I Blog What I Bake

I realize there have been many “Baking Shorts” lately and not too many full posts. Things have been a bit hectic. But I will get back to doing full instructional posts with lots of pictures soon.  For now, the shorts will be it.  It’s okay though, there is not much to say about these cookies other than that they are awesome chocolatey, espresso-y (yeah, I am making up adjectives now) goodness. Enjoy!

Cappuccino Cookies

6 ounces of good quality semisweet chocolate chopped
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons of butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons of dark chocolate cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoons of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 tablespoon of instant espresso plus on tablespoon hot water
1/2 cup confectioners sugar for rolling

In a double boiler melt together the chocolate and the butter, whisking frequently. Combine the espresso and hot water together until the espresso is dissolved and add to the chocolate and butter. Set aside to cool slightly.

In a medium bowl combine the cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and flour.

In a large bowl beat together the eggs and the butter. Add the vanilla. After the chocolate mixture has slightly cooled, beat into the butter and egg mixture.  Slowly stir in dry ingredients.

Cover and refrigerate for about 2 hours or until the batter is stiff.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Scoop out tablespoon sized balls and roll in confectioners sugar. Place on baking sheet lined with a Silpat or parchment paper and bake for approximately 10 minutes.

Printable Recipe: Cappuccino Cookies

Recently a friend of mine (you know who you are) got me thinking about Macaroons. Having never made them before I decided to give it a whirl. They came out AMAZING and are ridiculously easy to make. So you here you have it. A simple recipe for Macaroons that came straight from Joy of Baking.

Coconut Macaroon Recipe
From www.joyofbaking.com

4 Large eggs whites, at room temperature
1 cup granulated white sugar
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup cake flour
3 cups sweetened coconut

In a stainless steel bowl, placed over a saucepan of simmering water (do not let the bowl touch the water!), whisk together the egg whites, sugar and salt. When this mixture is warm to the touch and nice and creamy, remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract, flour and coconut. Cover and refrigerate for about  hours.

Line to cookie sheets with parchment paper or a Silpat and preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Place small mounds (heaping tablespoons) of the batter on the lined cookie sheets, spacing several inches apart. Baked for about 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool on baking sheet for about 10 minutes and then place on wire rack to cool completely.

Makes about 2 dozen Macaroons.

Printable Coconut Macaroon Recipe

Who doesn’t love chocolate chip cookies?  They are about as traditional as you can get in the kitchen. Well, except for Apple Pie. I have been making the same chocolate chip cookie recipe for YEARS.  I have stuck to the old school Nestle Tollhouse back-of-the -bag recipe. Never fails.

But every now and then it’s good to change things up and when I saw this recipe on My Baking Addiction I had to make the leap. There were two reasons this cookie intrigued me. One, this is not your average cookie. It’s 4 ouces!!  If you are from NYC and have been to Levain Bakery you know what a 4 ounce cookie feels like. It can feed you for a day. Diet be damned. Two, the recipe calls for cold butter which I have never seen in a cookie recipe.

Just a note, I made one batch of these smaller, about 2 ounce and they didn’t turn out quite as great. They were too dense. So to stick the gigantic cookies!

Giant Chocolate Chip Cookies

Courtsey of My Baking Addiction

2 sticks cold and cubed unsalted butter
1 cup granulated suagar
1 cup light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 /1/2 cups good quality semisweet chocolate chips or chunks
1 cup of walnuts

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugars until well blended and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mix in vanilla and beat until well incorporated.Add flour, salt, baking soda and mix until just combined. Gently fold in chocolate chips.

Transfer the dough to a clean work surface and gently mix dough by hand to ensure even distribution of ingredients.
Weigh out the dough into 4 ounce portions and gently roll into a ball.

Place each on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and bake in the oven with 15-20 minutes, until very lightly browned.
Let cool on a rack. Or eat them nice and hot!

Printable Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

I feel like it has ben FOREVER since I have posted anything. Sorry about that, but this recipe is worth the wait.  This one comes directly from My Baking Addiction and the second I saw these I knew I would have to give them a try. I am so happy I did! They are perfect delicious chewy sugar cookies with just a little punch of tart. LOVE.

I did run into a minor situation while making these cookies. The recipe calls for shredded unsweetened coconut. I went to three stores and only found sweetened coconut. So I improvised and bought an actual coconut (only after the fact did I realize I should have gone to Whole Foods for unsweetened shredded coconut). I have never cracked a coconut. The result? My husband in the basement with Google and some power tools. Needless to say the coconut never saw what hit it and I got my shredded unsweetened coconut.  It was a lot of effort for a cookie, but it was worth watching Brian so determined with that coconut. Love you babe.

RECIPE

2 3/4 cups of unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Zest of one large lime
3 tablespoon fresh squeezed lime juice
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut
1/2 cup sugar for rolling cookies

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Printable Recipe: Lime Coconut Cookies

First things first, toast the shredded coconut. Place in a 350 degree oven for 10-15 minutes until the coconut starts to turn a little brown. Cool before adding to cookie batter.  My husband also shredded the coconut for me. I was losing patience.

In medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

Using a hand held mixer beat the sugar and butter together until very light an fluffy.

Beat in egg, vanilla, lime zest and lime juice.  Stir in the toasted coconut. Slowly stir in the flour mixture until everything is well incorporated.

Next, roll rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into balls and gently roll them in sugar. Place about 1 1/2 inches apart on a cookies sheet lined with either parchment paper or a Silpat.

Bake in 350 degree oven for 8-10 minutes. They needed the whole 10 minutes in my oven.

Allow the cookies to cool for a few minutes on the sheet and then move them to a cooling rack.

Enjoy!!!

Sometimes it’s better when things just don’t go according to plan.

I had no intention of making cookies. As many of you know, I have been trying to make Key Lime pies for about 3 weeks now. But since key limes are nearly impossible to find in New Jersey, I had to let the pies go for a little while for the sake of just baking SOMETHING. I was beginning to go into withdrawal.  So I began to look though my baking cabinet and started randomly pulling out items. There was a container of dried cherries I had  mistakenly purchased awhile back thinking they were cranberries, a bag of white chocolate chips that I had been neglecting and several containers of oatmeal.  Voila! Cookies.

I have to admit, these turned out to be some of the best cookies I have ever made. They were wonderfully chewy and rich. Maybe it’s because I thought the nutmeg was cinnamon and put way more in than usual or maybe it’s because the unexpected just tastes better. Whatever the case may be, enjoy!

RECIPE

White Chocolate Cherry Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar

1/2 white granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 3/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

2 tablespoons of half & half

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups oats

1  12oz bag white chocolate chips

1 10oz container of dried cherries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Beat brown sugar, butter and white sugar in large bowl until creamy. About 3-4 minutes depending on the softness of the butter. Next, beat in the eggs, half & half and vanilla extract until well combined.

In a separate small bowl sift together the flour, baking soda, salt cinnamon and nutmeg.

Using a wooden spoon, gradually stir flour mixture into the butter mixture until well combined.

Add oats, white chocolate chips and dried cherries. Mix together until these are pretty evenly distributed throughout the batter.

Roll tablespoon sized portions of the cookie dough and drop them onto a prepared baking sheet. Bake for approximately 11 minutes. Keep on eye on them. I like to undercook mine just a touch so they stay nice a chewy.

And there you have it!   Oh, and I found key limes 2 days ago. The pies will finally be made this weekend.

Generally speaking, the only place I like peanut butter is on a PBJ sandwich. I have never been a fan of peanut butter cookies, any kind of baked peanut butter or things flavored with peanut butter. I think a peanut butter flavored jelly bean was quite possibly one of the worst things I ever ate.  That said, making a Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie seemed a bit masochistic.  But since I like  to do things that don’t  make sense, I decided to try and make a peanut butter cookie that I would like.  I do love Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, so I set out to make a cookie that would taste as much like that as possible.

In the end they turned out great and tasted quite a bit like a Reese’s Cup.  Word of advice, have milk handy…these cookies are rich!

CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

Makes approximately 30 cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated white sugar
2 eggs (room temperature)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
2 cups milk chocolate or semisweet chips
1 11oz bag Reese’s Peanut Butter Chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In one bowl sift together the flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking soda. If you don’t have a sifter whisk them together. In a separate large bowl beat the butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla until light and fluffy. Using a wooden, spoon stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture in three parts.

Next, stir in the peanut butter until it is well incorporated.

Add both the peanut butter chips and chocolate chips.

Roll tablespoon sized balls of dough and place them on a cookie sheet and flatten slightly. I like to use a Silpat for all of my cookies because NOTHING ever sticks and the cookies seem to cook more evenly.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes. Allow to cool for a few minutes on the sheet and then transfer to a cooling rack.

Grab a glass of milk and enjoy!

Thanks everyone for reading! My posts may be a little less frequent going forward. I have rejoined the work world of 9-5 and won’t have as much time to spend in the kitchen.  I will try to post once a week!