quarter pound double chocolate-mint stuffed cookies

Yep another 1/4 lb cookie. I'm on a mission people. A mission to make as many varieties of quarter pound cookies as I can. Yes, I am Levain Bakery obsessed. One of my close friends Esi says I need an intervention. Is there a rehab place for those obsessed with Levain Bakery cookies? In Malibu or something? As I type this up I am eating one and having a very hard time concentrating.
You know I made the double chocolate Levain Bakery clones here, and have always wanted to factor in a mint element somewhere in there. I don't want a lot of mint because the chocolate in these cookies is high quality and strong--so I don't want that to get lost with a mint extract. Next best thing I thought are those York peppermint patties. They aren't too minty and will offer a small little package of something something in the middle of the giant HOCKEY PUCK sized cookies.

Can you guess what the next quarter pound cookie creation will be?





quarter pound double chocolate mint stuffed cookies
recipe by & from vanillasugarblog.com
print recipe

2 and ¾ sticks unsalted butter, grated & cold
¾ cup granulated sugar
¾ cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 TB half & half (or cream)
1 ½ ts pure vanilla extract
3 cups all purpose flour
½ cup + 2 TB cocoa powder (not dutch process)
1 TB cinnamon (if you have Vietnamese cinnamon use it)
Oversized ¾ ts sea salt
1 and ½ ts baking powder
½ ts baking soda
2 cups 60 % or higher cocoa dark & milk chocolate chips or chopped chocolate (a combo of dark & milk)
10 candy mint patties (like York peppermint patties)

Grate your butter into a bowl; keep in freezer until ready to use.
In a mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, or by hand beat butter and both sugars just until creamy. Don’t overbeat. Add in the eggs, vanilla, and half & half and beat just until incorporated.
In another bowl mix the flour, cocoa powder, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
When thoroughly mixed, add to batter and stir just until blended. Stir in chocolate chips.
Keep in mind this dough is very hard to mix, sticky and thick. I just get in there and use my hands to mix, cover bowl, and get back in the fridge as soon as possible. Recipe by dawn Finicane of vanillasugarblog.com We want to keep this dough nice and cold. Chill dough at least an hour before baking.
Divide dough into 10 – 12 lemon size balls. Don’t shape as a lemon though, just shape as a nice round ball. Spilt ball in half, insert a peppermint patty, cover with other half and seal all edges. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet—keeping them 3-4 inches apart. Now back into the fridge to chill.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Depending on your oven, these should need anywhere from 12- 15 minutes to cook. It’s hard to tell when they are done, but look for:
- slightly crisp edges
- soft in the middle
- cracks in dough ok
- all around semi firm

If you have a convection oven you might need to bake these at 365 for about 12 – 14 minutes.
Don’t overbake or they will turn into scones.
Once baked don’t try and move the cookies off the pan, they will break apart, let them rest at least an hour before moving them.
Makes 10-12 giant cookies. (mine made 10—I just wanted them huge this time round)

quarter pound oatmeal-raisin cookies

Remember my obsession with Levain Bakery cookies? How I made the chocolate chip cookies and the double chocolate cookies? Both quarter pound cookies? Well, I made an oatmeal-raisin version.
I know this is isn't very valentine's day'ish. But I didn't make anything for VD. Shame shame. But I know there are a lot of you out there that love Levain Cookies as much as I do so this is just like a present--in a baker sort of way. No?

quarter pound oatmeal-raisin cookies
(loosely based on the levain bakery cc cookies)
print recipe

8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted Irish butter, cold & grated (you can use whatever butter you like)
4 ounces cream cheese, room temp
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 ts vanilla
2 ¼ cups all purpose flour
1 ¾ cup rolled oats
3/4 ts sea salt
1 and ¼ ts baking powder
1/2 ts baking soda
1 cup walnuts
1 cup raisins

If using dough right away, preheat oven to 375 degrees F. (It’s best to chill, though; I chilled overnight)
(keep in mind this is a very dry dough, and will be hard to mix once you put the raisins & nuts in; I used my hands). See also notes on cooking times below.
In a mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter, cream cheese, and both sugars just until creamy. Don’t overbeat. Add the egg and vanilla and beat just until incorporated.
Stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; add in the oats and mix. Then add the dry to the wet batters. When thoroughly mixed, stir in raisins and walnuts.
Divide dough into 12 big 4 oz lumps. Mold into golfballs; do not press flat! Keep them as balls on the cookie sheets. Bake on ungreased cookies sheets (one sheet at a time). (I chilled my dough balls BEFORE baking)
Bake times (how I’ve done it the past few times; pick one if you dare):
Put the cookies in a 375 degree oven and set timer for 8 minutes. When timer rings, without opening oven or removing cookies, reduce heat to 325 degrees and bake for another 8-10 minutes or until cookies appear set.
OR I did mine at 375 degrees for about 21 - 23 minutes or until done. (Mine were done in 21 minutes).
Also if you have a convection your cooking time will go down a couple minutes.
Makes 12 (mine made 13)

almond joy bites w/ cookie crust

So you've heard this story before....love those almond joys BUT they need to be 'kicked up'. Me and my endless task(s) of making candies, cookies, cakes, muffins, etc... better is a never ending journey people. But have no fear I will prevail and continue on--just for you. :-)
This was on the 'to create' list for some time now: "kick up the infamous almond joy". I can now cross that off the list. Need I say these are just fabulous? They are. They are also very very rich. And I must warn you a little hard to handle; the crumbles fall apart in this shape. So if you were to make these, consider doing so in a tart pan instead. It'll work a lot easier for handling.

**Side note: a lot of you have asked why the copyright stamp on all the photos? It ruins the photos to see wording on there. I agree! But I have so much photo theft that I have to put it on there. I wish people would make their own photos and stop using mine, but that doesn't happen. So sadly I have to put these watermarks on there. I hate it too, trust me.
A wonderful friend of mine Deb from tasteandtellblog.com did a fun little interview on me and my blog. Come check it out here.

almond joy bites with cookie crust
print recipe

Filling:
9-10 ounces sweetened coconut
14 ounces of condensed milk

Cookie crust:
10 ounce pack of Lorna Doone cookies (or any other thick butter shortbread cookie is fine), crushed fine
1 stick of butter, melted
Pinch of salt

Coating:
High quality dark chocolate

Garnish:
Smokey/salty almonds

Combine coconut with condensed milk until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and set in fridge.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt the butter and in a bowl combine it with the crushed cookies and salt. Mix well and pour into greased muffin cups or tart pan (with removable bottom).
Bake the crust for about 10 – 15 minutes or until set. Don’t let it brown! Let cool completely.
When cooled fill cups with a nice size scoop of the coconut mixture; making sure to NOT let the mixture touch the sides of the pan. We want the chocolate to drip down the sides (see photo). Cover muffin pan with parchment paper and let set up in fridge for at least a couple hours.
Melt the dark chocolate in a double boiler. Remove coconut bites from muffin pan, and set on wire rack to pour chocolate over. Or you could leave them in the cups and pour chocolate into cups. They should release out fine (I don’t know as I used the wire racks to cover in chocolate). Top with smokey almonds. Let set before devouring.

Notes: you could use a tart pan instead of muffin cups. Make sure to grease your pans well. I don’t know if milk chocolate would work in this. And remember the cookie crust is delicate, so use the coconut as your base when ready to drizzle with chocolate.

top chef dessert cc cookies by eric

These cookies have been making the rounds in the food blogging world. It was my turn. I love that each time someone makes them they add in something new. That's the best part of baking--being creative.
Clearly I can see why the judges on Top Chef Desserts loved them. They are good, very tasty with a distinct butter and chocolate flavor (duh). And what makes them good is the high quality chocolate. I'm certain Eric used semi-sweet chips, but I of course wanted to take a different route and wanted to use up the multiple bars of chocolate collecting dust in my cupboard. I used a nice trio of chocolate: semi-sweet, milk, and bittersweet. And to be honest, it really was a nice combo when baked. On the show, when Eric made them they weren't as thin. They were a lot thicker, but I'm kind of glad they turned out thin because I've been looking for a thin cc cookie recipe. So I don't know what happened to make them so thin, but I'm sure it was because I let them sit overnight and/or baking powder was supposed to be used.

Regardless, this is a good accident; if you truly dig thin cc cookies then this is your recipe. I don't think I've ever had cookies so thin before. That second photo of the cookies is almost like a work of art--how thin they are you know?
Who am I kidding, I'm the only one that saw them as a work of art, a thing of beauty, no one else did, they saw them as 'must devour now'. And POOF, just like that, these cookies were gone in half a day people, half a day.







Top Chef Desserts CC Cookies by Eric
Print Recipe
Cook Notes:
I used a combo of 3 diff types of chocolate in this; feel free to use semi sweet as Eric did in the recipe. These cookies spread out when baking, so leave at least 3 - 4 inches for cookies to spread. I did make these and leave them to sit in the fridge overnight (in case someone asks). You really need to let these cool and harden ON the cookie sheet pan as these are extremely fragile when hot. I added in an extra egg yolk for richness, you don't have to. Place the cookie dough as balls on the sheet--do not flatten! Please note my changes in orange below.
340 grams butter (3 sticks) (12 oz)
200 grams sugar (7.14 oz)
400 grams light brown sugar (I used 1 cup packed)
21 ounces flour (I sifted)
1 TB baking soda (this maybe be powder in order to get them thin; check out bravotv.com)
1 TB salt
2 eggs and 2 yolks (I used 3 yolks)
21 ounces high quality chocolate chips (semi sweet) (I used an even combo of semi & bitter)

Melt butter, cool slightly.
Paddle sugars with melted butter.
Whisk together dry ingredients.
Add eggs slowly.
Add flour, mix, add chips.
Bake at 350 for 14 min or until golden brown. (I baked them on parchment paper).

pb, chocolate chunk and bacon cookies

Nothing fancy this time around, just good old comfort food. I love the cookbook Baked, inside there is a recipe for chocolate-peanut butter cookies. Of course they are wonderful on their own, but you know me I had to add something to it. What came to mind? Bacon of course!
Needless to say these are insanely good, very addicting and will satisfy that craving you get for something sweet and then something salty. These cookies never ever left the house; they were devoured in less than a day. I ate too many and of course gained 500 pounds, but that's ok, it was worth it. Ha! I know bad writings for a blog post. But hot damn these cookies were fabulous! And you know what's even better? Any leftover cookies (LOL like that'll happen, are really good in ice cream). I'm just saying....

peanut butter cookies with chocolate chunks & bacon
adapted from Baked
print recipe

1 3/4 cup of all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons of baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) of unsalted butter, softened, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup granulated sugar, plus more for sprinkling
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup creamy peanut butter
6 ounces good milk chocolate, coarsely chopped
about 1/2 to 3/4 cup of cooked, chopped bacon chunks

Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugars together until fluffy.
Scrape down the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated.
The mixture will look light and fluffy.
Add the vanilla and peanut butter and beat until just incorporated.
Add half of the flour mixture and mix for 15 seconds. Add the remaining flour mixture and mix until just incorporated.
Using a spatula or wooden spoon, fold in the chocolate and bacon chunks. Cover the bowl tightly and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. (I left mine overnight, it was fine).
When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Drop the dough by rounded tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheets, at least 2 inches apart. With the palm of your hand, very gently press each cookie down so it forms a very tall disk shape. Do not press too hard and do not press it flat.
Sprinkle the tops of the cookies with granulated sugar and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time, until the tops of the cookies just begin to brown. (I did not do this, but feel free).
Should make about 30 cookies.

quarter pound double chocolate cookies

Quarter pound cookie. Let's just look at that one sentence. A chocolate cookie that weighs a quarter pound. Seriously. Filled with cocoa powder, dark chocolate chips, butter, a touch of cinnamon, sugar, a touch of salt, a hint of cream, and then dipped in warm ganache. That's food porn. One bite, ok three bites of this cookie and my chocolate craving was satisfied. I have to tell you these cookies were fun to create. What do they taste like? A moister, super rich, dense scone with texture and a long lingering chocolate essence. They are really thick and really rich--super rich actually. Why did I make them so big? I have an obsession with giant cookies. That's it. I'm addicted to chocolate. No, I have an obsession with giant sized chocolate cookies. And a small obsession with levain bakery. I know I'm not supposed to swear on my food blog and all that crap, but trust me one bite of these cookies and you will say holy shazammmm--that's a *(#&^% good cookie!
As you see in the next picture the cookie sheet is 18 x 13 inches and it holds only eight cookies. I was going to put a paper clip on the cookie sheet so you could see size difference, but then someone might be like 'why is that girl putting paper clips next to her cookies?'
My giant cookies were featured in the la times, how cool is that? Thanks la times!

quarter pound double chocolate cookies
loosely based on levain bakery
print recipe

2 and ¾ sticks of room temp unsalted butter
¾ cup granulated white sugar
¾ cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 TB half & half (or cream)
1 ½ ts pure vanilla extract
3 cups all purpose flour
½ cup + 2 TB cocoa powder
½ ts cinnamon
Oversized ¾ ts sea salt
1 and ½ ts baking powder
½ ts baking soda
2 cups (60% or higher cocoa) dark chocolate chips or chopped chocolate

In a mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, or by hand beat butter and both sugars just until creamy. Don’t overbeat. Add in the eggs, vanilla, and half & half and beat just until incorporated.
In another bowl mix the flour, cocoa powder, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt. When thoroughly mixed, add to batter and stir just until blended. Stir in chocolate chips.
Keep in mind this dough is very hard and thick. I like to chill my dough for at least 3 hours before using.
Divide dough into 12 big 4 oz lumps. Mold into HUGE golfballs; do not press flat! Keep them as balls on the cookie sheets. Bake on ungreased cookies sheets (one sheet at a time).
Put the cookies in a 365 degree oven for about 12 minutes, rotate pan, then bake another 8-10 minutes OR until the cookies are just set. It will be hard to tell when the cookies are done. Recipe by dawn finicane. Look for crackles on side, cooked tops and semi-firm; they should be a bit soft in the middle. Don’t overbake or they will turn into scones. Once baked don’t try and move the cookies off the pan, they will break apart, let them chill a bit before touching.
Once they are completely cooled, dip the tops in melted dark chocolate (or milk chocolate). Makes 12 giant cookies.

levain bakery cc cookie

Can I share a food obsession with you? Have you heard of Levain Bakery in NYC? To me, they have some of the best cc cookies. They are thick, really thick cookies loaded with chocolate chips and walnuts. A couple years ago I tried to clone their chocolate chip cookies, thought I was pretty close and then closed the book on it. Until now when I tried to clone them again, this time using a different type of butter: European butter. I think I am a tad bit closer to perfecting a clone-like version of this infamous chocolate chip cookie. The European butter did make the cookie taste far better. European butters have a higher butterfat content--so naturally anything with a higher butterfat is good for baking.

What do these taste like? First off, they are huge, can't tell from the photo, but they are about 4-5 inches across and 2 inches thick; they are like a shortbread, but moister cookie dough, a tiny bit dry, very buttery tasting, nice crispy outside, and with the addition of the European butter now it's not so dry.

Also made them into bar shapes (using a pan), then did a step further by dipping them in dark chocolate.
Seriously, it was that good, one could just open a bakery and JUST sell those choco-dipped bars.

levain bakery cc cookie (clone)
inspired from Levain Bakery NYC & CookieMadness.net
print recipe

8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted European butter, (cold & shredded like cheese)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 ts vanilla extract
3 cups all purpose flour (13 ½ oz)
3/4 ts sea salt
1 and ¼ ts baking powder
1/2 ts baking soda
12 ounces (2 cups) good quality semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup walnuts

If using dough right away, preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
(It’s best to chill, though; I chilled overnight (note: keep in mind this is a very dry dough, and will be hard to mix once you put the chips and nuts in; I used my hands Take the butter and using a cheese grater, shred the butter into a bowl, put it back in the freezer until ready to use.

In a mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and both sugars just until just combined.
Don’t overbeat. Add the egg and vanilla and beat just until incorporated.
Stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
When thoroughly mixed, add to batter and stir just until blended.
Stir in chocolate chips and walnuts.
Divide dough into 12 big 4 oz lumps.
Mold into giant golfballs; do not press flat!
Keep them as balls on the cookie sheets. Bake on ungreased cookies sheets (one sheet at a time). (I chilled my dough balls for 20 minutes BEFORE baking).

Bake times (how I’ve done it the past few times; pick one if you dare):
Put the cookies in a 375 degree oven and set timer for 8 minutes.
When timer rings, without opening oven or removing cookies, reduce heat to 325 degrees and bake for another 8-10 minutes or until cookies appear set.
OR I did mine at 365 degrees for 18-22 minutes or until done. (Mine were done in 18 minutes) Makes 12 (mine made 13)

gingerbread cookies

Just a quick post to thank everyone who sent me well wishes with the move to my new home. I am finally in and have left the money pit behind. Good riddance right? I have a normal house now; one with a working newer stove, a working newer fridge, heat, concrete foundation, etc... Goodbye to the days of ocean water in the basement, families of racoons living in the attic, crappy landlords, fridges in the living room, oh I could go on and on. Right now as I type this I have mountains of boxes to unpack, a kitchen that is partially together, not to mention lots of stress. But everyone tells me the stress will decrease as the days pass--I hope.
Obviously I'm not doing any baking, but thought I'd share a post with you from the days when I had a working oven...way before Thanksgiving. Here is a recipe and photo from my archives (I need to weed through the archives more as I have a lot of stored up recipes and photos).
I'll try my best to keep up with posting and replies on all your blogs--I miss you guys dearly. And miss all your blog posts.

As for these cookies, they are the perfect gingerbread cookies, you will never need another recipe. It hails from the folks at America's Test Kitchen. You can make them flat or thick. And trust me when I say, it has the perfect balance of flavors; nothing too strong nor too weak.

Chewy Gingerbread Cookies
from Baking Illustrated
print recipe

3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons softened unsalted butter, cut into pieces
3/4 cup molasses
2 tablespoons milk

In a food processor, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt. Process about 10 seconds until combined.
Scatter the butter pieces over the dry mixture and process again until the mixture is fine and sandy, about 15 seconds.
With the machine still on, slowly pour in the molasses and milk and process until the dough forms a soft moist mass, about 10 seconds. It will be VERY soft and sticky. (This dough can also be made in a stand mixer).
Divide the dough into roughly two portions. Place one portion between two sheets of parchment paper, and roll out to about 1/4" thick. Repeat with the other portion of dough.
Leaving the dough between sheets of parchment, stack on a baking sheet and freeze until firm, about 15 to 20 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Take one of the dough sheets from the freezer and peel off the top parchment sheet, then replace. Flip the dough over and remove the other parchment sheet.
Use desired cutters to cut shapes out of the dough, and transfer to the baking sheets with a metal spatula. The scraps may be gathered and rerolled to be cut into more shapes.
Bake cookies until they just slightly give in the middle when pressed, about 8 to 11 minutes, rotating sheets halfway. Do not overbake or they will became hard crispy gingerbread.
Let cool on sheets for a couple of minutes, then remove and finish cooling on wire racks. Makes about 30 cookies

pumpkin spice cookie bark

Are you one of the many who is, at the last minute, still wondering what the heck to bring to your family Christmas gathering/party? You know Christmas is like in three days right? Ut oh! You're making me nervous! But I think I can help you and make you come out absolutely fabulous. Not that you already don't look tres fab, you do, but you will look super fab if you show up with these super tasty treats--they will be the talk of the dessert table, trust me. Plus you will wow your friends and family--you will, totally. This will not take a long time to make either, it's super easy and crazy-good tasting, plus it looks all professional, you know like you worked really hard at it.

 
pumpkin spice cookie bark
print recipe 
All you need to do is take your favorite pumpkin-spice cookie mix, instead of making them into cookies, flatten the dough out (half inch thick is good) as a thin brownie in a jelly roll pan.
You might have to reduce the cooking time too as they are thinner and might not need as much time to bake.
Then as soon as they come out of the oven put on some chopped good quality dark chocolate, let it melt, then spread it around evenly with a rubber spatula (I used about 2-3 cups of chocolate--use as much or as little as you like). If you want to add toasted pecans like I did, this is the time to sprinkle them on before the chocolate hardens. Let it cool and harden. Then you can drizzle with a little melted white chocolate. And you're done! Easy right? (if you don't have a favorite pumpkin cookie mix here is one from allrecipes.com)
Note: I did add a bit "extra" of sea salt to the cookie batter. You know me and my sweet & salty fix. It makes all the difference. All I did was sprinkle some sea salt (fine, not course) over the cookie sheet BEFORE I put the pumpkin cookie batter on--just a light, light dusting of sea salt.). Please use high quality chocolate when making these, it really make all the difference in taste and texture; the higher the cacao the better.

toffee-vanilla pinwheels

I love cookies, pastries, cakes, breads, etc... that have a bit of shape and art to them. When I saw the original cookie recipe of these on Alton Brown's Christmas-cookie-something-show I wanted to make them simply because of the twirl. Who cares what they tasted like I wanted that damn twirl! They do taste great though, added bonus. On Alton's show he made them as a peppermint version. Since I am not the person to go by the rules I did them my way. I'm not a big fan of candy peppermint, I love the taste of mint, but just hate the whole crunchy candy cane stuff. Candy canes are kind boring to me...I need something else happening/going on taste or texture wise with the candy cane to eat it. I love watching and learning from Alton Brown, but sometimes he can get a bit cheeky in his "Good Eats" show--too goofy, too silly you know? He is very smart and knowledgeable when it comes to deconstructing recipes and educating you on their backgrounds and simpleness of them--so why be cheeky? Half the time when I'm watching his show I rarely pay attention, my ADD gets the best of me when shiny kitchen utensils are in the forefront and background. I have to see what he has for kitchen tools, how he has his kitchen drawers lined up, what's in all the kitchen drawers, how many gadgets he has, and what's in his friggin' fridge! I also love seeing what kind of knives the chef's have on the show 'The Next Iron Chef', and what else is in their bags and foldups. I'm a firm believer that the perfect tools help make the perfect chef. Duh, right?





Back to these cookies, as I said above they were originally chocolate-peppermint pinwheels from Alton Brown. To make the toffee-vanilla pinwheels all I did was change it up with toffee and take out all peppermint, and change places with the two doughs. You could change it up with just about anything really: peanut butter sounds good; I would love to try a vanilla-strawberry version. So, if you do want to make these my way: just follow that recipe from Alton Brown, take out the peppermint extract, use 1/2 cup toffee bits instead of crushed candy cane, add the toffee bits to the vanilla dough not the chocolate dough, and put the chocolate layer on the inside instead of the outside. That's it! These make awesome Christmas gifts if they ever make it out of your kitchen.

pb fudge puddles

Time for a cavity? One or two?

Bad way to introduce a cookie? Kidding, but this is SUPER sweet and super GOOEY! And has without a doubt, a very funky name. Something named with this much 'funk' in the title, I, of course, had to make it. Really easy to make and really tasty. I already said that, but it truly is. It will take your worst pb & chocolate craving straight away. The original recipe calls for shaping them into cups, I wanted squares so I could have bigger 'puddles of fudge' <---smart right? Yeah, I know what I'm doing in the kitchen, I'm good. This dough can be shaped into anything, but make sure to leave a well for the fudge filling--ok?



pb fudge puddle cookies
from sunday baker blog
print recipe

Cookie Crust:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 ts vanilla extract
1-1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 ts baking soda
1/2 ts salt

In a large mixer bowl, combine butter, peanut butter, and both sugars. Beat in egg and vanilla.
In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add the dry to the wet mixtures.
Chill in the fridge for at least one hour. Remove from fridge and form into 1" balls. Grease a mini-muffin pan and add 1 ball to each muffin cup. Bake in a 325 degree oven for about 15 minutes or until very lightly browned. Remove from oven and make an indentation in the center of each ball, big enough to fill the middles with the fudge filling. Let them cool in the pan for at least 5 minutes and then move to a cooling rack. Once all of the cookies are done baking, it's time to make the fudge filling:

Filling:
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips (I used milk chocolate chips)
1-14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1 ts vanilla
chopped nuts or sprinkles(optional)

In a microwave safe bowl or saucepan, combine all of the ingredients except the nuts/sprinkles. Microwave for 1 minute, stir well. If there are still unmelted chips, continue to melt in microwave for 15 second increments until all smooth:
Immediately start filling the cookie cups with the filling. It will start to harden just a bit as you do it, so make sure to give it a good stir once in awhile. Sprinkle with the nuts or just leave plain. Let set for an hour or so.

the ultimate peanut butter cookie

There really is nothing quite like a good, I mean a good, peanut butter cookie. I've noticed, there are so many varieties of peanut butter cookies out there; the list keeps growing on the diversity out here in food-bloggerland. There are raw, flourless, all natural, no bake, no peanut-peanut butter cookies, I mean I could go on and on here. My latest batch of peanut butter cookies comes inspired from the idea of making a flourless peanut butter cookie as Joy the Baker did. But I used flour, just not that much; I needed a little bit in my pb cookie to make it just a bit heartier, denser, chewier--you with me?
Thank you also to Alexis Stewart (yes that one) who saw my cookies and made them her own way. I was honored beyond belief. Thank you. (the link is up top under the Press Links).

'almost flourless' peanut butter cookies
(sort of adapted by The Gourmet Cookbook & Joy the Baker)
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1 cup smooth-type peanut butter* (no oily peanut butters!)
¾ cup dark brown sugar
¼ granulated sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 TB flour
1 ts sea salt
Bittersweet chocolate chips, about ½ cup, optional
Sea salt for sprinkling, optional In a small bowl add the flour, baking soda and salt and mix, set aside.
In a mixer or by hand, combine peanut butter and sugars until well combined. Crack egg open in a small bowl and beat. Add egg to the cookie mixture; add in the flour mixture but by sprinkling it over the cookie dough, not just depositing it in one large dump. Mix till combined. Cover bowl and let it sit in fridge for about two hours or more (mine did fine overnight). When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Roll into tablespoon sized balls and place on non-stick cookie sheets or greased cookie sheets. With a fork gently make a criss-cross pattern with a fork. Bake for 10 minutes, until lightly browned. As soon as they come out of the oven sprinkle with just a bit of sea salt—this adds a nice peanut depth; this is optional. (If you want to add in a chocolate topping like I did, don’t make a cross-cross pattern, but rather make a small well. Bake those half way (about 5 minutes) then add in about 4 chocolate chips and bake remaining 5 minutes or so. The chocolate part is optional, but luscious.) Cool on a baking sheet for a while. Should make about 23 – 25 cookies.
*please use a creamy, not oily peanut butter. I used whole foods 365 organic creamy peanut butter, it has the perfect texture for these cookies.

coconut cream cheese cookies

Coconut kick. It's a term and a lifestyle for me lately. Just been loving coconut lately, and still wanting to bake with it like crazy. Orignially I wanted to try a coconut cheesecake, but the oven I have in our rental is so old and so not reliable. I have to save that recipe for when we move into our own home (yes, we hope that's coming soon too!). So instead I tried (first time) coconut cream cheese cookies. I found these little gems over at CI (cooks illustrated). I love CI. Wouldn't it be fun to spend like a weekend retreat over at the test kitchens and just bake all weekend long; creating new recipes, tweaking old ones and perfecting the brand new recipes?
Cooking Notes: I made some with pecans as well, put on the top. Just thought this cookie needed a crunch to it. Keep in mind these cookies cook fast. They should not turn golden brown, only slightly light brown; they do burn fast! My changes are in parenthesis.

coconut-cream cheese cookies
adapted from BakingBlonde (original recipe from Cooks Illustrated)
print recipe

2 cups plus 3 TB all-purpose flour
1/2 ts baking soda
1/2 ts salt
12 TB (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted & cooled until room temp
5-6 oz. cream cheese softened (I used 8 oz)
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 ts vanilla extract
2 cups coconut toasted (I used 2 & 1/2 cups)

Adjust oven racks to upper & lower -middle positions & heat oven to 325. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread coconut evenly on baking sheet.
Once oven is preheated place coconut in oven. Bake for 10-20 minutes stirring every 5minutes for even toasting. Remove from oven when light brown. Do NOT burn. Remove from oven. Allow to cool completely before adding to dough.
Re-line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Whisk dry ingredients together; set aside. With electric mixer, or by hand mix butter and cream cheese together with a mixer until smooth. Add sugars and beat until thoroughly combined.
Beat in vanilla until combined.
Add dry ingredients & beat at low speed just until combined. Stir in cooled coconut.
Chill dough overnight.
When ready to bake cookies preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Drop dough onto parchment lined baking sheets and bake for 12-14 minutes or until edges are set and bottoms are light brown. Do NOT overbake!
Cool cookies on sheets until able to lift without breaking and place on wire rack to cool.

pb & chocolate chunk cookies

Have you all heard about the famous bakery in nyc called "Baked"? Amazing place. No, I haven't been, yet. Oh yes, I will be going there, soon, very soon. I hope to meet at least one of the owners and just tap their minds about owning, running a top-notch bakery. It is has been my dream to have my own bakery & diner. And I just love this bakery's concept: new frontiers in baking. I just love how creative they are: no boring cupcakes or same old cookies to be found there. They are creative and inventive, and from what I've heard not stingy on the sizes and quantities. They claim: "...We like to think of ourselves as dessert experts; the kind of people blessed with a highly (almost holy) developed sense of taste and smell...." I can sooo relate to that! I know I have a highly developed sense of taste; knowing what is needed or missing in a recipe; knowing there is too much heat, too little sweet, or not enough cream, etc... Amen.
**Thank you Matt from Baked for your wonderful email--I don't think you could ever imagine how much you made my day with that email! You so totally rock my world!**

Months ago I finally broke down and bought their cookbook: Baked. I opened and devoured the book like it was a brand new shiny and clean Mercedes Benz; pouring over all glossy pictures, with clean hands, careful not to sneeze, move my hair so I won't dirty the pages with any body hairs, fluids, nothing! Careful not over-bend the pages and cause the spine of the book to move, crack, rip, tear, nada. It's a lovely book, a book I will go back to time and time again. As you know I made their famous root beer cake. God that was good. Such a unique, but easy taste in a cake. And the frosting was perfect. I will make that again just so I can take better pictures this time with my new camera. These cookies were really good. I love a good cookie that tastes different. I think it's genius that they made this cookie with dark brown sugar--it made all the difference. And use a good quality milk chocolate in here kids. I mean if you're going to make a damn good cookie from a damn good cookbook then use high quality ingredients.



Here's a serious question for all you foodies out there: if you could have your own bakery, diner, or food related establishment, what kinds of creative food creations would you feature?
Did anyone catch the new show The Chopping Block with Chef Marco Pierre White? Oh I have loved that man and his cooking philosophy for years. He's quite talented, and so very focused on his craft. I love his saying of: "...romance of the chef...is it consistent? Or is it unhinged? A lot of chefs today, in my opinion, cook by numbers, they dance to the drum of the guides, not the palettes of their clients..."
I just hope that during the length of the show series we actually get to see Chef Marco cook, what a treat that would be.

Peanut Butter Cookies with Milk Chocolate Chunks
From Baked
print recipe

1 3/4 cup of all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons of baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) of unsalted butter, softened, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup granulated sugar, plus more for sprinkling
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup creamy peanut butter
6 ounces good milk chocolate, coarsely chopped

Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugars together until fluffy.
Scrape down the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated.
The mixture will look light and fluffy.
Add the vanilla and peanut butter and beat until just incorporated.
Add half of the flour mixture and mix for 15 seconds. Add the remaining flour mixture and mix until just incorporated.
Using a spatula or wooden spoon, fold in the chocolate. Cover the bowl tightly and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. (I left mine in the fridge for 2 nights—I just forgot about it; it came out perfect).
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Drop the dough by rounded tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheets, at least 2 inches apart. With the palm of your hand, very gently press each cookie down so it forms a very tall disk shape. Do not press too hard and do not press it flat. Sprinkle the tops of the cookies with granulated sugar and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time, until the tops of the cookies just begin to brown.
Should make about 30 cookies.

mint chocolate thumbprint cookies

Chocolate & mint runs a close second to my all-time favorite combo of chocolate & peanut butter.

I found these little gems over at Recipe Girl.
The cookie part is like a shortbread and the filling is a light peppermint fudge cream. They were really good, they truly only lasted a day in my house. I didn't even give these away; hubby & I ate them all. Bad girl! Having just one made you want to have another one, then another, and another. Bad I know, but geez they were good. I know a lot of people are like that with potato chips, having one is hard. Well, I'm like that with anything chocolate and mint.
The next time I make these I want to add a peanut butter fudge in the middle with a peanut butter shortbread. Doesn't that sound good?
What's your favorite food combo that you just can't eat one of, be it sweet or salty?

sweet potato-cheddar and oat cookies

Do not let the word cheddar turn you off. You hardly notice it. To be honest, I have never in my life tasted a cookie as good as these. I only had two of them and the rest were sent off to friends as I knew I would easily eat them all. I worked hard on finding the right balance of sweet to savory in a gentle way, and I finally found it. I wanted a cookie that was moist hence the sweet potato, wanted a savory cookie hence the cheddar cheese, and wanted a bit of sweet with some texture hence the chocolate chips and the nice texture of raisins. I knew they would all work together nicely in a cookie. And there is a healthy aspect to this too with the sweet potato and oats. These cookies have all that nice savory and sweet, but not overly so on both. Trust me you will love these; they tasted so good with my morning coffee and were the kind of cookies that 'stick to your ribs' and fills you up.



sweet potato-cheddar & oat cookies
recipe by vanillasugarblog.com
print recipe

1 and ½ sticks of unsalted butter, room temp.
¾ cup brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 cup + 2 TB cooked & mashed sweet potato
1 and ½ cups of mildly sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 ts baking powder
¼ ts cinnamon
¾ ts salt
¾ cup old fashioned oats (or quick cooking)
¾ cup milk chocolate chips
1 and ½ cups pecans
1 cup raisins

In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt, whisk a bit; place to the side.
In another separate bowl combine the oats, raisins, pecans and chocolate chips, mix well.
In a big bowl, cream the butter and both sugars together. Add eggs, then the sweet potatoes, and then the cheddar cheese, combine. Then fold in the dry ingredients; then pecan, raisins and oat mixture.
Don’t over mix, just fold in.
Drop by tablespoon size onto a non stick cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. These cookies do rise a bit. You could shape them into smaller sizes if you want.
Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes. Or until a light golden brown around the edges.
Should make about 30 cookies,depending on size +/-

potato chip & cc cookies

My love for salty, crispy food things combined with chocolate is endless. I love making my potato chips dipped in chocolate, and my new found love of dipping Cheez Its in chocolate was a thrill when I found I could further kick it up a notch by using it in my Poor Man's Toffee. I had yet to make a good chocolate chip cookie with potato chips in them. It was hard as I wanted to find the perfect balance of potato chip and cc's. I would make normal cc cookies and add chopped up potato chips to it, but never tasted the potato chips in the end. To make a long story short and to sum up my many experiments in finding the right balance I finally came up with the fact that you have to use small chocolate chips because the bigger ones (or normal sized ones) were too overpowering and I could never taste the potato chips. I also found that using salt & vinegar potato chips that are hearty and have a bold potato flavor like Kettle Brand worked perfectly. These potato chips have enough salt on them to stand out with the sweet contrast of the chocolate chip, and the intense flavor of the salt & vinegar doesn't break down/get lost as much during the mixing and cooking sections. You really don't taste the vinegar in the chips, just the salt. I think the vinegar dissipates during baking. Also, never grind the potato chips too fine, leave them a bit hearty-like so you have that crunch in each and every cookie. These were so good, I mean really good. If you like salty & sweet then you need to put this on your 'to bake' list. Next time I make these I am trying other flavors of the Kettle Chips; those spicy thai, the chipotle (oh yeah!) and the salt & pepper. Endless possibilities, I love that.

potato chip & chocolate chip cookies
print recipe

1 cup butter, softened
½ cup sugar
½ cup light brown sugar, packed
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
1 cup crushed (not too fine) salt & vinegar potato chips (used Kettle Brand)
1 cup semisweet mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F.
In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking soda and baking powder; mix well.
In a mixer combine butter and sugar at medium-high speed until light and fluffy.
Add egg and vanilla.
Gradually add in the flour mixture and combine well.
Stir in potato chips and chocolate chips by hand.
Place in fridge to chill for at least an hour or more.
Once dough is nice and chilled use a mini scooper or your hands to form about 1-inch balls. Place on an ungreased baking sheet, 2 inches apart. (they do spread when baking)
Bake 14 to 18 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool completely on baking sheet.

Makes 2 dozen.

Note: you can add crushed salted pretzels to this as well in addition or in place of the potato chips. You don’t have to use salt & vinegar chips. Just make sure to always use a hearty/sturdy type of potato chip.

peanut butter shortbread

I love going to the peanut butter company website to find new exciting ways to create baked goods with pb in them. Plus their peanut butter products are some of my favorite. A while ago I saw this recipe for peanut butter shortbread, bookmarked it, even printed it out to try at some point. Or as most of us say, put it in the "to cook" pile. I finally came around to baking it. If you are a lover of peanut butter then I highly suggest making this. It's very rich, very buttery and you can try new flavors of peanut butter to use (best part) in it. The recipes on their website change from month to month so I don't know if the pb shortbread is still up there, but I'll list it below for you. There is also a recipe, currently up there, for pb hot chocolate. Sounds good.
I loved this shortbread so much, that the next time I make it I want to dip one end of the shortbread in melted milk chocolate and give these out to family & friends as Christmas gifts. I haven't even begun to start my holiday baking! Ack! Anyone else way behind in baking? For some reason I am having a hard time getting into the Christmas spirit lately. Maybe it's all the rain and lack of sunshine. Who knows. I did all my Christmas cards, but it felt like it took forever and a day to do. Anyone else in a Christmas-less funk?

PB Shortbread
adapted from The Peanut Butter Company

2 cups flour
2/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup white chocolate pb (or try the: Dark Chocolate dreams, Mighty Maple)
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
(I added 1/2 cup of Nestle pb & milk chocolate swirls morsels)

Prehead the oven to 275 (I cooked mine at 300 degrees). Grease a 9-inch cake pan for wedges or I guess you could use a square pan or even roll into balls for cookies.
In a large bowl, sift together the flour and salt and set aside.
In a separate large bowl, use an electric mixer to combine the butter, peanut butter, sugar, and vanilla till fluffy.
Continue mixing, adding the dry ingredients 1/2 cup at a time, until fully incorporated.
If you want classic wedges, at this point press the dough into the prepared cake pan, using a knife to score the surface of the dough into 12 wedge-shaped pieces. (I put mine in the fridge to chill for an hour before baking, then scored the dough before baking)
Repeatedly press the tips of a fork around the outer edge of the shortbread, creating four concentric circles of dots.
Bake for 60 - 75 minutes (I baked mine at 300 degrees for 60 minutes) or until shortbread is a pale golden color (if using the chocolate pb look for a slight crispness around the edges).
If in wedges, allow to cool for 1 hour before cutting.
(the next time I make these I am dipping one end of the shortbread into melted milk chocolate). Store in airtight container for up to 2 weeks. I put caramel drizzle on almost everything.
A big thank you to my friend Elle over at Elle's New England Kitchen. I won her recent giveway contest and will be receiving Barefoot Contessa's latest book "Back to Basics". I am over-the-moon thrilled to have won.