With Sprinkles on Top

I saw these cookies on We are not Martha last week. I was intrigued for a few reasons – they are adorable, they are Valentine’s-related, they involve marshmallow fluff, and they feature conversation hearts. I am definitely not a conversation heart fan. I’ve always thought that they are more akin to sugar-flavored chalk than to candy. But to each their own. When I was at Target a few weeks ago I spotted ice cream-flavored conversation hearts (made by Brach’s) — a new spin on a classic! The bag includes strawberry, cherry, orange, vanilla, and chocolate-flavored hearts. I thought these hearts would be perfect for this recipe — and that the flavors would blend well with the marshmallow fluff. Even me, the chalky heart hater, thought these cookies were delicious.

Conversation Heart Marshmallow Cookies
Recipe source: Adapted from We are not Martha
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3/4 cup sugar
1 stick butter, softened
1 egg
1/2 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1- 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1-1/4 cups crushed conversation hearts

For the marshmallow filling:
1 7-oz jar marshmallow fluff
1/2 cup shortening
1/3 cup powdered sugar

Makes about 1 dozen sandwiches.

When I was home for winter break, I ate the most delicious cookies of all time. OK, maybe that’s an exaggeration. But they were delicious. The delicious cookies came from a local restaurant/gift shop in Oshkosh called Caramel Crisp. Cherry shortbread — soft and covered in white chocolate and sprinkles. I may be biased, as I love all things cherry, but the cookies really were phenomenal. I immediately went on a Pinterest and Google hunt for a recipe that could maybe, possibly come close to replicating the cookies from Caramel Crisp.

I found one recipe that just didn’t work. The cookies were ugly, un-even, and had no taste. Baking fails are frustrating – all that time, effort, and ingredients that end up in the garbage. Then I found a much better recipe. This one is perfect. Not quite the same as the magical (in my mind) cookies from Caramel Crisp, but they come pretty damn close. One thing to note — be sure you decorate the cookies in some way. Dip them in white chocolate, use sprinkles, do whatever floats your boat — otherwise they will look like slices of salami. Which isn’t really what we’re going for.

White Chocolate and Cherry Shortbread Cookies
Recipe source: Love and Olive Oil
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2/3 cup maraschino cherries, drained
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup cold butter, cut into cubes
12 ounces good quality white chocolate, finely chopped and divided
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 drops red food coloring (optional)
2 teaspoons shortening
Sprinkles for decorating (optional)

1. Pulse cherries briefly in a food processor until finely chopped (if you don’t have a food processor, use a knife – no big deal). You should have 1/2 cup of chopped cherries; spread on a double layer of paper towels to remove any excess liquid. (This step is important — try to remove as much moisture as you can from the cherries.)
2. In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour and sugar. Add the butter and pulse until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Add drained cherries and 4 ounces of the chopped chocolate. Pulse briefly to combine. Finally, add almond extract and, if desired, food coloring. Knead mixture until it comes together in a smooth ball.
3. Divide dough in half, and roll each half into a cylinder approximately 1 1/2-inches in diameter by 10-inches long. Roll up in parchment paper or plastic wrap, twisting ends to seal. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or until firm.
4. Preheat oven to 325F. Using a sharp knife, slice chilled dough into 3/8-inch-thick slices. Arrange on a non-stick or parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until centers are set and bottoms are lightly golden. Cool for 1 minute on cookie sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
5. In a small saucepan or a microwave safe bowl, combine remaining 8 ounces white chocolate and the shortening. Cook and stir over low heat or microwave on low power, stirring often, until melted. Dip the cookies into the white chocolate to coat half, then dip into sprinkles of your choosing. Place cookies on waxed paper until set.

Makes 3-4 dozen cookies.

One of my all-time favorite foods comes from a bakery in Appleton, Wisconsin called Vande Walle’s. They make the most perfect and out-of-this-world delicious cheese coffee cake. I usually only eat it at holidays — and I eat it without abandon. My brain cannot say “stop eating! calorie overload!” when it comes to a Vande Walle’s cheese coffee cake. One day while browsing Pinterest, I found a recipe for a cheese coffee cake. The recipe promised to be easy and full of cheese filling. Sold! The end result wasn’t a replica of the Vande Walle’s version, but the flavors were similar and it’s a great substitute for me to make when I’m in Milwaukee and far away from Appleton. Or when I’m aiming to consume 4,397 calories in one sitting.

Easy Cheese Coffee Cake
Recipe source: The Adventures of Kitchen Girl
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2 cans ready to use refrigerated crescent rolls
2 8-ounce packages cream cheese
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg white

Glaze:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350F degrees and grease a 9×13-inch baking pan.
2. Lay a pack of crescent rolls in the pan and pinch the openings together.
3. Beat the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and egg together until smooth. Spread the mixture over the crescent rolls evenly and then lay the second pack of crescent rolls on top of the cheese mixture and brush with egg white.
4. Bake for 35-45 minutes until the top is golden brown. Top with glaze after cooling for 20 minutes.

Notes:
The amount of filling that the recipe will produce is enormous. If you prefer a less-heavily filled coffee cake, cut the filling ingredients in half and cut the baking time down to 30-35 minutes. Also, I used far more powdered sugar for the glaze than the recipe called for — simply because I preferred a thicker icing that I could pipe. Do what you like!

I love simple cookies. There is nothing better than a good chocolate chip cookie, especially if it’s warm and right out of the oven. I saw this recipe and noticed that it called for five different kinds of chips, peanut butter, AND oats. I thought it might be too much — especially the oats part, as I’ve never been a huge fan of oatmeal cookies. But these cookies were amazing. Such a rich combination of flavors — with a touch of salt. The oats added more texture than taste and the peanut butter wasn’t overpowering. A lot of fancy talk about cookies, right? But trust me. Make these. They are SO SIMPLE and have been added to my all-time favorites list.

Five Chip Cookies
Recipe source: Taste of Home
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1 cup butter, softened
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup old-fashioned oats
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup each milk chocolate chips, semisweet chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, white chocolate chips, and butterscotch chips

1. Preheat oven to 350F and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, cream the butter, peanut butter, and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.
3. Combine the flour, oats, baking soda, and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in chips.
4. Drop by rounded Tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart on baking sheets. Bake at 350F for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool a few minutes, then remove to wire racks.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

The first treat I made in 2013 were these pistachio shortbread cookies. My mom loves two things in this world: pistachios and shortbread. So naturally, when I saw this recipe in Everyday Food, I made it immediately. [Sidenote: can we all have a moment of silence for Everyday Food? Oh, how I will miss that little magazine] These cookies were featured with strawberry jam in the original recipe, but my mom didn’t see the point — as the jam would have “gotten in the way.” [a shortbread purist, I suppose!]

If you end up trying these, feel free to spread jam between two cookies to create a yummy sandwich.

Pistachio Shortbread Cookies
Recipe source: Everyday Food, Issue 98
Print Recipe

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon fine salt [I used regular table salt and it worked fine]
2-1/3 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
1 cup coarsely chopped pistachios

1. In a food processor, process butter, confectioners’ sugar, and salt until smooth.  Add flour and pulse until dough forms. Stir in pistachios. Shape dough into two 8-inch-long logs, tightly wrap in plastic, and freeze until firm, 30 minutes (or up to 1 month).
2. Preheat oven to 350F, with racks in upper and lower thirds. Cut dough into 1/4-inch slices and transfer to parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake until cookies are set and barely golden at edges — about 10 to 15 minutes. Let cool completely on sheets on wire racks.

Makes a couple dozen cookies.