I love to find ways to adapt basic dessert recipes for each season. Using flavors associated with those seasons is an easy way to do that. You can use lemon for summer, cinnamon for fall, etc. Peppermint is often linked to Christmas, though I also love it in summer for its cooling effect. (Even if this is psychological, it works for me!) Recently, I baked my Quick and Easy Homemade Brownies for a holiday party and added this festive topping. Both recipes are simple to make! This easy homemade peppermint cream cheese frosting is my new Christmastime favorite and makes brownies, cookies, or cupcakes extra special.

How to make Easy Homemade Peppermint Cream Cheese Frosting

Start with a full block (8 ounces) of cream cheese and a stick of butter. (Some people swear by unsalted butter for baking, but I use salted for everything. Which do you prefer?). To soften them, just leave them out at room temperature in a mixing bowl (together is fine). Depending on the temperature of your house, this may take awhile. My trick is to put the bowl of cream cheese and butter into my microwave, shut the door, and turn on the stove light below. This heats up the inside of the microwave just enough to soften everything nicely. You can also use the microwave (low setting) to soften these items.

When the butter and cream cheese are softened enough, add the peppermint and vanilla extracts. Gradually beat in the powdered sugar til smooth.

Next, spread the frosting over the top of your baked item. I love this over brownies– it takes them to a whole new, holiday level of sweetness!!!

Crush the candy canes inside a gallon-sized zip closure bag. I like to use a rolling pin to do this. Or use a meat mallet like this. You CAN use a food processor, but the noise is terrible and it doesn’t go any faster.

Sprinkle the crushed candy canes over the frosting.

There you have it! A sweet treat that will be the hit of the next holiday party!

Peppermint Cream Cheese Frosting

0.0 from 0 votes

Course: dessertCuisine: cakes, icings, cookies, brownies, cupcakesDifficulty: easy

This cool, creamy, minty frosting takes cookies, cupcakes, and even brownies to the next level!

Ingredients

• One 8-ounce block of cream cheese, softened

• 1 stick butter, softened

• 1 teaspoon peppermint extract, or several drops food-grade peppermint essential oil

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 3 cups powdered sugar

• 2 candy canes, crushed

Directions

• Beat together cream cheese, butter, and extracts.
• Gradually stir or beat in powdered sugar (use low setting on beaters).
• Using an offset spatula, spread frosting on surface.
• Crush candy canes by placing them in a gallon-sized zip closure bag and using a rolling pin or meat mallet to crush.
• Lightly sprinkle crushed candy canes over frosting.

Notes

• 1. It is important that your butter and cream cheese are softened. You can do this on a low setting in a microwave, but it works better to let them sit out for an hour or so at room temperature.
  2. If you don’t have an offset spatula, dip the rubber spatula in to the water before loading the frosting onto it.
  3. Add more peppermint extract for a more minty taste. Be careful not to add too much, however, or your frosting will taste like toothpaste!
  4. I like a light sprinkle of crushed candy canes, so I recommended two. Add more if you like.

The post Easy Homemade Peppermint Cream Cheese Frosting appeared first on Sweet Cottage Life.

One of my favorite memories of my mom is of her baking chocolate chip cookies. Everything, from the smell of the pure vanilla extract, to the sound of the chips being poured out of their bag, to the sight of two dozen cookies cooling on the counter, brings back such wonderful memories. I bake these chewy chocolate chip cookies as often as I can. I’m not sure why they are so good, but everyone loves them! There are just a few things we do to enhance the flavor that take it up a notch and make these cookies the best chocolate chip cookies you’ve ever tasted. (You’ll agree.)

My Mom’s Chewy Chocolate Cookie Recipe

First, use quality ingredients–the best you can afford. When I am baking chocolate chip cookies, I look for my favorite brands on sale.

Second, adjust the original recipe (the one on the back of the bag). Sometimes I double the vanilla extract. I add more flour. A sprinkle of instant coffee or espresso powder. Orange peel or chopped walnuts. The possibilities are endless! You can also try any of these additions in my brownie recipe.

Third, my mom always used dark brown sugar rather than light. When I was little, I thought this was the only brown sugar there was, because that’s all she bought. The dark one has more molasses, and a much deeper, richer flavor, resulting an even tastier chocolate chip cookie.

How to make chewy chocolate chip cookies

About half an hour before starting to bake, put your butter into a medium bowl and let it soften. I put mine on the back of the stove or near a sunny window to speed up the process. Softening butter this way, rather than putting it in the microwave, keeps it smooth.

Preheat the oven to 375. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or baking mats.

In a large bowl, measure your dry ingredients and stir them together. This would be the flour, baking soda, and salt. Sugar does not count as a dry ingredient. That has always seemed funny to me– I guess it just mixes better with the wet ingredients.

Next, add the sugars to the softened butter and mix together. You can use beaters, a stand mixer, or do it the old-fashioned way– use a wooden spoon! Just make sure the mixture is well-combined and creamy.

Double the vanilla….

Add the vanilla.. two full teaspoons, which is more than most chocolate chip cookie recipes call for.

Next, the eggs. I suggest you beat them in a separate bowl, then add them in. (Do I always do that? No.)

Now is the time for any of those additions mentioned above!

Combine the flour mixture with the butter and egg mixture.

Add your full bag of chocolate chips (I always sneak a few). There are so many different ones now! These are my favorite.

Chill the dough in the refrigerator for fifteen to twenty minutes. You want it to firm up just a little.

Remove the bowl of dough from the refrigerator and scoop out balls of dough with a cookie scoop. Roll the balls between the palms of your hands if you want more perfectly round cookies. Otherwise, just plop them onto your cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a baking mat. The bigger the pieces you shape the dough into, the longer the cookies will take to bake. However, bigger cookies give you that bakery look. It’s completely up to you!

Bake the cookies at 375 for 8-10 minutes. Always check on your cookies after 7 or 8 minutes, because oven times and temperatures vary.

It’s tempting to pull a fresh-out-of-the-oven cookie off the pan and eat it right away, but don’t do it for two reasons:

1. You will burn your mouth, and
2. The cookies need to set for a few minutes! Let them cool for a few minutes before eating.

Enjoy a couple of cookies with a tall glass of cold milk! Take these to the next gathering you go to… you’ll be appreciated!!!

My Mom’s Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

Recipe by Kim Ashbaugh

0.0 from 0 votes

Course: CookiesDifficulty: easy

Servings

24

servings

Cooking time

8

minutes

These delicious cookies are best eaten with a glass of cold milk or a cup of coffee. Enjoy!!

Ingredients

• 2 sticks (1 cup) softened butter

• 3/4 cup granulated sugar

• 3/4 cup dark brown sugar

• 2 whole eggs

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder (opt.)

• one 10-12 ounce bag chocolate chips

Directions

• In a large bowl, cream butter, sugars, vanilla extract, and eggs together.
• In another bowl, stir together the dry ingredients– flour, salt, baking soda, and optional espresso powder.
• Stir dry ingredients into butter mixture. Add in optional mix-ins: zest of one orange, chopped nuts, etc.
• Add the whole bag of chocolate chips and stir gently.
• Refrigerate the dough for 20-30 minutes. At the end of this time, take the dough out of the refrigerator and preheat the oven to 375°.
• Scoop up the dough into balls with a cookie scoop.
• Place the cookie dough balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
• Using an oven mitt for safety, put the cookie sheets into the oven and bake 8-10 minutes. (Depending on your oven, cookies may require more or less baking time.)
• Cool cookies a few minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack. Enjoy a cookie or two with a tall glass of cold milk!

Notes

• Gluten-free flour can be substituted for all-purpose flour. I love the 1 to 1 varieties, such as King Arthur.
• You can make these into “blondies” by placing the dough in a 13 x 9 pan (grease pan with butter first) and baking at 350 for 20 minutes.
• Chill your cookie sheets and silicone baking mats for a few minutes before putting the cookie dough on them. This will help the cookies set up better.

The post Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies appeared first on Sweet Cottage Life.

These are the best brownies you’ve ever tasted, and this recipe is almost as quick to make as a boxed mix. With ingredients that are usually on hand, you can whip up a batch of these quick and easy homemade brownies in no time at all, making this the perfect recipe to save for when last-minute guests arrive. They can even be easily customized to be gluten-free.

Quick and Easy Homemade Brownies

There are two types of brownies– cakey and fudgy. I prefer fudgy, and worked to get these down to a sort of fudgy state of being without being so “loose” that they fall apart on cutting.

A couple of things are really, really important to know when making these brownies:

• Obviously, the higher quality ingredients, the better your brownies will be. The most important ingredients, in my opinion, are the butter and chocolate, followed by the vanilla extract. I use real butter (never margarine), and high quality baking cocoa. Hershey’s is fine, but Ghirardelli is better. If you have a good baking cocoa you like, by all means, please let me know in the comments!
• It’s better to let refrigerated ingredients sit out for awhile. Don’t worry about the butter as you will melt it, but let your eggs sit out for about half and hour to “unchill.” However, if you did not pre-plan and need to make these immediately, do not worry about that. I often skip the step.
• Please grease your pan with butter, not cooking spray. Your tastebuds will thank you.
• Do not, I repeat, do NOT cut these before they are cooled. You are going to want to. Your family is going to want you to. Please do not do it. There– you are forewarned.

In conclusion…

What are you waiting for? Make up a batch of these incredibly delicious, quick, easy, homemade brownies today…. The best brownies you’ve ever tasted.

The Best Brownies You’ve Ever Tasted

Recipe by Kim Ashbaugh

0.0 from 0 votes

Course: Uncategorized

Servings

16

servings

Prep time

10

minutes

Cooking time

30

minutes

Calories

173

kcal

Ingredients

• 2 sticks butter

• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa (I use Hershey’s)

• 2 cups granulated sugar

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 1 packet Cafe Bustelo instant espresso

• 3 eggs

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

• In large, microwave-safe bowl, melt butter.
• Add cocoa; stir until completely combined.
• Add sugar and vanilla; combine.
• Lightly beat eggs in small bowl; add to butter mixture. Mix well.
• In separate bowl, combine flour, salt, and optional espresso powder. Blend into wet ingredients.
• Grease a 8×8 or 9×11 pan with butter.
• Pour the brownie mixture in to the pan, scraping the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Mixture will be thick.
• Bake for 30-45 min. Start with less time until you know how your particular oven will do. You don’t want burnt brownies!!!

Notes

• Substitute 1 to 1 gluten-free flour for the all-purpose flour for a perfectly-delicious gluten-free version.
• 
  Cooking time varies as all ovens are different. Check these after 20 minutes the first time you make them. Use a knife inserted into the middle of the brownies to test doneness. The knife should come out clean.
• 
  Use a metal pan for more even baking. The larger the pan, the thinner the brownies will be. I prefer the 8×8 pan, but the cooking and cooling times will be longer.
• 
  Cool at least 30 minutes before slicing. I know it’s hard….
• 
  These do not need frosting– they are already so sweet. If you want something on the top, you could dust a little powdered sugar over them, but again.. they are so sweet already.

The post Quick and Easy Homemade Brownies appeared first on Sweet Cottage Life.