Valentines Day Oreos

It all started innocently enough. We were invited to a Valentine's party and I wanted to make cookies. I remembered the homemade oreo cookie that I had tried (and loved) on a previous occasion and thought this the perfect excuse to try the recipe again. Of course I could not resist the idea of making the cookies heart-shaped, but the cheap-skate in me did not permit me to run out and buy a heart shaped cookie cutter for this one occasion. So I searched my house high and low for something that could stand in as a cookie cutter until I discovered an old plastic heart-shaped container that had previously held m&ms. PERFECT. Never mind that this heart-shape was completely enormous and would cut equally enormous chunks of dough that would become even more ridiculously large after baking.




Well, after first batch entered the oven I realized just how bad of an idea this really was. The cookies had trouble holding themselves together, and they grew so large while baking that some of the dough expanded beyond the cookie sheet, fell on an oven coil and started a mini fire that I had to extinguish with baking soda. So much for heart-shaped oreos.

After that fiasco I followed the recipe and took teaspoon sized scoops of dough, shaped these into small balls, and then flattened them to produce more traditional, round cookies. I was still not beyond dying the oreo filling pink in honor of the holiday and so my red food coloring was put to good use.

In any case I'm posting this recipe because the cookies are delicious (esp. when baked the appropriate size). They taste like store-bought oreos ... but oh so much better!


And as you can see, spreading the filling on these cookies is lots of fun:

The recipe can be found on the smitten kitchen blog.

Funny cake pie

Happy national pie day, a bit belated. The true date for the holiday was this Saturday January 23rd but it's never too late to celebrate or discuss pies.

In honor of the day I prepared a pie recipe that I've had bookmarked for quite some time. This seemed a very exciting and mysterious recipe because of the supposed party trick that it involves. Please, allow me tell you all about it.


You see, I am a proud member of the of the pie of the month club.

In addition to the fabulous pie of the month club t-shirt and buttons that I received, my membership entitles me to a monthly postcard that features lovely pie art, as well as a fun recipe along with a brief description of the pie.


Truth be told I have not baked many of the recipes from the postcards thus far. Sometimes the pies just sound too weird (For example: watermelon rind pie? I dunno, maybe I'll save that for a summer day on which I'm feeling particularly adventurous).


For now though it was the funny cake pie that caught my attention. The pie features two layers, chocolate and vanilla, with the vanilla layer being especially cake-y in consistency and the chocolate one being more of a cocoa powder goo (which is very tasty and not gross the way the word "goo" sounds).

The recipe boasts that this cake-pie is funny because of a " funny " thing that happens to the two layers: In the pie preparations, you layer the chocolate under the vanilla and then, during the baking process, the two layers flip such that the chocolate layer ends up above the vanilla.

Yes, you read that right. A pie crust with chocolate + vanilla layers that do back flips in the oven. After reading that I was intrigued and just had to try the recipe out.


Let me say that this pie turned out being delicious. Honestly I was surprised by how tasty the end product was because in the end I was a bit tentative about the idea of putting a cake batter in a pie crust. However, I regret that I must also note that I was utterly disappointed by the fact that there was no switcharoo magic that occurred between the two layers in the pie. I had excitedly put the vanilla atop the chocolate and yet the pie came out of the oven with the layers...drum roll...in the same order.

Now, after having performed a google search for other recipes for funny cake pie, I am suspicious that there was a mistake in the pie of the month club recipe. In fact, I think that the chocolate layer should have gone over the vanilla layer and then ended up on the bottom following baking. If anyone reading this has any thoughts about this, or experience baking this particular pie, I'd love to hear them! For now I will say that the next time I bake this pie I plan to layer the chocolate on top of the vanilla and hope for the best in terms of cartwheeling magic between the layers.

In any case, I have reproduced the Pie of the Month Club recipe for Funny Cake Pie below, as it was written on my postcard, but I noted the place in the recipe that I believe to be erroneous. Happy baking and let me know if you manage to get your layers to flip!



Funny Cake Pie
For the Pie of the Month Club

• Top Part:
  
  
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp. vanilla
•  I added a dash of salt here

 Cream together sugar and shortening. Add the combined milk and egg alternately with flour and baking powder. Add flavoring and set aside until lower part is mixed.

• Lower Part:
  
  
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 6 Tbsp. water
  • 4 Tbsp. cocoa
  • 1/4 tsp. vanilla
  • NOTE: I added a dash of salt here
    
  
  Mix together the cocoa, sugar, water, and vanilla. **Pour into an unbaked pie shell. Over this pour the "top part". **The chocolate will come up around the outside edge which gives a nice crusty edge on the finished product. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 35 minutes or until firm (toothpick test).

**OR, perhaps you should try to pour the vanilla cake layer on the bottom of the crust, and then on top of this pour the chocolate top part. I believe that this will create the funny switcharoo effect that I was anxiously awaiting.

Dark chocolate tart with ginger snap crust

As it turns out, size does matter. At least it matters when it comes to baking. Unfortunately I discovered the importance of size yesterday when I used a 2-inch-too-large-in-diameter tart pan to bake the chocolate dessert that I'm about to describe. Nonetheless please note that I'm still posting about yesterday's experience. And that's a testament to how awesome this recipe is.

Because yes, even though my baking equipment was all wrong and I lazed-out when I should have made accurate measurements of ingredients (instead I quickly said to myself, "to my little eyeball that looks roughly like 1 and a half cups, sure!"), we still thoroughly enjoyed this tart. Yes, we loved it in spite of the tart not being aesthetically pleasing, the crust being TOO crumbly, and the unhealthy amount anxiety that I experienced about baking times, and when I patted the crust dough into the pan.




Now that I've gotten that out of the way, let me tell you why this recipe rocks: Point 1.) If one uses the correct pan size as well as the appropriate ingredient measurements, the crust recipe is a friggin' cinch and involves only crumbling up some ginger snaps and blending those crumbs with melted butter! Point 2.) PLUS the crust is friggin delicious, boasting a buttery ginger-y flavor. Point 3.) The filling is, like the crust, super simple in terms of preparation requirements and requires the mixing of only a few ingredients. Point 4.) Most importantly, the overall product is a very rich chocolate tart that is delicious and will satisfy any chocoluv-er's (sorry for the pun) cravings.


One final point. What I love even more than chocolate alone is chocolate with a sprinkling of salt on top. I failed to add this magical touch to the tart that I prepared yesterday but intend to do so each and every time I bake this again. If you are into the salty-chocolatey thing too, then I highly recommend that you do the same.



The recipe is posted here, on the smitten kitchen blog, which she found in Bon Appetit. If you check out her post on this recipe you will see how beautiful this tart can come out. I think she used the appropriate tart pan size. And measured out the ingredients properly. Ah, the perfection. She makes me sick, really.

Perfection in cookie form

On July 9, 2009 David Leite of the New York Times published an article that begins as follows:

"Too bad sainthood is not generally conferred on bakers, for there is one who is a possible candidate for canonization. She fulfills most of the requirements: (1) She’s dead. (2) She demonstrated heroic virtue. (3) Cults have been formed around her work. (4) Her invention is considered by many to be a miracle. The woman: Ruth Graves Wakefield. Her contribution to the world: the chocolate chip cookie."

What a great opening to a food article, right?? How can you not be intrigued by that introduction? Leite follows this prelude with a brief overview of the history of the chocolate cookie, and then proceeds to summarize tidbits of knowledge that he gathered through interviews with a number of bakers across the City, to answer the question: what makes a good chocolate chip cookie a truly good chocolate chip cookie?

Here are some rules of thumb that he learned, and that he shares:
1.) Most argue that one should serve the cookie warm,
2.) Let the dough rest for 36 hrs. ("They just taste better," said Maury Rubin of City Bakery),

Note: later it's revealed that this method is thought to allow the ingredients to better absorb the egg and thus cook into a better consistency...

3.) Make your cookies six inches in diameter in order to achieve the appropriate texture,
4.) Use good chocolate (with at least 60% cocoa),
5.) Don't underestimate the value of salt on a chocolate chip cookie


After gathering and presenting these facts, Leite concludes his article:

"After weeks of investigating, testing and retesting, the time had come to assemble a new archetypal cookie recipe, one to suit today’s tastes and to integrate what bakers have learned since that fateful day in Whitman, Mass. The recipe included here is adapted from Mr. Torres’s classic cookie, but relies on the discoveries and insights of the other bakers and authors. So, in effect, it’s all of theirs — the consummate chocolate chip cookie."

Now this introduction might seem as if I am teasingly dangling a cookie in front of your face and not giving you any reward. No, don't whimper and cry. I have good news! Leite published his recipe. And I tested it. And I'm reproducing it here, on this blog. (Or you can retrieve the original in the NY Times itself, just in case I make some typos during the transfer).


This recipe produces a lot of cookie dough. Therefore, I was able to test the effects of different dough waiting times on cookie flavor. First, I baked a batch after letting the dough sit for 24 hours. After this first baking, I thought "Okay, these cookies are good, but they're not necessarily the best cookie ever." I was too busy to bake another batch after 36 hours, but I did bake another after 48 hours of waiting time. And WOW. This second batch was incredibly delicious. Maybe I was just hungry, maybe I was especially in need of a chocolate chip cookie that day, I dunno. This was a really good cookie. Chewy in just the right way, with a slight caramel flavor when biting in, and I love the flavor enhancing property of the salt. I've never had my very own go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe. But now I do. This is it. Maybe it will turn out to be yours as well. Might as well try it, right? Oh you know you're intrigued.

Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies, from the NY Times

Time: 45 minutes (for 1 6-cookie batch), plus at least 24 hours’ chilling

2 cups minus 2 tablespoons

(8 1/2 ounces) cake flour

1 2/3 cups (8 1/2 ounces) bread flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt

2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter

1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract

1 1/4 pounds bittersweet chocolate disks or fèves, at least 60 percent cacao content (see note)

Sea salt.

1. Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.

2. Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.

3. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.

4. Scoop 6 3 1/2-ounce mounds of dough (the size of generous golf balls) onto baking sheet, making sure to turn horizontally any chocolate pieces that are poking up; it will make for a more attractive cookie. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more. Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day. Eat warm, with a big napkin.

Yield: 1 1/2 dozen 5-inch cookies.

Note from the NY Times article: Disks are sold at Jacques Torres Chocolate; Valrhona fèves, oval-shaped chocolate pieces, are at Whole Foods.

The cookie monster strikes again

I was a Sesame Street fanatic growing up. Every afternoon I sat in front of the television to watch the show while I munched on my usual orange-colored snack (a carrot and an orange). Grover, Big Bird, Oscar, they were all great, but my favorite character was Cookie Monster. I didn't live in a garbage can like Oscar, and I didn't have an imaginary friend like Big Bird, and so it was Cookie Monster with whom I most related. Because yes, even though my mom, well meaning as she was, gave me an orange and a carrot to eat as a snack, I really wished that I were gobbling cookies like my blue fuzzy friend.


Well, now I have a kitchen of my own and I get to feed myself anything that I choose. And yet I barely ever think to bake cookies. But tonight was one of those rainy evenings on which I was feeling restless and tired but still itching to bake something comforting and sweet.



I had mentally bookmarked the recipe for "Very Chocolate Cookies" when I saw it on David Lebovitz's blog a few months ago. Tonight seemed like the perfect time to try it out.

If you're a chocolaholic like I am, then these are the cookies for you. This recipe does not mess around, either, because it calls for *three* forms of chocolate (powdered, chunk, and chip/nib). The cookies are buttery and rich. They contain no eggs and so they do not come out puffy and smooshy as many homemade cookies typically do. Rather, this recipe produces a cookie that is more crumbly and concentrated with chocolate flavor. Imagine droplets of delicious buttery and rich chocolate entering your mouth. Cookie Monster would be so proud (or maybe just jealous).

Very chocolate cookies, available at the David Lebovitz food blog; the recipe is originally by Clotilde of Chocolate and Zucchini

Move over Elmo's: My Peanut Butter Pie

This is an all time favorite and one of the first pies that I tried baking. My first attempt was inspired by a request from a picky eater who said that, of the few desserts that he liked, the Elmo's peanut butter pie was at the top of his list. I love a challenge, and so I made it my personal goal to appeal to said picky-eater's sweet tooth, and to make him rave about my peanut butter pie with even greater enthusiasm than that with which he spoke about Elmo's.

At the time, I had not tried Elmo's peanut butter pie. However, I'd eaten on many occasions the peanut butter pie at our local food coop, Weaver Street Market. The creamy chocolatey goodness of their pie appealed to my chocolate sweet tooth. This was the period in my life when I was still sadly and utterly ignorant of the wonders of heavy cream and butter. Therefore, I had no idea how I might bake the pie myself. So one day I worked up the nerve to ask the woman who was working behind the Weaver Street pastry counter if they might give me their recipe. I was expecting her to respond with a scornful nod, "sorry dear, but no..." I was wrong though; the kind woman immediately walked to the back of the kitchen and retrieved the recipe for me! The black box of the chocolate peanut butter pie had been opened, and oh what a revelation this was.

But what, you ask, ever happened to the picky eater? Ah, yes, I must conclude my story of the picky eater and his peanut butter pie. The story has a bit of a sad ending, because it turns out, we lost touch, the picky eater and I. Consequently, he never tried my version of chocolate peanut butter pie, although in my heart I believe that he would have preferred mine to Elmo's. The happy part of this story's end is that his request caused me to discover this recipe, which I now get to share with you.



Finally, I should say that the Weaver Street Market recipe that the woman gave me was written for bulk pie preparation (with ingredient measurements for either 2, 4, or 6 pies). It was also rather cryptic (For example, for 2 pies the recipe calls for 1 unit of cream cheese at room temperature. What does that mean?? 1 cup? 1 tablespoon?). As a result, I had to finagle the ingredient measurements but I finally have a recipe that I feel comfortable sharing.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie, or Peanut Butter Silk Pie,

adapted from the Weaver Street Market recipe (which, I've noticed, might be adapted from the Joy of Cooking recipe )

Ingredients:

1 single pie crust, pre-baked

For the ganache:
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream

For the filling:
1/2 cup cream cheese at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter (use creamy for a smooth consistency, chunky for more texture)
1 tablespoon vanilla or almond extract
1 cup heavy cream

To prepare:

1.) Allow the prebaked pie crust to cool to room temperature.

2.) Now, prepare the ganache. Place your chocolate in a sauce pan on medium-low temperature. Stir the chocolate with a wooden spoon, and slowly add the 1/2 cup of heavy cream. The mixture will become smooth and thick.

3.) Once your ganache has become a nice, thick consistency, pour it into the bottom of your pie shell and place in the fridge until it is solid.


4.) While your ganache is chillin' in the fridge (haha) prepare your filling. Beat together the cream cheese, sugar, peanut butter, and extract until it is well combined and creamy.


Place that mixture in a bowl and set aside for later.

5.) Now whip the 3/4 cup heavy cream until stiff peaks are formed. Then, gently fold the whipped cream into the peanut butter/cream cheese mixture.


6.) Place your peanut butter/whipped cream mixture in your pie dish on top of the chilled chocolate ganache. Top with chocolate shavings if you wish, and then chill in the fridge.

Enjoy and share with friends. This is a rich and filling pie but so good that people still come back for seconds!