Brown Butter and Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookes

 A FABULOUS cookie recipe from friends Dalene and Tanya! Thanks, ladies!

Using chocolate wafers instead of chips is a cookie game-changer. They spread as they melt, creating thin pockets of chocolate in each layer, and stay much softer at room temperature.

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

¾ teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup (packed) dark brown sugar

⅓ cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs, room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 1.4-oz. chocolate toffee bars (preferably Skor), chopped into ¼-inch pieces

1½ cups chocolate wafers (disks, pistoles, fèves; preferably 72% cacao)

Flaky sea salt

• Cook butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring often, until it foams, then browns, 5–8 minutes. Scrape into a large bowl and let cool slightly.
• Meanwhile, whisk flour, baking soda, and kosher salt in a medium bowl.
• Add brown sugar and granulated sugar to browned butter. Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat until incorporated, about 1 minute. Add eggs and vanilla, increase mixer speed to medium-high, and beat until mixture lightens and begins to thicken, about 1 minute. Reduce mixer speed to low; add dry ingredients and beat just to combine. Mix in toffee pieces and chocolate wafers with a wooden spoon or a rubber spatula. Let dough sit at room temperature at least 30 minutes to allow the flour to hydrate. Dough will look very loose at first, but will thicken as it sits.
• Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 375°. Using a 1½-oz. ice cream scoop, portion out 10 balls of dough and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing about 3" apart (you can also form dough into ping pong–sized balls with your hands). Do not flatten; cookies will spread as they bake. Sprinkle with sea salt.
• Bake cookies until edges are golden brown and firm but centers are still soft, 9–11 minutes. Let cool on baking sheets 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough and a fresh parchment-lined baking sheet to make 10 more cookies.
• Do Ahead: Cookie dough can be made 3 days ahead; cover and chill. Let dough come to room temperature before baking.

Using chocolate wafers instead of chips is a cookie game-changer. They spread as they melt, creating thin pockets of chocolate in each layer, and stay much softer at room temperature. 

Mom's Real Pie Crust

Mix together: 5 cups all purpose flour and 1 Tbsp salt
Using pastry blender cut in 2 cups (1 #, usually one box) lard
Beat together: 2/3 c. ice water and one cold egg
Mix until barely holding together, do not over work.

Divide into 6 flattened balls and freeze individually, wrapped in foil. Let thaw over night in 'fridge before rolling out.

Jewish Crack

4 to 6 sheets matzo or approximately 40 Saltine crackers or crackers of your choice
1 cup (2 sticks or 8 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into a few large pieces
1 cup packed light brown sugar
A big pinch of sea salt
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups semi- or bittersweet chocolate chips (or chopped bittersweet or semisweet chocolate)
1 cup toasted chopped almonds, pecans, walnuts or a nut of your choice (optional)
Extra sea salt for sprinkling (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 11-by-17-inch baking sheet completely with foil, and then line the base of the foil with parchment paper, cut to fit.

Line the bottom of the baking sheet with matzo or crackers, covering all parts. [If using matzo, you’ll need to break pieces to fit any extra spaces, which will be annoying because despite being perforated, it does not actually break in straight lines. I have some luck pressing a serrated knife straight down along a section between perforations, if that (hopefully) makes sense.]

In a medium heavy-duty saucepan, melt the butter and brown sugar together, and stir it over medium heat until it begins to boil. Once it has begun boiling, let it bubble for three more minutes, stirring it well. It will thicken a bit as it cooks. Remove from the heat and add the salt and vanilla, and then quickly pour it over the matzo or crackers. You’ll want to spread it quickly, as it will begin to set as soon as it is poured.

Bake the caramel-covered crackers for 15 minutes, watching carefully as it will bubble and the corners might darken too quickly and/or burn. You can reduce the heat if you see this happening.
Remove from oven and immediately cover with chocolate chips. Let stand five minutes, and then spread them evenly across the caramel. An offset spatula works great here. If you’re using them, sprinkle the chocolate with toasted chopped nuts and/or sea salt. (The sea salt is great on matzo. On Saltines, it’s really not necessary.)

Once completely cool — I sometimes speed this process up in the fridge, impatient as should be expected in the face of caramel crack(ers) — break it into pieces and store it in a container. It should keep for a week but I’ve never seen it last that long.

Almond Crisp Peaches

4 ripe peaches
1/3 cup (55 grams) whole almonds
1/4 cup (50 grams) sugar
3 tablespoons (45 grams) cold unsalted butter, cubed
Optional extras: 1/4 cup (20 grams) rolled oats, 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon, pinch of sea salt
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Halve peaches and remove pits. Place fruit cut side up in baking dish. In a food processor, grind almonds and sugar together until coarsely ground (with a few pebbles left). Add oats and other flavorings, if using, then butter, pulsing the machine until the ingredients are just blended. Spoon the almond mixture into the center of each peach, then press it flat, as if icing the tops of the peaches with it. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour (baking time varies with peach size), until the top is brown and crisp and you can easily slice through the fruit with a fork or spoon.
Serve warm or at room temperature, with creme fraiche, lightly sweetened whipped cream or even plain yogurt, cold, for breakfast.

Paleo Breakfast Cookies

1 cup raw almond butter or organic sunflower seed butter
1 egg
1/4 cup raw honey or maple syrup or a combo of the two (I use a tad less if I'm using choc. chips)
3 cups total add-ins of choice (I use lots of unsweetened shredded coconut,  chocolate chips-the darkest I can find or raw cacao nibs, sunflower seeds, raisins and some chopped nuts like almonds or macadamia nuts. Chopped dates are good, too)
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350°. Combine all ingredients in a stand mixer until thoroughly blended. You may have to manually push the chocolate chips into the dough. Drop by tablespoons onto a greased, Silpat or parchment lined baking sheet. Press down lightly with fingers

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, be careful not to overbake. Allow to cool on wire rack. These freeze beautifully! Yum!

2 Banana Breads: Unconventional and Delicious by any Standards

We are completely into grain-free eating and feeling better for it. We were inspired recently by the delicious little "Apple" Bananas we eat in Kauai to try using them for banana bread and found a website offer an amazing array of 15 grain-free (Paleo) banana breads. For the those not familiar with this idea you basically substitute something for the grains, in many cases something far more tasty and nourishing, like almond meal, coconut flour, etc. Although we have not tried them all we can heartily attest to the deliciousness of these 2... so far we've made both several times, with excellent results! They are both rich, moist and satisfying. They tend to be less sweet than traditional banana bread, which I appreciate.

 

Black Bottom Banana Bread 

(paleo, gluten free, grain free, dairy free)

• 1½ cups blanched almond flour
• 1½ teaspoons baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ cup raw cacao powder
• 1½ cups ripe bananas*
• 4 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon raw honey
• ¼+ cup chocolate chips (I like Dagoba or the new extra-dark chocolate ones from Guittard)
• ¼+ chopped walnuts or macadamia nuts optional

Instructions

1. in a medium bowl, mix together the almond flour, baking soda and salt
2. add the bananas, coconut oil, vanilla, egg and honey to a food processor and pulse to combine ingredients
3. combine wet and dry ingredients and mix to form a batter. Be careful not to over mix or the batter will become oily and dense.
4. divide the batter in half. Add the cacao powder and chocolate chips to half and pour into the bottom of an 8½” x 4½”-inch medium loaf pan greased or lined with parchment paper
5. add the optional nuts to the remaining batter. spoon on top and bake at 350°F until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, approximately 50 minutes.

Notes

* To measure 1½ cups of bananas, chop the banana into small pieces and fill the measuring cup.
Apple bananas enhances the flavor of this bread, so make sure to use it if you can find it for sale at your local stores.

Almond Coconut Banana Bread

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 35 mins

Total time: 40 mins

This paleo almond coconut banana bread is incredibly moist and just slightly sweet without any traditional flours or sweetener.

Author: Gina Matsoukas

Serves: 12 slices

• 1 cup almond flour
• ½ cup coconut flour
• ¼ cup flax seed meal
• 1½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 eggs
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 large ripe banana, mashed

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 2 small loaf pans (5¾ x 3½).
2. Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl.
3. Combine wet ingredients in a small bowl and whisk together.
4. Pour wet into dry ingredients and mix until fully incorporated.
5. Divide evenly (dough will be thick) into loaf pans and smooth the tops.
6. Bake for about 35 minutes.
7. Remove loaves from oven, let cool in pans for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to continue cooling.

Pots de Creme

 “Po de Krehm”
This is an extremely easy version of the French classic. If you find yourself without the special lidded pots de creme cups you can use small ramekins, demitasse cups, sherry glasses, anything small and attractive. If you have tiny demitasse spoons use those, too.

12 oz. weight semi-sweet chocolate chips
4 whole eggs at room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla (or cognac, Grand Marner, etc)
1 pinch salt
8 oz. strong hot coffee (I use decaf to cut down on the amount of caffeine).

First thing to do is take your eggs out of the refrigerator ahead of time and let them come to room temperature before starting.

When eggs are at room temperature you can begin by placing the chocolate chips into a blender. Follow this with the eggs and the vanilla (or liqueur). Add the pinch of salt, turn on blender.

While it is blending, remove the circular disk from the blender lid and very slowly pour in 8ozof strong, VERY HOT coffee. It is essential that your coffee be extremely hot in order for the final product to be the right consistency and texture. Blend for a minute or so until mixture is smooth and fairly free of visible bits of chocolate.

If the eggs are not at room temperature or the coffee is not really hot the chocolate will not melt properly and you'll have lumpy pots de creme... which isn't awful but disappointing.

Pour the mixture into your serving glasses or cups, leaving plenty of room to add a heap of whipped cream later.

Place in refrigerator for at least 3 to 4 hours so the mixture has a chance to set. Garnish with lightly whipped whipping cream or creme fraiche and maybe a chocolate curl or two.

Makes about 8 small servings, it is very rich!

Spiced Biscotti

I've tried an assortment of Biscotti recipes over the years and am usually disappointed by the texture. This recipe is from my daughter, Andee's, favorite baking cookbook, Baking Illustrated, and the recipe in my opinion is exactly as it should be, very flavorful not rock hard but with a pleasant crispness when you bite in. They tested numerous recipes and decided that the major difference is the fat used (or not) and if eggs are added. The more traditional recipes, like this one, contain whole eggs but no fat/butter. Biscotti's plain dough adapts beautifully to literally dozens of flavor combinations so try adding your own nuts, dried fruits, spices, etc. We spiced up this first one, Spiced Biscotti, even more and added the chocolate. The second variation is our own, Chocolate Cherry Biscotti. Biscotti must be completely cooled before storage but will then keep beautifully for at least a week and up to a month if stored properly. They also freeze well.

This recipe looks really long but it's fast and easy... but a long baking time.

Spiced Biscotti
2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
Optional: 1 Tbsp instant coffee dissolved in 2 tsp water, or strong brewed coffee
2 tsp (scant) black pepper
1 tsp ground cloves
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 Tbsp ground ginger
1 1/2 Tbsp fresh ginger, grated
1/8 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups (12 oz) semi-sweet or extra dark chocolate chips

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350°. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with non-stick spray. Whisk the flour, baking powder, spices and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.

Whisk the sugar and eggs in a large bowl to a light lemon color; stir in the vanilla and coffee. Sprinkle the dry ingredients and fresh ginger over the egg mixture, then fold in until the dough is just combined. Do not over mix. Fold in chocolate chips.

Halve the dough and turn both portions onto the prepared baking sheet. Using lightly floured hands, quickly pat and stretch each portion of dough into a rough 13 by 2" loaf, slightly mounded along the length. Place on the baking sheet, pat smooth. Bake until the loaves are golden and just beginning to crack on top, about 35 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time. Remove baking sheet from oven and place on a wire rack.

Cool the loaves for 10 minutes; lower the oven temperature to 325°. Use a wide metal spatula to transfer the loaves to a cutting board and using a serrated knife, cut each loaf diagonally into 3/8" thick slices. Stand the slices up on the baking sheet with a little space between each and return them to the oven. Bake until crisp and golden brown, about 15 more minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.

Variation #2 Chocolate Cherry Biscotti

Eliminate the pepper, cloves, cinnamon, gingers, allspice and coffee from the above recipe. Chop approximate 1 cup of dried sour cherries and add with the chocolate chips. Proceed as above.

Let me know if you land on a completely awesome variation!!

Citrus Almond Cake

1 small to medium orange
1 lemon
6 oz raw almonds (approx 1 1/3 cups)
1 c. all purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
4 large eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 c. sugar
2/3 c. olive oil
1 tsp anise seed, crushed
1/4 c. apricot preserves
whipped cream optional for serving.

For glaze*:
1/3 c. apricot preserves
1/8 c. fresh lemon juice
*Bring to a simmer in a saucepan, then brush onto warm cake

Place orange and lemon in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes, covered. Meanwhile, heat oven to 325°, put almonds on a sheet pan and roast until well toasted, about 15 minutes. Cool almonds and then process in food processor until finely ground. Remove orange and lemon from water and cool for several minutes. When cool, remove rind and seeds from lemon, and just the seeds from the orange. Add to food processor and pulse until finely chopped, almost a paste. Raise oven heat to 350°. In a separate bowl combine flour and baking powder. Set aside. With mixer beat eggs and salt until foamy. Add sugar gradually, beating well. Fold in flour mix, then add ground almonds, citrus, apricot preserves, crushed anise and olive oil. Mix to combine. Pour into greased 9" spring-form pan and bake for about 1 hour. Prepare glaze and brush glaze onto warm cake while still in pan. When cool, remove sides and slide cake onto serving plate. Serves 10-12

Jeff's Chocolate Molten Lava Cakes

4 oz. good dark chocolate (TJs 72% cacao is great)
1 stick butter

Melt in micro bowl (1 minute) – whisk well to make sure all is melted

1 tbsp. Cab. or other red wine
2 tsp. Vanilla extract
1 cup or little less of confectioners sugar (half at a time)

Whisk well to make sure all is combined

2 eggs and 1 egg yolk and whisk well again and then add

4 tbsp. flour
½ tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. ground ginger

Spoon into buttered (you can use Pam) custard cups, soufflé dish or pie plate (glass) and bake at approx. 400 for 12+/- minutes or until sides are firm but center soft. Let stand 1 minute and then loosen edges (if necessary) and invert onto serving plates/bowls.

Top with softly whipped cream or ice cream and serve immediately for best gooey affect!

Hope's Chocolate Tofu Pie

1 1/2 c. mac nuts (raw, chopped)
1/2 c. dried cherries (chopped) (use food processor for nuts and cherries)

16 oz package Azumaya Silken Tofu (drained (more tofu= stiffer; less tofu=softer)
16 ounces good quality semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate (<60%) cut into small pieces
2-4 Tbsp sifted powdered sugar, if desired
2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Alternate Crust:
1 1/4 c. almond meal
1/3 c. or less melted butter
3 Tbsp sugar
Mix, press into pan, bake at 350° for 10 minutess

Whipped cream , crumbs of crust

Instructions:
Press crust mixture into bottom and sides of a 9" x 1/2" tart pan with removable bottom or springform pan or regular pie pan. Bake for 350° for 15 minutes.

Filling:
Microwave chocolate in microwavable bowl on medium-high for 1 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally until melted and smooth.

Puree tofu in food processor; add melted chocolate and powdered sugar; process until completely blended, scraping sides down. Add vanilla; blend well.

Turn mixture into crust. Chill 1 hour or until set. Garnish with whipped cream and shavings. Let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes, uncovered, before serving.

Fruit Cobbler

Toss 4-5 cups of fresh fruit with 1/2 c sugar, 1 Tbsp corn starch and a little grated lemon zest. Use an 8x8" pan or individual dishes and back the fruit at 375° for 25 min. Meanwhile whisk together:

1 1/3 c. flour
1/2 c sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda

Cut in 1/4 c cold butter
2/3 c buttermilk

You can use a food processor to add the butter and buttermilk. While the fruit is still bubbling add dough in clumps to fruit. Raise oven to 425° Sprinkle top with cinnamon sugar (2 tsp) and bake for 20 min.

Any Time Fruit Crisp

You can make this with virtually any fresh fruit(s) in season or ones you've frozen at their peak from the garden or farmers market for a nice summer-like dessert in the dead of winter. I like to use berries (with rubarb) but the original recipe calls for plums. Peaches would be fabulous, too. This recipe makes Plenty of topping so I don't use it all and store the extra in the 'fridge 'til I want a quick easy dessert. It's nice to put the fruit in individual bowls and sprinkle with the leftover topping. If you don't have créme de cassis liqueur just add a little water to the fruit or another liqueur. I've taken to always having a little sealed container of the topping ready at a moments notice to sprinkle on some berries from the freezer.

3 pounds Italian prune plums, quartered (or other fruit)
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar (I use way less as I like to taste the fruit, not the sugar)
1/4 cup flour
6 Tbsp créme de cassis liqueur (or maybe Grand Marnier with berries)

For the topping (I use about 1/2 this much):
1/1/2 c all-purpose flour
1/4 c granulated sugar
1/4 c light brown sugar (lightly packed)
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 cup oatmeal
1/2 c chopped walnuts
1/4 pound (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, diced

Vanilla Ice Cream

Preheat oven to 375°

For the fruit, in a large bowl, combine plums, brown sugar, flour and liqueur. Pour mixture into 12x8" shallow dish (au gratin) or individual serving oven-proof bowls.

For the topping, combine flour, sugars, salt, oatmeal, walnuts and butter in the bowl of electric mixer fitted with paddle. Mix on low speed until mixture is crumbly and butter is size of peas. Scatter evenly over fruit. (you can also use a pastry cutter to mix butter into dry ingredients)

Bake for 40-45 minutes (less in small dishes) until bubbly and top is browned. Serve warm or at room temperature with ice cream. Anything left over is a great breakfast treat, with a little milk or 1/2 & 1/2.

Credit to Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics

Chocolate Raspberry Brownie Cake

Andee found this recipe and makes it every year for my birthday cake. It's very fast and easy and delicious. We recommend serving it with vanilla ice cream and raspberry sauce.

1/2 cup butter
3 oz unsweetened chocolate (3 squares)
1 1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup walnut or pecan pieces
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2/3 cup flour
Fresh raspberries
Powdered sugar

In a 2-3 qt. pan over low heat stir butter and chocolate until just melted (about 5 min.). remove fro heat and mix in sugar, nuts eggs and vanilla. Add flour and stir well to mix.
Spread batter in a buttered, floured 8-9" springform pan. Distribute 1 cup whole berries around top, gently press into batter.
Bake at 350° until top at outside edge is cracked and feels firm to touch (about 45 min.) Let cool in pan on a rack.
Remove rim and set cake on a plate. Dust with powdered sugar. Serve with ice cream, fresh berries, raspberry sauce. 10 to 12 servings

Breakfast Oatmeal Cookies

These from a hiking buddy, Barbara McCormick. What a way to start the day!

1 cup olive oil
1/2 cup applesauce
2 eggs
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 cup brown sugar, packed
6 cups old-fashion rolled oats
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 cups walnut pieces

Preheat oven to 375° and place rack in center position. In 2 cup measure combine oil, applesauce and eggs; whisk briefly.
Combine flour, baking powder and salt in Kitchen Aid bowl, stir to blend. Add remaining dry ingredients, stirring after each. Add ail, applesauce, egg mixture and mix til dough is moistened. Add choc chips and walnuts, gently mix to combine.
Line 4 sheet pans with parchment. Use large (2 1/4") ice cream scoop (dough level to top and patted down lightly) to make cookies (about 1/3 cup). Place 3" apart, 8 per pan. Bake only 12 minutes, until cookies feel done when pressed with finger. DO NOT over cook or brown them!! Cool briefly (10 min) then remove from baking sheet. Store 3 days at room temp or wrap each in plastic wrap and freeze for 3 months.

If frozen, heat in microwave 15 seconds to serve.

Strawberry Pie

Crust: Mix the following and pat in a pie plate.
3/4 c. flour
1/2 c oats
1/2 c. pecans (I toast mine)
2 T. sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 c. melted butter
Bake at 400 for 12-15 minutes

Filling
3/4 c. sugar
2 T. cornstarch
1 c. water
2 T. corn syrup (light)
2 T. strawberry gelatin powder
1 qt. strawberries

Combine sugar and cornstarch. Gradually stir in water and corn syrup until smooth. Bring to boil over medium heat. Remove from heat; stir in gelatin/cool. Arrange berries in crust; pour gelatin mixture over berries and cool. I did not put the whole amount over the berries as I thought that would make it too sweet---maybe cut out a half cup.

Panna Cotta

I got this recipe from my Wednesday morning walking friend, Tanya (who originally got it from Cathy Whims of Nostrana restaurant in Portland). It instantly became one of our favorites (because it's so easy and it has whipping cream in it) so I serve it often. Top with any kind of fresh fruit or even a dark chocolate sauce. I sometimes substitute 1 cup of the cream with one cup of coconut milk/cream of the same consistency.

2 cups whipping cream
2 cups Nancy's whole milk yogurt (I use lowfat)
1 cup sugar
4 sheets gelatin

Soak gelatin in cold water, as directed. Heat cream and sugar to simmer. Stir gelatin into cream/sugar, stir. Add to yogurt, stir. Pour into ramekins and chill. Unmold to serve.

NOTE: gelatin sheets are very difficult to find, even in a city the size of Portland so Tanya and I ordered a big supply off the internet. I have also substituted one envelope of granulated gelatin for the 4 sheets and it worked fine. You just dissolve the granuals in 2 Tbsp water, let sit a few minutes and then stir into cream/sugar.

This recipe is pretty fool-proof...once I poured the liquid mixture into the ramekins and then realized I had never added the sugar. I poured everything back into the pan, added the sugar, stirred to dissolve over low heat and put it back in the ramekins...it was fine!