OUR COOKIE CHALLENGE

My daughter and I have decided to start our own family challenge - the goal: no more store bought cookies.

What does this mean? It means Lemon Drop will seem theme-driven for awhile (cookies, cookies and yup, even more cookies). Don't worry, I will slip a cake, pie, dessert bar, pudding, scone ( hey, you name it!) in here often too. But it is safe to say there will be plenty of cookie recipes posted as we test our dedication to this latest venture !

Our first cookie chosen to kick-off the challenge is a sandwich cookie. This cookie has a shortbread texture with a lovely cinnamon flavor. The dough comes together very easily; just let it rest for 1/2 hr in the fridge and the rolling can begin.

This cookie recipe makes 2 discs of dough. For the first one, we went with strawberry jam filled centers dusted with icing sugar. For the second batch, the kids decided on Nutella filled heart sandwiches again dusted with icing sugar. It is a toss up for me - they are both very yummy!

This is such a versatile little cookie that you can go with whatever filling you like. A chocolate ganache or even a lemon curd center in these would be phenomenal !

Nutella filled hearts

My base cookie recipe is one I found on Canadian Living awhile ago. Here is the recipe for Cinnamon Sandwich Cookies , as posted verbatim, from their website. As you can see above, I used 3 cookie cutters: a round one for the cutout cookies, a smaller round one to remove the centers, and a heart shaped cutter for the sandwich cookies.

RECIPE

Ingredients

3/4 cup butter , softened3/4 3/4cup cup(175 mL) (175 mL) butter, softened
3/4 cup packed brown sugar 3/4 3/4cup cup(175 mL) (175 mL) packed brown sugar
1 egg 1 1eggeggs
1 tsp vanilla 1 1tsp tsp(5 mL) (5 mL) vanilla
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour 2-1/2 2-1/2cups cups(625 mL) (625 mL) all-purpose flour
1-1/2 tsp cinnamon 1-1/2 1-1/2tsp tsp(7 mL) (7 mL) cinnamon
1 pinch salt 1 1pinch pinchsalt
2 tbsp icing sugar 2 2tbsp tbsp(25 mL) (25 mL) icing sugar
1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam 1/2 1/2cup cup(125 mL) (125 mL) seedless raspberry jam

Preparation

In bowl, beat butter with brown sugar until fluffy; beat in egg and vanilla. In separate bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon and salt ; stir into butter mixture in 2 additions, blending with hands if necessary to bring dough together.

Divide dough in half and flatten into discs; wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour. (Make-ahead: Refrigerate for up to 24 hours.)

Between waxed paper, roll out each disc to 1/8-inch (3 mm) thickness. Using floured 1-1/2 inch (4.5 cm) fluted round cutter, cut out shapes. Using 1/2-inch (1 cm) piping tip or mini-cutter, cut out centres of half of the cookies.

Arrange rounds and rings, about 1 inch (2.5 cm) apart, on parchment paper–lined baking sheets. Freeze or refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes in freezer, 30 minutes in refrigerator.

Bake in 350°F (180°C) oven until edges are golden, about 12 minutes. Transfer to racks; let cool.

Using fine sieve, sprinkle rings with icing sugar. Spread about 1/2 tsp (2 mL) jam over each of the remaining cookies; top each with ring.

The result: a lovely plate of goodies!

Jam Filled Circle Cutouts

and Nutella Filled Hearts


Ready to be thoroughly enjoyed by all !

Traditional Buttermilk Tea Biscuits

Light and fluffy traditional buttermilk tea biscuits! I woke up today craving one topped with butter and jam. So I got baking bright and early. These are a wonderful way to start off the morning.

The biscuits have incredible rise and are layered with flaky, buttery goodness. Plus the recipe is so simple there really is no excuse not to make them part of your weekly baking regimen.

RECIPE:

WHAT YOU NEED

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/4 tablespoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
cold butter (1/2 a cup or 1 stick of butter) *grated.
1 cup of buttermilk

* The butter must be very cold. Grate it against the wide side of your grater

MAKE IT

PREHEAT oven to 400F
LINE one baking sheet with parchment paper

WHISK together first 4 ingredients
ADD grated butter, combining with a fork. Dough should resemble coarse crumbs.
ADD buttermilk and stir until dough comes together in a shaggy mess - hey, no other way to describe it!
LIGHTLY flour work surface
MOVE dough onto work surface and pat into a square about 1 inch thick
FOLD dough in half
PAT dough gently down into 1 inch thick square
WITH floured biscuit cutter or drinking glass, cut out circles. This recipe made 7 large biscuits for me.
PLACE biscuits on parchment lined baking sheet
MAKE a small indentation in the top of each biscuit. This will prevent them from flopping over when they rise during the baking process

BAKE for 15-18 minutes. Mine were perfect at 16 minutes on the dot !
REMOVE immediately from baking sheet and allow to cool on rack slightly

Top with butter, jam, lemon curd, clotted cream... the list goes on and on.

Decadent Chocolate Truffle Pudding

My kids have been asking me for weeks now to make homemade chocolate pudding. One reason is because the school board is adamantly pushing for "green lunches". School lunches are famous for waste: cellophane wrappers, juice boxes and those little plastic throwaway pudding containers. Homemade pudding nestled nicely into reusable containers helps make my kids lunches a tad "greener".

The other reason why they are insisting I make pudding? Homemade is simply BETTER !

I decided I wanted to kick it up a notch though and turn it from delicious into DECADENT. What did I do? Took a basic Martha Stewart pudding recipe, altered it a fair bit and loaded it up with chocolate truffles. I used Lindor milk chocolate truffles I had left over from Valentine's Day but you could use any soft centered chocolate truffle you like. A dollop of whipped cream to finish it off and you have one insanely satisfying dessert. Omit the whipped cream and spoon pudding into little reusable containers and you have an amazing, and portable, school treat !

HERE WE GO !!!

A bowl of chocolate. YUM!


Strained and now mixed with chocolate, vanilla and butter

RECIPE: adapted version of Cooking Together: Chocolate Pudding - Martha Stewart Kids

WHAT YOU NEED

2 tablespoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup heavy cream
1 1/4 cups milk
2 large eggs
5 oz of Lindor chocolate truffles (approx 8-10). You can also use your favorite soft center chocolate truffle if you prefer
1 oz of semi-sweet or dark baking chocolate, chopped
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons of cold butter, cubed

MAKE IT

WHISK together cornstarch, sugar, cocoa powder, and salt in a heavy-bottom medium- size saucepan.
ADD cream, milk, and eggs. Whisk until combined.
SET pan over medium heat. Whisk slowly and constantly, making sure to scrape sides of pan, just until pudding begins to boil, 7 to 8 minutes.
REDUCE heat and continue stirring until pudding coats has thickened to desired consistency; it should easily coat the back of a wooden spoon.
REMOVE saucepan from heat

STRAIN pudding through a wire sieve into a medium heat proof dish.
WITH a wooden spoon or silicon spatula, gently add vanilla, butter, truffles and chopped baking chocolate. Stir until all is melted and well combined.
COVER with plastic (make sure to push plastic wrap right down onto pudding surface to avoid a skin forming).
REFRIGERATE until thick and well chilled, approx. 1 hr.

SERVE with sweetened whipped cream and chocolate shavings.

Featured Here Today: Feb 18,2011
FOODIE FRIDAY !

Top photo by Viktorfisher

Giant Lemon Sugar Cookies

Reading my blog roll today I was pleasantly surprised to see a gorgeous photo of a stack of Giant Lemon Sugar Cookies. I was instantly intrigued. I could almost smell the citrus. Spring was in the air.

So I put down the cup of coffee and dove in. Before long you could smell lemon throughout the house.

The result is one incredible cookie!

These are crisp on the edges, chewy in the middle
and big enough to hold with two hands!
Cheers to after-school snacks - here's hoping I didn't set the bar too high !

This recipe was featured today on One Perfect Bite.
With Mary's permission, I am reposting the recipe here and sharing the love !

HERE WE GO !!!

This recipe calls for the zest of two lemons.
I love how Mary adds the zest to the rolling sugar for that extra kick !


The dough came together in a snap; a rich heavenly dough laden with butter and fresh lemon juice and zest. I will admit that yes, I ate raw cookie dough today.
Trust me, you would have too !

Balls of chilled dough rolled in lemon infused sugar


Now to figure out what to use to press them down into 1/2 inch deep circles. I tried a glass and that didn't work. It left strange indentations. A saucer was too large. And then I saw it. This little plastic gadget the kids use to make egg sandwiches.


It worked !!! Perfectly pressed and ready for the oven !

These are truly beautiful and won't last long !

RECIPE as posted on One Perfect Bite

Giant Lemon Sugar Cookies ...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite adapted from Taste of Home

Ingredients:
2 cups sugar, divided use
Zest of 2 large lemons, divided use
1 cup butter, softened
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 to 2 teaspoon lemon extract
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda

Directions:
1) To make lemon sugar: Combine 1/2 cup sugar with 1 teaspoon lemon zest in the bowl of a mini-food processor. Pulse until lemon zest is incorporated into sugar. Pour into a small bowl and stir to break up any clumps. Set aside.
2) To make cookie dough: Combine flour, salt, cream of tartar and baking soda in a medium bowl. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter with reserved 1-1/2 cups sugar. Blend in eggs, one at a time. Add lemon extract, lemon juice and reserved lemon zest. Add flour mixture, one cup at a time, blending well after each addition, until all flour is incorporated.
Refrigerate dough for at least 1 hour.
3) To bake cookies: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Shape dough into balls using 2 tablespoons of dough for each cookie. Roll in reserved lemon sugar. Bake in batches of six cookies per 18 x 13-inch baking sheets. Place balls of sugar coated dough on cookie sheets. Press down with the bottom of a glass or measuring cup until cookie is about 1/2-inch thick. Bake cookies for 12-14 minutes. Remove tray from oven. Let cookie sit on tray for 5 minutes before transferring to cooling rack. Yield: 24 saucer-sized cookies.

ENJOY !!!!!!

Fudge Brownies with Chocolate Chips

Fudgie brownies studded with milk chocolate chips. These are dense, moist and just too good to only have one !

These are very easy to make and contain 4 hits of chocolate: unsweetened, dark, cocoa and milk chocolate chips! A quadruple whammy of goodness.

Not many pics today as I made these late last night and was too tired to snap as I went along.


RECIPE:

WHAT YOU NEED

3/4 cup unsalted butter cut into chunks
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate chopped
3 ounces dark chocolate chopped
1 tablespoon cocoa (Fry's works great)
1 1/2 cups fine white sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs at room temperature
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup milk chocolate chips

MAKE IT

PREHEAT oven to 350F and grease an 8inch square baking pan
MELT butter, unsweetened and dark chocolate slowly in a double boiler until smooth
WHISK cocoa into melted butter/chocolate mixture and let cool 15 minutes
IN LARGE BOWL, combine sugar, vanilla and salt
ADD cooled chocolate mixture and stir until well blended
ADD one egg at a time, stirring with a wooden spoon or spatula after each egg addition
ADD flour, blending just until combined. I like folding it in with a spatula to reduce the possibility of overmixing
GENTLY fold in chocolate chips
POUR batter into prepared pan

BAKE for 35 minutes. Toothpick test in center should be almost clean
REMOVE from oven and allow to cool on rack completely
CUT into squares and ENJOY !

TIP: dip knife into hot water to ensure a clean cut. Wipe off knife of all brownie residue after each cut, dip in hot water and cut again !

These little brownies would also be delicious with a simple buttercream icing and topped with sprinkles or a candy heart to liven things up a bit :)

White Chocolate Pecan Banana Bread

Banana Bread - a childhood favorite. An adult favorite. Hey, it is an ALL TIME favorite!

This one is loaded with chunks of white chocolate and chopped pecans.

I grew up eating slices of banana bread topped with butter. There truly is nothing comparable.

HERE WE GO !

Some of your basic ingredients: overripe bananas, white chocolate and pecans

Rather than going with one large loaf pan I decided to use 4 small loaf pans.
When moving to smaller pans, I had to reduce the baking time
by approximately 10 minutes.

4 little loaves of delight cooling for a bit in their pans

Golden brown and baked to perfection. All it takes is a 350F oven for 35 minutes!

The sweetness of the white chocolate plus the crunch of pecans
make these little guys BIG WINNERS !

RECIPE:

WHAT YOU NEED

1 2/3 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3 medium or 2 large very ripe bananas, mashed
2/3 cup fine white sugar
1/3 cup of vegetable oil (I use Becel)
2 large eggs at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 squares of white baking chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup chopped pecans

MAKE IT

PREHEAT oven to 350F
GREASE 4 small loaf tins or one 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch loaf pan

COMBINE flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda and spices with whisk
MASH bananas
ADD sugar to bananas and stir with wooden spoon until well combined
STIR in oil, eggs and vanilla to banana mixture until well blended
ADD flour to banana mixture and stir just until combined. Do not overmix
FOLD in baking chocolate and pecans

DIVIDE batter between 4 loaf tins or one large loaf pan
RAP tins gently on counter to remove any air bubbles

BAKE for 35 minute if using 4 small loaf tins or 45 minutes (checking with a toothpick at 40 minutes)

ALLOW loaves to cool in tins on a baking rack for 5 minutes
REMOVE loafs from tins and let cool completely. Trying to slice a loaf while it is still too warm can result in one big mess!

HAUL out butter, spread on a nice thick slice and ENJOY !!

Valentine Softies with Kisses Just for You !

These are great little cookies that you can whip up in a snap. The cookie itself is a simple thumbprint recipe. Use any thumbprint cookie base you like. Then add 1 1/2 tbsp of liquid red food coloring.

Some like Hershey Kisses, others like frosting. I did both !

LET'S GO !!

Little wrapped jewels

Just follow the recipe below and you will see how easily the dough comes together.
These little guys are ready for the oven

Eagerly awaiting their spot on top of a glorious pink cookie

With a Kiss

Or with sweet and rich cream cheese icing

RECIPE:

PREHEAT oven to 350F
LINE 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper

WHAT YOU NEED

1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
1/4 cup fine white sugar
1 large egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 tbsp red food coloring
1 cup all purpose flour (sifted)
1/8 teaspoon salt

Sugar

MAKE IT

WITH hand mixer, mix butter until light and fluffy, slowly add sugar
ADD egg yolk, vanilla and food coloring, scraping down sides when needed, and blend well
SLOWLY add flour and salt, blend until combined

COVER dough with cling wrap and leave in fridge for 15 minutes
ROLL dough into 2 inches balls
ROLL balls in sugar
PLACE on parchment lining cookie sheets 1 inch apart
FLATTEN cookies slightly with palm of hand
BAKE for 10-12 minutes

ALLOW to cool completely before adding icing. For the icing, please see the Red Velvet Cupcake recipe in the blog entry below. If adding Hershey Kisses instead, let cookies sit for 5 minutes then press kiss down slightly into center of cookie. If you don't allow the cookies to cool somewhat first your kiss will melt.

The kids will love these and insist their friends come over to indulge so be prepared !

Featured Here: FOODIE FRIDAY !