 01:55:29 +0000

Well, look at this…a new blog post! And one with a recipe to boot. I know what you’re thinking, and you’re right! It’s about dang time for a new recipe post!! There’s no real good excuse for my silence as of late other than just the ordinary busyness of life. So, I’ll skip the long stories and get down to the good stuff.

And hopefully, this is just the start of regular postings once again. I just uploaded photos for 10 new recipes, so there’s plenty of good stuff to come. Thanks for your patience with me.

Now, on to some truly awesome cookies! My six year old and I whipped up these delicious pieces of heaven during a special mama-daughter day. We were thrilled with the way they turned out. The taste was out of this world, but the texture also turned out just so perfectly. The cookies have a nice, crispy exterior with a soft, melt-in-your-mouth inside. These definitely rank up in the top 5 or so cookies I’ve ever made. (And that’s got to be saying something, considering we really like cookies around this house!!)

Citrus White Chocolate & Macadamia Cookies

1/2 c. butter
3/4 c. sugar
1/2 t. lemon extract*
1/2 t. lime extract*
1 egg
1 c. flour
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1 c. white chocolate chips
1 c. chopped macadamia nuts

1. Beat the butter, sugar and extracts together until creamy fluffy. Add the egg and beat until combined.

2. In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda and salt. Add to the mixing bowl and beat just until combined. Stir in the white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts by hand. (Note: you may have to use your hands to get the chips and nuts thoroughly incorporated into the dough.)

3. Drop the dough by tablespoonfuls onto a baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes, until set and lightly golden brown on the bottoms. Cool on a wire rack, if you can wait that long.

We ended up with 20 cookies, which if I’m being honest, is not nearly enough, so you may want to double the recipe.

*Ordinarily the extracts wouldn’t be my go-to as I’d prefer to use freshly squeezed juice. However, since I was baking with a 6 year old who really wanted her cookies to turn out, I didn’t feel like doing too much experimenting. If I was going to use the juice, I’d probably do a 1/4 cup of each and up the dry ingredients a bit. Feel free to experiment…and if you do, please let me know what worked for you!

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PB&J Breakfast Sandwich Cookies

Kate — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 03:12:52 +0000

I first started making breakfast cookies a few years ago and they’ve become a staple in our home ever since. I love the versatility of them almost as much as I love what a quick and easy option they are in the morning. Not to mention, it’s never a struggle to convince any of the kids to eat a cookie for breakfast!

These PB&J Breakfast Sandwich Cookies are simply the next level of awesome in the breakfast cookie line-up. Layering two together with a healthy layer of strawberry or raspberry jam makes for a very filling breakfast that’s still healthy and even a little sweet. It’s perfect! Just a few ingredients and a few minutes are all you’ll need to whip these up.

PB&J Breakfast Sandwich Cookies

3 c. oats
1 c. brown sugar
2 t. baking powder
1 t. salt
1 1/2 c. peanut butter
2 eggs
3/4 c. milk
1 t. vanilla
Preserves, jam or jelly of your choice

1. In a large bowl, combine oats, brown sugar, baking powder and salt. Add peanut butter, eggs, milk and vanilla. Stir until well combined.

2. Roll a rounded tablespoon of dough into a ball, place on a cookie sheet and repeat until done. With the palm of your hand or the greased bottom of a glass, press cookies into a circle.

3. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, until just firm and lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack. Spread jelly on the bottom of one cookie, top with another and repeat. Enjoy!

This recipe came together easily for me but the proper baking temperature had me stumped. I was really torn between cooking at a lower temperature for a longer time and cooking at a higher temperature for less time. Fortunately, I was able to try out 4 different options (everything from 325 degrees to 400 degrees) thanks to my Frigidaire Gallery^® Range with Symmetry™ Double Oven. I divided the cookies into 4 batches and then cooked two batches at a time, each at a different temperature. This was the first time I thought to do this and I’m so excited by how much easier it’s going to be when developing new recipes. I am just loving this oven!!

Full disclosure: I was provided with a brand new Frigidaire Gallery Freestanding Electric Range with Symmetry Double Ovens at no cost to me for participating in the Frigidaire Test Drive campaign. As always, all thoughts and opinions will be entirely my own.

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Coffee Bean Cookies

Kate — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 05:48:23 +0000

My love of coffee is no secret and I’m sure it doesn’t need to be rehashed yet again. So, let’s just say that coffee-flavored cookies are a major win in my mind!

As much as I love the taste of these cookies, I think my favorite thing about them is what an awesome Christmas gift they make. A package of these combined with some coffee or a coffee shop gift card is a perfect gift for any coffee lover in your life. (And they’d even make a great option to leave out for Santa. After all, I’m sure the big guy could use an extra dose of caffeine on such a busy night!)

Coffee Bean Cookies

1 single-serving package Starbucks Via or 1 t. finely ground coffee
2 T. hot milk
3/4 c. butter, softened
3 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. sugar
1 t. vanilla
2 c. flour

1. Combine coffee and hot milk in a small bowl or cup and stir until dissolved. Set aside.

2. In a large mixing bowl, beat together butter, cream cheese and sugars until fluffy and well-combined, about 3-5 minutes. Add coffee/milk mixture and vanilla; beat an additional minute. Add flour and stir just until combined.

3. Roll a teaspoon of dough into an oval shape, similar to a pecan. (If dough is difficult to handle, refrigerate for about an hour until easier to work with.) Place on a cookie sheet and repeat until done. Using a bamboo skewer, chopstick or other similarly shaped utensil, press into the middle of each oval to form a coffee bean shape.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes, until lightly golden brown on the bottom. Cool on a wire rack.

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Pecan & Maple Cookie Logs

Kate — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 20:31:55 +0000

Every year I have a group of Christmas cookies that are MUST makes because different members of my family count on receiving certain cookies. So when I sit down to plan out what I’ll be baking, I start with those few necessities and then add on with either completely new cookies or cookies that I haven’t made in a few years.

And every year, I end up planning to make way more cookies than what I actually accomplish. This year’s list had an ambitious 17 types of cookies. I’ve made it through 9 of those and it’s not looking too good for the remaining 8. I guess we’ll see how I’m feeling next week to see just how far I get.

These cookies have a flavor that is very similar to my favorite Maple Pecan cookies, but the texture is different. These cookies are richer and resemble a crumbly, shortbread texture. Love that! (By the way, it’s good to see that nothing changes and the my Christmas list making habits were exactly the same in 2009 as they are now, which you’ll notice if you click over to that post. That’s just funny.)

The kids were responsible for these cookies for the most part. They rolled the dough and handled the decorating. They might not look as picture-perfect as I would have wanted, but they taste even more delicious because of all that love that went into them!

Pecan & Maple Logs

For cookies:

1 1/2 c. butter, softened
1 1/2 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
1/4 c. maple syrup
4 c. flour
1 c. ground pecans

1. Beat the butter and brown sugar together in a large mixing bowl; beat until creamy. Add eggs and syrup and beat until combined. Slowly add the flour and beat just until it is fully incorporated, being careful not to overmix. Add the pecans and again beat just until combined. If the dough is to messy to work with, you can refrigerate it for a few hours or longer.

2. Using about 1 – 1 1/2 teaspoons of dough at a time, roll into a log shape and place on a cookie sheet. Repeat until done.

3. Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes, until lightly golden-brown on the bottom. Remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

For Frosting:

2 T. butter
3 T. maple syrup
1 1/4 – 1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
Food coloring, if desired

1. Beat the butter and maple syrup together. Slowly add the powdered sugar while continuing to beat until the desired consistency is reached. (Less sugar for spreadable frosting, more sugar for pipe-able frosting.) Add and combine desired food coloring, if using. Decorate cookies.

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Coconut & Cherry Kisses

Kate — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 05:23:04 +0000

It is my most favorite time of year – Christmas cookie baking time! Oh sure, I love Christmas – the tradtions, the excitement from the kids, the gifts, the music, the trees – all of that is wonderful. But there is just something abouth making Christmas cookies that lets me know all is right with the world.

I spent the entire day this past Sunday making cookies. The kids came in and out of the kitchen and anxiously helped whenever the opportunity arose. It was a great day. I’ve made a few more cookies the past couple days as well, just because there’s no such thing as too many Christmas cookies in my world.

Needless to say, I’ll be posting a bunch of cookie recipes the rest of this week and next. Ready? Here we go…

Coconut & Cherry Kisses

1 7 oz. package shredded coconut
2 T. cornstarch
1/2 c. sweetened condensed milk
1/2 t. vanilla
1/2 t. almond extract
1/2 c. red candied cherries (and/or green candied cherries), chopped

1. Pour coconut into a mixing bowl and stir in the cornstarch. Add the sweetened condensed milk and the extracts, stirring until combined. Fold in the chopped cherries.

2. Drop about a teaspoon of batter at a time onto a greased or foil-lined cookie sheet. If the batter spreads when you drop it, mound it a little with your fingers.

3. Bake for 10 – 12 minutes at 325 degrees, just until the bottoms get lightly browned and the tops are set. Transfer to a wire rack to cool after 1 minute.

These are not what you’d call “subtle” cookies. They are definitely sweet, but so good!

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Nutella Cream Pie with Hazelnut Crust

Kate — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 14:28:19 +0000

Sometimes, I just don’t understand our kids. At the beginning of the month, I bought a 2-pack of large Nuttela. My thought was that those would last us at least 2 months of yummy breakfasts and tasty treats and snacks. Smart idea, right? (Because really, is there ever a time when turning down a jumbo container of Nutella is a good idea?)

Well, it would seem like a smart idea. Unfortunately, it didn’t turn out that way when the kids purposefully set out to find the second container to open for a breakfast of toast and Nutella one day. Seeing as how we’d hardly put a dent in the first container, this move did not make for a happy mom!

Needless to say, using up all of this Nutella before it goes bad has become a huge priority for me. When we had company over this weekend, I really saw no choice but to come up with a Nutella-based dessert. If you’re a fan of Nutella, I know I don’t need to sell you on the deliciousness of this Nutella Cream Pie with Hazelnut Crust. If you’re a Nutella novice, this is the perfect introduction! Just take my word on this – you MUST make and enjoy this pie. It’s unbelievably good!!

Nutella Cream Pie with Hazelnut Crust

For the crust:

1 1/2 c. chopped hazelnuts
1/2 c. oats
1 T. sugar
1/2 t. salt
6 T. butter, melted

1. Combine the hazelnuts, oats, sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse until fine crumbs. Slowly pour in the melted butter while continuing to pulse, until combined.

2. Press the mixutre evenly into a 8 or 9 inch pie. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes, until lightly browned and set. Cool completely.

For the filling:

1 8 oz. block cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
1 c. Nutella
1/4 c. milk
1 8 oz. container cool whip (or fresh whipped cream)

1. In a large mixing bowl beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar until combined. Add the Nutella and milk and beat for 5 minutes, until thoroughly combined and somewhat fluffy. Fold in the cool whip.

2. Spoon into completely cooled hazelnut crust and refrigerate for at least 4 hours to allow pie to set.

Note – Due to the richness of both the crust and the filling, this pie is best served in smaller slices.

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Pumpkin Apple Pecan Muffins

Kate — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 02:40:17 +0000

Is it possible to pack all of the best flavors of fall into one little muffin? That’s what I was wondering and that was what I set out to do.

So, I got to work by setting out all of my favorite fall flavors and adding a bit of this and a bit of that until the batter had that smell that just said fall to me. Combine that with a bottle of New & Improved PAM Spray and these muffins turned out perfectly and tasted as delicious as they smelled!

Pumpkin Apple Pecan Muffins

1 c. canned pumpkin
1/3 c. vegetable oil
3 eggs
3/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. maple syrup
1 t. vanilla
1 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. nutmeg
1/8 t. allspice
1 apple, peeled and diced
1/2 c. chopped pecans
1 1/2 c. flour
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt

1. In a large bowl, combine pumpkin, oil, eggs, sugars, maple syrup, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice until fully mixed. Stir in apples and pecans.

2. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a seperate bowl. Fold into pumpkin mixture just until combined.

3. Spray muffin tin with PAM Cooking Spray. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Enjoy!

Now, let me give you the scoop on that New & Improved PAM Spray I mentioned earlier. I’ve always loved the idea of a cooking spray much more than I actually liked using it. Part of the issue for me was always the way the overspray would burn onto pans, especially muffin tins. When I was approached about trying out this new version of PAM, the description had me cautiously optimistic.

I decided to really test it out to see just how well it work. So I sprayed my muffin tin with wild abandon.

The first thing I noticed was that while the muffins baked, all I could smell was that delicious fall scent and not the burning of excess cooking spray.

After pulling the muffins out of the oven, I was shocked with what I saw. I mean, this is pretty impressive, isn’t it?

Do you see that? The PAM cooking spray did not burn or bake onto the pan. And then this…look at how clean the pan is as I took out the muffins.

I have never had such an easy time cleaning a muffin tin after using cooking spray as I did this time!

So far, I’m definitely a fan of the New & Improved PAM. I’ll be testing it out with a new ooey, gooey casserole recipe next week and we’ll see how it holds up to that test. But it’s looking good so far.

You can visit PAM’s facebook page for more info on the new spray.

Disclosure: I am being compensated to write this post. I also received products, including PAM Cooking Spray, to aid in the development of this recipe. Yet as always, both the recipes and the opinions are 100% my own.

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Glazed Blueberry Biscuit Bites

Kate — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 02:14:21 +0000

Chocolate chip biscuits are one of the kids most favorite breakfasts. I make them at least twice a month and always try to make extras for the freezer. Since they are such a hit, I haven’t really played around with the recipe all that much.

That changed last week when I had some blueberries on hand that I wanted to use up. I originally thought of the usual blueberry suspects – muffins, pancakes, berry syrup, fritters…apparently we like blueberries a lot because there were a ton of options I could have gone with. But I had already gotten a few requests for chocolate chip biscuits. So, I decided it was time to do a little tweaking!

Glazed Blueberry Biscuit Bites

1 1/2 c. flour
3 T. sugar
1 T. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1/4 c. butter, cut into pieces
1 t. vanilla
About 1/2 c. milk
1 c. blueberries
1 c. powdered sugar
3 T. milk

1. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Cut in butter until crumbly. Stir in vanilla and just enough milk until dough comes together and isn’t sticky.

2. Knead dough for 2 minutes. Roll into a large rectangle on a floured surface, about 1/2-inch thick. Pour blueberries on top of half of the dough. Fold the remaining dough over the top and press lightly.

3. Cut dough into about 1 1/2 dozen squares. Gently roll each square into a ball and place on a baking sheet. Bake at 425 degrees for about 10-15 minutes, until lightly golden brown on top. Cool completely.

4. In a small bowl, stir together powdered sugar and milk until desired consistency. Drizzle over biscuit bites and enjoy!

These are perfect to make a day or two ahead of time, but make sure that you store them so that they are covered well, preferably in a plastic storage bag or plastic container, otherwise they could get very dry.

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