Bready or Not: Chewy Almond Cookies
These Chewy Almond Cookies are an old favorite of mine, recently rediscovered.
I found this recipe in a Taste of Home cookbook I was given as a wedding gift back in 2000. I used to make them all the time.
I totally forgot about the recipe until I stumbled across it again, this time in a Taste of Home best cookies collection.
Guess what? The cookies are still fantastic! I did modify the recipe, as one does. The original version made a very small batch. Therefore, I doubled it, and also increased the amount of vanilla and cinnamon.
If you love almonds, well, you’ll be in heaven. It doesn’t take much almond extract to add a wallop of flavor, and the slices on top add a lovely crunch to complement the soft, chewy cookies.
This is a great dough to make ahead of time. Keep the wrapped dough in the fridge for days, or frozen for months. You could make these now and pull them out at the holidays.
Plus, the frozen dough sticks are a great weapon if anyone breaks into your house.
Adapted from a classic Taste of Home recipe.
Bready or Not: Chewy Almond Cookies
Ingredients
- 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter softened
- 2 cups brown sugar packed
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3/4 - 1 cup almonds sliced
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, beat together the butter and brown sugar. Add the eggs and both extracts.
- In a another bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and cinnamon. Gradually stir this into the wet mixture.
- Using plastic wrap, shape the dough into 2 or 3 long tubes of dough. Wrap them up well and refrigerate overnight, or freeze for months.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven at 350-degrees. Cut dough into slices 1/4 thick; if they crumble a little, reshape with your fingers. Place spaced out on a greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. Add several almond slices on each cookie.
- Bake for 7 to 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Let them set on the sheet for a few minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.
- OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not: Caramel Pretzel Chocolate Chip Cookies
If you like some saltiness with your sweet, oh, do I have the cookies for you: Caramel Pretzel Chocolate Chip Cookies.
As you might imagine, my husband’s co-workers get to taste a wide variety of cookies from me. But these, several declared, ‘were the best cookies they’d ever placed in their mouths.’
I consider that pretty high praise.
What makes these cookies different is the combination of flavors and textures. The pretzels add a lot here–bits of crunchiness and saltiness that is lovely cuddled with chocolate and caramel.
You can use whatever candy bars you want in this. I used Hundred Grands, but you can go for anything with chocolate and caramel, like Twix. Or you can use more chocolate chips and caramel bits.
You could play with the chocolate, too, and use whatever kind you want: milk, semi, dark. Or use a combo.
Whatever combination you choose, I hope you’ll consider these among the best cookies you’ve put in your mouth, too.
Modified from Two Peas and Their Pod.
Bready or Not: Caramel Pretzel Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup pretzels chopped
- 1 cup caramel-chocolate candy bars chopped, about 6 ounces
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter 2 cubes, room temperature
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1 1/2 cups brown sugar packed
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- extra sea salt or pretzel salt to sprinkle on top
Instructions
- Prepare your add-ins. Use a food processor (or chop by hand) the pretzels and candy bars. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, sift together the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Prepare a cookie sheet by greasing well or lining with parchment. (Remember, melted caramel can get sticky.)
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter and both sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla extract. Gradually add in the dry ingredients. By hand, stir in the chocolate chips, pretzels, and candy bars.
- Use a tablespoon to dole out dough balls onto cookie sheet, taking care to space them out; try to tuck visible caramel inside the dough to prevent too much oozing. Sprinkle some salt on top of the cookies.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Let cookies set on sheet for about 10 minutes before moving to a rack to finish cooling.
- Store cookies in a sealed container between layers of waxed paper or parchment. Keeps well for up to 5 days.
- OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not Original: Matcha Cheesecake Cookies
The green tea theme continues to celebrate the release of Call of Fire! This is a fully original recipe: Matcha Cheesecake Cookies.
The Cheesecake Bars from last week were such a hit, I decided to grab my old Philly Chippers recipe and revamp it with matcha.
The result? Rich, luscious cookies that worked well with the fresh taste of green tea! Weirdly enough, the green color ended up faint again. I’m sure there’s a scientific reason for that, but for now, it remains a mystery.
This dough is great to work with. It doesn’t require any time to chill after everything is mixed together. Just make dough balls and start baking!
Since the cookies are already quite rich, I don’t recommend adding white chocolate to these. Instead, perhaps try some nuts like pecans for a nice complementary flavor and texture.
Or just eat’em plain. They are delicious with the recipe as-is!
Bready or Not Original: Matcha Cheesecake Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter two cubes, softened
- 8 oz cream cheese 1 box, softened
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 3/4 cup brown sugar packed
- 1 egg room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 1 Tb matcha powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350-degrees.
- Cream together the butter, cream cheese, and sugars. Add the egg and vanilla and mix well. Sift dry ingredients together and slowly incorporate them with the wet ingredients.
- Use a tablespoon scoop to transfer dough to a cookie sheet. The dough will not spread much as it cooks.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes. Leave them on the cookie sheet for a few minutes before moving to a rack to cool.
- OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not: Matcha White Chocolate Cookies
I continue the matcha-in-baked-goods theme to celebrate the release of Call of Fire last week, this time with Matcha White Chocolate Cookies.
The weird thing about these cookies is that the green tea’s color didn’t carry through in the baked results, but the taste is still there.
In fact, when my husband took these to work, a guy kept going back for more. He finally asked, “What’s in these?!”
“Green tea,” said my husband.
“Oh, does that make these healthy?” the man asked, making a face of disgust as he grabbed another cookie.
I won’t go so far as to say these are healthy, but these do have caffeine, and maybe those provided him with a much-needed jolt.
The flavor of these is unusual and hard to describe. The sweetness of the white chocolate is bold, and behind that is a mild and pleasant aftertaste from the matcha. It’s enough for you to know there is something unique about the cookies, but not to identify what it is.
If you want to be sure that the green color comes through in this recipe, maybe add a little bit of food dye before mixing in the white chocolate chips.
Or you may be content with your cookies coming out as mine did: pale yet undeniably delicious.
Bready or Not: Matcha White Chocolate Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon matcha
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup brown sugar packed
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 3/4 cup butter 1 1/2 cubes, softened
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips most of a bag
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 325-degrees.
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, matcha, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In a big bowl, cream together the sugars and butter until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and eggs.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients until just combined, then mix in the white chocolate.
- Use a teaspoon scoop or spoon to dole out cookies on a sheet; the cookies will spread, so be sure to space them out. Bake for 13 to 14 minutes. Let set on the cookie sheet for 10 minutes, then move them to a rack to finish cooling.
- OM NOM NOM!
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Bready or Not Original: Matcha (Green Tea) Almond Cookies
The second edition in our baked-goods-with-matcha book release celebration features sliced cookies: Matcha Almond Cookies!
I found a base recipe for this that produced a very small amount of cookies. I doubled the amounts, added vanilla, rewrote everything… and here we are.
These are essentially shortbread cookies with a vibrant green hue and fresh matcha flavor. The almonds add a sporadic, wonderful crunch.
I found this dough surprisingly easy to work with. As I sliced cookies, some of them crumbled–an inevitable hazard, with nuts in there–but it was easy to shape the dough into a cookie again.
The type of green tea you use may produce different results. I used a Rishi sweet green tea blend that includes sugar, making it ideal for lattes or baked goods.
Like most shortbreads this just begs to be accompanied by a nice hot cup of coffee or tea. Perhaps a book, too. Might I recommend Call of Fire? It’s out next Tuesday! (Was that smooth?)
Bready or Not Original: Matcha (Green Tea) Almond Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 Tablespoons sweet matcha powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter 2 sticks, softened
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup confectioners' sugar
- 2/3 cup sliced almonds lightly chopped
Instructions
- In a small bowl, sift together the flour, matcha powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, cream the butter, vanilla extract, and confectioners' sugar until it becomes light and fluffy.
- Slowly add in the flour mixture until dough is formed. Stir in the almonds.
- Stretch out a long piece of plastic wrap. Place dough in the middle to form a 1 1/2 inch log, then wrap well with the plastic. Repeat again so that all of the dough is in logs. Place them in the fridge to chill for at least an hour, or a day or two.
- Pre-heat oven at 325-degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Use a sharp knife to slice the dough into 1/4-inch thick rounds. If the dough crumbles, compress it to reshape. Arrange cookies about 2 inches apart on the pan.
- Bake for 14 to 16 minutes; set cookies on wire rack to completely cool. Store in a sealed container.
- OM NOM NOM!
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Bready or Not: Maple Walnut White Chocolate Biscotti
Back in May, I posted my Snickerdoodle Biscotti recipe. This is the next installment: Maple-Walnut White Chocolate Biscotti, modified from a King Arthur Flour recipe.
I first made this following the original version pretty closely. I received feedback that it was good, but it was also way too nutty.
Clearly, I needed to rewrite the recipe and make it work. I decided to halve the walnuts, and replace that half with white chocolate chips. This time, I received feedback that they were the most awesome biscotti ever.
In a single bite, it’s easy to see why. The maple flavor is great, the walnuts add a wonderful crunch within the already-crunchy dough, and the white chocolate adds sublime sweetness to bring everything together.
Since these are biscotti, they will keep well, sealed, for weeks. That makes these great for mailing (though perhaps not in the middle of summer, as there is some chocolate in these) or presenting as gifts.
As I noted before, homemade biscotti cannot be compared to the store versions, which could be used as billy clubs to defend households against burglars. Homemade biscotti are crunchy but still chewy… and, of course, taste best if dipped into coffee or tea.
Bready or Not: Maple Walnut White Chocolate Biscotti
Ingredients
- 1 cup walnuts coarsely chopped
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar packed
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 3/4 teaspoon maple flavor
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter melted
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
- 1 Tablespoon maple sugar optional, or turbinado sugar for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment. Toast the walnuts for about 8 minutes, until they're light golden brown and smell toasty. Set them aside in a bowl to cool, but keep the parchment on the pan.
- In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, sugars, maple syrup, and maple flavor. Add the melted butter, and beat until smooth.
- Mix in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the walnuts next, followed by the white chocolate chips.
- Divide the dough in half on the prepared baking sheet. Form each into a log about 4 inches wide and 10 inches long; make sure there is space between the two logs, as they'll grow in the oven.
- Sprinkle maple sugar or turbinado sugar over the tops of both logs.
- Bake about 30 minutes, until the biscotti is lightly browned with small cracks forming across the top. Remove the baking sheet, but be sure to leave the oven on.
- Let the biscotti cool for 10 minutes. Use a large knife, such as a bread knife, to diagonally slice the logs 1/2-inch apart. Use a straight-down motion to cut; don't saw.
- Arrange the biscotti spaced out on the baking sheet. Stand them up if possible, or lay them on their sides. Bake for another 20 to 25 minutes, flipping them over halfway if necessary, to equally crisp both sides.
- Cool completely on the baking sheet. Store in an airtight container as long as a few weeks.
- OM NOM NOM!
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