Cookies – mythankfultable.com

Fluffernutter Cookies…You Heard Me

April 12, 2024 by chrissy@mythankfultable.com

In New England, we are known for all sorts of things, like leaf peeping and stone walls, die hard sports fans and quick weather changes. We talk fast, we are critical of everything, but we will also lend a helping hand. Its a meaner vibe than the people of say, Missouri, where I lived for a school year. But I will live here as long as my hand and back can handle a snow shovel, watch the river for flooding, and wake up with the birds around four am. Too many of Noah Kahan songs resonate. But wow am I a thankful New England woman.

Cut to, what I ate for supper last night, which is what brought me here. To the essence of NE, the fluffernutter. Peanut butter, Fluff, bread. I used to like it on the cheapest white bread I could find. Now we do artisinal bread. Lightly toasted. Standing at the counter with two pups waiting for any toasty peanutbuttery goodness.

So, when I saw a recipe with these two ingredients baked up into a cookie? Yes. Yes. Yes.

It is messier than your average cookie- not sure it would be my first pick for a cookie tray, but so worth the time if you are looking for a little sweet treat that brings back the nostalgia of school lunches packed in a metal lunchbox, complete with thermos.

I wish for you on this rainy spring day all the good, and warm gooey cookies. As always, thank you for coming to the table.

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Fluffernutter Cookies…You Heard Me

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Peanut Butter and Fluff come together to make an amazing cookie.

Original Recipe found on stress baking by Leslie Haasch

https://stressbaking.com/fluffernutter-cookies/

Yield 12 Cookies

Author: chrissy@mythankfultable.com

Ingredients

· ⅔ cup all purpose flour

· 1 teaspoon baking soda

· Pinch of salt

· 8 tablespoons butter, room temperature

· 1 cup creamy peanut butter, well-stirred if using natural

· 1 ⅓ cups light brown sugar

· 1 egg, room temperature and lightly beaten

· 1 teaspoon pure vanilla bean paste or extract

· 2 tablespoons to ¼ cup marshmallow fluff, depending on how much you add to each cookie

Instructions

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

· In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine butter, peanut butter and brown sugar and beat on medium speed until light an fluffy.

· Add egg and vanilla and beat to combine.

· Add dry mixture and beat again to combine until you have a thick dough.

· Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, preferably up to 1 hour.

· Preheat oven to 325 °F. Prepare two baking sheets with nonstick silicon mats or parchment paper and set aside.

· Grab a medium cookie scoop and fill it halfway with dough, pressing it into the bottom and up the sides. Spoon a teaspoon of marshmallow fluff into the center, and then top with more dough to fill the scoop. Place each ball of dough on prepared baking sheets, with no more than 6 on each, evenly spaced out with plenty of room for the cookies to spread.

· Bake for 9-11 minutes until the cookies have spread and started to crinkle on top. Remove from the oven and let cookies cool for at least 15 minutes on the baking sheet itself – they will continue to spread and set a bit more as they cool. Carefully move to wire racks to cool completely. Enjoy!

Lemon Rosemary Shortbread Cookies

April 24, 2022 by chrissy@mythankfultable.com

Every now and then I come across a recipe and think, “Hmmm, yes. I need to make these.” At that point the recipe goes into a “Future Recipe” folder. (Sometimes I carry this around with me in my school bag like a total food nerd. I am ok with this).

Typically I bake for a specific reason, like a holiday, or a special event; then there is the recipe I make because it’s right there in the file, calling out to me. I find solace in the mundane parts of chopping or mincing, mixing and folding (now for my Schitt’s Creek fans, say it with me, “David, you simply fold in the cheese.”)

Maybe it’s a new Banana Bread recipe (which I have recently found and have made several times and will add to the blog), or it’s citrus season and the beautiful array of oranges and clementines and everything in between says, “Make that recipe now.” Cranberries are fresh in the early fall, and that is when you utilize every cranberry recipe in the file. I am currently watching my rhubarb unfurl with the first few warm days of spring, and you know the cobbler and crumble recipes await.

So, when I came across a cookie that combined savory, tart, and sweet…I figured it was worthy of the file.

This cookie, with its simplicity and yet complex flavors, was the cookie I made this winter just because. I made very few Christmas cookie plates up this year- I made a few of our favorites and I made only single batches of each.

When the kids and I discussed what was going to be baked, we streamlined to the top few. Our holidays were pretty quiet here. Also, I kind of needed to eliminate many things this year just because…the last two years have been a little crazy.

When I tell you that this savory but sweet little buttery cookie fills the wild card cookie spot, I kid you not. I have fond memories of the big blue tin of butter cookies and my grandmother’s house and tea time. These are not those cookies.

This is a buttery shortbread that incorporates rosemary, lemon rind, butter, egg, salt, confectioner’s sugar. It is so simple to put together.

The tricky part, if any, is keeping the dough chilled throughout the baking process. You only take out what you are baking and the rest goes back into the refrigerator. If you are like me and like to multitask (ie, put a bunch of cookies on the sheets and pop them in the oven as you do other things), this part is “meh.” But worth it!

I chose to drizzle a little extra lemon glaze on it to make it decorative, but really, it wasn’t needed.

The recipe yields approximately two dozen cookies, depending on the size of your dough roll and how thickly you cut them. I wanted mine to have an almost square look, so I flattened the rolls slightly to accommodate. I would also recommend erring on the smaller side for these, as they pack a punch flavor wise.

If you are looking for a cookie where the samplers stop for a second and have a look of, “What is this exactly?” but in the best way- this may be for you. Again, it’s not a peanut blossom or a double chocolate peppermint. It’s different for sure.

No matter the reason or season for your baking, I encourage you to expand the horizon and try something different. You will be surprised!

I hope you enjoy this recipe, and as always, I thank you for coming to the table!

Love,

Chrissy

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Lemon Rosemary Shortbread Cookies

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Author: chrissy@mythankfultable.com

Ingredients

Scale

1 Cup (2 Sticks) cold unsalted butter (I used salted and it didn’t impact the recipe) cut into small (1/2”) pieces

½ Cup granulated Sugar (plus 6–8 Tablespoon for coating)

2 Tablespoons chopped Fresh Rosemary

2–3 Tablespoons freshly grated Lemon Zest (I use a microplane for this)

1 Egg Yolk

¾ Teaspoon Salt

¼ Cup Confectioner’s Sugar

2 Cups AP Flour

Instructions

1. Combine granulated sugar, lemon zest, rosemary, and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse 5-6 times.

2. Add the egg yolk; pulse again several times.

3. Add the flour and confectioner’s sugar; pulse again to mix.

4. Remove the lid and scatter the cold butter pieces over the dry ingredients. Pule until the dough forms large clumps that start gathering together. Stop pulsing before the dough form a ball around the blade.

5. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Divide it in half.

6. Gently squeeze and knead the dough several times to even out the consistency.

7. Dust a long piece of waxed paper with 3-4 tablespoons of granulated sugar.

8. (Using your palms) Roll one half of the dough onto the granulated sugar until it forms a 1 ¾”-2” log.

9. Repeat for the other half of the dough.

10. Slip dough logs into gallon food storage bags or wrap tightly and store in the refrigerator over night.

11. Preheat oven to 350* Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

12. Unwrap dough, and using a serated knife, cut the dough into rounds and place on baking sheet.

(a good tip is to keep unused dough refrigerated until ready to be baked- also don’t put cold dough on warm baking sheet or they will start to melt before they bake).

13. Bake the cookies for 15-17 minutes or until the edges are golden and the surface is barely starting to brown. Leave on baking sheet for two more minutes then transfer to a rack to cool.

These do not need anything, but I added a quick lemon glaze, whisking lemon juice and extract into powdered sugar until I got the desired consistency. It just added the extra lemon kick I was looking for!

Cream Cheese Sprinkle Valentine Cookies

February 13, 2021 by chrissy@mythankfultable.com

As I sit here writing with a very tired puppy at my feet, in the stillness that is a Friday evening, Valentine’s Day is around the corner. In many of the podcasts I listen to, the idea of being single during the “Pandemmy” (because seriously if we can’t give this thing a cute nickname…what is our mental health status…wait, what?) is perfectly acceptable.

I know there are those couples out there who rocked out quarantine and are stronger than ever. And, go you. That’s amazing.

And there are those of us who had some good old fashioned time to look inward as well as outward and say, yeah, let’s face some hard facts.

Let’s use this quiet time to look at some of the stuff. The stuff we stay busy to avoid.

Which leads to uncomfortable questions, quiet reflections, and harder decisions. Which results in being solo for celebration of all couples everywhere.

But, that being said, I think even those of us who are celebrating sans-valentine deserve something beautiful and sweet on the sweetest day. What says cute like a cookie covered in sprinkles? Am I right? I read somewhere, “Hey these feelings aren’t going to eat themselves.” I jest.

The original posting for these cookies is from Sally’s Baking Addiction. These cookies are light and fluffy, they almost melt in your mouth, with the sweet and tang of a cream cheese base, vanilla and almond extracts, and the crystal crunch of the sanding sugar coating. Now, you don’t need to roll them in sugar. They are sweet without it. But it’s Valentine’s Day. Let’s paint with all the colors of the wind here.

Mix the dough, roll and chill. Then while the oven is preheating, roll them in decorative sugar (I found the three pack of two pinks and purple at my local craft store in the baking aisle) and press slightly with a glass to flatten.

When the cookies are freshly baked and cooling, press a heart shaped chocolate in the middle and voila! Perfection. I used Dove dark chocolate hearts, but with the ingenuity of the candy makers of the world, you could really mix it up. These cookies would actually be perfect for any occasion, provided you find the right sprinkle colors for the event. (Red and Green, Blue and Silver, Yellow and Pink, like I said, colors of the wind).

I think that the gift of quiet/alone time is the ability to check out your life and determine if it is the one you want to be living. We build it, daily. We create it, and design it, and chose to live where and how we live, if we are lucky. I am so thankful that even though things aren’t perfect…and my life looks differently than it did a year ago, I still wake up me.

Maybe the best part of Valentine’s Day is the part where we realize that we are surrounded by people who love us. The family we are born into, the family we create, the family we choose, the people who hold us up along the way. People who see our light and honor it. Encourage it, and help it grow.

Those are the love lights we cling to.

Those are the people who get the cookies. 🙂

I hope you enjoy this recipe, and as always, thank you for coming to the table.

Love,

Chrissy

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Cream Cheese Sprinkle Valentine Cookies

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The original recipe for these cookies is from Sally’s Baking Addiction. I bake at a lower temperature, but otherwise I followed her directions and recipe. This recipe yields approximately 3 dozen cookies.

Author: chrissy@mythankfultable.com

Ingredients

Scale

1 Cup Butter (2 Sticks)
2 Ounces Cream Cheese (block)
1 Cup White Sugar
1 Large room temperature Egg
2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
1 Teaspoon Almond Extract
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1 1/2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
3 Cups Flour
Various sanding sugars/sprinkles
Approx 36 chocolate heart candies

Instructions

Combine flour, baking powder, salt together in a separate bowl and set aside.
In a mixer with a paddle attachment, combine butter and cream cheese on high speed until combined and smooth.
Add sugar and beat until combined.
Add in egg, extracts, and beat on higher speed until all incorporated.
Scrape down sides of bowl, and slowly add dry ingredients at a lower speed.
Chill dough (at this point I scoop and roll dough between my hands and chill- making the next step easier but you can chill the entire dough and scoop dough out afterwards) for at least one hour.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees and prepare cookie sheets with either parchment or silicone baking sheets.
Roll cookie dough balls in sanding sugar or sprinkles of your choice.
Place cookies approximately 2″ apart on cookie sheets.
Using a glass or measuring cup, press down slightly on dough balls to flatten.
Bake cookies for approximately 12-15 minutes depending on your oven.
Allow cookies to cool for 5 minutes.
Press unwrapped chocolate heart candy into the middle of each cookie.

Dark Chocolate Bourbon Sugar Cookies

May 29, 2020 by chrissy@mythankfultable.com

I had a friend say to me a few weeks ago, “I am just so happy to see you are writing again.” Which, really warmed my heart. I carried that sunshine around for days, weeks actually. All during which, I did not write one more word.

Here’s what I have learned in the last two months of being home, only traveling for essentials, and basically being a rule follower. People sure do have a lot to say. Social media, bloggers, podcasters, news reporters, friends on the Facebook. Every person seems to have something to share. Right, wrong, insane, liberal, conservative. It’s a lot. I think in the last two months I have let go of some things I probably should have a long time ago. I have stopped following certain people on social media. I have evolved my opinions of some people in both the positive and negative as a result of words and actions or lack thereof. The learning curve has been steep.

That being said, I think to stop and write means to stop and make sense of the words in my head, and to put something out there that people who are already reading a lot want to and can read.

So reader, here we go. I will not offer you numbers or graphs or charts or rules. I will say that having lost one parent I will darned well do whatever I need to do to keep my living parent here as long as I can. I will say I had the gift of being with my Dad when he left this earth. A gift that I know too many people, people I know personally, did not get.

So, where does the writer find the words to fix this? I don’t. I just know that to not write means I am one less voice of hope out there. And we need hope. Well, some of us need toilet paper, and hope.

Friends, it’s time to bust out the boozy cookies. I will say it, I am not a big drinker. (Total transparency, I did join a wine club a month ago). But make a dark chocolate bourbon cookie and roll it in bourbon sugar? Sign. Me. Up. Sorry kids, these cookies are for the grown ups. They don’t taste heavily with alcohol, but they definitely have a rich and fantastic flavor. The original recipe for these cookies is from LoveandOliveOil.com. The original recipe calls for shaved chocolate in the cookie and dutch processed cocoa. I use dark cocoa and left out the chocolate shavings. I didn’t feel like I was missing out AT ALL. I also tried it with throwing in some semisweet morsels. Equally as amazing. A really neat tip in the original recipe is to store the cookies on top of any remaining bourbon sugar, which kept the cookies moist and fresh for a little longer.

What is bourbon sugar you ask? It is turbinado sugar and bourbon shaken together. Yes please. I am a fan of the big crunchy sugar crystals on top of muffins. Big crunchy sugar on a cookie? I’m in. You combine the sugar and the bourbon and it makes you wish the sandy beaches tasted this good. Another fun thing is post rolling the dough in the sugar, you can use a glass to flatten out the cookies to just the right thickness.

Friends, I wish I had answers. Answers to how this will all look or when this will all end. What the new normal will be. As an educator I wonder, what new changes in addition to the ones already made will take place? What about the students without access for a million reasons to an online format education? So many things. I guess, the thing I am learning in all of this, is gentleness. Being gentle with others, and all the more difficult, with myself. Trying to use this time to fix the things. So many things.

Gentleness, and grace. Time for kindness.

All of this, and chockey cookies with crunchy bourbon sugar.

Sending you so much love and light in this uncertain time. Thank you for sitting with me for a bit and for sharing your reading of the words with me. I hope you enjoy this recipe, and as always, thank you for coming to the table.

Love, Chrissy

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Dark Chocolate Bourbon Sugar Cookies

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This soft cookie rolled in turbinado sugar from the www.loveandoliveoil.com website is slightly modified (I use a dark cocoa powder but essentially it is the orginal masterpiece recipe).I can’t even begin to describe the combination of soft bourbon infused cookie dough and the crunch of the bourbon sugar on the outside except to say yes please.

Author: chrissy@mythankfultable.com

Ingredients

· ½ Cup Butter

· ½ Cup Vegetable Shortening

· 1 Cup White Sugar

· ¾ Cup Brown Sugar

· 1 Large Egg plus 1 Large Egg Yolk

· 3 Tablespoons Bourbon

· ¾ Cup Dark Cocoa Powder

· 1 ¾ Cup Flour

· ½ Teaspoon Baking Soda

· ¼ Teaspoon Baking Powder

· ½ Teaspoon Salt

For Rolling:

· 2 Tablespoons Bourbon

· 1 Cup Raw Turbinado Sugar

Instructions

1. In a bowl, sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

2. In a mixer, cream together butter, shortening, and sugar until creamy.

3. Add brown and white sugar until light and fluffy.

4. Add egg and egg yolk and mix until incorporated; scrape down the sides of the bowl and beater as necessary.

5. Slowly mix in bourbon.

6. Add dry ingredients in two parts until incorporated. Mix in finely chopped chocolate.

7. Combine and scoop/roll into balls. Refrigerate for a few hours or overnight.

8. In a mason jar or other container, combine turbinado sugar and bourbon. Top with lid and shake until it resembles wet sand. Pour into shallow dish.

9. Roll balls of dough into bourbon sugar until evenly coated.

10. Arrange dough on parchment lined pan approximately two inches apart.

11. Bake at 325* for 13 – 15 minutes or until slightly puffy.

12. Let cool on cookie pan for ten minutes then transfer and cool completely.

13. If there is extra bourbon sugar in the bottom of an airtight storage container; arrange cookies and cover.

Double Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

February 12, 2020 by chrissy@mythankfultable.com

The season for peppermint crunchy topped chocolate cookies may have passed…no wait, it hasn’t.

While traditionally a this is considered a Christmas peppermint cookie, I dare to say these little darlings can still find a place in February. The smart marketing people of the world determined that pre crushed peppermint candies make this possible. Starlight mints (I think that’s what they used to be called) are available year round as well, so if the combination of chocolate and peppermint makes your heart flutter, this cookie is for you.

There is something to be said about the way mint complements the dark chocolate, red and white are for sure in with Valentine’s theme, and no one will say no to cookies. Unless your sweetheart is one of those not into sweets people. I know they are out there.

My return to writing the blog has been slow, and I am going to ease myself back in, but this recipe was too nice to wait for my thoughts to get lofty to blog about. I switched up Broma Bakery’s recipe to include dark chocolate chips instead of white, mine are drizzled instead of dipped, but the essence of the recipe is the same and they get all of the credit. I also bake my cookies at 325* because that is what I do. I like a cookie with no brown on the bottom, a soft chewy cookie that is just ever so slightly under-baked and left to continue cooking on the cookie sheet tends to make perfection for my taste. If you are a 350* baker, watch the cookies so they don’t overcook while baking!

Hopefully this new year has brought all good things, and this cookie recipe will find you with happy hearts.

I hope you enjoy it, and as always, thank you for coming to the table!

Chrissy

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Double Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

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This dark chocolate peppermint cookie is drizzled with white chocolate and crushed peppermints…perfect for the holidays and for your favorite minty valentine. Original recipe found on Broma Bakery’s website. Their cookies use white chocolate chips and are dipped in additional white chocolate. I used dark chocolate chips and drizzle…but the options are limitless.

Author: chrissy@mythankfultable.com

Ingredients

Scale

1/2 Cup Butter at room temperature
1 Cup packed Dark Brown Sugar
1 Large Egg at room temperature
3/4 Cup Flour
1/3 Cup Dark Cocoa Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1 Teaspoon Peppermint Extract
1 Bag Dark Chocolate Chips
7 ounces White Chocolate
1 Teaspoon Coconut oil or Crisco
1/2 Cup Crushed Peppermint Candies

Instructions

In a mixer with a paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add in Egg and Peppermint Extract.
Sift together dry ingredients in a separate bowl.
Add dry ingredients carefully into butter mixture, until combined.
Fold in Chocolate Chips.
Scoop dough into balls and chill dough (I do this with almost every cookie dough I make- it isn’t necessary but I like the way the cookies turn out after the dough has been chilled).
Preheat oven to 325*, prepare cookie sheet with parchment or silicone mats.
Place chilled dough balls on the cookie sheet and bake for approximately 10-12 minutes.
Allow cookies to come to room temperature.
Combine white chocolate and crisco or coconut oil over a double boiler or microwave and stir gently until melted.
Drizzle white chocolate over cookies and sprinkle with crushed peppermint candies while chocolate is still soft.

Reese’s Pieces Peanut Butter Cookies

February 20, 2019 by chrissy@mythankfultable.com

These cookies combine the peanut butter base of a soft cookie with the melty crunch of baked chocolate coated peanut butter candies. Win-Win.

I don’t know about you, but there are certain foods I can not bring into my house. Purely because I know they are there, they whisper to me, and then I seek them out to eat them. Among this list I wish were celery and yogurt…you know, the stuff I buy because I am supposed to and they make me healthy. The real list is more like Kraft Caramels, Cheez-its, Caramel M&M’s and Reese’s Pieces. I save these purchases for when the will power is strong…or I need them for a recipe.

Maybe it is the fact that I was little when E.T. was in the movie theaters and this candy became insanely popular. Maybe it’s the idea of mixing up peanut butter cookies to include an extra kick. These cookies are amazing.

When I make cookies, I typically make the dough at least a day in advance, pre-scoop/roll into shapes ready for baking, and refrigerate overnight. These cookies are adorable pre-baked. I had to hide them in the back of the fridge, I was worried they would be consumed before I got the chance to bake them!

These cookies are simple to make, and deliver a real peanut butter punch. If you have a peanut butter lover in your life, these cookies belong in your cookie toolbox!

I hope you enjoy this recipe, and as always, thank you for coming to the table!

Chrissy

Click below for a printable recipe.

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Reese’s Pieces Peanut Butter Cookies

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Peanut butter cookie loaded with Reese’s Pieces candies. Original recipe from Simple Green Moms

Author: chrissy@mythankfultable.com

Ingredients

Scale

1/2 Cup Creamy Peanut Butter
1 Stick melted Butter (1/2 Cup)
3/4 Dark Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup White Sugar
1 Large Egg (room temperature)
1 3/4 Cup Flour
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1 Cup Reese’s Pieces Candies

Instructions

Combine peanut butter and melted butter in a mixer and combined.
Add in sugars and mix until light and fluffy.
Add in egg and vanilla extract and mix.
Combine flour, baking soda, salt and add to mixture.
Add and incorporate Reese’s Pieces by hand until evenly distributed throughout the dough.
Refrigerating dough is not necessary, but I pre-scoop my dough and refrigerate overnight.
Preheat oven to 325*
On a parchment lined baking sheet, place scoops of dough a few inches apart.
Bake at 325* for 8-11 minutes, until puffy and light brown.

Double Chocolate Biscotti

April 20, 2018 by chrissy@mythankfultable.com

Chockey, Chockey, Chockey. I love you so.

Dark chocolate biscotti with dark chocolate chips bring this sweet cookie to life that makes all things better.

I know, enough with the biscotti already. But seriously. It is a cookie this gal has some serious affection for. It has flavor and texture and shelf life. It can be dipped into a hot beverage and not fall apart like an Oreo (I hereby proclaim soggy Oreos to be exceptional at the right time and place).

This dough is, for all intents and purposes, a dream. It comes off the mixer in one lump, is divided, baked, sliced, and baked again. It needs no garnish but will take one with pride. It has dark chocolate chunks, but the potential for this dough…add in slivered almonds, dried cherries, cranberries, orange zest, pistachios…the ideas are endless.

For this cookie, I kept it simple. Dark chocolate cocoa powder, dark chocolate chunks, need I say more? I did indulge and dip half of the batter into melted chocolate because, yes please.

Today’s blog is short and sweet, pun intended. These cookies need no elaboration. If you don’t bake them as long the second round, they will have a soft crunch. Which, if you are going to have hard edges, you should have a soft center. In personality as well as a cookie, am I right?

I hope you enjoy this recipe, and as always, thank you for coming to the table!

Chrissy

Click below for a printable recipe!

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Double Chocolate Biscotti

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Delicious dark chocolate biscotti with dark chocolate chunks.

Author: chrissy@mythankfultable.com

Ingredients

Scale

1/2 Cup Butter
1 Cup Sugar
2 Eggs
1 Teaspoon Vanilla extract
1/2 Cup Dark Cocoa Powder
1 Teaspoon Salt
1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
2 Cups AP Flour
1 Cup Dark Chocolate Chunks/Chips

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350*
In a mixer with a paddle, combine butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add eggs and vanilla extract and combine.
Add Dark Cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.
Add flour, and incorporate until it makes a dough an add dark chocolate chips.
Form dough into two logs onto a Silpat or parchment lined cookie sheet.
Bake for 30 minutes.
Remove from oven and cool for ten minutes.
Slice biscotti into one inch slices.
Place slice side up onto cookie sheet and return to the oven for an additional 10-15 minutes.

Cranberry Orange Biscotti

March 27, 2018 by chrissy@mythankfultable.com

So, I’m a New England Girl, through and through. Give me your white steepled churches and ancient graveyards, lighthouses, glorious autumns, and all of the goodness that comes with the history of our great nation.

With that, and I’ve blogged about this before, is the amazing tradition of taking a perfectly healthy berry and plunking it down in a dessert. Now, if peanut butter and chocolate are a culinary “Bachelor”, cranberry and orange are the “Bachelorette.” Disclaimer: I don’t watch either show. However, this match of cranberry and orange just work so well together. I am all about being a resident of Massachusetts. We be the cranberry kings. Bring on the cranberries.

In my endeavor to make all of the biscotti, it was inevitable I would find this recipe and attempt it.

Now, in my defense and love of citrus…I did really amp up the orange zest. How does one end up with 1/4 a cup of zest? Easy. You buy a bag of clementines, your mom brings over more clementines, and then, you see Satsumas with their little green leaves at the grocery store and you just have to buy them. Citrus overload. I can’t say I am sorry. We eat a lot of citrus. I need my vitamin C. I work with small children. My teaching table is a Petri dish.

Well, if a clementine gets past it’s freshness it gets hard and almost field hockey ball like. But guess what? That zest is perfect. I also just bought a masticating cold press juicer (who knew this was a thing? it is). Enter more use for citrus but not it’s peel. Aha! Zesting has become pretty regular and normal around my kitchen.

This recipe combines easily and bakes in two stages. It keeps forever in an airtight container. Even though I don’t love white chocolate I think it adds just a little sweet and pretty on the finished cookie. I might make these again with white chocolate chips on the inside of the cookie; give the batter a bonus, and not dip them. Mix it up a bit. I might also make an orange glaze with citrus zest and confectioner’s sugar next time around.

I will be honest and say I do love these biscotti, they are one of the best cranberry orange cookies I have ever had.

If you are a New Englander, you need to make yourself these cookies because they embrace everything that our history holds, (cranberries were even at the first Thanksgiving, remember). If you aren’t a New Englander, you should grab yourself a bag of dried cranberries and try this recipe. I promise, you won’t be disappointed.

I hope you enjoy this recipe and as always, thank you for coming to the table!

Chrissy

Click below for a printable recipe.

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Cranberry Orange Biscotti

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This combination of cranberry and orange biscotti with a white chocolate dip makes for the perfect New England biscotti. Recipe adapted from www.yourhomebasedmom.com

Author: chrissy@mythankfultable.com

Ingredients

Scale

1/2 Cup Butter
6 ounce package of Dried Cranberries (I used Craisins)
3 Tablespoons Orange Juice
3/4 Cup Sugar
2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
2 Eggs
1/4 Cup Grated Orange Zest
2 1/2 Cup AP Flour
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
1 Cup White Chocolate Chips

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350*
Place dried cranberries in a bowl and add boiling water. Let sit for five minutes. Drain well and set aside.
In a mixer with a paddle attachment, combine butter and sugar and orange zest and mix until light and fluffy.
Add eggs, one at a time and incorporate.
Add Orange Juice, Baking Powder and Salt.
Add flour until mixed.
Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and shape into two 4″ x 8″ rectangles with softly rounded edges.
Place on parchment lined or silicone mat lined cookie sheet.
Bake for 25 minutes or until lightly golden brown.
Allow to cool for ten minutes.
Slice baked logs into one inch slices, on the diagonal, if you desire.
Return cookies to the cookie sheet sliced side up and continue to bake for an additional 25 minutes.
Allow cookies to cool.
Microwave white chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl, checking frequently to not scorch the white chocolate.
Dip each biscotti into the white chocolate (or drizzle on top) and allow to cool.

Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Biscotti and Happy Little Accidents

March 20, 2018 by chrissy@mythankfultable.com

Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Biscotti

My precious. Peanut Butter Biscotti dipped in melty semi-sweet morsels. You had me at hello. I don’t even love peanut butter and chocolate the way some people do, but this cookie holds a sweet spot (pun intended) in my heart.

This dough is a peanut butter based, and actually doesn’t even have regular butter in the dough. It uses and mix dark brown sugar and white sugar instead of all white, and calls for an extra egg than my regular batter calls for.

I have a small kitchen, but a very organized pantry. Baking ingredients live on two shelves, and my various pans and baking implements live together happily so this baker knows what she does and doesn’t have. So…when I added the chips to the mixer (which were supposed to be peanut butter chips) and realized as they were being incorporated that lo and behold they were butterscotch chips…well it was a happy little accident. The peanut butter chips live right next to the butterscotch chips. I grabbed the wrong bag.

I am sure had the chips been the peanut butter and not butterscotch the peanut flavor would be boosted above and beyond. It was not intentional, but the change of plan made for an amazing cookie. The peanut taste is there and the chocolate as well and the scotchy seemed to make the peanut butter almost taste peanut buttery-er. However, if you make these, you do you. Use the peanut butter chips.

If I baked these cookies a little longer after being sliced, they would crisp up nicely, but I chose to leave them slightly softer and chewier, a decision I do not regret. While there is a place in the world for the crisper crunchier biscotti, these cookies called for a bit of chew. Call me sentimental, but I like my peanut butter cookies chewier.

Whether you embrace my happy accident or go full on Peanut Butter, the way this biscotti dough cooks up, you will be so happy. The outside forms a perfect shell, with a hint of a crackle when you slice into it. Then, the inner portion of the cookie stays tender and soft (which does firm up with the second bake). I could have left them as they were without doing the second bake- but then it would not have been biscotti.

I love the way people light up when they realize I have made something peanut butter based. It really does have a following. This cookie will not disappoint. Even with the butterscotch chips- it is pretty darn near the perfect cookie. If I do say so myself.

I hope you enjoy this recipe, and as always, thank you for coming to the table!

Chrissy

Click below for a printable recipe.

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Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Biscotti and Happy Little Accidents

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This delicious peanut butter based biscotti incorporates the sweet mellow flavor of butterscotch chips and wrap up in a chocolate dip. The perfect accompaniment to tea or coffee.

Author: chrissy@mythankfultable.com

Ingredients

Scale

1 Cup Creamy Peanut Butter
1/2 Cup Dark Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup Sugar
3 Eggs
1/4 Cup Milk
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
3 Cups AP Flour
2 Cups Butterscotch Chips

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350*
In a mixer with a paddle attachment, combine peanut butter and sugars. Combine until light and fluffy.
Add eggs, one at a time, and incorporate.
Pour in milk, extract, and mix until combined.
Add dry ingredients, slowly, until all incorporated. Stop to scrape the sides of the bowl as you go.
Add chips into the mixture.
Separate the dough into three sections and form each into a softly rounded rectangle/log.
Place on a silicone or parchment lined cookie sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes or until firm and lightly golden.
Allow to cool for ten minutes.
Slice logs into one inch slices, and return to the baking sheet cut side up.
Return to oven and bake for an addition 10 minutes or until dry (I keep mine chewier).
Remove biscotti and allow to cool completely.
In a microwave safe bowl, melt semi sweet or dark chocolate chips (approx 1 -2 Cups)
Dip cookies into melted chocolate or drizzle on top of cookies.

Lemon Lemon Biscotti

March 16, 2018 by chrissy@mythankfultable.com

My recipe file is like my Apple iTunes playlist. A mix of classic rock and the new stuff, the stuff you wouldn’t play in front of your kids, the stuff my parents listened to when I was little, and all of the other genres I have collected along the way. I have said it before, “I am not defined by my playlist.” My recipes reflect that as well.

What can I say about lemon except, “I love you?” I love everything lemon from lemon in my water to lemon curd. Every juice I have cold pressed contains at least one lemon. My favorite pie growing up was lemon merengue. I have a taste sensor where I don’t want my lemon to be sweet, (that means no lemon filled donuts or Danish…) so a lemon cookie isn’t something I endeavor to make often, but here it is…a lemon biscotti that makes me literally swoon.

I know, the biscotti love. I just can’t help myself. I will keep at this biscotti game until I have exhausted it. My kids are over it already, my colleagues at work are not. So I will continue this journey.

Now the beauty of this cookie is that it combines lemon zest, lemon extract, lemon juice, lemon glaze, it delivers the lemon burst you are looking for when eating a lemon cookie. I can not express the disappointment I feel when I expect something to be lemon-y and it isn’t. It’s yellow, it has the lemon scent, but then you bite into it and, meh. Am I alone in this? I hope not.

Back to the biscotti. Yes, it is pale and golden but it combines the zest and juice with the buttery base and it is beautiful. I made a basic glaze with lemon and powdered sugar and life is good.

These biscotti will last in an air tight container for two weeks. I kid you not. They won’t be around that long, but they will last.

If I could put sunshine into a cookie this would be that cookie. Sweet and Tart, a combination of chew and crunch, and oh so lovely. This cookie deserves a spot in your spring baking list for sure.

I hope you enjoy this recipe, and as always, thank you for coming to the table!

Chrissy

Click below for a printable recipe.

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Lemon Lemon Biscotti

Print Recipe

Delicious lemon biscotti with a lemon glaze.

Author: chrissy@mythankfultable.com

Ingredients

Scale

1/2 Cup Butter
1 Cup White Granulated Sugar
2 Large Eggs
1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
2 Teaspoons Lemon Extract
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
2 Lemons, zested and juiced
2 Cups All Purpose Flour

Glaze:

1 Cup Powdered Sugar
2–3 Teaspoons Lemon Juice

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350*
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or silpat.
In a mixer with a paddle attachment, combine butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add eggs to mixture until incorporated.
Add Lemon extract and zest.
Add flour to mixture until a sticky dough comes together.
Transfer dough to cookie sheet, forming two logs.
Bake for 35 minutes at 350* until lightly golden.
Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes.
Slice on an angle into one inch slices.
Place sliced cookies slice side up on cookie sheet.
Reduce oven temperature to 300*
Bake for an additional 15-25 minutes or until cookies are firm to the touch.