Cooking Today: Just Desserts, Night Owl Cookies
By: Sarah Hickman
Updated: September 6, 2012
Night Owl Cookies
Ingredients
-Sugar Cookie Dough*
-20 whole cashews
-1/4 cup vanilla frosting
-1/4 cup chocolate frosting
-1/2 cup M&M's Brand Peanut Chocolate Candies
*Sugar Cookie Dough Ingredients
-1 cup butter, softened
-1 & 1/2 cups white sugar
-1 egg
-1 teaspoon vanilla extract
-1 teaspoon baking soda
-1/2 teaspoon baking powder
-2 & 3/4 cups all purpose flour
-1/3 cup cocoa powder
Cooking Items
-2 cookie sheet pans
-plastic wrap paper
-resealable plastic bags
Recipe
1. First make the sugar cookie dough. In a mixing bowl, add 1 cup of softened butter, and 1 1/2 cups of sugar and begin to cream with mixer.
2. Add 1 egg to the butter/sugar mixture, followed by 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Make sure you scrape the sides of the mixing bowl periodically.
3. Finally combine 1 teaspoon of baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder, then add to butter cream mixture.
4. Slowly add in flour. The dough is ready.
5. Divide sugar cookie dough into thirds. Take out 1/3 of the dough and set aside, leaving it a blond color. Add a little cocoa powder to the remaining 2/3 dough in the mixer to create chocolate sugar cookie dough.
6. Take the 1/3 of blond dough and knead with flour until smooth, set aside. Take the remaining 2/3 of chocolate dough, set aside.
7. Roll the lighter colored cookie dough into a 1-inch round log about 10 inches long, and move it off to the side. Roll out the chocolate cookie dough on a lightly floured surface to a 10x4-inch rectangle. Place the light colored log of cookie dough on top of the chocolate rectangle. Wrap the chocolate cookie dough completely around the lighter colored log. Pinch edges to seal and roll the log smooth. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
8. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut the cookie log into 1/4-inch slices. Place 2 slices side by side, on sheet pans. Press a cashew into cookie at the point the slices touch to create a nose. Repeat with remaining cookie slices.
9. Bake for about 8-11 minutes until cookies are beginning to golden. Remove from oven and transfer to wire rack to cool.
10. Spoon the chocolate frosting onto a resealable bag and snip a small corner from the bag. Pipe frosting eyelashes on each circle.
11. Spoon vanilla frosting into a separate resealable bag and snip a small corner from bag. Pipe a dot in the center of each circle to secure candies. Add M&M's Peanut candies to center for eyes.
Log onto http://brightideas.com/bright_idea.aspx?ID=128 for nutritional information.
Steven Brooks is the Executive Chef at Springdale Country Club. Chef Brooks offers monthly cooking classes at the club.
Shot in the home of Hank & Lizzie Harris of Rogers, AR.
