12 Days of Christmas Cookies - Day 9: Soft and Chewy Molasses Gingerdoodles

Soft and Chewy Molasses Gingerdoodles - made dough December 6, 2014 from Averie Cooks

If you haven’t noticed yet, my 12 Days of Christmas Cookies series a) hasn’t strictly been “cookies” in the traditional narrow-minded sense (I reserve the right to take artistic license with the definition of a cookie) and b) haven’t really been so much about flavors popular with the holiday season. No eggnog, no fruitcake (shudder), no peppermint, no gingerbread. Instead, I’ve factored in what I personally get asked for when people know they’re getting their holiday baking gifts from me as well as taking into account how busy this time of year is for most people so I’m going for quick, easy, and in some cases, can incorporate helping hands so you don’t have to bake alone if you don’t want to.

But I did decide I needed at least one flavor of the season and this is it. I couldn’t quite cross the line to gingerbread but I did go for this version of ginger molasses cookies. I don’t love ginger molasses cookies as a general rule. I don’t mind the ginger but I get hung up on the relatively strong taste of the molasses. I’ve tried regular molasses and “light” molasses and I’m still not fond of it.

I tried to tell myself it’s not all about me (really?) and some people might actually like molasses cookies so I should bake it for some of my gifts. It’s not like I actually eat more than 1 cookie from a new recipe anyway and this was going to be automatic portion control if I didn’t love it. When I want to be conservative and try out a new recipe with a high chance of success, I go to Averie’s blog. I found this recipe for molasses gingerdoodles which was a cross between a regular ginger molasses cookie and a snickerdoodle. Sold.

I baked mine a couple of minutes longer than her recipe said to and they still felt a bit more underbaked than they should have been. I suspect Averie’s oven runs hotter than mine as this isn’t the first time I’ve encountered these results. The taste itself was good for what it was though. If that’s not a ringing endorsement, remember my picky taste buds and picky taste prejudices. If it helps, one of my baking recipients of the cookies thought they were yummy and they went pretty quickly at work when I brought the rest in. So here’s my token holiday flavor cookie.

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup dark or light brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/3 cup unsulphured molasses (don't use blackstrap)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
pinch salt, optional and to taste
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

Cinnamon-Sugar Coating
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 to 3 teaspoons cinnamon

1. To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or large mixing bowl and electric mixer) combine the butter, sugars, egg, and beat on medium-high speed until creamed and well combined, about 4 minutes. 
2. Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the molasses, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, optional salt, and beat on medium-high speed until combined and smooth, about 1 minute. 
3. Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, cream of tartar, and beat on low speed until just combined, about 45 seconds. 
4. Using a medium 2-inch cookie scoop, form two tablespoon mounds. Place mounds on a large plate or tray, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, up to 5 days. The dough is soft, mushy, limp, and isn't suitable for baking until it's been chilled. Do not bake with unchilled dough because cookies will bake thinner, flatter, and be more prone to spreading.
5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, line baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
6. Cinnamon-Sugar Coating: Add sugar and cinnamon to a small bowl and stir to combine. Roll each mound of dough through the coating, liberally coating all sides. 
7. Place coated mounds on baking sheets, spaced at least 2 inches apart. Bake for about 8 to 9 minutes, or until edges have set and tops are have crackled; don't overbake for soft cookies. Cookies firm up as they cool. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for about 10 minutes before serving.

Slab Apple Pie

Slab Apple Pie - made November 29, 2014, recipe modified slightly from Pine Cones and Acorns

Since I found the apple pie I’d bought from Three Babes Bakeshop for Thanksgiving so tart, I felt like I was left hanging on the apple pie front. Apple pie to me means sugary cinnamon-y apple slices tucked inside a flaky crust, served warm and topped with vanilla ice cream. Which is great except that making pie crust isn’t top of my list of things I can do effortlessly. I’ve made them before and they’ve turned out okay, one or two of them were even pretty good. But I hate the whole kneading thing, flouring, not flouring, sticking to the rolling pin aspect.

Enter Slab Apple Pie. (You don’t know how many times I kept mis-reading that as “slap happy” instead of “slab apple”.) This is the easy-for-the-holidays version where it’s basically an apple crumble bar cookie. There’s a crust that you don’t have to use a rolling pin to mess with; you simply spread and smooth it into an even layer on the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan. Layer the apple slices on top that have been tossed with that cinnamon-sugar mixture that’s very important to me, then sprinkle the streusel topping over it and bake. Once it’s cool, you can glaze with vanilla icing or leave unadorned and top with vanilla ice cream, your call.

As faux apple pies apple bars go, this was a good substitute although I have to admit, it didn’t quite satisfy my need for an apple pie this season. But the taste is there and this is an easier to make alternative. I did make my own little apple pie in an individual pie ramekin just to fake myself out that I had an apple pie going on but the rest I did make in a 9 x 13 pan, cut into bars and portioned out to give away. 

You want to be careful not to overbake these as the crust can become dry if you bake it for too long. Bake only long enough for the apples to become soft when you stick a toothpick in it.

My only issue was the apples were pretty moist so they didn’t allow for all of the vanilla icing to set as much. But moist apple filling is really not a bad thing.

Dough
3 cups of flour
1/2 teaspoon of salt
3 tablespoons of sugar
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 cup of solid shortening
2 egg yolks
8 Tablespoons of water

Filling
8-10 medium size tart apples (I used Granny Smith)
2 tablespoons of flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
2 tablespoons of fresh squeezed lemon juice

Streusel topping
1 cup of flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2/3 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup butter softened

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Mix flour, salt, sugar, and baking powder until blended. Cut shortening into flour mixture.
3. In separate bowl, mix egg yolks and water, add to flour mixture. Mix well until dough forms a ball. Roll out  ball to cover 9 x 13 pan.  Place on baking pan for bottom crust.
4. Make filling: Cut, pare, quarter, and core apples. Cut into uniform slices. Blend flour with sugar, cinnamon, and pour over apples. Mix and then arrange on crust. Sprinkle with lemon juice.
5. Stir flour, cinnamon and brown sugar together, add softened butter. Use pastry blender and cut mixture together until well blended. Sprinkle mixture over the apples.
6. Bake at 350 for 1 hour. Cool and then drizzle with glaze.

Glaze
2 cups powdered sugar
1-2 tablespoons milk

1. Blend powdered sugar and milk to form a glaze, adding enough milk to achieve desired consistency.

12 Days of Christmas Cookies - Day 8: Sunburst Lemon Bars

Sunburst Lemon Bars - made December 6, 2014 from So How's it Taste?

Lemon bars, second only to chocolate chip cookies in requests from my friends, are always part of my Christmas baking. Not only is there a seemingly endless supply from my mom's lemon tree but even my own tree yields up a modest amount of lemons at this time of year.

Plus lemon bars are another one of those easy-to-make bar cookies to whip up in quantity and portion out amongst my holiday baking gifts. I tried out this new recipe since it called for a simple lemon glaze that I like on top of my lemon bars to add a bit of sweetness to contrast with the tartness of the fresh lemon. And while the lemon bar might seem humble in a world of spicy gingerbread, flashy peppermint, joyous eggnog and decadent chocolate at this time of the year, perhaps because of its simple goodness, it tends to be a refreshing standout; this one was no exception. Buttery (but not too buttery) shortbread crust, tart (but not too tart) filling and a sweet glaze that sets so this is easy to package up as well as eat.

Crust

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

Filling
4 eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
2 to 3 tablespoons lemon juice

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Line a 9 x 13 pan with foil. 
2. In large bowl with electric mixer, beat flour, sugar, butter, and peel on low speed until crumbly. Press mixture evenly in bottom of pan. 
3. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until light golden brown.
4. Meanwhile, in large bowl with wire whisk, lightly beat eggs. Beat in remaining filling ingredients except lemon juice and lemon peel until well blended. Beat in 1/4 cup lemon juice and peel.
5. Remove partially baked base from oven. Pour filling evenly over warm crust.
6. Return to oven; bake 25 to 30 minutes longer or until top is light golden brown. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
7. In small bowl, mix 1 cup powdered sugar and enough lemon juice for desired spreading consistency until smooth. Spread glaze over cooled bars. Cut into bars. Store in refrigerator, but allow bars to come to almost room temperature before serving.

12 Days of Christmas Cookies - Day 7: Shortbread Toffee Cookie Bars

Shortbread Toffee Cookie Bars - made December 6, 2014 from Cookies and Cups

Shortbread, caramel, chocolate and toffee - if that doesn't shriek Christmas at you, you're not listening very well. Okay, it isn't eggnog or gingerbread or peppermint or anything else you might associate with Christmas but these are easy to make and even easier to eat. With all the other stuff you have to work on for the holidays, making treats shouldn't be a chore and neither is making these cookie bars.

The crust is quick to put together. So is the "caramel" in the form of sweetened condensed milk and butter. You could substitute melting caramels with a little whole milk but the sweetened condensed milk will do in a pinch. We're all about the easy this season.

Then you sprinkle the top with milk chocolate chips, let them soften and melt then spread in an even layer. You don't even have to be super perfect with smoothing the top because, guess what? You hide any imperfections in the melted chocolate layer with a generous sprinkling of toffee bits as the top layer.

Honestly, these bar cookies practically make themselves. So if you need a quick treat to give away, take to a party or serve at your own party, here you go. Oh and they're pretty tasty too.

Shortbread Crust
¾ cup butter, room temperature
¾ cup light brown sugar
1½ cups flour

Filling

1 cup sweetened condensed milk
2 tablespoons butter

Topping

2 cups milk chocolate chips
1½ cups toffee bits

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9x13 pan with foil and spray lightly with nonstick spray. Shortbread Crust: Beat butter and sugar together until combined, 1-2 minutes.
2. Mix in flour. Mixture will be slightly dry. Press into prepared pan. Bake for 15 minutes until lightly golden. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly.
3. Filling: In a small saucepan heat sweetened condensed milk and butter together until butter is smooth. Pour over shortbread crust. Bake 12-15 minutes until filling is bubbly and browned. It will almost take on a light caramel appearance. Remove from oven
4. Topping: Immediately sprinkle milk chips on top of filling when it comes out of the oven. Place back in oven for 2 minutes until chips are shiny and soft.
5. Carefully spread the chips over the filling with an off-set spatula. Sprinkle with toffee bits, pressing into milk chocolate.
6. Allow to cool completely before cutting into squares.

Fudgy Brownies with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

Fudgy Brownies with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting - made November 28, 2014, adapted from Dear Crissy

When people ask me for “my favorite” brownie recipe or “a good brownie recipe you recommend”, I honestly don’t know how to answer that. They seem to expect me to whip out THE brownie recipe to end all brownie recipes. If you’ve followed my blog for any length of time, you might know what a headscratcher that is for me.

Not because I don’t have any good ones but because I have too many. Literally, too many. Search for “brownies” on my blog and the results will max out at 8 pages. But rest assured I have more than 8 pages’ worth of brownie recipes in the 5+ years I’ve been blogging and in the decades I've been baking. And I keep adding more. Like this one. Much as I love brownies, I’m not actually looking for the perfect brownie recipes. I’ve made so many that I’ve come to realize it isn’t so much about the recipe as the quality of the ingredients and the baking technique. So I fall back onto timeless advice: use the best-quality ingredients you can afford (especially when it comes to chocolate) and don’t overbake the brownies. Seriously. That’s 99% of what you need to make a good brownie. 

With that reasoning, this was also a good fudgy brownies. The chocolate cream cheese frosting made as is was a little too tangy for me but that’s my taste buds being prejudiced against cream cheese. So I added an extra 1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar to make it a little sweeter, ha. These freeze well and went into multiple goodie bags as part of my holiday gifts this month so they served their purpose admirably.

3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Frosting
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate pieces
6 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 + 1/3 cup powdered sugar

1. Using a medium sauce pan, heat butter and unsweetened chocolate while stirring until smooth; set aside to cool. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees; line an 8x8x2-inch baking pan with foil and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray. 
2. Stir sugar into cooled chocolate mixture. Add your eggs one at a time, beating with a wooden spoon just until combined. Stir in vanilla. In a small bowl stir together flour and baking soda. Add four mixture to chocolate mixture; stir just until combined. Spread batter evenly into the pan.
3. Bake for 30 minutes. Cool in pan on wire rack.
4. Frosting: using a small saucepan heat and stir semisweet chocolate pieces over low heat, stirring until melted and smooth. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
5. In a medium bowl beat together 6 ounces of softened cream cheese and powdered sugar. Beat in melted chocolate until smooth then frost cooled brownies.

12 Days of Christmas Cookies - Day 6: Lemon Tarts with Almond Shortbread Crust

Day 6: Lemon Tarts with Almond Shortbread Crust - made November 26, 2014

Here’s another technically-not-a-cookie recipe for my 12 Days of Christmas Cookies. I’m counting it as a “cookie” because it’s individual-size like a cookie and really, little tarts are just cookies with sides and a filling. 

I like to include something lemony when it comes to my holiday baked gifts because it offers a nice flavor contrast to more decadent desserts built around chocolate and I like variety. Plus my baking recipients seem to like lemon at any time of the year. Which is handy since that’s when lemons ripen where I live. This is a shot of my mom’s lemon tree. Mine is nowhere near as prolific. Hers have lemons clustered like fat grapes and they’re equally juicy. My mom has a serious green thumb.

A small section of my mom's lemon tree

These tarts are a marriage of the tart crust from the Almond Joy Tart and the filling from my go-to recipe for Lemon Bars. I made these for Thanksgiving and, in deference to my mom’s preference for that particular crust, I paired it with the lemon bar filling for foolproof tarts. If you want to make these for the holidays, these are great to do-ahead because you can make and refrigerate the crusts for a day then the filling takes only a few minutes to make when it’s time to bake them. During the heart of holiday frenzy (like now), I favor treats you can make ahead of time, make easily, and break up into easy-to-fit-in time periods. Bake these off the day you need them or the night before. Dust with confectioners’ sugar right before serving. If you want to add some extra lemony flavor, skip dusting the confectioners’ sugar on top and make a simple lemon glaze with confectioners’ sugar, fresh lemon juice and grated lemon zest to glaze the top of the filling instead.

Almond Tart Dough

1 large egg

¼ cup whole toasted almonds

¼ cup sugar

1 ¼ cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

¼ teaspoon salt

½ cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes

Filling

¾ cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons flour
¼ teaspoon baking powder
3 tablespoons lemon juice
powdered sugar

1. In a small bowl, lightly whisk the egg and set it aside.
2. Put the almonds and sugar in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until the almonds are finely ground.  Add flour and salt and pulse again just until mixed.  Add the butter and pulse just until sandy (about 6 to 10 quick pulses).  Pour in the egg and pulse just until the dough begins to cohere into a ball.  Form the dough into a disk, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate it for at least 1 hour or overnight.
3. Dust a work surface with flour.  Place the disk of chilled dough on the work surface and divide it into 6 equal portions.  Shape each into a smooth disk. (Note: the dough will be sticky.  Make sure to turn it with a bench knife or offset spatula as needed and keep the working surface floured.)  Use a rolling pin to roll each piece of dough into a 5 ½-inch circle just over 1/8 inch thick.  Very gently press each dough round into a 4-inch tart pan with removable bottom.
4. Place the tart pans in the freezer for 30 minutes.  Preheat the oven to 375⁰F. 
5. Line the tart crusts with aluminum foil, and fill each one three-quarters full with pie weights or dried beans.  Bake them for 15 minutes then remove the foil and weights.
6. While the tart shells are baking, make lemon filling: in small mixer bowl combine all filling ingredients. Beat at low speed, scraping bowl often until well mixed. Pour filling into tart shells, dividing evenly. Continue baking for 10-12 minutes or until filling is set. Sprinkle with powdered sugar; cool.

12 Days of Christmas Cookies - Day 5: Brownies topped with Nutella Crunch

Day 5: Brownies with Nutella Crunch - made November 29, 2014, recipe adapted from Cravings of a Lunatic

Ah, nutella crunch topping, how do I love thee? Let me count the multiple brownies I've made with you. All different brownie bases but only roped in so the nutella crunch topping has something to sit on. You might not consider a brownie to be a "cookie" but I'm taking liberties and counting it since technically, brownies are bar "cookies".

Seriously, it almost doesn't matter which brownie recipe you use for this as long as you use good quality chocolate (choose recipes that call for more semisweet or unsweetened chocolate in the base batter, not sweet or milk chocolate) and don't overbake it. Avoid cakey brownie recipes that call for beating the eggs a lot and/or use chemical leavening like baking powder or baking soda. You want fudgy brownies. And for once, I don't advocate making a thick brownie because the topping is literally another layer on top of it and too thick of a brownie layer plus the crunch topping layer makes for awkward eating and contortions of your mouth that just won't be pretty.

Fortunately, this recipe fit the bill. The brownie layer probably got a bit compressed when I was smoothing the crunch topping over it but that's okay. It contributes to the fudginess. If you want a smoother, more "flowy" topping, cut back on the chocolate chips and increase the nutella in equal proportions, i.e. decrease chocolate chips by 1/4 cup, increase nutella by 1/4 cup. I also like to cram in a fair amount of Rice Krispies, almost like I'm making Rice Krispie treats because I like the crunch.

8 tablespoons of butter
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
½ teaspoon vanilla
½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
¼ cup flour
¼ teaspoon salt

Nutella Crunch Topping
1 cup chocolate chips
3/4 cup Nutella
1 tablespoon butter
1 to 1 1/2 cups Rice Krispies cereal (more if you prefer)

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line 8 x 8 pan with foil and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Melt the butter and unsweetened chocolate together over low heat in a medium saucepan. Stir until melted and smooth. 
3. Remove from heat and add the sugar. Stir well. 
4. Add eggs and vanilla, stirring until smooth. Add chocolate chips, flour and vanilla salt. Stir until well blended. 
5. Pour into pan and place in oven. Bake for 35-45 minutes, toothpick inserted in the center should come out with a few moist crumbs. Remove and cool on a rack.

Lofthouse-Style Peanut Butter Chip Sugar Cookies with Peanut Butter Frosting

Lofthouse-Style Peanut Butter Chip Sugar Cookies with Peanut Butter Frosting - made dough November 22, 2014 from Averie Cooks

We interrupt the 12 Days of Christmas Cookies posts to sneak in this cookie recipe I made for Thanksgiving. I made these because a) they're from Averie's blog and you can rarely go wrong trying out a recipe from there and b) to have an excuse to use up the autumn-themed sprinkles on frosted cookies for the kids.

It's best to think of these as soft sugar cookies with the peanut butter flavor coming from the peanut butter chips inside the cookies and the frosting topping the cookies. I didn't use as many peanut butter chips as the recipe called for, maybe only half a bag, since that's what I had and I'm not big on peanut butter anyway.

The frosting had a nice consistency and good flavor if you're a peanut butter lover. My ulterior motive was just to have something for the sprinkles to sit on so I could keep a Thanksgiving theme for my desserts.

I will say this is the type of cookie I like in terms of chubbiness (chubby cookie = good, chubby pastry chef = not so much) but make sure you bake it from frozen dough so it won't spread and stays obligingly rounded and thick after baking. The cookie is good even without the frosting but if you're going for the Lofthouse look, it probably needs the frosting to qualify. If you don't want to frost domed cookies and prefer them with a flat top but still thick, shape the dough into thick discs before freezing and baking. And if you want to adapt these for a Christmas-themed dessert, simply swap out the autumn sprinkles with red and green sprinkles (or blue and white for Hanukkah) on the frosting.

1 large egg
1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick), softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4  teaspoon baking soda
pinch salt, optional and to taste
one 10-ounce bag peanut butter chips

Peanut Butter Frosting
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter (not homemade or natural peanut butter)
1/4 cup unsalted butter (half of 1 stick), softened
1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
pinch salt, optional and to taste
splash cream or milk, if needed to achieve proper consistency (I used about 1 1/2 tablespoons cream)
chocolate sprinkles, optional for garnishing

1. For the Cookies - To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the first 5 ingredients (through vanilla) on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
2. Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the next 5 ingredients (through optional salt), and mix on low speed until just incorporated, about 1 minute; don't overmix.
3. Add the peanut butter chips and mix until just incorporated. 
4. Using a medium 2-inch cookie scoop, form heaping two-tablespoon mounds. Place mounds on a large plate, flatten mounds slightly, cover with plasticwrap, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or up to 5 days, before baking. 
5. Preheat oven to 350F, line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place mounds on baking sheet, spaced at least 2 inches apart and bake for about 8 to 9 minutes, or until edges have set and tops are just beginning to set, even if slightly undercooked, pale and glossy in the center. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet  for about 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooking. 
6. For the Peanut Butter Frosting - To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the peanut butter and butter, and beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
7. Slowly add the sugar, optional salt, and mix until frosting comes together.
8. Add a splash of cream or milk as necessary to achieve desired consistency.
9. Add a generous dollop (about 2 tablespoons) to each cookie, and smooth it as desired with a knife or spatula.
10. Optionally garnish with sprinkles. Serve immediately.

12 Days of Christmas Cookies - Day 4: Chocolate Turtle Cookies

Day 4: Chocolate Turtle Cookies from Pixelated Crumb

I love these cookies. They're cute, chocolate, caramel and delicious. They're also perfect for the holidays because you can make the dough ahead of time, portion into dough balls, roll in toasted pecans or almonds (your choice), shape with the "thumbprint" indent in the middle and freeze until you're ready to bake them. Then while they're baking, you can make the caramel, fill the indents when the cookies come out, let cool and package them up or set them out if they're for a party.

During the busy holiday season, I typically focus on timesavers. I don't have long stretches of free time to bake as much as I need to bake but I break up the steps, do as much advance cookie dough making as I need whenever I can snatch pockets of time (15-20 minutes here and there) then bake cookies off at the last minute right before I need them, typically 20-30 minutes or so, depending on how much I'm baking. Easy. Plus, these are cute and little, perfect for a cookie swap, dessert party, and/or cookie plate for giving away. And look at that caramel. This is one of those cookies I have to give away immediately so I don't eat more than one. Maybe two.

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1 large egg, separated, plus 1 egg white
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups pecans, chopped fine 
14 soft caramel candies
3 tablespoons heavy cream

1. Combine flour, cocoa, and salt in bowl. With electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 2 minutes. Add egg yolk, milk, and vanilla and mix until incorporated. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture until just combined. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, 1 hour.
2. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk egg whites in bowl until frothy. Place pecans in another bowl. Roll dough into 1-inch balls, dip in egg whites, then roll in pecans. Place balls 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Using 1/2-teaspoon measure, make indentation in center of each ball. Bake until set, about 12 minutes, switching and rotating sheets halfway through baking.
3. Microwave caramels and cream in bowl, stirring occasionally, until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Once cookies are removed from oven, gently re-press existing indentations. Fill each with 1/2 teaspoon caramel mixture. Cool 10 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

12 Days of Christmas Cookies - Day 3: Red Velvet Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies

Day 3: Red Velvet Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies from I Am Baker

Another holiday favorite whenever I throw a holiday dessert party or give out holiday goodie bags is Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies. I have friends who always go for these first just to make sure they have room for them. Which I think is pretty funny. For the holidays, I went with I Am Baker's Christmas twist of making a red velvet version. Just as easy to make and the color scheme screams, "Hello, Christmas, what took you so long?"

To keep the red color front and center, I rolled the cookie dough balls in red sanding sugar ($5.95 from Williams Sonoma in the little jar beats the finer "crystals" of the cheap grocery store red sugar) before baking them. I thought they looked a bit prettier that way plus I like the additional crunch and sweetness from the sanding sugar.

1 bag Hershey's Kisses
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter 
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 egg 
2 tablespoons milk
2 teaspoons vanilla 
1 teaspoon red gel food coloring (I used Schilling red food coloring)
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa 
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda 
pinch salt
1/4 cup red sanding sugar

1. Beat butter, peanut butter, and sugar in stand mixer for about 2 minutes on medium speed. Reduce speed to low and add egg, milk, vanilla and red food coloring. Mix for about 30 seconds to incorporate, then increase speed to medium high and blend until light and fluffy.
2. In a separate bowl, sift cocoa, flour, baking soda and salt. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture to sugar mixture and beat until just combined.
3. Shape dough into 1" balls. Chill for at least 1 hour. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 degrees F. 
4. Pour red sanding sugar into shallow bowl. Roll dough balls in sanding sugar and place on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper about 2 inches apart.
5. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. While cookies are baking, unwrap Hershey Kisses. When cookies are done, remove from oven and immediately press Hershey Kiss lightly into the center of each cookie. Cool to room temperature.