Tag: Cookies

The Black and White Cookie

CarrieLeave a comment

Do you remember the Seinfeld episode that centered around a Black and White Cookie?  At the bakery, you can get a cookie just like the one seen in the show.  This simple cookie is a delicious treat for anyone at any age.  A cake-like cookie smothered in chocolate and vanilla icing can satisfy anyone’s craving.  I can’t give away our secret recipe but here’s a good one I found on Epicurious.com

Ingredients for Cookies

  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/3 cup well-shaken buttermilk
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/3 cup (5 1/3 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg

Ingredients for Icings

  • 1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
  • 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
  • 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons water
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

To Make cookies:
Preheat oven to 350°F.

Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Stir together buttermilk and vanilla in a cup.

Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes, then add egg, beating until combined well. Mix in flour mixture and buttermilk mixture alternately in batches at low speed (scraping down side of bowl occasionally), beginning and ending with flour mixture. Mix until smooth.

Spoon 1/4 cups of batter about 2 inches apart onto a buttered large baking sheet. Bake in middle of oven until tops are puffed and pale golden, and cookies spring back when touched, 15 to 17 minutes. Transfer with a metal spatula to a rack and chill (to cool quickly), about 5 minutes.

Make icings while cookies chill:
Stir together confectioners sugar, corn syrup, lemon juice, vanilla, and 1 tablespoon water in a small bowl until smooth. Transfer half of icing to another bowl and stir in cocoa, adding more water, 1/2 teaspoon at a time, to thin to same consistency as white icing.

Ice cookies:
Turn cookies flat sides up, then spread white icing over half of each and chocolate over other half.

Vegan Adventures

SadieLeave a comment

I’m constantly trying to justify my sweet tooth by finding recipes and baked goods that provide some healthy attribute, or aren’t completely sinful.  Though vegan recipes are not completely guilt free, they often offer nutritional benefits, and remove some level of guilt.

I found this below recipe when I was surfing through a few blogs online.  It intrigued me because it included some of my favorite ingredients: oats, peanut butter, and bananas.  What could go wrong?

At the end of the day I think these cookies are good snacks but I would not put them in the category of a crave-able treat.  They are not super sweet, and though the PB and banana add to the taste, they aren’t particularly exciting.  I think these would be best enjoyed as an energy booster when you would otherwise grab a granola bar.  And in the future I would also consider adding some mix ins like chocolate chips (obvi not vegan), nuts, or dried fruit.

Vegan Banana Maple Cookies

Adapted from Pumps and Iron

Yields about 20

Ingredients

  • 1 cup whole grain rolled oats
  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  •  ¼ cup brown sugar (I added this because the batter was not sweet at all)
  • 1 banana
  • ¼ cup apple sauce
  • ¼ cup peanut butter
  • ¼ cup maple syrup
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • ½ tsp lemon juice
  • ½ tsp vanilla
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp baking powder
  • 2 tbsp water

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 350.
  2. Mix wet and dry ingredients in separate bowls (brown sugar is a wet).
  3. Combine both mixtures.

    I resorted to a pastry cutter to mash it all together
  4. Spoon onto cookie sheets and bake 8-13 minutes.  The dough will not change shape much, so make sure they are the desired shape when they go into the oven.

Ode to Oatmeal

SadieLeave a comment

One of the only things I crave on a regular basis is oatmeal.  I apreciate it in the traditional format, in granola, cookies, and even raw oats with some almond milk.  I’m not sure why, it just hits the spot for me.

This summer while I’m living in Connecticut I have very limited kitchen resources, so my go-to breakfast has been Quaker’s Weight Control Instant Oatmeal.  I don’t have a microwave, so I just heat up some water in my tea kettle on the stove, and pour it into my bowl with the packet of instant oatmeal.  Breakfast perfection.  The reason I pick the “weight control” option, is more so for the specific nutritional facts rather than the name.  It has 7 grams of protien and only 1 gram of sugar, which is much improved from many of the other instant oatmeal options.  I’m always looking for extra protien and less sugar.

But I digress.  One of my favorite ways to enjoy oatmeal is of course in the form of a cookie.  I saw this recipe on a great food blog that I read regularly and I knew I needed to give them a try.  In addition to the oats, I love a cookie with butterscotch, and I’m always interested in non-chocolate options, because sometimes you a break from the chocolate route.

Oatmeal Butterscotch Caramel Cookies

From Picky Palate

Yields about 3 dozen

Ingredients

  • 2 sticks (1 cup) softened unsalted butter
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup prepared caramel sauce
  • 2 cups AP Flour
  • 1 cup quick cooking oats
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 bag (10 or 12oz) butterscotch chips

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 350.
  2. Cream together butter and sugars with electric mixer.  Add eggs one at a time, then vanilla, and caramel sauce.
  3. Mix together dry ingredients in separate bowl” flour, salt, baking soda, oats.
  4. Slowly combine dry and wet, try not to over mix.  Fold in butterscotch chips.
  5. Scoop dough with ice cream scoop onto parchment lined cookie sheets and bake for 12-14 minutes or until golden brown. (mine spread a little further than the pictures with the recipe on Picky Palate, but I would like to be a poor cratsman and blame my tools.  I’m suspicious about my oven).  Moral of the story: do not put the cookie dough too close together on the pan.

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