cookies Archives - The Midnight Baker

Jelly Bars

Judith Hannemann — Sun, 27 Nov 2022 00:00:25 +0000

Whether you call them jelly bars or Italian butter cookies, they’re delicious by either name.

Jelly Bars Are Easy

Yes, jelly bars are incredibly easy to make despite how they look!

Anyone can get bakery-quality results at home and less expensive too. One thing I was always a sucker for was Italian bakery cookies. I admit that I’m a virtual bottomless pit when it comes to eating them. When I lived in New York City, they were easy to get–I had my fave Italian bakeries–but they are readily available. Where I live now, not so much so I would treat myself a couple of times a year with cookies from a Brooklyn bakery I’d frequent. However, having to pay $30-$40 per pound of cookies plus shipping got too rich for my blood.

This recipe was posted in one of my food groups on Facebook/ I was so glad this member posted it because now I make these in my own kitchen.

Piping Is Easy

Please trust me when I tell you I’m generally a klutz when it comes to using a pastry bag and tips. I won’t decorate a cake since it would be a disaster waiting to happen. However, this simple exercise with the bag and tip was easy. Just lay the tip touching the parchment at a 45-degree angle and squeeze to the desired length. I found about 3-inches to be a pretty good length.

The tip I used was a large star tip. The ones that come in starter decorator sets won’t do since they’re too small. A friend who’s a cake decorator gave me one but this large star tip is the one she gave me. You can also use a large round tip of approximately the same size. The star tip will just make the fancy ridges.

Flavor The Cookies

To keep the flavor neutral to play it safe if you don’t know people’s tastes, then use vanilla.

I’m a freak for anything almond flavored so I use almond extract. Especially if I’m using raspberry jam. The almond-flavored cookie along with the hint of raspberry with a dash of the chocolate is a real taste sensation.

The Recipe

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Jelly Bars

Classic Italian sandwich cookies

Prep Time30

Cook Time16

Course: Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: Italian bakery cookies, Italian butter cookies, jelly bars

Servings: 18

Calories: 324kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

1 cup butter room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup confectioner's sugar icing sugar in UK
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla or almond extract
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch salt
2 tbs heavy cream

Filling/Decor

1 cup red jam
1 cup chocolate morsels
1/2 cup sprinkles

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F/180C.
Using a heavy-duty stand mixer, cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy.
Add the egg and vanilla, mixing well.
Mix all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add gradually to the butter mixture, mixing well.
Add the heavy cream and mix just until incorporated. Add the dough to pastry bag. I used s very large star tip, but a plain round one about 1/2-inch/1.25-cm will do just as well.
Line baking sheets with parchment and pipe dough about 3-inches/7.5-cm long and about 2-inches/5-cm apart.
Bake for 14-16 minutes or until cookies are just beginning to get golden around the edges. Let the cookies cool on the sheet until firm enough to move to cooling racks.
To fill and decorate: Melt chocolate morsels in the microwave for 45 seconds; stir until smooth. They may need 10-15 seconds more if they're not completely melted.
Spread about 1 tablespoon of jam on flat bottom of one cookie. Top with the flat side of a plain cookie.
Dip the tip of each sandwich cookie in the melted chocolate then dip the chocolate part in the sprinkles.
Amount of cookies will vary with how big you want to make them. I got around 1 1/2 dozen sandwiches.

Nutrition

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Chocolate Dipped Shortbread Cookies

Judith Hannemann — Sat, 20 Aug 2022 23:00:41 +0000

These buttery and delicious chocolate dipped shortbread cookies will become a favorite.

Chocolate Dipped Shortbread Cookies–YUM!

You won’t find too many people who don’t like shortbread cookies. And we all know how well received chocolate is. In fact the only people I know that don’t eat it have an allergy.

These cookies are just awesome. They’re big and thick and buttery. That’s everything you want in a shortbread cookie. Now dipping the ends in a good dark chocolate really makes them go over the edge. Since these chocolate dipped shortbread cookies are large and thick, there’s not much guilt as one will probably satisfy.

Use A Good Chocolate

You’ll want to use a high-grade chocolate here. Semi sweet or dark is the way to go. I prefer dark and used a 60 per cent cacao variety. That level provides a nice but subtle bitterness that offsets the sweetness of the shortbread cookie. If you prefer a bolder bitterness, then go with 70 per cent cacao. It’s all a matter of personal taste.

I prefer to use a European chocolate because it’s silkier. That’s because it’s conched for much longer than we do in the US. Remember that Europeans are really, and I mean really are into their chocolate delights so they produce a superior product. There are good American varieties but do stay away from “bargain” brands. As an aside, Aldi has fantastic chocolate–I think it’s Belgian–so don’t overlook it.

Unsalted Butter?

Yes. It’s necessary for the best texture.

Unsalted butter produces a velvety smooth texture. Years ago my mom experimented with using salted butter. The shortbread was delicious but it had a grainy texture. It’s a textural thing; the taste is not affected. Most cooks/bakers I know always bake and cook with unsalted butter so I’m sure most have it on hand in the fridge.

The Recipe

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Chocolate Dipped Shortbread Cookies

Decadent and delicious

Prep Time20

Cook Time25

Chill Time30

Course: Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: American

Keyword: chocolate shortbread cookies, giant shortbread cookies

Servings: 20

Calories: 290kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

3/4 lb unsalted butter 3 sticks,at room temperature
1 cup sugar plus extra for sprinkling
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 to 7 ounces very good semisweet chocolate finely chopped

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 F/180C.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix together the butter and 1 cup of sugar until they are just combined. Add the vanilla.
In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and salt, then add them to the butter-and-sugar mixture. Mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a surface dusted with flour and shape into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.
Roll the dough 1/2-inch thick and cut with a 3 by 1-inch finger-shaped cutter. Place the cookies on an ungreased baking sheet and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the edges begin to brown. Allow to cool to room temperature.
When the cookies are cool, place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Put 3 ounces of the chocolate in a glass bowl and microwave on high power for 30 seconds. (Don't trust your microwave timer; time it with your watch.) Stir with a wooden spoon. Continue to heat and stir in 30-second increments until the chocolate is just melted. Add the remaining chocolate and allow it to sit at room temperature, stirring often, until it's completely smooth. Stir vigorously until the chocolate is smooth and slightly cooled; stirring makes it glossier.
Drizzle 1/2 of each cookie with just enough chocolate to coat it.

Nutrition

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Classic Peanut Butter Cookies

Judith Hannemann — Tue, 17 May 2022 23:00:02 +0000

Nothing beats classic peanut butter cookies. So easy to make too.

Classic Peanut Butter Cookies

Since these cookies are so easy to make, you’ll definitely make them often.

The key here is to use a top-quality peanut butter because that’s the main flavor here. Creamy peanut butter is the standard for use, but I’ve also tried these with chunky peanut butter and they are very good too.

Classic peanut butter cookies bake up in no time at all. I usually bake mine for about 6 minutes because I like them a bit on the chewy side–which works pretty well even now right after dental surgery!

Easy Mix

The reason these are so easy and mix beautifully is that there’s no softening of anything here.

These cookies use vegetable shortening which is at room temperature already so there’s no waiting for any ingredient to come up to the ambient temperature.

Honestly I’m not one much for vegetable shortening, but it works here because it really lets the flavor of the peanut butter shine through. It’s the traditional kind–not the butter-flavored one. That stuff is nasty!

Don’t worry about the egg. That you can use straight out of the refrigerator with no consequences but it you’d like to have it at room temperature, just drop it in a bowl of warm water (it’s still in it’s shell FYI) while you measure out everything else.

Now And Later

I rarely bake the entire yield with these because they are so quick cooking you can make them fresh when you want them.

The dough keeps well. I’ve kept it for at least two weeks in the fridge without any bad effects. So I make what I want and save the rest of the dough for later.

If you do small batches, they’d probably be good made in the air fryer. I haven’t tried this yet but I would make sure to use the parchment liners and maybe a small rack on top in case they fly around. I’d go with the same temperature as the oven but I’d check these for doneness after about 4 minutes.

The Recipe

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Classic Peanut Butter Cookies

Easy and delicious

Prep Time10

Cook Time7

Course: cookies, Snack

Cuisine: American

Keyword: classic peanut butter cookies, peanut butter cookies using crisco, traditional peanut butter cookies

Servings: 18

Calories: 179kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/4 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
3 tbs milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
1 3/4 cup flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Heat oven to 375F/190C. Combine peanut butter, shortening, brown sugar, milk and vanilla in large bowl. Beat at medium speed of electric mixer until well blended. Add egg. Beat just until blended.
Combine flour, baking soda and salt. Add to creamed mixture at low speed. Mix just until blended. Drop by rounded measuring tablespoonfuls of dough 2-inches apart onto greased baking sheet. Flatten slightly in a crisscross pattern with tines of a fork.
Bake one baking sheet at a time for 6 to 8 minutes, or until set and just beginning to brown. Cool 2 minutes on baking sheet. Remove cookies to cooling rack to cool completely.

Nutrition

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Chewy Cranberry Orange Cookies

Judith Hannemann — Sun, 06 Dec 2020 00:00:53 +0000

These chewy cranberry orange cookies are so addictive, you can’t stop at just one.

Cranberry Orange Cookies

You love the flavors in the quick bread and now enjoy the same cranberry orange flavor in a cookie!

Cranberry and orange are one of my favorite flavor combinations. It lends itself to a lot of dishes–sweet and savory. If you love the bread of the same flavor, you’ll flip for these cookies.

The basic batter can be used for any multitude of flavors and/or add-ins. That’s a real timesaver at holiday time. One basic batter, many different cookies. You can’t beat that.

And yes, they’re eggless.

The Secret Of Chewy

It’s not much of a secret once you know it! You can make any cookie chewy by doing just one thing: adding a teaspoon of cornstarch to every cup of flour called for. That’s it in a nutshell.

I like chewy cookies–always have–but especially now that my teeth are failing me. Crispy and dense is an accident waiting to happen (at least right now for me), so I love using this little trick with my cookies.

Since you can make any multitude of flavors just using this basic batter, anything you want to not have the chewy texture, merely leave the cornstarch out of the batter. It’ll work.

Better With Age

As if being delicious and easy wasn’t enough, these cookies get better as they sit.

Naturally, that’s because the essential oils in the orange zest need to mellow to get great flavor. So try very hard not to eat all of them the first day. That’s going to be hard, but trust me on this one. They’ll be better the day after. They’re also a good keeper as long as they’re stored air-tight. My best guess is they’ll last about a month stored that way. As I said, it’s a guess because I’ve never had these hanging around that long. In a couple of days, they’re usually solid gone!

The Recipe

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Chewy Cranberry Orange Cookies

Delicious and addictive cranberry orange cookies everyone will love

Prep Time20

Cook Time12

Course: cookies, Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cookies for Santa, cookies that store well, cranberries in cookies, soft chewy cookies with fruit

Servings: 12

Calories: 358kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter softened
8 oz cream cheese softened
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3 tbs grated orange zest
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp corn starch
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups dried cranberries i.e. Craisins

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preheat oven. To 350F/180C. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment
Beat cream cheese, butter and sugars until smooth and creamy. Add the vanilla and orange zest, beat to combine.
Mix the flour, salt, soda and corn starch and add to the cream cheese mixture, mixing until just combined. Do not overmix.
Fold in the dried cranberries.
Drop by heaping tablespoonful onto prepared sheets, spacing about 1-in/2.5cm apart.
Bake for 10-12 minutes or until edges just begin to become golden brown. Leave on the sheets for about a minute, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.
Makes about 18-24 cookies.

Notes

For UK readers--light brown sugar is light muscovado sugar in UK

Video

Nutrition

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Giant Chocolate Chip Cookies

Judith Hannemann — Tue, 28 Jul 2020 23:00:48 +0000

These giant cookies are so huge, all you need is one!

The OMG Cookie

When I first saw these in the food section of a national newspaper, I was kind of “meh” about them. But after thinking more about these cookies, I decided to give them a try basically because the yield was relatively small, but of course they are giant cookies.

This recipe actually lends itself to many different iterations with the add ins. The basic is a mix of chocolates but you can get creative here not only with chocolate, but non-chocolate additions.

They’re easy as are most drop cookies. However, be advised that the batter is very dense you will need a sturdy stand mixer. A hand-held one just won’t be able to manage it.

Now, For The Chocolate

The original recipe called for a mixture of dark, semi-sweet and milk chocolate chips. A fine tasting assortment.

I didn’t have any milk chocolate morsels on hand so I substituted white chocolate. I found this to be a tasty substitution as well. To make life interesting, I added a handful of butterscotch chips and that gave the cookies a caramel-like flavor.

There’s no reason to lock yourself into the assorted chocolates. If you have semi-sweet only, go with that. Likewise on milk and dark chocolate. The only thing I’d say avoid using butterscotch chips exclusively. It may be too sweet and cloying and lack any deeply rich favors.

Fruit Too

Adding a little dried fruit is really good in these.

I made another batch using dark chocolate chips and dried cranberries. They were superb! Don’t forget raisins wither.

Next batch of these I make will be no chocolate–just dried fruit and nuts! The substitution should be the same amount as the original chocolate mixture.

With all the fruit, nuts and dark chocolate, these cookies may even be–gasp–healthy!

The Recipe

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Giant Chocolate Chip Cookies

Huge cookies with an assortment of chocolate

Prep Time20

Cook Time22

Course: cookies, Snack

Cuisine: American

Keyword: bakery style cookies, cookies with dried fruit, giant cookies with chocolate

Servings: 8

Calories: 517kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

8 tbs unsalted butter softened to cool room temperature
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbs vanilla extract
2 tsp kosher salt may substitute 1 teaspoon table salt, plus more for sprinkling (optional)
1 3/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
2 large eggs cold
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups assorted chocolate chips such as a mix of milk, bittersweet and semisweet
1 3/4 cups walnut pieces or lightly toasted pecan pieces see NOTE

Instructions

Combine the butter, brown and granulated sugars, vanilla extract, salt, baking powder, baking soda and nutmeg in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on low to moisten, then increase the speed to medium and beat until soft, fluffy and pale, about 8 minutes; halfway through, pause to scrape down the bowl and beater with a flexible spatula. With the mixer running, add the eggs one at a time, letting each incorporate fully before adding the next. Reduce the speed to low, then add the flour all at once. When the flour is incorporated, add the chocolate chips and nuts and keep mixing until the dough is homogeneous.
Divide the dough into 8 equal portions (about 6 ounces/170 grams each) and round each into a smooth ball. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 12 hours before baking; if well protected from air, the dough can be kept in the fridge up to 1 week.
Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. When the oven comes to temperature, arrange up to 4 portions of cold dough on the prepared pans, leaving ample space between them to account for spread. If you like, sprinkle with additional salt to taste.
Bake, 1 sheet at a time, for about 22 minutes, until the cookies are puffed and lightly brown or to an internal temperature of between 175 and 185 degrees. The ideal temperature will vary from person to person; future rounds can be baked more or less to achieve the desired consistency.
Cool the cookies directly on the baking sheet until no warmer than 100 degrees (they should feel lukewarm) before serving. Enjoy warm, or within 12 hours; these cookies taste best when freshly baked.

Notes

Toast the pecans on a rimmed baking sheet in a 350-degree oven until slightly darkened and fragrant, 6 to 8 minutes.

Nutrition

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Almond Rugelach

Judith Hannemann — Sun, 08 Dec 2019 00:00:12 +0000

If you love rugelach but found them intimidating to make, you’ll love this recipe.

Everyone Loves Rugelach

We all love rugelach, but most of us are reluctant to make it. Some recipes are involved and so complicated that it’s just easier to buy them.

This rugelach recipe has no complicated ingredients. They’re easy to shape too. Even the almond filling is easy to make and uses common ingredients you can buy in any store.

And another great thing about these rugelach is they are considerably cheaper (and better) than anything you can buy.

They’re so easy, you’ll make them often.

Rich Almond Filling

I love all things almond, so naturally, I love rugelach with an almond filling.

You can buy it in a can, but it’s hard to get. The more readily available “almond filling” really isn’t useable for these rugelach because it’s way too liquidy. What you need is called “schmear.” That is what it’s called too but it’s not easy to get. Plus, it’s pretty expensive. Therefore, I make my own almond schmear copycat. That recipe will be enough for two batches of cookies. Don’t worry, that recipe is easy too!

If you’re not fond of almonds or are allergic, other fillings may be used too. A common filling is apricot. For that you can use the pastry filling you find in the baking aisle. But make sure it’s pastry filling and not pie filling. Pie filling won’t work because it’s not the proper consistency.

I wouldn’t advise using jams or jellies either. They’re likely to burn and would be way too sweet.

A simple cinnamon sugar is very nice for filling too. You do it just like you do for cinnamon rolls–brush the dough with melted butter then roll it up and cut it.

Shaping

Most of the time you see rugelach in crescent shapes. I split the dough up into 3-4 equal portions so I can chill/save what I’m not using.

I eliminate that complicated rolling and shaping simply by rolling out the dough in a rough rectangle then spreading the filling over the top. Then I just roll it up, jelly roll style–and it doesn’t matter if you roll from the short or long end–and cut it in 1-2-inch (2.5-5 cm) slices. Be careful to set the rugelach on the baking sheet with the plain dough side down. Don’t place them with the rolled side down!!!

The Recipe

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Almond Rugelach

Rich and delicious cookie for the holidays or any time

Prep Time20

Cook Time20

Chill time1

Course: Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: American

Keyword: almond cookie recipe, chanukah cookies, Christmas cookies, rugelach recipe

Servings: 20

Calories: 274kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
8 oz cream cheese cut into chunks
8 oz unsalted butter butter cut into chunks
1 recipe copycat almond schmear
1/2 cup toasted sliced almonds optional
sanding sugar optional

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F/180C. Line a large baking sheet with parchment
Place the flour, salt, cream cheese and butter in bowl of food processor with metal blade. Process until a smooth dough forms, about 10 to 20 seconds.
Divide dough into 3 or 4 equal pieces and wrap in plastic and chill at least 1 hour before using.
on a lightly floured surface, roll a portion of dough to about 1/8-inch (0.32 cm) in a rough rectangle. Spread with about 3 tbs of the almond schmear. Sprinkle with about 2 tbs toasted almonds, if desired.
Roll up jelly roll style and cut into 1-2-inch (2.5-5 cm) slices. Place on prepared sheet plain dough side up—not the filling side. Sprinkle with additional toasted almonds and sanding sugar, if using.
Bake in a preheated 350ºF oven until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Cool on wire racks. I got about 10 rugelach per dough portion.

Nutrition

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Tea Cookies

Judith Hannemann — Wed, 04 Dec 2019 00:00:10 +0000

With holiday baking time upon us, you’ll really appreciate this recipe for tea cookies. They’re easy to make and you get 2 kinds!

Easy Cookies For The Holidays

The holidays are almost upon us to that means lots of baking. Lots of cookies too and this is a great recipe because you can do so many versions of it.

What’s also terrific about this cookie recipe is that it is easy. Who doesn’t want easy at the holidays or any other time? That answer is “nobody.”

Haul Out That Digital Scale

You need to drag out those digital scales for this one though. The recipe is European.

Now when I bake I mainly weigh ingredients because it’s just a heck of a lot easier and more importantly, you get consistent results when you weigh. Don’t be intimidated by weighing either.It’s easy with a digital scale.

Semolina Crunch

It seems odd that semolina is an ingredient in these tea cookies. However, it adds a little crunch and texture into the mix.

You can add some chocolate chips to this batter as well. I chose not to but do see the recipe notes for how much to add. I will say here that if you do add the chocolate chips then you might want to leave the semolina out and add a little bit more flour–that’s just my best guess as I have not done that. The original recipe does include the semolina for all varieties, so just be advised.

The Recipe

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Tea Cookies

One dough, 2 varieties of cookies.

Prep Time10

Cook Time12

Course: Snack

Cuisine: British

Keyword: almond cookies, Christmas cookies, cookies, easy cookie recipe, lemon cookies

Servings: 20

Calories: 145kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

6 oz flour
6 oz soft butter
2.5 oz sugar
2.5 oz semolina

For Almond Cookies (half the dough):

1 tsp almond extract
1.75 oz sliced almonds

For Lemon Cookies (half the dough):

Zest of 1 lemon
3 tbs demerara sugar or sanding sugar optional

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325F/160C. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment.
Add the flour, butter, sugar and semolina in a medium bowl. Mix thoroughly with electric mixer until it resembles the texture of fresh breadcrumbs and will hold together when pressed.
Divide dough in half. To one half mix in the almond extract and most of the almond slices; mix thoroughly. Divide dough into 20 balls. Place balls on prepared pan and press down with your fingers so that they are about 1/4-inch thick. Press a couple of sliced almonds in the center of each cookie.
To the remaining half of the dough, knead in the lemon zest. Roll into a log about 10-inches (25 cm) long. If using the demerara or sanding sugar, place the sugar on a plate and roll the log in the sugar. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and chill for 15 minutes. After dough has chilled, cut the log into 20 /12-inch (1.25 xm) slices and place on the other prepared pan.
Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the cookies start to brown around the edges. (Both varieties bake at the same temperature for the same amount of time.
Cool completely on the baking sheets.

Notes

Note: If you want just one variety, merely double the “add ins” above.

If you want chocolate chip cookies, mix in about 50 g/1.75 oz of chocolate morsels.

Nutrition

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Hello Dolly Bars

Judith Hannemann — Sat, 18 Aug 2018 23:00:31 +0000

You’ll be singing “Hello Dolly” when you taste these fantastic bars!

New Twist On An Old Favorite

When you’ve been around s long as I have, you see there is nothing new under the sun. These delicious bars are one of those things.

Back in the 70s, these bars emerged as “magic cookie bars,” and they were featured in every magazine advertisement for Eagle Brand condensed milk. I think everyone tried them–at least once. I remember thinking that they’d be cloyingly sweet with all those ingredients. However, much to my surprise, they actually were not and were quite good, given how easy they were to make.

Make Them Even Better

You can improve on perfection and these bars prove it.

The originals only had chocolate chips, but this version includes the addition of butterscotch chips. This really enhances the caramel flavor the condensed milk takes on as it bakes. That was another surprise for me since as a rule, I’m not a lover of butterscotch-flavored chips.

Also, the old version only used a graham cracker crust. Now that’s delicious, but the addition of chocolate wafer crumbs takes these bars to the next level. I noticed that the chocolate wafers actually toned down the sweetness somewhat and added a delightful slight bitter undertone. This is a perfect marriage of sweet versus bitter.

Another swap I made was using unsweetened shredded coconut (merely because I had it in the pantry). Again, I thought I could tone down the sweetness, but if you don’t have unsweetened, use the regular sweetened variety. It was always fine in the original and it will be here too.

Finally, the ante is upped by swapping out the original walnuts for sliced almonds. This produces a much better flavor in my opinion, but I like almonds better than walnuts anyway.

Don’t Skip This Step

The old Magic Cookie Bars didn’t call for lining the pan with parchment nor chilling before cutting. But here, please don’t skip lining the pan with parchment because not only will you have an easier cleanup, but you may not be able to remove the bars from the pan because of the cooked condensed milk.

You have to invert the pan to cut the bars and trust me, they will be much easier to cut if you have them upside down to do so.

Watch The Video

The Recipe

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Hello Dolly Bars (aka Magic Cookie Bars)

Prep Time15

Cook Time40

Total Time55

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: magic cookie bars

Servings: 32

Calories: 234kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

Crust:

16 tbs unsalted butter 8 oz
2 tbs sugar
1/4 tsp salt
9 oz chocolate wafers like Nabisco Famous
9 sheets graham crackers about 4.5 oz

For the Bars (Layer in this order):

1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips
1 1/2 cups shredded coconut unsweetened preferred but sweetened is OK
1 cup sliced almonds

Topping:

14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9 x 13-inch pan with non-stick spray. Also line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper and spray that too (don’t skip this step!)
Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Add sugar and salt and stir to dissolve; remove from heat.
In a food processor, pulse the chocolate wafers and the graham crackers until you get fine crumbs. Add the cookie crumbs to the butter mixture in the saucepan and mix well to combine. Press into prepared pan.
Layer the fillings in the order given, spreading evenly. Pour the condensed milk on top trying to keep that even across the top too.
Bake bars for 35-40 minutes, until the nuts and coconut are nicely toasted. Remove from oven and cool on a rack for about 45 minutes. Then refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Invert pan over a large cutting board and tap bottom of the pan to release. Peel off parchment and cut into 32 bars.

Notes

The old Magic Cookie Bars recipe didn’t call for lining the pan with parchment nor chilling before cutting. But for this recipe, please don’t skip lining the pan with parchment. Not only will you have an easier cleanup, but you may not be able to remove the bars from the pan because of the cooked condensed milk.

Nutrition

*Adapted from Cuisine At Home

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Blueberry Bars

Judith Hannemann — Tue, 17 Jul 2018 23:00:37 +0000

Buttery crust, fresh blueberry and a hint of lemon. What’s not to love?

The Glorious Blueberry

Blueberries are so mild and delicious that they pair well with many things. They’ve experienced a surge in popularity in the last few years too. They’ve always been available but now you see them everywhere since everyone seemed to rediscover them.

Blueberries are very mild with a subtle flavor. You can coax a lot of flavor out of them with the addition of just a little bit of lemon zest. That’s the secret to great blueberry flavor!

Oh That Crust!

This crust is absolutely divine! It’s rich and buttery and the flavor doesn’t get lost in the translation.

The best advice I can give here is to use a food processor or Ninja to prepare this. Using a pastry blender will just make the process longer and more labor intensive.

The crumbs are supposed to resemble wet sand, so there would be a lot of work involved by doing it by hand.

The jam called for in the crust ingredients is used after you bake and slightly cool the crust. The original recipe (it’s from an old book so I cannot supply a link) calls for blueberry jam. The only time I ever had that variety was when a neighbor gifted me with some she bought whilst on vacation.

Most of us have raspberry jam or grape jelly at our disposal so it’s not necessary to run out and buy blueberry jam. All the jam really does is “seal” the pastry so it doesn’t get too soggy. And on that note, don’t store them covered!!! They’ll get soggy and inedible. Just store them on a rack open to the air.

The Glaze

Even though I used the glaze on the most recent batch I made, my thinking is that it’s an optional ingredient here. As I said before, the bars are soft so any additional liquid ingredient will make them even softer. So if you don’t feel like glazing them–don’t. They’re totally awesome without it.

The Recipe

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Blueberry Bars

Buttery crust, fresh blueberry and a hint of lemon. What’s not to love about blueberry bars?

Prep Time20

Cook Time40

Total Time1

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: blueberry bars

Servings: 12

Calories: 314kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

Crust:

1 1/2 cups flour
3 tbs confectioners sugar
1/4 tsp salt
8 tbs cold unsalted butter cubed
6 tbs berry jam any variety

Filling:

3 cups fresh blueberries
2 tbs sugar
1 tbs fresh lemon juice
2 tsp cornstarch
2 tsp lemon zest
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs slightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract

Glaze:

1/2 cup sifted confectioners sugar
2-3 tbs heavy cream
1 tbs lemon juice

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly spray a 13 x 9-inch pan with non-stick spray.
Pulse the first 3 crust ingredients in a food processor. Add the cubes of cold butter and pulse until the mixture resembles wet sand. Press the crust evenly in the pan and bake for 15 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes then spread the jam over the top of the crust. Leave the oven on at 375.
Mix the blueberries, 2 tbs sugar, lemon juice, cornstarch and lemon zest in a medium bowl; set aside. In a large bowl, mix the 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup flour, baking powder and salt, combining well. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. Fold in the blueberry mixture and spread over crust. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely.
Mix glaze ingredients and drizzle over cooled bars. You may need more (or less) cream to get the right consistency. Always start with the least amount; you can always add more liquid.

Nutrition

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Gooey Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Judith Hannemann — Wed, 14 Mar 2018 00:00:54 +0000

These gooey chocolate cookies will satisfy both the kiddos and adults. They’re easy and start with a cake mix!

Cake Mix Is The Base

One thing I love doing is using something for other than it’s intended purpose. Cake mixes are one of my go-to items for achieving this.

OK, so maybe cookies aren’t that far from being cake so use of a cake mix isn’t too radical, but it’s what you do with it that counts. At least in my book.

So a nice chocolate cake mix forms the base here, but it’s the additions that make this pretty special and give the cookies their unmistakable texture. Another plus to these cookies (if they last that is) is that they are very good keepers. I had some left in a Lock & L9ck container that I’d forgotten about for a week and they tasted just like the day I made them.

Shrinking Packages

This was adapted from an old recipe which called for an 18 ounce box of cake mix. That used to be the size of a double-layer-sized box of mix. Have you noticed now that we’re missing 3 ounces?

I’d made a straight-up mix cake a few months ago and wondered why the 13 x 9-inch cake looked a bit skimpy. I know I didn’t underbeat it. Then I looked at the box. The box seemed skinnier and then I looked at the weight. Yep, and it’s noticeable in the finished product as well.

To compensate for the lesser amount now in the box, I added 2 tablespoons of flour to the mix for these cookies. Otherwise I feared that the cookies wouldn’t turn out well.

Room Temperature Ingredients Are Important

Since it’s important to the texture of these cookies that the cream cheese and butter be perfectly blended, it’s vital to have both of those ingredients at room temperature. You should be able to stir the cream cheese easily with a spoon–that’s how you’ll know it’s at the right stage.

The Recipe

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Gooey Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Gooey chocolate crinkle cookies are a favorite holiday cookie, but they are also the perfect solution to a chocolate cookie craving any time of the year!

Prep Time2

Cook Time12

Total Time2 12

Course: desserts

Cuisine: American

Keyword: boxed cake mix, cake mix cookies, chocolate cookie recipe, cookies, crinkle cookies

Servings: 24

Calories: 140kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

8 oz cream cheese at room temp
1/2 cup butter at room temp
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 box chocolate cake mix
2 tbs flour
confectioner’s sugar for dusting

Instructions

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese & butter till smooth.
Beat in the egg and vanilla.
Mix in in the cake mix and the flour.
Cover & refrigerate for 2 hrs to firm up the dough.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Roll the chilled dough into balls about 1-inch in diameter.
Place on ungreased cookie sheets 2-inches apart.
Bake for 12 minutes. Cool on sheets 1 minute. Then place on a rack to cool completely.
Dust with confectioner’s sugar once cooled.

Nutrition

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