{Recipe} Red Velvet Cookie with White Chocolate Chunks

Okay, okay… our love affair with Red Velvet continues!  This time a Red Velvet cake mix is transformed into an amazing cookie.  The nice thing about these cookies are how simple they are to make!!

Red Velvet Cookies with White Chocolate Chunks

• 1 box of Red Velvet Cake Mix
• 1 cup of All-Purpose Flour
• 2 sticks of softened butter
• 1 egg
• 2 cups of White Chocolate Chunks

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, add butter and mix until soft and fluffy.  Slowly add cake mix and flour. Once combined, add egg and mix completely.  Add white chocolate chunks, and mix for a minute or so until well combined.  Form dough into one inch balls, and place into the oven for 8-10 minutes. {Yields about 24 small cookies.}

Enjoy! I’m telling ya, these babies are to die for!!!  The combination of the red velvet and the white chocolate is aaaamazing!

Gingerbread Pecan Biscotti with Peppermint White Chocolate Drizzle

 

One thing you need to know about me is I'm a dunker. I need a glass of milk with me at all times when having any type of cookie or chocolate. I've even been known to pour milk over my cake (you've got to try it!). So biscotti is right up my alley, but this time I thought I would make a biscotti that says "Christmas".

What's better than the aromatic smell of gingerbread baking? So I searched until I found a recipe for gingerbread biscotti that had great reviews, and I think I found one. This particular recipe isn't overly sweet or heavy; it's light and crunchy like a good biscotti should be. And the peppermint white chocolate drizzled over it makes it the perfect little Italian treat.

Gingerbread Pecan Biscotti (adapted from food.com)

2 1/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (I grated whole nutmeg for added flavor)
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 egg whites, lightly beaten
2/3 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup molasses
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup pecans, chopped

In a large bowl, combine the first seven ingredients. In your mixer, combine the egg and egg whites, brown sugar, molasses and vanilla until smooth.
Stir the egg mixture into dry ingredients just until moistened; fold in pecans; cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes. 
Divide dough in half; shape each half into a ball; on a baking sheet coated with nonstick cooking spray, or parchment paper; roll each ball into a 14-inch x 1 1/2-inch rectangle.

 

Bake at 325 for 24 to 28 minutes or until firm to touch; remove from the oven and reduce heat to 300 degrees.
Cool for five minutes then transfer to cutting board. Cut diagonally with a serrated knife into 1/2-inch slices; place cut side down on a baking sheet coated with nonstick cooking spray; bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until lightly browned, turning once. Remove to wire racks to cool.

Peppermint White Chocolate

6 oz. Baker's White Chocolate
1/4 teaspoon Peppermint extract

Place chocolate in microwave safe container, and add peppermint extract. Microwave according to directions and heat in small increments, stirring each time until fully melted. Making sure your biscotti is completely cooled, line up and drizzle chocolate over them with a  spoon.

Let the chocolate cool and harden, and place in an air safe container. Or if you’re like me, pour yourself a glass of ice cold milk and enjoy! Also great with any of your favorite hot beverages like cocoa.

Snowflake Sugar Cookies

These fun snowflake cookies are made using the same recipe as my airplane sugar cookies.  I love this recipe for 2 reasons.  The first is that the cookies hold their shape really well, which is perfect for intricate cookies like these.  The second reason is that they're just yummy.  They really taste fabulous. 

Sugar Cookies (via cakecentral.com)
6 cups flour
3 tsp. baking powder
2 cups unsalted butter
2 cups sugar (white granulated)
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract or desired flavoring (I like almond myself)
1 tsp. salt

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix well. Mix dry ingredients, and add a little at a time to butter mixture. Mix until flour is completely incorporated and the dough comes together.  Chill for 1 to 2 hours.

Cut cookies and place on greased cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes. Once your cookies are completely cooled, you can frost them. I like to ice a border of royal icing around the edge of my cookies first, so that I don't have run-off.  It gives the cookie a crisp, professional look.

Royal Icing
3 large egg whites
1 lb. confectioner’s sugar
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar

Beat egg whites with cream of tartar until they reach the soft peak stage.  Add confectioner's sugar, a little at a time, until stiff peaks form.

To ice your cookies, fill a zippered sandwich bag with icing and cut a little off the corner.  Frost your border and allow a few minutes for the icing to harden.  Finally,  you'll want to fill in your cookie with regular icing.  I put about 2 cups of confectioner's sugar in a bowl and add a little milk until I get my desired consistency (not runny, but not stiff).  Fill another sandwich bag with this icing, snip the corner of the bag, and fill the cookie.  To get an even consistency, use a toothpick or your (clean) pinky finger to spread the icing. 

The cookie cutters were bought at Williams-Sonoma last winter, but I was just in their store a few weeks ago and they still have them!  I love the cookie cutters because you can be creative with how you design them.  Every snowflake can be different.

Gingerbread House {Recipe}

Every year I host a Gingerbread House Party and invite some people for a confectionary extravaganza that turns out some unique and beautiful houses. If you’ve never made one of these beauties, this is the year! I’ve got a great recipe for gingerbread dough, and icing, and a step by step tutorial to get you from baking to decorating in no time flat. Let’s get started.

Start with making the gingerbread house dough. This recipe makes about 2 houses the size of the template you can find here:

Gingerbread House Dough

• 1 ¾ c. flour
• ½ tsp. cinnamon
• ½ tsp. ground ginger
• ½ tsp. salt
• ½ tsp. baking soda
• ½ tsp. ground allspice
• ½ tsp. vanilla
• ½ c. margarine (not oil) softened
• ½ c. firmly packed brown sugar
• Scant ¼ c. molasses (to double, use 1/3 c.)
• 1 whole egg

Now, let me insert here that I don’t eat my gingerbread houses. They are purely decoration. This being said, I use margarine instead of butter when I bake them. If I were going to make these into cookies I would use butter. But since I am making a good dozen and a half houses every Christmas, I go for the cheaper butter-alternative and use margarine.

Alright, let’s get mixing.

In a medium bowl mix together flour, cinnamon, ginger, salt, soda, and allspice. In the bowl of your electric mixer, beat vanilla, butter, and sugar for about five minutes--or until mixture is light and fluffy. Mixture will not be completely smooth. Beat in molasses and egg until blended and scrape down the sides of the bowl once. Beat in flour mixture on low speed until well blended. Divide dough into 2 equal parts, and flatten each piece of dough into a circle. Wrap pieces in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least two hours.

 

Hopefully by this time you have a plan for your house. Do you want windows? A door that stands open? Plain sides and front? If you want the standard cut outs, proceed as specified. If you would like some windows, let’s say, then you will want to line your cookie sheets with parchment paper, cut out the window shape you want, crush up some hard candies (like lifesavers or jolly ranchers) into teeny tiny pieces and sprinkle them evenly into your window cavity. Then proceed as indicated. The sky is really the limit here. Do whatever the inner architect in you is yearning for.

Next, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease large cookie sheets, or line them with parchment. If you’re doing the candy windows, please use parchment paper. My first time I didn’t, and the windows stuck to the pan. It was a mini tragedy.

Once your pans are ready, remove plastic wrap from one piece of dough and place it on a heavily floured surface. Roll out the dough with a thickly floured rolling pin to 1/8 inch thickness. Keep the remaining dough refrigerated until needed.

~For house template, and decorating instructions click here for the full tutorial.~

Gingerbread House Glue (Royal Frosting)

• 2 c. Confectioner’s sugar
• 1 egg white
• ¼ t. cream of tartar

Please note, you will want your frosting to be very thick and cement-like. You will get a VERY thick frosting from this recipe. If it is thinner, you will have trouble getting your house to stay together without having to hold it in place for a long time. If you would like your frosting to be a bit thinner, you can play around by adding more egg whites, or sugar, depending on the consistency you want.

Mix all ingredients together until thick and firm. Scoop into frosting bags with a rubber spatula. This recipe will fill one frosting bag very full. You can get disposable frosting bags at your favorite craft store in the cake decorating aisle. You may also use a Ziploc like I did in the beginning, snipping off a corner. Be aware that you may end up with blowouts from the Ziploc popping apart midway through decorating. Otherwise, these can be a good alternative in a pinch.

For detailed building and decorating instructions – with photos – click here for the full tutorial.

I hope this becomes something you enjoy from year to year. Merry Christmas from the WhipperChicks!

Peanut Butter Cookie Cheesecake Bonnes Bouches

One of the pleasures of life is to open a brand new jar of peanut butter. The smooth creamy surface, pristine and untouched and smelling so nutty and tempting it’s like a blank canvas. What will become of this little bottle of mushed up nuts? Today you’ll be grabbing one of your favorites for this delicious recipe. I hope you have a jar or two! Get your rubber spatula and let’s dig in!

Today we’ll be making Peanut Butter Cookie Cheesecake Bonnes Bouches. Get your mouth around that one! What is a Bonne Bouche? I hear you asking. Yes it is French and translated it means “a delicious morsel or mouthful”. This yummy recipe definitely qualifies. A crumbly peanut butter cookie crust beneath a tender layer of peanut buttery cream cheese filling, topped with whipped cream and half a mini Reeses peanut butter cup. Mmm…let’s get started!

Begin by making the peanut butter cookie crust.

Peanut Butter Cookie Crust

Adapted from Soft Peanut Butter Cookie by Natalie Gardner

• ½ c. butter, softened
• ½ c. peanut butter
• ½ c. white sugar
• ½ c. brown sugar
• ¼ t. vanilla
• 1 egg
• *1¼ c. flour
• *¾ t. soda
• *¼ t. salt

1. Cream all but starred items. Sift starred items and add to peanut butter mixture.

2. Using a Tablespoon, scoop dough into well greased mini cheesecake pans. (You want the ones with little lift out bottoms). Don’t overfill! Unfortunately you will have extra dough. I’m sure you can think of things to do with it.

3. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 5 minutes. The dough will puff up and begin to brown around the edges looking awfully scrumptious.

4. Resist the urge to eat it right now! Instead, use your Tablespoon to press down the puffiness making a well for the heavenly peanut butter filling.

Now, mix up the filling:

Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Filling

12 oz. cream cheese (1 ½ blocks) softened

¾ c. sugar

½ c. creamy peanut butter

2 large eggs at room temperature

¼ c. sour cream

1 ½ t. vanilla

1. Beat cream cheese and granulated sugar in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Beat in the peanut butter. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, then beat in the eggs, one at a time, making sure each is thoroughly incorporated before adding the next. Finally, beat in the sour cream and vanilla.

2. Use your Tablespoon to fill the wells. Fill straight to the top and pile just a bit on top without going overboard. Your cheesecakes will puff while cooking and then sink down a bit.

3. Put your pans into a 350 degree oven. If you’re using the tiny squares like I did, you’ll have less filling and a wider surface area. Cook for only about 13 minutes until edges are set, but center is still a little jiggly. For the mini rounds, cook at least 15 minutes, but probably more like 17 minutes, watching and testing so as not to overcook. I got nervous and took them out too early resulting in raw centers. Still yummy, but not as good as they could be.

4. Cool on the counter top, then press up from the bottom and lift your little cakes out of the pan. Put them on a plate and into the fridge. I am an impatient woman, but these really are even better if you wait till the second day.

5. Now they’re ready to be properly topped and consumed with relish. You can make your own whipped cream, or use a scoop of Cool Whip to top your cakes. Refrigerate your Reese's Cups to keep them from being too soft and squishing when you slice them. Slice one cup and press it gently into the whip. Voila! You have a fancy bonne bouche that will make you sigh with satisfaction. Now whip a batch for your next party or book club meeting and tell me they don’t go flying off your fancy platter.

Christene

Come meet Christene, our newest WhipperChick.  We are so excited to have her join our team!!

Up, Up, and Away! {Airplane Cookies}

I made these airplane sugar cookies for a friend's baby shower last weekend.  They take a little time, but they turned out cute!  I've experimented with a few different sugar cookie recipes, and this one is definitely the best at keeping it's shape. 

Sugar Cookies (via cakecentral.com)
6 cups flour
3 tsp. baking powder
2 cups unsalted butter
2 cups sugar (white granulated)
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract or desired flavoring (I like almond myself)
1 tsp. salt

Instructions

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix well. Mix dry ingredients and add a little at a time to butter mixture. Mix until flour is completely incorporated and the dough comes together.  Chill for 1 to 2 hours.

Cut cookies and place on greased cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes.
Once your cookies are completely cooled, you can frost them.  I like to ice a border of royal icing around the edge of my cookies so that I don't have run-off.  It gives the cookie a crisp, professional look.

Royal Icing
3 large egg whites
1 lb. confectioner’s sugar
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar

Beat egg whites with cream of tartar until they reach the soft peak stage.  Add confectioner's sugar, a little at a time, until stiff peaks form.

 
To ice your cookies, fill a zippered sandwich bag with icing and cut a little off the corner.  Frost your border and allow a few minutes for the icing to harden.  Finally,  you'll want to fill in your cookie with regular icing.  I put about 2 cups of confectioner's sugar in a bowl and add a little milk until I get my desired consistency (not runny, but not stiff).  Fill another sandwich bag with this icing, snip the corner of the bag, and fill the cookie.  To get an even consistency, use a toothpick or your (clean) pinky finger to spread the icing. 
Once this has set up, you can add any extra details with royal icing.  All of these icings can be tinted by adding food coloring. 

I really love a beautiful cookie!  Here's some more from around the web.

 

Credits:

• Baby shower cookies are from Glory of Glorious Treats
• Star cookies are from Eleni's New York

Whitney