vanilla sandwich cookies w/ spiced rum buttercream

After my creation of double chocolate-mint filled Oreo's, I've wanted to do a "vanilla" version.
But to be honest, vanilla was just so boring.
I had to spice it up a bit.
Not wanting to mess with the vanilla cookie, I thought about adding peanut butter or maybe a spicy-savory version to the filling.
Seriously?
Nothing was jumping out at me to use until literally the bottle of captain morgan's spiced rum fell out of the cabinet and into my hands.  
Knowing how good this is with Coke, with root beer, somehow someway the food creations memory cells kicked in and said 'use this in your vanilla sandwich cookie'.
Pretty cool right?  I just love when ideas like that happen.
This filling, do I even need to stress to you how 'crack-like' addicting this taste is?
The spiced rum, mixed with the creamy butter, salt, and the sugar---serious flavor combination.
This spiced rum buttercream is going on a cake next!
Expect that recipe soon!

Are these crunchy like the double chocolate mint Oreo's I made?
No, not as crunchy.
BUT, I am fairly certain that if you slice the cookie dough very thin (the opposite of what I did--see photos below) you should be able to get them crunchier.


If you don't want to use alcohol what is a good substitution 
Can I just stress to you that the spiced rum is what makes this cookie amazing?
But if you had to, I guess you could try a splash of butter extract and a splash of root beer?


Yeah my rolling bites here.
Please do better than I did, for I had to re-roll the cookies.

See?  They were not round.  So I had to re-roll each slice into a ball, then gently press down.
So next time, remember to roll a nice ROUND log, wrap in plastic wrap, chill, then slice with a very sharp knife.
And as I stated before, the thinner the slice, the crispier the cookie.

vanilla sandwich cookies with spiced rum buttercream

print recipe

vanilla cookies

2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

2 ts cornstarch

¼  ts baking powder

½  ts baking soda

½  ts salt

1 cup unsalted butter, room temp

¾ cup granulated sugar

2 egg yolks, room temp

2 ts pure vanilla extract

spiced rum filling

8 TB unsalted butter, room temp

1 cup + confectioners' sugar (might need a bit more)

giant pinch of salt

1 oversized Tablespoon of “Spiced Rum” (captain morgans has the best flavor)

Cook Notes: 

I’ve found the thinner you slice your cookie dough the crispier you can get your cookies.  This will lend itself to an almost vanilla Oreo cookie-like texture.  Of course the thicker the cookie the less crunchy; so do what you feel is best.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

In the bowl of your stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on med-high until well mixed.

Add in 2 egg yolks and vanilla extract and mix.

Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.

Add the flour mixture and beat on low speed until just combined.  Please do not overmix.

Scrape the cookie dough out onto a very lightly floured surface.

Form it into a two long logs.  Wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerator at least 2 hours or overnight.  I find that once the log is wrapped its easier to form it into a more even log by rolling it back and forth as if it were a rolling pin.  Get it as uniform as you can since we will be using this to slice out round cookies.

When ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Remove one log of cookie dough from the fridge, place on lightly floured wooden board, and using a sharp knife slice cookies as thin as you can get them.  Place on cookie sheet about two inches apart.  If your cookies slices didn’t come out as thin or round as you like, then do what I did (see photo above) and roll into ball and gently press down into circle.

Bake the cookies for 9-10 minutes, or until they have puffed and the tops look set. Remove the sheets from the oven and allow the cookies to rest for about 8 minutes before transferring them to cooling rack.  Cool completely before adding the filling.

For the filling:

Using a hand mixer or stand mixer mix all ingredients until well combined.

Do a taste test and see if it needs more salt or rum.  Chances are it won’t.

Using a plastic bag with edge snipped off or a pastry bag, place filling in bag and pipe onto cookies.

I don’t remember how many these made, sorry, but I think it was 20-25 sandwich cookies.  I know there was enough filling for all. 

gluten free pb-chocolate chip cookies

Have you, when financially times were tough, ever gone to a "cheaper" dentist to have semi-major work done?

This would be me about five-six years ago when hubby was in between jobs and money was tight--extremely tight.

And this is of course was the time that a tooth of mine decides to present a cavity.

For years having found the best dentist possibly on cape cod, who I love, admire and truly adore his craftsmanship for staying on top of the newest advances in dental work.  

Sadly this was the time I could not afford him.  

He is a lot pricier than other dentists and of course my dental insurance does NOT cover people like him.  

Which brings me to another point: why can't we go and get dental or other medical work done where we want?  The whole reason I'm going to a better dentist is so that it lasts longer/permanent and that its done RIGHT the first time.

Out of all the work I've had done with my good dentist, I've never once had any problem, nor will I ever have to have any of his work re-done later on in life.  

Whereas with the crappy dentist, every single tooth that I've had done I've only had to go to the good dentist to RE-DO!  Plus they still use unsafe materials (mercury).

Doesn't dental insurance want me to be fixed the right way the first time and save them money?

Or do they want me to keep going so that they make money--I know it's painfully obvious which choice it it.

So my day (yesterday) was spent at my good dentist fixing a problem tooth that was done as I said, five to six years ago.  The tooth couldn't handle the crown anymore; the crown was put on wrong (I knew this and lived with it, knowing I would have to at some point go back and get it done again).

But the pain it was causing was unbearable, so I spent most of the day at the dentist, dreading the six different needles I'd get.  

As I sat there waiting I became so enraged at the dental insurance and the fact that I'm supposed to use "one" of their approved dentists in the plan.  And on top of that, I think I'm allotted a mere $900.00 per year for dental work?  

Unreal right?  

I vowed to write the dental insurance a letter voicing my complaint, but I'm sure it would just fall on deaf ears.

As part of my "blogging new year" promise to you, I am finally going ahead, as per your with hundreds of requests of creating more 'gluten free' baked goodies.

And as luck would have it, my first attempt at baking gluten free came out perfectly.

I knew I wanted to use peanut flour, but it's so hard to find, and Trader Joe's doesn't carry it anymore sadly.

So I used coconut flour, which is wonderful, but a little pricey.

But the flavor the coconut flour lended to the cookies, mixed with the peanut butter....oh heavenly.

You must try these cookies!

You would never know they were gluten free.  Even my fussy husband loved these.

They are an odd shape, but who cares when they are just the tastiest lil nuggets.

gluten free peanut butter-chocolate chip cookies

print recipe

1 cup all-natural chunky or all natural smooth peanut butter (oily is ok, just not too oily)

¾ cup dark brown sugar (NOT packed)

1 large egg, room temp

1 egg yolk, room temp

1 ts pure vanilla extract

½ cup coconut flour

1 ts baking soda

1 ts sea salt

½ cup Bittersweet chocolate chips, optional

Cook notes:

This is very dry dough, so forming into cookie dough balls is a bit of work.

So what I did was just leave them as balls. They don’t spread at all when baking.

They are delicate and tend to break apart if you make them big.  Make the dough balls bigger than a tablespoon size.   You need to use this dough right away; leaving in fridge overnight will dry out the dough even more.

This recipe makes a small batch (about 12-15), if you want more, just double all the ingredients. I used bittersweet chocolate, semisweet was just too sweet and milk chocolate was way too sweet.

In a small bowl add the coconut flour, baking soda, and salt and mix, set aside.

In a small bowl mix the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla.

In a mixer or by hand, combine peanut butter and sugars until well combined.

Add egg to the cookie mixture, mix well.

Add in the flour mixture, by sprinkling it over the cookie dough, not just depositing it in one large dump. Mix till just combined.  (I used my hands to combine this—it was much easier).

Cover bowl with plastic wrap well and let it sit in fridge for about an hour to come together. Do not let this sit overnight as the dough becomes very dry!

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 365 degrees F.

Roll into tablespoon sized balls and place on non-stick cookie sheets or greased cookie sheets. If you can flatten them without breaking then go ahead.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, until lightly browned. These cook up very fast, so I really wouldn’t go past the 15-minute mark.  To tell if they are done, there should be a slight crisp of the edges and a light golden brown color on the edges as well.

Cool on a baking sheet for a while. Do not try to lift them off the cookie sheet; they need to harden

Should make about 12-15 cookies (small batch). If you want more, just double all the ingredients.

They lasted about 3 days, covered.

chocolate-peppermint shortbread

Every year I, unlike my neighbors, like to wait till the very very last minute to have our lawn cleared of leaves.
When we first bought the house I went ahead like everyone else and had the leaves cleared in late October.  Bad mistake.
My trees laughed at me and proceeded to give me more leaves throughout November.
Having over one and half acres of land and almost all trees, clearing of the leaves is not a feat one can do by themselves unless you have a giant leaf-sucker-upper-thingee or a strong back and non-forming callus hands.
And we always have a storm/hurricane/nor'easter in october or november--been this way for the last three years now.
So the first falling of the leaves happens  mid October, then the seconds happens late November after whatever crazy NE storm comes at us; shaking the trees of their last hard-to-let-go leaves.
I feel smart waiting till late December, not only do I make sure every leaf falls, but I also get the lawn guys when they aren't crazy busy.
I have to give a big thank you to my lawn guys: Hoxie Landscape, every year they do a stellar job.
And a big thank you to Justin who happily (I think) deals with my type-A personality when it comes to my lawn. :-)

This year I surprised the guys with cookies, well actually it was the sweet & salty smore bark.
You should have seen their faces when I gave them the giant plate of bark.
Speechless, motionless--clearly they were not expecting food.
I left them the plate, thanked them for their hard work, got in my truck and drove away.
As I was turning down the road, past the house, I looked in my rearview mirror and saw all the guys, huddled up like a football team, just outside one of their trucks surely noshing on the bark.
It was like a feeding frenzy....
Curious--how long did that bark last?
It didn't have a chance did it?
This is why I love to bake and create, reactions on the faces, and to watch humans inhale my food.

Another nosh-worthy gift food are these peppermint-chocolate shortbread.
I used the same basic shortbread as the crust only this time made a chocolate-peppermint flavor.
Super easy to make, and tasty.
Because I firmly believe if you're going to give food as a gift make sure it's tasty, and eye appealing.

chocolate-peppermint shortbread

print recipe

for the peppermint shortbread:

8 oz. unsalted butter, softened

½ cup confectioners sugar

2 cups cake flour minus 2 TB

2 oversized TB cocoa powder

a splash or 3 of peppermint extract

¼ ts salt

for the white chocolate drizzle:

½ cup +/- of melted white chocolate with a touch of peppermint extract (add the peppermint extract in after the chocolate is melted, not before)

(see my copycat Nestle Crunch bars for peppermint-white chocolate)

¼ cup finely crushed candy canes for decorations

I used an 8 or 9 inch tart pan with removable bottom; this would work best, if you don't have this

then use an 8 or 9 inch baking pan and spray with non stick spray and/or line with parchment paper. 

In a bowl mix the cake flour and cocoa powder, set aside.

In a bowl (stand mixer or otherwise), cream together butter, sugar, peppermint extract, and salt.

Slowly work in cake flour mixture until well combined. 

No need to overmix, small lumps here and there are fine. This is a very dry dough.

Using wet fingertips, spread dough into pan, making sure to get all the corners evenly.

Place prepared pan into fridge to firm up a bit before baking.  At least an hour.

If you cover this well enough you can leave it overnight.

When ready to bake, preheat over to 350 degrees.

Bake 21 - 25 minutes until edges are LIGHTLY golden brown or just firm. 

Don't look for complete overall doneness; it’s ok if middle is a little soft.

Make sure to rotate pan halfway through baking too.

Let this cool in pan for at least an hour. 

Remove from pan, and slice into bars or sticks, which ever you like.

Place over wire racks with parchment paper underneath.

Drizzle melted white chocolate over the bars and decorate with finely crushed candy canes.

Makes about 20+ sticks, depending on how you slice them.

Interview with Anna Ginsberg of The Daily Cookie

I just love those times when I get to interview a dear friend.
And this is one of those times--a good friend of mine Anna Ginsberg of the famous cookie blog cookie madness has just released her first cookbook: The Daily Cookie.

The Daily Cookie
Some of you may remember Anna as the $1 million dollar winner of the 41^st Pillsbury Bake-Off.

Her original recipe for savory baked chicken and spinach stuffing beat out 98 other finalists from all over the country for the grand prize.

The winning dish consisted of baked chicken stuffed with spinach and frozen home-style waffle sticks, fresh sage and pecans. Topped it with waffle syrup in the peach glaze. 

She is also the creative genius behind her famous cookie and baking blog “Cookie Madness”.  Anna started her blog back in 2005 as a way to display her creative passion for creative cookies, but since then she’s added other baking recipes and a few food product reviews.

Anna is a self-taught baker, lives in Austin, Texas with her family, has appeared on the Today Show and even got the chance to cook with Oprah.

I was thrilled that Anna’s first cookbook: The Daily Cookie finally appeared last month and I was one of the lucky ones to receive first dibs on a copy.  

Not only is Anna a good friend, but she’s also one of my go-to people when I have a question about a baking dilemma. I can't tell you how many times I've emailed her at the last minute about some crazy baking problem I've created for myself and she calmly has the answer. 

Her cookbook: The Daily Cookie: 365 Tempting Treats for the Sweetest Year of Your Life is all about a reason to celebrate a different cookie recipe for each day of the year.  365 recipes for cookies that celebrate historic and pop culture events for every day of the year.  The holidays range from quirky to classic: Day of the Ninja (chocolate “Ninjabread” cookies), Squirrel Appreciation Day (caramel nut bars), Christmas (almond ginger toasts), and Valentine’s Day (mocha chocolate brownies). 

And as a bonus: each recipe includes full-color photographs of cookie as well as anecdotes, fun facts/trivia, and tips.

Recipes include chewy, crispy, no bake, sweet, salty, savory, gluten free—literally something for everyone.  I mean I wish I could tell you everything that is in here because there are some very creative cookie recipes.  And you get a historical fact about a cookie, how it came about, when, and more importantly why.  Excellent idea for a book!

Some of my favorites are:

Scottish oat cookies pg. 79

Macadamia white chocolate pineapple cookies pg. 183

Speculoos pg. 374

Spicy chocolate ginger guys pg. 342

chocolate rum crinkles pg. 382

cranberry, white chip and ginger cookie bark pg. 358

I made one of her recipes: Island Cookies, look for recipe after the interview AND a chance to win one of her cookbooks!

Questions:

Being the grand winner of the Pillsbury Bake-Off back in 2006 must have felt amazing.  

Curious to know was that the first time you entered the Pillsbury Bake-Off?   

Had you entered before?  What were some of the other recipes you entered?

2006 was my second time.  The first time, in 2004, I entered a recipe for Barbecued Chicken Triangles with Raita, an Indian dish made with crescent rolls, Lloyds shredded chicken in barbecue sauce, Indian spices, and raita made with Yoplait yogurt.  The recipe made it to the finals, but didn’t place. 

Before that I’d entered multiple contests to the point where it was becoming quite lucrative.  It was a super fun hobby and a great creative outlet. 

Are you still active in cooking contests? 

No.  Most of today’s contests involve voting, and I prefer the old way where recipes are developed at home and tested by judges.  I have a hard time asking people to vote for me if they haven’t actually tried the recipe.  

I would imagine you are now a judge in some of them? Which ones?  Any favorites? 

My favorite was probably judging a holiday cookie contest at a local Austin cookware shop.

Congrats on your first cookbook!  What an accomplishment.

And what a great idea to make a cookbook based on a different cookie for each day of the year.  Was this in the back of your mind for a while? 

Yes, but I wasn’t sure how I’d execute it.  My agent suggested The Daily Cookie, so I mulled that over, wrote a sample chapter, and realized it was fun trying to match a cookie with every day of the year.  It was a bit of a creative stretch and some days were easier to “cookie match” than others.  Now that I’ve written the book, I keep finding more quirky holidays and coming up with more cookies!

What kind of research did you do to line up a cookie with an historical event or fun fact of the day? 

Loads of reading books, library of congress website, Google, Wikipedia, and looking at calendars.  I actually found a lot more information on each day, but we had to edit a lot out.  In the end, that was probably a good thing.  The focus should be the cookies.

How long did it take you to finish the cookbook?

It was a blur!  I couldn’t even tell you.

Which cookie recipes are your favorites?

Because I was eating so many cookies during testing, I found myself craving the lighter cookies such as the various biscotti and “toasts”.  I also really like the Birdseed Bars and Ten at a Time Chocolate Chip Cookies (mini cookies).  But really, it depends on my mood.   House Chocolate Chip is still my favorite.  I also like the Milky Way Brownies.

Did you have any taste-testers help you? 

Yes, my husband’s co-workers were tasters.  I also had various people help test the recipes, which was enlightening!  It’s interesting to see how people approach directions.

Any recipes you had a hard time with? 

Yes, it took me forever to find just the right crust for the Millionaire Bars.  I wanted it to be very light and sandy – kind of like a Twix bar.  I must have made those 10 times, and finally settled on a cake flour based crust.  I also spent a lot of time trying to perfect the Bakewell Bars, which are modeled after an English tart called a Bakewell Tart.

It’s fairly obvious you’re a foodie, is your husband a foodie too? 

Actually, we’re terrible foodies because we are extremely picky.  We like really basic foods without sauces, and neither of us eat any seafood. We’re like first graders.  However, we LOVED going to Italy because everything is so simply prepared and tastes so fresh.  Neither of us are proud of our rejection of certain foods, so we go to great lengths to introduce our daughter to different things.  She prides herself on liking everything, and I’m hoping one day she’ll become a chef.

Does he make a great taste-tester? 

He’s really good at judging textures, so in that sense he is. 

What was it like being on Oprah? Were you nervous?

I was nervous until Oprah came out, and then it was easy.  She has a magical way of making you feel comfortable on stage. 

Are there any tips or tricks you learned unexpectedly while making all these cookies for the cookbook? 

Not so much “learned” as was “reminded of”.  For instance, some cookies bake up so much higher on an ungreased cookie sheet as opposed to one that’s been greased or line with slick foil.  I knew that, but doing all that testing really drove the point home. 

For your food blog cookiemadness.net when looking at recipes to try or create next, what sparks your interest most?

I like it when a recipe has an unusual or unexpected ingredient.  For instance, sugar cookies with vanilla pudding mix or cookies made with cornstarch or some unusual type of sugar like coconut palm.  It’s fun to see whether or not certain recipes with unusual ingredients catch on.  For instance, the Hard Boiled Egg Cookies and Frito Candy became quite popular.

And with your food blog, you do a lot of cookie posting, almost a new cookie recipe 3-5 times a week; where do you get the inspiration for all this?

Everywhere!  But mostly I just go for what I’m craving, which is why I have tons of variations on chocolate chip, brownie and peanut butter. 

Do you have any future plans to open a “cookie shop”?

I kind of like the idea of it, but running a store is completely different than home baking, writing a book or baking for fun, so I’d have to commit to a retail lifestyle.  It’s fun to think about, and I know people how have been very successful at it. 

Any other ‘hidden talents’ we should know?

No, outside of baking and cooking I’m pretty useless. Seriously, I wish I could play the drums, but Todd’s (husband) a drummer and I know I’ll never measure up.

Favorite comfort foods?

Ice cream, pizza, fried chicken, steak, fries, pasta, chocolate, and red wine!

Food(s) you don’t care for?

Not enough room to list, but I’ll start with all game, forest animals, all fish and pretty much anything from the sea except for salt, mushrooms, most squash, and tarragon.

Favorite places to travel for the food?

Italy! 

Will there be a second cookbook?

If there is, it will have fewer than 365 recipes.  That was a lot.

Thank you Anna!  And if you would like a chance to win a copy of this cookbook, please leave ONE comment telling us your favorite cookie recipe.
We'll do the drawing December 12, 2012.
Please have a valid email in your comment and/or signature line.
I can't tell you how many Anonymous comments I get that are useless in contests.

From the The Daily Cookie I made the Island Cookies.
A coconut based cookie with a hint of rum and nuts.
Sadly I did not have dried pineapple on hand so I used butterscotch chips instead--tasted just as good, but I highly suggest using the dried pineapple.

Island Cookies

From the book The Daily Cookie

print recipe

1 ¼ cups finely grounded quick-cooking oats (use coffee grinder or processor)

1 cup flour

1 ts baking powder

¼ ts salt

8 TB unsalted butter, room temp

¾ cup firmly packed light brown sugar

¾ cup sugar

1 large egg

1 ts rum extract

½ cup dried pineapple, chopped (I used butterscotch chips)

2 2/3 cups sweetened flaked coconut (I used 1 cup)

2/3 cups pecans, toasted and chopped (I used 1 cup)

Bakers Note:

Containing over 2 ½ cups of coconut, these chewy cookies are for coconut lovers.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees., place rack in the center of oven.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or non-stick foil.

Mix the ground oats, flour, baking powder, and salt together, set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or in large mixing bowl, using a handheld electric mixer, beat the butter and both sugars on medium speed until creamy.  Beat in egg and extract and continue beating for another minute.

By hand or using lowest speed of the mixer, stir in the flour mixture, followed by the dried pineapple, coconut, and pecans.  The dough will be thick. 

Shape into 1-inch balls and arrange 2 inches apart, flattening them slightly on the baking sheet.  Bake one sheet at a time for 12-15 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown.  Let cool a bit before moving to wire rack to cool completely.