The cookies themselves are made with Hershey’s Dark Cocoa. It is important that for this recipe you use a very rich, dark cocoa to get the level of chocolate intensity that these need. After the cookies are baked they are cooled and filled with a bittersweet ganache, sprinkled with crushed candy cane, and then topped with a Hershey’s Mint Kiss. These are a specialty kiss that I found, a traditional Hershey’s Kiss but filled with a mint truffle type filling.

Roll the cookie in sugar.

The result is amazingly rich, dark, and chocolatey with a fresh burst of peppermint flavor that cools your mouth and cuts through some of the chocolate.

This are going to be a popular addition to the cookie trays or gift baskets you create this year!

Triple Chocolate Mint Christmas Kisses

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup flour
• 1/3 cup Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa
• 1 cup sugar or confectioner’s sugar for rolling
• Ganache filling
• 24 unwrapped chocolate mint Kisses
• 2 candy canes coarsely crushed

1. Cream butter, sugar, and vanilla. Add egg and cream and beat well.
2. Combine the flour, cocoa, and salt and blend into the creamed mixture
3. Chill for at least two hours
4. Preheat the oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment or silpat
5. Roll  teaspoons of the dough into balls, roll in confectioner’s or granulated sugar, and place on baking sheet
6. Indent the balls with your thumb
7. Bake 10-12 minutes
8. Push the middles back down with your thumb and cool
9. Add 1/2 tsp ganache to each cookie and press a kiss into it
10. Sprinkle with ground candy canes
11. Cool completely

Makes about 2 dozen

image:marye audet

Post from: Baking Delights

These are one of the types of cookies I sent to Chris in the Middle East a few weeks ago. They took nine days to get there and he said that they were great, unbroken and still very fresh tasting. They are based on one of the recipes in my Everything Cookies and Brownies Cookbook.

Chris, as are all my kids, is a big tea drinker. He likes all kinds of tea. I wanted to make something a bit different, and wanted to stay away from dairy fillings so I used this recipe (which calls for water in the filling) and used a strong infusion of Earl Grey instead. Another great possibility would be coffee. I also used unsalted Plugra because it has a higher fat content than American butter. I think when you are shipping using a higher quality butter will make a huge difference. And don’t…Do NOT…DESIST…just don’t even think about using margarine or shortening in these.

These aren’t an especially sweet cookie and they are not only pretty on a cookie plate but are perfect with a cup of tea or coffee in the afternoon (or evening, or for breakfast).

The cookies are crumbly, melt in your mouth delicate and yet not one was broken in shipping. I used the method I outlined in Shipping Cookies Overseas without Tears. Here are some pictures from that baking extravaganza…

This butter is awesome for keeping baked goods fresh.

First the dough is crumbly.

Then it forms a ball...more or less.

Roll in the sugar.

That’s it! It was fun for Kyrie and I, Chris and some of his friends enjoyed them..and everybody wins!

Brown Eyed Susans

from Everything Cookies and Brownies, by Marye Audet

• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• Sugar for rolling
• 1 cup confectioner’s sugar
• 2 tbs Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa
• 1 tbs strong hot Earl Grey Tea infusion
• 1/2 tsp vanilla (or orange juice)

1. Preheat the oven to 375F
2. Beat the butter, vanilla, and sugar until light and fluffy
3. Blend in the flour and salt
4. Shape teaspoons of dough into balls and roll in sugar. You can use colored sugar for the holidays
5. Place on a silpat covered baking sheet
6. Press thumb down in the dough to create an indentation
7. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden
8. Remove from oven and press the center down again if it need it
9. Cool
10. Combine confectioner’s sugar and cocoa.
11. Add the hot coffee and vanilla – stir until smooth
12. Fill the depression in each cookie with the chocolate mixture
13. Add a pecan half, or apricot, or whatever you desire as garnish if you like.

Makes about 4 dozen but I think I made them bigger than teaspoon size.

images:marye audet

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Chocolate thumbprints are ready to ship

I wanted to send a test batch to Chris in the Middle East, time how long it took them to get there, and how they were once they were there. I figured that way it would be documented and not rely on my memory. So, A few weeks ago Kyrie and I baked Chris two kinds of cookies; chocolate thumbprints and blueberry white chocolate drops. We wrapped them carefully and sent them out…and we waited.

…and waited….

…and waited….

We mailed them out on October 27 and they got to Chris on November 5. But..were they crumbly? Broken? Stale?

Chris said that they were perfect. Not one was broken, not one was stale. And he was having to fend off his friends. So this is a success story!

I first found this method of sending cookies in one of my World War II cookbooks. It was the recommended method for sending baked goods to loved ones all over the world in a time when mail was much slower than today. I figured if it worked then it would work now.

Here’s the method in pictures:

Set the cookie on cling wrap.

Lay a piece of parchment over the top.

Lay another cookie on top.

Wrap the two cookies securely.

Place bundles carefully in a plastic bin with a lid.

Fill in with parchment.

Once the cookies are all in there just gently fill in any empty space with parchment.

If you use a flat rate APO/FPO box you can send as much as you can get in there for 11.95, not bad. I am going to be making another batch to send this week. Chris wants me to figure out how to send homemade bread..we are wondering if it was sent in a vacuum sealed pack? I will let you know – he seems happy to be a guinea pig.

As long as you pack two cookies together you can send almost any kind of cookie without a problem. You dont want to send something cream filled or very perishable. In fact – I made a dairy free chocolate filling for the thumbprint cookies. I will post that recipe later this weekend. If you have my book it is in there, I just substituted earl grey tea for water in the chocolate part.

So what are you waiting for? Go send some cookies!

images:marye audet

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Coconut Cherry White Chocolate Bars

This post is the one that I look at as being the pivotal post on Baking Delights, the one that turned the blog around and made it grow. I hope that, if  I linked to your blog in that post, it has also helped your blog to grow!  It is one of my favorite go to posts of my own when I need inspiration.

Anyway, things on the internet change rapidly and I thought maybe it was time to revisit The 50 Best Cookie Recipes with a part two. C’mon, it worked for Rocky, Nightmare on Elm Street, Star Wars…. surely it is time to look at more of the awesome cookie recipes you guys come up with.

Just a quick note. If you like this post, I am glad. Please don’t copy it to your own blog or chat-board. Just say Hey this is a cool post….and link to it. I would appreciate it..thanks. It takes hours to sort through all of the thousands of awesome recipes and come up with the very best, the most intriguing, and the most creative.

Check out the links and see if you agree with my choices.  And if you like it…do me a favor? Digg, Stumble, and Tweet! Here we go…

The 50 Best Cookie Recipes on the Internet:Scene 2

1. Espresso Chocolate Shortbread Cookies
2. Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies
3. Peanut Butter Toffee Brownies
4. Chocolate Mudcake Cookie Sandwiches
5. Blueberry White Chocolate Cookies
6. Oreo Brownies
7. Nibby Strawberry Chestnut Cookies
8. Pina Colada Macarons
9. Italian Fig Cookies
10. Cranberry Turtle Bars
11. Blackberry Pie Bars
12. Maple-Brown Sugar Snickerdoodles
13. Chocolate Topped Frito Peanut Butter Pretzel Bars
14. Caramel Sea Salt Brownies
15. Ultimate Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies
16. Ginger Florentines
17. Mocha Chip Cookies
18. Banana Chocolate Chip Biscotti
19. Peanut Butter Pretzel Cookies
20. Chocolate Chip Oreo
21. Carrot Cake Cookies
22. Chai Spice Snowballs
23. Chocolate Raspberry Layer Bars
24. Cannoli Sandwich Cookies
25. Lime and Basil Shortbread
26. Almond and Chocolate Filled Butter Cookies
27. Lavender and Orange Macaroons
28. Cowgirl Cookies
29. Butter Cookie Sandwiches with Chestnut Cream
30. Chai Snickerdoodles
31. Maple Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies
32. Marye’s Faux Berger Cookies
33. Chocolate Pizzelles
34. Copycat Pocky Sticks
35. Chocolate Coconut Cookies
36. Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies with Mocha Cream Filling
37. Playdough Cookies
38. Pumpkin Ginger Whoopie Pies
39. Milk Duds Cookies
40. Pumpkin White Chocolate Chunk Cookies
41. Nutty Pina Colada Biscotti
42. Coconut Cherry White Chocolate Bars
43. Irish Car Bomb Brownies
44. Bacon Brownies
45. Kahlua Truffle Triangles
46. Dutch Caramel Cashew Cookies
47. Chocolate Chip Cookies with Molasses
48. Chocolate M & M Cookies
49. Gooey Butter Bars
50. Lavender Milano Cookies

And there you have it. I hope you agree with me on these…if you think I missed something be sure to leave a comment and let me know! I will try to pick up any stray recipes on this weeks Blogsurfing Saturday.

Image:Marye Audet

Post from: Baking Delights

O.k..so it took me nearly all night but I did some baking. In fact this recipe is out of my cookbook….sort of. I found out something interesting tonight. I can’t even follow my OWN recipes verbatim.

Since I am doing pictures at night the color is a little off, sorry.  Someday I will have a nifty light box.

These are a very rich, sweet bar. You ARE going to want coffee or milk or tea… Be sure to let them cook before cutting (I didn’t) and eating (didn’t) because they WILL crumble. If you want thicker coconut cherry white chocolate bars just use a 9 x9 inch pan.

These would be great for a tea, not so great for a lunch box, and do not try to ship them! IF there are any leftover, which is doubtful, wrap them and put them in the fridge.

Coconut Cherry White Chocolate Bars

• 1 cup of flour
• 1/3 cup confectioners sugar
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• pinch of kosher salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 cup coconut
• 1/2 cup chopped maraschino cherries
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Mix the 1 cup of flour and  confectioners sugar. Mix in the butter until the dough is crumbly.
3. Press firmly in a buttered 13x 9 inch pan. Layer will be thin.
4. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until firm and golden.
5. Mix the 1/4 cup flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Set aside.
6. Beat sugar, eggs, and vanilla until well blended. Stir in the flour mixture, coconut, cherries, and white chocolate chips.
7. Pour over the crust.
8. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until firm.
9. COOL COMPLETELY before cutting.

images Marye Audet

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“Mom! I think Your books are here! Can I open it?”

Within seconds the entire brood is gathered aound barely staying out of harms way as Ethan wields a knife, expertly opening the box and…….

Twenty-five cookbooks! Author’s copies. ….WITH MY NAME ON THEM. Seriously…look at this:

That’s ME!

Not that I am excited or anything, I am absolutely too cool for that… I am still wondering how my name got on these cookbooks.

I heard that amazon im sending out the preordered copies on the 28th of August, so if you ordered your book you may be getting it next week. If you haven’t ordered it an are planning on it please consider heading over to Everything Cookies and Brownies and ordering from there?

If you get a copy and for some odd reason you want me to sign it..I will be glad to. Just email me. Dang, this is exciting! You guys have been part of this… How does it feel to be a guinea pig?

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These thumbprint cookies fit the bill.

The cookie base is a buttery shortbread and the fennel pollen gives it a delicate anise flavor. There is a crumbly texture which complements the cookie very well. Blackberry jam adds tangy sweetness while white chocolate ganache pulls all the flavors together into one big blast of “WOW!”.

These are a cinch to make. Be sure to use unsalted butter, and a good vanilla. If you like more anise flavor you may want to use about 1/4 tsp. of anise extract in place of some of the vanilla. I think orange marmalade would be good in place of the blackberry, as would a thick fig preserve.

I used the fennel pollen extravagantly because I love the way the little flowers look!

You don’t have to use it like I did, unless of course you want to. The cookies need to bake for about 14 minutes. It seems long but they develop a crumbly shortbread texture which is what you want. I think I would give these as gifts with a nice tin of Earl Grey Cream tea. Perfect for an autumn afternoon!

Incredible Blackberry Thumbprint Cookies

• 1 cup organic unsalted butter, softened
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• Pinch of kosher salt
• 3 teaspoons fennel pollen
• 1/2 cup blackberry jam, approximately
• 1 recipe white chocolate ganache

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Cream butter and sugar until well blended.
3. Add vanilla
4. Mix flour, fennel pollen, and salt; mix well
5. Form rounded teaspoonfuls into small balls and place on parchment or silpat lined sheet
6. Press center down with a thimble or thumb
7. Fill the centers with about half a teaspoon of jam
8. Bake for 12-14 minutes in a preheated oven
9. Let cool 10 minutes and remove from pan
10. Cool completely

White Chocolate Ganache

• 6 oz chopped white chocolate
• 3/4 cup heavy cream

Bring cream to a simmer and remove from heat. Stir in chocolate until melted.

Cover the jam centers of the cookies with the white chocolate.

Makes 3 dozen cookies

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Post from: Baking Delights

Once I had them mixed up the dough looked too gooey. I have had this problem with the Farm Journal cookie recipes before and I am not sure if it is a flaw in the cookbooks or the age of them. Flour and other ingredients are different now than they were fifty years ago. Anyway I adjusted the flour up a bit and ended up with cakey cookies. I prefer my cookies chewy so maybe that is why I was a little disappointed. The flavor was awesome but the texture was not my favorite.

The cookies were sweet but wanted something a little extra. I made a browned butter glaze to put on them and then they were just a bit too sweet. Sigh.

I sprinkled turbinado sugar lightly over the top and then added finishing salt. In the future I will add smoked finishing salt…but Eureka! I had it.

These are a lot more rich than you might think they are at first. Even my family, although they each have a sweet tooth of prehistoric proportions, was unable to finish off the batch. A miracle! The few that did survive until day 2 were not quite as good, but the weather has been very humid and things go stale/soggy fast.

Butterscotch Walnut Cookies with Salted Brown Butter Glaze

• 21/2 cups of flour (I used 3)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tbs vinegar
• Enough milk to make one cup when added to the vinegar
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Place silpat over cookie sheets
2. Stir together dry ingredients
3. Add vinegar to 1 cup measure. Add enough milk to make one cup
4. Cream together butter and sugar until fluffy
5. Add eggs one at a time beating well after each addition
6. Add vanilla
7. Add dry ingredients alternately with milk mixture, beginning and ending with the flour
8. Stir in walnuts
9. Drop by tablespoons onto prepare cookie sheets
10. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until puffy and golden
11. Cool

Browned Butter Glaze

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 2 tbs unsalted butter
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• Heavy cream as needed
• Turbinado sugar
• Smoked finishing salt

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan and continue to cook, stirring, until it becomes golden brown
2. Remove from heat and stir in the remaining butter. This will immediately stop the browning process so it doesn’t continue to cook and end up scorched
3. Stir in the powdered sugar and mix until smooth
4. Add heavy cream as needed for a spreadable consistency
5. Spread on cooled cookies
6. Sprinkle with turbinado sugar and salt

Makes 4 dozen or so

images:marye audet (c)2009

Post from: Baking Delights

• She could throw her really cute red and white polka dot apron over her head and cry
• She could create magic

I think she decided to create magic and threw ingredients together to make Blondies. You know why? These are the most versatile of bar cookies. I mean you can toss almost anything in there… well, within reason..I mean I am not suggesting Blondies as a way to get your kids to eat liver, you know? But any kind of nut, any kind of chocolate, butterscotch, peanut butter, or white chocolate chip… dried fruit…the list goes on.

I wanted something a little different. so I chopped up Snickers Bars. Marc is somewhat addicted to Snickers so I figured it would be a no brainer dessert.

I liked how they came out. I was not expecting the Snickers to melt into the bars as much as they did but other than that it was a great addition. These are sweet, chewy, and have lots of flavor expoding in your mouth all at once. Imagine your tastebuds running around your tongue shouting “INCOMING!!”

You can’t imagine that? Well then, I guess you will have to make these and experience it for yourself.

Snicker Bar Blondies

• 2 cups flour
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 sticks unsalted butter
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 3 regular sized Snickers, chopped in chunks
• 1 cup peanut butter chips
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup  butterscotch chips (or brickle)
• 1 cup honey roasted peanuts coarsely chopped

1. Preheat oven to 325F
2. Allow butter to come to room temperature
3. Butter a 13x 9 inch pan
4. Mix the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda
5. Beat the butter until smooth and creamy
6. Beat in the sugars until no longer grainy
7. Add the eggs, one at a time
8. Add the vanilla
9. Stir in the dry ingredients
10. Fold in the chips, nuts, and Snicker Bars
11. Smooth into the prepared pan
12. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until a knife inserted in center comes out with a few crumbs clinging to it. Cool, and cut into desired sized bars.

Makes 1 13×9 inch pan

image:MaryeAudet

Post from: Baking Delights

These are crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside, with a buttery combination of flavors that just keep revealing themselves as you eat: lemon, white chocolate, nutmeg, blueberry…

The trick to these, if there is one, is to take them from the oven slightly under-done so that they finish cooking as they cool.  The dried blueberries keep them moist for longer than usual if they last past the first day.  Please, if you do try these? Leave a comment and let me know what you think. I am horridly nervous about the cookbook.

If you want a more decorated cookie you can drizzle melted white chocolate across them, but flavor-wise it is quite unnecessary.

If you use all butter the cookies will be greasy and flat.  If you use all shortening they will be tasteless. Lately I have had more people that usual emailing me and telling me the recipes are not good.  Then they list all the changes they made.

Can I just say that when I develop a recipe it usually is over several bakings? I normally try numerous possibilities before I post the recipe. If you change it you are likely to revert to something I all ready tried and discarded as not being good enough. If you change the recipe and it fails, well there is nothing I can do about operator error, is there?

One thing I have noticed is that flour varies from brand to brand and even bag to bag. You may need to use a little more or a little less to get the perfect texture. Be willing to experiment.

Blueberry White Chocolate Cookies

• ½ cup unsalted butter
• ½ cup shortening
• ¾ cup sugar
• ¾ cup brown sugar, packed
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 tablespoons grated lemon peel
• 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
• ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup dried blueberries
• 1½ cups white chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a cookie sheet with
parchment or silpat.
2. Cream together butter, shortening, and both sugars.
Add eggs, vanilla, and lemon peel; beat until well
blended.
3. Mix dry ingredients together; stir into creamed
mixture. Blend well; add dried blueberries and white
chocolate chips.
4. Drop by generous, rounded teaspoonfuls onto
parchment baking sheets. Keep cookies about 2″
apart. Bake 8–10 minutes, removing from oven when
just barely done.
5. Cool on pans 5 minutes; remove to cool

4-5 dozen depending on size and how much dough you eat

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