Black and White Cookies

When you think of black and white cookies, you usually think of the cookies you see in almost every bakery window while storming the busy streets of New York City. You know the cookies I'm talking about...the big and thick, chewy and cakey cookies that are painted with chocolate frosting on one side and painted with white frosting on the other side. However, Sunset magazine has a different take on the traditional black and white cookie (or perhaps this is the west coast version...or the distant cousin...of the NYC classic).

After this failure from Sunset, I have to admit that I was a bit skeptical about trying another Sunset cookie recipe. Then again, my philosophy on baking is "nothing ventured, nothing gained", so I risked the Ghirardelli Bittersweet Chocolate bars and Lindt Excellence White Coconut White Chocolate bars in my pantry and ran with the recipe.

At first glance, I was pretty sure that this was going to be yet another Sunset flop after seeing the way the cookie dough resembled brownie batter, but I continued on my way, added the chopped white chocolate and chilled the dough.

Here's a picture of the cookie dough before adding the white chocolate and chilling:

 















The recipe instructs that you chill the dough until firm, at least 1 hour. (At least are the key words here.) Let me just tell you right now that your dough will be nowhere near a firm dough at 1 hour. I let my dough sit in the fridge for four hours before continuing on with the recipe, and it still wasn't anything near what a firm cookie dough batter usually is. I just pulled out the cookie scoop, crossed my fingers and hoped that somehow (and magically) the oven would bake up two decent batches of cookies.

Voilà...

These are really good cookies. These have a crunchy/flaky exterior and a chewy brownie-like interior. The white coconut white chocolate added a great flavor. I love the tiny pieces of coconut in the Lindt bars. You get the taste of coconut without the stringyness (is that a word?) of shredded coconut. The big, irregular chunks of white chocolate look great in contrast to the dark bittersweet chocolate in these cookies, too.

And who did I make these for? Kristen, of course. She's stopping by tonight, and a big plate of cookies always puts a smile on her face. I figured these cookies were perfect to make for her since she loved these so much. And in keeping with the chocolate/white chocolate theme, I know she'll love these cookies, too.

Black and White Cookies

Adapted from Sunset

12 ounces Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate bars, chopped
3/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into chunks
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
7 ounces (two 3.5-ounce bars) coarsely chopped Lindt white coconut white chocolate

Preheat oven to 325°. In a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water (but not touching it), stir chocolate and butter until smooth, 5 minutes. Remove bowl from over water; whisk in sugar, eggs, and vanilla.

In another bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add to chocolate mixture and stir until well blended. Stir in white chocolate. Cover and chill dough until firm, at least 1 hour.

Shape dough into 2-inch balls and place about 3 inches apart on buttered or cooking parchment-lined 12- by 15-inch baking sheets.

Bake until set at the edges but still soft in the center, 12 to 15 minutes; if baking more than one pan at a time, switch pan positions halfway through baking.

Let cool for 5 minutes on sheets; transfer to racks to cool completely.

Yield: Makes about 28 cookies

Notes: Use quality chocolate bars...you can use either bittersweet or semisweet chocolate depending on your tastes and/or what you have on hand. Do NOT overbake these...mine were done at 12 minutes. You can use regular chopped white chocolate if you cannot find the Lindt white coconut white chocolate. I got 24 cookies.

 

Oatmeal Cookies

I know, I know. Oatmeal cookies don't have the "Wow!!!" appeal that so many other cookies do. In fact, the idea of oatmeal cookies seems a bit boring. However, these aren't just any plain ol' oatmeal cookies. These cookies are thick, toothsome and have the perfect texture. They aren't crunchy, they aren't chewy...they have that perfect "right-in-the-middle-of-crunchy-and-chewy" texture. (Hmmmm...is it the ground oatmeal or the light corn syrup that gives these that much sought-after perfect cookie texture?) The molasses taste from the dark brown sugar really adds a nice flavor, and the fact that these cookies are loaded with big chocolate chips and toasted pecans makes them a perfect 10. This is definitely not your mother's oatmeal cookie recipe. (My mother doesn't have an oatmeal cookies recipe, but maybe yours does.)

I got this recipe from this blog. They halved the original recipe. I halved and tweaked their recipe based on both the amounts of ingredients I had on hand and personal taste preferences.

 












Oatmeal Cookies

Recipe seen on Writing At The Kitchen Table blog
(Adapted from Carole Walter's Great Cookies)
Adapted, tweaked (and perfected???) by Me

2 1/2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar
10 tablespoons old-fashioned oats, divided
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, slightly softened
1/2 tablespoon light corn syrup
1 egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup Guittard Semisweet Super Cookie Chips (or chocolate chunks)
1/3 cup chopped pecans, toasted and cooled

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a large cookie sheet.

In a food processor fitted with metal blade, process the brown and white sugars and 4 tablespoons of oats until sand-like. (This took about 2 minutes in my mini chopper).

Sift together flour, salt and baking powder. Stir in the remaining 6 tablespoons of oats. Set aside.

Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, blend the butter with corn syrup on low speed until light. Beat in the processed sugar/oats mixture in two additions. Add the egg yolk and vanilla extract; blend well.

Turning the speed up to medium, add the sifted flour in two additions, mixing until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chips and nuts.

Divide dough into 9 equal pieces and roll into balls or shape into mounds. Place balls/mounds on prepared cookie sheet, leaving about 2-3 inches between each ball/mound. (The cookies will spread slightly during baking).

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until cookies start to turn golden around the edges. Let cool for 2 minutes on cookie sheet then remove with a spatula to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes 9 BIG cookies.

 
















Mmmm...right from the oven. Gooey and delicious.

 

Sad and Stressed

That's my boy Kurt today. Sad because his Red Wings suck (I mean, lost). Stressed because he's closing on his townhouse on Friday and driving/moving out to Arizona next week.

(Hey, Atlanta...where's everybody going???)

Since I was on a baking spree in the kitchen today, I figured, "Why not bake a batch of cookies for both Chris and Kurt?" (See the recipe for the cookies I baked for Chris in the previous post.)

(Sorry for all of the cookie recipes with chocolate chips, coconut and almonds recently. I didn't realize how much of these three ingredients I had in my pantry and need to use up before my move to Vancouver in five weeks. FIVE WEEKS!!! Yikes...and Yippee!!!)

Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Coconut Cookies

Adapted from Epicurious - Gourmet, August 2001

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
6 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 1/4 cups old-fashioned oats
1 1/2 cups packaged finely shredded unsweetened coconut
2 cups semisweet chocolate chunks (I used chocolate chips)
3/4 cup almonds with skins, toasted, cooled, and chopped

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Beat together butter and sugars in a bowl with an electric mixer at high speed until fluffy. Add eggs and beat until just blended, then beat in vanilla, baking soda, and salt. Add flour and mix at low speed until just blended. Stir in oats, coconut, chocolate, and almonds.

Arrange 1/4-cup mounds of cookie dough about 3 inches apart on 2 lightly buttered large baking sheets (about 8 cookies per sheet), then gently pat down each mound to about 1/2 inch thick. Bake in upper and lower thirds of oven, switching position and rotating pans halfway through baking, until golden, 15 to 18 minutes total.

Cool cookies on sheets 1 minute, then transfer with a spatula to racks to cool completely. Make more cookies in same manner.

Makes about 24 large cookies.

 

Chocolate Truffle Cookies

What do you do when you find this in your pantry?

 
















You bake a batch of cookies, of course. (I'm still pondering when I actually bought these chocolate sprinkles. Hmmm...still pondering.) My neighbor Chris is moving back to India next week after a year here in the United States, and I wanted to bake him something to wish him a fond farewell. He's such a great guy, and I wish I would have spent more time getting to know him, but he promised to stay in touch, and I promised him that every batch of cookies I bake and blog are being "virtually" sent to him in Bombay.

All my best to you, Chris!!!

 

















Chocolate Truffle Cookies

Source: Adapted from Taste of Home

½ cup plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
3 tablespoons natural cocoa powder
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup (6 oz.) semisweet chocolate chips
3 tablespoons chocolate sprinkles

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter, confectioners' sugar and cocoa until light and fluffy. Beat in sour cream and vanilla extract. Add flour; mix well. Stir in chocolate chips. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Roll into 1-in. balls; dip in chocolate sprinkles. Place, sprinkled side up, 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 325° for 10 minutes or until set. Cool 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Yields about 30 cookies.

Chocolate, Coconut & Almond Cookies

These BIG chocolate chips are well-suited to be baked into a batch of BIG cookies. They really live up to the “smoother, meltier” hype that the package promises, too. I adapted a basic cookie dough recipe and added in the chocolate chips by ¼ cups until the dough had just the right amount of chips...not too few and not too many. A heaping ¾ cup of these super cookie chips was the perfect amount. For good measure (and in a continuing effort to clean out my pantry), I also added a heaping ½ cup of shredded sweetened coconut and a heaping ½ cup of sliced almonds (after I toasted them, of course). The end result was a plate full of BIG, thick and delicious a la Almond Joy cookies. These toothsome cookies have just the right amount of chocolate in them, they're moist and chewy from the sweetened coconut and the toasted almonds add a subtle crunch. Definitely a well-rounded cookie that ranks among the best of all the batches of cookies I have ever made. They’re so good, I made another batch this morning just for me (and me only). Kurt liked these so much that he asked me to email the recipe to him so he could send it to his mom up in Michigan. Since I didn't stay up all last night trying to think of a more clever name for these cookies, I just named them after the three main ingredients. (Genius, I know.)

Chocolate, Coconut & Almond Cookies

1 cup plus 2 T. all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 T. granulated sugar
1 large egg
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup (heaping) Guittard Semisweet Chocolate Super Cookie Chips
½ cup (heaping) sweetened flaked coconut
½ cup (heaping) sliced almonds, toasted and cooled

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda and salt. In a large bowl, cream together butter and the sugars on medium-high speed of an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Beat in egg and vanilla extract; mix well. Beat in flour mixture. By hand, fold in chocolate chips, coconut and almonds.

Form dough into large mounds (about 1/4 cup in size) and place 2 inches apart onto greased baking sheets. Bake cookies in middle of oven 11-13 minutes, or until golden. Cool cookies on baking sheet for 2 minutes before transferring to racks to cool completely.

Cookies keep in an airtight container for 5 days.

Yield: Makes 12 (very) BIG cookies (or 24 regular-sized cookies).

Note: You can use regular semisweet chocolate chips in place of the Super Cookie Chips.

 
 
 

Toffee-Peanut Butter Rounds

I made these cookies Friday night for my brother and my friend Kurt. I took a few bites of one, and I must say that I loved this cookie. They are crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside....the perfect cookie combination if you ask me. The dark brown sugar adds a nice but subtle molasses taste to these cookies and also compliments the presence of the peanut butter chips. You could use all light brown sugar if that's all you have on hand, but definitely use dark brown sugar if you have it in your pantry. I used Plugra butter, too. Any kind of butter you have on hand is fine, but I think all cookies and baked goodies taste better with the higher-quality European butters like Plugra (and Lurpak). Use candy bars instead of the pre-packaged toffee bits. You will want bigger chunks of candy in these cookies than the pre-packaged toffee bits offer. Please let me know your thoughts on these cookies if you try them. Enjoy!!!

Toffee-Peanut Butter Rounds

Source: Adapted from Good Housekeeping 2002 Annual Recipes

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
3/4 cup old-fashioned oats, uncooked
1 cup peanut butter chips
4 chocolate-covered toffee candy bars (1.4 oz. each), coarsely chopped (about 1 cup)

Combine flour, baking soda and salt in medium bowl. Set aside.

In large bowl, with mixer at medium speed, beat melted butter and eggs until blended. Add granulated sugar, light brown sugar and dark brown sugar. Mix well until thoroughly combined. Beat in flour mixture and mix just until incorporated. Stir in oats, peanut butter chips and toffee.

At this point, cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes before proceeding. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees F while dough is chilling.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoons, 2 inches apart, onto ungreased large cookie sheet. Bake cookies 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Transfer cookies to wire rack to cool. Repeat with remaining dough. Store cookies in tightly covered container at room temperature up to 1 week, or in freezer up to 3 months.

Yield: Makes about 4 1/2 dozen cookies

Note: I got 44 cookies.

Lemon Nutmeg Meltaways

My parents went on a two-week cruise to the Caribbean back in February, and one of the ports of call was Grenada. Grenada is well-known as a spice island, and I was lucky enough to receive a big bottle of whole nutmeg as a gift from my mom and dad. This is no ordinary nutmeg. I had to pull out the hammer to break off the outer shell to get to the nutmeg in the middle. This is the darkest, most fragrant nutmeg I have ever seen or smelled. It really puts my previous (so-called high-end) whole nutmeg to shame.

This cookie has everything right going for it...a tart citrus taste from the lemon rind combined with the aromatic warmth of the nutmeg as well as a slightly crisp exterior and a tender interior thanks to the combination of cake flour and cornstarch. These really are melt-in-your-mouth delicious. I like the simplicity of the cookie, too.

Lemon Nutmeg Meltaways

Source: Adapted from St. Petersburg Times newspaper

1 cup cake flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon rind
Confectioners' sugar, for garnish

Sift cake flour, cornstarch, salt and nutmeg onto wax paper.

Beat butter, sugar and lemon rind with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add sifted dry ingredients to butter mixture.

Beat on low speed until mixture is smooth. Roll dough by teaspoon into balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet.

Flatten slightly to 1 1/4-inch circles with bottom of glass dipped in confectioners' sugar.

Bake at 350 degrees for 13-15 minutes, or until cookies have turned pale brown on edges. Let cookies sit on sheet 1-2 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool. Sift with confectioners' sugar while still warm. Sift cookies again with confectioners' sugar when completely cooled, if desired.

Pack into airtight containers and store up to one week.

Yield: 2 dozen cookies

Notes: Use organic lemons since you are zesting the skin.

Chubby Hubby Cookies

I was contemplating what to do with the peanuts and pretzels I had leftover from last night's dinner. As I was looking though my electronic file of recipes, I came across these Chubby Hubby Cookies from last year's Christmas cookie contest in the St. Petersburg Times.

I admit pure skepticism about this recipe at first glance. I kept looking at it, more specifically at the last ingredient, and thinking, "This is too weird. Just how good can cookies with crushed pretzels in them taste?"

The answer? AWESOME!!! These cookies are fantastic. They are quite toothsome with a crunchy outside and a slightly chewy middle. When you first bite into them, the first thing you notice is the peanutty flavor. Then you notice a faint saltiness and crunch from both the peanuts and the crushed pretzels. The chocolate is noticeable but more as a background flavor to compliment the cookie instead of overpowering it.

For those of you who like Ben & Jerry's Chubby Hubby ice cream, I would be curious to know how these cookies taste in comparison. The thought of crunchy pretzels in frozen ice cream doesn't sound appealing to me, but since I now know not to judge a recipe by it's pretzels, maybe I should give it a try sometime.

Chubby Hubby Cookies

Source: Adapted from St. Petersburg Times

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 large egg, room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup peanut butter chips
1/2 cup salted peanuts
1 cup crushed pretzels

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. Blend into creamed mixture. Stir in chocolate and peanut butter chips, peanuts and pretzels.

(At this point, I wrapped the bowl of dough in plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.)

Drop heaping tablespoons about 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10 to 13 minutes, or until edges are lightly brown and centers are still soft. Do not overbake. Cool one minute on cookie sheet, and cool completely on wire racks. Store in tightly covered container.

Makes 3 1/2 dozen.

Notes: I halved this recipe (halved all the ingredients except the egg and pinch of salt). I still used 1 whole egg and a small pinch of salt. I got exactly 21 cookies which is the correct yield for a halved batch of these cookies. I also mounded the cookie batter instead of dropping it by heaping tablespoons.

Got chocolate?

If your name is Willy Wonka or you just happen to have a lot of chocolate in your pantry, have I got the ideal cookie recipe for you!!! There is 1-1/3 pounds of chocolate in this recipe. Yes, you heard me right...a whopping 1-1/3 pounds. I take no responsibility whatsoever for any cavities, break-outs or gained pounds should you decide to make these cookies.

I used quality ingedients...Ghirardelli chocolate, Plugra butter, King Arthur Flour espresso powder and Nielsen-Massey Mexican pure vanilla extract. These cookies are crackly on the outside and chewy on the inside just like a perfect brownie should be yet conveniently formed into individual cookies. The espresso powder brings out the depth of the chocolate flavor and the Mexican vanilla extract adds a creamy, spicy flavor. (FYI...Mexican vanilla extract is best used in recipes containing chocolate and/or cinnamon.) A little bit of chocolate goes a long way for me, as I am not a self-proclaimed chocoholic, but these are superb; however, one cookie was more than enough for me. They're rich but not overly sweet. Next time your sweet tooth can't decide between baking cookies or brownies, make these as they're sure to satisfy your craving for both.

Triple-Chocolate Cookies

Source: Adapted from Cook’s Country, June/July 2005

Makes 26 cookies

The key to the fudgy texture of these cookies is letting them cool directly on the baking sheets. Avoid using bittersweet bar chocolate – the cookies will be too rich and won’t hold their shape.

3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 ½ cups bittersweet chocolate chips
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 teaspoons espresso powder
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups semisweet chocolate chips

Melt unsweetened chocolate, bittersweet chips, and butter in heatproof bowl set over saucepan of simmering water, stirring frequently, until completely smooth and glossy. Remove bowl from pan and set aside to cool slightly.

Stir coffee powder and vanilla extract together in small bowl until dissolved. Beat eggs and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer at medium-high speed until very thick and pale, about 4 minutes. Add vanilla-coffee mixture and beat until incorporated, 20 seconds. Reduce speed to low, add chocolate mixture, and mix until thoroughly combined, about 30 seconds.

Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in medium bowl. Using large rubber spatula, fold flour mixture and semisweet chips into batter. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes until batter firms up (it will more closely resemble thick brownie batter than cookie dough).

Meanwhile, adjust two oven racks to upper- and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Using 1 heaping tablespoon batter per cookie, place cookies 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Bake until cookies are shiny and cracked on top, 11 to 14 minutes, rotating baking sheets top to bottom and front to back halfway through baking time. Transfer baking sheets to racks and cool cookies completely, on baking sheets, before serving.

Additional notes: I got 36 cookies from this recipe. The batter thickens the longer it sits. I actually think the second batch of cookies I made was better than the first batch because the batter was stiffer. You definitely need to use a cookie scoop for this recipe.

Great Chocolate Chip Cookies

I adapted this recipe from "The Great Book of Chocolate" by David Lebovitz. They bake into thin cookies with a slightly crisp exterior and a nice chewiness on the inside. Don't skimp on the ingredients...using higher-end products like Plugra unsalted butter, Penzey's vanilla extract, King Arthur Flour all-purpose flour and Guittard chocolate chips makes these cookies extraordinarily delicious. Next time you are craving chocolate chip cookies, give this recipe a try. Please note to keep the recommended 4 inches between cookies since they do spread a lot while baking.

Great Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (I used 1 cup)
1 cup pecans, toasted and chopped (I omitted the pecans)

Adjust the oven rack to the top 1/3 of the oven and preheat to 300 degrees F. Line three baking sheets with parchment paper. (I didn't use parchment paper. I used ungreased non-stick baking sheets.)

Beat the sugars and butter together until smooth. (Make sure to use a low speed with your hand mixer or stand mixer until the ingredients start to combine.) Mix in the egg, vanilla and baking soda. Sift together the flour and salt, then mix them into the batter. Fold in the chocolate chips and pecans (if using).

At this point, I placed the cookie dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before rolling into balls since the dough was a bit sticky.

Scoop the cookie dough into 2-tablespoon balls and place 8 balls, spaced 4 inches apart, on each of the baking sheets.

Bake for 18 minutes (check cookies at 15-16 minutes), or until pale golden brown. Remove from the oven and let stand on the baking sheets for 1-2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Makes about 20 cookies.