Day 32 of my Holiday Running Streak complete. (My goal is to run at least one mile every day until New Years Day...)
I'm not covering the distance I'd like to... but today I was not warm enough and was feeling a little heavy...
It was my favorite annual event today... the "Cookie Exchange". Bake a dozen cookies for each participant and trade a dozen with everyone to take home some new tasty treats.... to give away, of course! But there are plenty there to taste too.
So, being mindful of how much I consumed and "Hedonic Hunger"... I ate one or two too many and really needed to hit the street, freezing rain or not. This might be exactly why many sign up to do this run streak! There are plenty of seasonal treats right now that are pretty tempting...
I love this cookie exchange! Last year, I made a cardamom black pepper cookie with juniper berry icing and the year before was a persimmon cookie with orange glaze. My favorite cookie will always be "Santa's Whiskers".
Well, this year, I was lazy and did a known favorite of my husband's.
Chocolate Chip Bacon cookies.
I'm not covering the distance I'd like to... but today I was not warm enough and was feeling a little heavy...
It was my favorite annual event today... the "Cookie Exchange". Bake a dozen cookies for each participant and trade a dozen with everyone to take home some new tasty treats.... to give away, of course! But there are plenty there to taste too.
So, being mindful of how much I consumed and "Hedonic Hunger"... I ate one or two too many and really needed to hit the street, freezing rain or not. This might be exactly why many sign up to do this run streak! There are plenty of seasonal treats right now that are pretty tempting...
I love this cookie exchange! Last year, I made a cardamom black pepper cookie with juniper berry icing and the year before was a persimmon cookie with orange glaze. My favorite cookie will always be "Santa's Whiskers".
Well, this year, I was lazy and did a known favorite of my husband's.
Chocolate Chip Bacon cookies.
Recipe makes 3 dozen cookies.
6 slices maple-cured bacon, chopped
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 cup softened butter
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chunks
Directions:
Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Place the bacon in a large, deep skillet, and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Drain the bacon slices on a paper towel-lined plate. Crumble.
Beat the sugar, butter, eggs, and vanilla extract with an electric mixer in a large bowl until fluffy and smooth. Stir in flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix in the chocolate chips and bacon. Drop cookies by rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Let stand 5 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.
Enjoy. Maybe I'll look up my other cookie recipes for you in time before Christmas?
What are your favorite cookies?
Enjoy. Maybe I'll look up my other cookie recipes for you in time before Christmas?
What are your favorite cookies?
Cardamom Black Pepper cookies
ReplyDelete(recipe adapted from Kate Wheeler of Savour-fare)
Yield: about 3 dozen cookies
3/4 Cup unsalted butter, softened
1 Cup sugar
1 egg
2 Cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. cardamom
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Using a stand mixer on high-speed, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Mix the dry ingredients together: flour, baking powder, salt, cardamom, and pepper. On low-speed add the dry ingredients to butter/sugar mixture and beat until everything is incorporated. Divide the dough in two and form into two flat discs, wrap in plastic and chill overnight.
3. Roll the dough disks out to about 1/4 inch thick. Using a tree shaped cookie cutter, cut out the cookies and arrange them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake until the cookies are lightly golden, about 10 minutes, and let cool thoroughly before brushing cookies with icing.
Juniper Berry Icing:
3/4 cup half and half
1/3 cup (1 ounce) juniper berries, lightly crushed
1 pound powdered sugar
Not sure I even want to try your cookies. No offense! :P
ReplyDeleteHa! None taken Betsy! More for me... ;-) Or not. I definitely don't need the extra baked goods this time of the season. :P This was my second time with the bacon chocolate cookies. I made them for my husband for Father's Day awhile back and he loved them. I didn't want to try them... ack. But this year I did and it was an instant addiction. Well, if you like bacon. And chocolate. Voo Doo Doughnuts make s maple bacon bar, sorta like that, I guess. Only not. ;-) If you were to only try one of the three recipes, the cardamom is my favorite. It doesn't need the icing, but juniper berry isn't all that bad. If you drink martinis you already have a fair share of juniper berries in your diet. :) The fresh ground pepper corn adds a strange and neat compliment to the cardamom. And while the bacon chocolate mix is addicting and I could eat the whole dozen by myself (maybe in one sitting) the next is the persimmon cookie. But, persimmons are a power food for runners... so i guess it should be my first favorite? It could still be a power food in a baked, sugary form... right? :)
DeleteTell me! What are your favorite cookies?