Category: Cookies

Chewy Chocolate Chunk Cookies with Salty Almonds and Gooey Marshmallows

Posted by foodess on Sun 22nd of Mar, 2009 07:29:07 PM

This was supposed to be a straight-up chocolate chip cookie. But it seems now matter how sincere my intentions are to make such a concoction in its purest form, I get way to excited in the kitchen - with flour on my cheek and nose, wooden spoon securely fisted, surrounded by dirty bowls - and I completely lose the self-control to follow such a classic recipe.


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Crunchy Oatmeal Cookies

Posted by foodess on Wed 4th of Mar, 2009 02:37:22 PM

I’m not known for my patience in the kitchen. Just ask my mother who spent many years firmly insisting that the oven not be used like a microwave (which did little to stop my hungry teenage self from cranking it to 500 degrees in hopes of enjoying my frozen pizza in 3 minutes or less). I blame this lack of patience for my previous failed attempts at making crunchy oatmeal cookies. The occasional cookie recipe says to bake them for 18-20 minutes… but who can wait that long? Cookies are only supposed to take 8-12 minutes! It actually took me several tries at playing around with ingredients - using white sugar instead of brown, using a higher butter-to-flour ratio, etc. - before I had a duh moment and realized that the crunchiness potential exists in every cookie, if you just leave leave it in the oven long enough.

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Whoopie Pies with Salted Caramel Buttercream

Posted by foodess on Mon 2nd of Feb, 2009 11:17:36 PM

Whoopie pie. I think the name alone has the power to coax feelings of glee from even the toughest old birds. In fact, when I announced to my friends that I intended to make them, the mmmmm’s and ooooooh’s far preceded the ‘what is it?’s.

My childhood memory of this gleefully-named treat is of eager anticipation and zealous consumption. Oversized cakey chocolate cookies with an oozing marshmallow-y filling would stickify my hands, face, and whatever surfaces got between me and my enthusiasm for the whoopie-filled treat. I can still see my mother crouched in front of the hot oven, mitts donned, and nose centimeters from the steamy window to watch the rising mounds of chocolaty batter (yes, it is from my mom that I inherited my squat-and-stare approach to oven use).

The chocolate part of a whoopie pie thicker than cake, but lighter than cookie. Traditionally, where I come from anyway, they are filled with a billowing mound of marshmallow frosting. Many recipes include Fluff, but I prefer a 7-minute frosting. In my version, rich chocolaty cookies sandwich a pile of creamy, caramel frosting.
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Double Chocolate Coconut Cookies

Posted by foodess on Fri 30th of Jan, 2009 04:58:03 PM

When you you haven’t been for a run since last weekend, you have been wearing your laundry-day socks for three days, and you are behind on at least three chapters’ worth of readings in Nutrition textbooks, what better time to bake cookies? I think it is a logical priority. And when white chocolate chunks, toasty walnuts, and chewy coconut are tucked into a rich cocoa cookie batter, how could you not expect the results to be rapturous?

The batter whips up in minutes, with the help of a standing mixer. Just beat everything together in steps, and fold in the add-ins with a wooden spoon. I used a tablespoon to drop mine onto cookie sheets, but I would make that tablespoon slightly more heavy-handed next time. As made, they turned out to be fairly itty-bitty, (against the magnitude of a typical chocolate craving) but still scrumptious - making their dainty size forgivable. Also, do flatten them, or they will be more like macaroons.

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