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10 Cranberry Pistachio Shortbread Cookies

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Cranberry Pistachio Shortbread

Today’s cookie is number ten on our cookie countdown: Cranberry Pistachio Shortbread cookies.  I was inspired to make these cookies by looking through my pantry to see what I had available to make for Christmas cookies this year. As you know, I love to bake so I already had many options before having to go out to buy ingredients. I had a bag of pistachios and dried cranberries sitting next to each other and the thought came to me of trying to find a recipe that contained both ingredients since they are natural Christmas colors. I then found a shortbread recipe that incorporated both ingredients and the results were just what I wanted.

These shortbread cookies were perfect, a light buttery cookies with punches of sweet cranberries and salty pistachios.  I brought the leftover cookies to work so I wouldn’t eat them all, and they were gone within an hour of putting them out.   Enjoy!

10 Cranberry Pistachio Shortbread

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10 Cranberry Pistachio Shortbread Cookies
 
Ingredients
  • 2⅓ cups all-purpose flour
  • ½ tsp. kosher salt
  • 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), at room temperature
  • ⅔ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1 cup unsalted pistachios, coarsely chopped
  • 1 cup dried cranberries, coarsely chopped
Instructions
  1. In the bowl of your mixer, beat the butter until smooth, about 1-2 minutes. Add sugar and continues to mix until smooth, about 3 minutes. Next beat in the vanilla extract.
  2. In a separate bowl whisk together flour and salt. Add flour mixture to butter until just incorporated. With a spatula, fold in the chopped pistachios and dried cranberries until evenly combined.
  3. Divide the dough in half and roll each dough half into 14 inch logs, so that the width is the same throughout . Wrap in parchment paper and twist the ends. Place in the refrigerator and chill for at least 2 hours but up to three days.
  4. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking sheets.
  5. Using a sharp knife slice the logs into ¼ thick slices. Place cookies on baking sheet space at least 1½ inches away. Bake for 15-20 minutes until cookies just start to brown on edges. Let cool on wire rack. Store in an airtight container up to three days. Freeze cookies to keep them longer (up to 3 months.)

Source- Adapted from The Grand Central Baking Book via JoyofBaking.com

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11 Christmas Snickerdoodles

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Christmas Snickerdoodles (from 2 Sisters 2 Cities)

For my first Christmas cookie recipe of the season, I decided to turn a traditional year-round cookie into a Christmas version of itself.  I used red and green sugar crystals in the recipe to turn these Snickerdoodles into Christmas Snickerdoodles!

This recipe was super simple and it was the perfect cookie recipe to make with a 3-year old and 5-month old.  After I formed a ball of cookie dough, I handed it to T and he would roll it in either the red or green sugar & cinnamon mixture, then place it on the pan.  We got a good laugh as Baby N sat in his Bumbo chair and kept trying to grab for the red cookies…you can have cookies soon baby!  I hope you have as much fun as I did making these Christmas Snickerdoodles this holiday season. (Just keep in mind that the dough needs to be refrigerated for one hour before baking- the perfect amount of time to grab a quick afternoon nap or watch a Christmas movie by the fire!)

Christmas Snickerdoodles (from 2 Sisters 2 Cities)

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11 Christmas Snickerdoodles
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
 
Turn this classic cookie recipe into a Christmas one by using green and red-colored sugars.
Ingredients
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 1 and ½ cups sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons red sanding sugar or sugar crystals
  • 2 tablespoons green sanding sugar or sugar crystals
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Instructions
  1. Add the softened butter to a mixing bowl and use an electric mixer to beat butter on high for 30 seconds. Add the 1 and ½ cups sugar, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt and mix until combined. Use a spatula to scrape the side of the mixing bowl if necessary. Turn off mixer and add in eggs and vanilla- mix for 30 more seconds until combined. Turn off mixer and add 1 cup of flour at a time, beating after each addition until flour is incorporated. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour or more.
  2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and prepare cookie sheets with parchment paper. Add the red sugar into a small bowl and the green sugar into a second small bowl. Add 1 teaspoon cinnamon into each bowl and mix. Shape dough into ~1 balls (you can make the balls smaller or larger based on how what size cookie you prefer. I ended up making 36 cookies from this batch of dough.)
  3. Roll balls in either the red or green sugar mixture until dough is coated. Place 2 inches apart on the parchment paper.
  4. Bake for 12-13 minutes or until bottoms are light brown. Transfer to wire racks and allow to cool.

Source: BHG.com

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12 Chocolate Raspberry Thumbprints

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Chocolate Raspberry Thumbprints Cookies

Well, here we are again!  It’s the most wonderful time of year- the 2 Sisters 2 Cities 12 Days of  Christmas Cookie Countdown!  We are going to start this party with a delicious classic holiday cookie with a new twist:  a chocolate thumbprint cookies with raspberry jam and drizzled with bittersweet chocolate!

12 Chocolate Raspberry Thumbprints

This year with my holiday cookies, I am going for more classic types of holiday cookies. When I think of Christmas cookies I think of small special cookies embellished with icing, chocolate, powdered sugar, frosting, glaze, jam, nuts, peppermints, or sprinkles. The great part about Christmas cookies is that you can grab a bunch of different kinds and and you get to try all the amazing flavors. Obviously you know what my favorite time of the year is!

My boyfriend loves thumbprint cookies, but he is not a big chocolate cookie fan.  I was hesitant to make this recipe because I thought he wouldn’t like them.  Boy was I wrong, he loved them! The deep chocolate flavors are perfect with the sweet tart raspberry jam.  Add them to your Christmas cookie to-do list today!

Chocolate Raspberry Thumbprints

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12 Chocolate Raspberry Thumbprints
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Ingredients
  • 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons butter (2 sticks + 2 tbsp),at room temperature
  • ¾ cup granulated sugar
  • ⅓ cup cocoa powder
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • ½ tsp. baking soda
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • Raspberry jam
  • 2-3 tbsp. bittersweet chocolate chips
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  2. In the bowl of a mixer add butter and sugar, mixing until smooth.
  3. Add in cocoa powder until combined
  4. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.
  5. Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture until all is combined
  6. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
  7. Roll dough into 1-inch balls. Place on baking mat at least 2 inches away from each other.
  8. With the tip of your thumb, press down in the middle of the cookie ball to make a well (don't press down all the way.)
  9. Fill each thumbprint with around ½ tsp of jam
  10. Bake for 9-10 minutes
  11. Cookies will spread out a little so if you need more jam in the center add some more before they cool.
  12. For Drizzle- In a small heat proof bowl, add chocolate chips. Microwave in 20 second intervals, stirring in between until melted. To drizzle, take a spoon of melted chocolate, tip the spoon to get a small stream of chocolate going and move back and forth over the cookies so you get zig zags over the cookies.

Source–  Base cookie recipe adapted from Pinch of Yum, addition of raspberry jam and chocolate drizzle is a 2S2C original

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12 Days of Christmas Cookies (The Past)

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Why hello there December 1st!  I could have sworn Thanksgiving was a mere three days ago.  Time to put those pumpkin pie pans away and get ready for some Christmas baking!  We are so excited to kick-off our 3rd year of our annual 12 Days of Christmas Cookies.  Before we start our series for 2013, I wanted to highlight our 24 Christmas cookies from the past two years.

12 Days of Christmas Cookies {from 2 Sisters 2 Cities}

12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS COOKIES 2012

 

12 days of Christmas cookies- 2011 {from 2 Sisters 2 Cities}

12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS COOKIES 2011

Happy Baking!

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One Salted Chocolate Chip Caramel Cookie Bars

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Then there was one!

We are down to our last cookie already and wow, has this month flown by!  I am starting to get excited for the upcoming holiday and spending some time with the family.  I haven’t really had any time off since my move so a few days to breathe and relax will be nice too.  M and I were discussing how much we have to do for the holidays and she told me how she has yet to wrap a gift.  I, on the other hand haven’t even seen a gift I have bought because I shipped it to everywhere I am going so I don’t have to bring them on the plane.

The last cookie is a cookie bar, and a delicious one at that.  I have to admit that I don’t like make chocolate chip cookies for Christmas cookies because they are an everyday cookie to me. My boyfriend begged for this recipe and actually was head chef on these.   I just helped melt the caramel and he did most of the baking.   Guess which cookie has been the most popular so far?  Yup, this one!

Chocolate Chip Salted Caramel Cookie Bars

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One Salted Chocolate Chip Caramel Cookie Bars
Author: 
 
Ingredients
  • 2⅛ cups AP flour
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • ½ tsp. baking soda
  • 12 tbsp. butter, at room temperature, plus a small amount for greasing baking pan
  • 1 cup light brown sugar
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 2 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 2 cups chocolate chips
  • 10 oz. caramel candy squares, unwrapped
  • 3 tbsp. heavy cream
  • Sea salt, for sprinkling over caramel and bars
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F
  2. Grease a 2-quart baking pan (11x7 baking dish) by spreading a small amount of butter on a paper towel.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking soda.
  4. Next, in bowl of a stand mixer, mix softened butter and both sugars.
  5. Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract and mix until combined and smooth.
  6. Slowly stir in dry ingredients and mix until combined. Add in chocolate chips.
  7. In a large microwave safe bowl, combine the caramel and heavy cream
  8. Microwave caramel on high until caramel are melted, stirring every 30 seconds for about 2-3 minutes, until mixture is smooth.
  9. Divide the cookie dough into two. Place one half of the cookie dough into the pan, smoothing with a spatula.
  10. Pour hot caramel over the dough in the pan. Sprinkle with sea salt.
  11. Drop remaining cookie dough by the spoonful over the caramel layer. Spread cookie dough with a spatula until the caramel is covered. Sprinkle with additional sea salt.
  12. Bake for 30 minutes or until the top of the cookie bars are light golden brown and the edges start to pull away from the pan.
  13. Remove from oven and allow bars to cool on a wire rack. Cut into squares and serve.

Source- Adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod
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Three Heath Bar Butter Cookies

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Today is officially cookie day!  Cookie day is when I bring a sampling of all the cookies I have made into work to share with all my co-workers.  I have followed this tradition for the last five years I still use my original snowman platter that I bought for my first cookie day.  Although I have had several different offices through the years,  it’s always nice to share the Christmas spirit with everyone!  It also helps me to jump start my holiday vacation in a great mood!

Today’s cookie is a version of a sugar cookies with a small touch of crushed Heath bar bits in them.  M and I received this recipe at the BlogHer conference at the Land O’ Lakes booth.  The original recipe called for toffee bits, which I thought I had bought until I opened the toffee bits to find chocolate covered toffee bits- actual crushed up Heath bars.  Whoops!  It was sort of a happy mistake because I loved the results.   The Heath bar doesn’t totally take over the cookie so you still have that buttery delicious taste of a sugar cookie. My mom loves Heath bars so I have a feeling this one will be one of her favorites.
Heath Bar Butter Cookies

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Heath Bar Butter Cookies
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Ingredients
  • 1 cup sugar
  • ¾ cup of butter, at room temperature
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • 2 cups AP flour
  • 1½ tsp. baking powder
  • ¼ tsp. baking soda
  • ½ cup heath bar bits
  • sugar
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven 350 degrees.
  2. In the bowl of a mixer combine sugar, butter, egg, and vanilla until creamy. Scrape down the sides.
  3. In a separate medium sized bowl mix flour, baking powder, and baking soda together
  4. Stir flour into the butter mix. Beat until mixed.
  5. Add in heath bar bits.
  6. Roll dough into 1-inch balls.
  7. Roll dough ball in a bowl of sugar and place on cookie sheet
  8. With the back of a glass with a flat bottom, dip glass into sugar and flatten dough balls so they make about a 2 inch circle.
  9. Bake for 10-12 minutes until edges are lightly brown.
  10. Sprinkle with sugar and let cool.

Three Heath Bar Butter Cookies

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Four Nutella and Sea Salt Stuffed Sugar Cookies

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Nutella and Sea Salt Stuffed Sugar Cookies

Four Nutella and Sea Salt Stuffed Sugar Cookies vs Four Calling Birds?  I’ve got to go with Nutella cookies on this one!

While this is not the first Nutella cookie recipe that we have posted about this year, I knew I had to try this Nutella and Sea Salt Stuffed Sugar Cookies when I came across them on Pinterest.  As I have mentioned before, my husband is obsessed with Nutella so I knew he would be all over these.  I am trying to keep some hidden in the freezer so there will be left for Christmas, but I’m afraid they have been discovered and our supply is running quite low.

Nutella and Sea Salt Stuffed Sugar Cookies

This recipe only yields 24 cookies, but these cookies do come out on the fairly large size.  If you want to have a higher yield of smaller cookies, I recommend just freezing Nutella with a 1/2 tsp measure and using smaller pieces of cookie dough for each cookie.  Either way, I imagine these cookies will be gobbled up in your house quickly as well!

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Four Nutella and Sea Salt Stuffed Sugar Cookies
Author: 
Recipe type: cookies
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 12
 
Ingredients
  • ½ cup Nutella (chocolate-hazelnut spread)
  • 2 and ½ cups all-purpose flour
  • ½ tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 and ½ cups plus ¼ cup granulated sugar, divided
  • 1 and ¾ sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 2 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tbsp sea salt
Instructions
  1. Using a 1 teaspoon measure, scoop out Nutella and place in small heaps on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Place in the freezer for 15 minutes. (I found using two small trays of plates work best because you can rotate them between the freezer and the kitchen counter as you are preparing each batch of cookies.)
  2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl, beat butter and 1½ cups granulated sugar with an electric mixer set on medium speed until the mixture is creamy and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and the vanilla extract.
  4. Set the mixer to low speed and gradually add in the flour mixture until it is just combined.
  5. Place ¼ cup granulated sugar in a small bowl. Use 1 heaping tablespoon cookie dough for each cookie. Split the piece of dough in half and slightly flatten the each half with the palm of your hand. Sprinkle a pinch sea salt on one half of the flattened dough.
  6. Remove the frozen Nutella from the freezer and use a small metal spatula to lift the frozen Nutella from the parchment paper. Lay it on the bottom half of cookie dough, on top of the sea salt. If the Nutella starts to soften, place back in the freezer for a few minutes (or alternate with the other tray if you do two trays in the first step.)
  7. Cover the bottom half and frozen Nutella with the other piece of cookie dough. Gently seal the edges with your fingers. Roll the cookie in the sugar to lightly coat it and place it on the prepared baking sheet.
  8. Repeat with the remaining dough and frozen Nutella, spacing the cookies about 2 inches apart from each other on the baking sheets. I found it easiest to prep about 6 cookies at a time in an assembly line fashion.
  9. Bake the cookies, one sheet a time. They are done when the edges are set and beginning to brown, 10 to 13 minutes. The centers of the cookies should still be soft and puffy.
  10. Remove the cookies from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes. Transfer cookies to cool on a rack. Enjoy warm or at room temperature!

Source: Slightly adapted from Cookin’ Canuck

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Seven Italian Butter Spritz Cookies

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I have to admit that I was never a fan of Italian cookies before I started dating my boyfriend.  I didn’t hate them,  I just never really had too many growing up.   My boyfriend loves them because he grew up in Queens and was always surrounded by really good and authentic Italian bakeries.   After we moved in together, he was always bringing home cookies from different bakeries for me to try.  The cookie that is my favorite is the Italian Butter Spritz Cookie with the rainbow sprinkles.

I have searched for the recipe to make these cookies now that we don’t have the NYC bakeries right around us anymore.   The only problem with finding these recipes are is that they heavily guarded by Italian families, understandably because they are so tasty.   After reading a few forums of people trying to find the same recipe I was trying to find, I came across a women, Gretchen Price, that owns a bakery in New Jersey. She has several You Tube videos on how to make the Italian butter cookies she makes in her bakery.  Score!

The results?  Amazing!  Let’s just say the boyfriend was very impressed.

Seven Italian Butter Spritz Cookies

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Seven Italian Butter Spritz Cookies
Author: 
 
Ingredients
  • 7 oz. butter at room temp (about 1¾ stick)
  • 7 oz. shortening (Crisco)
  • 1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. confectioners’ sugar
  • 3 oz. almond paste (before starting soften first by mixing in the bowl of your mixer until it gets almost butter like in consistency)
  • 4 egg whites
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 tsp. almond extract
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 3¼ cups flour
  • Sprinkles
Instructions
  1. In the bowl of a mixer, combine the butter and shortening.
  2. Mix in confectioners' sugar and then scrape down the side of the bowl
  3. Add in salt, vanilla extract, and almond extract and mix until combined
  4. Add in almond paste, mix until completely combined- may take few minutes especially if you are using almond paste from the grocery store. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
  5. Add in egg whites and mix until combined.
  6. Mix in all of the flour,gradually working the mixer up from slow until medium speed until dough forms.
  7. In a pastry bag fitted with a large coupler and a large star tip (like what you would frost cupcakes with) fill bag with cookie dough.
  8. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  9. Just like frosting a cupcake, apply pressure to the bag, starting on the outside start to move in a small circle ending in the middle.
  10. Add sprinkles to the top
  11. Bake for 10-12 minutes until it they just start to turn golden on the outside.
  12. Move to a wire rack and let cool. Store in an airtight container for 2-3 or freeze for later use.

 

Italian Butter Spritz Cookies

Source– Adapted slightly from Crumb Boss
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Ten Crisp Toffee Chocolate Bars

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crisp toffee chocolate bars

One foodie trend that I can not get enough of is the combination of chocolate and salt.  We’ve definitely posted a lot of recipes that include this combo (see Chewy Chocolate Cookies with Fleur de Sel, Sea Salt Caramel Brownies, and Salted Caramel Chocolate Shortbread Bars.)  When I came across this recipe for crisp toffee chocolate bars in one of my favorite cookbooks, Mad Hungry by Lucinda Scala Quinn, I knew I had to try it.

crisp toffee chocolate bars

This recipe is very easy to make and it doesn’t require any specialty ingredients.  In fact, I had the entire ingredient list on hand and did not need to make a trip to the grocery store (that’s definitely a huge bonus this time of year!)   This recipe for crisp toffee chocolate bars can be upgraded by using a higher quality dark, bittersweet, or semisweet chocolate.  I ended up using a combination of 70% cacao dark chocolate and semisweet chocolate chips.  These bars went so fast in our household that I already need to make another batch!

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Ten Crisp Toffee Chocolate Bars
Author: 
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 20
 
Ingredients
  • cooking spray
  • 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened
  • 1 cup light brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 2¼ cups sifted all-purpose flour
  • ⅓ cup walnuts, chopped
  • 1 cup dark chocolate, or semisweet chocolate chips (or a combination of the two)
  • cooking spray
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13-inch glass baking dish with cooking spray.
  2. In a large bowl, mix together the butter, sugar, salt, and vanilla. Add the sifted flour and stir to combine. Mix in the walnuts and chocolate chips.
  3. Add the dough to glass baking dish and press the dough into the prepared pan. Bake until golden and set, about 20 minutes. Cut into small squares while still warm.

Source: Slightly Adapted from  Mad Hungry by Lucinda Scala Quinn

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12 Days of Christmas Cookies

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12 days of christmas cookies

Now that Thanksgiving is over, I’ve already mentally moved on to full Christmas mode!  I normally don’t start putting up holiday decorations until December 1st, but this year I am starting early.  I wanted to share K’s 12 days of Christmas cookies from last year if you are looking for some holiday cookie recipe inspiration.  K is going to do another 12 Christmas cookie posts this year, but I am going to share the load with her this year (that’s a lot of cookies to make!)

12 Days of Christmas Cookies 2011

We’ll be starting our 12 days of Christmas cookies for 2012 soon!  I’m getting hungry just thinking about it.  I’m off to enjoy my leftover turkey sandwich now!

What type of cookies do you like to bake in the holiday season?  Do you tend to always make the same kind or do you try different cookie recipes each year?

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