Oreo Ice Cream

One of my favorite treats in the summer is homemade ice cream. We've made almost every summer for as long as I can remember. My dad is the designated ice cream maker in the family :) He usually makes raspberry or strawberry, but this year we decided to mix it up a little and made oreo ice cream. It was so good. Sometimes homemade ice cream can end up a little too creamy but this is a really good recipe to use as your base, and then add whatever you want to it. This recipe makes 5 quarts, but you could scale it down to make less.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups milk

2 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 t salt

2 1/2 cups half and half

1 1/2 T vanilla extract

5 cups whipping cream

25-30 oreo cookies, crumbled

additonal oreo cookies to serve, if desired

Directions:

Scald milk until bubbles form around edge. Remove from heat. Add sugar and salt. Stir until dissolved. Stir in half and half, vanilla, and whipping cream. Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes. Freeze according to ice cream maker instructions. After frozen, stir in oreo cookies. To serve, spoon into bowl and top with additional crumbled cookies or a whole cookie.

Mint Oreo Truffles

I came across this recipe a few weeks ago on one of my favorite sites, Bakerella. If you haven't been to her blog before, you should because her creations are seriously amazing. One of my favorite flavor combinations is mint and chocolate and with St Patricks day coming up, it was the perfect time to make them. They were pretty easy to make and turned out so good. It was my first attempt at truffle making though so they didn't turn out as smooth and pretty as I hoped they would. Don't look too closely! ;)

Ingredients:

1 package (1lb 1oz) Double Stuff Oreos- Cool Mint Flavor (**I could only find regular mint oreos, not double stuff so I used these proportions instead so the consistency was right**)

1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, room temperature

chocolate bark or candy coating

Directions:

If using double stuff oreos, used 22 cookies with cream centers and 10 cookies with the cream centers removed. Finely crush the cookies in a food processor or a ziploc bag with a rolling pin. Stir in cream cheese. Use the back of a large spoon to help mash the two together completely.

Roll the mixture into 1' balls and place on wax paper covered cookie sheet. Place covered in freezer or refrigerator for a few minutes to help retain shape when dipping in melted chocolate.

Melt chocolate as directed on the package and then dip balls into chocolate, tap off extra and set aside on wax paper covered cookie sheet to dry.

For decorations, melt chocolate and put it in a ziploc bag. Cut off the tip and either drizzle over the truffles or to make shamrocks, on a sheet of wax paper, draw three dots and a line down the middle. Using a toothpick, drag until it looks like a shamrock.

Molten Chocolate Cakes

This recipe is also from this cookbook. This is seriously one of my favorite desserts I have made. The cakes were so gooey and dense and chocolately. Like a really rich brownie. Next time I make them though, I will make sure to butter and sugar the tins more and cook them a little longer. (Some of mine came out a little too gooey. More of a little pile than a mini cake :) One batch makes 6 cakes.

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for muffin tins
1/3 cup granulated sugar, plus more for muffin tins
3 large eggs
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Whipped Cream, for serving

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Generously butter 6 cups of a standard muffin tin. Dust with granulated sugar, and tap out excess. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and granulated sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. With the mixer on low speed, beat in flour and salt until just combined. Beat in chocolate until just combined. Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups.

Place muffin tin on a baking sheet; bake just until tops of the cakes no longer jiggle when the pan is lightly shaken, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven; let stand 10 minutes.

To serve, turn out cakes, and place on serving plates, bottom sides up. Dust with confectioners' sugar, and serve with whipped cream, if desired.

Football Chocolate Sandwich Cookies

For the Superbowl, Callie and I wanted to make a fun dessert. After looking all over for a good recipe, we decided to make a dessert we've already made before, but with a festive spin. We used Martha's recipe for the chocolate sandwich cookies. Then we cut a notecard in the shape of a football and cut around it to cut the rolled out dough. After the cookies were baked, cooled, and filled, we made a little royal icing and piped some stitches on each of the footballs using a plastic baggie with the corner cut off. We served them with mint chip ice cream. We doubled the dough recipe and it made about 15 sandwiches.

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

I have been wanting to make red velvet cupcakes for a while and I decided that Valentines day was the perfect time to make them! I used this recipe by Paula Deen. The recipe makes 24 cupcakes. That was kind of a lot for just our family so I halved it. They turned out great and I think they are a cute and festive dessert for Valentines day!

Ingredients for the Cupcakes:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cocoa powder

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
2 large eggs, room temperature

2 tablespoons red food coloring

1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Ingredients for the Frosting:

1 pound cream cheese, softened

2 sticks butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 cups confectioner's sugar

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 (12-cup) muffin pans with cupcake papers.

In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. In a large bowl gently beat together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla with a handheld electric mixer. Add the sifted ingredients to the wet and mix until smooth and thoroughly combined.

Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake tins, about 2/3 filled. Bake in oven for about 20 to 22 minutes, turning the pans once, half way through. Test the cupcakes with a toothpick for doneness. Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together until smooth. Add the sugar on low speed, beat until incorporated. Increase the speed to high and mix until very light and fluffy.

(Optional: Garnish with chopped pecans and a fresh raspberry or strawberry)

Easy Granola

We got this recipe as part of a christmas gift from a neighbor. They gave us a bag of it and attached the recipe. It is a really good granola recipe. I like that it's more of a chewy consistency rather than super crunchy. It's so good with yogurt, milk, or just by itself as a snack.



Ingredients:

6 cups oats
3/4 cup honey
1/2 cup oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons vanilla
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup raisins (optional)
1 cup almonds, chopped (optional)

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Spread onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes or until golden in color. Let cool. Break up into chunks.

Chocolate Chip Mexican Wedding Cakes

I made these cookies a few weeks ago for my mom to take to a charity lunch. This is one of my favorite cookie recipes. They are like miniature chocolate chip cookies with a twist. They have only a few ingredients and I love the warm flavor the cinnamon gives them. They have a smooth, almost flaky texture. They are super easy to make but are also pretty enough to be served at a party. You can use any kind of nuts you want. I have made them with pecans and hazelnuts. Also, they don't brown as they bake so just bake them for the given time and they should be done.



Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup finely chopped nuts
2 to 2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 cups (12-ounce package) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Beat butter and sugar in large mixer bowl until creamy. Beat in vanilla extract. Gradually beat in flour, nuts, and cinnamon. Stir in 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips. Roll dough into 1-inch balls; place on ungreased baking sheets.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until set and light golden brown on bottom. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Microwave remaining chocolate chips in heavy-duty plastic bag for 30 seconds; knead. Microwave at 10 to 15 second intervals, kneading until smooth. (*Note: I usually just melt the chocolate in a small bowl and then transfer it to a plastic bag. It's easier to tell if it is all melted that way) Cut a tiny corner from bag; squeeze to drizzle over cookies. Refrigerate cookies for about 5 minutes or until chocolate is set. Store at room temperature in an airtight container.

White Chocolate Macademia Nut Cookies

Macadamia nut cookies are one of my favorites. But when I saw this recipe on a blog, I realized that even though they are one of my favorites, I had never made them. So I decided to make them. They turned out really well. They were soft and chewy and the flavor was perfect. I would definitely recommend making them.

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup butter, melted

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup white sugar

1 egg

1 egg yolk

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 cup chopped macadamia nuts

2 cups white chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Combine the four, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl, then set aside. Beat together the melted butter, brown sugar, white sugar, egg, egg yolk, and vanilla with a mixer until creamy.

Gradually add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture until just mixed. Stir in the macadamia nuts and white chocolate chips by hand. Drop by the spoonful onto a greased or lined baking sheet.

Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the edges look golden brown. Cool on the baking sheet for at least 4-5 minutes (so cookies can set) before moving to rack.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Suprise Cookies

When I saw this recipe, I knew it would be a hit with the Payne family. We all like peanut butter and chocolate desserts so I thought I'd try them out. They turned out to be a little time consuming with having to divide both the dough and filling into 32 equal balls, but they were definitely worth it. They were so good and soft and the peanut butter middle was super soft and delicious.

Chocolate Cookies:

Ingredients:

1 & 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 egg
1 Tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

Stir together flour, cocoa, and baking soda. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, mix butter, sugar, brown sugar, and peanut butter. Add egg, milk, and vanilla, beating well. Beat in as much flour mixture as possible using a mixer. Stir in the remaining flour mixture. Form into 32 balls, about 1 & 1/4 inches in diameter. Set aside.

Peanut Butter Filling:

Ingredients:

3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 Tablespoons granulated sugar

Directions:

Beat together powdered sugar and peanut butter until smooth. Knead by hand if necessary. Shape into 32 balls.

Preheat oven to 350°. Slightly flatten a chocolate dough ball and top with a peanut butter filling ball. Shape the chocolate dough completely around the peanut butter dough. Roll into a ball.

Repeat with remaining dough.

Place cookies 2 inches apart on an ungreased baking pan. Lightly flatten cookies with a glass dipped in the sugar.

Bake for about 8 minutes or just until set. The cookie surfaces should be slightly cracked. Cool on pan for about a minute. Then, transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Vanilla Cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream Frosting

The other day I was in the mood to make some cupcakes, but didn't want to make anything too tricky. I decided to just make some vanilla cupcakes using a recipe from joyofbaking.com, with a simple buttercream frosting. I used a basic vanilla frosting recipe from the food network website, but substituted the vanilla extract for strawberry extract. They were super simple and easy but they tasted good and turned out pretty cute.

Ingredients:
Vanilla Cupcakes:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 cup granulated white sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Zest of 1 large lemon (optional)
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup milk

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and lightly butter or line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract and lemon zest.

In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and milk, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Evenly fill the muffin cups with the batter and bake for about 18-20 minutes or until nicely browned and a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Once the cupcakes have completely cooled, frost with icing.

Strawberry Buttercream Frosting:
Ingredients:
3 cups confectioners' sugar
1 cup butter
strawberry extract (**I didn't measure how much I used, I just added it until it tasted right. It probably ended up being about 1 teaspoon)
1 to 2 tablespoons whipping cream
pink or red food coloring

Directions:
In a standing mixer fitted with a whisk, mix together sugar and butter. Mix on low speed until well blended and then increase speed to medium and beat for another 3 minutes.
Add extract, food coloring, and cream and continue to beat on medium speed for 1 minute more, adding more cream if needed for spreading consistency.

Pink Lemonade Cupcakes

When I saw this cupcake recipe on a baking blog I thought they were so cute and was curious to see how they tasted. They sounded so unique. They turned out to be really good. The cake is super moist and really does taste like pink lemonade. It sounds kind of weird, but its not too different than a lemon cake. But the frosting is pretty sweet so next time I'll probably use less so they aren't so sugary.

Cupcakes

Ingredients:
1 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
Pinch salt
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/4 c. vegetable oil
2 egg whites
1/3 c. thawed frozen Pink Lemonade Concentrate
1/4 c. buttermilk
2 or more drops red food coloring

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line muffin pan with liners.

In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, oil, egg whites and lemonade concentrate. Alternately whisk in flour mixture and buttermilk, making three additions of flour mixture and two of buttermilk, beating until just smooth. Add just enough food coloring to turn the batter a light shade of pink.

Scoop batter into liners (fill about three-fourths full). Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until tops of cupcakes spring back when lightly touched. Let cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool completely on rack. Top cooled cupcakes with frosting (see below).

Lemonade Buttercream:
3 c. + 3 Tbsp. confectioner’s sugar
1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature
1/8 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. pink lemonade concentrate
Red food coloring

Add the butter, confectioner’s sugar, salt, lemon juice, and a few drops of food coloring to the stand mixer and mix on low using the paddle attachment until combined. Turn the speed to med-high until the buttercream is fluffy and uniformly pink. Pipe or spread onto cooled cupcakes.

Lemon Scented Mini Cheesecakes

I have been wanting to learn to make cheesecake for a while now but it always seemed so difficult. When I saw this recipe on a blog I decided to try it since it didn't seem too hard. They turned out really moist and the hint of lemon was a perfect addition to the cheesecake flavor.

Ingredients:

1 sleeve honey graham crackers, crushed to fine crumbs

3 to 4 tablespoons of butter, melted

2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

small splash of vanilla

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two 24 tin mini muffin tins with paper liners (*I used a regular muffin tin and it made about 12 cheesecakes) . In a small bowl, mix the graham cracker crumbs with melted butter, stir with a fork until just moistened. Spoon about 1/2 teaspoon of crumbs (*I ended up using more because I used a bigger muffin tin) into each liner and pack down. Bake the crusts for about 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, cream together the cream cheese, sugar, eggs, lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla extract until well combined. Top each crust with the mixture, filling the cups almost to the top. Bake for 15 minutes. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely. Top each cheesecake with topping of choice. Chill in the fridge for an hour before serving.

Root Beer Float Cupcakes

I saw these cupcakes on a blog a while ago and I thought they sounded interesting. Since root beer is one of my favorite treats, (weird. I know :)I was curious to see how well the flavor translated into a cupcake. I was really happy with the way they turned out. (*note: they didn't rise very much when they cooked, so make sure you fill the liners pretty full with the batter)


Ingredients:

Cupcakes:
1 cup rootbeer soda
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons root beer extract
1 1/3 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line a dozen cupcake tins with papers liners.

Combine the soda and vinegar and let stand for a few minutes. Add in the sugar and oil, whisking vigorously until slightly frothy. Integrate the extracts, and gently add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, being careful not to overmix. Distribute the batter evenly between the prepared tins, fill the cupcake liners approximately 3/4 of the way to the top. Bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow them to cool completely before proceeding to the ganache.

Ingredients:

Ganache:
5 oz. dark chocolate (*I used semisweet chocolate chips)
1/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon maple syrup

Directions:
Combine the above in a microwave-safe container and heat for about a minute. Stir thoroughly. If it isn't completely melted, return to the microwave for 15 seconds at a time, watching carefully to ensure that it doesn't burn. Drizzle ganache in squiggles over the cupcakes. (*I piped it on with a plastic bag) Allow ganache squiggles to fully cool before preparing the frosting.

Ingredients:

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting:
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon milk

Directions:
In a standing mixer fitted with a whisk, mix together sugar and butter. Mix on low speed until well blended and then increase speed to medium and beat for another 3 minutes. Add vanilla and milk and continue to beat on medium speed for 1 minute more, adding more milk if needed for correct consistency. Pipe onto cupcakes.

Cookie Dough Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

I was browsing recipes on the internet the other day and came across this recipe for Cookie Dough Cupcakes. They sounded interesting so I decided to make them and I was SO glad I did! (I think Tyler and Colton were too!) I know they sound kind of weird but they are seriously so good! (not exactly healthy, but still really good!) I wasn't sure how the cookie dough in the middle didn't cook in the oven, but the trick is to freeze the cookie dough first so it stays soft.

Ingredients:

Cupcakes

24 paper liners for cupcake pans (2 1/2-inch size)

1 package (18.25 ounces) plain yellow cake mix

1 package (3.4 ounces) vanilla instant pudding mix

1 cup whole milk

1 cup vegetable oil

4 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 package (1 pound) frozen cookie dough

Chocolate Buttercream

8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

3 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

3 to 5 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions
Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 24 cupcake cups with paper liners. Set the pans aside.Place the cake mix, pudding mix, milk, oil, eggs, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more, scraping down the sides again if needed. The batter should look well blended. Spoon or scoop a heaping 1/4 cup batter into each lined cupcake cup, filling it two thirds of the way full. (You will get between 22 and 24 cupcakes; remove the empty liners, if any.)

Cut the frozen dough pieces in half to make 24 pieces. Place a frozen cookie dough piece on top of each cupcake. Place the pans in the oven.

Bake the cupcakes until they are golden and spring back when lightly pressed with your finger, 23 to 27 minutes. Remove the pans from the oven and place them on wire racks to cool for five minutes. Run a dinner knife around the edges of the cupcake liners, lift the cupcakes up from the bottoms of the cups using the end of the knife, and pick them out of the cups carefully with your fingertips. Place them on a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes before frosting. They may sink a bit in the center.

While the cupcakes cook, prepare the Chocolate Buttercream.

Place the butter and cocoa powder in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed until the mixture is soft and well combined, 30 seconds.Stop the machine and add the confectioners' sugar, three tablespoons of the milk, and the vanilla. Blend with the mixer on low speed until the sugar is incorporated, one minute. Increase the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy, one minute more. Add one to two tablespoons more milk if the frosting is too stiff.Place a heaping tablespoon of frosting on each cupcake and swirl to spread it out with a short metal spatula or a spoon, taking care to cover the tops completely. The cupcakes are ready to serve.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Icing

The other day I was in the mood to bake and I decided to make these cupcakes from the Barefoot Contessa at Home recipe book. I'm so glad I did :) They turned out really good and were so moist. I halfed the recipe for the cupcakes so it only made about 10 but made the original amount of the icing so that I could pipe it on instead of just spreading it with a knife. They are pretty rich but so worth it :)

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

2/3 cup granulated sugar

2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 cup buttermilk (*I just used regular milk)

1/2 cup sour cream

2 tablespoons strongly brewed coffee

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup good cocoa powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Peanut Butter Icing, recipe follows

Chopped salted peanuts or mini chocolate chips for decoration (optional)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a standard muffin pan with paper liners. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and 2 sugars on high speed until light and fluffy, approximately 5 minutes. Lower the speed to medium and add the eggs, one at a time. Now add the vanilla, and mix well.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, sour cream, and coffee. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt.

Now, with the mixer on low speed, alternate adding the buttermilk mixture with the flour mixture (add the buttermilk mixture in 2 additions and the flour mixture in 3.) Mix only until blended. Give the batter a few gentle stirs with a rubber spatula just to make sure all the dry ingredients are incorporated.

Use a standard ice cream scoop (or two spoons) to fill the muffin tins; they should be about 3/4 full.Bake for about 20 minutes, until the tops spring back when gently pressed or a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Don’t overbake — better to err on the side of caution and check them a little early.

Cool for 10 minutes, remove from the pans, and allow to cool completely before frosting. Frost each cupcake with Peanut Butter Icing and sprinkle with chopped peanuts or mini chocolate chips, if desired.

Peanut Butter Icing:

Ingredients:

1 cup confectioners’ sugar

1 cup creamy peanut butter

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/3 cup heavy cream

Directions

In the bowl of a mixer, mix together the confectioner’s sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and salt on medium-low speed with the paddle attachment. When well blended, add the heavy cream and continue mixing on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth.

Dark-Chocolate Cookies

I made these the other night. They were actually really fun to make. I got this recipe off of Martha's website. I love dark chocolate and these did not disappoint! Really chocolatey, but a little bit bitter and not too sweet. I put them in the fridge to store them and they were even better cold! One of the best cookies I've had in a while! (and I'm not really a cookie person) I want to get some round cookie cutters with a scalloped edge and make them again! One note though: next time I'll either double the recipe for the cookies or else half the recipe for the filling, because I had about twice as much filling as I needed! I don't think anybody minded though;) Also, I think the main key to these is keeping the dough really cold. I had to stick mine back in the freezer a few times!

Dark-Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients:

FOR THE COOKIES
3/4 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for surface
1/3 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 ounces (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

FOR THE FILLING
4 ounces dark chocolate (at least 70 percent cacao), finely chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Make the cookies: Whisk together flour, cocoa, and salt in a bowl. In another bowl, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Gradually add flour mixture, beating to combine. Shape dough into 2 disks, wrap each in plastic, and freeze until firm, about 15 minutes.

2. Working with 1 disk at a time, roll out dough to 1/8-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Using a 1 1/2-inch biscuit cutter, cut out rounds. (Return dough to freezer if it softens.) Space rounds 1 inch apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Freeze until firm, about 15 minutes. Brush off excess flour.

3. Bake cookies, rotating sheets once, until edges are firm, 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer cookies, on parchment, to a wire rack, and let cool completely.

4. Meanwhile, make the filling: Place chocolate in a medium bowl. Heat cream, sugar, and salt in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring until sugar and salt dissolve. Pour over chocolate. Let stand for 10 minutes. Gently stir until smooth. Let stand until firm enough to spread, about 15 minutes.

5. Spread 1 1/2 teaspoons filling on half the cookies. Top with remaining cookies. (Assembled cookies can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.)