Mexican Chocolate Snow Caps

These delicious little bites were waiting for Hayley, Sloan, Stella and I when we arrived at big sister Meghan’s house – you can’t have just one!  She made them as peppermint, and they are fabulous.  Gluten free too!

 

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8 oz semi sweet chocolate, chopped

2 tbsp butter

1 1/4 cup ground almonds

1/4 tsp salt

2 large eggs (room temperature)

1/2 cup white sugar

1 tsp ancho chile powder 

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Sifted icing sugar to roll cookies

In a heatproof bowl (over pan of gently simmering water) melt chocolate and butter, stirring until smooth.  Remove from heat.  Stir in almonds and salt.

in a mixing bowl, whisk eggs and sugar until pale and thickened, about 2 minutes.  Add in chocolate mixture and spices.  Fold until well blended.  Cover and put in the fridge until very firm – about 3 hours.

Preheat oven to 350.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.  Form dough into 1 1/4″ balls.  Roll balls in icing sugar.  

Place 2″ apart on trays.  Bake until puffed, starting to crack on top and the edges are firm – about 12 minutes.

So easy to switch these up and make them into Peppermint Caps – substitute the chile powder and cinnamon for 1 tsp peppermint extract.

Peanut Butter Cookies

This is THE ONLY peanut butter cookie recipe you will ever need – deliciously addictive!  My good friend Jean gave me this family recipe, from her Aunt Grace, and we have always called them “Jean’s Aunt Grace’s PB Cookies” … 

Peanut Butter Cookies

1 cup butter (or margarine)

1 cup crunchy peanut butter

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

Beat butter, peanut butter and sugars until light, fluffy, creamy and smooth.  Add eggs, vanilla and beat until a little frothy.

In a separate bowl mix dry ingredients together.  

Combine dry ingredients with butter sugar mixture and incorporate – you may have to work the last bit with your hands until the batter is smooth and holding together.

Form small balls and place on cookie sheet. (I like to use parchment paper) Press a fork (dipped in flour) both ways on the cookie to create a cross pattern.

Bake at 350 for 10-16 minutes.

Sugar Cookies

This is the best sugar cookie recipe – our family has been making it for generations – many years of cookies being decorated for any occasion.  As the girls got older, the competitions heated up for making the most creative cookie.

Preheat oven to 375

3/4 cup butter

These little helpers are 32 and 30 years old now!

1 cup white sugar

2 beaten eggs

2 1/2 cups flour

2 tsp cream of tartar

1 tsp soda

pinch of salt

Cream butter well, adding sugar.  Beat until well incorporated then beat in eggs.  Whip until light and fluffy.

Sift dry ingedients together and add to butter mixture.  Knead well, adding flour until dough is soft and easy to work with.  Cover tightly with plastic wrap and put in fridge for one hour before rolling.

Emma and Allison always love it when they come to visit and get to help Auntie Kathy bake – decorating is the best part!

Roll out on lightly floured surface and using cookie cutters, cut out shapes.

Our family isn’t really crazy about icing, so we always decorate the cookies at this point with egg paint.

Bake at 375 for 10 minutes

Be careful not to get too much egg paint, or candies on the cookies – a light touch makes for better cookies, and more even baking. You can see the cookies here that just may have had a little too much decorating from the younger ones around the table!

EGG PAINT

Separate yolks and whites into separate bowls.  It doesn’t take much so you can make 2 colors out of each egg white, and 2 from each egg yolk.  Beat each bowl lightly with a fork, adding 1 tbsp of water to each.  Separate into small containers so you can make 4 different colors.  Using food coloring add until you get the color you like.  With the egg yolk make sure to choose a color that will work with yellow!    Using paint brushes, decorate the cookies while raw, then bake.

Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies

soft and chewy, these cookies are a sweet treat

Cold and rainy here today, so baking cookies filled the house with delicious smells!

Preheat oven to 350, grease baking sheet

1 1/4 cups butter                

2 cups brown sugar

1 cup white sugar

4 eggs

4 tsp vanilla

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

4 1/2 cups flour

1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

1 cup toffee bits (Skor type)

Beat together butter and sugar until well blended with electric hand mixer – beat in eggs until light and fluffy – add vanilla. Sift dry ingredients together (minus the chips and toffee).  Blend everything together well, then add chocolate chips and toffee bits.

Drop by teaspoons onto greased baking sheet – leaving about 1 inch between them as they do spread out.

Bake @ 350 for 10 minutes.

Ginger Snap Cookies

Ginger snap lovers are divided – soft and chewy or crispy???  Follow the baking instructions for our favourite, soft and chewy, but if you belong to those crispy ginger snap lovers use a wee bit more baking time …

Preheat oven to 325, grease baking sheet.

3/4 cup butter             

2 cups white sugar

2 well beaten eggs

1/2 cup molasses

2 tsp white vinegar

3 3/4 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

2-3 tsp ginger (depending on your love of ginger)

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp cloves

Cream the butter well with electric hand mixer, beat in sugar until fluffy, then add eggs and beat until mixture is light and creamy – add molasses and vinegar, blending well.

Different brands of molasses vary in color – darker the molasses – darker the cookie!

Sift dry ingredients together.

Mix your butter mixture together with flour mixture – nothing like using your (well washed) hands to get in there and make sure it is well blended.

Form 3/4 in balls.  Press down gently in sugar.  Turn sugared side up on greased baking sheet.  Bake at 325 for 12 minutes for soft and chewy, a couple minutes more for crunchy.

Yield: about 100 small cookies – but go ahead and make them whatever size you like!

These cookies were sold for years during Fulton High School  basketball tournaments, and returning out of town teams always asked for them!