I had been craving a batch of chocolately homemade cookies for quite some time. Unbelievably, I don’t think I’ve made any cookies since the summer, so the craving turned into obsession and I could no longer ignore it. I flipped through the big, fat and beautiful Bon Appetit: Desserts, looking for a cookie recipe I’ve never tried and that didn’t have any ingredients I didn’t already have in the house. The winner was the Chocolate Toffee Cookies, which I adapted into what is now Chocolate-Cinnamon Caramel Cookies.

I made a few changes to the cookies. We fortunately had a little bottle of rum we had been sipping from that evening, so I splashed the 1 tablespoon of rum the recipe called for in the batter. When I turned my back, Soli generously threw in another tablespoon or so more. This made for a definite hit of rum with every cookie…I was actually a bit nervous eating one of these things for breakfast (What? I know everyone eats cookies for breakfast sometimes!).

I didn’t have any Skor or Heath bars, but I did have these super tiny chocolate-covered caramel cup chips…I can’t really think of a better way to describe them. They were a great addition, I think! The cookies didn’t have that crunch that I’m sure the Heath bar would’ve given it, but were instead studded with soft pockets of sweet, luscious caramel and dark chocolate. I didn’t add the nuts either, so the cookies were soft and moist the whole way through, with a slightly crispy edge. The texture was just amazing, and I don’t know if I would’ve even wanted any crunches to disrupt that.

The last thing I did differently, and that I wholeheartedly recommend, is adding a little bit of cinnamon to the cookies. I didn’t add so much that the cinnamon became a dominant flavor; in fact, some people who tried the cookie couldn’t quite place what it was they were tasting. I thought it pushed the cookie over the edge, making it change from super-great cookie to a super-great-amazing-favourite-cookie-ever. How can a soft, tender chocolate, cookie, filled with caramel and hints of rum and cinnamon be anything short of perfection?

Chocolate-Cinnamon Caramel Cookies
adapted from Bon Appetit: Desserts

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 large egg
2 tablespoons dark rum
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups mini chocolate covered caramels (the original recipe calls for crushed chocolate-covered English toffee, such as Heath, Skor bar; about 7 ounces)
1/2 cup chopped almonds (optional; I did not add any nuts this time)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Beat the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy.

3. Add the egg, the rum and the vanilla and beat again, until everything is blended together.

4. In a small bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Stir the dry ingredients into the butter mixture.

5. Stir in the chocolates or toffee and nuts, if using.

6. In large spoonfuls, drop batter into an ungreased baking sheet about two inches apart. Bake for about 10-12 minutes, or until the cookies start cracking on top but are still soft.

7. Let them cool on the baking sheet for 1 minute, then place the cookies in a rack to cool completely.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies

I recently checked my little carton of molasses and saw it was a few days from its expiry date, so I started checking out everything I could bake to use it up. Seeing as I had a little tub of crystallized ginger, already minced, ready to be used, I figured some ginger molasses cookies were in order.

The ones I ended up making were absolutely fantastic. Thick, chewy in the middle, slightly crispy around the edges, with little pockets of intense ginger. You could add ground ginger and/or cloves to them, but I liked them simple, with the flavour of molasses standing out. The sugar coating adds a great crunch.

Apparently, these taste just like the ones sold by Starbucks. I can’t vouch for the accuracy of that statement, but I do know whenever I will have the urge for some molasses cookies, these will definitely be the ones I bake!

Ginger Molasses Raisin Cookies
adapted from All Recipes

2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup molasses
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup crystallized ginger, minced
1/2 cup raisins
1/3 cup white sugar (for rolling)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).

2. In a large bowl mix oil and 1 cup of sugar. Add egg, beat well. Stir in molasses, 2 cups flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and raisins. If necessary, add more flour to make a firm dough.

3. Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Roll in 1/3 cup sugar. Place 3 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until tops crack. Remove from baking sheet and cool on rack.

I made Ina Garten’s coconut macaroons as part of my Christmas baking, and like many of the people who commented on Food Network’s recipe, I had the same problem of the macaroons running all over the place once in the oven. The first batch came out as flat as pancakes, though the second batch was a little better…I think it’s because I put the remaining batter in the fridge while waiting for the first batch to bake. I whipped the eggs right, and folded them in right, so I think the things I would do differently next time would be to add at least another cup, if not two, of coconut and refrigerate the batter before baking.

Besides for the appearance, these were okay. Soft, sticky, sweet – everything a macaroon should be! I dipped the bottom of each macaroon in a chocolate glaze, as I think chocolate really goes well with the coconut.

Chocolate-Bottom Coconut Macaroons
adapted from Food Network (Ina Garten)
Printable Recipe

14 ounces sweetened shredded coconut (I would suggest using a lot more coconut)
14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 extra-large egg whites, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

2. Combine the coconut, condensed milk, and vanilla in a large bowl. Whip the egg whites and salt on high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until they make medium-firm peaks. Carefully fold the egg whites into the coconut mixture.

(3. My suggestion is to refrigerate the mixture at this point for at least half an hour)

4. Drop the batter onto sheet pans lined with parchment paper using either a 1 3/4-inch diameter ice cream scoop, or 2 teaspoons. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown. Cool.

5. Dip bottoms of each cookie in a chocolate glaze (I used about one cup of dark chocolate, melted with a few tablespoons of heavy cream. Let glaze cool om cookie. Serve.

So here’s the weird thing: I have a cookbook that has a recipe for Cracked Chocolate Cookies and for Chocolate Crackle Cookies. They are almost identical in appearance…they are those holiday cookies that you roll in icing sugar, and come out, baked, all cracked and covered in icing sugar. One appears on page 58, the other on page 66. One recipe is super amazing, one is not amazing at all.

Guess what happened?

Yeah. I knew what cookbook my cookie was in, so when I opened to the page titled Cracked Chocolate Cookies, I assumed it was the cookie recipe I knew and loved. I made them, and did not love them. I checked my montcarte post, realized the ingredients were verrrrrry different, and found the right recipe less than 10 pages away.

I guess there’s a fair amount of people who prefer one recipe to the other…why else would a cookbook include such similar cookies? The irritating part is that I MUCH preferred the chocolate crackle cookies, and thought I was making those, when in reality, I was making the other ones. And I can’t even blame this on too-much-wine-while-baking syndrome; I was completely sober.

Anyway. The Cracked Chocolate Cookies were okay. They were thinner and fudgier. The icing sugar dissolved more (I did use butter instead of shortening, which does include water, but I left out the called-for water to compensate), so I was left for a crunchier shell surrounding a dense centre. The cookie I was trying to make has less crunch, and light, fluffy centre (which I assume is due to folding egg whites in).

I prefer the ones I intended to make, but I assume a lot of people like these ones too. Here’s the recipe….but for me, the perfect cracked chocolate cookie is the Chocolate Crackles, found here.

But really, why would a cookbook have such similar cookie recipes???

Cracked Chocolate Cookies
adapted from Debbie Mum’s Old-Fashioned Cookies

1 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2/3 Crisco stick or 2/3 cup Crisco all-purpose shortening (used equal amount of butter)
1 tablespoon water (I left this out because I used butter, not shortening)
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups (12 oz.) semisweet chocolate chips (left this out)
1 cup confectioners’ sugar

1. Heat oven to 375 degree. Place sheets of foil on countertop for cooling cookies.

2. Place brown sugar, shortening, water, and vanilla in large bowl. Beat at medium speed of electric mixer until well blended. Add eggs; beat well.

3. Combine flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda. Add to shortening mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended. Stir in chocolate chips.

4. Shape dough into 1 1/4-inch balls. Roll in confectioners’ sugar. Place 2 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet.

5. Bake on baking sheet at a time at 375 F for 7 to 9 minutes or until cookies are set. DO NOT OVERBAKE. Cool 2 minutes on baking sheet. Remove cookies to foil to cool completely.

It seems that people are divided when it comes to the best chocolate chip cookie recipe – some claim the Neiman Marcus chocolate chip cookie (which has been my go-to cookie recipe and a popular one on this site, coming in 10th place in last year’s tally of Montcarte’s most popular recipes) and it seems the other side is all for Jacques Torres’ chocolate chip cookie. Looks like the battle is on!

The differences in the two recipes are quite apparent. Jacques Torres’ cookies use much more granulated sugar and contain no vanilla or instant espresso powder. They also ask for two different types of flour, pastry and bread. So. What’s the verdict?

To be honest, I haven’t had a Neiman Marcus cookie since the summer, and these are still fresh on my tastebuds. I find the Jacques Torres’ cookies to be softer and have a more buttery taste, all very good qualities. However, my vote goes to the Neiman Marcus cookie, as I love the touch of vanilla in them, as well as that espresso powder. It just makes things more interesting.

However, the Jaqcues Torres chocolate chip cookie is amazing, and I know that lots and lots of people insist it’s the best recipe out there, so I do enourage you attempt the cookie battle yourself!

Jacques Torres Chocolate Chip Cookies
adapted from Jacques Torres (listed on Martha Stewart)
Printable Recipe

(I halved this recipe, turned out perfectly)

1 pound unsalted butter
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
2 1/4 cups packed light-brown sugar
4 large eggs
3 cups plus 2 tablespoons pastry flour
3 cups bread flour
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2 pounds (60 percent cocoa) Chocolate or other best-quality semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats; set aside.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugars. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Reduce speed to low and add both flours, baking powder, baking soda, vanilla, and chocolate; mix until well combined.

3. Using a 4-ounce scoop for larger cookies or a 1-ounce scoop for smaller cookies, scoop cookie dough onto prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Bake until lightly browned, but still soft, about 20 minutes for larger cookies and about 15 minutes for smaller cookies. Cool slightly on baking sheets before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

I love these cookies! I LOVE THESE COOKIES! If you’re going to make any cookies any time soon, make it these ones.

They have an amazing bite of ginger, coming from both the ground and fresh ginger that’s grated into them. They’re bright with cinnamon, have a delicate touch of cocoa, and the occasional chunk of milk chocolate. Ginger and chocolate, it’s a stunning combo in these cookies. They are the softest, chewiest cookies and just fall apart in your mouth. The granulated sugar they’re rolled in give a slight crisp to the outside, but the inside, especially when warm, is a gooey, tender, sweet cookie that is as delicious as any gingerbread cookie I’ve had.

These can be considered the perfect cookie. They’re definitely ideal for the holiday season, great to have during any cold, winter month and would probably be just as great in the summer.

I wanted to make sure I captured their photogenic nature, so ended up taking two sets of photos on different days. I found it interesting how different they looked with a different background and light, so even though this post probably doesn’t look very consistent, I’m going to include both anyway. I like how one shows the nice, gingerbreadesque colours, and how the others really demonstrate the texture of the cookies. Like Brownies for Dinner did, I upped the molasses from 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup and though it was the right choice.

Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies
adapted from Martha Stewart

7 ounces best-quality semisweet chocolate (I used milk chocolate and loved its sweetness in this cookie)
1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
1/2 cup dark-brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup unsulfured molasses
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup granulated sugar

1. Line two baking sheets with parchment. Chop chocolate into 1/4-inch chunks; set aside. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and cocoa.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and grated ginger until whitened, about 4 minutes. Add brown sugar; beat until combined. Add molasses; beat until combined.

3. In a small bowl, dissolve baking soda in 1 1/2 teaspoons boiling water. Beat half of flour mixture into butter mixture. Beat in baking-soda mixture, then remaining half of flour mixture. Mix in chocolate; turn out onto a piece of plastic wrap. Pat dough out to about 1 inch thick; seal with wrap; refrigerate until firm, 2 hours or more.

4. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Roll dough into 1 1/2- inch balls; place 2 inches apart on baking sheets. Refrigerate 20 minutes. Roll in granulated sugar. Bake until the surfaces crack slightly, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

I usually make drop cookies, and I usually make ones that are filled with sweetness, decadence, chocolate and other tasty things. However, when I saw a recipe for a cookie that mixed lavender (something I’ve never baked with) with lemon (my favourite dessert flavour), I knew I had to try it. These cookies looked so attractive, I even stuck with the heart shape!

These cookies are a lot of fun. There’s a lot going on…the cookie is a mildly sweet, very buttery type of crisp shortbread, with dried lavender flowers tucked inside. They’re not very lemony on their own (probably because I used lemon juice, and not lemon extract).However, once dipped in the lemon-lavendar glaze, they are undeniably lemon cookies, tart, sweet and packed with the aroma of lavender! The lavender isn’t overpowering (though I’m happy I reduced the amount, as I feel they might’ve been had I used the full amount), but just gives a playful air of lavender that mixes so well with the lemony and buttery cookie.

This is what I would call an adult cookie – perfect for to have with tea, or a light way to end a meal. It’s more refined than your average chocolate chip cookie, and it certainly is pretty! I highly recommend these cookies, especially if you’re a fan of shortbread, lemon and/or lavender!

This is my adapted recipe, with slightly less lavender used:

Iced Lavender Lemon Shortbread Cookies
adapted from Wine Imbiber

COOKIES
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup confectioner’s sugar (or more, depending on the consistency after you add the lemon juice)
2 tablespoons lemon juice (or 1/4 teaspoon lemon extract)
1–1/2 tablespoons freshly grated lemon zest (about 2 large lemons, preferably Meyer)
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup cornstarch
2–1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon dried lavender flowers

ICING
1 cup confectioner’s sugar
3 teaspoons dried lavender flowers
2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon zest (about 1 large lemon, preferably Meyer)
1–2 tablespoons lemon juice

COOKIES
1. Cream together the butter and confectioner’s sugar until smooth. Mix in the lemon juice (or extract) and zest. Set aside.

2. Sift together the salt, cornstarch and flour. Add this to the butter mixture and stir until the flour coats the butter but isn’t completely worked in. Add the lavender flowers.

3. Using your hands, lightly rub the ingredients together until the mixture is no longer dry. You will know it’s done when it forms easily into a dough ball. Try not to overwork the mixture or you will end up with tough cookies.

4. Flatten the dough out into a disc and place in a plastic re–sealable bag. Refrigerate for 30 minutes (or up to three days).

5. Preheat the oven to 325° F.

6. Take the fully–chilled dough and place it on top of a piece of parchment or a Silpat. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out to a thickness of 1/3 inch. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. (This dough barely spreads, so don’t worry about leaving a lot of space between each cookie.) Remove the scraps from between each cookie and re–form into a flat disc. (If dough has become too soft or warm, re–refrigerate it for a few minutes before attempting to roll it out.)

7. Lift up parchment paper or Silpat and place on top of cookie sheet. Transfer sheet to upper third of oven and bake for about 15 minutes (or until the edges of the cookies just start turning golden on the edges). Allow to cool before icing. If you already decorated the cookies with colored sugar, you won’t need to ice them (although I did both to some of my cookies and they turned out extra–special!).

ICING
1. Whisk together first three ingredients. Start mixing in lemon juice by using one tablespoon at first, then continue adding in only enough to produce a smooth, fluid icing.

2. It is easiest to ice the cookies by dipping the tops into the icing and turning them over onto a wire rack (that has a paper towel under it to catch the drips). The icing will dry on the cookie and not stay sticky.

If you like this, you might also like:

Real Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies
Spicy Mexican Chocolate Chip Cookies

When my mother brought me back some Ghirardelli chocolate from the US, I knew I wanted to save it and bake something fantastic with it. At first I thought brownies, but I wanted the chocolate chips to really stand out and thought they might just get lost in too much chocolate. I’ve been hanging on to this cookie for a “Mexican” chocolate chip cookie.

I didn’t use any Mexican chocolate in the cookie, though that is a good idea…suggestions seemed to use 4oz Ibarra chocolate chunks an 8oz dark chocolate chunks. I decided to stick with just my Ghirardelli chips.

These cookies are quite interesting. They have a real depth of flavour and have many notes.They start off like any chocolate chip cookie, but with a oomph of cinnamon. Then there’s a distinct saltiness that plays well with the bitterness of the chocolate and the sweetness of the cookie. As you swallow the cookie, you finally get a hint of the heat of the cayenne pepper – it doesn’t taste spicy, it just feels spicy. All in all, these make for some pretty interesting and unique chocolate chip cookies. I loved the dark chocolate chunks, the sweet cinnamon and the overall flavour depth if them and would enjoy making them again. Their texture was nice too – not very cakey, but nice and dense, like chocolate chip cookies should be!

The only changes I made from the original recipe was to increase the salt and the cayenne pepper amount. I definitely approve of these changes!

Spicy Mexican Chocolate Chip Cookies
adapted from Epicurious

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 scant teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
12 oz dark chocolate chunks or chips

1. Using electric mixer, beat butter and sugar in large bowl until fluffy. Beat in eggs 1 at a time, then vanilla.

2. Sift next 6 ingredients over butter mixture; beat just until blended. Mix in chocolate chips. Refrigerate dough until cold, at least 1 hour and up to 1 day.

3. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly butter 2 large baking sheets. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto sheets, spacing 1 1/2 inches apart.

4. Bake cookies until golden brown but still soft to touch, about 10 minutes (for crisper cookies, bake 12 minutes). Let stand on sheets 3 minutes. Transfer cookies to racks and cool.

If you like this, you might also like:

Real Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies
The Neiman Marcus Chocolate Chip Cookies
Mayan Chocolate Sparklers

I have always liked the idea of using fresh herbs in baking. While lemon-rosemary cookies are on my shortlist of things to bake, I figured I’ve done used enough lemon in recent times. Now that we have a nice balcony herb garden growing, I searched for something I can make with basil, cilantro, chives (okay, that might be a bit tricky) or mint.

Our mint plant has been growing with fervor, so I thought it best to try and prune it back by making these tasty-sounding chocolate chip cookies with real mint.

Mint and chocolate is an awesome combination I’ve always loved, so I knew these had to be good, which they were! I find mint extract leaves a sharp, minty taste in baked goods, so I was curious about how the fresh mint leaves would taste. It definitely does not have that minty bite of extract. Rather, the fresh mint is much mellower and perhaps sweeter, but still with all the flavour of mint. The cookie recipe itself is also a very good one, not cakey at all, and packed with dark chocolate chips.

If you have a mint plant that’s growing a bit too impatiently, I really recommend these cookies. It’s an excellent twist on the typical chocolate chip cookie!

Real Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies
adapted from Eatpress
Printable Recipe

1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup dark chocolate chips (or any kind you prefer)
1/4 c coarsely chopped fresh mint leaves (I chopped mine rather finely)

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC (375ºF). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Cream the butter and sugars. Add egg and vanilla slowly.

3. Sift together flour, salt and baking soda and then add to the egg mix and beat until just combined.

4. Add the chocolate chips and chopped mint and mix together.

5. Form the dough into 5cm (2 inch) balls. Place on prepared baking sheet and bake until golden, about 9 minutes for chewy and 12 for crunchy. Cool on rack. Store in airtight container. This recipe makes about 15 cookies, so not very many…I recommend doubling the recipe!

If you like this, you might also like:

The Neiman Marcus Chocolate Chip Cookie
Mayan Chocolate Sparklers
White Chocolate Raspberry Cookies

These cookies are great. Enough said?

No, I guess not. What can I say to convince you to make these? They are like little brownie bites – moist, super chocolately centres with a light crisp on the surface. They’re very rich, sweet, and the perfect (Christmas) cookie. The icing sugar on the outside adds extra sweetness, as well as giving the cookies a nice “snowy” appearance, as well as accentuating the crackles in the cookie.

I’ve seen lots  of recipes for this cookie, and I can’t claim this one is the best, seeing as I haven’t made all the versions of it. However, I know I love these…and given they’re so easy to make (and wonderful to eat!), they’re in my regular rotation of cookies.

Chocolate Crackle Cookies
adapted from Debbie Mum’s Old-Fashioned Cookies
makes approx. 4 dozen cookies

1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 egg
2 egg whites
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place sheets of foil on countertop for cooling cookies.

2. Combine oil, granulated sugar and vanilla in large bowl. Beat at medium speed of electric mixer until blended. Add egg and egg whites. Beat until well blended. (I once added some chopped dark chocolate – I recommend it!)

3. Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Add to sugar mixture and mix together with a spoon.

4. Place confectioners’ sugar in a shallow dish or large plastic storage bag.

5. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll or shake in confectioners’ sugar until coated. Place about 2 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet.

6. Bake at 350 degrees F for 7 to 8 minutes or until almost no indentation remains when touched lightly. (Do not overbake.) Cool on baking sheet 2 minutes. Remove cookies to foil to cool completely.