Orange Cream Cookies

As soon as I saw these cookies, I had to make them. They smell and taste exactly like a Creamsicle.

The original recipe calls for a pouch of Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix, but I used the sugar cookie recipe that I used for the Easter Egg Stained Glass Sugar Cookies.

Orange Cream Cookies

3/4 C. Butter, Softened

1 C. Sugar

2 Eggs

1 tsp. Orange Extract

1/2 tsp. Vanilla Extract

2-1/2 C. All-Purpose Flour

1 tsp. Baking Powder

1/2 tsp. Salt

5 Drops Yellow Food Color

2 Drops Red Food Color

1-1/2 C. White Vanilla Baking Chips

Heat oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs, orange extract, and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir in food coloring. Stir in baking chips.

On ungreased cookie sheets, drop dough with 1 1/2 tablespoon-size cookie scoop or by rounded tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart.

Bake 9 to 10 minutes or just until dough is set (do not overbake). Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks. Cool completely.


Adapted from: Betty Crocker Christmas Cookies, 2009

Glazed Toffee Bonbons

This is another recipe from one of my Christmas cookie books. I am a sucker for anything with toffee and the glaze is amazing. Tim and I both ate way too much of the leftovers.

The only real change that I made was to substitute peanut butter chips for white vanilla baking chips. This was no commentary on the original recipe; it was simply that I did not have vanilla chips.

 Glazed Toffee Bonbons

Cookies:

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 bars (1.4 oz. each) chocolate covered English toffee candy, finely chopped

Glaze:

1/4 cup butter

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

2-3 tablespoons milk

1 1/3 cups powdered sugar

1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1/3 cup peanut butter chips

Heat the oven to 325°F. In a large bowl, beat 1/2 cup butter, 1/2 cup brown sugar, the vanilla and the egg with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. On low speed, beat in the flour, baking soda and salt. Stir chopped candy into the dough. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. On ungreased cookie sheets, place balls 1 inch apart.

Bake 11 to 14 minutes or until edges start to brown and tops of cookies feel set when tapped. Place cooling racks on waxed paper. Immediately remove cookies from cookie sheets to cooling racks.

Meanwhile, in a 1-quart saucepan, heat 1/4 cup butter, 1/2 cup brown sugar and 2 tablespoons of the milk over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until mixture just comes to a boil and sugar is dissolved. Stir in powdered sugar; beat with a wire whisk if necessary to remove lumps. Immediately dip tops of cookies into glaze or spread on top of cookies. (Cookies don't need to be completely cooled, just firm and set.) Place on rack; let stand about 10 minutes until glaze is set. If glaze starts to set in saucepan, reheat over medium-low heat and beat with a wire whisk.

Place chocolate chips and peanut butter chips in separate ziploc bags. Microwave each on high for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, squishing the bags every 30 seconds until melted and smooth.

Then cut off the corner and drizzle over cookies. Refrigerate 20 minutes to set quickly.

Adapted from: Betty Crocker Christmas Cookies, 2009

Chocolate Truffles

Every time that I need/want to make a delicious treat, Tim and I have the following conversation:

What should I make?

Something delicious.

Well that’s not vague. Could you be a bit more specific?

Chocolate chip cookies.

How about something a bit more creative?

Mint truffles.

Those are the only things you ever suggest.

I knows what I like!



I have always loved making truffles, because they always look so fancy and complicated, when they are actually extremely easy to make. They are also a great creative outlet, since you can make almost any flavor, with numerous coatings and decorations.

I had recently acquired my first candy molds, so I decided to use those for these truffles. I did one batch flavored with mint chocolate Bailey’s Irish Crème coated with semisweet chocolate and one batch with raspberry extract coated with dark chocolate.  

The dark chocolate raspberry truffles. These seemed to be a hit. My dad ate not only his but my brother's as well.

 Chocolate Truffles

1 Bag (12 oz) Semisweet Chocolate Chips (2 cups, separated)

2 Tbsp Butter or Margarine

1/4 C. Whipping Cream

2 Tbsp. Liqueur/Flavoring (almond, cherry, coffee, hazelnut, Irish cream, orange, raspberry, etc.), if desired

In 2-quart saucepan, melt 1 cup of the chocolate chips over low heat, stirring constantly; remove from heat. Stir in butter. Stir in whipping cream and flavoring. Refrigerate 10 to 15 minutes, stirring frequently, just until thick enough to hold a shape.

Meanwhile, temper the remaining 1 cup of chocolate. In order for melted chocolate to harden properly (with a glossy shiny finish), it needs to be tempered. I found a great article about tempering chocolate here. Since I do not have a marble slab (and I envision having to burn down the kitchen to clean up the mess that it would create), I use the “seed” method. Melt ¾ cup of the chips in a double boiler or microwave until melted and over 105° on a candy thermometer. Stir in the remaining chips until the temperature enters the tempering range (88°-90° for dark chocolate and 86°-88° for milk chocolate).

Using a candy mold:

Fill each mold 1/3 to 1/2 full with melted chocolate. Using a decorator brush (or one of the smaller paintbrushes from the combo pack that I got at Hobby Lobby) paint up the sides of the molds, making sure that there are no thin spots where light can be seen through. Put the molds in the refrigerator until set, keeping the remaining chocolate’s temperature within the tempering range.

Once the chocolate has set and the truffle mixture has thickened enough to hold shape, spoon the filling into the molds, pressing down to remove any air and to fill the cavity fully. Put the molds into the refrigerator for a few minutes to set.

Seal the shell by covering the filling completely with melted chocolate to the top edge. Lightly tap the molds to break up any air bubbles. Put the molds into the refrigerator or freezer until completely set.

Once set, remove the truffles from the molds. Store in refrigerator.

The mint chocolate irish creme truffles

Other Coating:

Once the truffle mixture has thickened enough to hold shape, drop it by teaspoonfuls onto a parchment lined cookie sheet. Shape into balls. If rolling in nuts, cocoa, or mini chocolate chips, do so immediately. Otherwise, freeze for 30 minutes. Dip firm truffles into tempered chocolate one at a time. Shake off excess chocolate and return to the cookie sheet. Immediately sprinkle with any decoration desired. Refrigerate until coating is set. Store in refrigerator.

Adapted from: Betty Crocker Christmas Cookies, 2008



Easter Egg Stained Glass Sugar Cookies

Years ago, during one of my Christmas cookie marathons, I made eggnog angel cookies that had pretty “stained glass” hearts. I though that this technique would be neat in an Easter egg cookie as well.

I love this icing as well. The corn syrup creates a wonderful smooth, shiny finish.

Easter Egg Stained Glass Sugar Cookies

Cookie:

3/4 C. Butter, Softened

1 C. Sugar

2 Eggs

1/2 tsp. Vanilla Extract

2-1/2 C. All-Purpose Flour

1 tsp. Baking Powder

1/2 tsp. Salt

½ C. Assorted Hard Candies (Lifesavers)

Poured Icing:

1 C. Powdered Sugar

2 tsp. Milk

2 tsp. Light Corn Syrup

Misc. Food Coloring (Optional)

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).

A trick that I use for refrigerating cookie dough is to put the dough in a ziploc bag, already partially flattened. This allows for easy storage and reduces some of the work of flattening cold dough later. 

Preheat oven to 400°. Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on parchment paper lined cookie sheets. Wax paper burns at a lower temperature, so it is not recommended for these cookies.

I would suggest using name brand candy. I used generic and a lot of the coloring ran into the cookie and left a clear candy "window."

Put the hard candies in a thick ziploc bag. Using a rolling pin or hammer, crush the candies.

Using a second, smaller cookie cutter, cut a shape out of the cookie. Fill this cavity (to heaping) with the crushed candies, as the candies will reduce as the cookies bake.

Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely.

Meanwhile, mix sugar and milk thoroughly. Add the corn syrup and mix well. Tint as needed with food coloring. Decorate the cooled cookies as desired.

Rocky Road Cookies

I am a sucker for the “cookie books” that show up in the grocery stores around Christmas, and get a lot of ideas from them. This recipe came from this season’s Betty Crocker book.

The original recipe used a pouch of double chocolate chunk cookie mix as the base. While I am a fan of shortcuts, I figured cheating that much would defeat the purpose of this new adventure that I am undertaking, so I replaced it with the classic toll house cookie recipe and cocoa. I also think that the additional pecans really add to the presentation.

Rocky Road Cookies

Cookies:

2 ¼ C. Flour

½ c. Cocoa Powder

1 tsp. Baking Soda

1 tsp. Salt

1 C. Butter, Softened

¾ C. Sugar

¾ C. Firmly Packed Brown Sugar

1 tsp. Vanilla

2 Eggs

2/3 C. Chopped Pecans

12 Large Marshmallows Cut in Half

Frosting:

1 C. Semisweet Chocolate Chips

1/3 C. Whipping Cream

1 tsp. Butter or Margarine, Softened

1 tsp. Vanilla

½ C. Powdered Sugar
1 C. Pecans

Preheat oven to 350°. In a small bowl, sift flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In a large mixer bowl, combine butter, sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla, beating until creamy. Beat in eggs. Gradually add the flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls, 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 7 minutes. Remove from oven; immediately press marshmallow half lightly, cut side down, on top of cookie. Bake 1 to 2 minutes longer or just until marshmallows begin to soften. Cool 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in 1-quart non-stick saucepan, melt chocolate chips over low heat, stirring constantly, until smooth. Remove from heat. Add whipping cream, butter, and vanilla; blend well. Stir in powdered sugar until smooth.

Spread frosting over each cooled cookie, covering the marshmallow. Place a whole pecan on the top. Let stand until frosting is set.

Adapted from: Betty Crocker Christmas Cookies, 2009