Nutella No-Bake Cookies

Here's proof I was a strange child: I used to hate Nutella.

Weird, right? But then my Nutella-loving husband opened my eyes to the glories of chocolate-hazelnut-sugar spread, and now I can't get enough. It's a problem.

In addition to Nutella on toast, Nutella donuts, Nutella-banana crepes, and Nutella dip for apples, I love using Nutella in no-bake cookies.

*Taking a break from writing to go eat some Nutella.*



This recipe combines Nutella with more traditional peanut butter for a nutty, chocolately, insanely delicious treat. These are one of my favorite cookies to whip up on a weekday night since they're super quick, and I usually have all the ingredients on hand. Plus, they have oatmeal, so they're healthy, right?

No-Bake Nutella Cookies

Ingredients
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup milk
3/4 cup Nutella hazelnut spread
1/4 cup peanut butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 cups oatmeal

Directions
In a medium pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the sugar, cocoa powder, and milk and mix until combined. Stir in the Nutella, peanut butter, vanilla, and salt and cook, stirring constantly, until the Nutella and peanut butter are melted. Add the oats and stir until all ingredients are well-incorporated.

Remove from heat and quickly scoop spoonfuls of the oat mixture onto a parchment-lined baking sheet (I use a mini ice cream/cookie dough scoop). Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes (or if you're inpatient, freeze for about 15 minutes). Store in an airtight container. I keep mine in the fridge because I like them chilled.

Makes between 18 and 24 cookies.

Here's the printable version.

The Best Christmas Cookies Ever

Here’s what I get to eat every Sunday in December:

 

The genius behind this glorious gluttony? My Aunt Dianne. Once December hits, she bakes and we eat. A lot. As kids, my siblings and I would meticulously track our weekly Sunday consumption in a competition to see who could eat the most frosted candy canes and red-hot-studded gingerbread men during the annual cookie season (it got so intense my parents had to institute a family rule that we could only take three cookies at a time).

Isn't he cute?

I don’t brag about eating 17 cookies in one sitting anymore, but my love of these treats hasn’t faded one bit. These are not your average cookie platter inhabitants. These are truly the best Christmas cookies the world has ever known (for real).

I promised the recipe for the sugar cookies earlier this month and because I’m trying to ensure myself a good haul from Santa, I’ll be extra nice and share the gingerbread recipe too. Enjoy! (And if you eat 17 in one sitting, just know you’re not alone.)

Aunt Dianne’s Frosted Sugar Cookies

For the cookies:
Ingredients
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup margarine, softened
½ cup shortening
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla
½ lemon juice

Directions
Mix the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt in a large bowl. Using a pastry cutter, cut in the margarine and shortening until the mixture resembles a fine meal.

In another large bowl, beat the eggs. Add the sugar, vanilla, and lemon juice. Spoon the flour mixture into the egg mixture and beat until combined.

Put half the dough on a large sheet of waxed paper, fold the sizes of the paper over and flatten into a large pancake, about 1-inch thick. Repeat with the other half. Refrigerate overnight.

Roll the cookies out on a lightly flour surface, to about ¼ thickness. Cut out desired shapes with cookie cutters and place on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven for 3-5 minutes (they will be very light in color). Let cool completely before frosting.

For the buttercream frosting:
Ingredients
3 cups powdered sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup butter, softened

Directions
Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat at high speed until creamy and smooth. Add desired food coloring.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies, depending on size of cutters.

Get the printable recipe.

Aunt Dianne’s Gingerbread Cookies

Ingredients
½ cup shortening
½ cup sugar
½ cup molasses (I like Grandma’s brand)
½ tablespoon vinegar
1 egg
3 cups flour, sifted
½ teaspoon baking soada
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ginger
¼ teaspoon salt

Directions
Bring shortening, sugar, molasses, and vinegar to a boil in a large saucepan. Cool. Whisk in the egg.

Stir together the dry ingredients. Add to the molasses mixture and mix well.

Divide the dough into two large pieces. Place on wax paper and flatten. Chill in the refrigerator overnight.

Preheat oven to 350.

Roll out the dough, leaving fairly thick. Cut with cookie cutters and decorate as desired (red hots are a must). Bake on ungreased cookie sheet for 3-5 minutes. Let cool on paper towels.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Get the printable recipe.

Game Day

Game day is no time for subtlety. So this weekend, as you watch Russell and the Hawks crush the 49ers (yeah, that’s right), let your fan flag fly with football favorites customized to celebrate our reigning Super Bowl champs. (Don’t worry, if you root for one of those other teams or want to cheer for your favorite school instead, these ideas can be tailored to fit your needs too.)

Up first, pizza. Rather than try to go way too fancy with a main dish that nobody wants to eat, stick with this safe staple that can easily be customized to show a little game day spirit. My family is picky with pizza toppings so I stuck with a plain cheese but you can easily use veggies and/or meat toppings to make your pie one-of-a-kind.

Ingredients

1 Pizza Crust (I like the Target or Trader Joe’s pre-made crusts)

1 Jar Pizza Sauce (the zestier the better)

2 cups finely shredded mozarella cheese

Toppings of your choice

Directions

Preheat your oven to 425. Spread the sauce on to your crust with a spoon - be sure to spread all the way to the edges. If you want to use a stencil (team logo, etc) press it in to your sauce now. Sprinkle cheese around your stencil. Use a straw to outline your design before removing the stencil. Fill in with sauce, toppings or leave as is. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

It wouldn’t be a game day party without chips and dip. Switch standard tortilla chips to blue corn with classic green quac and you’ve got a winning combination - fit for the Hawks. You can even add a little spirited flag in your dip for extra team spirit. My husband and his friends really appreciate that. [Sarcasm]

Guacamole

Ingredients

¼ cup minced onion

1 small garlic clove, minced

½ jalapeno, minced

1 teaspoon sea salt

½ teaspoon pepper

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

2 ripe avocados, diced

2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro

Directions

Mix the onion, garlic, and jalapeno in a medium bowl (always use a slightly bigger bowl than you think...it makes it easier to mash the guac). Add ½ teaspoon of salt and 1 tablespoon of lime juice and mix well. Add the avocado and mash until well combined but still a little chunky. Stir in the additional ½ teaspoon of salt, the additional 1 tablespoon of lime juice, the pepper, and the cilantro.

If for some crazy reason you’re not rooting for Seattle, you can still get in on the color-coordinated chip-and-dip idea:

• 49ers: chipotle salsa with fritos
• Cowboys: sour cream onion dip (try Trader Joe’s!) with blue corn chips
• Patriots or Bears: pico de gallo with blue corn chips
• Broncos: queso with blue corn chips

Every special occasion needs a signature drink. I like to make these 12th man mocktails for every game. Depending on how fancy you want to go, you can easily find a drink in your team colors that can be used as is or added to a basic pop like Sprite, Ginger Ale or Fresca. Garnish with a coordinating color and you’ve got a drink that’s worth toasting your victory to.

Sherman Sure-Thing

Ingredients

Welch’s Passion Fruit Juice

Fresca

Blue Food Coloring

Lime

Directions

Mix together juice, pop and about 5 drops of food coloring. Pour into martini glass and garnish with a lime twist.

Since my husband tends to drink a lot while he’s watching the game, I keep some blue gatorade on hand (pictured with a lime wedge on the right) for his refills so I can enjoy the game too. As an added bonus, he stays hydrated as he paces the floor when the game gets too close.

And for dessert, man-size chocolate chip cookies. We swapped out the chocolate chips for blue and green M&M’s and instead of mixing them into the dough, we couldn’t resist putting our favorite jersey numbers on top of some of the cookies.

We’ve included one of our favorite chocolate chip cookie recipes, but any cookie recipe will work.

Manly M&M Cookies

Ingredients

½ cup butter (1 stick) at room temperature

1 cup brown sugar

¾ cup sugar

2 large eggs

¾ teaspoon salt

¾ teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla

2¼ cups flour

1 cup oatmeal

Approximately 1½ cups blue and green M&M’s

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

In a stand mixer, cream together the sugars and butter for 3-4 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl often. Add the eggs and beat on high for 3 minutes, until the batter is light and fluffy. Add the salt, baking soda, and vanilla and mix until well combined. Add the flour in two batches, mixing until just combined. Add the oatmeal and mix briefly to combine.

For each cookie, put about 2 tablespoons of dough on the cookie sheet. Press together and flatten into a disc. Decorate as you like with the M&M’s. These are big cookies and they’ll spread as they cook, so leave plenty of space between them (I cooked 4 on a sheet at a time).

Bake for 12 minutes. Let cool briefly on the cookie sheets before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes approximately 1 dozen big cookies.

And you're ready to go! Let's go Seahawks!!

Fancy Fake: Palmiers

We all want to be a little fancy. But, if you’re like me, you rarely feel like going to the effort being fancy calls for. Really, who has the time?

Enter the Fancy Fake. Every once in a while, we’ll bring you ideas for fancy things made easy. Really easy. Up first: palmiers, a flaky little pastry sprinkled with sugar and baked until caramelized.

The reason these are so easy? Frozen puff pastry. It lets you skip the actual work without missing out on the results. Because I love these so much, here are two versions--one the traditional sweet, the other savory.

And here’s a little something in honor of our first Fancy Fake. Enjoy!

Sweet Palmiers

Ingredients
1 sheet frozen puff pastry dough (I use Pepperidge Farms)
1 cup sugar

Directions
If dough is frozen, let it thaw on the counter for 30-40 minutes.

Preheat oven to 450. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Sprinkle half the sugar onto clean surface. Put the dough on top of the sugar and sprinkle the rest of the sugar on top. Roll out until it’s about 12 inches by 12 inches, pressing down to get the sugar to adhere.

Fold each side halfway toward the middle. Then fold again so they meet in the middle. Then fold one half over the other half. Cut the folded dough into ¼ inch slices and place flat on a baking sheet.

Cook for 10 minutes. Remove tray from oven and flip each palmier over with a spatula. They should be golden brown before you flip them. If not, let them bake 5 more minutes and then flip. Once flipped, cook for an additional 8-12 minutes until very golden.

Remove from baking sheet and let cool on wire rack.

Makes about 20 palmiers. Get a printable recipe.

Savory Palmiers

Ingredients
1 sheet frozen puff pastry
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
1 ½ teaspoons herbes de provence

Directions
If dough is frozen, let it thaw on the counter for 30-40 minutes.

Preheat oven to 450. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface until it’s about 12 inches by 12 inches. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with salt and herbs.

Fold each side halfway toward the middle. Then fold again so they meet in the middle. Then fold one half over the other half. Cut the folded dough into ¼ inch slices and place flat on a baking sheet.

Cook for 10 minutes. Remove tray from oven and flip each palmier over with a spatula. They should be golden brown before you flip them. If not, let them bake 5 more minutes and then flip. Once flipped, cook for an additional 8-12 minutes until very golden.

Remove from baking sheet and let cool on wire rack.

Makes about 20 palmiers. Get a printable recipe.