Category Archives: Cookies

10 Fun Dessert Recipes for Father’s Day!

Posted on June 14, 2016 by Ruthanne

Father’s Day is upon us! I love this day. I have such a great dad- he is adventurous, wise, funny and so much fun to spend time with. I’ve created many recipes here at Easybaked on his behalf, and thought I would gather them all into one little post for you!

Dads come in all varieties with all sorts of interests and hobbies. If your dad is a golfer, try the Hole-in-one Cupcakes pictured above. They use a Lindt chocolate truffle as a golf ball- which is cute and SO yummy eaten with that cupcake!

If your dad is the grill-master of your family, you might make him BBQ Cupcakes– or Hamburger Cookies– or maybe both!

He loves football??? Hopefully he loves the Green Bay Packers… the only team truly worth cheering for….!

Make him delicious dark chocolate Football Cookies, fun little First Down Oreo Pops, OR Cheesehead Cupcakes (Go Packers!) At the very least you can entertain him with stories of how you use your tire pressure gauge with that last recipe…

Maybe your dad is a foodie. He loves his bacon and doughnuts! We’ve got both of those covered! Our Pancake and Bacon Cupcakes are actually incredibly delicious! I was skeptical- and I made them- but they got five stars in my book! We also have some pretty amazing Doughnut Cupcakes– that actually taste like doughnuts!

Finally, for the fisherman fathers out there….. Fishing Bobber Cupcakes– that use Lindt Truffles as an adorable bobber on waves of blue icing- and Fishing Pond Cupcakes– stocked with little goldfish crackers!

That makes 10 incredibly fun, unique and delicious recipes! But I need to add one more… in honor of my dad, who spent his life working in a medical laboratory and literally spent an hour this morning over breakfast telling me all the horrible things they used to have to mouth-pipette back when he started in the profession in the 1960’s… (like formaldehyde… as one of the less nasty things…)

For you dad…(and all scientist dads out there!) Toxic Sludge Cupcakes! These are unbelievable delicious… that green goo is white chocolate pudding and it is SO good inside these cupcakes… makes me smile 🙂

Happy Father’s Day! I hope you have a chance to bake some sweet treats to celebrate your dad this weekend! ~r

Dad and my sweet puppy this morning **smile**

Some of my dad’s other favorites through the years:

Caramel Oatmeal Bars

Posted on June 11, 2016 by Ruthanne

What could be better than oatmeal cookies with chocolate chips? This. This could be better, because we baked them in bars and added caramel. And we all know that caramel makes everything better.

Think “gooey”. Think “rich”. Think “this has oatmeal in it which makes it almost healthy”. Emphasis on almost.

Healthy these are not. But delicious? Yes!

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

INGREDIENTS:

1 c. margarine
1 c. brown sugar (packed)
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
3 cups uncooked old-fashioned oatmeal (plain, and not instant!)
2 cups of chocolate chips
32 Kraft caramels (unwrapped)
1 can (14oz) of sweetened condensed milk
1 stick (1/2 cup) of butter

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
Spray a 9×13 cake pan with non-stick spray
Beat margarine and sugars together in a large mixing bowl until creamy- and yes, I use margarine here- not butter.
Blend in eggs and vanilla
Add flour, soda and salt to cream mixture and beat well
Stir in oats and chocolate chips
Mix until well combined and press a little less than 1/2 of batter into pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.
While this bakes, combine caramels, condensed milk and butter in a saucepan and heat (stirring constantly) until caramels are completely melted.
Remove cake from oven and pour caramel over the top. Try to keep it away from the edges of the pan. You won’t be able to do this perfectly, but it is the caramel that sticks to the pan when you go to cut it later.
Spoon remaining batter over the top of the caramel and bake for an additional 25- 30 minutes- until browned on the top and not “jiggly” in the middle when the pan is moved.
Cool completely before cutting. It is easiest to cut after it is even chilled a little bit, and I kept these refrigerated until serving.
Enjoy!

My thoughts: These are RICH, gooey, happy cookie bars. Cut them small, as they will fill you up fast! I hope you get a chance to try them! ~r

Other cookie and brownie bars here on easybaked:

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Posted in Bar cookies, Candy, Cookies and tagged caramel cookie bar, caramel cookies, chocolate, cookie bar recipe, cookie recipe, cookies, oatmeal, oatmeal cookie bar, oatmeal cookies. Bookmark the permalink.

Fun recipes for kids!

Posted on June 4, 2016 by Ruthanne

Summer is almost here- and that means summer vacation! I remember spending my summer days in the kitchen with cookbooks I’d gotten out of the library, trying new things. Sometimes I baked with mom- and sometimes I ventured out on my own and learned valuable lessons like you can’t put the whole egg in when the recipe calls for just egg whites!

As an adult, I love baking with kids. I love creating recipes that make kids smile. My childhood interest turned into a lifelong hobby for me, and it’s fun to share that with a new audience.

I thought I’d share some of my favorite kid-friendly recipes that have been posted on Easybaked over the years.

Some of these are featured in my cookbook for kids, “Life is Sweet, Baking Devotions for Kids”.

As I share photos of these recipes, click on the photo to be taken to the recipe!

Easy Recipes- ones that kids can make on their own or with a little adult supervision.

Cinnamon Cheesecake Sundaes– use wonton wrappers to make crispy little cups. Fill them up with a no-bake cheesecake and sundae toppings. Kids love to make their own creative sundaes!

Nutter Butter Flip Flops- less baking and more art! Simply dip Nutter Butter cookies in Wilton’s candy melts and draw on flip-flop straps. It might take a little practice, but learning to dip things in chocolate is a skill everyone should learn!

Tie-Dye Cake- If your kids love color, this cake will make them smile! You color cake mix in all the shades of the rainbow and then bake it into a swirling masterpiece. With blue frosting. Everyone loves blue frosting- right?!?

Hamburger Cookies- They look like hamburgers but taste like chocolate. What kid wouldn’t love that! Easy and quick to make- and very cute when served with those mini potato sticks as french fries!

Earthworm Cupcakes- Kids will love making these jello “worms” and poking them into Oreo crumbs. Not just your USUAL dirt cupcakes- because this time the worms look REAL!

“Pup”cakes- If your kids are looking for someone special to bake for… try these super-easy cupcake treats for dogs! Peanut butter happiness for everyone!

Confetti Kisses- here’s that chance to learn about egg whites! A little supervision if they’ve never divided an egg before- and help with beaters- but add some Jell-O and you have such a fun treat!

Recipes for kid’s parties: These are fun ideas to surprise kids with. Maybe they help create the masterpiece- or you create it for them. These are a little more difficult, but so much fun!

Frozen S’mores Cups!

Kool-aid Truffles

Candy-filled Cake

A Dr. Seuss-style stack of cupcakes

Polka Dot Cake!

Toxic Slime Cupcakes!

Oreo Frogs!

Root beer float cupcakes (one of my favorite cupcake recipes!)

And last…but certainly not least:

Kool Aid Pie!

I hope I’ve inspired a little summer fun in the kitchen! Enjoy! ~r

One of our specialties here on Easybaked is our fun-to make (and eat!) Oreo pops! We have them for every season! (click on photo to get directions!)

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Posted in Cakes, Candy, Cheesecakes, Cookie Cups, Cookies, Cupcakes, Easy recipes, Frozen desserts, Kids recipes and tagged baking with kids, collection of kids desserts, collection of kids recipes, dessert recipes, easy dessert recipe, fun desserts, kid friendly recipes, kids party desserts, recipe collection, summer baking, summer recipes. Bookmark the permalink.

Andes Mint Cookies

Posted on May 28, 2016 by Ruthanne

Creamy mint filling sandwiched between delicious dark chocolate cookies. Add a dip of chocolate on one end and you have the most delicious minty treat ever!!

Sometimes I just crave mint and chocolate. Mint and dark, not-too-sweet, chocolate. I have a favorite chocolate cut-out cookie and for this recipe I changed it around a bit to make it dark and less sweet. I love (love!!) how these turned out. My mom made wonderful mint brownies, and I grabbed the mint filling from those to add as a filling to these.

I think you will love these!!! Here is how I made them (printable recipe):

INGREDIENTS: (makes about 24 cookies, depending on the size of your cookie cutter)

2 sticks of butter, softened
1 stick of butter, melted
1 cup of granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons of vanilla
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup of dark cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons mint extract
green food coloring
1/2 bag of Wiltons candy melts in dark chocolate
1/4 bag of Wiltons candy melts in green

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Combine 2 sticks of softened butter, and both sugars in a large mixing bowl, and beat on low until creamed together.
Add egg and vanilla; beat until smooth and creamy.
Add cocoa powder and beat until combined.
Gradually add flour until able to remove beaters and knead by hand. Add flour until a smooth ball of dough is formed.
Roll out to 1/4 inch thickness and use a cookie cutter to cut into whatever shape you want. I used a rectangle.
Place cookies on parchment paper covered cookie sheets, and bake for 12-16 minutes until firm.
Cool completely.
While cooling, mix 1 stick of melted butter with powdered sugar and mint extract. Add water until mixture is a thick but smooth icing.
Add green food coloring to desired shade.
Spread mint icing between two cooled cookies.
Melt chocolate and green candy melts in two separate bowls in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring between until smooth.
Place green melts in a small zip top bag, zip it tightly shut and clip a small corner off.
Spoon chocolate over 1/2 of a cookie, tap on side of bowl to remove excess chocolate and set on parchment paper.
Make lines of green on the melted chocolate and use a toothpick to pull through the green chocolate one way and then back the other to make design.

Allow cookie to harden
Enjoy!!

My thoughts: These are delicious. I love the dark chocolate cookies so much. They are almost like a not-too-sweet brownie. The mint adds so much and while I really like the look of the dipped end, you could totally skip it and serve the cookies plain. They are a touch less sweet when not half-dipped in chocolate. I hope you get a chance to try these!! Enjoy!!! ~r

Other not-too-sweet desserts here on Easybaked: (click on photo to see recipe)

Caramel Armadillos

Posted on May 14, 2016 by Ruthanne

Caramel Armadillos1

Caramel Armadillos. Because Caramel Turtles are soooooo yesterday.

I have this great, really easy, caramel filling. It’s great on ice cream, in brownies, in cupcakes and even by the spoonful. I love it. I decided this week that I wanted to make turtle cookies with it, and I was struck by how boring and predictable caramel turtles are. Why turtles? Who started this trend? I turned to Wikipedia for answers. I was still bored.

I decided to make caramel armadillos instead. Not only are they WAY cuter than turtles, but it’s really fun to say “caramel armadillos”.

Try it… five times fast!

You know you want to… 🙂

Caramel Armadillo A couple weeks ago I was waiting for a friend to meet me for coffee and I stumbled upon these cute little chocolate molds on Amazon. They are supposedly Easter eggs, but when I decided to make Armadillos they came to mind as the perfect thing to use! All I needed was a tail and ears… and a tootsie roll would suffice!

SO caramel armadillos were born- and they are neither boring nor predictable!

Armadillo3 Here’s how I made them: (printable recipe)

INGREDIENTS: (makes about 20 armadillos)

32 Kraft Caramels (unwrapped)
1 can (14 oz.) of sweetened condensed milk
1 stick (1/2 cup) of butter
Whole pecans- about 3 per armadillo
1 bag (32 oz/2lbs) of Merckens Milk chocolate wafers.
about 40 candy eyes
20 pink candy balls for noses
at least 25 tootsie rolls, unwrapped

DIRECTIONS:

Make caramel in a large saucepan over the stove by heating together the caramels, condensed milk and butter. Stir constantly until melted and smooth.
Pour into a small bowl and allow mixture to cool a bit (so it doesn’t melt chocolate when poured in).
Melt chocolate wafers in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring in between until melted and smooth.
Use a food-grade brush, or pastry brush to “paint” the inside of the egg mold with chocolate. Paint two layers to make it nice and thick- you should not be able to see any of the mold showing through.
Freeze until hard (5 minutes or so)
Place cooled caramel into a large zip-top bag, zip tightly closed and clip a corner off the bag using a pair of kitchen scissors.
Squeeze a little bit of caramel in each cup, set three pecans on the caramel, pushing them gently into it, then fill the remainder of the cup up with caramel.

**Note: If you are making just armadillos, don’t fill to the top because you will add a layer of chocolate on top once the caramel is hard. If you are placing these on cookies, you can fill to the top and spread flat with a knife.

Place these in the freezer to harden (5-10 minutes) and then paint a layer of chocolate on the top of the hardened caramel and freeze again until hard.
Gently peel silicone mold away from chocolate and set on a plate to be decorated!
Unwrap 20 tootsie rolls and place for just a few seconds in the microwave to soften a little.
Pull and roll these into tails and use the side of a knife to press grooves along the length. Keep these on parchment paper until they harden up.
Unwrap 4 to 5 tootsie rolls and cut them into little circles. Shape these into ears and keep with tails on parchment paper.

To assemble, use dabs of melted chocolate to attach ears, candy eyes, nose and tails.

I made cookies for them to sit on. My original idea was for caramel turtle cookies, so I went ahead with the cookie plan and it does add stability to that tail (otherwise they are a little awkward to pick up!)

I used my favorite chocolate cookie cut-out recipe from here, and it made a few more cookies than I had armadillos for, but they are yummy cookies all alone!!
I used an egg-shaped cookie cutter a bit larger than the armadillo.
I added melted green candy wafers to the top- just spooned some on and spread it near the edges- and set a “open” caramel armadillo on top. The green wafers seal up the bottom and keep caramel from leaking out!
I set the tail on the melted green wafers and added flower sprinkles! Once everything hardened up I added the eyes, ears and nose.

So….cookies??? Candies???? It’s up to you! I think they would be fun on a cake.

How awkwardly wonderful would a caramel armadillo cake be???

My thoughts: These are delicious. They are also a lot of work (being honest!). It would help to have your tails and ears shaped ahead of time and I was wishing SO hard for an additional mold. That would save time too. That said- I will totally make these again!!!! They were well- loved by adults and kids alike! If this recipe seems like too much craziness for you, just make the caramel. Put it on ice cream and be happy! Enjoy!! ~r

Other recipes kids will love (click on a photo to see the recipe!):

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Posted in Candy, Cookies and tagged Armadillo candy, Armadillo dessert, Armadillos, best, caramel, caramel candy, Caramel turtles, chocolate, creative, creative candy, creative cookies, dessert, fun cookies, Kids party dessert, pecans, recipe. Bookmark the permalink.

Cookie Monster Oreos!!!!!

Posted on March 5, 2016 by Ruthanne

Turn your cookies into Cookie Monsters with these adorable Oreo treats!

So, Valentine’s Day happened last month, and I have started a tradition of making my Oreo Prince Charming Frogs as little Valentines for friends and family. As I was popping little red M&Ms into like 100 little frog “mouths”, it suddenly occurred to me that they looked a little like Cookie Monster. I brainstormed for a cute little cookie, got myself some blue candy melts, and had so much fun making these little guys this week!!!!!

Ah….so cute and fun! I gave them as gifts to as many kids as I could… and the smiles…. 🙂 You need to try these…!!!!!!

Here’s how we put them together (I took pictures as I went!)

INGREDIENTS: (makes 24-28 cookies)

One package of Double Stuff Oreos (you need that wide opening to fit a mini-cookie!)
One bag of Wilton’s Candy Melts in royal blue
Candy eyes
Royal Blue decorating sugar (I had such a time finding this- I wanted blue jimmies, but settled on these sugar crystals from CK Products.)
A box of Cookie Crisp cereal.
Several drinking straws.

DIRECTIONS:

Place Candy eyes, and about 24-28 pieces of cookie cereal into two small bowls.
Place parchment paper over flat working surface.
Melt Candy Melts in microwave in 30 second increments, stirring between until melted and smooth.
Dip Oreo in melts and use a fork to lift out. Tap firmly against side of bowl to remove excess candy and slide along bowl edge as you remove it.
Gently slide covered Oreo onto parchment paper. Immediately sprinkle with sugar, and place eyes (a tweezer helps with this).

Place a piece of cookie cereal in “mouth”. You may need to wait a little bit until the melts harden up a bit and get sticky. I found that a drinking straw placed in front of each one helped hold the cookie in place until it hardened.

Allow little monsters to harden and then share them with anyone who needs a smile 🙂

My thoughts: SO. FUN. I really loved making these and sharing them. I packaged them up in little cello bags that I got at Michaels, and I made stickers for the back using Avery square labels (#22806). I will attach the pdf for these here. Be sure when you print them on these labels to print them as “actual size”. Sometimes printers will automatically shrink an image to fit a page better, and if you let it do that they won’t line up with the stickers. I also tied up a few bags of just cookie cereal to go along with them. It was really fun.

The perfect finishing touch! Enjoy these dear readers!!!!!! ~r

Other desserts for the Cookie Monster in you! (Click on a photo to see the recipe)

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Posted in Candy, Cookies and tagged candy melts, chocolate, chocolate chip cookie, Cookie Crisp cereal, Cookie monster Oreos, Cookie Monster treats, cookies, creative cookies, kids cookies, kids party, kids party ideas, Oreos, sesame street cookies, sesame street dessert. Bookmark the permalink.

Cookie Dough Layer Cake

Posted on February 27, 2016 by Ruthanne

Creamy cookie dough filling surrounded by rich chocolate cake and topped with a delicious chocolate glaze. An easy, beautiful and oh-soo-yummy dessert!

I’m in love with cookie dough. When I go to those fancy yogurt shops where you make your own sundae I am always tempted to skip the yogurt and just fill my dish with those little cookie dough bites. This easy (super, super easy) layer cake is filled with my favorite creamy cookie dough. I’ve used it to top cupcakes and to fill brownies— and now to fill cake. I love it. I think you will too!

As in most of my recipes, this dessert is made simple with the use of a cake mix (I used a Duncan Hines Dark Chocolate Fudge here), but you can substitute your favorite cake recipe instead. More work… but that’s up to you!

Here is how we put this cake together: (printable recipe)

INGREDIENTS:

Cake/Filling:

One boxed chocolate cake mix (plus water, oil and eggs to make according to package)
2 sticks (8 oz.) unsalted butter(softened)
2 sticks (8 oz.) salted butter(softened)
2 c. powered sugar
1 c. brown sugar (packed)
3 T. vanilla
1/3c. flour
1 (12 oz) bag of mini chocolate chips.

Glaze:

1 1/2 sticks of salted butter
1 12 oz. package of semi-sweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

Make cake mix (or your favorite cake recipe) and bake according to box/recipe in 2- 8 or 9 inch round pans.
Cool cakes completely.
While cakes are baking and cooling, make your filling.
Place all filling ingredients except mini chips into a large mixing bowl and beat with mixer on low until combined and then high until light and fluffy.
Add mini chips (keep about 1/3 of a cup aside to sprinkle on sides and top of cake) and beat on low until fully combined.
Make glaze by melting butter and chips together and set aside.
Once cakes are cool, trim the tops so they are flat.
Place 1 cake on serving plate, cut side up, and spread a little of the glaze on top.
Spoon all of filling on top and spread all the way to the edge of the cake.
Place second cake on top, cut side down, and use a knife to smooth edges of filling flat between the two cake layers.
Sprinkle edges of filling with extra chocolate chips, and then pour glaze over the top and add the rest of the chips.
Refrigerate until firm.

My thoughts: I wondered if the filling layer was too thick (it’s a lot of filling!) I knew that I would love all that cookie dough, but would others? They did. It got rave reviews and even a 2 thumbs up from a frosting-hater 🙂 You could make half of the filling recipe if you want- but it is honestly soooo yummy to have a big bite of cookie dough with every bite of cake. Wish I had some left…! Enjoy! ~r

Other fun layered caked here at Easybaked (click on a photo to see the recipe):

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Posted in Cakes, Cookies and tagged best, cake, chocolate, chocolate chip cookie dough cake, chocolate fudge cake, chocolate glaze, cookie dough, cookie dough cake, cookie dough dessert, creative cake recipe, creative dessert, dessert, layer cake, recipe, unique dessert. Bookmark the permalink.

Christmas Card Cookies

Posted on December 18, 2015 by Ruthanne

These adorable cookies don’t just taste yummy- they also bear Christmas words of cheer with every delicious bite!

I saw this fun silicone mold by Wilton at my local grocery, and I couldn’t resist! So fun!!!

I made two varieties of these little cookie cards: Peppermint mocha and Gingerbread chocolate. Both were delicious and so fun to make!

You can use any of your favorite cut-out cookie recipes partnered with any Wilton Candy Melt flavors on top, but I thought these two combinations were delicious!

Want to know how to make these? Let’s start with the “card” toppers.

You’ll need about 3 bags of Wilton Candy Melts to make 24 cookie toppers.
Melt them in the microwave, one bag at a time, in 30 second increments, stirring between until smooth.
Spoon about 2 tablespoons into each cavity and use a small spoon to spread into corners.
Tap mold on counter to remove bubbles and freeze for about 10 minutes.
Carefully peel the mold away from each bar and repeat this process until you have 24.

This process takes a little time, but it can be done ahead of time and the little bars can be stored in an airtight container in a cool spot until needed. Keep different flavors separated from each other, and put a little parchment or wax paper between layers.

Then you can make the cookies!

One of my favorite Christmas recipes (of all time) is my grandma’s gingerbread cookie recipe. It’s on this blog a couple of times, but you can get the original (in grandma’s handwriting!) by clicking here. I paired this cookie with dark chocolate Wilton’s candy melts.

The other recipe I used, with peppermint card toppers, was my espresso cutout cookies. There’s nothing like peppermint, coffee and chocolate all together! You can see this recipe originally published on Easybaked by clicking here.

Make your cookie dough according to whatever recipe you desire and then use a cookie cutter to cut a large rectangle cookie. I used a 4.5″ x 3″ cutter that I found here.
Bake, cool and then take a little extra Candy Melt and a food-safe brush and brush melted candy on the back of each bar to attach it to the top of each cookie.
Press the bar down using a little wax paper on the top (if you touch it with your bare fingers you will get prints!)
Allow bar to harden onto the cookie and then serve! I placed each one in a little cello bag sealed with a sticker and gave them away with gifts.

So fun!!!!

My thoughts: These are a fun, creative and easy way to say Merry Christmas! The variety of flavors you can use is limited only by your imagination- but I recommend you use a cookie recipe that doesn’t “puff up” too much. You can see in my photos that my gingerbread cookies puffed up a little- making my edges not as pretty and straight as those chocolate espresso ones that don’t expand much at all. The gingerbread/chocolate combination was so yummy that I got over the slightly curved edges though! I hope you get a chance to try these- so fun!! ~r

Other Christmas recipe ideas here at Easybaked: (click on a photo to see the recipe)

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Posted in Candy, Cookies and tagged candy bar molds, candy molds, chocolate, christmas, Christmas cookies, edible Christmas cards, fun cookies, gingerbread cookies, mocha cookies, peppermint, peppermint mocha cookies, unique christmas cookies, Wilton peppermint melts. Bookmark the permalink.

Spiderweb Cookies

Posted on October 22, 2015 by Ruthanne

Delicious sugar cookies covered in chocolate spiders and webs. Too cute to be scary!

I’m on a spider kick for Halloween. I’ve had some decently horrifying experiences with spiders at my house this fall, so when I think scary- this is it! My last post featured them on cupcakes and this week it’s cookies. These are delicious, easy, and so much fun to put together!

Here’s how I made them: (printable recipe)

INGREDIENTS: (makes about 24 cookies)

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter (softened)
1 1/2 cups of granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 teaspoon of butter flavoring
3 cups of flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 bags of Wilton’s Candy Melts in whatever colors you choose (I used orange and purple)
1 bag of Wilton’s Candy Melts in dark chocolate
Vanilla Wafers
Candy eyes

DIRECTIONS:

Make spider “faces” first so they have time to harden up. Melt chocolate candy melts in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring in between until melted and smooth.
Dip vanilla wafers entirely in the melted chocolate until coated. Remove using a fork, tap against side of bowl and slide bottom along edge.
Place on parchment paper and place 2 eyes on each. Allow these to harden completely. Save excess chocolate to use for web on cookies.

Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth.
Add eggs, vanilla and butter flavoring and mix well.
Add all dry ingredients and mix until able to knead into a firm ball of dough (add additional flour if necessary).
Roll out on a floured counter with a flour coated rolling pin to desired thickness.
Cut into spider webs with a cookie cutter (I used this one– totally got it at Wal Mart)
Place cookies on cookie sheets covered in parchment paper and bake at 350F degrees for 10-12 minutes.
Slide baked cookies and parchment paper together onto a counter to cool completely.
Re-melt the chocolate candy melts and spoon them into a small zip-top bag.
Melt colored candy melts in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring in between until melted and smooth.
Place cookie on a baking rack that has been set over a plate and spoon melted candy over the top of the cookie, spreading it to the edges and over. Use a fork to lift cookie, tap excess off and slide onto parchment paper.
Take bag of melted dark chocolate and clip a corner off. Pipe a swirl of chocolate onto the still- melted candy on the cookie and immediately pull line through this from the center out using a toothpick or skewer.
Set a spider “face” in the center of the cookie and allow everything to harden up.
Enjoy!

Aren’t they cute?????

My thoughts: These really are fun and delicious. It takes a little time and patience to cover the basic cookie in the candy melts- but I love how the color goes all the way over the edge! Since these harden up, they are perfect to make ahead and tie up in cello bags for fall parties. Enjoy!!!! ~r

Other fun fall recipes to try: (click on a photo to be taken to a recipe)

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Posted in Candy, Cookies and tagged candy melts, cookies, cut-out cookies, Halloween, halloween cookies, kids recipe, recipe, spider cookies, spider eye cookies, spider web cookies, suagr cut-out cookies, sugar cookies. Bookmark the permalink.

The BEST Chocolate Cut-out Cookies Ever!!

Posted on August 22, 2015 by Ruthanne

They taste…like rich chocolate brownies. They cut…perfectly, no refrigeration needed. The recipe…is so simple to make! Absolutely perfect cookies!

Well. Here we are. It has been over a month since I have posted a recipe here, and I miss you all! It’s funny how blogging creates community, isn’t it? I’ve really missed hearing from you all, and reading many of your blogs!

So, what have I been doing? These cookies are more than just a recipe- they tell the story of summer in Eastern and Central Europe, and they tell the story of new chapter in my life.

For those of you who have followed Easybaked for years, you know I spent most of my life working in the field of medicine. You also know that I spent most of last year in Arizona, working with a small church on the Navajo Nation~ a journey and experience I absolutely LOVED.

When my time drew to a close with the Navajo, I wondered if I’d return to medicine, but God had other plans, and I was invited to join a mission organization called Josiah Venture as their Intern Coordinator. Josiah Venture’s vision is to be a movement of God among the young people of Eastern and Central Europe, that finds its home in the local church and transforms society. We have missionaries in 14 countries, and this summer there were over 100 college age interns sent to help local churches host camps and outreach events in their cities. My job is to recruit, resource and prepare these interns to go each year.

I’ve spent the 1st part of this year training for this position and raising the financial support I need to be able to do this job full-time. I was able to be in the Czech Republic at the end of May to welcome this year’s interns. It was incredible to see so many young people giving up their summer to serve God overseas. I loved it!

Each year, Josiah Venture has a theme for the summer camps hosted by local churches. This year it was “You are Here”. The logo was a Metro map. They used #urhere on Instagram and Twitter to connect people, and if you visit these hashtags you will see incredible testimonies of God’s faithfulness this summer!

I was invited to a cookout this summer with some missionaries visiting the US from Slovakia. I was asked to bring dessert- because when you have a baking blog, everyone asks you to bring dessert! 😉 I made these cookies for them, and they were SO much fun. I keep saying that I hate royal icing, but there are some times when it is your only option.

So… this is what I’ve been doing. It has been a struggle to keep baking and sharing with you all because it has been such a busy summer with so much travel. I keep telling myself that Easybaked is a HOBBY, and I am allowed to take a break for awhile. But I will be back- I promise! My head is swimming with new ideas 🙂

Before I share this recipe, I want to ask a favor. If you are reading this post, and you are a follower of Christ that wants to see the incredible news of God’s love shared around the world, would you consider becoming a part of my support team? I am slated to begin this position on September 1st and I am not fully funded yet- but I’m SO close! I am looking for people who are able to give toward this ministry on a monthly basis, and to pray.

If you are interested in learning more, here are a few links:

More about Josiah Venture here.

More about how to become a part of this ministry (and how to contact me with questions) here.

More about summer internships for college students interested in missions here.

More about me (my personal/ ministry blog) here.

Thank you dear followers, fellow bloggers, and friends. I have been asking God fervently to provide what I need before September 1, and who knows? Maybe he will answer my prayers through you!!!

Now, that cookie recipe!

It is the best cut-out cookie recipe ever. Plus it’s chocolate, which is bonus in my book!

I’ve shared this recipe many, many times on this blog. I’ve added espresso to the recipe for the delicious cookies posted above, I’ve made them into cookie cups to be filled with all sort of sweet happiness, and I’ve even made them into cookie lollipops. I don’t even feel bad re-sharing this recipe with you because it is one I keep returning to as a staple for so many ideas.

I simply cut this particular batch into squares, and decorated them using royal icing (click here for icing recipe) with the actual camp logo as a guide!

Here’s the cookie recipe (printer friendly recipe -by the way, this says to chill the dough, but you definitely don’t need to. Experimentation has proved otherwise! :))

INGREDIENTS: (makes 30-32 medium square cookies)

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

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
Add butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla and cocoa together in large mixing bowl.
Blend on medium speed with a mixer until smooth.
Gradually add dry ingredients and mix until smooth (use clean hands at the end, to knead into a soft ball of dough)
Roll out cookie dough on floured counter. I like them fairly thick.
Cut into squares 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.
Frost as desired. A simple powdered sugar glaze would be delicious on these, or if you want to get fancy, use royal icing to create whatever your heart desires!