Excuse me.... is this where I get my chocolate fix?

CHOCOLATE.  Researchers have found that eating chocolate, the number one food craved by American Women, actually causes the brain to release endorphins ( this is the chemical in our brain that makes us feel good).  Beyond that, dark chocolate is actually one of your heart's "super foods" in that you should eat 1 oz. every day.  Dark Chocolate (no milk chocolate though...sorry!) is proven to lower blood pressure and is loaded with antioxidants which help to gobble up free radicals, destructive molecules that are implicated in heart disease and other ailments.  When I saw this recipe for Jacques Torres' Mudslide Cookies, it had me salivating first and then, in a roundabout manner, thinking it could kind of be good for me too.  I love chocolate in any form, dark or milk, and in any combination (my favorite is with peanut butter!).  So, I decided that this cookie would be a great treat for my roommates and colleagues....and me, too.

The Jacques Torres 
Chocolate Mudslide Cookies

1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate
16 ounces bittersweet chocolate
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed and room temperature
2 1/4 cups plus 1 tablespoon sugar
5 eggs, room temperature
1 1/4 cups plus 1 tablespoon walnuts, chopped
16 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
fleur de sel or sea salt, for sprinkling
*parchment paper, for lining the baking sheets

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F and line your first baking sheet with parchment paper (I usually spray a little cooking spray on the pan before I lay down the parchment paper to make it stay on easier). 

Blend together all of your dry ingredients and set aside (the flour, baking powder, and salt). Next, in a medium sauce pan, melt together the 6 ounces of unsweetened chocolate and the 16 ounces of bittersweet chocolate over medium-low heat, stirring frequently to prevent burning. Set aside to cool.

Now, stir together the butter and sugar until it has the texture of wet sand. Add in the eggs, one at a time, using a mixer on low, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Next, add in the flour mixture, and mix until just mixed and then beat in the melted chocolate, until just combined. (Note: the dough will seem too wet at this point, but don’t worry! It’ll come together!)

Chop your walnuts and additional 16 ounces of bittersweet chocolate, and fold them into the batter.  Use a a tablespoon  to scoop up the dough and drop the dough onto the baking sheets , then sprinkle with a bit of sea salt (trust me.....do it!). Bake at 325 degrees F on a regular setting for 12-15 minutes (14 minutes in my oven did the trick). Allow to cool completely before removing from the sheets.

After eating way too much dough, I decided to try just one.  The verdict?  It's a very good, rich cookie (especially for any chocoholics out there) and tastes more on the dark chocolate side of things which I really liked.  But - yes, there is a but - I actually found it to be almost too rich.  Even sprinkling the little bit of salt over the cookie couldn't cut through the incredible decadence of this cookie.  So, eater beware!  I know while you are making this cookie you will want to eat all the dough you can and eat cookies in a manner that could rival the Cookie Monster, but take it from me, please refrain.  One is definitely enough (my stomach can prove it).  Plus, dark chocolate is good for you only in moderation, so take a page from Warren G's playbook (name drop!), and regulate yourself.  You'll thank me later.

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

The macadamia nut.....this has been closely tied to the island of Hawaii for good reason:  95% of the world's crop comes from this Pacific paradise.  With the cold weather outside, I would do just about anything to imagine an island getaway at this moment.  This buttery-flavored nut is great to bake with, so this is a perfect cookie to make while watching the snow fall outside.  Let's see if this cookie will convert me to white chocolate...





White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter, melted & cooled
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips
1 cup chopped macadamia nuts

Adjust an oven rack to lower-middle position and heat the oven to 325 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper so that they don't burn and stick. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together.

In a large bowl, beat the melted butter and sugars together with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Beat in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla until fully combined.  Next, reduce the speed to low and slowly add the flour mixture until combined. With a large spoon, mix in the white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts until incorporated.

Working with 1 tablespoon of dough at a time, roll the dough into even balls and lay them on the baking sheets, spaced about 2 inches apart.  Bake until the edges become light brown, about 13-15 minutes depending on the oven.

There aren't many WCMN recipes to choose from, but I really think this one is the best.  The saltiness of the macadamia nut combined with the sweetness of the white chocolate makes this recipe amazing.  Be careful not to over bake the cookies though....the middle should be soft and chewy!  Although I will never be able to say white chocolate is my favorite, I will say that this is one of my top 5 favorite cookies.  Enjoy!

Chocolate and Peanut Butter......is there anything better?

My friend Becca gave me this amazing cook book recently, and I have been dying to try all of the recipes.  The cook book is made by the individuals who own Alice's Tea Cup here in New York City, and let's just say they know what they are doing.  There are so many amazing recipes, but I wanted to start off with just a simple cookie recipe.  I don't think there is anything better than chocolate and peanut butter together, and so when I came across the Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies, I knew we had a winner.  I brought all of my equipment over to my friend's apartment so that I could bake, and so the ladies (and gentleman) who came over for Family Night got a special treat!



Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
3 C. Flour
1 tsp. Baking Soda
1 tsp. Salt
2 sticks Butter (room temperature)
1 C. White Sugar
1 C. Dark Brown Sugar (firmly packed)
2 Eggs (room temperature)
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
2 C. Creamy Peanut Butter
2 C. Chocolate Chips (I used milk chocolate, but semi-sweet would be delicious too!)

Preheat the oven to 350 degree.  To start, you want to combine all of the dry ingredients.  In a bowl pour in the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

Next comes the wet ingredients.  Use a mixer to cream together the butter and sugar in a large bowl (this is the key to any good cookie, so make sure to cream these together for at least 3 minutes!).  Add the eggs, mixing them into the mixture one at a time, and then add the vanilla and beat until smooth.  Add in the dry ingredients a little at a time, mixing as you go until everything is incorporated.  Add the peanut butter and mix until it is creamy.  Next, stir in the chocolate chips with a spoon.

Depending on how large you want to make the cookies will dictate the cook time.  I usually take some dough into my palm and create a ball that fits into my palm, and then flatten them out into thick discs.  With this size cookie, I baked them at 12 minutes because I don't like overly done cookies, but you can bake them up to 14 minutes if you want them crispier.  With this cookie, you want to pull them out of the oven and let them cool directly on the baking sheet so that they don't crack and crumble. 

This cookie was really good:  it had a delicious flavor and was  soft and moist as well.  The only way to make this cookie even better is to make sure that you eat them with a cold glass of milk!  The best part about this recipe is that if you want just plain peanut butter cookies, you just don't add the chocolate chips!  I've said it once and I will say it again....peanut butter and chocolate is the world's best combination.

Annie Lou Unleashed in the City....

Since this blog is still so new, I figured it would be a great time to unleash my special recipe upon the bustling metropolis that is NYC. Are you ready to get baked, NYC? Buckle your seat belts.

Truth be told, this cookie isn't all that special, it is your normal chocolate chip cookie with a few twists. However, when you taste it, you will understand how amazing this is. I started making these about 6 years ago in college after doing a little trial and error baking, and have never looked back. I really liked to make these for my dad when he was still alive. He would take them hunting so that he would have a delicious treat when he was out in the cold. Dad...this one is for you.

The "Annie Lou" Cookie

2 1/2 C. Flour
1/2 C. Ground Oats (this is the secret....it gives the cookie a richer flavor than flour alone!)
1 tsp. Baking Soda
1 tsp. Baking Powder
1 tsp. Salt
2 Sticks Butter (this should be at room temperature!)
1 Cup White Sugar
1 Cup Brown Sugar
2 Eggs (these too need to be at room temperature...and this goes for whenever you're baking!)
1 tsp. Vanilla
1 package of Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
1/2 package Toffee Bits

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Take the dry ingredients (flour, oats, baking soda, baking powder, salt) and mix them together in a bowl and set aside. Next, you need to take the butter and whip the butter until it is smooth with a mixer set on medium. Next, take the sugars and cream together with the mixer on medium for about 3 minutes, scraping the sides as needed (Note: the key to any cookie recipe is to really cream the butter and sugars together for a longer period of time than you think necessary, so always do this for at least 3 minutes!). After that, crack open the eggs and throw those in the bowl along with the vanilla, and mix again until it is all thoroughly incorporated. Take the bowl with the dry ingredients and start to pour in a little bit of the mixture at a time, beating it on medium, until everything is mixed together well. Next, dump in the chocolate chips and toffee bits into the bowl and with a large spoon, stir the dough until the chips and bits are evenly distributed throughout. Spoon (or, if you are meet, wash your hands and use them instead!) the dough out onto your cookie sheets, and bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes (depending on how soft or crunchy you want them to be). Lastly, and cerntainly not least......EAT!!!!!!

I love making double batches and then putting the dough in the freezer. This is a great way to do the same amount of work, but have the ability to have freshly baked cookies whenever you want to. I just take wax paper, plop down the remainder of the dough and form it into long logs (like the shape of the tubes of slice and bake cookies), roll it up in the paper, and then throw the bags in the freezer. When you need it, you take it out, slice it off, and bake it like normal.

Is this recipe that much different than a normal chocolate chip cookie? Nope, but the taste really is amazing. The best part about this cookie is that you can dress it up how you like. Like milk chocolate chips and peanut butter chips? Go for it! You want nuts? Do it! But, just make sure you have a glass of milk to wash it all down with.