When I am shopping at the grocery store, I usually throw a bag of croutons into my cart. Even though they kinda taste like salted cardboard, sheer laziness and convenience prevail. Tired of bagged croutons, I finally decided to make my own croutons, how hard could it be? Isn’t it like glorified toast in bite-sized pieces? Ok, it’s a bit more involved than toast but still pretty easy.
A Pinch of Yumminess
I googled croutons and a bunch of recipes popped up. I narrowed the field down to one on A Pinch of Yum’s site, Torn Croutons. Homemade delicious croutons that you can keep on hand to toss in a salad, a mug of soup, or to eat out of hand. It is so incredibly easy and so much better than store-bought, you’re going to thank me. BONUS, it’s a great way to use up that half a baguette, or ciabatta loaf you didn’t finish. Yep, easy and economical.
The recipe calls for sourdough bread but use any bread you like. I like ciabatta but have also used baguettes or rustic Italian, just about any crusty artisan-type bread will work.
Tearing the bread, not cubing it into bite-sized pieces gives the bread these nooks and crannies to catch the seasonings and oil. After baking, you end up with these crispy shards of bread.
The recipe calls for minced garlic, salt, and pepper, that’s it. Feel free to add herbs or seasonings such as minced thyme or rosemary. For the oil, substitute melted butter for some of the oil, cause who doesn’t like buttery croutons?
Whisk the melted butter and olive oil in a bowl. Add salt, pepper, and garlic. Finish with a couple of healthy grinds of black pepper. Drizzle over torn bread. Mix to coat, and spread the croutons on a sheet pan in a single layer. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes or until crispy and golden brown. Store in an airtight container.
Why buy croutons when you can make them easily! So much better and a great way to use leftover bread
Course Appetizer, Salad
Cuisine American
Keyword ciabatta, croutons, homemade
Prep Time 10 minutesminutes
Cook Time 15 minutesminutes
Ingredients
1/2loafregular of sourdough bread ( 3/4-1 pound loaf)any kind of rustic loaf will work, I like Ciabatta or Pugliese
1/4-1/3cupolive oil60ml
2tbsunsalted butter, melted30ml
1clovegarlicfinely grated
salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste
1-2tspherb of choice, minced thyme or rosemary optional
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Pull the bread into crouton-y sized chunks.
Combine the olive oil, butter, and garlic in a large bowl. Add optional seasonings now if using. Whisk to combine. Add bread and toss croutons to work the oil in (some of the bread might crumble into tiny pieces which provides great texture variety). Season with salt and lots of pepper.
Bake for about 15 minutes, turning once so they get evenly browned. Cool on paper towels to absorb excess oil.
Don't just use them for salads, great on soups, or as munchies. Crumble them on pastas
Cookies made with cereal have popped up on my feed lately and the one that caught my attention was Buttermilk by Sam’s Lucky Charms Cookies. For lack of a better word, these cookies are Happy! And we all know we could use some HAPPY right now. The cookies have crispy edges, chewy centers, and gooey iridescent marshmallows that add pop. The marshmallows in the cereal are colorful but after baking the cookies, the colors morphed into a bright, almost neon tone. So surprising! The colors scream, pick me, pick me. BTW, Buttermilk by Sam is an amazing site, her desserts are scrumdiddlyumptious. One of my favorites is her Butter Cake, SDD, so damn delicious and easy to make.
I was surprised at how much I liked them. They aren’t as sweet as I thought they would be considering the 2 cups of charms, the not-too-sweet cookie is a nice foil to the marshmallows. The dough is a combination of AP flour and ground Lucky Charms cereal. Genius use: Since what would you do with the cereal without the marshmallow bits?
Back to the cookies, I baked a batch and immediately packed them for the 3Jamigos, Jeff & Jorge, who live in The City.
Confession Time
I bought into the healthy cereal movement when my kids were little—the classic path, Cheerios (PLAIN) as a snack. I perused the cereal aisle of our market, studying the ingredient label of each box I picked up. I didn’t bother picking up any box that had colored bits or chocolate in it. Sugar content had to be in single digits. Yes, I was THAT mom, the no-fun mom. If you opened my pantry doors chances are you would find Special K, Rice Krispies, and/or Honey Bunches of Oats. As they got older I made certain allowances, Frosted Flakes (only on trips to Lake Tahoe) and Cinnamon Toast Crunch (thanks to their childhood friend Spencer, who only ate CTC).
I caught a lot of grief when I inadvertently outed myself one day, a casual remark that I LOVED Captain Crunch and Lucky Charms when I was a kid. Immediately, my kids glared at me and exclaimed, WHAT? So busted. I came clean, I loved Fruit Loops, Sugar Pops, and of course Frosted Flakes…They’re grrreat! And to make matters worse I threw Pau Pau (Grandma) under the bus…she bought them.
To show the error of my ways, I rescinded the sugar cereal moratorium but by that time they were out of the cereal-eating age range. My job was done.
Cerea-us-ly?
The irony of my family cereal rules? The kid’s favorite cookies are Wes’s Good Cookies, made out of crushed Cornflakes, and Life Cereal—the college finals week cookie of choice. Every care package had to have Good Cookies in them. I have also atoned for my stringent cereal stand, I make Rice Krispy Treats, Cinnamon Toast Crunch Butter Mochi, and now Lucky Charm Cookies. I’ll find a way to use Captain Crunch one day too.
The tedious part of this recipe is separating the charms from the cereal bits. My advice, turn on your favorite rom-com, holiday movie, k-drama or C-drama, plop yourself down to watch and sort. Do not turn on the news, trust me. A small box of cereal will barely fill 2 cups, so no snacking.
Grind cereal bits in a processor or crush them with a rolling pin. Easy peasy. I fold in most of the charms reserving 1 for each ball of cookie dough that I press into the dough before baking. Dunzo. Use a #40 scoop which yielded about 20-22 cookies. Shorten baking time to 10 minutes. Cookies should be crisp and golden brown on the edges.
The perfect kid cookie that “big kids” will love too, Lucky Charms Cookie. Crispy edges, chewy centers with pops of color from the lucky charms that turn bright neon colors while baking. From Buttermilk by Sam a delicious nostalgic cookie, cerea-ours-ly.
Course cookies, Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword cereal, cookies, drop cookie, Lucky Charms
Prep Time 30 minutesminutes
Cook Time 12 minutesminutes
Ingredients
1box lucky charm cerealsmallest box will barely give you 2 cups
Butter-Sugar Mixture
2/3cupunsalted butter150gm
1cupbrown sugar200gm
1large egg +1 yolk
1tsppure vanilla extract
Dry Ingredients
1/3cuppowdered sugar40gm
¾tspfine sea salt
½tspbaking powder
½tspbaking soda
2tablespoonsmalted milk powder or milk powderoptional (for flavor)
Four + Cereal
1-1/2cups + 1Tap flour200gm
1-1/2cupscereal bits from about 1 ½ cups cereal 60gm
2cupsmarshmallow bits
2cupsbrown cereal bits
Instructions
Grind the brown cereal bits in a food processor and separate them so you have 60g (this will go into the dough). Place the remaining crumbs into a bowl and set aside. You can crush up some of the colorful marshmallows with your fingers to create more 'rainbow dust' for the topping.
Make the cookie dough
In a large bowl, melt the butter in the microwave until it’s almost but not fully melted. Add in the brown sugar and whisk, very well. The butter will be separated from the sugar, whisk it until it’s fully combined.
Crack in the egg and the egg yolk and whisk until the batter is smooth and light colored. Stir in the vanilla
Add the powdered sugar, salt, milk powder, baking powder and soda and whisk well.
Add the flour, ground cereal and marshmallow bits and switch to a rubber spatula to mix until fully combined. Cover with plastic wrap and set in the fridge to chill for at least 2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line 2 greased cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Use a cookie scoop to divide the dough, I made big cookies that were about 3 tablespoons each but you can make smaller ones if you like.
With each cookie dough ball, dip face down into the bowl of leftover ground cereal bits pressing to get them to adhere.
These cookies spread so ensure you have enough space between them, at least 1.5 inches between each dough ball. If you are making bigger cookies don’t do more than 5 on a sheet.
Bake for about 12 minutes, until the edges are golden. If you like a bit more crunch on the sides you can bake for another 2 minutes. If you’ve scooped the smaller cookies, check them at the 10 minute mark. Sprinkle on some more cereal/rainbow dust when they come out of the oven.
Store in an airtight container.
Notes
Big, thin crispy edges chewy middled lucky charms cookies made with ground up bits of rice cereal and colorful gooey lucky charms marshmallows.
Prep Time 10 minutes minutes
Cook Time 14 minutes minutes
Chill Time 2 hours hours
Another winner from Vaughn Vreeland and NYTCooking’s Cookie Week. He captures all the flavors of Mexican Hot Chocolate in a fabulous cookie, cinnamon sweetness, cayenne spiciness, and cocoa to bring out the chocolate. To top it off, the marshmallows are melty and gooey, just like on a cup of cocoa. The cookies are rolled in cinnamon sugar just before baking, providing a nice crunch finish.
Do watch his video on NYTCooking channel on Youtube, Cookie Week 2023. It’s instructive and entertaining. I’m still chuckling.
The Cookie
Chocolate- Cocoa, Dutch-processed preferred) . (I use KA’s Triple cocoa which contains both Dutch-processed and natural cocoa. I threw in a couple of mini-chocolate chips with the marshmallows, but I could not detect a difference.
Cayenne- Fair warning, 1/2 teaspoon is pretty darn spicy. I reduced it to 1/4 teaspoon and you could taste the spice. Lots of comments on NYT that the cookies were too spicy.
Marshmallows- Buy mini ones, remove about 100-120 from the bag to freeze. You do not need to freeze the entire bag.
Scoop-de-doop- I used a #40 scoop which is shy of 2 tablespoons and will yield about 24 cookies.
Full Circle—When the cookies come out of the oven, they might look a little wonky shape-wise. Use a glass or cookie cutter to reshape them into pretty little circles.
It is a fairly stiff dough, and here is a marginally acceptable picture of it, lol. It is not very appetizing but informational.
I used a #40 scoop, approximately one and a half tablespoons. Scoop all your dough and chill for a minimum of 2 hours to up to 24 hours.
Take each ball of dough and press it into a circular disc. Place 4-5 frozen marshmallows in the center of dough and gather it around the mallows to form a ball. Pinch the dough together to surround the mallows, it’s ok if a bit of the mallows is exposed. Roll in cinnamon sugar and place on parchment-lined baking sheet.
These are delicious and really, are pretty easy to make, and I think visually a nice looking cookie. Enjoy!
½cupunsalted butter (1 stick)113 grams at room temperature
1½cupslight brown sugar305 grams
1large eggat room temperature
2teaspoonsvanilla extract
Filling
1bagMini marshmallows (will not need entire pkg)frozen solid
Cookie Coating
¼cupgranulated sugar50 grams
1tspground cinnamon
Instructions
In a medium bowl, whisk flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, cayenne and ground cinnamon. Set aside.
Freeze marshmallows, don't freeze the whole bag. You'll need about 100 marshmallows.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, or a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat butter and brown sugar on medium-high until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg and vanilla. Beat until creamy, 2 more minutes. Add flour mixture. Beat on low until no dry spots remain, about 1 minute.
With a 2-tablespoon (1-ounce) cookie scoop or tablespoon measure, scoop dough into mounds on a baking sheet. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to overnight.* (#30 scoop ~ 2.1 T, #40 scoop ~ 1.6 T)
When ready to bake, heat oven to 350 degrees and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Add granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon to a small bowl.
Remove half of the dough from the refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for 5 minutes if the dough is very stiff. Take a mound of dough and flatten slightly in the palm of your hand. Pile 4-5 frozen mini marshmallows on top of the flattened dough, then bring the outer edges over the marshmallows to envelop them. Roll into a ball and then roll in the cinnamon sugar to coat. Place on the baking sheet, 3 inches apart.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, rotating halfway through, until cookies puff slightly and bits of molten marshmallow peek through the surface. Cool on the sheet for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining dough and marshmallows. Cookies will keep for about 3 days in an airtight container at room temperature.
Notes
Balls of dough (not coated in cinnamon sugar) can be frozen for up to 3 months in an airtight container. To bake, thaw for 5 minutes at room temperature, roll in cinnamon sugar and bake for 13 to 15 minutes.
After I recover from the Thanksgiving turkey-stuffing, sweet potato casserole, and pumpkin pie extravaganza, I crank up the Christmas music, which I play until New Year’s Day (yes, I am that obnoxious person who LOVES Christmas music). I watch The Holiday, in place of Santa Clause (the kids are all grown up now), and patiently wait for…
COOKIE WEEK
Yep, a week’s worth of holiday cookies created by NYTcooking culinary stars like Melissa Clark, Sue Li, Yewande Komolafe, Claire Saffitz, Sue Li, Sohla El-Waylly, and my two favorites, Vaughn Vreeland and Eric Kim. I peruse the cookies quickly and note which ones I want to try. Top of the list is usually Eric’s holiday cookie. For a guy who did not start as a baker, he has a knack for creating the perfect holiday cookie every year. My favorites, which I have rave about all the time include:
Eric’s Grocery Store Cookie – The supermarket, sprinkle-laden, tooth-achingly sweet Lofthouse Cookie revamped. Imagine a tender, buttery, not-too-sweet cookie slathered with a buttercream frosting flavored with freeze-dried berries and sprinkles. The LOFTIER version of that supermarket cookie.
See that bad boi with the hot pink frosting? Yep, Eric’s Grocery Store Cookie
Gochujang Caramel Cookies – A crisp-edged, chewy-center sugar cookie swirled with sweet & spicy Gochujang (a Korean staple). So damn good.
Matcha Latte Cookie – Make a matcha latte, snap your fingers like Mary Poppins, and turn it into a cookie, that’s this delightful bite. The milk-based frosting is icing on the proverbial cookie, amazing.
And this year, he does it again with his
Lemon-Tumeric Crinkle Cookies
Are you scratching your head? Thinking what? The combination of lemon and turmeric works so well. Eric describes it as “it tastes kinda like Fruit Loops” and I would agree. The turmeric adds a floral twist to the lemon. It also adds a vibrant rosy orange hue to the cookie which is simply gorgeous. It is such a pretty cookie with the rosy orange cookie peeking out from under the coat of powdered sugar characteristic of crinkle cookies. Makes me happy.
Let’s Get to the Good Part: The Cookie
Ok, this is a cakey cookie. After letting the cookies cool on a rack, I took my first bite…yep, cakey cookie. In full transparency…not my favorite kind of cookie, give me a good shortbread cookie and I am a happy camper. But I brought the cookies to a holiday party and they were GOBBLED up. Folks loved the cookie’s festive color and nuanced flavor.
Meanwhile, a few days later, I grabbed one of the cookies to go with a cuppa tea and immediately remarked to the hubs, “This cookie is better today than the first day”. The cookies were less cakey, moister, and still very flavorful. The texture was much more to my liking. So, note to self. Make these cookies and squirrel away a couple to munch on a few days later. Genius.
Pro Tip for Eric’s Cookies
Optimally, make these cookies by hand. I’ve learned that my Kitchen Aide stand mixer can be a detriment. It’s much too easy to overbeat cookies and cakes when using one. At the same time, hand-whisking for one minute, isn’t all that easy, lol. SOLUTION: If you don’t want to mix by hand, get a hand mixer! I did, it’s a Christmas present from my kids and hubby (although they don’t know yet, shhh). Make sure to bring the cream cheese to room temp, much easier to beat by hand.
Turmeric
If you aren’t familiar with turmeric, it is a spice in the ginger family. It is widely used and can be found at most grocery stores, especially in Indian and Middle Eastern stores. Bonus, we are looking at a win-win, turmeric is an anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory. It may help with arthritis and other joint disorders, colitis, allergies, and infections. So this is guilt-free cookie consumption if you ask me.
Word of warning, the downside of turmeric’s brilliant color is that it stains. Avoid getting it on your clothes or counters!
If you have NYTCooking, a video of Eric making these cookies is on their site on YouTube.
Instead of butter, the cookie is made with cream cheese and olive oil. I love the use of olive oil in baked goods which is saying a lot, I am a BUTTERvangelical, lol. I made the dough and refrigerated it overnight. It was still fairly soft and easy to scoop. Use a #40 or #50 scoop to portion out the dough. Roll dough balls in powdered sugar, you want a generous coat of sugar on each one. During the bake, start checking the cookies at 12 minutes, especially if using a #50 scoop (less dough). Allow cookies to cool on a rack, store in an airtight container, and place wax paper in between each layer of cookies.
If you are looking for something different but delicious, include the Lemon-Turmeric Crinkle Cookies on your holiday cookie list.
Another winner from Eric Kim for this year's Cookie Week from NYTCooking. Lemon-Turmeric Crinkle Cookie. Made with cream cheese abd olive oil, spiced with turmeric and lemon, it's tender, cakey and delicious.
Course cookies, Dessert
Cuisine Asian-American
Keyword cookie week, cookies, ERic KIm, holiday baking, holiday cookies, lemon-turmeric crinkle cookie, NYT Cooking
Prep Time 15 minutesminutes
Cook Time 10 minutesminutes
Ingredients
Creamed Ingredients
3tablespoonsolive oil
½teaspoonground turmeric
¾cupgranulated sugar150 grams
2tablespoonslemon zestfrom about 2 lemons
4ouncescream cheeseat room temperature
1large eggat room temperature
1teaspoonvanilla or almond extract
¾teaspoonbaking soda
½teaspooncoarse kosher salt or fine salt
Dry Ingredient
1½cupsall-purpose flour192 grams
Coating
¾cuppowdered sugar92 grams
Instructions
In a large bowl, whisk together oil and turmeric until combined. Let sit for about 30 seconds to let turmeric dissolve. Add sugar, lemon zest, cream cheese, egg and vanilla. Vigorously whisk to combine and aerate the mixture, about 1 minute.
Whisk in baking soda and salt. Add flour, then switch to a rubber spatula and stir to combine. Cover and refrigerate dough until hard enough to scoop, about 30 minutes and up to 24 hours.
Heat the oven to 350 degrees and line a couple of baking sheets with parchment. Using a 1½-tablespoon cookie scoop (or two spoons) and working one at a time, scoop out 1½-inch/29-gram rounds and coat them in powdered sugar. Place them a couple of inches apart on the baking sheets and bake until crinkled and no longer wet-looking on top, 15 to 17 minutes. Let cool completely on the pan before eating.
Notes
To make ahead, prepare cookies then scoop out 1½-tablespoon rounds and set them in a single layer in a resealable container. Freeze the dough, covered, for up to 1 month. When ready to bake, coat frozen dough balls in powdered sugar and bake, adding 1 to 2 minutes as needed. I prefer weights when baking but without a scale, I would use the scoop and sweep method. Don't pack down your flour.
I know you all know I am a city girl at heart. Give me skyscrapers, bridges, cars, museums, and bright lights any day. Not that I don’t appreciate mountains, forests, and nature, but I prefer the urban jungle. Whenever we get the chance, we head into The City for the day, Chinatown, the Ferry Building, and Hayes Valley are my favorite areas to wander around. There is always something going on. Last weekend we headed to the City for the Hallyu exhibit at the Asian Art Museum. A look at Korean culture & K-Pop that has taken the world by storm. (Check out my video on IG, for a glimpse at the exhibit).
Lucky for us, the Asian Art Museum also hosted its annual Artisan Fair that weekend. They had a variety of vendors including crafters, cosmetics, books, and food. I rarely leave empty-handed. One of my favorites is the Taiwanese soy sauce from Liv Cook Eat. Brewed with black soybeans, these soy sauces are sweeter with a nice rounded flavor. We are hooked on both their Finishing Soy and Delicate Soy. They’re a bit pricy but we are worth the splurge. LOL. Next to the soy sauce sat a row of Soy Sauce Infused Chocolate Chip Cookies by Eating with Edmund. You know I had to try one. The cookies were delightful, crispy-edged, buttery, and chocolatey. The flavor was nuanced and subtle. It leaves you wondering, what is that mellowness in this cookie? I think it’s the soy sauce.
Soy Sauce Me Up
Soy Sauce: This is a classic chocolate chip cookie with a tweak, the soy sauce. Although any soy sauce would work there are distinct differences between soy sauces. Liv Eat Cook is Taiwanese and is made with black soybeans. It has a richer, rounder flavor than soy sauce made in China or Hong Kong. It usually has sugar which makes it a touch sweeter. Chinese Soy Sauces generally have more sodium, so a bit saltier. Use Dark Chinese Soy Sauce (Lao Chou) which is less salty than the light soy sauce and has a touch of molasses as a sub. Japanese soy sauces are generally lighter, and a touch sweeter. I assume that would be fine. Tamari would work also.
Flour: The OG Cookie from Eating with Edmund was soft and delicate. I increased the flour by 10% (330 grams) for a sturdier cookie. If I browned the butter, I would use his original 300gms of flour since moisture is lost when browning butter. Browned butter would give the cookies a nice toasty flavor, worth a try. I used King Arthur flour AP which has a higher protein content than Gold Medal. If using GM flour I would increase the amount of flour by 5-10%.
Sugar: Light or dark brown sugar will work. I used light brown sugar.
Chocolate: Chocolate chips can be used but I prefer chopping up a bar. Mainly for presentation, different-sized & shaped pieces seem to look better. Reserve enough pieces to be pressed into the surface of each dough ball right before baking. Puddles of chocolate on the surface of each cookie, a nice look.
Toffee: Toffee and soy sauce complement each other. I used TJ’s Toffee Bars, chopped into pieces for 1/2 of the chocolate. Delish.
Bang-a-Pan; A couple of minutes before the cookies finish baking, rap the pan to deflate the cookies to create ridges. Optional.
The Swirl: Chocolate pieces, toffee, and marshmallows tend to melt and ooze creating funny-shaped cookies. No worries, invest in a 3-4 inch round cookie cutter (or a glass will work too). As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, place your round cutter over those cookies and swirl, voila’ perfectly round cookies. Of course, if you don’t mind them not being perfectly round…skip this step!
The Finish: I love finishing these cookies with a sprinkle of flaked salt like Maldon.
2tablespoonsLiv Cook Eat Finishing Dark Soy Sauceor your favorite dark soy sauce
2large eggs
1/2tspalmond extractoptional
Dry Ingredients
2 1/2cupsall-purpose flour (I use King Arthur Flour)300 grams
1 1/2teaspoonsbaking soda
Adds
1cupbittersweet dark chocolatechips, chunks, or chopped
1/2 cupChocolate Toffee bar, I use TJ chocolate toffeechopped, sustitute for 1/2 cup of the chocolate chips (optional)
Sea salt flakes like Maldon for sprinkling on cookies
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375F and line baking sheet with parchment paper
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and baking soda and set aside
In a separate bowl cream together the butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla extract, soy sauce, and (optional) almond extract
Add eggs one at a time to the wet mixture and cream together
Add 1/3 of the dry mix into the wet at a time and fold together. With the last third of the dry mix, add in the chocolate & toffee if using. Tip: Careful not to overmix or you’ll end up with tough cookies. You can be a tough cookie, but don't want to eat one.
Use a medium cookie scoop (#40) or ~roll 2 tablespoons of cookie dough into balls with spoons and place on a lined baking sheet, min of 2 inches apart
Bake at 375F for 8-10 minutes
Remove from oven, sprinkle with flaked salt and swirl with cookie cutters to bring them into round.
Notes
Suggestions for best results with more complex flavors and textures:
Chop bars of baking chocolate into chunks
The varying sizes of the chocolate chunks and flakes incorporated into the cookie make every bite unique
Brown the butter ahead of time! Melt the butter in a small pot until it turns a deep amber color. Stir and scrape the bottom/sides constantly to incorporate the milk solids. Let cool and solidify to room temp
The browned butter makes for a nuttier, more complex flavor profile
The weather has taken a definite turn so I am pivoting from stress cooking to cookie baking. It’s windy, cold, and wet, it’s time to crank up the oven and test a few cookie recipes. Which new cookie will reign supreme and star in this year’s holiday cookie box? I usually don’t start this early, generally opting to wait for NYTcooking to publish their holiday cookie spread, but a couple of recipes caught my eye, a Chewy Brownie Cookie and a Soy Sauce Chocolate Chip Cookie. I thought to myself, I might as well start now.
Let the Cookie Games Begin
The first one that caught my eye is from New York Times Cooking, Vaughan Vreeland’s Chewy Brownie Cookies. Before I sing the praises of this cookie, have you all watched any of Vaughan’s videos? They’re not only instructive but entertaining and downright hilarious. Check out his wedding cake video, a classic.
The Cookie Lowdown
The cookie batter comes together quickly and is baked right after it is made to achieve the shiny tops. It’s best to have everything ready before you start combining and mixing the ingredients. Mise en place pays here.
Measure and pour flour into a small bowl. Set aside.
Chocolate: Use your favorite chocolate. I like Guittard’s Semi-sweet chocolate. For serious chocolate folks, bittersweet would give a more intense, less sweet cookie.
Cocoa Powder: I don’t think it matters what cocoa powder dutch-processed or natural will work. King Arthur’s Triple Cocoa Powder combines Dutch-process, natural, and black cocoa and can be used in recipes that call for either. My default.
Espresso Powder:
For the first batch, I used King Arthur’s espresso powder and you could taste the coffee. I used Medaglia d’Oro for a second batch and could not taste any coffee. Although the intent is for the espresso powder to enhance the chocolate flavor, I liked the flavor the King Arthur espresso powder added to the cookie.
Once the butter is melted, remove the pan from the heat and add the chocolate, espresso, and cocoa powder into the saucepan. Let it sit a couple of minutes to melt the chocolate then stir until smooth.
Eggs: Bring the eggs to room temperature to maximize the air bubbles. There aren’t any leavening agents so it’s the eggs that provide lift. Whisk the eggs and sugars together, increase the mixer speed to medium-high, and beat for 3-5 minutes until light and ribbony. Whisk in the vanilla, then reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly add the chocolate mixture. Be sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. Beat until well blended. Add flour and mix until only a few streaks of flour are showing. Finish folding the flour into the batter by hand to avoid over beating.
Working quickly, plop batter onto a parchment-lined baking sheet using a #40 scoop. Leave 2 inches between each cookie. Bake at 350 degrees. At the 8-minute mark take the sheet out and rap on the counter to create the crackle pattern on the cookies. Sprinkle flaky salt, like Maldon, on each cookie and return the sheet to the oven for an additional 2- 3 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
With crisp edges, a gooey center, and chocolate flavor throughout, this Chewy Chocolate Brownie Cookie is a winner and so deserves a spot on the holiday cookie list. 🎄🎄🎄
¾cupfinely chopped semisweet or bittersweet chocolate(113 grams)
½cupunsweetened cocoa powder(42 grams)
1teaspoonespresso powder
½cupunsalted butter(113 grams)
Whisked Mixture
2large eggsat room temperature
¾cupgranulated sugar(150 grams)
½cuppacked dark brown sugar (107 grams)
1teaspoonkosher salt
2teaspoonsvanilla extract
Dry Ingredients:
¾cupall-purpose flour(90 grams)
Flaky sea saltfor finishing
Instructions
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
Melt butter in a skillet or saucepan over medium-low heat until bubbly but not browned, about 3 minutes. Remove saucepan from heat and add chopped chocolate, cocoa powder and espresso over the chocolate mixture. Without stirring, let the mixture sit so the residual heat can melt the chocolate thoroughly while you whip the eggs and sugar. Stir and set aside.
Put the eggs, both sugars and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. (If using a hand mixer, a large bowl will do.) Whisk on medium-high speed until the mixture is pillowy and the sugars have begun to dissolve, 3 to 5 minutes.
Stir the chocolate mixture until glossy and smooth. (If any solid pieces of chocolate remain, you can microwave the mixture in 10-second bursts until everything is melted.)
With the mixer on low speed, add the vanilla extract and then the chocolate mixture. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure the chocolate is evenly distributed, then add the flour and mix on low speed until only a few streaks of flour remain. To avoid overmixing, use a spatula to finish folding in the flour. The dough should be glossy and resemble a very thick brownie batter.
Using a 2-tablespoon/1-ounce scoop, scoop a heaping amount of the dough into mounds directly onto the parchment-lined baking sheets, with each portion at least 2 inches apart, yielding about 18 cookies. Work quickly to ensure the cookies stay shiny once baked.
Bake for 8 minutes until the cookies have started to spread and take on a shiny outer surface, then remove the pans from the oven and whack them on the countertop a couple times to create a cragged top. (This also helps create a fudgier consistency.) Top with flaky sea salt and return to the oven to finish baking, for another 2 minutes until shiny and slightly puffed. Cool for a couple minutes directly on the baking sheets before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
I don’t hide my political views very well…and I don’t try to. You googled a recipe and my blog popped up (probably Mochi Muffins, lol) and here you are. My blog is mostly about food, a little about travel, and the occasional musing on sports, my family, and politics.
Try Not to Skip to the Good Part
Well, you can skip to the recipe with the button above, or take a couple of minutes to read the next paragraph to get to know me and what I believe in. If you supported he who shall not be named, skip to the recipe. America just elected a narcissistic, unqualified, amoral, grifter as president of our country, for the second time. An anti-woke platform that, when you think about it, says, if you don’t look like me, live your life like me, you can’t have a seat at the table because it is only for folks like me. I am incredulous, depressed, and angry. Enabled by a cast of bad players, sycophants, and opportunists who care only about power and money, he rides into office intent on destroying democracy. Once again my hopes of an eminently qualified, lifelong public servant, compassionate WOMAN president were crushed. We had 3 months of joy, sanity, normalcy, million-dollar smiles, and hope with her and Gov Walz’s campaign. Now we can only dream of what might have been.
What’s Your Self-Care?
I confess, I go to Cookbook signings, like Kristina’s in Brooklyn!
So, as I think about my next steps as part of the resistance, I turn to doing things that make me feel better and relieve stress. What do you do? Crafts? Ceramics? Sports? Blog? (lol) I row and play tennis, which helps me keep sane. And of course, I cook and bake. Times like now I turn to childhood favorites and dishes that are warm and homey, comfort food to get me through.
Kristina Cho, author of Mooncakes and Milk Bread, and Chinese Enough (highly recommend both her books), posted a recipe for Cincinnati Chili Udon. I imagine as a native of Cincinnati, Skyline (Cincinnati) Chili is the very definition of comfort food for her. Her’s has the warm, tart -sweet flavors of Cincinnati Chili from cinnamon and vinegar but then she adds Harissa for spiciness and finishes with soy sauce for an Asian twist. She serves the chili over Japanese udon noodles topped with an egg yolk and cheese. It’s delicious.
Prep Time < Cook Time
The chili takes 90 minutes to cook but most of that time is spent simmering on the stove. While it simmers, kick your feet up, eat bonbons, anything that makes you feel better. You deserve it.
Get your seasonings together. I used TJ’s Harissa paste instead of powder. Dice onions and mince garlic and saute until lightly brown. Add ground beef and cook until the meat loses its pink color. Use ground beef that is 15 -20 percent fat, a happy medium for flavor and moisture. Add your seasonings and water and simmer. The sauce is ready when it has reduced by about half. It will look thick and rich and smell incredible.
Top with cheese and the “takes it to another level” egg yolk. Garnish with green onions and serve immediately. Mix the egg yolk into the sauce and noodles to give it a silky creamy finish.
It’s delicious served over udon noodles but I think it would be equally yummy over a bowl of rice or as a topping for roasted sweet potatoes. The chili reminded me of the Afghani dish, Kadoo, cooked pumpkin topped with a meat sauce and yogurt. Kristina’s Cincinnati Chili with its warm Mediterranean spices would be a perfect stand-in for the meat sauce as would sweet potato for pumpkin. I’m currently obsessed with Japanese sweet potatoes-indescribably delicious.
So make this chili, throw it over whatever you like, curl up on your sofa, and watch a classic Rom-Com, or maybe a silly, mushy Hallmark holiday movie. Rest up, the resistance begins tomorrow.
A delicious riff on Cincinatti Chili (Skyline Chili) from Kristina Cho
Course dinner, lunch
Cuisine American, Asian-American
Keyword chili, Cincinnati chili
Prep Time 20 minutesminutes
Cook Time 1 hourhour30 minutesminutes
Servings 4servings
Ingredients
Sauce
2tbspolive oil
1medium yellow onionminced
4clovesgarlicminced
1lbground beef80/20 fat
3tbsptomato paste
6cupswater
2tbspapple cider vinegar
Seasonings
1tbspsoy sauce
2tspcoarse salt
1 1/2tspcinnamon
1tspblack pepper
1tspharissa powdersubstitute harissa paste 1:1
3/4tspground cumin
1/2tspground cloves
1/2tspsugar
2bay leaves
Finished Dish
4bundles of frozen udon
4egg yolks
Cheddar cheeseshredded
Green onionsthinly sliced, for topping
Instructions
In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, cook while stirring occasionally until starting to brown, 4 to 5 minutes.
Add the beef and break up the meat into smaller clumps with the edge of a spatula. Continue to cook until the meat is no longer pink, 4 to 6 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes.
Add the water, apple cider vinegar, and soy sauce and bring to a simmer. Add salt, cinnamon, black pepper, harissa, cumin, cloves, sugar, and bay leaves. Stir to blend.
Reduce the heat to medium low to maintain a gentle simmer. Cover with lid but leave a gap for steam and allow the chili to simmer until thickened and reduced by about half, stirring occasionally, 60 to 90 minutes. Allow the chili to cook for a few minutes before serving.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the udon to warm through (frozen udon is already cooked). Strain the water and divide the noodles between bowls.
Top the noodles with chili and add an egg yolk to the center. Sprinkle on cheese and green onions. Toss the noodles to mix the cheese and egg yolk with the chili.
One of my favorite “cheats” are the Japanese curry blocks found in most Asian markets. These little blocks contain the spices and flavorings plus a thickener to make a Japanese-style curry. It’s an easy weeknight meal that comes together in 20-60 minutes depending on your protein. These curry blocks are so good you’ll find them in cookbook recipes and most Japanese restaurants, yep. They add their little tweaks but really, you don’t have to add anything, just follow the instructions on the box, and boom, with minimal work and time, your family will be sitting down to a warm, comforting bowl of curry and rice.
So, Why a Recipe?
Well, someone’s gotta tell you these curry blocks are out there! There are quite a few brands out there and many come in varying degrees of spiciness, mild, hot… Serious Easts does a deep dive on the different brands, here it is Deep Dive Curry. Experiment and find the one you like best. My kids make curry all the time. That’s how easy it is.
Variations on a Curry
Needless to say, tweak this recipe as you wish. I often make this with pork. Ivan Orkin of Ivan Ramen fame has a recipe for a delicious Pork Curry. Calls for braising chunks of pork in a broth and then adding the curry blocks. He finishes his curry with honey and milk. To cut the cooking time, use an instant pot to cook the pork. Instead of 2 hours on the stove, 30-40 minutes in the instant pot should do it.
Add more veggies! I throw in an additional 2 cups of veggies into my curry. Don’t worry about the curry sauce, there will be plenty. Cauliflower and bell peppers come to mind first, then squash like zucchini or kaboucha would be yummy.
Looking for a Thai Curry? The Thai equivalent to Japanese curry blocks are curry pastes in little tubs. My favorite brand is Mae Ploy, and it comes in an array- red, green, Massaman. A previous post on curry pastesand a recipe for a flavorful Thai curry made in an Instant Pot is one of my favorites.
So, go get yourself some curry blocks or curry pastes, make your curry, cook one big pot rice, and spoon it into your favorite bowl. Eat while curled up on your sofa watching your favorite Hallmark Christmas Movie (yes they are already out), or K-drama (Goblin or My Dearest), or C-drama (Double or Princess Royale). This is part of your self-care, after all, we could all use some comfort right now.
Curry Chicken, a one pot meal, perfect for the cooler weather. Japanese Curry blocks make this a snap to make.
Course dinner
Cuisine Asian
Keyword 3jamigos.com, Chicken, chicken curry, curry, easy recipe, japanese curry, one pot meal
Prep Time 20 minutesminutes
Cook Time 1 hourhour
Servings 4servings
Ingredients
6bone-in skin-on chicken thighs~2 lb or 6-7 pieces
½tspDiamond Crystal kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
2slicesginger
2small yellow onions1 lb, 454 g
1-2Yukon gold potatoes, peeled6.5 oz, 184 g
3carrots, peeled4 oz, 113 g
¼cupgreen peas1.3 oz, 36 g
2Tbspneutral oilfor cooking
Optional but highly recommended
1-2 cupsYour favorite veggies, there will be plenty of sauce to acommodate more veggies. Cut to similar size of other veggiesbell peppers, cauliflower!!, squash, celery
Curry Sauce
¼cupsake
2cupschicken stock/brothor use vegetable stock low salt or 2.5 cups with 2 tsp chicken powder
½cupwateradd more if needed
½package Japanese curry roux3.5–4.2 oz, 100–120 g; I like thwe OG S&B brand
1Tbspmirin
1Tbspsoy sauce
Instructions
Prep Ingredients
Prick skin of 6 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs or 3 whole legs split with the tip of your knife (so the flavors will penetrate the skin). Cut off the excess fat with a pair of scissors (or knife).
Season the chicken with ½ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper on both sides.
Cut onions into wedges. The wedge cut adds more texture; however, you can also thinly slice or dice.
Peel and cut Yukon gold potato into 8 pieces.
Peel and cut carrots into bite-size pieces. Additional veggies can also be cut into bite-sized pieces. Set aside the vegetables on a tray or plate.
Making the Curry
In a large pot (I use a Dutch oven), heat 1 Tbsp neutral oil on medium-high heat. When it’s hot, sear the chicken on the skin side first. Do not crowd the pan to avoid steaming the chicken and cook in batches if necessary.
Flip the chicken and cook the other side for 2 minutes and then transfer to a plate until the rest is done.
Add the onion to the pot and coat with the oil using a wooden spoon/spatula. If there is not enough oil, add ½–1 Tbsp more oil.
Add ginger slices and sauté, stirring occasionally, until the onions are tender. If the burnt spots on the bottom of the pot need some scraping, you can add sake here (instead of the next step) to loosen them up.
Add the chicken back into the pot and add ¼ cup sake.
Add 2 cups chicken stock/broth and ½ cup water, or water plus chicken powder just enough to almost cover the chicken. If you use a larger pot, it may not cover, so please adjust the amount of stock/water. This is not a soupy curry, so we do not need much liquid.
Cover the lid and bring it to a simmer. When simmering, skim the scum and foam with a fine-mesh skimmer.
Cook covered on low heat for 40 minutes.
Add the carrots, potatoes, and any other veggies you like, make sure they are submerged in the cooking liquid. Options include bell peppers and cauliflower or squash
Cook covered until they are tender, about 15 minutes.
Turn off the heat and dissolve ½ package Japanese curry roux, one cube at a time in a ladleful of hot broth. When the first cube is dissolved, release it to the broth and mix gently without breaking the tender vegetables. Repeat the process until you finish dissolving all the roux.
Add 1 Tbsp mirin and 1 Tbsp soy sauce. Mix all together and check the taste. You can add water to loosen the curry if it's too thick. Add 2 Tbsp water. Add more water, if necessary to control the consistency of the curry here. The sauce should be pretty thick though.
Add ¼ cup green peas and cook for another minute. Serve the curry with steamed rice.
Notes
Variations: In place of chicken pork (shoulder or butt cut into bite-sized pieces) that has been simmered until fairly tender before making curry.In place of mirin and soy sauce: 1-2 tablespoons honey and 1/4 cup milk (added at the end so it doesn't curdle)Not Japanese but you could add 1/2 cup of coconut milk
In the Big Apple, Dim Sum & Then Some…Levain Chocolate Chip Cookies
Yay. Back to my second favorite city in the world…New York. In the immoral words of Tony Bennett, I left my heart in San Francisco and it will always be first. But wow, New York, I love you. Every time I return to this amazing city I am in awe of its energy. The number of people that converge to live, work and play in Manhattan, all at the same time, is intimidating but oh so amazing. Blaring horns, wailing sirens, screeching tires, rumbling subways trains, people yelling, music playing, dogs barking, the sounds of vibrant, urban life.
Home Away From Home
We are staying in LES (Lower Eastside) which exemplifies NYC. We are within walking distance of neighborhoods that represent every economic strata. Much like San Francisco, it is not unusual to walk a couple of blocks in any direction and see, homeless folks on the streets, millennials with their backpacks or totes making their way to the FiDi, the down and out struggling with addiction, to folks decked out in designer wear enjoying a latte and 8 dollar croissant.
The Daily Grind
We walk Moose to Chinatown to pick up breakfast, rice roll noodles filled with bbq pork and veggies, slathered with chili oil, peanut sauce, and hoisin. Sitting on a stoop we wash it down with Milk Tea. The next morning a walk down Ludlow finds us at my favorite spot, BBF. I pick up a coffee and an onigiri (a generous, warm ball of rice topped with pork belly or mushrooms). Our daily walks, navigating the streets through the LES, Chinatown, Ukranian Village, and Little Italy, are all reminiscent of growing up in San Francisco.
Left top corner BBQ Pork Pineapple & Siu Mai Bun Mei Lai Wah 🥟🥟 🥟 🥟 Clockwise dim sum assortment from Royal Seafood, Big Chicken Bun Royal again 🥟🥟 🥟
I LOVE it. Faced daily with the spectrum of life, good and bad, keeps me somewhat grounded. I am keenly aware of how lucky I am to enjoy a life built by the hard work and struggles of those who came before me. Dad, a Paper Son, came to this country at 16. Gung Gung left his family in China looking for a way to support them. Mom, the eldest of 6 kids, started her hair salon at 17 but continued to study to become a businesswoman and real estate broker. All their hard work focused on the future and a better life.
In Search Of…
We headed to midtown today, in search of shoes. In particular, Hokas. I have developed plantar fasciitis, so to keep doing what I love best in Manhattan, WALK. I am searching for new shoes. Plus I can hardly shirk my Moose-walking duties since that is my “excuse” for spending time in the Big Apple. Mission accomplished, my foot feels infinitely better in my new shoes. This calls for a celebration…we head to the nearest Levain Bakery for one of their scrumdidilyumptious chocolate chip cookies.
On our last visit we sampled CCC in NYC, so you wouldn’t have to (tough job, somebody’s got to do it). Our winners included Levain’s, best described as a ginormous chocolate-filled, scone-like warm cookie, and Jacques Torres’s, classic CCC and oh-so-delicious. Not surprisingly, the chocolate in his cookies is amazing.
The hubs tried Levain’s popular Blueberry Muffin to compare it to Hummingbird’s version, which we make at home, and honestly, our homemade one is just as good if not better. This got me thinking, is there a recipe out there for Levain’s CCC to try so I could avoid spending 5 dollars for a cookie, lol?
Pancake Princess to the Rescue
I turned to a favorite site, Princess Princess to search for a Levain knock-off. Not familiar with Pancake Princess? Best described as a one-woman version of America’s Test Kitchen. She will test a slew of different recipes, in this case, Levain CCC knock-offs, and invite tasters to help her select the best of the bunch. Her top two included Stella Parks’s from Serious Eats, and one from Hijabs and Aprons. I perused both and decided to try Hijabs and Aprons as they looked easier and did not require resting the dough for 12 hours before baking (total dealbreaker).
It’s a good thing I picked the simpler recipe…rummaging through our home away from home kitchen, I found a gorgeous red ceramic bowl, one big spoon and a rubber spatula, a small cookie sheet, and a tiny (almost worthless) whisk. I get the feeling very little baking goes on here.
Tips for Baking in a Tiny, No Baking Tools Kitchen
Here we go, I made sure my butter was room temp soft but not melty since I only had a spoon. Then, ran downstairs for Guittard chocolate chips (ya gotta have decent chips), a tiny bag of Gold Medal AP Flour (4 dollars!), vanilla extract, and dove in.
Muscle through beating the butter and sugars (unless you are lucky enough to have a mixer handy in which case, don’t overbeat), Add eggs and vanilla, then sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt over the creamed mixture. Fold the dry ingredients in and add chocolate chips and nuts last. Voila’ that’s it. It took significantly longer than if I had a mixer but I got an arm workout, yay. Use classic chocolate chips, not chunks, and don’t bother cutting up a chocolate bar. These cookies depend on a nice, even distribution of chips throughout the cookie.
The OG cookies call for walnuts but feel free to use pecans or another nut. If you like that tannic bite from walnuts, don’t substitute. Best to make these cookies as directed, BIG, 5-6 ounces of dough. The cookies will be crisp with browned edges on the outside but moist and buttery on the inside. You can make them smaller but the difference between the exterior and interior won’t be as pronounced.
When scooping out dough, don’t smooth the dough into a ball. The craggy edges give the cookie character so plop the dough on the sheet, and keep the overall shape round.
Bake until the edges are a nice deep golden brown. Serve WARM, really, so much better warm and gooey. I zap next-day cookies in the microwave for a few seconds to warm them up before eating.
These easy-to-make cookies will satisfy your Levain CCC craving anytime!
2½ cups all-purpose flour, sifted300g. (Gold Medal works)
1½tspbaking powder
1tspbaking soda
1/2tspfine sea saltor 1 tsp kosher salt
2cupswalnuts, roughly chopped250g , if omitting walnuts, you can add roughly 50g extra AP flour
2cupsdark chocolate chips 325g Use a dark or semi-sweet that you like, I like Guittard’s chips
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 375ºF. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a medium sized bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
Beat the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl until creamy smooth (about 3 minutes).
Add the first egg and beat on low-medium speed until fully incorporated. Repeat with the second egg. Add vanilla. MIxture will be soft and creamy
Add flour mixture to the mixing bowl. On low speed, pulse a few times to blend flour into creamed mixture. Low speed to prevent flour from exploding in your face.
Stir in the walnuts and chocolate chips.
Form and place eight 6-ounce rough/messy balls of cookie dough into your lined baking sheet. If you have a scale, weigh the dough then divide into 8-12 cookies. Each one will be approximately 4-6 ounces, as a general goal/guideline. Also, if the edges of the cookie dough ball are rough/not smooth, that’s better. I use 2 tablespoons In my experience, if you like craggly crispy tops, it’s best if you barely mush it together and smack it onto the pan.
At this point, if your dough seems like it has softened due to your kitchen's temperature or too much handling with hands, refrigerate the dough-balls for about half an hour before baking. Because of the relatively high flour content in this recipe, the dough tends to be pretty stiff and doesn’t require chilling.
Pop the pan(s) into the oven for 12-16 minutes. This time variation depends on your oven (I’m using conventional top and bottom heat, not convection) as well as whether or not you chilled your dough (and for how long). I recommend checking (look, don’t touch) the cookies every minute after hitting the 11 minute mark. Ideally, you want patches of deep golden brown and lighter golden brown.
No matter what, you need to let these cookies set! Similar to steak, you’ve gotta take the cookies out while they’re technically a bit undercooked, and let them finish cooking in the still-hot pan in order to achieve the cooked-but-gooey center. The amount of walnuts/chocolate chips will make it hard to really check the inside without just breaking a cookie in half.
If you need to reuse your baking sheet for the second batch of 4-cookies, you can do so. Just make sure the pan is clean of grease and has cooled down before you place the dough-balls on it.
Notes
FREEZING DOUGH: If you’d like to freeze the dough for later use, go right ahead! To be completely honest, I don’t know how long the dough stays good in the freezer (at least a month for sure from my own experience). Wrap the dough balls individually in plastic wrap and freeze them. You can thaw them for about 20-30 minutes prior to placing on a parchment lined sheet and baking them.SMALLER COOKIES: The only alternative size I’ve tried for these cookies is 3oz (half of my original). I would bake them at 375ºF for 10-12 minutes. Again, the time will depend on the oven. When baking a single chilled dough ball in my toaster oven, 375ºF for 11 minutes is perfect. Any more time and the center is overbaked.
It is a fairly stiff dough, and here is a marginally acceptable picture of it, lol. It is not very appetizing but informational.
