Triple Chocolate White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Hey!

How's it going?  

I made some cookies and I wanted to tell you about them so you'd make them too.  

I've made them before, but last time I used chocolate chips and peanut butter chips.  This time I used white chocolate chips because I had a bag in the freezer that I wanted to use up.  

I like semisweet or bittersweet chips over the white chocolate.  But the one improvement I made this time was sprinkling the tops of the cookies with sea salt before I baked them.  

Triple Chocolate White Chocolate Chip Cookies

recipe from Baking Illustrated

Makes about 42 cookies

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup cocoa powder

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

16 oz semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped or chips

4 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 tsp instant coffee or espresso powder

10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened but still cool

1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

12 oz of your choice of chips (semisweet, bittersweet, white chocolate, peanut butter, etc)

1.  Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.

2.  Melt the chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl or double boiler over a pan of simmering water, stirring once or twice, until smooth.  Remove from the heat.  In a small bowl, beat the eggs and the vanilla lightly with a fork.  Sprinkle the coffee powder over to dissolve and set aside.

3.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter at medium speed until smooth and creamy, about a minute, depending on how softened your butter is.  Beat in the sugars until combined, about 45 seconds; the mixture will look granular.  Reduce the speed to low and gradually beat in the egg mixture until incorporated, about 45 seconds.  Add the chocolate in a steady stream and beat until combined, about 40 seconds.  Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.  With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.  Do not over-beat.  Stir in the chocolate chips.  Cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature until the consistency is scoopable and fudge-like, about 30 minutes.

4.  Adjust the oven racks to the upper- and lower-middle positions and preheat the oven to 350ºF.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.  Scoop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets with a 1 3/4-inch ice cream scoop, spacing the mounds of dough about 1 1/2 inches apart.  Sprinkle sea salt on top of each cookie.

5.  Bake until the edges of the cookies have just begun to set but the centers are still very soft, about 10 minutes.  Rotate the baking sheets front to back and top to bottom halfway through the baking time.  Cool the cookies on the sheets for about 10 minutes, and then move to wire racks to cool to room temperature.  Repeat with the remaining dough.

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Monster Cookies

There are a ton of monster cookie recipes out there, but I was looking for one that didn't use flour so I could make them gluten free. You just need to make sure that you use oats that specifically say they are gluten free, like Bob's Red Mill, otherwise they may contain traces of gluten.

You can add anything you want to these cookies, like chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, coconut, nuts, potato chips, etc. I just stuck with M&M's. Kind of boring, but delicious.

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Monster Cookies

recipe from the Kitchn

1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened

1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

3 eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla

2 tsp baking soda

4 1/2 cups old fashioned oats (gluten free if that's important to you)

1 cup M&M's

Additional add-ins (optional)

Preheat oven to 350ºF and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter, peanut butter, and sugars. Beat in the eggs and vanilla, and beat until just combined. Add the baking soda, then the oatmeal. Finally stir in the M&M's and the other add-ins (if using). Chill dough for at least an hour.

Drop balls (slightly smaller than a golf ball) onto the cookie sheet, leaving a couple inches between each cookie. Flatten each cookie slightly. Bake at 350ºF for 8-10 minutes, do not overbake. Cool on a wire rack. Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Mississippi Mud Brownies

Oh Mississippi Mud Brownies, how I love you... Let's break you down.

First there's a brownie base.

Then you add a layer of chocolate chips.

Spread some slightly melted peanut butter on top....

Sprinkle some marshmallows on top and toast them up in the oven...

Might as well sprinkle some crushed up pecans on top, just for the hell of it.

And then cover it all in chocolate frosting to bring it full circle.

And here you go...

Mississippi Mud Brownies

recipe found on Tasty Kitchen

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

3/4 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs

3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter (I used creamy, it works too)

1 1/2 tsp canola oil

2 cups mini marshmallows

1/2 cup chopped and toasted pecans

2 cups confectioners' sugar

1/8 tsp salt

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons milk

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line a 8x8" square pan with parchment paper or foil. If using foil, spray with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, 2 tablespoons cocoa powder, and 1/2 tsp salt. Set aside. In the bowl of stand mixer, beat together 1/2 cup butter, sugar, and 3/4 tsp vanilla, until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time. Slow the mixer down to low and add the flour mixture. Mix just until combined.

Pour the batter into your prepared pan and spread evenly. Sprinkle the chocolate chips on top in an even layer. Bake for 22-25 minutes or until set.

While the brownie layer is cooking, combine the peanut butter and oil in a small bowl, and microwave on high for 20 seconds to soften. If you don't have a microwave like me, then you can set your bowl on top of a small saucepan of boiling water until the peanut butter is slightly melted.

Once the brownies are done baking, pour this mixture on top of the hot brownies and spread evenly. Sprinkle with mini marshmallows, and then bake for 3 minutes, or until the marshmallows puff up. Sprinkle with the chopped pecans.

Now make the frosting. Whisk together the confectioners' sugar and salt in the bowl of your stand mixer. In a small saucepan, melt the 4 tablespoons of butter. Then add the cocoa powder and 1/4 cup of the milk, and bring to a boil. Pour this mixture on top of the confectioners' sugar and salt and then beat on high until smooth and glossy. If it's took thick to pour, you can add the remaining 2 tablespoons milk, but it may already be thin enough. Add the vanilla extract.

Pour this frosting evenly on top of your brownies, making sure it completely covers the top. Let cool completely in the fridge for 1-2 hours, then slice into small pieces.

Meyer Lemon Bars

Every year when it's Meyer lemon season, I see them at my coop and buy a bag of them. They always just look so pretty and yellow. Last year I made lemon curd, and I've still have a couple jars left from that on the shelf. So this year I needed something different. And even though I usually think of lemon bars as a summer dessert, these were really perfect (plus it's been about 60 degrees this week in NY so it's almost like summer).

They are amazing.

Find some meyer lemons and make them. You won't regret it. Unless you're still trying to do that new year eating healthy thing, and then you eat four of these right out of the pan while they're cooling because they taste so good. Then you might feel a little bad about your lack of self-control. But you won't regret making these, just try to get them to your friends and co-workers before you can eat them all.

Meyer Lemon Bars

Ina Garten recipe adapted a couple times (not by me) - found here on The Cooking Photographer.

Crust:

1/2 lb butter (2 sticks), room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

2 cups flour

1/8 tsp kosher salt

Filling:

6 large eggs at room temperature

2 1/2 cups sugar

2 tablespoons Meyer lemon zest

1 cup freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice (I used about 6 lemons)

1 cup flour

Preheat your oven to 350ºF and grease a 13x9 pan.

To make the crust, cream together the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer until light and fluffy. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour and salt. Beat until just mixed. Dump the dough onto a well-floured board and form into a ball. With floured hands, press the dough into the baking pan forming an even layer. Chill in the freezer for 10 minutes. Then bake for 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack.

To make the filling, whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and flour. Pour over the cooled crust, and then bake for 30-35 minutes or until the lemon layer is set. Cool to room temperature.

Cut into squares or triangles and then sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Makes 24 larger bars or 32 smaller bars.

Buttermilk Biscuits

I made some biscuits this morning. It's the same recipe that I've posted before, the same one I always use. But this time, I used a technique I saw on Serious Eats in an Andrew Carmellini biscuit recipe for folding the dough multiple times before cutting out your biscuits. Sorta like when you make puff pastry and have to keep rolling and folding the dough.


I also brushed the tops of the biscuits with a little extra buttermilk and then sprinkled some sea salt on top. These definitely rose up and had more layers than usual, so I think I'll stick with that little trick.


As expected, this biscuits are really best when they are still hot. But I don't think I'll have any problems finishing them up this week.




Buttermilk Biscuits
recipe from Baking Illustrated with help from Andrew Carmellini via Serious Eats

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup cake flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
3/4 cold buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 450ºF and place rack in the center of the oven.

Whisk together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt. Using a pastry blender (or two knives), cut the butter into the flour mixture until it forms a coarse meal with some slightly larger pieces of butter. Add the buttermilk and mix it in with a spatula until it forms a soft sticky ball of dough. Add a little extra buttermilk if a ball does not form.

Dump the dough onto a lightly floured surface and form into a ball. Roll the dough out to about 1/2 inch thick and then fold into thirds (like you're folding a business letter). Repeat this step 7 times, but don't fold the 7th time you roll out. Cut the dough into circles with a round biscuit cutter. Use the scraps to form additional biscuits. Place on a ungreased cookie sheet. Brush the tops with buttermilk and then sprinkle with sea salt (if desired).

Bake until tops are light brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Serve immediately.

Christmas Cookies

Happy New Year! Soooo I'm a little late, but I wanted to a run-down of some of the cookies I made for Christmas this year.


New cookies this year: Nutmeg Maple Butter Cookies from Smitten Kitchen. Salty, buttery, sweet - yum! Seriously addictive.


Vanilla Bean Spritz. One of my favorites from childhood.


Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies with Cherries and Pecans from the Kitchn. One of my new favorites. I'm not usually a big fan of chocolate chips in my oatmeal cookies, but somehow when you add the cherries and the pecans and the chocolate chips it just works.


Italian Rainbow Cookies - my favorite cookie ever (they're actually more like cake, but they're cookie sized so they count in my opinion).


And not cookies or baking, but still filled with sugar and butter - Salted Caramels from eat make read. I think this is my first successful attempt at caramels.

Also made this year, but all gone now:
My Mom's Sugar Cookies (in the shape of NJ and unicorns)
Carrot Cake Sandwich Cookies
Marlow and Sons Brown Sugar Walnut Shortbread - (awesome, try sprinkling some salt on top with the sugar)

Holiday Breakfast Wreath

Every year for Christmas, my gramma makes a Swedish Tea Ring. It's basically cinnamon bun dough, filled with maraschino cherries, walnuts, butter, cinnamon sugar, shaped into a ring and covered with icing. It's amazing.


Since I knew I'd be having the Swedish Tea Ring at her house on Christmas Eve, I tried out this similar recipe for our office holiday party. It's a Holiday Breakfast Wreath, and it pretty much the same as the tea ring except that it's filled with dried cranberries and almonds instead of maraschino cherries and walnuts. It looks pretty impressive, and really isn't that hard. Plus it makes your kitchen (or your tiny apartment) smell amazing.


Holiday Breakfast Wreath
recipe from The Kitchn, adapted from Sunset Magazine recipe

Dough:
1 packet (2 1/4 tsp) active dry yeast (I used instant yeast)
1/4 cup warm water (about 110ºF)
1/2 cup warm milk (about 110ºF)
3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cardamom powder
2 large eggs
2 tsp grated lemon zest
3 1/2 cups flour

Filling:
3/4 cup dried cranberries or cherries, soaked in 1/2 cup brandy or other liqueur
6 tablespoons butter, softened
1/3 cup flour
3/4 cup finely chopped blanched almonds
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tsp freshly grated lemon zest
1 tsp almond extract

Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp cardamom powder

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water and let sit for a few minutes until it's foamy. Add the milk, sugar, butter, salt, cardamom, eggs and lemon peel in your mixer. One cup at a time, stir in 2 cups of the flour. Add the remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time until you have a soft, workable dough. (You may not need to use all the flour, I only used about 3 cups)

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, about 5 to 10 minutes. Place in a lightly oiled large bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place for about 1 1/2 hours, or until doubled in size.

While the dough is rising, drain the dried fruit from the liquer and combine the fruit with the rest of the filling ingredients. Cover and refrigerate.

When the dough has doubled in size, punch down and turn out until a lightly floured surface, kneading just enough to release any air bubbles. Your will need a large surface for this part (I just used my kitchen table). Roll the dough into a 9x30 inch rectangle. Crumble the filling over the dough to within 1 inch of the edges. Starting at one of the long edges, tightly roll up the dough, pinching the edge against the loaf to seal. Using a sharp knife, cut the roll in half lengthwise and turn the cut sides up. Loosely twist the two pieces together into, keeping the cut sides up, and shape into a wreath. See the pictures on the Kitchn for better instructions.

Carefully transfer the wreath to a greased and floured baking sheet, and let rise uncovered for about 45 minutes to an hour.

Preheat oven to 350ºF and bake wreath for about 25 minutes, or until golden. While the wreath is baking, combine all the ingredients for the glaze. When wreath is done baking, transfer to a cooling rack to cool. After a few minutes, drizzle the glaze over the wreath.

You can prepare the wreath up to 2 days ahead of time, cooled completely and wrapped tightly in foil (save the glaze until your serve). Store at room temperature then re-heat at 350ºF for 10-15 minutes, drizzling the glaze right before serving.