BAKED Sunday Mornings: Cowboy Cookies

This week's recipe is for cowboy cookies! I have to say that I've always been a fan of chocolate chip cookies that add in all different kinds of fun flavors. So it was surprising to me that I wasn't a huge fan of the compost cookies from Momofuku Milk Bar. But anyway, I was excited to make these cookies when I saw that crushed pretzels were one of the ingredients! I love salty & sweet together. This recipe also called for espresso powder and oats, in addition to chocolate chunks. I used chocolate chips because that's what I had. I probably should have left out the espresso powder because I'm not a huge fan of coffee flavor, but everyone else who tried these cookies loved them! I brought them to work and my co-workers gobbled them up. Even my mom liked these cookies and she usually doesn't like many sweets.

These cookies were really easy to make. As usual, I made a half batch. One difference was that they called for cool butter instead of room temperature butter. This was easy for me because I usually don't leave enough time for my butter to come to room temperature anyway when I'm baking. The recipe also called for chilling the dough for 4 hours in the refrigerator but I have to confess I got impatient and only chilled them for an hour and a half. I don't know how much of a difference that made though. These are a nice and easy cookie to make and the somewhat unusual combination of ingredients is something that most people enjoyed!

To see the recipe and how everyone else's cookies came out, head on over to Baked Sunday Mornings.

Enjoy!

Coconut Sugar Cookies

Boy, do I love coconut! When I saw this recipe on Piece of Cake back in December, I immediately saved the recipe to make. They just sounded so delicious! And, they are pretty easy to make. There are four different kinds of coconut flavor in this recipe- desiccated coconut, sweetened coconut, coconut extract and coconut milk. Since I halved the recipe as I usually do, the dough wasn't coming together enough (probably because I used half an egg and that's not really a scientific measurement...) so I added a few tablespoons of water and that worked.

My half recipe made 15 cookies.

Here's the recipe:
(Slightly adapted from Piece of Cake)

1 1/4 cups flour
2 tablespoons dessicated coconut
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 large egg, room temperature (I whisked an egg in a bowl and took out 2 tablespoons)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon coconut extract

For the icing and decoration:

1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons coconut milk
1/2 cup shredded, sweetened coconut
1 tablespoon white sanding sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Whisk together the flour, dessicated coconut, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.

Whisk together the oil, egg, vanilla and coconut extracts in a small bowl.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and sugars until fluffy and pale in color, about 2 minutes.

Beat the egg mixture into the butter and sugar mixture on medium speed until well-blended. Scrape down the bowl and reduce the mixer speed to low. Gradually stir in the flour mixture until all the dry ingredients are incorporated. The dough will be very soft.

Using a 1-tablespoon-sized scoop, portion the dough into balls onto a baking sheet. Pour 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar onto a plate. Dip the flat bottom of a glass into the sugar, and press onto each dough ball lightly to flatten each to about 1/4-inch thick, dipping the cup or glass again before pressing each cookie. Sprinkle some of the leftover sugar on top of the cookies before baking.

Bake the cookies until they are lightly golden and crisp at the edges, about 12 minutes. Let the cookies cool in the sheets for a minute before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

When the cookies have cooled, whisk together the confectioners' sugar, coconut milk and salt in a small bowl. Toss together the shredded coconut and sanding sugar on a plate. Spread each cookie evenly with icing and sprinkle generously with the sugared coconut. Let the icing dry for about an hour before serving. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week (the cookies will soften a bit after the first day).

Enjoy!

Sugar Cookies

This is another great cookie recipe that I've made several times before. I had never found a sugar cookie recipe before that tasted good to me. This recipe, from http://annies-eats.com/, a supremely awesome blog, even inspired me to try using royal icing for the first time!

Cookies from last year, decorated with royal icing

This year, I decided to make it a little easier for myself and decorated the cookies before baking with colored sugars, instead of using the royal icing. Also, I was making these cookies with my sisters and cousins, so it was easier to do it that way!

Annie has such a great way of explaining a recipe that I'll just direct you to her page for the recipe. I usually follow her recipe as it's written because it's so good. This time when I made the recipe, the only change I made was to leave out the almond extract and increase the vanilla to 2 teaspoons, but I think the next time I make these cookies I'll make them with the almond extract.

Enjoy!

Hot Chocolate Cookies

I have a few Christmas cookie magazines that I purchased a few years back. There are so many recipes in them that I like to look through them each Christmas to find new recipes that I want to try, since there's no way I could try all the recipes in one Christmas! This year, a recipe for hot chocolate cookies caught my eye. The picture looked so delicious! I love hot chocolate and I love cookies, so I knew this one had potential. And boy did it! I made a half batch and I managed to eat most of the cookies all on my own! I did save a few to give to my mom and to a friend, which is good because I have lots of other cookies around my apartment! These cookies stay nice and soft and are so delicious : )

Here's the recipe:
(Half-batch and slightly adapted from Land O'Lakes Recipe Collection: Holiday Cookies, 2007)

For the cookie:
6 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk (I used coconut milk because that's all I had)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup instant milk chocolate hot cocoa mix (I used Starbucks Salted Caramel hot chocolate mix)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

mini marshmallows (4 for each cookie)

For the glaze:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon milk
1/2 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Combine the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat at medium speed, scraping the bowl often, until creamy. Add the egg, milk and vanilla. Beat until well mixed. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour, cocoa mix and baking soda, beating until well mixed.

Drop the dough by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 8-9 minutes or until set, Remove from the oven and top each cookie with 4 mini marshmallows. Continue baking for 1-2 minutes until marshmallows just begin to puff. Immediately remove from oven and put cookies on cooling racks and cool completely.

Make the glaze by combining the butter, milk and cocoa in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil. Boil 1 minute. Remove from heat, cool for 5 minutes. Pour in the powdered sugar and whisk together until creamy. Spoon glaze over the cooled cookies.

S'more Oatmeal Cookies

I got this recipe from a friend a few years ago, who got it from a newspaper. I'm not sure which newspaper. I've made a few different s'mores cookies over the years, and this is one of my favorites. It's a little different from your typical s'mores with the addition of the oats, but they add a good texture to the cookies! I love all kinds of s'mores- campfire s'mores, cupcake s'mores, brownie s'mores...I could go on and on. These cookies are at the top of my list as well : ). The marshmallows sometimes spread out too much on some of the cookies, making it difficult to get them off the cookie sheet. You can keep these broken pieces yourself to enjoy and share the prettier cookies with friends and family : ). This recipe will give you a good arm workout, as you have to stir in by hand the oats, chocolate chips, marshmallows and graham cracker crumbs. You will love these cookies, I promise!

Here's the recipe:
(Source unknown)

1 1/2 Cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, room temperature

3/4 Cup packed brown sugar
1/4 Cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 Cups rolled oats
1 Cup chocolate chips
2 Cups mini-marshmallows
8 coarsely crushed graham crackers (I used 1/4-1/2 cup of graham cracker crumbs)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or spray sheets with cooking spray. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda and salt together. Set aside. Use stand mixer on medium speed to beat the butter and both sugars until creamy, about four minutes. With mixer on low, one at a time, add the eggs, beating gently until combined. Add vanilla then add flour mixture. Stir in oats, chocolate chips, marshmallows and graham crackers until combined. Evenly space rounded tablespoons of dough on baking sheet, leaving plenty of room between them. Bake cookies 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 5 minutes on baking sheets then transfer to wire rack.

Coconut Macaroons

I've made these coconut macaroons a few times over the years. They are so easy to make- it's only 5 ingredients! I made these with my sister over our baking weekend and my sister loved them so much that she's already made them again twice!

Here she is making them the first time:

The cookies tend to spread a little bit during baking and the edges get a little crispy- I just break those parts off and then the cookies look perfect! I brought a few of these cookies to work and my co-worker loved them so much she put a status up on Facebook about them. These cookies are sure to be a hit. The recipe, from a Martha Stewart cookbook that I've had for years, says that it is essential to use unsweetened coconut, which you can get in health-food stores. I used regular sweetened coconut from the grocery store and the cookies were delicious- I like things sweet though, so I didn't mind any extra sweetness!

Here's the recipe:
(Slightly modified from The Best of Martha Stewart Living: Desserts: Our Favorite Recipes for Every Season and Every Occasion, 1998)

3/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut (I used sweetened shredded coconut)
2 large egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt.

Preheat your oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, spray it with cooking spray or use a Silpat sheet. In a large bowl, combine sugar, coconut, egg whites, vanilla and salt. Use your hands to mix well and completely combine the ingredients. Dampen your hands with cold water. Form 1 1/2 tablespoons of the mixture into a loose haystack and place on prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the rest of the mixture, spacing the cookies about 1 inch apart. Bake the cookies in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. Macaroons can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Christmas Spice Cookie Cut-Outs

My mom has been making these spice cookies for Christmas ever since I was a little girl. She can't remember where she got the recipe from. It's been written on an index card that she's kept for years. I don't like spice cookies, but it has always been a tradition in my family for my mom and sisters and I to make spice cookie cut outs and decorate them together. They're a pretty simple looking cookie, with a touch of molasses, cinnamon and nutmeg and my family loves them. We like to use all different kinds of holiday cookie cutters to cut out the cookies and we decorate them with all different sugars. Kids will also love helping to make these cookies!

Here's the recipe:

¾ cup butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 egg

¼ cup molasses

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp nutmeg

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Set aside. Cream butter and sugar in a stand mixer on high until light in color.  Add egg and molasses and continue mixing for one minute.  Scrape down the sides of bowl with a spatula.

On low speed, add flour mixture. When the ingredients are moistened, turn to medium speed and beat until well blended, about 1 – 2 minutes.

Separate into thirds, flatten as much as possible and wrap in Saran Wrap. Refrigerate for one hour, until dough is chilled. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Roll out dough ¼” thick on a floured board.  Cut out & decorate.  Bake 8 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely.