Cookies are welcome at any party. Everyone loves getting and eating cookies. If you want to include cookies in your wedding, why not make them as favors? With a little ingenuity and a little practice, you can make really fun and adorable wedding cookies.

Start with a really good recipe for sugar cookies. Don’t even consider store bought as they won’t taste or look good in the end. Then, decide on a cookie shape. You can choose a cookie cutter that looks like a wedding cake, a heart, a flower, a shoe, or even just an elegant square or oval. Use a big enough cookie cutter so that you get a nice sized cookie out of it that will take decorations well.

Each cookie will need to be hand decorated. You can easily make royal icing or use fondant to create a surface layer for your embellished designs. Pipe icing onto the cookies after they have cooled. Use your new initial or pipe on rosettes, dots, or even a word or two. Once you get the hang of using a piping bag, you’ll want to get creative with what you put on the cookies. Wrap and you have edible cookie favors.

Sugar Cookies (from joyofbaking.com)

3 cups (390 grams) all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup (227 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Royal Icing Using Egg Whites:

2 large egg whites

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

3 cups (330 grams) confectioners (powdered or icing) sugar, sifted

or

Royal Icing Using Meringue Powder:

4 cups (440 grams) confectioners' (powdered or icing) sugar, sifted

3 tablespoons (30 grams) meringue powder

1/2 teaspoon almond extract (optional)

1/2 cup - 3/4 cup (120 - 180 ml) warm water

Food Coloring (I use Gel Pastes that can be found at cake decorating and party stores or else on-line)

For Sugar Cookies: In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda.

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 3 to 4 minutes). Add the eggs and vanilla extract and beat until combined. Add the flour mixture and beat until you have smooth dough. Divide the dough in half and wrap each half in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for about one hour or until firm enough to roll.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Remove one-half of the chilled dough from the refrigerator and, on a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a thickness of 1/4 inch (1 cm). (Keep turning the dough as you roll, making sure the dough does not stick to the counter.) Cut out desired shapes using a lightly floured cookie cutter and transfer cookies to the prepared baking sheet. Place the baking sheets with the unbaked cookies in the refrigerator for 10 to 15 minutes to chill the dough which prevents the cookies from spreading and losing their shape while baking.

Note: If you are not going to frost the baked cookies, you may want to sprinkle the unbaked cookies with crystal or sparkling sugar.

Bake cookies for about 8-10 minutes (depending on size) or until the edges are just starting to brown. Remove from oven and let cookies cool on baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling. Frost with royal icing, if desired. Be sure to let the royal icing dry completely before storing. (This may take several hours.) Frosted cookies will keep several days in an airtight container. Store between layers of parchment paper or wax paper.

Makes about 36 - 4 inch (10 cm) cookies.

Baking is a science and one that can’t be rushed or dallied with. You can’t change out ingredients and not affect the whole batter. For chewy cookies, your ratio of wet to dry ingredients is key. For instance, a chewier cookie recipe might include more eggs or an additional yolk. Most chewy cookies have moister ingredients and the batter is more liquid when it comes out.

You can, of course, experiment with different batters. Some just lend themselves better to a chewy cookie than others. But use real butter when butter is called for, not margarine or a substitute. And always use the freshest ingredients you can find.

One final tip is to take the cookies out of the oven before the timer says they are done. Let them cool on the pan for a few minutes and then remove them to a cooling rack. By not leaving them in for the full cooking time, you’re sure to have chewier cookies as opposed to crunchy ones. Just don’t take them out too soon or you’ll end up with raw cookies that no one can eat.

If you’ve never met a chocolate chip cookie that you didn’t like, try this recipe for chewy chocolate chip cookies. It will be hard to resist eating the whole batch. But if you can resist the urge to eat them all, save a few for that christmas cookie exchange that will be coming up soon.

Best Big, Fat, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie (from allrecipes.com)

Prep Time: 10 Minutes

Cook Time: 15 Minutes

Ready In: 40 Minutes

Servings: 18

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 egg

1 egg yolk

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.

2. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

3. In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon. Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.

4. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

It’s certainly not hard to master the art of the chewy cookie. It’s more of the art of keeping an eye on your cookies while they are in the oven and a use of high-quality ingredients. Never substitute amounts and types of ingredients when you are baking as you may throw off the results.

Here are some of the recipes that have been featured in the Martha Stewart Newsletter recently. Sign up today and you’ll always have something tasty in your inbox to look forward to.

Chocolate Sweet Hearts

These crisp, delicate cookies have less than 50 calories each. Swap in different cookie cutters for other occasions; adjust the baking time accordingly.

Prep: 25 minutes

Total: 55 minutes plus cooling

Ingredients

Makes 42

1 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar

1 large egg

Directions

In a bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl, set over (not in) a saucepan of simmering water; place chocolate, butter, and brown sugar; stir frequently until almost completely melted. Remove from heat, and stir until completely melted; let cool slightly.

Add egg to chocolate mixture. With a mixer on low, beat until well blended. Gradually stir in flour mixture (dough will form a ball).

Divide dough in half; roll out each half on a sheet of parchment paper to a 1/4-inch thickness. Transfer each half (still on paper) to a baking sheet; freeze until firm, about 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Working with one half at a time, flip dough onto a work surface; peel off paper. Using a 2-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter, cut out cookies; place, 1/2 inch apart, on two baking sheets. Bake until firm and fragrant, about 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer cookies to a rack to cool. These would be beautiful wrapped up and given as a chocolate cookie gift.

Helpful Hint

To roll out the dough without using flour (which would mar its color), cover your work surface with parchment paper. Once the dough is frozen, you can peel off the paper and cut the cookies directly on the work surface.

Raspberry-Almond Financiers

These petits fours conceal a honeyed, cakey interior beneath a crisp, crackly surface embellished by hand with hearts of jam.

Ingredients

Makes 45

Vegetable oil cooking spray

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1/3 cup honey

2 cups sliced blanched almonds (6 1/2 ounces), lightly toasted and finely ground

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup sifted confectioners' sugar

3/4 cup sifted cake flour (not self-rising)

1/2 teaspoon salt

5 large egg whites

1 cup raspberries (fresh or frozen), pureed and strained (1/2 cup)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat mini muffin tins with cooking spray.

Heat butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, whisking frequently, until golden brown, 6 to 7 minutes. Add honey, and whisk until combined. Remove from heat.

Using a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine almonds, sugars, flour, and salt on low speed. Raise speed to medium-high, and add egg whites, one at a time, beating after each addition until just combined. Scrape down sides of bowl. Reduce speed to low, and add warm butter-honey mixture in a slow, steady stream. Raise speed to high, and beat for 45 seconds.

Spoon batter into muffin cups, filling each halfway. Spoon a scant 1/2 teaspoon raspberry puree near one edge of each cup. Draw a skewer or the tip of a paring knife through puree toward opposite edge of cup to form a heart shape.

Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until edges are golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool slightly in tins on wire racks. Using a small offset spatula, carefully unmold financiers, and transfer to rack. Financiers are best served warm or the same day they are baked, but they can be stored in airtight containers at room temperature for up to 3 days. If desired, serve or package financiers in decorative paper liners.

There are some ingredients that are common to all big cookie cakes. You’ll need really good butter, sugar, and fresh brown sugar. You’ll also need eggs, flour, and vanilla. Be sure to use the freshest ingredients you can find as they will affect the taste of your cookie. That’s where the similarity in ingredients between recipes usually stops. From here you can add chocolate chips, nuts, shredded coconut, and more.

One thing every recipe for a big cookie will call for is a pan. You can either use a flat sheet pan, a pizza pan or a molded shape like a heart or a moon shape. These types of specialty pans are found in the cake and baking aisle in stores.

Baking the cookie is easier than making cookies one by one. You don’t have to stand there and wait for the first batch to bake so you can put the next batch in. You just pop the whole batch of dough in on the pan at once. Couldn’t be easier.

Here’s a favorite recipe from Allrecipes.com. It’s for a giant chocolate chip cookie.

Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup white sugar

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup chopped walnuts

DIRECTIONS:

1. In large bowl, beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well.

2. Gradually add flour, salt, and baking soda, beating until well blended. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts.

3. Spread in greased 14 inch round pizza pan. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 20-25 minutes. Cool cookie in pan on a cooling rack. Decorate as desired.

*********

As you can see, it’s really no different than making regular chocolate chip cookie dough. The time-saving and super easy part is that you just spread the dough onto a pan once.

The decorating options are endless. Frost in blue frosting and make a Cookie Monster cake. Use black tinted frosting for the mouth and use cookies for the eyes. You can find frosting tints at a craft store that has a cake aisle. The powdered tints will yield a darker color than liquid food coloring. And the stain won’t come off on kids’ mouths if you use a powdered tint.

Other options for decorating a cookie cake include a harvest pumpkin (just frost in orange with a green stem), a soccer ball (use black and white icing to make the six-sided shapes of a soccer ball), or a spider web for Halloween (use white frosting and thin lines of brown frosting that you drizzle on and then drag a knife through).These giant cookie cakes make great birthday cookie gifts!

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.

]]> http://www.cookiegiftbaskets.com/gram/2011/07/21/how-to-make-cookie-bars/feed/ 1 http://www.cookiegiftbaskets.com/gram/2011/01/14/how-to-make-homemade-cookie-party-favors/ http://www.cookiegiftbaskets.com/gram/2011/01/14/how-to-make-homemade-cookie-party-favors/#comments Fri, 14 Jan 2011 18:57:35 +0000 raegal http://www.cookiegiftbaskets.com/gram/?p=1099 Baking cookies to give as favors at a wedding, shower, or other event can be a great way to get people involved. Instead of trying to do it all yourself, divide up the work so that it becomes a party in and of itself! It’s actually very simple to create cookie favors that look like they took much more time than they did. Here are some tips to get you started.

You’ll need a good basic sugar cookie recipe if you’re making rolled cookies with cookie cutters. This recipe from allrecipes.com is easy and takes few ingredients.

BASIC SUGAR COOKIES

1 1/2 cups butter, softened

2 cups white sugar

4 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

5 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS:

1.             In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).

2.             Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.

3.             Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely.

The nice thing about sugar cookies is that you can make the dough ahead of time and keep it in the refrigerator. Make up a few batches so you can get several dozen cookies made at once. If you need wedding favors for a larger wedding, you’re going to have to bake 12 dozen to get 144 cookies. So base your estimate on how many guests are coming and plan for several extras in case some are burnt or broken. If you store the cookies in a tightly lidded container, they will last several days. Better yet, freeze them and you’ll be safe for several weeks.

When it comes time to wrap your cookies for presentation at the party, go with materials that are sturdy and elegant. Clear cellophane wrap is available for basket wrapping. You can find it at craft stores. Don’t use regular plastic wrap as it will not make a nice presentation and may smash the frosting you’ve worked so hard on. Take a small section of basket wrapping cellophane and wrap it loosely around the cookie. Gather the extra at the tip of the cookie and tie with an upscale ribbon. You will only need one cookie for each guest when the presentation is bold and beautiful.

Of course there are other cookies you can make for a wedding or party. Chocolate chip is always a favorite. Follow the same procedure for freezing and wrapping your cookies, but instead stack four or five cookies in each pack. If you’re going with a more rustic cookie, you’ll want at least a few for each guest. Delicately decorated sugar cookies are more like works of art, so you can present just one each. Variations on the chocolate chip cookie include chocolate chunk, double chocolate, and white chocolate macadamia nut. Just be sure to make a tag or sticker that alerts guests that nuts have been used in case they are allergic.

Cookies make delicious favors that everyone is happy to receive. Brighten up your next party with a basket of cookie favors.

If you're feeling adventurous, you can switch up the cake mix and mix-ins for new creations like Strawberry Cake Mix with White Chips or a Spice Cake with pecans.

Ingredients

* 1 (18.25 ounce) package chocolate cake mix
* 1/2 cup butter, softened
* 2 tsp. vegetable oil
* 1 tsp. vanilla extract
* 2 eggs
* 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a medium bowl, stir together the cake mix, butter and eggs until smooth and well blended. Mix in the chocolate chips. Drop by spoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.