Product Review: Silpat and Yummy Chocolate Chip Cookies

These products were given to us as free samples and for the purpose of doing a review. All opinions are our own.

The leaves have started to fall and we all feel a chill in the air. Well. at least if you live in New England and thereabouts, where you see evidence of fall everywhere. I love this time of year - the gorgeous hues of yellows, reds and oranges everywhere replacing the monochromatic color of summer, fashionable sweaters and scarves galore and luxurious autumn food, glorious food! After a few months of not wanting to ever turn on the oven because of the summer heat, I am really excited to be doing more cooking and baking in perfectly agreeable temperature! Hurrah for fall baking season!

Dutch Apple Pie Bars

Apple Pie....who can resist this delicious fall favorite? I surely can't! I definitely crave this delicious dessert especially in Autumn but sometimes I don't feel like going through the trouble of making a pastry dough from scratch or even using a store bought one. Thankfully, these delicious apple pie bars come to the rescue!

Giant Easter Egg Cookie

Easter is just around the corner! It's one of my favorite holidays as I always look forward to Resurrection Day. As a believer Easter is actually more important for me than even Christmas as this is the day that affirms and strengthens my faith - He is alive and risen indeed!

Nutella Chocolate Chunk Cookies

By this time, if you follow our blog, you already know that we love Nutella. Not that we eat it on a daily basis, however, when we buy a big jar on occasion, I make sure that a portion of it is used or converted into something yummy! After all, who really can resist a recipe that has Nutella in it?

Chocolate Applesauce Cookies

Chocolate and applesauce flavored cookies that are melt-in-your-mouth tender and delicious. So flavorful and light, you simply can't have just one!

I have a splitting headache as I write this post tonight so am afraid you won't get much of a write-up with this cookie recipe. Suffice it to say these chocolate and apple flavored soft cookies will become your kids' favorite. I can say that as my two tots absolutely loved these. Oh yes, hubby and I had a fair share of these cookies, too. So flavorful and quite light, you simply can't have just one. They are uncomplicated to assemble too so even your kids can help you make these. Make it a baking weekend and make these with your family. Please enjoy!

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Even when I was in the Philippines, chocolate crinkles have been a huge favorite of mine. I was in college then and though I had often wished to learn how to bake these gorgeous cookies, I never dared to do it. I suppose it doesn't help when you don't really have a proper oven at home....lol :) Nonetheless, I knew that someday when I got married, I would have to learn to make these beauties. That day has arrived.

Valentine Desserts

Wondering what to make for Valentine's Day? Look no more, here's a fantastic line-up of fabulous Valentine's desserts! Make any of these and you're sure to please your loved ones! Enjoy

Candy Cane Blossom Cookies

It's that time of year for gift-giving. My two kids are in school now so I had to think of some gift ideas for their teachers. I know I could have taken the easy way-out and just joined in with the group gift but I fancied doing something a little more creative - something that showed a little effort at least. I have been inspired by so many lovely gift ideas from Pinterest and holiday magazines that I thought that now I have a legitimate excuse to make something cute! I got myself some Hershey's Candy Cane Kisses which I only got acquainted with last year and vowed to myself then that come Christmas 2013 I would make something with it.

Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies

You can never have enough Christmas cookies. My kids love cookies so occasionally I indulge them by making a batch of choco chip cookies that they truly love. I was about to bake another set of cookies when I thought of adding some Christmas colors to them - still chocolate cookies but with specks of red and green. Thankfully, it's the time of year when holiday M&Ms are aplenty so I grabbed a pack from the store for baking and for nibbling, too. To double the chocolate goodness I added a bar of Ghirardelli dark chocolate which I coarsely chopped and lovingly folded into the cookie batter. The result is a luxurious and truly scrumptious Double Chocolate Chip Holiday Cookies. Crisp on the edges, soft and chewy in the middle, full of chocolate goodness that practically melts on your mouth - see below for proof....need I say more? Please enjoy in moderation. :-)

Spiced Molasses Cookies

I used to be not a fan at all of spiced cookies. It's not because I think they have a funny taste or anything like that but because of sheer unfamiliarity. I guess Filipino cuisine, though it has its sweet side, does not have many cookies perfumed or flavored with sweet spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, etc. But since this is a quintessential winter and/or holiday cookie, I thought I ought to give it another try. I don't like a cookie though that's super heavy on ginger taste (though I love ginger and often use it in cooking - for savory food mostly though!). Just not my cup of tea. But when I saw that this cookie has pretty much an even distribution of spices, I thought why not?

Scrumptious Carrot Cake Cookies

Fancy a slice of carrot cake but don't have the inclination to fuss over making one? Then why not try this quick and easy-to-make Carrot Cake cookies - soft and delicious cookies that are flavorful and perfectly spiced. If you wish, you can even make some cream cheese frosting to make these really taste like mini-carrot cakes. The sweet and warm Cinnamon and Nutmeg spices truly shine in these yummy cookies that aim to please! My whole family loved this and hope you do, too!

4-Ingredient Nutella Cookies

Before I have ever made my 3-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies, I never much believed that it was possible to make cookies with such a few ingredients. How could it be? But then I was proven wrong and yes, it was indeed possible to make the loveliest cookies with only a few ingredients. In fact, because there are only very few ingredients - the flavor is more concentrated (pure chocolate bliss in these Nutella Cookies) not to mention - it becomes so simple to make too!

I have been wanting to try making these Nutella cookies for the longest time but for some reason never got the chance to do so. But since today is World Nutella Day (who knew there is such a day?) I thought I ought to give it a try....after all I have some Nutella sitting on my counter top and waiting to be enjoyed.

The verdict - these Nutella Cookies are heavenly!!! Not only are they easy to make, they are so yummy too and amazingly not overpoweringly sweet! Moist, chewy and fudgy - pure chocolate deliciousness at it best! You really ought to try this!

I will give credit where credit is due....for this recipe I am totally indebted to Kirbie's Craving. I have adapted her Easiest Nutella Cookies for this recipe. And I would say --- it is a total winner!

Ingredients

1 cup Nutella

1 egg

1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons flour

1/2 cup Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips



Procedure

Preheat the oven to 350F.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the nutella, flour and egg.



Using a wooden spoon, mix until the dough comes together and no flour lumps remain. 

Stir in chocolate chips until they are all incorporated into the dough.

For the next step, I used a rounded tablespoon to help shape the cookies into dough balls. It's actually a rounded measuring tablespoon for a tea pot so it's slightly larger than your usual measuring spoon but the latter should work well too. I managed to make about 18 dough balls.

Place the cookie balls on a cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. I pressed the cookie balls slightly to flatten them a little bit. I think I will just leave them rounded next time. If you want perfectly rounded edges on your cookies, then smooth out the cracks on the cookies. I wasn't bothered so I just left it as is, cracks and all!

Bake for about 10 minutes. Cookies would still be slightly soft but that's fine. Leave in the cookie sheet for about 3-4 minutes or until it has hardened just a little bit to make it easier to transfer to a wire rack. Let the cookies cool on a wire rack until completely set.

Enjoy the cookies while still warm-ish and the choco chips are still soft and quite meltingly tender.  Or serve it after it has totally cooled too - the cookies still retain their yummy chewiness! Chocolate perfection defined!

If you wish to print the recipe, there's a print icon below the post. Click on the "remove images" box for easy and convenient printing.



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Almond, Coconut and Choco Chip Cookies (Gluten and Egg Free)

These gluten-free and grain-free cookies were inspired by the Indian ball-shaped sweet treats called Laddoo/Laddu. When I looked at the ingredients for this - Almond Chocolate Laddu - I was thrilled to discover that they were gluten-free. Perfect! My hubby is on a gluten-free diet and to ensure that he doesn't miss out on sweets (which are almost always a gluten-fest) I always try to experiment on new gluten-free desserts! 

So I made the Almond Laddu based on the recipe and I actually fell in love with it! It was really yummy! Looking at these sweet balls they reminded me of cookie dough (although these ones you can eat right away) so, guess what? That gave me the idea of baking them and treat them like a true cookie dough and then see what happens.

I was not very optimistic at first. After all, there was no flour in it, not even eggs! How can this work? Yet, it was chewy and gooey enough and I thought it may be worth a try!

Boy, am I glad I tried it - it was even better cooked! Most of all - it's not only gluten-free, it's grain-free too! My hubby was very pleased and this has become one of his favorite treats - how can you not like it - almonds, coconuts and chocolate chips all rolled into one delicious treat! I can have this anytime!

By the way, the inspiration came from this lovely site - Simply Delicious - Almond Chocolate Laddu. I converted her measurements to American and used ingredients that I had available. I used almond meal and didn't make it from scratch. I can't remember exactly how many cookies I made 'cause half of them I made into Laddus while the other half I baked into cookies. I will note next time. I just know they are cute little nibbles that are oh so delicious! I will probably increase the measurement too so I can get more cookies out of it. In the meantime, here's the basic recipe which you can tweak to your heart's content! :-) 


Ingredients

3/4 cup  Almond flour/meal  (like Trader Joe's)
1/4 cup chocolate chips (I like the dark chocolate variety)*
1 /4 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 Tbsp regular milk

1/2 cup grated coconut (I used the unsweetened variety)

A few extra choco chips

*Use a gluten-free brand if you wish a completely gluten-free version otherwise, regular chips will do.


Procedure

 

Place the almond flour into a mixing bowl. Add the grated coconut and mix well.  Set aside.

In a small sauce pan combine the chocolate chips, condensed milk and regular milk. Melt the chocolate and mix well with the milk on low heat. Stir constantly until the chocolate melts.

Pour into the almond mixture and mix well with a wooden spoon.

Set aside to cool. When cool enough to handle, mix again by hand and shape into balls. While you are shaping the dough into cookie balls, preheat the oven to 350F.

Place the cookie balls (I did flatten them a little bit with a fork) in a cookie sheet (greased or lined with parchment paper). You may want to place a few chocolate chips on top for that extra chocolate flavor!

Bake for approximately 6-8 minutes.They're pretty small so they don't need a lot of time to cook, depends on how chewy you want them to be. Just do not overcook it unless you want a crunchier cookie. I think it's perfect at 8 minutes but since oven heating and temps vary, adjust the time accordingly.

In fact, if you want to stick with the original Laddu concept - you don't need to bake them at all - you can eat them as is and they're so yummy too!

Enjoy!

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Red and Blue Berry Pie Bars

First, I need to warn you all that this kind of treat is not for the faint-hearted! :-) Three sticks of butter in one recipe? Is this for real? Yes, that was my initial reaction when I first read this recipe. I immediately thought of reducing the butter/fat content in half - but then I had second thoughts - how can I adjust a recipe I haven't even tried? So, I set on doing it as faithfully as I can based on the original recipe. I thought to myself, I'd adjust, if necessary, after I have given it at least one chance to prove itself worthy of all the calories loaded in it!

The Verdict! It was worth every single drop of butter in it! Honestly, this is one of the most delicious dessert recipe I have ever tried. Pie in a bar form? How can you ever go wrong? Besides, more or less 20 people agreed when I brought this yummy dessert to a friend's birthday party! It was gone like the wind. I thought that would be the ultimate test and it passed on all levels by a 100 %.

The major plus in this super-delicious dessert is its fruit content - forget the butter - it's all about the fruits now! Nearly 2 lbs of fresh fruits (about 6 cups) - mega-foods blueberries and raspberries! I won't got into the details of  how nutritious berries are, for you already know that, don't you? You see, I made this in the summer when these fruits were in season in Michigan, hence, relatively cheaper than when they are out of season. Of course, if you cannot find the fresh ones or they are too expensive (especially during winter time) then it is fine to use the frozen ones (just thaw them and drain well before using). Shall we say then that the fat content is balanced by a tremendous amount of fruits used in making this? I leave it to you my dear friends to decide!

All I'm saying is, do not be turned off by the amount of butter here! As with anything the key to perfect enjoyment is moderation! If you do so, you'll enjoy the food and not feel guilty afterwards. Will you promise to eat just one serving of this? :-)

Now, let's go to the recipe itself.

The recipe is adapted from Joy the Baker (so glad to have found this!) and it was based upon the recipe in the book - The Pastry Queen by Rebecca Rather. Wow, it has really come a long way, and has now reached the Philippine Islands via Manila Spoon! Blackberries were used for the original recipe but when I went to our local grocery what I found were lots of blueberries and raspberries so I used them instead. I opted for the multi-colored effect - Red raspberries and Blueberries. I thought it would look lovelier than a monochromatic approach. See the effect below on our finished product!

I will note below what my observations were when I made these. So when you make this yourself - you'll know more or less what to expect. Overall, I think it's a great recipe and I will make it again for our Summer entertainment with noting the adjustments I need to make. Enjoy!

Ingredients

For the Crust/Topping

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar (I used white)
3 sticks (1 1/2 cups) unsalted chilled/cold butter, cut into 1/2 inch-cubes
1/4 teaspoon salt
Zest of 2 Lemons*

*I didn't have any Lemons the first time I made this but it still came out good so it's up to you if you wish to add these, too. Am sure they will add some extra tangy yumminess. :-)

For the Filling



4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup sour cream (ok you can go low-fat on this! I used the light one)
3/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 (16 oz.) packages frozen berries (raspberries and/or blueberries or a combo), thawed and drained*

*I used fresh berries - if you want to use fresh berries use about 6 cups in total of either or both berries.

Procedure

For the Crust/Topping:

Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease a 9×13-inch pan or baking dish with butter or cooking spray. Set aside.

Combine the flour and sugar in a bowl. A stand mixer with a paddle attachment would be handy for this. Add the chilled butter cubes and beat on medium speed until the butter is evenly distributed and the mixture is crumbly.

Since I didn't have a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, I used a pastry blender to incorporate the cold butter with the flour and sugar mixture. It was not a problem at all!

Mixture should look crumbly like this. 



Set aside about 1-1/2  cups of the mixture for the topping. Press the rest into the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Bake the crust for 12-15 minutes until golden brown.

Note: Mine never really turned golden brown despite the extended cooking (up to 20 minutes). My suggestion would be to not obsess about not having a truly golden brown crust, like I did! The filling will go on top of it anyway and if you already overcook the crust at this point - note that it will be baked again for another hour or so in the oven - it would harden, and though no one complained, I wasn't very keen on it. Just bake it between 12-15 minutes but don't expect it to be golden brown as the recipe stated. It would still look pale but hopefully, it won't harden too much when you re-bake it with the filling on top.

Remove from the oven and cool for about 10-15 minutes.

For the Filling:

Whisk the eggs in a large bowl.  Add in the sugar, sour cream, flour, and salt and combine. Gently fold in the berries.

Carefully pour the mixture over the crust. Distribute the berries evenly on top.



Sprinkle the reserved crust mixture on top of the filling. Distribute well.

Bake for 60-70 minutes, or until the top is lightly browned. Mine needed about a little over an hour. Oven temperature and heating capacity vary so adjust accordingly. One of our readers noted that the berries bubbled over - because the fruits are fresh and juicy this may happen so you can prevent this by using a cookie sheet for any spill-over.

I wanted a crumblier and crunchier crust so I placed it under the broiler for 1-2 minutes to achieve this. Watch out so that the top doesn't burn!

  

Cool for least 2-3 hours before cutting into bars. Wait until it's fully set so when you cut it it doesn't drip unless you can't wait and don't mind that it crumbles - and that's perfectly understandable! I actually imagined this more as a fruity crumble  (rather than a Bar cookie) reminiscent of the ones I had in England. So if you wish, you can serve it warm with ice cream on top!  Pure dessert heaven! Can anything be better than this as a summer dessert? I would have to think hard 'cause for now this is on top of my list!

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Cranberry Chocolate Chip Cookies

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...so the song goes and that's why I was inspired to finally make some holiday cookies! Without much further ado - here's a cookie that's chewy, sweet with a hint of cinnamon and with the refreshing taste of fresh cranberries all rolled into one delicious Cranberry Choco Chip Cookies! Perfect for the holidays and as a lovely gift for family and friends!

If you're making this over the summer, you can replace the cranberries with fresh or dried cherries.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg (optional)
1 tsp salt
3 cups rolled oats (I used quick cooking oats)

3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened or room temp (1 1/2 sticks) - (if using salted butter lessen the salt to 1/2 tsp)
1 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
1/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup fresh cranberries, coarsely chopped (Yes, the fresh ones are better.)
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Procedure

Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Prepare two cookie sheets. Grease or line them with parchment paper.

Sift into a big bowl  or whisk together  the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Add the oats to the flour mixture and mix well.

In a mixing bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla extract just until combined. My butter was already melted when I combined it with the other ingredients that's why it looks like this - more liquidy (I was in a hurry and had to melt them instead). However, if you have the luxury of time - room temp butter (softened) is so much better because the cookies would be more chewy and moist. If the butter is just softened it will only melt while at the oven hence the cookies retain more moisture. The taste will be the same either way though.



Add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients. Mix well until all the ingredients are moist.



Fold well into the batter the  chopped cranberries and chocolate chips. Drop the mixture by rounded tablespoons onto the greased cookie sheets. An ice cream scooper is so helpful for this. I used a large one. Do not flatten the cookies. Bake for 10-12 minutes (depending on how big your cookies are, mine were big so I cooked for about 12 minutes but if you use a tablespoon as measurement then 10 minutes is perfect!) or until lightly browned. Do not overcook.

Let stand for 5 minutes before you transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. They will be quite soft so you need to let them sit a bit. Makes between 50-55 cookies if you are using a rounded tablespoon. I used a large ice cream scoop the first time so I only managed to make about 2 dozen but the cookies were huge.



Perfect Christmas cookies in my opinion. Chewy, moist and delicious! If you wish to print the recipe, there is a print icon below the post. Click on "remove images" box for easy and convenient printing. Happy Baking!



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Giant Oreo Cookie Cake

Since we are having a little celebration at home for my kids' birthdays (William - Oct. 28 and Sophie - Oct. 25), I thought I'd make a quick post of one of their favorite cakes. I normally like to bake from scratch but this cute cake is a great exception to the general rule. I like to make it once in awhile 'cause it's so easy and has always received rave reviews whenever and wherever served. That explains why it has been pinned on Pinterest for over 470K already!

Without much ado, it being one of the most popular cakes on the web - here's the Kraft Chocolate-Covered Oreo Cake, aka - The Giant Oreo Cake!

I followed the recipe to the letter pretty much though I note the particular brand that I use when I make this. Yummmmy!




Ingredients

1 pkg. (2-layer size) devil's food cake mix (Duncan Hines)

4 squares Baking Chocolate, Semi-Sweet (Ghirardelli)
1/4 cup butter                                                                                                         
1 pkg (8 oz) Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups thawed Cool Whip Topping

12 Oreo Cookies, coarsely crushed

Procedure

HEAT oven to 350ºF.

PREPARE cake batter and bake in 2 (9-inch) round pans as directed on package. Cool cakes in pans 10 min. Invert onto wire racks; gently remove pans. Cool cakes completely.

MICROWAVE chocolate and butter in small microwaveable bowl on HIGH 2 min. or until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Cool 5 min. Meanwhile, beat cream cheese and sugar in large bowl with mixer until blended. Gently stir in COOL WHIP and crushed cookies.

PLACE 1 cake layer on plate, spread with cream cheese mixture. Top with remaining cake layer. Spread top with chocolate glaze; let stand 10 min. or until firm. Keep refrigerated.

Here's the link to the original recipe from Kraft - Chocolate-Covered Oreo Cookie Cake.

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