Dark Chocolate Almond Lacey cookies (Trader Joe's knockoff)

I was recently at work one evening, and a container of cookies from Trader Joe's had been left out on the counter in a break room for anyone to try. Whoever was kind enough to leave it their for coworkers probably didn't intend housekeeping staff to partake as well, but I couldn't help myself. :0) A thin, bumpy wafer type cookie with dark chocolate looked quite appealing. I'd never seen this type of cookie before, but after my first crunchy bite I knew I had found my next love! Cookie love that is!

That night after I got home from work I went strait to the computer to see if I could find a recipe for Dark Chocolate Almond Laceys'. There were several for these types of cookies, also called 'Florentines'. I checked one of my recipe books too, and there they were! Bonus~ there are delightful shape variations for the cookies that are very simple to make!

Chopped almonds and flour mixed in with a sugary buttery syrup (not unlike toffee), a little vanilla, a quick chill to solidify the dough and you're ready to go! Parchment paper or a silicone baking mat are essential for this recipe!! Do not attempt without! These little cookies will stick like glue to anything but these. Trust me....
When they come out of the oven you MUST let them cool on the baking sheet for a couple minutes until they set up a bit before removing them. Then if you act quickly, they are mold-able into any shape you can imagine. If they cool too much and become brittle, just pop them back in the oven for a minute or two.

These shapes I created with the top of my pepper grinder (roundish) and a wooden spoon handle. There are endless possibilities for these. The rolled ones could be a lovely addition to your morning coffee or tea. Or as a garnish for a banana split or a slice of pecan pie...
Imagine little Lacey 'bowls' filled with a scoop of homemade ice cream, or a summer fruit compote... Now that I think about it I should have been more prepared with these things to share in my photos... Hind sight is 20/20... anyway I hope you get the picture. I will be adding these to my Christmas cookie baking bonanza for sure. They are wonderful. Try them!

Dark Chocolate Almond Lacey Cookies (Trader Joe's knockoff)

by The Goldilocks Kitchen

Prep Time: 45 mins (30 to chill)

Cook Time: 11 minutes per batch

Keywords: bake dessert cookie

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Ingredients (about 45-50 cookies)

• 1 1/2 cups sliced almonds
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup Hershey's or other dark chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Pulse almonds in a food processor until finely chopped. Add to a mixing bowl along with the flour, salt and cinnamon. Whisk to combine.

2. Combine sugar, cream, corn syrup and butter in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the mixture comes to a rolling boil and sugar is dissolved. Boil for one minute, then remove from heat. Stir in vanilla.

3. Pour sugar mixture into the dry ingredients and mix until combined. Chill dough for about 30 minutes.

4. While the dough is in the fridge, set your oven to heat to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

5. Scoop round balls approximately a teaspoon in size (or 1/2 to 3/4 inch in diameter) and place on baking sheet at least 2 inches apart. They need plenty of room to spread. Bake one sheet at a time until light golden brown, about 10 minutes.

6. Let cookies cool for 2 or 3 minutes on baking sheet before removing them and shaping them if desired.

7. To create classic cookies, melt chocolate chips in a heat proof container in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time until melted, stirring in between. Spread a thin layer of chocolate over the underside of a cookie and squish another cookie of the same size/shape on top. Let chocolate harden and serve.

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Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cookies

Anyone that knows me knows my absolute favorite treat ever is chocolate dipped strawberries. I have to credit Sallysbakingaddiction.com for this fantastic recipe for Strawberry Chocolate Chip cookies. She has a fabulous blog and I recommend you check it out. I got a little side tracked when I found this recipe and jumped off the diet bandwagon for a bit. But it's all good, I'll just be jumping right back on...

Sally has discovered a fabulous technique for using boxed cake mixes to make cookies~ genus idea for sure. These cookies would be perfect for a Valentines day treat, or heck, whenever you want to treat yourself! 

These cookies will bake up very very soft and it's important to let them cool on the baking sheet a bit before removing them to a cooling rack. I think they look much cuter when chocolate chips are actually pressed into the tops of each dough ball before baking, and I've specified that in the recipe. I usually put more chocolate chips in my chocolate chip cookie recipes than is called for, because I am a professed chocoholic. But I actually found that less is more when using the strawberry cake batter. I found my taste buds overwhelmed with chocolatiness and I wanted to taste more of the strawberry flavor, so I re-wrote the recipe a bit to reflect my tastes. You will love how simple and quickly these cookies will go from a picture to your plate. Gotta try em! 

Enjoy :0)

Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cookies

by The Goldilocks Kitchen

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 to 12 minutes

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Ingredients (2 dozen)

• 1 box of strawberry cake mix
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 large eggs
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips for garnish

Instructions

1. Adjust oven racks to upper middle and lower middle position. Set oven temp to 350 degrees. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the cake mix and baking powder.

3. In a smaller bowl, or a stand mixer bowl, mix eggs, oil, and vanilla. Slowly incorporate the dry cake mix into the wet ingredients. The dough will be stiff. Mix in 1 cup of chocolate chips.

4. Place cookie dough balls on prepared baking sheets. Press the remaining 1/2 cup of chocolate chips into the tops of the dough balls.

5. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, rotating your baking sheets from upper to lower and spinning back to front. Pull them out if you see any cookies begin to brown. ( There's nothing wrong with a touch of brown, they just don't look as pretty.) Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. They will be very soft. Serve.

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Rolo Cookies

Delightful little Rolo Cookies

In the midst of all the cookie recipes out there, I found this little gem and wanted to share it with you. These Rolo cookies are not just lovely to look at, but have a surprise center of ooey gooey chocolate and caramel. The recipe I'm sharing would be great for the holidays, (it makes 50+ cookies!) however these Rolo Cookies can be enjoyed any time of the year.

The process of getting a piece of Rolo candy inside a cookie isn't as hard as I thought it would be. I rolled a medium/smallish ball of dough in my hand and pushed that candy right down inside it. I then 'smooshed' the dough over the end of the candy and rolled it in my hand again. It perfectly encased the candy in a nice round dough ball. After a couple tries, I would scoop out just the right amount of cookie dough to completely cover the chocolate candy. Don't make the coating too thin, or the candy may burst out and ooze caramel all over your cookie sheet. (Ask me how I know...)

For the melted white chocolate drizzle, I purchased Ghiradelli white chocolate melting wafers. I just poured some in a bowl and microwaved it until it had sufficiently melted. I tried using a spoon to drizzle, but the chocolate just fell off in blobs. So I turned to a zip lock bag. By snipping just the tiniest bit of corner and pouring the melted chocolate inside, I had a makeshift piping bag. Drizzling the white chocolate on the cookies was super fast and easy after that. I hope you enjoy these great cookies as much as I have!

Rolo Cookies

by The Goldilocks Kitchen

Prep Time: 40 minutes

Cook Time: 8 to 10 minutes

Keywords: bake cookie

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Ingredients (serves 50)

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup finely chopped walnuts
• 8 oz white chocolate melted
• 50 Rolo Candies

Instructions

1. Place oven racks in upper middle and lower middle position and set oven to heat to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda and cocoa together.

2. In a separate bowl, cream the sugars and butter together. Whisk in the eggs and vanilla until fully incorporated. Mix the flour/cocoa mixture into the wet ingredients to make the cookie dough.

3. Roll a roughly 1 to 1 1/2 inch diameter ball of dough in your hand. Press one Rolo candy into the center until the edges of the dough are higher than the edge of the chocolate candy. Roll the dough again in your hand. It should completely surround the Rolo. The candy must be completely covered by the dough or the caramel will leak out while baking. Lightly touch the top of the dough ball into the chopped nuts. Place on a cookie sheet with the nut side up. Repeat with the remaining dough and candy until you have filled two cookie sheets.

4. Place cookie sheets in the preheated oven and bake for 8 to 10 minutes, rotating front to back and upper to lower halfway through baking.

5. Remove cookies to a cooling rack. When baking sheets are emptied, bake the next two batches. When the cookies are cool, drizzle with the melted chocolate using a spoon, or squeeze out of a ziplock bag with a tiny hole cut in the corner. Let the chocolate cool and set. Serve.

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