S'mores Cookies

I don't know why, but I did not expect to like these cookies. I had seen this recipe dozens of times over the past year or so, and for some reason, barely gave it a second glance. Maybe it's because I associate s'mores with sticky. Maybe it's because I'm not a huge fan of milk chocolate Hershey's bars. Whatever the case, I never bookmarked the recipe, and I never expected to try it.

Well, never say never.  One day, the stars aligned. I had a box of graham crackers and half a bag of marshmallows in the pantry, and I was jonesing to bake something I had not tried before. Suddenly, this recipe popped into my head, and like an "earworm," I simply could not get it out. I did not have any Hershey's bars, but I figured dark chocolate Ghiradelli bars would make a fine substitute. I was absolutely right.

I don't think words can truly express how happy these cookies made me. Seriously. I was giddy. I couldn't wait to share them, and I had an absolute ball watching faces light up as they gazed upon these (non-sticky!) bites of nostalgic marshmallowy goodness. And the taste! My favorite part is the graham cracker crumbs mixed right into the batter. It's such a subtle, but delicious addition -- one that I just might use again and again.

I simply don't think it's possible not to have fun with these cookies. Just. Not. Possible.

S'mores Cookies

(from Make and Bake) 

• 3/4 cup softened butter (1 1/2 sticks)1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups flour
• 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup mini marshmallows (I used slightly more than a cup)
• 2 chocolate bars, chopped up  (Hershey's are recommended, but I used Ghiradelli and LOVED it)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a stand mixer, ccombine the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Mix in egg and vanilla until combined. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, graham crackers, salt, and baking soda, and then gradually add to the butter-sugar mixture. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Drop by the rounded tablesppon onto cookie sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake for 8 minutes, and remove from the oven. Push 3-4 marshmallows and a few pieces of chocolate bar into each cookie. Return to oven and bake for an additional 3-4 minutes until fully cooked. Cool cookies on a wire rack.
 

Chocolate Chip Thin Mint Cookies

I have a confession to make. I was never a Girl Scout. I never made it past Brownies.

I did, however, sell Girl Scout cookies. Back in the day, Samoas were my favorite, closely followed by Tagalongs. I couldn't understand why we couldn't get them year round. No matter how many boxes my parents bought, it was never enough to last through the year...

Fast forward 25(-ish) years, and both the times and my tastes have changes. Now I'm a sucker for Thin Mints, preferably straight from the freezer. And pre-ordering is a thing of the past. Now, we can simply walk down the street any day in March and pick up a box or two from the corner Girl Scout.

This innovation in delivery is what makes cookies like this possible. In the past, I would be too afraid of wasting precious Thin Mints to bake them into cookies. Now, I feel assured that if I use them up, I can buy more.

That deserves a big HUZZAH.

As for these cookies, I can see them becoming a yearly tradition. Consistency-wise, they remind me a LOT of the Mexican Chocolate Chip Cookies already on this blog -- soft, delicate, and buttery. I had to omit the peppermint extract, as I accidentally dumped my last bottle in a batch of ginger shortbread (oops!), but I didn't miss it a bit. The Thin Mints added plenty of mint all on their own.

Chocolate Chip Thin Mint Cookies
(from Sweet Pea's Kitchen)

¼ cup flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 stick butter, softened

6 tablespoons sugar

6 tablespoons brown sugar

1 egg

3/4 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract (or sub an extra 1/4 teaspoon vanilla)

11 broken pieces Thin Mint Cookies

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl whisk together flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter, and sugars until combined. Reduce speed to low and add egg, vanilla (and peppermint extract, if using); mix until combined. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips and Thin Mint Cookies until just combined.

Drop by rounded tablespoons of dough onto parchment-lined baking sheets spacing 1 1/2-inches between each. Bake cookies until edges have just begun to set but centers are still very soft, 8-10 minutes.

Let cool on baking sheet for 3 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

Crispy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

 Notice a theme here?

Yes, after purchasing an entire box of Rice Krispies to supply the small amount required for the Crispy Bacon-Cheese Puffs, I was left with a LOT of leftovers. Not being a huge-fan of either Rice Kripies in a bowl or those marshmallowy Rice Krispies treats, I was faced with the challenge of finding something tasty to do with them. Something "out-of-the-box, if you will.

The recipe, courtesy of Joy of Baking, fit the bill PERFECTLY, and has earned a permanent spot in my recipe book. I didn't change a thing and ended up with  an incredibly satisfying batch of cookies. I loved that they were simultaneously familiar, yet unique; comforting, yet exciting. Best part -- they stayed unbelievably fresh when stored in an air-tight container for at least 5 day. Not that it was easy to make them last that long...

Crispy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

(from Joy of Baking)

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted buttter, room temperature
• 1 cup granulated white sugar
• 3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla  extract
• 2 cups all purpose flour 
• 1 teaspoon baking soda1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 2 cups crisp rice cereal
• 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. 

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter and sugars until smooth and creamy (about 2 - 3 minutes). Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture and beat until incorporated. Stir in the oats, and then gently stir in the rice cereal and chocolate chips. 

Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto the  prepared baking sheets, and bake the cookies for about 10-12 minutes, or until lightly browned. For chewy cookies, slightly under bake. For crunchy cookies, bake a few minutes longer. Remove from oven and let the cookies cool a few minutes on the baking sheet before transferring them to a wire rack to cool.

Makes about 60 cookies.

Big, Fat Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

These cookies aren't playing around. They are huge. They are heavy. They are incredibly chocolate-y.

I'm not convinced that this recipe is truly the best thing out there, but it's certainly solid -- especially if you're able to eat them soon after they're baked. I found that they dried out faster than I would have liked, despite careful storage.

The recipe states that these are made in the style of Levain Bakery -- a NY mainstay that I have not yet had the priviledge to try. From what I gather, the distinguishing feature of a Levain-style cookie recipe is creaming cold pieces of butter instead of letting it sit to room temperaure. This seems to create a bigger, thicker cookie than is produced using other methods. I'd be curious what others think of the difference. If you try it out, let me know...

Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
(from Love from the Oven)

• 1 cup (2 sticks) cold, unsalted butter, cubed
• 1¼ cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• ½ cup dark cocoa powder
• 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
• ¼ tsp. coarse salt
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 2½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350˚ F.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter and sugar.  Beat together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.  Blend in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl as needed.  Mix in the cocoa powder until well blended.

Add the flour, salt and baking powder to the bowl and mix on low speed just until incorporated.  Fold in the chocolate chips with a spatula.

Transfer the dough to a work surface and knead briefly by hand to be sure the ingredients are well combined.

Divide the dough into 4 ounce portions (or divide into 12 equal pieces).**  Roll each portion of dough into a ball and flatten just slightly into a disc.  Place on the prepared baking sheets, a few inches apart.

Bake 16-20 minutes.**  Let cool on the baking sheets 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

**I made mine slightly smaller, and ended up with 18 cookies, instead of 12. This meants that I shortened the baking time slightly, to about 14 minutes. Eyeball it.

Mexican Chocolate Chip Cookies

Adding to my list of all-time favorite cookies are these spicy little gems, which I stumbled across on one of my favorite blogs, Cookie Madness.

Once upon a time, I brought a batch of these to work, along with a batch of those infamous New York Times' Chocolate Chip cookies, which (in case you didn't know) are supposed to be the best things ever. Just take a guess as to which cookies were the first to go...

I see little need to comment further on the recipe, except to encourage you to have fun as you take a mallet (or a hammer... or some other blunt object) to the Ibarra chocolate. It takes some strength to break it up into little pieces, but so worth the effort.

And so, without further ado:



Mexican Chocolate Chip Cookies

(adapted --slightly -- from Cookie Madness)

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 slightly rounded teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 8 oz unsalted butter (room temperature)
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla (Mexican vanilla is suggested, but regular works, too)
• 8 oz dark chocolate chips (I used Ghiradelli) 
• 4 oz Ibarra chocolate (broken up into bite-sized chunks using a mallet)

Stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and pepper.

Cream butter and sugar in a mixing bowl using high speed of an electric mixer; Beat in eggs 1 at a time, then vanilla. Add flour mixture and stir until absorbed, then mix in chocolate chunks and chopped Mexican chocolate.
Refrigerate dough for at least one hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto sheets, spacing 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake cookies until golden brown and set – 10-12 minutes. Let stand on sheets 3 minutes. Transfer cookies to racks and cool.

Makes approximately 32 cookies

Dark Chocolate Dried Cherry Oatmeal Cookies

I'm not sure that these cookies really need an introduction. I mean, gooey chocolate, tart cherries, and crisp oatmeal, all combined into a chewy cookie -- who wouldn't be excited about that?

My inspiration for making a chocolate-cherry-oatmeal cookie came from Epicurious, which boasts a highly rated recipe with a very long and expensive ingredient list. Loving the idea, but not willing to spend quite so much, I embarked on a search to find a more reasonable (but just as tasty) option.

I settled on this one from Bake or Break, and haven't looked back. To me, it's a perfectly simple process that produces a perfectly crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside cookie. It definitely ranks among my current favorites.

Dark Chocolate Dried Cherry Oatmeal Cookies

(adapted from Bake or Break)

• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
• 2 eggs
• 1 & 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 & 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups oats
• 1 cup dried cherries
• 8 ounces dark chocolate chips (I used Ghiradelli 70% cacao)

Preheat oven to 350°.

Beat butter and brown sugar together until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition. Add vanilla.

In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Gradually add to the butter mixture just until combined. Do not overmix. Stir in oats, cherries, and chocolate.

Drop by tablespoonfuls onto lined or lightly greased baking sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until bottom edges are lightly browned. Cool on pans for a few minutes, then remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Salted Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

I have a feeling that I'm amongst the last to the table, but it's only in the past month that I stumbled across the divine food52 blog, which has quickly become one of my most beloved and trusted sources for new recipes.

This one immediately caught my eye. It's not hard to see why. I'm a sucker for chocolate and peanut butter -- and even MORE of a sucker for any cookie with fleur de sel on top. I figured there was no way I could wrong.

I was right. These cookies are FANTASTIC. The picture simply doesn't do them justice. They were fast, easy, chewy, delicious, and just surprising enough to make them special and memorable. My boyfriend's best friend (does that make him my BFBFF?), who incidentally is usually heath-conscious, came over with just 6 cookies left, and proceeded to eat each and every one of them with a big, guilty grin on his face. That, my friends, is a high compliment.

So, without further ado:

Salted Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies
(from food52.com)

• 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder 
• 1/2 teaspoon  salt
• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs 
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3/4 cups creamy peanut butter (not all natural)
• 1/2 cup unsalted peanuts (I subbed peanut butter chips, with great results)
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• coarse sea salt for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar with an an electric mixer on medium-high speed. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Beat in peanut butter until just combined. Beat in dry ingredients until just combined. Stir in peanuts (or peanut butter chips) and chocolate chips.

Drop 1 heaping tablespoon of cookie dough  two inches apart (as they will spread). Top each cookie with a few sea salt crystals.

Bake cookies for 12-14 minutes, until the edges are firm. It's OK if the centers are a tad soft. They'll firm up as they cool. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Cool completely before storing in an air-tight container, for up to 5 days.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

I chose these cookies  for my first blog entry for a few reasons:

1.   They're seasonally appropriate.

2.   They're easy to make.

3.    People REALLY seem to like them.

I know that within the foodie community, pumpkin cookies are nothing special. In fact, based on the browsing I've done, it seems that many commenters have a certain disdain for these cakey, somewhat mishapen concoctions. Myself, I've never minded the puffy softness of a pumpkin cookie, and the feedback I've received upon sharing them with others suggests that among those who do not bake on a weekly basis, the cake-like texture is a welcome departure from the usual crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside cookie fare.


That said, I'm afraid that I have to count my boyfriend amongst those who would prefer a more cookie-like cookie, and for that reason, I set out to find a recipe that would preserve the flavor of my old standby, while reducing the aforementioned fluff.

I settled on the following version, making a few changes here and there to keep the spice ratio that I enjoy. My boyfriend and I are not sure that the texture is really so very different from the ones I usually make, but they certainly did not disappoint.  I've had 2 already, and am hoping that they last long enough to take to work for Halloween :-)


Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
(Adapted from the Boston Globe and Erin Cooks)

Yields ~3 dozen cookies

3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 package (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

Set the oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Set aside.

In an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, combine the butter, sugar, pumpkin, egg, and vanilla; beating just until blended. Mix in the dry ingredients. Remove the bowl from the mixer stand. With a rubber spatula, stir in the chocolate and cinnamon chips.

Using a cookie scoop drop the dough 1 inch apart on the baking sheet.

Bake the cookies one sheet at a time for 13 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned.  Let the cookies cool on the sheets for two minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely.