Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

Oh my.

Reese's.
Inside of.
A (mini, mind you) peanut butter cookie.
Does it really get much better than that?


These adorable snacks are fun to make and will be a huge hit if you're looking for a crowd pleasing dish to bring to any event. Chocolate and peanut butter make such a perfect combination for most any dessert, and these goodies are no exception.

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies (makes 40)
original recipe here 

1 3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
2 Tbsp. milk
40 mini Reese's peanut butter cups (1 bag)

     1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Unwrap every

     Single

 peanut butter cup.

I'm being slightly dramatic here, it doesn't take that long :)

     Place the cups on a plate and put them in the freezer while you make and cook the dough to prevent too much melting when you add them to the cookies.

     2.Sift together flour, salt, and baking soda in a medium bowl and set aside.
     3. Cream together butter, both sugars, and peanut butter in another large bowl. Add in the egg, followed by vanilla and milk.
     4.Add in the flour mixture and mix well.
     5. Shape into 40 balls (about a tablespoon each) and place each into an ungreased mini muffin pan.

     6. Bake for 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and immediately press a peanut butter cup into each cookie.

      7. Wait about 10 minutes until the cookies are cool enough to handle, and use a knife to carefully remove each cookie from the pan and transfer to a cooling rack

 Lastly, let me just say that these are my new favorite.  I  polished off about a quarter of the batch...in one day...

Spiced Molasses Cookies

These seasonal cookies are super easy to make and have that perfect holiday mix of warm spicy flavors.

Christmas this year was...quite hectic. Between the rush of last minute shoppers at work (which is a terrifying amount at a candy store...), finals at school, and my own shameful last minute shopping, I didn't quite have the energy or the time to make the more elaborate desserts that I prefer to for special occasions. So I stuck with cookies.You can whip these up in no time at all, and they make quite a few. Double yay!

Molasses Cookies (makes about 35)
 original recipe from Martha Stewart

2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
1 egg
1/4 cup molasses

     1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. In a shallow bowl or small plate, place 1/2 cup sugar with 1 tsp. cinnamon (combined) and set aside.
     2. Beat together butter and remaining cup of sugar.
     3. Beat in egg and molasses until well mixed.
     4. Mix in dry ingredients until dough forms.
     5. Using a tablespoon or cookie scoop, roll dough into balls. Roll balls into sugar to coat them.

     6. Arrange about 3 inches apart (they spread quite a bit). Bake one sheet at a time so that they crackle nicely for 13-15 minutes.

     7. Transfer to cooling racks and store in airtight container.

 These cookies go wonderfully with a glass of milk for a late night snack or with your morning cup of coffee.

Along with the Christmas dessert tray :)

Molasses Cookies with Ginger Cream Cheese Frosting

For this Thanksgiving, I chose to present traditional Autumn flavors in a not-so-traditional package. These rich, fluffy sandwich cookies are a delicious balance of exactly what I was looking for as one last ode to Fall and all its yummy spices.

Molasses Cookies (makes about 12-16 sandwiches)
(recipe from Pastry Affair)

1/2 cup packed brown sugar
4 Tbsp. butter
2 eggs
1/3 cup molasses
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
2 cups all-purpose flour

     1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
     2. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
     3.Add in eggs, one at a time, mixing each one thoroughly.
     4. Mix in molasses,cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt until evenly incorporated.
     5. In another bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Add this mixture to the molasses mixture in 2-3 additions, mixing well in between.

     6. Drop about an inch apart onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper using wither a small sppon or an ice cream scoop. .
     7. Bake for 8-12 minutes, until cookies spring back when lightly touched.

     8. Transfer to wire rack to cool.
     9. Sprinkle powdered sugar on the tops of half of the cookies (these will be the tops)

Ginger Cream Cheese Filling 

3 ounces (1/3 of an 8 oz. package) cream cheese, room temperature
4 Tbsp. butter, room temperature
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

     1. In a medium mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Mix in ginger, cinnamon, and salt. Gradually add powdered sugar until smooth.
     2. After cookies have cooled, using a piping bag fitted with a large tip, pipe frosting on the bottoms of half the cookies.

     3. Press the other cookies on top to make sandwiches.

     4. Store in an airtight container.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Lollipop Cookies

I originally made these cookies for Halloween, but simply using a different color palette can make these perfect for most any occasion. They're super adorable and fun to make.

As a general rule, if I have the option to make something miniaturized, I will. Yet with these I took the attitude of 'go big or go home!'. If you don't already have Popsicle sticks laying around, when you buy them you'll notice that you have multiple sizes to choose from, so keep in mind if you want monster lollipops or mini lollipops.

Lollipop Cookies (makes about 24 large cookies) 
Original Recipe from Martha Stewart

2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
Colored sanding sugar/sprinkles of your choice
24 wooden Popsicle sticks

     1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt and baking powder. Set aside.
     2. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy with an electric mixer.
     3. Add egg and vanilla. Beat until combined.
     4. Add flour mixture with mixer on low; until just combined.
     5. Place each color of sprinkles in a separate shallow bowl or small plate.

 Roll dough into balls, about 1 Tbsp. in size (or smaller if you're making minis. It might take the first  batch to judge how big they will end up, they do spread a bit.)

           

 Roll in sprinkles, coating completely.

          
     6. Insert a wooden stick into the center of each and place on baking sheets with sticks lying horizontally, about 2 inches apart.
     7. Lightly press down on each cookie with the flat bottom of a glass.

     8. Bake 20-25 minutes.
     9. Transfer to wire rack to cool. 

I love these cookies because of the freedom for theme that you can have with them. I plan on making these again, and possibly skipping the sprinkles altogether and decorating with frosting post-baking.
We shall see!

As a side note, just in case you were wondering:

No. The sticks do not catch on fire in the oven. All is well!

Pumpkin Doughnut Muffins

I am quite fond of doughnuts.

I am also quite fond of muffins.

I am very fond of having leftover ingredients that I don't typically have around the house as an excuse to find new recipes.

Sometimes everything just falls into place.

Let me just say that cinnamon is definitely in my top five of favorite flavors. If it will fit in a recipe that doesn't include it, I'll add some in. And double it in any recipe in which it already exists. I have a problem...

These light snacks are rolled in a cinnamon sugar coating, giving them the feel of a doughnut, yet in every other aspect are very much traditionally yummy muffins. They accompany your morning cup of coffee perfectly :) 

Pumpkin Doughnut Muffins (ever so slightly adapted from Martha Stewart )

10 Tbsp. unsalted butter, room temperature
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. coarse salt
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup buttermilk
1 1/4 cups pure pumpkin puree
3/4 cup light brown sugar
2 eggs

Cinnamon-Sugar Coating
3/4 cup sugar
3 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted


     1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour (or use pan spray if you prefer) 18 muffin cups.
     2.In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice, and cinnamon. Set aside.
     3. In a small bowl, whisk together buttermilk and pumpkin.
     4. In a large bowl, beat butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, scraping down bowl in between.
     5. Add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the pumpkin mixture and mix well.
     6. Spoon batter to fill 3/4 of each muffin cup.
     7. Bake for 30 mins.
     8. While they are cooking, combine sugar and cinnamon in a wide bowl and melt butter in a small dish.
     9. Let muffins cool enough to handle, and using one at a time, brush with melted butter then roll in cinnamon-sugar mixture. Let cool completely on wire rack.

Fresh out of the oven!

Try to use a wide bowl for the coating, it'll be easier to roll them around. 

Coated and un-coated.

Tower of muffins!

The coating is what makes these so good :)

Pumkin Cookies with Caramel Frosting

These adorable little cookies are a perfectly simple, and delicious treat to capture the essence of essential Autumn flavors. These are a go-to recipe for me anytime I'm craving a tiny taste of Fall. And it doesn't hurt that they make your kitchen smell wonderful!

 Pumpkin Cookies (makes about 3 dozen)

1 cup vegetable shortening
1 cup sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin
2 cups flour
1 Tbsp. cinnamon (or 2, if you're like me and think everything needs extra cinnamon)
1 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix shortening, sugar, and pumpkin with an electric mixer in a large mixing bowl. Set aside. 
2. Mix flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and baking soda in a medium mixing bowl.  
3. Blend the 2 mixtures, in 2 or 3 additions, mixing well in between. 
4. Drop by spoonful or using a cookie scoop onto ungreased cookie sheet.

       5.Bake for 12-15 minutes.
       6.Transfer to wire rack to cool and prepare frosting. 

Caramel Frosting

4.5 Tbsp. butter (plus more to maintain consistency)
2 Tbsp. milk
3/4 cups brown sugar
2 cups powdered sugar (plus more to maintain consistency)
1 tsp. vanilla

1. Melt butter in small saucepan.
2. Add milk and brown sugar until sugar is dissolved.
3. Add powdered sugar and vanilla.
4. Mix until thick and creamy.
5. Add more powdered sugar if necessary to make spreadable, if too thick, add more butter.            

 ***Although delicious, I find this frosting to be a little tricky to deal with. I find it easiest to keep the pan on a low heat and add the frosting to the cookies directly from the saucepan. It hardens rather quickly and will become too flaky to spread, no matter how much you fiddle with it, if you let it cool down.                            

Halloween Graveyard Cupcakes

Let me just say that Halloween is my favorite holiday. And by favorite, I don't mean that it necessarily means more to me, but I take the most delight in it. The endless possibilities for creativity with both costumes and decorations, the smell of Autumn in the air, the crunch of brilliantly colored leaves under your feet; everything about it makes me content yet enthused. It comes as no surprise, then, that I love making Halloween treats!

I have an easy and fun way to present your favorite cupcake recipe with this spooky theme that you'll definitely enjoy making.

Things you'll need:
Your favorite cupcake recipe (cupcakes made, cooled, and ready to be frosted)
Green food/icing coloring
Black food/icing coloring
Halloween themed paper liners
Wilton #233 or #234 decorating tip
Dark chocolate, melted (or more black frosting, whichever you prefer to decorate with)
Tombstones (there are a few different options for you here that I'll go over)

Divide prepared frosting into two bowls. Using food/icing coloring, make one bowl black and the other green (you can play around and find what shade you like best here, but keep in mind that you can always go darker, but can never go lighter)

It's very hard to get true "black" with food coloring.

Spread black frosting onto cupcakes for "mud". 

Using a decorating bag equipped with the 233 or 234 decorating tip and filled with your green frosting, pipe "grass" onto your newly "muddy" cupcakes by piping frosting out straight down  and pulling straight up, letting the frosting fall away from the tip (be gentle here; once you get the hang of it, you can decide what look you're aiming towards). You may have to play around with your recipe to make sure it is thick enough to hold this shape (such as adding more powdered sugar). You can keep clusters of grass very close together, so that no "mud" shows through, or you can aim for a more haggard graveyard look and let some "mud" show through.

Left: Fully covered, Right: Sporadically covered

To make the tombstones, you have a few options. You can do what I did here : pipe tombstone shapes using dark chocolate onto parchment paper, harden them in the fridge, and peel them off. Or, what I did with these cupcakes : prepare sugar cookie recipe of your choice ( I was short on time, so I was forced to buy pre made slice and bake dough) and cut out tombstone shapes and bake normally.
Using dark chocolate or leftover black frosting, decorate tombstones with lines, messages, skulls; anything you want. You can even search for ideas online of what to add.

Then, using a sharp knife, cut a slit in the top of each cupcake, and place tombstone into the cupcake.