I wanted to make cookies, so I pulled out my trusty 'Chocolate On the Brain' cookbook. But when I went to the cupboard, I found I didn't have the right ingredients for traditional chocolate chip cookies. Instead of two cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips, I ended up raiding my cabinets and using large bittersweet chocolate chips, some semi-sweet chocolate chips, toffee bits, and semi-sweet baking cocoa to achieve the necessary level of chocolatiness. :) The result was delightfully gooey and chocolicious.
Beneath my impromptu recipe is my paraphrase of the original chocolate chip cookie recipe from 'Chocolate On the Brain'.
Odds & Ends Cookies
2 sticks of butter, softened to room temperature, plus more for greasing pan
1 c brown sugar
1/2 c sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c semi-sweet baking cocoa
1 c bittersweet chocolate chips
1/4 c semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 c toffee bits
Preheat oven to 350F (high altitude 375F) and grease two cookie sheets. In a large bowl, mix together butter and sugars, either with a wooden spoon or an electric mixer. Add egg and vanilla and mix again. Add flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cocoa and mix until thoroughly blended. Add chocolate chips & toffee bits and mix again.
Pinch small portions of dough and roll in your hands to make balls about 1 inch across. Place in 5 rows of 3 cookies each on a cookie sheet. Bake one sheet at a time, about 7 minutes each. Remove from oven and let sit for about 3 minutes, then move to rack. Let the cookie sheet sit another minute or two so it's not too hot for the dough.
Traditional Chocolate Chip Cookies
2 sticks of butter, softened to room temperature, plus more for greasing pan
1 c brown sugar
1/2 c sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 c semi-sweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350F (high altitude 375F) and grease two cookie sheets. In a large bowl, mix together butter and sugars, either with a wooden spoon or an electric mixer. Add egg and vanilla and mix again. Add flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and mix until thoroughly blended. Add chocolate chips and mix again.
Pinch small portions of dough and roll in your hands to make balls about 1 inch across. Place in 5 rows of 3 cookies each on a cookie sheet. Bake one sheet at a time, about 7 minutes each. Remove from oven and let sit for about 3 minutes, then move to rack. Let the cookie sheet sit another minute or two so it's not too hot for the dough.
28 September 2008
24 September 2008
Mmm, sweet potatoes...
I just invented these sort of sweet potato chips. They turned out to be so yummy that we ate them all out of the pan while the rest of dinner cooked. So, I guess I'd recommend these as an appetizer. :) I was originally going for a side dish. Either way, it serves 2.
Sweet Potato Chips
1 good-sized sweet potato, sliced into thin rounds
~4 tbs olive oil
~1/8 tsp smoked paprika (or regular paprika)
~1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (depending on how hot you like it)
~1/4 tsp rosemary
1 tbs brown sugar
Heat the olive oil in a heavy pan over medium heat. Add the sweet potato slices and stir to coat with oil. Stir every 2-3 minutes. After about 10 minutes, add the remaining ingredients and stir to coat. Cook another 5-10 minutes, stirring often, until tender. Serve hot (or eat right out of the pan).
Mixed Straw Cakes
The inspiration for this recipe begins with that vegetarian bible, Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, but I took it in a completely different direction. In fact, this recipe is still in evolution, so I may come back and update it later. The idea was to make potato pancakes, but they ended up not sticking together very well, so turned out more like yummy, bizarre hash browns. I only used one egg, so I'm thinking two eggs will give it more cohesiveness.
This serves two.
1 sweet potato - peeled, and grated on the large holes of the grater
1 large potato - same as above; rinse high-starch potatoes in water, then blot dry with a paper towel.
2 eggs
1 tbs fresh dill
1 tsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp mustard powder
1/4 tsp cayenne powder
1 tsp marjoram
1/2 tsp sage
fresh ground sea salt & black pepper to taste
4 tbs butter
Set a heavy 10-inch skillet over medium heat and melt half the butter. While it's melting, mix the shredded sweet potato and potato together in a medium bowl, then stir in the eggs. Next add all the spices except the salt & pepper, and mix thoroughly.
Take half the mixture and flatten it in the skillet, neatening the edges of the cake. Salt & pepper the top of this layer, then do the same with the other half of the mixture. (If you wish to include a sauteed vegetable filling, spread it on top of the bottom layer and cover with the top layer.) Cook over medium to medium low for 15 to 20 minutes, then slide onto a plate (good luck - this is according to the cookbook, but I've never really managed to accomplish it). Add the rest of the butter to the skillet and flip the cake so it cooks on its other side, another 10 or so minutes. Serve hot. Top with a sauce or just eat straight, with a side of some steamed or sauteed veggies.
Sweet Potato Chips
1 good-sized sweet potato, sliced into thin rounds
~4 tbs olive oil
~1/8 tsp smoked paprika (or regular paprika)
~1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (depending on how hot you like it)
~1/4 tsp rosemary
1 tbs brown sugar
Heat the olive oil in a heavy pan over medium heat. Add the sweet potato slices and stir to coat with oil. Stir every 2-3 minutes. After about 10 minutes, add the remaining ingredients and stir to coat. Cook another 5-10 minutes, stirring often, until tender. Serve hot (or eat right out of the pan).
Mixed Straw Cakes
The inspiration for this recipe begins with that vegetarian bible, Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, but I took it in a completely different direction. In fact, this recipe is still in evolution, so I may come back and update it later. The idea was to make potato pancakes, but they ended up not sticking together very well, so turned out more like yummy, bizarre hash browns. I only used one egg, so I'm thinking two eggs will give it more cohesiveness.
This serves two.
1 sweet potato - peeled, and grated on the large holes of the grater
1 large potato - same as above; rinse high-starch potatoes in water, then blot dry with a paper towel.
2 eggs
1 tbs fresh dill
1 tsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp mustard powder
1/4 tsp cayenne powder
1 tsp marjoram
1/2 tsp sage
fresh ground sea salt & black pepper to taste
4 tbs butter
Set a heavy 10-inch skillet over medium heat and melt half the butter. While it's melting, mix the shredded sweet potato and potato together in a medium bowl, then stir in the eggs. Next add all the spices except the salt & pepper, and mix thoroughly.
Take half the mixture and flatten it in the skillet, neatening the edges of the cake. Salt & pepper the top of this layer, then do the same with the other half of the mixture. (If you wish to include a sauteed vegetable filling, spread it on top of the bottom layer and cover with the top layer.) Cook over medium to medium low for 15 to 20 minutes, then slide onto a plate (good luck - this is according to the cookbook, but I've never really managed to accomplish it). Add the rest of the butter to the skillet and flip the cake so it cooks on its other side, another 10 or so minutes. Serve hot. Top with a sauce or just eat straight, with a side of some steamed or sauteed veggies.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)