Last Minute Cookie Recipe!

Since I’ve moved recently and most of my life is still packed away in boxes in storage I don’t have my beloved recipe collection. Who knew I wouldn’t be able to find my favorite Chocolate Mint Cookie recipe on the internet! I searched the web and even asked a friend who I always share my favorite recipes with and she couldn’t locate it either. So now determined to make these cookies for Christmas, I found several similar recipes and settled on the one I’m about to share. I just pulled the last cookie sheet out of the oven and can smell the chocolately minty goodness. These cookies are full of chocolate and mint and perfectly chewy. I decided it was best to preserve this recipe here so not only could I share it with everyone but also so there is no way of misplacing it in the future! Enjoy!

Triple Chocolate Mint Cookies
16 oz. semi-sweet chocolate (I used chocolate chips)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
4 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
10 tbsp (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cup (packed) brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups Andes mint chocolate baking bits, or any mint-chocolate chocolate bar, crushed (I used York Peppermint Patties chopped up)*From the Cookin’ Canuck Blog

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, with the oven racks in the upper-middle and lower-middle positions. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, melt semi-sweet chocolate. This can be done by placing the bowl over a pot of simmering water (for a make-shift double-boiler) or in the microwave at 50% power. Stir and set aside to cool.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl, using a hand electric mixer), beat butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar at medium at speed until the mixture is light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add one egg a time to the butter mixture, beating after each addition. Add vanilla extract and beat until combined. Add the cooled melted chocolate and beat until well combined.

Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture. Mix until just combined. Stir in mint-chocolate baking bits. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the mixture sit at room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the mixture is easy to scoop and fudge-like.

Using 3 tablespoons of dough for each cookie, roll the dough into balls and place on the prepared baking sheets, 2 inches apart. Place the baking sheets in the oven and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, switching the position of the sheets and rotating them back to front halfway through baking. The cookies are baked when the edges are set, but the center are still soft. The cookies will still look a little raw in between the cracks, but are done.

Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack. Repeat with the rest of the dough, using cooled cookie sheets. Serve the cookies warm or at room temperature.

Makes 25 to 30 cookies.

Gifts for the Crafty People on Your List

Do you have people to buy for that love to create? If they’re anything like I am they’re always looking for something new they can try. Here’s a great list of gift ideas from Etsy Shops that would be perfect for the crafty person in your life!

‘Gifts for the Do It Yourselfer’ by SeaFlowerStudios

These gifts would be wonderful for those people in your life who love to create!

make 2… a kit to make 2 … ArtEclectique $28.00	Felt Soap Kit – Lemon Verben… kneek $14.00	DIY handmade felt wool Sheep… MeMeCraftwork $20.00
Kit- Everything you need to … AmyGaines $12.00	Living Ornament – Moss Globe… stinkygirlcraf… $12.00	DIY Kit – Crochet Your Own C… Threadhood $29.00
Sustainable Wine Cork Trivet… thewoodenbee $19.00	Rose Cabochon Flexible Mold … WhysperFairy $5.95	Needle Felting kit, Needle F… bearcreekdesig… $20.00
DIY Bracelet Kits with Vinta… Misopolis $55.00	eBook- How to Make Feather F… jewelboxballer… $11.00	Baby Dragon Crochet Pattern … voodoomaggie $5.00
No-Sew Felted Bag / Purse Pa… baggieaggie $3.50	eskababy boots – the origina… thejunebride $6.99	PDF Sewing Pattern Stella an… retromama $8.00

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Now an Appetizer…

Yesterday I posted a drink recipe and today it’s an appetizer I just had to share. I know recipes two days in a row is a bit much but isn’t one of the best part of the Holidays all the new recipes you get to try? I also think that the citrus and vanilla from yesterday’s drink would be an excellent compliment to the sweet richness of this appetizer…you be the judge. I hope you don’t mind if I share many more recipes this month. This one is definitely on my list of things to make for Christmas with the family!

Caramel-Coated Brie

1 1/4 cups sugar

1/3 cup water

8” wheel of brie

20 pecans or walnuts (about 1/2 cup)

Prepare an ice-water bath. Heat sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, swirling, until sugar dissolves. Cook, swirling and brushing down sides of pan with a wet pastry brush (to prevent sugar crystals from forming), until dark amber. Immediately dip bottom of pan in ice-water bath to stop the cooking.

Place brie on a serving platter. Dip pecans into caramel using chopsticks; arrange around edge of brie. Re-warm remaining caramel if needed and pour over top, swirling to coat and drip down sides. Let stand until hardened. Crack caramel with a knife to serve

Serve with toasted rustic bread or crackers.

*Recipe from Martha Stewart Living

Festive Holiday Drink Anyone?

So if you’ve been following my blog you know that I can’t resist a good recipe every now and then. Today I caught the end of a show on the food network (sorry I don’t know the name of the show) and they were making this amazing sounding drink so I immediately knew I had to share it! Cheers!

Clementine Vanilla Cosmo

3 clementines, plus 1 very thinly sliced, for garnish

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

2/3 cup cranberry juice

1/3 cup lime juice

1 1/2 cups vanilla flavored vodka

Cut the clementines into quarters and squeeze their juice into a saucepan. Add the sugar, water and clementine flesh and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat and simmer the mixture for 5 minutes. Pour into a strainer set over a measuring cup, pressing on the solids to remove as much liquid as possible. Discard the solids, cool the liquid to room temperature and pour into a pitcher. Add the cranberry juice, lime juice and vodka and stir well. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Put 6 or 8 martini glasses in the freezer.
 
To serve, pour the mixture into an ice-filled cocktail shaker and shake until very cold. Pour into the chilled martini glasses and garnish each with a clementine slice. Drink up and enjoy!

Who’s on your “Nice” List this year?

The holiday shopping season is upon us once again. If you’re like me you love to find interesting and unique gifts for the special people in your life. You could spend hours scouring stores and malls trying to find something that will be one of a kind….or you could consider buying handmade. There are so many reasons to shop handmade that I thought I would remind you of a few. 

• Handmade products are more then just an item. They are made with creativity, love and uniqueness and often come with a story about they were inspired or created.

• Buying handmade shows the recipient you made special effort to make sure you found a wonderful gift that was chosen with them in mind.

• Often it means the gift is more environmentally friendly because there is usually less packaging and less waste.

• Buying handmade means support local artisans and crafts people instead of large corporations and chain stores.

• Many artisans use sustainable, chemical free, organic, local and recycled products to make their items.

• Handmade items bring so much joy to everyone. The artisan loves what they do and enjoys making their product. You will enjoy the shopping more because you can avoid long lines and busy stores and it will be a more personal and fun experience. The recipient will love that you spent the time and effort to find them a perfect gift and be proud of owning a one of a kind piece.

• The money spent will stay in your own community.

• If you have questions about how the product is made or what it’s made of and how to look after it, the creator will be available to answer all those questions.

• Buying handmade often means you’re getting a better quality product then something that has been inexpensively mass-produced.

• Handmade items can often be customized to make sure the gift is perfect for the recipient.

• It rewards, encourages and makes us more appreciative of craftsmanship, entrepreneurship and creative thinking.

These are all excellent reasons why you should consider buying handmade this Holiday season. Even if you bought just one or two of your gifts handmade think of the benefits! To help you get some gift giving ideas between now and Christmas I will be featuring the work of some Artisan’s that I admire and am inspired by. Happy Shopping!

Pumpkin and Chocolate…Oh My!

Anyone who knows me well knows that I love to try new recipes and I also love to share the ones that are so fabulous they must be passed on! With Thanksgiving weekend just about here I didn’t think anyone would mind if I shared a wonderful new recipe. After all baking is a form of creativity too!

Today’s recipe is for a delicious fall inspired treat that I made a couple weeks ago for some family and it was so successful there wasn’t a crumb left in the pan. The recipe came from October’s issue of Chatelaine magazine.

Pumpkin and Chocolate Cheesecake Bars

1 cup graham cracker crumbs

2 tbsp finely chopped candied ginger (I skipped this and it was still wonderful)

1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

1 egg

3/4 cup pumpkin purée

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp each nutmeg and salt

250 g pkg regular cream cheese, at room temperature

2 tbsp whipping cream (35%)

3/4 cup milk chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8-in. square baking pan with parchment paper, letting paper overhang the pan’s edges.

2. In a medium bowl, stir crumbs with candied ginger and butter until evenly moist. Press over bottom of an prepared pan. Bake in centre of oven until edges are golden, about 10 min.

3. Whisk egg in the same bowl (no need to wash). Whisk in pumpkin purée, sugar and seasonings. Cut cheese into cubes. Using an electric mixer, beat cheese into pumpkin mixture, scraping down sides of bowl if needed, until well mixed.

4. Pour over warm crust. Bake in centre of oven until filling is set when pan is jiggled, about 25 min. 5. Cool completely on a rack.

6. Heat cream in a small saucepan over medium-high until hot, 2 min, or microwave uncovered on high for 1 min. Remove from heat and add chocolate chips. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Spread over cooled filling. Refrigerate until chocolate is firm, about 1 hour.

7. Use parchment paper to lift square out of pan, then slice into 20 bars. Refrigerate up to 5 days or freeze up to 1 month.

Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy!