Miso Sesame Marshmallow Squares

 I LOVE rice krispy treats! But I had a giant thing of miso paste and decided to see what it would be like with marshmallows. And because toasted sesame seeds make my miso caramels absolutely delicious, I threw some of those in, too. I was right. The combination is fantastic! 

First: toast 3 Tablespoons of white sesame seeds in a dry skillet on medium heat until they are light golden brown. Pour onto a paper towel lined plate and let cool completely. 

Then make your favorite recipe for rice krispy treats but put 1 Tablespoon of white miso paste in the pot while you are melting the butter and marshmallows together. I push my miso paste through a fine sieve into the pot. Also add 2 Tablespoons of the toasted sesame seeds in with the crisp rice cereal. 

As soon as they are pressed into the pan, sprinkle with the remaining sesame seeds. I had some black sesame seeds, so I added those, too. 

Cut into squares when cool. 

Brown Butter Pumpkin Brownies

You can make these chewy, fragrant brownies by browning the butter, but you don't have to. They'll be delicious either way. The perfect dessert for a beautiful fall day! Oh, and eat your first one when they are still a little bit warm. 

1 cup browned or melted butter, let cool to room temperature 

1 1/3 cup brown sugar

1 cup canned pumpkin puree

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 1/2 cups flour

2 teaspoons cornstarch

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (you can buy it or make my recipe HERE)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350. Place two strips of parchment paper going in opposite directions in a metal 9" baking pan.

If you choose to brown the butter, place in small saucepan and melt on medium heat. Continue to heat the butter until it becomes foamy and starts to turn golden brown. Be careful, it can easily burn! 

Place melted or browned butter in large glass mixing bowl and let cool to room temperature. 

Mix flour, cornstarch, spices, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl. 

Dump brown sugar into the cooled butter and stir together. Whisk in pumpkin and vanilla until smooth. 

Add dry ingredients and stir until just combined. The batter will be thick! 

Carefully and evenly spread into paper-lined pan. 

Sprinkle the top evenly with a mixture of: 

3 Tablespoons white sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Bake for 30-35 minutes or until center is no longer jiggly and a pick inserted into the center comes out with a few crumbs on it, but not wet batter. 

Cool on wire rack for at least 30 minutes. Lift out using the parchment liner. Cut into small squares.

Triple Berry Macaroons

In Montana I had huckleberry macaroons made from desiccated coconut. After a bit of research, I made a batch of my caramel toffee macaroons with a combo of flaked and desiccated coconut. They were a bit dry. But I messed with the ratio and the triple berry macaroons are delicious! I never thought I'd say this but I think I like them even better...

1/2 cup condensed milk

1/3 cup triple berry jam

1 egg white

1/4 tsp salt

Mix well in mixer bowl with paddle attachment.

Add:

2 1/2 cups shredded coconut

1 cup desiccated coconut

Mix until well combined.

Pack tightly into a cookie scoop (I used a#60) and drop onto a lightly greased silpat mat.

Bake at 325 for 15-18 minutes or until bottoms and tops begin to turn slightly golden brown. Remove from oven and place baking tray on cooling rack. Let sit 5 minutes. Then remove to rack to cool completely.

Store in zipper bag or airtight container in fridge.

Carrot Cake Sandwich Cookies

Overall I am not a huge fan of cake. But I like some cakes more than others and carrot cake is pretty high on that list. But cookies are my favorite dessert, so how could I not love carrot cake cookies? Turns out, I do... 

2 3/4 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp nutmeg and cloves

1/4 tsp ginger

1 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar and brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups finely grated fresh carrots (do not use pre-shredded)

walnuts or pecans (optional)

dark or golden raisins (optional)

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, vanilla and carrots. Mix well.

Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and spices in small bowl with whisk. Mix into carrot mixture until just combined. 

Fold in nuts and raisins, if desired.

Scoop onto lightly greased parchment paper on baking trays. 

Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes, or until edges turn golden and tops look dry. Cool on racks but let sit on trays for 5 minutes before removing to racks to cool completely. 

Sandwich two cookies with your favorite cream cheese frosting recipe. I threw a bit of well-drained and patted dry crushed pineapple into some of my frosting. Delicious! 

Mexican Hot Cocoa Cookies

I love spicy chocolate anything! And these cookies perfectly fit that bill... Delicious!

1 3/4 cups sugar

1 cup butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup baking cocoa

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

grated zest from 1/2 of a large orange

2 1/4 cups flour

Beat sugar, butter, vanilla and salt until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Mix in cream of tartar and baking soda. Mix in cocoa powder, cinnamon, cayenne and orange zest. Mix in flour.

Scoop dough into balls and roll in cinnamon sugar mixture. 

Bake on parchment lined baking sheets at 350 for 9-10 minutes, or until edges are set. Let cool a bit on sheet before removing to racks to cool. 

Raspberry Linzer Bars

 This Christmas I made real raspberry linzer cookies. I rolled the dough, cut them out, layered them with jam. They were adorable, delicious and a lot of work! 

This recipe makes all of that so much simpler and still taste yummy!

1 cup flour

3/8 cup almond flour

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

Mix in large bowl with whisk. 

Cut in 1/2 cup of room temperature butter.

Press 2/3 of dough into an 8" square baking pan lined with parchment paper and sprayed with baking spray.

Spread dough with raspberry jam.

Crumble remaining dough on top of jam layer. 

Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until base is light golden brown. 

Let cool. Cut into squares and dust with powdered sugar.

Spiced Caramel Apple Cider Doodles

 I really wanted to combine caramel and spiced apple cider into a cookie. I could get the spice and the caramel but the apple part was eluding me. So how would I get that intense apple cider flavor I wanted? Boil down some of our hand-pressed cider into a dark, syrupy goodness. Then combine it with butter, sugar and cream and make caramel. Place on top of a mulling spice snickerdoodle. Yup. That's it...

I used the Smitten Kitchen recipe HERE but only make a half batch for this recipe with a couple of changes.

First... make the snickerdoodles.

1/2 cup shortening

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

2 3/4 cups flour

2 tsp cream of tartar

1 tsp soda

1/4 tsp salt

***************************

1/4 cup sugar

3 tsp cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon cloves & allspice

Heat oven to 400.

Mix butter, shortening, sugar, and eggs thoroughly. Blend flour, cream of tartar, salt, and soda. Stir into butter mixture. Mix well. Shape dough into 1” balls and roll in spiced sugar mixture.

Bake on ungreased cookie sheet for 8-10 minutes. Before removing from pan and while still warm, press an indentation in the top of each cookie. I used my wooden tart shaper from Pampered Chef, but you can be creative.

Then remove and let cool on wire rack. (the cookies in the picture aren't the ones I used for these cookies, so no indentation for caramel... 😊)

Now to make the caramel. And this takes a while. Oh, and prep all your ingredients while you're reducing your cider. You won't have time later...

Reduce 2 cups of cider to 1/4 cup. 

You can't use just any cider for this. It needs to be the real stuff. Not the one you get at the grocery store. This needs to be hand pressed with the sludge at the bottom. Look at your local natural grocer or farmer's market.

Pour 2 cups of cider into a heavy saucepan and turn on a fairly high heat. Not your highest setting but close. And then just let it boil, hard. Stir it every once in a while. This is going to take a bit of time. Like maybe a half an hour. When it starts to get foamy, you know it's getting close. So keep an eye on it, it goes much quicker at this point. Have a heatproof measuring cup for liquids nearby so you can check your amount. 

Ingredients to prep while reducing cider:

1/2 cup white sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

Mix together in small bowl.

1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon

scant 1/4 teaspoon of salt

Mix in small bowl

3 Tablespoons of heavy cream

Pour into small glass

4 Tablespoons margarine (I don't use butter because it makes a stickier caramel and I hate caramel that sticks in your teeth)

Cut the margarine into smaller cubes

When your cider is down to 1/4 cup, immediately pour it back into your saucepan and remove from the heat. Stir in sugars, margarine and cream (in that order) and stir until margarine melts. 

Place back on burner and reduce heat just a bit (still med-high). Put a candy thermometer into the pan. Bring the mixture up to 252 degrees that can't be stirred down, while stirring constantly. You don't want it to burn. 😬

Stir in cinnamon and salt.

Carefully pour the caramel into a bowl and stir until it cools and begins to thicken a bit. 

Then carefully fill the centers of the cookies with the caramel. 

Let cool completely before eating. 

5 Spice Pumpkindoodles

I bought Chinese 5-spice this week and discovered that it goes beautifully with pumpkin. I've always wanted to try pumpkin cookies, so I took this opportunity and used my homemade 5-spice pumpkin butter and made snickerdoodles with it. YUM! The warm spicy mix is perfect on sugar cookies warm from the oven...

1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup pumpkin butter (see recipe HERE)
2 3/4 cups flour
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar
4 tsp Chinese 5-spice
Heat oven to 400.
Mix butter, shortening, sugar, and eggs thoroughly. Blend flour, cream of tartar, salt, and soda. Stir into butter mixture. Mix well. Shape dough into 1” balls and roll in 5-spice sugar (1/4 cup sugar and 4 tsp 5-spice mixed together).

Bake on ungreased cookie sheet for 8-10 minutes

Ginger Blondies

I have enjoyed blondies (aka Butterscotch Brownies) since I was a kid. But in order to make them taste a bit more like Fall, this time I made them with dark brown sugar and crystallized ginger. Perfection!

1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup chopped crystallized ginger

Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 9” square baking pan.

Melt butter. Stir in brown sugar, egg, vanilla and almond extract. Mix in flour and salt. Fold in ginger pieces.

Spread into prepared pan. Bake 20 minutes or until set and golden brown.

Cool on wire rack.

GF Peanut Butter Cookies

Need a fast and easy GF treat to make? Here's one...

1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon baking soda
pinch salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350

Mix peanut butter and sugars until smooth. Add egg and mix well. Add remaining ingredients and mix until combined and smooth.

Roll into small balls and place on baking sheet. Dip a fork in water and make criss cross pattern on top of each cookie. Be careful not to make it too flat!

Bake 8-10 minutes, or until set.

Let cool a few minutes before removing to cooling rack.

Eat with a glass of cold milk.

Chewy Molasses Bars

February 8th is National Molasses Bar Day. So, in honor of the occasion I went searching for a recipe in my 1963 Betty Crocker Cooky Book. I didn't find one, but I modified a recipe I did find in the Heritage Cookies section.

They turned out amazing! They are just like a molasses-y brownie: chewy, moist, a little spicy and delicious! I'm going to celebrate with a couple of these and a mug of our own hand-pressed spiced apple cider... Mmmm!

1/3 cup shortening
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup molasses
2 Tbsp milk
1 1/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup raisins
1 tsp vanilla

Cream shortening and sugar. Add eggs, molasses and milk. Mix well. Blend dry ingredients together and add to creamed mixture. Mix well. Stir in raisins and vanilla.

Pour batter into a greased 9" square baking pan.

Bake at 350 for 15-20 or until pick comes out clean.

Let cool on wire rack before cutting.

Healthier (but not too healthy) Chocolate Chip Cookies

To celebrate (or should I say, commiserate) the fact that I got bifocals yesterday, I baked a batch of chocolate chip cookies using a new recipe that I concocted in hopes that it will be healthier for my not-so-young-anymore body but not so healthy that they taste healthy. You know what I mean, right?

This batch wasn’t super healthy since I stuffed half of them with Rolos or chocolate peanut butter and baked them in mini muffin pans. Hey, I was feeling pretty down about the whole bifocal thing! ;o)

I think this just might do the trick…

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup coconut oil, softened

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg

2 scant cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350.

Cream the butter, coconut oil, sugars and vanilla together with electric mixer. Add egg and mix until well combined.

Stir together dry ingredients in a small bowl. Add to creamed mixture in 3 separate batches, mixing well after each addition.

Stir in chocolate chips with a wooden spoon.

Drop onto ungreased baking sheet. Bake about 10 minutes or until slightly golden and set.

Let cool 5 minutes before removing from baking sheet to cooling rack.

Roca Blondies

We are lucky enough to live only about 2 hours from the Almond Roca factory and their factory outlet store in Fife! I am lucky enough that a friend just happened to mention the store on FB a few weeks ago. I am super lucky enough that we got to go to my BIL’s wedding in Tacoma a couple of weeks ago and make a stop at the store on the way. I am extraordinarily lucky that my sweet hubby let me spend way more money than I should have on Roca candy!!! :o)

One of the treats I brought home was a bag of broken up Almond Roca pieces for cooking.

The first thing I tried was making blondies with some of them stirred in… Jackpot!!!

If you are lucky enough to get your hands on some smashed up Almond Roca, give these a whirl…

1/2 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon almond extract

1 cup flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup Almond Roca pieces

Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 9” square baking pan.

Melt butter. Stir in brown sugar, egg, vanilla and almond extract. Mix in flour and salt. Fold in Almond Roca pieces.

Spread into prepared pan. Bake 20 minutes or until set and golden brown.

Cool on wire rack.

Ooey Gooey Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie

This pie combines my favorite dessert (pie) with my hubby’s favorite dessert (chocolate chip cookies). I think if we were ever to get married again we’d have this instead of cake at the wedding… ;o)

First make up a single pie crust. I used my mom’s pie crust recipe. It turns out great every time!

Line 1 9” pie plate with the rolled out crust.

Then make the cookie filling:

1/2 cup softened butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs

1/2 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup chocolate chips

Mix butter, sugars and vanilla. Beat in eggs. Add dry ingredients. Fold in chocolate chips.

Spread into pie crust.

Bake at 350 for about 40 minutes or until dark golden brown.

Let cool to room temperature and serve thin slices with a glass of cold milk or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Lemon Lavender Shortbread

I needed another dainty treat to eat while watching Downton Abbey, so I searched my memory banks for things I like to eat when we have tea parties… Lavender shortbread cookies are one of those special little treats that are just what I was hoping for!

I like lemon and lavender paired together, so hence that is what I put in this recipe. I hope you enjoy these with your afternoon tea as much as I do!

1 cup softened butter

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 Tablespoon dried lavender, rubbed in hand to break up large pieces and release oils

grated zest from 1 lemon

1 teaspoon vanilla

Beat until smooth and creamy.

2 1/4 cups flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

Mix in flour and salt until stiff dough forms.

Mold into rolls and wrap in waxed or parchment paper. Chill in fridge over night.

Remove from fridge for 10 minutes. Slice thin (1/4”).

Bake at 400 for 8-10 minutes. Don’t let the edges brown!

Rhubarb Bars

I went to make these on Sunday, got on my blog and couldn’t find the recipe… How could I have not shared this one already??? I’ve been making it for nearly 20 years and it has been a family favorite for even longer than that!

I was hoping to get a picture of a nicely cut bar with the leftovers from the church picnic, but there weren’t any leftovers. They cleaned me out! Everyone loved them! Some people didn’t even know what it was. A couple of people said they wouldn’t have tried one if I told them it was rhubarb while eating their second one…

Yeah, it’s a good one!

1 1/2 cups sugar

4 Tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 cup water

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 cups chopped rhubarb

Mix sugar and cornstarch in large saucepan. Whisk in water and vanilla. Add rhubarb. Cook over medium heat until thick, stir often.

1 1/2 cups oatmeal

1 1/2 cups flour (I use 1 cup flour, 1/2 cup whole wheat flour)

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup butter or shortening

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Combine dry ingredients. Cut in butter or shortening until crumbly. Stir in nuts. Reserve 1 cup and press remaining mixture into the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan.

Pour filling over oatmeal mixture. Sprinkle on remaining crumbs.

Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes or until topping is golden brown. Cut into bars while warm.

Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Pretzel Bars

One of my favorite treats are chocolate and caramel covered pretzels. This combines those and chocolate chips cookies in one delicious square of ooey gooey goodness!

1 cup butter or margarine, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs

2 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup Mrs Richardson’s butterscotch caramel topping

1 1/2 cups coarsely crushed pretzel twists

Cream butter, sugars, vanilla and eggs together. Mix in flour, salt, baking soda and salt until combined. Fold in chocolate chips.

Press 2/3 of the dough into a greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes. It should be a bit set but not golden brown.

Remove from oven and pour the caramel sauce on top of cookie. You may need to soften the caramel a bit in the microwave first.

Sprinkle caramel sauce with pretzels. Top evenly with remaining cookie dough. It will just be in small clumps over the top of the caramel and pretzels. Don’t worry, it will spread a bit while baking.

Bake for 15-25 minutes, or until golden brown.

Let cool completely before cutting into squares. Don’t cut them too big, these things are pretty rich!

Must Have Christmas Treats

The week before Thanksgiving is a frantic rush of trying to get all of the Christmas baking done and in the freezer before Black Friday! All the cookies have to be ready to eat by Saturday, so we can read the Christmas story by candlelight and enjoy hot cocoa and Christmas cookies. The tradition just doesn’t work without the cookies… Not to mention the ease of holiday entertaining with a freezer full of treats ready to pull out in a moment’s notice!

Some are yearly traditions, every year we try a couple of new recipes; some stay and some go. Here is a list of this year’s stash of Christmas treats. Just click on their name to go to the recipe.

From left to right:

Chocolate-dipped chocolate chip: These are my hubby’s all-time favorite dessert! We HAVE to make these!

Cookie Stamp Cookies: I made the stamp by hand while pregnant with our middle son and are fun to make with the kids. This is a fun and sentimental must-have!

  Mint Meltaway Brownies: These chocolate-mint brownies are making their first Christmas appearance but may become a regular… Just make the recipe for my brownies using peppermint extract in place of the vanilla, stir in about 3/4 cup of Ande’s mint baking chips, and top with a swirl of green candy melts. Super easy!

Cranberry Orange Nut Bread: Every cookie tray should have an old family recipe and this one is it! It is my Great-Grandma Miller’s recipe and is the ideal blend of cranberry and orange!

Top tier:

See’s Fudge: Easiest best fudge ever! ‘Nuff said!

Petticoat Tails: I haven’t made these for Christmas in a few years. This year I divided the dough into thirds, dyed two red and green. Rolled them flat, stacked them up, rolled them again before chilling and slicing. I like the way they look on a Christmas plate!

Mexican Wedding Cakes:Also known as Russian Teacakes, these were a yearly tradition growing up and will be for my kids, too!

Bottom tier:

Gingerbread: Because it just isn’t Christmas without gingerbread!

Orange biscotti: Dip these in hot cocoa and you’ll know why we make them every year! Chocolate and orange, FANTASTIC!

Egg nog logs: These became a new tradition last year. A truly spectacular cookie with a cup of coffee (or without)!

This Butter Almond Toffee will probably become yet another Christmas staple!

I don’t have a picture, but no cup of Christmas hot cocoa should be without a homemade peppermint marshmallow!!!    It’s like eating a fluffy minty cloud! They aren’t as hard as they seem… give ‘em a try. You won’t be sorry!

Well, that wraps up our Christmas line-up. What’s on your Christmas must-have treat list???

Gumdrop Cookies

This is a variation on my M & M cookie recipe made from a yellow cake mix. This time I added chopped gumdrops. Andy claimed they were the perfect compliment to the cake mix! I think they turned out pretty good, too!

1 yellow cake mix

1/2 cup oil

2 eggs

Mix and stir in chopped gumdrops. I tossed the gumdrops with sugar so they wouldn’t all stick together.

Bake at 350 for about 9 minutes or until the edges are slightly golden. Let sit for 2-3 minutes and remove from baking sheets to cool on wire racks.

“Cranberry Bliss” Bars

I have to admit I’ve never had a Cranberry Bliss bar at Starbucks. But when my friend Annalise, of Sweet Anna’s, posted this recipe as one of her absolute favorites I just had to try it! It is the perfect marriage of cranberries, orange, cream cheese and white chocolate in a rich, little bar…

And she was right, they are even better a little frozen!

Ingredients:
base:
3/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 cup good-quality white chocolate chunks
frosting:
1 (8oz) package cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
zest of one orange (about 1 tablespoon)
1 cup good-quality white chocolate chunks
1/2 cup dried cranberries
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350ºF.  Line a 9x13" baking dish with foil or parchment paper and butter the foil.
Melt the butter in a medium bowl and stir in the brown sugar until smooth.  Set aside to cool to room temperature while you prep the rest of the ingredients.  In another medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon; set aside.
Once cool, beat together the butter mixture, eggs and vanilla until smooth.  Add in the flour mixture and beat until incorporated and then stir in the 1 cup white chocolate chunks and 1/2 cup cranberries.
Spread the dough into the prepared pan and bake for 25-35 minutes, until lightly golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Let cool completely.
In a large bowl, beat together the softened cream cheese, powdered sugar and orange zest until smooth.
In a small bowl, melt the white chocolate in the microwave (30 seconds, stir well, and then 10 seconds at a time more, stirring in between, until smooth).  Beat half of the melted white chocolate into the cream cheese frosting until smooth.
Spread the frosting on the cooled bars in the pan.  Sprinkle 1/2 cup dried cranberries over the top and then drizzle the whole pan with the remaining melted white chocolate.
Store in the fridge until cool, cut into bars or triangles and serve.