Dark Chocolate Dipped Brown Sugar Cinnamon Cookie Bars

Posted in food & flavor & recipes by Rosemary Lynn

I’ve been wanting to make cinnamon cookies for awhile. And, apparently, my new obsession is dipping things in chocolate.

This particular recipe is a thick, cake-like cookie with a strong hint of cinnamon and an emphasis on brown sugar.

And the chocolate just makes it incredibly amazing.

Plus – and this is my favorite part – that thick cookie soaks up warm coffee like it was born for it. It’s like the perfect breakfast. (And dessert. And snack.)

All the good stuff.

Theoretically you could use light brown sugar … but then you’d be missing out on the extra oomph of molasses.

We’re getting there…

Coming together…

(I’m getting excited.)

Not that I promote eating raw cookie dough or anything but… ohmygosh this stuff is like a gooey pile of heaven.

But it’s a little sticky too, so use nonstick cooking spray to coat your hands before spreading it in the pan.

It will be thin, but that’s okay – it’s gonna rise. Just make sure there are no holes allowing the pan to show through.

Yum! Good stuff right here.

Don’t overbake it, though. I probably could have cooked this one right here about a minute less, since it’s going to keep cooking just a little when you pull it out. The cookie needs to cool completely in the pan.

When you cut your cookies, they will present a nicer display if you trim off the crispy edges.

You can see my “edges” in the photo above. They were a little larger than necessary, but, you know, those were the parts that didn’t make it to the pot luck. ;)

You could dip them into chocolate any way you want, but I certainly recommend using dark chocolate. It has a nice deep flavor that complements the cookie.

I like the way it looks when you dip the corner, but technically you could dip just the bottoms or a full half of the cookie instead.

Or drizzle the chocolate over it.

Were you still thinking about those “edges” I mentioned? Here they are (above). I drizzled the leftover chocolate over them. For parties I think the dipped corners are gorgeous, but the drizzle does the job too.

Did I mention these were amazing with coffee?

Did I only mention it once? ‘Cause these are uh-mazing with coffee.

(Even if you accidentally put too much creamer in your coffee. Still amazing.)

Dark Chocolate Dipped Brown Sugar Cinnamon Cookie Bars

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoons sea salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
10 oz. dark chocolate (I used Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Melting Wafers)

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a 15 by 10-inch jelly roll pan, or baking sheet with sides, with parchment paper.

In a small bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugars. Stir in the vanilla and the eggs, one at a time. Add in the flour mixture, a little at a time, until fully combined.

Spread the dough onto the baking sheet. It is easier to work with if you lightly coat the parchment paper and your hands (or spoon) with nonstick cooking spray. The dough will be a little wet and it will be very thin in the pan.

Bake for 20 to 22 minutes. Place pan on a cooling rack and allow cookies to cool fully in pan.

Slice the cookies into bars by first trimming off the crispy edges. Cut three rows lengthwise, then slice those pieces about an inch thick. You’ll have about 4 dozen cookies that measure about 1 by 3 inches.

Melt the chocolate according to the package directions. Dip each cookie into the chocolate then place the cookie onto parchment or waxed paper to allow chocolate to set. Store covered.

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Click below for the free printable PDF recipe with photos:

Dark Chocolate Dipped Brown Sugar Cinnamon Cookie Bars

Happy Baking!

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3Sep2016

Ginger Cookie Truffles

Posted in food & flavor & recipes by Rosemary Lynn

So the other day I was sitting there thinking: if people make Oreo Truffles all the time, can I make truffles out of other cookies too?

The answer is OH VERY YES.

And the more specific answer would be DUDE IF YOU LIKE SPICE COOKIES/CAKE AT ALL YOU TOTALLY HAVE TO TRY THESE RIGHT NOW.

I chose these ingredients because I’m a big fan of spice cakes and gingerbread cookies and things like that. My mom can practically live off of ginger snaps. And fall is on its way. (Or maybe it’s already here. I’m not sure: I live in Florida.)

Anyway, these truffles are basically a combination of cookie crumbs and cream cheese smushed together and dipped into white chocolate.

Then, for a fun touch, drizzled with a little cinnamon chocolate. Just ’cause.

It took me a little bit of forever to crush up all the cookies because my food processor broke, but it wasn’t difficult.

I like these ginger thins because they’re pretty crispy, which made for great crumbs.

I’m sure you could substitute a different cookie, but you might have to adjust your amounts, and – you know – these ginger thin cookies are incredible so why would you??

Unless you come up with something better – then please let me know. Food is my favorite type of experiment. ;)

Oh, and if you’re wondering, I picked up all of my ingredients at Walmart. But you can also get them online if you can’t find these things locally. I totally swear by those Ghirardelli wafers. They seriously rock both in the ease-of-use and taste categories.

The end result?

A silky smooth creamy center exploding with spice and encased in a mildly sweet chocolate that’s decorated with just a hint of cinnamon.

They look good and taste even better.

Ginger Cookie Truffles

Ingredients:

10.5 oz. (2 boxes) Anna’s Swedish Thins or other ginger cookies
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
10 oz. white chocolate (I used Ghirardelli White Melting Wafers)
1-2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (optional)

Crumble the ginger cookies in a food processor or by hand until finely ground.

Mix the cream cheese into the cookie crumbs until well combined and smooth.

Scoop out large teaspoonfuls of the cookie mix and shape into balls. Place the balls on a tray lined with parchment paper or tin foil. Freeze for 10 to 15 minutes.

Melt the white chocolate according to the package directions, stirring until smooth. Take out the cookie balls and dip them into the chocolate using a fork, one at a time, until fully coated. Shake the fork to allow excess chocolate to drip back into the bowl. Set the truffles on a sheet of parchment or waxed paper until chocolate hardens, using the side of a second fork to push the truffle off the first fork.

When all the truffles are done, sprinkle a teaspoon or two of cinnamon into the remaining chocolate, depending on how much chocolate is left, and stir to combine. Then use a clean fork to drizzle the cinnamon chocolate over the truffles.

Allow to fully set, then store in the refrigerator.

Makes about 2 dozen.

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Click here to print the free PDF of the recipe:

Ginger Cookie Truffles

Happy Eating!

20Apr2016

Cookie Butter Fudge

Posted in food & flavor & recipes by Rosemary Lynn

So I decided to create a recipe for Cookie Butter Fudge.

And … oh … this is quite possibly both the best and worst thing I have ever done.

This fudge, people, is RIDICULOUS.

If you’ve read my other fudge recipes, you know that I abhor the types of fudge that don’t set and require refrigeration. So, in that vein, this fudge has no condensed milk, or even marshmallow creme or anything like that. It’s just good old fashioned homemade fudge.

With cookie butter.

*drools*

If you are here, I’m assuming you’re familiar with cookie butter. If not, you should seriously consider acquainting yourself immediately.

I used the Trader Joe’s Speculoos Cookie Butter which I ~~often~~ sometimes eat by the spoonful straight from the jar because, you know, it’s awesome. So that’s what I recommend.

But if it’s not available in your area (or you don’t want to order it from Amazon), I’ve seen similar products at Publix (European cookie spread) and Target (Biscoff creamy spread).

So, here we go…

Simple ingredients. Just milk, cream, butter, and sugar for the base, and cookie butter and vanilla for the extra flavor.

Dump the first ingredients in the pot and whisk together.

If you’ve forgotten to set out your butter ahead of time, just slice it and throw it in cold. Bring up the pan to a boil slowly, making sure the butter melts and gets combined.

But once it gets to a boil, do NOT stir it again. (It will get all grainy and weird.)

As it comes to a rolling boil, it’s going to expand. A LOT.

So use a very large pot.

As it cooks, it will reduce back down.

Once it gets to soft ball stage, it will be much thicker with larger bubbles.

This takes about 15 minutes.

Unless I’ve forgotten to leave it at a rolling simmer. If the temperature is too low, it can take a lot longer than 15 minutes to get to soft ball stage. Just make sure you get there, or the fudge won’t set.

Take it of the heat and quickly stir in the vanilla and cookie butter.

You’re going to beat it over a bowl of ice to help it cool down and set.

Stir it well, but as soon as it is thick enough to pull away from the sides and bottom of the pot while you stir it, go ahead and dump it in your prepared pan.

You’ll need to let it sit for awhile to finish setting up.

Once it’s hardened (this should take between 30 minutes and an hour), pull it out by the foil. You can let it sit longer, on a cooling rack, if it feels wobbly and soft.

Then place a large platter over the fudge and use that platter to flip it over:

You’ll want it to rest upside down for a bit to make sure the bottom dries out.

Then place a cutting board over it and flip it back to right side up.

Cut the fudge with a long sharp knife, wiping the blade on a towel between slices.

Let the fudge rest for awhile (at least two hours but I’ve left it out as long as overnight) so that it hardens all the way around.

You want it fully set not only so that you can stack the pieces on a plate or in a container, but also for the wonderful texture balance of the sugary, buttery flakiness of the exterior that contrasts with the utter softness of the interior that will melt in your mouth like a liquid drop of cookie joy.

Cookie Butter Fudge

Ingredients:

1 cup whole milk
1 cup heavy whipping cream
3 cups sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1/2 cup Speculoos Cookie Butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Prepare an 8×8-inch baking dish with tin foil and a light coating of butter or cooking spray.

Whisk together the milk, cream, sugar, and butter in a large saucepan. Bring it to a rolling boil.

Reduce the heat and simmer it without stirring. This is important: do NOT stir the mixture! After 15 minutes, test the temperature with a thermometer. Once it reaches 235°F or soft ball stage, remove from heat. Do NOT stop simmering until it reaches this temperature, or it will not set. This may take more than 15 minutes. It will be noticeably thicker when it’s done.

Remove from heat and stir in the cookie butter and vanilla extract.

Fill a large bowl with ice and place the saucepan into the bowl on top of the ice. Stir the fudge over the ice until it is very thick. Then (making sure not to let any of the melted ice get into your fudge) pour it into the prepared baking dish, spreading it smooth.

Place baking dish on a wire rack and allow to set. This may take a half hour or longer, depending on the temperature and humidity of your home. Carefully remove the fudge from the dish by pulling out the foil. Place a large plate over the fudge and flip it over so that the fudge can rest upside down for a few minutes, to let the bottom to dry. Follow the same procedure to flip it right side up on a cutting board.

Cut into squares or rectangles with a sharp knife, wiping the blade on a towel between slices. Allow the pieces to sit without touching for at least a 2 hours or overnight to make sure each piece is fully set and has a nice solidity all the way around the smooth interior. Then store covered.

Makes about 3 dozen 1-inch pieces.

[Note: I used Trader Joe’s Speculoos Cookie Butter, but you can substitute any European cookie spread.]

**********

And to print the free PDF of the recipe, click here:

Cookie Butter Fudge

Happy Baking!

12Apr2016

Triple Chocolate Iced Scones

Posted in food & flavor & recipes by Rosemary Lynn

I recently made some Sweet Honey Scones (they’re awesome btw, you should try them) and I was still in the mood for scones, but also really in the mood for chocolate.

This was my solution.

And a pretty darned great one, if I do say so myself.

These Triple Chocolate Iced Scones are thick and crumbly like a biscuit, but moist too and so very chocolatey.

I’ve been eating these for breakfast and dessert.

I love versatility. ;)

They’re freshest within the first 2 or 3 days, but that shouldn’t be a problem. They are SO easy to eat.

Oh, and the “triple” in the name comes from them being chocolate scones with chocolate chips throughout and topped by a decadent chocolate icing. *drools*

Getting set up.

After you mix together the dry ingredients, you’ll cut in the cold butter.

Then comes the cream and vanilla (yum!) and the chocolate chips.

Looks good once it all comes together, no?

Knead it gently to pull it together. Overworking the dough will make it tough.

And sprinkle some cocoa powder instead of flour over your work surface to keep it from sticking.

Shape the dough with your hands into a circle or a square.

A circle will make 8 large wedges. The squares above come in a count of 16, but as you can see in the photo below, I further cut these squares down by slicing them diagonally to make small triangles.

Which made it easier to eat two or three or four at a time…….

The dough is just slightly sticky enough that you may have to reshape it after cutting, especially if you use a pizza cutter like I did.

But that’s okay. They reshape easily with your fingers. Just press the dough where you want it to go.

The icing is optional, technically, but such a nice touch.

Just blend the cocoa powder and powdered sugar and stir in a little vanilla and water until you’ve got smooth ribbons of chocolate easily dripping from your fork in thin ribbons.

The baked scones, pre-icing.

Try not to over bake them or the bottoms will burn. The bottoms will be a little darker than the rest anyway, but keep an eye on them towards the end.

They’ll be done when they look puffy and solid, and there’s no indent left behind when you touch the top with your finger.

How wonderful do these things look covered in icing??

Cover your work space with waxed paper or something similar to catch the drips of icing.

To decorate your scones like this, scoop the fork into the icing and then wave it back and forth over the scones to drizzle them generously with the liquid yummy-ness.

Let the icing dry completely before storing. I usually let things like this sit for at least an hour (or more) to make ultra-certain that the icing is hardened all the way through and won’t get smooshed when I stack them in a container.

Triple Chocolate Iced Scones

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/3 cup cocoa powder
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (one stick) cold unsalted butter, sliced
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips

Icing:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon vanilla
2 to 3 tablespoons water

Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).

Whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Use a pastry cutter or two knives to cut the cold butter into the flour mixture until it resembles large crumbs.

Add the cream and vanilla to the dry mixture and stir until just moistened. Add the chocolate chips. Knead it gently with your hands to pull it all together. Do not overmix.

Sprinkle a little cocoa powder over your work surface, and shape the dough with your hands into a circle or square about 8 inches across and one inch high. Cut the circle into 8 large wedges or cut the square into 16 smaller squares. If you’d like mini triangles, as shown in the photos, cut the 16 squares in half diagonally to make 32 pieces. Place them an inch apart on a baking pan lined with parchment paper.

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until the dough is set and leaves no indent when you touch the top. Let rest on pan for two minutes then transfer to a cooling rack.

Make the icing by mixing the powdered sugar and cocoa powder with a fork. Add the vanilla and 2 tablespoons of water and stir well. Continue adding water a teaspoon at a time until the icing smoothly drips from the fork in thin ribbons. Drizzle the icing over the completely cooled scones.

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To print the free PDF of the recipe click here:

Triple Chocolate Scones

Happy Baking!

8Apr2016

Sweet Honey Scones

Posted in food & flavor & recipes by Rosemary Lynn

I first made these a few years ago, and I recently changed the recipe a little.

So here are the updated Sweet Honey Scones!

These scones are crumbly yet moist and permeated with a distinct honey flavor. And boy do I love me some honey.

But why “sweet”?

Not only are these made with honey, but they also have a small amount of sugar in them, which you don’t always find in scones. Plus, I added in some vanilla, which adds a beautiful aroma and pairs well with the honey.

Just a few basic ingredients.

Make sure the butter and cream are cold.

Once you cut in the cold butter pieces, you’ll mix together the honey, vanilla, and cream and stir that in.

Stir just until everything is moistened. You don’t want to over mix the dough or the scones will be heavy.

To bring the dough fully together, gently knead it.

I knead it right in the bowl, since all you’re really doing at this point is making sure it comes together.

On a lightly floured surface, press the dough into a square or a circle.

Shape it with your hands by patting it out into the shape you want. A circle will make rather large wedges, and the square pictured above can be further cut down to make small triangles by cutting each of those squares diagonally.

Oh, and I find a pizza cutter is the easiest way to shape your scones. :)

Spread out your pieces on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet, leaving some space to spread.

Brush the scones with cream and sprinkle generously with raw sugar.

Then bake until set and browned. The bottoms will get dark much faster than the rest, so keep a close eye towards the end of the baking time.

And, as you can see, some of mine were touching because they were close together on the cookie sheet. But as long as you gave them some room to spread, they’ll be fine. Even if they touch a little.

Don’t those look delicious?!

Here’s the recipe, and the printable version below:

Sweet Honey Scones

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (one stick) cold unsalted butter, sliced
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream
3 tablespoons raw or turbinado sugar

Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).

Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

Use a pastry cutter or two knives to cut the cold butter into the flour mixture until it resembles large crumbs.

In a small bowl, mix the honey, vanilla, and the 1/2 cup whipping cream. Add that to the dry mixture and stir until just moistened. Then knead it gently with your hands to pull it all together. Do not overmix.

Sprinkle a little flour over your work surface, and shape the dough with your hands into a circle or square about 8 inches across and one inch high. Cut the circle into 8 large wedges or cut the square into 16 smaller squares (at this point you could also cut each square diagonally to create 32 triangles), and place the pieces an inch apart on a baking pan lined with parchment paper.

Brush the tops with the reserved heavy cream and sprinkle with the raw sugar. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until the edges are just browned.

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Click here to download the free printable PDF:

Sweet Honey Scones Recipe

Happy Baking!

7Apr2016

Triple Chocolate Spice Cookies

Posted in food & flavor & recipes by Rosemary Lynn

If you like chocolate and you like Spice Cookies, then you’re going to agree with me that these cookies are Uh-MAZING!!

They’re gooey and chocolately and bursting with fragrant flavor! A total hit with everyone who has tried them. Well … the ones I was willing to share! ;)

They’re loosely based off of the Land O’ Lakes Chocolate Chai Latte cookies. I like how those had a soft chocolate cookie base, are flavored with spices, filled with chunks of chocolate, and iced with a cinnamon glaze.

So I made this recipe to incorporate those elements, but with all the individual ingredients instead of starting with a cake mix. Cake mixes differ a lot, and I wanted to know exactly what was going into my cookies. Plus this way the cookies all turn out the same, unlike if you have a different cake mix on hand from the last time.

I played around with the measurements until I found something I loved, including adding more spice into mine. I picked out spices I liked and measured them out, instead of using using a drink mix like the Chai cookies.

Because, really, I’m far too unorganized to have a specific cake and drink mix on hand whenever I decide to make these. All of the ingredients I use here are things I usually have in the pantry. Except if I’ve forgotten to stock up on powdered milk, but that’s shelf stable, so I usually keep that around, too.

(Scroll down for the printable PDF of the recipe.)

It looks like a lot of ingredients, but once you get everything set up, it’s super simple to whip up a batch.

And you can see that I used milk chocolate for these. I suppose you could use semi-sweet or dark, but I like the way the softer and gentler milk chocolate chips contrast with the rest of the cookie.

The chips are one part of the “Triple” chocolates for which I named these. Aside from the cookie itself, there is also chocolate in the icing. :)

Would you just LOOK at all that FLAVOR!?

The dough is coming together…

A little thick, but that makes for soft, puffy cookies!

Scoop it out onto parchment paper or on a pan like this that releases the cookies easily.

The just-baked cookies.

See that moisture in the cracks? Get ready for some moist, fudgy goodness!

And the icing ingredients.

I made this icing with both cocoa powder and cinnamon for maximum chocolatey-spicy flavor.

The icing consistency is ready when it easily drips from the fork or spoon in thick ribbons.

Drizzle the icing over the cooled cookies by dipping the fork back into the icing then waving it back and forth above the cookies.

Wait until the icing hardens completely to eat them. The slight crunch of the icing makes a wonderful combination with the soft cookies.

Store them covered, and if you’ve waited until the icing is completely cooled (doesn’t smoosh and melt apart when you press it with your finger), then you shouldn’t even need to separate the layers of cookies with paper or anything. Just throw the ones you didn’t consume immediately into a container.

Triple Chocolate Spice Cookies

Ingredients:
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/3 cup instant nonfat dry milk powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
2 large eggs
3 tablespoons milk
2 cups milk chocolate chips

Icing:
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 to 5 tablespoons water

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°). Combine the first 11 ingredients in a large bowl with a whisk or fork. Add in the butter, eggs, and milk and blend with a mixer on medium speed until fully combined. Stir in the milk chocolate chips by hand. The dough should hold together but be thick. Scoop rounded teaspoons of dough onto cookie sheets, about two inches apart. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. The cracks in the cookies will still look moist when they are done. Allow to cool on cookie sheets for two minutes, then transfer to cooling racks and allow to cool completely.

Using a fork, combine the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and cinnamon in a bowl. Add in 3 tablespoons of water, stirring well until icing is smooth. Add a teaspoon more of water at a time until the icing drips from the fork in thin, unbroken ribbons. Line your workspace with waxed paper beneath the cooled cookies, and use the fork to drizzle the icing over the cookies. Allow icing to harden completely and store cookies covered. Makes four dozen.

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Click here to print the free PDF version of the recipe:

Triple Chocolate Spice Cookies

Happy Baking!

22Jun2015

Chocolate Fudge with Chocolate Chip Topping

Posted in food & flavor & recipes by Rosemary Lynn

Did I REALLY just publish THREE fudge recipes in a row??

Yes. Yes, I did.

And I may do it again one day…. I AM working on some new recipes… ;)

But for today, let’s just stick with this chocolate fudge with its INCREDIBLE chocolate chip topping.

Because, really, the awesomeness here deserves a massive amount of attention.

It starts out like any normal fudge (well – the kind WITHOUT condensed milk, which are the only ones I’ll cook now).

And go right ahead and ignore those mini chocolate chips in the photo…. I’d put them out before I realized they weren’t the ones I wanted to use. Don’t ask. Crazy Mom Brain, I guess.

What you SHOULD use are milk chocolate chips. Why? Because they’re softer and it’s a slightly contrasting flavor to the main body of the fudge. In other words, it compliments the fudge while still standing on it’s own.

First things first: whisk together the milk, cream, butter, sugar, and cocoa in a pot.

BUT in a bigger pot than what I photographed above. Don’t ask. Probably due to Crazy Mom Brain operating on no sleep. Either way, this pot overflowed and you just really don’t want to waste any chocolate like that.

So use a bigger pot.

Like this one:

Bring the mixture to a boil without stirring it.

Then reduce to a rolling simmer.

After 15 minutes, check the temperature. Remember: no stirring.

It NEEDS to hit 235 degrees Fahrenheit. If it doesn’t hit that temperature (also known as soft ball stage), it won’t set.

But you may need to keep simmering it until it hits 235. Don’t worry if it takes longer – just keep checking until you get where you need to be.

It’s totally worth the wait.

Once you get to 235, you can take it off the stove and mix in the vanilla.

To really, really make sure that the fudge sets like it should, you should put the pan over a bowl of ice and stir it for a few minutes until it gets thicker.

Pour the fudge into a pan prepared with butter or cooking spray (foil really helps, too), and immediately sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top.

Spread out the chips so that they cover the entire top evenly and press down gently to make sure that they adhere.

The fudge shouldn’t be hot enough to melt them at this point if you stirred it over the ice for a couple of minutes, but just warm enough to let the chips slightly melt just enough so that they stick.

There you go.

Isn’t that beautiful??

Let it sit, preferably on a wire rack to cool the bottom faster, then remove it from the pan.

Flip it over – gently! – for a few minutes to allow the bottom to dry, then – gently! – flip it back and cut it into pieces.

The inside will still be a little moist, which is why I suggest allowing the cut pieces to sit out, not touching each other, for at least an hour, if not overnight.

That way, the outside is completely dry. But the inside stays nice and smooth and melt-in-your-mouth amazing.

Seriously. If you love chocolate, you’re gonna be in heaven with these little bits of bliss.

Don’t be surprised if you take a tray to work or a pot luck and they’re gone before you can blink.

Chocolate Fudge with Chocolate Topping

Ingredients:

1 cup whole milk
1 cup heavy whipping cream
3 cups sugar
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup milk chocolate chips

Prepare an 8×8-inch baking dish with foil and a light coating of butter or cooking spray.

Whisk together the milk, cream, sugar, cocoa, and butter in a large saucepan. Bring it to a boil.

Reduce the heat and simmer it without stirring. This is important: do NOT stir the mixture! After 15 minutes, test the temperature with a thermometer. Once it reaches 235°F or soft ball stage, remove from heat. Do NOT stop simmering until it reaches this temperature, or it will not set. This may take a few more minutes. It will be noticeably thicker at this point, but still slightly runny. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract.

Fill a large bowl with ice and place the saucepan into the bowl on top of the ice. Stir the fudge for a few minutes until it is very thick. Then (making sure not to let any of the melted ice get into your fudge) pour it into the prepared baking dish, spreading it smooth. Immediately sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top. Spread them evenly, covering the entire surface, and gently press them down to make sure they adhere to the top of the fudge.

Place baking dish on a wire rack and allow to completely set. This may take a half hour or a little longer, depending on the temperature and humidity of your home. Carefully remove the fudge from the dish by pulling out the foil. Place fudge on a wire baking rack for a few minutes to allow the bottom to dry.

Cut into squares or rectangles with a sharp knife and allow the pieces to sit for a while without touching. I usually leave them out overnight to make sure each piece is fully set and has a nice solidity all the way around the smooth interior. Makes about 3 dozen 1-inch pieces.

[Note: you can also use semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips instead of the milk chocolate.]

********

Click here to print the free PDF version of the recipe:

Chocolate Fudge with Chocolate Chip Topping

And if you like fudge, check out my Vanilla Fairy Fudge and my mini pieces of traditional Chocolate Fudge:

Happy Baking!

1Jun2015

Lemon Oatmeal Cookies

Posted in food & flavor & recipes by Rosemary Lynn

Lemon Oatmeal Cookies

At first, I wasn’t really sure how these Lemon Oatmeal Cookies were going to turn out, but – on the heels of my Easy Iced Lemon Cake Mix Cookies – I was still on a lemon kick and wanted to try something a little different.

Luckily, these were a hit.

They’re a bit thick, but soft and deliciously lemony.

You also only really need one lemon to make them, but I threw a few more into the photos since I had them on hand.

Lemon Oatmeal Cookies

If you like lemon and oatmeal, these are a must.

Plus, if you don’t really like icing {I could practically live off of icing} you could still eat them without it. I like how the icing adds a tart sweetness to an otherwise mellow cookie.

Lemon Oatmeal Cookies

The icing can be stirred together in two minutes while the cookies are cooling.

Just don’t put those lemon seeds into the icing. :)

Lemon Oatmeal Cookies

You could flatten the cookies more, I suppose, but I liked the thickness of them.

It makes them softer.

And the powdered sugar on the bottom of the glass that you use to flatten the dough adds a nice, subtle sweetness.

Lemon Oatmeal Cookies

Again, if you didn’t want the extra lemon flavor in the icing, you could just top the cookies with a sprinkle of powdered sugar right before serving.

I like the icing, though, for a few reasons. Aside from the nice flavor, it also make the cookies ready-to-eat right out of the bag or tub that you keep them in.

Which is especially nice if you’re bringing them to a pot luck or something similar.

And, really, they’d be wonderful at a brunch event.

Lemon Oatmeal Cookies

Lemon Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1 ½ cups old fashioned rolled oats
1 egg
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 cup powdered sugar (for dusting)

Icing:

1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon fresh-squeezed lemon juice
3 to 5 teaspoons water

Beat the butter and sugar until creamy. Add the flour, oats, egg, lemon zest, and vanilla and mix well. Chill for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Put the 1/8 cup powdered sugar in a small dish.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten the cookies by dipping the bottom of a drinking glass in the powdered sugar and pressing the glass down on the dough.

Bake cookies for 11 to 13 minutes or until the edges begin to turn golden brown.

Cool for one minute on the cookie sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Combine the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and 2 teaspoons of water in a small bowl. Stir with a fork, adding a half-teaspoon of water at a time until you reach your desired consistency. It should drip slowly but smoothly from the fork.

Drizzle the icing over the cooled cookies and allow it to set. Store covered. Makes about 2 dozen.

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Click to print the free PDF version of the recipe:

Lemon Oatmeal Cookies

And if you like lemon, be sure to check out these recipes and crafts:

Happy Baking!

Roaming Rosie Signature

10Apr2015

Easy Iced Lemon Cake Mix Cookies

Posted in food & flavor & recipes by Rosemary Lynn

Easy Iced Lemon Cake Mix Cookies

These Lemon Cake Mix Cookies are super, super amazing!

Seriously delicious.

It has something to do with the softness you already get from the using the cake mix to make the cookies, PLUS it’s even more amazing when you use cake mix that has pudding in the mix.

Dude.

You gotta try these. Even if you only kinda, sorta like lemon at all. If you love lemon – well – these will blow you away! {Trust me: my coworkers didn’t leave a crumb behind!}

Easy Iced Lemon Cake Mix Cookies

These are also an easy dessert that you can throw together at the last minute when guests show up for a surprise visit, or you’re just suddenly craving something sweet and lemony.

Easy Iced Lemon Cake Mix Cookies

Stir together the cake mix and a bit of sugar, then stir in some eggs and oil.

Easy peasy. And smells amazing!

Easy Iced Lemon Cake Mix Cookies

I used teaspoonfuls to make mine.

You could make them a little bigger if you wanted, but I find this to be a perfect size.

Easy Iced Lemon Cake Mix Cookies

And the icing is another easy step.

Just mix it all up in a little bowl or cup and drizzle it over the cookies.

Easy Iced Lemon Cake Mix Cookies

It only takes a minute to mix the icing and another minute or two to drizzle it over the cookies with a fork.

Totally worth it.

It really makes the cookies extra special.

Easy Iced Lemon Cake Mix Cookies

Doesn’t that gooey-ness look ah-mazing??

I love these things!

Please share your own pics when you make them here or on my Facebook page!!

{Scroll down to print the recipe.}

Easy Iced Lemon Cake Mix Cookies

Easy Iced Lemon Cake Mix Cookies

Ingredients:

1 box (15 oz.) lemon cake mix
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs

Icing:
1 cup confectionery sugar
1 teaspoon lemon extract
1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons water

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).

In a large bowl, combine the cake mix and sugar. Stir in the eggs and vegetable oil until fully combined and smooth.

Drop teaspoonfuls of dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until the cookies are set on top and just barely starting to brown around the edges.

Cool on baking pans for two minutes, then transfer cookies to wire racks and cool completely.

Using a fork, mix all ingredients for icing in a small bowl or measuring cup, starting with 1 tablespoon of water, and adding about a 1/4 tablespoon of water at a time until you reach the desired consistency. It should still be a little thick, but drip easily from your fork.

Drizzle the icing over the cooled cookies, making sure your working space beneath the cookies is lined with waxed or parchment paper for easy cleanup.

Allow icing to set. Store covered. Makes 3 dozen.

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Print the free PDF copy of the recipe: Easy Iced Lemon Cake Mix Cookies

Enjoy!

Roaming Rosie Signature

5Apr2015

Easter Bunny Spiced Sandwich Cookies {take two}

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

Spiced Easter Bunny Sandwich Cookies

These Easter Bunny Spiced Sandwich Cookies were a lot of fun to hand out on Easter!

They were HUGE, though.

I totally didn’t realize how big the Wilton Comfort-Grip Bunny Cookie Cutter was when I bought it.

Still cute. Just huge.

And since I used the same recipe I made last year, you can see how I also used a smaller cookie cutter the last time I made these Spiced Easter Bunny Sandwich Cookies.

Spiced Easter Bunny Sandwich Cookies

There are only a few ingredients, and you’re really just mixing everything together in a big bowl, so you wind up with something that looks like you spent a TON of time in the kitchen even though it’s easy to put together.

And I looooooooove making these with the spice cake mix.

Makes the finished cookie taste kind of like gingerbread men. But not exactly. More cinnamon-y.

Which is also why I add cinnamon to the cream cheese icing that goes in the middle of the cookies.

Spiced Easter Bunny Sandwich Cookies

Here is the butter and cream cheese all mixed together {above}.

It’s best if these are at room temperature before you start mixing them, to ensure creaminess.

Spiced Easter Bunny Sandwich Cookies

The cookie dough will be a little soft, so you need to form it into a disc, wrap it in plastic wrap, and keep it in the fridge for at least a half hour before rolling it out.

You could keep it in the fridge overnight, but it may need to sit on a counter for a few minutes before rolling, if that’s the case.

And you need plenty of flour on your prep space and on the rolling pin. So the dough doesn’t stick.

Spiced Easter Bunny Sandwich Cookies