Bret and Alex's Chewy Chocolate Cookies

Bret and Alex's Chewy Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 c. flour
1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups chocolate chips, chopped
4 egg whites
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 c. chopped walnuts

Instructions
Position 2 racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.

Mix powdered sugar, flour, cocoa and salt in a bowl. Stir in chocolate chips. Add egg whites and vanilla; mix with a fork or electric mixer on medium until batter is just moistened. (Do not overbeat or batter will stiffen.)
Drop batter by teaspoonfuls onto baking sheets in evenly spaced mounds. Bake cookies until tops are lightly cracked and glossy, about 15 minutes. Cool briefly, then carefully remove from parchment paper with a spatula. Cookies may be soft and fragile so proceed carefully to lift cookies and place them on racks to cool. Do not wait too long to remove them from baking sheets, for they will stick, even to parchment paper. Repeat with remaining batter. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Notes

Chocolate Maccaroon Sandwich Cookie

This month’s MacTweet Challenge is a good one. We’ve been asked to recreate one of our favorite desserts as a macaron.  What to do…what to do.  Lemon Meringue Pie…no.  Banana Whipped Cream Cake…another no. Creme Brulee…definitely no.  S’mores…been done. German Chocolate Cake…bingo!
This and Strawberry Whipped Cream Roll are the two big birthday requests in my house. The more I thought about it the more perfect I knew GCK would be for this challenge.  Who doesn’t love the rich, creamy coconut filling and those luscious chocolate layers? I knew I could make a macaroon just as good.  Would you believe that I googled German Chocolate Cake Macarons and NOTHING came up.  Any recipe I’ve ever searched for has had at least a million sources. Sugar cookies alone bring up 4,750,000 sites FYI.   Maybe I’ve hit on something new.  Wouldn’t that be fun. So here you are, ladies and gentlemen, at the threshold of a new discovery.  The big questions is…will you like it?

My favorite chocolate macaron recipe is one I found at Barbara Bakes.   Barbara is the person who built up my confidence enough to try making what seemed like an impossibly difficult dessert that I first tried almost two years ago when I was in Paris. It took three tries before those elusive little feet and nice domed tops appeared and even now, after making macarons many times, I still get a big smile and a happy heart when I pull a baking sheet of macarons out of the oven. If you haven’t tried making them I urge you to do so.  It may take a time or two to get the feel of what the batter should look like when you are ready to pipe it onto the pans but it is well worth the effort.  I made a template that I use that helps me pipe all the macs the same size and you can find the directions HERE for how to make one for yourself.
Chocolate Macarons…from
The Sweet Life in Paris
by David Lebovitz at Barbara Bakes


1 cup (100 g) powdered sugar
1/2 cup powdered almonds (50 g)  (I used Bob’s Red Mill Almond Flour)
3 tablespoons (25 g) unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
2 large egg whites (75 g), aged 1 to 3 days at room temperature
5 tablespoons (65 g) granulated sugar
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  (In my oven this was too hot so I lowered the temperature to 300 degrees)
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and have a pastry bag with a plain tip (about 1/2 inch, 2 cm) ready.  If you set the pastry bag in a glass it’s much easier to fill.
Grind together the powdered sugar with the almond flour and cocoa so there are no lumps.  Use a food processor since purchased almond meal isn’t quite fine enough.
In the bowl of an electric mixer beat the egg whites until they begin to rise and hold their shape.  While whipping, beat in the granulated sugar until very stiff and firm, about 2 minutes.
Carefully fold in the dry ingredients, in two batches, into the beaten egg whites with a flexible rubber spatula.  When the mixture is just smooth and there are no streaks of egg white, stop folding and scrape the batter into the pastry bag (standing the bag in a tall glass helps).
Pipe the batter onto the parchment-lined sheets in 1 inch (3cm) circles, evenly spaced 3 cm apart.  Rap the baking sheet a few times firmly on the counter top to flatten the macarons. Sprinkle the tops of half of the macarons with finely chopped pecans when you pipe them.  The nuts won’t stick to the dough after it forms a skin.  Let them set at room temperature for about an hour until they form a skin that doesn’t stick to you finger when you touch them.
Bake for anywhere from 12 to 15 minutes depending on your oven.  It’s trial and error until you find the temperature and baking time that work for you.  Let macs cool and then carefully remove them from the baking sheet.      
Coconut Pecan Filling
1 12 ounce can evaporated milk
1-1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) butter
4 eggs yolks, slightly beaten
1-1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 7-ounce package flaked coconut, chopped
1/4 cup pecans, finely chopped
Mix milk, sugar, butter, egg yolks and vanilla in a large saucepan. Cook on medium heat for 15-18 minutes or until mixture thickens and turns a light golden brown, stirring constantly.  The mixture won’t be thick enough to spread and will thicken up after the coconut is added.
Add coconut and mix well.  Cool to room temperature and refrigerate to a consistency that will hold its shape.  Makes about 4 cups.  Fill macarons and refrigerate.
This filling is delicious as a frosting for cupcakes.

1 c. pumpkin puree
1/2 c. water
1/2 c. milk
1/3 c. butter

4 1/2 c. flour
3 tbsp. dl brwn sugar
1/2 tsp orange

Peppermint White Chocolate Fudge

Peppermint White Chocolate Fudge

Ingredients
1-1/2 teaspoons plus 1/4 cup butter, softened, divided
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup Daisy Brand Sour Cream
12 squares (1 ounce each) white baking chocolate, chopped
1 jar (7 ounces) marshmallow cream
1/2 cup crushed peppermint candy
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
Directions
Line a 9-in. square pan with foil. Grease the foil with 1-1/2 teaspoons butter; set aside.
In a large heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, sour cream and remaining butter. Cook and stir over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Bring to a rapid boil; cook and stir until a candy thermometer reads 234° (soft-ball stage), about 5 minutes.
Remove from the heat; stir in white chocolate and marshmallow creme until melted. Fold in peppermint candy and extract. Pour into prepared pan. Chill until firm.
Using foil, lift fudge out of pan. Gently peel off foil; cut fudge into 1-in. squares. Store in the refrigerator. Yield: 2 pounds.
Editor's Note: We recommend that you test your candy thermometer before each use by bringing water to a boil; the thermometer should read 212°. Adjust your recipe temperature up or down based on your test.

Sweet Potato Pie

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/sweet-potato-pie-recipe/index.html

Ingredients

1 pound 3 ounces sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 1/4 cups plain yogurt

3/4 cup packed, dark brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg

5 egg yolks

Salt

1 (9-inch) deep dish, frozen pie shell

1 cup chopped pecans, toasted

1 tablespoon maple syrup

Special equipment: steamer basket

Directions

Put cubed potatoes into steamer basket and place steamer basket into a large pot of simmering water that is no closer than 2 inches from the bottom of basket. Allow to steam for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender. Mash with potato masher and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place sweet potatoes in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat with the paddle attachment. Add yogurt, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, yolks, and salt, to taste, and beat until well combined. Pour this batter into the pie shell and place onto a sheet pan. Sprinkle pecans on top and drizzle with maple syrup.

Bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until the custard reaches 165 to 180 degrees. Remove from oven and cool. Keep refrigerated after cooling.

Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Cream Cheese and Bacon

http://www.yummly.com/recipe/Baked-Sweet-_-Savory-Mashed-Potatoes-Recipezaar?columns=6&position=2/34

Ingredients

3 12 lbs baking potatoes (peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces)
1 tbsp salt (divided)
16 ozs sweet potatoes (syrup drained mashed)
8 ozs cream cheese (softened)
6 slices cooked bacon (crumbled)
34 cup sour cream
23 cup chicken broth
12 tsp pepper
bacon (crumbled, garnish)


1
Bring potatoes, 1 teaspoon salt, and water to cover to a boil. Cook 30 minutes, or until tender. Drain.
2
Return potatoes to pan. Add sweet potatoes and cream cheese. Mush until smooth with potato masher. Stir in bacon, next 3 ingredients, remaining 2 teaspoons of salt.
3
Spoon mixture into lightly greased 11x7-inch baking dish. Bake uncovered at 350°F for 20 minutes.
4
Garnish with the rest of the bacon.

Read more at: http://www.food.com/recipe/baked-sweet-savory-mashed-potatoes-79746?oc=linkback

Bret's Peppermint Meringue Cookies

Bret's Peppermint Meringue Cookies

Ingredients

2 egg whites
1/8 teaspoon cider vinegar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 tsp cream of tartar (increases volume, stabilizes)
3 tbsp white sugar
2 peppermint candy canes, crushed
2 tsp. peppermint schnapps
1/4 tsp peppermint extract

Directions

Preheat the oven to 225 degrees F (110 degrees C). Line cookie sheets with aluminum foil or parchment paper.
In a large glass or metal bowl, whip egg whites, vinegar and salt to soft peaks. Gradually add sugar while continuing to whip until stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes. Fold in 2/3 of the crushed candy canes, reserving the rest. Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls, one inch apart onto the prepared cookie sheets. Sprinkle remaining crushed candy canes over the top.
Bake for 60 minutes in the preheated oven, or until dry. Cool on baking sheets.

Chocolate Peppermint Pinwheels

Ingredients
1 batch Sugar Cookies, recipe follows
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
1/2 cup crushed candy canes or peppermint candies
Directions
Divide the dough in half and add chocolate and vanilla to 1 half and incorporate with hands. Add egg yolk, peppermint extract, and crushed candy to other half of dough and incorporate with hands. Cover both with plastic and chill for approximately 5 minutes. Roll out doughs separately to approximately 1/4-inch thickness. Place peppermint dough on top of chocolate and press together around the edges. Using waxed paper or flexible cutting board underneath, roll dough into log. Wrap in waxed paper and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Remove dough from the refrigerator and cut into 1/2-inch slices. Place cookies 1-inch apart on greased baking sheet, parchment, or silicone baking mat and bake for 12 to 13 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through cooking time. Remove from oven and let sit on baking sheet for 2 minutes, then move to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Sugar Cookie:
3 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 tablespoon milk

Powdered sugar, for rolling out dough

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. Place butter and sugar in large bowl of electric stand mixer and beat until light in color. Add egg and milk and beat to combine. Put mixer on low speed, gradually add flour, and beat until mixture pulls away from the side of the bowl. Divide the dough in half, wrap in waxed paper, and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Flaky Pastry Dough Recipe

FLAKY PASTRY
1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt
6 tbsp. cold butter, cut into sm. pieces
1/4 tsp. baking powder
2 tbsp. vegetable shortening
1 egg, lightly beaten
In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender or your fingertips. Work in the shortening until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in the egg and gather the dough into a ball. Flatten the dough into a 6 inch disk, wrap well and refrigerate at least 30 minutes before rolling out. Roll the pastry into a 12 inch circle. Fit loosely into a 10 inch glass pie dish. Pour pie filling into pie shell and bake approximately 45 minutes.

CandiCaine

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/sandra-lee/candy-cane-cocktail-recipe/index.html

This is a flaming shot made of overproofed peppermint schnapps, concentrated essence of elf, and a sprig of holly for poison. --Kingdom of Loathing

Ingredients
1 shot vanilla rum
1 shot white chocolate liqueur (recommended: Godiva)
1 shot peppermint schnapps
cocoa powder and chocolate shavings for garnish
Candy cane, garnish
Directions
Add all liquid ingredients to cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake well and strain into martini glass. Garnish with candy cane.

king arthur ingredients

http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/ingredients

White CHocolate Recipe

WHITE CHOCOLATE

16 oz Cocoa butter
1 tsp lecithin
14 oz powdered dry milk (yes, this is what the professionals use)
14 oz sugar (powdered yourself, the prepowdered has cornstarch that makes the chocolate gummy)
You can also consider added a few onces of milk fat (clarified butter) as in done by most professionals. It makes a slightly differant white chocolate.

Because there are no cocoa solids present, you don't have to worry about roasting, cracking or grinding any cocoa beans. You can go straight to the Santha for refining.

Place the melted Cocoa butter in your Santha Wet Grinder. It is very helpful to have your solid ingredients warmed up to at least 120 F, including the Santha drum. Slowly add the 14 oz of sugar and 14 oz of milk powder into the melted cocoa butter while the Santha is running. Run the Santha until the white chocolate is of the smoothness you desire. I find 8-10 hours is about right. Your tastes may vary. If you pre-grind your sugar in a small food processor or coffee grinder (about 2 minutes work), you can usually reduce refining time by 2-3 hours or so.

After it is out of the Santha temper and mold up your chocolate into the shape of your choice.

Place into a cool, dry place to solidify and then unmold, ususally about 24 hours later to be safe. This can be done in a refrigerator if you wish.

White chocolate benefits from the resting like real chocolate, but I have found you need to protect it from heat and light a bit more or it can turn "off".


Santha is a brand of wet grinder machine. Wet grinders are very popular tools in the South Indian kitchen used to make paste out of soaked grains and lentils. At one time, a wet grinder consisted of a large rock with a hole in it, where a cylindrical rock with a wooden handle fit in. The grain and lentil mixture was poured in with water and the cylinder rotated by the handle on the top to grind the food together. The ground paste is used for various food items like idli, dosa, and vada.

Pumpkin and Mint Cookies

http://delishhh.com/2011/11/13/pumpkin-mint-chocolate-chip-cookies/
Pumpkin Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies
Yields: 40 cookies | Prep Time: 20 minutes | Bake Time: 15 minutes

½ cup sugar
1 (1/2 cup) stick butter room temperature
1 egg
2 ½ cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp salt
1 tsp peppermint extract
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup mint chocolate chips

Turn oven onto 350F

Mix sugar, butter and egg in a mixer until fluffy.  In a separate bowl mix the flour, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt and set aside.  Then in a third bowl mix the peppermint, vanilla, pumpkin and mint chocolate chips.  Then mix the three bowls together into one just until combined.

Using a tsp add these cookies with an inch apart on a cookies sheet with parchment paper or silicon liner. Bake in 350 degree oven for 15 minutes.

Harry Potter - Butterbeer

BUTTERBEER
Start to finish: 1 hour (10 minutes active)
Servings: 4
1 cup light or dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons water
6 tablespoon butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar
3/4 cup heavy cream, divided
1/2 teaspoon rum extract
Four 12-ounce bottles cream soda


In a small saucepan over medium, combine the brown sugar and water. Bring to a gentle boil and cook, stirring often, until the mixture reads 240 F on a candy thermometer.
Stir in the butter, salt, vinegar and 1/4 heavy cream. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
Once the mixture has cooled, stir in the rum extract.
In a medium bowl, combine 2 tablespoons of the brown sugar mixture and the remaining 1/2 cup of heavy cream. Use an electric mixer to beat until just thickened, but not completely whipped, about 2 to 3 minutes.
To serve, divide the brown sugar mixture between 4 tall glasses (about 1/4 cup for each glass). Add 1/4 cup of cream soda to each glass, then stir to combine. Fill each glass nearly to the top with additional cream soda, then spoon the whipped topping over each.


Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2010/07/02/harry-potters-butterbeer-recipe-uncovered/#ixzz2BR0YPO69

Harry Potter Cooking

http://hpcooking.blogspot.com/

Harry Potter - Coconut Ice

You Will Need:
2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups whole milk
2 Tbs golden syrup or light corn syrup
1/4 stick (2 Tbs) unsalted butter
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup ground dessicated coconut (shredded sweetened coconut is fine)
few drops red food coloring


1. Grease an 8 x 8" square pan and line with parchment or wax paper.
2. Combine the sugar, milk, golden syrup, butter, heavy cream, and salt in a LARGE saucepan (as you cook, it expands like crazy, so you should definitely use a 4qt pot or larger).


3. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the butter is melted and the ingredients are combined.
4. Clip a candy thermomenter to the side and continue cooking, stirring frequently, until the mixture reaches 238 degrees. This takes at least 30 minutes. Be patient and DO NOT turn up the heat!


5. Remove the pan from the heat and wait until the mixture cools to 125 degrees. This also takes a long time; you may want to place the pot in an ice bath to speed up the process a bit.

Note that it's no longer white :(

6. Remove the thermometer and add the vanilla and coconut. Beat/stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until the mixture loses its glosses and is very thick (10-15 minutes). You really might want to enlist some help!



7. Assuming your mixture is still light enough, add a couple drops of food coloring and mix thoroughly (or get really fancy and scrape half the white batter into the pan, then dye the other half pink and pour it over the top!).



8. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Cool completely before cutting into 1" squares. Store in an airtight container (it keeps for several weeks).



Yummy! Despite the fact that my coconut ice has yet to turn out the correct color, it is still quite delicious! I definitely recommend that you give it a try! Enjoy!

Butternut Squash Bread

Butternut Squash/Pumpkin Bread

1 cup butternut squash or pumpkin purée
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup water
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour one 8.5 x 4.5 x 2.5 inch loaf pan.

2. In a large bowl, mix together the butternut squash puree, eggs, oil, water and sugars until thoroughly combined. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom.

3. Stir the dry ingredients into the butternut squash mixture. Combine just until incorporated; do not over mix. Pour into the prepared pan.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 55-65 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.