Category Archives: Cookies

Gingerbread Turkey Cookies

Posted on November 5, 2021 by Ruthanne

Turkey Cookie4-1 These no-bake turkey cookies have a blast of ginger, vanilla and chocolate in each bite. Plus aren’t they cute? And not a single piece of candy corn in sight!

Turkey Cookie1-1 I set out on a mission this week. To create a cute turkey cookie without using candy corn. Because candy corn is gross, in my opinion, and it seems to be the staple of all things “turkey” in the baked goods realm. I knew I wanted to use Anna’s Swedish Thin Cookies as my base, because they have that beautiful scalloped edge, and they are DELICIOUS. They come in ginger, orange, almond and (maybe?) mint- I haven’t seen the mint recently, so maybe not. And- before you think you won’t be able to find them, they are at most Walgreens, Walmarts, and (of course!) at Amazon- you maybe haven’t ever noticed them before.

So one Anna’s cookie, one mini Nilla Wafer, a little colored chocolate, candy eyes, and voila! An adorable and tasty turkey cookie- just in time for Thanksgiving!

I also want to say- once you get your chocolates melted, these go together fast. They are a super quick way to make people smile over the holidays.

Turkey Cookie5-1 Want some instructions? (Printable version here)

Ingredients: (makes about 32 turkey cookies)

One box of Anna’s Swedish Thins in whatever flavor you like best
One box of mini Nilla Wafers
One bag of Wiltons Candy Melts in dark chocolate
1/4 bag of Wilton’s candy melts in blue, white and orange
3 small zip-top bags
Toothpicks
Just a few Wilton’s candy melts in red.
Candy eyeballs (2 for each cookie)

Directions:

Unwrap Anna’s cookies and Nilla wafers and place in small bowls for easy reach.
Lay a piece of parchment paper on your countertop.
Place dark chocolate candy melts in a large bowl, and blue, white and orange melts each in their own smaller bowls.
Melt all candy melts (except red) in the microwave (30 second increments, stirring between, until melted and smooth).
Carefully spoon the blue, white, and red melts into individual zip-top bags, zip them shut, and clip a small corner off the bottom of the bag with scissors.
Place these warm bags of melts on a warm plate, and cover with a warm towel (to prevent them from hardening up while you use them).
Place one Ginger Thin in the dark chocolate melts- top down. Turn it over with a fork (covering both sides with chocolate), and then lift it up on the fork and tap the fork against a side of the bowl to allow excess chocolate to drip off cookie. Slide covered cookie off fork and onto parchment paper.
Pipe a line of white melts around the top edge of the cookie- almost in a circle. Then pipe a blue line inside the white, and an orange inside of that.

Use a toothpick to pull the lines of color to the lower center of the cookie, pulling in along the lines of the cookie’s scalloped edge.
Place a mini Nilla Wafer on the bottom center of cookie.

Note: Only do one to two cookies at a time. You want the dark chocolate on the cookie to still be soft when you pull your lines of color in. If your dark chocolate in the bowl begins to cool and harden, just pop it back in the microwave for 30 seconds.

Turkey Cookie8-1 Turkey Cookie9-1

After all cookies are decorated and all have a Nilla Wafer placed, glue eyes on by using a little of the left-over white melts and a toothpick. Dab a little of the melts on the back of an eye and then press it onto the Nilla Wafer.
Add a few red melts to your orange ones and re-melt for the beaks. Use a toothpick to draw little beaks on each bird.
Enjoy!

My thoughts: Sometimes the way I “see” a potential idea in my head just doesn’t work when I make it, but these are even more cute (and they were much easier) than I expected. If you want a fun little edible craft to add to your Thanksgiving table, these really are so perfect! I hope you get a chance to make them! ~r

Turkey Cookie2-1 Want a few more fun recipes for Turkey Day??? Here you go! (just click on a photo to see the recipe)

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Happy Flower Cookies

Posted on August 22, 2021 by Ruthanne

Flower cookies3

These delicious cookies will make you smile anytime of the year! With a touch of coffee in the cookies, and crunchy chocolate-covered sunflower seeds on top, they are also really delicious!

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Confession: I made these last spring jotted down the recipe as I created, brought them to a party where they got rave reviews, and then got so busy with summer that I never sat down to share the recipe with you all! So here (finally!) you go!

I absolutely love these cookies. In March, I tweaked my favorite chocolate cut-out cookie to make Bailey’s Irish Cream Cookies. They were soooo yummy that I wanted to keep tweaking them and try a variety without the Baileys. This is the result, and they are such a soft, delicious cut-out cookie. Goodness. They are exceptional at keeping their shape when cut (I just did circles, but you could make these in any shape). I just iced them with royal icing, but the sky is the limit with flavor combinations you could use. This recipe is a keeper in our house! 🙂

Here is the recipe (printable version):

INGREDIENTS: (makes about 20 medium cookies)

Cookies:

1 (1/2 cup)stick of butter (softened)
3/4 cup of sugar
2 eggs
1 Tablespoon of half and half
1 Tablespoon of vanilla
2 Tablespoons of instant coffee granules
2 to 2 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder

Icing:

4 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup water
3 Tablespoons meringue powder
1 teaspoon of clear vanilla flavoring
Chocolate-covered sunflower seeds
Round candy pearls

DIRECTIONS:

Cookies:

Cream together butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl.
Mix in eggs.
Place half and half and instant coffee granules together in a small cup. Mix until coffee dissolves. Add this mixture to the batter and combine well.
Gradually add dry ingredients and mix until smooth (use clean hands at the end, to knead into a soft ball of dough).
Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
Roll out cookie dough on floured counter.
Cut into circles (or whatever shape you want!)and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Bake for 8 to 11 minutes until the edges are firm.
Gently slide parchment paper off of cookie sheet and onto a flat surface. Cool completely before removing cookies from paper.

Icing:

Beat together all ingredients and add powdered sugar until it becomes a thick glaze consistency.
Place about 1/3 of icing in a zip-top bag fitted with a small round piping tip.
Pipe icing around edges of cookie and allow this to harden.
Add water to remaining icing until it is a little thinner than the edge icing. Place it into a second zip-top bag fitted with a small round piping tip.
Fill center of cookie with icing, spreading it to the edges that have hardened.
Before icing is completely hard, set sunflower seeds and pearl in the shape of a flower.
Allow icing to harden completely.
Enjoy!!!

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Aren’t they fun??? Once the icing fully hardens on these, you can stack them up without worrying that the icing will get messed up (the joy of royal icing). As you can see… I am no professional at piping a perfect circle… so no worries if you are not experienced- they will still be beautiful! Flower Cookies 1

My thoughts: I’m glad to finally be sharing this with you all! I figured I’d better get this out to you before fall hits and all things are pumpkin and leaves 🙂 I hope you get a chance to try these cookies- I really think you will love them! Enjoy! ~r

Flower cookies4

Since I am so late in sharing this… how about some fun back-to-school/ make your kids smile ideas? Just click a photo to see the recipe!

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Posted in Cookies and tagged chocolate covered sunflower seeds recipe, Coffee cookies, cookie recipe, cookies, cut-out cookies, easter cookies, mothers day cookies, recipe, spring cookies, summer cookie recipe, summer cookies. Bookmark the permalink.

No-Bake Easter Nest Cookies

Posted on March 20, 2021 by Ruthanne

Easter nest 4-1 These crunchy little nest cookies are filled with the (seriously addictive!) Cadbury mini eggs and a pinch of coconut. A perfect Easter treat!

Easter nest 6-1

I just want you to know… I am the owner of the perfect no-bake cookie recipe. It’s my mom’s recipe, and it is perfect because it was the recipe we grew up enjoying. My mom passed away about 6 years ago, and I cherish every recipe I have of hers. When I was thinking about making Easter nest cookies, this recipe was the 1st to pop into my head. For sure I could have made it with the traditional oatmeal, but that’s not very nest-y, is it? So I used shredded wheat (the big ones!) I had to look a little bit to find the full-size shredded wheat (there are like a million flavors of mini!), but I found it- and it worked perfectly. I see you, chow-mien nest-makers- but I just could not bring myself to cover chow mien noodles in chocolate. Ewww. Sorry. Sticking with cereal here 🙂

Easter Nest 2-1

Want to know how to make these little nest cookies? Here is the recipe: (printable version)

Ingredients: (makes 24 mini nest cookies)

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup margarine (or one stick of butter)
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 cup peanut butter (creamy)
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 cups of broken up shredded wheat (this was 9 big pieces, broken up)
1/2 cup coconut (optional) with a tiny bit of green food coloring
72 mini Cadbury eggs (just get a big bag- you’ll want the rest- I promise!)

Directions:

Crunch up the shredded wheat until you have 4 cups.
If you use coconut, place it in a zip-top bag with the food coloring and shake until green.
Spray a mini-muffin tin with non-stick spray and set aside.
Measure sugar, milk, margarine, and cocoa into a large saucepan.
Heat until boiling (stirring constantly) and then boil for 2 minutes.
Add peanut butter and vanilla. Stir until smooth.
Take off heat, and add Shredded wheat, stirring until it is completely coated. I recommend adding it one cup at a time and using a little less if it gets too thick to stir well.
Working quickly, spoon or scoop into mini-muffin tin.
Use a tart shaper or a rounded measuring spoon to press the center in (spray this item with cooking spray between each nest to keep it from sticking).
Sprinkle a little coconut over each nest.
Press three eggs into each nest.

Nest process1 Process3 Process2

Allow nests to cool and harden.
Use a small knife to pop nests out of pan.
Enjoy!

Easter nest 5-1

My thoughts: I love how interesting these cookies taste with a different cereal added! For sure the shredded wheat gives these a more nest-like appearance. I really wanted to get the Cadbury eggs that are shimmery, but I couldn’t find them at my grocery, so I sprinkled a few edible sparkles over the top.

If you want to try these with the oatmeal (and experience one of my favorite cookies from childhood), I will leave you with my mom’s original recipe (in her handwriting :)). I actually remember her writing this out for me (from memory). I’d just gotten my 1st apartment out of college and was craving these and she pulled out her notepad and jotted this down for me.

Just a note though- she NEVER used butter (even though the recipe says butter). Butter translated to her was always Country Crock. I use margarine as well- just to be true to her recipe- but I’m sure butter works fine too. Enjoy! ~r

Mom's recipe

Looking for other fun recipe ideas for Easter? We have lots of them! Just click a photo to see the recipe!

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Posted in Candy, Cookie Cups, Cookies, Easy recipes, Seasonal dessert and tagged cadbury mini egg recipe, candy, chocolate, chocolate easter nests, coconut, easter cookies, easter dessert, easter ideas, Easter nest cookies, easter recipe, easter recipe ideas, family cookie recipe, no-bake cookies. Bookmark the permalink.

Bailey’s Irish Coffee Cookies

Posted on March 6, 2021 by Ruthanne

These cute little cookies are packed with flavor! A combination of Bailey’s, coffee, and a little chocolate on top? You can’t go wrong with these little St. Patrick’s Day treats!

Baileys Cookies 2

I feel like I am always looking for new ways to use already-perfected flavor combinations. Like coffee and Bailey’s. For these cookies, I used my all-time favorite chocolate cut-out cookie recipe and tweaked it a bit to make these. I have to say, you will *love* how these roll out- they are so smooth! I also have to say that after trying them, I think you could add chocolate chips, roll the dough into balls, and cook them like that too. If you want to avoid cookie cutters 🙂 But for today, we have these delicious little cut-outs.

Bailey's cookies 5

Anyone curious about the recipe?? Here you go! (Printable version)

INGREDIENTS: (makes 36 medium cookies)

Cookies:

2 sticks (1 cup) butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
3 Tablespoons of Bailey Irish Cream (get the little individual serving bottle, if you (like us!) don’t keep this in your house. This recipe will use one little 100mL bottle almost up.
3 teaspoons instant coffee granules
3 1/2 to 4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder

Icing:

4 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup water
3 Tablespoons meringue powder
4 Tablespoons of Bailey’s Irish Cream
2 teaspoons of instant coffee granules
(optional) Wilton’s Candy Melts in light cocoa for design on top.

DIRECTIONS:

Cookies:

Cream together butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl.
Mix in eggs.
Place Bailey’s and instant coffee granules together in a small cup until coffee dissolves. Add this mixture to the batter and mix until completely incorporated.
Gradually add dry ingredients and mix until smooth (use clean hands at the end, to knead into a soft ball of dough).
Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
Roll out cookie dough on floured counter.
Cut into circles and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Bake for 8 to 11 minutes until the edges are firm.
Gently slide parchment paper off of cookie sheet and onto a flat surface. Cool completely before removing cookies from paper.

Icing:

Again, place Bailey’s and instant coffee granules together in a small cup until coffee dissolves.
Beat together all ingredients and add powdered sugar until it becomes a thick glaze consistency.
Place about 1/3 of icing in a zip-top bag fitted with a small round piping tip.
Pipe icing around edges of cookie and allow this to harden.
Add water to remaining icing until it is a little thinner than the edge icing. Place it into a second zip-top bag fitted with a small round piping tip.
Fill center of cookie with icing, spreading it to the edges that have hardened.
You can decorate as desired. I used a chocolate mold to make little coffee beans (I would have used *actual* chocolate- covered coffee beans, but I hate them!) Be sure to place it on the icing before it hardens. I also drizzled a little of the same chocolate on the cookies. Be creative! Sprinkles, icing designs, chocolate transfers… decorate as you wish, and ENJOY!!!!

Bailey's cookies 7

My thoughts: I find it hard to be objective about my own baking (anyone else feel that way??) I am super critical of the flavors. Are they strong enough? Too strong? Too sweet? Too bitter? So I give you the words of my sweet hubby (who is unfailingly honest, and my best taste-tester), “These are better than Starbucks cookies.” Then he ate another one. He says these are just the right balance of coffee and the flavor of Bailey’s, but the best part is the cookie texture- crunchy on the outside and so soft inside. However you end up making these, I hope you love them! ~r

Looking for other fun St. Patrick’s Day recipes? Click on the photo to see the recipe (I *highly* recommend the 1st one- epic cupcakes plus a funny story!)

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Posted in Cookies, Seasonal dessert and tagged Bailey's cookies, Bailey's Irish coffee, Coffee cookies, Cookies with liqueurs, St Patrick's Day cookies, St Patrick's Day dessert. Bookmark the permalink.

Peppermint Mocha Cookies

Posted on February 1, 2020 by Ruthanne

Brighten up your February with these cheery peppermint mocha cookies!

Sweet peppermint icing over dark chocolate coffee cookies? Yes please!

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, these cookies didn’t last long in our house, and my husband is already hoping I will make them again. Not too sweet, but full of rich espresso and peppermint. I think you’ll love them.

Want to know how to make them?
Here you go. (printable recipe)

INGREDIENTS: (makes 36 medium cookies)

Cookies:

2 sticks (1 cup) butter, softened
1 1/2cups sugar
2 eggs
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 teaspoons instant Espresso Powder
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Icing:

4 cups powdered sugar
3/4 cup water
3 Tablespoons meringue powder
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
a little pink food coloring gel
sprinkles or white chocolate to make the design on top

DIRECTIONS:

Cookies:

Cream together butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl.
Mix in eggs and then cocoa.
Place vanilla and Espresso Powder together in a small cup until coffee dissolves. Add this mixture to the batter and mix until completely incorporated.
Gradually add dry ingredients and mix until smooth (use clean hands at the end, to knead into a soft ball of dough)
Wrap in plastic and chill for at least one hour.
Allow cookie dough to soften a little at room temperature
Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
Roll out cookie dough on floured counter.
Cut into circles and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Bake for 8 to 11 minutes until the edges are firm.
Gently slide parchment paper off of cookie sheet and onto a flat surface. Cool completely before removing cookies from paper.

Icing:

Beat together all ingredients and add powdered sugar until it becomes a thick glaze consistency.
Place in a zip-top bag fitted with a small round piping tip.
Pipe icing around edges of cookie and allow this to harden.
Fill center of cookie with icing, spreading it to the edges that have hardened.
To make coffee or heart design, pipe lines on top of cookie with white chocolate, and pull a toothpick through to form design. Otherwise (much easier!) sprinkle with some crushed peppermint or heart sprinkles!
Let icing harden and ENJOY!!!

My thoughts: These are easy to make, and they keep in an air-tight container for at least a week (and freeze well). I spent way too much time making coffee froth designs on the top, and when I make them again they will just have sprinkles. I really hope you get a chance to try these!!! Enjoy! ~r

Other cute Valentine’s Day ideas to try (click on photo to see recipe):

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Posted in chocolate, Cookies and tagged chocolate, chocolate cookies, chocolate mint cookies, coffee lovers dessert, cookie recipe, cookies, espresso cookies, grown-up cookies, heart cookies, mocha cookies, peppermint cookies, Valentines cookie recipe, Valentines Day cookies, valentines dessert. Bookmark the permalink.

Fall Peanut Butter Crisps

Posted on November 1, 2019 by Ruthanne

Fall Peanut Butter Crisps1

These beautiful fall cookies are special– not just because they are salty, sweet, crispy deliciousness– but because they use up your kids’ Halloween candy!!!!

So… Halloween is over, and you are likely in possession of more candy than you know what to do with. The chocolate will be gone in days, and then the name-brand candy will slowly get picked away at. But there are always those candies that sit in the bottom of the plastic pumpkin until Thanksgiving. For me, those candies were always Bit-o-Honey and the bright orange and black-wrapped “Peanut Butter Kisses“. These are a candy that only seems to make an appearance at Halloween. A combination of taffy and peanut butter, they just always seem to make the left-over candy list.

But not any more!!! Go ahead, dig through all of that Halloween candy and pull these little guys out- they make the best filling for these beautiful cookies!

Fall Peanut Butter Crisps2

You can also grab other candies to fill these cookies with- rolos, kisses, peppermint patties, mini snickers… all work in this recipe! I actually began making these crisp cookies with Rolos about 5 years ago at Christmas.

Fall Peanut Butter Crisps5

Want the recipe? Here it is!! (printable version)

Ingredients: (makes 20 cookies)

40 Ritz crackers
20 Peanut Butter Kisses (or other small candy that melts at a low temperature)
1 bag of Wilton’s dark chocolate candy melts
1 chocolate transfer sheet (I used 12×16″, and I got mine here).

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
Place 20 Ritz crackers on a cookie sheet, bottoms up.
Unwrap all 20 peanut butter kisses, and set one on each Ritz cracker.
Place cookie sheet in oven for about 4-5 minutes- check! Candy should be soft but not completely melted.
Remove from oven, and place Ritz cracker, bottom side down, on top of candy and press to spread candy to edge.

Place entire tray in freezer to chill for a few minutes.
Melt chocolate candy melts in a bowl in the microwave for about 2-3 minutes, stirring once every 30 seconds, until completely melted and smooth.
Place parchment paper on a cookie sheet (that fits in your freezer!)
Cut chocolate transfer sheet into 20 squares.
Take a cookie, place it in the melted chocolate and cover it completely. Use a fork to pick it up and tap on the side of the bowl until all excess chocolate drips off the bottom. Slide bottom along edge of bowl, and using fork, slide onto parchment paper.

Immediately place chocolate transfer sheet square on top of the melted chocolate (you’ll need to put the rough side down- the smooth side up) and gently press it into contact with the entire top of the cookie. Repeat 20 times.

Place entire cookie sheet into the freezer for 5 minutes or so. As soon as you remove it, gently peel off the transfer sheet from each cookie- and enjoy!!!

How-to-crisps8

My thoughts: There are three things that I love about these cookies…

They are EASY to make- they take almost no time but look so fancy!
They are CHEAP to make- the Ritz crackers and peanut butter candies are really inexpensive (I got mine at the Dollar Store), the chocolate isn’t too costly, and the transfer sheet is like $4.40, but SO worth it! (you could use sprinkles instead, to cut the cost even more though!)
They keep for a long time. Put these little guys in cello bags, tie them up, and use them to decorate your place settings at Thanksgiving!

They also can use a variety of candies up- and you can decorate them so many fun ways!

Fall Peanut Butter Crisps3

Go – find your kids’ candy and re-purpose it into these beautiful, crunchy, deliciously salty but sweet treats!

Need other ideas for using up that Halloween candy? This is a project we have a few ideas for! Click on a photo to see the recipe.

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Posted in Candy, Cookies, Seasonal dessert and tagged baking, chocolate, chocolate cookies, chocolate transfer ideas, cookies, dessert, easy cookie recipe, fall cookies, halloween cookies, peanut butter cookies, recipe to use up halloween candy, ritz cracker cookies, thanksgiving, Thanksgiving cookies, thanksgiving gift idea. Bookmark the permalink.

Peanut Butter Spider Cookies!

Posted on October 2, 2019 by Ruthanne

Spider5

These deliciously creepy little spider cookies are special…. because the peanut butter cookies they sit on only take THREE ingredients, and are the best peanut butter cookies I’ve ever tasted!

Spider7

I’ve seen these cute little guys pop up online, and I’ve wanted to make them with my favorite (super-easy!) peanut butter cookies for more than a few years. They are a cute addition to any Halloween party, delicious, and sooooo easy to make. Want to know how? Here you go: (printable recipe)

Ingredients: (makes about 24 cookies)

2 cups peanut butter (creamy)
2 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
24 Lindt chocolates
1 cup of Wilton candy melts in milk or dark chocolate
48 candy eyes

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350F degrees
Place peanut butter, sugar and eggs into a mixing bowl and stir until well combined.
Use a cookie scoop to place 2 inch balls onto a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper.
Bake at 350F degrees for about 12 minutes (cookies will still be soft in the middle).
Remove from oven and use a tart shaper or the rounded back of a measuring spoon to press a small round indentation into the center of the cookie (so the chocolate spider has a place to sit!).
Bake another 2-4 minutes and remove from oven. Slide parchment paper off cookie sheet with the cookies still on top and cool completely.
Melt candy melts in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring between.
Use a toothpick to put a little melted chocolate on the back of your candy eyes and attach them to the Lindt chocolate. Allow these to harden.
Place the rest of the melted chocolate into a zip-top bag. Seal it up and cut a small corner off. Squeeze the bag and pipe legs on the top of each cookie.
Add a bit of chocolate in the center of each cookie and set a Lindt “spider body” on top.
Allow all chocolate to harden and ENJOY!

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My thoughts: What’s not to like about these?!? A super-easy peanut butter cookie, plus chocolate? SO fun! Too busy for spiders? Just make the cookie part. You could have warm peanut butter cookies in like 20 minutes from RIGHT NOW. Aaaand…. go!

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Looking for other fun Halloween treats? Here are a few- just click the photo to see the recipe!

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Posted in chocolate, Cookies, Kids recipes, Seasonal dessert and tagged 3 ingredients cookies, 3 ingredients peanut butter cookies, best peanut butter cookie recipe, cookie recipe, cookies, easy halloween dessert, fun cookies, halloween cookies, Halloween party idea, lindt chocolate, lindt chocolate cookies, peanut butter cookies, spider cookies, spider cookies for halloween, spider dessert. Bookmark the permalink.

Epic Monster Cookies!

Posted on September 8, 2019 by Ruthanne

Monster1

Every once in awhile I run into a dessert that I simply HAVE to try making. These cookies are that dessert. Recently, my husband and I were invited to be a part of a good friend’s wedding in Georgia. At the rehearsal, the groom’s mom handed out little bags filled with these cookies… and the rest is history. I’ve had monster cookies before… but I’ve never had ones that tasted this good! Thick and full of oats- kind of like the oatmeal no-bake cookies… but better. Seriously– you need to try them!

Monster2

So I got the recipe from Debbie Howard, mom of my recently married friend Josh. It was a really old recipe in one of those church cookbooks where everyone submits recipes. It had alterations scribbled all over the recipe, so it took me three tries, but I finally perfected the recipe. You need to make these exactly as instructed though- or they won’t work as well- and believe me- when they work….? Epic. Cookies.

My biggest mistake was not refrigerating the dough before scooping them out- and they flattened into thin crispy puddles You need to refrigerate- so give yourself at least 2 hours extra time for that. Otherwise, they are fairly easy cookies and worth every bit of effort!! Want the recipe? Here you go! (printable recipe)

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 stick of butter (softened to room temperature)
3 eggs
1 ½ cups of extra crunchy peanut butter
¾ tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
5 cups oatmeal (old-fashioned kind- not instant!)
½ cup M&Ms
½ cup chocolate chips
½ cup chopped pecans
1 tsp vanilla

DIRECTIONS:

In a large bowl, beat butter and sugars together and add eggs and vanilla. Beat until smooth.
Add peanut butter and beat together until well combined.
In a separate large bowl, toss salt, baking soda, oats, pecans, M&Ms and chocolate chips together.
Add bowl of dry ingredients to wet and mix well.
Cover and refrigerate for about two hours (you must do this, or the cookies will spread thin and crunchy when baked). Dough should be just hard enough to still scoop, so test the time a bit, as refrigerators vary in temperature.
Preheat oven to 365F degrees.
Use a large cookie scoop or ice cream scoop to place cookie dough on a parchment paper- covered cookie sheet. Roll them smooth with your hands and then flatten them a little bit before baking. Leave room between cookies to allow them to spread a little.
Bake at 365F degrees for 10-12 minutes. They should be just turning brown on top when you remove them.
Slide cookies off sheet, still on parchment paper, and allow them to cool on counter- they will seem fragile until they cool and harden up.
Enjoy!

Monster3

My thoughts: Well, I already said this once, but these are really delicious cookies. They are thick and chewy and so peanut-buttery! Store them in an air-tight container and they keep for a long time (we are still eating ours a week later!) Enjoy! ~r

Monster7

We have other epic cookies here- click on a photo to see the recipe!

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Posted in Cookies and tagged amazing cookies, best cookie recipe, best monster cookies, chocolate, cookie recipe, cookies, dessert, M&M cookies, monster cookies, oatmeal cookies, peanut butter cookies, thick monster cookies. Bookmark the permalink.

Dark Chocolate Almond Bites

Posted on August 5, 2017 by Ruthanne

These little clusters of almond, coconut and dark chocolate will satisfy your sweet tooth without wrecking your diet!

I’ve been trying to eat healthier this year, and so far I’m doing really well (even with a baking blog!). My friend Laura and I walk each day and when we do we talk a lot about things we crave that could be made healthier. She was telling me that she craves chocolate so much that she takes a few dark chocolate chips and adds some almonds for a snack each night. I was in the process of making some coconut cut-out cookies and I had extra toasted coconut. We started brainstorming ways to make a cookie with relatively low calories and carbs. This is the result 🙂 They are delicious (!!) and as far as I can tell, they are about 85 calories each and 6 carbs. Which is perfect. Just perfect.

They aren’t very pretty- but who needs pretty when you can have yummy and relatively healthy? 🙂

Here’s how we made them: (printable recipe here)

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup of toasted coconut (buy it toasted, or toast your own…)
1 cup of lightly salted, roasted almonds
2 plain rice cakes
1 cup of dark chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

Place toasted coconut and almonds in a food chopper and chop to small pieces. Place in a mixing bowl.
Crumble up the 2 rice cakes into very small pieces and add to bowl.
Melt chocolate chips, and pour them over the top of mixture.
Stir until well-blended and then use a medium cookie scoop to spoon out evenly-sized cookies onto a parchment paper- covered cookie sheet. (My batch made 22, and calories and carbs were calculated accordingly.)
Place cookie sheet in refrigerator until cookies harden up. Enjoy!

My thoughts: These are really, really good. I bagged mine up in individual cello bags and tied them shut with a twist tie. That way, I wasn’t tempted to eat more than one at a time! These are a perfect “gotta have some chocolate” treat. Lots of protein from the nuts, healthy oils from the coconut, and a little bit of crunch from the rice cakes. Enjoy! ~r

Other yummy (slightly less healthy!) cookie recipes here at Easybaked (click on a photo to see the recipe):

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Posted in chocolate, Cookies and tagged almond cookies, chocolate, chocolate cookies, coconut, coconut almond cookies, coconut cookies, cookies, dessert, healthy dessert, low calorie dessert, no-bake cookies, toasted coconut. Bookmark the permalink.

Seashell Oreo Pops!

Posted on July 26, 2017 by Ruthanne

Turn your Oreos into a celebration at the beach! Sand Dollars, Sea Scallops and cute little fish. So much delicious fun!

There’s just something about the beach that makes my heart happy! Have you ever been to Sanibel Island in Florida? It’s right by Fort Meyers. Growing up, our family spent nearly every Thanksgiving at a little condo on the beach there. They have some of the best seashell hunting in North America. As a little girl, I had a shell identification book and a big pail, and I spent hours and hours combing the beach for shells. Sand dollars were one of my favorites!

This past spring, I used chocolate covered sunflower seeds in several projects, and thought about how much they remind me of the little centers of sand dollars. So I had to try! I also made some sea scallops using…wait for it… Wheat Thin crackers to make those little shell points (and they are a super yummy salty-sweet combo!) 🙂

Here is how we made these little Oreo pops:

Fish Oreo Pops are from an earlier recipe here on Easybaked. You can find them by clicking here.

These were featured in our cookbook for kids, Life Is Sweet: 12 Baking Devotions for Kids.

Sand Dollars:

Ingredients: (makes about 24 pops)

One package of Double Stuff Oreos
2 (12 oz.) bags of Wiltons Candy Melts in white
Chocolate covered sunflower seeds (I used blue)
24 Lollipop sticks
Small pearl decorating sprinkles
Small treat bags and ribbon, if you want to package them up to give away.

Directions: (Need a little visual help? Click here.)

Carefully twist apart all Oreo cookies. Do this slowly and gently- and expect that some will break.
Melt about 1/4 cup white candy melts using a microwave-safe bowl in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring between until completely melted and smooth.
Use a lollipop stick to make an indentation in the white filling of an Oreo.
Dip the end of the stick into the candy melts, spread a little on top of the white filling and then press the stick into the indentation.
Place the top of the Oreo back on and allow the candy melts to harden and cement the cookie back together with the stick inside. I like to stick these in the freezer to get nice and hard.
While you wait, melt your remaining white candy melts in the same manner as previously.
Once the cookies are firmly hardened back together, pick one up (using the stick) and dip it into the bowl of white candy melts.
Spoon candy melts over the top and sides.
Gently lift the Oreo out of the candy melts, and tap the stick on the side of the bowl to allow the excess melts to drip off.
Slide the bottom of the Oreo against the edge of the bowl to remove excess candy melts.
Gently set the coated Oreo on clean parchment or wax paper.
Immediately, set the sunflower seeds as shown at the center of the cookie.
Place pearl sprinkles as shown, between sunflower seeds.
Serve as-is, or package up for giving away by sliding each cookie into a little treat bag and tying with a ribbon.

Scallops:

Ingredients: (makes about 24 pops)

One package of Double Stuff Oreos
3-4 (12 oz.) bags of Wiltons Candy Melts in various colors
A few wheat thin crackers
24 Lollipop sticks
A toothpick to pull through colors and make design.
Small treat bags and ribbon, if you want to package them up to give away.

Directions: (Need a little visual help? Click here.)

Carefully twist apart all Oreo cookies. Do this slowly and gently- and expect that some will break.
Melt about 1/4 cup candy melts (any color) using a microwave-safe bowl in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring between until completely melted and smooth.
Use a lollipop stick to make an indentation in the white filling of an Oreo.
Dip the end of the stick into the candy melts, spread a little on top of the white filling and then press the stick into the indentation.
Set 1/2 of a Wheat thin cracker on top of candy melts at the top (so just the points poke out when the top is back on).

Place the top of the Oreo back on and allow the candy melts to harden and cement the cookie back together with the stick inside. I like to stick these in the freezer to get nice and hard.
While you wait, pick your “main color” and melt those candy melts in the same manner as previously.
Also melt smaller amounts of two to three other colors. Spoon these into zip top bags and seal them up. Wrap them in a warm towel to keep them melted and smooth.
Once the cookies are firmly hardened back together (about 10 minutes in a freezer), pick one up (using the stick) and dip it into the bowl of candy melts.
Spoon candy melts over the top and sides.
Gently lift the Oreo out of the candy melts, and tap the stick on the side of the bowl to allow the excess melts to drip off.
Slide the bottom of the Oreo against the edge of the bowl to remove excess candy melts.
Gently set the coated Oreo on clean parchment or wax paper.
Immediately, clip a corner off a bag of colored candy melts and pipe a couple curved lines on top of Oreo.
Repeat these lines with other colors and then place bags back inside warm towel.
Use a toothpick to pull lines up from the bottom through these colors (see photos)

Sprinkle with a little gold sugar and add a candy pearl if you want.
Repeat this process with remaining Oreos. You may need to repeat the melting process for the small bags of colors. If you need to do this, try making one of these colors your “main” color and decorating with the others!
Serve as-is, or package up for giving away by sliding each cookie into a little treat bag and tying with a ribbon.
ENJOY!

My thoughts: I experimented a little with the sand dollars. I had some butterscotch candy melts that I used with brown sunflower seeds- they are cute too- but I love the white ones best! I was really happy with how these turned out, and they really aren’t too difficult to put together- especially if you have made Oreo pops before. I hope you get a chance to try these for your next beach party! Happy summer to you!!!! ~r