since we’ve been back in california, i’ve made dozens and dozens of delicious cookies! but i didn’t get it together to take pics of all of them. so i’m sharing just three cookie recipes (even though lots of the pics were taken with the iPhone, and thus a little blurry): chocolate raspberry tarts, nutella cookies, and soft ginger cookies.
first, chocolate raspberry tarts! although there are a lot of little steps, these delicious little desserts are super easy to make. and super easy to eat a ton of…mmmm!
chocolate raspberry tarts
yields 48 tarts
- crust
- 2c all purpose flour
- 2T unsweetened cocoa powder
- 6T powdered sugar
- 2/3c firm butter
- 2 egg yolks
- 4t hot water
- 1t vanilla
- chocolate filling
- 8oz semisweet chocolate chips
- 4T sugar
- 4T butter
- 1/2c heavy whipping cream
- 1/2t vanilla
- the rest of the filling
- 1/2c seedless raspberry jam
- 1/2c heavy whipping cream, whipped into cream (plus some extra powdered sugar and vanilla to flavor it)
- 48 raspberries
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- preheat the oven to 350º
- crust: combine the flour, cocoa powder, and powdered sugar
- cut in the butter
- combine the egg yolks, hot water, and vanilla, whisking to combine
- add the liquid to the pie crust and stir to combine
- roll out the dough and use a cookie cutter to cut out 48 x 2″ circles and place into mini muffin tins OR press dough into mini muffin pans
- bake for 10-15 minutes, or until lightly browned and firm to the touch
- allow to cool in pans, then remove
- chocolate filling: over low heat, combine the chocolate chips, sugar, and butter in a pan
- add the heavy whipping cream, whisking to combine until hot
- remove from the heat, add the vanilla, and allow to cool to room temp
- final prep: place 1/8t jam in the bottom of each tart
- cover with 1/4t chocolate filling
- place a little whipped cream on top of the chocolate
- top with one raspberry and serve
one year ago: buckeye cookies
two years ago: persimmon spice bread
three years ago: latkes and applesauce
second, nutella cookies! i found this recipe in vegetarian times and knew i wanted to make it for a cookie exchange last week. instead of shaping the dough into a log and then cutting circle cookies, baking and placing a dab of nutella on top along with a whole hazelnut (as the original recipe recommended), we used some new star wars cookie cutters, smeared nutella over the whole cookie, and crumbled hazelnuts on top. they were absolutely scrumptious!
nutella cookies
yields 36 cookies
borrowed from vegetarian times, december 2011
- 1¾c all purpose flour
- 1/4c unsweetened cocoa
- 1/2t baking soda
- 1/4t salt
- 1c nutella, plus some extra for frosting cookies
- 1 stick of butter (1/2c), softened
- 3/4c brown sugar
- 1 egg
- wax paper or saran wrap
- 36 whole hazelnuts, optional
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- sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder, soda, and salt into a bowl
- in a separate bowl, beat the butter and nutella with an electric mixer until smooth
- add the brown sugar and egg, beating to combine
- next, add the flour mixture and beat until the dough comes together
- place the dough on wax paper or plastic wrap and form a log that’s 2″ in diameter
- wrap the log completely and chill 2 hours or overnight
- preheat the oven to 350º
- either slice the dough log into 1/4″ thick slices, or roll out with a rolling pin to 1/4″ and use cookie cutters to cut out cookies
- bake on an ungreased baking sheet and bake for 9-11 minutes, until fairly firm
- let the cookies sit on the sheet for a minute or two, then place on a wire rack to cool
- frost with a dab of nutella and 1 hazelnut if desired
and finally, soft ginger cookies. my sister’s been making these for years, and i’m really excited that i finally have the recipe! don’t let the shoddy iPhone pics fool you – these cookies are perfect, with a crunchy edge and a nice soft inside. YUM!
soft ginger cookies
yields 24 cookies
borrowed from the mccormicks, via my sister
- 2¼c all purpose flour
- 2t ground ginger
- 1t baking soda
- 3/4t ground cinnamon
- 1/2t cloves
- 1/4t salt
- 3/4c butter, softened
- 1c sugar, plus more to roll the cookies in
- 1 egg
- 1/4c molasses
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- preheat the oven to 350º
- combine the flour, ginger, soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt in a bowl
- in a separate bowl, cream the butter, adding the sugar gradually
- add the egg and molasses, beating well
- stir in the flour mixture
- shape the dough into 1½” balls, then roll them in the extra sugar to cover completely
- place the balls onto an ungreased sheet and bake for 10 minutes, until slightly flat and cracked
- transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool
