TTC Books and more is so happy to be hosting 10 amazing Authors for this event that will include Author guest posts and daily giveaways.
Today, Author Beth Bolden who has had a pretty successful run on Facebook with her 'Cooking with Beth' segments, is sharing her love of baking and a recipe! Are you keeping up with our 12 Days events? Click here to go back and read each days posts so far.
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To me, one of the best, most memorable parts of the holidays is baking and cooking for my family and friends.
Specifically, something I do every year, without fail, is to do a huge cookie bake. I set aside usually two full days, buy tons of ingredients (especially butter, oh, my God, so much butter), turn on Christmas music, and make dozens and dozens of different kinds of cookies. I ship them out, I give them away, I drop them off on doorsteps. One year I even gave away a box of handmade Beth cookies to a lucky winner from my reader’s group. I just think love is something we can transfer, and I try to do it one cookie at a time.
There are a handful of staples I make every year. Some are popular requests. Some are cookies that people tell me they didn’t think they’d like, but they couldn’t stop eating.
One recipe in particular I find myself making every year are browned butter sugar cookies, the recipe is from Sally’s Baking Addiction: https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/brown-butter-sugar-cookies/.
I can’t count the number of people who tell me, Oh, I don’t really like sugar cookies, they’re so bland, they’re so uninteresting. And then they taste these, and they realize what sugar cookies are supposed to taste like. Browning the butter seems like a complicated step, but it’s really not very difficult, if you follow the directions, and the result is incredible.
Another cookie recipe that every year I try to improve a little bit and make better are my peppermint bark cookies. Listen, I am a basic holiday bitch. I absolutely love peppermint bark, and in my opinion, there is no better idea than to combine peppermint bark with a cookie. At first, I tried all the existing recipes out there. Nope—none did the idea justice. So then I started experimenting. I knew I wanted a very chocolatey cookie, chewy and almost fudge-like, speckled with peppermint, and drizzled with white chocolate.
Last year, I discovered the seasonal Andes peppermint chips at the grocery store, and now these cookies are a reality.
Here’s the recipe, partially adapted, again, from a Sally’s Baking Addiction recipe, because she, hands down, influences and improves my baking more than any other resource.
PEPPERMINT BARK COOKIES
Ingredients
2 four ounce bars (226g) semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (I really like Ghirardelli’s’ here, or you can use Baker’s, just don’t use chips, use the bars of real chocolate!)
3/4 cup (94g) all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled)
1/4 cup (21g) natural unsweetened or dutch-process cocoa powder
1 teaspoon espresso powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup (5 Tablespoons; 72g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
3/4 cup (150g) packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup (135g) Andes peppermint chips (in the red bag!)
¼ cup Ghirardelli’s white chocolate melting wafers
Candy canes, crushed
Instructions
Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or use the microwave. Microwave in 20 second increments, stirring after each until completely melted. Set aside to slightly cool (so it doesn’t melt the butter or cook the eggs).
Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking powder, and salt together. Set aside.
In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together on medium-high speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla extract, and beat on high speed for 2 full minutes. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl, then beat on high for 1 more minute. Pour in the slightly cooled melted chocolate and mix on medium-high speed for 2 full minutes.
Pour in the dry ingredients and beat on low speed until combined. Finally, beat in the peppermint chips.
Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. As the oven preheats, continue to step 6.
Cover and chill the dough in the refrigerator for just 20 minutes as the oven preheats. This quick chill time helps slightly solidify the chocolate and butter in the dough, which gives the cookies a nice spread (not over-spread). Chilling for longer creates thicker cookies where, in some cases, they may not spread at all. If chilling for longer than 20 minutes, allow the dough to sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before rolling and baking.
Roll or scoop the dough into balls, 1.5 Tablespoons of dough each. I recommend a medium cookie scoop. Place 3 inches apart on the baking sheets and bake for 12-13 minutes or until the edges appear set. (The centers will be quite soft, but will set up as the cookies cool.)
Remove from the oven and allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Melt the Ghirardelli white chocolate wafers using the package instructions. I put them in a microwave safe bowl and melt for twenty seconds at a time until when mixed, the chocolate has melted completely.
Pour into a sandwich bag, snip off the very tip, and drizzle cookies with white chocolate, and then sprinkle with crushed candy cane pieces.
Cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 1 week. Good luck saving them for that long!
Asa might be the head coach, but he’s a man first.
Coach Asa Dawson has fallen wildly in love only twice in his life.
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A lifelong Pacific Northwester, Beth Bolden has just recently moved to North Carolina with her supportive husband. Beth still believes in Keeping Portland Weird, and intends to be just as weird in Raleigh.
Beth has been writing practically since she learned the alphabet. Unfortunately, her first foray into novel writing, titled Big Bear with Sparkly Earrings, wasn’t a bestseller, but hope springs eternal. She’s published twenty-three novels and seven novellas.
Author Links
Blog/Website | Facebook | Twitter | BookBub
There are literally 12 days of giveaways to go along with this event. All the items are listed in the Rafflecopter, all you have to do is follow the links to enter. Remember, you have to option to comment on each post daily for an extra entry as well as sharing the daily posts on Twitter to gain an extra entry.
Up for grabs are signed books, swag, various giftcards, an audiobook and a surprise Amazon gift. Good luck everyone, and Happy Holidays from our home (Tammy in Texas and Cat in Missouri) to yours!!
Thank you for the post
ReplyDeleteI love making candy snd cookies too. Thanks for the recipe! I loved Coach! His story was perfect!
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