Nutella Brownies from Handle the Heat

Nutella Brownies - made July 14. 2023 from Handle the Heat

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate

1/2 cup Nutella

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

3 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup (96 grams) all-purpose flour

1/4 cup (25 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 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 together chocolate chips, butter and unsweetened chocolate. Whisk together until melted, combined and smooth. Remove from heat and stir in Nutella. Let cool for several minutes.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together sugar, eggs and egg yolk for 3 minutes, until light and thick. Beat in the vanilla extract.
4. Stir in the cooled chocolate mixture, mixing until evenly combined.
5. Add flour, cocoa and salt, mixing until just combined.
6. Pour in even layer into prepared pan. Bake 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Remove from heat and let cool completely before cutting and serving.

I confess I made this recipe twice. Not because I loved it so much and had to make it again but because I think I underbaked it a little too much the first time. 

Normally, underbaking brownies is a safe bet to get the fudgy texture. But you don't want to underbake too much or it'll be soft and mushy instead of dense and fudgy and that's what I felt like I did, even though I let this bake about 5 minutes longer than the original recipe called for; each oven is different so I always take the recipe as guidelines, not an actual "must follow".

I did follow the rest of the directions to the letter, including beating the batter for 3 minutes after the eggs are added. I normally don't do that as I know beating it that much with eggs already included will lead to a meringue-crust topping. I'm one of the few people I know who don't like that crackly top on a brownie. Boxed brownie mixes often have it and bakers like to replicate that in homemade brownies. Me, not so much.

So the second time I made this, I didn't beat the batter as long with the eggs in it and I baked the brownies for almost an hour, yes, an hour. The results were better the second time around, although I have to admit, they were still a little mushy. So maybe that's how the texture actually is supposed to be?

I thought they were good but the Nutella flavor isn't very obvious and texture-wise, I still prefer my go-to brownie recipe. If you want a more obvious Nutella flavor, I suggest dolloping Nutella within and over the top of the batter and swirling it around to incorporate. And don't underbake it too much.

Extra Thick Chocolate Chip Cookies from Beyond Frosting

Extra Thick Chocolate Chip Cookies - made dough July 3, 2023 from Beyond Frosting

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup (220 grams) light brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup (95 grams) granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

3 cups (420 grams) all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons (4 grams) cornstarch

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

12 ounces semisweet chocolate chunks

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.
2. Add eggs and vanilla extract, beating until combined.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, salt and baking soda. Add dry ingredients in 3 additions to butter mixture, mixing on low speed after each addition, until just combined. Fold in chocolate chunks.
4. Portion dough into 6-ounce portions and form into tall, thick dough balls. Flatten slightly. Cover and chill for several hours or overnight.
5. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and evenly space 4-6 dough balls on each sheet. Bake 15-20 minutes or until edges are golden brown and middles no longer look raw. 
6. Remove from heat and let rest on baking sheets for 15 minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool completely.

I don't know that I would say these were "extra thick" chocolate chip cookies but that's my own fault as I didn't make them as large as they were supposed to be.

I made this particular batch while I was in Denver visiting my niece and nephew-in-law. Whenever I visit, I always make up some cookie dough for them to bake off later after I'm gone so they'll always have fresh cookies when they want it. We did a test bake of a few of these to enjoy together.

It's a good chocolate chip cookie recipe, although I didn't think they were as buttery-rich as some others I've tried and it's a little more cakey (without being actually cakey) than I prefer. But they had crisp edges and chewy middles and were perfect 10 minutes out of the oven. You can't ask for much more than that. Maybe the texture would've been different or more preferable if I had made them as big as they were supposed to be? But so far, this recipe from Binge Worthy Bites remains my recent and current favorite for chocolate chip cookies in terms of flavor and texture.

Coconut Blondies from Dixie Crystals

Coconut Blondies - made July 4, 2023 from Dixie Crystals 

1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup light brown sugar, packed

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

3 large eggs

2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 teaspoon coconut extract

1 1/2 cups shredded coconut

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 saucepan, melt butter and stir constantly until butter has browned; remove from heat and let cool.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.
4. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together browned butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until combined. Add eggs, vanilla extract and coconut extract and beat until combined.
5. Add dry ingredients and mix on low speed until combined. Fold in coconut. Pour batter into prepared pan in an even layer.
6. Bake 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Do not overbake.
7. Let cool completely before cutting and serving.

Since it's been so hot in many parts of the country, I've been focusing on easy recipes you can take to any summer gatherings that are easy to make and aren't fussy. Meaning no intricate assembly or frostings to make or, in this case, not even any chocolate to melt before you get to your destination. In my case, the destination of care packages going to desert countries overseas.

If you like coconut, this is a nice brown-sugar blondie with coconut. As you can expect with coconut, the texture is chewy. It's a bit sweet for me but that's my jaded taste buds. I still liked it but then, I love coconut, so it's hard to go wrong with a coconut bar cookie.

Crumbl Copycats: Pink Sugar Cookies from Lifestyle of a Foodie and Cooking with Karli vs the Crumbl OG

Crumbl Copycat Chilled Sugar Cookies - made dough July 1, 2023 from Lifestyle of a Foodie

1 stick butter, softened

1/4 cup oil

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons powdered sugar

1 egg, room temperature

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 teaspoon baking powder

Pink sugar cookie almond icing

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 cup powdered sugar

2 tablespoons heavy cream, cold

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

pink gel food coloring

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter, granulated sugar and powdered sugar until a consistent texture. Beat in oil until combined.
2. Add the egg, vanilla extract and almond extract; beat until just combined.
3. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, salt, cream of tartar and baking powder. Add to butter mixture in 2 additions, mixing until just combined after each addition. Do not overbeat.
4. Using a large cookie scoop, scoop out 9 equally sized dough balls. Using the bottom of a glass dipped in granulated sugar, flatten each dough ball into a thick disc. Cover and chill or freeze for several hours or overnight.
5. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and evenly space dough discs. Bake 10-12 minutes or until edges are set and middles no longer look raw. Remove from oven and let cool completely before frosting.
6. Make the frosting: cream together the butter, powdered sugar and almond extract until well combined. Add in the heavy cream and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add in a tiny bit of pink gel food coloring using a toothpick; mix and check the color. Add more if needed, until desired color is achieved. Generously spread frosting on cookies and chill before serving.

I had some time one day and decided to do a baking experiment with copycat recipes for the Crumbl pink sugar cookie. First off, I'm not a fan of the pink sugar. It's got an almost cult-like following among some of the Crumbl fan base but I'm not one of them. When I had first tried it, I thought the (fake) almond extract flavor was too overpowering and not good at all. I liked the cookie but not the almond extract flavor.

Second, Crumbl said they changed the recipe to include real almond extract, not fake, when they re-released the pink sugar. I didn't try it when the pink sugar came back on the regular menu (it's off again, sorry, pink sugar lovers) as, real or fake, I'm still not a fan of almond extract.

But, in the name of baking experiments, I decided I'd try a couple of copycats for comparison, not just with the Crumbl pink sugar but between themselves. When it comes to Crumbl copycat recipes, the two main sources seem to be Lifestyle of a Foodie and Cooking with Karli so their copycat recipes are the ones I decided to try.

Crumbl Copycat Chilled Sugar Cookies - made dough July 2, 2023 from Cooking with Karli 

1 cup salted butter (I used unsalted)

1 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

Sweet Almond Icing

1/2 cup salted butter, softened

3 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon almond extract

1-3 tablespoons milk

neon pink food coloring, optional

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes, scraping down the sides to keep the mixture even textured.
2. Add eggs, vanilla extract and almond extract, beating until just combined.
3. Add flour and baking powder, mixing until just combined. Portion 1/4-cup balls of dough. Flatten each dough ball with the underside of a glass pressed gently in the center, making thick discs. Cover and chill or freeze (you can skip this step if desired).
4. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and evenly space dough discs. Bake for 9-11 minutes or until the cookies have puffed up and are no longer glossy. Cool for several minutes on the baking sheets then remove to wire racks to cool completely.
5. Make the frosting: cream butter until smooth and creamy. Slowly add in powdered sugar, almond extract and milk until smooth and desired consistency. Spread over still slightly warm cookies. Let cookies cool completely then chill, covered, in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

A comparison of the two recipes show the main difference is Lifestyle of a Foodie uses oil and Cooking with Karli is all butter. The differences in the baked cookies is Lifestyle's cookies spread less and had a slightly more crisp-yet-still-chewy texture while Karli's was a softer texture and mouthfeel. 

I only made the frosting recipe from Lifestyle of a Foodie since I didn't need that much frosting for the taste test cookie from each recipe. If you want the Barbie-pink of the Crumbl OG pink sugar, you do need to use pink food coloring, not red. The pink you see on the frosting on made was achieved with ONE drop of pink food coloring. As in, I dipped a toothpick into the pink gel and gently added a tiny bit to the frosting. And even then, you can tell Crumbl's frosting is a slightly lighter pink. 

So the purpose of the baking experiment was 1) which came closest to Crumbl's original and 2) which did I like better?

The original Crumbl pink sugar cookie

On the first question, the results are a little inconclusive. To be honest, I was distracted by the almond extract flavoring in all of them. The new recipe was better than the old one in that the almond extract flavor wasn't as overpowering. But I'm still not a fan of almond extract so I can't say I loved any of them. 

However, between the two copycats, I have to give more of a nod to the one from Cooking with Karli. The flavor is similar on both but Karli's wins on texture. I prefer the all-butter version with the softer chew and more moist mouthfeel than the one with oil that adds a light crispness but also a slightly drier mouthfeel. Both recipes were good but next time I'd sub in vanilla extract for the almond extract as a personal preference.

Espresso Toffee Shortbread Cookies from The Monday Box

Espresso Toffee Shortbread - made dough July 2, 2023 from The Monday Box 

1 tablespoon instant espresso powder

1 tablespoon boiling water

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

2/3 cup confectioners' sugar plus extra for dusting

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

3.5 - 4 ounces chocolate covered toffee bits or 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips

1. In a small bowl, dissolve the espresso powder in the boiling water.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and confectioners' sugar for 3 minutes at medium speed.
3. Add the vanilla and espresso, beating until combined.
4. Add the flour and mix on low speed until just combined. Fold in the toffee bits or mini chocolate chips.
5. Transfer the dough into a gallon-size ziploc plastic bag and leave "unzipped". Roll the dough into a rectangle the width of the bag and 1/4" thick, keeping the dough crease-free inside the bag.
6. Zip the bag closed, removing as much air as possible. Refrigerate for 2 hours up to 2 days.
7. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
8. Cut open the ziploc plastic bag and place the dough rectangle on a cutting board. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into desired shapes and evenly space on baking sheet. Using a fork to poke holes in each cookie.
9. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes. Remove from oven and dust with confectioners' sugar while cookies are still hot. Let rest on baking sheet for several minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool completely.

Time for a quick and easy recipe that's good for hot summer temps and care packages. This one from The Monday Box fits the bill nicely. For summer picnic-type events, it's always a safe bet to bring something no-fuss that doesn't have frosting. No need to worry about anything melting. For care packages to deployed military personnel, I'm always on the lookout for recipes that have coffee or espresso as our military seems to enjoy their coffee (most of the time).

You can make this with either mini chocolate chips or toffee bits. I went with toffee bits to offer a sweeter contrast to the espresso flavor. This is easy to make in the sense that you put the dough into a gallon-size ziploc freezer bag before you roll it out. The bag keeps the dough within the size of the bag and helps give you an even thickness as you roll it out. If your dough gets too warm, chill it briefly first.

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The cookies didn't spread much, although they did at the edges so mine weren't as clean cut as The Monday Box's. The espresso flavor comes through quite well so if you're not a coffee lover, you might want to cut back a bit on the espresso powder or amp up the toffee bits for the sweetness. This had a nice crisp texture that shortbread should have. Don't overbake it but don't underbake it either or you won't get the "snap" of the shortbread texture.

Crumbl Copycat Waffle Cookies from Lifestyle of a Foodie

Crumbl Copycat Waffle Cookies - made dough July 1, 2023 from Lifestyle of a Foodie

2 sticks (1 cup) butter, softened

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon butter flavoring (emulsion)

3/4 teaspoon maple flavoring (I substituted butter flavoring)

3 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

Buttercream

1/2 stick butter, softened

1 cup powdered sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon butter flavoring (emulsion)

1 tablespoon heavy cream or whole milk

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until light and creamy.
2. Add egg, egg yolk, butter flavoring, vanilla extract and maple flavoring; mix until combined.
3. Add flour, cornstarch, cream of tartar, baking powder and salt; mix until just combined.
4. Portion dough into 12 equally-sized dough balls and flatten slightly. Using a chopstick, slightly press down on the dough discs to make waffle indentations.
5. Freeze cookie dough discs for 15 minutes and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
6. Evenly space cookie dough discs on baking sheet. Bake for 14 minutes or until edges are set and middles no longer look raw. Let cookies cool on baking sheet for 15-20 minutes. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely.
7. Make the buttercream: beat the butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, butter flavoring and 1 tablespoon heavy cream or milk until light and fluffy. If mixture is too thick, add a few more drops of heavy cream or milk until desired consistency is reached.
8. Top each cookie with a dollop of buttercream and a drizzle of maple syrup if desired.

Remember when I tried the Crumbl Waffle Cookie and wished I had tasted it without the syrup first because. with syrup, all I could taste was the syrup and not the cookie itself?

So it seemed obvious that the thing to do was to try a copycat recipe, especially from Lifestyle of a Foodie since she has the best copycat recipes, some of whom are even better than Crumbl's OG cookies. Because then I can leave out the syrup and just have the cookie.

I've got to say, that was one of my more brilliant ideas. OMG, this cookie was fabulous. As in, if I were to try the original Crumbl waffle cookie without the syrup, I'm not sure it would be better. I don't think it can be; this cookie was that good. The dough was perfect, not dry or too sticky and, as you can see from the pictures, it kept the waffle indentations very well.

But it was really the flavor that won me over. I didn't have maple extract so I subbed in vanilla extract but even without the maple extract, this still tasted maple-y and waffle-y. That's probably due to the brown sugar but whatever it was, this cookie was fantastic. No syrup needed and I prefer it plain anyway. Look at that thickness and texture. This is definitely going on my "make again" list.

White Chocolate Lemon Bar Cookies from Baking with Blondie

White Chocolate Lemon Bar Cookies - made dough July 1, 2023 from Baking with Blondie

1 cup unsalted butter, cold

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs, cold

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons lemon zest

1 tablespoon lemon extract

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips (reserve a handful to press on top after baking)

1 cup crumbled Lemon Oreos (reserve 1/4 cup to press on top before baking)

1. Preheat oven to 410 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter for 1 minute until light and fluffy. Add brown sugar and granulated sugar and beat for 3 minutes on high speed, scraping sides and bottom to keep texture even textured.
3. Add eggs, vanilla, lemon zest and lemon extract; mix until combined.
4. Add flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt on low speed until just combined; do not overmix.
5. Reserve 1/8 cup white chocolate chips and 1/4 cup crumbled lemon Oreos then mix in the rest on low speed.
6. Portion dough into 8 equal-sized dough balls. Flatten slightly and handpress crumbled lemon Oreos on top. Evenly space 4 cookies per baking sheet.
7. Bake for 7-9 minutes. They should be slightly golden on the outside, slightly mounded in the middle and thick/tall and gooey in the center. Remove from oven and gently press reserved white chocolate chips over each cookie. Let rest on baking sheets for several minutes then transfer cookies to wire rack to cool completely.

I've never had Lemon Oreos before, have you? I tend to be a purist so I've always stuck to the original Oreos. No double stuff, no weird filling flavors, no cakey Oreos (cakey Oreos, I mean why??)

But I've had good results from pretty much every recipe from Baking with Blondie so I decided to give this a try. I'm glad I did as these were excellent, as per usual with one of her cookie recipes.

I do advise not pressing the Lemon Oreo pieces or white chocolate chunks on the outside until after you take the cookies out of the oven, not before baking. White chocolate will burn too easily at the 410-degree temp the recipe calls for and won't look as pretty.

But look at the texture of the inside - that's what I'm talking about. Dense, chewy, moist. The lemon flavor came out well, thanks to the lemon extract as well as the Lemon Oreos; the lemon flavor also paired nicely with the white chocolate. I really enjoyed the cookie itself so next time I might cut back on the Lemon Oreos and just enjoy the soft texture of the cookie without too much crunch.