Caramel Crunch Bars (warning...these are addicting!)

This weekend my family came to visit so I made a special treat. They were soooo good!

Carmel Crunch Bars

Adapted from Dorie Greenspan

For the Base:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon espresso powder (I used Postum)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

2 sticks (8 oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup (packed) light brown sugar

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

3 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

For the Topping:

6 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

3/4 cup Heath Toffee Bits

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly butter a 9 x 13 inch pan lined with foil.

Whisk together the flour, Postum, salt, and cinnamon.

Working with a stand mixer, beat the butter at medium speed until smooth, about 3 min. Add the sugars and beat for another 3 minutes, or until the mixture is light and creamy. Beat in the vanilla, then turn off the mixer. Add all the dry ingredients and mix on low speed just until the dry ingredients are almost incorporated. Add the chopped chocolate and mix only until the dry ingredients disappear. Scrape the dough into the butter pan and spread into a thin even layer.

Bake for 20-22 minutes or until the base is bubbly and puckery. Transfer the pan to a rack and turn off the oven.

Scatter the chopped chocolate evenly over the top of the hot base and pop them back in the oven for 2 to 3 minutes, until the chocolate is soft. Remove from the oven and immediately spread the chocolate over the bars, using an offset spatula or the back of a spoon. Sprinkle the toffee bits over the chocolate and press them down lightly with your fingertips. Place the baking pan on a rack to cool to room temperature. Refrigerate them to set the chocolate if necessary.

Serve with ice cream!!!

Christmas Stripes

I know it's been a while since Christmas but I wanted to make sure I posted these cute cookies. The recipe is from Martha Stewart's "Cookies" cookbook. There are hundreds of cookie recipes in the book including everything from simple chocolate chip to extravagent ginger with chocolate. I have been wanting to buy the book for months but decided to hold out to see if someone would give it to me for Christmas. Lucky for me (and everyone who gets to eat the treats when I make them) my Sister gave me the book on Christmas Day!

These cookies are a little challenging to make. You have to prepare the batter and then spread it into a thin layer in the shape of a rectangle. Red food coloring is added to some of the batter and then the rectangles are striped using a piping bag. After the cookies are baked they are rolled up while they are still hot.

I think the cookies are supposed to be crispy. Mine turned out a little chewy but they were super yummy! If you're up for an adventure these are fun to try. You could even stripe them with green for St. Patrick's Day or pink and purple for Easter!!!

Milano Cookies

I have wanted to try this recipe for Milano Cookies for quite a while. I think I have procrastinated trying them because I thought they would take a long time to make. But when I made them last night they only took about 2 hours from start to finish (and this included breaks to watch The Amazing Race). They were also super yummy. I would definitely make them again.

Biscotti Milano

Cookie Dough:

6 Tablespoons cool unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 ¼ cups confectioners’ sugar
Scant ½ cup egg whites (from about 4 eggs)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon pure lemon extract
¾ cup all-purpose flour

Mint Glaze:

1 egg white
About 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
A few drops of mint extract

Chocolate Glaze:
4 ounces semisweet chocolate

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Make the cookie dough: Cream the butter until smooth in a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix in the sugar. A little at a time, mix in the egg whites, then add the vanilla and lemon extracts. Add the flour and mix just until incorporated. Transfer the dough to the pastry bag with a plain ¼ inch tip.

Prepare two cookies sheets with parchment paper. Pipe 1-inch long sections of dough onto the sheet pans, spacing them 2 inches apart (the will spread sideways). Bake until golden on top and brown around the edges, about 10 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the pan.

Make the mint glaze: Whisk the egg white with 1 ½ cups of the confectioners’ sugar until smooth. Whisk in more sugar a little at a time, just until you have a thick, smooth glaze. And mint extract to taste.

Make the chocolate glaze: Melt the chocolate. Spread the flat sides of half of the cookies with chocolate. Spread the flat sides of the remaining cookies with mint glaze. Sandwich together and set on a clean sheet pan. Let the cookies sit at room temperature until firm, at least 1 hour.

Brownie Cookies

I made some super yummy cookies this weekend. They were very easy to make and everyone loved them. They taste a lot like a bite-size brownies...give 'em a try.

Chocolate Drop Cookies
Adapted from "The Essence of Chocolate"

Beat together with a paddle attachment at medium high speed 2 eggs, 1 1/3 cups sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla for 10-12 minutes. You want the egg mixture to be light in color and very fluffy (don't skimp on the mixing time). Meanwhile melt together 4 oz of unsalted butter and 6 oz 99% chocolate (unsweetened chocolate). Also, sift together 1/4 teaspoon of baking powder and 1/3 cup all-purpose flour. When you egg mixture is whipped turn the mixer to low and slowly drizzle in the chocolate mixture. Mix for 2-3 minutes on low and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed. Then fold in the flour mixture by hand. I also added 1/2 cup of peanut butter chips but you could add more chopped chocolate or nuts or nothing at all. Drop tablespoon size balls onto a parchment lined baking sheet and cook for 10-12 minutes or until the tops are just starting to crack and cookies have lost their shine. The cookies will be really soft when done (don't over cook them or they will be hard). Let cool for a few minutes on the cookie sheet and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. And then...enjoy!!!!

L...L...L...L...L...L...L...L

Maria's wedding has come and gone so I thought I would catch up on some of the fun baking I got to do for her wedding.

Three batches of Soft-Chocolate Sugar Cookies (a Dorie Greenspan recipe, of course) made ~105 cookies.

They first had to be outlined.

Then they got a Royal Frosting coat. I had a minor catastrophe and so about 10 of them had to be sacrificed (not that it was a big sacrifice since that meant we got to eat them!)

I added the specialized L for Lichty!

And finally, Maria put them in individual bags with ribbons.

It took three days to make all of them...but it was definitely worth it! How cute!!!

Little Cuties but Big Flops

I have made a bunch of cute little treats here and there but haven't posted them...all of them turned out super cute but were not very tasty!

Maria and I are always trying to perfect our French Macaroon Recipe. I tried to make Martha Stewart's Macaroon frosting for these ones...it was disgusting! But they looked oh so cute!

If you haven't hear, I am helping with my friend Maria's wedding. She is having a black and white theme so we thought these Black and White Stripe cookies might be good.

The dough was a chocolate/vanilla shortbread that was pressed together and then accurately sliced (this was pretty fun such I'm such a scientist at heart!).

The cookies looked oh so cute when they were finished...but the taste was very...blah!

These little appetizers were made for the cooking contest we had for FHE. The choux pastry was filled with a mixture of eggs, mayo, bacon bits, and Dijon mustard. They looked so cute when they were plated...but they were absolutely disgusting!!!

I'm in Love!

Holy cow! I didn't realize that it had been so long since I posted something on my blog. I have been so busy with finals and presentations and etc. etc. etc. Hallelujah that summer has finally arrived!

So I have titled this post "I'm in Love!" and it's totally true! I have finally found what I have been looking for for the past 15+ years...the perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe.

It may be surprising for people to learn that Chocolate Chip Cookies are my favorite dessert. You might think that cake is my favorite since I make so many of them but I don't really like to eat cake...I just think they are fun to decorate.

Chocolate Chip Cookies are the most perfect dessert. A little bit of chocolate mixed with a buttery soft cookie...what could be greater? The dough is yummy before it's cooked and the cookies are yummy when they are warm and gooey right out of the oven but I think they are even yummiest when they are frozen and dunked in ice cold milk!

There's only one problem...the post-oven fall. Don't tell me you haven't experienced it. You put your delicious balls of dough in the oven and then watch as they spread and rise. They look so perfect and golden and then you take them out of the oven and...splat...they go flat. How depressing!

But recently I found a recipe that is perfect. It is chocolaty and buttery and crisp and soft. But best of all the cookies stay poofey when they come out of the oven...I think my life is complete! Sigh...

One Pot Chocolate Chip Cookies
By Abigail Johnson Dodge in The Weekend Baker

Makes 26 cookies

8 tablespoons (4 ounces/113 grams) unsalted butter, cut in 4 pieces
½ cup (4 ounces/113 grams) firmly packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup (2 ½ ounces/71 grams) granulated sugar
1 ½ cups (6 ¾ ounces/191 grams) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup (6 ounces/170 grams) semisweet chocolate chips (feel free to substitute white chocolate or bittersweet chocolate chips)
½ cup (2 ounces/57 grams) coarsely chopped nuts (walnuts are my favorite – no need to toast), optional

1 – Position an oven rack on the middle rung. Heat the oven to 350 degrees (180 C). Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment or nonstick baking liners (I like the Silpat).

2 – Put the butter in a medium saucepan and set over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the butter is melted. Slide the pan from the heat and add the brown sugar and granulated sugar. Whisk until no lumps remain. Set aside to let cool, about 5 minutes.

3 – In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Whisk until well blended. Once the butter mixture has cooled, add the egg and vanilla and whisk until blended. Pour in the flour mixture and stir with a rubber spatula until blended. Stir in the chocolate chips and the nuts, if using.

4 – Using a small ice-cream scoop (about 1 2/3 inches/4.25 cm in diameter) or 2 tablespoons, drop scant 2-tablespoon mounds of the dough onto the prepared cookie sheets, arranging them about 1 1/2 inches (4cm) apart. (At this point, the loaded cookie sheets can be slipped into the freezer until the cookies are frozen, about 1 hour. Then transfer the cookies to heavy-duty freezer bags and freeze for up to 3 months. To bake, remove from the freezer, arrange on lined cookie sheets, and leave on the counter to thaw slightly while the oven heats.)

5 – Bake 1 sheet at a time (make sure to use a cooled sheet for the second batch until the cookies are light golden around the edges and puffed, about 12 minutes. If these cookies are over baked, the won’t come out chewy. Transfer the cookie sheet to a rack to cool for about 10 minutes. Using a spatula, lift the cookies from the sheet onto a rack and let cool completely.

Storage: Layer the baked and cooled cookies between parchment or waxed paper in an airtight container. They can be stored at room temperature for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. You don’t even need to thaw them completely. They’re just as delicious cold.

BIG Cookie Variation: Scoop 1/4 – cup portions and arrange 3 inches (7.75 cm) apart on prepared cookie sheets. Flatten the mounds slightly with lightly floured fingertips. Bake 1 sheet at a time until the cookies are light golden around the edges and puffed, about 13 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool as directed for the regular sized cookies. Makes 10 cookies.

L is for Lichty

It's official. Josh and Maria are getting married on June 14, 2008. What started as a friendship has blossomed into a perfect romance. How exciting!

I found some really cute cookies on the Internet and thought they might be fun for the wedding. I used a chocolate soft sugar cookie recipe from Dorie Greenspan (who is Maria's favorite cookbook author) and then covered the cookies with a mint royal frosting.

I played around with lots of different designs.

But I think the very simple cursive Ls are my favorite.

Last Minute Requests

Two weekends ago I found myself thoroughly bored! Then suddenly I had a number of last minute baking requests. Yippee!

My RS President called Friday evening and asked me to bring some treats to a baptism the next morning. I made these Black-bottom Brownie cups. The cream cheese mixture with Mini-Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips and brownie batter are pretty easy to mix up. But it took some time to layer them in the mini-cupcake tins. I didn't get to try them but they look cute!

On Sunday I found out that the person who had signed-up for Ward Prayer cancelled. Someone volunteered to host but didn't have time to make treats...so I volunteered. I made these Neiman Marcus Chocolate Chip cookies. I like how they look but preferred them on the third day after they had gotten really soft.

I also whipped up a batch of cupcakes and added some crazy frosting! They are cute!!!