Posts Tagged ‘cookies’

Chocolate Ginger Cookies Recipe

0 Comments

This blog is becoming less and less about food and more about the creative process. And making these cookies was a truly creative process. Penelope wanted chocolate cookies before church a few weeks ago. I didn’t have any chocolate chips, nor did I want to drive 20 minutes to the grocery store to get them. So I wanted to see if I could get a chocolate cookie by using cocoa powder. I couldn’t find a recipe that either didn’t call for chocolate chips or have a long ingredient list of things I don’t usually stock in my kitchen. So I made one up!!

I fused a molasses cookie (I wanted to deepen the flavor of the chocolate) and a snickerdoodle. My mom gave me the best recipes for both, so I used those. And these WORK WELL AT ALTITUDE!!!! YAY! We’re at 6400 ft. elevation, so cookie recipes can be problematic and the cookies end up a sloppy mess on the cookie sheet. These hold their shape and stay chewy. ON to the recipe, shall we?

(more…)

Foodie: Salted Caramel Snickerdoodles

0 Comment

Before I go into specifics, I just have to say, I hate the color of my walls. They’ve been slowly driving me more and more bonkers the longer I’ve lived here. In photographs the walls take on this awful magenta tan. #firstworldproblems amiright?

melissaesplin-saltedcaramel-snickerdoodles-3

Last Saturday (our weekly cheat day) I was in the mood for some good junk food, but we hadn’t bought anything the night before. So I went to the pantry and decided to make something. We were limited as we didn’t have chocolate chips, but that didn’t stop me!

After recently acquiring a cream whipper, we’ve amassed some awesome Torani flavorings so I thought I would experiment with my favorite of the bunch: Salted Caramel.

After sifting through my mom’s cookbook, I found a snickerdoodle recipe and a lightbulb went on. We just bought Swedish pearl sugar for our liege waffles, why not roll the cookies in that?

melissaesplin-saltedcaramel-snickerdoodles-2

At first glance, the white granules look like oversized salt, the kind that you coat your pretzels in. But it’s the exact opposite. When biting into one of these cookies you get a blend of opposites, the crunchy exterior and a soft, pillowy interior and a splash of sweet with a hint of savory.

melissaesplin-saltedcaramel-snickerdoodles-4

I cooked up a dozen cookies Saturday night, thinking that would be enough for our little binge treat, but they disappeared so fast! I had to make up a second batch this morning because Chris ate all the cookies and Penelope didn’t get a chance to eat any. Poor girl, missing out on the deliciousness.

melissaesplin-saltedcaramel-snickerdoodles-5

Salted Caramel Snickerdoodles

from MelissaEsplin.com | makes 18-24 cookies
  • 1 cup butter, room temperature
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/3 cup Torani Salted Caramel
  • 2 eggs
  • 3 cups flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon soda
  • 2 teaspoons cream of tartar

Whip butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs and Torani syrup. Sift together dry ingredients and add to the butter mixture slowly. Chill dough for 10-20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Roll out 18 1/4 cup balls. Roll each ball in pearlized sugar or raw Turbinado sugar and cinnamon. Bake on a lined cookie sheet for 8-10 minutes.

melissaesplin-saltedcaramel-snickerdoodles-6

Happy Easter Weekend, Folks!

6 Comments

Here are a few pictures of the Spring/Easter-themed cookies I made with my in-laws while visiting in Arizona last week. We had so much fun stamping out the cookie dough and frosting them. We used Williams Sonoma cookie cutters and decorative pens to make these cookies. Aren’t they just beautiful? They sat around the house for about two days before we ate them. That’s pretty impressive considering my sweet tooth!

I hope you all have a weekend full of candy, delicious food (maybe a vegetable or two), friends and most importantly, family.

Aren’t those greedy little fingers adorable?

Spritz Cookies

13 Comments

I’ve noticed something about myself. . . If I find a recipe somewhere other than in my three recipe books and I don’t blog about it, I lose it. I’m terrible at organizing my recipes. Lazy me. This recipe was, at one point, in the cookbook my mom compiled for us kids, but I lost it. I’ve called my sister twice now for the recipe. In my attempt to avoid calling my sister at awkward times (like 2am, perhaps?) I’m posting the recipe here.

I love spritz cookies. I have very fond memories of my mom making a million of these little cookies in assorted Christmas colors and in the cutest, petite shapes. They’re incredibly addicting and easy to make. I can’t tell you the excitement I felt when my mom gave me a cookie press for Christmas. There may have been an audible squeal. These cookies are divine when dipped in chocolate, topped with a melt-in-your-mouth lemon icing or just by themselves. Without any further Ado, here’s the recipe:

Spritz Cookies

no idea where this recipe came from– my mom?
makes about 70 cookies

  • 1 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tablespoons milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
  • 4 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder

Cream butter, sugar and egg until smooth. Add milk, vanilla and almond. In a separate bowl, mix flour and baking powder. Gradually add flour mixture to wet ingredients. Mix until flour is incorporated. Use cookie press to form cookie shapes. Bake at 400º farenheit for 8 minutes. Cool and serve.

Download and print the recipe card by right clicking the image below.

spritz-cookies-melissaesplin

Delicious Pumpkin Minicakes (or Pumperdoodles)

11 Comments

I’m not sure what I want to call these, but whatever their name may be, they are delicious. These minicakes were one of those happy little accidents that (for me) rarely ever happens in the kitchen. I had far too much pumpkin pie filling left over after baking 2 pies, and decided to make a little concoction of pumpkin filling and snickerdoodles. The results, well, too bad you weren’t there to eat them with me. I think I ate half the batch in two days. Thanks to the park days ladies who helped me polish them off.

Download the printable recipe card HERE.

Without any further ado, I give you The Pumperdoodle (or Pumpkin Minicake)

Pumpkin Minicakes

Makes about 18

Dough:

  • 6 tablespoons butter, softened
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 1/4 cup flour
  • pinch of salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon soda
  • 1 teaspoon cream of tartar

Cream butter, sugar and egg. Beat well. Sift together dry ingredients and mix into butter and sugar mixture. Press about 1 large spoonful of dough into bottom of cupcake cups.

Filling:

  • 1 cup pumpkin puree*
  • 1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
  • 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • Pinch salt
  • 2/3 cup heavy cream
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup
  • 2 eggs, slightly beaten
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325º. In a large bowl, combine pumpkin puree, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt and whisk until smooth. Add the cream, maple syrup, eggs and vanilla and whisk until just smooth. Pour 2-3 tablespoons of filling onto dough.
Bake cupcakes about 20 minutes, or until lightly browned. Chill and serve with maple whipped cream: 1 cup heavy cream with 3 tablespoons of maple syrup until soft peak forms.

*Notes: I used fresh pumpkin. To prepare, preheat oven to 425ºF. Cut the pumpkin in half and place it cut-side down on a baking sheet. Roast until tender, 50-60 minutes. Remove from oven and puree in food processor or blender until smooth. Also, if you don’t have maple syrup on hand, a traditional pancake syrup works well, too.

mobile site