Oh boy, it has been awhile since I last posted. It’s almost embarrassing. I don’t even think I’ve mentioned that baby #2 is on the way, and sooner than later I might add! We’ll have a 2-year old little man at the end of the month as well as a little girl in October. That’s a frightening, but amazing, thought!
Little man has been keeping me extra busy with all his energy recently. I feel like his energy is increasing as mine is decreasing…that just doesn’t add up! Anything to keep him occupied and happy for even a few minutes is well worth it. These toddler cookies are the *perfect* last minute, mommy-needs-a-break-from-running-around activity. I love to bake, and little man loves to help and eat…PLUS, the cookies contain ingredients I usually have on hand and are toddler-approved.
You can see in the pictures that he actually CAN help make them since they’re so easy. Also, since there aren’t any eggs in the recipe, he’s totally fine licking his fingers, or eating spoonfuls right out of the bowl. I’m actually pretty sure that every time (in the many times we’ve made these), about half of the “dough” has been eaten straight from the bowl. So if the recipe actually makes more cookies than what I say it does, there’s a good chance that’s why! I have to admit that even though these are for the toddler age group, I do my fair share of eating these as well. The 2 of us could pretty much finish off a batch of these cookies in one sitting. Usually that thought would deserve gasps and head-shaking but there’s really not much to be ashamed of in this case considering what’s in them. I’m serious! I would even willingly give these to the little one for breakfast.
5-Ingredient Toddler Oatmeal Cookies
2018-08-10 08:59:49
Yields 9
Simple, healthy, and delicious oatmeal cookie for toddlers
Mix together all the ingredients in a medium bowl.
Scoop heaping tablespoons onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. The recipe usually makes about 9 to 10 cookies, depending on how big you want them. Flatten and shape slightly (since they will not change shape at all while baking).
Bake for 13-15 minutes, or until the tops are no longer shiny and they feel dry to the touch.
Let cool on the cookie sheet for 2-3 minutes before cooling completely on a wire rack.
Enjoy once cooled, or they will keep for a day or two in an airtight container.
Notes
These are wonderful for toddlers and kids, but please check with your doctor before giving honey to your infant or baby!
By Steph | Flavor From Scratch
Flavor From Scratch https://www.flavorfromscratch.com/
December is holiday time! Yay! When I think holidays (especially Christmas), I think peppermint. It’s just so festive and fun! You will definitely get your peppermint fill with these peppermint chocolate sandwich cookie truffles. OH. MY. YUM. If you’re confused what I mean by “chocolate sandwich cookie”, it’s just a very generic way of saying peppermint “Oreo” truffles. I decided not to play favorites because I did indeed use the generic brand that was labelled “chocolate sandwich cookies.” Guaranteed delicious no matter the brand. For reals.
I remember making chocolate sandwich cookie truffles in middle school home ec. class (Am I dating myself here? Do they still have that class??). In fact, I think that’s the only recipe I remember making in that class because, well, chocolate. You can’t forget a delicious chocolate recipe. Also, the original recipe literally has 3 ingredients…sandwich cookies, cream cheese, and chocolate chips. You don’t even really need a recipe for that. SCORE!
I used my homemade peppermint extract in this recipe. Amazing! Couple notes if you use a homemade extract…First of all, this isn’t baked so if you use an alcohol base in your extract, it will have a very small amount of alcohol in the final recipe (split over about 50 truffles). Also, I actually used a little extra extract than the recipe calls for (about 3 teaspoons instead of 2 teaspoons) because I find the homemade stuff isn’t quite as strong as store-bought. However, you also have peppermint candy cane dust to bring the peppermint flavor home so it’s not a huge deal if the extract isn’t super strong.
I love a strong peppermint flavor so you know for sure that something is peppermint. I ended up adding more and more peppermint to get the right flavor. I think I finally got there with this final recipe! Don’t forget a little candy cane garnish so everyone knows what deliciousness there is in that perfect little truffle!
If you love a peppermint and chocolate combo, check out these chocolate mint crinkle cookies. You will not be disappointed. I plan on making them again this weekend because you can never have enough!
1 package chocolate sandwich cookies (14.3-ounce, such as Oreos)
3 peppermint candy canes (plus 1-2 more for garnish)
8-ounce package of cream cheese
2 teaspoons peppermint extract
12-16 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate chips*
Instructions
Crush the sandwich cookies with a rolling pin (or in a food processor) until they are a fine crumb. Set aside.
Use a food processor to pulverize 3 candy canes into fine pieces. You are almost looking for a dust-like consistency but a few fine pieces are okay (you definitely don't want someone to bite down on a large chunk of candy cane).
Using a stand mixer or a handheld mixer, beat together the cream cheese and peppermint extract until blended.
Beat in the crushed cookies and candy cane.
Form into 1" balls using a cookie scoop and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
While the truffles are cooling in the refrigerator, prep the peppermint garnish by crushing or food processing 1-2 candy canes into small pieces to sprinkle over the top.
Right before the truffles are ready to come out of the refrigerator, melt the chocolate chips over a double boiler. Alternatively, you can melt the chocolate in a microwave in 30-second increments, stirring after each increment.
Dip each truffle into the chocolate using 2 spoons to help the excess chocolate drip off. Place truffles on a parchment-lined baking sheet and immediately top with the peppermint garnish.
Let the chocolate set before storing in an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator.
Notes
I ended up using one 12-ounce bag of chocolate chips plus about another 1/4 cup. You might be able to make it with just the 1 bag, but I'd recommend having more handy, just in case.
Flavor From Scratch https://www.flavorfromscratch.com/
These lemon shortbread cookies…oh my. They are SCRUMPTIOUS! They literally melt. in. your. mouth. They just might be my new favorite cookie. Since the recipe is just a combination of household pantry/fridge staples, I find it real hard not to make these cookies every day of my life. I kind of want to go make them now. But I won’t. Self-control…
I made these little delicacies for a bridal shower for one of my bestest friends. Everyone loved them! I did something you’re never supposed to do though. I made these for the FIRST time for the shower. That’s risky business because you never know if they’ll turn out. I had faith though, and was well rewarded for my trust in these cookies. Whew!
I do have to be honest about these. They started out as a vanilla bean shortbread cookie that I had saved from another blog and I now I can’t find the blog! The link is broken or it doesn’t exist anymore or something. So whoever you are that inspired these cookies, THANK YOU! If you’re out there reading this, you changed my life for the better.
Random note that you might find helpful is that when you start mixing the dough together it will look like a crumbly mess. You might curse my name or start panicking. Take a deep breath. And another. And maybe by that time you will realize that the dough just needed to be mixed a little longer. It should become a nice smooth dough to roll out and everything will be well again. You might need to slightly press it into a ball to roll out, but it shouldn’t take too much effort.
I keep these pretty small because they’re so rich. Also a good excuse to eat a couple. Definitely not like 10 though. That’s *way* too many…cough, cough.
Melt-In-Your-Mouth Lemon Shortbread Cookies
2017-10-09 10:42:21
Yields 48
Sweet and tart lemon shortbread cookies that will melt in your mouth
3-4 tablespoons lemon juice (or juice from about 1 large lemon)
lemon zest from 1 lemon
water (to thin, if needed)
Instructions
Cream the butter, 3/4 cup powdered sugar, and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer.
Combine the dry ingredients (flour, cornstarch, salt) in a medium bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low until well-combined but still crumbly, about 1 minute. Turn mixer to medium and mix for an additional 2-3 minutes, until the dough comes together*.
Roll the dough out into a 9"x12" rectangle between 2 pieces of parchment paper. It should end up being about 1/2"-3/8" thick.
Transfer the parchment and dough to a baking sheet and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
After refrigeration, lift the dough from the baking sheet and cut it into 1 1/2" squares.
Place the cold dough on parchment lined baking sheets. You don't need much room between them (about 1") because they don't spread much.
Bake for 9-11 minutes, until pale golden brown on the edges.
Let cool for 1 minute on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Mix together the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest for the drizzle in a small bowl. Add water, if needed, to create a consistency that is loose enough to drizzle. Use a spoon to drizzle the icing over the cooled shortbread cookies. Let the drizzle harden before storing in an airtight container.
Notes
*When you start mixing, the dough will look crumbly. Continue to mix until the dough comes together...it will!
Try not to overwork the dough once you roll it out or to reroll because it will get bumpy. However, if you must, the drizzle will cover some imperfections!
Flavor From Scratch https://www.flavorfromscratch.com/
I keep a list of recipes I want to try and potentially post to the blog if they go well. I’ll be the first to admit that they don’t always go well. I burnt soup this weekend. One time I made mini pumpkin pies that turned into mini pumpkin blobs. I’ve made caramel filled rice cereal bars that were so chewy they could probably take out a filling. *Sigh*.
I’ll end my pity party there because there are also those recipes that are SPOT ON the moment I try them and it makes my day. Sometimes my week…small victories, people. Small victories. Let’s talk almond orange biscotti. SPOT ON! I didn’t even really know I had any love of biscotti until I made these. Can I just say again how SPOT ON these are?! Okay, I think you all get it.
A few of my favorite parts of these cookies are:
They look super fancy and hard to make BUT they’re not. For reals.
I’ve heard rumors that properly stored these guys can last like a few weeks or a month. I may never know if this is true.
The almond orange biscotti are not overly sweet thanks to the nut and citrus flavors.
Chocolate.
Biscotti make it totally appropriate for adults to dunk their cookies. In fact, that’s what they’re made for!
This is a fairly traditional recipe for biscotti but let me tell you, I am psyched to try new combinations of flavors! Granted, most will probably involve dunking them in chocolate. I’m pretty sure most everyone will be okay with that.
P.S. I don’t drink coffee because I’m weird like that. I dunked these in milk. YUM.
Almond Orange Biscotti
2017-09-19 11:31:07
Yields 24
A traditional biscotti, or twice baked cookie, that's perfect for dunking!
1 tablespoon orange zest (or zest from about 1 medium orange)
1 cup whole almonds, toasted*
1 tablespoon water
chocolate chips, to dip biscotti (1-2 cups depending on how you dip them)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
Beat in 4 eggs, vanilla, and orange zest until it forms a ball. It will start out looking rather crumbly so be patient!
Stir in toasted almonds.
With clean, damp hands form 2 logs on parchment-lined baking sheets. Each log should be about 4 inches wide and 3/4 inch tall.
Whisk together remaining egg and water for egg wash. Brush each log with egg wash.
Bake for 25 minutes, or until golden brown on top, rotating pans at the halfway point.
Transfer logs to a wire rack and let cool for about 20 minutes.
Use a large serrated knife to cut 3/4 inch slices. I cut mine on the bias, or diagonal, but you can also cut straight across.
Place the slices, standing up, on a parchment lined baking sheet.
Bake for another 25 minutes.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Melt the chocolate chips (I used a double boiler but you could also microwave them, checking and stirring every 30 seconds). Dip* biscotti in chocolate and let cool on parchment paper.
Store in an airtight container.
Notes
*To toast the almonds, I just put the whole almonds in a dry skillet over medium-low heat and toasted them until they started to become fragrant
*I dipped my biscotti in chocolate along the bottom edge but you could also dunk them in the chocolate (like you would dunk it into a drink). I've even seen some with drizzle on them. I like the bottom coated because you get a little chocolate in every bite but it doesn't cover up the cookie so you can still dunk it in your drink!
By Flavor From Scratch
Flavor From Scratch https://www.flavorfromscratch.com/
These fruit pizza cookies have been a long time coming. And when I say a “long time,” I mean a LONG time. I actually made these beauties LAST summer and they have been waiting to be posted ever since. Mostly because by the time I got around to posting them last year I realized it was practically fall and *way* too late to post a recipe featuring fruit and berries. I’m cutting it close this time but I’m going to declare that it’s still summer and I’m not late this time! I did just make them again recently, which helped prompt me to post them. Plus, I certainly cannot let another year go by without posting these because that would be depriving you of fruit pizza goodness. And I’m not a mean person like that.
What is a fruit pizza cookie? Simple…you take a fruit pizza (you all know what that is, I hope) and shrink it into a cookie size. Did I seriously have to explain that? Probably not, but I like to make myself clear. Best part is that you feel like you get to eat your own entire fruit pizza without having to share. WIN! You might even feel obligated to eat a couple, or few “pizzas” once you take into account that the fruit practically makes up for the heaps of butter, making them basically healthy…in a way. I would NEVER eat more than one though. Nope. Never…The baby wanted one too though so I may have eaten one for him. It totally counts.
These are great for parties because they can be easily picked up on the go! No cutting required! Even better, leave the cookies, frosting, and fruit out for a decoration station AT the party. First, you have less work to do to frost and decorate them and second, you just became every child’s best friend. Or mine, if I’m at the party. If you do make them ahead, I would suggest that you frost and put the fruit on not much more than a couple of hours before you serve them or else they will get a little limp. I found that they mostly will get a little soft when they have strawberries on them, which makes sense since strawberries have a lot of water in them. Also, make sure you get the fruit as dry as you can prior to decorating for this exact reason.
Once the fruit pizza cookies are frosted and decorated, I keep them refrigerated until serving to keep the fruit pretty and the cream cheese frosting chilled. I found that if I put parchment paper between the layers of cookies, it helps keep everything from becoming a sloppy mess. If it did become a sloppy mess though I’m sure someone would still be willing to eat them. If you can’t find anyone, you can always call me and I’ll find someone to take care of eating them…yeah.
Fruit Pizza Cookies
2016-08-18 13:58:47
Yields 36
Mini fruit pizzas! Delicious sugar cookies with cream cheese frosting, topped with fresh fruit and berries.
Fruit and berries of your choice (I used kiwi, blueberries, and strawberries)
Directions for the cookies
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Cream 1 cup butter and sugar in a large bowl using a mixer. Mix in the eggs, one at a time, and 1 teaspoon vanilla until well combined.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and combine (I used the mixer but you can do this by hand).
Cover and chill the cookie dough in the refrigerator for at least 20-30 minutes.
Once chilled, roll out the dough to 1/4" thickness on a well floured surface and use a cookie cutter (or a mason jar works!) to cut out circles. I made about 36 cookies using a 2.5" diameter cookie cutter and about 28 using a 3" cutter. Keep in mind they will spread, so they will end up slightly bigger than what you cut out.
Place cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet with plenty of space between the cookies (I only put 5 per sheet for the 3" cookies).
Bake for 8-11 minutes (smaller cookies require the low baking time and large require the longer time) or until the edges are just starting to get golden brown.
Remove from the oven and let cool on tray for 1-2 minutes before moving them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Directions for the frosting
To prepare the fruit, cut into desired sizes/shapes and place on a paper towel. Pat dry using paper towels. Let them sit on the paper towel until ready to use to make sure they are very dry.
Combine cream cheese, 1/2 cup butter, confectioners sugar, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon vanilla with a mixer starting on low and moving to medium speed. Once combined, add the milk and mix on medium-high for 1-2 minutes.
To prepare the cookies
Frost the cookies with the cream cheese frosting and decorate with the fruit.
Notes
I use parchment paper between layers when storing the cookies to keep them separated. I would recommend frosting them and adding the fruit not much more than a couple of hours before serving for the best result, as they can become a little soft if they sit for too long.
By Flavor From Scratch
Flavor From Scratch https://www.flavorfromscratch.com/
Oh boy, it has been awhile since I last posted. It’s almost embarrassing. I don’t even think I’ve mentioned that baby #2 is on the way, and sooner than later I might add! We’ll have a 2-year old little man at the end of the month as well as a little girl in October. That’s a frightening, but amazing, thought!
Little man has been keeping me extra busy with all his energy recently. I feel like his energy is increasing as mine is decreasing…that just doesn’t add up! Anything to keep him occupied and happy for even a few minutes is well worth it. These toddler cookies are the *perfect* last minute, mommy-needs-a-break-from-running-around activity. I love to bake, and little man loves to help and eat…PLUS, the cookies contain ingredients I usually have on hand and are toddler-approved.
You can see in the pictures that he actually CAN help make them since they’re so easy. Also, since there aren’t any eggs in the recipe, he’s totally fine licking his fingers, or eating spoonfuls right out of the bowl. I’m actually pretty sure that every time (in the many times we’ve made these), about half of the “dough” has been eaten straight from the bowl. So if the recipe actually makes more cookies than what I say it does, there’s a good chance that’s why!
I have to admit that even though these are for the toddler age group, I do my fair share of eating these as well. The 2 of us could pretty much finish off a batch of these cookies in one sitting. Usually that thought would deserve gasps and head-shaking but there’s really not much to be ashamed of in this case considering what’s in them. I’m serious! I would even willingly give these to the little one for breakfast.
