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.

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.

Granola Grabbers (TWD)

This week's Tuesdays With Dorie recipe, Granola Grabbers, was selected by Michele of Bad Girl Baking. At first glance, I was all excited about making a great healthy cookie recipe as it is chock full of grains, dried fruit and nuts. I guess I overlooked the the 14 tablespoons of butter, which eliminates the word "healthy" from this recipe. It's a cookie Linda, so get over it!

This recipe definitely begs to be played with, looking the wide variety of ingredients listed! I decided to make use of what was available in my pantry. I used Trader Joe's vanilla almond granola, and my substitutions included: flaxseed meal (instead of wheat germ), and a combination of dried apples and dried cherries (instead of raisins). As many of the bakers commented that the cookie was a bit sweet, I dialed back the amount of sugar, reducing the brown sugar to 1/2 cup and granulated sugar to 1/8 cup.
The resulting dough was really crumbly and dry. I would recommend that you press flat the balls of dough on the baking sheet (as Dorie instructs), as the dough does not spread much when baking in the oven (the cookies pictured here were pressed flat before baking).

What the cookie lacks in eye appeal definitely makes up for itself in taste and texture. I really enjoyed the crunch of the nuts and the chewy texture of the dried fruit. In many ways, this reminded me of an amped up oatmeal cookie.

Well, I'm going to stop writing now, as I need to enjoy more of these delicious gems with a cold glass of milk...nom, nom, nom, nom....

If you'd like to try this recipe out, it is available on Michelle's blog. To see how my fellow bakers fared, check out the Tuesday's With Dorie blogroll.