christmas cookies Archives - The Midnight Baker

Chocolate Chunk Pecan Cookies

Judith Hannemann — Fri, 02 Dec 2016 00:00:52 +0000

Santa will flip when you leave him these chocolate chunk cookies with a glass of milk!

A Cookie For Chocolate Lovers

Here’s a cookie that will really please all chocolate lovers!

These cookies have a load of dark chocolate chunks in them. It’s almost like eating a combination cookie and chocolate candy bar. It’s also said that dark chocolate is actually good for you because it contains a lot of antioxidants. I’m no health expert by any means. I just know good taste, but if that statement is correct, then it’s all the better!

The nuts, of course, can be varied. I used pecans, but walnuts, almonds and hazelnuts work equally as well. Conversely, if you don’t like nuts or have an allergy to them, they can be left out and won’t affect the deliciousness of this cookie.

If You Like Chewy, You Have It Here

One of the nicest features of this cookie is it’s slight chewiness. They are not soft cookies, but they do have a chewy element to them.

That chewiness comes from a good amount of ground oatmeal. And that’s another reason these cookies, while a sweet treat, have some redeeming nutritional value. This makes the cookie a relatively good source of fiber, although you never see the oats. They are ground finely to a powder–almost flour-like consistency so they are not noticeable in the cookie itself.

Make A Bunch Of Chocolate Chunk

Don’t be afraid to make a double batch of these chocolate chunk cookies! They freeze very well after they are baked.

I’ve even frozen the unbaked dough and have gotten excellent results when I finally baked the cookies. Therefore, they are truly great cookies for the holidays because they can be made ahead and defrosted.

So make sure to leave a big plate of these out for Santa!

The Recipe

Print Recipe Add to Recipe Box

Chocolate Chunk Pecan Cookies

Santa will flip when you leave him these chocolate chunk cookies with a glass of milk!

Prep Time20

Cook Time12

Total Time32

Course: cookies

Cuisine: American

Keyword: chocolate, Christmas cookies, cookies, pecans

Servings: 4 doz

Calories: 1626kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

2 cups flour
1 cup unsalted butter softened
2½ cups ground oatmeal done by processing oatmeal in a blender or Ninja
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
½ tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
1 cup dark chocolate chunks
1 cup chopped pecans

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy.
Beat in eggs and vanilla, beating well.
Add flour, ground oatmeal, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Beat until combined.
Stir in chocolate and pecans.
Shape dough into 1 to 1½-inch balls and place 2-inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets (I use AirBake insulated sheets). Bake at 375 degrees F for 10-12 min or until light golden brown.
Cool for 1 minute on sheet. Remove to rack to cool completely.
Makes approx 4 doz cookies.

Nutrition

The post Chocolate Chunk Pecan Cookies appeared first on The Midnight Baker.

Linzer Tarts

Judith Hannemann — Mon, 23 Dec 2013 00:00:00 +0000

The ultimate Christmas cookie. Leave some huge Linzer Tarts for Santa!

Linzer tarts are so traditional around the holidays! They’ve always been a part of my holiday baking.

These are quick and easy…very few ingredients. Mix, chill and roll and that’s it! It’s just a basic shortbread butter
cookie.

Linzer Tarts

I used regular seeded raspberry jam, but seedless works too.

What I did here to make them just a little bit more special was to drizzle some melted dark chocolate over the top. Nothing really beats a raspberry and chocolate combo. By all means leave off the drizzle if it’s too much of a good thing for you. And of course, they can be filled with ANY flavor jam you like.

Make sure to leave one for Santa! Yes, only one because they are huge. I used a 3-4 inch cutter, but you can make ’em smaller too.

Print Recipe Add to Recipe Box

Linzer Tarts

Linzer tarts, also known as linzer cookies, are buttery shortbread with jam filling. A classic Christmas cookie recipe!

Prep Time25

Cook Time10

Total Time35

Course: desserts

Cuisine: Austrian

Keyword: Christmas cookies, linzer cookies, linzer tarts

Servings: 24

Calories: 169kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter* very soft
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp almond extract
2 1/4 cups flour

Filling:

1/2 cup raspberry preserves

Topping:

1/2 cup chocolate chips high quality
1 tsp butter
powdered sugar for dusting

Instructions

Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and almond extract. Beat well.
Add the flour and beat at low speed until a dough forms.
Form dough into a ball and place in a plastic bag. Refrigerate for 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Roll out dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut circles with a 3-inch diameter cookie cutter (I used a glass). Cut smaller holes in the center of HALF the cookies (I used a large bottle cap from a 3-litre soda bottle).
Alternatively, you can use a linzer tart cutter--it will make smaller cookies though.
Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 7-10 minutes or until cookies are "set" and just are beginning to get light golden brown around the edges.
Cool for 1 minute on the sheet and then remove to a rack to cool completely.
When cookies are completely cool, spread about 1 tbs of the raspberry preserves on the circles without the additional holes--and spread the jam on the side that was sitting on the cookie sheet because that is completely flat.
Top with a cookie with the hole in the center, again placing the side that was on the cookie sheet on the jam, forming a sandwich.
Melt chocolate chips and butter in a microwave. Microwave in 30-second intervals and stir. It will probably need about 1 minute total to melt. Stir until there are no lumps. Drizzle over the cookies.
Dust with powdered (confectioner's) sugar.

Notes

*You may substitute regular salted butter in a pinch but do NOT substitute margarine or butter-flavored Crisco.

Nutrition

Follow The Midnight Baker Best Holiday Recipes & Food on Pinterest

The post Linzer Tarts appeared first on The Midnight Baker.

Get The Rest of the Cookies

Judith Hannemann — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 17:38:00 +0000

Get the rest of Linda’s collection on her blog, The Lemontree

The post Get The Rest of the Cookies appeared first on The Midnight Baker.