Photo
January 16, 2011
6 notes
Double Chocolate Cookies :)  (AND some mushy, gushy stuff about home. If you’re just here for the cookies, you might want to skip the first four paragraphs. :) Winter Quarter has commenced for only two weeks now, and already I long for break. I miss the relaxing days of being able to wake up whenever my body wants to, when the only things I occupied myself with were running, reading, baking, and laughing with my brother, Alan, until I fell on the floor. As much as I love school, research, work, and simply just being on campus, living such an unstructured life is incredibly refreshing every once in a while.  Before Winter Break, I hadn’t visited Portland for over six months—the longest duration I’ve spent away from “home”. I was on campus doing research over the summer, visited my sister in Salt Lake City for the last three weeks of summer, and spent Thanksgiving Break in Ohio. It had hardly crossed my mind how much I might’ve miss Portland; As the loads of work get more and more massive, and the amount of sleep I get becomes infinitesimal, I feel like I get too busy to remember to miss home. When I landed in Portland in mid-December, everything felt remarkably foreign. But the moment Alan greeted me at the MAX stop downtown, it all felt like home again (oh, the hallucinating homeless man who started yelling nonsense at us two blocks down the street, and the pack of over 50 Santas marching around town chanting “HO! HO! HO! HO!” certainly helped, too ;). The reason why I put “home” in quotations the first time around was because, just last year, I was torn over where I considered “home” to be. I felt like this was an essential thing to know, and it was a pertinent piece of information I couldn’t provide for myself. I felt like I was being torn in a million directions: Is my home in Portland, where most of my family is? Or is it in Salt Lake City, where my sister hosts me for an extended period of time every year? Or is it on campus, where I spend 3/4 of time? Last year, I finally grew comfortable with calling Stanford my home—just like any other Stanford student would. But even then, I was still torn, because flying from one place to another and living out of a suit case really gets you thinking about this kind of thing. And not too long ago, I finally found an answer: I have multiple homes. I have multiple places I can travel to, unravel, feel comfortable, and be surrounded by familiar things and familiar people. I used to think I was underprivileged, because I felt like a nomad who didn’t have a single place where I owned a bed and a closet (that I didn’t have to evacuate every year). But that’s not what makes a home. And I’m far from underprivileged—I feel like the luckiest person in the world! Having so many places I can go to and feel “at home” is easily one of the best feelings in the world. :) Winter Break was made wonderful by my big brother and best friend (let’s just say we’re BROS, yo), Alan, who devoured all the cookies and pancakes I made with a smile on his face, while tolerating my borderline terrifying obsession with Entourage; my oldest brother, Adam, who I got to celebrate and greet the new year with (by far, the most AWESOME new years celebration I’ve ever had); my older sister, Linh, who joined us in Portland/Seattle for a few days before Christmas; and my mom and grandma, who I swear never change (yes, they’re consistently crazy), and never fail to feed me the best food and funniest stories. I love my family, and wherever they are are places I’ll always consider home. :) Okay, enough cheese. On to the suga’! I made these cookies for Alan as a parting gift, and a big huge thanks for his hospitality over Winter Break. :) I used my go-to recipe for chocolate cookie dough, and used chunks of semi-sweet chocolate I got from Trader Joe’s. The chocolate chunks were a lot more bitter than I had anticipated, so the next time I make these cookies, I think I’ll opt for some Ghirardelli 60% Cacao chunks. The texture of the dough is my favorite: crispy on the outside, slightly fluffy, but still chewy.  My sister made and gifted chocolate truffles that were “sweet & spicy”—they were dark chocolate truffles, spiced with cayenne pepper, with dried cherries hiding in the center. Amazed and inspired by this flavor combination, I decided to experiment with half the dough, and turn my sister’s truffles into cookies. I just mixed in a few teaspoons of cayenne pepper and dried cherries, and presented these cookies at a cookie exchange with a few friends on campus. These cookies could definitely use some work. The spice didn’t quite come on as strong as I had hoped, and I think they ended up being a bit dry by the time they reached California. I’ll have to try at this another time, with more cayenne, different chocolate chunks, and maybe making bigger cookies to retain more moisture over time (mine were about 1.5 inches in diameter).  And with that, I conclude my longest blog post ever. :) Happy mid-January!

Double Chocolate Cookies :) 

(AND some mushy, gushy stuff about home. If you’re just here for the cookies, you might want to skip the first four paragraphs. :)

Winter Quarter has commenced for only two weeks now, and already I long for break. I miss the relaxing days of being able to wake up whenever my body wants to, when the only things I occupied myself with were running, reading, baking, and laughing with my brother, Alan, until I fell on the floor. As much as I love school, research, work, and simply just being on campus, living such an unstructured life is incredibly refreshing every once in a while. 

Before Winter Break, I hadn’t visited Portland for over six months—the longest duration I’ve spent away from “home”. I was on campus doing research over the summer, visited my sister in Salt Lake City for the last three weeks of summer, and spent Thanksgiving Break in Ohio. It had hardly crossed my mind how much I might’ve miss Portland; As the loads of work get more and more massive, and the amount of sleep I get becomes infinitesimal, I feel like I get too busy to remember to miss home. When I landed in Portland in mid-December, everything felt remarkably foreign. But the moment Alan greeted me at the MAX stop downtown, it all felt like home again (oh, the hallucinating homeless man who started yelling nonsense at us two blocks down the street, and the pack of over 50 Santas marching around town chanting “HO! HO! HO! HO!” certainly helped, too ;).

The reason why I put “home” in quotations the first time around was because, just last year, I was torn over where I considered “home” to be. I felt like this was an essential thing to know, and it was a pertinent piece of information I couldn’t provide for myself. I felt like I was being torn in a million directions: Is my home in Portland, where most of my family is? Or is it in Salt Lake City, where my sister hosts me for an extended period of time every year? Or is it on campus, where I spend 3/4 of time? Last year, I finally grew comfortable with calling Stanford my home—just like any other Stanford student would. But even then, I was still torn, because flying from one place to another and living out of a suit case really gets you thinking about this kind of thing. And not too long ago, I finally found an answer: I have multiple homes. I have multiple places I can travel to, unravel, feel comfortable, and be surrounded by familiar things and familiar people. I used to think I was underprivileged, because I felt like a nomad who didn’t have a single place where I owned a bed and a closet (that I didn’t have to evacuate every year). But that’s not what makes a home. And I’m far from underprivileged—I feel like the luckiest person in the world! Having so many places I can go to and feel “at home” is easily one of the best feelings in the world. :)

Winter Break was made wonderful by my big brother and best friend (let’s just say we’re BROS, yo), Alan, who devoured all the cookies and pancakes I made with a smile on his face, while tolerating my borderline terrifying obsession with Entourage; my oldest brother, Adam, who I got to celebrate and greet the new year with (by far, the most AWESOME new years celebration I’ve ever had); my older sister, Linh, who joined us in Portland/Seattle for a few days before Christmas; and my mom and grandma, who I swear never change (yes, they’re consistently crazy), and never fail to feed me the best food and funniest stories. I love my family, and wherever they are are places I’ll always consider home. :)

Okay, enough cheese. On to the suga’!

I made these cookies for Alan as a parting gift, and a big huge thanks for his hospitality over Winter Break. :)

I used my go-to recipe for chocolate cookie dough, and used chunks of semi-sweet chocolate I got from Trader Joe’s. The chocolate chunks were a lot more bitter than I had anticipated, so the next time I make these cookies, I think I’ll opt for some Ghirardelli 60% Cacao chunks. The texture of the dough is my favorite: crispy on the outside, slightly fluffy, but still chewy. 

My sister made and gifted chocolate truffles that were “sweet & spicy”—they were dark chocolate truffles, spiced with cayenne pepper, with dried cherries hiding in the center. Amazed and inspired by this flavor combination, I decided to experiment with half the dough, and turn my sister’s truffles into cookies. I just mixed in a few teaspoons of cayenne pepper and dried cherries, and presented these cookies at a cookie exchange with a few friends on campus. These cookies could definitely use some work. The spice didn’t quite come on as strong as I had hoped, and I think they ended up being a bit dry by the time they reached California. I’ll have to try at this another time, with more cayenne, different chocolate chunks, and maybe making bigger cookies to retain more moisture over time (mine were about 1.5 inches in diameter). 

And with that, I conclude my longest blog post ever. :)

Happy mid-January!

Tags: chocolate cookies Stanford

Photoset
December 21, 2010
8 notes

Grandma Mommsen’s Molasses Cookies & Catching Up :)

Wow. I can’t believe I haven’t posted since summer.. What big food-related events have happened since then? 

• I visited my sister in SLC at the end of summer and learned how to make pesto (basil walnut, mmm..), raspberry-kissed chocolate truffles, and molasses cookies.  Oh, and I fell in love with grilled corn, grilled zucchini, and beet salad.  Delicious!

• A few of us who stayed on campus for part (or all) of Thanksgiving Break whipped together a pre-Thanksgiving feast.  The feast consisted of pumpkin scones, a winter bruschetta, spicy lentil & butternut squash salad, stuffing, sweet potato gratin, and tiramisu for dessert. Thanks to everybody for coming and contributing to our pre-Thanksgiving dinner! :)

• I started a 9-day marathon of making pancakes for my brother (leading up to his 23rd birthday). I learned that I’m really bad at making pancakes — really bad. Let’s just say his birthday pancakes are probably going to be a courtesy of Aunt Jemima..

The recipe for the molasses cookies belongs to my sister’s (future) Grandmother-in-law: Grandma Mommsen (whose 90th birthday is just around the corner!).  I baked about 250 of these for my sister’s engagement party when I visited her at the end of the summer (catering for ~70 people is not a trivial task), and just baked about 3 dozen the other day to mail out and share for the holidays. Before these cookies stepped into my life, I despised molasses; to me, molasses smells just like soy sauce — something I would never want in my rice, let alone my cookies. This recipe yields a perfectly spicy, chewy cookie, with just the right amount of crisp on the outside. Using the cloves definitely makes a difference (so don’t skimp on that!), and taking the cookies out just before they’re fully cooked allows for a chewy texture (leave them in too long and they become a little too puffy and cracker-like). This recipe has made it onto my “must keep forever” list, and this cookie will forever be upheld as one of my favorites. :)

Grandma Mommsen’s Molasses Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar
3/4 cup shortening
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg
1 tsp ginger
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
Extra sugar for rolling

Instructions:

• Pre-heat oven to 350°F
• Mix dry ingredients (flour, spices, salt, baking soda)
• In a separate bowl, cream sugar, shortening, molasses, and ginger. Add egg.
• Mix in dry ingredients
• Roll in tiny balls and dip each in sugar
• Bake until “half-baked” (~8 minutes)

Note: These cookies keep really well in the freezer, so if what you bake ends up escaping your raging appetite, store them in a zip-lock bag and toss them in the freezer! When you’re ready to eat them, just let them sit out at room temperature to thaw for about an hour. They’re even delicious cold. :)

Happy Winter Solstice, everybody! Eat cookies. Be happy. :)

Tags: cookies molasses Stanford

Photo
December 26, 2009
It’s official: Gingerbread Dinosaurs > Gingerbread Men:) (Gingerbread artwork courtesy of Alan Ho)

It’s official:

Gingerbread Dinosaurs > Gingerbread Men
:)

(Gingerbread artwork courtesy of Alan Ho)

Tags: cookies molasses gingerbread

Photo
December 25, 2009
Day 12 of 12: Gingerbread DINOSAURS :) I’ve never made gingerbread anything before.  I’m actually not even sure how much gingerbread I’ve actually tasted in my entire life.  For my 12-day baking spree, I found it completely necessary to break my non-ginger-baking streak once and for all.  What kind of “Christmas breaking spree” would I be running if I didn’t make gingerbread something? Well, I had considered making gingerbread men for a while; I actually went all around town searching for an inexpensive gingerbread man cookie cutter (some of those go for ridiculously high prices).  Then I realized how boring men are— gingerbread men, that is. :)  While digging through the cookie cutter selection at Sur La Table one day, I found some dinosaur cookie cutters that I fell in love with almost immediately.  Right when I saw them, I knew I’d be making gingerbread dinosaurs, not men. I knew my brother would love it, too. :) See, the thing is, I might seem like a 19-year-old sophomore in college, but I’m really not.  I’m probably the biggest child you’ll ever meet (well, maybe not, but still, I’m pretty childish).  The simplest things make me happy, and I can find something to laugh about in every situation.  I enjoy swinging (probably more than most children do), I get distracted by pretty colors and shiny, peculiar-looking things.  I think the word “booger” is probably one of the funniest words ever, and I enjoy pretending to pick people’s noses.  Okay.. we might be getting a little far into this. The point is, dinosaurs beat men, hands down, in any situation. :) Anyway. I got this recipe from Culinary Covers.  This recipe produced a soft (but not too soft), super gingery gingerbread cookie.  And the huge amount of molasses poured into this recipe (well, it seems huge to me) just gives it even more of a bite. Speaking of molasses… Is it just me, or does molasses smell like soy sauce?  I was almost too afraid to put that stuff in my cookie dough. Back to the recipe: The cookie dough was really easy to make, and even easier to work with.  Like Lori of Culinary Covers says in her post, the cookie dough was easy to mix, cut, roll, and re-roll.  This recipe yielded a cookie perfect for the holiday season.  If you enjoy gingerbread, and you’re inkling to decorate some cookies, I definitely recommend these cookies. As for me, after tasting these cookies, I realized I’m not that big of a fan of molasses or ginger.  I do enjoy decorating cookies, though! :) Speaking of which, my brother and I have about 1 1/2 dozen of these to decorate.  I guess I should get on that… Happy holidays, everybody!  I hope you enjoyed my 12 Days of Baking. :)

Day 12 of 12: Gingerbread DINOSAURS :)

I’ve never made gingerbread anything before.  I’m actually not even sure how much gingerbread I’ve actually tasted in my entire life.  For my 12-day baking spree, I found it completely necessary to break my non-ginger-baking streak once and for all.  What kind of “Christmas breaking spree” would I be running if I didn’t make gingerbread something? Well, I had considered making gingerbread men for a while; I actually went all around town searching for an inexpensive gingerbread man cookie cutter (some of those go for ridiculously high prices).  Then I realized how boring men are— gingerbread men, that is. :)  While digging through the cookie cutter selection at Sur La Table one day, I found some dinosaur cookie cutters that I fell in love with almost immediately.  Right when I saw them, I knew I’d be making gingerbread dinosaurs, not men. I knew my brother would love it, too. :)

See, the thing is, I might seem like a 19-year-old sophomore in college, but I’m really not.  I’m probably the biggest child you’ll ever meet (well, maybe not, but still, I’m pretty childish).  The simplest things make me happy, and I can find something to laugh about in every situation.  I enjoy swinging (probably more than most children do), I get distracted by pretty colors and shiny, peculiar-looking things.  I think the word “booger” is probably one of the funniest words ever, and I enjoy pretending to pick people’s noses.  Okay.. we might be getting a little far into this.

The point is, dinosaurs beat men, hands down, in any situation. :)

Anyway.

I got this recipe from Culinary Covers.  This recipe produced a soft (but not too soft), super gingery gingerbread cookie.  And the huge amount of molasses poured into this recipe (well, it seems huge to me) just gives it even more of a bite.

Speaking of molasses… Is it just me, or does molasses smell like soy sauce?  I was almost too afraid to put that stuff in my cookie dough.

Back to the recipe: The cookie dough was really easy to make, and even easier to work with.  Like Lori of Culinary Covers says in her post, the cookie dough was easy to mix, cut, roll, and re-roll.  This recipe yielded a cookie perfect for the holiday season.  If you enjoy gingerbread, and you’re inkling to decorate some cookies, I definitely recommend these cookies.

As for me, after tasting these cookies, I realized I’m not that big of a fan of molasses or ginger.  I do enjoy decorating cookies, though! :)

Speaking of which, my brother and I have about 1 1/2 dozen of these to decorate.  I guess I should get on that…

Happy holidays, everybody!  I hope you enjoyed my 12 Days of Baking. :)

Tags: cookies molasses gingerbread

Photo
December 25, 2009
1 note
Day 10 of 12: Chocolate Peanut Butter Munchies :) A.K.A. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups in cookie form! I love peanut butter.  Yes, I LOVE it with all my heart.  And I equally love chocolate.  Mix the two flavors and, well, I’m surprised I can even handle something so AMAZING.  Chocolate and peanut butter might be two of my favorite sweet flavors.  Toss in some Grape Nuts and this cookie might be the all-in-one food for me (kidding, of course..). I got this recipe from Bake or Break.  For my 12 Days of Baking, I knew I had to squeeze in another peanut butter recipe.  I honestly wasn’t expecting anything too special from this recipe, so I was totally caught off guard by how absolutely perfect it was.  The texture of the cookie is almost brownie-like, and the peanut butter center has the taste and texture of the center of a Peanut Butter Cup.  I had always wondered what those centers were made of (they obviously weren’t just pure peanut butter).  Now I know. :)  My favorite thing about this recipe?  I thought it incredible that the recipe incorporates peanut butter into the chocolate dough.  This inclusion of peanut butter in the chocolate cookie base gave the cookie another peanut butter kick (you can never have too much peanut butter kick in a cookie), which made it that much better.  The peanut butter in the cookie base definitely helped with the brownie-like texture, too. I seriously can’t stop drooling over this recipe.  I might be overreacting… But seriously, if you have a jar of peanut butter just sitting in your pantry, go make these NOW.  I might very well have discovered my new favorite cookie! :) P.S. I may have exaggerated a bit about how much I enjoy peanut butter at the beginning of this post… Maybe.

Day 10 of 12: Chocolate Peanut Butter Munchies :)

A.K.A. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups in cookie form!

I love peanut butter.  Yes, I LOVE it with all my heart.  And I equally love chocolate.  Mix the two flavors and, well, I’m surprised I can even handle something so AMAZING.  Chocolate and peanut butter might be two of my favorite sweet flavors.  Toss in some Grape Nuts and this cookie might be the all-in-one food for me (kidding, of course..).

I got this recipe from Bake or Break.  For my 12 Days of Baking, I knew I had to squeeze in another peanut butter recipe.  I honestly wasn’t expecting anything too special from this recipe, so I was totally caught off guard by how absolutely perfect it was.  The texture of the cookie is almost brownie-like, and the peanut butter center has the taste and texture of the center of a Peanut Butter Cup.  I had always wondered what those centers were made of (they obviously weren’t just pure peanut butter).  Now I know. :)  My favorite thing about this recipe?  I thought it incredible that the recipe incorporates peanut butter into the chocolate dough.  This inclusion of peanut butter in the chocolate cookie base gave the cookie another peanut butter kick (you can never have too much peanut butter kick in a cookie), which made it that much better.  The peanut butter in the cookie base definitely helped with the brownie-like texture, too.

I seriously can’t stop drooling over this recipe.  I might be overreacting… But seriously, if you have a jar of peanut butter just sitting in your pantry, go make these NOW.  I might very well have discovered my new favorite cookie! :)

P.S. I may have exaggerated a bit about how much I enjoy peanut butter at the beginning of this post… Maybe.

Tags: chocolate peanut butter cookies

Photo
December 20, 2009
Day 6 of 12: S’Mores Cookies :) So, I have another confession to make. I like to think of myself as a person who generally likes to eat healthy (just ignore all of the sugar and butter I’ve been flooding this blog with).  I try to avoid anything deep-fried, greesey, or fatty, and I love my fruits and vegetables.  But, there’s one thing that I just can’t help but enjoy eating: SPAM. I love SPAM.  Pan-fried SPAM.  With a slice of toasted french bread.  Sometimes with some thick slices of sharp cheddar cheese.  I’ve kind of grown up eating SPAM.  Every Sunday morning in high school, my mom would get me to drive to Safeway to buy a freshly baked loaf of french bread.  Meanwhile, she would be at home cooking up some SPAM.  Once I got home, we would devour the bread and SPAM together over good conversation. :)  I’ll always love my SPAM and french bread, no matter how unhealthy (and mysterious) it is.  At least I don’t eat it everyday, right? Anyway.. On to the cookies. :) I’ve tried making s’mores cookies before, and they were pretty tasty.  I totally forgot about the whole concept until I stumbled over Lovin’ From The Oven’s recent post about s’mores cookies.  I used the recipe she posted for the cookie dough, but I tweaked the incorporation of marshmallows and Hershey’s chocolate a little bit.  Instead of adding chocolate chips into the cookie dough, I mixed in the chunks of Hershey’s milk chocolate into it.  For my first batch, I mixed the mini marshmallows directly into the dough as well.  That was a bad idea.  The marshmallows ended up just caramelizing into the dough (I really should’ve seen this coming).  So, for my last few batches, I baked the cookies for about 8 minutes, pulled them out and smooshed the marshmallows into each cookie, then baked the cookies for about 2 more minutes until the cookies were fully cooked. Result?  These things are delicious!  The cookies turned out to be really thin, but they’re perfectly soft and chewy.  AND, they taste exactly like s’mores. :)  I have to admit, these aren’t the most aesthetically pleasing cookies ever.  Honestly, I think they look absolutely insane.  But hey, they taste good!  My brother and grandmother both really enjoyed these cookies.  I’m excited for my other taste-testers to taste them! Speaking of.. Guess who just got home a few hours ago? My best friend, MY BROTHER.  I’m so excited!  We haven’t seen each other since August, but I swear nothing’s changed.  I love being at home with him.  Only more great times in store for the rest of winter break… :)

Day 6 of 12: S’Mores Cookies :)

So, I have another confession to make.

I like to think of myself as a person who generally likes to eat healthy (just ignore all of the sugar and butter I’ve been flooding this blog with).  I try to avoid anything deep-fried, greesey, or fatty, and I love my fruits and vegetables.  But, there’s one thing that I just can’t help but enjoy eating:

SPAM.

I love SPAM.  Pan-fried SPAM.  With a slice of toasted french bread.  Sometimes with some thick slices of sharp cheddar cheese.  I’ve kind of grown up eating SPAM.  Every Sunday morning in high school, my mom would get me to drive to Safeway to buy a freshly baked loaf of french bread.  Meanwhile, she would be at home cooking up some SPAM.  Once I got home, we would devour the bread and SPAM together over good conversation. :)  I’ll always love my SPAM and french bread, no matter how unhealthy (and mysterious) it is.  At least I don’t eat it everyday, right?

Anyway.. On to the cookies. :)

I’ve tried making s’mores cookies before, and they were pretty tasty.  I totally forgot about the whole concept until I stumbled over Lovin’ From The Oven’s recent post about s’mores cookies.  I used the recipe she posted for the cookie dough, but I tweaked the incorporation of marshmallows and Hershey’s chocolate a little bit.  Instead of adding chocolate chips into the cookie dough, I mixed in the chunks of Hershey’s milk chocolate into it.  For my first batch, I mixed the mini marshmallows directly into the dough as well.  That was a bad idea.  The marshmallows ended up just caramelizing into the dough (I really should’ve seen this coming).  So, for my last few batches, I baked the cookies for about 8 minutes, pulled them out and smooshed the marshmallows into each cookie, then baked the cookies for about 2 more minutes until the cookies were fully cooked.

Result?  These things are delicious!  The cookies turned out to be really thin, but they’re perfectly soft and chewy.  AND, they taste exactly like s’mores. :)  I have to admit, these aren’t the most aesthetically pleasing cookies ever.  Honestly, I think they look absolutely insane.  But hey, they taste good!  My brother and grandmother both really enjoyed these cookies.  I’m excited for my other taste-testers to taste them!

Speaking of.. Guess who just got home a few hours ago?

My best friend, MY BROTHER.  I’m so excited!  We haven’t seen each other since August, but I swear nothing’s changed.  I love being at home with him.  Only more great times in store for the rest of winter break… :)

Tags: s'mores cookies chocolate

Photo
December 19, 2009
1 note
Day 5 of 12: Mint Chocolate M&M Cookies :) It’s ridiculous how far and wide I searched for these mint chocolate M&Ms.  I first tasted them last winter, and fell in love with them.  When I started thinking about going on this 12-day baking spree, I thought about these lovely little gems and how delicious they would be in a cookie.  I basically went to every grocery store in downtown Portland searching for them— and they were nowhere to be found.  When I asked store clerks if they carried mint chocolate M&Ms, the most common reaction I got was, “Are you sure those even exist?” :(  I almost gave up, but really?  Give up?  That’s not something I do.. I ended up finding them at a Fred Meyer in Hillsboro (about 20 miles out from where I live).  When I saw these, I seriously almost bought the entire box!  I was sooo excited!  I refrained, and only bought 2 bags.  M&Ms have never tasted so rewarding. :) Cookie dough + mint chocolate M&Ms = delicious winter cookie :) I just used a normal cookie base, and threw in a bag of mint M&Ms.  These cookies actually turned out a little fluffier than I was hoping, but they’re still chewy and soft, so I can’t really complain.  I have to admit, though, that these cookies definitely aren’t the “prettiest” I’ve ever made.  I should’ve taken a picture of how absolutely ridiculous the bottoms of these cookies look.  The M&Ms themselves were pretty thick, and they kind of sank to the bottom of the cookie while baking.  Let’s just say these cookies are well equipped with Christmas colored M&M craters on the bottom. Hmmmm. What’s in store for tonight?  We’ll see.  Soon. :)

Day 5 of 12: Mint Chocolate M&M Cookies :)

It’s ridiculous how far and wide I searched for these mint chocolate M&Ms.  I first tasted them last winter, and fell in love with them.  When I started thinking about going on this 12-day baking spree, I thought about these lovely little gems and how delicious they would be in a cookie.  I basically went to every grocery store in downtown Portland searching for them— and they were nowhere to be found.  When I asked store clerks if they carried mint chocolate M&Ms, the most common reaction I got was, “Are you sure those even exist?” :(  I almost gave up, but really?  Give up?  That’s not something I do.. I ended up finding them at a Fred Meyer in Hillsboro (about 20 miles out from where I live).  When I saw these, I seriously almost bought the entire box!  I was sooo excited!  I refrained, and only bought 2 bags.  M&Ms have never tasted so rewarding. :)

Cookie dough + mint chocolate M&Ms = delicious winter cookie :)

I just used a normal cookie base, and threw in a bag of mint M&Ms.  These cookies actually turned out a little fluffier than I was hoping, but they’re still chewy and soft, so I can’t really complain.  I have to admit, though, that these cookies definitely aren’t the “prettiest” I’ve ever made.  I should’ve taken a picture of how absolutely ridiculous the bottoms of these cookies look.  The M&Ms themselves were pretty thick, and they kind of sank to the bottom of the cookie while baking.  Let’s just say these cookies are well equipped with Christmas colored M&M craters on the bottom.

Hmmmm. What’s in store for tonight?  We’ll see.  Soon. :)

Tags: cookies chocolate mint

Photo
December 17, 2009
Day 4 of 12: Homemade Oreos … with red cream filling! :) So, I have a confession to make.  I’m not sure why, but it’s a little embarrassing.  Are you ready? I can’t stop listening to Taylor Swift.  ”Love Story” in particular.  I’m not sure why I’m so addicted!  It’s really catchy, and it’s a pretty cute song, right?  And she has a pretty voice.  Right?  According to iTunes, I’ve played that song 27 times in the past week or two.  And I’m listening to it now.. So make that 28. I also can’t help but listen to Day ‘N’ Nite (Crookers remix version) by Kid Cudi while I bake.  Over and over. Well, now that I have that off my chest.. On to business. :) I can’t say I’ve ever been a huge fan of Oreos.  They were always good, once in a while, with a nice cold glass of milk, but I’d never go crazy for them.  There is, however, one time of year when I feel like I could just live on “Oreos” — and this is that time.  Every winter, Trader Joe’s (one of my favorite stores in the whole wide world) sells peppermint sandwich cookies (their version of Oreos with a peppermint cream).  My favorite part about these seasonal Trader Joe’s sandwich cookies?  The peppermint cream.  Their cream is so light, fluffy, pepperminty, and delicious.  Even better, the cream has chunks of peppermint candy in it.  Genius, right?  Way better than Oreos winter cookies: plain cream, just colored red. I’ve run into two different recipes for homemade Oreos online.  They both looked so delicious.  I ended up using Joy The Baker’s recipe for the chocolate cookies, and Smitten Kitchen’s recipe for the cream filling.  I actually attempted to use Joy The Baker’s recipe for a peppermint cream filling, but I failed epically.  My original intention was to make the white chocolate peppermint cream filling, and putting crushed peppermint candy cane bits into it.  Well, the peppermint cream filling kind of went downhill, so I was going to settle for making regular cream filling and mixing candy cane bits into that.  Why did I end up with just plain cream, colored red?  Well, long story short, I accidentally bought fruity candy canes instead of peppermint candy canes.  I really need to start reading the labels on things..  Or people need to stick to coloring the non-peppermint candy canes with a different color scheme (to me, red + white stripes on a candy cane = peppermint). The cookies turned out lovely.  I may have over-stuffed them, but that’s okay.  The chocolate cookies turned out perfectly crisp, and went so well with the cream filling (man I really wish I could’ve made that peppermint cream!).  Next time I make homemade Oreos, though, I think I’ll try Smitten Kitchen’s recipe for the chocolate cookies, because I ended up having to modify the recipe I used a little bit.  It’s interesting that these even turned out edible (let alone pretty tasty), given that this was my first time ever making a crispy cookie, and my first time ever using a cookie cutter.  I guess there’s always a first time for everything, and the first time doesn’t necessarily have to be an epic failure in any respect. :) There’s nothing wrong with store-bought Oreos (especially if you get them from Trader Joe’s), but I definitely recommend making homemade Oreos whenever you get the chance.  Making homemade Oreos calls for nothing short of a good time, and a great lesson in cookie AND frosting making!

Day 4 of 12: Homemade Oreos … with red cream filling! :)

So, I have a confession to make.  I’m not sure why, but it’s a little embarrassing.  Are you ready?

I can’t stop listening to Taylor Swift.  ”Love Story” in particular.  I’m not sure why I’m so addicted!  It’s really catchy, and it’s a pretty cute song, right?  And she has a pretty voice.  Right?  According to iTunes, I’ve played that song 27 times in the past week or two.  And I’m listening to it now.. So make that 28.

I also can’t help but listen to Day ‘N’ Nite (Crookers remix version) by Kid Cudi while I bake.  Over and over.

Well, now that I have that off my chest.. On to business. :)

I can’t say I’ve ever been a huge fan of Oreos.  They were always good, once in a while, with a nice cold glass of milk, but I’d never go crazy for them.  There is, however, one time of year when I feel like I could just live on “Oreos” — and this is that time.  Every winter, Trader Joe’s (one of my favorite stores in the whole wide world) sells peppermint sandwich cookies (their version of Oreos with a peppermint cream).  My favorite part about these seasonal Trader Joe’s sandwich cookies?  The peppermint cream.  Their cream is so light, fluffy, pepperminty, and delicious.  Even better, the cream has chunks of peppermint candy in it.  Genius, right?  Way better than Oreos winter cookies: plain cream, just colored red.

I’ve run into two different recipes for homemade Oreos online.  They both looked so delicious.  I ended up using Joy The Baker’s recipe for the chocolate cookies, and Smitten Kitchen’s recipe for the cream filling.  I actually attempted to use Joy The Baker’s recipe for a peppermint cream filling, but I failed epically.  My original intention was to make the white chocolate peppermint cream filling, and putting crushed peppermint candy cane bits into it.  Well, the peppermint cream filling kind of went downhill, so I was going to settle for making regular cream filling and mixing candy cane bits into that.  Why did I end up with just plain cream, colored red?  Well, long story short, I accidentally bought fruity candy canes instead of peppermint candy canes.  I really need to start reading the labels on things..  Or people need to stick to coloring the non-peppermint candy canes with a different color scheme (to me, red + white stripes on a candy cane = peppermint).

The cookies turned out lovely.  I may have over-stuffed them, but that’s okay.  The chocolate cookies turned out perfectly crisp, and went so well with the cream filling (man I really wish I could’ve made that peppermint cream!).  Next time I make homemade Oreos, though, I think I’ll try Smitten Kitchen’s recipe for the chocolate cookies, because I ended up having to modify the recipe I used a little bit.  It’s interesting that these even turned out edible (let alone pretty tasty), given that this was my first time ever making a crispy cookie, and my first time ever using a cookie cutter.  I guess there’s always a first time for everything, and the first time doesn’t necessarily have to be an epic failure in any respect. :)

There’s nothing wrong with store-bought Oreos (especially if you get them from Trader Joe’s), but I definitely recommend making homemade Oreos whenever you get the chance.  Making homemade Oreos calls for nothing short of a good time, and a great lesson in cookie AND frosting making!

Tags: chocolate cookies Oreos cookie cutters

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December 16, 2009
Soooo many cookies!  Poohahaha. :)

Soooo many cookies!  Poohahaha. :)

Tags: mint chocolate cookies

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December 16, 2009
Day 3 of 12: Mint Chocolate Cookies :) So, I went on a huuuuge baking spree last night.  Just because I’m crazy?  Mm. Maybe.  But no.  Today was “Academic Homecoming” at the high school I attended.  Before today, I hadn’t visited the high school ever since I graduated.  I actually hadn’t even kept in touch with very many teachers there.. So, I thought I’d visit them with some treats!  I made some mascarpone brownies for the sweet ladies who work in the front office, baked some cookies (these cookies) for a few of the counselors, and got a few of my favorite teachers other reunion gifts.  I was afraid being back would be suuuper awkward, but it was actually nothing short of awesome.  It felt amazing being able to reunite and catch up with all of the teachers around the school; I miss them so much, and they’ve made the greatest impact on my life.  As cheesy at it sounds, I definitely wouldn’t be who I am and where I am today without them.  They’re all so incredible, and sweet. :) I ended up spending about 8 hours in the kitchen last night.  I stumbled over a lovely recipe for black & white red velvet cookies while browsing some blogs, and I just couldn’t pull my attention away from it.  I had never tasted red velvet or black & white cookies, so I thought I’d expose myself to two new tastes in one swing.  Unfortunately, I ended up hating (that might be a stronger word than necessary..) these cookies, and didn’t find them fit to package as gifts, so I decided to go back to a trusty recipe and make these cookies. So, after Day 2, I still had a sufficient amount of Guittard’s mint morsels left.  I usually make these mint chocolate cookies with Andes mints melted on top, but I didn’t have any Andes on hand, so I decided to use the rest of the mint morsels.  These cookies turned out exactly like I wanted them to (love it when that happens!).  They were very brownie-like: soft, fluffy, chewy, and chocolatey.  I love the combination of mint & chocolate; the two tastes are such a dynamic duo, and you can hardly ever go wrong with them together.  My friends seemed to enjoy the cookies, but I did get some feedback about an odd texture in the mint morsels.  After being baked, a few of the morsels did get a bit on the chalky/crumbly side.  I definitely prefer these cookies with Andes, but I loved these the way they are, too. :) I got this recipe from Lovin’ In The Oven, who is also doing 12 Days of Cookies.  If you haven’t already, you should definitely check out her blog.  Her blog is one of the first baking blogs I’ve ever encountered, and she definitely inspired me to start this.  Her photos are AMAZING, and all of her baked goods always look sooo delectable.  Kudos to her for everything she’s done. :) So, it’s only Day 4, and I’m already starting to get nauseous at the sight (and mere thought) of butter and sugar.. But I really need to suck it up and keep going.  I’ve got cookies to make!  I’m really excited, though.  So many recipes bookmarked, and only a few days until my brother comes home!  I might have to withdraw myself from having ANY sugar after these 12 days, though.. Can’t wait to see what Day 4 has in store for me. :)

Day 3 of 12: Mint Chocolate Cookies :)

So, I went on a huuuuge baking spree last night.  Just because I’m crazy?  Mm. Maybe.  But no.  Today was “Academic Homecoming” at the high school I attended.  Before today, I hadn’t visited the high school ever since I graduated.  I actually hadn’t even kept in touch with very many teachers there.. So, I thought I’d visit them with some treats!  I made some mascarpone brownies for the sweet ladies who work in the front office, baked some cookies (these cookies) for a few of the counselors, and got a few of my favorite teachers other reunion gifts.  I was afraid being back would be suuuper awkward, but it was actually nothing short of awesome.  It felt amazing being able to reunite and catch up with all of the teachers around the school; I miss them so much, and they’ve made the greatest impact on my life.  As cheesy at it sounds, I definitely wouldn’t be who I am and where I am today without them.  They’re all so incredible, and sweet. :)

I ended up spending about 8 hours in the kitchen last night.  I stumbled over a lovely recipe for black & white red velvet cookies while browsing some blogs, and I just couldn’t pull my attention away from it.  I had never tasted red velvet or black & white cookies, so I thought I’d expose myself to two new tastes in one swing.  Unfortunately, I ended up hating (that might be a stronger word than necessary..) these cookies, and didn’t find them fit to package as gifts, so I decided to go back to a trusty recipe and make these cookies.

So, after Day 2, I still had a sufficient amount of Guittard’s mint morsels left.  I usually make these mint chocolate cookies with Andes mints melted on top, but I didn’t have any Andes on hand, so I decided to use the rest of the mint morsels.  These cookies turned out exactly like I wanted them to (love it when that happens!).  They were very brownie-like: soft, fluffy, chewy, and chocolatey.  I love the combination of mint & chocolate; the two tastes are such a dynamic duo, and you can hardly ever go wrong with them together.  My friends seemed to enjoy the cookies, but I did get some feedback about an odd texture in the mint morsels.  After being baked, a few of the morsels did get a bit on the chalky/crumbly side.  I definitely prefer these cookies with Andes, but I loved these the way they are, too. :)

I got this recipe from Lovin’ In The Oven, who is also doing 12 Days of Cookies.  If you haven’t already, you should definitely check out her blog.  Her blog is one of the first baking blogs I’ve ever encountered, and she definitely inspired me to start this.  Her photos are AMAZING, and all of her baked goods always look sooo delectable.  Kudos to her for everything she’s done. :)

So, it’s only Day 4, and I’m already starting to get nauseous at the sight (and mere thought) of butter and sugar.. But I really need to suck it up and keep going.  I’ve got cookies to make!  I’m really excited, though.  So many recipes bookmarked, and only a few days until my brother comes home!  I might have to withdraw myself from having ANY sugar after these 12 days, though..

Can’t wait to see what Day 4 has in store for me. :)

Tags: chocolate cookies mint