Mocha Toffee Bars – 12 Days of Cookies
Day 11 of our 12 Days of Cookies extravaganza thing, and I can’t believe it’s almost over. I had my eye on these mocha toffee bars because I adore chocolate and coffee together, and after making and enjoying them I’ve converted Michael as well. He even asked if we could add these to our annual Christmas cookie list along with the Cajun macaroons, so we have found a couple new favorites.
The cookies are straightforward and easy to make. The only trouble I ran into was baking time. My oven tends to run cool, plus my jelly roll pan doesn’t exactly heat evenly so the sides were done before the middle was even set. I ended up with crispy edges and chewy middle.
The coffee flavor is in the shortbread crust, and I simply use instant coffee and add a little extra coffee to the hot water. The original recipe calls for espresso powder, which isn’t always easy to find.. The chocolate topping is simply melted semi-sweet chocolate chips poured right onto the hot shortbread, though I mixed dark and semi-sweet chips. The chopped cashews are roasted and salted, a nice contrast to the slightly dark chocolate topping.
Bourbon Balls – 12 Days of Cookies
Day 10 of our 12 Days of Cookies extravaganza thing, and I have to say that I almost didn’t make these bourbon balls because they seemed more like a confection than a cookie to me, except for the fact that they start with a whole bag of Oreos. Yes, crushed chocolate Oreos make the base for these decadent little treats, and the other taste treat is the bourbon soaked raisins.
Making these seemed like it would be so easy, and the mixing is very very easy; the rolling is what tripped me up. I ended up with some very sticky mixture that seemed to coat my hands in layers and I had to rinse my hands completely between each ball. Finally I decided the mixture needed some chilling time, so I covered it and stuck it in the frig hoping for a better rolling experience the next day. My hero, Michael, came to my rescue and rolled the remaining balls for me and his turned out beautifully. He coated them in cocoa before rolling and wore gloves to keep them from sticking so much.
The flavor is wonderful, though I would want more bourbon next time.
Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti – 12 Days of Cookies
Day 9 of our 12 Days of Cookies extravaganza thing, and I was craving biscotti, one of my very favorite cookies. These beauties combine cranberries and pistachios for a red and green festive look and taste. These are like traditional Italian biscotti which don’t use butter and they are not soft and crumbly. They are true dunkers, ready for your coffee, tea, or milk. If you want to feel Italian, try them with some Vin Santo or other dessert wine.
I started baking biscotti several years ago and fell in love with the cookies because of the wonderful crunch, the nutty flavor, and how easy they are. If you don’t have a stand mixer, they do require a strong arm to mix the dough to the proper consistency, and I would avoid a hand mixer unless you just want it for the very beginning of mixing the dry and liquid ingredients together. Once the dough starts forming, hand mixers start rebelling.
Cloudt’s Pecan Treats – 12 Days of Cookies
Day 7 of our 12 Days of Cookies extravaganza thing, and the cookie of the day is pecan treats from Cloudt’s in Atlanta. Pecan bars are a Southern delicacy, kind of like eating pecan pie on a shortbread crust, and these are absolutely to die for. Michael kept mumbling “wow” with a mouthful of pecan bar and we understand why they are so popular.
The next time I make these, and oh yes there will absolutely be a next time, I will substitute maple syrup for part of the honey just because maple and pecan is one of my favorite flavor combinations. Also I thought the instruction to use 1 large egg plus 2 additional tablespoons beaten egg was a bit fussy, especially since I don’t keep cartons of egg replacer on hand. In the end I just added a smidgen of oil to make up for the lost liquid and moved on.
Be sure to visit all our friends in the cookie clan to see what cookies they chose as well as the Gourmet website to see all their favorite cookies from 1941-2008.
The Rest of the Cookie Baking Clan
Kelly of Sass & Veracity
Courtney of Coco Cooks
Judy of No Fear Entertaining
Sandy of The Bakers Bench
Claire of The Barefoot Kitchen
Jerry of Cooking By the Seat of My Pants
Coconut Bars – 12 Days of Cookies
We are halfway through our 12 Days of Cookies extravaganza thing, and I chose something familiar, the coconut bars from 1953. I had these many times while growing up, but I’ve never made them myself and I felt it was high time to do so. They made me feel so very retro I wanted to burst into renditions of old standards like That’s Amore or Rags to Riches, both #1 songs from that year.
Is it cheating to make bar cookies? Seriously, these are so easy to make and they have a wonderful gooeyness about them that is incredibly rich, and we said the pieces need to be small because it is so rich. It’s a small recipe for an 8-inch square pan, but often that’s all you need for an afternoon tea or an easy dessert.
Makes 24 bars.
Be sure to visit all our friends in the cookie clan to see what cookies they chose as well as the Gourmet website to see all their favorite cookies from 1941-2008.
The Rest of the Cookie Baking Clan
Courtney of Coco Cooks
Jerry of Cooking By the Seat of My Pants
Judy of No Fear Entertaining
Sandy of The Bakers Bench
Claire of The Barefoot Kitchen
Kelly of Sass & Veracity Read more
Fig Cookies – 12 Days of Cookies
Day 5 of our 12 Days of Cookies extravaganza thing, and I chose to make fig shortbread cookies from 1964. They don’t look like much, but I think they have a perfect shortbread texture, slightly dry and crumbly, and they have pecans, one of my favorite nuts. The figs are ground up in the food processor and added with the flour, and I was very pleased with the flavor of the pecans and figs together. Plus they get bonus points for being easy, so I count these as a winner. Top Gun helped me make the dough, and for his effort he was allowed to swipe a few dried figs, which he promptly devoured.
I think butter is the key ingredient in shortbread: use the best you can afford and keep it chilled. You want the butter to be cold when you cream it with the sugar, and you want it to be cold when you shape the cookies, otherwise the cookies will just spread and lose their texture when baking. I made the dough then let it rest in the frig for about 30 minutes while I performed my mommy taxi duties, the put the bowl back in the frig between shaping batches. Mine did not turn out flat like the Gourmet version, but I like how they look.
