Samoa Cake

This time of the year is full of fun fall treats. But sometimes, its nice to have something other than pumpkin, ginger, and peppermint. I'm talking about something that quickly jumps into our lives at the end of the winter, making a short appearance, and than disappearing as quickly as it came. I'm talking about Girl Scout Cookies!

I was a Girl Scout for many many years. I joined as a Brownie... I think I was just entering 3 grade. In Brownies, I met some of my best friends (one of whom was my maid of honor this past spring), and after that first year I went to Girl Scout Camp. I continued though scouts way past an age where it was "cool" and  went to camp every summer. When I turned 16 I became a camp counselor and later a camp lifeguard... in total I was part of the scouts for ~13 year!

Some areas call Samoas "Caramel deLites." 

This is a travesty and there is nothing "lite" about these cookies!

Of course, along with camp-outs, silly songs, and crafts, I sold plenty of cookies. My favorites were always Samoa (purple on the order form and box) and Thin Mints (dark minty green). When the order forms arrived, the first day to sell was always a snowy day (providing pity purchases from some of our neighbors), and they arrived a few weeks later. Invariably, we ate all the cookies within a week or two (depending on how well my mom hid them). And that's one of the reason why camp was so much fun...

See, after cookies sales are done, there are always plenty of cases leftover that are given to the local camps as a special treat for the campers. Every summer, deep in the camp's freezers, there were boxes and boxes of yummy girl scout cookies!

But alas, you are not a girl scout, nor a camper. And it is many months before you will have access to their amazing (albeit expensive cookies). So what should you do??? Make a Samoa Cake!!!

Samoa Cake
1 boxed white or yellow cake (with oil/egg/water as needed)
1/4 cocoa powered (optional)
3 cups coconut
Caramel Frosting (see below)
8 oz chocolate chips


First, prepare the cake batter as directed on the box. For a marbled cake, separate the batter into two bowl (roughly in half) and add the cocoa power to one bowl, mix to combine. Layer the batter into a (oiled and floured) bundt pan, and swirl it gently together. Bake as directed. Cool for a few minutes and then gently turn it out onto a plate.

In a 300 degree oven, toast the coconut (spread onto a large pan) for about 15 minutes, checking and stirring every few minutes. Meanwhile make the caramel frosting. When the cake is cool, frost it with the caramel frosting and pat the coconut into the frosting so that it sticks. Melt the chocolate chips, and drizzle the melted chocolate over the cake (this can be done easily by putting the chocolate into a plastic baggie, and cutting the tip off to use as a disposable pastry bag).

Caramel Frosting: http://www.pauladeen.com/recipes/recipe_view/caramel_frosting/

This cake makes a mess, but it is so yummy!

Light and Dark Pinwheel Cookies

If you're anything like me, you like having a go-to recipe or two that will impress others but that is quick and simple to make. This is one of those recipes. These cookies take only a few ingredients (which you most likely have in your pantry), can be made ahead of time, and only take a few minutes to make. You also don't have to dirty more than a dish or two.

Check these out!

Light and Dark Pinwheel Cookies
1 box of chocolate cake mix
1 box of white cake mix
1 cup butter
2 eggs
Optional: Bittersweet and white chocolate chips for dipping

First, melt the butter a little. You want it to be very soft but not completely melted. Mix half the butter and one egg into each of the cake mixes. I mixed the white mix first, then the chocolate. To mix, either use a mixer or a stiff spatula or your hands (hands worked best for me and they are easy to clean) until you get a nice dough.

After both batters are mixed, roll out the chocolate dough into a large rectangle (you want it to end up around 1/2 an in thick). I put down a sheet of waxed paper to roll the dough on as well as put a piece on top the dough to keep it from sticking. Do what works for you.

Next, roll the white dough out on top of the chocolate dough. Use your hands to get the edges to line up as well as you can.

Working from the long edge, roll the dough up so that it forms a spiraled log. Wrap the dough log up in a sheet of waxed paper and place in in the fridge or freezer for about an hour. I put mine in the freezer because we keep the apartment around 80 degrees so my dough was a little warmer than most.

After chilling and getting firm, unwrap the dough an use a sharp knife to cut the log into 1/2 in thick slices. Place them on a large cookie sheet and bake at 350 for about 10 minutes.

Once the cookies are cooked and cooled, you can dip the edges into melted chocolate for an extra treat.

Enjoy!

Samoa Bars

By this point in the spring you're going through Girl Scout Cookie withdrawal symptoms. The crunch of the cookie, the smooth caramel, texture of the coconut, and the rich drizzle of chocolate. What's not to love???

Sadly, I don't have any neighborhood Girls Scouts in my area. I did stop a group at the grocery store but without cash or check handy, I couldn't buy any (they won't trade a box for a stirring rendition of their choice of camp song). Lame.

So its been a year or two since I've had a Girl Scout cookie. Therefore, I decided I'd have to make my own.

Samoas Bars
Cookie Base:
1 cup butter (cool, not rock hard, not soft)
2 cups flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Topping:
3 cups shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)
12 oz chewy caramels
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons milk
10 oz dark or semisweet chocolate (chocolate chips)

To make the cookie base, mix the cookie base ingredients together until they stick (I use a pastry cutter). Press it into a 13x9 pan and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes (lightly golden).

Lower the oven temp to 300. Spread the coconut evenly into an edged baking sheet and toast the coconut for 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Continue until all the coconut is golden. Cool and set aside.

Unwrap the caramels (make sure you get all of them!) and place into a microwave-safe bowl with milk and salt. Cook on high for 3-4 minutes, stopping to stir a few times, making sure everything is heating evenly. When smooth, fold in the coconut with a spatula.

Put dollops of the topping all over the cookie base. Use the spatula to spread it into an even layer. Let the topping set until cool (you can put it in the fridge or freezer to speed this part along). Lick the bowl of caramel and coconut (this is important).

When cooled, cut the bars into ~30 bars with a sharp knife. Once cut, melt the chocolate in a small bowl in the microwave in 45 intervals, stirring to prevent scorching. Dip the base of each bar into the chocolate (I used the back of a spoon to scoop the chocolate and ran it across the bottom of each bar to get a thin, even, layer). Place onto a clean piece of parchment or waxed paper. Remelt your chocolate (you may need a little more) and put it into a piping bar or ziploc bag with the corner cut off. Drizzle the bars with the chocolate and cool to finish. Enjoy!

Look at these beauties!

Pecan Balls/Russian Teacakes/Mexican Wedding Cakes

I grew up calling these cookies pecan balls or Russian Teacakes. Sometimes we made them we pecans, other times we used walnuts. Whatever you call them or make them with, they're great!

Packaged, ready for shipping

These cookies are light, buttery (they should be with all the butter that's in them), and sweet. They are a great Christmas cookie because they're easy to make, look like little snowballs, and blend well with other foods. They're not over powering or too sweet. They're perfect in their simplicity.

The recipe I use is from my mom's old Betty Crocker cookbook. You can tell its a well loved recipe by the stains and spatters on the page. That's always a sign of a good recipe: a well worn page. When I moved out I scanned the page to have a copy on my computer so I can still see the stains, but I don't get to add any of my own.

Russian Teacakes:
1 c. butter, softened
1/2 c. powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/4 c. flour (can use whole wheat flour if you want to)
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 c. finely chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts are best)
Powered sugar for rolling

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cream the softened butter, sugar, and vanilla together. Add flour, salt, and nuts until the dough holds together.

Shape the dough into 1 inch balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet about 1 inch apart (they don't spread much). Bake until they're set, but not brown, about 10-12 minutes.

1 minute after baking, carefully roll each cookie in the powered sugar (they're delicate), then cool completely. Roll in the powered sugar again. Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

In my house, I make double or triple batches of these because I give them as gifts. They're a hit!

The month of December: brought to you by BUTTER.

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

These cookies are awesome. Who doesn't love peanut butter cups? Or peanut butter cookies?

I'll say it again: These cookies are awesome.

These are Chris' favorite cookies. But because they are his favorite and a family favorite, I always triple the recipe. While the dough is super easy to make, the cookies can take a long time to finish because you have to wait for the chocolate to cool and re-harden before removing them from the pan. If you plan to make double or triple batches, plan on borrowing a pan or two (they're made in mini-muffin tins). I have two pans of 24, but I had to go through these three times, with cooling times of about 20 minutes before removal. Just keep that in mind when you go to make these.

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies:
1/2 c. butter, softened (my recipe, from my grandma calls for Oleo)
1/2 c. sugar
1 egg
1 c. peanut butter, creamy
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp vanilla
1-1 1/2 c. flour

Preheat to 375. Cream the butter and sugar together, then add the egg. Add the peanut butter. Mix the dry ingredients together and then add to the wet. Add the vanilla. Put ~1 cup of sugar in a small bowl (I use a cereal bowl). Use a small scoop to get even balls of dough, roll them in sugar, and put them dough into greased mini-muffin tins. Bake for 8-9 minutes. When done baking, push mini-peanut butter cups into each cookie. Cool in fridge or freezer until hard.

So many cookies!!! Triple recipe makes ~144 cookies

Brutus Bites: Pumpkin Dog Cookies

Brutus, my beloved yorkie, is a fan of my baking.

We didn't discover this on purpose, as we try to not give Brutus food scraps, especially from the table. We discovered his love for snickerdoodles after he stole one right out of Chris' hand, and we discovered his love of cream-cheese frosting after he went nuts from the smell when I made the whoopie pies (he didn't get any whoopie pie, only the frosting).

As I said, we don't generally give Brutus any people-food, so I thought I'd let him in on some of the holiday baking action by making a special batch of cookies just for him.

I found this recipe online at http://www.all-natural-dog-treat.com/dogtreatrecipe.html. Its easy, only has three ingredients, and is very healthy.

Pumpkin Dog Cookies

Ingredients:

One 15 oz. can mashed pure pumpkin (NOT the spiced pie filling)

3/4 cup cream of wheat (or rice cereal if wheat-sensitive) You can mix this dry--no need to cook it first

1/2 cup dry powdered milk 

Directions: Preheat oven to 300 F. 

Mix all ingredients together. Drop small spoonfuls (I use about a tablespoon) onto a lightly greased cookie sheet and bake at 300 degrees for 15-20 minutes. After I dropped them on the cookie sheet I flattened them with a damp finger. Monogram is optional.

If you'd like to make bite sized cookies for small dogs, training rewards or just small treats, you can use a pastry bag and squeeze out rosettes about the size of a dime for tasty bite sized cookies!

Keep in mind, these cookies are dense and don't spread, so how they look before they go in the oven is how they look when they're done.

Depending on the size, this recipe will make around 20 treats. 

Humans can eat these as well, but they don't have much flavor (I tried them).

The long one is because I didn't want to use a third cookie sheet for only 1 or 2 cookies

Brutus loves these cookies and thinks you should make them for your favorite puppy!

Caramel Filled Snickerdoodles

So, while perusing my favorite website, FoodGawker.com, I found a recipe for snickerdoodle cupcakes. These caught my eye immediately. I love a good snickerdoodle and I love taking one type of treat and making it into a cupcake (s'more, snickers, peanut butter cups, etc).


But then I realized, I've never made snickerdoodles before. Ever. At least not that I can remember. So I decided to find a good looking recipe for a basic snickerdoodle cookie on foodgawker. There were many to chose from, but when I saw the recipe for Caramel Filled Snickerdoodles, I knew what I was going to make. So here it is:

Ingredients

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter

1/2 cup pure vegetable shortening

1 3/4 cups sugar, plus more if needed

2 tablespoons ground cinnamon, plus more if needed

2 large eggs

48 soft caramel candies or Rolos unwrapped

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, with one rack in top third and one rack in bottom third of oven. Line baking sheets with Silpat baking mats or parchment paper; set aside.

Sift together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine butter, shortening, and 1 1/2 cups sugar. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl. Add eggs, and beat to combine. Add dry ingredients, and beat to combine.

In a small bowl, combine remaining 1/4 cup sugar and the ground cinnamon. Use a small (1 1/4-ounce) ice-cream scoop to form balls of the dough. Break the ball into two and place the caramel into the middle. Form one large ball and roll in cinnamon sugar. Place about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake until the cookies are set in center and begin to crack (they will not brown), about 10 minutes, rotating the baking sheets after 5 minutes. Transfer the sheets to a wire rack to cool about 5 minutes before transferring the cookies to the rack. Store in an airtight container up to 1 week.

Yummmmm

Chocolate Peppermint Crinkle Cookies

This one's for you Jodiann...


These are probably my favorite cookie OF ALL TIME. Seriously. They are that good. They are kind of like a thin mint, but better. No. Seriously. BETTER. I saw that Panera makes a similar cookie, but I have not tried theirs yet so I can't say anything about it.


 I made them for Christmas this year and gave them out the all the grandparents, but then made another batch just for Chris and I. I was "cookied" out, but I made more of these because I loved them so much.


The recipe call for semi-sweet chocolate, but I used dark chocolate chips once, and wow. If you have them on hand, I recommend using them.

The only downside to this recipe is that the dough needs to chill over night so that it can be formed into nice little balls, but it is totally worth the wait (but, the dough is amazing raw too).

Once cooled, these cookies are crisp on the outside (from the sugar) and gooey in the middle. Perfection.

Not my picture (I don't know where my pictures of these beauties went) but this is what they look like

Chocolate Peppermint Crinkle Cookies

Yields 3+ dozen cookies

·         1 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons spooned and leveled bleached all-purpose flour

·         1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

·         ½ teaspoon salt

·         8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped

·         2 3/4 cups sugar, divide

·         1/4 cup of canola oil

·         3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and warm, not hot

·         2 tablespoons light corn syrup

·         2 large eggs

·         1 large egg yolk

·         2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

·         1 ½ teaspoons of peppermint extract

·         1 cup powdered sugar

Instructions:

In a medium bowl, beat together well the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. Melt the chocolate in the microwave on 50 percent power for 1 minute, stir, and microwave for 15 seconds more and stir; set aside.

       In a mixer with the paddle attachment, beat together 2 1/2 cups of the sugar, the oil, butter and corn syrup to blend. Beat in the eggs, egg yolk, vanilla and peppermint extract (feel free to go a little heavy). Then on low, beat in the melted chocolate.

      Add the flour mixture and beat in on low speed. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.

3.     Heat oven to 325 degrees F. Line bakesheet with parchment. Take out about one-quarter of the dough at a time to shape. Roll the dough into 1 inch balls. Pour the remaining 1/4 cup granulated sugar (you'll need more sugar than this, but this is a good starting point) into one bowl and the confectioners’ sugar in another bowl. Roll each cookie dough ball lightly in granulated sugar first, then very heavily in confectioners’ sugar. (By rolling in plain sugar first, the confectioners’ sugar does not soak in so much and stays on the surface better).

4.     Arrange cookies 2 inches apart on the foil. For crisp cookies, bake 12 to 14 minutes. For a chewier cookie, bake 10-12 minutes (for my oven on air-bake sheets, 12 minutes is perfect). Bake one sheet at a time.  

     Enjoy!