Lemon and Cardamom White Chocolate Chip Cookies

The month of January usually has me in a sort of creative rut. I'm not sure why this is, but I've noticed generally at the start of the year, my mind is kind of all over the place and I find it hard to concentrate. Anyone else feel this way?

When things feel a little overwhelming, it's good to go back to what you know. What makes you feel you.

That's where these cookies came in. I know and love chocolate chip cookies, and with all of the bright lemons in season right now, knew I needed to combine these loves into something simple but special.

Soft, chewy, and lemony. This is how I would describe this cookie in three words.

I'm not sure if lemony is a word (wait, it is!) but that is the best way I can sum up this cookie. While I am not a winter person, what I love about this season is that it produces the brightest fruits of the year - citrus. 

Lemons are always on my kitchen counter (year round). I love to brighten almost any dish with a squeeze of lemon, and after having an abundance of lemons from a recent shoot I started thinking about lemon desserts. The idea for these cookies came together, and then they were made in a short afternoon. These were mostly made for my man, who is a huge fan of any and all lemon desserts. :) Any other lemon dessert fans out there??

The combination of lemon and cardamom is a match made from above, and the white chocolate chips add sweetness without overpowering the flavor of the lemon.

If you want an easy, chewy cookie that tastes like sunshine, then this is for you, my friend! You're welcome.

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Lemon Cardamom White Chocolate Chip Cookies

makes 2 dozen cookies

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 12 tbl butter (1 1/2 sticks), softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tbl lemon zest
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tbl plus 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips (I really love the vanilla milk chips by Guittard)

Directions

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cardamom, and salt.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment (or handheld mixer), cream together butter, sugar, and lemon zest for 3 -5 minutes until light and fluffy. Add in the eggs, one at a time. Pour in lemon juice and vanilla and mix until fully incorporated. With mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients in two batches, mixing until batter is smooth. Fold in white chocolate chips with a wooden spoon. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 - 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Scoop out cookie dough in balls and drop on parchment paper (I use a 1 1/2 tbl cookie scoop). Arrange 6-8 on a baking sheet at a time (these won't spread much) and bake in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes until bottom of cookies are golden brown. Let cool on baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

Note: I like to freeze half the dough for later! To do this, scoop out dough and lay on parchment paper in the freezer until frozen, about 2 - 3 hours. Transfer balls of dough to a plastic bag and then bake as needed!

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Snowflake Chocolate Sugar Cookies

Hi from NYC! As I write this I am currently at JFK waiting to board my flight home. It’s been a whirlwind of a weekend, busy working an event for my job and running all over NYC trying to cram as much exploring in as possible in between work things.

It was a nonstop weekend but so rewarding and fun. I was constantly reminded of our life in New York and it felt like we never left! We took the subway all over town, walked through Central Park, and hit up as many of our favorite spots as possible (Chelsea market, Rockefeller center, Eataly, Union Square). We even met up with some old friends (hi Alex and Joel!) and made new ones (hi Kristie!) who we showed around the city. 

For only being there for not even 3 full days, I managed to somehow consume bagels, donuts, pizza, pasta, ramen, several salads (yeah I definitely needed some greens), cereal milk ice cream, and cookies!!! Everything was amazing and while we did walk a lot, I think I need to get back in my workout routine stat so I don’t end up in a food coma before Christmas.

Speaking of cookies, the event I was working this weekend included a giant cookie swap!! I got to try all of the amazing cookies (including @sarah_kieffer’s famous pan banging chocolate chip cookies!) and it reminded me of the virtual cookie swap I am hosting today with my friend Katherine. (Who I got to see this weekend! Yay!) We teamed up with some amazing bloggers to bring you a bunch of different cookie recipes.

For my contribution, I am bringing these cute and festive chocolate sugar cookies. If a brownie and a shortbread had a baby, and covered it in royal icing, it would look and taste like this. Aka delicious AND gorgeous.

This was my first time playing with royal icing and while it was actually really fun and kind of therapeutic it also required way more patience than I would normally have. I still think it was worth it for how pretty it turned out but it did take longer than I expected. 

For the royal icing, I used the recipe on the back of the Wilton meringue powder carton, and just added more water as needed to get the consistency I wanted.

If you want to forgo the royal icing you can definitely use buttercream instead. The cookies themselves are not very sweet on their own so keep that in mind - they could use the extra sugar from an icing of some sort!

Make sure to check out all the other cookies recipes this year below. I hope these inspire you during this holiday baking season!

2017 #CookieSwapParty!

• Madeline Hall - Snowflake Chocolate Sugar Cookies
• Katherine in Brooklyn - Cranberry Jam Linzer Cookies
• lyndsey eden - Orange Zest and Almond Chocolate Shortbread Cookies
• Conscious Eating with Rui - Snickerdoodle Mexican Wedding Cookies
• Nommable - Nutmeg Nutella Rice Krispies
• The Foodwright - Peanut Butter Cup Thumbprints
• Wood and Spoon - Soft Frosted Sugar Cookies
• Pumpkin & Peanut Butter - Gluten Free Gingerdoodle Blondies
• Seek Satiation - Cinnamon Chocolate Dipped Shortbread
• This Brown Kitchen - Chocolate Holiday Nankhatai Cookies
• Bappy Girl - Strawberry and Blueberry Meringues
• The Table of Contents - Sesame Almond Ginger Lace Cookies
• Gracepcheng - Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Jenna Hazel - Soft Vegan Gingerbread Cookies

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Snowflake Chocolate Sugar Cookies

makes approx 2 dozen 2-inch cookies

slightly adapted from Baking a Moment

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup chilled unsalted butter, diced into cubes
• 1 tbsp canola or other neutral oil
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup royal icing
• a few drops of blue food coloring

Directions

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the cold butter, oil, sugar, vanilla and salt until smooth. Add in the egg and mix until fully incorporated. With the mixer on low, add in the cornstarch, cocoa powder, and flour. Mix on medium speed until the dough gathers itself into a ball and pulls away from the bowl. Add more flour in 1/4 cup increments if too sticky. Place dough in the refrigerator for 30 min - 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

Roll out the dough until approx 3/8 inch thick. Roll between two sheets of parchment paper to prevent sticking to surface and without adding more flour. Press cookie cutters into the dough to cut out shapes. Re-roll any scraps to make more cookies.

Bake in the preheated oven for 9-11 minutes, or until the cookies feel dry on the surface and firm on the edges. Let cool completely.

Divide royal icing evenly into three bowls and add drops of blue food coloring to 2 of the bowls until desired color. Transfer to a piping bag or small squeeze bottles and pipe onto cookies. Enjoy!

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Pistachio Thumbprint Cookies with Mexican Chocolate Ganache

It's cookie season!!! After spending over a month totally dedicated to pie dough and trying to figure that out, my brain had a hard time switching over to cookies when December came. While I loooovvee making chocolate chip cookies, especially these ones, I have never really been a fan of making other types of cookies. I think this is because I'm not the most patient when it comes to letting the butter soften, shaping each cookie the exact same size, and getting that perfect bake time to have a golden brown outside but also have a soft filling inside. You know where I'm coming from, right?!

But when I put my mind to something, I am determined to see it through. These thumbprint cookies are pretty simple and straightforward but it took me a couple of times to get them right. The most important thing I've learned in all my cookie research is to CHILL THE DOUGH. This is v important in almost every cookie recipe. It helps all the ingredients set and prevents your cookies from spreading too much in the oven. 

These cookies are legit because of the combo of pistachios and chocolate. What a great pairing. I debated on whether I wanted to fill the pistachio cookies with a raspberry/strawberry jam or with this ganache, and well...ultimately I decided that chocolate always wins. I love the crunch of pistachios in each bite as well as the soft, slightly spiced chocolate ganache in the center. You can omit the spices from the ganache if you prefer but I think it adds an unexpected kick! The cookie base is not that sweet so keep that in mind if you choose to use a different filling. If you are going to a cookie swap this year, you should definitely make these. Not only are they pretty, but they are addicting!

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Pistachio Thumbprint Cookies with Mexican Chocolate Ganache

makes approx. 18 cookies

cookie recipe adapted from allrecipes

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp almond extract (optional)
• Pinch of salt
• 1 cup flour
• 1/4 cup pistachios, finely chopped

for the ganache

• 4 oz semisweet chocolate
• 1/4 cup whole milk
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon 
• 1/8 tsp cayenne

Directions

Cream together the butter and sugar until smooth with a handheld mixer or using the paddle attachment on a stand mixer. Add the egg yolk, and continue to cream together until fully incorporated.

Add in the extracts, salt, and flour and stir together until all the ingredients are fully incorporated. Place dough into the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes - 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a large sheet pan with parchment paper.

Remove dough from refrigerator and shape into a log. Divide into 18 equal pieces and shape the dough into balls with your hands. 

Roll half of each dough ball into the chopped pistachio mixture. Place the dough ball pistachio coated side up on a lined sheet pan. Repeat until all dough balls have been dipped in pistachio coating.

Bake in the preheated oven for 5 minutes. Take cookies out, and using the bottom of a wooden spoon, make a “thumbprint” into the center of each cookie. 

Return cookie sheet back to the oven and bake for another 10 minutes or until bottoms look golden brown. 

Let cookies cool on pan for 5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

To make the ganache

In a bowl add all of the ganache ingredients. Heat in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring chocolate in between each addition until fully melted and mixture is smooth. 

Let cool slightly, and then dollop about 1 tsp of ganache into the center thumbprint of each cookie. Let set for 15 minutes or until filling is firm, and then serve.

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