Turtle Thumbprint Cookies

I'm so glad I finally got around to making these cookies because they are so pretty. My parents always make fun of me because it seems that whenever I bake something - I've been wanting to make it for "ages". But this time I'm not being the slightest bit dramatic when I say I've been wanting to make these cookies for a very long time. I think I have printed out the recipe every christmas since high school and just never got around to making them. They are pretty labor intensive as far as cookies go and they require a couple ingredients you don't normally have hanging around the house like pecans or heavy whipping cream. But this time I just happened to have every single ingredient that I needed.

I had made caramelitas for my mom because she buys them a lot from whole foods and I thought it would be worth taking a shot at homemade. I nailed it up until I forgot to turn off the burner that I was slow melting the caramel on and subsequently burned a solid circle at the bottom of them when I was supposed to be letting them cool. So dumb. So so dumb. Some of them were salvageable but I was so annoyed about the situation that I didn't bother taking pictures. I also bought two bags of the caramels bc I had never made them before so I wanted to make sure I had enough for the recipe, or if I made a stupid mistake. Turns out I DID make a stupid mistake but I really didn't need to make them again.

Thus, with my fathers overly stocked freezer full of pecans due to excessive purchases during the thanksgiving holidays, I had all the ingredients I needed to make these guys. I didn't have the shortening or coconut oil because I left my shortening at school and my mom couldn't find her coconut oil, but those turned out to be optional. And who is going to buy a big tub of something when you only need one teaspoon anyway.

Turtle Thumbprint Cookies 

For the Cookies:

1 stick unsalted butter, room temp


1/3 cup granulated sugar
 (can also use all granulated)

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 egg, separated


2 tablespoons milk


1-teaspoon vanilla extract


1 cup all-purpose flour


1/3 cup cocoa powder


¼ teaspoon salt


1-cup pecans, finely crushed/chopped

For the Caramel:

16 unwrapped caramel squares


3 tablespoons whipping cream


Fleur de sel or other flaked sea salt

For the Chocolate Drizzle:


1/2 cup semi-sweet (or milk) chocolate chips


1-teaspoon coconut oil or shortening, optional

My cocoa powder is dark so to sweeten them up I used milk chocolate for the drizzle. Next time I will try and find regular cocoa powder because I thought they were just a little too dark.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder and salt. Keep the egg white in a small dish in the fridge until ready to use. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Then add the egg yolk, vanilla and milk. Then gradually add the flour dry ingredients to the wet until just combined. Refrigerate for at least an hour or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350. Whisk the egg white until foamy. Using a melon baller, roll two scoops together (or shape them into 1 inch balls – but the melon baller kept them consistent in shape and size) Dip the dough ball into the whites, and then roll into the pecans until completely coated. With your thumb, press down gently in the center to get the indentation going (will be further pressed after baking). Place on tin foil or silpat.

Bake for 12 minutes. When you remove the cookies from the oven, press down into the previous indentation with a teaspoon and then let cool completely.

While the cookies are cooling, heat the caramels and cream over very low heat until completely melted. When the cookies are cool and the caramel is no longer piping hot, use the teaspoon to pour the caramel into the cookies. Let cool completely.

Melt the chocolate however you prefer. Since I used milk chocolate (and also Hershey – aka not the highest quality), the microwave was quick and easy.

NY Times Chocolate Chip Cookies

According to the New York Times as well as countless posts on food gawker, this is apparently the best chocolate chip cookie recipe out there. Not gonna lie, they are definitely delicious. I don't think I like them more than the Neiman Marcus cookies, but they are less effort (and not to mention much cheaper to make - ergo you don't need a coffee grinder, oatmeal or two 8 ounce bars of chocolate. Believe be, it adds up).  The only flaw is that you have to wait at least 24 hours before you bake them. Can you imagine the anticipation? I've been waiting a long time for the perfect occasion to make them and this weekend was the perfect opportunity. Since I got here a few days before my roommate, I made the dough the day before Courtney and her family got here so I had an excuse to not bake them right away.


So I literally copy and pasted the recipe from this blog called One Lovely Life which I found via foodgawker. Don't be mad One Lovely Life! I'll put it in quotations. gotta keep it MLA style (minus the citation cause that's too much effort) - I am still in college...Although she said it was adapted from the original.. I looked at the original. Still haven't found the adapted part....oh well!

"Ingredients:
2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4c) butter, softened
1 1/4c brown sugar
1c sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 3/4tsp salt
1 1/2tsp baking powder
1 1/4tsp baking soda
2c minus 2 Tbsp cake flour
1 2/3c bread flour
20oz (3 1/3c) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
1. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy (about 4-5 minutes). Beat in eggs, one at a time until well incorporated. Stir in vanilla.

2. Sift in salt, baking powder, baking soda, cake flour, and bread flour. Stir until dry ingredients are well incorporated. Fold in chocolate chips.

3. Press plastic wrap against the surface of the dough and refrigerate dough at least 24 hours (dough can remain refrigerated up to 72 hours).

4. When ready to bake cookies, scoop golfball-sized balls of dough onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat. Bake 6 cookies at a time at 350 degrees for 10-11 minutes, or until edges are golden but centers are still slightly gooey. Allow cookies to rest on the warm baking sheet about 5 minutes before moving to a cooling rack (this will allow the heat from the pan to finish cooking the centers).

Makes about 3 dozen cookies."

 Yes, I am posting on my food blog and watching the vma's alone while my roommate goes out and has a good time. But it's a sunday and I am le tired, aight? My wild side will come out. you'll see.... Bella and I also discovered tonight after we decided we were too lazy to go out that my pajama shorts have quite a few tears on the back exposing a large portion of my left cheek. Why I didn't feel a draft i'll never know. However it does explain why the boy in the elevator gave me that funny look when I was walking back to my apartment. your welcome hun. These shows aren't always free. And if you were wondering, no I am not throwing them away. far too soft for that.

Cowboy Cookies

I stumbled upon this recipe for cowboy cookies via stumble upon months ago and have been dying to try them ever since. I love anything that is both salty and sweet so the concept of putting pretzel bits into a cookie just sounded  brilliant to me. They turned out to be pretty darn  good, but not the best i've ever had. However in the recipe's defense, my mom and I both decided that they cannot be compared to my all-time favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe - from the infamous Neiman Marcus scandal (which I will post eventually) - because they are in totally different leagues. For one, this cookie has pretzels in it, which in my opinion makes it more of a day time snack-like cookie versus a more decadent dessert cookie (like the NM' s). They are chewy and chocolaty, and the pretzel adds a unique texture that is somewhat salty but not at all overpowering.  

This recipe is based off of one I got from a blog called My Baking Heart which was ultimately inspired by the book entitled Baked Explorations 

Ingredients 

1-3/4 c all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 c rolled oats
14 tbsp (which means 2 sticks minus 2 tablespoons) of unsalted butter
3/4 c granulated sugar
1 c dark brown sugar, firmly packed
1 lg egg
1 lg egg yolk
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp espresso powder - also called instant espresso coffee (found in the instant coffee section NOT the baking section. make sure to ask for help before you completely give up. It can be found in your regular grocery store but don't bother looking at whole foods they don't have it.)
2 c semisweet chocolate chips (which is one regular sized bag)
3/4 c thin salty pretzels, broken into tiny pieces but not crushed into dust

1. Set the oven to 350. In a large bowl, blend the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. then add the eggs and beat until even lighter and fluffier.

2. beat in the vanilla until just combined. *remember to scrape down the sides of the bowl between each step

3. microwave 1/4 of a cup of water for about 35-40 seconds and stir in the espresso powder until it has completely dissolved.

4. Combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl (flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt). In a coffee grinder, blend 1 cup of the rolled oats. Then partially blend 1/4 of a cup and do not blend the remaining 1/4 cup of oats. This is not required but I personally am not wild about the texture that oats give a cookie (although I love the flavor) If you do blend the oats it gives the cookie a nice chewy texture which I personally enjoy. Add all of the dry ingredients together and stir until they are pretty well combined.

5. Starting with the dry ingredients (ALWAYS start and end with dry) rotate blending the wet espresso mixture and dry (about 2 or 3 times each). This way you have the most control over the consistency of the cookie and are less likely to get a clumpy or runny dough.

6. Add the chocolate chips and then add the pretzels. (If you aren't baking all of your cookies at once, I suggest you leave the pretzels out until it's time for baking so they stay fresh and crunchy. if you leave them in the dough over night the pretzels tend to soften)

7. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

8. Roll about 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoon sized balls of dough and slightly flatten them so they look like fat disks. Leave about 3 inches of space between each cookie. Bake for 12 minutes (11-13) or until golden brown.