TWD: Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies

 Our "TWD" Bake yesterday was "Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies" and I have to be honest, we love this recipe! (With or without nuts)

There is nothing fancy about them or the recipe, just a plain, classic, yummy cookie. As you already know we are encouraged not to share Dorie's recipe, but I can give you a few tips that makes these cookies different, even if you use your regular, favorite recipe... instead of creaming your butter and sugars together on medium mixer speed for the 2-3 minutes - whip butter and sugars together on high for 5-7 minutes until mixture is fluffy and light colored. Mix in eggs and vanilla, one at a time, keeping mixture light and airy. I promise, it makes all the difference in the world. Bake for only 8 minutes at 375. Take them out even if center still looks doughy.

St. Patrick’s Day Treats

 Happy St. Patrick's Day... 🎉💝 How did you celebrate?

I am just checking in with everyone. Did anyone add these very yummy shakes or the fun shamrock cookies to their festivities?

Minty Green Shakes…https://www.pamperedchef.com/recipe/Beverages/St_+Patrick%27s+Day/Minty+Green+Shake/2383613 

Shamrock Cookies… https://www.pamperedchef.com/recipe/Desserts/St_+Patrick%27s+Day/Shamrock+Cookies/1078409

TWD… Trufflish Nuggets

 TWD... Oh My GOODNESS!!! Let me tell you about these little "Trufflish Nuggets" as Dorie calls them. They were our Tuesday's With Dorie bake this week and I was really hesitant to even try them. First, they are made solely using a food processor and we don't have one. I like to do everything by hand, but needed for this recipe. Second, Dorie's recipe calls for sliced almonds and my pantry in empty of almonds at the moment and being 1.5 hours away from a store that has them in a snow storm was bad news. Third, they reminded me a lot of a similar cookie from nine years ago and I was not sure if anyone at my house would eat

But the desire to bake with my group and the chef in me started brain-storming about all the ingredient substitutions I could use to make it all work... First, we decided on that our Pampered Chef food chopper would work. Second, peanuts would be a great replacement for almonds and then third, maybe if I added chopped cherries to the mix instead of the figs from 9 years ago. Then maybe they would taste like a "Big Cherry Mountain" candy bar... 

Mission Accomplished... These are so good!!!! tastes just like the candy bar and they are gluten free and lower calories. 

Since our group has promised not to share Dorie's recipe found in her Cookbook: "Baking with Dorie - Sweet, Salty Simple" on page 179, I thought I would share mine... (Sidenote: my recipe is half of Dorie's recipe, It made 18 tablespoon sized cookies)

1/2 cup chopped peanuts them. 

1/2 cup grated coconut

1/2 cup chopped maraschino cherries 

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons semi-dark cocoa powder

2 egg whites (make sure its whites only)

I laid the cherries out on a paper towel to dry while I chopped my peanuts and coconut. Mixed those together in a medium mixing bowl, next chopped the cherries and added them to the bowl and stirred the three ingredients together. Next I added the sugar, the salt and cocoa powder, stirred until well blended. Last I added the 2 egg whites and mixed until everything looked wet and like paste. 

I used a over-full teaspoon to scoop dough onto cookie sheet covered in parchment paper and placed them about an inch apart. Baked at 350* for 25 minutes. Dorie's recipe says until cookie is firm, but soft and will peel off the parchment paper.

TWD: World Peace Cookies

TWD: (Tuesday's with Dorie)---- 

We were challenged to start the new year off with "World Peace Cookies" and as everyone knows according to my eight year old granddaughters… any world peace achievement must include m&m's.

We were not big fans of these cookies, but it could have been the bakers. I had lots of help today... Lol! Anyway we found the cookies dry and very chocolatey. 

In keeping with the TWD tradition, we have agreed to not publish the recipe but will tell you that you can find the recipe in both of Dorie's cookbooks titled “Baking With Dorie” &  "Dorie's Cookies"

Maple (Snow) Cookies

 Had a little fun with our “Frugal Friday” today… I wanted to soft Maple Cookies with Brown Butter frosting and the princess wanted to play in the snow, so we compromised based on her “great idea”. Which was… since the cookie dough needed to chill for an hour before baking, “We can put the cookie dough out in the snow to get cold, yaya, that way we can chill our dough and play in the snow and that would be frugal huh?, because it saves power in the fridge”… Said From the mind of a classic princess. 

 

    

INGREDIENTS

For the Soft Maple Cookies

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp fine sea salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup pure maple syrup (Grade A Dark recommended)

1 large egg, at room temperature

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

For the Brown Butter Icing

1/4 cup unsalted butter (to brown)

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

2 Tbsp pure maple syrup

1-2 Tbsp milk or cream (as needed for consistency)

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon (optional)

For Garnish: flaky sea salt or chopped toasted pecans (for sprinkling)

INSTRUCTIONS

Whisk dry ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon until evenly combined; set aside.

Cream butter, sugar & maple: In a large bowl (stand mixer with paddle or hand mixer), beat softened butter and brown sugar on medium until light and fluffy (2–3 minutes). Scrape bowl; add maple syrup and beat until fully combined.

Add egg & vanilla, then dry mix: Beat in egg and vanilla just until combined. On low speed, add dry ingredients gradually and mix only until flour streaks disappear. Dough will be soft.

Chill: Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour (up to 3 days) to prevent excess spread and deepen maple flavor.

Bake: Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment. Scoop 1.5 Tbsp dough balls spaced 2 inches apart. Bake 10–12 minutes until edges are lightly golden and centers look just set. Cool 5 minutes on sheet, then transfer to a rack.

Brown butter icing: In a light-colored saucepan over medium heat, melt 1/4 cup butter. Cook, swirling, until foamy and speckled with brown bits and nutty aroma develops. Immediately pour into a heatproof bowl to stop cooking. Whisk in powdered sugar, maple syrup, and optional cinnamon. Add milk 1 Tbsp at a time until thick but pourable.

Ice & garnish: Dip or drizzle cooled cookies with icing. While wet, sprinkle with flaky sea salt or toasted pecans. 

Let set ~30 minutes before serving.

Throwback Thursday - “Baking Yesteryear”

 January 16... "Throwback Thursday"

We have been having so much fun reminiscing over our favorite childhood recipes as we browse through our new "Baking Yesteryear" cookbook, by B. Dylan Hollis. (Such a funny dude, we love his videos) 

Anyway, we thought today would be a great day to share with you all our two bakes so far for the month. 

We chose "Continental Johnny Cake" (corn bread) on page 78 and "Wacky Cake" on page 104. Both turned out fantastic. You will notice that the corn bread may look a little dark speckled in color, that was because we mixed yellow cornmeal and blue cornmeal together. 

TWD…. Mokonut’s Rye-Cranberry Chocolate Chunk Cookies

This week our challenge was to make “Mokonut’s Rye-Cranberry Chocolate Chunk Cookies

 

The story behind these very yummy cookies that Dorie shared with us was that People come from all around the world to eat at MoKonut’s, which is a small little restaurant in Paris. It is always full and everyone comes for the same dessert which is one of MoKo Hirayama’s cookies. The story is that she only makes a few varieties, but the all share the same chubbiness, texture and uncommon flavor profiles. 

This recipe had me at first hesitation, rye and bittersweet chocolate was not a flavor combination that I would have contemplate for a cookie and living so far away from the nearest grocery store I was a little limited on my ingredients. So as most of you that have followed along with me and this baking group knows that I can’t share the exact recipe with you, but I can tell you that I replaced the rye flour with Spelt flour and the bittersweet chocolate with white chocolate chips. 

I can honestly tell you that I was sweetly surprised at how wonderfully delicious they are and when eaten warm they were the highlight of my day. I was debating if I should add the whole 1/3 cup of poppy seeds or not and I am so glad I did… you can find the recipe and the rest of the story behind these cookies on page 163 in Dorie Greenspan’s new cook book entitled “Baking with Dorie: Sweet, Salty & Simple”

TWD: Date- Nut Pinwheels

        This month we made Date-Nut Pinwheels. These were very tasty, I used both dried figs and dates when I followed the recipe. I was kind of in a hurry, so I split the batch of dough in half and tried to make a few before the dough was chilled and they didn't work very well.  the cookies that I made later in the day after the dough had chilled worked better and held their spiral shaping. BUT... These were very yummy, even my husband like these. WE WILL MAKE THEM AGAIN!

        And since we have an agreement not to post the recipe, I will let you all know that this recipe can be found on page 248 in Dorie Greenspan's New Cookbook entitled: "Dorie's Cookies"

Hot Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Toss Together Tuesday:

This recipe makes a large batch (about 50 teaspoon sized dough balls)

For the cookie dough:
1 Chocolate Cake Mix
2 eggs
1/3 cup oil
Mix all together and chill for a least 30 minutes before rolling into dough balls. Next roll and place dough balls on a greased cookie sheet. Bake At 350* for 6-8 minutes. The cookies should be soft and doughy to the touch.

For toppings:
1 cup melted chocolate chips
Mini marshmallows
Melt chocolate chips and put small amount of melted chocolate in center of cookie and place marshmallows on top of melted chocolate.
I also added toffee chips to mine with marshmallows. Then the other plate of cookies have white chocolate, cherry chocolate chips and red colored coconut flakes.

BCM: Lavender Galettes

It's been awhile since I baked any goodies with my "Tuesday's with Dorie" group. Today our challenge was Lavender Galettes and I learned something new. I always thought that a Galette was like a rustic style fruit filled tart, but today I discovered that sometimes they are also listed as cookies. They looked so yummy I had to try them. The recipe called for lavender, I didn't have any and since I am serving them tonight with Teriyaki Chicken, I decided to make mine "Lemon & Toasted Sesame Seed". They are very tasty... you can find the recipe on page 312 in "Baking Chez Moi" by Dorie Greenspan.

TWD: Peanut Butter Change Ups

       SHARING.... That is my first word choice from the gratitude list. And that is because, I was so excited to find out our "Tuesday's with Dorie" was starting up again with a whole new cookbook from Dorie Greenspan entitled "Dorie's Cookies". 
       For our first challenge I chose to make the "peanut butter change up" cookies on page 152-154. I was a little surprised that the recipe called for nutmeg, I would have never thought to add nutmeg to my peanut butter cookies. They were very yummy and I loved SHARING them with my family. 
        If you want more details or would like to join our group, check out my blog at www.tuesdayswithdorie.wordpress.com

Chex Scotcheroos

Answer..... "Just Because!"
Question... "Why do you make the yummy looking goodies that your hubby posts on your Facebook page?" 

Chex Scotcheroos

6 cups rice or corn chex
1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups peanut butter
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 cups butterscotch chips
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla

grease a large round bowl and pour the cereal in set aside.

grease a 9x13 inch pan set aside.

in a pan on the stove, combine the corn syrup and sugar, and stir over medium high heat until it comes to a boil.

immediately remove from heat and stir in 1 1/2 cups of peanut butter and then immediately pour this mixture over the cereal and fold in pour into the 9x13 pan.

in a microwaveable 4 cup measuring cup, combine the butterscotch chips, chocolate chips, 1/2 cup of peanut butter and vanilla microwave for 30 seconds at a time.

Make sure you stir very well after each interval until it is completely melted and smooth

it should take about 1 minute and 30 seconds

pour over the bars allow to cool completely at room temperature before cutting

"TBHD" - Oatmeal Cream Pies with Ginger Cream

      As we come to the close of a very heartfelt somber day, filled with moments of silent prayers and reflections of who and where we were 14 years ago today, I can't help but get a small chuckle out of the recipe pairing of the day.

       Oatmeal Cream Pies have got to be one of our family's all time favorite. If we don't have time to make them from scratch then you can always find a box of Little Dibbie's in someone's stash and if you are a fan of Little Debbie's Oatmeal Creme Pies then you will love these.

         The cookie part of the recipe is a very simple and tradional style recipe, but the ginger cream brings about a whole new flavor. Some of us liked it and some of us didn't... You will just have to make them to decide for your self. Please post a comment and let us know.

TWD: "Baking Chez Moi" - Jam Filled Sandwich Cookies

These little gems are not new to the pantry and I love them with just about anything you want to fill them with. My favorite is sour cream raisin filled, but my family like boysenberry jam from Knott's Berry Farm.

There is an art to getting them sealed so that all the jam doesn't leak out while baking. My grandmother use to dip her finger in a little bit of cream and rub it around the edge of the bottom cookie before placing the other one on top.

If you would like to bake a long with our group.... Check us out at Tuesday's At Dorie.

TWD: "Baking Chez Moi" - Crispy Topped Brown Sugar Bars

Our "TUESDAY WITH DORIE" recipe for today was a big hit at our house.., the challenge was to make"Crispy-Topped Brown Sugar Bars” and since we didn't have any Rice Krispies here, we had to improvise. My little helper choose her favorite Cheerios and I added my favorite "bear beans" (golden puffs) and fresh pecans. Also, another change we made was we took the hints from some of the other bakers and we reduced our baking temperature to 350 and we only baked our for 20 minutes. They are very yummy!


Check out the other variations at "TUESDAYS WITH DORIE"

"Oh The Places You'll Go! " Cookies for Dr. Suess Birthday

These are really easy to make sugar cookies.

1/2 cup soft butter
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups all purpose flour

food coloring and sprinkles (optional)

Cream together butter, shortening and sugar. Next mix vanilla, eggs and buttermilk in with butter mixture. Mix well and add all the rest of the ingredients. Mix well and divide into four equal dough balls. Next add three drops of color to each of the balls of dough and knead well. To make the swirl cookie, take about an inch sized piece of each dough ball and roll into a log about three inches long. Then swirl together by placing the dough pieces side by side and form into a circle. roll dough circle in sprinkles and bake for about 10-12 minutes on 350*.

TWD: "Baking with Julia" - Amaretti Cookies

We made Amaretties this week as our group recipe  "Baking with Julia" - pages 320-321

WE love these little yummy cookies. We make these often for all the holidays using a wide variety of add ins, but I have to admit our favorite is to add chunks of cherry and dip them in White Chocolate.

The top picture is the plain and cherry chunk variety and the bottom picture is plain with Hersey kiss for  Thanksgiving and the cherry & white chocolate for Christmas

WE are having so much fun hanging out with the group and You can too... Everyone is welcome, check out other fans and fun recipes at  "Tuesday's with Dori".

TWD: BCM#1 - "Palets de Dames", Lille Style

Yesterday our "Tuesday's with Dorie" Group started enjoying the recipes from Dorie Greenspan's new cookbook Baking Chez Moi. I held off one more day hoping that my copy would be here, but no.... I am so excited... I couldn't wait any longer. So today, we give you "Palets de Dames", Lille Style. This recipe is posted on the book’s Amazon page as a sample recipe. These yummy little cookies are very easy to make and really hit the spot if you are craving something tiny and sweet.

We enjoyed our with sprinkles and chocolate shavings. Even though these little gems were easy to make they were not a big hit at my house, so not sure if I will make them again unless for a wedding or possibly a baby shower.


If you are interested in joining our new cookbook group or just looking for the recipe or more information, check us out at http://tuesdayswithdorie.wordpress.com/

"Back to School" Blondies

Ingredients

• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup butter, melted
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup peanut butter chips

Directions

• In a large bowl, combine the brown sugar, butter, eggs and vanilla until blended. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt;  mix until well incorporated. Stir in chocolate and peant butter chips.
• Spread into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan. Bake at 350° for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Cut into bars. Yield: 3 dozen.

"ATW80DS" - Chilean Chocolate Chip Cookies

Today is national Chocolate Chip Cookie Day and since we are viturally making our way from Chili to South Africa, we decided to make some Chiliean Chocolate Chip cookies for the trip...

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1/4 granulated sugar
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chopped
• 3/4 cup, (5.4 ounces) Mexican chocolate, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, salt, baking powder and cinnamon, and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter until smooth. On medium speed, add the sugars to the butter and mix until incorporated.  Add the eggs one at a time and mix until incorporated. Add vanilla extract. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. 
2. Add the flour mixture in increments until incorporated and a dough forms. With the mixer on low, add the chopped chocolate just until incorporated.
3. Using an ice cream scoop, scoop out balls of dough and place on baking sheet covered in parchment paper. Leave enough space in between the balls as the dough will spread. Bake until the edges are golden brown and the centers are set. About 11-14 minutes. Mine took about 13 minutes to bake.
4. Remove cookies from oven, and let cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet. Then remove them to cool on a cooling rack.

About 20 cookies