Recipes Discovered - Recipes

Read my review of this recipe.

Ingredients:

For the cookies

• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup skin-on whole almonds, toasted (see NOTE)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups flaked unsweetened coconut

For the filling

• 7 ounces caramel candies, such as Kraft or Brach’s
• 1/4 cup low-fat or regular coconut milk
• 1/2 teaspoon coconut extract

Directions:

For the cookies: Combine the flour, confectioners’ sugar, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.

Combine the almonds and sugar in the bowl of a food processor; process until the almonds are finely chopped. Transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer or hand-held electric mixer.

Add the butter and egg yolk; beat on medium speed until well combined, then add the vanilla extract. Stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl, then add the flour mixture in three additions, beating on low speed after each addition until well combined. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 1 hour or until the dough is firm.

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Spread the coconut on a plate.

Use your hands to roll tablespoon-size pieces of the chilled dough into 1 1/4-inch balls. Roll the balls in the coconut, pressing gently so the coconut coats each ball. Place the balls 2 inches apart on the lined baking sheets.

Use a fingertip or the handle of a wooden spoon to make an indentation at the center of each ball. Bake one sheet at a time for 15 to 18 minutes, until the cookies are golden brown around the edges.

Transfer the baking sheet to wire racks to cool (with the cookies still on the sheet); quickly use the back of a rounded measuring teaspoon to reinforce the indentation in each cookie. Let the cookies cool completely. Repeat as needed to use all the dough.

For the filling: Combine the caramels and coconut milk in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on HIGH for 1 minute, then remove to stir the contents. Return to the microwave and microwave on HIGH for 1 minute. Remove and stir until smooth, then add the coconut extract.

Fill each cookie indentation with 1/2 teaspoon of the caramel-coconut filling. Store carefully between sheets of wax paper or parchment paper, as the filling does not set firmly.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Nutrition:

Substitutions:

NOTE: To toast skin-on almonds, cook them in a heavy, dry skillet (preferably cast-iron) over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, for 2 to 3 minutes, until they are slightly darker in color and begin to smell toasty. Watch carefully; nuts can burn quickly. Transfer to a dish to cool.

Recipe courtesy of The Washington Post.

Read my review of this recipe.

Ingredients:

• About 2 1/4 cups (225 grams) flour
• 11 tablespoons (77 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted (not Dutch-process)
• 3 tablespoons (16.8 grams) plus 1 tablespoon (5.6 grams) instant espresso powder
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 11 1/2 tablespoons (scant 1 1/2 sticks; 167 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• About 1 cup (200 grams) plus 1/2 cup (113 grams) sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 14 ounces milk chocolate, coarsely chopped

Directions:

For the cookies: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Combine the flour, cocoa powder, 3 tablespoons of the instant espresso powder and the baking powder in a medium bowl; whisk to mix well.

Combine the butter and 1 cup of the sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer or hand-held electric mixer. Beat on medium speed for 5 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract, then the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Reduce the speed to low, then add the flour mixture; beat until almost all streaks of flour are gone. Stop the mixer to add the milk chocolate chunks; beat on low speed until just combined.

For sprinkling: Combine the remaining 1/2 cup sugar with the remaining tablespoon of instant espresso powder in a shallow bowl; mix well.

Scoop the dough into mounds (about 1 tablespoon), then dip or roll them in the sugar-espresso mixture. Place them 2 inches apart on the lined baking sheets. Bake one sheet at time for 10 minutes, until the cookies are softly set, then cool completely (still on the sheet) on a wire rack. Repeat as needed to use all the dough.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Nutrition:

Substitutions:

Recipe courtesy of The Washington Post.

Read my review of this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups sweetened flaked coconut
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 1/4 cups powdered sugar, divided
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3/4 teaspoon coconut extract
• 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tablespoons grated orange peel
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake coconut on rimmed baking sheet until light golden, stirring occasionally, about 12 minutes.

Using electric mixer, beat butter, 1/2 cup powdered sugar, and both extracts in bowl to blend well. Beat in flour, orange peel, and salt. Stir in coconut. Using 1 level tablespoon dough for each cookie, roll dough between palms of hands into balls. Cover and chill at least 1 hour and up to 1 day.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Place dough balls on prepared sheets, spacing 1 inch apart. Bake until golden on bottom but pale on top, about 18 minutes. Transfer cookies to racks; cool 5 minutes. Place remaining 1 3/4 cups powdered sugar in a sifter. Sprinkle cookies with sugar, coating generously.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Nutrition:

Substitutions:

Recipe courtesy of Bon Appetit.

Read my review of this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter (no substitutions), softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
• Green and red paste food coloring
• 5 ounce white chocolate, melted
• Green and red sprinkles

Directions:

Combine flour, baking soda, and salt. In large bowl, with mixer on medium speed, beat butter and sugar 1 minute or until creamy, occasionally scraping bowl with rubber spatula. Add egg and vanilla; beat until well mixed. Reduce speed to low; gradually beat in flour mixture just until blended, occasionally scraping bowl.

Divide dough in half; transfer half to another bowl. Stir peppermint extract into 1 portion of dough. Divide peppermint dough in half; transfer half to another bowl. Tint 1 portion green, the other red.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 9″ by 9″ metal baking pan with plastic wrap, extending wrap over 2 sides of pan. Pat plain dough in pan. Freeze 10 minutes. Pat green dough over half of plain dough; pat red dough over remaining plain dough. Freeze 10 minutes.

Lift dough from pan using plastic wrap; place on cutting board. Cut dough into thirds so that one-third is all red on top, one-third is all green on top, and middle third is half red and half green. Cut each third crosswise into 3/8-inch strips. Twist strips and place, 1 1/2 inches apart, on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 11 to 13 minutes or until golden-brown. Transfer to wire rack to cool. Repeat.

Dip one end of each cookie into chocolate and place on waxed paper. Decorate chocolate with sprinkles. Refrigerate cookies 15 minutes to set.

Store cookies in tightly sealed container, with sheets of waxed paper between layers, at room temperature up to 1 week or in freezer up to 3 months.

Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

Nutrition:

Substitutions:

Recipe courtesy of Good Housekeeping.

Read my review of this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
• 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 1 cup peanut butter chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350ºF (325ºF for glass dish).

In small bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs and butter; mix well. Press crumb mixture firmly on bottom of 13X9-inch baking pan.
Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over crumb mixture. Layer evenly with remaining ingredients; press down firmly with fork.
Bake 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool. Cut into bars.

For perfectly cut bars: Line entire pan with a sheet of aluminum foil first. Coat lightly with no-stick cooking spray. When bars are cool, lift up edges of foil to remove from pan. Cut into individual squares. Lift off foil.

Makes at least 24 bars, 36 if you cut them small (they are definitely on the sweet side).

Nutrition:

Substitutions:

Be creative, try these combination:
- chocolate graham crackers, peanut butter chips, and peanuts
- cinnamon graham crackers, chocolate chips, and almonds
- honey graham crackers, chocolate chips, and coconut

Recipe courtesy of Eagle Brand .

Read my review of this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 3/4 cup peanut butter
• 3 cups oatmeal
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

In a heavy saucepan bring to a rapid boil, the sugar, cocoa, butter and milk. Let boil for 1 minute, remove from the heat, then add peanut butter, vanilla and oatmeal. On a sheet of waxed paper, drop mixture by the teaspoonfuls, until cooled and hardened.\

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Nutrition:

Substitutions:

The recipe I have called for quick cooking oats, but I only had old fashioned, so Iprocessed them in the food processor for a couple of seconds before adding them to the chocolate mixture.. The cookies turned out great!

Recipe courtesy of Allrecipes.

Read my review of this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cups peanut butter
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup dry roasted peanuts, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a seperate bowl, cream together butter, peanut butter and sugars until creamy, 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in eggs, milk, and vanilla. Add flour mixture and mix to combine. Refrigerate while preparing the filling.

In small bowl, mix chopped peanuts, granulated sugar and cinnamon; set aside. In another small bowl, stir peanut butter and powdered sugar until completely blended. Shape mixture into 36 balls.

Remove cookie dough from the refrigerator and scoop into 36 balls. Shape 1 cookie dough piece around 1 peanut butter ball, covering completely. Repeat with remaining dough and balls. Roll each covered ball in peanut mixture; gently pat mixture completely onto balls.

On ungreased large cookie sheets, place balls 2 inches apart. Spray bottom of drinking glass with non stick spray; press into remaining peanut mixture. Flatten each ball to 1/2-inch thickness with bottom of glass. Sprinkle any remaining peanut mixture evenly on tops of cookies; gently press into dough.

Bake 7 to 12 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets to cooling rack. Store tightly covered. 

Makes 36 cookies.

Nutrition:

Substitutions:

Alternatively, you can use refrigerated peanut butter cookie dough instead of making your own. One 16.5 ounce package will make 24 cookies, so reduce the peanut butter/powdered sugar mixture to 1/2 cup each.

Adapted from Pillsbury Bake Off.

Read my review of this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 extra-large eggs
• 2 cups (18 ounces) creamy peanut butter
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt (if using salted butter, cut down to 1 teaspoon)
• 1 1/2 cups (18 ounces) raspberry jam or other jam
• 2/3 cups salted peanuts, coarsely chopped

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Line a 9 x 13 x 2-inch cake pan with parchment paper or grease and flour the pan.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until light yellow, about 2 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add the vanilla, eggs, and peanut butter and mix until all ingredients are combined.

In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the peanut butter mixture. Mix just until combined.

Spread 2/3 of the dough into the prepared cake pan and spread over the bottom with a knife or offset spatula (batter is very thick and will probably need to be pressed lightly into the pan). Spread the jam evenly over the dough, leaving about 1/2 inch gap between the sides of the pan. Drop small globs of the remaining dough evenly over the jam. Don’t worry if all the jam isn’t covered; it will spread in the oven. Sprinkle with chopped peanuts and bake for 45 minutes, until golden brown. Cool and cut into squares.

Makes 24 squares.

Nutrition:

Substitutions:

I used strawberry jam.

Recipe courtesy of Ina Garten.

Read my review of this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound unsalted butter
• 1 pound plus 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips, divided
• 6 ounces unsweetened chocolate
• 6 extra-large eggs
• 3 tablespoons instant coffee powder
• 2 tablespoons real vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided (1 cup for batter and 1/4 cup in the chips and nuts)
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3 cups diced walnut pieces

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 13 by 18 by 1 1/2-inch sheet pan.

Melt together the butter, 1 pound chocolate chips, and unsweetened chocolate on top of a double boiler. Cool slightly. Stir together the eggs, instant coffee, vanilla and sugar. Stir in the warm chocolate mixture and cool to room temperature.

Stir together 1 cup of the flour, baking powder and salt. Add to cooled chocolate mixture. Toss the walnuts and 12 ounces of chocolate chips with 1/4 cup flour to coat. Then add to the chocolate batter. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake for about 30 minutes, or until tester just comes out clean. Halfway through the baking, rap the pan against the oven shelf to allow air to escape from between the pan and the brownie dough. Do not over-bake! Cool thoroughly, refrigerate well and cut into squares.

This makes a huge amount of brownies. To make a 9×13 pan, half the recipe. To make a 9×9 pan, third the recipe. To make an 8×8 pan, quarter the recipe.

Nutrition:

Substitutions:

Extremely fudgey brownies! I omitted the walnuts and increased the chocolate chips.

Recipe courtesy of Ina Garten.

Read my review of this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/2-pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar plus 9 tablespoons
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3/4 cup raisins
• 1 cup walnuts, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped
• 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon milk, for egg wash

Directions:

Cream the cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light. Add 1/4 cup granulated sugar, the salt, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour and mix until just combined. Dump the dough out onto a well-floured board and roll it into a ball. Cut the ball in quarters, wrap each piece in plastic, and refrigerate for 1 hour.

To make the filling, combine 6 tablespoons of granulated sugar, the brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, the raisins, walnuts, and apricots.

On a well-floured board, roll each ball of dough into a 9-inch circle. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of the filling. Press the filling lightly into the dough. Cut the circle into 12 equal wedges—cutting the whole circle in quarters, then each quarter into thirds. Starting with the wide edge, roll up each wedge. Place the cookies, points tucked under, on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Chill for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Brush each cookie with the egg wash. Combine 3 tablespoons granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon and sprinkle on the cookies. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove to a wire rack and let cool.

Makes 4 dozen.

Nutrition:

Substitutions:

Instead of dried apricots, the dough can be spread with apricot preserves before adding the filling.

Recipe courtesy of Ina Garten.