Double Chocolate Cranberry Bars

I made these bar cookies for dessert when Jenny and her family came for dinner and that night I think I was really full because they tasted good, but didn’t knock my socks off. But they must have gotten better because over the next couple of days Curtis and I (well let’s be honest here, it was mostly me!) managed to polish off the rest of the pan. I’d put these in the same category as the coconut cookies we love so much. Curtis keeps hinting I should make them again soon!

I used kosher salt which I think gave them that addictive combination of salty and sweet. And the cranberries offset all the chocolate with a little bit of tartness. They’re quick and easy, so I’m planning to make a batch before Thanksgiving so we’ll have cookies to share with our crew of out of towners.



Double Chocolate Cranberry Bars
Food & Wine (November 2011)

Gooey Chocolate Layer

Ingredients:
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
One 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350. Lightly butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Line the dish with parchment paper, leaving 1 inch of overhang on the long sides.
In a small saucepan, melt the chocolate chips in the sweetened condensed milk over low heat, stirring constantly, until smooth and thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in the vanilla and let cool to room temperature.

Dried Cranberry and White Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup quick-cooking or old-fashioned rolled oats
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 ½ sticks unsalted butter (10 ounces), at room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 ½ cups white chocolate chips (I only used 1 cup)
1 ½ cups dried cranberries

In a medium bowl, mix the flour with the oats, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a standing mixer fitted with the paddle, beat the butter and both sugars at medium speed until creamy. Add the egg followed by the egg yolk and vanilla, beating well between additions and scraping down the side of the bowl as necessary. Beat in the dry ingredients, then add the white chocolate chips and cranberries and beat until incorporated.

To make the bars:

Press half of the cookie dough into the prepared baking dish. Pour the cooled chocolate mixture over the dough and spread evenly. Top with small dollops of the remaining cookie dough; don't worry if the dollops don't completely cover the chocolate mixture. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes at 350, until the top is lightly browned. Let cool completely before cutting into bars.

Oh My

When I walk into Trader Joe’s I always check out their display of new products and this past trip I saw a new chocolate bar: 70% Cacao Dark Chocolate Toffee with Walnuts and Pecans. I was envisioning big chunks of nuts and a few toffee bites and figured it was worth a try.

That night I broke off a square to try. And I was wrong, it wasn’t large chunks of “stuff” floating in dark chocolate but was filled with tiny bursts of salty toffee goodness. They’re not lying on the back of the package when they say “It’s a beautiful balance of sweet, salty and chocolate bliss.” This is my weak spot. I had to have just one more square. And yes, it was bliss.


That night when I went to bed all I could think about was making cookies with overflowing with big bites of my new TJ’s find. And this was supposed to be the week I wasn’t going to eat any sugar.

So I went back and bought 10 of the dark chocolate toffee bars and it turns out they also have a 70% Cacao (the magic number!) Caramel with Black Sea Salt Dark Chocolate Bar. Soooo I bought 5 of those too. The checker at Trader Joe’s must have thought I was a real pig.

The caramel bars are oooey gooey good so I froze them for about 15 minutes and then chopped up both the toffee and caramel bars and threw them in chocolate chip cookie dough in lieu of the chocolate chips. The cookies turned out kind of flat and ugly, but after one bite I didn't care what they looked like. It was a genius move if I do say so myself.


Fortunately I don't have to make this choice, but if I could only have one I'd choose the Toffee bar with Walnuts and Pecans.


Salted Toffee Caramel Chocolate Chunk Cookies
(Nestle TOLL HOUSE Chocolate Chip Cookies meet Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate “Bliss” Bars)

Ingredients
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 Trader Joe’s 70% Cacao Dark Chocolate Toffee with Walnuts and Pecans 3 oz. bars, chopped
• 2 Trader Joe’s 70% Cacao Caramel with Black Sea Salt 3 oz. Dark Chocolate Bars, chopped

Directions

PREHEAT oven to 375° F.

COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in chocolate toffee and caramel bar chunks. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

BAKE for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Coconut Cookies

I saw this recipe on Two Peas & Their Pod and was excited to try it because I love coconut and have never put pudding mix in cookies before (which I believe gave these cookies their awesome texture). This was one of those recipes where I made them, left a few out on the counter and then froze the rest. But I gradually kept pulling more cookies out of the freezer and we continued to eat them until they were gone! Once they were gone, Curtis must have asked at least three times if we had any more and then requested I make them again soon. He's doesn't have a sweet tooth like I do, but this recipe obviously has his seal of approval!

I love chocolate and coconut so I also tried dipping half of the cookies in dark chocolate, but we actually liked the plain cookies best. I'll be making this recipe again soon!


Coconut White Chocolate Chunk Cookies
two peas & their pod

Yield: 3 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3.4 oz. package Coconut Creme instant pudding mix (Jell-O Brand)
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
2 cups white chocolate chunks or chip

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat and set aside.

2. Using a mixer, beat together butter and sugars until creamy. Add in coconut creme pudding mix, eggs, and vanilla extract. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Stir in the coconut and white chocolate chunks.

3. Drop cookie dough by rounded tablespoons onto prepared baking sheet. (The first batch came out puffy and round, so I pressed the remaining cookies down before I baked them.) Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until slight golden and set. Remove cookies from oven and let cool on baking sheet for two minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely.

Rhubarb Bars

The summer after my freshman year of college I worked as bank teller. At some point that summer a nice man I worked with brought rhubarb bars into work to share. I must have been impressed because I asked for his recipe and passed it on to my mom.

Fast forward several years and my mom made these bars for us and when I asked for the recipe she reminded me that I had brought it home from the bank. Fortunately for me, she saved it. Apparently back in my college days I didn’t realize the value of holding onto a good recipe!

Now every spring this is one of my favorite desserts to make. They’re sticky and gooey and really more like a crisp than a bar… best served warmed up in a bowl with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream on top!

Rhubarb Bars

Make a pie filling consistency using:

3 cups chopped rhubarb
3 T. cornstarch
¼ cup water
1 ½ cups sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Stir together in heavy pan over medium heat for about 20 minutes. Cool slightly.

Crust:

1 ½ cups oatmeal
½ tsp. soda
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup melted butter
1 ½ cups flour
½ tsp. salt

Mix well.

Line a 9” square pan with foil (so the bars can be easily pulled out and cut). Press most of the crust mixture on the bottom of the pan. Pour the cooled rhubarb mixture over the top and crumble the remaining crust on top.

Bake at 375 for 30 min. Serve at room temperature cut into bars or warmed up with vanilla ice cream.

Chocolate Chocolate Chunk Cookies

So I know you’re probably think, wow, Emily sure has been making (and eating) a lot of cookies lately! But I have a very valid excuse. We’re going on another weekend getaway (which requires treats, right?) and our hostess is with child, and along with my meal assignment she specifically requested, and I quote: “and if you have any of your famous cookies--prego here thinks those sound soo good!” I wouldn’t want to offend the host, so I must deliver! Plus, it would be awfully mean to disappoint a pregnant lady.

I saw a recipe for Barefoot Contessa’s Chocolate Chocolate Chunk Cookies on my friend Jen’s blog. Jen isn’t a huge sweet lover (like I am) so when she puts up a cookie or dessert, I know it must be good! If you scroll down on the right side of her blog you'll see links to her favorite recipes. I highly recommend her rosemary popcorn.

Here are Jen’s notes: “Chocolate Chocolate Chunk Cookies: I am obsessed with this cookie and I am not even a chocolate lover. The recipe calls for white chocolate chunks, but my mom advised using Hershey’s Special Dark chocolate chips. Amazingly delicious!”

I decided to go for the best of both worlds and included white chocolate, Callebaut chocolate chips and of course a little sprinkle of fleur de sel on top.


Chocolate White Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Barefoot Contessa

Ingredients
• 1/2 pound unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 extra-large eggs at room temperature
• 2/3 cup good unsweetened cocoa
• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 1/2 pounds good white chocolate, coarsely chopped (or 1 lb. white and 1/2 lb. chocolate chips)

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Cream the butter and both sugars until light and fluffy in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the vanilla, then the eggs, 1 at a time, and mix well. Add the cocoa and mix again. Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt and add to the chocolate with the mixer on low speed until just combined. Fold in the chopped white chocolate (and chocolate chips).

Drop the dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, using a 1 3/4-inch ice cream scoop or a rounded tablespoon. Dampen your hands and flatten the dough slightly. Sprinkle fleur de sel on top. Bake for exactly 15 minutes (the cookies will seem underdone). Remove from the oven and let cool slightly on the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Cowboy Cookies

We are going to our friend’s cabin and will be snow shoeing and sledding all weekend so I was on the search for a new cookie to try because like any other weekend getaway, being at the cabin warrants having lots of treats on hand! I found these cowboy cookies on Dana Treat and she mentioned they had too much chocolate and really not enough pretzels. So instead of the 2 cups of chocolate chunks, I used 1 cup chocolate chips, ½ cup white chocolate chips and a few handfuls of craisins. And instead of just 3/4 cup pretzel chunks, I threw in a few handfuls. I think these cookies are excellent, the perfect balance of salty and sweet, but honestly next time I might skip the pretzels and just put a few sprinkles of fleur de sel on top.

And as usual I didn’t read through the entire recipe before I began and didn’t realize until I was a few ingredients in that you’re supposed to chill the dough for four hours before you bake the cookies. Considering I started at about 8 p.m. this wasn’t going to work for me. So I ended up refrigerating the dough overnight and baking the cookies the next evening.

Cowboy Cookies
Dana Treat / Baked Explorations Cookbook
Makes about 24 large cookies

1¾ cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
2 cups rolled oats
14 tbsp. (1¾ sticks) unsalted butter, cool but not cold, cut into 1-inch cubes
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. instant espresso powder (I used Chai powder)
2 cups semisweet chocolate chunks (about 12 ounces) (I used 1 cup choc chips, ½ cup white choc chips and a few handfuls of craisins)
¾ cup thin salty pretzels (about 1½ ounces) broken into tiny pieces but not crushed into dust (or a few handfuls)

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add the oats and stir to combine.

In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugars together until smooth and creamy. Add the egg and egg yolk, beating until the mixture looks light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, add the vanilla, and beat for 5 seconds. Dissolve the espresso powder in ¼ cup hot water and add it to the bowl, mixing until combined.

Add half the dry ingredients and mix for 15 seconds. Add the remaining dry ingredients and beat until just incorporated. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and fold in the chocolate chunks and ½ cup of the pretzel pieces. Cover the bowl tightly and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Use a small ice cream scoop with a release mechanism to scoop dough in 2 tablespoon-size balls (or use a tablespoon measure) and place the dough balls onto the prepared sheets about 1 inch apart. Sprinkle the remaining ¼ cup pretzel pieces over the dough balls. Use the palm of your hand to press the dough down lightly; don’t small the cookie – you just want to slightly flatten the ball and push the pretzel pieces into the dough.

Bake for 11 to 13 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through the baking time, until the edges of the cookies are golden brown or just starting to darken.

Set the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes to cool. Use a spatula to transfer the cookies to the rack to cool completely. They can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.


And this is Murray willing me as hard as he could (with no success) to drop a cookie. He really has the RCA dog, head tilt mastered!