Snickerdoodle Ice Cream Sandwiches

Snickerdoodles are a bit nostalgic to me. Back when they used to teach Home Economics in middle school, it was my first, homemade cookie that I ever had; they were soft; they were chewy; they were crunchy around the edges, yet soft and chewy in the middle. At the time, I thought they were the best thing, EVER! So, to my middle school teacher, Ms. Young, if you're reading this, I want to let you know that the first time I ever baked anything was with you! Who knows...maybe my love for baking started much earlier than I thought!

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup of softened unsalted butter

1 1/2 cup of sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon of vanilla

2 3/4 cup of all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg

2 teaspoons of cream of tartar

1/4 teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon of baking soda


FOR THE CINNAMON AND BROWN SUGAR COATING:
3 Tablespoons of sugar

3 teaspoons of cinnamon

YOU WILL ALSO NEED:
vanilla bean ice cream or ice cream of your choice!

sprinkles!! All the sprinkles!!

round biscuit or cookie cutter

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Line a small baking dish with some parchment paper. Take your ice cream out of the freezer and let it soften a bit before using (about 10 minutes). Scoop out desired amount of ice cream into the baking dish and level it out using a flat spatula. Cover the ice cream with a piece of saran wrap, making sure to press over the ice cream's surface. Freeze until firm. (I usually do this whole step the night before)

2. Remove the ice cream from the freezer and using a biscuit cutter, cut out your ice cream. Place your cut-out ice cream pieces back into the freezer until ready to assemble.

PREHEAT YOUR OVEN TO 400 DEGREES F.
3. Into a shallow plate, mix together your sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.

4. Into a mixing bowl, add in your flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, salt, and nutmeg. Set aside.

5. In a large mixing bowl, add in your softened butter and sugar. Using a hand mixer, beat JUST UNTIL COMBINED. Add in your eggs and vanilla and beat just until combined. USING A SPATULA, fold in your dry ingredients, being careful not to over-mix.

6. Using a melon baller (or by hand) shape your cookie dough and drop them into your cinnamon and sugar mixture. Place them on your cookie sheet fitted with some silpat (or parchment paper/foil), making sure to space them at least two inches apart.

7. Bake cookies for 8 minutes, EXACTLY.

8. Immediately remove cookies from your baking sheet and allow them to cool completely on a wire rack until ready to use.

9. Remove your ice cream from the freezer and begin to assemble your ice cream sandwiches. Roll them gently into your sprinkles (if using). I recommend making two at a time (leaving the rest in the freezer while you work), and eating them asap! In other words, make them and eat them right away! The ice cream will begin to melt as soon as you take them out of the freezer.

NOTES:
-Do not attempt to put any assembled ice cream sandwiches back into the freezer: the cookies will harden and it will be quite difficult to eat!

-This recipe makes over 3 1/2 dozen cookies. You may cut the recipe in half, but why would you?! Chilled dough makes the BEST cookies! Simply roll out the leftover dough into two separate logs, wrap each one in saran wrap, and place them into the freezer for later use.

Gluten Free Chocolate Pecan Cookies

These gluten free, chocolate pecan cookies are sinfully delicious! This recipe doesn't require any special flour or special ingredients, so you should be able to pull this all together pretty quickly. They DO require a little rest time in the fridge overnight to firm up a bit, though.

You can wait a bit longer to eat them, right?? :)

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups of dark chocolate chips, divided

2 Tablespoons of REAL butter (84% butter content), melted in the microwave for 20-30 seconds

1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons of white sugar

3/4 teaspoon of baking powder

1/4 cup of corn starch

1/2 tsp of kosher salt

2 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk, lightly beaten

1/4 cup of pecans, coarsely chopped

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Melt 1 1/2 cups of your dark chocolate chips over a double broiler (reserve the other 1/2 cup for later.) Add your chocolate chips into a heatproof bowl, and set it over a pot of simmering water. Once your chocolate chips are fully melted, turn off the heat and stir in your melted butter until fully combined. Keep bowl warm over hot water.

2. Into a large mixing bowl, add in your white sugar, baking powder, corn starch, and salt. Pour in your lightly beaten eggs, and using a wire whisk, whisk until mixture resembles pancake batter. This should take about 2 minutes to whisk by hand.

3. Drizzle in your melted chocolate and butter mixture into your egg mixture, and whisk until combined. (If your melted chocolate/butter mixture has begun to solidify, feel free to reheat it over the double broiler)

4. Using a spatula, gently fold in your chopped dark chocolate chips and your chopped pecans.

5. Pour your batter into a shallow 13X9 baking dish and spread out the top to make it even. Place a large piece of saran wrap directly on top of the batter to prevent a skin from forming. Place baking dish into the fridge, and allow for it to rest and firm up over night.

6. The following day, preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. It's very important that your oven is already preheated BEFORE you scoop our your batter. Fit a piece of parchment paper over a large baking sheet. Using a melon baller, scoop out your batter making sure to leave at least 3 inches in between each cookie. I never bake any more than 9 cookies at a time. Bake for 8 minutes and allow cookies to cool completely before removing from baking sheet. Repeat process. (Place any unused batter at the time, back into the fridge until you are ready to use)

NOTES:
-To get the proper texture it's important to use dark chocolate chips, and REAL butter. Look for "European style or European churned" on the label when looking for butter. I like Plugra or for a cheaper alternative Darigold's Chef Choice (which can be found at Cash n' Carry)

- You must bake these immediately after you scoop them onto your baking sheet. The batter will begin to spread as it warms.

- These also taste best when eaten right away or same day! :)

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies (Ever?)

I've tried many different recipes for chocolate chip cookies over the years, and this one is definitely my favorite...EVER! It's soft and chewy, and if you bake it for just a tad bit longer, you get this delicious, and ever so crunchy bite, just around the outer edges.

Mmmm...cooooooookie (in Cookie Monster's voice)

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups of SIFTED all purpose flour

1/2 tsp of baking soda

1/2 tsp of salt

3/4 cup of softened SALTED butter

3/4 cup of packed brown sugar

1/2 cup of white granulated sugar

1 Tablespoon of vanilla extract

1 whole egg

1 egg yolk

1 1/4 cup of semi sweet chocolate chips

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Into a bowl, sift your flour, baking soda, and salt.

2. Using your stand mixer fitted with your paddle attachment, add in your brown sugar, white sugar, and softened butter and cream for 3 minutes on medium speed. Scrape down the bowl as needed.

3. With your mixer on "stir", add in your egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract. Turn the mixer up to speed 4 (medium speed), and mix just until combined.

4. With your mixer on "stir", slowly incorporate your dry mixture, a little at a time, just until mixed. Scrape down your bowl at least once.

5. Add in your chocolate chips just until combined.

6. Place a piece of parchment paper onto a baking sheet and using an ice cream scoop (for smaller cookies, use a melon baller) and scoop out your cookies.

7. Bake cookies in a preheated 325 degree oven for 15 minutes, or until edges are slightly golden brown. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5-7 minutes before transferring onto a wire rack to cool completely.

*This recipe was inspired by the recipe I found here.

NOTES:

-This recipe was recently updated! If it looks different than the video I posted, THAT'S BECAUSE IT IS! The updated recipe just uses softened butter instead of melted. :)

-If you want to make smaller cookies (using a melon baller) the cookies will bake a bit faster.

- You MUST freeze the batter before baking because if you don't, your cookies will spread quite a bit.

- Adjust baking time, depending on how long your cookies have been in the freezer.

-These cookies are even better the next day! :)

Christmas Cookies

For the cutout cookies, you will need:
cookie cutters
1 package of sugar cookie mix(I like Betty Crocker's)
1 stick of salted butter(to help cancel out some of the sweetness)
1 T of flour
1/2 tsp of orange extract
1 egg

For the icing you will need:
3 egg whites
about 3-3 1/2cups of powdered sugar
some water to control consistency
You will also need an assortment of GEL food coloring, some parchment paper, a large cookie sheet, disposable cups/spoons for easy clean up, and disposable piping bags. DON'T FORGET ABOUT THOSE TOOTHPICKS AND COOKIE CUTTERS!! :)

Follow the instructions for the cutout cookies on the packaging(just mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl). Make sure you use salted butter and add the orange extract for a more homemade taste. Once combined, divide dough into two discs and chill in fridge for a few hours(overnight is okay too).

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Once chilled take the dough out(one at a time to keep it cold) and place on a WELL floured surface. Take a floured rolling pin and roll it out to at least a 1/4 inch thick. Take your cookie cutter and lightly tap it into your flour before cutting out your shapes. Using a flat spatula, quickly but carefully remove the cutouts and place onto cookie sheet. If you wish, you may decide to remove all the excess dough first before removing the cutouts onto baking sheet...do whichever is faster for you.

Take all the scraps and bring them together to form a ball. Place it on a piece of parchment paper and use your palm to flatten it out. Take your floured cookie cutter and repeat steps. And remember at this point, your dough has softened so it's much easier to remove the excess dough around the shape and then place it onto baking sheet.

Bake until edges have turned slightly browned. Remove from oven allow to cool for 5 minutes before removing and placing on wire rack to cool.

To make the icing beat your egg whites until frothy. Add your powdered sugar about a cup at a time until it reaches desired consistency. Have a little water on hand just in case it gets a little too thick for you.

Divide icing into plastic cups and add whatever food coloring you wish. FYI food coloring darkens as it sits so if you're picky about your colors and are trying to impress, you may want to play around with these a head of time.

Place icing into disposable bags making sure you get all of the air bubbles out. Make a very small cut at the tip of the bag with scissors or you may use a small rounded cake decorating tip for more intricate work. Make sure you twist the top tightly while your icing the cookie and keep applying pressure as you go along!

Okay now, grab a cookie...AND START DECORATING!! But don't forget the most important thing....HAVE FUN!! :)