The holidays are just around the corner, and there's so much to celebrate. But what better way to do so than with some delicious cookie recipes!
Food Network star Sunny Anderson stopped by "GMA" to share her trough cookie recipe, a perfect recipe to make for the family this season because you can put so many ingredients into the recipe and the cookies still turn out great.
But she also goes a step further by sharing how she transforms her trough cookies into Eggnog Ice Cream sandwiches.
Read on for more on how to make these festive holiday treats!
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 13 to 15 minutes per batch
Ingredients
½ cup (1 stick) salted butter, room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, beaten
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup milk chocolate chips, gently chopped
1/3 cup toffee bits (not chips)
4 strips bacon, crisped and chopped
½ cup mini marshmallows
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Cream the sugars. To a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or in a bowl with a hand mixer, add butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar. Blend on high until the sugar granules are less visible and audible, about 4 minutes.
3. Add the egg. Scrape the sides with a rubber spatula then add egg and blend on low until combined, stopping to scrape the sides more to incorporate between blending.
4. Prepare dry ingredients. In a separate bowl add the flour, cinnamon, baking soda and baking powder. Stir and toss with a spoon or fork.
5. Add the dry. Scrape the sides of the mixer bowl and while off, add half of the flour mixture. Turn on low and mix until combined, this should only take 5 or 6 rotations of the mixer. Stop and scrape the sides again, then add the other half of the flour and mix on low the same way. Turn off mixer.
6. Add the rest. Add the chopped chocolate chips, toffee, bacon and marshmallows. Fold and mix with a rubber spatula or spoon.
7. Bake the cookies. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a small scoop or spoon and make dough balls the size of golf balls and place an inch apart on a parchment or non-stick aluminum foil lined cookie sheet. Wet the palm of your hand with water and press each gently just to flatten the top, not the entire ball. Bake until edges are set and the center is cooked through, but still soft, about 12 to 14 minutes.
8. Cool the cookies. With sheet over a wire cooling rack, remove cookies from the sheet by gripping the cookie sheet with one hand and the parchment or foil paper on the opposite side with your other hand. With the wire rack beneath, gently slide the parchment paper off the sheet with the cookies still on top, resting the parchment and cookies on the wire rack beneath until cool. This cookie removal/cooling trick takes coordination, so think about it before you do it and easy on the egg nog.
Ingredients for the sandwiches
1 batch Sunny's Trough Cookies
2 batches Sunny's 5-Ingredient Eggnog Ice Cream, recipe below
Ingredients for the topping bar
2 cups mini chocolate chips
1 cup nonpareils (multi colored sprinkles)
1 cup toffee bits
Directions
1. Make cookies and cool.
2. Make ice cream and freeze.
3. Assemble cookies by making sandwiches and rolling them individually through the toppings on a plate.
Ingredients
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups eggnog
1 cup sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
For the bag
Ice
Salt
Directions
1. Whisk it!! In a large bowl add the heavy cream, eggnog, sugar, vanilla extract, and nutmeg. Whisk until all the sugar is dissolved.
2. Make it. Two ways:
A. Pour the liquid into a sealable gallon bag. Seal it tight and place in a plastic container. Add ice and plenty of salt, like a cup. Close the container, so that the bag of liquid, ice and salt are inside. Set your timer, ask a friend to take turns and shake it for 20 minutes or until ice cream texture. You may need to drain the melted ice and add more plus more salt halfway through. Remove the bag from the container and wipe away the salt from the outside. Cut a corner of the bag and pipe into a container. Freeze until ready to use.
B. Use an ice cream maker and follow the instructions.
Recipes courtesy of Sunny Anderson, 2019