S'mores Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

I know it’s September and that many are gearing up to welcome fall this Labor Day Weekend, but I’m not there yet and I don’t think I will be for a while. (It certainly doesn’t help that its 100+ degrees around here either.)

As much as I LOVE fall, in all its crisp air, crunchy leaf and comfort food glory, I’m nowhere near ready to say goodbye to summer. Not even close. This may have something to do with the fact that this summer has felt a little like a dream.  You know the kind of dream when you are trying to run and no matter how hard you try you never make any progress…yeah, that’s been my “dreamlike” summer. It really hasn’t been that bad but work schedules and doctors appointments have kept me from really basking in the simple joy that is summer and until I do that, I don’t think I’ll be ready for autumn.

For now, while everyone else is about to be up their eyeballs in apples, pumpkins and gourds, you’ll be able to find me here in my little fantasy world of endless summer, posting about the  “SOOOOO last season” picnics, barbecues and barefeet. I know I did more than just work all summer and until my blog can prove that, summer it must stay. Plus since I decided a long time ago that I wasn’t going to let current trends determine how I wanted to live my life, I’m ok with being passé and lovin’ on summer just a little bit longer.  This post can stand as my declaration of that philosophy.

It’s not so hard to do really, holding on to summer, especially when you have such great food to hold onto it with. I’m not kidding, with a handle as big as these cookies, we could hold onto summer FOREVER!

And now I feel like singing Karaoke to “Total Eclipse of the Heart”

…And if you only hold me tight

We’ll be holding on forever…

Thanks Jenny at Picky Palate for your stuffed cookie series, it’s incredibly fun to see the look of disbelief on everyone’s face when you serve these giant cookies. If you want pictures on how to shape these cookies, her site has them….I don’t know how she does it, my hands were a mess through that stage and althought my camera isn’t the best, it’s all I’ve got and I didn’t really want to see it get all gummed up with cookie dough, so no pictures from me.  J

S’mores Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

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bakers dozen

Ingredients:

2 sticks softened butter

1 cup granulated sugar

¾ cup packed light brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla

3 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips

24 graham cracker quarters

3 Hershey Bars, broken into rows of 3 bars

12 large marshmallows cut in half lengthwise

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and line a large baking sheet with parchment or silpat liner.
2. In a stand or eclectic mixer, beat the butter and sugars until light and fluff. Add eggs and vanilla; continue to beat until well combined.
3. Place flour, salt and baking soda into a bowl; mix to combine then add slowly to wet ingredients. Once mixed, add the chocolate chips.
4. Make your s’mores stack: layer a quarter of a full graham cracker sheet with three Hershey chocolate squares and 2 marshmallow halves, top with another quarter of a full graham cracker sheet.)
5. Surround the s’mores stack with cookie dough by placing cookie dough balls on top, bottom, front and back of the s’mores. Play with the dough until the s’more is completely enclosed. The dough balls will be about the size of a child’s fist.
6. Place 6 of the large cookie dough balls on a prepared baking sheet. And bake for 15-17 minutes until the edges are golden and centers are cooked through. Let cool for 10 minutes on the hot cookie sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack or serving plate.

Notes: The s’mores stack shifts around while you are putting the cookie dough around it – don’t sweat it, it will still taste delightful. Also, prepare to have sticky fingers; this process is a bit messy. If you would like your cookie to be a little bit smaller, make smaller s’mores: saw the graham quarters in half with a serrated knife (it reduces the likelihood of crumbs and breakage) then stack with ½ a large marshmallow, 1 Hershey’s chocolate square and top with anther 1/8^th of a graham cracker sheet. Cover with dough as instructed above.

Source: Picky Palate

Gwenevere

Orange Sugar Cookies

My college education began at a junior college where attendance was part of the grading policy. This meant that if I was not present for X amount of lectures my grade would be dropped. I thought that was insane and didn’t think a teacher would really drop an A grade just because a student didn’t attend class so… I didn’t pay much attention to the number of times I attended class. 

Just before finals one teacher asked to speak with me - he wanted to go over my grade. In short, he didn’t want me to be surprised when I saw my final grade. Before I got all up in arms I asked what my final grade would be.

“B-“ he said.

WHA?!!! - Ok, stay calm, I thought, then I said, “I guess I didn’t do as well on the exams as I had thought.”

“You did just fine on the exams.” he continued. “Your attendance brought your grade down.”

Starting to fume, yet still trying to keep my cool,  “What was my grade before my attendance was taken into consideration?”  I implored (with one raised brow).

“An A”

WH^ THA?! - That’s when I went a little crazy

“Seriously?! (Except using the word seriously wasn’t trendy back then like it is now so I probably really said something like, “Are you kidding me?!”) The I continued in my rage, “You are going to drop my grade because I wasn’t in class? I’m sorry but if I can get an A without being in class that is your problem not mine!” By this time I was red in the face and making threats to file a complaint with the Dean and President of the College. I’m sure I said something about an appeal to the Supreme Court and maybe even to the President of the United States (who was very busy at the time going through an embarrassing investigation regarding his advances toward women staffers.) Finally, feeling I was at the end of my rope I spouted some words about the wrath of God and finished with a voodoo curse. Bottom line, I was… a little upset. Can you believe it, all that and the B- remained.  Apparently my argument was not persuasive enough.

So that was a fun story huh? What does it have to do with food? Well, if royal icing were a college course contingent on attendance, I would flunk. That’s right everyone I am a royal icing flunkie. I can do it, I just don’t wanna - and its not for a lack of trying either.

These cookies for example, do you know how many times I’ve made them with intent of turning them into a visual masterpiece? Too many! The only redemption I have on the issue is that at least the cookie is good. Which is really important when it comes to sugar cookies and royal icing. If you’ve had royal icing before you know it certainly isn’t it’s taste that satisfies the masses - it’s the look – so having a really good cookie base is important. It must be sturdy and have enough flava to stand alone, no attendance, royal icing required. This is THAT cookie.

I’ve tried it in it’s lemon form as Annie’s Eats has adapted it and also in it’s orange form. Either way works, and because they are so good, you just may think its ok to skip the royal icing too.

Orange Sugar Cookies

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Ingredients:

2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature


1 cup confectioners’ sugar


1 large egg


2½ tsp. vanilla extract


1 vanilla bean split lengthwise 


Zest of half an orange (Use the other half of the zest for orange ginger cream cheese frosting)


2½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and confectioners’ sugar on medium-high speed until smooth, 1-2 minutes.  Beat in the egg, vanilla extract, seeds scraped from the vanilla bean, and orange zest until blended.  Mix in the flour and salt on low speed just until incorporated.  Form the dough into a ball and wrap tightly with plastic wrap.  Refrigerate until chilled and firm, at least 1-2 hours.
2. When you are ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 375˚ F.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silpat.  Roll the dough out on a well-floured work surface to about ¼-inch thickness.  Cut with cookie cutters as desired and transfer to the prepared baking sheets.  
3. Bake 8-10 minutes, rotating the sheets 180 degrees on the rack halfway through baking, until fully cooked but not at all browned.  Allow to cool on the baking sheet 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.  Decorate as desired.

Source: Annie’s Eats

Gwenevere

Samoa Cookie Knockoff

How is your Girl Scout Cookie stash holding up?

Ours is gone and has been for a while. In fact due to participation in a biggest loser competition with my sisters and some recent dietary restrictions, I asked Boy if he would please, under NO circumstance, bring ANY Girl Scout Cookies home this year. He obliged. (Although, I have found a ½ eaten box in the pantry every now and then. Is there a Girl Scout Cookie fairy?)

I’ve had Samoa Cookies on my “to bake” list for a while and when I finally decided on the dessert I would serve after our Easter feast, I knew now was the time. Samoa’s were going to play the major roll in the dessert presentation.

And so it began. I used the recipe from BakingBites.com because it looked the most like the cookies I was used to and I didn’t have to make my own caramel. (I don’t have a problem making my own caramel its just that I have a 5 POUND brick of caramel in my pantry that I’d like to put a dent in.)

I didn’t need to use the milk to bring the dough together but I kept in on the recipe just in case someone else needed it. I used milk chocolate instead of semisweet for the bottom and drizzle because I had some leftover melting wafers from a chocolate fountain that I wanted to use up. Next time I’ll NOT use chocolate fountain chocolate as it was a little softer that what I would have liked it to be.

I also had to make up another 1/3 batch of coconut topping (recipe below reflects the larger batch) because, I guess I’m more liberal when it comes to my coconut, caramel, cookie topping.

If you are using a pre-made caramel, take care not to cook it when you melt it. Cooked caramel = hard caramel, hard caramel = a topping that is difficult to spread. With that said, although I did over cook my caramel and the chocolate was a little soft, no one seemed to notice or complain. In fact I heard a few people say, these were better than the real thing….MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

Samoa Cookie Knockoffs

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Makes 5 dozen 2 ½ “ cookies

Ingredients:

COOKIES

1 cup butter, soft

½ cup sugar

2 cups all purpose flour

¼ tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

½ tsp vanilla extract

up to 2 tbsp milk

TOPPING

4 cups shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)

16 oz. quality chewy caramel

¼ tsp salt

4 tbsp milk

8 oz chocolate (recipe suggests dark or semisweet and states chocolate chips are ok. I used milk chocolate)

Directions:

COOKIES

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Mix in flour, baking powder and salt at a low speed, followed by the vanilla.  Add in the milk as needed to make the dough come together without being sticky (it’s possible you might not need to add milk at all). The dough should come together into a soft, not-too-sticky ball. Add in a bit of extra flour if your dough is very sticky.
3. Roll the dough (working in two or three batches) out between pieces of wax paper to about 1/4-inch thickness (or slightly less) and use a 2-inch cookie cutter to make the rounds. Place dough on a parchment lined baking sheet and use a knife, or the end of a wide straw, to cut a smaller center hole. Repeat with remaining dough.
4. Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes, until bottoms are lightly browned and cookies are set. Cool cookies for 2 minutes on the baking sheet then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

TOPPING:

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Spread coconut evenly on a baking sheet and toast for 7 - 13 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until coconut is golden. Cool on baking sheet then transfer to a medium bowl. Set aside.
3. Unwrap the caramels and place in a large microwave-safe bowl with milk and salt. Cook on high in 30-second intervals, stopping to stir the caramel to help it melt. When smooth, drizzle the caramel over the toasted coconut with a spatula. Using a small offset spatula, spread topping on cooled cookies, using about 2-3 tsp per cookie. Reheat caramel for a few seconds in the microwave if it gets too firm to work with.
4. While topping sets up, melt chocolate in a small bowl. Heat on high in the microwave in 45 second intervals, stirring thoroughly to prevent scorching. Dip the base of each cookie into the chocolate and place on a clean piece of parchment or wax paper. Transfer all remaining chocolate (or melt a bit of additional chocolate, if necessary) into a piping bag or a ziplock bag with the corner snipped off and drizzle finished cookies with chocolate. Let chocolate set completely before storing in an airtight container.

Source: Adapted from BakingBites.com

Gwenevere

Soft Peanut Butter Monster Cookies

Does the use of the word, "monster" in the title of a cookie mean that the cookie is REALLY BIG? For some reason, I always thought it meant the cookie had candy on top. It wasn’t until I started typing up this recipe that I realized it might be a reference to size rather than topping. Lucky for me, this recipe should satisfy both interpretations. It’s BIG (at least it can be) and it’s got candy loaded on top.

These cookies are great for many reasons; they are soft and chewy without being doughy yet still have a crisp "shell" that give the cookie a little crunch. The peanut butter shines through even when whole-wheat four is used.  They are sensational when eaten warm or at room temperature (they are even good after they have been stored in an airtight container for a few days-they stay moist). Finally, like many drop cookies, once shaped (and in this case, candied) they can be flash frozen and stored in a freezer bag in the freezer for a long time (internet says 3 months…I’m sure I’ve probably pushed that time recommendation to 4 or 6 months).

A peanut butter purist may not appreciate the peanut butter chips or candy on top and if you fall under that category, then just take out the peanut butter baking chips, replace it with the same measure of coarsely chopped peanuts and leave off the Reece’s Pieces. Unless you have a nut allergy, you are going to LOVE these cookies.

Soft Peanut Butter Monster Cookies

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Ingredients:

1 cup whole-wheat flour (I used fresh milled white winter wheat)

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup unsalted butter, softened but still cool

1 ½ cups brown sugar, packed

½ cup sugar

1 cup creamy peanut butter

3 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup peanut putter baking chips

1 cup Reese’s Pieces Candy

Directions:

1. Sift, four, salt, banking soda and baking powder together in a small mixing bowl and set aside.
2. Beat butter and sugars together with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add Peanut Butter and continue to beat until combined. Add eggs, one at a time until incorporated then beat in vanilla. Scrape bowl as necessary. Add flour mixture in 2 batches. Cover dough and refrigerate until stiffened, about 30 minutes
3. Heat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Pour Reese’s Pieces into a shallow bowl and set aside. Remove dough from fridge, and mix in 1 cup of peanut butter baking chips into the chilled dough. Scoop dough into 1 ½ to 2-inch balls and dip the top of the shaped dough ball into the bowl of Reese’s Pieces. Depending on the size of your cookie, each ball should have 8-14 pieces of candy stuck to it. Place the dough, candy side up, onto the prepared baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough.
4. Bake until the cookies are puffed and slightly brown along the edges and bottom (If you leave in until totally browned, they will not be chewy) about 10-13 minutes for large cookies and 7-10 minutes for smaller cookies. Let cookies rest on pan for 2 minutes then promptly transfer hem to a wire rack to cool.

Notes:

The whole wheat flour can be substituted for the same measure of all-purpose flour bringing your total flour measurement to 2 ½ cups flour).

Freezing and baking cookies from frozen dough:

Crowd as many shaped and candied dough balls onto the cookie sheet as will fit. Flash freeze the dough in a freezer, uncovered for 30 minutes then once firm transfer cookies to a zip lock bag and keep frozen until ready to bake. To bake frozen cookies, preheat oven to 325 degrees, place dough on a prepared baking sheet and bake for 13-17 minutes. Cookies are ready to be removed from oven and transferred to a wire rack once they are slightly browned around the edges.

Source: Adapted from a recipe I found on cooks.com YEARS ago. Sorry I can no longer find the original reference.

 Gwenevere