Lovin' From the Oven

Day 3: Cocoa Coated Snickerdoodles & a Giveaway

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My friends over at Krusteaz wanted to make sure that I enjoyed the holiday season by stocking my pantry with delicious cookie mixes and the tools needed to spruce up those boxed mixes. Thank you so much for sending such a wonderful package! I used their snickerdoodle cookie mix to make these cocoa coated snickerdoodles.

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They make it as easy as can be. You only need to mix in your own butter and eggs. The sugar/cinnamon mix is already in the box for you, all you need to do is add a tablespoon of cocoa powder to the mix!IMG_9592 IMG_9594

I loved the idea of changing up snickerdoodles a little bit (nothing too drastic.. snickerdoodles don’t need improvement!). I think I’ll actually do this to all my snickerdoodles this Christmas. The taste is very subtle, but the appearance of the snickerdoodle is accentuated with darker accents. I’m into that.
IMG_9600Don’t you agree? I made them small, so they can be stuffed into mason jars and given away as Christmas gifts. In this case, my DH will be taking the whole batch to work tomorrow to give out. Everyone needs co-workers. They’re the best cookie eaters!

If you’re in the market for more baking and gifting tips and Krusteaz prizes, a #SpreadCookieJoy Twitter Party will be held on December 14th from 4:30 pm to 5:30 pm ET here.
IMG_9621And now for the fun part… Krusteaz is graciously giving one reader a chance to win all of the items pictured above PLUS some! The winner will get two boxes of the following mixes: Shortbread, Gingerbread, Snickerdoodle, Butter Vanilla Sugar and Oatmeal Scotchie; an apron, tote bag, cookie cutters and frosting pen!

All you have to do is enter via the Rafflecopter below. The giveaway ends a week from today (the 11th at midnight), so don’t forget to enter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Recipe from Krusteaz

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Day 3: Cocoa Coated Snickerdoodles & a Giveaway

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 1 minute

Total Time: 35 minutes

Yield: 24 cookies

Ingredients

  • 1 package Krusteaz Snickerdoodle Cookie Mix (1 pouch each cookie mix and cinnamon-sugar topping)
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tablespoon cocoa (I used Rodelle's dark cocoa powder)

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
  2. In medium bowl, stir together Krusteaz Snickerdoodle Cookie Mix, butter and egg until dough forms. Set aside. In separate bowl, stir together cinnamon-sugar and cocoa powder. For each cookie, scoop 1 rounded tablespoon dough and place in cinnamon-sugar mixture.
  3. Roll dough gently into balls, coating thoroughly with cinnamon-sugar mixture. Place 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet.
  4. Bake 8-10 minutes.
https://lovintheoven.com/day-3-cocoa-coated-snickerdoodles-a-giveaway/

I was given free product for this post, but the opinions expressed are my own.

Day 2: Flourless Fudge Walnut Cookies

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I’m sitting at the doctor’s office doing my three hour glucose test while blogging about cookies. Isn’t that a tad ironic? My results were a little high after the one hour test, so I had to come back and do the longer one. It’s no fun. I’m sitting in the corner seat starving and about to fall asleep.

I had my first miserable sleep last night, thanks to hauling pieces of the dresser up the stairs. I was feeling ambitious in the nursery and thought I’d be able to build the dresser by myself in a couple of hours. Boy, was I wrong. Not only did I not even come close to finishing, but I woke up this morning with sore forearms, legs, and HANDS. How weird is that?

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I’ve always been a fan of chocolate flourless cookies, so these were a no brainer for me to try. Flourless fudge walnuts cookies. How good do they sound? There’s another ironic thing.. this flourless recipes comes from King Arthur Flour. Thanks, I guess?

These cookies are definitely not the ones to pack and bring somewhere. They’re mushy, gooey, and fall apart in your hands. They don’t stack well and can be reshaped even after they’ve baked.

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I’ve always preferred a crispier flourless cookie with a soft interior, kind of like a meringue. These cookies are not it. They’re soft all around. They taste like raw cookie dough even after they’ve been baked. To me, that’s a wonderful taste. Others might not be as fond of the texture, though. Just a warning!

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Flourless Fudge Walnut Cookies

Ingredients

  • 2 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon espresso powder, optional but good
  • 1 cup cocoa powder, natural or Dutch-process cocoa
  • 3 large egg whites
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 cups chopped walnuts

Directions

  1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or Silpat.
  2. Whisk together the egg whites and vanilla. In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients, except for the nuts. Stir the wet and dry ingredients together. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl, and stir again until smooth. The sticky batter will be the consistency of a thick syrup. Add the chips and/or nuts, if you're using them.
  3. Drop the batter onto the prepared baking sheets in 3" circles (for large cookies), or 1 3/4" to 2" circles (for smaller cookies); a tablespoon cookie scoop or teaspoon cookie scoop, respectively, work well here. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheets for 30 minutes, while you preheat your oven to 350°F.
  4. Bake the cookies for 7 minutes (for smaller cookies), 8 to 9 minutes for the larger cookies; they should spread slightly, become somewhat shiny, and develop faintly crackly tops. Note: large cookies with added chips/nuts will need to bake for 10 minutes.
  5. Remove the cookies from the oven, and allow them to cool right on the pan. When they're nearly cool, carefully loosen them from the pan with a spatula.
https://lovintheoven.com/day-2-flourless-fudge-walnut-cookies/

Day 1: Rainbow M&M Cookies

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It’s officially December! YESSSSSSS! Guess what that means… I get to kick off my 12 days of cookies! Follow along the rest of the month for the remaining 11 cookies. Hint: All the ones I made for Thanksgiving will be featured. Hooray for my favorite time of the year! We’re starting the countdown with a colorful and chewy cookie: Rainbow M&M Cookies.

They’re simple, easy to make, and will please the majority of the crowd. There’s no crazy ingredients that people won’t like. It’s just dough and M&M’s.

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Sometimes, chocolate chip cookies need a little sprucing up. That’s where M&M’s come in. Children always pick the most colorful cookie when you ask them which one they want (same goes for cupcakes). They also make Christmas M&M’s this time of year, so you can easily substitute these for the red and green ones if you’re planning to make them for the holidays.

The refrigeration of the dough is absolutely necessary in this recipe. It has a ton of Rodelle vanilla extract, which really meshes into the dough while it’s chilling. Let the dough sit! It’s even better if it’s overnight.

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These cookies are soft as can be, chewy, and have just the right amount of sweetness. The chocolate to cookie ratio is also spot on, which I can certainly appreciate. If you ask me, mini M&M’s are much better for baking in cookies. I like biting into little chunks of chocolate, not humongous bites of it. That’s just me, though. Some people like a 50/50 ratio of chocolate to dough. Add more M&M’s if you wish! Heck, you can even mix in some regular chocolate chips or chocolate chunks. I won’t tell.

Recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction.

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Rainbow M&M Cookies

Ingredients

  • 2 cups + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon cornstarch
  • 3/4 cup (1.5 sticks) salted butter, softened
  • 1 cup light brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 egg, at room temperature
  • 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons Rodelle vanilla extract
  • 1 cup mini M&Ms

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 325F degrees.
  2. Cream together the butter and both sugars. Mix in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla.
  3. Gradually stir in the flour, baking soda, and cornstarch until just combined.
  4. Fold in the mini M&Ms. Cover and refrigerate dough for at least an hour.
  5. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto baking sheet and press a few more M&Ms onto the tops for decoration.
  6. Bake for 8-10 minutes.
https://lovintheoven.com/rainbow-mm-cookies/

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