Malted Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies

by Laura

I'm crazy about chocolate chip cookies and I'm always looking for a new recipe to top my favorites. Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond has crafted a wonderful recipe that features an ingredient I never considered in a cookie...Malted Milk! The malted milk added a lovely chewy texture and the equal parts brown and granulated sugar gave the cookie a rich golden color to this buttery thin cookie. This recipe will definitely be made again...possibly tomorrow! ha!

Malted Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

• 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup golden brown sugar
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 whole eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup (rounded) malted milk powder
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/4 teaspoon salt
• One 12-ounce bag milk chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat the oven to 330 degrees F. (Laura's note: the original recipe calls for 375 degrees F- I found the lower temp worked better for me!)

Cream the butter, then add both sugars and cream until fluffy. Add the eggs and beat slightly, then add the vanilla and beat until combined. Add the malted milk powder and beat until combined.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Add to the butter mixture, beating gently until just combined. Add the chocolate chips and stir in gently.

Drop by teaspoonfuls (or use a cookie scoop) on an ungreased baking sheet, leaving plenty of space between the cookies (they spread out quite a bit). Bake for 9 to 11 minutes.(Laura's Note: Don't forget to turn the cookie sheet half-way through the baking time. Also in my oven 9 minutes was too long and burned the bottoms of the first batch.) The cookies will be very flat and very chewy. Allow to cool slightly before removing from pan with a spatula.

Optional: Allow to cool completely, then use 2 cookies to make an ice cream sandwich. Add sprinkles to the sides of the ice cream, then wrap individually in plastic wrap. 

Happy baking while the cool weather is still here! 

I Want To Marry You Cookies

by Laura

So, I already have my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe memorized and probably could make it with my eyes closed, but these I Want To Marry You Cookies are game changers. (Scroll down to the Cook's note  if you want to know the story behind the name.)

I found the recipe on Cooking Channel, but adapted the directions a bit based on my baking preferences.

Ingredients 
1 cup butter (Laura's Note: unsalted butter)
1 1/4 cups dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 cup uncooked rolled oats
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Salt (Laura's Note: I suggest Kosher)
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup chocolate chips (Laura's Note: I did a mix of dark and milk chocolate)


Directions
In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat until melted. Remove from the heat. 


Add the dark brown sugar and granulated sugar and stir until sugars are incorporated and smooth. Chill the mixture for 10 minutes. (Laura's Note: Swith all the ingredients into a heatsafe mixing bowl large enough to mix all the ingredients)


Remove from the refrigerator and stir in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla. 


Add the flour, oats, baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and cinnamon and mix together. (Laura's Note: I stirred all the dry ingredients together first and added it to the sugar/butter mixture a third at a time.)


Stir in the white chocolate chips and chocolate chips. 


Roll by hand into 24 medium-size balls or use a scoop, and place on a light-colored cookie sheet. (Laura's Note: Use two cookies sheets if possible. I only had one light-colored cookie sheet so I put half the cookie dough balls on a plate and half on the sheet.)


Chill for 30 minutes. 


Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Remove the cookies from the refrigerator and bake for 12 to 14 minutes. (Laura's Note: You'll need to bake the cookies in two batches as the cookies will spread significantly so space them out. Also turn them half way through the baking time.)


Cook's Note: About the name. These cookies are the surefire way to get someone to fall in love with you...or at the very least gain a serious addiction to cookies. By giving these cookies away, you may need to be prepared for a marriage proposal on the spot. I have been baking since I was a little one. I was the only girl in a house full of brothers (5 to be exact), so I quickly found my spot in the kitchen. My love affair with baking started with cookies and it is how I won dates in high school by delivering them every Sunday nigh to my "friends." Love would usually ensue. Now I find joy in baking them for my own 4 little ones and they are my ultimate taste testers in the quest for the perfect cookie. They say we got it years ago so it is about time to share it. Everyone can make a chocolate chip cookie and it is usually involves some type of creaming of the butter and sugars. This is what makes mine unique (and ridiculously sinful). Everything is done in one glorious pan - the saucepan. You melt the butter completely and then add the sugars. The aroma that comes from the sugars as they dissolve into the butter is heavenly. It adds a rich, toffee flavor to the cookies that you don't get from creaming and creates a smooth, melt-in-your-mouth texture.


I made these last night and basically I have a new recipe to memorize. Make these and I'm sure you'll agree. 

Best Brownies Ever!

by Laura

This perfectly fudgy chocolate brownies recipe is adapted from a Martha Stewart I stumbled upon when internet recipe hunting a few weeks ago and I am so glad it came into my life! One bite of these is pure chocolate heaven and the recipe is so simple! No special equipment required!

Fudgy Chocolate Brownies 

adapted from Martha Stewart

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for pan
• 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (I used Guittard dark chocolate wafers/discs)
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan or heatproof glass dish. Line pan with parchment paper, leaving a 1-inch overhang on 2 sides. Set aside. Place butter and chocolate in a large heatproof bowl set over (but not touching) simmering water; stir frequently until chocolate and butter are melted, about 7 minutes. Remove bowl from heat; let cool to room temperature, 10 to 15 minutes.
2. Stir sugar into cooled chocolate mixture until combined. Whisk in eggs one at a time, whisking until smooth after each addition. Whisk in vanilla. Gently fold in flour and salt.
3. Pour batter into prepared pan, and smooth top with an offset spatula. Bake until cake tester inserted in the center comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached, 40 to 45 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool completely.
4. Run a knife or offset spatula around the edges of the pan. Using parchment, lift brownies out of pan and onto the rack. Transfer to a cutting board; cut into 2-inch squares.

Here's how mine turned out:

Trust me--these are as good as they look!

I've made these three times--once with high quality Valrhona chocolate and twice with the Guittard Dark Chocolate wafers/discs and Diane and I both agree the Guittard chocolate made the tastier brownies! Whatever chocolate you decide to use make these babies this holiday season (or anytime really) and everyone around you will thank you!

Happy Holidays!

Late Night Snack: Homemade Cheez-its

by Laura

It's late in the evening on a Friday night and if you're anything like me you're getting hungry for a snack to munch on... it's Homemade Cheez-it time!

I found the perfect recipe...Home Away's Malcolm describes this snack beautifully and quite frankly, I couldn't have said it better myself.

"There are definitely foods that I used to enjoy, that I have had to stop having around the house. Cheez-It brand snack crackers are one of the foods I have had to simply give up, such is my devotion to them. You can keep your Goldfish, your Cheese Nips, and your Better Cheddars. Cheez-Its are my dark master. I’ll go through an entire box in an afternoon, sitting in front of the television, making myself sick as I add fresh cracker after cracker into the ever-growing cracker-mush pocket tucked between my cheek and gum. It’s disgusting, really. But few things go as well with beer, and with a Sunday afternoon, as a box of Cheez-Its.

But oh, the humanity! Around 2,000 calories per box. Almost 100 grams of fat! Around 2800 grams of sodium! This version uses just five ingredients, and you can go as organic with them as you’d like. They aren’t quite as crunchy as Cheez-Its right out of the box, but I like them even better that way. If they seem TOO soft, toss them into the oven for a few minutes longer. No matter what, you’ll still probably finish the whole batch in one sitting."


Homemade Cheez-It Crackers
Adapted from a recipe on The Thin Chef
Ingredients:

• 1 cup flour
• 4 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small squares
• 1 (8-ounce) bag grated extra-sharp 2% Cheddar cheese (preferably orange)
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients in food processor, and pulse until crumbly. Add cold water, a tablespoon at a time, until dough comes together. Form into ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill in the freezer for at least 30 minutes. Place dough between two pieces of plastic wrap or parchment paper, and roll out to 1/8 inch thickness. Transfer to parchment-lined baking sheet, and, using pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut into 1 inch squares. Sprinkle with kosher salt and bake for 25 minutes. Test for crispiness; crackers may take a few minutes more to finish crisping. Remove from oven when crisp and just starting to brown. Let cool and serve.

Here's how mine turned out:

Thank you From Away!
P.S. If you don't have a food processor you can pick up a pastry blender for around $10 and still get your fix!

My Kitchen Christmas Wish-List

Dear Santa,

I've been good all year. So, I was thinking...

 MY KITCHEN CHRISTMAS LIST!

Wusthof Classic 8-inch Cook's Knife

Hamilton Beach Stainless Steel 12-cup Deep Fryer

OXO Salad Spinner

Krups Spice Grinder

Mandoline Slicer

Round Bottom Carbon Steel Wok

OXO Good Grips Pastry Cutter/Chopper

Williams-Sonoma House Olive Oil & 25-Year Barrel-Aged Balsamic Vinegar, Set of 2

XOXO,

Diane


What's on your wish list this year?