Chocolate Raisin Chewy Cookies

My daughter is home for the long weekend as we have Monday off - Martin Luther King day. She will leave for school some time tomorrow and I am packing all kinds of goodies for her. I may have to make a second batch of these if there are not enough left by tomorrow.

I do not make cookies often but there are a couple of recipes we like and when I do make the cookies I stick to those recipes. Today I wanted to bake cookies but wanted to try something different. I had cocoa but no chocolate chips. I had raisins so I tried these Chocolate and Raisin chewy cookies using the base cookie recipe I follow. The batter is gooey and sticky from the cocoa powder but on the thicker side. The cookies do not spread much in the oven. The trick is to take them out when they are still soft so you get that soft chewy cookie we all love.

You will need (about 18)
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup cane sugar (use any granulated sugar you have on hand)
1 egg
1/2 cup flour (all purpose or whole wheat)
1/2 cup cocoa
1 tsp. baking powder
~1/8 sparse tsp salt
1/2 cup raisins

Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Cream the softened butter in a bowl. Mix in the sugar. Now break an egg in the bowl and beat until the mixture is well combined. Sift in the flour, cocoa, baking powder and the salt. Mix everything together. Finally mix in the raisins.

On a baking sheet drop a tablespoon on cookie batter at a time 2 inches apart. You may use a parchment paper or directly place the batter on the baking sheet.

Bake for about 12-15 minutes. The cookies should be soft when they are taken out of the oven. Cool and a rack.

Enjoy!

Apple Raisin Muffins

My daughter is home from school for winter break and all she wants are my tried and tested recipes. Between cooking those and work there is no time to try anything new. I am posting a recipe today that I made a while back. It was in my drafts and we like it a lot. I have a list of things to try while she is home. Hopefully I will get to it soon.

These muffins are made with whole wheat and have no added sugar. The apples and the raisins provide the sweet flavor. If you like muffins really sweet then you could add some sugar.

You will need
1 Fuji apple
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 cup shredded unsweetened toasted coconut flakes
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup All purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tbsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs
2/3 cup olive oil

Preheat oven to 375 F. Grease muffin molds with olive oil on a muffin pan.
In a bowl mix the flour, cinnamon and baking soda. Whisk the eggs with the oil and vanilla extract in a separate bowl and add it to the dry ingredients. Mix them together. Peel and dice the apple. Add the diced apple, raisins and coconut to the flour mixture. Mix it well but do not knead. The resultant batter is very thick.

Scoop the batter into the greased muffin molds. You should get 12 muffins. Bake for about 20 minutes. Place on a cooling rack to cool completely before storing.

Enjoy!

Granola Oatmeal Brownie Bars

Spring semester has begun and so has the need to find nutritious snacks. Granola and oatmeal are always good options and are great in baked goodies. Today I baked some bars with whole wheat flour, granola and rolled oats.

This also happens to the 700th post in this space and it took me two years to get to this point. I thank all my readers who take the time to read and encourage me to continue blogging. I could not have done this without you.

The base granola brownie bar recipe is from King Arthur Flour website. I tweaked it based on what I had at home. I also halved the recipe and it called for 3 eggs. I left two eggs in the recipe and that made the bars a little more 'cake-like'. My daughter loved that.

You will need
5 tbsp. unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup granola
1/2 cup rolled oats

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Use butter at room temperature or add the cold butter to a bowl and microwave for 15-20 secs. Let it cool completely and add the sugar. Beat until creamy. Add the eggs one at a time and beat after each addition. Add the vanilla extract and beat again. Mix in all the dry ingredients.

Place parchment paper inside a baking tray. Place the flour mixture in the tray and smooth out.

Bake for 25-28 minutes until the top is golden brown. Take it out of the oven and allow to cool a little.

Transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. Cut into squares. Store in an airtight container. They should last for a week.

Enjoy!

Ganache filled Whoopie-pie

Whoopie pie is a cream filling sandwiched between two cake like cookies. By cake like I mean they taste more like cake even though they are shaped like cookies. This is the last day of my month long baking challenge. I have posted a baked recipe this month every day except Sundays. Most of those recipes used either whole wheat flour or vegetables. I strongly believe in the concept of everything in moderation so this is my last recipe for the month made with all purpose flour and butter.

My daughter is fond of chocolate but not milk chocolate. She prefers bitter or bittersweet high percent cacao. So I thought a chocolate ganache made with 75% cacao would make the perfect filling for these pies. I was right. She loved them. And uncharacteristically had two in one sitting.

For some reason I did not take step-by-step pictures. All I have is the end result.

Recipe source for the cookies is here
You will need (for 12 pies)
For the cookies
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1 large egg or equivalent egg substitute
4 tbsp. butter, softened
2 tbsp. oil

For the ganache
2 oz 75% cacao
2 tsp. dark chocolate powder
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
a pinch salt

To make the ganache, bring the cream to a boil and turn off heat. Add the chocolate and the salt and let it sit for a few minutes. Stir to smooth out the mixture and let it cool and thicken.

Meanwhile make the cookies. Preheat oven to 350 F. Sift the flour and combine with all the ingredients until smooth. The dough will be soft. Drop a tablespoon of cookie dough on a parchment paper covered baking sheet. Continue to place the cookie two inches apart. I got 12 cookies to a sheet. And I got two sheets. Bake both together in preheated oven for about 7 minutes. Switch the trays and bake another 5-7 minutes or until the cookies are cooked through. Cool on a cooling rack.

Apply a tablespoon of ganache on the flat side of one cookie and place another cookie over the top. Repeat for all the cookies.

Enjoy!

Cocoa Crinkle Cookies

A while back my daughter asked me to make her some chocolate chip cookies. I do not make cookies often but my daughter begged so I gave in. I thought I had some left over chocolate chips but I was wrong. There were none. I did have a bar of cocoa so I decided to use it. The resulting cocoa cookies had deep crinkles that gave it a nice crunch. They were very tasty and they were the color of dark chocolate.

I have made these several times. And they are always a hit. I used a 100% cocoa bar. You could use cocoa powder if you do not have access to a bar. The better the quality of the cocoa the better the cookies will taste.

You will need
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup + 3 tbsp flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder or shavings
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tbsp hot water

Preheat oven to 375 F. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the egg. Add the vanilla and beat again. Fold in the dry ingredients. Finally add the hot water. Using a melon baller or a tbsp measure scoop out the batter and transfer to the baking sheet two inches apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes. The cookies will be very soft when baked. Let them cool on the sheet for a couple minutes before transferring them to a cooling tray. Let them cool completely before storing. Should keep for a couple of weeks.

Enjoy!

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Oatmeal is part of our everyday breakfast. We usually buy the old fashioned Quaker oats from Costco. The other day after transferring the contents of the bags to my cereal bins I flattened the box of oatmeal and placed it on the kitchen table to be taken to the recycling bin in the garage. My daughter happened to see the box while she was setting the table for breakfast and noticed this oatmeal raisin recipe. She asked if we could make the cookies. I told my husband to leave the flattened box indoors so we could use the recipe. Then I forgot all about it.

I was looking for something sweet to end the year and remembered the cookies. I fished out the box and since we had all the ingredients at home I made them right away. The original recipe was for 48 cookies and used two eggs. I wanted to make 12 and could not really use half an egg so I substituted the egg with applesauce. The next time I try them I will make 24 and use an egg.

I see a lot of substitution for butter in cookies. Some amount of saturated fat is needed by the body and I don't make cookies often so I used the amount called for.

You will need
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp. all purpose flour
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. cinnamon powder
a pinch salt
2 1/5 tbsp butter, softened
1/4 cup + 1 tbsp. brown sugar, packed
2 tbsp. applesauce
a few drops vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup Quaker old fashioned oats
1/4 cup raisins

Preheat 350 F. Sift flour into a bowl and combine with the baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Keep aside. In a separate bowl cream the softened butter. Add the brown sugar and beat until smooth. Add the applesauce and vanilla extract and beat again. Fold in the flour mixture. Now add the oats and raisins and mix until just combined.

Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper. Drop a tablespoon of batter about 2 inches apart on the baking sheet.

Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the edges start to brown.

Remove from the oven and allow to sit for a couple minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

Enjoy!

Checkerboard Sugar Cookies

This year after a long break the ladies in my neighborhood decided to have a cookie exchange. Everyone was to bring 3 dozen cookies. I wanted to bake a cookie that looked special but I did not want to use frosting. My first thought was swirl sugar cookies rolled in sprinkles. Though the cookies look festive I was not sure I wanted to use food color. My next thought was chocolate dipped squares. But I rarely bake cookies and do not have a square cookie cutter. I had no time to go out to buy one so that was out. Then I thought of making these checkerboard sugar cookies and that worked just right. The checkerboard pattern made with cocoa powder and plain cookie dough was festive enough to not need any frosting or food coloring.

I had made swirl cookies for the fourth of July. I used the same basic recipe for these cookies. I divided the dough into two portions by weight and added a tablespoon of cocoa powder to one half to color it. I left the dough overnight in the refrigerator and baked the cookies early the next morning. The cookies were well appreciated and I had a great time at the cookie exchange.

I had cut out instructions from a magazine for the checkerboard pattern. It is very easy to put together. Do not be intimidated by it.

You will need (for about 36 cookies)
3 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tbsp. cocoa powder

In a bowl sift the flour, baking powder and salt. Keep aside. In another bowl beat the butter. Add the sugar and beat again to mix well. Add the eggs one at a time and beat until well mixed. Add the vanilla extract and beat until frothy. Fold in the flour mixture and form a dough. Weigh the dough and divide into two. Flatten one half and sprinkle the cocoa powder. Fold in and mix until well distributed. Do not overwork it. Wrap both portions separately in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Roll out the dough separately into two rectangles. Slice along the length to form three long rectangles as in the picture below.

Switch the center portion of the plain rectangle with the color one. Sandwich the pieces together. You should have one rectangular block plain-colored-plain and the other colored-plain-colored. Place the plain-colored-plain block such that the plain side is facing up. Slice into three long rectangle. Repeat with the colored-plain-colored block, only this time with the colored side facing up. You will get a pattern as in the picture below.

Now switch the middle portion of one set of three rectangles with the middle portion of the other set. Stack them up and you will have a checkerboard pattern.

Wrap it in plastic wrap (you can reuse the wrap you used earlier) and refrigerate overnight.

When you are ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare two baking sheets with parchment paper lining. Transfer one rectangular roll from the refrigerator to your work surface. Slice every 1/4 inch with a sharp serrated knife. You can adjust the width as per your preference.

Transfer the sliced cookies to the baking sheet.

Bake for 10-12 minutes until the bottom is lightly colored. Repeat with the remaining dough. I baked three batches with 12 cookies in each. Let the cookies cool completely on a cooling rack before storing them in an air tight container.

Enjoy!

Ginger Snaps

When the mercury dips we love spicy cookies. These ginger, cinnamon and cloves flavored cookies are perfect for winter. They also happen to be my childhood favorites. The mercury never really dipped too low where I grew up but I loved the taste of ginger in the cookies. I am not really a tea or coffee person but I think they would be great with a cup of tea. If you have never tried them before but like the taste of ginger spice you will love them.

These are not soft cookies. They have a snap to them. At the same time they are not hard either. They are thin cookies that crumble once you take a bite. Heating the butter is the trick to getting the texture just right. Heating helps take out the moisture from the butter just enough to keep them going soft.

I baked these to make a base for a pumpkin tart. I thought the ginger and pumpkin flavors would be great. My daughter had other plans. She insisted on taking them to school as a snack. And I have been asked to please not use the rest. I am glad she likes them just as much as I do.

A long time ago when I browsed magazines for recipes and noted them down in recipe cards, I had this recipe jotted down.

You will need (makes about 12 thin cookies)
25 gm butter
25 gm brown sugar
25 ml honey
1/8 tsp. ground ginger
1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. baking soda
75 gm all purpose flour

In a pan melt the butter on low heat. Add the sugar, honey and the ground spices. Let the mixture heat completely but do not bring to a boil.

Turn off heat and sift in the flour and baking soda. Knead into a soft dough. Wrap it on plastic wrap and refrigerate for about an hour. The dough will firm up.

Preheat oven to 375 F. If the dough is too firm let it sit on the counter top or on the palm of your hand. It should be soft enough to roll. However, it should not be soft. Roll it out on a working surface using a rolling pin, Using a cookie cutter or the rim of a small cup cut the circular cookies. Place them on a cookie sheet.

Bake for about 8 minutes. Watch closely. They do burn quickly. Transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely.

The cookies will darken and harden a little.

Enjoy!

Whole Wheat Cranberry Orange Cookies

When I baked cranberry muffins using fresh cranberries I did not know what to expect. My daughter absolutely loved the sweet and tart muffins. I took my cue and decided to bake more goodies with fresh cranberries. These fresh cranberry orange cookies were very well liked. They made their way into the school lunch box as dessert.

I am not big on cookies and we rarely have cookies in the house. Today my daughter had a big chemistry test so I decided to bake some cookies for her to snack on when she got back from school. I was thinking of chocolate when I suddenly decided on fresh cranberries. She did full justice to the cookies when she got home.

Instead of all purpose flour I used whole wheat flour. As such the cookies don't keep very well. If you plan to eat them over an extended period substitute 50% of wheat flour with all purpose flour. I did not add any nuts but you could add 1/4 cup of coarsely chopped walnuts if you like.

You will need
1/4 cup butter, melted
scant 1/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp. packed brown sugar
1 tbsp. applesauce
2 tbsp. orange juice
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp. whole wheat flour (I used King Arthur organic white whole wheat flour)
a pinch baking powder
a pinch salt
1/2 cup coarsely chopped cranberries

Preheat oven to 375 F.

In a bowl cream the butter and sugar together. Add the applesauce and orange juice. Beat until blended. Now mix together the flour, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl. Fold the flour into the butter mixture. Add the cranberries.

Mix together and drop large spoonfuls of the batter on a greased baking sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes. The cookies will be very soft.

Gently transfer them to a cooling tray. They will harden just a little but these cookies are meant to be soft and moist.

Enjoy!

Cranberry Muffins

Cranberry is a fall/winter berry that is really tart. In fact it is the only berry whose tartness increases as it ripens. It is typically paired with nuts or orange juice to bring out its flavor. My daughter does not like nuts in recipes so I usually leave them out.

During Thanksgiving we usually have family visiting us. While the focus is on the main Thanksgiving spread it is nice to have snacks and some goodies prepared for the other meals. These muffins are great for breakfast or a snack.

Recipe adapted from here
You will need
2 tbsp. butter, softened
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp. sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
1 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
a pinch salt
1 cup cranberries, chopped coarsely
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped coarsely (I skipped them)

Preheat oven to 350 F.

In a large bowl combine the butter with the sugar. Add the egg and whisk using an electric blender or a whisk. In a separate bowl mix the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the milk and the flour alternately to the butter mixture. Add the cranberries and the nuts, if you are using them.

Combine using a spatula and transfer to a greased 6 muffin pan.

Bake for 15-20 minutes.

Transfer to a cooling rack. Muffins taste best when hot.

Enjoy!