Brown Butter Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Mocha Cookies

June 13th, 2013 Posted in Desserts, Snacks
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INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 sticks (1 cup) salted butter
  • 1 1/4 cups packed dark brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons instant coffee powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup caramel bits (can sub in butterscotch bits)
  • 3/4 cup chocolate chips
  • coarse sea salt for spinkling

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat.  The butter will start to foam when shortly after it begins to boil. when it starts getting foamy, start whisking. The solids in the butter will sink to the bottom and eventually start to brown. The butter will start to smell fragrant and nutty and fantastic. Brown butter should be a light, golden brown (as seen in the picture below) . Its very easy to overcook the butter. From experience- if you are unsure about whether its done or not- I will say that its nicer to undercook the brown butter than to burn it. Remove the butter from heat as soon as the right colour is achieved- putting it in a different bowl to cool. Note: if you choose to let the butter cool in the same pan you were browning it in it will continue to brown and may burn. The whole process of browning butter should take no more than ten minutes- depending on how hot your stove runs.

2. Whisk together the flour, coffee, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and set aside.

3. Whisk the butter and sugars together until smooth. Add in the egg, yolk, and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients and mix using an electric mixer on low until its cookie dough consistency. Mix in the caramels and chocolate chips.

4. Form into cookies and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes (mine only took 9) in convection oven until edges just start to turn golden brown. Sprinkle with sea salt and let cool. Enjoy!

 

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Matcha Green Tea Shortbread Cookies

May 18th, 2013 Posted in Baking
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Ingredients:

3/4 (2.25 oz.) cup confectioner’s sugar

1 1/2 tbsps matcha green tea powder

10 tbsps (5 oz.) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 3/4 cup (8.5 oz.) flour

3 large egg yolks

1 cup granulated sugar (to coat the dough)

Method:

Whisk the confectioner’s sugar and matcha powder together. Beat the butter and matcha sugar mixture together in Kitchenaide mixer . Add the flour and stir until just combined. Mix in the egg yolks until they are incorporated and the dough comes together. Gather the dough into a ball and flatten it into a thick disc. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or until it is firm. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out to about 1/2-inch thickness. Use a small cookie cutter to cut shapes from the dough.  Roll the cut shapes in granulated sugar and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake the cookies for 10 minutes or until they begin to turn golden at the edges.

 

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Delicious Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookie Sandwiches

September 18th, 2011 Posted in Baking
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Okay, so obviously these are not the kind of things you’d send with your kids in their lunches at school, due to allergy risks and such, but damn, these cookies are really good, so i felt the need to share! So if you are lucky enough to live in a peanut free household, I would definitely suggest giving these bad boys a try. I originally got the idea from a Betty Crocker cookbook, which suggested using Betty Crocker cookie mix as a base for the cookies, but I was unable to actually buy the suggested cookie mix in Canada.

Thus, I used my own recipe for oatmeal peanut butter cookies, and made an easy but delicious spread for the middle. The  best part of these sandwiches is how superbly soft they are, so be mindful of over cooking to keep them nice and soft. All that being said, here it is!

 

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup margarine, softened
  • 1/2 cup peanut butter
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cups oats, quick oats for baking
  • 1/2 cup peanut butter
  • 1/2 cup Betty Crocker vanilla icing

Directions

  1. Combine margarine, peanut butter, sugars, egg, and vanilla. Blend together very well.
  2. Add flour, oats, baking soda and salt with mixer. Chill dough 15 minutes in the refrigerator. Roll into balls by hand.
  3. Place on sprayed cookie sheet and bake in a preheated 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) oven until edges very lightly browning (about 7 to 10 minutes). Don’t overcook. We store them in a plastic storage containers, and they stay soft!
  4. Let cool on counter, mix up the vanilla icing with the peanut butter in a small bowl. Use it as the filling to spread between two cookies and voila- Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookie Sandwiches! Enjoy!

 

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Last Minute Christmas Cookie Baking

December 18th, 2010 Posted in Baking, Desserts
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Breton Brittle Recipe:

Ingredients:

  • 28 Dare Breton Crackers
  • 1 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 1 cup butter
  • 1 pkg. (12 oz.) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Arrange a single layer of crackers over bottom of pan. Arrange a second layer ofcrackers to cover spaces between crackers in first layer. In medium saucepan combine sugar and butter. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil. Remove from heat; pour evenly over crackers in pan. Dump chocolate chips over the crackers and sugar / butter mixture. Allow the chocolate chips 5 mins to melt. Spread chocolate over the crackers evenly with a spoon. Let harden at room temperature. Break to serve.

Peanut Butter Blossoms Recipe:

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 1 cup butter
  • 2 eggs
  • 3 cups flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 7 dozen hersheys kisses (unwrapped)
  1. Heat oven to 375°F. In large bowl, beat 1/2 cup granulated sugar, the brown sugar, peanut butter, butter and eggs with electric mixer on medium speed, or mix with spoon. Stir in flour, baking soda and baking powder.
  2. Shape dough into 1-inch balls; roll in additional granulated sugar. Place about 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
  3. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are light brown. Immediately press 1 chocolate candy in center of each cookie. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.
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