Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cake

“The Way to a Man’s Heart is Through his Stomach”

The man that I love just happens to also love Cookie Dough. When I came across Something Shiny’s Cookie Dough Cake, I knew that I had no other choice but to make this for him. In the past I have surprised Rich with Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes, also nice batches of Raw (with egg) Cookie Dough to make him smile, and even Cookie Dough Truffles for Holidays! This cake I knew would be a big hit – even if it meant many hours of preparation going into it (do not let the long list scare you off – it is worth every second you will spend working on it)!

Rich knew that he was getting some sort of baked goodie for Valentines Day this year, but I do not think that he expected this. We started this evening out with some wine and cheese and meats that I had picked up to hold him over until I could finish making the cake and then make dinner, and the evening of food was one that we totally enjoyed – especially with this cake ending the whole night. People may tell you that you need to spend lots of money to make people happy but I know that the best gifts come from the heart (and go to the stomach?).

Before reading any further please promise me that you will not worry about your diet for just a little bit – happiness is what you make it 🙂

Cookie Dough – egg free

“Rich – I made you a snack – it’s in the fridge next to the milk…” I think that if I said that phrase more often we might be engaged (just kidding honey, kinda)

But in all seriousness – Rich LOVES cookie dough, even though he tells people all the time (as he is shoveling mouthfuls of cookie dough) how consuming raw eggs is bad for you. I figured I would show appreciation for all his hard work & commuting & such and treat him to a batch of ‘raw’ cookie dough to help deal with the tough semester he is having.

I didn’t want to go fully “vegan/healthy/raw” on him just yet though. I am sure that he will enjoy those ‘healthier options’ when I do try them [soon], but I am trying to loose weight and didn’t want to be tempted by having something sitting around that I could pretend was healthy. This Egg-Free Cookie Dough I (quite obviously) know is not “healthy” even if they are egg free and won’t give us salmonella!

packed in plastic for your snacking pleasure

Raw Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

adapted from The Cupcake Project (using a whole stick of butter – no need to mess around with measuring a stick & a half… going for easy here)

• 1 stick butter, melted
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 2/3  flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 Tablespoons Milk

Mix up all ingredients in a bowl (fork, spoon, spatula, whatever) & add in your mix-ins (e.g. 1/2 cup chocolate chips). DONE – we like chilled chocolate chip cookie dough, so this is now stored in a Tupperware in the fridge ready for danger.

And I leave you with this, today’s Question of the Day… What is your favorite Guilty Pleasure (food related or not)!? [mine is chocolate]

S’mores Bar Cookies

OK – and I’m back!

I’m sorry for the break, part of me was just being lazy (it was well into the 90’s all last week) but I was also running lots of errands, getting kidnapped by family, volunteering, and doing things to get ready for a wonderful wedding this past weekend.

Rich’s sister tied the knot to a wonderful guy who is a perfect match for her; they are both amazing people who truly deserve each other and bring happiness wherever they go. We could not be happier for them! Remember those Snickerdoodle Muffins I made for the bachelorette/bachelor weekend? Well it turns out that Snickerdoodles just happen to be the Groom’s favorite Cookie, so I made them some Snickerdoodle Chex Mix for their Honeymoon Goodie Bag as well as repeating the Muffins for the people we were staying with.

 I also tried to make Blueberry Blue Velvet Cupcakes  as another one of my ‘food for the house’ contribution (per request of one of the bridesmaids we were staying with) – but I didn’t follow the recipe exactly and was not crazy about how they turned out (although everyone else seemed to enjoy them).

BUT – I’m now off track (again, sorry). This post is not about any of the wedding goodies, that was just me saying I was sorry for not putting much up recently.

This post is about another awesome S’mores recipe. Last week we were getting together with some friends and I wanted to bring a snack for our picnic lunch & whipped up these S’mores Bar Cookies. And I do mean that I just whipped them up – they literally take less than 2 hours start to finish including refrigeration time & bake time!

These S’mores Bar Cookies are a mix between a Blondie & a Chocolate Chip Bar Cookie. The flavors are right on, the cinnamon in the batter is perfect & they are nice and chewy (even a week later – I stored them in the fridge and then just let them come to room temperature). Even Dad (you know, that guy who I said hates S’mores & Marshmallows) really enjoyed these!! I personally loved them slightly heated up and then with a tiny scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.

Adapted from The Girl Who Ate Everything – my version makes 1 thick pan

• 11 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 ½ cups flour
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 1/2 cup mini marshmallows
• 2 regular sized Hershey’s bars, broken into pieces
• 1-2 packages graham crackers, broken into squares

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line large baking pan(s) with parchment paper.

Lay out graham crackers side by side on the pans as close as possible (they should be touching). I used about 18 graham cracker squares. You may have to add or remove graham crackers according to how much dough you have. I wanted thicker bar cookies, but feel free to stretch it to 2 pans if you want thinner cookies!

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, sea salt and cinnamon to combine. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter with white and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until combined. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixer and combine on low speed.

Fold in the chocolate chips and marshmallows. Chill dough in refrigerator for about 1 hour (I chilled just for the amount of time it took for my oven to preheat)

Place tablespoons of dough on graham crackers about 1 – 1 ½ inches apart. I averaged about 1 1/2 tablespoons of dough per graham cracker square as seen in the picture above. [I also sprinkled some extra mini-marshmallows before I pressed in the dough for some extra good-ness]. Press down slightly with fingertips.

Bake for about 8 minutes then remove from oven to press Hershey’s bar pieces on to the top. You can place as many pieces or as little as you want depending how much chocolate flavor you want.

Bake for about another  5 – 7 more minutes or until dough is beginning to turn golden brown at the edges. Remove to a wire rack to cool. For clean cutting make sure cookies are completely cool and cut with a sharp knife.

And I leave you with this question…. what treat(s) would you like to see repurposed into bar-cookie form? I love bar cookies: they are easy to transport & eat – I think the only reason cupcakes are more ‘popular’ is because they look fancier. We should all work together to get Bar Cookies more notoriety!

BACON Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are my “sunshine on a cloudy day”. Because today, March 23, 2011 we had our second snow day of the week and almost 6 inches of “snowball snow” fall outside my window! I decided to make myself a breakfast skittle breakfast (you know: potato, meat & egg) and wanted to finally use the bacon I had in the fridge and cook it all up at the same time (since I HATE cooking bacon). Usually when I cook up a whole package of bacon I just freeze the cooked bacon in a baggie so its there when I want some. Today was different though: I wanted to bring that sunshine to Rich when he got home since he had to work today and decided to make him some chocolate chip cookies. We all know how much Rich loves that Cookie Dough – but I decided to something unthinkable and cook that dough (with some bacon mixed in)!

These are one of those Heaven on Earth type things… we all love bacon & we all love chocolate (even though we all try to deny ourselves those loves).

Happy Wednesday & Happy Spring

Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies

RECIPE (from Everything Nice)

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1 stick unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chunks
• 1 cup [Candied] Bacon (to candy: check this out – I just used regular)

Preheat oven to 325F. Grease OR line with parchment paper several baking sheets.

Beat the sugars and butter together until smooth. Mix in the egg, vanilla, and baking soda. Mix together the flour and salt, then mix them into the batter.  Stir in the chocolate chunks and bacon bits.

Using a small cookie scoop (teaspoon), scoop the cookie dough into small balls, about 1-inch in diameter, and place them 2 inches apart on each of the baking sheets. Bake for 14-16 minutes, or until pale golden brown.  Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.

… and remember: all good things in moderation. Do not deny yourself the things that you love – just enjoy them in moderation!!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes

Happy Valentines Day (weekend)

Oh, the things we do for love! I had off on Friday to go to the dentist so knew I would have some kitchen time if I wanted and earlier in the week had come across this recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes (and then found a whole bunch more that were exactly the same and all got rave reviews!). Rich is a HUGE fan of cookie dough (remember when he got accepted to Lehigh!?), so I knew that this was what I was doing for him for Valentines Day!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes

Warning: these cupcakes are not low calorie OR quick and easy – but Rich’s reaction to them made it all worth it! Feel free to take some time and do these over two days or even substitute your favorite cupcake recipe (Rich loved these cakes – I like a less dense cake – so try as written first or just wing it… up to you)

Recipe

For the cupcakes:

• 3 sticks unsalted butter (1 1/2 cups), at room temperature
• 1½ cups light brown sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350° degrees. Line cupckae pan with 24 liners.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and brown sugar. Beat together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir together to blend. Add the dry ingredients to the mixer bowl on low speed, alternating with the milk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients, mixing each addition just until incorporated. Blend in the vanilla. Fold in the chocolate chips with a spatula.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cupcake liners. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the filling:

• 4 Tablespoons (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 6 Tablespoons light brown sugar
• 1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 7 ounces sweetened condensed milk
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

To make the cookie dough filling, combine the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and cream on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the flour, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla until incorporated and smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the mixture has firmed up a bit, about a half hour.

To fill the cupcakes, cut a cone-shaped portion out of the center of each cupcake. Fill each hole with a chunk of the chilled cookie dough mixture.

For the frosting:

• 3 sticks unsalted butter (1 1/2 cups), at room temperature
• ¾ cup light brown sugar, packed
• 3½ cups confectioners’ sugar (powdered sugar)
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• 3 Tablespoons milk
• 2½ teaspoons vanilla extract

To make the frosting, beat together the butter and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until creamy. Mix in the confectioners’ sugar until smooth. Beat in the flour and salt. Mix in the milk  (I used at least an extra tablespoon compared to this recipe) and vanilla extract until smooth and well blended.

Frost the filled cupcakes as desired and sprinkle with mini-chocolate chips. Store on the counter or in the fridge (fresher if kept in the fridge) and then you decide if you like them cold or room temperature!