Cookies 'n' Creme Fudge

If there's anything that I love, love, L-O-V-E, it would have to be fudge. I think I could eat fudge every day for the rest of my life and be completely content with it. So many variations, so much delicious.

It's been hot like Hell in DC this weekend, with temperatures hitting 104. So what did I do all day today? Well, I trekked around the hot and humid streets of DC, hitting museums and searching out food with Jack Licata... in retrospect, not a good decision on our parts. I got sunburnt and dehydrated, and was in no shape to do anything productive this afternoon. I'd been wanting to make fudge for a while, and my roommate Cassie INSISTED on me varying up the flavor. She helped me find a recipe for cookies 'n' creme fudge, and I ran with it.

Cookies 'n' Creme Fudge

Ingredients:

• 12 oz. white chocolate
• 12 oz. sweetened condensed milk
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 2 c. roughly chopped chocolate cookies

To Make:

1. In a saucepan, over medium-low heat, combine white chocolate, condensed milk and salt. Stir until smooth.
2. Fold in the cookies.
3. Line a baking pan with foil, and spread the mixture into the pans. Chill for at least two hours. Turn the fudge out onto a cutting board, and remove the foil.

Some Notes:

• Eliminate crumbs when chopping the cookies. They discolor the fudge.
• Be very, very careful to stir the white chocolate constantly while melting, and not to allow it to burn. The mixture can go from beautiful to disaster in seconds.
• This is such a basic recipe, and so easy to make, I am definitely going to get creative with flavor combinations in the future! Be ready for some weird fudge flavors coming out of this kitchen.

Fluffernutter-Chocolate Chip Cookies

First of all, I apologize for the terrible pictures, but you will get over it. I promise.

Some nights, you just don't feel like going out. Some nights, you feel like laying on the floor, even though there is a perfectly good couch, with two of your three roommates, reading good literature, and baking ridiculously easy cookies. Oh, hello, last Friday night...

These cookies are easy-peasy, with 4 ingredients and, like, a grand total of 20 minutes start to finish (baking time included). They require one bowl, one spoon, one baking sheet, and one oven, equipment-wise. So you really can make them, even if you "live in a frat house with no tasty food." No excuses.

Oh, and I apologize for the imprecise measurements, but if it really bugs you, all I can say is: pull the stick outta your butt, and start being more impulsive. Kthanks.

Fluffernutter-Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 regular jar of creamy peanut butter
• 1 egg
• 1 regular jar of Jet Puffed marshmallow creme
• 12 oz chocolate chips

To Make:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, combine peanut butter and egg thoroughly. Mix in marshmallow creme, but DO NOT mix thoroughly. You should still be able to see white streaks.
3. Fold in chocolate chips. Be careful not to overmix.
4. Drop in spoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet.
5. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Allow to completely cool on cookie sheet before you try to remove them, or they will crumble.

Some Notes:

• Honestly, the cookies were better the day after. This might be one of those recipes that you should probably let sit. And they weren't good hot, but they were DELICIOUSLY rich after they had cooled off a little.

Oh, hey roommates...!

Trainwreck Cookies with Toasted Coconut

I have so many memories attached to these particular cookies.

The story behind the naming of the Trainwreck Cookies:

It took me a very long time to figure out how to make these delicious cookies look presentable (and even now, they're frustrating as hell, and break easily when you try to get them off the foil... but totally worth it). The first time I ever made them was for Thanksgiving a few years back, when my grandparents, my mother, my brother and I visited my mom's sister and her family in Texas. I must say up front that when I was younger I always adored and idolized my Uncle Mike. As I was wrestling with the tin foil, and subsequently looking like a fool, my uncle came into the kitchen, stopped, looking at me, laughed, and said "Well, this looks like a trainwreck." He ate his words later (and, like, the entire plate of cookies... hah!).

Another (less interesting) memory attached to these cookies is when I would make them and bring them into IB English 12 every couple of weeks. It was one of my first experiences wherein I was liked implicitly by people (aka Brittany and the swimmer boys) who really didn't give a damn about me beforehand. Because I brought in cookies, they not only were nice to me, they also requested my baked goods with increasing frequency. It was nice to be of value, but not too nice. Ultimately, it just solidified my dislike of mean and snobby people.

Anyway, this time, I made them to celebrate my 20th birthday, which was on Monday.

Trainwreck Cookies are chocolate-caramel graham cracker cookies with accentuation. These cookies are tied with my Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies for the most universally well-liked of my cookies. The Trainwreck Cookies have the added benefit of being very versatile, and can be topped with just about anything: chopped and toasted nuts, M&Ms, other kinds of chocolate, or (as in this case) coconut. I have vowed to get this recipe completely perfect, and am well on my way. See my notes, at the end.

Trainwreck Cookies

Ingredients:

• nonstick cooking spray
• 1 1/2 packs graham crackers (they usually come 3 packs/box)
• 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
• 1/2 c brown sugar
• 12 oz semisweet chocolate chips
• about 1 1/2-1 c of desired topping

To Make:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line baking pan with high sides (trust me, it's important) with NONSTICK foil (also important), so that there is a couple inches of overhang on every side. Spray foil with nonstick cooking spray. This will make your life so much easier in the long run.
2. Place graham crackers on baking sheet in a single layer, as tightly packed as possible, so you have a sheet of graham crackers.
3. In a pot on medium heat, melt the butter, then add brown sugar. Stir until the mixture resembles caramel, for about 5 minutes.
4. Pour caramel evenly over graham crackers, and spread with spatula. Bake for 6-8 minutes, until the caramel is violently bubbly (and the kitchen smells delicious).
5. Take pan out of over, sprinkle chocolate chips evenly over graham crackers. Bake for another 2 minutes. Using spatula, spread melty chocolate evenly over graham crackers. Top with desired accenting topping(s).
6. Allow to cool in pan for 30 minutes, then place in freezer for 15. After frozen, allow to thaw for a few minutes, then using a sharp knife, make deep cuts in the sheet of cookies to delineate intended cookie size. Then, pray that the foil comes off.

Some Notes:

• My Canadian roommate suggested using parchment paper instead of foil next time. I am absolutely going to do so. If you try it before me, let me know how it works!

Turbinado-Dipped Shortbread Cookies

I need to get more comfortable with people watching me bake. I don't know if it was the cameras, or having Cory, Emily and John in the kitchen with me while I made these shortbread cookies, but I was extremely self-conscious the entire time. Definitely not nearly as much fun as I usually have while baking (but then again my usual baking experience calls for me dancing around, blasting upbeat music and singing my heart out into whisks). What WAS cool, was being able to see each step of the baking process laid out in picture form, thanks to the wonderful photography of John Fetherston. I learned a lot; for example: I should never wear my new apron (courtesy of John and Etsy) with patterns... It clashes. Also, I need to stand up straighter.

Well, I had been craving shortbread cookies for a couple of days and on my last night in Akron, I decided to grab a movie with my favorite power couple and my favorite Arizonan and get to baking! Results were a success that were gone long before I was...

Turbinado-Dipped Shortbread Cookies

Adapted from Food & Wine

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 sticks butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 c. powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 c. flour
• 3 tbsp. turbinado sugar (I used Sugar in the Raw)
• 1 egg yolk, lightly beaten

To Make:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Beat together butter, powdered sugar, vanilla and salt until just fluffy. Mix in the flour in 3 batches at a slow speed, until just incorporated.
3. On a (preferably cold) work surface, form the dough into a 1 1/2 in. thick log, and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill for one hour.
4. Brush log with egg yolk using a pastry brush, and roll in the turbinado sugar until coated evenly.
5. Cut the log into 1/2 in. thick rounds and place 1 in. apart on a greased baking sheet. Bake for about 18 minutes, or until brown around the edges. Cool completely.

Some Notes:

• The original recipe also calls for 3/4 c. toasted and chopped pecans. I didn't include them because my friends aren't huge fans of nuts and I didn't have any on hand. They were delicious without them.
• The dough was very hard to come together when forming the log. I believe this was because the butter wasn't perfectly at room temperature when I added it. Be careful!
• I use a convection oven, and the original recipe called for baking the cookies for 20 minutes. Honestly, the batch was a little overdone for my tastes at 18 minutes, so watch carefully.

Peanut Butter Chip Chocolate Cookies

Ick. I seriously need to stop taking my food shots with my camera phone. It just makes me sad! I got a ridiculously nice point-and-shoot digital camera for Christmas, even, and yet it never seems to be around when I need to take these shots. So, I heartily apologize for the terrible quality and color of this post's pictures, HOWEVER you will not have to deal with my camera phone crapola in the next post! I got to do some baking with my good friend John Fetherston, from Arizona, while he was in town, and he's a brilliant photographer with a pretty awesome photoblog (although he is waaay to humble to admit it) called "Life Through My Lens." I'm super excited to see his shots of me, up to my elbows in flour and butter. I am oh so attractive, after all...

Anyway, on to this post! On Wednesday, I drove to Columbus with Joelle Diane, Caitlin, and Leah for a Repower America rally. The day before, I decided that I wanted to make something pretty simple and basic that would be a good roadtripping snack. I decided to research some chocolate chip cookie recipes to make later that night, and read about 15 recipes online. I had the idea to use cocoa powder to flavor the dough and substitute peanut butter chips for the chocolate ones, and I went out and bought my ingredients. Of course, when I got home late that night and got ready to bake, our internet decided it just didn't want to play along. I, then, had to search my memory for (read: make up completely) the measurements and ingredients for these cookies. Given the circumstances, the results were absolutely jaw dropping.

Straight out of the oven, I had to leave the kitchen while they cooled, so as not to eat them all. The centers were gooey and warm and amaaaaazing, like the best Reese's cup you've ever imagined. The next day, they were a super big hit with my roadtripping sisters-in-arms. After they were all gone, there were multiple times when someone said "I really want one of those cookies!" My mother also made my brother eat all of the ones I left in her kitchen, because she was afraid to have them in the house. The verdict? Entirely too addictive for words, and simple to boot!

Audrey's Mostly Made-Up Peanut Butter Chip Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 c. butter, cut into pieces
• 1 c. sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/3 c. cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 c. peanut butter chips

To Make:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a baking sheet with non-stick spray.
2. Cream together butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla.
3. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder in a separate bowl. Add by half cups to the creamed mixture, mixing to just barely combined after each addition. Fold in the peanut butter chips.
4. Form dough into 1" balls and bake for 11 minutes. Cool on tray for 5 minutes, and then completely on a wire rack (if you can resist them that long).

Some Notes:

• I really have nothing that I would change to this recipe. It was that good. Maybe I'll try substituting white chocolate chips next time.
• I used Ghiradelli cocoa powder. I wouldn't be willing to compromise for cocoa powder of any poorer quality, because it lends the primary flavour to the cookies.

Mexican Tea Cakes

These cookies were my second contribution to ATH 305's cultural fiesta. They were easy to make only hours before the event (although I would suggest planning ahead... see my notes), and went over very well. I can always remember my mother making these as Christmas cookies, so it was interesting to see them in a new light.

Mexican Tea Cakes

Adapted from Gourmet

Ingredients:

• 1 c. softened unsalted butter
• 3 c. powdered sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 2 1/4 c. all purpose flour
• 3/4 tsp. salt

To Make:

1. Cream together butter and 1/2 c. powdered sugar. Beat in vanilla, and add flour, cinnamon, and salt until just combined.
2. Chill for at least 6 hours.
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Butter 2 baking sheets.
4. Roll dough into 3/4 inch balls and place 2 inches apart on baking sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until bottoms are golden brown. Immediately roll cookies in powdered sugar and let cool completely. After cooled, roll in powdered sugar again.

Some Notes:

• In the interest of time, I skipped the chilling in step 2. I would NOT recommend doing this. The cookies turned out slightly flattened (as you can see in the picture) instead of perfectly round.

Ginger Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

These are not the prettiest cookies, but they are DELICIOUS! I was a little skeptical at first about the combination of candied ginger and chocolate, but I had some candied ginger to use up that I bought at Jungle Jims forever ago, and I hadn't made cookies in a while. This recipe is definitely a keeper. The cookies can be baked to your exact liking, which is really neat. My first batch came out pretty dark and crispy, the second batch (after reducing cooking time by two minutes) came out snappy and golden, and the third batch (after another minute reduction) turned out chewy... and all three batches tasted great! You don't find many cookie recipes that can do that.

Ginger Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

Adapted from Epicurious

Ingredients:

• 3 c. old-fashioned oats
• 1 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 c. whole-wheat flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 c. unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/4 c. (packed) brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/4 c. honey
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 c. semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 c. chopped crystallized ginger

To Make:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line baking sheets with aluminum foil.
2. In a medium bowl, combine oats, both flours, salt and baking soda.
3. Using an electric mixer, beat butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Add dry mixture to the mixer bowl and combine. Stir in ginger and chocolate chips. 
4. Drop batter onto baking sheets by tablespoonful. Bake until golden brown (about 10 minutes in my oven).

Some Notes:

• Make sure your batter mounds are compact so that the cookies do not crumble when removing from the baking sheet.
• The timetable for my oven was like this:

chewy cookies: 9 minutes

golden cookies: 11 minutes

crispy cookies: 13 minutes

• These cookies brown a little after they are pulled out of the oven. Plan accordingly.