April 20: Radium Chip Pistachio Cookies

Radium Chip Pistachio Cookies

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups (10.1 oz) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (8 oz) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 (3.4 oz) box instant pistachio pudding mix
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup quick-cooking oats (not instant)
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
2/3 cup pistachios, toasted, unsalted, roughly chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 350 and place a rack in the center. Have ready two ungreased baking sheets.
2. Mix the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a medium-size bowl; set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl, using a handheld electric mixer, beat the butter and both sugars on medium speed until creamy, scraping the sides of the bowl often. Beat in the pudding mix, and then beat in the eggs, vanilla, and almond extract, using the medium-low speed of the mixer. By hand or using the lowest speed of the mixer, add the flour mixture to the batter and stir until it is almost fully mixed in. Stir in the oats, chocolate chips, and pistachios.
4. Scoop up tablespoonfuls of dough and shape into balls about 1 inch in diameter (about 42 balls). Arrange about 2 1/2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Press down slightly so that tops are even. Bake one sheet at a time for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are nicely browned and the cookies appear set. Remove the cookies from the oven, and while they are still warm, using the tip of a spatula, gently nudge the edges of the cookies inward to add some crinkles and folds. Let cool on the baking sheets for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Dry ingredients

Addition of pudding mix

Addition of eggs

Addition of vanilla

Addition of flour mixture

Addition of oats

Addition of chocolate chips

Addition of pistachios

Thoughts: Pistachios are expensive! I mean nuts in general are expensive but pistachios in particular! I almost bought a bag that yielded 1 1/2 cups for $8. I ended up finding them in bulk so I got the amount I needed for $4. Reading over this recipe again, I realized that I didn't use the tip of the spatula to make crinkles and folds...oops. I love pistachio flavored things like custard, milkshakes and pudding but I don't like actual pistachios...so these cookies were just ok.

March 27: Sour Cherry Oatmeal Cookies

Sour Cherry Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups (11.25 oz) all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (8 oz) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 teaspoon orange zest
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
1/2 pound dried sour cherries or cherry-flavored cranberries

1. Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a medium-size bowl; set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, using a handheld electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat the butter and brown sugar until the mixture is creamy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating for 30 seconds after each addition. Add the vanilla and sour cream; scrape the sides of the bowl. Stir in the orange and lemon zest.
3. Stir the flour mixture and oats into the creamed mixture, mixing just until combined. Stir in the cherries. Cover and chill for 2 hours up to overnight.
4. Preheat the oven to 350 and place a rack in the center. Line two baking sheets with nonstick foil or parchment paper.
5. Drop rounded teaspoonfuls of chilled dough about 2 1/2 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or just until the cookies appear browned around the edges and set. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for about 5 minutes, then carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Dry Ingredients

Addition of eggs

Addition of sour cream and vanilla

Addition of lemon and orange zest

Addition of oats

Addition of dry ingredients

Addition of craisins

Thoughts: Another pretty straightforward cookie although I hate recipes that use zest...only because I'm not crazy about grating the orange and lemon. I couldn't find dried sour cherries so I found Ocean Spray cherry flavored cranberries. I made one slight substitution in that I used light sour cream instead of regular because I had it on hand already. I baked the first batch at 10 minutes and I thought they came out a little dark so I changed the baking time to 9 minutes and it seemed to make the difference. The last couple cookies came out very runny so I tossed those.

March 11: Apple Chip Oat Cookies

Apple Chip Oat Cookies

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups (6.8 oz) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 scant teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (10 oz) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
1 large egg
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups minus 2 tablespoons old-fashioned oats (not instant)
1 tablespoon toasted wheat germ
1 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
1/2 cup dried apple chips

1. Preheat the oven to 375 and place a rack in the center. Have ready two ungreased baking sheets.
2. Mix the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice together in a bowl; set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl, using a handheld electric mixer, beat the butter and both sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in the lemon zest, egg, and vanilla. Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, mixing well. Stir in the oats, wheat germ, walnuts, and apple chips.
4. Shape the dough into 32 balls a little over 1 inch in diameter. Arrange about 2 1/2 inches apart on the baking sheets, and press down slightly. Bake one sheet at a time for about 10 minutes, or until the cookies appear set. Let cool for 1 minute on the baking sheets, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Dry ingredients

Addition of vanilla, lemon zest and egg

Addition of flour mixture

Addition of oats, wheat germ and walnuts

Thoughts: Apple chips by themselves are pretty gross. However the taste is masked in the cookie. It tastes more like a spice cookie. This first batch pictured came out a little darker than I would like at 10 minutes bake time. So in subsequent batches, I baked them for 9 minutes and was much happier. By the way, wheat germ is expensive for the 1 tablespoon that was needed ($4.19!).

November 24: Candied Fruit and Bourbon Cookies

Candied Fruit and Bourbon Cookies

Ingredients:
1 pound chopped candied fruit, such as cherries, pineapples, oranges, or citron mix
1 1/4 cups golden raisins
2/3 cup bourbon
2 cups (9 oz) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/3 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
7 tablespoons (3.5 oz) melted unsalted butter, cooled
2 large eggs, slightly beaten
3/4 teaspoon baking soda dissolved in 2 teaspoons water
2 1/2 cups chopped walnuts and pecans, or all pecans or walnuts

1. Mix the candied fruit and raisins in a bowl. Pour in the bourbon and stir to coat the fruit. Cover and let sit at room temperature overnight.
2. Preheat the oven to 325 and place a rack in the center. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick foil.
3. Mix the flour, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and both sugars together in a large mixing bowl.
4. Add the cooled melted butter, beaten eggs, and baking soda mixture to the flour mixture and stir until all the ingredients are mixed. Add the soaked fruit and the nuts and stir until blended.
5. Scoop up generously heaping teaspoonfuls of batter and arrange 2 1/2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake for 15-18 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store covered and let the bourbon flavor mellow.

Mixture of candied fruit, raisins and bourbon

Flour mixture

Addition of butter, eggs and baking soda

Addition of candied fruit mixture

Addition of pecans/walnuts mix

Thoughts: I used 1/2 pecans and 1/2 walnuts.I baked them for about 16 mins/batch. They are also really gross.

November 1: Sesame, White Chip, and Oat Cookies

Sesame, White Chip, and Oat Cookies

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups (6.8 oz) white whole wheat or all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
12 tablespoons (6 oz) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/3 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup sesame seeds, lightly toasted and cooled
1 cup white chocolate chips or white chips
1 cup old-fashioned or quick-cooking oats (not instant)
1/3 cup sweetened flaked, or sweetened or unsweetened shredded coconut (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 and place a rack in the center. Have ready 2 ungreased baking sheets.
2. Mix the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg together in a medium-size bowl; set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl, using a handheld electric mixer, beat the butter on medium-high speed until creamy. Beat in the brown sugar and continue beating for about 2 minutes, or until the mixture is smooth. Reduce the speed of the mixer to medium and beat in the eggs and vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture. Stir in the cooled toasted sesame seeds, white chips, oats, and coconut, if using.
4. Scoop up rounded tablespoonfuls of dough and shape into 3/4-inch balls. Arrange about 2 inches apart on the baking sheets and press down the tops slightly. Bake one sheet at a time for 11-13 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool on the baking sheets for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Dry Ingredients

Addition of vanilla and eggs

Addition of flour mixture

Addition of sesame seeds

Addition of white chocolate and oats

Addition of coconut (optional)

Thoughts: I'm just going to throw out there that sesame seeds are expensive. I used a Spice Islands jar of sesame seeds that yielded about 2/3 cup and it cost $6. Sadly I feel that the sesame seeds was the taste of the cookie that we didn't like. The recipe calls for baking them for 11-13 minutes so I did that for the first batch (11 minutes) but then only 10 minutes for the next and I think they came out pretty much the same.