Merry Christmas!!

I've been a little slack in my food blogging duties recently.  There's been a lot going on with crafts and Christmas events.  However, I have several recent food adventures as well as some new ones coming up that I can't wait to share with you.  Until then I just wanted to send a little holiday message with some pretty cookies from my friends annual cookie party...

bacon chocolate chip...won for most unusual

glee club elves...won best of show

raggedy ann and andy...won prettiest

my cookie smorgasbord

my cookies...didn't win anything but were cute anyhow

smores nowmen...recipe to come...

Be blessed with family and friends and the joy of the Lord! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Black Magic Chocolate Mint Cookies

I made these cookies recently for a church meeting. Everyone was raving about them and asking for the recipe.  This is actually the second time I've made these but the first time I didn't feel like sharing them with anyone.  I didn't even want to blog about it.  But I discovered, these are too good not to share.

only the best

Lately I've noticed that most of my recipes I'm using are from other food blogs.  This one I found in a random food blog search.  Une Gamine dans la Cuisine.  I have no idea what it means but to me it means a little taste of heaven to have found these cookies.

the secret ingredient

Most of the time when I find a recipe, I almost always make some changes.  This is one recipe I followed exactly, even down to the brand names of the products.  It just works just like it is.  I will warn you...these cookies are not for children or the faint of heart.  They aren't very sweet (surprisingly) but they are very very rich!! And absolutely divine!

swirling the dry ingredients together

Definitely check out the recipe on her blog.  Her pictures are way better and really show off how amazing these cookies really are!

lots of flour and sugar make good cookies

very thick

and very gooey

Black Magic Chocolate Mint Cookies (adapted from Love from the Oven)
*print me*
Ingredients1/2 cup of dark cocoa powder (I used Hershey's Special Dark)
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon of coarse salt
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 cup (that's 2 sticks) of cold butter, cut into chunks
1 1/4 cups of sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon of pure peppermint extract (optional)
2 1/2 cups of bittersweet chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli's 60% cacao chips)
Sea salt for sprinkling (optional)



MethodIn a medium bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder, flour, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.
In the bowl of your mixer, combine the butter and sugar. Beat together on medium-high speed until well combined, light, and fluffy (about 3-4 minutes). Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the peppermint extract (if using).
Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until just combined. Use your hands to work in any remaining streaks of flour. (Note: This is a very thick dough, so don't over strain your mixer.)
Using a large spatula, fold in the chocolate chips.
Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight
Preheat the oven to 350F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator.
Divide it into 12 4-ounce portions. (Note: If you don't have a scale, just eyeball it).
Roll each portion of dough into a ball and flatten slightly. Place them onto the prepared cookie sheets, leaving about 1 1/2-inches between each cookie. Lightly sprinkle with sea salt (if using).
Bake for 16-18 minutes. (Note: There really is no visual clue as to when these cookies are done, just don't over bake them. Mine were perfect after only 14 minutes, but I prefer mine to be very chewy.)
Allow them to rest on the cookies sheets for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

Makes 12 cookies 

cookie balls waiting to go in the oven

these are chocolate cookies, I swear!

The only thing I did do a little differently: refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.  I'm not very patient when it comes to this kind of thing. I only waited about 4 hours and it was fine. You just want the dough to be cold enough so its not so sticky. You could do without the peppermint too but I feel it really adds an extra dimension to the yumminess of these cookies.

decadent and heavenly

CORRECTION: About Etsy (a yummy correction)

In my last post, I talked about Etsy and I said there was no food at Etsy. However, I just found out there IS food at Etsy!!  Check these out...

Chocolate Whoopie Pies by Cacao Bakery

Peanut Butter Doggie Snacks by Mynskie and Libelle too

Super Mario Cookies by Craving Something Cute

Mayan Chocolate Cookies by Keri Keifer

Owl Marshmellow Pops by Friendly Creationss

Valentine Cookie Pops by Keri Keifer

Wow, whaddya know?! Cool and yummy!

Christmas and Colored Sugar

I've been so busy these past couple weeks getting ready for Christmas I haven't had much time for blogging.  But I have several blog posts lined up in my mind to get us through the new year at least.  For now, I just want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a wonderful New Year!!

And while you're waiting for more yummy Christmas recipes, here's a quick little post about coloring your own sugar for decorating your holiday cookies and desserts.  (Pictures to come later...)

Coloring your own sugar is super easy.  But why would you do it?  You can just as easily go to the store and buy multiple colors of sugar in little jars.  The Wilton company has some very nice decorating products.  However, sometimes they can be a little pricey.  And if you have nut allergies in your family like I do, you have to read the labels very carefully.  You may not think that sugar or icings or nonpareils have any nut products in them.. But sometimes they are processed in the same facility as other nut products and there's a possibility of cross-contamination.  Depending on the sensitivity of your loved ones nut allergies, you might not want to take the chance even with that.

So here I put about 5 tablespoons in a bowl and pulled out my little food coloring bottles like what you use for dying Easter eggs!  Squeeze several drops of food coloring into the sugar and stir until color is completely distributed.  You may need to add more food coloring to make darker colors.

For the red I put in about 15-20 drops.  For the green, about 10 drops. For the blue and the purple, 5 drops each.  Once the color is thoroughly mixed in, you can use it immediately or store it in a tupperware container, tightly sealed.

When first making the red, I did a little experimenting and put in about 15 drops of red, 5 drops of blue, and a couple drops of pink.  The outcome was a beautiful burgundy color.  So another benefit...you can create your own signature colors of sugar to match the occasion!

Enjoy!  Merry Christmas!

Christmas Cookies Galore

So this past Saturday I went to a cookie party.  My friend hosts one every year.  About 25 women show up with a different plate of cookies in hand, presenting their best baking and cookie decorating skills, vying for a prize.  There is usually a prize for Prettiest cookie and one for Most Unusual cookie.  This year we had a new category for Best Tasting. And then there's the all-coveted Best of Show where not only do you win a prize, you get your name written on the sacred gingerbread man which you get to keep on display in your house for the next year until the next cookie party where a new winner is crowned.

 

 I had that honor one year...it was awesome. I have also won for Prettiest cookie a bunch of times and I think Most Unusal once.  This year I didn't win anything for my cookies.  I kept it kinda simple but was hoping for something unusual.  I made Apricot Sage sandwich cookies with little Christmas trees on top. They were good and pretty but the sage was more subtle than I wanted.  That was supposed to be my unusual aspect.  But the party was still lots of fun. And I did win a prize for one of the games we did.  It had to do with matching a food to a Christmas carol.  I actually tied with a another young lady who is actually my music student! Go figure!

There were so many cookies! And all of them had something special to offer.  Chocolate, caramel, peanut butter, colored sugar, powdered sugar, jelly/jam/preserves, rice krispies, coconut, candies...you name it, it was there.  After having a bite of every cookie (there were about 20 different ones), the sugar coma hits and you think that you never want to see another cookie ever again! But that only lasts for a couple hours usually.

For Best Tasting, the winner was raspberry linzer ornaments...ornament shaped cookies with raspberry jam and powdered sugar.  Very yummy! The winner for Most Unusal was the date jingle balls...little ball-shaped cookies filled with dates and nuts.  Surprisingly yummy and light.  The Prettiest cookie were the almond cream cups...cookie dough shaped like a mini tart filled with creamy almond whipped cream and topped with sliced almonds.  Very delicate.

  

The winner this year for Best of Show though was Connie with these amazing gingerbread cookies that looked like fireplaces! Complete with the icing stockings and the hard candy fire and the pretzel logs and everything! They totally deserved the top prize they received. Congrats to Connie!!

Connie and her winning gingerbread man

All in all it was a cookie-filled day of sugar and fun! And at the end of it, we get to take home as many samples of other peoples cookies as we want to enjoy for the rest of the weekend!

my friend, Crishana, and my mom

some cookie friends

And now to start planning for next year's cookie...