Salted Choco Choco Chip Cookies and a New Addition to the Fam

 

These days, if your cookie doesn't have salt on it, you're a total square. When I was a kid, nobody wanted a salty cookie. That would be like asking for pie with motor oil on top. But now, salting desserts is all the rage: cookies, mini-cakes, ice cream, chocolate bars. Sugar has decided that salt is the Romeo to her Juliet, and she can no longer function alone. 

Despite being a serious dessert lover, and being well-aware of the popularity of salted sweet treats in recent years, I've never had a salted cookie. And I certainly hadn't made my own before now. Every time I thought about it, it seemed like an unnecessarily risky move for a batch of cookies that I knew would be delish on their own. Not this time, boys and girls - full salt ahead.

I decided that a salty topcoat would be most delicious on a dark chocolate cookie (I decided correctly). This batch was a chocolate cookie base with white chocolate chunks. I used vegan buttery spread because that's what I had on hand that day, but butter can be swapped in no problem. Or, in the alternative, you could replace the egg and white chocolate chips to make vegan cookies. For the sprinkling of salt, I found that two pinches of sea salt per cookie was just the right amount. Your gut will tell you to stop after one pinch, but ignore it. Go for two pinches. And make sure you're using large grain sea salt. Tiny grains of table salt won't have the same flavor effect.

The result? Real good cookies. The problem? Salty cookies, much like pretzels or chips or any other salty snack make you want to keep eating them. Mmmmm, that salty cookie was so yummy and salty, I'm thirsty for another. Ooooooh, those two cookies make me want a third even more! And let's not talk about the compulsion I felt for a fourth. Needless to say, they're dangerous. Just make sure you're in a portion-control state of mind when you bake these suckers. Or bring them to a big party where they're sure to go quickly.

And another thing, unlike any other cookie I've ever encountered, these guys are best after they are completely cooled. When you eat them warm out of the oven, the salt doesn't mesh as well with the cookie flavor - it's as if you were eating a regular cookie with some salt sprinkled on ex post bake-o. But once they have a chance to cool, the salt magically becomes one with the cookie and you have a perfect, sweet cookie with the faintest savory bite.

And in other news...

We got a new dog! I usually like to tie the concepts of a post together, but I'm not even going to attempt that here. Dogs don't go with chocolate cookies. Period.

This is our new baby! How cute is that face?!! Her shelter name was Mocha, which we both wanted to change, but nothing else stuck, so Mocha it is. She is 9 months old and we got her from the Washington Humane Society on Georgia Ave. The staff was great, especially the adoption manager. 

If you're looking to add a four-legged member to your family, I urge you to check out your local shelters and rescues before going to a breeder. So many wonderful doggies and kitties already exist and are just waiting for someone to love. If you live in the DC metro area, check out any of the following organizations that help to place pets with the right owners: 

• Washington Humane Society
• Lucky Dog Animal Rescue
• Washington Animal Rescue League
• Homeward Trails Animal Rescue
• Labrador Retriever Rescue
• Greyhound Welfare

There are a surprising number of breed-specific rescues if you're looking for a certain kind of dog and almost every county has an SPCA or Humane Society - just google what you're looking for. I don't know about all of the shelters, but I know that Lucky Dog has adoption events where they bring their dogs to a neighborhood in DC, MD and VA on weekends so that people can see who's available for adoption. Check the websites to see when they're making a visit to your area. And if you're not looking to adopt a pet but wouldn't mind some temporary furry company, shelters are always looking for foster homes.

In the meantime, you can enjoy looking at our new pride and joy. Aaaaah, I love her!!

Salted Choco Choco Chip Cookies
adapted from FoodNetwork.com

Makes 20-22 cookies

1-1/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda 
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa 
1 stick Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Spread (or butter) 
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar 
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp. vanilla 
3/4 cups white chocolate chips
sea salt for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Sift flour, salt, baking soda and cocoa together. Cream Earth Balance with sugars, egg and vanilla. Slowly add dry ingredients to wet, mixing with an electric mixer. Fold in white chocolate chips.

Using a tablespoon or cookie scoop, drop cookies onto a cookie sheet and lightly press each one down using your fingers. Sprinkle each cookie with two pinches of sea salt.

Bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees. Let cool. Do not feed to pets, no matter how cute they are.

Sour Cherry Buckwheat Scone Cookies

When I moved from Arlington to Capitol Hill (near Eastern Market), it was an adjustment. While I now recognize the awesomeness that is the Hill, I had a hard time separating myself from the land of brown flip flops and infinite Starbucks (thanks for memorializing, Remy). But just days after moving into a rowhouse on 11th Street, SE, an acquaintance of Travis's who lived a couple blocks away stopped by our house bearing homemade banana muffins to welcome us to the hood (the muffin gal is now our dear friend, Judith). With that simple gesture, love for my new digs were sealed. I never got so much as a twinkie from any neighbors when I moved into my Ballston highrise.

We have since left idyllic 11th Street to become homeowners in a more "developing" section of East Capitol Hill. I use that term loosely, because our house is just a few blocks from a pretty well-to-do park...but to give you an idea, my car was stolen from right in front of our house and the corner store has 1-inch thick bullet-proof glass surrounding the register. Anyhow, despite the developing nature of the area, I know that we have some nice neighbors. I've seen them walking their dogs (and obviously dog ownership correlates positively with niceness). Embarassingly though, we know so few of them.

So when some new folks moved into the house at the end of our block, I took a cue from Judith and decided that it was our job to introduce ourselves with a welcome offering. And nothing says let's bond over the local police beat like buckwheat cookies.

The recipe for these neighbor cookies came from the Figgy Buckwheat Scone recipe in Kim Boyce's Good to the Grain (also the inspiration for this Sweet Potato Bread, for which I've received great feedback from people who tested it in their own kitchens). I can't say the figgy scone recipe as printed was a success (the recipe starts with a somewhat complicated "fig butter" that I must have jacked up, because it tasted like I pulled it out of a sewer), but after I ditched the fig butter and tweaked the sizing, the resulting product was a super flavorful, grain-filled cookie.

If you've never used buckwheat flour, count your lucky stars for finding this post. The flavor is strong and nutty and it makes for a super satisfying cookie.  I made pretty small cookies, between 1.5" and 2" in diameter, but if you want a thicker cookie, just leave the dough a little thicker when rolling and make a shorter rectangle.

Sour Cherry Buckwheat Scone Cookies

adapted from Good to the Grain

Makes approx. 50 2" cookies

1 cup buckwheat flour

1-1/4 cups unbleached flour

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, cold, cut into chunks

1-1/4 cups heavy cream

1 cup sour cherry preserves (or your favorite fruit preserves)

Sift or mix dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Add cold butter chunks and work into dry mixture with your fingers until the butter is broken into rice-sized pieces. Add cream and mix with a spatula until dough is incorporated. Dough is sticky and you may need to switch over to using your hands to get all the flour incorporated.

Divide dough into two even pieces. One at a time, roll each section of dough out onto a well-floured surface (keep adding flour as needed to keep dough from sticking) until you have a rectangle roughly 8" by 14" (dough will be around 1/4" thick). Spread half the preserves over the surface of the dough, then roll lengthwise into a log (so that you have a 14" log). Repeat the process with the second piece of dough.

Wrap the two logs in plastic wrap and freeze for 1 to 2 hours.
Remove logs from freezer and heat oven to 350 degrees. Slice dough into 1/4" slices and place evenly on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silpat.

Bake for 18 to 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Deliver to neighbors with a smile. Smile is key.

MacGyver Snickerdoodles and a New Year

Ok, ok, ok, ok. I know we've already been in a new year for 48 hours now, but I had some other things to attend to. And in my own defense, I have accomplished more than my roommate, who has just informed me that he hasn't showered in 2011.

I would like to say that I woke up on January 1 refreshed and ready to attack the New Year. But I didn't. I rolled out of bed around noon, to be met with the task of SRSLY cleaning our disgusting floors (from a SRSLY successful NYE party) and taking down the Christmas decorations/clearing the premises of pine needle warfare. By the time I was done, I needed a nap. And now here I am on the eve of returning to what is in my opinion the saddest work day of the year (when the next mass vacation time is an impossibly distant 355 days away). Booooooo.

Last year, T and I were uber-prepared for hosting a NYE party. This year, a little less so . . . We were kind of scrambling around for things late in the game. I wanted to add another desserty item, so I did a quick inventory of the cupboards. I didn't find much in the way of good baking supplies, so I sought inspiration from my old roommate, Allison (the roommate that came before Travis, and who has probably managed to squeeze in a shower this year). This gal could bake up a treat under any circumstances and with any ingredients. I used to call her the MacGyver of baking. She probably could have produced a birthday cake out of bobby pins and duct tape.

Allison and I shared some seriously sweet teeth (read: occasional reckless abandon with respect to late night cookies and ice cream). One night we had an empty fridge and the stores were closed. Allison walked into the empty kitchen and emerged with a batch of the most delicious snickerdoodles I had ever tasted. Then we enjoyed some reruns of Paula Dean while gobbling cookies. That day, she became my baking hero.

Allison had always used a red, spiral bound Betty Crocker cookbook, so I did my best to locate the old Crocker classic.

The cookies were a snap and a big hit at the party. And although I'm not posting a recipe for these little babies (because as you know, my cupcakes often come from a box), I couldn't resist sharing a photo of the lone survivor of 2010. Happy New Year, friends. 

Snickerdoodles

adapted from Betty Crocker

Makes around 50 cookies

1-1/2 cups sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

2 eggs

2-1/2 cup unbleached flour

2 tsp. cream of tartar

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 cup sugar (for rolling)

2 tsp. cinnamon (for rolling)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cream butter and sugar with a mixer in a large bowl. Mix flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and continue to mix until dough forms.

Mix 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Shape dough into 1-1/4 inch balls. Roll balls in sugar-cinnamon mix until completely covered. Place dough balls 2 inches apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. 

Bake for 7-10 minutes at 400 degrees. Note: putting raw cookies onto a cookie pan that has already been in the oven will cause the cookies to bake a little faster, so be aware that the second, third, etc. batches may cook up more quickly.

Cookie Party v.2.0 - Frosted Sugar Cookies

For the past several years, my friend Kristi has thrown a cookie making/decorating party for the ladies of Capitol Hill. And let me tell you, when it comes to throwing a cookie party, this girl is a veritable Martha Stewart. She orders adorable invitations (remember those? before evites?), prepares the cookie dough in individual portions, whips up loads of different colored icing in piping bags, has more cookie cutters than probably Martha herself and just generally knows how to make people feel welcome (usually with warm drinks and fudge). Last year, I braved one of the worst storms in DC history just to make it to Kristi's cookie party.

Since last December, however, Kristi has - gasp - moved off the Hill (i.e., out of the Capitol Hill neighborhood). In all fairness, it was Kristi's first chance to live with her new husband, who had been either deployed or stationed out of town until then, so we don't blame her. In any event, since everyone else still lives on the Hill, this year she asked if I would co-host by having the party at my place so that people wouldn't have to travel as far. No problem . . . but could I live up to the legend? Just kidding. I didn't have to live up to anything except a clean house, because Kristi still handled everything (she's a great co-host!). 

I did make some delicious mulled cider and shared my 4 holiday cookie cutters.

In past years, everyone would get a mound of unrolled dough, but this year, Kristi decided to roll out the dough in advance and store it in the fridge between parchment paper. She gets more advanced every year.

Erica brought this fancy-pants decorating sugar that I LOVED. I had to refrain from pouring it all over every single cookie.

Look at that smile on Laura's face! So fun right?

Until it turned into a cookie making sweat shop. Kristi may think twice about having it at my house next year.

Kirsten was churning them out like a pro.

Laurel made a sheriff's badge for her boyfriend Phil who likes to think he's in charge. (Not really, but looks like it, right?)

Suzanne brought the newest addition to their family, Beck, who was a perfect little angel the whole afternoon. He even assisted with some of the more detailed cookies.

Snowman on steroids?

Amy took a more minimalist approach (she's a doctor for goodness sake - they don't have time for frills).

Some beautiful finished products from the cookie party queen herself.

Since I didn't make these cookies, I don't have an official recipe to share, but I have picked up some pointers watching Kristi over the years. She starts with the "No Fail Sugar Cookies" recipe, which is praised by bakers across the internet (though I know she has also eyeballed the Alton Brown recipe, which is slightly different). Recipe is as follows for 4 to 5 dozen cookies:

This is a big batch, even for a standard Kitchenaid mixer. You may want to mix the dough in two halves.

6 cups flour
3 tsp. baking powder
2 cups butter
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract 
1 tsp. salt

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix well. Mix dry ingredients and add a little at a time to butter mixture. Mix until flour is completely incorporated and the dough comes together.

Put a handful of the freshly made dough between two sheets of parchment paper and roll to desired thickness. Repeat with the rest of the dough. Put the rolled dough, including the parchment paper, on a cookie sheet and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours.  

Immediately out of the fridge, cut dough into shapes with your favorite holiday cookie cutters (if the dough is sticking, it has gotten too warm; put it back in the fridge for a bit). For intricately shaped cookies or for dough that has gotten warm, place tray of cookie shapes back in the fridge before baking (otherwise your cookies will spread and lose their shape in the baking process). The key to success in every step is cold dough!

Bake on ungreased baking sheet at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes or until just beginning to turn brown around the edges. 

Icing: I'm not sure how Kristi prepares the icing. It's top secret. But the standard recipe for royal icing, the kind that will harden on your sugar cookies, is as follows (from Alton Brown):

3 large pasteurized egg whites

1 tsp. vanilla extract 

4 cups confectioners' sugar 

gel paste food coloring

Combine egg whites and vanilla with a mixer until frothy. Add confectioners sugar gradually and mix on low speed until sugar is incorporated and mixture is shiny. Turn speed up to high and beat until mixture forms stiff, gloss peaks (5 to 7 minutes). Add food coloring, if desired. Transfer icing to ziplock bags or closed tip pastry bags so that you can keep the icing from the air until ready for use (air will cause the icing to harden). Icing can be stored in refrigerator for up to 3 days. If using pastry bags, fold ends over tightly and store in airtight container. When ready for use, snip the corner and pipe onto cookies.

For thinner icing that will coat or "flood" the cookies more easily, add extra water to the icing before storing in pastry bag, or spread icing on cookies with a knife that has been dipped in water.

OR (if you're not cool with raw eggs or have pregnant ladies in attendance):

3 tbs. meringue powder

1 tsp. vanilla extract

4 cups confectioners sugar

6 tbs. warm water
gel food coloring

Using an electric mixer, beat the confectioners sugar and meringue powder until combined. Add water and beat on medium to high speed until very glossy and stiff peaks form (5 to 7 minutes). If necessary to get the right consistency, add more powdered sugar or water. Add food coloring and follow same storage directions as above.

Cookie Party v1.0 - Homemade Mint, Hazelnut & Vegan PB Oreos

As we've established, I'm a blogger now. Bloggers do weird things like be friends with each other even when they've never met. Weird, but also very sweet. As I learned this past weekend, Washington, D.C. has quite the cache of young, female bloggers who share a common interest in food, photography, healthy living, exercise and obsessive compulsive behavior (I kid . . . sortof). 

One such gal, Lisa, was very graciously opening her home to local bloggers for a cookie swap. My first thought: "That is so cool, I totally want to be a part of that! Gepetto, make me a real blogger!" My second thought: "Hold your horses, cowgirl, you don't know any of these people. Stick to what you know." I felt kind of like a weirdo inviting myself to a party at someone else's house where I wouldn't know another soul, buuuuuut, what the hell. I decided it would be good to get out and meet some new people.

I tried to explain the situation to a guy I work with, and it led to some second guessing:

       Katie: "Guys, I'm going to a party with other DC bloggers that I've never met to exchange cookies!"
       Co-worker: "Were you invited to this party?"
       K: "Not exactly."
       CW: "Do you know the host?"
       K: "Mmm, no."
       CW: "Are you going with some who knows the host?"
       K: "N-n-n-o-o." (Deflated voice; no more exclamation points.)
       CW: "Kathryn, will you know anyone at this party?"
       K: "No."
       CW: "I don't get it."
       K:  :(

And so, by the time the cookie party rolled around, I was feeling a little nervous. Maybe this really was a ridiculous idea. Plus I had caught cyberwind of what some of the other bloggers were making and was feeling inadequate. Originally, homemade oreos sounded so wonderful, but when I heard some of the fancy names of other cookies, oreos seemed kind of pedestrian. But at that point, I had all the ingredients for oreos plus two other events to prep for over the weekend. No time for changing plans.

Prepping for the party was kind of like getting ready for a first date. You don't know the person you're meeting, you want to make a good impression, you're crossing your fingers alcohol will be readily available and you try to plan for an easy exit in case it's a disaster. This, however, was a date with 20 other women. Way. More. Intense.

Fortunately, there was nothing intense about the situation at all. Everyone was amazingly nice and complimentary and funny. Most of the other people were in the same boat as me and didn't know any of the other guests. And it was really neat to talk to so many other bloggers.  

And the cookies, WHOA. Let's just say everyone brought their A game. I wish I had taken notes on who brought what, but see above re feelings of nervousness - I was not in a mental position to plan for note-taking. I do remember that Chase brought my absolute favorite kind of cookies, Italian pizelles (made without anise - not the traditional Italian method, but just the way I like them!). Clearly, we were instant friends.

Talk about crafty! These tree cookies were like little works of art.

I do remember that above and below were made by the host and co-host, Lisa and Emily. Both delish.

And for the record, my oreos were big hit (I think the pretty packaging helped). I served them at room temperature for the party, but these cookies are best eaten when frozen or thawed for 10 minutes or so (this also keeps the frosting from squishing out the sides when eaten).

*My apologies: I had originally posted the recipe for a very large batch of these wafer cookies, which makes a LOT of dough. More than my food processor can handle. Corrected measurements below.

Homemade Oreo Cookies

Makes 28-30 sandwich cookies

Chocolate wafers adapted from Smitten Kitchen's icebox cupcakes (vegan substitute ingredients in parens)

3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3/8 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (use dark cocoa if you can find it)

1/2 cup plus 1 tbs. sugar (v - vegan sugar)
1/8 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. baking soda
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, slightly softened (v - Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks or similar product)
4 tsp. milk (I used skim) (v - plain soy milk)
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
turbinado or demerara sugar for rolling (v - vegan sugar)

Combine flour, cocoa, sugar, salt and baking soda in a food processor and pulse until mixed. Cut butter into chunks and add to processor. Pulse until incorporated (it will look like little chocolate crumbs). Mix the milk and vanilla together in a small bowl and add to the processor while pulsing. Continue to pulse or run the processor until the mixture forms a ball (keep pulsing, it will happen).

Roll the ball out into a log around 14 inches long. Roll the log in turbinado or other large sugar crystals until coated. Wrap the log in wax paper or foil and refrigerate for an hour or so (longer is fine; I left mine overnight).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice log into 1/4 inch thick slices and place on a baking sheet. The cookies will spread, so do not place too closely together. Bake for 10-11 minutes. Cookies should get crispy as they cool. 


Frostings:

A foreword on frosting: I do not measure frosting ingredients (though I do my best to provide estimates for you). For add-ins like hazelnut and peanut butter, I just add until tasty. I do the same with the powdered sugar. More sugar here would probably serve the purpose of making the frosting very thick, like real oreo creme, but I prefer the taste with less sugar. Also, if you are working with an organic powdered sugar, you really must sift the sugar or put it through a mesh strainer before using (for some reason the organic kinds are clumpier).

Each recipe below is enough for one batch of wafer cookies from above.

Hazelnut (this was so outrageously yummy)
6 tbs. butter
3 tbs. cream cheese
1/3 cup hazelnut spread, such as Nutella
2 to 3 cups powered sugar
splash milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Mix butter and cream cheese with a hand mixer. Add Nutella, milk and vanilla; mix. Blend in powdered sugar slowly.

Mint
See recipe from Mint Oreo Cupcakes. Divide batch in half.

Vegan Peanut Butter
1/2 cup (1 stick) Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks
1/4 cup natural peanut butter (I like Smucker's because it is thicker than most brands)
2 to 3 cups powdered sugar
splash of soy milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Mix butter and peanut butter with a hand mixer. Add milk and vanilla; mix. Blend in powdered sugar slowly.

Assembly: Fill a quart sized ziplock bag with your frosting of choice and snip off 1/2 inch of the tip. Pipe generously onto one wafer cookie and top with a second wafer cookie. Serve after freezing or refrigerating.