Triple Nut Browned Butter Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches

It’s happening. Oh…it’s happening. (Quick! Name that movie!)

These cookies were a long time in the making, like, last year long time. They have been nagging me since the first time I made them before Christmas. And the second time when I made them at Christmas. Finally (and I mean FINALLY), the third time I made them, I got them right.

And how did I get them right?

I added more butter. More browned butter. And then ice cream.

Two - for - One

Today is your lucky day.

Not only am I posting two cookie recipes, which is basically the greatest two-for-one deal since Domino’s did that 2 Times Tuesday Deal (that was a thing, right?). But, in addition to that, I’m so friggin’ tired from workouts and working a long shift today that I’m keeping this short and sweet.

Chocolate and Salted Caramel Sandwich Cookies

I have a bruise the size of a grapefruit on my shin. I’ve been bumping into the corners of walls. I missed a step going downstairs and felt like I was going to plummet to my doom for a split second.

Coming back home has thrown me a bit off kilter. I’m happy as can be to be back where I belong and away from school, but it’s taking some getting used to. My body is used to the dimensions of my apartment. It remembers the feel of the floors. The layout of my kitchen.

White Chocolate Potato Chip and Macadamia Nut Cookies

Deadlines, deadlines, deadlines. Stress, stress, stress.

Excuses, excuses, excuses. Sorry, sorry, sorry. 

Cookies, cookies, cookies. Yum, yum, yum.

Pecan Shortbread Crusted Browned Butter Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

I’m doing it. I’m getting one more pumpkin recipe in before it’s officially December, and therefore, officially wintertime.

I don’t know why there’s some kind of weird cultural taboo on pumpkin desserts after Thanksgiving, but I’m totally against it. I barely bake enough with pumpkin during autumn, to heck if I’m going to miss prime opportunities for treats that are warm and spicy and flavored with pumpkin.

I made these cupcakes a little more acceptable for this time of year. The “not quite winter but no longer fall” time. The “do I get a pumpkin spice or gingerbread latte?” time. The “my hands are too cold without gloves but too sweaty with them” time. You guys know what I’m talking about right? Anyone? Anyone? (“Bueller? Bueller?”)

Pumpkin Oatmeal Caramel Stuffed Cookies

Correct me if I’m wrong, but Gingerbread lattes are supposed to have a lovely dusting of cinnamon on them, correct? No? Am I imagining things? I feel like I am because I’ve gotten a Gingerbread latte three times now and not once has there been anything on top of my milk foam. I just don’t feel complete.

I know there’s supposed to be some kind of tasty, spicy topping on a Gingerbread latte; partially because my memory is pretty darn fantastic when it comes to coffee beverages and partially because I just Googled “does a Gingerbread latte come topped with cinnamon?”

Results indicate that it is actually a dusting of nutmeg on top. Whatever, close enough. I knew something had been missing from my drinks, but, what I don’t understand is why. I’ve never once had a barista forget the topping on a Pumpkin Spice latte. Never, ever. Which basically drives home the point that Pumpkin Spice is the best flavor around, and I’m not the only one playing favorites.

While I love the Gingerbread lattes, and look forward to their return with anticipation around Christmas time (along with the Caramel Brulee (SO GOOD!)), Pumpkin Spice is far nearer and dearer to my heart than any other. At least that’s what I thought.

One day I got the bright idea to combine two of my favorite drinks: a Caramel Macchiato and a Pumpkin Spice latte, a Pumpkin Macchiato, if you will.

A New Job and Brownie Cookies!

I finished my first week at a local bakery today. I applied for the job in March and didn’t hear anything until nearly June. But I was so excited to start! In only a few days, I have noticed a difference in the items I’m baking. My rolls are more symmetrical, it takes me half the time to measure out a batch of dough, I can frost a cupcake faster and smoother than I thought possible.

The thing I was the best at though, even from the get go, was portioning out cookie dough. No matter the dough – a sugar cookie, a chocolate crinkle, or an oatmeal and craisin – I haven’t been off by more than .01 ounces. Holding a ball in my hand and knowing even before I put it on the scale whether it will be high or low is an exhilarating feeling, and probably my favorite part of the job thus far.

After a couple of long shifts at the bakery followed by even longer ones at the restaurant, I finally had the day off yesterday. Even after spending countless hours in a hot, cramped kitchen the only thing I wanted was to be back in the kitchen. My kitchen. Without a hat or stuffy tennis shoes or a rolling pin permanently attached to my hand – just my sweat pants and flowered apron to keep me company.

Chai Spiced Cookies with Toasted Pecans

I wore a dress as a skirt yesterday. And sandals. Cheap, flimsy aviator sunglasses were involved too. I had to put my hair up to fend off unsightly neck sweat.

What I'm trying to say is that we're finally, FINALLY into the throws of spring and nearly hitting summer. I've got less than a month left of school. I caught the scent of a charcoal grill in the afternoon air. People are lounging about and reading outside in the sun. All good things, all summery things.

So why did I make cookies that taste just.like.fall? That bring to mind changing leaves, pumpkin spice lattes, and thick sweaters? That are neither a sweet and light lemony dessert or a crisp, refreshing beverage perfect for the sweltering heat to come?

Because I like to be difficult.

Caramel Corn Cookies

I pretty much grew up on leftovers. My parents would cook big meals over the weekend and then we’d survive on them throughout the week on busy school nights. I spent many a Wednesday night eating reheated lasagna or warming up a burger. Gosh I miss those days.

I’m still super into leftovers. Partly, because a lot of things taste better the next day (soup, cold pizza, bread, etc.) and mainly partly from laziness.

Leftover spaghetti? Make a pasta bake. Grilled veggies? Into tomorrow’s omelet. Extra puppy chow? In cupcakes!

Bunches of caramel corn? Cookies!

Brown Sugar Candied Ginger Chocolate Drizzled Hearts

I’m kind of a dork. Shocker, I know.

You know that kid that gets to lecture early (sometimes before the previous lecture is done), sits in the front row, and answers the professor’s questions on occasion. Yeah, that’d be me. I’ve got glasses too – if that helps complete the picture.

See, I blame some of my dorky-ness on my need to be early. I hate, hate, HATE being late! I can’t do it. It makes me very uncomfortable – think clammy palms and dry mouth. And if for some reason I am running late, I agonize over it the whole time I am rushing to get to wherever it is I am supposed to be already. Then I arrive all sweaty and out of breath and apologize profusely for my wrong doing.

Cream Cheese Dainties and another resolution

When I wrote down my New Year’s resolutions last week I can’t believe I forgot one! I really want to start making more family dishes. Dishes that my mom made. That my grandma made. That her mom made. 

I’m lucky enough to get to do this because, along with my great grandmother’s aprons, I have one of her old recipe notebooks in my possession. This thing is amazing. So delicate I’m afraid to turn the pages. Filled with recipes and notes in my great grandma’s looping, swirling script. Let me tell you, she knew a thing or two when it came to desserts.

Swedish Tea Cakes

I’ve never really been one of those nickname people. The ones who have a different name for every other person they interact with and all those cute stories behind them. Me? Not so much. My family has a few for me (that I really don’t care to share here), but most everyone in my life just calls me Amanda.

That’s it, no frills, nothing special, minimal confusion.

White Chocolate Peppermint Mocha Cookies

I’ve got a bit of a headache today. Nothing major – just a bit of caffeine withdrawal. We all know, I like coffee. A lot. I drink it in the morning to wake me up, in the afternoon to pick me up, and at night to keep me up. Black, with cream, two sugars, no sugar, how I drink it changes all the time.

Obviously, that means I am a sucker for Starbucks (Gold Card Member anyone?) and love everything from just a tall Americano to a fancy, schmancy, frothy, delicious calorie-bomb of a drink. And nothing gets me more excited than when they bring out their seasonally themed treats; starting with Pumpkin Spice in early fall and heralding in winter with lots of Gingerbread and Caramel Brulee lattes.

Triple Hot Chocolate Cookies

There are a select number of distinctions that are very important when it comes to my life decisions. Decaf versus caf (lots and lots of caf). 2 percent or skim. White or multigrain. Hot cocoa or hot chocolate.

Yes, there’s a difference, my friends, a big difference. Hot cocoa is not hot chocolate – it is but a pale imitation of the thick, velvety smooth, creamy, wintertime drink I love so. Hot chocolate is melted chocolate with heavy cream and milk – perfected with a dollop of fresh whipped cream. Hot cocoa comes from a packet and mixed into a glass of lukewarm milk – resulting in a pale grey, chunky, and flat drink.

Chewy Ginger Cookies with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

I know, I know another cookie post. Just who do I think I am? But, just go with me for a second on this, ok?

Think about it, warm, spicy cookies with just the right amount of chew. A little bit of heat from ginger and molasses that is mellowed out by creamy, cool lemon. Bliss. And festive for the holidays too! Are my not entirely necessary italics bothersome yet?

Cute, and tasty, but could be cuter, and tastier.

I made these little guys this weekend as some of the treats for my dorm’s Halloween party Saturday. I also made pumpkin bars, triple dark chocolate cupcakes, caramel corn, and these pumpkin pecan salted caramel blondies that were so good I couldn’t even snap pictures before they were all gone. 

Guess I’ll just have to make them again.

Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodles

I wanted to post these cookies on Saturday. I wanted them to herald in the start of October. To celebrate fall, finally. But my head and my heart just weren’t in it (but my hands were in a bag of Salted Caramel Popcorn). I was busy feeling sorry for myself; thinking that because I was happy doing what everyone else wasn’t I was somehow missing out. I was missing the point.

Chocolate Chip Cookies > College

I have been at school since Friday. That’s five days and four nights away from my home. That’s five days and four nights away from my bed, my car, my family, and my kitchen. That’s five days and four nights of showering with flips flops on, walking up eight flights of stairs to go to bed, realizing I forgot an air freshener, and having someone else make my meals.

But that’s also five days and four nights of welcome back hugs, “how was your summer?”s, walks around the city, and meeting new people. 

Classes don’t start for another week, but I got to return early to help move the freshmen in. Scared, anxious, and more than a little nervous mixed with a lot of excited – that was them. And that was me only last year. It is amazing how things can change so much in only 365 days. 

This year is completely different than last. I can feel it already. With every box that I lifted and bed that I lofted, I felt the weight from my first year of college sliding off my back. Now, I recognize people when I’m walking down the street, I know the fastest route to work without having to think about it, and I unpacked and set up in my room in less than two hours. While I do miss home, and all that is familiar there, I am happy to be back. And I am so happy to help the freshmen make the transition that was excruciatingly a little hard for me. 

Last year, when I would get to feeling homesick I searched for a way to comfort myself, some solace for my heart, mind, and soul. I found that in food, in making my own specifically, and baking especially. At times, I thought I wasn’t smart enough, pretty enough, or good enough for my school. That it would all be easier if I just called it quits and went home. The reassurance I got from pulling my pan out of the oven was enough to quell those negative thoughts, to make me realize it would all be ok.

No matter how different I think this year may be, I know I will still get homesick. It is an inevitable as late night study sessions and extra shot lattes. Even now, just imagining the smell of chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven provides me the biggest feeling of relief. The warm vanilla and cozy brown sugar enveloping me like a hug. The taste of a warm cookie, with its melty chocolate, crisp edges, and sweet softness, offers me more reassurance than I would have ever thought possible.

And in return I want to help the freshmen. I want to let them know that it’s hard, but it gets easier. It’s lonely, but you make great friends. It is tough, but it is rewarding, and in the end it is all worth it. I know that they’ll make it through this; I have an entire year under my belt to prove it. I also have my cookie sheet and measuring cups to help me if necessary.

Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies (makes about 36 cookies, adapted from The Brown Eyed Baker and The Pioneer Woman)

2 ¼ cups plus 2 TBSP flour

1(heaping) tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

1 tsp. instant coffee granules or espresso powder

1 tsp. cinnamon

Pinch of ground ginger

12 TBS (1 and a half sticks) butter, melted and cooled to room temperature

1 cup packed brown sugar

½ cup granulated sugar

1 egg plus 1 egg yolk

2 tsp. vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)

1 and ¼ cup semisweet chocolate chips

Wisk or sift together flour, baking soda, salt, coffee granules, cinnamon and ginger in a medium bowl. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer combine butter and sugars. Mix on medium to medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about three minutes. Add egg and yolk and beat for another minute. Stir in vanilla.

Working in three small batches (and going SLOWLY), add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Start with the mixer on low speed and increase to medium speed as flour is incorporated, only adding the next batch of flour once the previous is fully combined. Scrape the bowl as necessary.

Remove bowl from mixer and stir in chocolate chips. Cover dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Dough can be stored, covered, in the fridge for two days or in the freezer, tightly wrapped, for one month.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.*

Using a large cookie scoop, or ¼ cup measure, scoop dough onto lined sheets, leaving about 2-2 ½ inches between each cookie. Don’t worry about rolling the dough into a perfect ball, we want the rough, uneven edges to produce those beautiful cracks in the tops of the cookies.

Bake in preheated oven for 8-12 minutes, or until edges are lightly golden brown and centers are just set. (I pull mine out right at the 10 minute mark, but depending on your oven and desired level of doneness, adjust times accordingly.)

Let rest on pan for 5 minutes before removing to a rack to cool completely. Cookies can be stored in an air-tight container for up to a week.

*parchment paper is not necessary with these cookies. If you don’t have it there’s no need to spray the pan, I just like the way the paper helps crisp the bottom of the cookies.

 

No one ever warned me about Sophomore 15...

The King's Cookie: Peanut Butter, Bacon and Chocolate Banana Chip Cookies

To have a grandma compliment your baking is like having Michael Jordan say your free throw form is good. It is the Holy Grail all bakers search for, whether they’ll admit it or not. These are the women that have loved, cared for, and fed us since we were tots. They know a thing or two when it comes to creaming butter and sugar and always smell like vanilla and cinnamon.

So, when my grandma told me I should open up a bakery after eating one of these cookies, I knew I had something.

Grandma and I have always connected over food – she is the one who really got me interested in it. A lot of what I know and do in the kitchen is because of her. We can talk for hours about recipes, meals, restaurants, you name it.

When I found these chocolate covered banana chips while we were out shopping the wheels in my head started turning. We had just shared a wonderful meal together at a local farm market that left both my soul and my stomach satisfied. Over the course of two hours my grandma shared stories, laughs and lessons that I am going to miss when I am away at school.

I put the chips in my basket and looking at Grandma, I said, “What if I made a peanut butter cookie with these and bacon in them? Like an Elvis cookie?” I was met with a blank stare. I don’t think she quite understood what I was getting at. 

Once we got home she left me to do my experimenting, only poking her head in a few times to make sure I was doing it. Putting bacon? In a cookie? 

See the bacon-ey goodness in there?

Then she tasted it. And her eyes went wide and then closed. She smiled as she chewed. “These are wonderful, I want the recipe.” Here you go, Grandma.

Peanut Butter, Bacon and Chocolate Banana Chip Cookies (adapted from allrecipes.com, makes 36 large cookies)

3 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder 

1 ½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp cinnamon

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs + 1 egg yolk

1 ½ cups peanut butter (chunky or smooth)

½ cup chocolate covered banana chips

2/3 – ¾ cup bacon (about 8-12 strips, depending on how meaty you want the cookies)

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and yolk one at a time, thoroughly mixing after each addition. Mix in the peanut butter. 

In three or four small batches (and with the mixer on low, like really low) add the dry ingredients to the peanut butter mixture. Mix until flour is thoroughly incorporated. Stir in the banana chips and bacon. 

Cover and chill dough for at least one hour. 

Preheat oven to 350.

Using a large cookie scoop or ¼ cup measure scoop dough balls onto baking sheet about two inches apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until light golden brown. 

This may be called the King’s cookie but it is in honor of a queen, my grandma.