A Cookie Index

 

Cut Out Sugar Cookies

I watch shows on Food Network, where home cooks compete against professional pastry chefs. And I think, "I could never do that." 

For one thing, I'd just get too nervous.

For another, I would not do well under time constraints.

 

But I do enjoy baking - whether it's for harvest snack bags with cookies packaged two by two or whether it's for fancy occasions like bridal showers. And in this case, a very special rehearsal dinner.

 

We hosted the dinner at The Dogwood Gardens in Peculiar, Mo. (If you ever find yourself needing an event space in Peculiar, I highly recommend it.)

 

 

Besides the frosted sugar cookies (top photo), I made 11 more treats. 

 

I made this key and framed it, then put it on the serving table so people could see what they were choosing.

 

 

 

 I did the same for the cream cheese candies.

 

 

 

We decided to have Brent's and Susan's rehearsal dinner meal catered by Jack Stack BBQ. (Please refer back to my list of caveats earlier in this post. I would have been a nervous wreck to try and cater a meal for 53 at a location 4 1/2 to 5 hours away from home). 

 

 

But the rehearsal dinner venue gave us the flexibility to bring in our own desserts. (Some venues - like their wedding venue - require approved caterers. I'm not one. We did sneak in the cream cheese candies on the wedding cake table though.)

 

So it was a pleasure to provide this labor of love for Brent & Susan. 

 

 

Thankfully, I could start on the project in advance. So I did several baking days and stashed them in the freezer. 

 

 

I got the cookies and candies crammed in my own freezers. But we had to borrow freezer space at the church to store the three kinds of snack mix I made for welcome bags.  

The welcome bags went to each guest who'd made reservations in the wedding block. Included were two bags of homemade snack mix - one sweet and one savory. The Ladd family helped me assemble them. Susan's mom provided the lavender cookies, made with lavender from a farm near Manhattan.

(When I was taking photos of the things in bags, I missed getting my sticker in the shot. Susan purchased a variety of Kansas City-themed stickers to put in the hotel guest bags. She chose this one for us because of the wheat featured!)

Here are the links to all the kinds of cookies I made for the rehearsal dinner:

Spiced Capacchino Cookies

These cookies have espresso powder for that coffee flavor. They're rolled in cinnamon-sugar before baking to make the "spiced" part of the spiced capacchino flavor. I used cookies and cream Hershey's Kisses for the center candy.

 

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Basic Cookie Dough with Mix-Ins

(M & M Cookies and Pretzel-Peanut Butter Cookies)

 

When I make cookies for harvest, Core meals or some other time I need a lot of cookies, I usually triple a basic cookie recipe and then divide it into five or six parts. I then add different mix-ins to each of those parts. It gives you a variety of cookies without all the work.

 

A year ago or so, I picked up several packages of Nestle's Morsels and More Spring Easter Basket. They were on sale after Easter, so I stuck them in the freezer for future baking.

 

The mix-ins include pretzels, as well as pastel chocolate shapes and mini peanut butter chips. Brent tasted them and really liked them, and he requested them for the rehearsal dinner. I had a partial package left, so I supplemented with some pretzel balls I'd gotten from Glenn's Bulk Foods and some peanut butter chips. To "dress them up," I melted blue candy melts, drizzled it over the cookies and topped with heart sprinkles. 

 

While I was making those, I also did some with mini M & Ms for some variety and a different color.

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Meltaway Lime Shortbread Cookies

These shortbread-based cookies have cornstarch, which gives them their "meltaway" characteristics. The lime zest gives a fresh and summery taste.

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Surprise Middle (Rolo) Cookies

 

Who can resist a chocolate-covered caramel Rolo candy hidden in the middle of a chocolatey cookie? 

 

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Raspberry Thumbprints

Kinley got a purple ribbon at the Shawnee County Fair with Raspberry Thumbprint cookies last summer. The shortbread cookie base is flavored with a little almond extract and a thumbprint-sized dollop of raspberry jam.The recipe is from Sally's Baking Addiction.

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Chocolate Pistachio Shortbread Cookies

Jill first made these cookies and shared the recipe, also from Sally's Baking Addiction. This was one of the two kinds of cookies that were completely gone at the end of the rehearsal diner night. The salty-sweet combo is a hit!

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Aloha Tropical Bars 

Bar cookies are easy, and these are particularly tasty with macademia nuts, dried pineapple, coconut and white chocolate chips. 

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Coconut Macaroons 

This time, I used Brach's Confetti Cake Stars because I wanted a pastel topper. 

I've also used regular chocolate stars and colored candy melts as the center decoration.

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Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

These cookies stuffed with a miniature Reece's peanut butter cup were also gone by the end of the night. Chocolate & PB: Always a popular combo!

Pretzel Bites

You can use different candy melt discs and different colored M & Ms to have these pretzel bites fit any occasion. This time, I used blue candy melts as the base, since that was Brent's and Susan's wedding colors, and then topped them with pastel M & Ms that I bought during Easter and stashed in the freezer. 

***

I also served extra snack mixes at the rehearsal dinner. There was a little down time between the rehearsal at The Barn at Riverbend and our arrival at Dogwood Gardens, where we hosted the rehearsal dinner. This gave time for people to visit, grab a drink and some snack mix.

Link to the Snack Mix Up is HERE.

 Link to the Churro Snack Mix is HERE.

I also did traditional Chex Mix, but I didn't get a photo of it. (I don't think I've ever posted a blog with that recipe, but I use something similar to the recipe on the box. I do substitute Quaker Oat Squares for part of the Chex cereal because my family likes the salty-sweet combo. I also use bagel chips that I purchase at Glenn's Bulk Foods. 

NOTE:  There will be photos from the official wedding photographer at some point. Brent & Susan have decided to wait until they have all the photos before they make their selections and post any photos to social media. So I will be patient.

Spiced Cappuccino Cookies

It's appropriate to serve cookies with Hugs and Kisses for a bridal shower, isn't it? These Spiced Cappuccino Cookies fit the bill.  And now that summer finally seems to be loosening its grip on the weather, cappuccino flavor sounds good for fall, too, don't you think?

True confessions: I save WAY too many recipes. I will never get all of them tried on the County Line. But a church bridal shower gave me plenty of reasons to dig through my recipe pile for inspiration. The cappuccino cookies were from Taste of Home. And you just never know what recipe is going to appeal to you in a given moment. You (OK, I) just might need it.

Of course, those printed recipes are another problem. I spent part of the pandemic clearing out extra paper and other minutia from our farm house. I did all right for awhile, but I'm back to printing recipes that again threaten to topple over in a kitchen cabinet. (The younger generation I know all use their phones for their cooking adventures. I like having that printed recipe in front of me ... mainly so I don't have to touch my phone with sticky fingers.)

The original recipe called for a Hershey's Hug. But when I stood in the candy aisle and saw the Cookies and Cream Kisses, I chose those instead. And they added a little extra crunch to the cookies.  

I am a coffee drinker, so I really liked the mild coffee flavor the espresso powder added to the cookies. With the cinnamon-sugar coating on the outside, it does taste like a spiced cappuccino. (Not that I have fancy coffee drinks very often.)

If you try them, let me know what you think!

Spiced Cappuccino Kiss Cookies

Adapted from Taste of Home

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1-1/2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

**

1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
24 striped chocolate Kisses or Hugs

 

Beat butter, brown sugar and 1/4 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg, espresso powder and vanilla. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt; gradually beat into creamed mixture. Refrigerate, covered, until firm enough to shape, about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350°. Mix cinnamon and 1/2 cup sugar. Shape dough into 24 1-in. balls or use a cookie scoop. Roll in cinnamon sugar. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets or put on parchment paper.

Bake until lightly browned, 10-12 minutes. Immediately top with chocolate kisses, pressing lightly. Cool slightly on pans. If your kitchen is hot, you may want to have space in your freezer to place your cookies to set the chocolate Kiss or Hug. 

Makes 2 dozen.  Note - I doubled the recipe.

Taste of Home Test Kitchen Tips

Add the espresso powder with the egg and vanilla instead of the flour mixture to ensure that it dissolves.

This dough is a little sticky, but it can be rolled into balls after chilling for an hour.

These cookies taste like a snickerdoodle with a hint of espresso.

 

Red Velvet Cookies

 

If you're a fan of the Food Network, you've probably heard southern competitors on baking shows lay claim to the Red Velvet phenomenon.

Just like most things these days, there appears to be a difference in opinion about that. But no matter the history, these Red Velvet Cookies are a pretty and tasty addition to cookie platters.

I've made Red Velvet Cakes and Cupcakes before, but when I was looking for ideas for a bridal shower, the Red Velvet Drop Cookies from Sally's Baking Addiction caught my eye. The bride-to-be has selected a palette of burgundy, pinks and blush, so I thought the red-tinged cookies would be a pretty addition to the cookie trays for her shower.  

The ancestry of the classic red-tinged cake may not actually be the South. Velvet cakes became popular in the 1800s when American cooks began using almond flour, cocoa, or cornstarch to break down the protein in flour. From those modifications, a finer textured cake emerged – dubbed velvet cake. That innovation was followed by sister cakes, the mahogany cake and devil’s food cake. 

Controversy over the color of the cake is still debated: Some believe it’s caused by a chemical reaction between the cocoa and acid, while others attribute the brown sugar, originally named red sugar. Then, in the 1930s, the first modern red velvet cake was served at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City and then later tickled the taste buds of Canadians when after it was served at Eaton’s Department Store in Toronto. 

Red Velvet cake as we know it today is probably because of a marketing ploy. A food-dye and extract salesman John A. Adams and his wife, Betty, tasted the red velvet cake at the Waldorf. In 1938, the government passed the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, enforcing regulations on food coloring. Adams decided that red velvet would be his train to success, and as an act of marketing prowess, the couple opted to sell more dyes and extracts. In the 1940s, they released a mahogany cake recipe that used red food coloring. The recipe was printed on cards and sold with vanilla, red dye, and artificial butter flavoring – a popular additive during World War II when butter was rationed.

It also included a recipe for icing, known as boiled-milk frosting, made with milk, flour, butter, and sugar. Red velvet became popular in Texan homes and Midwest state fairs, eventually spreading to the South where it is now a regular at Emancipation Day parties and Juneteenth celebrations – a gathering of red food items that symbolize the blood shed during slavery and the Civil War.

There was a resurgent interest in red velvet when the cake was featured in the 1989 film, Steel Magnolias.

These Red Velvet Cookies aren't just a pretty face: They also taste mighty good. If you try them, let me know what you think!

I used dark chocolate Hershey's Kisses, but you can choose your favorite Hug or Kiss variety.

Red Velvet Drop Cookies

From Sally's Baking Addiction

1 1/2 cups + 1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/4 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

3/4 cup light or dark brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon milk
1/2 teaspoon gel red food coloring (or alternative)*
32–36 Hershey’s Kisses, unwrapped

 

Coating 

1/2 cup granulated sugar

 

For Cookies:

 

Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.

Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together on medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix on high until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.

Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Add the milk and food coloring, then then mix on low speed until everything is combined. The dough will be sticky. If you want a more vibrant hue, beat in more food coloring a little at a time. Cover and chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours (and up to 3 days). If chilling for longer than a few hours, allow dough to sit at room temperature for at least 15 minutes before rolling and baking because the dough will be quite hard.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line large baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside. Also, make sure there’s room in your freezer because the cookies will need to be placed inside to prevent the chocolates from melting.

Roll & coat: Scoop and roll cookie dough, about 1 Tablespoon of dough each. Roll each ball in the 1/2 cup of sugar and arrange on the baking sheet about 3 inches apart.

Bake for 11-13 minutes or until the edges appear set. Centers will look very soft. Remove cookies from the oven and cool for just 5-10 minutes on the baking sheets.
 

Set the chocolate: Press a Hershey’s Kiss into the center of each, then using a thin spatula, immediately transfer the cookies to a large plate or a few smaller plates (gently– they’re soft). Place the plate(s) of cookies in the freezer for 10 minutes to quickly set the chocolate kiss in the cookie.
Remove from the freezer and serve.

Cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 1 week.

Cookies with a Twist (of Lime)

 

Cherry limeades were a special treat at Grandma Marie's house. After she died, I brought the juicer home because my kids had such great memories of making limeades with their grandma. I still use it when I'm juicing lemons or limes for a recipe, even though Jill always says, "I should put a new juicer in your Christmas stocking."  

Marie would combine fresh limes and sugar-free Cherry 7-Up and serve it up with ice and a straw. Sounds tasty on a hot summer day, doesn't it?

I have been baking lots of cookies for a bridal shower at church later this month and stashing them in the freezer. The bride has chosen burgundy, pinks and blush colors for her color palette. So when I saw the recipe for Cherry Limeade Cookies, I thought they were perfect. They fit in with the color scheme, and they provide that favorite summery Cherry Limeade flavor in cookie form.

While they haven't gotten the bridal shower seal of approval yet, they did get good reviews from both me and Randy. 

I was on a parts run to Pratt for Randy last week. And I just might have stopped at Sonic for a liquid version of Diet Cherry Limeade. 

Mmmmmm! These cookies taste like summer. If you give them a try, let me know how you like them!

Cherry Limeade Cookies

From Imperial Sugar

Cookies:

1 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons maraschino cherry juice
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup chopped maraschino cherries

 

Tart Lime Glaze:

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
Juice of 1 large lime (1 1/2 - 2 tablespoons)
Zest of one large lime

 

For cookies, in bowl of your stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, mix butter and granulated sugar together for 1 minute on medium speed until combined. Add in vanilla extract and cherry juice and mix until smooth.

Turn mixer to low and add in flour until incorporated, scraping sides and bottom of bowl as necessary. Dough will be thick. Fold in chopped cherries.
 

Cover dough and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Scoop out chilled dough using a small (1 tablespoon) cookie scoop. Roll the dough into balls and place on the prepared baking sheet, 2 inches apart.

Bake for 12 - 15 minutes until set and edges just begin to turn golden. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

For glaze, in a medium bowl whisk together powdered sugar, lime juice, and zest. Dip tops of cooled cookies into glaze, or alternately you can spoon glaze on top of cookies.

Store airtight at room temperature for up to 3 days. Makes about 36 cookies.

 

Lemon Bars and Other Tasty Treats

Randy says he doesn't like lemon.

I've never really understood it. If we go out to eat, he's the first one to say, "Water with lemon please." He likes lemonade. So why not lemons in baked goods?

Like I said: He says he doesn't like lemon. But when I had Lemon Bars left over from serving my PEO group refreshments, he didn't shy away from them.

Maybe it's more accurate to say that, given a choice between lemons and coconut, for example, he'd choose coconut.

This may sound sexist, but I think women are more likely to be lemon lovers. My very unscientific research among my PEO sisters would seem to support this hypothesis.   

I've made other lemon bar recipes. But I had never found one that I wanted to label "go-to." Until now! These are based on Food Network star Ina Garten's Lemon Bar recipe. And they are definitely "pucker worthy." Other lemon bars I've made have yielded a grainy lemon filling. But this one was smooth and velvety.

The bars use a whole cup of freshly-squeezed lemon juice, plus the zest from those lemons. Substituting bottled lemon juice just won't yield the same flavor and burst of freshness. I probably should invest in a newfangled lemon juicer. But every time I use the glass one, it reminds me of my mother-in-law, Marie. It's from her kitchen, and she used it to make a whole lot of cherry limeades in the summertime. Plus, since my husband prefers other flavors, I don't know that it's worth adding another kitchen gadget to my stash.

Besides the tart lemony filling, these bars also have a crisp, buttery crust.

They aren't the easiest bar cookies to cut and serve since the lemon filling is not overly firm. I found it beneficial to use a wet paper towel to clean off my knife after I made each slice. They will probably leave a sticky residue on your guests' fingertips, but I didn't hear anyone complain.

Lemon screams "spring" and "summer" to me. So this was the perfect addition to a cookie tray for my PEO friends.

I should have taken a photo of the whole tray, but I neglected to do that. The centerpiece of my cookie offerings was a tray of decorated sugar cookies made and frosted to honor our Stafford BK PEO chapter's 98th birthday.

I used the same sugar cookie recipe I'd used for Kinley's Kansas Day sunflowers. (Click here for the recipe. It has become my go-to sugar cookie recipe.)

Never one to underachieve, I also made these tried-and-true recipes from my files for my cookie platter. Since I'd spent so much time making and decorating the sugar cookies, I chose easy bar cookies and my go-to macaroon recipe to fill out the platter.

Caramel Bars

Macaroons

And you can't have a cookie platter without a little chocolate, right?

Brownies for a Crowd

This time, I used mini M & M candies on part of the batter for some color for the platter. I used mint M & Ms on the other half for their green color and spring-like flavor. However, you need to store the mint brownies separately until you are ready to serve (and if you have leftovers). If you don't, the mint will permeate all the cookies.

Click on the link for more variations. You can make one batter with multiple flavors - a bonus timesaver!

I recommend all these recipes if you're looking to add a cookie tray to your Easter table. They can all be frozen and then assembled for serving.

Enjoy!

Lemon Bars

Adapted from Barefoot Contessa Parties by Ina Garten

Crust:
1 cup butter at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 cups flour
1/8 tsp. salt

Filling:
6 extra-large eggs at room temperature
3 cups granulated sugar
2 tbsp. grated lemon zest
1 cup freshly-squeezed lemon juice (no substitutes), about 6 medium-sized lemons
1 cup flour
Powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

For the crust: Using an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light. Combine flour and salt, and, with the mixer on low, add to the butter mixture until just mixed. Dump the dough onto a floured board and gather into a ball. Flatten the dough with floured hands and press it into a 9- by 13-inch baking sheet, building up a 1/4-inch edge on all sides. (You can line the pan with parchment paper and lift the entire recipe out of the baking pan to cut.)

Bake the crust for 15 to 20 minutes until very lightly browned. Let cool on wire rack. Leave the oven on.

For the filling: Whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice and flour. Pour over the crust, and bake 30 to 35 minutes until the filling is set. Let cool to room temperature. Cut, cleaning the knife between each cut with a wet paper towel. Dust with powdered sugar just before serving. If you put the lemon bars in the freezer, you may want to use additional powdered sugar before you serve.