Jammie Dodgers

Huge Nerd Alert:

The 50th anniversary of Doctor Who is set to air in seven months, and I AM SO EXCITED!

And the Tenth Doctor is coming back! Do you know how exciting this is for me???  *SQUEEEEEEEEEEEE*

It can not be contained.

Which means that I have Doctor Who on the brain.  Constantly. Much to the chagrin of my non-Whovian fiancee.

However, he does like cookies. And if there is one thing I can’t resist, it’s cookies. Especially when I can get nerdy with them.

Which is where this cookie comes in. The first time I saw it on the show, I mistook it for a Peak Frean, one of those cookies with the sugared jam in the middle and the cream filling around it. When I found out it wasn’t actually that cookie, I had to do a bit of digging, since they aren’t as common here in Canada.

So I present to you, my spin on the Jammie Dodger, the Eleventh Doctor’s favourite snack, remote self destruct button for the TARDIS, and the biscuit carefully left bedside for the impossible girl.

Jammie Dodgers

makes 15 cookies

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 2 cups flour
• 2 tbsp custard powder ( I like Birds )
• 1/3 cup raspberry jam

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F/ 180°C. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. 
2. In a large bowl, beat together the butter and the icing sugar until smooth.
3. In another small bowl, whisk together the flour and the custard powder. Gradually beat into the butter mixture until just combined, scraping down the sides if necessary .
4. On a floured surface, roll out the dough to about 1/8 in/ 3mm thickness. Cut with a 2 in / 5 cm round cutter.  In half of the cookies, cut a small circle or heart out of the center.
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes, or until light golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.
6. Once the cookies have cooled completely, spread about 1 tsp of raspberry jam onto one of the whole cookies. Top with one of the cookies with the cut outs. Transfer to an airtight container and let set over night so that the jam soaks into the cookies a bit and “glues” the cookies together.
7. Keep one handy in case of Daleks.

-  Mel

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I linked this recipe to:

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Cookies

Mr. Ginge and I got our taxes done on Friday.

I know. Our Friday nights are hella cool.

Regardless, we decided to stay downtown and get something to eat instead of heading back home, only to have to drive back out a little while later.

Nearby the tax place is a little Chinese buffet called the OK restaurant. Despite the name they are actually pretty good; decent prices, quiet, and they have this little crab thingies that are awesome. Mr Ginge and I will fight over them. Anyways, with a name like that and my sense of humour, it was let just wide open for puns. This was how our night went:

Mr Ginge: What do you feel like for dinner? Pizza? Chinese?

Me : Ya. Chinese sounds good.

Mr Ginge: OK

Then later while we were eating.

Me: How are  your crab thingies?

Mr. Ginge: OK

Then for dessert:

Me: You going up or dessert?

Mr. Ginge: OK

And then finally as we got the bill:

Waitress: And how was your meal?

Both Mr. Ginge and I : OK

Now imagine copious amounts of sniggering at every ok.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Cookies

makes 32 cookies

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 cup crushed pretzels
• 2 cups peanut butter chips
• 32 whole mini pretzel twists (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C. Line your baking sheets with parchment paper. 
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and the sugars until light and fluffy.
3. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Beat in the vanilla.
4. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda. Gradually add it to the butter mixture, mixing so that it is combined.
5. Fold in the crushed pretzels and the peanut butter chips. Scoop  by the rounded tablespoon onto the prepare baking sheet. Top with a whole mini pretzel, squishing down lightly, just so that the pretzel sticks to the top and the cookie stays thick.
6. Bake for 10-12 minutes in the preheated oven. Let cool on the sheet for a couple minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

I have a weird sense of humour.

-Mel

Snickerdoodles

Some days you just need some comfort.

A cat snuggling on your lap.

A hot cup of tea.

A couch you can sink into and a book that will take you away.

Comfy pants.

Or maybe a favourite treat. Like cookies.

Normally, my drug of choice is a warm, straight from the oven chocolate chip cookie, however, there are days when they just won’t do. Especially when it’s cold. I crave something a bit spicier, and these snickerdoodles fit the bill. I ’m totally a soft-and-chewy type of cookie gal, but these are one of the exceptions. I love their crisp texture.

One of the earliest baking memories I have is watching my mom make these on the kitchen island in our home at the time. I distinctly remember her rolling the dough into ball then dipping them into the cinnamon sugar. And oh the smell that fills the kitchen! These cookies are worth it for smell alone!

 

Snickerdoodles

makes about 36 cookies

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup plus 2 tbsp sugar, divided
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 2 tsp cinnamon

1. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and the 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Add in the egg and the vanilla, beating until combined. 
2. In another bowl, combine the baking soda and the flour. Gradually add it to the butter mixture, mixing until fully combined. Once the dough is mixed refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 350° F and line your cookie sheets with parchment paper.
4. In a small bowl, combine the remaining sugar and the cinnamon. Roll the chilled dough into 1 in/ 2.5 cm balls, then coat in the cinnamon sugar mixture.  Place on the prepared baking sheet.
5. Bake for 10-11 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Cool for a couple minutes on the baking tray, then transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely.

Serve on a cold a snowy day with a good book and a cup of tea.

-Mel

Chocolate Drizzled Mocha Cookies

Guys!

I’m guest posting over at The Cook’s Sister! Head on over there to get the recipe!

Don’t forget to say hi to Amber!

Reverse Chocolate Chippers

Chocolate chip cookies.

They are my favourite cookies to make and the ones that I make the most often. Also what gets requested most often. It’s soft and chewy comfort all wrapped up in a few bites. It’s one of the first recipes I recall making from scratch, and linked to memories of eating cookie dough straight from the bowl.

This doesn’t mean, however, that I am not opposed to switching it up a bit with my cookies. And while these aren’t wildy off the beaten path, they hit the spot when dad asked me to make him some cookies with white chocolate chips. Perfect with a book, a cup of tea and a snuggly kitten.

Reverse Chocolate Chippers

makes about 2 dozen cookies ( more if you like smaller cookies)

• 1/2 cup cocoa powder, sifted
• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 pkg ( about 2 cups) white chocolate chips

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F.
2. In a bowl, whisk together the first 4 ingredients and set aside.
3. In another, larger, bowl, cream together the butter and the sugars, just until fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each. Stir in the vanilla.
4. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet, switching to a spoon if your mixer starts to strain.  Pour in the chocolate chips, giving them a stir to distribute them throughout the dough.
5. Using a cookie scoop ( mines about 2 tbsp) or a couple of spoons, mound the dough onto a cookie sheet, about 2 inches/ 5 cm apart. Stick them in your preheated oven for about 12 minutes. Let them cool on the sheet for a couple minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Sometimes, you can”t beat just a little twist on a classic.

-Mel

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I linked this recipe up to The Weekend Potluck and Strut Your Stuff Saturdays! Click the link to check out more great recipes!

Chocolate Dipped Matcha Whipped Shortbread

I think I have an obsession with obsessions.

I find something I like, and then it is literally all I can think about until I find something new to obsess over. Like when I was just starting to blog, I went through a faze where everything I made had almonds in them, or almond extract. Or almond something. Then it was avocados. I went beyond guacamole, then spread it on toast, wraps, grilled cheese. I even went so far as to put it in chocolate chip cookies.

The thing is, it isn’t only restricted to food.  When I was about 7, I found an old mix tape my dad had made. It had Material Girl by Madonna on it. I listened to that song night and day. I made up dance routines to it and but on pretend  shows for my toys. I quite literally listened and rewinded that song so much, that I stretched out the tape. I mean who does that?

I’d like you to think that after I wore out the tape, maybe I got sick of it and don’t listen to it anymore., or at least that my music tastes have matured, but no, Material Girl is on my iPod. I still listen to it.  My bad taste in books is matched by my taste in music, and you now know the depth of how crazy I truly am.

Anyway, more recently it has been matcha that I have been obsessed with. I finally found it, so I have a burning need to put it in everything I make. This time around, I threw it into my Mom’s whipped shortbread, thinking that the delicate cookies would hold up to the subtleness of the green tea. Then for richness I doused them in chocolate. Yum.

Here’s the thing with these cookies. These cookies must be whipped for 10 minutes. No cheating. No, oh they will be ok after 5.  10 whole minutes. If you skimp on the time, you don’t end up with the light, melt in your mouth texture that make the shortbread amazing. I usually set the kitchen timer just as I start mixing. If you have a stand mixer, it’s not much of a problem. If you only have a hand mixer ( like I seem to  whenever I make these cookies) then you are in for a real treat. And lets say after 15 years of making these cookies, I have on hell of a mixer arm.

Seriously. 10 minutes.

Chocolate Dipped Matcha Whipped Shortbread

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup icing sugar
• 2 cups flour
• 2 tsp matcha ( green tea powder)
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup butter

1. Preheat the oven to 300°F
2. In a  large bowl, combine all of the ingredients. Beat for 10 minutes. No skimping. Start with the mixer on low, until everything is combined, then amp it up to medium.  After the 10 minutes, you should have a soft, light dough.
3. Scoop the dough into a cookie press fitted with the disc of choice. I recommend something fairly solid, like a heart or a flower, other wise they might be a bit too delicate to dip.  If you don’t have a cookie press, you can use a pasty bag fitted with a star tip ( or even just scoop the dough on to a sheet). Press the dough onto the sheet, leaving a little space between each cookie.
4. Bake for 10-12 minutes. You don’t want to cookies to brown, but you want to cook them enough so that they are crisp. Let cool completely
5. In a small saucepan, melt the butter and the chocolate chips together over low heat. Once it is melted, gently dip the cookies in about halfway, then set on a sheet of waxed paper. Because the cookies are a bit delicate, you will likely end up with a few casualties. Alternatively, you could always drizzle chocolate over the top.  Stick in the fridge or the freezer to let set completely.

Keely was trying her hand at stealth. Through a lace curtain.

- Mel

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I linked this recipes up to The Weekend Potluck and On the Menu Monday! Click the link for more great recipes!

Improv Challenge: Cornmeal Thumbprints with Strawberry Cream Cheese Filling

Corn and butter.

Those were the ingredients assigned for this month’s Improv Cooking Challenge hosted by Kristen from Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker

My first thought was fresh corn on the cob slathered in butter, but corn isn’t quite in season here yet, and let’s face it, it’s not much of a recipe; Boil corn, slather in butter, eat.  Also, I’m a baker, and I really wanted to bake something for my first challenge.

My next thought was corn bread.  Very yummy, but I couldn’t help but feel that it was a cop out.

So instead, I decided to go with my favourite thing to bake, and came up with these cookies.

Cornmeal Thumbprints with Strawberry Cream Cheese Filling

makes about 36 cookies

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup cornmeal
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 pkg ( 4 oz) cream cheese, softened
• 4 tbsp strawberry jam
• 1 cup icing sugar

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal and salt and set aside.
3. In a  large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar, until fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla.
4. Slowly mix in the flour mix until combine.
5. Roll about a tablespoon of dough in to a ball then place on the cookie sheet. Gently press the middle with your (clean!) thumb to make a slight indentation. Repeat with the remaining dough, placing about 2 inches/ 5 cm apart.
6. Bake for 10 minutes. They should be slightly golden brown on the bottom.  As soon as you pull them out, gently press you indentation again with the end of a wooden spoon. Move to a wire rack and cool completely
7. Meanwhile, beat together the jam and the cream cheese until smooth. Slowly beat in the sugar.
8. Once the cookies have cooled completely, fill the indentations with the cream cheese mixture, about a teaspoon for each cookies. Store any leftovers in the fridge.

Don’t forget to check out the other great recipes from the rest of the participants!

-Mel

Canada Leaf Cookies

I don’t camp well.

Last year I mentioned how I fell out of the tent trailer. I wish I could say this was an isolated case.  Aside from the expected sun burn and being eaten alive, my memories of camping are dotted with similar events that suggest that maybe camping is just not for me.

When I was about 6, my family left for a camping trip in a provincial park. We got there, got the camp set up, made dinner and then later on settled down to sleep. The next thing I remember, I am waking up in my room. At home. Apparently, sometime after I went to sleep, the sky literally opened up and just poured rain. As in it rained so hard the tent was flooded.  With a couple inches of water.  Enough that my parents decided there was no waiting this monsoon out, and packed us up in the middle of the night.Dad went back the next day and packed up our soggy gear, and we spent the rest of the trip at home.

Another time, when I was about 18, my boyfriend at the time and I were volunteering at a kids camp with the church. He had driven me up to the camp as I didn’t drive at the time. On the last day, we were heading down to the beach, I was walking walking down with a group of campers, and he was driving down with some supplies. This was when we discovered that Dodge Neons are certainly not off-road vehicles. The road to the campsite was fairly narrow. Since he had been driving down supplies, he had left after us, and what turned out to be a not-so-smart move, steered a bit off the road in order to avoid us.  What we didn’t expect, was that he would drive over a stump, blow his front tire and then proceed to get stuck.  As in blow his tire so violently that the rim was damaged beyond repair. As in so stuck, that he had to be towed out of the camp ground. Fortunately Mom had come up for the day and was able to give me a ride home.

Fast forward a bunch of years, and I find myself a man who is an outdoorsman. As in he only likes to camp in remote areas, where there is absolutely no amenities, hours from civilization and where practising bear avoidance is not a good idea, but an absolute necessity. I am truly afraid to go camping with him.

So, what does camping have to do with cookies? Not much other than I associate long weekend in the summer with camping or cottaging ( happens when you sort of live in the heart of cottage country).   Plus it’s Canada Day long weekend, and I was feeling patriotic.

Canada Leaf Cookies.

makes about 36 cookies

• 1 cup butter softened
• 1/2 cup icing sugar, sifted
• 2 tsp extract of choice ( I used vanilla, but have also made these cookies with orange or lemon)
• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• red food dye ( I used Americolor Super Red )

1. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and the sugar until smooth.  Beat in the extract.
2. In another bowl, combine the flour and the salt. Gradually add it to the butter mix.
3. Split the dough into thirds.Set aside one third. This will stay white. Add red dye to the other two thirds. Add it gradually until you get the  desired Canada Red. Split the red dough in half, then roll all three into long logs ( about 30cm/12 inches long). Squish all three together well ( if not they won’t stick and will fall apart after you bake them). Wrap and refrigerate for at least and hour
4.  Roll out vertically to about  3mm (1/8 in) thick. What you want to end up with is a long ribbon of dough with three horizontal lines of colour running the length, wide enough to just fit your cutter.
5. Cut with a 3in maple leaf cutter, then transfer to a cookie sheet. You will end up with mostly red dough left, so you can collect that up, re-roll it, then cut it  for all red leaves.
6. Bake in an oven preheated to 325°F for about 8-10 minutes. Let cool on the sheet for a couple minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely. 

Baking cookies is so much better than camping.

- Mel

 

P.S. : Here are a couple other Canada day treats from last year:

Canada Day Cupcakes

Red Velvet Cheesecake Trifle

Apple Butter Oatmeal Cookies

Outside of my mom’s house, there are bushes that line the walkway.

They are beautiful and shade the area during the day, but come night their serene nature becomes far more vicious. You see, they harbour great evil. Spiders. Spiders that like to spin webs between the bushes in order to catch unsuspecting bugs and Mels.

I do not think there is a worse feeling in the world than spiders webs clinging to your neck and face. I’m giving myself the shivers just thinking about it.

During the day, spider webs don’t pause so much of a threat. Usually the light catches the web before you walk through it and the crisis is averted. At night though, there is no such luxury. It becomes a one-on-one battle between me and the web.

Sometimes, I am smart enough to send someone out right ahead of me and let them deal with the sticky strands. More often than not, I have not thought that far ahead or I am alone and am faced with the task myself.

Either I am flailing my arms in front of me trying to bring down the invisible strands, or the web has managed to make their attack and I am furiously brushing away the webs from my face, neck, and arms. All while carrying any assortment of things; my laptop bag, purse, stack of books, laundry or even groceries. A hilarious sight I must make.

And really, all I am trying to do is get to my car.

Apple Butter Oatmeal Cookies

makes about 24 cookies

• 1 c butter, softened
• 1/2 cup apple butter ( I used homemade)
• 1 c brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup quick cooking oats
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1 c cinnamon chips

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line your cookie sheet with some parchment or a silicone mat.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and the apple butter until smooth and combined. Add the brown sugar and beat until light and fluffy.
3. Beat in the eggs once at a time, mixing well after each. Add in the vanilla.
4. In another bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Slowly add it to the wet. Fold in the cinnamon chips.
5. For each cookie, scoop about 2 tablespoons of batter on to the prepared sheet, a couple inches apart. Bake for 9-11 minutes or until golden brown.
6. Let cool a couple minutes on the sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool, or, you know, scarf down.

Stupid spiders.

-Mel

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I linked this post up to The Weekend Potluck! Check it out!

Peanut Butter Cookies with Dark Chocolate Chunks

Hi.

I like cookies.

I am pretty sure they are my favorite things to bake. And well, probably eat.

Especially if you stress-bake like I do. Aside from eating Nutella from the jar with a spoon, I think they have the highest “instant gratification” level  available for a baked good. Let’s face it. Cupcakes just take too darn long when you are in need. All that cooling…psht.

You see cookies have two levels of gratification.  The obvious being ooey gooey warm cookies straight from the cookie sheet. If you (inevitably) burn your mouth, jut just cool it off with a glass of (chocolate) milk. It’s absolute bliss.

The other gratifying side to cookies is eating the dough. .Cookie dough makes it so much more instant.

So when, the other night I told Mr Ginge that I needed to make cookies, he agreed. And when there are two people in need of cookie comfort, I stick with the classics, as long as they are loaded up with chocolate.

Peanut Butter Cookies with Dark Chocolate Chunks

makes about 18 cookies, but is easily doubled

• 1/2 c. butter, softened
• 3/4 c. brown sugar
• 3/4 c. creamy peanut butter
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/4 c. flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• pinch of salt
• 6 oz of dark chocolate, coarsely chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. In the bowl of you mixer, or in a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the peanut butter and mix until smooth and fully combined. Add the egg and the vanilla, beating until combined.
3. In another bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda and salt. Gradually add to the creamed mixture. Fold in your chocolate chunks.
4. Scoop onto a lined baking sheet, and bake for 10-12 minutes.
5. If you doing mind messy chocolate and a burnt mouth, enjoy right off the pan. Otherwise, lt cool for a couple minutes on the pan, then move to a cooling rack.

P.S.: Sashi cats like camera straps.

-Mel