10 Desserts for the Fourth of July

1. Red Wine Ice Cream


Whenever I'm invited to a barbecue, everyone requests that I bring my red wine ice cream. We're half way through June and I've already had multiple requests.

2. Whiskey Chocolate Cookies


My husband made these for my birthday (July 5th!) last year and we've been made them many times since.

3. Smores Pie


Another one of my husband's desserts. He's made it for my birthday, his mom's birthday, just because . . . besides nothing says summer likes smores. (And there are a lot more smores desserts to come!)

4. Drunk Cherry Chocolate Cake


Black cherries. Whiskey (brandy is good too!). And chocolate. These is no way this cake couldn't be amazing.

5. Smores Cups


These little things are super easy to make and addictive.

6. Baileys White Chocolate Chip Cookies



I'm not much of a drinker, neither is Eric, but we sure love our boozy desserts. The Baileys adds some extra yumminess to these cookies.

7. Smores Sandwich Cookies



Out of all smores cookies, these guys are my husband's favorite!

8. White Chocolate Hazelnut Cream Pie



This cream pie is light and airy and perfect for a Fourth of July barbecue.

9. Butterscotch Cookies



I recently made these again to bring to a get-together and they were a huge success. Not a single one was left on the plate.

10. Smores Cookies



I told you there were a lot of smores desserts on this list. Nothing says summer like smores!

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Summer Recipes Ideas:
Cheesy Tomato Zucchini Bake
Bacon Barbecue Green Bean Casserole
Margarita Chicken and Steak Fajitas
Baked Parmesan Tomatoes
Roasted Garlic White Bean Hummus
Soy Waxy Beans with Sesame Seeds

Whiskey Chocolate Chip Cookies

Every year for my birthday, my husband bakes me a dessert. One year it was a drunken cherry chocolate cake, another a smores pie. This year he made the most amazing chocolate chip cookies ever. I'm not a big drinker, but damn do I like booze in my desserts. I don't know if I'll be able normal chocolate chips cookies after these whiskey chocolate chip cookies.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup white sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 tablespoons whiskey (we used honey whiskey)
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cup chocolate chips (we like to use a mix of dark, semi, and milk)

Directions:
In a heavy bottomed pan, heat butter over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until it begins to brown and has a nutty aroma. Allow to cool for ten minutes (so you don't accidentally cook the egg).

Pour butter into a large bowl. Add brown sugar and white sugar. Beat until smooth and combined.

Add egg, vanilla, and whiskey. Combine.

Add baking soda, cornstarch, salt, and flour. Beat until combined.

Fold in chocolate chips.

Line two baking sheet with parchment paper or tin foil sprayed with cooking spray. Scoop out heaping tablespoons of cookie dough and space them two-inches apart on the baking sheets. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 11-14 minutes. Allow cookies to cool on pan for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Enjoy!

More Boozy Desserts:
Drunken Cherry Chocolate Cake
Spiced Rum Brown Butter Cookies
Red Wine Ice Cream
Easy Rum Balls
Baileys White Chocolate Chip Cookies
Spiked Apple Cider Bon-Bons
Apple Cider Cupcakes with Caramel Filling and Spiked Buttercream

Snickerdoodles for Cinnamon Lovers

I don't know if there is a bigger cinnamon lover out there than me. I drink cinnamon tea. I heap a ton of cinnamon into my oatmeal every morning. I even put it in my hot chocolate. You would think that snickerdoodles would be my favorite cookies. While I like them, I never really think about them and hadn't made them before. Well, a couple of weeks ago my husband and I had some snickerdoodles from a bakery and were highly disappointed. They were dry and bland. Eric commented that snickerdoodles are always rather bland. I was about to argue with him, but then I realized he was right. Right then and there I decided I would make a snickerdoodle that was amped up and couldn't ever be considered bland.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
2 eggs
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup brown sugar
 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease a cookie sheet with cooking spray or line with parchment paper.

Cream butter, shortening, and white sugar in a large bowl. Mix in eggs.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, 1 tablespoon cinnamon, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt. Gradually add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Mix until combined.

Shape dough into balls, approximately  with a 1 1/4-inch diameter. Mix brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of cinnamon, and cayenne in small bowl. Roll balls in the cinnamon-sugar mixtures and place on the cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until the cookies set.

Place cookies on a wire rack to cool. 

Now, the cayenne pepper might seem a little weird or scary, but it really adds depth to these cookies. And it was Eric's favorite thing about them.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Cookie Recipes:
Chocolate Chip Cookie in a Mug!
Cinnamon Meringue Cookies
Easy Rum Balls
Edye's Molassess Krinkles
Hazelnut Chocolate Chip Cookies
Healthified Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies
Smores Cookies!

Malted Chocolate Chip Cookies

I love Whoppers a.k.a. malted milk balls. I plan on attempting to make some myself in the near future, but for now it's malted chocolate chip cookies. I must admit, it was difficult not to just eat the batter. And Eric kept sneaking into the kitchen and stealing them from my wire rack, almost as fast as I was making them. We are both definitely fans of the malted chocolate chip cookie.

Recipe slightly adapted from here. 

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup malted milk powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 cup butter, melted
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups chocolate chips (I used chocolate chunks just because that's what I had on hand)

Directions:
In a medium bowl, whisk together malted milk powder, baking powder, salt, and cornstarch. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the butter and brown sugar. Add eggs and vanilla and combine. Gradually stir in dry ingredients until well combined. Fold in the chocolate chips. Cover dough and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease cookie sheet with cooking spray.

Scoop out a rounded tablespoon of dough, drop on cookie sheet, and slightly flatten with a fork, spatula, or your fingers. If you want prettier cookies, roll the dough into a ball before slightly flattening. Space cookie about 3 inches apart.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until edges turn a light golden brown.

Allow cookies to cool on cookie sheet for a couple of minutes then transfer to a wire rack.

Arya keeping me company while I cook

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Cookie Recipes:
Applesauce Cookies with Caramel Frosting
Brown Sugar Cookies
Baileys White Chocolate Chip Cookies
Creamsicle Chocolate Chip Cookies (Cream Cheese Cake Mix Recipe)
Smores Cookies!
Soft Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Spiced Rum Brown Butter Cookies 
Yummy Butterscotch Cookies

Peanut Butter Stuffed Cookies

These cookies are basically a Reese Peanut Butter Cup in cookie form, which just happen to be one of Eric's all time favorite candies--perhaps making these one of his all time favorite cookies? I don't know. He was asking me if it was possible to make an peanut butter cookie stuffed with peanut butter. But Eric isn't the only one in the house who loves peanut butter. Poor Arya couldn't figure out why I had the peanut butter jar out and she wasn't getting any (the main reason I even buy peanut butter is to put in her Kong toy). 

Anyway, if you love Reese Peanut Butter Cups, you'll love these cookies!

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
Filling
3/4 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup powdered sugar

Cookie
1 stick butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease cookie sheets with cooking spray.

Line a plate with waxed paper. In a medium bowl, combine the filling ingredients using your hands. Once the mixture us well combined, roll the filling into 30 1-inch balls and place them on the waxed paper plate. Freeze for approximately 30 minutes.

Beat the butter, brown sugar, white sugar and peanut butter in a large bowl until well combined. Add in vanilla and egg then combine.

In a second medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda. Gradually stir the flour mixture into the wet ingredients. Refrigerate dough for 20 to 30 minutes. (If you don't refrigerate the dough, you will have a difficult time with the next step).

Remove the peanut butter balls from the freeze and the dough from the fridge. Wrap about 1 tablespoon of dough around each peanut butter ball and place on greased cookie sheets. You may want to work in batches. The dough can become quite sticky.

You can make these into cookie balls or flat cookies. If you want balls, just pop them into the oven. If you want flat cookies, gently press the cookies with the bottom of a glass.

Bake for 7 to 9 minutes or until cookies are set.

Cookies left in their ball state

Enjoy!

~Krissy!

More Cookie Recipes
Apple Cider Cookies with Spiced Rum Glaze
Applesauce Cookies with Caramel Frosting
Brown Sugar Cookies
Baileys White Chocolate Chip Cookies
Creamsicle Chocolate Chip Cookies 
Soft Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Spiced Rum Brown Butter Cookies

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies with White Chocolate Chips and Dried Cranberries

So I've been trying to not go too crazy with pumpkin recipes this year. Eric loves pumpkin, but I wear him out on it every fall. So this year I'm trying to be good. How good, we'll see. But I have been wanting to make pumpkin oatmeal cookies for some time now. Threw in some white chocolate chips and dried cranberries (I love dried cranberries) for good measure and came up with a pumpkin cookie that even Eric couldn't say no to (he also did not want to share them).

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups butter, softened
2 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1 15-ounce canned pumpkin
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups flour
2 cups quick oats
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup dried cranberries

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl, beat the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until creamy. Add in pumpkin, egg, and vanilla. Combine well and set aside.

In another large bowl, mix together the flour, oats, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Gradually stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Fold in the white chocolate chips and dried cranberries.

Drop a rounded tablespoons of the cookie dough onto a cookie sheet about two inches apart. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until the edges of the cookies start to turn a light brown.

Meet Arya, my little helper and crumb catcher and new member of our family.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Pumpkin Recipes
Cheese Tortellini in a Pumpkin Sauce
Cinnamon-Sugar Pastry with Pumpkin Dip
Mini Pumpkin Cupcakes
Pumpkin-Black Bean Stew with Spicy Sausage 
Pumpkin Bread!
Pumpkin Butter
Pumpkin Caramels!
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Brownies
Pumpkin Fudge
Pumpkin Hot Cocoa 
Pumpkin Lasagna Rolls
Pumpkin Oatmeal
Pumpkin Penne Casserole
Pumpkin Swirl Brownies
Roasted Pumpkin Chickpeas
Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

No-Bake Marshmallow Cornflake Wreaths

If you love rice crispy treats, you will love these no-bake Christmas cookies. My mom used to make these for me and my brother and we always loved them. I don't make them every year--there are just too many delicious cookies recipes out there--but the years I don't, I always miss them.

Now I usually decorate these with cinnamon candies. But not this year. I had a big bag of them. But a certain someone (ahem, Eric) ate them all. This is why I usually hide my baking goodies. In his defense, though, I didn't tell him not to eat them all. I just didn't think he could/would eat so many in less than a week. So I just used sprinkles to decorate them instead.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
3 cups mini marshmallows
4 cups plain cornflakes
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5-8 drops green food coloring
cinnamon candies

Directions:
In a large sauce pan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add marshmallows, stirring until the marshmallows are melted. Add vanilla and food coloring. Mix until the mixture is smooth. Carefully stir in cornflakes, making sure they are well-coated. Remove from heat. On waxed paper, form the mixture into wreaths. You can make them as large or small as you'd like. Decorate with cinnamon candies. Store in an airtight container.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

2012 Christmas Baking List
Christmas Kiss Cookies
Tea Cookies
Candied Citrus Peels
Christmas Candy Corn: Peppermint and Cinnamon
Homemade Chocolate-Covered Cherries
Sea Salt Nutella Fudge
Peanut Butter Fudge
Spiced Cranberry Juice

Check out last year's baking list!

Edye's Molasses Krinkles

It seems like everyone who bakes has that one recipe they make better than everyone else, their signature dish. I had heard about these molasses krinkles from Eric, his sister, and his dad long before I had ever tasted one. A while back Edye made a batch and they certainly lived up to their hype. She said I could share the recipe with you so here it is:

Ingredients:
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup shortening
4 tablespoons molassess
1 egg
2 1/4 cups flour, sifted
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves
granulated sugar for dusting

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Cream the shortening, sugar, and molasses. Add the egg and then sift the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Combine well.  Roll the dough into small balls, dip into granulated sugar and place on a cookie sheet.

Bake 10 to 12 minutes.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

Smores Cookies!

If you don't have access to a fire pit (or a gas stove or wood-burning fireplace) these cookies are the next best thing to actual campfire smores. You should have seen Eric's face when I told him I was making smores cookies. But it was nothing compared to when I gave him one to taste. Before I was done baking, he sneaked into the kitchen to steal a few more. I already know these cookies won't last long.

This recipe comes from here with a few minor changes. It makes about two dozen cookies.

Ingredients:
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/3 cup flour
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup mini marshmallows



Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray your cookie sheet with cooking spray.

Use a food processor to turn your graham crackers into fine crumbs. The site where I found this recipe said to use 7 graham cracker sheets to get 3/4 cup. I used 7 sheets and ended up with 1 cup of crumbs. So maybe 5 graham cracker sheets will work better?

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until it's light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix until well combined. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the crumbs, flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients until well combined. You can do this with an electric mixer, but I found it easier to do with my hands. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Scoop out a heaping tablespoon of dough and press two or three marshmallows into the center of the cookie* and place on the cookie sheet. Repeat with the rest of the dough.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.

*The original recipe called for Jets Puffed Mallow Bits and added them to the dough at the same time as the chocolate chips. I tried adding the mini marshmallow into the dough, but when I baked my first batch of cookies, the marshmallows on the sides and bottoms of the cookies melted out.

 So on the second batch I put the marshmallows in the center of the cookie. This fixed the problem.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

Applesauce Cookies with Caramel Frosting

I will use just about any excuse to try out a new dessert recipe. Visiting my parents for Independence Day was the perfect excuse to test not just one recipe, but two. These applesauce cookies were the second batch of cookies I prepared, the Baileys Cookies being the first. Applesauce cookies don't exactly scream summer--they do, however, yell out for autumn--but I had all the ingredients and I didn't want to wait months to try them. And I'm glad I didn't wait. They are cakey, fully of spice, and super yummy.

I slightly adapted this recipe. It makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Cookie Recipe
Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup shortening
1 egg
2 cups flour
1 ts baking soda
1 ts baking powder
1 cup applesauce
1/2 ts cinnamon
1/4 ts ground cloves
 
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and cloves together. Set aside.

In a second large bowl, cream the sugar and shortening with an electric mixer. Mix in the eggs and applesauce. Gradually stir in dry ingredients until well combined. Spoon a heaping tablespoon of dough on a cookie sheet, spacing the cookies about 2 inches apart. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Allow to cool.

Naked Cookies

Frosting Recipe
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup half and half
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup powdered sugar

Directions:
Place the butter, half and half, and brown sugar in a saucepan. Heat over medium heat, stirring until the mixture boils.* Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla. Allow to cool and then stir in the powdered sugar. Spread over the cookies.

*The caramel taste of the frosting isn't really that strong. My mom commented that she thought it tasted more maple than caramel and I agree with her. The brown sugar just didn't get to caramelize long enough, so next time I make these, I'm getting my candy thermometer out and boiling the brown sugar mixture until its temperature reaches 248 degrees. That should give it a good, strong caramel flavor.

Applesauce and Baileys cookies

Enjoy!

~Krissy

Baileys White Chocolate Chip Cookies

For the Fourth of July, Eric and I headed up north to spend the holiday with my parents at their cabin. If anyone has a bigger sweet-tooth than us, it's my parents. So before we left I made two different cookies, Baileys White Chocolate Chip Cookies and Applesauce Cookies with Caramel Frosting, to surprise them with. The cookies barely made it three days.

The Baileys White Chocolate Chip Cookies were my personal favorite. They are fluffy, chocolaty, and not overly sweet. Not only did I love their taste, but I loved making them. I could smell the chocolate in the cookies from the moment I began mixing the ingredients together until the cookies were baked and cooled.

I found this recipe here. It makes roughly 3 dozens.

Ingredients:
2 sticks of unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 2/3 cup flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoon Baileys Irish Cream
1 cup white chocolate chips*

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt together. Set aside.

In another large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together with an electric mixer. Add the eggs and vanilla and combine until fluffy. Mix in the Baileys. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ones. Fold in the chocolate chips. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerator for approximately 2 hours.

Seriously, I could not stop eating the dough.

Scoop a heaping tablespoon of dough on a cookie sheet, spacing the cookies about 2 inches apart. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.

*I'm going to let you in on a secret. Most recipes call for a 1 cup of chocolate chips, which is a perfectly adequate amount of chips. But I always add more. I pour in the cup then I add more until the dough looks like it has enough chips in it.

Baileys and Applesauce cookies

Enjoy!

~Krissy