You pretty little darlings are coming home with me tonight. I will use you to create deliciousness the world has never known before. And it involves Nutella.
Tag Archives: dessert
Cognac Chocolate Raspberry Lava Cakes
Cognac Raspberry Chocolate Lava Cakes
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
3 large eggs
3 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons Cognac
Filed under Baking, Desserts, Party Food, Uncategorized
Well that didn’t go as planned…
I know that I’m a bit late for the Labor Day BBQ recipes, but I was a little traumatized after my attempt to make peanut butter and jelly cupcakes, only to have them turn out like golden and slightly burned hockey pucks.
I have a baking disaster every once in a while and I guess I was due for one. I painstakingly put these little babies together, carefully piping some jelly into the batter, topping that with more batter.
I was worried that the oils from the peanut butter might bake quickly, so I took them out a minute before the low-end on the baking range, but to no avail. Hockey pucks. Mr. Kitchen said they were still pretty tasty. That’s why we’re getting married. Cause he’s got no problem eating my reject cupcakes. He accepts my occasional baking screw-ups. This pairs nicely with my usual ability to ignore the fact that his clothes never seem to make it into the hamper.*
I think maybe I’ve figured out how to amend the recipe to fix the peanut butter oil problem, but it will take more testing and patience than I’ve got time for right now. Instead, I’m giving you my absolutely no-fail Oh-My-God amazing butterscotch chocolate chunk recipe.
Super yummy and man-o-man is this perfect with a glass of milk. Speaking of milk, did I mention that Mr. Kitchen’s family used to own a dairy farm? I’m trying to concoct a death-by-dairy recipe in honor of our recent trip to Michigan. If you’ve got suggestions, let me know. In the mean-time…. Butterscotch Chocolate Chunks!
Butterscotch Chocolate Chunk Cookies
*Adapted very heavily from Nick Manglieri’s Modern Baker
(Makes about 12 large cookies)
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
10 tbsp softened butter (salted) (about 1 1/4 sticks)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg
12 oz chocolate chunks (I tend to over-chunk my cookies, but I love em this way) — Note you can mix dark chocolate, bittersweet and semi-sweet chocolate
2 cookie sheets (I like to line mine with foil, but parchment is also an option)
Preheat oven to 350º
Stir flour and baking powder together in a bowl and set aside. In a separate bowl, combine softened butter, brown sugar, sugar, and vanilla and beat with mixer until just mixed. Then beat in egg. Be careful not to over-beat this mixture, which will result in flat cookies. With a large spatula, stir the flour into the wet mixture. Add chocolate chunks and gently combine. Drop heaping spoonfuls of dough on to cookie sheets lined with foil or parchment. Gently press cookies down. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until cookies have risen a bit and are golden.
*Sometimes I go ape-shit over this. Once it’s out of my system, I bake him cookies.
Filed under Baking, Cookies, Desserts, Party Food, Recipes
The Everything Good Cookie — Love at First Bite
Mr. Kitchen and I may be hazy about the first meal I ever made for him, but we’re definitely in agreement on the first thing I baked for him: Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies. I made these shortly after Mr. Kitchen and I first started dating. These beautiful drop cookies are also known in our household as The Everything Good Cookie because they are a mixture of everything heavenly on Earth — peanut butter, steel cut oats, chunks of semi-sweet chocolate and sometimes, when I’m feeling frisky — walnuts or pecans. Mr. Kitchen swore he heard the Seraphim after eating just one bite. I knew I had him then. I don’t bake them all that often — their yummy potency can be overwhelming (for the waistline) but when Mr. Kitchen has done something super awesome, I break out the recipe. (Oh who am I kidding — I bake these when I’m PMSing too.) I can’t remember where I saw the basis for this recipe, which I’m sure was a peanut butter cookie, but I just kept adding things until the dough literally couldn’t take anymore ingredients without totally falling apart.
I also think these are the perfect fall cookie and, maybe it’s a result of the super hot summer we’ve had in New York this year, but I’ve been craving the fall like nobody else. I’ve taken to cooking those stick-to-your ribs type casseroles too in the irrational hopes that it will bring a change in the season. (More on those next time.) This is what happens to me in August in New York. I go a little batty. August also makes me want to buy school supplies, even though I’ve been out of school for nearly a decade. Go figure.
Now, like I said — this recipe — the force is strong with this one. Use sparingly, unless you want yourself a stalker.
Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Makes 12 fairly large cookies
3/4 cup old fashioned rolled oats (steel cut oats)
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 stick salted butter (softened)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 tbsp vanilla
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 large egg
Approx 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chunks (the amount really depends on how much you like chocolate)
* Optional — 3/8 cup nuts (walnuts work well)
In a food processor (or a blender), pulse 1/2 cup oats. In a large bowl, mix together whole oats, ground oats, flour, baking powder and baking soda. In another bowl, beat together butter and sugar until creamy, then add vanilla and peanut butter. Mix well. Add egg and beat well. Add in flour mixture and beat well. Add in chocolate chunks and nuts (if adding) and gently mix together. Chill cookie dough at least 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 325º Drop large spoonfuls (think the size of a medium meatball) of cookie mix onto foiled cookie sheet (ungreased is fine) and gently press down on cookies to flatten slightly. Cookies should be placed 1.5-2″ apart if possible. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown. **I’ve found that these cookies are best when just the bottom is golden brown.
These are amazing fresh out of the oven with a scoopful of vanilla ice cream on top.
Cooking Into His Heart
As the size of my butt can attest, I love food. Some of my fondest memories of when I first began dating Mr. Kitchen, my almost-husband, involve cooking for him. He swears the first thing I made for him was Empanadas, but I think it was sausage and peppers. In either case, I do remember he always asked for seconds. He still does. I think I did, in some way, cook my way into his heart. He says that my cooking showed him I cared for him — that I wanted to take care of him. I think that’s likely true for a lot of people, but let’s face it — the cliche “the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach” exists for a reason. I know lots of women who agonize over cooking for their would-be boyfriend for the first-time. They want to bring their A-game, to somehow make their guy all weak-kneed in their domestic goddess presence. For any of you who might be searching for that perfect, but not terribly hard “wow” recipe, I present “You’re Gonna Remember Me Berry Brown Bettys.”
This recipe is great for two reasons: you can prep much of this beforehand; and it’s super fast to make. I can’t imagine any man who would turn this down, when served warm with fresh whipped cream. It’s got a magical mixture of Challah bread, berries, butter, sugar…. really could anything be better? Plus, that leftover Challah? Well I’ve got another recipe for you in case the date goes really well and he’s there for breakfast.
You’re Gonna Remember Me Brown Bettys (AKA Strawberry Blueberry Challah Bread Brown Bettys)
Adapted from Gourmet and Smitten Kitchen
Makes six individual desserts
Challah Loaf
3/4 stick salted butter
1/8 cup light brown sugar
4 tbsp All-purpose flour
1/2 cup Japanese bread crumbs (Panko)
1/2 cup blueberries, rinsed
1 cup strawberries, rinsed, stemmed and sliced
1 teaspoon lemon juice or 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
Whipped cream (this can be refrigerated for a couple of hours beforehand if you’re making it fresh)
A muffin tin (preferably holding six muffins, but 12 will do)
Preheat oven to 350°F.
In a small sauce pan, melt the butter over medium heat until golden. Remove from heat. Use a brush to coat the muffin tin. (Note: If you’re using a 12-muffin tin, only coat six of the spaces unless you are doubling this recipe.) Slice six pieces off Challah loaf and gently cut crusts off. Roll the bread with a rolling pin until flattened. Brush both sides of the bread with butter and gently press slices into muffin tin (one slice in each space). Stir together brown sugar, flour and Panko. If using zest, incorporate into dry ingredients, otherwise, incorporate lemon juice into strawberries and blueberries. Add remaining butter to mixture. Toss ingredients gently to coat berries in flour/Panko/sugar mixture. Spoon heaping spoonfuls into muffin tin, pressing down gently to pack mixture in.
Note: If you are using a 12 muffin tin and are only making six Brown Bettys, be sure to fill the empty spaces about halfway full with water. This will prevent scorching in the pan and burning your Bettys!
Cover the pan with foil and bake for 15 minutes, then remove foil and cook for another 10-15 minutes, until strawberries are tender. (Some of the blueberries may burst — don’t worry, they taste better that way!) Let stand for 5-7 minutes and top with whipped cream. These are best when served warm.