Category Archives: Cookies

Snickerdoodles

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 Oof. Sorry for the radio silence.

It’s been a crazy two weeks around here–I’ve been working my butt off. In addition to my regular child-wrangling, I’ve recently taken a job as a personal chef. I absolutely love it, but I am so tired, it’s stupid. In addition to my day jobs, I made seven cakes last week for various friends. They all turned out wonderfully, thank goodness, but that’s a lot of cake for someone who doesn’t have an assistant or a professional grade oven.

Unfortunately, my responsibility to this little blog got pushed to the side, but I’m back, and I have loads of new recipes to share with you! 

Let’s start with cookies. After thirteen days of near-constant work, I think I deserve a few! And what is better than a classic Snickerdoodle?! Soft and chewy with an in-your-face cinnamon-sugar flavor–there’s nothing more comforting. 

 Now, you don’t need for me to tell you how to make Snickerdoodles. You’ve probably made them before. I mean, they’ve been around forever. But let me say that this particular version is the best I’ve ever had. 

  There are three little touches that make these cookies absolutely irresistible:

1. Brown Sugar. Most Snickerdoodles are made with all granulated sugar. Replacing 1/3 cup of the white stuff with light brown sugar ensures that these cookies stay soft for days! They actually get softer and chewier the day after they’re made. Plus, brown sugar and cinnamon are BFFs.

2. Cornstarch. I put cornstarch in almost all of my cookie recipes, but this recipe has double the usual amount: two whole tablespoons. This lightens the flour and, with the help of the brown sugar, keeps these cookies super tender.

3. Cinnamon. Yes, Snickerdoodles have to have cinnamon. But some bakers just add a teaspoon or so for a fairly subtle flavor. Not me! Between the cookie dough and the coating, this recipe has 3 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon! As I said above, these Snickerdoodles have a bold, in-your-face flavor. 

Enough shop talk! You guys, I am seriously obsessed with these cookies! I have eaten way too many in the last two days, and I’m still totally in love. Make these for your friends and family, or even just yourself, and you will be too! 

 Snickerdoodles
makes about four dozen

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons cream of tartar*
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar,* packed
1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk, room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Coating:
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, cream of tartar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.

In a separate large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to cream butter until light and fluffy. Beat in sugars, followed by egg and yolk, and vanilla. Add dry ingredients in three installments, mixing until completely combined. Dough may look crumbly, but should hold together well when pinched with clean fingers.

Cover dough with plastic wrap, and chill for two hours, or up to three days.

Preheat oven to 350F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.

Make the coating. In a small bowl, use a fork to whisk together granulated sugar and cinnamon.

Scoop the dough by the tablespoon, and roll into balls. Roll each dough ball in the coating mixture. Place dough balls at least two inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Bake cookies 8-10 minutes, until puffy and no longer raw-looking. Let cool on pans for ten minutes before removing to a rack to cool completely. Repeat scooping, rolling, and baking with any remaining dough.

Cookies keep well covered at room temperature for up to a week.

Notes:

1. There are no substitutions for cream of tartar. It is required for this recipe.
2. Dark brown sugar may be substituted, however the final cookies will have a darker color.

Make Your Own Brown Sugar

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 We’ve all been there.

The butter’s softened, the eggs are room temperature. You’ve got everything ready to make an incredible batch of cookies.

And then you go for the brown sugar, and you’re totally out 😭😭😭😭😭 

You just bought a new bag last week (or three new bags, if you’re me). Do you really have to go to the store *right now*?!

Well, no. All you need are two ingredients and a food processor! 

Place one cup of granulated sugar in the bowl of the food processor, along with a tablespoon of unsulphered molasses. Then, let it go for 3-5 minutes, scraping down the bowl as necessary.

At first, it might look a little clumpy and weird, but then, suddenly… 

 You’ve got light brown sugar! 

If you need dark brown sugar, just whirl in an extra tablespoon of molasses! 

You can use your homemade brown sugar to make these. 

Or these.

Or this rockin’ banana bread. Or pretty much any recipe that asks for the stuff.

Store any leftovers in an airtight container or zip-top bag with all the excess air pressed out. Easy.

So the next time you’re out of brown sugar, don’t grab your car keys or subway pass. Just grab the food processor 😊 

 

Friday Favorites

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I love anniversaries. Yes, I’m one of those people. If something happened once and warrants commemorating for any reason, I’m the one planning the party.

April 22nd is a big day for me. Today is my parents’ 33rd wedding anniversary, and I have another anniversary going on, too. It’s Earth Day. Heck, it’s my dog’s half-birthday 😜

All of that is great, but I’m writing today because this little blog began exactly six months ago!

Yes, I know six months does not technically constitute an anniversary, but for me, it means a lot. I talked about starting a food blog for six years before actually clicking “Publish.” Since October 22, 2015, I’ve posted 75 recipes. SEVENTY FIVE. Just…how?

I so appreciate all of you who have taken the time to read my posts, leave comments, follow me on social media, and make the recipes! Every time someone tells me they made something from my blog and enjoyed it, it brings me immeasurable joy. The idea that anyone would ever make and like a recipe that I created blows my mind. So, thank you.

And now that I’m done being sappy, let’s celebrate! Here are six of my favorite recipes from the archives to bring you into Spring! 

Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies are crunchy, buttery little cookies with all the flavors of a great chocolate chip cookie. They are super simple to make, and absolutely perfect with coffee or tea. I highly recommend using them for ice cream sandwiches 😊 

Spring is here, and that means we have four months of fantastic seasonal fruit ahead of us. More importantly, it means there will be pie! Make sure to use my Cream Cheese Pie Dough–it couldn’t be easier, and it makes the flakiest crust I’ve ever had. 

My grandmother’s Buttermilk Biscuits are one of my best memories of my childhood. Her recipe went with her when she passed many years ago, but I know she’d love mine. These biscuits are the perfect easy breakfast, and they are wonderful with a bowl of soup at dinner. 

It’s the beginning of picnic season, so you’ll need food that’s easy to make, transport, and share with your friends and family. My favorite thing to bring to an outdoor get-together? My Restaurant-Style Salsa! It takes just five minutes to whip up, and it puts prepared salsas to shame. 

And what’s warm weather without ice cream? No-Churn Mint Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream doesn’t require an ice cream maker, and is the creamiest, dreamiest ice cream I’ve made so far! And those little bits of edible cookie dough are everything. 

Springtime just demands carrot cake. But taking the time to make a whole layer cake when the weather is just begging for you to go outside is torture! Save yourself some time and make these Carrot Cake Blondies! They’re every bit as good as traditional carrot cake, and half the work!

Have you made any of these recipes? Let me know in the comments section below, or on Instagram @e2bakesbrooklyn!

Enjoy your weekend 😊

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Cookies

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 One of the best things about being a baker is watching people enjoy what you’ve made. When you’ve put a few hours (or more!) into making something delicious, it’s always a treat when your friends really love it. I am really lucky–for the last 18 months, I’ve had the opportunity to make cookies for 30+ of my closest acquaintances every Wednesday night. My cookie commitment is one of the highlights of my week. I love bringing in whatever I’ve been working on lately and seeing how it goes over with the crowd. If all the cookies disappear within the first half hour, I know I’ve got something blog-worthy. These Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Cookies have done that three times. Three.

I first made these cookies about a year ago. It was one of those rare days when I was down to a single stick of butter. I sat in front of my refrigerator dreading going to Trader Joe’s at rush hour (read: every single hour they’re open) just for butter. I mean, if I’m going to brave that kind of craziness, I better need at least five different things, and the free sample better be taquitos. I dug around the back of my fridge for something–anything–that might work, and lo and behold, I found a half-brick of cream cheese. I mixed it into some dough, baked some cookies, and headed out the door.

I set these cookies on a platter next to the coffee pot and waited for the crowds. I wasn’t expecting much, if any, fanfare–they were just oatmeal cookies, after all. But life is funny, and less than thirty minutes later the cookies were gone and my friends were raving about the super chewy texture! 

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Cookies have been one of the few recipes I’ve repeated with that group, and they disappear in a flash every single time. Last night, they were gone in fifteen minutes flat! 

So, why does cream cheese make these cookies so special? Well, it’s all in the chemistry. In standard oatmeal cookie recipes, eight ounces of butter are softened and beaten into the wet ingredients. The high fat content in the butter allows for the resulting cookies to bake up super tender. There’s plenty of chew from the oats, but the cookie base stays pretty soft.

If, however, you use four ounces of softened butter and four ounces of softened cream cheese, the resulting cookies will be extra chewy. This is because cream cheese has a butterfat content of 35% and a water content of 55%. Butter, on the other hand, has a butterfat content of 84% and a water content of 15%. The fat (butterfat, in this case) is what keeps our cookies from drying out and becoming rocks. It keeps everything moist after the water evaporates and makes the resulting cookies super soft, chewy and delicious. It also keeps them from spreading very much in the oven.

Where standard oatmeal cookie dough has 84% butterfat, this oatmeal cream cheese cookie dough has about 60% butterfat. This means that a) the resulting cookies will be slightly chewier than they are soft, and b) they will have fewer calories, so you can eat more with less guilt 😊 
Whew! That’s a lot of science for a Thursday. Too much.

The point is this: these Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Cookies aren’t your average oatmeal cookies. While you may not be able to really taste the cream cheese, you will notice the extra chewiness…and trust me, you’ll love it. 

 

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Cookies
makes about 4 dozen cookies

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
4oz full fat cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons real vanilla extract
3 cups old fashioned rolled oats
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to beat softened butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Beat in dark brown and granulated sugars, followed by eggs and vanilla. Mix in flour mixture in two installments, scraping the bowl as necessary. Beat in oats in two installments, followed by chocolate chips.

Drop dough onto prepared pans by the tablespoon, keeping them about 2 inches apart (the cookies won’t spread much). Bake 9-11 minutes, until no longer raw-looking. Let cool on the pans for five minutes before transferring to a rack to cool completely. Repeat baking process until all dough has been used.

Cookies will keep covered at room temperature for up to a week.

Friday Favorites

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Hello!

How are you? Got any April Fools Day pranks up your sleeves? Any good plans this weekend?

I’ve got a day of work at my day job and then I’m making cake for 300 because I’m insane. Maybe I’ll get a nap next weekend…but probably not since I’m catering a party.

So I’m taking a break from the kitchen today, but that doesn’t mean I’m taking a break from the blog! No way. I spend way too many of my waking hours (and sometimes my sleeping hours…) thinking about making cookies and cupcakes and pie. Also, how to obtain Oreos right now without leaving my apartment.

Anyway, I dug through my archives so you could spend all weekend thinking about frosting, just like me. Thank me later 😜 

Why not start the weekend off with some Glazed Cream Cheese Cake Doughnuts? They’re super tender and the homemade glaze is the stuff of dreams. Mmhmm. Oh, and they’re shockingly easy, too. The batch makes a little more than 1 1/2 dozen, so they’re an excellent excuse to have friends over for a little Saturday morning doughnut party! 

But if frying doughnuts first thing on a Saturday morning sounds like a hazard, why not make a Puff Pancake {Dutch Baby}? It’s my go-to “special” breakfast. The way it puffs up in the oven is really amazing, and the recipe is easily adjustable, so you can make anywhere from 1-4 servings. 

Weekends and homemade cookies just go together. Check out these M&Ms Potato Chip Cookies! I made these for Christmas, but you could use regular M&Ms, or the pastel Easter variety. These sweet and salty little cookies always hit the spot 😊 

Oh, and the Katharine Hepburn Brownies I made this week. They’re grain- and gluten-free without any unusual ingredients! They’re sure to please all the chewy brownie lovers in your life. 

It’s supposed to get cold here this weekend, so soup has to be on the menu! This Spicy Southwestern Chicken Soup totally fits the bill. It’s full of southwestern flavors–it even has salsa in the broth! The best parts? It takes an hour start-to-finish and makes enough for a few lunches next week! 

Are you always rushing on weekday mornings? If you’re anything like me, you never have time to make breakfast. And I am one of those who absolutely *can’t* go without breakfast. My solution? I make a huge batch of granola over the weekend and then eat it with fruit and yogurt all week long. I’m obsessed with this Peanut Butter Granola! 

And because I said there would be frosting, here’s my favorite Red Velvet Cake. It’s super simple, ridiculously good, and my light and fluffy cream cheese frosting is just…well, make the cake. You’ll see.

Let me know if you have made (or are planning to make ) these or any of my other recipes! Leave me a comment below or find me on Instagram @e2bakesbrooklyn! I’ll be back next week with new recipes 😊 Enjoy your weekend!