Fudgy Cookies Two Ways

These cookies are super cool because A) they look cool and B) they are easy & very muy tasty! The cookie itself taste like a really fudgy brownie, which, helloooo, who doesn't love a fudgy brownie? Anywho, the recipe says it makes 60 cookies I leaned a little less than that. I think because I tend to make my cookies a little on the bigger side ;)

I took the batter and split it into two to make two different types of cookies. The first is the Chocolate Candy Cane Cookie made with candy cane flavored Hershey's Kisses & the second is the Chocolate Caramel Cookie made with Hershey's Caramel filled Kisses and the batter is spiked with a little cinnamon wich tastes fantastic with the caramel. If you are worried the cinnamon will be over powering it really isn't, it's just in the background to where you taste it but you're not sure if that's what you're tasting, but it's definately there and definately a great compliment to the caramel.

I got nothing else to say except, enjoy!



Fudgy Cookies Two Ways
Original Recipe courtesy of Betty Crocker

Ingredients:
Mother Batter
1/3 cup butter or margarine
6 oz unsweetened chocolate
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated)
1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® sugar cookie mix

Candy Cane Cookies:
24-30 unwrapped candy cane kisses

Chocolate Caramel Cookies:
1/2 tspn cinnamon
24-30 unwrapped caramel kisses


Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350°F. In large microwavable bowl, microwave butter and chocolate on High 1 minute. Stir; microwave on High 1 minute longer or until butter is melted and chocolate can be stirred smooth.

2. Stir condensed milk into chocolate mixture. This will make roughly 2 cups. At this point (if you are making both cookies you want to start splitting your ingredients). Seperate into 1 cup portions and pour each cup into a seperate bowl.

3. Split the Sugar Cookie cookie mix too, it's roughly 3 cups so (1 1/2 cups each).


For the Chocolate Candy Cane Kiss Cookies:
1. Stir cookie mix into chocolate mixture until well blended (this will take some elbow grease).

2. Using 1 level tablespoonful of dough for each cookie, shape into 30 balls. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.

3. Bake 6 to 7 minutes or until edges lose their shiny look (do not overbake). Immediately press 1 candy into center of each cookie. Cool cookies on cookie sheet 5 minutes; remove from cookie sheets. To get candy to spread slightly on top of cookie, tap edge of each cookie lightly. Cool completely. Store covered at room temperature.


For the Chocolate Caramel Kiss Cookies
1. Stir cookie mix and cinnamon into chocolate mixture until well blended (this will take some elbow grease).

2. Using 1 level tablespoonful of dough for each cookie, shape into 30 balls. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.

3. Bake 6 to 7 minutes or until edges lose their shiny look (do not overbake). Immediately press 1 candy into center of each cookie. Cool cookies on cookie sheet 5 minutes; remove from cookie sheets. Cool completely. Store covered at room temperature.

Pumpkin Sandwich Cookies w/Pumpkin Buttercream Filling

If you love pumpkin, you'll be in pumpkin heaven with these cookies. The cookie itself taste cake-like and the filling is to die! The recipe for the cookies I got from the Land O Lakes website. And as previously mentioned they are cake-like meaning they are spongy and delicious! The cookies are incredibly tasty on their own and could stand on their own without the filling, if you're looking to cut down on the calories but why would you want to do that? It's the HOLIDAYS for crying outloud! So indulge.

The filling the Land O Lakes recipe calls for sounds absolutely amazing, well anything with cream cheese is absolutely amazing, but that's neither here nor there. I didn't use the filling in the recipe because I was shipping the cookies to another state and some people would frown on the mere suggestion of shipping unrefrigerated cream cheese across state lines. So instead I used a Pumpkin Buttercream filling I found at Ashlees Cooking Blog. And believe me when I say it's Thanksgiving decadence at it's best! These are a must try and disregard my crappy picture. I was going to take another picture today but there was only one cookie left -yep, they're that good!

The cooking time for the cookies is kinda tricky -I blame my oven- but incase it's not my oven I'm warning you they may have to be in the oven for almost twice as long as the recipe states. That is about the only draw back. The filling is enough to do all the cookies plus you'll have some leftover. I rolled the leftover filling in plastic wrap & popped it back in the fridge to solidify. I thought it would make a great compound butter to be served at Thanksgiving with rolls. Anyway, on with the recipe.

Pumpkin Sandwich Cookies with Pumpkin Buttercream Filling
Recipes Courtesy of Land O' Lakes & Ashlee's Cooking Blog

Cookie Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice*
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup milk
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
*If you don't have pumpkin spice substitute 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon plus 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg and 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

Filling Ingredients
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar




Directions:
Heat oven to 350°F. Combine flour, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder and salt in medium bowl. Set aside.

Combine brown sugar and 1/2 cup butter in large bowl; beat at medium speed until creamy. Add pumpkin, milk, egg and vanilla; beat until well mixed. Reduce speed to low; add flour mixture. Beat until well mixed.

Drop batter by level measuring tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 9 to 10 minutes (I would eyeball it because again they are "cake-like" mine I timed at 32 min.) or until set and lightly browned around edges. Cool 5 minutes on cookie sheets; remove to cooling rack. Cool completely.

For the Pumpkin Buttercream: Cream butter and pumpkin with a mixer or in a stand mixer. Turn to low, add in cinnamon, ginger, salt and vanilla. Slowly add sugar 1/2 c. at a time until the buttercream is creamy.
**Note: The pumpkin will make it look grainy if there isn't enough sugar mixed in. (this didn't happen to me but if it does this is why another thing she mentions is seperating due to the pumpkin puree this also didn't happen to me.)

Spread 1 teaspoon or less of filling onto bottom-side of 1 cookie. Top with another cookie, bottom-side down. Repeat with remaining cookies and filling. Sprinkle filled cookies with powdered sugar.

Lake O' Lakes Recipe Tip:
For perfectly round cookies, pipe batter in 1-inch circle on parchment-lined cookie sheets, using piping bag without a tip

Betty Crocker Thumbprint Cookies

I know this is a bad picture, but I never said I was a photography major. And

if you think this picture is bad, you should go take a look on what's on Ol' Betty's website. Now they should be ashamed of themselfs.

I got this recipe through a recipe exchange I participated in. I was kinda bummed to get a cookie recipe (I have to say though, I did join in last so it was between this and some chocolate pie that wasn't exactly my cup of tea, but I digres) because I'm kinda the Enemy of Cookies. Or better yet cookies are the enemy of me. No matter what I do they refuse to come out good. No joke, they are either too dry, too soft, too tough or just too.... everything!!!

But lucky for me good ol' Betty makes fool proof recipes. And although this was a fool proof recipe some how, some way being the EOC I am I managed to mess it up. All I had to do was stick my thumb into the dough and make a dent big enough to fill with jam, unfortunately I didn't do that right, because when the cookies came out of the oven the imprint I had made on them had risen. But being the clever girl that I am I simply took the bottom tip of a wooden spoon and dented the cookies again. Voila! I had my imprint back and no one could be the wiser.

I would totally make these cookies again for many reasons; one, they were tasty. Two they were easy and three they were so soft that they crumbled after one bite, I love when they do that!

Betty Crocker Thumbprint Cookies
courtesy of bettycrocker.com

Prep Time:40 min
Start to Finish:1 hr 20 min
Makes:3 dozen cookies

1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup shortening
1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg, separated
1 cup Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup finely chopped nuts
Jelly (I used Knott's Berry Farm Boysenberry) *see note below

1. Heat oven to 350ºF.
2. Mix brown sugar, shortening, butter, vanilla and egg yolk in medium bowl. Stir in flour and salt until dough holds together.
3. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Beat egg white slightly. Dip each ball into egg white. Roll in nuts. Place about 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Press thumb deeply in center of each.
4. Bake about 10 minutes or until light brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes. Fill thumbprints with jelly.

Nutrition Information
1 Serving: Calories 85 (Calories from Fat 45 ); Total Fat 5 g (Saturated Fat 1 g); Cholesterol 10 mg; Sodium 30 mg; Total Carbohydrate 9 g (Dietary Fiber 0g); Protein 1 g Percent Daily Value*: Vitamin A 0%; Vitamin C 0%; Calcium 0%; Iron 2 % Exchanges: 1/2 Starch; 1 Fat *Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Note: I would use a tart jelly/jam vs a sweet one. I just really liked the contrast of the tart jam against the sweet cookie. One more thing because I made them bigger than what they suggested I only got about 2 dozen, but they were a tasty 2 dozen :)