Bready or Not Original: Glazed Maple Cream Cheese Cookies
These Glazed Maple Cream Cheese Cookies were subjected to repeated experimentation as I perfected the dough, first rolling it in maple sugar, then realized no, a glaze drizzle was the way to go. I had to make sure that worked, too, to a delicious and beautiful result.
These cookies are something special. So special I entered them in the annual Star Tribune cookie contest. Alas. Those judges apparently didn’t deem them special enough.
Therefore, I present the recipe for your enjoyment. If you love maple like I do, I think you’ll rate them quite highly.
Bready or Not Original: Glazed Maple Cream Cheese Cookies
Equipment
- large cookie scoop or tablespoon
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 cup unsalted butter (2 cubes) softened
- 8 ounce cream cheese softened
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 3/4 cup brown sugar packed
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 teaspoons maple flavor
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
- 1 cup pecan pieces
Glaze
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 1/3 cup real maple syrup
Instructions
- Cream together the butter, cream cheese, and both sugars. Add the egg, vanilla, and maple flavor. In another bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually incorporate the dry ingredients with the wet. Fold in white chocolate chips and pecan pieces.
- Cover dough and chill for at least two hours or overnight.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Use a large cookie scoop or tablespoon to shape dough into rounds. Place spaced out on cookie sheet.
- Bake for 13 to 16 minutes, until the top is just starting to gain a golden tint. Let set for a few minutes before moving to a rack to cool. Once the cookies are completely cool, make the glaze.
- Combine glaze ingredients in a bowl. Transfer to a piping bag with small tip or a freezer bag with a corner snipped. Pipe lines over the cookies. Let set at least an hour before packing cookies into a sealed container. If stacking cookies, use strips of waxed paper between layers.
OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not Original: Bourbon Walnuts
Making homemade Bourbon Walnuts is pretty easy, and is a lot more cost-effective than buying them from a store!
You don’t need fancy bourbon for this recipe. Basic is fine. The bourbon adds a wonderful refreshing flavor. I know I’ll likely be asked if it can be omitted from the recipe, too. The answer: probably? The walnuts will still likely taste fine, but the lower amount of liquid will mean it cooks faster, so keep a close eye on things and reduce cook time as appropriate.
I doubt I will surprise anyone when I say that I enjoy candied nuts like this alongside cheese and other accompaniments. That said, these walnuts are versatile. Use them in a salad, or on ice cream, or as a snack for a road trip or during a work day.
Bready or Not Original: Bourbon Walnuts
Equipment
- rimmed baking pans
- aluminum foil
- medium pot
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole walnuts
- 1/2 cup brown sugar packed
- 3 Tablespoons bourbon
- 2 Tablespoons water
- 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- sprinkle cloves
- sprinkle kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 350 degrees. Line a rimmed baking pan with aluminum foil.
- Place all ingredients in a medium pot. Stirring all the while, bring to a boil. Immediately reduce heat to cook at a simmer for 5 to 10 minutes, until mixture has thickened to coat the walnuts.
- Spread the nuts evenly on the prepared baking pan. Bake for about 15 minutes, until the coating is quite thick.
- Transfer to another rimmed baking pan or plate that is heat-resistant, and use a spatula to stir and toss the walnuts for a couple minutes to break apart any large clumps and start the cooling process.
- Enjoy eating as soon as they are cool enough to handle. Let cool completely before placing in a sealed container at room temperature. Walnuts will keep for several weeks.
- Enjoy eaten straight, with cheese, in salads, on ice cream, or in various other ways.
OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not Original: Buttered Pecans
This Buttered Pecans recipe is very simple. In under 30 minutes, you’ll have a nice serving of toasted, sugared nuts that can be divided for use as gifts or offered up to feed people at a gathering.
Or, if you’re like me, make them for yourself and enjoy them alongside cheese for a few weeks.
These pecans are not thickly coated with sugar, though you may get some sweet globs depending on how things are stirred together at the end.
Bready or Not Original: Buttered Pecans
Ingredients
- 3 Tablespoons brown sugar packed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt
- 2 cups whole pecans
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature
Instructions
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Preheat oven or air fryer at 325 degrees.
- Combine brown sugar, vanilla, and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Measure pecans into the baking pan. Pinch off some of the soft butter and rub it into the pecans. Repeat until all of the butter is coating the pecans. Pour on the sugar mix and stir to coat.
- Bake pecans for 5 minutes. Stir. Bake 10 more minutes. Taking care, because this stuff is hot, scoop up any liquified sugar and coat the nuts. Transfer the pecans to a plate or another pan to cool.
- Start enjoying after the nuts have cooled to a safe level. Store in a sealed container at room temperature for upwards of 3 weeks.
OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not: Sock-It-To-Me Bundt Cake
I love a good bundt cake, and this Sock-It-To-Me Bundt Cake is especially good. To me, it seems like a coffee cake with the spiced crumble on the inside!
I’ve had this recipe for years and years, clipped from a pretty old issue of Cook’s Country magazine. Their goal was to make a from-scratch version of the Duncan Hines cake mix recipe that dates to the 1970s–hence the very 1970s name.
They used a food processor, and so I did as well. It does make the cake-making extremely easy, and the crumb was light and soft, as they promised. However, the cake can be mixed by hand or with a mixer. If you do, however, be sure to chop the pecans.
Bready or Not: Sock-It-To-Me Bundt Cake
Equipment
- food processor
- large bundt cake or tube pan (12 cups)
- baking spray with flour
Ingredients
Streusel
- 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter melted and cooled a smidgen
- 1/4 cup brown sugar packed
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 3/4 cup pecans
Cake
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups white sugar
- 4 large eggs room temperature
- 1 cup sour cream or vanilla or plain Greek yogurt, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks) melted and cooled
Glaze
- 1 1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons milk or half & half
- 1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
Instructions
- The base recipe is written for the food processor, but the ingredients can be mixed by machine or hand as well, though the crumb will not be as fine.
- Preheat oven at 325 degrees. Use a baking spray with flour to fully coat every nook and cranny on the interior of the bundt or tube pan.
- Start by making the streusel. In the food processor, combine the flour, butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and pecans. Pulse until everything is ground down. Transfer to another bowl. Wipe out food processor (no need to do a thorough wash).
- Now it's time for the cake batter. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In the bowl of the food processor, blend together sugar, eggs, sour cream, and vanilla until smooth. Gradually pour in the melted butter. Add the dry ingredient mix, pulsing until just combined.
- Pour about half the batter into the bundt pan. Sprinkle the streusel to cover. Pour on the other half of the batter. Smooth out the top.
- Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until a toothpick plunged into the center comes out clean. Cool for about 20 minutes, then carefully invert onto a rack to cool.
- After the cake is fully cool, mix up the glaze. The result should be thick and smooth. Place cake on cutting board or serving dish. Drizzle glaze over cake so it oozes down the sides. Let set about 2 hours, speeding the process in fridge, if desired.
- Slice and serve. Keeps well at room temperature for at least 4 days. Cake pieces can also be individually wrapped and frozen.
OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not: Almond Crinkle Cookies
These Almond Crinkle cookies achieve a bold almond flavor through a combination of almond flour and almond extract. Do note that they are not gluten-free, as they also include regular all-purpose flour!
I found these cookies to be pleasantly chewy. And, of course, they are a little messy thanks to a coating of confectioners’ sugar.
Modified from Better Homes & Gardens December 2023 issue.
Bready or Not: Almond Crinkle Cookies
Equipment
- plastic wrap
- small cookie scoop or teaspoon
- parchment paper
Ingredients
Dough
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 1/4 cups white sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup almond flour sifted
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Topping
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
Instructions
- In a large bowl, beat together butter and white sugar until fluffy. Follow up with the eggs, vanilla, and almond extract.
- In another bowl, combine the two flours along with the baking powder and salt.
- Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the wet, scraping the bottom of the bowl to incorporate everything. At this point, wrap the dough in plastic to chill for at least an hour, or freeze dough for later.
- When ready to bake, preheat oven at 350 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Measure the confectioners’ sugar into a small bowl.
- Use a small cookie scoop or spoon to shape small balls of dough. Roll in confectioners’ sugar to coat. Place spaced out on parchment-covered sheet.
- Bake for 13 to 15 minutes. Let set a few minutes then transfer to a rack to fully cool. Store cookies in a sealed container at room temperature.
OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not: Cinnamon Streusel Cookies
These Cinnamon Streusel Cookies have a unique look and flavor.
The base tastes like a sugar cookie. What makes it special is the streusel filling, which spreads out during the baking process, effectively spreading out the warm flavor and crunchy texture as well.
In the recipe, I emphasize the need to make deep wells within the dough balls. Really heap that filling in there! It may look like a lot at that stage, but as I noted above, the streusel spreads out. You don’t want to end up with almost naked cookies.
Bready or Not: Cinnamon Streusel Cookies
Equipment
- parchment paper
- large cookie scoop or tablespoon
Ingredients
Topping
- 1 Tablespoon white sugar
- 2/3 cup pecans finely chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter melted
Dough
- 2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 5 Tablespoons shortening cut into pieces
- 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 1 1/4 cup white sugar
- 2 large eggs
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Mix the topping: in a bowl, combine the sugar, pecans, cinnamon, and butter. Set aside.
- Mix the dough: In a medium bowl, combine flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat together shortening and sugar. Mix in the melted butter. Beat in the eggs. Gradually mix in the dry ingredients to form a soft dough.
- Use a large cookie scoop or tablespoon to form a ball of dough. Place on parchment and press a thumb into the middle to form a deep well. (If the dough is sticky, put some water in a saucer and moisten thumb before using it to create the wells.) Form deep wells with each ball of dough. Fill wells with a heap of streusel topping.
- Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, until cookies are just turning golden. Let rest a few minutes on sheet, then transfer to a rack to fully cool.
- Store in a sealed container at room temperature.




















