Fruit and Nut Bar Cookies

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Fruit and Nut Bar Cookies

This recipe was inspired by one of my favorite candy bars, Cadbury's Fruit and Nut bar. The combination of sweet raisins and crunchy toasted nuts in chocolate is irresistible to me and that combination works very well in these cookies. The cookies themselves remain soft with crispy edges with a fudgy interior and plenty of textural additions from the chewy dried fruits and crunchy toasted nuts. several dried fruits will work in these, from golden raising, dried cranberries or even candied dried strawberries. I've used a combination of all three in this version and that combination was outstanding.

Fruit & Nut Bar Cookies

Recipe by Barry C. Parsons

Fruit & Nut Bar Cookies - inspired by Cadbury's Fruit and Nut candy bar, this recipe combines favorite dried fruits like cranberries or golden raisins with a double chocolate chip cookie.

Prep time: Approximately 20 minutes + time to chill the dough.
Cook time: 13 -14 minutes
Yield: About 18 cookies.
Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups butter
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup cocoa
• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2/3 cup chocolate chips
• 2/3 cup roughly chopped toasted almonds
• 2/3 cup dried fruit (golden raisins, dried cranberries or strawberries or a combination of your choice)

Directions

1. Cream together the butter and sugar well.
2. Add the eggs and vanilla to the creamed mixture and beat until well combined.
3. Sift together the cocoa, flour, baking soda, and salt.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture. Mix well until a dough begins to form. Fold in the chocolate chips, chopped almonds and dried fruit.
5. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Dough should be cold when it goes in the oven.
6. Roll the dough into about 1 1/2 inch balls.
7. Place about 3 inches apart on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and flatten the balls to about half their height with the bottom of a clean drinking glass.
8. Bake at 375 degrees F for about 13-15 minutes.
9. Allow the cookies to cool on the pan for several minutes before placing them on a wire rack to cool completely.
10. Drizzle with chocolate or dip the cookies in the chocolate ganache if desired,
11. let the dipped or drizzled cookies sit on a parchment lined baking sheet until the chocolate sets.
12. Store in an airtight container. Freezes well too. 
13. To make Chocolate Ganache for drizzling or dipping just melt together the 1 cup of chocolate chips and 1/4 cup of whipping cream.

Espresso Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies

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Espresso Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies

I am an absolute nut for a good buttery shortbread cookie. They are simple perfection. I have had chocolate chips in shortbread cookies before but was a little skeptical about adding the espresso flavour. The result though, was fantastic with the full flavour of the coffee, chocolate and buttery shortbread all fully present but well balanced in this wonderful, simple little treat.

Espresso Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies

Recipe by Barry C. Parsons

Espresso Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies - easy buttery shortbread cookies with the amazing flavor combination of coffee and chocolate. A perfect afternoon tea or coffee cookie and they freeze really well too.

Prep time: 1 hour 20 minutes, including 1 hour chilling time
Cook time: 25 minutes
Total time: Under 2 hours
Yield: Approximately 18 cookies, (variable according to the size you choose to make them.)
Ingredients

• 1 1/2 tbsp instant espresso powder
• 1 tbsp hot water
• 1 cup butter (real butter, no substitutes)
• 2/3 cup icing sugar (powdered sugar, confectioners sugar)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups plain flour
• 3/4 cup dark chocolate chips

Directions

1. Dissolve the espresso powder in the hot water and set aside to cool. Meanwhile in the bowl of an electric mixer cream the butter and icing sugar very well until light and fluffy.
2. Add the dissolved espresso powder and the vanilla extract and blend in well. Finally add the flour and work into the butter mixture until almost incorporated.
3. Add the chocolate chips and stir in by hand with a wooden spoon so as not to break up the chocolate chips in the mixer.
4. Press the dough together into a ball (or better shape into a flat square). Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour or two. Roll out into a square about 1/4 inch thick. Place on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and trim the edges.
5. Cut the cookies into your desired shape, squares, rectangles, triangles but keep the sheet of dough all together on the cookie sheet, you will break the cookies apart later.
6. Bake at 325 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. These will not get very dark as they bake. Cool on the pan for 15 minutes and then on a wire rack.

White Chocolate Orange Macadamia Cookies

White Chocolate Orange Macadamia Cookies

White chocolate and macadamia is a pretty popular cookie flavor combo and one of my personal favorites and this version adds even more flavor with the simple addition of some grated orange zest to the dough.  To get that perfect crispy chewy texture, be careful not to over bake them and be very certain to chill the dough completely before baking. The chilling is very important with such a soft dough or the cookies will spread too much on the pan and possibly over bake. Just omit the orange zest if you want the classic version of this cookie.

• 1 1/3 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 8 oz chopped white chocolate
• 3/4 cup macadamia nuts

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper; aluminum pans are best.

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

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and combine thoroughly.

Add the flour mixture to the sweetened butter. Mix only enough to incorporate flour. Do not over mix. Fold in the chocolate chunks and macadamia nuts along with:

Zest of 1/2 large orange, finely chopped

Chill dough completely for a couple of hours in the fridge.

Form into 1 1/2 inch balls and place on the parchment lined cookie sheet about 3 inches apart

Bake until light brown around the edges, about 12 minutes.

Over baking is the biggest problem with most chocolate chip cookies. Your oven temperature and the type of cookie sheet you use will vary the baking times considerably. When they are golden brown around the edges is the time to remove them from the oven.

Cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheet before removing to a wire rack to cool thoroughly.

Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

My daughter Olivia is the cookie queen at our house and she can whip up a mean batch of chocolate chip cookies. We've been snacking on lightly toasted walnuts these days not only because of their recently touted heath properties but because they are so crunchy and delicious as any nut fan will tell you. Olivia decided to add some whole walnuts to her favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe and the result was outstanding. While so many recipes call for ground or chopped nuts we like to keep them whole or as large as possible for great crunch.

As with any good chocolate chip cookie, it is very important not to over bake them, in fact it is preferable to under bake them if you have to. Individual differences in oven temperatures and baking pans can be critical when trying to achieve the perfect chewy crunchy cookie so experiment with baking times by underbaking by a minute or two if necessary and noting the difference it makes. Bake only a few at a time until you find the right balance for your baking pans and oven. I recommend aluminum bake-ware lined with parchment paper as the best for baking perfect cookies.

Ingredients:

1 &1/3 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract or butterscotch flavoring (or both! Hint, hint.)

8 oz semisweet chocolate chips

3/4 cup lightly toasted whole walnuts

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

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

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and combine thoroughly.

Add the flour mixture to the sweetened butter. Mix only enough to incorporate flour. Do not over mix. Fold in the chocolate chips and walnuts.

Form cookies by dropping a rounded teaspoon of dough on the prepared cookie sheet two inches apart. Bake until light brown around the edges, about 12-14 minutes, depending on cookie size.

Over baking is the biggest problem with most chocolate chip cookies. Your oven temperature and the type of cookie sheet you use will vary the baking times considerably. When they are golden brown around the edges is the time to remove them from the oven even if the middles fall when removed from the oven.

Cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheet before removing to a wire rack to cool thoroughly.