Chocolate Heart Cookies

Chocolate Heart Cookies

Chocolate Heart Cookies

For Valentine's Day, I baked Chocolate Heart Cookies for hubby and me. This recipe is the first chocolate sugar cookie recipe I have made. I searched on the web for months before deciding on Sweetopia's recipe. The rich chocolate taste of the cookie and chewy texture was delightful. The chocolate dough was easy to work using rolling pin technique to roll out the dough in between two sheets of parchment paper. I used 4 different heart cutters for my shapes and rolled a quarter of the dough at a time keeping the rest in the fridge to keep it cool. 

Large Chocolate Heart Cookies

Here is the link to the chocolate sugar cookie recipe: http://sweetopia.net/2013/12/chocolate-sugar-cookie-recipe-cut-out-cookies/.

Large and tiny Chocolate Heart Cookies

Chocolate Sugar Cookie

Ingredients

2 cups (4 sticks) Unsalted Butter softened

2 cups Sugar

2 Extra Large Eggs

3 teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract

4 cups All-Purpose Flour

1 ½ cups Cocoa Powder

1 teaspoon Salt

Chocolate Heart Cookies all stacked up.

Directions

Sift Flour, Cocoa Powder and Salt in large bowl and combine with spatula; put aside.

Cut each stick of butter into 8 pieces.

Cream the Butter and Sugar together in a bowl of an electric mixer with paddle attachment on low to medium speed. Mix until incorporated, about 1 minute.

4 heart cutters I used

Different Wilton sprinkles, pearls, and sugars I used on the cookies

Scrape sides of bowl with spatula and mix again for 5-10 seconds more.

Add Eggs one at a time. Scrape down bowl with spatula and mix again for another 10 seconds.

Add Vanilla and mix for 1 minute.

Slowly add Flour mixture to bowl and mix on low speed for 1 minute. When Dough clumps around paddle attachment, it is ready.

Chocolate Hearts Cookies cooled and ready for decorating

Chocolate Heart Cookies close-up

Use rolling pin and roll out Dough between 2 pieces of parchment paper. Cover Dough with plastic wrap and cool in fridge for 1-2 hours.

Take one quarter of Dough, and roll out further and cut out desired heart shapes. Repeat rolling the Dough and cutting shapes until you have used it all.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

More close-ups of Chocolate Heart Cookies

Close-up of some of the Chocolate Heart cookies

Place cookie shapes on parchment lined baking sheet and space apart 2 inches.

Bake cookies for 8-12 minutes, or until center of cookie no longer looks wet. My cookies baked in 10 minutes.

Let cookies cool in baking sheet for 10 minutes and then transfer to wire rack to cool completely for 1 hour.

Let cookie sheets cool completely before you bake again. Repeat until you have baked all the cookies.

Once cookies have cooled, decorate as desired.

Chocolate Heart Cookies close-up pic

Royal Icing

Go to Joy of Baking: http://www.joyofbaking.com/RoyalIcing.html for the tutorial and recipe for royal icing with Egg Whites or Meringue Powder. I prefer the Egg Whites recipe and think the other is quite bland.

Use Royal Icing immediately or transfer to airtight containers as it hardens when exposed to air.

I tinted some of the icing to get pink and transferred to Squeeze Bottles using a funnel to prevent it from spilling. When you are not using the bottles keep the tip covered. If the icing hardens, spray a little bit of water and shake bottle well holding the tip with your finger.

Tiny and Large Chocolate Heart Cookies close-up

Do the borders first and let them dry completely 2-6 hours before filling the cookie. If you add sprinkles over the filled icing do it while it is wet.

Let the cookies dry overnight. I place them in cookie sheets and leave them uncovered for 4-5 hours and then cover with plastic wrap overnight to complete drying.

Enjoy!

-Sophia/Two Frys

Heart-Shaped Cherry Pie

Heart-Shaped Cherry Pie

Heart-Shaped Pocket Cherry Pie, so yummy!

I had 5 pounds of Cherries in my freezer and a few days ago baking a Cherry Pie came to mind. I decided to make the pies heart-shaped since Valentine's is approaching. The Pie Crust was flaky and the Cherry Pie filling was a little sweet and a little tart and oh so satisfying!

Heart-Shaped Pocket Cherry Pie, devour in a few bites!

I had to thaw the Cherries last night, and this morning removed the stems and pits. I do not own a Cherry Pitter yet, but found a great tip to remove the pit. Use the thicker end of a chopstick to push the pit out of each Cherry. If you are making one 9-inch pie, leave the Cherries whole but for the pocket pies, roughly chop the Cherries. It worked perfectly though it was time consuming. I did this step after making the Pie Crust. You can find the tutorial on removing pits from Cherries with a chopstick at:

http://www.inspiredtaste.net/22872/easy-cherry-pie-recipe/.

Pie Crust ready to chill

Perfect Pie Crust

I made the Pie Crust from The Pioneer Woman Cooks A Year of Holidays by Ree Drummond (pg. 286). I adore the recipes Ree shares on her blog, show on Food Network and cookbooks, which I proudly own all! Hubby got me this newest food tome as one of my Christmas gifts and I cherish it. This Pie Crust is a cinch to make. You do not need to use a mixer, just a Pastry Cutter.

Makes two 9-inch Pie Crusts

Heart-shaped Cookie Cutter and Pastry Cutter

Ingredients

3 cups All-Purpose Flour

¾ cup Vegetable Shortening; cut into pieces (I used Crisco)

¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) cold Unsalted Butter, cut into pieces

1 extra large Egg

1 teaspoon Salt

1 tablespoon Distilled White Vinegar

5 tablespoons cold Water

Cherry Filling - yum!

Directions

Combine the Flour, Salt, Shortening, and Butter in a large bowl.

Using a Pastry Cutter, gradually work it all together until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Beat Egg with a fork and add it to the mixture along with the Vinegar and cold Water.

Stir together until combined, adding another tablespoon or two of cold Water, if it needs the moisture.

Form the mixture into two balls; wrap each in plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours. If you are not using the Pie Crust immediately, wrap each in individual plastic freezer bags and place in freezer. Remove from freezer 30 minutes before you need them.

Take ½ of 1 of the cold Pie Crust and sprinkle flour on work surface and on rolling pin, and roll out a nice circle. Take a heart-shaped cookie cutter, and dip in Flour and cut out shape and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Repeat until you have used up all the Dough. I got 16 hearts, which made 8 pocket pies.

Crimped and ready to bake

Cherry Pie

I used the Cherry Pie recipe from: http://www.gimmesomeoven.com/cherry-pie/.

Ingredients

5 cups Cherries, sweet or sour (or both), pitted

½ cup Sugar

¼ cup Corn Starch

1 tablespoon, cold Unsalted Butter, cut into tiny pieces

1 extra large Egg, beaten

1 tablespoon Lemon Juice, freshly squeezed

1 teaspoon Lemon Zest

½ teaspoon Pure Almond Extract

½ teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract

Wilton White Sanding Sugar or Sugar for sprinkling

Pies out the oven

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large bowl, toss together Cherries, Sugar, Lemon Juice and Zest, Extracts and Corn Starch until evenly coated.

Spoon 2 tablespoons of the Cherry Pie filling onto one heart half. Repeat process until you are done. Take a tiny piece of Butter and place over each Pie Filling. Using a Pastry Brush or your finger, go around the edge of the Dough with beaten Egg, so it will seal properly. Cover with the other heart half, and with the edge of fork and go around the edge of the Dough crimping down to seal it. Brush tops with Egg and sprinkle with Sanding Sugar. Take knife and make a few slits on top of each pocket pie. I made an x.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown.

Cool in baking sheet for 15 minutes; remove to a rack and cool for at least 30 more minutes. Serve warm or place in fridge to cool. Serve with vanilla bean ice cream if desired.

Enjoy! :)

-Sophia/Two Frys

NYC Just Food Conference 2014

JUST FOOD CONFERENCE
Teachers College and Off-Site Locations in New York City
April 5 and 6, 2014

On April 5 and 6, 2014, JUST FOOD will host the annual Just Food Conference in partnership with the Laurie M. Tisch Center for Food, Education & Policy. This two-day event will offer opportunities for the general public, food professionals, CSA members, community organizers and farmers to come together for workshops, skill-building sessions, all-day intensives, and tours. The conference will provide attendees with opportunities to learn about national farm and food issues, CSA trends, and cooking and food preservation techniques, as well as ways to mobilize communities in order to increase access to farm-fresh, locally grown food.

JUST FOOD CONFERENCE 2014: Just Food Website

JUST FOOD FB: Just Food Facebook Official

This is a important event for the city so make your plans now.

Allen/Two Frys

Apple Bourbon BBQ Sauce Sweet Heat Gourmet

Apple Bourbon BBQ Sauce Sweet Heat Gourmet

An easy marinade just use a Ziploc bag

Sweet Heat Gourmet based locally (to us) in State College, PA is a welcome new fave for the new year. I have been corresponding with Chef Michelle Mierwald about her sauces for a few months now. In the near future, I am covering some of Sweet Heat Gourmets More Extreme Hot Sauces and this week tried out their Apple Bourbon BBQ Sauce made with delicious apples from Way Fruit Farm (also local). Chef Michelle Mierwald makes her sauces with what is available seasonally at local farmers markets in her area. This adds to the unique flavors she has been able to produce with a local flavor. Some of Sweet Heat Gourmets sauces are seasonal as the ingredients are freshly available.

The Apple Bourbon BBQ Sauce from Sweet Heat Gourmet was an immediate hit in our kitchen. The apples were an amazing addition to the pork chops I made. The apple and cinnamon sweetness, and the bourbon added a nice smooth smokey flavor to this smooth but highly textured BBQ sauce.

The flavors of all the ingredients really shine through in this sweet product. Both sweet and savory, this sauce is a great

Chops sizzling  in Sweet Heat Gourmet

addition for your home pantry. I use, test, and review a lot of BBQ sauces and this sauce has a great local vibe in both flavors and production. I can recommend Sweet Heat Gourmets Apple Bourbon BBQ Sauce with the satisfaction of knowing it is a tasty product and great local sauce. Get yours today on the Sweet Heat Gourmet website, and be sure to visit their booth at the upcoming NYC Hot Sauce Expo 2014 in Manhattan/NYC. Hot sauce reviews upcoming will feature chicken with Apple Bourbon BBQ that really was great on pork chops. I marinated the chops in a Ziploc bag with BBQ sauce and then cooked them in an electric skillet. I got a nice carmelization from the sugars in the sauce.

Web: Sweet Heat Gourmet

Facebook: Sweet Heat Gourmet FB

See them in NYC March 2014 at the: New York City Hot Sauce Expo

-Allen / TwoFrys

Winter Cake

Winter Cake
Coconut Layer Cake with Marshmallow Snowflakes

Winter Cake

Since December, I wanted to bake this cake and I finally did this past Sunday. February is going to be full of Valentine’s baking (heart-shaped Red Velvet Cake, mini Cheesecakes, Cookies and Pie) and I wanted to make a cake to celebrate January, because I love winter and snow.

I had Martha Stewart’s Marshmallow Snowflakes pinned to one of my baking boards on Pinterest for a long time, and wanted to make these to have with hot chocolate and to put on top of the frosting. The Marshmallows are soft and melt in your mouth. 

I love Coconut Layer Cake and this recipe is from, The Complete America’s Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook 2001-2010 (pgs. 498-99). It is the best Coconut Layer Cake I have baked to date. If you love Coconut as much as I do, you should try this recipe! It has coconut in the cake and frosting, and not just coconut flakes over frosting. The cake is dense and very rich with a really creamy coconut frosting. The frosting and cake flavors get better each day and Allen and me can attest to this since we wiped out this cake in five days.  

Marshmallow Snowflakes

From Martha Stewart Living, December 2003

http://www.marthastewart.com/334710/marshmallow-snowflakes

Super sticky Marshmallow Mixture done

Ingredients

1/3 cup cold Water (twice and separated)

2 envelopes Unflavored Gelatin (I used Knox)

1 ½ cups Granulated Sugar

2/3 cup Light Corn Syrup (I used Karo)

1/8 teaspoon Table Salt

1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract

Vegetable-oil Cooking Spray

Marshmallow Mixture spread out on baking sheet

Directions

Lightly coat a 12-17 inch rimmed baking sheet with Cooking Spray; line with Parchment Paper. Spray Parchment Paper; set aside. 

Pour 1/3 cup cold Water into the bowl of a hand-held or stand mixer with paddle attachment. Add Gelatin to let mixture soften, about 5 minutes.

Marshmallow Snowflakes

Place Sugar, Corn Syrup, Salt and Water in a medium sauce pan. Cover and bring to a boil.

Remove lid and cook swirling the pan occasionally until syrup reaches 238 degrees (soft-ball stage) on a candy thermometer, about 5-7 minutes.

With mixer on low speed, whisk Gelatin mixture, and slowly pour syrup down the side of the bowl. Be careful since it will be very hot. Gradually raise speed to high and beat until mixture is thick white, about 12 minutes. Mixture will have almost tripled in volume. Add Vanilla Extract and beat 30 seconds to combine.

Marshmallow Snowflakes in Mason Jar so we can enjoy them in hot chocolate!

Pour mixture onto prepared baking sheet; smooth with an offset spatula. Let stand at room temperature, uncovered, until firm for 3-6 hours or overnight.

Coat desired snowflake-shaped cookie cutters with Cooking Spray to prevent it from sticking. Cut out as many snowflakes as you can. Coat cutters with more Cooking Spray as needed. 

Put aside Marshmallows you will use on the cake by placing on a baking sheet lined with Parchment Paper. Just remember to wipe marshmallows clean with a paper towel before you eat them. Store the rest in an airtight container at room temperature. They are good for up to 1 week.

Winter Cake close-up 

Cake

Ingredients

2 ¼ cups Cake Flour, plus more for the cake pans

¾ cup Cream of Coconut (I used Coco López)

5 Extra Large Egg Whites, plus 1 Egg, room temperature

¼ cup Water

1 teaspoon Coconut Extract

1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract

1 cup Granulated Sugar

1 tablespoon Baking Powder

3/4 teaspoon Table Salt

1 ½ sticks (12 tablespoons) Unsalted Butter, softened and cut into 12 pieces

Winter Cake

Directions

Adjust oven rack to the middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. 

Grease 2 9-inch round cake pans, line with Parchment Paper and grease and sprinkle with Cake Flour. Tap on counter and get rid of excess Cake Flour.

Whisk Cream of Coconut, Water, Egg Whites, Egg, Coconut and Vanilla Extracts together in a medium bowl.

In a hand-held or stand mixer with paddle attachment, mix Cake Flour, Granulated Sugar, Baking Powder, and Salt on low speed until combined, about 1 minute.

Increase speed to medium, beat Butter into the Flour mixture, a couple of pieces at a time, about 1 minute. Continue to beat the mixture until it resembles moist crumbs, about 1 minute.

My slice, Winter Cake

Beat in all but ½ cup of the Cream of Coconut mixture, then increase speed to medium and beat until smooth, light and fluffy, about 1-2 minutes. Reduce mixer speed to low and slowly add remaining Cream of Coconut mixture until batter is combined, about 1 minute.

Scrape batter into the prepared pans, smooth tops with spatula, and lightly tap the pans against the countertop two to four times to settle the batter. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes.

Cool cakes in pans for 10 minutes. Run a small knife around the edge of the cakes, then flip them carefully onto a wire rack. Peel off the Parchment Paper, flip the cakes right side up, and cool completely before frosting, about 2 hours.

Winter Cake

Coconut Frosting

Ingredients

2 tablespoons Heavy Cream

1 teaspoon Coconut Extract

1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract

Pinch Table Salt

2 sticks (16 tablespoons) Unsalted Butter, cut into chunks and softened

¼ cup Cream of Coconut

3 cups Confectioners Sugar

Sweetened Shredded Coconut (however much you wish over frosting and in between the cake layers)

Winter Cake

Directions

In a small bowl, stir the Cream, Coconut and Vanilla Extracts, and Salt together.

In a hand-held or stand mixer with paddle attachment, beat Butter and Cream of Coconut on medium-high speed until smooth, about 30-45 seconds.

Reduce mixer speed to medium-low and gradually beat in Confectioners Sugar, then continue to beat until smooth, about 3 minutes. Beat in the Cream mixture. Increase mixer speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy, about 4-5 minutes.

Line edges of cake platter with strips of Parchment Paper to keep platter edges clean as you frost cake.

If you wish, you may slice off the tops of the cake layers with a serrated knife before frosting. I never do since my cakes bake pretty evenly on top.

Place one of the cake layers on the platter top side down. Spread desired frosting and Coconut Flakes over the cake, right to the edges. Place other cake layer top side down and press lightly to adhere. Frost the cake with remaining frosting.  Line the edge of the top layer with Coconut Flakes. Decorate cake by placing as many Marshmallow Snowflakes to the top of the cake. You can even add them on the sides if you wish. Add Coconut Flakes around the top edge of the cake and use more if desired.

Enjoy!

-Sophia/Two Frys 

Snickerdoodles

Snickerdoodles

Snickerdoodles

I always wanted to bake Snickerdoodles but never got around to it. When we were visiting our family in California this past summer, my Mother-In-Law gave me some hand written recipes from her Mom, Allen's Grandmother Anita. One of the recipes was for Snickerdoodles and my inspiration to bake them. The only thing I replaced in this recipe was shortening for unsalted butter. These Snickerdoodles are a tribute to Allen's Grandmother and the aroma of Cinnamon in our apartment while the cookies baked in the oven reminded him of her. After eating just one cookie, Allen said he was brought back in time to his Grandmother's kitchen in San Jose, CA.

Snickerdoodles

I was always intrigued by the crackly look of these cookies. This recipe is very easy to follow and a cinch to bake. The Cinnamon-Sugar Mixture covers all of the dough, and the texture inside is soft, chewy and almost cakey. I never imagined Snickerdoodles would taste this good. If you have never baked them you really should soon.

Cinnamon-Sugar Mixture

Ingredients
2 sticks Unsalted Butter, softened

1 1/2 cup Granulated Sugar

2 Extra Large Eggs

2 3/4 cups All Purpose Flour

2 teaspoons Cream of Tartar

1/4 teaspoon Salt

1 teaspoon Baking Soda

Dough rolled up into balls

Cinnamon-Sugar Mixture
2 tablespoons Granulated Sugar

2 teaspoons Cinnamon

Snickerdoodles right out of the oven!!! 

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a small bowl, combine Cinnamon and Sugar with a small spatula. Put aside for now.

In a large bowl, use whisk to combine Flour, Cream of Tartar, Baking Soda and Salt. Put aside for now.

Snickerdoodles cooling on wire rack

Using a handheld or stand mixer with paddle attachment on medium speed, cream Butter and Sugar, about 2 minutes. Mix well until smooth and creamy. Add Eggs one at a time until combined. With a spatula, scrape sides of bowl to ensure ingredients are incorporated.

My 40 Snickerdoodles

With mixer on low speed, add dry ingredients little by little until incorporated.

Roll dough into a large ball and cover with plastic wrap. Chill in fridge for 1 hour.

Snickerdoodles close-up!

Using an ice cream scoop or tablespoon form ball of Dough. One by one, roll into Cinnamon-Sugar Mixture. Repeat until done.

Place Dough 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets, lined with parchment paper.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Cookie will puff up, but then flatten out. Cookies will begin to crack and will be done then.

Another close-up view of Snickerdoodles. You know you want some!

Let cookies rest on baking sheet for 10 minutes, and then transfer to wire rack to cool completely, about 1 hour.

My cookies were 2 1/2 inches in size and the recipe yielded 40 cookies.

Enjoy!

-Sophia/Two Frys

Hoosier Daddy Smokehouse Hickory BBQ Sauce with Lime

Hoosier Daddy Smokehouse Hickory BBQ Sauce with Lime

Hoosier Daddy Hickory Smokehouse
with Lime

Hoosier Daddy Smokehouse Hickory with a twist of lime is a really tasty treat for your pork, chicken and beef dishes. The Smokehouse Hickory is like their Sweet and Sassy BBQ sauce with a spike of lime twist. Hoosier Daddy mentioned on their promo sheet, the lime adds a nice fiesta touch to your foods. I agree, and even used the left over pork chops I made for a few pork soft tacos the next day for lunch. I really think this lime twist is a great addition to their already tasty line of sauces. I marinated a package of trimmed, semi thick boneless pork chops with Hoosier Daddy Smokehouse Hickory with a twist of lime. I let the pork chops sit in the fridge for 8 hours, and then grilled the chops in a grill pan on the stove. The results were very satisfying.  I added some chopped onions to the sauce for added flavor. Hoosier Daddy Sweet and Sassy was also very good, but did not have the lime ingredient. Both sauces are great for dipping sauces as well and as marinades.

The lime actually tasted fresh in the Hoosier Daddy Smokehouse Hickory BBQ sauce just as if it were squeezed in the sauce right before eating it. Gladly, there was no chemical taste like there is in lime flavored tortilla chips so that is great. Hoosier got the recipe right with the lime flavor and hickory smoke flavor mixed together resulting in a sweet, smooth smoked sauce. This could become a household favorite of yours so give it a shot.

Hoosier Daddy Slathering the Pork

The website has easy ordering via Amazon. If you have Amazon Prime, some of Hoosier Daddy's products are available to ship with your prime account saving you on shipping charges. I recommend these sauces for your BBQ be it outdoors or urban indoors. Hoosier Daddy also makes a Ghost Roast BBQ Sauce that will be on the blog in the future. We plan to make chicken wings with the Ghost Roast (Bhut Jolokia) BBQ sauce! Make Hoosier Daddy your daddy soon.

Web: Hoosier Daddy
Facebook: Hoosier Daddy FB

-Allen/Two Frys

Al’s Spicy Sriracha Roasted Cauliflower

Al’s Spicy Sriracha Roasted Cauliflower

The finished product - tasty hot cauliflower.

With all the Sriracha buzz recently, I decided to make a nice veggie dish with this great hot sauce. Sriracha also compliments steak, pork or chicken. You can substitute the Sriracha with a hot sauce of your liking if you wish. I used an imported Sriracha called Crying Tiger - Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce from Thailand. The Crying Tiger is a spicy but smooth hot sauce distributed from my old East Bay, SF Area stomping grounds in San Leandro, CA.

The ingredients are very hot and the sweetness is just right for vegetables and rice as well. A mixture of Red Chili, Sugar, Garlic, Salt, Tapioca Starch and other ingredients creates a nicely textured cooking sauce and condiment.

Preparation: 15 mins.
Bake Time: 20 mins.

Ingredients:
1/3 Cup Olive Oil
1 Tsp. Sesame Oil
1 Tbsp. Soy Sauce Low Sodium
1 Tbsp. Rice Vinegar
2 Tbsp. Sriracha (or to taste)
1 Medium Head of Cauliflower (1.5 lbs. cut into 1 inch florets)
1 Tbsp. Chopped Cilantro (I used some Basil from my urban garden also)

Directions:

While prepping dish preheat your oven to 400 F.

Cauliflower roasting in the oven.

1. Line a shallow sheet pan with parchment paper.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine the 2 Oils, Soy Sauce, Rice Vinegar and Sriracha. Mix these ingredients well. Add the Cauliflower to mixing bowl and coat with the marinade.
3. Place Cauliflower on sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Then bake for 10 minutes. Then turn Cauliflower over and bake another 10 minutes or until tender.
4. Garnish the Cauliflower with Cilantro (or herbs of your choice) and serve hot.

This is a fairly healthy recipe as it is baked/roasted and not fried. Also, try this as a side for a homemade stir fry or with oven baked spring rolls.

I hope you enjoy this tasty dish. We sure did and will be making this dish again very soon.

-Allen/Two Frys

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate Chip Cookies!

It's Saturday and snowing outside, yay! I have spent the day relaxing in my PJs, one of my favorite things to do on the weekend whenever possible. I happened to check my baking supplies in the pantry and came across a bag of chocolate chips I bought a few weeks ago. I read the recipe on the back of the bag and had all the ingredients on hand, so I made Chocolate Chip Cookies! These Chocolate Chips Cookies are a little crisp when you bite into them, chewy and filled with decadent chocolate chips. I had a few right out of the oven and they were heavenly, and perfect on a snowy day or any day of the week. You should really give this recipe a go!

Close-up view, Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes 4 dozen (48) cookies.

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups All-Purpose Flour

1 teaspoon Baking Soda

1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt

2 sticks (16 tablespoons) Butter, softened

3/4 cup Granulated Sugar

3/4 cup Brown Sugar, packed

2 teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract

2 Extra Large Eggs

1 bag, 10 oz. Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Chips

1 cup Walnuts, Almonds or Pecans, chopped (optional) (I did not have any of hand). Another option is 1/2 cup dried Candied Ginger, Cherries or Cranberries and 1/2 cup of any of these nuts.

Decadent Chocolate Chip Cookies

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Stir Flour with Baking Soda and Salt; set aside.

Using a bowl of your mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat Butter and Sugars at medium speed until creamy; about 3 to 4 minutes.

With a spatula go along sides of the bowl to make sure everything is incorporated.

Add Vanilla then Eggs one at a time, with mixer on low speed until incorporated; about 2 minutes.

Take spatula and go along sides of the bowl to make sure there are no Flour pockets and everything is blended well.

Fold in Chocolate Chips with a spatula just until incorporated.

Using a spoon or ice cream scoop, drop onto ungreased cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Use parchment paper to prevent sticking.

Spread cookie dough 2 inches apart.

Bake 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown.

Let cookie sheets cool completely before adding more dough to bake.

Let cookies cool for 3 to 4 minutes and using a wide metal spatula, transfer cookies to wire rack to cool completely; about 1 hour.

If you want to serve the cookies warm, just rest on wire rack for 4 to 5 minutes.

Enjoy!

-Sophia Fry

Spritz Cookies

Spritz Cookies

Spritz Cookies

On Sunday, I baked 2 batches of Spritz Cookies for a holiday party at my job this past Monday. Everyone really loved them and they are very easy to bake. They are also one of the classic cookies baked during the holidays. I first made these cookies back in 2011 and since that time, my baking has really improved and I am pleased with my results this year.

I made these Spritz Cookies using my Cuisinart Electric Cookie Press, which I love by the way but takes some getting used to. I stick to the recipe in Cook’s Illustrated Holiday Baking, 2011, pgs. 26-27 (recipe below) because different recipes are tested and this recipe was the best one. These Spritz Cookies have great flavor and the shapes hold well. They are crisp when you bite into them and soft inside. I tinted part of the dough red and green for variety, but you can use any colors you like. I also used colored sugars and sprinkles, but this is optional. Spritz Cookies are beautiful on their own using different shapes from your cookies press. If you want to change the flavor profile, substitute the pure vanilla extract to almond, coconut, orange or lemon extract.

Makes about 6 dozen 1 1/2 inch cookies.

Close-up view, Spritz Cookies

Ingredients

1 Extra Large Egg, just the yolk

1 tablespoon Heavy Cream

1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract

2 sticks (16 tablespoons) Unsalted Butter, softened

2/3 cup Granulated Sugar

2 cups All-Purpose Flour

Colored Sugars and Sprinkles, optional

Gel Food Coloring, optional

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a small bowl, beat Egg Yolk, Heavy Cream and Vanilla Extract with a fork until combined; set aside.

In a bowl of your mixer with the paddle attachment, cream Butter, Sugar and Salt on medium high speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes.

Scrape down bowl with spatula.

With mixer running on medium speed, add Yolk-Cream-Vanilla mixture and beat until incorporated, about 30 seconds.

With mixer running on low speed, gradually add Flour and beat until combined.

Scrape down bowl with spatula and give a final stir to make sure no flour pockets remain.

Dough will be soft, but do not refrigerate.

Another close-up view, Spritz Cookies

If you want to tint dough, separate depending on how many colors you want. I used red and green gel colors and separated dough into two glass bowls. Add 4-5 drops at a time and combine with a spatula until desired color is reached.

Fit your cookies press with desired disk to form cookies.

Press dough onto an ungreased baking sheet, spacing about 1 1/2 inches apart.

If desired, decorate with colored sugars and sprinkles.

Bake 1 sheet at a time until cookies are light golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes.

Remember to cool cookie sheets completely before you press more cookies or the cookies will lose their shape.

Cool cookies on sheet for about 3 to 5 minutes and with a wide metal spatula transfer to wire rack and cool completely, about 1 hour.

Enjoy!

-Sophia/Two Frys