Secret Recipe Club: Nutella Thumbprint Cookies

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baking, chocolate, Cookies, food, Nutella, recipes, secret recipe club, src, treats

For this month’s Secret Recipe Club I was assigned to the adorable blog, Fearless Homemaker, by Amy.

Amy always takes gorgeous photos of food that has me wanting to just take a bite out of my computer screen.

But it wasn’t too difficult for me to choose a recipe for the SRC this month. I was in the mood for dessert. Specifically Nutella. And voila! Amy had a beautiful looking Nutella thumbprint cookie recipe on the blog. Bite-sized chocolate cookies with a dollop of Nutella on top?

Who can resist?

That’s right, no one!

Nutella Thumbprint Cookies (From The Fearless Homemaker)
Makes about 30 cookies
>> Click here for printable recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon instant coffee
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup Nutella

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Combine flour, powdered sugar, cocoa, and salt in a bowl and whisk together.
3. Beat the butter in a mixer at medium speed until it’s light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Stir in egg yolks with a whisk, then whisk in the instant coffee and vanilla.
4. Add the yolk mixture to butter; beat well. Then add flour mixture to butter mixture; beat at low speed just until combined.
5. Turn dough out onto a sheet of wax or parchment paper and knead until it is smooth and shiny.
6. Shape the dough into 1 inch balls, place on a pan lined with parchment paper. Press your thumb into the center of each ball of dough, leaving an indentation.
7. Bake for 10 minutes; let cool completely, then spoon a nice dollop of Nutella into each indentation.

My Two Cents: It’s hard to stop at just one of these little cookies. Let that be a warning to you all. I made these for a little dinner get-together with my siblings, and we polished off the plate of cookies very, very quickly.

Amy originally got this recipe from Cooking Light, and the editors of that magazine are severely sneaky. There isn’t anything healthy about these cookies, except for their size, which in the end means they aren’t healthy at all, because you’ll have eaten about 10 by the end of the night.

But I’ll let it slide, this once, Cooking Light, because these were good.

oh. so. good.

Thanks, Amy, for inspiring me to make these little treats!

To see more awesome recipes from the Secret Recipe Club, click the link below!

Chocolate Meringue Cookies

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baking, chocolate, chocolate meringue cookies, Cookies, dairy free, food, gluten free, recipe, recipes

Can you believe I’ve never made such a classic cookie before?

The reason behind that isn’t the difficulty of making meringue cookies (because they’re really quite simple, and fun), but I never ate homemade meringue cookies before. I only ever tasted the ones that came in a big plastic tin from the supermarket.

And to me, those were disgusting. They were too sweet — all I could taste in the store bought cookies was pure sugar, and it always left a bad aftertaste in my mouth.

But as usual, homemade is always better!

One of my good friends (the Veggie Vixen) had a birthday this past weekend, and I volunteered to make a few things to bring for the party. She requested they be gluten and dairy free. Without having any gluten-free substitutes in my apartment, I settled on the naturally gluten and dairy free meringue cookies!

And these were so great — a hit, in fact, among all the guests. They are light and airy on the outside, but just so perfectly slightly chewy. And not overly sweet at all.

Chocolate Meringue Cookies (Adapted from the Gluten-Free Homemaker)
Makes about 45 cookies
>> Click here for printable recipe

Ingredients:

• 4 large egg whites
• 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Place the egg whites, cream of tartar, and vanilla in a mixing bowl fitted with the whisk. Beat on medium speed until soft peaks form.
3. Slowly add the sugar to the egg whites and continue to beat until stiff peaks form.
4. Gently fold in a heaping 1/4 cup of cocoa powder to the egg white mixture until it’s just blended.
5. Scoop the batter into a plastic bag, snip off one corner, and pipe onto the baking sheets, leaving about an inch between the cookies (they will not expand in the oven). Or scoop by rounded tablespoon onto the baking sheets.
6. If your baking sheets are small enough, place side by side in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. (If they are not small enough to fit side by side, bake one sheet at a time).
7. Let cool on a wire rack, and enjoy!

My Two Cents: Fun, easy, delicious, and gorgeous!

P.S. A very happy marathon Monday! Good luck to my wonderful friend, Amanda, from Tales from a Kitchen Misfit, who’s running today!

P.P.S. Like my new header? Thought I’d spruce things up a bit!

Chocolate Banana Ice Cream

Tags

bananas, chocolate, dessert, food, ice cream, recipe, treats

I eat this ice cream a few times a week.

The best part(s)? There’s absolutely no cream in it!

AND. You don’t need a fancy pants ice cream maker.

AND. You won’t feel guilty after you eat it.

AND.

AND.

It’s the best gosh darn soft served ice cream I’ve ever had.

So what’s the secret? Partially frozen bananas, peanut butter, and cocoa powder.

Chocolate Banana Ice Cream (From Use Real Butter)
>> Click here for printable recipe

Ingredients

• 2 ripe bananas
• 1 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 tbsp peanut butter

Directions:

1. Slice the bananas into 1/4-inch thick slices. Place in a sandwich bag or container and freeze for 2 hours.
2. Process the partially frozen bananas in a food processor until it reaches a creamy consistency. This will take about 30 – 45 seconds.
3. Add in the cocoa powder and peanut butter. Process until well blended.
4. Serve immediately. Will serve two — if you can restrain yourself….

My Two Cents: I’m not exaggerating when I say I’m completely obsessed with this recipe. It’s a genius way to use up the last few rotting bananas on the counter. PLUS I get my daily dose of potassium in a new and fun way.

You don’t have to make this the same day you freeze the bananas, either. Freeze bananas in slices as they become rotten. Then when you’re in the mood for ice cream, simply leave on the counter for a half hour before processing in the food processor.

Freeze any leftovers you have — though it will get very hard overnight (like a rock hard). But you can defrost it in the microwave for 15-20 seconds — it’ll soften up to soft-serve consistency perfectly.

If you’re making this for many people, use 1 banana per person.

Add in anything you desire. I’m thinking Nutella next time?

ENJOY! I hope you are as breathlessly head over heels in love with this recipe as I am.

P.S. A very Happy Birthday to my first reader and number one fan of this blog, my Mom!

Super Fudge Brownies

Tags

baking, Brownies, butter, chocolate, cocoa, food, paula deen, recipe

I should not tell you what’s in these brownies.

My jaw dropped when I saw the ingredients.

But I reversed it into a sinister, giddy little grin when I started melting the butter, stirring in the cocoa powder, beating in the eggs, and measuring out the sugar.

Homemade brownies are so simple to make, yet so rich and decadent.

And these are absolutely Paula Deen approved. (But don’t worry, you won’t get Type 2 diabetes unless you eat 5 of these a day, sandwiched between a bacon and doughnut sandwich.)

Super Fudge Brownies (From Fine Cooking)

Ingredients:

• 3 sticks unsalted butter (1 1/2 cups)
• 1 1/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 3/4 cups sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 5 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 2/3 cups flour

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line a 9 x 13 pan with aluminum foil, leaving 2 inches hanging on each side. Spray with cooking spray. Set aside.
2. Put the butter in a large 4-quart saucepan over medium-low heat and stir until melted. Take the pan off the heat and whisk in the cocoa powder until smooth. Add the sugar and salt and whisk until well blended.
3. Check the temperature of the batter with your finger. It should be warm, not hot when you whisk in the eggs.
4. Whisk in 2 of the eggs, then the other 3 until blended. Then whisk in the vanilla. Sprinkle the flour over the batter and fold gently until just incorporated.
5. Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few crumbs clinging to it.
6. Let cool on a rack for 2-3 hours. (Or. Eat it hot out of the pan — but they’re easier to cut when they’re cool.)
7. Try to forget the ingredients you put in here while you eat these and/or share them with people who compliment you and ask you what’s in these — then say it’s a secret family recipe and you can’t reveal your secret

My Two Cents: I’ve said all I can say about these mischievous little bundles of butter and chocolate.

Banana Chocolate Chip Bars with a Nutella Swirl

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baking, banana bars, bananas, bars, Brownies, chocolate, chocolate chips, food, Nutella, recipe, recipes

Long weekends always almost call for delicious desserts.

My mom invited my whole family over for a turkey dinner last night (Thanksgiving Part 2!) because she snagged an extra $5.00 13 lb turkey the week before Thanksgiving. So I thought I’d bring something for dessert.

I wanted to go beyond the standard cake or brownie. And I’ve been cookie-ed out since Christmas. I had 3 bananas on the counter and thought, “hmmm something with bananas.” Then I remembered I had Nutella. And bananas and Nutella are always a good pairing. “hmmm….I wonder if there’s a brownie recipe out there for this.”

Of. Course. There. Is.

And it exists here on this gigantic INDEX OF AMAZING NUTELLA RECIPES:

http://www.nutelladay.com/nutella-recipes/

If you have never seen this index, bookmark it now. There is literally every single kind of sweet decadence that exists with Nutella in it on this page. Brownies, cakes, cookies, pancakes, candy, pizza, you name it. So sure enough, they had my banana and Nutella combo in bar form. And you bet I made it.

And you bet that it was a hit!

Banana Chocolate Chip Bars with a Nutella Swirl (Adapted from The Onyx Plate)

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted (1 1/2 sticks)
• 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 3 ripe bananas, mashed
• 1 egg
• 2 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup chocolate chips (semi-sweet or milk chocolate)
• 3/4 – 1 cup Nutella

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 13 x 9 inch baking pan with cooking spray, or line with parchment paper.
2. In large bowl, mix together the melted butter, brown sugar, and white sugar.
3. Mix in the vanilla, egg, and bananas.
4. In a separate bowl, sift together the baking powder and flour, then gradually add the flour mixture to the banana batter until just incorporated. The batter will be lumpy because of the bananas — do not over mix.
5. Fold in the chocolate chips and spread the batter out onto prepared pan. Melt the Nutella in the microwave for 30 seconds to make it easy to spread. Then drop it onto the batter in dollops. Take a knife and cut through the Nutella to make the swirls.
6. Bake for 35 minutes or until the center springs back when you touch it. (The toothpick test might not work so well here since the Nutella may mess you up.)
7. Let cool for 30 minutes to 1 hour in the pan before cutting and serving —- if you can wait that long!

My Two Cents: Between 11 people, there were only 3 small pieces left in this pan by the end of the night. These bars were like banana bread, but better. You didn’t have to slice the bread and have it crumble in front of your face. You didn’t have to deal with a gooey dense center (even though those are good on occasion). Instead, this turned into a banana-y, Nutella-ness, cakey, beautiful, blond (not quite brownie), Bar.

In essence, an oodle of yummness.

Try it and taste for yourself!

 

America’s Test Kitchen’s Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

Tags

baking, chocolate, Cookies, dessert, food, oatmeal, oatmeal cookies, recipe, recipes

I’m on vacation.

And I’m loving every second of it.

The lack of posts and my absence from the Twitter convo this week is due to the fact that I’m sitting around in my pajamas until 11 or 12 every day, then doing some me shopping, then watching some corny 2-star movies, then most recently, playing with the new Wii.

So blogging has been pushed aside a bit, but I thought I would pop in before you all head out to your New Year’s Eve parties and give you an easy and delicious cookie recipe you can bring to ooo and ahhh your friends.

I found this recipe for chocolate oatmeal cookies in the America’s Test Kitchen Holiday Cookies magazine. (They sent me this as a Christmas gift, which makes me love them even more, which before then I was sure wasn’t possible.)

And besides being beautiful, these cookies taste better than any other oatmeal cookie I’ve conjured up. Here’s the secret: blending the oats into a flour-like powder instead of leaving them in their full form. B.r.i.l.l.i.a.n.t.

Try them. You’ll see what I mean.

Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies (Slightly adapted from America’s Test Kitchen)

Makes 2 dozen

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cups old fashioned oats
• 1 cup flour
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 10 tbsp (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3 oz milk chocolate, melted and cooled (the bars or chips will work)
• 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (or 1 cup chocolate chips, 1 cup pecans or walnuts)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Process the oats in a blender or food processor until finely ground (should have the consistency of flour.) Transfer to a bowl and stir in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
2. Beat the butter and brown sugar until smooth, 1 minute. Add egg and vanilla and beat until light and fluffy. Add melted chocolate and beat until combined.
3. Gradually add the flour mixture, mixing until just incorporated. Then stir in the chocolate chips (and nuts if desired).
4. Roll 2 tbsp of dough into balls and place 2 inches apart on baking sheets. Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, until the cookies are cracked and set on top but look moist within the cracks, about 14-18 minutes. Cool 5 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

My Two Cents: Most oatmeal cookies that I make do not get rave reviews. They get OK reviews. I think the chunks of oatmeal turn some people off to oatmeal cookies. Too much texture. However, with this recipe, you get the oatmeal taste without the oatmeal texture—a win-win. The original recipe stated to keep 3/4 cup of the oats in their full oat form, but I processed the whole bunch. The results were still phenomenal.

The melted chocolate added another element of pure yum to this recipe. I don’t usually melt chocolate and add them to any cookie I make—it never occurred to me to even do that. But trust me, it turns “chocolate chip” into “chocolate divine”.

The overall cookie was crunchy on the outside but chewy on the inside. How that’s not a perfect cookie is beyond me.

Enjoy! And Happy New Year! Can’t wait to make more recipes for all of you in 2012