Crazy for Cookie Dough

I love books, but I don't like to spend money on them when I can get them for free at the library.  I have always been a regular library goer and don't understand why everyone isn't.  They have some good stuff in that  place!  Of course I do not like how my tax dollars are being spent on filling the place up with more and more DVDs.  It's a little off track for me.... How is that supporting literacy? But don't get me started.

Anyway, I was deep in the shelves of the cookbook section looking for some of the newer released books I have seen on the blogs when I came across this :

It was the beginning of a multi-day cookie dough bender.  I couldn't get enough of it and made three recipes in three days.  

I started with the cookie dough donuts.  I am a big fan of donuts, but have never made them before.  I am not crazy about having to use all that oil to fry them so I was happy to these donuts were baked.

The cookie dough for all the recipes is eggless so it is safe to eat raw. They tasted best right out of the oven and had my fill after eating two.

The unglazed donut holes were good too, they tasted like yeast rolls and I ate a few of them too. I love bread and fresh baked bread is even harder to resist.

Next, I started on the Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie Dough ice cream.  The ice cream base needs to sit overnight so I had to get that going first.   Instead of traditional cookie dough I went with peanut butter because is goes perfectly with chocolate.  The recipe makes A LOT of cookie dough.  This is how much I had to mix into the ice cream even after trying a few hunks.

Homemade ice cream rules and this was excellent!  I like it best when it is in its soft serve consistency right out of the ice cream maker. The only thing I would change next time is to not use all the cookie dough.  I can't believe I'm saying this, but you can have too much in the ice cream and the flavors aren't balanced.

After donuts and ice cream I moved onto cake-Brown Sugar Cookie Dough Layer Cake.  It is a three layer cake with ganache and cookie dough separating the layers of cake.  This is one of my new favorite cakes and I will be making it again. I changed the frosting on my cake to a traditional buttercream.  The one in the book is made with brown sugar and I thought there was enough of that flavor in the cake and cookie dough.  

Brown Sugar Cookie Dough Layer Cake
For Cake
3 cups cake flour
1 1/2 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened and cut into pieces
1 1/4 cups whole milk, divided
2 eggs
6 egg whites
2 teaspoons vanilla 


For Cookie Dough
3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup whole milk or cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips


For Ganache
3 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream


For Frosting
8 tablespoons butter, softened
3 3/4 cups powdered sugar
3-4 tablespoons milk
2 teaspoons vanilla


Prepare three 9 inch round cake pans and preheat oven to 350 degrees.


In large bowl combine cake flour, baking powder, sugars and salt,  Add butter and 1 cup of milk.  Mix on low until evenly moistened, increase speed to medium high and beat for 1-2 minutes until light and fluffy. 


In a small bowl whisk the remaining 1/4 cup milk with whole eggs, egg whites and vanilla.  Add to flour mixture a little at a time mixing well between each addition. Divide batter evenly among three pans.


Bake 22-25 minutes until inserted toothpick comes out clean.  Transfer to a cooling rack. 


Begin making the cookie dough by beating butter and sugars on medium speed for 2-3 minutes. Beat in milk and vanilla.  Add flour and salt until combined and stir in chocolate chips.  Set aside.


To prepare the ganache, place chopped chocolate in heat proof bowl. In small saucepan, heat cream over low heat until it simmers. Pour hot cream over chocolate and let sit for about 30 seconds.  Stir until chocolate is completely melted and smooth. Cool to room temperature. 


For frosting, blend butter in mixing bowl on low speed until fluffy.  Add powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons milk and vanilla. Blend on low until sugar is incorporated.  Increase to medium speed and beat until light and fluffy.  Blend in up to 1 tablespoon milk if frosting is too stiff.

To assemble the cake she recommends leveling each layer prior to stacking.  (I did not and my cake did crack a little)  On each layer spread one-half of cookie dough and top it with one-half of ganache. Cover entire cake with butter cream frosting.


Adapted from The Cookie Dough Lover's Cookbook.

This officially ended my cookie dough craving, at least temporarily.  I loved this cookbook and would consider buying it. There were more recipes I wanted to try, but for another time.

Chocolate Marshmallow Milkshake

In case you haven't heard on the TV, on Twitter, on the internet, or on the radio....it's HOT outside, everywhere!  In times like this you need a way to cool off and that's just what this chocolate shake does in addition to making you feel happy all over from its delicious goodness.

The best part of this milkshake is the light fluffy marshmallow whipped cream.  I could just sit and eat it with a spoon. I keep trying to come up with other things to eat it with.
It is perfect with the dense double chocolatey ice cream. 


This recipe claims to make four shakes, but it's more like two for me. The idea is to create layers of the chocolate milkshake topped with whipped cream and then repeat ending with whipped cream on top. So not only is it heavenly to eat it is also beautiful to look at as you gobble it up.

Chocolate Marshmallow Milkshake
Makes 4 shakes


Marshmallow Whipped Cream
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup marshmallow fluff
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract


Chocolate Milkshake
1 cup cold milk (whole milk is best)
1/4 cup chocolate syrup
3 cups chocolate ice cream

In cold bowl with cold whisk (I put both in the freezer for 5 minutes before I start) add heavy cream, marshmallow fluff and vanilla.  Whisk briskly until stiff peaks form.  Set aside in the refrigerator.  


In a blender combine milk, ice-cream and chocolate syrup.  Blend until smooth.


Fill glasses with layer of chocolate shake, then add some marshmallow cream, now more milkshake and top with cream.


Enjoy!

Blueberry Fruit Bars

Dessert Man loves Trader Joes blueberry fruit bars and eats one just about every day. We I do a pretty good job of keeping some in the house, even though we don't live any where near a Trader Joes.  (It is my job to stock up every time I visit Atlanta and Chicago) 


He got some bad news last week, when he realized  the cupboard was bare.  He had eaten every last one.  It would be a couple months until I could get to a Trader Joes again so we had to come up with Plan B. 


Make our own.

Before toasting

We pumped ours up with some toasted coconut and almonds.

After toasting

You want to  mix crust with a fork until it becomes crumbly and sticks together when you push on it.

The crust is just moist enough to press easily into the prepared 8 in square pan.  Lining it with aluminum foil just makes it easier to remove after baking and ensures nice, evenly shaped bars.

Because we are fans of peanut butter we had to try some as peanut butter and fruit bars, so we spread some out on half of the crust before adding the jam.  The heat from the crust, made is very easy to spread.

 After spreading the jam, the last step is to sprinkle on the toasted coconut and almonds.  This is where you can personalize the bars to your tastes and add you favorite toppings.

 Pulling the bars out of the pan by the foil gives you one nice square you can cut up into smaller pieces.  I cut mine up into 16 pieces.

This is what we came up with. They are not exactly like Trader Joes, but very good. This bar has a very crisp crust versus their softer crust and ours is open faced. I keep our in the refrigerator I like them cold.

Blueberry Fruit Bars with coconut, almonds and peanut butter


1/4 cup almonds, chopped
1/4 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 cup blueberry jam ( I used Polaner All Fruit)
1/4 cup peanut butter 


Heat over to 350 degrees.
Scatter almonds and coconut on foil lined baking pan.  Bake in 350 degree oven for 7-10 minutes until golden brown, stirring halfway through.  Keep your eye on these, as they can burn quickly especially if your oven heats unevenly.  I cook them in my toaster oven so I can keep an eye on them, but it can be done in the oven too.


Line 8 inch square pan with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray.


Mix flour, sugar and salt in medium bowl.  Stir in melted butter and mix with a fork until dough is crumbly and sticks together when pushed.   Using your hands press dough into bottom of prepared pan. 


Bake for 20 minutes until golden brown.  Remove from oven and spread 1/4 cup peanut butter over crust.(If you're a peanut butter fan, you can always add more.) The heat will help it spread evenly.  Spread jam over peanut butter and sprinkle with toasted coconut and almonds.


Return to oven to bake for 20 minutes.  Let cool for five minutes and remove from pan using foil as handles.  Let cool to room temperature and cut into 16 squares.
At this point bars can be eaten, covered with foil and refrigerated, stored at room temperature, frozen, or any combination of these.


*inspired by Pam Anderson

Sea Salt Soiree Chocolate Chip Cookies

I grew up in a Tollhouse Chocolate Chip Cookie house and thought there was no better version. We used the recipe on the back of the bag of chips. But that was all I knew.  That was our go to cookie and we ate them a lot!  They always turned out the same - thin and crispy. 

I turned a corner in my cookie world when I found a recipe for thick and chewy chocolate chip cookies! Could this be true? I could make these in my own home? 

I now know what good chocolate chip cookies really taste like and I will not go back to thin and crispy. 

These cookies are outstanding! 

You can use what ever kind of chocolate you prefer. I have made them with milk, dark, white chocolate and a combination of them. But I am excited to share my latest twist on this recipe.

Ever since I tasted Ghiradelli's Intense Dark Sea Salt Soiree chocolate at the Hot Chocolate race in Chicago, I knew I they would be perfect in this recipe. T


This is a dark chocolate with sea salt and roasted almonds. It is a nice mix of salty and sweet. I have only found it in 3.5 oz bars that I roughly chop to add to dough.

Ghiradelli chocolate does cost a little more than Nestle or Hershey chocolates, but it's worth it to me.  I searched for coupons and found one HERE for $1 off two bars of Ghiradelli. Or you can like them on Facebook to get a coupon too. 

Sea Salt Soiree Chocolate Chip Cookies (Thick & Chewy)

Makes 18 large cookies

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), melted and cooled slightly

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 egg yolk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 - 3.5 ounce bars of Ghiradelli Intense Dark Sea Salt Soiree, chopped  (about 1 1/2 cups)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In medium sized bowl whisk together flour, salt and baking soda; set aside.  

Using either an electric mixer, or by hand, mix butter and sugars until combined. Mix in egg, yolk and vanilla. Add dry ingredients and mix just until combined.  Stir in chopped chocolate.

Roll dough into balls about 2 inches in diameter. (The bigger the ball, the bigger the cookie will be) Holding ball with the fingertips of both hands, twist and pull apart into two equal halves.  Place each half - jagged side face up on cookie sheet. Leave enough room in-between each ball as cookies will spread when baking. 

Bake about 11-15 minutes until cookies are golden brown and the outer edges start to harden, centers will be soft and puffy.  Be careful not to over bake.

Cool on cookie sheets until able to remove without breaking.

Dough can be refrigerated up o 2 days or frozen up to 1 month. Frozen dough requires 1-2 minutes extra baking time.

Source

Annie's eats via  

Cooks Illustrated

A Sweet Encounter with Dolvett from Biggest Loser

I had been anxiously awaiting my trip to Atlanta for a few reasons.

I would be spending the weekend with my daughter Cate, who lives in Chicago.


I would be staying with my only favorite sister and her family.


I would be running the Publix Atlanta Half Marathon with Cate.


I would be attending the Celebrity Chocolate Buffet at the Four Seasons.


Dolvett Quince, trainer from the Biggest Loser, would be the celebrity host of the buffet.


As Julie Andrews sang in the Sound of Music "somewhere in my youth or childhood, I must have done something good" for all of this fantastic stuff to take place in one weekend.


When Cate told me she was flying to Atlanta for the half marathon, I didn't want to miss a chance to see her and decided to sign up so we could run the race together.  I had recently read in Food Network Magazine that the Four Seasons has a Celebrity Chocolate Buffet every Friday in March and wanted to go.  It got even better when I received the following email:

I am a BIG fan of the Biggest Loser and was so excited when I heard Dolvett would be the celebrity host that weekend!! I spend every Tuesday watching him whip the contestants into shape and I like his style. He is a great addition to the show.  


Meeting him was incredible!  He is very good looking and oh so fit! I could tell when I got to stand next to him in the photo and put my arm around him!  

My sister Wendy Dolvett, me and Cate

You can tell by the silly look on my face that I was star struck.  He took my breath away when I shook his hand.  He looks even more handsome in person (if that's possible) and has such a great smile. I just couldn't believe I was talking to him. He was very nice and had encouraging things to say. He looked you right in the eye when talking with you and gave you all of his attention. It was mesmerizing.

Cate had a great conversation with him about her road to fitness and weight loss over the past 2 years.  She has lost over 100 pounds and will be running her 3rd half marathon.  I am so proud of her and it has been incredible to see her transformation both inside and out! 


We didn't get to talk very long, because he was the most popular guy in the room and most of the people at the buffet were women - go figure!
Chocolate + an attractive man are all you need to bring em in!


Yes, it was strange that he was hosting a chocolate buffet and I didn't see him eat anything, but I was okay with that.  I know that eating from a chocolate buffet on a regular basis is not a good idea, but I also know that indulging from time to time is living life.

The buffet was beautiful and decadent.  

with items from the ordinary to the extraordinary...

My goal was to try some of everything.  We each got a plate and shared.

You can tell we're related because we all got some of the same things.

Our second trip was devoted mostly to the chocolate fondue.

The food was excellent and I loved the variety of items.  My two favorite items were the Guinness cupcakes and the Swiss Cake Rolls (not the ones Little Debbie makes).  I discovered them both at the end and didn't get a photo of the Swiss cake rolls.  


I do like chocolate fondue and wonder why I don't make it at home. Maybe it's safer that way...No, I'm gonna have to try it.


I went home full and happy. Between meeting Dolvett and eating all that luscious chocolate, it was a good night!

Fluffernutter Brownies

Being away for the weekend, has left me feeling rushed with the hours just zipping by.  So much to do and so little time.  While I am trying to get caught up and write my race recap from the weekend I am going to leave you with this sensational idea to jazz up your brownies.

Oh yes, these are as delicious as they sound!

Fluffernutter is a famous sandwich and now it has come to brownies!  My husband complained last week that he was forced to settle for a glass of chocolate milk for dessert two nights in a row and  needed a REAL dessert.  Brownies are a favorite and would be quick to make, but I wanted something more than just a regular brownie.  


Before putting the brownies in the oven I decided to add peanut butter right into the unbaked mixture.  But I got an even better idea and decided to add marshmallow fluff in too.  Using a large spoon I dropped alternating scoops of peanut butter and marshmallow fluff across the pan. I only did a section of the brownies because I did not tell dessert man I was doing this and wasn't sure he would be interested.

I then took a knife and swirled the scoops into the brownie mixture until it was nicely marbled.

I cooked the brownies according to the package directions and...VOILA!  A masterpiece emerged.

Okay, maybe not a masterpiece, but a darn good brownie that I could not get enough of.  This section of the pan was a hit with dessert man too who is not a big marshmallow fan.  There is something about it with peanut butter that makes it irresistible.

I wish I had made the entire pan into fluffernutter brownies!

Fluffernutter Brownies

Brownie mix or recipe

Peanut Butter (I use Jiff)

Marshmallow Fluff

Make your brownies according to package or recipe directions and spread into prepared pan.  Using a large spoon, alternate dropping heaping scoops of peanut butter and marshmallow on top of mixture.  Use your judgement on how much based on your preference.  I wish I had used more peanut butter on mine. (Admittedly I have a peanut butter problem).

Using a knife, make circle eight motions through the toppings to swirl throughout the brownie base.

Use package or recipe directions for baking temperatures and times.

Keeps well, if hidden.

Blueberry Buttermilk Breakfast Cake

Plan to make it this weekend, or today.

It's called a breakfast cake, but trust me, it is delicious any time of the day.  I made this last weekend and it was gobbled up in two days.  Blueberries are on sale, so I think making another one soon is a sure thing.

Buttermilk is a good thing! It makes the cake moist and velvety without being too rich. I have found this great buttermilk at Whole Foods. I like that it comes from grass fed cows.  I believe that grass fed cows are healthier and that means healthier milk for me!

When cooked, the fresh blueberries got plump and juicy and the sprinkled vanilla sugar on top added the perfect sweetness to every bite.


I found the recipe HERE on Alexandra's Kitchen. The only thing I changed in the recipe was I substituted Vanilla Sugar to sprinkle on top before baking.

I love this cake! 
(and you will too)

Peppermint Cookies and Cream Ice Cream

It's been busy around here the past two weeks with family members coming and going as we celebrated the holidays.  I am lucky enough to have two weeks off of work this time of year so there was time to make and eat a lot of food.  But we got our exercise in too.  In fact, we tried two new activities.  


Recently I discovered a nature trail that offers a four different length trails through the flora and fauna of Central Florida.  I talked my three kids into checking it out and promised we would only do the 3.1 mile trail.  

Cate and me

After studying  the map at the entrance to find the trail we wanted we learned it was marked with green markers.  We got started and it was no problem, the markers were easy to spot.
  
About one mile in one of us had to go to the bathroom. Although it did involve some grumbling and talk of turning back we were the only ones out there, so that was easily solved.  I'll admit, I lied a little and told them we were about half way through so we might as well keep going because it would be the same distance either way.  Although they were skeptical, I was able to get away with this because  I was the only one wearing a Garmin. I felt a little sneaky, but it wouldn't kill them to walk the whole thing.

All smiles before we realized we took a wrong turn.

The trail was very nice once we got through the sugar sand section which filled our shoes with mini sand dunes.  We passed a beautiful lake and saw lots of animal tracks.  But when 3.1 miles came there was no end in sight.   We were sure we had stayed on the green trail so we just kept walking. 

By mile four we were worried we had taken a wrong turn. (Hoping it wouldn't turn out like the movie, but making survival plans just in case ) Caroline had an injured hamstring and could only walk a short distance before she began limping and walking more slowly. 


To scare us, Patrick told us that the tracks we had been seeing were from wild hogs (that did make me a little nervous) and right after that there was a snake laying in the middle of the path. Moral was beginning to fade. 


I knew we would eventually find our way out, but I was concerned that it was so much longer than we expected and I had never been on these trails before either.  It was the end of a long day and the sun was starting to go down.  We did have a cell phone with us, so if we were still out  when it got dark, we could get some help.


Two hours and five minutes after starting we finally made it back to the parking lot.  We ended up walking 5.4 miles. We were thrilled and relieved to get to the car and have a drink of water. I'm thinking I will not be able to talk them into doing this again.


Our other adventure also took place in the wilderness, but this time we were on the tree tops.  We went canopy cycling!

You ride through the trees on a canopy cycle hanging from a cable wire.  It is a hour long trek through a gorgeous conservation area including a section that takes you over a lagoon with a large alligator. It was a fun experience!


To cool us off from all these outdoor actives we made some homemade ice cream.  Cookies and cream is always  good, but thanks to Cate we had some Trader Joe's Candy Cane Joe-Joe's in the house, so we used them to create some peppermint cookies and cream.  These cookies are wonderful by themselves but really shine in the cool, creamy vanilla ice cream.  

Peppermint Cookies and Cream Ice Cream


1-  1.5 quart vanilla ice cream (we use Edy's Light), softened
2- sleeves Candy Cane Joe-Joe's (about 24 cookies), crushed 
Whipped Cream*


In a large bowl mix softened ice cream and crushed cookies.  Fold in whipped cream and freeze until firm.

To make whipped cream :

1 cup heavy whipping cream

3 tablespoons confectioner's sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

In a large bowl whip heavy cream with mixer until stiff peaks are about to form.  Add sugar and vanilla and beat until stiff peaks are formed.  Do not over beat or it will become butter like. 

*8 oz Cool Whip can be substituted for whipped cream.

Hope you made some good memories over the holidays.  Happy New Year!!