A little salty goodness

Why have one go to chocolate chip cookie - when you can just keep trying more recipes and finding more amazing ways to eat chocolate chip cookies? Now did I forget the sea salt on top? Yeah... would they have benefited? I'm sure they would have but they were also just amazing as is. We are having four Sundays in a row to church dinners which I've been organizing and if I'm asking other people to bring cookies? I am too. Last week my container of cookies kind of went, but not great. The people who know which ones I brought - took many cookies, others? Not so much. This week? I brought these cookies and I took an empty container home - my favorite kind of container after this sort of event - empty. That means, not only did my family love these, so did everyone else. I also used to be way better on my chocolate chop game, I always had a full container in the cabinet - lately I've had to borrow from the sad milk chocolate chop container because I keep running out of semi-sweet. Good thing that these cookies can handle the mix - because they were so good. I may have to make another batch and add the salt on top - what doesn't benefit from a little salty goodness?

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 cup salted butter
1 ¼ cups packed light or dark brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon table salt
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
Flaky sea salt, for sprinkling (optional)

Line two half sheet pans with parchment paper; set aside.
For the brown butter, cut the butter into pieces and add to a 10-inch skillet (preferably light-colored so you can see easily when the butter has browned). Heat over medium heat, stirring as the butter melts so that it cooks evenly.
As the butter continues to cook, constantly and slowly stir with a silicone spatula. The butter will foam, sizzle, bubble, and after a few minutes (anywhere from 5 to 8 minute), the solids in the butter will begin to turn golden. Brown butter can burn easily, so don't walk away!
When the butter solids are browned and golden and it smells caramelly and fragrant, immediately remove the skillet from the heat and pour the butter into a large bowl.
For the cookies, to the bowl with the brown butter, add the brown sugar and granulated sugar. Stir to combine. Let the mixture sit until just barely warm or cooled to room temperature, 5 to 7 minutes.
Add the eggs, egg yolk, and vanilla, and stir until well-combined and the batter is light and creamy.
Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix until a few dry streaks remain.
Stir in the chocolate chips until evenly combined. Let the batter rest while the oven preheats.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. (Make sure the oven is preheated fully before baking the cookies – if the oven isn't hot enough, the cookies will likely spread while baking.)
Scoop the cookie dough into 2-tablespoon size portions (I use a #40 medium cookie scoop) and roll into balls. Place several inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
Bake for 10 to 11 minutes until the cookies are just set around the edges and a bit crackly on top. For super soft and chewy cookies, don't over bake.
Immediately out of the oven, sprinkle a few grains of sea salt on each cookie, if desired.
Let the cookies cool for a few minutes on the baking sheets before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Giving Creami recipes a home here

So two years ago I hopped on the Ninja Creami train because it looked so fun. I had decided I wasn't going to post recipes because it is really a niche gadget but now I find myself losing my recipes and not remember which were the good ones... so let's start posting them somewhere! This sorbet recipe is our absolute go to for all kinds of fruit, my favorite is strawberry. We've used it for strawberry, blueberry, peaches, and even mango. Sometimes when we have a mix of berries - we toss them all in and give it a whirl. It's simple, a pound of fruit and a quarter cup of sugar. Toss it in the chopper add the sugar, freeze in the pints. We were at our favorite odd grocery store a few nights ago and we got 4 pounds of strawberries for $4. Yes that's an amazing deal! They were a bit on the ripe side so I knew we needed to use them soon, sorbet was the perfect thing for ripe fruit! Nicholas cut up and pureed the fruit in the chopper. It's important to let it sit in the freezer for 24 hours so we had to wait - that's why anyone who gets this insanely LOUD machine I suggest they get more pints. That way you always have something ready to go in the freezer. We waited a few nights and last night I spun up two pints for the four of us. The perfect cool treat that we all love.

Ninja Creami Strawberry Sorbet
Ingredients
16-ounce container of fresh strawberries
1/4 cup granulated sugar

Wash, hull, and halve the fresh strawberries. Place in the bowl of a food processor.
Add sugar to the bowl of the food processor. Puree until smooth.
Transfer mixture to a Ninja Creami pint container and secure the lid. Place on a level surface in the freezer and freeze for 24 hours.
Remove pint container from freezer and remove lid. Place pint into the outer bowl of the Ninja Creami and lock the outer bowl lid into place.
Secure the outer bowl into the Ninja Creami machine. Press the Sorbet button and let the cycle run (this should take about 2 minutes).
Remove outer bowl from machine and take off the lid. If the mixture appears crumbly, add a tablespoon of lemon juice, then return to the machine and press the Re-Spin button. If necessary, repeat re-spin cycle until desired texture is achieved.
Scoop and serve!

Baking up three flavors into one cookie

I've had my eye on a Neapolitan style cookie for a while - something about all three great flavors seems like a great idea. I used to get the cheapo Neapolitan ice cream for Aldi - they don't make it anymore - but I love the idea of three different flavors mixed in one scoop. These cookies weren't as easy as scoop and drop on a cookie sheet, but they also weren't difficult. Taking three small sections of dough and making one dough ball. I used more strawberries than noted and in hindsight I'd use even more. The absolute wild thing that happened - the dough that had the cocoa powder - puffed up and stayed puffed! I did a little research and apparently it's a chemical reaction with the baking soda. Science!! I made these for a church dinner - we needed a little something after our taco dinner and these hit the spot. Also - I totally used two eggs... mostly because when I was separating them I goofed and well, I'm not wasting eggs at how insane they cost right now... nope! So in it went and out the cookies came just great.

Neapolitan Cookies
2 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup of freeze-dried strawberries, which equals 8 grams (measured before pulsing)
1 cup [2 sticks] unsalted butter room temperature
1 3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg plus 1 large yolk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 or 3 drops red food coloring optional
2 tablespoons Dutch-process cocoa powder
Sprinkles or granulated sugar for rolling

Instructions
Adjust an oven rack to the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350F. Line three baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt.
In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a blade, pulverize the strawberries into a powder.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Add the sugar and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the egg, yolk, and vanilla, and beat on medium speed until combined. Add the flour mixture and beat on low speed until just combined.
Dump the dough out onto a work surface and divide it into three equal portions. Put one-third of the dough back into the mixer and add the powdered strawberries and food coloring, if using. Mix on low speed until totally combined, then remove the dough and quickly wipe out the bowl of the mixer.
Add another third of dough to the mixer. Add the cocoa powder and mix on low speed until totally combined.
Pinch a small portion (about 1/2 oz) of each of the three doughs, and press them gently together, so they adhere to each other, but keep their unique colors. Press the piece into a cookie scoop or roll it into a ball, then roll the ball into sprinkles or granulated sugar. Place 6 or 7 cookies on each sheet pan. Bake the cookies one pan at a time, rotating halfway through baking. Bake until the sides are set and the cookies are puffed, 10 to 11 minutes.
Transfer the sheet pan to a wire rack and let the cookies cool for 5 to 10 minutes on the pan, then remove them and let them cool completely on the wire rack. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.

French or Dutch - whatever works

Soup and bread are absolute BFFs in my book. We were having some veggie soup after our first week back from being in Hawaii eating all the things and enjoying the warmth and sunshine - it was cold and snowy day - so soup and bread seemed like the perfect comfort food. Thankfully I had the idea the day before so in the busyness of all the possible after school activities - I mixed up a batch and parked it in the oven to proof overnight. The nice part of these no knead recipes is that you don't have that much to do. The next day I pulled that out and parked my French Oven in the oven... yes I have a Dutch Oven (two actually) and a French Oven. The French Oven is oblong and not round. I got that raging hot, got my dough on parchment and plopped it in and baked it. Yes the bottom got a little toasty - Andy likes that... so does Bernard... but I also added sliced green onions because yes - they are a great pairing with all that cheese. I did let the bread cool completely before we served it - but new slices toasted with some butter? Oh so very good! This is a great recipe to have in your back pocket for those rainy days when you need something delicious to dip into your soup.

No Knead Cheddar Bread in the Dutch Oven
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon yeast
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/4 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Instructions
In a large mixing bowl, whisk the flour, salt and yeast until combined.
Add in water and stir until a sticky dough forms.
Stir in the cheddar cheese until fully incorporated into the dough.
Cover the dough and allow it to rest at room temperature for 12-18 hours.
When you are ready to bake your dough, put a Dutch oven (empty) into the oven and preheat to 450 degrees F.
While the oven is preheating, heavily flour a smooth surface and roll your dough into the flour until it forms a ball.
Once the oven has preheated, remove the hot Dutch oven, line with parchment paper (optional) and place the bread dough into the Dutch oven.
Cover the bread and bake for 30 mins, then remove the lid from the Dutch oven and cook for an additional 15-20 minutes or until the bread is golden brown.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Slice and enjoy!

Made for the girls - the boys enjoyed too

In February we had our pinewood derby race for our girls group. It was the day after Valentine's Day and I thought some cute heart whoopie pies would be perfect for the girls and their families. Little did I know my own kid would be the one plowing through them. Nicholas was a fan - a BIG fan. If you think boys won't go for cute puffy pink sandwich cookies - you are wrong. Oh they will!
I was a little worried about making the right shapes - but piping a V worked well. I should have spaced them more on the pans but I was rushing and trying to get dinner on the table and get cookies made. When I filled them with frosting, I found two that mostly matched and made it work. Some were perfect in shape and some were not - but all were eaten - so guess how much that mattered?
Could you make these as circles? Yes! Could you make them any other shape and color? Absolutely! Any shape or color - they'll be scarfed down quickly - so make sure to save yourself one!

Pink Velvet Whoopie Pies
1/2 cup salted butter, partially melted
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
3 tsp cake batter flavoring
pink food coloring
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp corn starch
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk
Frosting
1/2 cup salted butter, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
1/4 -1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1 1/2 tsp clear vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer or with an electric hand mixer, combine the melted butter, sugar, eggs and cake batter flavoring – mixing until fluffy and combined.
Add the pink food coloring until you reach your desired color. Please note the color will get lighter when you add the dry ingredients.
Next, add the flour, corn starch, baking soda and salt. Begin mixing and as it combines, add in the buttermilk. You should have a thick batter.
Once fully combined, transfer the batter into a piping bag.
Pipe hearts onto the prepared baking sheet by starting at the bottom of the heart, piping up and down to the left and then up and down to the right to create the heart shape. Repeat until the pan is full. Make sure to leave enough space for the whoopie pies to spread as they bake. Repeat with remaining batter.
Bake at 350°F for 10-12 minutes. They will spread slightly, puff up, and will feel firm when tapped on the center when they are ready to come out.
Allow the hearts to cool completely on the pan.
Once cooled, make the frosting by first combining the butter and powdered sugar, one cup at a time, and adding a small amount of heavy whipping cream to bring together the mixture as needed.
Once all of the powdered sugar is incorporated, turn the mixer on low and slowly add in the remaining whipping cream and vanilla extract. Once added, use the wire whisk and turn the speed all the way up on high and whip until the frosting has thickened and holds a stiff peak.
Pipe the frosting in a heart shape into the center of the bottom of one heart cookie and then top with a matching heart to make the whoopie pie. Repeat until all whoopie pies are assembled.
Enjoy! Store in an air-tight container, in the fridge, for up to 4 days.