White Chocolate Cherry Shortbread

Every year my mom and I bake together, and it's usually the same pattern: 3 well-loved Christmas CDs that we bought in a Cracker Barrel restaurant giftshop on a vacation down south when I was a teen (Smokey Mountain Christmas, Hallmark Christmas Traditions, and Smooth Jazz Christmas); Chocolate Chip, Sugar Cookies with Cherries, Spritz, and Molasses Cookies; lots of sampling and then storing cookies away in the beloved Santa Cookie Tin and Santa Cookie Jar. 

This year, we went for a change of pace.  Pandora provided the music and recipes were read off of Pinterest on an iPad (which is way more useful for recipes than just about anything else, I've found).  This was one we hadn't planned on making but as Mom looked through my cookie board it caught her eye.  Apparently my mom loves white chocolate- who knew?

Melting white chocolate is tricky - it seizes up really easy.  Adding a little vegetable oil while stirring will usually loosen it up again if that happens.

Source: Better Homes and Gardens
Yield: about 5 dozen

Ingredients

They look like they're wearing Santa hats!

1/2 c. maraschino cherries, drained and then finely chopped
2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. sugar
1 c. cold butter
12 oz. white chocolate chips
1/2 tsp. almond extract
Red colored sugar
2  teaspoons shortening

1. Preheat oven to 325° F.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine flour and sugar. Using fingers or a pastry blender, cut in the butter until mixture resembles fine crumbs. 

3. Stir in chopped cherries and 4 ounces (2/3 cup) of the white chocolate pieces. Add in the almond extract. Knead mixture until it forms a smooth ball.

3. Shape dough into 3/4-inch balls. Place balls 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Using the bottom of a small glass dipped in sugar, flatten balls.

4. Bake at 325° F for 10 to 12 minutes or until centers are set. Cool for 1 minute on cookie sheet. Transfer cookies to a wire rack and let cool.

5. Slowly melt together remaining white chocolate and shortening. Dip half of each cookie into melted white chocolate, allowing excess to drip off. Roll or sprinkle edges in colored sugar. Place cookies on waxed paper until chocolate is set.

 

Turtle Cookies

I love baking, but I am mostly a fan of the scoop-and-plop type of cookies.  Every year, though, I'm swayed by the pretty cookies and have to try something that's a little labor intensive.  Caramel is a flavor I don't have as a favorite so these seemed like a worthwhile

Definitely a good call.  I made a double batch because if you're going through all of the work of multi-step cookies, you want to have enough to enjoy.  I think they probably could have cooked a little bit longer, but that gooey-ness is delicious in it's own way.  

These also have THE BEST method of melting chocolate for a drizzle that I've ever seen.  Major kudos to whichever the source authors came up with that.   


Source: Adapted from America's Test Kitchen, as shared by Pixelated Crumb via The Kitchen is My Playground
Yield: 33 Cookies

Ingredients:

1/2 c. butter, softened

2/3 c. sugar

1 large egg, separated, reserve the whites

2 T. milk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/4 c. pecans, finely chopped

1 c. all-purpose flour

1/3 c. cocoa powder

1/4 tsp. salt

Caramel: 

14 soft caramel candies (I used Kraft)

3 T. heavy cream
(I made a double batch and this was enough for 70 cookies, feel free to reduce proportionally)

Chocolate Drizzle:

2 oz. semi-sweet chocolate

1 tsp. shortening

1. Whisk together flour, cocoa, and salt, and set aside. 

2. With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg yolk, milk, and vanilla; mix until incorporated. 

3. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm.  

4. Preheat oven to 350°F.  Set wire cooling racks over wax paper.

5. Whisk egg whites in a bowl until frothy bubbles form.  Place chopped pecans on a large dinner plate.  Roll dough into 1-inch balls, dip in egg whites, and then roll in pecans.

6. Place balls about 2 inches apart on a baking sheet. Using your thumb or another similarly shaped instrument press an indentation into the top of each cookie. (My favorite are the back of corn on the cob holders like these)  Bake at 350 degrees until set, about 12 minutes.

7. Microwave caramels and cream together in a small bowl, stirring occasionally, 30 seconds at a time until smooth.  Once cookies are removed from the oven, gently re-press the indentations.  They'll be soft, so gently transfer to wire racks.  Fill each indentation with about 1/2 teaspoon of the caramel mixture.

8. "Place chocolate and shortening in a small Ziploc bag.  Set bag in a bowl of warm water to soften.  Gently knead the chocolate with your fingers until melted and smooth, placing back in the warm water for a minute or two as needed.  Snip a very small hole in the corner of the plastic bag.  Drizzle chocolate over the cooled Turtle Cookies."  (Quoting directly from The Kitchen is My Playground because this is that awesome method of chocolate drizzle that I will always use from now on)

9. Let cool completely before storing. 

Red Velvet Gooey Butter Cookies

Could anything look Christmasier?  Is that even a word?

These were part of my "let's find some new recipes" explorations on Pinterest this year.  My fabulous coworker Noreen always makes me Red Velvet Cupcakes for my birthday, these dense chocolaty desserts with the most luxurious cream cheese frosting.  It's really all about the frosting.

I was skeptical about these at first because Red Velvet cake without frosting?  But the genius is that the cream cheese is IN the batter.  They have that silky smooth tang with all the red-chocolate flavor you'd expect from traditional red velvet cake.  Honestly, I don't know how these aren't a staple in everyone's kitchen, they were that good. 

Using a cake mix was a neat shortcut, but don't expect these to be easy.  They make a GIANT mess of your hands, your kitchen, and everything in between.  Good thing I have red potholders!

Source: Paula Deen via Peace of Cake

Yield: 5 dozen if you make them on the small side.

INGREDIENTS:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened at room temperature
1/2 c. butter, softened
1 egg
1 t. vanilla extract
1 (18-ounce) box red velvet cake mix
Powdered sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.

2. Cream together the cream cheese and butter until smooth.  Add egg and vanilla extract.

3. Beat in the cake mix.  Add slowly, one half cup at a time until completely absorbed.  You may need to scrape down the sides of the bowl several times to fully incorporate it.

4. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.  I like to mix it a day ahead and let it sit overnight.

5. Roll batter into tablespoon-sized balls and then roll them in powdered sugar.  Let them sit for a minute and absorb some of the sugar, then roll again for best results

6. Bake on parchment-lined baking sheets for about 12 minutes or until just slightly resistant to touch.  They will retain some of that gooey look and feel in the center.  Cool on wire racks and store in airtight containers. 

Double Chocolate Cookies

One of my favorite blogs is Technicolor Kitchen, which features delicious baked goods to brighten even most terrible of days.  I saved this recipe on Pinterest earlier in the year and decided that double chocolate was the key to kicking off the 2012 Holiday Baking Season.

The cookies were luxuriously soft and oh-so-chocolaty.  They're not overly sweet, and go perfectly with a glass of milk.  I'm not usually a white chocolate fan, but the sweetness of it balances the dark chocolate in the batter.  I can't wait to bring them to work tomorrow.  I know they'll be a huge hit with my colleagues, chocoholics that they are.

Double chocolate cookies (made with sweetened condensed milk)
from the great Delicious Magazine via Technicolor Kitchen

200g (that's two of the big bars) good quality dark chocolate (I used Ghiradelli Intense Dark 72%)
1/2 stick butter
1 small can sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1½ tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
6 oz. white chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.  Grease cookie sheets if not using non-stick pans.

2. Break chocolate into small chunks and melt it along with the butter.  I microwave for 20 seconds, stir, and repeat until completely melted. 

3. Stir in the condensed milk and vanilla.  You'll need to stir it quite a bit to fully mix the liquids.  Let cool.

4. Add in the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, and salt.  Fold in white chocolate chips at the end.  Dough should be fairly stiff.

5. Scoop level tablespoons onto prepared cookie sheets, or roll small balls and slightly flatten in your palm for more uniform cookies.  Bake for about 12 minutes – the cookies should have just stopped looking shiny. 

6. Cool on wire racks, then store in airtight containers.

Grinch Cookies

Let me say this right off the bat: I've never been a fan of colored things that require a lot of food coloring.  I think they taste artificial and just look... fake.  But sometimes my cookie trays look a little, well, beige, and I want a little more color in my holiday season.

I saw several varieties of this one floating around this season, but decided to go with my own Toll House variation.   Dad had specifically requested something chocolate and mint, and these sounded perfect for that.

He loved them!  I'm pretty sure he ate half the batch himself, now that I think of it.  They have that familiar chocolate chip flavor with a little something extra.  I think they might be revived for St. Patrick's Day next year.  

Phone photo, not the greatest, but it does look like ice cream!

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
3/4 c. brown sugar
3/4 c. white sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. peppermint extract
2 1/4 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 bag dark chocolate and milt morsels, or other chocolate mint chips
green food coloring.

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees (350 for non-stick pans)

2. Cream butter with an electric mixer on high until fluffy and smooth.  Add in sugars, eggs, and flavorings, scraping sides of bowl until well incorporated.  Slowly add the dry ingredients, stirring often, being careful not to overmix batter.

3. Add several drops of green food coloring until dough is color of mint ice cream.  Add chocolate mint morsels.

4. Bake at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes until firm but not brown.  Let cool on cookie sheets for 1 minute then transfer to wire racks to cool.