Win a Copy of the Everything Cookies and Browies Cookbook (& Bonus Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe)

• Full disclosure: Marye Audet  sent me a copy of her cookbook to review
• Full disclosure 2: Marye Audet is a good friend of mine.
• Full disclosure 3: I would have bought this book anyway because Marye’s recipes rock.

I have in my hot little hands, Marye Audet’s new “Everything Cookes and Brownies” cookbook. While I hesitate to call it the cookie Bible, it comes close. This is no mere recipe book. Included are tips, tricks and hints for bakers of all levels.  And the recipes? They rock hard.

Yesterday my son and I whipped up a batch of Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies. I picked these cookies because I’m not a fan of almond extract flavoring. I figured it Marye’s recipe could produce a cookie that wasn’t overpowered by phony almond, the book would be a winner.

I’m happy to report that the cookies were delicious and not too almondy extract-y at all. In fact, they didn’t last. They were simple to make, perfect for a 7 year old and his mom on a rainy day.

Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients – Yields 48 Cookies

• 1/3 cup peanut oil
• 1/3 cup unsalted buter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup chopped almonds
• 1 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup dried cherries

Instructions.

1. Preheat oven to 375. Lightly grease cookie pans.
2. Cream together oil, butter, egg, sugars, almond extract and vanilla
3. Stir together dry ingredients, beat into butter mixture
4. Fold in nuts, chips and cherries
5. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls on prepared baking sheets. Bake 10 – 12 minutes. Cool slightly before removing from the pan.

Think you’d like to try this recipe and others? Here’s your chance to win Marye Audet’s “Everything Cookies and Brownies” Cookbook. Simply tell us your top 3 reasons to send you the cookbook. One word comments or comments that indicate you haven’t read this post at all won’t be included.

Contest ends Sunday, November 1st.

Tweet This Post Plurk This Post Buzz This Post Delicious Digg This Post Ping This Post Reddit Stumble This Post

Apple Pie Spice Oatmeal Cookies

Here’s the recipe without all the talk!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 cup butter
• 1 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tbs apple pie spice
• 2 1/2 cups oatmeal

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift together flour and baking soda and set aside. Cream butter and brown sugar until smooth. Beat into creamed mixture the eggs, vanilla and apple pie spice.  On low speed add the flour mixture.  Stir in the oats. On lightly greased cookie sheet drop 1/4 cup of batter per cookie.  Gently press the dough down so it’s not a rounded ball (I left mine kind of ball like).  Bake 14 minutes or until firm lightly browned.  YUM!!

Tweet This Post Plurk This Post Buzz This Post Delicious Digg This Post Ping This Post Reddit Stumble This Post

Fruit Pizza

This week we had our track awards picnic.  We needed something easy to make, but also easy to handle.  From previous experience, I knew there might not be plates or plastic ware to eat with. The coach doesn’t assign, just says bring something.  The coaches provide pizza.  My son received  an award  for each of the records his relay teams were responsible for setting.  He also received the Coaches Award.  he didn’t have the most points, but he was up there and also worked hard at every practice and showed up for every meet.  He  was one of the four kids on the team to go to Regionals.  Anyway, we made this quick and easy treat – my son started it, and my daughter and I helped to slice and throw the fruit on before we left. 

Ingredients:

• 2 packages of sugar cookie dough
• 1 package cream cheese
• 1/2 cup marshmallow fluff
• Kiwi
• Strawberries
• Pineapple
• Red Raspberries

Directions:

Spread the cookie dough out on a baking sheet and bake at 350 until almost done.  A little soft is good.  My son made it darker than I wanted it, but it still worked out.  With a beater, mix the cream cheese and marshmallow fluff together.  Cool the cookie in the pan.  Spread the mixture on top, slice fruit and lay on top of the cream cheese mixture.  Slice.  We didn’t overload it with fruit, like we would normally since it needed to be clean finger food. 

 

I used my Mario Batalli Pizza Cutter to slice it into the right size.  It’s great for cookie bars as well as pizza.

This would make a great side dish for a graduation or birthday party, it went quickly.

Tweet This Post Plurk This Post Buzz This Post Delicious Digg This Post Ping This Post Reddit Stumble This Post

Let the holiday baking begin!

 

While I love complicated and time consuming recipes as much as the next person, at this time of the year I whip out my collection of super easy holiday cookies.  I had seen the Pioneer Woman’s two step recipe for candy cookies a while back and immediately bookmarked it, knowing it would fit perfectly into my repretoire.  Basically it goes like this:

Step One: open refrigerated premade dough of cookie of your choice and bake in chunks in a mini muffin pan

Step Two:  insert candy of your choice

Optional Holiday Step Three: add red or green sprinkles!

I used brownie dough and Hershey’s chocolate caramel kisses.  Pioneer Woman advises to insert candy into the dough immediately upon removal from the oven, but I found that giving the cookies about 10 minutes to cool kept the candy from melting into oblivion.  Refridgerating the candy helped as well.

These came out so good I have a feeling they will mysteriously disappear before the Christmas party!

Tweet This Post Plurk This Post Buzz This Post Delicious Digg This Post Ping This Post Reddit Stumble This Post

Holiday Recipes from Earth Balance

Earth Balance sent us some recipes to use for our holiday gatherings. Earth Balance® is the perfect replacement to traditional alternatives in favorite recipes this holiday season. Made with a proprietary blend of expeller-pressed oils shown to raise good (HDL) cholesterol and lower bad (LDL), all of Earth Balance®’s spreads are a good source of important Omega 3s. Available in both tub and stick forms, Earth Balance® Natural Spreads are non-GMO, and are free of gluten, trans fats, hydrogenated oils, and artificial ingredients of any kind.

Gingerbread Cookies
Most associated with gingerbread men, these delicious cookies cry out to be shaped into handsome little people wearing button-down coats. If that’s not your style, simply shape into round circles.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups (375g) unbleached all purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 cup (112g) Earth Balance® Natural Buttery Spread Original flavor in Tub form, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Ener-G Egg replacer powder (equivalent of one egg)
• 2/3 cup (225g) unsulphured molasses

Baking Instructions:

IN A BOWL, sift or whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Set aside. In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with an electric hand mixer) beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 3- 4 minutes. Add the egg replacer powder and molasses and beat for another minute. Finally, add the flour mixture and beat
until you have a smooth dough. Add a little more water-1-2 tablespoons (13-30ml)- as needed to get the right consistency. Divide the dough in half and wrap each half in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least one hour or overnight. When you are ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C, or gas mark 4). Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove one-half of the chilled dough from the refrigerator and, on a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a thickness of ¼ inch (6mm). Keep turning the dough as you roll, making sure the dough does not stick to the counter. If the dough gets too warm (from handling it), making it hard for the cut out cookies to keep their shape, simply refrigerate it again for about 10 minutes. Cut out the cookies using cookie cutters and transfer to the prepared baking sheets. Bake for 10-15 minutes (depending on size), or until they begin to brown around the edges. Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling. Yield: 3 dozen cookies

Serving Suggestions and Variations:
*Frost with icing, if desired. Store frosted cookies between layers of parchment paper or waked paper.
Recipe provided by :Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, Founder & Director of Compassionate Cooks

Cranberry Nut Bread
While this is the perfect fall/winter/holiday treat, it can be made any time of the year, particularly if you freeze fresh cranberries when they’re in season. Though you can certainly serve this bread right away, it’s even better a day or two later when the flavors have had time to mingle.

Read more

Tweet This Post Plurk This Post Buzz This Post Delicious Digg This Post Ping This Post Reddit Stumble This Post

Which is Better? Depends on Your Mother. Kate’s Pure Butter & Smart Balance Butter Blend

My mother came to visit.  My son asked if she wanted butter for her toast.  She said,"No one should eat butter, it’s bad for your cholesterol."  My mother in law came to a family function.  Her son(not my husband) was about to pick up the butter blend and she shoved real butter under his nose and said,"We prefer the real butter for our bread." GAH! Neither of them is really ever at the same table with the other, so they aren’t confronting each other, they are just both opinionated when it comes to butter.  I have both in my refrigerator.  I use them both equally or maybe not – you can’t make butter cookies without real butter. However, I do use them both when I feel the need. So which is better? Depends on which mother is visiting.

Read more

Tweet This Post Plurk This Post Buzz This Post Delicious Digg This Post Ping This Post Reddit Stumble This Post