Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies
April Fools’ Day is not quite over. I present to you these humongous chocolate chip cookies…
that are not quite exactly what they seem because…
there are OREOS inside of them!!!
If only all April Fools’ jokes could be this… sweet.
These cookies were not originally baked with the intention of fooling anybody. They were actually baked for a lab function where the theme was “Tastes From Around the World.” Everyone brought something from their home or adopted countries/states, like ice wine from Canada and home-made plum schnapps for Romania. Funny enough, out of a lab of 13 members, I am actually the only uni-lingual American-born citizen. To represent my home state and country, I brought wine from California and cookies that embody American excess (and propensity for obesity)- Oreo stuffed chocolate chip cookies!
They’re truly gigantic, but SO fun to make and eat. They are truly at their best when still slightly warm… dunked in a refreshing glass of milk!
Guinness Brownies
I have been holding out on you.
But not on purpose, I promise!
I baked these Guinness brownies at the end of 2010, and in the midst of the holiday craziness, visiting families on opposite coasts, getting engaged, and turning 29, I somehow forgot to post about these stout-y chocolate-y chocolate brownies.
But what better day to tell you about a dessert infused with Guinness than the day where we all celebrate as the Irish do and lift a (few) pint(s) to good ole Saint Paddy??
Lacey Chocolate Sandwich Cookies
Though Andreas and I don’t really make a big deal out of Valentine’s Day, we do try to do a little something special, whether it’s dinner together at our favorite sushi spot or bacon lettuce tomato sandwiches on a lunch date. This year I somehow managed to make Andreas’ ULTIMATE IDEAL COOKIE, almost completely by accident!
His ideal cookie is thin and shatteringly crispy, sweet with a hint of salty. This cookie is IT. I have to give a shout out to my cousin Emily, for bringing to my attention some lacey and florentine cookie recipes two weeks ago (Emily, I’m still not certain about the difference of the two, but I’m thinking a lacey cookie is any flat and crunchy cookie with high butter to low flour ratio, whereas a florentine is a type of lacey cookie that includes ground nuts). Because of the thin crispyness of these cookies, they seemed a perfect candidate to satisfy Andreas’ cookie wishes, so I found a recipe that incorporated a few more of Andreas’ other favorite ingredients: shredded coconut and oatmeal.
The cookies are light and so crispy on their own, slightly caramelly (that’s what happens when a good amount of butter melts into a good amount of sugar), with a bit of chew from the coconut and oatmeal. With melted chocolate chips spread between two cookies, they made excellent crispy cookie sandwiches!
Now that I’ve found the cookie that Andreas would DO ANYTHING FOR, I am having a hard time suppressing thoughts of all the ways I can use this to bribe him to do what I want and buy me lots of presents the next time I will reward him with his favorite cookie!
Chez Panisse Gingersnaps and Thomas Keller’s Oreos
Well, how quickly time flies (I guess I was having too much fun this month), I can’t believe it’s already Christmas Eve.
I’m in Virginia (which is as cold as Boston, boo) for Christmas, and since no holiday is complete without an EXCESSIVE amount of BUTTER, I brought an army of cookies with me: Chez Panisse Gingersnaps and Thomas Keller’s Oreos. It’s like bringing a bit of California to Virginia, wouldn’t you say?
This was my first time ever baking gingersnaps. I’ve never really been a fan of ginger-flavored cookies, even with all the gingerbread men and gingerbread house hype during the holidays; unlike others who perhaps have difficulties refraining from sampling the gingerbread men or houses they were supposed to be decorating, I’ve never had a problem.
These cookies are fantasticly tasty- warmly spiced with cinnamon, ginger, and molasses, and topped with crunchy raw sugar. The cooking time is customizable to your cookie texture preference- if you’re into less snappy gingersnaps, bake with a little less time, and if you’re into high snap factor, bake with more time. If you’re into the crispy sides and chewy middle.. well, I don’t think I managed to get that perfect balance THIS time (sorry Andreas), but I don’t doubt that you guys can figure it out.
Added bonus to a yummy spicy cookie? They make your kitchen smell like the HOLIDAYS.
Now these guys are less holiday-themed and more because I had been dying for an opportunity to bake them. Cookies that require rolling out, cutting, chilling, baking, cooling, AND filling are not baked on any random day in my kitchen- I’m gonna be honest, that’s quite a bit of work for a cookie just for myself. But given how well-received the chocolate-y chocolate World Peace Cookies have been with Andreas’ family the last two Christmases, I felt that they might enjoy Thomas Keller’s Homemade Oreos.
The secret to their awesomeness is in the white chocolate cream filling. You heard me. WHITE. CHOCOLATE. CREAM. FILLING. You will NEVER look at store-bought oreo filling the same. Believe me.
Sometimes “homemade” versions of store-bought goods sometimes lack the essence of the commercial counterpart (perhaps because we taste that first and forever define that food with the commercial flavor), I have to say, Thomas Keller’s Oreos pretty much TKO (technical knock out.. HAHA, get it??) store oreos’ butts! Although this isn’t the best chocolate cookie recipe I’ve had (for that, see here), but the combination of the crispy and slightly bitter chocolate cookie with the creamy and buttery white chocolate filling is the epitome of the old adage “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”
I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!
Hazelnut Milk Chocolate Panna Cotta
It was the summer of panna cottas; after having made my first a little over 2 months ago (and becoming instantly smitten with its creamy, dairy goodness), I suddenly seemed to find panna cottas everywhere I turned- on every restaurant dessert menu and prevalent in the food blogosphere. It’s like when I finally learned what siRNAs were (light-years after my biological-science-inclined peers), and suddenly, they were the answer to 90% of every quiz question in our paper-reading class my first year of graduate school. Panna cotta is the answer to my dessert cravings!
This panna cotta seems quite decadent, being richer and sweeter than my first, due to a healthy dose of Nutella and chocolate, but thankfully it is not OVERLY sweet and you don’t feel like you have to run 10 miles or restrict yourself to salads for a week after eating this. This recipe requires less gelatin, which results in a softer, more pudding-like consistency, but next time I would increase the gelatin a bit. Also, I highly recommend sprinkling toasted hazelnuts on top for a nice crunch with the creamy panna cotta.
Salted Caramel Brownies
There are some baked goodies that I am just too scared to be alone with in my apartment. Like this one. Because the odds are, I will be eating the whole batch myself. Straight from the pan. In 48 hours or less.
And I don’t even really like chocolate. I know, I’m weird. But it’s just that when it comes to desserts, 3 times out of 4, I will pick the fruit-based over the chocolate. Except if the dessert was THIS. Super-rich and chocolate-y brownies. Smothered in sweet sweet caramel, which would almost be TOO sweet if it weren’t for a generous pinch of salt that pulls the whole brownie out of the “ho hum, I’ve had one of these before” category and into the realm of “OMG HAND ME ANOTHER BEFORE I HURT SOMEONE!!!”
So when my lab planned a BBQ and I offered to bring a dessert… I knew I would be saving myself the guilt by getting my lab to eat the other 15 slices. Muahaha, suckers.
Tiramisu
This weekend was a special somone’s birthday.
I hope he doesn’t kill me for posting this picture for the 5 people that read this blog to see, but I just couldn’t resist… I mean, omg, how freaking cute was he??!!!
Though he’s not into big birthday hoopla, I wanted to cook him a nice dinner (to be posted shortly) and for dessert, we enjoyed this tiramisu.
I apologize for the extreme unphotogenic-ness of my tiramisu.. it is partly because I had tried to cut a circular slice of tiramisu (I thought it would look super cool) and failed, and partly because creamy layers of soft coffee-soaked cake and whipped mascarpone just don’t hold an independent shape, it’s like some law in physics. But don’t let the unappetizing pictures fool you… this tiramisu was freaking awesome.
I was never been a big fan of tiramisu. When I was younger, I just didn’t get it… mushy cake made soggy by bitter coffee smothered in some fluffy stuff with a slightly sour alcoholic aftertaste? No thank you, please pass me a REAL dessert! (A slice of cheesecake and a slice of apple pie, perhaps?) Maybe the tiramisus of my childhood were not great anyway, or maybe it was because I hadn’t yet developed the appreciation for coffee and alcohol (which I have since probably over-developed)… It wasn’t until my dad made tiramisu at home over the holidays that I came to realize how heavenly tiramisu really is. It is a rather soft and subtle dessert: the deep coffee/espresso flavors are tempered by a generous amount of mild mascarpone, whipped until oh-so-light and airy, the slight bitterness of the cocoa and liqueur delicately accents the coffee just so that you remember it is there, and the whole experience is like eating a dream. A really really good one. Like the ones where you are flying or where you win a bazillion dollars and don’t have to be in grad school anymore.
Tiramisu (without raw eggs)
adapted from America’s Test Kitchen, November 2007
The original recipe makes enough tiramisu for a 9x13 inch baking dish, and though I was really tempted to just make the whole thing, I sternly reminded myself that there were only TWO of us in this apartment and halved the recipe for the sake of some sense of portion control.
1 1/4 cup strong black coffee
1 1/2 tablespoons instant espresso powder (I used 1 shot espresso)
4 tablespoons dark rum (or brandy or other alcoholic liqueur; I used Baileys)
3 large egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
12 ounces mascarpone cheese
1/6 cup cream (for adding to yolks)
1/2 cup cold heavy cream (for whipping)
7 ounces lady fingers
3 tablespoons cocoa
1/4 cup semisweet or bittersweet chocolate (optional)
- Stir coffee, espresso, and 2 tablespoons of rum (Baileys) in wide bowl or baking dish; set aside.
- In a heat-proof bowl or bowl of a standing mixer, beat yolks at low speed until just combined. Add sugar and salt and beat at medium-high speed until pale yellow, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, scraping down the bowl with a spatula a few times. Add 1/6 cup cream to yolks and beat until just combined, 20-30 seconds; scrape bowl with spatula. Set bowl with yolks over medium saucepan containing 1 inch of gently simmering water. Cook, while constantly scraping along bottom and sides of bowl with a heatproof rubber spatula, until the mixture coats the back of a spoon and registers 160 degrees, about 4-7 minutes. Remove from heat and stir vigorously to cool slightly, then set aside to cool at room temperature, about 15 minutes. Whisk in remaining 2 tablespoons rum (Baileys), then add mascarpone, and beat at medium speed until no lumps remain, 30-45 seconds. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, beat 1/2 cup cream at medium speed until frothy, 1-1 1/2 minutes. Increase speed to high and continue to beat until cream holds stiff peaks, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes longer. Using a rubber spatula, fold 1/3 of the whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture to lighten, then gently fold in remaining whipped cream until no white streaks remain.
- Prepare the ladyfingers by dropping a few into the coffee mixture at a time, rolling them to coat and then remove; the whole soaking process should not take more than 2-3 seconds to prevent over-soaking the cookie. Transfer to a 9x9 inch baking dish. Arrange soaked cookies in single layer in the baking dish, breaking or trimming ladyfingers as needed to fit neatly.
- Spread 1/2 of mascarpone mixture over ladyfingers; use spatula to spread mixture to the sides and into the corners of the dish and smooth the surface. Place 2 tablespoons cocoa into a fine-mesh strainer and dust cocoa over the mascarpone.
- Repeat dipping and arranging ladyfingers for the 2nd layer; spread remaining mascarpone mixture over the ladyfingers and dust with remaining 1 tablespoon cocoa. Cover with plastic wrap and refridgerate (or freeze?) 6-24 hours. Sprinkle with grated chocolate, if using; cut into pieces and serve chilled.
Chocolate Stout Cupcakes
Have you ever wondered what an Irish Car Bomb would taste like… baked??
Well, I actually had never wondered.. until I saw this recipe.. and then I DID wonder.. and then I baked them.. and yes, this is it. It all begins with a surprisingly light and tender cupcake: slightly chocolate-y, but not too sweet, thanks to the wonderfully deep flavor of the Guinness Stout. The decadent sweetness comes from a generous dollop of chocolate ganache (hello chocolate and cream!) hidden in the middle of the cupcake (surprise!). And to bring it to the “car bomb” level, the cupcake is topped with Baileys Irish Cream flavored frosting. All the benefits of the chocolate, coffee, and creamy vanilla flavors- without the hangover.
There was a good reason for baking up these cupcakes (besides the fact that it was finally Friday)- a fellow grad student in my lab was celebrating her 25th birthday. What better way to celebrate than with these extravagant cupcakes?
Btw, did you know there was such a thing as a frosting gun to help frost your cupcakes?! Obviously I do not own one, as you can see by my sad frosting technique. I had no idea until a friend had a small pre-birthday party cupcake-baking party (this seems to be a recurring theme.. cupcakes.. birthdays…), and one of the girls had her very own. What will they think of next?! An automatic sprinkle-ing doodad??
Chocolate Stout Cupcakes
from Smitten Kitchen
makes 20-24 cupcakes
1 cup stout (such as Guinness)
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sour cream (I substituted greek yogurt)
Ganache Filling
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter (room temperature)
1-2 teaspoons Irish whiskey (optional- I omitted this)
Baileys Frosting
3-4 cups confections sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter (room temperature)
3 tablespoons Baileys (or milk, or heavy cream)
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a regular muffin tin with cupcake liners.
- Bring 1 cup stout and 1 cup butter to simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and whisk until smooth. Let cool for 5-10 minutes.
- Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. In another bowl, beat eggs and sour cream with an electric mixer until blended. Add the stout-chocolate mixture to the egg mixture, and beat to just combine. Add the flour mixture and beat briefly until just combined.
- Divide batter among cupcake liners, filling each 2/3 or 3/4 full. Bake about 17-20 minutes, until a tester (toothpick) inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean.
- Cool cupcakes completely.
Filling the cupcakes:
- Make the filling: Chop the chocolate and transfer it to a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream in a small saucepan until simmering. Pour the cream over the chocolate, let sit for one minute, then stir until smooth. Add the butter and whisk together until smooth.
- Let the ganache cool until thick, about 20 minutes. Using a 1 inch round cookie cutter or apple corer, cut the center out of the cooled cupcakes. (I didn’t have either, so I just used a small sharp paring knife.) Don’t cut through the bottom, just about 2/3 of the way. Put ganache into a piping bag with a wide tip (or a plastic bag with about 1/2 inch corner cut off) to fill the hole in each cupcake to the top.
Frosting:
- Whip the butter in a small bowl for several minutes, until very light and fluffy. Slowly add the powdered sugar, about 1/4-1/2 cup at a time. When the frosting looks thick enough to spread, drizzle in the Baileys and whip until combined. (3 tablespoons of Bailey’s was pretty strong.. next time I might restrain myself and only use 2..)
- Decorate the cupcakes using a piping bag, frosting gun, or butter knife.
Storage:
The cupcakes can be well wrapped and frozen (either filled or unfilled) for a week or two. I filled mine and stored them in the fridge overnight. I also made the frosting and stored it covered in the fridge overnight… only to find that in the morning, the frosting was too hard to spread! I let it warm to room temperature and beat it with an electric mixer for a bit to get back to a spreadable consistency.
Peanut Butter Krispy Bars
If a rice krispy treat and a peanut butter cup were to cross the line that divides candy and dessert and have a torrid love affair, THIS would be their decadent lovechild. Rich creamy peanut butter topped with dark chocolate icing, all on top of puffy crispyness, a.k.a. awesome topped with awesome, all on top of awesomeness. I’m just sayin.
Yes, I admit, not so talented with a knife or straight lines.
I highly suggest that you make these… NOW… and share them with your friends… or your boyfriend… and then they will owe you BIG TIME… or love you forever… :)
Peanut Butter Krispy Bars
adapted from smitten kitchen, from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking
The original posted recipe called for an 8 inch square baking pan, but I only have a 9 inch, so I increased all the quantities a bit because I was afraid there wouldn’t be enough in each layer (and we wouldn’t want that, now would we?).
Crispy crust
2 1/4 cups of crisped rice cereal
1/4 cup sugar
4 tablespoons light corn syrup
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/3 cup water
Milk chocolate peanut butter layer
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (the recipe recommends milk chocolate, but I only had semi-sweet)
1 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
Dark chocolate icing
5 ounces dark chocolate (60-72% cocoa), coarsely chopped
3/4 teaspoon light corn syrup
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
pinch of salt
- For the crispy crust: Spray a 9 inch square baking pan. Put the cereal in a large bowl and set aside. In a small saucepan, pour water and add sugar and corn syrup. Heat over medium high heat and bring to a boil. The recipe says to “cook until the mixture reaches the soft ball stage, 235 degrees F.” (see note below). Remove from heat, stir in the butter, and pour the mixture over the cereal and stir until the cereal is fully coated. Press the mixture into the bottom of the baking pan in a flat layer. Let the crust cool to room temperature while you prepare the peanut butter layer.
- For the milk chocolate peanut butter layer: In a nonreactive metal or glass bowl stir together chocolate and peanut butter. Set bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and cook, constantly stirring with a rubber spatula, until the mixture is smooth. Remove the bowl from heat and cool slightly by stirring for about 30 seconds. Pour the mixture over the cooled crust, spreading evenly, and place in the fridge for an hour until hardened.
- For the chocolate icing: In a nonreactive metal or glass bowl, combine the chocolate, corn syrup, butter, and salt. Set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and cook, constantly stirring with a rubber spatula, until the mixture is smooth. Remove the bowl from the pan and stir for 30 seconds to cool slightly. Pour the mixture over the chilled peanut butter layer and spread by rolling around the pan until it fully coated into an even layer. Put the pan into the fridge for 1 hour.
- Cut into 9, 16, or in my case, 36 square pieces. The bars can be stored in the fridge.
Note: Since I do not own a candy thermometer (and couldn’t approximate with our meat thermometer because I had misplaced it) and have no idea what “soft ball stage” means, I just boiled for about 5 minutes and the mixture became a bit thicker. According to the internet, “soft ball stage” means when you drop a little of the syrup into ice water it will form a soft ball. Basically, as the sugar mixture increases in temperature, the water will boil off and the sugar concentration will increase. The final texture of candy is a function of the sugar concentration: “soft ball” (235 F) is the sugar concentration ideal for fudge-y consistency, “hard crack” (300 F) is for toffee-like consistency, and “brown liquid” (338 F) is caramel.
