Big And Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

I wasn't a fan of these cookies, but I'm not a cookie person to begin with, while my significant other and his mother are. They both loved these cookies. The recipe comes from The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook. I substituted chopped dark chocolate for semisweet chocolate because I had a bag laying around. Certainly any kind of chocolate could be substituted. I also used only one kind of sugar out of laziness.

INGREDIENTS

3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 (12-ounce) bag semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

1. Put the oven racks to the upper- and lower-middle positions and heat the ovens to 325 degrees. Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl and set aside.
2. Beat the butter and sugars in a large bowl using an electric mixer on medium speed until combined, 1 or 2 minutes. Beat in the eggs, egg yolks, and vanilla until combined, about 30 seconds, scraping down the bowl and beaters as needed.
3. Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly mix in the flour mixture until combined, about 30 seconds. Mix in the chocolate chips until incorporated.
4. Working with 1/4 cup of dough at a time, roll the dough into balls and lay on two parchment-lined baking sheets, spaced about 2 1/2 inches apart. Bake until the edges are golden but the centers are still soft and puffy, 17 to 20 minutes, rotating and switching the baking sheets halfway through baking.
5. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes, then serve warm or transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.

Gingerbread Cookies

I made these cookies for a friend since she had posted on MySpace that she really wanted fully decorated gingerbread cookies. I think they turned out decently, but I probably won't make them again since I'm not hugely into gingerbread cookies and it was such a pain in the butt to handle sticky molasses. It was fun to decorate them though. This recipe is also from The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook.

INGREDIENTS

Cookie:
3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon ginger
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into 12 pieces and softened
3/4 cup light molasses
2 tablespoons whole milk
Frosting:
3 tablespoons whole milk
1 tablespoon cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

DIRECTIONS

1. Process the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda, cloves, and salt in a food processor until combined, about 10 seconds. Scatter the butter pieces over the top and using short pulses, process to a very fine meal, about 15 pulses. With the machine running, slowly pour the molasses and milk through the feed tube and process until the dough forms a soft mass, about 10 seconds.
2. Scrape the dough onto a counter and divide it in half. Working with one half at a time, roll the dough out to a 1/8-inch thickness between 2 large sheets of parchment paper. Slide the rolled dough and parchment onto a baking sheet and refrigerate until firm, about 20 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees with oven racks at the upper- and lower-middle positions. Cut shapes out of the rolled dough using cookie cutters and lay on two parchment-lined baking sheets, spaced about 3/4 inches apart. Bake until the cookies are light golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes, rotating and switching the baking sheets halfway through baking.
4. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 2 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely, about 30 minutes.
5. Whisk 2 tablespoons of the milk and the cream cheese together until smooth. Add the confectioners' sugar and whisk until smooth, adding the remaining milk as needed until the glaze is thin enough to spread easily. Glaze and decorate the cookies when they are completely cooled.

Cheddar Cheese Bread

This cheese bread recipe was found on The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook, which is my favorite cookbook for basic, reliable recipes. This bread was a breeze to make and was very popular on the dinner table. It was also delicious toasted. The only downside is that it contains so much dairy product. I may experiment with yogurt instead of sour cream and milk substitute in the future.

INGREDIENTS

3 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated on the large holes of a box grater (1 cup)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
4 ounces extra sharp cheddar cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 1/4 cups whole milk
3/4 cup sour cream
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 large egg, lightly beaten

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees with an oven rack at the middle position. Generously coat a 9 by 5-inch loaf fan with grease then sprinkle 1/2 cup of the Parmesan evenly over the bottom of the pan.
2. Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, cayenne, and black pepper together in a large ball. Use a rubber spatula to stir in the cheddar, breaking up clumps, until it is coated with the flour mixture. Whisk the milk, sour cream, melted butter, and egg together in a separate ball. Gently fold the milk mixture into flour mixture using a rubber spatula until combined only enough. Do not overmix.
3. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Sprinkle the remaining Parmesan evenly over the top. Bake until deep golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out with only a few crumbs attached, 45 to 50 minutes.
4. Let the loaf cool in the pan for 10 minutes before unmolding onto a wire rack to cool for at least 1 hour.

Puffed Artichoke Pie

Yet another try at a recipe from Stop and Smell the Rosemary. This was actually quite successful. I think it could've been more flavorful if I used less ricotta cheese and substituted some other cheese though as the filling did taste a bit bland after the first few bites. The recipe was for a 7-inch springform pan, but I used a 9-inch one here instead.

INGREDIENTS

1 package frozen puff pastry dough, thawed
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
15 ounce ricotta cheese
4 ounces Parmesan cheese, freshly grated (1 cup)
1 1/2 cups frozen artichoke hearts, thawed, drained, and quartered
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
salt
freshly ground pepper

DIRECTIONS

1. Cut 2 9-inch diameter circles from each piece of pastry, reserving leftover pastry. Line bottom of a 9-inch springform pan with one of the circles and line sides with pieces cut from leftover pastry. Refrigerate pan and remaining pastry circle until ready to use.
2. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the beaten eggs. Pour remaining eggs in a medium bowl. Add ricotta, Parmesan, artichoke hearts, and nutmeg. Mix thoroughly. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon evenly into prepared springform pan. Top with remaining pastry circle, pinching edges together to seal. Brush top of pie with reserved 2 tablespoons beaten egg. Refrigerate 20 minutes to firm.
3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake 55 minutes to 1 hour or until golden brown and puffy. Cut into wedges and serve warm.

Traditional Mexican Christmas Cookies

This was another recipe that I found on Smell and Stop the Rosemary. They were like cinnamony sugar cookies. Good, but nothing special.

INGREDIENTS

Cookie:
2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cups plus 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
sugar
Topping:
1 cup sugar
1 ounce semi-sweet chocolate, ground
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Beat butter, sugar, milk, vanilla, and cinnamon until light and fluffy. Gradually add 1 1/2 cups flower and baking powder, beating at low speed until well blended. Stir in additional 1/4 cup flour until dough can be shaped. Roll dough into 1 1/4-inch balls. Place 3 inches apart on ungreased parchment paper. Flatten each ball into 2-inch rounds with bottom of a glass which has been buttered and dipped in sugar. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until edges are golden brown.
2. Combine sugar, chocolate, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Three or four minutes after removing cookies from oven, coat both sides of cookies with this mixture, one at a time. Cool on wire racks.

Mint Chocolate Cupcakes

I found this recipe on a cookbook called Stop and Smell the Rosemary. I thought they were pretty good, but apparently they weren't as good as I thought as four cupcakes were left alone and thrown in the trash after a few days. My desserts go pretty fast, usually within two or three days, at my boyfriend's parents' so I most likely won't be making these again. I again made minor changes to the recipe, one of them being omitting mint in the frosting. Everybody agreed it was a good decision.

INGREDIENTS

Cake:
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 stick and 2 2/3 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons peppermint extract
1 cup milk
Frosting:
3 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
4 tablespoons unsalted butter

DIRECTIONS

1. Melt chocolate and butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Stir until smooth. Remove saucepan from heat. Cool frosting until spreadable.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin cups with paper liners. Whisk flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa. Cream butter and sugar until light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in peppermint extract. Slowly blend in flour mixture, alternating with milk, until blended. Spoon batter into paper liners, filling each cup 3/4 full.
3. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until cake test comes out clean. Do not overbake. Cool cupcakes on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Remove cupcakes to wire rack to cool completely. Frost when cooled.

Banana Bread

I've tried a bunch of banana bread recipes and found this one to be one of the easiest and most reliable. I found this recipe at allrecipe.com submitted by Shelley Albeluhn. This is with minor changes I made in the process of baking.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 1/3 cups mashed overripe bananas (I used 4 small bananas)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture. Stir only enough to moisten. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Check after 60 minutes then every 5 minutes for doneness. Let bread cool, then turn out onto a wire rack.