The BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever made. I’ve been searching for YEARS for a recipe like this. YEARS, I tell you. They are perfect in every way. Flat and crispy on the outside and buttery and chewy on the inside.

However, I know everyone’s different…and some people like big, fluffy cookies. But not me. To me, these are perfection.

Matt even likes these cookies. So much, that when I told him yesterday that I was thinking of making them again, he came home from work all excited, only to give me the biggest, saddest face when he realized that I hadn’t gotten around to making them yet.

And he doesn’t even like dessert!

I made them today though…and he’s proceeded to eat close to half the batch. Yeah. They’re that good.

So, if you’re going to make anything on this blog, make these cookies. They are perfect. There is really nothing more to say.

Chocolate Chip Cookies
(Recipe from Iowa Girl Eats)

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1½ tsp salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 bag semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Cream butter and sugars until it’s the texture of cornmeal. Add eggs and vanilla and then mix until combined.


In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients in three batches. Add chocolate chips last and mix briefly.

Bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.

Monster Cookies

I got nostalgic this weekend. I wanted monster cookies. I don’t normally make them as I kind of think that once you pass the age of 12, you look kind of silly eating cookies with Smarties in them…

Who am I kidding? No one ever looks silly eating monster cookies.

Speaking of which, I’ve always wondered why they are even called “monster cookies”. If anything, they should be called, “recycle cookies” or “everything-I-have-in-my-baking-cupboard cookies”. Cus that’s basically all they are. Aside from the standard peanut butter, oatmeal and Smartie components, you can really throw any sort of mix-ins into these cookies. You can even mix up different types of peanut butter and oats. They are mish-mash cookies at their finest.

So go ahead, clean out your cupboards, make some cookies and feel like you’re 12 again! It really is the best – and not to mention, most delicious – way to recycle.

Monster Cookies
Usually, these cookies are made without flour. However, I was experimenting today with a mix of a few different recipes and found the dough wasn’t stable enough, so I added a bit of flour to stiffen it up. However, you could always up the oatmeal instead.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp maple syrup
1 cup peanut butter (I used 1/2 creamy, 1/2 crunchy)
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3½ cups oatmeal (quick cooking or old fashioned)
1/2 cup flour
2 cups of add-ins (I used Smarties, chocolate chips and Skor bits)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the butter with the brown and white sugars until blended. Add eggs, vanilla and syrup. Beat until combined.

Add peanut butter, baking soda and salt. Beat until combined.

Slowly add oatmeal and flour (if using). Blend and then fold in mix-ins.

Drop dough onto baking sheets and bake for 8-10 minutes until light brown and just set around edges. Cool on wire racks.

Bittersweet Brownies

Why, hello blog…it’s been awhile.

I’m sorry for the major hiatus these past couple weeks. I’ve been so busy with work and rehearsals and then Matt’s parents were in town and so everything I’ve made has been stuff I’ve made before…as I try not to experiment with new recipes when I’m cooking for house guests, haha.

But today I did some baking, as the remains of the carrot cake, apple pie and peanut butter cookies I made had finally disappeared.

It’s been a bit of a rough weekend, so I wanted something comforting.

Brownies are comforting. So I made some.

I used the recipe from my Pure Dessert cookbook by Alice Medrich. I picked it up on sale from Homesense about a month ago for like, $5 and I have to say…it may have been the best $5 I’ve ever spent. It’s a great book and even though I really try not to buy any more dessert cookbooks, I knew I needed to have this one.

Bittersweet Brownies
(Adapted from Alice Medrich’s recipe for New Bittersweet Brownies)
The secret to these brownies is whipping the eggs with the salt, as it gives them a texture between very moist cake and rich chocolate mousse.

Ingredients:

8 ounces unsweetened chocolate, cut into several pieces
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 large eggs
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

Directions:

Position a rack in the lower third of the over and preheat the oven to 350°F. Line the bottom and sides of a square baking pan with foil.

Place the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and set in a wide skillet of almost-simmering water. Stir frequently until the mixture is melted and smooth and quite warm. Remove from the pan and set aside.


In a medium bowl, beat the eggs, salt, vanilla and sugar with a hand-held mixer on high speed until the eggs are thick and light colored, about 2 minutes.

Whisk the warm chocolate into the thick egg mixture. Fold in the flour.


Scrape the batter into the pan and spread evenly. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 25 to 30 minutes.

Cool the pan on a rack. When cool, invert the brownies on a rack and peel off the foil.


Turn right side up on a cutting board and cut into sixteen 2-inch squares.

Dark Chocolate Nutella Cupcakes with Nutella Buttercream

Today is World Nutella Day. The one day of the year completely devoted to that addictive little chocolate-hazelnut dessert spread known as Nutella. I only first tried this dangerous treat about 4 years ago, believe it or not. I had actually been nervous to try it as everyone I knew in my life who had tried it warned me that I wouldn’t be able to stop if I did. It might just take over my life.

They were right.

I love Nutella. A lot. I will commonly spread it on just about every fruit I can find. Or on toast. Or just out of the container with a spoon. Apparently, I’m not alone on this either.

Today, all Nutella lovers unite to share their mutual love of this dangerous and delicious spread. And in its honor, I have made Nutella cupcakes.

That’s right. Nutella cupcakes.

You’re welcome.

Dark Chocolate Nutella Cupcakes
(Adapted from Cake on the Brain’s Dark Chocolate Cupcakes)
Because I mixed the Nutella right into the batter, these cupcakes are very fragile (as it doesn’t really bake too well). Just make sure you don’t fill the cupcake liners too full! Next time, I might just swirl some in…but either way, these are ridiculously moist and delicious cupcakes. They just have a weird order of being mixed together…but it was totally worth it.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 cup Nutella
3/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup plain yogurt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard-sized muffin pan with baking-cup liners.

Combine butter, chocolate and cocoa in medium heatproof bowl. Set bowl over saucepan containing barely simmering water; heat mixture until butter and chocolate are melted and whisk until smooth and fully combined (I just did this in the microwave and watched it really closely…and it worked the same). Stir in Nutella and then set aside to cool until just warm to touch.

Whisk flour, baking soda and baking powder in small bowl to combine. Whisk eggs in second medium bowl to combine; add sugar, vanilla and salt and whisk until fully incorporated. Add cooled chocolate-Nutella mixture and whisk until combined. Sift about one-third of flour mixture over chocolate mixture and whisk until combined; whisk in yogurt until combined; then sift in remaining flour mixture and whisk batter until it is homogenous and thick.

Divide batter evenly among muffin pan cups (no more than 3/4 full!!). Bake until skewer inserted into center of cupcakes comes out clean, 18-20 minutes.

Cool cupcakes in muffin pan on wire rack until cool enough to handle, about 15 minutes. Carefully lift each cupcake from muffin pan and set on wire rack. Cool to room temperature before icing, about 30 minutes.

World Nutella Day Icing
(Stolen from The Unrepentant Carbivore)
This icing is sweet…really sweet. But still amazing. However, I’m pretty sure it sent my blood sugar through the roof.

Ingredients:

1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 cup Nutella
1/3 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup whipped cream

Directions:

Place the confectioners' sugar, Nutella, butter, vanilla, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium-low speed until creamy, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as you work. Add the cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth.



Linked on Sweets for a Saturday.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

And so my banana recycling continues…I'm slowly but surely making my way through a freezer of over-ripe bananas. Thankfully, bananas are very versatile when it comes to baking and can add moisture and flavour to just about anything.

So I made banana muffins the other night. There isn’t really much else to say about it except that they were scrumptious. Mainly because I also added chocolate chips.

Bananas and chocolate were meant to be. Don’t fight it.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
(Adapted from Cat Can Cook’s Awesome Banana Muffin recipe)

Ingredients:

3-4 large bananas, mashed
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1½ cups flour
1 cup (or so…) chocolate chips


Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix the mashed banana, sugar, egg and butter together and set aside. In a separate bowl, mix together baking soda, baking powder, salt and flour. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix just until moistened (don’t overmix!). Fold in chocolate chips.


Pour into paper-lined muffin tins and bake for approximately 20 minutes.


Enjoy!!

Chocolate Cupcakes with Mocha Buttercream

I used to hate chocolate cupcakes. Scratch that – I used to hate making chocolate cupcakes. I had mastered a pretty amazing vanilla cupcake, but I struggled to find a good chocolate cupcake recipe. They would always come out dry or not chocolatey enough and needless to say, I always ended up frustrated.

Then I found Martha. She has this “One Bowl Chocolate Cupcake” recipe and it’s pretty much perfect. It’s so simple, as you really only use one bowl, and the cupcakes turn out moist and just chocolatey enough. They aren’t too dense and fudgy so they take well to a heavy chocolate or peanut butter icing.

A good friend of my brother and I, a lovely girl named Kayla (who also has her own blog here), had a birthday this weekend. Unfortunately, since she lives in an apartment, she couldn’t have a big party so we volunteered our house to have the party for her. Naturally, I made cupcakes. She told me she wanted chocolate and since I knew she was also a big fan of coffee, I topped them with a mocha buttercream.

Unfortunately, the reviews were mixed, as about half the people at the party didn’t like coffee (crazy people...). But I still think these are amazing. They’re not too sweet so it’s a nice change.

One-Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes
(Taken from my Martha Stewart Cupcakes book)

Ingredients:

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1½ cups flour
1½ cups sugar
1½ teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup warm water
3/4 cup buttermilk
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners; set aside.

Sift together cocoa powder, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. Add eggs (I actually cheat and lightly beat these first in a separate bowl), warm water, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla, and mix until smooth (about 3 minutes). Scrape down the sides and bottom of bowl to assure batter is well mixed.

Divide batter evenly among muffin cups, filling each about 2/3 full. Bake until tops spring back when touched, about 20 minutes, rotating pan once if needed. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely.

Mocha Buttercream

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted
3 tsp instant espresso
3 tsp hot water
icing sugar
cocoa powder

Directions:

Unfortunately, I suck at using recipes for icing…I kind of just make it up as I go. But basically, first mix your hot water with espresso powder. Then, beat the butter, melted chocolate and espresso mixture together. Now you can add as much icing sugar as you need and beat it in until the buttercream is at the consistency you want. I also added a little bit of cocoa powder to give it some more chocolate flavor.

Sinful Gluten-Free Dark Chocolate Brownies

Sometimes, I get a little experimental in the kitchen. Sometimes, the results are delicious, whereas other times, it can get disastrous. However, that’s what experimenting is for, right? And what better way to do it than with food!

I have a friend staying with me this week. Her name is Sarah. She is gorgeous, crazy talented, continuously bouncy but unfortunately unable to digest gluten. Therefore, I’ve taken this as an opportunity to stretch my gluten-free baking muscles and start experimenting with different flours!

It’s almost pathetic how excited I get over this stuff…

Anyways, tonight I was craving chocolate. Good, dark, rich chocolate. So, I found a nice dark chocolate brownie recipe, threw some certified wheat-free oats into my Magic Bullet to make a fine oat flour and went a little crazy. And the results were…sinful.

(I also think it’s interesting that I’ve now made brownies for this blog more times in the past 2 weeks than I have in my entire life. Just sayin’.)

Gluten-Free Dark Chocolate Brownies
(Adapted from Joy the Baker’s Dark Chocolate Brownies)
I halved the original recipe and used a loaf pan just in case the brownies turned out awful, but since they didn’t, you should probably double it and use a full square cake pan.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup oat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons oil
6 ounces pure unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper.

Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.

Place oil and chopped chocolate in a medium sized heat proof bowl. Melt chocolate either in the microwave (keep a good eye on it!!) or in a double boiler (Place the bowl over a pot of barely simmering water, being sure that the bottom of the bowl does not touch the boiling water. Stir until chocolate and oil are completely melted & mixed. Use pot holders to remove the bowl from over the boiling water). Let mixture sit for a few minutes.

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together sugar, eggs and vanilla extract until pale and thick. Pour the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture. Whisk until completely incorporated. Add the flour mixture all at once and whisk to incorporate. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.


These are super rich and super delicious. You might need some milk.

Vegan Baking Adventures with Jess

Vegan baking used to frighten me. I couldn’t imagine how any dessert could even come close to tasting good with the absence of butter. I love butter. I love it more than most things in life.


However, a very close friend of mine eats vegan. Her name is Jess. She is beautiful, talented, ridiculously energetic and a great vegan cook. But sadly, she does not have an oven in her house.

So, I kindly offered up my own kitchen today in exchange for a vegan baking lesson. And let’s just say that the results were surprisingly delicious.

There were some crazy shenanigans along the way…but that’s bound to happen when the two of us get together in the kitchen.

We made vegan brownies and (mostly) vegan pumpkin cookies.

And I gained an entirely new appreciation for coconut oil. I might start cheating on butter.

Vegan Tofu Brownies

Tofu is great because it absorbs flavours so well. It also gave the brownies a nice moist texture. P.S. You can make this recipe gluten-free by eliminating the carob chips.

Ingredients:

1 12 oz (300 g) package soft tofu
½ cup water
½ cup oil
2 tsp vanilla
½ cup cocoa powder
1 cup sugar
½ tsp salt
½ tsp baking soda
1 cup spelt flour
½ cup carob chips


Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8x8 inch square baking pan (once again, we had to use a circle pan…I really need to eat that casserole).

Blend tofu in a blender or food processor to smooth (I used my Magic Bullet). Whisk tofu in a large bowl with water, oil and vanilla.

Add cocoa, sugar, salt, baking soda and flour to the wet ingredients. Mix until smooth.

Pour into prepared pan. Sprinkle chips on top.

Bake for 45-50 minutes.

Cool, cut and serve.


Supposed-to-be-Vegan Pumpkin Cookies

We had big plans for these vegan pumpkin cookies until we realized we had no flax seeds (to act as an egg substitute). Therefore, we just used real eggs…so these cookies are dairy-free, but not animal-product-free.

Ingredients:

1 cup coconut oil, softened
1 cup pumpkin puree
1½ cups sugar
½ cup flax seed, blended (or 2 eggs)
1 tbsp vanilla
3 cups oat flour (we used 1 cup each of oat, spelt and whole wheat flours)
1 cup rolled oats
¾ tsp baking soda
¾ tsp salt
4 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
½ tsp nutmeg

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Mix coconut oil, pumpkin puree, sugar, flax seed/eggs and vanilla in a large bowl.

Add flour, oats, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg to the wet ingredients. Mix until smooth.

Drop dough by rounded spoonfuls onto an ungreased baking sheet. (We added the remaining carob chips to the cookies as well)

Bake for 12-15 minutes.

Let cookies cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes about 2 dozen large cookies.

*Note: These cookies are pretty fluffy…we’re going to work with the recipe some more to perhaps make muffins with it. They would be great muffins.

DELICIOUS!!

A Classic: Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ahhh…chocolate chip cookies. There really is no other dessert as nostalgic and heart-warming as chocolate chip cookies. As a baker, they are a staple in my “recipe repertoire” and I’ve experimented with many different recipes over the years but these are probably my favourite. Mind you, I am, and always will be, a fan of the famous Tollhouse Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe, but these are a little bit more unique and suited to my own personal tastes.

I like a good chocolate chip cookie that is browned on the outsides, soft in the middle and not cakey. The addition of dark chocolate chips and sea salt make this recipe just a bit more sophisticated too.

They’re pretty yummy…so, I suggest you go make some. Right now. Trust me, you won’t regret it.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 large egg
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup dark chocolate chips

Coarse sea salt, for sprinkling (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325°F.

In a big bowl, beat butter and sugar until well combined. Add egg, syrup and vanilla and beat until smooth.

Add the baking soda and salt to the wet ingredients, mix, and then add the flour and stir until almost combined. Add the chocolate chips and stir just until blended.

Drop spoonfuls of dough on a non-stick cookie sheet (or line one with aluminium foil – that’s what I always do). Sprinkle the tops with coarse sea salt. Bake for approximately 10 minutes, or until golden around the edges but still soft in the middle. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

Sea salt is kind of my secret ingredient in nearly all my baking. I truly believe that it makes a significant difference in the taste. I will also always splurge on good vanilla – none of that “vanillin” stuff or artificial vanilla extract.


You can also alter this recipe by adding nuts or other types of chips. Sometimes, I like to use half milk chocolate and half dark (or semi-sweet). Play around with it – make it your own!

Peanut Butter Brownies

I don’t bake brownies very often. In fact, despite the fact that I really love them, they are probably one of the desserts I’ve baked the least. However, I thought I would give this peanut butter brownie recipe a try to bring for dessert for a family dinner tonight and after a series of minor kinks, I think they turned out alright. I like the peanut butter and chocolate balance, however they are fairly cakey. There was no oil in the recipe so I think when I try them out again, I’ll replace the butter with oil. Otherwise, they’re pretty yummy – especially if you like chocolate and peanut butter.

I’ll also use a legit square cake pan next time. My only one is currently filled with vegetarian casserole in my freezer so I used 2 loaf pans instead…and wax paper, cus I was out of parchment.

Peanut Butter Swirly Brownies
(Adapted from my November 2010 Canadian Living magazine)

Ingredients

1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1/2 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
5 oz bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled (I used 3 oz bittersweet and 2 oz dark)
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
pinch salt

Directions

In large bowl, beat 1/4 cup of the peanut butter, the butter and sugar; beat in eggs, 1 at a time. Beat in vanilla. Beat in chocolate.

Stir in flour, baking powder and salt. Spread in parchment paper–lined 8-inch (2 L) square metal cake pan.

By spoonfuls, drop remaining peanut butter over top. Run knife through batter to swirl; smooth top. Bake in 350°F (180°C) oven until tester inserted in centre comes out with a few moist crumbs clinging, about 20 minutes. Let cool in pan on rack. Cut into squares.


Make sure you have a big glass of milk for these!!