Category Archives: Cookies

Ice Cream Sandwiches

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I could not have asked for a prettier memorial day weekend. In southern California weather can be hit or miss this time of year. We have May Gray, June gloom and all these other ways of saying that the marine layer (coastal fog) hangs out for a few months between spring and summer and the stereotypical beach days are not a daily occurrence. But this weekend was perfect. There was sun and a breeze and it never seemed to get too hot. It was Goldilocks’ third bowl porridge good weather.

There was some beach time, pool time, dog time, and doggy in the pool time. She’s kind of a princess. If she wants to go swimming, she goes swimming!

There was also a lot of food time! I started off Saturday at 5am… I worked in a commercial pastry kitchen for the first time! I was so excited I couldn’t sleep and was up at 3:45 am anxious for my alarm to go off 30 minutes later. It was pretty dark driving to work, and there was no coffee options at that hour (and I don’t like brewing a pot for just myself and letting it get cold by the time my family gets up). Thank heavens I keep instant coffee for baking around, not the tastiest, but affective.

I have to say I was really blown away by being in a real kitchen during a shift. It smelt so good!! When I walked in at 5 am croissants were already on cooling racks and scones were coming out of the oven. My duties consisted of packaging baked goods for the farmers market, then moved on to bread puddings, cutting and packaging marshmallows (hands down the messiest job around – and probably why it was assigned to the new girl) and finished the day rolling miniature tart shells. I got to use the really cool machine that is like a giant pasta roller, but for pastry dough that Meryl Streep has in that movie where she owns a bakery. I felt like I check something off my bucket list when the girl in charge walked me over and showed me how to use it! That roller moves a lot faster than you expect… pastry dough almost flew off that conveyor belt the first time I turned the wheel! That would have been a fantastic first impression.

Oh… and I also helped scale out the chocolate chip cookie recipe… first step: 8 POUNDS of butter! You heard me correctly… 8 pounds. I had to repeat the amount back to confirm I didn’t hear something incorrectly. Just to put this into perspective, my chocolate chip cookie recipe that makes about 20 cookies uses ¼ pound of butter, this bakery uses 32 sticks of butter per batch!!

Watching all these chocolate chip cookies be created really made me want some of my own. But It’s Memorial Day weekend. It’s hot and I decided to make my sandwiches! You could use this method for any drop cookie recipe, like oatmeal or peanut butter would be really yummy!

Recipe

 Cookies

2 sticks butter

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

2 2/3 cup All-purpose flour

1 bag (11 oz.) milk chocolate chips

1 bag (11 oz.) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Vanilla malt ice cream

2 cups cream

1 cup milk

¾  cup sugar

2/3 cup malted milk

Pinch salt

1 teaspoon vanilla paste (or powder)

 Instructions

Cookies

  • Start with the cookies: line 2 9 x 13 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper
  • Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy with an electric mixer
  • Add the eggs and vanilla and mix on medium high speed until very pale in color
  • Add the dry ingredients and mix until the dough just starts to come together
  • Using a spatula mix in the chocolate until evenly incorporated
  • Divide the dough in two equal pieces and pat firmly into parchment lined pans (make sure it is an even layer)
  • Let the cookies chill in the refrigerator for 12-24 hours
  • Pre-heat oven to 350 ° F and bake for about 18 minutes or until the edges just start to brown. You do not want crispy cookies for this!
  • Let cool completely

Ice Cream

  • For the ice cream mix the cream, milk, sugar and salt together in a medium sauce pan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves.
  • Add the malted milk and vanilla and take the mixture off of the heat and transfer to a bowl.
  • Let the mixture cool to room temperature before covering with plastic and chilling the refrigerator.
  • Pour ice cream into ice cream maker and freeze following manufacturer’s instructions

Assembly

  • Flip both sheets of cookies so the top is down on a flat surface covered with saran wrap (this will make your life much easier later)
  • Spread the ice cream onto the first layer of cookie
  • Stack the second cookie (top side up) on top of ice cream
  • Wrap the giant cookie sandwich in plastic wrap and place in freezer until solid.
  • Cut the giant slab into 12 or 24 equal pieces and enjoy!

Rocky Road Cookies

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And now it’s January. How did that happen? Time is starting to go by way too quickly.  The new year reminds me of what I have not done in my life yet. It frustrates me. I’m starting to feel old. It’s 2012! That means that I’m going to be 25 this year. Remember on newlyweds when Jessica Simpson had a break down because she was turning 23 and that’s half way to 25, which is half way to 30. I’m starting to feel like that. Except I’m going to be 25! And I haven’t made my millions and bought a mansion in the hollywood hills with a ruggedly handsome man yet. What was she freaking out about?

Regardless of feeling old and not where I thought I would be by now, I know one thing… I make a mean cookie. I found a recipe that worked for me about 5 years ago and I adjust it depending on what I have on hand or what I feel like.This time I decided to make rocky road cookies…  And then I decided that I wanted a more brownies like chocolate cookie that has a shiny exterior instead of a cocoa based chocolate cookie that my standard recipe would produce. I kept looking for recipes and they all had white chocolate chips instead of marshmallows and I was really disappointed. I wanted the gooey marshmallows in mine!  In the back of my head I knew there was a reason for not baking marshmallows… they dissolve into a puddle of sugary goop in the oven. I know this. But still… I wanted them in there and maybe if my cookies weren’t in the oven too long they would survive. And if they don’t I’ll use some white chocolate too so at least they have the white chunks to visually look like rocky road.

I ended up finding a recipe for “outrageous chocolate cookies” by Martha Stewart and just changed what I added into the cookies to make them rocky road.  The marshmallows melted as expected. But these still tasted delicious! And the marshmallow that spilled out while baking caramelized and became crunchy and a sliver lining to the melting. Totally on my make again list.

Recipe (adapted from Martha Stewart)

8 ounces semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

2/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup walnuts

1/2 cup white chocolate chips

1/2 cup mini marshmallows

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Heat chopped chocolate and butter in a microwave-safe bowl in 20-second increments, stirring between each, until almost melted; do not overheat. Let cool
  3.  In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
  4. Add beat eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla into the melted chocolate.
  5.  Mix in flour mixture until just combined.
  6. Stir in white chocolate, marshmallows and nuts.
  7. Drop heaping tablespoons of dough 2 to 3 inches apart onto baking sheets. 
  8. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until cookies are shiny and crackly yet soft in centers, 12 to 15 minutes. 

Cool on baking sheets 10 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely… or eat them hot and burn your mouth like me!

P.S I’m going to be a better blogger starting now! Football season is over and I can no longer use my excuse of being in Hawaii for the holidays as an excuse. Get ready to see a lot more of me!

check these out on http://sweet-as-sugar-cookies.blogspot.com/

Caramel Brownies

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The last few weeks have been very stressful. Things are moving a mile a minute and I’m juggling more things than ever and it’s somewhat overwhelming at times. Maybe it’s just the time of year, or maybe it’s this whole being an adult thing. Either way… life is really getting in the way of baking. When Friday night rolled around, I was excited to bake. While everyone else my age was getting ready to head out to the bars I threw on sweat pants preheated my oven and turned on the embarrassing teen dramas I secretly DVR.

I was going to make brownies. Not just any brownies, but caramel filled brownies for my boyfriend’s sister. She was recovering from surgery, and let’s me honest, how can brownies not make someone feel better? Just making them makes me feel better. I think it’s the smell of chocolate melting, or licking the bowl, or the smell of them baking, or all of the above that I love so much about making brownies.

While I’m usually quite modest, I have to say… my brownies are beyond awesome. I haven’t made them in a few months and I was surprised when I was eating them that I forgot how good they are! I found a recipe a few years back that was very successful for me and played around it with it many times to come up with a recipe of my own. I basically upped the amount of chocolate in the recipe, added a tiny bit of instant espresso and played around with different types of chocolate until I found what I think tastes best. I like to use a combination of milk and semisweet chocolate instead of only semi sweet or unsweetened. I think it makes a better tasting, more universally liked treat. I also like to add different things to the center, not mixed in.

I tried something different this time and put some Ghirardelli caramel filled squares in the center. These were amazing. The caramel oozes out of the brownies as you eat them, even when they are no longer warm. And when they are warm they are extra gooey. I’m thinking of trying this with the raspberry filled squares next or peppermint patties. And it will not be a few months before I make another batch.

Recipe

3/4 cup butter

1 1/3 cup (8oz) chocolate (half milk, half semi sweet)

1/2 teaspoon instant espresso

3 eggs, room temperature

1 3/4 cups sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cup flour

9 Ghirardelli caramel filled squares

Directions

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a 8 x 8 inch pan and line with parchment paper. The parchment paper will let you lift the brownies up out of the pan so you can easily cut them
  • Melt the butter and chocolate together in a glass bowl over boiling water
  • Stir in the espresso
  • as the chocolate mixture cools, In a separate large bowl whisk the eggs and sugar.You want the eggs to get light and fluffy and increase in volume a bit. 
  • add the vanilla.
  • Make sure the chocolate is about body temperature (yes by sticking your finger in it – and licking clean) and add to the eggs. mix well
  • Next add the flour and salt. Mix until everything is barely incorporated. Do not over mix your brownies. 
  • pour half of the batter into the pan
  • next place the 9 caramel filled squares on top
  • cover with the remaining batter and place in oven to bake for about 45 minutes. 
  • let the brownies cool for about 30 minutes before lifting them out of the pan and cutting them.

 

Oatmeal Dark Chocolate Cookies

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I have tried and failed enough times over the years to say I know what I’m doing when it comes to the cookie. A few years back I stumbled across a recipe for chocolate chip, I don’t remember where, but it was perfect. It was chewy in the center, a crunchy edge and a nice buttery flavor.  I stopped looking for a better recipe once I found this one. I have tinkered with the types of chocolate, method and cooking time to fit my preferences, but never strayed far from the foundation of the recipe.

I love this recipe because I know I can whip out a batch of scratch made, love filled cookies in under an hour. The secret is getting your ingredients room temperature without sacrificing the integrity of them. #1 butter – when it is in the wrapper, you can microwave it for about 7 seconds at a time flipping it to get it soft without completely melting one side. #2 eggs – to get them luke warm right out of the fridge, put them in a bowl with hot water for about 5 minutes. Works like a charm every time. I use the tricks all the time with cookies, cakes, anything I’m making without the forethought to take things out of the fridge hours before.

Anyways, my mom really wanted cookies. But lately I’ve wanted to make things that I can work on making better. So I stepped out of the chocolate chip box and went for oatmeal – Oatmeal dark chocolate currant to be exact. I used my basic chocolate chip recipe with some tweaks. The results were pretty good, but I feel like there is room for improvement. Next time, I will use another egg – the dough seemed to dry, and I feel like the finished product could have been fluffier with the addition of an extra egg.

Recipe (my own)

½ cup (1 stick) butter

½ cup sugar

½ cup molasses

1 egg

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup flour

1 cup oats

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon salt

6 oz (1 cup) dark chocolate chunks

1 cup currants (or raisins)

Directions

  • Preheat oven to 350° F, line 2 cookie sheets with parchment or silpats and take all cold ingredients out of the fridge to bring to room temperature.
  • In a small bowl mix flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Set aside
  • Beat butter sugar and molasses together with a hand mixer until light and very fluffy (about 5 minutes) 
  • Add egg and vanilla extract and beat for another 5 minutes. You want the mixture to look like a butter cream.
  • Add the dry ingredients, and mix until almost everything is incorporated
  • add the chocolate and dried fruit
  • beat until everything comes together, but do not over mix (makes for a tough cookie)
  • using an ice cream scoop that is between 1½ and 2 inches large, scoop cookies into the prepared baking sheets.  The cookies will come out of the scoop easiest, if you wet the scoop first. 
  • gently flatten the cookies with wet hands (once again, this prevents the dough from sticking)
  • Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes (depending on your oven) rotating about halfway through
  • When taking the cookies out of the oven slide the parchment or silpat off the sheet right away, this will help the cookies stop cooking.
  • Let cool… or not