CCC: JT "Secret Chocolate Chip Cookies"

recipe adapted from: Martha Stewart Show: Jacques Torres's Secret Chocolate Chip Cookies

INGREDIENTS
2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
2 1/4 cups packed light-brown sugar
4 large eggs
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
3 cups plus 2 tablespoons pastry flour
3 cups bread flour
1 Tbsp kosher salt
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
2 pounds bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

DIRECTIONS
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugars, until pale yellow in color. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add vanilla.

In a large bowl, whisk together both flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Slowly add flour mixture to wet ingredients, on a low speed until just combined. Remove bowl from mixing stand. Gently fold in coarsely chopped chocolate.

Scoop dough with your favorite cookie scoop. I like a #20 or 2.5 ounce scoop for this recipe. Cover with cling-wrap, and let sit in the refrigerator for 12-36 hours. I just did 24 hours, because waiting a day for cookies is all I can handle, BUT I swear this makes all the difference.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats; set aside.

Bake until lightly browned, but still soft, about 20 minutes for larger cookies, and about 10 minutes for smaller cookies. Cool slightly on baking sheets before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

SO Martha Stewart is the OG. She posted this recipe and made it on her show like a year before the infamous NYT article. The recipe she posted is kinda similar to the NYT Recipe, but also nothing like it. It doesn't call for the refrigeration step, and the proportions are insane. BUT MARTHA IS QUEEN, and I would trust her with every aspect of my LIFE. That being said, I genuinely prefer the recipe she posted. I tried them both, and Martha won handedly. However, I added in the step of refrigeration, because I found that it DID make a difference.
These cookies are massive, the texture is perfect, they look gorgeous, and the striations of chocolate are heavenly. I thought the bittersweet chocolate was perfect, but if that scares you, semi-sweet chocolate is okay. Just not Toll-House chips, you are not Phoebe Buffay.

Pineapple Angel Food Cake with Maraschino Cherry-Cream Cheese Frosting

INGREDIENTS
cake:

1 box angel food cake mix
1 20-oz can crushed pineapple

frosting:

2 oz cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup maraschino cherry juice

2 1/2 cups confectioners sugar

DIRECTIONS

cake:

Preheat oven to 350ºF.

Combine angel food cake mix with can of crushed pineapple by hand. Chuck into a 13x9 inch pan and bake for 30 minutes. Then remove from oven, and cool on rack until it comes to room temperature.

frosting:

Mix the cream cheese with the maraschino cherry juice, until the cream cheese isn't in giant chunks. Add confectioner's sugar until it your desire consistency.

Frost cake, then enjoy!

I am obsessed with maraschino cherries. It's kind of ridiculous just how much I love them. So my mother purchased a 9 lb 6 oz container of them for me. Annnnd I have downed half of them, mostly by myself. SOOOOO when I made some pineapple angel food cake, and realized I didn't have any coconut or canned frosting, I decided to be a big girl and make my own frosting- and that I was going to jazz it up with maraschino cherry juice! I am SO glad that I did!

Sugar Cookie Bars

recipe from Six Sisters' Stuff

INGREDIENTS
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temp
2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
5 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda

DIRECTIONS
In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each egg. Mix in vanilla.

In a separate bowl whisk together flour, salt and baking soda. Add to wet mixture and mix just until combined. Spread on a greased, rimmed baking sheet (use a 13x18x1" pan/cookie sheet). The dough will be just like cookie dough- heavy and sticky- so it’s best to spray your hands with a little nonstick spray and use them to help mold the dough into the pan.

Bake at 375 degrees for 10-15 min, until light golden brown or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

Frosting

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup milk
2 tsp vanilla
4 cups powdered sugar

Combine all ingredients until well-blended. Spread on top of bars. Top with sprinkles if you want!

I love Sugar Cookies. My Mom made the most amazing sugar cookies when I was little, for Christmas, for Valentine's Day, and birthdays. So, I always find myself craving them during those holidays. Just FYI, birthdays are definitely holidays. But good sugar cookies are time consuming, they take forever and a day to make. SOOOO when I found these bars on pinterest, I knew I had to them! And I am SO glad that I did, because they are amazing. All the classic flavors of sugar cookies, but without all the hassle of chilling, rolling out, cutting, and chilling again of the dough before you even get to bake them! ANNNND it makes decorating THAT much easier.

Pop! Pop!

Are you a single lady that wants multiple men to ask you to marry them?

Make these… now!

ingredients:
1 can crescent rolls
cream cheese
bacon, cut and cooked
diced chili peppers*

*jalapeño or serrano

directions:
Preheat oven to 375ºF.
Roll out crescent roll dough.
Cut each triangle in half.
A small dollop of cream cheese.
Top with a piece of bacon, and chili pepper.
Fold corners of crescent dough, and pinch.
Bake on a cookie sheet for 8-10 minutes.
Remove from oven, let cool a minute, then Pop! Pop!

The first time I made these, I used jalapeños, and I kid you not, I received four offers of marriage from them. The second time I made them, it was super bowl weekend, and all the stores in my area were out of jalapeños, so I used serrano peppers. They were a little bit spicier, but I REALLY liked them.

If you're worried about calories, then you can totally make them with reduced fat cream cheese, and reduced fat crescent rolls. Kind of a win/win, right?

White Chocolate-Gingerbread Blondies

adapted from Martha Stewart
INGREDIENTS
Vegetable-oil cooking spray
3 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cups packed light-brown sugar
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 large eggs, plus 1 large egg yolk
1 1/4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup unsulfured molasses
10 ounces white chocolate

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 17-by-12-inch rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray. Line bottom with parchment cut to fit, and coat parchment. Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and spices.

Beat butter and brown and granulated sugars with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy. Add eggs and yolk, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla and molasses. Reduce speed to low. Gradually add flour mixture, and beat until just combined. Stir in white chocolate.

Spread batter into prepared pan. Bake until edges are golden, about 25 minutes. Let cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Cut into 2-inch squares or desired shape.

I am secretly an old man due to my unnatural love of all things gingerbread. I could definitely live off of gingerbread. Nothing makes my heart as happy as gingerbread cookies. So, when I saw that Martha had a recipe for gingerbread blondies, I had to jump on that train. Although I despise all things white chocolate, I used a bag of white chocolate chips in the blondies, because I had a bag, and I might as well use them now. My bars kind of exploded over the sides while in the oven, so I think I'll reserve some of the batter next time. And there will definitely be a next time, because these were amazing.

Pecan Pie

adapted from Completely Delicious

INGREDIENTS
1 prepared pie crust in 9-inch pie dish
3 large eggs
1 cup light corn syrup
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cup chopped pecans

Dash of cinnamon

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, corn syrup, brown sugar, melted butter, and vanilla extract. Then stir in the pecans.
Gently pour the mixture into the prepared pie shell. Bake until the edges are completely set and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean, about 45-55 minutes. 

Let cool before serving, serve slightly warm or at room temperature.

Pumpkin Pie

INGREDIENTS
2 cups pumpkin purée
1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 (9-inch) unbaked pie crust

DIRECTIONS
Heat oven to 425°F.

Prepare pie crust, and pie dish.

Whisk pumpkin, sweetened condensed milk, eggs, spices and salt in medium bowl until smooth. Pour into crust.
Bake 15 minutes, then REDUCE oven temperature to 350°F; bake an additional 35 to 40 minutes or until knife inserted 1-inch from crust comes out clean. Remove from oven, and let cool.

Enjoy your pie!

My nephew, Nathan, wanted to bake a pumpkin pie FROM a pumpkin. Being the amazing aunt that I am, I took that as a challenge. So, I cut up a sugar pumpkin, scraped the innards, chucked it on a baking sheet and roasted it in the oven for like an hour (until the pumpkin is fork tender) at 350ºF. When I removed the pumpkin from the oven I peeled the skin off, and went to work on pureeing that s.o.b. in my TINY food processor. My pumpkin was a little dry, so I had to add some water to get the consistency I wanted. Then I pushed it all through a sieve, because it was still pretty fibrous. The Pioneer Woman recommends freezing it in one cup increments, just so that you know how much you have. I had a little under two cups from the one pumpkin, and used it in this pie recipe. This may not be the prettiest of pies, but I still love it because of how much hard work went into making it.