Nutella & White Chocolate Cookie Sticks for World Nutella Day!

Did you know it's World Nutella Day on Thursday?! I'm not really sure why we need a specific designated day to eat Nutella...because if you know me at all, you know I eat Nutella every day without hesitation! but hey, I love national food days as much as the next food blogger and so I jumped on the bandwagon to show you one of my favourite recipes involving one of my favourite treats incase you want to whip them up for your own little Nutella celebration!

The first time I made these last year I made them twice in one week! I've made them several times since but they are THAT good that they have never made it to the photography stage before being completely devoured.  So this time around I restrained myself for long enough to get a few shots in! The observant ones out there among you will notice that I never usually photograph more than 4 of the things I've baked.  The reason? because they are the only ones I have left because the rest have been scoffed! You know those bloggers that take beautiful pictures of every portion of their bake straight out the oven, they show you the whole pan of cookies or the whole batch of cupcakes? Well, I just don't believe they are real legit food bloggers - because who can resist tasting your baked goods the second they come out the oven? Not me! Just keeping it real over here!

You know how else I keep it real, by doing away with things like rolling up each cookie - because that takes time! Precious time, that I could be using to catch up on the latest episode of Grey's, or catch up on Instagram or watch my sleeping baby - she's too adorable not to! So in place of rolling out individual cookies, you dump your whole bowl of cookie dough in a brownie pan, and spread it out using your hands, flatten it down, stick it in the oven and call it done! 

You'll wonder why you've never baked every batch of cookies like this!!

The pudding makes them super soft, so I recommend you don't leave it out! Most large supermarkets now sell the little jello pudding boxes in their American grocery section and it's not too pricey.  The little melty pools of white chocolate compliment the hazelnutty undertones of the Nutella perfectly and you'll be wanting to make your next batch before you've even finished your first - they are THAT good!

and don't even think about leaving out the warm Nutella drizzled on top! I even kept the rest that I didn't use in a piping bag in the tin of cookies after and everytime I popped one on a plate I would give it quadruple drizzle before zapping in the microwave for 15 seconds - do it, you won't be disappointed! 

Nutella & White Chocolate Cookie Sticks:

Makes 16

Adapted from Inside BruCrew Life

3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup Nutella

1/2 cup caster sugar

1/2 cup soft brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups plain flour

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 box jello instant chocolate pudding mix (3.4 ounces)

2 cups white chocolate, chopped

16 cubes of white chocolate

3 tbsp Nutella

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Grease an 11x7" pan with butter.

In the bowl of a freestanding electric mixer, beat the butter, Nutella, and both sugars until creamy.  Add the eggs and vanilla and beat again.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, bicarbonate of soda, salt and dry pudding mix.  Slowly beat into the creamed butter mixture until completely incorporated.  Do not over mix.

Chop up the white chocolate into chunks, stir it into the mix with a spatula.  

Spread the batter into the pan.  Bake for 12-14 minutes.  

Once out the oven, immediately press the 16 white chocolate chunks into the top of the cookie.  Put in the freezer to stop the chocolate on top melting.  After 20 minutes, take the cookie out.  Heat the Nutella in the microwave for 30 seconds and drizzle diagonally across the cookie. Cut it into 16 sticks.

Eat and enjoy!

If cookie sticks aren't your thing - I have you covered in other areas of Nutella amazingness!

Like this Ferrero Rocher & Nutella Fudge Cream Pie

or some Nutella Stuffed Brown Butter Choc Chunk Cookies

or Ferrero Rocher Brownie Cupcakes with Nutella Frosting

or my personal favourite, THE Fudgiest Nutella Brownies ever! 

and who can say no to S'mores & Nutella combined in this S'mores Fudge Pie?

or a little bit of Nutella & Raspberry Cheesecake in a jar

and this Peanut Butter, Oreo, Nutella & Banana Cream Pie

and the goodies that kickstarted my obsession...Nutella & Peanut Butter S'moreos!

Peanut Butter & Chocolate Chunk Cookie Sticks

Sometimes when it's cold and grey and rainy...you need baked goods! whether it is the weekend or not yet! but come on...Friday's count as the weekend right?

and sometimes only cookies will do!

but when you turn to your Pinterest list of cookie goodness, you discover that most of these recipes call for chilling your dough, for an hour...sometimes three...or sometimes OVERNIGHT!

Now, I know...chilling your dough has its merits and stops your cookies from spreading and makes them look more attractive but when that cookie craving creeps in who can stand to wait overnight to fulfil it?

Not me! 

Enter the cookie stick!

No chilling time, no rolling out into little balls...

maximum output of deliciousness with the minimum input...

Sounds good?

Sounds amazing...and the taste is even better!

Throw some chocolate chunks in, creamy peanut butter, and reese's pieces and your laughing!

A delicious winter warming treat, that only takes less than 15 minutes of prep time - you can't beat that!

Peanut Butter & Chocolate Chunk Cookie Sticks:

Makes 9

Adapted from My Baking Addiction

1 1/2 cups plain flour

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup creamy smooth peanut butter

1/2 cup caster sugar

1/2 cup light brown soft sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 large egg

3/4 cup Reese's Pieces

1 cup milk chocolate chunks 

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Line a brownie pan (11x7") with parchment paper. 

In a large bowl, combine the sieved flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the oil, peanut butter, both sugars, vanilla and egg. Mix on medium-high speed until thoroughly combined.  Add the flour mix in 3 parts, mixing on low speed until the flour is incorporated.

Chop the chocolate into chunks, and stir in with a spatula.  Add the Reese's Pieces and stir again.  Reserve back a handful of both to decorate the top.

Spread the cookie dough into the brownie pan, ensuring the surface is flat and level.  Sprinkle the handful of chocolate chunks and Reeese's Pieces across the top of the dough.

Bake in the preheated oven for 12-14 minutes, until the top looks golden brown, and the middle is still slightly gooey.

Remove from oven, and leave to cool in pan for 10 minutes.

Remove parchment from pan and cut the cookie vertically into cookie strips with a large sharp knife. Be careful because the cookie will still be quite soft and gooey, and you don't want any of the sticks to break in half.  Cool completely on wire rack.

Eat and enjoy!

Nutella Stuffed Brown Butter Choc Chunk Cookies

 

Lately there's been a lot of cookie making going on around here! My husband LOVES cookies, and gets very excited whenever I bake any! 

I was also trying to use up that ginormous jar of Nutella as I mentioned before so a stuffed Nutella cookie seemed like as good an idea as any.  When I went to my Nutella pinterest board in search of inspiration and I found Tracey's brown butter Nutella stuffed choc chip cookies I knew I needed to look no further! 

I made up the cookie dough and kept it frozen and baked four cookies each night over the period of a week.  This was for two reasons - one, because I knew they were going to be so downright delicious that if I'd baked up all the cookies at once I would have had a hard time restraining myself to eating just a few! and two - because it gave me the opportunity to try out different methods to see which was best for stuffing the Nutella in the cookie.

Most recipes I came across seemed to use their Nutella frozen in the cookies.  This seemed like a logical idea to me - bake it frozen and in the oven it will turn into a gooey melty pool of Nutella that we know and love.  So I put my Nutella in a piping bag and piped lovely little round discs of Nutella and froze them, ready to be stuffed into the cookies.  I popped a frozen disc in the middle and baked it up.  I was SO excited to get my cookies out the oven - but when I did there was no melty pool of Nutella oozing out the middle! the disc of Nutella was still pretty solid! and more like a giant chocolate chip - that really wasn't what I was after!

So the next night, I got them out the freezer slightly earlier in the process, and thought that would help but again it didn't really melt the way I wanted it too.  Finally on the last night, I forgot about my frozen discs altogether! I dolloped a little teaspoon of room temperature Nutella in the middle of my cookie ball and squeezed the cookie dough around the Nutella, as I squeezed it together all kinds of Nutella squirted out and I had to roll it back into the cookie which left the cookie perfectly streaked - now this was my kind of Nutella cookie! Once it came out the oven, the Nutella was perfectly gooey and delicious in the centre of the cookie but also there were lovely streaks throughout the cookie.

Perfection! So if you were to bake these in your kitchen, that is the method I would recommend using! I have a feeling the pictures I took for you were on day 3 of the method testing, day 5's results were so delicious that they did not hang around to be photographed! So if you want to see that big gooey pool of Nutella oozing out a cookie...you're just going to have to bake some up for yourself!

Nutella Stuffed Brown Butter Choc Chunk Cookies:

Makes 20

Adapted from Tracey's Culinary Adventures

225g unsalted butter

300g self raising flour

1/2 tsp coarse sea salt

170g packed light brown sugar

100g caster sugar

1 egg

1 egg yolk

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp semi skimmed milk

180g milk chocolate chunks

15g grated milk chocolate

1/2 cup Nutella

 Slice up the butter thinly into chunks, and add it to a frying pan over medium heat and let it start melting.  Continue cooking, swirling the pan occasionally, until the butter becomes golden brown and smells nutty (be patient and watch carefully - it can go from brown to burnt quickly).  Pour the butter into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.  Let it cool.

Whisk the flour and sea salt together in a medium bowl.  Add both the sugars to the bowl of the mixer along with the cooled brown butter.  Beat on medium speed until blended.  Add the egg and egg yolk, mixing until incorporated and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Mix in the vanilla, and milk.  With the mixer on low, add the flour and salt mix in two additions, beating until just incorporated.  Add the chocolate chunks (but reserve some for adding to the top of the cookies - I like to put 3 full chunks on top of each cookie before it is baked) and grated chocolate and mix until evenly distributed. Cover the bowl with clingfilm and refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.  Line your baking trays with parchment paper or a silpat mat. 

Using a small cookie scoop, about 2 tbsp, portion the dough into balls.  Working with one ball at a time, use your thumb to create a well in the centre of the ball.  Add a dollop of room temperature Nutella, straight from the jar, into the well and then seal the cookie dough around it so it's completely enclosed.  Repeat with all of the dough and Nutella, placing the balls of dough 2 inches apart.

 Bake the cookies for 12-14 minutes or until the edges are golden brown and set.  Let cool for 10 minutes and then transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool completely.  

These cookies are best warm from the oven, which is why it's good to freeze the dough and just bake a few as and when you want them.  Alternatively, microwave for 15-20 seconds before eating!

Eat and enjoy!

Smarties & Chocolate Chunk Cookies

I have a smarties obsessed husband! I haven't had the inclination to eat anything smarties related since I was about 10! Byron, on the other hand, requested smarties birthday cakes for three years running!  So when we were in the supermarket the other day he picked up a multi pack of smarties and asked if I could turn them into cookies - how could I say no?!

 

 I decided to add in some big chocolate chunks too, because I was going to be eating some of these after all as well! we had to add a little sophistication to them somehow! Actually sophistication should have probably come in the form of dark chocolate chunks but I can't stand the taste of dark chocolate...milk all the way for me!

 

 These cookies were the perfect mix of chewy and soft on the inside and golden and crisp on the outside.  I got served a very overdone choc chip cookie at a cafe the other day and it made me sad! Surely everyone knows the rule that you take out cookies when they look underdone and that will let them bake to the perfect consistency as they cool down on the tray!

I got out my triple tiered cooling rack in anticipation of the vast amount of cookies we were going to bake up, but I needn't have bothered because we'd demolished the first batch before the second was even out of the oven! I seem to remember it was a grey and rainy Saturday afternoon...and when all your friends down south are posting gloriously sunny blue sky antics on instagram and facebook and you're stuck in gloomy Scotland on a grey day when it SHOULD BE THE MIDDLE OF SUMMER, well...eating your way through whole batches of cookies is the only thing to keep spirits up!

Smarties & Choc Chunk Cookies:

Makes 18

Adapted from Picky Palate

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup caster sugar

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1 large egg

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups plain flour

3 tbsp instant vanilla pudding mix

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 cup large milk chocolate chunks

1 cup smarties

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.

Line a large baking tray with greaseproof paper, or a silpat liner is what I use.

In a large mixing bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugars until well combined.  Add the egg and vanilla, mixing to combine.  Add the flour, pudding mix, bicarbonate of soda and salt, stirring to combine with a wooden spoon.  Chop up the chocolate chunks and add them in with the smarties, stir with a spoon or spatula until they have all been incorporated.  

Using a medium cookie scoop, place dough 1 inch apart from each other.  Bake for 10-12 minutes until cooked through (but still appearing to look underdone).  Let cool on cookie sheet for 10 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Eat and enjoy!

Milk Chocolate Chunk & Coconut Cookies: Just like Ben's Cookies!

A few months back, a colleague from work went to the States for the first time.  He came back raving about how awesome all the food was he had there, and of course I was only to happy to join in that conversation with him! So we talked about the deliciousness of the cheesecake factory and how awesome Ghiradelli chocolate is and before I was even able to tell him about my favourite slab of Ghiradelli he beat me to it and started gushing about the toasted coconut milk chocolate bar! 

For the rest of the day I could not get that bar of delightful-ness out of my head! 

 

 All week I was dreaming up milk chocolate and coconut creations, when at the same time I started to have another craving...for Ben's Cookies! We used to get these cookies all the time down South...in Covent Garden as a child or Oxford and Brighton as a teenager.  There was even that one time we visited Coventry for the day as I was possibly considering Uni there...and when I saw they had a Ben's cookies that nearly swayed it for me! So I just assumed there were Ben's Cookies stores all over the UK! So when my craving hit, I googled to see if there was one in Edinburgh or Glasgow and to my horror there wasn't!!

 You see the thing that makes Ben's Cookies so delicious in my opinion, is that they don't just use measley little chocolate chips - oh no, they use great big chunks of chocolate that leave gooey molten pools of yumminess in your cookies! 

 

So I decided it was time to make my own (since I will sadly not be making it down South anytime soon)! I followed a recipe that I had baked waaay back in 2008 and at the time I remember thinking the cookies tasted pretty similar to Ben's Cookies!

This time I added some shredded coconut into the batter, and a drop of coconut extract so amp up the coconut flavour! 

...and let's have one more close up on why these are the best cookies - yep, those huge gooey globs of chocolate! 

I officially started my maternity leave this week - Baby Braithwaite has one more week until it's due date :) so you can expect lots more blogging around here! and I'm hoping lots more baking too!

In the meantime if you're missing out on Ben's Cookies too...or needing a chocolate and coconut fix then these cookies are definitely for you!

 Milk Chocolate Chunk and Coconut Cookies: Ben's Cookies Style

Makes 16

Adapted from Cookie Carnival

1 cup unsalted butter

1 cup light brown sugar, tightly packed

1/2 cup caster sugar

2 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon coconut extract

3 cups plus 2 tbsp plain flour

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

16 oz/450g milk chocolate, chopped into chunks

1/2 cup shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.

Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper, or silicone cookie mats and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl.  Beat in the coconut extract (you could also use vanilla if you can't get hold of coconut extract).

Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt together in a a separate large bowl.  Add the dry ingredients 1/3 at a time to the mixer, and mix until just combined.   Fold in the chocolate chunks.  Stir in the shredded coconut.  

Using an ice cream scoop to get nice uniform size chunky cookies, scoop out the dough onto the baking trays.  You should get 8 cookies on each sheet, or if you have smaller trays place 6 balls of dough on each sheet because the cookies will spread.  Bake for 15-17 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.

Cool the cookies for 5 minutes on the baking trays, and then transfer them over to wire racks to cool completely.

Make sure you eat the cookies warm to get the full effect of all that gooey chocolate, or if you're eating them at a later time then just buzz each one in the microwave for 15 seconds.

Eat and enjoy!

Easter M&M Cookies 3 Ways: White Chocolate, Peanut Butter & Coconut!

Happy Easter! It's still Easter Monday here in Vancouver so I'm trying to sneak these Easter cookies through just in time! I went to America last week and bought tons of Easter candy, I was so excited to get baking and then Easter just crept up on me out of nowhere! Plus we went on an awesome kayaking and camping adventure up the Indian Arm fjord for the weekend and so there wasn't much time to bake! It has been an absolutely beautiful Easter weekend here, with bright blue skies and so much sunshine! and I just have to show off the beautiful cherry blossom trees that are blooming right outside my house! I love it! After the gloomy and rainy never ending winter we've had here though I feel it's deserved! 

So to make up for my lack of blogging recently, I'm giving you a triple whammy! 3 blog posts in one! They are all M&M Cookies - made with different M&M flavours.  None of these flavours are available in the UK so just swap out ones that are available, or splurge and buy these varieties in specialist American candy stores! 

I had spied these white chocolate M&M pudding cookies a few weeks ago, and immediately pinned the recipe knowing that I would be able to pick up these seasonal M&M's in America (because we don't get them in Canada either, boo hoo!) and I picked up the white chocolate pudding mix there too!

I love how pretty the pastel colours are - they make perfect Easter treats to give away or just scoff yourself! The white chocolate pudding mix gives a subtle white chocolate flavour throughout the cookies without making them too heavy, and you get bursts of real melted white chocolate coming through from the M&M's that tastes amazing! 

White Chocolate M&M Pudding Cookies:

Makes 18

From The Recipe Critic

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup light brown sugar

1/4 cup caster sugar

3.4 oz package white chocolate instant pudding mix

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 1/4 cups plain flour

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups white chocolate m&m's

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F/180 degrees C.

Line baking sheets with parchment paper or a silpat non stick baking mat.

In a large bowl, mix together flour, bicarbonate of soda, salt and white chocolate pudding mix (just the powder).   Set aside.

In an electric mixer, cream together the butter and both sugars.  Add eggs and vanilla extract and mix together.  Add the bowl of dry ingredients.  Beat together until just blended.  Stir in the M&M's with a wooden spoon.  

Using an ice cream scoop, scoop out cookie dough and place 2 inches apart on baking sheet.

Bake for 10-13 minutes or until slightly golden.  Cool for a few minutes on the tray, and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.  Eat and enjoy!

I also picked up some really delicious egg shaped M&M's that were filled with peanut butter! They were so delicious that my husband and I nearly ate the whole bag and so I didn't have quite as many as I needed to whip up this batch of cookies, so I subbed in some mixed peanut butter and milk chocolate chips as well as the remaining eggs! 

I was quite excited to make these cookies as they involved corn starch and corn starch cookies have got quite the rep these days! 

These were incredibly soft and crumbly and tasty! They had a really good peanut butter zing to them! and I just love the prettiness of the pastel eggs too!

Peanut Butter Egg M&M Cookies:

Makes 18

From Bakerita

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup smooth peanut butter

3/4 cup light brown sugar

1/4 cup caster sugar

1 large egg

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups plain flour

2 tsp cornstarch

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1/2 cup peanut butter egg m&m's

1 cup milk choc and peanut butter chips

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the butter, peanut butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla and beat on medium speed until well creamed and fluffy, for about 5 minutes.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the flour, cornstarch, bicarbonate of soda and salt and mix until just combined for 1 minute.  

Fold the M&M's and chocolate chips in with a wooden spoon, do not use the mixer or else they will break.  

Using a medium 2 inch cookie scoop, scoop out the dough and place onto a pre prepared baking tray 2 inches apart.  Flatten cookie dough mounds slightly with your palm, cover the tray in cling film/plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 2 hours.  

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F/180 degrees C.

Bake for 10-13 minutes, until just set.  Allow cookies to cool on baking tray for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.  

Eat and enjoy! 

The final cookies I'm sharing with you I made way back in January.  I had picked up some Coconut M&M's (my fave!) in Seattle and I was keen to bake them into some cookies so I adapted Tracey's recipe slightly to make them more coconutty because everything is better once it's been coconut-ified in my opinion! Yes, I'm making up words all over the show today! 

I'm definitely a pudding cookie convert! It produces a softer than usual cookie, and I like it! For all my English followers, boxed instant pudding is not something you'll find on your supermarket shelves so if you want to give these a go you'll have to get some instant jello from a specialist store like The Stateside Candy Co.  I'm not really sure that we have a UK alternative but if anyone has a go with something else then let me know how it turns out!

Coconut M&M Pudding Cookies:

Makes 28

Adapted From Tracey's Culinary Adventures

2 1/2 cups plain flour

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup light brown sugar

1/4 cup caster sugar

1 (3.4oz) package instant vanilla pudding mix

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup coconut m&m's

1/2 cup shredded coconut

1/4 cup milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F/180 degrees C.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper of silpat non stick baking mats.  

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt together.  In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment cream the butter and both sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Beat in the pudding mix (just the powder) until combined and then add the eggs, one at a time, and the vanilla.  With the mixer on low, gradually add the dry ingredients, beating until just combined.  Use a rubber spatula to stir in the coconut m&m's, shredded coconut and chocolate chips.  

Using a medium cookie scoop, scoop the dough onto the baking sheets, spacing the cookies 2 inches apart.  Bake for 12-15 minutes, rotating the sheets halfway through.  The edges of the cookies should be golden brown.  Leave the cookies to cool on the sheets for 5 minutes and then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.  Eat and enjoy!

Well that was an M&M overload! Hope you enjoyed...and get ready for more regular blog posts around here, my slacking time is over! 

White Chocolate Peppermint M&M Cookies

I used to see awesome looking recipes on American blogs that involved speciality candies that we just didn't get in England, I would wish longingly that I could have access to those tasty treats! Sometimes I would get so desperate that I would pay crazy high prices to order them off American grocery websites...but I no longer have to do that!

When I spotted this recipe and realised it included White Chocolate Peppermint M&M's, I already had a bag of these babies sitting in my cupboard...just waiting to be baked up into something awesome! and so paired with some white chocolate chips and crushed candy canes, and these cookies were born! 

I have never had crushed candy canes in cookies before, they gave a great texture and didn't give an overbearing peppermint flavour either.  The white chocolate chips balanced out the mintiness perfectly! and these cookies tasted great cold...and even better warm too!

They were the perfect seasonal treat!

White Chocolate Peppermint M&M Cookies:

Makes 30

From Two Peas & Their Pod

3 cups plain flour

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup caster sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup white chocolate chips

1/2 cup crushed candy canes

1 cup White Chocolate Peppermint M&M's

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line a large baking sheet with a silpat baking mat (I have one of those now too!) or parchment paper and set aside.

Combine flour, salt and bicarbonate of soda in a medium bowl.  Set aside.

Cream butter and sugars together in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until combined.  Add eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth.  Slowly mix in the dry ingredients.  Stir in the white chocolate chips, candy canes and M&M's.

Drop heaped tablespoons of dough on prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart.  Bake for 10-12 minutes or until cookies are golden around the edges, but still soft in the centre.  Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes.  Transfer cookies to wire rack and cool completely.

Eat and enjoy!

United Bakes of America Round 7 and Christmas Chocolate Crinkle Kiss Cookies!

Now that was a mouthful! I have been wanting to make crinkle cookies for so long, they seem so simple yet look so effective! and when I saw that Bakergirl had made some and put festive Hershey's Kisses on top I knew I had to make them a.s.a.p because I had a cupboard stuffed full of festive Kisses so it was the perfect match! 

You can really decorate them with any chocolate you like, for the caramel lovers Rolo's would be fun, for the peanut butter lovers mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups would be super delish, but for mine I used 3 varieties of Hershey's Kisses: peppermint candy cane, mint truffle and cookies and cream.

They all turned out to be so yummy that I had a hard time to not devour them all in one evening! but my favourite of the bunch had to be the mint truffle kiss cookie! The cookies themselves are so rich and fudgy, and the addition of a flavoured kiss on top just sends them over the edge!

These would be the perfect cookie to make for your christmas cookie exchange, or to hand out as christmas gifts or to just have around the house for all those visitors you will be getting in the next few weeks!

Bake these up and your Christmas visitors will love you for it!

Christmas Chocolate Crinkle Kiss Cookies:

Makes 30

From Bakergirl

2 cups plain flour

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking salt

2 cups caster sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

4 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup icing sugar

Assorted Hershey's Kisses (I used peppermint, mint truffle and cookies and cream)

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.

In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla extract.  Stir flour mixture into sugar mixture, until just combined.  Place plastic wrap over the bowl and refrigerate dough for at least 2 hours.  

Meanwhile, unwrap Hershey's Kisses, place in a small bowl and freeze until ready to use.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F/180 degrees C.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or foil; set aside.  Place icing sugar in a small bowl and set aside.

Scoop dough into 1/2 tablespoon balls (make sure you stick firmly to the 1/2 tablespoon...I thought that seemed like hardly any dough at all so I was more generous with my first batch and they turned out huge!), roll in the icing sugar, and place on baking sheet.  Bake for 11-13 minutes, until cookies crackle and no longer look raw (they'll start to look cakey).

Remove from oven.  Immediately press a frozen kiss into each cookie, then place cookie sheet into the freezer just until chocolate is set and is no longer shiny.  Remove from freezer and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

...and there you have it! I dare you not to eat more than 5 in one go! 

Now, onto what other US inspired treats others have been baking! Ros from The More Than Occasional Baker made these absolutely adorable little Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Baked Buttermilk Mini Donuts! Not only do they have Reese's Peanut Butter Cups on top, but they also have vanilla pudding inside the donuts which is an ingredient you can only get in the States! Luckily, Ros thought to pick some up last time she was there 'just in case' and lucky she did! The recipe she used is also from a California blogger, Picky Palate, who happens to be one of my fave bloggers - in fact I forgot that I myself had recommended this recipe to Ros a few months back knowing the peanut butter loving fan she is! Glad she got a chance to try them...now I'm planning to try them myself too after these drool worthy pics! What's not to love about a light and fluffy buttermilk doughnut, dipped in ganache and covered in mighty chunks of peanut butter cup! 

My coconut loving blogging friend, Kit, from I-Lost in Austen made this beautiful Praline Bundt Cake after her husband brought her back a Bundt pan from his business trip to San Diego (lucky thing!). Apparently Bundt pans are hard to come by in France and so she was pretty pleased with her gift, I bet her husband was too after she baked this yummy sounding recipe! The bundt has chopped pecans and praline baked inside as well as cream cheese resulting in a super moist cake which I think is evident from the picture and as if that isn't delicious enough, it was then drizzled with praline icing! 

Finally, my sister Tamara baked up these Snickers Blondies using the Outsider Tart cookbook.  I am super jealous because I know exactly what these taste like, I tried one for myself back here and so I know just what I was missing out on by not living nearby enough to pop on over for a piece! They are baked like a brownie but packed with caramel, chocolate and peanut goodness and then drizzled with caramel and peanuts on top! If you live in London, you can try the real deal by picking one up from Outsider Tart themselves! You won't be sorry!

So I'm super excited to see what everyone bakes up this month, especially because it's December and as bakers we will all be in overload and I'm hoping lots of fun festive stuff will pop up! Be sure to enter UBA if it's an American inspired dish or uses American ingredients, because I love to see what you come up with!

Happy baking!

Giant S'mores Stuffed Choc Chip Cookies for National S'mores Day!

Happy National S'mores Day!

We couldn't have asked for better timing here in the UK because after a few weeks of washout weather the sun has FINALLY remembered it's late to the party and has put in an appearance which means everyone should be BBQing it up tonight and in our house BBQ's = S'mores! So for all you first timers out there who have yet to enjoy the s'moreish goodness I'm urging you all to go out buy some marshmallows, buy a pack of biscuits, buy some super delish choc (Milka was my choc of choice this time) and join in the s'mores party, seen as how it's National S'mores Day it would be rude not to!!

My search continues to incorporate s'mores into every baked good possible! so when I stumbled upon Tara's amazing s'mores stuffed chocolate chip cookies I knew I had to bake some up!

Tara made her own graham crackers from scratch but after trying my hand at these a few months back I don't think they compare to regular graham crackers - there's not enough crunch to them! so I stuck with Nabisco's boxed ones to keep the cookies as authentic as possible!

I decided to incorporate both milk and white chocolate chunks into my cookies just to add to the fun! and yes that's about a fistful size of cookie dough you have to put either side of the ready made s'more! 

So I ended up baking my cookies on one baking tray at the time because by the time they spread out in the oven they were the size of small pizzas! 

Yes, they're over the top! but who could deny a giant warm and melted chocolate studded cookie complete with a gooey marshmallow s'more baked into the middle! Not me, that's for sure!

Go get some s'mores love, you won't be disappointed!

Giant S'mores Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies:

Makes 4

From Smells Like Home

For the cookie dough:

2 cups plus 2 tbsp plain flour

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1/2 tsp salt

12 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled until warm

1 cup soft brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup caster sugar

1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk

2 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 cup milk chocolate chunks

3/4 cup white chocolate chunks

For assembly:

1 cookie dough recipe, at room temperature

8 graham cracker squares, broken into halves

4 marshmallows, chopped in half lengthwise

2 rows of milk chocolate from an 100g bar of Milka (or your chocolate of choice)

Prepare 4 s'mores: Break each graham cracker square in half.  Place 2-3 squares of milk chocolate (depending on which size/brand you have used) on top of the graham cracker.  Cut marshmallows lengthwise, place one half on top of the chocolate.  Finish with the graham cracker half.  Set those 4 s'mores aside for later.

For the cookie dough: Whisk the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt together in a medium bowl; set aside.  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or by hand, mix butter and sugars until thoroughly combined.  Beat in the egg, yolk and vanilla until combined.  Add dry ingredients and beat at low speed just until combined - the batter should look a little lumpy.  Stir in chocolate chips.  

Preheat oven to 160 degrees C.  Line two baking trays with parchment paper.  

Get two large spoonfuls of cookie dough and shape them into a flat circle.  Put the cookie dough round onto the baking tray and place a pre prepared s'more on top.  Take two more spoonfuls of cookie dough and shape them into a round and place them on top of the graham cracker and then shape the dough around the s'more until it is completely covered - at this stage it will resemble a cookie dough mound!

Mine were so big that I had to use one tray per cookie, so I baked in two sessions.  Bake for 20-24 minutes or until the tops and edges are slightly browned and the edges just lift off the tray with a spatula.  The s'mores will most likely peek out of the cookies but it just adds to the charm so go with it! 

Leave them to cool on the trays for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool for a further 10 minutes.

If you have made something s'moreishly delicious then hop on over to Mandy's blog where you can add your blog post to her link party - go on...then we can have a giant collection of s'more related baked goods - it will be amazing! It doesn't just have to be something you've made today either!