A Sister Baking Day at Norwyk Manor with Cost Plus World Market

This post was sponsored by Cost Plus World Market . I feel delighted and privileged to be able to work with brands that I genuinely love and that help me keep this site up and running! Thank you so much for continuing to support my passions and efforts by being here! As always, all opinions are my own!

It might be a little early to start tossing around the peppermint extract, but I've got a cabinet filled with pine-scented hand soaps and the ole' Bing Crosby station playing, and I just can't help myself. 

For many years, my sister and I have shared holiday baking days.  We first began making assorted tins of cookies and truffles for our teachers, but as we have grown past the school years the tradition has continued.  Our baking endeavors have changed from year to year, but whether we are assembling pies or rolling peanut butter balls, the laughter is bountiful, the sugar plentiful, and the rewards sweet. 

This year, Cost Plus World Market helped us make our baking day extra special! If you have not yet visited your local store you must! I fell completely in love with their nordic-inspired Christmas decorations.

Last week I invited my sister over to test a few of the holiday cookies that I plan to share with my friends and neighbors this year. I knew that I wanted to simplify our efforts a bit by making one basic dough that could be easily transformed into two entirely different cookies.  I love creating assorted cookie tins and trays for parties or gifts, but sometimes the thought of making several different doughs at once is overwhelming.  Having one basic dough that can play two entirely different roles is a lifesaver. 

This simple, chocolate shortbread is rich and buttery.  The combination of both cocoa powder and melted dark chocolate really takes these cookies to the next level of indulgence. 

After making the basic dough, we divided it into two equal parts, adding a bit of peppermint extract to one half of the dough. 

I wanted to make at least one of my cookies very simple - the kind I like to enjoy alongside a mug of tea. I rolled the peppermint dough somewhat thin and used these darling cookie molds to punch out the cookies. While they were still warm, we dusted them with a generous layer of confectioner's sugar and a sprinkling of peppermint dust.

The result was a wonderfully crisp, buttery cookie that is just the thing to serve alongside your morning mocha. 

For the second half of the cookie dough we had to pull out all the stops, beginning with glittery jam. I was first introduced to glittery jam last year in London and, as you would expect, it kind of rocked my world, so I was beyond delighted to find these two delicious flavors at my local Cost Plus World Market in Williamsburg, Virginia.

After rolling the dough into balls, we indented the center of each cookie, leaving a shallow cavity ideal for holding a spoonful of jam and a smear of red wine ganache. The combination of the jam and the rich chocolate was truly delightful.

In the end, it was hard to pick a favorite. Thankfully, we did not have to. 

After hours of juggling sheet trays, we stepped away, and though we still had confectioner's sugar in our hair and flour on our jeans, we stole a few moments and shared a pot of sweet, peppermint hot cocoa .

While we are not handing out any Christmas cookies yet, I am cataloguing these winning recipes for December and tucking half of the remaining dough into my freezer for last minute baking emergencies. 

Thank you for joining me and my sister in our pre-Christmas baking extravaganza! All the products and specialty ingredients in this post are linked below, along with another fantastic holiday recipe from Brandi Milloy!

Sincerely, 

Pedantic Foodie

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Sweeten your holiday entertaining with Brandi Milloy's easy Christmas baking recipe for a classic icebox cake made with Walkers Gingerbread Biscuits, Butter Toffee Pretzels and Salted Caramel Bark from Cost Plus World Market. Plus, see her cheery dessert table presentation. Imagine the joy you'll bring.

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SHOP THIS POST! 

terracotta cookie molds // jolly heart mugs // mimosa glitter spread // red measuring cups // peppermint dust // guittard chocolate chips // peppermint chocolate chaud // snowflake marshmallows // retro sifter // gnome cookie jar // christmas glitter spread // parchment paper

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Chocolate Christmas Cookies 2-Ways 

for the cookie dough

• 1 1/2 lbs unsalted butter, softened 
• 2 cups granulated sugar 
• 7 cups all-purpose flour 
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder 
• 12 ounces semi sweet chips, melted 
• 3/4 teaspoon peppermint extract

Fit your stand mixer with the paddle attachment.  Place butter in the work bowl and beat on medium speed for one minute; until fluffy.  Add granulated sugar to the butter and cream on medium speed for two minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.

With the mixer on low speed, beat in flour one cup at a time, mixing well after each addition.  Beat in cocoa powder and melted chocolate.  Divide the dough and turn half of it out onto a floured surface.  Shape into two equal discs and wrap in plastic wrap. 

Pour the peppermint extract into the remaining half of the dough and mix well.  Turn the dough out onto the floured surface, pat into two discs and cover with plastic wrap. 

Refrigerate the dough for 1 hour. 

Cook's Note:  At this point you could wrap the dough in wax paper, place in freezer bags, and freeze for up to two weeks, just allow the dough to defrost before rolling or shaping.

Line several baking sheets with parchment paper.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

for the peppermint cookies

makes about 48 cookies

• 2 cups confectioner's sugar
• 1/2 cup peppermint dust sprinkles or finely crushed candy canes 

Place the confectioner's sugar in a sifter. 

Place the peppermint dough on a well-floured surface and roll out to 1/4-inch in thickness.  Use cookie cutters or molds to cut the dough, placing the cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. 

Bake for 15-20 minutes until slightly puffed and crisp on the edges.  Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack and cool for 5-10 minutes, until just warm.  Dust the warm cookies with confectioner's sugar and sprinkle with peppermint dust. 

Place in airtight containers and store for up to a week.  Enjoy! 

for the red wine ganache and jam thumbprint cookies  

makes about 36 cookies

• 8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips 
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping 
• 2 tablespoons merlot (at room temperature) 
• 2 cups Wildy Delicious Glitter Spread (I used both the Mimosa and Christmas flavors for variety) 

Use a cookie scoop to portion the prepared dough into 1-ounce balls and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment.*  Use your thumb to make an indent into the center of each cookie and bake for 15-20 minutes until slightly puffed and crisp on the edges, but soft in the center.  These cookies are intended to remain somewhat chewy. 

*Cook's Note: It is important to keep the dough cold, so try to work it as quickly and as little as possible.  If you find that the indentation is not as prominent as you would like after the cookies have baked, just use a small spoon to press down on the center of each cookie while they are still hot. 

Transfer the cookies to cooling racks and allow to cool completely.  While the cookies cool, prepare the ganache. 

Place chocolate chips and heavy whipping cream in a large, glass bowl.  Microwave for thirty seconds, then stir, and heat for an additional thirty seconds.  Do this until the chocolate is shiny and has completely melted.  Whisk in merlot.  

Use a spoon to fill each cookie with one teaspoon of ganache, following with one teaspoon full of jam.  Store cookies in an airtight container for to 3 days.  Enjoy! 

Brown Butter Pistachio Popcorn Cookies

I know what you are thinking...  

"Another cookie recipe?!"

But give me a chance...   

I do not typically share the elephantine load of baked treat recipes that one might expect from a food blogger around this time of year.

There is one, very simple reason for that choice.

Most of my favorite holiday cookies really are not that dazzling.  Come Christmastime, I prefer the uncomplicated.  The unadorned, antediluvian cookies that my great-grandmother used to pack into red and green tins.  Sugar cookies as thin as parchment, Russian tea cookies thick with confectioner’s sugar and bleeding with butter, and soft peanut butter balls dipped in rich chocolate ganache - affectionately known as “buckeyes.” 

I will take all the innovation and neoclassicism you can devise come December 26th, but for now, all I want is to be drenched in edible nostalgia.

That being said, yesterday morning I woke up and decided that I wanted to throw pistachios, popcorn, and brown butter (Do I hear angels singing? Oh, no, sorry... That was just my Pandora station.) into my cookie dough. 

Never underestimate the creativity that can come from your 9am cravings. 

It’s been a couple years since I first discovered the magic of popcorn cookies.  Leave it to Deb to come up with something so unapologetically indulgent.  

I understand the skepticism, but trust me on this.  It is the new pretzels-in-your-ice-cream.

Disclaimer: This recipe will tell you to make about twice as much popcorn as you actually need for the cookies, but I do not need to tell you why, now do I?  

Have you ever browned butter before?  

Do you like things that smell wonderful and taste even better?  I know you do, of course you do!  This is why we are friends. 

Butter is heated until it is slowly bubbling, then all of our little bits of fat become toasty brown and we have something that is just about as close to heaven as we can get from these earthly kitchens of ours.

Oh, hello cookies!

These cookies are so full of crunchy, salty-sweetness, it's almost too much for a girl's heart to handle.

Almost. 

Crispy, golden edges and soft, chewy centers.  I think these cookies just may have earned themselves a place next to my great grandmother's sugar cookies. 

Christmas is next week.  Breathe in and out.  Enjoy every moment.  And try, please try, to avoid that post office if you possibly can. 

Sincerely, 

Pedantic Foodie

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Brown Butter Pistachio Popcorn Cookies

makes roughly 18 cookies

- 1 tablespoon coconut oil

- 1/4 cup popping corn 

- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, divided (at room temperature)

- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 

- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 

- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt (plus extra for salting popcorn)

- 1/4 cup brown sugar

- 1/2 cup granulated sugar 

- 1 large egg 

- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

- 1/2 cup roasted, unsalted pistachios

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. 

Place a 4-quart saucepan over medium high heat and add coconut oil.  When the oil has melted, add popping corn and cover.  

Cook, shaking the pan occasionally, until the kernels begin to pop.  Once this begins, shake the pan vigorously over the heat until you no longer hear kernels popping. 

Remove the pan from the heat and salt the popcorn to taste.  Set aside. 

Place 1/4 cup butter in a small frying pan and place over medium heat.  Once the butter begins to bubble, watch it carefully.  The goal is for the butter to become rich topaz in color, with tiny darker bits laying on the bottom of the pan.  This should take about 5 minutes.  

Once the butter has browned, remove from heat and use a spoon to scrape off the white froth from the top of the butter.  Allow the butter to cool while you prepare the cookie batter. 

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

In the work bowl of your stand mixer combine remaining 1/4 cup butter with sugars.  Beat on medium speed, scraping down the sides as necessary, until the mixture is airy and well-combined. Beat in egg. 

With the mixer on low speed, slowly incorporate browned butter and vanilla extract.  

While continuing to mix, gradually add the flour mixture until all of the dry ingredients are well incorporated. 

Fold in pistachios and 1 1/2 cups popped corn. 

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and use an ice cream scoop to portion out the dough into 2 tablespoon balls. 

Bake for 9-12 minutes, until the cookies are golden brown.  The centers should still look slightly soft.  

Transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool.  Store in airtight containers until ready to serve.  Enjoy!

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Chocolate Chai Biscotti

We have just begun our first full week of autumn and it feels so good.  I have missed its foggy mornings, stormy days, and warm, spicy lattes.  Contemplation comes naturally on these slow, blustery afternoons and there are few things I enjoy as much as musing over a cup of steaming cider.

I have a really, really special family.  Though I am not always mindful of the immense thankfulness my heart truly holds for these people, I continue to become increasingly aware of just what a blessing it is to have a family that you can genuinely enjoy.  

Some of my favorite memories have been made with my mother's sisters - my aunts, who purposely and intentionally made time for their niece long before I could understand just how precious those hours were. 

I do not remember how many years ago it was, but when my interest for the world of food was just budding, and my passion for chai tea lattes was at its peak, my aunt pulled a recipe from one of her magazines and suggested that we make it together.  The title of the recipe read "chai chocolate chip biscotti."  We knew it could be nothing but wonderful. 

Biscotti has always been one of my father's favorite treats.  My caring mama has made him countless batches of those angled, cherry-almond cookies since I have been alive, and my appreciative father has delightfully dunked them into cups of hot tea, coffee, or sometimes just boiling water - though I fail to see the appeal there. 

This biscotti is deeply evocative of autumn, and you will be filled with the vigor of this golden season as the fragrance of chai spices waft from your kitchen.  

Though these flavors and fragrances are certainly full of autumnal charm, this recipe has a deeper hold upon my heart.  In one tiny cookie, there is the comforting memory of baking with my Aunt Meredith - something that we still do on occasion, but less often as life has evolved for both of us. It pulls the faint, picturesque scene of my father dunking away from a back shelf of my mind. And, it awakens once again my devotion for chai lattes shared with my equally chai-obsessed sister. 

This biscotti derives its chai flavor from both strongly brewed tea, and a collection of rich spices. 

If you do not yet own a spice grinder, this might be the perfect opportunity to add to your kitchen armory.  Fresh spices make a huge difference in baking, and it's also helpful to have an extra grinder on hand for making super fine salt for your Friday night popcorn dinners. 

This biscotti breaks all cookie rules.  You will not find any butter in the ingredients list, and there's no creaming required.  I know, I know, but I promise it works.

This "cookie" follows the pattern of muffins more closely than it does cookies.  But the final texture could not be more different. 

After the initial bake, your cookie logs will be soft and still chewy.  This is how my mama likes to enjoy her biscotti. 

The second bake, is where our cookies truly become the crisp, dunking cookies we know and adore. 

Do not be self-conscious about the crunching.  It will happen, and you might not be able to hear yourself talk for a few minutes.  It's all good, I get you.  

Their color is as striking as the turning leaves, and their fragrance is full of spice.

You do not necessarily have to dip your biscotti in chocolate, but I am really not sure why you would not want to... it's extra chocolate after all!

A novel in hand, a steaming cup of tea, sweet memories, familiar flavors... All is well. 

I love that this recipe makes a large batch of cookies, because these are the perfect treats for sharing.  

(Or, for hoarding and consuming in embarrassingly large quantities. Oops.)

Invite your neighbor over for morning coffee and biscotti, or share them with your grateful father.

Things this wonderful just beg to be shared. 

Though the flavors of this biscotti are beyond scrumptious, the memories are even sweeter. 

Happy dunking! 

Sincerely, 

Pedantic Foodie

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Chocolate Chai Biscotti

recipe adapted from Taste of Home / makes about thirty cookies

• 1/4 cup boiling water

• 2 chai tea bags

• 2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 cup granulated sugar

• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

• 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1 whole egg + 1 egg white

• 1 tablespoon whole milk

• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, divided

• 1 tablespoon coconut oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Brew the tea by placing both tea bags into the boiling water.  Allow to steep for about 10 minutes, until the tea is dark and quite strong.  Remove the bags and allow the tea to cool to room temperature. 

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, spices, leavening, and salt; whisk to combine.  Pour the eggs, tea, and whole milk into the center of the flour mixture.  Whisk to form into a rough dough.

Use a spatula to fold 1/2 cup chocolate chips into the dough.  Divide the dough in half and shape the halves into two 2x10-inch logs.  Use the palm of your hand to flatten the surface of the logs. 

Bake for 20-25 minutes; until golden brown.  Allow the logs to cool for 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a cutting board.  Slice the biscotti, on an angle, into 3/4-inch slices.  Place the pieces cut-side down on the baking sheet and bake for 6-8 minutes.  Flip the biscotti and bake for an additional 6-8 minutes on the opposite side.  

Allow the biscotti to cool on cooling racks while you prepare the dipping chocolate. 

In a microwave-safe bowl, combine the remaining 1/2 cup chocolate chips and the coconut oil.  Microwave at thirty second increments, stirring after each, until the chocolate is fully melted. 

Dip each biscotti halfway into the melted chocolate and place on a clean baking sheet lined with parchment.  Place in the freezer for ten minutes to allow the chocolate to set.  

Store in airtight containers and serve with large cups of coffee.  Enjoy! 

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