GPAC Sugga Sugga Cookies

I have never been a good roll out sugar cookie baker. This year I FINALLY was successful! I love big, thick, tender cookies. I don't like dry, crisp ones. These bake up beautifully and don't sink in the middle. I have made so many recipes and just could not find one I loved. These cookies are so tender, soft, they hold their shape, they aren't overly sweet and have an amazing flavor. I will NOT be buying anymore $6 cookie pops that I crave because I couldn't replicate their cookies.
Another thing is the mess it takes to roll cookies out, I hate it. I groan when the girls want cut out cookies. Even with my roul pat. These are a cinch to roll out, I don't get flour everywhere and my rolling pin stays nice and clean. These aren't messy at all! I'll tell you my secret!
You've got to try these cookies. They aren't overly sweet so when you frost them they are perfect. DH asked me if they were hard to bake because they were so good. If you don't want to roll them you can cut and slice them also!

Chilled cookies, ready for the oven.

Khanom Dok Bua- Lotus Flower Cookies

 

This lotus flower cookie is called Khanom Dok Bua or Khanom Dok Jok. It's a crispy cookie that is deep fried, not baked. They are like Italian Rosettes. They are light and crispy. Not overly sweet, sesame seeds give them a great flavor, so does Pandan extract. The sesame seeds are what is more commonly used. I made these ones green and pink, Pandan and almond for our Christmas Cookie boxes in 2017. Which isn't really traditional, the almond flavoring that is.

Copycat Gideon's Bakehouse Cookies

I have so many Chocolate Chip Cookie recipes on this blog, but let's face it, sometimes you want them chewy, cakey, extra chocolatey. Mood. Right? For extra chocolate richness, this is the recipe you want. If you've ever been to Gideon's Bakehouse or the Polite Pig at Disney Springs you may know about these cookies. Voted the best cookie in Florida they are really yummy. There's rich chocolate, vanilla, and a tender cookie that's a little underbaked but not raw. They are in my top two favorite cookies at Disney Springs, the other being the Jammy Dodgers at Cookes.

Chocolate Chip Toffee Cookies (Chewy)

Rich, flavorful, chewy with crispy edges. I love chocolate chip cookies and this recipe has all the elements I just mentioned. The browned butter and dark brown sugar give these cookies a butterscotch toffee flavor and the dark brown sugar makes them chewy. I do have quite a few other recipes on this blog.  I can't help it. This one, the Gideon cookies, the Kiss Me  Chocolate Chip Cookies, so many yummy ones. Just pick one, the Skillet Chocolate Chip cookie is the easiest.

As far as this recipe I will definitely make them again. With or without the Toffee chips. I would love to put nuts in them, but my child can't eat nuts. I use less chocolate and toffee in these than most people would but we love the cookie like this.

This is a great batter to customize.

Peasreads- 108 Asian Cookies Not-Too-Sweet Treats from a Third-Culture Kitchen by Kat Lieu

 

It's hard to review a cookbook. This one is beautiful. The photos are beautiful, the food looks yummy. I reviewed a digital copy. So I don't know what the print copy looks like. Some of recipes are very unique. However some of them are just regular cookie recipes with a few ingredients that were changed to make a cookie "Asian" like the salt to miso or soy sauce, and added some MSG to some.

I liked the section on traditional cookies the best. So nostalgic.

All the photos were beautiful.

One note of warning, this book doesn't do well on the kindle app on your phone.

I will be attempting to bake some ube cookies this weekend.

Description

From the IACP award winner and bestselling cookbook author comes a first-of-its-kind collection of irresistible cookie recipes inspired by Asian flavors and techniques to excite home bakers.

Growing up as a Canadian-born Vietnamese Chinese American, Kat Lieu sought comfort in the flavors of her youth like taro and black sesame. But she struggled to find a home for herself as a third-culture baker in American bakeries, online, or in cookbooks. In the auspiciously titled 108 Asian Cookies Lieu honors the varied and rich tapestry of Asian cultures and ingredients that inspired these recipes. And along with members from Subtle Asian Baking, the online baking group she founded, are a diverse array of original and member-submitted drool-worthy recipes for cookies and bakes incorporating ingredients from the diaspora including gochujang, ube, miso, fish sauce, sambal, tahini, matcha, and MSG stirred into each batter and dough.

 

Bakers will learn how to whip up both classics and entirely new desserts such as:

 

Spicy chai cookies

Amaretti cookies with pandan and pistachios

Taiwanese snowflake crisps

Milk and cashew burfi

Salted egg yolk corn flake haystacks

Mochi brownies

Matcha and wasabi drop cookies

And even instant ramen and pho cookies!

 

At many Asian tables, “not too sweet” is the highest compliment one can give—so whether these recipes are comfortingly familiar or new discoveries, 108 Asian Cookies will be sure to delight even the most discerning “not too sweet” kitchens for years to come.

Find more book reviews here under Peasreads.

Amazon reviews Katereviews.

Goodreads reviews.

I received this egalley from NetGalley, Little, Brown and Company | VoraciousI was under no obligation to give a review. All opinions are my own. 

Cherry Almond Honey Cookies

Someone posted a recipe for Honey Oatmeal cookies on a forum I belong to yesterday and I had to bake some up. The cookies are soft, chewy and the honey in the background gives the cookies another layer of flavor. When I saw the recipe I thought about what went well with honey and thought almonds. And almonds go well with cherries. So I added almond extract, dried cherries, almond extract and some white baking chips/almond bark. The result? YUM.

Kitchen Sink Chunk Cookies

The weather is getting cooler around here, it's a rainy morning so I'm sitting down to update. With a cup of tea at my side and cookies... you know, so I can taste the to make sure they are still yummy. To post, because I don't want to post cookies that aren't still yummy. I better have two just to make sure :). I let my kids have one after breakfast, two days in a row now. I'm cool like that.
How is the weather where you are? I'm so ready for fall. My parents are planning a visit. I can't wait. They will get to see the leaves change color, come to a couple soccer games. It'll just be nice having them here. Maybe I should makes some of this cookie dough to keep in the freezer. Because cookies.
I like this Kitchen Sink Chunk Cookie recipe because it doesn't require me to think ahead and soften butter. I think most of the Chocolate Chip Cookie recipes and cookie recipes that I like use melted butter. I will say I like cookies that are chewy, so I prefer using bread flour. You can swap out AP flour in equal amounts if you prefer, or if that's what you happen to have on hand. Adding oats would also be easy to do, swap out some of the flour for rolled oats, or use some as your mix-ins. This recipe is easily tweaked. See the notes below for variations.

I used dried tart cherries and chocolate bars for this batch, because I didn't have any chocolate chips in the house! Yikes.

Lemon Blueberry Oatmeal Cookies

How beautiful are these Lemon Blueberry Oatmeal cookies? Studded with plump blueberries and drizzled with a lemon glaze that give them just the right amount of sweet and tart. These cookies are soft and chewy, perfect with a cup of tea or for a sweet treat after a meal. I use frozen berries that we picked, but you can buy store bought berries. These cookies travel well and are the perfect reminder that spring and summer will soon be here.
Get your kids in the kitchen this is a recipe that they can either help with or do all on their own. I hope you all are having a wonderful week and as always, thank you for reading this little blog.

Candy Cane Kisses and Simple Sugar Cookie Dough

I know it's a little late in the game to be posting Christmas Cookie recipes but these would be great for Valentine's day also. You could use the Candy Cane Kisses or even the Cherry Kisses. Just don't put peppermint extract in the cookie dough, use almond. I used one dough for these cookies. The marbled pink dough was tinted and  I added Peppermint extract to it before kneading the dough to marble it. For the Candy Cane Kisses, Pixie pressed the candies into the cookies after they came out of the oven. Just remind little ones that are helping that the baking sheets are hot. Pixie helped me with the dough, unwrapping all the Kisses, and pressing the candies into the cookies.

These cookies are so easy to make and there's no thinking ahead since the butter is melted. The dough is versatile. The cookies can be rolled into balls, formed into candy cane shapes, formed into a log for slice and bake. It is a very forgiving dough.

Give Peas A Chance Simple Sugar Cookie Dough

1 cup melted unsalted  butter
3 eggs
1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoons vanilla
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3 cups flour

Optional
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract OR 1 teaspoon almond extract

Beat the butter, eggs, sugar, and vanilla together.
Stir in the flour, salt, and baking soda.
Shape the cookies and bake.
Bake 375 degree oven for 7-8 minutes.

IF using candy kisses, press them into the cookies after baking, while they are warm.

To marble you cookies, separate half the dough. Knead a few drops of food coloring into half of the dough. Then knead both doughs together to marble. You can also shape the dough into strips, then twist them into candy canes, wreaths, or pretzel shapes.

Cookies can be rolled in sprinkles, cinnamon sugar,  or pumpkin pie spice and sugar before baking also.

The cookie dough can be frozen in tablespoon size balls or in log form. No need to thaw before baking. Slice and bake, or bake the dough balls from frozen. Add a minute to the baking time.

Thanks for reading Give Peas A Chance!

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Thunder Cookies- try them, Jesus likes them!

I had been hoping we wouldn't get any thunder storms around here, not because we don't need the rain, because I read the girls a book called "Little Sister, Big Sister" and in the book it talks about thunder storms and it has a recipe for thunder cookies. So of course, we had to make them. And of course they HAD to have raisins in them. UGH, what IS it with raisins? Well I was in luck, not a raisin to be found in the house... what did we use instead? Keep reading. I decided to post pictures with the girls, especially since they were in just about everyone of these anyway.

What are"thunder cookies" you ask? Well the story is about sisters, the youngest is afraid of the thunder storm so the big sister takes her into the kitchen to make these cookies. After they are baked they can't eat the cookies until the little sister signs this little promise that says

"Thunder Cookie Promise- Whenever I am afraid of thunder I promise to remember the first time I made Thunder Cookies and I will try very hard not to be afraid"

I haven't decided what to have Diva sign yet, I might make up a scrapbook/recipe book with a page dedicated to signatures.

When Diva heard thunder while we were making these she said, "Mommy, Jesus must like these cookies, do you hear His tummy?"

Perfect Ginger Cookies

 These cookies are an old favorite. They are a little bit different than the Chewy Ginger Molasses cookies I have shared before. That post is a mess by the way and I need to update it. These cookies have a crispy edge but chewy center that still snaps. I think they are perfect. To give these cookies that crispy edge I use shortening, then I added butter for a chewy centers. You can use all butter but you'll have a softer cookie. All shortening will give you a crispy cookie. For the sugars I used both brown and granulated, I have two measurements for the granulated sugar because we like a less sweet cookie. These can be rolled in cinnamon sugar or in powdered sugar. The granulated cinnamon sugar will give you more of a caramelized crunch, the powdered sugar will give you a pretty crinkle cookie look.

Resurrection Cookies

If I remember during the rush to get to first service tomorrow, I will take a picture of the cookies for you. Perhaps when I am packaging them up to give out or something, I dunno. Also I debated on if I should show off my GORGEOUS kids or not, but I decided not to. Maybe next time, I should watermark my pictures but I haven't gotten around to it. The girls and I had great time making these. Piglet had fun going through the little motions and Diva and I talked a lot about Jesus' death and resurrection, which she knows a lot about from school, Sunday school and books we've read. This is so great to do with kids it helps them associate more of what Easter is truly about. These cookies should be made the evening BEFORE Easter. The girls and I will pass them out tomorrow at church with this message in the bags

"In all the world; There is no place As dear to me, As in an empty tomb within Gethsemane. Matt 28:1-9" 

Here are some more ideas for celebrating Resurrection Sunday

Resurrection Cookies

Empty Tomb Rolls

Tea Dyed Eggs (You can use food coloring or beet juice also)

Free Easter Printables

Glow in the Dark Egg Hunt

Don't forget the Bunny Rolls

Here we go... (scroll down for just the recipe and no pictures :)  )

Fortune cookies

I first made these with my best friend, Dawn, back home years ago. They are fun to make but this isn't a cookie you bake with your little kids, older would be fine. Also be prepared to burn your hands a bit on the hot cookies while shaping them.  Work quickly, it's hot, but it probably won't really burn you. When I first made these we put red ribbons with scriptures in them and took them to church.
The ones above are a little more brown than I like, the ones in the picture below are how I like them cooked. The darker ones taste just as good. I prefer the color on the pale cookie.

2016 Let Them Eat Cake- Cookies and Cream Oreo Drizzle Cake

Oreo drizzle cake with cookies and cream chocolate, Oreo cookies, a chocolate macaron, and a chocolate "10".

A couple of weeks ago I shared a Lemon Raspberry cake that was for my oldest's birthday. This week I'm sharing this Oreo cake which my middle girl requested. She actually asked for Oreo, and I went with it. This is my first drizzle cake. It came out pretty good considering I didn't get the chocolate the correct consistency before I put it on the cake.

Brownie Batter Cookies

Today I have two cookies to share. Both are easy to make and require minimal ingredients, they are very similar but one will yield a thinner cookie, the other a thicker cookie. There's an Italian place here that makes these amazing thin brownie batter cookies and I have been meaning to recreate them for a while now and like some people during this shelter in place I have a little more time at home. My first batch of cookies came out like the last photo. Thicker, a bit chewy on the edges, just not thin. They were still delicious though and we will make them again. I just wanted thin, chewy in the middle and a bit crispy like brownies from the edge of a pan. The result is the cookie you see in the first and second pictures.
Which cookie do you think you'd like better? I like both, and it just depends if I'm in the mood for a thicker chewy cookie or a thinner crisp-edged cookie.

Thin Mints Milkshakes And Other Girl Scout Cookie Shakes

We have a girl scout in house and it's cookie season! My favorite is the Thin Mints, I try not to eat too many of them. I could eat a whole sleeve in one sitting and I used to. But I've been really good, maybe it's because there's such an abundance of them around here. I decided to make the kids some milkshakes for an after dinner treat the other day. These are simple and quick to make. They are also very yummy.

Herbs/Spices/Seasonings- Share your favorites!

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Not too long ago on a forum I belong to someone posted about herbs and spices we use in cooking. I started my list of what I use and applications off the top of my head. Today I went back and looked at that list and thought (briefly) about going through my spices and such to list everything I use and throw out that one bottle of unopened Mrs. Dash in something like lemon pepper or whatever that has been in our pantry for two moves and 8 years, I just can’t seem to throw it out. It’s just there for pretty I guess. But I don't have time to go through everything.
I know you’re supposed to replace dried herbs every 6 months. I use my herbs and spices so much that I don’t have to worry about that for the most part. If at all possible I prefer fresh herbs to dried but dried is so very convenient. Here is my list (of herbs, spices and seasonings that I use around here and some other stuff that came to mind). I think I now know why I have so little space in my cupboards. I may add to it and edit when I have time.

Your turn!! Post a list on your blog of your favorites or all you use and link it in the comments section or post your list in the comment section I'd love to get some new ideas!

Free Friday- I sure do like them Christmas Cookies...

So I made these cookies for the kids to decorate at our Operation Christmas Child party. These are my favorite (and my family's favorite) sugar cookies. They are so easy to make, there is NO mess, no flour all over if you roll them like I do. I posted the recipe and my method (Sugga Cookies) HERE. For these trees, I didn't use a cookie cutter. I didn't want to bring them out of storage. So I just rolled the dough (while soft) into disks between wax paper or use parchment. Not adding flour keeps the cookies tender too. Chilled each disk very well. Then cut it like a pizza with a sharp knife. So they don't like like trees really, but the kids didn't seem to care.

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Another chocolate chip cookie?? Yes. I had to try it. I saw the recipe on Pinterest, so I decided to make them. I should have used less sugar. It was too sweet for me, which means great for everyone else. I also used less chocolate chips, 2 ounces less. I used bread flour instead of all purpose flour. The higher protein in bread flour makes cookies more chewy, which I love. I also adjusted the baking powder and added soda to give me a little more crisp on my edges. This was an easy cookie to make, it was chewy, a little crisp on the sides. Beautiful texture. I'd make these again. Even the next day these were still chewy with a nice bite.

Chewy Chocolate Chip cookies (Original recipe link posted below.)
3 sticks unsalted butter/ softened
14 ounces brown sugar (2 cups- packed)- next time I'm going to use 10 ounces
4 ounces granulated sugar, 1/2 cup
2 eggs
5 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 pound 4 ounces bread flour, 4 cups- you can use all purpose
4 teaspoons corn starch
3/4 teaspoon salt- kosher
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
14 ounces chocolate chips- Add more if you'd like, I used to add 50% more chocolate chips to every recipe out there.

Beat the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla, beat well. Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Combine the dry and wet ingredients. Stir in the chocolate chips. Let the dough sit for 15 minutes or so, while oven pre heats to 350 degrees. In the refrigerator is fine. This will help that gluten in the bread flour develop also.

Bake tablespoon sized mounds of dough for 8-12 minutes. I gently pushed my cookie dough down so the tops were flat you don't have to do that. I set my timer for 10 minutes and 30 seconds each time. Don't over bake these. They will be light brown almost pale on top. But the bottoms should be lightly browned evenly.

Let the cookies cool on the sheet for 3-5 minutes before transferring them to a rack to finish cooling.

Makes 60+ cookies.

I guess after all my changes, this really isn't the same recipe as posted HERE.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Snickerdoodles

I took these pictures with my phone, sigh. Oh well, the cookies though? The cookies are AMAZING. DH's favorite cookie I think is the Snickerdoodle. I'm a pumpkin fanatic so you know how that goes. Give a little, take a little, then add cheesecake. Why not? Match made in heaven. Tender cookie, smooth cheesecake filling...

Go, make these now. Bookmark and/or pin them for all those cookie exchanges coming up this season.
More PUMPKIN recipes can be found HERE.