cookies « DinnerCakes

Third Annual Bake-a-Thon

December 29th, 2009

by Heather (Ghost Baker)

So Bake-a-Thon was a little different this year. In year’s past, a bunch of us have gathered at Edwin’s apartment where we work like a chain gang for an entire day – measuring, mixing, chilling, baking, cleaning, repeat.

This year we hosted the event at Jane’s house, which provided us with a lot more room to scamper around in the kitchen. Bake-a-Thon also coincided with a historically large snow fall on the east coast that barricaded us inside (except for Edwin, who seems to enjoy taking his life in his hands).

But those who weren’t already at Jane’s when the snow started falling could never make it over, thus our chain gang was cut in half. And since everyone brings a recipe of their choice to the event, we were down in cookie varieties. Some bakers even had technical difficulties (sigh… me…). Bake-a-Thon 2009 was, you could say, a struggle. I could tell you tales of hardened espresso powder and overly softened butter…

We also had distractions – watching snow accumulate outside, a whining furry puppy trying to steal butter wrappers out of the trash and New Super Mario Brothers for Wii – we were bombarded on all fronts. It was also the first time I had actually seen Edwin and Jane since moving to Charlottesville in August. Now that I think about it, it’s truly amazing that any cookies were made at all.

Holiday baking is a battlefield. I also forgot my apron and hat – Qué lástima!

There was also some PDA in the kitchen. Tye set up a video camera in the kitchen, so I’m sure there is a time-lapse video of all the trials and tribulations somewhere.

Edwin probably walks away with the cookie award for his perfectionism in the kitchen. He moved along on schedule and his cookies looked beautiful.

Jane enjoyed some tea.

Right before a round of Super Mario Bros Wii.

Yeah… there was a steak break, too. Courtesy of Dong.

Edwin drowned his guilt about gorging on steak by heading back to work.

See? He’s not even looking at the pretty snow outside.

We all had a laugh at Jane’s Espresso Shortbread Cookie dough. Something is just odd about pouring dough in a Ziploc.

Edwin arranged his cookies to cool, while Jane ate them.

Edwin’s Sour Cherry Hamantaschen

I was very embarrassed about my Russian Tea Cakes. I’ve made them 100 times without problems, but the 101st time really got me. Two batches – one with butter softened via microwave and one with it left out for 45 minutes – neither was perfect.

Jane had success with the Espresso-Chocolate Shortbreads from Smitten Kitchen.

Tune in next year for the 4th Annual Bake-a-Thon! Will we have another record-breaking snow? Will Edwin finally fall victim to distraction? Will I ever reconcile my differences with room temperature butter? Time will tell…

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Kitchen Tips – Save Those Burnt Cookies!

December 11th, 2009

by Chef Edwin

It’s that time of year again: the holidays! Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, BAKE-A-THON…. The smell of baked goods is in the air! Few things suck more than taking a fresh batch of cookies out of the oven only to discover, *gasp*, the cookies are burnt! (funny story, my mom use to always burn the biscuits ever so slightly so we called it her Trademark. she did not appreciate that as much as the rest of the family)

The artistic side of burning sadness.

Fear not, loyal readers, DinnerCakes is here for you with today’s Kitchen Tip. All you need to remedy this terrible tragedy is a microplane grater and faith. For cookies that are only slightly burnt or simply over browned you can gently grate away all that bad stuff. This works best with your non-chunky cookies (like sugar), but is always worth a shot.

Ok, these probably can't be saved

There, you are now ready for the all that the holidays can throw at you (ha!). Go forth and bake!

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Revisiting Trail Mix Cookies

November 16th, 2009

by Heather (Ghost Baker)

Two great friends came to stay with us last weekend from Chicagoland for a wedding. They decided to extend their weekend trip a bit and take advantage of the great camping opportunities on the Skyline Drive. With the camping in mind, I decided to make Trail Mix Cookies.

But I wanted to improve on my previous recipe. Those cookies had an awful lot going on… much like Everything Cookies. I wanted to tone it down a bit, so I replaced the peanut butter chips and white chocolate chips with additional semi-sweet chocolate chips. This allowed a little more enjoyment of the dried cranberries, almonds and golden raisins with a hint of chocolate.

Please do read my previous post for some information on agave syrup, what I used in place of sugar. It’s a more natural sweetener, especially good for diabetics. It also makes the cookies soft – you won’t get a crunch using agave.

What will throw you off the most about working with agave is that you’ll think you messed up when combining ingredients. Agave doesn’t blend very well at first with the butter and it seems to separate a lot… but when you add in the dry mixture you’ll see that everything is fine. Just have a little faith!

New & Improved Agave Trail Mix Cookies

3/4 cup Nature’s Path Organic Pumpkin Flax Plus Granola with Omega-3
3/4 cup trail mix (a mix of dried cranberries, almonds and golden raisins. I also threw in some sunflower seeds for fun.)
1/2 cup oats (regular, not instant)
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup shredded coconut
7 ounces (slightly more than 3/4 cup) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup agave syrup
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 F. In a large bowl, combine granola, trail mix, oats, semi-sweet, white and peanut butter chips, and coconut. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, sift flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Whisk to combine.

Beat room temperature butter until smooth. Add agave syrup, vanilla and egg. Beat well (don’t get discouraged when it looks clumpy and like it isn’t holding together… that’s normal!). Fold in flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Then fold in granola, oats, trail mix, chips and coconut.

Use a tablespoon to scoop large balls of dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Place balls approximately 2 inches apart. Bake approximately 12 minutes. Cool on baking sheet for 3 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely (these cookies cooled surprisingly fast). Store in an air-tight container.

Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

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Drop In & Decorate – Culinary Art With A Touch Of Service

November 9th, 2009

by Chef Edwin

A couple years ago I came across this really excellent site called Drop In & Decorate, by the blogger Lydia Walshin of Perfect Pantry. The site is a resource for a very simple idea: get a group of family/friends together to decorate cookies, then donate them to a locale charity. A fun concept for people of any age with a the bonus of doing something nice for your local community (also good to ensure you don’t pig out on the end product, though I will say from experience there is a good chance you will eat your fair share during the decorating process).

Since its inception the idea has really taken off, collectively donating to 55 non profits in 18 US states (and Canada). It’s become so popular that Lydia was able to incorporate Drop In & Decorate as tax-exempt non-profit last year. I organized my own Drop In & Decorate event a couple years back and can humbly say it’s inspired a few to do the same.

My sister is definitely the artist of the family. Photography, painting, charcoal, you name it. Even her cake decorating puts puts me to shame. Stefani recently started her first semester at the Institute of Design at Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago and was inspired (if I do say so myself) to organize her own Drop In & Decorate event. Of course being surrounded by a group of like-minded artists you’re sure to get some amazing art. In the end these artists decorated approximately 180 cookies for the Inner Voice homeless shelter. Pretty awesome.

Drop In & Decorate is a fun event that anyone can do, culinary prodigy or not, that does a little something for the local community. Interested in hosting your own? Check out the site or contact Lydia via e-mail. Right now she has some free supplies and coupons to offer future organizers.

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Day #3 of Rainbow Week – Rainbow Cookies

May 27th, 2009

by Chef Edwin

You’re looking at day three of our Rainbow Week series. Click here to start on day one.

Back in Richmond, where both Heather and I grew up, there’s a local chain of grocery stores called Ukrops. My family didn’t go there often (there were closer grocery stores and Ukrops was never open on Sundays), but I always looked forward to the times we did for one reason and one reason only: rainbow cookies. As Heather likes to remind me, they weren’t particularly good cookies. In fact, they were quite dry. But when you’re a kid there’s something awesome about multi-colored cookies; just like there’s something awesome about cereal that looks like cookies (Cookie Crisp you were, and are, so amazing).

I haven’t been to Ukrops in a long, long time, but what Rainbow Week would be complete without rainbow cookies? Today’s recipe follows the same principles from our first post, with a few exceptions. First, because cookie dough is much thicker than cake batter, food color drops are really your only option. It’s just too difficult to mix and distribute the gel. Since most cookies are pretty dense (when compared to a cake), you’re options are a lot larger. Just don’t pick something, well, cake-y like a black and white cookie and you should be fine. Try with 5-10 color drops in the divided good and you should be good.

I decided to work with sugar cookies, a pretty simple and resilient cookie. You can work in one, two or three different colors (or more I suppose). With most sugar cookies I’d wager you’d have approximately three teaspoons of dough for each cookie, so divide the portions by the number of colors you want accordingly and put them together as shown. Then roll around in your hands until you get a smooth looking ball. Place them on a baking sheet and flatten them to the width specified with your recipe. That’s it!

Finding the Right Sugar Cookie Recipe

Most general cookbooks should have a sugar cookie recipe for you to use; and if it doesn’t you should write the author(s) a scathing letter. I personally used the one from Joy of Cooking (my cooking bible) for these.

If you’re looking for a good sugar cookie recipe, try Lydia’s recipe over at The Perfect Pantry. I’ve used it on many occasion with good results. Simply Recipes also has a recipe you could try. Enjoy!

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Bakeless Cookies? That's crazy talk!

May 4th, 2009

by Heather (Ghost Baker)

I remember three years ago sitting among a group of women who were telling me they couldn’t believe I’d never tried, heard of, made, or otherwise been exposed to bakeless cookies – three years later here I finally am! Yesterday for the first time ever I made “bakeless cookies.”

This recipe is straight out of my bridal shower recipe box. A few months before getting married, my bridesmaids threw me a dessert themed bridal shower (they know me well, huh?). They requested that each of the guests bring a dessert recipe, and they collected them all in a cool wooden box painted blue and orange, the colors of my alma mater. I’m looking forward to slowly trying each of the recipes in this box!

So back to bakeless cookies – I’m not sure I “get” them. I guess I assumed they would firm up, but they’re still very soft. I can pick them up now without too much sticking to the foil, but the consistency is akin to warm, soft fudge or chewy caramel candies (without quite that level of stickiness). I wanted to just describe them as “little goo balls,” but Edwin advised me against using that imagery… woops? They did firm up quite a bit after I put them in the fridge, but they’ll always be soft.

While sadly I probably can’t pack these cookies up to take to work (because they’re so soft I’d worry they’d just meld together, and I think the consistency might confuse people expecting a typical flour-based cookie), I will say that they’re pretty addicting. I started out with just one, then I snuck back for seconds, and then the cycle continued on. I’m interested to hear what you all think about bakeless cookies, whether you try your hand at these or if you have your own recipe. There’s definitely no confusing them for baked cookies and nothing compares to cookie dough, but maybe they do have a place in the cooking/baking world after all? It’s hard to say no to chocolate + peanut butter, and it’s no secret that I’m a little obsessed with oats. These cookies are very chewy and oaty.

And in DinnerCakes housekeeping news – something big is coming to DinnerCakes tomorrow! If you’re a regular reader, then you may have a pretty good idea of what I’m talking about. Edwin and I are very excited about it – please check back tomorrow to find out what we’ve been working on behind the scenes!

Bakeless Cookies
from my husband’s Aunt Claudia, who received this from her grandmother Louise

2 cups granulated sugar
dash of salt
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup oleo (same thing as margarine)
1/2 cup peanut butter (chunky or smooth)
3 cups quick cooking oats
3 tablespoons cocoa

Melt margarine in a medium size pan. Add sugar, milk and cocoa; stir constantly. Once the mixture starts to boil, cook for 5 more minutes and then add peanut butter, blending until smooth. Remove from heat and add in oatmeal fast.

Drop by tablespoons onto foil. As they cool they will firm up just enough so that you can pick them up and pop them into your mouth!

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Salty & Sweet – Chocolate Cookies with Pistachios

March 31st, 2009

by Heather (Ghost Baker)

If you put a variety pack of cookies in front of me, 95% of the time I would not choose an all chocolate cookie. This may be surprising, but I gave up on chocolate cookies after several attempts where I couldn’t even taste the chocolate.

I thought up this recipe one night while lying in bed, after one of my battles with black bean brownies. I was thinking about other ways to use black beans instead of flour and agave syrup instead of sugar. I was also thinking about a batch of Tastespotting photos I’d oogled recently that boasted salty and sweet desserts.

The recipe below is a little different from what I’d originally planned (no black beans and no agave… it’s probably for the best!), but it turned out exactly the way I was hoping it would. What’s the difference? For starters, I greatly prefer the taste of baked goods made with unsweetened cocoa instead of melted chocolate. It captures the taste of the chocolate more and it makes the final product less dense.

These cookies are slightly crispy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside. The chocolate chips makes them unmistakably dark and chocolatey, and the pistachios add just a hint of saltiness. The instant coffee deepens the chocolate flavor without being particularly noticeable.

I had to take these to work the day after I made them because it quickly became clear that I couldn’t handle having them in the apartment. Whoops?

Salty & Sweet – Chocolate Cookies with Pistachios

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1/8 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cups brown sugar
1 cup all purpose unbleached flour
2 ounces unsweetened cocoa (I used Ghirardelli)
1/8 (granulated) instant coffee
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon milk
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (again, I used Ghirardelli)
1/2 cup pistachio kernels

Preheat oven to 375F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Combine flour, cocoa, instant coffee, salt and baking soda in a medium bowl. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer using a paddle attachment (or using electric beaters if you don’t have a stand mixer), combine butter and sugars. When combined, add eggs one at a time. Slowly beat in the flour mixture, adding the milk at the halfway point. Stir in pistachios and chocolate chips. The mixture will resemble thick brownie batter.

Scoop batter using a tablespoon measuring spoon and, with the assistance of another spoon, drop rounded balls onto a parchment lined baking sheet approximately two inches apart. Bake for 15 minutes.

Makes approximately 2 dozen cookies.

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Hearty and Sweet Agave Trail Mix Cookies

February 27th, 2009

by Heather (Ghost Baker)

Ever since 101 Cookbooks posted that Black Bean Brownie recipe I have been interested in agave syrup (you know, the one I attempted and failed because of accidentally doubling the black beans, but then created something kind of marvelous in its place?). Cookie Madness also picked up on the agave craze and has been investigating.

Agave is a type of plant, typically found in Mexico, that has thick, pointy leaves. It actually looks a little like aloe. There are a lot of things you can do with it (like make tequila… no thanks!), but you can also use the syrup/nectar from it as an alternative to sugar. Vegans may like it as a substitute to honey, and diabetics can appreciate its low glycemic index.

It’s a powerful little plant, so it’s not a one-to-one ratio of subbing in agave syrup for sugar. One cup of granulated sugar can generally be replaced with 1/3 cup of agave syrup.

So I was chowing down on a small bowl of my new favorite cereal – Nature’s Path Organic Pumpkin Flax Plus Granola with Omega-3 – with all this in mind while I was thinking up a new wholesome cookie recipe (I know the granola sounds really questionable and much like Chef Edwin’s personal hell… but I promise you, it tastes great!). I wanted a cookie that would be hearty and full of oats but without tasting bland, tough and like bran (we’ve all had THOSE before). Mid-bite I remembered a small bag of trail mix that someone gave me as a gift that had been sitting in the pantry. Yum, a trail mix cookie was born!

The key players were Nature’s path granola, trail mix that included dried cranberries, almonds and golden raisins, oats, a little bit of coconut and a small combination of semi-sweet, white and peanut butter chips. Everything came together beautifully.

I was a little nervous at first because the agave syrup and butter didn’t seem to want to combine, but once I began adding other ingredients it was fine. Because I used agave, I didn’t get the crispy, browned edges and bottom that typically come from using sugar, so it might feel a little different. But the taste was great. My husband kept going back to the jar (very unusual for him!) and exclaimed that he loved finding a bite with a dried cranberry. I also gave him some to take to work and apparently they went over extremely well. This cookie has a lot of tasty nooks and crannies to explore!

Agave Trail Mix Cookies

3/4 cup Nature’s Path Organic Pumpkin Flax Plus Granola with Omega-3
3/4 cup trail mix (a mix of dried cranberries, almonds and golden raisins)
1/2 cup oats (regular, not instant)
1/4 cup white chocolate chips
1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup peanut butter chips
1/4 cup shredded coconut
7 ounces (slightly more than 3/4 cup) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup agave syrup
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 F. In a large bowl, combine granola, trail mix, oats, semi-sweet, white and peanut butter chips, and coconut. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, sift flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Whisk to combine.

Beat room temperature butter until smooth. Add agave syrup, vanilla and egg. Beat well. Fold in flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Then fold in granola, oats, trail mix, chips and coconut.

Use a tablespoon to scoop large balls of dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Place balls approximately 2 inches apart. Bake approximately 12-15 minutes. Cool on baking sheet for 3 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely (these cookies cooled surprisingly fast). Store in an air-tight container.

Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

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Food Photography: Black and White Cookie

February 4th, 2009

by Chef Edwin

Good morning, loyal DinnerCakes readers. Time for another installment of food photography where we whet your pallet with some tasty art.

Today’s picture is from quite a while ago when a friend of mine was leaving the area for the greener pastures of New York. After conducting a little spy work to learn her favorite cookie I decided on a recipe by Baking Bites. The rest, as they say, is delicious history.

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