Molasses Cookies
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I’ve been seeing molasses cookies all over the Internet lately, so when I came across this Cooking Light version, I knew I had to give it a try.
They’re good, but not amazing. As a side note, I can’t stand the smell of molasses, and my whole apartment smelled like it while the cookies were in the oven. Anyway, these are crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside.
Ingredients
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup molasses
1 large egg
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (about 10 ounces)
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup granulated sugar
Cooking spray
Preparation
Combine brown sugar and shortening in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add molasses and egg; beat well. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 5 ingredients (through salt), stirring with a whisk. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture; beat at low speed just until blended. Cover and freeze 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 375°.
Place water in a small bowl. Place granulated sugar in another small bowl. Lightly coat hands with cooking spray. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Dip one side of each ball in water; dip wet side in sugar. Place balls, sugar side up, 1 inch apart, on baking sheets coated with cooking spray. Bake at 375° for 8 minutes. Remove from pans; cool on wire racks.
Yields 4 dozen.
Recipe from Cooking Light.
Original Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip Pan Cookie
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I was in the mood to bake, but not to scoop dozens of cookies. Fortunately, I remembered this random Very Best Baking brochure thing I got in the mail. It has very simple recipes, including this Toll House original which I haven’t made in years.
Baking these in a pan, rather than scooping out balls of dough, made this recipe super fast and easy. They’re good cookies, but a little too greasy for my taste.
Ingredients
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 (12 ounce) package Nestle Toll House Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 10×15 inch jelly roll pan.
- Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Spread into greased 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown. Cool in pan on a wire rack, then cut into bars.
Notes
- I do not have (nor do I know exactly what) a jelly-roll pan is, so I used a regular 15 x 9 Pyrex glass baking dish.
- I used milk chocolate chips
Cobblestone Blondies
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These are good. So. Damn. Good. The first time I made them, I cut off a huge chunk for my sister and told her to share with her boyfriend. I think he only got a few bites.
I know by looking at the recipe you’re probably thinking they must be super sweet, but they’re not–they’re just right. The toffee chips are barely noticeable, and the gooey browned marshmallows on top are just delicious.
Ingredients
1 cup flour
1 cup mini* semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup mini marshmallows
1/2 cup toffee chips
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
6 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
2 eggs
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350. Grease an 8×8 inch baking dish. In a large bowl, cream together the brown sugar, sugar and butter. Add the eggs and vanilla, beat until fluffy. Add the flour, 2/3 of the chocolate chips**, 1/2 of the marshmallows, all of the toffee bits and the baking powder until thoroughly combined. Pour into a prepared pan and bake 20 minutes or until just set. Sprinkle evenly with remaining marshmallows and chips, return to oven for an additional 5-10 minutes or until a toothpick inserted (not through a marshmallow!) comes out clean.
Rachel’s notes: *Mini chips melt faster, but regular chips would work too. **If you are using regular sized chips, you might want to add the chips after the flour so they don’t get broken up.
My notes: The store was out of the name brand marshmallows so I had to use the generic ones. Not good–they wouldn’t melt or get gooey.
Recipe from Coconut & Lime.
The Yummiest Crumble Apple Pie Ever Ever Ever
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After last year’s attempt at a lattice crust (not so fun), I decided to try a crumble top this year. And I am so glad I did. This was the best apple pie I’ve ever had! The Granny Smith’s give it a nice tartness, and the crumble top has the perfect amount of sweetness. It’s safe to say I’ll be using this recipe again and again and again.
Ingredients
Crust
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/4 cup frozen solid vegetable shortening, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
3 tablespoons (or more) ice water
1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
Filling
3 1/4 pounds Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, sliced 1/4 inch thick
2/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Topping
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
Preparation
For crust:
Mix flour, salt, and sugar in large bowl. Add butter and shortening; rub in with fingertips until coarse meal forms. Mix 3 tablespoons ice water and vinegar in small bowl to blend. Drizzle over flour mixture; stir with fork until moist clumps form, adding more water by teaspoonfuls if dough is dry. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic; refrigerate 30 minutes.
Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 400°F. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to 12-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish. Trim overhang to 1/2 inch; turn edge under and crimp decoratively. Refrigerate while preparing filling and topping.
For filling:
Mix all ingredients in large bowl to coat apples.
For topping:
Blend first 5 ingredients in processor. Add chilled butter cubes; using on/off turns, cut in until mixture resembles wet sand.
Toss filling to redistribute juices; transfer to crust, mounding in center. Pack topping over and around apples. Bake pie on baking sheet until topping is golden, about 40 minutes (cover top with foil if browning too quickly). Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Bake until apples in center are tender when pierced and filling is bubbling thickly at edges, about 45 minutes longer. Cool until warm, about 1 hour. Serve with ice cream.
Makes 8 servings.
Notes: I added a few Fuji apples for a little sweetness. Also, I have one of the most amazing inventions ever, that made preparing the apples the easiest thing ever. If you don’t have one, you must get one.
Recipe from Bon Appétit via Epicurious.
As Promised…
I finally used my cupcake courier over the weekend, and it is awesome! So much easier than filling up a bunch of Tupperware containers! See for yourselves…
If you’re interested in purchasing one, you can find them here.
