Classic Goodie: Seven Layer Magic Bars

There was a time in my life that I worked with church youth groups and was asked to not watch rated-R movies since our youth could not watch them and they typically expose us to themes that are not the best for our minds. This time period produced some great movies that people often will reference in conversation. People are shocked that I have not seen some of these “classics.”

Awhile back, a good friend sent me an odd text message that turned out to be just such a reference to a movie that I had not seen. He was surprised that I didn’t understand the reference and when I told him why he suggested that we start to meet up and “catch me up” on some of these classics. The deal was that I would bake with him (teach him how to make some of the classic goodies) and then we would watch a classic movie.

This turned into a weekly treat for both of us as we worked our way through goodies and movies. We made chocolate chip cookies twice and then we made these seven-layer magic bars. I’d never made them before, but the recipe looked very easy, and it was even on the can of sweetened condensed milk!

The bars are made by simply layering the ingredients into a pan and baking. We took the easy way and ground the graham crackers in my food processor and using pre-chopped nuts. This recipe felt very semi-homemade to me. Not much true baking skill is required. It would be a great recipe to quickly pull together to take to a potluck or party. The only downside for me is that it includes coconut. Had I been making it for myself, I would have probably omitted it and said six-layers were enough…but since these were a childhood favorite for my friend, we stuck to the recipe and he took home all of the leftovers!

He said that they were perfectly delicious and just as he remembered having as a child….so I call that a success! Give them a try!

Oh, by the way, we watched Shawshank Redemption, Silence of the Lambs and The Green Mile. So, what movies are on your classic “must-see” list? Let me know in the comments!

Recipe: Seven-Layer Magic Bars
Source: Eagle Brand

Ingredients
Non-Stick Cooking Spray
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 (14 oz.) can Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 cup (6 oz.) butterscotch-flavored chips
1 cup (6 oz. pkg.) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/3 cups flaked coconut
1 cup chopped nuts

Instructions
HEAT oven 350°F. Spray 13 x 9-inch baking pan with no-stick cooking spray.

COMBINE graham cracker crumbs and butter; mix well. Press crumb mixture firmly into bottom of
prepared pan. Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over crumb mixture. Layer evenly with remaining ingredients; press down firmly with fork.

BAKE 25 to 30 minutes or until lightly browned. Loosen from sides of pan while still warm; cool on wire rack. Cut into bars or diamonds.

For perfectly cut cookie bars, line entire pan with foil, extending foil over edge of pan. Coat lightly with no-stick cooking spray. After bars have baked and cooled, lift up by edges of foil to remove from pan. Cut into individual bars.

With Love,
Christina

Daring Bakers: Sugar Cookies (September 2010)

The September 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Mandy of “What the Fruitcake?!” Mandy challenged everyone to make Decorated Sugar Cookies based on recipes from Peggy Porschen and The Joy of Baking.

Sugar cookies are a long-standing tradition in our family. I have fond memories of the sweet treats from my childhood. In fact, we have a “secret family recipe” that has been passed on throughout the years (nope, I’m not sharing that one on the internet!). When I saw that the challenge this month was sugar cookies, I was happy (knowing it wouldn’t be much of a challenge) but also a bit disappointed (knowing I wouldn’t learn a whole lot).

The good news is that a friend asked me to bake and decorate sugar cookies as baby shower favors for her sister. Her sister is having twins soon so the theme was Noah’s Ark. I thought I would try something new and order pressed sugar decorations from SugarCraft to use on a standard cookie shape. This was I could make a bunch of them quickly and still have them be adorable. She also asked me to make and decorate a sheet cake with the design of the invitation on the cake (and there was my challenge for the month!).

I used my family recipe for the cookies and a royal icing recipe I knew and trusted (since that’s what my friend had tasted and wanted). The whole process is fairly straight forward. My best tip is to use multiple pans for baking. I use two with Silpats, and can basically be baking from start to finish with no breaks since they only take about 8-10 minutes per batch. That’s about the same amount of time it takes to roll, cut and get the next batch ready.

So…the pressed sugar decorations arrived (amazingly intact) and were super cute (I thought!). Here’s a glamor shot of the cookies and then how I wrapped them to be favors.

 

Here are a few other cookies that I’ve done over the years…I think I’m getting better! What do you think:

Oh, and for those that are wondering…here’s how the sheet cake turned out.

 

It turned into a major undertaking, but was worth it in the end. I’m told the mom-to-be was quite happy with both the cake and the cookies. I’m so glad to be a very small part of this important event in her growing family’s life. 

To see how the other Daring Bakers did with this challenge, head over here. They made some amazing cookies!!

And one last thing…if you want to order cookies, a cake or other dessert from me, just let me know!

The Daring Bakers Recipe (Because I can’t give away the family recipe!)

Basic Sugar Cookies

Makes Approximately 36x 10cm / 4" Cookies
200g / 7oz / ½ cup + 6 Tbsp Unsalted Butter, at room temperature
400g / 14oz / 3 cups + 3 Tbsp All Purpose / Plain Flour
200g / 7oz / 1 cup Caster Sugar / Superfine Sugar
1 Large Egg, lightly beaten
5ml / 1 tsp Vanilla Extract / Or seeds from 1 vanilla bean

Directions

• Cream together the butter, sugar and any flavourings you’re using. Beat until just becoming creamy in texture.
• Beat in the egg until well combined, make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
• Add the sifted flour and mix on low until a non sticky dough forms.
• Knead into a ball and divide into 2 or 3 pieces.
• Roll out each portion between parchment paper to a thickness of about 5mm/1/5 inch (0.2 inch).
• Refrigerate for a minimum of 30mins.
• Once chilled, peel off parchment and place dough on a lightly floured surface.
• Cut out shapes with cookie cutters or a sharp knife.
• Arrange shapes on parchment lined baking sheets and refrigerate for another 30mins to an hour.
• Re-roll scraps and follow the above process until all scraps are used up.
• Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C Fan Assisted) / 350°F / Gas Mark 4.
• Bake until golden around the edges, about 8-15mins depending on the size of the cookies.
• Leave to cool on cooling racks.
• Once completely cooled, decorate as desired.

Royal Icing
You can find the Royal Icing Recipe I use by clicking here. Just add a bit more water to the recipe for flooding.

Daring Baker’s Royal Icing
315g – 375g / 11oz – 13oz / 2½ - 3 cups Icing / Confectioner’s / Powdered Sugar, unsifted
2 Large Egg Whites
10ml / 2 tsp Lemon Juice
5ml / 1 tsp Almond Extract, optional

• Tip: 2 amounts of icing suga are listed, the lesser amount is good for a flooding consistency, and the larger amount is for outlining, but you can add even more for a much thicker consistency good for writing. If you add too much icing sugar or would like to make a thinner consistency, add very small amounts of water, a few drops at a time, until you reach the consistency you need.

Directions

• Beat egg whites with lemon juice until combined.
• Sift the icing sugar to remove lumps and add it to the egg whites.
• Add very small amounts of water, a few drops at a time, until you reach the consistency you need.
• Beat on low until combined and smooth.
• Use immediately or keep in an airtight container.
• Tip: Royal Icing starts to harden as soon as it’s in contact with air so make sure to cover containers with plastic wrap or moist paper towel while not in use.

Decorating Your Cookies: Flooding
"Flooding” a cookie is a technique used when covering a cookie with Royal Icing.

1. You outline the area you want to flood which helps create a dam.
2. Then fill or flood inside the area you’ve outlined.

Decorating Your Cookies: What You'll Need

• Piping bags / Parchment Cones / Ziplock Bags

• Elastic bands
• Piping tips (between sizes 1 & 5)
• Couplers
• Glasses (handy for standing your piping bags in)
• Clean clothes, dry & damp
• Toothpicks
• Gel or paste food colouring 

Decorating your cookies: Royal Icing
The most important thing when it comes to decorating with Royal Icing is the consistency.

There are two ways of flooding your cookies. Some like to do the outline with a thicker icing and then flood with a thinner icing. Some like to use the same icing to do both which saves time and you don’t have to have two different piping bags for each colour you’re using.

The Same Consistency Method:

• Mix your royal icing according to the recipe/instructions.
• Drag a knife through the surface of the Royal Icing and count to 10.
• If the surface becomes smooth between 5 & 10 seconds, the icing is at the correct consistency.
• Tip: If your icing is too thick, thin it by adding a few drops of water. Mix, do the 10 second test, then if it’s still too thick, add a few more drops of water, repeat, etc.
• Tip: To thicken your icing, add small amounts of icing sugar until thick enough for the 10 second test.

Two Different Consistencies Method:

• Mix your royal icing according to the recipe/instructions.
• Separate into 2 different bowls, one lot of icing for outlining, the other for flooding.
• For the outlining icing, drag a knife through the surface of the Royal Icing.
• If the surface becomes smooth at around 10 seconds, the icing is at the correct consistency.
• Tip: If your icing is too thick, thin it by adding a few drops of water. Mix, count to 10 seconds, then if it’s still too thick, add a few more drops of water, repeat, etc.
• Tip: To thicken your icing, add small amounts of icing sugar until thick enough for the 10 second test.
• For the flooding/filling icing, drag a knife through the surface of the Royal Icing. 
• If the surface becomes smooth at around 3-4 seconds, the icing is at the correct consistency. 
• Tip: If your icing is too thick, thin it by adding a few drops of water. Mix, count to 3-4 seconds, then if it’s still too thick, add a few more drops of water, repeat, etc.
• Tip: To thicken your icing, add small amounts of icing sugar until thick enough for the 3-4 second test. 

Colouring:

• Separate Royal Icing into separate bowls for each colour you plan on using.
• Tip: Make sure to cover the bowls with cling film or a damp cloth to prevent the top from setting and then making lumps. 
• Using a toothpick, add gel or paste colouring to each bowl and mix thoroughly until desired colour is reached. 
• Tip: You can use liquid food colouring but you might not be able to get the desired strength of colour, liquid colouring will also thin out the icing so you’ll need to add more icing sugar to thicken it again.

Prepping and filling your piping bags:

• Attach your icing tips to the piping bags using couplers.
• Tip: You don’t need to use a coupler but it makes it easier if you want to change tip sizes
• Tip: A size 1 tip is best for doing intricate details. A size 2 tip is good for some details and outlining. Fill or flood with sizes 2 – 5.
• Tip: You don’t need a piping bag, you can use a ziplock bag with a tiny bit snipped off the corner. I would however recommend getting a piping set if you don’t have one as it will be much easier and more precise.
• Stand the piping bags in glasses with the tops of the bags folded over the top of the glass.
• Fill your icing bags with each coloured icing.
• Tie the ends of the piping bags with elastic bands.

Decorating: Outlining

• Fit the piping bag with a size 2 or 3 tip.
• Tip: Or snip a very small bit of the corner off of a Ziploc bag
• Hold the piping bag at a 45 degree angle above the cookie where you want to start the outline.
• Gently squeeze the piping bag and start moving in the direction you want to outline the cookie.
• Start lifting the piping bag away from the cookie so that the flow of icing falls onto the cookie, making it an even and neater outline.
• As you start to reach the beginning of the outline, bring the piping tip closer to the surface of the cookie to meet the start of the icing outline.
• Tip: If you’re doing an intricate cookie, like a snow flake, you won’t be able to lift the tip as far away from the cookie.
• If you’re doing a different colour border, eg. a black border, let the outline dry before flooding. If using the same colour for the outline as you are flooding with, begin flooding after doing the outline.

Decorating: Flooding

• Fit the piping bag with a size 2-5 tip, the bigger the area being filled, the bigger the tip.
• Tip: Or cut slightly more off the corner of a Ziploc bag to create a slightly larger opening.
• Quickly zigzag back and forth over the area you want to fill.
• Tip: You need to be quick when flooding the cookie so don’t worry too much if it’s not filled in neatly.
• Using a toothpick or clean paintbrush, push the icing around into the gaps that are still remaining.
• Either pick up the cookie and tip it from side to side to even out the filling, or lightly bang the cookie down on your kitchen counter.  

Decorating: Melding colours

• If you would like to add lines or dots to the base colour that you flooded the cookie with so that they meld and dry as a smooth surface, you need to add the lines/dots/patterns as quickly as possible after flooding and smoothing the surface of the cookie.
• Tip: Make sure to have all the colours you’re planning on using ready and close by so that you can switch between colours quickly 
• Simply pipe other colours onto the flooded surface in patterns or lines which you can either leave as that or then drag a toothpick through to make marbling patterns. 

Decorating: On top of flooding

• If you’d like to do other patterns/outlines or writing on top of the flooded surface so that they are raised above the flooded background, simply allow the icing to dry, preferably over night.
• Fit the piping bag with tip sizes 1-3. 
• Pipe patterns or write on top of the dry icing.
• Tip: For writing, the consistency of your icing should be thicker rather than thinner, drag a knife through your icing and when the surface smoothes around 12-15 seconds, the consistency is correct. 

Packaging and Storing:

• Once fully decorated, allow cookies to dry for 24 hours in a cool and dry area.  
• Stack cookies in an airtight container, from largest cookies at the bottom, to smallest and more intricate at the top, with parchment or wax free paper in between the layers.
• Store in a cool and dry area with the container’s lid firmly sealed.
• Will last for about a month if stored this way.

Enjoy With Love,

Christina

Butterfinger Cookies and The Cookie Tin

Most of my family has always enjoyed sweets. Cookies reigned supreme...I think because they're quick, easy and can be snuck from the jar easily without getting caught.

Awhile back, my Auntie Jan C. and I shared a Cookie Tin. What's that you ask?! Well, it's a tin that we sent back and forth across the country to each other filled with our latest baking delights. We included the recipe so that the other person could easily recreate the goodie whenever they wanted. We also kept track of what was sent so that we didn't send duplicates. It was great fun. So much fun in fact, that I decided to revive the idea with my own niece, Jessica.

Jessica is turning into quite a baker/cook. She and her sisters helps my sister make cookies for lunches each week and I'm told they're wonderful. So, I approached Jessica with the idea of the Cookie Tin and we're off. I decided to get it started. I purchased the tin and then had to decide what kinds of cookies to send.

I decided on Butterfinger Cookies. They're pretty standard cookie-fare based on the ingredients, yet they have the added twist of a bit more brown sugar (which I have in bulk it seems!) and the delightful peanutty sweetness of Butterfingers. They turned out great and were a big hit with Jessica! I can't wait to get the filled tin back with her first creation!

PS...I'll include the "Cookie Tin Instructions" after the recipe for those that may want to start this idea with a loved one.

The Recipe:
Butterfinger Cookies
2 1/4 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon iodized salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted, cooled
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 cup chopped Butterfinger candy bars (about 8 “fun size” candy bars or 2-3 regular sized bars)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper (I used my Silpats). Set aside.

Sift together flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In another bowl beat together butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until creamy. Beat in vanilla. Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Slowly mix in dry ingredients until well combined. Fold in chopped Butterfingers.

Drop rounded teaspoonfuls onto prepared baking sheet. Cook 8-10 minutes or until edges start to brown and cookies are set. Allow to cool for 2 minutes on cookie sheet. Transfer to cooling rack to cool completely.

 

How the Cookie Tin works:

• Each person will have the tin for approximately one month (or less) before they should send it back.
• Bake something that will ship well. Pack in the tin. (Remember that plastic baggies, parchment paper or wax paper are good to use to keep items fresh and separated. Also remember the temperature outside; chocolate doesn’t do well in the summer!)
• Write on the recipe log. Use your initials for the “who” part.
• Include the recipe for the item you are sending. It can be typed or hand-written.
• Ship to the other person!

Enjoy With Love,
Christina

Peanut Butter Pumpkin Cookies

After my big failure with the macarons (see this post), I decided that I needed to make something fail-proof. Being that Halloween is here, I thought I'd get into the spirit of things and make peanut butter cookies shaped like pumpkins!

The recipe is a classic Pillsbury recipe, so I can't take ANY credit for it. I'm sure that you could attempt these with your own peanut butter cookie dough, but I wanted surefire success. I started by gathering all of the ingredients.

Once I had everything ready, I mixed and then started to roll and sugar. The messy part was sugaring the balls and then marking them to look like pumpkins without squishing them. The hard part was getting pretzel wheels to look like stems. I'd suggest using regular pretzels if you attempt these yourself.

I was a bit worried that they would spread and be flat, deformed pumpkins, but they didn't. Overall, I think they turned out pretty cute. They certainly didn't last long in my house...I love me some peanut butter cookies.... :-)

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!

The Recipe: Peanut Butter Pumpkin Cookies

From: Pillsbury

INGREDIENTS

1 roll (16.5 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated peanut butter cookies
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup orange decorator sugar crystals
14 twisted butter-flavor pretzel sticks, broken in half

DIRECTIONS
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Spray cookie sheets with cooking spray. In medium bowl, stir cookie dough, egg yolk and flour until well mixed.

2. Pour sugar crystals into small bowl. Shape dough into 28 (1-inch) balls; roll in sugar crystals. Insert 1 pretzel piece into each ball for pumpkin stem. Using toothpick or tip of teaspoon, make lines around sides for pumpkin ridges. Place balls 2 inches apart on cookie sheets.

3. Bake 9 to 11 minutes or just until set in center when touched with fingertip. Cool 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 10 minutes.

Enjoy with Love,
Christina

Daring Bakers – Macarons (October 2009)

The 2009 October Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to us by Ami S. She chose macarons from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern as the challenge recipe.

I was excited to learn that these cookies did NOT have coconut in them. I also was excited because I had never made these before but have seen them many times on the other blogs that I have wandered through. They looked so pretty. Also, the excitement grew when the ingredients did not include any "eye of newt" ingredients (or easy alternatives at least). I was up for the challenge and ready for success! Unfortunately, I was disappointed in the end and greeted with failure...but...let us start at the beginning.

First, in case you are not familiar with this french pastry should quickly head over to here to read a bit about them and see what they are supposed to look like.

The recipe starts by letting the egg whites come to room temperature. There was much discussion on the Daring Bakers forums about letting the egg white sit out for several days. I did this...they sat for 5 days. I was then concerned about them going bad, but read that as long as the end product is cooked that it should be fine. (So far, I think all the tasters are safe.)

SO...we started with whipping the egg whites to soft peaks.

Since the mixer does all the work, these were turning out to be quite easy. Mom was also assisting so I had her measuring out the almond flour and confectioners sugar.

Speaking of mom...she's a great help in the kitchen. She always protests that she cannot cook and is a disaster in the kitchen, but I dare say that this is simply not true. She has come up with some great dishes and well, fed me (and my family) well for many years with few complaints (other than some veggies, but I don't like them no matter WHO cooks them!).

Back to the challenge...once the soft peaked egg whites and sugar were whipped to what I thought was stiff peaks we started to fold in the almond/sugar mixture.

As I think I have mentioned before, I am a terrible folder. I think it has something to do with my lack of patience to get it all mixed together. This may have been the reason for my impending failure, or it could have been my lack of experience with getting the egg whites to a solid stiff peak. Either way, once the almond flour/sugar were incorporated we were ready to pipe. I had a sneaking suspicion at this point that the batter was not stiff enough, it was too runny. But, I pressed on.

After piping, we let the oven do the work of baking, raising the temp and then baking again. We crossed our fingers that a miracle would happen and the "feet" would form. Sadly, they did not.

The lowly cookies were spongey and soft. Most stuck to the baking sheet. The bottoms that did make it off the sheet looked like they'd be crunchy...if they had just risen. They reminded me a lot like angel food cake. Sticky and soft like that.

But, wanting to complete the challenge, even with a failed cookie, I pressed on. We had leftover cream cheese frosting from a wonderful banana cake (without the topping) that I had made from this recipe at Smitten Kitchen (ahh, one of my food idols!). I tinted the frosting orange with some food dye that I always have on hand and piped it between two cookies. The glamor shot...

So, as macaroons, these cookies were a major fail...no crunchy feet at all. They tasted ok, but since they were so difficult to get off the pan all but the three used in the glamor shot found their way to the trash. My tasters (mom and dad) said that the finished product tasted ok, but I think that is more a testament to the super yummy cream cheese frosting.

I suppose I should try this again, maybe using the recipe that many on the Daring Bakers site suggested from another food blogger Tartlette (find her recipes here). If you try this or another macaron recipe and are successful, please let me know!

Recipe: Mararons

From Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern

Preparation time: Not taking into account the amount of time it takes for you to bring your egg whites to room temperature, the whole baking process, including making the batter, piping and baking will probably take you about an hour to an hour and a half. How long it takes to make your filling is dependent on what you choose to make.

Actual baking time: 12 minutes total, plus a few minutes to get your oven from 200°F to 375°F.

Equipment required:
• Electric mixer, preferably a stand mixer with a whisk attachment
• Rubber spatula
• Baking sheets
• Parchment paper or nonstick liners
• Pastry bag (can be disposable)
• Plain half-inch pastry bag tip
• If you don’t have a pastry bag and/or tips, you can use a Ziploc bag with the corner snipped off
• Sifter or sieve
• Oven
• Cooling rack
• Thin-bladed spatula for removing the macaroons from the baking sheets
• Food processor or nut grinder, if grinding your own nuts (ouch!)

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar

2 cups almond flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
5 egg whites, room temperature

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 200°F. Combine the confectioners’ sugar and almond flour in a medium bowl. If grinding your own nuts, combine nuts and a cup of confectioners’ sugar in the bowl of a food processor and grind until nuts are very fine and powdery.

2. Beat the egg whites in the clean dry bowl of a stand mixer until they hold soft peaks. Slowly add the granulated sugar and beat until the mixture holds stiff peaks.

3. Sift a third of the almond flour mixture into the meringue and fold gently to combine. If you are planning on adding zest or other flavorings to the batter, now is the time. Sift in the remaining almond flour in two batches. Be gentle! Don’t overfold, but fully incorporate your ingredients.

4. Spoon the mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a plain half-inch tip (Ateco #806). You can also use a Ziploc bag with a corner cut off. It’s easiest to fill your bag if you stand it up in a tall glass and fold the top down before spooning in the batter.

5. Pipe one-inch-sized mounds of batter onto baking sheets lined with nonstick liners (or parchment paper).

6. Bake the macaroon for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and raise the temperature to 375°F. Once the oven is up to temperature, put the pans back in the oven and bake for an additional 7 to 8 minutes, or lightly colored.

7. Cool on a rack before filling.

Theoretically, this yields 10 dozen macarons.

Ami S gave us several websites to help us. Feel free to check them out...who knows, you may have better success! 
David Lebovitz breaks it down
More macaroon 411 from Serious Eats
Go behind the scenes of Paulette
Watch a pro pipe macaroons
Beating egg whites
 
Enjoy With Love,
Christina

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

This time of year my thoughts turn to apples, pumpkin and cinnamon. Fall is such a great time to bake! A few years ago I came across this recipe for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip cookies and instantly fell in love with them. They have all the pumpkiny goodness of fall, yet are easy to make like a regular chocolate chip cookie. It doesn't hurt that they are delicious.

As I mentioned, they are made much like a chocolate chip cookie. Combine all the dry ingredients, Cream the butter and sugars, add the egg and vanilla, then incorporate the dry ingredients and pumpkin. Don't forget to add the chocolate chips (and nuts if you'd like...toasted pecans would be divine!!) What you get is a dough that is slightly more moist than your traditional chocolate chip cookie dough. 

The next step is to put the dough on the cookies sheet and bake them off. As I've suggested before, use a small ice cream scoop, or in my case, a melon baller. This allows the cookies to be even in size and shape for the best cooking experience (for the cookies of course!). The recipe calls for a lightly greased cookie sheet, but I've never had any problem just popping them onto my silpat without any greasing.

These cookies will come out 7-10 minute later all ooey and gooey and delicious! I would warn you to get your fill before sharing! HA! These always go quickly when I make them and get rave reviews. The combo of pumpkin, oats and chocolate is just too good!

Happy Fall everyone! May your kitchens be full of seasonal goodness, love, joy and laughter!

Recipe: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
2 cups flour

1 cup oatmeal
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter (softened)
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup solid pack pumpkin (from the can)
2 cups chocolate chips (this can vary, depending on how much you like chocolate chips)

In one bowl, combine flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. In a separate bowl, cream butter; gradually add sugars, beating until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla, and mix well. Add dry ingredients and pumpkin, alternating between the two, starting and ending with the flour mixture. Mix well. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop spoonfuls of dough onto lightly greased cookie sheets. Cook 7 to10 minutes in 350 degree oven. Keep checking bottoms, as they cook quickly.

Enjoy with Love,
Christina

Daring Bakers - Milan Cookies (July 2009)

The July Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Nicole at Sweet Tooth. She chose Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies and Milan Cookies from pastry chef Gale Gand of the Food Network.

This past month has been super busy with the July 4th weekend, traveling to California for my cousin's wedding, being sick and just generally trying to enjoy the summer weather. SO, I chose to only complete one of the cookies for the challenge (legal per the rules!) at this time. I'm still going to attempt the other cookie, just not in time to post about it for the challenge. :-)

So..which cookie did I choose?! The Milan Cookies by Gale Gand! They looked a bit easier and I love Gale Gand. Gale was one of the first bakers I remember seeing on TV (The Food Network) and thinking..."wow, I'd love to have HER job!" :::SIGH:::

The recipe for the cookie is fairly straight forward. The butter, sugar, egg whites and extracts come together easily (my butter was super soft due to the summer heat!). I was a touch concerned about the amount of egg whites. My carton said that one cup was 4 eggs, but the recipe said that 7/8 cup was about 6 eggs. I used the 7/8 cup, hoping that it was the more accurate measure since egg size can vary.

Once you add the flour, the cookie mixture resembles a thick cake batter type texture (in my opinion). I was a bit worried that the batter was too runny, but it seemed to be fine in the end.


Piping the cookies turned out to be the most difficult part of this entire challenge. The directions say to use a 1/4 inch plain tip and pipe 1-inch sections. I'm not sure I used the right tip, but my first batch of cookies turned into little burnt bricks, so I had to modify my piping technique. I figured that I needed them to be thicker and a bit bigger. The picture below is what finally seemed to work for me.


Again, the hardest part was the piping...and trying to get them all about the same size. You can see that I did ok, but some were bigger than others. I figured as long as they had a "mate" I'd be ok in the long run.


While the cookies were cooling (on the pan...too difficult to move right away!), I moved on to the chocolate filling. I chopped the chocolate and zested the orange before I started to scald the cream, knowing it would go quickly.

I was right, once the cream was hot and poured over the chocolate, the zest was added and "voila!" chocolate filling was ready!

Putting the cookies together was easy, if not a bit messy. Again, the hardest part was finding the appropriate "mate" for each set. It made for quick work though.

The end result was a fairly elegant looking cookie that tastes really great! The lemon extract and the orange zest give this cookie a sophistication that lacks in some other cookies. They are truly yummy and present well. I got a two thumbs up and a "this is like crack" from the first taste-tester. :-)

Editted After Original Post: Ok, after eating a few of these and getting a bit more input (love the people at work!), I think that I added a bit too much orange zest into the filling. It's nice, they still taste good, but it's a bit overpowering for my liking (and a few others that were polled). SO, go easy on it....but enjoy it if you like that burst of citrus. OK....on to the glamour shot!

The Recipe: Milan Cookies
Recipe courtesy Gale Gand, from Food Network website

Prep Time: 20 min
Cook Time: 1 hr
Serves: about 3 dozen cookies

12 tablespoons (170grams/ 6 oz) unsalted butter, softened
2 1/2 cups (312.5 grams/ 11.02 oz) powdered sugar
7/8 cup egg whites (from about 6 eggs)
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons lemon extract
1 1/2 cups (187.5grams/ 6.61 oz) all purpose flour
Cookie filling, recipe follows

Cookie filling:
1/2 cup heavy cream
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 orange, zested

1. In a mixer with paddle attachment cream the butter and the sugar.

2. Add the egg whites gradually and then mix in the vanilla and lemon extracts.

3. Add the flour and mix until just well mixed.

4. With a small (1/4-inch) plain tip, pipe 1-inch sections of batter onto a parchment-lined sheet pan, spacing them 2 inches apart as they spread.

5. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10 minutes or until light golden brown around the edges. Let cool on the pan.

6. While waiting for the cookies to cool, in a small saucepan over medium flame, scald cream.

7. Pour hot cream over chocolate in a bowl, whisk to melt chocolate, add zest and blend well.

8. Set aside to cool (the mixture will thicken as it cools).

9. Spread a thin amount of the filling onto the flat side of a cookie while the filling is still soft and press the flat side of a second cookie on top.

10. Repeat with the remainder of the cookies. Store in an airtight container.

Enjoy with Love,
Christina

Ulitmate Ginger Cookies

As previously mentioned, I'm a cookie gal. Therefore, whenever I see a new cookie recipe I want to try I try to get to it as soon as possible. That was the case with this cookie from Ina Garten's Cookbook Barefoot Contessa At Home.

You see, this cookie as it turns out, would really be great around the holidays. But it's summer! Alas this was a cookie that I had to try...no waiting for sugarplums and dancing fairies.

I had most of the items in my pantry for this cookie, another bonus (won't break the bank!). The mixer got to mixing...

The dough came together fairly easy, though it was stiff. It smelled INCREDIBLE!

I couldn't wait to roll the balls and dunk in sugar to prepare for these cookies for their *exact* time in the oven.

Ready for the oven

The whole house smelled like the holidays! The cookies came out and, as Ina says in her book, "I like these best the day they're baked." I agree. Though they were still very good a few days later, they did toughen up a bit. Ina suggests refrigerating the dough and baking these cookies as you need them. I think that if you have more than a few people in the house though, a full batch would likely be gone in a day (it only makes 16-20 cookies).

I didn't get a glamour shot of the finished product, but they turned out looking just like the ones in Ina's book, so go check it out. These cookies were RAVED about by my non-chocolate fans, devoured by my sweet tooth fans, and honestly...were very quick and easy. I'll be making these again and most certainly adding them to my holiday baking schedule.


The Recipe
Ultimate Ginger Cookies
from Barefoot Contessa At Home
Makes 16-20 Cookies

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup unsulfered molasses
1 extra-large egg, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups chopped crystallized ginger (6 oz) (OOPS! I only had 4 oz....worked great anyway!)
Granulated sugar, for rolling the cookies

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper (I used my silpats).

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger and salt and then combine the mixture with your hands. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the brown sugar, oil, and molasses on medium speed for 5 minutes. Turn the mixer to low speed, add the egg, and beat for 1 minute. Scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula and beat for 1 more minute. With the mixture still on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the bowl and mix on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add the crystallized ginger and mix until combined.

Scoop the dough with 2 spooks or a small ice cream scoop. With your hands, roll each cookies into a 1 3/4 inch ball and then flatten them lightly with your fingers. Press both sides of each cookie in granulated sugar and place themon the sheet pans. Bake for exactly 13 minutes. The cookies will be crackled on the top and soft inside. Let the cookies cool on the sheets for a minute or two, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Enjoy with Love,
Christina

Oatmeal Berry Blend Cookies

I love cookies...I love making cookies...I love eating cookies. Cookies and I go way back. I remember as a young girl sending cookies to my dad's work and "the guys" sending home money for me to purchase more ingredients so that I could make more. As a child this is high praise and the few dollars (I don't remember exactly how much) was quite a bit of loot!

These Oatmeal Berry Blend Cookies are a take off the classic oatmeal rasin cookie. The base recipe is from one of my favorite and most used cookbooks: Pillsbury: The Complete Book of Baking. Since I don't care for raisins that much I thought I'd use some of the dried fruit (SunSweet Berry Blend...this is a new product and has wild blueberries, bing cherries, raspberries, cranberries and red tart cherries in it!) that I had recently purchased and didn't care for on its own. I didn't measure the cinnamon really well either...I bumped it up a bit so that the cinnamon flavor would be stronger. They came out the perfect blend of sweet, cinnamon-y and fruity. MMM...

I used a small meatball scoop to drop my cookies, so they came out a bit larger than normal, the recipe only made about 2 dozen (normally makes approximately 3.5 dozen) and I had to bake them a bit longer. I also didn't grease my pan because I was using the silpats...if you don't have a silpat type product, you'd want to grease your pan. This was fine with me as I didn't need a ton of cookies laying around.

Ready for the Oven!

Finished Product Cooling on Pan

I didn't get a "glamour shot" of these cookies....I forgot and then they were gone too fast! I took most of them to work and they disappeared quickly.

Recipe: Oatmeal Berry Blend Cookies
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup margarine or butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 1/2 cups quick-cooking rolled oats
1/2 cup Berry Blend
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional, and I opted out this time)

Heat oven to 375 degrees. If you don't have a silpat type product, grease your cookie sheets.

In a large bowl, beat sugar, brown sugar and margarine until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and egg; blend well. Stir in flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well. Stir in rolled oats, berry blend and nuts (if using). (Normally...) Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart on cookie sheet.

Bake at 375 degrees for 7-10 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool 1 minute on the cookie sheet, then move to cooling rack.

Enjoy with love,
Christina