cookie Carnival :: January 2010!

i cannot believe it's 2010.

my 20 year high school reunion just passed.

for xmas i got a copy of the 80s Scene-it game. and i rock at it.

i feel old!

whoooeeee.

okay, on to the january cookie, shall we!? i am excited about this one. it comes from the Nantucket Cookie Co. via the Food Network.

are you ready for DARK CHOCOLATE CHIPOTLE COOKIES? i am. bring it.

here is your recipe.

join me, won't you? get me your photo and post link by JANUARY 31st and i'll happily include you in the round-up.

cheers and happy new year!

Cookie Carnival :: October Challenge!

it's Carnival time again! thanks to all of you who participated in the September challenge. the round-up will be on the blog really soon--maybe even later today.

for October i have chosen a recipe that i have been eyeing for a long time. finally it jumped out as the right one for this month. i hope you agree that it sounds like a good fall cookie. and it will be fun to make, too, i think.

so.

this month we'll be baking up Giada's Chocolate Citrus Biscotti. the recipe can be found here. and *bonus!* there's a video too. i haven't watched it yet, but i'm sure it's helpful.

a couple other things to mention--please make sure to follow the file naming and sizing protocol as it pertains to submitting photos. i know there's a couple of you who haven't figured out re-sizing, but if you can work it out that'd be great. check the FAQs for how to name files.

also--always send the link to me even if it's later than the deadline. many times i'm running behind and can still include you. i always will if i can! that being said, the deadline is 7PM EST on OCT. 31! boo!

thanks and happy october everyone.

Cookie Carnival :: September Challenge!

hey folks!

i'm so sorry this is coming to you so late! egad. september is already getting away from me. how'd that happen?

i'll keep this brief. . . this month we're goin' to Martha for something yummy. i'm a sucker for coconut and chocolate. i hope you are too.

join me in making Black Bottom Coconut Bars! YES. just the sound of them is making me feel a sugar rush.

the recipe is here.

the round-up due date is September 30th, 7PM EST. get me your link and your photo by then and you are in!

cheers!

kate

cookie carnival :: june means strawberries!

hey everyone! happy June!

i will have the round-up for May posted as soon as i can, but until then, here is the recipe for the June cookie.

i am beyond excited for strawberry season. the jam! the pies! the smoothies! it's a strawberry frenzy around here for much of the month, so i felt i had to find a strawberry cookie recipe.

leave it to martha to come through with that! we'll be baking STRAWBERRY-SHORTCAKE COOKIES!

i know not all of you are martha's biggest fans, but i hope you'll play along anyway. we had remarkably low attendance last month. maybe the macaroon was too scary?

this recipe is pretty simple. or so it sounds, anyway. but sometimes--in fact most of the time--simple is delicious, so i hope you will all give it a try! we now have 170 people signed up to be part of the carnival. it would be great if you all participated. of course that would mean the round-up would take a whole lot longer to do!

enjoy strawberry season..... a.pdf of the recipe is here for the downloading.

please email me your link and photo by 7pm on JUNE 30th to be included!

cheers!

cookie carnival :: may challenge!

hey y'all, it's cookie time!

for those of you waiting for the April round-up, holly is working on it and i'll let you know when it's up!

until then, behold the delicious looking cookie for May. it's a HAZELNUT MACAROON SANDWICH COOKIE from williams-sonoma and don't they look lovely and dainty and perfect for a springtime tea party? (or in my case a school bake sale held at a garden shop).

i've put a pdf of the recipe here for the downloading. my hope is that this makes it easier for everyone to have and to print.

thanks to all of you who participate in the Carnival. each of you make it so much fun to do!

if you would like to be included in the round-up, please email me the direct link to your post as well as a photo (see sizing and naming protocol as well as other FAQs here) no later than MAY 31st :: 7pm EST.

any questions, don't hesitate to email me or comment on this post and i'll answer them as soon as i can.

happy baking!

cookie carnival :: toasted almond lemon bars!

well, it's time for the april round-up. but you won't find it here! holly at phemomenon will be putting that together this month. she's our guest host and a fabulous baker.

for this month's cookie, she chose a Toasted Almond Lemon Bar. from the The Sweet Melissa Baking Book by Melissa Murphy.


for some reason i kept putting off making these. i'm not sure why. maybe it's because i knew they would not go over well with the boys in the house and then i'd end up eating more of them. or maybe because i kept forgetting to buy almonds! in any case, i did make them and they are DELICIOUS. super lemony. but sweet enough. and the crust is really yummy. i baked off the bit of extra that i had into a cookie for the munchkins to share and they were begging for "just ONE more piece?" so, that's a good sign! i think it was my favorite aspect of the cookie as well. i'm not a huge fan of the lemon bar in general, but if i were to make them again, i'd certainly go back to this recipe. . . maybe next time try lime or orange! mmmm!

here is the recipe if you are interested in trying it out:

Toasted Almond Lemon Bars

Makes 1 dozen bars

For the Crust:
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup sliced blanched almonds, lightly toasted
1/2 teaspoon salt
20 Tablespoons (2 1/2 sticks) cold, unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces

For the Lemon Filling:
4 large eggs
1 3/4 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice (about 7 lemons)
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar for sprinkling

To Toast the Almonds:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the almonds in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until lightly golden and you can smell them. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

Before You Start:
Position a rack in the center of your oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9 x 13 - inch pan with nonstick vegetable cooking spray. Make a parchment "sling" by cutting two pieces of parchment paper, measuring 16 1/2 inches long by 12 inches wide (you can also use aluminum foil). Place one piece across the length, and the other across the width of the pan, with the excess hanging over the edges. You will use this sling later to lift the finished bar from the pan. Spray the sling with the cooking spray.

To Make the Crust:
1. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade, pulse the flour, sugar, almonds, and salt to combine. Add the cold butter in pieces and pulse until the dough comes together in a ball.

2. Turn the dough out into the prepared pan and press evenly into the bottom and 1 1/4 inches up the sides. (This crust, once it is baked, needs to act as a liner in which to pour the liquidy lemon filling. So be sure to do a good job of pressing the dough up the sides - no cracks!). Cover the dough with a piece of parchment paper or aluminum foil, and fill with pie weights ( you can use dried beans or uncooked rice as pie weights as well). Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until lightly golden. Carefully remove the pie weights and the liner and bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes, or until the whole crust is golden. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

To Make the Filling:
In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar until smooth. Add the almond extract and flour, and whisk until smooth. Add the lemon juice, and whisk to combine.

To Complete the Bars:
1. Pour the lemon filling into the prepared crust. Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the filling is firm and lightly golden. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

2. When cool use the parchment sling to lift the entire bar from the pan and onto a cutting board. Slice into twelve 3 x 3 1/2 - inch bars. Remove from the pan and, using a small sifter, dust with the confectioners' sugar.

The bars keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. For longer storage, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 5 days, or freeze well wrapped in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil for up to 3 weeks. Do not unwrap before defrosting. Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving.

cookie carnival :: march challenge!

it's carnival time.... i crawl out from underneath my sniffly, snozy, Nyquil haze to give you the recipe for march. it's one i hope you will all enjoy and makes me think of the coming of spring. (spring IS coming, right?)

it comes from Gourmet magazine: INSIDE - OUT CARROT CAKE COOKIES.


i think they look de-lish. hope you do, too. here, again, is the handy pdf of the recipe. printable for your convenience. i'm sorry the feb round-up is not up yet, but i plan to get to it soon. (see previous "Nyquil Haze.")

please refer to your email for all the details. and if you are wanting to join up, please email me to tell me so! thanks! (kate (AT) the clean plate club (DOT) NET)

happy baking everyone! and as usual, thanks so much for participating!

cookie carnival :: february challenge

it's cookie time again! after what seems like a long hiatus, it's time to get back to it.

as many of you know, i had a hard time choosing a cookie this month. it seemed like valentine's day made it so that i could not get chocolate out of my head. you gotta have chocolate on the love day, right? and then i fixated on chocolate and raspberry. but i couldn't find a really GREAT choco-ras concoction, so i had to go a different route instead. . .

and i landed (yet again) at this book. i won't gush about it anymore as i've done that enough.
without further ado, this month's cookie is the CHOCOLATE FUDGE COOKIES with TOFFEE and DRIED CHERRIES from the awesome Regan Daley.

for your ease, i've got a handy-dandy pdf of the recipe all ready for you. so, have at it! i can't wait to hear about (and see) everyone's results!

please get your links to me by feb 28th. remember you can post at any time. it's up to you. just get me the link and the photo by the 28th @ 7pm EST to be included in the round-up.

cheers!

cookie carnival :: september

after many wonderful suggestions from the carnival participants---this month it's going to be GRAPEFRUIT SANDWICH COOKIES!

wanna join in? please do! email me - kate (at) thecleanplateclub (dot) (net).

some folks who suggested recipes for september wanted to know if we'd done a certain cookie before, so here is the list of cookies we have made since we started on this crazy cookie ride:

august - chocolate hazelnut biscotti
july - blackberry bars
june - snickerdoodles
may - blueberry drop cookies
april - vanilla bean thins
march - raspberry swirl cookies
february - peanut butter and chocolate sandwich cookies

cookie carnival :: august!

this month for the Carnival, we are cooking up some
CHOCOLATE-HAZELNUT BISCOTTI!

i'm totally excited to get into this recipe. hope you are, too!

email me if you would like to join up! kate (AT) the cleanplateclub (DOT) (NET)

cheers and happy eating!

cookie carnival :: july (a bar!)

for july's cookie carnival we'll be making Blackberry Bars! for info on joining up, click here.

happy baking!

cookie carnival :: june (you had your say)

well folks, it's decided! the majority vote for SNICKERDOODLES! so, that's what we shall make. Carnivalers, check your inboxes for the recipe and off we go!

i expect that some will bow out this month as some of you felt strongly about NOT doing the doodles. so, to you i say, see you in july.......i hope!

and we'll do the macaroons and double chocolate ones eventually!

cookie carnival :: may

it's taken me a couple days to get it decided, but here's the scoop for May's Cookie Carnival. . . we'll be baking up some BLUEBERRY DROP COOKIES. yum!

the round-up for May will be SATURDAY, MAY 31st. if you are interested in joining us cookie freaks, we'd love to have you, of course! send me and email and i'll get you the recipe. kate (AT) thecleanplateclub (DOT) net.

happy baking, everyone!

cookie carnival :: april round-up!

it's time!

The Cookie for April was a lovely, delicate little thing called a Vanilla Bean Thin. i have to say, i really enjoyed this cookie a LOT. however, it's possible i enjoyed the dough even more. so very tasty. i'm a sucker for just about anything that includes vanilla bean. i'm not a big fan of cheesecake, but my good friends makes a kick-ass one vanilla bean cheesecake and when that gets served, i'm ALL over it.

some folks had a little trouble with crumbly dough. i was afraid i'd run into that, but i really didn't. these cookies were pretty easy for me to make. and they tasted so good with english breakfast tea. or a bit of coffee. or just plain milk.

i had my son in the kitchen whipping these up with me, of course, and he had a ball. i chose this recipe so that he could roll and cut. he gets so proud when he brings out his little rolling pin along side mine. we have fun together getting all doughy.

so, without further ado, here's the recipe, the photos and links to all the other carnivalers posts!

VANILLA BEAN THINS

Gourmet Magazine Makes about 4 dozen cookies.
Ingredients
1 fresh (moist) vanilla bean, split lengthwise
3/4 cup confectioners sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 stick (1/2 cup) plus 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 large egg yolk

Special equipment:
a 2-inch cookie cutter (we used a fluted diamond-shaped one)

Preparation
Make vanilla sugar:
Scrape vanilla seeds from pod with tip of a knife into confectioners sugar. Halve pods crosswise and bury in sugar. Cover tightly and let stand at least 24 hours and up to 1 month.

Make cookies:
Discard pods and transfer vanilla sugar to a food processor. Add flour, salt, and baking powder and pulse to combine. Add butter and pulse just until mixture is in pea-size lumps. Add yolk and pulse just until a dough forms. Gather dough into 2 balls, then flatten into 2 (5-inch) disks and chill, each disk wrapped well in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 325.

Roll out 1 disk (keep the other chilled) to less than 1/8 inch thick on a lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin. Cut out shapes with floured cookie cutter and chill scraps. Arrange cookies 1/2 inch apart on a buttered large baking sheet. Make more cookies with remaining dough, rerolling scraps (but only once).

Bake cookies in batches in middle of oven until edges are pale golden, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool.

Cooks' notes:
::Dough can be chilled up to 2 days.
::Cookies keep, layered between sheets of wax paper, in an airtight container at room temperature 1 week.

first in the round-up is kitty at boring history girl. she's a funny one. she battled the crumbly dough and ended up the winner. you go, kitty!

next is megan at megan's cookin'. she went a different way and cut her cookies with a knife as opposed to using a cutter. and they look elegant!

on to mari with her jaw-dropping-awesome photography. (this is hers with the cookies tumbling from the jar). i've been a lurker on her blog for a while, and i love what she does, so i was all flattered that she wanted to join up with the carnival. check her post here.

then there's megan of my baking adventures. she also battled the crumbly dough, but persevered and made a great-looking batch of cookies. go megan!

last, but by no means least is sihan from walking in the rain, who battled mother nature to get these cookies made! that's right. carnivaling cooks don't let anything get them down. read about it here. and check out some more beautiful photography. . . here's sihan's cookie photo.

thanks to everyone who participated this month! i hope we continue to grow and maybe get everyone who's signed up to bake in the same month. it would be so fun!

stay tuned for a little something different for the May Carnival!

cookie carnival :: april!

it's carnival time!
so, this month's cookies are VANILLA BEAN THINS! a simple, elegant cookie. and it's a good one to do with kids who can roll and cut dough.

the posting date for the round-up will be APRIL 28th. carnivalers, there's an email on the way to you and those not yet involved if you'd like to join, here's how it works:

:: send an email to kate{AT}thecleanplateclub{DOT}net, please put "cookie carnival" in the subject line. and i'll email you the recipe of the month.

:: when you've made your batch of cookies and posted about it, email me the direct link to your post and i'll include you in the round-up on the specified day the end of the month. please include a picture if you can and i'll put that up as well.

:: i will send you an email every month with the recipe for that month. you are in no way obligated to participate every month, but this way you can if you want to. you can also email me to unsubscribe at any time.

sweet!

cookie carnival :: march

it's carnival time!
so, this month's cookies are RASPBERRY SWIRL! yum. the posting date for the round-up will be MARCH 24th. happy baking, everyone!

if you are looking to join up, we'd love to have you! here's how it works:

:: send an email to kate{AT}thecleanplateclub{DOT}net, please put "cookie carnival" in the subject line. and i'll email you the recipe of the month.

:: when you've made your batch of cookies and posted about it, email me the direct link to your post and i'll include you in the round-up on the specified day the end of the month. please include a picture if you can and i'll put that up as well.

:: i will send you an email every month with the recipe for that month. you are in no way obligated to participate every month, but this way you can if you want to. you can also email me to unsubscribe at any time.

sweet!

february cookie carnival :: peanut butter & chocolate sandwich cookies!

the carnival has come to town for it's first ever visit! i'm feeling so lame for not having put this post up first thing this morning, but you know how it is. things happen. for me, a 5 month old baby with a nasty cold happened. crank-key.

onto the cookies! i decided to start with this recipe because my husband loves the peanut butter chocolate combo and i wanted to do something fun for him. also, it was easy and the cookies looked so amazing. . . in my head. the actual cookies didn't turn out as picture perfect as i'd hoped. i think this is because i chose to use natural peanut butter rather than the regular old hydrogenated kind. there is so much sugar in the cookies that i couldn't bare to use sugary pb as well. the result was tasty, but i bit. . . bulky. and i made them a little bigger than they should have been. but like i said, they tasted WONDERFUL, and that's really more important. as ever, i had my son involved. he loved scooping the dough. turns out this is much more fun, even, if you have dump truck spoon! well, of course!

i'm thrilled that KitchenNut participated in the carnival. she's got a post up on her blog today with the results of her cookie carnivaling. and you should visit her blog anyway, cause it's great.

also joining me this month was tiffany from Lattes and Life. check out her entry here. and here is a photo of her efforts. she took some great pictures and i have to say her cookies look damm near perfect. go tiffany!

and finally sari over at The Geek Inside joined up. . . .at least i think she did. she hasn't posted yet, so we'll see! thanks, ladies, for joining me in this new blog event!

peanut butter and chocolate sandwich cookies
from fine cooking magazine makes about 30 sandwich cookies or 60 single cookies

for the cookies: 2 1/2 cups smooth peanut butter, at room temperature 1 1/2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar 1 tsp. baking soda 2 large eggs 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

for the chocolate filling: 10 oz. bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (about 2 cups) 4 oz. (8 tbs.) unsalted butter, cut into pieces

make the cookies: 1. position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350 degrees. line cookie sheets with parchment paper. 2. in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or in a large bowl with hand mixer) beat the peanut butter, brown sugar and baking soda on medium speed until well blended, about a minute. add the eggs and vanilla and mix on low speed until just blended, about 30 seconds. 3. shape level tablespoonfuls of the dough into balls about 1" in diameter. arrange the balls 1 1/2" apart on the prepared baking sheets. do not press down. bake one sheet at a time until the cookies are puffed and crackled, but still moist-looking, about 11 minutes. cool cookies for about 10 minutes, then move to a cooling rack to cool completely.

make the filling: 1. melt the chocolate and the butter in the microwave or in a medium heat-proof bowl set in a skillet with 1" of barely simmering water, stirring until smooth. remove from heat, set aside until cool and slightly thickened, 20-30 minutes.



assemble the sandwiches: 1. turn half of the cooled cookies over so they are flat side up. spoon 2 tsp. of the chocolate filling onto the center of each cookie. top with remaining cookies, flat side down. press gently on each cookie to spread the filling almost to the edge. set on the rack until filling is firm, 20-30 minutes.

if you are interested in joining up for March--email me! kate(at)thecleanplateclub(dot)(net).

join the carnival!

it's time to celebrate the cookie. dontcha think?

read below to find out all you need to know to become a carnivaler!

Cookie Carnival FAQs

HOW do i join up?

send an email to kate{AT}thecleanplateclub{DOT}net, please put "cookie carnival" in the subject line. and i'll email you the recipe of the month.

When do you post the round-up?

Good question. Whenever i can get to it! i ask for the links and photos to be sent to me by a certain date (usually the last or second to last day of the month) my intention is to get the post up in the following day or 2.

How will i know the round-up is up?

I will send you an email with the link.

What do i have to do to be included in the round-up?

Easy. Just send me an email by the appointed date including a link to your post (not to your blog, but a direct link to your post). that's all!

Will you post a photo of my cookies?

YES! in order to have a photo up as part of the round-up, all you have to do is attach one to your email that includes the link to your post. your photo MUST meet the following criteria in order to be posted:

A. it must be titled with your blog name. example: cleanplateclub.jpg
B. it must be no larger than a width of 205.

If your photo meets these criteria, i'll post it. please understand i get a lot of emails (which i love) and it's very time consuming to put the round-up together. this will ensure that i can do the work more quickly!

When/how will i find out the new recipe for the month?

I will email it to you sometime in the first week of the month.

Do i have to participate every month?

NO! this blog event is open in that way. you can participate or not. it's up to you! just make sure you get me a link to your post when you DO participate, so we can all see how you did! i love to have people participate as much as possible, but we're all busy, so we do what we can!

How do i opt out?

Just send me an email telling me to remove you from the list.

Can i submit a recipe for consideration?

Heck yeah! just email me the recipe and i'll toss it in the pot. sometimes i'll decide a recipe by a vote as well.

sound like fun? i hope so! let the cookie baking and mouth watering begin!