White Chocolate Peppermint Mocha Cookies

Just like every tweens' order during the holidays at Starbucks, this cookie has a little bit of everything.  Couple pumps of peppermint mocha in the espresso, a bit of white chocolate, and a pretty garnish - this cookie is all those things and more! Aaron is saying these are his new favorite Christmas cookie - they are a little sweet, but not too much, soft but with a sugary crust, pretty but not too time-consuming to decorate.  These cookies come together easily and make a festive impression!

White Chocolate Peppermint Mocha Cookies

Makes about 2 dozen cookies

For the Cookies:

• 12 tbs. butter, softened
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 2 tbs. molasses
• 1 tbs. instant espresso (or coffee) powder/granules
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar, plus extra for rolling
• 1/2 dark brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 - 1/2 tsp. peppermint extract (this stuff is strong, so a little goes a long way, but if you really love peppermint, go for it - do not use Mint extract or it will taste like toothpaste, make sure its Peppermint)
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 3/4 tsp. salt

For the drizzle:

• 3/4 cup white chocolate chips
• 2-3 tbs. vegetable shortening
• 1/4 tsp. peppermint extract (optional)
• Crushed peppermint candies/candy canes, for garnish (optional)

Preheat your oven to 375° and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicon baking mats. Set aside.

Melt 4 tbs. of the butter in a small bowl.  Whisk in the cocoa, molasses, and espresso.  Mix until smooth and set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the other 8 tbs (1 stick) of butter with the sugars. Beat until light and fluffy.  One at a time, beating after each addition, add the chocolate mixture, egg, and extracts.  Mix well and scrape the bowl.

Slowly mix in the flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix until combined.

Roll one tablespoon of dough into a ball and then roll in granulated sugar.  Place it on the cookie sheet and pat the top just slightly to flatten it.  Repeat with remaining dough, placing each cookie an inch and a half apart on the cookie sheets.

Bake for 9-12 minutes, until the tops crack and the middles are set.  Do not over bake! If you like a soft cookie make sure you take them out just as they are cooked, the long they are in the crunchier they will be.

Cool the cookies on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then move them to a cooling rack, placed over paper towels.

While the cookies are baking, prepare the drizzle.  In 5 - 10 second increments, in a microwave safe bowl, melt the white chocolate chips and shortening. It will burn VERY easily so seriously, go ten seconds or less at a time and stir it super well between heating. Once it is melted, stir in the peppermint extract. Using a spoon, lift some of the chocolate out of the bowl and drizzle it back in.  If it is too think, melt more shortening into it, in five second intervals, until it is thin enough to drizzle well.

Once the cookies are cooled to the touch, drizzle the white chocolate over the cookies and then sprinkle the crushed candy canes on top. Let the drizzle set at room temperature until no longer soft.  Store cookies at room temp, in a sealed container.

Kitchen Sink Cookies

I had never heard of such a thing as a kitchen sink cookie until Aaron brought home a box of some from Central Market's bakery.  I was hooked.  I was also PMSing so they were kind of perfect.  They are sweet, salty, crunchy, dense, and chocolaty with a crunch.  So ya know, PMS perfect. 

When I started googling some recipes, I couldn't find any that seemed anything like the ones I had from Central Market.  They were just chocolate chip cookies with like candy and stuff tossed in, instead of just chocolate chips.  That was not the case with the Central Market cookies - they had a distinctly fantastic flavor.

So I decided to use my smarts I have acquired from 18 years of school and two advanced degrees to...read the ingredients list.  I know, revolutionary.  I was pretty impressed with my own deductive skills, too.

Good thing I did, because I NEVER WOULD HAVE GUESSED what was in these cookies.  Not in a million years.  You will probably laugh, because I did too - they have pretzels, oats, chocolate chunks, butterscotch bits (so far not CRAZY), coffee and potato chips.  Yup - potato chips. 

NO WONDER I LOVED THEM.  Coffee and potato chips and chocolate! Its everything a mom needs in life.  So, without saying more, I figured out my own recipe that its really close and pretty much awesome.  Go forth and eat your coffee, moms.

Kitchen Sink Cookies

Yields 2 Dozen Large Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted and cool
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 1/8 cup strong brewed coffee or espresso
• 2 1/3 cups flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 generous cup old-fashioned oats
• 3/4 cup crushed traditional potato chips (like Lay's Classic)
• 1/4 cup toffee bits
• 1/4 cup butterscotch bits
• 8 oz bar semi-sweet chocolate, roughly chopped into chunks

In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter and sugars until well blended.  Beat in the vanilla and eggs, until smooth.  Beat in the coffee or espresso.

Mix in the flour and baking powder until evenly combined.  Beat in the oats and scrape down the bowl.

Add in the chips, toffee, butterscotch and chocolate chunks. Mix until all add-ins are evenly distributed.

Place the dough into the fridge while you pre-heat your oven to 350°.

Once the oven is ready, line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicon baking mat.  Scoop out large tablespoons of dough, roll into balls, and drop two inches apart on the cookie sheet. 

Bake for 9-11 minutes until just browning on the edges.  DO NOT OVER COOK. 

Allow the cookies to cool on the sheet for at least 15 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

Great Grandma Pauline's Chocolate Chip Blondies

These are my mom's equivalent to chocolate chip cookies.  They were a pantry staple at our house growing up, there was always a tray of them in the kitchen for us to snack on.  Turns out, when I asked her about the recipe, she got it from her grandmother (my great-grandmother, Pauline Crocker) who always had a batch of these in her pantry when my mom was growing up.

The recipe is really simple and can easily be done in one bowl.  I even used the opportunity to try out making a video for the recipe! A first for Broad & Hill!

The only thing I would say about the recipe is that it NEEDS to be baked in a metal pan.  I've made them other times and had to use glass or ceramic baking dishes and for whatever reason, they came out cakey and not chewy.  Also, you can divide it into two 8 x 8 pans (if you like the edge pieces) or you can use one 9 x 13 pan.  If you are using the smaller pans, they should only need 15 minutes or less to be done.  The bigger pan will need 35-40 minutes.

Pauline's Blondies

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 2/3 cup butter, melted
• 3 eggs
• 2 2/3 cup flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 12 oz chocolate chips
• 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional - I don't use them, but my mom always does)

Preheat oven to 350° and grease and flour two 8 x 8 or one 9 x 13 metal baking pan, set aside.

Stir together the brown sugar and butter in a large mixing bowl until just combined.

One at a time, beat in the eggs, mixing well after each addition.

Add the flour, baking soda and salt.  Mix well.

Stir in the chocolate chips and (optional) nuts.

Spread into prepared pans evenly.  Bake smaller pans for 12-15 minutes and larger pan for 35-40 minutes.  Top should be golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.  Don't over bake! Cool completely before cutting.

Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yesterday when I was deciding what sweet treat to bake to send with Hondo to school, I hit a snag and couldn't decide what to make so I made two things.  I went the pumpkin route because its October and I'm very excited and because little ones really seem to like pumpkin (as do lots of big ones too).

I made these fantastic Pumpkin Cream Cheese Blondies and then I made these Oatmeal Chocolate Chip ones that I gussied up with pumpkin as well.  Its a variation of my favorite Oatmeal Raisin recipes from Sally's Baking Addiction - replace some egg with pumpkin, brown sugar and the right spices, replace raisins with chocolate chips and off we go!

Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yields 2.5 Dozen Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 7 generous tbs. of pumpkin puree
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 generous tbs. molasses
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 3 cups old-fashioned oats
• 1 generous cup milk chocolate chips

In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugars until fluffy.  Beat in the pumpkin, vanilla, and molasses until smooth.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon.  A little at a time, beat the dry ingredients into the wet until combined.

Stir in the oats until evenly distributed.  Fold in the chocolate chips using a spatula, the dough will be thick and sticky.  Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Roll generous tablespoonfuls of dough into balls and place an inch and a half apart on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or silicone baking mat.

Bake for 10-20 minutes depending on desired chewiness.  You can take them out as soon as they begin to brown at the edges and just as the centers have set, or you can wait until the tops are golden.  Removing them earlier will yield a chewier cookie, but you will have to wait until completely cooled to remove from the cookie sheet.

Raspberry Chocolate Chip Muffins

September is a hard month for me.  I love-hate September.  There is the good: the kids start school, it's the start of the downhill side of the deathly heat of summer in Texas, there is the possibility it could rain, it's the first sign of fall coming... The bad? Well, pretty much the flip-side of all the good parts: the kids are going to school so that makes me kind of sad, summer is supposed to be over, yet its still 100 degrees outside, and its not actually fall yet!

Early September is definitely too early to start wearing sweaters, decorating with pretty leaves and pumpkins, and cooking up all the cozy, aromatic recipes of fall. Except that I really want to.  So badly.  Adding to the problem I have is that all those amazing autumnal vegetables I love and want to cook with aren't really in season yet.  So I have to find things to cook that will appease my need for cozy-fall feelings but also are more appropriate for the actual season.

Thankfully the internet is full of handy charts and info-graphics that can remind you what is in season with a quick google search.  So while I was sad that none of my favorite fall things are on the list yet, it provided some solid inspiration for things to make until October finally decides to come.

Design by Alice Mongkongllite / BuzzFeed

LOTS of these things are favorites in our house so my brain started cooking.  Eggplant is immediately off the list, Aaron is super allergic and we can't even have it in the house, so unfortunately for any of you who are eggplant lovers (like my mom) there will probably not going to be any recipes with eggplant on the blog.

However, my kids are huge fans of apples, pears, and melons.  Chanel loves mangoes, corn and plums.  I'm a huge fan of raspberries and peppers and okra... my goodness so many ideas for things to make this month! I think there are going to be some creative pizzas coming this way with beets and arugula or figs and prosciutto.  We could have a cozy night with some gumbo chock full of okra. I will probably make that sausage and pepper bake again, since it was such a hit!

Okay, but back to the issue at hand, what was I going to make today, right now, to feed the kids for the week?  Inspired by this Averie Cooks bread, I decided on making some Raspberry Chocolate Chip Muffins with a crumble topping borrowed from my banana bread.  These muffins did the trick.  Hondo has been gobbling them up. 

Before I get to the recipe, there are just a couple notes I want to share about muffin making.

1. For a popped-up muffin with a pretty top, make sure your cupcake tins are full.  That means batter all the way to the top of the liner.  So even if your recipe says it makes twelve, if the tins aren't full they won't pop up over the top and have that pretty muffin shape, they will look flatter like a cupcake.  So maybe you get nine muffins instead of twelve (this recipe should make 12).
2. I like to use two liners instead of one.  This is for a couple reasons - if you chose a pretty decorated liner or a color, it will be more clear and pop if there are too since they are pretty translucent.  Also, often some grease will seep into the liner and can leave them very shiny and soggy, they can rip more easily when getting pulled off.
3. Also, spray your liners with some cooking spray after putting them in the cupcake tins.  It might sound crazy (it did to me when Aaron suggested it), but it helps the liners peel off cleanly without taking half the cake or muffin with them and also prevents some of that seeping-grease problem.

Also for this recipe I recommend using fresh raspberries, not frozen.  First, I can't seem to ever find a bag of just frozen raspberries and not a berry mix.  Second, I find that frozen fruit can bleed and sink, so you end up with a soggy-bottomed muffins.  Lastly, because of the size of fresh raspberries, I think cutting them in half means you get bites with good, full berry flavor, but not so much that the bread around it is soggy.

Raspberry Chocolate-Chip muffins

Makes 12 standard muffins

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup whole milk
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 6 oz. fresh raspberries, washed, patted dried and halved
• 1/3 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 batch crumble topping (see below)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare a cupcake tin; line with cupcake liners and spray lightly with cooking spray, set aside.

In a large bowl combine the flour, sugars, baking soda and salt. Set aside.  In a separate bowl, combine the cooled butter with the buttermilk, oil and vanilla.  Whisk together and then whisk in the egg.

Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until combined.  Carefully fold in the raspberries and chocolate chips, the raspberries can smush easily.

Fill each cupcake tin to the top of the liner with batter.  Top each muffin with crumble topping.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until tops are golden browned and a tooth pick comes out clean.

crumble topping

Ingredients:

• 3 tbs. butter, melted
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice
• 1/3 cup of flour

Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl.  When the butter is cool enough to touch, use your fingers to crumble it into pea-sized pieces.  Top the muffins with equal amounts before baking.