Cooking through the seasons for family & friends in my Colorado kitchen
Valentine’s Day will be here soon and I want to share the recipe for these sparkly heart cookies with you. This recipe turns your favorite buttery sugar cookies into a chocolate sugar cookie, which couldn’t be more perfect for this February celebration of love. These chocolate …
If you’ve never had cardamom before, you’re in for a real treat when you whip up these cardamom cookies with brown butter icing! I remember how addicted I was the first time I tasted cardamom in a baked good. It’s that little surprise of flavor that makes …
I realize adding a newbie cookie to the holiday line up is a risk. Breaking traditions at Christmastime, especially this year, as we grasp for any sort of convention, is strictly forbidden. However, if you make one cookie from my cookie plate line up, I urge you to make cappuccino flats!
Cappuccino flats would be better named mocha flats because they’re made with coffee and chocolate, and then dipped in more chocolate. They are divine. They’re the cookies we look forward to most every year.
I’m told this recipe was originally created by Better Homes & Gardens. I’ve modified it some, replacing the shortening with butter in the dough and with coconut oil in the chocolate dip.
Cappuccino flats are “slice and bake” cookies. The dough must first be shaped into rolls and chilled, before being baked off. The chill time is essential to holding a round shape in the oven; so don’t be tempted to cut corners on the chilling. Just do yourself a favor and whip up the dough tonight and look forward to cookie heaven tomorrow. I promise they are worth the wait!
You’re going to want to double this recipe so you have enough to share and plenty to hoard away in your freezer or on your counter to make it through December before running out.
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate*
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon instant coffee, dissolved in 1 teaspoon water
1 egg
1 ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 tablespoons coconut oil
Melt unsweetened chocolate over double boiler, or in the microwave, in 30-second intervals. Set aside to cool slightly. Stir together flour, cinnamon & salt with a whisk until fully incorporated. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add coffee mixture, melted unsweetened chocolate and egg to butter/sugar mixture, beating well and scraping down sides with a rubber spatula as needed. Add flour mixture gradually and mix until just combined. Cover and chill dough in bowl for 1 hour until it’s easy to handle.
Shape dough into two 7-inch rolls. Wrap in parchment or wax paper and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Remove rolls of dough from refrigerator and slice with a serrated knife as evenly as possible, to a generous ¼ inch thickness. Place cookies onto ungreased baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes. Cool on a cooling rack until ready to dip.
Meanwhile, in a heavy saucepan over low heat, or in the microwave in 30-second intervals, melt chocolate chips with coconut oil, and stir until smooth and shiny. Pour into a microwave-safe wide cup or bowl. Dip half of each cooled cookie into the chocolate mixture, and place on a sheet of wax paper until chocolate is set.
Notes & Tips:
1.* Make sure you’re using 2 ounces of unsweetened chocolate. Baker’s brand unsweetened chocolate, for example, was previously packaged in 1-oz pieces so you could use 2 squares, but now each square is 1/2 ounce, so make sure you use 4 pieces. I’ve made this mistake before!
2. You may want to pop your dipping chocolate back in the microwave for a bit to re-warm it. This will ensure it doesn’t get too thick if you’re dipping a bunch of cookies (especially if you’re doubling the recipe)!
If you make these, be sure to leave a comment and give this recipe a rating! And of course, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram (@lane_bakery). I love seeing everything you create!
Swedish Tea Rings – Classic Jam Thumbprint Cookies
No-Chill Cinnamon-Sugar Cut-Out Cookies
Ultra-Thin Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Cardamom Cookies with Brown Butter Icing
Fresh Ginger Cookies
Cinnamon, nutmeg, molasses and ginger…there’s just something in that combination that screams holiday cookie baking. There’s also something wonderful about a bakery-sized ginger cookie. They always feel more special, especially when they’re super-soft and chewy! These fresh ginger cookies are a must-try cookie this holiday season. …
Every cookie plate must have a chocolate chip cookie. These ones are extra special, perfect for the holidays. Chunks of dark chocolate, a delicate texture, and rich, caramel flavor make these ultra-thin chocolate chunk cookies irresistible! If you’re normally bent on eating only soft and chewy chocolate …
No cookie plate is complete without a decorated cut-out cookie, like the ones we remember from our childhood. These cinnamon-sugar no-chill cut-out cookies are a must! They are taken over the top with addition of cinnamon, something my mother-in-law introduced me to. The best thing about this dough, besides the addition of cinnamon and almond extract, is that it doesn’t require chilling in the fridge before rolling and cutting out! Skipping this step reduces the patience required for all parties involved (read: tiny helpers!) and brings it back to the realm of a one-day baking project. So, grab your favorite cutter and get rolling! Here’s how to make them:
GET READY
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl with a whisk to fully incorporate the dry ingredients.
MAKE DOUGH
Cream room temperature butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and incorporate into butter/sugar. Scrape sides of bowl with a rubber spatula and mix well until fully incorporated. Beat in vanilla and almond extracts. Gradually add dry ingredients until just combined and divide dough in half. Do not chill dough.
ROLL OUT & BAKE
Roll out first half with a rolling pin onto a floured surface, to about ¼ inch thick, or desired thickness. Dip cookie cutters in flour before pressing into dough and bake cookies on an ungreased baking sheet for 7-9 minutes, until JUST starting to brown on the edges. Keep a close eye on them! Remove cookies from baking sheet and transfer to cooling rack to cool completely.
DECORATE
Use royal icing (recipe below) and all your favorite sprinkles. See this tutorial by Julia Usher for more helpful tips on how to work with royal icing. Alternatively, you can sprinkle with sugar or sprinkles before baking for a glittery, simple icing-less version of these yummy cookies.
And, if you make these, be sure to leave a comment and give this recipe a rating! And of course, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram (@lane_bakery). I love seeing everything you create!
Swedish Tea Rings – Classic Jam Thumbprint Cookies
Fresh Ginger Cookies
Ultra-Thin Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Cardamom Cookies with Brown Butter Icing
Cappuccino Flats
Swedish tea rings are classic thumbprint cookies. They’re made with a thick base of buttery shortbread, rolled in pecans and crowned with a jewel of jam. These beauties are a must on any of our family cookie plates! This recipe originated from my mother’s paternal grandmother …
I noticed the arrival of Christmas trees shining through neighbor’s windows earlier than ever this year, as well as an unprecedented extravagance to outside Christmas light displays around town. There’s a definite longing for the joy and hope of the Christmas season. I’m extra excited …
Slow-cooker beef & barley soup is a cross between a French onion soup and a tomato soup, with tender beef – but not too much, lots of carrots and velvety barley. The rich broth is flavored with thyme, red wine and soy sauce (the ingrediento segreto!).
A slow cooker soup had never wowed me until I tried this one. In the past, I felt the ease and convenience of slow-cooker meals did not outweigh the lacking final product. Slow cooker meals always tasted the same to me, no matter what combination of ingredients were used.
After we returned from the hospital with baby girl #3, my aunt prepared this slow cooker beef & barley soup for us, and it surprised me for several reasons. First, it was a soup, and my kids ATE it! I am not exaggerating when I say they cleaned their bowls. This never happens when we eat soup. Secondly, it was made in a slow cooker! That, and this is the best part: it’s a true slow cooker recipe and doesn’t require adding any ingredients mid-cook. You can really “set it and forget it” while you do any number of leisurely daytime activities!
There’s not a ton of barley in here, but because of that it’s extra-velvety and allows the tomatoes, beef and carrots to shine. You can certainly add up to ¼ cup extra if you like a thicker soup.
Don’t be overwhelmed by the number of onions in this recipe. Three onions may seem outrageous, but they really make the soup, and they cook down considerably.
This one freezes beautifully, so double it and throw half in the freezer (minus the parsley) for a night off next month. To double, depending on the size of your slow cooker, you’ll want to reduce the beef broth to 6 cups (instead of 8) because you may run out of room. My slow cooker is a standard size Revel brand “Crock Pot”.
Looking for more weeknight freezer-friendly meal ideas? Try these Sweet Potato Burritos.
Have you ever tried Bircher muesli? This grated apple yogurt bowl is my oat-less version of Bircher muesli, made with an apple, yogurt, almond butter and lots of cinnamon. It’s a great make-and-go breakfast or lunch and doesn’t require any soaking time like overnight oats, …
In preparing for a different sort of Halloween this year, my daughters brainstormed some treat ideas to replace the standard trick-or-treating tradition. There were pleas for these candied apples, from a Pioneer Woman cooking show the girls watched with me last Thanksgiving. Although beautiful, we’re …
With such a simple list of ingredients, it’s surprising how addicting these sweet potato burritos are. The sweet potatoes, combined with almost-caramelized onions, cheddar cheese, cumin, oregano and chili powder, have that crave-worthy sweet and savory flavor profile. In fact, I find the pronounced flavor of sweet potatoes can hold up to a lot of spice, and here, these Mexican flavors really shine. Sweet potato burritos are a perfect fall dinner. It’s a dinner that can easily be doubled, or tripled (hey, I’m trying to up my planning and dinner game!), and it freezes beautifully. I serve them with black beans, salsa and guacamole.
We first found this recipe while on vacation in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, tucked inside this cookbook. We made them one evening after skiing in the tiny condo kitchen, and they’ve become a favorite ever since.
This recipe calls for white sweet potatoes, but the orange ones (aka American “yams”) are equally delicious. So, if your grocery store only carries the orange varieties (as mine did on the day I shopped for the batch photographed here), it’s not a problem! I find the white sweet potatoes most often around the holidays since the stores tend to stock up on extra produce varieties at that time. But, I’ve found them at non-holiday times as well. Try the recipe with both kinds and see which variety of sweet potatoes you prefer. The white sweet potatoes, although still full of fiber and vitamins, have less beta-carotene than the orange variety, and also taste a little less sweet/more savory than the orange sweet potatoes. I’m curious to know which sweet potatoes you’ve tried, and which are your go-to?
Grate 4 sweet potatoes on a box grater. Or, a food processor is a handy tool here, especially if you’re going to double the recipe.
Chop one onion (1 ½ cups) finely and sauté the onion in 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Cook the onion over medium-low heat until they’re softened and starting to give off some color, 5-7 minutes. Don’t let them burn!
Add 2 cloves of minced garlic to the onions and continue to sauté until the garlic is fragrant, up to one minute.
Stir in cumin, oregano, chili powder, salt and pepper. Cook for another minute or two until the spices are well blended and very fragrant.
Add 4 cups of grated sweet potatoes and stir well to combine. Continue cooking everything over medium heat, covered, until the sweet potatoes are cooked through and tender, 10-15 minutes, stirring every few minutes.
On each tortilla, sprinkle 2 tablespoons cheese down the center diameter of the tortilla, and top the cheese with a heaping ¼ cup of sweet potato filling. Roll up and place in greased 9X13 inch baking pan.
Continue rolling and filling burritos until you have at least 8 burritos. I find that I often have extra filling, so I usually cram a few more burritos in the pan or you can place a couple in a smaller baking pan separately.
Sprinkle remaining cheese on top of burritos.
Bake in 375 degree oven for 20-25 minutes until cheese is bubbly and burritos are hot throughout. Garnish with chopped green onions, and serve with black beans, spicy salsa and guacamole.
Need a delicious recipe for homemade salsa?
