Christmas Cookie Selection

I almost didn't bake any cookies this year. It seems like everyone is watching what they eat so I didn't want to make cookies that no one will eat.

I was going to just make the 2 favorites, peanut blossoms and mint chocolate chip. Then I decided to make some not-so-traditional cookies for Christmas. 

Here are the ones that made the cut. 

1. Candy cane Hershey's Kiss sugar cookie bars
2. Gingerbread chocolate chip cookies
3. Ricotta cheese cookies
4. Mint chocolate chip cookies
5. Peanut butter blossoms
6. Oreo cream cheese cookies

This cookie is in a separate photo because I forgot it :(

~Enjoy

Michelle

Oreo Cream Cheese Christmas Cookies

I decided to make some different Christmas cookies this year. Aside from the 1 batch that my husband and children love, the Peanut Blossom, I took a different route. No thumbprints, or mexican wedding cakes or cut-out cookies found here. 

I found some great ideas surfing the web. ENJOY

Here is a recipe from my unconventional Christmas cookies 2013.

I used the holiday Oreo cookies in this recipe  so they would have a red, Christmas-y look. They turned out so soft and really delicious. Cream cheese in cookies is a great idea. 

original recipe found here

Ingredients

1 box white cake mix

1 stick butter, melted

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 cup Oreo cookie chunks

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips 

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350F. 

Combine the cake mix, melted butter, egg and vanilla. Beat until a soft dough forms. Add the cream cheese and beat until combined. 

Stir in the chocolate chips and then gently mix in the Oreo cookie chunks. Refrigerate dough for at least 30 minutes.

Scoop onto a cookie sheet and bake for 9-11 minutes. The cookies will be very soft. Let them sit on the cookie sheet for about 2 minutes. Then transfer to wire rack to cool.

~Michelle

Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies

I'm ALWAYS searching for recipes, especially desserts. I use cook books, magazines, the internet and family. I really think that so many dessert recipes are just different combinations of the same ingredients. I found an interesting recipe on Pinterest and while I was looking it over I decided to click back to see where the recipe came from...


It all started with this recipe that I saw on Pinterest. for Salted chocolate bark, which I have not made.
I saw on the bottom of the page "you might like this" and that is where I saw the recipe for cream cheese chocolate chip cookies. here.
Then I saw where that recipe came from and that was here.
Then I saw where that recipe came from and that was here.
Then I saw where that recipe came from and that was here.

The cookies are really wonderful. They are soft and thick and have just the right amount of chocolate in every bite. The recipe is also egg free. I was thinking of tossing in at least one egg, but the recipe doesn't even need it. Great for egg allergies. 

Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

6 ounces cream cheese, softened
12 Tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups plus 3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet and milk chocolate chips combined

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325F. and line baking sheets with parchment. In a large mixing bowl or bowl of stand mixer, cream together the cream cheese, melted butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Mix in the vanilla. Add the dry ingredients and mix until mostly combined and no dry streaks remain.

Scoop or roll dough into 1 to 1 1/2-inch balls and place about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake the cookies for 12-16 minutes until the edges are just barely golden brown. Let the cookies cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Makes about 3 dozen.

(the original recipe calls for you to just flatten the cookies slightly with the palm of your hand, do not flatten it all the way.) I did not do that this time and the cookies came out just fine. You can find the recipe that I followed here.

Happy Baking
~Michelle

Celebrate with Chocolate-Almond Cheesecake Bites

It has been 1 year since my first post on this blog. I really didn't know what to expect and I really wasn't a consistent poster. I like to explore other blogs and see what everyone is baking and crafting.

I'm really enjoying the blogging experience very much. I love baking and making jewelry, so out of that I decided to share my adventures on the net. I will try very hard to post more during the second year. I'm sure when summer comes there will be fewer posts. Although, we love to have people over to our lake house which always calls for baking.

Let's Celebrate my first year of blogging with some cheesecake.

Here is another simply wonderful recipe. I always like to bring sweets with me to partys and gatherings. Bites are wonderful to take and serve at partys because there is no cutting and guests can just grab and go. This recipe takes a little work but it turns out very impressive. This recipe if from the 2007 edition of the Betty Crocker - Indulgent Desserts. I didn't get a chance to bake these this week so here is a scan of the book that the recipe is from and that picture is the cheesecakes.

The recipe calls for Oreo cookies crushed up. I used to be able to find Oreo Crumbs at the grocery store, as I have stated in another blog post. So I had to buy some Oreo cookies and grind them up. I keep them on hand so I can use them for desserts. This is a great recipe that everyone finds irresistible.

Chocolate-Almond Cheesecake Bites

Crust
Chocolate-Almond Cheesecake Bites Crust 16 Oreo cookies, ground - 1 cup
1/4 cup butter or margarine melted FiFillinglling FinllingjasdjlasndfasjklfasklfjasdlfFr

Filling
1 package (8oz) cream cheese (softened)
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Coating
Coating 2 1/3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 tablespoons shortening
2 oz candy coating/disc melts 1 teaspoon vegetable oil Directions DRdd
Directions

1. Heat oven to 350F. Cut a 14"x12" sheet of heavy-duty foil; line 8-inch square pan with foil so foil extends over sides of pan. Spray foil with cooking spray. In small bowl, mix cookie crumbs and butter. Press in bottom of pan.


2. In large bowl, beat cream cheese, sour cream and sugar with electric mixer until fluffy. Beat in egg and almond extract, scraping the bowl if necessary. Pour over crust.


3. Bake 30-40 minutes or until edges are set.(center will be soft but will set when cool.) Cool on cooling rack 1 hour. cover and refrigerate 1 hour. Meanwhile, cover 2 cookie sheets with wax paper.


4. Remove cheesecake from pan by lifting foil. Cut into 8 rows by 6 rows, making 48 oblong cheesecake bites. In 1-quart microwave bowl, microwave chocolate chips and shortening uncovered on medium (50%) for 3 minutes. Stir, microwave in 15-second increments, stirring after each, until melted and smooth.


5. Work with half of the bites at a time (24): refrigerate other half until needed. Place 1 bite on fork and dip fork into chocolate to coat. Lift fork from chocolate and allow excess to drip off. Place on 1 wax paper-lined cookie sheet. Repeat with the rest of the bites. Chill for about 15 minutes.


6. In small microwaveable bowl, microwave candy coating and oil uncovered on High 1 minute. Stir, microwave in 15-minute increments, stirring after each until melted. Spoon into small resealable food-storage plastic bag. Seal bag; cut tiny hole in the corner of bag. Pipe melted coating over dipped bites . Store covered in refrigerator.
   
   ~Michelle

Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

I was in the mood to bake today after visiting my son's new school. Why did that put me in the mood, who knows. (I have been searching the web for recipes and that probably was the reason I wanted to bake.) He is going into the 4th grade in September and will change schools. I remember when I was sending him off to Kindergarten and when the bus came he seemed so sad, so scared. He just looked at me with these big puppy dog brown eyes. Those eyes were saying, "What are you doing to me?". I have to get on this bus with a bunch of kids that I don't even know?

Well, he loves school and the new building is really amazing. It's a 4-5-6 building with 2 gyms, a pool and music lessons. It has just under 1500 kids spread over the 3 grades and is a very big school. The greatest thing is that it is still an elementary school and it definitely feels like a great transition place for middle school. We had a great tour today with the principal and look forward to taking my son there next week to check it out.

OK, back to the baking. I baked Cream Cheese-Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies. I used the recipe from BakingBites. She is right they make very large cookies. They baked up to be around 4" wide. As I have said before, not exactly good for the Weight Watchers diet.

The cookies were easy to mix up but not so easy to fill. The dough was hard to wrap around the cream cheese and white chocolate filling. When they baked up the filling thankfully stayed inside the cookie, so that was good. The cookies are soft in the middle and crisp on the edges. The filling really does give it that little something extra.

I brought some in for a few co-workers; I found that the cookies do not travel as well as smaller cookies. I think that the filling makes it a little too soft to hold up in baggies. My work friends just LOVED the cookies... "tastes like Christmas then chocolate and then yummmm cheesecake"... and the cookies also received to thumbs up from someone else.

I love to bring baked goods into work for everyone to enjoy:)

Give these cookies a try you will not be sorry they are delicious.

~Michelle