Candied Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies

I can't say I'm much of a football fan (shocking I know from a girl who blogs about books and baked goods). I'm not anti-football, I'm just indifferent as to who throws a thing or kicks a thing or wins or loses or runs where on the field over an insanely stop-and-start 5-hour televised experience.

Football related snacks, however, are a completely different story! I will cheer for whomever's team of choice if there are ample snacks provided. And I'm happy to do some snack providing of my own.

Recently my roommates and I hosted a huge pre-football brunch. Chilaquiles, pancakes, eggs, cinnamon rolls, and bacon. So. Much. Bacon. As the crew settled into couches and chairs in a food-coma football daze, Steph and I decided that the time was finally right for a much-anticipated bacon chocolate chip cookie experience.

The bacon is candied!!!

But how much bacon is enough? How much is too much? Like the (mad) scientist we are, we decided to conduct some A-B testing.

The base recipe is compliments of Steph's recipe box (have I mentioned that I now live with another avid baker!?). We made half the recipe as "Medium Bacon" cookies -- meaning that they included ample candied bacon. The other half -- "Very Bacon" -- we took things to a whole other level and used bacon grease instead of butter (I KNOW), in addition to the candied bacon pieces.

We thought there would be a clear winner, but results were shockingly mixed! "They're chewy and crispy at the same time!" shouted one friend. "So much bacon," sighed another. "Just so much bacon."

I preferred the Very Bacon version, while there were others who preferred the Medium Bacon. We concluded that if you're going to eat multiple cookies at once then the Medium Bacon were the better choice, while the Very Bacon were more intense and thus more of a one-off eating experience.

I'll leave the recipe choice up to you. Either way, these are an excellent contribution to any party, football or otherwise.

Candied Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 package (12 oz) bacon
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 2/3 cups whole or rolled oats (not quick-cooking)
• 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 cups (1 bag) chocolate chips
• 3/4 cup butter (OR 3/4 cup solid cooled bacon grease -- note that we had bacon grease reserved from our morning bacon experience)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla

Directions:

1. To candy the bacon: Lay bacon strips on a baking sheet with raised edges (so the grease doesn't ruin the inside of your oven). Mix maple syrup and brown sugar and brush over bacon. Bake at 350 degrees until crispy (20-ish minutes). Once bacon is cooled, use your hands to break them into little pieces. 
2. To powder the oats: Pulse the oats in a blender until coarsely ground.
3. To make the cookies: Mix sugars and butter (or bacon grease). 
4. Mix in egg and vanilla.
5. Mix in dry ingredients (dough will be very crumbly, you may need to use your hands).
6. Mix in bacon pieces and chocolate chips. 
7. Using your hands, form dough into 2-tablespoon sized balls and place on a baking sheet.
8. Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes. 
9. Cool and enjoy!

Dark/White Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches

What a 4th of July weekend! I feel like I’ve been going non-stop since leaving work Thursday afternoon in all the best ways possible – friends and running and barbecuing and fireworks-watching and roof-decking and beach-lounging and ice cream eating.

Ever since the temps got above 85 degrees I’ve been craving ice cream sandwiches. Not those kinda soggy rectangular chocolate cookie kind (though they have their time and place), but the real deal – soft and delicious chocolate chip cookies completely stuffed with vanilla ice cream. (Preferably consumed on a beach or a dock or on the front deck immediately after returning from one of those places, bathing suit slightly damp and sand still sticking to my feet.) Mmmmmm yes.

So what better occasion to make them happen than the 4th of July?!? The 4th itself did not involve a beach for me this year (though the 5th did!)  – I am in DC after all and there are epic National Mall fireworks to be seen and heard and felt.

Gustavo came down from NYC yayayay!

But long before heading down to join the crowds around the Monument, I did some post-run, pre-barbecue baking to get the day started right.

I made these 4th of July morning before carefully carefully transporting them to a barbecue, where they were later inhaled by the lucky few who knew about them in the freezer. I heard (and can infer based on the cookie dough I consumed in the baking process) that they were delicious. And so easy!

I am definitely making these Dark/White Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches again. Maybe tonight.

If you want to get super-fancy you can make homemade ice cream, but that takes more time, so I just bought mine. Any flavor you want works, though I recommend sticking to something simple (i.e. vanilla) to not overwhelm the cookie.

Dark/White Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches

Yield: 12-15 large sandwiches

Ingredients:

• ¾ cups (1 ½ sticks) butter, softened
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ½ teaspoon salt 
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 ½ cups flour
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli 70%, and since the chips are really big I chopped them smaller)
• ½ cup white chocolate chips
• 1 pint vanilla ice cream

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 
2. Beat the butter and sugar until smooth, then mix in eggs and vanilla.
3. Stir in dry ingredients until almost combined, then add the chocolate chips, then finish mixing.
4. Use two spoons to scoop cookie dough onto a cookie sheet (approximately 2-tablespoon sided scoops). 
5. Bake for approximately 9 minutes. Immediately remove from baking sheet to cool on a wire rack.
6. Cool cookies on wire racks for approximately 30 minutes, then put them in the freezer (I just put the whole rack in the freezer) for approximately 20 minutes. If you try fill them with ice cream when they’re still warm it will become a melty mess. 
7. Match up your cookies into 2’s of around the same size. Scoop ice cream onto one cookie, press the other on top, and done! Ice cream sandwich! Put the sandwiches back in the freezer for at least 30 minutes (the longer the better) before transporting. I just carried them on a cookie tray covered in foil, but you could also wrap them individually in plastic wrap. 

Cake of the Week: Girl Scout Cookie Upside Down Cake

When I was growing up, the cookie tin in the corner of my family’s kitchen was rarely empty and usually full – chocolate chip, biscotti, molasses ginger, or oatmeal raisin were our faves. But of course, to my elementary school self, there was nothing cool about homemade anything. In my silly little head (or big head…I was overall a pretty big kid), my wildest dream lunch included a lunchable, or those yogurts with the sprinkles in them, “store-bought” cookies, and a soda! All I wanted was to open my lunch box to a package of Oreos, or Nutter Butters or, GIRL SCOUT COOKIES!!!

By now my lunch fantasies have matured. At this point I would be psyched out of my mind if anyone packed me any kind of lunch.  And cookie-wise, well well well, I can eat any kind of cookies I want!

So 'tis the season, let’s talk Girl Scout cookies. I did not grow up with them, and therefore have far less experience than most, but I know that people get CRAZY excited the second spring rolls around and little girls all over the city sit at tables covered in tantalizingly colorful boxes.

My roommate SpeedyKate volunteers with Girl Scouts, so now I have direct access! We have a very safe and controlled three boxes to eat (Thin Mints, Samosas, and Tagalongs), but then she has a couple leftover from last year. What do you do with a surplus of stale Girl Scout cookies? You bake with them well duh!

On Saturday I went to yoga, which is the ideal time for my monkey mind to daydream up delicious treats to try. So I pondered my options (Do-Si-Dos), and what I was in the mood for (chocolate), and came up with this Girl Scout Cookie Upside Down Cake.

This would work with any Girl Scout cookies, stale or otherwise. It’s a Texas sheet cake recipe, which is super-moist and much less crumbly than regular cake, plus a sleeve of Do-Si-Dos. The cookies rose into the cake while baking, so it wasn’t quite as upside-down-y as I anticipated, but then I covered it all in frosting and trust me, no one is complaining!

Girl Scout Cookie Upside Down Cake

Printable recipe. 

Cake ingredients:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa  
• 3/4 cup lightly packed premium unsweetened natural cocoa
• 1 ½ tablespoons canola oil  
• ½ cup water
• 1 cup all-purpose flour  
• 1 cups sugar  
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/4 cup buttermilk (OR soured milk – add a splash of vinegar to milk and let it sit for 10 minutes)
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 sleeve Girl Scout cookies, chopped (I used Do-Si-Dos)

Frosting ingredients:

• ¼ cup unsalted butter
• 1/8 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 ½ cup powdered sugar
• 1 cookie for garnish

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9-inch round cake pan. 
2. Melt ½ cup the butter in a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the cocoa (1/4 cup). Add the oil and water and bring to a rolling boil for 30 seconds. 
3. Remove the pan from the heat and set it aside to cool slightly. 
4. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.
5. Pour the warm cocoa mixture into the dry ingredients and whisk until just combined. 
6. In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk (or soured milk),egg, and vanilla. 
7. With a rubber spatula, stir the buttermilk mixture into the batter. 
8. Spread chopped cookies evenly in the bottom of your prepared pan. Pour the batter over the top and place in the center of the oven. Bake until the top is firm and the cake starts to pull away from the sides of the pan – about 30 minutes. 
9. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a cooling rack to finish cooling. 





Upside-down, pre-frosting.

Make the frosting: 

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the cocoa and bring the mixture to a rolling boil; boil for 30 seconds. 
2. Remove from heat and whisk in the milk and vanilla. 
3. Add the confectioners’ sugar 1/2 cup at a time while whisking continuously. (This will be an arms workout for you!)
4. Immediately pour the frosting over the cake (the cake should be bottom-side, i.e. flat-side, up), spreading with a spatula. The frosting will harden pretty quickly. Sprinkle an extra crumbled cookie on top. 

Printable recipe. 

Cake of the Week: Monster Cookies

Now what starts with the letter C?
Cookie starts with C. Let’s think of other things that start with C!
Ah who cares about other things!?!

Agreed Cookie Monster. Agreed. I don’t think there’s any doubt around here that, though I may not be blue or have googley eyes, I’m a bit of a cookie monster myself. They’re just so good! Chewy cookies, crunchy cookies, oatey or chocolatey or sugary cookies! I like them all. And they go so well with coffee, for snack, after meals, yummm all the time.

And what does a cookie monster need? A MONSTER COOKIE!

The Monster Cookies at Corner Bakery Café, a dangerously few short blocks from my office, are my (now ex)-co-worker Tracy’s favorites. Unlike other monster cookies, this recipe doesn't have oatmeal or raisins or nuts – they’re all about the chocolate. Chocolate chips inside, mini M&Ms outside. They taste like everything a chocolate chip cookie should – buttery, and chocolately, and a tiny bit salty.The outsides are a bit crispy and the insides are super-gooey-chewy.

I made these to bring to work last week and they were GREAT.  I made the dough a day in advance, refrigerated it before shaping the cookies, then I froze the shaped balls of dough overnight. That whole process isn’t necessary, that’s just how timing best worked out for me. But if you don’t have time to chill or freeze the dough, I suggest adding a ½ cup more flour…otherwise they may spread out waaaay too much on the pans.

Ready for some other wise words from the muppet himself? A cookie with one bite out of it looks like a C! A round donut with a bite out of it also looks like a C! 

See what I mean? We’re totally on the same page.  After my marathon this Saturday it’s going to be donut time.

Monster Cookies

This recipe makes 3-4 dozen cookies. It can easily be halved if you’re feeling like controlling your inner monster. Oh and it’s a one-bowl recipe! Yay fewer dishes!

Printable recipe. 
Ingredients:

• 2 sticks/16 tablespoons unsalted softened butter
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 large egg
• 2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 ¼ cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 bag (about 2 ½ cups) semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup mini M&Ms (I used 4 of these little tubes)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and spray or line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Mix butter and sugars for about 2 minutes. Add egg and vanilla, mixing until well combined.
3. Add in flour, baking soda and salt to bowl, and stir until combined. Mix in chocolate chips. Mix 3 or 4 times then add chocolate chips, mixing until just combined. 
4. Refrigerate dough for at least 1 hour, preferably a couple hour or overnight. Scoop 2-tablespoon-sized chunks of dough and use your hands to shape them into balls. Pour out M&Ms into a shallow bowl. Roll the balls in the M&Ms (I did M&Ms just on the top and sides of each ball, so not quite all the way around). 
5. Freeze cookies overnight (optional).
6. Place cookies on sheet, 1-2 inches apart (they spread a lot). 
7. Bake for 13-15 minutes or until nice and golden brown but still semi-soft in center. Remove and let cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to cooling rack. 
8. Serve and enjoy! (Best fresh out of the oven, obviously. You should eat these or freeze them in the first day or two, after that they’re still good but they dry out a bit.)

Printable recipe. 

For more cookies inspired by DC bakeries, try my Presidential Sweet Cookies (à la Firehook), or my Salty Oatmeal Cookies (à la Teaism).

Cake of the Week: Grapefruit Sandwich Cookies

Last night, SpeedyKate and I hosted a citrus-themed dinner party. Everything –  from appetizers to entrees to side dishes to desserts –  had to contain some sort of citrus.

Why? Well because wintertime is citrus’ time to shine! In a lovely juxtaposition to the outside gray wintery winter, nature has compensated for its dreariness by providing us with bright and colorful and fresh citrus flavors in December, January, and February.  Lemons and limes oranges and tangerines and grapefruit galore!

I have not always loved grapefruit. Like most kids, I hated how bitter it was and could not possibly pour on enough sugar to compensate. Then at some point mid-high school, I magically became a huge grapefruit fan. I don’t eat it for breakfast with a serrated spoon (because that just results in a grapefruit slushy mess), I prefer to peel mine – first the rind, then the skin – until all that’s left is the ruby-red delicious insides. And then every few bites I dip it in sugar, because I can and it is delicious.

Anywho, baking with grapefruit is new to me and I will definitely be doing it again.

These cookies were the perfect end to a lemony limey meal. They’re just grapefruit-y enough –  you can taste the tang, but are not overwhelmed by it. Plus they’re pretty and pink (or any color actually) and you can cut them into any shapes you want. [One of my friends: It must be an all-girls party if you have pink heart-shaped cookies. Me: Psh there will be boys there. And they enjoy pink cookies as much as anyone else!]

These cookies have juice and zest in both the cookies and the frosting. You could make them with any citrus actually – I imagine some sunshine-y lemon cookies would be delicious.

So I got a little carried away with the food coloring in the frosting…but in light of a certain upcoming holiday, I don’t think that’s too much of a disaster.

Grapefruit Sandwich Cookies

Adapted from Brown Eyed Baker. 

Printable recipe. 

Ingredients:
For the Cookies:

• 1½ cups all-purpose flour
• ¾ cup cake flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• Zest of 1 grapefruit
• ½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 egg yolks
• ½ cup grapefruit juice (freshly squeezed)

For the Filling:

• ½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2¾ cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon grapefruit zest
• 3 tablespoons grapefruit juice (freshly squeezed)
• 1 small drop red or pink food coloring (optional)

Directions:

1. Make the Cookies: In the bowl of your mixer (or in a large bowl using a hand mixer), rub together the sugar and grapefruit zest with your fingertips until the zest is evenly distributed and all of the sugar has been moistened. 
2. Add the butter to the bowl and beat on medium speed until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg yolks and beat until combined, scraping down the bowl as necessary. 
3. Reduce the speed to low and add the flours, baking powder, and salt in three batches (go ahead and slap me on the wrist – I never mix my dry ingredients in a separate bowl…it just feels so unnecessary), alternating with the grapefruit juice, beginning and ending with the flour. 
4. Mix just until the dough comes together. Transfer the dough to a piece of plastic wrap, pat it into a 1-inch disk, wrap in the plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or until firm (overnight is fine.
5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Just spraying the pans isn’t enough here! Be warned, they will stick!
6. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to about ⅛-inch thick. Use a 2-inch round cutter (I used a wine glass and a heart-shaped cutter), to cut out as many cookies as possible and transfer them to the prepared baking sheets, spacing them 1-inch apart. Gather together the dough scraps and repeat to get as many rounds as possible. Refrigerate the baking sheets (with the cookies on them) for 15 minutes.
7. Bake the cookies until just barely golden brown around the edges and still very light in color in the middle, about 12 minutes. Immediately remove the cookies to a wire rack and cool completely before assembling.
8. Make the Filling: Beat together the butter, powdered sugar and grapefruit zest on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the grapefruit juice and food coloring (if using), increase the speed to medium-high and beat until smooth.
9. Assemble the Cookies: Match up the cookies by size, then spread or pipe on about 1 tablespoon of filling onto the flat side of half the cookies. Top with the matching cookie and press down slightly so the filling is pushed to the edges. Store in an airtight container and serve at room temperature. 

Printable recipe. 

You might also like: Citrus Tart (oranges and grapefruit)

Cake of the Week: Molasses Ginger Cookies

If, for some incredibly bizarre hypothetical reason, I was only allowed to make one cookie recipe for the rest of my life, it would be these Molasses Ginger Cookies. Am I sure? Absolutely. Regular chocolate chip cookies are great, oatmeal cookies of course are delicious, but there’s something dangerously addicting about these – they’re chewy, with chunks of ginger and chocolate, and covered in a crunchy crystallized sugar crust – trust me when I tell you: add this recipe to your regular repertoire STAT. 

The original recipe is from a Martha Steward Living magazine from 1998, meaning that I've been making and loving these cookies on a regular basis for literally 56% of my life. It should come as no surprise that I come from a cookie-loving family. My sisters and I used to make huge batches of cookies (they freeze really well) for any and all-times consumption. Visiting friends knew that our cookie jar was rarely empty (my high school cross country team may have run to my house, eaten cookies, then continued on our run. Not saying we did…not saying we didn’t.) (We did.) And breakfast cookies (i.e. a cookie first thing in the morning with your coffee) are par for the course in my home kitchen.

I first blogged about these Molasses Ginger Cookies way back in 2009, but that was long before anyone other than my parents read Eat Run Read -- this recipe is definitely worth a re-post!

I made them Friday night for my friends to enjoy while we watched the Olympics (there's something to be said for eating cookies while screaming at athletes to run faster), and to bring rock climbing on Saturday. Cookies = fuel of champions, right?

A few notes:

• The original recipe has no chocolate chips or candied ginger. I’ll leave the decision to include them up to you. (You should include them.)
• Over time I have also modified the quantity of butter. The recipe (below) is what I do…the original had 2 sticks plus 2 tablespoons butter and no water.
• White pepper is a bit obscure and not 100% necessary. If you have it, use it. If not, no big deal. 
• Be warned: there’s at least an hour of refrigeration time involved! 

Molasses Ginger Cookies

Printable recipe.

Ingredients:

• 2 ½ cups flour
• 2 ¼ teaspoons baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon allspice
• ½ teaspoon white pepper (optional)
• ¾ cup butter (1 ½ sticks) at room temperature
• ½ cup brown sugar
• ½ cup white sugar
• 6 tablespoons molasses
• ¼ cup water
• 1 egg
• 1 cup chocolate chips (optional)
• ¼ cup finely chopped candied ginger (optional)
• *additional 1/2 white sugar for rolling

Directions:

1. Beat together butter, sugars, molasses, egg, and water. 
2. Mix in dry ingredients and chocolate chips and candied ginger. 
3. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour (best if refrigerated overnight).
4. Preheat oven to 350*.
5. Use your hands to roll tablespoon-sized balls (or as big as you like!) and then roll cookie balls in granulated sugar.
6. Place cookie balls on a baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Use the ball of your hand or a cup to squash them to ¼ inch thickness.
7. Bake for 8-10 minutes – depending on how gooey you like your cookies. Remove from the baking sheet and finish cooling on wire racks. 

Printable recipe.

Cake of the Week: Chai Spice Cookies with Chai Cream Cheese Frosting

Let me explain my housing situations. My former house, where I lived for three years and moved out of a couple weeks ago, was not only a home but also a job for me. It was a house owned by a national foundation that provides cheap housing to students and interns in major cities, and I was the House Manager. The HM job description is a weird hybrid of resident assistant and landlord…kind of like a super, who also plans house events, screens applicants, buys supplies, and generally makes sure everyone is playing nicely and getting along.

As the HM, my living space was the basement apartment. I had my own kitchen, living room, and bathroom, but was still connected to the rest of the house. This meant that if I wanted to hang out with the 6 residents above me I could...but if I wanted Mollie-on-the-couch introvert time, that was mine for the taking.
It was the perfect second job for a recent college grad/non-profit worker. Residents came and went, 2-6 per semester (since it's run by a foundation, the house doesn’t HAVE to be full). I became close friends with some of the residents (LOTR-Emily. Photoman, etc.), and some remained simply residents, nice people who came and went through my life.

But now things are totally different. I live in a 2-bedroom apartment with SpeedyKate, who as any Eat Run Read-er knows, isn't just a roommate but my friend! It's definitely different than the big group house. I’m enjoying not being responsible for others when I come home, and contacting our landlord to fix any and all of our problems (before I was the one people called – blerg). I no longer live alone(ish), so there’s a bit less introvert time, but as SpeedyKate and I set up our home and establish our roommate relationship, I like living with a friend more and more.

I know she appreciates my baked goods. Who wouldn't want to wake up to this?

And when I came home from volunteering this weekend, I found a pretty little rose left on the table next to my tea. Nice surprises like that just don’t happen when you live semi-alone.

So in response, I left her one of the cookies I'd made for my friends' bar-b-q. They're Chai Spice Cookies with Chai Cream Cheese Frosting. The buttermilk creates a texture like a super-light, not-dry scone...or maybe like a cookie/cupcake combination…kind of like the fluffy puffy cookies. However you choose to describe them, they’re addicting.

Chai Spice Cookies 

(Slightly adapted from Eat, Live, Run.)
Printable Recipe. 

• 1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 egg
• 5 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1/3 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon cardamom

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt. Set aside.
3. Cream together the soft butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat for about three more minutes until well combined. Alternate adding the buttermilk and the flour mixture to the butter, starting and ending with the flour. Add the vanilla and beat on medium until everything is combined and the batter is smooth.
4. Scoop large spoonfulls of batter onto a sprayed or parchment-lined baking sheet. These cookies don’t spread very much while baking, so try to shape them round-ish, and you may need to pat them down a bit (tip: dip your fingers in flour so the dough doesn’t stick to your hands as you pat). 
5. Bake for about twelve minutes. Let cool completely while you make the chai cream cheese frosting.

Chai Cream Cheese Frosting

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 4 oz cream cheese (1/2 block)
• 2-4 tablespoons buttermilk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp ground ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon cardamom

1. To make the frosting, beat together the butter, cream cheese, and vanilla. Beat in the powdered sugar, spices, and 2 tablespoons buttermilk. Add more buttermilk as needed to reach a spreadable consistency. 
2. Frost cookies once cookies are completely cool.

Printable Recipe. 

Cake of the Week: Slutty Brownies

Editor's Note: This is a guest post from the the kitchen of Sister1.

Have you heard of Slutty Brownies? [No! Do tell!] Or perhaps the longer but more PG title: Double Fudge Cookies and Cream Chocolate Chip Brownies? Whatever you want to call them they are pretty amazing.

After seeing a recipe for these bars on multiple blogs I decided that I had to try them. They are a lot of work if you decide to make the brownies and cookie dough from scratch, but I enjoy some baking “work” and these bars are definitely worth it. Just make sure you have somewhere to bring them, or a friend, spouse, or office to give them to...trust me, you don't want to be home alone with these!

According to Geoff [brother-in-law] as he took his first Slutty Brownie bite, “The first word that comes to mind is confusing.” He couldn't tell what part he liked better -- just brownie and cookie, or everything all together at once. For me, the real magic happened when I got everything in one bite. Oreo cookie flavor is just so delicious! [I wish I were there to taste and offer an opinion! Overnight mail next time? Yes please?]

I won't be making these often because they are so dangerous (in the best way possible), but I'm glad I tried them! 

I made the brownie batter and cookie dough from scratch but you could also use mixes for both.

Slutty Brownies aka Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie n’ Oreo Fudge Brownie Bar

Original recipe from Kevin and Amanda. 

Printable recipe. 

Chocolate Chip Cookie Ingredients:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups (12 ounces) milk chocolate chips

Brownie Ingredients: 

(OR you can use a family-sized brownie mix prepared according to the box instructions.)

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 2 ¼ cups sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 ¼ cups Double-Dutch Dark Cocoa or Dutch-process cocoa
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon espresso powder
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 cups chocolate chips (I didn’t use these)

And:

• 1 pkg Double Stuffed Oreos

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9x13 baking dish with wax paper and spray it with non-stick cooking spray.
2. For the Chocolate Chip Cookie Layer: Cream the butter and both sugars in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed for 3-5 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix well to thoroughly combine. 
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt, then slowly incorporate into the mixer until the flour is just combined. Stir in chocolate chips. 
4. For the Brownie Layer (from KAF): In a medium-sized microwave-safe bowl, or in a saucepan set over low heat, melt the butter, then add the sugar and stir to combine. Or simply combine the butter and sugar, and heat, stirring, until the butter is melted. Continue to heat (or microwave) briefly, just until the mixture is hot (about 110°F to 120°F), but not bubbling; it'll become shiny looking as you stir it. Heating the mixture to this point will dissolve more of the sugar, which will yield a shiny top crust on your brownies.
5. While the sugar heats a second time, crack the 4 eggs into a bowl, and beat them with the cocoa, salt, baking powder, espresso powder, and vanilla till smooth.
6. Add the hot butter/sugar mixture, stirring until smooth.
7. Add the flour, again stirring until smooth. 
8. Assembly: Spread the cookie dough in the bottom of your prepared pan.
9. Top the cookie dough with a layer of Oreos. 
10. Pour the brownie batter over the cookie dough and Oreos. 
11. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking for an additional 15-25 minutes. 
12. Let cool completely before cutting — brownies may still be gooey in the middle when still warm, but will set up perfectly once cooled. 

Note: To half this recipe for an 8×8 brownie mix, simply half the chocolate chip cookie dough ingredients.

Printable recipe. 

Cake of the Week: Salted Coconut Maple Oatmeal Cookies

This weekend I learned a new term from my very smart finance friends: Alpha. 

For funds and investments and other money things that are far over my head, it means, “The excess return of the fund relative to the return of the benchmark index for a fund,” and/or, “a measure of an investment’s performance over and above the performance of investments of the same risk.” 

In normal person (super-duper simplified) terms it could be described as extra value added or something performing above expectations. 

So what does this have to do with cookies? Well an oatmeal cookie is good. But an alpha oatmeal cookie performs above and beyond, taking the expected result and making it better. This weekend, in the context of these Salted Maple Coconut Oatmeal Cookies, Jess and I combined our alphas. 

She added the maple, and I added the knowledge that you can half the butter (leading to “healthier” cookies…or you can just eat twice as many). And her boyfriend Zac added the kosher salt component, taking these cookies to a whole new level of awesomeness. And the resulting cookies were aaammmaaazzziiinnnggg. 

Lesson conclusion: Alpha + alpha + alpha = yum. 

Salted Maple Coconut Oatmeal Cookies

This is a half recipe that makes about 24 normal-sized cookies. You can easily double it for a full batch. (Printable recipe.)

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick or 2 ounces) butter, softened
• 2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1 egg
• 1/8 cup water
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt 
• 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
• ½ cup shredded coconut
• 1 cup milk chocolate chips
• Kosher or sea salt for sprinkling on top

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, egg, maple syrup, and vanilla until smooth. Mix in the water. 
3. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt together. Stir this into the butter/sugar mixture. Stir in the oats, coconut, and chocolate chips. 
4. Chill the dough for 15-30 minutes (if you have the patience. It won’t be the end of the world if you don’t chill, but chilling softens the oats a bit which is definitely a good thing). 
5. On a silpat of greased or parchment-lined baking sheet, scoop out cookie dough in 1-2 tablespoonful sized balls. Using your hand, flatten the balls just a little (since this recipe has less butter, they won’t spread very much). Sprinkle with kosher or sea salt. 
6. Bake them for 10 to 12 minutes, taking them out when golden at the edges but still a little undercooked-looking on top. 
7. Let them sit on the hot baking sheet for five minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool.

(Printable recipe.)