Cookies and Bars

1785 Inn’s Ten Layer Cookies

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Oh yeah baby! You know that 7 layers are never enough. I dare you to add another layer.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cups crushed graham crackers
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup dark chocolate chips
1 cup butter scotch chips
1 cup Heath milk chocolate English toffee baking chips
7 oz. sweetened coconut
2 cups chopped walnuts (I like to use pecans and toast them first)
7 oz. canned Dulce de Leche (find it on the ethnic food aisle)
7 oz. sweetened condensed milk

Directions:

1. Melt butter in a saucepan and mix in the crushed graham crackers. Press the mixture into
the bottom of a lightly greased 9×13 pan.

2. Layer on the next 6 ingredients .

3. In a small bowl, mix the Dulce de Leche and condensed milk (warm in the microwave for a
few seconds if necessary to blend and make pourable). Pour mixture evenly over layered
ingredients.

4. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 25-30 minutes. Cool in pan and cut into squares.

Source: Inn Cuisine

Chocolate Chip Sea Salt Cookies

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My husband and I are head over heals for each other, AND for these cookies!!! Go ahead and jump on the sea salt bandwagon, it’s so worth it! If you are not a fan of the salty/sweet trend, then skip the sea salt and enjoy these cookies the old fashioned way.
Ingredients:

2 1/4 C. cake flour

1 1/2 C. all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 C brown sugar
3/4 C granulated sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 tsp vanilla
20 oz. semisweet chocolate chips or chunks
Sea salt
Directions:
1. Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a medium sized bowl.
2. Using a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.
3. Add vanilla and eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
4. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
5. Drop chocolate chips in and incorporate by hand.
6. Press plastic wrap against the dough and refrigerate 1 hour (dough can be refrigerated up to 48 hours if making ahead of time).
7. Pre-heat oven to 350°F. Line a natural aluminum baking sheet with parchment paper or nonstick baking mat.
8. Roll cookie dough by hand into golf ball sized pieces, arrange on baking sheet. Sprinkle lightly with coarse sea salt and bake until golden brown and to desired level of doneness. –10 to 12 min. for soft chewy cookies, 12 to 15 min. for crisp cookies.
9. Cool cookies 10 min. on baking sheet before removing. Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day. Makes approximately 36 cookies.
TIP: If a recipe asks for softened or room temperature butter, you should also have room temperature eggs. To bring your eggs to room temperature, fill a glass with warm water and submerge the eggs for a few minutes.

Mud Balls

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Of all holiday treats, Mud Balls are hands down my favorite.  Ever since I was a kid, I just can’t resist them.  So I don’t make them very often, but I just have to have them at Christmas.  And this past Christmas was no exception.

I mean, how can you resist such yumminess?
My chocolate dipping tools:  two inexpensive forks with the middle tines bent backwards with pliers.  

I use both forks for dipping but I had to hold the camera with one hand!  I use both forks to roll the ball around gently in the chocolate to cover it completely, then I use the fork in my dominant hand to cradle the ball while gently tapping the bottom of the ball on the other fork.



The final product displayed on plastic Target dishware made into a tiered server using Lucite candlesticks and glass/bead glue.

Ingredients:
2 sticks butter, melted 
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 cup coconut
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
1/2 cup peanut butter (creamy or crunchy)
1 pound powdered sugar
1 Tbsp. vanilla
1/4 bar household wax*
8-10 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
1.  In a large bowl, mix all ingredients except the wax and chocolate.  Shape into balls.  (I use a small cookie scoop for this to portion the balls, then I roll them in my hands to make them smooth).
2.  In a double boiler, melt the wax and chocolate chips completely.  Keep on very low or remove from heat altogether (but keep the double boiler sitting over the hot water).
3.  Dip balls one at a time, allowing excess chocolate to drop off before setting each ball on waxed paper to set.
Makes about 60. 
Source:  my Mom
Notes:
  • Please use butter.  Please, please, please!
  • The original recipe calls for 12 ounces of chocolate but that always leaves a LOT leftover.
  • *Don’t freak out about eating wax.  I have checked on this and it’s fine.  It’s completely edible.  I promise.  Plus the amount per ball is so tiny.  It will make the Mud Balls shiny and smooth and they will dry better with it than without.  (I use GULF brand…it comes in a small box and has 4 rectangular bricks in it…you can find it in the canning aisle usually.)
  • If you want the taste of Mud Balls without the work, make Mud Bars.  Instead of making the “dough” into balls, press the mixture into a 9×13-inch pan.  Then melt the chocolate chips (without the wax) and pour over the top, spreading evenly.  Allow to set before cutting into bars.

Enjoy!

The Great Pumpkin Dessert

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More Pumpkin, anyone? 
Ingredients:
1-15oz can pumpkin
1 can of evaporated milk (shake well)
3 eggs
1c sugar
4tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 package yellow cake mix (I used Duncan Hines)
3/4c butter, melted
1 1/2c chopped walnuts (or make it 2c if you really like nuts…I thought 1 1/2 was enough)
  1. Preheat oven to 350* and grease a 9×13 pan
  2. Combine the first 5 ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix well. 
  3. Transfer the pumpkin mixture into the 9×13 pan
  4. Sprinkle the cake mix over the pumpkin, drizzle with butter, then top with walnuts!  
  5. Bake at 350* for an hour*  or until knife comes out clean.
*I think baking it for an hour was a little to long.  I like stuff a little more on the gooey side.  So, if you’re like me…go with 45-50 min.  The fork/knife test should still hold true (for the most part).  =)
*This recipe was one that I copied down at a potluck in in DeKalb, IL.  I thought for SURE I wrote this lovely sister’s name on the card, dag nab it!!  

Lemon Crinkle Cookies

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This recipe won the LDS Living Cookie Recipe Contest. I love the chewiness. Next time I make it though I think I will add more lemon juice and zest so that the cookies really pack a punch!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1/2 t. vanilla
1 egg
1 t. lemon zest
1 T. fresh lemon juice
1/4 t. salt
1/4 t. baking powder
1/8 t. baking soda
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease light colored baking sheets with non-stick spray and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Whip in vanilla, egg, lemon zest, and juice. Scrape sides and mix again.

3. Stir in all dry ingredients slowly until just combined, excluding the powdered sugar. Scrape sides of bowl and mix again briefly.

4. Pour powdered sugar onto a large plate. Roll a heaping teaspoon of dough into a ball and roll in powdered sugar. Place on baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough.

5. Bake for 9-11 minutes or until bottoms begin to barely brown and cookies look matte (not melty or shiny). Remove from oven and cool cookies about 3 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

*If using a non-stick darker baking tray, reduce baking time by about 2 minutes.

Source: Lauren Brennan

Cookie Cake

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Who doesn’t love to see a giant chocolate chip cookie sitting on the table in front of them!? Everyone loves a giant cookie! Try this, it’s this is really delicious!

1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup white sugar
2/4 cup brown sugar
1 (8oz) package cream cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking oda
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease two 12 inch pizza pans. (or just grease one and plan to save half of the dough for later.)

In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar and white sugar, until smooth. Beat in the cream cheese, then the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; gradually stir into the creamed mixture. Fold in the chocolate chips and walnuts. Divide the dough in half and press each half onto a prepared pizza pan.

Bake for 20 – 25 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden at the edges. Cool completely in pans. Cut into wedges like a pizza and serve. Don’t forget the frosting! Chocolate and or buttercream.

allrecipes.com

Mini Pumpkin Spice Cakes

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Let me begin by saying that this recipe was created after I tried THIS recipe by our very own Kara.  Can I say YUM!!!  It turned out we wanted more and the only box of cake mix I had was Spice Cake.  Hmmm…I thought.  And then remembering a cake recipe my sister gave me I decided to give it a shot!

Ingredients:  
1 box of Spice Cake mix (I used Duncan Hines) 
1 15oz can pumpkin

  1. Preheat oven to 350*
  2. Mix together the cake mix and canned pumpkin
  3. Drop by spoonfulls (about 1T) onto a cookie sheet, slightly flatten
  4. Bake 7-10 min, remove from oven and cool completely
Frosting:  
4 oz Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 Stick (1/4 Cup) Butter or Margarine, softened
1/2 tsp Vanilla
2 – 2.5 Cups Powdered Sugar
  1. Mix all the ingredients together until nice and creamy
  2. When the cookies are completely cooled, smother the frosting between 2 cookies and…voila! A fall version of the “oreo”!   

Boyd’s Famous Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

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OK, so maybe these cookies aren’t famous. But they should be!  We eat them all year round, but during the fall they especially hit the spot!



Ingredients:
2 C pureed pumpkin (or one 15 oz can–That’s what we use.)
2/3 – 3/4 C Vegetable Oil (I use closer to 2/3 C)
2 tsp Cinnamon
4 tsp Baking Powder
2 tsp Baking Soda (“Baking Powder AND Soda?” you say? Don’t ask me; IT WORKS!)
2 C Sugar
2 Eggs
2 tsp Salt
2 tsp Vanilla
4 Cups Flour
2 Cups Chocolate Chips
1 Cup Walnuts (opt)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. In a stand mixer, add ALL ingredients, one by one, and mix on Medium speed until fully incorporated. Really. That’s all you do.
3. Drop heaping spoonfuls 1 – 2 Inches apart on a lightly greased cookie sheet.
4. Bake for 12 – 15 minutes or until springy to the touch.
5. Let cool on the sheet for 5 minutes, then remove to a rack or some such device–we use a cheesecloth on our counter.

DELISH!

Source: By AWESOME Father-in-Law, Boyd.

~Kara

Coconut Cookies

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Here is a cookie recipe that I baked up this week, for a care package I sent home to my Dad for his birthday! He loves coconut pie, and so do I. These cookies taste just like a coconut pie!! They are super easy to make and delicous! Enjoy!

1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1-1/3 cups flaked coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
In a medium bowl, cream the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg
and vanilla until light and fluffy. Gradually blend in the flour mixture, then mix in the coconut.
Drop by heaping teaspoon fulls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Cookies should be about 3″ apart.
Bake for about 9 minutes and check them. They need to be lightly toasted. I cooked my batch of cookies for about 13 minutes. Take them out of the oven and let them set up on the baking sheet/stone for about 5 minutes. Transfer the cookies to wire racks and cool.

Sugar Cookies with Marbleized Icing

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A good sugar cookie can be hard to come by. Who wants to eat cookies that are to floury, cakey or dry? This is a great basic sugar cookie recipe that is sure to be a hit! Crunchy on the outside and tender in the middle.

Ingredients:
1 C. real butter
1 C. sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 t. vanilla or almond extract
3 C. flour
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
Directions:
1. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes). Add in egg and extract and mix until incorporated.
2. In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt. Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until completely combined.
3. Separate the dough into 2 balls and wrap each in waxed paper or plastic wrap. Flatten to speed up chilling time. Place in the fridge to chill about 1-2 hours.
4. When the dough is properly chilled, sprinkle a small amount of flour on a work surface and roll dough out with a rolling pin. Roll to about 1/4 inch thick. (don’t use excessive amounts of flour while rolling. It toughens the dough.)
* lets take a break for some sugary cuteness!
5. Use cookie cutters or a paper pattern and knife to cut out your cookies to desired shapes.
*So easy a toddler can do it!

6. Place on an ungreased baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees F. for 8-12 minutes. The longer you bake, the crunchier your cookies will become. For soft cookies, go for about 7-8 minutes. Remove from pan to cool completely on a wire rack.

Now let’s get to the marbleized icing technique! The icing is a powdered sugar glaze, which stays bright and slightly glossy when it dries. Gorgeous!

Ingredients:
1 lb. powdered sugar
6 T. whole milk
6 T. light corn syrup (gives it that nice gloss)
1 t. vanilla or almond extract.
food coloring of your choice
Directions:
1. Wisk sugar and milk until smooth. Then stir in the corn syrup and extract. Glaze should be slightly thin and slowly run off a spoon.
2. Separate glaze to desired containers before adding different food colorings. If you want to have brown icing, use a spoonful of cocoa powder.
To marbleize the icing, start by spreading a base color all over the cookie.
Lightly drizzle a second color in a random stripes or dots on top of the base color. Then, run a toothpick through the glaze in several stripes diagonally, then again in the opposite direction diagonally. The glazes will run together and make a marbleized effect.
Let the icing dry completely, about 2-3 hours before trying to package them. Have fun and be creative!!
Sources: www.ourbestbites.com and Martha Stewart