Cookies and Brownies – Family Recipes

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Cookies and Brownies, Debbie Allen, Devin's recipes

Mint Brownies

4 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate
1 cup butter
4 large eggs
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Frosting
1-2 tablespoons milk
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/4 cup butter
1-1/2 teaspoons peppermint extract
3 drops green food coloring

Chocolate Glaze
6 ounces chocolate chips
6 tablespoons butter

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Line a 9″-x-13″ pan with foil, making sure the foil extends over the edges by at least one inch. Lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

Chop both the unsweetened chocolate and the butter into chunks and place together in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring in between, until just melted and smooth. Set aside to cool, stirring occasionally.

With an electric mixer or stand mixer, beat eggs, sugar, and vanilla for 2 minutes. While the egg mixture is being beaten, measure out the flour and combine with the baking powder. While the mixer is running, slowly add the melted chocolate and beat to combine. Turn the beater speed to low and add in flour by spoonfuls. Mix just until combined. Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake for 20-30 minutes or until a knife poked in center comes out clean.

Cool completely on a metal rack. When the brownies have cooled to room temperature, prepare the frosting. Combine all the frosting ingredients, starting with 1-1/2 tablespoons of milk, and beat until light and fluffy. Add more milk by the teaspoonful as needed. Spread frosting evenly over the brownies and then chill the brownies in the refrigerator.

While the brownies are chilling, prepare the chocolate glaze. Place chocolate chips and 6 tablespoons butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring in between, until just melted and smooth. Set aside to cool for about 15 minutes and then carefully spread on top of the frosting layer. Return the pan to the fridge to cool. When the chocolate has hardened, use the edges of the foil to remove the entire sheet of brownies from the pan. Cut into squares and serve.

Christmas Candy Cane Brownies:
Use a few drops of red food coloring in the frosting layer and sprinkle crushed peppermint candy canes on the top.

Cookies and Brownies, Devin's recipes, Dorothy Lamalie

Tart Lemon Bars

Crust
2 cups flour
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 cup butter, softened

Bars
4 eggs
2 cups granulated (white) sugar
1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar
4 tablespoons lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix flour and confectioner’s sugar together. Cut in the butter until mixture is crumbly and well combined. Press the dough into the bottom and sides of a 9×13 inch ungreased baking pan.
Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until gold brown.

Meanwhile, beat together the eggs, granulated sugar, confectioners’ sugar and lemon juice. Pour the mixture over the HOT baked crust.

Bake the bars another 16 – 20 minutes, then cool until set.

Cookies and Brownies, Debbie Allen, Devin's recipes

Crispy Lemon Cookies

1⁄2 cup softened butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1-1/2 cups flour
1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ginger
grated rind of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon lemon extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the egg and mix well.

In a separate bowl, sift together the dry ingredients and then gradually mix into the butter-sugar mixture.

Add lemon rind and extract.

Drop by teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350*F for 12 minutes until edges are very lightly browned.

Cookies and Brownies, Devin's recipes, Dorothy Lamalie, Norma Jean Gahn

Grandma and Norma Jean’s Sugar Cookies

1 cup butter
1-1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3-1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Cream butter. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add eggs. Stir in vanilla. Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture.

Chill at least 4 hours or overnight. Roll and cut into shapes as desired.

Bake at 375*F for 6 to 8 minutes. Frost when cool.

Cathy Eames, Cookies and Brownies, Devin's recipes

Mint Chocolate Cookies

1 cup unsalted butter
1-1/2 cups sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon mint extract
2-3/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
15-20 drops green food coloring
1 bag Andes Mints, chopped

Cream butter and sugar, then egg and mint extract.

Blend in dry ingredients. Add green food coloring and mix well. Stir in chopped Andes Mints.

Roll into balls, flatten, and bake 8-10 minutes at 375 degrees F. Cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes.

Cookies and Brownies, Devin's recipes, Mae Allen

Chocolate Chocolate-Chip Cookies

3/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 square unsweetened chocolate, melted
1-1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
6 ounces chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350*F.

Beat butter and sugar until creamy. Add egg, milk, vanilla, and melted chocolate; beat well.

Combine dry ingredients; add to butter-egg mixture, mixing well. Stir in chocolate chips.

Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet.

Bake 15 to 18 minutes.

Cookies and Brownies, Elaine Walker

Italian Pine Nut Cookies (Pignoli)

1 pound almond paste
2 cups sugar
3 egg whites
1 cup pine nuts
confectioners’ sugar
non-stick foil

Spread the pine nuts on a baking sheet and bake at 375°F, stirring occasionally, until golden-brown, 5 to 10 minutes. Let cool.

Use a food processor to break up the almond paste into a granulated form. Gradually add the sugar and mix well. Put in large bowl and set aside.

In a separate bowl, using an electric mixer, whip the egg whites for a long time. Get them nice & fluffy. Fold them into the almond paste/sugar mixture very gently.

Line a cookie sheet with non-stick foil. (If you can’t find non-stick foil, you can use regular foil but cookies will stick. You can lightly oil the foil, but this causes the cookies to spread out more and be flat.)

Using lightly floured hands, form small (bite size) balls of dough.

Pour the pine nuts into a bowl & roll the balls of dough in it, pressing the nuts in as you go.

Put the cookies on the cookie sheet and bake at 325 degrees F for 10-15 minutes, until very lightly brown on top. Leaving cookies on the foil lined cookie sheet, let them cool for 10 minutes.

Dust with confectioners’ sugar.

Store the cookies in a tin with foil on top.

Cookies and Brownies, Elaine Walker

Maple Shortbread Sandwich Cookies

Dough:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 cup maple sugar
1/2 teaspoon maple flavor
1 cup + 2 tablespoons flour

Filling:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons maple syrup, Grade B preferred
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon maple flavor, optional
1 tablespoon milk (optional – only if necessary to make a spreadable filling)

To make the dough:

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the butter, salt, sugars, and maple flavor.
Add the flour and mix just until the dough comes together. Wrap the dough in plastic and chill for 30 minutes. (The dough can chill longer than 30 minutes, but if it does, allow about 15 minutes for it to warm a bit and soften before rolling it out.)
Preheat the oven to 300°F. Lightly grease a baking sheet, or line it with parchment.
On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough about 1/8″ thick.
Use a cutter to cut the dough into shapes — leaves, stars, hearts, circles, your choice. (To make the thicker stamped cookies, see “tips,” below.) Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheet.
Bake the cookies for 20 to 25 minutes, until they’re beginning to brown a bit. Remove them from the oven, and cool right on the pan.

To make the filling:
Mix together all of the filling ingredients except the milk, stirring until smooth. If the filling isn’t spreadable, add a bit of the milk to soften its texture.

To assemble the cookies:
Spread the bottom of half the cookies with filling; if you have a scale, about 14g (1/2 ounce) is a good amount for each. Top with the remaining cookies.

Tips
An easy way to dress up these cookies is to use cookie stamps (available from King Arthur Flour) We recommend doubling the ingredients for the cookies (since you’ll need more dough to make a thicker sandwiches with the stamps) and adding 3/4 cup almond flour to the double batch to achieve a better imprint in the baked cookies.
Here are some other tips for cookie-stamp success:

Chill your dough for a full 2 hours before starting the stamping process.
Scoop tablespoon-sized portions of dough, rounding them into balls if necessary. Lightly dip one side in flour, and place them flour-side up onto an ungreased baking sheet.
Dip each stamp in flour before pressing it onto the dough; repeat before each use.
Firmly tap the stamp against the baking sheet if the dough happens to stick to the stamp. If the dough sticks really badly, clean out the stamp, reroll the dough into a ball, dust the dough and the stamp with flour, and try again!
Remove excess dough around the stamped pattern before or after baking.
Remember, you’re making sandwich cookies: be sure to make an equal amount of each stamp pattern.
Stamp cookies may take a few minutes longer to bake because of their thickness. Aim for 23 to 28 minutes.

Cookies and Brownies, Dawn Butler, Desserts

Apple Dessert Bars

CRUST
1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 cups flour
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

FILLING
1-1/2 pounds Granny Smith apples, peeled, quartered, cored and sliced 1/8 inch thick (3 large)
1-1/2 pounds Golden Delicious apples, peeled, quartered, cored and sliced 1/8 inch thick (3 large)
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

Preheat the oven to 375°.

For the crust, place the butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes, until light and creamy. Sift the flour and salt together and, with the mixer on low, slowly add to the butter-sugar mixture, beating until combined.

Scatter two-thirds of the dough in clumps in a 9-by-13-inch baking pan and press it lightly with floured hands on the bottom and 1/2 inch up the sides (use a metal measuring cup to make the corners). Refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until the crust is golden brown, and set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, put the mixing bowl with the remaining dough back on the mixer, add the walnuts and cinnamon and mix on low speed to combine. Set aside.

Reduce the oven to 350°.

For the filling, combine the Granny Smith and Golden Delicious apples and lemon juice in a very large bowl. Add the granulated sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg and mix well. Melt the butter in a large (10-inch-diameter) pot, add the apples and simmer over medium to medium-low heat, stirring often, for 12 to 15 minutes, until the apples are tender and the liquid has mostly evaporated. Spread the apples evenly over the crust, leaving a 1/2-inch border.

Pinch medium pieces of the remaining dough with your fingers and drop them evenly on top of the apples (they will not be covered). Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the topping is browned. Cool completely and cut into bars.

Note: Be sure to use Granny Smith and Golden Delicious – don’t substitute other varieties. This is not a very sweet dessert – it could be eaten at breakfast like a coffee cake.

Cookies and Brownies, Desserts, Elaine Walker

Salted Chocolate Chunk Shortbread

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (2¼ sticks) salted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces
½ cup sugar
¼ cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2¼ cups flour
6 ounces semi- or bittersweet dark chocolate, chopped into chunks
1 egg, beaten
Demerara* sugar, for rolling
flaky sea salt, such as Jacobsen, for sprinkling

* Demerara is a type of raw cane sugar that has a large grain, crunchy texture, and pale brown color. It will give the cookies delicious crispy edges. If you don’t want to buy special sugar, you can substitute regular light brown sugar.

Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
Using an electric mixer and a medium bowl or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, both sugars, and vanilla on medium-high till it’s light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes.
Using a spatula, scrape down the sides of the bowl and, with the mixer on low, slowly add the flour, followed by the chocolate chunks, and beat just to blend.
Divide the dough in half, placing each half on a large piece of plastic wrap. Fold the plastic over so that it covers the dough to protect your hands from getting all sticky. Using your hands (just like you’re playing with clay), form the dough into a log shape. Each half should form two logs, 2 inches in diameter.
Chill until totally firm, about 2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Brush the outside of the logs with the beaten egg and roll them in the Demerara sugar.
Slice each log into ½-inch-thick rounds, place them on the prepared baking sheet about 1 inch apart, and sprinkle with flaky salt. Bake until the edges are just beginning to brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool slightly before serving.