More cookies

The Man's mom had surgery yesterday, and I'm headed down to join them/keep them company for the weekend. In response to my offer to make some real food (maybe a casserole) for the family, the Man suggested cookies instead. More specifically, he suggested that I try peanut butter cookies again (and see if I couldn't produce a chewier version), or maybe chocolate chip. So... I made peanut butter chocolate cookies!

I started with a recipe for peanut butter cookies with chocolate chips, but used dark chocolate peanut butter instead of regular, and mini chocolate chips instead of standard-sized. The result was a dense (perhaps too much so), lightly flavored (definitely not too sweet, at least in my book) cookie. The mini chips are so small as to not be noticeable on their own; instead, they add a little sweetness and little more chocolate flavor (but still not a ton). I think it's definitely a more grown-up cookie, while still being pretty simple and content with itself. And it's chewy.

Since this was a new experiment (I hadn't even tried the recipe as written before), I made sure to do some quality control. I packaged most of the cookies up for travel (and protection from a hungry pup), but put the last few in a take-out box to take into work with me so that everyone at work could give feedback (or so that I could munch on them all day).

TWD: Chocolate Chunkers

This week's selection - pg. 70 in Baking: from my home to yours

I love these cookies! It's a good chock-full-of-chunks cookie. I started to leave out the raisins and nuts altogether but talked myself out of it and told myself to trust Dorie. Instead, I out the raisins in as called for, but only put the (at most) 1/4 cup of chopped walnuts I had lying around waiting to be used up, and added another cup of semi-sweet chunks to keep it chunky. I wish I had taken the time to throw some peanuts in the food processor and made the recipe as written. The raisins are perfect in it, and it's just missing a peanutty crunch. Ooops. Now I know. Really, really, really, trust Dorie!

borrowing internet

I've been gone since I came back. I know that's bad. I've been borrowing Internet, and lately it hasn't been very cooperative. And I've been more exhausted by this whole working like a grown-up thing than I thought I'd be. It takes some serious getting used to!

But I have been baking. I am hoping that I'll be able to put in a great TWD post tomorrow night, and I've been baking other things too!

This weekend was a whirlwind! I had a meeting all Saturday morning, and then darted home and made a batch of peanut butter cookies per the man's request for a bar-b-que in his town that we were invited to that evening. Pretty much as soon as I made the cookies, I was off, beginning the 2 hour drive up to see him, cookie in tow. Sunday, it was back home, to make the 3 batches of bake-off cookies.

The peanut butter cookies were a real hit! They were another Dorie recipe. I cooked them toward the long end of the cooking time, and I think I might stop earlier in the future. They were a slightly crunchier cookie than I normally like. They were tricky because they didn't look done in the same way that other cookies do to me. Or maybe I'm losing my touch.

100 posts!!!

How cool! It's surprising - I still feel like I just started this blog. I'm certainly not the pro that so many of the bloggers I'm addicted to are.


And yes, I'm back. I'll be travelling a lot this month, since it's my last month of freedom before starting work (like a grown-up), and I'm still unpacking and getting settled in my new place. So, I may not be as diligent as I'd like, but the bar is over, and I should be able to stay at least mildly on top of things.




For sitting through my update, a contest!

Comment to enter. Winner gets 1 dozen chocolate sandwich cookies (you can choose to have them filled with vanilla, chocolate, or mint cream). Winner will be chosen at random and announced at the end of the month.

busy, busy, busy

I am so sorry for my continued, frequent absence. Here are a few of the reasons (beyond bar-scary-stress)

I went up to a friend's wedding this weekend! It was wonderful, and beautiful, and I have no pictures because I'm lame. At first it was too dark to get good pics with my camera, and then I was (really) too drunk to think about taking pictures. I'm pretty sure there's not even a single picture of me and my man (a groomsman in the wedding) from the whole weekend! How sad!

The wedding was great though, and the couple was awesome! It was the first time I met the bride, and I love her! She's adorable and sweet and open and I want to keep her. I told my man that we have to do stuff with them (after they get back from their honeymoon, and I recover from Bar-zilla mode).

I also shipped my first Etsy order Monday! It was an order of Goodnight Gorrilla cookies. It wasn't too big, but they were a little detailed and required cutting using a template instead of a cookiecutter, and I got in fairly late Sunday night (and did a little ar studying before I got started on cookies). I finished the cookies about 2 am Monday morning/Sunday night. I just hope they like them!

AND a good friend found out the gender of their newest little one Monday. They wanted to have a party to celebrate and share it with everyone. Rather than find out at the doctor's office, they had their nurse call me and tell me the gender, and I made a cake with filling to show the gender (it ended up being pink for a girl). At the party, the new big sis cut into the cake, and that's how everyone found out. Cute, right?

Unfortunately, this was another rushed thing, and I didn't get any pictures! It was an airplane pulling a banner that read "It's A...". I used Dorie's celebration cake recipe, and it went over well. Everyone RAVED about the buttercream. I left it beating (when it says 7-10 at the end) while I took a shower, so it got a good beating, and I think that was key to the super-fluffy nature of the icing. I loved the lemon flavor; I liked that you actually noticed it.

And in a fit of insanity, I decided that the (2 year old) big sister needed a tutu and a tiara that said big sis. I didn't get pictures of the tiara, but I did get a picture of the tutu (although, really, you can't get a good picture of a tutu without a model). I just cut and tied the tulle on a piece of ribbon so she can tie it on and it'll adjust as she gets older (and honestly, it's a little big right now).

This week - Birthday party for another good friend, Wednesday dinner, and the Fourth of July (and 2 full days of mock tests)!

No barbri-que!

I know, I'm a dork. We didn't have BarBri class today, so last night we had a bar-b-que. I whipped up a couple of things for it - sandwich cookies from the Martha Stewart cookbook and corn pudding from the W&L cookbook.
These cookies were a cocoa recipe, and I was really pleased with it! The filling is absolutely perfect, and the cookies were an absolute hit!
The corn pudding was a recipe from the W&L cookbook, and it was a real winner. I received complements from everyone on it - even the hard-to-please people! And it's one of the easiest recipes I've attempted lately! I doubled the recipe, but the regular recipe made plenty!

Corn Pudding

1 (8.5 oz) box Jiffy Corn Muffin mix
1 (17 oz) can cream corn (not drained)
1 (17 oz) can whole kernel corn (not drained)
2 eggs, well beaten)
1 (8 oz) container sour cream (I used low fat, and couldn't tell I was missing anything).
sugar to taste (I didn't use any, and again, didn't think I was missing anything - and we're southern)
1 stick butter, melted

Mix all ingredients.
Bake in 9x9 (2 quart) casserole dish at 350 for about 45-50 minutes.

Laura Bush Cookies

I can't help it; I think Laura Bush is incredible. She's dignified and beautiful, and has all of the grace that I only wish I had. However, you don't have to like her in order to appreciate these amazing cookies!

Each Presidential election year, Family Circle magazine has a bake-off between the first lady candidates. 4 years ago, Laura Bush's recipe was definitely the landslide favorite! Her recipe has become one of my go-to recipes. It's traditional with a kick, and I think it's perfect (at least, it is with a few changes)!

Laura Bush Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies (with a couple Red Kitchen Aid changes)

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter, at room temperature1 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups light-brown sugar

3 eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla

3 cups flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons cinnamon

3 cups quick oats (not old-fashioned)

1-2 cups chopped walnuts

1 packages (11.5 ounces) chocolate chunks (~3 cups)

1-2 cups dried sour cherries

Heat oven to 350°.

With electric mixer, cream butter and both sugars.

Beat in eggs one at a time, then beat in vanilla.

Add flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and oats; slowly beat until blended.

Stir in walnuts, chocolate and cherries.

Drop by tablespoonfuls onto cookie sheet covered with parchment paper.

Bake at 350° for 12 to 15 minutes, until golden brown. Makes about 8 dozen.