#omnivorecookbooks Archives

Strawberry & Cream Cookies Forever

By threejamigos | June 2, 2018 | Comments 0 Comment

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

The Yin and Yang of Desserts

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And now…Here’s Jamie!

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

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

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

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

Enjoy!

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Strawberry Cookies Forever

Ingredients

Cream Cookie Dough

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

Strawberry Cookie Dough

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

Instructions

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

Cream Dough

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

Strawberry Dough

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

To form cookies:

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

HeY cLaIrE aNd MrS. wEdDlE!!!!

Let’s Get Ready to Crumble! (Cranberry Apricot Oatmeal Cookies)

By threejamigos | April 3, 2017 | Comments 1 comment

There is this wonderful bookstore in the City (San Francisco for all you out of towners) called Omnivore. It is a tiny tiny storefront in the middle of a residential neighborhood (parking sucks) close to Delores Park that has become the mecca for cookbook lovers and foodies. Their schedule of speakers is literally the A list of cookbook authors and chefs. I drove up to Omnivore right after the election to see Dorie Greenspan the baking guru. I needed a pick me up and her new book Dorie’s Cookies was just the answer.

Last weekend Omnivore threw a cookie contest or as they called it a Cookie Crumble. You could either bake a batch of cookies or pay 5 dollars to taste and judge ever tasty morsel. I signed up to bring cookies of course.

Tactically I knew if I was serious I needed to make a cookie that stood out, had some sort of chocolate in it, maybe a different spice, a catchy name and garnered attention at first glance (sprinkles, icing, I have no shame cookie bling). After mulling it over and perusing through different baking books and blogs I came up with…….drum roll please…..

Oatmeal Cookie!

Whaaat? I know, that hardly fits my criteria for a winning cookie. In fact quite the opposite.

Let me explain, one of my favorite blogs Ipso Fatto had posted an oatmeal cookie that she had just made. That one wasn’t particularly memorable but it brought to mind another recipe she had tried that she felt was much better, a delicious Cranberry Apricot Oatmeal Cookie from the Dahlia Bakery Cookbook (of course I have it, the beauty of an addiction). Oooh, it looked so yummy and sounded soooo good. Bits of apricot and cranberry in an oatmeal cookie flavored with cloves, ginger, cinnamon…buttery, spicey, chewy with crispy edges. Despite my initial strategic thinking this became THE one.

We headed to the city cookies in hand. Checking Omnivore’s FB page, eight people signed up. Looking good…

Uh-oh, did ALL these people forget to sign up? Sheesh!

Whoa! At least fifty entries and that’s the good news. The bad news, a gazillion (slight exaggeration) of them looked like oatmeal cookies. Oh well.

and the winner is…not me (damn) but……a chocolate cookie with white chocolate drizzles (the one on the right side of the plate, I admit it was pretty darn good). I should have stuck to my tactical plan.

Five dollars for this plate of cookies. Guy in golden pants-SCORE. He was determined to get one of each cookie and I think he came darn close. I snapped a quick pic, I think I have plate envy.

So my cookies didn’t win, but they are yummy and if you like oatmeal raisin cookies add this one to your baking bucket list. A little bit more spice than a classic oatmeal cookie and the addition of apricots, cranberries, not just raisins makes for a delicious cookie.

I do have a couple tricks up my sleeve when making them. For uniformly sized cookies, use an ice cream scoop to portion out the dough. I often chill my dough to minimize spreading. I scoop all the dough, put it on a sheet and place it in the fridge. To get the nice craggy tops, about 3-4 minutes before the cookies are done, (they’ll look puffy) quickly open your oven door, lift and rap the cookie sheet once or twice on the wire shelf. The cookies will “deflate” and develop the crevices and ridges. If you want the uniform top then ignore the rapping. My baking time was shorter, closer to 12-14 minutes. Not all your cookies come out round? As soon as I remove the cookies from the oven I survey them for odd shapes. The cookies are still soft and pliable so with a knife or spatula go ahead and gently push the edges of the cookie to shape them. Voila perfectly round cookies. Is this cheating?…I won’t tell if you don’t.

Print Pin

Cranberry Apricot Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
2 1/2 cups old fashioned oatmeal
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup dried apricots diced
1/3 cups golden raisins
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
1 1/4 cup brown sugar packed
3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Sift together the flour, baking soda, and spices. Stir in the oats and salt. Set aside.
In another bowl combine dried fruits.
In the mixer using a paddle attachment on med-high cream butter, both sugars and vanilla until pale and fluffy, approximately 4-5 minutes.
Add eggs, one at a time.
On low speed, add the dry ingredients in 3 additions and mix until just combined. Do not overmix. Add the dried fruits and mix until combined.
Put on cookie sheets and flatten to 1/2 inch thickness.
Bake until golden brown around the edges and still slightly pale in the middle, 14-18 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking.
Remove and allow to cool at least 10 minutes before removing from the pan.

Finding Dorie (Vanilla Polka Dot Cookies)

By threejamigos | November 25, 2016 | Comments 0 Comment

Rock and rollers, Tom Cruise, that Bieber Kid, they all have their groupies. I am a Dorie groupie. Yep, not ashamed to admit it. Dorie is the bomb. Are you wondering-who? Not that hilarious little blue fish in Finding Nemo? No. “You mean Ellen DeGeneres who voices that cute little fish?” Nope. I am a fan of Dorie, Dorie Greenspan-cookbook author, dessert queen, cookie connoisseur and baker extraordinaire.

The Real Deal

I recently drove up to the City to see her at Omnivore Books, one of many tour stops (how does she do it?) for her newest book, Dories Cookies. A hefty compendium of deliciousness that, yes, is all about the cookie. Her recipe for Jammers, a buttery sable’ topped with jam and streusel alone makes it worth getting. I don’t know Dorie on a personal level, but she is gracious, humorous and generous-one of the nicest souls you’ll meet. This comes across when meeting her in person and in her writing.

All this, and her cookbooks are REALLY, REALLY good. The recipes are well written, easy to follow, and the results are YUMMY. Before heading to the book signing I spent an agonizing few minutes trying to pick which book of hers I wanted her to sign (I literally have all of them). I went with the first Dorie book I ever bought, Paris Sweets. It contains her iconic recipe for Korova Cookies, aka World Peace Cookies and has the loveliest illustrations.

As I waited in line, I talked to Dorie’s husband Michael. Wouldn’t you know it, he is just as nice! The list of recipes I have tried from Dorie’s books grows ever longer and this newest book will definitely add to it. Right about now is when I start looking in earnest for cookie recipes for the holidays. I opened the book and bam, Vanilla Polka Dot Cookies caught my eye. The cookie starts with a buttery, vanilla laden dough made with egg whites. The dough smelled so delicious, I had to stop myself from dipping my finger in the bowl and popping a swirl of dough in my mouth.

The dough comes together quickly and can be used for this recipe immediately. Scoop, roll and dip. Place the balls on a lined baking sheet press to flatten and bake. How easy is that?

The dough does not spread so press the cookies to desired thickness. I wanted a flatter thinner cookie, a smaller cookie, approximately 2.5 inches in diameter. I used a tablespoon ice cream scoop to portion the dough. The cookies took only 14 minutes to bake, well short of the suggested 20-22 minutes. My cookies were much smaller which accounts for the shorter baking time. Watch the cookies carefully when baking, they brown very quickly. All in all these fit the bill for a crispy, buttery festive cookie perfect for the holidays. I brought them to Thanksgiving dinner and the kids gobbled (get it?) them up.

The recipe for these cookies can be found here along with her recipe for World Peace Cookies, courtesy of the Star Telegram. If you are a Dorie fan like me, take a photo of any of Dorie’s cookies you make from her book, post it on Twitter or Instagram, and tag it with #Doriescookies and @Cookies4Kids. This will automatically trigger a 5 dollar donation to pediatric cancer research, woohoo! Thanks and HAPPY HOLIDAYS.