cake pan cookies stuffed w/ almond joys

Is it a brownie or a cookie?
A brookie perhaps, but I didn't coin that phrase.
I didn't know what to call these.
Cake pan works for me, memory-wise that is, since I'm an old fart.
What do these taste like?
To me, they taste like a softer version of a shortbread.
Not at all heavy or dense, light and very flavorful.
I'll take flavor over sweet any day.
And the best part?
Not that sweet.
Oh I cannot tell you how much I hate over-sweet cookies and brownies!
So if you are looking for a semi-lightened up version of a cookie then bookmark this recipe.
One thing you do have to watch when baking these is that they bake up fast.
Since they are not that heavy they will bake fast and tend to overbake/dry up very fast.
So heed warning on the baking times!


They don't keep long. Maybe a couple days wrapped in air-tight container.
But rarely do baked goods last even a day with my family and friends.


Do you want the middle piece?

cake pan cookies stuffed with almond joy

print recipe

1 3/4 cups flour

1/2 ts baking soda

¾ TB baking powder

5 TB double dutch cocoa powder

½ ts sea salt

2 sticks (16 TB) unsalted butter, room temp

½ cup light brown sugar, packed

½ cup granulated sugar

1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk

½ ts pure vanilla extract

8 almond joys eggs or whatever candy you wish (might need more/less depending on cake pan size you use AND what size almond joys you use)

Cooking notes:  I used almond joy egg shapes since their size and shape made sense for this recipe.  If you can’t find them then use another egg shaped candy or whatever you desire.

I used a 10-inch cake pan.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Whisk all the dry ingredients together; set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, either by hand or using a mixer (I don’t have a mixer so I did this by hand) mix butter & sugars until thoroughly combined.

Add in the egg and egg yolk and vanilla extract, mix well. Then add in the dry mixture, mix until just combined, do not overmix.

Spray an 8, 9 or 10-inch cake pan with non-stick spray.

Spread batter into cake pan evenly. If it’s too sticky then wet your fingers. Don’t push the dough down too hard, you want it light, so just make sure to cover all areas.

Place, in a circle, about 7 almond joy eggs and then one in the middle (see photo on how to place). Gently push them in, don’t push down all the way through.

Bake about 16-19 minutes, rotating pans halfway through. You’ll know the cookies are done by crisp edges and slightly puffy middles, and the tops will be soft, this is good.  Don’t let it get crisp! It’s a fragile cookie dough and will dry out if overcooked.  So look for non-jiggly middles and a “gentle” crisp on top.

Let it sit in pan after baking for at least 30 minutes to finish setting up.

Slice into pie like slices (see photo on website).

Makes 8 large slices.

cookie butter french toast

Sunday mornings, I love making breakfast.
Even if I'm dead tired.
I have the kitchen all to myself, it's quiet, and now that spring is supposed to be here on cape cod, the birds are starting to sing just outside my kitchen window.
I know this sounds like a set up for a great movie scene, but truth in fact, it's one the best times I great creative.  Well, that is, if I have enough espresso THEN the creative juices get flowing.
On sunday mornings I have hubby home in which to experiment my lastest breakfast creation.
Most creations he loves, some creations I can't tell him what it is for fear if he knows then he won't eat it.  Yes, he is a fussy eater--picky moreso.
I know, an all-around foodie like myself married a non-foodie.
Ask him what is cookie butter and he'll reply "it's cookies with butter in it".  Gah!
So when I set out to make a kicked up breakfast recipe, I rarely tell him what it is until he's halfway through the meal.  Like this dish I'll tell him it's "just" french toast!
He'll hear the words "french toast" and be cool.
Then a few bites later, he'll say "what did you do to it--it tastes different?"  Gah!!
I would love to know if any of you do this with your spouses or kids?
The inspiration for this came about at 2am on a sunday morning, I woke up starved and already thinking about sunday breakfast.  OK, and my obsession with cookie butter plays a huge part too!
My brain says "what haven't we done breakfast-wise with cookie butter?"  And here is where french toast came into play.
How would it work?
Simple make sure the bread is frozen, so we can spread the cookie butter on fairly easily.
Make sure you work fast dipping cookie butter coated bread into egg wash.
And make sure the butter coated frying pan is nice and hot!
It all worked perfectly.

(on the side of the french toast is my tomato-kielbasa hash which, if anyone is interested I can post the recipe?)

The frozen bread helps the cookie butter adhere better. Make sure to apply a thin layer of cookie butter.

(the person who owned our house before us, LOVED pink--it's everywhere in the house!)


Next time I make these I think I will use whipped cream.  The maple syrup was sweet, and really not needed as the cookie butter french toast was quite tasty on it's own.

cookie butter french toast

print recipe

6-8 Slices of white or whole wheat bread, kept frozen

3 eggs

½ cup or so of milk

½ - ¾ cup of cookie butter

butter for frying French toast

maple syrup or whipped cream for garnish

chopped walnuts or pecans for garnish, optional

Get frying pan ready, you want it nice and hot. Cast iron (no grill) works best to give the cookie butter a nice sear and will help keep it adhere to the bread.

Make the egg wash by mixing the eggs with the milk; stir well.

Take your frozen bread and spread a nice thin layer of cookie butter on both sides.

Place the prepared bread on a plate, by the stove, next to your egg wash pan.

Place butter in heated frying pan, dip prepared bread in egg wash and place in heated frying pan.  Do not crowd the pan as we want to keep the pan nice and hot so it gets a nice sear and not that much cookie butter sticks to the pan.

Fry in batches and keep done French toast in a warm 200 degree oven.

Make sure to place more butter in pan as you fry each new batch of French toast.

Serve with chopped nuts and maple syrup.

friday links

Happy Friday!
As much as I want to say the word "happy" I am not with all these winter storms that keep hitting the Cape.
Two days ago was the first day of spring and right after that we had yet another snow storm.
This one dumping six inches of snow.  Which by the way, six inches of snow to us now is a mere couple of inches. I don't like getting used to it that way.
It's not so much the snow that bothers me, it's the lack of sun that is killing my moods.
We seem to be on this pattern of five days of cloudy, dark or snow weather, and maybe one and half days of sun.
I miss the sun, I miss the natural Vit D she gives me too.

chatham fish pier

chatham fish pier. The beach is still pretty no matter the weather.

provincetown. the row of cottages on route 6a just before entering p-town. ghostly looking, but in two months they will all be filled with life.

my latest obsession, the chipotle tabasco sauce has just the right amount of smoke added to it, and has just the right amount of heat.
you must try your avocado toast this way.

or try this way: on an egg sandwich.

I was asked to try Bonnieville's Power Cookie.  Pretty darn good for a vegan, gluten free and dairy free cookie! With no refined sugar too!
Those kind of cookies are hard to make AND hard to make tasty.  If I had to change one thing?
It needs more chocolate flavor.

The strawberries at Whole Foods have been simply stunning.
They always have the best selection of produce.

It's here!  I was sent a copy of Gesine latest cookbook!
I'm thrilled to pieces.  Have you seen the latest recipes?
Bake It like you Mean It is about showcasing cakes from the inside out,   Each chapter is devoted to a technique of making different types of cake beginning with the easiest recipe and moving to the more technically difficult as the chapter progresses.  When the cakes are cut they reveal intricate layers of patterns and designs.  One recipe you can have right now: Pyramid Cake is on her website.
Not only that, but recipes like creamsicle cheesecake, creamsicle meringue, truffle caramel fig cake, pumpkin mousse cruller tart, meyer lemon and blackberry zebra cheesecake....

sunshine creamsicle cheesecake pg. 170

around the web:

banana-brickle muffins from taste & tell
ham & cheese bread rolls from ang sarap
raw strawberry-lemon cake bars! from fragrant vanilla cake
s'mores candy bars! from not so humble pie (I am doing this!)
get enough sleep to ward off anxiety from greatist.com
avocado lovers maybe healthier overall from greatist.com
researchers care more about yoga than ever before from mindbodygreen.com
4 foods that can put you in a bad mood from aligyno.com
raw mint Oreo's from the sweet life
25 things to make you smile from buzzfeed.com
14 most common fitness injuries from outsidemagazine.com
bacon fat gingersnaps from seriouseats.com
best small towns in America (I love that P-town is on here) from fodors.com
dr oz's 30-day detox from doctoroz.com (anyone done this? seems costly)
how to make turkey jerky (paleo lovers) from marksdailyapple.com
turn bad habits into good ones from greatist.com
whole foods commits to full GMO transparency from wholefoodsmarket.com
detox asana: 8 yoga poses to spring clean your body from yoganonymous.com
how tapping can help you deal w/ debilitating disease from positivelypostive.com
secrets to living beyond 100 from intentblog.com
earl grey cupcakes w/ early grey frosting from fork and flower
curried baked carrot chips from oh my veggies
vintage easter basket cookies (step by step) from bobbies baking blog
spicy breaded sweet potato fries from peanut butter & peppers
easter biscuits from julias pantry
apple bourbon cream cheese wontons from lab at 56
bang bang shrimp from running to the kitchen
hawaiian bbq chicken taquitos from damn delicious
enter to win a trip to Duncan Hines Test Kitchen from bake or break
avocado feta salsa from diethood
buffalo chicken quinoa bites from damn delicious

Have a wonderful weekend!

double chocolate-cinnamon cookies

Those cinnamon chips I see in the stores, I've never been one to just grab them and use them.
Always weary of how they will taste, too chemically, too harsh, too something....
But alas I did buy one, having a coupon for one AND it was on sale--that's enough reason there to buy it...right?
I first tasted them and they are awful on their own, but surely no one eats these on their own?
Now that they were opened I had to do something with them--make cookies.
Combine these with really good chocolate and there's sure to be something....I hope?
Thankfully they were a HUGE hit.
Had no idea these cookies would be this tasty with those cinnamon chips.
AND, the other bonus to this, is the dough is crazy easy to make since we melt the butter.
Only downfall, if you have to have one, is to chill the dough.
Why do I keep asking you to chill the darn dough?
Cookie doughs bake up better when they are chilled, they poof up, they crisp up in the best outer shell crispiness way.  Think of it as taking pancake batter and trying to bake it, it would just run even more, it wouldn't firm up, it would lose all it's internal moisture and dry up, it would take a long time to crisp up.  Whereas a chilled dough placed into a hot oven will automatically hold its nice uniform shape, won't spread, and most importantly will keep all it's moisture inside and steam itself (quickly) to bake, while the outside gets nice and crisp.  Warm and chewy inside, crisp outside--heavenly right?
And of course there is the whole science of letting the gluten relax while its chilling.
Ruth Wakefield the creator of the Tool House Chocolate Chip Cookie always chilled her dough overnight.
When I made the famous Jacques Torres chocolate chip cookies, I chilled that dough for 96 hours!
The longer it sits the better; flavor and texture wise.


I used a regular size ice cream scoop.  You can use a larger or smaller size, just make sure to adjust the baking times.
 

double chocolate-cinnamon cookies

print recipe

1 ½ cups flour

¾ cup bread flour

¾ TB baking soda

¾ TB baking powder

5 oversized TB dutch process cocoa powder

¾  ts sea salt

2 sticks (16 TB) unsalted butter, melted & cooled

½ cup + 1 TB light brown sugar, packed

½ cup granulated sugar

1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk

½ ts pure vanilla extract

¾ cup high quality semi-sweet chips

¾ cup cinnamon chips

Cook notes: make sure to let the melted butter cool a bit. When you are ready to use the butter give it a good stir to incorporate the butter solids and fats back together.

You can add a full cup of the chocolate chips and cinnamon chips if you like. I added in only ¾ cup as I wasn’t sure if the cinnamon chips would be over-powering.

It’s hard to tell when these are done, just look for non-jiggly middles and non-sticky cookies.  It’s really easy to overbake these, so definitely take them out at the 13-15 minute mark.

Whisk all the dry ingredients together; set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, either by hand or using a mixer (I don’t have a mixer so I did this by hand) mix butter & sugars until thoroughly combined. Add in the egg and egg yolk and vanilla extract, mix well. Then add in the dry mixture, mix until just combined, do not overmix. Next FOLD in the chocolate chips and cinnamon chips. Cover bowl and let chill in fridge at least an hour or longer.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees, line four cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Using an normal size ice cream scoop, and making sure to compact the dough in the scooper as much as possible, scoop out on baking sheets about 1 & ½ inches apart.

Bake about 12-15 minutes, rotating pans halfway through. You’ll know the cookies are done by slightly crisp edges and slightly puffy middles.

Don’t try and take them off the cookie sheets, they will just break.  Let them sit there at least 5 minutes before moving to a wire rack.

Should make about 22-24.

sea salted cookie butter-caramels

Ever have this recipe idea in your head for months on end, you can see the finished product, but you don't know how to get to that finished product?
That would be these magical little gems.
I had it in my head how I wanted them to look and exactly how I wanted them to taste.
Uncertain if cookie butter, added to hot caramel would hold up texture-wise or would it dissolve away?
First batch I burned the caramel and had brittle--Cookie butter brittle which I should post for you since it was quite tasty and I hate to waste food.
You know why I burned it?
I have crappy pans.
Only have one nice, perfect All-Clad, but it's so small for making caramels.
I used the All Clad for the second batch because I was not going to burn it again since I had a dinner date with hubby in less than one hour.  It was going to work!
Thankfully it did.
But the second time around the caramel got stuck to the pan.  I didn't butter the dish enough; I used too cold of a butter to grease it up with and it did not adhere all the way.
So tip(s) of the week?
Use room temperature butter to grease up your dish for the caramels.
AND should the caramels get stuck in the dish, pop them in the freezer for 10 minutes and they should lift right out.

I know a lot of you will click away seeing the title homemade caramels, please don't!
If you invest in a good candy thermometer you can make your own caramels.
Once you make them 2 or 3 times you will be more comfy--trust me.
My first batch of caramels I burned them, and I still do from time to time.
And use a good pan.  I can't stress enough how having a nice thick-bottomed pan really helps distribute the heat evenly and avoiding burn sugar.
With these cookie butter-caramels I made them so that there is a nice texture-like coating on the top of cookie butter. The cookie butter sprinkled with the sea salt is just a heavenly combo.
If you don't want a texture, but just want a taste in the background of the cookie butter then I suggest swirling the cookie butter more into the caramel before it sets up (see photos below).






If you're a cookie butter fan, you must make these.  The texture and taste of the cookie does shine through in these caramels and the sea salt on top adds that extra layer of flavor from the cookie butter.

sea salted cookie butter-caramels

print recipe

5 TB salted butter, plus more for greasing up pan

1/2 cup heavy cream, room temp

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup light corn syrup

sea salt

¼ - ½ cup cookie butter

candy thermometer

wooden chop stick (or other similar item)

wax paper for wrapping caramels, optional

Butter an 8 or 9 inch glass or ceramic baking pan.

Clip the candy thermometer to the side of a medium heavy-duty saucepan (a saucepan with a nice thick bottom).

Over medium heat, heat up ¼ cup heavy cream along with the sugar, light brown sugar, butter and corn syrup, stirring until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves completely.

Continue to heat the caramel without stirring until the thermometer reaches 240 degrees F.  Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the remaining ¼ cup heavy cream.

Return the pot to the heat and re-heat the caramel until the thermometer reaches 243 degrees F.

Working quickly and having your cookie butter at the ready for adding, pour the caramel into the prepared baking dish.  Add in globs of cookie butter, let it melt a bit, then using a wooden chopstick gentle swirl the cookie butter around making swirls.  Being careful not to push the cookie butter to the bottom of the caramel—we want to keep a nice even bottom of caramel.

Let sit at room temperature for 3-5 hours to set up.

Before slicing, gently add on some sea salt to the top, and ever so gently push sea salt into caramel so it stays.

Using a small spatula, lift out of the baking pan onto a cutting board.  Using a sharp knife, into 1-inch squares.

Wrap each caramel in waxed paper and store at room temperature.