Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

I saw these in a recent issue of Clean Eating magazine and could not wait to make them. I love cookies and always am looking for new clean cookie recipes to try. These were so easy to make, but apparently I made them a little too easy - I didn't mix the dough well enough and I had quite the variety of cookie shapes, all on the same pan! I had the flat-as-a-pancake variety, tall mounds that never seemed to settle at all from the drop shape, and then the perfect middle ground. (I have a picture of the cookie sheet somewhere, when I find it, I will post it in all it's hilarity).


These cookies are delicious, and this was my first time trying almond butter. It's quite different from peanut butter, and I really like it (though really, I'm not surprised, almonds are my favorite!)


Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Source: Clean Eating Magazine, March/April 2010
Yield: 24 cookies

1 cup unsalted almond butter, stirred well
3/4 cup sucanat
1 large egg
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3 oz dark chocolate (70% cocoa or greater), broken into small pieces

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  In a medium bowl, stir together first 5 ingredients until (well!) blended.  Stir in chocolate.

2.  Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto parchment lined baking sheets.  Bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned.  Let cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes.  Remove to a wire rack and let cook for 15 more minutes. 

Nutritional Information, per cookie:
Calories - 110
Total fat - 8 g
Sat. fat - 1.5 g
Carbohydrates - 10 g
Fiber - 1 g
Sugar - 3 g
Protein - 2 g
Sodium - 55 mg
Cholesterol - 10 mg

The Chewy

Ahh, The Chewy. I swear, this has to be one of Alton Brown's most famous recipes. I love Alton Brown, and wanted to use up some bread flour, so I decided it was time for me to make them. My mom is famous for her chocolate chip cookie recipe, which tends to be more crisp, so I was interested to see how these turned out.



Admittedly, I was quite disenchanted at first. I didn't love them. I barely liked them. Sure, the texture was spot on, but the flavor was missing something, for me. Though, I wondered if this was just a result of my clean eating lifestyle. However, I gave them another shot the next day, and thought they were much, much better! The flavor had definitely developed and I thought they were very good!  I should also note that my husband thought they were fantastic.

The Chewy
Source: Alton Brown

* 2 sticks unsalted butter
* 2 1/4 cups bread flour
* 1 teaspoon kosher salt
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/4 cup sugar
* 1 1/4 cups brown sugar
* 1 egg
* 1 egg yolk
* 2 tablespoons milk
* 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Hardware:

* Ice cream scooper (#20 disher is recommended, but I didn't have that so I just eye-balled it)
* Parchment paper
* Baking sheets
* Mixer

Directions

Heat oven to 375 degrees F.

Melt the butter in a heavy-bottom medium saucepan over low heat. Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda and set aside.

Pour the melted butter in the mixer's work bowl. Add the sugar and brown sugar. Cream the butter and sugars on medium speed. Add the egg, yolk, 2 tablespoons milk and vanilla extract and mix until well combined. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture until thoroughly combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Chill the dough, then scoop onto parchment-lined baking sheets, 6 cookies per sheet. Bake for 14 minutes or until golden brown, checking the cookies after 5 minutes. Rotate the baking sheet for even browning. Cool completely and store in an airtight container.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Though I was over-joyed at the success of clean deep dark chocolate cookies, I wanted more.  This recipe stood out to me because I knew my husband would love it, and with maple syrup being the source of sugar, agave nectar would be a great substitute.  I threw in some butterscotch chips since my husband loves them, but stick with dark chocolate chips to make them clean cookies.

I was pleasantly surprised that they are really soft - and stayed soft days later.  The peanut butter flavor is light, not overwhelming.  They are very delicious cookies that I can't wait to make again!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Source: Slightly adapted from Delicious Wisdom 
Yield: About two dozen cookies

• 1-1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
  
• ¾ cup maple syrup (or agave nectar)
  
• ½ cup unsweetened natural peanut butter
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  
• 1 large egg
  
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips
  

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, salt and baking powder. In a large bowl, combine maple syrup, peanut butter, and vanilla extract. Beat in the egg. Stir in the flour mixture until well combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Shape the mixture into balls, about ¾” in size, then place on the greased baking sheet. Press them down with a fork, first in one direction, then the other. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden.

Merry Christmas!

I made some simple wreath sugar cookies to celebrate the holiday. A leaf tip with green royal icing made a perfect wreath! I hope everyone has a great holiday season!

Candy Cane Biscotti

In addition to gingerbread and chocolate biscotti, I made these candy cane ones. They just sounded perfect to me, and I even found a box of already damaged candy canes at the store. It felt good saving that box of misfit candy canes, and saved me some work in the kitchen having to break them up!

I almost added a touch of vanilla or peppermint extract to the dough, and I wish I had, but they were still delicious, with lots of minty candy cane spread throughout the cookie. Yum!

Clearly, I was too lazy to dip mine in white chocolate, but I do think that makes a great presentation for these cookies. Maybe next time. :-)



Candy Cane Biscotti
Source: Loves to Eat, Culinary in the Desert
Yield: About 2 1/2 dozen for me

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 2/3 cup finely crushed peppermint candy canes
• 14 ounces fine quality white chocolate, melted
• extra crushed candy canes to sprinkle on top

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.  In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.
In a large mixing bowl, beat together butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each. Add dry ingredients and mix until combined – stir in crushed candy.
Evenly divide dough into 4 pieces on a lightly floured surface. Shape each piece into 9″ x 1 1/2″ round log. Place logs 3 inches apart onto parchment-lined baking sheet.
Bake until tops are cracked and ends just start to turn light brown, about 18 to 20 minutes. Remove from oven and reduce temperature to 325. Cool logs 10 minutes on cookie sheet.
Cut each log diagonally into 1/2″ slices with sharp serrated knife.  Arrange pieces standing up back onto the baking sheet.
Bake until cookies are light golden brown and crisp on both sides, about 12 to 15 minutes. The centers may still be a little soft, but will firm up as they cool. Place onto cool rack and cool completely.
Dip half of each biscotti into melted chocolate – shake off excess. Immediately sprinkle with additional crushed candy canes and set on a parchment or wax paper lined baking sheet until the chocolate has set.

Gingerbread Biscotti

This year I decided to make some biscotti to share with friends and family during the holiday season. These gingerbread biscotti were so easy to make, and taste fabulous! I thought it sounded like a lot of spices when I was adding them, but the flavor was just perfect, and not overbearing at all.

On a side note, this seems like the perfect recipe to adapt for the clean eating lifestyle. Why use white sugar and then add molasses? It seems obvious to me, now, that using sucanat - which still retains it's natural molasses - would be a better choice. I can't wait to try it out, and I'll update you when I do!


Gingerbread Biscotti
Source: Loves to Eat, Allrecipes.
Yield: About 2 1/2 dozen for me (perhaps I cut them thick?)

• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup white sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 tablespoons ground ginger
• 3/4 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tablespoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a cookie sheet. In a large bowl, mix together oil, sugar, eggs, and molasses. In another bowl, combine flours, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg; mix into egg mixture to form a stiff dough. Divide dough in half, and shape each half into a roll the length of the cookie sheet. Place rolls on cookie sheet, and pat down to flatten the dough to 1/2 inch thickness. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove from oven, and set aside to cool. When cool enough to touch, cut into 1/2 inch thick diagonal slices. Place sliced biscotti on cookie sheet, and bake an additional 5 to 7 minutes on each side, or until toasted and crispy.

Deep Dark Chocolate Cookies

In my never ending quest for clean eating approved desserts, I saw this recipe on The Way the Cookie Crumbles and could not wait to try it.  All I needed to do to make it clean was switch out the sugar source!  The original recipe calls for powdered sugar, so I got to thinking... if you can make powdered sugar at home by grinding up regular sugar, then I should be able to make powdered sucanat by grinding up regular sucanat.  It worked like a charm!  Per Bridget's suggestions, I cut down the amount of sugar, and found that they were still sweet enough to have reduce it even more, next time.

I think I slightly under-baked mine, but I loved how they turned out because they were still soft.  Bridget mentioned they were much like meringue cookies, and that was true of my version - but only around the edges.  The centers were soft and gooey and deliciously chocolatey!  Mine spread quite a bit more than Bridget's, so perhaps next time I will chill the cookies in the fridge while the oven finishes warming up. 

Deep Dark Chocolate Cookies
Source: Adapted from The Way the Cookie Crumbles, originally from Bon Appetit June 2008
Servings: Makes about 13
BA note: Made without butter or flour, these dense, chewy cookies will satisfy even the most intense chocolate craving.

• 1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips (about 6 ounces), divided
• 2 large egg whites, room temperature
• 1 cup sucanat, ground into a powder, divided
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Line one large baking sheets with parchment paper. Melt 1/2 cup chocolate chips in glass bowl in microwave, stirring twice, about 90 seconds. Cool slightly.
2. Using electric mixer, beat whites in large bowl to soft peaks. Gradually beat in 1/2 cup powdered sucanat. 3. Continue beating until mixture resembles soft marshmallow creme. Whisk 1/2 cup powdered sucanat, cocoa, cornstarch, and salt in medium bowl to blend. On low speed, beat dry ingredients into meringue. Stir in lukewarm chocolate and ½ cup chocolate chips (dough will become very stiff).
4. Scoop 1 rounded tablespoon dough onto prepared sheet. Repeat with remaining dough, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake until puffed and tops crack, about 10 minutes. Cool on sheets on rack 10 minutes. Transfer to rack; cool.

Nutritional Information, per cookie:
Calories: 137
Total Fat: 5.4 g
Sat. Fat: 3.1 g
Sodium: 96.2 mg
Carbohydrate: 23.3 g
Fiber: 1.2 g
Sugar: 20.1 g
Protein: 1.8 g

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

I've been desperate for cookies lately.  Since August I have avoided making cookies, with my commitment to eating clean.  Most cookies I've made before use a hefty amount of butter, and I'm trying to avoid that.  I knew the July/August 2009 issue of Clean Eating Magazine had oatmeal cookies, but I never got that one and my subscription began with the following issue.  Luckily, The Happy Texan posted it (and her ice cream sandwiches look great!).  I happened to be making oatmeal cookies for my husband at the same time, and Baking Illustrated suggested using ground nutmeg in this type of cookie instead of cinnamon, since it can be over-powering.  I decided to use that suggestion in these cookies as well. 


I was so excited to make these because they looked so good, and they definitely did not disappoint!  They are soft, chewy, and sweet, with a high oat to flour ratio.  Much better than I expected!  I grabbed one before they cooled completely, and the large chunks of bittersweet chocolate were still warm and gooey.  I think the icing on the cake for me is that each cookie is under 100 calories, and packs 2 grams fiber and 2 grams of protein! 

Now, it's November, and I'm obsessed with cranberries, so I added some to half the batch.  I've been getting accustomed to the natural sweetness of foods and I was surprised at how sweet these cookies were, so adding the cranberry helped to take the sweetness down a notch.  


Chocolate-Spiked Oatmeal Cookies
Source: Slightly adapted from Clean Eating Magazine, July/August 2009, as seen on The Happy Texan Cooks
Yield: 16 cookies

• 1 1/4 cup quick-cook old-fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
• 2 tsp ground flaxseed
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup agave nectar
• 1 large egg white
• 2 tsp. unsalted almond butter or natural peanut butter
  
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup dark mini chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup chopped cranberries (optional)
  

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine oats, flour, flaxseed meal, nutmeg, baking powder and salt.
In a small mixing bowl, whisk together agave, egg white, almond/peanut butter and vanilla. Add egg mixture to dry ingredients all at once and combine. Stir in chocolate chips.
3. Scoop 2 teaspoons of batter per cookie onto prepared baking sheets, evenly spaced.  Using the back of a slightly dampened spoon, flatten each mound into 2.5 inch circles (if desired). Bake 9-10 minutes, until golden. Cool on sheets for an additional 10 minutes before transferring to racks to cool completely. Stored in an airtight container, cookies will keep fresh for 2-3 days.

Nutritional Information 
Per cookie, using bittersweet chocolate chips and without cranberries

Calories: 94
Total Fat: 2.5 g
Sat. Fat: 1 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 52.6 mg
Carbohydrates: 17.3 g
Fiber: 2 g
Sugar: 9.2 g
Protein: 1.9 g

A Tale of Two Biscotti

I've been in love with biscotti since discovering this chocolate biscotti recipe. I love making it at home because you can make it really crispy or a little on the softer side - whatever your preference. With an open can of pumpkin in the fridge, I set out to find a pumpkin biscotti recipe and epicurious.com came through with one for pumpkin pecan biscotti. I also had fresh cranberries to use up, so I decided they were going in, too.

On the left, standard. On the right, cleaner.

The original recipe calls for shaping the dough into three logs, that would later be sliced to make the individual cookies. I decided to cut the recipe in half and try a direct comparison between the standard recipe and a cleaner version, using substitutes for the flour, sugar, and butter.  My old stand-by whole wheat pastry flour and my new friend sucanat fit the bill for flour and sugar, but what about butter?  I have been reading up on the vegan buttery sticks for baking from Earth Balance, and had those in mind for this recipe comparison.  I went to Whole Foods to try and get them, but they only had the non-hydrogenated shortening from Earth Balance.  With a quick read of the label, I decided it would be just fine.

Differences were apparent as soon as I mixed up the two doughs.  The clean dough required a little manual mixing to fully saturate the dry ingredients and form the dough, but because of that low moisture level, the log was easy to form.  The standard recipe came together more easily with a spoon, but then was very sticky and harder to shape into a log on the pan.  As expected, the standard recipe expanded quite a bit more than the clean recipe while baking. Perhaps my butter wasn't cold enough.  I also forgot to refrigerate the logs for 15 minutes before baking. Oops.

On the left, standard. On the right, cleaner.

The cleaner biscotti baked up much faster, and the standard dough required an extra 10 minutes of baking time to get the log set enough for slicing, once cooled.  After being cut, the standard recipe require another extended baking time to finish baking the individual cookies.

Then it came down to the taste test. The cleaner biscotti has a hint of that whole wheat character that I have, quite honestly, come to prefer.  The standard biscotti seemed to be missing something, in comparison, but is more sweet.  But, I am being nit-picky.  Either version is a delight!  The sweet biscotti paired with tart fresh cranberries, a hint of cinnamon and spice, and creamy white chocolate chunks all come together beautifully in a perfect fall treat.

Let me go ahead and clarify how much of a treat it is.  I got about 12 slices out of the standard recipe and 11 out of the cleaner one, counting the two ends as one piece since they are significantly smaller than middle pieces.  With that in mind, the breakdown follows each recipe.  Oddly enough, the substitute I used for the butter has more calories and fat overall, so the cookies do as well.  However, the saturated fat is (marginally) lower in the cleaner cookies, the fiber is much higher, and the sugar still has all the vitamins nature intended!  A decent trade off, I think, for something that is a treat no matter what dietary plan you follow.  Having demonstrated the flexibility of this recipe, I will experiment in the future with other butter substitutes, namely the one I'd intended to get, as well as Smart Balance 50/50.

Cranberry Pumpkin Pecan Biscotti (Standard)

Source: Adapted from Epicurious

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 3 1/2 oz. good quality white chocolate
• 1 1/3 cups pecans
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup pumpkin (fresh is best)
• 1 tbsp. vanilla
• 1 cup fresh cranberries
  

Combine first five (5) ingredients in food process. Blend until all ingredients are fully mixed. Cut chilled butter into pieces and feed into processor until a fine meal is formed. Add white chocolate until chopped. Add pecans and process until coarsely chopped, being careful not to over-process.

Combine eggs, pumpkin and vanilla extract in large bowl. Mix until smooth. Add dry ingredients and cranberries and stir until fully incorporated. A moist dough will form.  Grease and flour an 18x12 cookie sheet, or line with parchment paper.

Drop dough by spoonfuls onto cookie sheet, forming 3 logs equidistant from each other. With moistened fingers, shape into 2 inch wide logs. Refrigerate logs for 15 min.

Place cookie sheet on rack in center of oven which has been pre-heated to 350 degrees. Bake for 30 minutes until golden brown. Cool logs completely on rack. Reduce oven temp. to 325 degrees.

Carefully slice logs with a heavy, sharp knife. I slice them on the diagonal about 1/2 inch wide. Place cut cookies on cookie sheet and bake for 10 - 12 minutes until slightly toasted. Longer if a harder biscotti is your preference. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Nutritional Information (per cookie)
Calories: 203
Fat: 9 g
Sat. Fat: 3.8 g
Cholesterol: 28 mg
Sodium: 97 mg
Carbohydrate: 28.8 g
Fiber: 0.6 g
Sugar: 16.5 g
Protein: 2.9 g

Cranberry Pumpkin Pecan Biscotti (Cleaner)

Source: Adapted from Epicurious

• 3 cups whole wheat pastry flour
  
• 1 1/3 cups sucanat
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
• 1 stick (8 tbsp) butter substitute of choice
  
• 3 1/2 oz. good quality white chocolate
• 1 1/3 cups pecans
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup pumpkin (fresh is best)
• 1 tbsp. vanilla
• 1 cup fresh cranberries
  

Combine first five (5) ingredients in food process. Blend until all ingredients are fully mixed. Cut chilled butter substitute into pieces and feed into processor until a fine meal is formed. Add white chocolate until chopped. Add pecans and process until coarsely chopped, being careful not to over-process.

Combine eggs, pumpkin and vanilla extract in large bowl. Mix until smooth. Add dry ingredients and cranberries and stir until fully incorporated. A moist dough will form.  Grease and flour an 18x12 cookie sheet, or line with parchment paper.

Drop dough by spoonfuls onto cookie sheet, forming 3 logs equidistant from each other. With moistened fingers, shape into 2 inch wide logs. Refrigerate logs for 15 min.

Place cookie sheet on rack in center of oven which has been pre-heated to 350 degrees. Bake for 30 minutes until golden brown. Cool logs completely on rack.Reduce oven temp. to 325 degrees.

Carefully slice logs with a heavy, sharp knife. I slice them on the diagonal about 1/2 inch wide. Place cut cookies on cookie sheet and bake for 10 - 12 minutes until slightly toasted. Longer if a harder biscotti is your preference. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Nutritional Information (per cookie)
Calories: 230
Fat:11.2 g
Sat. Fat: 3.4 g
Cholesterol: 19.5 mg
Sodium: 160 mg
Carbohydrate: 29.7 g
Fiber: 2.9 g
Sugar: 15.8 g
Protein: 3.2 g

Think Pink Sugar Cookies

Last year, in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month, I sent some close friends and family “Kick Cancer’s Bum” cookies.  They were a big hit and I decided to send cookies again this year (since I sadly could not mail the delicious cheesecakes!).  I kept it simple this time by flooding the cookies with white, thinned royal icing, then following with a piping bag filled with pink, thinned royal icing in the shape of the ribbon. 

I’ve been making this sugar cookie recipe for well over a year and love it.  Fantastic flavor and they bake up like a dream! 

The Most Fabulous Sugar Cookies
Source: As seen on Good Things Catered, by Ashlee

• 1 1/2 c. butter
• 1 1/2 c. granulated sugar
• 1/2 c. powdered sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp almond extract
• 1 Tbsp lemon zest
• 5 c. flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• Powdered sugar, for rolling

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Cream butter and sugars in a mixer for 5 minutes.
Add eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly.
Add vanilla, almond, and lemon zest.
Sift in flour, baking powder, and salt a little at a time.
Do not over mix, this process should take about one minute.
Chill dough for up to a week in the fridge, or roll out and cut right away.
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and bake cookies for 7-8 minutes, or until golden brown on the bottom.
Wait until cookies are cooled before icing.

No Bake Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ok, ok. I grew up on chocolate chip cookies. I know these aren't chocolate chip cookies, but they certainly make a fine substitute if you are trying to make better choices about your food! I saw this recipe in the September/October 2009 issue of Clean Eating magazine and thought they looked like minimal effort for a potentially sweet outcome (pun intended). There is no baking involved, making them a perfect treat for summer. In fact, I've even kept mine in the freezer. It helps them stay together and provides a cool snack.

They are naturally sweetened by raisins and dates, with just a minimal amount of agave nectar or honey to hold the cookies together (on this first attempt, I think I was a little shy on the agave so mine didn't hold well unless I froze them). The cinnamon is a delight, waving hello to you from the background. I haven't had a chance to check out my local health food store for cacao nibs (has anyone ever seen those?), so I just used mini chocolate morsels (definitely not clean, but it was all I had). You could probably also just use some squares of really dark chocolate, chopped fine. I think these would be good in a ball shape, formed with a cookie scoop for easy release onto a tray, then frozen.

No-Bake Chocolate Chip Cookies
Source: Clean Eating Magazine, Sept/Oct 2009

~1 1/4 cup raisins
~1/2 cup pitted Deglet Noor dates
~2 cups whole oats
~4 tbsp agave nectar or honey
~2 tsp cinnamon
~pinch of salt, to taste
~1/2 cup cacao nibs

1. Place raisins and dates in your food processor and chop into small pieces. Add oats, agave or honey, cinnamon and salt. Process to mix well. Empty into a mixing bowl and add cacao nibs. Mix well.

2. Use a tablespoon measure to portion cookies. Enjoy immediately, or chill before serving for firmer texture.

Nutritional Information per 2 cookies:
Calories: 140
Total fat: 3 g
Sat. fat: 1.5 g
Carbs: 26 g
Fiber: 3 g
Sugars: 7 g
Protein: 3 g
Sodium: 15 mg
Cholesterol: 0 mg

Chocolate Chip Cookies

These cookies are legendary in my family. My mom has been making them for who-knows-how-long, and she basically isn't allowed into any family function without them. Then everyone fights for who gets to keep any leftover cookies. I have recently discovered the same fate with my husband's relatives. One family lives about 45 min away (the rest of our relatives are more like 2-4 hour flights away) and they invited us up for a cookout this weekend. We were happy to be able to visit with them, and I knew I had to make these cookies because they devoured them during our last visit.


If you are looking for soft, chewy cookies, then these are not for you. They are on the thinner side (mine are exceedingly thin but I made a few substitutions that were perhaps not the best idea), and definitely crunchy.

Mom's Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 sticks of salted butter, melted
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

1. In a large bowl, mix the sugars and melted butter until combined. Add the eggs one at a time, then add the vanilla and stir. Add one cup of flour and the baking soda, stir until incorporated (good for arm muscles if you do this by hand!). Add second cup of flour and incorporate into the batter. Add the last 1/2 cup of flour and combine. Stir in chips and nuts.

2. Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper. Drop heaping spoonfuls of batter onto sheets. Bake at 375 for 10 to 12 minutes. Allow to cool completely, then enjoy!

Oatmeal Cranberry White Chocolate Chunk Cookies

These cookies have a special place in our house, as they were one of the first recipes my husband and I made together. We love them and since he bought 4 packages of craisins months ago, I decided it was time to use one up with an old favorite. These cookies are great because they stay nice and soft, but, they do get flat (for me). Maybe next time I'll try chilling the dough to see if that helps. I always add some cinnamon and nutmeg to get them a little more depth.


Oatmeal Cranberry White Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Source: Ocean Spray
Yield: about 2 1/2 dozen (I got 3 dozen)
Adaptations in italics

2/3 cup butter or margarine, softened
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 6-ounce package Ocean Spray® Craisins® Original Sweetened Dried Cranberries
2/3 cup white chocolate chunks or chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375ºF.

Using an electric mixer, beat butter or margarine and sugar together in a medium mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs, mixing well. Combine oats, flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a separate mixing bowl. Add to butter mixture in several additions, mixing well after each addition. Stir in sweetened dried cranberries and white chocolate chunks.

Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack.

Per Serving (1 cookie): Cal 135 (6%DV), Fat Cal. 54, Pro. 2g (4%DV), Carb. 18g (6%DV), Fat 6g (9%DV), Chol. 15mg (4%DV), Sod. 138mg (5%DV), Vit. A 47RE (4%DV), Vit. C 0mg (0%DV), Vit. E 1mg (2%DV), Calcium 16mg (1%DV), Iron 1mg (3%DV), Folate 5Ug (1%DV), Zinc <1mg (1%DV), Pot. 54mg (1%DV), Dietary Exchange: Other Carbohydrate 1, Fat 1.5

Molasses Spice Cookies

Recently I've seen a few good recipes calling for molasses, which is something I've not yet worked with. Unfortunately I couldn't find it at my normal grocery store, but a trip to another store last weekend was successful! I turned to all my recipe sources (excel spreadsheet, Google Reader, bookmarks), and found Katie's pictures of molasses spice cookies. All it took was one look! I couldn't resist. I had to make them.



Oh my goodness. I can see why these would be a fall favorite. They smell fantastic while baking up! They were pretty easy to throw together, though rolling them up is more time consuming than a regular scoop'n'go cookie recipe. I disliked that I could only bake one sheet at a time, especially as I happened to make a double batch of these. It took quite a while to get them all done. In the end, the taste and texture made it all worth it. Perfectly crisp outside, encasing a perfectly soft interior. And how can you resist the crackled top?! Delicious.

Now, eat up!


Molasses Spice Cookies
Source: Baking Illustrated, seen on Good Things Catered

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cup (11 1/4 ounces) lower-protein unbleached all-purpose flour (like Gold Medal or Pillsbury)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
12 Tablespoon unsalted butter, softened but still cool
1/3 cup (2 1/3 ounces) packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup (2 1/3 ounces) granulated sugar, plus 1/2 c. for rolling
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup molasses

Directions:
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line large baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with cooking spray.
2. Whisk flour, baking soda, spices, and salt in a medium bowl until thoroughly combined; set aside.
3. Either by hand or with electric mixer, beat the butter with brown sugar and 1/3 cup granulated sugar at medium high speed until light and fluffy (about 3 min.) Reduce speed to medium low and add yolk and vanilla, increase speed and beat until incorporated (about 20 seconds). Reduce speed and add molasses beat until fully incorporated, about 30 seconds, scraping the bottom and sides once with rubber spatula. Reduce speed to lowest setting and add flour mixture and beat until just incorporated, scraping the bowl once. Give the dough a final stir by hand to ensure no flour pockets at bottom. The dough will be soft.
4. Place 1/2 cup sugar in shallow bowl for rolling. Fill small bowl with cold tap water. Dip hands in water and roll heaping tablespoon of dough into 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 in ball; drop ball in sugar and roll to coat. Set on prepared baking sheet at least 2 inches apart.
5. Bake,ONE sheet at a time, until the cookies are browned, still puffy, and the edges have begun to set, but the centers are still soft (the cookies will look raw between the cracks and seem underdone), about 11 minutes. Do not over-bake.
6. Cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack; cool the cookies to room temperature.

Chocolate Biscotti

I didn't think I liked biscotti, but decided it would be a good addition to some gifts I was making for some friends. I absolutely fell in LOVE with this chocolate biscotti recipe and ended up making it three times in the week before Christmas! I made some more this weekend to give to a friend after surgery. It is so hard not to steal some for myself! I substituted the almonds (since initially I made them for a number of people and wanted them to appeal to the masses) with chopped white chocolate, and ended up loving that direction and have continued to make them that way!



Chocolate Biscotti
Source: Dorie Greenspan, Baking: From My Home to Yours)

~2 cups all-purpose flour
~½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
~2 tablespoons instant espresso powder (I replaced with cocoa powder)
~¾ teaspoon baking soda
~½ teaspoon baking powder
~1 teaspoon salt
~¾ stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
~1 cup sugar
~2 large eggs, lightly beaten
~1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
~1 cup chopped almonds, blanched or unblanched (or about 4 ounces white chocolate, chopped)
~4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped, or ¾ cup store-bought mini chocolate chips
~Sugar, for dusting

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone mat.

Sift together the flour, cocoa, espresso powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together on medium speed until pale, about 2 minutes; the mixture may be crumbly. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the eggs and vanilla and beat for another 2 minutes; don’t worry if the mixture looks curdled. Reduce the mixer speed to low and mix in the dry ingredients in 3 additions, mixing only until a dough forms. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Mix in the chopped nuts and chocolate, then turn the dough out onto a work surface and knead in any dry ingredients that might have escaped mixing.

Divide the dough in half. Working with one half at a time, roll the dough into 12-inch-long logs. Flatten both logs with the palm of your hand, so that they are ½ to 1 inch high, about 2 inches across and sort of rectangular, then carefully lift the logs onto the baking sheet. Sprinkle each log with a little sugar.

Bake the logs for about 25 minutes, or until they are just slightly firm. The logs will spread and crack - and that’s just fine. Remove the baking sheet from the oven, put it on a cooling rack and cool the logs for about 20 minutes. (Leave the oven on.)

Working with one log at a time, using a long serrated knife, cut each log into slices between ½ and ¾ inch thick. Stand the slices up on the baking sheet - you’ll have an army of biscotti - and baking the cookies again, this time for just 10 minutes.

Transfer the biscotti to a rack to cool.

TWD: Chunky Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Chocolate Chipsters

YAY!! It was finally my turn to select a recipe for Tuesdays with Dorie. I literally went through every single page in the book, and wrote down my favorites. I had 9 possible recipes to choose from. I contemplated using a random number generator (dorky, I know) to pick, but then decided to involve my husband in the decision (so I could make sure he helped me eat it!). Initially, anything without a picture was a no-go for him. But ultimately, the draw of peanut butter was too much, and he chose the Chunky Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Chocolate Chipsters (what can I say... the man loves his Skippy!)

Oh, hi! Best.cookie.dough.ever!
True to my own heart, I had to incorporate Dorie's suggestion to make an ice cream sandwich out of them. Since the cookies have so much going on, I just went with plain vanilla.

I hope everyone enjoyed making and eating these cookies - I know I did!


Chunky Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Chocolate Chipsters
From Baking, From My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan, page 73.
Makes about 60 cookies
Check out the other Tuesdays with Dorie bakers here.

These are three really great cookies rolled into one. They're chubby, crispy, chunky and crackly topped, perfect for dunking into a big glass of milk, dipping into a bowl of ice cream or keeping company with coffee and super for school bags, picnic baskets and kitchen counter cookie jars. The oats and chocolate chips make the cookies plenty crunchy, but if you're like me and think tons of crunchy is only just enough, you'll opt for a peanut butter that's studded with nuts. (I use Skippy Super Chunk.)

~3 cups old fashioned oats
~1 cup all purpose flour
~1 tsp baking soda
~2 tsp ground cinnamon
~1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
~1/4 tsp salt
~2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
~1 cup peanut butter--chunky (my choice) or smooth (but not natural)
~1 cup sugar
~1 cup (packed) light brown sugar
~2 large eggs
~1 tsp pure vanilla extract
~9 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chunks, or 1 1/2 cups store-bought chocolate chips or chunks

Getting Ready:
Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.

Whisk together the oats, flour, baking soda, spices and salt.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter, peanut butter, sugar and brown sugar on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition, then beat in the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly add the dry ingredients, beating only until blended. Mix in the chips. If you have the time, cover and chill the dough for about 2 hours or for up to one day. (Chilling the dough will give you more evenly shaped cookies.)

If the dough is not chilled, drop rounded tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto the baking sheets. If the dough is chilled, scoop up rounded tablespoons, roll the balls between your palms and place them 2 inches apart on the sheets. Press the chilled balls gently with the heel of your hand until they are about 1/2 inch thick.

Bake for 13 to 15 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back after 7 minutes. The cookies should be golden and just firm around the edges. Lift the cookies onto cooling racks with a wide metal spatula - they'll firm as they cool.

Repeat with the remaining dough, cooling the baking sheets between batches.

Serving: I can't remember when I actually served these. They're more often plucked from a cookie jar than picked from a platter.

Storing: Wrapped airtight or piled into a cookie jar, the cookies will keep at room temperature for about 4 days. Wrapped and frozen, they'll be good for 2 months.

Playing Around: You can substitute soft, moist raisins for the chocolate chunks or just stir in some raisins along with them. If you're really looking for crunch, toss in chopped peanuts too (salted or not). With or without the chocolate chunks, raisins, and nuts, these cookies are great with ice cream or around ice cream - think about them the next time you want a chipwich-ish ice cream sandwich.

Sugar Cookies!

I love sugar cookies. LOVE them. I've made two different recipes so far, and really didn't like either of them. With my new copy Baking Illustrated in hand, I knew it was just a matter of time until I had the perfect sugar cookie in my hand. These came together fairly easy. Rolling and pressing is more time consuming than my normal cookie shaping techniques, but it was worth it! This is my first recipe from this cookbook and it did NOT disappoint!

Soft and Chewy Sugar Cookies
Source: Baking Illustrated, from the Editors of Cook's Illustrated
Yield: 28 cookies for me!

~2 cups (10 ounces) AP flour (lower protein) such as Pillsbury or Gold Medal)
~1/2 tsp baking powder
~1/4 teaspoon salt
~16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened but still cool (they recommend 65F) (reserve butter wrappers for later)
~1 cup (7 ounces) granulated sugar, plus 1/2 cup for rolling dough
~1 tablespoon light brown sugar
~1 large egg
~1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 375º F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or spray them with nonstick cooking spray. Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together in a medium bowl, set aside.

2. Cream together the butter, 1 cup granulated sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the egg and vanilla; beat at medium speed until combined, about 30 seconds. Add the dry ingredients at low speed until just combined, about 30 seconds, scraping down the bowl as needed.

3. Place the sugar for rolling in a shallow bowl. Fill a medium bowl halfway with cold tap water. Dip your hands in the water and shake off any excess (this will prevent the dough from sticking to your hands and ensure that the sugar sticks to the dough). Roll a heaping tablespoon of dough into a 1 1/2 inch ball between moistened palms, roll the ball in the sugar, and then place it on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough, moistening your hands as necessary and spacing the balls about 2 inches apart. Butter the bottom of a drinking glass with the butter wrapper. Dip glass in the remaining sugar and flatten the balls down to about 3/4 inch thick (re-dip glass in sugar as necessary to prevent sticking).

4. Bake for 15-18 minutes until the cookies are golden brown around the edges and their centers are just set and very lightly colored, rotating the baking sheets front to back and top to bottom half-way through baking. Cool on sheets about 3 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool to room temperature.

Peppermint Shortbread Cookies

I found this recipe while going through my Sunday coupons. I thought they sounded good, so I decided to try them out (plus it would be a good use of the candy canes we had put on our Christmas tree). These were a nice little treat!

Peppermint Candy Shortbread Cookies (source: Argo website)

1 cup butter, softened (no substitutions)
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup crushed peppermint candy
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1/4 cup corn starch

Frosting(optional, but highly recommended!):
1 cup powdered sugar
1 to 2 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons crushed peppermint candy (I don't know how they came up with this amount... I used way more than 2 tablespoons!)

Preheat oven to 300ºF. Mix butter, sugar, crushed candy and vanilla thoroughly using an electric mixer. Gradually blend in flour and corn starch. Form into 1-inch balls and place on ungreased baking sheets. Gently press down on each cookie to flatten using fingers or a flat bottomed drinking glass (dipped in sugar to prevent sticking). Bake at 300ºF for 25 to 30 minutes, or until bottoms begin to brown. Cool for 5 minutes; remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Combine powdered sugar, milk and vanilla and mix until frosting is smooth. Drizzle cookies with frosting and sprinkle with crushed candy.

BBFCCCC

Another Nestie Legend: Best Big, Fat, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie piqued my interest yesterday. My mom's chocolate chip cookies are famous in my family, and I have always wondered about how other people make them, and if any of those recipes would compare. This one gives her a run for her money. These cookies are awesome!

I decided to make the recipe as is, but before adding the chips, divide the dough in half to make a BBFCCCC cousin...

Let me present to you, the BBFC-PBOCMM-C (or Best Big, Fat, Chewy Peanut Butter Oatmeal Coconut M&M Cookie). :-)

I wasn't measuring (gasp!) when I added those extras, but for about 1/2 the dough, I added somewhere between 1/8 and 1/4 cup of chunky peanut butter, coconut and oatmeal, and maybe 1/3 cup mini M&M's. The peanut butter and M&M's were just right, but next time I'll add more coconut and oatmeal. Yes, my kitchen will definitely be graced with their presence again!

What to do with Bananas, Week 2

Ok, so AGAIN I ended up with nearly-over-ripe bananas. This week I had another recipe in the queue - Amber's Banana Roll with Blueberry Lemon Cream Cheese Filling. I didn't change anything except adding a little extra banana (I used two bananas). Oh, I also used half fat free and half 'regular' cream cheese. This was REALLY good. I shared this with friends - and got a recipe request!