Category: Drop Cookies
Finding Ranger Cookies

Finding Ranger Cookies

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We are a divided family. Hubby likes chewy oatmeal cookies and ooey-gooey chocolate chip cookies.  Me? I love shortbread, crumbly, buttery, melt-in-your-mouth cookies with a hint of sweetness, and decidedly not chewy. Perhaps, cookie preference is a dominant gene trait?  ALL my kids love chewy cookies just like Wes.  I thought it was a kid thing (I consider the hubs a kid).  I assumed when they got older their palates would become more refined, sophisticated m.  Surely, they would come around.

Nope

Even now, when I make cookies that aren’t chewy the response is “They’re ok” or “I like chewy cookies better” or “Wonder if Dad can make some Good Cookies.” The only rational explanation?  Mendelian Genetics. Yep, a predisposition to chewy cookies. Ooh, did you just have an involuntary flashback to high school biology? I concede, in our house, chewy cookies reign supreme.

I Went to a Garden Party

For a summer fundraiser, I volunteered to make Mexican Wedding Cookies. My partner at the dessert table, Emily, brought an unassuming looking oatmeal cookie,   They disappeared in a flash which caught my attention.  I grabbed one and took a bite.  Yum!  This cookie was CHEWY, sweet, buttery, with a bit of crunch.  It definitely fell into the Wes and kids’ cookie camp.  I snuck a couple (ok, more than a couple) onto my cookie plate to take home.

As soon as I got home, Jordan grabbed one of the cookies and gobbled it down, then he grabbed another and exclaimed: “This might be the best cookie yet!”

Determined to make them asap, I Googled cookies, coconut, Rice Krispies, and oatmeal, the ingredients Emily had rattled off to me.  Instantly, a bunch of recipes popped up for Ranger Cookies.  Some had chocolate or butterscotch chips, and some had different cereals.  The blog, Let’s Dish, contained all the ingredients Emily mentioned so this became my starting point.  I hit the jackpot, these were just like hers.

Ranger Cookie Tips

Start by creaming butter and sugar until light and fluffy should take about 2-3 minutes tops. Then add eggs and vanilla, mix until well combined.  The recipe calls for gradually adding dry ingredients.  My detour, add it all at once and combine at low speed just until dry ingredients are fully incorporated.  Finally, stir cereal, coconut, and oatmeal in by hand.

Chilling the dough before baking prevents spreading.  Use an ice cream scoop to portion out the dough. Bake cookies on parchment paper.  With 3-4 minutes left to bake, rap the pan on the wire rack to get the cookies to fall, this helps create those cool crevices.

If your cookies aren’t perfectly round, after taking the cookies out of the oven, quickly invert a glass over each cookie and swirl it around.  This will shape cookies into perfect little circles.  Or skip it, they’ll be gone before anyone besides you notices.

Feel free to add chocolate chips or butterscotch chips for a twist. You can replace the Rice Krispies with partially crushed Corn Flakes, they’rrrrre great!  All you Tony the Tiger fans.

Ok, maybe chewy is not a genetic thing…maybe chewy cookies are just really, really delicious (don’t tell my kids I said that).  Either way, they belong on your gotta bake cookie list.

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RANGER COOKIES

Chewy oatmeal cookies loaded with coconut and crisp rice cereal. Simple and delicious, these cookies are a favorite with kids and grown-up kids as well!
Course cookies, Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword coconut, cookies, oatmeal, ranger cookies, rice krispies
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes

Ingredients

Creaming Mixture

  • 1 cup butter softened, this is an old recipe, before unsalted butter was so widely available. I would guess folks normally used salted butter. If using unsalted butter, increase salt in recipe to 1 teaspoon.
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar light or dark

The Wet Ingredients

  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

The Dry Ingredients-Combine and set aside

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour I use King Arthur Flour and it worked fine. Once again an old recipe, Gold Medal was probably the standard, which has slightly less protein than KA.
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

The Adds

  • 2 cups quick cooking oats NO instant oatmeal please
  • 2 cups Rice Krispies cereal
  • 1 cup flaked sweetened coconut you could probably use unsweetened coconut too.

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
  • In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. (2-3 min) Beat in eggs and vanilla.
  • Gradually add flour mixture to creamed mixture and mix well (do not overmix though). Stir in oats, cereal, and coconut.
  • Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets. If you have a #40 ice cream scoop (1.75 Tablespoons) use that to create uniform dough balls.
  • Bake 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool on pan for 3-5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes

I use parchment paper to line my baking sheets.  These cookies can be baked directly on an ungreased cookie sheet.
Another Day, Another Chocolate Chip Cookie (Brown Butter Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookie)

Another Day, Another Chocolate Chip Cookie (Brown Butter Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookie)

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What is your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe?  The one on the back of the Nestle’s Chocolate Chips bag? A treasured family recipe handed down? Mine was given to me by a friend who swore it was the original Mrs. Field’s recipe.  I can’t vouch for that claim, but it is pretty darn good. Over the years I have tweaked the recipe by adding oatmeal, reducing the amount of chocolate (don’t hate me), and adding nuts.  Yep, the perfect cookie.  It is my go-to chocolate chip cookie…until now.  A serious challenger, Brown Butter Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies, has entered the best CCC sweepstakes.

You can have more than one go-to chocolate chip cookie, right?  There might be a new player in town.

Brown butter chocolate chip toffee cookie ingredients

What makes these cookies so delicious?  BROWN BUTTER for a toasty rich, caramel flavor-yum.  Chunks of toffee bars for crunch and another layer of caramel flavor-double yum.  Finally, Chocolate wafers instead of chips, stay gooey and soft longer creating a luscious texture-triple yum.  Upon finding this recipe I immediately headed to the store to look for those chocolate wafers. I found Guittard’s 67% semi-sweet wafers-YAY.  A bag costs about eight dollars-BOO.  It’s a splurge that’s for sure…but so worth it.

 

Chocolate wafers and toffee pieces

Fold in chocolate and toffee pieces and chill dough for at least 30 minutes in the fridge before baking.  Scoop dough balls with a #24 scoop (1.5 ounces) or #30 (1.125 ounces) for a touch smaller cookie.  They spread so place cookie dough 3″ apart, especially if you don’t chill the dough.

These cookies will brown quickly so watch them like a HAWK. Start checking them at the 8-minute mark.  To create the crevices in the cookies, rap the baking sheet on the oven rack (at the 6-7 minute mark), and repeat 1-2 minutes later.  This will cause the cookie to deflate creating those lovely nooks and crannies.

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Brown Butter Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies

Another chocolate chip cookie? You bet!
Course cookies, Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword brown butter, chocolate chip cookie, toffee
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings 20

Ingredients

Dry Stuff

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour preferably KIng Arthur
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ¾ teaspoon kosher salt

Wet Stuff

  • 1 cup unsalted butter 2 sticks
  • 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
  • ⅓ cup granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

The Add-Ins

  • 2 chocolate toffee bars (1.4 oz bars) Skor, Heath or Trader Joe Toffee Bars, chopped into ¼-inch pieces
  • 1½ cups chocolate wafers disks, pistoles, fèves; preferably 72% cacao, although I used 67% Guittard -yum
  • Flaky sea salt

Instructions

  • Whisk flour, baking soda, and kosher salt in a medium bowl. Set aside
  • Cook butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring often, until it foams, then browns, 5–8 minutes. Scrape into a large bowl and let cool slightly.
  • Add brown sugar and granulated sugar to browned butter. Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat until incorporated, about 1 minute. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until mixture lightens and begins to thicken, about 30 seconds. Reduce mixer speed to low; add dry ingredients and beat just to combine. Mix in toffee pieces and chocolate wafers with a wooden spoon or a rubber spatula.
  • Let dough sit at room temperature at least 30 minutes to allow the flour to hydrate. Dough will look very loose at first, but will thicken as it sits. For less spread, chill dough in fridge.
  • Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 375°. Using a 1½-oz. ice cream scoop, portion out 10 balls of dough and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing about 3" apart (you can also form dough into ping pong–sized balls with your hands). Do not flatten; cookies will spread as they bake. Sprinkle with sea salt.
  • Bake cookies until edges are golden brown and firm but centers are still soft, 9–11 minutes. Let cool on baking sheets 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough and a fresh parchment-lined baking sheet to make 10 more cookies.
  • Do Ahead: Cookie dough can be made 3 days ahead; cover and chill. Let dough come to room temperature before baking.

Notes

To create ridges in cookies, at 7 minutes open oven and rap pan on oven rack which will cause cookie to deflate and create ridges.
Strawberry & Cream Cookies Forever

Strawberry & Cream Cookies Forever

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I ventured to Omnivore Cookbooks in San Francisco a while ago to see Stella Parks, author of the fabulous Bravetart, (a fabulous baking book) that remakes iconic American treats like Oreos and Mother’s Oatmeal Cookies.  Moderating her talk was local cookbook author and blogger Irvin Lin, who coincidentally, also has a book out, Marbled, Swirled and Layered. I couldn’t resist so I picked up an autographed copy of his book also.  I am such a cookbook groupie.

The Yin and Yang of Desserts

Think of Irvin Lin as a food artist.  He layers flavors, colors, and textures in his desserts.  Gorgeous cakes, cookies, and flavors I would never think of putting together.  We are talking big WOW factor. But the flip side is this also makes his recipes a little daunting. Every recipe calls for 2 different doughs or batters and multiple steps in the process.  Luckily, if these cookies are any indication, it is well worth the trouble.  The book languished on my shelf until Jamie came home, got in one of her baking moods, cracked open the book, and found this recipe for Strawberries and Cream cookies. They are DELICIOUS.

Strawberry and Cream Cookies

Chewy with a crispy edge and great fruit flavor, the fam gave them the BIG thumbs up.

Use good quality white chocolate.  Jamie used white chocolate chips that in hindsight may have caused the dough to be a bit dry and a little difficult to work with.  I had inadvertently picked up dried raspberries instead of strawberries which worked out great. The raspberry’s purple tinge and tartness worked well in the cookie’s taste and color.  Both freeze-dried berries are available at Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s.

The doughs are made separately and then squished together to create the yin and yang effect.  Pretty nifty eh?  The dough for the cream cookie was a bit dry so we added a tablespoon of water which I don’t think will be necessary if you use white chocolate.  (I love El Rey white chocolate, use your favorite).

When baking WATCH the cookies like a hawk.  They turn brown very quickly.  Jamie’s cookies were slightly smaller so her baking time was closer to 12-15 minutes. Check the cookies early to determine how long they need to bake.

For the strawberry version, Irvin adds 1 teaspoon of balsamic vinegar and a couple of drops of red food coloring.  Since we used raspberries we decided to forego the vinegar since raspberries have a bit of natural tartness.

This is a showstopper, so pull it out when you want to impress or score big cookie points.  Irvin also includes a Corn and Lime version of this cookie that I can’t wait to try.

And now…Here’s Jamie!

Hey guys, it’s Jamie!  My mom wrote this blog post for me because I took too long to write my post.  I was busy being a couch potato watching TV (shoutout to The Americans) and playing with Sammy all day.  Whenever I come home from school, I always get the baking bug. Who wouldn’t, though? My mom has 2 of every kitchen gadget you could ever possibly want, AND she has all the ingredients (major game-changer right there ppl).  Seriously, she has 2 ice cream makers and is currently shopping for a third she just has to have.

I will say that these cookies cured the baking bug. THEY ARE SO MUCH WORK.  You have to make two different cookie doughs, roll them into balls (a lot harder than it looks because the dough kept crumbling), mush them together, and roll them in sugar.  Finally, flatten them out onto 4 cookie sheets. LABOR INTENSIVE. I worked harder making these cookies than I did all of last semester (shout out to being a part-time student due to AP credits, lol).

They’re pretty worth it, though. Everyone loved them!  WATCH them while they’re baking because you REALLY don’t want to overbake these bad boys. The recipe also made like 100 dozen cookies, so I would half it or freeze some of the dough before baking off so they don’t get stale.

This concludes the blog post. Next time y’all hear from me, I’ll be blogging about how cold it is in Minneapolis!!!!

Strawberry and Cream Cookies

Enjoy!

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Strawberry Cookies Forever

Ingredients

Cream Cookie Dough

  • 1-1/4 cups of butter unsalted
  • 1-1/4 cup 250gm granulated sugar
  • 2 t vanilla extract
  • 3/4 t baking powder
  • 1/2 t baking soda
  • 1/2 t kosher salt
  • 1 large egg
  • 1-3/4 cup 245gm all purpose flour
  • 2/3 cup 4 ounces or 115gm white chocolate, melted
  • 3/4 cup 90gm powdered milk

Strawberry Cookie Dough

  • 1 cup 34 gm freeze-dried strawberries or raspberries crushed into a powder (food processor or rolling pin-the old fashioned way
  • 10 T unsalted butter at room temp
  • 1-1/4 cup 250gm granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 3/4 t baking powder
  • 1/2 t baking soda
  • 1/2 t kosher salt
  • 1-3/4 cup 245gm all purpose flour
  • Additional granulated sugar for rolling

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. LIne baking sheets with parchment or Silpats
  • Melt white chocolate in double boiler or carefully in microwave and set aside to cool.

Cream Dough

  • Cut butter into 1/2 inch pieces and place in bowl of mixer with paddle attachment.
  • Add sugar and vanilla extract and beat at medium speed until mixture is lighter in color approximately 1 minute.
  • Add baking powder, baking soda, and salt and beat for another 30 seconds.
  • Add the egg, beat until incorporated and then add white chocolate. Beat until incorporated.
  • Add flour and milk powder and mix on low until dough forms. Do not overbeat.
  • Transfer to a clean bowl.

Strawberry Dough

  • Break egg into a small bowl and add crushed strawberry powder to bowl. Blend mixture, set aside.
  • Cut butter into 1/2 inch pieces and place in bowl of mixer with paddle attachment.
  • Add sugar and beat at medium speed until mixture is lighter in color approximately 1 minute.
  • Add baking powder, baking soda, and salt and beat for another 30 seconds.
  • Add the egg and strawberry mixture and beat until incorporated about 30 seconds.
  • Add flour and mix on low until dough forms. Do not overbeat.

To form cookies:

  • Pinch off a chunk of each dough roughly the size of a walnut of each (35gm) and roll each into a ball. Press the two doughs together and roll into a single ball
  • Roll each ball in granulated sugar and place on prepared baking sheet 2 inches apart and flatten each ball, with the palm of your hand, into a disk approximately 2 inches in diameter. Leave room a they will spread when baked.
  • Bake until the edges are golden brown, about 15-18 minutes.
  • Cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before moving to a wire rack to cool completely.

HeY cLaIrE aNd MrS. wEdDlE!!!!
“Open Sesame” Salted Chocolate Chip Tahini Cookie Revealed

“Open Sesame” Salted Chocolate Chip Tahini Cookie Revealed

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Holiday Cookie List: Number EIGHT. Very LATE. But worth the WAIT!

My friend Mel mentioned a recipe she had tried recently from the NYTimes for Salted Chocolate Chip Tahini Cookies.  She could not stop raving about them, light, crispy, buttery, hint of sesame, they sounded scrumptious. Always on the lookout for riffs on classic cookies, I immediately made a mental note to put the recipe on my Cookie Bucket List.

I checked out NYTcooking and noticed the recipe contained only granulated sugar which may account for its crisp texture.  I like a crispy and chewy chocolate chip cookie so I googled chocolate chip tahini cookies.  Judging by the number of recipes that popped up in my search, this cookie is a winner. The grand dame for this cookie recipe appears to be from Danielle Oron’s Modern Israeli Cooking: 100 New Recipes for Traditional Classics.  I settled on Davie Lebovitz’s version which calls for both granulated and brown sugars.  Perhaps the moisture in the brown sugar would add a bit of chewiness to the cookie.

Sherlock Wanna Be

My aspiration to be an ATK food investigator.  I baked the first sheet of cookies on parchment paper and the second on Silpat.

The difference was small but noticeable.  The cookies baked on parchment were just a bit thinner and had a crackly top.  The Silpat cookies did not spread as much and the top did not have the crackly appearance.  Both were delicious and texturally quite similar.  Of note about a minute before the cookies were done I rapped the pan on the rack which causes the cookies to deflate giving them the signature crackly top. The parchment-baked ones appeared to have more cracks.  A trick I learned from SaraBeth’s Kitchen baking book.

Cookies on the left were baked on parchment, the cookies on the right on Silpat

It is super important to chill the dough.  The dough is very soft and light and benefits from the time in the fridge.  I used a 2 tablespoon scoop for a bit smaller cookie and baked the cookies for approximately 12 minutes.  As soon as the cookies are removed from the oven, sprinkle them with a mix of fleur de sel or flaky salt and black and white sesame seeds.  Cool on a rack.

BAKE THESE COOKIES NOW

They are delicious. Crispy edges, a little bit of chewiness in the center, buttery, chocolatey (there’s my fake word again) with a subtle hint of sesame. So, so, good.  The Tahini seems to lighten the cookie.  If you want a crisper cookie I would use granulated sugar only.  A definite keeper.

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“Open Sesame” Salted Chocolate Chip Tahini Cookie Treasure Revealed

A delicious twist to chocolate chip cookies by adding tahini
Course cookies
Cuisine American
Keyword Chocolate Chip Tahini Cookie, cookies
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes

Ingredients

The Stuff to be Creamed First

  • 8 tablespoons 115g, 4 ounces unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup 120ml tahini, well stirred
  • 1/2 cup 100g granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup 90g packed light brown sugar (For a crisper cookie omit brown sugar and use 200gm granulated sugar or 1 cup)

The Wet Stuff

  • 1 large egg at room temperature
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

The Dry Stuff

  • 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons AP FlourThe 150g
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon kosher Diamond Crystal or sea salt (DL uses a french sea salt which is similar to a kosher salt, it is not like our sea salt, if using table salt use 1/2 teaspoon, if using Morton's kosher salt use 3/4 teaspoon)

The Bling

  • 2 cups 280g bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chunks (I used TJ's chocolate chunks)
  • flaky sea salt such as Maldon or fleur de sel
  • black and white sesame seeds

Instructions

  • 1. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and kosher or sea salt, set aside.
  • 2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter, tahini, granulated sugar and brown sugar on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes, until fluffy.
  • 3. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides. Add the egg, the yolk, and vanilla, and continue to mix for another minute, stopping the mixer to scrape down the sides of the bowl during mixing
  • 4. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients until just combined, then add the chocolate chips. Do not overmix.
  • 5. Cover the dough and refrigerate overnight.
  • 6. Preheat the oven to 325ºF (160ºC). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
  • 7. Form the cookies into rounds using an ice cream scoop. For small cookies make each 1 1/2-inch (3.5cm), for larger cookies, 2-inches (5cm) diameter. Place them evenly spaced on the baking sheets, 3-inches (8cm) apart.
  • 8. Bake one sheet at a time, so you can keep an eye on them, use themiddle rack of the oven.
  • 9. Bake the cookies, turning the baking sheet midway during baking, until the cookies are golden brown around the edges but still pale in the center. For small cookies, about 12 minutes, for larger cookies, about 14 to 15 minutes.
  • 10. Remove from the oven, sprinkle cookies with a bit of flaky sea salt and sesame seeds.
  • 11. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet.
  • Storage: These cookies will keep for two or three days at room temperature, but are definitely better the same day they're baked. The unbaked dough can be refrigerated for up to one week, and frozen for up to two months.
Attention Java Junkies! Coffee Malteds: Day 5 of 12 Days of Cookies

Attention Java Junkies! Coffee Malteds: Day 5 of 12 Days of Cookies

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Coffee Malteds from Dorie’s Cookies a great cookie for all Java Junkies and even those that aren’t coffee lovers.  The addition of malted milk powder adds a nutty, vanilla, earthy flavor-a touch of Ovaltine in your cookie. To take them over the top, Jamie dipped them in chocolate, genius!

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Coffee Malteds from Dorie's Cookies

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups 204gms all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup 40gms unflavored malted milk powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 8 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into chunks, at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup 100gms sugar
  • 1/4 cup 50gms packed light brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon ground coffee preferably from espresso beans (or use instant or powdered coffee or espresso)
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1 large egg at room temperature
  • 1 large egg yolk at room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions

  • Preheat it to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
  • Whisk the flour, malt powder, and baking powder together.
  • In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a bowl with a hand mixer, beat the butter, both sugars, espresso, and salt together on medium speed until well blended, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the bowl, return to medium speed and, one by one, beat in the egg, yolk, and vanilla, beating for 1 minute after each goes in.
  • Turn off the mixer, add the dry ingredients all at once and pulse, just to begin incorporating the flour and malt powder. When the risk of flying flour is passed, mix on low speed only until the dry ingredients disappear into the dough. You'll have a rather crumbly dough, but that's fine. Give the dough a few last turns with a sturdy flexible spatula and then reach in, knead if necessary and gather the dough into a ball.
  • Using a small cookie scoop, scoop out level portions of dough, or use a teaspoon to get rounded spoonfuls. Roll the dough into balls and place them an inch apart on the lined baking sheets.
  • Bake the cookies for 14 minutes, rotating the baking sheets top to bottom and front to back after 8 minutes. The cookies will be soft and golden only around the edges; they won't look done, and they're not—they'll firm as they cool. Transfer the sheets to racks and then, after about 10 minutes, carefully lift the cookies onto the racks to cool completely.
  • Do Ahead
  • Packed in a tightly covered container, the cookies will keep for up to 3 days (after that, they get firmer and are perfect for dunking...in coffee, of course). Wrapped airtight, they can be frozen for up to 2 months.
Cookiefinity-Triple Play (Triple Oatmeal Cookies from BraveTart)

Cookiefinity-Triple Play (Triple Oatmeal Cookies from BraveTart)

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This month’s Food52 Baking Book Club features Stella Park’s BraveTart.  You may remember I previously blogged about her delicious Honey Roasted Peanut Butter Cookies and the debacle of using the printed version in People magazine.  BIG MISTAKE. About a month ago, Omnivore Books hosted Ms.Parks, being a cookbook junkie, I jumped in my car and headed to the City to attend. Got my very own SIGNED copy, uh-huh, uh-huh..doing the happy dance.

Talented dessert chef, blogger, and author of Marbled, Swirled and Layered, Irvin Lin was on hand to moderate the conversation.  Which just proves there is a conspiracy going on as I was FORCED to buy not just one new cookbook but two. Now I have to find shelf-room for his book too. Aiyah!

After her talk, I waited patiently while one woman monopolized the Q&A session (sheesh-some people), they finally picked me and I blurted out “I’m the one who tweeted about processing the honey roasted nuts” and recounted the horrible editing job of her recipe in People magazine. I think of it as a cautionary public service tale for everyone.

And with her great southern drawl (she is from Kentucky) she said: “Oh I know, I hate when they edit recipes and get it wrong!”

I was vindicated.

The book is a reflection of her, warm, friendly and gracious.  BraveTart is a love tome to iconic American treats. The book works due to her attention to detail and thoroughness.  She has reworked recipes such as Oreos and Nutter Butters and transformed them into delicious homey treats while retaining the essence of the original dessert that you remember so well from childhood. With the first bite of her Triple Oatmeal Cookie, I was immediately transported back to my 12-year-old self, reaching into the familiar pink-purple bag of Mother’s Oatmeal Cookies.

Her Triple Oatmeal Cookies are delicious, chewy, toothy cookies. The cookies contain old-fashioned oatmeal, steel cut oats and oat flour, the triple whammy of Oatsville.  Cranberries and pecans are added and provide sweetness and crunch, a scrumptious cookie. Feel free to substitute different dried fruit. Interestingly enough Stella posted that raisins will cause or allow the cookies to spread more than cranberries so keep that in mind.  Dried cherries or diced apricots would be amazing also.  Chocolate chips would, of course, work well also.

I made the dough and followed the instructions to bake the cookies on a foil-lined sheet.  To my surprise, the cookie spread was more than expected.  The first batch was thin, almost like lace cookies. Channeling America’s Test Kitchen I baked subsequent batches on parchment and then on a Silpat.  Here are the results, everyone knows a picture is worth a thousand words.

So, the cookies on the left were baked on Silpat, center- parchment, right-foil. An Ah-ha moment.  Like the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, “This cookie (right) is too thin, this one (left) is too thick, the center cookie is JUST RIGHT!” Note to self, bake these cookies on parchment.

In the end, they were all good, chewy, buttery, crispy edges and full of oat goodness. They were gobbled up.

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Cookiefinity-Triple Play (Triple Oatmeal Cookies from BraveTart)

Ingredients

  • 1 cup 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature (not too soft)
  • ⅔ cup 5 ounces packed light brown sugar
  • ½ cup 3 ½ ounces granulated sugar
  • 1 ½ teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt a bit less if you use Morton’s kosher salt, half the amount if it’s regular table salt plus additional salt (if you wish) for sprinkling
  • 1 ¼ teaspoons baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 large egg
  • ⅔ cup 3 ounces all-purpose flour
  • ¾ cup 2 ½ ounces oat flour (alternatively, grind old-fashioned rolled oats in a blender)
  • 1 ⅔ cups 6 ounces old-fashioned rolled oats (not quick-cooking)
  • ¼ cup 1 ½ ounces steel-cut oats
  • 1 ¼ cups 5 ounces toasted pecan pieces
  • 1 cup 6 ounces dried cranberries or cherries, if you use raisins the cookies will spread a bit more

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • In bowl of a stand mixer, combine butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and vanilla. Beat until combined. Add egg and continue beating until light and creamy.
  • Whisk together flour, oat flour and both oatmeal types. Stir in pecans and cranberries. Add dry ingredients to wet and mix until just combined. Batter will be stiff.
  • Arrange portions of dough (about 1 ounce or 2 tablespoons each) onto lined baking sheets. Flatten into disks and optionally sprinkle each with a bit of kosher salt.
  • Bake in preheated oven 10 to 12 minutes, until golden brown on edges but still pale in the middle.
  • Let cool on baking sheet a few minutes and then move to a cooling rack.

Pictures from a cookbook groupie! When will I learn to hold my phone higher?
A Cautionary Tale with a Sweet Ending (Honey Roasted Peanut Butter Cookies)

A Cautionary Tale with a Sweet Ending (Honey Roasted Peanut Butter Cookies)

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I can’t resist perusing the racks at airport bookstores.  Even though I always carry an Ipad, book, or magazine, I still stop and browse. While waiting for my flight to Nashville I flipped through a copy of People Magazine that had an article with Stella Parks of Serious Eats.  Her recently published book BraveTart, an homage to iconic American desserts, was already on my radar of course. The article included a recipe for Honey Roasted Peanut Butter Cookies.  They looked and sounded delicious. Trying to be as stealthy as possible I took out my phone and quickly snapped a shot of the recipe, mission accomplished I tucked my phone back in my pocket and left to catch my flight.

Bake sale goodies, Honey Roasted Peanut Butter Cookies, Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies and as Jason calls them Double Butter Raace Krispy Treats (aka Brown Butter Salted Rice Krispy Treats)

Nuts and Butterflies

A bake sale to benefit a bird and butterfly sanctuary directly in the path of that ridiculous wall Trump wants to build was the perfect opportunity to make Park’s Honey Roasted PB Cookies.  The recipe called for processing honey roasted peanuts for a minute until finely chopped.  Uh-oh, I don’t think so, a minute in a food processor does not result in finely chopped nuts more like pulverized nuts.  Quick, to my laptop to fire off a tweet to Stella Parks..please clarify.  A couple of minutes later..yay, a response- “should be like flour, length of time variable depending on your processor”. First hurdle cleared. Surveying the recipe I noticed some of the ingredients had weights, some didn’t.  Auugh!  This started my rant to the hubster on the inconsistencies in the recipe.

Me yelling: Why would you put the weight for butter but not the flour? WTH! This is silly! And the finely chopped nuts, that wasn’t right!  Wow, and she writes for Serious Eats?!  Boy, this book has been getting a lot of press!

Hubster hears: blah, blah, blah, BLAH and nods sympathetically (I’m sure)

I continued to grumble. After making the dough I decided to look for the recipe online, lucky for me the page for her Honey Roasted Peanut Butter Cookies is available on Google.

I ATE HUMBLE PIE

My rant was misplaced.  The recipe in the book contained weights for every ingredient and the description for the peanuts was to grind them until they were fine, like flour.

So naturally, I did what anyone would do in this situation..I started to complain about People Magazine and how they messed up the recipe. The moral of the story, do not depend on a celebrity gossip magazine for a recipe.  It also gave me an excuse to add BraveTart to my cookbook collection.

I still didn’t grind the peanuts enough which I believe changed the texture of the cookie…I was fixated on the finely chopped verbiage. The cookies did not spread like traditional cookies and ended up looking like little cracked hockey pucks. I’m guessing too much flour (no weights-grrrr) I was looking for a flat, classic-looking cookie, ironically, like the picture in People magazine.

I ended up smushing each cookie like old-fashioned PB cookies.  I will definitely try these again but next time I will grind the nuts longer and weigh my flour and use the book, lol. They are YUMMY and besides, I still have half a jar of honey-roasted peanuts left! Below is the recipe from her book, BraveTart.  You should get it, it’s that good.

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2 from 1 vote

Honey Roasted Peanut Butter Cookies from BraveTart

Stella Park's Honey Roasted Peanut Butter Cookies, just make them, you'll thank me
Course cookies, Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword Honey Roasted Peanut Butter Cookies, stella parks
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 16 minutes

Ingredients

Dry Stuff (Flour Mixture)

  • 1 cup AP flour 4.5 ounces USE Gold Medal flour
  • 1-1/4 cups honey roasted peanuts 6 ounces

Next Step: Butters + Leavening Agents

  • 1-1/4 cups creamy peanut butter 10 ounces
  • 1 stick unsalted butter 4 ounces,soft rt cool (65 degrees use an instant thermometer)
  • 1.5 cups granulated sugar 10 ounces
  • 3/4 tsp kosher salt or half that amount if using regular table salt
  • 3/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder

Wet Stuff

  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 large egg straight from fridge, well beaten
  • 3 Tbsp milk 1.5 ounces

Instructions

  • Adjust oven rack to middle position. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  • Sift flour into bowl of a food processor (scoop and sweep method if not using a scale)
  • Add peanuts and pulse until fine (approximately 1 minute) almost like flour
  • Combine peanut butter, butter, sugar, salt, baking soda, baking powder and vanilla* in bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment. I'm lazy, I add the vanilla to the milk and add it later.
  • Mix on low speed to moisten then increase to medium and beat until soft and light ab out 3 minutes
  • With mixer running add the egg in 2 additions, mixing untile ach is incorporated
  • Reduce speed to low and add peanut flour, followed by milk, mixing to form a very soft dough
  • Divide into 34-2 T (1.125 ounce) portions
  • Arrange on parchment lined baking sheet, 2 inches apart
  • Bake until the edges are firm and just beginning to brown but cookies are still puffy and steamy in the middle about 16 minutes
  • Cool on baking sheet until cookie is set about 10 minutes
  • Store in airtight container for up to 1 week at room temperature.
Weekend Warrior-Weekend Baker (Toasted Almond Cookies)

Weekend Warrior-Weekend Baker (Toasted Almond Cookies)

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My New Year’s resolution every year is to make a concerted effort to try recipes out of the gazillions of cookbooks I own.  I generally cook or bake from only a handful of books I have, my go-tos.  One of my favorite blogs, Ipso Fatto, also collects cookbooks the difference being she actually uses hers.  Lucky for me we seem to have similar taste in cookbooks. My hubby is convinced its not so much that we have similar taste,  its because I buy every cookbook published so of course we would have the same books.  Her recent post featured a scrumptious almond cookie from Abigail Dodge’s Weekend Baker.  After reading it I spent the next hour rummaging through my bookshelves and mumbling to myself “I know I have that book, where is it”.  Eureka, finally found it.  Time to make some Toasted Almond Cookies, uh-huh.

Thanks to Ipso Fatto I am now making good on my annual new year’s resolution.

I love these cookies.  Not the prettiest cookies on the block but it was love at first bite. They’re buttery with a touch of sweetness and a nice crunch from the toasted almond slivers.  I had to stop myself from eating the whole batch. In all fairness the recipe only makes 20 cookies.  Yep, just a measly 20 cookies.

Note to self..double the recipe.

These are a snap to make.  Toasting the almonds adds flavor and crunch so don’t skip this step.  Throw the almonds on a baking sheet and toast in a 350 degree oven for approximately 5 minutes.  Easy peasy.  As the almonds cool make the dough. The cookies do not spread much so don’t forget to flatten the dough before baking.  I used a fork dipped in sugar and pressed each cookie with a criss cross pattern much like the classic peanut butter cookie.  I did not flatten the dough enough with the first batch resulting in the edges and bottoms browning before the center was completely baked.  The second pan of cookies turned out perfectly, golden crisp edges surrounding a sable’ like cookie and crunchy almonds.  Yums.

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Weekend Warrior-Weekend Baker

Ingredients

  • 12 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • Pinch of table salt
  • 1 yolk from large egg
  • ¾ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/8 teaspoon pure almond extract
  • 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup slivered almonds toasted

Instructions

  • 1. Position an oven rack in the middle. Heat the oven to 350˚F.
  • Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking liners.
  • 2. In a large bowl, combine the butter, sugar and salt. Beat with an electric mixer (stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or handheld mixer) on medium speed until well blended. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and almond extracts and beat until combined. Pour in the flour and toasted almonds and beat on low speed until the dough begins to clump together. The nuts will break up a bit, but that’s okay.
  • 3. Using a small ice-cream scoop or 2 tablespoons, shape rounded mounds of about 2 tablespoons dough on the prepared cookie sheets, spacing them about 1 ½”. Using your fingers, press down on each mound to flatten.
  • 4. Bake 1 sheet at a time until the cookies look dry on top and the edges are golden brown, about 17 minutes. Transfer the cookie sheet to a rack to cool for about 10 minutes. Using a spatula, lift the cookies from the sheet onto a rack and let cool completely.

 

 
Chocolate Sprinkle Cookies (Everything Is Better With Sprinkles)

Chocolate Sprinkle Cookies (Everything Is Better With Sprinkles)

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Is anyone else feeling like me?  Where did the year go? I can’t believe it’s almost summer!   My kids are in the homestretch at school and finals are just around the corner.  We just dropped their care packages off at the post office, nothing like some sugar and munchies for those late-night study sessions.  I remember those days well.

Care Package Contest

Wes made his Good Cookies which truly are the study cookie of choice for our kids (I’m not jealous in the least bit, nope not at all….brats).  We packed homemade granola, Hawaiian-style sweet bread buns, and dried mangos.  I almost made the usual CCC but decided to change it up.  Back in the recesses of my mind, I remembered Jordan remarking how much he liked Chocolate Sprinkles Cookies.  Just maybe I could knock Wes’s Good Cookies off that number one spot in the care package derby….as you can tell I am not the least bit competitive.

The recipe for these kid-friendly cookies comes from Bake or Break, an absolutely wonderful site with easy, delicious recipes for all things baked.

Swap chocolate sprinkles for the chips for this riff on chocolate chip cookies. This transforms both the taste and texture of the cookie.  Chocolate flavor permeates the entire cookie rather than that burst of chocolate you get when you bite into a chip.  The edge of the cookie is crisp while the center is just a tad chewy.  Those in the No Nuts camp will be happy…not a nut to be found in this cookie.

NO Faux Sprinkles Please

The star of this cookie is the sprinkles, so please make sure you use good quality chocolate sprinkles. You know, real chocolate sprinkles not waxy pretend wanna-be sprinkles.  Guittard makes delicious chocolate sprinkles that can be ordered from King Arthur Flour or if you have an Asian market or a market that carries Dutch products, DeRuijter has a line of chocolate sprinkles that are very good.

Make these cookies soon and sprinkle some happiness and yumminess on your kids!

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Everything Is Better With Sprinkles

Chocolate sprinkle cookies for the kid in all of us. Crispy edges, chewy center and chocolate everywhere
Course cookies, Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword Chocolate Sprinkle Cookies
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 & 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup unsalted butter softened
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 & 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 cup chocolate sprinkles

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350°. Grease or line baking sheets.
  • Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
  • Using an electric mixer, beat butter, sugar, and brown sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating just until combined after each addition.
  • Mix in vanilla.
  • Gradually add flour mixture, mixing until almost combined. Stir in chocolate. Do not over mix.
  • Using a small ice cream or cookie scoop (2 T) scoop and place dough onto lined pans.
  • Bake 10-12 minutes until edges are golden brown. Adjust cooking time for a chewy cookie decrease baking time ~1 minute for a crispier cookie increase baking time ~1 minute
  • Transfer from pan to wire racks to cool completely.