Cooking through the seasons for family & friends in my Colorado kitchen
Deep-dish Dutch apple pie. Filled with layer upon layer of soft, cinnamon-scented apples, this pie is, without a doubt, my favorite Thanksgiving pie and the one I make every year. It’s my girls’ favorite, too. The tart-like crust is slightly sweet and the whole thing …
Creating delicious and good looking pies is possible! Follow along to roll out pie dough like a pro with these step-by-step instructions. Rolling out pie dough is so much easier than you might think, and with a little practice you’ll be creating beautiful, or darn …
This over-the-top chocolate bourbon pecan pie started as a Thanksgiving tradition for many years, until my mom started requesting it for her birthday dessert. Her birthday is just a few days after Thanksgiving, so, often we make it twice in the span of two weeks! A spin on a classic holiday pie gets an upgrade with the addition of chocolate and bourbon. I ditched the corn syrup in exchange for pure maple syrup, so if you’re looking for a pecan pie recipe without corn syrup, this is the one! The hint of maple blends so well with the Bourbon. Thanksgiving pie or birthday treat…you decide! I hope this chocolate bourbon pecan pie finds a place at your table this holiday season.
Absolutely! Corn syrup is traditionally used in pecan pie because it helps the pie hold together. This recipe uses a tablespoon of flour and that flour, combined with the eggs, allows the pie to set. Plus, I can’t begin to describe just how well the Bourbon pairs with the flavor of the maple syrup…so, give that corn syrup the boot!
Form pie dough in 9-inch pie pan. See this tutorial for how to roll out pie crust. Fill pastry with beans or other pie weights and blind bake at 375 degrees for 20-22 minutes in lower 1/3 of oven. Remove pie shell to cool on cooling rack.
While crust cools, whisk eggs, maple syrup, melted butter, brown sugar, salt, bourbon, flour, and vanilla. Stir in chopped pecans and chocolate chips. Pour into cooled pie pastry.
Bake filling for 45 minutes to 1 hour, taking care to ensure crust does not brown too much with foil or pie shields around outer crust. Remove from oven and allow it to cool before slicing to serve. Serve with ice cream or homemade whipped cream!
In addition to being beautiful, chocolate sugar cut-out cookies have a smooth, dense chocolate flavor and tender, melt-in-your mouth texture. Rolled and shaped with your favorite cookie cutter, and topped with a sparkle of sugar, they’re the perfect sugar cookies for every chocolate lover in …
Cardamom cookies with brown butter icing are fudgy bar cookies, topped with pecans and drizzled with brown butter frosting. So delicous & so easy! If you’ve never had cardamom before, you’re in for a real treat when you whip up these cardamom cookies with brown …
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 new cookie this year, 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 or dark chocolate chips – Have you tried these dark chocolate chips from Trader Joe’s yet?
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.
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! My grandma Tina …
Chunks of dark chocolate, a delicate crisp texture, and rich, caramel flavor make these bakery-sized, ultra-thin chocolate chunk cookies irresistible! Every cookie plate must have a chocolate chip cookie. Thin and crispy chocolate chunk cookies are chocolate-forward and extra special, perfect for the holidays or, let’s …
No chill time required for these cinnamon-sugar cut-out cookies! Just mix, cut & bake these delicious roll out cookies, made extra special with cinnamon and almond extract.
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 cookie cutter and get rolling!
This recipe makes perfect traditional sugar cookies for decorating, but if you’re a chocolate lover, you’ll definitely want to try these sparkly chocolate sugar cookies as well.
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.
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 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.
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 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 …
Diana’s Christmas Cookie Plate 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 …
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. It’s an easy weeknight meal your family will love!
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!
In a large glass bowl, stir together chopped onions, tomato paste and thyme. Cook in microwave, stirring halfway through, until softened, about 5 minutes.
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”. To freeze, place in large glass-lock bowl or container and seal with tight-fitting lid. This soup will keep in the freezer for 3 months.
Try these Sweet Potato Burritos or this three-cheese baked ziti!
