St. Patrick's Day Cookies

You know, sometimes Hubster is a genius.  It was getting close to 8pm and I knew I had a playgroup tomorrow so I was running through cookie recipes that used the can of pumpkin in my pantry.  I know, I know, pumpkin is 'so last season' but I needed to use it and I needed to make something for play group.  It isn't a requirement to bring cookies, it's more of an excuse to BAKE!

I was throwing around the idea of pumpkin and he vetoed it.  He does end up having to help eat the rest and bring them to work so in his defense he wanting something less Autumn.  I had bookmarked a recipe for Jello playdough that can then be baked into cookies and thought Lime Jello might be a fun and creative cookie to make. He then said two words, "Pistachio pudding?"  Voila!  I searched for pistachio pudding recipes and everything had cranberries or required that I separate eggs.  I DO not separate eggs.  I'm just not that fancy!  Kraft foods came to my rescue.  They are the makers of Jello so I figured I could trust the recipe.

The original recipe called for chocolate pudding and white chocolate chips.  I used pistachio and didn't use any chips.  No biggie!  I did add in a bit of green food coloring to make them more festive.
Here is the link to the recipe: Instant Pudding Cookie

Jello!  And some other stuff

Just like other cookies you blend in the sugar and butter until light and fluffy and oh so yummy!

Scrape it down and spin it again!

I always scrape down the side and spin it again before I add the egg to make sure it's all really mixed well.  This is the part that you can't 'over' mix.  At least not that I've seen!  I've also found that it's easier to clean off the wisk by just beating against the side of the mixer than using the spatula to try to scrape it all off.

Much greener in real life!

After adding all of the ingredients (I usually switch attachments after the wet stuff) I know have a lovely green dough.  I let Hubster taste the mixer attachment.  He had a tiny piece and right before I was about to wash it off he said, "Wait!" and cleaned it off for me... :-)  That's a good sign!

Ice bath for cookie dough?

The recipe didn't call for 'refrigeration' but I noticed after the first batch that they were kind of sticky when I was rolling them into balls  I made an ice bath why the first batch baked and it made a bit of a difference.  Next time I will certainly put them in the fridge for about 30 minutes to firm the dough a bit.

They look like Flubber!

I rolled the first batch in powdered sugar but it didn't seem to do anything except make the cookies less green. Next time I'll think again and make green sugar to roll them in.  Mmmmmm sugar.....

I love the perfectly roundness of 'rolled' cookies!

I figured it was better to have a lot of small cookies than a few big ones.  I used a 1 teaspoon measuring spoon for my dough instead of my usual 1 tablespoon.  Instead of baking for 10-12 minutes it was closer to 8 minutes.  Keep in mind that at 9-10 minutes they would be crunchier but more brown and less green.

8 minute cookie! Soooooo pretty too!

I learned from my lemon crinkle cookies that you can 'cook' the cookie a bit longer by leaving it on the cookie sheet for about 3 minutes after taking it out of the oven.  This keeps them nice and green and still chewy.  I found that taking them out of the oven when they were no longer shiny / melty looking they were perfect.  Hubster got the slightly browner batch to take to work.

I love this recipe and will be sure to use it again!  They came out chewy with a good crunch and were so cute!  

What is you favorite flavor of pudding?