Cookiepalooza 2011 + A Holiday Goodies Giveaway!

Happy Monday everyone! I am seriously struggling this morning! I had a fantastic weekend, starting with an 8 hour baking session at my parents' house on Saturday. I spent the day with my mom, sister Kimberly and cousin Veronica making a big ol' mess in my mom's kitchen and whipping up a quick 10 batches of holiday cookies (all different kinds, I might add).

Needless to say, I'm still a bit exhausted today but I can't wait to share all the gorgeous photos with you! And to celebrate the most wonderful time of the year, I'm giving away a whole box of homemade holiday goodies, made by yours truly :) I hope you will all enter!! Head to the bottom of this post for entry details. Meanwhile....feast your eyes on some serious cookie porn!

We always have our favorite holiday staples in the baking mix, but this year, we added a whole bunch of new ones as well. One of my favorites is the chocolate cherry kisses. I think they are so gorgeously pink and delicious to boot.

Other classics on the list included raspberry-filled thumbprints (my favorite...they scream Christmas time to me!) and eggnog snickerdoodles...

We also added a lot of new ones, like cherry cheesecake cookies...

...and black and white cookies (wowza!)

...and peanut butter blossoms, filled with a chocolatey Hershey's Kiss...

We also whipped up these gorgeous cocoa thumbprints (which I think turned out to be the prettiest of the bunch!

The versions not pictured include salted chocolate caramel shortbread, seven layer Italian rainbow cookies and our classic butter cookie cutouts! It was such a fun day and by the end, my mom's kitchen looked like this:

...and even this little lady was all tuckered out...

And now to the good part.

****The giveaway!****

How it Works:

What:

A box of homemade holiday goodies (and some other surprises), including a batch of the cocoa thumbprints, homemade marshmallows and more!

When:

The giveaway opens... right now! It will close on Wednesday 12/14 @ Midnight, Eastern Standard Time.

How to Win:

Simply leave me a comment below and tell me what your favorite cookie is! This giveaway is open to readers, bloggers, family and friends. Don't be shy! Even if you don't celebrate Christmas...who doesn't love cookies?!

The winner will be announced on Thursday 12/15 and the goodies will ship out to you via Priority Mail on Monday 12/19, so that you will have them in time for Christmas!

*Sorry, but this giveaway is only open to US residents.

So tell me...what's your favorite kind of cookie?!

Potato Chip Shortbread + Salted Chocolate Glaze

Shaun is not really a dessert kinda guy. He would happily pass up dessert in favor of more main course or a side of Fritos any day. Sometimes this doesn't go over so well with me, since I love dessert. No wait...did you get that? I LOVE dessert!

Sometimes when we are out to dinner, I want to ask the waiter if he/she can just please bring a bowl of chips and dip fo him so that I don't feel so badly about myself for devouring eating dessert alone. Please? No, you don't do that? Oh...ok then.

Though I don't consider myself a huge sweet eater (I would never, for example, sit and eat chocolate candy unless it's Easter), I do love me some dessert at the end of the evening. Clearly when I was planning the menu for Shaun's party, dessert was going to be had, whether the birthday boy approved or not. So when I came across these potato chip cookies on My Baking Addiction, I nearly jumped for joy. What, you don't do that when you find a good recipe? Oh.

Anyhow, these cookies combined the light sweetness of shortbread with the saltiness of potato chips...perfect for my salt-loving husband, no? These cookies were the surprise hit of the night.

The potato chips were actually undetected, but they added a light crispness to the cookie. To balance the potato chipness, I added my favorite chocolate glaze.

And once the glaze was in place, it was clear that just a hint more of salt was necessary to really take this cookie to the next level. So a tiny sprinkling of sea salt got 'er done. I've found a new cookie staple in my life. The entire tray was gone before the night's end. You'll understand why. Just give them a try.

Potato Chip Cookies + Salted Chocolate Glaze
*Adapted from My Baking Addition
Makes about 24+ cookies
For the cookies:
1 C (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 C sugar
3/4 C potato chips, crushed
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 C all-purpose flour
confectioners' sugar, for dusting
For the chocolate glaze:
1 C confectioners' sugar
1/2 C semisweet chocolate chips
2 tbsp butter
2+ tbsp boiling water
kosher or sea salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper (makes clean up a snap!). In a mixer (stand or hand), cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add crushed potato chips and mix on low speed until combined. Note: To crush the chips, I wrapped them in plastic wrap and just crushed them with my hands. Mix in the vanilla, followed by the flour. Completely combine, but don't overmix. Scoop dough into 1-inch balls and flatten with the bottom of a glass dipped in confectioners sugar. Bake the cookies for 12-15 minutes or untill just lightly browned on the bottoms. Cool for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the glaze, melt the chocolate (I used the microwave, at 15 second intervals. It cooks quickly so be sure not to burn it). Melt the butter and whisk together with the sugar and hot water. If the mixture is too thick, add another splash of water to thin out into drizzleable consistency. Get your drizzle on over the cookies. Sprinkle just a touch of sea salt or kosher salt over the top. Try to save your finished tray of cookies for your guests.

So there you have it. One of the simplest cookies ever, but ones that will disappear immediately because they are so darn delicious! Hope you enjoy!

So there you have it. The tale of my new favorite cookie that I will surely be making again and again. What do you think? Have you ever added some unusual ingredients to your cookies? Do you and your significant other share the same sweet vs. savory debacle that Shaun and I do?

Jelly Bean Brown Sugar Cookies

Good morning! I'm so happy it's Thursday. That means it's almost the weekend and I'm super excited for the weekend! Shaun and I have plans with family and friends all weekend long to celebrate the holiday. It includes dinner with great friends, a city day with my mom, sister, cousins and aunt and celebrating Easter with both sides of our family. Busy-ness!

Ok so I tweeted yesterday that I had devised the dessert to top all Easter desserts and that I couldn't wait to share with you today. Well, it's not quite ready to be shared. I need a little more time to perfect it so I'll be sharing it tomorrow, I hope you'll stick around until then!

Instead, I'm sharing another fantastic, fun and unusual recipe that can be enjoyed by all, be it for Easter or not. With a $1 bag of jelly beans, I changed up a classic sugar cookie, making it not only pretty to look at, but also a satisfier for any sweet tooth. I love adding some seasonal treats into a classic cookie to turn up the fun.

This is adapted from a classic recipe that I found in my sweet Betty Crocker Cooky Book. It is so basic and simple and that's really all you need when it comes to cooking and baking. Oh and it includes a whole cup of shortening. My grandmother would be so proud.

Jelly Bean Brown Sugar Cookies
*Adapted from Betty Crocker's Cooky Book
1 C shortening
2 C packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 C buttermilk (I made my own by combining lemon juice and milk)
3 1/2 C all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 bag (about 1 1/2 C) small jelly beans

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix together (via stand mixer, hand mixer or a good ol' wooden spoon) the shortening, sugar and eggs very thoroughly. Stir in the buttermilk. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Add to the sugar mixture and mix until completely combined.

Slowly stir in the jelly beans, careful not to overmix the batter. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. Once chilled, drop teaspoon or tablespoon (I used the latter) sized dough balls onto a greased baking sheet. Make sure to get jelly beans into every cookie, preferably near the top of the cookie.

Bake 8-10 minutes until the bottoms start to brown and the tops are slightly firm.

So there you have it. A quick and easy cookie with a little extra sugar fun thrown in for good measure. Hope you enjoy! What's your favorite seasonal dessert or candy?

For more Easter desserts, check out:

• Chocolate Peanut Butter Eggs
• Pink Coconut Cupcakes