Cookies and Cocoa

After a long day of work, and a delicious dinner (yummy turkey tacos) nothing sounded better than cookies and a cup of cocoa to finish up the day. We each came prepared with a recipe we'd been waiting to try. The first were Tuxedo Macadamia Nut Cookies and the second Chocolate Chip Cookies with Hazelnuts. Busily we set to work laying out all our ingredients. Flour-check, sugar-check, chocolate chips-double check, and so the list goes. Mixing bowls out. Aprons on. We're ready to bake up a storm...or at least a lovely sugar coma. Carefully measuring and mixing up our batter, we started chatting and laughing about our day. There is nothing more fun and therapeutic than baking and laughing with your sister! After a marathon of stirring (and letting the kids "measure" in the chocolate chips) our cookies are finally ready for the oven! The delicious smell of soon to be golden brown cookies began to waft through the house and the wait began for our tasty, hot from the oven treats! We didn't have to wait long! Soon the cookies were done, the kitchen cleaned, the children bathed and in bed and finally we could relax. It was Wednesday (our unofficial baking/DVR night) and cookies and cocoa in hand we settled in on the couch to catch up on "The City" and laugh and talk some more. A perfect ending to a wonderful day! 

Happy Baking! 
The Cooking Contessas


Recipes: 

Tuxedo Macadamia Nut Cookies 
(adapted from Gold Medal's Extraordinary Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe)

3/4 cups butter or margarine, softened
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 1/4 cups brown sugar, packed
1 tbsp. vanilla
2 eggs
4 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
2 cups white chocolate chips
2 cups finely chopped macadamia nuts

Heat oven to 350 F. In a large bowl, beat butter, sugars, vanilla and eggs on medium speed or with a spoon until light and fluffy. Stir in flour, baking soda, and salt (dough will be stiff). Stir in chocolate chips and nuts.  On an ungreased cookie sheet, drop dough by tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart; flatten slightly. Bake 11-13 minutes or until light brown. Cool 1-2 minutes and remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack.


Chocolate Chip Cookies with Hazelnuts
(from "Giada's Family Dinners" by Giada De Laurentiis)


1/2 cup old fashioned oats
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
4 oz. english toffee candy (such as heath or skor bar, finely chopped)
1 cup hazelnuts, toasted, husked, and chopped
1 (12 oz.) bag semi sweet chocolate chips


Preheat oven to 325 F. Line 2 large heavy pans with parchment paper. In a food processor, finely chop the oats and transfer to a medium bowl. Mix in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In a separate bowl beat the butter and sugars together until fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Ad the flour mixture and stir just until blended. Stir in toffee, hazelnuts, and chocolate chips. Drop dough onto prepared sheets by rounded tablespoonfuls 1 inch apart. Bake until cookies are golden, about 15 minutes. Cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack and cool completely.