As I’ve mentioned, It’s been quite a while since I spent much time in the kitchen, let alone since I’ve baked something. On Sunday I was determined to break this spell and just get in there and do it. I had high hopes for what this little act of baking could do for me and my spirits.
I have a long list of cookies I hope to bake this holiday season, but I’ve been especially interested in something chocolate and salty. Lucky for me, the ladies of
Whisked just had a fantastic
feature in the Washington Post, which was accompanied by
a great cookie recipe. Score for them and me!

So as usual, I copied down the recipe from my laptop to a piece of paper that I clipped to my kitchen cabinet above my workspace. I made the cookie dough and I was feeling pretty good about the splendid combination of sugar, cocoa and my hot pink stand mixer. Also as usual, before I scooped the dough on the cookie sheets, I tasted a tiny bit. And wow, it was disgusting. It wasn’t the Whisked recipe, don’t worry. I accidentally wrote down two tablespoons of salt instead of two teaspoons of salt. What was I thinking?? I guess it really had been a while since I baked anything and I just totally forgot my way around these familiar ingredients.

I couldn’t salvage the dough so I just threw it out and started over. Obviously I was frustrated with myself, but like I said, I was determined to bake these cookies and feel good about it too. So I began again. This time around I didn’t have enough cocoa left, but I substituted the rest with a packet of hot chocolate. You would never know the difference. I added the correct amount of salt too. Lastly, I didn’t have enough nutella to fill these thumbprints so instead I filled them with dollops of the
Peanut Butter and Co’s Dark Chocolate Dreams. Good move, Nikki. Now these were double chocolate salted (but not too much salt) peanut butter thumbprint cookies and they were amazing.

In the end, this took twice as long as I had hoped and I made some silly mistakes. But I was also able to add my own spin to the recipe and create something that tasted wonderful and that I was happy to share with my friends.
I have plans to bake more holiday cookies soon, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the process goes more smoothly, but they come out just as enjoyable.
Tell me, are you baking your favorite classic holiday desserts this year? (In case you’re wondering, these are probably my most favorite holiday cookies – and have gotten quite a bit of traffic recently!) Or are you trying something new? Please share. And happy baking!
Oh yummy! How totally delish :) xo
I should try these – my absolute favorites are sugar cookies with hershey kisses in the center. A little more chocolate couldn’t do anything but make them better!
Mmm those look beyond amazing. Good to know I’m not the only one who occasionally has to throw out dough and start from scratch! All part of the fun of baking, right :)
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These look so delicious {and well worth round 2 :)}! My goal this weekend is to bake SOMETHING, I think I need to make your pistachio cookies, one of my favorites! Happy weekend! See you at my virtual party :) xo
These look quite delicious! I saw that Post feature and saved their cookie spreads — everything looks so tasty. This year I’m whipping up candy cane blossoms for our annual cookie exchange. They’re a twist on my favorite peanut butter blossoms — hope they come out!
These look great! And I LOVE the Dark Chocolate Dreams pb, yum.
I have been in your shoes way too many times…I blame it on too much multi tasking and lack of sleep! But despite any missteps, these cookies look worth the extra time. They might become my new favorite…
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Wow, Nik, I love these cookies, please bring them to Christmas dinner. I promise I’ll bake your favorite pistachio cookies…do you want sprinkles or plain?
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