My Cooking Adventures

Being that I am now jobless, I spend a lot more time baking, or at least thinking about baking. I went to the bookstore about a week ago, just to waste time. I browsed the cooking section [shocker] and came upon a book titled "The Sweeter Side of Amy's Bread." Well, being that I am a sucker for anything with my name in the title, I had to take a peek. It turned out to be a collection of recipes from a bakery in New York City, called Amy's Bread. I found a few recipes that looked like things I could easily do, plus I loved that the book gave you a history of each recipe, and a tutorial at the beginning of each chapter or section. This recipe is from that cookbook, and it has such a great story.

"Amy tried half a dozen recipes for double chocolate chip cookies, but none of them quite matched the cookie she had in her imagination. So she took the best qualities from each of her tests and finally came up with this winner. Not too sweet, crunchy on the edges, moist and chewy in the middle - this cookie fills your mouth with the flavor of deep dark chocolate, melted butter, and a hint of toasted pecans from the first bite...Sadly, we no longer sell double chocolate chip cookies in our cafes. Their delicate texture made them too fragile to transport to our other retail locations safely, so a lot of them were broken when they arrived."
--from the recipe for Double Chocolate Chip Cookies, "The Sweeter Side of Amy's Bread"


Ingredients:
1 5/8 cups Unbleached all purpose flour
3/8 cup cocoa powder
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp Kosher salt
2 1/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup unsalted butter, slightly softened
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup pecans, toasted, chopped

Directions:

1. Position one rack in the top third of the oven, one rack in the bottom third of the oven, and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line the cookies sheets with baking parchment.
2. In a bowl, add the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt and whisk together.
3. In a glass bowl, melt 1 1/2 cups of the chocolate chip in a microwave oven at 50% power for 3 mins. Stir them to make them smooth, then set aside to cool.
4. In another bowl, using an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugars on medium speed for 2 minutes, or until light and fluffy, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl frequently. Pour in the melted chocolate and continue mixing until the mixture is uniform in color. The chocolate should be pourable but not hot, or the butter will melt. Gradually add the eggs and the vanilla, mixing until everything is well combined.
5. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients in stages. Mix only until everything is well combined. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl frequently. There should not be any pockets of dry flour left in the dough. Add the remaining chocolate chips and the pecans and continue mixing at low speed until the chips and nuts are evenly distributed. Chill the dough in the refrigerator until it is firm but not hard.
6. Using a large soup spoon, a metal ice cream scoop, or your clean hands moistened with water, scoop out big balls of dough, placing 6 balls on each prepared cookie sheet. Each ball of dough should weigh approximately 90 g/3.17 oz each. If you don't have a scale, use a scant 1/2 cup to estimate the size. The dough balls should be about 2 1/4 inches in diameter. Press each ball very lightly on the top, just to level the top of the ball. Do not flatten the ball. Bake the cookies for about 18-20 minutes, rotating the cookie sheets halfway through the baking time. These cookies will spread a lot during baking. They should be just set when done.
7. Cool the cookies on the sheets for 5 minutes, then move them to a rack and cool completely before serving.
   

I made these for a little variety on the traditional chocolate chip cookies. I gave the extras to my brother and sister who were home from college!

Mr. Goodbar Cookies
Source: Deborah

INGREDIENTS:

2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 (11.5 oz) bag milk chocolate chips1 cup dry roasted peanuts

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a medium bowl combine flour, baking soda and salt. Using a handheld mixer beat butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar and vanilla extract in a large bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in milk chocolate chips and peanuts.

3. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto baking sheets. Bake for 9-11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes, then transfer to wire baking racks to cool completely.

My neighbor's parents could not stop raving about this! And I know why; it's amazing!! Serve it with Nilla wafers, and you will be the hit of any party!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip
Source: Sugar & Spice

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter1
/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 (8-oz) pkg cream cheese
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
3/4 cup semisweet mini chocolate chips

1. In a small saucepan, melt the butter with the brown sugar over medium heat. Stir continuously, until the brown sugar dissolves. (You can also do this in the microwave but watch it closely. The butter/sugar mixture will boil over fast. Stir every 30 seconds or so.)

2. Remove from heat, whisk in vanilla extract and set aside to cool.

3. Beat the cream cheese and confectioner's sugar for 1 minute.

4. Slowly beat in the cooled butter mixture and beat again for another minute.

5. Stir in the chocolate chips.

6. Pour into a serving bowl and refrigerate.

7. Garnish with additional chips, if you choose.Serve with Nilla wafers (my choice) or graham crackers.

**Note: after refrigerating the dip it will be pretty solid and un-dippable so make sure to remove it from the refrigerator about 15-30 minutes before you plan on serving it, so it has time to soften up.

These are great for chocolate lovers. Plus the sugar on top makes them look like they'll just melt-in-your-mouth! (and they do!)

Chocolate Crinkles

From: Better Homes & Garden
Yields: 48 cookies

3 eggs
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
4 oz unsweetened chocolate, melted
1/2 cup cooking oil
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
Sifted powdered sugar

1. In a large mixing bowl beat eggs, granulated sugar, chocolate, oil, baking powder, and vanilla with an electric mixer until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in any remaining flour. Cover and chill dough for 1 to 2 hours or until easy to handle.

2. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll balls in powdered sugar to coat generously. Place balls 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 8-10 minutes or until edges are set and tops are crackled. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool. If desired, sprinkle with additional powdered sugar.

Nutrition Facts (per cookie):
81 cal, 4 g total fat (1 g saturated fat), 13 mg chol., 21 mg sodium, 11 g carbo., 1 g fiber, 1 g pro.
Daily Values: 2% calcium, 3% iron

Peanut Butter Cookies

From: Better Homes & Gardens Bridal Edition
Yields: about 36 cookies

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
Granulated Sugar

1. In a large mixing bowl beat butter and peanut butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add the granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, and baking powder. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in egg and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in any remaining flour. If necessary, cover and chill dough until easy to handle.

2. Shape into 1-inch balls. Roll in additional granulated sugar to coat. Place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten by making crisscross marks with the tines of a fork. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 7-9 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.

Nutrition Facts (per cookie):
87 cal, 5 g total fat (2 g saturated), 12 mg chol., 70 mg sodium, 10 g carbo., 0 g fiber, 2 g pro.
Daily Values: 2% vit. A, 1 % calcium, 2% iron

Today I felt the strong urge to bake. Well, to be honest I'd been feeling the urge since yesterday, so last night I made the dough for Deborah's Chocolate Caramel Turtle Cookies, and chilled it overnight. This afternoon, I baked them, and boy did they turn out looking oh-so-yummy!

Chocolate Caramel Turtle Cookies




From: Deborah

INGREDIENTS:
For cookie dough:
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 sticks butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For topping:
1 (14oz) bag of individual caramel candies, unwrapped
2 tablespoons water
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 teaspoons Crisco shortening

DIRECTIONS:

1. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl. Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with a handheld mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in egg and vanilla. Reduce speed to low, then add flour mixture and mix until just combined. Form dough into a flat disc, wrap with plastic wrap and chill in fridge until firm, at least 4 hours.

2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

3. In a medium saucepan combine caramel candies and water over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until caramel is melted and mixture is smooth. Reduce heat to low.

4. To prepare cookies - take heaping teaspoons of chilled cookie dough and form loosely into balls. Place on baking sheet 2 inches apart. Return remaining dough to fridge to stay chilled until ready for the next batch. Using a small spoon or your fingertip, make an indentation in the middle of each cookie and spoon 1 teaspoon of caramel sauce into each indentation. Sprinkle with chopped pecans.

5. Bake cookies for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on sheets 2 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

6. In a small bowl combine chocolate chips and shortening. Microwave for 15-30 seconds, stopping to stir once halfway thru. Drizzle chocolate across surface of cookies and allow to cool until chocolate is set.