Cookie Gift Baskets Tip & Recipe Blog

Archive for the ‘Cookies’ Category

If you can’t get enough of Oreos, you’ll want to order an Oreo dessert while you’re dining out. Many restaurants now offer Oreo desserts that are pleasing crowds from coast to coast.

Try the Domino’s dessert pizza. You can now order a pizza from your favorite 30-minute pizza place in the flavor of the beloved Oreo. It’s a thin crust pizza made of sugary dough with a vanilla sauce with chunks of Oreos on top. The company originally came up with the dessert because they needed one that would cook as fast as a pizza and at the same temperature as their pizza ovens are set to for their savory pizzas. And so the dessert pizza was born.

McDonald’s offers an Oreo caramel sundae that you can savor while you’re out. Grab one next time you go through the drive-thru.

Dairy Queen, the walk-up ice cream parlor, offers an Oreo Mint Blizzard. It took off right away. But that’s nothing new for Dairy Queen. They’ve been serving ice cream with Oreo accents for two decades. At first, they offered knock-off Oreo cookies, but then they realized that nothing can take the place of a genuine Oreo. Now they use only brand name Oreos in their creations.

Baskin Robbins ice cream offers Oreos as a mix-in for their ice cream concoctions. They also offer Jamoca Oreo ice cream. Their widely popular cookies and cream flavor is made with crushed Oreo cookies.

Another great pairing of ice cream and Oreos happens at the Cold Stone Creamery. They offer an Oreo Overload dish on their menu.

Nabisco wasn’t eager to enter the dessert market. But when they noticed how the sales of their crushed up Oreos were booming, they decided to join in the fun. Now Nabisco offers grinds of Oreos to be used by restaurants in their desserts. Restaurant owners can choose from a thin grind for milkshakes or a coarser grind for mixing into ice cream. Larger chunks of Oreos can be used for items like the Domino’s dessert pizza. There’s an Oreo pie crust that home bakers and restaurants alike make use of for whipped Oreo pies and other decadent desserts.

Smaller restaurants also make up their own recipes using Oreo cookies. No dessert can be bad if it has Oreos in it. The popularity may be due to the cookie’s ability to mix well with creamy treats. The smaller granules of the cookie once it is ground down make a nice add in and have a pleasant texture.

Next time you’re in the mood for an Oreo dessert, check the menu where you’re dining. Most places have a version of the Oreo sundae or Oreo pie. And, of course, you can always create your own recipes at home. Try dipping Oreos in molten chocolate or crushing them up as a cake topping. Try whipping them into a frozen dessert topping such as Cool Whip and see what you come up with. Once you mix it in, layer it into a brownie pan and refreeze it. You’ll come up with a dessert that’s hard to resist. You can also add in pudding or other sweets. Experiment and devise your own Oreo cookie dessert.

America may have its Toll House cookies and Oreos as nationwide favorites. And they’re certainly delicious and well known. But what kind of cookies do those outside the United States eat? Every country seems to have a favorite cookie as different as the people who make them. Here are some of the countries around the world along with their cookies of choice. You’ll marvel at how few ingredients most have compared to American recipes. Most are light and simple and are baked with only the most basic staple ingredients. Amazing what a little sugar and flour can make.

Afghanistan: Khatai cookies are the traditional cookie of Afghanistan. They are made with simple ingredients like flour, cardamom, and pistachios. Just a few ingredients mixed to make a tasty cookie that looks as good as it tastes.

Albania: Albanians favor the Sheqerpare. This is a cookie in syrup. This cookie is simple and includes flour, sugar, eggs, butter, vanilla, and cloves. A final touch after baking is a drizzle of hot syrup.

Brazil: Brazilians love their Biscoitos de Maizena. These are cornstarch cookies and require only five ingredients. They are made with cornstarch, sugar, egg, salt and butter. Great with Brazilian coffee.

China: The Chinese cookie of choice is not the regular or chocolate covered fortune cookie (which was an American invention) but instead the Hang Geen Beng cookie. This almond cookie features a whole almond gently adorning a sugary light cookie.

Egypt: Egyptians eat Zalabia. These are delicately fried fritters in syrup dusted with sugar and cinnamon. Yum!

France: Chocolate Madeleines are the cookie of choice for the French. These tasty cookies, made famous by Proust, are light and cake-like.

Indonesia: In Indonesia, cookies are light and beautiful. The Kue Smprong cookies are called love letters and are delicate wafers with intricate design patterns on them.

Italy: Italians love their dry and crusty amaretti cookies. These cookies are made with almond paste and are perfect for dunking in espresso.

Japan: The Japanese cookie may be the most unique. It is called Yokan and is a jelly-like square. It’s made with azuki beans and sugar.

Mexico: Mexico’s cookie of choice is the Polvorones De Canela. These cinnamon cookies are dusted with powdered sugar.

Nicaragua: In Nicaragua, the cookie of choice is more like a donut. These light and fluffy donut-shaped teats are actually made from cheese and pork lard.

Peru: Peruvians enjoy a cookie called the Alfajores. These succulent cookies are two sandwiches of vanilla almond cookie with a vanilla based filling.

Portugal: Portuguese sit down to Raivas, a delicate cinnamon butter cookie for a snack. The five ingredients are combined and then the dough is rolled out into snakes and curved into butterfly shapes.

Scotland: Scottish folks sit down for tea with a Scottish Shortbread. These buttery slices of crispy cookie originated with the Scots.

Spain: The Spanish are known for their Almendaros. Their version of the almond cookie contains just four ingredients and has a lemony almond taste and sugary outside texture.

Syria: The Syrians enjoy Barazeh. These flat sesame seed and honey cookies are tempting and golden brown.

Ukraine: Ukrainian women bake puffy pillows called Varenyky. These are much like our ravioli in looks, but are filled with a blackberry, sour cream, cream cheese, and cinnamon filling.

If you love the idea of home baked cookies but not the time required to stand at the counter doling out the raw batter, opt for the cookie bar. It’s a cousin of the drop cookie. Instead of scooping out mounds of raw batter and refilling the cookie sheets when one batch is baked, you do all the pan filling once and forget it.

Bake your cookie bars as you would a brownie or other pan cookie. You spread the dough after you’ve prepared it and then bake as directed in the recipe. The real key is to wait until the entire pan has cooled before cutting into the bars. If you cut too soon, you’ll only get messy-edged bars that don’t hold their shape.

Have fun with these recipes for cookie bars.

Chocolate Toffee Bars (courtesy of Allhomemadecookies.com)

These cookies are much simpler to make than they look. They are a very decadent candy bar-like cookie that makes for stunning gifts or simple gourmet desserts with your favorite ice cream. These cookies do not freeze well (not that they normally last long enough to freeze anyway!)

Ingredients:

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup sliced almonds

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease an eight inch square baking pan. Cream the butter and brown sugar together in a large bowl. Blend in the vanilla. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and blend well. Spread the dough evenly into the prepared pan.

Bake for 17-22 minutes or until golden brown. Sprinkle the top with the chocolate chips and cover the pan with foil or another pan to help melt the chocolate. After a few minutes, spread the chocolate with a spatula until evenly coated and smooth. If the chocolate does not melt, pop the pan back in the oven for a minute. Sprinkle the almonds immediately over the top and press in gently so they will stick. Let cool completely and cut into desired shapes. Store in an airtight container.

Tasty-Cake Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars (courtesy of Allhomemadecookies.com)

I remember my mom making these delicious bars. We all loved the soft "tasty-cake-like" chocolate peanut butter bars. When I make this dessert for my family, it disappears quickly! This recipe won a blue ribbon at a city fair. These bars freeze well and taste great frozen!

Ingredients:

1 c. milk

2 T. margarine or butter

2 c. sugar

4 eggs

2 c. flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. vanilla

Confectioner's sugar for dusting

1 1/4 c. peanut butter

12 oz. chocolate chips (about 1 1/2 cups)

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350. Scald the milk and margarine. Cool mixture and add the sugar, eggs and vanilla. Mix well. Then mix in the dry ingredients. Pour the batter into a greased and floured jelly roll pan.

Bake the cake for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and dust with confectioner's sugar. Spread with the peanut butter while the bars are still hot. Refrigerate to cool. Melt the chocolate and spread on the cooled bars. Let cool before cutting into squares.

Yields about 36 bars.

If you want to congratulate someone and don’t know what to give them, the ideal gift may be a cookie basket. Cookie baskets can be designed to convey your congratulations and well-wishes. And they’re a delight to receive.

For times when you want to send more than just a card, send a bright, happy cookie basket. It’s such a tasty idea. You can find two types of cookie baskets. One is made with decorated shortbread cookies that look realistic in their artistic icings. The other is more traditional. It includes fresh baked cookies like chocolate chip, oatmeal, peanut butter, and sometimes even brownies.

There is no shortage of suppliers of tempting cookie baskets. Mrs. Fields offers a line of cookie baskets that is so scrumptious you may end up ordering one for yourself, too. You can order a basket of nibblers that are bite sized cookies and brownies. OR you can order a mixed cookie basket that includes white macadamia nut cookies in a tin. There’s also the famous giant round cookie pie. It comes decorated with sweet icing and the word “Congratulations.”

Many other companies also offer cookie baskets that are unique and tasteful. There are, however, things you should ask before giving out your credit card number. When do they ship their cookies? Are they baked and shipped the same day? Are they individually wrapped? Are you charged extra for Saturday delivery? These are all things that will affect your decision to buy from an online cookie bakery.

Also ask what exactly you’re getting. The basket may be rattan and eight inches high in the photo but the one you get ends up looking nothing like it. Ask to see a photo of the actual basket you’re getting, not a placeholder photo. The same goes for ordering flowers online. Always ask to see the actual bouquet especially when they say “contents may vary.”

Your online shopping experience should be fine. But just expect that shipping costs will be more than you want to spend. It’s a choice you have to make if you want to congratulate someone with cookies. Of course, there is also the option of using a local bakery. You can have them make up a really nice basket for you of twice the size you could get online with no delivery charges. See if they will hand-deliver it, or if you can deliver it yourself.

Cookie baskets are always a good idea. Whether you order online, in person, or bake them yourself, they’re a spectacular way to express your congratulations in a fun way. Send them to college graduates, newlyweds, coworkers who get promoted, high school graduates, new parents and for anniversaries. Is there any wrong time to send a congratulations cookies? No. And you can even send one as a sympathy offering when someone has passed on. Pass on the shiny, brightly colored cookies and go for something mellower like chocolate chip or an assortment of home baked recipes. Leave the flash and bows for a more festive time.

Get your cookies on their way to someone special today. It will make their day and they will certainly remember your thoughtfulness long after all the other cards are filed away.

Related Posts:

• Edible Alternatives To Sending Flowers
• Cookie Gift Baskets are A Great Way to Say Thank You
• All About Cookie Bouquets

When you think of small or large fortune cookies, you think Chinese food, right? In actuality, the fortune cookie is not an import from Chinese culture at all. It’s actually an American invention. There are various theories as to how the fortune cookie came on the scene. But most people can agree that California was the birthplace of the now famous cookie.

One version of the story says that David Jung, an immigrant from China living in Los Angeles, created the cookie. He was the owner of the Hong Kong Noodle Company and had a heart for the poor. In 1918 he invented the cookie to hand out to the poor around his business. He tucked a bible verse inside each cookie to inspire the recipients. And so, the cookie came to be a staple of the Los Angeles Chinatown scene.

Still another version tells of a man named Makoto Hagiwara. He was the famed designer of the Japanese Tea Garden at San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. Being Japanese himself, he suffered under anti-Japanese politics of 1914 and was fired from his job. When he was finally rehired, he created the cookie with a statement of thanks inside for those who had supported him during his time of isolation. He gave them out at the Japanese Tea Garden. Later, in 1915 they were served at the World’s Fair, held in San Francisco.

Who can say which story is true? Californians still debate the origin of the cookie that has become a fixture in all Chinese restaurants in America. Both Los Angeles and San Francisco want to claim it as their own invention.

Regardless of the birthplace, the fortune cookie has thrived. Since Chinese restaurants typically do not serve dessert, the cookie was given out at the end of the meal so that Americans could have a little something sweet.

Fortunes have included everything from wacky sayings to advice from sage thinkers to lottery numbers. Today’s fortunes are looked upon as light and often zany advice that makes people laugh. But who can resist sharing their fortune with others at the table? Many people even save their fortunes as a secret wish that what’s written on it will come true.

It’s said that you should not select your own fortune cookie when they arrive at the table. Someone at the table should hand you one. When you open it, you should read it aloud.

Many people have jumped on the fortune cookie trend and are now having custom fortune cookies made. They’re showing up in every size and flavor you can imagine at weddings, corporate events and family reunions. Personalized fortunes are all the rage and companies will now insert whatever you’d like to say inside a fortune cookie. You can get them dipped in chocolate and sprinkles and just about any candy coating you can think of.

Does anyone actually like the taste of a fortune cookie? It might be hard to find someone who does. The cookies are bland and often stale, but they are alluring and mystical all the same. Most people tear open the wrapping and crack the cookie open. They grab the fortune and eagerly read it to find out just what sort of luck they can expect in the future. It’s a fun end to a fine meal.

Did you know that there is a National Fortune Cookie Day? It's True!

If you are a fanatic for cookies, you no doubt have wanted to eat an entire bowl of raw batter at one time or another. It may have been when you were a kid, or it may have been last week. Everyone loves the flavor of raw cookie dough. But no one wants to risk getting sick by eating raw eggs.

There are recipes that allow you to make batches of cookie dough without any eggs. And they don’t require any odd or hard to find egg substitute products. After all, if Ben and Jerry could make a cookie dough ice cream with real cookie batter in it, it must be possible for home bakers to make as well.

And speaking of ice cream, raw cookie dough without egg products is ideal for mixing into batches of home made ice cream. If you have an ice cream machine, break it out and start using it again. You can use an eggless recipe for cookie dough in any ice cream recipe in your home ice cream machine.

Here’s a recipe for eggless cookie dough from Food.com. It uses no egg substitute and still turns out rich and chunky. The recipe calls for use in ice cream, but cookie dough lovers know that it’s really for spoon eating right away. Either way, give this recipe a try.

Eggless Cookie Dough for Ice Cream

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup flour
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons white sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter (very soft but not melted)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 tablespoons milk or 2 tablespoons water
• 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips (or use M&M's mini candies)

Directions

1. In a medium bowl mix together both sugars and butter until smooth.
2. Stir in vanilla and milk.
3. Mix in the flour until well blended.
4. Add in chocolate chips.
5. Shape into a log and freeze for about 1-2 hours or until firm.
6. Cut or break into small chunks.
7. Mix into softened ice cream.
8. Return the ice cream to freezer. When ready, eat.

You’ll find that most edible cookie dough recipes are an offshoot of this type of recipe. Most will use flour, brown sugar, white sugar, vanilla, and milk. You get to decide what you’d like to add as far as chips. Go with chocolate chips, mini morsels, mint chocolate chips, gourmet nuts, chopped almonds, dried cranberries, dried cherries, peanut butter chips, or coconut. As long as you’re adding an ingredient that you can eat raw, there’s no danger or harm from bacteria.

Without the threat of salmonella that is sometimes found in raw eggs, you can go ahead and let the kids lick the bowl on this one. You’ll find you can’t stop eating it either. If you don’t plan on finishing the whole batch at one sitting, scoop the mixture with a small ice cream scoop onto a tray. Freeze the whole tray and then take the individual balls off when frozen and store in freezer tight bags. You can then defrost for a little treat.

Kids and adults alike love raw cookie dough. Now it’s perfectly safe to eat since you’re not using any type of egg product. And the results are simply scrumptious. Try it today.

More Yummy Recipes:

• White Chocolate: Cookies, Cakes, And More Desserts
• Cake Mix Cookie Recipes
• Cookie Gift Bouquets - Make Your Own
• S'Mores Cookie Bars Recipe

Fresh-Bake Any Day of the Week

Sometimes you want homemade sugar cookies but don’t really have a lot of time. You could go out and buy the pre-packaged sugar cookie dough rolls, and they’re fine. But if you really want to make sugar cookie dough yourself, just plan ahead a little.

A good sugar cookie dough will need to be refrigerated before you can use it. If you’re not planning for this, it can throw you for a loop. That’s why sugar cookies are often called refrigerator cookies. You make the dough and then roll it into logs and refrigerate it before you bake it. It’s not as hard or time-consuming as it sounds, but you do need to allow for at least a few hours of cooling in the fridge for the dough to set up properly.

Here is a recipe from Cooks.com that is easy to make and allows you to go do other things while you’re chilling the dough.

REFRIGERATOR COOKIE ROLLOUT DOUGH

1 1/2 c. sifted confectioner’s sugar

1 c. butter, softened

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. almond flavoring

2 1/2 c. flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cream of tartar

Cream sugar and butter. Mix in egg and flavorings. Stir dry ingredients together. Chill 2 - 3 hours. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Use half of the dough at a time. Roll out dough to 3/16-inch thickness. Cut out shapes with cookie cutters. Bake 7 - 8 minutes until golden brown.

ICING:

1 c. confectioners’ sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. vanilla

Mix sugar, salt, vanilla, and enough water for desired consistency.

Of course, you won’t want to ice the cookies until they are cooled. And you’ll want to form the dough into logs after you mix it. Place in plastic storage bags or roll in plastic wrap so the dough doesn’t pick up the scent or flavors of anything in your fridge. Never stick the whole bowl into the refrigerator uncovered. You need to divide the dough in half and take only half out of the refrigerator at a time. The other half should remain there chilling so it doesn’t start to get warm on the counter.

Roll out the first half of the dough on a floured countertop.  This way the dough won’t stick to it. But don’t go crazy with the flour. Adding too much additional flour can make your dough tough and your cookies won’t taste right.

Cut out shapes from dough that is a good thickness. Too thin and they will burn. Too thick and they’ll be raw big cookies. You can guess-timate how thick to roll out the dough. If you can see the countertop under the dough it’s too thin and if the cookie cutter barely makes it through and won’t hold the design it’s too thick.

Use only dry cookie cutters. Wet ones will stick and ruin your dough. You can dip them in flour if they start to stick a little under normal conditions. Just tap off any extra flour before you press the cutters down into your cookies.

Stay nearby while your cookies are baking. They can burn quickly if you get distracted by a phone call or get caught up writing emails.

Follow these steps and you’ll have the best refrigerator sugar cookies ever.

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Diabetes is a serious disease that requires those who have it to keep their blood sugar in check. But studies have shown that small quantities of sugar are ok in moderation for diabetics. So why not make a batch of diabetic cookies with a special recipe that uses a sugar substitute or is diabetic-friendly in its ingredients? These recipes come from the web site www.diabetic-recipes.com. There you will find a whole host of recipes designed with the diabetic in mind, and work great as diabetic gifts. There are also tips and ideas for diabetics, including diabetic kids. It’s worth checking out!

Diabetic Pumpkin Cookie Bars

Courtesy of www.diabetic-recipes.com

Ingredients:

• Baking spray with flour
• 1/4 Cup (120 ml) liquid egg substitute
• 2 Large egg whites
• 3/4 Cup (143 g) one-to-one sugar substitute
• 1/3  Cup (65 g) plus 1 tablespoon (8 g) nonfat dry milk
• 1/4 C up (60 ml) canola oil
• 1  16-ounce can (480 g) unsweetened pumpkin
• 1/4  Cup (36g) currants
• 2  C ups (280 g) unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2  T easpoons (10 ml) pumpkin pie spice
• 2  Teaspoons (10 ml) baking powder
• 1/8 Teaspoon salt (0.6 ml) (optional)

Preheat oven to 350° F (180° C), Gas Mark 4. Coat a 13 x 9 inch (32.5 X 22.5 cm) baking pan with baking spray.

In a large bowl, combine egg substitute, egg whites, sugar substitute. dry skim milk, canola oil, and pumpkin. Mix for about 2 minutes. Stir in currants.

Sift dry ingredients over the mixture and fold in. Place the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 40 minutes until the batter springs back when touched in the center. Cool in the pan and cut into 36 bars.

Per 1-bar serving:  56 calories (23% calories from fat), 2 g protein, 2 g total fat (0.1 g saturated fat), 10 g carbohydrates, 1 g dietary fiber, 0 cholesterol, 39 mg sodium

Diabetic exchanges:  1/2 carbohydrate (bread/starch)

Diabetic Chocolate and Vanilla Swirl Cookies

• 1/2 Cup (120 g) margarine, softened
• 2 Tablespoons (24 g) sugar
• 2 Teaspoons (10 ml) vanilla extract
• 6  Tablespoons (90 ml) liquid egg substitute
• 1 1/2 Cups (210 g) unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 Teaspoon (2.5 ml) baking powder
• 1/4 Cup (60 ml) skim milk, warmed to room temperature
• 1 Teaspoon (5 ml) unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/8 Teaspoon (0.6 ml) chocolate extract
• Refrigerated butter-flavored cooking spray

Cream margarine, sugar, vanilla, and egg substitute. Beat well. Add flour, baking powder, and 3 tablespoons (45 ml) of the milk. Stir to thoroughly mix. Divide dough into 2 parts.

Add cocoa and chocolate extract to one part, stirring until well blended. Chill both halves for at least 1 hour.

Working on a floured surface, roll out each part to a rectangle about 3 inches (7.5 cm) wide. Place chocolate part on top of white part, pressing together tightly with a rolling pin.

Brush the chocolate dough with remaining tablespoon (15 ml) milk. Roll up like a jelly roll to make a log about 1 1/2 inches (4 cm) in diameter. Wrap in waxed paper and chill until firm, about 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C), Gas Mark 5. Slice cookies 1/8 inch (.5 cm) thick. Place on a nonstick cookie sheet that has been lightly coated with cooking spray.

Bake for 8 minutes, until lightly browned. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Per 3-cookie serving:   85 calories (53% calories from fat), 2 g protein, 5 g total fat, 8 g carbohydrate, trace dietary fiber, trace cholesterol, 73 mg sodium

Diabetic exchanges: 1 carbohydrate (bread/starch), 1 fat

More Diabetic Friendly Articles:

• Diabetic Carrot Bars
• Sugar Free Oatmeal Cookies (Diabetic)
• Diabetic Ginger Cookies

For the next birthday party you throw, surprise the guest of honor with a birthday cookie cake. A giant cookie decorated for a birthday is the perfect alternative to the plain old sheet cake. You can create a mega cookie cake with little time and money. You don’t even really have to possess any cooking skills. If you can place a cake in the oven, or make cookies, you can make a cookie cake.

The idea of the giant cookie is nothing more than a bunch of small cookies put together. So start with a cookie mix from the store. You can buy cookie mixes in bags in the baking aisle. They’ll usually require you to add eggs and oil or butter. Everything else is usually already in there.

Decide if you want a sugar cookie cake, a chocolate chip cookie cake, or some other flavor. You can do a peanut butter cookie cake that has a chocolate frosting on it for a real delight. Shop the baking aisle and see which flavor you think will work best for your party.

While you’re at the store, pick up a pizza pan. They usually come in 14” or 16” sizes. You can find a cheap aluminum pan that you can throw out or invest in a more sturdy version if you plan on baking many cookie cakes or a few pizzas now and then.

Mix the cookie batter according to the recipe. Be sure that if the mix calls for softened butter that you do not rush the process and melt the butter in the microwave. You may be tempted, but the result will be a thinner, crisper cookie that doesn’t taste as good and may burn faster.

Grease the pizza pan and spread the cookie batter onto it. Spread it evenly so that no one spot is raised above the others. This will help the cookie bake evenly. That’s all you have to do. Now just pop it into the oven at the temperature the cookie mix recommends. It’s usually around 375 degrees or so. You’ll bake until the cookie is brown but not hard.

Here’s the part where many a cookie cake has gone awry. Never walk away into a separate part of the house while you are baking a cookie cake. You may get distracted by another task and find that your cookie is burnt beyond repair. Stay in the kitchen and set a timer for 20 minutes. When the minimum amount of time is reached, check the cookie. If it is nicely golden and not raw in the center, pull it out even if the whole 25 minutes hasn’t elapsed. You want it to come out of the oven while it is still semi soft. If you wait to pull it out when it’s already crisp, the cookie will be overdone. Heat will still continue to bake the cookie on the pan after it comes out of the oven, so you have to allow for that.

Next, cool the cookie. When it is completely cool, you can add your frosting decorations. Use icing from the store that comes in a tube so you can write on the cake. You can also pipe frosting around the edges.

If you think cookie cakes are fun, you'll have to check out cookie bouquets as well!

Cookies on a stick are fun to bake and really make a great impact for very little effort. For your next party or to give to someone you want to thank or who isn’t feeling well, bake up a batch of eye catching flower pop cookies.

Sugar cookie pops are nothing more than cookies on a stick. They are then arranged into a cookie bouquet and placed inside a vase or flower pot.

You can make your own sugar cookie dough, or you can buy store bought dough and roll it out. You’re going to need cookie cutters that are in the shape of flowers. Or, you can use round cutters and decorate your cookie pops to look like flowers. The important part is that you get the proper sticks. You’ll need lollipop sticks from a craft store. Buy the long kind so you can make long-stemmed cookies. You can always cut the sticks down to make shorter flowers. And you need to place the sticks inside the cookies before you bake them so that they stay firm.

Another thing you will need is a clean flower pot. Terra cotta pots look most authentic. You’ll be securing all your cookie pops to the pot, so you’ll need either floral foam or Styrofoam to stick the lollipops into. Tape down the floral foam or Styrofoam so it doesn’t tip out of the pot. Use green tissue paper to pad the top of the pot and cover the foam.

Here is a great recipe from the Jelly Belly jelly bean company. Their version of the flower pop uses jelly beans in a clever way. Visit their site at www.jellybelly.com to see the finished photo.

Here’s how they did it.

Jelly Belly Flower Cookie Pops

Courtesy of Jelly Belly

These colorful cookies are fun and easy to make, and are topped with some of your favorite Jelly Belly Confections like Mint Cremes and Swedish fish, and of course lots of Jelly Belly jelly beans!

Ingredients:

• 1 roll of refrigerated sugar cookie dough

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

• 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

• 1 tablespoon egg white powder

• 1 to 2 tablespoons water

• Assorted Jelly Belly jelly beans

• Mint Cremes by Jelly Belly

• Green Swedish Fish

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Knead the sugar cookie dough with the flour on a work surface until smooth. Divide the dough in half.

2. Roll out half on a lightly floured surface to a scant 1/4 inch thickness. Use 2 to 3 inch flower shaped cookie cutters and cut out as many shapes as possible. Transfer the shapes to the prepared pans on either long edge. Insert a lollipop stick into the dough about half way into the cut out.

3. Bake until cookies are golden about 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely. Repeat with the remaining dough and lollipop sticks.

4. Combine the powdered sugar and egg white powder in a medium bowl. Add 1 tablespoon water and mix well. Add more water, 1 teaspoon at a time, until mixture is thick. Spoon the mixture into a re-sealable bag.

5. Snip a very small corner from the bag, about 1/8 inch. Pipe dots of frosting on cookies and attach the Jelly Belly beans. Pipe dots of frosting on cookies and attach the Mint Cremes or cut some of the Jelly Belly beans in half crosswise and add, cut side down. Continue with the remaining Jelly Belly beans and cookies. Let cookies dry at least 2 hours.

6. Place a piece of Styrofoam into a clean planter or serving bowl. Fill planter with green Jelly Belly beans. Insert the cookie pops into the planter, pushing the sticks into the Styrofoam to secure at different heights. Add a few green Swedish Fish as the leaves.

More Cookie Bouquet Fun:

• All About Cookie Bouquets
• 5 Different Ways to Decorate Cut Out Cookies
• Cookie Gift Bouquets - Make Your Own
• How to Make a Cookie Bouquet