Triple Chocolate Brownies (Fat Witch Brownies)

Triple Chocolate Brownies - made December 28, 2021, modified from Fat Witch Brownies by Patricia Helding

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter

1/3 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup milk chocolate chips, divided

3 large eggs

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup white chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8 x 8-inch baking pan with foil and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In the top half of a double boiler set over hot water, melt butter, bittersweet chocolate chips and 1/4 cup milk chocolate chips. Whisk until completely melted and smooth. Cool slightly.
3. In a mixing bowl, beat together eggs, sugar and vanilla until combined. Add melted butter-chocolate mixture and mix to combine.
4. Add flour and salt, mixing until combined and batter is glossy. Fold in 1/4 cup milk chocolate chips and white chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth top.
5. Bake 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted near the center comes out with a few moist crumbs, not raw batter. Cool completely before cutting and serving.

For 2022, I'm going to focus more on using my baking books, some of which I've had for years and barely used, others of which I've used and found good recipes from. I typically get sidetracked by recipes I find on pinterest but this year, I'm focusing on using more of what I already have.

This recipe comes from Fat Witch Brownies. I got this recipe book shortly after I discovered Fat Witch Brownies and a) bought their brownies on a trip to New York City and b) ordered from them online and got their brownies that way. But that was literally years ago and after trying out a few brownie recipes, I haven't opened this book since. For the record, the ones I've tried already are the original Fat Witch Brownies, Cakey Brownies, Cocoa Brownies, Caramel Witches, Lemon Bars and Butterscotch Flip. But it looks like I haven't made a thing from it since 2013. 

All the recipes in this book are for brownies and bar cookies meant to be made in a 9-inch baking pan. That makes the brownies too thin in my opinion so I made these in an 8-inch pan which made for the right amount of thickness (to me). 

These were pretty good but to my jaded brownie taste buds, they're more sweet than chocolaty. I prefer a richer, darker chocolate brownie rather than a sweet one. If I made these again, I'd swap out the milk chocolate that gets melted into the batter for unsweetened chocolate and see if that would sufficiently ramp up the chocolate factor.

Cream Cheese Cookies

Cream Cheese Cookies - made dough December 27, 2021 from Preppy Kitchen

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg, room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla extract (I used 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)

1 3/4 cups (210 grams) all-purpose flour (my measurement weighed 234 grams)

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and cream cheese together until combined and smooth. Add granulated sugar and beat until combined. Add egg and vanilla extract and beat until combined.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Add to butter-cream cheese mixture on low speed in two separate additions, mixing just until combined. Scrape down sides and bottom of bowl to keep dough even-textured.
3. Cover and chill for 30 minutes. Portion into golf-ball-size dough balls, cover and chill or freeze another 2 hours or overnight.
4. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and evenly space dough balls. Bake for 9-11 minutes or until edges are set and middles no longer look raw. Let rest on baking sheets for several minutes then transfer cookies to wire rack to cool completely.

Whenever you see me using the same ingredient in a fairly short amount of time, you know I went to Costco and am trying to use it up before it expires. I did the Cream Cheese Brownies from Maida Heatter and now I bring you Cream Cheese Cookies from Preppy Kitchen.

The hardest part (and it's not hard at all) is making sure you bring your butter and cream cheese to room temperature then beat them together well enough for them to combine without lumps. It's "hard" in my kitchen, mostly because it's winter, it's snowing outside and I like to keep my house on the cool side. So "room temperature" may not be all that warm in my house.

So, yes, I noticed a few small-ish cream cheese lumps in the cookie dough as I portioned it out. It wasn't the end of the world though as, unlike butter, cream cheese doesn't leak out and spread when it's baked. And once these cookies baked, I couldn't find the cream cheese lumps anymore. 

These have a great, chewy-dense-cakey texture. I tried to zero in on the inside so you can see what it's like. Even if you're not a fan of cream cheese, these aren't cheesecake-level cream cheese-y. Instead they have a very slight tang but the butter flavor still comes through. Overall, a nice, simple but good cookie.

Crumbl Copycat - Churro Cookies

Crumbl Copycat Churro Cookies - made dough December 17, 2021 from You Bring Dessert 

Churro Cookies

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

Cinnamon Sugar cookie dusting

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar, packed

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup shortening

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1/4 teaspoon ssalt

1 pound powdered sugar

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until well combined and creamy.
2. Add eggs and vanilla; beat until combined.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, cinnamon, baking soda and baking powder. Add to butter mixture in two additions, mixing briefly after each addition until just combined.
4. Cinnamon sugar dusting: combine the brown sugar, granulated sugar and cinnamon in a separate bowl.
5. Roll dough into golf-ball-size dough balls and flatten slightly into thick discs. Cover, chill or freeze for an hour (not necessary but recommended). 
6. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
7. Roll chilled dough discs in cinnamon sugar dusting, coating completely. Evenly space on baking sheets. Bake 10-12 minutes or until edges are set and middles no longer look raw. Cool until barely lukewarm before frosting.
8. Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and shortening until combined and no lumps remain. Add vanilla and salt, mixing until combined.
9. Gradually add powdered sugar and water, beating until desired consistency and smooth. Add brown sugar and cinnamon, mixing until well incorporated.
10. Top cookies with frosting. Sprinkle with a little cinnamon sugar on top for additional crunch.

Last December, I had to go to the Bay Area for an in-person work offsite. As always, I take every chance to stop at a Crumbl on my drive. It is on the way, after all. Coming and going. Convenient, right? 

I'm glad I did as this particular week, one of their flavors was a churro cookie. I have to say, it was probably one of the best cookies I've ever eaten. It was frosted and while I don't normally like frosting, it complemented the cookie perfectly. The cookie was warm but not so warm that it melted the frosting. Instead, the lukewarm cookie combined with the cool frosting was amazing. The edges of the cookie were crisp and the middle was the kind of cakey-cookie texture that I liked. Plus, hello, great flavor.

So of course, as soon as I got back home, I searched for copycat recipes on pinterest. I found this one from You Bring Dessert. It's very similar to a snickerdoodle recipe except without the cream of tartar and the cinnamon sugar coating has the addition of brown sugar in it.

As you can tell, I didn't make the frosting. I only wanted the taste test cookie and the rest of the cookies, unfrosted, were going in military and US-domestic friends care packages. Frosting would never hold up in a 2-4 week mailing time so I never frost the cookies I send and I didn't want it to be messy for the domestic care packages either. Plus I didn't need even a half recipe of frosting for the taste test cookie. So I guess I can't claim I made this as a real copycat. I did include the frosting recipe for anyone who wants to try it. 

Overall, this was a great cookie. Not sure I can say it was a true copycat but, like most of the Crumbl copycats I've tried, they still make delicious cookies.

Pictures of the actual Crumbl churro cookie - look at that texture. Delicious and amazing.

Stamped Cookies #17 - Embossed Shortbread Cookies

Stamped Cookies #17: Embossed Shortbread Cookies - made dough December 22, 2021, modified from Food Folks and Fun

3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and powdered sugar until well combined and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla extract; beat until combined.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour and salt. Add in two additions to butter mixture, mixing on low speed just until combined and dough forms. 
3. Divide dough in half and flatten each half into thick discs. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 15-30 minutes.
4. Tear off a large piece of parchment and lightly flour. Tear another large piece of parchment. Unwrap chilled dough disc (work with one at a time, leaving the second in the fridge while you work on the first), place in the middle of the flour-coated piece of parchment and cover with second piece of parchment. Using a rolling pin, roll out dough to an even 1/3" thickness between the two pieces of parchment. Use flour sparingly to prevent sticking.
5. Remove top piece of parchment. Lightly flour embossed rolling pin and run evenly over dough. Cut embossed dough into desired shapes. Use the scraps of remaining dough to roll into golf-ball-size dough balls, roll each ball into granulated sugar and press with cookie stamps. 
6. Repeat with second half of dough. Cover and chill or freeze embossed, stamped and cut out cookies for several hours or overnight.
7. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Evenly space cookies. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until edges are lightly golden brown. Remove from oven and let rest on baking sheets for several minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool completely.

This is going to be a picture-heavy post as I wanted to showcase each cookie stamp separately, both before baking and after baking then show side-by-side comparisons. That's more for my documentation purposes, not only of how the recipe did in keeping the stamped impressions once baked but also to document what cookie stamps I already have, lest I forget and buy duplicates. It's been known to happen. #nolie 

This will give you an inkling that my collection is, er, somewhat growing. In my (slight) defense, the snowflake set from Nordic Ware (the ones pictured above - I'm not affiliated with Nordic Ware and don't get anything if you click on the link) were a gift from my niece. I finally had an answer when she asked me what I wanted for Christmas (yes!). Uh, cookie stamps? LOL

Stamp is Eva's Lace from Kitchen Vixen on Etsy

Then I wanted to use this stamp above, Eva's Lace from Kitchen Vixen, as it has more intricate detail and would be a litmus test on how well a recipe will hold more detailed stamped impressions.

This "homemade" one is my first silicone stamp. Trial and error showed I need to press harder and more evenly when using the silicone stamps.

The sharp-eyed bakers among you will notice I didn't bake these throughout. The giveaway is the middle of the cookie is darker which signals less-baked dough. That was partly on purpose and partly because I baked these only as long as the recipe suggested, rather than going by my visual check of the cookies while they were in the oven.

The on-purpose part is because I don't like dry shortbread and this type of cookie is easy to overbake. Plus, I was sending most of these out in military care packages which can have a 3-to 4-week mailing time. Slightly underbaked cookies will fare better en route as they're less fragile, heavier and more dense in texture and lose less moisture. Or so my experiments have shown when I've played around with my vacuum sealer and left cookies (vacuum sealed) to sit and taste tested them several weeks later to mimic how they might arrive.

In addition to cookie stamps and embossed rolling pins, I've also been getting obsessed interested in wooden cookie molds. With the right dough, they can also make pretty designs. I only fill the taste test cookie and send the rest without a filling in the center. Too much risk of mold, even when vacuum sealed, from the moistness of the filling.

In this taste test cookie. I filled it with cookie butter, which probably would've done okay in long mailing times but I didn't want to take that risk.

In any case, before I forget, since I've been so focused on the stamps and cookie molds, let me say this recipe worked pretty well. The side by side comparisons are below. It was also pretty tasty. Always use fresh butter when making any kind of shortbread or butter cookie. It matters.

To give your impressions the best chance of making it through the oven in decent shape, freeze your stamped, unbaked cookies first and bake directly from frozen dough at a slightly higher temp than the recipe calls for. Most recipes call for baking at 350. I bake at 375. I typically don't go all the way to 400 though as the cookies can burn easily before you know it.