Pecan Pie Cookies
(Makes 24 cookies)
Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
3 tablespoons light corn syrup
3/4 cup finely chopped pecans
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 cup brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup semi sweet or milk chocolate chips for decorating
Directions:
Melt 1/4 cup of butter in a saucepan, and stir in the confectioners' sugar and corn syrup until the sugar is dissolved. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring often, and stir in the pecans until well combined. Refrigerate the mixture for 30 minutes to chill.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Mix the flour, salt, and baking powder together in a bowl. Set aside.
In a separate bowl using a hand mixer or in a food processor, blend brown sugar and 3/4 cup butter until creamy for a minute or so. Add egg and vanilla extract and blend another 30 seconds. Gradually beat in the flour mixture until well mixed.
Scoop up about 1 tablespoon of dough, and roll it into a ball. Press the dough into the bottom of an ungreased cupcake pan cup, and use your thumb to press the dough into a small piecrust shape, with 1/4-inch walls up the sides of the cupcake cup. Repeat with the rest of the dough. Fill each little crust with about 1 teaspoon of the prepared pecan filling.
Bake in the preheated oven until the cookie shells are lightly browned, 10 to 12 minutes. Watch closely after 10 minutes. Let the cookies cool in the cupcake pans for 5 minutes before removing to wire rack to finish cooling.
Place chocolate chips in a small Ziploc bag (use brand name, the store brands tend to leak). Microwave about 15 seconds or until mostly melted. Snip off a tiny corner of the baggie and drizzle chocolate over the cookies. Cool until set.
*Modified version based on http://allrecipes.com/recipe/212863/pecan-pie-cookies/
Mexican Wedding Cookies
(Makes 24 cookies)
Ingredients:
2 ½ cups confectioners' sugar
1 cup unsalted butter
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup chopped pecan pieces [or another nut if you prefer]
Preparation:
Cream the butter and 1 cup sugar together with a hand mixer or using a food processor. Mix until smooth. Add vanilla extract.
Mix flour and salt blending, using pulse mechanism of processor.
Scrape dough into a bowl. Cover tightly and refrigerate one hour.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Scoop dough with tablespoon and form 1-inch balls by rolling dough between palms (dust your hands lightly with powdered sugar, if necessary). Place cookie dough 1 1/2 inches apart on parchment lined or ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake 15 minutes or until the cookies just begin to brown. Cool for 2 or 3 minutes. Use small spatula to lift cookies from sheets. Roll the cookies in the remaining sugar and allow to cool completely.
*modified version of NYT recipe https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1726-mexican-wedding-cookies
Sunflower Sugar Cookies
(About 24 cookies)
Ingredients:
Cookies
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) unflavored vegetable shortening, room temperature
1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract [optional]
Frosting
14 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 3/4 sticks), room temperature
2 tablespoons unflavored vegetable shortening, room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar (or more as needed)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
yellow food coloring gel
Brown food coloring gel
Chocolate sprinkles, for decoration [optional]
Directions:
Whisk together flour, cornstarch, salt, baking soda, and baking powder in a bowl until incorporated. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl using a hand-held mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter and shortening together until smooth. Add sugar and beat 1 to 2 minutes more until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, and then vanilla. Mix well, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Add ½ dry ingredients, mixing on low speed, until flour is incorporated and no dry spots remain. Then repeat with the remaining dry ingredients. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or until firm enough to handle.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Split dough into two pieces and roll half on a lightly floured surface to an even 3/8-inch thickness (thicker than for normal cut-out sugar cookies, to make these cookies soft). Cut with a 3-inch sunflower cookie cutter. Arrange cut cookies on baking sheet, 1 to 2 inches apart.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until bottoms are just beginning to turn golden brown. Do not overbake. Let cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes then transfer to wire racks to cool completely before frosting. Repeat with remaining dough.
To prepare frosting, combine butter and shortening in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat on high speed until smooth and very fluffy (Be sure butter and shortening are entirely room temperature).
Add vanilla and mix again for a minute or so. Then add powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, until frosting reaches desired consistency.
Divide frosting: 2/3 for yellow and 1/3 for brown. Stir in color gels. Use a small spatula or food-safe paint brush to spread yellow frosting onto cooled cookies. Pipe a brown circle in the middle of each cookie, using a piping bag with a narrow tip. Or use a 1 inch circular cookie cutter pressed lightly into the yellow frosting to leave an imprint. Fill in each circle with brown icing. You can also decorate the brown circles with chocolate sprinkles if you like. Store cookies in an airtight container for up to 5 days, though cookies will be best if enjoyed within 1 to 2 days for optimal softness.
*Modified from a round, soft-iced sugar cookie recipe: http://www.loveandoliveoil.com/2015/08/soft-frosted-sugar-cookies.html
Chocolate Almond Crunch Cookies
(Makes 24 cookies)
Ingredients:
2 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup shortening, room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup uncooked regular oats
1 1/2 cup toasted corn cereal (like Chex)
4 ounces vanilla almond bark
4 ounces milk chocolate chips
Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Beat shortening with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add sugars, beating well. Add eggs, vanilla and almond extracts; beat well.
In another bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix until blended. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture mixing until just blended. Slightly crush corn cereal, only to the point there aren't large pieces (but not too small, you'll lose the 'crunch') Fold in oats and cereal.
Drop tablespoons [using a spoon or a cookie scoop] of dough on a greased cookie sheet 2" apart. Depending on how large a baking sheet you own, you will most likely have to do two batches. Bake at 325 degrees 12 to 14 minutes. Cool for 2 minutes on cookie sheet
before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
When cookies are cool, place almond bark in a small Ziploc bag (use brand name, the store brands tend to leak). Microwave about 30 seconds or until it’s mostly melted. Snip off a tiny corner of the baggie and drizzle over the cookies in one direction creating white stripes. Cool until set. Then repeat this process using chocolate chips although you might need less time—try 15 seconds and add more time if you need it. Drizzle over cookies in the opposite direction—creating a crisscross or checkerboard pattern.
About the Author
Life is an extravaganza! Figuring out how to hang tough and make the most of the wild ride is the challenge. On my way to Oahu, to join the rock musician and high school drop-out I had met in San Diego and married in Tijuana, I was nabbed as a runaway. Eventually the police let me go, but the rock band broke up. Our next stop: Disney World, where we trained to be chefs. More education landed us in academia at The Ohio State University. For decades I researched, wrote, and spoke about many gloriously nerdy topics.
Retired now, I’m still married to the same sweet guy and live with him near Palm Springs, California. I write mysteries set in sunny California! The Jessica Huntington Desert Cities Mystery series set here in the Coachella Valley and the Corsario Cove Cozy Mystery Series set in California’s Central Coast. Coming Soon: The Misadventures of Betsy Stark also set in and around Palm Springs.
Find me at http://www.desertcitiesmystery.com Snooping into life's mysteries with fun, fiction, & food—California style!
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