Yin Yang Cookies #CreativeCookieExchange

Fudgy dark cookie on one side with chewy oatmeal cookie on the other side, these two halves complete or more importantly, complement each other.

This month’s Creative Cookie Exchange theme is love and hearts which started me thinking about what love really is, I mean, beyond the heady first rush and tumble of quick emotions, all the highs and lows that are often the hallmarks of young relationships. I’m talking about the comfortable love that settles in, where you can complete each other’s sentences and anticipate each other’s needs, and still thoroughly enjoy spending time together, laughing, traveling, playing. And that brought to mind yin and yang, the Taoist concept of two halves that together complete wholeness.

I’m not sure that’s something two people can ever truly accomplish, but let me just put it out there that this year, in just a couple of short months, my husband and I will celebrate 30 years of marriage and 32 years of laughing, traveling and playing together. Of raising babies to young women of whom we are most proud, moving about the planet making homes in six of the seven continents and sharing the joy of life with friends and family too numerous to count. We have been so blessed.

Since we are both flawed human beings (Ain't nobody perfect folks!) still growing and learning about each other and life, I will never complete him and he may never complete me. After this many years of experience, I believe that complementing each other seems a much more worthwhile goal anyway. Together, we make a pretty solid team. Just like these cookies. These aren’t traditional cookies for Valentine’s Day but bake them for someone you love anyway.

And just because everyone's thinking it anyway, this scene:

Note: Start early in the day to allow chilling time for the two doughs.

Ingredients for about 3 dozen cookies
For the yin:
1/2 cup, firmly packed, or 100g brown sugar
3/4 cup or 150g granulated sugar
1/3 cup or 75g butter, softened
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup or 125g flour
3/4 cup or 60g unsweetened extra dark cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon double-acting baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

For the yang:
1 cup or 200g granulated sugar
1/2 cup or 115g butter, softened
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups or 156g flour
1 teaspoon double-acting baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup or 95g uncooked quick rolled oats

To decorate: handful each white and semi-sweet chocolate chips
Useful tool: 5 in or 13cm length of stiff wire for marking where to cut the cookie dough

Method
For the yin dough:
Cream your butter with the two sugars.

Add in the egg and vanilla extract and beat again.

Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt into the mixing bowl. Mix well until thoroughly combined.

Roll into a thick log about 2 inches or 5cm in diameter and cover tightly with cling film. Put the dough log in the refrigerator to chill for at least an hour.

For the yang dough:
Cream your butter with the sugar.

Add in the egg and vanilla extract and beat again.

Sift in your flour, baking powder and salt and mix well.

Add in the oats and keep mixing until thoroughly combined.

Roll into a thick log about 2 inches or 5cm in diameter and cover tightly with cling film. Put the dough log in the refrigerator to chill for at least an hour.

Try to get your logs the same approximate size

While the dough is chilling, bend your wire around the neck of a bottle, first one way and then the other, to make a tool the approximate outline of the division between the yin and yang.

Once the dough is well chilled, preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C. Prepare your cookie sheet by greasing it with non-stick spray or lining it with parchment paper or a silicone liner.

Putting the two together 
Slice your two cookie dough logs into even slices. Use your wire tool to press down on the slices to mark where to cut them into two. You can, of course, do this free hand. But the pieces might not match up as neatly.

Use the tip of a sharp knife to cut each slice apart. Fit them back together, one half light, the other half dark, pressing gently to make them one on the prepared cookie sheet.

Decorate each with one white and one dark chocolate chip.

Bake in your preheated oven for about 12-15 minutes or until just done for chewy cookies.

Leave to cool for a few minutes in the pan, then remove them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Enjoy!

These would also be pretty cool for Chinese New Year, another holiday coming upon us shortly. Many thanks to Deepti of Bakingyummies for handling the hosting responsibilities this month!

Check out all the other interpretations of love and hearts from my fellow Creative Cookie Exchange bakers this month.

• Aloha Linzer Cookies by All That's Left Are The Crumbs
• Cheese Hearts by Bakingyummies
• Chocolate Valentine Sugar Cookies by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Dark Chocolate Sugar Cookies by Flours and Frostings
• Double Chocolate Spritz Heart Cookies by The Spiced Life
• Happy Heart Lemon Cookies by Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
• LoftHouse Cookies by Oven Delights
• Meringue Hearts by Noshing With The Nolands
• Nutella Raspberry Cookies by Upstate Ramblings
• Pomegranate, Rose and White Chocolate Cookies by A Shaggy Dough Story
• Sour Cream Pecan Sandies by Magnolia Days
• Stained Glass Heart Cookies by A Baker's House
• Sweet Heart Cookies by 2 Cookin' Mamas
• Yin Yang Cookies by Food Lust People Love

We get together once a month to bake cookies with a common theme or ingredient so Creative Cookie Exchange is a great resource for cookie recipes. Be sure to check out our Pinterest Board and our monthly posts at The Spiced Life). We post the first Tuesday after the 15th of each month!

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Holiday Mint M&M Chocolate Fudge

This quick and easy Holiday Mint M&M Fudge recipe has two layers of both chocolate fudginess and holiday mint M&Ms. Change it up to add the chips or M&Ms of your choice. It's easy to make but hard to give away. You'll want to eat it all yourself.

So, Christmas Week comes to a close with this fifth and final day. Now the actual holiday baking of pecan pies and roast turkeys begins! I told a friend jokingly today that our Christmas dinner was already cooked. All organized! And she took me seriously. Truth is, I don’t have one thing done. Oh, sure! I’ve been making candy and baking cakes and muffins but those are just welcome extras. At our house, there’s got to be turkey and stuffing. Or baked Christmas ham with pineapple, brown-sugar-mustard glaze and those weird cherries that look so cool but that no one eats. Does anybody anywhere eat those?!

The first year I started this blog, I wrote about my grandmother who always made a variety of fudges for presents at Christmas time. It was kind of a competition between her and her sisters to see who made the best.  The two I remember best were a snow white divinity fudge and a chocolate pecan fudge, both of which I’ve tried to replicate.

I think my grandmother would have been thrilled at the ease of the fudge I've made for you today. No thermometers or tricks. Just boil, simmer, mix and pour.

Make sure you scroll on down to see all the Day 5 treats my fellow Christmas Week bloggers have made for you.

Ingredients
3 cups or 600g granulated sugar
2/3 cup or 150ml evaporated milk
3/4 cup or 170g butter
7 oz or 200g marshmallow creme
12 oz or 340g semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cup or 9.9oz or 280g Holiday Mint M&Ms, divided in half

Method
Line a 9x13 in or 23x33cm pan with parchment paper and spray with non-stick spray, below to help it stay in place and on top to help the fudge turn loose later.

In a large pot, combine your sugar, evaporated milk and butter over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring often.

Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. It’s still going to bubble gently the whole time since that is the nature of sugary candy.

Remove the pot from the heat; add the marshmallow creme and chocolate chips, stirring until the mixture is smooth. Then stir in the vanilla and salt.

Pour half of the mixture into your prepared pan and spread it around.

Scatter half of the M&Ms over the fudge.

Spread the remaining fudge over the top. Shake the pan to help the fudge spread out in the pan.

Sprinkle the remaining M&Ms into the fudge. Shake the pan gently again. The hot fudge will continue to spread. Tap the M&Ms gently to make sure they are stuck into the fudge.

Allow the fudge to cool until firm. Cut into squares.

Store in an airtight container. This stuff makes excellent gifts if you can bear to give it away.

Still looking for Christmas inspiration? We’ve got you covered!

• Biscoff Chocolate Chip Cookies by Dinners, Dishes, and Desserts
• Boozy Cherries by Cooking In Stilettos
• Caramel Corn Chocolate Chip Cookies by Mind Over Batter
• Chocolate Dipped Madelines by My Catholic Kitchen
• Chocolate Mint Fudge by Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
• Gingerbread Fudge by Cravings of a Lunatic 
• Holiday Mint M&M Chocolate Fudge by Food Lust People Love
• My Mother's Lefse by Farm Fresh Feasts

Pin this Holiday Mint M&M Fudge!

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Chewy Cocoa Fudge Cookies #CookieWeek

Using coconut oil instead of butter or canola gives these fudgy cookies a wonderful rich flavor. The jury’s still out on whether they are healthier but I can tell you they are delicious.

This is day three of #CookieWeek and we have a whole other group of beautiful cookies for you.  In fact, many of my fellow cookie bakers posted recipes yesterday as well, bring our total cookie recipes to date to 44!  And we’ll be here all week, friends!

If you’ve just joined us you should know that Susan of The Girl In The Little Red Kitchen and Kim of Cravings of a Lunatic have joined together this week with 23 of their blog friends (including me!) with a week of cookie treats for you! We have every type of cookie you can imagine listed this week, including something for our furry friends! Now is the time to bookmark these recipes for the upcoming holidays and cookie swaps or simply follow our Pinterest board!

Credit for this great recipe goes to Soni at Soni’s Food.   I shifted the sugar amounts and added mini M&Ms but the rest is all her.    

Ingredients

2 cups or 250g flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons or 90ml coconut oil

2/3 cup or 53g unsweetened cocoa

1 cup or 225g granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed or 100g brown sugar

2/3 cup or 160g plain low-fat yogurt

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/4 cup or 60g mini M&Ms

Method

Preheat oven to 350°F or 180°C.  Prepare your cookie sheet by greasing it with non-stick spray or lining it with parchment paper.

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine your flour, soda, and salt.  Set aside.

In a microwaveable measuring cup, warm your coconut oil for about 20 seconds in the microwave.  This step might be unnecessary if you are in a warm climate.  My coconut oil was already quite liquid straight out of the bottle.

Put your sugars in a large mixing bowl, add the coconut oil and stir well.

Add in the cocoa powder and stir again.

Now add in the yogurt and vanilla and stir again until well combined.

Dark and chocolately! 

Add your flour mixture and your baking M&Ms, stirring until all the flour has been incorporated.

Scoop balls of dough or drop by level tablespoons onto your prepared baking sheet.   

You can either leave them in balls which will give you round even chewier cookies, or press down gently to flatten the dough before baking.   I made one batch round and one batch flat.

Bake in the preheated over for 10 -14 minutes or until almost set.

Allow to cool on pan for a few minutes or until firm then remove with a spatula and cool completely on a wire rack.  

Enjoy! 

Check out all the beautiful recipes my fellow bakers have for you today:

• Black Forest Sandwich Cookies by Cravings of a Lunatic
• Chewy Cocoa Fudge Cookies by Food Lust People Love
• Lemon Cream Cheese Cookies by i heart eating
• Macadamia and White Chocolate Chip Cookies by In The Kitchen With KP
• Maple Brown Butter Snickerdoodle Cups by Beyond Frosting
• Maple Cookies by Total Noms
• kitchen-sink-cookies by Texana’s Kitchen
• Nutella Cookies by NinjaBaking.com
• Nutmeg Logs by Love and Confections
• Oatmeal Raisin by Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker
• Peanut Butter Blossoms by Like Mother Like Daughter
• Pumpkin and Apple Dog Cookies by The Girl In The Little Red Kitchen
• Raspberry Streusel Bars by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Soft Pumpkin Sugar Cookies with Cinnamon Frosting by Chocolate Moosey
• Spicy Ginger Chews by Crumb
• Vodka Cookies by Masala Herb

Pecan Fudge

The holiday season is not over yet and many of you will need to be bringing hostess gifts to parties and open houses.  This fudge, on a pretty plate, is a great gift.  I have been searching for a fudge recipe that reminds me of the one my maternal grandmother used to make and this one, with pecans, seems pretty close.  Wish my mother were here to taste and confirm.  

Ingredients

2 scant cups or 440g sugar

1 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons or 85g butter

1 cup or 237ml heavy whipping cream

3 1/2 cups or 205g of marshmallows

3 cups or 525g of semisweet chocolate in bars, chopped up, or chips

1 teaspoon or 5ml vanilla extract

1 cup or about 105g of pecans

Method

Chop half of your pecans rather coarse and the other half into finer pieces.

Line a 9in x 13in (approx. 23cm x 33cm) metal baking pan with parchment paper.

Add the sugar, salt, butter, cream, and marshmallows to a large saucepan.

Cook the mixture over medium heat until the marshmallows and butter begin to melt, about five minutes.

Once the marshmallows have melted, bring the mixture to a boil, and boil for five minutes. It will bubble all over the place and darken slightly. Take the pan off of the heat.

Add the chocolate and vanilla and mix it all together until the chocolate has melted and everything is nice and smooth.  The oil started to separate out a little so I just mixed quicker and it seemed to come together again.

My chocolate was a combination of semi-sweet chocolate chips and semi-sweet baking chocolate chopped up from squares.  The 16 oz bag of Nestle Tollhouse morsels is only 453g and you need 525g for 3.5 cups.
This is VERY chocolatey!

Working quickly, add in your coarsely chopped pecans and mix thoroughly.  Pour the mixture into your lined baking pan, spread out with a spatula or spoon and sprinkle quickly with the finely chopped pecans.

Let this sit at room temperature for at least three hours or chill it in the refrigerator atop a cooling rack so that air can circulate around the pan for about half an hour before you slice it. 

Cut into squares. This fudge will keep at room temperature for 10 days in an airtight container.  Or on a plate covered tightly in cling film.

Enjoy!

Adapted from this original recipe.


This post has been shared as part of a chocolate/cocoa round up. Please follow this link to see all of the wonderful recipes at Spice and Sugar Tales.