Happy Easter! I love making cookies, but I have found a new way to make them. Turn them into a bars instead! I can’t believe I’ve never really tried this method before until now. I know it’s been around awhile too. One thing I don’t like about making cookies is all the different batches you have to bake in the oven. These cookie bars just go in there once and they’re all done together. Cut them up into fancy shapes or sizes, and use different colored M&M’s for each Holiday. They’re so good!

This weekend I went shopping and picked up a few bacon items. I got bacon bandages and lip balm. Lip balm is kind of strange if it has a bacon flavor to it. I don’t know if I like it as much.

I also picked up some egg rings. I’ve been looking around for them and found a set of 4 at Williams Sonoma. Now I can make my own egg sandwiches. I told my family I liked having the Jimmy Dean D-Light egg sandwiches for breakfast and they freaked out and said “Do you know how bad for you those are? They are so processed.” My response was f-you. That is pretty much the only processed thing I eat. I do love those sandwiches, and now I can make my own.

Servings: 24
Recipe from Fearless Homemaker

ingredients

2 1/8 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), softened
1 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 cup white sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 12oz bag M&M’s, divided
directions

preheat the oven to 325 degrees. adjust the oven rack to lower-middle position. grease a 9×13 pan + set aside.

in a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, + baking soda; set aside.

in a large bowl, beat the butter + sugars until light + fluffy. add the egg, egg yolk, + vanilla + mix well. using a rubber spatula, fold the dry ingredients into the egg mixture until just combined; do not overmix. fold in 1 cup of M&M’s + turn the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with the spatula. sprinkle the remaining M&M’s on top + press in slightly.

bake 25-30 minutes, until the top of the bars is light golden brown, slightly firm to the touch, + edges start pulling away from sides of pan. cool completely before cutting.

I recently had to make a batch of my bacon chocolate chip cookies that were featured in the 50 Shades of Bacon Cook Book for a possible client. Instead of using all butter for the fat which normal cookies call for, I opted to replace some of the fat with bacon grease. I do keep a jar of bacon fat in my fridge, and yes, I am one of those crazy people that do that. If you have some bacon grease lying around the house use it up in these cookies. The other secret ingredient is the box of instant vanilla pudding. I think that really helps the flavor come out.

I am excited for this weekend to come because I get to actually go to a diner that Guy Fierri went to in Minneapolis MN, called the 1029 Bar. My brother said they have excellent shrimp po boys there but my main interest is the lobster rolls and lobster mac and cheese I saw when that bar was featured on the show. Oh yah, and I also get to make a pit stop at Trader Joe’s too. I so love that store.

Ingredients

1/2 cup of butter
2 tablespoons of bacon grease
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1/4 cup of white sugar
2 eggs
2 cups of flour
1 package of instant vanilla pudding mix
1 tsp of baking powder
1 cup of chocolate chips
5 strips of bacon, chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven 350 degrees.

In a stand mixer, beat together softened butter, bacon grease, and sugars. Gradually add in one egg at a time.

In a small bowl combine flour, baking soda, and vanilla pudding mix. Stir together and with the mixer still on, gradually
add in the flour mixture.

Gradually add in the chocolate chips and chopped bacon.

Bake cookies for 9 to 11 minutes.

Note: You may have to press down on the cookies a bit, so that they spread out.

I made these homemade oatmeal cream pies from Sally’s Baking Addiction today and they put Little Debbie’s oatmeal cream pies to shame. That website is my new favorite baking blog to go to whenever I’m in the mood to bake something sweet.  I want to make another batch of them and bring some to work on Monday. Ben just loved them too. I bet you that they’re gone by the end of the weekend. Thank you for this great recipe! I may never buy the boxed oatmeal cream pies again! I wish I was a good baker and be able to come up with my own recipes like this.

So in case any of you are wondering about the cook book I helped to write called 50 Shades of Bacon, there will be a little segment on Seattle Kitchen this weekend. A famous chef who owns 13 restaurants and competed on Iron Chef America interviewed my friend Ben. How cool is that? This book has been so amazing for us and we are  thankful for all that have bought it!

Recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction

Oatmeal Cream Pies

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Ingredients

• 2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon molasses
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Directions

Step 1

Preheat oven to 375F degrees. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat. Set aside.

Step 2

With a stand or handheld mixer, cream the butter and sugars together at medium speed until light and creamy. Add egg, vanilla, and molasses, scraping down the sides as needed. Set aside.

Step 3

In a medium-sized bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and cloves. Whisk it all around. Add the quick oats and combine.

Step 4

With the mixer running on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to wet ingredients. The dough will be quite thick and you may have to mix it all by hand after a few seconds in the mixer. Drop dough with a large cookie scoop, or make sure each ball of dough is 3 Tablespoons in measurement. Cookies will spread in the oven, so drop each ball of dough 2 inches apart.

Step 5

Bake for 10 minutes, until cookies are lightly golden around the edges. Allow cookies to cool on cookie sheet for 3 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Spread 1.5 Tablespoons of cream filling on the bottom side of half of cookies; top with remaining cookies, right side up.

Frosting

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Ingredients

• 1 1/2 sticks butter
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

Step 1

With a stand or handheld mixer, beat butter for about 1 minute until creamy. Add the powdered sugar and mix on medium speed for 1-2 minutes. Pour in heavy cream and vanilla extract. Mix on high for 3-4 minutes until fluffy. Taste and add a pinch or two of salt, as needed.

Step 2

Cookies stay fresh and soft (with creme filling) at room temperature for 2 days in an airtight container. After that, store in the refrigerator to keep the creme center fresh. These are best eaten within 2 days.

The name of these cookies are called Rainbow cookies. I would like to change that name to something more festive like Red and Green Cookies or Christmas Layered Cookies. Don’t you think?

These cookies were quite challenging to make. Almond paste was an ingredient I’ve never delt with before. It’s in the baking aisle if you haven’t looked for it at all. Then,  I don’t think there is enough dough to work with either. I had divided the dough as evenly as I could and the layers were all uneven. It may not look like it in the pictures but trust me, they were.

I think the next time I make these, I would just use a regular short bread cookie dough recipe and then flavor the cookie dough with almond extract. Almond extract lasts longer than almond paste does and has a better almondy flavor. Did I mention almond paste is really expensive also? I think I paid almost $6.00 for a 6oz tube. I’d also try it with different kinds of flavored jams or maybe nutella even.

recipe from Food Network Magazine

Rainbow Cookies

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Ingredients

• 2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter (room temperature)
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 8 ouces almond paste
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• red and green food coloring
• 15 ounces apricot jam
• 1 pound bitter sweet chocolate
• cooking spray

Directions

Step 1

You'll need three 9-by-12-inch jelly roll pans or rimmed baking sheets to make these layered cookies.

Step 2

Prep the pans: Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven; preheat to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour three 9-by-12-inch jelly roll pans or rimmed baking sheets and line with parchment paper.

Step 3

Make the batter: Combine the almond paste and 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until the mixture is in fine crumbles. Beat in 2 1/2 sticks butter, a few pieces at a time, until well combined. Beat in the egg yolks, one at a time, until smooth.

Step 4

Sift 2 cups flour onto a sheet of parchment and sprinkle the salt on top; add to the mixer bowl and beat until just combined.

Step 5

In a clean bowl, whisk the egg whites until foamy; while whisking, slowly add the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and whisk until firm peaks form (or use a hand mixer). Fold about one-third of the egg white mixture into the batter with a rubber spatula, then gently fold in the rest. The batter should be fluffy.

Step 6

In a clean bowl, whisk the egg whites until foamy; while whisking, slowly add the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and whisk until firm peaks form (or use a hand mixer). Fold about one-third of the egg white mixture into the batter with a rubber spatula, then gently fold in the rest. The batter should be fluffy.

Step 7

Bake the layers: Transfer the batter to the prepared pans (one pan for each color). Dip an offset spatula in water and spread the batter to the edge of each pan, smoothing the tops. Bake, switching the position of the pans halfway through, until the cakes are cooked through and just beginning to brown around the edges, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool completely in the pans on wire racks.

Step 8

Assemble the layers: Spread half of the jam evenly over the green cake layer almost all the way to the edges. Unmold the plain cake layer by inverting it onto another pan or cutting board; peel off the parchment.

Step 9

Carefully slide the plain layer onto the green layer (use a wide offset spatula to help you, if necessary). Spread the remaining jam on top of the plain layer. Unmold the red cake layer and slide it onto the plain layer.

Step 10

Cover the cake with plastic wrap and top with one of the empty pans; place several heavy cans on top to weigh down the layers. Refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.

Step 11

Unmold the cake: Remove the cans and plastic wrap. Place a cutting board on top of the cake and flip to unmold it onto the cutting board. Remove the parchment from the top of the green layer.

Step 12

Trim the cake: Trim the sides with a knife to make straight edges. Spray a wire rack with cooking spray; set the rack over a baking sheet. Carefully slide the cake onto the rack, using a wide offset spatula to help you, if necessary.

Step 13

Cover in chocolate: Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water; pour over the cake. Dip an offset spatula in the hot water and smooth the top and sides. Let set slightly. Scrape wavy lines into the chocolate with a fork; let cool a few more minutes until the chocolate is mostly set but still slightly tacky.

Step 14

Cut into pieces: Slide the cake back onto the cutting board. Slice crosswise into 6 strips, then cut each strip into 8 rectangular pieces. For clean edges, dip the knife in warm water and wipe it with a cloth between cuts. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.

Step 15

If the lines in the chocolate don't hold their shape, let the chocolate set a little longer and try again.

Tis that time of year again: Cookie baking!

I love this time of year. I love trying new cookie recipes like this one. I couldn’t really taste the cherries in here at all. Maybe it needs more of the juice or more cherries, or maybe even some cherry extract. I’ll have to play around with it. What would really be good in the middle of this cookie is a Chocolate Covered cherry. Now, that would be heaven.

My kitchen aid paddle attachment mixer has gone missing and we don’t know what happened to it. I’ve looked everywhere. The last time I saw it was before our trip to Jamaica and that was a whole year ago. I want to go out and buy one but I put it on my Christmas list. Not having that attachment makes it hard to make cookies. I have to do it the old fashion way with my hand mixers. Maybe I’ll go out and just buy one myself, and if I get another one for Christmas I’ll just have two.

Cherry Blossom Recipe from the Curvy Carrot

Cherry Chocolate Blossoms

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Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter (softened)
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons maraschino cherry juice
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 1/2 cup maraschino cherries (diced)
• 36 hershey chocolate kisses (unwrapped)

Directions

Step 1

. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Step 2

In the bowl of your standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter at medium speed until creamy, about 1 minute.

Step 3

Reduce the speed to the lowest setting and slowly add the powdered sugar and salt.

Step 4

Add the cherry juice and the almond extract until combined.

Step 5

With the mixer still on low, slowly add the flour, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Step 6

Increase the mixer speed to medium and add the cherries.

Step 7

Shape the dough into 1-inch balls, and place the balls on a baking sheet, approximately 2 inches apart.

Step 8

Using your thumb, gently press each cookie in its center until the cookie is about 1/2-inch thick.

Step 9

Sprinkle each cookie with a little granulated sugar.

Step 10

Bake the cookies until the bottoms are lightly browned, about 14 minutes.

Step 11

Once removed from the oven, immediately press a chocolate kiss into each cookie’s center

Step 12

Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

  This afternoon I was in a baking mood, but I didn’t have ingredients I needed to make certain things. I wanted to make orange fluff, but I didn’t have any instant vanilla pudding. I also wanted to make cream … Continue reading →

Chocolate and Mint are probably one of my favorite flavor combos. These cookies sure deliver on that too. Perfect for Saint Patrick’s Day coming up.  I found this recipe at Six Sister’s Fun stuff. The name of the blog almost reminds me of a shop that I go to in the Summer time. There are some really good recipes on that website and just about everything looks good looks.

I am probably bad for not trying to make these cookies lighter. Sorry for that, but sometimes I just feel like making the real thing. I kind of want to go through some of the really fattening recipes on this website and try to make them lighter.

Grasshoper Mint Cookies from Six Sisters Stuff

Ingredients:

Cookie bottom:
1 Devil’s Food Cake Mix (I like the ones with pudding in the mix the best)
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs

Mix cake mix, oil, and eggs together (do not follow the directions on the back of the cake mix- disregard them completely). Drop spoonfuls of dough onto baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 6-9 minutes (don’t cook any longer than that! You don’t want them to be overdone!). Let cookies cool completely.

Peppermint Frosting:
1/2 c. butter, softened
2 Tablespoons milk
2 c. powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp. peppermint extract
Green food coloring (optional- I added about 8 drops to get the colors of green that I had)
Mix together all the ingredients (add more or less powdered sugar until you get the consistency you like). Spread on top of each cooled cookie.

Chocolate Topping:
2 1/4 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 c. butter
Melt chocolate chips and butter together in a double boiler OR in a microwave (I usually microwave for 30-second intervals, then stir and repeat until the chips are fully melted). Spread melted chocolate on each cookie- I have found that it works best to use the back of a spoon to spread the chocolate around.

I’m proud to report, that I finally made a successful batch of french macaroon cookies. This made me so happy tonight! I used the recipe that I used before, but did some different things. I’m curious to find out how many points plus these cookies are since it’s a meringue cookie and those are pretty low in points. Stay tuned for points plus values!

1. I bought my own almonds and processed them in the food processor until the almonds looked like flour.

2. I also used the food processor to blend the almonds and powdered sugar mixture together. It’s good to have my food processor finally back again! The blade was broken on it for the longest time and we finally replaced it.

3. I baked them at a different temperature. At 300 degrees they were actually done at 18 minutes and at 275 they just wouldn’t get done.

4. You can fill these with whatever pretty much you like. We have leftover ice cream toppings and Nutella. Those seem to work great. I have this dark chocolate mint fudge topping and I think, I’m going to try that next time. Chocolate macaroons with mint fudge in the middle? Sounds pretty good to me.

Ms. Humble’s Scatter Plot Macarons (her ingredients)

yields 50 (100 shells) macarons (feel free to divide it for fewer cookies)
120g almond meal
200g powdered sugar
100g egg whites
30-35g granulated sugar
food coloring gel

Directions (re-written by me)

In a food processor blend almonds together until it forms a flour consistency. Measure and
weigh out powdered sugar and almonds on a food scale. Process the almonds and powdered sugar together (about 5 pusles).

Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form and gradually add in sugar. There should still be stiff
peaks once the sugar is added.

Fold in the almond flour and powdered sugar mixture in the egg whites a little at a time. The batter should be kind of thick. Fill a piping bag with the cookie mixture and pipe little
circles about the size of a quarter onto a baking sheet with parchment paper. I like to
use those silicon mats. Bake at 300 for 18 minutes.

I think I’ve tried a total of 4 different times to make these really good cookies. Let me tell you something too, Bob’s Red Mill almond flour isn’t that cheap either. The one we found at the store was around 13.00 for about 4 cups of the flour. I’d love to be able to get them right and to fill the macarons with Nutella, Buttercream, jam, etc..

I’ve tried two different recipes. One recipe required boiling some sugar and water together. I had to try two times with that to get it right. The recipe said to boil the sugar and water until it gets to 235 degrees and then add it to the egg whites. I thought it was odd that the sugar started turning brown around 170 degrees and I’m thinking, I don’t want caramel sauce. That guys picture where I found the recipe on his site, didn’t look like caramel sauce. So, I had to make it again and that time it was better.

Then, I thought screw boiling the sugar and water together and just use sugar. That’s when I found this really good recipe at Not So Humble pie. I was watching the cookies rise in the oven and was very happy when the cookies started getting that famous bottom they’re known for. Then the cookies started cooling and I took them off the pan and they looked like they didn’t have a bottom or an inside. Bummer. You’ll see that in the pictures soon. The recipe is a really good find too, and I’m going to try cooking them longer the next time. I also want to pick up another silicon pad mat and try adding some color to them.

First you need egg whites. If you don’t have a food scale, I’d suggest buying one.This recipe calls for measuring the sugar, flour, and egg whites in grams.

You also need some ground almond flour and powdered sugar. Also some regular sugar.

These cookies didn’t turn out. They were hallow in the inside not cooked long enough.

Bad, very bad. I will get them right one day though. I’m not going to give up!

Ms. Humble’s Scatter Plot Macarons
yields 50 (100 shells) macarons (feel free to divide it for fewer cookies)
120g almond meal
200g powdered sugar
100g egg whites
30-35g granulated sugar
food coloring gel

Line 2-3 heavy gauge aluminum baking sheets with parchment or silicone liners (more on this below). Prep a piping bag with a round tip (I use a Ateco #11 for most of my macs, though I’ll occasionally use a #804 for larger macarons). I place the bag into a tall drinking glass (or stout glass) and cuff the bag’s opening over the top, this makes the bag easy to fill hands-free.

Weigh out almond meal and powdered sugar and sift together to remove any clumps. (If you own a food processor, I highly recommend blending the ingredients and then sifting.)

Weigh out the egg whites into a large mixing bowl (stainless steel or copper), if you’re using stainless feel free to add a pinch of salt, 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar or couple drops of lemon juice to help strengthen the whites. If you’re using copper you need not and should not add any additional acid (more on this below).

Weigh out the granulated sugar. (Often I’ll use homemade vanilla sugar for this.)

Begin beating the eggs on low speed. What you’re doing here is unraveling the egg white’s proteins (these are what will capture the air bubbles you whisk in), they’re bundled up and you need to gently unwind them. A light touch does this far better than scrambling them on high speed. Once the egg whites are very foamy, begin sprinkling in the sugar as you beat. Increase the speed to medium, if necessary, and beat the meringue to stiff glossy peaks. (If they start looking grainy, clumpy or dry… uh… you’ve gone too far.)

Add the food coloring (for the full recipe it usually takes 2-4 drops of gel, for a half batch 1-2 drops does the trick) and mix.

Add about 1/4 of the almond/sugar mixture and fold in until no streaks remain. Continue to add the almond mixture in quarters, folding until you reach the proper batter. (More on this below)

Pour the batter into your prepared piping bag and pipe rows of batter (dollops a little bigger than a quarter) onto the baking sheets, giving them space to spread.

Tap the pan on the counter to bring up any air bubbles and quickly pop them with a toothpick.

Allow the cookies to rest on a level surface for 30-60 minutes. Until they are no longer tacky to a light touch. If you have problems with burst shells, you may need to allow them to rest longer or double stack your baking sheets to provided better insulation from the bottom.

While they rest, place an oven rack in the lower 3rd of your oven and preheat to 275-310°F (I’ve had the most success with about 285-290°F). I do not use fan-forced (convection) heat. If your oven tends to brown the cookies, consider placing a rack in the top of the oven with a baking sheet on it to shield the cookies. Occasionally my top element in my spastic electric oven turns on and browns my cookies, upsetting me greatly.

Bake the cookies for 16-20 minutes.

I thought I’d post a list of my favorite Holiday cookies. Every year, I’ll try some new ones and this year I found some that I really liked including the Candy Cane Blossoms, White Chocolate- Cherry Shortbread cookies, and Cranberry bliss bars. From last year I really liked the oreo truffles, aka oreo truffles and peanut butter ritz cracker cookies. My mom found that recipe. It’s ok to use really simple cookie recipes during the holidays. I don’t think everything has to be homemade either. The more cookies you can keep on knocking out of that oven the better and the even better cookies are ones that don’t require any baking. Sometimes, I’ll try and make homemade caramels but didn’t get around to it this year. Cookies are fun gifts to give and I have fun making them, especially with a double oven…

1. Oreo Truffles

2. Cranberry Bliss Bars (I used marischino Cherries)

3. Peanut Butter Ritz Sandwich cookies

Take two ritz crackers and put some peanut butter in the middle of them like a sandwich. Dip in chocolate. (It’s that simple)

4. White Chocolate – Cherry Shortbread Cookies

5. Candy Cane Blossoms