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Dessert Index

The following list is an index of all the dessert recipes here on the Recipes Dream. The categories are alphabetized and include Bars and Brownies, Cakes and Cupcakes, Chocolaty, Citrus, Cookies, Cooking with Kids, Miscellaneous Sweet Treats, and Pies. Although every effort has been made to be accurate, with almost 400 recipes to index there may be errors or omissions.

This list will always be available via the above menu bar.

Click here to see a list of my quickest and easiest dessert recipes.

DESSERTS
Bars and Brownies
(Click here to see Bars and Brownie Visual Index)

7-Layer Bars (Magic Cookie Bars)
Apple Raspberry Streusel Bars
Berry Swirled Fudge Brownies
BYU Mint Brownies
Celestial Bars
Chocolate Chip Brownies
Chocolate Revel Bars
Deluxe Chocolate Marshmallow Bars
Fluffernutter Brownies
Fudgy Brownies
Greatest Brownies in the World with Coconut Pecan Frosting
Key Lime Bars
Lemon Bars
Lemon Cream Dessert
Macaroon Brownies
Marbled Chocolate Cheesecake Bars
O Henry Bars
Peanut Butter Bars
Peanut Butter Fudge
Peppermint Patty Brownies
Polka Dot Cookie Bars
Rocky Road Fudge Bars
Sour Cream Apple Bars
Strawberry Cheesecake Bars
White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Brownies
White Chocolate Raspberry Bars

Cakes and Cupcakes
(Click here to see Cakes and Cupcakes Visual Index)
Apple Nut Coffee Cake
Berry Filled Coffee Cake
Boston Cream Pie
Brown Sugar Buttercream Frosting
Brownie Bottom Cheesecake
Butterscotch Cheesecake
Cami's Citrus Cheesecake
Caramel Poke Cake
Carrot Cake (Lion House)
Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting
Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cake
Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Pound Cake
Chocolate-Cinnamon King Cake
Chocolate Peppermint Cake Roll
Chocolate Raspberry Torte
Chocolate Swirl Cake
Christmas Tree Cake
Cinnamon Roll Cake
Coconut Cupcakes with Coconut Frosting
Cookies and Cream Mini Cheesecakes
Crockpot Chocolate Fudge Cake
Dairy Free Chocolate Cake
Double Lemon Cheesecake
Easy No-Bake Cheesecake
Flourless Chocolate Cake
Fresh Strawberry Frosting
Greek Yogurt Cupcakes with Lemon
Groundhog's Day Cupcakes
Halloween Cake Balls
Ice Cream Trifle Cake
Jewish Apple Cake
Layered Coconut-Lemon Cake
Layered Pudding Cake
Lemon Delight Cake
Lemon Soaked Pound Cake
"Mashed Potato" Cupcakes (for April Fool's Day)
Milky Way Cake (no Milky Ways required)
Mom's Streusel Breakfast Cake
Oatmeal Cake
Orange Cream Cake
Peppermint Angel Food Dessert
Peppermint Swirl Cupcakes
Perfectly Chocolate Chocolate Cake
Pineapple-Coconut Watergate Cake
Pumpkin-Caramel Cheesecake with Gingersnap Crust
Pumpkin Roll
Raspberry Swirl Coffee Cake
Red Velvet Cupcakes
Snickerdoodle Cake with Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting
Snowman Cupcakes
Spider Cupcakes
Triple Chocolate Cake
Turkey Cupcakes
Turtle Cupcakes

Chocolaty
30-Minute Fudge Pie
5-Chip Peanut Butter Cookies
7-Layer Bars (Magic Cookie Bars)
April Fools Treats
Banana and Peanut Butter Whoopie Pies
Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies
Berry Swirled Fudge Brownies
Boston Cream Pie
Brownie Crackles
Brownie Bottom Cheesecake
Brownie Mix in a Jar
BYU Mint Brownies
Caramel Poke Cake
Celestial Bars
Chewy Chocolate and Chip Cookies (Hershey)
Chewy Chocolate-Gingersnap Cookies
Chocolate Chip Brownies
Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cake
Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Pound Cake
Chocolate-Coconut Magic Shell Ice Cream Topping
Chocolate Covered Caramels
Chocolate Dipped Macaroons
Chocolate Malted Cookies
Chocolate Mice
Chocolate Mint Sandwiches
Chocolate Pecan Pie
Chocolate Peppermint Cake Roll
Chocolate Raspberry Torte
Chocolate Revel Bars
Chocolate Swirl Cake
Chocolate Toffee Cookies
Cookies and Cream Cookies
Cookies and Cream Mini Cheesecakes
Cookie Dough Truffles
Crockpot Chocolate Fudge Cake
Crunchy Cookie Sandwiches with Chocolate Cream Cheese Filling
Dairy Free Chocolate Cake
Dark Chocolate Pomegranate Clusters
Deluxe Chocolate Marshmallow Bars
Easy Chocolate Pretzel Bites
English Toffee
Flourless Chocolate Cake
Fluffernutter Brownies
Frozen Hot Chocolate
Fudgy Brownies
Greatest Brownies in the World with Coconut Pecan Frosting
Halloween Cake Balls
Hershey Bar Pie
Homemade "Oreos"
Hot Chocolate Cookies
Ice Cream Trifle Cake
Layered Pudding Cake
Macaroon Brownies
Marbled Chocolate Cheesecake Bars
M & M Coconut Cookies
Milky Way Cake (no Milky Ways required)
"Neiman Marcus" Chocolate Chip Cookies
No Bake Cookies
O Henry Bars
Oreo Truffles
Oreo Turkey Treats
Peanut Butter Bars
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
Peanut Butter Pie
Peppermint Patties
Peppermint Patty Brownies
Perfectly Chocolate Chocolate Cake
Polka Dot Cookie Bars
Pumpkin Bread with Chocolate Chips
Pumpkin Cookies (super easy)
Reese's Krispy Treats
Reindeer Cupcakes
Rocky Road Fudge Bars
Rolo Cookies
Rolo Pretzel Bites
Spider Cupcakes
Triple Chocolate Cake
Turtle Cupcakes
Ultimate Filled Peanut Butter Cookie
White Chip Chocolate Cookies
White Chocolate Strawberry Cookies

Citrus
Cami's Citrus Cheesecake
Double Lemon Cheesecake
Easiest Orange Jello Salad Ever
Easter Bunny Buns
Easy No-Bake Cheesecake
Gingersnap Whoopie Pies
Greek Yogurt Cupcakes with Lemon
Key Lime Bars
Key Lime Pie
Lemon Bars
Lemon Blueberry Muffins
Lemon Cream Dessert
Lemon Delight Cake
Lemon Drop Cookies
Lemon Meringue Pie
Lemon Soaked Pound Cake
Orange Butter Glaze
Orange Cream Cake
Orange Breakfast Bread
Orange Julius
Sweet Potato Cookies with Orange Glaze

Cookies
5-Chip Peanut Butter Cookies
April Fools Treats
Banana and Peanut Butter Whoopie Pies
Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies
Brownie Crackles
Chewy Chocolate and Chip Cookies (Hershey)
Chewy Chocolate-Gingersnap Cookies
Chocolate Chip Pizzookies
Chocolate Dipped Macaroons
Chocolate Dipped Oreos
Chocolate Malted Cookies
Chocolate Toffee Cookies
Cookies and Cream Cookies
Cornmeal Lime Glazed Cookies
Cream Cheese Snowman Cookies
Crazy Craisin Cookies
Crunchy Cookie Sandwiches with Chocolate Cream Cheese Filling
Gingersnaps (soft and chewy)
Gingersnaps with Pumpkin Dip
Gingersnap Whoopie Pies
Grandma's Snowball Cookies
Homemade "Oreos"
Hot Chocolate Cookies
Jam Filled Cream Cheese Cookies
Jewish Apple Cake
Lemon Drop Cookies
Lemon Filled Cookies
Lime Glazed Coconut Snowball Cookies
M & M Coconut Cookies
Melted Snowman Cookies
"Neiman Marcus" Chocolate Chip Cookies
No Bake Cookies
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
Peppermint Candy Shortbread Cookies
Pumpkin Cookies (super easy)
Reindeer Cookies
Rolo Cookies
Scarecrow Cookies
Snickerdoodles
Sugar Cookies
Sweet Potato Cookies with Orange Glaze
Ultimate Filled Peanut Butter Cookie
White Chip Chocolate Cookies
White Chocolate Strawberry Cookies

Cooking with Kids
April Fools Treats
Candy Cane Rice Krispy Treats
Chocolate Mice
Christmas Tree Cake
Corn Flake Christmas Wreaths
Easter Bunny Buns
Flubber
French Bread Pizza
Freshly Squeezed "Lemonade"
Gingerbread Nativity
Groundhog's Day Cupcakes
Ice Cream in a Bag (no ice cream maker required)
"Mashed Potato" Cupcakes (for April Fool's Day)
Melted Snowman Cookies
Oreo Turkey Treats
Reindeer Cookies
Rice Cake Jack-O-Lanterns
Root Beer Float Popsicles
Scarecrow Cookies
Snowman Cookies
Snowman Cupcakes
Spider Cupcakes
Turkey Cupcakes

Misc. Sweet Treats
Apple Fritters
Banana and Peanut Butter Whoopie Pies
Baklava
Brown Sugar Buttercream Frosting
Brownie Mix in a Jar
Buttermilk Syrup
Butterscotch Fudge
Candy Cane Rice Krispy Treats
Caramel Rolls
Chocolate Chip Pizzookies
Chocolate-Cinnamon King Cake
Chocolate-Coconut Magic Shell Ice Cream Topping
Chocolate Covered Caramels
Chocolate Dipped Oreos
Chocolate Mice
Chocolate Mint Sandwiches
Chocolate Peppermint Cake Roll
Cinnamon Twists
Cookie Dough Truffles
Corn Flake Christmas Wreaths
Cream Filled Danish
Dark Chocolate Pomegranate Clusters
Easiest Orange Jello Salad Ever
Easter Bunny Buns
Easy Chocolate Pretzel Bites
English Toffee
Fresh Strawberry Frosting
Fruit Custard
Frozen Hot Chocolate
Halloween Cake Balls
Homemade Marshmallows
Hot Chocolate Mix (the best)
How to Make the Perfect Pie Crust
Ice Cream in a Bag (no ice cream maker required)
Ice Cream Trifle Cake
Layered Pudding Cake
Lemon Cream Dessert
No-Bake Gingersnap Balls
Orange Butter Glaze
Orange Julius
Oreo Truffles
Peanut Brittle
Peanut Butter Fudge
Pear Frangipane Tart
Peppermint Angel Food Dessert
Peppermint Bark
Peppermint Patties
Pumpkin Bread with Chocolate Chips
Pumpkin Bread Pudding
Pumpkin Muffins
Pumpkin Roll
Quick Cinnamon Rolls
Reese's Krispy Treats
Rolo Pretzel Bites
Root Beer Float Popsicles
Strawberry Pretzel Jello Salad

Pies
30-Minute Fudge Pie
Apple Pie
Brownie Bottom Cheesecake
Butterscotch Cheesecake
Cami's Citrus Cheesecake
Chocolate Pecan Pie
Coconut Cream Pie
Double Lemon Cheesecake
Easy No-Bake Cheesecake
Hershey Bar Pie
How to Make the Perfect Pie Crust
Key Lime Pie
Lemon Meringue Pie
Peanut Butter Pie
Peanut Butter Pie #2
Pear Frangipane Tart
Phyllo Custard Pie
Pumpkin-Caramel Cheesecake with Gingersnap Crust
Strawberry Pie (with Fresh Strawberries)

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VeganMoFo 2011 #26: 'Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar' and 'The Vegan Cookie Connoisseur'

Another combination post today, this time celebrating cookies!

Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar
Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero, Da Capo Press, 2009

Following up from their amazing cupcake book came the cookie book comes this delicious cookie book (the third book in the series - Vegan Pie In The Sky - is out now and currently making its way towards my mailbox!). The book is paperback and square, and full of lovely colour photos. Chapters include an Introduction, Cookie Science (Ingredients, Tools, Substitutions and Troubleshooting), Drop Cookies, Wholesome Cookies, Bar Cookies, Fancy Cookies, and Sliced and Rolled Cookies. This book also get mad props and geek points for referencing the Joss Whedon classics Firefly and Serenity, with the inclusion of a recipe named Fruity Oaty Bars!

I will be showing you all of the cookies I have made so far.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I think this was the first recipe from the book to be published on the PPK blog to whet our appetites prior to the book being released. Delicious chocolate chip goodness, and pretty easy to boot. I love the inclusion of brown sugar here. 4 stars.

Blackstrap Gingersnaps

I baked these in humid weather, so they were more chewy than snappy, which the recipe intro does mention. These are super quick to make, too. 4 stars.

Cowboy Cookies

These cookies are jam-packed with goodness. A large cookie with oats, coconut, chocolate chips and pecans. 5 stars.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

A classic cookie. 4 stars.

Mexican Chocolate Snickerdoodles

Another pre-release recipe on the PPK, I have made these a few times. They tend to get requested. The cookies have a gentle heat from cayenne pepper mixed into the dough, and the cinnamon sugar topping just makes them insanely good. 5 stars.

Banana Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies

These are moist, not too sweet cookies that make a great snack. I have these more for morning tea, but I think they would live up to their name and make a great breakfast cookie as well. 4 stars.

Peanut Butter Cookies

These are so dense - there is only a touch of flour in them, so they really are peanut buttery. I found that this sunk in the middle a little when I took it out of the oven. 4 stars.

Deluxe Cocoa Brownies

These are rich, dense, moist brownies that are just delightful! 4 stars.

The Vegan Cookie Connoisseur
Kelly Peloza, Skyhorse Publishing, 2010

Can you have too many vegan cookie books? The answer is absolutely not! Kelly brings a unique twist to her cookie book. This book is hardback and also is square! I think every single recipe has a full colour photo - lovely! Chapters include Introduction, How to be a Cookie Connoisseur, Cookies Inspired by Drinks, Totally Nuts and Seeds!, Blissfully Chocolate Cookies, No Bakes, DIY Versions of Massed Produced Cookies, Fruity Cookies, Bar Cookies, A Take on Tradition, Healthier Cookies and Baking for Specific Needs, Nostalgia: Everyone's Favourite Cookies, Cookies You Would Find at a Tea Party, and Decorating: Ideas and Recipes for Homemade Cookie Fixin's.

I haven't had this book for as long, so I have only made a few tasty treats.

Cranberry Almond Cookies

These big cookies are very tasty. I made them for a work gathering, and two of the girls took a bunch home as well! 4 stars.

Chocolate Jam Thumbprints

When these came out of the oven they were very soft, but they firmed up just right while cooling. I made four flavours - strawberry, raspberry, apricot and blueberry. The apricot is a little odd, strawberry and raspberry are very nice, but the blueberry was the best of all! 4 - 5 stars, depending on the flavours you choose! (Hint: choose blueberry).

Autumn Clouds Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Autumn Clouds Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are soft, pumpkinny cookies. I had some left over pureed butternut, which was lovely here. I love pumpkin and chocolate chip baked goods. 4 stars.

Bakery-Style Crispy Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies (with a Hint of Maple)

Bakery-Style Crispy Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies (with a Hint of Maple)

These have a long name but they live up to it all. These cookies are large and delectable. I needed to cook an extra five minutes. 5 stars.

What is your favourite cookie flavour?

Cute Kitty Photo of the Post

Another photo of a young me (though I am getting older each time!) with my fourth kitty Pascall. Please ignore the atrociously patterned tights I seem to be wearing. I had a lack of fashion abilities as a younger person.

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Making Sugar Cookies- Recipe and Tips

When I was growing up, I always enjoyed making sugar cookies at Christmas time. Even at a very young age I would spend half an hour carefully decorating a cookie, adding one sprinkle at a time. My sisters would have a whole plate of cookies decorated in the time I would decorate one or two, but mine were little works of art. My mom never quite understood my need to seek perfection (especially on a cookie!), but she knew it was simply a part of who I was. Well, some things never change... I'm quite a few years older now, and a mother myself, but I still find such enjoyment in spending the late hours of the day hunched over a tray of cookies, adding sprinkles with the greatest of care.

One of the nice things about making sugar cookies is that they can be as simple or as detailed as you care to make them. Making sugar cookies with children can be a fun and special activity. Or taking the time to decorate sugar cookies with extra care can produce some really beautiful results, perfect for special gifts. Whatever the end goal, starting with a reliable recipe, and handling the dough with a bit of care will ensure delicious results every time.

Here is the recipe I use, and have made hundreds of times. Most recipes for sugar cookies are extremely similar to this. Some recipes call for almond extract or lemon zest in place of the vanilla extract. I'm sure those variations would produce delicious results as well.

Rolled Sugar Cookies

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon good quality vanilla extract

Parchment paper

Directions:

-In a medium bowl, stir together the flour and baking powder and set aside.

-In the bowl of an electric mixer, using the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. This should take about 3 minutes.
-Add the egg and vanilla and beat another minute or so.
-Add the flour mixture slowly. (Be careful not to add too much at a time or you will have a snowstorm of flour.)
-Blend until all of the flour is incorporated and the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl.
-Take the dough out of the bowl and place it on a piece of parchment paper.
-Using your hands, knead the dough a few times.
-Place the dough in a large plastic (ziplock type) bag and refrigerate for about 2 hours. If you want to speed up the chilling process, place the bag of dough in the freezer for about 20-30 minutes. Just don't forget it in the freezer, or it will become to firm to work with (and then you'll have to wait for it to thaw).
-When it's almost time to remove the dough from the refrigerator (or freezer), preheat oven to 350 degrees (F).
-When the dough has chilled and is firm, take out about half of the dough, leaving the rest in the refrigerator (until your ready to work with it).

Place the dough on a lightly floured work surface. You'll notice the sticks I have on either side of the dough. These are paint stir sticks (available for free from the paint department of any hardware store). There is a product on the market called Perfection sticks, which are sticks that usually come in a set of a couple different thicknesses. They are designed to help you roll out the dough in a nice even thickness. Since I don't own Perfection sticks, I just glued two paint stir sticks together, which makes about the perfect thickness for sugar cookies. (So you need 4 sticks total, since you need a double thick stick for each side of your dough.) If I want the dough a bit thinner, I just roll out the dough to the thickness of the sticks, then remove the sticks and roll just a bit thinner.

Place a piece of parchment paper on top of the dough. This helps you roll out the dough without adding additional flour (adding too much flour can make the dough a bit tough, and can create little pockets of flour in the dough that cause bumps to form on your cookies during baking, making it more difficult to decorate later).

Roll out the dough to about 1/3 of an inch thick.

Cut the dough with your choice of cookie cutters. Try to make the best use of the dough you've rolled out. Every time you re-roll the dough you add a bit more flour, and can create the flour pockets I mentioned that can cause bumps to form in the cookies while baking.

Place cookie shapes on a prepared baking sheet. I bake my cookies on heavy weight metal baking sheets, topped with Silpat brand silicone liners. Silpat liners are a bit of an investment, since you'll probably want to have two (I have four) but they are such a great quality product and last a lifetime.
Make sure to only put cookies of similar size on each bake sheet. If you try to bake smaller cookies with larger ones the small ones will be over done before the large ones are baked.

Place entire baking sheet (with cookies on it) in the freezer or refrigerator for about 3-5 minutes. Chilling the cookies this way will help ensure they keep their shape while baking.

Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes depending on the size of the cookie. Bake until they are just barely beginning to take on a golden tone. They will continue to bake as long as then are on the pan, so don't let then get too brown. Cool for just a minute or so on the pan, then carefully remove cookies from the baking sheet and place on a cooling rack.

This recipe yields about 30, 2 1/2 inch cookies or 16, 3 1/2 inch cookies.

Once cooled, the cookies can be decorated with frosting, royal icing or rolled fondant.

To get you started on the decorating, here are a couple posts,
Basic cookie decorating tutorial (the cookies in this post are mini cookies used as cupcake toppers, but the information can be used for any cookies).
How to make pretty Luau cookies (the same techniques could be used for cookies for any occasion).

I also highly recommend the book Cookie Craft. This is the best and most complete book I've found on decorating cookies. This book has gorgeous photos for inspiration, but also has every bit of information you need, including directions and recipes. Despite the thousands of cookies I've made over the years, I still come back to this book for ideas or to refresh my memory on a particular technique.

And once your cookies are decorated, take a look at my post HERE on pretty packaging for your cookies

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Christmas Cookies

Making lip smacking delicacies during the festive season of Christmas is a customary seen in every Christian household. Out of all the dishes prepared for the festival, cookies stand out. This is probably because they are the chosen sweets for the festival. Christmas cookies can be prepared in innumerable ways. They have long shelf life, because of the ingredients used in them. If you are looking for easy recipes of cookies for this Christmas, then read the article. Learn how to make a couple of easy Christmas cookies recipes, in the following lines.

Christmas Cookie Recipes

Gingerbread Cookies

Ingredients

1/2 cup Molasses
1 tsp White Sugar
1/2 cup Butter
1 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour
1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
1 tsp Ground Ginger
1 tsp Cocoa Powder
1 pinch Ground Black Pepper
1 tsp Ground Clove
1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
1 pinch Ground Nutmeg
1 pinch Cayenne Pepper
1 pinch Salt

Method

In a saucepan, combine butter and molasses. Heat the mixture over medium flame until it begins to boil, while stirring continuously.
Remove the mixture from the flame and allow it to cool for sometime.
In a large bowl, mix all-purpose flour, ginger, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, clove, cayenne pepper, black pepper, nutmeg and fold in salt. Blend the mixture well.
Pour the warm molasses-butter mixture into the mixture made in the above step. Stir continuously to form a thick dough.
Cool the dough in refrigerator for about 10 minutes, until it sets.
Form small lemon sized balls of the dough, using 2 tablespoons of batter, each time. Now, pat the balls using your finger, to flatten them into the shape of cookies.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Grease a baking sheet with butter and place the cookies on it.
Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for about 8 minutes.
Cool the baked cookies in the baking sheet for about 5 minutes, before transferring them to wrack to cool completely.
Store the cookies in an air-tight container.

Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients

1/2 cup Peanut Butter
1 3/4 cups All-Purpose Flour
1/2 cup Packed Brown Sugar
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 cup Butter, softened
1/2 cup White Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 Egg, beaten
2 tbsp Milk

Method

Sieve all-purpose flour, baking soda and sugar in a bowl and reserve.
In a bowl, blend sugar, peanut butter, brown sugar and butter together with an egg beater, until it becomes fluffy. Fold in egg, milk and vanilla extract.
Add the sifted flour mixture to the mixture prepared in the above step. Blend well, to form a dough.
Shape the dough into small balls. Place the balls in your palm and using your fingers, flatten them to form the shape of cookies.
Grease a baking sheet with butter.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for about 8 minutes.
Remove the baked cookies from the oven and leave them in the sheet, for about five minutes.
Transfer the baked cookies to a wrack and then leave them to cool completely.
Store the peanut butter cookies in an air-tight container.

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Cookies of Inspiration Charity

Cookie Counter: 1,025 cookies made so far!

Divas Can Cook "Cookies of Inspiration" Charity

Homemade cookies for the homeless

What is Cookies of Inspiration Charity? This is a charity that I started in order to make a difference in my community by using a passion that I feel God has blessed me with. I, along with volunteers, provide homeless shelters (specifically women and children's shelters) with Cookies of Inspiration . These cookies are homemade cookies made with fresh, organic ingredients that features an uplifting motivational quote.

Growing up there was just something special about made from scratch cookies that couldn't be beat. Maybe it was the time and love that was put into them. I wanted the homeless to have homemade cookies made with love and the finest ingredients because they truly are worth it. It is a small gift, but it's something I put a lot of love and time into. There have been times in my life where a quote has really lifted my spirits and given me hope and encouragement. Words are powerful. I hope that these cookies will let someone, somewhere know that people are thinking about them, praying for them and hoping for the very best.

About the cookies: All of the cookies are sugar-free or almost sugar free(made with less than 1/2 c. of sugar), handmade from scratch using fresh, organic ingredients. I currently make chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, and sugar cookies. plus special gourmet flavors around the holidays. These are my own gourmet cookie recipes that I created specifically for this charity. When I first contacted charities about doing a regular cookie donation I discovered that the desire for reduced sugar and sugar-free treats were highly desired but rarely received.

If you would like to have these cookies sent to your shelter or nonprofit organization that helps women and children please contact me for details.

Will You Help Us?

Send a box of (75) Homemade Cookies of Inspiration for only $12!

I truly enjoy making these cookies but cost adds up fast. Any help I get is soooo appreciated whether it's money, sending in needed ingredients, or helping us with baking or our cookie drives if you're in the area. 100% of the donations I receive go directly towards purchasing cookie ingredients and packing materials.

If you would like to send a monetary donation here is how it breaks down.

1 box of cookies (75 cookies) costs me $12 to make (for ingredients & packaging) provided I can find some good sales. So as you can see, a donation of $12 is HUGE. Sometimes it's just the little thoughtful things that people do that has the biggest effect so your donation really does make an impact on someones life.

Testimonies from recipients

"Thank you so much for this thoughtful little gift. They were some of the best cookies I ever had. It is uplifting to know that people would take the time and do this. That quote came just in time"

"Loved the cookies. I only had a small bit because my daughter ate them all. Thank you for the word of encouragement. I really needed it"

"My grandmother use to make homemade cookies just like these except hers were not sugarfree. You bought back fond memories. "

"May God bless you. Thank you"

If you would like to help directly with the ingredients here are a list of ingredients we are in need of currently. You have no idea how much it helps.

Organic White All-Purpose Flour

Sugar-free semi-sweet chocolate chips

Old-Fashioned Oats

I stumbled across this quote when I was first contemplating doing this charity. I feel it was an awesome confirmation and it has proven to be so true.

"Everyone has a special talent(s) that God has given them, be it big or small, use it for the the good of helping others and your life will be enriched in ways you can't even imagine!"

Be Blesssed!!

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Cookie Press Cookies - The Perennial Christmas Cookie

Cookie Press Cookies, or Spritz cookies as they are sometimes called, have been a Christmas cookie treat since the 1600's. They are called "cookie press" because a press is used to form the cookies.

The word "spritz" comes from the German word "spritzen" which means "to squirt or spray". The word describes the action of the cookie press, which "squirts" the dough through a die giving the cookie its shape.

Christmas Cookie

If you've tried making spritz cookies without success in the past or if you're new to them the following information will guide you to making these delicious Christmas treats.

Cookie Press Recipes

Most bakers that have had problems with their cookie press cookies are probably not at fault at all. More than likely it's the recipe they were using.

Spritz cookie dough has to have some unique qualities. First of all the dough has to be soft enough that it will go through the press with no problems.

The fact that it has to be soft could present the second problem. It must hold it's shape in the oven or it will lose its design.

On top of these two problems is that it has to taste good!

That eliminates some of the tricks some bakers' use for shape holding like using shortening for the fat. For great cookie flavor butter should be the fat in Cookie Press Cookies!

This is a good basic recipe that will produce beautiful Christmas spritz cookies.

Basic Spritz Cookie Recipe

Ingredients

1 large egg yolk

1 tablespoon heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened (about 70 degrees)

2/3 cup sugar (about 4-3/4 ounces)

1/4 teaspoon table salt

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (10 ounces)

Instructions

Adjust your oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 375 degrees.

In small bowl, beat yolk, cream, and vanilla with fork until combined; set aside.

In stand mixer cream the butter, sugar, and salt at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula.

With the mixer running at medium speed, add the yolk and cream mixture and beat until incorporated, about 30 seconds. Scrape down the bowl.

With the mixer running at low speed gradually beat in the flour a little at a time until combined.

Scrape down the bowl and give a final stir with a rubber spatula to ensure that no flour pockets remain.

Load up your cookie press and press out the cookies spacing them about 1 1/2 inches apart.

Bake one sheet at a time until the cookies are light golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through the baking time.

Cool the cookies on the baking sheet until just warm, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the cookies from the sheet with a metal spatula and transfer to a wire rack and cool to room temperature.

Some words of caution!

This cookie recipe works perfectly fine. However there are some variables that can't be solved by a recipe. Those variables are in your own kitchen.

Oven thermostats are notoriously inaccurate! The temperature of your oven must be 375 degrees for the cookies to setup before the melting butter makes them spread.

If your cookies spread too much check your oven with an oven thermometer.

In addition to oven temperature the cookies will spread too much if you have whipped too much air into the dough. When you are creaming the butter and sugar be sure and not over whip.

Also combine the dry ingredients with the wet just until mixed thoroughly.

A warm cookie sheet will cause your cookies to spread excessively. Be sure your sheet is completely cooled before you do a second batch. You can pop it in the fridge for a few minutes if necessary.

Expand Your Cookie Press Cookies Repertoire

Once you have the basic procedure for spritz cookies down pat you can expand your repertoire.

The flavors and decorations possibilities for these cookies are almost unlimited. And with good recipes you can make Christmas Cookie Baking go like a flash.

Cookie Press Cookies - The Perennial Christmas Cookie

There are a lot of recipes, baking tips and decorating tips in the Cookie Press Recipes section of Jim Bolding's website http://www.cookie-recipe-club.com.

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Nice girls CAN get the corner office!

According to Mistake #27 of 'Nice girls don't get the corner office: Unconscious mistakes women make that sabotage their careers' (oh yes, what a fabulous gem to have found in someone's dusty corner), unless you are Betty Crocker you shouldn't feel people at work. It makes people think of you as their nurturing mother and they will never take you seriously enough to promote you. To this I say: 'WHATEVER!'. I say that nice girls CAN have the corner office, or whatever the equivalent is. I don't actually have any offices at my work, so I am not sure what I am after. But I say that we can bake for our workmates, and be taken seriously in our jobs while being worshipped for being baking goddesses and covertly spreading vegan love. Who's with me!

With this in mind, here is a very large post of some of the delightful little morsels I have taken in to work, which are always much loved and well received. Strap yourselves in!

Jam-Print Cookies from Eat, Drink and Be Vegan by Dreena Burton. These cookies are really nice, they are made with barley and oat flour and crushed walnuts, which give them a fabulous crunchy texture with that faint afterglow of eating something a bit healthy! The recipe said it made 11-13 cookies (I find this amusing) but for me it made 18 what I consider to be regular sized cookies.

Chocolate Rice Crispy Squares from How It All Vegan by Sarah Kramer and Tanya Barnard. Oh. My. God. These are so good! They are way better than any of those horrid rice crackles you used to have as kids. These have peanut butter in them! Please make them and try them! This recipe fills a 9x13 inch pan and is meant to make 6 large and 12 small squares. To that I fall around on the ground and laugh hysterically. Maybe if you were an insane sugar fiend. I tend to cut these up into either 30 squares or 60 bite sized pieces.

Maple Walnut Brownies from How It All Vegan by Sarah Kramer and Tanya Barnard. These were nice but a little bit on the dry side. Brownies should be smooshy! I replaced the walnuts with pecans, because I much prefer them.

Simple Oatmeal Cookies from La Dolce Vegan by Sarah Kramer. Sorry for the blurry picture. These cookies were good in that they weren't super sweet, but a bit meh overall. I had to bake them for a bit extra but they were still quite soft.

Wolffie's Snickerdoodles from La Dolce Vegan by Sarah Kramer. Squeee! Another very happy result. It was the first time ever eating or making snickerdoodles, and can I say that I am sorry I have waited so long. Cookie + cinnamon sugar = gold! The recipe calls for far too much cinnamon sugar than is needed to coat the cookies, but I kept the extra for sprinkling on banana and PB on toast. Double nom.

Stephanie's White Diamond Cookies from La Dolce Vegan by Sarah Kramer. My first time using vegan white chocolate. Not that horrid Sweet William crud, but I used some rice milk stuff. And can I say, I didn't like white chocolate when I wasn't vegan and I don't like the vegan stuff any better. Why would you make something without coco powder? It shouldn't be allowed to call itself chocolate. OK,rant over. You can see that these cookies kind of were soft and droopy. Even with extra baking time. White chocolate aside, they were tasty - chocolate and PB always is. But while the people at work enjoyed them, I wished they would have kept their shape!

Banana Walnut Bars from The Garden of Vegan by Sarah Kramer and Tanya Barnard. Another super NOM recipe. These were a huge hit with everyone at work and vanished before lunchtime! Cinnamon sugar baked into the top is what makes these extra five star yummy!

Maureen's Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies from The Garden of Vegan by Sarah Kramer and Tanya Barnard. I used the last of my stash of Tropical Source chocolate chips on these. And they are lovely. The recipe has the option of using either soft tofu or banana, I suggest using the banana to add an extra layer of lovely flavour. Also, it claimed to make 10-14 cookies, I got 30. Do American's like their cookies and the like REALLY big?

Anne's Molasses Cookies from The Garden of Vegan by Sarah Kramer and Tanya Barnard. These were nice, though quite cakey in texture. I love molasses, and apparently so do the kids at work. Its not just for the ponies.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies from The Joy of Vegan Baking by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau. These were really nice oaty cookies, just what you want with a glass of milk. Very comforting.

Cranberry-Walnut Oatmeal Cookies from Vegan Planet by Robin Robertson. Tasty little morsels, though I often find the dried cranberries we can get here to be a bit too sweet for me. Oh yeah, and I of course made them with pecans!

Mom's Best Chocolate Chip Cookies - Only Better from Vegan Planet by Robin Robertson. These cookies are excellent. Five stars!

Sparkled Ginger Cookies from Vegan With A Vengeance by Isa Chandra Moskowitz. These cookies are absolutely fabulous. I have made them so many times, and they are easy to make and work perfectly every single time.

Glazed Orange Scones from Vegan With A Vengeance by Isa Chandra Moskowitz. I made these for an afternoon tea party with my friends, which was held at work while I was on call and the left overs were left for the girls the next day. The icing is quite sweet and makes twice as much as you need, be careful adding the orange juice because it gets runny fast. Also, though dough was too sticky for me to roll into rounds and slice, so I jut plopped it down. They were yummy!

Macadamia Blondies with Caramel-Maple Topping from Vegan With A Vengeance by Isa Chandra Moskowitz. These are seriously yummy, but with the price of macadamias are definitely an every now and then treat - it uses 2 1/4 cups. They are gooey and delicious, and were raved about by the fussiest person at work (to be fair, it is her issue not mine that she doesn't like any fruit or vegetables or nuts or anything not meat and starch, but still it was great to make something she could enjoy as well!).

Chewy-Chocolate-Raspberry Cookies from Veganomicon by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero. These are great little cookies, and the hold up really well making them ideal for cookie swaps, presents and road trips. Plus, what's not to love about chocolate and raspberry?

Pistachio-Rose Water Cookies from Veganomicon by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero. These are amazing! The people at work loved them because of their different yet highly addictive taste. You re meant to roll the cookies, flatten them and press the top into chopped pistachios but I found that my dough wasn't stiff enough for this. I mixed the pistachios into the dough instead. Fabulous stuff.

And so ends the current list. I have been baking up a storm of late so I have even more photos on my camera waiting to be uploaded, but if I kept on waiting until I had everything uploaded I would never make this post! And yes, the kids at work will be getting a new batch of cookies tomorrow! Baking for other people is fun, so to the book I say 'Nya', I am a vegan baking goddess and proud of it. You should be proud to be one too! (Plus, people totally love you... hee).

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Pepita-lime crescent cookies

I had a design meeting with my book editors recently. My contribution? I brought cookies. They enjoyed the cookies but then I felt guilty. See, I made them cookies but I hadn’t made anything for the blog. And since the cookies I took to the meeting will be in the book, I can’t share them with you until next fall. So I decided to bake another batch of cookies just for you. Yes, I made you pepita-lime crescent cookies.

But before I go into details about these cookies, please let me give you an update on my book. Many of you have been asking about it and I realize that I haven’t said too much since announcing that I was writing one. My apologies—it’s been a hectic few months. Though with my December 31 deadline soon approaching, I can happily say that it’s almost complete.

I’m currently revising the second draft of the manuscript and will return to Texas soon for a final burst of inspiration. But for the most part, I’m pleased with the manuscript and even though the testing was completed two months ago, I’m still cooking from it just because I’m in love with the new recipes. I know, I’m being a tease. My apologies. But when the book is finally published, I believe that you’ll enjoy them, too.

I don’t have a release date yet but I’m pretty sure we’re still on track for next fall. They’re going to start working on the cover soon and I think once that’s finalized it’ll be available for pre-ordering. You can bet that I’ll certainly holler when this happens.

Now that you've been updated about the book, let’s talk about the important stuff—cookies. December is the time for holiday baking, with cookies being the most popular thing to make as they can feed many and are highly portable. Not to mention that cookies can keep for a while, which makes them perfect for both giving as gifts and for sharing with loved ones that drop in to spread holiday cheer.

One of my favorite cookies is a classic almond crescent. If you’ve never had the pleasure, it’s a simple shortbread made rich with ground almonds and a shower of powdered sugar. They’re a cinch to make and yet taste elegant and look festive—just what you want this time of year.

When I set out to make a batch recently, I realized I was out of almonds. I did, however, have a huge bag of pepitas—which are hulled pumpkin seeds—so instead of going to the store for almonds, I decided to see how these crescent cookies would taste with pepitas. I’m glad that I did.

Besides swapping the nuts, I made some other changes to the basic dough as well. For instance, pepitas are often paired with the bright flavor of lime, so I bound my dough with lime juice instead of the usual water. A sprinkle of sea salt, a dash of vanilla and a bit of lime zest also added new life to these crescents. I then got really wild and added a pinch of ground cumin. I have to admit, however, that last flourish wasn’t as well received. No matter, these cookies are darn good and I didn’t miss the almonds at all. And if you’re a fan of pepitas, I think that you’ll like this variation as well.

Now please excuse me, but I need to return to my manuscript. Fortunately, I’ll have a plate of these pepita-lime crescents and a glass of milk to keep me energized. But enough about me—now that we’re into the season of cookie exchanges and holiday visitations, what are you baking?

Pepita-lime crescents

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups raw pepita seeds
1 cup butter (2 sticks), room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 1/2 teaspoons lime zest, divided
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Method:
In an ungreased skillet, on medium heat cook the pepita seeds while occasionally stirring for 5 minutes until slightly darker and fragrant. (If your pepitas are salted and roasted, skip this step.) Place the pepitas in a blender or food processor and pulse until ground to the texture of rough cornmeal (be careful when doing this, if you grind them for too long it will turn into pepita butter).

Cream together the butter and the sugar in a mixing bowl. Add the lime juice, 1 teaspoon of lime zest, vanilla, flour, sea salt and the ground pepitas. Mix until well combined. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

Once the dough has cooled, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator. To form the cookies, take 1 tablespoon’s worth of dough, form it into a ball and then roll it into a 3-inch-long log. Bend it in the center to form a crescent. The cookies don’t spread much, so you only need 1/2 an inch or so between them on the sheet. Bake the crescents for 15-18 minutes or until lightly browned. They will still be soft when they come out of the oven but will harden as they cool.

While the cookies are baking, combine the powdered sugar with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of lime zest. You can do this in a food processor if you want the lime zest extra fine or just stir the zest into the sugar. Once the cookies are done, cool on a rack for 10 minutes and then roll the crescents in the powdered sugar.

Cookies will keep in an airtight container for a week. They can be delicate, so handle with a bit of care.

Yield: 32 cookies

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