holiday baking

Chocolate Mint Stout Crinkle Cookies

December 20, 2017 by rachelle 4 Comments

Chocolate Mint Crinkle Cookies are a delicious holiday classic. These Chocolate Mint Stout Crinkle Cookies have the additional layer of mint flavor that comes from a chocolate mint stout for a tasty chocolate mint brownie cookie perfect for the holiday cookie tray!

Have you got your holiday bake on?

I got my hands on some of this Thick Mint Imperial Stout from Southern Tier some time ago. It was really hard to have enough self-control to save some for holiday baking, but I can proudly say I did it. The minute I saw it on the shelf, I knew it would make some really delicious Chocolate Mint Stout Crinkle Cookies.

I was right. These guys baked up like little powdered sugared chocolate brownie bites with just enough of a hint of mint to make them extra special. They’re really easy to make, but you do have to plan ahead in order for the dough to chill.

I knew I was going to be going to the Birdsong 6th anniversary party a couple of Saturdays ago, so I made the dough on Friday night and popped it in the fridge. I told you in this Coffee Vanilla Beer Pound Cake post how it snowed the next day and after drinking beer at 11:00 am, I was inspired to come home and get my holiday bake on. There’s nothing like starting your Saturday with beer at 11:00 am and coming home to bake cookies while watching snow fall.

5 from 3 votes

Chocolate Mint Stout Crinkle Cookie

Chocolate Mint Stout Crinkle Cookies are a delicious holiday classic. These have the additional layer of mint flavor that comes from a chocolate mint stout for a tasty chocolate mint brownie cookie perfect for the holiday cookie tray!

Servings 48 Cookies

Author rachelle

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup vegetable or canola oil
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder I used Hershey's
4 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup chocolate mint stout I used Southern Tier Thick Mint Imperial Stout
3/4 cup confectioners sugar

Instructions

Whisk or sift together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.
In the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment (or using a hand mixer) beat the sugar and vegetable oil together.
Beat in unsweetened cocoa powder until combined.
Add eggs, vanilla, and beer and beat until combined.
Gradually add flour mixture and beat to combine.
Transfer dough to an airtight container with lid and refrigerate overnight or at least 4 hours.
When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Fill a small bowl with the confectioners sugar.
Using a tablespoon sized scoop, make small balls (about 1 inch round) by scooping out dough and dropping in the confectioners sugar, roll to cover completely, and set on prepared baking sheet about 2 inches apart.
Bake at 350 for 10 - 12 minutes. They should have spread out and stay somewhat soft.
Cool for 3-4 minutes on the baking sheet then transfer to a wire rack. Repeat with remaining dough until used up.
Store in an airtight container.

Recipe Notes

Return dough to refrigerator to keep chilled in between batches.
Using a tablespoon sized scoop, this made 48 cookies.
If a chocolate mint stout is not available, a chocolate stout can be used and add a tiny bit of mint extract to the dough with the vanilla extract.

Christmas Ale Caramels

December 7, 2016 by rachelle 17 Comments

Christmas Ale Beer Caramels are a soft, chewy treat made with Christmas Ale with hints of cinnamon and vanilla perfect for holidays and holiday gifts!

Don’t fear the candy thermometer.

It won’t bite. Seriously, it’s not as hard as it sounds! Santa’s coming and he may want something else to go along with his cookies and milk. Although, over here it’s more likely to be cookies and beer. Or cookies made with beer. Or caramels made with beer. You get the idea.

Anyway, the candy thermometer is your friend. You can pick up a regular glass one that attaches to the side of your pot or a digital instant read at your local cooking store and I’ve even seen them at the grocery.

Once you have that candy thermometer in your hot little hands, you will be armed and dangerous because you’ll realize how easy it is to have homemade soft and chewy caramels around and you won’t want to stop. No judgments here if you don’t.

Of course I put some of my home brewed Christmas Ale in mine, because that’s just the way I roll and I’m ready for some holiday cheer! Speaking of holiday cheer, we’re still celebrating the Sweetest Season Cookie Exchange all week long, so be sure to follow along on all social media with the hashtag #sweetestseasoncookies to get your party started and check out the Pinterest board too! There’s something for everyone on this list!

Cheers and Happy Holidays!

Christmas Ale Caramels

Ingredients

1 cup heavy cream
4 tablespoons butter plus extra for preparing the dish
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup corn syrup
1/4 cup Christmas Ale
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Line an 8 x 8 baking dish with parchment paper leaving excess paper hanging over the side
Coat parchment with butter
Heat butter, cream, and salt in a saucepan on medium heat until butter is melted, remove from heat and set aside
In a large heavy bottomed saucepan, combine the sugar, brown sugar, corn syrup, and beer. Stir until all the sugar is moistened and a thick paste is formed.
Wipe down sides of pan with a wet pastry brush to remove sugar crystals above the surface of the sugar mixture
Attach a candy thermometer to the side of pan according to product instructions
Do not stir the sugar after this point
Put the pot with sugar mixture over medium to medium high heat. Let the syrup come to a boil without stirring.
When the syrup reaches 250 degrees F, but before it reaches 325 degrees F turn off the heat.
Slowly pour the warm cream and butter mixture into the sugar syrup while whisking the sugar syrup gently
The sugar syrup will bubble up and triple in size.
When all the cream and butter mixture has been added, stop whisking
Return the pan to medium to medium-high heat. Let the mixture come to a boil without stirring. It will start as a soft buttery yellow ans then darken to a reddish-brown caramel. Remove from heat when it reaches 245 to 250 degrees F.
Quickly whisk in the vanilla
Pour caramel into the prepared pan, but do not scrape the bottom of the pan because there could be little burnt bits
Set the pan somewhere for at least 2 hours or overnight in order for the caramel to set
When set, turn caramel out onto a cutting board and cut with a sharp sturdy knife to desired shapes
Wrap with candy wrappers or pieces of parchment paper

Adapted from The Kitchn

NOTES:

Do not use a pot that isn’t sturdy or big enough or the bottom could scorch and it will overflow when it bubbles up while adding the cream
I used my own home brewed Christmas ale that has cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla, so I recommend using something similar or at least a beer that’s very vanilla forward
If your a fan of salted caramels, you can always sprinkle a bit over the top right after you transfer it to the pan. You’ll want to do this before it sets or it won’t stick.
I cut mine into pieces about 1 inch long and 1/2 inch thick. I just cut it into strips then cut each strip into 4 pieces. I think I ended up with about 60 pieces, but can’t be sure because we ate some of them before I remembered to count them.

Pumpkin Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting

December 10, 2015 by rachelle 25 Comments

Are y’all on sugar overload yet from all these cookies for The Sweetest Season Sweetest Cookie Giveaway? There’s still time to enter and be sure to check out all the other fantastic recipes by searching #sweetestseasoncookies or clicking on the links in the highlighted post link two lines above. I did some serious face plants after seeing some of the epic creativity my friends have posted!

I think this may be my last post for the event because I am on sugar overload and 4 days in a row is totally a lot for me! Seriously, dudes. I have 4 dogs, a social life, a full time job, and this here website. I be busy, yo!

So unless I get ambitious, the moon is in it’s seventh house and Jupiter aligns with Mars, my kitchen cleans itself, and the pulled muscle from my bum to my knee cures itself, this is my last post for the week of this fun The Sweetest Season event.

But not to worry, if you are into my ramblings and shenanigans I’ll be here next week. I found something I was looking for, so I hope to make it over the weekend, not jack it up, and share it with you next week. Fingers crossed.

Can someone please focus me? I don’t know what in tarnation happens (I’m totally sure it has nothing to do with booze), but I tend to get lost in my own head. I mean, can we finally talk about the subject matter of this post? Pumpkin Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting? About time.

This is another one of the recipes I hijacked from my gram’s recipe box and has always been my #1 favorite cookie recipe of all time.

It was the first thing I went looking for in this recipe box after my mom gave it to me. I actually just put the box in a special place in my kitchen and didn’t open it for quite some time, but when I did this pumpkin cookie recipe was what I was looking for.

Clearly this recipe card has been around for quite some time. I’m fairly certain I’ve said this before, but just to be clear, this is not a accurate reflection of my age. I’m just sayin’….

When I found this recipe card I felt like I won the lottery because (as you may have seen from my mom’s comments here and there – she goes by Mags 🙂 hi Mom!) my gram probably only wrote down about half of her recipes. She just put stuff together and made magic. I’m not sure we will ever figure out her pineapple upside down cake or that dang chocolate cake made with coffee, but I’ll be sure to let you know if we do!

Happy Holidays, friends!

Pumpkin Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

For the Pumpkin Cookies

1 cup sugar
1 cup canned pure pumpkin puree
1/2 cup shortening
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

For the Cream Cheese Frosting

1 8 ounce block cream cheese softened
1 stick butter softened
1 cup confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

Instructions

For the Pumpkin Cookies

Mix together sugar, pumpkin, and shortening
Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice
Add dry ingredients to pumpkin mixture and mix well
Cover and chill overnight
Preheat oven to 350
Use a 1 tablespoon size scoop or two tablespoons to drop on parchment lined baking sheet
Bake 12-15 minutes
Cool on baking pan for a few minutes then transfer to a rack to cool completely

For the Cream Cheese Frosting

Combine cream cheese, butter, confectioners sugar, and vanilla bean paste in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment
Mix on low until combined, then increase speed to medium and mix until smooth
Top each pumpkin cookie with a heaping tablespoon of cream cheese frosting - or as much as desired

Note: These cookies look like a biscuit and have the texture of a cake. Top them with tons of cream cheese frosting and you’ll be gobsmacked!

I received free product from Imperial Sugar, Dixie Crystals and Bob’s Red Mill as part of The Sweetest Season Cookie Exchange. As always, all opinions and recipe are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that support Beer Girl Cooks!

holiday baking

Chocolate Mint Stout Crinkle Cookie

Ingredients

Instructions

Recipe Notes

Christmas Ale Caramels

Ingredients

Instructions

Pumpkin Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

For the Pumpkin Cookies

For the Cream Cheese Frosting

Instructions

For the Pumpkin Cookies

For the Cream Cheese Frosting

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