Raspberry White Chocolate Cookies

Raspberry White Chocolate Cookies

These cookies were inspired by my viral Raspberry White Chocolate Scones. The flavors work so well together and the pretty pink sparkling sugar adds a nice crunchy texture, so I thought they would make excellent cookies too. And I was right! These cookies are everything I was dreaming about. In the scones, fresh raspberries were added directly into the dough. In this recipe, instead, I made a quick raspberry jam to fold into the cookies. Make sure to fold it in gently because if you over mix it, the dough will become too wet, which can lead to excess spreading. I also broke the chocolate into pieces, rather than chopping it. Chopping the chocolate makes too many small chards of chocolate which can also cause excess spreading.

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Raspberry White Chocolate Cookies
Cookies with white chocolate pieces and fresh raspberry jam swirled into the dough and topped with pink sparkling sugar
Servings
cookies
Ingredients
Servings
cookies
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Set aside 1/2 cup of raspberries. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the remaining 1 cup of raspberries with 2 tablespoons of sugar, the lemon juice and the cornstarch. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Boil for 1 minute, then turn the heat down to low and simmer until thickened to a jam consistency, about 4-6 minutes. Stir in the reserved raspberries. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and set aside to cool to room temprature.
  2. Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the all purpose flour, the cake flour, salt and baking soda until well combined.
  4. In a large bowl, beat the butter, the remains 3/4 cup of sugar, and the brown sugar, with an electric mixer at medium speed, until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and the egg yolk in two separate additions until well incorporated. Beat in the extracts.
  5. Mix the flour mixture into the batter, just until combined. Stir in the white chocolate pieces. Fold in the cooled raspberry mixture very gently. Do not over mix! You want to see raspberry swirls. Over mixing will change the texture of the cookies.
  6. Place 2-tablespoon size portions of cookie dough about 3 inches apart onto the prepare cookie sheets. I used a #30 portion scoop.* Top each cookie with a piece of white chocolate and sprinkle with coarse sugar. Bake until the tops of the cookies are set and the edges turn light golden brown, about 10-14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack.
Recipe Notes

If your cookies spread too much, you can try refrigerating the dough balls for 10-15 minutes before baking. Don't refrigerate the dough longer or your dough may become discolored. For best results, weigh your ingredients.

*To find the portion scoop I used, click here.  

Strawberry Blondies

Strawberry Blondies

These golden, buttery bars have soft, chewy centers and crisp edges. They’re studded with fresh strawberry chunks and white chocolate chips. They’re perfectly delicious as is, but I drizzled them with fresh strawberry icing, which is the supreme finishing touch. They contain the perfect amount of salt which balances the sweetness of the white chocolate chips. Macerating the strawberries before baking draws out the excess liquid and helps to prevent soggy blondies, so don’t skip this step.

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Strawberry Blondies
Golden, buttery blondies with fresh strawberries and white chocolate chips
Course Dessert
Keyword blondies, strawberry
Servings
2-inch squares
Ingredients
Strawberry Blondies
Strawberry Icing
Course Dessert
Keyword blondies, strawberry
Servings
2-inch squares
Ingredients
Strawberry Blondies
Strawberry Icing
Instructions
Strawberry Blondies
  1. Place the chopped strawberries in a medium bowl. Sprinkle with 2 teaspoons of sugar and mix well. Let stand for 30-45 minutes, then drain the excess juices.
  2. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, leaving a couple of inches of overhang to serve as handles to lift the blondies out of the pan.
  3. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
  4. In a large bowl, whisk together the remaining 1/4 cup (50g) of sugar, the brown sugar, melted butter and vanilla until smooth. Add the egg and the egg yolk and whisk until smooth and well combined, about 2-3 minutes. Stir in the flour mixture, just until combined. Fold in the white chocolate chips and the strawberries.
  5. Transfer the batter to the prepared baking pan. Bake until the top looks golden brown all over and a toothpick inserted into the center of the blondies comes out with a few moist crumbs on it, about 28-33 minutes. Let cool completely in the pan.
  6. Remove the cooled blondies from the pan and cut into squares.
Strawberry Icing
  1. Finely chop, then mash the strawberries. Press the mashed strawberries through a sieve, using the back of a spoon or press the strawberries through a food mill. Whisk together the strawberries, powdered sugar, melted butter lemon juice and salt until smooth. Drizzle over the cooled brownies.

Mini Baklava Cheesecakes

Mini Baklava Cheesecakes

These Mini Baklava Cheesecakes are so cute and incredibly delicious that they actually made me mad! I’d been thinking about making them for awhile, so I was mad at myself for not making them sooner. They’re much quicker and easier to make than a full size cheesecake. The phyllo dough is par-baked, then topped with a nut mixture. I used a combination of pistachios and almonds, but you can use any combination of pistachios, almonds or walnuts of your choice. After the cheesecakes are baked, the phyllo shells are soaked with honey syrup.

I topped them with little nests made of kataifi, which are so cute and perfect for Easter. Kataifi is thinly shredded phyllo pastry. You can find it in the freezer section of supermarkets and international markets. Toasted coconut makes a good substitute if you can’t find kataifi. These cute cheesecakes are also pretty topped with edible flowers or rose petals, which would be perfect for Mother’s Day or any springtime celebration.

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Mini Baklava Cheesecakes
Mini cheesecakes with a baklava base, topped with kataifi nests
Course Dessert
Keyword baklava, cheesecake
Servings
mini cheesecakes
Ingredients
Honey Syrup
Kataifi Nests
Course Dessert
Keyword baklava, cheesecake
Servings
mini cheesecakes
Ingredients
Honey Syrup
Kataifi Nests
Instructions
Honey Syrup
  1. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, cook the sugar, water, honey and lemon juice, stirring occasionally until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
Mini Cheesecakes
  1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Brush the insides of a 12-serving muffin pan with melted butter.
  2. Place a sheet of phyllo dough on your work surface. Brush it lightly with melted butter. Place another sheet of phyllo dough on top of the first one and brush it lightly with melted butter. Repeat this process until you have 5 sheets. Using a pastry wheel or a sharp knife, cut the phyllo into 6 squares, measuring about 4 1/2 x 4 1/2 inches each. Repeat this process with the five remaining phyllo sheets. Make sure to keep your unused phyllo sheets covered while you work to prevent them from drying out.
  3. Place the phyllo squares into the cups of the muffin pan. Press them in with a pastry tamper or with the flat bottom of a small shot glass. Prick the bottoms of the phyllo with a fork. Bake until light golden brown, about 14-17 minutes.
  4. Meanwhile, combine the nuts, 2 tablespoons of sugar, 2 tablespoons of melted butter and the cinnamon in a small bowl. Mix until well combined.
  5. Turn the oven heat down to 325ºF (165ºF). Place about a tablespoon of the nut mixture into the baked pyllo shells and press lightly with the back of a spoon.
  6. To make the cheesecake filling, in a large bowl, beat the cream cheese with an electric mixer on low speed, until smooth. Add the remaining 6 tablespoons of sugar, the egg, heavy cream and vanilla extract. Beat until smooth and well combined, but do not over beat.
  7. Ladle the cheesecake mixture into the phyllo shells over the nuts. Fill them almost to the top. Bake until the cheesecakes are set, but still slightly jiggly in the centers, about 13-15 minutes.
  8. Using a small offset spatula, gently loosen the cheesecakes from the muffin pan. Drizzle honey syrup generously along the perimeter of the outside of the cheesecakes, letting the syrup drip down the sides of the phyllo pastry. Let the cheesecakes cool in the pan. When the cheesecakes have cooled and the syrup has absorbed, transfer the cheesecakes to the refrigerator to chill for at least 1 hour.
Kataifi Nests
  1. Turn the oven temperature up to 350ºF (180ºC). Brush an 8 x 8-inch or a 9 x 7-inch baking dish with melted butter. Roll clusters of kataifi stands into twelve 2-inch wide spiral shapes to form the nests. Place them in the baking dish. Drizzle the nests with melted butter. Gently brush more melted butter over the surface of the nests. Bake until golden brown, about 25-35 minutes. Immediately drizzle with honey syrup. Let the nests cool in the baking pan.
  2. Place the nests onto the cheesecakes. Fill the nests with candy eggs.
Recipe Notes

To find the muffin pan I used, click here.

Pistachio Rose Croissants

Filled croissants are gaining more popularity due to social media. Bakeries and coffee shops offer croissants filled with fun and interesting fillings, but they can be pricey and hard to get. Have you ever stood in line at a popular bakery only to discover that the croissant you wanted was sold out? This recipe is a fun and easy way to duplicate a fancy bakery croissant using store bought croissants. This pistachio rose version is elegant and delicious!

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Pistachio Rose Croissants
Croissants brushed with rose syrup, filled with buttery pistachio filling and topped with white chocolate, toasted pistachios and rose petals
Servings
Ingredients
Servings
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Start by making the rose syrup. In a small saucepan combine 1/4 cup of the sugar with 1/4 cup of water over medium-low heat. Stir occasionally, just until the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and stir in the rose water to taste.
  2. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. (180ºC). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  3. In a medium bowl, beat the butter with the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar and the salt together by hand or with an eclectic mixer, until well combined. Beat in the egg, extracts, pistachio flour and all purpose flour until well combined.
  4. Split the croissants in half with a serrated knife. Place the croissants on the prepared baking sheet, cut side up. Brush the croissants with the rose syrup. Spread the pistachio mixture on the bottom half of each croissant. Place the tops on the croissants.
  5. Bake until the filling is set, about 25-30 minutes. If your croissants start to brown too much, cover them with aluminum foil tents during the last few minutes of baking. Transfer the croissants to a cooling rack.
  6. Melt the white chocolate and oil together in a heat safe pan set over a pan of barely simmering water. Stir gently until smooth. Remove from heat. Stir in food coloring a little at a time until your desired shade is achieved. Drizzle the pink chocolate over the cooled croissants. Top with chopped pistachios and rose petals.
Recipe Notes

*To find rose water, click here.  If you don't like rose flavor, substitute the rose water with 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or 1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract.

**To find culinary rose petals, click here.

 

Melt-in-Your-Mouth Peanut Butter Cookie Sandwiches

Soft Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

I never imagined that I’d ever be posting a peanut butter cookie recipe. There are already crunchy peanut butter cookies, soft ones, chewy ones, and those peanut shaped store bought ones out there. I mean, do we even need another peanut butter cookie recipe? After I tasted this one, it’s a resounding YES! These soft, tender cookies combined with a silky, smooth filling are a new peanut butter experience that I had to share.

The key to getting the soft texture in the cookie, without being dry, is cake flour. So don’t substitute it, because it’s vital to achieve the correct texture. Make sure to weigh your flour for the most accurate results. The second important ingredient is heavy whipping cream. Just a little added to the filling gives it a luxurious, silky texture.

This recipe makes sixteen medium size peanut butter cookies, which will give you eight sandwiches. If you want more, you can double the recipe or make the cookies smaller. Smaller cookies will have a shorter baking time.

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Melt-in-Your-Mouth Peanut Butter Cookie Sandwiches
Course Dessert
Servings
cookie sandwiches
Ingredients
Peanut Butter Cookies
Peanut Butter Filling
Course Dessert
Servings
cookie sandwiches
Ingredients
Peanut Butter Cookies
Peanut Butter Filling
Instructions
Peanut Butter Cookies
  1. Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the all purpose flour, cake flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, beat the peanut butter, butter and shortening until smooth.
  4. Beat in the egg and vanilla until well combined.
  5. Set aside 1/4 cup (50g) of the granulated sugar. Beat the peanut butter mixture with brown sugar and remaining granulated sugar, with an electric mixer at medium speed, until light and fluffy.
  6. Add the flour mixture and beat just until combined.
  7. Roll the dough into 1 1/2-inch (3.8cm) diameter balls (about 1 1/4 oz or 35g each). Roll the dough balls in the reserved granulated sugar.
  8. Place the dough balls 3 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheets. Flatten with a fork, making a criss cross pattern.
  9. Bake until the cookies are puffy and start to crack around the edges, about 9-11 minutes.
  10. Let the cookies cool on baking sheet for 1 minute, then carefully transfer them to a cooling rack. The cookies will be fragile, but they will firm up as they cool.
  11. Place a spoonful of filling on the bottoms of half of the cooled cookies. Top with remaining the remaining cookies.
Peanut Butter Filling
  1. In medium bowl, beat the peanut butter and butter together until smooth.
  2. Beat in the powdered sugar, heavy cream, vanilla and salt until smooth.
Recipe Notes

To find my favorite cookie sheet, click here.