‏إظهار الرسائل ذات التسميات cookie. إظهار كافة الرسائل
‏إظهار الرسائل ذات التسميات cookie. إظهار كافة الرسائل

Brown Butter Peanut Butter Blossoms


Good Morning!  What did you do this weekend?  I was flying solo so I gave my kids 11 baths (to kill time... they've never been so clean) and we made Christmas cookies!  I can't wait to share them with you this week.  What are your favorites to make?  I love to stick to my usuals as well as try out new recipes.  Believe it or not, I don't make these classic Peanut Butter Blossoms every year but I knew my kids would love to unwrap (and eat) the kisses (also killed a lot of time).  I followed this recipe with one variation: I browned the butter on the stove and let it cool in the fridge for a bit before mixing it in with everything.  If you're wondering why I did that, well, I happen to think browning butter makes everything better.  Especially when there's peanut butter involved!

So tell me... what else should I make this year?    

"Brookies"


This cookie is bananas.  Half chocolate chip, half brownie cookie.  Now that I know how easy it is to make two different doughs and roll them together into one perfect cookie, I think the possibilities are endless, don't you?  WHAT UP, CHRISTMAS COOKIES?!  I'M TALKING TO YOU, BOO.  Sorry I don't know what that was.  I used this recipe but I cut the chocolate chip cookie dough in half.  I've written the word "cookie" way too many times in this post.  Cookie.  

Pumpkin Gingersnaps


Pumpkin is everywhere right now (I mean, check this out), and we're suckers for it.  I'm surprised we all don't run out to buy pumpkin flavored toothpaste!  (Don't steal that idea, it's mine.)  I gave you some pumpkin ideas last week, and now here's another: Pumpkin Gingersnaps (click there for recipe).  These are delicious... soft and chewy, and rich with all the flavors of the season... cinnamon, spice and pumpkin of course!  Pumpkin.  Pumpkin.  If you say that word a lot it starts to sound really weird.  Also who puts a 'p' and a 'k' right next to each other??  Pumpkin lovers do.  



Cookie Stacking and Other Things...


Hello Internet People.  I'm sorry I've been a little absent, but this has been a busy and emotional week.  Therefore, I present to you this scatterbrained post of odds and ends...

Many of you have been curious about the infamous "cookie stacking" Instagram post (infamous, really Siri?).  The origin of this layered dough can be found in this recipe for Peanut Butter Honey Cookies.  I was instantly intrigued to see if by stacking two blobs of dough on top of each other, the result would be a cookie that spread less, as suggested.  Well, perhaps I did something wrong, but my cookies just ended up looking like butts, so... delicious recipe, however.  Honey?  Peanut Butter?  Yes.


Last Thursday I was all set to appear on the Today Show, and you may have caught a glimpse of me even, however, breaking news about the Pope's whereabouts interrupted my segment.  Of course, I didn't mind in the slightest, and it was actually very exciting to witness... yet another reminder of how surreal it is to be a small part of a news institution like Today.  If you're interested in the recipes I was planning on preparing, you may click here: Buffalo Chicken Dip and Ultimate Queso Dip


Last night, I was very honored to be a part of the launch of Keurig Kold, a revolutionary new drinkmaker that brews perfectly chilled beverages like Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite and so, SO much more.  It is available for purchase today on their website... check it out!


And finally, I wanted to repost this recipe in honor of a great woman, Lucy.  If you've been following my blog for awhile then you probably know this sandwich, but to have known the woman behind it was something else.  The heavens above gained a beautiful soul.  Team Lucy forever!

And ANOTHER Chocolate Chip Cookie

BREAKING NEWS!!!


I baked another chocolate chip cookie.

You've heard me go on and on about chocolate chip cookies on this blog... about how many recipes I've tried and will continue to try if the slightest variation in technique or ingredients exist.  You could be like, O-M-G Siri, you've got to try this new cookie... the secret is after you cream the butter and sugar together you take off your clothes and dance naked around your kitchen... no for real, it makes the cookies SO MUCH BETTER.  And I would test that out, oh yes, I would.     

So when I came across this recipe which has one very small and unusual step, I decided to experiment.  What is that step?  Browning butter - which I've done plenty of times, not unusual - and whisking in an ice cube at the very end.  Wha?!?  An ice cube??  Had to try it!!  You also add the brown sugar at a separate time than the granulated sugar... HOW DIFFERENT!  Do you see why I had to bake a batch?  The results were delicious.  I don't know if the ice cube did anything other than immediately cool down the butter, but the nutty, toffy-like flavor that browning butter offers was very strong.  They also tasted less sugary than a lot of cookies I've tried, which I kind of enjoyed.

Ok, off to dance naked around my kitchen.



More about cookies here and here.

Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie


Hello there!  Remember how last week I said I'd be traveling for a bit, but I'd check in and blog once in awhile?  Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.  That was before my almost-one-year-old decided to wake up at 4am every morning.  She'd be like, what, woman??!  My body is telling me it's 7am, so wake up, and make yourself that hot smelly drink with all of the fatty cream, and play with me!!  And so my days started in the wee hours of the morning, and by early afternoon my brain felt like mush.  Hence, no blogging.  However, that didn't stop me from making cookie dough.  Because when you're out of town for a week and your brain is mush, you need to buy basic groceries like bread and milk and brown sugar and chocolate chips.  I'm not normal.

One morning last week, at like 5:17am, I decided to make cookies.  Did I want to make a large batch?  No.  Did I want to make a small batch?  Not really.  Instead, I wanted to make one GIANT treat, for me to eat for breakfast (mushy brains are dangerous).  But for reals, what's more fun than a huge cookie... shared amongst friends or eaten alone in the dark before the sun comes up.
    
Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie

1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temp
2 Tbsp granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup of chocolate chips, or desired amount

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  With a mixer, cream together the butter and both sugars in a medium sized bowl until light and fluffy.  Add the vanilla and the egg, and mix until combined.  Add the dry ingredients, and mix until just combined.  Stir in the chocolate chips.  Place onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, and flatten into a circle (should be about 1-inch thick).  Place cookie sheet in the fridge for about 30 minutes, and then bake for 15-20, until cookie has browned slightly.       

Homemade Treats for Dad

I always find Father's Day hard to shop for.  Most of the cool, techy toys I know Carson would LOVE are like, stupid expensive (I'm talking to you, drones).  I've found homemade gifts are the most meaningful, whether that's a customized beer bottle label from this site, or a baked treat from MY site!  Here are some ideas!  Exclamation points!  (Or is it marks?)


Oreo Layer Cake


I have had "get haircut" and "GO TO DENTIST" on my to-do list for months, and yes, the latter has been in all caps.  Finally, due to an issue with a tooth that I don't want to talk about (because Google has led me to believe it's DEAD), I decided that making a dentist appointment was more crucial than getting that long bob, or lob.  So today, I am going to see my new NY dentist and I'm terrified. Maybe that is because late last night, I sat and ate a giant piece of this RIDICULOUS cake and drank a glass of red wine.  BUT THEN I FLOSSED (for the first time in forever) SO EVERYTHING IS OKAY.

Our beloved nanny turned 27 this week, and since she is an Oreo-lover I wanted to find a cake that truly highlighted the famous cookie.  I came across this recipe and after realizing actual Oreos are layered below the cake batter, I knew it was the one.  Because I ran out of cookies (and because I was trying to make the cake SLIGHTLY less rich) I only layered them in one of the cakes.  This, cake, is, SO INTENSE... and so Oreoy, which should be a legit word in the Scrabble dictionary I think.  The Oreo creme filling and the chocolate buttercream are unreal.  I think my dentist will approve.     



Cinnamon Roll Sugar Cookies


I feel two things when I'm at the airport about to fly with my kids: relief and fear.  Relief, because, I've made it this far.  I've packed all the snacks and chargers and iPads and crayons and diapers and extra clothes and emergency lollipops and flasks of vodka (hahaha just kidding, or am I?).  Even if I've forgotten something (like the great Christmas Blizzard of 2010 when we flew from LA to NY without Jack's winter coat), the relief is still there because there's not much to do at that point (other than to feel like the worst mom ever and pull out that flask you didn't pack).  And then the fear.  The fear because of what lies ahead... five hours trapped in a tunnel with your small kids who might behave?  Maybe?  Maybe not?  Doesn't really matter, because you're going to be pumping them with those emergency lollipops and Benadryl (HAHAHAHAHA just kidding. Or am I?).  

That's how I'm feeling right now as I type this on my phone from the airport.  But what I'm REALLY here to tell you about are the cookies I made yesterday, the glorious, glorious cookies.  I've had this recipe bookmarked for quite some time.  Audra at The Baker Chick sure knows her baked goods.  Everything you love about a cinnamon roll and everything you love about a sugar cookie, at once!?  Yes please!!  They were delicious.  Thanks Audra!  And now it's time to board the plane... pray for us. 

Another Chocolate Chip Cookie...


Bread flour, cake flour, all granulated sugar, all brown sugar, some powdered sugar, muscovado sugar, coconut sugar, browned butter, salted butter, shortening, chocolate discs, layered dough, chilled dough, pudding mix, cake mix, oatmeal... YOU NAME IT, I've tried it.  I have tried one BILLION variations for chocolate chip cookies.  And when I think there is nothing new left, something comes up.  However subtle the change, I will try it.  Do you know why?  It's an excuse.  It's an excuse to bake and to eat spoonfuls of cookie dough.  "Oh, in the name of research I should probably find out what happens if I use some turbinado sugar as well as the brown and granulated sugar!"  Which is what I just did with these cookies (recipe here).  They were quite lovely, the turbinado sugar (aka "sugar in the raw") gave the cookies a subtle crunch.  

So, anyone have another variation I just HAVE to try?? 

Cookie Butter Stuffed Cookies


Carson works his butt off, and while we miss him - especially when he travels so much - a bonus for me is I have about a million people I can bake for!  It's hard when you have a gigantic sweet tooth and an obsession with trying new recipes, because if I baked as much as I'd LIKE to, I'd have cookies and bars and cakes and so forth up to my eyeballs.  I'd be standing on a street corner like a cute 12 year-old (only I'd be a desperate 34 year-old) begging people to take sweets off my hands.  Luckily for me, Carson gladly takes what I make to work with him.  Like these Cookie Butter Stuffed Cookies.  After coming across this article on BuzzFeed Food (that site is evil), I knew I had to make something with Biscoff - the cookie butter spread that tastes like "a sweet Nutella like peanut butter" according to my son.  Enter, these cookies.  Her recipe calls for white chocolate chips, but I used mini semi-sweet instead, because that's what I had on hand.  I also reduced the flour to 3 cups.  They were delicious, and I hope Carson's co-workers at Today like them too!

SPEAKING OF TODAY, I will be back there tomorrow morning cooking up a Siriously Super Simple Skillet Supper!!  Say that seven times slowly, and please tune in :)   



Andes Mint Chunk Cookies


Two things:  

First, my little man is almost six.  SIX!  I have been a mom for six years.  Which pretty much makes me an expert (even though I have no idea what I'm doing).  Jackson is pure joy, and I'm so lucky that he chose me to be his mama.  At school, they get to bring in birthday treats, and he chose these Andes Mint Chunk Cookies.  Good boy, right?  "Mama, I'm Irish, and we Irish like mint."  That's probably a gigantic stereotype, but who can argue with a 6 year-old choosing his birthday treat?!  So we made these cookies yesterday, and swapped chocolate chips for chopped up Andes Mints.  They are YUM.  


Second thing: I'm so happy to announce that I'll be back on the Rachael Ray Show this Monday, March 16th!  If you like to plan ahead for holidays when it comes to crafts and treats like me, because you have obsessive compulsive traits, again, like me, then you won't want to miss this show! Rachael and I are going to test out a few Easter ideas we found online that led us to say, "SIRIously, is that possible?!"  Oh puns, you're fun.  Things get a little messy, so please tune in to see :)


Also, Andes Mint Brownies here.

Coconut Oatmeal Cookies


Coconut.  Can't stop won't stop.  Found this recipe and made these cookies faster than you can put the lime in the coconut and shake it all up.  I also drizzled dark chocolate all over them because why not.  They are delicious!  AND, it's going to be 59 degrees here tomorrow!!!!!  I'm going to wander around my neighborhood in my swimsuit singing, "DOCTOR! Is there nothing I can take, I said, DOCTOR! To relieve this bellyache..."

Microwave Mug Cookie


I tweeted something significant last night - just kidding, I tweet rubbish all of the time - but as the night went on it stuck with me.  What I essentially said was, every night I make all these wild plans for myself, like actually staying awake after putting my kids to bed.  I think, tonight Carson and I will watch that movie we've wanted to watch, or I'll spend some time on my computer without a child trying to steal it, maybe I'll take a bubble bath, or I'll drink some wine and bake something!  But, alas, every, single, night I crash just as hard as them at a very early hour.  Well last evening I was determined to change that, so I put my kids to sleep absurdly early (thank god they can't tell time), and I drank wine and baked something!  

Sort of.  If you count microwaving as baking.   


Sorry for the crappy photos.  It was late (8:45pm!!!) and dark.  

I have been wanting to try this microwavable cookie since I saw the recipe floating around the Interweb (click here).  It's remarkably easy, takes about 5 minutes to make, and... drumroll please... is DELICIOUS.  I ate the entire thing.  Probably way too many calories for me to consume at the wee hour of 9:12pm, but I was celebrating the fact that I did it... I stayed up!  I watched one and a half Homelands!  I drank a glass of wine in bed!  This is making me sound very pathetic, yes?  

p.s. I found microwaving it for 40 seconds, and then another 30 seconds, was perfect :)

Espresso Chocolate Chunk Cookies


These cookies are just dumb.  Nothing should taste this good, you big dumb cookie.  How is it even possible for something to taste so fudgy, so rich, so chocolaty?  Who am I asking this question to??  The universe, that's who, the Chocolate Universe.  The Milky Way?  Bah ha ha, I'm a comedian.

I've made these cookies before, but I renamed them due to the addition of espresso.  A very subtle yet significant change, that no doubt helped boost these cookies into that sphere of foods you call "dumb" because they are too tasty to process.  The original recipe is here, and all I did differently was add 1 tsp of instant espresso to the dry ingredients.  They look a little strange, because I let my cookie dough sit out for too long (it got a little crusty) but they still taste STUPID good.  Dumb!!!  

Holiday Baking Ideas


What are your plans this weekend?  Frantic holiday shopping?  Cocktail parties?  Baking up a storm? Well I can help you there, with a collection of ideas from my blog.  As far as the shopping... deep breaths, and as far as the cocktail party... a karaoke version of "Santa Baby" only seems like a good idea.  So, from top left moving clockwise... Merry Weekends!

Snowball Cookies


These cookies are a holiday staple, but I had NEVER made them until yesterday.  Snowballs, Mexican Wedding Cakes, Russian Tea Cookies... whatever you call them, it was a travesty that I hadn't baked them before (and the word "travesty" still reminds me of the movie Clueless).  Thankfully, that is all in the past, and now I sit here on my computer while I eat one for breakfast (totally counts as research).  Made up of just five simple ingredients, these cookies are buttery, nutty, sugary balls of goodness.  With butter acting as the star (use the good stuff, like this European kind), I decided to go with a Paula Deen recipe because while she's messed up in her life, the lady knows her booooooter.  I didn't shape the cookies in crescents, however, and went with balls.  Snowballs!  

What do you call them and what's your favorite recipe?     




Research.

Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies


To close out my week of sweets, this morning I woke up at the butt crack of dawn to put these Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies in the oven.  I didn't shower like I had planned on, or start addressing our holiday cards, but I baked cookies.  My priorities are all sorts of weird!  However, I think my morning was productive because these, are, DELICIOUS.  I highly recommend them.  I added one egg yolk to the wet ingredients for richness and to add to the chewiness and super crackly crust.  I recommend that as well, because I think the dough would have been crumbly without it.

More bad (but so good) stuff to come next week!  'Tis the season!       

Coffee Toffee Bar Crunch Cookies


As a kid, I had a somewhat sophisticated taste when it came to sweets.  I liked Haagen Dazs bars (my mom's fault), preferred dark chocolate to milk and even enjoyed Mounds candy bars.  I mean, what kid likes Mounds??  The kid who loved Billy Joel and not New Kids On The Block, that's who (weirdo).  And one of my favorite ice cream flavors was Ben and Jerry's Coffee Toffee Bar Crunch.  I didn't like coffee, but to me it tasted buttery and caramely, and I loved it.        

The other day I bought a bag of broken up Heath Bar bits, and decided to recreate the flavors in that ice cream in cookie form.  These have that buttery toffee crunch, creamy milk chocolate chips reminiscent of the candy bar, and instant espresso + brewed coffee for that rich, morning flavor.  These cookies are good!  They remind me exactly of the ice cream.  Very sophisticated, only suitable for Billy Joel lovers.  Because we're sophisticated?  I don't know.      


Coffee Toffee Bar Crunch Cookies
(Makes 12 large cookies)

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temp (1 stick) 
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, plus 1 yolk
3/4 tsp vanilla
1 tsp brewed coffee, cooled
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 heaping tsp instant espresso
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1 cup toffee bits

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large bowl fitted with a standing mixer, cream together butter and both sugars until light and fluffy, a few minutes.  Add egg and egg yolk, and mix.  Add vanilla and brewed coffee and mix until combined.  In a separate bowl, whisk together dry ingredients.  Slowly add to wet, and mix until just combined.  Stir in chocolate chips and toffee.  Using an ice cream scooper or a large spoon, place rounded balls on parchment-lined baking sheets.  Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until golden brown around the edges.

Deep Fried Cookie Dough


I know what you're thinking.  Is Deep Fried Cookie Dough really necessary??  No.  Absolutely not.  But also, YES.  It is ab-so-LUTELY necessary!!!  OH MY GAWD.  Oh my gurrrrrrrd.  I'm not sure how I've survived almost 34 years on this planet without this monstrosity.  

Last week, thanks to a friend and thanks to this buzzfeed article, I discovered that Deep Fried Cookie Dough is a thing.  A real thing that some (mental) people have actually tried.  Of course, I just HAD to join their place in history, as a fellow freak of nature human that thinks this is a good idea.  Let me tell you what happens when you fry cookie dough: you are left with a crispy crust, not unlike the edges of a funnel cake, and an ooey, gooey half-baked cookie-like interior.

It's rich.  It's intense.  It's something you might want to share with a friend.  But it's totally worth it.  And if you don't think so, then go eat some kale in the corner.