Martha Stewart Cookies

So Saturday night, the cool people that we are, my roommate and I decided that instead of going out and enjoying New York City to the fullest, we were going to make cookies. Okay, that's not quite true. We didn't know what to do, and at 11 o'clock, after it was assessed that we were not going out, making cookies seemed like the best alternative. Usually, when I make the classic chocolate chip, I always fall back on Alton Brown's classic chewy recipe, but to make those, you a) need bread flour b) need to refrigerate and c) really need a mixer. Having none of said items or time, I decided upon another classic's recipe - Martha Stewart. Charlotte mixed it almost all entirely by hand - clap clap Charlotte! - and this was her first "cookie dough/sleepover" experience. Whatever that means. Having no mixer caused it to be a little runny since we couldn't cream the butter properly, but aside from being a bit flat, they were classic chocolate chip cookies. The perfect fix for our late night craving.

Thumbs up from Jessica.

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies Adapted from The Martha Stewart Cookie Book

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups (about 12 ounces) semisweet and/or milk chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and baking soda; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter with both sugars; beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low; add the salt, vanilla, and eggs. Beat until well mixed, about 1 minute. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.
2. Drop heaping tablespoon-size balls of dough about 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
3. Bake until cookies are golden around the edges, but still soft in the center, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven, and let cool on baking sheet 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool completely. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.

Of course we had to make a super big one for everyone :-)

Dorm Room Dinner Night

So I'm all moved in to college! My dorm is spectacular. I have a huge room, a great roommate, and an awesome kitchen/common room. Sadly, I am in the one tower of my building that was not renovated over the summer, so the other towers are a tad bit nicer then ours is, but oh well. It's the people that counts, right ;-) Weeks ago, when all my suites mates and I first started talking on facebook - there are 6 of us - we decided we wanted to have a big dinner to share our love of baking and cooking with each other when we arrived in the dorm. Well, tonight was the night. As I said, our kitchen is rather small and the oven has some faulty temperatures, but it still turned out great. We had spaghetti, quiche, salads and some very yummy baked goods compliments of Shaina and myself. It was by far the best meal I've had since being on campus, although I have only eaten in the dining halls here twice, so I can't make so swift decisions quite yet on the campus food. We are hoping to make this weekly dinner/roommate bonding time a bi-weekly event, so I am greatly looking forward to what everyone holds in store for next time. I know I shall most likely continue to contribute some baked items, but after playing with the oven, I'm realizing that making a cake or anything that needs a more constant oven temperature might be a little difficult.

My cookies - macaroons

Katie and Jessica at the stove/sink

Shaina's oatmeal raisin cookies

Jessica, Sally, and Shaina

Mallory, Katie, and Charlotte

Chocolate Chocolate Mint Cookies

So I have begun the long and tedious process of figuring what is going to come up to New York with me in the fall and what shall not. My dad and I are going to drive up, so I have some freedom of what I can put in the car, but my dorm room is probably going to be pretty small, so I have to take that into consideration. I'm planning on getting a dorm that is apartment style which means I shall have kitchen. WOOT WOOT!! I already know who my roommate is going to be. She is AMAZING!! Not only does she like to bake, but she speaks French, has lived all over the world and basically seems like one of the most awesome people ever. I can't wait until I actually get to meet her in person. 

Anyway, back to packing and not packing. So since I'm hopefully getting a dorm with a kitchen, I have to bring all my cook books, which over the past fews years has grown exponentially. Most are baking books, but I have collected a few others so that if I ever feel the need to cook myself an actual meal, I can do that as well ;) So not only do I have cook books, I also have a binder where I collect recipes that I print or cut out from the newspaper and from said book is where I found this lovely recipe. It has not title, no author, no anything - just a page of ingredients and some instructions. I was little skeptical because if I do use a recipe from online, I usually like to look at the reviews, but no reviews needed for these because they were INCREDIBLE!! Chocolatey goodness with a strong hint of mint - some people might find the mint overwhelming, but I loved it. Even my dad and step-mom liked them too. This has made me realize that I need to be a bit more adventurous in my baking and not always follow a trail that has already been followed, but to start my own paths and back thinks that I have no idea how they turn out. 

Ingredients:

• 3.5 oz bittersweet chocolate
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup all purpose flour (I used cake flour because I'm out of AP)
• 1/2 dutch cocoa
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda (As I read the recipe again now, I realize that I used baking powder and it still turned out fine. Whoops!)
• 1 1/2 cup Andes Mint Chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. 
2. In a small saucepan over low heat, melt butter. Add chocolate and whisk until combined. Add vanilla and set aside to cool. 
3. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. 
4. In a mixer bowl, combine eggs and sugar. Mix until light and fluffy - 3 minutes. 
5. Decrease speed to low and add melted chocolate mixture. 
6. Add flour mixture and stir until just combined. 
7. Fold in Mint Chips
8. Let batter sit in the fridge for a few minutes to firm up a bit. 
9. Drop 1 1/2 tbs portions onto a baking sheet 2 inches apart. Bake for 12-13 minutes. The cookies will be slightly under-baked, but will the centers nice and gooey. 
10. Remove cookie sheets and transfer parchment paper to cooling rack to cool completely. 
11. 

Alton Brown - The Chewy

I did it. I finally made the chewy Alton Brown chocolate chip cookie that everyone else in the blogosphere seems to have already made. Last night, after spending 2 hours studying European History, 30 minutes running at the gym, and another undetermined amount of time doing absolutely nothing, I figured I might as well use up my wasted time by making some cookies. I did continue to watch the first season of Gossip Girl as I baked - it was 20 bucks at Target last week!!!! Even though I've already seen it all, I can somehow never get my fix of Upper East Side snobbiness. They are just like any other cookie, except have melted butter, much more brown sugar than white, and bread flour. Okay, so they aren't exactly like every other chocolate chip cookie recipe, but they are still pretty easy to make. Too bad my dad is still out of town, because I think he would have enjoyed these better than a lot of the baked goods I often make - since they had mostly brown sugar compared to white sugar, they were not as sweet as usual. Carson, my classmate said "Yum.....Yes, they are chewy without having to gnaw on them. They are soft without tasting undercooked." So all in all, I say this cookie experiment was a success. They are pretty easy cookies to make, come out with a perfect golden brown color, have a nice chewiness and are not deathly sweet. Grade - A Make again - very likely ADAPTED FROM ALTON BROWN ON THE FOODNETWORK.COM

• INGREDIENTS:
• 2 sticks unsalted butter
• 2 1/4 cups bread flower
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups chocolate chips

1. Heat over to 375 degrees F.
2. Melt the butter in a heavy-bottom medium saucepan over low heat.
3. Sift together flour, salt, and baking soda and set aside.
4. Pour the melted butter in the mixer's work bowl. Add the sugar and brown sugar. Cream the butter and sugars on medium speed.
5. Add the egg, yolk, milk and vanilla and mix until well combined.
6. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture until thoroughly combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.
7. Chill the dough, and the scoop onto parchment-lined baking sheets.
8. Bake for 14 minutes or until golden brown, checking the cookies after 5 minutes. Rotate the baking sheets halfway through for even browning.
9. Cool completely and store in an airtight container.

Mini Cakies

So my dad and step-mom left for Lithuania yesterday. Apparently Wendee has to give a speech and my father decided to tag along so that he could explore Vilnius. They seem to go to some of the most random places in the world. They sent me an email saying there are malls everywhere, so I guess it's really not that different than America - HA! So anyway, I'm home all alone until next Saturday. Well I guess I still have two 100 pound dogs, a mad cat, and some fish to protect me, so I'm not really that worried. But since they aren't home - I CAN BAKE WITH NO ONE YELLING AT ME!! YAYAY! To start my week of what will hopefully be lots and lots of baking - coniciding with lots and lots of posts - I decided to make oreo/whoopie pies. I've renamed them mini cakies beacuse that's what they are - mini cakes in cookie form! Basically, they're baby cakes with buttercream icing in the center that I decided to tint pink because white just seemed boring. They were so easy to make. Icing each one and finding matching sides was slightly tedious, but they looked so cool once I was done and they were quite delicious. As I said, they basiclly tasted like tiny cakes, but somehow, since they were in cookie form, they just tasted better. I put them on a plate, but when I went to pick one up a few hours later to eat, it was sticking to the plate. I quickly transfered them to plate covered in wax paper so they wouldn't stick anymore. When my step-nephew came over, he ate one and gave it a grade of A++. Thanks Skylar!!

ADAPTED FROM FOODISLUV.BLOGSPOT.COM

• INGREDIENTS:
• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup buttermilk (or milk)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter , room temperature
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 egg

• vanilla buttercream
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 tablespoons cream

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, add the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk together until well combined and set aside.
3. In a small bowl, stir together the buttermilk and vanilla and set aside.
4. In the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and the brown sugar until creamy and fluffy - about 3 mins.
5. Add the egg and beat until well combined.
6. Add the flour mixture and buttermilk in batches, starting and ending with the flour. scrape down the bowl several times, ensuring that everything is well combined. mix just until all the ingredients are combined, do not over mix.
7. Using a pastry bag fitted with a large circle tip, pipe out the batter in 1 1/2 inch circles on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, leaving at least 1 inch between each. dip your finger in water and shake off excess. With your wet finger, gentley press down the top of each cookie.
8. Bake in for 8-10 minutes. Using a metal spatula, transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.
9. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and sugar. Start on low speed until combined and then increase speed to medium and beat for approximately 3 minutes.
10. Add vanilla and cream and beat again. About 1 min more.
11. Match up cookies in like sized pairs. Spoon buttercream on one side and sandwich with the other.

Chocolate Crackles

So Saturday was prom! Very exciting. I had a purple dress and took a million and half pictures at a pre-prom party at my friends Bradley's house where there were many more parents that students. Anyway, instead of getting my hair done at a salon, I had my friend Michelle come over and do my hair and makeup. As repayment for her services - she did an amazing job - I made her some yummy chocolaty crinkles. As I was in the middle of making them when I realized that we had no cocoa! Instead of making a mad dash to the store, I simply proceeded without and they turned out fine. Maybe a little more crumbly, but I thought that they were still pretty good. Ingredients

• 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup Dutch cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 1/3 cups light-brown sugar, firmly packed
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar, plus more for rolling

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Chop bittersweet chocolate into small bits, and melt over medium heat in a heat-proof bowl or the top of a double boiler set over a pan of simmering water. Set aside to cool. Sift together flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt.
2. In the bowl of a heavy-duty electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and light-brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla, and beat until well combined. Add melted chocolate. With mixer on low speed, alternate adding dry ingredients and milk until just combined. Divide the dough into quarters, wrap with plastic wrap, and chill in the refrigerator until firm, about 2 hours.
3. On a clean countertop, roll each portion of dough into a log approximately 16 inches long and 1 inch in diameter, using confectioners’ sugar to prevent sticking. Wrap logs in plastic wrap, and transfer to a baking sheet. Chill for 30 minutes. Cut each log into 1-inch pieces, and toss in confectioners’ sugar, a few at a time. Using your hands, roll the pieces into a ball shape. If any of the cocoa-colored dough is visible, roll dough in confectioners’ sugar again to coat completely. Place the cookies 2 inches apart on a Silpat-lined baking sheet. Bake until cookies have flattened and the sugar splits, 12 to15 minutes.
4. Transfer from oven to a wire rack to let cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Macaroons

My dearest step-sister, Sarah, recently broke her arm, so to help her in her healing process I decided to make her some cookies. Baking for Sarah is slightly complicated because she does not it wheat, so I had to make something that didn't require flour, since honestly, I think the gluten-free flour just tastes nasty. So the perfect cookie of course was macaroons because they have no flour in them. I make these often because they are so incredibly easy to make and because they always turn out so delicious. I decided to put the chocolate on the bottom this time because the bottoms were a little sticky because I was worried that they were going to stick to the box I sent them in. All in all they turned out great and I just put them in the mail - so hopefully they will get to Sarah soon for her to enjoy. Ingredients:

• 7 1/2 cups shredded coconut
• 3 tbsp sweetened condensed coconut
• 2/3 cup egg white ( about 4-5)
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon coconut or almost extract (I used vanilla because that was all we had on hand)

• 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate
• 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
• 2 1/2 tbsp butter

Directions:

1. Preheat over to 325 degrees. Grease several baking sheets
2. Spread the coconut out on a baking sheet and toast for 7-9 minutes until just browned
3. In a large bowl, stir coconut and condensed milk until well blended
4. In a seperate bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peaks form.
5. Add sugar to eggs, mixing thoroughly, followed by the vanilla extract. Keep beating until stiff peaks form - about 2 minutes
6. Fold coconut mixture into the egg
7. Drop coconut mixture onto prepared cookie sheet using 1/4 cup measuring cup - or really any size you want them to be.
8. Bake on the middle oven rack for 13-18 minutes or until lightly tinged brown
9. Transfer to wire rack and let cool

Dipping:

1. In a double boiler, melt together chocolate and butter
2. Dip macaroons in chocolate, mixes every few to keep the chocolate smooth
3. Place dipped macaroons on a wax paper-lined cookie sheet and refrigerate until chocolate is set
4. Serve at room temperature

Hamantaschen

Today is Purim!!!!! So in honor of this lovely holiday I made some yummy yummy hamantaschen. For some reason, my dough was incredibly sticky, so instead of rolling it out, I made individual balls and rolled them out in flour so that they wouldn't keep on sticking to the counter top. As sticky as they were, they turned out great and they didn't spread out really at all like I worried about. I got the recipe from our ancient cookbook that my grandmother helped create for her temple when my father was just a wee little boy. It has also the classic Jewish recipes that anyone could ever ask for. The ingredients were very basic, so I didn't have to go out and buy anything. As I ran-sacked the cabinet looking for some preserves to put in, I discovered that we have about 1000 different jellies. I settled on apricot, blackberry, some raspberry that was already opened, poppy seed and chocolate chip. You can of course pick out any kind that you want! Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter
• 3 cups flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• Any filling that you would like
• Egg white

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Cut the butter into the dry ingredients until it is in small pieces
3. Add the egg and orange juice and beat on medium until well incorparated
4. Roll out dough onto floured surface
5. Cut out round circles with a glass or any other cookie cutter about 2-3 inches in diameter
6. Put 1 tsp of filing into center of dough
7. Pick up edges toward the center to form a triangle and pinch the dough together to form a triangle
8. Brush the top with a beaten egg white
9. Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until lightly brown

Island Treasure Cookies

So in my usual state of never wanting to do homework, I decided that I wanted to make some cookies. Since my step-mom is going down to Florida tomorrow for my great-aunt's 100th birthday, I figured I could make a little care package to send along with her to bring to all the family. Well, as I was looking up cookies, I had all sorts of elaborate concoctions in my head, but after looking through my baking drawer, I saw that I had some opened bags of coconut, walnuts, and chocolate chips that were in dire need of a use. So after much reflection (not really - 5 minutes tops) I settled with these yummy island treasure ones. I know realize that for a Florida vacation, these fit the description splendidly. Instead of pecans I used chopped walnut and I'm pretty sure I used way more than just 1 cup of coconut because I just dumped everything that was still in the package - I'd say about a cup and a half. As usual, my father said they were too sweet, but as he just said "Everything is too sweet for me." My step-mom quite enjoyed them though and I'm hoping that they will be a hit down in Florida with the whole posse. Treasure Island Cookies As adapted from allrecipes.com Ingredients: • 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour • 3/4 teaspoon baking powder • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda • 1/2 teaspoon salt • 7/8 cup butter, softened • 3/4 cup packed brown sugar • 1/3 cup white sugar • 1 egg • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract • 1 cup milk chocolate chips • 1 cup flaked coconut • 1 cup chopped walnuts Directions: 1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. 2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside. 3. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar and white sugar. Beat in the egg then stir in the vanilla. 4. Gradually mix in the dry ingredients. 5. Mix in the chocolate chips, coconut and pecans. 6. Roll dough into 1 inch balls and place the cookies 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. 7. Bake for 10 minutes. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 2 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Cookies, Cookies, and more Cookies

But over the past 3 weekends, I baked just about 618 cookies. Now you may ask why would I do such a thing? Well, the answer is actually quite simple. One of my teachers help plan a big mountain race each year and they need cookies to give to all the racers. The woman who has baked the cookies the past few years was unable to do it this year, so knowing my love for baking, Ms. Jones asked me to do it. It was quite a production, but very fun. I was able to try tons of new recipes that I have never been able to try before. I had some help one day from my friends Michael, Bryan, and Marissa. Marissa made some wonderful mint cookies, but I'm not quite sure what happened with Michael and Bryan because there simple chocolate chip cookies basically died. All in all, it was a lot a lot of baking, but lots and lots of fun!

Chocolate-Peppermint Snaps

Today is knitting Monday, so I decided to bake some goodies to bring in yesterday. Usually I make something every week, but lately I haven't more. More out of laziness then anything else. Martha Stewart is just about one of my favorite sites ever. The bright colors draw me in and all the pictures are just so glamorous. I don't actually think I have ever made a cookie from her site, even with all my snooping, but when I saw chocolate peppermint cookies, which reminded me of Girl Scout Thin Mints - my biggest weakness - I knew I had to make them. They turned out quite well, a little crispy, which made my dad enjoy them - he loves crispy cookies. I didn't take the time to put the white chocolate on top of them because that just seemed incredibly tedious. The recipe said it would make close to 6-dozen. How in the heck they ever got that number is beyond me given that I rolled the dough as thin as humanely possible and I still got only about 42. Putting them back and forth into the freezer almost ended up in a few near disasters - a bottom freezer was not created to hold large cookie sheets - but in the end they all turned out great. They puff up so much. I was shocked! It amazing what big, relative to how small the cutouts, come out of the oven when you are all done. 12 minutes was perfect - very crispy. Just the right amount of mint, and next time I will have to put the white chocolate coating over them.

Michelle's cookie

So as I am sitting here bored as heck at work, my bestest friend Michelle decided to pay me a visit. As she walked in, she had a coy smile on her face. All of a sudden she pulled out a giant cookie for me and what's even more amazing was that she made it. Michelle is always asking me to bake things and she even bought me a cupcake book for Chanukah. Well, I've been trying to be good and not eat sweets but I just had to try it. IT WAS SO GOOD! It was an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie and it was so good. YAY MICHELLE!!!!!