Sprinkle Thumbprint Cookies with Tayberry Jam

There are so many of my favorite things in this post!  Sprinkles.  Cookies.  My kitchen mascots.  My new favorite jam.  My new favorite plate.  It's a lot to take in, I know.  Let's contain ourselves and start with the cookies.

The boy's  favorite cookies are thumbprint cookies, which I had shockingly never made before.  When he told me this, however I acted quite uninterested.  I filed it away in my brain, though.  I'd make them when the time was right, and when I found a way to make them special.

And then I was given a jar of tayberry jam from Inna Jam (based out of Emeryville, CA) and I immediately knew I had to make him his thumbprint cookies using this jam.  I did not know what a tayberry even was, but the second I tasted it I welcomed it's amazingness.  A tayberry is a cross between a raspberry and blackberry and the jam it produces begs you to spread it on a carb.  Toast. French toast. Pancakes. A donut. A cookie.  Any carb, all the carbs.

I have about half a jar left of the Tayberry jam.  I am trying my hardest not to eat it all and to save it for another baking project.  I can just fantasize how this would taste with dark chocolate...  Or in a jelly roll?  OMG.  I think I am just going to eat my little jar of jam on a really big pile of french toast this weekend and buy another 10 jars of these.  Problem solved. I digress though. Back to the cookies at hand.

When he left over Easter weekend, I grabbed my bunny rabbit spatula and set to work on these cookies for him.  Plus a few extra things.  I had been out of the kitchen for so long that I felt I owed my stand mixer some quality time.

Sprinkle Thumbprint Cookies with Tayberry Jam
Adapted from:  Food Network
Makes 20, bake at 350* for aprox 12 minutes.

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temp
1 c. sugar
1 egg, room temp
1 3/4 c. flour
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1-2 tablespoons of your favorite sprinkles
1/3 cup of your favorite jam

Directions:
1. Combine flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl.
2. On medium speed, cream butter and sugar together until fluffy in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
3. Add egg and vanilla to the sugar-butter mixture.
4. In 2-3 additions, add in flour mixture and mix until fully incorporated.
5. Add 1-2 tablespoons of sprinkles to dough, as desired, if at all.  (But who doesn't love sprinkles???)
6. Using a small cookie scoop, scoop dough and place on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
7. Using your thumb, make an indentation in each cookie ball.
8. Fill your thumbprint with 1/2 a tablespoon of your favorite jam.
9. Bake for about 12 minutes, or until the edges of the cookie are lightly brown and the jam begins to bubble.
9. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack.  Add a sprinkle in the middle of the jam if desired.


I added sprinkles to the dough because SPRINKLES.  It makes everything cuter, instantly yummier.

Along for the ride were my two kitchen mascots; Cupcake Andy in Vanilla and Chocolate.  They love sprinkles and sweets as much as me, and live next to my sprinkle jars.  (We all have sprinkle jars, is my assumption.)

And yes, I added some extra heart sprinkles in the cookies' jammy centers.  To cover all my bases.  :)

Aren't the polka dots on these plates adorable too?  I had a hard time choosing between dots, squares and hearts at the Daiso store last month.  I am running out (okay I ran out a long time ago) of places to stash prop plates though.

The tayberry tasted pretty awesome on these cookies.  And the boy agreed.  He had more than his fair share.  That means he totes ate his and proceeded to steal a few that were intended for others.  =x

 He is forgiven for his theft not only because I am generous and lovely, but because  I am just as bad of a cookie monster as he.  Okay, maybe worse.  I am in the last position to judge.



xo,
Anna

Lucky Chocolate White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  My mind was on green clovers all weekend long, so I am obviously wearing a pretty green dress today.  No getting pinched here.

I have been trying to get my hands on General Mill's Special Edition of Lucky Charms with only green clovers since last year. They only come out once a year!  And I completely struck out last year so upon fearing the same fate this year, I sent a message to Lucky Charms directly to ask what store I could find them in.  And they answered me!  But even cooler yet, they mailed me a box of Lucky Charms goodies.  Yay swag!  Bet you can't wait to see me in my Lucky Charms shirt.

I set to work on Saturday morning, sorting out the bright green clover marshmallows.

And eating cereal too... there was some of that.

And then I stuck them in some chocolate cookies. And then took them on a hike on Sunday.  8 miles means all the cookies you can eat, right?

Lucky Chocolate White Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes 30, bake at 350* for 8-10 minutes

1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
2/3 cups cocoa powder
3/4  tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 3/4 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup green clover marshmallows
1/3 cup green clover marshmallows reserved

Directions:
1. Cream butter and sugar together in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.  Beat on medium until light and fluffy.
2. Add in eggs, one by one and scrape down the side of the bowl if necessary. Add vanilla.
3. In a separate bowl, combine flour,  cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.  (Whisk together by hand to fully combine ingredients.)
4. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture 1/2 cup at a time, with the mixer on low.  Stop mixer when fully incorporated.
5. Fold in white chocolate chips.
6. Hold in 1/2 cup green clovers.
7. Chill dough for at least 60 minutes in refrigerator.
8. With a medium cookie scoop, scoop out dough onto cookie tray lined with parchment paper.  
9. Add additional 2-4 green clovers on top of the dough before baking.
10. Bake for 8 - 10 minutes at 350*.  Cookies are done when tops are thoroughly baked, and no longer sticky when touched.
11. Remove from oven and let cool on wire rack.

These have been taste tested to be delicious.  By me.  You are welcome. They are super chocolatey, dense in flavor but really light in texture.  It's almost like biting into a brownie cookie!

One of the most amazing things about these cookies are the clover marshmallows.  In the cereal, like the regular Lucky Charms marshmallows, they are hard.  Once baked however, they puff up and turn into soft marshmallows!  So cute and yummy.

Enjoy the rest of your St. Patrick's Day!  Hopefully no one went too hard on the green beer this weekend and their morning is fairing well.  I went on that St. Patrick's Day hike on Sunday (green shamrock on the top of Mission peak!) and went way too hard on my knees so I'm not fairing terribly well.  But it's only Monday, and with any luck this gorgeous California weather we have been having will allow me to continue spending March wearing shorts, exploring the outdoors and eating half a pint of ice cream on my weekends.

xoxo,
Anna

Raspberry Macarons with Lemon Buttercream Filling

The thought of making french macarons always seemed much too daunting to attempt on my own.  So I put it off.  For years.  Finally, earlier this month I signed up for a (Valentine's Day) macaron making class at Sur La Table. Did you know that they do cooking classes?  Cuz they do.  Best decision ever!

I went with my friend Katie and we learned the basics and got some tips and a solid recipe.  Really, it was worth the cost just to watch someone make them in front of you.  It's all about the process!

We made classic round ones, but also a few heart shaped ones.  You guys know I can't resist cutesty stuff like that.  It was a blast.

But we made them with a proper instructor looking over our shoulder, and as a team with a roomful of other people.  I had to make sure that I had REALLY learned to make anything, so two weeks later I headed to my own kitchen all by myself with some Trader Joe's freeze dried raspberries and my hot pink food processor in hand.

I had a few mishaps, I had to throw away some expensive almond meal because I might have processed it into paste... haha.  But because of the tips I learned in class, I at the very least knew to start over instead of proceeding to make sub par macarons.  That would have been the worst.

I ended up tweaking the butter cream recipe a little but and made raspberry macarons with a lemon buttercream filling.

Oh and right before I put them in the oven,, I threw some rainbow sprinkles on them.

You know, because I'm Anna and I put sprinkles on everythang.

I'm not writing out directions today.  But I will include the recipes.  Macarons are so very temperamental and I don't feel like I have the correct vocabulary to explain things with enough precision for you to replicate them. But if you're looking for a solid recipe, well here you go.  OR take the Sur La Table class because it was awesome.


Raspeberry Macarons
7 oz confectioners sugar
4 oz almond meal
2 tablespoons freeze dried raspberries, processed in food processor after measuring
4 oz egg whites at room temp
pinch cream of tartar
3.5 oz granulated sugar
1/4 tsp pink gel food coloring


Lemon Buttercream
1/2 cup (1 stick) non salted butter
pinch of salt
3.5 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tsp lemon zest

Just look at the pretty pictures of  these bright pink macarons until you want to reach through the screen, grab a handful of sprinkle cookies and shove them in your mouth.  Feel free to wash them down with some tea or coffee from my cute tea cup, too.

I wish the Sur La Table classes were cheaper.  Actually no, I wish they at least had frequent flyer cards or something because I want to go to like 5 of them.  Anyone want to come with me?  =)

Also, are you guys happy not to see a mason jar in this post?  I know I have been over using them lately.  I even drink my protein shakes out of them, haha.   Rest assured, you will see them again though.  And more sprinkles.  ALWAYS with the sprinkles.   Maybe my mason jars filled with sprinkles?


xoxo,
Anna

Eat Like a Bird: Trail Mix Cookies

Welcome to my obligatory January post about eating "healthy". This is ironic since this is, of course, a baking blog.  It also comes so late in the month that I think most people are over the always needed Christmas detox mentality.  But i'll sprinkle some of that in here to make us feel better ourselves.

These cookies are all about eating like a bird.  You can take that to mean many things. They are trail mix cookies -- which means it's a bunch of random things that birdies (or you) may like.  Sunflower seeds.  Almonds.  Oats.  Raisins. Chocolate chips.  Pretzels.  Birds would eat all that, right?   Or you can take it to mean, eat like a bird -- very little.  A few pieces of each ingredient are all that are in each of these cookies.  But how do birds actually eat?  All day long.  A mammoth amount compared to their body size.  Much like the frequency and quantity of baked goods that I consume in a day.   So really, the meaning is probably found in that last option.  Eat all the cookies.  All day long.  

The raisins and the chocolate chips make these cookies sweet, the pretzels and the sunflower makes them a little salty.  Part cookie, part trail mix bar really.   Part good for you?

Trail Mix Cookies

Makes 28, bake at 350* for 9 minutes.

1 cup flour

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder 

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup oats

1 cup raisins

1/4 cup sunflower seeds

1/2 cup almonds

1 cup dark chocolate chips

1 cup pretzels

Directions:

1. In a mixing bowl whisk flour, baking soda and powder, cinnamon and salt and set aside.

2. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy.

3. Add in egg and vanilla and beat until fully incorporated.

4. Add flour to sugar mixture slowly and beat on medium until it forms a dough. 

5. Fold in oats, raisins, sunflower seeds, almonds and chocolate chips into dough.

6. Using a medium sized cookie scoop, scoop out balls of dough and place onto baking sheet.  

7.  Break pretzels into small pieces and place on top of balls. (If you mix them in when you fold in the rest of the ingredients they will break.)

8.  Bake in preheated oven for around 9 minutes.  Remove from oven and let cook on rack. 

Truth be told, I had to make these bad boys twice.  The first time was a fail. The next two weeks I would frown to myself whenever I thought about them.  The second time I excitedly Instagrammed them with the #cookieredemption hashtag.   

If you use a small or a medium sized cookie scoop, they will fit into the mouth of a mason jar.  You can screw on the lid and give them away.  Cookies make the perfect present after all. 

If they are too big to fit, force them in anyways.  Make it work, 'cuz everything is cuter in a mason jar with a ribbon tied around it.  

Also since it's fake spring in California  (no rain in months, sunshine and 70* in January), these bright blue birdies make me feel extra happy.  It's like a jar of sunshine.  

xoxo,

Anna