Millionaire's Shortbread 10/13/2010
 I didn't mean to take the summer off -- but it turns out that's exactly what I did. I just jumped ship and swam out to sea. Actually, the truth of the matter is that I was busy. Very...very....very busy. I'm exhausted just thinking about it. As busy as it was, it was also very nice. We did a lot of fun things -- baseball games, swimming, vacation! Good times! But now the time has come to set my sights back on baking. I wanted to get back in the swing of things earlier but I really haven't made any recipes worth sharing. That is until now! And trust me, I am back in a BIG way!!! A couple of days ago, I realized that I was supposed to bring the snack for the board meeting (for which I have the privilege of being secretary) for Norah's preschool. I realized this the day of the meeting, of course. I figured I'd take something savory and something sweet. I scoured my pantry and came up with the savory. I scoured my recipes and came up with Millionaire's Shortbread. Surely these things are named, not because they are expensive to make, but because they are so rich and quite frankly they make you feel like a Queen (or King, as the case may be). They are incredibly easy to make and require no fancy ingredients. Just my kind of recipe...super simple and with a definite WOW factor! I have to say that my fellow board members were impressed just by looking at them (love that!). Everyone asked if I made them. I heard such comments as, "I wasn't going to have any, but since everyone says they are so good..." and "I am going to lick my plate." Really...what better compliment can a baker get? So if you want to feel like a millionaire and want some accolades to go along with it make these. Go on! I'll be here when you get back. Millionaire's Shortbread taken from The English Kitchen For the Shortbread: 9 ounces flour 3 ounces caster (superfine) sugar 6 ounces butter, cut into chunks For the Caramel: 4 ounces butter 4 ounces light brown sugar 2 cans of sweetened condensed milk For the Chocolate: 7 ounces good quality chocolate (dark, milk, white, or a mixture is up to you) Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 13 by 9 inch baking sheet (the kind with sides). Set aside. Weigh the flour, sugar and butter into a bowl. Cut the butter into the flour and sugar with your finger or a pastry blender until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Knead the mixture until it forms a dough. Press the dough into the prepared pan. Smooth out evenly. Prick all over with a fork. Bake for 20 minutes, until firm to the touch and very lightly browned. Remove from the oven and cool completely. To make the caramel, place all the caramel ingredients into a saucepan. Heat gently until the sugar has dissolved, stirring constantly. Bring to the boil, still stirring. Reduce the heat to low and cook very gently for about 5 minutes or until the mixture thickens. Do not stop stirring as the mixture will catch and burn if you don't keep it moving (I don't know if this is true -- but why chance it?). Remove from the heat and pour over the cooled shortbread. Allow to cool completely. To make the chocolate topping, break the chocolate into pieces and place into a heatproof bowl. Bring a small amount of water in a saucepan to a simmer. Set the bowl on the top of the pan. Don't let the bowl to touch the water. Melt completely, stirring occasionally. Pour over the cold caramel and leave to set. Cut into squares or bars to serve. Note: These bars do not have a lot of ingredients so the ingredients that you do use are very important. Use the best that you can get. 1 Comment  Tom Cruise may have had Renee Zellweger at hello, but chocolate is all you need to capture my heart. Add cookie and cheesecake to the mix and you might as well get a net to catch me as I swoon. I'm not sure where there bars originated. I saw them on several different blogs so I thought I'd throw mine in the cyber mix too. Why not? These are just too good not to share. Even though there are three parts to this recipe, they are easy to make. Give them a try and I promise you will be thanking me! Just a note: These are really rich, so a little goes a long way! Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bars Crust: 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs 5 Tablespoons butter, melted 2/3 cup miniature chocolate chips Cookie Dough: 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar 3 Tablespoons granulated sugar 1/8 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 3/4 cup all-purpose flour 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips Cheesecake Filling: 10 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature 1/4 cup granulated sugar 1 large egg, at room temperature 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter a 9″-square baking pan. Line pan with parchment paper, leaving enough to extend over the sides. Butter the parchment paper. (I just sprayed my pan with no trouble.) To prepare the crust combine graham cracker crumbs and butter until crumbs are moistened. Stir in the mini-chocolate chips. Press crust mixture into bottom of pan and 1 inch up sides. I forgot to go up the sides and it was just fine. Bake for 6 minutes. Set pan on wire rack to cool. Next Prepare the cookie dough. Using an electric mixer, mix butter, brown sugar, sugar, salt, and vanilla extract at medium speed until smooth. Decrease mixer speed to low and add flour To prepare the filling, using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar just until smooth. Add egg and vanilla extract, beating just until blended. Pour batter into baked crust. Drop cookie dough by teaspoonfuls over the top of the filling. Bake about 30 minutes, or until set. Transfer to wire rack. To decorate with drizzled chocolate, place chocolate in a sandwich bag on a microwave safe dish and microwave in 30 second intervals moving the chocolate around between. Using scissors, cut the very tip off the sandwich bag. The smaller your cut, the smalled the drizzle. I skipped this step...it didn't seem necessary. Okay, I was just being lazy. Using the edges of the parchment paper, remove bars from pan. Cut into bars and serve. A couple of things: 1. This recipe is easily doubled. 2. You can make the crust ahead of time. 3. You can make the cookie dough a head of time too. 4. I wouldn't recommend making the cheesecake part ahead of time because it would have to be refrigerated and you'll need it at room temperature to pour over the crust. Oh How I've Missed You...Let's Bake Cookies 06/04/2010
 I can't believe how long it's been since I've been here. I hope you didn't give up on me! I'm not sure why, but I just haven't been baking much lately. It may be because I've been trying to lose a few pounds and me in a room full of baked goods is like a moth and a flame. I can't stay away. It's only been in the last couple of weeks that I've felt that familiar desire to get in my kitchen and start baking. Ah...it felt good. I think I may have forgotten how much I love it. The other night I found myself alone with my 2 1/2-year-old and wanting to do something fun with her, I pulled out a chocolate chip cookie recipe I wanted to try. I think I may have found my new love! I know a while ago, I made the cookies from Cooks' Illustrated and I really liked them...but let's face it. Those are too complicated. I've never bothered to make them again. This recipe is actually a bit similar since it uses melted butter but it is much easier to make. Trust me -- if I was going to make them with my daughter, it had to be easy! The result is a nice, thick cookie that is soft but still has some body to it. The crisp outside edge make them good for dunking, but they're soft enough to skip that part if, like me, you aren't a dunker. Just be sure not to overbake or you won't get the same consistency and texture. They'll still be good -- only crunchy. You can never have too many diamonds (not that I would know about that) or chocolate chip cookie recipes and this one is definitely worth adding to you collection. Chocolate Chip Cookies (from Stressed Spelled Backwards who got it from Lovin' From the Oven) Ingredients: 2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted 1 cup packed brown sugar 1/2 cup white sugar 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 1 egg 1 egg yolk 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (I also added 1 cup pecans) Directions: 1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper. 2. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside. 3. In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon. Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart. 4. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely. M & M Oatmeal Cookies 01/19/2010
 I love M&M cookies. I love how the colors peak through the cookie. They are just so darn cheerful. I dare you to try to eat a cookie with M&M's and not smile. They are a total throwback to childhood. I didn't always feel this way. To tell you they truth I didn't pay M&M cookies any mind until a few years ago when Ella had a birthday party with a cooking theme. I asked all the guests to send me a recipe for a party favor cookbook. One of the recipes we got was for M&M cookies. At the time, they sounded so good that I finally had to give them a second glance. I knew I had to move them from standard kid fare and make them more adult-friendly. After some experimenting, I realized they didn't need to "grow up". The appeal in them is that they are childish. They are fun and happy and just plain good. This recipe is adapted from an oatmeal-chocolate chip-cherry cookie recipe from Cooks' Illustrated. I made the original recipe last week. Although they weren't Howie's favorite, I found that they grew on me. I liked the crunchy cookie paired with the chewy dried cherries and the sweet chocolate. I figured the base would be good for a lot of different mix-ins. At first, I considered coconut and chocolate but ultimately settled on M&M's. It's mid-winter. We all need a little sunshine! I changed the ingredients very little. In fact the only change I made (other than adding M&M's) was to add a little less oatmeal so the cookie would be softer and less crunchy. I also made the cookies differently than the cookies called for. I mixed all the dry ingredients and added them together rather than add the flour and leavening separately from the oatmeal. The result is a nice, soft, but chewy cookie with a sweet burst of candy-coated chocolate. They have exactly the kind of texture I like in chocolate chip cookies with just a hint of crunch from the M&M's. I used the M&M's made for baking (mini's) but you could use full-sized one for an even better crunch. I really like these cookies. They are perfect to stick in your child's lunch box or for an after school snack. Or... They are perfect to eat with a cold glass of milk while reading a good book (or a bad one) or watching American Idol. You can eat them between loads of laundry or to help relieve the sting of paying the bills. Or... All right, suffice it to say that these cookies aren't just for kids. They may look the part but don't let that keep you away. Go ahead...make these and take a little bite of delicious fun-ness. Your inner child will thank you. M&M Oatmeal Cookies 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 1 cup quick-cook oatmeal 3/4 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon table salt 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) butter 1 1/2 cups brown sugar 1 egg 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup mini M&M's Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, whisk together flour, oatmeal, baking powder, baking soda, salt and chocolate chips. Cream the butter and sugar together until smooth and creamy. Scrape bowl. Add egg and vanilla until completely blended. Scrap bowl again. Turn off mixer. Add flour-oatmeal mixture and turn mixer on low. Once it is incorporated enough not to fly everywhere add the M&M's and mix on medium until the rest of the flour and M&M's are mixed in completely. This should only take a few seconds. Using about two tablespoons per cookie, place dough on a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes. Do not overbake. They should look baked but not overly browned. They should still be a bit delicate so leave them on the cookie sheet for a minute or two until they solidify a bit. Cool on a wire rack. Enjoy! Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies 11/21/2009
 Curtis Stone is hot. And he cooks. And he's hot. What more could you ask for in a man? (I would take a moment to apologize for that to my husband, but he doesn't read this anyway so...) For those of you who don't know, Curtis Stone was on Take Home Chef. He's an Australian chef who would just show up at American grocery stores and talk unsuspecting shoppers (usually cute women) into taking him home to cook for them. I have to wonder how many people turned him down. I wouldn't have...But I digress... On one of the episodes Curtis made peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. They looked so good and got such rave reviews from his diners that it prompted me to do a search for the recipe. I never found an "official" recipe but I did find an astute fan who paid more attention to the show than I did (I guess I was distracted) and actually wrote down the recipe from the show. I eagerly made the cookies and they immediately became a favorite. To me, they have the perfect texture. They are soft but not mushy or under baked. They rise up to the perfect height. In terms of these two factors, they are exactly what I want in most other cookies. They are just the right amount of sweet and chocolatey and peanut buttery and I really, really like them. With or without Curtis Stone. Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies 1 stick butter 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 cup brown sugar 1 egg 1 cup peanut butter 1/4 cup honey 1 1/2 cups flour 1-2 cups of chocolate (any kind will do, but a cut-up Hershey's Bar, in my opinion, is best) Cream together butter, baking soda, and brown sugar. Add in the egg and continue to beat until well incorporated. Mix in the peanut butter and honey. Gently mix in the flour. Fold in the chocolate. Note: Curtis Stone used chunky peanut butter but you can use smooth. That's what I use because I don't feel like peanuts in the chunky peanut butter adds anything to the cookie. The choice is yours. |
