Chocolate Malted Whopper Cookies

I’ve always loved Whoppers.  Something about the crunchy malt surrounded by chocolate made them something I looked forward to getting when I went trick-or-treating (many, many years ago).  These cookies combine those beloved Whoppers with some extra malted milk powder, cocoa and chocolate chips.  How can you turn down a cookie with all of those goodies?

These cookies came together pretty easily and they make a big batch.  I brought a bunch into work but had enough left over that I froze some.  In the original recipe it mentions that these would go great with coffee in the morning.  Hmm, I don’t know about that but Dennis said they do make an excellent match with ice cream.  And if you do have them for breakfast, don’t worry.  I won’t tell.

Chocolate Malted Whopper Cookies (from Baking by Dorie Greenspan)

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup instant malted milk powder

1/4 cup dutch-process cocoa powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

11 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

2/3 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup milk

2 cups malted milk balls, coarsely chopped (You can also put some saran wrap over them and smash with a mallet)

1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350.

Sift together flour, malted milk powder, cocoa, baking powder and salt - set aside.

Beat the butter and sugar together on medium speed for 3 minutes, until very smooth.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating for a minute after each one.

Beat in the vanilla.

Reduce mixer to low add 1/2 of the dry ingredients and mix well.

Pour in the milk & mix.  Add the rest of the dry ingredients and mix well.

Put mixer on low and add in the malt balls and the chocolate.

Drop by rounded teaspoons 2" apart.

Bake for 11-13 minutes. Cookies are done when they’re puffed and slightly soft to the touch.

Makes about 36 cookies.

Mexican Brownies

I was all set to whip up a no-bake recipe this weekend if Hurricane Irene knocked out our power.  We were lucky, though, as our block was one of the few in town that didn’t lose power or flood.  There’s nothing like passing houses with water-logged belongings piled out front that makes you realize how lucky you are. 

On Sunday, once the worst had passed and I was getting some serious cabin fever, I decided to see if I could find a brownie recipe that was a little different from what I normally bake.  I came across a recipe on the Food Network’s site from Aaron Sanchez – you may know him as one of the judges on Chopped.  Or are Dennis and I the only ones addicted to that show?  The recipe had stellar reviews so I decided to give it a try.

I was a little apprehensive about adding in chili powder and thought the spiciness might turn people off.  So I subbed in Ancho chili powder which has more smokiness than heat.  I added in a pinch of cayenne to bring in a little heat but I don’t think it was really noticeable.  My brownies ended up being less Mexican brownies and more brownies with hints of cinnamon and smokiness.  That wasn’t a problem though as my co-workers and Dennis gobbled them up.  The texture was great too – cakey and not dense, perfect for a treat to celebrate seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

Mexican Brownies (adapted from Food Network)

Ingredients

2 sticks unsalted butter, plus more for greasing

2 cups sugar

4 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2/3 cup good-quality unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon ground Mexican cinnamon (canela) (I just used regular cinnamon)

1/4 teaspoon ancho chili powder

Pinch of cayenne

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two sides. Press the paper into the corners of the pan and lightly grease the paper with butter.

Melt the 2 sticks of butter in a nonstick saucepan over medium-low heat; do not boil. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly. Add the sugar, eggs and vanilla to the saucepan and stir with a wooden spoon until combined.

Add the cocoa, flour, cinnamon, chili powder, salt and baking powder and mix until smooth. Spread the batter in the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out fudgy, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool in the pan on a rack, then use the parchment paper to lift out the brownies before slicing.

Chocolate Chip Pretzel Bars

I’ve had this recipe in my to-do pile for quite awhile and finally decided to give it a whirl.  Dennis said he wanted something with chocolate (doesn’t he always?) and I love the salty-sweet combo.  Hmm, sweet and salty has me thinking of Chubby Hubby ice cream….

But back to the bars!  They gave me yet another chance to use the mallet when I broke up the pretzels.  If you don’t have a mallet you can just put them in a Ziploc and crush them by hand.  But you really should get a mallet – it makes baking much more fun.

The consensus on the bars – home run!  Dennis said he’d move them into the regular rotation and my co-workers gobbled them up.  They’re really pretty easy to put together and anyone you give them to will be so thankful. 

Chocolate Chip Pretzel Bars (from Food & Wine)

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

1 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

One 12-ounce bag bittersweet chocolate chips

1 1/2 cups thin pretzels, coarsely chopped

2 tablespoons chocolate sprinkles

Preheat the oven to 350°. Line a 9-by-13-inch metal baking pan with parchment paper, allowing overhang on the 2 long ends.  (I always have a problem getting the parchment paper to stay put so I came up with the idea of greasing the pan with the butter wrappers then putting the parchment paper on.  It worked great – I’ll definitely do that in the future).

In a bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda and salt. In a large bowl beat the butter with both sugars at medium speed until light, 1 minute. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. At low speed, beat in the dry ingredients. Stir in the chips and pretzels.

Spread the batter in the pan and top with the sprinkles. Bake for 30 minutes, until golden; the center will still be a little gooey. Transfer the pan to a rack and let cool completely.

Run the tip of a knife around the side of the pan and lift the bar out using the parchment paper. Cut into squares and serve.

Rolo Stuffed Chocolate Cookies

I think I’m in the midst of summer doldrums. I came into this week with no idea about what to bake. After opening and closing a good number of my cookbooks I perused the Web to see if anything struck my fancy. Success! Chocolate cookies with a gooey caramel filling, courtesy of a Rolo? Sounds like a winner to me.

A co-worker said these resemble flying saucers. They did look a bit funny coming out of the oven but they taste great. Apparently it’s hard to go wrong when you stuff cookies full of treats, whether it’s Oreos or Rolo’s. Hmm, now I just have to think about what else I can throw inside a cookie…

Rolo Stuffed Chocolate Cookies (http://www.farrahskitchen.com)
makes about 30 cookies

1 cup unsalted butter; room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar; packed
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup dutch-process cocoa
2 TB sugar (I used turbinado but granulated sugar would be fine too)
Unwrapped Rolo’s

Cream butter and sugars until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla extract. Mix well. In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking soda and cocoa powder. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix well.

Place in the fridge covered for at least 2 hours to chill until firm. I just realized that I didn’t cover mine. Ah well, it came out fine.

Preheat the oven to 375.

Using a cookie scoop, scoop the dough and push a flat spot in the middle where the Rolo will be placed. Press the dough around the around the Rolo and roll the dough into a ball.

Rolls the balls in the granulated sugar and place onto a parchment or Silpat lined cookie sheet 2 inches apart.

Place dough back into fridge to keep cold. Bake for 8 minutes. Then let the cookie sit on the baking sheet for 3-4 minutes. Remove from baking sheet and place onto wired rack to finish cooling.

Brownie Bites

I was lacking inspiration this week. Call it the summer doldrums, I guess. I went to my favorite cooking blog and searched specifically for a treat that would allow me to use my new mini-cupcake pan. Instead of cupcakes, though, I came across a recipe for brownie bites. Bringing brownies into work in August seemed like a better bet than cupcakes anyway.

So onto the brownies. My favorite thing about these is that you can customize them as you like. I rummaged through our pantry and came out with some M&M’s, chocolate chips and crushed Heath bar. The recipe originally called for mini M&M’s but I didn’t have those. I did, however, have a mallet. Who says baking isn’t therapeutic?

Brownie Bites (from Culinary in the Desert)

12 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup dutch-proccess cocoa
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 tablespoon espresso powder
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 large eggs
1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup M&M’s, chocolate chips, Heath bar…basically whatever you desire

Preheat oven to 325.

In a medium saucepan, add butter and cocoa powder - melt while stirring frequently over low heat. When smooth, set aside and cool slightly.

In a medium bowl, whisk together sugar and espresso powder. Whisk into the melted butter and cocoa. Whisk in eggs and vanilla.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Stir into the wet mixture just until combined. Portion out into 36 mini muffin cups lightly coated with nonstick spray. Place M&M’s, chocolate chips, etc. on top.

Bake for 8-12 minutes - when you test for doneness with a toothpick, you want it to be still a little wet in the center of each cup. Remove and let cool completely in the pan.