With Sprinkles on Top

I think we can all agree that chocolate chunk cookies are approximately 3,287x better than chocolate chip cookies, right? Especially when warm and right out of the oven. :) I don’t have much to say about these – no big story, no big point to make – they were just really good!

Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Recipe source: Cookies & Cups
Print Recipe

1 cup butter, cold cut into cubes
1 cup light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 Tablespoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 cups flour
10 oz milk chocolate chunks
10 oz semi sweet chocolate chunks

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In bowl of stand mixer, beat butter until smooth and then add brown sugar. Beat them together for 2 minutes on medium speed, scraping the sides down as needed.
3. Next add the eggs and vanilla, mixing until smooth.
4. Beat in the baking powder, baking soda and salt.
5. Turn mixer to low and add in the flour until incorporated.
6. Stir in both chocolates.
7. Form about 1/4 cup of cookie dough into a balls and place on baking sheet about 2 1/2 inches apart.
Place remaining dough in the refrigerator until ready to bake. [I used a 1-1/2 Tablespoon cookie scoop]
8. Bake for 9-10 minutes until edges are golden. Tops of cookies might seem undercooked. [My cookies didn’t spread much at all, so you don’t have to space them too far apart]
9. Remove from oven and allow the cookies to cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to continue cooling. Repeat with remaining dough.

Makes a couple dozen cookies.

I bring treats to work every Tuesday. Almost always cookies — because cookies are easy to eat and grab on the go. One of the women I work with hates chocolate, so I made these — incorporating all good things (peanut butter! oatmeal! white chocolate!) besides chocolate. Hope all of my American readers had a great holiday weekend!

Peanut Butter Oatmeal White Chocolate Cookies
Recipe source: averiecooks.com
Print Recipe

Yield: 22 to 24 cookies

1/2 c unsalted butter
1/3 c creamy peanut butter
1 c light brown sugar, packed
1/2 c granulated sugar
1 egg + 1 yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/4 c all-purpose flour
1 c old fashioned whole oats
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 c white chocolate chips
1/2 c peanut butter chips

1. Preheat oven to 325F. In a medium-sized microwave safe bowl, melt the butter and peanut butter together. This step did not take long on my microwave – about 30-45 seconds. Watch it carefully!
2. Add the brown and white sugar to the melted butter and peanut butter mixture and stir. Set this aside so it can cool to room temperature.
3. Add the egg + yolk, add the vanilla extract, and stir.
4. Add the flour, oats, baking soda and stir.
5. Add in the white chocolate chips and peanut butter chips; stir.
6. Roll out 1-1/2 Tablespoon-sized balls of dough and place onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet. These cookies will spread a little bit, so space them about 2 inches apart.
7. Bake about 10-12 minutes. Note: I baked mine for 15 minutes because I wanted to be sure that they were cooked. If you like underdone cookies, bake for less time. Cool the cookies on wire racks.

Makes about 24 cookies.

If you need a last-minute idea for your BBQ or 4th of July party, here are some ideas! Hope you’re all having a great summer!

1. Bomb Pop Cupcakes
2. Corn on the Cob Cupcakes
3. American Flag Cake
4. American Landmark Cupcakes
5. Sparkler Cupcakes
6. Ants at a Picnic Cupcakes
7. Sno-Cone Cupcakes
8. 4th of July Cake
9. 4th of July Mini Cupcakes
10. Watermelon Cupcakes
11. Red & Blue Poke Cake
12. Patriotic Punch
13. Patriotic Star Cookies
14. Red White & Blue Cupcakes

Okay 4th of July party people, you want something easy easy easy easy easy to make? These are for you! You can impress all of your friends and family with these pretty cupcakes and secretly be saying to yourself, “pfft, I could have made ’em in my sleep.” I used a boxed cake mix for these because boxed cake mixes are reliable, simple, and universally loved.

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday!

Red White & Blue Cupcakes
Print Recipe

1 box white cake mix (plus the required oil + eggs)
Red and blue food coloring (I used AmeriColor Super Red and Wilton gel for the blue)
1 batch of buttercream icing (my favorites are listed here; or you can use store-bought icing)
Decorations (optional; I used little sugar flags made by Wilton)

1. Line two muffin tins with cupcake liners and preheat oven according to boxed cake mix instructions.
2. Make cupcake batter according to directions on the box.
3. Divide the batter into three bowls; use the food coloring to dye one batch of batter red, the other blue, and leave one batch alone.
4. Spoon a few tablespoons of red batter into each cupcake liner; then a few tablespoons of white batter; then a few tablespoons of blue batter. You could do the reverse as well, starting with the blue batter and ending with the red. It’s up to you.
5. Bake the cupcakes according to the directions on the box. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely on wire racks.
6. Ice the cupcakes however you’d like. I used a large star tip — then I topped each cupcake with a flag decoration and/or red, white, and blue sprinkles.

The 4th of July is a week from today! For all of my American readers, that means a day full of fireworks, BBQ, sunshine (hopefully), and celebrating America’s independence. I made cookies to celebrate!

If you are a new to decorating with royal icing, here are some helpful tips and links:

• I used my grandma’s sugar cookie recipe, which is listed below.  Another good cut-out cookie recipe can be found at Bridget’s wonderful Bake at 350.
• I used a royal icing recipe from Annie’s Eats, which is listed below.
• If you are new to decorating with royal icing, please visit this post by Annie’s Eats, which will teach you about outlining and flooding.  Bake at 350 is also a great resource for cookie decorating and ideas (I love Bridget’s book, too!).

Here are the specifics on how I made these cookies:

• I used a Wilton comfort-grip star cookie cutter (purchased at Hobby Lobby)
• I outlined and flooded the cookies using white royal icing
• The cookies were decorated with a variety of red, white, and blue sprinkles; some of the cookies were dipped directly into the sprinkles (’cause you can never have too many sprinkles, right?)

Omi’s Sugar Cookies
Print Recipe
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon nutmeg

Beat butter and sugar. Add eggs, sour cream, and nutmeg. Add dry ingredients gradually. Chill the batter overnight or for at least 4 hours. Roll out dough and cut with cookie cutters. Bake at 350F until golden (in true fashion, my grandma didn’t give a specific baking time. I baked the cookies for about 8 minutes).

White Royal Icing
4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2 Tablespoons meringue powder
5 Tablespoons water

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until the sheen has disappeared and the icing has a matte appearance (about 7-10 minutes).  Transfer the contents of the mixing bowl to an air-tight container. This will be the stiffest consistency of the icing, and at this point it is still too stiff to use for decorating. Add water a very small amount at a time and stir by hand until fully incorporated. Continue until the icing has reached a consistency appropriate for piping.