Blondies from Handle the Heat

Blondies - made June 17, 2023 from Handle the Heat

1 1/2 sticks (170 grams) unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups (300 grams) light brown sugar

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 cups (191 grams) all-purpose flour

1 3/4 cups (281 grams) mix-ins of your choice such as chocolate chips, M&Ms, nuts, etc

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 8 x 8-inch pan with foil and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a heavy duty medium saucepan, melt butter. Add sugar and whisk to combine. Let cool until just warm.
3. Add egg, egg yolk and vanilla, whisking until smooth. Stir in the salt, baking powder and flour with a rubber spatula. Stir in 1 1/2 cups mix-ins.
4. Pour batter in an even layer into prepared pan. Top evenly with remaining mix-ins.
5. Bake until edges are lightly golden but the center still jiggles slightly, about 25-30 minutes. Cool completely before cutting and serving.

Remember I said how I don't usually like blondies? Always just seemed like a too-sweet brown sugar blondie. Well, recipe by recipe, Handle the Heat is starting to change my mind. First were her Chocolate Coconut Blondies which I really enjoyed.

And now, second, are these blondies with chocolate chunks. I probably overdid the chocolate chunks a bit but the blondie part was really good. Just the right "fudgy" texture and great flavor.

I definitely want to make these again, perhaps with a little less chocolate so I could enjoy the blondie part a little more.

When baking these, it's really important not to overbake them. I always say that but it's particularly true for blondies as they dry out more easily and quickly become cakey when fully baked.

Lemon Sugar Cookie Bars from Five Heart Home

Lemon Sugar Cookie Bars - made June 17, 2023 from  Five Heart Home

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon lemon zest

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon lemon extract, optional

Topping

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 tablespoon sparkling sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9 x 13 pan with foil and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and lemon zest.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter until creamy, 1-2 minutes. Add granulated sugar and beat on medium-high speed for 3 minutes or until light and fluffy. 
4. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing on low speed until combined then add lemon juice, vanilla extract and lemon extract until just combined.
5. Add dry ingredients in 2-3 additions, mixing on low speed until just combined. Spread batter in an even layer into prepared pan. Sprinkle evenly with granulated sugar and sparkling sugar.
6. Bake for 22 to 28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean; do not overbake. Cool completely before cutting and serving.

This is a straightforward, easy-to-make sugar cookie in bar form, spiked with lemon flavor. I don't make sugar cookie bars that often as I prefer them in cookie form and bar cookies tend to be more cakey than I like.

But these were pretty good, nicely chewy and not too tart or lemony but still subtly flavored with lemon. If you want to amp up the lemon flavor, grate some extra zest into the batter and/or mix lemon zest with sugar and sprinkle over the top when baking. I didn't have sparkling sugar so I used regular granulated sugar but it would have been a little more extra with the larger sugar crystals. This is a good one for summer picnics since you don't have the worry about frosting melting and they're easy to stack, store and package.

Crumbl Cookies review #43 - Red Velvet Cupcake, Waffle, Lemon Bar (mystery cookie), Fried Ice Cream

Crumbl Cookies review #43 - Red Velvet Cupcake, Waffle, Lemon Bar (mystery cookie) and Fried Ice Cream, visited June 19, 2023

I've been eating Crumbl cookies long enough and tried enough flavors that it's a rare week when they offer 4 flavors I've never tried before AND they were flavors I actually wanted to try.

I always try to take a picture of the menu for posterity's sake. This shot is a little (badly) angled as there were people in front of the kiosk putting in an order so I had to take the picture from the side.

I wasn't interested in the Chocolate Cookies and Cream so I was glad the mystery cookie was Lemon Bar. I love lemon so that one took up the 4th slot in the 4-pack I bought.

Red Velvet Cupcake

In order of how they were in my 4-pack left to right, let's start with the Red Velvet Cupcake. I've had other Crumbl red velvet cookies before so I figured I would like this one, especially since it didn't have white chocolate chips to detract from the texture of the cookie.

And sure enough, I really liked this cookie. Loved the red velvet flavor and the texture was perfectly fudgy and chewy. I also like the cream cheese frosting, even though I did have to scrape some of it off. I definitely prefer this version of red velvet vs the ones that have white chocolate chips in them.

Waffle

Unfortunately I was less impressed with the waffle cookie. I thought I would like this one better than I did as the cookie itself is usually what I like best about Crumbl cookies: nice and thick, dense, chewy, brown-sugar based. 

But I made the mistake of going by the recommendation of Crumbl Waffle cookie lovers who said to spread the buttercream dollop evenly over the cookie, pour the syrup over it and eat it warm.

I did all that and the mistake was in pouring the syrup over the whole cookie before trying the cookie without the syrup. Because with the syrup over it, all I could taste was the syrup, not the cookie. It was also messy to wrap and freeze because of the syrup.

So, yeah, no, didn't love this one. If it comes around again, I'll have to try it without the syrup. Maybe I'll like it better then.

Lemon Bar

Fortunately, the Lemon Bar more than made up for the Waffle cookie. I let it come to room temperature first (of course) and it was perfection.

The lemon curd on top was nicely tart and paired well with the sugar cookie base which I also loved since it was thick, dense and chewy. 

This might be one of my favorite lemon-based cookies from Crumbl and I'd definitely get it again. All the other lemon cookies get bumped down the list when they're up against the Lemon Bar.

Fried Ice Cream

I had never had the Fried Ice Cream before. When it came on the menu last year, I had read the "fried" topping was stale or got stale fast so I was leery of getting it. I don't eat any Crumbl cookie all at once, in one sitting or even on the same day. I usually try a piece of the cookie then break up the rest, wrap the pieces and freeze them until later.

Past experience with cereal-esque toppings have taught me those toppings don't fare well being frozen then thawed. They get stale, soft and chewy-not-in-a-good-way. But YOLO so I wanted to try it this time. 

And I'm so glad I did. I loved this cookie as well. I was going to love the cookie base anyway (look at that texture) and I appreciated the frosting wasn't so thick. But the fried topping really made the cookie. Mine was nicely crisp, almost like feuilletine, and made a great contrast with the chewy cookie and the smooth frosting, adding a perfect crunch. The downside was, as I expected, the topping didn't freeze well and wasn't as good when thawed. If I get this again, I'd prioritize eating it sooner than later to avoid having to freeze it.

All in all, this (last week) was a great week for Crumbl flavors. Which turned out to be a good thing because this week (week of June 26, 2023) had nothing that interested me. I'm hoping the mystery flavor this week will be good. Otherwise, it's a (rare) skip week for me at Crumbl.

Kahlua Crinkles from An Affair from the Heart

Kahlua Crinkles - made dough May 27, 2023 from An Affair from the Heart 

1 2/3 cups flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons instant espresso powder

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon coffee extract

2 teaspoons Kahlua

2 large eggs

Kahlua Sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons Kahlua

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Kahlua sugar: in a small bowl, mix Kahlua into granulated sugar with a fork until incorporated; set aside.
3. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and espresso powder; set aside.
4. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, granulated sugar, coffee extract, and Kahlua for about 4 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing until just combined.
5. On low speed, mix in flour mixture until just combined.
6. Portion into golf-ball-size dough balls, roll each ball in the Kahlua sugar and evenly space on baking sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes or until edges are set and middles no longer look raw. Let cool on baking sheet for several minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool completely.

Can you tell I bought a new bottle of Kahlua? Hence another cookie recipe that uses it. This one has both espresso powder and coffee extract so it's really more of a chocolate espresso cookie than a Kahlua one.

This is a variation of a crinkle cookie. A typical crinkle cookie is rolled in powdered sugar before baking. This one is rolled in a mixture of granulated sugar and a little Kahlua. Normally granulated sugar melts in baking but this stayed crystallized, probably because the addition of the Kahlua prevented it from melting into the cookie.

It does clump as you can see from the pictures so as much as possible, try to break up the big clumps and distribute the granulated sugar as evenly as possible.

The texture of this was nicely soft, not hard or crusty shell-outside at all. I liked it as the granulated sugar coating gave it a little crunch if you want a texture contrast but not too much so. Overall it's a soft, flavorful cookie. The Kahlua taste isn't that strong as espresso and chocolate tend to take over the flavor profile but it's still a great cookie, especially for coffee lovers.

Crumbl Cookies review #42 - Cinnamon Fry Bread

Crumbl Cookies review #42  - Cinnamon Fry Bread, visited on June 6, 2023

Cinnamon Fry Bread

Clearly I've given up trying to keep current with my Crumbl reviews since I got this several weeks ago. 

You can also see I've given up getting only one flavor a week (did I ever really try that? I used to, long ago). However, I've already gotten the Nilla Bean Cupcake and Lemonade Cookie before and loved them so I did go with a 4-pack to try the Cinnamon Fry Bread and got my favorites to fill out the rest of the box (and my freezer for future indulgence).

I liked the Cinnamon Fry Bread. I've never had real fry bread so I don't know how the cookie version stacks up against the real thing but it was a great cinnamon-based sugar cookie. I tend to like Crumbl's sugar cookies, whether they're lemon-flavored, vanilla-based or spiced with cinnamon. It's the texture that lures me in.

Taking the advice of Crumbl aficionados, I spread the "dollop" of cinnamon buttercream more evenly over the top and it worked well. The cookie had a slight crust to bite through to the softer inside when it was freshly purchased. I only had a piece of it before I stored the rest in my freezer. When I had a thawed piece later, there was less texture difference between the outside and inside, which is typical of any thawed cookie. Nothing beats the texture of newly baked/bought though. I just can't eat a whole cookie in one sitting. Well, I probably can but I don't. 800 calories? Can't. Shouldn't. Don't.

Kahlua Mudslide Cookies from Daily Dish Recipes

Kahlua Mudslide Cookies - made dough May 31, 2023 from Daily Dish Recipes

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup cocoa powder

3 tablespoons espresso powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, melted and cooled

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs, room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/4 cup Kahlua coffee liqueur

1 cup chocolate chunks

3-4 tablespoons sprinkles, optional

1. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking soda and salt; set aside.
2. In another bowl, beat together melted butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Add eggs and vanilla, beat to combine.
4. Pour in Kahlua and mix to combine.
5. Add dry ingredients in 2-3 additions, mixing on low speed until just combined. Fold in chocolate chunks. Portion dough into golf-ball-size dough balls, cover and chill for 30 minutes.
6. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Evenly space dough balls on prepared sheets. Bake 10-12 minutes or until edges are set and middles no longer look raw. Do not overbake.
7. Remove from oven and let cookies rest on baking sheets for several minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool completely.

These aren't "mudslide" in the sense that there's (not) a lava flow of chocolate in the middle only waiting for your teeth to sink into.

But they are soft, chewy cookies, amped up with espresso flavor. I couldn't taste the Kahlua as much since the espresso is a pretty strong flavor as is the chocolate. The dough was a little soft and sticky when I mixed it but I deliberately didn't add any additional flour as I didn't want to change what's supposed to be a soft texture by making it more cakey with too much flour.

You definitely don't want to overbake these or you won't get any "mudslide" texture at all. As you can see from the below picture, I only baked until the edges were set but the middle still looks soft. It might seem raw but when they're at room temperature, they're nicely fudgy.