Toasted Coconut Cookies from Beyond Frosting

Toasted Coconut Cookies - made dough May 31, 2023 from Beyond Frosting

1 1/2 cups sweetened coconut flakes, toasted

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter

2 cups granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon coconut or vanilla extract

3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the coconut in an even layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Toast for 5-8 minutes, stirring every couple of minutes, until lightly browned. Cool.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and sugar, beating on medium speed until light and creamy, 2-3 minutes.
3. Add the eggs and coconut or vanilla extract, beating until combined.
4. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda and cream of tartar. Add in 2-3 additions, mixing on low speed after each addition, until just combined. Add toasted coconut and mix until combined.
5. Portion dough into golf-ball-size dough balls then flatten slightly into thick discs. Cover and chill or freeze for several hours or overnight. 
6. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and evenly space chilled or frozen dough discs. Bake for 11-12 minutes or until edges are golden and middles no longer look raw. Remove from oven and let rest on baking sheets for several minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool completely.

Another great recipe for the coconut lovers - a chewy, almost crisp (but not overbaked) cookie, thanks in part to the texture from the toasted coconut. The coconut flavor also comes through clearly, in large part, not only from the coconut itself but also the toastiness of it.

I didn't use coconut extract simply because I don't like the artificial taste of it so I went with vanilla extract instead. But you don't really need extract as the coconut flavor is pretty prevalent.

The dough was also a dream to work with, not too dry or too sticky but easy to portion into dough balls. I made them small so I easily got several dozen out of the batch.

The only issue I had is the cookies spread more than I expected and the texture was more crisp-chewy than cake. I don't know if I would've gotten a softer, more cakey texture if I had made the cookies bigger. 

But it's a good summer cookie to make since it doesn't have frosting and holds up well to be packaged and mailed.

Dark Chocolate Cookies with Caramel Filling from Sprinkle Bakes

Dark Chocolate Cookies - made dough May 29, 2023, adapted slightly from Sprinkle Bakes

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

1 egg yolk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups (250 grams) all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (43 grams) black cocoa powder

1 cup (5 ounces) caramel bits

1 tablespoon water or milk

Sea salt flakes for garnish

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 yolk and vanilla extract, beating until just combined.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, black cocoa powder and salt. Add dry ingredients in two additions, mixing on low speed, until just combined.
3. Roll dough into small dough balls and roll each ball in granulated sugar. Press/stamp into cookie molds or mooncake molds. Chill for 15 minutes or freeze before baking.
4. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper. Evenly space stamped cookies and bake for 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest on baking sheets for several minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool completely.
5. In a small saucepan, melt caramel bits and water or milk until completely melted and smooth. Pipe into center indents of the cookies and garnish with sea salt flakes.

I've been wanting to try this recipe for awhile so I could use my cookie stamps from Williams Sonoma but since they were best with a caramel filling, I couldn't send them in care packages. But my church had a potluck for a graduation celebration for one of the Sunday School students so I got the opportunity to try the recipe and share the results with others (as opposed to me eating them all).

You can tell by the dark chocolate appearance that this used black cocoa which also contributed to the Oreo-esque flavor of these. Which paired perfectly with the sweetness of the caramel filling so flavor-wise, this worked really well.

You can also tell from the pictures above and below that I got inconsistent results in the stamped cookies. Part of that was user error. The dough was a little dry. I managed well enough with stamping out the first two-thirds of the dough by warming the dough in my hands before stamping. But the final third was more floury so I ended up adding more and more vanilla extract until I could get the dough moist enough for handling. It isn't hard to tell that the cookies that spread more and turned out bigger were from that last third that had more moisture.

The other tricky thing (also user error) is I eyeballed each piece of dough before I stamped them so I didn't consistently use the same amount of dough for each cookie. Some turned out thicker than others. Which wouldn't have been a big deal except for the last third of the dough; more dough meant more spread.

Oh well, despite my errors, these still turned out pretty well and I liked the dark chocolate and caramel pairing. The texture of the cookies was more like chocolate shortbread so don't expect a regular chocolate cookie texture of chewy moistness. It wasn't dry but it definitely falls into the shortbread camp. I skipped sprinkling with flakes of sea salt because I already used salted caramel and I'm not big on salting my cookies. 

Chewy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies from Kroll's Korner

Chewy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies - made dough May 28, 2023 from Kroll's Korner 

1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup cake flour

2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 cup cold, unsalted butter, cubed

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon molasses

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups milk chocolate chips

Glaze

1 cup confectioners' sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, cake flour, rolled oats, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder and salt; set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat cold, cubed butter for 30 seconds. Add brown sugar and beat for 30 seconds. Add granulated sugar and beat until incorporated.
4. Add egg, egg yolk, molasses and vanilla extract; beat until combined, scraping down sides and bottom of bowl to keep mixture even textured.
5. With the mixer on low speed, add dry ingredients in 3-4 additions, beating until just combined after each addition.
6. Portion dough into 6-7 large dough balls. Flatten slightly and evenly space on baking sheets.
7. Bake cookies for 9-11 minutes. Let rest on baking sheet for 15 minutes then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.
8. Glaze: whisk confectioners' sugar, milk and vanilla extract until combined. Drizzle over cooled cookies.

I didn't make these the way they were supposed to be made so I'm doing them a disservice by saying I didn't like them as much as I had hoped. They were still good but they didn't stand out.

For one thing, I didn't make them as big as Kroll's Korner did since I was shipping out for military care packages and I went for quantity (smaller size to stretch out the number of cookies I could get from the batch). And for another thing, I also didn't glaze them like you're supposed to since the glaze wouldn't have survived the mailing time and desert country temps. A glaze would've added a bit more sweetness and a nice contrast to the heartiness of the oats.

The flavor was good, although I could taste the molasses in the first bite. Which I normally wouldn't mind but for some reason, I wasn't feeling it this time. And that's odd because my new favorite recipe for oatmeal cookies (skip the raisins, sub in chocolate chips) from Sally's Baking Addiction also has a tablespoon of molasses and I didn't mind it in there.

These cookies do not spread at all so shape the dough balls the way you want the final cookie to look. Mine turned out like little mounds of cookie and that's fine except a little harder to package. I should've gone with mini hockey pucks for the dough balls. 

When you bake with old-fashioned oats, I recommend chilling the dough balls overnight in the refrigerator before freezing or baking. It gives the liquid in the dough more time to soften the oats and the flavor to develop.

Crumbl Cookies review #41 - Pineapple Whip (mystery cookie)

Crumbl Cookies review #41 - Pineapple Whip, visited June 2, 2023

Pineapple Whip

 Last week was mystery week at Crumbl which was a good thing as nothing on the regular menu interested me. I've already tried the Cookie Butter Ice Cream and didn't want to get again. Not into sprinkles or jams so pass on the Confetti Cake and Triple Berry Cobbler. And no temptation to get anything peanut butter which I think Crumbl does too often.

I've heard raves about the Pineapple Whip and how it tasted "like the Dole whip". Personally, I've never had Dole Whip so I had no clue whether I would like this cookie or not. I love pineapple but mostly in its pure form and I'm not a big lover of pineapple-baked things. So I was a little skeptical if I would like this or not.

Ha, I'm glad I overcame my skepticism to try this cookie as I loved it. The cookie itself, mostly. It was like a big sugar cookie that wasn't too sweet. It wasn't very pineapple-y but that's still fine by me. If there were pineapple chunks in the cookie (it didn't seem like it), I didn't notice. The topping was okay but a little too much for my non-frosting self. Still, the thickness of the cookie, the texture and the flavor was enough to overcome my bias against frosting. I almost regretted only getting one. Fortunately I limited myself to a third of the cookie and put the other two thirds in my freezer so I can enjoy the rest of the cookie later.

Oh and this is supposed to be served chilled but as usual, I don't like chilled cookies so I let this come to room temperature first. Maybe I would've liked the frosting better if it was chilled but then I don't think I'd like the cookie texture as much. I'll optimize for the cookie over the frosting any day.

Crumbl Cookies review #40 - Dirt Cake, Chocolate Milk, Chocolate Peanut Butter ft Oreo (tester), Banana Bread (revisited)

Crumbl Cookies review #40 - Dirt Cake, Chocolate Milk, Chocolate Peanut Butter ft Oreo (tester) and Banana Bread (revisited)

Dirt Cake, Chocolate Milk, Chocolate Peanut Butter ft Oreo, Banana Bread

This was the week I was only going to get one flavor. HAHAHAHAHA *wipes tear*. Let's go down the path of my pretzel-twisty justifications in getting a 4-pack.

Dirt Cake

But first, the Dirt Cake. I often say I find Crumbl's chocolate cookies too rich for me, with the exception of the Oreo-based ones. I had no interest in getting the Dirt Cake but after I had found justification for getting 3 flavors, I *had* to get a 4th as getting 3 singles cost almost the same as getting a 4-pack. I see you, Crumbl finance people who figured that out and encouraged the upsell.

Surprisingly, the cookie itself wasn't as rich as I expected. From the darkness of the chocolate, I suspect some black cocoa or Oreo-ness going on. The cookie was pretty good. The frosting did me in, though. It brought back childhood memories of the canned frosting at the grocery store. I shudder now but as a kid, I loved those things atop a birthday cake. So I enjoyed (small) bites of the Dirt Cake as a walk down memory lane and I'm glad I tried it because now I know but I probably wouldn't get this one again - still too rich for me.

Chocolate Milk

The chocolate milk is the (one) flavor I had actually planned to get this week. It was new in the Crumbl lineup and had been a test cookie in weeks past although my store didn't test this one (that I saw). Although I'm not a fan of the whipped cream toppings, I did like that this was a milk chocolate cookie. Despite Crumbl trying to pit semisweet lovers against milk chocolate lovers (eye roll), I stay out of the online fray about it and simply buy milk chocolate-based cookies to vote with my dollars.

I liked this cookie overall, despite not being a cream or custard-y type dessert person. The cookie base was good and reminded me of a milk chocolate version of the cookie crust of the banana cream pie. I liked the chocolate topping and hardly minded the whipped cream filling sandwiched between the cookie and the chocolate topping.

Chocolate Peanut Butter ft Oreo

Then we come to the tester cookie. In all honesty, if this hadn't been a tester and had just been part of the regular line up, I would've skipped it based on flavor profile alone. Rich chocolate cookie plus peanut butter cream frosting are not my thing. I've realized I don't mind peanut butter when it's in cookie form, although it still wouldn't be my first choice. Why do I keep getting peanut butter things then? Yeah, I don't know either. 

If you're a peanut butter lover, this cookie is for you. If you love chocolate and peanut butter together, this is also for you. The cookie itself was pretty good although I could've done without the peanut butter chips inside it. For me, it's another reminder to "stop getting peanut butter-frosted cookies, you're not as open-minded as you think you are." Lesson learned. Again.

Banana Bread

I was not going to get the banana bread cookie at all. I'd had it from a Crumbl in Vegas and thought it was too dry and bready. But then I thought of how I hadn't liked the lemon poppyseed in Vegas and how I gave it another chance at the Sparks Crumbl. Would this be something like that where I would like it better from a store that made it better?

I'm glad to say that was exactly the case. This time, the banana bread cookie was perfectly (under)done and the texture was soft, dense, chewy and not dry at all. More importantly the banana flavor came though. It was slightly more dense than the banana bread I make but the flavor was just as good.

So it turns out (not surprisingly), the store you go to really matters and how well they make it is all that matters. The Sparks. NV store is now 2 for 2 in elevating my review of certain flavors and revising my opinion of them.

To recap, I only meant to get the Chocolate Milk cookie. Then I wanted to try the Chocolate Peanut Butter ft Oreo because it was the tester cookie. Then I got curious to see if the banana bread cookie would be better at the Sparks store. Once I had talked myself into 3, I had to scramble to pick a 4th and I went with the Dirt Cake. Another reminder that I can justify anything when it comes to cookies and dessert. Good thing I started a new strength training regimen for my exercise routine. *whispers* "not a non sequitur".

Super Fudgy Homemade Brownies from House of Nash Eats

Super Fudgy Homemade Brownies - made May 22, 2023, modified slightly from House of Nash Eats

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

3/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into chunks

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar

3 large eggs, room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup 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, combine bittersweet chocolate and butter. Whisk together until completely melted and combined. Remove from heat and whisk in cocoa powder until smooth and combined.
3. Add granulated sugar and brown sugar, whisking well to combine. Add eggs and vanilla, beating well until combined. Stir in flour and salt with a wooden spoon and beat in until combined and glossy. Fold in chocolate chips.
4. Spread batter into prepared pan in even layer. Bake for 30 - 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Cool completely before cutting and serving.

I made 2 minor changes from the original recipe which are reflected in the recipe above. First, I only had unsalted butter so that's what I used instead of salted butter. And second, after I had mixed up the batter, I wasn't sure there was enough batter to make the thickness of the brownie I wanted so I baked it in an 8 x 8-inch pan instead of a 9-inch one.

Both tweaks worked out fine. I never time the brownies since I go by the toothpick test but this took closer to 40 minutes than 30 minutes before I was satisfied that it was just the right point of underbaked but not fully baked or dry.

It's best to let these cool completely to get a nice fudgy texture that isn't mushy. Taste-wise, I thought it was good. Not overwhelmingly richly chocolatey but still a good chocolate flavor.