Bakery-Style Brownies from Shugary Sweets

Bakery-Style Brownies - made July 14, 2022 from Shugary Sweets 

1 cup unsalted butter

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

2 cups granulated sugar

4 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9 x 9-inch 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 over medium heat. Add chocolate chips, whisking until melted and smooth. Remove from heat and add granulated sugar, whisking until combined.
3. Add eggs, one at a time, stirring after each addition until combined. Add vanilla.
4. Add cocoa powder, flour, salt and baking powder, stirring with a wooden spoon until combined and glossy. Do not overmix.
5. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake about 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out with a few moist crumbs, not raw batter. (Mine took 45 minutes in my oven.) Let cool completely before cutting.

I'm back to trying out new brownie recipes, specifically ones that don't use a lot of or any unsweetened baking chocolate. I'm running low and I don't have any faith that any online order would reach me intact, not with the consistent daily triple digit temps we have at the moment.

I admit to a bit of bias against brownie recipes that use only cocoa powder as the chocolate base. Those brownies tend to be more cakey and I want chewy. This is a good compromise as it uses chocolate chips as well as cocoa powder for the chocolate flavor.

It also turned out pretty well. I probably could've baked it a couple of minutes more as it was just a trifle more underbaked than I normally prefer so the texture was a bit more soft edging towards mushy rather than fudgy. Fudgy gives you more chewiness. Mushy is, well, just mushy.

But that was operator error as the flavor itself was rather good. Not too cloyingly rich but just a good strong chocolate flavor. It helped that I used a rich dark cocoa, formerly known as Pernigotti.

Crumbl Copycat: Snickerdoodles from Salt & Baker

Crumbl Copycat: Snickerdoodles - made dough July 3, 2022 from Salt & Baker

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon salt

Cinnamon sugar coating

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.
2. Add eggs and vanilla extract, mixing until combined.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture in 2 additions, mixing after each addition until just combined.
4. Portion dough into golf-ball-size dough balls, flatten slightly, 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.
6. In a small bowl, mix together granulated sugar and cinnamon. Roll dough balls in mixture, coating completely. Evenly space on baking sheets. Bake 12-15 minutes or until edges are set and middles no longer look raw. Remove from oven and let cool on baking sheets for several minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool completely.

These are supposed to be a copycat for Crumbl Snickerdoodles but I can't say they were that. I didn't make them big enough to be Crumbl size but given how much the regular size dough balls spread to a reasonable thickness (not Crumbl thick), I'm glad I didn't or I might've ended up with large, not-thin-but-not-that-thick cookies.

However, copycat-ness (yes, I make up words) notwithstanding, this was a really good snickerdoodle. Great texture, perfectly balanced cinnamon sugar flavor. I made these with Kerry Gold butter which tends to impart  richer flavor but also cause more spread so that may be why they weren't as thick as Crumbl's. But that could also be why they tasted so good. 

Crumbl Copycat: Birthday Cake Cookies from Lifestyle of a Foodie

Crumbl Copycat: Birthday Cake Cookies - made dough July 3, 2022 from Lifestyle of a Foodie 

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/3 cup granulated sugar

3 tablespoons powdered sugar

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon cake batter extract

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 tablespoons sprinkles

Cream cheese frosting

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

3 tablespoons butter, softened

1/4 teaspoon cake batter extract

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter, granulated sugar and powdered sugar until smooth and creamy.
3. Beat in the egg, cake batter extract and vanilla extract, until combined.
4. Mix in the flour, baking powder, and salt until just combined. Do not overmix. Portion dough into 6 equal-sized portions and roll into balls. Flatten slightly to 1-inch thickness
5. Bake cookies for 11 minutes the cool on the baking sheet for 10-15 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
6. Frosting: in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and cream cheese until smooth and fluffy.
7. Add in the powdered sugar and cake batter extract; whip for 3-5 minutes or until fluffy. Place the frosting in a piping bag fitted with a large round piping tip. Frost each cooled cookie by piping in a spiral. Sprinkle with extra sprinkles if desired.

Raise your hand if you didn't know "cake batter extract" was a thing. Just me? Seriously, my world of extracts is mostly vanilla. I know almond and coconut extracts exist but I don't like them so I don't use them. Orange and lemon extracts I use sparingly and it depends on the recipe. But cake batter extract? Who knew? 

Now I know. I found two recipes that used them so of course I had to buy a bottle so I could try them out. Michaels sells different extracts as does Amazon. This recipe only uses a little in both the dough and the frosting so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. And despite my not liking sprinkles, I added some to stay true to the recipe.

The results are a bit mixed for me. I liked the texture of these - soft-dense and cakey but not fluffy. The sprinkles didn't bother me too much but if I made these again, I'd probably leave them out of the cookie and just keep them as sprinkles on the frosting.

Flavor-wise, I'm a little uncertain about these. There wasn't that much flavor to them. They weren't overly sweet but they were a little bland. Next time I think I'd amp up both the cake batter extract as well as the vanilla extract. Texture was on point, flavor needs a little more. These are good frosted though to add that extra flavor. 

Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies

Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies - made dough July 2, 2022 from Spaceships and Laser Beams 

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons butter, softened

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 large egg

2 1/2 cup chocolate chunks or chips

1. In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cornstarch and salt' set aside.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and cream cheese until combined and no lumps remain. Beat in brown sugar and granulated sugar, mixing until combined. Add vanilla extract and egg, beating until just combined.
3. Add dry ingredients in two additions, mixing until just combined. Scrape down bottom and sides of bowl to keep mixture even textured. Fold in chocolate chips.
4. Portion dough into golf-ball-size dough balls. Cover and chill or freeze for 2-3 hours or overnight.
5. 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. Remove from oven and let cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes then transfer to wire cooling racks to cool completely.

I could've sworn I've made this recipe before but I couldn't find it on a search of my blog so perhaps it's one of those recipes I've had for so long, I think I've made it when I haven't. The dough was a bit soft when I finished mixing it so I put it in the fridge to chill a bit before I portioned into dough balls. I also ran out of semisweet chocolate chips so I made this with a combination of semisweet and milk chocolate chips.

Because of the cream cheese adding to the softness of the dough, it's easy to think these aren't done or are still too raw if you look at the crevices in the craggy tops of the dough. But time the bake as the cookies will set as they cool. At first I thought I had underbaked the first pan too much but the bottoms were golden brown while the tops looked a little underdone. Once they cooled though, the texture was perfect.

These aren't as sweet as a non-cream-cheese version and the brown sugar caramel overtones aren't as pronounced. But it doesn't have the tang of cream cheese either for anyone (like me) who doesn't love cream cheese. Instead the cream cheese contributes to the softness of the texture. It's a good variation for those who want something a little different than the usual chocolate chip cookie recipe.

Crumbl Cookies review #24 - Birthday Cake and Apple Pie

Crumbl Cookies review #24 - Birthday Cake and Apple Pie, visited July 5, 2022

I didn't think I'd ever say this but my one-sided love affair with Crumbl might be ending. Or at least going on a Ross-Rachel "we're on a break!" This week's offerings, or repeat offering as the case may be, are dampening my Crumbl obsession.

I was so looking forward to the Birthday Cake as I loved the Birthday Valentine version back in February as it was Crumbl-cakey perfection back then. This time around, I don't know if they changed the recipe or instructed their stores to increase the baking time as the one I got was more dry and crumbly. Not exactly overbaked but it was closer to a shortbread texture than a cakey one. Which was disappointing. I know it wasn't just me who got this kind of cookie as others have posted the same thing. The flavor was still good but I wanted that soft cakey texture again. 

The silver lining is it's one less Crumbl cookie I need to get in the future - good for my waistline and wallet. Sorry, inner greedy child.

The texture comparison - top is from February, bottom is from July

The apple pie also made a comeback this week. I'd had this before and hadn't planned on getting it again but I noticed they changed the cookie base so of course, I had to try it. I'm glad I did as I preferred this shortbread cookie base more than the earlier one that was more like a graham cracker-y-oat crust. This one was like what they used for the banana cream pie cookie and I loved the banana cream pie.

However, the filling was better in the first rendition of the apple pie cookie that I tried last year. Back then, the filling was whole apple slices. This new filling is more like chopped up apples which tend to get mushy and look like - well -  apple mush. Not aesthetically appealing or very tasty. Can't have everything, right? Not a complaint but in all honesty, I probably wouldn't get this rendition of the apple pie cookie again. Apple mush filling isn't a good mouthfeel nor is the texture that great.

Top is last year's apple pie cookie, bottom is this year's

The other miss with my local Crumbl since I moved is I hardly ever get a warm cookie. I tried a different store nearby while I was out doing an errand and this one was on my way home. Like the one closer to me, there was no one in the store when I walked in so I wonder how much business they do and how many cookies they already have prepped in advance. Neither cookie was even lukewarm. I know when I tried the earlier renditions of these at different stores, the birthday cookie was warm while the frosting was cool (great combination) and the apple pie cookie was warm throughout. Not the case with either of these.

Disappointment is too strong a word for these First World problems (let's keep perspective that these are just cookies, albeit expensive ones, and there are more important things in life). But it might give me the excuse to take a break from Crumbl for a bit as my expectations from my initial experiences with Crumbl seem to be set too high as my recent trips haven't lived up to those expectations. So...we're on a break.

Crumbl Copycat: Stuffed Hazelnut Churro Cookies from Lifestyle of a Foodie

Crumbl Copycat: Stuffed Hazelnut Churro Cookies - made dough July 1, 2022 from Lifestyle of a Foodie

1 stick butter (1/2 cup or 8 tablespoons), softened

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

Cinnamon-sugar mixture

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup Nutella for the filling

1. Filling: using a 1 tablespoon measuring spoon, scoop out 7 equally-sized rounded tablespoons of Nutella onto a plastic-wrapped plate or baking sheet and freeze for 30 minutes or until solid.
2. Cooking dough: cream the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together until light and creamy. Add in the egg and vanilla extract; mix until smooth.
3. Gently mix in the flour, cornstarch, cream of tartar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt until just combined.
4. Scoop out equal-sized dough balls, gently flatten them between the palms of your hands and place the frozen Nutella in the center of each disc. Pull up the edges of the cookie disc to completely enclose the frozen Nutella and roll into a round ball to smooth out the seams. Chill or freeze for at least 30 minutes.
5. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
6. In a small bowl, stir together the 2 tablespoons granulated sugar and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon. Roll dough balls in cinnamon-sugar mixture and evenly space on baking sheet.
7.  Bake cookie for 10-12 minutes then let sit on baking sheet until completely cool.

I'm so happy to be able to bake again. For so long, I was packing up my old house then moving and unpacking the new house so there was little time or inclination to bake. Truthfully, I'm still half-living in half-unpacked boxes because I ran out of room to put things in my now-much-smaller kitchen. I'm having my lower kitchen cabinets extended but it hasn't happened yet so in the meantime, a lot of my baking stuff is scattered about. I did find 3 of my 4 cookie dough scoops though. No idea where the 4th one is but at least I have 3 of the 4.

Anyway, I have had the original Crumbl Hazelnut Churro so I was interested in trying the copycat recipe from Lifestyle of a Foodie. She's had the most reliably good recipes for Crumbl copycats. Even the ones that aren't super exact to Crumbl's have been amazingly good in their own right so her blog is always a good one to seek out first for any Crumbl copycat. 

The dough comes together beautifully. Save yourself a mess and follow the directions to freeze the dollops of Nutella first; you'll be glad you did. Flatten the dough into thick discs, place a frozen Nutella dollop in the middle of each disc then wrap the dough around the Nutella. I froze the dough balls first, partly because I always prefer to bake from frozen dough for less spread and partly because I like to time when I turn the oven on during summer when it's so hot. In this case, I've been making up batches of cookie dough and only baking in the wee hours of the morning.

Most of this batch went for care packages for Soldiers Angels and I was glad I found my "thank you" packaging in the midst of half-unpacked boxes and things stuffed haphazardly into any viable kitchen space I could find. The batch only makes 7 good-sized cookies though so it didn't go very far. If you want more cookies, of course, make them smaller. I decided to follow the original recipe as it was meant to be so I could recreate the "true" copycat.

Which it seems like I did. Unfortunately, what I forgot about the original is I didn't really like the cinnamon and Nutella combination that much. This would've been better (to me) without the teaspoon of cinnamon in the cookie dough to cut back on the cinnamon flavor. The cinnamon-sugar coating was fine but I'd cut back on the cinnamon so as not to conflict with the Nutella.

Careful not to overbake either. It's a little difficult to tell when the cookies are done because the Nutella filling doesn't let the middle appear cooked but it will be once the outer edges have tiny fissures to indicate doneness. Don't overbake as not even Nutella lava in the middle will save a dry, overbaked cookie.