Gingered Carrot Cookies (TWD)

I need to up my blogging game. I've been baking and photographing, but am totally behind on getting all of my posts up. Sure, I have lame excuses for my procrastination, but I won't bore you with the details...at least for today.

This week's Tuesdays With Dorie recipe for Gingered Carrot Cookies is essentially a carrot cake in a portable cookie form. You know that this will be a hearty cookie with its list of ingredients (you can find the complete recipe at Natalia's blog Gatti Fili e Farina):

I followed the recipe essentially as written, and my only variation was to substitute half of the raisins with chopped candied ginger.

I used a large cookie scoop and ended up with 18 hefty sized cookies. These cookies don't spread at all when baking, so would recommend that you flatten the scooped dough before popping the cookies in the oven.
I love cakey cookies, and this cookie was right up my alley. I am so glad that I added the candied ginger, as it gave a nice spicy flavor and a nice chew. This recipe begs to be played with, and next time I'm going to nix the raisins and try a combination of dried pineapple and candied ginger, as well as substituting some of the butter with applesauce to reduce the fat content.

Thanks to Natalia for a delicious TWD pick this week!

...and just because, I wanted to share a photo of Siena closely supervising my photography session.

Chocoblock Cookies (TWD)

This week's Tuesdays With Dorie recipe for Chocoblock Cookies means serious business with all of these delicious add-ins:
In addition to the above ingredients, this cookie recipe calls for a healthy amount of old-fashioned oats and molasses. As I'm not a big fan of molasses, I substituted an equal amount of Lyle's Golden Syrup, which provides the same consistency as molasses without the strong flavor.

Once all of the ingredients are combined, you end up with a fairly wet sticky dough. To my surprise, the scooped dough didn't spread much as it baked, and it resulted in these hearty, chunky cookies.

I'm usually not a big fan of "everything but the kitchen sink" style cookies, but I really enjoyed noshing on these babies. The cookies had a really nice chew, with the chocolate, coconuts, dried figs, nuts and oats provide a a ton of flavor and textural contrast. I particularly loved the dried figs in combination with the chocolate --- delicious!

Thanks to Mary of Popsicles and Sandy Feet for a terrific pick this week. Doesn't Mary's blog name make you yearn for summer? :)

I'm sure the TWD bakers got really creative with the cookie ingredients this week, so make sure to peruse the blogroll to some wonderfully yummy creations.

Dulce de Leche Duos (TWD)

For all of you caramel fanatics, this week's Tuesdays With Dorie recipe for Dulce De Leche Duos is calling your name. Luscious dulce de leche is incorporated into the cookie dough. If that isn't enough, a generous dollop of this caramel-y goodness is sandwiched between two cookies.

On David Lebovitz's blog, he writes about this delicious spread and aptly describes it as a "shiny and deeply caramelized milk jam". As I continued to read, I was surprised to learn that one can make homemade dulce de leche with canned sweetened condensed milk --- check out the recipe here. I was lucky enough to find canned dulce de leche at my grocery store, but will definitely consider going the homemade route next time.

The cookie dough was suprisingly very soft and sticky. Instead of struggling with a spoon or scoop to work with the dough, I used a piping bag with a large round tip to portion the dough on the baking sheets.

These cookies are definitely meant to satisfy a sweet tooth. I actually enjoyed the cookies more sans the filling. With the dulce de leche filling, I thought they were a bit too sugary sweet for my personal taste, but I can see how those who love caramel would swoon over these gems.

For the recipe, please visit Jodie's blog, Beansy Loves Cake.

Thumbprints For Us Big Guys (TWD)

This week's Tuesdays With Dorie selection is Thumbprints For Us Big Guys, and these delicate shortbread cookies are all grown up with the addition of ground hazelnuts (or another nut) and jam.

As I have been making up for lost time tasting (or more accurately devouring) all of the TWD treats that I tucked away in the freezer during my 3 week detox, I was definitely feeling a little overloaded with the sweets. I cut this recipe in half, and made the cookies bigger than Dorie directed and yielded 16 "big guy" sized cookies. I set aside a couple of cookies and the rest will head to my hub's work.

While I was rummaging through the freezer to find these brownies and these chocolate chip cookies, I stumbled upon a bag of hazelnuts so had to use them in this recipe (mental note: clean out the freezer!). Instead of raspberry jam, I used bosenberry jam.

These cookies were buttery, delicate and tender and was a perfect afternoon snack with a cup of tea.

If you'd like the recipe, make sure to visit Mike's blog, Ugly Food Dude.

Honey-Wheat Cookies (TWD)

With all of the chocolate-centric recipes baked this month, this week's Tuesday's With Dorie selection, Honey-Wheat Cookies, was a welcome change of pace to my baking agenda. With a healthy amount of wheat germ and honey, as well as a touch of lemon zest, you could almost consider these cookies a healthy snack - just ignore the stick of butter that is part of the ingredient list.

I may be in the minority, but I really enjoy the nutty flavor and crunchy texture of wheat germ. Its a great topping for my morning oatmeal or yogurt, and if I'm feeling particularly health conscious, I'll substitute a portion of flour with wheat germ in my muffin recipes.

I'm still in detox mode (one more friggin' week to go), so I'll have to defer to all of you on taste. I have some cookie dough sitting in the freezer and I look forward to sampling this once this cleanse chapter comes to a close.

I just pictured myself making a meal of all of the recipes from the past three weeks --- I may have to start another detox in order to recover from that sugar binge...NOT!

You can find the complete recipe for these Honey-Wheat Cookies at Michelle's blog, Flourchild. To find out what the TWD bakers thought of this cookie recipe, please make sure to peruse the TWD Blogroll.

Buttery Jam Cookies (TWD rewind)

I've been meaning to write about this cookie eons ago, as this recipe for Buttery Jam Cookies was a Tuesdays With Dorie selection back in December 2008. Can we say that I'm just slightly overdue?

It is a pretty simple and straightforward butter drop cookie with a bit of jam mixed into the dough. I always have several open jars of jams and preserves sitting in the fridge (what can I say, I enjoy variety with my morning toast), so this is a perfect cookie to bake in a moment's notice. For my first try, I went with apricot jam. Next time, I will have to try strawberry-rhubarb.

I really enjoyed this cookie - soft, buttery with slight hint of jammy sweetness. This is not one of the those rich, decadent in-your-face kinda cookies. The flavors are subtle, and it is the perfect accompaniament with an afternoon cup of tea.

For the complete recipe, please visit Heather's blog, Randomosity And The Girl.

Dorie Greenspan's Best Chocolate Chip Cookies (TWD)

Week 1 of my "crazy-ass detox plan" (as oh so appropriately described by my homegirl Mary, The Food Librarian) is in the books, with two more weeks to go. Detoxing and food blogging is not a very good combination (I know...DUH!!!). When I peruse all of your beautiful blogs, I get cravings that are more intense than when I'm in the kitchen baking....seriously.

I'm no saint, but so far I haven't not veered off the plan. Still, there is not a day that goes by without my longing for a cup of coffee, a glass of red wine, brownies, ice cream, cheese, sushi...the list goes on and on. Okay, enough of my whining...

This week's Tuesdays With Dorie selection is what Dorie Greenspan dubs her Best Chocolate Chip Cookies. I don't know of anyone who doesn't have an opinion on what makes a perfect chocolate chip cookie - thick vs. thin, crispy vs chewy, nuts vs no nuts, milk chocolate vs bittersweet, butter vs. shortening, etc.

I've done my share of research and baked through a long list of recipes, and none have been able to trump Jacque Torres' version as my absolute favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe. I've written about this heavenly cookie here.

I haven't tasted Dorie's recipe, so I won't be able to do a comparison until next month (I have some cookie dough sitting in the freezer for this purpose). I sent these cookies to my hub's work, and he reported back with rave reviews from his colleagues...a good sign.

Dorie's states that her recipe is in the thin and crisp category, but I think many of the TWD bakers (myself included) were caught off guard by how much these cookies spread in the oven. The first batch that I made spread into one giant cookie....make sure to space the dough far apart!
For this recipe, I finely chopped pecans, and hand chopped a block of Calleabut bittersweet chocolate. In Dorie's notes, she recommends that bakers forego the packaged chips and hand chop chocolate for their recipes. I wholeheartedly agree with her!
Thin and crispy, these cookies are perfect for ice cream sandwiches:

For the complete cookie recipe, please visit Kait's Plate.

Chocolate Oatmeal Almost Candy Bars (TWD)

This week's Tuesday With Dorie recipe for Chocolate Oatmeal Almost-Candy Bars is diet breaker for sure --- and we're only 19 days into the new year!

With a chewy oatmeal-peanut layer on the bottom, a rich, fudgey chocolate layer that is studded with peanuts and raisins (or dried cranberries in my case) in the middle, and a crunchy oatmeal layer on the top, a small slice of this cookie will tame the most ferocious sweet tooth.

I halved the recipe and baked it in a 9x5 loaf pan (the full recipe is meant to bake in a 9x13 baking pan). I think I goofed and should have baked this in a bigger pan, but nonetheless the recipe turned out just fine --- the layers are just a bit thicker than what the recipe probably intended. After a couple of hours in the fridge, these cookies are ready to be sliced and served.

Chewy, nutty, chocolatey --- delicious! I'm glad that subbed the raisins for cranberries, as the tartness from the dried cranberries definitely helped to balance out the richness of these bars.

For the complete recipe, please visit Lillian's blog, Confectiona's Realm. Also, please make sure to visit the TWD blogroll, as I know there will be many decadent versions of this recipe to oogle.

Parmesan Sables (TWD)

I loved that this week's Tuesdays With Dorie recipe for sables provided us with several flavor options. As my baking time this month is devoted to assorted holiday sweets, I was definitely up for making the savory version of this buttery shortbread cookie.

The crumbly yet tender texture of these gems is what makes them so addictive to eat. Technique is key to getting the right texture - no overmixing of the dry ingredients! I sprinkled the formed logs with ground marcona almonds before slicing, then topped each sable with a sprinkling of fleur de sel.

I appreciated how the parmesan cheese flavor was centerstage in these sables. I did yearn for a little cracked pepper and/or herbs to balance out the rich flavor of the butter and cheese (note for next time). These sables were the perfect savory snack to serve along with a nice cabernet sauvignon.

Thanks to Barbara of Bungalow Barbara for a terrific pick this week! You can find the recipe at Barbara's blog or at this NY Times article. The possibilities of this recipe is endless, so make sure to visit the TWD blogroll to see the many delicious versions.

Sugar-Topped Molasses Spice Cookies (TWD)

These Sugar-Topped Molasses Spice Cookies are a must-bake during this time of year. When these cookies are baking in the oven, the delicious smells of molasses and spices will permeate the house and remind you that the holidays are here.

The spicy kick in these beauties come from ginger, cinnamon, allspice, --- and black pepper. Do not shy away from the black pepper, as they add a really nice heat to these cookies.

These cookies are definitely going to be incorporated into my holiday cookie baskets this year!

Thanks Pamela of Cookies With Boys for this delicious selection! Make sure to visit Pamela's blog for the complete recipe.

This month, the Tuesdays With Dorie bakers have been given license to bake the November line-up out of order, so make sure to peruse the TWD Blogroll to see some fantastic fall baking.

Chocolate Macarons (DB)

Thanks to this month's Daring Baker's Challenge, this was my first attempt at making macarons. I've assumed that these delicate European cookies were difficult and time consuming, so I never bothered to try making them at home. Besides, I'm fortunate to have Paulette Macarons within a short driving distance from mi casa. Paulette's macarons are works of art, and they are almost too pretty to eat (still, that hasn't stopped me from inhaling a box or two).

Confession time - I tried THREE times to make macarons using the recipe selected by our hostess Ami, and every attempt was a huge failure - ARGHHHH!!!! I had trouble getting the little "feet" on my cookies, and when cooled, they were as hard as rocks and pretty sad looking. I'm pretty sure that these failures were attributable to me and not the recipe, as the other DB'ers were sharing their picture perfect macarons using Claudia Fleming's recipe (which is included at the end of this post).

After taking a few minutes to swear like a sailor, I took a deep breath and decided to work with a different recipe. If this attempt didn't work, I vowed never to make macarons again. I went with a chocolate macaron recipe from David Lebovitz - the man has yet to fail me in the ice cream deparment, so I had faith in his recipe. The link to his recipe is here.

Voila - Macaron success!!!! The cookies had a nice crunchy exterior which gave into a nice chewy interior. The filling for these cookies is a simple bittersweet chocolate ganache.

I kicked back and relished in my macaron success with a plate of these sugary gems and a cup of tea.

Macarons

from The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern by Claudia Fleming

Ingredients

Confectioners’ (Icing) sugar: 2 ¼ cups (225 g, 8 oz.)

Almond flour: 2 cups (190 g, 6.7 oz.)

Granulated sugar: 2 tablespoons (25 g , .88 oz.)

Egg whites: 5 (Have at room temperature)

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 200°F (93°C). Combine the confectioners’ sugar and almond flour in a medium bowl. If grinding your own nuts, combine nuts and a cup of confectioners’ sugar in the bowl of a food processor and grind until nuts are very fine and powdery.

2. Beat the egg whites in the clean dry bowl of a stand mixer until they hold soft peaks. Slowly add the granulated sugar and beat until the mixture holds stiff peaks.

3. Sift a third of the almond flour mixture into the meringue and fold gently to combine. If you are planning on adding zest or other flavorings to the batter, now is the time. Sift in the remaining almond flour in two batches. Be gentle! Don’t overfold, but fully incorporate your ingredients.

4. Spoon the mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a plain half-inch tip (Ateco #806). You can also use a Ziploc bag with a corner cut off. It’s easiest to fill your bag if you stand it up in a tall glass and fold the top down before spooning in the batter.

5. Pipe one-inch-sized (2.5 cm) mounds of batter onto baking sheets lined with nonstick liners (or parchment paper).

6. Bake the macaroon for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and raise the temperature to 375°F (190°C). Once the oven is up to temperature, put the pans back in the oven and bake for an additional 7 to 8 minutes, or lightly colored.

7. Cool on a rack before filling.

Yield: 10 dozen.

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The 2009 October Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to us by Ami S. She chose macarons from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern as the challenge recipe.

Milan Cookies (DB)

This month's Daring Bakers Challenge was to make homemade versions of a couple of grocery aisle cookie favorites, Milano Cookies and Mallomars. I'm pretty good about resisting temptation in the cookie aisle at the grocery store, but I definitely have a weakness for these two cookies. In college, both cookies provided essential nutrition (i.e. sugar and carbs) for my all night study sessions. Thanks to Nicole of Sweet Tooth for a great selection this month. Nicole graciously gave us the option of making one or both recipes. Due to some scheduling challenges, I opted to just make the Milano Cookies.

With a heatwave hitting full stride in Los Angeles, I was so happy to work on a recipe that minimizes baking time. I cheated a teeny bit and filled the cookies with Scharffen Berger milk chocolate ganache.
These homemade milanos were so tasty and easy to make! In fact, I may never go back to the packaged version.
Milan Cookies
Recipe courtesy Gale Gand, from Food Network website

Prep Time: 20 min
Inactive Prep Time: 0 min
Cook Time: 1 hr 0 min
Serves: about 3 dozen cookies

12 tablespoons (170grams/ 6 oz) unsalted butter, softened
2 1/2 cups (312.5 grams/ 11.02 oz) powdered sugar
7/8 cup egg whites (from about 6 eggs)
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons lemon extract
1 1/2 cups (187.5grams/ 6.61 oz) all purpose flour
Cookie filling, recipe follows

Cookie filling:
1/2 cup heavy cream
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 orange, zested

1. In a mixer with paddle attachment cream the butter and the sugar.
2. Add the egg whites gradually and then mix in the vanilla and lemon extracts.
3. Add the flour and mix until just well mixed.
4. With a small (1/4-inch) plain tip, pipe 1-inch sections of batter onto a parchment-lined sheet pan, spacing them 2 inches apart as they spread.
5. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10 minutes or until light golden brown around the edges. Let cool on the pan.
6. While waiting for the cookies to cool, in a small saucepan over medium flame, scald cream.
7. Pour hot cream over chocolate in a bowl, whisk to melt chocolate, add zest and blend well.
8. Set aside to cool (the mixture will thicken as it cools).
9. Spread a thin amount of the filling onto the flat side of a cookie while the filling is still soft and press the flat side of a second cookie on top.
10. Repeat with the remainder of the cookies.

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The July Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Nicole at Sweet Tooth. She chose Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies and Milan Cookies from pastry chef Gale Gand of the Food Network.

Coconut Butter Thins (TWD)

This week's Tuesdays With Dorie recipe is Coconut Butter Thins. The foundation of this cookie is a shortbread dough, which is embellished with coconut, macadamia, and lime zest. These components are not necessarily in my top 10 list of favorite ingredients/flavors, and I confess that I wasn't excited about making these cookies.
The instructions for this cookie are pretty straightforward, and for the most part I followed the recipe as written. My only minor adjustment was finely grinding the coconut along with the macadamias.

In the book, Dorie Greenspan describes these cookies as wafery and lacey. Even with that knowledge, I was surprised that my cookie dough squares spread like crazy in the oven! Either the spreading is intended, or else the overnight rest in the fridge and freezing the cut cookie dough didn't help the cookies retain its shape. Now, I'm curious to see how everyone else's cookies turned out.
So much for how they look...more importantly, how do they taste? After taking one bite of this cookie, I realized that I should keep an open mind --- these cookies are unbelievably flavorful and delicious!!!! The texture is a perfect balance of crispy and tender, and the coconut, macadamia and lime flavors are really wonderful together (I think next time I will increase the amount of lime zest --- loved the flavor). I will say that this gem is one of my favorite TWD recipes to date (and that's saying something, as the group has made some pretty terrific treats).

Thanks Jayne of The Barefoot Kitchen Witch for selecting this divine cookie! If you want to make this delicious cookie yourself, head over to Jayne's blog for the recipe. For more delicious cookies, check out the TWD blogroll.

Caramel Crunch Bars (TWD)

This week's Tuesdays With Dorie recipe, Caramel Crunch Bars, was selected by Whitney of What's Left On The Table (please visit Whitney's blog for the recipe).

This cookie is essentially a shortbread with morsels of chocolate (I used bittersweet) distributed throughout and topped with more chocolate and toffee candy (I hand-chopped Skor toffee bars).

Instead of using a 9x13" pan (as instructed in the recipe), I used a square muffin pan to make individual cookies.

Dorie Greenspan notes that these cookies are great for ice cream sandwiches. With that in mind, I added a scoop of 7 bean vanilla ice cream (I will be sharing this over-the-top recipe later this week):

Then, I drizzled slightly warmed chocolate sauce on top:

This cookie is delicious on its own. Who knew that little ice cream and chocolate sauce would elevate this into a spectacular dessert --- YUM!

World Peace Cookies (TWD)

For this weeks Tuesdays With Dorie, Jessica of CookBookHabit selected World Peace Cookies. Not many words are required to describe this treat --- This is one hellava delicious cookie! I've made this cookie numerous times without fail (as evidenced by the stain splattered page in my copy of BFMHTY), and everyone raves about how delicious it tastes.

The ingredient list and instructions are really simple --- it's essentially a chocolate shortbread with bits of chocolate and sea salt strewn throughout. I typically follow the recipe as written, as I think it's perfect as is. My baking notes:

Chocolate: I used Valhrona bittersweet mini-chips and cocoa powder

Sea Salt: I used fleur de sel. I also sprinkled additional fleur de sel on top of the sliced dough before baking --- it adds just a touch more saltiness, which is so unbelievably addictive with the chocolate.

Dough: Instead of shaping the dough into a round log, I shaped it into a 2" square log. The shape makes it easier for me to slice the dough. As my cookies are slightly larger, I ended up with two dozen cookies (versus the three dozen indicated in the book).

My favorite way to enjoy this cookie:

For the recipe, please head to Jessica's blog. For more delicious versions of this recipe, check out the TWD blogroll.

Linzer Sables (TWD)

Tis the season...I LOVE this time of year! Yes, I'm one of those crazy lunatics that loves to decorate the house top to bottom, play holiday music every chance I get (and successfully drive my hubby crazy), shop til I drop, and bake to my heart's content for family and friends.

Linzer Sables are a perfect seasonal choice for this week's Tuesdays With Dorie. Selected by Noskos of Living The Life, these darling looking cookie gems are tender, nutty and so flavorful.I followed the recipe as written, with hazelnuts as my ground nut choice. I would definitely recommend freezing the rolled sheets of cookie dough before cutting, as the dough is really sticky and tough to work with otherwise. To get a nice golden brown color, I reduced the baking time to 9 minutes; at the recommended 11-13 minutes, the cookies were a bit well done.
I sandwiched the cookies with dollops of raspberry and blackberry jams. Dorie Greenspan's suggestion for a chocolate filling sounded divine (hazelnuts & chocolate --- how can you go wrong!), and I'll definitely keep that in mind for the next time.
This was the perfect recipe to kick off the holiday baking season. This was just a warm up --- I have quite the variety of cookies to make this month, and I definitely be sharing them with you in future posts.

If you'd like to make this yourself (which I highly recommend), Noskos has it available on his blog. To see the handiwork of 350+ TWD bakers, check out the blogroll.