Marbled Cheesecake, also known as...

... not everything I make turns out as expected. Or looking good for that matter...

A lot of people ask if I ever make things that don't turn out right. This is a prime example of the fact that it does happen to everyone. I decided to make cheesecake for our monthly cooking club. The theme this month was indulgent foods and I immediately thought of the cheesecake pictures in Baking from My home to Yours. Dorie's cheesecake looks absolutely perfect. I've never made a cheesecake before. I made the Daring Baker's Cheesecake pops last year, but it didn't have a crust... When I was getting everything together, I realized I don't have a pan big enough to make a water bath for my 9" springform pan. After some research online, I decided to put a pan with hot water on the bottom rack below the cheesecake.

I opted to make the marbled variation of the cheesecake with a chocolate graham cracker crust. I think I used more than 1/3 of the batter in the chocolate because it didn't look very marbled. I should have taken a picture of it before I baked it to show the marbled top...

After the hour and a half, I pulled the cheesecake out a tad just to stick a knife in it to see if it was done. It had risen up but didn't look done so I put it back in for 15 more minutes. When I checked it at that point, some of the edge had fallen over the pan. I turned the oven off and propped the oven open with a wooden spoon for an hour. When that timer went off, I found my hideous looking cheesecake. Not only had a good amount flowed overboard, the cheesecake was cracked, and sunken in. Not my best showing... BUT, it does taste like a delicious cheesecake, so I guess that's all that matters.

If anyone has any advice on how to prevent this next time, I'd greatly appreciate it.

To see the entire recipe, check out the Tuesday's with Dorie member who chose the recipe for the group, Anne of AnneStrawberry. Be sure to see how all the TWD members did (also check out what Dorie herself says about the cheesecake). The recipe says you can use 1 1/3 cup sour cream or heavy cream or a combination of the two. I used 2/3 cup sour cream and 2/3 cup heavy cream.

Checking more things off my list!!

I made two varieties of cupcakes for the holiday potluck we went to. I actually had decided to make two flavors so that I could send some to some good friends in the Midwest that we miss hanging out with. I got rave reviews when I did that for some family member's birthdays a couple months ago AND this will help me to start to mark another item off my list. One of the things on my list is to send baked goods to friends or family members at least three times in the next 6 months.

I did hear that everyone's cupcakes stuck to the lid when they opened the jars. In an effort to fix that problem, I placed a piece of waxed paper between the frosting and the lid. I just used the lid as a stencil to cut the paper. I'm hoping that will help prevent the frosting from pulling half of the cupcake off when the lid is opened.

I sent them two of the chocolate peppermint cupcakes, and two spice cupcakes with white chocolate cream cheese frosting. For the chocolate cupcakes, I decided that Swiss meringue buttercream probably wasn't stable enough for traveling. I decided to use up the leftover white chocolate cream cheese frosting. I added some peppermint extract and again added red stripes. As you can see in the picture, the food coloring "sticks" to cream cheese frosting much better than it does to Swiss meringue buttercream. Of course that makes sense. The buttercream is very slippery. These stripes are very intense, but I like them!


1 Order Denver trip plane tix by 12/31 (finished 12/20)
2 Order Europe trip plane tix
3 Start kitchen remodel
4 Make creme brulee
5 Work out 3x/wk for 6 wks (one / two / three / four / five / six)
6 Eat no french fries for a month (and I LOVE french fries)
7 Read my D40 manual, and start applying what I'm learning from it - started
8 Finish the major craft project I started 2 years ago
9 Go to a dr about my wrist
10 Send baked goods to family/friends (one sent 12/27 / two / three) - started
11 Read 1 book/month (Jan / Feb / Mar / Apr / May / June)
12 Learn to ski
13 Plan/Host a girls night (in or out)
13.5 Send at least 5 birthday cards (one / two / three / four / five)

Chocolate Peppermint Cupcakes

These are the second cupcakes that I took to our holiday potluck (and my second Cupcake Hero entry). They consist of a chocolate cupcake, white chocolate peppermint ganache filling, and peppermint Swiss meringue buttercream. They were delicious and in fact one person at the potluck said it was the best cupcake he'd ever had in his entire life. I think that's a good compliment! This chocolate cupcake recipe could possibly be my new go-to chocolate cupcake recipe.. It comes together very easily and the addition of the coffee rounds out the chocolate flavor very well. I made a half batch and got 12 cupcakes. I scaled down the frosting recipe to 3/4 of the original recipe and it made the right amount of frosting for my 12 cupcakes (I put a lot on each one).

I got inspiration for these cupcakes from Fields of Cake and Other Good Stuff. I saw these in my Google Reader and knew I had to try them. They definitely did not disappoint. To make the stripes in the frosting, I painted the inside of the piping bag, similar to how I did for the Peppermint Chocolate Meringue Cookies. I also made my filling the day before I filled the cupcakes, so all of the candy canes dissolved and mixed completely into the white chocolate.

Dark Chocolate Cake - from Allrecipes.com - makes 24 cupcakes
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups white sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup cold brewed coffee
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vinegar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Make a well in the center and pour in the eggs, coffee, milk, oil and vinegar. Mix until smooth, batter will be thin. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes (for the cupcakes, I baked them about 22 minutes), or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool.

White Chocolate Peppermint Ganache - from Fields of Cake and Other Good Things
14 ounces white chocolate chopped into 1/4 inch pieces (best you can afford...look for cocoa butter in the ingredients)
2/3 cup heavy cream
8 candy canes crushed

Place white chocolate in medium heat proof bowl. Heat heavy cream in small pot until ALMOST to a boil, immediately pour over the chocolate. Allow to sit for 5 minutes then stir until smooth. Allow to cool. When it has cooled, add the crushed candy canes and fold in.

If you want it to be crunchy, use within the day. If you want it to have some liquid pockets allow it to age a day or two (in the fridge of course). You can bring it back to room temperature before using again.

Mint Swiss Meringue Buttercream - from How to Eat a Cupcake
4 egg whites
1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 teaspoons peppermint extract (more if you like it really minty)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Put egg whites and sugar in a double boiler over simmering water. Whisking constantly, cook until sugar has dissolved and mixture is warm (about 160 degrees).

Pour heated egg mixture into a clean bowl of a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat egg white mixture on high speed until it forms stiff (but not dry) peaks. Continue beating until fluffy and cooled, about 8 minutes (It's very important to beat it for the whole 8 minutes).

Switch to the paddle attachment. With mixer on medium-low, add butter several tablespoons at a time, beating well after each addition. (If frosting appears soupy or separated after all butter has been added, beat on medium-high speed until smooth again, 3 to 5 minutes more.)

Beat in extracts. Reduce speed to low; beat 2 minutes to eliminate air bubbles. Stir with a rubber spatula until smooth.

Spice cupcakes with White Chocolate Cream Cheese frosting

I wanted to make some holiday inspired cupcakes for the potluck we were going to. As usual, I may have overdone it a bit... I ended up taking two kinds of cupcakes and two kinds of cookies to take with us. I took some of the Peppermint Chocolate Meringue cookies and the Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies as well as the two kinds of cupcakes.

The first cupcake I chose is the Spice cupcake that was one of my first blog posts. I made them in July last year and they reminded Hubby and I so much of Christmas just because of the scent. This time I paired it with some great white chocolate cream cheese frosting. I decorated with some holiday sprinkles.

I'm also going to submit these for Cupcake Hero. The theme is White Chocolate and submissions are due by the end of January. I did make two versions of white chocolate mocha cupcakes for last January's Cupcake Hero as well (the theme back then was coffee). I am hoping to make at least one more submission before the deadline arrives. Be sure to check out the Cupcake Hero site for the other entries.

Spice Cupcakes -from Crazy about Cupcakes - makes 12
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 cup boiling water
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat over to 350F. Insert liners into a medium cupcake pan.

In a small bowl combine the molasses and boiling water. Set aside.

In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy, 3-5 minutes. Add the egg to the creamed mixture. Beat well.

In a separate bowl combine the remaining ingredients.

Beat the flour mixture into the creamed mixture, alternating with the molasses mixture. Beat well after each addition.

Fill the cupcake liners three-quarters full. Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of cupcakes comes out clean. Cool cupcakes in the pan.

White chocolate cream cheese frosting - from Baking Bites
4-oz cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
1-oz white chocolate, melted and slightly cooled
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tsp milk or cream
2-3 cups confectioners’ sugar

In a large mixing bowl, cream together cream cheese, butter and melted white chocolate.

Beat in vanilla and milk, then add in the confectioners’ sugar gradually until the frosting reaches your desired consistency.

Texas Sheet Cake

First things first, Merry Christmas everybody! I hope the holidays are treating you well this year. My mom used to make this cake all the time. It's really really really good. It's more like frosted brownies and it's delicious. You should make this. Today. Or tomorrow since you might be in a food coma already today.

I made these during my lunch break on a day that I worked from home. I sent them to work with hubby the next day so we wouldn't eat them all!! These are REALLY good warmed up with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.

There are a few things about this recipe that just feel weird after all the baking I've done in the past few years. For one, you just throw all the ingredients together (this recipe is SO easy!) None of this adding flour and alternating with milk blah blah blah. It's kind of refreshing to just throw everything in and turn on the mixer. You also boil butter and cocoa. Twice. It's awesome. And don't worry about the 3 sticks of butter. They're totally worth it.

Texas Sheet Cake - from my mom - no idea where it's originally from, although PW does have the same recipe posted on her cooking blog...
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp vingar + 1/2 cup milk
2 sticks butter
4 tbsp cocoa
1 cup water

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix the flour, sugar, sour cream, salt, eggs, baking soda and buttermilk in a large bowl.

Bring the butter, cocoa and water to a boil.

Add at once to flour mixture. Mix well and pour into greased cookie sheet. The batter is VERY runny.

Bake 20 min at 350. While the cake is baking, you will have just enough time to clean up the mess you made, wash the dishes and prepare the frosting. It's important to frost the cake immediately out of the oven, so no slacking here!

Frosting1 box powdered sugar (1 lb) - I just eyeball it to 1/2 of a 2 lb bag
1 cup chopped pecans
1 tsp vanilla
1 stick butter
6 tbsp milk
4 tbsp cocoa

Combine the following the powdered sugar, pecans and vanilla.

Bring remaining ingredients to a boil. Add to the sugar mixture. Ice cake right out of oven.

12 Days of Cookies - Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies

I let Hubby chose the last cookie for the 12 Days of Cookies. I gave him a list of 5 that came out of my Google Reader. He chose these chocolate covered cherry cookies. Like I have been doing recently, I made a 1/2 batch of these cookies. Hubby and I have started putting on holiday weight and it's not even the holidays yet! This blog could be the death of me... I did only got 14 cookies out of my half batch. I used my cookie scoop to portion the dough, so apparently I made mine bigger than the original poster did.

These cookies are very good. I love the two textures of chocolate on them. And the surprise of a cherry in the middle is very good. I will definitely make these again sometime. Since they're not overly holiday-ey they could be made any time of the year.

Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies - from A Good Appetite
1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1/2 c unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 t baking soda
1/4 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
1/2 c unsalted butter, softened
1 c sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 t vanilla
24 maraschino cherries
1/2 c semisweet chocolate chips - I used a mix of semisweet & bittersweet
1/4 c sweetened condensed milk

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Mix the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder & salt together, set aside.

In a mixer beat the butter until softened. Add the sugar & cream until like & fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Add the flour mixture & beat until well mixed.

Roll the dough into 1-inch balls & place them 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheets. Use your thumb to make an indentation in the center of each cookie.

Drain the cherries reserving the juice. Remove the stems & cut the cherries in half. Place 1/2 of a cherry into the indentation in each cookie.

Put the chocolate chips & condensed milk in a small saucepan. Stir over low heat until the chocolate is melted. Stir in 4 teaspoons of the cherry juice. Spoon 1/2 - 1 teaspoon of chocolate over the top of each cherry covering it completely. If the chocolate is too thick add a little more cherry juice.

Bake for 10 minutes & cool on a rack.

These cookies will freeze well. Individually freeze them on a cookie sheet. Once frozen place them in a box with wax paper between layers then back into the freezer.

My 12 Days of Cookies:Day 1: Lumberjacks
Day 2: Peppermint Sandies
Day 3: The great Sugar Cookie Debate
Day 4: Fudge
Day 5: Cranberry Orange Cookies
Day 6: Chocolate Chip Snowballs
Day 7: Peppermint Chocolate Cookies
Day 8: Snickerdoodles
Day 9: Candy Cane & Mint Kiss Cookies
Day 10: Chocolate Peppermint Meringue Cookies
Day 11: Butter Ball Cookies

12 Days of Cookies - Butter Ball Cookies

These cookies are very similar to the Chocolate Chip Snowballs I made on Day 6 of my 12 Days of Cookies, except they have no chocolate chips in them. I found this dough to be way too crumbly to form into balls. I had to add a little over a teaspoon of water to the dough to be able to work with it. These are one of my stepmom's favorite holiday cookies, so I decided to add it to the 12 Days of Cookies. Again, I made a 1/2 batch and I got 12 cookies.

I took these to work and brought them to my last day of Spanish class (yes, I'm trying to learn Spanish. If anyone knows Spanish and wants to help me practice, let me know!) Our professor told us to bring treats if we wanted. My class only has 5 people in it, so this half batch provided the perfect number of cookies.

Butter Ball Cookies - from Cooks.com - makes 2 dozen1 1/2 c. nuts - I used walnuts
1 c. flour
2 tbsp. sugar
1/2 c. soft butter
1/4 tsp. salt
Powdered sugar

Chop nuts very fine. Put into mixing bowl.

Add all remaining ingredients (I creamed the butter and sugar, then added the rest of the ingredients and stirred by hand). Chill dough 1/2 hour.

Form dough 1 inch into balls. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 15-20 minutes or until set (not brown).

Cool and roll in powdered sugar. Makes 2 dozen cookies.

My 12 Days of Cookies:Day 1: Lumberjacks
Day 2: Peppermint Sandies
Day 3: The great Sugar Cookie Debate
Day 4: Fudge
Day 5: Cranberry Orange Cookies
Day 6: Chocolate Chip Snowballs
Day 7: Peppermint Chocolate Cookies
Day 8: Snickerdoodles
Day 9: Candy Cane  & Mint Kiss Cookies
Day 10: Chocolate Peppermint Meringue Cookies

12 Days of Cookies - Chocolate Peppermint Meringue Kisses

I picked up the Better Homes and Gardens holiday baking issue at the beginning of the month and turned down this page instantly. I knew I'd be making these cookies for the 12 Days of Cookies. Then, I saw another variation in my Google Reader on the Joy the Baker blog. Hers have a pretty red stripe on the white meringue. I decided to meld these two recipes into one. I basically followed the BHG recipe but just added the red stripes.

As I mentioned the other day, I love the chocolate and peppermint combination. I need to start baking with it more often throughout the year instead of just at the holidays.

These cookies are very easy to make. The hardest part is probably the piping since meringue is very sticky. I made sure I had everything ready to go before I started. I used a small paintbrush to paint 3 stripes into my piping bag using Wiltons Christmas Red coloring gel. I used my big fat star tip too. The first few came out all white but those will be the taste test cookies. The rest came out with beautiful red stripes.

It also took me a while to get the hang of piping kisses. My piping skills only go as far as piping big swirls on cupcakes. I looked around the Internet and found this site with information about piping various shapes. I somewhat followed what they said for stars. Basically, I started with my tip a little above the cookie sheet. Then I squeezed some and stopped squeezing before pulling the tip straight up from the kiss. I think they turned out pretty good looking.

Chocolate Peppermint Meringue Kisses - from Better Homes and Gardens - I got around 100
4 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
1-1/3 cups sugar
1 cup milk chocolate pieces - I used a mix of dark, bittersweet, and semisweet chips
1 teaspoon shortening
1-1/4 cups crushed striped round peppermint candies* (about 50 candies) - I used 1 box of candy canes

Place egg whites in a large bowl. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Line two very large baking sheets with parchment paper or foil; set aside.

For meringue: Add salt, vinegar, and peppermint extract to egg whites. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until soft peaks form (tips curl). Gradually add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating on high speed until stiff peaks form (tips stand straight) and sugar is nearly dissolved. Be sure to be patient and add the sugar slowly. I wasn't patient enough so my meringue had a somewhat gritty texture. You can see it in the pictures of the final product if you look closely.

Transfer meringue to a decorating bag fitted with a 1/2-inch star tip. Pipe 1-inch kisses 1 inch apart onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake all of the meringue kisses at the same time on separate oven racks for 7 minutes. Turn off oven; let meringues dry in oven with door closed for 1 hour. Lift meringues off paper or foil. Transfer to wire racks; cool completely.

In a small saucepan, combine chocolate pieces and shortening. Cook and stir over low heat just until melted. Remove from heat. Spread crushed candy in a shallow dish. Dip bottoms of meringues in chocolate, then dip in crushed candies. Place on waxed paper and let stand until chocolate is set. Makes about 192 meringue kisses.

My 12 Days of Cookies:
Day 1: Lumberjacks
Day 2: Peppermint Sandies
Day 3: The great Sugar Cookie Debate
Day 4: Fudge
Day 5: Cranberry Orange Cookies
Day 6: Chocolate Chip Snowballs
Day 7: Peppermint Chocolate Cookies
Day 8: Snickerdoodles
Day 9: Candy Cane & Mint Kiss Cookies

Checking things off my list!

I am proud to say that I was able to check the first item of my list of 13.5 things to do in a 1/2 year! I finally got our plane tickets to Denver booked. Woohoo for checking something off my list!!

I've also started reading my D40 manual. I was reading all about flash settings and how to adjust the intensity because my food pictures are starting to hurt due to the shorter days. It gets dark here around 4:30ish. A couple of these things require help or cooperation from other people, specifically #2 and 3. So watch out for some serious re-dedication to the cause. Now that these things are on my list, they're going to happen. That's the magic of list making!

1 Order Denver trip plane tix by 12/31 (finished 12/20)
2 Order Europe trip plane tix
3 Start kitchen remodel
4 Make creme brulee
5 Work out 3x/wk for 6 wks (one / two / three / four / five / six)
6 Eat no french fries for a month (and I LOVE french fries)
7 Read my D40 manual, and start applying what I'm learning from it - started
8 Finish the major craft project I started 2 years ago
9 Go to a dr about my wrist
10 Send baked goods to family/friends (at least 3 times)
11 Read 1 book/month (Jan / Feb / Mar / Apr / May / June)
12 Learn to ski
13 Plan/Host a girls night (in or out)
13.5 Send at least 5 birthday cards (one / two / three / four / five)

12 Days of Cookies - Candy Cane & Mint Kiss Cookies

Oh my goodness. These cookies are amazing. I thought I was getting cookie-d out but not with these. The chocolate cookie part is so fudgey and brownie like. I would definitely make these again, even just as chocolate drop cookies without the kisses.

I first went to find mint kisses in the store and they didn't have any, so I picked up the candy cane kisses. Then I was at a different store yesterday and they had the mint truffle kisses. Both of these kisses are great. The candy cane ones are like white chocolate with candy cane flavoring and bits. The mint truffle are similar to an Andes mint with green mint filling on the inside.

I did make a half batch out of this because I was alarmed by the 6 eggs called for in the recipe. I still got 44 cookies! I used my cookie scoop to portion the dough. After the first 2 dozen came out of the oven, I didn't like how they looked, so for the rest, I portioned the dough and then rolled into a ball with my hands. This helped to create a smoother looking cookie. But like I said these are amazing. I had to send them to work with Hubby to prevent myself from eating the entire batch on my own!!

Candy Cane Kiss Cookies - from Lori's Lipsmacking Goodness - makes ~8 dozen
16 ounces/ 1 pound bittersweet morsels
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
12 tablespoons granulated sugar
6 large eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate morsels
candy cane or mint kisses, unwrapped and frozen

Melt bittersweet morsels, unsweetened chocolate and butter in a heavy bottomed sauce pan. Stir often and heat just until it is melted. Remove from heat. Pour into a large bowl. Stir in sugar. Let stand for about 30 minutes.

Add eggs one at a time to chocolate mixture. Stirring until fully incorporated before adding the next egg. Add vanilla. Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Pour that into the chocolate mixture. Finally, add the chocolate semisweet morsels.

Refrigerate for at least an hour. Scoop out with a cookie scoop. Drop ball (or roll into a ball with your hands) onto greased cookie sheet. Bake in a 325 F oven for about ten minutes. Remove from heat, immediately press kiss into cookie. If you don't mind them melted, you can return to the oven for one minute more (I did not do this). Otherwise leave them in the cookie and let it rest on cookie sheet for one minute and then transfer to a wire rack. You can also put the kisses in the freezer so they will not melt as fast.

My 12 Days of Cookies:Day 1: Lumberjacks
Day 2: Peppermint Sandies
Day 3: The great Sugar Cookie Debate
Day 4: Fudge
Day 5: Cranberry Orange Cookies
Day 6: Chocolate Chip Snowballs
Day 7: Peppermint Chocolate Cookies
Day 8: Snickerdoodles

12 Days of Cookies - Snickerdoodles

Turns out that Snickerdoodles are my sister's favorite holiday cookie. This might not seem weird to anyone else, but to me, I was shocked when she told me. I don't think my mom has ever made Snickerdoodles. I know that I haven't ever made them. So I guess I'm not sure where she got this unexpected love of Snickerdoodles... But since they're her favorite (and since she's my favorite older-younger sister), I had to include them in my 12 Days of Cookies. Hi Brookie-Cookie!

I got this recipe from an insert that came with my Martha Stewart silicone baking mat. My dad gave me the mat for my birthday and I love it. Does just as well as my Silpats and I love the bright red color. You can see it in the picture of my Sugar Cookie post. Due to the large number of baked goods in our house, I decided to half this recipe. The dough comes together so easily, you could make these in a pinch. My half batch made exactly 2 dozen with my cookie scoop. I realized as I was looking at the recipe that I forgot to halve the amount of sugar used to roll the cookies in. Woops.

Snickerdoodles - from Martha Stewart - makes 4 dozen
2 3/4 c all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp coarse salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350F. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. Put butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in eggs. Reduce speed to low; gradually mix in flour mixture.

Stir together cinnamon and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar in a small bowl. Shape dough into 20 (1 3/4-inch) balls (I just used my cookie scoop); roll in cinnamon sugar. Space 3 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.

Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until edges are golden, 12 to 15 minutes.

My 12 Days of Cookies:
Day 1: Lumberjacks
Day 2: Peppermint Sandies
Day 3: The great Sugar Cookie Debate
Day 4: Fudge
Day 5: Cranberry Orange Cookies
Day 6: Chocolate Chip Snowballs
Day 7: Peppermint Chocolate Cookies

12 Days of Cookies - Peppermint Chocolate Cookies

I love the combination of chocolate and peppermint. One of my favorite kinds of candy is the York peppermint patty. So good. It seems like the only time it's acceptable to bake with peppermint is during the holidays, so you'll see quite a few peppermint baked goods here over the next couple weeks. I definitely need to make these peppermint cupcakes again. They were yummy! These cookies were just okay in my book. I really enjoy chewey/cakey cookies and these are more firm than that. The chocolate topping is delicious though. I spread some of the leftover topping on some graham crackers for a snack. While they weren't my favorite, hubby and his coworkers absolutely loved them. I'd definitely make them again. Maybe next time I'll add a little peppermint extract to the cookie dough...

Peppermint Chocolate Cookies - from Pennies on a Platter - originally from Rachel Ray - I got 28 cookies
1 1/2 stick (6 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 pinch salt
Two 3.5 -ounce bars dark chocolate, finely chopped - I used dark chocolate chips
1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil
2/3 cup finely crushed peppermint candy canes or candies

Using an electric mixer, beat the butter until soft. With the mixer on low, gradually add the confectioners’ sugar until creamy, then beat in the egg. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa and salt; add to the mixer about one-third at a time, beating at low speed until smooth.

Lay a 16-inch sheet of parchment paper on a work surface; turn out the dough onto the paper. Using your hands, shape the dough into a 12-inch-long cylinder; wrap tightly in the parchment and roll into a smooth, even log. Twist the ends to seal and refrigerate for 30 minutes; reshape the cylinder and refrigerate for 30 minutes more.

Preheat the oven to 350°; line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Unwrap the dough; using a sharp knife, slice into 1/3-inch-thick rounds. Place about 1 inch apart on the cookie sheets; bake until firm, 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool completely.

In a bowl, combine two-thirds of the chopped chocolate with the oil; microwave for 30 seconds, then stir until smooth. (If needed, heat for additional 10-second intervals.) Stir in the remaining chopped chocolate until smooth.

Using an offset spatula (I used the back of the spoon I used to stir the chocolate), spread a scant teaspoon of melted chocolate on top of each cookie. Sprinkle the peppermints on top and let stand until set, 2 to 3 hours.

My 12 Days of Cookies:Day 1: Lumberjacks
Day 2: Peppermint Sandies
Day 3: The great Sugar Cookie Debate
Day 4: Fudge
Day 5: Cranberry Orange Cookies
Day 6: Chocolate Chip Snowballs

Happy half Birthday to ME!

Today is my half birthday and to celebrate, I've decided to make a list. If you know me at all, you know I'm a big list maker. It's how I keep my sanity. So yes, making a list is a form of celebration for me. And yes, I do have to admit that sometimes I put things on the list just for the satisfaction of having something to cross off (you know you do it too!).

My friend Amy made a list of 28 things she wanted to do during her 28th year here on Earth. I really enjoyed the idea and have also enjoyed watching people who are blogging about their 101 in 1001 days. In the spirit of these to-do lists, I decided to make one myself. I'm only putting half of my age worth of things on here since I only have a half a year until my next birthday.

(Yes I realize this is a cheesey logo, but cut me some slack, I threw it together in about 25 seconds)

Some of these things seem mundane, but they are things that I've been wanting to do and haven't gotten around to. I'll post updates as I finish things on the list. Wish me luck in my endeavors! And if you've got a list of you own, let me know. I'd love to see what's on your list!

1 Order Denver trip plane tix by 12/31
2 Order Europe trip plane tix
3 Start kitchen remodel
4 Make creme brulee
5 Work out 3x/wk for 6 wks (one / two / three / four / five / six)
6 Eat no french fries for a month (and I LOVE french fries)
7 Read my D40 manual, and start applying what I'm learning from it
8 Finish the major craft project i started 2 years ago
9 Go to a dr about my wrist
10 Send baked goods to family/friends (at least 3 times)
11 Read 1 book/month (Jan / Feb / Mar / Apr / May / June)
12 Learn to ski
13 Plan/Host a girls night (in or out)
13.5 Send at least 5 birthday cards