Butterscotch-Chocolate Chip Rice Krispies Cookies

After making these last week I still had half a box of Rice Krispies left over.  I didn’t want to make Rice Krispie treats again so I went on a hunt for a cookie I could throw them into.  Success!  This recipe originally called for just butterscotch chips but I thought throwing in some chocolate chips would help cut the sweetness of the butterscotch.  These cookies do take a bit of time to make as they have to chill before baking.  But I just made sure I cleared a space in the fridge then threw the trays in there while I let the oven pre-heat.  I don’t think these are cookies you really want sitting around for a few days as the Rice Krispies lose some of their crunchiness and become chewier.  So if you make them just plan on sharing so you won’t have to worry about that. 

Butterscotch-Chocolate Chip Rice Krispies Cookies (adapted from Baking Blonde)
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoons baking powder
1/2  teaspoon salt
1/2  teaspoon baking soda
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons hot water
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cups Rice Krispies

½ cup chocolate chips
½ cup butterscotch chips

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a large mixing bowl, beat together butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add egg, beating until combined. Mix in hot water and vanilla. Add flour mixture, in two batches, beating just until combined. Using a wooden spoon, fold in butterscotch chips and Rice Krispies. Cover and refrigerate for 30 min. or longer. 


Preheat oven to 375. Scoop out tablespoons of the dough and roll into balls. Place all balls on one baking sheet, and chill at least 30 min. Remove from fridge and place 12 balls on cookie sheet at a time. Bake until the middle looks just set and the edges begin to turn a light golden – about 8-12 minutes. Remove and let sit on the sheet for a minute. Move cookies to a wire rack and let cool completely.

Snickerdoodles

Snickerdoodles were not a cookie I grew up with.  But last year I tried my hand at Snickerdoodle Blondies and loved the cinnamon sugar combination.  So when I was looking for a treat to pull us out of our Halloween candy coma I thought something simple would be best.  These cookies come from The All American Cookie Book by Nancy Baggett, one of my favorite cookbooks to flip through. 

My first batch came out rather large – like giant cookies.  But for the other batches I put the dough in the fridge, letting it chill for a bit.  I also made my scoops a bit smaller and the cookies came out a bit thicker and spread less.  These were a big hit.  They had the perfect hint of cinnamon and sugar.  My co-workers gobbled them up, and my boss even named them one of his favorites.  I’m definitely adding these to the Christmas cookie rotation.

Best Ever Snickerdoodles (The All-American Cookie Book)

2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp cream of tarter

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, slightly softened

1 3/4 cups sugar

1 1/2 Tbs light corn syrup

2 large eggs

2 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup sugar combined with 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon for topping

Preheat oven to 375º and line baking sheets with a silicone mat.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cream of tarter, baking soda, salt and nutmeg, set aside.  In another large bowl, beat the butter, sugar and corn syrup together until well blended and fluffy.  Add the eggs and vanilla, beating until well blended and smooth.  Beat in half of the flour mixture until evenly incorporated.  Stir in the remaining flour mixture just until combined.  Let the dough stand for 5-10 minutes.  Mix together the additional sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.

Roll portions of the dough into generous 1 1/2 inch balls with lightly greased hands (dough will be soft).  Roll each ball in the cinnamon sugar.  Place on the baking sheets, spacing about 2 3/4 inches apart. 

Bake the cookies 8-11 minutes, or just until light golden brown at the edges.  Transfer the baking sheets to a wire rack and let stand until the cookies firm up slightly, about 2 minutes.  Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool. 

Salted Brown Butter Crispy Bars

We had snow here last weekend.  In October!  No one was prepared for it.  We made it through unscathed (except for the boredom that hit on Saturday afternoon) but my parents lost power and had to head to a hotel.  Oh, and did I mention that my mom’s birthday was on Monday (Halloween)?  I’ll have to bake her something special when we see them for her belated birthday celebration.

You’d think that being stuck indoors for that long would have inspired me to try something time-consuming. Instead, I found myself looking for something comforting and simple, yet different.  It didn’t take me long before I came across the perfect recipe, thanks to Smitten Kitchen.  Her take on the classic Rice Krispie treat is so crazy good that I couldn’t wait to try it.  The first change she makes is to brown the butter, giving the treats a slight nutty flavor.  This was my first time browning butter and her directions were spot on.  As soon as the butter started to turn brown I took it off the heat, then threw the marshmallows in.  Once the marshmallows melted into the butter, making an ooey gooey mess that I was tempted to eat on its own, you add in the Rice Krispies and a touch of salt.  These are perfect for to satisfy a sweet/salty craving and couldn’t be easier to make.  They’re a great improvement on a classic childhood treat.

Salted Brown Butter Crispy Bars (from Smitten Kitchen)

Makes about 16 2-inch squares

4 ounces (1/4 pound or 1 stick) unsalted butter, plus extra for the pan

1 10-ounce bag marshmallows

Heaping 1/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt

6 cups Rice Krispies cereal

Butter (or coat with non-stick spray) a 9-inch square cake pan with 2-inch sides.

In a large pot, melt butter over medium-low heat. It will melt, then foam, then turn clear golden and finally start to turn brown and smell nutty. Stir frequently, scraping up any bits from the bottom as you do. Keep an eye on the butter, as it goes from browned to burned very quickly.

As soon as the butter takes on a nutty color, stir in the marshmallows and turn the heat to low.   

Remove the pot from the stove and stir in the salt and cereal together. Quickly spread into prepared pan. Press the bars down with waxed paper, sprayed with cooking spray.  Let cool, then cut and enjoy.

Shortbread Candy Bars

In the days following Halloween, it’s not unusual to work through the candy overflow by having a candy bar with every meal.  But after the initial euphoria and sugar high fade you’re still left with piles of leftover candy.  One way to ensure the candy isn’t still lying around by next Halloween is to make a batch of these shortbread bars.  The buttery shortbread crust is first baked, then topped with chocolate chips and the candy of your choice.  We tried it out with dark chocolate peanut butter cups, but any chocolate candy would work.  I asked Dennis for feedback and, in his words, you can’t go wrong with shortbread covered in chocolate and peanut butter.  It’s like adding bacon to anything.  Hmm, maybe that’s an idea for a future treat…

Shortbread Candy Bars (from Everyday Food)

Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

2 cups all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled)

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

2 cups assorted chocolate candies or roughly chopped candy bars (12 ounces)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter, brown sugar, and salt on medium-high until light and fluffy, 3 minutes. With mixer on low, add flour in three additions and beat until combined (dough will be crumbly). Press dough evenly into a 9x9 baking dish (a great way to do this is to press down through saran wrap so the dough doesn’t stick). Bake until golden brown and firm, 25-30 minutes.

Scatter chocolate chips on top of shortbread. Bake until soft, 1 minute. With the back of a spoon, spread chocolate evenly over shortbread. Scatter candies over top. Let cool on a wire rack 30 minutes. Refrigerate briefly to set chocolate, then cut into 16 bars.

Honey Corn Muffins

I apologize for my absence but Dennis and I took a much-needed trip to Europe where we traveled around Italy, Barcelona, and some other spots along the way.  We ate a lot of great food; I can’t understand why there’s not a gelato shop on every NYC corner.  The U.S. is really missing out!

Anyway, on to these muffins.  I grew up with Jiffy mix corn muffins, usually slathered with grape jelly and eaten for breakfast.  It wasn’t until I grew to love barbeque that I began to appreciate corn muffins as an essential part of a savory meal.  Eaten with a spicy chili they cut the heat and really help balance the meal.  I personally like sweet corn muffins – apparently that’s a Northern thing as Southerners don’t like theirs as sweet.  I won’t take sides on the debate, but I’ll just say that these were exactly what we were looking for.  Not only were they sweet and moist, but they were sturdy enough so they didn’t fall apart when dipped in chili.  I love it when I find a go-to recipe, and that’s exactly what this is.

Honey Corn Muffins (adapted from The Food Network)

Ingredients

1 cup yellow cornmeal

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

2 large eggs

1/2 stick butter, melted

1/4 cup honey (The best way to measure honey or any other sticky substance is to spray the measuring cup with cooking spray first.  Not only does it make it easier to clean the measuring cup but you’ll also get the full amount without any sticking to the cup.)

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Into a large bowl, mix the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. In another bowl, whisk together the whole milk, eggs, butter, and honey. Add the wet to the dry ingredients and stir until just mixed.

Spray a 12-cup muffin tin and evenly divide the cornbread mixture. Bake for 15 minutes, until golden. 

If you’re looking for something a bit different, cut the muffins in half, spread some butter on each side, then grill, butter side down, in a skillet.  Once they’re nice and brown they’re good to go.