Marshmallow Chocolate Cookies

For the second year in a row, I participated in the Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap and for the second year in a row, it was well worth the anticipation, excitement and thrill to receive (and send) three dozen cookies.  This year did not disappoint.  I received some beautiful Sand Tarts from Spinach Tiger, some delicious peanut butter cookies with chocolate chips (a solid combination if I may say so) from Munching in the Mitten, and a batch of Maple Oatmeal cookies from Kristie at Kristie's Creative Touch -- these were practically breakfast for me for two days.   And the best part was that the Cookie Swap raised over $13,000 for Cookies for Kids' Cancer.  

When looking for a recipe for this year's swap, I knew it had to include chocolate (because I would be sampling the cookie and cookies with chocolate are my favorite) but also easy enough to make in a small oven, with a batter hearty enough to last through several batches and a recipe that would require minimal math.  I stumbled upon this recipe from Real Simple and, although mine look nothing like theirs (where did my marshmallows go??), they were still quite tasty and chewy (probably thanks to the disappearing marshmallows).  The melted marshmallows created an almost caramelized texture around the edges that, when removed (because they weren't the prettiest) were a delicious reward.

I sent these cookies to Quyen, Karla and Mary Ellen who, I hope, received them prior to leaving for their Thanksgiving travels (poor planning on my part) and was able to enjoy them amidst all the holiday madness of a shorter-than-normal-length-of-time between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  

Marshmallow Chocolate Cookies
Adapted from Real Simple

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

24 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup sugar

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups mini marshmallows

Heat oven to 350° F. Line several (or as many as you have) baking sheets with parchment. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside. In a microwave-safe bowl, combine the butter and half the chocolate. Microwave on high in 20-30 second increments until melted, stirring between until smooth; let cool slightly. Whisk the sugar, eggs, and vanilla into the chocolate mixture until smooth. Add the flour mixture and mix until just combined. Fold in the marshmallows and the remaining chocolate chips.  Let cool for 15 minutes. Drop tablespoon-sized mounds 2 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheets, keeping in mind they will spread. Bake 12 minutes, rotating the baking sheets halfway through.  Cookies should be firm around the edges.  IMPORTANT - Let cool nearly completely on the baking sheets before moving them or they will fall apart.  They can cool completely on wire racks.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I awoke, early on Sunday morning, to the click-click-clicking of our heat turning on and the sssshhhhhhhhh of the steam going through the pipes.  I immediately snuggled a little more under the covers and let out a contented sigh only to realize that I had dislodged Newt from his spot on the bed.  He would subsequently meow in our faces for the next 45 minutes until he finally went back to sleep.  He's lucky he's so handsome.

Thus starts the season of coziness.  I immediately want to cook and bake anything that requires me to turn on my oven and wear my adorable oven mitts.  These mitts usually hang dormant in the warmer months because my little oven that can just barely hold a 9 x 13 inch casserole dish is actually a larger-than-normal space heater.  And you don't want to run that on days that are even slightly humid and over 72-degrees unless you plan on running your air conditioner as well (hello, energy costs).  

Cooking, and general day-to-day living, in NYC is all about balancing wants and needs, it seems. You get the apartment on the fifth floor of a walk up because you want the more-desired location.  You take the longer, local train to work but at least you can sit down and finish that book you've been lugging around for three weeks.  You have that third cookie because you just went down to the basement to change a load of clothes only to realize you left the detergent which means you have to go back up the stairs an extra, unanticipated time and therefore deserve it.  Just like Newt, this city is lucky it's so handsome. 

Another New York-city centered blogger that I enjoy following is Sydney from Crepes of Wrath.  Not only does Sydney seem to appreciate good food and restaurants as we do (and recaps her adventures with each post), but I adore her literature inspired blog name (being the English major that I am). Now that is how you name a blog.  (Not 'Bless your Tart' - which was my initial idea and now seems to be a good example of what not to do.)  Sydney, according to Anderson Cooper, has the best chocolate chip cookie recipe around.  Naturally, I had to make them.  

And the silver fox was right -- these are delicious and perfect with your first cup of coffee in the morning or your warm cup of tea at night or your Big Gulp of Diet Coke in the middle of the day.  I've had them in all instances and can't say I have a favorite setting -- just make these as soon as it is cool enough to turn on your oven.  Or, don't wait and find the balance of oven heat and counter-effective air conditioning.  The checks and balance system applies just as easily to ConEdison bills as it does to other life moments.  

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Adapted (barely) from Crepes of Wrath

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup butter, melted

1 egg

1 egg yolk

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups chocolate, roughly chopped (I used a mix of semi-sweet chips (unchopped) and a dark chocolate bar chopped up.  The use of chopped bar chocolate creates all the chocolate flecks you see in the finished product as well as the larger-than-chips bites you get throughout.)

Optional - sea salt, for sprinkling

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahreinheit.  In a mixing bowl, beat your butter and both sugars.  Add in the whole egg and mix until combined.  Add the egg yolk and mix until combined.  Add the vanilla extract and mix until combined.  In a separate bowl, mix your flour, baking soda and salt.  In equal parts, add it to the sugar mixture until just combined.  Be sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.  Fold in your chocolate.  Line baking sheets with parchment. Scoop out about 2 tablespoons worth of dough into balls and place on your sheet.  Sprinkle with sea salt if using.  Bake for about 12-15 minutes until just lightly golden and set.  Cool on the sheets for a few minutes before removing.  

According to Sydney, these keep well in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week, or frozen for up to 3 months.  Be sure to thaw them before you eat them!

Pretzel and Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies

Raise your hands if you watch the show Girls on HBO.  Both of my hands are emphatically raised right now (Newt is dictating) because not only do I watch the show -- I adore the show.  I know a lot of people don't like it.  Maybe it's because it presents the truth like a slap in the face and that could be hard for some people.  

You may have seen Lena Dunham stumbling around in her heels accepting Golden Globes recently (at least I can walk in heels better than she can although she's still beating me in the winning-Golden Globes category).  The first season was magical and, although this second season has had some hit and miss moments, I still find it strikingly relevant.  

It's one of those shows that if I were more brave, I would watch with my mother or father and be like "This is the truth.  Ignore all the white noise of nudity and profanity one encounters during each episode and know that I felt (let's be honest -- still regularly feel) this way."  But I am still not comfortable enough to watch nudity on TV with my parents.  But that's an issue for another day. 

In the meantime, order HBO.  Or, 'borrow' someone's HBO Go password (thanks Mr. and Mrs. Samuel!) and watch it.  There's only ten episodes to a season.  Each episode is 30 minutes and there has only been one full season.  We are through the sixth episode of the second season.  Catch up!  You can do it!

In a recent episode, there is a scene where the main character Hannah is interviewing for a job.  There is a picture frame on a wall with nothing in it and written on the wall outside of the frame are the words "Where the magic happens."  In a comical exchange, we learn that the picture frame represents one's 'comfort zone' and the 'magic happens' outside of said comfort zone. Although this may not seem like the most clever situation ever written within a TV series, it is an example of how the show reinvents old-fashioned cliches into charming coming-of-age themes for the ubiquitous generations X and Y.   

Some may see this scene and apply it to their jobs or their goals in life.  Hannah used it as an excuse to do cocaine for the first time.  I apply the scene to cookies.  In a blog of standard cakes and brownies, I am going to go outside that picture frame and experience the magic by pushing the envelope on what constitutes a classic chocolate chip cookie.  With pretzels and butterscotch.  BOOM.

Pretzel and Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies

Adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction

2 cups + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 cup salted butter, softened

1 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg, at room temperature

1 egg yolk, at room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup chopped pretzels

1/2 cup butterscotch chips

1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325F degrees.

Mix your flour and baking soda in a bowl and set aside. Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugars together. Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and mix well. Gradually add the flour mixture and stir until a dough forms.  Fold in the pretzels, butterscotch chips, and chocolate chips.*  Do not overmix the dough.

Chill dough for at least 30 minutes (or up to 5 days) in the refrigerator.  Drop by tablespoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 8-12 minutes or until edges are slightly browned.  Mine took around 12 minute range but I was luxuriating in a bigger kitchen at the time with a bigger oven.

*This is a great recipe to make with a child.  I tackled it with my nephew John and he loved chopping the pretzels and adding in all the chips and pretzels.  Use a ¼ cup measuring cup to make the ½ cup pours twice as time consuming.  

Peanut Butter Fudge Oat Cookies

This year, I joined in the 2012 Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap where I received the names and addresses of three fellow food bloggers and shipped each of them a dozen cookies.  In return, I got a dozen cookies from three other food bloggers that had received my name.  

The hardest part of the entire process was deciding what to bake.  I think the cookie you choose says a lot about you and so I wanted it to be somewhat creative (I didn’t think plain sugar cookie was the way to go here) but comforting enough to where folks wouldn’t be disappointed (I also didn’t think fancy schmancy was the best option here).  I settled on these peanut butter fudge oat cookies. 

My reasons were three-fold (Friends reference, “The One with Chandler in a Box”):

• These cookies made enough for my three recipients and then some.  The ‘some’ I ate.  ie, I could not mess these up by faulty math.  And I’m one of those people that gives gifts that I want.
• They seemed pretty viable. They were soft enough to give a little should they get bumped on their journey but not so soft that they fell apart.  At least this was my theory and those who received them hopefully did not have a box of sticky, peanut buttery oat crumbs?
• I was confident in the ingredients.  Who wouldn’t like the combination of peanut butter, oats and fudge?

The recipe made a ton of fudge so next time I may even put more fudge on each cookie before baking them instead of standing over the pot with pretzel rods, apple slices, a straw, etc. in an effort to not waste the glorious fudge.   

I sent a batch of these to Sarah of My Little Red Mixer, Tara of Saucy Mouth and Kate of Food Lust. 

Here are the cookies I received (and enjoyed thoroughly):

• Chocolate Gingerbread Men* from A Frosted Kitchen – obviously Sarah takes pride in impeccable decoration without sacrificing necessities like good taste and texture. 
• Yummy Fruit & Oat Bars* from love.life.eat – Felicia's note said that she got these from Thomas Keller’s new cookbook.  This fact set an incredible standard.  Dropping a TK bomb sets a certain tone for sure.  BOOM! 
• Biscotti* from Slim Pickin’s Kitchen - The Biscotti was great.  But to top it off Amber included a little bag of Chai tea!  Stop. It.  She clearly goes the extra mile and realizes details matter. 

The anticipation of seeing a box shaped like a possible cookie container, coupled with the yumminess that inevitably arrives at your doorstep, makes me want to do a quarterly cookie swap.  I think every change in season warrants an event such as this one.  Who’s in?

*Note, I may not be calling these cookies the correct name so head over to their blog to get the full story, legal name and recipes.  For instance, TK would never use the word ‘yummy’ in the name of one of his dishes.  He’s to sophisticated.

Peanut Butter Fudge Oat Cookies

Adapted from TheKitchn

1/2 cup butter, very soft

1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter

1 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

3 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

4 1/2 cups oats (I actually used a mix of old-fashioned and quick)

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet)

One 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk

Preheat oven to 350°F and line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper.  In a large bowl, mix the butter, peanut butter, and sugars. Mix in eggs and vanilla. Add the oats, baking soda, and salt, and mix thoroughly. Refrigerate the dough. 

Begin preparing the fudge topping by mixing chocolate chips and condensed milk in a saucepan.  Turn the burner on low and, stirring frequently, warm the chocolate until it is completely melted and evenly mixed.  Keep the burner on simmer and keep a spoon handy as you may need to restir the chocolate before topping the cookies.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and, using a cookie scoop (or else your hands will be a gooey mess), drop wanut-sized balls onto the cookie sheet.  Press each ball semi-flat and top with a dollop of the chocolate mixture.  Bake the cookies for 10 – 12 minutes or until just golden around the edges. Let the cookies firm up a bit then transfer the parchment sheets to wire racks before completely cooling. 

Sugar and Spice Cookies

In this world of texts and emails sent on an hourly basis, it is rare that one produces such an emotional response as to leave me breathless (cue The Corrs).  However, on November 1st a little after 3 am I got the following text from my brother "Adrienne Joy.  Born November 1 at 1:58 am. 7 pounds 3 ounces."  That was all he said.  My brother is a man of few words (which is probably why he was the less troublesome child) but those eight words and six numbers were enough to keep me up the rest of the night.  I had a niece!  I cannot wait to be a part of her life and to teach her all the wonderful things that aunts teach their nieces like the love of cats (Aunt Linda), the female family members' tradition of Duke (Aunt Peg), the benefits that come with a great sense of humor (Aunt Sherri), and the sophistication of red nail polish (Aunt Molly).  

I got to meet her for the first time over Thanksgiving and I think we really made a connection.  She has a ton of hair and is quite the little squirmy bug.  She sleeps a lot and looks absolutely beautiful in pink.  She also sleeps just like her big brother did with her arms straight up over her head.  We are still waiting to see if she inherited the family dimples.  And her aunt's sharp wit.

In honor of her birth, I made these Sugar and Spice Cookies.  They were incredibly easy to make and since I was unable to meet her until nearly three weeks after she was born, I wanted the record to show that I did something in honor of her on the day she was born.  I then shared them with friends while Robbie shared them with his coworkers with the payoff that they had to share in our enchantment with her pictures.  Happy 1 month little Adrienne!  

Sugar and Spice Cookies

Adapted from King Arthur Flour

3/4 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon 

3/4 teaspoon allspice

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 large egg

2 cups whole wheat flour

In a bowl, beat butter, sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, allspice and ginger together until smooth.  Add the maple syrup and beat until incorporated.  Add the egg, mixing until incorporated.  Mix in the flour.  Place the bowl in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or up to overnight.  When ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.  Prepare a couple of baking sheets with parchment paper.  Drop the dough by the teaspoonfuls onto your prepared baking sheet.  Bake for 10 to 11 minutes until the edges are golden.  Transfer to a rack to cool.  When baking in batches, keep extra dough in the refrigerator until you are ready to bake it.  

Halloween Sugar Cookies

I always liked Rizzo better.  “There Are Worse Things I Could Do” was so much more heart-wrenching than “Hopelessly Devoted” and, let’s be honest, not everyone could make a short, punkish, curly hairdo coordinate perfectly with a satin pink jacket.

Robbie and I made it through this week's Hurricane Sandy just fine although I can’t say the same for others in the area.  We were very lucky in our neighborhood and just had a lot of debris, wind and rain.  There were a few crashes and car alarms throughout the worst of it but I will take that over loss of power or worse circumstances any day.

I spent all weekend following the weather and trying to figure out how much I needed to prepare.  I ended up filling the bathtub with water. (To refill the toilet, not to drink, as most locals thought.  Bless their hearts.) I started saving my Big Gulp cups and filled those with water to drink.  We bought some non-perishables, stocked up on toilet paper and then waited for the storm.  I didn’t buy extra batteries and I didn’t tape any windows and I went with the assumption that I could use Newt as a flotation device.  We made it through Irene without any drama so I figured this would be the same.

But now, as I am approaching day three of working from home and have had a trip to North Carolina this weekend cancelled by US Airways, I am realizing how crazy it is out there.  Since yesterday morning, I have been watching 24-hour news and am stunned by the damage.  But as one news anchor alluded, this is New York.  A city of 8 million people who put up with grittiness on a daily basis and no matter what you throw at it, its inhabitants seem to build each other up.  We won’t make eye contact on the subway but if someone needs help, there will be a donation made to city relief, a warm shower provided or some bright sweets to welcome neighbors home the day before Halloween.

Halloween Sugar Cookies

Adapted from My Recipes 

1 stick of butter, softened

1 ½ cups sugar

1 large egg

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 cups all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon lemon zest

1/2-1 teaspoon lemon juice

Yellow gel food coloring

Red gel good coloring

Slice butter into several slices once softened.  Beat butter and sugar together with an electric mixer until fluffy – about two minutes.  Beat in egg and vanilla.  In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt and lemon zest.  Gradually mix the flour, salt and lemon zest mixture into the butter mixture until well combined.  Squeeze the lemon juice into the bowl and continue to mix. 

Divide the mixture into thirds.  Place 1/3 of the dough into the bottom of a 9x5 inch loaf pan and press with your fingers until evenly spread across the bottom.  For the remaining 2/3s, mix yellow gel food coloring until the dough is a bright yellow.  Take half of that and place in the loaf pan, patting down on top of the white dough.  For the final 1/3 that is now bright yellow, add red food coloring until it is a bright orange.  Pat that into the loaf pan on top of the other two colors.  Refrigerate for two hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degree Fahreinheit.  Turn dough out onto a work surface and slice off about ¾’s of an inch like you are slicing a piece of bread.  Cut the slice into triangles.  Repeat with the remaining dough and place on a parchment or foil-lined cookie sheet.  Bake 7-8 minutes until slightly hard.  They will continue to cook once taken out of the oven.  Cool on a wire rack.     

Peanut Butter Cookies

Last week, Robbie scoured Manhattan for an apartment that we will call home in less than two weeks. In the midst of a very hectic time for him, he did this for us. And I am eternally grateful.

He has dealt with my requirements and gently explained that most of my deal-breakers don’t exist (central air, a built in shoe rack, etc.) and that we should really focus on logistics (is there laundry nearby, does it allow diabetic cats, etc.). His patience is commendable and there is a blessing in disguise that he is doing this without me. He will not have to deal with me over-analyzing every place we see and he is more of a city boy than I am a city girl so knows when a place is good and when it is not. I tend to get distracted by charming details that may be a nuisance in the end, ie, I love that there is a roman column in the middle of the living room – that will add such character to the place!

Nevertheless this is a very exciting next step for us. After celebrating the fact that we will be living in the same city for the first time since 2008, we are now celebrating finding our own place. In this place we will greet each other after long days at work, relax on Sunday afternoons with NFL football (pending lockout), bring our first Christmas tree home (even if it is 12 inches tall), watch our first New York snowfall, complain about our sixteenth New York snow fall, watch hours of Duke basketball, enjoy the Spring thawing the city undergoes and anticipate the heating up of the summer months until we can celebrate our one-year-together-in-an-apartment anniversary.

In this home I will also make meals and meals and meals. And cookies and cookies and cookies. Especially these peanut butter ones which will make me think of Newton and my nephew John. When he was 1 week old I made his parents a batch of these cookies. Ironically, when I asked him recently what type of cookie he would like for me to make he requested “the brown peanut butter ones!” I like to think I’m the one that turned him on to these just like I’ll be the one to turn him on to the wonders of NYC.

Peanut Butter Cookies
Adapted from the Bon Appetit Cookbook

3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup creamy peanut butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line several baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Using a mixer, beat the butter, peanut butter and vanilla in a larger bowl until well blended. Beat in both sugars, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Stir in half of the flour mixture and add an egg until incorporated. Add the second egg and blend before adding the remainder of the flour. Roll 1 heaping tablespoonful of dough into uniform balls. Arrange them on baking sheets and use the back of a fork to flatten the balls and form the crosshatch design. Bake until dry on top, about 14 minutes. Cook cookies on the sheets for 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. If the cookies are hard the next day, heat them up for 12 seconds. Makes about 48 cookies.

Sugar Cookies

Mom. The sound of that word brings an immediate release of stress to my life. If mom is around, I know things are going to be ok. If mom is on the phone, I know whatever problem I have will be worked out. If mom is ok, then I am ok.

I made my mom these sugar cookies – classic, sophisticated and comforting. Just like Mom. My mom is a retired teacher and guidance counselor who now does full-time counseling for a living. Yet she always has time to teach and counsel me and for that I am eternally grateful. She’s the shoulder I lean on after a bad day, the first person I call when I’m off of work for the evening, and my first lifeline I turn to if I need some advice.

To all you mothers out there – thanks for all you have done, continue to do, and will do for the livelihood of your kids. Thanks also for the many things you forbid us from doing and will discourage us from doing in the future because odds are, you know what’s best for us. And thanks for being there when we don’t heed your advice and have something broken, hurt, or lost due to our ‘independence.’

A plate of sugar cookies may not mean much but I imagine no gift in this world could represent the gratitude kids have for their mothers. I know it doesn’t in my case. So I just thank God for her every day.

I love you Mom. Thanks for always being my biggest fan.

Sugar Cookies
Adapted from Charlotte Cooks Again (I halved the original recipe amounts and played with my ration of sugar to powdered sugar due to a shortage of the former.)

1 stick butter
¼ cup sugar
¾ cup powdered sugar
1 well beaten egg
½ tsp. salt
½ cup oil
½ tsp. vanilla
2 cups + 2 tablespoons flour
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp cream of tartar

turbinado, sprinkles or colored sugar for sprinkling

Cream butter and both sugars. Add eggs and salt – mix well. Add the oil and vanilla. Mix well. Sift the flour, baking soda soda and cream of tartar and add to first mixture. Mix well. Drop teaspoons of dough on an ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten with either a glass or the back of a spoon. Sprinkle with colored sugar or, as I did, with turbinado sugar. Cook for about 11 minutes in a 350 degree oven. This recipe made about 3 dozen cookies.

M & M's Cookies

On this beautiful, 68-degree, perfectly-breezy day, I spent six hours inside watching basketball and related basketball commentary. On any other weekend (except the next three), this would be considered a waste. But not during March Madness. Not during the ACC Tournament. Not when my beloved Blue Devils managed to beat up on a team that beat them two weeks ago. And not when the outcome of today's games could create a replay of the biggest rivalry in college hoops for tomorrow's championship game.

I also do not consider this perfect day a waste because I whipped out a delicious batch of these cookies to further show my support for my team. I was thrilled when Mars added the blue M & M for obvious reasons and pay homage to that color here. Go ahead, chalk up an exorbitant amount of money for a lot of appropriately-colored-chocolate-coated candies so you can show your allegiance to your team too.

And let's hope this time tomorrow, as I watch Selection Sunday, Duke is the #1 seed in Charlotte and the Heels are somewhere far, far away . . . (Either way, please disregard the cookie crumbs on my bracket.)

M & M's Cookies

Adapted from A Patchwork of Recipes: Beth Eden Lutheran Church Cookbook (the Burgundy one)

Makes about 3 dozen cookies

1 cup shortening

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 cups Duke blue M & M's (or an appropriate color of your choice)

1 cup dark brown sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 1/4 cup plain flour

1 teaspoon salt

Mix shortening and plain sugar. Beat in vanilla and eggs. Sift flour, baking soda and salt together. Mix the sifted mixture and the brown sugar into the liquids. Mix well. Stir in M & M's. Using a teaspoon, drop them onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes. (Mine actually took about nine minutes.) Cool on rack before removing from the sheet.

Momofuku Milk Bar Compost Bars

Well it was bound to happen one of these days. I've been at this cooking blog thing for almost a year (anniversary is soon!) and I had my first failed recipe attempt. I hate to fail. In fact, if you know me at all, you quickly pick up on my self-deprecating humor that I inevitably fall back on in social settings which, at the core, suggests that I set the standard pretty low so when I exceed it, everyone around me will be impressed and I will not have - you know - failed anyone.

This uneasiness with failure probably explains why I like cooking and baking. Not experimental cooking and baking -- that could lead to too many errors which could lead to a failed outcome and I just can't have that. So instead I follow the recipes verbatim -- ok, maybe with a tiny change here or there -- and so far, the outcomes have been close enough to perfect for me. (Did you catch that Alabama reference? Great song.)

Enter the Momofuku Milk Bar Compost Cookie. I was so excited because as I mentioned earlier, I visited Ma Peche while in NYC and got to grab dessert from the Milk Bar as well. I was so excited to find this recipe for their famed cookie, complete with detailed instructions and timed mixing cycles perfectly laid out. And lo and behold if they didn't turn out the opposite of large and thick and deliciously salty and sweet. They spread more than I thought cookies could by-definition spread. They were incredibly flat. And they were more salty than sweet. I had to rename them Momofuku Milk Bar Compost Bars instead of Momofuku Milk Bar Compost Cookies. (When I do fail, I try to make it look like I didn't fail by changing the names of things (and sometimes the rules) so that it applies.)

I did everything as it said even refrigerating overnight but I don't know what happened. Maybe I needed a bigger pan. Maybe my baking soda and baking powder were old (I do have the tendency to ignore expiration dates on food) or maybe! Oh! Maybe! It's a conspiracy and they purposefully botched the recipe so you could only get the REAL Momofuku Milk Bar Compost Cookie from the actual Milk Bars! I bet that's it . . . and this way, I only partially failed. But only because I was led down that path by the conniving minds of others. See how I do that? Pretty impressive right?

Momofuku Milk Bar Compost Bars
From The Amateur Gourmet (I'm ignoring the fact his look normal in his pictures.)

Ingredients:

1 c butter (unsalted preferably)
1 c granulated sugar
3/4 c light brown sugar
1 Tbsp corn syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 tsps baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsps Kosher salt (I would drop this down a bit -- mine were pretty salty especially since you use salty snack food.)
1 1/2 c your favorite baking ingredients (options: chocolate chips, Raisenettes, Rollos, Cocoa Krispies. I used Milk Duds thinking they were the size of TicTacs.)
1 1/2 c your favorite snack foods (chips, pretzels, etc. I used Pretzels)

1. In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream butter, sugars and corn syrup on medium high for two to three minutes until fluffy and pale yellow in color. Scrape down the sides with a spatula.

2. On a lower speed, add eggs and vanilla to incorporate. Increase mixing speed to medium-high and start a timer for 10 minutes. During this time the sugar granules will fully dissolve, the mixture will become an almost pale white color and your creamed mixture will double in size.

3. When time is up, on a lower speed, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix 45 - 60 seconds just until your dough comes together and all remnants of dry ingredients have incorporated. Do not walk away from your mixer during this time or you will risk over mixing the dough. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl with a spatula.

4. On the same low speed, add in the hodgepodge of your favorite baking ingredients and mix for 30 - 45 seconds until they evenly mix into the dough. Add in your favorite snack foods last, paddling again on low speed until they are just incorporated.

5. Using a 6 oz. ice cream scoop, portion cookie dough onto a parchment lined sheet pan.

6. Wrap scooped cookie dough tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a minimum of one hour or up to 1 week.

DO NOT BAKE your cookies from room temperature or they will not hold their shape. (This is a lie, mine did not hold their shape even though mine were refrigerated for 24 hours.)

7. Heat the oven to 400 F. Take the plastic off your cookies and bake 9 to 11 minutes. While in the oven, the cookies will puff, crackle and spread (no kidding).

At 9 minutes, the cookies should be browned on the edges and just beginning to brown towards the center. Leave the cookies in the oven for the additional minutes if these colors don't match up and your cookies still seem pale and doughy on the surface.

8. Cool the cookies completely on the sheet pan before transferring to a plate or an airtight container or tin for storage. At room temp, they'll keep five days. (This step could also be - 8. Cool the cookies completely on the sheet pan before slicing them into bars and transferring them to a plate . . .)

Oatmeal-Chocolate Chip Waffle Cookies

Cookie Swap. Two words that your instincts tell you to run away from while your mind (and tastebuds) find intriguing enough to think to give it a chance. I understand that the thought of making six dozen cookies seems quite the herculean task while the thought of seeing sixteen beautiful gold plates with a different type of cookie on each one is too awesome to pass up. Especially when you realize you get to take a sample of each variety home with you.

I poured through websites and cookbooks to find a cookie recipe that would be different yet easy to make since I wanted to impress my fellow swappers but didn’t want to spend all day Saturday in the kitchen. The concept of these cookies was first brought to my attention via a dear friend and bridesmaid of mine (Hi, Kristen!) who made them for one of my bridal showers. I love waffles and I love cookies and it turns out, I therefore adore waffle cookies! I literally made six dozen cookies in less than an hour because with my four-waffle waffle maker, I could make eight at a time. The batches just piled up in front of me like Christmas magic!

They are super easy and super yummy but they need to be eaten pretty quickly because in my opinion, and as is typical with waffles, they are a little dry and beg for some sort of liquid (but not maple syrup -- well, maybe maple syrup, let me know how that goes). I imagine drizzled chocolate would do nothing but make these more awesome but I promise they are delish (and fun to make!) without it. I, personally, wanted to nuke a couple in the microwave, put ice cream on top and pour chocolate syrup over the entire bowl but, alas, none were left to fulfill this desire.

Oatmeal-Chocolate Chip Waffle Cookies
From Fine Cooking
Makes at least 24 cookies (I got 36 cookies out of a batch)

1/2 c (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/2 c plus 2 Tbs firmly packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 c unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1-1/2 c old-fashioned rolled oats (not instant)
1 c semisweet chocolate chips
Nonstick cooking spray

Heat the waffle iron according to the manufacturer's instructions.

In a large bowl, whisk the butter and brown sugar until smooth. Whisk in the eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir in the oats and chocolate chips.

Coat the grids of the waffle iron with nonstick cooking spray. Use a tablespoon or small ice cream scoop to portion out a cookie onto each waffle square. Close the iron and cook until set and beginning to brown, 1-1/2 to 3 minutes, depending on the heat of your waffle iron. Use a thin metal spatula (or fork) to transfer the cooked cookies to a wire rack and repeat with the remaining dough, coating the grids with spray as necessary.

Honey Roasted Peanut Thumbprint Cookies

My friends and family often laugh at my obsession with routine. Every morning I have pretty much the same sequence of events – I eat my breakfast at the same point during my getting-ready routine and I use the number of times the local news has their spot during the Today Show to indicate whether or not I am on schedule. This Sunday morning was a little different in that instead of our usual church service, followed by lunch, followed by a few errands, followed by time with John, followed by dinner, and culminating with my return drive to Charlotte – we played hooky. Mom cooked up some waffles for breakfast and I cooked up some of these cookies for a post-breakfast ‘dessert.’

One can imagine how dessert after breakfast would completely appall one widely devoted to normalcy yet this fit for some reason. Maybe it was the longer-than-usual week or the rather emotional weekend, but either way, it seemed like the right thing to do.

The ingredients for these cookies were easy enough to find laying around the house and, although the steps were a little more complicated than the ‘common’ drop cookie (no offense, I am a fan of those too), they were the prettiest cookies I’ve ever made (without the hassle of icing) and would be perfect for a shower, luncheon, or just a playing-hooky-from-church-kind-of-Sunday-morning.

Honey Roasted Peanut Thumbprint Cookies

From Joy the Baker

1 3/4 cups finely ground honey roasted peanuts (I used the food processor and used about 2 cups of peanuts to make the 1 3/4 cups of finely ground nuts)

1 3/4 cups flour

2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Powdered sugar for dusting

About 1 cup of quality jam of your choice (I chose Apricot but thought about how a red jam would be great for Christmas or how a Grape Jam would be pretty against the beige-ness of the cookies)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and position a rack in the upper third of the oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment or foil and set aside.

Whisk together ground peanuts and flour. Using a stand mixer fit with a paddle attachment (or a stand mixer), beat the butter and sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy – about 3 or 4 minutes. Add the extract and beat to blend. Reduce the speed of the mixer to low and gradually add the nut-flour mixture, mixing only until just incorporated. Use a spatula to hand mix any flour or nuts that have not been mixed in thoroughly.

Working with a scant tablespoon of dough at a time, roll the dough between your palms to form small balls and place the balls two inches apart on the cookie sheet. Steadying each cookie with one hand, use the pinky of your other hand to press an indentation in the center of each cookie.

Bake for 15 – 18 minutes (mine took just 15). The cookies will only be slightly colored – don’t overbake them. When the cookies are done, remove the baking sheets from the oven and let the cookies rest for 2 minutes before transferring them to cooling racks with a metal spatula. Bring the jam to a boil in a small saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat. Sprinkle the cookies with powdered sugar and then fill the indentations with the jam of your choice. Don’t worry if the indentations disappeared during baking – you can carefully make them more prominent using your fingers or just put less jam on the cookie. Either way they will look and taste delicious!