Cookie Palooza 2012

Cookie Palooza 2012

The 2nd annual Cookie Palooza started Saturday night and continued through Monday; surprisingly (sadly?), I have to say it wasn't as much fun as last year.

Maybe if I had stopped Sunday after making 3 different kinds of bar cookies as well as the first batch of cheesecake cookies, well then, perhaps I'd feel differently. Instead, I'm just plain sick to death of all things sugar at this point and, in fact, couldn't bring myself to write this post last night because it was sounding way the hell too whiny even to me.

So. New day, no more sugar, and my house no longer smells like baked goods after making spicy tacos, lentils primavera, and stuffed mushrooms; lots of savory smells to cancel out the sweet, thank goodness.

Cookie Palooza 2012

3 different bar cookies

I started out by making this recipe for PB&J blondies, except I left out the "J" part. They turned out pretty well... okay, REALLY well based on the fact that my roommate inhaled 4 of the cookie bars before I could even put them away. Now, the cookie exchange at work this year doesn't have as many participants as last year so we only need to make 2 dozen of our chosen cookie/dessert. A pan of these bars slices quite nicely into 24 pieces which is the perfect amount. However, since my roommate had already eaten several of them, I knew I would need to make another batch which would also give me the chance to tweak the recipe a little more to my liking, namely, using a little less sugar and adding in some chocolate chunks. The second batch, made yesterday, turned out beautifully (even if I couldn't taste them) and I was sure to package and label them immediately as OFF LIMITS so that these can make it to work tomorrow for the exchange.

Because I was so pleased with how the first cookie bar turned out, I decided to try out another recipe for Oatmeal Scotchies that I pulled off the bag of Nestle butterscotch chips. Again, being me, I couldn't leave well enough alone and added chopped pecans to the recipe and baked them in a pan rather than as a drop cookie. (There was a note at the bottom of the recipe with instructions on how to make them a bar cookie.) Maybe it was because my pan wasn't big enough and the bars were a little too thick (in my opinion), but I wasn't terribly impressed with the way these cookies turned out. Yes, the flavor was good, but the texture left a little something to be desired. Eh. Live and learn, right? (Of course, my roommate didn't find fault with them given the number she's already eaten.)

cheesecake cookies with graham cracker crust

Next up were the cheesecake cookies. I found this recipe online from The Brown Eyed Baker after doing quite a bit of searching, and these cookies were fantastic! What I really loved about the recipe (besides the taste, of course) was how simple it was. I read many other recipes that involved rolling the dough into a log and rolling the log in the crumb of choice before refrigerating, slicing, and baking. Not only are there very few ingredients, but once the dough comes together, you roll it into golf ball sized balls (maybe a little smaller), roll them in your crumb of choice (I used graham crackers for the first batch, then crushed Oreos for the 2nd batch at my roommate's insistence), and bake.

cheesecake cookies with oreo crust

Now, I will say that I doubled the recipe because the original recipe only makes about 12 cookies, and maybe I did make them smaller than I was supposed to because I got 34 cookies out of my doubled recipe. Plus, I refrigerated the dough to let it firm up a bit before rolling/coating/baking, but other than that, I pretty much followed the recipe to a T and these were, far and away, the star of Cookie Palooza 2012.  :)

Again, maybe if I had stopped there- on a high note, as it were- then I'd be more apt to label Cookie Palooza 2012 a success. Instead, I continued on to make these Holiday Biscotti with almonds and dried cranberries, dipped in melted white chocolate (which I've made in years past and really like), another bar cookie that I found the recipe for in a book my roommate gave me for my birthday (white chocolate fudge bars from 500 Chocolate Delights: The Only Chocolate Compendium You'll Ever Need by Lauren Floodgate), AND a second batch of the peanut butter blondies with the addition of chocolate chunks. By the time Cookie Palooza 2012 came to an official end on Monday, just the smell of sugar and vanilla was enough to make me nauseous! So now I've got a kitchen full of yummy cookies and no desire to eat any of them... good thing my roommate and co-workers have no such compunctions, eh?

Cookie Palooza 2011, A Retrospective, Part 1

ultimate ginger, pb&c biscotti, triple chocolate

Original post date: Sunday, 12/5/11

Care to guess what I did today?

This being my 3-day weekend, I decided to take advantage of my time off and spend it in the kitchen, trying out new cookie recipes. We're having a cookie exchange at work next week and I can't decide what to make; too many choices, and you know I have to make something to put all other cookies to shame. To that end, I've got a stack of recipes I've been wanting to try and so I've been planning to have a cookie palooza this weekend. My best friend and her kids were originally supposed to join me, but she's not feeling well this weekend so we had to postpone. However, I've got the supplies and the burning need to make cookies... so that's what I did.

Yesterday, I made 2 loaves of cranberry bread and promptly wrapped them and put them in the freezer to make room for cookies. I then got a jump start on cookie palooza and tried out one of my new recipes, the ultimate ginger cookie. It's funny, really, because I always thought I didn't like these spicy cookies; we never made anything like them when I was growing up. The thought of making a classic gingerbread man cookie never really appealed because it's more work than I'm interested in. On the contrary, these were fairly easy to make and turned out pretty damn good; my roommate certainly liked them given the fact that she ate 2 handfuls of them this morning for breakfast.

So that brings me to today and my continued cookie experimentation: I started with a variation of a recipe that I've used before, one for biscotti. Previously, I've made them with pistachios and dried cranberries, dipped in white chocolate, but today's version was a peanut butter chocolate biscotti. Huh man. Those were some freakin' awesome cookies... perfect for dunking in a cup of coffee as the Italian's intended. While those were cooling, I got started on the next new-to-me cookie, a triple chocolate cookie. This was the pseudo-healthy recipe I had picked out to make with the kids because I know how their mother feels about baked goods and her desire to make them as low fat as possible (no butter or oil, egg substitute instead of whole eggs, and splenda where possible).

(*Side note: I have a different, decidedly decadent chocolate cookie recipe waiting in the wings, just for me. This one is NOT to be shared so the "healthy" version is the decoy version.)

Again, these cookies turned out really well. But honestly, how bad can triple chocolate cookies be? Maybe not as rich and chewy as I would have hoped for, but still. It's chocolate.

lemon ricotta with lemon glaze

The last cookie I decided to try my hand at was a light and almost fluffy lemon ricotta cookie with a lemon glaze. I'm a big fan of lemon so this was at the top of my Must Try list; I was definitely NOT disappointed. Just sweet enough with the tart bite of fresh lemon... yum. Only problem is, I still can't decide what to make for the cookie exchange we're having at work. Guess this means I need to do some more experimenting. There's always the good old stand-by recipes that I make every year: classic chocolate chip, peanut butter (with or without thumbprints), oatmeal raisin, and my all-time favorite oatmeal cookies with dried cranberries and white chocolate chips.

Hmmm... what a delicious dilemma.

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:
3/4 cup AP flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups old fashion rolled oats
3/4 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup peanut butter (I prefer using natural instead of the sugary stuff)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 eggs, room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla extract
optional add-ins: 1 cup chopped nuts/chocolate chips/peanut butter chips

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours and oats then set aside.

In a large bowl using an electric mixer (I suppose you could go old school on it and break out the wooden spoon if you really want to) cream together the butter, peanut butter, sugars, baking powder, and baking soda until well mixed. Add in the eggs, one at a time, and the vanilla, beating for another 1-2 minutes on medium speed. Stir in as much of the flour and oat mixture as you can using the electric mixer before switching to a wooden spoon to stir in the rest. Fold in whatever add-ins you want (I went with a mix of both dark chocolate chips AND peanut butter chips), then drop by the dough by rounded teaspoonful onto ungreased cookie sheets, leaving about an inch of space between each cookie. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes, until golden brown and set. Remove cookies to a wire rack to cool for several minutes before diving in.

Enjoy!

Banana Muffins, Revisited

Soooo... we've already established that I can't leave well enough alone when it comes to following an actual recipe, thus my decades long aversion to baking. That being said, I employed some of the same tweaks I've used in the previously posted banana bread recipe, and applied them to the vegan version of the recipe from my co-worker's borrowed cookbook. Again, I'm mighty impressed with the results!

(Vegan) Banana Chocolate-Peanut Butter Muffins

original recipe from The Joy of Vegan Baking: The Compassionate Cooks' Traditional Treats and Sinful Sweets 

by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau

Ingredients:
2 cups AP flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
4 ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup natural peanut butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 Tbs. previously brewed coffee
2 Tbs. water
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup non-dairy chocolate chips
1/4 cup nuts, finely chopped

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium-size bowl, whisk (or sift) the dry ingredients together.

In a larger bowl, mash the bananas and peanut butter together before stirring in the sugar, oil, coffee, water, and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, stirring until just combined. Spoon the batter into a lined muffin tin then sprinkle with the chocolate chips and nuts. This amount of batter will make 12 giant muffins if cups are filled all the way, or 18 regular size muffins if filled 3/4 full. Bake at 350 degrees for 22-28 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffins comes out mostly clean. Cool the muffins in the tin for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Enjoy!

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Addendum: I resisted the urge to eat one of these muffins last night, instead, wanting to wait and have one for breakfast this morning. I mean, it IS a banana muffin which is totally a breakfast food, regardless of the fact that it has chocolate and peanut butter in it.

This muffin differs quite a bit from the other recipe I've been using in that it has a much lighter, more tender texture. If I hadn't made them myself, I'd swear that they were made with cake flour because my first bite was incredibly soft and practically melted in my mouth. Not that I don't still like the original banana bread/muffin recipe, but it's much more dense and, I don't know, chewy(?) but in a good way. On the other hand, these vegan muffins were sooooo light that the chunks of mashed banana were still discernible, rather than just a flavoring. I think adding the chocolate chips and/or nuts directly into the batter would take away from the incredible texture of these muffins, so I'll stick with the sprinkle on top... 'cause you know for damn sure I'll be making these again!

Yummmm....

Banana Bread... & Muffins

Pretty much, anytime I have bananas in the kitchen that are too ripe (for me) to eat, I make a batch of banana bread. I really like how it can be made into either a standard loaf OR in the form of muffins, and this time, I split the batter to make some of each. I like this recipe because it's pretty forgiving and easy to switch things up by adding in any number of tasty flavors to suit your mood. This particular batch included chocolate chips and chopped walnuts, but I think my all time favorite combination is with peanut butter and chocolate chips... or cocoa powder and walnuts... mmm... What was I saying? Oh, right. Whatever combination floats your boat will turn out great... and they're fantastic for breakfast or as a snack. This time around, I froze the loaf and put the muffins in an airtight container in the fridge where they'll last the rest of the week.

Banana Bread... & Muffins

this recipe made 12 muffins & 1 loaf

Ingredients:

4 ripe bananas, mashed

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup apple sauce (I keep jars of this in my pantry, usually the unsweetened kind)

3 eggs

1 Tbs. vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups AP flour

1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt (I always use fine sea salt)

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

Optional Add-ins: 1/4 cup cocoa powder, 1/4 cup natural peanut butter (or any nut butter would be tasty), 3/4 cup chopped nuts, 3/4 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the bananas, sugars, vegetable oil, apple sauce, eggs, and vanilla. I usually mash the bananas right in this bowl before dumping everything else in and stirring together with a wooden spoon. I suppose you could use an electric mixer if you really wanted to, but it's not exactly hard to mix these few ingredients together with a spoon... and it means fewer dishes to wash if you skip the mixer.

Anyway, in a separate mixing bowl, whisk (or sift) together all of the dry ingredients before adding them to the wet ingredients. As tasty as the final product is in it's basic form, I really like to play with my add-ins and hopefully, you thought about it before starting. If using the cocoa powder, whisk it in with the dry ingredients before adding to the wet. If you want to use a nut butter, stir that into the wet ingredients before adding the dry. If your preference is for the chopped nuts and/or the chocolate chips, I like to combine those with 1 Tbs. of flour to coat them before folding them into the completed batter. (Why the extra bit of flour? It prevents the heavier nuts/chips from sinking to the bottom of the pan during baking, allowing them to stay suspended throughout the batter as it bakes.)

For bread, I like to use 2 of the 8"x3"x2" loaf pans and bake at 325 degrees for 55-60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with just a few crumbs clinging to it. Cool in the pans for 15 minutes before turning the bread out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Like any quick bread, this stuff freezes beautifully... if you can resist eating it all right away. ;)

If your preference is for muffins, this amount of batter will make 18 large (if cups are filled all the way) or 24 standard (if cups are filled 3/4 of the way full) muffins. Bake at 325 degrees for 22-25 minutes, until a toothpick blah blah blah. I only let muffins cool in the pan for a few minutes before turning them out on a wire rack to cool completely.

Enjoy!