White Chocolate Snickerdoodles

White Chocolate Snickerdoodles - made May 1, 2021, modified from Kroll's Korner

I was gearing up to do a massive baking day last weekend, with some baked goods earmarked for military care packages and the rest for the lunch bags distributed every Sunday in my area for the local hungry/housing-insecure population. I promised to do baking for the Sunday lunch bags at least once or twice a month. It's not only a chance to contribute to a good cause but lets me test out new recipes and distribute treats. That's also one of the benefits of volunteering for Soldiers Angels - to send out care packages - but it would be cost prohibitive to mail out everything I wanted to bake. So I was glad to find a local option for baked goods distribution.

So I made a bunch of cookie doughs ahead of time and baked them off at once last week. This is one of them. The original recipe called to make these as giant cookies but I modified the directions for normal size cookies. For what I need them for, "normal size" goes farther than giant-sized. 

I did make one test cookie as giant cookie though, weighing out 6 ounces of dough, freezing it then baking it separately. Just to test out what the original recipe is meant to be like. When making a cookie that big, be sure to double pan it when baking. This keeps the bottom from overbaking while the rest of the cookie bakes.

Since I was multiple-batch baking when I baked the test cookie, it turns out I baked the giant test cookie a bit too long. It wasn't overbaked but it also wasn't as underbaked as I normally prefer my cookies. 

The flavor on this was good but I have to admit, I'm still a purist when it comes to snickerdoodles and I think I'd prefer this without the white chocolate chips. Because this feels like a (good) white chocolate chip cookie rolled in cinnamon sugar rather than an actual snickerdoodle. But if that's your thing, then this is a good cookie option for you.

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup cake flour

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup cold, unsalted butter, cubed

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 large egg

1 large egg yokl

2 1/2 cups white chocolate chips

Topping

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1. In a large bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, cake flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; set aside.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter until smooth and free of lumps. Add brown sugar and granulated sugar; beat until combined and fluffy.
3. Add in egg, egg yolk and vanilla extract; beat to combine.
4. Add dry ingredients in 3 additions, beating until just combined after each addition; do not overmix. Fold in chocolate chips.
5. Portion into golf-ball-size dough balls, cover and chill or freeze for several hours or overnight.
6. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
7. In a small bowl, combine topping ingredients. Roll the dough balls in the cinnamon-sugar mixture, coating completely. Evenly space on baking sheets and bake 10-11 minutes or until edges are set and middles no longer look raw. Let rest on baking sheets for several minutes then remove to wire rack to cool completely.

Stuffed Cookie Butter Cookies

Stuffed Cookie Butter Cookies - made April 16, 2021 from Los Kitchen Co 

Cookie butter fans, you are my people. And because you're my people, let me share this amazing recipe with you from Los Kitchen Co. It's essentially a (delicious) butter cookie, mixed in with Biscoff cookie pieces, "stuffed" with cookie butter then drizzled with melted cookie butter. Freakin' genius.

Of course you don't actually stuff cookie butter inside the cookie like you stuff a turkey. Instead, you make thick discs out of the cookie dough, dollop cookie butter over half the discs, cover with another disc, pinch the edges closed to seal the cookie butter goodness inside then roll the whole thing (gingerly) into a dough ball.

Depending on how thick and/or big you make the dough discs, you can end up with a fairly large cookie. This is not a problem.

You can also be a little extra and take things further into cookie butter heaven by placing a (large) spoonful of cookie butter inside a ziploc bag, seal it shut, microwave it for 20-30 seconds until the cookie butter is melted, snip a corner of the bag and drizzle the melted cookie butter over the cookie. Yeah, it's as good as it sounds.

I ate the test cookie at room temperature so the cookie butter filling had already set but for extreme decadence - because why stop now - you can eat this somewhat warm and have gooey, oozy melted cookie butter in the center spill out. You're welcome.

1 cup unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons

3/4 cup (150 g) brown sugar

1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 3/4 cup (330 g) all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons (28 g) cornstarch

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

12 Biscoff cookies, broken up

1 1/4 cup (212 g) white chocolate chips

8 ounces Biscoff cookie butter spread

1. Place butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and cream together until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.
2. Add vanilla and eggs, mixing briefly to combine.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt. Add in two additions to the butter mixture, mixing until just combined. Do not overmix.
4. Fold in white chocolate and Biscoff cookie pieces.
5. Portion dough into 2-ounce pieces and flatten into thick discs. Place a scoop of cookie butter in the center of half the discs then cover each with another disc. Pinch the edges together to seal and roll into balls. Cover and cover or freeze for several hours or overnight.
6. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and evenly space stuffed dough balls. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until edges are set and middles no longer look raw or shiny. Let cookies rest on baking sheets for 5 minutes then remove to wire rack to cool completely. 
7. Place 3/4 cup cookie butter in a ziploc sandwich bag and seal. Microwave for 15 seconds until thin and liquid. Snip corner of bag and drizzle the tops of baked cookies with additional cookie butter. Let drizzled cookie butter set.

Oreo Blondies

Oreo Blondies - made April 23, 2021 from Stephanie's Sweet Treats

Trying to keep the write-ups brief so we can just get right to the recipe. And this one couldn't be any easier. Mix the blondie batter, fold in chopped up Oreos and sprinkle more Oreo chunks on top. Bake. Eat.

I might've underbaked this one just a tad or I ate the taste test piece when it was still a bit warm and not fully set. Either way the flavor was good. It's literally a blondie with Oreo add-ins. Nothing wrong with that but don't expect a full-on cookies and cream bar. This was still good though because Oreos.... 

I do love how the Oreos stayed crisp in this one, at least the ones sprinkled on top/

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted, browned and cooled slightly

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 large eggs

2 large egg yolks

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup chopped Oreos

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line an 8 x 8 baking pan with foil and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Whisk together browned butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar in a medium bowl. Add in vanilla, eggs and egg yolks, mixing until combined.
3. Add flour and salt. Mix until just combined. Fold in chopped Oreos and chocolate chips. Pour into prepared pan and smooth top. Top with more chopped Oreos and chocolate chips if desired. 
4. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Cool completely before cutting.

Oatmeal Cookie Bars

Oatmeal Cookie Bars - made April 23, 2021 from Baker by Nature

This is very similar to the Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Bar Cookies I posted earlier. The ingredients are mostly the same and the methodology is the same. 

The biggest difference between the two is this has a cup less rolled oats in it so it's a little more cakey than chewy. People might find this a little more moist as well and closer to a more typical bar cookie.

But both are good choices, especially for care package mailings and this one was equally easy to make as the other one so you can't go wrong with either.

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, melted and browned, cooled slightly

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 large egg yolk

2 tablespoons milk

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 cups rolled oats

1 1/4 cups chopped dark chocolate

1 teaspoon flaky sea salt, optional

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with foil and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a medium-size bowl, whisk together melted browned butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until well combined. Stir in vanilla. Add eggs and egg yolk, stirring after each addition until combined. Add milk and whisk to combine.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Add to wet ingredients in two additions, stirring after each addition until just combined. Stir in oats. Fold in chocolate chunks. Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth top.
4. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until edges are set and golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Do not overbake. Cool completely before cutting. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt if desired.

Coconut Oatmeal Cookies

Coconut Oatmeal Cookies - made dough April 17, 2021 from Can't Stay Out of the Kitchen 

As I mentioned in the Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies post, when warmer weather comes to the desert locations where baker volunteers send care packages to deployed military service members for Soldiers Angels, we're encouraged to substitute shortening for butter.

As evidenced by the multiple 4-pound packs of butter I buy regularly from Costco, this is a struggle for me. Butter is just better, 'kay?

But I was pleased to find this recipe to try, not just because it uses shortening but it also explicitly says not to use butter or bad things will happen to your cookies.

That suited my purposes so I made it with shortening and it worked out fine. Probably because it has coconut in it and you know I love coconut. The dough was a bit soft and the cookies did spread a bit more than I would've liked, even though I baked it from frozen dough, 

But the flavor was good and it was nicely chewy. And since it isn't about me but about the service members who'll hopefully receive a package that will survive triple digit temperatures, okay, fine, this is a good cookie to send. Even for this butter snob.

1 cup shortening (not butter)

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1 cup granulated sugar

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup coconut

1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats

1. Cream together shortening, brown sugar and granulated sugar until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until just combined. Mix in vanilla extract.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add in two additions, mixing until just combined. Fold in coconut and oats.
3. Cover bowl and chill at least 15-20 minutes. Portion into dough balls and flatten slightly to thick discs. Cover and chill or freeze dough discs for several hours or overnight.
4. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Evenly space cookie dough discs. Bake 12-15 minutes or until edges are set and middles no longer look raw. Do not overbake.

Browned Butter Espresso Chocolate Chip Cookies

Browned Butter Espresso Chocolate Chip Cookies - made dough April 21, 2021 from Broma Bakery

I'm not a coffee drinker. I love the smell of it and I don't mind coffee or espresso-flavored baked goods but they're not my first choice.

However, still in the "it isn't about me" category, I've heard a lot of deployed military service members do like coffee and rely on the caffeine kick to get them through many a long shift.  

So I made these espresso chocolate chip cookies as a variation on the standard chocolate chip cookies I tend to send most often.

These came out pretty tasty with a nice espresso flavor to them that paired well with the chocolate chips. Just make sure you let the browned butter cool enough such that the eggs don't cook/scramble into your dough when you add them. I err on the side of caution, let the browned butter cool for at least 5-10 minutes then add the (cold) eggs straight from the refrigerator.

The discerning among you will also notice that, no matter which cookie recipe I post, I rewrite the directions to do them "my way". Which is typically to make the dough, portion into dough balls, freeze them then bake them from frozen dough. You don't have to do it my way but this is what I've found works best for me to get thicker cookies. Plus, unless you're baking for care packages or a crowd like I often do, it's great portion control to be able to bake just one cookie at a time when you feel like it. Freshly baked cookies will always only be 10-15 minutes away if you always have a stash of cookie dough balls in the freezer.

3/4 cup butter, melted, browned and cooled slightly

1 cup dark brown sugar, packed

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup espresso powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

4 ounces dark chocolate, coarsely chopped

1. In a large mixing bowl, stir together browned butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until well combined and no lumps remain. Add egg, egg yolk and vanilla extract; stir to combine.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together salt, flour, espresso powder and baking soda. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture and stir to combine; do not overmix.
3. Portion dough into golf-ball-size dough balls; cover and chill or freeze for several hours or overnight.
4. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and evenly space dough balls. Bake 10-12 minutes or until edges are set and middles no longer look raw. Do not overbake. Remove from oven, let rest on baking sheets for several minutes then remove cookies to wire rack to cool completely.

 

Browned Butter Fudge Brownies

Browned Butter Fudge Brownies - made April 18, 2021 from The Food Charlatan 

Here's another recipe from The Food Charlatan. I'd been making a lot of brownies for military care packages but mostly tweaking my new favorite brownie recipe.

I decided to mix it up a bit and try another new recipe. This one is purported to be "the best" but, as you know, I'm all kinds of skeptical about "the best" anything. Mostly because everyone has different tastes and what's the best to one person may not be to another. 

Case in point, while this was a very good fudgy brownie, my definition of the best varies in that I like my brownies a little thicker and a little less sweet. Nothing wrong with this one at all and I suggest giving it a whirl as it really is a good brownie. But, for now, I'm sticking with my recent favorite for what I consider the "best"...for me.

1 1/4 cups butter, melted and browned

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped into small pieces

2 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon water

2 teaspoons vanilla

4 large eggs

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/4 cups chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9 x 13 pan with foil and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Whisk together hot melted browned butter and unsweetened chocolate until chocolate is fully melted and mixture is smooth and combined.
3. Stir in granulated sugar, salt, water and vanilla; whisk until smooth and combined.
4. Add eggs, one at a time, whisking after each addition until combined.
5. Stir in flour, beating by hand until combined and smooth. Fold in chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth top. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted near the center comes out with a few moist crumbs, not raw batter.

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies - made dough April 8, 2021 from The Food Charlatan

We are getting into the time of year where the military care packages I send for Soldiers Angels are going to climates that are starting to hit triple digit heat. Which means ingredients like butter are at greater risk of going rancid if the mail times take too long and/or the boxes are in extreme heat for too long. 

Shortening is the recommended substitution for butter in those cases. Which makes me cringe as you know my love for butter. I don't hate shortening per se but it's just not the same as butter goodness.

But since isn't about me and I'm not the one receiving or eating all the baked goods, compromises must be accommodated. Which is what this recipe helpfully does as it uses half butter/half shortening. Peanut butter also fares better in holding up sturdy baked goods as does oatmeal. So this seems tailor made for this kind of care package.

It also goes without saying that this tastes pretty good as well or I wouldn't send it. Mine didn't come out as tantalizing looking as the ones on Food Charlatan's blog so make sure you click over there to see that version. Crisp at the edges, airy but chewy texture and good flavor.

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

1/2 cup butter-flavor Crisco

1 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 cup creamy peanut butter

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup quick oats

1/2 cup old-fashioned oats

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and Crisco for 2 minutes, scraping the sides and bottom until combined.
2. Add brown sugar, granulated sugar and peanut butter; beat until combined.
3. Add eggs and vanilla, beating until just combined.
4. Add flour, baking soda and salt only until just combined; do not overmix. Add oats and mix until just incorporated.
5. Cover bowl and chill the dough in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight. Portion chilled dough into golf-ball-sized dough balls. You can freeze the dough balls or bake from here.
6. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Bake 9-10 minutes or until edges are set and middles no longer look raw. Do not overbake.