December 20, 2021

Pecan crescent cookies

by Keelie Banks

A buttery, crunchy shortbread cookie that is covered in a heavenly layer of confectioner sugar. It’s everything you want in a holiday cookie except for those pesky calories.

Around the holidays my home literally turns into a cookie factory! There isn’t a day that goes by that you don’t smell delicious homemade cookies wafting from my oven. However, I am not the only one that turns into a Cookie Monster around this time of year. Did you guys know that Santa Claus eats over 336 million cookies on Christmas Yves? Talk about greedy! Just kidding, I am in no position to judge. My cookie intake is pretty high around this time of year as well! There’s something so comforting about eating warm, freshly bake cookies during the winter season that makes me feel like all is right with the world. Especially these pecan crescent cookies. Over the years they have become my go to cookie for the Christmas season. They are so simple yet delicious I bet they’ll become your new favorite recipe too. When you make these for your family be sure to double the Batch, they will disappear just as quickly as you set them out!

The recipe.

This recipe is simple, easy and delicious!!! The simplicity of these cookies are why I keep them in heavy rotation around the holidays. No matter how busy I get I can always seem to squeeze A batch of these in. Honestly at this point I could probably make them in my sleep. It only takes 20 minutes and 5 ingredients to prepare this recipe. With the exception of pecans you probably have most if not all of these ingredients on hand already. Baking essentials like flour, butter, sugar and vanilla should always be stocked in your kitchen. If you’re missing anyone of these ingredients, please find your way to the nearest grocery store and purchase them for goodness sake!!!

The cookie.

I know most people probably think that a cookie covered in a layer of powdered sugar is overly sweet, but that’s not the case at all with these cookies! The actual cookie itself isn’t very sweet. The batter is only sweetened with a half a cup of powdered sugar, which is a rather small quantity considering The flour to sugar ratio. For me, immersing these cookies into a bath of powdered sugar is what brings them to life. Without the coating they would taste rather blah!!! But if you really want to take things to another level, pair them with a cup of hot cocoa. These cookies are made for dunking!!! The full recipe with pics is listed below. Go bake your bliss!

Pro tips.

Coat your hands with powdered sugar. Do this before shaping your cookie to prevent the batter from sticking to your hands. Some people use flour, but I like to sweeten things up a bit!
Cover your cooling rack with aluminum foil. This will prevent your cooling rack from getting all sticky and messy from the warm powder sugar and make clean up a snap!
Let cookies cool slightly before immersing into powdered sugar. If done immediately the powdered sugar will melt creating a mess. I usually wait about five minutes before dunking. Then I read dunk them after they have cooled completely to make sure they’re nice and sugary!!!

Pecan crescent cookie recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup butter or 2 sticks

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1-3/4 Cup. All purpose flour

1 cup finally chopped pecans

Baking instructions:

Preheat oven to 325°. Line to rimmed baking sheets with a non-stick baking mat or parchment paper.
Cream butter on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add powdered sugar. Cream for an additional 3 minutes. Scrape down The bowl and mix in the vanilla extract until combined.
On low speed, slowly add in the flower until combined.
With a rubber spatula fold in the chopped pecans.
Measure out the Cookie using a small cookie scoop. Shake the cookie by rolling the balls of dough back and forth between the palms of your hands like you are forming a rope. Then place them on a cookie sheet and bend them slightly so that they resemble a crescent moon.
Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
Let the cookies cool slightly. About five minutes. Then dunk them into a bowl full of powdered sugar until well coated.
Enjoy!

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January 25, 2021

Oatmeal Cream Pie Request!

by Keelie Banks

1 comment

Cookies, Sweet Treats

Per the request of my niece, I’m whipping up an oldie but a goodie. Do you guys remember oatmeal cream pies? Those cream filled oatmeal sandwich cookies by Little Debbie. My niece Hailey absolutely loves them. I have to admit, I use to enjoy them quite a bit when I was her age as well. But not so much now as an adult. I find them way too processed for my precious little taste buds. Once you get used to eating fresh baked homemade goodies, store bought treats won’t cut it anymore. I’d much rather re-create them in my home kitchen. To be honest, I’m a bit obsessed with doing so. This won’t be the last time you find me making a copycat recipe here on my blog. It’s a fun way to take a trip back down memory lane, plus they usually taste better than their store bought counterparts. I did a little digging and found a recipe that’s a dead ringer for the classic little Debbie snack. It has the same great flavor without the yucky aftertaste from the fillers and preservatives. The full delicious recipe with pics is listed below. I hope you have just as much fun recreating this blast from the past as I did!

Pro tips.

Don’t over bake the cookies. Bake cookies for 6 to 8 minutes. The edges should be set, however the middles should be soft. Don’t worry, they will continue to bake on the cookie sheet. Let them stand on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
Don’t let the cream filling sit too long. After whipping the filling until it’s nice and fluffy, let the mixture stand for 5 to 10 minutes being sure not to let it sit too long or the mixture will be too difficult to spread.

Oatmeal Cream Pie Recipe

Ingredients:

Cookies

3/4 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 tablespoons molasses
2 eggs
1 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups quick oats

Filling

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin (about 1 1/2 packets)
1/3 cup plus 1/4 cup water (divided)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup butter, room temperature

Make the Cookies:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

Make cookie dough: In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment mix the butter, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, and molasses together for 2 minutes. Add the eggs, salt baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon and mix for 1 minute, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary. Turn the mixer to low and add in the flour and oats, mixing until combined.

Form balls of dough: Using a medium (2- tablespoon) cookie scoop drop the dough on to the prepared baking sheet 3- inches apart. These cookies will spread.

Bake for 10-12 minutes until the edges are golden and centers are just set. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for at least 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack, carefully, to cool completely. The centers of the cookies will (and should be) very soft, which is why letting them cool on the baking sheet is an important step.

Make the Filling:

Mix gelatin and water: In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over 1/3 cup water. Stir it together and let it stand about 5 minutes. Mixture will get thick as it sits.

Heat: In a 2- quart saucepan over medium-high heat, stir together the granulated sugar, corn syrup, and 1/4 cup water until mixture comes to a full boil. Continue boiling for 30 seconds and immediately remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the vanilla and gelatin mixture until it dissolves completely.

Whisk: Transfer the mixture to the clean bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. With your mixer on medium speed, mix for 20 seconds. Gradually raise the speed to high and mix until the mixture is stiff, white, fluffy, and cooled to barely warm, 5-7 minutes.

Add sugar: Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually add your powdered sugar, mixing until combined.

Add in the butter. Turn the mixer up to medium speed and mix until completely smooth, about 2 minutes.

Cool briefly: The filling will set up as it sits, so wait until it is thick enough to spread or pipe before filling the cookies, 5-10 minutes. Make sure not to let it sit too long, as it will become too thick and marshmallow-like to spread.

Assemble Cookies

Add filling and top with another cookie: Use a large piping tip or an offset spatula to spread about 2 tablespoons of filling onto the bottoms of half the cookies. Press the remaining cookies onto the filling, creating sandwiches. Allow the cookies to set for 20-30 minutes.

Original Recipe can be found at cookiesandcups.com