Cross Cookies and Cakes

'Tis the season for Catholic religious celebrations and rites-of-passage, and I've made quite a few Cross Sugar Cookies within the last few months for christenings, communions, and confirmations...

The Ultimate Chocolate Chip M&M Cookies

This is the best chocolate chip cookie recipe in the world.

I know there are tons of recipes out there, but this is not an exaggeration. It's the absolute truth. 

Add M&Ms, and seriously, they are just the best cookie ever. 

You don't have to take my word for it, or that of all my family and friends. Just promise me you will make them for yourself and I guarantee you will agree with all of us.

Magic Cookie Bars

Hello there Blog, it's been a while! I'm happy to come back with a post about one of my favorite cookie bar recipes of all time...

Magic Cookie Bars! 

Also known as Seven-Layer Bars. Whatever you call them, they are incredibly, insanely, magically delicious. 

And they really are pretty easy to make. 

Strawberry Shortcake Berry Cute Sugar Cookies

I may be dating myself here, but my how Strawberry Shortcake has changed!

 

I am quite certain that I watched this one Strawberry Shortcake episode at least a hundred times that my mother had recorded for me and my sister on a VHS. A few months ago, my sis and I found it on YouTube, and we geeked out watching it while her husband (fiancé, at the time) looked on in what could only be described as wonder. As in, “I wonder what on Earth I am marrying in to.” Haha. 

Anyway, back to the cookies.  A while ago I was asked to make Strawberry Shortcake cookies for a friend’s niece’s birthday party. I was all set to make Strawberry Shortcake faces (the new version, much to my own dismay). I had baked my sugar & spice cookies using my large candy corn cutter, to be turned upside down, which would be a good shape for her hat, face, and hair. And then Hurricane Sandy hit. I was very lucky not to have lost power for too long, and to be able to host some friends and family who had no power all week. However, with dangerous traveling conditions and a gas shortage in the days following the storm, I was worried about my supply of cookie ingredients. Specifically, I was low on sugar and meringue powder, and wouldn’t have enough for all of the royal icing colors I would need to make for the face.

I always end up having leftover royal icing after a cookie project. Partly that’s because it is really hard to pipe anything with a small amount of icing in the piping bag. Also it is very hard to recreate the same shade after running out of a color. I always mix up more than I need. I knew I wouldn’t have enough supplies and I was not venturing out to buy any. So, my plans changed, and fortunately the candy corn shape also makes a berry cute strawberry! 

Santa's Elves

It wouldn’t be Christmas without this cast of characters!

Last Christmas, my favorite cookie collection that I made were these Segmented Santas. {See the tutorial here.}

This year, I decided Santa needed some company! So I made his little helpers, these adorable Christmas Elves, and of course, Mrs. Claus. 

The sugar cookies are made with my traditional Sugar Cookie recipe, which you can find by clicking {here} or by clicking the Recipes tab above. All the cookies are decorated with Royal Icing, recipe also found {here} and under the Recipes tab.

The how-to for these little elves is very similar to the method for Santa's faces from last year’s post. The cookie shape is made with an eight-pedal flower cookie cutter and the Santa hat cookie cutter, rounded into a winter hat shape.  {See more on transforming the hat cookie cutter here.}

After you’ve rolled out the dough to approximately ¼ inch thickness, here’s how to make the elves:

Chocolate Sugar Cookies for a Blogger Cookie Swap

This year I participated in the Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap! I knew I wanted to send out my specialty, my decorated sugar cookies, but the hosts of the swap asked that we all use a recipe that is new to our blog. Well, I’ve shared countless posts about my traditional sugar cookies, so I had to do some thinking.

What could possibly make my favorite sugar cookies taste better?

The answer was simple. 

Chocolate.

And as it turns out, the recipe was simple too. 

Turkey-shaped Pumpkin-flavored Cake Pops

These cake pops were a big hit at both Thanksgiving celebrations that I went to this year. The full name, I suppose, should be M&M and Milk Chocolate Covered Turkey Pumpkin Bread and Cream Cheese Frosting Cake Pops. But that’s just silly. 

The cake balls were made by mixing Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Bread Mix (made as directed on the package) and Bakerella’s Cream Cheese Frosting. If you are new to cake balls and cake pops, you have to read all about them at Bakerella’s website. Your life will change, I promise. 

I have a few detailed tutorials on cake pops and cake balls here and here. Check them out for more details and pictures of the cake pop making process. There's so many directions you can take when making cake pops. Their versatility is what makes them so wonderful. Oh and also their amazing taste and texture.