Candy Cane Cookies

I don't know where my mom got this recipe, because we've been making and eating it since I was a child.  At that time, we shaped the cookies into candy canes.  That's how the recipe went.  As I've gotten, ahem, older, we changed them to pinwheels.  The candy cane hooks were ornery and often broke off, damaging the appearance - but not the taste! - of these cookies.  The pinwheels give the cookies an impressive, complicated look, but they're not at all difficult to form.

These cookies have a cakey cookie texture, and they are not as sweet as many modern cookies.  Maybe that's why I like them:  the mild sweetness, the texture, and definitely the almond flavoring, which is my favorite.  I hope you enjoy them, too.

Ingredients:
2 sticks vegan margarine, room temperature (I recommend Earth Balance or some other vegan margarine that has no hydrogenated oils in it.)
1 c. sifted confectioner's sugar (a.k.a. "powdered sugar")
1 egg (Vegans, feel free to try this with an egg replacer like Ener-G and let me me know how it turns out!)
2 - 2.5 t. almond extract (I go with the extra half teaspoon.)
2.5 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 t. plus 1/8 t. salt
1 T. plus 1.5 t. baking powder
red food coloring, to color
granulated sugar, for dusting (optional)

Method:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Mix the butter, confectioner's sugar, egg, and almond extract in a medium bowl.  In another bowl, mix the flour, salt, and baking powder.  Combine the flour mixture with the butter mixture.

Divide the dough in half.  In a separate bowl, blend red food coloring into half of the dough.  I'd start with about 20 drops, then go from there until you have the color you want.

Now, on a lightly floured surface (Don't worry if the red dough gets white flour dust on it.  It won't show up after cooking.), roll a 6-inch strip of red dough and a 6-inch strip of non-colored dough so that it looks like, well, a worm!  (You can make longer strips, but keep in mind the cookies will be larger and take longer to bake.  I usually make mine bigger.)  Twist the red worm with the white worm so that you now have a single red-and-white twisted worm.

At this point, you decide if you want "candy canes" or "pinwheels.":
(1)  If you want a candy cane, just make the cane hook at the end and move to an ungreased cookie sheet.  Sprinkle with granulated sugar, if desired.
(2)  If you want pinwheels, shown above, curl the twisted worm in a spiral, and you have your pinwheel.  Move to an ungreased cookie sheet.  Sprinkle with granulated sugar, if desired.
Either way, repeat with remaining dough.

Bake about 12 - 15 minutes or until risen and set.  Remember that finished cookies look a little undercooked in the oven.  The moment you notice the non-colored dough just starting to brown, it's time to remove them from the oven.  Cool on a rack, then enjoy!

The amount this recipe makes will vary, depending on how large you make your cookies.  I made large pinwheels last year, and I got probably 20 cookies.

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

Are you freaking out, because you have to go to a "big game" party today, but you don't have anything planned to take?  Personally, I'm taking a layered Mexican dip to my sister-in-law's house, but this candy-cookie that I usually make at Christmas is easy and quick, too, if you're looking for a sweet thing to take.  I got this recipe from my mom (Hi Mom!).  She's been making this at the holidays for decades.  The amounts are flexible...make as many or as few as you want.

Ingredients:

chocolate bark (This is the meltable chocolate that you can buy by the pound in the baking section of your grocer.)

waxed paper

Ritz crackers

peanut butter (I'm not sure if the truly natural kind will work.  It seems like it might be too wet.  I use the Jif natural, which is still creamy instead of wet somehow.)

optional:  white chocolate bark for garnish

Method:

Melt chocolate in the top pan of a double-boiler (or we usually use a slow-cooker on the lowest setting).  Cover a cookie sheet with waxed paper.

While the chocolate is melting, spread a generous amount of peanut butter between 2 Ritz crackers to make a sandwich.  Make as many cracker-sandwiches as you want.  When the chocolate is fully melted, dip each peanut butter cracker sandwich into the melted chocolate to completely coat the sandwich.  Remove with a fork, scraping off the excess on the side of the pan.  Place the coated sandwich on the waxed paper to set.  Once you're done dipping, put the cookie sheet in the fridge to harden up the chocolate.

Once the chocolate is set, you're set, too!

Optional garnish:  To make the white zig-zags shown in the photo, melt some white chocolate bark in the microwave, zapping a few seconds, then stirring, then zapping, then stirring, until the chocolate is melted.  Pour the melted chocolate into a Ziploc bag and zip it up.  Using kitchen shears, snip a corner off the bottom of the bag.  Zig-zag the chocolate over the covered cookie sandwiches while they're on the waxed paper.  Put in the fridge to set as normal.

Scott would like to add:  Go Giants! 

Black Forest Cookies

Hello all! I made a new cookie recipe yesterday that I thought I'd share. I even like to think of it as somewhat healthy, since it has nuts and dried berries in it. It's super easy to make. Just a warning that the batter does not look like normal cookie dough. It just looks like melted chocolate. I was afraid it would not cook up into a cookie, but it did! Here it is:

Black Forest Cookies (I got this online at, I think, the Ocean Spray cranberry website .)


1 11.5-oz. bag chocolate morsels (I used a 12 oz. bag Ghiradelli semi-sweet with good results.)
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. vegan butter
2 eggs
1 t. almond extract
3/4 c. flour
1/4 t. baking powder (There is no salt called for in the recipe, which worried me. I thought that was needed to "activate" the baking powder. Worked fine with no salt.)
1 6-oz. package Craisins (dried, sweetened cranberries)
1 c. coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Pour 3/4 c. chocolate morsels into an uncovered large microwave-safe bowl. Set remaining morsels aside. Microwave morsels 2 - 3 minutes on high. Stir until chocolate is smooth.

Stir in brown sugar, butter/margarine, eggs, and almond. Add flour and baking powder, mixing thoroughly until combined. Stir in remaining morsels (You may want to let it cool a little. If it is still hot, it will melt these as well.), Craisins, and nuts.

Drop by tablespoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 12 - 15 minutes (depending on how firm you like your cookies) or until cookies are puffed and set to the touch. Cool on cookie sheet 2 minutes, then transfer to wire rack and cool completely.


Makes about 2.5 dozen cookies.


The calories are listed as 140 per cookie, but I made them bigger than 1 tablespoonful each, so I know mine were more! It actually also has a little protein, vitamin A, and calcium, per the recipe specs from online. I hope you enjoy it!

***Note: Use egg substitute to convert to a vegan recipe. :) I've used Egg Replacer in other recipes in the past. If you try it, let me know how it turns out!