Where family meets food
Chocolate Cherry Sandwich Cookies are the perfect cookie to add to your exchange box this holiday season. The outside chocolate cookie is both soft enough to bite through but crunchy enough to hold firm in a sandwich cookie. Bursting with flavor from the dark chocolate …
When I think about Pecan Turtle Candies, one question comes to mind each time -what is there not to love about pecans, caramel and chocolate? That question is obviously rhetorical but the correct answer is nothing. There is nothing not to love about those three …
Irish potatoes were a staple in my house growing up around this time of year. My step dad and I would fight over them because they were that delicious. They were a treat that I somehow forgot about 99% of the year but absolutely could not live without the other 1%. Since I moved out of my hometown, I couldn’t seem to find them anywhere and they slowly slipped from my mind…until recently. I don’t know what reminded me of them, but whatever it was, I knew I had to make them QUICK.
When these were finished I was honestly shocked by how much they tasted like the real thing. I mean if you put these out on a table and didn’t tell anyone you made them, they would think they were O’Briens Irish Potatoes. I really wanted these to be legit and I think I accomplished it!
What is good about these Irish Potatoes is that they are MINIMAL ingredients with MAXIMUM results. You can make so many of these little guys from just one batch and they’ll keep you going through the season…or at least through the weekend if you can manage not to eat them all. They consist of cream cheese, butter, vanilla extract, powdered sugar, shredded coconut and ground cinnamon. That’s it. 6 ingredients… all of which I can guarantee you have in your fridge and pantry.
6 ingredients that come together in 15 minutes??? Sign me up! The longest hardest part about these is scooping and rolling them into balls. But to make it go a little faster, I scooped a ton out onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment and then rolled them into balls instead of doing one at a time. I feel like this just makes it go faster.
The process for these is beyond simple. Hey, I think Im catching a trend here with my recipes! Anyways, you’ll want to combine the softened cream cheese and butter until nice and creamy and one smooth consistency. Next, add in the salt and vanilla and mix to combine. Then, alternating, add in your powdered sugar and coconut flakes a little at a time until it’s all fully combined. I did this a little at a time to make sure the powdered sugar didn’t become one big puffer cloud and get all over the counter instead of in the Irish Potato.
Now, remember when I said that I really wanted these to be legit? Well I think that is because I put my coconut through the food processor! When you bite into an Irish Potato, you want the coconut flavor but you don’t want coconut strings or chunks. These are not the coconut eggs you have at Easter time. These should be one smooth consistency, or as close to one as you can get. The food processor definitely isn’t necessary, but I think it makes them PERFECT!
Once everything is processed, combined, scooped and rolled, you can toss these bad boys into your cinnamon. Thats what gives them the “potato” look and the perfect finish. I mean who doesn’t love the cinnamon sugar combination?
So you’re now equipped with the ingredients and the process…GO MAKE THEM! If there were any time to use up that cream cheese that’s gonna go soon and the coconut flakes that have been shedding on your floor, now is it. Delicious, simple, and just in time for the holiday! What could be better?
Chocolate covered strawberry- the flavor of Valentines day. Now take that and think…PUPPY CHOW! Now if you aren’t familiar with puppy chow, no it isn’t for dogs. It is simply Chex cereal coated in melted chocolate and powdered sugar. Some people may call it muddy …
Valentine’s Day is really all about the desserts, if we are being honest. We cook the meal, buy the presents, set up the decorations, but what we really want is something decadent and delicious! Now, I know we are all busy but that is not …
Chocolate chip cookies- Everyone needs a good one in their repertoire and this is mine. It is absolutely perfect in every way. You get the crisp outer edge with the soft chewy middle. Melty chocolate chips spread throughout giving you the best bite every time. When your family assigns you cookie duty, these will win them over time and time again!
What I love about these cookies is that they are really easy to make. It’ a simple straight forward recipe that comes out perfect each time. I mean, it’s REALLY hard to mess these up. Aside from swapping salt for sugar, theres nothing that could wrong with these CCC’s. Even your youngest baker in the family could whip up a batch.
For these chocolate chip cookies, you want to start by creaming the butter and the sugars together. You’ll notice that this recipe calls for more brown sugar than granulated. I learned a long time ago (I think in my high school HomeEc class) that if you want a softer cookie, you should use more brown sugar to white and since then that is always what I have done. Anyways…when I say creaming the butter and sugar, you’ll want to really work those bad boys together. Until it is light in color and fluffy. Let them become best friends in that bowl!
Next add in the eggs and vanilla. One at a time, scraping the sides and bottom as you go. I hate when I overestimate the power of my mixer, don’t scrape, and end up with a little pile of flour or butter right on the bottom of my dough or batter..UGH! the worst! The only way to prevent that is to SCRAPE YOUR SIDES AND BOTTOMS!
All your wet ingredients are added and now its time to add in the dry. Flour, baking soda, and salt go into the bowl and mixed in. Once everything is combined, add in your chocolate chips because what’s a chocolate chip cookie without chocolate chips!? Now, have you ever made cookies and as you’re scooping the last bits from the bottom of the bowl you realize that those last few barely have chocolate in them? Well, consider your problem solved with this little trick. After you stir them in with the paddle on your mixer, take the bowl off the mixer and use a spatula to do the last couple stirs. Make sure everything is evenly distributed and all your cookies will have chocolate. I promise.
THATS IT! Refrigeration is not required but if you do, I would refrigerate them for at least an hour so they get nice and cold. Then scoop them with your cookie scoop (here’s the one I use), bake, cool, and enjoy! It doesn’t get much easier than that. I’m telling you, the hardest part of this recipe is waiting for them to cool when they come out of the oven. But honestly, cooling them is totally your prerogative! Shh…I won’t tell if you won’t!
Now I will say that this recipe makes a lot of chocolate chip cookies. The good thing is you can do a multitude of things with them. Sandwich some ice cream between them. Crumble them up as an ice cream topping. Dip them in your morning cup o’ Joe. Eat them by the handful. If none of those options float your boat….gift some to your neighbor…they’ll be screaming thank you from the window!
So there you have it. Your new favorite classic chocolate chip cookie recipe. Don’t get me wrong, there is a time and place to whip out all your fancy ingredients and make a cookie that takes two days from start to finish. BUT! there is also a time when you want quick simple and delicious….and this recipe is it!!! Go ahead, go get your mixer. You know you wanna!
ITS THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR! No, seriously…Andy Williams wasn’t lying about this one. These delicious gingersnap cookies are bursting with the strong flavor of molasses and the perfect amount of warming spice that will have you craving another. These CLASSIC GINGERSNAP COOKIES …
Have you ever been sitting in your car, running some errands or watching TV and BOOM! It hits you…like a ton of bricks…an idea you just cant get out of your head?? That’s exactly how these decadent and delicious peanut butter and jelly rendition of …
Just because it is almost summertime doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy pumpkin right?! These Pumpkin Chai cookies are perfect in every way. They are pillowy and soft and have that melt in your mouth effect that everyone loves from a cookie. With these cookies, you can taste each level of spice. The warmth from the Chai seasoning lifts the flavor of the pumpkin and gives you the ultimate bite!
These pumpkin chai cookies first came to me at Christmas time…I mean, don’t they just scream Christmas!? I would bring these cookies to work and they would be gone in 30 seconds flat. My co-workers would stop me and ask when I was bringing in the next batch and to make sure I saved them some. They quickly became a favorite and when you try them, you’ll understand why!
For this recipe you’ll need all of your cookie staples
Then you’ll need some not so staple ingredients
You may be asking, “but wait, where are the eggs?” Well, when I was researching on how to use pumpkin in recipes (yep, I’m nerdy like that) I read that the pumpkin acts as the egg so adding egg is not always necessary. I also read that draining the pumpkin before using it will help give you a better texture to your baked goods.
This recipe is pretty straight forward for these pumpkin chai cookies. There is nothing complicated to it, and it follows methods most cookies use. Cream together the butter and sugars. Add in the pumpkin and vanilla. Mix in the dry ingredients. TA-DA! The one thing this recipe requires is chilling time. I think it makes the dough easier to handle and gives them that nice pillowy shape.
The one thing I especially love about these cookies is that they are not super sweet! They do get a nice coating of sugar before baking but even then they have the perfect level of sweetness. The perfect treat to wrap up your evening or start your day!
Looking for more cookies to bring to your holiday potluck or just whip up on a weekend? Check this out!
