#ilovecookies Archives

Snickerdoodles (Alice in Cookiewonderland)

By threejamigos | September 5, 2019 | Comments 0 Comment

It has been 1610 days since I sat down and penned my inaugural post, Jamigos 2.0 to launch 3jamigos. As I reflect on that number all I can think is WHAT TOOK ME SO LONG TO INCLUDE MY FAVORITE COOKIE? I mean, sheesh, of the 100 cookie recipes I have posted, it doesn’t include my all-time favorite non-shortbread cookie (notice how I slipped in that qualifier, shortbread=cookie perfection). Unbelievable, and how did I discover this faux pas?

I was tasked with making cookies for an End of Summer Party for our political action group (sanity saver). I automatically went to my blog and typed in S N I C K E R D O O D L E S in the search box and waited, NOTHING popped up. A quick search of my cookie index revealed, what the heck, no Snickerdoodles.

Are you kidding?

I’ve never posted Snickerdoodles on my blog? Hellooo, time to fix that. I got busy, made a batch for the meeting, snitched a couple to have with an ice-cold glass of milk, and sat down to write this post.

EVERYONE needs a scrumptious recipe for Snickerdoodles. Buttery, sweet and spicy, crispy edges, soft chewy center, finished with cinnamon sugar. The quintessential cookie. My favorite recipe comes from the cookie maven, Alice Medrich. Unlike other recipes I have seen, hers are made with just butter. Yep, no shortening in these bad-boy bites of sweet cinnamon bliss. The recipe is from her small but mighty book, Cookies and Brownies, long out of print but available on the secondary market. The book is worth getting just for this and her Lemon Bar recipe. Well written with easy-to-follow directions, it’s a keeper. My copy is frayed and tattered, well worn from use.

Cream butter and sugar together to smooth but NOT fluffy. Add eggs, beat until blended.

Add flour and stir just until combined. Don’t overmix. The mixing changes the consistency of the cookie. Fluffy butter-sugar mixture gives a cakier cookie, go for smooth and creamy. After adding the flour mixture do not beat the dough too much or you will end up with a tough cookie.

Gather dough into a disc, shape doesn’t matter. Keep the thickness to about an inch. This will make it easier to scoop and form the cookies after chilling.

After chilling the dough, use a 1 tablespoon ice cream scoop (#70) to form balls. Shape the scoops into smooth balls and roll in cinnamon sugar. Use a good quality cinnamon, like Penzey’s . This is a great cookie to make with the kids or grandkids, never met a kid that didn’t like to roll balls of cookie dough in copious amounts of cinnamon sugar all the while licking their fingers.

The one tablespoon scoop yields a cookie about 2 inch in diameter. All well and good, BUT, the smaller you make the cookie the harder it is to end up with a cookie that has crisp edges and a soft center. If that is what you are looking for, try making bigger cookies. Increase your baking time by a couple of minutes.

Bake cookies 8-10 minutes until the edges are golden brown. I like the centers soft, if you like crunchy cookies, bake them a bit longer. How long? Don’t know, I don’t like them that way.

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Snicker Doodles

Course cookies

Cuisine American

Keyword Snickerdoodles

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 10

Equipment

Cookie sheets, lined with parchment paper or greased

Ingredients

3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (13.5 ounces)
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ pound unsalted butter, softened (2 sticks)
1½ cups sugar 10.5 ounces
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400° Position rack in the middle of the oven.
Combine the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and mix thoroughly with a whisk or fork.
In a medium mixing bowl with an electric mixer, beat the butter with the 1½ cups sugar until smooth and creamy, not fluffy. Beat in the eggs just until blended. Add the flour mixture and stir or beat on low speed just until incorporated. Gather the dough into a disc and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, at least 30 minutes.
Mix the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and the cinnamon in a small bowl. Form level tablespoons of dough with an ice cream scoop, into 1-inch balls. Roll the balls in the cinnamon sugar and place 2 inches apart on the lined or ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake for 8 to 11 minutes, until the cookies puff and begin to settle down. To create crevices, when cookies puff, tap cookie sheet on rack. This causes the cookie to sink, creating crinkles. Rotate the cookie sheet from front to back halfway through the baking time to ensure even baking. Bake until the edges are golden. Remove from oven and allow to cool for a couple of minutes. Remove cookies with a spatula to a wire rack. Don't let them cool completely or the cookies will stick to the sheet. I bake on ungreased sheets to minimize spreading.
Cool the cookies completely before stacking or storing. May be kept in an airtight container for several days.

Nutty for Almond Meltaways

By threejamigos | January 15, 2019 | Comments 2 comments

I contemplated using the tiniest font size possible when I typed “cookie #12 of my 12 days of cookies” when I realized I actually can’t change the font size. Damn! It’s the second week in January and here I am finally posting the last holiday cookie.

At least it is a good one, Almond Meltaways.

I would not be surprised if one of the first cookies I ever nibbled on was an almond cookie. Every bakery in Chinatown makes a version of the egg-washed, crinkly cookie with a hallmark whole almond pressed in the center of each. Made with lard or shortening these cookies are crumbly, sandy, crisp, and redolent of almonds. In a nutshell-yummy. While friends pulled out sugar or chocolate chip cookies from their lunch bags, I pulled out almond cookies from mine. Those days are a distant memory but I still love eating almond cookies.

On my last jaunt to Los Angeles, I made a quick pitstop at a family favorite in Chinatown, Phoenix Bakery. When we were kids, my mom, distantly related to the owners, always made it a point to stop there when we were in LA. After catching up with the latest news of our families, they would pack boxes of Almond Cookies and Butterflies for us to bring home. I love their Butterflies, a bow-shaped sheet of dough deep-fried to make them shatteringly crisp and covered with a sweet, sticky, gooey syrup-a dentist’s dream. If you are ever in LA, do yourself a favor and pick up a box. The bakery just celebrated its 80th anniversary, no small feat for a family-run business and a testament to their delicious sweets.

I enjoy almond cookies anytime. But almond cookies are a must during New Year and an integral part of any New Year’s celebration. Symbolizing coins, they represent good fortune and prosperity in the New Year.

Although it would be hard to beat the almond cookie of my youth, I am always trying new recipes for almond cookies. I’m glad I tried this one. They’re delicious. The recipe comes from the blog The Beach House Kitchen and is a wonderful stand-in for Chinese Almond Cookies. The fine grain texture and tenderness come from the use of cornstarch, confectioners’ sugar, and shortening while the butter and almond extract provide the flavor.

The dough comes together in a snap. Use a tablespoon ice cream scoop (#70 scoop) to portion out the dough.

The dough is flattened with a glass dipped in sugar and a whole almond pressed in the center. After baking, a quick dusting of powdered sugar is the final touch before serving these gorgeous cookies.

I can’t wait to bring these to this year’s celebration, Happy Year of the Pig!

Like Almond Cookies? Here are a couple of other favorites, Almond Clouds from King Arthur’s Flour and Almond Cookies from B’s Patisserie in San Francisco.

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Almond Meltaways

Course cookies

Cuisine American

Keyword Almond Cookies

Prep Time 16

Cook Time 14

Total Time 30

Ingredients

1 1/3 cup all purpose flour 167 gm
1/2 cup whole almonds finely ground 75gms
2/3 cup confectioners' sugar 71gm
1/2 cup cornstarch 56gm
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature one stick
1/2 cup shortening room temperature
2 tsp. almond extract
whole almonds for garnish
granulated sugar for dipping
confectioners' sugar for garnish

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, almonds, confectioners' sugar, corn starch and salt until well combined. Set aside.
Combine butter and shortening in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, on medium speed beat until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add almond extract.
Turn the mixer to low and slowly add the flour mixture, beating until the dough begins to clump and form a ball around the paddle.
Shape the dough into balls, about one tablespoon each and place on baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Flatten each cookie with the bottom of a glass that has been dipped in some granulated sugar and then press a whole almond into the center of each cookie.
Bake for 12-14 minutes, until just lightly browned and firm when gently touched. Let stand on baking sheet for 5 minutes, before transferring to wire rack to cool completely.
Shake confectioners' sugar on tops of cookies

A Crinkle Just In Time: Cookie #11 Lemon Crinkles

By threejamigos | January 1, 2019 | Comments 2 comments

Jamie is home and decided it was time to bake and bail me out, as she always does, on my attempt to post 12 Days of Cookies. I’m soooo close, this is cookie number 11. If it wasn’t for “being under the weather”, I would have posted this yesterday. We definitely needed a citrus cookie so she picked a Lemon Crinkles. The recipe comes from Fresh April Flours by Lynn. I think it was karma that Jamie picked this recipe, Lynn is a scientist by trade and a field hockey player. Imagine that? Fate.

A riff on Chocolate Crinkle Cookies, these gems are bursting with lemon flavor, a delightfully refreshing cookie that’s easy to make and sure to appeal to any citrus lover.

If you are a lemon FREAK. You could up the amount of zest or play with the amount of lemon juice (just a bit since adding liquid can effect the texture). Remember, adding zest ups the lemon flavor while adding lemon juice will increase the tartness. Baking soda also tempers sourness (which is why I add baking soda to my buttermilk biscuits, I don’t want the tang). You could play around with leaving out the baking soda and adding more baking powder…but this is speculation on my part, so you are entering the change at your own risk zone.

Using you handy dandy ice cream/cookie scoops. Use a 1.5 tablespoon scooper for a good size cookie. Roll the scoops into smooth uniform balls before LIBERALLY rolling in the powdered sugar. Some of the sugar will be absorbed by the moisture in the dough. For that nice white jagged snowy cap, keep on rollin’.

Cookies spreading too much? Chill-out and chill the dough well. This means on warm days, chill the dough, scoop out the balls, if they are soft, chill again.

Bake these bad boys off and sit down with a nice cup of tea and enjoy! Or tease your Dog…

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Lemon Crinkle Cookies

A citrus riff on the classic chocolate crinkle cookie. A refreshing change of pace.

Course cookies

Cuisine American

Keyword Crinkles

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 15

Total Time 25

Servings 18 cookies

Author April Fresh Flours

Ingredients

1.5 cups all purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking powder
⅛ teaspoon baking soda
½ cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature = 1 stick
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg room temperature*
1.5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 2 T for more tartness
zest of one lemon can increase for more lemon flavor

Instructions

In a medium size bowl, toss together the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.
In a large bowl with a hand mixer or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy (approximately 2-3 minutes). Beat in vanilla, egg, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula as necessary.
Reduce mixer speed to low and gradually add flour mixture. Mix until just combined. Cover bowl and chill in the refrigerator at least 1 hour and up to 3 days. If chilling longer than 1 hour, allow to sit at room temperature about 15 minutes before rolling into balls.
When you are ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set aside.
Pour the powdered sugar onto a large plate. Using a large cookie scoop, scoop the dough out of the bowl and roll into a ball with your hands. Dough ball does not need to be perfect. Roll the ball of dough generously in the powdered sugar. Place no more than 8 balls of dough on a baking sheet at one time (4 rows of 2). Chill dough you are not using.
Bake cookies for 13-14 minutes or until cookies look mostly matte (not wet or shiny). Remove from oven and cool on the baking sheet for 3 minutes before transferring to cooling rack to cool completely. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature up to 10 days. Baked cookies freeze well, up to 2 months. Rolled cookie dough can be frozen up to 3 months. Roll in powdered sugar before baking and bake frozen. Add another 1-2 minutes to baking time.

Forward Progress…courtesy of Jamie….an Instagram Story on making Lemon Crinkles! It gets a little loss in translation on the blog but it’s a start..onto 2019!

Belly Up to the Snickerdoodle Bar Day 6 Holiday Cookies

By threejamigos | December 20, 2018 | Comments 2 comments

A riff on quite possibly my favorite cookie, the Snickerdoodle. The Snickerdoodle is the quintessential cookie. Buttery, chewy, slightly cakey center, crispy edges, a nice hit of cinnamon, my mouth is watering as I write this. This year’s Washington Post’s favorite cookies of 2018 include a Snickerdoodle Blondie. We all know the quick and dirty route to a batch of cookies is a bar cookie. Snickerdoodles, baked in a square pan instead of individual cookies, texturally a bar cookie but taste-wise just like a snickerdoodle. Ah, two worlds collide beautifully.

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Snickerdoodle Blondies

Quick and easy bar cookie. The texture of a blondie/brownie but the taste of a Snickerdoodle. All that buttery cinnamony goodness in a bar.

Servings 16 Servings

Calories 220kcal

Author Adapted from WAPO

Ingredients

12 tablespoons 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar plus 2 tablespoons for the topping
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon plus more for the topping
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch-square baking pan with cooking oil spray then line the bottom with parchment paper.

Instructions

Combine the butter, the cup of granulated sugar and the brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer or handheld electric mixer; beat on medium speed for a few minutes, until lightened and a little fluffy. Stop to scrape down the bowl.
Add the eggs and vanilla extract; beat on medium speed until well incorporated.
Whisk together the flour, teaspoon of cinnamon, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl, then add to the mixer bowl; beat on medium-low speed until well incorporated. The dough will be quite soft.
Transfer to the baking pan, then spread the dough evenly all the way into the corners. Whisk together the remaining 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar with the amount of cinnamon you prefer; we recommend 1/2 to 1 teaspoon. Sprinkle that mixture evenly over the surface. Bake (middle rack) for about 25 minutes, until golden and still slightly soft at the center.
Cool completely (in the pan) before serving or storing. It's best to lift out the slab and slice on a cutting board; discard the parchment before cutting.

Notes

I used only 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon in the topping which seemed like plenty

Going to a holiday party? Make a batch, leave it in the pan and give the whole kit-& Kaboodle of s-doodles to the host.

Finding Ranger Cookies

By threejamigos | August 27, 2018 | Comments 0 Comment

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

Nope

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

I Went to a Garden Party

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

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

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

Ranger Cookie Tips

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

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

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

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

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

RANGER COOKIES

Chewy oatmeal cookies loaded with coconut and crisp rice cereal. Simple and delicious, these cookies are a favorite with kids and grown-up kids as well!

Course cookies, Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword coconut, cookies, oatmeal, ranger cookies, rice krispies

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 15

Ingredients

Creaming Mixture

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

The Wet Ingredients

2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

The Dry Ingredients-Combine and set aside

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

The Adds

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

Instructions

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

Notes

I use parchment paper to line my baking sheets. These cookies can be baked directly on an ungreased cookie sheet.

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

By threejamigos | June 25, 2018 | Comments 2 comments

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

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

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

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

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

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Brown Butter Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies

Another chocolate chip cookie? You bet!

Course cookies, Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword brown butter, chocolate chip cookie, toffee

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 15

Total Time 45

Servings 20

Ingredients

Dry Stuff

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

Wet Stuff

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

The Add-Ins

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

Instructions

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

Notes

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

Olive Oil Shortbread with Rosemary & Chocolate Chunks, A Tale of Two Wedges

By threejamigos | March 26, 2018 | Comments 0 Comment

Last week was a busy week-work and several evening commitments were on my to-do list. One of the realities of living in the Bay Area is the exceptionally ugly commute (up 1.5 hours to go 25 miles-yeah-go figure) so my commute has taught me to ALWAYS VOLUNTEER TO BRING DESSERT since I invariably run late. So my plan was to make cookies, I could make them in advance, bring them with me to work, go directly from work to each function, and be forgiven for being late because who gets mad at anyone who brings homemade cookies?!

I needed a vegan option as well as a regular sweet bite for the meetings. I decided the Grapefruit Thyme Shortbread (it’s my flavor of the month cookie) would be my non-vegan cookie. The vegan option was going to be a bit trickier, I am a butter-believer. As luck would have it, a recipe for Olive Oil Shortbread with Rosemary and Chocolate Chunks from Smitten Kitchen Every Day Cookbook popped up on my feed. Hmmm, now how did Facebook know I needed a vegan dessert recipe?

Not funny? Too soon?

Surprisingly (at least to me), the rosemary and chocolate meshed well. The flavors really stand out and I didn’t think about the no butter factor. The sprinkling of turbinado sugar on top provided a nice crunch while the cookie itself had a nice fine crumbly texture.

I changed the baking method for the Grapefruit Thyme Shortbread, my non-vegan option. Wanting a more traditional shortbread and keeping with my wedge theme, I baked it in a round pan and cut it into wedges right out of the oven. Unlike the first time I made them, this version had a casual, rustic appeal. While the cutout version had a fine crumb and crisp edges. These are a bit softer, almost cake-like, without the crisp edges. Still delightful, just different. Putting on my ATK hat, made sense due to the differences in baking methods. I consider this a bonus, 2 cookies for the “dough” of one.

Grapefruit Thyme Shortbread Post

Olive Oil Shortbread with Rosemary & Chocolate Chunks

Ingredients

Smitten Kitchen /every Day by way of Food52
1 1/2 cups 195 grams all-purpose flour
1/2 cup 60 grams powdered sugar
2 tablespoons 25 grams, plus 1 teaspoon (5 grams) turbinado (raw) sugar
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 cup 120 ml mild olive oil
1 teaspoon finely minced fresh rosemary leaves
1/2 cup 85 grams semisweet chocolate, chopped into small chunks
1 egg white beaten until loose (optional not vegan 🙁 )

Instructions

Heat the oven to 325° F.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons turbinado sugar, and the salt.
Add the olive oil and rosemary and stir to combine.
Add the chocolate chunks and stir again.
Gather the dough with your hands into one mass.
Roll out the dough to an 8- to 9-inch roundish slab between two sheets of parchment paper. Remove the top sheet and use the bottom to slide the cookie round onto the back of a large baking sheet.
If desired—it merely provides a little shine—brush the cookie with the egg white. Sprinkle with remaining 1 teaspoon turbinado sugar. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
Slide the cookie round carefully onto a cutting board while the cookie is still totally hot. Cut with a sharp, thin knife into desired shape(s). Let cool completely, then separate.
Do ahead: This dough keeps well in the freezer. Baked cookies keep for 2 weeks in an airtight tin at room temperature.
Note: For a milder flavor, replace half of the oil with a neutral/flavorless one. You can cut this into shapes with cookie cutters, too, but the chocolate provides a little resistance.

Rice Krispy Treats (Double Your Pleasure, Double Your Fun)

By threejamigos | January 31, 2018 | Comments 0 Comment

Oh Snap

It’s the last day of January and in order to avoid total embarrassment… here is the last cookie to complete my 12 Days of Cookies list. I give you the stupid easy, childhood favorite- Rice Krispy Treats! Wait, do not roll your eyes and think “lame”. This is not your mama’s, on the side of the Snap, Crackle and Pop box, recipe. This is Rice Krispy Treats with a twist that is not for the faint of heart.

Little Crackle

No, there isn’t booze in these treats. The recipe comes by way of Smitten Kitchen (love that site). I had been looking for a way to jazz up this childhood favorite (not just add multi-colored sprinkles) and bring a bit of pizazz to them. I found a couple of recipes that were just crazy, too much stuff, too complicated, just yuk. At the end of the day, a riff on Rice Krispy Treats should still transport you back to the ones you ate as a kid but at the same time your brain should be going “holy cow-what did she do to these!”

The Pop

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you…

SALTED BROWN BUTTER RICE KRISPY TREATS

Yep, the exact same ingredients as the original recipe plus a sprinkle of flaked salt and well, DOUBLE the amount of butter. Yep, mo’ buttah, mo’ betta.

And if that wasn’t enough, you kick it up another notch by browning the butter! Great balls of butter! You end up with a Rice Krispy treat that is gooey, sweet and salty, nutty and buttery. YES, scream it from the rooftops, DOUBLE BUTTER!

Up your Krispy Game, reserve half the salt to sprinkle on the treats at the end. Use Fleur de Sel or grey salt, your hipster friends will ooh and aah. Oh, snap.

That’s it folks, cookie number 12. Drop the mic, done.

Salted Brown Butter Rice Krispy Treats (Smitten Kitchen)

Not your mama's Rice krispy treats! Brown butter and more marshmallows madke these devilisly delicious

Course bar cookies, cookies

Cuisine American

Keyword rice krispies

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 5

Ingredients

1 stick unsalted butter 4 ounces
1/4 -1/2 teaspoon flake salt such as Fleur de Sel or Grey Salt or coarse kosher salt
1 10 ounce bag of miniature marshmallows DO NOT BY FANCYSCHMANCY ONES, they don't work
6 cups Rice Krispy cereal

Instructions

Butter a 9x9 inch square pan, set aside.
In a large saucepan or pot, melt butter over medium heat, The butter will begin to foam and the milk solids will start to brown. Watch it like a hawk, you don't want it to burn. It will smell nutty and toasty. Serious Eats has a great tutorial on brown butter
Remove pan from heat, add marshmallows and salt. Stir continuously until the marshmallows melt and blend with the butter into a homogenous mixture.
Add Rice Krispies and stir until well coated.
Pour into 9x9 inch prepared pan and press firmly to compress. If you want, decorate with Sprinkles on top.
Cool, run a knife around the perimeter of the rice krispies, invert pan and tap the bottom. The rice krispies should release fairly easily from the pan. Cut into approximately 2 inch squares.
Enjoy!

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

By threejamigos | January 2, 2018 | Comments 1 comment

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!

(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.