Funfetti Sugar Cookies

These were great sugar cookies! I’m always looking for a thick and chewy sugar cookie and am usually disappointed. These did not disappoint! I recommend making them large, this helps them stay big, thick and chewy. And don’t overbake!

Funfetti Cookies
From Kim’s Cravings
Ingredients

• 2¾ cups (385g) all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• ½ teaspoon baking powder

• ½ teaspoon salt

• 1 cup (226g) salted butter

• 1½ cups (300g) granulated sugar

• 1 large egg

• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1/2 cup (80g) sprinkles, plus more for topping

• ¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar for rolling cookies

Directions
Preheat oven to 375ºF. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. Place the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Use a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and cream on medium-high speed until light in color and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

Add egg and vanilla and mix on low for about 30 seconds or until fully incorporated. Slowly add in dry ingredients and mix on low combined.

Scrape down the bowl, then add the sprinkles and mix on low until just combined. Scoop the dough into large balls. Roll the dough ball in sugar if desired.

Place cookie dough balls on your lined baking sheets. Bake the cookies for 12-13 minutes. Cookies are done when the edges are light golden brown and there is some crackling along the top. Do not over bake.

Cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet. Transfer cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Chocolate Sugar Cookies

Last week a friend of mine sent me a box of cookies from a bakery she knows and loves that is located in Boston. I’ve never been to this restaurant, or to Boston for that matter, but I have their cookbook and love it so my friend wanted to share some of it’s goodness with me. It was such a kind gift, and so delicious! It was full of fairly basic cookies, but several that came with a twist. There was a snickerdoodle with saffron, as well as a chocolate cookie with cardamom, and potentially some other spices, but I really honed in on the cardamom. There was also a lovely snowball cookie, nice and buttery, a thin glazed oat cookie, a delicous sable that may have had tahini in it, and a nutty pistachio sesame cookie. They were all so good, and such fun to try a little sampling of the restaurant’s baked goods.

This was the inspiration box!

I was inspired after this, to do some cookie baking of my own. I was really drawn to the chocolate cardamom combo so decided to try and come up with something similar. A recipe for a chocolate sugar cookie came across my Instagram feed about this time which looked like a perfect place to start.

I followed the recipe but changed up the flavorings. I added cinnamon and some speculaas spice to the cookie base (I was going to add a little cardamom at this step as well but forgot, silly me). I then mixed cardamom into the granulated sugar that the cookies were rolled in prior to baking. The end result was a lightly spiced chocolate cookie, tender in the center and crispy on the edges. Perfect! I would amp up the spices next time to really highlight these flavors, but I didn’t want to go too bold initially. I didn’t want it to be overpowering. I would also remember to add some cardamom to the dough itself next time and really make a cardamom cookie through and through!

I would highly recommend this sugar cookie whether you want to spice it up, or keep it classic. Super easy, and baked up great! It would be really nice with some peppermint extract at Christmas. I bet it would make a really nice sandwich cookie, or ice-cream sandwich cookie. I even wonder about added some chocolate chips or chunks to the dough and making it a double chocolate cookie. We’ll see! Stay tuned…

Some of my Notes:
- Definitely use 1 tsp salt (double the amount called for in the original recipe). The blogger that I took the recipe from said she likes salt and so doubled the original 1/2 tsp salt. I wholeheartedly agree. It was great.
- First batch: shaped dough into 50 gram balls, baked exactly 12 min which was perfect! Resulted in a 3.5 inch cookie that spread nicely without being too flat.
- Second batch: shaped dough into 25 gram balls, baked exactly 10 min, which was good for this size cookie. So you can go a little bigger and make a 50 gram cookie, or smaller and get a 25 gram cookie, either one turned out great.
- Added 1/2 tsp cinnamon and a little specula as spice (too lazy to get out the individual spices!). Forgot the cardamom in the cookie like I wanted so first added 1/2 tsp cardamom (I think it was 1/2, not 1/4) to 50 grams of sugar to roll.
- This recipe will yield 34 25-gram cookies or 17 50-gram cookies (if you don’t eat dough that is!)

Chocolate Sugar Cookies
From Alexandra Cooks
Ingredients

• 2 cups (240 g) all-purpose flour

• 1/2 cup (43 g) Dutch processed cocoa powder

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 16 tablespoons (226 g) softened butter

• 1 1/2 cups (300 g) dark brown sugar

• 1 egg (50 g)

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• Granulated sugar for rolling, 1/4 to 1/2 cup (50 to 100 g)

Directions
Heat the oven to 350ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Place the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl and whisk to combine the ingredients. Set aside.

Put the butter and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Fit the mixer with the paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes, stopping to scrape down the mixer once or twice, until the mixture is light and fluffy.

Turn off the mixer, add the egg and vanilla, and beat until the egg is thoroughly incorporated, 1 to 2 minutes.

Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until no flour is visible, stopping to scrape down the mixer once during the process.

Pour the granulated sugar into a small bowl. Portion out the dough using a 2-tablespoon scoop or measure or a scale — each portion should weigh 50 grams. You should have about 16 to 18 balls total. Roll each portion between your hands to form a ball; then roll in the sugar — coat each ball as generously as you are able to in the sugar. Transfer 6 balls to the prepared sheet. Bake for 12 minutes; remove from heat and allow cookies to cool completely on the sheet pan. Repeat this process, baking 6 cookies at a time.

Chocolate Chunk and Walnut Cookies

Lara and I were looking for a bakery style chocolate chip cookie recently. I’m always on the hunt for this type of cookie, but I haven’t actually made that many cookies recently. That all changed when I found this recipe!

While I love a “bakery style” cookie, they are always HUGE! This is great, other than the fact that I don’t need to eat a cookie this big. I realized though, that the times I do go to a bakery and share a cookie, I have a couple bites and share the rest with someone else, or take it home for later. Why can’t I just do this with my own cookies?

So I stopped trying to make a mini version of a bakery style cookie. This doesn’t work. With a smaller cookie you just don’t get the contrast between the crispy edges and the chewy, gooey center. Small cookies bake for less time so while the center may be a little gooey, the edges don’t have time to crisp up. If you instead aim for crispy edges, the center is cooked all the way through. In other words, you can’t win.

So, for this new recipe, I told myself to just GO BIG! No matter how wrong it felt! Portioning out the dough I kept thinking, this is too big, this can’t be right. But it wasn’t, and it is! I portioned these into 100 gram (3.5 ounces) balls of dough which was perfect! They baked up beautifully! Super thick, gooey and underbaked in the center, golden brown and crispy on the edges.

I baked some of them freshly made, and they baked for about 10 minutes I think. I also baked some straight from the freezer and these went closer to 12 minutes. They don’t spread a lot, especially the frozen dough, so I tried two different methods to finish them off. For the non-frozen dough, I took a round cookie cutter and spun it around the cookies immediately after they came out of the oven. This made them perfectly round, and helped them sink a little bit. For the frozen dough, I actually took a small glass mixing bowl and gently pressed down on the top of the cookie immediately after they came out of the oven. You can press them down as much or as little as you like to make them the perfect size/diameter for you. It sounds weird I know, but I think the final cookie turned out gorgeous either way. This is just my preference. You don’t have to do any of this, but just some options.

Definitley a Go-To cookie recipe for the future! (When writing this I’ve already made them another two times!)

I followed the original recipe exactly except for adding in 65 grams walnuts. I was also out of vanilla so skipped that.I did use the espresso powder.

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Chocolate Chunk and Walnut Cookies
From Butter and Brioche
Ingredients

• 150 grams (2/3 cup) Butter, cubed

• 200 grams (3/4 cup + 2 1/2 tablespoons) brown sugar

• 70 grams (1/3 cup) white sugar

• 1 large egg

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 280 g (2 1/4 cups) all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon of salt

• 1 teaspoon espresso powder, optional

• dark chocolate (70%), roughly chopped - 170 g (1 cup)

• flaked salt, for finishing

Directions
Position racks in the lower and upper thirds of an oven. Pre-heat it to 350 F. Line a large baking sheets with parchment paper.

Put the butter in a medium saucepan set over low heat. Heat, stirring often, until melted. Pour it into a large mixing bowl, then add the sugars, and whisk until combined. Whisk in the egg, followed by the vanilla extract, until smooth and glossy.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, soda, salt, and espresso, if using.

Tip the dry ingredients into the bowl with the wet ingredients. Beat, with a wooden spoon, until a soft dough has begun to form. Beat in the chocolate until just distributed. Do not overwork the dough.

Using a medium cookie scoop or tablespoon as a measure, portion out even-sized amounts of the dough. If you’re using a spoon, shape them into balls with your hands. Divide between the sheets, leaving a few inches space apart for spreading. You should fit 8 to 10 per sheet. You can set left-over dough balls aside to be baked off later, or, store them in an airtight container and freeze for up to two months. Allow to stand at room temperature for fifteen minutes, before baking. Sprinkle with salt.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Halfway through, open the oven door and lift the sheet by a few inches. With a little force, tap it against the oven rack, so that the cookies de-flate slightly. The chocolate should run, too. Close the oven door and continue to bake for another minute. Again, repeat this lifting and tapping process, for a total of 3 more times. The cookies will be golden brown and crisp around the edges, but the middles still soft, when they’re done.

Remove and let stand on the sheet for a few minutes, before transferring the cookies off and onto a wire rack to cool further, before serving.

Lemon Poppyseed Sugar Cookies

For Mother's Day a few weeks ago, I got together with my sister, and my brother and his family at my parent's house for a little after church brunch/lunch. We kept things simple, yet delicious. Lara and I provided the savory element (an asparagus ricotta stratta, so good) along with some fresh fruit, while my brother and sister-in-law brought along a sweet option and some tasty drinks. My parent's provided the space. Altogether it was delicious and low key. Really how I like it.

Now, brunch doesn't typically include dessert, at least not in my opinion, but I was itching for an excuse to do some baking so I made a batch of these lemon poppyseed cookies and brought them along anyway. I had stubbled across this recipe a few weeks back and it look so fresh and spring-y that I was dying to try it out. I'm so glad I did. It was just what I was hoping for. A thick and crackly sugar cookie with a little zing from the citrus, and crunch from the poppyseeds. Rolling each cookie in sugar before baking created a delicate crust that was perfect next to the softness of the cookie. The edges were just slightly crisp all the way around. The perfect end to our relaxing spring brunch. 

I followed the recipe as written except for one small change; I increased the salt from 1/4 teaspoon to 1/2 teaspoon because I really hate when baked goods don't have enough salt and I didn't think that 1/4 teaspoon sounded like enough for this whole batch. I thought the 1/2 teaspoon was perfect. 1/4 tsp would not have been enough in my opinion. I love the combination of sweet and salty. If you're not as big of a fan of salt as I am then go ahead and use the original amount, the 1/4 teaspoon. 

Sweet and savory, we had it all. A little something for everyone, or a little big of everything for everyone!

My nephew, aka bacon boy! He was thrilled with the bacon as you can tell.  

Mom had a great day spending time with the family, espeically the grandkids!! :) 

Lemon Poppyseed Sugar Cookies
Adapted from A Cozy Kitchen
Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups (270 grams) all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup (40 grams) cornmeal
• 2 tablespoons poppy seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt**
• 1/2 cup (1 stick, 4 ounces) butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup (200 grams) white granulated sugar, plus more for sprinkling
• 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest
• 1 1/2 teaspoons orange zest
• 1/4 cup (50 grams) extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup granulated sugar, for rolling

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Set aside.

In a stand-up mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, sugar and zests on medium speed until well combined. Add in the oil, egg, and lemon juice. Continue mixing until pale and evenly combined, about 1 minute, scraping down the sides every so often. Add the dry ingredients to the creamed ingredients, mixing on low speed until just combined. 

Using a cookie scoop (I used a 1.5 tablespoon scoop), scoop out the dough onto the prepared baking sheet. Carefully roll or lightly sprinkle the cookies with sugar. Bake for 12 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. Don't overbake. Let cool on the pan for a few minute before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely. 

** I like a little extra salt in my baked goods so I increased the salt in this recipe from 1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt to 1/2 teaspoon of Kosher salt. If you are not as big of a fan of the sweet and salty combination, you may go back to the 1/4 teaspoon. Either way will be delicious. 

Yields: 26 cookies

Oat Flour Pumpkin Scones

It may not be autumn any longer (the 4 inches of snow we got last night made this very clear), but that does not mean that baking with pumpkin is over. I am a fan of baking with pumpkin all year long. It's such a good way to add healthy moisture to baked goods. These healthy pumpkin scones are not a traditional scone, but that was the best way I could think of to describe them. Definitely not a "true scone", but close, and a lot healthier then a real scone - I really liked them a lot! There are made with a majority of oat flour, and a little olive oil for fat and moisture. The rest of the moisture comes from the pumpkin. Sweetened with a mix of brown sugar, maple syrup, and molasses, and flavored with cinnamon and vanilla, yum. 

These scones are very tender due to the oat flour, a little on the delicate side, but that is not a problem. They still help together just fine. All you have to do once the batter is whipped up is drop them by the spoonful onto your baking sheet and pop them into the oven. A nice little drop scone. If you don't have a can of pumpkin in your pantry, I recommend you pick some up soon...

Oat Flour Pumpkin Scones
Adapted from Pinch of Yum
Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups (120 grams) oats, ground into oat flour
• 3/4 cup (90 grams) spelt flour
• 1/4 cup (50 grams) brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup (60 grams) pumpkin
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup (75 grams) maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons molasses
• 3 tablespoons (1.5 ounces) olive oil
• 1/4-1/2 cup total of chocolate chunks and chopped walnuts

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the oat flour, all purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. In a smaller bowl, whisk the vanilla, pumpkin, egg, maple syrup, molasses and olive oil. Add the wet ingredients to the larger bowl with the dry ingredients - stir until just combined. Add the chocolate and walnuts and stir just a few times to distribute them throughout the batter.

Drop the batter onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper using a round cookie scoop. Sprinkle the tops with a little turbinado sugar and bake for 12-15 minutes until baked through. Cool slightly before eating, or let cool to room temperature. 

Buckwheat Oat Breakfast Bites

Breakfast bites; little mounds of oat-y goodness, something fun and different to dig into for breakfast, or snack in the afternoon. Full of whole grains, healthy fats, and unrefined sugar. Win - win - win! And chocolate, don't forget the chocolate on top. You can put the chocolate inside them if that's more your style, I just love how a little drizzle on top finishes them off. 

These are a wiz to throw together, everything into the food processor and you're set, in just a minute or two you have your cookie dough, ready for the cookie scoop and into the oven. I've made other variations on these cookies before, but for this version I went with one of my favorite combinations, tahini and honey. I added a little buckwheat flour for it's lovely hint of bitterness, and a little cinnamon to round it all out. Drizzle with chocolate once cool and breakfast is served!

Buckwheat Oat Breakfast Bites
Adapted from The Clever Carrot
Ingredients

• 2 cups (160 grams) old fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup (60 grams) buckwheat flour
• 1/2 cup (60 grams) whole wheat flour
• ½ tsp. baking soda
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup (64 grams) tahini, or your favorite nut butter
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
• 6 tbs honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• Chocolate, for drizzling (optional)

Directions
Preheat your oven to 375 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside. 

Add the oats, white whole wheat flour, and baking soda to a food processor. Run the machine until the oats look like 'flour.' It's okay to have a few big pieces in the mix.

Add the egg, tahini, coconut oil, honey and vanilla extract. Pulse until the mixture until it looks like cookie dough and holds together when pinched between 2 fingers.

Using a cookie scoop to portion the cookies onto your lined baking sheets. Bake for about 12-13 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool on the tray for 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Chocolate Fudge Cookies

As a huge chocolate lover, I'm always on the lookout for any recipe that will satisfy my chocolate craving. There are just days that desperately call for chocolate, and nothing else will do. Sometimes it's no problem to whip together a pan of brownies, or break into that secret stash of chocolate bars hiding in the closet, but what about those days where there is no time to bake something, and for some funny reason that chocolate stash seems to have disappeared? That's where this recipe comes in. With a batch of these cookies stored in the freezer for emergency situations, you will not have to worry about being without a chocolate fix, which is always a comforting thought. 

While I do already have this amazing death by chocolate chip cookie recipe, and these awesome double chocolate chip cookies on the blog, both of these recipes have a good amount of chocolate melted right into the dough. I love having this chocolate melted in, it makes the most intensely rich chocolate cookies, but there are times when I either don't have enough chocolate, or I don't feel like dealing with that. So these chocolate fudge cookies skip the melted chocolate and use only cocoa powder along with some strong espresso to bring out that chocolate flavor. 

Now, if you're afraid that this lack of actual chocolate will diminish their chocolate-ness, have no fear, they are still super chocolate-ty and awesomely rich. Trust me, you won't even miss the melted chocolate. In fact, these cookies are just fantastic. If you are in dire need of some chocolate, these cookies are exactly what you need. 

One word of caution with this recipe; only use natural cocoa powder, don't try substituting with Dutched. The first time I made these cookies I tried them with Dutched cocoa powder and while they tasted really nice, they did not turn out like they are supposed to. The original recipe did not specify whether the cocoa powder should be natural or not, so I just decided to go for it with the Dutched. 

Looking at it now, I should have realized that this wouldn't work. Dutched cocoa is cocoa powder that has been alkalized during processing. Because of this, Dutched cocoa will not react with baking soda during baking because baking soda requires and acid in order to react and do its job. Since this recipe calls for baking soda as a leavener it makes sense to use natural cocoa powder. 

But it all turned out in the end, I made them again with the natural cocoa powder and they turned out great, and in the meantime I also got a bit of a science lesson. So if you're looking for a super delicious chocolate cookie, grab some natural cocoa powder and head straight into the kitchen, you won't regret it!

Chocolate Fudge Cookies
Adapted from Pinch of Yum
Ingredients

• 1 cup salted butter (1 stick melted and cooled, 1 stick room temperature, see directions)
• 1½ cups granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 3 tablespoons strong coffee
• 2⅔ cup all purpose flour 
• ½ cup natural cocoa powder (not Dutched)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 cups chocolate chips

Directions
Start by melting ½ cup (1 stick) butter in the microwave for 30-45 seconds or until completely melted. Transfer to the refrigerator or freezer and cool until solid, about 30 minutes. Leave the other ½ cup butter out on the counter to bring it to room temperature. 

With an electric mixer, cream the melted and chilled butter, room temperature butter, sugar, and vanilla until creamy and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the coffee and mix to incorporate. 

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until incorporated. The dough should be thick and sticky, but dry enough to touch with your hands without making a huge mess. If it's still too sticky, add more flour. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Roll the dough into even balls and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 10- 12 minutes at 350 degrees until just set, don't overbake. Cool for a few minutes on the cookie sheet, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely. 

Yields: I was able to make 25 50-gram cookies

Death By Chocolate Chip Cookies

Double chocolate chip cookies always sound like a wonderful idea to me, but so often they just don't deliver that decadent, intense chocolate flavor I'm looking for. But have no fear, I have finally found the perfect recipe. These cookies are dark, decadent and intensely chocolaty, the perfect way to treat your chocolate craving. What I love most about them is that there is 8 ounces, yes, half a pound, of melted chocolate in the dough. Most double chocolate cookies have maybe a couple tablespoons of cocoa powered and that is all. This doesn't cut it in my book. I want real chocolate in my chocolate cookies and lots of it, not just a little powder. So this is it, finally a real chocolate lovers chocolate cookie.

If you aren't looking for something rich, these aren't for you. But if rich and chocolatey doesn't scare you, make these cookies immediately. The only difficult thing about these cookies, is waiting the 30 minutes for the dough to chill before you can bake them. But 30 minutes isn't too bad, and the wait will definitely be worth it in the end.

Death By Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction
Ingredients

• 1 cup + 1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 5 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 cups of your favorite chips; dark chocolate, peanut butter, white chocolate etc. 

Directions
Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.

Melt the chocolate in the microwave for about 1 minute. Stir. Continue to melt in 30 second increments until fully melted and smooth. Set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk the eggs and vanilla. Set aside. With an electric or stand mixer with paddle attachment, beat the butter until smooth and creamy – about 1 minute. Beat in the sugars, scraping down the sides every 10 seconds or so. The mixture will be granular.

Mix in the beaten egg/vanilla until incorporated. Add the chocolate in a steady stream and beat until combined. Add the dry ingredients on slow speed. Fold in the chocolate chips and peanut butter chips. Do not overmix at any point in this process.

Chill dough for at least 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Scoop about 2 Tbsp of dough and roll into a ball. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until the cookies have just begun to set with the centers still appearing very soft. They will firm up as they cool.

Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for at least 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.