Category Archives: Cookies

Pinwheel Cookies

4 Replies

I found this pinwheel recipe in my big recipe binder the other day. I don’t even remember when and how I got it as it was hand-written by me!? Perhaps it was from a friend? All I remember was I’ve made it once and it tasted good ! The original recipe was a chocolate pinwheel . I added some pink colour instead and made them into Valentine’s cookies !  

Makes about 3 dozens

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 egg white for brushing
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • food colouring
  • vanilla sugar or granulated sugar for sprinkling (optional, to make cookies shinier)
  1. Preheat oven to 350ºF
  2. Sift together flour, baking soda and salt, set aside
  3. Using an electric mixer with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy
  4. Add 1 egg, lemon juice and vanilla extract
  5. Add flour mixture in 2-3 portions, mix until blended
  6. Divide dough into two halves, add food coloring to one part, knead to mix in color
  7. Roll out each half to about 1/8 inch in thickness between 2 sheets of parchment paper
  8. Remove the two top sheets of parchment paper 
  9. Brush plain dough with egg white
  10. Carefully invert coloured dough and place on top, roll gently with a rolling-pin to adhere
  11. Remove top sheet of parchment paper and trip off uneven edges
  12. Slowly roll up two sheets (like a Swiss roll)
  13. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or until firm
  14. Using a sharp knife, cut into slices about 1/8-1/4 inch in thickness (you may need to gently reshape the cookies into circles)
  15. Sprinkle top with vanilla sugar or granulated sugar if desired
  16. Place on cookie svheets lined with parchment paper
  17. Bake for about 8 minutes
  18. Cool on cookie sheets for 5 minutes, then completely on rack

Cookie Butter Cookies

Leave a reply

Have you ever tried cookie butter? It is soooo delicious!  Try just spreading it on your toast or fruits like apples and bananas, I am sure you will fall in love with it.  And of course, these cookie butter cookies are absolutely scrumptious , This was originally a peanut butter recipe.  I used cookie butter instead.  Since it is sweeter than peanut butter, I cut back on the sugar. 

Makes about 24 cookies

  • 1+1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup demerara or brown sugar
  • 200 g cookie butter
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  1. Preheat oven to 350ºF
  2. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt, set aside
  3. Using an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, cream butter, cookie butter and sugar together until fluffy and creamy
  4. Mix in egg and vanilla extract, scraping sides and bottom of bowl
  5. Add flour mixture in 2-3 portions, mix until blended
  6. Gently shape about one tablespoon each of dough into balls
  7. Place on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper, about 2 inches apart (you can gently flattened cookies with fork if desired)
  8. Bake for about 9-10 minutes

Orange Cranberry Cookie Bites

Leave a reply

These cookies can be a delicious Christmas treat or you can have them anytime of the year! They have a rich butter flavour with a delightful orange taste.

Makes about 18-20 cookies

  • 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup icing sugar + more for dusting
  • 1+1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 self rising flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons orange juice
  • 1 teaspoon orange zest
  • 1 teaspoon pure orange extract
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup dried cranberries
  1. Preheat oven to 350ºF
  2. Sift together flour, self-rising flour and salt, set aside
  3. Using an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy
  4. Add orange juice,orange and vanilla extract
  5. Add flour mixture in 2-3 portions, mix until blended, scraping sides and bottom of mixing bowl
  6. Stir in orange zest and cranberries
  7. Spoon about 1 tablespoon each of dough and roughly shape into balls
  8. Place on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper, about 2 inches apart
  9. Bake for about 12 minutes, then decrease temperature to 325ºF and bake for about 10 minutes
  10. Cool on cookie sheets for about 5 minutes, then completely on rack
  11. Dust with icing sugar when completely cooled

I shape the cookies into bite sized balls.  You can also shape them in bigger balls and flatten gently with a fork.

Gingerbread Cookies

Leave a reply

Every Christmas gingerbread cookie is at the top of my baking list.  The kids love to make and eat them.  My daughter and I spent a whole Sunday morning decorating them.  We had so much fun!

Makes about 24, depending on size of cookies
Total time = 90 minutes

For the cookies

  • 2+1/4 cake and pastry flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
  • pinch of nutmeg
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup fancy molasses
  • 1 egg
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F
  2. Sift together flour, baking soda, salt and the 4 spices, set aside
  3. Using and electric mixer with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar until fluffy
  4. Add egg and molasses, mix until blended
  5. Add flour mixture in 2-3 portions, mix until dough starting to form
  6. Transfer dough to a floured surface, press together to form a ball
  7. Wrap with plastic wrap and put in fridge for about 1 hour for easy handling
  8. On a floured surface, roll dough into about 1/8″ thickness, cut with cookie cutters. 
  9. Gather dough scraps together, roll out and cut into shapes again
  10. Place cookies on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper
  11. Bake for about 8 minutes
  12. Cool on cookie sheets for about 10 minutes them completely on rack
  13. Decorate with icing and candies when completely cooled

For the icing

  • 2 cups icing sugar
  • 4 tablespoons milk
  • 4 teaspoons corn syrup
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 to 2 teaspoons water
  • food coloring for icing
  1. Sift icing sugar
  2. Add milk, corn syrup and vanilla
  3. Add water, a few drops at a time to get the desired consistency
  4. Add food coloring
  5. Mix until smooth

Use a thicker icing to outline the borders, let dry, then use a thinner icing for the middle.  The icing is almost transparent, so you will need to add white food coloring to make it white.

Chocolate Macarons

3 Replies

Macacron is one of the trickiest recipe I have ever made. My first time was a disaster ! The shells were flat and stuck to the cookie sheets ! The color was dull and uneven. After reading many many recipes and trying a number of times, I finally succeed ! It helps if you plan and organize what you need before you start. Here are some tips:

  1. Some recipes recommend aging the egg whites, I tried both aging and using them straight from the shells and didn’t really notice a big difference. One important thing though, they must be at room temperature before whisking.
  2. Colouring can be tricky. I just used cocoa powder here. If you want other colours, do not add the cocoa powder and add colouring powder or paste.
  3. Prepare the piping bag, line a medium bowl with the bag. This helps to pour the batter into the bag.
  4. Print or draw some circles on a piece of paper, about 1+1/2 inch in diameter, place it underneath the parchment paper on the cookie sheet to help piping the batter. Just make sure you remove it before baking.
  5. For easy fillings, you can use Nutella or any kind of jam.

Makes about 12 macarons

  • 3/4 cup icing sugar
  • 100 g finely ground almond
  • 1+1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 75 g egg whites (from 2 large or 3 small eggs)
  • 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • Powder or paste food coloring if desired
  • Fruit jam (I used raspberry jam) or Nutella for fillings
  1. Preheat oven to 325ºF
  2. Sift ground almond, icing sugar and cocoa powder
  3. Using an electric mixer with whisk attachment, whisk egg whites and cream of tartar at medium speed until frothy
  4. Add sugar slowly
  5. Increase speed to high, whisk until a stiff peak is formed (the meringue at the tip of the whisk should be glossy and won’t drip back)
  6. Gently and quickly, fold in almond mixture in 2-3 portions until just blended, don’t over mix (batter should flow like lava)
  7. Pour mixture in a piping bag with 3/8″ round tip
  8. Pipe batter into circles on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper, about 1+1/2 inch in diameter and 2 inches apart
  9. Tap cookie sheets on counter a couple of times to remove air bubbles
  10. Let sit at room temperature for at least about 30 minutes (remember to remove paper with pre-printed circles)
  11. Bake for about 8 minutes
  12. Let cool for 5-10 minutes on cookie sheets then completely on rack
  13. Sandwich with your favourite fillings

Ginger Cookies 

6 Replies

These are one of my favourite cookies! I thought my kids would not like them, so I added a bit more ginger to please the adults’ palates. To my surprise, my daughter loves them. She said these cookies are really soft and tasty, and not spicy at all!

Makes about 24-30 cookies
Total time = 60 minutes

  • 2 cups cake and pastry flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup Crosby’s fancy molasses
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 2 teaspoons granulated sugar for rolling
  1. Preheat oven to 325°F
  2. Sift together flour, baking soda, salt and the three spices, set aside
  3. Using an electric mixer, beat together butter and sugars at medium speed until fluffy
  4. Add molasses, egg and vanilla, mix until blended
  5. Add flour mixture in 2 parts, mix until dough is formed, scraping sides and bottom of bowl
  6. Refrigerate dough for 30-60 minutes for easy handling
  7. Roll dough into 1 inch balls
  8. Lightly roll top half of cookie balls in sugar
  9. Place on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper, sugar side up, spacing about 2 inches apart
  10. Flatten top gently with bottom of a glass
  11. Bake for about 10-12 minutes

Lemon Curd Meringue Cookies

8 Replies

Meringue and lemon curd go very well together. These cookies are light and delicate but very rich in flavour. To balance the sweetness, I added less sugar to the meringue than I normally would. I also diluted the juice with a little bit of water, you can just use the juice if you prefer a more tangy flavour. Eat them right away though, otherwise the meringue will turn soft and sticky or you can sandwich them just before serving if you want to make them ahead. You can use the leftover lemon curd as a jam on your toasts, pancakes or waffles! Enjoy!

For the lemon curd

Makes about 1/2 cup

  • 2 egg yolks
  • 6 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 3 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 2 teaspoons lemon zest
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 50 gram unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
  1. Whisk together egg yolks, sugar, lemon juice, water and zest
  2. Heat mixture in non-stick pot over low heat, stirring constantly until thickened (mixture should coat back of spoon)
  3. Turn heat off, mix in butter, a few pieces at a time until all melted
  4. Cool, and refrigerate up to 2 weeks

For the meringues

Makes about 24 single cookies or 12 sandwiches

  • 2 egg whites
  • 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
  1. Preheat oven to 225°F
  2. Using an electric mixer with whisk attachment, whisk egg whites and cream of tartar at medium speed until frothy
  3. Increase speed to high and slowly add in sugar
  4. Whisk until a stiff peak is formed
  5. Pour into piping bag with star or round tip
  6. Pipe onto cookie sheets lined with parchment paper, 2 inches apart
  7. Bake for about 40 minutes, depending on size of cookies, they should be dry to touch, turn off oven
  8. Leave cookies in oven for about 2 more hours to dry 
  9. Remove from oven to cool completely on rack

Halloween Cookies

Leave a reply

I made these cookies for my kids’ school last week. They have bake sale about 3 times a year to raise money for the school. It is a very exciting event and the kids just love it ! These are Halloween cookies but you can make them for any occasions, Christmas, Valentines, birthdays, etc. Get creative and have fun ! The icing take at least 6 hours to dry depending on humidity.  So plan ahead, you may need up to 2 days to make them.

For the cookies

  • 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 3 cups pastry flour
  • 1 + 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 3 tablespoons milk
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F
  2. Sift flour, baking powder, salt together, set aside
  3. Using an electric mixer with paddle attachment,  cream butter and sugar until fluffy
  4. Add egg, vanilla and milk, mix well
  5. Add flour mixture in 2 – 3 portions
  6. Mix until a dough is formed, scraping sides of mixing bowl
  7. Roll dough flat on flour surface, about 2-3 mm thickness
  8. Cut with cookie cutters
  9. Bake on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper for about 8-9 minutes until edges turn brown
  10. Cool on cookie sheets for about 5 minutes,  then completely on rack

If the dough is too soft to roll, you can put it in the fridge for about 1 hour before rolling.  Cool cookies completely before icing.

For the icing

  • 1 cup icing sugar
  • 2 tablespoons milk
  • 2 teaspoons corn syrup
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 to 2 teaspoons water
  • food coloring for icing
  1. Sift icing sugar
  2. Add milk, corn syrup and vanilla
  3. Add water, a few drops at a time to get the desired consistency
  4. Add food coloring
  5. Mix until smooth

Use a thicker icing to outline the borders, let dry, then use a thinner icing for the middle.  The icing is almost transparent, so you will need to add white food coloring to make it white.

Coconut Macaroons

9 Replies

Macaroons are cookies made of shredded coconut. Don’t mix them up of macarons which are the French sandwich cookies. Macaroons are crispy on the outside and chewy inside. You can dress these cute little balls up with melted chocolate (dark or white).

Makes about 24-30
Total time = 30 minutes

  • 4 egg whites
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 360 g unsweetened shredded coconut
  1. Preheat oven to 325°F
  2. Using a stand or hand-held mixer, beat egg whites, sugar and vanilla for about 3 minutes until frothy
  3. Mix in coconut (mixture should be wet but not too sticky)
  4. With the help of a rounded spoon or an ice cream scooper,  shape coconut mixture into balls and place on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper
  5. Bake for about 14-15 minutes until golden brown
  6. Cool and drizzle with melted chocolate if desired

Oatmeal Raisin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Leave a reply

My mom loves to cook, and her dishes are very tasty. As my kids call it “grandma’s extreme cooking” ! Because it is extremely good ! I am more of a dessert gal, and my mom always says my stuff is too sweet for her. Guess what… she ate two of these cookies right out of the oven today and she wanted more ! So, I guess I can call this recipe my “extreme baking ” ! 
I used just raisins and chocolate chips just because my kids like them. You can pick your own favourites like shredded coconut, walnuts, cranberries, etc.

Makes about 2 dozens
Total time = 30 minutes

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter,  at room temperature
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup quick oats
  • 1/2 cup raisins
  • 1/2 semi-sweet chocolate chips
  1. Preheat oven to 350ºF
  2. Sift together flour, baking soda and salt
  3. Using an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light
  4. Add eggs and vanilla, mix well
  5. Add flour mixture in 2 portions, mix until blended, scraping sides of bowl
  6. Stir in oats, raisins and chocolate chips
  7. Place about 2 teaspoonfuls each on baking sheet lined with parchment paper
  8. Bake for about 8 minutes
  9. Cool on baking sheets for about 10 minutes,  then completely on rack