Jenn’s Cook Book

For the holidays, Nestle Toll House is making Swirled Holiday Premier White morsels. These are white chocolate chips with either red or green swirls. These cookies combine swirled chips with semi-sweet chocolate chips in a traditional recipe. Try baking a batch of these for some holiday fun. The original recipes calls for sprinkling some of the chips on top of the cookies, but this is mostly for show. I stirred all of the chips into the cookie dough to save time.

1 cup (6 oz) Swirled Holiday morsels
1 cup (6 oz) Semi-Sweet chocolate morsels
2 1/4 cups flour, spooned and leveled
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs 

Preheat oven to 350F 

In a small bowl, combine swirl and chocolate morsels. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt.

In a large bowl, combine butter, sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla extract. Beat on medium speed until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels.

Drop by rounded tablespoon-ful on to ungreased baking sheets. Bake 8-10 minutes, until cookies are golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack with a spatula to cool completely.

Okay, I take back everything bad I ever said about cookie-dough scoopers (see Ode to a Melon Baller). This little device is awesome! If you are fed up with the two-spoon tango of drop cookies, try one of these nifty kitchen tools. A cookie-dough scooper works with practically any kind of batter and drops perfect little dough balls on to cookie sheets.

You can find expensive varieties for $10 to $15, but I found mine on sale for about $2.50.

While I have a general distaste for kitchen utensils with only one purpose (such as a garlic press), this item has broken through the barrier. My cookie-dough scooper is two to three times faster than using spoons or rolling balls of dough between my hands. It also prevents the dreaded cookie-dough-under-the-fingernails predicament.

To prevent dough from sticking, try a shot of cooking spray in the scooper before digging in to the batter. Most varieties should already be non-stick, but if releasing the dough becomes problematic, try another spritz of spray.

A variation on Fresh Pear Cookies, these tasty treats come from Cake Mix Cookies and combine fresh cranberries and ginger with vanilla cake mix. For an added sweetness, drizzle cookies with melted white chocolate. The combination of cranberry and white chocolate is festive and sure to put you in the holiday spirit, try serving these cookies with hot cocoa and peppermint sticks. These cookies would also be great for brunch.

Fresh cranberries are too tart to eat on their own, but with this recipe they become soft and sweetened with brown sugar and a punch of spice from the ground ginger. The original recipe calls for 1 cup finely chopped pecans, but here they are omitted. If desired, sprinkle chopped nuts over white chocolate drizzle while still warm for a crunchy twist.

Fresh Cranberry Cookies

1 box (18.25 oz) vanilla cake mix
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
3/4 tsp ground ginger
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped fresh cranberries
White Chocolate Drizzle (see below)

Preheat oven to 350F and coat baking sheets with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, place half the cake mix, butter, light brown sugar, eggs, and ginger. Blend with an electric mixture for 1-2 minutes on medium-high speed until smooth. Using a wooden spoon, stir in remaining cake mix and cranberries until all dry ingredients are moist and pears are well incorporated.

Drop by rounded teaspoons on to baking sheets, spaced 2 inches apart. Bake 10-13 minutes on until cracked in appearance and just barely set in the center. Cool 1 minute on baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack with a spatula to cool completely. Prepare White Chocolate Drizzle and top cookies.

White Chocolate Drizzle

1 cup white chocolate chips
1 tbsp vegetable shortening

Melt chips and shortening oven low heat in a small saucepan until smooth. Transfer to a small plastic baggie and gather at the top, using a corner as a tip. Snip the corner of the baggie and drizzle white chocolate over cookies. Let sit until chocolate cools and hardens.

Holidays are a time for baking and wonderful spices, like ginger, cloves, and nutmeg. Here is a recipe for dough to make gingerbread people, or any other shape you would like to cut into cookies. We used cookie cutters for firetrucks, people, dogs, and bells. From Everyday Food magazine, these cookies can be decorated with icing, frosting, colored sugar, or any kind of sprinkles.

For this recipe, I got to use my cool new standing mixer, which was very exciting. Add the flour mixture to the batter gradually to prevent the dough from drying out. You can also vary the baking time to get softer or crisper cookies, but be sure to roll flour evenly to ensure even baking.

3 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, plus more for rolling
2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
6 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup packed dark-brown sugar
1 large egg
3/4 cup unsulfured molasses

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. Using an electric mixer, beat butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy; beat in egg and molasses. With mixer on low, gradually add flour and mix until just combined. Divide dough in half and flatten into disks. Wrap each in plastic and refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours and up to 2 days.

Preheat oven to 350F

Working with one disk at a time, place dough on lightly floured parchment paper and roll out to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut out shapes with cookie cutters. Flour roller and cookie cutters as needed to prevent sticking. Gather scraps and re-roll as needed.

For softer cookies, bake 7-9 minutes; for crisper cookies, bake 10-11 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Decorate as desired once cool.

Just because Thanksgiving is over doesn’t mean pumpkin season is done. Pumpkin pie is a big seller all the way through the new year. This recipe from Everyday Food magazine takes pumpkin up a notch with chocolate in a simple cheesecake. Instead of traditional slices, this cheesecake is served in bars. Chocolate wafer cookies are typically sold near the ice cream toppings at the supermarket. Be sure to use regular cream cheese, not reduced-fat or fat-free. If you would like to make your own pumpkin pie spice, check out this homemade mixture of cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cloves, and nutmeg.

For the crust:
20 chocolate wafer cookies
2 tbsp sugar
4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

For the filling: 
2 pkg (8 0z each) cream cheese
1 cup sugar
1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin puree
3 large eggs 
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp salt
4 oz semi-sweet chocolate, chopped

Preheat oven to 350F and line the bottom of an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil, or coat with cooking spray.

In a food processor, blend cookies with sugar until finely ground (you should have about 1 cup crumbs). Add butter and pulse until moistened. If you do not have a food processor, crush cookies in a large, zip-locked baggie with a rolling pin and mix with sugar and melted butter.

Press mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake until fragrant and slightly firm, about 10 to 12 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Place cream cheese in a food processor or blend with a hand mixer until smooth. Add sugar, pumpkin puree, eggs, flour, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Mix until combined.

Place chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl, microwave in 30-second increments, stirring between each, until melted and smooth. Add 1 cup of the pumpkin mixture and stir to combine.

Pour remaining pumpkin mixture into prepared pan, over the crust. Drop dollops of chocolate mixture onto the pumpkin mixture. Drag the blade of a paring knife through the chocolate and pumpkin mixtures several times to make a marbled pattern.

Bake until cheesecake is set but jiggles slightly when gently shaken, about 30 to 40 minutes depending on the oven.

Cool in pan on a wire rack. Cover and chill until firm, at least 2 hours. Cheesecake can be stored for up to 2 days before serving.

To serve, cut into squares with a knife dipped in warm water.

A combination of winter baking and fall flavor, these cookies are sure to please. This recipe comes from Cake Mix Cookies by Camilla V. Saulsbury, and uses fresh pears and nutmeg with vanilla cake mix to create soft, tasty cookies. Pears are still in season, but not for much longer…so don’t delay trying these fruity delights. Creamy icing with the subtle, slightly nutty taste of browned butter provides the perfect winter comfort food. No need to peel the pears as baking will soften the skin, but be sure to scoop out the core. The original recipe calls for 1 cup finely chopped pecans sprinkled on top of the cookies, but I left them out due to a lack of availability and personal preference.

Can’t get your hands on pears? Use fresh cranberries and substitute ginger for nutmeg, or try peeled apples and use cinnamon instead of nutmeg. Substitute equal amounts.

1 box (18.25 oz) vanilla cake mix
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
3/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 1/2 to 2 cups coarsely chopped pear (about 2 medium)
Browned Butter Icing (see below)

Preheat oven to 350F and coat baking sheets with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, place half the cake mix, butter, light brown sugar, eggs, and nutmeg. Blend with an electric mixture for 1-2 minutes on medium-high speed until smooth. Using a wooden spoon, stir in remaining cake mix and pears until all dry ingredients are moist and pears are well incorporated.

Drop by rounded teaspoons on to baking sheets, spaced 2 inches apart. Bake 10-13 minutes on until cracked in appearance and just barely set in the center. Cool 1 minute on baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack with a spatula to cool completely. Prepare Browned Butter Icing and spread over cookies.

Browned Butter Icing

6 tbsp unsalted butter
3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2+ tbsp milk

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Continue to heat until butter begins to brown slightly (be careful, it can burn quickly). Remove from heat.

Stir in powdered sugar, vanilla, and 2 tbsp milk. Continue to add milk 1 tablespoon at a time until mixture is spreadable. Stir well until smooth. Spread over cooled cookies.

Want your chocolate to take a walk on the wild side? Try these delicious cookies from Brownie Mix Magic. Like the Spicy Aztec Brownies, these cookies give chocolate a spicy kick. This recipe starts with a box of brownie mix and adds black pepper, chocolate chips, and crystallized ginger for a fragrant, spicy, and decadent treat. Crystallized ginger, or candied ginger, is available in most grocery store baking aisles, but at a steep price. Try specialty or gourmet markets, or shops that specialize in Asian cuisine, for a better deal. Chop the ginger into pieces about the same size as chocolate chips for the best distribution in this recipe. The cookies are great when still warm from the oven. Caution: these cookies are not for the faint of heart!

1 box (19.5 to 19.8 oz) brownie mix
2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
2/3 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F and coat cookie sheets with nonstick spray (skip this if your cookie sheets are high quality nonstick).

In a large mixing bowl, combine brown mix, ground ginger, black pepper, melted butter, brown sugar, and eggs. Mix with a wooden spoon until just blended and all dry ingredients are moist. Stir in chopped crystallized ginger and chocolate chips.

Drop by rounded teaspoons, 2 inches apart, onto prepared cookie sheets.

Bake 8-10 minutes, until cracked in appearance and just barely set at the center. Cool 1-2 minutes on cookie sheets before transferring to a wire rack with a spatula. Cool completely on wire rack.

It’s that time of year again, when it is so cold outside that you want to turn on your oven just to feel a little warmth. Well, why not make some of these deliciously rich and decadent cookies while you’re at it? This recipe comes from Everyday Food magazine’s special Holiday Baking 2007 issue and combines sweet hazelnuts with the complimentary flavor of rich espresso. Many brands of baking products sell pre-chopped hazelnuts, but you can also buy whole hazelnuts and chop them yourself. To remove the skins, preheat oven to 275F and spread hazelnuts in a single layer on a cookie sheet and bake until the skins crack (about 25 minutes). Transfer hazelnuts to clean kitchen towel, roll up, and let steam 5 minutes, then rub between your hands in the towel until the skins come off, then chop coarsely.

2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
3 tbsp instant espresso powder
2 cups (10 oz) hazelnuts, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 375F

In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and salt.

In a large bowl, combine butter, sugar, and brown sugar. Beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each eggs. Add espresso powder and beat until just combined.

With mixer on low, beat in flour mixture in batches until incorporated. With a rubber spatula, stir in hazelnuts.

Drop by tablespoon-ful onto baking sheets, about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake 9-11 minutes, until golden brown. Cool cookies on sheets for 2 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes 3-4 dozen cookies.

Another tasty treat from Cake Mix Cookies, these mini-cookies “capture the unique flavor of chai”  and will fill the house with their distinctive fragrance as they bake.” Instead of buying pumpkin pie spice, which costs about $4 for a very small container, I made my own using spices I already had and the Pumpkin Pie Mix from Herb Mixtures & Spicy Blends.

1 box (18.5 oz) Spice cake mix
1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
2 large eggs
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp cardamom
slivered almonds, for garnish, about 1/2 cup

Preheat oven to 350F and coat cookie sheets with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine half of the cake mix, melted butter, eggs, pumpkin pie spice, and cardamom. Using an electric mixer, beat on medium-high speed for 1-2 minutes until all ingredients are combined. Stir in remaining cake mix using a spoon until moist.

Using a teaspoon, roll dough into balls. Press slivered almonds on top. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until set at edges and just barely set at center when lightly touched. Cool on cookie sheet for 1 minute, then transfer to a cooling rack with a spatula to cool completely.

There are numerous baking tips spread across different posts, and I have been asked to combine them into one place. These are tips and tricks from a variety of sources that I have accumulated over the past year and a half. Most of these are common knowledge, but who has that common knowledge when you are just starting out?

Read the recipe first, all the way through. Get all the ingredients out before you start measuring and adding. Keep track of the recipe as you go, and be sure not to skip any of the steps! 

Measure ingredients over the sink or counter, not over your bowl. If any spills in, you won’t know how much you’ve added.

Use room temperature eggs and butter. This will make the batter creamier and richer, plus cold butter is very difficult to beat. Some recipes will call for cold butter or melted butter, so be sure to read carefully.

While on the subject of butter, be sure to use unsalted butter. This allows you to control the salt content of the recipe.

When mixing, be sure to scrap down the sides of the bowl. This will prevent clumps of butter or flour. Make sure everything is well incorporated.

Be careful not to over-beat. Follow the recipe’s directions carefully, over or under beating can mess with texture.

Always, always, always preheat the oven. It should be the very first thing you do. Cookies and cakes need controlled temperature, especially to stay light and fluffy.

Also, be sure not to open the door during baking unless absolutely necessary. This disrupts the temperature in the oven and can mess with the texture and density of the cookies or cake. I’m guilty of peaking in as my oven door does not have a window.

Check to see if your bakeware is “non-stick.” Some recipes will call for parchment paper, wax paper, or cooking spray. Cake pans might need to be greased and floured first. Follow the directions provided with the bakeware, and be sure to clean cooking spray and grease immediately after baking (it can get stuck on and ruin your pans).

For recipes containing large amounts of brown sugar, dark brown sugar, or molasses, keep an eye on baking times. Molasses burns easily and can taste bitter when over-cooked. It can also hard or crystallize if left in the oven too long.

Know your sugar! There are big differences between granulated sugar, powdered sugar, brown sugar, and dark brown sugar. To be sure you are using the right kind, label the containers.  

Do not use the box of baking soda in the refrigerator to bake. It has collected odors (and therefore flavors) of other foods. Keep a separate sealed box in the pantry for baking purposes.

Keep flour in a sealed container or bag. The paper bags can allow insects to get in and nest. The little red bugs are harmless, but definitely do not belong in your cookies!

Use a timer. Every time. Also, know that baking times vary from oven to oven, so do not just rely on the recipe. My oven is electric, and seems to cook things faster than most recipes indicate. This will take a bit of trial and error, and you might need to break the “do not peek” rule until you’ve gauged how your oven cooks.

Cold eggs, salted butter, and over-beating is not going to completely ruin a batch of cookies, but it might make you wonder why they don’t taste as good as mom used to make.