Cookies

Making Christmas cookies has turned into a favorite
tradition of mine, especially now that I have a kitchen-aid mixer.
It was a little more stressful when I just had my old school hand
mixer.  I'm slowly amassing a collection of my staple recipes,
but it's always fun to add new ones to the mix.

Here are my top 5 new cookie picks for the season.

1.)Peppermint Meringues
(I debate these every year, but this time I'm making them)

2.)Chrusciki
(I used to eat these when I was little, it'll be nice to see how these compare!)

2.)Butterscotch Blondie Bars with Peanut-Pretzel Caramel
(da-what..)

3.)Raspberry Refrigerator Pinwheel Cookies
(raspberry anything is always good)

4.)Fleur de Sel Caramels
(OK so these are not technically a cookie,but who doesn't love caramels??) 

5.)Lavender Truffles
(decadent truffles with a little taste of springtime)

Happy Baking!

Recipe of the Week

I realized today that I haven't done
any cooking recently. With the passing of
the dude we've kind been doing the take out
thing. But I'm going to get back on top of
my cooking game this week.

I bought this month's Bon Appetit yesterday and
was intrigued by the Pantry Raid recipes.
Easy desserts that shouldn't require any extra shopping-
as long as your pantry is well stocked.
I chose the Fudgy Meringue Cookies, and the only
thing that I didn't have in my arsenal of ingredients
was cream of tartar.

Whether you have all the ingredients or not, these
are great cookies to make in a pinch if you are
entertaining, need a quick gift, or just want to sit
down with chocolate goodness and a big glass of milk.


















Fudgy Meringue Cookies
(taken from this month's Bon Appetit)

*Non-stick vegetable oil spray
*1c bittersweet chocolate chips, divided
*1 1/2c powdered sugar, divided
*1/3c unsweetened cocoa powder
*2 tsp cornstarch
*2 large egg whites, room temperature
*1/2tsp vanilla extract
*1/8 tsp salt
*1/8 tsp cream of tartar

Pre-heat oven to 350F
Coat large rimmed baking sheet with non-stick spray

-Melt 1/2c chocolate chips, either in double boiler
or in the microwave. Let chocolate cool, about 10min

-Whisk 1/2c powdered sugar, cocoa, and cornstarch in a small
bowl.

-Using an electric mixer, beat egg whites, vanilla, salt
and cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining
cup of powdered sugar. Continue to beat until whites are thick
and glossy.



















Beat in cocoa mixture. Fold in melted chocolate, and
then chocolate chips.

















-Drop batter by rounded tablespoons onto prepared sheet.
Bake cookies 7 minutes, turn tray and then continue to bake for
another 6 minutes or until dry looking and cracked.
Cool cookies on sheet 5 min, then transfer to wired rack.

*These are best eaten the day that they are made.
*I only used half a cup of chocolate chips, and one cup of
powdered sugar because that was all that I had left!