Choc Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bars March 29, 2009

I don’t think these bars need much introduction, but before I give you the recipe, I wanted to give a heads up.  I ended up adding more melted butter to my cookie dough because it was not coming together, it was a crumb consistency, and because of that, or because of something else, the cookie dough pieces ended up harder in the bars when what I thought should have been soft cookie dough pieces. 

BUT, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try these, they were still awesome bars (my friends, husband and I gobbled these up pretty quickly)!  It was probably my own fault with what happened with the dough and this is only my opinion.  Others have made this recipe that came from The Essential Chocolate Chip Cookbook and didn’t say they had a problem with it including Bake or Break and My Kitchen Cafe.  If you don’t want to risk it, you could always find a different cookie dough recipe to go along with these cheesecake bars.

CCC Dough Cheesecake Bars

Crust

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

5 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

2/3 cup mini semisweet choc chips

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Butter a 9×9 baking pan.  Line pan with parchment paper leaving enough to extend over the sides.  Butter the parchment paper.

Combine graham cracker crumbs and butter until crumbs are moistened.  Stir in choc chips.

Press crust mixture into bottom of pan and 1 inch up sides if desired.  Bake for 6 minutes.  Set pan on wire rack to cool.

Cookie Dough

5 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/3 cup packed light brown sugar

3 Tbs granulated sugar

1/8 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Using an electric mixer, mix butter, brown sugar, sugar, salt and vanilla extract at medium speed until smooth.  Decrease mixer speed to low and add flour.  Mix just until incorporated.  Stir in choc chips.  Set aside.

Filling

10 oz cream cheese, at room temperature

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg, at room temp.

1 tsp vanilla

Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar just until smooth.  Add egg and vanilla extract, beating just until blended.

Pour batter into baked crust.  Drop teaspoon size cookie dough over the filling. 

Bake about 30 minutes, or until set.  Transfer to wire rack.

For chocolate drizzle, melt 1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips in the microwave adding small amounts of milk until you get the right consistency.  Put chocolate in ziplock bag, cut a tiny piece off of corner and drizzle on bars. 

Let bars cool completely.

Recipe from:  The Essential Chocolate Chip Cookbook

Chocolate Zucchini Bread March 25, 2009

This bread turns out extremely moist.  I added a few handfuls of chocolate chips to the bread for a more chocolaty flavor.

 

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

(Recipe from Eating Well)

Ingredients

½ cup chopped walnuts (1 ¾ ounces)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-wheat flour
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa, preferably Dutch-process
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 ½ cups sugar
¾ cup fruit-based fat replacement, such as Lighter Bake, or unsweetened applesauce
¼ cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, melted
2 cups grated zucchini (1 medium)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Coat two 8 1/2-by-4 1/2-inch loaf pans with cooking spray.
2. Spread walnuts in a pie pan and bake until fragrant, 5 to 7 minutes. Set aside to cool.
3. Whisk all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.
4. Whisk eggs, sugar, fruit-based fat replacement (or applesauce), oil, vanilla and melted chocolate in another large bowl until blended. Add to the dry ingredients and stir with a rubber spatula until just combined. Fold in zucchini and the reserved walnuts. Spoon the batter into the prepared pans, smoothing the tops.
5. Bake the loaves 55 to 60 minutes, or until the tops are golden and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Invert onto rack and cool completely.

Chips Ahoy Dessert March 20, 2009

When I posted this recipe I didn’t realize it came from  my Aunt Pat.   She also reminded me that a Hershey chocolate bar is shaved over the top of the dessert.  Thanks Aunt Pat! 

This is one of the simplest desserts you will ever make.  It involves three ingredients.  Chips Ahoy Cookies (yes, the store bought ones although I bet if you have  a homemade crunchy chocolate chip cookie recipe, you could use those), Cool Whip & Milk.  My mom always handed the kitchen to my sister and I when it was time to make this dessert.  I don’t know if there is another dessert recipe that is so simple, your kids can make without much direction and that tastes so good.  If you think of something, I want to hear about it!

I made a mini version of the dessert, but it is usually made in a 9×9 or 9×13 dish and cut into squares to serve. 

Are you ready for this?

Chips Ahoy Dessert

1 pkg of Chips Ahoy Cookies (crunchy)

1 container Cool Whip

Milk

Dip cookies in milk and cover bottom of a 9×9 or 9×13 dish, depending on how many you are feeding and if you want leftovers.  Cover first layer of cookies with a layer of Cool Whip.  Continue dipping cookies in milk and create another layer of cookies over the Cool Whip.  Repeat with Cool Whip and cookies until you’ve filled your pan or ran out of ingredients.  Let sit a few hours or overnight.  Enjoy!

Chunky Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Chocolate Chipsters March 15, 2009

 

If you’re looking for a milk-dunker, these are the cookies to go to.  This recipe makes a crunchy cookie that is perfect for dunking in milk or hot chocolate (I especially like the hot chocolate since the chocolate chunks start melting slightly) They also have some cinnamon in them, which adds a nice flavor.  If this recipe caught your attention from the ‘peanut butter’ in the title, I’m sad to say, the peanut butter doesn’t come out as strong as I thought it would, so if you’re not a big peanut butter person, don’t be afraid to try these!

The recipe comes from Dorie’s Baking:  From My Home to Yours cookbook I bought back in November ‘08.

 Chunky Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Chocolate Chipsters(Recipe adopted from:  Dorie Greenspan)

 

Ingredients

3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup chunky peanut butter

1 cup sugar

1 cup packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

9 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chunks, or 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips or chunks

Preparation
Adjust the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, Silpat baking mats, or foil. In a large bowl, stir together the oats, flour, spices, baking soda, and salt just to blend.

With an electric mixer (preferably a stand mixer fitted with a paddle), beat the butter, peanut butter, brown sugar, and sugar on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat in the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients slowly, beating only until blended. Stir in the chocolate chips. (At this point, the dough can be covered and refrigerated for up to 1 day.)

If the dough is at room temperature, drop rounded tablespoonsful two inches apart onto the prepared baking sheets. If the dough has been refrigerated, scoop it out by

rounded teaspoonfuls and roll the balls between your palms. Place them 2″ apart on the sheets. Press the balls gently with the heal of your hand until they are about 1/2″ thick. Bake for 13-15 minutes, until the cookies are golden and just firm around the edges.

Lift the cookies onto wire racks with a wide metal spatula – they will firm as they cool. Repeat until all the dough has been used.

Makes about 60 cookies.

Chocolate-Chocolate Cupcakes — It’s time to Celebrate! March 12, 2009

I think finishing a book that was 1,000+ pages is a good reason to celebrate, don’t you?  I believe it was 1,024 pages, to be exact.  Do you know which one I’m talking about.  A famous quote from it:  ”Tomorrow is another day!”…I could give a lot away, but due to people who probably have not read this book and may want to, I won’t give any spoilers.  That’s right, I finished Gone with the Wind this weekend and I’m glad it’s over with.  Not that I didn’t like it.  I actually did enjoy it, I’m really glad I finally came around to reading it and if you haven’t dove into it yet, I suggest you do!  The reason I’m glad I’ve finally finished it is I have a thing about extremely long books like that.  No matter how great they are, I end up getting a bit…eager…even impatient to finish it and start a different one.

I hear there is a sequel, Scarlet, by another author.  I may have to check into that one, but in the meantime, I’m ready for a few shorter, lighter books.  I like a variety. 

Now on to this awesome recipe.  Chocolate-Chocolate Cupcakes from Dorie Greenspan.  I did some research before making this and read they ended up a bit dry, although it could have been the procedure those bakers used, but to be safe, a baker over at Sing for your Supper had some suggestions, which seemed to work great for me (the changes will be in italics), I may just try the original Dorie recipe next time and see how they turn out for me.  These were awesome cupcakes and the glaze just topped them off perfectly. 

Just a heads up, I’m in middle of reading another book that is more than 1,000 pages.  I’m on a schedule to read through The Bible in 4 years with Faith Church.   If you’re interested, head on over there, you can start it up at any time you want, just follow the schedule from the date you start!  I have less than 2 years to go!

Chocolate-Chocolate Cupcakes

(Recipe from:  Dorie Greenspan)

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 stick (8 Tbsp) unsalted butter, at room temp (substitute 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted and 1/4 cup canola oil)

3/4 cup sugar (1/2 cup white sugar and 1/4 cup brown)

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup buttermilk (1/2 cup fat free sour cream)

2 oz bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled (2 oz semisweet)

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Fit the 12 molds in a regular-size muffin pan with paper muffin cups, or butter them with flour and tap out the excess.

To make the cupcakes—
Whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with the paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter (and oil) at medium speed until soft and creamy. Add the sugar and beat for about 2 minutes, until it is blended into the butter. Add the egg, then the yolk, beating 1 minute after each addition and scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Beat in the vanilla, then reduce the mixer speed to low and add half the dry ingredients, mixing only until they disappear. Scrape down the bowl and add the buttermilk (sour cream), mixing until incorporated, then mix in the remaining dry ingredients. Scrape down the bowl, add the melted chocolate and mix it in with the rubber spatula. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin molds.

Bake for 22 to 25 minutes (I took mine out at 15-18),or until the tops of the cakes are dry and springy to the touch and a knife inserted into their centers comes out clean. Transfer the muffin pan to a rack and let the cakes cool for 5 minutes before unmolding. Cool to room temperature on the rack before glazing.

To make the glaze—
Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of shimmering water. Transfer the bowl to the counter and let stand for 5 minutes.

Using a small whisk or rubber spatula, stir the confectioners’ sugar into the chocolate, followed by the pieces of cold butter. The glaze may be very thin at this point or may be perfectly spreadable. If it is too thin to spread or use as a dip (I often dip the tops of the cakes into the ganache, then give the cakes a little twirl as I pull them out, so they have a squiggle of glaze in the center), stir it over ice water for a few seconds – really less than a minute. With a small metal icing spatula, give each cupcake a crown of shiny ganache, and let the glaze set at room temperature (or in the fridge if you are in a hurry). If the ganache loses its gloss and you miss it, give the tops of the cakes a puff of hot air from a hairdryer right before serving.

Bargain Meal of the Week — Strack and VanTil March 10, 2009

I had the opportunity to guest post on Clair’s site Mummy Deals with a meal that I made using ingredients on sale from a local grocery store.  Check out Mummy Deals for the post/recipe and $5 Dinner for bargains at other grocery stores that you can get your hands on this week!

Be sure to come back to Kats’ Kitchen later this week because I’m celebrating!  You wonder why?  You’ll have to wait and see!

LOST Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe – Did you catch it on ABC last night? March 5, 2009

Am I confusing you?  Let’s start with the cookies, then to the show.

__________

So, I’m a little embarrassed to tell you …I’m not sure what recipe I used for these cookies (they were baked and eaten a few weeks ago).  It was a new one, one that I haven’t made before…but I can’t find it…or really I haven’t looked hard, but I wanted to post something and all I have is this picture. 

HOPEFULLY I’ll be getting the recipe to you soon because they were GOOD!

Well, I did some searching, and sure enough, I found the lost recipe!  I adopted it from Avesta over there at Check it out. 

Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 1/2 cup salted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 1 package (10 oz) Chocolate Chips or Chunks
• 2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Blend butter, sugars, baking soda, baking powder, vanilla and eggs with a stand mixer until blended.

Stir in chocolate chips and flour.

Chill the dough at least one hour in the refrigerator.

Scoop dough and drop on prepared cookie sheet (preferably lined with a silicon baking mat or sprayed with cooking spray) 1 inch apart. 

Bake for 8-10 minutes, until slightly browned for chewy cookies or 10-12 minutes for cookies with more crunch.

Cool on pans until they can easily be removed and placed on a cooling rack.

__________
On another note, did you watch Lost last night?  Besides the Food Network on occasion, 

that is the only show I follow.  If you did see it, what'd you think?  I'm sure glad the time travel is over.

February’s DB’s Challenge is for all those Chocoholics out there! March 1, 2009

(Sorry, my picture does not give this cake justice, I’m working on my photography skills.)

If you love chocolate, you’re going to love the recipe I’m about to bring you!  It’s a simple recipe consisting of 3 ingredients:  Chocolate, butter & eggs.

Hold on a sec, to get credit for this month, I need to say:

The February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of WMPE’s blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef.
We have chosen a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan; a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Dharm and a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Wendy as the challenge.

This cake was so chocolaty delicious, almost brownie like but with a more intense chocolate taste.  We could choose what type of chocolate we made the recipe with, milk, semi-sweet, bitter-sweet, dark, etc.  I used half milk and half semi-sweet.  The higher the cocoa content, the more bitter the cake would be, so using milk and semi-sweet worked well for my taste buds.  I may even add a bit more milk then semi-sweet when I make it again to add a bit more sweetness.  

This was my first ice cream making experience and I did it without an ice cream maker!  It turned out great and my husband was pleasantly surprised. 

I’ve made this strawberry sauce before and liked the outcome, so I made it again. 

Here are the recipes:

Chocolate Valentino (Flourless Chocolate Cake)

(Recipe from:  Sweet Treats by Chef Wan)

Cool cake on a rack for 10 minutes then unmold.

Preparation Time:  20 minutes

16 ounces (1 pound) of semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped

½ cup (1 stick) plus 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter

5 large eggs separated

Put chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water) and melt, stirring often.

While your chocolate butter mixture is cooling. Butter your pan and line with a parchment circle then butter the parchment.

Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and put into two medium/large bowls.

Whip the egg whites in a medium/large grease free bowl until stiff peaks are formed (do not over-whip or the cake will be dry).

With the same beater beat the egg yolks together.

 

Add the egg yolks to the cooled chocolate.

Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and follow with remaining 2/3rds. Fold until no white remains without deflating the batter.

Pour batter into prepared pan, the batter should fill the pan 3/4 of the way full, and bake at 375F/190C.

Bake for 25 minutes  or until an instant read thermometer reads 140F/60C.  Note – If you do not have an instant read thermometer, the top of the cake will look similar to a brownie and a cake tester will appear wet.

 

 Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream

(Recipe from:  David Lebovitz)

1 cup milk

a pinch of salt

3/4 cup sugar

1 vanilla bean (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)

5 egg yolks

2 cups heavy cream

Heat the milk, salt, and sugar in a saucepan. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape the seeds into the milk with the tip of a paring knife. Add the bean pod to the milk.

Stir together the egg yolks in a bowl and gradually add some of the warmed milk, stirring constantly as you pour. Pour the warmed yolks back into the saucepan.

Cook over low heat, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom with a heat-resistant spatula until the custard thickens enough to coat the spatula. Strain the custard into the heavy cream. Rinse the vanilla bean and put it back into the custard and cream to continue steeping. Chill thoroughly, then remove the vanilla bean and freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturers instructions.Instructions on how to make ice cream without a maker.