Christmas Cookies 2014 - Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

There is something extra nice about browned butter, the added nutty quality makes it takes richer then just plain Jane butter.

This is another cookie that was included in last year cookie gift giving. I am almost sorry to say that I ate a lot of these straight from the freezer.  I know I had to make extra batches last year since I kept eating the ones that I had planned to give away.  Be aware these are super delicious.

Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

original recipe adapted from Baking the Goods

Makes 4 dozen cookies using a #24 cookie disher (1.33 oz each)

2 cups + 2 tbsp Butter

2 cups Brown Sugar

1 cup Sugar

4 tsp Vanilla

2 Eggs

2 Egg yolks

4 1/2 cups all purpose Flour

2 tsp Salt

2 tsp Baking Soda

3 cups Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips.

Sea Salt (Optional to sprinkle on the cookies before baking)

~Place 2 cups of butter in a medium metal or light coloured pan at medium heat. Stirring frequently the butter will come the boil and foam up, once the butter reaches an amber colour, remove from the heat and place in a 2 cup liquid measuring cup.  Cool the butter until it starts to thicken, either in the fridge or in an ice bath.  Once the butter is cool but not hard, you can add the addition butter to bring it up to 2 cups.

~Cream the browned butter and sugars until fluffy.  The mixture will be quite soft because of the butter.  Add Vanilla and Eggs, one at a time.  

~In a separate bowl combine all the dry ingredients except the chocolate chips.

~Gradually add the dry ingredients in to the butter mixture until just combined and then add the chocolate chips.  Stirring to evenly distribute.

~I use a portion disher sized #24 which gave me 49 cookies.  4 dozen +1 cookie (although that would probably give me more if I hadn't done a proper quality check ;)

~Portion out cookies, freeze and then package up in a zip top bag.  OR Chill 30+ minutes and then bake in a 350F preheated oven for 10-12 minutes, let cool 5 minutes on tray before transferring to a rack to cool.

Enjoy!

K.

Christmas Cookie 2014 -- Earl Grey Tea Cookies

I am running behind with my Christmas baking this year and I won't be making any chocolate truffles which is a bit sad.  I am still making more variety of cookies.  This is a repeat from last year because it was quite delicious or some I am told :)

This cookie is rolled into a log, wrapped and frozen.  The frozen log can be unwrapped, sliced and baked.  I can't get easier then that.  

I made a double batch which made 4 logs, 308g each. Then wrapped in parchment and twine, much prettier then the plastic zip top bags.

This recipe comes from Martha Stewart's Cookies,  Thank you Martha.  My 8 year old loves to make cookies from this book.  This is a simple recipe with only 6 ingredients.

Earl Grey Tea Cookies

Original recipe Martha Stewart

Makes 2, 308g (approx) logs

2 cups All-Purpose Flour

2 tbsp fine ground Earl Grey Tea (I used Tazo earl grey and it took 6-7 tea bags)

1/2 tsp coarse Salt

1 cup (8oz) unsalted butter (if using salted butter, decrease added salt)

1/2 cup Icing Sugar

1 tbsp finely grated orange zest.

~In a bowl combine flour, tea and salt.

~Cream room temp butter, icing sugar and zest for about 3 minutes or until the mixture is pale and fluffy (easiest to use a mixer)

~Slowly add in flour mixture.  Mix until just combined.

~Divide dough in half.  Form into a log and roll up in parchment, turn the ends of the parchment and tie off with ribbon or twine.  Place in freezer until ready to give as a gift.  Alternatively you can freeze for 1 hour then slice about 1/4 inch thick and bake in a preheated 350F oven until the edges golden.  Let cookies cool on the cookie sheets.  Store at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Christmas Cookies 2014 -- Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Chocolate Chocolate Chip

I generally only get someone a present if I find something perfect for them, which is usually by accident.  I usually just give them that present if I do find it, I am really bad at keeping something like that under my hat for however long it takes for a present giving opportunity. There is one except to this -- consumables.

I have a theory that people love to eat more sweets this time a year and there are many occasions for people to share them with others.  There are also many occasions that recipients might be overwhelmed with the quantity of sweet they receive that might go stale before they get to savour them.  The solution to this is to make cookie dough and freeze it so that the cookies can be cooked up fresh when needed/wanted or just eaten frozen from the freezer.

The first cookies that I made this year are a Yin/Yang cookie.  Half the cookie is a Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip cookie dough and the other half is a Chocolate Chocolate Chip cookie dough.

I found the recipe for this cookie at Sally's Baking Addiction, I did change how I put them together since I was trying to stream line the production to aid in freezing these puppies up.  

Yin Yang Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Chocolate Chocolate Chip
Original recipe created by  Sally's Baking Addiction

	Chocolate/Chocolate		Peanut Butter
Ingredients	Single Batch	Double Batch	Single Batch	Double Batch
Butter	1/2 c	1 c	1/2 c	1 c
Sugar	1/2 c	1 c	1/2 c	1 c
Brown Sugar	1/2 c	1 c	1/2 c	1 c
Egg	1	2	1	2
Peanut Butter	-	-	3/4 c	1 1/2 c
Vanilla	1 tsp	2 tsp	1 tsp	2 tsp
Flour	1 c (125g)	2 c (250g)	1 1/4 c (156g)	2 1/2 c (312g)
Cocoa	1/2 c + 2 tbsp	1 1/4 c	-	-
Baking Soda	1 tsp	2 tsp	1/2 tsp	1 tsp
Salt	1/2 tsp	1 tsp	1/4 tsp	1/2 tsp
Milk	2 tbsp	1/4 c	-	-
Chocolate Chips	1 c	2 c	1 c	1 c

I made this chart to help me keep track of the ingredients when I doubled the batch.  Pick the set of columns either single batch or double batch, then make both types of cookie dough.  

Both cookies go together in the same way.

~Cream Butter and then add sugar.  Beat until fluffy.  Add Eggs one at a time and Vanilla.  Add the peanut butter for the peanut butter cookies.

~In another bowl combine all the dry ingredients, except the chocolate chips which you will mix in after mixing the dry ingredients in to the wet.  

~Combine dry ingredients slowly into the wet until just combined.  Then add chocolate chips.

~Form each dough into a log shape, wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 1 hour but 2 would be better.  If making a double batch shape into 2 logs for ease of handling.   

~Once chilled, remove both doughs from the fridge.  Using a knife or a bench scraper, cut the chocolate/chocolate log lengthwise and then into cut each side of the cut log into 12 pieces.  You want a total of 24 pieces of each single batch of dough, or 48 for a double batch.  Repeat with the Peanut butter dough.  

~Then take a piece of each dough and put them together and roll between your hands to form a dough ball.  The peanut butter dough will be softer, so try to make sure that you have an even amount of each type of dough visible.  That way your friends will be in awe of your wicked skills.

~Now you can either place on a cookie sheet freeze and then bag up these little (enormous) cookies.  These do make a very large cookie :)  -OR- you can bake these bad boys at 350F for 10-12 minutes.  They will look under cooked but leave them on the cookie sheets to cool and they will gain a bit of structural integrity while still being soft.

Not very visually appealing in this form but there is something wonderful about frozen cookie dough right out of the freezer.  

Enjoy!
K.

Sugar and Spice, Only Lighter.

I have a bit of a cookie problem, I have a see a cookie - eat a cookie, kind of problem.  As a solution I have looked for some alternatives which are a little better for me or at least not as bad for my waist line.  I have been doing weight watchers for the last few weeks in order to shed my baby weight.  I found a great site called Gina's skinny recipes and her recipe for snickerdoodles really intrigued me.  I had to make a few modifications since we don't have some of the ingredients that she called for, and I found the dough a little dry to form properly so I added a bit of milk.

Skinny Whole Wheat Snickerdoodles
Based on skinnytaste.com snickerdoodle recipe
Makes 40 cookies, 1 points+ per cookie or 3 points+ for 2 cookies.

1 cup White All-Purpose Flour
3/4 cup Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Cream of Tartar
1/4 cup Butter, softened (or if your adventurous you can brown the butter first) 
1 cup Sugar
1 tbsp Agave
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 Egg
2 tbsp Milk
3 tbsp Sugar*
1 tbsp Cinnamon*

~Cream together butter and sugar
~Add egg, agave and vanilla and mix until combined.
~In a separate bowl mix flours, baking soda and cream of tartar.
~Add dry ingredient into the wet ingredients,  if it too dry you can add the milk.
~Using a small disher, dish and roll the dough into 40 balls. 
~In a small bowl mix together the sugar and cinnamon.
~Roll the balls in the sugar and cinnamon mixture and place on a lined cookie sheet.
~Bake 10 minutes at 350 deg.  or until the cookie starts to colour around the bottom.
~Remove and let sit on the sheet a couple minutes and then place them on a cooling rack to completely cool.

Sugar and butter blended together.  This is a light recipe so there is less butter.

Add egg, vanilla and agave.

Start a mixin'.

Wet ingredients all mixed

Dry ingredients waiting to join the party.

Hmmm, looks a little dry. I'll add some milk.

Much better consistency

Sugar and spice and everything nice. 

Delicious

No Bake

Yesterday I wanted to make something and I didn't really want to spend too much time baking or cleaning up afterwards.  Here enters the no bake cookies.  So not so healthy for you, so I might have to fiddle with the recipe to make it more nutritious, but currently this is a sometimes food.  (I just need to make sometimes foods happen less often)

No Bake Cookies

2 cups Sugar

1/2 cup Butter

1/4 cup Cocoa

Pinch Salt

1/2 cup Milk

4 cups Quick Oats

1/2 cup Peanut Butter

1 tsp Vanilla

*In a sauce pan add Sugar, Butter, Cocoa, Salt and Milk.  Bring to a boil

*Remove from heat and add Oats, Peanut Butter and Vanilla.

*Spoon on to parchment and let cool.

All boiled up and ready to go.

Oats are added to the cooked mixture.

It makes this gooey chocolaty oaty peanut buttery goodness.

I used a disher to form the balls, which are a bit deformed.  I used to use a plastic coffee scoop and they came out great, although I think that I might have sprayed the scoop with oil first.

The last lonely ball left to pack away (I thing this one might not have made it to the container)

My day went really well, but that might be due to the kids being with their dad most of the day.  I got to clean off the junk counter since it had started to grow and multiply I decided that it was time to decluter the counter.

Dinner was a bit of left overs mixed with the bounty of my garden.  Swiss Chard, Zucchini, Onions, Garlic and Green Beans all from my garden topped with a bit of left over Satay covered in peanut sauce and some Mmmm Sauce and the last of the goat cheese.  It was so good that I had something similar with lunch today although it didn't have the chicken and sauce but it did have some corn cut from a cob.