delvious

Liking pages on Facebook has perks.  Sometimes, you can enter exclusive contests.  Sometimes, you get special coupons.  And sometimes, you see test baking requests from talented people.  So, I jumped on the opportunity when Blue Bottle’s pastry chef asked if any Facebook fans were interested in test baking for her upcoming cookbook.


The first set of test recipes were the cookies.  They all sounded delicious, and many of them delvious, but these Saffron Vanilla Snickerdoodles called out to me.  They are unique, I love snickerdoodles, and I’ve had some saffron and a vanilla bean waiting idly in my spice collection for the right recipe.






I followed the recipe to a T and the lovely cookies you see here came out of my oven.  The saffron and vanilla bean create a complex, butterscotchy flavor that is perfect with coffee.  I can guarantee you will want this cookbook – more sneak peaks to come!

6 Comments | In: Cookies | | #

As I mentioned in my first post, bacon is constantly popping up in desserts these days.  I know I’m a bit behind on the trend, but I have finally tried it for myself.


I knew I wanted to make my first (and potentially last) bacon dessert in cookie form – easy to transport and share.  I wavered between a standard chocolate chip dough with some chocolate-covered bacon stirred in, but ultimately decided to go with a simple peanut butter cookie studded with crispy bacon bits.





My verdict?  Totally delvious.  I’ve heard peanut butter is good on a bacon cheeseburger, and now I’m officially convinced that would work.

Recipe

The hardest thing about this recipe (or any recipe postponing the immediate consumption of bacon) is resisting that hot bacon right out of the frying pan. Once you’ve made it that far, the recipe is nearly done.  I used half creamy peanut butter and half crunchy since I am without a doubt a crunchy PB lover.  I followed Joy the Baker‘s suggestion to roll the cookie dough balls in granulated sugar, only because why wouldn’t you?





Out of the oven, it was kind of impossible not to inhale the cookies.  Rest assured, however, that these cookies will stay nice and chewy for a few days.  As for the taste: peanut butter and bacon are both assertive flavors, so neither was overpowered by the other.  The bacon contributes a nice balance of saltiness with a bit of that wonderful applewood smoked flavor from the bacon I used.  Of course if you pick out a bacon bit in a tiny bite it’s still going to taste like meat, so enjoy as you would any other cookie for the overall effect.


I felt a little insecure about leaving bacon at room temperature, so I recommend refrigerating the leftovers (should any make it past Day 1) and bringing them to room temp before polishing them off.

Peanut Butter Bacon Cookies

Adapted from Joy the Baker

Prep time + Bake time: 20 minutes + 10 minutes

Makes 24 cookies

Printable recipe

Ingredients

1 cup peanut butter (creamy, crunchy or combination)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1 egg

1 tsp baking soda

6 slices of thick-cut bacon

Directions

1.  In a skillet over medium high heat, fry bacon until cooked through and crispy.  Let cool on paper towels.  Dice into small pieces, and set aside.

2.  Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, combine peanut butter and sugars for about 2 minutes until well combined.  Add egg and baking soda, and mix for 2 more minutes.  Fold in the bacon with a spatula.  Refrigerate dough for an hour or until firm.

3.  Preheat oven to 350F and grease baking sheet with butter.

4.  Roll dough into  walnut sized balls and roll them in extra white sugar.  Once they’re on the baking sheet, create the criss-cross pattern using the tines of a fork.

5.  Bake for 10 minutes, until lightly browned.  Cool on the baking sheet for five minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.

My cookies may have been flat, but there was a way to make good on the situation.

As you have noticed from the pictures, my cookies went from about 1-inch-diameter dough balls to 4-inch-diameter cookie discs.  My speculations:

• I used JIF rather than natural peanut butter which probably contains more oil.
• The dough spent a lot of time in the stand mixer, so it was definitely at room temperature.  Hence, I recommend refrigerating the dough before baking.

Staring dejectedly at my delicious but ugly cookies, I realized that they had amazing potential as components for an ice cream cookie sandwich.  I used plain ol’ vanilla bean, but I suspect some caramel ice cream would have been stellar.  If you don’t mind some melty ice cream, eat these sandwiches immediately.  If you want a less messy treat, you can pop them in the freezer to firm the ice cream up a bit.


For vegetarians wanting to simulate the PB bacon cookie experience, make the peanut butter cookies sans bacon and light a few bacon scented candles.  Or not.

6 Comments | In: Cookies | tags: Bacon, Peanut Butter. | #

I am a victim of seasonal cravings.  It was particularly bad in 2009:

• Last summer, I was only interested in peach cobbler and plum kuchens.
• Fall arrived, and I forgot about the summer stone fruits to focus on pumpkin loaves and apple cakes.
• This winter, the gingerbread cravings hit me hard.

Thoughts of gingerbread guinness cakes, gingerbread pancakes and adorable gingerbread men panini distracted me.  Finally, I came across a recipe for gingerbread butterscotch cookies.  I had never considered gingerbread paired with butterscotch, but I do have a theory about butterscotch morsels:  they make anything infinitely more delectable.

Recipe

These cookies uphold The Butterscotch Morsel Theory.  The gingerbread was almost too spicy, really; but luckily the butterscotch morsels step in to balance out the cookies with super intense sweetness.  This recipe may not be delvious in a peanut-butter-sauerkraut kind of way, but they are a unique (and delicious) cookie for wintertime.

Gingerbread Butterscotch Cookies

Adapted from Baked Perfection

Printable recipe

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1 large egg

1/3 cup light molasses

1 (11 ounce) package Butterscotch Flavored Morsels

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2.  Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and salt in small bowl.  In a large bowl, beat butter, sugar, egg and molasses until creamy.

4.  Gradually beat in flour mixture until well blended. Stir in morsels.

5.  Drop by rounded tablespoon onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

A few thoughts on cloves

I have been anti-cloves for awhile.  I have long blamed cloves for pumpkin pies that I didn’t like and have refused to buy a tiny jar of them in whole or ground form.  My assumed dislike of its flavor and its perpetual absence from my spice rack has encouraged me to omit this spice from any recipe I’ve made recently, including this one.


But, I’m planning to re-embrace cloves for 2010.  Did you know cloves are the dried flower of an evergreen tree native to India and Indonesia?  I didn’t.  Did you know it is a key spice in chai tea?  I didn’t, and I really like chai tea.  It’s time to give in, go to the grocery, and seek out a clove-y recipe in an attempt to accept this spice.  What do you think of them?

4 Comments | In: Cookies, Dessert | tags: butterscotch, gingerbread. | #