Tag: chocolate
Mrs. S’s Toffee Squares

Mrs. S’s Toffee Squares

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I found it!  Buried in my recipe binder, a treasured recipe from my friend Joy’s mom.  My favorite holiday cookie, Mrs. S’s Toffee Squares.  As soon as we received her plate of Christmas Cookies I laid claim to those Toffee Squares, and truth be told, her Crescents, Pecan Tartlets, and Spritz Cookies… lol.

These delightful toffee squares made their appearance, courtesy of Joy, at our preschool cookie swap last week.  A gentle reminder to find and post the recipe.  So I dug into my cookie files that haven’t been digitized, lol, and luckily found her recipe.  I might have to make a batch today to celebrate!


Our 25th Preschool Cookie Swap not only included a variety of delicious cookies but traditional, made from scratch, eggnog.

I also love Alice Medrich’s Toffee Bars, a recipe very similar to Mrs. S’s recipe.  The directions offer a little more detail than Mrs. S’s recipe and are equally divine.

Tips for Mrs. S’s recipe:

Use salted butter.  This is an old recipe, I imagine, only salted butter was available.  If you use unsalted butter, increase salt to 1/2 teaspoon.

Gold Medal or Pillsbury Flour was and is, the most widely available flour.  One of those would have been the flour Mrs. S used, but if you only have King Arthur, spoon it lightly into your measuring cup. I have read that folks compensate for the protein in King Arthur by reducing the amount of flour in the recipe by 1 tablespoon per cup.  Haven’t tried it myself yet.  Mainly because I’m nuts and have multiple varieties of flour on hand including Gold Medal, King Arthur, Bob’s, White Lily 🤷🏻‍♀️

Reminder,  do not overwork the dough after adding the flour to the butter-sugar mixture.

Go crazy, use different chocolate varieties for the topping, dark, milk or bittersweet.  Change up the nuts too.  Her recipe calls for milk chocolate and pecans or almonds, my “grown-up version” uses dark chocolate and hazelnuts.

Enjoy!

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Toffee Squares

Course bar cookies, desserts
Cuisine American
Keyword chocolate cookies, toffee bar recipe, Toffee Bars
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes

Ingredients

Cookie Base

  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 cup unsifted all purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Topping

  • 6 1.2 ounce milk chocolate bars or 2 baker's German milk chocolate bars
  • 3/4 cup finely chopped nuts pecans

Instructions

  • Cream butter, beat in sugar and vanilla.
  • Combine flour and salt, stir into the creamed mixture.
  • Pat dough evenly into a 13 x 9 x 2 inch ungreased pan.
  • Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.
  • Remove from oven, lay chocolate bars on top. When melted, spread evenly over dough. Sprinkle with nuts. Let cool, cut into diamond shape.Makes 44 cookies.
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.
Devilishly Good Chocolate Cake

Devilishly Good Chocolate Cake

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Always on the lookout for inspiration, I read Dorie Greenspan’s post on A Devils Food Cake by Zoe Francois of Zoe Bakes.  My copy of Zoe Bakes Cakes has been languishing on my shelf for a little while, okay, a long while (I got it as soon as it hit the shelves). Leave it to Dorie to provide that nudge to finally bake from it.

Devilishly Delicious

My go-to recipe for chocolate cake comes from my tattered, well-worn copy of The Silver Palate.  Their Decadent Chocolate Cake has been a stalwart in our house forever.  But Dorie’s description and praise for this cake made it impossible for me to ignore.  Glad I didn’t, it’s delicious.  It’s chocolatey, moist, not too sweet, and it is pretty darn easy to make. You don’t even have to drag your mixer out, Drop Mixer moment, boom.

Buttermilk, eggs, oil, and coffee provide the liquid and fat in this recipe.  I brewed up extra coffee in the morning knowing I would need some for this cake.  The coffee cuts the sweetness and adds depth and nuance to the cake.  You don’t taste coffee, it just provides its magic.  Cocoa provides the chocolate mojo.  You can use either natural or Dutch-processed according to Dorie.  I played it safe by using King Arthur’s Triple Blend Cocoa, the best of both worlds.  Use what you like.

Loafing Around

You can make this recipe in a round cake pan, as cupcakes, or in a loaf pan.  I chose the loaf pan. The batter has a super thin consistency and is very pourable.

All you need is a couple of bowls, a whisk, and a rubber spatula.

The cake does develop cracks and crevices while baking.  It also falls a little as it cools.  I remedied the situation by trimming off the top and flipping the cake over.  I opted to go with our tried and true Cream Cheese Frosting from our Carrot Cake Recipe.  DOUBLE it. I barely had enough to cover the cake with a single recipe.  You will thank me, lol.  A Vanilla or Chocolate Frosting would work well also. You can find frosting options and Zoe’s Cream Cheese Frosting on Dorie’s site.

This is an absolutely luscious, beautiful cake as is the book and website for Zoe Bakes Cakes.  Put this Devil’s Food Cake on your bucket list.

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CHOCOLATE DEVIL’S FOOD CAKE

Adapted from Zoë Bakes Cakes, by Zoë François (Ten Speed Press) by Dorie Greenspan, my baking muse.
Course Cake, Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword chocolate cake, Chocolate Devil's Food Cake
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour

Ingredients

  • 2 1/3 cups (280 grams) all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups (400 grams) granulated sugar
  • 2/3 cup (50 grams) Dutch-processed cocoa powder (sifted if lumpy)
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 1/4 cups (300 ml)hot strong coffee
  • 2 tablespoons rum or brandy
  • 2 large eggs at room temperature
  • 1 cup (240 ml) buttermilk
  • 1/2 cup (120 ml) mild-flavored oil (such as vegetable oil)
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Generously grease a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan then line with greased parchment paper. Set aside.
  • In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt until well combined. In a small bowl, stir together the coffee and rum.
  • In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla until well combined. Add the egg mixture and half the coffee rum to the dry ingredients and mix with a spoon until smooth. Slowly add the remaining coffee mixture and whisk until completely blended and smooth. The batter will be quite thin.
  • Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Gently tap the pan on the counter several times to release excess air bubbles.
  • Bake until a tester comes out clean, about 1 hour 10 minutes (30 minutes for 8-inch rounds). Let the cake cool completely before removing from the pan and inverting it onto a serving plate. (If you want to trim the top of the cake – which will be the base – do it now; see above.)
  • Using a metal offset spatula, cover the cake with an even layer of frosting. Top with chocolate shavings, if you’d like. Serve at room temperature.

Notes

Can be made in 2 8-inch round pans
To make 24 cupcakes, fill the well of a cupcake pan two-thirds full of batter and bake for about 20 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean.
Pudding In the Late Night Hours Calls for Chocolate

Pudding In the Late Night Hours Calls for Chocolate

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Life is on hold as we await the results of the 2020 presidential election.  I swore I wasn’t going to agonize over the process leading to the final result.  My plan was to ignore CNN, Twitter, WAPO, NYT…I decided to watch Hamilton for the umpteenth time, followed by my favorite K-drama.  As they say…

The Best Laid Plans

A quick sneak peek at Twitter and I was hooked.  It has been an agonizingly slow crawl to the finish as the Biden/Harris ticket chips away at the vote count in the battleground states. There I was tabbing back and forth between my K-drama and Twitter.  At 2am I had to stop the madness, I resorted to my favorite stress-buster activity, COOKING followed by my second favorite stress reliever-EATING.

Win-Win

At that time of the night, I needed something delicious, and comforting.  I had been eyeing a recipe in NYTcooking for a chocolate pudding made with oat milk.  Many of my friends are dairy intolerant or vegan so I am always on the lookout for desserts that fit the bill.  The fact that this pudding was quick and easy made this a no-brainer for my sleep-deprived, anxiety-riddled brain.

This pudding is so ridiculously easy and so incredibly delicious bookmark this post now.  You will thank me.  I used Planet Oat Milk but the recipe states you can use soy or almond, I’m sticking with oat milk.  I used Dutch-processed cocoa which gives the pudding its intense dark color.  You can use natural cocoa which will give you a lighter-colored pudding, either is fine.  Whisk the dry ingredients together, cocoa, sugar, cornstarch, and salt.  Slowly add the oat milk and then cook it over medium heat, STIRRING constantly so it doesn’t scorch and stays lump-free and smooth.  I used TJ’s Dark Chocolate Pound Plus Bar which resulted in a rich, intense chocolate flavor.  Experiment with different chocolates to change the sweetness and chocolate intensity.

Topped off the pudding with cocoa nib crumble from Manresa and I was in business.  Yummy.  I imagine an infinite variety of toppings would be lovely like softly Whipped Coconut Cream, whimsical sprinkles, flaked coconut, cookie crumbs, or fresh berries.

My little bowl of chocolate pudding did the trick, calmed my nerves, and gave me the courage to…GO TO BED!

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5 from 3 votes

Oat Milk Chocolate Pudding

A delicious chocolate pudding from NYT Cooking that is dairy free and vegan
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword Chocolate Pudding, dairy-free, Dark chocolate, oat milk, Simple Bread Pudding, vegan
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes

Ingredients

  • ⅓ cup (65 grams) granulated sugar
  • ⅓ cup (30 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • ⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 2 cups (480 milliliters) oat milk or soy or almond milk
  • 3 to 4 ounces (85 to 115 grams) bittersweet bar chocolate finely chopped, I used TJ's Dark Chocolate, which is accidentally vegan 😉
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

  • In a medium saucepan whisk together the sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, and salt. Slowly stir in the milk and stirring constantly until smooth and combined.
  • Cook over medium-low heat. Stir the mixture continuously, scraping the bottom, sides, and corners of the pan, until the pudding thickens, begins to bubble, and coats the back of the spoon or spatula, 5 to 10 minutes. Careful to not let the pudding scorch on the bottom and corner of the pot, lower heat if it cooks too fast or starts to scorch.
  • Add the chocolate and stir vigorously until the pudding is very thick and smooth, about 30 seconds longer.
  • Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Spoon the pudding into a serving bowl or individual cups or ramekins. Serve warm, at room temperature or chilled. It will thicken as it cools. Garnish with whipped cream, sprinkles or chocolate chips or cookie crumbles. Use your imagination!

Notes

Before refrigerating, press plastic wrap onto the surface of the pudding to prevent a “skin” from forming on top.
The pudding will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
The Joy of Cookies (Toffee Bars)

The Joy of Cookies (Toffee Bars)

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Joy is one of my oldest friends.  We went to school together and I mean that literally.  We lived a few blocks from each other, every day we would meet on the street corner halfway between our houses to walk and talk the final mile to school.  Sometimes, on the walk home, we wouldn’t be done talking so we would walk to one of our houses, turn around and walk back to the meeting point together before parting ways.  Silly, huh.  Yep, BFFs.

Holiday Highlight

Every Christmas I eagerly awaited her mom’s plate of holiday cookies.  Joy’s mom, whom I affectionately called Mrs. S, was an amazing baker (and a marvelous cook too). During the holidays, you could find her holed up in her kitchen busy baking no less than 6-8 different kinds of cookies.  Almond Crescents, Spritz Cookies shaped into wreaths decorated with red and green sugar, Chocolate Pecan Thumbprints, Pecan Tartlets, Chocolate Chippers, and Lemon Bars.  Her crescents were perfect, her scalloped-edged Pecan Tartlets were the gold standard of bite-sized pies.

In short, she was my muse for holiday cookies.  I love all of her cookies, but my favorite?  Hands down, her Toffee Bars.  A shortbread crust, buttery and sweet, painted with milk chocolate and finished with a sprinkling of chopped almonds.  Cookie Nirvana.

Attention to Detail

I have most of Mrs. S’s recipes.  Her Pecan Tartlets find their way into every holiday cookie box.  The Hubster considers it blasphemous if they are not included.  I am religious about following her recipes, I mimic each step.  I cut out each tiny pie crust with a flower petal cookie cutter. How else do you get cute scalloped edges?  I meticulously shape each ball of almond-infused dough into crescent-shaped moons. Warm from the oven, I roll each cookie in powdered sugar and place it on a cooling rack.  Then, sift powdered sugar over the cookies for that snow-capped look.  Yep, that little extra step.  Her attention to detail was what set her cookies apart and that’s what I learned from her.

It’s been a few years since she left us.  Every Christmas since, as I am perusing recipes and pulling out my butter, flour, and sugar- I think of her.  I imagine her scurrying around her kitchen churning out tray after tray of her delicious cookies.  Then I hear her voice prodding me, it’s time to get busy and bake.

A Fine Understudy

Unfortunately, I don’t have Mrs. S’s recipe for those Toffee Bars that I love so much. (Update: Found it! Mrs. S’s Toffee Squares) But Alice Medrich does.  Her Cookies and Brownies book contains toffee bars that are so good, they would make Mrs. S proud.  The crust starts with melted butter making these incredibly easy to make. Stir together brown sugar and flour with the butter, press into a pan and bake to a golden brown.  For this batch, I scattered a combo of semi-sweet and milk chocolate chips on the warm crust, let them melt, and ice the melted chips over the crust.  For the final touch, sprinkle toasted hazelnuts over the chocolate.  Next batch?  Endless possibilities, limited only by your imagination.

Kid version:  Use all milk chocolate and either toasted almonds or pecans.  Got milk?

Adult version:  Use semi-sweet chocolate or dark chocolate and toasted hazelnuts, finish with Maldon Salt.  Serve with some bubbly.

Sporty twist version:  Perfect during a ballgame, your choice of chocolate and salted or honey-roasted peanuts.  Play ball!

Allow bars to cool on a rack.  Use a serrated knife to cut the pan into bars or wedges.

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Toffee Bars

A buttery, brown sugar crust topped with chocolate and hazelnuts. A riff on Alice Medrich's Toffee Bars.
Course cookies, Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword toffee, toffee bar recipe, Toffee Bars
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes

Equipment

  • 8x8 inch square pan or 9' tart pan with removable bottom. Any pan with roughly same area I like to use a 12x5 rectangular tart pan and cut the cookies into wedges.

Ingredients

Shortbread base

  • 8 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 1/2 cup light brown sugar packed
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour

Topping

  • 6 ounces milk or semisweet chocolate chopped, if bar or block or use chips
  • 1/2 cup toasted nuts your choice!

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Position rack in lower third of oven

Shortbread base

  • Cut butter into chunks and melt in a saucepan over medium heat or place in heatproof glass bowl, loosely cover and microwave at 40% power for 15 seconds, repeat if necessary.
  • Remove from heat and stir in brown sugar, salt and vanilla. Add flour and mix just until combined.
  • Press dough into a lined (parchment or foil) 8x8-inch pan or a tart pan with a removable bottom
  • Bake for 20-25 minutes or until well browned at the edges and golden brown in the center

Topping

  • Scatter chocolate evenly on top of warm crust. Let stand to allow the chocolate to melt. If necessary, place in the oven for a minute to help melt the chocolate. Spread chocolate evenly over the crust with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon.
  • Sprinkle toasted chopped nuts over chocolate. Set on rack to cool.
  • Lift and transfer bar to cutting board. Use a sharp knife (I like using a serrated knife)and cut into 2x2" squares or wedges. If necessary chill in fridge to set chocolate.
  • See story above for variations.
Molly's Scone Loaf
Yeh! A Delicious Chocolate Marzipan Scone Loaf

Yeh! A Delicious Chocolate Marzipan Scone Loaf

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I recently added the cookbook Molly on the Range to the 3Jamigos shop.  I couldn’t resist, the Kindle edition is going for a buck ninety-nine. That’s just ridiculous, you can’t even get a cup of joe for that.  Molly on the Range has been out a couple of years and every now and then it would dance across my feed.  I’d think, cute book from that blogger, My Name is Yeh, and keep going.  Fast forward a couple of years, and well whaddya know, her book took off and she has a television show, Girl Meets Farm.  Overachiever, just kidding…but it piqued my interest so I got a copy.  I started reading… Julliard trained percussionist, city girl who moved from Chicago to the Big Apple to a farm in North Dakota. Huh?

Well, the book is delightful. Her writing is warm, friendly, and spunky.  Her photos make me hungry and the drawn illustrations are a really nice touch.  I love cookbooks that tell a story.  Just like A Common Table, the recipes are the icing on the cake and the cake is the delicious stories of family, friends, and discovery.

Her riff on a Midwest tradition the “hot dish”,  a casserole with wild rice or some sort of starch, canned cream soup, and frozen veggies   Come on now, who didn’t grow up with a casserole that started with Cream of Mushroom or Chicken Soup, hmm, hmm, good.  Her version is a made from scratch, a chicken pot pie filling topped with loads of tater tots.  SOUNDS GOOD TO ME.  As much as I love pie crust, I do have a soft spot for tots.

Plus, she had me laughing with “You cover the bitch with Tater Tots”.  Cute with attitude, I like that.

But before trying the classic hot dish, another one of her recipes beckoned my baker side, Dark Chocolate Marzipan Scone Loaf.  Whaat? Scone loaf?  Yep, scone dough baked in a loaf pan. The texture is much like a scone, buttery, crumbly, not too sweet, PERFECT with coffee or tea.  The kicker? Little chunks of marzipan provide a burst of sweet almond flavor in each bite tempered by the bitterness of dark chocolate.  Like a rumble in your mouth.  Soooo good.

Chocolate and Marzipan Loaf

The dough is a snap to put together.  Dry ingredients go into your food processor, pulse cold chunks of butter into the flour mixture. Pour butter-flour mixture into a bowl with marzipan and chocolate chunks.  Stir in eggs, cream, and extracts just until combined. Don’t overmix and keep ingredients cold (just like biscuits and scones).  Scoop the dough into a loaf pan, gently shaping it so the dough is even.  Sprinkle the top with sugar and bake. Before you know it you’ll be sitting down enjoying a delicious slice of chocolatey-almondy scone bread.  Yum!

Molly's Scone Loaf
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Dark chocolate Marzipan Scone Loaf

Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword Dark chocolate, marzipan, quick bread, scone loaf
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings 8 servings

Ingredients

  • 7 or 8 ounces marzipan chopped into ½-inch pieces
  • 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
  • ½ cup dark chocolate chips
  • 2 cups flour plus more for dusting
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 tablespoons sugar plus 1 teaspoon
  • ¾ cup cold unsalted butter cut into ½-inch cubes
  • 2 large eggs
  • ½ cup buttermilk or heavy cream
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon almond extract
  • Jam for serving

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Line an 8 x 4-inch loaf pan with parchment paper, allowing 1-inch wings to hang over the edges on the long sides.
  • In a large bowl, toss together the marzipan and powdered sugar to coat. Add the chocolate and set aside.
  • In a food processor, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and 2 tablespoons of the sugar and pulse to combine.
  • Add the butter cubes and pulse until the butter is the size of peas. Add this to the bowl with the marzipan.
  • In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk or cream, and extracts and add to the dry ingredients. Use a spatula to stir just until combined.
  • Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf pan and spread it out evenly.
  • Sprinkle the top with the remaining 1 teaspoon sugar and bake until golden brown on top and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
  • Begin checking for doneness at 40 minutes.
  • Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove to the rack to cool completely.
  • Slice with a serrated knife and serve with jam.
Salted Butter & Chocolate Chunk Shortbread (New Year’s Resolution #2: Finish 12 Days of Cookies)

Salted Butter & Chocolate Chunk Shortbread (New Year’s Resolution #2: Finish 12 Days of Cookies)

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Let’s get the apology over with first. Yikes, I wasn’t able to complete my 12 days of cookies. I started early, had help from Jamie and still came up short. Shouldn’t make excuses BUT, I am going to.  A family trip to Vegas is the clear winner of excuses and reasons why I stumbled. Of course, if I included cookies sampled at Bouchon in Vegas, I would have easily made 12, but not quite within the rules.  Second, a faulty oven. When the oven takes over 45 minutes just to reach 325 degrees, Houston, we have a problem. The last time my oven went on the fritz (a few years ago), I was baking Thanksgiving pies. Now that was a disaster.

BUT, I am determined to complete the list, after all, cookies can be made and enjoyed year around. So, without further ado…
#7 of the 12 Days of Cookies: Salted Butter & Chocolate Chunk Shortbread

After seeing this cookie pop up on various sites and blogs I knew it was destined for the 12 Days of Cookies list.  The recipe comes from the book Dining In by Alison Roman (what do you know, I am not buying this book-have I turned a new leaf? Nope, it is currently out of stock). This was a no-brainer.  Butter. Chocolate. Shortbread.  Like I was going to be able to ignore this recipe.

This is a slice and bake cookie, my favorite kind of cookie.  You can make the dough in advance and bake off as few or as many cookies as you like. You can freeze some of the dough for a rainy day, which in California, might not happen for awhile.

The dough was a bit crumbly straight out of the mixer so I kneaded it a couple of times until it came together.  Shape the dough into logs using parchment paper. Form the dough roughly into a log on the parchment, fold parchment over the log, and with a straight edge (ruler) placed up against the log on top of the parchment, gently pull the bottom piece of parchment while pushing the straight edge into the dough. This creates a round log. Wrap each log in the parchment and slide into a round tube (I use 3-inch diameter PVC pipe) and chill in the fridge.

You can use raw turbinado sugar for the Demerara Sugar.  Don’t skip this step as it adds a nice crunch to the cookie. I would use semi-sweet chocolate which results in a sweeter cookie.  There is quite a bit of chocolate in this cookie which can make slicing the dough a bit tricky.  It’s okay if it crumbles when cut, just smoosh the dough back together, it will bake up fine.

An utterly delicious cookie, buttery, sandy, chocolatety (my new word), and sweet with a surprise pop of salt.  It hits every taste sensation, and if that wasn’t enough, a crispy edge from the demerara sugar.  Cookie Heaven.  The keys to this cookie are salted butter, a sprinkling of Fleur de Sel, an edge of Demerara Sugar and of course CHOCOLATE chunks.  Hmmmmmm.

I made a batch for a friend’s New Year’s Eve Party, but unfortunately, I was too tired to attend.  I ended up in my jammies, on the couch, ringing in the New Year with a glass of milk in one hand and a cookie in the other and then promptly fell asleep.  Oh well, there is always next year.

Happy New Year Everyone!

Dilemma-A bit of bubbly or milk?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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(Salted Butter & Chocolate Chunk Shortbread) New Year’s Resolution #2 Finish 12 Days of Cookies

Ingredients

  • 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons 2 1/4 sticks salted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup light brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 6 ounces semi- or bittersweet dark chocolate chopped (but not too fine, you want chunks)
  • 1 large egg beaten
  • Demerara sugar for rolling
  • Flaky sea salt for sprinkling

Instructions

  • The cookie dough can be made ahead and stored, tightly wrapped in plastic, up to 1 week in the refrigerator, or 1 month in the freezer. Cookies can be baked and stored in plastic wrap or an airtight container for 5 days.
  • 1. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • 2. Using an electric mixer and a medium bowl or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, both sugars, and vanilla on medium-high till it’s super light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Using a spatula, scrape down the sides of the bowl and, with the mixer on low, slowly add the flour, followed by the chocolate chunks, and beat just to blend.
  • 3. Divide the dough in half, placing each half on a large piece of plastic wrap. Fold the plastic over so that it covers the dough to protect your hands from getting all sticky. Using your hands (just like you’re playing with clay), form the dough into a log shape; rolling it on the counter will help you smooth it out, but don’t worry about getting it totally perfect. You can also do this using parchment paper, if you prefer, but I find using plastic wrap easier when it comes to shaping the log. Each half should form two logs 2 to 2 1/4 inches in diameter. Chill until totally firm, about 2 hours.
  • 4. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
  • 5. Brush the outside of the logs with the beaten egg and roll them in the Demerara sugar (this is for those really delicious crispy edges).
  • 6. Slice each log into 1/2-inch-thick rounds, place them on the prepared baking sheet(s) about 1 inch apart (they won’t spread much), and sprinkle with flaky salt. Bake until the edges are just beginning to brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool slightly before eating them all.
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.
Not Your Mama’s Graham Crackers

Not Your Mama’s Graham Crackers

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For as long as I can remember, I have loved graham crackers.  Picture a kindergartener fidgeting in her chair, hands clasped on my lap (trying to look angelic of course), waiting for the carton of milk and graham crackers.  Once I got my milk and cookie, I would break the cracker in half, dip it in my milk, and quickly pop it into my mouth and feel it dissolve on my tongue.

Stepped up Grahams

The cookie of choice, Honey Maid Graham Crackers, and not just in school.  My mom always kept a box of graham crackers in our pantry.  The perfect after-school treat or bedtime snack.

One of my favorite farmer’s market stands is the 2nd Story Bake Shop (sadly gone now).  I usually stop by for my favorite indulgence, their pie cookie.  A delicious bite-size treat of a buttery crust filled with seasonal fruit- fall apples, spring strawberries, summer peaches.

Cracker Craft

On my last visit as I grabbed my pie bite, their cookie jars caught my eye.  The first one contained almond sticks. The second had graham crackers.  The graham crackers were slightly darker than golden brown, round not square with none of the characteristic markings. They looked rather unassuming.  The vendor exclaimed it was her favorite cookie. Ok, I’ll give it a go.  It was DELICIOUS, crispy, buttery, with a hint of cinnamon and honey.  Wow, not your mama’s boxed graham crackers.

After some cajoling, banking on me not knowing the book or pastry chef, they revealed the source of their recipe.  The Craft of Baking by Karen DeMasco  (Tom Colicchio’s pastry chef).  Wouldn’t you know it, I own a copy!  No big surprise there.

Homemade graham crackers.  I know, who would have thunk it that you can actually make graham crackers at home.  Of course, you won’t have that familiar blue box with the honey bee on it, but you won’t miss it after you try these.

Making these cookies is similar to shortbread cookies.  I opted not to roll out the dough but to form a slice and bake log.  Easy peasy.  The dough is pretty soft, chilling makes it easier to form a log.  I used clover honey which is very mild in flavor.  I’m sure you can experiment with other kinds of honey.  I am waiting for my embossed rolling pin to arrive so I can roll and stamp the dough before baking, an idea I saw on food52.  The cookies looked amazing.  The embossed version in a delicious dessert can be found here!

I couldn’t resist turning some of these homemade graham crackers into the quintessential campfire treat, S’mores.  I can almost hear all of you going hmmm, I remember making S’mores! So keep this recipe in mind, and when summer rolls around travel back to your kid days, get out the marshmallows, Hershey’s Chocolate bars, whip up a batch of these grammies, and enjoy!

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Not Your Mama’s Graham Crackers

Course cookies, crackers, Dessert, Snack
Cuisine American
Keyword graham crackers
Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 19 minutes

Ingredients

Da Dry MIx-Sift together and Set Aside:

  • 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour plus more for rolling
  • 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
  • 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Cream Mixture:

  • 8 ounces 2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, at room temperature
  • 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup honey

Instructions

  • In a bowl, sift together the all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon.
  • In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter, dark brown sugar, granulated sugar, and honey. Mix on medium speed until well combined, about 1 minute. In two additions, add the dry ingredients, letting the first fully incorporate before you add the second.
  • Flatten the dough into a rectangular shape, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until chilled, about 30 minutes or up to 2 days. (The dough can be frozen, well wrapped, for up to 1 month.)
  • Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment.
  • Unwrap the chilled dough, and on a lightly floured surface, roll it out into a rectangle about 1/8 inch thick. Using a ruler and a pastry cutter or a sharp knife, cut the dough into 1-1/2-by-3-inch rectangles; use a spatula to transfer the rectangles to the prepared baking sheets as you go. Reroll the scraps of dough once, and cut out more cookies. Using a fork, pierce each rectangle with two rows of four to six marks.*
  • Bake the graham crackers, rotating the baking sheets halfway through, until they are golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
  • The graham crackers will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
  • *Or alternatively, shape dough into a log 3x3 square or 3 inch round, chill until dough is firm enough to cut. Slice 1/8 inch thick slices. Place on cookie sheet approximately 1 inch apart. Bake 11-12 minutes until golden brown. Optional" sprinkle with cinnamon sugar before baking.
  • Makes approximately 30 cookies