Good intentions...

Todd spent the past two days visiting a friend in L.A. His absence gave me plenty of time to craft a plan to surprise him at the BART (train) station. Based on his flight’s arrival time, I calculated which train he would be taking from the airport, at what time he would have to transfer, and when he would arrive home at the Berkeley station. Oh, yes, I was good. So, there I stood this morning, looking overly eager and overly impressed with my great planning skills. With two cups of coffee in my hands, I hovered over the station’s exist with a knowing grin upon my face. And then my phone rang.

It was Todd. It was Todd asking where I was. What did he mean “where I was?” Where was he?

He was already at home, wondering where I might be. How he managed to escape my watchful eye and foil my great surprise, I do not know. Suffice it to say that my wonderful math must not have been so wonderful. I’ll blame it on the lack of sleep I get when he’s away.

Luckily I had another surprise batting cleanup (or for all of your basketball fans (go Heels!), you might say I had a deep bench of surprises). These fudgy mint brownies brought my good intentions to fruition! Todd loves mint and brownies, so why not combine the two? I coerced him into eating one as soon as I returned home from my post at the train session, and SLAM DUNK! SUCCESS!

These brownies are incredibly fudgy—nothing cakey here. They have chopped Andes candies throughout the batter, and chunks of mint chocolate bars hiding amidst the chocolatey goodness. The mint chips and the chocolate bar give these brownies a nice consistency, preventing them from being overly fudgy. I’m pretty sure these brownies are a bit of heaven on a plate and certainly redeemed my failed attempt at surprise!

Chocolate Mint Brownies

1 ¼ c AP flour
1 tsp salt
3 TBS unsweetened cocoa powder
12 oz semi-sweet chocolate (1 regular bag of chocolate chips)
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 ½ c granulated sugar
½ c firmly packed light brown sugar
5 large eggs
¼ tsp mint extract
1 package of Andes mints, chopped (or if you have the baking bits, about 1 c)
2 chocolate mint bars (I used Ghirardelli)

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Butter bottom and sides of a 9X13 baking pan.

2. Whisk together flour, salt, and cocoa powder.

3. Melt chocolate and butter together over low heat in a large saucepan or pot (you will do all of your mixing in here). Remove from heat and add both sugars. Whisk until completely combined.

4. Add 2 eggs and whisk until just combined. Add the next 2 eggs and do the same. Finally, add the last egg and the mint extract, only whisking until just combined.

5. Pour the flour mixture over the chocolate and fold the flour in until just combined (some flour may still be visible, and that is okay). Fold in mint chips.

6. Spread about half of the batter into the baking pan. Place chunks of the chocolate bars on top of the batter. Cover with remaining batter, being careful not to press the bars too far into the brownie mixture.

7. Bake for 30 minutes. Let brownies cool completely before cutting and serving.

Case of the enigmatic cookies...

There’s really no great story to which I can liken these cookies. Actually, these cookies are somewhat of an enigma. They’re the type of cookies that when you take a bite, your brain goes a bit haywire. An edible puzzle, that’s what they are. One which can only be solved by—you guessed it—eating more cookies! Born of “leftover” lineage, these cookies have candied nuts, plumped raisins, white chocolate, honey, and parmesan cheese. That’s right: parmesan cheese.

This poor little container of shaved parmesan yelped at me from its resting place in the fridge, and I knew I had to find a use for it soon. You can’t really taste the parmesan, but what you do get is a hint of tangy saltiness. It’s actually quite refreshing, and for lack of a better word, surprising. Yes, these cookies are full of surprises, and not bad ones at that.

I actually quite like these little cookies. They have some chew to them, but overall, this thick cookie has a light and cakey texture due to the cake flour and honey (the honey is a very prevalent taste). These cookies don’t spread much, either (which was exactly what I wanted)! See if you can figure out the enigma…

“Leftover” Honey Cookies
1 c AP flour
1 ½ c cake flour
½ c ground candied nuts, packed (recipe below)
¼ tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
¼ c granulated sugar
½ c brown sugar
¼ c honey
½ c (1 stick) butter, softened
1 egg
1 yolk
½ c shaved parmesan, packed
½ c plumped raisins
½ c candied nuts, chopped (recipe below)
1 c white chocolate chips

(1) Make candied nuts. (See recipe below.) Plump raisins by covering them with water in saucepan, bringing water to boil, and then turning off heat, covering saucepan, and allowing them to rest for 8-10 minutes. Then, strain the raisins and set aside. (They may not look plump, but they are.)

(2) Whisk AP flour, cake flour, ground nuts, baking soda and powder together. Set aside.

(3) Cream sugars, honey, and butter together for about 3-5 minutes until lighter in color. Add egg and egg yolk and mix until completely combined.

(4) Add flour mixture in three parts, mixing only until just combined. Mix in parmesan, raisins, chopped nuts, and white chocolate chips.

(5) Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

(6) Preheat oven to 350. Bake cookies for approximately 10-12 minutes (until edges are slightly brown). (These cookies will not brown extensively.)

Yield: 30 cookies

Candied Nuts

2 cups of raw nuts (I used walnuts and almonds)
1 egg white, slightly beaten
¼ cup sugar (I used a combination of mainly granulated with a bit of brown)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp cloves
Sprinkle of nutmeg

(1) Preheat oven to 350.

(2) Toss nuts and egg white together until all the nuts are coated.

(3) Mix in sugars and spices until all nuts are coated.

(4) Spread mixture onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, taking care that the nuts are not overlapping too much. Bake for 30 minutes. Allow to cool before chopping or grinding.

(5) Chop or grind as needed.

Gluttonous moments...

You know those moments where craving outweighs any sense of moderation, where weakness triumphs over willpower? Those are gluttonous (sometimes glorious) moments. Yes, we all know when they strike that we’ll probably regret the indulgence later, later as we slip into sugar comas. But gluttonous moments are all about the present. Yes, that’s sounds good: gluttonous moments are about seizing the present moment (great rationalization)!

My gluttonous moments began before I was even conscious of them being such. At my childhood birthday parties, I always bothered my mom for a bigger slice of cake—and not a middle piece, a corner cut with a sugary, piped flower. Around the age of eight, one of my family’s friends introduced me to the concept of eating a scoop of cookie dough atop a freshly baked chocolate chip cookie. By the time undergrad rolled around, I had discovered the quick (indulgent) fix of microwaving Chex cereal, chocolate chips, and a scoop of peanut butter.

These chocolate fudge cookies are a gluttonous moment and then some. With barely any flour, a pound of melted chocolate, and chocolate and white chocolate chips to boot, these cookies are extravagant. Though you may fear the delayed regret of this indulgence, rest assured that these cookies have a built-in safety mechanism. You will most assuredly fall into a chocolate-coated sugar coma before you can scarf too many of these fudgy wonders.

Chocolate Fudge Cookies
Adapted from Joy of Baking

1 c walnuts, toasted and chopped
½ c cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
1 lb chocolate, chopped (I used ½ lb semisweet chocolate, ½ lb dark chocolate)
¼ c unsalted butter
1 ¾ granulated sugar
4 large eggs
1 TBS vanilla
1 c dark chocolate chips
1 c white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Toast walnuts for 8-10 minutes (until fragrant). When cooled, finely chop.

Sift cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In a double-boiler, melt the pound of chocolate and butter together. Set aside.

Beat sugar and eggs until light and fluffy (about 5 minutes). Add vanilla and melted chocolate mixture.

Fold in the dry ingredients. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Refrigerate the mixture for at least 30 minutes.Preheat oven to 350. Scoop about ¼ cup of dough onto parchment-lined cookie sheets, and press dough slightly with wettened fingers. Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until crackles appear on top of the cookies, taking care not to over-bake. (Mine took about 14-16 minutes.)

Target nights...

The first year of law school is notorious for being an unpleasant time. Scratch that. Unpleasant would be an understatement. While hazing experience might be an apt description, the first year might be summarized by noting that we (the terrified 1Ls) had the “fear” put in us. Needless to say, this post is not supposed to be a rant about the dog days of first year. This post is about two survival tactics (well, three): (1) you need a great friend named Lindsay, (2) a nearby target, and (3) the ingredients for chocolate chip cookies.

Toward the end of the spring semester, Lindsay and I looked forward to Wednesday night Target-runs as a way to break the monotony of law books and legal writing. It wouldn’t be uncommon for a passerby to spy two harried looking gals vigorously debating the merits of different hallmark cards. We knew how to draw out our time in Target, that’s for sure. At the end of the shopping run (for which we usually had nothing to show), we’d head to my apartment to bake some chocolate chip cookies (and watch Project Runway).

Now, you must understand that Lindsay is quite straight-laced. Not in a strict, don’t-slouch way. In a foodie-way. She eats only natural, organic ingredients, uses natural sugars (agave nectar, pure maple, honey), and generally avoids anything hinting of hydrogenation (ahem, butter). However, chocolate chip cookies possessed the power to lead Lindsay astray—at least for one cookie. These cookies became our survival indulgences, the sustenance we needed to finish those last ten pages and write those last hundred words.

I think Lindsay would appreciate these Heath Bar Cookies. This cookie has all the comfort of a basic chocolate chip cookie with the added pizzazz (/crunchiness) of a heath bar! Delicious.

Heath Bar Cookies
Adapted from Simply Recipes

2 ½ c AP flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
1 TBS unsweetened cocoa powder
1 c butter, softened
1 c granulated sugar
½ c brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 ½ c heath bars, chopped (I used the mini Heath bars and it took me about 36 bars to get 1 ½ cups; a hammer or mallet might be the easiest way to "chop" these bars)
1 c semi-sweet chocolate chips

Whisk the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and cocoa together.

Cream butter and sugars together. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add vanilla.

Mix in dry ingredients in three parts. Stir in the heath bar and chocolate chips.

Refrigerate dough for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350. Bake cookies 10-12 minutes (mine took about 12 minutes).

Late bloomer...

I have always been a late bloomer.

It’s quite interesting, really. I was born early. I’m early to every meeting and appointment. I mean, I’m the girl who showed up for her first undergrad class two hours before its start. I love early! Early is comfortable. Yet despite my anal appreciation for earliness, I have been a late bloomer in almost all other respects. Epitome of paradox, right?

Let’s see: from the beginning, I never wanted to leave my parents. My friend’s parents most assuredly detested my six year-old self, as they were forced to take me home after my botched attempts to “sleep over.” It even took me a while to learn to love the independence associated with college. But let’s not stop there. I kissed boys late. I’ve always been somewhat behind on the fashion curve. Yep, classic signs of a late bloomer, I’d say.

So perhaps it isn’t surprising that I’m late to catch onto this year’s “pumpkin craze.” It hit right around fall—when it rightfully should hit. Now, it is January – the middle of winter – and the pumpkin bandwagon passed through town long ago. However, today, I found myself chasing after the bandwagon, begging to take a quick ride despite my tardiness. Good thing I finally got on board because these cookies are fabulous!

I saw these Iced Pumpkin Cookies on Repressed Pastry Chef and knew I had to try them. It took me a good long while to come around to pumpkin, but now that I’ve seen the light, I’m obsessed. These cookies are especially obsession-worthy. Soft and cakey with a nice bit of sugary icing on top—they are the perfect snack (if you can eat only one). I sent these cookies with Todd for his graduate group exam (the exam he takes before beginning work on his Ph.D. dissertation in environmental health science), and Todd reported back that these cookies disappeared! (Consider these cookies scientifically-tested and Ph.D.-approved!)

Iced Pumpkin Cookies
Original recipe from Repressed Pastry Chef

2 c AP flour
½ tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
¾ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
1 c shortening
1 c granulated sugar
1 c solid-packed pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
1 egg
3 TBS butter
4 TBS milk
½ c brown sugar, packed
1 c confectioners’ sugar, sifted
¾ tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg together and set aside.
Cream together shortening, sugar, and pumpkin. Add the egg, mixing well. Add in the dry ingredients in two parts.
Scoop cookies onto baking sheet, lined with parchment. Bake for 15-18 minutes (mine took about 15). Cool for 10-15 minutes before icing.

To make icing, cook butter, milk, and brown sugar in a saucepan over low heat until dissolved. Remove the mixture from the heat and add in confectioners’ sugar and vanilla. (I made the mistake of not sifting my powdered sugar and ended up with clumps in my icing—not that it didn’t still taste amazing.)

Dip cookies into icing and place on rack to dry.

Cookies worthy of a midnight movie...

I grew up in a strictly chocolate chip dessert household. Sure, we had our variety: Mandelbrodt, Tollhouse chocolate chip cookies, maybe even a Derby pie. The variety just happened to include chocolate chips. Don’t get me wrong. We had raisins and we had oatmeal. Two perfectly acceptable ingredients, which occupied separate spheres of the pantry and never really got introduced to one another.

Now, oatmeal raisin cookies are “memory” cookies, and as their scent wafts through the kitchen, you just might begin to conjure images of coming home from school, slinging your backpack over a kitchen chair, and sitting down long enough to devour a fresh-baked oatmeal raisin cookie. I searched my memory bank for some oatmeal raisin-nostalgia.

I may not have had an oatmeal raisin-childhood, but undergrad was a different story. Two of my best friends, Sarah Phillips (that’s her full first name, get it right or pay the price) and Callie, happen to obsess over all things Harry Potter as much as I do. Thus, when the films made their midnight debuts, we were first in line (okay, so we weren’t first) among those potentially more obsessed than we (yes, I mean those costumed fans, speaking in British accents and carrying “emergency” Sharpies for any passerby who might have forgotten to mark his forehead with a lightening scar). The only thing that could make this movie-going experience any better was COOKIES! Now, I am willing to admit that we (read I) took the easy way out and popped some Pillsbury jumbo chocolate chip and jumbo oatmeal raisin pull-aparts into the oven, smushed them into a plastic bag while still hot, and then smuggled the gooey concoction into the theater. Thank goodness for big purses. Even though I’m a diehard chocolate chip cookie girl, these oatmeal raisin cookies had a certain hold over me. They were delicious, warm, and comforting. And now, these cookies remind me of my wonderful friends and wonderful times. (Erin, even though you refused to attend Harry Potter, you still get to be in my oatmeal raisin memories.)

These oatmeal raisin cookies are extra special because they have some prebaked streusel, the recipe for which comes from Baking Bites! They are delicious—perfectly soft with a nice bit of crunch to them!

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies with Streusel
Adapted from Baking Bites
2 c AP flour
½ tsp salt
1 ½ tsp soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp ginger
1/8 tsp cloves
1/8 tsp nutmeg
¾ c unsalted butter, softened
1 c brown sugar, packed
½ c sugar
2 eggs
1 ½ tsp vanilla
1 ½ c quick cooking (not instant) oats
1 c raisins
1 ½ c streusel (recipe below)

Plump raisins—place raisins water so that all raisins are covered. Bring water to a boil. Turn off heat, cover the pot and let raisins sit for about 5-7 minutes. Then, strain the raisins and set aside.
Whisk together flour, salt, and spices, and set aside.
Cream butter and sugars together. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add vanilla.
Mix in dry ingredients in 2 parts. Stir in oats, raisins, and streusel.
Refrigerate dough for about 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 and bake for 12-15 minutes (mine took about 12 minutes).

Streusel
adapted from Baking Bites
5/8 c AP flour
½ tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
¼ c brown sugar, packed
1/8 tsp salt
¼ c butter, softened
¼ c chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Stir dry ingredients together. Add butter with mixer until the mixture resembles coarse, wet sand. Stir in the walnuts. Using your hands, press the mixture into small clumps and place these clumps on the baking sheet. Bake for 25-30 minutes.After cool, use a food processor to break the mixture into streusel crumbs.

A heavenly combination...

It started many months ago with an innocent google search. You see, I was hungry, very hungry. But not for just any old run of the mill recipe. I wanted some baked, chocolately concoction. Into the search engine the terms went and bam! The world of food blogs appeared before my eyes. Before long, my "favorites" included a list of about forty blogs that I checked almost daily (and sometimes more, when my sweet tooth went into overactive mode).

I have always had a passion for baking, and reading these wonderful blogs inspired me to translate this passion into a blog of my own. And thus, the culinary adventure begins.

Chocolate chip cookies. Brownies. Choosing a favorite would be akin to my mom picking my sister or brother as her favorite child. Why do something so hurtful when there is so much love to go around? Thus, the ultimate dilemma lies in choosing which delectable goodie to bake. This process can be an excrutiatingly time-consuming decision and remains a true testament to my indecisive nature. Solution? Combine the two! (Bakerella recently blogged about this Betty Crocker combination, and her pictures got my mouth watering!)

Because I felt like spending some time in the kitchen, I decided to make both the brownie batter and cookie dough from scratch. These brownies were delicious! However, I can't say that the cookie dough really stands out against the chocolately goodness of the brownie. However, even though the cookie dough does not loudly declare its presence, it adds a nice texture and flavor to the brownie. Mmm mmm good!

Cookie Dough Brownies (makes 24 big brownies)

recipes adapted from Baked!

*preheat oven to 350 F

Step #1: make the brownie batter

1 1/4 cups AP flour

1 tsp salt

2 TBS unsweeteed cocoa powder

1 12-oz bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

5 large eggs, at room temperature

2 tsp vanilla extract

Butter sides and bottom of 9X13 pan.

Whisk flour, salt, cocoa powder together.
Melt chocolate and butter over a double boiler until smooth.
Turn off heat and add sugars, whisking until completely combined.
Add eggs and vanilla, whisking until combined.
Fold the flour mixture into chocolate (do not overmix).
Pour into prepared pan and set aside.

Step #2: make the cookie dough

1 cup AP flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/2 dark brown sugar, firmly packed

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Whisk flour, salt, baking soda together and set aside.

Beat butter and sugars until smooth and pale in color.

Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla.

Add flour mixture in two parts, being careful not to overbeat the mixture.

Fold in the chocolate chips.

Step #3: drop spoonfuls of cookie dough on top of the brownie batter

Step #4: bake until brownie is set (toothpick comes out with crumbs), approximately 35-40 minutes.

Enjoy!

Recipe Index

Coming Soon

Cakes
Cinnamon Caramel Ganache Layer Cake

Frosting
Chocolate Frosting

Filling
Cinnamon Caramel Ganache

About Me

I'm a soon-to-be attorney with a passion for all things sweet.  When my law books aren't demanding my attention, I can be found in the kitchen, testing the limits of my kitchenaid mixer (and sometimes, having a bit of a disco dance party).

Of course, no cake is complete without great people with whom to share it.  That's where my super taste-tester boyfriend Todd comes in.  He diligently samples all of my baked goods to make sure each and every sugary morsel is up to Belle of the Bakery standards.

If you'd like to contact me, I can be reached at belleofthebakery@gmail.com.