TWD: Chocoblock Cookies

I'mmmm backkkkk!

I am so glad to be making this post right now. You don't know how much I've been missing baking and blogging. I would think of it often, but it would make me so sad to know that I was physically so worn out and nauseated to do it. But I managed to do it this week. And I'm so glad.

This week's Tuesday with Dorie was chosen by Mary of Popsicles and Sandy Feet. Be sure to check out her site for the recipe of these very interesting cookies. Lots of stuff in these cookies.

TWD: Thumbprints for Us Big Guys

I wasn't sure if I was going to make it on this one.  I haven't been feeling too good lately, and I was a little skeptical that I would feel up to making these this week. But after some encouragement (read "get off your butt, honey"), I got up and made these.

This week's Tuesday with Dorie was chosen by Mike of Ugly Food Dude. Check out his site for the recipe.

DB: Gingerbread House

Would you believe that I started this gingerbread house two weeks ago, but only put it together last night and decorated it this morning? Well, you should.

I seriously waited two weeks between baking the pieces and putting them together. It really shouldn't have taken me that long, but I just hit a baking slump. Do you ever get those? Where something just goes terribly wrong in the kitchen, and you're afraid to go back for fear of more failure? Well, I do, and I did. But I think I'm alright now. I did some baking this weekend, and it went well. I think I'm back on the horse. How stinky that it happened after all the fun of Christmas baking. Way to go, brain.

Anywho, the December 2009 Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to you by Anna of Very Small Anna and Y of Lemonpi. They chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ everywhere to bake and assemble a gingerbread house from scratch. They chose recipes from Good Housekeeping and from The Great Scandinavian Baking Book as the challenge recipes.

TWD: Cafe Volcano Cookies

These were some weirdy cookies for this week's Tuesdays with Dorie, chosen by Macduff of The Lonely Sidecar.

TWD: Sables

These cookies smell so familiar. They smell just like the cookies that you get in the Christmas tins, the butter cookies that always come in the little paper cases. It was really nice making something that was so familiar and that reminded me of Christmas, which is perfect for this time of year.

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie was chosen by Barbara of Bungalow Barbara, where you can find the recipe.

TWD: Sugar-Topped Molasses Cookies

I know it has been a really long time since I last posted. I would love to say that I have been out saving the world, solving world hunger (but telling no one...do you know the quote?), or something honorable like that.

Nope, not been doing that. Instead I've been celebrating my and my hubby's birthday!

My birthday was on October 28th, and my husband's was on November 2nd. So to celebrate our birthdays, my husband was so wonderful and took me to Florence, Italy! We spent 9 glorious days exploring the Tuscan area and just plain enjoying ourselves.

And then we came back, but my mind was not quite out of vacation mode. I really wanted to get back in the kitchen, but most of me just wanted to get back in bed. Was is it about vacations that makes it relaxing and tiring at the same time? Crazy.

But I'm back and baking. And I have every intention of making up the TWD and DB that I missed. I have not forgotten. Just give me a little bit of time. I'll be back on track in no time.

Whoopie ! Pies!

Sometimes I just get an idea in my head and I cannot get it out for the life of me. This one was making whoopie pies. I have no idea what exactly made me want to make these, but I really, really wanted to. I could not get the idea of making them out of my head. I've never made whoopie pies before, so I have no idea where this urge came from. But it was there, and I had to satiate it.

I was so glad that I did. What I great idea I had! :)

And these were great! They were like Ho-Hos but in a different form.They stayed incredibly moist for a long as we had them (which, incidentally, wasn't very long, but I think it would last pretty long as long as it was well wrapped).

Experimenting with Royal Icing and Sugar Cookies

I'm not a huge fan of sugar cookies. To tell the truth, they are pretty bland. The only thing that redeems them in my book is the fact that they are a blank canvas. There is some amazing sugar cookie art out there, and I wanted to try my hand at it.

I've tried decorating sugar cookies before but never after I learned about the technique of flooding. That was the look I was going for but never could achieve. Until now.

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

So it's the first thing I've baked in Libya, and let me tell you, it was really difficult finding the ingredients and equipment to make these. I'm definitely looking forward to when all my baking supplies arrive from DHL, but they are being really dumb right now. I asked them if I needed to do anything else, and they said no, then, days later, they said that they haven't shipped it yet because they need some other documentation. Argh! But we finally got everything sorted through, and my boxes should be on the way.

So without my regular baking supplies,

Uber Chocolatey, Uber Delicious

The person that is directly over Jacob at his work is leaving the company today. He had a luncheon party yesterday, and I decided I wanted to make him a treat. Jacob asked what he would like, and he requested something chocolate.

So I set to work looking for a recipe. This is actually quite fun. There are so many places to look for recipes, and with pictures to boot.

Along my search, I found this recipe from Annie's Eats. They looked chocolatey; they looked moist; and most importantly, they looked delicious.

I decided to go with them because I had the ingredients on hand and they looked good.

In fact, they turned out good, too. They had the nice sheen that stayed long after it was baked, kinda like a good brownie.


And I should think so. There's three types of chocolate in these, including 16 ounces of melted chocolate. That's a lot of chocolate for some cookies!

But the result was well worth the chocolate and the effort.


And Jacob's boss loved them. So mission accomplished. (I so felt like Kronk from The Emperor's New Groove right there. I love that character. Especially when he does his own theme music.)

Chewy Triple Chocolate Chip Cookies
as seen on Annie's Eats

2 cups (10 oz.) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (1 1/2 oz.) Dutch-processed cocoa powder
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
16 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped (I used a mixture of semisweet and dark because it’s what I had on hand)
4 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. instant coffee or espresso powder
10 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened but still cool
1 1/2 cups packed (10 1/2 oz.) light brown sugar
1/2 cup (3 1/2 oz.) granulated sugar
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk together; set aside.

Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over simmering water until completely melted and smooth; remove from the heat. (Alternatively, microwave the chocolate in 30 second intervals, mixing thoroughly in between, until melted and smooth.) In a small mixing bowl, combine the eggs, vanilla and instant coffee granules; stir well with a fork to dissolve; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter at medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 5 seconds. Mix in the sugars until well combined, about 45 seconds – the mixture will look granular. Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually beat in the egg mixture until incorporated, about 45 seconds. Add the chocolate to the bowl in a steady stream and continue beating until combined, about 40 seconds. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. With the mixer at low speed, add the dry ingredients and mix just until incorporated, being careful not to overbeat. Fold in the chocolate chips with a rubber spatula. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature until the consistency is scoopable and fudge-like, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350° F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets with a 1 ¾-inch cookie dough scoop, spacing the dough balls about 1 ½ inches apart.

Bake until the edges of the cookies have just began to set but the centers are still very soft, about 10 minutes, rotating the sheets halfway through baking. Cool the cookies on the sheets about 10 minutes, transfer to cooling racks and allow to cool completely. Cool the baking sheets before baking more batches with the remaining dough.

This says that it will make about 42 cookies, but I got 60 or so. More to enjoy...mmmm....

My PR Rep: Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Crisps

So I'm still making things for Jacob's work, and it is going great! The things that happen because of what I've brought have been amazing.

I made these Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Crisps after I saw the recipe in Gale Gand's Short + Sweet. They looked like cookies that my friend Kristin used to make in high school, and I loved them then. So I thought I'd try them out.


They turned out amazing. Crisp, but a little chewy. And the flavor is great. And amazingly enough, it is gluten-free, all it uses is oats and chocolate and butter and sugar, and a few other necessities. (When I wrote this, I checked to make sure that oats were gluten-free, and what I found was that is was. I later got a comment that most oats are processed in the same place at wheat so they might have traces; however, you can get gluten-free oats, which would be perfect in this recipe for someone who's allergic.)

The cookies spread out in the oven, and make a kind of lacey edge. The first batch was only mildly lacey, but the next time I made them, they were more lacey. I think it might have to do with my butter. I used a different kind the second time. But lacey or not, they are delicious. And addicting. So naturally, I share the recipe.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Crisps
from Gale Gand's Short + Sweet

3 cups rolled oats
1 cup unsalted butter, slightly softened
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 10 oz. bag miniature chocolate chips

1. Heat the oven to 300 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchmetn paper or a nonstick baking mat.

2. Put 2 cups of oatmeal in the food processor and process utnil finely ground and floury.

3. In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream this batter wuntil soft and smooth. Mix in the brown sugar. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix unti lwell blended. In another bowl, stir together both the ground and whole oatmeal, the baking soda, and the salt. With the mixer running at low speed, add the dry ingredient to the batter and mix until just blended. Add the choclate chips and mix just until blended.

4. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto the pan, leaving 2 to 3 inches between them, as they will spread. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes, until lightly brown. Let cool on pan.


I actually used a teaspoon measuring spoon to make these cookies, and it made a lot. I have no idea how many it supposed to make, but well over 10 dozen.

So made these and Jacob brought them, and people at work just fell in love with them. One guy asked me to make some for his barbecue for pay, so of course I said yes! And I got some other people asking me to make more birthday cakes for their kids. Speaking of which, my cake delivery is tomorrow! I'll post afterwords, promise.

So make, eat, and eat some more! And share them, you might get lucky like me!

Of Lemons and Cookies

So here's another post about my self-forced commitment to bake twice a week for Jacob's company.

This time I chose to make Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins and Espresso-Chocolate Shortbread Cookies, still from Baking from My Home to Yours.

I really, really enjoyed eating the lemon poppy seed muffins. So much so, that I'm going to include the recipe here. Right after you fall in love with them.

They were so darn delicious. And that was even eating them after they had sat out for a few days, I bet they're even better the first day.



Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
For Muffins
2/3 cup sugar
Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sour cream
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 tablespoons poppy seeds
For Icing
1 cup confectioner's sugar, sifted
2-3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter or spray the 12 molds in a regular-size muffin pan or fit the molds with paper muffin cups. Alternatively, use a silicone muffin pan, which need neither greasing nor paper cups. Place the muffin pan on a baking sheet.
In a large bowl, rub the sugar and lemon zest together with your fingertips until the sugar is most and the fragrance of lemon strong. Whisk in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, which the sour cream, eggs, vanilla, lemon juice and melted butter until well blended. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and, with the whisk or a rubber spatula, gently but quickly stir to blend. don't worry about being thorough--a few lumps are better than overmixing the batter. Stir in the poppy seeds. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.
Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until the tops are golden and a thin knife inserted in the center of the muffins comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes before carefully removing each muffin from its mold. cool the muffins completely on the rack before icing them.
Put the confectioner's sugar in a small bowl and add about 1 1/2 tablespoon of the lemon juice. Stir with a spoon to moisten the sugar, then add enough additional lemon juice, a dribble at a time, to get an icing that is thin enough to drizzle from the tip of the spoon. You can then drizzle lines of icing over the tops of the muffins or coat the tops entirely, the better tot get an extra zap of lemon.

For the Espresso-Chocolate Shortbread Cookies, on page 125, they turned out all right. I made two batches of them, since they were going to a crowd. One batch I used mini chocolate chips, the other I used chopped chocolate, so I got two very different looks.

I found it really difficult to take pictures of these. I still have loads to learn, I suppose.

Twice a Week

I'm not exactly sure why I did, but I unofficially "signed" myself up for baking something for Jacob's office twice a week, for Wednesday and Thursday. I guess I thought it would give me some much needed purpose for those days, and I guess it has. I just hope our bank account doesn't give up the ghost. :)

So, for last week (remember, I'm behind), I made Allspice Crumb Muffins and Chunky Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Chocolate Chipsters. Both of these are from the Baking from My Home to Yours book, because at this time...no internet, and I really enjoy reading and picking out recipes from that book, although I probably should branch out a bit. But if you have the book, the recipes are found on 16 for the muffins and 73 for the cookies.

For the allspice muffins, I decided to make them mini muffins so that there would be more to go around in the office. I was certain that I had ground allspice, but much to my dismay, no, I only had whole allspice. So I took the length of a movie (I've been going through our collection) to grind enough for a double batch, which was pretty hard with a mortar and pestle. I guess it's good forearm exercise though? Whatever. So here are my mini muffins. I don't think I took that great of a picture though. I think I was tired, and then I got attacked by a spider in my kitchen. It was dangling from a thread right by my face. Me and bugs don't get along, and I'm not even good a killing them. So, after I had a good wig out and finally managed to kill the beast, I was not quite in the mood for photo shooting, so you get what you get.



And here are my peanut butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. Jacob really hated the name that came in the book. He thought it was pretty dorky, so I'm just going to call it what it is, minus any frills. These were like three cookies rolled into one, oatmeal cookies, peanut butter cookies, and chocolate chip cookies. I used smooth peanut butter in this recipe because that's what I had on hand, but if I were to do it again, I'd use chunky because the peanut butter flavor was a little lost and I think the chunks of peanut would have helped.

These were great with a glass of milk, but then what cookies aren't?