Giveaway

What could be better than a cookie? Well, how about 2 cookies with a rich and decadent filling. I thought that would grab your attention. When I made these cookies for our family get-together on Christmas day, they were OK but nothing memorable. I wanted to incorporate more chocolate(because I always do) and decided to make a filling to match the richness of the cookie. These easily became something amazing and were a hit(but, you know, what isn’t with chocolate?).

Fudge Pies

Ingredients(Makes 24 cookies or 12 pies):

• 2 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups flour
• 5 tablespoon cocoa powder
• 1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt

For the ganache:

• 8oz chocolate chips
• 2oz heavy cream(or non-dairy cream)

In a large bowl, mix together the eggs, sugar, and vanilla extract. Sift in the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt and mix until the dough is nice and thick. Move it to a refrigerator for 30 minutes to an hour to cool.

While the dough is chilling, preheat an oven to 350 degrees and line baking trays with parchment paper. Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and drop them on the tray.

Bake for 10-12 minutes until they expand and crack. Remove them from the oven and let them cool on wire racks.

To make the filling, melt the chocolate in a microwave or over a double boiler. Slowly beat in the cream and continue to mix until it has emulsified.

Pour a spoonful of ganache in the center of half of the cookies. Then, take an equal-sized cookie and make a sandwich out of the two. Let the ganache harden before serving.

These reminded me of a Little Debbie Fudge Round only so much better. The cookies were fresh and the chocolate was rich and full of flavor. I think the only thing that would have made this better would have been sea salt in the ganache but I was making this for a crowd and not sure of everyone’s taste. If you ever have an occasion to go over the top(and, let’s face it, what else are the holidays for?!) try these.

This time of year, cookie swaps are everywhere. Like I’ve mentioned, I’m not the biggest cookie lover. However, there are some that I tip my hat to. I love the standard peanut butter cookie. And I’ve already paid tribute to the pairing of chocolate and orange once this Christmas season. But when I saw Kaitlin’s recipe for chocolate orange cookies, I had to make them and make them mine. While I was worried how these would taste at first, they ended up being the perfect balance of nuttiness, citrus, and chocolate. They’re festive and bound to be a hit at any cookie swap.

Chocolate Chip Almond Butter Cookies With Citrus

Ingredients(Makes 18 cookies):

• 1 cup natural almond butter
• 3/4 cup cane sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt(omit if your almond butter is salted)
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips
• Zest of one orange

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Start by mixing together the almond butter, sugar, salt, egg, and baking soda until it has all emulsified.

Next add in the chocolate chips and zest in the orange. Continue to mix this until the mix-ins are evenly distributed. Roll the dough into 18 1-inch balls and lay them out on a lined baking tray about 2 inches apart.

Press down on the top of each dough ball gently with a fork to make a criss-cross pattern. Bake these for about 12-14 minutes or until the edges start to brown slightly.

These are so festive! I was pleasantly surprised at how well the orange flavor came through, and yet you clearly get the almond flavor and sweet chocolate, too. It was completely necessary to eat 2 out of the oven to make sure they were OK. But if you can wait longer, these are perfect to eat alongside a tall glass of almond milk. I bet you Santa has never had milk and cookies like this.

*Have you entered the holiday giveaway yet?*

I have to admit that I’m not the biggest fan of cookies. Besides being a huge challenge for a gluten-free baker, they just aren’t as interesting as cakes or as chocolaty as brownies. But come every Christmas, there’s always one cookie that has my heart: I love Italian anise cookies. Growing up Italian-American, my relatives always bought these for me fresh from an Italian bakery. I love the sharp licorice flavor with a super sweet frosting. I couldn’t imagine Christmas without them, so this year I tried to adapt the recipe to be gluten-free. After 2 batches, I came out with the perfect, sinfully good Christmas cookies.

Gluten-Free Italian Christmas Cookies

Ingredients(Makes 20 cookies):

• 2 cups gluten-free all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup neutral flavored oil(not coconut oil and not butter)
• 1 1/2 eggs, lightly beaten(see here how to measure this)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons anise extract

*If you’re making these with regular flour, use just 1 egg

Sift the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Make a well in the center and pour in the oil, eggs, and extract.

Combine the dough by mixing until it’s firm and the flour has been all absorbed. Put the dough in the refrigerator to chill 30-60 minutes.

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees with the baking trays inside the oven to warm them up. When the oven is ready, take out the baking trays, line them with parchment paper, and roll the dough into 3/4-inch balls lining them up with enough room to spread. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the outside starts to turn slightly brown and the center is almost set. Take them out of the oven and let them set completely before moving them to another tray.

These taste just like the cookies from the bakery: Soft and slightly cakey yet still sugary dense. The anise flavor is strong, so you’ll want to give these to a true lover. And the icing—oh, the icing. But that’s for another day.