The Best Cookies (p.s. they're vegan)

This post needs no narration -- just photos, recipe, and a strong recommendation that you bake these cookies pronto. And a thanks to the co-worker who shared the cookies, then sent the recipe!

These really are the best cookies I've made in a long time, not just the best vegan cookies. If you're not drawn to vegan stuff, just ignore that part and grab a mixing bowl.


Happy Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Use vegan versions of these ingredients if you like. If you're not vegan, just use normal stuff. I'm not really sure what vegan flour, vanilla, or sugar are, anyway.

• 2 C unbleached flour
  
• 2 tsp baking powder
  
• 1/2 tsp salt
  
• 1 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
• 1 1/5 to 2 C Chocolate chips
• 1 C sugar (my co-worker used 1/2 sugar, 1/2 agave)
  
• 1/2 C canola or vegetable oil
  
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 C water (I needed more -- try 1/4 C first, then another T or 2 as needed)

Make sure all ingredients are at room temperature. Pre-heat your oven to 350. This recipe requires just a whisk and spoon for mixing, two bowls, and the baking sheet -- no heavy mixer necessary.

In a large bowl, mix dry ingredients except sugar (I accidentally included the sugar in this step, and everything turned out fine). Add chips. Make a well in the center and set aside. In another bowl, mix sugar and oil well, then add vanilla and water. Mix well. Add to dry ingredients. Mix well, but be careful not to overwork it (this is why I would not use your fancy Kitchenaid mixer for this recipe).

Drop by bablespoons onto cookie sheets. I use Exopat baking sheets, as seen in the photos below -- nothing sticks, ever! They're worth the investment.


Bake for 4 minutes, rotate sheets and bake another 4-6 minutes. As with most chocolate chip cookies, you'll want to remove them when they seem just barely underdone, since they'll harden a bit as they cool. Allow them to cool for a couple moments before transferring to a wire rack; this is another reason silicone baking sheets are helpful -- you can remove the full Exopat sheet from the metal baking pan, letting the first batch of cookies cool faster and starting your next batch on a second Exopat.

2 Teaspoons, Meet Joe Black (and my peanut butter cookies)

So I watched Meet Joe Black for the first time ever tonight (how did I miss this film??), and among other exciting moments, we see Brad Pitt discovering peanut butter. Which of course makes one want a spoonful of peanut butter right this instant.

Fortunately, I had the last three of these no-bake chocolate and peanut butter oatmeal bars in the freezer. I recommend "blending" the peanut butter layer ingredients in the food processor -- it may take away some of the oatmeal texture, but it made the process super speedy. Storing in the freezer has two benefits: 1, it ensures non-melty chocolate and 2) it keeps the bars semi-hidden, and therefore they last longer.

Super easy to make. Ideal for peanut butter lovers. You hear that, Brad?

Take Your Baking To Work Days: Part I

In an effort to make more food at home and spend less money, I've baked a lot of biscotti this month. It saves me frequent visits to our building's coffee shop for snacks -- the only thing I really miss is the little walk to ReBoot and Sofia's enthusiastic social commentary. ;)

I have yet to find a great recipe, so please send me one if you have a favorite! I've tried it with and without butter (I guess no butter is more traditional?), and with almonds, chocolate, walnuts, whole wheat ... In each attempt, either the texture is off or the flavor lacks the right balance of sweetness. Fortunately, even least perfect attempts were still edible. I'll post again if when (if?) I find the right recipe.

One last Christmas cookie: Bourbon Balls

These bourbon balls are a little messy but incredible easy: crush cookies, melt chocolate, mix and shape. No baking -- just be prepared for chocolate-and-bourbon-covered hands.

Rum or Bourbon Balls

• 1 C semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 C sugar
• 3 T light corn syrup
• 1/2 C dark rum or bourbon
• 2 1/2 C finely crushed vanilla wafer cookies (~ 10 ounces)
• 1 C finely chopped nuts
• 1/2 C sanding sugar

Melt chocolate chips, either in a double boiler or the microwave. (In the microwave, heat on high for about 2 minutes, stopping to stir every 30 seconds. Don't overheat! Remove from microwave when mostly melted, and stir to melt the rest.) Whisk corn syrup and regular sugar into the chocolate, then add bourbon.

Combine crushed vanilla wafers and nuts in a separate bowl, then add chocolate mixture and stir to blend well. Chill dough in fridge for at least half an hour.

Place remaining 1/2 cup of sugar in shallow bowl. For each cookie, roll 1 tablespoon of dough into a ball, then roll in sanding sugar to coat evenly. If sugar dissolves into cookies too much, roll in sugar a second time or dust with sugar.

You could also try rolling in powdered sugar (coating very generously) or finely crushed nuts, instead of sugar.

Gingerbread Snowflakes

Winter and the holiday season snuck up on me this year -- I can't believe Christmas is next week.

We've sent the cards, hung the stocking and trimmed the tree. And, of course, we baked the cookies.

Melissa came over last Friday, with recipes and lots of chocolate for some fudgey chocolate cookies. I opted for gingerbread snowflakes from Martha Stewart. The recipe includes lots of spices -- ground ginger, clove, cinnamon plus the molasses. Compared with the minimal sprinkle of cinnamon or vanilla most recipes require, I love dumping in the rich-colored teaspoons of spice here.

The recipe was simple, but the dough was difficult to handle. After hours in the fridge, it was still not chilled enough to roll out. It went into the freezer for a while, but my Martha-recommended method of rolling the dough between two sheets of plastic wrap still left me with gobs of goopy dough.

So I scrapped the plastic-wrap method and covered my counter with flour, rolling and dusting and incorporating more until the dough had a reasonable texture. I know overworking the dough and adding too much flour are detrimental to cookie texture, but sometimes a baker must take risks.

The final results: a chewy and soft cookie, not the crunchy gingersnap I expected, and definitely not the tough, overworked cookie I fear. With some royal icing and sanding sugar, they look perfectly festive for the holidays. :)

Chocolate-Ginger Brownies

It felt like a cookie-baking night, so I got out my Martha Stewart's Cookies to browse. The book looks small, but has a ton of recipes (some traditional, some new, most interesting and reliable) and a very helpful photo table of contents that makes searching for the perfect treat very easy.

 

When I saw the Chocolate-Ginger Brownies I was sold. Perhaps not quite a cookie, but close enough. And with ginger, cinnamon, ground clove, and nutmeg (lots extra, in my kitchen), it has some familiar wintery flavors. And, while brownies always take a disappointingly long time to bake, this recipe is super quick and simple and only dirties one pot. 

Housewarming Treats!

I debated long and hard about what to make for my housewarming party this past Saturday. And by long and hard, I mean I thought about it for all of 10 min on Friday night. I didn't feel like over thinking it or agonizing over various dishes, so I opened my favorite no-brainer-I-know-most-everything-will-be-delicious cookbook: Giada's Family Dinners. Now I know there are a lot of Giada haters out there who think her recipes are boring and lack a lot of flavor. I for one, LOVE her cookbooks and think she is adorably sweet. The recipes and ingredients are simple and unpretentious, and are most often relatively easy to make. They are also easy to improvise on and add your own personal touches.

Here's the recipes I selected:

Rose Wine with Sage and Lemon Peel
I only got to try one sip, but I thought the sage flavor was perfect for fall and the lemon made the entire drink crisp and refreshing. Such an easy twist to liven up an otherwise dull bottle of rose wine. Next time I might leave the sage leaves and lemon peel in the pitcher instead of straining them out just for added visual interest.

Pizza Rustica
I'm always impatient with dough, so waiting for the dough to firm up in the refrigerator was the most difficult part of this recipe. Giada's recommends serving this dish at room temperature, but I think it would be better just outta the oven.

Hazelnut Chocolate Chip Cookies
Always a winner. I love how the oatmeal make these a little more chewy and fluffy. The Heath bar adds just a hint of toffee flavor. Yum!

Though not a Giada recipe, I also baked a fresh loaf of the famous NY Times no-knead bread. Raven first introduced me to this recipe about a year ago, and I absolutely love it. The perfect rustic loaf of bread to accompany a cheese plate, soup, or pretty much anything.

All of these dishes (+ plus a cheese plate and veggie tray) easily fed 20+ hungry guests and were fairly inexpensive, which is definitely a good thing when you've just purchased a house. Though I chose to have a cooking marathon Friday night, -- making all of these dishes in an intense 4-5 hour time span -- a sane person could easily make these dishes a few days in advance so your kitchen doesn't wind up looking like a hurricane of flour blew threw hours before your party.