Category: Cookies

Bite Size Desserts
Apricot Oat Bars Delicious and Easy, Bar None

Apricot Oat Bars Delicious and Easy, Bar None

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Finally, after months of being a COVID couch potato, I got off my duff and headed up to the reservoir to row again.  I had forgotten how nice it was to be on the water in the early morning, to get in a shell, grip the oars, press with my legs, and propel the boat through the water.  Gliding through the water I would catch glimpses of the resident bald eagles soaring then diving toward the water.  I live for these moments…


Who Am I Kidding?

What I really look forward to is COFFEE after the row, lol.  After every row, we head to our favorite spot for coffee and something to nosh on.  Lately, that nosh has been a tasty apricot bar. It reminds me of an Apricot Oatmeal Bar I used to make when the kids were little…

The recipe is from the Williams-Sonoma Kids Cookbook, that bar was a family favorite once upon a time.  I decided to find it, dust it off, and make it again.

This is a naughty granola bar.  The bars are buttery, sweet, tart, dense, and chewy with a hint of cinnamon and vanilla.  Just packed full of yummy stuff and calories (intentionally made in smaller font, lol).  Incredibly easy to make, all you need is a bowl and a spoon.  Toss old-fashioned oatmeal, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, and flour into a large bowl. stir to combine, then add melted butter, vanilla, and chopped apricots. Add nuts too if you like.

Bake, cool, and cut.  How easy is that?  These bars are great after a hard workout, a long hike, or anytime!

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Apricot Oatmeal Bars

Course bar cookies, Breakfast, Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword apricots, bar cookies, oatmeal
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 36 minutes

Ingredients

  • 12 tablespoons 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, cut up
  • 1 cup firmly packed dried apricots
  • 1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
  • 1/4 - 1/3 cup chopped nuts of your choice like almonds pecans or pistachios (optional)
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • soft butter for greasing pan

Instructions

  • Melt 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) butter in the microwave. Cut butter into pieces and place in microwave-safe bowl. ?Cover with a small plate or paper towel ( I use the paper the butter comes in) and set power to 50%. Set time to 30 seconds. If butter is not completely melted, continue at 50% power and 15-20 second increments. Or place butter in a small saucepan set over medium-high heat, stir with a wooden spoon until the butter is melted, about 2 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat and set it aside to cool.
  • Preheat an oven to 350°F. Line the bottom and sides of a 9-inch square baking pan with a large piece of aluminum foil (some foil hanging over the edges is fine). Lightly grease the foil with the soft butter. YOu could also use parchment paper.
  • Cut apricots into about 1/2-inch pieces. (Use kitchen shears to snip apricots works like a charm)
  • In a bowl, combine the rolled oats, flour, brown sugar, salt and cinnamon. Stir with a spoon or spatula until well blended and no lumps of sugar remain.
  • Add apricots, nuts if using, melted butter and vanilla to the bowl. Stir until well blended. The dough will be moist and crumbly. Dump the dough into the prepared baking pan. Press the dough into the pan with your fingers.
  • Bake until the top is golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes. Using oven mitts, remove the pan from the oven, set on a wire cooling rack and let cool completely.
  • Lift the foil and the oatmeal bars from the pan and place on a work surface. Peel away the foil from the sides and bottom. Using a small, sharp knife, cut the big square into 1 1/2-by-3-inch rectangles. Store in an airtight container. Makes 18 bar cookies.

Notes

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma The Kid's Cookbook, by Abigail Johnson Dodge (Time-Life Books, 2000).
The Cookie Bible from Rose Levy Beranbaum!

The Cookie Bible from Rose Levy Beranbaum!

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I have been a big fan of Rose Levy Beranbaum’s books for a very long time. I went to my bookshelf to see just how many of her books I have, I counted six. Of these six, my absolute favorite is Rose’s Christmas Cookies. I can’t recall a Holiday Cookie Tin that has not featured at least one of her cookies.  I was eager to take a sneak peek at her newest book coming out, The Cookie Bible.

See below for the recipe for Lemon Madeleines.

 The Layout

  • Intro – brief description and a memory or an anecdotal story for the cookie.
    Temperature, baking time, and equipment – organized into a table.
    Ingredients – listed in volume and weight measurements also organized in a table, easy to see and follow.
    Directions
  • Mise en place-steps that need to be done before making the dough ie. taking out butter to soften or bringing eggs to room temp.
  • Making the dough-If a particular cookie can be made in either a food processor or stand mixer, both methods are listed. I love this.  Followed by:
  • Forming cookies
  • Baking cookies
  • Cooling cookies

All her cookbooks are organized this way, meticulous and thorough. It’s like getting a Master Baking class in the comfort of your own kitchen.

Each recipe finishes with Baking Gems, MORE valuable tips, and tweaks!

The Recipes

I flipped through the book to earmark recipes I wanted to try. This is where I felt like the book came up a bit short. The selection of cookies seemed just a bit dated. Today’s cookies include new flavors and spices and eye-catching colors created by using freeze-dried fruits.

Few recipes in this book jumped out at me and shouted MAKE ME!  Quite a few recipes in the book are also in Rose’s Christmas Cookies. Recipes I already make and love like Cloud Cookies, Meltaways, Lion Paws, and Spritz Cookies.  If I didn’t have Rose’s Christmas Cookies I might have been putting Post-Its on those very pages.  Recipes have been scaled back in the new book to yield smaller batches of cookies, a good thing, as it limits how many cookies I can eat.

 

Read through the recipe before making it.  I found this book even more detailed than her older books.  Explicit directions like when to take the butter and eggs out before making the dough or what type of flour to use for each recipe.

If only I had taken my own advice and read the recipe first

I plowed through the first recipe, Dream Chocolate Chip Cookies, only to be stumped when I found I hadn’t added the egg. Turns out that twenty minutes before making the dough, I was supposed to crack the egg into the mixer bowl, add the vanilla, and cover it so it can come to room temp first. The egg should have been in the mixer when I creamed the butter and sugar.

Lemon Poppy Seed Madeleines were next up.  Once again, detailed instructions produced a tender sweet-tart Madeleine.  Next time, I would reduce the poppyseeds, a bit too much crunch.  I actually liked them more the next day as the syrup had time to absorb so the cookies weren’t sticky to touch and the tartness had mellowed.

The Verdict

With all that being said. Here is my take. If you do not own a Rose Levy Berenbaum Cookbook, this would absolutely be a lovely addition to your kitchen.  This book will make you a better baker.  Filled with invaluable tips and technique information, it takes that extra step of explaining why specific ingredients and techniques work in a recipe.  Although there isn’t a photo for every cookie in the book, the photos included are gorgeous.

Happy baking!

I reviewed The Cookie Bible via NetGalley

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Lemon Madeleines

From Rose Levy Beranbaum's upcoming book, The Cookie Bible
Course cookies
Cuisine American, French
Keyword easy recipe, leomn poppy seed madeleines, madeleine, rose levy beranbaum
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Servings 24 servings

Ingredients

Oven Temp 350f/175c. Baking Time: 14-15 min for large madeleines Special Equipment: Madeleine molds-lightly coat with baking spray with flour. Disposable pastry bag fitted with a 3/8-1/2 inch pastry tube. 2 baking sheets lined with plastic wrap and lightly coated with nonstick spray.

Batter

  • 8.5 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons, unsalted butter 120 grams
  • 2 large eggs 100 grams 1/3 cup plus 1 T, (94ml)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla 5ml
  • 2 tablespoons milk 30 grams (30ml)
  • 1 cup bleached cake flour, sifted into the cup and leveled off 100 grams
  • 1/2 cup sugar, preferably superfine 100 grams
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, preferably aluminum-free
  • 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 3/4 cup sugar 5.25 ounces = 150 grams
  • 2 teaspoons loosely packed grated lemon zest 4 grams (from about 2 lemons)
  • 2 tablespoons poppy seeds, optional 19 grams I would use a little less

Lemon Syrup

  • 1/4 cup sugar 50 grams
  • 3 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice, strained 47 grams

Instructions

Preheat Oven

  • 20 minutes or longer before baking, set oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of oven. Set oven to 350°F.

Mise En Place

  • 30 minutes to 1 hour ahead, cut butter into tablespoon-size pieces. Set on the counter to soften.
  • 30 minutes ahead, into a 1 cup/237 ml glass measure with a spout, weigh or measure the eggs. Whisk in vanilla. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and set on counter.
  • Wash lemons with dishwashing liquid, rinse, and dry before zesting. Finey grate lemon zest. Freeze any extra for future use.

Make the Batter

  • Add the milk to the egg mixture and whisk it in.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the flat beater, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, lemon zest and optional poppy seeds on low speed for 30 seconds. Add the butter and half the egg mixture. Mix on low speed until the dry ingredients are moistened. Raise the speed to medium and beat for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides.
  • With the mixer off between additions, add the remaining egg mixture in two parts. Beat after each addition, starting on medium-low speed and gradually raising the speed to medium, then beating on med speed for 30 seconds, to incorporate the ingredients and strengthen the structure. Scrape down sides of bowl.

Pipe the Batter into the Molds

  • Fill the prepared pastry bag about 3/4 full with batter. Pipe the batter into the molds. filling them about 3/4 full (4gms for each mini-mold, 16 gms for large cavity). No need to smooth the batter. Refill the bag as needed.
  • Ok, I didn't pipe I just used two spoons and scooped the batter into the molds.

Bake the Madeleines

  • Bake the mini-madeleines for 10-12 minutes, large ones for 14-15 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted near the centers comes out completely clean and the madeleines spring back when pressed lightly in the centers. While they are baking, make the lemon syrup.

Make Lemon Syrup (1/3 cup/95gms/79ml)

  • In 1 cup/237ml glass measure with a spout, stir together the sugar and lemon juice. Heat in the microwave just until the sugar is dissolved. (Or use a small sauce pan over medium heat.)

Brush the Medeleines with Syrup, Unmold, and Cool

  • As soon as the madeleines come out of the oven, place the pans on a rack, poke the madeleines all over with a wire tester, and brush it with 1/3 of the syrup.
  • Metal molds, use a toothpick or pin to carefully dislodge them from molds and then invert them onto the prepared cookie sheets (this prevents sticking)
  • Brush madeleines with remaining syrup and allow to cool completely. Let sit for 2 hours for syrup to distribute.
  • STORE: Airtight one layer; room temp, 3 days; refrigerated, 5 days; frozen, 3 months.

Baking Gems

  • Use superfine sugar for the best texture
  • After coating with baking spray with flour, brush molds with pastry brush to remove excess spray to prevent air bubbles from forming in the fluted tops of the madeleines.
  • If you do not have enough molds to bake all at once, chill batter in fridge until ready to use.
  • When done, madeleines will spring back when pressed lightly in the center even before they are done.
White Rabbit CC Cookies-We Got Em, Go Tell Alice

White Rabbit CC Cookies-We Got Em, Go Tell Alice

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As a kid, I spent a lot of time running the streets of Chinatown in San Francisco.  After school, I headed to Chinatown to attend Hip Wo Chinese School, which conveniently was housed in the same church our family attended.  I’d love to tell you I was a stellar student and fluent in both Cantonese and English but that would be a lie.  The highlights of Chinese School were recess, calligraphy (a lot like painting), and stopping at the little grocery store right next to the church at the end of the day.  We would grab a Carnation cup of ice cream with the little wooden paddle-spoon, or a cup of noodles (this was before instant noodles, so the shopkeeper made catsup noodles, delish, trust me) to hold us until we got home.

Candyland

More often than not, we bought candy from the array right by the register.  I fancy myself a candy aficionado thanks to Chinese School.  My favorites included Ice Cubes, Flickers, Charleston Chews, Big Hunks, Watermelon Stixs, and Milk Duds.  If you recognize all these you’re a genius or just old like me.  I also loved their Asian candies.  Sugus, the precursors to Starburst, Haw Flakes (a sweet-sour plum wafer), and White Rabbit Candy.  White Rabbit is kinda like taffy.  It tastes like sweetened milk.  They’re hard when you first pop one in your mouth but soften as you chew on it. Kinda like a Big Hunk or Look bar.

I haven’t had a White Rabbit in YEARS.  But, they have been showing up in the new crop of Asian bakeries in the Bay Area.  These inventive bakeries and pop-ups like Grand Opening (From the folks at Mr. Jiu’s), Sunday Bakeshop, Breadbelly, Pineapple King Bakery and Spoons Patisserie are fusing French techniques and Asian ingredients (and visa-versa) to create some delightful sweets and pastries.  Char Siu Bao? Nah, gimme a BBQ Pork Danish, how about an Ube Snickerdoodle or Matcha custard-filled Puff?  Genius.  Instead of strawberry, try passionfruit. Black sesame seeds instead of poppy seeds, why not?  Then there is Third Culture Bakery which popularized sweet rice or mochi desserts.  A little gooey, a lot delish, and gluten-free!

CCC with a Twist

Luckily, White Rabbit Chocolate Chip Cookies from Beyond the Noms, popped up on my feed, bingo (was it luck or an algorithm that reads my mind?).  I knew I had to try it.  Essentially it is a chocolate chip cookie with an Asian twist.  Cream butter with sugars until light and fluffy, one to two minutes and the egg and vanilla, beat again.  Add flour mixture and stir just until the flour is mixed in.  Add the stars of the show, the chocolate, and White Rabbit pieces ( you could substitute white chocolate if you can’t find the White Rabbit candy). Done.  I like to chill my dough before baking.  Allows flavors to blend and helps with spreading.

They’re delicious.  A combination of the milky, vanilla candy, and dark chocolate chunks in a buttery, crispy-edged, tender cookie.  Just out of the oven the White Rabbit candy is gooey, chewy, and sticky-soft.  As the cookie cools, it does become denser, just like a Big Hunk.  If you grew up eating White Rabbit morsels or any of the taffy-like candy bars, you are going to love these cookies.  They will stick to your teeth (ahh transparency). Buy a bag when you are going to make these cookies, the fresher the bag the better for softness.  White Rabbit Candy can be found in Asian Grocery Stores, especially Chinese ones.

Beat until light
Stir in chocolate and candy pieces just until incorporated. Don’t overmix.
Use a #40 ice cream scoop to create dough balls. I plopped one chocolate chunk and one piece of White Rabbit on each ball,
Delicious candy cookies with an Asian twist! If the White Rabbit seems a bit hard in cookies that are cold, try warming the cookie up a little which will soften the candy again.
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White Rabbit and Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Asian Twist to Chocolate Chip Cookies, added White Rabbit Candy to cookies!
Course Dessert
Cuisine Asian-American
Keyword beyondthenoms, chocolate chip cookies, cookies, White Rabbit Candy
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Ingredients to Cream

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar packed light or dark
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Additions

  • 1 cup chocolate chunks chips are also fine
  • 15-20 white rabbit candies chopped I used ~15 pieces, tap to cut and it will break easily into pieces. Don't try to saw through them. Leave the rice paper wrapper on, its edible and will dissolve.
  • Maldon sea salt flakes optional

Instructions

  • Sift flour, baking soda and salt together in a small bowl. Set aside.
  • In a stand mixer on medium speed, beat butter, sugar, and brown sugar for 2 minutes. The mixture will lighten in color.
  • Add egg and vanilla and mix on medium speed for 1-2 minutes, until it looks like a buttercream. Scrap down the sides of the bowl occasionally.
  • Add flour mixture and stir (low speed on mixer) until just combined.
  • Stir in chocolate chunks and white rabbit candies.
  • Scoop approximately 2 tbsp. of cookie dough and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Leave roughly 1.5-2 inches between cookies. Optional: stick additional chocolate and candy pieces in each dough ball. Refrigerate for approximately one hour.
  • Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Bake the cookies for 12-15 minutes until the edges are golden brown and the center has lost that wet sheen look. I like baking one sheet at a time. If you bake multiple sheets, be sure to switch places and rotate sheets midway through baking.
  • The White Rabbit Candy will soften and melt at times creating a not-quite-round cookie. The candy melts and creates crispy edges. While the cookies are still warm just out of the oven you could take a glass and place it over each cookie and swirl thus smooshing the cookie into a round shape OR you could embrace the not-round look and enjoy the sweet crispy edges that look like lava flow off an island.
  • Transfer to a cooling rack and top with Maldon sea salt flakes if desired. Serve warm.

Notes

I use a #0 scoop which is just a little less than an ounce, approximately 1.6 tablespoons.  You could use #30 which is just over 2 T.
Calories: 224kcal
Carbohydrates: 29g
Protein: 2g
Fat: 11g
Black Sesame Chocolate Chunk Cookies from a Nerd

Black Sesame Chocolate Chunk Cookies from a Nerd

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The flavor of the day is toasted black sesame seeds.  They’re delicious-earthy, nutty, and bolder than white sesame seeds.  They add texture, color, and zing to cookies, cakes, and just about anything.  During the holidays I made black sesame shortbread, a tasty rift on shortbread. So, when Black Sesame Chocolate Chip Cookies from Cooking Therapy skittered across my feed, “so making these” was imprinted on my brain.

A couple of “what if I add this or change that” moments resulted in a few tweaks to the cookie as I was trying them. This is the latest version of Black Sesame Chocolate Chunk Cookies.

The Process

I tried both commercially bought Sesame Seed Powder (they do the grinding for you) and grinding my own sesame seeds after toasting.  Most recipes call for seeds that you measure out and then grind to a powder.  The dilemma is how much powder is equivalent to whole sesame seeds.  I weighed half cup of seeds and then half a cup of powder. Powder weighed 40gms,  1/2 cup of seeds weighed 60gms.  Hmmm, for some reason I thought powder being more compact, would weigh more for an equivalent volume. Guess not, bottom line, go by equivalent weights you can’t go wrong BUT that’s 30% more powder or a cup and a half of powder to 1 cup of seeds. My head is about to explode.  Think I’ll just use equivalent volumes.

The first tweak was adding toasted sesame oil, I didn’t notice a significant flavor difference.  Maybe I should have added more.  If you have made Jesse Szewczk’s Toasted Sesame cookies (phenomenal cookie), or Sarah Kieffer’s Sesame Cookie, both use sesame oil to pump up the flavor.

Tahini Paste was the next tweak.  In place of the sesame oil, I added 1 tablespoon of Tahini Paste.  In a stringent scientific experiment, my test cohort (co-workers, lol)  concluded the they could taste the sesame flavor in these.

Looking for a flatter, less cakey cookie, I weighed the amount of flour and stopped at 250gms.  This is where I tell you, implore you, to get a SCALE…

And an ice cream scoop!

A Google search led me to a blog called Crazy for Crust which had an entire section on how to tell when you cookies are done. There is nothing I like more than baking nerds!  For instance, the tendency for me is to bake just a little too long.  Her invaluable tip-when the glossy sheen or wet look is gone and the edges are golden brown, your cookies are done is now my mantra for drop cookies.

Out of the Oven

Cookies continue to “bake” for about 20 minutes after removing them from the oven.  A “just right baked” cookie will fall as it cools creating those lovely crevices.  If you prefer cripsy, round cookies, continue to bake for a couple of minutes,  or if you like raw cookie dough take the cookies out a little earlier.  Your choice, me? I’m like Goldilocks, I want it just right.

Use chocolate chunks, pastilles, or break up chocolate bars/slabs into pieces.  Much more visually interesting than chips.  to go the extra mile, reserve some of the chocolate pieces and place 1 or 2 on each formed cookie dough ball before baking.

Cookie Monster Would Approve

Less flour, Tahini paste and Fleur de Sel to finish the cookies, resulted in a tender, gooey, chocolatey, sesame-y cookie with a bit of crunch from the sesame seeds.  Put this on your bucket list.

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Black Sesame Chocolate Chip Cookies

A chocolate chip cookie with toasted black sesames for a new twist on an old favorite!
Course cookies, Dessert
Cuisine Asian-American
Keyword black sesame seeds, Chewy Toasted Sesame Cookies, chocolate chips, Sesame chocolate chip cookie, sesame seeds
Prep Time 35 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Calories 244kcal

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients

  • 2 cups all purpose flour (King Arthur flour) 250gms
  • ½ cup black sesame seeds, powdered I measured toasted black sesame seeds, 1/2 cup = 60gms. I used black sesame seed powder 40gm which measured 1/2 cup in volume. See notes.
  • 1 tsp baking soda

Wet Ingredients

  • 1 cup unsalted butter, browned
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar
  • ¾ cup light brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1.5 tsp toasted sesame oil or 1 tablespoon Tahini paste

Adds

  • 1 ½ cup dark chocolate chips sub semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

  • Combine flour, sesame powder and baking soda in a medium bowl. Mix until combined and set aside.
  • Brown butter in a small sauce pan. Heat butter over medium high heat until the butter melts and then lower it to low. Cook the butter until golden brown and small brown solids start to appear. Remove from the heat and set aside.
  • Combine granulated sugar and light brown sugar in a large bowl. Add the brown butter. Whisk with a stand mixer or hand mixer until just combined.
  • Add the eggs and whisk until a smooth creamy mixture forms. Add the salt, vanilla extract, and sesame oil or Tahini paste and mix until just combined.
  • Add the dry ingredients to the bowl and mix with a spatula/wooden spoon until just combined.
  • Add chocolate chunks and mix until just combined.
  • Let the cookies rest in the fridge for 20 minutes.
  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  • Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Use a 2 tablespoon (medium-sized) cookie scoop to scoop cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheet 2 inches apart.
  • Bake for 10-12 minutes until the edges are light brown.
  • Rest for 10 minutes on the baking sheets and then another 10 minutes on a cooling rack before serving.

Notes

So, I have commercially available toasted black sesame powder and I have toasted black sesame seeds.  I decided to try both to see how much it impacted the texture of the cookies.  I weighed the toasted sesame seeds and whirled them in a grinder.  I stopped at a pretty finely textured powder.  If you go too far you will end up with a paste. 
There wasn’t a significant difference in texture between the two.  The sesame does give the cookie a rougher texture, similar to adding a bit of cornmeal, but subtler.
The self-ground sesame seeds to powder cookies seem to have a touch more flavor but I did also switch out the sesame oil for Tahini paste, so it remains to be seen if the seeds were the difference.  I just failed my science class, lol.
Hella Good Ube Mochi Muffins-Mochi Madness

Hella Good Ube Mochi Muffins-Mochi Madness

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I have been looking for a dessert/cookie recipe using Ube for a while when I came across a recipe for Butter and Ube Bibingka/Mochi on Mark Hella Cooks.  I adapted his Bibingka/Mochi and made muffins, delicious and gorgeous. Just a bit of ube extract gave the batter a vibrant purple that is so whimsical and appealing.

Did I Get Ahead of Myself?

Are you asking what the heck is Ube?  It just dawned on me this is not your dash to the corner store item.  First, ube is similar to a sweet potato BUT it’s PURPLE, so swag, purple food.  It is used in a lot of Asian desserts, particularly Filipino ones. It is mild-flavored, kinda nutty, kinda vanilla-y.  Aside from fresh purple yams (hard to find), it comes as a powder, jam, and extract.  On a recent visit to the Asian Art Museum in the City, I inhaled a delicious Ube Snickerdoodle from Sunday@  the Museum, cafe.  Ever since I have been perusing the internet for ube cookie recipes.  No cookie yet but luckily I found Mark Hella Cooks Ube Mochi recipe. It is easy, delicious, and eye candy worthy.  I made muffins so everyone could have their own little dessert with crispy edges, yum.

Ube-by, Baby, Making Cookies For A Cause

I wanted to include the muffins in my little box of cookies for Ukraine.  The world is upside down right now and I just can’t sit on the sidelines and watch.  So I do what I can by fighting the things I hate with the things I love.  I baked cookies for donations to World Central Kitchen and Sunflower of Peace. My tiny part. #BakersAgainstRacism, #BakersforUkraine

I put together individual boxes of cookies, a first for me, to share with friends and co-workers.  Everyone was so generous, it reminded me that most folks are decent, kind, and caring.  How is it that just a few are actually responsible for so much hate and suffering in the world?  Most folks just want to live their lives and be happy.

Each box included tried & true cookies, comfort cookies, my family favorites.  Here are the Cookies for Ukraine Box.

Purple Yam All In My Brain

Rounding out the cookie box, are these incredibly easy and delicious Ube Butter Mochi Muffins.  Mochi has become my best friend when I need a gluten-free treat.  Made with glutinous sweet rice flour, the texture is chewy, a bit dense in a good way, and totally addicting.  If you have tried Third Culture Bakery or Mochi Donuts, or Manju, you will love these.  If you like to start with the classic butter mochi muffin try this one.  It is by far the most popular recipe on 3Jamigos.

The muffins can be made in one bowl, that’s how easy they are.  The method in the recipe below is from Mark Hella Cooks. Alternatively, place coconut milk and butter in a microwavable bowl and nuke for 1 minute.  Add evaporated milk, vanilla extract and eggs.  Mix well. Combine mochiko flour and baking powder then add to milk mixture.  Whisk until smooth.  Proceed with the recipe at step 3 as written.

Once you have drizzled the ube batter into the muffin tins, be careful not to shake the tin which would cause the batters to blend too much, You want to retain the marbling.

Butter or spray the muffin tin with PAM REALLY well, it determines the rise and the shape of the top of the muffin.

Enjoy!

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Ube Butter Mochi Muffins

More mochi muffins! Purple Yams is in my soul
Course Dessert, Muffins
Cuisine Asian-American
Keyword butter mochi, Gluten free, mochi muffin, ube
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes

Ingredients

  • 4 tablespoons butter (2 ounces) (salted is fine) melted
  • 1 cup sugar baker’s/caster sugar preferable
  • 2 large eggs @ room temperature
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon ube extract Available at Asian Stores, online McCormick's
  • 8 ounces mochiko rice flour (1/2 box) 230gms
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 6 ounces evaporated milk Sub whole milk
  • 7 ounces full fat coconut milk(Arroy-D or Chakot)

Instructions

  • Preheat your oven to 350 degrees (non-convection), and generously grease a standard 12-cup muffin tin with butter.
  • In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter and sugar. Add the eggs and vanilla extract and continue to mix until combined. Add the rice flour and baking powder and stir until combined. It might look a little lumpy, it's okay. Stir in the evaporated milk and the coconut milk. Continue whisking until smooth*
  • Remove 3/4 cup of the batter and place in a small bowl. Add the ube extract and mix together.
  • The batter will be pretty runny. Using a large ice cream scoop the remaining batter into each muffin tin. It should fill the entire tin, each cup filled approximately 3/4 full. Gently drizzle ube batter onto each muffin tin. A squeeze bottle with a large opening will work otherwise use a teaspoon. The batter will sink so there is no reason to swirl it. I drizzle in a spiral pattern with a healthy glob in the center.
  • Carefully place the muffin pan in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes.
Anzac-ly The Delicious Biscuit (Cookie) I Was Looking For

Anzac-ly The Delicious Biscuit (Cookie) I Was Looking For

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Marching orders in hand, I gathered the ingredients to make Anzac Biscuits.   Think Oatmeal Cookie meets Oatcake or Granola Bar…you end up with a biscuit (cookie) that is buttery, sweet-salty, chewy-crispy (are these oxymorons?), and EXTREMELY delicious.

A Brief History On Anzac Biscuits

These tasty biscuits (cookies) can be traced back to World War One and the Australian-New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC).  As the story goes, moms and wives sent these biscuits to their soldiers fighting, both as a morale booster and reprieve from the dreary military rations.  Made simply of flour, coconut, oatmeal, Golden Syrup, butter, they were easy to make and tasty.   The end product was a caramel-ly sturdy biscuit that traveled well and lasted a long time.  A welcomed treat from home.

Simplicity At Its Finest

Put this biscuit recipe in your incredibly easy with huge returns file.  Very easy and perfect for little hands helping in the kitchen.  Stir the dry ingredients together in a big bowl (kids love doing this), melt butter with the Golden Syrup on the stove (you do this), add the baking soda mixture to the butter (once again, your job) and add to dry ingredients (kids love to stir and make a mess).  Scoop, bake, and eat!  Easy-peasy.

Tweaks

The recipe is from Dorie Greenspan’s (Goddess of Baking) book, Dorie’s Cookies.

I used a one-eighth cup to portion the dough (could not find my scoop of this size 🤔) which produced cookies a little over 2 inches in diameter.  Use either a #24 or #30 ice cream scoop for bigger biscuits, I would. They’re that good.

Press the dough into a puck-like disc on the baking sheet.  Gives the biscuits a running start to a nice even shape.

If I had baked these cookies for 17-18 minutes, as directed, I’d have lumps of coal for all those naughty kids at Christmas.  The first batch baked for 14 minutes at 325 degrees, which produced deep golden brown cookies with dark edges.  The second batch baked at 320 degrees for 13 minutes.  The biscuits were deep brown, carrot cake color without the dark edges.  If you like a chewier, lighter-colored cookie, reduce the baking time, personally not recommended.  If you make larger cookies, adjust baking times accordingly.

Subbing honey or corn syrup for Lyle’s Golden Syrup can be done in a pinch.  But if you can, please try to use Lyle’s Golden Syrup.  It is made from sugar cane and has a nuanced caramel flavor you won’t get with honey or corn syrup.  Lots of larger grocery stores carry Lyle’s or you can order it on Big Bad Amazon.  Don’t confuse their Dessert Syrup for the Original Cane Syrup, that’s like Log Cabin to real Maple Syrup.

These biscuits are incredibly tasty and easy to make, put them on your “biscuit” bucket list.

P.S.

Not all these biscuits came out perfectly round as pictured, lol.  As soon as they came out of the oven, I placed a glass over the not-so-round ones and swirled it in a circular motion thereby jostling the cookies into perfect rounds.  Tricks of the trade, babee.

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5 from 2 votes

ANZAC Biscuits

Iconic Austrailian-New Zealand Biscuit (cookie) created during WW1, recipe adapted from Dorie's Cookies
Course biscuits, cookies
Cuisine Australian
Keyword Anzac Biscuits, Anzacs, Dorie Greenspan, Lyle's Golden Syrup
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients

  • 1 cup AP flour 136 grams
  • 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats 80 grams
  • 3/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut 90 grams
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar 100 grams
  • 1/4 cup light brown sugar or additional granulated sugar 50gms * Not in Dorie's recipe! Add if using unsweetened coconut, omit if you like,

Wet Ingredients

  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt Use 1/4 teaspoon if using salted butter, Dorie's recipe uses sea salt, I thought it was a touch salty.
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter 1 stick
  • 2 tablespoons Lyle's Golden Syrup

Leavening Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon boiling water
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Instructions

  • In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, coconut, sugars, and salt and set aside.
  • In a small saucepan over low heat melt the butter with the Golden Syrup and remove from heat.
  • Combine the boiling water and baking soda in a small bowl to dissolve the baking soda.
  • Pour the water and baking soda into the butter mixture and stir to combine.
  • Pour the butter mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until thoroughly combined.
  • Use a 1 1/2-inch ice cream scoop to mold each cookie by gently packing dough into ice cream scoop and then turning out onto cookie sheet or form 1 1/2-inch balls of the dough with spoons)
  • Place cookies 1-2 inches apart on baking sheet. Bake for 17-18 minutes* or until deep golden brown (the color of carrot cake). Makes 16-18 cookies.
    *Read my post regarding baking times!

Notes

These cookies should be a nice rich deep brown.  Meant to be a little dense and crispy as they historically needed to travel well.  For a chewier cookie, a little less baking time will do the trick, if that is what you like.  It won't have as much of that nice caramel flavor you get from browning but still tasty!
Chew On This! Toasted Sesame Cookies

Chew On This! Toasted Sesame Cookies

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How’s the New Year’s Resolution thing going?  I’ve gotten strategic, I only make new year’s resolutions that are fun.  That way I stand a chance of actually following through on them.  One of my perpetual resolutions is to make a concerted effort to actually use the many cookbooks I have collected.  Don’t laugh, it may not sound like a resolution but it is.

Olympic Medal goes to….these cookies!

Last night, sitting on the couch, watching Chloe Kim and Nathan Chen do their thing, and flipping through a cookbook (I can multi-task) I wondered (out loud, unfortunately) how many cookbooks I have that I haven’t ever used.  The hubs laughed and said TOO MANY.

The laugh was pure motivation.  I got up, went to the kitchen, pulled out Jesse Szewczyk’s Cookies: The New Classics, and picked his recipe for Chewy Toasted Sesame Cookies.  Sooo making these now, before my resolve fades or I get distracted by Nathan Chen’s final routine.

So glad I did.  These cookies are delectable!  As much as I love SHORTBREAD type cookies, it was time to go back to fam-fav chewy cookies.  These did the trick. Chewy centers, a bit of crispness on the edges….yum, yum.

Not to say I wasn’t happy.  My current OBSESSION is sesame.  Jesse uses toasted sesame oil in these cookies, which ups the flavor game. Sesame oil, sesame seeds…win, win.

These cookies are pretty easy to make…think Snickerdoodle method. Make the dough, chill it, roll it into balls. Roll said balls in black and white toasted sesames, hit it with some sugar, bake and EAT or in my case, inhale.  Really, that good.

If this cookie is any indication…I will be baking a lot out of his book!

Seeds of Sesame Tips

It may seem fussy, I am sure it was a texture chase, the recipe calls for not only butter, but cream cheese, and oil.  A balancing act to make a moist, chewy, soft cookie with a bit of crispness on the edges.

Sesame Oil, Sesame Seeds

You want TOASTED Sesame oil which can be found easily in Asian markets.  The French brand, La Tourangelle makes a tosted sesame oil that is very good.  It’s a little pricier but generally can be found in your larger grocery stores.  I buy toasted sesame seeds at the Asian markets because I go through the stuff in no time flat.  You can buy untoasted seeds and toast them yourself if roasted seeds are not available.

I was able to form the just-made dough into round balls even though it was pretty soft.  But if you chill the dough for 30-60 minutes, makes it easier to work with.

Best thing since sliced bread, ice cream scoops for cookie dough….just saying. I used a 1.6 tablespoon scoop (#40) and sprinkled each cookie with regular granulated sugar.  Raw or Demerara Sugar would work well too.  Baking time was 11 minutes.  The cookies will puff up but fall and create those neat fissures as they cool.

The hubs is not a fan of sesame seeds so I actually baked a couple that I rolled in chocolate sprinkles.  I nixed his request for raisins (Ewww).  The sprinkles were a hit.  Honestly, this dough is so tasty, it would be good rolled in anything…except raisins.

Put these on your bucket list…like now.

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5 from 1 vote

Chewy Toasted Sesame Cookies

A delicious, chewy, buttery, sesame cookie from Jesse Szewczyk's Cookies: The New Classics.
Course cookies
Cuisine American
Keyword Chewy Toasted Sesame Cookies
Prep Time 20 minutes
Servings 24 cookies

Equipment

  • 1 #40 ice cream scoop If you don't have one, spoon out 2 tablespoons of dough and roll into round balls.

Ingredients

Dry Stuff

  • 21/2 cups All purpose flour (320gms)
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt reg table salt, use 1/8 teaspoon

Fat Stuff

  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened (85gms) leave the butter on your counter for a couple of hours approximate temp 68 degrees
  • 2 ounces cream cheese, room temp (57 gms)
  • 1 tablespoon TOASTED sesame oil see post for notes on oil
  • 1/4 cup canola oil (60ml)

The Sweet Stuff

  • 1 cup granulated sugar (200gms)
  • 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar (100gms)

Wet Stuff

  • 1 large egg, room temperature
  • 2 tablespoons whole milk (30ml)
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

The Finishing Touches

  • 1/3 cup toasted white sesame seeds
  • 1/3 cup toasted black sesame seeds
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. I'm a stickler, I bake one sheet at a time in the middle of the oven. To bake two sheets at a time, set your oven racks in the upper-middle and lower-middle positions of your oven. Line sheets with parchment or Silpat. Preference is for parchment as silicon mats retain more heat.
  • In a medium bowl, combine dry stuff, set aside.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, toss in the fats, (butter, cream cheese, sesame oil, canola oil), and sweet stuff granulated sugar, brown sugar. Beat on medium speed until smooth and fully blended, about 2 minutes.
  • Turn mixer off and add the wet stuff. Beat on medium speed until light and ribbon-like, about 2-3 minutes.
  • Turn mixer speed to low and gradually add flour mixture, mix until just blended, don't overmix. Rest dough for 10 minutes, it will firm up a bit. If it seems to soft still, chill in fridge for 30 minutes.
  • Using a 1-3/4 inch ice cream scoop (~2 tablespoons), form dough balls, hand- roll each to create smooth round balls.
  • Combine sesame seeds in a shallow bowl. Roll each dough ball in the sesame seeds and place them on parchment-lined sheets 2-1/2 inches apart. Sprinkle with the granulated sugar.
  • Bake 10-12 minutes, turning sheet midway through baking. Bake until golden brown on the edges. Cool cookies on baking sheet for a couple of minutes before removing them to a rack to cool completely.

Notes

Store in an airtight container.
Old School Almond Cookies

Old School Almond Cookies

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Growing up in Chinatown the standard plate of cookies found on our table was not Chocolate Chip Cookies, but Almond Cookies.  Found in every Chinese Bakery, these were my favorite cookie, well except for the almond in the center, which I ate around, kids, what do you do.

Phoenix Bakery

Last Roadtrip

One of my favorite Almond Cookies comes from Phoenix Bakery in Los Angeles Chinatown.  It’s been there a long time, three generations of the Chan family (hopefully there is a fourth generation) cranking out cookies and cakes.  Theirs is the quintessential Almond Cookie, crumbly not crisp, nutty, dense but not tough, and distinctly almond-flavored. Growing up, every family trip to Los Angeles included the prerequisite stop at Phoenix Bakery for those pink boxes filled with almond cookies and sweet, sticky butterfly cookies. Right before COVID hit, I drove down to LA for my favorite auntie’s birthday and of course, I stopped at Phoenix Bakery.

An Homage

Every Christmas my brother-in-law’s mother baked boxes and boxes (pink cake boxes of course) of cookies.  We were one of the lucky recipients.  My favorite, her almond cookie. With that first bite, I was transported back to the Chinatown of my childhood.

As a testament to how much I like Almond Cookies, I have multiple almond cookies on 3Jamigos.  The first time I wrote about Mrs. F’s Almond Cookies, I actually included the Almond Cookie recipe from B’s Patisserie in San Francisco.  It’s a luscious almond cookie, buttery, crispy, filled with almond flavor, delicious in its own right, but texturally different from the classic Chinatown Almond Cookie.

Finally, Mrs. F’s Almond Cookies

Why didn’t I make Mrs. F’s cookies from the get-go? Embarrassingly, I had misplaced her recipe.  After an all-out hunt, I finally found it (or did I ask my brother-in-law?).  Well, bottom line, I have it now my little duckies.

After the first batch, I tinkered with the recipe just a little.  The cookies texturally were spot on.   Here is the secret, the texture comes from using lard or shortening.  Yep, no butter in these bad boys.  Hmmm…butter-flavored shortening?  Why not.  This was my inaugural use of butter-flavored Crisco in place of regular shortening.  Judging by the response to these cookies, it worked!  If you have an aversion to butter-flavored shortening, use regular shortening.  If and when I try lard I will report back.  I have no problems using lard, it’s more of an access issue.  I prefer leaf lard which is less processed than the stuff in supermarkets.

Shortening is easy to work with and inherently a little softer than butter. I keep my shortening in the fridge. Beat the dough until light and fluffy 2-3 minutes before adding dry ingredients.

Let’s Go Nutty

The other tweak MORE almond flavor.  I upped the amount of almond extract cause in my book, you can never have too much almond flavor. JK, but I did think the cookies benefitted from a smidge more.

Year of the Tiger

Don’t think cookie season is over!  Chinese New Year is right around the corner and these would be purr-fect in an assortment of goodies to ring in the Year of the Tiger!

Part of the Holiday Cookie Parade
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Almond Cookies -like the ones in Chinatown!

This recipe was generously shared with me by my brother-in-law's family. Made with lard or shortening, these are the quintessential Chinese Almond Cookies found in Chinatown bakeries and restaurants. Crumbly, almond-forward, delicious
Course cookies, Dessert
Cuisine Asian
Keyword Chinatown Almond Cookies
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients

  • 5 cups sifted flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp salt

Wet Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 cups Shortening, either reg or butter-flavored 40T (35 T will do)
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1 large egg lightly beaten
  • 1.5 tsp almond extract Use up to 2 tsp
  • 1/4 tsp potassium carbonate liquid or 1/4 t baking soda

Finishing Touches

  • 1 egg beaten for egg wash
  • almond halves or sesame seeds garnish

Instructions

  • Combine flour, baking soda and salt, set aside.
  • Cream shortening and sugar till fluffy. Add egg and blend thoroughly. Add almond extract and k+Co3 and blend well.
  • Gradually add flour and stir until well combined. Form round balls (size of small walnut, I use a 1 tablespoon+ ice cream scoop to portion out the dough. At this point, if the dough seems a little soft, chill in fridge for 30-60 minutes.
  • Using a flat bottom glass, dip in a little bit of flour and press dough flat on a cookie sheet to about 1/2 inch thickness. Leave about 1.5 inches between cookies. Brush each cookie with egg wash. Place almond or sesame seeds centered on top.
  • Bake 350 degrees 15 minutes or until slightly golden in color.

Notes

The recipe is easily halved.  A large beaten egg is approximately 3.25 tablespoons, use half for the dough and half for the egg wash.  You have some play with the amount of egg in the dough. I have used a whole large egg in a half recipe and it turns out fine, the cookie is just a bit more fragile. I'd use a small egg in a half recipe.
I like the butter-flavored Crisco in the cookie. Gives a bit more flavor without sacrificing the texture of the cookie.
 
 
Chocolate Mochi Brownies (Rice, Rice, Brownie)

Chocolate Mochi Brownies (Rice, Rice, Brownie)

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Mochi Ado about Something.  I tried quite a few mochi recipes this year so it seems fitting that 2021 should end on a sweet rice note.  2021, the year of Mochi muffins, donuts, and now, brownies.  Mochi brownies are delicious!  I found quite a few recipes that were fairly similar and picked one from Kirbie’s Cravings as my starting point.  There are a plethora of recipes out there including one from Fix, Feast, Flair whose cookbook I have and love, Aloha Kitchen.

The Mochi Brownies are not too sweet, have that hallmark stretchy, elastic texture of mochi, intensely chocolate, and just darn delicious.  If you like fudgy, chocolatey brownies, you are going to love these.  Bonus, they’re GLUTEN-FREE and super easy to make.  We are talking spoon, whisk, 2-bowl, done.

Look at that, office clips to hold your parchment in place

Cast of Mochi Characters

Mochi– Sweet Rice Flour aka Glutinous Rice Flour.  NOT to be confused with rice flour.  Go-to brand,  Koda Farms Mochiko Sweet Rice Flour.  Found in most big supermarkets, all Asian Markets and online for an arm and a leg 🤷🏻‍♀️. Bob’s Red Mill also has a Glutinous Rice Flour that can be used.

Cocoa-You can use any kind of cocoa powder in this recipe, natural or dutch-processed.  The Dutch-process cocoa will give you a deeper, darker brownie color.  King Arthur carries both types.  Hershey’s is natural cocoa.

Baking Powder vs. Baking Soda- I used baking powder. I’m not sure it makes a difference.  My logic, since I used  Dutch-processed cocoa which has a neutral pH, I did not have an acid to kick start baking soda.  Baking powder needs heat to activate it not acid.  If you use natural cocoa you could use either baking powder or baking soda.

Liquid- I used whole milk, I haven’t tried it but I’m thinking this recipe would work with milk substitutes, evaporated milk, or coconut milk.  It may change the texture a little.

Chocolate-The brownies are not too sweet and pretty chocolate-y.  Try different chocolates to sprinkle on top, milk chocolate or semi-sweet, chopped from bar form.  Chips don’t melt well and don’t look as nifty as shards of chocolate.  I hit the top at the end with my secret sprinkles, a mix of Maldon Salt, Demerara Sugar and Chocolate Sprinkles.  For a festive look, you can use multi-colored sprinkles!

The Setting: Two Bowls, One Spoon, One Whisk

Literally, the ingredient list is the hard part of this recipe.  Combine the dry ingredients in one bowl and the liquids in another, then add the dry to the wet, mix with a spoon or whisk, bada bing bada-boom, done.  No need to worry about overmixing as Mochiko flour doesn’t have gluten.  The batter will be like a runny pancake batter.  Pour batter into your parchment-lined pan and bake.  That’s it!  An hour later you’re pulling mochi brownies out of the oven.  Cool completely before cutting with a sharp knife.  If it sticks put a little oil or butter on your knife.

 

Rewarded with delicious ooey-gooey chocolate brownies! Cookie #7

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Chocolate Mochi Brownies

A gluten-free alternative that is so good you may never go back to traditional brownies!
Course bar cookies, brownies
Cuisine Asian-American
Keyword chocolate brownies, Dark chocolate, Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Mochi, sweet rice flour
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Servings 16 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 cup mochiko flour
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder Dutch-processed or Natural is fine. Dutch process will give you a deeper, dark brown color
  • 1/2 tsp Instant espresso powder Optional, highlights chocolate flavor
  • 1 cup granulated white sugar
  • 1 ½ tsp baking powder you could actually use baking soda in equal volume, if using natural cocoa which is acidic and will activate the baking soda
  • 5 tbsp unsalted butter melted If you use low fat milk or milk substitute increase butter to 6 T
  • 2 large eggs
  • 12 oz whole milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 3 tbsp chopped dark chocolate sweeter brownie, use milk chcolate or semi-sweet chocolate
  • Sprinkles! optional but festive!

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8 by 8-inch baking pan with parchment paper.
  • In a medium bowl, add mochiko, cocoa powder, sugar and baking powder and espresso powder (optional). Whisk together until evenly mixed.
  • In a large bowl, add melted butter, eggs, milk, and vanilla extract. Whisk until evenly combined and no egg streaks remain. Add in dry ingredients. Mix until blended.
  • Pour batter into prepared baking pan. Sprinkle surface with chopped chocolate.
  • Bake 60 minutes or until mochi is set, there should be no jiggle. A toothpick inserted should come out mostly clean. Remove from oven and top with sprinkles. Cool completely before cutting.

Notes

You can replace whole milk with other milk substitutes. Keep in mind that different milk substitutes may change the texture of the brownies.
Don't even try to cut the brownies before they cool completely!
Store in a sealed container at room temperature for up to 2-3 days.
If you want to make sure you have a nice layer of sprinkles, sprinkle brownies before baking.  Sprinkle flaky salt and sugar when the brownies come out of the oven.