Hot Chocolate Cookies

With our first snow storm a couple days ago and temperatures now in the 20s or lower, it seems that winter has finally taken up residence in NYC.


Call me crazy, but I actually prefer the extreme cold over 40 or 50 degree weather, for two reasons.


First, (and this is HUGE for my decision-impaired personality), the extreme cold considerably narrows down my wardrobe choices. Which coat to wear? The puffiest one. Which scarf to wear? The fuzziest one. Which hat to wear? The covers-my-ears-iest one. 


See? Easy decisions.

The second reason I like the cold weather is that it gives me an excuse to drink things like hot chocolate. And mochas. And peppermint hot chocolate. And Bailey's with hot chocolate.


I mean, um...hot chocolate with Bailey's.

In short, the cold weather gives me the excuse to consume one of my favorite treats--chocolate--in warm, comforting, liquid form. What could be better than that?

Well, possibly these cookies.  Because these are my favorite treat in warm, comforting, liquid form in cookie form.


Beck and I have made these cookies no less than three times since we discovered the recipe, to rave reviews each time. DaddyBob--usually a man of few words--waxed poetic about their perfect blend of crispiness and chewiness. "Better than a regular chocolate chip cookie!" he said.

They're also great because you probably already have all the ingredients in your pantry, especially if you're like me and have nine thousand boxes of hot chocolate packets because you buy a box every time the weather gets cold "just in case you don't have any at home."


These cookies also keep extremely well, and perhaps get even better over the course of a couple days (assuming you can keep them around for that long!). And they're awesome dipped in milk. Or hot chocolate. Or Bailey's.


So next time it gets cold and you find yourself asking, "Which cookies to bake?," don't fret over the choices. The cookie you should bake is as obvious as choosing the covers-my-ears-iest hat. Which cookies to bake? The hot chocolate-iest ones, of course.


Stay warm,
Katie

Hot Chocolate Cookies

Adapted from Baked Bree

Makes several dozen cookies

3 1/4 cups flour
4 packages Hot Chocolate Mix (not sugar free)
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 sticks room temperature butter
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup each white, milk, and semi-sweet chocolate chips (or 3 cups any combination of chocolate chips)

marshmallow fluff (optional)

1. In a medium bowl, sift flour, hot chocolate mix, salt and baking soda.

2. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Mix in eggs and vanilla.

3. Add dry ingredients in 3 batches, blending well between each addition. Stir in chocolate chips.

4. Chill cookie dough for 45 minutes (this is not terribly essential, so feel free to skip if you’re short on time). Near end of chilling time, preheat oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper.

5. Drop dough in heaping tablespoons onto prepared sheets* and bake 9 to 11 minutes, or until cookies are just starting to brown around the edges. Let cool on sheets 5 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

*To add a marshmallow swirl to the cookies (as pictured), scoop a tablespoon of dough into the palm of your hand and flatten dough between your palms. Spread dough with a small amount of marshmallow fluff (just as much as you can scoop on the tip of a knife, maybe a ¼ - ½ teaspoon). Fold dough up around fluff and roll dough into a ball between your palms. Place on cookie sheet and bake as directed above.

Sugar Cookie Bars

Hey Chickadees! Happy New Year!


It's been a while since Beck and I last blogged--since November, in fact. How did that happen?! It's not like we didn't bake during the month of December. On the contrary, I lost track of how many batches of Toffee Almond Crunch and Christmas Gingerbread I made, and only the elves know how many Spritz Cookies were spritzed because we ourselves stopped counting at about 249 million.


Yes. 249 million.

But it's the new year now, and I'm looking forward to blogging. I can't promise we'll be blogging every Sunday--there are simply too many other things on our plates right now (mainly the planning of a certain very special occasion for Becky and the Music Man!) But when I do have the time, I enjoy baking and photographing and blogging; it's one of the small joys in my life.


Which, btw, is one of my new year's resolutions--to find more joy in the little things.


Things like sunsets, and discovering a new restaurant. Things like Pinterest, and crackle nail polish, and sprinkles.

Sprinkles!


Here's a story about sprinkles: Once, when I was about 13, I put sprinkles on some ice cream and when I bit down, there was a sprinkle positioned just right to make the sealant on one of my teeth pop off.  I had to go back to the dentist and sit there with the UV light in my mouth all over again.


Good story, huh?

Stories. That's another good thing to take joy in this year. Hopefully stories that are more interesting than the one I just told.

Yet another small joy: baking several dozen sugar cookies without dirtying a rolling pin or cookie cutters.


These Sugar Cookie Bars bake up in less than 30 minutes and are frosted and ready to be cut in less than an hour. And as an added bonus, one batch yields close to 249 million.


Which, btw, is the number of small joys I hope to experience this year. What little joys are you looking forward to in 2012?


--Katie

Sugar Cookie Bars

Adapted from A Little Bit Crunchy A Little Bit Rock and Roll

Makes approximately 70 bars

Cookie Base

5 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a half sheet (13x18 inch) pan and line with parchment paper.

2. In a medium bowl, sift flour, salt, and baking soda together and set aside.

3. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add vanilla.

4. Add dry ingredients and mix until combined.

5. Press dough into prepared pan. An offset spatula might be helpful here. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until edges just begin to brown and the middle no longer looks wet. Set on a wire wrack to cool completely. Frost with frosting below.

Frosting

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup shortening

1 teaspoon vanilla

pinch of salt

4 cups powdered sugar

5 tablespoons of milk

food coloring (optional)

sprinkles (optional)

1. In a mixing bowl, beat shortening and butter until creamy.  Add vanilla and powdered sugar.  Gradually add tablespoons of milk until you reach your desired consistency (I used about 4 tablespoons).

2. Frost cookie base using an offset spatula or knife. Place bars in refrigerator for about 15 minutes so frosting can set. Cut into bars. (These cut great with a pizza cutter.)

Stored in an airtight container, bars will stay fresh (and even get better!) 3 to 4 days.

Orange Pecan Cranberry Bread

Hey Chickadees,


Have I ever told you how quick breads and I aren't the best of friends? They just don't like me much. But I like them, so I keep trying to make them. Last winter I made a cranberry bread that was okay, but not great. This year I was determined to make a different, better bread. I found a recipe I liked, made it once at home, and was excited to make it again when I went to California for Thanksgiving.


The cranberry bread, on the other hand, had other plans.

I share with you now how NOT to make Orange Pecan Cranberry Bread over your Thanksgiving break:


Day One:
Begin to think about making the bread. On pre-Thanksgiving last-minute trip to store, pick up extra bag of cranberries, yogurt, oranges, and orange oil. Let your mom pay for all of it. When you get home, let your sister talk you out of making the bread - there's too much other Thanksgiving food.


Day Two:
Eat all that other Thanksgiving food.


Day Three:
Consider making this bread. Realize that the oranges you have will not yield enough orange juice. Call Mama B and ask her to pick up some OJ on her way home (we'll just pretend it's fresh squeezed). Lay down on the couch while waiting for her to come home. When she arrives, thank her from the couch for getting the juice. Fall asleep on couch. Zombie-walk up to bed some time later.

Day Four:
Decide it's time to make this bread once and for all. Begin to gather ingredients. Begin to zest oranges. Realize that the zesting is causing you to sweat. Investigate this. Conclude that the cheese grater you are using to zest the orange is the same cheese grater you've been using since...um...your whole life.  Say, "That's it! Zesting an orange should not be this difficult! I'm going to Target for a proper zester!"


Go to Target. Walk directly to the kitchen section. Do not, under any circumstances, take a detour through the clothes section - the bread will certainly never get made if that happens. Purchase zester. Go home and successfully zest oranges.


Begin to mix dry ingredients. Go to the pantry for flour. Scream.


Yes, scream.


Because, Chickadees, there is no flour in the pantry.


Assure all other family members and dogs in the house who came running when you screamed that you are not seriously injured. Take some deep breaths. Double-check the rest of the ingredient list. Thank goodness - everything else besides flour is accounted for.


Drive to the local market. On your way, kidnap your sister who went out for a run and make her come to the market with you - you are in need of moral support. Purchase flour, ideally not at the register where the kid you once cheated on a spelling test with in first grade is the checker. Drive home.


Finally, finally, finish making this bread. Fend off family members from eating it until you've photographed it. Then eat half the loaf yourself. After everything you went through to get this far, you deserve it.

Seriously, Chickadees, making this bread doesn't have to take four days and multiple trips to the store to make. Yes, there is a bit more prep involved than some other quick breads, but with a food processor and a proper zester, it's not that bad. To save more time, buy pre-chopped nuts, high-quality orange juice, and don't bother chopping the cranberries.


And remember - if you do get to the pantry and have no flour, it's okay to scream.


Happy zesting,
Katie

Orange Pecan Cranberry Bread

Adapted from Luna Cafe

2 cups all-purpose flour

1½ teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon fine sea salt

¾ cup plain nonfat yogurt

¾ cup fresh orange juice

½ cup unsalted butter, cool room temperature

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs, cool room temperature

½ teaspoon orange oil or 1 teaspoon orange extract

finely grated zest of 1 large orange (2-3 tablespoons)

1 cup fresh cranberries, each cut in half

1 cup lightly toasted pecans, coarsely chopped

1. Set an oven rack in the middle of the oven with plenty of room above it and preheat the oven to 350°.

2. Grease and flour a 9x5 loaf pan or spray with flour baking spray (or 3 mini loaf pans).

3. In a medium mixing bowl, sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

4. In another mixing bowl, whisk together yogurt and orange juice. Set aside.

5. Cream butter and sugar until pale and creamy, about 3-5 minutes.

6. Add eggs gradually, beating continuously to incorporate. Then add orange oil and zest and mix briefly to incorporate.

7. Using the slowest speed of the mixer, add flour mixture in three increments, alternating with the addition of 2 increments of the yogurt-orange juice mixture. The last addition should be the flour mixture. Do not over mix. Stop the mixer and finish incorporating the ingredients by folding together with a large spatula.

8. While folding, add the reserved cranberries and pecans, and incorporate gently and quickly. The batter should be well combined, but do not over mix or the bread will not be tender.

9. Spoon the batter immediately into the prepared pan, filling no more than three fourths full (if there’s extra batter, make a mini loaf or muffins), level the top with a flexible spatula. Bake for about 55-65 minutes. (Smaller loaves require about 40-45 minutes of baking.) The internal temperature of the loaf when tested at the center with a thin instant-read thermometer should read 180° when done. The traditional wooden skewer probe recommended so often as a test for doneness will still be a bit sticky at this point. Over baking this bread makes it dry.

10. Remove from the oven, let settle in the pan for 10 minutes, and then gently turn out onto a wire rack to cool.

Do Ahead If well-wrapped to prevent moisture loss, this bread will keep at room temperature for a day or two; or longer in the freezer. It actually improves in texture and taste after a day or so of proper storage.

Katie’s note: This recipe seems to make more batter than fits in 1 9x5 loaf pan. I doubled this recipe and divided the batter between 3 9x5 loaf pans. The bread does rise in the oven, so make sure to fill your pans no more than ¾ full.

Pumpkin Pudding

Hey Readers! Remember a few months ago when I was reduced to a spoon food only diet? Well, the spoon is once again my best friend.

This time it's not because I want to eat only spoon food, but because I must; I had gum surgery last week.

(Aw...thanks. Yeah, I am feeling better--it's so sweet of you to ask! No, it doesn't hurt a ton, especially not with the painkillers. Yeah, I've been eating lots of ice cream and applesauce and pudding...)

Right! Pudding! That's what I'm here to talk about.

So, here I am at home all by myself with three orders from the doctor: 1) eat spoon foods, 2) the less talking the better, and 3) no smiling or laughing.

After watching as many mediocre mid-90's movies on Netflix as I can find (mediorcre = less chance of laughing, though the mid-90's thing may cancel that out), I head to the fridge for some spoon food, and discover some leftover pumpkin.

Hmmmm, what to make with that pumpkin? I ask myself (silently of course, since I'm not talking. Not that I talk to myself out loud usually anyway...okay, I talk to myself out loud all the time, so this whole talking less thing is actually kind of difficult. Like Twitter for my mouth.)

I don't know, answers myself.

You could make pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, myself says.

But then I couldn't eat them--spoon stuff only, remember?, myself replies.

Oh, right, myself grumbles.

So, no pumpkin chocolate chip cookies because no spoon, and white chocolate pumpkin fudge is out for the same reason. Pumpkin donut muffins? Nope. Pumpkin pancakes? Er...with enough syrup I could use a spoon...NO! Spoon foods only! myself insists.

Okay then, myself scoffs. No need to get snippy.

And then, as I reach for yet another Jello chocolate pudding, it dawns on me.

Pumpkin pudding! myself exclaims!

YES! Pumpkin pudding! myself agrees.

And I'm so happy at the thought of pumpkin pudding, that I break into a big gri--

Ah. That's why I'm not supposed to smile. It hurts.

But I eventually (ok, basically immediately) recover and make the pudding, and it's just what the doctor ordered.

With ingredients you probably already have on hand, this pumpkin pudding would be an easy week-before-Thanksgiving treat. Or, if you have a pie-crust phobia but don't want to deny your Thanksgiving guests the pumpkin pie experience, this pudding could be just what you need.

Lest I leave you feeling sorry for me and my spoon-only, no-smiling, less-talking state, I'll share that four days of having to choose what I eat, say, and smile at does have it's rewards. I've tried new foods, like this pudding, that I never would have tried otherwise. I've examined what's really important in my everyday chatter. And I've realized how blessed I am to have so much laughter in my life, even if I can't partake in it for a while.

Spoon-fed, silent, and smile-less, life is still good, I think to myself.


So true, myself replies. So true.


Best,
Katie

Pumpkin Pudding
Adapted slightly from Martha Stewart
Makes four servings

• 1/2 cup firmly packed dark-brown sugar (I used light brown sugar)
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 1/2 cups half-and-half
• 3 large egg yolks
• 1 tablespoon molasses (I used molasses, but next time will substitute with maple syrup...I don't care for the slight molasses taste)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup boiling water
• 1/2 cup pumpkin
• 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 
  

1. Combine brown sugar and cornstarch in a large heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Add half-and-half, egg yolks, molasses, and salt; cook, whisking constantly, until mixture starts to thicken. 

2. Add the water in a slow stream, whisking constantly. Stir in pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice; cook until very thick, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat; let cool slightly.  Serve warm. For thicker, cold pudding, place pudding in bowl or small serving cups, cover with plastic wrap (to avoid a skin), and chill for at least one hour.

Candy Corn Sugar Cookies

Happy Halloween, everyone!

Ok, so, last year for this haunted holiday, Katie and I decided to go scary, gross, and delicious with these oh-so-icky yet oh-so-yummy Oreo Cookie Eyeball Truffles. Fun, yes. Horrific? Definitely. I think our inclination to go bloody had something to do with the whole vampire-zombie-werewolf trend...

This year, we decided to bake up a treat from the other end of the Halloween spectrum. These little bitty cookies are the baking equivalent of a baby dressed up as a lady bug, or a doggie in a pumpkin suit, or anyone decked out as Winnie the Pooh. In short, they're super cute!

They're also just as addicting as the candy they're modeled after, so I'm warning you now: practice self-control. You will thank me later. Your waistline will, too. And your dentist.

They ARE rather tiny cookies, though. So, you know, don't torture yourself. You can have more than one. Five would be ok. Or six, or seven, or ten.

Actually, it's probably best to just make a double batch.

Vampires, this isn't for you! It's orange gel food coloring!

This recipe comes from the ladies at Our Best Bites. The step-by-step photos they've posted are excellent, so rather than re-creating them, Kate and I decided that you all could exercise your fingers and click your way on over!

So if you're feeling this Halloween like you'd rather hear some "Oohh, how cute!" than some "Oohhh, how gross!", bake up some adorableness candy-corn style.

Happy treating!

-Becky

Candy Corn Sugar Cookies
Adapted from Our Best Bites

Ingredients:
1 batch sugar cookie dough (like this one*)
Yellow and orange food coloring
*For these cookies though, I replace the lemon extract with almond extract

Optional:
Sanding sugar, coarse raw sugar, or sprinkles
Almond bark or white chocolate, melted

Instructions:

1. Divide prepared sugar cookie dough into three equal portions. Set aside one portion as the white part of the candy corn. Color one portion with yellow food coloring, the other with orange. Gel food coloring gives you the brightest color, but liquid food coloring will work as well. Be sure to add food coloring in small bits until you are satisfied with the color. Also, unless you want to wash your beaters, do the yellow first!
2. Line a standard loaf pan with plastic wrap. Gently press the uncolored dough into the bottom of pan and smooth flat, keeping it at least 1/2-3/4 inches high (you don’t have to use the whole pan if you have a small batch of dough). The taller the layer of dough, the larger your cookies will be. Layer orange dough on top of previous layer and gently smooth flat. Finally, layer yellow dough and gently smooth top. Wrap plastic over dough and chill until firm, 30-60 minutes in freezer or 1-2 hours in fridge. Or, store the dough in the fridge for 2-3 days before baking.
3. When ready to bake, remove plastic wrap, lift dough out of the loaf pan onto a cutting board, and slice loaf into 1/4-inch slices. So the dough remains chilled, it is best to work with just a few slices at a time, placing the remaining dough back into the loaf pan and the fridge.
4. Trim the top of each slice to make a straight line. Then, cut each slice into triangle shapes and dip top side in sugar if desired. Bake according to sugar cookie directions, noting that these small cookies may bake more quickly than the recipe indicates. Cool 1-2 minutes on pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. 
5. If desired, dip ends in almond bark or white chocolate and decorate with sprinkles. Store cookies in an airtight container up to 5 days.

Introducing EATS & SWEETS - a new cookbook!

Hellloooooo Readers!  Happy Sunday!

Today I am very excited to show you something Becky and I have been working on for the better part of the year...it's a cookbook!!!!

EATS & SWEETS is a collection of over 25 appetizer and dessert recipes that were served at the Ignatian Young Adults (IYA) socials at St. Ignatius Loyola Parish in NYC during the 2010-2011 year.

Becky and I are on the IYA committee, and when it was suggested that we do a cookbook as a fundraiser for the group, we said we'd put it together. (They think we were being generous, but it's always been a dream of ours to publish a cookbook. Isn't it great when everybody wins?)

The cookbook has an EATS section (appetizers), with recipes like...

...and a SWEETS section (desserts), with many recipes you already know, like Oatmeal Lemon Creme Bars, Berry Cornmeal Crumble Bars, and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars, plus some new recipes, like Raspberry Oatmeal Bars.

Beck and I were determined to reinvent the church cookbook - no spiral bound, endless expanse of B&W typewritten recipes for us. It's the 21st century, people!

We thought it would be a piece of cake. We already had several recipes and photographs on hand thanks to this blog, after all.

Boy were we wrong.

It's one thing to post recipes and photographs on a (semi-)weekly basis one at a time, as you please, with the option to go back and change things later as you like. It's a whole other beast to put together a physical book. There was a recipe style guide to consider, photo dpi's to be checked, recipes to be made and re-photographed, budget numbers to be balanced, and deadlines to torture us keep us on track.

I don't know why the hard work came as a surprise to me...I make books for a living, after all. I suppose I didn't realize that while as an editor I am only responsible for one part of the publishing process, here I played all roles - author, editor, designer, copyeditor, proofreader, production manager, marketer, publicist, sales person, and bookseller. There were even some nights I dreamed of cookbooks.

But man, when that first finished copy arrived, it was like all the Christmas mornings of my lifetime put together. I understood just a little bit more how my authors at work feel when they see their finished books for the first time.

Of course, the best part of all this is that proceeds go right back to support IYA programming.

Check out the fancy-schmancy book preview below and if you like what you see, feel free to click through to the Blurb bookstore and order a copy for yourself, or for yourself and your 50 closest friends :-)

-Katie

Eats & Sweets by The Ignatian Young Adults at St. Ignatius Loyola Parish, NYC | Make Your Own Book

Pumpkin Donut Muffins

Hey chickadees,

Let's play a game. Touch your nose with your right hand if you remember the Mini Donut Muffins Beck and I made last year. Need a reminder?

Heck, even if you don't remember the Mini Donut Muffins and are too lazy to click through the link above, touch your nose anyway. Everyone can play this game.

Go on. Right hand to nose.

Very good.

Now, keeping your right hand where it is, touch your right ear with your left hand if you like pumpkin.

Now, extend your right arm out in front of you if you think the combination of Mini Donut Muffins plus pumpkin would be superb.

Yes. I know this particular move is a bit harder. Channel your inner pretzel. You can do it. Right arm out in front of you.

Very good.

Now wave your right arm up and down and make a noise like an elephant.

What?!

No, of course I wasn't trying to make you look like a fool! I was only trying to make you look like an elephant :-)  Please don't blame me--these Pumpkin Donut Muffins I made on my vacation make me do strange things.

Things like playing Twister on my parents' new multi-colored rug, eating oddly-flavored jelly beans, painting farm animals on tiny ceramic bowls, and measuring dry ingredients for baked goods very late at night after everyone else has gone to bed...

...and apparently making other people act like circus animals. I really have no idea where that whole elephant thing came from.  But really, these are bite-sized donuts, plus pumpkin, coated in butter and cinnamon and sugar. Does it get any better than that?

It's enough to make anyone go a little elephant.

Enjoy!
- Katie

Pumpkin Donut Muffins
Adapted from Blue Eyed Bakers
Makes 24 mini muffins


For Donuts:
1 3/4 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup milk


For Coating:
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon


1. Preheat oven 350 F.  Spray 24 mini muffin cups with cooking spray and set aside.


2. In a bowl, mix flour, baking powder, salt and spices together and set aside.


3. In a large bowl (or the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment) whisk together oil, brown sugar, egg, vanilla, pumpkin and milk until combined. Slowly add the dry ingredients into the mixture and stir until just combined, careful not to over mix.


4. Fill each muffin cup with the batter. Muffin wells will be pretty full but not overflowing. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until muffins spring back when gently pressed. Let muffins cool in pans for one minute, then tip on their sides so the bottoms don't steam. After a few minutes, transfer muffins to wire racks.


5. While the muffins are cooling, melt butter in one bowl and combine the sugar and cinnamon in another. When donuts are still hot (but not too hot to touch), dip tops in melted butter, then in cinnamon-sugar mixture. Serve immediately.


*Note: If you're not going to serve the muffins immediately, you can bake them up to a day in advance and store them in an airtight container. Do not coat them in the butter/cinnamon-sugar mixture until just before serving or they may get soggy. Or, use a pastry brush to brush on butter instead of dipping muffins in butter in order to use less butter.