Crave Cookies review #6 - Biscoff Explosion

Crave Cookies review #6 - Biscoff Explosion, visited January 5, 2025

Biscoff Explosion

I've pretty much given up being able to taste test and post about Crave Cookies in the same week they're available at Crave. Their new weekly flavors drop on Fridays and they're located farther from me so I'm not able to get to that part of town until later the following week. By the time I do the taste test and the write up, it's too late.

Still, there aren't as many Crave locations as there are Crumbl locations so I'm speaking to a smaller audience for Crave Cookies and I haven't heard of anyone rushing to get a particular cookie based on my reviews, lol.

So I'll just write these for me, to remember for next time a particular flavor comes on the rotation, to remind myself whether I liked it or not. In the case of the Biscoff Explosion which was "cookie butter dough + Biscoff cookie butter stuffed + white chocolate chips", um, heck yeah, I liked it.

I'm really enjoying the Crave cookies I've tried so far, mostly because I don't pick the offerings that have a ton of frosting smothering the cookie and because I like the flavors they offer. The Biscoff Explosion was just as good as it sounded. I liked everything about it, from the thickness of the cookie to the crispness of the edges, the chewiness of the cookie itself and, of course, the cookie butter flavor complemented perfectly with the white chocolate. I particularly enjoyed the cookie butter stuffing inside this cookie that was melty if you ate this warm. Crave just does these cookies so well. Worth the farther driving distance than Crumbl, even though I do try to combine it with when I'm already close to that part of town from my volunteer work for my local food bank. Also worth the extra miles I log on my treadmill to eat even part of the cookie.

If you have a Crave Cookies in your area or get one in the future, they're definitely worth a visit.

Banana Bread Coffee Cake from Daily Appetite

Banana Bread Coffee Cake - made January 3, 2025 from Daily Appetite

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 cup mik

2 large eggs

2 medium bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

pinch of salt

Streusel

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

Icing

1 tablespoon milk

1/4 cup confectioners' sugar

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a 9 x 9-inch baking pan with foil and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Make streusel topping: in a mixing bowl, use a fork to combine granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt and butter. Slowly add in flour and combine, using the fork in a cutting action. Squeeze handfuls of streusel by hand to create large clumps.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in vanilla, milk, eggs and bananas.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Add to butter mixture and mix to combine.
5. Pour batter into prepared pan and top with streusel, spreading evenly to cover top. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack.
6. While the cake is cooling, make the icing: in a small saucepan over low heat, combine milk and sugar with a whisk. Whisk until sugar is dissolved and mixture is smooth. Add more milk if needed to achieve desired consistency. Drizzle over warm cake.

This recipe didn't fail me but rather, I failed it. I've become so used to baking "my way" that I violated the first rule of baking and didn't read the recipe very closely. My biggest mistake is I only baked this at 350 degrees F instead of 375. Consequently, although the toothpick came out clean after 30 minutes, it turns out the cake was still underbaked. I discovered my mistake too late as I'd already glazed it. But the initial taste test piece was too dense and soggy, not just from the bananas but because it was underbaked. I did pop it back into the oven to bake some more but that made the glaze crystallize and harden once it came out of the oven a second time and cooled.

Which was too bad as this cake was pretty good in terms of flavor, even underbaked and later, twice baked. So I'll have to try it again and pay more attention next time. Even though I failed with it, I’m still posting about it as it’s worth logging for a second try and it’s a good way to use up milk before it expires. Not to mention overripe bananas.

Crumbl Cookies review #85 - S'mores Cake

Crumbl Cookies review #85: S'mores Cake - visited January 13, 2025

A quick write up so I can get this review posted while the S'mores Cake is still available at Crumbl this week (through Saturday, they're closed on Sundays).

I usually enjoy the new cakes Crumbl has been releasing and always want to try them. I typically stay away from anything s'mores though since I don't care for marshmallows; they're often too sweet and too sticky/rubbery for me.

But I decided to try this one and see. I wanted to like this cake, I really did. But it was just okay, at best. At worst, I didn't like that top layer of frosting at all. It was solid, probably due to the marshmallow in it setting to a solid state. After a couple of bites, I removed the frosting. Only instead of scraping it off like with a cream cheese frosting or a buttercream, the whole top came off in one piece. That's how solid it was. Yeah, not for me.

It's served at room temperature but I liked it much better after I took the top off and popped it in the microwave for 15 seconds. The cakes were softer as was the frosting and ganache in the middle. Much more enjoyable. So overall: glad I tried it for myself, was good enough to taste test but not something I'd get again. Flavor wise, it didn't stand out either other than as a nice chocolate cake and a nice vanilla cake.

Crumbl Cookies review #84 - Cookies & Cream Tres Leches Cake

Crumbl Cookies review #84 - Cookies & Cream Tres Leches Cake, visited December 31, 2024

Remember when I talked about Crumbl's product extensions on their bestsellers? They started with the original Tres Leches Cake, added Cookie Butter Tres Leches and then Eggnog Tres Leches over the holidays. This week, they extended to Cookies & Cream Tres Leches.

Of this week's offerings, I had already tried Vanilla Crumb Cake ft Golden Oreo, French Toast, Pink Sugar, and the Churro (one of my favorites).

Out of the others, the Cookies & Cream Tres Leches Cake is the only one I wanted to try. I had some reservations as I don't like whipped cream and only like it on the original Tres Leches because of the cinnamon sprinkled on top. Plus, although I love Oreos, I'm not a big cookies and cream fan.

However, I'm glad I tried this one as I liked Crumbl's version. It's really more of a moist chocolate cake and I'm not sure it's really a "true" Tres Leches as opposed to a really good, moist chocolate cake. I did end up scraping off most of the whipped cream after the first taste test bite as I didn't like it enough to consume the calories from it.

It doesn't necessarily photograph that well on the inside, at least not with my photography skills, but don't let that put you off. This is a good cake and captured that dark chocolate, Oreo-ish flavor. Although it was more dark chocolate than Oreo to me. Still, I'm not that picky with a good chocolate cake. This does have a $1.49 surcharge so it was $5.98 at my local store. Crumbl (or at least my store) has perfected the soaking of the milks. My cake was perfectly moist but not soggy or dry. It was just right. I still prefer the original Tres Leches Cake overall but this is a pretty delicious product extension. 

"Best" Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies from Modern Honey

Best Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies - made dough December15, 2024 , modified slightly from Modern Honey

1 cup butter, melted and browned

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 large egg yolk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 1/4 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups chocolate chips

1 cup Heath toffee bits, optional

1. Place butter in a large, deep, heavy pot or skillet. Melt over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until completely melted, foaming and browned bits appear on the bottom, 5-7 minutes. Pour butter into your mixing bowl and let cool to room temperature. Cover and place in refrigerator until solidified, at least an hour. Remove from refrigerator and let come to room temperature, 5-10 minutes.
2. Beat butter for 30 seconds and scrape the browned bits at the bottom to incorporate with rest of butter. Add brown sugar and granulated sugar; cream for 4-5 minutes, scraping bottom and sides of bowl to keep mixture even textured.
3. Add eggs and egg yolk, one at a time, beating for 30 seconds after each addition. Stir in vanilla.
4. Add flour, baking soda and salt, mixing on low speed just until incorporated. Stir in chocolate chips and toffee bits, if using, mixing until evenly disbursed.
5. Portion dough into golf-ball-size dough balls; cover and chill for 24 hours. Freeze or bake after 24 hours.
6. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 385 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Evenly space chilled dough balls. Bake 9-10 minutes or until edges are light golden brown and middles no longer look raw. Remove from heat and let rest on baking sheets for 2-3 minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool completely.

Although I haven't been trying many new recipes lately, I did sneak this one in from Modern Honey. Beyond holiday-themed cookies for my holiday baking gifts, I almost always include chocolate chip cookies as well since they're a universal favorite among my gift recipients. 

Browned butter provides an extra richness to cookies and this calls for browning the butter, letting it cool to solid state then mixing it into the dough. The result is cookies with crisp edges, an extra richness to the caramelized flavor and chewy moistness in the middle. In other words: damn good.

They puffed up during baking then they did flatten out more than I wanted once they came out of the oven. I did the swirling trick to neaten up the edges and make them more uniformly round. That also led to the crinkles at the edges which I didn't mind. But I would've like them to be thicker. But in any case, they did well on flavor and texture. I also added a cup of toffee bits for some crunch and sweetness but you can leave them out if you prefer.

Crave Cookies Review #5 - Caramel Turtle

Crave Cookies Review #5: Caramel Turtle - visited December 11, 2024

Caramel Turtle

I think I've given up trying to get my Crave reviews up the same week the cookies I've tried are still available. The new flavors drop every Friday but I usually can't get to Crave until either a few days after that or a day or two before another new set of flavors drop. So I'm going to be perpetually behind. 

I didn't have time to capture what last week's particular flavors were but here's a picture of them. The only one I was really interested in was the Caramel Turtle so that's what I got.

As you can see, it's pretty straightforward: brown sugar cookie stuffed with caramel, studded with candied pecans and covered in melty milk chocolate.

If your blood sugar spiked just reading that description, imagine actually biting into this. It's like a superior and nutty Twix in cookie form. But infinitely better than a Twix.

I like Crave's base vanilla or brown sugar cookies anyway. Then you stuff it with excellent chewy, flowy caramel and cover it in milk chocolate? Um, yeah. I'm not generally a fan of nuts in my cookies but since this was such a sturdy, thick cookie, it worked fairly well, especially since the pecans were candied and added that sweet crunch. This cookie was worth the calories and double workouts, I assure you.

Stamped Cookies #42 - Gingerbread Stamped Cookies from Your Baking Bestie

Stamped Cookies #42 - Gingerbread Stamped Cookies, made dough December 6, 2024 from Your Baking Bestie

1 cup unsalted butter

1 cup (224 grams) dark brown sugar

1/2 cup (112 grams) granulated sugar

1/3 cup (93 grams) molasses

2 large eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

5 cups (700 grams) all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking powder

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until well combined and no butter lumps remain, 1-2 minutes. Add molasses and beat to combine.
2. Add eggs, one at a time, and vanilla extract, mixing to combine.
3. In a small bowl, combine together ginger, salt, cinnamon and baking powder. Add to creamed mixture and mix to combine.
4. Add flour in 1 cup additions, mixing on low speed after each addition until just combined.
5. In a small bowl, pour granulated sugar. Roll dough into balls and flatten slightly. Lightly coat with the granulated sugar before stamping. You can bake without chilling or, if you prefer, chill for 30 minutes to overnight first.
6. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and evenly space stamped cookies. Bake 8-10 minutes or until middle no longer look raw or shiny. Remove from heat and let rest on baking sheets for several minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool completely.

Gingerbread seems to be the flavor of the season, or at least one of them. I'm not a big gingerbread fan. Gingerbread houses are pretty but I don't know many people who actually eat them because the gingerbread has to be so hard to hold up a structure and decorations. Plus all the spices are a bit much.

So I was glad to find this recipe that has just the right amount of "gingerbread flavor" i.e. molasses and spices. In fact, the only spices are cinnamon and ground ginger which suits me fine.

The dough was easy to work with. I do suggest weighing at least the flour and brown sugar if you have a kitchen scale, for greater accuracy. Feel the dough before adding all of that last cup of flour. You don't want it sticky but you don't want it dry and crumbly either. I also modified the directions for stamping as I prefer to roll individual balls of dough in granulated sugar rather than flour to prevent the cookie stamp from sticking.

I underbaked the test cookie slightly as you can tell from the darker middle. But it suited me just fine as the texture was dense and moist. The edges were a little bit crisp, even slightly underbaked. This is a great cookie for people who don't like strong molasses or ginger flavors in their gingerbread. Plus the impressions held up beautifully in baking.

Crumbl Cookies Review #83 - Eggnog Tres Leches Cake

Crumbl Cookies Review #83 - Eggnog Tres Leches Cake, visited December 9, 2024

I actually have been baking and have a new recipe to post shortly but I want to get this post up while the Eggnog Tres Leches Cake is still available at Crumbl (until tomorrow, Saturday) this week.

As I mentioned in a previous post, Crumbl does a lot of these "product extensions" by offering a different flavor on an existing product that's done well. There's the original Tres Leches Cake then they did a Cookie Butter Tres Leches Cake and now there's an eggnog version.

Eggnog Tres Leches Cake

I'm not a big fan of eggnog. The flavor is okay but it's the texture of somewhere between heavy cream and whole milk that makes me shudder. Not my thing. But since I wasn't drinking straight eggnog and it was only used to soak into the cake itself, I thought this might be a safe bet.

And it was. Crumbl has nailed the tres leches cake pretty well. I still prefer the original version over the other two but this one was fine. It didn't have a strong eggnog flavor so true eggnog lovers might be a little disappointed. But for those of us who prefer "eggnog-lite", this is a decent rendition. The cake was perfectly soaked in the eggnog without being soppy and it definitely wasn't dry. If this was the original version, I could (and have) eaten the whole thing over the course of a day. This one? I ate maybe 20% of it and was fine putting the rest in the freezer for later. This one had a 99-cent upcharge over the single cookie price at my Crumbl. I'm glad I tried it but I wouldn't get multiples like I probably would have with the original Tres Leches.