Pistachio Kiss Cookies

Christmas time just screams out for some sort of Hershey's kiss topped cookie doesn't it? I've strayed many times from the traditional PB and chocolate ones usually find myself making the cherry shortbread version.  This year I was determined to finally nail a Pistachio Pudding cookie and thought this might be the perfect opportunity. 

I have a forever weakness for pistachio flavored foods.  Yes, I know it's more likely fauxstachio but there's just something about that faux flavor that makes me grab for that little green jello box entirely way too often. 

There are a lot of fun ideas and recipes to create fun foods from pudding mix and I've given them a whirl...without any luck.  Sad.  Even these cookies had about three previous versions where I played with the sugar/flour/cornstarch combo.

I've tried the Betty Crocker cookie and pudding mix cookies with cranberries.  They tasted like cookie mix cookies. 

These pistachio wedding cookies looked awesome in the original poster's recipe but tasted a little plain when I made them.

I had super high hopes for the pistachio pudding fudge but mine came out grainy and tasting like pistachio white chocolate.  White chocolate was one of the main ingredients but I'd hoped that the pistachio flavor would overpower and eliminate any traces of white chocolate--not so much.  

There's something about that light pistachio green though that just makes it look delicious and fun.  

Butter + powdered sugar + jello pudding mix = something that looks like I want to eat straight from the mixer.  

Dark chocolate topped the cookies in this kitchen, but you can obviously switch up the kisses with the milk chocolate or even the (gasp) white chocolate ones. 

Like the cherry versions, these cookies are definitely more shortbread than sweet cookie.  If you love your sugar, these are probably not going to be sweet enough.  If you find all the sugar of the holidays a bit overwhelming, these may be right up your alley.  

The pistachio flavor is a little subtle the first day but no worries--the pistachio flavor becomes more prominent by the 2nd and 3rd days.  

I know I made them for Christmas, but every time I look at them, I think of Elphaba from Wicked.  

Pistachio Kiss Cookies

Ingredients

1 c softened butter
3/4 c powdered sugar

1 pkg instant pistachio pudding mix
1 egg
1 tsp pistachio extract (I bought might from Savory Spice shop)
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 3/4 c flour

1/4 c cornstarch
1/2 c. pistachios, finely chopped (optional)

30 dark chocolate Hershey's Kisses

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 °
2. Cream butter and sugar until smooth. Add pudding mix and extracts and mix well. 
3. Add egg and beat to combine.
4. Add flour and cornstarch and mix until thoroughly combined. Stir in chopped pistachios. 
5. Shape into 1" balls  Place 2" apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Mine made exactly 30 cookies.  While cookies are baking, unwrap kisses
6. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Remove to a wire rack to cool slightly before topping each with a Kiss.

The Perfect Sandy Shortbread

I acknowledge that this recipe is hardly earth-shattering and you already had a glimpse of the shortbread cookies in the last post.  I actually took the pictures for this post but so this is really more their rightful home.

I also know shortbread and other classic cookies have been done about forty hundred times but I've come across a shortbread cookie secret that has rocked my world.

Doesn't shortbread rock everyone's world?

The quest started after a backpacking trip in the UK where my friend and I spent a lot of time eating our weight in Millionaire's Shortbread Bars.  I found that my favorites always tended to be a lighter bar that was almost sandy in texture rather than than a thick crunchy cookie.

I craved that melt in your mouth texture but every time I made shortbread it was thick and crunchy.  While that's definitely not so bad, I was on a mission and I tried everything from cutting the butter into the flour, using cake flour and adding graham cracker crumbs in place of some of the flour.  Nothing produced that texture I was looking for....until now.

I  found this version in a little cooking booklet I bought in the UK--why it took me so long to read through I cannot say.  And the secret ingredient?...cornstarch.  Before I have the ghosts of a thousand English and Scottish grandmother's haunting me forever, I'll throw out there that I know it's probably not the most traditional and I know that the sexy kilted Lairds of eons past probably weren't grabbing corn starch on their way home each night.

I'm telling you though that the cornstarch made these awesome.  Well actually, the clean pure flavors of butter and vanilla made these awesome, but the cornstarch bumped it up a notch.  The recipe is the same as about a zillion other recipes--I'm just excited that I'm now in the secret society of people who know how to make sandy, melt in your mouth, shortbread.

I used a molded shortbread pan because I could but obviously these can be pressed into any 9x9 square or a 9" circle and cut into wedges.   It's probably better that way so you can cut shortbread into more than 9 ginormous cookies.

I can't help myself.  It's a sickness.  I know it.  In my defense, she really, really likes sitting for the camera.  She sat here for a a good 10 minutes after we were finished, just waiting for me and the camera to come back.  Or rather waiting for me and the treats to come back.  

The Perfect Sandy Shortbread

1 c softened butter, softened
1/2 c powdered sugar
1.5 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 c flour
1/4 c corn starch

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. 
2. Mix butter, sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and mix well
3. Add flour and corn starch and mi well
4. lightly grease a 9x9 square or 9" round pan
5. Press dough evenly into pan.  If using a shortbread mold, no need to spend a lot of time flattening it perfectly as you'll be flipping it over.  If not, make sure you smooth the dough well and then prick all over with a fork(optional but pretty)
6. Bake  for 25 to 30 minutes, or until edges are golden brown 
7. Cool for 5 minutes and turn onto cutting board.
8. Cut and move to cooling rack and allow to cool fully. 

Cherry Pecan Biscotti

It's almost time to get fully into Christmas baking mode....woohoooo!  While I'm still stockpiling my baking ingredients, I decided to whip up a quick batch of biscotti to start off the baking season. 

Biscotti doesn't get enough attention if you ask me.  It seems that baking is all about more ingredients, over the top combinations and excess.  While I'm definitely on board with joining in on the super charged up cookies and baking, deep down I really love simplicity.  I'll bake the 24 layer Magic Bars or the cookie with the snickers crust, Reese middle layer and brownie cookie top because it's just plain fun, but place a tray of cookies near me and I'l almost always grab shortbread or cookie with the least amount of things happening. 

Like biscotti.  Crisp firm cookie that holds up well to extra hot and strong coffee?  Good stuff if you ask me.  My favorite biscotti recipe uses only egg whites which makes it a perfect pairing to make with my grandmas butter cookies--which only uses egg yolks.  

And of course, the great thing about biscotti is that you can take the core recipe, and swap in any dried fruit and/or nut you want.  I have a particular affinity for pecans and cherries.

The best thing about biscotti is how simple it is.  It is the perfect thing to kickoff the holiday baking. It's also the perfect thing to enjoy while starting off the holiday wrapping sessions.  I love packages under the tree so much, that I have to admit I'm a little disappointed when it comes time to unwrap them.  I'd leave them there for months if I could. 

Puppies like Christmas too. 

Cherry Pecan Biscotti

Ingredients
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
3 large egg whites
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp orange zest
3/4 cup toasted and chopped pecans
1 cup dried cherries

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer combine the flour, sugar, oats, baking powder, soda and salt. Mix with the paddle attachment until blended - about 30 seconds. 
3. In a separate bowl whisk the eggs, oil, zests, vanilla and almond extract. Add the egg mixture to the flour and oats and mix until it forms a dough. Add the cherries and pistachios and mix until incorporated.
4. Pour the dough out onto a lightly floured piece of wax paper. Shape dough into log 18 x 2 inches.  Lightly flatten top.
5. Bake until lightly browned about 30 minutes. Carefully slide log onto a rack to cool for about 15 minutes. 
6. Reduce the oven to 250 degrees. Transfer the biscotti to a cutting board. Cut each strip diagonally into 1/3" thick slices using a serrated knife. 
7.  Arrange slices, cut side down, on the baking sheet. 
8. Bake the biscotti about 40 minutes, flipping cookies half way through. 
9. Transfer to a rack and allow the cookies to cool completely.

Coconut Oatmeal Fudge Bars

I can't explain why it delights me to dress this girl up every year.  I also can't explain why I spend the $ to buy something that she will wear for exactly 5 minutes.  But delight me to no end it does. Wearing costumes once a year for 5 minutes is how this dog earns her keep and pays me for a year's worth of room, board and puppy treats.  

Yes, this is the look of death I get from Ms. Snarl Tooth  every Halloween. 

And when Brooklyn became the owner of a costume that she hated, I became the owner of PJs that I adore.  Thank you Nick and Nora--Boston Terrier costume goodness and Boston Terrier PJs in one happy Target trip.    Seriously, Boston Terrier Pajamas...can you believe it? Happy Halloween indeed.

So the food part of the post.  

I saw a recipe on pinterest for PB and oatmeal bars made with coconut oil.  It was touted as health food.    I wouldn't go that far, but it was very similar in concept to my Grandma's chocolate coconut oatmeal bars which made me wonder what would happen if I swapped out the butter in my Grandma's recipe.

The warehouses are starting to carry Coconut Oil in bulk...I saw the big tubs in both Costco and Sams.  It seems coconut oil is the current food phenomenon. 

 My grandma made these Coconut Oatmeal Fudge bars EVERY Christmas so this is one of those recipes that has a bazillion memories attached to it.  When my grandma passed on, my mom and my aunts made this every Christmas.  I can't recall a Christmas Eve ever when we didn't have these bars on the cookie tray.    I was a little hesitant to mess with nostalgia, but thought that since it wasn't technically Christmas, it might be okay.

These are a no bake bar so this recipe is really as easy as melting the oil with sugar and cocoa, bringing to a boil and then adding the remaining ingredients.  It takes 10 minutes tops and I truthfully couldn't tell the difference between the butter version and the coconut oil version.  These are definitely not health food given the 1 1/3 cups of sugar, but I loved that coconut oil could easily be subbed for butter.  I don't have the world's biggest sweet tooth so I've adjusted the sugar in these bars.   My grandma's recipe calls for a full 2 cups of sugar.  If you like your sweets, this recipe will work perfectly with 2 cups of sugar as well.



While we always had these for Christmas, these are not the typical Christmas cookies that you can whip up and leave in a Christmas tin throughout the holiday season. These are gooey and soft the first day but the oatmeal quickly begins drawing in all the moisture in the bars and these are pretty dry by day three.  If they last that long---but they never did at our house.

Coconut Oatmeal Fudge Bars

Ingredients
1/2 cup coconut oil

1 1/4 c white sugar

1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla 

3 cups regular cooking oats
1 cup coconut plus more for topping

Directions

1. Heat sugar, milk, cocoa powder, vanilla, and coconut oil to gentle boil over medium high heat.
2. Boil for 3-4 minutes, stirring constantly 
3. Take pot off stove.
4. Stir in vanilla.  Mix in oats and coconut.
5. Spread in greased 8x8 pan and top with additional coconut
6. Let cool before slicing. 

Salt Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies

Christmas baking has begun....happy, happy, happy indeed.  You know what's just as happy as  Christmas baking in my opinion? 

These....

Who knew such goodness existed?  I'm a Dove's dark chocolate girl through and through.  I have some in the car, some at the office and of course, some at home.  I've never ventured to any of the other flavors since they are either milk chocolate (travesty right? ) or flavors that don't turn my head for a second glance.  Until these of course.  These caramels are the really soft oozy caramels similar to Frans  and they have that dark Dove chocolate shell.  Nothing every really comes all that close to Fran's Gray Salt Caramels but these are pretty darned scrummy. They are a Target exclusive flavor so you'll need to head into that bullseye wonderland but who doesn't go to Target weekly really?   Dove's and Target--I love you both dearly. 

I used a standard pudding mix chocolate chip cookie recipe for that soft chewy cookie texture.  If you prefer a crispy cookie, you can opt for a different cookie recipe.  The Dove's caramel is really the star of this show. 

These are best still warm  and ooey and gooey, but the caramel stays soft even as the cookies cool. 

Salt Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup softened butter
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 (3 ounce) packages vanilla instant pudding mix
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 1/4 cups flour
1 cup mini chocolate chips
1 package Dove Sea Salt Caramel Dark Chocolates

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375
2. Whisk together flour and baking soda in a bowl and set aside.
3. Beat together butter, sugars, vanilla, and pudding mix in a large mixing bowl until smooth and creamy.
4. Beat in eggs one at a time
5. Gradually mix in flour mixture.
6. Stir in chips (batter will be stiff).
7. Scoop out one tsp cookie dough and flatten.  Unwrap Dove chocolate and place on cookie.  Scoop out additional 1 tsp cookie batter, flatten and lay over top of Dove square.  Pick up cookie and Dove layers and seal edges well.  Finished cookie should be slightly flattened.
8. Repeat with remaining cookie dough
9. Bake  for 10 minutes.
10. Remove from oven and cool on cooling racks

Monster Cookies

Monster cookies is one of those recipes that everyone (who likes peanut butter) loves.  Or rather LOVES.  My aunt made these often when we were growing up and we'd look forward to visits. When I lived in NY and baked a lot of for my friends who were cadets at West Point, I made these A LOT.  I made these for neighbors for block parties and BBQs A LOT.  And when I made a different kind of cookie, they'd ask where the Monster Cookies were.  But really, it's a cookie packed with peanut butter, chocolate and m&ms, so what's not to love?  If you've had them, I'm guessing you are nodding your head in agreement.

The recipe I started using most often came from a cookbook entitled West Point Officer's Wives Cookbook.  It's one of those fantastic community contribution cookbooks filled with really down to earth and easy potluck type recipes.  Most recipes for these cookies that I've seen are essentially the same but the recipe in the cookbook was quadrupled and used 18 cups of rolled oats.  I always make half of that recipe and it challenges the 6 quart volume of my mixer...it's still a huge recipe.  You can halve this again and still get a pretty good size batch of cookies.  The half recipe below made enough ginormous cookies for Easter dinner with the family,  a batch for work and I have 2 dozen more enormous balls of cookie dough sitting in my freezer just waiting to be baked. 

You can pretty much substitute or add different kinds of chips, raisins or m&ms.  All dark chocolate in this house. 

You don't have to make these monster sized, but if you do use an ice scream sized scoop, you should only fit 6 to the cookie sheet.  I like to add more m&ms to the top so they are visible after baking.  Just because. 

Just a warning though that these cookies are crazy addictive.  Yep, crazy peanut buttery, oatmeal, chocolatey addictiveness. 

Monster Cookies

Ingredients
2 sticks butter, softened
2 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
2 cup granulated sugar
6 eggs
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp baking soda
24 oz (about 2 3/4 cups) creamy peanut butter
9 cups quick-cooking oatmeal
1 1/4 cup m&ms
1 1/4 cup chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats.
2. In a very large mixing bowl, combine the butter and sugars and mix well
3. Add eggs and beat well
4. Add the salt, baking soda, vanilla, peanut butter and mix well. 
5. Stir in oatmeal and mix well
6. Drop by ice scream scoop 2 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets.
7. Bake for 15-20 minutes. 
8. Let stand for about 3 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool. 

Chocolate Malted Whopper Cookies

It seems each holiday has its candy fans and debates and Easter is no different. If anything, I think people tend to be more emphatic is voicing their Easter candy opinions.  You of course have your Peep fans, your Cadbury Creme egg fans, Cadbury egg fans and your Robin's Egg fans.  The only camp I've ever belonged to is the Robins Egg fans.  Peeps?  Not so much.  Cadbury Creme eggs?  My teeth actually hurt thinking about them.  Cadbury Eggs?  We had a guy at my last job who swore by them.  He would buy an entire year's supply and fill an enormous plastic tub.  I'm not a milk chocolate fan so that leaves Robin's eggs--a little bit of chocolate and tons of crispy crunchy malty goodness.  I bought the requisite bag for the Easter season and then needed to figure out something to do with the bag since it was sitting around after the first few bites.  Enter Dorie Greenspan's recipe for chocolate malted whopper cookies. 

Despite my shelves of cookbooks upon cookbooks upon cookbooks, I always go back to this baking cookbook by Dorie.  Not only has every recipe been phenomenal, but it's so exhaustive that I always find a recipe that I want to bake.  It's just easy one stop recipe shopping when you don't really want to go through many cookbooks but know you want to find that one recipe that needs to be made.

For some reason I always need to add an additional 1/2 cup flour because my cookies always spread so much and don't fully bake all the way through.  Just that additional flour helps make everything better. 

Overall these cookies are a tried and true favorite with their rich malty chocolate flavor.  They also freeze really well just in case cookies don't go all that quickly in your home. ;)

Chocolate Malted Whopper Cookies
adapted from Dorie Greenspan’s Baking…From My Home to Yours

1 3/4 c. all purpose flour ( I have to use 2 1/4 cups flour else mine always spread too much)
1 c malted milk powder or Ovaltine, regular or chocolate flavored (I used regular)
1/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1 stick plus 3 tbsp butter at room temp
2/3 c granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 c milk
1 1/2 c coarsely chopped Robins Eggs (or Whoppers)
1 c chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 
2. Line two cookie sheets with parchment or a Silpat mat. 
3. Put your dry ingredients from flour to salt in a large mixing bowl and whisk together so there are no lumps. 
4. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium for a minute or two, until it is light and fluffy. 
5. Add eggs and vanilla and mix together on low speed until incorporated.  Mixture may look curdled but this is okay
6. Add 1/2 of dry ingredients to butter mixture and mix on low speed until just combined. 
7. Add the milk and beat in. 
8. Scrape sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula and add the rest of the dry ingredients to the bowl. Mix on low speed. 
9. Add Robins Eggs, chocolate chips and stir together 
10. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto prepared pans leaving a generous inch between cookies  
11. Bake for 10-14 minutes.  Let cool for 2-3 minutes before removing to cooling rack