Boston Cream Pie Cookies

Boston Cream Pie is one of my favorite desserts!!  I LOVE the cream filling in the center; and when you pair that with cake and chocolate... What could be better??? So, when I came across this recipe, I had to try it!! Read through the page, and at the bottom you will find my critique of this recipe! Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Cream filling:
6 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch                          

1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup of milk
6 Tablespoons heavy whipping cream
1 egg yolk, beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Cookies:
9 Tablespoons butter, softened
1 cup of sugar
2 Egg yolks
1 Egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1 Cup + 2 Tablespoons cake flour
1 Cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 Cup + 2 Tablespoons buttermilk                                                          

Glaze:
2 Ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
4 teaspoons butter
1/2 Cup whipping cream
1 Cup confectioner's sugar (powdered sugar)

Directions:

(Cream filling)
1. In a small heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch and salt. Stir in milk and cream until smooth. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat to low; cook and stir 2 minutes longer.
2. Remove from the heat. Stir a small amount of hot mixture into egg yolk; return all to the pan, stirring constantly. Bring to a gentle boil; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Remove from the heat. Stir in vanilla. Cool for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer to a small bowl. Press waxed paper onto surface of custard. Refrigerate for 2-3 hours.

(Cookies)
1. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolks, egg, vanilla and lemon peel. Combine the cake flour, all-purpose flour, baking soda and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk and mix well.
2. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 in. apart onto greased baking sheets.

3. Bake at 400° for 5-7 minutes or until firm to the touch. Remove to wire racks to cool completely.

(Assembly and Chocolate Glaze)
1. Spread custard over the bottoms of half of the cookies; top with remaining cookies.
2. For glaze, place chocolate and butter in a small bowl. In a small saucepan, bring cream just to a boil. Pour over chocolate and butter; whisk until smooth. Stir in confectioners' sugar. Spread over cookies; let dry completely. Store in the refrigerator. Yield: 4 dozen.

So, after making these cookies, I had to try one! They were delicious!! Although the process was long (about 3 hours total, including waiting time), they were good!! The only thing I did not like about them was that there was not a lot of cream.  When assembling these cookies, I found it hard to add a lot of cream without them toppling over.  The good thing about an actual Boston Cream Pie, is that you can add as much or as little cream as you prefer.  

It was a little difficult at first getting a hang of the sizing on these cookies when placing the dough on the cookie sheet.  The dough was very sticky and hard to handle, but that is because the cookies are more of a cake-like texture.

I would definitely make these cookies again, but I would maybe tweak the style or assembly of them somehow.  Overall - 4 out of 5 stars!

*Note: I did not use "cake flour" in this recipe, as it calls for; I just used regular all-purpose flour - and they came out fine.

Source: http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/boston-cream-pie-cookies

Snickerdoodle Cookies

Ever have those days when you're just CRAVING something specific?!? You know exactly what you want, and you know that you want a lot of it!! That was totally me yesterday; I had gone on a 21 mile bike ride in the morning so my stomach was craving everything and anything I could get my hands on!  When I decided that I wanted to make snickerdoodle cookies I realized that I had never made them before!! WHAT?! I know, they are like one of the most famous type of cookies out there and I had never made them for myself! So I had to give them a try!
I found a recipe online (allrecipes.com) and thought I would test it out!

Here's the recipe I used:

Ingredients:                                        

1/2 cup butter softened
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 3/4 cup flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoons salt
2 Tablespoons white sugar
1 Tablespoon of cinnamon

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. In a mixer, cream together the butter, shortening, sugar, eggs, and vanilla.  Mix until smooth.
2. Mix in the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. Mix well.
3. In a separate bowl, combine the 2 Tablespoons of sugar with the 1 Tablespoons of cinnamon.
4.  Roll the dough into 1 inch balls and roll through the cinnamon and sugar mixture.
5. Place 2 inches apart on a lightly greased, nonstick pan.
6. Back for about 9 - 11 minutes.
7. Allow to cool slightly once out of the oven and enjoy!

Notes: Depending on how cinnamony you would like your cookies to be, you can either up or lower the amount of cinnamon to sugar there is in the mixture. (The original recipe called for 2T of sugar, and 2 teaspoons of cinnamon.)
Also, I would maybe make the cookies a bit larger; which would require more baking time; I have not tried this out yet, but mine were a bit smaller and became more crisp over time because there wasn't as much center area (if that makes sense).

Needless to say, these satisfied my craving and hunger for cookies and I will definitely make them again in  the future!!
Now get baking!
As always, hit me up with questions or comments you may have regarding any of the recipes or restaurants I have visited!

Green Mint Wonder Cookies

I have been very fortunate this week to be completely off work!! SO of course I would spend at least 1 day cooking!  When I was trying to decide what to make I was flipping through some cookbooks and stumbled on these cookies.  They caught my eye because green is my absolute favorite color!! Not to mention, they look pretty sweet (figuratively and literally)!
When I was making these cookies I was a little surprised by the outcome of the actual cookie; The dough was a little more soft and sticky than regular cookie dough, and the finished cookie is more like the texture of a sugar cookie.
Here's how to make these awesome looking cookies!

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons peppermint extract
2 egg yolks
16 drops green food color
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup dark chocolate chips
3 Tablespoons whipping cream
3 Tablespoons butter
25 rectangular creme de menthe chocolate candies, unwrapped, cut diagonally (I used Andes mints)

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Line cookie sheets with cooking parchment paper.
2. In large bowl beat 1 cup butter and the powdered sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy.  Beat in peppermint extract, egg yolks, and food coloring until blended.
3. Beat in flour, baking powder and salt.
4. Shape dough into 1 inch balls; place 2 inches apart on cookie sheets.
5. Using the end of a wooden spoon, press a deep hole into the center of the cookie.
6. Bake 10 - 12 minutes or until set.  Re-insert end of wooden spoon when you remove from the oven.  Allow to cool completely on a cooling rack.
7. While cookies cook, microwave chocolate chips, cream, and 3 Tablespoons of butter on high for 1 minute, stirring frequently until mixture is smooth.
8.  Fill each hole with melted chocolate and garnish with mint candy piece.
9. Let stand about 1 hour until chocolate is hardened. Enjoy!

Special Note: I had a TON of chocolate leftover after making this recipe!! I also made a double batch which seemed to be the perfect amount.

I think these cookies will be awesome to make around the holidays! You could color the cookies green and red and then put different colored mints on the top for the Christmas season! Have fun experimenting!

The Best of Betty Crocker. Reiman Media Group, Inc. 2011

Oatmeal Cinnamon Cookies

So who likes cookies?? And who likes cinnamon??? I DO! This is one of my favorite cookie recipes to make and chow down when I'm in the mood for something sweet and cinnamony; yes, "cinnamony" is a word!  There is only one problem that I have had in the past when I want to make this recipe... Sometimes it is impossible to find the cinnamon chips!! I found them first around Christmas time a few years ago.  I made the cookies with the chips at the time and didn't think that the cinnamon chips would be unavailable after the holidays were over.  WRONG!  I searched and searched to find them again after that year and finally came across them at a local grocery store... I bought 5 bags when I finally found them!

SO, moral of the story: you may or may not have a hard time finding these cinnamon chips where you live!  But if you do find them, this is the recipe for you!

Ingredients:
1 cup of butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 1/2 cups of quick cooking oats
10 ounce package (1 2/3 cup) of cinnamon chips

1. Cream together the butter, brown and white sugar, eggs and vanilla with an electric mixer or by hand.
2.  Add the flour and baking soda slowly until well mixed with the other ingredients.
3. Mix in oats until well-mixed.
4. Stir in cinnamon chips by hand to the mixture so the chips do not get broken up.
5. Lightly spray a cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray.  Drop spoonfuls of the cookie dough onto the cookie sheet (about 1 inch in diameter).  Do not press down the mounds, they will flatten all by themselves!
6. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit and bake for about 10 minutes or until edges are slightly browned.
7. Note that the cookies will flatten out considerably after taking them out of the oven.  With these cookies I like to leave them on the pan for about 1 to 2 minutes after taking them out of the oven to finish their baking process.
8. Enjoy!

 ** If you would like to add something to these cookies, whether for appearance or a little added flavor, try drizzling with white chocolate after they have cooled!  The white chocolate tones down the cinnamon but leaves the cookie looking a little more top-notch!

**Also note that the pictures you see of the cookie dough are of a double batch.  This recipe makes about 30 cookies, depending on how large you make them.

Completed cookies!

No-Bake Chocolate Cookies

I just realized, I haven't shared a cookie recipe yet!! What's a real food blog without cookies!?! These are one of my absolute favorite recipes to make.  Not only are they easy to make, but they don't require any baking! (Hence the title.)  Whenever I walk into my grandparent's house without these, I  nearly get attacked and questioned on why I didn't bring them... They're the best!
Here's the recipe if you want to try them out!

2 cups of sugar
1/2 cup of butter (do NOT subsitute margarine)
1/2 cup milk
4 Tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cup of quick-oats

1.  Bring sugar, butter, milk and cocoa to a boil.  Boil for 1 minute, constantly stirring so the mixture does not stick.  (It will be a heavy boil!)
2. Remove from heat and add peanut butter; allowing to melt.  Stir in vanilla and oats.  Mix very well.
3. Quickly drop spoonfuls onto wax paper, you can make these as big or as little as you want!  The faster that you get your mixture onto the wax paper, the better they will look; because as soon as this begins to cool, it begins to harden.
4.  Allow to cool; and remove from wax paper.  Enjoy!

I will tell you that once in a while the cookies do not dry properly or become to hard depending on how long you boiled them.  Any time over or under the amount of boil time could result in runny or hard cookies.  Once you make them a few times you will understand what works the best for you.  I prefer to get all my ingredients measured out and set on the counter  before I even start cooking, that way when I turn the heat off I can immediately put the peanut butter, vanilla and oats into the chocolate mixture.  Speed is everything with this
recipe!  Good luck!

Finished Product! (I'm kind of messy sometimes) Haha

Before placing them on wax paper