Candy Cane Cookies

It's about time I posted something here and a seasonal post no less! I told a friend the other day that there is never really a good time to write except when you make the time. The "other" always trumps - whether it be laundry, cleaning, Christmas shopping, a paid job, you name it. But, for some of us, writing is therapeutic (and cheaper than therapy!) and so we temporarily shelve the "must-dos" and replace them with an hour or two behind the keyboard. Most of my "writing time" lately has been spent over at my personal blog processing some good and some hard things that I've been thinking about. I'm scratching my whiskers and toying with the idea of combining my blogs so that I can write about whatever I want in the very same space but I haven't fully wrapped my mind around what that would look like just yet.

Until I figure all that out, I felt the need to pop in over here and share a recipe because it's been far too long. Today I'm thinking about cookies and all things light-hearted and maybe you, like me, are doing some last minute scrounging so that you'll have a plate of goodies to share at the cookie exchange you committed to this weekend. So that, my friends, is why you are the privileged recipient of one of my very favorite Christmas cookie recipes today. You're welcome.

My mom was the queen of Christmas cookies back when I was small. Her party contributions always, always included a festive tray of much-anticipated sweets. Looking back, I have absolutely no idea how she did it. She was a stay-at-home mom to FOUR kids all of whom she homeschooled and still managed to show up around the holidays sporting a plate with no less than 7-10 varieties of cookies and candies. And here I found myself, earlier in the week, honestly unsure if I would be able to scrounge up the energy needed to make even ONE batch of relatively easy cookies this month, let alone 10!

May it be known: my mom was supermom (and she still is!) When it came to Christmas cookies, her "usuals" included Russian Tea Cakes, hand-dipped frango mints, chocolate crinkle cookies, almond roca, chocolate mint fudge, English toffee cookies, chocolate-covered peanut butter balls, sugar cookies and, the focus of today's post: CANDY CANE COOKIES. I have very fond memories of my mom, adorned in her blue cow apron (she had a cow collection in her kitchen that I think us kids somewhat forced upon her with cow-themed after cow-themed gift - odd I know...) with Christmas music pumping, standing over the double boiler dipping her famous frangos in chocolate as she belted Christmas carols. Maybe the memory is so vivid because my dad actually captured it on video one time, back in the day when video cameras were novel and MASSIVE in size. It must have been his new toy because he definitely staged it and hid the camera so he could capture the moment in all its candidness. It was perfect. My mom went all out in an operatic rendition of O Holy Night before she looked up and saw that he was filming. I think it's apparent that my parents were the cutest.

Anyway, most of the treats my mom did herself. Now that I am a mother of littles, I can understand why. It takes me weeks to stockpile enough patience and stamina to accommodate having the kids "help" in the kitchen. And then it takes another couple of weeks to clean up the aftermath which usually includes wiping flour off the ceiling and chocolate off the toilet (man that stuff can travel!) My wise pastor's wife once told me she used to LOVE doing the dishes when the kids were younger because it was when doing this chore that NO ONE EVER BOTHERED HER. Maybe frango-dipping was the same for my mom. True rest was not an option for her as a busy mother of four so she went with the next most relaxing alternative: dipping frangos???? Anyhow, she DID bring us kids in to help with a couple of the cookie varieties (an endeavour she probably had to start prepping herself for back in March): sugar cookies and candy cane cookies. And these two cookies are the ones I now make most often as an adult. I guess the moral here is this: let your kids "help" with the recipes you want them to make for you in your old age. Because these are the ones that stick.

This year I'd resolved to make sugar cookies, if I got around to making any cookies at all, until my husband begged for me to just make "those delicious almond ones." At first I didn't know which cookie he was talking about because one doesn't usually look at a cookie shaped like a candy cane and think almond. He didn't have to twist my arm much once I realized the recipe he was referring to because these are one of my favs too. Plus, the dough doesn't require refrigeration, cookie cutters, or the laborious process of frosting and decorating. Sold!

This recipe isn't actually the one I was raised on (sorry Mom! Well, Betty Crocker actually). I stumbled upon this one back when Taste of Home Magazine was a thing (is it still?) I used to sign up for 2 free issues and then unsubscribe immediately and landed myself with a lot of cooking magazines this way. When I spotted this recipe, I was overcome with nostalgia and clipped it out, assuming it was the same as my childhood version. Upon closer examination, I realized that this version contains only almond extract (versus the peppermint extract and vanilla in Betty Crocker's recipe) which I love. My kids were quite pleased by this too as my middle child was worried the cookies would "taste like mom's toothpaste" when she heard the word "peppermint." She was relieved to learn the only hint of mint would come from crushed candy canes, which she loves. Crisis averted.

The mixing of the cookie dough is a pretty straight forward process and my kids can attest that the raw dough tastes delicious. I love how the sweet almondy flavor is accented by the salt. I changed the recipe just a smidge, mostly just adapting the yield to the more accurate 50 cookies rather than the in-their-dreams 72 that it originally predicted. I just don't get cookie recipes sometimes. It's like they think you're making cookies for miniatures with the measly amount of dough they estimate per cookie. Some of us prefer cookies the size of our face. Ok, not quite. But at least the size of a cookie!

Merry Christmas to you and yours!

Candy Cane Cookies
(adapted from Taste of Home Magazine)

2 cups butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
2 eggs
1 Tablespoon almond extract
5 cups flour
2 tsp salt
Red food coloring
4 candy canes, crushed
1/3 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a mixing bowl with stand mixer, cream butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and extract and beat to mix. Combine flour and salt and gradually add to butter mixture until well mixed.

Divide dough in half and remove one half from mixing bowl. Add 15-20 drops of red food coloring to the half that remains in the mixing bowl and mix to distribute coloring evenly. Shape generous tablespoons full of each color of dough into 6 inch ropes and line up side by side. Lightly press ends together and twist to create a striped effect and curve the top to create the shape of a candy cane. Place on greased baking sheets.

Bake for 9-12 minutes or until very lightly browned. Combine crushed candy canes and sugar and immediately sprinkle mixture over cookies. Cool for 2 minute before removing to wire racks to cool.

Yield: 50 normal-person-sized cookies

Salty Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Guys! I finally have a go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe. Chocolate CHUNK to be specific. This feels like a real milestone in my venture toward adulthood (which, by the way, I have still not reached). I may have made them twice already. This week. They are the perfect oh-crap-company's-coming-and-I-need-to-make-dessert sort of treat. Be careful not to overcook them (they firm up as they cool) and you'll end up with the best ooey gooey middle. The highlight for me of course is the salt on top. What can I say? I am a sucker for this sweet and salty dessert trend, which I hope never ends. I know, I know - are dietitians supposed to like dessert AND salt? Shoot me, I guess.

And these cookies also don't mess around with their chocolate-to-cookie ratio. I know it's really tempting to use chocolate chips (and do it if you have to) but really it's the chunks that set these cookies apart. Our Trader Joe's just started carrying bags of chocolate chunks and they are now a staple in our house. Because these cookies are becoming a staple. Don't be bashful. Dump the whole bag in if you want. I promise you won't regret it.

Salty Chocolate Chunk Cookies

(adapted from Bon Appetit Magazine)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup powdered sugar
2 large egg yolks
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (I use Trader Joe’s chocolate chunks)
Kosher or other flaky sea salt

Place racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat to 375°. Whisk flour, baking powder, kosher salt, and baking soda in a medium bowl; set aside.

Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter, brown sugar, sugar, and powdered sugar until light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes. Add egg yolks, egg, and vanilla. Beat, occasionally scraping down the sides of the bowl, until mixture is pale and fluffy, 4-5 minutes. Reduce mixer speed to low; slowly add dry ingredients, mixing just to blend. Using a spatula, fold in chocolate.

Spoon rounded tablespoonfuls of cookie dough onto 2 greased baking sheets or baking stones, spacing 1-inch apart. Sprinkle cookies with kosher or sea salt.

Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until just golden brown around the edges, 10-12 minutes (the cookies will firm up as they cool). Let cool slightly on baking sheets, then transfer to wire racks; let cool completely.

Makes 24 cookies

Almond Quinoa Breakfast Cookies

I'm on a clean-out-the-pantry kick. And by "pantry" I mean that one cupboard with a few shelves that we cram full of everything from dry goods to kitchen equipment to vitamins. We do live in a townhouse after all. These clear-the-shelves kicks really should happen more than they do based on the number of times I get nailed with something sliding of my - ahem- perfectly organized piles of food in there. I've learned to open the cupboard cautiously. Death from above!

Anyway, back on topic. QUINOA! 

This was the ingredient of the week to get kicked out of my cupboard. I cooked up a large batch earlier in the week to serve with a Black bean, Roasted Corn and Avocado Salad, reserving a cup of it for this breakfast cookie recipe. Ever since Isla started preschool, I'm always in the market for more quick breakfast items I can just pull out of the freezer. I have the best of intentions of waking up earlier someday to nourish her with hot breakfasts but let's be honest, that just isn't happening right now. So enter breakfast cookies. These puppies are so versatile and can be packed with protein and fiber and yummy goodies. I'm collecting a few favorites over here and this here is one of them. The original recipe came from Bon Appetit Magazine, but then I made the absolutely substitution of some of the dried cranberries for chocolate chips. And then I added another secret ingredient, sort of by accident. Ok totally by accident. 

Let's just say when I made the big batch of cooked quinoa from my black bean salad recipe, I was super careful to reserve some for these cookies before adding the olive oil and salt and pepper to the rest. What I didn't remember until this morning when I was mixing up the cookie dough was what I used to cook the quinoa.... Yep, my quinoa was cooked in none other than chicken broth. CHICKEN BROTH! Lol. Some of us aren't getting enough sleep over here! I thought twice about using it (for like 3 seconds) before I decided Oh heck, let's just throw it in there and see how they taste! And to be honest, they actually turned out. They maybe a smidge saltier than the first time I made them but they are still mighty tasty for a reasonably healthful breakfast treat. I think the almond extract saved my bacon. So chicken broth or not, enjoy!

Almond Quinoa Breakfast Cookies
 

1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup (packed) light brown sugar

1/4 cup honey

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1 cup cooked quinoa, cooled

1 cup old-fashioned oats

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup slivered almonds

Preheat oven to 375°. Whisk flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a medium bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat butter, both sugars, and honey in a large bowl until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs and extracts; beat until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in flour mixture, 1/2 cup at a time. Stir in quinoa, oats, cranberries, chocolate chip, and almonds. Spoon dough in 2-tablespoon portions onto baking sheets greased with cooking spray, spacing 1” apart. Bake cookies until golden, 12–15 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack and let cool. DO AHEAD: Store cooled cookies airtight at room temperature for 1 day, or freeze for up to 1 month.

Makes about 24 cookies