Chocolate Almond Mummy Cookies

Posted in food & flavor & recipes, holidays by Rosemary Lynn

Aren’t those just the sweetest looking mummy cookies you’ve ever seen??

I haven’t made these things in years and I was really craving them, but this year I changed things up a little.

All I did was add some almond extract into the batter and icing, but it really makes a difference. It adds so much dimension to the cookies. I feel like vanilla extract gets lost in chocolate cookies, but almond brings out both flavors.

And I like the royal icing as the mummy wrappings because it dries hard and shiny, although royal icing isn’t really known for it’s spectacular flavor… but a little almond is the perfect fix!

The cookie batter is based on the Hershey’s chocolate cutout cookies.

It’s an easy recipe, which is part of the reason I like. You mix the dry ingredients in one bowl, blend the wet in the other, then mix ’em all together.

Once you have your yummy chocolate almond cookie dough, cover it loosely with plastic wrap and store it in the fridge for an hour.

Try to do this before you – ahem – “taste test” the entire batch.

Roll it out on a floured surface and use some gingerbread men cookie cutters to make the mummies.

My cutters were about 2.5 inches tall and I got 4 dozen cookies.

The icing can be whipped up quickly with a fork. I can’t be bothered dragging out the mixer all the time…

Anyway, if you don’t already have meringue powder, it’s worth picking some up. I swear this stuff lasts forever.

To easily fill a plastic bag with the icing, put the bag in a glass first and fold the edges over the rim. Scoop in the icing, and you have an instant decorating bag!

Don’t those look gorgeous??

Once the cookies are completely cooled – and once you’ve made sure to place some waxed or parchment paper under the cooling racks – then go ahead and “wrap” your mummies.

Snip a small hole in the corner of that decorating bag you’ve just filled and drizzle it back and forth over the cookies, allowing it to overlap now and then.

When the icing is hard, CAREFULLY remove the cookies from the racks. {A couple of my guys lost their heads this way because I got impatient.} Just use a spatula instead of yanking them off and you should be fine.

And while the icing is still wet, you COULD add some eyes, by way of mini chocolate chips or mini M&Ms or something along those lines, but I don’t find that necessary.

I like the look of them without any eyeballs. More elegant. If mummies can be such a thing…

Chocolate Almond Mummy Cookies

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 large egg
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/2 cups flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups confectionary (powdered) sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons meringue powder
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
3 to 4 tablespoons water

Blend the butter, egg, sugar, and almond extract. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture until fully incorporated. Cover and refrigerate for one hour.

Preheat oven to 325°F (170°C). On a floured surface, roll out the dough to about a 1/4 inch thick. Use a 2 to 3 inch cookie cutter in the shape of a gingerbread man for the mummies. Place on ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes or until you can lightly touch the cookie without leaving an indentation. Cool completely on wire racks.

For the icing, use a fork to blend the sugar, meringue powder, extract, and 3 tablespoons water. Continue to add about half a tablespoon at a time until you reach your desired consistency. You should be able to lift the fork out of the bowl and have the icing slowly drip off in a thick line.

Put the icing in a decorating bag or in a plastic baggie with the corner snipped off, and decorate the cookies by moving the icing back and forth over them. Be sure that you have something under the racks to catch the excess icing, such as waxed paper.

Once the icing has hardened, very carefully remove the cookies from the racks. Store covered.

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Here is the free printable PDF version of the recipe: Chocolate Almond Mummy Cookies

And a few things you may need:

Enjoy!

24Sep2014

Candy Corn Cookies

Posted in food & flavor & recipes by Rosemary Lynn

White Chocolate Chip Cookies with Candy Corn at RoamingRosie.com

Fall is here! It’s time for all things Fall. Like pumpkins and candy corn.

My daughter loves candy corn.

Loves it.

Starts asking for it months before Halloween.

So, adding candy corn to things is kind of a natural progression of celebrating Fall in our house.

I loved the idea of candy corn in cookies. I mean, the candy is essentially made of sugar and honey – so how could it go wrong?

Turns out it can.

But don’t worry. I got it all figured out now.

White Chocolate Chip Cookies with Candy Corn

First of all, we start with a pretty basic chocolate chip cookie recipe.

You can use a mixer to blend it all together {until adding the chips}, but I just use a spoon.

Less to wash.

And what you can see in the photo below is that I mixed in the candy corn when I stirred in the chocolate chips.

Which is where I made my first mistake.

I also was making these after baking something else and forgot to turn the oven down, but hopefully you won’t do that. :)

White Chocolate Chip Cookies with Candy Corn

So, with the oven accidentally set too high, the candy corn melted.

I had a giant, gooey mess on my hands. But I scraped it off the pan and into a bowl and ate it like that. It was kinda like a cookie stew. Pretty ugly, but darned tasty.

Anyway, I adjusted the oven temp for the next batch and changed the method of adding the candy corn, because even with a lower oven temp, any candy corn that was on the bottom of the cookie stuck to the pan.

Now, you could just let it cool completely on the pan if the candy makes it stick and then try to delicately slide a thin spatula under it, but that’s a lot of work.

To solve this problem, you can simply add the candy corn to the top of the cookies after scooping the dough onto the pans. Just press a few into the top.

But I do suggest keeping an eye on these. Just in case.

I mean – keep an eye on them while they’re baking. ‘Cause once they’re done, and once your family tastes them, they’ll disappear.

White Chocolate Chip Cookies with Candy Corn

White Chocolate Chip Cookies with Candy Corn

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
I/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
I tsp. vanilla extract
1 egg
1 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 to 1 cup candy corn

Preheat oven to 340°F.

In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt.

In a different bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, and brown sugar. Blend in the egg and vanilla. Mix in the chocolate chips.

Scoop the dough in teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheets. Press a few pieces of candy corn into the top of each cookie.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until edges are set. Cool on wire racks. Store covered.

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And to print the free PDF version of the recipe, click here: White Chocolate Chip Cookies with Candy Corn

Enjoy!

Roaming Rosie Signature

25Jul2014

Strawberry Cream Cheese Sandwich Cookies

Posted in food & flavor & recipes by Rosemary Lynn

Strawberry Cream Cheese Sandwich Cookies

These are amazing.

Even though I probably said that about the Easter Bunny Spiced Sandwich Cookies, too. But that’s only because it’s true.

I developed this recipe when I made the Bunny cookies because I wanted to incorporate cream cheese into both the cookie itself and the icing. And the results were sooooooooooo good.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Sandwich Cookies

Above are most of the ingredients. Just add a little confectionery sugar and vanilla extract for the icing, and that’s all you need.

Simple, right?

Strawberry Cream Cheese Sandwich Cookies

When you cream together the butter, cream cheese, and egg for the cookie dough, it should look nice and creamy like this.

Then mix in the cake mix and extra flour.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Sandwich Cookies

It’s a soft dough, so you’ll need to refrigerate it before rolling it out.

And if it’s still a little too soft to handle, just knead in a bit of flour.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Sandwich Cookies

Sprinkle some flour over your counter generously before rolling out the dough.

And be sure to keep the dough a little thick. The cookies need to be thick and just-ever-so-slightly undercooked so that you can bite through them and the icing without the icing squirting out all over the place.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Sandwich Cookies

Once the cookies are cool, you can add the icing.

I usually make the icing while the cookies are cooling.

Then I like to add a little decoration to the top with some melted chocolate. I used Wilton’s Bright White Candy Melts here to mimic the shape of the cookies.

Ain’t they just adorable??

Strawberry Cream Cheese Sandwich Cookies

Strawberry Cream Cheese Sandwich Cookies

Cookie Ingredients:

1 box (16.5 oz.) strawberry cake mix
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 large egg

In a large bowl, use a mixer to cream together the butter and cream cheese. Add egg and vanilla and blend until fluffy.

Slowly sprinkle in the cake mix and flour and blend until combined.

Shape cookie dough into a flattened disc, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least a half hour.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Roll out dough to a 1/4 inch thick on a lightly floured surface. (If you want to make a sandwich cookie with a cutter that is not symmetrical, then make sure you cut out an equal number of matching cookies, using both sides of the cookie cutter.)

Bake on parchment lined cookie sheets for 5 to 8 minutes, depending on the size and thickness of your cookies. They should not yet be noticeably browning on the edges. Do not overcook them or your sandwiches will be difficult to eat.

Allow cookies to rest on the hot pan for a few minutes, then remove to cooling racks. Cool cookies completely before adding icing.

Icing:

4 ounces cream cheese, softened
3 Tbsp. butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups confectioners sugar
White chocolate chips or candy melts (optional)

With a mixer, cream together the butter and cream cheese. Mix in the vanilla. Add in the sugar a half cup at a time, blending well.

Put icing in a decorating bag or a baggy with the corner cut off, and squeeze it onto the bottoms of half of the cooled cookies. Place another cookie on top of the icing and press down gently.

If desired, melt some white chocolate chips to draw a pattern on top of the cookie.

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To PRINT the free PDF, click here: Strawberry Cream Cheese Sandwich Cookies

Enjoy!

Roaming Rosie Signature

17Jul2014

Orange Creamsicle Cookies

Posted in food & flavor & recipes by Rosemary Lynn

Orange Creamsicle Cookies

If you’re looking for an amazing cookie that just screams “summer,” you need to try these.

I love anything orange creamsicle related. Including the Popsicles, of course. And these were just so much fun to eat.

Plus, they were super simple, since I started with a box mix.

Orange Creamsicle Cookies

If you follow the directions on the box, they suggest adding the matching flavored icing to the cookies, but I tend to avoid icings that may not actually dry. Too difficult to store.

So I dipped them in white chocolate instead.

And to really get the creamsicle-flavor, I also added a cup of white chocolate chips to the batter.

If you were in a bind and didn’t have the time to dip the cooled cookies in chocolate (even tho it only takes a few minutes), you still need to add in the chocolate chips. They really send the cookies over the edge.

Above is a pic of the box mix that I used. Picked it up at the grocery store in the cake mix aisle.

But if you can’t find it in your local store, the Pillsbury Orangesicle Premium Cookie Mix is also available online.

Orange Creamsicle Cookies

Here you can see the batter with the chocolate chips mixed in.

Like little gooey balls of creamsicles……

Orange Creamsicle Cookies

After they were baked and fully cooled, I dipped them in some melted Bright White Candy Melts (tho regular white would work, too).

It looks like I dipped the cookies in halfway, but the chocolate really only covers the top and sides – not the bottom. I didn’t want the chocolate overpowering the orange flavor.

Orange Creamsicle Cookies

Orange Creamsicle Cookies

1 box Pillsbury Orangesicle Premium Cookie Mix
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup white or bright white Candy Melts

Make the cookie dough according the package directions. Stir in chocolate chips and drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls onto baking sheets. Bake according to package directions. Allow to cool completely.

Melt the Candy Melts in a small bowl. Dip half of the top of each cookie into the melted chocolate and allow to set on waxed or parchment paper. Store covered.

Roaming Rosie Signature

4Jul2014

Red, White, and Blue July 4th Cookies

Posted in food & flavor & recipes, holidays by Rosemary Lynn

Red White and Blue July 4th Cookies

Happy July 4th!

Made these festive cookies today.

I dyed some sugar cookie dough red (with Wilton Christmas Red gel), rolled the balls of dough in red sugar sprinkles, and baked.

Just after pulling them out of the oven, I gently pressed on a chocolate star that I made from blue candy melts the night before. I put a white chocolate dot in the center of the star, but, honestly, they wound up looking a little bit more like fireworks than stars.

Still tasted awesome, tho.

Enjoy your weekend!

Roaming Rosie Signature

12Jun2014

Spinkle Cookies

Posted in activities for kids, food & flavor & recipes by Rosemary Lynn

Sprinkle Cookies

Don’t those look deliciously fun?

Seriously, these sprinkle cookies were a super easy way to give my girls a fun project in the kitchen.

First of all, they love sprinkles. LOVE. Them.

So when I put tiny paper plates full of colorful sprinkles in front of them, there were many squeals of joy.

Making Sprinkle Cookies With The Kids!

We used a box cookie mix for this {thanks to Publix BOGO}.

So it was just a basic sugar cookie and piles of whatever sprinkles we had in the pantry.

The girls rolled the cookies in the sprinkles, creating wonderfully colorful cookies, and we baked them according to the package directions.

Sprinkle Cookies

Look at how pretty they were even before baking: like little sparkly jewels!

They certainly made movie night even more exciting. :)

Roaming Rosie Signature

14May2014

Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

Posted in food & flavor & recipes by Rosemary Lynn

Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies {just add chocolate chips to 3-ingredient peanut butter cookies!}

I love these cookies.

First off – it’s tough to beat a 3-ingredient cookie. Especially one that tastes this good.

But add chocolate: pure, unadulterated awesomeness.

And the darn things taste like Reeses peanut butter cups!

Seriously.

Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

Okay, look at that photo. Four things in this cookie.

That’s it.

You have no excuse not to make these.

Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

First, mix together some peanut butter, sugar, and an egg.

Then stir in chocolate chips.

Roll up some dough, flatten with fork, sprinkle with extra sugar.

Try not to devour them before you bake them.

Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

My little helping hands decided the remaining chocolate chips should be spread over the counter.

Easier access. :)

And my oldest daughter decided that we should put chocolate chips on top of most of the cookies before baking them, but, just so you know, they didn’t stick.

Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

Look at that beautifulness.

These cookies are seriously addicting. Very tempting.

I may have to make half a batch next time.

{And I think I forgot to include the yield amount in the printable recipe… it makes 24 cookies.}

And, below, is a photo of little fingers making off with my photo props. :)

Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies {and sneaky fingers!}

Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, slightly beaten
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Mix the peanut butter, sugar, and egg until combined.

Stir in the chocolate chips.

Shape a generous teaspoonful of the batter into a circle. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and flatten by pressing a fork into the top in an X pattern.

Generously sprinkle granulated sugar over the top of the cookies.

Bake until set, about 18 minutes.

Cool on pan for two minutes, then move to wire racks to cool.

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Click for the Free Printable PDF: Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

Enjoy! {I know you will.}

Roaming Rosie Signature

20Apr2014

Easter Bunny Spiced Sandwich Cookies

Posted in food & flavor & recipes by Rosemary Lynn