Tag Archives: baking

An Easy Little Butterscotch Cookie (or Nutella Sandwich Cookie)

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When there are children–sometimes many children–running around the house all day every day, it’s handy to have a quick and easy cookie recipe at your fingertips.  Because at some point you’re going to need some cookies, stat.  And maybe the children will want one, too.  This recipe will make both you and them happy.

I felt the need to make amends after dissing a Moosewood cookbook the other day (is there a special karmic penalty for that, do you think?).  So I pulled one of my many Moosewoods off the shelf and flipped through it.  And right away the book (Simple Suppers) reminded me to make these cookies again, because they take five minutes and can be smooshed full of Nutella.  What’s not to love?

This is a cookie that you can take in a few different directions.  Need a tray of warm cookies 15 minutes from now?  Preheat your your oven while you mix the ingredients then scoop and flatten 1″ balls of dough onto your cookie sheet, and you can be enjoying soft butterscotch-scented bites of love after 8 minutes of baking.  Maybe you could have them ready even sooner.

Or whip up a batch of dough, roll it into logs and freeze it, then cut it into quarter-inch slices and bake your cookies into nice uniform wafers, ready to be nibbled alone or– don’t forget these cookies’ highest calling!–sandwiched together with Nutella.

However you decide to bake the little beauties, the recipe is simple.  Cream a stick of butter with a cup of brown sugar, then add an egg, a tsp. of vanilla, and 1/4 tsp. salt.  Scrape down your bowl and then mix in 1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour.  Voila.  Now is the time to freeze them in 1 1/2″ diameter logs, if you can wait; or go ahead and bake ’em now.  Bake at 375 until the bottoms are just getting light golden for a soft cookie, or until they’re golden brown for a crisp wafer (8-12 minutes).

Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate Cookies

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Ok, so maybe they’re only Chocolate Chocolate Cookies.  The point is, they’re CHOCOLATEY.  I love chocolatey.  At this point I could say something like, “but given their dimunitive size (as compared to one of those cake-sized cookies you could get at the mall in the 1980s, say, or a watermelon), they make a perfect sweet bite after dinner or a nice after-school snack for the children with a glass of milk.”  But that would be disingenuous.  Because, let’s be honest, what I really plan to do with these cookies is sit down and eat a whole plateful.  Or at least two.

I have been thinking about a good chocolate cookie since I saw this post the other day.  I have made, and I do love, that cookie recipe.  But these are something a little different.  The Clinton Street Bakery Cookbook calls them “Brookies,” as in a cross between a brownie and a cookie, and the description is pretty perfect.

Perfectly chewy, with a crispy edge, these Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate Cookies are worth getting 3(!) bowls dirty for.  First, combine 1 c. chocolate chips, 1 Tbsp. canola oil and 1 tsp. butter and melt in the microwave or a double boiler.  In a large bowl, whisk 2 eggs with 3/4 c. brown sugar and 1 tsp. vanilla.  In a third bowl, combine 1/2 c. flour, 1/4 tsp. baking powder, and 1/4 tsp. salt.  Fold the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture, then stir in the flour mixture.  Fold in another c. of chocolate chips, then pop the batter in the freezer for about 10 minutes to firm up.  Bake well-spaced 1-Tbsp. scoops of dough on parchment or a buttered cookie sheet at 350 just until the tops are dry and cracked, about 8-10 mins.  Let cool completely before attempting to move (read: eat) them.

Cherry Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies = “Breakfast Cookies”

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The baby is sick, so no one is sleeping–and no one is cooking.

But J made breakfast cookies, which will surely be breakfast tomorrow.

Yes, we call these Breakfast Cookies.  They are our house’s specialty cookie.  The name started as a joke, but–let’s be honest–is there a time of day when a cookie doesn’t sound delicious?  Why NOT for breakfast?  Anyway, they can be varied with different dried fruits and nuts, and we always bake some without chocolate for the child in our family who doesn’t like chocolate (I know, it’s crazy, but we have one).  I like raisins and walnuts, myself.   The kids like dried cranberries.  We were out of both of those dried fruits, but luckily Cherry Chocolate Chip Breakfast Cookies aren’t half bad.

To make a huge mountain of them (for a small mountain, halve the recipe), mix together 1 c. brown sugar, 1 c. granulated sugar, 1/4 c. canola oil and 1/4 c. applesauce, then mix in 2 eggs, 2 tsp. vanilla, and 2 Tbsp. milk.  In a separate bowl, combine 2 c. flour (you can use part whole wheat), 1 tsp. baking soda, 1 tsp. baking powder, and 1 tsp. salt.  Mix these dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.  Adding them a cup at a time, work 4 c. oats into the dough.  Mix in 1 c. chocolate chips, 1 c. dried fruit and 1 c. chopped nuts (or whatever chocolate/dried fruit/nut combo sounds good to you).  Bake at 350 until the tops of the cookies are almost completely dry (how long to cook them depends on the size; we usually cook 2-Tbsp. mounds of dough for about 10 minutes).  The cookies will be soft but you can leave them on the cookie sheet to cool for a crispy bottom.

Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes

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It is lovely to be invited to dinner.  Tonight our gracious hosts fed the many kiddos first and then sent them off to play while we enjoyed an adult dinner in peace.  Brilliant!  Why didn’t I think of that?  We were served this elegant Coq au Vin from Sunset Magazine.  I contributed dessert.

I don’t make these Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes because they’re vegan.  I make them because they’re delicious and very, very moist.  And today I made them because my friend who invited us to dinner can’t eat eggs or dairy.  The recipe is originally from Epicurious.  I scaled it down because a dozen big chocolate cupcakes seemed adequate for two families.

Also, did I mention how easy it is to make a dozen Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes?  Mix 1 c. plus 2 Tb. flour with 1 c. sugar, 1/2 c. cocoa powder, 1 tsp. of baking soda and 1/4 tsp. salt in a big bowl.  Get out a 2-cup measuring cup and mix 1 c. water, 1/3 c. canola oil, 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla and 1 tsp. white vinegar.  Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, divide between 12 lined muffin cups, and bake at 350 for 20 mins.  The wonky-looking bit of frosted cupcake you see in the picture up there is glazed with 1 c. powdered sugar sifted with 1/4 c. cocoa powder with 3-4 Tbsp. boiling water mixed in (just enough to make it pourable, then you dip the tops of the cooled cupcakes in).