Chocolate

Vegan Chocolate Chip Potato Chip Cookies

January 31, 2014

Let me introduce you to my favorite vegan chocolate chip cookie. His name is Chocolate Chip Potato Chip Cookie and he’s vegan.

And so very yummy.

Before I ventured into vegan dessert recipes, being the skeptic that I am, I was pretty sure there was absolutely no way a vegan chocolate chip cookie could compare to the real thing. This little guy proved me so wrong. It’s crisp on the outside, nicely chewy in the center, and full of rich caramelized flavor. Everything you could want in a chocolate chip cookie.

On top of the cookies being so stinkin’ yummy, they are so ridiculously easy to make. You don’t need a mixer, unless you want to get crazy. You really only need two bowls and a wooden spoon. I’ts also my go-to recipe when I’m craving cookies and I have no eggs or no butter. Gasp! Isn’t that the absolute worst? My little heart used to get crushed every time. But not anymore!

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Biscoff Blondie Brownies

January 17, 2014

Oh Biscoff Cookie Butter. What have you done to me? I’ts only mid January and you’ve caused me to sway from my weight loss resolution. Sigh… You’re like eating Christmas.

If you haven’t tasted this stuff, it rocks. The moment I tasted it for the first time, I knew it was the beginning of a long friendship. These Biscoff Blondie Brownies are my first experiment recipe with Biscoff butter. The first layer is a really dark chocolate brownie, and the second layer is a chewy chocolate chip and walnut blondie (with Biscoff mixed right into the batter of course) and the top is drizzled with melted dark chocolate and Biscoff. Pretty sinful, huh? This recipe can be tweaked a little for the health conscious, but let’s be honest. You committed to the dark side when you decided to make these evil little goodies.

Biscoff Blondie Brownies

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Ingredients

Brownie Layer
½ cup butter melted
1 cup sugar
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
½ cup flour
Blondie Layer
3 Tablespoons coconut oil
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup Biscoff Spread
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 - 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 F and grease an 8x8 baking pan with cooking spray or butter.
For the brownie batter cream the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Mix in cocoa powder and salt. Mix in eggs and vanilla until incorporated. Mix in flour until fully incorporated. The batter will be very thick. Spread on bottom of pan.
For the blondie batter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat melt the coconut butter, biscoff and brown sugar until smooth. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. In a small mixing bowl combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Pour biscoff mixture in another bowl and mix in egg and vanilla extract until just blended. Add dry ingredients. Fold in chocolate chips and walnuts. Batter will be very thick. Spread on top of brownie batter.
Bake for 25-30 minutes.
Once baked and cooled drizzle melted chocolate then melted biscoff on top.

Brownie layer from Creme de la Crumb and Blondies adapted from The Traveling Spoon.

Straight out of the oven these are out of this world. They are so dense and rich you better grab some milk. They last quite a while since they’re so intense, unless you decide to share. Then they will most likely disappear.

So do yourself a favor and make these now.

I promise they will knock your socks off and all your co-workers socks off. And your dog’s socks.

More Biscoffy goodness:

Biscoff Magic Cookie Bars

Biscoff Apple Spice Cake Cheesecake

Star Wars Sarlacc Bundt Cake

Caramel Triple Chocolate Chip Cookies

January 10, 2014

Hands down, my favorite go to sweet is, and always will be the chocolate chip cookie. I cannot resist a fresh from the oven, warm, gooey chocolate chip cookie. It makes my little heart skip a beat. Dramatic? Yes. Do I care? No. So let me show you why chocolate chip cookies are the best thing ever. I love the fact that they are so versatile. Browned butter, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, stuffed with Nutella…I could go on and on. These Caramel Triple Chocolate Chip Cookies have three kinds of chocolate, (because you can never have too much chocolate in a cookie), a caramel drizzle, and a light sprinkle of sea salt. All these things make a super yummy cookie.

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Chocolate Alfajor Cupcakes

January 6, 2014

So…these cupcakes are no joke. Evident by the rich chocolate frosting swirled with straight dulce de leche, it’s definitely not for the faint of heart. Shield your eyes New Year’s resolutioners! This little treat is going to make you cheat for sure. I don’t know if you’ve baked much with the Alfajor cookie or if many of you have tasted one. My father is from Buenos Aires, Argentina so I grew up on these things. Along with dulce de leche and comforting Yerba Mate tea. The utterly delicious Alfajor is two soft cookies sandwiched with dulce de leche. The best kind are dipped in dark chocolate, just like the ones I used.

The particular brand I used for these Chocolate Alfajor Cupcakes was Havanna. They come wrapped in this beautiful gold foil like a little gift waiting to be unwrapped. Trust me, these will not stay wrapped once you get your hands on these. Of all the Alfajor cookies I have tried, these are by far the most delicious and moist. They bake perfectly in a cupcake. I purchased them from Gaucho Direct, an online marketplace for Argentinian goods. Here you can buy these cookies along with other goods including Yerba Mate. It’s also very easy to browse different types of Yerba Mate plucked from different regions.

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Chewy Pomegranate Chocolate Chip Cookies

January 1, 2014

For Christmas I got lots of goodies. A wonderful Ninja food processor, cookbooks, baking utensils, and comfy pajamas. One of my favorite gifts from my mother was a huge bag of Brookside pomegranate fruit pieces covered in dark chocolate. These are so rich and so good it made me wonder if I could use them to give chocolate chip cookies a nice little twist. Hmmmm…chewy pomegranate chocolate chip cookies. Sounds good to me!

The candies are rather large so I chopped them up so they would distribute evenly in the dough. In addition to a heaping two cups of chocolate chips, I added the cup of chopped chocolate covered pomegranate pieces. Even after baking, the pomegranate stayed nice and chewy. I also used whole wheat flour to give it a nice texture as well. These pomegranate chocolate chip cookies are full of antioxidants and super indulgent. It takes a little bit of the guilt away. Just a little bit.

Chewy Pomegranate Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Ingredients

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup softened butter
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 cups dark chocolate chips
1 cup chopped dark chocolate pomegranate pieces

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375.
Combine flour with baking soda and salt in medium bowl. Set aside.
Cream together butter and sugars.
Add eggs one at a time and vanilla.
Gradually mix in flour.
Stir in chocolate chips and chopped chocolate pomegranate pieces.
Drop by tablespoons onto cookie sheet.
Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.

Recipe adapted from Ghirardelli Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe.

Peppermint Brownie Cookie Sandwiches

December 24, 2013

Christmas is almost here! My family lives in Orlando, Florida and the temperature in December barely dips below 75 degrees. We hardly get to wear our scarves or bundle up in warm coats. Once in a while Florida will hit a mild cold front and so we indulge in hot cocoa. It’s the only way for it to “feel” like Christmas. Since beautifully cold winter weather is a rarity in my case, a hot beverage usually is not very comforting. Today’s forecast was a high of 84! Really?! Sigh…

So instead of sweating while I insist on drinking my favorite hot cocoa, I made it into a cookie sandwich. A brownie cookie sandwich to be exact. These peppermint brownie cookie sandwiches are amazing and if you’re planning on indulging in one or a few, a tall glass of milk is a must. The dark chocolate brownie cookies are perfectly rich and chewy. Imagine the fudgy part of the brownie with a light crisp layer on top. They are stuffed with a light marshmallow fluff frosting then rolled in crushed peppermint candies. Who needs winter? This recipe makes 12 peppermint brownie cookie sandwiches.

Peppermint Hot Cocoa Brownie Cookie Sandwiches

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Ingredients

Brownie Cookies
1 cup chopped dark chocolate
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 eggs
2/3 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
Marshmallow Frosting
1 7 oz jar of marshmallow fluff
2 sticks of softened butter
3/4 cup - 1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350.
In a medium saucepan melt the chopped chocolate and unsalted butter over low heat until fully melted and combined.
Whisk the eggs, sugar and vanilla extract in a separate bowl.
Add the melted chocolate, flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder mixing until well blended.
Refrigerate dough for about 20 minutes (so its firm enough to scoop or form into balls).
Spoon the dough onto a lined baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes or until the tops start to make that brownie crackle.
While the cookies cool beat together the jar of marshmallow fluff and softened butter until fluffy.
Begin to add the powdered sugar 1/4 cup at a time tasting as you go to see if its sweetened to your liking.
Mix in vanilla at the end.
Assemble sandwiches by piping frosting on the back of one cookie then sandwiching them together.
Lastly roll assembled sandwiches in the crushed peppermint.

Recipe adapted from Donna Hay

These turned out fantastic! One of my favorite flavor combinations is dark chocolate and peppermint and if your’e like me these are not gonna last. They are crazy good!

Some more holiday treats:

Peppermint Hot Cocoa Brownies