Apricot Kolaches & Christmas Cookie Baking

December 22, 2014December 21, 2014 / Jodi / 14 Comments

I finally got around to some Christmas cookie baking this weekend, and the highlight for my gang is the Apricot Kolaches.

Mine are not quite as perfect and beautiful as Grandma used to make, but they are getting thumbs ups around here. Apricot Kolaches are a traditional Polish tender cream cheese pastry cookie with a sweet-tart apricot filling. Grandma was 100% Polish, and her cooking and baking were like none other!

I remember Grandma painstakingly measuring each 2 inch by 2 inch square so that every singly one looked exactly the same. I don’t have nearly the patience, but I smile remembering those days in the kitchen with her. I can also now relate to the aching back and feet she had at the end of the day after rolling, cutting, filling, folding, baking, cooling, packing up… And I wish I had a young Jodi to rub my feet and massage my legs with Jergen’s cherry almond lotion like I did for Grandma in the evening after an all-day baking session.

But the joy on Marty’s and Nick’s faces and the “Mmmmm’s” that escape their lips between bites make it all worth it!

(and then I have to hurry up and freeze some or they would be gone quicker than it takes me to clean up the dishes!)

I also made some of my Jodi’s Almost Famous Chocolate Chip Cookies – a perennial favorite around here…

…as well as some with dried blueberries and white chocolate chips using the same recipe (another of Marty’s faves).

And it wouldn’t be Christmas without some Peanut Butter Blossoms…

And gotta have some Pittsburgh Thumbprint cookies too. I made a batch with chocolate fudge and another with colorful sprinkles and green icing centers.

Here is the recipe I use for the Apricot Kolaches.

(The Chocolate Chips and Pittsburgh Thumbprints can be found by following the links to previous posts.)

APRICOT KOLACHES

2 8-oz blocks of cream cheese, softened
2 cups (4 sticks) butter, softened
5 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups apricot preserves or apricot filling (I use Baker’s)
1 Egg, beaten
Confectioner’s (Powdered) Sugar, for dusting

Beat cream cheese and butter on medium-high speed of stand mixer until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Turn mixer on low, and gradually mix in the flour until a smooth dough forms.

Knead dough on lightly floured work surface, and gently form a ball. Divide dough into fourths, flatten, and wrap each in plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 4 hours.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line cookie sheet or baking stone with parchment paper. Working with one piece of dough at a time (after bringing back to room temperature from refrigeration), roll out to approximately 1/8 inch thick rectangle. Trim edges and cut dough into 2 inch squares.

Spoon about 1/2 teaspoon of apricot filling into the center of each square.

Fold one corner into the center, dab with the beaten egg, then bring the opposite corner into the center and press firmly to seal.

Place on parchment-lined cookie sheet, and bake for approximately 10 minutes.

Dust with confectioner’s sugar and cool on wire rack.

These cookies freeze well, and thaw quickly.

This recipe makes about a million …. or at least feels like it when you are making them! 🙂
I hope you and your family will try these and enjoy them as much as we do.

Cheers & Sweet Hugs,
Jodi

Chocolate Caramel Crisp Cookies

December 17, 2014December 17, 2014 / Jodi / 9 Comments

Chocolate + Crisp, Salty, Buttery Ritz Crackers + Rolo Candies = PURE BLISS in my book…
Do you agree?

Oh THANK YOU, Ruthanne at easybaked.net for sharing this super easy, wonderfully delicious recipe!

It is literally THREE (3) ingredients + any embellishments you want to add – or not.

Ritz Crackers
Rolo Candies
Chocolate

Now seriously – anyone can do that – right?

And according to Ruthanne’s Dad, they are the BEST cookies he’s ever eaten…

Here is Ruthanne’s recipe from her awesome website: easybaked.net:

INGREDIENTS: (makes about 50 cookies)

One box of Ritz Crackers
One bag of Rolo caramel candies
Two bags of Wilton’s Candy Melts in dark (or milk) chocolate – ( I used one of each)

DIRECTIONS:

Unwrap all those little Rolos…this is the hardest part of this recipe….booooring!
Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
Place Ritz Crackers, bottom side up, on a cookie sheet and set one unwrapped Rolo on each one.
Put these into the oven and leave them for one to two minutes until the Rolo is soft enough to press flat with another cracker- I actually just kept checking until they were soft enough.
Remove them from the oven and use another Ritz cracker to make a little sandwich of that soft Rolo.
Allow these to cool completely.
Melt Candy Melts in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring in between until they are completely melted and smooth.
Cover each cookie with melted chocolate and use a fork to lift the cookie up. Tap the fork against the side of the bowl to allow excess chocolate to drain off, slide bottom of cookie along edge of bowl to remove extra off bottom, and tip gently off fork and allow cookie to slide onto parchment or wax paper. Sprinkle/ decorate as desired and allow cookie to harden completely.

ENJOY!

Cheers & Chocolately Hugs,

Jodi

Chocolate Peanut Butter Acorn Cookies

November 23, 2014November 22, 2014 / Jodi / 15 Comments

I couldn’t resist trying this cute idea for a fun little Thanksgiving treat.

Aren’t they so stinking cute?!

So easy to make…

and even more sweet to eat!

I simply used chocolate icing in a tube to “glue” Nutter Butter Bites to Hershey’s Kisses and topped with a Nestle Mini Morsel Chocolate Chip.

(I’ve also seen these done with mini Nilla Wafers if you’re not a big peanut butter fan, but I think these are way yummier! 🙂 )

Voila! A fun, easy, and sweet treat!

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

Thanksgiving Turkey Oreo Cookie Balls

November 16, 2014November 15, 2014 / Jodi / 10 Comments

I had some googly candy eyes left from making Peanut Butter & Chocolate Spider Cookies for Halloween, so I thought I would make these cute little Thanksgiving Turkey Oreo Cookie Balls.

With just a few simple ingredients, you can create these little critters for your Thanksgiving turkeys.

thanksgiving turkey oreo balls

I had some fun little “turkeys” to share mine with. Like this one….

and this one. Who each gave them a big thumbs UP! 🙂

Here is the recipe, which I tweaked slightly from the original found on Pink When:

Thanksgiving Turkey Oreo Cookie Balls

1 Package Oreo cookies, finely crushed (about 36 cookies)

1 package (8oz.) cream cheese (softened)

1 Bag Nestle’s Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips, Melted

1 Bag Candy Corn

Candy eyes

Crush OREO cookies to a fine crumbly mixture (I placed in a Ziploc Freezer bag and rolled a marble rolling pin over them). Mix in the softened cream cheese.

Roll into one inch cookie balls, and freeze for 10 minutes.

Dip cookie balls into melted chocolate and place on a prepared cookie sheet covered with wax paper.

Place into the refrigerator for 15 minutes to an hour before decorating.

Add 5 candy corn to the back of the ball as tail feathers by gently poking into the cookie ball.

Use additional melted chocolate as glue to attach the candy eyes, nose and feet. (For each turkey, cut a piece of candy corn – using the white tip as the nose, and the orange part (cut in half) as feet.)

Gobble Gobble!

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffin Top Cookies

November 4, 2014November 3, 2014 / Jodi / 11 Comments

There are certain foods that just love each other…
peanut butter & jelly… bacon & eggs…. macaroni & cheese…
and bananas & chocolate!

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffin Top Cookies – photo by Nick

So when I saw a recipe for Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies on Rantings of an Amateur Chef’s Maggie Monday yesterday, I knew I had to try them.

And I had some perfectly over-ripe bananas on the counter just waiting to be used.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffin Top Cookies – photo by Nick

I hesitated a bit messing with chocolate chip cookies, but when I read that these were more like muffin tops in their taste and texture, I was sold.

Be warned, these are not your normal chocolate chip cookie, and they taste nothing like my “almost famous” chocolate chips cookies, but they are a surprisingly delightful treat.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffin Top Cookies

Even Nick, who was skeptical with me messin’ with chocolate chip cookies, gave them a big thumbs up (and shared some of his photography talent by taking some of the photos I’m sharing today).

If you are looking for something different, and you love banana bread, muffins, and chocolate chips cookies, these are a must try.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffin Top Cookie & Milk – Photo by Nick

Here is the recipe as posted yesterday on Rantings of an Amateur Chef:

Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

2/3 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp baking soda
2 cup chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in the eggs, vanilla and bananas. Combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then gradually add this to the creamed mixture and blend well. Stir in the chocolate chips. Chill dough for at least one hour. Drop by tablespoonfuls about 2” apart on baking sheets covered with parchment paper. Bake at 350° for 9-11 minutes until edges are lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool.

Enjoy!

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

Pumpkin Cheesecake Snickerdoodles

October 29, 2014October 28, 2014 / Jodi / 3 Comments

It’s the countdown to Halloween on Friday!

I can’t believe it will be NOVEMBER in a few days! Where did the time go? We hit close to 80 degrees F Tuesday, and it is still 70 degrees F as I write this post well into Tuesday evening with the windows wide open and the warm breeze blowing in.

I think we are going to be in for a brutal awakening in a few days as the weather forecasters are calling for that “S” word to hit for Halloween! YIKES!

Since I don’t have children at home anymore to create costumes for or grandchildren yet (patiently waiting – fingers crossed! LOL!) and don’t even get any trick or treaters living a bit far back off the beaten path, what is a girl to do but bake pumpkiny “stuff” for Halloween – right?!?

With a few cans of pumpkin still in the pantry and everything else I needed for this yummy recipe on hand that I discovered on Bakeaholic Mama’s blog, I had to try these Pumpkin Cream Cheese Filled Snickerdoodles that combine all the wonderfulness of pumpkin pie, cheesecake, and snickerdoodles ALL IN ONE COOKIE!

Marty gave them a THUMBS UP (and hopefully will remember to take most of them to the office tomorrow so we don’t eat them all)!

Hope you are enjoying the last week of October, wherever this finds you, and hope you will try this yummy treat.

Recipe from: Bakeaholic Mama’s Blog

Cream Cheese-Filled Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

Yield: about 2-3 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

3¾ cups all-purpose flour
1½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ tsp. freshly-ground ground nutmeg
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
½ cup light brown sugar
¾ cup pumpkin puree
1 large egg
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Ingredients for the filling:

8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Ingredients for the cinnamon-sugar coating:

½ cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. ground ginger

Directions:

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.

Beat together the butter and sugars on medium-high speed of electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Blend in the pumpkin puree. Beat in the egg and vanilla until incorporated. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add in the dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated. Cover and chill the dough for at least 1 hour.

While the dough chills, make the filling. In a small bowl, mix together the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla until smooth and creamy. Cover and chill this as well (for at least half an hour).

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a small bowl, mix together the sugar and spices for the coating.

Take one tablespoon of dough and flatten it into a pancake shape. Place one teaspoon of the cream cheese mixture in the middle of the pancake. Form another tablespoon of dough into an equally-sized pancake shape, and place on top, keeping the cream cheese in the middle. Gently pinch together the edges of the dough around the cream cheese to seal, then gently roll into a ball. Roll the ball in the cinnamon-sugar mixture to coat. Repeat with the remaining dough to fill baking stones or cookie sheets, spacing the dough balls 2-3 inches apart. Flatten the dough balls slightly.Bake for approximately 10 minutes, or until they are slightly firm to the touch and the tops are beginning to crackle. Let cool on the baking sheets about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

ENJOY!

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

Sea Salt Caramel Chocolate Chunk Cookies

October 20, 2014October 19, 2014 / Jodi / 5 Comments

Who can resist Sea Salt Caramels mixed with Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chunks??!!??

And baked into a warm, crisp on the outside, chewy on the inside homemade cookie!

I saw these new yummy Brach’s Sea Salt Caramel Royals at the store recently and thought they might make a nice addition to my basic “almost famous” chocolate chip cookies for a little change up.

So I chopped up a bag of these amazing little bites of heaven and substituted them for half of the chocolate chunks in my cookies. The only tricky thing about these is that the melted caramel makes the cookies a bit tricky to remove from you baking sheets (stones), so I recommend letting them cool almost completely on the sheet before removing.

Two thumbs up from the guys in the McKinney house (and if Mikey had an opposable thumb, he’d give one too).

Sea Salt Caramel Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Mix together:

1 lb softened butter (YEPPERS – you heard me right – I did say O N E P O U N D – 4 sticks – 2 cups – – – don’t get too shook up – recipe makes A LOT!)
1-1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1-1/2 cups white sugar
2-3 tsp vanilla (just pour some in)
4 eggs

Then add:

5 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

Mix well, then fold in:

1 12-oz bag Nestle Semi Sweet Chocolate Chunks
1 10-oz bag Brach’s Sea Salt Caramel Royals, chopped

Chill for several hours.

Drop by heaping tablespoons on baking stone, and bake at 375 for 9-11 min.

ENJOY!

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

Old-Fashioned Snickerdoodles

October 14, 2014October 13, 2014 / Jodi / 17 Comments

I made some Snickerdoodles this past weekend to take along to Krautfest. They are such a simple, old-fashioned cookie, but one that folks seem to really love.

Every time I bake these, I think of my friend, Janet and her sweet mom. Before them, I had never heard of Snickerdoodles. I recall visiting one day, and their house smelled so cinnamony wonderful with these fresh-baked treats cooling on the kitchen table. I can remember tasting my first one and loving it. They are a bit crispy and crunchy on the outside and tender and chewy on the inside. Nobody in my family had ever baked these – not even Grandma, but they have become one of our family’s favorites. I have passed this recipe on to my daughter-in-law, Colleen, who has begun making them too.

The nice thing about Snickerdoodles is you can make them in a pinch as you typically have everything you need on hand. They can also be made pretty quickly, as this is one dough that really doesn’t need refrigerated before baking like I usually prefer to do. I think because shortening makes for a firmer dough – but if there is someone out there that knows more about this than me, I hope you will offer your feedback.

Snickerdoodles

1 ½ cups sugar
½ cup butter, soft
½ cup butter Crisco shortening
2 eggs
3 cups flour
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
¼ cup sugar
2 tsp cinnamon

Heat oven to 400ºF.
Mix 1 1/2 cups sugar, the butter, shortening and eggs in large bowl. Stir in flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt.
Shape dough into 1 1/4-inch balls. Mix 1/4 cup sugar and the cinnamon. Roll balls in cinnamon-sugar mixture. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Press down slightly.
Bake approx. 8 minutes or until set. I usually give a gentle push on them with two fingers to flatten a bit more right before pulling them out of the oven to get them to “crackle” a bit.
Cool on the baking sheet for 1-2 minutes, then remove to cool on wire rack.

Makes 4 dozen cookies

My cookie secrets include: Always add a little extra flour (included in this recipe), underbake, bake on well-seasoned baking stones, use electric oven.

ENJOY!

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

Gingersnaps & Finding Memories

September 30, 2014September 30, 2014 / Jodi / 5 Comments

Have you ever found yourself baking something just because of what it reminds you of? The memories it evokes? The traditions created around that certain recipe?

Gingersnaps are one of those recipes for me.

Baking them takes me back to Thanksgiving mornings many years ago when the boys were young, and we lived on Borderline Drive.

The only thing separating us from our closest neighbors and the boys’ best friends was five glorious acres of woods with a stream running through it and a clearing right smack in the middle that our two boys and the three neighbor boys (and one girl) declared, designed, and spent countless hours at – – “the Field.”

In the summer, there was a dugout made from chain link fence and whatever scraps of wood or pipe the boys could rustle up to hold it up that year. They built up a pitcher’s mount, painted base lines with spray paint, and secured tattered rubber bases to create their field of dreams.

Come Fall, however, the baseball field was converted to a football field.

And every Thanksgiving morning, after turkeys were stuffed and left to roast, our neighborhood families would gather for our annual “Turkey Bowl” football game.

One neighbor brought the cooler of beer for the adults and built the bonfire for the “fans” and “cheerleaders” to hover and converse at.

My job was hot chocolate and warm gingersnaps fresh out of the oven.

I made them for years every Thanksgiving for the Turkey Bowl. They usually got eaten by ravenous linebackers and receivers wearing mud covered gloves. The men found them to go famously with beer too! There were Thanksgivings with snow on the ground and others where no coat was necessary, but we always had warm gingersnaps.

I seemed to have misplaced the original handwritten recipe from Barb. I’ve never got around to properly organizing my recipes, and I’m sure I could just call her, but I found this recipe online, and it seems to come pretty close. I made them the other day to share with some guests at the office. I think they need a little more ginger, but that is a preference you can decide.

Today’s #Writing101 Assignment is to write about finding something. I know this is a stretch 🙂 – and a better story would be if I would have found that dang original handwritten recipe from Barb!

But this was my sneaky way of getting to share a recipe, share a memory, and share some photos I took of the cookies I made. I call that a SCORE! And hey – I wrote – and I found something.

Gingersnap Gems (from Midwest Living)

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves ( I omitted)
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger (I used 3/4 tsp, but would make it a full tsp. next time)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup shortening
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg
Sugar

In a bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and salt. Set aside. In another bowl, beat the 1 cup sugar and shortening with an electric mixer until well combined. Beat in molasses; beat in the egg. Add the flour mixture and beat until combined.

Shape the dough into 1-inch balls. Roll balls in sugar and place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. (I always bake on a baking stone, and I flattened mine slightly before baking.)

Bake in a 375 degree F oven for 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are set and tops are crackled. Cool on a cookie sheet for 1 minute. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Makes approximately 30-36 cookies depending on size.

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

Pumpkin Nutella Swirled Cookies

September 25, 2014September 23, 2014 / Jodi / 6 Comments

Nothing says Fall like pumpkin.

At the first signs, I am perusing recipes and pins on Pinterest to find new and exciting pumpkin recipes.

I had a jar of Nutella that Nick wanted to try a while back that has just been sitting there begging to be used in some sweet form, so I decided on this recipe I found from Jenn @eatcakefordinner.

The guys loved them, and I had fun using my new micro-planer (from our Trip to the Strip) to add freshly ground nutmeg to these tasty little puffs of pumpkiny goodness. (what a difference fresh seasonings, herbs, and spices makes. Oh – if you could only scratch ‘n sniff this photo – which I DO NOT recommend!)

We might also be able to trick ourselves into thinking these are a little bit healthy……… pumpkin is a vegetable with loads of vitamins – and this recipes uses Greek yogurt too. Give them a try. They are a perfect Fall treat.

Pumpkin Nutella-Swirled Cookies
From: Jenn@eatcakefordinner

3 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 c. butter, room temperature
1 1/4 c. light brown sugar
1 c. non-fat plain Greek yogurt (or sour cream)
1 c. canned pumpkin puree
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. Nutella

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon; set aside. In a separate bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar. Add the yogurt, pumpkin, egg and vanilla and mix until combined. Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Drop spoonfuls of dough, about 1 1/2 – 2 Tablespoons each, onto a greased baking sheet. Flatten cookies a bit. They do not spread much while baking and they puff up quite a bit, so make sure to flatten them.

Top each cookie with 1/2 teaspoon or so of Nutella, spreading out and swirling slightly. Bake cookies for 12-15* minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Makes 36-43* cookies.

*Jenn’s recipe said bake for 15 min, but I only needed 12 min in my convection oven. Also, Jenn said her recipe made 43 cookies, and I got 36.

Enjoy!

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

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the creative life in between

cherishing the moments and exploring my passion for creativity… through art, photography, food, and writing

cookies

Apricot Kolaches & Christmas Cookie Baking

Chocolate Caramel Crisp Cookies

Chocolate Peanut Butter Acorn Cookies

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffin Top Cookies

Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

Pumpkin Cheesecake Snickerdoodles

Sea Salt Caramel Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Old-Fashioned Snickerdoodles

Gingersnaps & Finding Memories

Gingersnap Gems (from Midwest Living)

Pumpkin Nutella Swirled Cookies

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Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

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