Daring Bakers: Whoopie Pies!

The December Daring Bakers' Challenge had us all cheering - the lovely and talented Bourbonnatrix of Bourbonnatrix Bakes was our hostess and challenged us to make fun, delicious and creative whoopie pies! Delicious little cake-like cookies sandwiching luscious filling in any flavors we chose... What else is there to say but "Whoopie!"

I knew there was something I was supposed to be doing last night.  I made the cookies over a week ago and then forgot to write my post in time - Holiday's are a busy time - especially when you are on a new job with no vacation yet :)

So no creativity here.  I was baking for a cookie exchange so I was thinking more quantity over creativity.  I needed 90 cookies which means I baked four batches which came to around 200 half cookies.  After my first few sets I did run out to grab a small scoop.  Using a spoon was doable but it was much easier with the scoop and I think it made the cookies much more uniform.  

The cookies looked wonderful.  They were mini whoopie pies but still were pretty large for a Christmas cookie.  A full size whoopie pie would be a lot of cookie.  It is hard for me to review these since whoopie pies are not really my favorite cookie.  They were certainly good and if you like whoopie pies these would probably be a good recipe.  For me - I have seen enough whoopie pies to last me a while.

Barefoot Bloggers: Jam Thumbprint Cookies

I don't think there have been any cookie recipes so far for Barefoot Bloggers and now this month there are two. Unfortunately I was on vacation the beginning of this month and did not get to make the Raisin Pecan Oatmeal Cookies. I may have to go back to that one because they sound really good. I decided this recipe would be a good opportunity to do something I have been wanting to do for a long time - cook with my 2 1/2 year old son.

I have let Victor do a little cooking with me but I decided this might be a little better than most of my projects. There are some tasks he could do and have fun with and the fact that they were cookies would make it a little more fun for him.

The cookies were a great success. Victor helped add ingredients to the mixer and he helped clean off the mixer beater when we were done with it. It was also his job to roll the cookies in the coconut. As you can see in the picture below there may be more coconut in his cheeks than there is in the bowl.

The cookies were really good. Unfortunately I have do not have any homemade jam so I used some store bought raspberry and peach jams. I have had similar cookies in the past but without the coconut. I think the coconut was a nice addition but I made a few without for my wife. Thanks to Cassandra at Foodie with Little Thyme for this recipe pick. The eclairs for her son look really good.

Jam Thumbprint Cookies

(Source: Barefoot Contessa Family Style, page 208)

Yield 32 cookies

Ingredients

• 3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash
• 7 ounces sweetened flaked coconut
• Raspberry and/or apricot jam

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until they are just combined and then add the vanilla. Separately, sift together the flour and salt. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture to the creamed butter and sugar. Mix until the dough starts to come together. Dump on a floured board and roll together into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.
3. Roll the dough into 1 1/4-inch balls. (If you have a scale they should each weigh 1 ounce.) Dip each ball into the egg wash and then roll it in coconut. Place the balls on an ungreased cookie sheet and press a light indentation into the top of each with your finger. Drop 1/4 teaspoon of jam into each indentation. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the coconut is a golden brown. Cool and serve.

Christmas Cookie Time - Chocolate Turtle Cookies

It is a busy time of year but I decided I wanted to make some cookies.  My wife was invited to a neighborhood cookie exchange and she also had a cookie contest at work so I decided it would be the perfect opportunity.  

I saw this recipe on the web somewhere and then got my December issue of Cooks Country and it had the same recipe.  I needed 80 cookies for the exchange so I ended up making 9-10 dozen of these.  The recipe in Cooks Country did not have the pecan halves on top but I thought they added a nice touch.

I need a lesson in reading the recipe all the way through.  Where it says one egg separated plus one white I missed the separated part and threw the entire egg plus the whites into the cookie so my five batches of cookies had 10 egg whites in it that were not supposed to be there.  It was late at night and I didn't have the ingredients to make another five batches so I tested it out.  I am not really sure it affected the cookies much.  I think maybe they might have spread out a little more than they were supposed to but they tasted good and still looked nice.

I didn't win the contest - I blame the judging.  The cookie exchange had another cookie almost the same with chocolate in the center instead of the caramel - oh well.  They were still good and I had fun making them.

Chocolate Turtle Cookies

Makes 2 dozen

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1/4 teaspoon slat
• 8 Tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 large egg, separated, plus 1 egg white
• 2 Tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup pecans, chopped fine
• 14 soft caramel candies
• 3 Tablespoons heavy cream
• 24 pecan halves

Directions

1. Combine flour, cocoa, and salt in bowl.  With electric mixer on medium beat butter and sugar until fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Add egg yolk, milk, and vanilla and mix until Incorporated.  Reduce to low speed and add flour mixture until just combined.  Refrigerate dough until firm, at least 1 hour.
2. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat to 350 degrees.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
   
3. Whisk egg whites in bowl until frothy.  Place pecans in another bowl.  One at a time, roll dough into 1 inch ball, dip in egg whites, then roll in pecans.  Place balls 2 inches apart on prepared sheets.  Using teaspoon measure, make indentation in center of each ball.  Bake until set, 10 to 12 minutes, switching and rotating sheets half way through baking.
4. Meanwhile, microwave caramels and cream in bowl, stirring occasionally, until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes.  Once cookies are removed from oven, gently press existing indentations with teaspoon measure .  Fill each indentation with 1/2 teaspoon caramel mixture.  Cool 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack and cool completely.