Red Velvet Goodies Galore!

After seeing that Red Velvet Whoopie Pies was up next on the baking list for Club Baked, it must have put Red Velvet on my mind.  Both of these Red Velvet cookies were quick to whip up and tasted great - Nice variations on the traditional Red Velvet Cake.  

First up, is the Red Velvet Whoopie Pies from Baked Explorations: Classic American Desserts Reinvented.  Before making them, I did a quick search to see how other people fared with this recipe and I saw nothing but glowing reviews.  I was nervous to do whoopie pies again because in the past, my one and only attempted ended in super flat pies that spread into each other.  Utterly inedible!  So this time, I was cautious and made this recipe exactly as the book stated.  The result?  FAR better than my last attempt!  These were a cinch to put together, and baked up exactly as they were supposed to.  I used two different fillings: Buttercream frosting and Cream Cheese frosting.  I haven't sampled a Cream Cheese one yet, but the Buttercream filled whoopie pies are delicious.  These would be adorable Easter treats if tinted with pastel colors!  I omitted the walnut topping on the filling, but I think these would be adorable with Sprinkles.  For the recipe, visit Andrea of Nummy Kitchen and visit Club Baked to see how the other bakers' pies came out.  

Next up is Red Velvet White Chocolate Chip Cookies.  If the Whoopie Pies were easy, these were even easier.  This is a simple drop cookie.  Not fussy at all, but makes quite a unique, pretty little cookie.  I'd definitely make this recipe again.  Unlike other drop cookies I've made, these dried out after a couple of days, so these are best eaten within a day or two... but that probably won't be a problem. :)

Red Velvet White Chocolate Chip Cookies, adapted from The Curvy Carrot

Ingredients:

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened, room temp

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup light brown sugar firmly packaged

2 large eggs, room temp

2 teaspoons vanilla

3 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

2/3 cup cocoa powder, unsweetened

Red food coloring gel

1/2 to 1 cup white chocolate chips (to taste)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

In the bowl of your standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and both sugars on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

Add the food coloring gel until you reach the desired color.  Remember, it will get darker when the cocoa powder gets mixed in.

Reduce the mixer speed to medium-low and add eggs and vanilla, mixing until combined.

Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder, mixing until thoroughly combined.  

Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the white chocolate chips until incorporated.

Using a cookie dough scoop, drop the dough about two inches apart from one another.  

Bake until slightly golden and crisp around the edges, about 10-12 minutes.

Funfetti Cake Mix Cookies

I am normally not one for cake mixes.  With only a little bit of extra effort to make a cake from scratch, the results are ten times better.  However, I do love cookies.  And since I had the majority of a box of Funfetti cake mix left over after making Birthday Cake Rice Krispie Treats I thought I might as well use it, right?  I found this ridiculously simple recipe for Funfetti Cookies from Pillsbury and within maybe 5 minutes, the dough was on the cookie sheets ready to go in the oven.  If you have a soft, vanilla cookie craving and needs cookies fast, these are the best way to go.  I have to admit, though we're not cake mix fans, these cookies disappeared from the cookie jar embarrassingly fast.  I skipped adding the frosting on top of the cookies because I thought they'd be sweet enough without them.  I'm glad I did because these were perfect.


Funfetti Cake Mix Cookies from Pillsbury.com
Ingredients:
1 (18.9 oz) box of Pillsbury Funfetti cake mix
1/3 cup canola oil
2 large eggs, room temperature


Directions:
Heat oven to 375°F. In large bowl, combine cake mix, oil and eggs; mix until thoroughly moistened. Scoop with a 1 1/2 Tablespoon cookie scoop onto parchment lined cookie sheets.  Using the palm of your hand, slightly flatten the dough balls.  Bake at 375°F. for 6 to 8 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets.

Speculaas Cookies

Over the summer on a Delta flight to California, I tasted my first biscoff cookie.  How is it that I had never tried one of these things before?  I became (not so) mildly obsessed and briefly debated buying them in absurd quantities from their website.  Fortunately, I controlled myself and just dreamed about the little cookies instead.  Then on a trip to NY to visit family, I was wandering around a specialty grocery store and came across Biscoff Spread.  Are you kidding me?!  Ground up cookies spread on whatever I want just like nutella?  After tasting the spread (and immediately buying a jar of the delicious stuff) I became curious what these little cookies were.  After some research I found this description on their website: "Europe's favorite Cookie with Coffee Biscoff is the name given to the traditional Speculoos biscuits in North America".   Soon after I saw that "Speculaas" was on our list of things to bake for Club Baked, I was so excited!  I get to make my own biscoff!

Apparently there is a bit of a difference between Speculaas and Speculoos.  According to one Flemish company that makes them with "the old method," "the Dutch speculaas is a thicker, spiced gingerbread. The Belgian speculoos, or caramelised biscuit, is thinner and has a more refined taste" (Vermeiren Speculoos).  The "Baked Explorations" recipe is called "Speculaas" so I was expecting them to be different from my beloved Biscoff.  I baked according to the recipe making no changes besides using light brown instead of dark brown sugar and omitting the orange zest (because I didn't have either of those things).  I also let the dough sit in the fridge overnight because I had read on one website somewhere that this allows the flavors in speculaas dough to give the spices time to develop and add extra flavor.    

I may have taken them out of the oven too soon because mine were not dry and crispy, they were soft and chewy.  But that was a good thing for us since Daniel is 100% a chewy cookie person.  Normally he does not like spiced cookies but these mysteriously disappeared from our cookie jar very quickly.  "Spiced gingerbread" is a good description for this cookie recipe, they were quite different from those Biscoff cookies.      

My one complaint about this recipe is that it was too sticky and nearly impossible to use cookie cutters.  Instead, I wound up using a pizza wheel and cutting it into squares.  Admittedly, the stickiness was probably my own fault though due to my laziness since I really didn't flour my surface very well.  When I got really lazy, at the end I just started rolling balls of dough with my hand and rolling them in turbinado sugar.  Those ones came out nice and thick, and with a caramelized sugar bottom - quite perfect for our tastes. 

You can find the recipe here at Baked Sunday Mornings. And make sure to read through the Bakers Links to Speculaas to see how this recipe worked out for other (less lazy) bakers.

  

Fluffernutter Cookies with Chocolate Glaze

Growing up I enjoyed my share of Fluffernutter sandwiches.  It was a great way to eat "lunch" while simultaneously having dessert.  As an adult my palette has advanced far far beyond fluffernutters, because now I add Nutella to my peanut butter and fluff sandwiches :)  Ok, so maybe you're never too old for a fluffernutter.  These cookies have everything that makes a fluffernutter a fluffernutter: Marshmallows and Peanut Butter, with the addition of a rich chocolate drizzle.  The recipe for "Fluffernutter Chocolate Gobs" comes from Bakergirl.  These were so good, I made them twice in 3 days.  Yikes. 


Fluffernutter Cookies with Chocolate Glaze from Bakergirl
makes about 24 cookies
Ingredients for the Cookies:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter (I used Skippy)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
Mini marshmallows

Ingredients for the Chocolate Glaze: 
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-2 tablespoons milk, depending on how your desired consistency

Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter, peanut butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar for 2 minutes until light and fluffy. Add in egg and vanilla.

Gradually add in flour mixture on low speed and mix until it is just incorporated. Chill dough for 15 minutes in the refrigerator.

Using a 1.5 Tablespoons cookie scoop, place on a parchment lined cooking sheet and bake for 7-9 minutes, until edges are very lightly browned. Remove from oven and pat down the cookies with a spatula to flatten them slightly.  Place 5 or 6 mini marshmallows on top of each cookie and return to the oven for 2-3 minutes, until marshmallows are melted. Let cool completely.

When cooled completely, make the glaze by melting the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the cocoa powder and mix until smooth. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

Slowly whisk in the powdered sugar, gradually adding the milk as needed to get it the desired consistency (you want it thin enough to drizzle, but thick enough that it won't run all over- a little thicker than molasses). Whisk until no lumps remain.  Spoon a small amount over the top of each cookie.  Glaze with set slightly upon cooling.

Side by Side Chocolate Chip Cookies (or High Five Cookies)

Chocolate Chip Cookies are a common addition to any dessert table, but they're also an almost guaranteed success.  Who doesn't love a chocolate chip cookie?  Especially when it's just slightly under baked, and oh so soft and chewy.  If you want to bring Chocolate Chip cookies to your cookie exchange or to your family's holiday gathering, but want a unique twist to wow your cookie-loving friends, then keep maybe this is the right recipe for you.  This is basically one chocolate chip cookie dough, split into two - One half is left as a standard chocolate chip cookie, and the other half gets a healthy dose of Cocoa Powder to make it a double chocolate chip cookie.  Then, you sit the two doughs Side by Side on the cookie pan before baking.  Daniel wanted to call these "High Five" cookies because the two doughs do a high five before being placed onto the pan.  I just love the mental image I get when I imagine two chocolate chip cookie dough balls doing a high five and then jumping onto a cookie sheet.  :)


I've made recipes from this great little cookbook before, but I think it deserves a revisiting.  The original chocolate chip cookie recipe this is based off of is from Little Old Lady Recipes.  It really is such a charming little book.  Tried and true recipes from grandmothers are included alongside delightful portraits photos of grandmas.  I made some adaptations and have included these below.

Side by Side Chocolate Chip Cookies, adapted from Little Old Lady Recipes

Ingredients:

1 cup + 2 Tablespoons all purpose flour

3 Tablespoons Cocoa Powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp fine sea salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temp

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1 large egg, room temp

3/4 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 cup chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 325, and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugars.  Add the egg and vanilla.  Then, add baking soda, and salt.  Add 1 cup of the flour and mix until just incorporated.  Remove half of the dough from the bowl, and set aside.  In the electric mixer, add the remaining 2 tablespoons flour and half of the chocolate chips.  Mix until just incorporated, then drop by the tablespoon onto the prepared cookie sheets.  Now, add the reserved half of the dough back into the stand mixer bowl.  Add the cocoa powder and the remaining chocolate chips.  Drop by the tablespoon onto the cookie sheet so that each standard chocolate chip cookie dough ball has a double chocolate chip cookie dough ball beside it.  With your finger, make the two dough balls touch.  Bake for 8 - 12 minutes or until cookies begin to brown at the edges.  Remove to rack to cool.  

Why Parchment is better than Silicone Mats

I used to swear by silpats and other similar silicone mats.  I lined every cookie sheet I could with them.  They're non-stick, they save your cookies by allowing them to come off of the pan without much effort, and they're green.  But gradually, I started to use Parchment more often than silicone mats.  Tonight, my belief that parchment is better than silpats was reconfirmed.  Why, you ask?

This is the same cookie batter, chilled for the same amount of time, baked for the same amount of time.  The one on the left was baked on a cookie sheet lined with a silicone mat, and the one on the right was baked on a cookie sheet lined with a parchment sheet.  I have absolutely no scientific evidence to back this up, but in my experience, cookies always spread more and fall flatter when they're baked on silicone.  Those baked on parchment always seem to maintain their thickness much more, and have a much better texture.  Maybe silicone is too non-stick and the cookie dough spreads out too easily, making it flatter?  I have no idea why.  But every time I give silicone another chance, I see why I stop using it and switch to parchment sheets.  I hate it when I ruin good cookie dough!

Oh well.  I ruined a few cookies, but I learned that I should only use my silpats when I'm baking items that I don't need to worry about spreading.  For everything else, I'll stick with my perfect parchment. 

The Cookiepedia and Crinkle Cookies

Recently I was asked to review a new cookbook, The Cookiepedia: Mixing, Baking and Reinventing the Classics by Stacy Adimando.  SURE I said, who doesn't want more cookie recipes?  Soon enough, the little book arrived in the mail, and honestly, it was so cute I couldn't wait to start making some of the recipes.  
First, I noticed that the book is a spiral bound.  This one simple little thing immediately made me happy.  How many times have you been working from a typical cookbook only to have it slam closed when you're in the middle of a recipe with fingers covered in butter and eggs?  The spiral binding allowed it to lay flat on the counter and stay open throughout prep time.  
Second thing I noticed before I even started baking was how absolutely adorable the book was.  It is packed full of darling little illustrations that appear on almost every page.  And, I don't know about you, but I'm a visual person.  This book has an index of its recipe that made selecting a recipe so much easier.  There are 6 categories or chapters of cookies: Buttery, Chocolaty, Fancy, Fruity, Spicy, and Nutty & Seedy.  Each chapter has a two-page introduction that serves as an index: Each cookie in the following chapter has a portrait in this little pictorial table of contents.  They say you eat with your eyes first!  With a glance at this chapter intro, I was able to quickly pick out which cookie I wanted to make. 

i love this picture index!

I've made two recipes from the book so far.  First up, I made the Crinkle Cookies.  I've always thought these cookies were so pretty but have never made one before because I've heard they're on the dry side.  The description in this book, though, said they have a "down-home fudgy flavor".  I was sold.  
The dough came together rather quickly.  Besides chilling time, these cookies were fast and simple.  The result?  Moist, chocolaty perfection.  They were almost truffle or brownie like.  Very unlike the dry crumbly crinkle cookies I've heard about.  I brought them to work where they were very well received (and all gone!)  The only adjustment I made to the recipe was to use a combination of bittersweet and semisweet chocolate instead of all bittersweet.  I can't wait to make them again and try the Espresso variation Adimando includes at the end of the recipe.  

The second recipe I made was Old-Fashioned Sugar Cookies.  Once again, the dough was simple to put together.  Really!  Daniel went to help a neighbor change a fire alarm battery, and by the time he came back a few minutes later, the dough was finished and chilling in the fridge.  The only variation I made on this recipe was to dunk the top of my cookies in turbinado sugar rather than sprinkling vanilla sugar on top (but I bet that would have been so delicious!).  These came out moist, flavorful, and chewy.  They very well might have made their way into my top 3 favorite sugar cookie recipes.  

Below is the recipe for Crinkle Cookies, posted with permission from Quirk Books (recipe shown with my small alterations).  For the other recipes, pick up a copy of The Cookiepedia by Stacy Adimando.  The Cookiepedia is set to come out in September.  The "re-invented-ness" of the recipe make them perfect for a seasoned baking pro, while the helpful guides, instructions, and glossaries make it great for beginners, too.  If you want to try out some new versions of classic cookie recipes, be sure to pick up a copy when it comes out.


Crinkle Cookies, from The Cookiepedia by Stacy Adimando
Ingredients:
3 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
3 oz semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/4 cup + 2 Tblspn unsalted butter at room temp
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs, room temp
1 tsp pure vanilla
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 Tblspn cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
Powdered sugar for rolling

1. Set a pot of water on the stove and bring to a simmer.  Place the chopped chocolate and butter into a glass or metal bowl and set the bowl over the simmering water.  Let the chocolate start to melt, then stir occasionally until it's smooth. Remove from heat and set aside.
2. Beat the sugar and eggs on medium speed for several minutes until thick and smooth. Add vanilla and melted chocolate and continue beating on medium-low until combined.
3. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl.  Add the mixture in two batches, beating each time until just combined. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let chill for about 2 hours, or until firm enough to scoop.  Then, preheat to 325. 
4. Line several cookie sheets with parchment. Roll 1 inch balls, then toss in powdered sugar, coating completely.  Place about 1 1/2 inches apart on the cookie sheet. Bake 8 - 10 minutes or until starting to feel firm to the touch.  Cool for 5 minutes before transferring the cookies to wire racks to cool completely.  

Chocolate Mint Thumbprint Cookies

Yesterday, I made two desserts.  The first is one of the most tropical, summery things I've ever made (Mango Sorbet... post to come soon).  And the second is Chocolate Mint Thumbprint Cookies, which, taste testers agreed, "taste like Christmas!"  The seasons are a little confused here in this house.  But both the Christmas cookies and the summery sorbet were very well received, no matter what season it really is.  


The Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies were chosen by Jamie of Random Acts of Food as this week's recipe for Club: BAKED.  I've only fairly recently discovered that the combination of Chocolate and Mint is not overwhelmingly gross.  Up until last summer, even the scent of mint in my desserts completely disgusted me.  Daniel's Chocolate Mint oreos had to be stored in a double layer of plastic storage bag and in a separate drawer to prevent the mint aroma from infecting and absorbing into my oreos.  As far as I was concerned, mint was only good in chewing gum.  But after growing my own fresh mint plant and including some of it in a Chocolate Mint cookie, I realized it's actually pretty darn delicious.  Chocolate and Mint seems like one of those flavor combinations you either LOVE or you HATE.  Which side are you on?


I prepared this recipe exactly as written in the Baked Explorations book.  I'm glad I did, because they came out terrific.  I'd love to try these with fresh mint leaves!  If you're making these, be prepared to have some seriously chocolatey hands!  The dough, even after chilled, was very messy.  But it was worth it!

Be sure to visit the Club:BAKED site to see how the other bakers fared with this recipe.  And visit Random Acts of Food for the recipe.  

Chewy Graham Cookies

When I make chocolate chip cookies, there always seems to be a cookie or two made from the very last bits of dough at the bottom of the bowl that have no chocolate chips in them.  And those cookies are undoubtedly Daniel’s favorite ones of the whole batch.  If you are like Daniel and sometimes just want a plain ol’ cookie without the mix-ins then these are the cookies for you. 

These remind me of what a graham cracker would taste like if it were chewy instead of crunchy.  The recipe is adapted from one created by My Kitchen Addiction.  I’ve actually made this recipe before but they served as the base for my Smore Bites with Homemade Marshmallow.  The cookie base was so good, I needed to try them in straight up cookie form.  They did not disappoint.  I did make a few changes to both the original recipe and what I did last time in the smore bites, so I’m posting the adapted recipe below.  Enjoy alone, or sandwich some more deliciousness between two of them (nutella or vanilla ice cream cookie sandwiches anyone?)

Chewy Graham Cookies, adapted from My Kitchen Addiction

Ingredients:

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp molasses

1/8 cup light corn syrup

1/8 cup maple syrup

1 large egg

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 teaspoon salt

Approximately ¼ cup to ½ cup cinnamon sugar

Preheat to 375 F and line baking pans with parchment paper.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together butter, sugar, molasses, and syrups.  Add the egg and vanilla and beat until incorporated.

In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cream of tartar, and salt to combine.  Stir in the flour mixture and mix just until combined.

Using a 1 ½ Tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop out dough balls and roll them in cinnamon sugar.  Place cinnamon sugar coated cookie dough balls on the prepared baking sheets and bake for 9 – 10 minutes, when cookie is just started to turn golden at the edges.  Be sure the cookie is set but do not overbake! Allow cookies to cool for about 5 minutes on the cookie sheets before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

S'more Bites with Homemade Marshmallows

During my baking adventures on this blog, I've discovered that some recipes are more difficult than they appear, and some recipes are actually a lot easier than they would seem to be.  For example, some people make using yeast look effortless, however, I generally wind up staring at a beautiful dough ball that refuses to rise.  But on the other hand, I would have assumed that homemade marshmallows were a difficult confection to put together.  I've wanted to make them for some time, but fear of hot stickiness, 3rd degree burns, and candy thermometers made me hesitate.  Finally, I gave in.  And I'm SO glad I did because, as it turns out, homemade marshmallows are actually quite simple to make.  Plus, they're unfathomably more delicious than their store-bought evil twin counterparts.  These cloud-like vanilla bites of heaven were much less dense, more moist, and a whole lot more flavorful than the perfectly cylindrical bags of mallows from the grocery store... but don't get me wrong, I'd still eat a bag of those :) 

I can't wait to make all different flavors of marshmallows now that I know how easy they are.

 

After I made the marshmallows, I decided I needed to turn them into something else.  Since many different s'more concoctions have been making their way across the food blogosphere, I hopped on the bandwagon and made bite sized s'more bites.  The bottom layer is a Chewy, Graham cookie.  A homemade marshmallow is "glued" to it with some chocolate, and some more chocolate tops off the whole thing.  Consensus?  They're amazing.  

Homemade Marshmallows, adapted from David Lebovitz

Ingredients:

2 envelopes (17g) unflavored gelatin

1/2 cup + 1/3 cup cold water

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup light corn syrup

4 large egg whites, room temperature

a pinch of salt

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Marshmallow Mix:

1 cup cornstarch, 1 cup powdered sugar

In a small measuring cup, sprinkle the gelatin over 1/2 cup of cold water.  Let dissolve and soften.

In a small saucepan, mix the sugar and corn syrup with 1/3 of cold water.  Place over medium to high heat and set a candy thermometer in it.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat egg whites on low until frothy.  Add pinch of salt.

When the mixture on the saucepan reaches 210 F, increase the speed of the mixer to high to beat the egg whites until they are thick and fluffy.

When syrup gets to 245 F, remove from heat and slowly pour it into the whites, being careful so that the syrup doesn't fall on the whisk and splatter to the sides of the bowl.  

Add the gelatin/water to the saucepan and stir with rubber spatula to dissolve.  Pour this liquified gelatin slowly into the whites as they are whipping.  Add vanilla and whip for 10 - 15 more minutes, until the outside of the bowl feels completely cool.

*If making s'more bites and not just marshmallows, please see below for my Assembly note as I found a much easier way to do this after I was done!!

Lightly grease a 9 x 13 pan with non-stick spray.  Lay a pre-cut parchment sheet into the pan.  Using a sift or a metal strainer, generously coat the sides and bottom of the pan with the marshmallow mixture.  

Use an offset metal spatula (which has been lightly sprayed with non-stick spray) to spread the marshmallows into an even layer in the pan.  Sprinkle a layer of marshmallow mixture on top of the marshmallows.  Reserve any extra mixture.  Allow to set overnight or 24 hours.  

When marshmallows have been allowed to sit, roll a pizza cutter in the extra marshmallow mixture and cut the marshmallows to the desired size.  When cut, toss the marshmallows in marshmallow mixture and shake vigorously in a wire strainer to remove excess powder.

For the Chewy Graham Cookie Layer: adapted from King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion as seen on My Kitchen Addiction

Ingredients:

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

1 1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon molasses

1/8 cup honey

1/8 cup light corn syrup

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 egg, room temperature

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

Cinnamon Sugar

Lightly grease a 9 x 13 inch baking pan and line with parchment paper.  Set aside. Preheat oven to 375 F.

Put butter in the bowl of an electric mixer and turn on to mix until creamy.  Add the sugars and molasses and cream together.  Then add honey, corn syrup, baking powder, cinnamon, vanilla, baking soda and salt.  When combined, add egg and beat to incorporate.  Stir in the flour.  Using an offset spatula, spread the cookie dough into an even layer in the 9 x 13 pan.  Sprinkle the top of the cookie dough with Cinnamon Sugar.  

Bake for 12 - 18 minutes or until cookies appear set and doesn't jiggle when pan is gently shaken.  Cookie should be slightly golden.  

Allow to cool in the pan on a cooling rack for 5 minutes, then slip the parchment paper and cookie dough out of the pan and allow to cool directly on the cooling rack.  

Chocolate Layer:

Your choice!  I used a combination - (3) 2.25 ounce bars of Wilbur's Semisweet Chocolate, 6 squares of chocolate bark, and a few tablespoons of shortening (to thin for dipping).  Melt in the top of a double boiler and once melted, keep on low and stir occasionally to avoid burning or overheating.  Be sure the chocolate is not TOO hot when you are dipping your marshmallows in it, as it could cause your marshmallows to melt if it is too hot!

*To assemble:

*I cut 1 inch squares of cookie, and 1 inch marshmallow squares.  Then, I took the marshmallow, dipped the bottom in chocolate, and then used that chocolate to adhere the marshmallow to the cookie.  Once the chocolate had cooled, I picked up the s'more bite and dipped the top of the marshmallow in the chocolate mixture.  BUT an easier way to do this would have been to 

1) Bake the chewy graham cookie first and allow to cool.  

2) Pour hot marshmallow mixture directly onto the graham cookie and allow to set.  

3) Then cut into squares and dip in chocolate.  

Since I didn't know what I was going to turn the marshmallows into when I first made them, I didn't think to do this!  

Bouchon Bakery's Chocolate Chip Cookies

Three years ago today, July 9th, a chocolate chip cookie obsession swept the nation after the New York Times posted the famed Jacques Torres Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe.  The big deal was: 1) Chilling it for 24 hours makes all the difference and 2) A small sprinkle of sea salt on top takes it up a notch from your standard chocolate chip cookie.  I made them, and I loved them.  But it made me think, sometimes, a seemingly small adjustment to a standard recipe can be intriguing enough to make people want to bake it and try.  Case in point: On May 12th, the husband was answering some emails in the morning while watching the Today Show when Thomas Keller, of Bouchon Bakery was on the show making chocolate chip cookies.  He introduced his unique technique: Adding a tablespoon of molasses while you're creaming the butter and sugar.  He says it is the key to the richness, moistness, and texture of his chocolate chip cookies. Whattttt???  I do not love molasses, at all, but since it is only 1 Tablespoon and it is really used for texture, not flavor, I needed to give this a try.  Let me just tell you... I do love the texture of these cookies.  The molasses flavor is not detectable in the final product, and the inside of the cookies is so nice and soft and chewy.  Whether or not they are better than the famous NY Times cookie, I will not know until I do a side-by-side taste test (or maybe that it just an excuse to make more cookies).  

Thomas Keller's Chocolate Chip Cookies, adapted slightly from Bouchon Bakery as seen on Today Show
Ingredients:
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup dark brown sugar
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon Molasses
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3 cups all purpose flour
1 - 2 cups chocolate chips


In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter for 30 seconds.  Scrape down the bowl and continue to beat for 2 minutes.  
While that is beating, in a medium bowl, whisk to combine the flour, salt, and baking soda.  Set aside.  
Add the sugar and molasses and beat on medium 2 minutes and scrape the bowl.  Beat for 4 more minutes, scraping the bowl half way through.  
Reduce mixer speed to low.  In a glass measuring cup or separate small bowl, whisk eggs to beat.  Then pour the eggs slowly into the butter sugar mixture.  Once fully incorporated, return mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes.  
Reduce mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients.  When combined, add chocolate chips.  Stir only to incorporate, don't overmix.  
Scoop on to a parchment lined baking sheet using a 1.5 T scoop.  Bake 12 - 18 minutes or until golden brown at the edges.

Cookie Dough Ice Cream

Do you keep your ice cream maker bowl in the freezer?  It takes up a lot of room, but for whatever reason ice cream is one of those things I don't think about making long before I get started.  So if I don't keep a bowl in the freezer, I'll probably lose interest by the time the recommend 24 hour freezing period is over.  As soon as Spring comes around and Winter is over, I need to make room in the freezer for my ice cream maker bowl so it can always be ready for me.

Luckily when I came across Handle the Heat's Easy Vanilla Ice Cream, I had a bowl in the freezer just waiting to be put to use.  With only 4 ingredients, it really is quite simple to throw together, and if you happen to have a bowl in the freezer at all times for whenever a homemade ice cream craving strikes, you can be eating your frosty creation in under an hour.  If you have just a little bit more patience, you can throw together a quick Eggless Cookie Dough to add into the ice cream.  I'm glad I was able to muster up the patience because the cookie dough really made this ice cream special.  I used only half of the prepared Eggless Cookie Dough in the ice cream, so I'm excited to put the rest to use in other recipes! 

If it's hot where you are right now (I feel like it couldn't get any hotter in Florida!) then make up a batch of this Cookie Dough Ice Cream for your family, they will surely thank you.  And they won't believe it's made from scratch!  

Easy Vanilla Ice Cream, adapted from Handle the Heat

Ingredients:

1/2 cup 2% milk

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 1/2 cups heavy cream

1 generous tablespoon pure vanilla extract


Using a handmixer set to low speed, combine the milk and the sugar.  Stir in heavy cream and vanilla.  If you're making plain vanilla ice cream, pour the mixture into the bowl of your ice cream maker and follow the directions on your ice cream maker.  If you are making the Eggless Cookie Dough, put the ice cream mixture in the refrigerator to chill.

Eggless Cookie Dough, adapted from Cupcake Project
Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 generous tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2 - 4 Tablespoons milk


Combine butter, vanilla and sugars in the bowl of an electric mixer.  Add in flour and salt and mix on low to combine.  Add in milk by the tablespoons as needed to achieve a cookie dough consistency.  Put in the refrigerator until chilled.  When firm enough to handle, form several thin sheets (about 1/4 - 1/2 inch thick).  Put in the freezer for about a half an hour.  While Ice Cream is churning, take out the chilled cookie dough sheets and cut into small cookie dough chunk pieces.  After ice cream is finished churning, remove from the ice cream maker and stir in the cookie dough chunks.  Freeze for 2 hours before serving.

Recipe Card! Click to enlarge

Sugar Cookies for Baby - The foolproof way to decorate cookies

I've never been one of those people who could make adorably decorated cookies.  First, I could never get the cookies cut nicely with a cookie cutter.  Once the dough was cut, the cookie would never stay in the cookie cutter so I could transport it to the baking pan.  Nor could I get a spatula under it to move it safely without destroying its shape.  Second, I had never had a good experience with royal frosting.  It always dried up too quickly, despite putting a wet towel on top.  Plus, I could never get it to the right consistency.  It was always either too stiff (and would clog and not come out at all, or crack after I piped it out) or it was too wet, and wound up oozing all over my cookies.  Seeing the oodles of perfectly piped and decorated cookies all over the internet, it urked me that I couldn't do the same!  After all, I have an art degree, I should be able to make extra cute cookies!  So yesterday I put to work and finally solved all those cookie-making problems.  I no longer fear the cute decorated cookie.  And I came to a few conclusions of how to make the process easier along the way.

Frosting in my cookie dough??

When you think cookies and frosting, you imagine cookie-cuttered cookies in cute shapes that are nicely decorated cookies with royal frosting. Well, not these cookies.  The Caramel Cookie had the amazing idea to mix frosting into the cookie dough before baking.  What Katie's Baking adapted the recipe and added melted white chocolate into the cookie dough, too.  I used my favorite homemade Vanilla Buttercream that I use to frost cupcakes, and instead of regular white chocolate melted and mixed into the dough like Katie did, I used Wilton Candy Melts (because that's what I had on hand).  The result?  Delicious!  The husband said these taste just like the sugar cookies you can get at the bakery.  I think that's a good reaction!  But my favorite thing about these cookies has got to be the adorable-ness created by mixing rainbow sprinkles right into the dough.  My slightly adapted recipe is below, but be sure to see both What Katie's Baking's version and The Caramel Cookie's original version too.

Frosting Sugar Cookies
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon vanilla buttercream frosting
1/2 cup of Wilton white candy melts
1 large egg, room temperature
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup granulated sugar

Directions
Preheat to 350.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and baking soda.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the frosting, vanilla and sugar.  Then add egg and beat for two minutes on medium speed.
Add frosting mixture to the flour mixture and stir until combined.  Once combined, add the melted Candy Melts while mixer is set to low speed.  Finally add sprinkles and mix just to incorporate, don't over-beat.
Using a 1 1/2 Tablespoon cookie scoop, make dough balls and place on lined cookie sheet.  Bake 10-13 minutes or until edges of cookies are lightly browned.  Do not remove too early or cookies will sink in the middle and crack.

In other news, May has been a record breaking month for The Smart Baker's Cupcake Tower sales!  To celebrate this achievement and the holiday weekend, we have a Memorial Day Sale going on.  Go to The Smart Baker now to take advantage of a 10% off site wide Coupon Code!  Limited time offer, good until May 30, 2011.

Need an Easy and Delicious Chocolate Cookie recipe?

Ever since I made these Double Chocolate Cookies in January, I've been a little obsessed with Chocolate Cookies.  Not any chocolate cookie mind you, but fudgy, moist brownie-like cookies.  I love Chocolate, but the husband doesn't love it.  He's more of a vanilla guy.  But these cookies didn't just taste like Chocolate, they tasted like Brownies.  And who doesn't like a Brownie?  Even Dan, the vanilla man, loves brownies.
We brought those Double Chocolate cookies to a family dinner where we ran out of room in our bellies and everyone took some home instead of eating them then.  Then, a week or two later, when I had kind of forgotten all about the cookies, our tasters mentioned how GREAT those cookies were.  It is a rare thing when people remember a few weeks later how good a dessert was, especially when it's just a plain old cookie!  So ever since, I've had Brownie Cookies on the brain.
I decided to give another recipe a go.  This new one comes from A Full Measure of Happiness.  This calls for all simple ingredients that you more than likely have in your pantry.  These can be thrown together very quickly - you don't even have to melt any chocolate.  So if you need Brownie-like Chocolate Cookies and you need them NOW, I suggest giving this recipe a try.
Lauren calls these Double Trouble Chocolate cookies, but I'm going to call them Double Trouble Brownie cookies, because that's what they taste like, and I know Daniel will eat more of them if I call them Brownie Cookies instead of Chocolate Cookies :)  I kept her same ingredients list, but adapted the preparation method slightly.  I'll have to re-make those Double Chocolate Cookies and do a side-by-side comparison to see which of these two recipes we like best (or maybe that's just an excuse to make both of these again).


Double Trouble Brownie Cookies, adapted from A Full Measure of Happiness
Ingredients:
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
¾ C sugar
¼ t salt
1 t vanilla
1/3 unsweetened cocoa powder
1 large egg
1 C flour
½ t baking soda
½ - 1 C semisweet chocolate chips (to taste)

Directions:

Preheat to 350.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter.  Slowly add in sugar.  Add in the egg and beat until combined.  

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder.  Add flour mixture to butter mixture and beat just to combine.  Add in chocolate chips and stir just to incorporate – don’t overmix.  

Using a cookie scoop (I used a 1 ½ Tablespoon scoop), place dough balls on a parchment lined cookie sheet, leaving about 2 inches between them.  Flatten slightly with your palm and bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes.  Remove from oven (even if they look slightly undercooked) and allow to sit on cookie sheet for 5 or more minutes.