Brown Butter Heath Cookies

So far I have survived my first couple weeks back at work.   The little one loves her daycare which has made this transition easy.  The hubby drops her off and she is simply "Bye Bye Dada"  No tears, just runs to play. She is making new friends, getting active and getting tired out. I think my favorite part of my day is when I pick her up and she smiles and runs for a hug.  (Insert heart melting).  It's just so sweet.

I was worried about coming back after a year, thinking I wouldn't remember how to do things and  how to use the system.   We had just implemented a new system the year I was leaving and there were so many changes and a lot of learning.   I did pick up the system pretty quickly as I was pretty heavily involved with its transition and creating new report so I knew I had a good base in my head some where.   I also conducted several training sessions before I left to help others get up to speed. Still, a year of not even looking at it had me worried.
Turns out, I was worried for nothing.  After a week of being back it honestly felt like I never left.  Everything I had ever done just came back to me.  A bonus, because I had to rebuild several reports after a year of system tweaks and changes caused them not to work anymore.  Three weeks in now and despite a lack of sleep I am grooving along.


Brown Butter People! Brown butter in my opinion is a form of liquid gold.  Just the smell of it is so wonderful.  Nutty and rich, Drool!  It requires way more experimentation than I have tried thus far.

I have made brown butter cookies before and honestly they are worth making again and again.

I (HEART) CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES!

Who was seen the movie,  "Bridemaids"?   It is quite funny and a must for any upcoming brides, previous brides or anyone who has ever had to put on a hideous bridesmaid dress.   It is full of lots of laughs and crazy wedding antics.  This post is a spoiler alert if you haven’t already seen it. Stop reading but at least skip to the fantastic recipe.  In the movie there is a giant heart shaped cookie at the bridal shower. I just happened to see this movie with three friends, one of who was having her shower in a week. I didn’t have time to make one of these for the bridal shower but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to make it for the bachelorette.    I wasn’t in the mood for a sugar cookie so I decided to go with chocolate chip cookie.  I looked to the NY times, a chocolate chip recipe highly rated and very well know.  They claim they have made their share of tweaks and adjustments to create perfection.   This recipe unlike many others requires you to put the dough in the fridge for 24-36 hours, drying out the dough and creating a richer, more consistent cookie.    Sounds like a good idea to me. 

(Adapted from the NY Times)

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 2/3 cups cake flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
• 2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter
• 1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 bag of heath chocolate and toffee bits
• 1/2 cup chopped dark chocolate

I did some tweaking of the recipe as I was missing a few things.  See original recipe here : NY Times Chocolate Chip Cookie

INSTRUCTIONS:

1) Sift together flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl. Set aside.
2) In a large bowl or mixer bowl, cream butter and sugars together until very light and creamy.  Add the  eggs, with vanilla at the end, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. 

3) Slowly add the flour with the mixer on low and blend until just combined.

4) Add the heath bits and dark chocolate mix on low or fold by hand until just incorporated into the batter. 

5) Cover the dough in plastic wrap, pressing up directly against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Dough may refrigerated for up to 72 hours.

6)  When you are ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat or spray the heart mould.

7)  For the giant heart cookie scoop out several mounds using a spoon or mini scoop and place them in the heart leaving about 1 inch around the edges.   Slightly press the dough down to fill any gaps, still leaving about a 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch gap along the edges to allow for spreading. Bake until golden brown but still soft, 25 to 28 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, careful remove cookie to cool further.

Cookie version : Scoop golf ball size mounds of dough onto the baking sheet, turning horizontally any chocolate pieces that are poking up; it will make for a more attractive cookie. Cookies bake about 15-18 minutes.  Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more. 

Yields: 1 1/2 dozen 5-inch cookies or 1 giant heart cookie

Are these better than Cooks Illustrated recipe? Tough call. Neither cookie really has any cons and I would go to either one in a second.  This recipe does have strong, rich chocolate chip cookie flavour. They are like making bakery style cookies at home. The inside was soft and chewy with a slightly crunchy crust. Ten girls finished this cookie in two days. It really didn't stand a chance.  

MEG'S RATING : D-EEEEE-LICIOUS

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Gluten Free Chocolate Cookies

My sister in law was having a bake sale to raise money for her youth group.  The group goes on a "serve", where they go to a city in Canada or the U.S for one week,  selflessly providing help and support to those in need.   When she asked me to bake some treats for the sale I couldn't say no, knowing all the hard work these kids put forth.

This is recipe 1 of 2 for the bake sale.  I decided to make some gluten free chocolate cookies.  Thinking most people would make cookies with flour, I thought this would be appealing for those who might be looking for no gluten.   This would also give me a chance to use my new Mini Fudge Melts I found at the Superstore the other day.   This recipe is quick and easy,  allowing me enough time to make two recipes.

Gluten Free Chocolate Cookies

Aren't these cute little mini cups?

INGREDIENTS:

(adapted from Orangette)
makes 15 cookies

• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
• 4 large egg whites, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups fudge chips/melts
• 1/2 cup skor bits 

INSTRUCTIONS:

1) Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper, use parchment not a silpat so the cookies have traction.

2)  In your mixer bowl or a medium bowl,  combine the cocoa powder, sugar, and salt and whisk together to ensure there are no lumps. 

3) Add the skor bits to your mini food processor and process to fine crumb.  

4) Combine the vanilla and egg whites in a cup or bowl and slowly add to the cocoa mixture, beating at low speed. Once all the liquid is added increase to medium speed and beat for about 2 minutes. The batter will appear glossy and smooth. It will be fairly thin.

5) Fold in chips and skor grounds with a spatula. Scoop about two tablespoons of batter on to the prepared cookie sheet, leaving about 3 inches between each. The batter will spread considerably. Place the pan in the oven and reduce the heat to 325 degrees, and bake the cookies until small, thin cracks appear on their surface, about 17 minutes. 

6) Place pan on cooling rack and allow cookies to cool completely on pan before removing from parchment. When they are cool, peel them gently from the parchment paper. Repeat the process with the remaining batter, make sure you increase the oven temperature to 350F before each round. 

These cookies are like thin fudgy brownies.   Soft, chewy and rich.   I put the skor bits into mini processor because somehow my bag of bits turned into a bag of one giant bit. This turned out to be a great idea, adding a delicate caramel to the cookies. 

MEG's RATING: D-EEE-LICIOUS