Can I offer you a Cookie?

In the beginning of december my holiday baking list looked something like this:

Caramels

Toffee

2 Kinds of Fudge

2 Kinds of Truffles

3 Kinds of cookies

2 Kinds of bars

3 Cakes

When I realized that I had gone ABSOLUTELY INSANE, the list got paired down to:

Toffee

1 Kind of Fudge

3 Kinds of Cookies

1 Kind of bars

2 Cakes

And finally:

2 Kinds of Cookies

1 Kind of bars

2 Cakes

This plan yielded less than the jaw-dropping results I was going for. But it allowed for me to sleep some nights, which is nice. The cakes are non-negotiable, as they are for parties we are invited to. The bars – this blueberry bar recipe but with cranberry and orange instead – for a company function. Delish! And the cookies to gift to family and friends over the holidays.

Deciding on which cookie recipe to make is usually the hard part, but this year it was decided for me. In my oppinion, peanut butter cookies are probably the least Christmas-y of the cookie family. In fact these guys, with their orange and yellow spots, are perfect Halloween cookies to me. But… all my boyfriend wanted for Christmas was Peanut Butter Cookies. And I kinda like him. And see, all I want for Christmas is a puppy.

Sooo… Peanut Butter Cookies it will be. And here's to hoping there is a furry friend under the tree for me on Christmas morning!

Peanut Butter Reese’s Pieces Cookies

Ingredients

1 1/4 Cups all purpose flour

3/4 Teaspoon baking soda

1/2 Teaspoon baking powder

1/4 Teaspoon salt

1/2 Cup unsalted butter, softened

1 Cup peanut butter, at room temperature

3/4 Cup granulated sugar

1/2 Cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1 Large egg

1 Tablespoon milk

1 Teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 Cup Reese’s Pieces candies

1/2 Cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

2. Combine the butter and the peanut butter and beat together until fluffy. Add both sugars and beat until smooth. Add the egg and mix until combined, followed by the milk and the vanilla extract.

3. Add the flour mixture ½ cup at a time, mixing after each addition. Stir in the Reese’s Pieces candies and the chocolate chips.

4. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets, placing cookies about 2 inches apart. Use the back of a spoon to gently press down on the centre of each cookie, but do not overly flatten the cookies.

5. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Cool the cookies on the sheets for 1 minute, then remove to a rack to cool completely.

Recipe Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Chocolate Peppermint Sandwich Cookies

I am way behind on the holiday baking this year! I know most food bloggers have had cookie and cake recipes coming out of their ears since the second week of December. While I had planned my baking for earlier this month, I just finally got started this past weekend. And I’m actually kind of glad. I personally don’t need a whole month with my apartment overflowing with sweets everywhere I turn. As it stands, the loads of cookies I’ve churned out over the past couple of days are going to have to be gifted ASAP if I want to avoid eating them all. 

This one is gonna be short and sweet. I love love love chocolate and peppermint. They are a match made in heaven. If you also love the combination, you simply must make these cookies. The cookies themselves really are like homemade Oreos, but with a stronger chocolate flavour (which I love). And the peppermint cream filling? I am speechless. It is too good for words.

Chocolate Peppermint Sandwich Cookies

Adapted from Joy the Baker

I was a little worried these cookies wouldn’t turn out, as I had never made a cookie dough with this technique before. The dough really is quite sandy and dry. But you just have to push the crumbly bits together really well before rolling out the dough and they will turn out perfectly. It’s like a sand castle.

The only change I made to the original recipe (aside from doubling it) was to the levening. I only had Dutch processed cocoa left in my cupboard, so I swapped the baking soda for baking powder. If you have regular un-dutched cocoa, you can change it back to baking soda. I don’t know if this change really affected the end result, as the cookies don’t rise that much to begin with, but better safe than sorry. I also really like the deeper chocolaty flavour I got from the dutched cocoa.

Ingredients – Peppermint Filling

1/2 Cup heavy cream
8 Ounces white chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 Teaspoon pure peppermint extract

1. In a small saucepan, bring the cream to boil over medium heat.  Remove from the heat and add the finely chopped white chocolate and peppermint extract.  Let the mixture stand for 1 minute (this is important), then whisk the white chocolate until completely melted.

2.Transfer the filling to a small bowl and let stand until room temperature.  The filling will need to be thicker to assemble the cookies, so cover and place it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to an hour, until a thick consistency is reached.  If the filling hardens too much, it can be warmed in the microwave for a few seconds.  It’s best if left at room temperature until the proper consistency is achieved.  I actually sat mine out on out chilly balcony for about an hour, where it was cold but not as cold as the fridge.

Ingredients - Cookies

3/4 Cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 Cups all-purpose flour
3/4 c+Cup unsweetened dutch processed cocoa powder
1/2 Teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 Teaspoons salt
15 Tablespoons (7 1/2 ounces) unsalted butter, but into 3/4-inch cubes, at room temperature

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt and mix on low speed.  With the mixer running, add the butter a few pieces at a time.  The mixture will have a sandy texture at first and then will begin to form pebble sized pieces.  As soon as the dough starts to come together, stop the mixer.  Make sure all the butter is well incorporated.  If there are large butter pockets, mix for a few seconds more.

3. Form and roll the dough straight from the mixer.  The dough becomes hard to work with if chilled. Transfer the dough to a board and use the heel of your hand or a pastry scraper to shape the dough into a block about 5 by 7 inches.  Cut the block into two pieces.

4. Roll each block of dough between two pieces of lightly floured parchment paper until about 1/8-1/4 inch thick.  Use a cookie cutter to cut the dough into 2 inch rounds.  Place about 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheet.  You can form and roll the dough scraps once after the first roll.

5. Bake for 12-15 minutes, rotating the sheets halfway through baking.  Remove from the oven and cool on the sheets for 2 to 5 minutes.  They will be too soft to move straight from the oven.  Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack and let cool completely.

To assemble the cookies

1. Place half of the cookies upside down on a work surface.  Stir the filling lightly to loosen it, but don’t over mix or it will separate.  It will lighten in color and fluff up a bit.

2. Dollop a teaspoon of filling in the center of each upside down cookie.  Place another cookie on top and press down gently. I found it helped to twist slightly as you press, to distribute the filling evenly.

The cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days. My double batch made about 4 dozen cookies. I had a few cookies left over when I ran out of filling, but I like a lot of filling in mine.

Are you all enjoying the holidays? I hope you are able to find some time to enjoy the season amidst all the craziness. I finished up my shopping this afternoon (thank god that is over!), and I am looking forward to sipping hot cocoa while I wrap my gifts by the fireplace tonight.

It might be an electric fire, but I make the best of things. Happy holidays!

XO,

Maia

Hello, Fall: Spicy Chicken Stew and GRAINSTORM Chocolate Chip Cookies

My perfect fall afternoon: Coming home from a long, gray, dreary day and curling up on the couch with my coziest blanket and a cup of tea. Soaking up a few rays of surprise sunshine and devouring a good book. Then, when hunger creeps up... going to the kitchen and reheating a bowl of this soup.

 This soup will warm your soul. It is hearty and filling and was even more delicious on the second and third days than it was the first. I know I have said it before, but nothing cheers me up at the end of the day than a big bowl of soup. The only thing better is if there is a cute boy at home to help warm me up!

And if there are cookies.
 

I didn’t make this cookie recipe. The cookies are made with a fabulous baking mix by Grainstorm. I did bake them though. And I am so glad I did. They take five whole minutes to throw together and not much longer to bake and they are SO yummy. Seriously. I want to have these cookies in the house forever and always. I never want to be without one. But that won’t happen if I keep eating them like I have been.

Fresh from the oven.

With Tea.

Without Tea.

Before breakfast, after dinner, after lunch - wrapped in saran wrap, crumbly and squished at the bottom of my backpack... basically anytime and place I can get my hands on them. I can't resist them.

And it doesn't help that they are "healthy". It really just gives me another excuse to eat them without hesitation!


I first heard about Grainstorm when I bought a Groupon from them last year. I have since ordered from them twice more.  They are a great little company; "a small family artisan food enterprise in Toronto, Canada dedicated to the idea that baked goods can actually be wholesome, real food". I love it! I only wish their products were available in B.C. stores.  The baking mixes are all whole grain/stone ground and are quite healthy (compared to what I usually bake). You might not be able to tell by the recipes on this blog, but I have been making an effort to cut out a lot of the white processed flours from my diet, and Grainstorm has made me feel that it is possible to enjoy yummy treats while doing this. Thanks Grainstorm! If you want to try their products check out their website here! I also LOVE the pancake mix for Sunday morning. And shipping within Canada is only $5!

For this Recipe I used the All Oatmeal Rustic Cookie Base. 

Package Ingredients: Organic whole ground and flaked oat groats, organic unrefined cane sugar, organic unrefined cane juice, baking soda, sea salt.

What you add: 2 Eggs, 1/2 cup melted butter, 2 Tbsp. olive oil, 1 Tsp. Vanilla

My additions: 1 Cup chocolate chips, 1/4 cup slivered almonds, 1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut, 2 Tbs. sunflower seeds, 1 Tsp. cinnamon. 

Here's the soup recipe. Enjoy your Thursday!

Spicy Chicken Stew with Potatoes, White Beans, and Kale

This is a riff on a recipe I made quite a lot last winter, often with Italian sausage and spices like fennel and thyme. I swapped the sausage for chicken and mixed it up a bit with the chillies and cumin, and it was really good. I also had lots of beautiful farmers market produce on hand so I used whatever felt right. Feel free to mix it up according to what you have in your crisper drawer. 

Ingredients

2 Tbsp. Olive Oil

2 Boneless, skinless Chicken breasts, cut into 1 Inch cubes

1 Medium onion, diced

2 Cloves garlic, minced

2 Green chilies, seeded and diced very small

1 1/2 Tsp. cumin

1 Tsp. Mexican oregano

½ Tsp. smoked paprika

¼ Tsp. cayenne pepper

2 Carrots

1 Red pepper (I used 1 small blue jay pepper and ½ sweet banana pepper, from our farmers market)

About 4 cups small red potatoes quartered (or any potato cut into 1 inch cubes)

1 bunch kale

3-4 cups chicken or vegetable stock

2 Cans canellini or white kidney beans

1 Cup heavy cream or half and half

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat a large pot or Dutch oven over medium high heat. Drizzle about 1 Tbsp. of oil and add the chicken. When chicken is lightly browned on both sides, about 5 minutes, remove from pan with a slotted spoon. Set aside.

2. Add more oil to the pan if needed. Add the onions and saute until translucent. Add the garlic, chili, and spices and sauté until fragrant, about 3 minutes.

3. Add the rest of the vegetables, except the kale, to the pot and cook for about 5 minutes more.

4. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer for 15-20 minutes. 

5. When the potatoes and carrots are cooked through, add the beans and kale to the pot. Add the chicken back in. Cover and continue to let the soup simmer for another 15-20 minutes.

6. Slowly stir the heavy cream into the pot. Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed. 

Henry likes his with melty cheese. I enjoy mine with some warm buttered bread. And some Grey's Anatomy.

I hope your Thursday night is delightful!

Xo,

Maia