nuts Archives - Page 19 of 35 - Lovin' From the Oven

A Christmas Gift Basket

December 22, 2010 by kim 13 Comments

Let’s take a break from the 12 days of cookies for a second. Just one quick second, I promise!

I was asked to put together a Christmas gift basket recently and had no rules. I love when I have the freedom to do as I please! A little stroll around Michael’s gave me the inspiration I needed. My theme was going to be snowmen!

Let’s break it down, shall we?

I stuffed this tin with snickerdoodles.

How cute is this canister? Seriously dying of cuteness.

It breaks down to three separate canisters.

I filled the bottom two with pecan sandies (sneak peak to the end of my 12 days of cookies!).

and the top hat is filled with cinnamon sugar roasted pecans.

Then I decorated a bakery bag and filled it with good ol’ chocolate chip cookies.

I also spiced up a regular white bakery box with decorative holiday tape on the sides. It transforms it into a completely festive box! (It’s not filled yet in the picture because I was waiting for the triple chocolate brownies to cool before cutting into them).

Excuse the mess in the background; I take over the kitchen when I bake. I added extra bags of roasted nuts after this picture and a mini card explaining what was included in the basket. Oh hey, the brownies are in this picture!

Bag it up.

And a little itty baby stocking to top it all off.

Now isn’t that just the sweetest thing you’ve ever seen? Haha. I sure hope the recipient enjoys it!

Day 5: Chocolate Jumbles

December 13, 2010 by kim 110 Comments

Day 5 of my 12 days of cookies: So far, so good! I’m still on the right track to finish my list this year and I am ever so determined to do it! Chocolate Jumbles. A dark chocolate, cakey cookie with chopped pecans and white chocolate. You can make them as big or as small as you want. The recipe says it yields 18 cookies, but I managed to make over 4 dozen with the batter by using a small cookie scoop. Instead of making them huge, I baked them into miniature poppables. The recipe also said that you have to flatten them a bit before baking, but since I made mine so tiny, I left them as is.

I took just over 3 dozen cookies to work, thinking no one would want them in my family (my parents aren’t a big fan of chocolate). When I came home, my mom asked me where the rest of the cookies went. I had left a little plate of about 6 cookies on the counter, which seemed to have mysteriously disappeared while I was at work. My mom confessed to eating 4 of them and was asking for more. Um, what? Where is my mom and what have you done with her? Apparently, they reminded her of some cookie she ate back in the day. She wasn’t even phased by the chocolate in it.

I was in a rush taking these pictures because I did it in the morning before work, so I texted my DB asking if he could take some extra shots just in case I didn’t get one that I liked. “Sure,” he said, “but you never like my pictures!” Grateful, I started uploading the pictures when I came home. Curious as to what his shots look like? Notice anything out of the ordinary?

I was laughing so hard when I saw this. He didn’t even bother flipping an upside down cookie! EVERY picture he took had a flipped cookie. Hahaha.

This recipe came from a beautiful cookbook that I recently received from Tate’s Bake Shop. Not only did they send me a cookbook, they also sent me cookies! Three different kinds!

The beautiful box it came in..

and even more boxes!

Each pack has two individually wrapped packages, each filled with a row of cookies. White chocolate macadamia nut…

Oatmeal raisin..

and your classic chocolate chip…

These cookies were thin and crispy. I’m not usually one to like those kinds of cookies, but I couldn’t stop eating the white chocolate macadamia nut. My dad actually finished all of them. True story. The oatmeal raisin, I could do without… but as for the white chocolate macadamia nut– I’d eat it for dessert every day.

For those of you who want cookies right away, you can use the 15% discount code “cookie” on their website (valid until December 31st) for instant satisfaction. Here’s the recipe for the jumbles to tie you over!

Chocolate Jumbles

By Kathleen King from Tate’s Bake Shop Cookbook, p. 50

2 1/2 cups AP flour
1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup salted butter, softened to room temperature
1 1/2 cups firmly packed dark or light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups white chocolate chips or chunks
1 cup pecans, chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease two cookie sheets, or line them with silpat.
In a lage bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
Cream the butter and the sugar in a large mixing bowl. Add the eggs and vanilla. Mix and scrap down the sides of the bowl.
Add the white chocolate chips and pecans. If the dough is too stiff, wet your hands and finish the mixing by hand. (Don’t worry, it’s not a big sticky mess.)
Using two tablespoons, drop the cookie dough onto the cookie sheets. Use and ice cream scoop if you have one. Wet it with warm water between scoops so the dough falls out easily. Press the dough balls down gently with your fingertips.
Bake the Jumbles for 20 minutes. The cookies will be soft when they come out of the oven. Do not overbake them.
Cool them on the cookie sheets for 5 minutes and remove the cookies to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Day 1: Chewy Flourless Chocolate Cookies

December 2, 2010 by kim 16 Comments

… and my 12 days of cookies start now! Be excited, cause I sure am! 🙂

If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you know that I do a twelve days of cookies every December to celebrate the holidays. This year is no different. Since it’s December 1st, it’s time for the cookie posts to begin! Hurrah!

Day 1 of my 12 Days of Cookies: Chewy Flourless Chocolate Cookies. One of my friend’s moms used to always have these flourless chocolate cookies from the local grocery store on the counter when I came over. They were crunchy on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside, and chock full of walnuts. I felt guilty because I ate so many of them every time I came over, but she really is one of the nicest moms I’ve ever met and made sure we were always well fed, even it meant being full with dessert.

I read through the ingredient list numerous times, trying to figure out how I could remake this cookie at home. Too bad I couldn’t even pronounce half of the ingredients used. No bueno. So when I saw this recipe on Relish, I gave it a shot with very high expectations.

Perfect. That’s how I would describe these cookies. They were spot on to those grocery store cookies without all the added preservatives. This recipe doesn’t make that many, so double it if you wish. I ate six the first day. No joke. I usually don’t even eat my cookies– I normally give them all away! But these babies didn’t go anywhere but my belly. Hey, a girl is allowed to be selfish sometimes.

1¾ cups powdered sugar
½ cup Dutch process cocoa (made with alkali)
2 teaspoons cornstarch
¼ teaspoon salt
2 egg whites
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts, toasted

1. Preheat oven to 300F.
2. Mix together sugar, cocoa, cornstarch and salt. Gradually add the egg whites, stirring with a spoon until mixture forms a dough. Add nuts; mix well.
3. Form dough into 15 balls. Place on a parchment-lined (or silpat) cookie sheet. Bake 16 to 19 minutes, until glossy and crackled. Place cookies on a wire rack and cool completely.

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