Cocoa Cookie Slices

The perfect cross between cookie and brownie, these cookie slices from Fika: The Art of the Swedish Coffee Break are as delicious as they are beautiful! The final result looks impressive, but I cannot stress enough how simple these are to put together. They are crispy on the outside but soft and chewy on the inside, making them pretty close to perfection. Serve these with coffee or bring them to your next party - you'll be a hero.

Ingredients:
Dough:
1 cup unsalted butter at room temp
1 1/3 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder

Topping:
1 egg, beaten (unless topping with icing - see Tips & Variations)
Pearl sugar (or sprinkles)


Tools:
2 mixing bowls
2 baking sheets
Hand mixer
Baking sheet
Parchment paper
Sharp knife
Fork (for optional design)


Instructions:

1. Cream butter and sugar.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk two eggs and then add to creamed butter and sugar along with vanilla. Mix until blended. 
   
   
   
   
   
3. In a separate bowl, mix the dry ingredients: flour, cocoa powder, baking powder.
4. Add flour mixture to wet ingredients and mix until dough forms. 
   
   
   
   
   
5. Cover and let sit in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
6. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and grease or line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
7. Divide dough into 4 equal parts and roll each into a 12-inch log. Place each log on the baking sheet leaving 2 inches between each. Press the logs to flatten out to 2 inches wide and about 1/2 inch thick.
8. Brush each log with a beaten egg (unless topping with icing - see Tips & Variations) and sprinkle with sugar. 
   
   
   
   
   
9. Bake for 15 minutes.
10. While still warm, cut each log diagonally into ~12 slices, then let cool completely.

Tips and Variations:

• Instead of pearl sugar (or sprinkles, in my case...), top with raw sugar before baking.
• In place of sprinkles or sugar, drizzle icing over the top by combining 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 3-4 Tbsp of milk or water, and 2 tsp vanilla extract.
• Make the dough ahead of time and freeze for an emergency batch!

Peanut Butter & Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

One of my favorite snacks of all time is a banana with peanut butter. It's great on its own and makes a pretty mean sandwich, too. This ridiculously easy recipe for Peanut Butter & Banana Chocolate Chip muffins takes that classic flavor combo and transforms it into something totally new (and maybe even better than the original)!! Happy snacking!

Ingredients:
3 ripe bananas
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/3 cup melted butter
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup flour
1/2 cup powdered peanut butter
1 cup chocolate chips


Tools:
2 mixing bowls
2 small bowls (for melting butter & beating egg)
Hand mixer
Muffin tin, lined
Cooling rack


Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  In a large mixing bowl, mash banana. 
   
   
   
   
   
2. Melt butter in one small bowl (I used my microwave), beat the egg slightly in the other small bowl.
3. Add sugar and egg to banana, mix using hand mixer. 
   
   
   
   
   
4. Once combined, add melted butter and mix.
5. In a separate bowl, combine flour, powdered peanut butter, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. 
   
   
   
6. Gradually mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients.
7. After all ingredients have been incorporated, add chocolate chips and mix well. 
   
   
   
    
8. Evenly distribute batter into lined muffin tin and bake for 20 minutes. 
   
   
   
   
   
9. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes before digging in! 
   
   
   

Tips and Variations:

• Instead of powdered peanut butter, add 1/4 cup regular peanut butter to wet ingredient mixture and 1.5 cups of flour to dry ingredients; or leave out peanut butter and use only 1.5 cups flour.
• Wrap a muffin in a paper towel and heat in the microwave for about 15 seconds before enjoying! These are also incredible right out of the oven.
• Ditch the muffin tin and make this recipe into a delicious quick bread.  
  
  
   
  

Salted Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies

This recipe is adapted from a great NYT Cooking recipe for sandies, so the end result is beautifully light and crumbly!

These cookies are packed with peanut butter, offset by tangy dark chocolate chunks and finished with sea salt to balance all of these deep, indulgent flavors.

Eat them warm out of the oven or make a batch and let them sit for a day - the flavors marry together beautifully the longer these are left out - if they last that long!

Ingredients:
2 sticks butter at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 cups peanut butter (I used chunky)
2 eggs at room temperature
1 tsp kosher salt
2 cups flour
1.5 bars of dark chocolate (3.5 oz bars) or 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Flaky sea salt


Tools:
Large mixing bowl
Small mixing bowl
Large knife & cutting board if using
Cutting board
Hand mixer or standing mixer
2 baking sheets
Parchment paper
Cooling rack


Instructions:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees and line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. Chop the chocolate bars into large chunks. 
   
   
   
   
   
3. In a large bowl, cream butter, sugar, and brown sugar using your hand mixer until smooth and well-combined. 
   
   
   
   
   
4. Mix in peanut butter and eggs. 
   
   
   
   
   
5. Add flour and salt and mix until fully combined, then stir in chocolate chunks. 
   
   
   
   
   
6. In a small bowl, mix 2 tablespoons of sugar with 1 tablespoon of sea salt.
7. Using a small cookie scoop or a spoon, scoop dough into mounds. Each scoop should contain about 2 tablespoons of dough. Pre-baked, the cookies will be rounded and ragged. Dip each ball of dough into the salt-sugar mixture and place onto pans. The cookies don't spread very much when baked so they can be placed close together. 
   
   
   
   
   
8. Bake for 18-20 minutes. Let cool on racks for about 20 minutes before serving.

Tips and Variations:

• Use smooth instead of chunky peanut butter for a smoother texture.
• Add some smashed pretzel pieces for an extra crunch!
• Replace chocolate chunks with semi-sweet chocolate chips. 
• Add cinnamon to the salt-sugar mixture for an extra layer of flavor!

Cardamom Cinnamon Buns

Hello fellow bakers and culinary adventurers!

Back again after a short hiatus with a recipe rec from one of my favorite cookbooks, Fika: The Art of the Swedish Coffee Break.

This recipe requires a little bit of time and patience, as the dough needs to rise twice, but the end result is definitely worth the wait!!

Ingredients:
Dough:
7 tablespoons butter (almost a stick)
1.5 cups milk (I used almond milk)
2 teaspoons dry active yeast
4.5 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
1.5 teaspoons crushed cardamom seeds
1/4 teaspoon salt

Filling:
7 tablespoons butter at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
3 teaspoons crushed cardamom seeds
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Other:
1 egg, beaten
Raw sugar

Tools:
Saucepan
2 mixing bowls
Plastic wrap
Rolling pin
2 baking sheets
Parchment paper
Optional: food processor

Instructions:

1. Melt butter in a saucepan, stir in milk and heat until warm but before bubbles form.
2. In a small bowl, measure yeast and add 3 tablespoons of warm butter/milk mixture to dissolve the yeast. Set aside for a few minutes - bubbles will begin to form (this means the yeast has activated).
3. While the yeast is working, prep the cardamom. I used pods, which require a little extra work because the seeds need to be extracted and ground, but the resulting flavor is incredible because of the freshness of the ground seeds. Just crush the pods to release the seeds and blitz them in a food processor if available. Otherwise, crush them with the back of a spoon. I used about half of the pods in my container of cardamom for both the dough and the filling. 
   
   
   
   
   
4.  In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, cardamom, salt; then add the activated yeast and the rest of the warm butter/milk mixture.
5. Mix with your hands until a dough is formed and can be made into a ball.
6. Move dough to a flat surface (does NOT need to be floured) and knead for 3-5 minutes until smooth. The dough should not be sticky (add a little flour if it sticks to your fingers).
   
   
   
   
   
7. Return the dough to the large bowl and cover with plastic wrap. 
8. Leave the dough to rise until it has doubled inside, about an hour.
9. Once dough has risen, make the filling by mixing all of the filling ingredients in a bowl until it becomes spreadable.
10. Push the air out of the risen dough and divide it in half. 
11. Move the first half onto a flat, unfloured surface and roll into a large rectangle, about 11x17 inches, with the long side of the rectangle facing you.
12. Spread half of the filling mixture on the dough, covering the entire surface, and roll it upwards.
    
    
    
    
    
13. Slice the roll into about 1/2-inch thick slices and place the rolls onto one of the baking sheets.
14. Pinch the end of each roll together so to prevent unrolling during the second rise and the bake.
15. Repeat for the second half of the dough, place tea towels over the baking sheets and allow them to rise for about 45 minutes.
    
    
    
    
    
16. Preheat the oven to 435 degrees.
17. After the second rise, beat an egg and brush it onto each bun. Next, sprinkle each with raw sugar and back for about 15 minutes. Take the buns out when golden brown.
18. Enjoy! These are best served right out of the oven.

Tips and Variations:

• Top with chopped almonds, powdered sugar, or honey instead of raw sugar.
• Top with an easy icing by combining 1 cup sifted powdered sugar, 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla, and 1 tablespoon of milk. Mix until smooth, adding more milk as necessary.
• Substitute cardamom for more cinnamon.
• Add cocoa powder for a chocolate version!

Rosenmunnar {Swedish Thumbprint Cookies}

This is hands down one of my favorite recipes of all time. Given to me by my dad, this classic Swedish cookie recipe only requires four ingredients and is incredibly fast, easy and versatile! They are perfect year-round, for every occasion and they are inexplicably delicious. Definitely one of my favorite cookies to make and to eat!

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups flour, sifted
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
Lingonberry preserves (I like using Felix)
Powdered sugar (optional)

Tools:
1 large mixing bowl
Sifter
Hand mixer
Baking sheet (ideally 2)
Cooling Rack
Parchment paper

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Cream butter and sugar in large mixing bowl.
3. Sift flour into creamed butter and sugar mixture until crumbly. Dough will not come together on its own.
4. Using your hands, roll dough into 1-inch rounds.
5. Make an imprint with your thumb and place on baking sheet.
6. Fill each imprint with a small amount of lingonberry preserves. Be careful not to overfill the cookies - the jam could overflow during the bake!
7. Bake for 12-14 minutes until edges are slightly browned.
8. Allow to cool for ~20 minutes. 
9. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Tips and Variations:

• Use your favorite jam in place of lingonberry preserves. Strawberry or blueberry would work really well!
• Use homemade jam by combining 1 package frozen mixed berries with half a cup of sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil on the stovetop, then let simmer until thick, ~20 minutes.
• Replace butter with coconut oil for a healthier, vegan version!

Cranberry White Chocolate Cookie Bars

These cookie bars are a lot easier to make than they look. The final result is a beautiful, soft, white chocolate-drizzled triangle full of different flavors and textures. These bars are the perfect dessert to bring to a holiday party - if they make it out of the kitchen!

This recipe (derived from Taste of Home and inspired by Starbucks 💁🏼) involves prepping a few different elements and then putting them all together at the end for one big holiday flavor mashup, so be ready for a little multi-tasking (but it's well-worth the effort)!

Ingredients:
Cookie Bars:
3/4 cup butter (1.5 sticks), melted
1.5 cups dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 + 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1.5 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup sweetened coconut flakes
3/4 cup white chocolate chips

Buttercream Frosting:
2 sticks butter, softened
3+ cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1-2 tablespoons milk

Topping:
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup sweetened coconut flakes
1/4 cup white chocolate chips
1 tablespoon milk
Dried cranberries

Tools:
9"x13" baking pan
baking sheet
parchment paper
3 mixing bowls
cooling rack
2 small microwave-safe bowls
Sifter

Instructions:
Cookie bars: 🍪

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and leave out 2 sticks of butter to soften (for frosting).
2. Melt 3/4 cup butter in one of the microwave-safe bowls. Pour the melted butter into a mixing bowl and stir in brown sugar.
3. Beat the eggs into the wet ingredient mixture one at a time, followed by the vanilla.
4. In a separate bowl, mix the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, salt, spices.
5. Stir the dry into the wet ingredients a little at a time. Once combined, add the dried cranberries, shredded coconut, and white chocolate chips.
6. Spread the thick batter evenly into the baking pan. Bake for about 20 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.

Toppings Part I: Toasted Almonds 🌰

1. Add a sheet of parchment paper to your baking sheet. Spread the sliced almonds in an even layer across the baking sheet.
2. Bake for about 10 minutes (in the same oven as the cookie bars) until lightly browned.

Toppings Part II: Toasted Coconut 🌴

1. Take the almonds out of the oven once they are browned and fragrant. Move them to a plate.
2. Using the same pan and parchment paper, spread out the toasted coconut on the baking sheet and bake (in the same oven as the cookie bars) for about 10 minutes until golden. 

Remove the bars from the oven once they are ready and leave them to cool in the pan for about 15 minutes. Remove them from the pan and allow the bars to finish cooling on a wire rack for about 30 minutes. While the cookie bars are cooling, make the frosting.

Buttercream Frosting: 🍰

1. Sift 3 cups powdered sugar.
2. Using the softened butter, beat until creamy.
3. Add the powdered sugar to the butter a little at a time and mix.
4. Once the sugar is fully incorporated, add salt, vanilla extract, and 1 tablespoon of milk.
5. Beat until the consistency is the same as a can of frosting. If the mixture is too stiff, add another tablespoon of milk (you can add up to 4 tablespoons). If the frosting is too loose, sift and add a little more powdered sugar.

Make the melted white chocolate right before assembling the cookie bars. All other ingredients can be left out on the counter until it is time to bring everything together.

Toppings Part III: Melted White Chocolate 🍫

1. Using a microwave-safe bowl, microwave the remaining white chocolate chips for 15 seconds. Remove and stir. Repeat this process until the chocolate chips become a chunky chocolate mound.
2. Add 1 tablespoon milk and stir until chocolate is smooth. You may need to microwave again for about 10 seconds and then stir.

Assembly: 🏆

1. Spread a layer of buttercream frosting on the cookie bars - this layer can be as thick you want.
2. Add the toasted coconut, toasted almonds, and dried cranberries to the buttercream layer.
3. Using a fork, drizzle the melted white chocolate over the toppings.
4. Once the chocolate is dry, cut into triangles and enjoy!

😛😛😛

Tips and Variations:

• Add parchment paper to your baking pan, leaving the ends of the paper sticking out. This way, the bars can be lifted out of the pan to finish cooling on a wire rack.
• Try using a cream cheese frosting instead of butter cream. This would help balance out the sweetness of the white chocolate.
• The cookie bar recipe would work wonderfully as regular cookies! Try dropping 1-inch rounds of the batter onto your baking sheet and bake at 350 for ~15 minutes. Finish with a white chocolate drizzle.

Walnut Raisin Bread

There is nothing better than waking up on a snowy December morning to a big cup of coffee and a delicious slice of buttery toast. This recipe for walnut raisin bread (adapted from King Arthur Flour) is the perfect treat for winter mornings, to bring to a holiday party, or to keep around the house - it won't last long!

Baking yeast breads can seem intimidating, but fear not! It seems much more challenging than it really is. No special tools are needed! Just be sure to set aside enough time to allow this dough to rise twice. This particular recipe makes two small loaves. The dough can be baked as one large loaf, but the baking time will vary.

Ingredients:

1.5 cups warm water (for yeast), + .5 cup warm water (for raisins)

1 tablespoon active dry yeast

1/2 cup honey

1/4 cup of high quality olive oil

1.5 teaspoons salt

6 cups of all-purpose flour

1.5 cups walnut pieces

1 cup raisins (dark or golden - or both!)

1 cup dark rum

Tools:

1 small bowl

1 medium mixing bowl

1 baking sheet, lined with parchment paper

1 stovetop pan

Plastic wrap or damp towel(s)

Cooling rack

😍😍😍

Instructions:

Part I: Work That Dough 💁🏼

1. In a small bowl, combine raisins, .5 cup warm water and rum. Set aside to allow the raisins to soak up the rum flavor.
2. Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the water to the yeast so that the yeast is covered and you don't need to stir. Once dissolved, add .5 cup of flour. Let sit for 10 minutes.
3. Stir in honey, oil and salt.
4. Add flour one cup at a time. The dough should look a little ragged.
5. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface (I like to flour my nonstick baking mat on top of my counter for less mess - see my tips and variations below!). Knead the dough for about two minutes, adding flour as necessary, until you form a round ball.
6.  Put your dough ball in a medium mixing bowl and add the olive oil. Turn the dough to coat it.
7. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp kitchen towel and allow to rise until it has doubled in size, about 1.5 hours.

Part II: Walnut Prep 🐿

While waiting for your dough to rise, start prepping the walnuts. They need to be toasted, either on the stovetop or in the oven.

Stovetop:

1. Heat the walnut pieces in a pan - DO NOT coat the pan in oil! As the walnuts heat up, the natural oil they contain will be released. They're strong, independent nuts that don't need no oil.
2. Stir occasionally, and wait for the nuts to get slightly toasty and beautifully fragrant. This could take anywhere form 5-10 minutes. Just watch them like a hawk - they can go from deliciously toasty to nastily burned in about .5 seconds.
3. Once all of the pieces have been toasted, allow them to cool on a cutting board.
4. Once cool, chop them into smaller pieces, slightly bigger than the raisins.

Oven:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Spread nuts out onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
3. Allow to bake for 10-12 minutes or until browned and fragrant.
4. Allow the nuts to cool on a cutting board before chopping them into smaller pieces.

 Part III: Bring It All Together 👭👫👬

1. Drain and dry your raisins on a paper towel. 
2. Once your dough has doubled in size, deflate it in the bowl.  Knead in the toasted, chopped walnuts and dried rum-soaked raisins. It will seem like all of the filling won't fit in the dough, but keep kneading! 
3. Divide the dough in half and form each into a ball. Place them on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
4. Cover the loaves with a damp towel or lay plastic wrap over the top and allow them to rise for an additional 30-45 minutes.
5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
6. After the final rise, sprinkle with flour and use a knife to cut X shapes into the top of your loaves, about one inch deep.
7. Bake for 35-45 minutes. The loaves should be browned and sound hollow when you tap the bottom with your knuckle.
8. Allow the loaves to cool on a wire rack. Serve toasted with butter and honey, use as sandwich bread, or eat as is!

Tips and Variations:

• Invest in a large Silpat or other nonstick baking mat. They are dishwasher safe and can be used in the oven too! I always put mine on my countertop when baking - it makes cleanup a breeze, especially when you need to roll out a dough!
• Try using other dried fruits in place of the raisins, like currants or even dried cherries. Just be sure your pieces of fruit are small - otherwise their weight will make them sink to the bottom of the bread! Chocolate chips could also be a delicious variation!
• This bread can be made without nuts, or even using a whole wheat flour instead of white.
• Consider adding other types of oil, like walnut (as called for in the original recipe). Honey can also be substituted for agave, or try experimenting with maple syrup!
• The rum can be substituted for brandy, whiskey, orange liqueur... the possibilities are endless. Or for an alcohol-free version, just double the amount of warm water you add to the raisins.
• When allowing the dough to rise, I usually put my dough in a warm area of the kitchen, usually on my stovetop (without any heat). The warmer environment helps give the yeast a boost.
• If you notice the tops of your loaves getting too brown before the middle is baked, cover them with tin foil. This will allow them to bake longer without adding any additional color.

Happy Baking!! 🙌🏻🍞🙌🏻