S’mores Bars
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Every month or two, a few baker friends and I get together for brunch to explore a new restaurant in LA (and to swap our latest treats). There are so many brunch places here, you could spend a lifetime in LA without trying each one. So when our latest plans included a quick bite at Cafe Surfas (yes, the cafe connected to the awesome kitchen supply store), before a shopping spree, I decided to make another version of s’mores bars.
Unfortunately, my sciatica had other plans. I had another stupid acute flare up, which this time, I (thought) I was prepared for with Prednisone, but that’s a whole other mess of a story. So instead of sharing these s’mores bars with my friends, they went to the office, where they were a huge hit.
If you’re looking for something gooey and sweet, these hit the spot. The crust is a little more cookie-like that I would have preferred, but it works well with the rest of the bar and elicited only good responses from my coworkers.
Ingredients
3/4 cup Sugar
1 1/2 cups butter (unsalted or salted) at room temperature
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt (less, if using salted butter)
1 cup graham cracker crumbs (whole crackers can be crushed in a blender or food processor or else in a zipper-bag with a rolling-pin)
3 cups milk chocolate chips or semi-sweet chocolate chips
4 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows
Preparation
- Preheat your oven to 375° F and place rack on middle rung. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until smooth, about two-three minutes. In a separate bowl combine the flour, salt and graham crackers. On the lowest mixer setting gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet and then mix until well blended. Add up to 1/4 teaspoon of water to the sides of the bowl, drop by drop, just until the dough separates from the sides.
- Press the soft dough into an un-greased 9×13-inch pan, preferably non-stick.
- Bake the crust for 20 to 25 minutes or until slightly golden-brown and just set. Remove from the oven and sprinkle then spread the chocolate chips evenly over the top of the crust. Allow the base and chocolate to stand for five minutes or so to allow the chocolate to melt slightly. Spread chocolate with off-set spatula.
- Set the oven knob to broil. Sprinkle the mini-marshmallows evenly over the melted chocolate, covering it entirely.
- Broil the pan, with the top of the marshmallows no closer than five or six inches from the heat for about 30-60 seconds, or until the marshmallows are evenly toasted and browned on top – watch the entire process carefully. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for at least 15 minutes. Cut into bars, approximately 2″ by 3″.
Recipe from IslandEAT.
Mini Hershey’s Kisses Peanut Butter Blossoms
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For the past decade or so, my friends have hosted a low key new year’s eve party at their house, and each year I bring dessert. (Actually, when you have a baking blog everyone knows you’ll bring dessert, but that’s a whole other story.) Because there are people in different rooms of the house, I tend to make desserts that can be eaten in a bite or two, so guests aren’t awkwardly holding a glass of wine while balancing a plate with a fork.
I’ve been wanting to use these mini (like the size of a large chocolate chip…that tiny!) Hershey’s kisses since I found them at the store, and I figured New Year’s Eve was the perfect night for a mini dessert. I don’t think I realized how mini the cookies really would be until I started measuring out the 1/2 teaspoon scoops of dough. One at a time. Then rolling each in sugar. For what seemed like forever.
But the repetitiveness during the preparation was well worth it. These cookies are tiny (about the size of a quarter), soft, and have the perfect chocolate to peanut butter ratio. Not only were they a perfect bite, everyone got a little kiss at midnight. (And my coworkers got the dozens of leftovers.)
Ingredients
1/2 cup shortening
3/4 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Granulated sugar
Hershey’s Mini Kisses
Preparation
Heat oven to 350°F. Beat shortening and peanut butter with mixer in large bowl until well mixed. Add 1/3 cup granulated sugar and brown sugar; beat well. Add egg, milk and vanilla; beat until fluffy.
Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; gradually add to peanut butter mixture, beating until blended. Shape 1/2 measuring teaspoons of dough into 1/2-inch balls. Roll in granulated sugar; place on ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake 5 to 6 minutes or until set. Immediately press one chocolate into center of each cookie. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. Makes about 14 dozen cookies.
Recipe from Hershey’s.
Hershey’s Baking Melts Cookies & Giveaway
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Before we get into the recipe, look what I got in the mail from Hershey’s!
Yep, that’s a Hershey’s® Cookie Headquarter Apron, one package of Hershey’s® Baking Melts Chocolates, one package of Hershey’s® Bits ‘o’ Brickle® Toffee Chips, one package of Hershey’s® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips, one package of Hershey’s® Kisses® Chocolates, one canister of Hershey’s® Cocoa, and one set of recipe cards featuring the core Hershey’s® holiday recipes.
I know, it’s amazing. And I couldn’t wait to try out some of the chocolate, including Hershey’s new Baking Melts. The Baking Melts are these cute little discs that can be mixed into batters or even sandwiched between two cookies. The best thing about using them in this cookie recipe is that you get more chocolate in every bite. And how can you go wrong with more chocolate?
Ingredients
1 cup (2 sticks) butter , softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1-3/4 cups (9.5-oz. pkg.) HERSHEY’S BAKING MELTS Milk Chocolate or (10-oz.-pkg.) HERSHEY’S BAKING MELTS Semi-Sweet Chocolate
Preparation
Heat oven to 325°F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla in large bowl until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; gradually beat into butter mixture. Stir in chocolate pieces and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto prepared cookie sheet.
Bake 13 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 2 minutes; slide parchment paper and cookies to wire rack. Cool completely. 3 dozen cookies.
Recipe from Hershey’s.
And because Hershey’s is so awesome, they’ve given me a holiday baking prize back to give away to one of you! Leave a comment below stating which Hershey’s product you are excited to bake with this holiday season.
Hershey’s provided me with a holiday baking pack and will ship a second pack directly to a winner. Giveaway ends at 11:59 p.m. EST on Sunday, December 9, 2012. One winner will be selected at random shortly thereafter and contacted by email. Please note this giveaway is only open to residents of the U.S.
Cornflake Marshmallow Chocolate Chip Cookies
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When I was a kid, my mom would often bake Nestle Tollhouse chocolate chips cookies with me and my sister. Sometimes we would throw in Rice Krispies or Cornflakes (we were a non-sugared cereal house) to change things up a bit and give the cookies a slightly different texture. To us, that made the cookies even more special.
Well, these cookies take my mom’s Rice Krispies chocolate chip cookies to a whole new level. A ridiculous chewy, sweet, hint of salt, bit of crunch type level. In fact, they taste like an ooey-gooey Rice Krispies Treat and chocolate chip cookie mashup. Seriously. These are the kinds of cookies that will make your coworkers hate you. In a good way.
Cornflake Crunch Ingredients
170 g or 1/2 (12-ounce) box cornflakes (5 cups)
40 g or 1/2 cup milk powder
40 g or 3 tablespoons sugar
4 g or 1 teaspoon kosher salt
130 g or 9 tablespoons melted butter
Cornflake Crunch Preparation
Preheat oven to 275 F.
Pour the cornflakes in a medium bowl and crush them with your hands to one-quarter of their original size. Add the milk powder, sugar, and salt and toss to mix. Add the butter and toss to coat. As you toss, the butter will act as glue, binding the dry ingredients to the cereal and creating small clusters.
Spread the clusters on a parchment or Silpat lined sheet pan and bake for 20 minutes, at which point they should look toasted, smell buttery, and crunch gently when cooled slightly. (Don’t taste it though, because you may not be able to stop eating it.)
Cool the cornflake crunch completely before storing or using in a recipe. Stored in an airtight container at room temperature, the crunch will keep fresh for 1 week; in the fridge or freezer, it will keep for 1 month.
Cookie Ingredients
225 g or 16 tablespoons (2 sticks)
250 g or 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
150 g or 2/3 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 large egg
2 g or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
240 g or 1 1/2 cups flour
2 g or 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1.5 g or 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
5 g or 1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
3/4 recipe: 270 g or 3 cups Cornflake Crunch
125 g or 2/3 cup mini chocolate chips
65 g or 1 1/4 cups mini marshmallows
Cookie Preparation
Combine the butter and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and cream together on medium-high for 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the egg and vanilla, and beat for 7 to 8 minutes.
Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix just until the dough comes together, no longer than 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula.
Still on low speed, paddle in the cornflake crunch and mini chocolate chips just until they’re incorporate, no more than 30 to 45 seconds. Stir in the mini marshmallows just until incorporated.
Using an ice cream or cookie scoop (I used my large OXO cookie scoop), portion out the dough onto a parchment lined sheet pan. Pat the tops of the cookie dough domes flat. Wrap the sheet pan tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or up to 1week. Do not bake your cookies from temperature–they will not hold their shape.
Heat the oven to 350 F.
Arrange the chilled dough a minimum of 4 inches apart on parchment or Silpat lined sheet pans. Bake for 12-14 minutes. The cookies will puff, crackle, and spread and should be browned on the edges and just beginning to brown toward the center. Leave them in the oven for an additional minute or so if they aren’t and they still seem pale and doughy on the surface.
Cool the cookies completely on the sheet pans before transferring to a plate or to an airtight container for storage. At room temperature, the cookies will keep fresh for 5 days; in the freezer, they will keep for 1 month.
Recipe adapted from the Momofuku Milk Bar cookbook.
Peanut Butter Chip Chocolate Cookies
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On a whim last weekend, I decided it was time to use the peanut butter chips I’d had in my pantry for who knows how long. A quick Google search of peanut butter chip recipes led me to this one, and within an hour I had quite possibly the best chocolate cookies EVER.
I apparently made my cookies a little smaller than the original recipe called for, because I ended up with closer to three dozen than two, but that was a good thing because I brought all three dozen in to the office and they were gone in no time.
The cookies are soft and chewy with a rich chocolate flavor, and the peanut butter chips added just the right amount of salt and creaminess. They may possibly be the perfect combination of chocolate and peanut butter that you would want in a cookie.
Ingredients
1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups peanut butter chips
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.
In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt, stir into the creamed mixture. Finally, fold in the peanut butter chips. Drop cookies by heaping teaspoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheets.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until set. Cool on wire racks.
Yields 2-3 dozen, depending on size.
Recipe from Allrecipes.com.
