Chocolate Chip Peanutty Goodness

So if you read my last few posts, you might be confused as to why a picture of a fresh-from-the-oven cookie is now before your eyes.

While I'm trying (and pretty much failing) to cut back on the sweets, that doesn't mean I can't share some of the goodies I've been baking, right?

Look at it. Isn't it beautiful?

I mean, who am I to deprive you of valuable information about a very delicious chocolate chip peanut cookie?

Not me. Never.

Ok, onto the good stuff.

So while I have a favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe, I'm not above trying other variations from time to time.

This recipe comes from Williams-Sonoma Desserts which can't be bad given the title of the cookbook.

All I know is that every time I make these cookies, they are gobbled up quickly.

Though you may not need an official occasion to bake these, you could definitely brighten a special someone's day tomorrow with a plateful of these treats...your Valentine's, or just yours. Enjoy!

Peanut and Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies
(Courtesy of Williams-Sonoma Desserts)

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped, lightly salted dry-roasted peanuts

Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.

In another bowl, combine the butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla, and using an electric mixer, beat until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and beat well. Reduce the speed to low, add the flour mixture, and mix until well blended. Stir in the chocolate chips and peanuts.

Drop rounded tablespoons of the dough onto ungreased baking sheets, spacing the cookies 2 inches apart. Bake until just beginning to brown around the edges, 25 minutes. (Important note: I baked mine between 13-15 minutes, which was plenty of time.) Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. (If they last that long!)

Who Needs Birthday Cake When There are Chocolate Covered Oreos?

In honor of my husband Chris' birthday today (Happy Birthday honey!), I'm posting a secret to a quick and astoundingly delicious dessert.  Chris and I have been feasting on homemade chocolate covered Oreos topped with Heath Bar crumbles (as if the Oreo itself wasn't enough) in the last few weeks.  Not only are they AMAZING and elegant but they are so simple to make.  What else is there to do when it's cold outside, right?

I also made some of these with my 3-year-old niece and 5-year-old nephew over Christmas, and they were as delighted with making these as I was (and the cookies got eaten rather fast).  We also topped the Oreos with multicolored sprinkles and sliced almonds, in addition to the Heath Bar crumbles (as shown in the photo above).  We made chocolate covered pretzel rods too.

Eat and enjoy!

Chocolate Covered Oreos
(Courtesy of Kelly Oliver)

Ingredients:
1 package of your favorite Oreos
1 bag of milk or semisweet chocolate chips
1 bag of Heath Bar crumbles (or other topping of your choosing, such as multicolored sprinkles)

Method:
In a microwave safe bowl, melt the entire bag of chocolate chips, starting with 45 seconds, then stirring, and then 15 seconds, then stirring, and continuing in 15 second intervals until melted.

Dip the top of each Oreo in the chocolate and then in the Heath Bar crumbles.  Place on a waxed paper lined baking sheet until chocolate is firm, which takes a few hours.  Store at room temperature.

The Best Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies

It's a beautiful, sunny, yet cold day here in Arlington.  The minimal snowfall we got last night dusted the trees and rooftops enough to look make my neighborhood look like a peaceful and quaint winter village.  That scene calls for something a sweet treat that is classic and all-American -- chocolate chip cookies.  And not just any chocolate chip cookies.  I found a recipe on the Brown Eyed Baker blog about a year ago for chocolate chip cookies that has made me fall in love with these cookies all over again (which I didn't think was possible!).  So while I enjoy this winter scene outside my window today and while Claire is sleeping, I'm going to be baking these lovely treats.



Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
(Courtesy of Baking Illustrated/Brown Eyed Baker)
http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2008/06/21/thick-and-chewy-chocolate-chip-cookie


Ingredients:
2 cups plus 2 T. (10 5/8 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
12 T. (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled until warm
1 cup packed (7 ounces) light or dark brown sugar
1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar
1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1-1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Method:
Adjust the oven racks to the upper- and lower-middle positions and heat the oven to 325 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or spray them with nonstick cooking spray.

Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl; set aside.

Either by hand or with an electric mixer, mix the butter and sugars until thoroughly blended. Beat in the egg, yolk, and vanilla until combined. Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed just until combined. Stir in the chips to taste.

Roll a scant 1/4 cup of the dough into a ball. Hold the dough ball with the fingertips of both hands and pull into 2 equal halves. Rotate the halves 90 degrees and, with jagged surfaces facing up, join the halves together at their base, again forming a single ball, being careful not to smooth the dough’s uneven surface. Place the formed dough balls on the prepared baking sheets, jagged surface up, spacing them 2 1/2 inches apart.

Bake until the cookies are light golden grown and the outer edges start to harden yet the centers are still soft and puffy, 15 to 18 minutes, rotating the baking sheets front to back and top to bottom halfway through the baking time. Cool the cookies on the sheets. Remove the cooled cookies from the baking sheets with a side metal spatula.

Enjoy!

Cookie Season: Chocolate Chipotle Cookies

In honor of Claire's first Christmas, I tried a new cookie recipe that combined delicious dark chocolate with a spicy kick -- a concoction called Chocolate Chipotle Cookies that will now make it into my cookie rotation each holiday season.  I love chocolate bars with surprising spices like chili powder or ginger -- which my husband likes to add to my Christmas stocking every year -- and these cookies were a perfect fix.  I only got to make one batch of these with all the shopping and wrapping gifts I had to do last week so I'll need to make another for New Year's, or maybe just to eat during the week.  After all, we have another whole week until New Year's resolutions kick in!  Hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!

Chocolate Chipotle Cookies
(Courtesy of Alison Lewis)
http://www.ingredientsinc.net/2009/12/talk-of-the-town-nashville-chocolate-chipotle-cookies/ 

Ingredients:
8 ounces dark chocolate morsels (1 1/3 cups)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground chipotle seasoning
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup light brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted

Method:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Microwave chocolate on high heat for 45 seconds; stir. Reheat in 15 second intervals, stirring until melted or heat chocolate over a double-boiler, stirring until melted.

Combine, flour, cinnamon and chipotle in a medium bowl; Set aside.

Beat butter at medium speed of an electric mixer until creamy. Add brown sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Beat in melted chocolate. Stir in flour mixture until blended. Stir in pecans.

Shape dough into 1-inch ball; place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Flatten the top of each cookie with a glass dipped in sugar.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are set. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire
racks to cool completely.

Yield: 3 dozen

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Clarendon Cook and her family

!

Cookie Season: Faux Baklava

Love the taste of baklava but don't want to spend hours making it?  I do!  This recipe is the perfect substitute.  I love baklava for its buttery, nutty, honey-sweetened goodness, but the thought of having to lay each phyllo-dough layer doesn't make it worthwhile to me.  I'd rather buy it (or eat the baklava my friend Megan likes to make).  Call me lazy, but long hours of baking doesn't suit me especially when I need a sugar fix!  This recipe is only a few steps and pretty foolproof.  These cookies have been a family favorite for a few years now, especially during the holidays.  Enjoy!

Faux Baklava (a.k.a. Pie Crust Cookies)
(Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens)
http://www.bhg.com/recipe/cookies/nut-wedges/

Ingredients:
1 pie crust (I use a pre-made Pillsbury pie crust, although you could make your own for this recipe.)
1 cup finely chopped nuts
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 T. honey
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. lemon juice

Method:
On a lightly floured surface, spread the pie crust out and roll the dough into a 9-inch circle.  Transfer to an ungreased cookie sheet or a pizza stone.

For the filling, combine the nuts, sugar, honey, cinnamon, and lemon juice.  Spread over half of the dough circle on the cookie sheet, and then fold the other half over so that it forms a half moon shape.  Use tines of fork to seal edges and prick dough.  Brush the edges with milk.

Bake in a 375 degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until pastry starts to brown.  Cool 10 minutes on a wire rack.  While warm, cut into 16 to 20 wedges using a pizza cutter.  Cool completely.

Cookie Season Begins: Peanut Butter Cookies with Chocolate Chunks

Happy December 1st!  Thanksgiving has come and gone.  Christmas is on its way.  And it is also now the official start of Cookie Season!  (At least in my home!)

Love peanut butter cookies?  My all-time favorite cookies are chocolate chip, but every once in a while I get a craving for ones made with peanut butter.  That was the case this week and I found a peanut butter cookie recipe that will take you straight to cookie heaven.  Seriously.  These are that good.  And addicting.  Perhaps one of the best reasons to like these cookies is the fact that they were still fresh and chewy the next day, and I don't think you can say that about many cookies.  (They didn't last past day two, so I don't know how long they would stay fresh.)  I daresay that if you make these for any Christmas cookie exchange this month, that you will make at least 20 new friends.  Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Cookies with Chocolate Chunks
(Courtesy of Bon Appetit, March 1997)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/3 cup old-fashioned oats
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup old-fashioned chunky peanut butter (about 9 oz.)
1 cup firmly packed golden brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup honey
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
5 oz. semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (I used a combination of milk chocolate and peanut butter chips.)

Method:
Mix flour, oats, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.  In a separate bowl using an electric mixer, beat peanut butter, brown sugar, butter, honey, egg and vanilla in a large bowl until well blended.  Stir dry ingredients into peanut butter mixture in 2 additions.  Stir in chopped chocolate.  Cover and refrigerate until dough is firm and no longer sticky, about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Butter 2 or 3 large baking sheets.  With your hands, roll 1 heaping tablespoonful of dough for each cookie into 1 3/4-inch-diameter ball.  Arrange cookies on prepared baking sheets, spacing 2 1/2 inches apart.  Bake cookies until puffed, beginning to brown on top and still very soft to touch, about 12 minutes.  Cool cookies on baking sheet 5 minutes.  Using a metal spatula, transfer cookies to rack and cool completely.  (Can be made 2 days ahead.  Store in an airtight container at room temperature.)

Peanutty Goodness

Not sure if this really counts as an official pregnancy craving but ever since Easter brought about my favorite Reese's Peanut Butter Cups in plenty, I've been enjoying a lot of desserts with peanut butter.  So I started looking up some recipes on Epicurious.com to see what I could bake using peanut butter, and found the one I'm including below, although there were many tempting options.  Of course, if the trend continues, you'll be sure to see some more peanut butter recipes on this blog very soon.  The peanut butter cookies I made really turned out well...they were light, peanut buttery, and had just the right amount of sweetness.  Even a few days later, their consistency stayed the same, which I can't say about many cookie recipes I've tried.  Enjoy!

Old-Fashioned Peanut Butter Cookies
(Courtesy of Bon Appétit, January 1998 issue)

Ingredients:

3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup creamy or chunky peanut butter (do not use old-fashioned style or freshly ground)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs

Method:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Mix flour, baking powder and salt in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter, peanut butter and vanilla in large bowl until well blended. Beat in both sugars. Scrape down sides of bowl. Stir half of dry ingredients into mixture. Add eggs 1 at a time, stirring well after each addition. Mix in remaining dry ingredients.

For each cookie, roll 1 heaping tablespoonful of dough into 1 3/4-inch-diameter ball. Arrange dough balls 2 1/2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Using back of fork, flatten dough balls and form crosshatch design on tops. Bake cookies until dry on top and golden brown on bottom, about 14 minutes. Cool cookies on baking sheets 5 minutes. Using metal spatula, transfer cookies to racks and cool completely. (Can be prepared up to 3 days ahead. Store in airtight container at room temperature.)

This recipe can be found at Epicurious.com: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/4645?mbid=ipapp

Cookie Season: Double Chocolate Chip Mint Cookies - Two Varieties

So this past week, my colleagues decided it would be a nice tradition to start a cookie exchange, to which I happily agreed.  So I got to work and ended up making two varieties of Double Chocolate Chip Mint Cookies.  Why two varieties?  Well, I started with the more brownie-like variety but because the dough was so thick, I wasn't convinced they would turn out well.  Thankfully, I was wrong, and they ended up being my favorite of the two (just because they were more festive), although they are both good recipes.  Recipes included below so you can choose one (or make them both).

Double Chocolate Chip Mint Cookies #1

(Courtesy of Kelly Oliver, adapted from the Food Network's December 2009 magazine)

Ingredients:
1 ¼ cups granulated sugar

1 stick butter, softened

1 egg

1 t. vanilla

1 t. peppermint extract

1 ½ cups flour

½ cup Dutch-process cocoa powder (or regular cocoa powder)

¾ t. salt

¼ t. baking powder

1 cup chocolate chips

¼ cup peppermint candies, crushed (optional)

Method:
Beat sugar and butter until fluffy, then beat in egg, vanilla and peppermint extract.  Whisk flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking powder; stir into the butter mixture.  Stir in chocolate chips and peppermint candies.  Chill dough for 30 minutes, and then roll into balls.  Bake 12-15 minutes at 350 degrees.

Double Chocolate Chip Mint Cookies #2

(Courtesy of Kelly Oliver, adapted from Crisco's Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe)

Ingredients:
¾ cup Butter Crisco

1 ¼ cups light brown sugar

2 T. milk

1 T. vanilla

1 t. peppermint extract

1 egg

1 ¾ cups flour

4 T. cocoa powder

1 t. salt

¾ t. baking soda

1 cup chocolate chips (or mint chocolate chips if you can find them)

Method:
Beat Butter Crisco and light brown sugar until fluffy, then beat in milk, vanilla, peppermint extract and egg.  Add flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda to the mixture.  Stir in the chocolate chips.  Chill dough for 20-30 minutes, and then drop by spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet.  Bake 8-10 minutes at 375 degrees.

Cookie Season: Snickerdoodles

Now that it's getting closer to Thanksgiving and Christmas, it's just about time for that coinciding time of "Cookie Season." Ahh...yes, that glorious time of baking dozens of varieties to share with family, friends and co-workers. I enjoy making cookies, probably because of my sweet tooth, but just like cupcakes, cookies are easily enjoyed and always put a smile on people's faces. (They might grimace first, but I know that's just a front because cookies always disappear fast.)

To kick off Cookie Season, I made a batch of Snickerdoodles last weekend. I'm including the recipe that I used below, but if anyone has a better recipe to share, please do!

Snickerdoodles

(Courtesy of The Best of Gooseberry Patch's "Old Fashioned Christmas Favorites")

Ingredients:

1/2 cup shortening or butter, softened

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

1 1/4 cup flour

1/4 t. salt

1/2 t. baking soda

1 t. cream of tartar

cinnamon and sugar

Method:

Cream shortening (or butter) and sugar. Beat in egg. Sift dry ingredients together and add to creamed mixture; stir. Refrigerate for one hour. Roll dough into walnut-sized balls and roll in the cinnamon and sugar. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Cool on wire rack. Yields 2 dozen.