Chewy snickerdoodles can only get better but turning them into thumbprints filled with pumpkin butter.

The truth about these cookies is that I made them in February. Sometimes I buy more seasonal items than I end up having time to use, but in an effort to not let it go to waste I will still make something shortly after and just save it for the next time it comes around. And here we are! I find myself very grateful for these moments especially now that I am overly stressed at work. So yes I made these in February and despite being off-season they were still most enjoyed by all with whom I shared them. They are snickerdoodles made with a little pumpkin spice and then turned into thumbprints with a dollop of pumpkin butter in the center!

Two years ago: Peanut Butter Ricotta Pierogies with Chocolate Dipping Sauce

Four years ago: No-Churn Pumpkin Cannoli Ice Cream

Five years ago: Ghost Chili with Cornbread Topping and Chipotle Creama

SNICKERDOODLE PUMPKIN BUTTER THUMBPRINTS

Makes approximately 1-1/2 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

DOUGH

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup packed light brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/4 tsp salt

COATING

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

FILLING

1/2 cup pumpkin butter (I used Trader Joe’s)

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine the butter and sugars, and beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
2. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the egg, vanilla, and beat on medium-high speed until just incorporated and creamy, about 1 minute.
3. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the add the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, salt, and beat on low speed until just combined, about 1 minute.
4. Using a medium 2-inch cookie scoop or your hands, roll about 2 tablespoons of dough into balls and place on a large plate or tray.
5. Cover dough tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (up to 5 days).
6. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper, set aside.
7. In a small bowl, combine sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg, and stir to combine. Roll each ball of dough in the cinnamon-sugar. Place dough on prepared baking sheet, spaced at least 2 inches apart.
8. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until edges have set and tops are just set.
9. Using the back of a spoon or your thumb, gently push a crevasse into the center of each cookie immediately after removing from oven. (Be careful not to push all the way through the cookie.) Let cool slightly before transferring to wire rack.
10. Once completely cool, spoon a teaspoon of pumpkin butter into the center of each cookie.

Source: Adapted from my Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Blossoms.

Remember when I used to participate in something called the Secret Recipe Club? It’s not reviving to it’s full form but we decided to get the gang back together for a one time reunion! I was assigned to Tina Marie’s blog The Gluten-Free Foodsmith. In all my years participating in the Secret Recipe Club when it was still active, I don’t think I was ever paired up with Tina Marie so I’m glad to have had this chance!

A few recipes that were contenders included her lentil burgers because I keep saying I need to cook with more lentils, cashew brittle because there’s a local company that makes cashew brittle in Columbus and I’m now addicted, and avocado lime pie which will definitely need to happen once it warms up.

In the end I decided to make her Oopsie Bread Pizzas. Oopsie bread is a keto-friendly low carb bread, also known as cloud bread, that I have been meaning to try for quite some time. It seems simple enough, just beat some egg whites into stiff peaks, fold them into a eggs yolk/cream cheese mixture, and bake.

Unfortunately, despite my efforts to treat the whites with the upmost tenderness when folding them I ended up with pretty runny batter and thus pretty flat bread. Less of a cloud and more pancake-like. I almost scrapped it and started pondered a different recipe but then remembered that in her post she actually used them to make pizzas and these flat versions were perfect for mini pizzas!

When I informed Bob there was a change in plans for dinner from veggie burgers to mini pizzas he did not complain. He may grow tired of eating pretty much anything after the second day in a row but give that man pizza and he could live off nothing else.

But I digress. We ended up making 3 mini pizzas each topped with whatever our hearts desired. I stuck with cheese, fresh basil, and pepperoni but Bob added some pickled jalapenos to his. You could also make a keto pizza sauce if you are trying to stick to a keto-friendly meal.

While Bob actually prefers the cauliflower crust if we are going to make a low-carb pizza, I thoroughly enjoyed this version especially because it’s less ingredients and easier to make. However despite his comment, the remaining 4 breads also turned into more mini pizzas over the weekend when I visited a friend in Chicago and left Bob to his own devices. Like I said, pizza diet.

Make sure to scroll to the bottom of this post to see the round up of everyone else’s recipes for the reunion!

Three years ago: Mexican Eggs Benedict with Chipotle Hollandaise

Four years ago: Broccoli and Cauliflower Quiche with Hash Brown Crust

Five years ago: Hot Oat & Quinoa Cereal

Six years ago: Blueberry Oatmeal Bagels

OOPSIE BREAD MINI PIZZAS (AKA CLOUD BREAD)

Makes approximately 10 mini pizzas

Ingredients:

BREAD

3 eggs, yolks and white separated

1/8 tsp cream of tartar

3 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

1/8 tsp seasoned salt

1/8 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 tsp baking powder

TOPPINGS

Pizza sauce

Shredded Mozzarella

Italian seasoning

Other desired toppings

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whip egg whites and cream of tartar until stiff peaks form, about 4 minutes. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl beat eggs, cream cheese, seasoned salt, pepper, and baking soda until creamy.
4. Gently fold in egg whites with a rubber spatula in 3 batches. Drop six large spoonfuls onto a prepared baking sheet. Continue with remaining batter on second baking sheet.
5. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden. Remove and place on wire cooling rack. (Allow to cool and store in plastic bag in the refrigerator for up to one week or continue to make pizza.)
6. Turn oven up to 350 degrees. Spread sauce on crust, sprinkle with cheese and seasoning, and add any other toppings you prefer. Bake at 350 degrees until cheese is melted, about 5 minutes.

Source: Adapted slightly from The Gluten-Free Foodsmith.

Have you heard about the Cheetos cookies from Cookie Good? Well I traveled to LA, tried them, and came back with a recipe for you!

Jump to recipe

Last year I heard about something called Cheetos cookies sold at Cookie Good near LA. At the time I had a trip to visit my brother and his family in the books so I immediately e-mailed them requesting we go and try these mystical creatures of the baking world.

As someone whose skin was lightly a tinge of orange growing up due to the saturation of Cheetos dust in my system I just had to try Cheetos Cookies!

And you know what? Cheetos Cookies are actually pretty good. Not overly cheesy, more like a salty-sweet sugar cookie that happens to be bright orange.

I had almost forgotten about my proclamation that “Cheetos cookies are curiously delicious and now I must remake it”, until I saw that today is National cheese doodle day! And I’m not one to miss an opportunity to share another Cheetos recipe to add to my collection.

Now normally I am 100% team crunchy Cheetos and never buy the puffs, but all the recipes I found attempting to recreate this delicacy used puffs, so be it.

All you have to do is crunch them into powder, mix them into the cookie dough, oh and also roll the dough in more Cheetos powder before being baked.

The end result was vibrantly orange, smaller than the original, and slightly cheesier (likely due to my liberal coating) but still worth it! Now to try it with chocolate chip cookies…

Three years ago: Salted Caramel Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Four years ago: Creamy Skillet Brussels and Corn

Five years ago: Chicken-Quinoa Burgers with an Avocado-Yogurt Sauce

Six years ago: Maple, Walnut, and Flaxseed Pancake Doughnuts

Seven years ago: Spicy Cheetos Crusted Chicken

CHEETOS COOKIES

Print

Yield: 3 dozen Prep Time: 1 Hour 15 Minutes Cooking Time: 10 Minutes 10 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

• 4 cups whole Cheetos puffs, divided
• 1-1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp cream of tartar
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/4 cup shortening
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 egg, room temperature
• 1/8 tsp orange gel food coloring (optional)

Directions

1. In a food processor, pulse Cheetos until finely ground (alternatively place in a zip top bag, seal, and crush with a rolling pin).
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, half of the crushed Cheetos, cream of tartar, salt, and baking soda.
3. In a large bowl, beat together the butter, shortening and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg (and food coloring if using) and mix until creamy. Add the dry ingredients, and stir until just combined.
4. Place the remaining Cheetos crumbs into a shallow bowl. Using a small cookie scoop, make tablespoon-sized dough balls. roll in the crumbs, and place on a tray or plate. Cover and refrigerate the dough for at least 1 hour or overnight.
5. Preheat oven 350 degrees, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
6. Place cookies on pan 2 inches apart and bake for 8-10 minutes. Allow to cool 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
7. Store in an airtight container.

Did you make this recipe? I want to see!
Tag @THESPIFFYCOOKIE on Instagram and hashtag it #THESPIFFYCOOKIE

You’ll never be so excited to eat poo than when you set your eyes upon these holy crap cookies. Unattractive chocolate meringues suddenly become an entertaining treat with the addition of a yellow chocolate halo.

Happy April Fools Day! To celebrate I give you poop cookies! Of course they are not made from poop, they just look like it. And yes there is a random gold ring on them because that way they could be dubbed Holy Crap Cookies. I was inspired to make these cookies at work one day (yes amongst my Salmonella experiments) when I exclaimed “holy crap” and my friend/co-worker Haley said that she was going to be that for Halloween this year – wear brown and a halo. Of course my mind immediately took the logical next step and went to food, deciding that “holy crap” cookies needed to be a thing (especially after a Google search produced nothing).

We spent the next few minutes trying to decide the best way to execute this delectable treat, from high-hat chocolate cookies to sugar cookie cut-outs, but the primary concern was what to make the halo out of and how to place it on top. In the end we decided that swirly, tall, chocolate meringues would do the job and all that had to be added was a ring of yellow chocolate candy coating for the halo. In my mind’s eye, they were going to turn out great.

When the meringue was piped onto the cookie sheets, they looked like they were going to meet my expectations – they were poo-fection! But much to my dismay, after baking in the oven they flattened out and cracked, which lead me to proclaim that they “looked like poo” and started brainstorming what went wrong and how to fix it for the second batch. But then I stopped myself, as I realized while they were not cute or pretty, they did in fact look like poo. And I since that’s what I was going for, why not just run with the recipe fail and turn it into a success?

But I still would like to know for future reference: when I decide to make non-poo looking meringues, what is the secret to tall, shape-holding meringues?

One year ago: Greek Yogurt-Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Two years ago: Blueberry Blue Velvet Cake

Three years ago: Rainbow Guacamole Deviled Eggs

Five years ago: Baked Funfetti Doughnuts

HOLY CRAP COOKIES (CHOCOLATE MERINGUES)

Makes 2 dozen

Ingredients:

5 large egg whites

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

1/8 tsp salt

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 Tbsp cocoa powder

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 250°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats, set aside.
2. In a large bowl, beat egg whites with a mixer at high speed until foamy. Add cream of tartar and salt, beating until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugars, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until stiff peaks form. Add vanilla and cocoa powder and beat 1 minute.
3. Spoon or pipe 24 (2-inch-round) mounds onto prepared baking sheets. Place in oven and bake for 1 hour or until dry to touch, rotating pans halfway through cooking. (Meringues are done when surface is dry and meringues can be removed from paper without sticking to fingers.) Turn oven off and cool meringues in oven 1 hour. Remove from oven and carefully remove meringues from paper.
4. While the meringues are cooling in the oven, place yellow candy coating in a small zip top bag and microwave on 50% powder in 30 second intervals until melted. Snip off a corn of the bag and draw circles on a sheet of parchment paper. Once solidified, place on top of each meringue to act as a halo.

Source: Adapted slightly from Cooking Light The New Way to Cook Light Cookbook.

With the fourth of July creeping up on me, I finally decided to dive into one of the newer cookbooks that joined my obnoxious collection, United States of Cakes: Tasty Traditional American Cakes, Cookies, Pies, and Baked Goods. Seems like the appropriate time for such a cookbook, right? While I originally was eyeing the Magnolia Bakery’s banana cake due to a plethora of overripe bananas at the time, as you may have noticed I ended up making sourdough banana bread instead. Back the the drawing board! While there were other non-cake things I was caught salivating over such as the salted caramel chocolate tart, I eventually narrowed it down to two cupcakes: lemon meringue or snickerdoodle. I assume your excellent skills of observation have already deduced that the snickerdoodles won. When do they not?

These cupcakes taste like the real deal. That is if a snickerdoodle was a cupcake topped with cinnamon cream cheese frosting. For me, I knew this cupckae was going to win the moment I saw cream cheese in the frosting ingredient list. Cream cheese frosting gets me. While I will scrape off excess amounts of buttercream frosting, cake suddenly becomes a vehicle for frosting when it’s covered in cream cheese frosting. I think it is because it reminds me simultaneously of unbaked cake batter and cheesecake. And I have very little will-power to resist either of those two things. And yes, I have made cake batter cream cheese frosting before, and cake batter cheesecake. They rocked my face off. But now is not the time for that, we must focus on these snickerdoodle cupcakes and all their glory.

One year ago: Red, White & Berry Hand Pies

Two years ago: Creamy Chicken and Herb Skillet

SNICKERDOODLE CUPCAKES

Makes 1 dozen

Ingredients:

CUPCAKES

1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cups sugar

1-1/2 tsp baking powder

1-1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cream of tarter

1/2 cup (1 stick) + 1 tsp unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt

2 eggs, room temperature

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

FROSTING

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 cup (6 oz.) cream cheese, room temperature

2-1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 Tbsp vanilla extract

1 tsp ground cinnamon

Cinnamon-sugar, for garnish

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees with a rack in the middle. Line a cupcake pan with wrappers, set aside.
2. In a large bowl (or stand mixer with the blade), mix together the dry ingredients. Add the butter and mix for a minute. Stir in the Greek yogurt, eggs, and vanilla until smooth.
3. Fill the wrappers 3/4 full with batter and bake for 18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before removing from the pan to cool completely.
4. Meanwhile, prepare the frosting. In a large bowl (or stand mixer with the whisk), beat the butter and cream cheese together, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally with a spatula. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon and whisk for one minute on low speed. Turn it up to maximum speed and whisk until thick.
5. Pipe frosting onto cooled cupcakes and sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar.

Source: Adapted slightly from the United States of Cakes cookbook.

Items you may need (affiliate links):

To promote awareness, Erin from Dinners, Dishes, and Desserts and Cassie from Bake Your Day teamed up this week with a group of other bloggers to bring you a full week of pink recipes, or recipes that are helpful in fighting cancer. Each day at the bottom of our posts you will see links to the other blogs who are helping us raise awareness.  Check out what they make and the end of the week there will be a giveaway!

For contribution to Breast Cancer Awareness week, I made a mini cookie cake dyed to be pink ombre. Even though there is nothing in this cookie cake that helps fight breast cancer, it sure looks breast-cancer-aware dressed up in it’s pinkness! You can have this cookie cake all to yourself, or share it with someone special in your life.

MINI PINK OMBRE SUGAR COOKIE CAKE

Makes 1 cake, or five cookies

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature

4 Tbsp sugar

2 Tbsp beaten egg

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

6 Tbsp all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

Pink food coloring

Favorite frosting and sprinkles

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a small cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, stir the butter and sugar together until creamed. Add the egg and vanilla and mix.
3. Stir in flour, baking soda, salt cream of tarter and stir until fully incorporated.
4. Divide dough into 5 equal parts, and add food coloring r=to each in a gradient.
5. Place the dough balls on prepared cookie sheet 2 inches apart and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
6. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the edges are browned. Cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.
7. Once cookies are cooled, start with the darkest cookie and alternate layers of cookie and frosting to create a mini cookie cake.
8. Top with a final layer of frosting, sprinkles and enjoy!

Source: Adapted slightly from Bake Your Day.