I have a double post today! Fantastical Food Fight had a Chocolate Covered Treats theme, and Improv Cooking Challenge had a Chocolate and Chiles theme! What a perfect time for a crossover recipe!
I found this super interesting recipe that took chocolate chip cookies and added cayenne and rosemary, then dipped them in dark chocolate and topped them with sea salt. Perfect! (more…)
In my last post, I talked about my February assignment for Secret Recipe Club – Jessie Weaver, The Vanderbilt Wife. I decided to make the Honey Parmesan Pork from her blog, but also really wanted to make the Boozy Chocolate Butterscotch Cookies… so I did!
The cookies were actually really easy to make – just melt chocolate chips and butter together (it will be a thicker mixture); then add to a beaten mixture of brown sugar, eggs, butterscotch schnapps, and vanilla; then add flour, baking powder, and salt. Let the mixture sit to firm up, then scoop onto baking sheets.
Bake for 10-15 minutes, and you’re done! I thought these tasted fudgey like brownies, and they were a big hit at my game night. (more…)
My dear friend Keerin and I had a wonderful cookie making night. We each chose a couple of recipes to make and then divided up our creations to give to friends. Here’s the thing, though, Keerin is vegan. So we made all of our cookies with no dairy or egg! (Except for those Hershey kisses, which she didn’t mind but you can leave off.) And you know what? I couldn’t even tell that they were vegan – they weren’t lacking in anything!
The recipes that I chose were a Mexican Hot Chocolate Snickerdoodle and Molasses Spelt Cookies with Candied Ginger.
Keerin chose Russian Tea Cakes, Oatmeal Thumb Prints, and Peanut Butter Blossoms.
Whichever you choose to make, you won’t be disappointed! (more…)
It’s time for another Secret Recipe Club reveal! This month I was assigned Amy’s Cooking adventures, a blog that I recognize from my other blog circle – Food ‘n Flix. As I was looking into Amy’s blog in more depth and reading her bio, I started to feel like I knew her. I, too, came to cooking later in life. I, too, have a masters but chose to stay at home (as a homemaker for now and hopefully a mother soon). I, too, am an avid reader (and a huge geek/nerd in general). I love that Amy posts a list of what she has been reading, and I love the books on those lists, too! Her writing is very open and conversational and makes you feel like you are an old friend – what a treat!
I was really tempted to go with these Pesto Mozzarella Burgers on Tomato Basil Buns, maybe paired with a Roasted Blueberry Basil Margarita. But then I saw that she had a ton of s’mores based recipes! I love s’mores so much! Would I go with s’mores brownies, cupcakes, or a frappuccino? So many choices! I eventually settled on cookies, but Amy has not 1, not 2, but 3 s’mores cookie recipes. I decided to go with the 3rd and most recent recipe, because Amy said it’s the best one and I trust her judgement.
They are a chocolate base with chocolate chips, mini marshmallows, and graham cracker bits – and they really taste like s’mores! You can store them in an airtight container, but I liked them best the first day, when the graham crackers were still crunchy.
They also have a secret ingredient – chocolate pudding mix! I’ve used pudding mix in cakes and ice cream before, but hadn’t thought about it for cookies – what a great idea! They came out really fudgy and moist. I really didn’t make any changes at all to this recipe, it’s perfect! (more…)
When I asked Melissa (Smells Like Brownies) to help me become a better baker, I specifically asked to do these cookies. If you have ever stayed at a Doubletree Hotel, then you know the joy of being handed one of these giant cookies when you check in. It’s probably one of the most searched for cookie recipes, and it has some secret ingredients that I wouldn’t have guessed.
So, let’s get started! The first step is to mix the dry ingredients, which include finely ground dry oats. This is one of the secret ingredients that makes these cookies so good – it makes the texture so lovely. There’s also a bit of cinnamon in there, yum.
Next, cream butter with both granulated and brown sugar, vanilla, and the next secret ingredient – lemon juice. I would never have guessed to use lemon juice in a chocolate chip cookie, but it keeps them tender.
Mix the dry into the wet, then stir in chocolate chips and toasted chopped walnuts. The original recipe didn’t call for toasting the walnuts, but I think it makes the texture nicer and brings out the nutty flavor. (more…)