Hazelnut Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies ~ #Creative Cookie Exchange

Sometimes me think, “What is Friend?” Then me say, “Friend is someone to share the last cookie with.” - The Cookie Monster.

These gluten-free Hazelnut Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies are definitely share-worthy.

Double Chocolate Cherry Biscotti

A few days ago I was doing my regular sweep of my favorite blogs and saw on Roxana's Home Baking that it was the 1st anniversary of the #chocolate party. I knew that I needed to join in on this fun event.  To celebrate we were asked to bake our family's favorite chocolate dessert.

Is it weird that one of our favorite desserts is biscotti? I know that when most people think of their favorite chocolate dessert they don't necessarily think of cookies. Now don't get me wrong, I love an ooey, gooey, decadent chocolate dessert as much as the next person - for example these Mexican Chocolate Crunch Brownies - but I don't always have time for them during the week. Biscotti on the other hand is something that I can bake over the weekend and then enjoy with my coffee after dinner, or even crumble it over a bowl of vanilla ice cream. It is also the perfect treat for my girls to enjoy when they are craving something sweet, but not too big, as they finish off their homework.

This biscotti is double the chocolate fun - cocoa and chocolate chips - and has dried cherries added to give them a little tartness.  I love chocolate and cherries together, as you would guess if you saw my secret stash of Cherry Ripe candy bars.  I can't tell you where I hide them because they are a prized possession in this household.  They are only available in Australia (or via mail-order which can be pricey) so I don't get them very often and I treat them like rations - open only in case of an emergency.

I based my recipe on one that I use from The Craft of Baking. The original recipe contained walnuts which are great, but I subbed them out for dried cherries. Be warned that the dough for these biscotti is quite wet so you may look a little like you have been playing in mud by the time you have them shaped them on the baking sheet. Just make sure you have everything set up before you put your hands in the bowl. Also, I find that mini chocolate chips work best in this recipe, but I only had regular on hand so I went with that.  These biscotti will last up to three weeks in an airtight container at room temperature, but they are gone in our household well before then.

The Chocolate Party is going on for the month of September and it is so easy to join in the fun.  All you have to do is bring your favorite chocolate dessert to Roxana's Home Baking #chocolate party and win amazing prizes from OXO, Calphalon, Keurig, Imperial Sugar, Honey Ridge Farms and Land O'LakesⓇ Butter.  I can't wait to go and check all of the amazing chocolate treats that have been brought to the party.


Double Chocolate Cherry Biscotti
(Printer Friendly Recipe)

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
• ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• ½ cup packed dark brown sugar
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces and at room temperature
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• ¼ teaspoon espresso powder (optional)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup dried cherries
• ½ cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 350℉ and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. 
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, cocoa, both sugars, butter, baking soda, and salt. Beat on low speed until all ingredients are well combined and the butter is no longer visible (about 4 minutes).
3. In a medium bowl whisk together the eggs, espresso powder, and vanilla.
4. Add egg mixture to the flour mixture and beat on low speed to combine.
5. Add the dried cherries and chocolate chips and beat to combine.
6. Turn out the dough on a generously floured work surface and divide in half. Shape each portion into a 16x2-inch log, and carefully transfer each one to the prepared baking sheets.
7. Bake, rotating the baking sheets halfway through, until the logs are firm to touch, about 20 minutes. Transfer the logs, still on the parchment paper, to a wire rack and let cool slightly, about 5 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 300℉.
8. Transfer the warm logs to a cutting board and, using a serrated knife, cut the logs on the diagonal into ⅓-inch-thick slices.
9. Arrange the slices, cut side up, on the parchment covered baking sheet.
10. Bake for 30 minutes and remove baking sheets from the oven and flip each biscotti piece over.
11. Return baking sheets to the oven and continue to bake for another 30 minutes and the biscotti are dry and firm to touch.
12. Remove the baking sheets from the oven and let the biscotti cool completely.

Recipe adapted by ATLATC from The Craft of Baking.

Peanut Butter Pretzel Chubby Tates

Heaven help me if there is an open container of peanut butter filled pretzels in my household. They sing like a siren beckoning me to them and I am just not able to resist their sweet-salty deliciousness.  I don't buy them all that often, but when I do it is usually because one of my girls has been shopping with me and somehow they end up in my cart. The safest thing is not to have them around for too long so they are bagged as snacks for school, taken to the movies (shhhh!), and in this case used in baking cookies.

One of my favorite cookie recipes is the Chubby Tates from Tate's Bake Shop - Baking for Friends.  I decided to add one of my favorite snacks to one of my favorite cookies, and the Peanut Butter Pretzel Chubby Tates were born.  In the cookbook, the author Kathleen King suggests that you eat them while they are still warm and I would definitely second this.  One bite of the a warm cookie fills your mouth with crumbly cookie, melted chocolate, and gooey peanut butter and sends your taste buds into another universe.  Add an ice-cold glass of milk and I am set.  Another option would be to sandwich these cookies around some ice cream.  Flavors such as vanilla, peanut butter, chocolate, or banana come to mind and all would be excellent choices.

































These cookies freeze very well, and with the holiday season fast approaching I think I just may bake another batch and do just that.  I discovered that if I scoop them out onto a cookie sheet and freeze them individually and then store them in a plastic freezer bag - rather than placing the the whole dough in the freezer - I will be able to grab as many as I want to bake quickly if friends drop by.


Peanut Butter Pretzel Chubby Tates

(Printer Friendly Recipes)

Ingredients

• 2¼ cups all-purpose flour or bread flour 
• 1 teaspoon baking soda 
• 1 teaspoon salt 
• 12 tablespoons (1½ sticks) salted butter, at room temperature 
• 1 cup dark brown sugar, packed 
• ½ cup granulated sugar 
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
• 2 cups chocolate chips
• 1 cup peanut butter filled pretzels

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 325℉. Line two sheet pans with Silpat liners or parchment paper. 
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt, set aside. 
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine butter, brown sugar and sugar and mix on high until combined, about 1 minute. 
4. Beat in the vanilla, egg yolk and egg. Scrape down bowl and turn the mixer to low speed. 
5. Add the flour mixture and mix till just combined.
6. Mix in the chocolate chips and the pretzels, and turn the mixer up to high for about 30 seconds to break up the pretzels.
7. Using an ice cream scoop or two tablespoons, drop cookie dough onto prepared sheet pans 3 inches apart. 
8. Bake for 18 minutes or until golden brown.
9. Let cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
10. Repeat with the remaining dough on cool baking sheets.

Recipe slightly adapted from Tate's Bake Shop Baking for Friends.

Snickers and Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies

One of the pitfalls of living in a warm climate year-round is when you leave your butter out to soften to room temperature, you can sometimes come back to a puddle of oil.  Such is life and you just throw it in the mixer and keep your fingers crossed.  Cookies don't last long in my household anyway, so a little melted butter is not going to affect that in any way.

I first saw these cookies last week on The Spiced Life and I knew as soon as I saw the title that I would have to bake them since Snickers is one of my favorite candies.  Unfortunately, I was not able to find Snickers Bites, so I had to compromise with Snickers bars that I put in the refrigerator and then cut into small pieces.  The bars worked out well but I will still try and find the bites because they seem like something that would be fun to bake with. Sweet and salty is one of my favorite combinations and I really liked the sprinkle of sea salt on top of the cookies.  They reminded me a little of shortbread.

Other than the Snickers bars the only other change I made was to use only all-purpose flour for the cookies.  This happened to be the flour that I hand on hand, and it worked out fine.  If you are planning on making them I'll give you a heads up that the dough needs to be refrigerated before baking, preferably overnight.

A little love heart of caramel on one of the cookies

Snickers and Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies

(Printer Friendly Recipe)

Ingredients

• 4 cups all-purpose flour 
• 1¼ teaspoon baking soda 
• 1½ teaspoon baking powder 
• 1½ teaspoon coarse salt 
• 2½ sticks unsalted butter 
• 1¼ cups light brown sugar 
• 1 cup granulated sugar 
• 2 large eggs 
• 1 tablespoon natural vanilla extract 
• 1 cup milk chocolate chips 
• 2 King Size (3.56oz) Snickers Peanut Butter Squared cut into small pieces
• Coarse sea salt for sprinkling 

Preparation

1. Whisk together flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a bowl, and set aside. 
2. Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. 
3. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. 
4. Stir in the vanilla. 
5. With speed on low, add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. 
6. Mix in the chocolate chips and Snickers pieces. Cover the dough with something airtight and refrigerate at least overnight.
7. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. 
8. Using a cookie dough scoop or an ice cream scoop of medium size, scoop the cookies onto the prepared tray, 6 per sheet. 
9. Sprinkle the cookies with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still a little soft, about 11-13 minutes. 
10. Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then remove the cookies individually to a cooling rack.

Recipe by Laura from The Spiced Life

The Cake Slice Bakers December 2012 - Mississippi Mud Cupcakes with Marshmallow Frosting

This month the Cake Slice Baker's are making Mississippi Mud Cupcakes with Marshmallow Frosting from Vintage Cakes: Timeless Recipes for Cupcakes, Flips, Rolls, Layer, Angel, Bundt, Chiffon, and Icebox Cakes for Today's Sweet Tooth by Julie Richardson. When I first saw that these cupcakes had won the vote for December I was thrilled.  Just the name alone sounds delicious and brings to mind a cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows on top.  I know what you are thinking, why would I need to have hot chocolate where I live? Well, when those trade winds start blowing at 30 miles an hour from the Alaskan direction, and the temperature drops in the low 60's and it is raining, I need something to warm me up.  Don't laugh - yes, I can see you laughing - when you are used to high 80's or above every day I get cold when the temperature drops.

I had very high hopes for these cupcakes since I wasn't a big fan of last month's cake. Also, I have never made homemade marshmallow so I was excited to try out my candy thermometer.  I have been told that once you try homemade marshmallow you will never want to eat the commercially-made ones again, so we will see.

I started grabbing ingredients and chose to use some of my black cocoa from King Arthur Flour because it has a really deep flavor and would make the color of the cupcakes almost black and more "mud-like".  I decided on using 1/2 cup of black cocoa and 1/4 cup of dutch-processed cocoa to get the desired result.  Dutch processed cocoa has been treated with an alkali to neutralize its natural acidity. Being neutral, it does not react with baking soda, and it must be used in recipes calling for baking powder (unless there are other acidic ingredients in sufficient quantities used). It has a reddish-brown color, mild flavor, and dissolves easily in liquids.  After mixing some of my morning Ka'u coffee with the cocoa I felt like I had struck oil.  The combination was just like liquid gold.  I had a feeling that I was going to like these cupcakes.

Next I went searching for my chocolate chips.  I know I have semi-sweet, white, and bittersweet in my pantry.  After I quick look I could only find the bittersweet.  Everything else was ready, and I could have spent the next 15+ minutes searching for them in the pantry, but I made an executive decision to just use the bittersweet chips.  I was going for a dark cupcake anyway so these could only help the cause.  I also made the executive decision not to use the pecans in the recipe this time - well I had a little help from the peanut gallery stating they did not like nuts and showing me their sad faces - so out they went.

After they came out of the oven I could not resist trying one.  OMG, so good!  They are exactly want I want in a chocolate cupcake - deep, dark, and delicious.  I almost decided to forgo making the marshmallow because they were so good on their own, but I was determined to christen my candy thermometer, so on I pressed. And I am glad I did because it was good.  I added vanilla bean paste instead of vanilla essence so the frosting had some really nice flecks in it.  At first I thought that I may have burned the sugar mixture - watch it because mine came up to temperature really quickly and turned a little dark - but it worked out just fine.  A drizzle of chocolate on top completed the cupcakes.

These were definitely a winner for me.  I can imagine so many variations that I could make using the base recipe.  I loved the flavor and the fact that they were so easy to put together.  They will definitely we making an appearance again very soon.

Click here to check out the blogs of my fellow Cake Slice Baker's and see all of their cupcakes.


Mississippi Mud Cupcakes with Marshmallow Frosting
(Printer Friendly Recipe)

Ingredients

Cake

• 1 cup hot coffee
• 3/4 cup lightly packed Dutch-processed cocoa
• 2 cups flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup chopped pecans, toasted
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• 1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
• ½ cup canola oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Marshmallow Frosting

• 1 cup sugar
• ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
• ½ cup water
• 4 egg whites
• ⅛ teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons vanilla

Preparation

Cake

1. Center oven rack and preheat oven to 350℉.
2. Line a standard-size muffin tin with 24 paper cups.
3. In a small bowl, whisk the hot coffee into the cocoa. Set aside to cool
4. Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl. Whisk the mixure together by hand to ensure that the ingredients are well mixed then stir pecan and chocolate chips.
5. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, oil, vanilla, and cooled cocoa mixture. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir batter together with a rubber spatula until just combined (too much mixing will cause the tops of the cupcakes to be unevenly domed).
6. Pour batter evenly among prepared cupcake tins, filling each well about 3/4 full. Place cupcake tins in middle rack of the preheated oven. 
7. Bake until cupcakes have domed nicely and bounce back when lightly pressed, about 20 minutes.
8. Cool the cupcakes in their tin on a wire rack. 
9. Once they have cooled, remove them from the pan and pipe a mound of marshmallow frosting on each.
10. These cupcakes will keep for 3 days in an airtight container at room temperature.

Marshmallow Frosting

1. Combine the sugar, cream of tartar, and water in a small saucepan that has a tight-fitting lid. Place the pan, uncovered, over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, the cover and cook for 2 minutes. Uncover the saucepan and continue to boil until the sugar syrup reaches the soft-ball stage, 242 degrees on a candy thermometer.
2. While the syrup is heating to the desired temperature, combine the egg whites with the salt in the clean bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat beginning at low speed and gradually increasing to medium-high speed. Beat the whites just until soft peaks form. Timing is crucial at this point in the game; if the syrup is close to reaching 242 degrees, continue whipping the whites to firm peaks. If the syrup is not this warm yet, let the whites wait at the soft-peak stage before whipping them into firm peaks as the syrup approaches the desired temperature.
3. Once the sugar syrup has reached 242 degrees and the egg whites are whipped to firm peaks, run the mixer at medium-high speed and begin slowly pouring the syrup down inside the bowl. Continue whipping until the frosting becomes thick and holds stiff peaks, about 5 minutes. Add the vanilla and whip to combine.
4. This frosting should be used immediately.

From Vintage Cakes

To Try Tuesday - Chocolate Chip - Chip Cookies

I know that chip - chip looks like a typo in the title but these cookies really do have chips x 2 - chocolate chips and potato chips.  Sweet and salty goodness all rolled into one yummy cookie.

When my daughter asked me to make cookies for her sleepover at a friend's house the idea of a cookie that incorporated potato chips was at the top of my to-try list.  After doing a quick search I found three recipes that sounded great at Vanilla Sugar Blog, Country Living, and The Capitol Baker and decided to combine them into one recipe.  The hardest part about making these cookies was waiting for them to chill in the refrigerator for an hour before I could bake them.  I was really happy with the end result and I loved the combination of sweet chocolate and salty potato chips.  My girls have already put in a request for another batch so we can make ice cream sandwiches from them.  Some of the other sites mentioned above suggested experimenting with different flavors of potato chips and I think this would be fun to do too.

So don't throw out those crushed chips in the bottom of a packet - use them to make these cookies.

Chocolate Chip - Chip Cookies

(Printer Friendly Recipe)

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• ½ cup granulated sugar 
• ½ cup packed dark brown sugar 
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla 
• 2½ cups all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 cups lightly crushed original potato chips
• 1 cup mini chocolate chips

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. In a large bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt - stir to combine.
3. In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy.
4. Beat in the egg and vanilla.
5. Turn mixer speed to low, and slowly add the flour mixture to the creamed sugar mixture - mix well. 
6. Gently stir in the crushed potato chips and chocolate chips.
7. Place in the refrigerator and let chill for at least one hour.
8. Using a cookie scoop drop 1-inch balls onto an ungreased baking sheet a few inches apart to allow for spreading (I did use a Silpat and mine did not spread very much). 
9. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until golden brown.
10. Cool for 5 minutes on the tray before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe is a combination from the sites mentioned above.

The Cake Slice January 2011 - Graham Cracker Chocolate Chip Snacking Cake

It is Cake Slice Bakers time again.  For those unfamiliar with the Cake Slice Bakers we are a group of baker's from around the world who are baking from Cake Keeper Cakes by Lauren Chattman.  This month we are baking a Graham Cracker Chocolate Chip Snacking Cake.

I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I looked through the list of ingredients.  There is only a small amount of flour, along with the ground graham crackers, which seemed a little strange.  And then there was the marshmallow fluff, something I have never even thought of using in as an ingredient before.  I don't even really like marshmallows themselves.  However, I am up for a challenge so I pushed ahead with the recipe.


Once everything has been measured out and is ready to go this cake comes together quickly.  I had it in the oven in no time.  Instead of greasing and flouring the pan I used a square of baking paper to prevent sticking.  To make it a little easier I gave the pan a quick spray with Pam just to keep the paper in place whilst I was spreading out the cake batter.  It worked like a charm and definitely made the cake a cinch to get out of the pan after cooling.

This is not a high-rising cake at all.  After spreading the batter out in the pan it is only abut 1 to 2 inches high, and it will not rise much more during baking.  Don't worry about this because it is a snacking cake, not a layer cake, and it comes out just fine.

Be warned that the icing is sweet - very sweet.  This is not necessarily a bad thing.  It would seem that since this is a snacking cake, it would mean that you only need a small piece to snack on, therefore the icing is in proportion.  For me the texture of the icing was a little soft.  I wanted to pipe icing on part of the cake so I added an extra cup of powdered sugar to make it a little studier.

Once the cake was ready for the icing I cut it in half.  For one half I used fluted cutters to make some shapes, and piped the marshmallow fluff icing on top. We immediately snacked on the leftover bits.  I gave the other half to my youngest daughter and let her decorate it.  She was so dedicated to the job and started of piping the first initial of my name on the top, and then filled in the rest of the top with little peaks.  That's my girl!



All in all, I liked this cake. It isn't fancy, doesn't have a lot of bells and whistles, but I don't think that it ever pretended it would.  It is quick, easy and very tasty.  I might be tempted to just do a buttercream with maybe a little cinnamon in it, rather than the marshmallow fluff as the frosting next time, but that's just me.   The wonderful thing about the Cake Slice Bakers is that you will get lots of different opinions about this cake.  Visit the Cake Slice Blogroll for clickable links to everyone's blogs and see what they thought about the Graham Cracker Chocolate Chip Snacking Cake.

Graham Cracker Chocolate Chip Snacking Cake
(Printer Friendly Recipe)

Ingredients - Cake

•  8 whole graham crackers, finely ground (about 1 cup)
• ¼ cup unbleached all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 6 tbsp (¾ stick) butter, softened
• ¼ cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ¼ cup milk
• ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips (I used mini choc chips)

Ingredients - Frosting

• ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• ½ cup confectioners sugar
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• ½ cup marshmallow fluff

Preparation – Cake

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. 
2. Grease an 8 inch square baking pan and dust it with flour, knocking out any extra (or use baking paper like I did). 
3. Combine the graham cracker crumbs, flour, baking powder and salt in a medium mixing bowl.
   Combine the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl and cream with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. With the mixer on low speed, add the egg, egg yolk and vanilla. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and then beat until smooth.
   With the mixer on low speed, add a third of the flour mixture, then half of the milk, stirring until combined. 
4. Repeat with the remaining flour and milk, ending with the flour. 
5. Stir in the chocolate chips.
   Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. 
6. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. 
7. Let the cake cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. 
8. Invert it onto a wire rack, and then turn it right side up to cool completely.

Preparation – Frosting

1. Place the butter in a medium mixing bowl and beat until creamy. 
2. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the sugar, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Stir in the vanilla and the marshmallow fluff and beat until smooth. 
3. Use immediately or cover the bowl with plastic wrap and keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.
   Cut the cake into squares and serve each one with a dollop of frosting on top. (Bring the frosting back to room temperature first if it has been stored in the fridge). 
4. Store any uneaten cake in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
5. Makes one 8 inch square cake.

(Recipe from Cake Keeper Cakes by Lauren Chattman)