White Mountain Mudslide Cookies

This recipe is a spin off from the boozy mudslide drink. The drink recipe is one of coffee liqueur, irish cream and vodka. The cookie recipe has espresso chips, irish cream and whiskey. It does require some specialty ingredients, however, one bite of these delicious gems does make it worth it. Instead of the liqueur cooking out, they have irish cream extract in them which insures that they retain that flavor long after they have been baked.

Also, the original recipe stated cappuccino chips. Guittard actually made these at one time but they have been discontinued. Instead, Hershey has come out with espresso chips which are a coffee/cocoa combination, so this is what I used. Since they have cocoa in them I opted out of drizzling them with bittersweet chocolate. The Guittard cappuccino chips may not have had cocoa or chocolate in them.

They do have another drizzle on top which is simply a mixture of irish cream and confectioners sugar. They bake up soft and cakey with a rich irish cream flavor and an chock full of coffee chocolate chips. With that being said they are hard to resist. A great adult cookie for a special occasion or for when you want a cookie with a boozy kick. This recipe makes 3-3 1/2 dozen and the irish cream drizzle just enough for 3 dozen.

White Mountain Mudslide Cookies
adapted from Bed and Breakfast Inns 

Ingredients/Cookies
2 eggs
1 tbs whiskey
1 tsp irish cream flavoring
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups espresso or cappuccino chips
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup light brown sugar

Ingredients/Topping
3/4 cup confectioners sugar
2-3 tbs irish cream
1/4 cup bittersweet chocolate chips, melted (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Fill a stand mixer bowl with butter and both types of sugars, Beat until creamy. Then beat in irish cream flavoring, vanilla extract, whiskey and eggs. Mixture should be light and fluffy.

In another bowl, sift together flour, baking soda and salt. Fold into butter/sugar mixture until just combined. Then mix in chips until evenly distributed. Using a tablespoon sized scoop, drop mounds of dough onto prepared baking sheets, spacing about 1-1 1/2 inches apart.

Bake until golden brown on the edges, 14-16 minutes. Let rest on baking sheet a few minutes, then transfer to rack to cool completely. Once cooled, prepare topping by sifting confectioner's sugar in a bowl, then whisk in enough irish cream (I used only 2 tbs) for drizzling consistency. Drizzle over top of cookies using a squirt bottle or a fork. Let icing set.  If you opt for the chocolate drizzle, drizzle the opposite direction over the cookies after the irish cream icing has set. Then let chocolate set before serving.
                                  **LAST YEAR:Limoncello Bundt Cake**

Figgy Dickens Cookies

For some reason, the idea of figgy pudding has been swirling around in my head. Not really a popular dessert, but it does conjure up visions of Christmas and, of course, the Charles dickens classic - "A Christmas Carol." Anyhow, it was time to get baking and get the idea out of my head.

I decided to use figs in a cookie with a mix of oat as well as regular flour.  The oat flour paired with the figs make these a little bit more healthy than regular cookies. Also, they are more adult and tastier than Fig Newtons. Think about a little chewy cookie with burst of brandy flavor and sweet figs.  Second to that is the occasional crunch of walnuts.  You will not find vanilla extract in the recipe nor any spices such as cinnamon.  I did not want anything to overshadow the brandy soaked figs.

One of the key factors in making these cookies is the temperature.  If the dough is not cold enough they will have a tendency to run all over the pan.  The cookies should have some height to them, about like a ginger snap, so be sure to not skip the freezing step. Also, please allow for the soaking time for the figs when you plan to make these.  This recipe makes about 4- 5 dozen cookies.

Ready for cookie happy hour?  Let's get started....

Figgy Dickens Cookies
created by Floutrader

Ingredients
2 2/3 cup oat flour
2 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
3/4 cup or 1 1/2 sticks of butter, room temperature
3/4 cup of chopped dried figs
1/2 cup of brandy
3/4 cup chopped walnuts

Prepare two baking sheets by lining with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Place the fig pieces in a medium shallow bowl, preferably a pasta bowl. Pour in brandy and let sit for a minimum of four hours, so the figs will soften and absorb the brandy.  After soaking, drain off any remaining liquid. Set figs aside.

Fill the bowl of a stand mixer with the butter and both types of sugar.  Beat at medium speed until fluffy, occasionally scraping down the sides of the bowl.  Add the egg and beat to blend for about 30 seconds.  Remove bowl from stand mixer and set aside.

In another bowl, sift together baking soda and both types of flour.  Fold the sifted ingredients into the butter/ sugar mixture.  Then mix in the soaked figs and walnuts.  Scoop out batter and roll into one inch balls.  Then place on cookie sheet 1 1/2 inch apart.  Flatten with you hand so the cookies are about 1 1/2 inches diameter.  One the cookie sheet is full, place sheet in freezer for about 5-7 minutes.

Once the chilling process is complete, transfer cookie sheet to oven and bake until golden brown, about 12-15 minutes. Remove and place sheet on cooling rack and let rest for 3 minutes.  Then transfer cookies to a rack to finish cooling.
                                 **LAST YEAR: Gingerbread Whoopie Pies**