thecookieblogger.com

we all love blondies, but add some creamy peanut butter along with semi-sweet chocolate chips, and you’ve taken these blondies to a whole new level! these travel well, so wrap them individually and send them along in a lunchbox to delight your favorite student! these are extraordinary brownies! let me know what you think!

peanut butter chocolate chip blondie bars
ingredients:
1 1/3 cups plus 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1/2 cup baker’s sugar
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons lightly packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs at room temperature
1 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

instructions:
1. preheat oven to 350 degrees. lightly grease 13 x 9 baking pan.
2. sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and set aside
3. cream the butter, peanut butter, the sugars and the vanilla until pale in color and fluffy, approximately 1 1/2 to 2 minutes.
4. beat eggs into creamed butter mixture one at a time until they are completely incorporated.
5. add dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix with spatula until dry ingredients are fully incorporated into creamed mixture. scrape the bowl often.
6. stir in the chocolate chips until they are well-distributed in the batter.
7. spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan.
8. bake blondie bars until edges are golden brown and center is slightly puffy, approximately 25 minutes. do not overbake. remove from oven.
9. let cool on wire rack approximately 20 minutes. carefully cut bars while still warm.
enjoy!
yield:20 bars

i can finally say that it feels like fall – and that makes me very happy! though i don’t get as generous a showing of fall foliage here in seattle as i did back on the east coast, there are some color changes. and the scent of the evening air — a mixture of wood-burning stoves and fresh, chilled air — is one of my all-time favorites scents! better than any perfume in the world. add the delicious smells of home-baked cookies to that mix, and it’s positively heaven!

to welcome true fall weather today, i’ve decided to bake another version of oatmeal cookies. these are hearty, due in part to the generous quantity of old-fashioned oats and the whole wheat flour. and though there are no nuts in this recipe, the cookie has a decidedly nutty flavor, probably because of the whole wheat flour.

these are best eaten the first day, but warm up nicely in the microwave to soften them up a bit on day two. pair them with a nice cup of cocoa, and i’d say you have a perfect duo to welcome fall!

chewy oatmeal rounds
ingredients:
1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 cup shortening (i use plain crisco)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour (or white whole wheat flour for a less nutty taste)
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (do not using quick cooking or instant)

instructions:
1. preheat oven to 350 degrees. line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. cream both sugars, the shortening and the butter in your mixing bowl until fluffy, creamy and light.
3. add vanilla and eggs to sugar mixture until completely combined.
4. add both flours and the baking powder and mix just until combined.
5. by hand, stir in the oats.
6. refrigerate for approximately 30 minutes to give the sugar time to combine well in the dough.
7. drop dough by heaping tablespoonfuls, approximately 1 1/2″ apart on your prepared baking sheets.
8. bake for 12-14 minutes until cookies are set and golden brown. remove from oven.
9. let cookies sit on baking sheet for 5 minutes, then remove to wire rack to cool completely.
enjoy!
yield: approximately 28 cookies

who doesn’t love the combo of chocolate and peanut butter, especially in a cookie? these cookies are very tasty, very satisfying and quite easy to make! in this version, i used creamy peanut butter since that was what i had in my pantry, but chunky peanut butter works just as well! and though i love all-natural peanut butter when i’m making a pb&j sandwich, it really doesn’t work in baking, causing the cookie dough to be too thin and the cookies to spread and burn. so avoid all-natural peanut butter for baking!

choco nutters
ingredients:
1 1/4 cups baker’s sugar
1/2 cup shortening (i use crisco)
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened double dutch cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup 2% milk (whole milk works fine too, just don’t use fat-free!)
1/4 teaspoon of double dutch cocoa for dipping your fork to prevent sticking!

instructions:
1. preheat oven to 400 degrees. line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. in your mixer bowl, cream together sugar, shortening and peanut butter until creamy, fluffy and light.
3. in a second bowl, combine your dry ingredients.
4. starting with the dry ingredients mixture, in three steps, alternate adding the dry ingredients and the milk to the creamed sugar mixture.
5. drop dough onto prepared baking sheets, approximately 1 1/2″ apart (they will spread a little). flatten with your fork, using a criss-cross pattern. (you may need to dip your fork in a little bit of cocoa powder to prevent the fork from sticking)
6. bake for approximately 7-9 minutes. cookies should be set, and bottoms should be light brown.
enjoy!
yield: approximately 40 cookies.

i’ve spent a lot of time in the nutmeg state… i got my undergrad degree at fairfield u. (yea, stags!) and did my first year of master’s work at uconn (go huskies!) throughout my professional theatre career, i worked at a number of connecticut theatres, and even took some shows through a few road houses in the state. and then finally, while working in nyc, i spent a number of years living in a lovely duplex in fairfield. as you can tell, i’ve got lots of roots in the nutmeg state, so it’s only fitting that i include a cookie recipe that has the wonderful and intriguing flavor of nutmeg laced throughout it…

a version of this recipe was given to me by a neighbor in fairfield – over the years i’ve played around with it, making inevitable changes trying to perfect the texture and the taste. i think i’ve got a pretty darn good bar cookie here – it definitely borders on a cake, and would work well served up with a squirt of freshly whipped cream!

nutmeg spice bars
ingredients:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 cup baker’s sugar
1 egg
3/4 cup buttermilk

instructions:
1. preheat oven to 350 degrees. butter and line with buttered parchment paper a 13×9 pan.
2. in a small bowl, whisk the flour, nutmeg, baking soda and salt together and set aside.
3. in your mixer bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
4. add the egg to the butter mixture, beating until well combined.
5. add half the dry ingredients to the butter mixture. mix on low speed just until combined.
6. add the buttermilk to the butter mixture, beating until well-incorporated and smooth.
7. add the remaining dry ingredients, beating just until well-combined.
8. spoon into your prepared pan, making sure batter is smooth on top.
9. bake for 30 minutes, until batter has turned light golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
10. remove from oven and cool in pan for approximately 20 minutes. then, using the parchment ‘swing’, remove from the pan, placing on wire rack to cool completely.
11. once it is completely cool, using the parchment ‘swing’, place on cutting board and carefully remove parchment from bottom and sides of ‘sheet cake’. cut into 24″ square bars.
enjoy!
yield: 24″ square bars.

with september fast approaching, i can almost smell the excitement in the air. school’s getting ready to begin, and it was always my favorite time of year! i especially loved the ‘pre-school’ shopping. for clothes? no, of course not. my favorite shopping had to do with new erasers and pencil boxes and notebooks and binders. to this day, i still love the look of a brand new notebook and the smell of a freshly sharpened pencil!

a new school year also meant that i’d have a new lunchbox. my favorite being my original vinyl barbie lunchbox.

it was just the right size to fit my thermos of juice, my tuna fish sandwich, a piece of fruit and two cookies. these chocolate sugar cookies were perfect lunchbox cookies because they were the perfect size to fit in the lunchbox without getting squished, they held up well and were always in one piece when they arrived at school, and, well, they were chocolate. what more could i ask for?

i wish i still had that lunchbox. forget the fact that it would probably be worth a pretty penny on ebay, it would be delightful to use it to carry my lunch of juice, tuna sandwich and some fruit even today! and please don’t forget the cookies!

chocolate sugar cookies
ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon instant espresso powder
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 1/2 cups baker’s sugar
1/2 cup vegetable shortening (I used plain, unflavored crisco)
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

instructions
1. preheat oven to 375 degrees. line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. melt vegetable shortening in a small saucepan over low heat. allow to cool.
3. whisk flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt and instant espresso powder together in a medium bowl.
4. cream together butter and sugar in your mixer bowl until mixture is creamy, fluffy and very pale, about 3-4 minutes.
5. add melted shortening into the butter mixture, mixing until smooth.
6. add egg and vanilla, mixing until creamy and well-combined.
7. with your mixer on its lowest speed, add the flour mixture in two increments, mixing just until combined. do not overmix or the cookies will be tough.
8. using your #40 scoop, drop rounded scoops of dough approximately 3 inches apart (see photo). the dough must be spaced well, as these cookies spread while baking!

9. bake until edges are firm, 19 – 20 minutes. remove from oven.
10. let cookies sit on baking sheet for 3-4 minutes, then transfer cookies to wire rack to cool completely.
enjoy!
yield: 24 cookies

when i was a young girl, my grandma would take me to her favorite chinese restaurant in parkchester. she always ordered chow mein. and though i don’t remember one bit what i used to eat for the main course, i remember vividly the anticipation i felt for dessert. always one scoop of chocolate ice cream, served with the most delicious almond cookie ever. well, for those of you who remember those savory almond cookies, this recipe will make you very happy. these are easy to make, and just as good as i remember them!

almond cookies
ingredients:
1 (1/2 lb.) cup lard (substitute plain crisco shortening if you can’t find lard)
1/2 cup baker’s sugar
1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3 dozen whole blanched almonds*
small bowl of flour for flattening dough
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons cool water

*if you can find them, purchase whole blanched almonds. if they are not available, get whole almonds and blanch them yourself!

instructions:
1. preheat oven to 350 degrees. line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. in your mixer bowl, beat the lard with both sugars until creamy and smooth.
3. add egg and almond extract until well-blended.
4. stir flour, salt and baking powder into the creamed mixture until well-combined.
5. with your #40 scoop, place scoop of dough about 2 inches apart on your prepared baking sheets. dip the bottom of a flat glass into a bit of flour, then press dough until it is flat and about 2 inches around.
6. press one blanched almond into each flattened scoop of dough.
7. in a small bowl, combine the yolk and water until well combined, then, with your pastry brush, gently brush the yolk mixture over the top of each cookie.
8. bake for 11 minutes, until cookies are lightly browned. remove from oven and let cool for 2 minutes on baking sheet.
9. remove cookies from baking sheet and transfer to wire rack to cool completely.
enjoy!
yield:32 cookies

did you feel the need for a little chocolate today? because this cookie packs a chocolate punch like no other! the combination of chocolate cookie dough and lots of chocolate chips makes this a rich, gooey, chewy cookie that will satisfy even the biggest chocoholic! they are delicious while still warm, and heat up nicely for about 10 seconds in the microwave on the second day. but if your house is anything like mine, they won’t last ’til the second day!

chocolate chocolate chip cookies
ingredients:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1/2 cup baker’s sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

instructions:
1. preheat oven to 325 degrees. line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. beat butter and both sugars together in your mixing bowl until smooth and creamy.
3. add the egg and vanilla and beat for about 30 seconds until completely incorporated into the butter mixture.
4. add flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt, mixing on low speed just until incorporated into butter mixture.
5. by hand, stir in the chocolate chips.
6. with your #40 scoop, place scoops of cookie dough on your prepared baking sheets, approximately 2 inches apart. flatten down just a bit with your fingertips.
7. bake for 11 minutes – cookies will be set, but still quite soft.
8. remove from oven and let rest on baking sheet for 5 minutes.
9. remove cookies from baking sheet, transferring them to wire rack to cool completely.
enjoy!
yield: approximately 48 cookies.

life with a broken water main pipe continues to keep things interesting around our house! the plumbing company started their tedious trench work today and they made a ton of progress. i’d like to believe that perhaps their quick work was due, in part, to my providing them with some of these chocolate spice bars! to me, these bars taste like the comfort of home and the holidays, but they are so good they deserve to stay front and center, even in the warm days of summer! you can serve them with a scoop of ice cream or pack them with a picnic lunch! they’re as versatile as they are tasty!

chocolate spice bars
ingredients:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate (i used baker’s unsweetened chocolate baking bar)
1/4 unsulphured molasses
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup baker’s sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons granulated sugar

instructions:
1. preheat oven to 375 degrees. butter bottom and sides of 13×9 brownie pan.
2. in a medium-sized saucepan, melt chocolate and butter over low heat. when chocolate is almost melted, remove from heat.
3. with wire whisk, whisk in molasses until smooth.
4. add eggs, whisking until smooth and fully incorporated.
5. stir in flour, baker’s sugar, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ground ginger, ground cloves, baking soda and salt, just until blended.
6. spread batter into prepared pan.
7. bake in oven approximately 17-20 minutes, until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
8. while bars are baking, mix 2 teaspoons of granulated sugar and remaining 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside.
9. when bars are done, remove from oven. quickly sprinkle the sugar/cinnamon mixture over the hot uncut bars. place pan on wire rack to cool completely. do not cut bars until they are completely cooled.
enjoy!
yield: 24 bars

the combo of chocolate and orange is a very popular one, both in italy and here in the u.s. as a youngster, i was never crazy about the combination, but as i’ve grown older, i find mixing these flavors often makes for a very refreshing treat. perhaps it’s the tartness of the orange flavor and the sweetness of the chocolate, but each individual flavor seems to enhance the other flavor. these cookies are easy to make, and if you’d prefer them plain, leave off the chocolate dipping and i think you’ll still be quite pleased with the end result!

this recipe is based on an excellent one for ‘melting moments’ cookies in nick malgieri’s the modern baker i am a huge fan of nick’s and find all of his cookbooks to be outstanding resources in the kitchen. his recipes are easy-to-follow, the photos are true depictions of the cookies and his baked goods taste as good as they look!

chocolate dipped orange butter cookies
ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups cornstarch
8 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon orange oil
1 1/2 teaspoon orange zest (approximately 1 orange)

instructions:
1. preheat the oven to 325 degrees. line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. in your mixer bowl, cream butter and confectioners’ sugar, beginning on low speed to mix the two ingredients together, then beating at medium speed for a few minutes until ingredients are light in color and fluffy.
3. add the eggs, one at a time, until the mixture is smooth.
4. add the orange oil and the zest until well combined.
5. add the flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt, beating on low speed just until all dry ingredients are combined with butter mixture.
6. with your #40 scoop, place scoops of cookie dough approximately 1 1/2 inch apart.
7. dip a fork into a bowl of extra flour, then press down each mound of cookie dough with the fork in a criss-cross pattern until they are flattened to about 1/3 inch high.
8. bake for about 18 minutes until cookies begin to turn medium golden brown.
9. remove from oven, but leave cookies on baking sheet for five minutes. after that time, remove cookies to wire rack to completely cool.
10. when cooled, dip edges in melted dark chocolate.
enjoy!
yield: approximately 60 cookies

these fudgy oatmeal bars are a throwback to a different time. when i make these, i imagine that they would be something my grandmother would have enjoyed as a small girl as a very special treat. the oatmeal adds a wholesomeness, the chocolate a sweetness that when combined make for a rich, filling, chewy bar. cut them small because they’re way too rich to eat ‘by the slab’.

fudgy oatmeal bars
ingredients:
oat crust
1 cup old-fashioned oats
1 cup light brown sugar, well packed
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon finely ground sea salt
1 stick unsalted butter, melted, then cooled

chocolate filling
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup light brown sugar, well packed
1 1/2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
1/4 teaspoon finely ground sea salt
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large egg

instructions:
to make the crust:
1. melt your butter and let it cool.
2. preheat oven to 325 degrees. either grease an 8×8 pan, or (my preference) line the pan with a foil sling and grease well.
3. in a large bowl, whisk the oats, brown sugar, flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt together until well-combined.
4. stir in the cooled, melted butter until well-combined.
5. reserve about 1 cup lightly packed crust mix for the topping.
6. press remaining crust ingredients into the pan, pressing it evenly with fingertips and your pie tamper.
7. bake the crust for about 10 minutes, until crust is a light golden brown.
8. remove from oven and place on wire rack to cool completely.

to make the chocolate filling:
9. whisk the flour, sugar, instant espresso powder and salt together until well-combined.
10. in a microwave-safe bowl, melt the chocolate chips and the butter together in your microwave. (1 – 2 1/2 minutes in the microwave, stirring often.) let cool for about five minutes.
11. add the egg into the chocolate mixture until well-combined.
12. add the flour mixture to the chocolate mixture until just incorporated. do not overmix.
13. spread the chocolate mixture over the baked crust, being sure it’s evenly distributed over the entire crust surface. sprinkle the reserved crust over the chocolate filling to cover top.
14. bake 30 minutes, until edges begin to pull away from the side of the pan. a toothpick inserted into the center will come out with some loose crumbs.
15. remove from oven and place pan on wire rack for cooling. do not attempt to remove foil sling until the pan has completely cooled. at that time, pull foil sling out of pan, and gently cut into bars.
enjoy!
yield:16-20 bars.