One day I will go to New York. Until then, I will make cookies. For a while I have been curious about these two-toned cookies named after a very famous city that I have yet to (but am terribly excited to one day) visit. What exactly is a Black and White cookie? Are they really famous in New York? I had never heard about them until I came across the recipe in one of my cherished Martha Stewart books. The recipe has been in my possession for over a decade, yet I had not made any further steps to discovering more. My final prompt or push to create these for myself came after watching an episode of Seinfeld, maybe you know the one! Jerry and Elaine are in a bakery and are having a hilariously frustrating time and during this time Jerry buys himself a Black and White cookie on which to snack. OH MY GOODNESS I am finally seeing this cookie "out in the wild" or at least beyond the confines of my Martha Stewart book and I am reminded of it's existence! It is with the assistance and encouragement from my cookie partner (and fellow Seinfeld fan) pictured above that today we bring to you my first attempt at Black and White cookies. I say attempt because I have never actually eaten one before and don't really know what is to be expected. Further research into my bookshelf revealed that I have not one, but TWO recipes for these cookies. Further proof that they are indeed a "thing" out there. I have my tried and true Martha Stewart, and also a rather fancy and trendy book from the homies of Mast Brothers Chocolate. So OBVIOUSLY we had to try both recipes to see which one comes out on top! Martha knows a thing or 2000 about cookies, but also the Mast Brothers are indeed from New York and know a thing about chocolate, so there's got to be some legit business happening here. It is a very fun project to try two very similar but not quite identical recipes for the same thing... My kind of science experiment! Highly recommended way to spend a January afternoon. Then you eat the cookies of your labour while watching Seinfeld, of course. The cookies themselves are more like little cakes, half frosted with vanilla or just plain glaze, and the other half with a chocolate glaze. Glazing the cookies was a messy task, and we realized after doing them all how we could have done it better. But as I always say, it's always good to leave room for improvement... and, learn by doing, am I right?! Because I KNOW you are curious...I will reveal to you... our favourite was from... drumroll please... MAST BROS! Their cake-like cookie was lighter (and Anthony appreciated the bit of lemon zest in there) while I found Martha's to be a bit denser, though still delicious. Also taking the win for the Bros was their chocolate glaze... which makes sense seeing as they are in the chocolate biz. It was made with lots of real actual dark chocolate, whereas Martha's was a bit too-sweet-with-only-a-bit-of-cocoa-powder version (don't worry Martha, you will still forever be my go-to-gal). Next step is to go to New York to find the real thing I suppose. Meanwhile, if anyone can tell me where to find these in Calgary... holla at yo girl! New York Black & White CookiesRecipe from Martha Stewart COOKIES:
Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Set aside. Cream the butter in a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for about 2 minutes. Add the granulated sugar and mix for about 3 minutes until light and fluffy. Mix in the egg and vanilla. Mix in the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with two additions of buttermilk. (dry, wet, dry, wet, dry) Mix until just combined but do not overman or the dough will get tough. Use a small cookie scoop (or use two spoons) to scoop portions of dough into balls. Place on a lined baking sheet placing 2 inches apart. Bake, rotating halfway through until bottoms of cookies are golden, about 10 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack. GLAZE:
Spread white icing on half of each cookie's flat side and cocoa icing on the other half. Let stand until set (30 minutes). Cookies can be stored in airtight containers for up to 3 days. New York Black & White CookiesRecipe from Mast Brothers Chocolate COOKIES:
WHITE ICING:
CHOCOLATE ICING:
Add the butter and vanilla, mix until the mixture is smooth. Spread the chocolate icing on the other half of each cookie. ***What we realized after making a giant mess and glazing all the cookies... is that it would be much cleaner looking to glaze half of all of them... then let the glaze set! THEN glaze the second half... Next time. You can learn from my mistakes. You are welcome.
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Isn't it just the best when old classics get re-imagined into a different form? It's like when you hear a really good cover song by a band that makes you hear a familiar song in a whole new way! Presenting Sticky-Toffee-Pudding in the form of cookies!! Now one of my favourite sit-down restaurant style desserts is portable. We have a winner folks. Also... this recipe has a super secret weapon! And it's weird. Which is what attracted me to try it other than the fact that sticky-toffee-cookies sounded delicious. What (I'm assuming) adds to the texture of these sort of cakey sort of chewy cookies is... wait for it... Lentil Puree!!! What the heck? I promise you truly don't taste it at all in the actual cookie. And you get a bonus hit of protein in your sweet snack. Happy days! **The next time I make these though, I'd like to experiment further... the lentil puree reminds me so much of the texture of pumpkin puree... and I feel like pumpkin and sticky toffee would make excellent friends... so next time I'm thinking I'll play match maker and swap the lentil puree for pumpkin and see where that takes us. Stay tuned. Sticky Toffee CookiesRecipe from the wonderful SweetSugarBean also known as Renée Kohlman
First begin by making the Lentil Puree. Here's how to go about that:
A bit of a mouthful to say... but these cookies are definitely something you want your mouth full of. OH GOSH that was weird and I know it, I'm sorry #notsorry but please do make these cookies because they are soft and chewy, sweet and salty and there is something for everyone in them!! Kids will like them because they are chocolate chip cookies and all kids like chocolate chip cookies (if they don't take extreme caution, because they will likely grow up to be psychopaths... these are the ones to watch out for) Also toffee bits!! Fun!!! Adults will like them because there is a bit of coffee in the dough itself, which balances the sweetness of everything else. Sophisticates will enjoy these because there is browned butter and Maldon sea salt flakes on top. Prime combination of my abilities and knowledge as an adult, with my inner desires to remain a kid who just wants to bake cookies. These were real winners in my book... would make again. I used homemade toffee bits in these bad boys, but you can easily buy them at a store. I learned this past fall just how easy it is to make homemade toffee bits! So perhaps one day in future I will write about that. Until then... COOKIE TIME! Salty-Toffee-Coffee-Chocolate-Chip CookiesRecipe slightly adapted from "The Baker in Me" by Daphna Rabinovitch *Yields about 2 dozen cookies (this is the original recipe, halved)
** I thouroughly imagine that you could easily use just all purpose flour instead of the blend... I just happened to have some cake/pastry flour kicking around and so I thought I would use it. But a fun trick to know is that you can make your own cake/pastry flour at home in a pinch if you have regular flour and cornstarch. Take one cup of all-purpose flour minus one tablespoon... mix it in a bowl with 1 tbsp of cornstarch. Give it a sift, or at the very least a good whisk. BOOM, now you have 1 cup of homemade cake and pastry flour. ***You can absolutely use all regular butter in this recipe, just use 4 ounces (or 1/2 cup). The browned butter just adds extra flav that I love. Make sure when using browned butter for baking that you brown the sh*t out of your butter, like almost burnt (but not actually burnt) butter. Otherwise you won't taste it amidst all the sugar.
Because every swanky cocktail party needs good cookies. If you know me you know that I LOVE GINGER which is hilarious because as a kid I was very adamant that I was not a fan of ginger. It was too strong, too assertive, too spicy. I'm glad to say my tastebuds have outgrown this nonsense, and I find it hard to imagine a life without ginger. One of my favourite treats is ginger beer... either the boozy version or just a nice spicy soda. My mom and I have a favourite brand that is so spicy it is almost difficult to drink, and we know better than to inhale before taking a sip. What ensues if we are not careful is a coughing fit and, to the average person, this might seem quite unpleasant and simply, not worth it. However there is something so incredibly and crave-ably pleasant about that spicy-sweet tingle that you get from a good ginger beer. A Moscow Mule is a fancy cocktail (so fancy that it has it's own specific copper mug) which contains ginger beer, lime and vodka. I think that cocktails are so very cool, and so very fun... but if I'm honest, I don't drink them very often. I'm just not a hard-booze type of gal. If I'm going to have a drink, I'm more likely to reach for a beer. (Or ginger beer, I suppose) What I do like to do, is take creative inspiration from these mixed marvels and apply their flavours and concepts to things I am much more suited to make and enjoy... COOKIES! What else? This recipe spoke to me from the pages of the most recent Chatelaine magazine... so I had to give it a whirl. I love the texture of these soft and chewy cookies! And the flavour was nice... but now that I have tasted them I have a few idea for how I'd like to make them next time. The spice from the ginger is nice, however I'd like the cookie to be a bit stronger and darker on the molasses front, and more lime! Next time I make these, I think I'll use all brown sugar instead of half-brown-half-white... and I'll add lime zest to the dough itself. Also... a little fresh ginger grated in neeeever hurt anyone... Though these little guys are plenty tasty just as is too :) Now that I'm scheming... it could be awfully fun to make these changes to the cookie and add a splash of dark rum... and then we have a DARK AND STORMY cookie!! The wheels are turning... until that day, please enjoy these cuties! "Moscow Mule" Cookies with Ginger and LimeRecipe from Chatelaine December 2019
Every year when the grocery stores suddenly stack their shelves high with tiny bite size versions of everyone's favourite chocolates and candies in preparation for spooky season I get STOKED. What a wonderful time to be alive! It seems that public establishments everywhere suddenly have not only a reason but perhaps an obligation to stick out bowls of free candy. And the public has not only a reason but an obligation to do their part by taking and indulging in such free tiny delicacies. I set all self control and logic on the shelf when it comes to halloween time. I normally wouldn't be eating candy bars everyday, but TIS THE SEASON and they are so small so just one can't hurt right? But just one never really seems to be thing. Oh well. THIS IS MY CHANCE. This time of year is also terribly inspiring for me as a baker because I've had a looooong time dream of making my own homemade versions of halloween candy. Yet year after year passes and I somehow never set aside the time to do this. Well this year I changed that and I MADE the time. Twix bars were never my favourite halloween candy as a kid, but as an adult they have snuck right up there and I've realized that they are like tiny versions of "millionaire's shortbread"... which is one of my favourite treats to bake/eat!!! So I knew I had to make homemade Twix bars a reality! But once I get the ball rolling it's hard to stop and suddenly I'm thinking, what if we somehow incorporated PUMPKIN into this candy classic... and soon with a bit of research and recipe mish-mashing and kitchen tinkering I have successfully created the "Pumpkin Twix Bar" that I am proud to share with you today!! Don't let your dreams be dreams! I quite like these little guys. They feature a shortbread-cookie base that is spiced with the all familiar "pumpkin pie spice" (use a blend of cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger if you don't have a pumpkin pie spice blend kicking around). The filling is just as I was hoping for... a chewy caramel that is not rock hard and impossible to bite, but not too soft so that it oozes everywhere and looks messy. No, this caramel holds its shape but gives way when your teeth sink into it. For best results though, serve this at room temperature. I especially love to sprinkle the top with toasted pumpkin seeds and flaky sea salt... to show that these ain't your ordinary twix bar... and also to balance out the sweetness from the caramel. Enjoy!! Pumpkin Twix BarsRecipes adapted from "Tastes Better from Scratch" and "Challenge Dairy" Shortbread Base:
This is a custom invention, created for none other than my very own father, my papa bear, also often known among friends as Pablo. My papa (and I'm sure many other papas out there) dearly adores oatmeal raisin cookies... Anytime I bake cookies, he wishes aloud and quite clearly that they will be oatmeal raisin cookies, which unfortunately for him they usually are not. Another thing he often requests is my homemade ice cream. Since I moved out, he has had to resort to STORE BOUGHT ICE CREAM heaven forbid. Seeing as it's not only FATHERS DAY but also his BIRTHDAY this past weekend... I figured I owed it to him to whip up a special treat! In the spirit of "why or when you can and" I decided not to make cookies or ice cream, but to instead make an ice cream INSPIRED by cookies! This flavour is designed specifically with my dad in mind, however I am fairly confident that this concoction would suit many a father on Father's day. Or any hot summer weekend for that matter, of which I'm sure there will be plenty. And worst case scenario it suits me juuuuust fine. Oatmeal Raisin Ice cream begins humbly with whole milk, heavy cream and all the usual custard-culprits. However I'm twisting things up by infusing the milk with toasted oats, hoping to squeeze out any extra nutty-oat-flavour that I can to make this ice cream special. While we wait for things to chill, we're still busy in the kitchen, baking up oat streusel to crumble into the ice cream at the end. We're also soaking raisins in RUM because YUM. Layers of flavour, layers of love. Kinda like an oatmeal ice cream sandwich, all blended into one bowl. To my papa and to all the DADs out there... this scoop's for you! What makes this ice cream as special as my papa? I've toasted oats to bring out their nutty flavour, then steeped them in the ice cream base. I've used three varieties of raisins just for fun and colour and partially due to my curiosity... (The bulk bins have three different kinds, and so I'm like, LETS TRY THEM ALL) and soaked them in a spiced-rum simple syrup. The spiced flavour of the rum will pair nicely with everything here, however any old rum will do. By soaking our raisins in syrup, this will plump them up and ensure that they stay soft even when frozen into the ice cream. If you don't have rum you can always soak the raisins in a simple syrup without the rum instead. THE RESULT: A creamy smooth ice cream, reminiscent of vanilla but dare I say creamier in flavour due to the oats. Soft & sweet fruity raisins swirled throughout, (not the rock hard pellets of disappointment that raisins sometimes can be...) and a crunchy, salty oat-cookie crumb in every bite. I give you: The Papa Bear Ice Cream! Oatmeal Raisin Ice Cream (AKA Papa Bear Ice Cream)Recipe adapted from Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams, inspired by my Dad ice cream base:
I was recently asked a daunting question: What is the greatest joy in life? Is it odd that immediately my brain went to food related things? Well, knowing me, not odd at all. Also, food is a great joy in life for everyone... we need it to survive and also can derive great pleasure from it so I think it's only natural I would jump to this topic. I came up with two conclusions: chocolate. I have always loved chocolate from the dawn of time (read: when I was a tiny thing not even born yet and my mama would get strong cravings for chocolate ice cream). I crave chocolate everyday, and the darker, the better. My other response was: anything that strikes that wonderful contrasting balance of sweet vs salty. I live for sea salt on my cookies, salted caramel anything, and those Nature Valley bars that are literally called Sweet and Salty. I drool just thinking about it. It's something about the initial sweetness and then this POW of addictive salt that is crave-able beyond my wildest dreams. Some people only think of using salt in savoury cooking. They are so wrong. Baking requires balance of flavours too, and salt can offer so much to sweet foods in this regard. Next time you have toast with jam, sprinkle a little salt on top. KAPOW So what about taking these two great joys in life (Chocolate + Sweet/Salty) and putting them into another great joy in life? Of course I am talking about COOKIES. I love creating a cookie based on a quick scan through the pantry, throwing in whatever I have on hand that might taste good together. In this case, during a cookie baking emergency where I wanted to whip up something quick and delicious, the cookie gods were smiling down upon me I found a half-full bag of these "salted caramel chipits" and an open bag of pretzel sticks that needed to be used. Throw those gems into a chocolate cookie base (with some extra chocolate chips for good luck) and we have ourselves a sweet and salty treat with a good hit of cocoa to relieve those intense chocolate cravings. All you need is a glass of milk, and life is golden my friends, golden. Chocolate Sweet + Salty Cookiesrecipe adapted from Daphna Rabinovitchna
And now it's time for another edition of The Travelling Cookie Monster! In this episode, we travel to the grungey-cool graffiti-coated boat-harbouring city in southern France known as Marseille. (think, Mar-Say... not mar-sigh). Not many people choose to travel here because it's considered less glamorous than say Paris of course or Nice, however it was WELL worth the trip. Marseille is just COOL. I loved my brief stay in this artsy city. Also, like many regions in Europe, they have their OWN SYMBOLIC COOKIE. That's worth a visit for me if nothing else. Enter: The Navette. FUN FACT: Navette cookies are traditionally eaten on the lesser known religious holiday known as Candlemas. Not to be confused with Candlemass which is a Swedish "doom metal" band. This year, Candlemas happens to be February 2... WHICH IS TODAY! What a great day to make Navette cookies. Sometimes referred to as shuttle cookies, Navettes are named after their boat-like shape. Appropriate for a city that does indeed have many many boats that fill it's harbour. Right along the docks is a long boardwalk lined with market stands and tables with people selling souveniers, housewares, treats, sailor-themed baby clothes, and of course, Navette cookies. You can also find them in all the bakeries, piled high in baskets. The most common flavour is orange blossom, but there are also lemon, anise, and many other variations to be found. As far as treats go, they are pretty darn basic. But when looking for something to dunk into your tea whilst in Marseille, one must reach for a navette. And cookie monster never says no to a cookie. As mentioned before, the classic Navette cookie is made with Orange Blossom water. I really wanted to make these cookie today, (cuz it's Candlemas! LOL) but I do not have orange blossom water. I do have, however, a real orange. So, I used orange zest instead. Not the traditional Navette, but good enough for me :) True confession time, The Navette that I ate in Marseille, and the ones that I re-created in my kitchen back home, are not the same. Let me just say the cookie I ate in France was much more pleasant. I don't know if it is just me, or the recipe I used, but these cookies were a little disappointing. However it's the thought that counts and it made for some fun reminiscing. And you never know until you try! Regardless, here is the recipe. Navette Cookiesrecipe adapted from Saveur
And now, the only kind of date square I ever want to make ever. It will take much convincing for me NOT to put chocolate into all my date squares now. Let's talk about one of my favourite things to do in life: House sitting. It's the best. I get to pretend I live somewhere new, with all these new and wonderful things, I have space all to myself, but best of all I get to use somebody else's kitchen and discover all their wonderful dishes and snoop through the pantry to see what ingredients lurk within. This might sound (okay it does sound very) creepy. BUT I only do so with permission from the home owner... and they know full well that I will only use their kitchen for good. They can also rest assured that when they come home they better believe that there will be fresh baking awaiting them upon their (clean) countertop. My kind and gracious Aunt let me live in her cozy home for a week, and these next-level date squares are what I created in her cute little tidy kitchen. It is so clean and organized it's inspirational. I brought some of the ingredients from my home but had a time using her measuring spoons and little hand mixer... which felt strange and foreign to me. (I am spoiled with my fancy stand mixer). Her oven is amazing, which is all the more encouragement for me to bake. I mean, it's so clean! The front glass you can ACTUALLY SEE THROUGH. I don't think I've ever had that in an oven. I could just sit on the kitchen floor and watch things bake. Dates are great! I love how they are naturally sweet and taste like brown sugar. When you cook them down until they are soft and jam-like, then add chocolate, and orange zest (!) you have my ultimate attention. (I saved some of this filling back just so I could eat it with a spoon later. No shame. Just smart.) I wish I could take credit for this recipe idea but this is another great and fabulous recipe from the brilliant Renee Kohlman AKA SweetSugarBean. Be prepared for lots of her to show up on this lil site... Her tastes, cravings and ideas are freakishly similar to my own and sometimes I feel like she has taken things out of my own head and published them in a book. I love it. **Said book was given to me by said Aunt as a baking-school-graduation gift, and therefore an appropriate thing to bake from whilst taking care of her home. I can take credit for one thing in this recipe, I decided to toast both the oats and the walnuts before I mixed them into the crumb, just to ooompf up the flavour a bit more. Once you learn the wonders of toasted oats, it's hard to go back to life as it once was. I love and adore how oats taste and smell nutty when you toast them to a dark amber; it helps balance the sweetness of the filling nicely I think. I love these date squares!! They are so good please try them!! Make tonight date night. Chocolate Date Square with Toasted Oat and Walnut CrumbleRecipe from SweetSugarBean (Renee Kohlman) All The Sweet Things cookbook Chocolate Date Filling:
Toasted Oat & Walnut Crumble:
Peach! For the past couple weeks or so we have had a rotating stash of fresh BC peaches sitting on our kitchen counter, blissfully reminding us that HEY Y'ALL IT'S SUMMER!!! and we have been enjoying them every day. I love fresh peaches with yogurt in the morning, or as an afternoon snack. They are so fresh, sweet and juicy naturally that it really feels like a shame to do anything to them. UNLESS you are a cookie monster like me and you remember that you have had this recipe on the back-burner of your baking brain that you have been wanting to test run but could not because you never had both fresh peaches AND peach jam in your possession at one time... But hey! Now the stars have aligned and we have the proper resources (and time!) to make these fresh summery cookies! A great way to use up that peach jam that has been sitting in the fridge... and another way to each more peaches during these late summer days. Amen. These cookies are soft and cakey and are sprinkled with cinnamon sugar (YES!) before baking, making them all the more delightful. PS I bet these would make a smashing accompaniment to vanilla ice cream... like a fun little spin on peaches and cream. Please do try and let me know how it goes. Happy summer baking! Peach CookiesRecipe from Martha Stewart
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