NEW FLAVOR - Coffee Toffee Crunch!

Just wanted to give all of our fabulous fans out there a heads up that we debuted a new flavor at the INDIEana Handicraft Exchange and it was such a hit we are now offering it in our Etsy shop. It is called the Coffee Toffee Crunch and is our chewy oatmeal dough infused with premium roast coffee and chock-full of rich, buttery toffee. Pick up a dozen for yourself today!

Nuts or No Nuts - the Ultimate Question

For our March Flavor-of-the-Month Cookie, I've been experimenting with cardamom. I concocted a rich, buttery cookie with hints of warm cardamom and honey. The only problem is we don't know if we should leave the dough as is - for the purists, or add a crunchy element like nuts. We chose hazelnuts because they are a hearty nut that is crisp when roasted. Decisions, decisions!

What do you think? A little smattering of coarse sugar on top?

Or chopped, roasted hazelnuts on the bottom?

Yes, no?

No, yes?

We really value your opinion. Please tell us which cookie you would prefer? Come forth nut-lovers and purists! Let the debate begin!

Did you know...

...that it's your lucky day? Well, everyday is your lucky day because you get to breathe and live and be. Every day. All the time. But today is your EXTRA special day because Karli and I are feeling very generous. We're going to share a cookie recipe with you. You will love this one. You will HAVE to have it. I think we're calling them "Blue & Whites". (Woo, very inventive, I know.) You could bake them for a special occasion, say, a Colts game or Hanukkah (although that will have to wait for next year)...or just because you feel like eating a blueberry, white chocolate, and macadamia nut cookie. Follow me and prepare to drool.

The dough is very tasty, but I do not approve of it's being consumed before baking. That ol' heating apparatus just makes them unimaginatively better. Patience, Grasshopper, patience.

Hello, Bliss.

Yes, this is what I need, want, and live for. A tray of fresh, warm, gooey cookies. Blueberries, white chocolate, and macadamia nuts were a trio made in heaven.

Grab, chomp, grab, chomp, grab, chomp...

Blue and Whites

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup white chocolate chips

1/2 cup dried blueberries

1/2 cup chopped macadamia nuts

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease cookie sheets or line them with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla extract. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; add into the sugar mixture. Mix in the white chocolate chips, blueberries, and macadamia nuts. Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheets - two inches apart.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are very lightly browned and the centers still look doughy. Let cool slightly, then devour.

I hope you enjoy and bake some today for the Blue and White fans in your life.

Keep an eye out for a brand new cookie experiment. Three words: Red, Wine, Cookie. A Valentine's Day preparation.

Cookies for Trader Joe's

You lucky people, you. In the next three blogs - this one included - I will post more than one cookie recipe. Up to three! Can we say "just in time for the holidays"? I will begin this cookie extravaganza with a fun project that was bestowed on me by Trader Joe's. (Store 670 to be exact.) The fine men in charge commissioned me to invent cookies especially for their store to pass out to their beloved customers and share the recipes with them as well. You folks will be the first to see the recipes! So, here you are! I give you Breakfast Cookies, Apple Granola Cookies, and Pumpkin Cookies! Each recipe has only 5 ingredients. Very easy and very delicious. They have been Trader Joe employee approved. These are all of the ingredients that you will need.

The Trader Joe Breakfast Cookie

You will need:

-a box of Triple Berry Bran Muffin Mix

-3/4 cup of Oh My! Omega Trek Mix

-two eggs

-one stick of butter

-1/4 cup of sugar

To make the cookies, cream the butter and sugar together until light. Add the eggs and mix until incorporated. Add the muffin mix and trek mix until just combined. Scoop out about a tablespoonful and place on a lightly greased baking sheet two inches apart. Slightly flatten the balls so that they are not so round. Bake in a preheated oven (350 degrees F) for 10-12 minutes. Makes approximately 32 cookies.

The Trader Joe Apple Granola Cookie

You will need:
-a box of Spiced Apple Bread Mix

-1 1/4 cups of Country Pumpkin Spice Granola

-two eggs
-one stick of butter
-1/4 cup of sugar

To make the cookies, cream the butter and sugar together until light. Add the eggs and mix until incorporated. Add the apple bread mix and granola until just combined. Scoop out about a tablespoonful and place on a lightly greased baking sheet two inches apart. Bake in a preheated oven (350 degrees F) for 9-11 minutes. Makes approximately 44 cookies.

The Trader Joe Pumpkin Cookie

You will need:

-a box of Pumpkin Bread and Muffin Mix
-3/4 cup Golden Berry Blend (dried fruit mix)
-two eggs

-one stick of butter

-1/4 cup of sugar

To make the cookies, cream the butter and sugar together until light. Add the eggs and mix until incorporated. Add the pumpkin bread mix and dried berries until just combined. Scoop out about a tablespoonful and place on a lightly greased baking sheet two inches apart. Bake in a preheated oven (350 degrees F) for 9-11 minutes. Makes approximately 40 cookies.

Yay! I hope you enjoy making, baking, and eating them!

The Hot Cookie in the Spotlight!

We were very excited to discover that both our Spice Bites and our Jagerdoodles were featured on the front page of Etsy this weekend. In the handmade world that is a big honor and we are so excited to keep our little business growing! You can check out the lists we were included in here and here.

Article for Indy Magazine

All natural cookies – less guilt, more flavor, better for you.

We’ve all grown up with the Keebler Elves and the pink and white frosted animal crackers. Bags of Chips Ahoy cookies and those tricolored packs of wafers were always in our kitchen pantry. These treats were OK for go-to snacking as a kid, but when Mom or Grandma baked up some homemade cookies from scratch, those lifeless, flavorless cupboard cookies were temporarily forgotten.

What we never took into account is that Grandma’s cookies were all natural. She was not throwing in any artificial preservatives. She did not have butter made from cows subjected to growth hormones. She had simple, good ingredients. Ingredients that when combined could melt away all traces of sorrow with one single bite.

With fewer and fewer people baking their own treats today, we have somewhat forgotten the grandeur of the homemade cookie. It is just so easy to go to the store and pick up tube of cookie dough and even easier to grab a cellophane-wrapped, behemoth along with your morning coffee. These cookies are just a shadow compared to the rich flavors and decadent textures of a made-from-scratch, all natural cookie.

My story begins in college, where a longing for home was eased with freshly baked goods. After I left the nest, I had to learn how to cook for myself. I was not about to pack on the “freshman fifteen” with excess alcohol and dorm food, so I collected cook books, ripped out recipes in magazines, and watched the Food Network like it was my job. After many years of experimenting, I got the hang of it. I learned that I preferred baking to cooking, and my friends preferred my baked goods over my cooked concoctions anyway. I was lucky to have grown up in a household that cooked dinner six nights out of the week. I learned the importance of a balanced diet early on. I knew it was better to eat as many whole foods as possible and to minimize the intake of processed foods. This way of life snuck into my baking, and my baking was all the better for it.

After college and with no clear path ahead of me, I had an epiphany. I was going to bake delicious, all natural, made-from-scratch cookies for the masses. I knew that this was not a novel idea, but I also knew that if I did not do it, I would regret it later in life. So I called upon my friend, graphic designer, and now co-founder of our business, Karli, for help. Her enthusiasm for the idea was supreme as she also shared my passion for homey, all natural treats.

And so the business of making these tasty, yet all natural cookies went under way. You might be thinking, “I am all for the home-made cookie idea, but what’s so special about all natural cookies.” Firstly, all natural cookies do not have any artificial preservatives like those stale remnants on the shelves. Studies are being conducted on the effects of preservatives in the body. Our bodies have no use for such foreign substances. Artificial preservatives have no nutritional benefits; some researchers say that preservatives have the capability to cause various types of cancer. Yes, it is nice to be able to store your food for longer periods of time, but why not just get cookies without them. Are you really going to save a cookie for later, really? I think not. Just take advantage of a freshly baked cookie, and enjoy it at its peak.

Another factor that makes all natural cookies better is that they do not have any ingredients containing growth hormones or antibiotics. Cookies made with dairy products free of rBGH (recombinant bovine growth hormone) are better for you. RBGH has been said to increase chances of colon, breast, and prostate cancers. (http://www.environmentalhealththreats.com/environmental-health-hormones.shtml)

Eggs are another main ingredient in most cookies. Free range chickens do not eat antibiotic filled chicken feed. These lucky chickens eat whatever bugs and grubs they can find. Eggs from free range chickens are more nutritious than your basic white carton eggs. They contain “1⁄3 less cholesterol, 1⁄4 less saturated fat, 2⁄3 more vitamin A, two times more omega-3 fatty acids, three times more vitamin E, and seven times more beta carotene” than eggs from caged chickens. Not to mention, free range eggs taste SO much better. (http://www.motherearthnews.com/eggs.aspx)

All natural cookies may or may not (but should) contain organic ingredients. Most packaging will advertise if the food contains any organic ingredients. The more organic ingredients, the better these cookies will be for your health. Organic food products have not been exposed to chemical pesticides or fertilizers, antibiotics, or synthetic hormones among other things. Organic foods are minimally processed, therefore easy for the body to digest and convert to nutrients.
Unfortunately, the government has not regulated the use of the term “all natural”, so be sure to read the food labels carefully and ask questions when you can. That is why there is a phone number listed on most packaging. One tip to eating all naturally is just to simplify. Eat foods with simple ingredients. Simple food = good food.

I hope you will turn your back on the cookie blasphemies found in the snack food isle. Pick up some all natural cookies or bake some yourself. Return to the feeling of bliss that was once given to you by Grandma. Keep it simple. Your body will thank you for it.

-Sarah Richcreek of The Hot Cookie, LLC.
http://www.thehotcookie.com/

PS - I am not a researcher, nor professional in the field of food science. I just believe wholeheartedly about the benefits of natural and organic foods. Thanks!

Hazelnut Thins again. Yums!

Practiced baking some more hazelnut cookies.

Every great batch of cookies begins with the right tunes. I'm in a Kings of Leon phase. They make my cookies taste extra delicious.

Here's the batter with sugar, butter, and hazelnut cream before the eggs are incorportated.

Eggs give the batter a nice, smooth texture.

Added some air to fluff things up.

Finished off the batter with some flour, and now it's ready to be scooped.

Hazelnut Thins, meet everybody. Everybody, meed Hazelnut Thins.

Pile of yum.

Peanut Butter Uglies

Hey, it's Sarah again. It appears that the peanut butter cookie is a challenge for me. I perfected my peanut butter cookie, or so I thought. I was using regular ol' peanut butter. The kind that we all grew up with, the kind on our lunchtime PB & J's, the kind filled with a bunch of junk that's bad for us like palm oil, cottonseed oil, etc. Honestly, I'm partial to this fantastically tasty, mostly bad peanut butter, but I wanted to make a cookie that the health-conscious could feel good about. So I bought a jar of all natural peanut butter. The ingredients are: peanuts and salt. That's it. I baked a batch of each to see and taste the difference.

"Lunch box" peanut butter VS. all natural peanut butter.

Here's the batter for my perfected "lunch box" peanut butter cookies. I threw in some peanut butter chips to see how they would fare in the baking process.

They look beautiful. Nice, light, and chocked full of peanut buttery goodness.

Here's what the natural peanut butter batter looks like. Darker already. Hmmm... They look like little monsters.

I had to add extra sugar because there was absolutely none in the jar. I also put peanut butter chips in half of the batter.

No. This is not the desired apprearance at all. Natural peanut butter, you are making me work extra hard. Why don't you cooperate? Here we have a crumbly mess; one sweet, blobby mess.

I here by name this batch Peanut Butter Uglies. They taste like a peanut butter cookie, but they need a make-over. I'll be working on this.

Tell me, do you care what kind of peanut butter you eat? What kind is in your pantry right now? Thanks!

Coping with Coffee. Bleh!

So coffee is a pretty popular drink. It's third in line under tea and water. I never got on board the coffee train. My place smells like coffee right now because of my latest batch of cookies, and I'm pretty grossed out. There's a demand for coffee flavored cookies, so I had to bite the bullet and make some. This first coffee experiment went like this:
I went to the store and bought some of that stinky, black stuff because there was none to be found in my place. The roomies don't drink it either. Bless them.

Here's the stuff in liquid form. I'm sure most of you are on a first name basis with it, which is fine. We can still be friends.

The dough is so misleading. It looks like a nice, lightly chocolaty dough. It is not. It smells like coffee.

Not knowing what this dough would do, I did the normal dough drop shape...

...and pressed a few, just for kicks.

Here's the coffee monster after it's emergence from the oven.

Being the baker, I had to try one. I pinched my nose and held my breath...not really. They actually weren't that bad for me. The coffee taste wasn't too overwhelming. Maybe I should add more coffee? I don't know! I left the taste testing up to my roommates' co-workers. I will know the tastiness by tomorrow evening. To be continued...

St.Louis Specials - the First Attempt

Karli has a favorite cookie which hails from her home town, St. Louis. She had a recipe, and we tried it out. They are definitely delicious, but I had to figure out how to make it truly OURS and not someone else's. So I did some testing.

The dough is so light and airy. Very pretty.

This dough goes through the ol' roll-in-the-powdered-sugar game. It's a good game. The cookies like to play it often.

PS - I was wandering around this wonderful city and came across a very cool open-air market, called Locally Grown Gardens. It was highly recommended that I go and check it out, and I was not disappointed. I got these beautiful eggs there. Gorgeous, flavorful, nutritious.

Back to the subject: St.Louis Specials. They look like they could be winners.

Mmmmm. They taste like winners, but will they pass the St.Louisian's test? Karli, come and give these a try!