Wednesday, December 23, 2009

The Naughty...

So, I'm slowly crawling me way back to the world of solid food (and actual sensical presence!) after my adventures in the dentist's chair! Yes, the wisdom teeth are gone, replaced by a golf ball's worth of swelling and a face that looks like I lost a fight with an ink stamp pad. The posting for the next little while will still remain short and sweet though, due to both my continuing recovery and the fact that our oven and fridge are now chock-full of food for tomorrow's Italian Feast and of course our fabulous Christmas Morning Brunch!
So even though I missed the last round up of Susan's Christmas Cookie roundup this year, I still have a few goodies left to whet your chocolate appetite after the turkey and stuffing daze has worn off. Two of the recipes I will share today - one primed for Bell' Alimento's Nutella Challenge, and one on the slightly more virtuous side of things!

I had seen the basic recipe for these Nutella cookies on Canadian Living's website last month and knew that I had to make them for my mom's office swap. There’s no getting around the sugar attack with these cookies... between the Nutella and the three kinds of baking chips, you might need an extra large glass of milk (or a Nutella milkshake?) for these!

Triple Chip Nutella Cookies
60 cookies
1 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp cold water
1 cup chocolate hazelnut spread (i.e. Nutella)
½ cup light cream cheese
¼ cup shortening
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
½ cup white chocolate chips
½ cup butterscotch chips
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
  2. Whisk together cornstarch and cold water, set aside.
  3. Beat together hazelnut spread, cream cheese, shortening and sugar until fluffy.
  4. Beat in cornstarch mixture, egg, and vanilla.
  5. Stir together flours, baking soda and salt in separate bowl. Add dry ingredients to egg mixture and mix until combined. Stir in all the baking chips.
  6. Drop spoonfuls at least 2” apart onto prepared baking sheets.
  7. Bake for 11 to 13 minutes.
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 97.6
Total Fat: 4.6 g
Cholesterol: 4.8 mg
Sodium: 12.5 mg
Total Carbs: 13.1 g
Dietary Fiber: 0.7 g
Protein: 1.7 g

I can't remember who or what pointed me to these next delicious morsels I found on Danielle's blog Delightfully Sweet, but when I found myself with not only fat free sour cream and egg whites to use up after a bevy of shortbread baking I finally had an excuse to try them out! Like anything containing both chocolate and coffee, these went like wildfire at the office and school. Hey, is there a better excuse to wish for a "lump of coal" this year?

Lumps of Coal
Makes 30
2.5 oz (1/3 cup) butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 tbsp vanilla
2/3 cup unsweetened dark cocoa powder
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup (about 2) egg whites
1/3 cup fat free sour cream or yogurt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar (you won't use it all but it's helpful to have more!)
  1. Heat oven to 350F, line baking sheets with parchment.
  2. Cream butter and brown sugar in a large bowl.
  3. Add vanilla, cocoa powder, espresso powder and baking soda and beat until well combined.
  4. Mix in egg whites and sour cream until combined.
  5. By hand, stir in the flour.
  6. Place powdered sugar in a shallow dish.
  7. Drop balls of dough into sugar, and roll into balls.
  8. Place coated balls 2" apart on sheets.
  9. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are firm.
  10. Cool for 5 minutes on sheets, then move cookies to wire racks and cool.
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 84.1
Total Fat: 2.4 g
Cholesterol: 5.7 mg
Sodium: 23.3 mg
Total Carbs: 15.4 g
Dietary Fiber: 0.8 g
Protein: 1.4

4 comments :

  1. Oh my those nutella cookies are chock full of goodness

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ah, yes, I remember well the "pleasure" of having my wisdom teeth out! Hope you're recuperating and feeling back to normal asap! These cookies sure couldn't hurt ;)

    Have a wonderful holiday!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Merry Christmas! Hope you're recovered enough to enjoy some of the food, tomorrow!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love how your cookies are so fat and puffy! They all look gorgeous, w/ some really extensive ingredients/:

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for the feedback!