 I love baking cutout cookies for the holidays. I've tried different recipes and this is my favourite. The cookies keep their shape while baking. The key is chilling the dough. Get the kids in the kitchen and have some cookie fun!
Preparation time: 30 minutes Chill dough: 2 hours or overnight Bake time: 7 to 10 minutes per batch Oven: 375 degree Fahrenheit Cookies: approximately 36 cookies when using a 2 ½ inch cutter Ingredients: 2/3 unsalted butter, softened 3/4 cup granulated sugar 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 egg 1 tablespoon milk 1 teaspoon vanilla 1/4 teaspoon almond extract (optional) 2 cups of all-purpose flour Directions: With an electric mixer beat butter for 30 seconds (if you don’t have an electric mixer you can cream the butter and sugar by hand). Add the granulated sugar, baking powder and salt. Beat until combined. Add in the egg, milk and vanilla. Add almond extract, if using. Beat in the flour. Chill this cookie dough for a minimum of 2 hours, or overnight. This is important – don’t skip it! Chilled dough is easier to work with. On a lightly floured surface, roll out half of your dough. I recommend working in small batches and keeping the dough you aren’t using chilled. Roll the dough to ¼ inch thick. Using 2 ½ inch cookie cutters, cut dough into shapes. Place the cutout cookies on a baking pan that’s lined with foil or parchment paper. Place the pan with the cutout cookies in your refrigerator to chill while the oven preheats to 375 degrees. This helps the cookies retain their shape while baking. Bake for 7-10 minutes or until the cookie edges have browned. Let the cookies cool then decorate and enjoy! Baking Tips: Chill the dough! Please don’t skip this step, especially in our humid weather. Chilled dough is easier to roll out and keeps its shape when baking. If you don’t plan to decorate the cookies, sprinkle them with granulated sugar before baking. Lining baking pans with foil or parchment paper cuts down on clean up time. Oven temperatures vary. Check your cookies at the first suggested baking time of 7 minutes. If they aren’t ready, let them bake for an additional minute at a time.  Nothing's more delicious than homemade hot fudge sauce. Especially paired with cookies and ice cream! This recipe is easy, quick and delicious. It makes 12 ounces (or 1 1/2 cups).
Ingredients: ¾ cup of heavy cream ¼ cup brown sugar (light or dark) ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I like Ghirardelli’s) ½ cup of light corn syrup 6 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate chips 1 tablespoon of salted butter ½ teaspoon of vanilla Directions: Combine the first 4 ingredients in a medium sized saucepan. Cook, stirring constantly over a low heat until the mixture comes to a boil. Once it boils, continue stirring and let it boil for 30 seconds. Remove from the stove and add in the chocolate and the butter. Stir until it is smooth and glossy. Mix in the vanilla. The fudge sauce will thicken while it cools. Enjoy!  Long ago, cookies that were quick and easy to make were given the silly name ‘snickerdoodle’. Whatever they’re called, these cinnamon-sugar coated cookies are delicious.
This recipe makes about 20 cookies. Ingredients: ½ cup of butter or margarine, at room temperature 1 cup of granulated sugar ¼ teaspoon baking soda ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar 1 egg ½ teaspoon vanilla 1 ½ cup all-purpose flour In a small bowl, set aside – 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar mixed with 1 teaspoon of cinnamon. Directions: In the bowl of your stand-up mixer, cream the sugar and butter (or margarine) for 30 seconds. Add the vanilla and the egg. Beat until combined. Add the flour, the cream of tartar and baking soda. Mix until completely combined. Cover and chill the dough for ½ hour. While the dough is chilling, pre-heat your oven to 375 F. Line your baking pans with foil or parchment paper. Remove chilled dough from the fridge and scoop into balls using a medium sized ice cream scoop. Roll the cookie dough scoops in the cinnamon-sugar mixture that you set aside. Place the coated scoops on your baking pans, 2 inches apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are golden brown. Cool on the pan. Enjoy!!  I absolutely love these cookies! They have a delicious ginger taste. The dough can be rolled out repeatedly which makes it a great cookie to make with the kids. The recipe makes about 7 dozen cookies, depending on the size of your cookie cutter. Ingredients: 1 cup of unsalted butter 1 ¼ cups of molasses ¾ cup packed light brown sugar 4 cups of all purpose flour or whole wheat pastry flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons ground or minced ginger 1 teaspoon cinnamon ¾ teaspoon ground cloves Directions: Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the molasses and brown sugar, stir and heat until the sugar has dissolved. Set aside to cool. In a large bowl sift the flour, baking soda and salt together. Add the ginger, cinnamon and cloves. Mix in the cooled molasses, sugar and butter mixture. Stir until well combined. Wrap the dough in wax paper, cling wrap or in a container with a lid – anything that is moisture proof. Refrigerate for 1 to 2 days. This allows the cookie dough to “ripen” so the ginger flavor is stronger. On a floured surface, roll out one fourth of the dough at a time, to about 1/4 inch thick. Cut with your favorite cookie cutters. Place on un-greased cookie sheets that are lined with parchment paper or foil. Bake for 10 minutes in a pre-heated oven of 350 degrees. Once the cookies have completely cooled - decorate to your heart's content. Enjoy!  A favorite local childhood drink is to take a little bit of every kind of soda – Coke, Sprite, Orange Crush, Grape and sometimes also Pineapple - and mix them together. We call this a ‘Roun de’ World. This cookie is a mixture of my favorites!
Ingredients: 1 cup butter or margarine ¾ cup brown sugar ½ cup granulated sugar 2 eggs 1 teaspoon of vanilla 1 ½ cups of all purpose, unbleached flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 2 1/2 cups of oats (quick or old fashioned – uncooked) 2 cups of crispy rice cereal 1 cup raisins 1 cup chocolate chips 1 cup of peanut butter chips Directions: Heat your oven to 350 degrees. Prepare your baking sheets by lining them with tin foil or parchment paper. DO NOT grease the pans. In a large bowl combine butter or margarine, brown and white sugar, vanilla and the eggs. Beat with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Add the flour, baking soda and salt. Mix until combined. Stir in the oats, crispy rice cereal, raisins, chocolate chips and peanut butter chips. Drop cookie dough by rounded tablespoons (or with a medium sized cookie scoop) onto your prepared cookie sheets. Space them apart by 2 inches in case they spread while baking. Press down lightly on the top of the cookie. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool on the pan. Then enjoy!  Dense chocolate fudge brownies made even more delicious with walnuts and espresso chips!
Ingredients: 1 stick of butter or margarine 8 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate chips 1 ¼ cups white, granulated sugar 1 teaspoon of vanilla ¾ teaspoon salt 3 eggs – beaten ¾ cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled) 1/2 cup of espresso chocolate chips 1/2 cup chopped walnuts. Optional: if you prefer, the espresso chocolate chips and walnuts can be omitted from this recipe. Your brownies will still be delicious! Directions: Preheat oven to 350 F. Line an 8-inch square baking dish with foil or parchment paper. If using foil, spray lightly with a cooking spray like Pam for Baking. Set aside. In a large saucepan, over low heat, melt butter (or margarine) and chocolate chips together. Don’t be tempted to add more than the 8 ounces of chocolate. Trust me, this is plenty! Once the butter and chocolate have melted completely, remove saucepan from stove top. Add sugar and stir. Add vanilla and salt. Stir until completely combined. Add the 3 beaten eggs and stir until the mixture is smooth. Gently fold in the flour until combined but don’t over mix. If you’re using the espresso chocolate chips and walnuts, add them in. Spread batter evenly in your prepared pan. Bake for 45-50 minutes. Cool completely in the pan before cutting! *** Check brownies at the 45-minute mark to see if they’re done. The top will be just slightly firm. Turn off the oven. Let the brownies finishing baking in the still warm oven for the last 5 minutes. *** *** This recipe calls for ¾ cup flour. It’s the perfect amount. Spoon the flour into your measuring cup then level off any excess by running a knife over the top of the measuring cup so it’s a leveled amount. Also, when adding the flour to the chocolate batter, resist the impulse to over mix. Gently mix until it’s combined. This recipe doesn’t use baking soda. If you over mix the batter, your brownies will be flat. ***  I’ve been making Blondies forever. They’re delicious! Sort of a cookie, sort of a brownie – minus the cocoa powder. Directions: Line an 8 inch square baking pan with foil or parchment paper. If using foil, spray lightly with a cooking/baking spray such as Pam. Set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Ingredients: Step 1: In a medium sized bowl whisk the following ‘dry’ ingredients together, then set aside: 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour ½ teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon baking powder ½ teaspoon salt Step 2: In a larger bowl combine the following ingredients together until creamy: ½ cup of butter or margarine ½ cup of dark brown sugar ½ cup granulated white sugar 1 teaspoon of vanilla 1 egg. Step 3: Now add your dry ingredient (flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt) to the creamed ingredients. Mix completely - until the batter pulls away from the sides of the bowl. This is to make sure the flour and butter combine thoroughly and don’t separate while baking. Now stir in: 1/2 cup of chocolate chips (I like a combination of dark chocolate and semi-sweet chocolate) and ½ cup of butterscotch chips. I also add 1/2 cup of chopped pecans. If you don’t like nuts, this is optional. Step 4: Spread Blondie batter evenly in your prepared 8 inch square pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes – or until golden brown. Cool in the pan. Enjoy! ***** For a decadent treat, top warm Blondies with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, whipped cream and a drizzle of hot fudge! *****   Bananas always seem to ripen, and over ripen, at the same time. What to do? Make cookies! Over ripe bananas add lots of sweetness, so you don't need as much sugar in these cookies. With no added preservatives, these taste best the day you make them.
Recipe makes about 3 dozen small cookies. Ingredients: 1 or 2 ripe bananas - the equivalent of a ½ cup, well mashed with a fork 1/3 cup unsalted butter or margarine (at room temperature) 1/3 cup granulated sugar 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar 1 egg 1 teaspoon of vanilla 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder ½ teaspoon salt 3/4 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips ½ cup of chopped pecans or walnuts (optional) Directions:
*** Store in an airtight container. Because of the bananas, these cookies do not freeze well. *** Ten years ago, I made these cookies for my family. They have the perfect combination of spicy ginger with molasses, allspice and cinnamon. They're so good I’ve been baking them ever since! Recipe: makes about 3-4 dozen cookies. Ingredients: 4 ½ cups of all-purpose flour 2 cups granulated sugar 2 teaspoons baking soda 1 ½ teaspoons of ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon ground cloves 1 generous teaspoon Jamaican allspice or regular allspice 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 cup shortening ½ cup unsalted sweet cream butter or margarine – softened 4 teaspoons of chopped or minced ginger 2 eggs ½ cup dark molasses Directions:
***** Oven temperatures vary, check your cookies at the 10-minute mark. If they aren’t done, bake for an additional minute at a time. To tell if they’re baked, touch the tops of the cookies. If your finger leaves an indentation, they need a few more minutes in the oven. ***** ‘Half Hot’ (rum & ginger cookies) Here’s an ‘adults only’ cookie variation. In Bermuda we call people ‘half-hot’ when they’re halfway to having too much to drink. ‘Full-hot’ means they’re drunk! Use the same recipe and baking directions for gingersnaps but add 1 to 2 tablespoons of dark rum (in Bermuda we use Gosling’s Black Seal Rum) to the cookie dough at the same time you’re adding in the molasses. I suggest starting with one tablespoon of rum and add more to your taste. Roll the cookies in coarse sugar before baking or glaze them once they’ve baked and fully cooled with the rum glaze shared below. Rum glaze – whisk together ½ tablespoon of dark rum with a ¼ cup shifted powdered sugar. If the glaze is too thin, add more powdered sugar. If it’s too thick, add more rum, a ½ teaspoon at a time.
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Hi - my name is Alicia and I love cookies. I should - I've been baking since I was 13! I hope you'll enjoy these recipes as much as I love sharing them.Archives
November 2020
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