Sourdough Discard Snickerdoodles Cookies from Ginger Homemaking

Sourdough Discard Snickerdoodle Cookies - made dough June 26, 2025 from Ginger Homemaking 

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons cream of tartar

3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 cup sourdough discard

2 large eggs

Coating

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt and cream of tartar.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Add eggs, sourdough discard and vanilla, beating on low speed until combined.
4. Add dry ingredients in 2 additions, beating on low speed after each addition until just combined. Portion into golf-ball size dough balls.
5. In a small bowl, combine 1/3 cup granulated sugar with cinnamon, mixing until uniform. Roll dough balls in mixture, coating completely. Evenly space on baking sheets and bake 9-11 minutes or until edges are set and middles no longer look raw. Remove from oven and let cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool completely.

I have to admit, I've been stress baking quite a bit lately. The act of baking not only brings me some comfort but it helps me to share baked goods with the people around me: the women (and their husbands) from my quilting group, the smart, articulate people in my book club, the long-time friends I get together with when I go to the Bay Area, the compassionate volunteers I work with at the food bank and other local friends I go out with. The sharing shows my appreciation for the good, decent people in my life and how much I appreciate their goodness and kindness, especially over the past 6 months.

It's not the baking and the sharing that's caused me angst. It's writing the posts on my blog. Because it's hard to sound "normal" or talk about cookies like things aren't dire. Because they are. Because we're watching the US slide towards authoritarianism in real time, brown people are being hunted, kidnapped and disappeared into - let's call them what they are - concentration camps sanewashed as "detention facilities". Federal employees are losing their jobs for no good reason, there's an obscene transfer of wealth towards the 1% who don't need it at the expense of people being thrown off their health insurance, losing Medicaid and food assistance not to mention all of us paying more for everything because of tariffs. The list goes on and I haven't even touched on the torching of science, research, public health, national parks and a disgusting amount of even more that makes our country smaller, poorer, harder and sadder.

So yes, it's hard to keep writing about, "hey, these snickerdoodles are really good". They are and also, let's see the unredacted Epstein files, yeah? Ugh.

ETA: correction, the only redactions I want to see in the Epstein files are the names and identities of the girls who were abused and trafficked. Everyone else, be they Republicans or Democrats or neither, should be named. Everyone.

Honestly, I don't know where to go from here. If you're turned off by "politics" and don't want to read about the real world on a baking blog, my blog isn't for you and I'm okay with that. Goodbye. But congratulations on your privilege to be able to look away and just think about cookies. I can't anymore. 

Shout out to Shugary Sweets, a blog I've gotten amazing recipes from for years. I caught her feed on Instagram and she's been vocal about speaking out against the fascism. Which is something we all need to do.

Crumbl Cookies review #96 - Cookies & Cream Mint Brownie (tester), Sea Salt Toffee Skillet Cookie, Semisweet Chocolate and Chocolate Cake Batter Cookie

Crumbl Cookies review #96: Cookies & Cream Mint Brownie (tester), Sea Salt Toffee Skillet Cookie and Semisweet Chocolate

It's been hot in my area, often too hot to turn my oven on, especially when I'm not in a baking mood. I had my bookclub meeting this week and wanted to bring dessert so I went with a 4-pack from Crumbl instead. There weren't really any flavors that piqued my interest but it looked like my store had gone back to testing a new flavor (they hadn't had a test cookie/dessert in a very long time) so I thought it was a perfect opportunity to try a (small) piece of it and share the rest with the others.

I ordered the Cookies & Cream Mint Brownie (tester), the Sea Salt Toffee Skillet cookie (new to me), the semisweet chocolate (new to me) and the churro (one of my favorites).

Churro Cookie

The frosting on the Churro was a little sad looking, as if whoever piped it either got to the end of the piping bag and tried to squeeze out a little more or they didn't have control of the piping bag. But I don't sweat the small stuff and it still tasted good when I had a piece at our meeting.

Cookies & Cream Mint Brownie

                                           

I am generally not fond of mint chocolate as a flavor. I always maintain it's like brushing your teeth then eating a piece of chocolate. So I was more than happy to cut off a little piece of this and share the rest. You can compare the Crumbl marketing picture of the brownie and the one I actually got and see that the Andes pieces on top of mine were way smaller than the marketing picture. That's rather typical of Crumbl. The garnishes often leave something to be desired and don't live up to their marketing pictures. Again, small stuff not worth sweating.

I was actually positively surprised by this brownie. It's more chocolate brownie than mint which is what I prefer. The green frosting didn't taste minty, which I had braced for. It's still too much frosting for me but the brownie itself was moist and delicious. I also liked the chocolate fudge topping. The mint flavor kicked in towards the end of the bite and I think that was mostly from the bits of Andes candy garnished on top. If you like a stronger mint, you might be a little disappointed but for me, this was the perfect balance. Still not my first choice for a flavor but I'm glad I tried it as now I know.

Sea Salt Toffee Skillet Cookie

The Sea Salt Toffee Skillet was marginally interesting to me since I liked the different components to it: the vanilla bean mousse, the toffee cookie, the milk chocolate and caramel drizzle.

Unfortunately, put together, the combination isn't as compelling. It's mostly due to textures and temperatures rather than flavor. Flavor-wise, this was fine. But Crumbl recommends serving this warm. When warm, the vanilla bean mousse isn't as good. Not as much flavor and the texture is too soft and almost liquid-y. Mousse is generally best chilled. But if you chill the whole skillet cookie, the cookie itself has a drier mouthfeel and the texture is more firm.

This is probably best eaten when you first buy it as I assume the mousse is still chilled and the cookie is still warm. So the texture contrasts would be good. But I bought it several hours before I needed it and tried it so I missed that window. 

In general, I don't think Crumbl's skillet cookies hold up very well because of that temperature difference needed between the mousse and the cookie.

Update: as I was literally writing this post, my doorbell rang and a delivery person dropped off a 4-pack of Crumbl cookies! It was a gift from one of my nieces and contained the Sea Salt Toffee Cookie. So I got a second chance to try this as Crumbl meant: the mousse was still slightly chilled and the cookie base was still a little warm. As I suspected, that was MUCH better. The cookie was delicious and the mousse was good. So I will revise my review slightly to say this cookie was amazingly good BUT ONLY if you can eat it shortly after buying it.

The 4-pack gift from my niece contained the Chocolate Cake Batter Cookie which I don't remember ever trying, the Churro (again my favorite and this time I didn't have to share, lol), the aforementioned Sea Salt Toffee Cookie (glad I got a second chance at it) and the Semisweet Chocolate.

The gift pack from my niece - the frosting on the Churro was much better on this one

Semisweet Chocolate Cookie

When I brought the cookies for my book club, I didn't try the semisweet chocolate as I figured trying the brownie and the sea salt toffee was enough sugar for that day. So I'm glad I also got another chance at trying the semisweet chocolate. My first preference is always going to be milk chocolate but I ended up liking the semisweet too. Crumbl's chocolate chip cookies are sweet and there's an argument to be made that semisweet offsets that sweetness better than their milk chocolate. My sweet tooth has a high tolerance so I don't subscribe to that argument. Still, the semisweet was pretty good. The cookie has the same flavor and texture I like in the milk chocolate and Crumbl seems more generous with their semisweet chocolate chunks than their milk chocolate chips. So this was good.

Chocolate Cake Batter Cookie

Another pleasant surprise was the Chocolate Cake Batter Cookie. I don't often get Crumbl's chocolate cookies as they're too rich for me. This was rich as well but my sweet tooth proved accommodating enough. The cookie was fudgy, which is a must in any chocolate cookie. 

I ended up liking the frosting as well. They must use the same recipe as their Dirt Cake Cookie as it tasted similar like from a can of chocolate frosting from my childhood. And I don't mean that in a bad way. I can't explain why but I loved that canned frosting back then. I don't love it as much now that I make my own frosting. But still, my taste buds can get sentimental.

I ended up liking the thickness, texture and flavor of this cookie. Not wild about sprinkles in general but still, small stuff once again. I wouldn't be able to eat this whole cookie or even a half at the same sitting so I did my usual portioning into fourths and tucked most of it into my freezer for consumption at a later date.

Actually, that's where most of the second 4-pack is now so I'm stocked up on Crumbl cookie pieces once again for at least a month. 

Chocolate Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Cookies from Table for Two

Chocolate Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Cookies - made dough June 23, 2025 from Table for Two

1 1/2 cups (188 grams) all purpose flour

6 tablespoons Dutch process cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons (84 grams) unsalted butter, softened

1/4 cup (65 grams) plus 2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar

1/2 cup (110 grams) brown sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons milk

2 cups peanut butter cups, coarsely chopped

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt; set aside.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter, peanut butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar until well combined and creamy, 2-3 minutes.
3. Add egg, vanilla extract and milk, mixing to combine.
4. Add dry ingredients in two additions, mixing on low speed after each addition, until just combined.
5. Fold in peanut butter cups, reserving a handful for later use.
6. Portion dough into golf-ball size dough balls and flatten slightly into thick discs. Cover and chill for several hours or overnight.
7. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Evenly space chilled dough balls. Bake 12-14 minutes or until edges are set and middles no longer look raw or shiny. Remove from oven and gently press reserved peanut butter cups on top of hot cookies. Let rest on baking sheets for several minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool completely.

If you've noticed I've been baking more lately, you'd be correct. I was able to score reasonably priced eggs which helps drive the baking muse when you have ingredients. But I also started baking more for local friends at the monthly trivia night I go to, friends in my quilting group, friends I met up with when I went on a road trip and my fellow volunteers who've become friends over the years I've been volunteering for the food bank. In other words, lots of people to test out new recipes on. With, I mean with.

Chocolate and peanut butter are a classic combination. I love chocolate and I like peanut butter well enough, especially when paired with chocolate. This is a great recipe when you have excess peanut butter cups to use up (remind me not to buy the big bag from Costco again, even when they're on sale) as well as milk you bought for a different recipe.

This turned out well and was a big hit with my fellow food bank volunteers when I brought them to a mobile harvest distribution. It doesn't spread much, the cookies are chewy and have a good balance between the chocolate and the peanut butter. Those are two dominant flavors but they played well together in this cookie. If you want to amp up the peanut butter more than the chocolate, add more peanut butter cups. Conversely, if you want chocolate to dominate, cut back on the peanut butter cups and add more chocolate chips. Either way, it's hard to go wrong.

Crumbl Cookies review #95 - Aloha Pie

Crumbl Cookies review #95: Aloha Pie - visited July 9, 2025

A Crumbl visit two weeks in a row after a 3-month hiatus sounds like I'm going back to my old habits. But not really. I waffled on getting the Aloha Pie as I knew I wouldn't like the whipped cream on top. Plus the only cookie part was the Oreo cookie crust. Still, I was out of frozen pieces of Crumbl and Crave cookies in my freezer since I hadn't been to either in awhile and my sweet tooth was giving me the stink eye.

On the regular menu this week, only the Molten Lava and Sugar Shark would've interested me as a repeat purchase but I passed on those to try the Aloha Pie for the first time.

It says to serve chilled but since I normally don't like chilled desserts, I let it come to room temperature before trying it. That turned out to be a bad idea. 

Since it's really mostly mousse and cream, both which should be served chilled, all you get at room temperature is mushy cream which doesn't have a lot of flavor.

So I put it back in the refrigerator to chill and tried it again later. That turned out to be a much better choice. I did scrape off most of the whipped cream though. It looked pretty but I still don't like whipped cream, chilled or not.

Which left me free to taste and enjoy the vanilla bean mousse paired with the fudge topping. Of the whole thing, I liked the fudge topping and macadamia bits the best. The description of the Aloha Pie says there's a "hint" of coconut. I have to say, there should've been a stronger hint as I didn't taste the coconut at all. As a coconut lover, that was disappointing. The Oreo cookie crust was okay but was a bit too crumbly.

If I was going to tinker with this to make it more suited to my taste, I would add more butter to the cookie crust to bind it together better, spread a thin layer of the fudge directly over the cookie shell before putting on the vanilla bean mousse, layer more fudge on top of it then, if you really want this to be more "aloha", sprinkle toasted coconut and macadamia bits over the top. And be generous with those sprinklings. The whipped cream decorations made it pretty but I'd cut back on those decorative swirls. So, ultimately, this was okay and at least I tried it but I probably wouldn't get it again. Cream pie desserts are just not my thing and this didn't have that much flavor.

Soft Sourdough Discard Sugar Cookies from Molly's Home Guide

Soft Sourdough Discard Sugar Cookies - made dough June 9, 2025 from Molly's Home Guide

226 grams (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened

250 grams granulated sugar

2 large egg yolks

75 grams sourdough discard, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

300 grams all-purpose flour

10 grams baking powder

6 grams salt

100 grams granulated sugar, for rolling

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating on low speed until just combined.
2. Add sourdough discard and vanilla extract, mixing until combined.
3. Add flour, baking powder and salt, mixing on low speed until just combined. Do not overmix.
4. Portion into golf-ball-size dough balls, cover and chill at least 1 hour or overnight.
5. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Coating the chilled dough balls in the granulated sugar and evenly space on baking sheets.
6. Bake 12-14 minutes or until edges are golden and middles no longer look raw. Remove from oven and let rest on baking sheet for several minutes before transferring cookies to wire rack to cool completely.

Simple sugar cookies are good any time of the year but especially during summer. Easy to make, relatively shorter baking time if you make the cookies small to regular size and there's no frosting or add ins to melt in the summer heat.

These were good and didn't spread much. As is often the case so far with the sourdough discard recipes I've tried to date, you can't taste the tang from the starter. Starter is basically flour and water that's fermented over time. I don't think my starter is particularly tangy, which is probably why I can't taste the difference between a discard recipe and a non-discard one, as it appears I'm just adding flour and water to the dough.

But that's okay by me as the flavor is still good, the texture is spot on with crisp edges and chewy middles and I like being able to use up the discard and not waste a gram of it.

Vanilla Buttermilk Pound Cake from Recipes Tasteful

Vanilla Buttermilk Pound Cake - made June 15, 2025 from Recipes Tasteful

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

2 cups granulated sugar

4 large eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 cup buttermilk

Cream Cheese Glaze

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/4 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan or Bundt pan.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes.
4. Add eggs, one at a time, beating on low speed after each addition. Mix in vanilla extract.
5. On low speed, alternately add flour in 3 additions and buttermilk in 2 additions, mixing until just combined after each addition and no floury streaks remain.
6. Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth top. Bake for 60-70 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes before turning out onto serving plate.
7. Make the frosting: beat together cream cheese, powdered sugar, milk and vanilla extract until smooth. Pour over cooled cake. Serve immediately.

Unlike what the recipe says, I didn't make a cream cheese glaze for this one. Instead, I made a simple glaze with powdered sugar, vanilla extract and just enough milk for a slightly runny glaze. I don't like thick glazes as they're reminiscent of frosting, which I prefer to eat sparingly.  A runny glaze doesn't make for the prettiest of blog pictures but alas, this light touch works perfectly for me. It adds just enough sweetness to a buttery cake without overwhelming it.

I liked this cake. It has the perfect pound cake texture and as long as you use fresh butter (which is a must) and real vanilla extract, you'll get a nice buttery, vanilla flavor as well. Organic eggs don't hurt either and I was lucky enough to have some on hand to use for this cake.

If you prefer it plain, you can leave off the glaze entirely or else go with the original recipe and try the cream cheese glaze. Either way, it's a fantastic cake with the perfect pound cake texture.