We're baaaaaaaack!! Welcome back to the batchiest blog out there for the Christmas baking season! Last year, we made 836 cookies, so this year, we obviously have to beat that. Our goal is 837 cookies, and we are determined to make it happen. We won't bore you by reposting old recipes, but you can of course, find those in our blog archive, and we have a few delicious new recipes for you! We hope your kitchen is batchin' this year!
This baking season, we are starting off with Butter Pecan Bears. These cuddly butter pecan bears are the cutest little sweet treat. The brown sugar sweetness, buttery cookie, and crunchy pecan accent make for the perfect cookie to cozy up with this holiday season.
Happy Baking!
Ingredients:
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup packed brown sugar
1 ½ sticks (12 tablespoons) room temperature, unsalted butter - cut into cubes
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
16-32 pecan halves (depending on how many bears you are able to cut)
2ish ounces milk or dark chocolate
Directions:
Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl – set aside
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the brown sugar and butter until light and fluffy
Beat in the egg until combined, and then the vanilla
Add the flour mixture and mix until thoroughly combined
Divide the dough in half and roll each half into ¼-inch thick sheets between plastic wrap
Refrigerate until firm (1ish hour) and up to overnight
Once the dough is chilled and you are ready to bake:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line 2-3 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Take one-half of the dough and roll it out on a piece of parchment paper until it is about 1/8 inch thick.
Using a bear-shaped cookie cutter, cut out as many bears as possible.
Reroll the dough scraps and cut out additional bears until no dough is left.
Place bears on the parchment-lined baking sheet about 1 inch apart.
Place a pecan half between the center of the bear and fold each of the arms around the pecan to make the bear look like it is hugging the nut.
Put the baking sheet into the fridge for 10 minutes before putting it into the oven to bake.
Bake one baking sheet at a time for 14-16 minutes, rotating the sheet 180 degrees halfway through – the bears should be golden on the edges but still slightly soft to the touch.
Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes, and then transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Repeat steps 2-9 with the second half of the dough until all cookies are baked.
When you are ready to decorate:
Using a microwave-safe bowl, melt the milk or dark chocolate in 30-second intervals
Stir between intervals, and heat until chocolate is completely smooth
Transfer the chocolate to a zip-lock bag and snip off one of the corners of the bag
Pipe eyes, noses, ears, and feet onto the bears
Let chocolate set before serving
Tips and Tricks for this cookie:
If your bears are sticking to the parchment paper, lift the dough from the paper with an offset spatula.
If your dough gets too soft during the rolling and cutting process, put it back into the refrigerator until fully re-chilled
If you are in a rush to serve, once you pipe the chocolate on the bears, place it in the freezer for about 10 minutes, and the chocolate should completely set
Yields: about two dozen cookies, depending on the size of the bears
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