Category: Cookies

Generally if people, such as myself, enjoy cookies, they generally enjoy other kinds of sweets, like CANDY!  In terms of non-chocolate based candy, I really like Skittles, jelly beans and a particular type of Eastern European candy called “Krowki” (that’s the Polish spelling – it means cow,  I think).  Pure chocolate is rather different.  For example, I typically prefer Cadbury’s to Hershey’s, except for s’mores, although the Cadbury’s recipe has been  perverted for distribution in America.  I also like Krasniy Oktyabr’ products (and the smell they give to certain areas of Moscow).  For baking, I typically use Baker’s chocolate, I recently discovered a brand called Scharffen Berger which is really good for things that really emphasize the flavour of the chocolate, like the torte I made for Passover.

Anyway, this cookie is a Mars-product themed creation, using Snickers bars and Dove chocolate.  Ordinarily, I do not use Dove but someone I know was describing her love of Dove to me, so I decided to give it a try.  I was pleased. These are really simple to make, which is nice – I started them at 10:30pm after coming home from a concert and I was completely done by midnight.

Candy Bar Cookies
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup honey
1 Tbsp. milk
24 miniature candy bars (I used Snickers)
about 3-4 oz of chocolate of your choice (I used Dove)

1. Preheat oven to 350^oF. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. In a large bowl, beat the peanut butter and butter together until well mixed. Beat in the sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add in the egg followed by the milk and honey.
3. Mold about 1 tbs of dough around each piece of candy. You do not want there to be a lot of extra dough because then the cookie will spread when you bake it, and if there is too much dough, then it will overwhelm the candy center.
4. Place on the prepared cookie sheets and bake for 12-14 minutes. Remove and transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
5. After the cookies have cooled, melt the chocolate in a ziploc bag. Cut a small hole in one
corner and squeeze in drizzles over the cookies. It will set after it cools.

Makes 24 cookies

These are a find from my new hobby of browsing recipe blogs, however, the original recipe apparently comes from a contest held by Pillsbury way back when.  I really, really love marshmallows and maraschino cherries, which these include.  After last week’s Butterscotch Pecan Cookies, I wanted to do something a bit different.  These gave me a chance to experiment, plus they have the added bonus of being rather visually impressive. In keeping with my new pudding obsession, I added some “Chocolate Fudge” into the mix.

Chocolate Sundae Cookies
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp soda
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 c brown sugar
1/2 c shortening (I used 6 tbs shortening and 2 tbs butter)
1/2 package instant chocolate pudding mix
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 squares unsweetened chocolate, melted
2 tbsp. milk
1/4 c cherry juice
1/4 c maraschino cherries, chopped, plus more for topping
1/2 c walnuts, chopped
A bunch of large marshmallows cut in half
Chocolate Glaze (see options below)

1. Preheat oven to 350350^oF. Line a couple of cookie sheets with parchment.
2. Cream the brown sugar and shortening together. Blend in the pudding mix. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until well blended. Add melted unsweetened chocolate and mix well. Add dry ingredients with milk and cherry juice. Stir in the nuts and and cherries.
3. Drop by tablespoon onto cookie sheets and bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes.
4. As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, press a marshmallow half in the center. Let the cookies sit on cookie sheet until sturdy enough to transfer, then move to a wire rack. 5. Spoon glaze over marshmallow, covering it completely. Cap with a cherry half.

Chocolate Glaze
If you do not really feel like making your own topping, you can microwave some prepared chocolate frosting for about 20 seconds and then spoon over the top. Otherwise, here is a recipe for a quick frosting of your own:

6 ounces bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
4 tablespoons butter
4 teaspoons light corn syrup or golden syrup
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a heavy double boiler over barely simmering water, melt butter. When butter is partially melted, stir in chocolate and corn syrup. Continue until smooth. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

Ok, seriously? I wrote a whole post for this and then it mysteriously was deleted. Gah! Well, here is attempt #2.

Although I thought that this could never happen, these cookies seem to have supplanted the Chocolate Brownie Cookies as my favourite. They have also created in me an addiction to toasted pecans (so yummy, and they make my apartment smell nice). This was the first cookie that I ever made using instant pudding mix, and let me just say, whoever originally thought to do that was a GENIUS. I will be altering all of my future soft-cookie recipes to include it. The original version of this recipe called for butterscotch flavoured pudding mix (in keeping with the theme of the cookie, obviously), but that seems to be the one pudding type that Key Food (my usually fabulous local grocery) does not stock. I made several batches using different flavours, and the white chocolate ones were voted the best.

Butterscotch Toasted Pecan Cookies
2/3 c pecans, coarsely chopped
2 1/4 c (280 g) all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 c (225 g) butter, softened
3/4 c (150 g) brown sugar, packed
1/4 c (50 g) white sugar
1 package white chocolate pudding mix
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 c butterscotch morsels
1. Preheat oven to 350^oF. Place pecans on a cookie sheet and toasted for 8 minutes or until aromatic. Set aside to cool. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Stir together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. Beat in the instant pudding mix until blended. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. Blend in the flour mixture. Stir in butterscotch morsels and cooled, toasted pecans.
3. Drop cookies by rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove to wire racks to cool.
Makes about 30 cookies

I found this recipe on a cookie blog while I was at work (my job is not overly demanding and mostly involves waiting for students who never show up).  It was not originally authored by that blogger, but I think that it is a fabulous recipe.  I was looking for something with marshmallows, because I just LOVE marshmallows, and then I thought, “Why not look for a rocky road recipe?”  And sure enough, I found a plethora!

Rocky Road Cookies
(Adapted from Great Cookies by Carole Walter)
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup cocoa powder (I used a mix of natural and Dutch)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, slightly firm, cut into chunks
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup broken toasted pecans
1 1/2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips
2 cups mini-marshmallows

1. Preheat oven to 350^oF and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt together 3 times. Set aside.
3. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy and lightened in color, about 2 minutes. Add the sugar and beat 1 minute longer. Add the eggs and mix until combined. Stir in the sour cream and the vanilla.
4. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients in two additions, mixing just until blended. Using a large rubber spatula, fold in the pecans and chocolate chips.
5. Scoop the dough into tablespoon-sized lumps. Bake for 10 minutes or until just starting to set on top. Remove from the oven and press 4 or 5 mini-marshmallows at random onto the tops. Return the cookies to the oven and bake for another 2 minutes or just until the marshmallows start to soften. WATCH CAREFULLY. Do not allow the marshmallows to become too hot or they will melt, and you will have a mess.
6. Let rest on the cookie sheets for 5 minutes or until firm enough to handle before loosening with a large metal spatula. Remove to a wire cooling rack.
Makes 20

Ok, these cookies are seriously amazing. They are a sort of cookie-brownie hybrid, as the name indicates, which basically means they have a very fudgy interior (it’s a plus, trust me). I’ve recently started experimenting with putting instant pudding mix into cookie dough, which makes the cookies more moist once they have been baked, and I have not tried that approach here, but it may be suitable. Personally, I think they are pretty great as they are, though.

Chocolate Brownie Cookies
9 oz semi-sweet chocolate, chopped into 1/4” chunks
3 oz unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
6 tbs unsalted butter
1 c granulated sugar
3 eggs
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 c sifted all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 c (about 3 oz) chopped nuts (your preference—I prefer pecans, walnuts or hazelnuts)

1. Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 375^oF. Line 2 rimless baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Melt the butter with the unsweetened chocolate and 5 oz of the semi-sweet chocolate in a double boiler over barely simmering water.  Remove from heat and let cool for about 5 minutes.
3. In a  large bowl, beat the chocolate-butter mixture with the sugar until well mixed, about 3 minutes.  Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix completely.
4. Add the dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated.  Stir in the remaining semi-sweet chocolate and the nuts.  The dough will be very soft, almost like a thick batter.
5. Shape 2 tbs of dough into balls about 1 1/2 inches in size and place 1 1/2” inches apart on the baking sheets.  Bake 9-11 minutes.  The cookies will be quite soft in the middle but have a crisp exterior.
6. Cool completely on the parchment paper on wire racks.

Makes about 30 cookies

The black and white cookie is a New York classic, which can be found at delis all throughout the city. In fact, it was even mentioned on an episode of Seinfeld! When I was younger, my cousins would come visit every winter, and we’d pick them up at Newark Penn Station, and my mother would always let us get black and whites from the Zaro’s Bakery there, so these have a special place in my heart.

Black and White Cookies
3 c all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 sticks (10 tbs) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 c vegetable shortening
1 c + 3 tbs granulated sugar
2 large eggs + 1 yolk
1 tbs vanilla extract
1/4 c heavy cream
Black and White Icings (below)

1. Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350^oF. Line 2 rimless baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl.
3. In a large bowl, cream the butter, vegetable shortening and sugar.  Add the eggs and egg yolk one at a time and mix until combined.  Gradually add the flour mixture, alternating with the cream.
4. Form about 1/4 c of the dough into balls and place about 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.  Bake 10-12 minutes.  The cookies will appear cakey.
5. Cool on baking sheets for about 10 minutes and then remove to wire racks to cool completely.
6. Using a small off-set spatula, frost half of each cookie with the white icing.  Allow this to set, and then repeat on the other half with the black icing.  Let the cookies stand for about 3 hours before storing—this will give the icing time to set completely.

Makes about 36 full-size cookies

Black and White Icings
4 c confectioners’ sugar
2 tbs + 2 tsp light corn syrup (do not use dark—it will tint your white icing)
1/4 tsp clear vanilla extract (again, if you use regular vanilla extract, your white icing will not be white)
2 tbs Dutch-process cocoa powder

1. In a medium bowl, combine the confectioners’ sugar, corn syrup and vanilla with 3 tbs hot water.  Whisk until smooth.  The icing should be slightly thicker than honey.  You can add a little more sugar if it is to runny, or more water if is too thick.
2. Pour half of the icing into another bowl and stir in the cocoa powder.