Easy Peppermint Christmas Coal Cookies

This fun Christmas treat is perfect for anyone, regardless if they're on the naughty or nice list. I've seen the recipe floating around on Pinterest for years but thought I'd give it a try this Christmas.

Christmas Coal

1 16 oz package of chocolate sandwich cookies

5 cups mini marshmallows

4 tbsp butter

1/2 tsp vanilla or peppermint extract

1. Pulse sandwich cookies in food processor until finely ground.
2. In a medium bowl combine marshmallows, butter, extract, and ground cookies
3. Heat in microwave for 1 minute then mix until well combined.
4. Drop small clumps (careful, it may still be hot) onto parchment paper and allow to cool.

Enjoy!

Mickey Gingerbread Cookies

I can't even remember the last time I made gingerbread cookies, it was easily over 10 years ago. For some reason this year I was craving them and when I saw this adorable Mickey Mouse cookie cutter  I knew I had to buy it and make some. I usually don't spend more than a couple bucks on cookie cutters, but for this one I made an exception.

Gingerbread Recipe

1 cup butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/4 cup molasses
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
6 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tsp ground ginger
3 tsp ground cinnamon
1 ½ tsp ground cloves
2 tsp ground nutmeg

1. Cream butter and sugar in a medium bowl. Add molasses, eggs, and vanilla extract. 
2. Mix together dry ingredients with a whisk in a medium bowl. Add one cup of mixed dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, incorporating each addition before adding the next.
3. Divide dough into three portions and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 hour. While dough is chilling preheat oven to 375 F.
4. Spread flour onto your working surface and roll dough to approximately 1/4" (Rolling pin guides are AMAZING. They take all of the guesswork out of rolling out dough and come in a few different sizes. You can find them here).
5. Cut out cookies and place on parchment lined baking sheets. Baking time is 10 minutes for a 4" cookie, 2 minutes less or more for a smaller or larger cookie respectively. Be careful not to burn the cookies since its hard to tell if they're browning or not. Start with 8 minutes for a medium 4" cookie then increase the baking time if needed.
6. Let cool and then decorate! I decided to dip the ears in chocolate to make them look like they were wearing little mouse ear hats, plus it only took a couple of minutes extra.

Enjoy!

Sue's Mandelbread Cookies

In preparation for the holidays, kitchen Kaplan was in full swing this Sunday morning. We made chocolate covered pretzels, gingerbread men, forgotten kisses, and my personal favorite, mandelbread cookies.

Mandelbread is a traditional Jewish cookie that is similar to a biscotti, but with this recipe they almost melt away in your mouth while maintaining a satisfying crunch. We used chocolate and butterscotch chips but I'm really excited to try the recipe with dried cranberries and pistachios as well. Here's the recipe we made this morning.

Sue's Mandelbread Cookies

3 cups flour

1 tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 cup oil

7 oz chocolate chips

5 oz butterscotch chips

3 tbsp cinnamon and 3 tbsp sugar combined for dusting

1. Preheat oven to 375 F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Mix together dry ingredients in a large bowl then add wet ingredients until well combined. Mix in chocolate and butterscotch chips.

2. Divide mixture into 3 loaves onto parchment lined baking sheet and sprinkle each with cinnamon sugar. Bake for 20 minutes until lightly golden brown.

3. Cool for 15 minutes then slice into  3/4" pieces across the short side. Arrange cookies cut side up on the baking sheet and bake for an additional 15 minutes.

Enjoy!

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