Cooking in Pajamas

Wow..it has been a month since my last post. Time flys by so fast.  

I haven't been in the kitchen much in the past month.  First, my kitchen was closed while we were painting it. Then, I had some minor surgery, and couldn't do too much in the kitchen.  This week, I decided to slowly venture back into the kitchen.  I began with some simple and easy things.  I made a coffee cake over the weekend (total cheat...I used a base of yellow cake mix and vanilla instant pudding), a simple roast chicken dinner last night, and this morning I was craving chocolate chip muffins....which are one of my favorite foods.  

Since I couldn't find my usual recipe (I need to organize my recipes better), I went to my favorite source for baking recipes, King Arthur Flour.  That is where I found this muffin recipe.  Bonus: it is made with whole grain flour!  I had purchased King Arthur Organic White Whole Wheat Flour at Publix a few weeks ago, and hadn't yet tried it. This recipe uses the White Whole Wheat Flour, but you would never guess they are whole grain muffins.  

There is nothing I hate more than cleaning pots and pans. So, when I find a recipe that can be made in one pot or one bowl, AND it is delicious, I feel like I have struck culinary gold.

These brownies can be made using only one microwavable bowl, a spatula and a baking pan.  Using only six ingredients, you can have moist, tender and chewy brownies in less than 45 minutes from start to finish.  Once you make these brownies, you will never again make brownies from a mix.

One Bowl Brownies

4 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate
3/4 cup butter
2 cups white sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
Microwave chocolate and butter or margarine in large bowl at HIGH for 2 minutes or until butter or margarine is melted.
Stir until chocolate is melted. Stir in sugar. Mix in eggs and vanilla. Stir in flour and nuts.
Spread in greased 13 x 9 inch pan. Bake for 35 minutes (do not overbake).

Craving something chewy and chocolately?  Yeah...me too. Whip up a batch of these flourless dark chocolate cookies. The flour has been replaced with whipped egg whites, which give the cookies a light and chewy texture. No one would ever guess that there is no flour in these cookies, nor would anyone guess that each cookie has only 72 calories.  In addition, look how gorgeous they are.  Perfect for a holiday cookie swap, Passover or a bake sale.

Flourless Dark Chocolate Cookies

Makes about 24 cookies
Each cookie is approx. 72 calories

Nonstick vegetable oil spray
1 1/2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips (about 9 ounces)
3 large egg whites, room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar, divided (plus 1/2 cup for cookie coating)
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray 2 large baking sheets with nonstick spray. Melt 1 cup chocolate chips in glass bowl in microwave, stirring twice, about 2 minutes. Cool slightly.
Using electric mixer, beat whites in large bowl to soft peaks. Gradually beat in 1 (I halved the sugar here) cup sugar. Continue beating until mixture resembles soft marshmallow cream.

Whisk 1 cup sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, and salt in medium bowl to blend. On low speed, beat dry ingredients into meringue
Mix lukewarm chocolate mixture and 1/2 cup chocolate chips (dough will become very stiff).

Place 1/2 cup sugar in bowl. Roll 1 rounded tablespoon dough into ball; roll in sugar, coating thickly. Place on prepared sheet. Repeat with remaining dough, spacing 2 inches apart.

Bake until puffed and tops crack, about 10 minutes. Cool on sheets on rack 10 minutes.

Transfer to rack, cool.

This is the simplest, easiest and fastest way to make fudge.   If you need a super quick holiday treat or a last minute hostess gift, this recipe is perfect. It is made with ingredients that you can always keep in your pantry. Or you could make a few batches and keep it in your freezer. 

You can get creative with this basic recipe. Of course, you could mix in any nut you want (try chopped hazelnuts), or leave the nuts out all together. Replace the chocolate chips with peanut butter chips for peanut butter fudge. Some other mix-in options are mini-marshmallows, raisins, dried cherries, candied ginger and coconut. Get creative. One favorite of mine is to sprinkle the top with sea salt.

Fudge

Place chocolate chips, sweetened condensed milk, and butter or margarine in large microwaveable bowl. Zap in microwave on medium until chips are melted, about 3-5 minute, stirring once or twice during cooking. Stir in nuts, if desired.
Pour into well-greased 8x8-inch glass baking dish. Refrigerate until set.

I like to trick myself into thinking these are sort of nutritious.  After all, they have peanut butter and oatmeal as two of the main ingredients.  It's kind of like an energy bar...right?

Ok, they are pretty good for you as far as cookies go, but they taste amazing!  Everyone who tastes them wants the recipe.  Think about it.... if you like chocolate chip cookies, you'll like these.  If you like oatmeal cookies, you'll like these.  If you like peanut butter, you'll like these.  If you like peanut butter and chocolate together, you'll like these.  Who wouldn't like these?!?!?

I usually end up doubling the recipe.  The cookies freeze well and they make a great little gift to bring to anyone.  I bring them as hostess gifts, to sick friends and as thank you gifts.  Plus, I like to send Phil into work with a plate of homemade treats whenever I can. 

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

courtesy of Kittencal's Kitchen

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup brown sugar (preferably a mixture of dark and light brown sugar)

1/2 cup white sugar

1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1 large egg

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup rolled oats

1 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease a baking sheet.

In a medium bowl cream the butter with both sugars and vanilla until well blended (about 2-3 minutes).

Add in egg and peanut butter; beat until well blended.

In a small bowl combine the flour with baking soda and salt then add to the creamed mixture and beat on low speed until just blended.

Mix in the oatmeal until combined then mix in the chocolate chips.

Drop by tablespoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet.

Bake for about 10 minutes or until edges start to brown.

Cool for about 5 minutes on cookie sheet then remove to wire racks to cool completely.

This was my very first time cooking and tasting a chocolate cobbler.  I had a great story to tell you about this cobbler.  I had it all typed out and ready to publish, when the computer screen froze and I had to force quit Safari.  I lost all of my work.

It is Sunday night and I am too tired to rewrite it.  What I will tell you is that this Chocolate Cobbler is outstanding.  I really want to get the recipe to you ASAP because this is a great dessert to make on Thanksgiving, or to bring to someone else's house.

The best way to describe Chocolate Cobbler is that it is like one big lava cake.  I consider myself an expert in Chocolate Lava cake because it is one of my favorite desserts.  This one ranks in the top three, all time, most delicious chocolate dessert.

Seriously, try it!

One Bowl Chocolate Cobbler

So here's the deal about making Babka.  It is very easy to make. No special skills are required.  What you will need is about three hours, and lots of bowls.   It is totally worth the effort though, because this Babka is amazing!  Much better than any bakery version (even Schnitzer's!).

Babka is a soft, buttery, slightly sweet yeast bread (similar to a panenttone) swirled with lots of chocolate and cinnamon and topped with streusel.

This is a great dish to bring to a Break Fast dinner or to serve as a snack or breakfast.  Don't let the recipe intimiate you.  It is actually quite a relaxing process and the recipe makes three large loaves.  One for you to eat right out of the oven, one to bring to a friend and one to freeze for another day.

Chocolate Babka

recipe makes three loaves

(courtesy of Brown Eyed Baker)

1½ cups warm milk (110°F)

2 envelopes (¼ ounce each) active dry yeast

1¾ cups plus a pinch of sugar

3 whole large eggs, plus 2 large egg yolks, room temperature

6 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

1 teaspoon salt

3½ sticks (1¾ cups) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces, room temperature, plus more for bowl and pans

2 pounds semisweet chocolate, very finely chopped

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon heavy cream

Streusel Topping (recipe follows)

1. In a small bowl, sprinkle yeast and a pinch of sugar over the warm milk; stir until dissolved. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. In a medium bowl, whisk together ¾ cup sugar, 2 eggs, and the yolks; add yeast mixture, and whisk to continue.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine flour and salt. Add the egg mixture, and beat on low speed until almost all the flour is incorporated, about 30 seconds. Switch to the dough hook. Add 2 sticks butter, and beat until completely incorporated and a smooth, soft dough forms, about 10 minutes. The dough should still be slightly sticky when squeezed.

3. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured work surface, and knead a few times until smooth. Place dough in a well-buttered bowl, and turn to coat with butter. Cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

4. In a bowl, stir together chocolate, remaining cup sugar, and the cinnamon. Using a pastry blender, cut in remaining 1½ sticks butter until combined; set aside filling.

5. Generously butter three 9-by-5-by-2¾-inch loaf pans and line with parchment paper, leaving a 1½-inch overhang along the sides. Brush more butter over the parchment, and set aside. Punch down the dough, and transfer to a clean work surface. Let the dough rest 5 minutes.

6. Meanwhile, beat the remaining egg with the cream. Cut dough into three equal pieces. On a well-floured work surface, roll out one piece of dough to a 16-inch square, about 1/8 inch thick. (Keep other pieces covered with plastic wrap while you work.) Brush edges of dough with the egg wash. Crumble one-third of the chocolate filling evenly over dough, leaving about a ½-inch border on the long sides. Roll up dough lengthwise into a tight log, pinching ends together to seal. Twist dough evenly down the length of the log, a full five or six times. Brush the top of the log with egg wash. Crumble 2 tablespoons filling down the center of the log, being careful not to let mixture slide off. Fold log in half into a horseshoe shape, then cross the right half over the left. Pinch ends together to seal and form a figure eight. Twist two more times, and fit into a prepared pan. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.

7. Preheat the oven to 350°F, with a rack in the lower third. Brush the top of each loaf with egg wash; sprinkle with one-third of the Streusel Topping. Loosely cover each pan with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place until dough has expanded and feels pillowy, about 40 minutes.

8. Bake loaves, rotating halfway through, until golden, about 55 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325°F; bake until loaves are deep golden, 20 to 30 minutes more. (If the tops begin to brown too quickly, tent with aluminum foil.) Transfer pans to wire racks to cool completely. Babkas can be wrapped in plastic and kept at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Streusel Topping

Makes enough for 3 loaves (about 3 cups)

1-2/3 cups confectioners’ sugar

1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1½ sticks (¾ cup) unsalted butter, room temperature

Combine sugar and flour in a large bowl. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some  larger clumps remaining.

These taste like a peanut butter cup cookie.  You would think that a cookie without flour would just not work.  That's what I thought too, so when I came across this recipe on another food blog, I thought there was a mistake.  The author of the blog promised that the recipe was correct, and that I would not regret making them.  I happened to have all of the ingredients I needed on hand, so I whipped up a batch.

They came out of the oven ( the kitchen smelled great), and I wanted to try one right away, so I plucked on right off the cookie sheet.  It completely crumbled into a mess!  What a disappointment!  The phone then rang, and I got distracted.  It was about 10 minutes before I got back to the cookies.  I began to remove the cookies from the pan, and I was surprised to find that they stayed together!  It turns out that a VERY important step to baking these cookies is to allow the cookie to set in the pan for 5 minutes before removing from the pan.

BTW..these cookies are gluten-free if you use an all-natural peanut butter.

Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookie

2 c. natural peanut butter

1 c. sugar

1 c. brown sugar

2 large egg, beaten

1 1/2  tsp. vanilla extract

2 tsp. baking soda

1 c. jumbo chocolate chunks, or as many as you like

dash coarse sea salt, added to the dough OR lightly sprinkled over warm cookies

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.  Scoop dough into 1 inch balls and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment or a silicon mat.

Bake 8 minutes. Let cool on the sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.

HAPPY 4th OF JULY!!!!!!!

This recipe combines two of my favorite desserts...banana bread and chocolate chip cookies.

These cookies bake up light, fluffy, chewy and soft, almost cake like.  I made two minor changes to the recipe below.  I used two over-ripe bananas, instead of one, and I used a little over once cup of chocolate chips.  The resulting cookie has a great banana flavor and lots of chocolate in each bite.

Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

courtesy of Lucinda Scala Quinn of Mad Hungry

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

6 tablespoons granulated sugar

6 tablespoons light brown sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 very ripe banana, slightly mashed

3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter or line 2 baking sheets.

Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.

In a large bowl, beat together butter, sugars, egg, and vanilla. Add the flour mixture and stir to combine. Mix in the banana and chocolate chips until just combined.

Drop by the tablespoons onto the baking sheet, spacing dough an inch apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until lightly golden brown. Remove to cooling racks.

How cute are these?

These perfect little portion controlled brownie bites will satisfy ANY sweet tooth!  The one you get after a heavy meal. The one you get at 3 in the afternoon. The one you get just as Law and Order: SVU is about to begin.  You know what I mean.

Even though they are called "brownie bite", they are much more decadent.  They are rich and fudgy, which is why making these in a mini-muffin tin is brilliant.  You really don't need more than a few tiny bites of these to be happy.

I love them with a sprinkle of flakey sea salt over the top.  It really contrasts with the gooey chocolate, and I love having salty and sweet in the same bite.  Some other options are crushed peppermint candies, chocolate chips, orange zest, nuts, cardamom and peppermint patties.

Serve with espresso, champagne or a simple glass of ice cold milk.

Chocolate Fantasy Brownie Bites

courtesy of Food52

Ingredients:

4 ounces (1 stick) butter (plus more for pan)

5 ounces unsweetened chocolate

1 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cups brown sugar

1 cup flour

1/4 cup Dutch-process cocoa

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon powdered espresso

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 large eggs

Optional ingredients: crushed peppermints (or Altoids), peppermint extract, chocolate chips, cinnamon, nuts, almond extract, orange zest and juice, cardamom, powdered sugar, flaky sea salt, butterscotch chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Butter the wells of a non-stick mini muffin pan (or two if you have them). You may be tempted to use canola oil spray instead, but I ask that you not do so. These are small, decadent, chocolatey, delicious--you don't really want to muck them up with the taste of canola oil, do you?

2. Melt butter and chocolate in a large heavy pot over low heat, stirring until smooth. Whisk together flour, espresso powder, cocoa, and salt. Remove pan from heat and whisk in granulated sugar and brown sugar. Add eggs, 1 at a time, whisking after each addition until incorporated, then add vanilla. Stir in flour mixture until just blended.

If desired, divide batter into 3 or 4 batches, depending on how many different types of brownies you want to make. Into each group stir in: (1) 1/8 tsp. peppermint extract and 2-3 TB crushed peppermints.( 2) 1/4 c. chocolate chips and 1/4 tsp. cinnamon. (3)  1/8 tsp. almond extract and 1/4 c. chopped nuts. (4) 1 TB orange zest, 1 tsp. orange juice and 1/8 tsp. ground cardamom. (Amounts are approximate--feel free to play with the proportions to your taste. It's your chocolate fantasy!)

To make them pretty and evenly shaped, place the batter in a ziploc bag, cut off one corner, and squeeze the batter evenly into the wells. (This works with smooth batters; is more challenging with the chunky ones. You can use a tablespoon.) Fill just below the top of the wells.

3. Bake in the middle of the oven for ~12-15 minutes, until a tester comes out with moist crumbs still adhering (if you like soft chewy brownies). If you prefer cakelike brownies, bake an extra minute or two. Better to underbake these--they will continue to bake when you take them out and they are very small.

As soon as they are cool enough to handle, carefully remove them from the pan and let them cool on a wire rack. To serve, you may dust with powdered sugar and/or sprinkle with flaky sea salt.

Makes about 36 brownie bites.