cookies Archives - Frugal Bites

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

April 16, 2013 by frugalbites 1 Comment

Last week, I was searching for an easy dessert that would be kid-friendly yet sophisticated enough to serve with a nice meal. Since I planned on sharing the meal with our neighbors, I had to be at the top of my culinary game. The kids requested cookies, but to me chocolate chip cookies just are too ordinary to be impressive. I landed on this version of the white chocolate macadamia nut cookie. The saltiness of the macadamia nuts go perfectly with the sweet white chocolate. Plus, it’s just a little bit more refined than its chocolate chip cousin.

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 10 mins

Total time: 25 mins

Serves: 36

A flavorful change from the traditional chocolate chip cookie. Macadamia nuts give these cookies a salty goodness that highlights the sweet chocolate.

Ingredients

1 C. butter, softened
¾ C. brown sugar
½ C. white sugar
2 eggs
½ tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. almond extract
2½ C. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 C. coarsely chopped macadamia nuts
1¼ C. white chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a mixer, cream the butter, sugars, and eggs together.
Add eggs, one at at time. Add vanilla and almond extract.
Next, combine flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl. Add to the butter mixture and stir until well-combined.
Add nuts and chocolate chips.
Drop teaspoons of batter onto ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Classic Snickerdoodles Recipe

January 8, 2013 by frugalbites Leave a Comment

According to Wikipedia, that the name “Snickerdoodles” is a corruption of the German word Schneckennudeln (“snail noodles”), which is a kind of pastry. I grew up eating this very Classic Snickerdoodles recipe at my grandmother’s house in Iowa, who was of German heritage. Her secret ingredient (lemon extract) made them just a little bit tangy as well as sweet. I could never eat just one!

Frugal Tips: Since Snickerdoodles are mainly flour and sugar based, they cost less than cookies with chocolate chips.

Classic Snickerdoodles Recipe

Snickerdoodles are frugal and easy to make. The lemon is the secret ingredient!

Ingredients

1½ C. sugar
1 C. vegetable shortening or butter
2 eggs
2¾ C. flour
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. soda
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. lemon extract

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream sugar and shortening together. Add beaten eggs. Sift dry ingredients together and add to sugar mixture. Add vanilla and lemon extract. Chill dough in the refrigerator for one hour. Roll in 1″ balls. Dust in mixture of 2 Tbsp. sugar and 1 tsp. cinnamon. Bake for 12-15 minutes.

Filed Under: Cookies and Bars Tagged With: cookies, German, german food

Pecan Tassies: It Wouldn’t Be Christmas Without Them!

December 19, 2012 by frugalbites 1 Comment

For our family, it wouldn’t be Christmas without these Pecan Tassies. My grandmother made them and passed the recipe on down to my mom, and now I’m making them too. Be warned: it’s nearly impossible to eat just one!

Frugal Tips: Don’t forget that you can store nuts in the freezer indefinitely. It prevents the oils in them from becoming rancid and giving them a spoiled taste. That said, you can save a lot by buying them in bulk and freezing what you can’t use right away.

Related Mommysavers Forum Conversation: Fill in the blank: It just wouldn’t be Christmas without _____________.

Pecan Tassies

Prep time: 30 mins

Cook time: 25 mins

Total time: 55 mins

Serves: 24

It just wouldn’t be Christmas without these treats.

Ingredients

⅓ C. cream cheese
½ C. butter, softened
1 C. flour
1 egg
¾ C. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. butter
1 tsp. vanilla
⅔ C. pecans

Instructions

In a bowl, mix cream cheese, butter, and flour. Refrigerate dough for one hour.
Remove from refrigerator and press into mini tart pans (yield: 24). Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a medium saucepan, heat egg, brown sugar, butter, vanilla and pecans until bubbly. Remove from heat and spoon into tarts. Bake for 25 minutes

Filed Under: Cookies and Bars, Recipes Tagged With: christmas cookies, cookies, pecans

Cranberry Orange Pinwheel Cookies

December 8, 2012 by frugalbites Leave a Comment

For some, it wouldn’t be Christmas without baking something with cranberries. They’re colorful, tangy, and good for you to boot. These Cranberry Orange Pinwheel Cookies are great to bring to a holiday cookie exchange. The dough can be prepared days ahead of time, which is nice.

I like to use cranberries in decorating as well as baking. If you’re entertaining, save some cranberries to make this cute candle holder. I snipped some greens from a shrub in my front yard, layered with cranberries, and added water so they floated to the top. Next, I added a tealight candle and a little red baker’s twine. So simple, yet very frugal and pretty!

Frugal Tip: Many people don’t realize that fresh cranberries can be frozen. Cranberries are in season right now, so buy them on sale and freeze them for later!

This was originally posted here: 25 Days of Christmas Treats

Cranberry Orange Pinwheel Cookies

Prep time: 8 hours

Cook time: 15 mins

Total time: 8 hours 15 mins

Serves: 24-30

These zesty pinwheel cookies are as pretty as they are delicious!

Ingredients

1½ C. flour
¼ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
½ C. butter, at room temperature
¾ C. sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
⅓ C. finely chopped fresh cranberries
½ C. finely chopped pecans
1 Tbsp. freshly grated orange zest

Instructions

In a bowl, combine the first three dry ingredients. Set aside.
Next, cream the butter, sugar, egg and vanilla together. Add dry ingredients until mixture forms a dough. Refrigerate one hour or more.
In a small bowl, combine cranberries, pecans and orange zest.
On a floured surface, roll the dough to a 10″ square. Sprinkle the cranberry/pecan mixture onto the dough, leaving about an inch on each of the ends. Press into dough slightly, then roll in a jelly-roll fashion. Wrap in wax paper and freeze 4 hours or overnight.
Preheat oven to 375. Slice the dough in ¼″ rounds and place on a parchment-covered cookie sheet. Bake approximately 13-15 minutes or until lightly browned on top.

Filed Under: Cookies and Bars Tagged With: christmas, christmas cookies, cookies, cranberries, pecans

My Holiday Baking is Underway! (Well, kind of.)

December 5, 2012 by frugalbites Leave a Comment

My holiday baking is underway, and I couldn’t be more excited. I was BORN rockin’ the Christmas season. LITERALLY. (My birthday is December 25th). Even though my kids are getting older and roll their eyes at some of my “cutesy” Christmas goodies, I still bake them with love. These projects allow me to express my ~~craziness~~ creativity in the kitchen in a socially acceptable way.

My first three holiday “baking” projects don’t actually involve turning the oven on at all. They’re all made using just the stovetop or microwave along with some fun candy embellishments. They’re perfect for kids to help with, since they love “decorating” the treats. Plus, if you still have any Halloween candy left over (yeah, I know – unlikely) it’s a good way to use it up.

Last year, I compiled my creations here: 25 Days of Christmas Treats. My goal this year? 25 new Christmas treats in December. Don’t worry – I don’t eat them all myself. I give them to friends and neighbors, send them to my husband’s office – whoever will eat them. This year, I’ll be featuring them on the Mommysavers Christmas Recipes pages again as well as here on Frugal Bites.

Have a request? Let me know! I’m looking for even more ideas for cute Christmas cookies and treats. I really want to find a cute Elf cookie to go along with all the Elf on the Shelf Ideas I’ve seen. Anyone have a suggestion? Leave it in the comments below!