Tag Archives: cookie

Island Cookies.

Posted on November 30, 2012 by Jey| 4 Comments

As the days are getting shorter and the weather getting colder, more and more I’m finding myself dreaming of laying on a beach with a tropical drink in hand.  But since that isn’t likely to happen anytime soon, I keep trying to come up with other ways to keep the dream alive.  So when I saw these cookies on My Chicago Kitchen for the Blogger’s Choice swap hosted by Sarah of A Taste of Home Cooking, I put them on the short list of things to make.

I ended up making three batches of these cookies.  The first two came out of the oven flat as pancakes.  On the third batch, I added more flour and it seemed to help the cookies hold their shape.  I also substituted rum extract for the vanilla to give them more of a tropical flair.  And when I closed my eyes and took a bite, I was transported out of the dreary Chicago weather to my own sunny Caribbean island.  Hey a girl can dream, right?

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Island Cookies.

Slightly adapted from My Chicago Kitchen

Ingredients

  • 1 Cup Flour
  • 3/4 tsp. Baking Powder
  • 1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
  • 1/2 tsp. Salt
  • 1 1/2 Sticks Butter, at room temperature
  • 3/4 Cup Brown Sugar, packed
  • 1/3 Cup Sugar
  • 1 tsp. Rum Extract
  • 1 Egg
  • 1 Cup Mini Chocolate Chips
  • 1 Cup Coconut Flakes
  • 1 Cup Macadamia Nuts, roughly chopped

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375.

In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking powder and salt.

In the bowl of a mixer, add the butter, brown sugar, and rum extract and mix until creamy. Beat in the egg until well combined.

Add half of the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, mix then add the rest. Mix until well combined. Stir in the chocolate chips, coconut flakes and macadamia nuts.

Using a cookie scoop or a rounded tablespoon, drop the dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 8-11 minutes, until edges are golden and cookies are baked through.

Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for two minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

http://www.thejeyofcooking.com/island-cookies/



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Homemade Oreos.

Posted on March 12, 2012 by Jey| 27 Comments

Did y’all know that 2012 celebrates 100 years of everyone’s favorite dunkable treat?  That’s right, Oreos have been around for a full century, and I’m sure most of us couldn’t imagine life without them.  Each of us has our own favorite way to eat them, whether you twist and lick or dunk and devour.  It is, after all, milk’s favorite cookie.

My Secret Recipe Club blog for this month was Big Fat Baker.  We get our blog assignments about a month in advance, and I spent the entire time drooling over all of her amazing confections.  I typically end up choosing savory dishes for my SRC reveals but it was kind of nice to change things up a bit and add a sweet note to my repertoire.  So when I came across the recipe for homemade Oreos, I knew it was the one.

I ended making two batches of these – large cookies for the Husby and bite-sized ones for the Fruitaholic and I.  Both versions were delicious, although we all preferred the smaller cookies since they were more easily dunkable, and more reminiscent of the original.  They were simple to throw together and I can definitely see myself making these again many times in the future.  No matter which size you end up baking, be sure to serve them with a cold glass of milk!

Homemade Oreos – slightly adapted from Big Fat Baker

For the Cookies:

  • 1 1/4 Cups Flour
  • 1/2 Cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
  • 1 tsp. Baking Soda
  • 1/4 tsp. Baking Powder
  • 1/4 tsp. Salt
  • 1 Cup Sugar
  • 1/2 Cup Unsalted Butter, at room temperature
  • 1 Egg

For the Filling:

  • 1/4 Cup Unsalted Butter, at room temperature
  • 1/4 Cup Vegetable Shortening
  • 2 Cups Powdered Sugar
  • 2 tsp. Vanilla

Preheat oven to 375.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl), combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt and sugar.  Add the butter, stir, then add the egg.  Mix until a dough forms.

Using a cookie scoop (I used a 1 1/2 Tbsp. for the large cookies and a 1 tsp. for the small), scoop out the dough.  Roll into a ball then flatten slightly between your palms.  Place on baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough, making sure you have an even number of cookies.

Bake for 8-12 minutes (the small cookies were done after about 8 minutes and the large ones after about 11), until cookies are set.

While the cookies are baking, cream together the butter and shortening.  Gradually add the powdered sugar and mix until smooth.  Stir in the vanilla and beat until light and fluffy.

When the cookies have cooled, frost one cookie then sandwich with another similar sized cookie (bottom to bottom).  Repeat until all cookies have been sandwiched together.



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Caramel Appledoodles.

Posted on October 28, 2011 by Jey| 4 Comments

The theme for October’s What’s Baking was “Fall Flavors.”  Of course, pumpkin and apple are the first things that come to mind but our lovely host, Ange, challenged us to think outside the box.  I spent some time in the blogosphere looking at different ideas and had even picked one out.  But then, on one of my at-least-twice-weekly Target trips, I found a bag of caramel bits: tiny balls of unwrapped caramel that I knew would be perfect to bake with (ok, let’s be real, eat straight out of the bag).  And thus, the caramel appledoodle came to be.

They had all the Fall flavors you could hope for and as an added bonus, filled the house with a delicious cinnamony scent as they baked.  It would probably be best to keep these in an airtight container, as after a few hours sitting out on the counter, the caramel bits were kind of hard to chew.

Caramel Appledoodles – adapted from Gimme Some Oven

  • 1 Stick (8 Tbsp.) Unsalted Butter
  • 2/3 Cup Brown Sugar
  • 2/3 Cup Sugar
  • 2 Eggs
  • 2 Cups Flour
  • 2 Tbsp. Cornstarch
  • 1 tsp. Baking Soda
  • 1/2 tsp. Salt
  • 1/8 tsp. Nutmeg
  • 1 Golden Delicious Apple, peeled, cored and finely diced
  • 1 Cup Kraft Caramel Bits (If you can’t find the bits, use 1 Cup chopped Caramel)
  • 1/2 Cup Sugar
  • 3 Tbsp. Cinnamon

Using a mixer, cream the butter and the sugars together.  Add the eggs and beat until fully incorporated.

In another bowl, mix together the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, sat and nutmeg.  Gradually add the flour mixture to the mixer bowl and stir until combined.  Fold in apples and caramel bits.  Chill for one hour in the refrigerator.

Preheat oven to 350.  Mix together the 1/2 cup sugar and 3 Tbsp. cinnamon in a small bowl.  Form the cookie dough into balls and roll in the cinnamon sugar mixture.  Place on a parchment lined baking sheet about 3 inches apart.

Bake for 14-16 minutes, turning the pan once to ensure even baking.

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Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Posted on October 7, 2011 by Jey| 22 Comments

I was really excited when I saw that the theme for October’s Crazy Cooking Challenge was to make the Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie.  A few days prior, I had come across a post from Kelsey of Apple A Day touting the best ever chewy chocolate chip cookie recipe.  Everyone knows that chewy cookies are much better than their crispy counterparts.  Her recipe included something that most cookie recipes don’t have: Cornstarch.  I was certainly intrigued so I dropped everything and made them and they were definitely as amazing as advertised.  They stayed light and fluffy and didn’t spread out while baking.  They were almost perfect little circles of dough, most definitely the prettiest cookies I’ve ever made.

But how do you better the best?  By adding BACON, of course!

Don’t be scared… Bacon and baked goods get along just swimmingly.  It provides just a smidge of saltiness, which I feel is essential in a cookie, and balances out the sweetness of the sugars.  Don’t knock it until you try it!

Since we’re looking to find the ultimate cookie, make sure you buy Nueske’s bacon.  Sure, you could use the cheaper store name brand, but why not use the best?!

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Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies – adapted from Apple A Day (sans bacon)

  • 6 Strips Nueske’s Applewood Smoked Bacon
  • 1/4 Cup Brown Sugar
  • 3/4 Cup Unsalted Butter, at room temperature
  • 3/4 Cup Brown Sugar
  • 1/4 Cup Sugar
  • 1 Egg
  • 2 tsp. Vanilla
  • 2 Cup. Flour
  • 2 tsp. Cornstarch
  • 1 tsp. Baking Soda
  • 1/2 tsp. Salt
  • 1 Cup Semi Sweet Chocolate Chunks

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place 1/4 cup brown sugar in a shallow dish.  Dredge raw bacon to coat.  Transfer sugar coated bacon to a cold skillet and place over medium heat.  Cook bacon until crispy, about 5 minutes per side.  When cooked, drain slices on a paper towel lined plate, then chop finely.

Add the butter and sugars to the bowl of a stand mixer (or large bowl) and cream together until light and fluffy.  Mix in the egg and vanilla.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt.  Gradually add the dry mixture to the wet mixture until well mixed.  Fold in chocolate chunks and bacon.

Using a cookie scoop, drop balls of dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet.  Bake for 8-11 minutes until barely golden around the edges.  The tops of the cookies will not brown, be careful not to overbake.

Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes on the sheet.  Transfer cookies to a wire rack and allow to cool completely.

Try to save some to share with others!  It will be tough, but have some willpower!

Be sure to check out the other entries for the Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie below!

UPDATE (10/14/11):  These cookies were chosen as a Friday Favorite on My Favorite Finds!

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