Sea Salt Chocolate Chip Pecan cookies, Spring is here, and cat foot bite!!!

Last night, Saturday, May 14 at about 11:00 p.m.  I realized it was National Chocolate Chip Cookie day on Sunday, May 15, 2011.   I was scanning Cookie Madness and other sites for CCC recipes
(CCC=chocolate chip cookies for those unfamiliar with food blog acronyms) and decided to make some batter at about 12:30 a.m.  I was experiencing my own cookie madness!   I needed them to be baked and travel-ready on Sunday morning so I could have my brother's family try them.   I had a "happy accident" that turned into sea salt sprinkled cookies.  I added a little extra flour and refrigerated the dough to prevent what so many others have complained about:  flat, greasy cookies.
I think they are the best I've made so far...you be the judge!!!

Off the subject of cookies,  I included some pictures taken today.  I was thrilled by what a beautiful day it was here in Minnesota. Yesterday the temps were in the 40s, it was windy, and rainy-I was freezing all day.   Below you will see the contrast!!!!

Tulips and Daffodils

                            What CCC looked like after just going into the oven.

Cooled and almost ready to eat off my thrift-store plate which I love!

Now ready to eat with a delicious glass of cold milk.

Recipe follows Spring/Oriole pictures

5 Orioles in this pic-a couple sitting on my viburnums.  Grape jelly is the draw.

My talented husband made the cup holder.

Rescued cat Bozo chewing his big foot...now on to the recipe!

The recipe (for a small batch of two dozen cookies):  Loosely adapted from the Cookie Madness site, Ghirardelli bag, and my own spin...

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups flour (I used 1 cup all-purpose and a quarter cup of whole wheat pastry flour)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt (or a 1/2 teaspoon salt if you are not going to sprinkle with sea salt)
1/2 cup (1 stick) softened salted butter  (I usually put my cold stick of butter in the microwave for 25 seconds at 50% power)
1/4 cup +1/8 cup white granulated sugar
1/4 cup +1/8 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 large egg (I've heard it's good to have it at room temp when baking. Not sure why...)
Generous 1 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup lightly toasted pecans or walnuts
Sea Salt or kosher salt

Directions:
In a small bowl mix the flours, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In a medium-size mixing bowl add the sugars and the butter. Beat with an electric mixer for about 4 to 5 minutes until light and a bit fluffy.
Add the egg, vanilla, and almond extract. Beat on medium speed until incorporated, or for about a minute or two.
Slowly incorporate the dry ingredients mixing on low. Then pour in the chocolate chips and nuts. Mix on low or by hand until evenly distributed in the batter.   If you don't want to refrigerate them, you can go directly to the Baking step (I highly recommend refrigerating them.)
Press the dough into the bottom of the bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. 
**Refrigerate at least four hours-this will help turn the cookies from flat to voluptuous!

Baking:
Preheat oven to 375°

Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper-I've tried this with and without parchment paper.  It is easy to remove the cookies from the parchment paper or directly from the cookie sheet, but cleanup is easier using parchment paper.   No need to grease the paper or cookie sheet.

Scoop stiff dough out with an ice cream scoop or tablespoon.  I rolled dough in my hands quickly into golf ball size blobs and set them approximately 2 inches apart on the cookie sheet. 

Put a tiny pinch of sea salt on top of each cookie.

Bake anywhere from 9 to 12 minutes depending on how long your dough has been refrigerated and how large your cookies are.  Remove tray from oven and let cookies set a spell- 2 minutes. Then remove to cooling racks
I like my CCC browned around the edges and a little bit lighter in the middle. I left my dough in the refrigerator overnight, made golf ball size blobs, and baked them about 10 minutes.

Enjoy!      

Chocolate caramel matzo "crack"

Since it is still Passover, I thought I would get in one batch of chocolate caramel matzo "crack".  This is a versatile bar and can be made with or without nuts and can be made any time during the year. I have never tried Holyland Matzos before, but I bought them this year because they were the only brand I could find in single boxes.   I was happily surprised with a crispy, well done matzo.
My cousin Lori gave this recipe to me and I have tweaked just a little bit over the years.

If you like a mixed marriage of caramel and chocolate, you will love this bar! It might turn out to be your favorite all time treat.  It is crispy, but not crunchy, chocolately, caramely, and not too sweet because you use salted butter and add nuts.  You can leave the nuts on or off. I have heard this recipe is also made with saltines, but saltines definitely have a different flavor and texture than matzo.  Let me know what you think!

  The few, delicious ingredients:

The matzo set up:

The caramel stuff:

 

The spread:

Post baked, ready for chocolate:

Chocolate!

The chocolate spread:

The final nuts:

The final cut:

The ingredients:

(4) plain, no salt added matzos

(1) cup salted butter (two sticks)

(1) cup packed light brown sugar

(1) cup chopped nuts (I use pecans - if you have time toast them)

(1.5 -2 ) cups semi sweet chocolate chips

(1) 2-ounce package of toasted sliced almonds

The directions:  Preheat oven to 350°

Line the bottom of a Pam-sprayed cookie sheet with the matzos (the sheet should have sides and be about 11"x17").  Break them to fit.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat melt butter and then add brown sugar and pecans.

Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a boil stirring constantly.

Once boiling, reduce heat to medium and let boil for 2 minutes.

Remove from heat and pour quickly over matzos.  Spread quickly to cover matzos because the caramel wants to start setting up.

Bake matzos in the pre heated oven for 9 or 10 minutes or until the caramel is bubbly and a little darker..

Remove them from the oven and sprinkle with chocolate chips.   Turn oven off.

Return to the oven for 2 minutes so chocolate melts.

Spread melted chocolate to cover matzos..my chocolate doesn't always cover completely-I like a little bit of the caramel showing through-it is a pretty dark gold and shiny.

Sprinkle immediately with sliced almonds and pat them down.

I usually slice them at this point because once they are completely cool, it is more difficult to slice them. I take a sharp large knife and press down hard.  

Refrigerate for about 30 minutes.   They can be stored on the counter top for a week, or longer if you refrigerate them.   Please let me know what you think if you try this recipe!



Chocolate covered PB pretzel snacks

I've been making this easy, quick,  no cooking involved "candy" for many years using Ritz PB mini sandwhich crackers. Now I use Snyders of Hanover's mini PB pretzel sandwiches. 

All you need are the sandwich pretzels, semi sweet chocolate chips (I think milk chocolate or a combo of semi and milk would work too),  a little bit of vegetable oil, and optional sprinkles.-- Oh yes, and wax paper.

Chocolate and peanut butter pretzels posing with Northern Gannetts

I made these in a hurry so they were a bit messy this time.

Here is the recipe:

One bag of peanut butter pretzel sandwiches

1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips ( I used Nestles minis because I wanted to use them up-Ghirardelli or Hershey's are better in my opinion.)

1 teaspoon canola oil or other vegetable oil

optional sprinkles

wax paper
cookie sheet

Directions:
Line a cookie sheet with waxed paper and set aside.
Put the chocolate chips in a microwavable measuring cup-preferably a 1 cup or larger size.

Microwave the chips for 30 seconds-stir-then add 1 t oil.  Continue microwaving another 30 seconds and continue doing this until they are just about melted.  Stir until they are melted.  Mix in a few of the pretzels at a time and carefully stir to coat them.  You can use a fork or a spoon to take them out and drop them onto the wax paper.  While they are still wet add optional sprinkles.  Put into the refrigerator for about 15 to 30 minutes until the chocolate is not glossy. Store in a covered container on the counter.

**Note:  I don't know how many pretzels a 1/2 cup of chips can cover since I don't count...when you run out of chocolate, just melt up more!



No Bake Key Lime Pie Redux

It is a cold, snow-stormy day in Minnesota.  This is the longest winter I can remember.  It makes me wish for Florida and Key Lime Pie.  Anna from Cookie Madness posted a recipe for a key lime pie without eggs.  In other words, no baking required!  Right up my alley this week!   The first time I followed Anna's recipe for the filling and it was delicious.  Mine didn't set as well as Anna's did.   So this time I used 6 T of unsalted butter instead of 4.  It came out fine.   I also used a non-traditional key lime pie crust:  home-made Oreo pie crust.   The reason:  Times square on Fort Myers Beach has a Kilwins Fudge and Ice cream shop where they sell Key Lime Pie ice cream.  It has chunks of dark chocolate covered pie crust mixed into it.   Didn't think I'd like chocolate with key lime.  I was so wrong!  I loved it!  For the crust I took 20 regular whole Oreos, put them in a food processor and processed to coarse crumbs.  I then poured the crumbs into a bowl and poured 4 T melted Salted butter over them and mixed thoroughly.  Pressed into a pie plate with the bottom of a measuring cup/ and then yes, I baked it in a 350 preheated oven for 10 minutes....
BUT you don't need to bake the crust, you can just refrigerate it or freeze it until firm before filling it.  I apologize for the color in my pictures..Key Lime Pie should be yellowy-cream color. 

Key Lime Pie and Painted Bunting-both Florida natives.

Looks like cheesecake, but it's not...exactly.

A slice of Florida Key Lime heaven!

Blue Ribbon Maple Pecan Amish quick bread

I have been meaning to post this recipe for a while, but I have not made a loaf of this bread since I started this blog.  I borrowed the picture above from Ben's Sugar Shack because this is what my bread looks like warm.  I hope Ben won't mind!  I won first place in the "quick breads with nuts" category at the Minnesota State fair in 2010.  2010 was the fifth year I entered the bread.  Finally all the planets aligned and it was my time to win.  Amish quick bread starter was being passed around a lot in the 1980s and 1990s, but it seems to have fallen out of fashion. My coworker Diane gave the first one cup of starter to me along with instructions and a recipe back in the mid-1990s.  I have not had to make the starter from scratch and it is 16 years and going strong!  I'm fairly sure I may have only a microscopic amount of the original starter in mine. This Amish starter is virtually indestructible!  I also remember thinking "oh my gosh, I'm going to have 4 cups of this starter and I have to make it all or give some away."   I learned over the years, after no one wanted any more, that you can freeze it in 1 cup portions!   It lasts at least 6 months in a freezer bag!!!  What people don't realize is you can take a 1 cup portion from the freezer, defrost it overnight on the counter, and make breads from it without waiting 10 days!   I've got some "cooking" on the counter right now.  See all the bubbles?  They are noisy and the fragrance is sweet and yeasty.

Here is a picture of the finished product-for the state fair they need to be baked in small pans:

Here is the recipe for the starter:

Ingredients:

1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45
degrees C)

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup white sugar

1 cup room temp milk

Directions:

Day 1. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Let stand 10 minutes. In a large plastic or glass mixing bowl combine 1 cup flour and 1 cup sugar. Mix thoroughly or flour will lump when milk is added. Slowly stir in 1 cup milk and dissolved yeast mixture. Cover loosely and let stand until bubbly. Consider this day 1 of the 10 day cycle. Leave loosely covered at room temperature.

Day 2:  do nothing

Day 3:  lightly stir with a wooden spoon

Day 4:  do nothing

Day 5:  do nothing (don't you just love this!)

Day 6:  add:

1 cup room temperature milk

1 cup flour

1 cup sugar

Stir to combine.  The mixture will be lumpy.  (Sometimes I poke the lumps to expose the flour and stir a little bit more because I just can't help myself !) 

Day 7:  do nothing-- watch it bubble and listen to the crackling sound!

Day 8:  lightly stir with a wooden spoon

Day 9:  do nothing

Day 10:   add to the existing batter:

1 cup room temperature milk

1 cup flour

1 cup sugar.

Stir to combine.  The mixture will be lumpy.   Put one cup of batter each into 3 freezer bags or 1 cup containers.  Freeze or give away. You should have approximately one cup of starter batter left in the bowl.  ( Or you can freeze it all and use it later....see tips at the end of this post.) 

Preheat oven to 325°

Grease or spray (2)  9 x 5 loaf pans

To what is left in the bowl mix in the following:

3/4 cup vegetable oil  

1/2 cup milk

3 large eggs lightly whisked

2 teaspoons pure maple extract or maple flavoring

Use electric mixer on low or mix by hand to combine the wet ingredients. Set aside.

Here is where I make the optional maple pecan topping and set it aside:

1/2 cup of finely chopped pecans-not toasted

1/8 cup sugar

1 tablespoon melted salted butter

1 teaspoon maple flavoring or pure maple extract.

In a small bowl mix together first the pecans and the sugar. Then mix in the melted butter and maple flavoring. Set on top of the preheating oven to keep it warm and easier to work with.

Now for the dry ingredients:

In a separate bowl mix together:

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cups sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 large box of vanilla instant pudding (5.1 oz box)

Set aside.

Have on hand 1 cup toasted chopped pecans (mix in right before batter is ready to pour into pans)

Add the dry ingredients to the liquid ingredients-mixing on low or by hand and not for too long.  Then stir in 1 cup toasted chopped pecans.

Pour into the 2 well-greased loaf pans and sprinkle the top of each with half of the optional maple pecan topping.

Bake for one hour. I usually check at about 45 minutes with a toothpick inserted in the center.  You want the toothpick to come out clean.  Remove from oven and let cool on a rack for 10 minutes. Then remove from pans and let cool completely for about an hour.   They freeze exceptionally well!  

Tip:  to use the batter straight from the freezer:  While mostly frozen take a spoon and scoop it out of the bag or container into a bowl and let it sit on the counter overnight.  You can make a bread straight from this batter or you can use this as your base to start counting from day one and make a whole new batch of 4 cups. 

Note: You can make many variations. The original recipe has 2 teaspoons of cinnamon and a teaspoon of vanilla with no maple. You can sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top. You can use banana pudding, or chocolate pudding and add chocolate chips, etc! 

Here is a link to some of the variations: Armchair World    Enjoy!!

Thin Mint brownies

Last night I decided to try Thin Mint brownies closely adapted from Anna at Cookie Madness.  The only thing I changed is I used salted butter and then only added a pinch of extra salt.   I have to say everyone who tried them loved them including me.  Because I am obsessed with shiny topped brownies, I took a picture of the top. I brought most of them to work so I didn't get a picture of them cut. You can find an excellent picture of them cut on Anna's site.

Notice at the top of the picture a piece of yummy Thin Mint

You will notice in my directions below that I like to mix things in a particular order.  I always mix my dry ingredients first and set them aside so they are ready when my wet ingredients are ready to go.  If  I have a few minutes in between steps, I sit down, relax, and eat a few chocolate chips!

Here is the recipe:

Thin Mint Brownies
1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter
2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips plus 1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips (divided use)
1 1/2 ounces chopped bittersweet chocolate or just shy of a 1/4 quarter cup bittersweet chocolate chips
1 large egg plus 2 tablespoons lightly beaten egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt.  If you are using Unsalted butter: add 1/2 teaspoon salt
8 Thin Mint Cookies (if you don’t have Girl Scout Cookies, try another mint flavored cookie)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line an 8 inch square metal pan with foil. Spray bottom with cooking spray.
Mix together flour, baking powder, and salt.  Set aside.

Melt butter in a small sauce pan on low and then add 2/3 cups chips and bittersweet chocolate.   Stir until melted.  Remove from heat and set aside for about five minutes or until the pan is is not hot, but still warm to the touch.

While waiting for the chocolate to cool, in a mixing bowl lightly whisk together the eggs, vanilla, and sugar. 
Stir the warm, but not hot (you don't want scrambled eggs) chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and cool to room temperature or for about 10 minutes.   Then stir in dry ingredients.

Chop the Thin Mints roughly into quarters (you can make them smaller if you want). Add the Thin Mints and the remaining 1/4 cup chocolate chips to the batter. The batter will be thick. spread it in the pan and bake on center rack for 25-27 minutes.   Toothpick should come out with moist bits of brownie on it.  Let cool to room temperature and then chill thoroughly. Lift from pan, set on a cutting board and cut into 16 squares. 



Easy Toffee

I'm still looking for an easy, tasty toffee or nut roca.  My last post is tasty, but I thought I'd try a recipe I found at Tasty Kitchen to compare.   The toffee was easy to make!

Toffee floating near the 12 Apostles, Port Campbell Nat'l Park, Australia

The color of the cooked toffee mix is good on missamy's pictures so that's what I went by.  However, I didn't let mine get quite as dark, but almost.  Mine did NOT smoke, but I did close the bedroom doors with the smoke detectors just in case!  I also used medium high heat, not high heat.  I only made 1/4 of the original recipe (but almost a 1/2 cup of chocolate chips) and put it in a 8 x 8 baking pan. I also used pecans and almonds for the topping.  I like how the sliced almonds "slice" through the toffee.
I think the flavor is close to my earlier post, but these won't crack your crowns! I sprayed the pan with cooking spray, but next time I would use parchment paper to line it - a tip from Anna at Cookiemadness.  I want to try this using my brown sugar recipe, but follow the technique for the Tasty Kitchen recipe. 
Let me know what you think if you try these!    Linked up to: Sweets for Saturday