(119) Chocolate-Hazelnut Thumbprints

This was another win from the December Cooking Light! These are little bites of chocolaty goodness!! Can't go wrong with chocolate, nuts, and Nutella

---

Chocolate-Hazelnut Thumbprints

With a double shot of chocolate and hazelnut flavors, kids and adults will rave over these filled cookies. The espresso powder is optional, but it intensifies the chocolate flavor.


Yield: 28 cookies (serving size: 1 cookie)
Source: Cooking Light Magazine, December 2009

4.5 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 cup)
1 cup powdered sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon instant espresso (optional)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup finely chopped hazelnuts, toasted
1/3 cup hazelnut-chocolate spread (such as Nutella)

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, sugar, cocoa, and salt; stir with a whisk. Place butter in a large bowl, and beat with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes). Stir egg yolks with a whisk, adding espresso, if desired. Add the yolk mixture and vanilla to butter; beat well. Add flour mixture to butter mixture; beat at low speed just until combined.

3. Turn dough out onto a sheet of wax paper; knead 6 times or until smooth and shiny. Shape dough into 28 (1-inch) balls. Roll sides of balls in nuts, pressing gently. Arrange balls 1 inch apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Press thumb into center of each cookie, leaving an indentation. Bake, 1 batch at a time, at 350° for 10 minutes. Remove cookies from pans; cool completely on wire racks. Spoon a scant 1/2 teaspoon hazelnut-chocolate spread into center of each cookie.

Nutritional Information
CALORIES 104 ; FAT 6.5g (sat 2.7g,mono 2.3g,poly 0.4g); CHOLESTEROL 23mg; CALCIUM 11mg; CARBOHYDRATE 10.9g; SODIUM 46mg; PROTEIN 1.6g; FIBER 0.8g; IRON 0.6mg

(117) Chocolate Sandwich Cookies

Last Christmas my neighbor (Tonya) made these cookies for the cookie swap. I couldn't stay away!! I had to make them this year. This recipe below includes the recipe for a cream cheese frosting. Tonya just used regular white frosting from a can. We made both ways this year and I have to say, I'm a fan of the white frosting, but you have your choice! Enjoy!

---

Chocolate Sandwich Cookies

Source: My neighbor Tonya

2 packages (18 1/4 oz each) devil's food cake mix
4 eggs
2/3 cup vegetable oil

1-8oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup softened butter
3-4 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
food coloring, optional

1) In a mixing bowl, beat cake mixes, eggs, and oil (batter should be stiff). Roll into 1-inch balls; place on ungreased baking sheets and flatten slightly. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

2) In another mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and butter. Add sugar and vanilla; mix until smooth. if desired, tint with food coloring.

3) Spread icing on bottom half of cookies. Top with remaining cookies.

A note about the sugar cookies

I'm beyond excited to tell you that I ran the nutritional information on the sugar cookies and the results were better than I hoped! I wanted to take the 'ignorance is bliss' route but decided to be a good girl. I went to my favorite recipe calorie calculator - Sparkrecipes.com. 

The way we made the cookies, it made 30 cookies. That gives you 120 calories/6g fat per cookie. If you make as written and get 5.5 dozen (66 cookies), you come out to 55 calories/3g fat per cookie. Now that's nutritional information that I can handle! Everybody needs a little sweetness in their life :) I'd rather have one big cookie than one of those crappy 100 calorie packs!

Happy snacking :)

(89) Drop Sugar Cookies

My mom cut this recipe out of the newspaper recently. These cookies won 1st place at the Virginia State fair and I have to offer a rousing 2 thumbs up! I have serious issues when it comes to rolling out any sort of dough, even for cookies (sad, I know). But I LOVE sugar cookies!!! This recipe is the answer to my prayers! Very easy to make and oh wow, delish!! We made them bigger than called for and got about 2.5 dozen, not 5.5! (we did have to cook them a little longer than 8 minutes, so keep an eye on them)

---

Drop Sugar Cookies

First place winner, Danhof VanDyke of Eastville, VA. Adapted from "All Time Baking Soda Favorites"

Yield: about 5 1/2 dozen 2-inch cookies

2 1/2 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 egg
2 Tablespoon milk

1) Sift together flour, salt, and baking soda. Using an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar in a large bowl until and fluffy.
2) Beat in vanilla and egg. Add flour mixture and beat until smooth.
3) Blend in milk.
4) Drop by teaspoon about 3 inches apart onto greased baking sheets. Flatten with bottom of glass that has been dipped in sugar (author does it twice).
5) Bake in 350 degree oven about 8 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool on rack.

Chinese New Year Cookies

Chinese New Year Cookies

---

Every Christmas, these cookies appear in my mom's kitchen. I'm not quite sure where they got their name and origin, but they are SUPER easy to make and everyone loves them!!

This year I made them for our neighborhood cookie swap. I made 10 dozen in about 20 minutes! That's my kind of "baking"!!

PS: They don't need to be refrigerated once they are set.

Ingredients:
6 oz butterscotch chips
6 oz chocolate chips (semi-sweet)
3 oz chow mein noodles
7.25 oz salted peanuts (cocktail, not roasted)

Directions:
1) Melt chocolate chips and butterscotch chips together.
2) Mix in noodles and peanuts.
3) Drop by spoonfuls onto wax paper.
4) Chill in refrigerator until set.

Yield: approximately 2 dozen cookies