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.