Linda in the Kitchen

seasonal eats & healthy treats, made with Love.
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  • Tag: cookies

    • Soft-Baked Andes Mint Chocolate Chunk Cookies

      Posted at 1:36 am by lindainthekitchen
      Dec 31st

      These are exactly what they sound like. Soft cookies with chunks of Andes mint chocolates inside. YUM! These are definitely on the sweeter side and are quite minty. Casey requested MINT. I gave her mint! These cookies were easy and fun to make!

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      Soft-Baked Andes Mint Chocolate Chunk Cookies

      Recipe from:  Sally’s Baking Addiction

      Ingredients

      1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature
      3/4 cup  light brown sugar, packed
      1/2 cup  granulated sugar
      1 large egg + 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
      1 teaspoon vanilla extract
      3/4 teaspoon baking soda
      1 teaspoon baking powder
      1 teaspoon salt
      2 cups and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
      2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
      2 cups chopped Andes Mints

      Directions

      Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  With an electric or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugars on medium speed.  Add the egg, then the egg yolk, mixing for about 1 minute after each addition. Mix in the vanilla extract.

      In a separate bowl, whisk together the baking soda, baking powder, salt, flour, and unsweetened cocoa powder. Add 1/2 of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.  Mix for about 1 minute on low speed.  Add the remaining dry ingredients and mix on low speed until combined.  By hand, fold in the Andes Mints.

      Drop rounded tablespoon-fuls onto ungreased baking sheet or silicone mat. Bake for 9-12 minutes until sides slightly begin to brown.  Depending on how big you make the cookies, the time will vary.  We made smaller cookies and they took exactly 9 minutes.

      Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 2-3 minutes and transfer to a wire rack.  Cookies stay fresh & soft in a sealed container at room temperature for 1 week.  You can also freeze the cookies for up to 2 months!

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      Made with Love, Linda (and Casey)

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      Posted in Cookies | Tagged Andes, Chocolate, cookies, Mint

    • Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

      Posted at 1:17 am by lindainthekitchen
      Dec 28th

      You just can’t go wrong with chocolate chip oatmeal cookies!  They’re one of my absolute favorites to make, because they’re so easy and such a crowd-pleaser.  This is exactly why I decided to bake some for Christmas to hand out to friends and family.  However, I had been doing so much baking, that I ran out of all-purpose flour.  SO, I found a recipe using whole wheat flour instead.  Perfect!

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      Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

      Recipe from:  Two Peas & Their Pod

      Ingredients

      1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
      1/2 teaspoon baking soda
      1/2 teaspoon baking powder
      1/2 teaspoon salt
      1 /2 cup dark brown sugar
      1/2 cup granulated sugar
      1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened to room temperature
      1 egg
      1 tablespoon milk (I used homemade almond milk)
      1 cup rolled oats
      1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

      Directions

      1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

      2.  In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

      3.  Using a mixer, cream the sugars with the softened butter for about two to three minutes until light and fluffy.

      4.  Add in the egg, vanilla, and milk.  Mix until smooth.

      5.  Slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, with the mixer on low.  Mix just until flour disappears.  Don’t over mix.

      6.  Stir in the oats and chocolate chips by hand.

      7.  Form rounded cookie dough balls.  Depending on how big you want your cookies, you can use 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon of dough.  I used a heaping teaspoon, rolled into small balls and baked for 9 minutes and they were perfectly lightly browned.  The original recipe calls for a tablespoon of dough, baked for 11-12 minutes, yield 2 dozen cookies.   Since I doubled the recipe and made smaller cookies, it made too many cookies to count!

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      Along with my Cranberry Orange Pecan Coffee Cake, these cookies made the perfect holiday treats to hand out to friends and family!

      Made with Love, Linda

      Posted in Cookies | Tagged chocolate chips, cookies, Oatmeal, Whole Wheat

    • Friendsgiving!

      Posted at 4:31 pm by lindainthekitchen
      Nov 22nd

      My friends Katie and Mike have had quite a year.  They had a beautiful wedding in November 2011 featured on Style Me Pretty and they purchased their first home in Napa – congrats!  A housewarming was in order…I’m not sure whether she invited me, or if I came up with the idea on my own and invited myself, but nevertheless we decided on a “friendsgiving dinner”.  We went grocery shopping and got slightly distracted by these silly animal masks at the checkout stand.  Needless to say, we came home with them….We opened some bubbly and started on the Lemon Crinkle Cookies….yes, I know, I make these ALL THE TIME (they’re just too good!)

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      Meanwhile….Katie got to working on the animal masks!

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      Appetizers are a must while cooking.  Katie loves Italian anything, so I made some bruschetta with fresh cherry tomatoes and basil.  It’s super easy to make and even more delicious.  Slice the baguette, brush with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and stick it in the broiler.  You can also rub a clove of garlic on the bread for extra flavor.  Keep an eye on the bread in the broiler – it will burn if you turn your head for a second too long!  Slice the cherry tomatoes in halves/quarters, mix with chopped basil and finely chopped shallots (I’m not a big fan of raw garlic, but go for it if you’re a garlic fan!), and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Voila!

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      Bubbles, check.  Cookies, check.  Bruschetta, check.  Now time for the entrees.  Sticking with the Italian theme, Katie picked out a Giada De Laurentiis recipe for Orza with Artichoke Pesto and Grilled Corn.  I substituted the garlic with shallots and added 50% more lemon zest (never too much lemon!).  I also used much less parmesan cheese than the recipe calls for, but feel free to add as much or as little as you prefer.

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      I made a simple, easy green salad on the side.  I used red leaf and butter lettuces, some halved cherry tomatoes, and made my favorite simple vinaigrette from Barefoot Contessa.  To get some greens on the plate, we steamed some broccolini, one of my favorite sides.  Katie decorated the table with festive fall pumpkins and we were ready to eat.  Bon Appetit!

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      And then came the after dinner shenanigans….

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      WHAT DOES THE FOX SAY?!!?!

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      And last but not least, lemon cookies with raspberry sorbet to top off our first dinner party at the Ryans’ new home!

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      Yum, yum, yum.

      Happy Friendsgiving!

      Posted in Main Dishes, Parties | Tagged artichoke, bruschetta, Cherry tomato, Cook, cookies, fall, italian, Lemon, Olive oil, orzo, Pesto, Pine nut, Salad

    • Cancer Sucks!

      Posted at 11:30 pm by lindainthekitchen
      Nov 20th

      As we all know…CANCER SUCKS!  My friend, Connor, was recently diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic melanoma.  I can’t imagine there being many things worse than this news.  Connor is one of the silliest, loving guys I know, and I absolutely love him and his boyfriend and his family – they are the greatest, strongest, most inspirational support team you could possibly imagine.

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      Hospitals are no fun…and Cancer Sucks…these are two things we can all agree on.  I think we can also agree that baked goods can make things a tiny bit better.  So, I decided to make some treats to take to the hospital.  I made my absolutely FAVORITE Blueberry Coffee Cake Muffins from Barefoot Contessa.  They’re a hit every time!

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      The second time I visited Connor, I made the infamous Lemon Crinkle Cookies.  Lemon was requested, so I had to make these yummy cookies!  I use at least 50% more lemon juice and zest than the recipe calls for…I LOVE LEMON!  I knew that his family would need some energy, so I made No Bake Energy Bites from Gimme Some Oven, full of oats, peanut butter, toasted coconut, honey, chocolate chips, flax and chia seeds.

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      Connor’s mother will be running the Boston 2014 Marathon and has set-up a Fundraiser for the Melanoma Foundation of New England, GO TRACY! Please take a moment to read her story and see how much she’s raised for such a great cause!

      Here are some fun pictures of me and Connor in Dubai – see how amazing he is?!

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      GINGER MOVEMENT!!!!!!!!!

      Love you Connor xoxxooxo

      Posted in Cookies, Muffins/Breads/Scones, Snacks/Sides | Tagged Barefoot Contessa, Blueberry Muffins, chocolate chips, Coconut, Coffee Cake, cookies, Lemon, Oats, Peanut Butter

    • Chocolate Chip Reese’s Pieces Cookies

      Posted at 4:28 am by lindainthekitchen
      Oct 29th

      ‘Tis the season…with Halloween around the corner, there are plenty of Halloween costume parties.  This past weekend I attended a “Halloween/Birthday/Goodbye” party.  My friend Kota is moving to India for a year, can you believe it?!  Any occasion calls for a special treat, so I wanted to do something fun for the party that Kota would love.

      Knowing that sweet treats would be welcomed with open arms, I decided to make a crowd pleaser (chocolate and peanut butter, what could be better?!).  BUT it had to be festive for Halloween (yellow, orange and brown Reese’s Pieces are perfect Halloween colors)…AND it had to be an easy grab-and-eat treat…COOKIES!  Bam!  Chocolate Chip Reese’s Pieces Cookies.  I took an easy chocolate chip cookie recipe and switched it up a bit.

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      Can you guess what I was for the Halloween party?  Something baking related, of course!

      Yes, that’s right, I was a CUPCAKE –  I just couldn’t help myself…and I can’t wait to wear this costume to the office for Halloween on Thursday!

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      Now back to the cookies…yum!

      Step 1:  In a large bowl, mix butter and sugar together until fluffy.  Add vanilla and the eggs one at a time.  Beat until smooth.

      Step 2:  Mix baking soda, baking powder, salt and flour in a medium sized bowl.  Add mixture slowly to the butter/sugar mixture.  Fold in the crushed Reese’s Pieces and chocolate chips.

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      Step 3:  Spoon dough onto a lightly greased cookie sheet.  I rolled them into small 1” balls and then flattened them with the palm of my hand.  Add as many Reese’s Pieces on top as you would like.  As everyone has their own preference for sweetness, I did some with no extra Reese’s Pieces on top, and some with as many as 4 or 5 Reece’s Pieces.  Bake 12 per sheet at 350 degrees for 8 minutes.  Time may vary, depending on your oven.  Check the cookies after 6 minutes, again at 7 minutes, etc.

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      Step 4:  VOILA, enjoy!

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      I doubled the recipe and made LOTS and LOTS of cookies for the party.  I know it’s hard to believe based on the picture above…but…I should have made MORE!  The cookies were gone within a few hours.  I can’t wait to make them again for Halloween this week!

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      CHOCOLATE CHIP REESE’S PIECES COOKIES

      • 2/3 cup brown sugar
      • 2/3 cup granulated sugar
      • 1/2 cup butter
      • 1 teaspoon vanilla
      • 2 large eggs
      • 1 teaspoon baking soda
      • 1 teaspoon baking powder
      • 1 teaspoon salt
      • 3 cups flour
      • chocolate chips (I used Ghiradelli 60% cacao chips, but feel free to use the chips of your choice!)
      • crushed Reece’s Pieces (use as many as you would like, I recommend 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup)
      • whole Reece’s Pieces to put on top of the cookies before baking

      1.  In a large bowl, mix butter and sugars together until fluffy.  Add vanilla and the eggs one at a time, then beat until smooth.

      2:  In a medium sized bowl, sift the baking soda, baking powder, salt and flour.  Add the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar mixture in thirds.  Fold in the crushed Reese’s Pieces and chocolate chips.

      3.  Spoon the dough onto a lightly greased cookie sheet.  Roll into 1 inch balls and flatten with the palm of your hand.  Add whole Reese’s Pieces on tops of cookies (2 to 4 per cookie).  Bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes.  Time may vary, so check the cookies at 6 minutes, just to be safe!

      4.  ENJOY!  Be sure to eat one hot out of the oven.  Nothing is better than melted chocolate chips oozing out of a delicious cookie!

      Needless to say, the cookies were A HIT.

      I hope you enjoy them!

      Made with love, Linda.

      Posted in Cookies | Tagged chocolate chips, cookies, halloween, reece's pieces

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