s'mores & homemade marshmallows

So I was all pumped to make homemade Peeps last Easter weekend but it wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. Instead I turned my ooey-gooey marshmallows into s'mores. Yum!!!

S'mores

marshmallows (store bought or homemade)

chocolate

graham crackers

Snap your graham crackers in half, grab a clean unlined baking sheet and lay out your graham crackers. In the meantime, place an oven rack at the highest notch in your oven and set it to high broil.

Make as many as you want. Sadly I'm only making four. 

Place into oven. Don't walk away. Just hang out and stare into your oven because the marshmallows brown pretty fast. Once they have browned to your liking, take them out.

They go from this.....

to this.....

In seconds.

Sandwich the gooey halves together and enjoy!

Homemade (Toasted Coconut) Marshmallows

recipe from Food Network's Ina Garten

My heart was set on making marshmallows Peeps and toasted coconut marshmallows last weekend, but cutting out marshmallow Peeps with a bunny shaped cookie cutter just wasn't cuttin' it. At least my original plan for toasted coconut marshmallows came through.....

INGREDIENTS

• 3 packages unflavored gelatin
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• Confectioners' sugar, for dusting
• 3 - 4 ounces sweetened coconut, toasted

DIRECTIONS

Combine the gelatin and 1/2 cup of cold water in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and allow to sit while you make the syrup. Toast your coconut in a dry pan over medium heat. The coconut toasts quickly, so watch it carefully. Once toasted, set aside.

Meanwhile, combine the sugar, corn syrup, salt, and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Raise the heat to high and cook until the syrup reaches 240 degrees on a candy thermometer. Remove from the heat.

With the mixer on low speed, slowly pour the sugar syrup into the dissolved gelatin. Put the mixer on high speed and whip until the mixture is very thick, about 15 minutes. Add the vanilla and mix thoroughly.

***Before I did the following steps, I greased my pan lightly with vegetable oil - a light spray or wipe with a paper towel. That way the confectioners' sugar and coconut stuck to the dish a little bit.*** With a sieve, generously dust an 8 by 8-inch nonmetal dish with confectioners' sugar and sprinkle half of the toasted coconut in another 8 by 8-inch nonmetal pan. ***I used my metal baking pans and it seemed to work out perfectly.***

Pour the marshmallow mixture into the pan, smooth the top with damp hands, and dust with more confectioners' sugar and sprinkle with more toasted coconut. Allow to stand uncovered overnight until it dries out.

PS.....This stuff is super sticky and stringy!!! You may not get all of it our of your bowl. Don't worry, you'll yield more than enough marshmallows.

Run your pairing knife or small offset spatula around the edges of your pans. Turn the marshmallows onto a board and cut them in squares. ***I find using a pizza wheel cutter works best.*** Dust them with more confectioners' sugar for plain marshmallows and/or roll in more toasted coconut for toasted coconut ones. 

alfajores

Not stroopwafels, but alfajores.....My friend Dave is on a European tour with Sondre Lerche and he just happens to be in one of my most favorite places on earth, Amsterdam. At the Albert Cuypmarkt in the Pijp, you can find a vendor selling fresh stroopwafels oozing with the most delicious caramel filling. I know alfajores are not stroopwafels, but the dulce de leche filling in alfajores have similar oozing qualities...

Alfajores
makes 2 dozen
COOKIE:
1 ½ cup (3 sticks) unsalted butter – @ room temp

1 ¼ cup powdered sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Zest of 1 lemon

1 teaspoon lemon juice

2 cups cornstarch

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

pinch of salt

FILLING: Dulce de Leche
either store bought or homemade ***I'm a totally freaked out by boiling a whole can of sweetened condensed milk in a pot of water on your stovetop, so I prefer David Lebovitz's
technique for making it from scratch and I add rum to taste or vanilla extract to mine***

1 c. dried unsweetened, toasted coconut

Powdered sugar or melted chocolate

Combine cornstarch, flour, and a pinch of salt in a bowl.

Cream butter, sugar, and zest.  Add eggs 1 @ a time. Add vanilla and lemon juice. Add dry ingredients until it forms a ball.  ***Dough will be very sticky***

If possible half dough and place onto plastic wrap. Using plastic wrap, shape into a disk and refrigerate 1 hour.

Preheat oven 350˚. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

On a floured surface, roll out dough approximately 3/16 inch thick.  Cut out with 2-inch cookie cutter.  Place onto parchment lined cookie sheets.***They do not loose their shape so you can space them ½ - 1 in apart***

Bake for 9 – 12 minutes. The cookies will look quite pale.  Cool on rack.  Dust cookies with powdered sugar.  Spread one side of cookie with Dulce de Leche and sandwich together.  ***Be a little generous with the filling so that it oozes out a little when sandwiched together*** Roll sides in toasted coconut or dip in melted chocolate.

bouchon bakery's "nutter butter" cookies

This may sound crazy, but I'm giving up eating anything made with processed sugar for the rest of the month. Going "au naturel". Luckily I have MANY blog postings ready from previous baking binges to satisfy your sweet tooth. But before doing this and before the temperature outside reached pass the point of baking inside, I made Bouchon Bakery's "Nutter Butter"cookie recipe. I've posted about other delicious morsels from Thomas Keller's gastronomic empire before, but thankfully back in December 2006, The New York Times featured this recipe. Lucky me! Lucky husband! And lucky friends whom I've shared these cookies with!


I have fond childhood memories of eating these peanut-shaped sandwich cookies by Nabisco. Although these cookies can't easily be coaxed into a peanut shape and their taste and texture are completely opposite to the original. 

Bouchon Bakery's Nutter Butter Cookies
Thank you, thank you, thank you The Times and Bouchon Bakery!!!  ***I did not stray too far away from this original recipe other than using a higher quality of peanut butter***

Time: 45 minutes plus cooling

FOR THE COOKIE DOUGH:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt 1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup creamy peanut butter, preferably Skippy ***Again, I used a higher quality of peanut butter, also natural peanut butter to prevent from adding in any additional sugar***
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1/3 cup coarsely chopped peanuts ***ROASTED & SALTED peanuts here***
2½ cups quick-cooking oats

FOR THE FILLING:
¼ pound (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
½ cup creamy peanut butter, preferably Skippy ***Use a peanutty tasting peanut butter (preferably natural peanut butter)***
1 2/3 cups confectioners’ sugar

1. For cookie dough: preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and baking soda; set aside. Using a mixer with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter and peanut butter. Add sugars and beat at medium speed for 4 minutes, scraping down bowl twice.

2. At low speed, add eggs and vanilla. Add flour mixture and beat at low speed until well mixed, frequently scraping down bowl. Add peanuts and oats, and mix well. Using an ice cream scoop 2 inches in diameter ***I used a smaller scoop, 1 1/2 inch in diameter***, place balls of dough on parchment-lined baking sheets at least three inches apart. Bake until cookies have spread and turned very light golden brown, about 10 - 18 minutes depending on your oven. Remove from oven and set aside to cool and firm up, 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely before filling.

3. For filling: using an electric mixer, cream together the butter, peanut butter and confectioners’ sugar until very smooth.

4. To assemble cookies, spread a thin layer (about 1/8 inch) on underside of a cookie. Sandwich with another cookie. Repeat.

Yield: 24 large cookies. 

***This recipe makes a lot of cookies!!!! Especially if you're using a smaller cookie scoop.***

thin & crispy chocolate chip cookies...sandwiched with buttercream

So I decided to make these again because I'm seeing my friend who turned me onto this combo tomorrow AND because "the thin" is my new chocolate chip cookie love.




This time around I used a smaller scoop, which yielded 90 cookies. Yes, 90!!! And then I sandwiched them with an incredibly sweet vanilla buttercream filling.




I won't bother you by reposting the recipe, but in case you're lost, just follow the "recipe" link.....


What you'll need:


- this recipe
- 1 1/4 inch diameter cookie scoop ***for scooping cookies***
-  vanilla buttercream ***see recipe below***




Vanilla Buttercream Filling
Thanks again, MS, for providing me with this recipe. Makes almost enough to fill 2 1/2 dozen sandwich cookies




INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract


Beat butter with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Reduce speed to medium, and beat in confectioners' sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, scraping down side of bowl as necessary, until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add vanilla, and beat until smooth. Filling can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 3 days; return to room temperature and stir until smooth before using.


Sandwich cookies with heaping teaspoons (or more) of vanilla buttercream filling. Place in the refrigerator to firm up. Sandwich cookies can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

thin & crispy chocolate chip cookies

So I actually thought I was just a chewy-on-the-inside chocolate chip cookie lover.......I am not!
I have a new found love for the thin and crispy!!! 


Thanks to Tom Colicchio's, 'wichcraft, in West Chelsea's Tunnel, where I've eaten many of these delicious sandwich cookies. I usually go for their peanut butter or oatmeal sandwich cookie until my beautiful friend, Sarah, proclaimed how much she loved the chocolate chip cookie ones. And she was right....The chocolate chip sandwich cookies are da bomb!!! 


I haven't decided what I'm gonna "sandwich" these babies with, but when I do.....That will be another post. 


The Thin and Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookie
This is Alton Brown's recipe


It was an absolutely gorgeous day (and still is as I type) that I was crazy enough to turn on my oven and bake cookies. It was also an ice cream sandwich kind of day.......


INGREDIENTS
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 egg
2 ounces milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 sticks unsalted butter @ room temp
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips ***I substituted mini chips here***

DIRECTIONS

Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda in a mixing bowl. Combine the egg, milk, and vanilla and bring to room temperature in another bowl.

Cream the butter in the mixer's work bowl, starting on low speed to soften the butter. Add the sugars. Increase the speed, and cream the mixture until light and fluffy. Reduce the speed and add the egg mixture slowly. Increase the speed and mix until well combined.

Slowly add the flour mixture, scraping the sides of the bowl until thoroughly combined. Stir in the chocolate chips. Scoop onto parchment-lined baking sheets, 6 cookies per sheet. ***AB uses a large cookie scoop here. I used a much smaller one, 1 1/2 inch diameter*** Bake for 13 to 15 minutes, checking the cookies after 5 minutes. Rotate the baking sheet for more even browning. ***I definitely baked mine for 13 minutes, rotating halfway through baking***

Remove the cookies from the pans immediately. Once cooled, store in an airtight container.

homemade girl scout cookies.....samoas

Oh March, how I love thee!!! The winter season is slowly saying it's good-bye, we sprung forward, there's still light out when I get off of work and most importantly it's Girl Scout Cookie season!
So there are some things you just have to leave for others to make and that's the Girl Scout Samoa cookie. I made these over the weekend and then broke the sad news to my husband that this was probably a one time deal. Laborious. That's all I've got to say.....
I'm blogging about these because they are probably my most favorite GS cookie and I thought it would actually be fun. Fun? Yeah, right.
With the numerous steps in this recipe, I should have stopped right there. Instead I gathered up what ingredients I had at home, gave my husband a short list of what I still needed and then dreamed of eating Samoas whenever I wanted any time of the year.
After making several "things" this weekend plus multigrain bread, I went ahead and added these to my list. So enough said.....


This recipe is straight from the blog Baking Bites and I pretty much followed everything down to a tee. Except I cheated when it came to a few techniques. ***See notes throughout the recipe***
Homemade Samoas


COOKIES
1 cup butter, soft ***I used unsalted butter***
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
up to 2 tablespoons milk


Preheat oven to 350˚. ***I did this later in the recipe***
In a large mixing bowl, either on a stand mixer or with a handheld, cream butter and sugar followed by the vanilla. Mix in flour, baking powder and salt at low speed. Add milk as needed to make the dough come together without being too sticky (it's possible that you may not need to add milk at all). ***I added 2 tablespoons*** The dough should come together into a soft, not-too-sticky ball. Add in a bit of extra flour if your dough is very sticky. ***Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour***


Cut dough into thirds. On a lightly floured surface, roll out to about 1/4 inch thickness. Using a 1 1/2 inch round cookie cutter cut out rounds and place on a parchment lined baking sheet, 1 inch apart. They do not spread. With a plastic straw or an Arteco #806 tip, make a small hole in the middle of cookies. Repeat with the remaining dough. When finished cutting "donuts", refrigerate for 15 minutes. ***Now is when I started to preheat my oven, 350˚***


Bake cookies for 10 -12 minutes, until bottoms are lightly browned and cookies are set. Cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Turn your oven down to 300˚.


TOPPING
3 cups shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened) ***I used unsweetened to cut down the sugar***
12 ounces good-quality chewy caramels ***I used Werther's chewy caramels***
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3 tablespoons milk
8 ounces dark or semisweet chocolate - chopped fine (chips are OK)


Spread coconut evenly on a parchment lined baking sheet and toast for 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until coconut is golden brown and fragrant. Cool on baking sheet, stirring occasionally with a spatula. ***I toasted my coconut in a cast iron skillet over a medium heat, stirring/turning constantly for even browning*** Set aside.


Unwrap the caramels and place in a large microwave-safe bowl with milk and salt. Cook on high for 3 -4 minutes, stopping to stir a few times to help the caramel melt. When smooth, fold in toasted coconut.***I dumped everything in a small pot and slowly melted over a medium-low flame/heat, stirring constantly. I then added my toasted coconut***


Using a small offset spatula or knife, spread topping on cooled cookies, using about 2 - 3 teaspoons per cookie. Reheat coconutty-caramel as needed if it gets too firm to work with. While topping sets up, melt chocolate in a small bowl. Heat on high in the microwave in 45 second intervals, stirring thoroughly to prevent scorching. Dip the bottoms of each cookie into the melted chocolate and place on a clean parchment lined baking sheet. ***Dipping seemed messy so I just used a small offset spatula to spread chocolate on the bottoms*** Transfer all remaining chocolate (or melt a little bit more if needed) into a piping bag or ziplock bag and cut of a bit of the corner. Drizzle finished cookies with chocolate. Let chocolate set completely before storing in an airtight container. ***I placed mine in the fridge to speed up the "setting" process. I also stored mine in the fridge because I prefer them a little chilly***
Makes about 3 1/2 dozen cookies.


Note from Baking Bites blog: These cookies are fairly time consuming to make, (trust me, they were!!!!) but if you take your time and have fun with them, the results will be worth it. That said, if you want something a little bit less challenging, try baking a batch of Samoa Bars instead, which require no rolling and cutting of the dough!


After ALL that.....I do think eating these is your reward.