chocolate chip cookie pie with graham

The chocolate chip cookie isn't what it used to be.
Now a days it's stuffed, it's fried, it's raw, it veganized, it's gluten free, it's frozen, it's gone molecular, broken down scientifically into chemistry, been made into reverse where the cookie is the chips and the chips are the dough (brilliant!), and it's even been made into air.
So I'm making sure to do my part by keeping the 'stuffing' possibilities strong and alive!
I've always wanted to add in graham crackers, but this time I added in salty graham crackers.
Since the the graham is so sweet, a touch of salt mixed in with it mixes really nicely with the cookie dough.


I also added in a layer of nutella too, you don't have to; I was just craving Nutella, so....
Do you ever wonder what the next trend for the chocolate chip cookie will be?
I do, but don't have an answer.....just yet.


I added in a layer of Nutella, you don't have to; I was just craving Nutella at the time, so in the bowl it goes....





A HUGE congrats to the winner of the CakeLove cookbook giveaway: #29 Lori Stilger.
I'll be emailing you soon!

chocolate chip cookie pie with graham
cookie base recipe from Jacques Torres
print recipe

2 cups minus 2 TB (8 1/2 ounces) cake flour
1 2/3 cups (8 1/2 ounces) bread flour
1 1/4 ts baking soda
1 1/2 ts baking powder
1 1/2 ts coarse salt
2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 TB (8 ounces) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 ts natural vanilla extract
4-6 ounces of bittersweet chocolate chips* (see cook notes)
4-6 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate chips* (see cook notes)

filling:
1/4 – ½ cup crushed graham crackers
¼ to ¾  cup Nutella (all depending on how much you want or don’t want)
Sea salt for sprinkling top of graham crumbs (don’t skip this part!)

cook notes:
The chocolate chip cookie recipe is from Jacques Torres; I use this repeatedly because it truly is the very best chocolate chip cookie I’ve ever had.
In Jacques recipe he does cookies, you can do cookies if you want, I just was short on time and wanted to do bars as they would hold the Nutella much better.
*Also, in Jacques original recipe, he uses 1 ¼ pounds of high quality bittersweet chocolate. I did not in this recipe, as I wanted the Nutella flavor to shine through.  I just used a small amount of chocolate chips, using a blend of bittersweet and semi sweet.  I do not recommend using milk chocolate chips in this recipe—it would be overkill sweetness.
The whole ‘most important step’ of Jacques Torres famous cc cookie recipe is to let the cookie dough sit and marinate for at least a day or more (48 hours).  Please don’t skip this step.  I have gone as far as 96 hours and the dough was perfect.
Lastly, you all know by now I don't have a mixer so I did this recipe by hand. The dough is very tough and hard to mix, so I used my hands--great workout! But if you have a mixer, please go ahead and use it.  This time around I used a large cake pan (10-inch) instead of my 9x13 pan.  It came out perfectly!
You don’t have to add in the Nutella; I just did as an after thought.

Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.
Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes.
Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla.
Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds.
Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them.
Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours.
When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Spray a 10-inch cake pan (or 9 x 13 pan) with non-stick spray.
Divide dough into 2 piles: 2/3 and 1/3.
Take the 2/3 dough and line the bottom of the cake pan with it, making sure to get all the corners, making sure there aren’t any holes or gaps in the dough. Use a spoon to push down all the edges.
Spread a layer of nutella; do not spread it to the edges! (nutella is not necessary).
Then sprinkle on the crushed graham, and put a nice layer of sea salt on top (don’t skip the sea salt—this really brings out the flavor of the graham).
Take the 1/3 remaining dough and in clumps, place on the top.
Don’t push the crumble down into the dough, just leave it on the top—it’s ok to have spaces in the crumble—gaps are good on the top, it will let the nutella show through and the crumbles will bake up nice & crisp.
Bake until golden brown but still soft, roughly 25 – 35 minutes.
Look for golden brown edges, non-jiggly middle.
The middle will be a bit soft, but once it completely cools it won’t be as gooey; it sets up really nice.
You really have to let this cool at least an hour before slicing.
Slice with a sharp knife.
Makes about 12-15 slices, depending on how you cut them.

friday links

Happy Friday kids!
Sorry this is late, but here on cape cod we just had a major thunder & lighting storm, and our power
kept going out.
Thunder storm in the middle of February!  And it was just as powerful as one in the summer!
Crazy.

I made chocolate shortbread fingers.

Do you like nutty crusts? I do.
Here is a pecan crusted strawberry bars. Very easy and quite tasty too.

The motherload of Cadbury Mini Eggs (an almost 2 pound bag found at Walmart).
I was so happy at this find. Is that bad? It's bad right?

Those bistro boxes at Starbucks are quite good.
This is the chicken & hummus bistro box.
This is my kind of fast food--no crash & burn after lunch.

Have you tried these Valhrona chocolate perles?
Like a crunchy cookie-like biscuit in the middle. Terribly addicting.
Found at Whole Foods (in the cheese and/or chocolate sections)

Yeah it's pretty and all, but I'm so tired of snow already.

It's February 21 and we've had over 10 snowstorms? I've lost count on how many feet we've gotten....

So tired of it...

Bass River, cape cod

Minimal flooding this storm around; fingers crossed it stays that way.


Around the web:

cheesecake factory avocado egg rolls
diet coke addict drinks up to 50 cans a day! (if this is in fact true, how is she still alive?)
chocolate-sour cream cupcakes
homemade lime curd
12 types of procrastinators (I'm the snacker & the perpetuator)
steak frites on sticks
understanding inflammation & healing for athletes
DIY cultured butter (have you tried cultured butter? It's really good!)
12 chemicals that are screwing up your hormones
the real reason your cable bill is so high (might go higher now that Comcast might join Time Warner)
vegan comfort food: cashew "cheese" dip
meyer lemon pudding cakes
butterscotch cookies w/ burnt butter icing
DIY dulce de leche (it's so easy!)
turn a sheet into a laundry bag
how to make a heart shaped cake (using your own cake pans!)
chicken flautas
the stupid docu-soap "The Vineyard" might be coming back. I hope not!
how do you tame tension? take the stress-busters quiz
news anchor Brian Williams does a perfect 'cover' of rapper's delight (hilarious)
show your best cookie cutters to Serious Eats!
This is what an $85 million estate looks like
flourless brownies
sweet potato sliders w/ goat cheese & pecans
14 most unintentional terrifying statues in the world (warning: not for kids!)
new french toast goldfish
thin & crispy chocolate cookies
chocolate & weight loss
making buttermilk at home
2014 james beard semifinalists! (congrats to my Baked Boys!)
nutter butter cookies
in case you wanted to know how to put fringe on your sneakers
are make & bake mini loaf pans worth the time & money?
rib-eye steak with béarnaise 
best exercise for weight loss?
dan harris: how an 'on air' panic attack improved my life
phone sends smelly calls & texts! (oh dear)
2 helpless deer on icy lake get rescued with brilliant idea
worlds first-ever internet emergency room
STOP! Scented jewelry! I want! So cute
sunlight pills!
16 savory muffin recipes (excellent list)

Have a wonderful weekend!

Interview with cookbook author Warren Brown of Cake Love +Giveaway

Today I’m delighted to be given the chance to ask cookbook author, star of the food network tv show: Sugarush, and bakery owner Warren Brown a few questions about his books, his bakeries, and his life. And more importantly--how he does it all!
Most of you may know Warren from his hit tv show on food network Sugar Rush from 2005-2007. And you may also know him by the infamous bakery CakeLove in Washington, DC that he started after he left his career in practicing law.   It was that bakery that started him on his journey to becoming a cookbook author first book CakeLove, then came United Cakes of America, CakeLove in the Morning, and most recently Pie Love (which is my favorite).

CakeLove from Scratch, United Cakes of America, CakeLove in the Morning, PieLove

I gave Warren a few extra questions because I'm so fascinated by how much he's done in his life, admired his dedication to taking on so much in his life; leaving a secure career to go off and do another chapter in his life.  
Thank you to Warren for taking the time to answer each and every one of my questions!

Were there one or two defining moments that made you want to leave your career in law to open a bakery?
In the  first three months of my job doing administrative litigation there was a Friday evening I was doing research for a case that one of my superiors asked me to work on. It was after hours, probably around 6/6:30pm. I walked out of my office to use the restroom and couldn’t help but notice how quiet it was. I just thought to myself, I’m ready to work hard, maybe harder than what’s expected of me here. I wanted to work hard and do it building something that I enjoyed.

Was it in fact a love of wanting to open a bakery or something else that led to the bakery?

I did not begin baking cakes with the aspiration to open a bakery for the sake of running a bakery. If there is anything I’ve learned running CakeLove it’s that running a bakery is skill set that is very different than baking cakes from scratch. There’s some overlap, but it’s not complete. I started baking cakes as a way to learn more about culinary arts, specifically baking. I had a lot of experience as a home, amateur cook, but it was all savory foods. I started cooking when I was about 10 or 11 with really, really basic foods, and found myself making meals from scratch in high school. I just loved cooking and eating! Baking was always a mystery to me, so I wanted to learn the ins and outs of baking. Cakes proved to be a fun way to get familiar with butter, sugar, eggs and flour. 

cherry-chocolate chip cupcakes pg. 104 CakeLove

Your first bakery CakeLove, was it pretty much hands on, work 16 hours days until you got the flow going?  I know it can be hard laying down a “real routine” in bakeries.

Yes, absolutely. I remember the first 9 days really well. We opened on a Saturday at the end of March, a nice time of year in DC.  There was a break in sales on the first day when I took a break and stepped outside. The sun was setting, Rick, one of the bakers was having a smoke, and Fernando, cake decorator, was with us. It felt right. We had a lot of work to do to get the bakery where it needed to be, but the mix felt right and I was confident that it would succeed.  The very next day it rained and sales were down by 60%. I was worried, but knew that two days doesn’t really show me anything.

The rest of the week went smoothly, but I was working every single day practically 14 hours a day. On the 10th day, the second Monday, we closed for a day off. I couldn’t believe how tired I was and felt like I was gonna die. Early on I knew I had to delegate tasks and find staff to work shifts so I wasn’t overwhelmed. 

Speaking of success and failure in bakeries.  Tell us what you think truly makes a bakery succeed in it’s first few months.; besides good, quality product, what else?

I think the element of success for a bakery must be met early on and continually:

1. Be excellent and inspiring to customers

2. Bake great products that taste great and looks great.

3. Keep things running on time and smoothly.

Where did you get the idea for your newest cookbook: PieLove?

Sounds logical to go from cakes to pies, right?

My first love for baking was pies . I wanted to take what I learned about flour, sugar and butter with baking cakes and apply it to pies, specifically how to make really good crusts. 

You were on the Oprah show!

What was it like being on Oprah?  

You had to be nervous?

Did you bring her a cake?  

I was on the episode: What should I do with My Life? Aired first on Jan 27th, 2003. 

It was a great experience that gave me some validation that the risk I took was worthwhile and valuable. The risk payoff was not, and remains, in the financial reward. It’s about the personal and spiritual satisfaction.

One part of the backstory never reported on is how sick I was just before the taping. I was doubled over in pain for a solid 24 hours with the worst food poisoning in my life and had to fly from LA to Chicago for the taping. After a long day of travel and keeping as quiet and still as possible, I felt like I was dying the night before the taping. I don’t think it was just nerves. My stomach and abdominal muscles had been so strained from being sick that they went through hours of cramps the night before the taping. I ate a few bananas, took some pain Tylenol and went to bed. Miraculously I felt fine the next day. In fact, I felt very good and my nerves had been totally cured by the illness. When I got to the studio and was standing upright, I was just thankful for being there and was determined not to hold back or clam up. 

I had mini pound cakes shipped in from my bakery, something like 400 of them.They went over very well!

All your favorite pie crust recipes done perfectly in PieLove

I remember fondly, and looking forward to your show on Food Network: Sugar Rush.

(Sugar Rush was a show about meeting and hanging with award-winning pastry chefs to discover the secrets behinds their grand masterpieces.  Warren would take home what he learned and try to recreate it in his kitchen, with his own tips & tricks).

There was one episode where you did chocolate burritos!  Oh how I was smitten with you then.   The field trip parts on the show were also a great bonus; traveling around and learning some of the best secrets from pastry chefs as well as seeing their surroundings--where they created their masterpieces.

Do you miss the show?  

Sure, I really enjoyed meeting pastry chefs and seeing what people were doing all around the country. It was a thrill to interview folks and do the work on camera. 

I think I like the work of being a baker, business owner a little more than media host, but they're all great work.

I read somewhere along in my research on you, that one of the best feelings you get when you bake someone a cake, is when they taste it and their delight shows through on their face...
In the article it read:  ”….. at first, Brown took on cake baking as a hobby, teaching himself through cookbooks and an occasional professional class. He watched the faces of dinner guests light up when the cake came out….”

I share this because I know that feeling exactly; it definitely what pushed me into baking.

Truly a great feeling isn’t it?

Makes you want to create more.  Is that what you could call your drive? -- Your will to open a bakery of your own?

I am drawn to baking for lots of reasons. I love to know how people react to my cakes, cookies, pies, or more. Obviously I can’t see all of the reactions to everything that is purchased and in some ways it forced me to tamp down my desire or need to know exactly how my baking impacts others.  I mean, I’m so literal a lot of the time that I feel like I’m an all or nothing guy. If I know I can’t see everyone’s reaction, then I don’t want to build up my hopes and expectations to know anyone’s reaction. Does that make sense? That’s the personal side of me at least – the side that used to draw on knowing how happy my baking makes others. 

Once CakeLove transformed into a business, know the impact and reactions became more of a need that warranted documentation and metrics. Feedback became marching orders to change, adjustments and updates. The wonk in me takes well to that in an effort to build cakes that have a technical structure that balances the customer’s desires with our ingredients, equipment and my baking philosophy. 

I love to create, for myself and my own curiosity and for the benefit of my customers. Some of the things I love do not go over well—like an espresso strength mocha cupcake. People said it tastes too much like coffee. That doesn’t make sense to me and I don’t even drink coffee. I loved it for the taste and the caffeine high. But, not everything I like our customers or my staff take to. 

Tennessee Mountain Stack Cake pg. 78 United Cakes of America

I also love, and want to share with my readers that when you were first starting out, you did a lot of what I like to call “street research” where you would go out to other bakeries, and ‘pick their brains’.  

Can’t tell you how incredibly smart this is.

Great advice for new bakery owners/wannabe bakery owners.

It’s really how you learn to grow, get wise, and help you succeed.

Wouldn’t you agree?

Do it as much as you can. 
It’s hard to find time to talk in detail with bakery owners, but when you can grab as much time as you can and ask direct questions. If they don’t feel comfortable answering, then they won’t. 
Many people respect someone who knows their stuff and asks the right questions, so do your homework. 

Share with us your favorite recipes from your books?

CakeLove:  Sassy Pound Cake

United Cakes of America:  Missouri Ooey Gooey cake – delicious. 

CakeLove In the Morning:  Ginger Pecan Scones

PieLove :  Blueberry Maple pie with Vanilla bean crust. 

Mud Cake pg. 102 United Cakes of America

Do you have favorite comfort foods?

Mac & Cheese. I’ve been doing a study of it this winter for my daughters, trying to get the right balance of noodles and wetness. They like a wet sauce, like Kraft without ever having tasted it. I do a blend of Gouda and cheddar with a roux. But have also had fab success using evaporated milk instead of a roux, and it’s much easier.

What do you do in your downtime?

These days, swimming. Started swimming in 2008 and now it’s my exercise of choice. 
There’s not a lot of downtime though. 

You go on speaking engagements to young students and rising entrepreneurs about business development and finding one’s passion.

Sometimes on the road, one at a time, and sometimes locally. Usually it’s about how to find one’s passion, how did I find my passion and start CakeLove. I enjoy sharing the CakeLove story especially how it started. I enjoy even more just talking about the experience of being a small business owner. It’s not always a cheery story, but that’s what people say they like when I speak, that’s it’s real and from the heart. 

White Chocolate Waffles pg. 45 CakeLove in the Morning

I read somewhere that you worked yourself straight into some serious exhaustion.  
How did that come about?

Way back when I started I was burning the candle on both ends. That continued for a while, really while I was still going out before getting married. With the kids my life and lifestyle is totally different. I am my parents now and couldn’t be happier crashing just about as early as my girls. Late nights can be fun, but those days are over. 

Any new projects we can expect from you?

Cake Bites is the new project. 
Cake and cream cheese icing layered together in 4 or 12 oz jars. 
I’m pivoting CakeLove away from  a business model focused on retail storefronts to wholesale supplier of a packaged consumer good. 
I enjoy focusing our work on making the product and allowing the grocer retailer to handles retailing the product. I hope to make the full transition complete within the next 2 years. 

Chocolate Sponge Cake with Chocolate Buttercream pg. 129 CakeLove

I must share with you that in addition to getting a few questions from your fans, a lot them wanted me to tell you that your buttercream frostings (in the cookbook CakeLove) were some of the best to work with and tastiest. And they thank you for that!

Thank you for the kudos about the buttercream frostings. That means a lot. 
We have many different bases and favor extensions off of each base.  I only wish that the rest of the market fully appreciated the nuances of cooked buttercreams and what it takes to appropriately serve them – namely to not eat it cold.  We never want people to eat cold cake and resorted to disclaimers of different sorts to give people the heads up. That was met with resistance of various sorts over the years. 
You may be surprised to know how much push back and flak we’ve caught from critics to consumers because we make and stuck with cooked buttercreams all of these years, instead of just resorting to American Buttercream. 
Why? Well, I really like to focus on specific ingredient flavors and let that item dictate what format it needs to be in for the best presentation of taste. Sometimes that means bending to the will of the food in order to capture the best of what it has to offer. Take strawberries, they’re fabulous in buttercream. We let the mixer beat freshly cut strawberries into Italian meringue buttercream. 
Or a different way to feature coconut in buttercream, our “New German Chocolate” (also coconut buttercream in CakeLove)—it’s a coconut vanilla brown sugar buttercream that is built around a yolk based custard. Both of these have to be held under refrigeration b/c of the ingredients and method of production, but as long as it’s at room temperature when served, it’s fabulous. Really delicious. 
I think the steps to necessary to serve it are just like chilling beer or bubbly before a party, setting out cheese so it’s not fridge cold when sliced and served, or setting out an ice cream cake to slightly thaw before it’s cut and served. Fine food requires a little work and cake is no exception. 

Coco Cola Cake pg. 88 United Cakes of America

Thank you so much Warren!

For more information on Warren and his bakeries, please visit www.cakelove.com

You can follow Warren on Facebook  and Twitter  

Warren was kind enough to donate one lucky winner, one copy of each of his four cookbooks.
All you have to do to enter is leave a comment telling us which one of Warren's books intrigues you most.
CakeLove - How to bake cakes from scratch 
United Cakes of America - recipes celebrating every state
CakeLove in the Morning - recipes for muffins, scones, pancakes, waffles, biscuits & other breakfast treats
PieLove - recipes for sweet & savory pies, galettes, pastry cremes, tarts & turnovers

All anonymous comments will be deleted!
Please have a valid signature line, name AND email!
Drawing will be held 2/24/14
Good Luck!

friday links

Happy Valentine's Day!


How this foodie does Valentine's Day.


Before all the snow moved in...(Nauset Beach, Wellfleet, MA)



Treasure hunters out on Corporation Beach in Dennis.
One never knows what the sea will wash up with all these winter storms we've been having.


Low tide in east dennis, ma. In a couple months this beach will be filled with people,
hard to imagine now that it's 20 degrees and very blustery.

Lands end in Dennis, MA.
A couple days ago this was covered over with the ocean.
One day it's calm and beautiful, the next day it's covered with raging waves and snow.


Sagamore Bridge, Cape Cod, MA--gateway to cape cod.
Have you crossed it? Rather have you sat in traffic on it?


Imagine having this view every day? Dennis, MA


New ice cream joint on the cape: The Local Scoop in Orleans on cranberry highway.
Make your own sundae.
They have nutella whipped cream!



**Someone very sweet, went and nominated my  blog on The 2014 Homie Awards via The Kitchn.
First, whoever did that thank you so much!
And second, since I'm up there, I would love to see how far I can get up there; be kind of neat to get in the top 20 or top 10?
Would you mind voting for me?
That would just be so neat.  And thank you so much if you did and to whoever went ahead and nominated little old me. 


Around the web:

researcher uses controversial experiments to prove our thoughts & intentions can alter our physical world
misunderstanding orange juice as a health drink
25 horrible things that happen when you don't get enough sleep
20 minute sriracha sauce
how to make your own sprinkles
little french fudge cakes
many benefits of turmeric (Dr. Weil)
how to make turmeric tea
how to respond to negative people without being negative
18 north carolina patients possibly exposed to rare brain disease
normal physical activity obliterates the deleterious effects of high caloric intake
gluten sensitivity may be misnomer for distinct illnesses to various wheat proteins
potential tactics for defeating cancer
dark chocolate addiction is driving up the price of chocolate
everything you need to know about selenium
deep fried peanut butter & jelly sandwiches!
stop obsessing over alignment in yoga class
birthday cake M&M's are here
how about a custom, luxury, rolling cabin?
difference between omega 3's in fish oil vs. flaxseeds?
why writers are the worst procrastinators
I want this cookbook so badly: How Can It Be Gluten Free from America's Test Kitchen
how to correctly check you cats vitals
DIY sequined chocolate boxes (gorgeous!)
homemade tortilla chips (guess what? it's easy!)
coconut butter & nutella pie pops
quick & easy mongolian beef
homemade strawberry almond milk
kitchen 101: cooking fats & oils
are you ruining your coffee by grinding the beans the wrong way?
graham cracker cookies
homemade welsh cakes
samoas rice krispies treats
manhattan cocktail truffles
how to build a better oatmeal muffin recipe
is pasteurized juice a good choice or not?
dark chocolate quinoa cake w/ peanut butter frosting




Whole Foods is my perfect valentine's!
Can't wait till they open on the cape, hopefully this summer?

Have a wonderful weekend!

flourless peanut butter-cinnamon cookies for #ElleAPalooza

As many of you might know by now, the food blogging world lost a dear dear friend way too early.
Elle of ellesnewenglandkitchen.com
(See my past post about her passing).
To honor her, her love, her friendships, her mentoring, and most of all her memory, a group of friends who all knew Elle have formed an #ElleAPalooza.
(There is also an auction to help raise funds for her family.   Elle leaves behind a wonderful husband, and four children.  If you can, please help donate to the fund.  You can only imagine, in this economy, how hard things are for her husband now--so please donate, give what you can--any amount is welcome).
If you're interested in joining the celebration of Elle and the #ElleAPalooza, please visit the Facebook page: Friends of Elle.
Bloggers that participate, pick a favorite recipe from Elle's blog, recreate as is or with a twist--all done with loving Elle in memory. Along with the recipe, bloggers reflect back on their memories with Elle, how they met her, what they loved about her, what they learned from her, etc...
I personally never met Elle, but we became fairly close online via facebook and our food blogs.
In fact, Elle was one of the first people to leave a comment on my blog back in 2008 when I first started blogging.
Funny as my first few posts had horrid food photos and the cheesiest words to accompany those photos.  So cheesy I swear....I like to think I've gotten better as I've aged?
Darling Elle saw past the cheesy words and always loved the recipes.
She would always tell me how creative I was, and when in the world was my first cookbook coming out?
As the years passed, she, the football Patriot loving friend, soon became someone I loved to share my morning espresso with on Facebook while I was supposed to be writing and working.
Oh it was easy to giggle and pass the morning by with her; she had a great sense of humor.
And always, and I do mean always, was very supportive of any new venture I took or any other food bloggers she knew.
Someone asked me what one thing, one true memory of Elle that stood out ?
Oh that's so easy to answer: she was so SUPPORTIVE.
Supportive to even people she casually knew in the food blogging world; she would encourage, encourage, encourage!
I like to call her the cheerleader of the food blogging world--she was always coaching people on, always sharing cooking contest links to me, pushing me on to enter--even if she was entering to.
She was not selfish at all.
Such a kind, gentle soul...you are so missed my dear.
For the #ElleAPalooza, I choose Elle's flourless peanut cookies, which are made with toffee and chocolate, but since Elle knew me so well, she knows that pretty much everything I do I have to put my own spin on it.
Since I love cinnamon with my peanut butter in the mornings, I decided to add cinnamon chips.
Those cinnamons chips went so well with the rich peanut butter flavor of the cookies.
Oh and a little sea salt on top never hurts either.

This is quite possibly one of the better peanut butter cookie recipes I've come across--it's very rich, deep peanut butter flavor....almost like a really good slice of chocolate cake that leaves you so thirsty.
This is that, but in a cookie.  Very satisfying, and no flour used.
Of course, one bowl easy too.


I think what also made these smell and taste so good was the new bottle of tahitian vanilla I bought as a splurge item.  Just a little something-something added in the background of the cookie.

I know that the tahitian beans are one of the more fragrant ones, and I can attest to this as the smell these cookies made in the house while baking was strong--almost tropical.  Okay tropical mixed with peanut butter, really nice smell.

Don't be tempted to flatten these--they won't be as puffy or tender when baked.
Just a little push down--barely.

If you try and take these off the sheet right after baking they will break apart.
Let them cool at least 20 minutes or longer.

Can't tell you how tasty these truly are...I'm certain Ms. Elle was with me when I created these.
You are missed Ms. Elle, you are missed...


flourless pb & cinnamon cookies
recipe idea from elle's new england kitchen
print recipe

2 cups peanut butter (not oily all natural kind)
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1 ts pure vanilla extract
1 ts baking soda
1 ts sea salt
less than ½ cup cinnamon chips
a little extra sea salt for the tops of the cookies

In a large mixing bowl, add in all the ingredients except for the cinnamon chips.
Mix well, then fold in the cinnamon chips
Cover bowl well, and put in fridge for at least 15 minutes.
OR using a 2-inch cookie scoop out cookies onto parchment lined cookie sheets, barely pressing down on the dough balls, then set them into fridge to firm up before baking.  (I did the latter).
Put a little sea salt on the tops of the cookies before baking, optional but wonderful.
The cookies won’t spread much during baking, but they do rise up a bit.
When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Bake cookies for 13-16 minutes.
It’s hard to know when the cookies are done as they stay soft and puffy while baking (they firm up a lot after baking)
I looked for almost-crisp, light golden brown edges.
After you remove from oven, let them sit on the hot cookie sheet for  at least 15-20 minutes or longer if you can.
If you try and take them off the sheet right out of the oven they will break apart; very delicate after baking.
They don’t keep too fresh that long, maybe 3 days at best?
Makes about 21-25 cookies