All posts for the month December, 2011

French Toast

One of my favorite things to cook is breakfast.  I especially love French toast because it is so quick and easy, requiring only basic pantry ingredients.  I can use my large griddle and get six pieces of French toast cooked at once, so we can all sit down to eat at the same time.  Weeknights can be crazy with my husband or I working late, so we often don’t get to eat dinner together.  But, on Sunday mornings, we are all home for breakfast.  I jump at this chance to catch up on the week and spend some quality time together.

This French toast is a bit unusual in that the coating has flour in it, making it more like a thin pancake batter. I was skeptical at first because I had always made French toast with just milk, eggs, vanilla and sugar.  But, I should know by now to always trust America’s Test Kitchen. Again, they did not let me down.  I like this toast with just butter and powdered sugar, so the subtle vanilla flavor of the batter really comes through.  If you insist on syrup, maybe you can just dip your bacon or breakfast sausage in it?  :D

French Toast

1 large egg

2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

3/4 cup milk

2 tsp vanilla

2 Tbsp sugar

1/3 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp salt

4-5 slices day old challah (3/4 inch thick) or 6-8 slices day old high quality sandwich bread

unsalted butter for frying

Directions:

Begin heating a skillet (preferably cast iron) over medium heat or griddle.

Beat the egg lightly in a shallow bowl or pie plate.  Whisk in melted butter.  Whisk in the milk and vanilla, and finally the sugar, flour and salt.  Continue to whisk until smooth.  Soak the bread 40 seconds a side for challah and 30 seconds a side for sandwich bread. Do not over soak.  Pick up the bread and allow excess batter to run off.

Swirl 1 Tbsp of butter on skillet/griddle.  Cook in a single layer until brown on the first side (about 1 minute and 45 seconds) and 1 minute on the second.  Repeat for new batch.

Source:  The New Best Recipe

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by Just Baked on December 30, 2011  •  Permalink
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Posted by Just Baked on December 30, 2011

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Cream Wafers

Okay, so I know Christmas is over. But, I have one last Christmas cookie to share because it is my absolute favorite.  After fulfilling everyone else’s cookie requests, I just didn’t have a chance to make these cream wafers until the last minute on Christmas Eve.  These are cookies from my childhood, the cookies that I made with my mom in preparation for Christmas.  The recipe comes from the super fun 1963 Betty Crocker’s Cooky Book.  Yep, going old school. :D I brought some to my mother-in-law’s house for Christmas and they loved them.  But, I was kind of surprised that none of them had ever seen them before.  The wafer part of the cookie reminds me of sugared pie crust.   Kind of like my mom used to make with pie crust scraps, sprinkled with sugar and baked until crisp. Then, they are filled with a sweet, pastel colored buttercream frosting.  Okay, so maybe it is too late for Christmas cookies.  But you can change the shape and the color of the filling to suit any holiday.  I think hearts with pink frosting would be really cute for Valentine’s Day.  If you squish the frosting out a touch on the sides, you could even roll them in sprinkles.  Am I trying too hard to justify making these cookies after Christmas?  Maybe…but these are way too good to be designated Christmas only cookies! :D

Cream Wafers

1 cup butter ( I used softened)

1/3 cup whipping cream (35% butterfat)

2 cups all purpose flour (Gold Medal recommended)

granulated sugar for coating

Measure flour by dipping method (dip cup into flour, pull it up with heaping flour, level off with a spatula).  Mix butter, cream and flour thoroughly in a mixer bowl. Chill 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375°F.  Roll dough to 1/8″ thick on a lightly floured surface.  Cut into 1 1/2″ rounds (or another shape you like).  Transfer to a wax paper heavily sprinkled with sugar, turning to coat both sides very well.  Place on an ungreased sheet- I used parchment paper.  Prick in 4 places with a fork. Bake 7 to 9 minutes, or until they start to puff and barely brown on the bottoms.  Sandwich two cookies together with the filling.

Frosting

1/4 cup soft butter

3/4 cup sifted powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

food coloring if desired

Blend the soft butter, powdered sugar and vanilla in a mixer bowl until well combined. Add tint if desired.  I made my cookies on the small side, so I needed more frosting.  I suggest making 1 and 1/2 recipes of frosting.

Source:  Betty Crocker’s Cooky Book

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by Just Baked on December 29, 2011  •  Permalink
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Posted by Just Baked on December 29, 2011

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One step pound cake

Everyone has at least one recipe that they are known for, their signature recipe.  One of mine is this one step pound cake and it is about time I share it with you.  I don’t know the source, but it has been in my family for as long as I can remember. My mom thinks it came from one of those church compilation cookbooks, but isn’t sure.  This could be a family secret recipe….but honestly, I just don’t get secret recipes.  Besides making my family things they enjoy eating, sharing recipes with others is what I love about baking.  Is there really a better compliment than when someone asks you for a recipe?

Last night we hosted the last of our Christmas gatherings and I made pound cake for dessert. We don’t see my husband’s family often, so when we do, I have to make sure that this pound cake is on the menu.  They just go crazy for it and I don’t want to let anyone down.  The best thing about this pound cake is that there is no separation of ingredients. You just dump everything in to a mixer bowl, mix 3 minutes and done.  I can have the batter made in about 15 minutes and then bake for an hour.  How easy is that? :D   I like to serve mine with sweetened strawberries with whipped cream, but it is delicious straight up too.  As if my husband would eat a strawberry!  But, now that he saw that strawberries touched the pound cake he ate… :D

One-Step Pound Cake

Yield:  1 bundt

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 cup sour cream

1 cup very soft unsalted butter

1 tsp vanilla

3 eggs, room temperature

Vanilla bean, scraped or 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste (optional)

Preheat oven to  325°F.  Grease a bundt pan with butter and flour. Set aside.

Put all ingredients into a mixer bowl and beat on medium, with a paddle, for 3 minutes.  Pour into prepared pan.

Bake 55-60 minutes.  It is ready when a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out with a few crumbs.

Source:  My mom, Linda, from an unknown source

Helpful Hints:

  • Make sure your butter is really soft so it incorporates well into the batter
  • Butter you pan well.  I then put a bit of flour in my hands and clap them together over the pan so you get a fine mist of flour, instead of clumps.
  • I have used cooking spray with and without flour in the past and I have had a lot of sticking issues and they often leave a film on the pans that is almost impossible to remove.
  • I think that the pound cake tastes better the next day.
  • Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes before turning out onto your serving plate.
  • This cake is a good base for other flavors. Mix in Oreos, chocolate chips, add a layer of cinnamon sugar, use different extracts….
10 Comments
by Just Baked on December 28, 2011  •  Permalink
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Posted by Just Baked on December 28, 2011

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Easy Chocolate Pudding

Like most kids, my kids love pudding.  But, usually it comes from a Jell-O box or as a Snack Pack. Embarrased smile  I hesitate to make homemade pudding because most of the time when I try to recreate a convenience item or restaurant dish, my kids won’t eat it because it is not exactly the same.  Umm…no it is not the same, because it is better!  Geez.  Homemade macaroni and cheese?  Yuck, we only eat Kraft spirals.  Homemade broccoli and cheese soup?   Gross, we like Panera.  The list goes on and on.  But, I decided to try this pudding anyways because I love Cook’s Country and it wasn’t a big time commitment and ingredient cost.   And, who am I kidding? I knew if the kids wouldn’t eat it, I love chocolate pudding and I could eat it all myself!   But, Jack and Sammie loved it!  In fact, Sammie said it was one of the best things I ever made!  This pudding was so easy to make and the ingredients are pretty much pantry staples.  So, when you have a hankering for chocolate pudding and go in the cabinet to grab the powder in a box…Stop!  Grab a bag of milk chocolate chips instead and make this delicious homemade pudding. :D

Chocolate pudding:

Yield: 4 servings

1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

3 Tbsp Dutch-processed cocoa powder

3 Tbsp cornstarch

1/4 tsp salt

2 3/4 cups whole milk

1/4 cup heavy cream

1 cup milk chocolate chips (ATK recommends Hershey’s, but I used Ghirardelli)

1/2 tsp vanilla

Combine brown sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, and salt in a large saucepan.  Whisk milk and cream into sugar mixture until smooth.  Add the chocolate chips and bring to a simmer, whisking occasionally over medium heat.  Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, whisking constantly, until thickened and large bubbles appear at the surface, 2-3 minutes.  Stir in the vanilla off the heat.

Transfer the pudding to a large bowl.  (I strained it first to get rid of any small lumps).  Place plastic wrap directly on the pudding surface to prevent a skin from forming.  Refrigerate until completely cool, about 4 hours.  The pudding can be stored refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Source:  Cook’s Country February/March 2011

Helpful hints:

  • Strain pudding with a large mesh strainer to remove any lumps
  • Make sure to get all dry ingredients incorporated well into the liquid- they tend to get stuck in the bottom creases of the saucepan
  • If you can’t wait 4 hours for the pudding to cool (It’s not easy):  Transfer pudding to a 9 x 13 inch baking dish and place plastic wrap directly on the pudding’s surface (Do not use Pyrex- the quick temperature change could make it shatter).  Place in the freezer until cool, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
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by Just Baked on December 26, 2011  •  Permalink
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Posted by Just Baked on December 26, 2011

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Flour Bakery’s Intense Chocolate Brownies

There is always a debate going on between brownie lovers: fudgy or cakey?  I think Joanne Chang, the author of Flour, has the perfect answer to this question.  “If I want a piece of chocolate cake, I pull out the mixer and cake flour and make a chocolate cake.  And if fudge is what I have a hankering for,  I grab the candy thermometer and make fudge.”  So, Flour’s Intense Chocolate Brownies aim for the middle, giving you the best of both worlds.   This brownie is a perfect showcase for good chocolate, so I used Callebaut here.  The brownies should be a bit underbaked to maintain the fudgy-cakey texture or they will just be cakey, but still delicious.  So if you think you know the answer to the question…cakey? fudgy?  Give these brownies a try and I think you might agree that the correct answer is both.

Intense Chocolate Brownies:

Yield: 9 x 13 inch pan of brownies

5.5 oz (155 grams) unsweetened chocolate, chopped

2.5 oz (70 grams) bittersweet chocolate (62-70% cacao), chopped

3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp (1 & 3/4 sticks/200 grams) unsalted butter, melted

5 eggs

2 cups (400 grams) sugar

1 1/4 cups (175 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp kosher salt

Position the oven rack to the middle and preheat to 325°F.  Butter and flour a 9 x 13 inch baking pan.  (I lined it with aluminum foil with overhang  first, so I could easily remove them from the pan and cut them.)

Place the unsweetened chocolate and bittersweet chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl.  Place over (not touching) barely simmering water in a saucepan and heat, stirring continuously, until completely melted and smooth.  Remove from the heat, whisk in the melted butter until well combined and set aside to cool slightly.

Place the eggs in a mixer bowl and fit mixer with the whisk attachment.  On low, slowly beat in the sugar for 1 minute, or until frothy and somewhat thick.  Using a rubber spatula, fold in the chocolate mixture.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.  Using the spatula, gently fold in the flour mixture into the egg-chocolate mixture until thoroughly combined.  Do not over mix.  Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and spread in an even layer with the spatula. (Batter will be thick)

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes- but start checking at about 20 minutes.  They are done when a knife or toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few wet crumbs on it.  If there is still liquid batter on the tester, they need more time.  If the tester comes out clean, they are cooked through and will be just cakey (not fudgy too).  Let them cool for 2 hours.  They are so moist, they need this time to firm up enough to cut.

Source:Flour:  Spectacular Recipes from Boston’s Flour Bakery + Cafe

Helpful Hints:

  • I used the weight measurements in grams to make the brownies. If you own a food scale, this is really the most accurate way to bake.  I have this Oxo scale and love it!!  I had this scale for almost a year before I finally decided to use it. Embarrased smile  For some reason I was afraid, I guess because I have baked with measuring cups my whole life.  I’m not so good with change.  But, believe it or not, it is so much easier to just pour ingredients into a bowl and weigh them, than fill up cup after cup of dry ingredients.  Especially when you double or triple a recipe.  So many times I have lost track of how many cups I put in, usually because I have kids running underfoot or asking me questions. :D And, it is so much more accurate, you will immediately notice a vast improvement in the quality of your baked goods!
  •  Watch the brownies carefully. You want them slightly underdone when you remove them from the oven.  There should still be some wet crumbs on the toothpick.
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by Just Baked on December 23, 2011  •  Permalink
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Posted by Just Baked on December 23, 2011

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Cakies

I’ll admit it. I have a hard time passing by the Lofthouse Cookies at the grocery store without putting a package in my cart.  I am such a sucker for soft sugar cookies with creamy buttercream frosting.  But, knowing that the homemade version tastes so much better, I can usually convince myself not to buy them when I can make them at home.   This recipe for cakies isn’t supposed to be a Loftthouse copycat, but they really remind me of them.  The cookie base is super soft, but less like a cookie and more like cake as the name implies.   There is no rolling involved, as the dough is just dropped on the cookie sheets. That’s a bonus!  Although these are supposed to be Christmas cookies, the frosting and the decorations can change color to coordinate with different holidays.  So, they can easily be made year round.  That’s a good thing, because once you try these cakies, you won’t be able to wait until Christmas to make them again! :D

Cakies

Yield: 6 dozen by the recipe, I got about 4 dozen.

Cookies

1/2 cup Crisco Butter Flavor Shortening

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 cup sour cream

1 tsp vanilla

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

Sprinkles, food coloring, and other decorations optional

Day 1:  Put shortening, brown sugar and sugar in a mixer bowl, and beat with the paddle on medium until creamy.  Reduce the speed to low and blend in the eggs one at a time.  Add the sour cream, blending until just combined.  Add the vanilla and mix until smooth, about 1 minute.  Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Day 2:  In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside. Remove the mixer bowl from the fridge and lock it onto the stand.   With the mixer on low, blend in the flour mixture a bit at a time, until just incorporated.  The dough will look thick and sticky like tapioca pudding.  Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

Preheat the oven to 375°F.  Line baking sheets with parchment or spray with Pam.  When the dough is cold, drop it by rounded tablespoonfuls onto the baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between cookies.  I got 12 cookies/sheet.  Place the remaining dough in the fridge between batches.  Bake for 11 to 13 minutes, until the cookies just begin to turn golden on the edges.  Remove from the oven and cool for 2 minutes.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.  Frost when cool.  Add the decorations while the frosting is still warm.

Frosting

2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

1 tsp vanilla

2 to 4 Tbsp hot water

Place the powdered sugar in a mixer bowl with a whisk attachment.  Slowly add the butter and vanilla, mixing on medium-low until well combined, ~ 1 minute.  Add 2 Tbsp of water and mix until blended.  Add more water, a small bit at a time, until you reach desired spreading consistency.

Source:  Sugar, Sugar:  Every Recipe Has a Story

Helpful Hints:

  • Note this is a 2 day process
  • Make sure you apply colored sugar or other decorations right after applying the frosting. The frosting will harden a bit and the sugar won’t stick.
  • You may have to add more powdered sugar and/or water to get the right consistency to spread.
  • If the frosting thickens too much in the middle of frosting the cookies, whisk in a bit more water.
  • I had a hard time getting them to keep a circular shape with 1 Tbsp of batter.  I used about 1.5 tsp of batter instead and it made for better shaped cookies.  Reduce baking time accordingly.
3 Comments
by Just Baked on December 22, 2011  •  Permalink
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Posted by Just Baked on December 22, 2011

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Boobie Cookies

This has been a bad baking week for me with two failed new recipes that I had such high hopes for.  So, I was feeling pretty bummed.   When I feel bad, I bake! :D   So, I turned to the cookbook Sugar, Sugar again, since I have had such great success with the last two recipes I made from it.  I decided to make boobie cookies because the name made me laugh and I knew it would make everyone else laugh too.  Who doesn’t love that?  Basically it is a soft plain chocolate chip cookie dough that encloses a Hershey Kiss, so it looks like, well….a boobie :D    The name came from the recipe author’s grand kids who came to her house asking if she had any boobie cookies.  She had no idea what they were talking about until she realized they were talking about these cookies with their pointed tips.   Everyone laughed and their name was forever changed.  Such a cute story for a delicious cookie.  So, if you need a good laugh during this crazy holiday season as it comes to a close, make these cookies!

Boobie Cookies

Yield:  4 1/2 dozen cookies

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temp

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs, slightly beaten

1 tsp vanilla

54 chocolate Hershey Kisses, unwrapped

Preheat the oven to 375°F.  Line the cookie sheets with parchment or use nonstick cooking spray.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.  Set it aside.  Place the butter, sugar and brown sugar in a mixer bowl and beat with the paddle on medium until creamy.  Reduce the speed to low and add the eggs one at a time.  Add the vanilla.  Add the flour mixture, a bit at a time, and blend until smooth. Scoop 1 tsp of cookie dough and roll it into a ball.  Place it in the palm of your hand, and press a kiss into the center. Using your thumb, index finger and middle finger, gently pull the dough up over the candy so it is totally enclosed.  To me it looks like a beggar’s purse.  Place on a cookie sheet- I got 16 to a sheet.  Bake for 7-9 minutes, until they start to get golden on the edges. Remove from the oven and cool for 1 minute before transferring to a wire rack.

Source:  Sugar, Sugar: Every Recipe Has a Story

Helpful Hints:

  • Make 1 sheet first with 9 cookies to see if you need any adjustments in your shaping technique and to adjust quantity per sheet and space in between cookies based on spreading.
  • I think the caramel kisses or the peanut butter kisses would be delicious substitutions in this recipe.
8 Comments
by Just Baked on December 21, 2011  •  Permalink
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Posted by Just Baked on December 21, 2011

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Star Cookies

Today I decided to make not a Christmas cookie from my childhood, but from my husband’s.  When Justin was a kid, his family used to make these crisp, roll out, vanilla scented cookies, cut them with various cookie cutters, brush them with butter and decorate them with colored sugar.  His favorite cookies, like spritz, are always the pain in the butt kind of cookies.  Makes sense. :P   While they do take awhile to make, they are so fun for the kids to decorate.  We always end up knee deep in sprinkles and have to pry the cookies off the parchment because they are shalacked with colored sugar to the sheet.  My daughter put sprinkles on one cookie so thick, I was able to scoop some of them off with a spoon and decorate 4 other cookies and the original cookie was still pretty caked.  Then, my husband comes by and decorates his one cookie each year, so he can say he helped.  But, that’s okay because there are more for us to decorate and that is our favorite part.  It makes it all worth it when Sammie says to me, “This is so fun! This is the best day of my life.”  Mine too, sweet girl. Mine too. Red heart

Star Cookies

Yield: depends on how thin you roll them and the sizes of the cookie cutters- I get about 80 cookies.

2 cups sugar

1 pound butter (room temp)- cut into chunks

4 eggs

3 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp vanilla

1 vanilla bean, scraped or up to 1 tsp vanilla bean paste- optional

2 tsp baking powder

6 to 8 cups all purpose flour

Melted butter

sanding sugar

Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. This will take several minutes, as you want it to be more smooth than granular.  Add the eggs one at a time.  Add the lemon juice, vanilla, and vanilla bean/paste if using.  In a medium bowl, mix 6 cups of flour with the baking  powder.  Slowly add this flour mixture into the butter mixture until all incorporated.  Continue to add plain flour until you get the right consistency- you want it still wet, but not super sticky.  It should hold together when you press it with your fingers. I usually add about 6 and 3/4 cups total. I would err on the side of too sticky, as you can always add more flour when rolling the dough.  Chill a minimum of 2 hours for the dough to get firm.

Preheat the oven to 350°F.  Remove the dough from the fridge and roll about a 1/4 of the batch at a time on a floured surface with a floured rolling pin. Roll to a bit less than 1/4 inch thickness.  Use various shaped cookie cutters to cut the dough.  Place the shaped dough on parchment lined cookie sheets and refrigerate for about 1/2 hour.  (I skip this step- if you refrigerate, you will get less spreading, but I find I get little spreading anyways and it just takes more time).   Brush the tops with melted butter and apply colored sugar to decorate.  Bake for 6-9 minutes. Remove from the oven when they just start to brown on the edges- the tops should not be brown.  Allow to cool on the cookie sheet for a few minutes and finish cooling on a wire rack.  Store in an airtight container.

Source:  Jeanne Gates (my mother in law)

Helpful Hints:

  • I add a vanilla bean scraped or about 1/2 tsp of vanilla paste. I like the extra vanilla flavor.
  • Start checking for doneness at 6 minutes, but mine took close to 9 minutes. You want them to just be starting to brown on the edges. The tops should not be brown or they are overdone.
  • Make sure the cookie sheets are cool in between batches to reduce spreading.
  • I like using parchment paper.  It makes for easy removal of the cookies cemented to the paper :D

2 Comments
by Just Baked on December 20, 2011  •  Permalink
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Posted by Just Baked on December 20, 2011

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Buckeyes

You had to know this was coming when I mentioned that it just didn’t seem like Christmas without 2 things: fudge and buckeyes.    You saw the fudge, but then no buckeyes.  I actually did make them the day after I made the fudge…but funny story.  I rolled all the peanut butter dough into balls and then I had to refrigerate them before dipping. I didn’t have room in the fridge, so I thought I would just put them on a cookie sheet with a cover that snaps on tight.  Just to ensure they were safe, especially from my pug Walter, I put them on top of my grill.  When I went to roll them the next day, the cover was removed, neatly tucked into the handle of the grill.  About a quarter of the peanut butter balls were missing.  I don’t know what kind of animal it was, probably a raccoon or some squirrels, but needless to say, I was not happy.  I had to throw over 100 perfectly rolled, delicious peanut butter balls in the garbage. :(   This is the kind of stuff that only happens to me!  So, today I made them all over again.  Only this time, I made sure to make room in the fridge. :D

Buckeyes

Yield: 100-150 (depending on how big you roll them)

Filling

1 1/2 pounds powdered sugar (almost 6 cups)

1/2 pound room temperature butter (2 sticks)

1 pound creamy peanut butter (2 cups)  I love Peter Pan Honey Roasted Creamy

1 Tbsp vanilla

Coating

12 oz semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 slab paraffin wax (found in the canning or baking section of most grocery stores)

Combine powdered sugar, butter, peanut butter and vanilla in the bowl of a mixer.  Beat slow at first until the powdered sugar gets incorporated, then beat on medium until well combined.  Form the dough into balls, about 1/2 inch in diameter.  Put the balls in a bowl or on a cookie sheet, cover, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.  To melt the chocolate, use a double boiler or a small, heavy bottomed saucepan.  Put the chips and the paraffin (cut into small pieces) into the pan, and heat on low, mixing continuously until smooth.  Remove from heat.  Remove the peanut butter balls from the fridge and using a long wooden skewer, dip the balls, leaving a small circle of peanut butter showing at the top.  Place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.  You may need to put the peanut butter balls back in the fridge if they get too soft to dip.  You may also have to reheat the chocolate if it cools so much it starts to thicken/solidify.  Use your fingers to smooth out the skewer hole on top of each candy.  Freeze to set, then store in cookie tins in the freezer or fridge if using soon.  I think they taste better at room temperature.

Source: Penseys Spices Holiday 2000

Helpful Hints:

  • Use a small saucepan, so the chocolate is deeper for easy dipping.
  • I have found wooden shish kebob skewers to be the best for dipping.
  • The paraffin wax helps to make the chocolate coating more smooth and more stable.
6 Comments
by Just Baked on December 19, 2011  •  Permalink
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Posted by Just Baked on December 19, 2011

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Buffalo Chip Cookies

I wanted to make chocolate chip cookies, but I didn’t want to make the same old ones. I was looking through Sugar, Sugar and I saw a recipe for Buffalo Chip Cookies.  The recipe didn’t say where buffalo came from, but I’m guessing it is because of their enormous size.  The recipe is for the usual chocolate chip cookie base, but then the addition of oatmeal gives the cookies a nice chew.  Then, you add some cornflakes and  you get a bit of a crunch.  I sent two dozen of these giant cookies to school with my husband and they were gone in 10 minutes.  The kids said the texture reminded them of coconut (though there is none) and they seemed like breakfast cookies.  Given the oatmeal and cornflakes, their assessment seems fitting.   Like I needed a reason to eat cookies for breakfast! :D

Buffalo Chip Cookies

Yield: 3 dozen giant cookies

4 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp baking soda

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature

1 cup vegetable shortening

1 (16 oz.) box of light brown sugar

2 cups sugar

4 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla

2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (not instant)

2 cups cornflakes

1 (12 oz) bag semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350°F.  Line baking sheets with parchment (Do not use cooking spray).

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and baking soda.  Set aside.  Place butter, shortening, brown sugar, and sugar in mixer bowl with a paddle and beat on medium until creamy.  Reduce to low and add the eggs one at a time.  Add the vanilla.  Add the flour mixture a bit at a time, and blend until smooth.  Remove the bowl from the stand and mix by hand from now on.  Use a spatula or wooden spoon to fold in the oats, cornflakes, chocolate chips and nuts (if using.)

These cookies are gigantic. Use a tablespoon to drop 2 heaping spoonfuls of dough per cookie onto the baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. (I got 9 cookies per sheet).  Bake for about 15 minutes, or until the cookies are just slightly golden.  Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes on the sheet. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Source: Sugar, Sugar:  Every Recipe Has a Story

Helpful Hints:

  • Make sure to mix the mix ins by hand. Most mixers cannot handle it and you will break up the cornflakes too much.
  • I used a large cookie scoop to create uniform cookies.
  • Remove from oven as they just start to brown. They will continue to cook on the cookie sheet.
  • If available, use shortening sticks because they are more accurate and less messy.

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by Just Baked on December 16, 2011  •  Permalink
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Posted by Just Baked on December 16, 2011

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