chocolate

Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies with Chocolate Ganache

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I can’t believe we’re already very much in the holiday season! Christmas is 10 days away, and Hannukah started this weekend. One of the reasons it’s my favorite time of year is really because of all the cookies and baking. If cinnamony-sugary cookies (Taylor Swift Chai cookies) aren’t your thing and you’re more of a chocolate person, here’s a fun recipe you can try on your own or bake with kids!

These chocolate thumbprint cookies have become such a staple in our Christmas cookie rotation over the last few years. Even though I started making them after my grandma died, I always think of her while baking them because she was a self-proclaimed chocoholic and I know she would have loved these. I make them in her honor and it makes me happy that my dad and GM get to enjoy them too since they both love chocolate just as much.

Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies (With Chocolate Ganache)

Here’s what you need

For the cookies

  • 3 cups (about 360 g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup (80 g) Dutch process cocoa powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 ½ cups unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 ½ cups (330 g) packed light brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
  • 4 egg yolks, at room temperature
  • 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

For the ganache

  • 1 cup (200 g) semisweet chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • Festive sprinkles for topping

Here’s what you do

  1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking powder.
  2. In a large bowl, cream the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar for about 2 minutes. Add the egg yolks and vanilla and mix until fluffy, about 1 to 2 minutes.
  3. Add the dry ingredients and mix just until combined.
  4. Scoop about 1 Tablespoon of dough at a time and roll into a ball.
  5. Use a small measuring spoon (or your/your child’s finger) to press an indent into each ball.
  6. Chill the indented dough for at least 1 hour or in the freezer. I like to make these in early December and freeze until they’re just ready to bake before Christmas.
  7. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  8. Arrange the chilled dough balls about 1 ½ inches apart on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper or Silpat mats. Bake for 10 minutes.
  9. When they come out of the oven, gently press the centers again with the small spoon if the indent rose during baking. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 6 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
  10. While cookies are cooling, add chocolate chips to a small bowl.
  11. Heat the heavy cream in the microwave until just about boiling.
  12. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let it sit for 1 minute. Then, stir ganache until smooth.
  13. Spoon about 1 teaspoon of ganache into each cooled cookie. Sprinkle sprinkles to the top if you want.
  14. Chill the cookies for 10 to 15 minutes so the ganache can set. I like to pop mine in the freezer for a few hours to ensure they’re hardened before storing.

Questions for you:

  • What’s next on your holiday baking list?
  • Are you team cinnamon/sugar/spice cookie OR team chocolate cookie?

Chocolate Brownie Sandwich Cookies

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In case you didn’t notice, I’m very much in the midst of holiday baking. So far, we’ve made some graham cracker Heath bar toffee and Taylor Swift Chai cookies – with plenty more on the way!

These were next up. I asked each of my kids to share their top 3 holiday cookies, and one of FW’s favorites were these. Last year was the first year I had ever made them, and I wasn’t even planning on making them this year (like the Chai cookies!), but since they were top on his list, we made them again.

I need to first disclose a few things. First, this is not my recipe. One of B’s cousins made these cookies at his family’s annual golfing reunion, and FW gobbled them up there, so I asked for the recipe. Second, this uses a box of brownies! You can try to make them with your own homemade brownie, but I promise you, this recipe is not just easy, but it’s so tasty, and FW loves them this way. B’s cousin’s original recipe called for boxed frosting too – which you could definitely use! – but I think most boxes/cans of frosting have a funky aftertaste, so I opted to make my own and this is how the recipe has morphed into our own.

Here you go – here is the Chocolate Brownie Sandwich Cookie recipe. These are rich and very sweet, so if you’re eating them as part of a cookie tray, you may only want half of one so you have room to try some other cookies. Note that I typically double the recipe so that I have enough for us to enjoy, plus to give away with other holiday cookies.

Chocolate Brownie Sandwich cookies

Makes 1 dozen sandwiches (or as FW calls them, “chocolate hamburgers” — I don’t think that is very appetizing though)

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Taylor Swift’s Chai Cookies – Updated!

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Guess whose birthday is coming up this Saturday?

If you guessed my dad, you’d be right (Happy early birthday, Dad!). But if you guessed Taylor Swift, you’d also be right! Taylor Swift’s birthday is December 13, and in honor of her upcoming birthday – and the holidays, I decided to remake her famous Chai Cookie recipe.

I’ve made Donna Kelce’s chocolate chip cookies (here’s the recipe!), and last year I made Taylor’s Chai cookies (original version here). I enjoyed them, but it was a lot of steps and I never really got the icing to set completely. So this year, I decided to nix the cookie and it wouldn’t go on my holiday cookie plate. That is, until I asked FW to share what his favorite holiday cookies are — and he said these were in his top 3! (He also named chocolate sandwich cookies, which I’ll share the recipe soon – they’re so easy! – and raspberry thumbprints). So, the Taylor Swift Chai Cookies went back onto my list, with a few tweaks – mostly to the frosting.

Here you go – here is the updated Taylor Swift Chai Cookie Recipe. These are similar to a spiced snickerdoodle cookie with a buttercream eggnog frosting. And because of the butter, this frosting actually hardened and was great/easy to freeze!

Taylor Swift’s Chai Cookies (Updated)

(modified from Joy the Baker)

Makes about 2 dozen

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Inside Out Chocolate Chip Cookies

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FW and LM go to school early in the mornings, and on the days I work from home, GM and I have about 45 minutes to an hour to kill before he goes to preschool. On those days, sometimes we go for walks, sometimes I start working, sometimes we read together, and other days – we bake! With Teacher Appreciation Week coming, GM said he wanted to make some cookies for his teachers. I started showing him several pictures of different types of cookies, and when I showed him photos of chocolate cookies, he immediately said he wanted them. I decided to add white chocolate chips because I love white chocolate and they were a hit! Each of my kids liked them – and that doesn’t happen often. They’re brownie-like goodness with milk and white chocolate inside. Yum! Make them for you, your kids, your teachers – or just because.

chocolate cookies with white chocolate and milk chocolate chips

Inside Out Chocolate Chip Cookies

Here’s what you need:

  • 2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 1 cup white chocolate chips
  • 1 cup milk chocolate chips

Here’s what you do:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and prepare a large baking sheet – I like to line with parchment paper.
  2. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt.
  3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix butter and sugars until smooth (about 2-3 minutes)
  4. Add eggs and vanilla to butter/sugar combination and mix until well combined.
  5. Gradually add the flour mixture to the stand mixer ingredients, about 1 cup at a time. Beat on low until just combined — do not overmix!
  6. Add in chocolate chips and stir with a spatula.
  7. Scoop up the dough with a tablespoon and place on the prepared baking sheet. At this point, I like to place a few more chocolate chips on the cookies so they look clean when they come out of the oven. Mine made about 3 dozen and I cooked 1 dozen a time on the baking sheet.
  8. Bake for 10 minutes; the cookies will be soft in the center. Cool on the baking sheet for about 3 minutes before removing to a cooling rack.
  9. Enjoy! They freeze well, too.

Some questions for you:

  • Are you a chocolate chip cookie lover?
  • Thoughts on white chocolate?

I Made Taylor Swift’s Chai Cookies

/ Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 1 Comment

Note: I’ve updated this recipe! I found the frosting/icing to be too runny and never set — here’s an updated version if you prefer a harder frosting: https://icrashedtheweb.com/2025/12/09/taylor-swifts-chai-cookies-updated/. For the original recipe with the thinner icing, view below.

A few months ago, I made Donna Kelce’s chocolate chip cookies (here’s the recipe!), and after making them, realized I wanted to make a Taylor Swift recipe.

Not only is my 6-year-old daughter in love with Taylor Swift (as most 6-year-old girls seem to be these days), but Taylor Swift has a Cleveland connection – at least by her boyfriend, Travis Kelce. Travis Kelce is from Cleveland Heights, Ohio, and and we are often on “Taylor watch” when Kansas City is in town for football.

So this week was the PERFECT occasion to make the Taylor Swift cookies. Not only was Friday her birthday, but the Chiefs were in town playing the Browns! It was the perfect Taylor Swift weekend and my daughter and I celebrated by listening to Taylor Swift Christmas tunes and making her famous chai cookies.

I pretty much made this recipe exactly. I’ll admit that there were quite a few steps to make these with my daughter but they turned out great! They were like a spiced snickerdoodle cookie with eggnog frosting. YUM!

Would I make them again?

Maybe – they were good but there were a few extra steps and ingredients required that aren’t in my typical cookie recipe AND they require time to sit so they may not become my go-to cookie in a pinch. But they were good enough to share and my kids loved them! My oldest said they’re one of his top holiday cookies now.

Taylor Swift’s Chai Cookies

(originally shared from the Joy the Baker)

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Football-Shaped Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls (Buckeyes)

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Fun fact – back in my PR agency days, we had to come up with creative ways to say “Super Bowl.” We could never use the terminology Super Bowl when promoting any specials/promotions/deals, etc. Because of the NFL’s strict trademark rules, we had to say things like, “The Big Game” or “Sunday’s Game” or “Game Night,” etc.  So if you’re ever watching a TV ad or seeing a company tweet about their “Game Day Special” that’s why they’re not saying Super Bowl or even a team name.

Anyway, I digress. But as you’re getting ready for the Big Game – and looking for a treat to make to bring with you, here’s a fun idea!

I love buckeyes. I love anything peanut butter and chocolate. So if you’re wondering what I’m making to bring to this weekend’s festivities, in addition to Donna Kelce’s chocolate chip cookies, I’ll be sharing these delicious treats – football-shaped buckeyes!

If you’re not from the Midwest, haven’t ever lived in the Midwest, or not a big candy person, you may not know what a buckeye is — here’s a full buckeye recipe and explanation.  This recipe expands upon that to make something football themed. It’s tasty and fun to make!
buckeye footballs

Football-Shaped Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls (Buckeyes)

Here’s what you need:

For the peanut butter filling:

  • 1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 3 1/2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar

For the outer layer”

  • 1 12-oz package of semisweet chocolate chips
  • 1 Tablespoon of Crisco or shortening
  • White frosting or icing– I used about 1/3-1/2 tube of Betty Crocker white decorating tube icing – you can also make your own white icing, but I went the easy way and this was perfect with the #5 decorating tip

Here’s what you do:

    1. Line a baking sheet with foil or waxed paper.
    2. In a medium bowl, mix peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and confectioners’ sugar. Mix well (I use my KitchenAid) until it forms a stiff dough.
    3. Shape dough into balls, and then pinch the sides to make the ball into a football shape.
    4. Place each peanut butter football on the pan and then chill in the refrigerator for at least one hour or freezer for 30 minutes.
    5. When firm, it’s time to make the chocolate coating! Melt shortening and chocolate together in a microwave-safe bowl. I recommend checking the chocolate every 30 minutes and stirring. It’s done when the chocolate looks *almost* all melted – you should then remove from microwave and be able to stir until smooth.
    6. Remove the peanut butter footballs from freezer. Dip each football into the melted chocolate until fully covered. I placed mine on a small fork but they also sell chocolate dippers. Return the chocolate-covered football to the wax paper/foil and repeat until all are covered.
    7. When chocolate is set, you can add the laces. Using your white icing, draw the laces onto the footballs.
    8. Refrigerate for 30 min to one hour to set completely. Enjoy!

I want to know – have you heard of a Buckeye as a dessert before?

Do you love peanut butter and chocolate like I do?

Any other football-themed desserts you enjoy?

I Made Donna Kelce’s Chocolate Chip Cookies

/ Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 3 Comments

Do you know who Donna Kelce is?

She’s Travis and Jason Kelce’s mom. Which brings me to ask … do you know who Travis and Jason Kelce are?

I understand you may not. If you’re not 1) From Cleveland OR 2) A fan of football OR 3) A fan of Taylor Swift, the Kelce boys may not be on your radar. (And if they’re not – they’re brothers from Cleveland Heights, Ohio who now are in the NFL. Travis Kelce is currently dating Taylor Swift).

But we’re talking about cookies! Not football. Anyway, these cookies went famous after Mama Kelce was seen giving her sons a container of them before last year’s Super Bowl, and also gave the Today Show anchors a sample when she was on air with them. But it wasn’t until my phone sent me a link with the headline to this recipe a week ago that I first heard of them.

My phone suggests links based on my click habits – and surprise surprise, most of the links are baking OR running related. I normally would’ve tossed this recipe aside – who needs another chocolate chip cookie recipe – but I had book club and realized that would be the perfect venue to taste them!

I pretty much made this recipe to the T with the exception of two areas – I didn’t have Ghiradelli chocolate chip cookies (I used a combination of Nestle, Trader Joe’s and Target, because that’s what I had) and I didn’t have cold cream butter – I used Costco unsalted butter. I admit that I was unsure if I’d like them – I’m more of a big doughy cookie fan, and also don’t love cinnamon mixed with chocolate.

What was the verdict from my taste testers – my family and book club ladies?

They were a hit! Some guessed the cinnamon, others couldn’t even tell it was in there. Likewise, I was surprised with how much I enjoyed the texture – they weren’t big doughy cookies but they were crispy and chewy in just the right way.

Would I make them again?

Maybe – they were good but there were a few extra steps and ingredients required that aren’t in my typical cookie recipe AND they require time to sit so they may not become my go-to cookie in a pinch. But they were good enough to share and my kids loved them!

Mama Kelce’s Chocolate Chip Cookies

(originally shared from the Today Show website)

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Nut-Free Chocolate Energy Bites

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My son has started kindergarten and is in a tree nut-free school. He packs his lunch pretty much every day, and we’re always looking for new treats for him to bring for snacktime and lunch. His favorite dessert of late are these granola bars, but we decided to switch things up and create a new treat — introducing these energy balls! They’re sweet enough that he eats them after his lunch and we’ve started calling them chocolate cookie balls.

If you’re seeking a snack recipe for school (or home) that has no tree nuts or peanuts (read: no almonds, etc.), then you must try this! Please note that they have coconut, which can be another allergen, and sunflower seeds, which aren’t a nut. These take 5 minutes to make and only have 6 ingredients! Plus, they’re so easy to make, my 3-year-old daughter had a blast helping me. 

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Bite-Size Sea Salt Chocolate Fudge Cookies

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I’ve been doing a lot more baking (and running) during this time. It’s not that I have more free time – like many others working from home with  kids, my free time seems to be less than ever … but on the weekends, I take a break from work and enjoy baking. I don’t feel guilty if my kids don’t want to join me (though sometimes they do), because I’m with them all week. So instead, I enjoy baking something and we all enjoy it Sunday evening for dinner.

A few weeks ago, a coworker of mine shared that she had some extra masks from a friend who had made them. We have yet to get any cloth masks, and she offered to share some with me. She loves anything chocolate, so to thank her, I baked some of these cookies to share with her. If you like chocolate, and slightly salted chocolate, I highly recommend you try these out. They’re easy, don’t require and dough sitting, and require one bowl to make. And, if you make them the size I do, they’re small and you can easily enjoy more than one at a time.

Bite-Size Sea Salt Chocolate Fudge Cookies

Bite-Size Sea Salt Chocolate Fudge Cookies

Here’s what you need:

  • 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 cup white granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup butter, melted
  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt + pinch of sea salt for topping
  • 1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Here’s what you do:

  1. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper or Silpat.
  2. In a large bowl, melt the butter in the microwave (you can also melt the butter over the stove top, being careful to not let it burn).
  3. Add in the cocoa powder, sugar, vegetable oil, egg and vanilla. Mix well.
  4. Gradually add the flour, baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon salt.  Mix until just combined and the dough has formed — do not overmix.
  5. Scoop out the dough, and make rounded tablespoon-full size balls (for larger than bite-size, you may want to do about 2 TBs of dough) Press them down slightly (they don’t really spread, so this will be how they look), and add 3-5 chocolate chips on each dough ball. Sprinkle sea salt on top of each cookie.
  6. Bake for 10-12 minutes. The cookies will be soft and may look undercooked when they come out of the oven, but you don’t want to overcook them. Cool on a cooling rack and then enjoy.
  7. Makes about 2 dozen bite-size cookies.

Put them in a tupperware and share them with a friend! Or just eat them yourself.

Bite-Size Sea Salt Chocolate Fudge Cookies

Some questions for you:

  • Are you a salted chocolate fan?
  • Do you have masks? What kind?

 

Fresh Cherry and Double Chocolate Almond Scones

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Do you like fruit? I love fruit. Fresh, juicy fruit is something I crave pretty much year-round. When I was pregnant last year, I couldn’t get enough fruit. And now, FW is a fruit fiend. He’ll eat pretty much any fruit!

This time of year especially, I can’t get enough stone fruit. Nectarines. Peaches. Cherries. So, when Northwest Cherries reached out and asked if I’d like to try some of their cherries, I of course said yes.

The Northwest U.S. is actually known for seven varieties of cherries, including Bing cherries, the most popular cherry in North America, and Rainiers. You can typically spot the sweet cherries by their darker red skins – in general, the darker, the sweeter.

So, while I’ve been enjoying eating cherries by the handful (and spitting out the seeds … so ladylike), I’ve also been enjoying testing out different recipes using my delicious bounty. In addition to making these cherry pie bars, I have also been dabbling in the scone game (or should I say Game of Scones? #nerdhumor).

These scones are a great way to use some fresh cherries, but also just great in general. The combination of cherry and almond is great, and the dark and white chocolate picks up on the cherries’ sweetness.

The only part about this recipe I don’t like? Chopping and seeding the cherries. But, if you can get past that, then I highly recommend you make these.

Luckily, B decided that he doesn’t mind chopping and seeding cherries, so I see more cherry recipes in my future. If you don’t have yourself a B to chop the cherries, I suggest you wear clothes you don’t care about and be prepared to have deep red cherry hands for a little while!

Fresh Cherry and Double Chocolate Almond Scones

Makes about 12 scones

Here’s what you need:

  • 3 1/4 cups flour
  • 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cups cold butter, sliced into pieces
  • 1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract
  • 1 cup of your favorite chocolate chopped up or chips – I used 1/2 cup semisweet and 1/2 cup of white chocolate chunks
  • 1 1/2 cups fresh cherries, pitted and chopped

Here’s what you do:

  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
  2. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and powder. Using your fingers or a fork, cut in butter until the batter resembles coarse crumbs.
  3. Add in coconut milk and almond extract. Combine until batter is wet and sticky.
  4. Fold in cherries and chocolate. Combine with a spatula or spoon until dough is evenly mixed.
  5. Divide dough in half and pat down into two even circles about 1 inch high.  Cut into 6 triangles.
  6. Bake on an oven sheet lined with foil or parchment paper for 12-14 minutes. Enjoy!

Some questions for you:

  • What’s your favorite fruit?
  • Do you like fruit desserts?

Disclosure: Northwest Cherries provided me some cherries to sample. All reviews and opinions are my own.