Tag Archives: Valentines Day cookies

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):

2 Comments

Rocky Road Cookies!

Posted on February 17, 2017 by Ruthanne

Rich fudge cookies covered in a pile of marshmallows, chocolate and almonds.

A perfect rocky road combination!

Confession: I’m not a fan of ice cream. I mean, it’s ok- but it isn’t like my favorite dessert. The rocky road combination of marshmallows, chocolate and almonds began in ice cream- back in the early 1900’s. It was actually the very 1st creative ice cream flavor- prior to its invention there was only vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry. Stop and imagine that for a minute. The world with no mint-chip ice cream…

So they invented this crazy new flavor, and then the Great Depression hit- and people didn’t have much money to buy ice cream. In a feat of marketing genius, it was given the name “Rocky Road” to relate to what people were going through and boost sales. It must have worked, because this flavor of ice cream has stood the test of time and is still filling the freezers of America.

Since ice cream isn’t my favorite dessert, I like to take these flavors and create other things with them instead! I made Rocky Road cupcakes a couple of years ago on Easybaked, and they are still one of my favorite recipes. Yum.

These are easy to make, and a perfectly rich, but not too sweet treat for any holiday or celebration. Or just for Mondays. Mondays always need good cookies.

Here is how we made them (printable recipe here)

INGREDIENTS: (makes about 24, 4-inch round cookies)

Cookie:

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

Toppings:

1 bag of mini-marshmallows
1 bag of Wiltons candy melts in dark cocoa
1/4 bag of Wilton’s candy melts in white
1 cup of sliced almonds
1 cup of chocolate chips

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.
Cut into large circles (you want to have room for all those toppings!) and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Bake for 8 to 11 minutes until the edges are firm.
Slide parchment paper off cookie sheet with cookies on top. Allow them to cool on counter.
Melt dark cocoa candy melts in microwave in 30 second increments, stirring in between until smooth.
Spoon about a tablespoon of chocolate on the top of a cookie and spread to edges.
Immediately (before chocolate hardens) add marshmallows, almonds and chocolate chips. They all don’t have to touch the melted chocolate, and some can be loose on top.
Finish all cookies in the same manner.
Melt white candy melts in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring in between until smooth.
Place candy melts into a small zip-top bag, clip a corner and drizzle white chocolate over the top of each cookie as shown.
Allow everything to harden up.
Store in an air-tight container for up to 5 days (the marshmallows get a little chewy past that point). Make sure to layer parchment paper between the layers of cookies when storing them.
Enjoy!

My thoughts: There is just something unbelievably good about marshmallows on a cookie. The chewy sweetness of those, the crunchy nuts, the soft chocolate cookie… I LOVE these! Sometimes the love of a dessert is as much about the textures as it is about the flavors- and this cookie wins in both categories!!!! I hope you get a chance to try these! Enjoy! ~r

Other favorites for the cookie jar: (click on a photo to see the recipe):

2 Comments

Posted in Cookies and tagged almonds, Best chocolate cookie recipe, best cut out cookie recipe, chocolate cookies, chocolate covered cookies, chocolate cut-out cookies, chocolate marshmallow cookies, cookies, dark chocolate cookies, dessert, easy chocolate cookies, fun cookie recipe, marshmallow cookies, marshmallows, rocky road, Rocky Road cookies, sliced almonds, Valentines Day cookies. Bookmark the permalink.

Love Bug Oreo Pops!

Posted on February 10, 2017 by Ruthanne

Show a little love this Valentine’s Day with these Oreo Love Bugs!

Easy to make ahead and wrap up as gifts!

I just have to keep making Oreo Pops… there are so many possibilities and all of them are yummy and cute! I’ve pretty much failed at cake pops, but these? My favorite!

I made Lady Bugs Oreo Pops a couple of years ago, and when I was visiting Florida last month I was subjected to everyone’s horror stories about some awful little bug called a Love Bug. I guess people hate them down south, but when I heard “Love Bug” I immediately pictured these. Sweet little pink bugs with hearts and sprinkles!

Aren’t they fun? Cuteness overload….! These really aren’t hard to put together- especially if you’ve made Oreo Pops in the past. (If you haven’t ever made them, click here for a tutorial).

Here’s how we created these little love bugs! (printable recipe here)

INGREDIENTS: (makes 25-30 Oreo Pops)

1 package of Oreo Double Stuff cookies
1/2 bag of Wilton’s candy melts in white
1 bag of Wilton’s candy melts in bright pink
1/2 bag of Wilton’s candy melts in black
Heart-shaped sprinkles (I used these), pink/red jimmies or sugars
Candy eyes

DIRECTIONS:

(If you want to simplify these- don’t add a stick. Just dip the Oreos using a fork, and skip the following steps for inserting a stick!)

Gently twist apart all Oreos.
Melt white candy melts in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring between until melted and smooth.
Dip one end of a lollipop stick into the white chocolate, spread a little on the top of the white Oreo filling and then press the stick flat into the center of the filling.
Place top of Oreo on, and set on a cookie sheet. When all Oreos have sticks inserted, pop these in the freezer for 15-20 minutes (until they are nice and firmly set).
Melt pink candy melts in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring between until melted and smooth.
Have parchment paper spread on your countertop and have your sprinkles ready.
Dip an Oreo into the pink melts, spooning melts over top and sides. Tap on edge of bowl to get rid of excess and slide bottom of Oreo along edge of bowl to remove drips.
Place on parchment paper and while melts are still soft, sprinkle with hearts and sugar or jimmies, leaving these OFF the top 1/3 of the cookie. Allow these to harden.

Melt black candy melts in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring between until melted and smooth.
Spoon black melts over the top 1/4 of the cookie and then tap to remove excess and slide bottom across bowl edge to remove drips.
Set on parchment paper and place two eyes on top.
Once all heads and faces are done, spoon remaining black melts into a small zip-top bag. Clip a corner, and pipe a center line down the middle of the cookie as pictured.
Allow Oreo pops to harden. Bag them up individually or store them in an air-tight container.
Enjoy!!

My thoughts: One of the main reasons I love Oreo Pops is that you can make them ahead for events. I’m baking quite a few things for an orientation next week and these are DONE. Wrapped in cute bags, tied with cute ribbons and ready to go. Cross one thing off my list! I also made some of my personal favorite Valentine’s treats: Frog Prince Oreos. If you need hearts for the 14th, you have these Love Bugs. If you’ve kissed one too many Frogs this year… well. These other Oreos are for you:)

Happy Valentine’s Day !!!!

Other Valentine treats here on Easybaked (click on a photo to see the recipe):

6 Comments

Posted in Candy, Cookies and tagged bug cookies, easy valentines recipe, edible valentines, heart bugs, heart sprinkles, Holiday Oreo Pops, Love Bug cookies, Love Bug Oreos, Love Bugs, love cookies, Oreo dessert, Oreo Frogs, Oreo Pop ideas, oreo pops, oreo recipe, valentine cookies, Valentine frogs, valentine gifts, Valentines Day cookies, Valentines Oreo Pops. Bookmark the permalink.

Valentine’s Day Mug Topper Cookies!

Posted on January 28, 2017 by Ruthanne

Mug Topper Cookies

These adorable little cookies hang on the edge of a cup of coffee, cocoa or milk. Handy for dipping, and a perfect Valentine’s Day treat!

Aren’t these fun? When I have a few minutes of spare time, I like to wander around online looking for fun new kitchen and baking tools. I saw these cookie cutters and had to click on the photo to read more, because they didn’t make sense to me. They had several cute little shapes- but each one had a wedge cut out on one side. WHY?? I quickly discovered that the little wedge makes them not just cookie cutters- but mug-hanging cookie cutters! I happen to love dunking cookies in my coffee- so I knew I had to try them!

Valentine Mug hanging cookie

Does a cookie get more fun than that? I think not.

I was already making two different sorts of cut-out cookies for an event, so I set aside a little dough from each batch to make these. Here are the two recipes I used:

Chocolate Espresso Cut-out cookies (recipe here)
Buttery Cut-out cookies (recipe here)

I kneaded some red and pink jimmies into the buttery cut-out dough before I rolled it out to cut it.

You can use either of my recipes, or use your own- but you must choose a recipe that doesn’t puff up and get bigger in the oven. I have a fabulous gingerbread cookie recipe that would never work with these. If the dough changes shape as it bakes, that little wedge will not be big enough to slide onto the edge of a mug.

I also baked these on parchment paper, so I could slide them all off the cookie sheet and onto a counter to cool, without having to use a spatula to pick them up.

Because they are tiny little cookies to handle.
Because the wedge makes them more fragile until they cool and harden up.

Those are my “helpful hints”. They really are easy to make and so fun!

So a Valentine idea?

Make some of my Spiced Mocha Mix (recipe here).
Spoon 3-4 teaspoons into a cello bag.
Place a cookie into a second cello bag.
Print these tags (open link here).
Staple tag over the tops of the two bags.
Give away as a fun Valentine gift! (instructions for making mocha are on back of tag)

I hope you get a chance to try this little cookie cutter idea out! If you were careful, I suspect you could even use a knife to cut a little wedge out of a plain old heart cookie too…? More time consuming, but then you don’t need to purchase a new cookie cutter. Enjoy!! ~r

Other Valentine’s treats here on Easybaked (click on a photo to see the recipe)

12 Comments

Posted in Cookies and tagged buttery cut-out cookies, chocolate, chocolate cut-out cookies, cookie recipe, easy valentines recipe, edible valentine, mocha, mocha mix recipe, mug topper cookies, over the edge cookies, specialty cookie cutters, unique cookies, unique holiday cookies, valentine cookies, Valentines Day cookies, Valentines gift idea. Bookmark the permalink.

Fudge cookies for gender reveal party!

Posted on January 27, 2012 by Ruthanne

So my cousin Erika messaged me this week asking for ideas for a gender-reveal party she’s throwing this spring. For those of you uninformed folks (as I was a week ago)– a gender reveal party is where you break the “It’s a boy/girl” news to all your friends and family at a fun party. I say– what better way to deliver good news than in a dessert??!!?? So I went to work and I have several ideas you will likely see here in the coming weeks.

Idea#1— a recycled recipe tweaked for the occasion. Remember my chocolate bonbons? Fun little fudge cookies with a hershey kiss inside. Instead of a kiss, how about colored white chocolate? Here you go:

INGREDIENTS:

40-50 Wilton candy melt pieces in BLUE or PINK
8 oz. Philadelphia Cream Cheese
1 bag (12 oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 c. all-purpose flour
1 t. vanilla
Additional Wilton White Candy Melts
for decorating as desired.

DIRECTIONS:

Soften Philadelphia cream cheese in microwave until completely smooth.
Melt chocolate chips in microwave in 30 second increments, stirring well in between.
Add cream cheese to melted chocolate and blend well.
Add flour and vanilla and stir into a thick dough consistency.
Flatten about 1 tbs. of dough in your palm, place 2 candy melts (flat sides together) in the center and gently wrap the dough around the melts until they are completely covered.
Flatten dough and shape into an Oreo shaped and sized cookie and place on an un-greased cookie sheet.
Bake cookies at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes.
Remove warm cookies from cookie sheet and place on parchment paper (they will be a little greasy on the bottom, the parchment paper helps with this)
Decorate as desired- I dipped the entire top of the cookie in melted white candy melts and then piped two small circles on the top. Dragging the tip of a toothpick through the circles while they are still melted makes them into hearts (aww….) Easy and fun!