Cookie Week: Easy Double Chocolate Cookies

This is the perfect cookie recipe for anyone who wants to bake homemade cookies but doesn't have a lot of time, because instead of measuring the cocoa, sugar, butter and vanilla, these chewy, fudgy, positively addictive cookies use brownie mix as the base. To make them extra Christmasy, sprinkle crushed candy cane on the tops before baking. It truly is one of the easiest cookie recipes you'll find.

Easy Double Chocolate Cookie
1 box of brownie mix (18.3 oz) 
⅓ cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 candy cane, crushed (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°. In a medium bowl, mix together brownie mix, eggs, and oil until well blended. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop rounded spoonfuls of dough on an ungreased cookie sheet, about two inches apart. If using candy cane, sprinkle crushed bits over the tops of cookie dough and lightly press them down into the dough, leaving them visible. Bake for 8 to 12 minutes. Enjoy!

photo by Angelica Golden

Cookie Week: Holiday Cookie Body Scrub

It's the most wonderful time of the year--time for warming up by the fire with mugs of hot chocolate, stepping out in our snuggliest sweaters and scarves, and spending time with the people who are most precious to us. It's also the time of year to do a little overindulging, especially in the sweets department. This moisturizing Holiday Cookie Body Scrub smells sweet, like vanilla and cinnamon, but you don't have to worry about any damage it might do to your hips or waistline--all it leaves behind is soft, glowy skin. 

Holiday Cookie Body Scrub
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup sweet almond oil (you can find it in health food stores or on Amazon)
2 tablespoons vanilla
2 tablespoons cinnamon

Mix all ingredients together until well blended. 

photo by Angelica Golden

Cookie Week: Snickerdoodles

To me, snickerdoodles are the quintessential holiday cookie. Cinnamon  is such a warm spice, and the smell of it baking in the oven fills the house with a cozy, cuddly, Christmasy feeling. These cookies are soft and chewy with just enough crispiness on the edges-- the perfect accompaniment for hot chocolate.

Snickerdoodles
1 cup shortening
1½ cups white sugar
2 eggs
2¾ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375°. In a medium bowl, cream together the shortening and 1½ cups white sugar, then stir in the eggs. Sift together the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt, then stir that into the creamed mixture until well combined. In a small bowl, mix together the 2 tablespoons of sugar with the cinnamon. Using a cookie scoop or a tablespoon to measure, roll cookie dough into balls, then roll the balls in the sugar-cinnamon to coat. Place the balls 2 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet, and bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until edges are slightly brown. Enjoy!

photo by Angelica Golden

Cookie Week: Rolled Sugar Cookies

Sugar cookies are a holiday season must. Rolled and cut into festive holiday shapes, then frosted or sprinkled with colored sugar, they can be as simple or as elegant as you want. I've found that keeping my rolling pin and work station covered in powdered sugar instead of flour yields the best sugar cookies imaginable. This recipe makes a lot of cookies, so there's plenty to give as gifts. 

Rolled Sugar Cookies
1½ cups butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
5 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
Royal icing* (optional)

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth, then beat in the eggs and vanilla. Mix in the flour, baking powder, and salt, then cover and chill for at least one hour. 

When you're ready to bake, preheat oven to 400°.  Sprinkle work station and rub rolling pin generously with confectioners' sugar and roll cookie dough out to ¼ to ½-inch thick. Use cookie cutters to make shapes then place th'
][=e 1 inch apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes, or until golden brown. Allow cookies to cool before frosting.

*Using royal icing instead of buttercream allows you to decorate cookies with more precision. You can create designs on your cookies by "painting" the icing on or simply piping from a pastry bag. It also acts as a glue for any sprinkles, jimmies, dragees, candies, or nonpareils you may want to use to decorate your cookies. To make royal icing, beat together 3 tablespoons of meringue powder (I found mine at Michael's), 4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar, and 6 tablespoons of water (and food coloring if you're using it) on low speed for 7 to 10 minutes.

photo by Angelica Golden



 

Cookie Week: Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

There is something extremely comforting about oatmeal cookies, all warm and chewy and fresh out of the oven. I've always been a fan, but since most people put raisins in them, I rarely eat them. To remedy that, I've started making them myself, and instead of raisins, I mix in two different kinds of chocolate chips for cookies that could blow any chocolate lovers' mind. Bonus, they're great with coffee!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar 
½ cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups quick cooking oats
1 cup chopped walnuts
(generous) ½ cup each semi-sweet and milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325°. In a large bowl, cream the softened butter and both sugars until smooth, then beat in the eggs, one at a time, and add the vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt, then stir that into the creamed mixture until just blended. Mix in the oats, walnuts, and chocolate chips.

Drop by the spoonful onto ungreased baking sheets and bake for 12 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes and enjoy!

photo by Angelica Golden