holiday cheer

Christmas is just days away and I'm pretty excited to be spending our first real Christmas as a family (last year didn't really count as Maxwell was just days old). Even though we don't buy presents (we only do stockings), it'll be nice to have Christmas dinner with Maxwell and spend the day relaxing together. This year though, Joe and I decided that we wouldn't be able to have a real tree. With Maxwell being mobile and getting into literally everything, it just wouldn't be safe. I was seriously bummed. I love the smell and look of a real tree. So, instead we got a small, four-foot tall fake tree and displayed it on top of our desk. I couldn't hang most of our regular ornaments on it as Maxwell would pull those off, so I kept it simple with some lights, candy canes, a popcorn garland and baby-safe ornaments.

I made this ombré garland from pompoms I found at Dollarama. Sadly, it was too short to wrap around the entire length of the tree. Oh well.

Joe's sister even crafted Maxwell a few felt ornaments. My favourite is her rendition of his first (and most cherished) stuffed toy, Boris (originally named Albert).

And it wouldn't be the holidays without some sweets. I haven't been able to do much baking, but did manage to crank out some shortbread and these salted brown butter cookies.

Now, time to cozy-up on the couch and stare at my tree.

triple chocolate chunk cookies

These are triple chocolate chunk cookies. And they were just what I needed this past weekend.

1 C flour
1/2 C Dutch process cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 C butter, room temp
1/2 C sugar
1/2 C brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 oz. milk chocolate, chopped
3 oz. white chocolate, chopped

1. Combine all of the dry ingredients. Set aside.

2. Cream butter and sugars in a stand mixer until fluffy. Add vanilla and egg. Mix until combined.

3. Slowly add in dry ingredients until just combined. Stir in chocolate chunks by hand.

4. Drop heaping tablespoons onto parchment-lined baking sheets. Slightly flatten the tops of each dough mound. Bake at 350 for 12-13 minutes.

peanut butter milk chocolate chunk cookies

Peanut butter is one of those things that I rarely crave, but when I was trying to think of a new cookie to make, peanut butter somehow made its way into my head. I decided on these peanut butter milk chocolate chunk cookies from the Baked cookbook that promised to be chewy and full of flavour. I ate three as soon as they had cooled, so that means they were real good.

You can find the recipe here.

back in the day

A few months back I impulsively (as always) picked up The Back in the Day Cookbook. It was during a time when I was dreaming about a vacation to the deep south. Visions of peach cobbler, fried chicken and sweet tea were floating through my mind on a daily basis. Well, that vacation hasn't happened (yet), but I'm still hopeful that one day it will. And when it does the Back in the Day Bakery in Savannah, Georgia will definitely be on my must stop list. 

Recently I tried out their chocolate chip cookie recipe. It's actually similar to the NYT cookies in that they are finished with a good sprinkle of fleur de sel, but these were more up my alley in terms of texture: crisp, chewy and buttery good!

nyt chocolate chip cookies

This chocolate chip cookie recipe comes from The Essential New York Times Cookbook and uses techniques developed by Jacques Torres. The unique thing about this recipe is that the cookie dough needs to rest in the fridge for at least 24 hours or ideally 36 hours. This "aging" of the dough is what's supposed to develop the flavour and create crisp-edged cookies with chewy middles. 

Unfortunately, this recipe was just ok for me. The taste was good and I liked the sprinkling of salt on the top, but the cookies ended up too cakey for my liking. Plus, I need that crisp outer edge and these just didn't have that (even though the recipe said they would). 

macaroons (not macarons)

These coconut macaroons may not be as elegant as French macarons (and actually aren't at all similar other than their name), but they're much easier to make and a fast way to ease a craving for something sweet. I drizzled some with milk chocolate, some with white chocolate, and left some au natural.

2 1/2 C shredded coconut
1/3 C sugar
2 egg whites
3 tbsp flour
1/2 tsp almond extract
pinch of salt

1. Combine all of the ingredients. Using an ice cream scoop, make mounds on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

2. Bake for 30-35 minutes at 325 degrees or until lightly golden. Allow to cool on the baking sheet before drizzling with melted chocolate.

momofuku compost cookies

When the Momofuku Milk Bar cookbook came out, I remember the compost cookie recipe getting a lot of flack; that the measurements were "off" resulting in burned-edge-raw-in-the-middle cookies. When I finally got around to trying the recipe myself, they actually turned out almost identical to the real compost cookies I had at Milk Bar in NYC—kinda flat with a crunchy, caramelized edge, salty, sweet, and slightly greasy (makes sense since there are potato chips in there). I followed the recipe exactly, but do have a few tips.

Tip #1: Use the weight measurements. I weighed my flour then scooped it out to see if it equalled the said cup amount, and it didn't.
Tip #2: Freeze your baking sheets. It helps the dough not spread as fast.
Tip #3: Use a 1/3 C to portion out the dough, if you try to make regular-sized cookies the dough will spread too fast and burn. 
Tip #4: After baking, the edges may seem scraggly and much browner than the rest of the cookie (the middle will still be a bit raw), use a spatula to "push" the edges in and shape the cookies. This way, as the cookies continue to bake and cool on the baking sheet, the edges won't burn and the cookies will end up more even. 

You can find the recipe here. Like the name suggests, there's a bit of everything in these cookies. I used chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, toffee bits, graham crust (it's in the recipe), and kettle-cooked chips. Since I didn't have any pretzels, I almost put some crunchy Cheetos in there, but that would have been weird, right? 

chocolate chocolate cookies

I recently made the chocolate chocolate cookies from the Milk Bar cookbook (last Momofuku post for a while, I swear).

They definitely had a very rich chocolate flavour (maybe too much so for my taste). But the texture was great. That's the thing that I've found with all the Momofuku cookies that I've made—the texture is perfect: crispy edges, chewy middles. The recipes always call for what you think will be too much salt, but that salty bite really complements and balances out the sweetness of the cookies.

I actually went one step further with these and made a Cherry Garcia ice cream sandwich...that I sadly couldn't finish for fear of falling into a sugar coma.

momofuku confetti cookies

Since the first of January, it's been all vegetables, no meat and little sugar over at my house. And while that's been all fine and dandy, and my body has been thanking me after stuffing my face throughout the holidays, I decided it was time for a treat. Momofuku Milk Bar's confetti cookies it is!

These cookies have the best texture: crispy and chewy (a bit like a cross between a snickerdoodle and a sugar cookie). At first I thought they were a bit too sweet, but I let that go pretty quickly after I scarfed down my second cookie.

You can find the recipe over at Serious Eats.

chocolate cherry toffee cookies

After what feels like a long baking hiatus (it's been a busy couple of months!), I busted out my mixing bowls and measuring cups and got down to business making these cookies filled with plump dried cherries, rich Valrhona dark chocolate and toffee bits.

3/4 C flour

1/4 C + 2 tbsp sugar

1/4 C + 2 tbsp brown sugar

3/4 C quick-cook oats

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 egg

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/2 C dark chocolate, chopped

1/2 C toffee bits

3/4 C dried cherries, chopped

1/2 C butter, at room temperature

1/4 tsp salt

1. Mix flour, baking soda and salt.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream both sugars and butter for 2-3 minutes. Add in egg and vanilla and mix until combined.

3. Add flour and mix until just incorporated. Mix in chocolate, cherries, toffee and oats.

4. Form the dough into a log and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill in the fridge for an hour. 

5. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Slice dough into 1/2-inch rounds and bake on a parchment lined cookie sheet for 10-12 minutes or until edges are barely golden. Let sit on cookie sheet for 1 minute before transferring to cooling rack.

bits of my weekend

My weekend was spent: 

Transplanting the succulents that have been growing like mad on my windowsill.

Enjoying a hunk of the Pied-De-Vent I picked up in Montreal.

Making my favourite oatmeal raisin cookies.

Roasting a whole chicken and root vegetables for Sunday night dinner.

thin and crispy chocolate chip cookies

I didn't think a super-thin, crispy-edged chocolate chip cookie would be my style, but I loved these. The outside becomes caramelized like candy and the middle stays nice and chewy. 

1 C brown sugar

1 3/4 sticks butter, room temperature

1 1/4 C sugar

2 tbsp water

1 egg

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1 C + 3 tbsp flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 + 1/8 tsp baking soda

milk chocolate chips

1. In a stand mixer, cream butter until smooth. Add sugars and mix until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add egg, water and vanilla. Mix to combine.

2. Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Add to wet ingredients and mix until just incorporated. Fold in chocolate chips.

3. Scoop onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Freeze for 1 hour. 

4. Flatten each ball slightly and bake at 375 degrees for 16-18 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. Let cool completely before eating.

screaming for ice cream...sandwiches

Sometimes all you need is a good cookie to make a bad day better.

But when you've had a really bad day, you'll need something more. Like two cookies. And some ice cream in between.