chocolate Archives - Page 3 of 6

Salted Triple Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirled Brownie Cookies

April 4, 2013 · by Ari ·

I’m sorry. I know my title is so long. Ridiculously long. I promise I tried to change it, but I just needed to tell you all of those things about these cookies. They are too important to leave out.

I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it, but my best friend from high school is having a baby!! She’s due in less than a month, and it’s so strange. I’ve seen a lot of people have kids, but never someone my age and close to me. It’s like we’re becoming adults, and I can’t even handle it.

I’ve also never been so excited for someone to have a baby. There are no two people in the entire universe that could make more amazing parents than Lisa and Sam. Whenever I need to talk something through, Lisa is one of the first people I call, and she is always so loving, supportive, and filled with amazing, insightful advice. It has been so amazing to watch her meet the perfect man who loves her like crazy, and watch them build their life together.

A couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure of attending her baby shower. I’ve never been so excited for one of those things! I got totally emotional picking out her gifts. I came *this close* to making her black & white cookies, but I ended up deciding to try something new…like always. 😉

I just lightly adapted one of my favorite cookie recipes which was originally adapted by one of my very favorite bloggers, and I now might have a new favorite cookie. These cookies are not for those who love a mild taste, or feel luke warm about chocolate. Oh no, these are rich, bold, decadent, and insanely dark. They have the kind of intense chocolate flavor that satisfies you with just one cookie.

I mean, don’t get me wrong…You will want to eat 3 or 4, but one really does the trick. I always find dark chocolate to be more satisfying than milk chocolate. Sometimes I prefer a milk chocolate taste, but it always leaves me craving more, where as dark chocolate satisfies my sweet tooth. Anyone else? Am I just a total freak?

I originally wanted to make my own peanut butter chips. Natural, no sweetener, “healthy”. But then I got impatient, and I didn’t chill the peanut butter nearly long enough, and as I stirred it in, it just started swirling around. I was totally bummed for a hot second, then decided to just go with it. I ended up LOVING the peanut butter swirl! So pretty, so peanut buttery, so right. One of those happy accidents.

Add a little bite with so coarse sea salt on top, and you’ve got the makings of a perfect cookie. All sorts of things happening, but all working perfectly together.

Salted Triple Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirled Brownie Cookies

Prep Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes

Yield: 1 dozen

Serving Size: 1 cookie

Salted Triple Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirled Brownie Cookies

Rich, decadent brownie cookies swirled with peanut butter and topped with sea salt. Vegan and whole grain.

Ingredients

1/3 cup peanut butter, slightly melted
1/2 cup white whole wheat flour
2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp corn starch
dash salt
4 oz dark chocolate, melted and cooled
1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 tbsp apple butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup dark chocolate chunks
Sea salt for topping

Instructions

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Pour peanut butter on in a thin layer. Transfer to the freezer to chill for 1 hour.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, corn starch and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat together chocolate, vanilla, apple butter, and sugars until well combined,Add almond milk, then slowly beat in dry ingredients until just combined.
Remove chilled peanut butter from parchment paper (it should be solid, but bendable. Gently, fold peanut butter and chocolate chips into batter. Cover and chill for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silpat. Use a small cookie scoop to transfer dough to prepared cookie sheets. Add a small pinch of sea salt to each cookie. Press down dough balls to flatten slightly (they don’t spread when they bake, so if you don’t flatten them, you will end up with round cookies).
Bake for 10-12 minutes until just set. Do not over bake. They will continue to cook themselves as they sit. Let the cookies stand on the pan until completely cooled. Store in an airtight container for one week (these cookies stay pretty darn soft and gooey for days!).

https://arismenu.com/salted-triple-chocolate-peanut-butter-swirled-brownie-cookies/

Samoas Donuts {vegan}

March 1, 2013 · by Ari ·

It’s here. The season I love to hate. Or hate to love. Yes, definitely hate to love: Girl Scout Cookie Season.

For the past few years, I’ve avoided purchasing any all together, but this year a special girl in my life was selling them, and I just couldn’t let her not win the special prize for selling the most boxes, right???? But really, girl scout cookies happen only once a year, and the two boxes I purchased aren’t going to be the end of the world, as long as I don’t eat them all in one sitting. In fact, I’m proud to announce that a week in, and only one box has even been opened!

This is what we call MASSIVE WILLPOWER over in my house. Plus, now that I have these donuts, that opened box of samoas isn’t drawing me in quite so heavily. The unopened thin mints in my freezer? Well, that’s an other story. Those long tubes of cookies are portion control’s worst nightmare. Oh, you say all of these delicious cookies come in 2 tubes? Well, clearly one tube is a “serving”, right?

I’m actually trying to save them for when I decide just how I want them to be a part of a cupcake, or milkshake, or cookie inside of a cookie.

So how did I make these indulgent cookies into a completely vegan, and health(ier) dessert? Well, the donut part was easy. I have a pretty basic donut recipe that I love, and it didn’t require too much tweaking. Chocolate and coconut? Piece of cake. I don’t even buy that sweetened coconut. I love the finely shredded unsweetened low fat stuff. You can, of course, use whatever you want, but if I can get that delicious coconutty taste without the added sugar, I’ll take it!

The caramel portion was tricky. I’ve seen date caramel all over the internet, and I’d been dying to try it. Dates are so sweet and gooey that it seemed like they could definitely do the trick! So I got out the food processor, played around, heated the mixture on the stove a little to get that extra-gooey effect, and voila! Now, I’m gonna be real with you here. It doesn’t just just like that gooey buttery caramel we’re all used to and love. It is not an exact replica, but it does give you a sweet, caramel texture with no added sugar. I could have just eaten it with a spoon if I didn’t have donuts to make!

And not just any donuts–ultra soft, pillowy donuts that taste like biting into a sweet, fluffy cloud. I don’t know why anyone fries these things when they bake up perfectly soft and sweet on their own. Add rich, bold dark chocolate, and you have everything you could ever need in a dessert.

**Note: To get closer to the Samoas look, you can also coat the bottom in chocolate, but I was trying to keep this light, so I just drizzled it on the top. Also, you can totally drizzle it in a straighter line for the resemblance I tried…we all have our strengths and weaknesses 😉

Samoas Donuts

yield 6 donuts

1 cup white whole wheat flour
3 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp dark brown sugar, packed
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp corn starch
dash salt
3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk, divided use
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tbsp melted coconut oil
20 pitted dates (and water for soaking)
2 tbsp reduced fat unsweetened shredded coconut
1/4 cup dark chocolate chips
1/2 tsp coconut oil, at room temperature

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325. Spray a donut pan with nonstick spray, and set aside.
Place dates in a bowl and cover with hot water. Allow to soak while you prepare the donuts.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugars, baking powder, corn starch and salt. Stir in 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp almond milk, vanilla and melted coconut oil. Gently stir until ingredients are just combined.
Evenly divide batter between 6 donut molds. Smooth out tops. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely in molds.
Transfer dates + 2-3 tbsp of water from soaking to your food processor. Process until dates begin breaking down to more of a paste, about 2-3 minutes. Add a pinch of salt (you can also add a dash of vanilla extract if you’d like) and 2 tbsp almond milk. Continue to process until a caramel texture forms, about 2-3 minutes.
Transfer mixture to a small saucepan, and cook on medium-low heat for about 5 minutes whisking constantly. Return back to the food processor, and blend again for about one minute.
Top donuts with date caramel sauce, followed by a heavy pinch of coconut.
Melt chocolate and room temperature coconut oil in the microwave for about 90 seconds, stirring every 20-30 seconds. Transfer melted chocolate to a large ziplock bag. Snip off the corner of the bag, and drizzle chocolate over donuts. Allow to cool completely. Store in an airtight container for 5-7 days.

Whopper Cookies

February 27, 2013 · by Ari ·

One time I went on vacation with my dad, and he tried to take a box of whoppers through the line at security. It had already been opened, and they wanted to check inside the box. He then had a legit argument with the TSA about how if they wanted to dig inside his candy box, they were going to need to buy him a new one.

Well, I’m sure you’ll be shocked to know, they bought him no new box of candy. I mean, you just don’t argue with the TSA. Listen, I don’t like it any more than you do when they put me in that machine that basically shows them my naked body (does anyone else feel like this is the most awful part of traveling????) butI like to actually be able to get on the plane, so I would rather keep my mouth shut.

Steve likes to make things difficult, and refuse to get him, so they make him get a pat down. I feel like that would be, umm, way worse, but he is stubborn. Anyway, enough about airport security. Cookies are, like, 5 zillion times cooler!

I feel malt is sooooo under rated. I really don’t know why I haven’t put it into every baked good I’ve ever made. The sweet, strong taste pairs perfectly with milk, chocolate, beer, you name it!

These cookies give you a double dose with malted milk powder in the cookie base, and then the dough is stuffed with chocolatey malty Whoppers candy, and of course chocolate chips for an extra dose of chocolate–extra chocolate is always necessary. The Whoppers get a little soft as the cookies bake, but as they cool, they quickly return to their crunchy texture bringing a nice texture to these ultra-soft cookies.

Peanut butter cookies are usually my favorite,. but these babies give my normal peanut butter love a run for it’s money. They stay soft for days too–if you can keep ’em around that long. 😉

Whopper Cookies

yield 3 dozen

2 1/4 cups white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup malted milk powder
1 tsp baking soda
dash salt
1 cup fat free (or reduced at) cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
5 oz box of Whoppers

Directions:

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, malt powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixture, beat softened cream cheese until fluffy. Beat in sugars until well combined. Add vanilla. Beat in eggs one at a time.
Slowly, stir in dry ingredients until combined, scraping down sides of the bowl when necessary. Gently, fold in chocolate chips and Whoppers.
Refrigerate dough for at least 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375. Line two large baking sheets with Silpat or parchment paper.
Roll chilled dough into 1″ balls and transfer to baking sheet. Bake until edges are golden and cookies are just set, about 10-12 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in a not quite airtight container (if they don’t breathe, they lose their texture, but I wouldn’t leave them next to a vent either) for 5-7 days.

Pretzel M&M Peanut Butter Cookies

February 13, 2013 · by Ari ·

Remember my pretzel m&m obsession? It actually started over the summer. You see, I’d been wanting to try them ever since I heard they were a real thing. But I figured trying, and inevitably falling in love with a new type of candy was probably a horrible decision. Then my friend Kara had some in her freezer (yes, they are delicious frozen), and I caved.

She lurred me in by telling me they had less calories than other varieties. That pretzel takes up all of this room, and has less calories than chocolate. Well, okay then…that makes it a healthy candy, right?

Ever since, I can’t get them out of my mind. Sweet chocolate, salty pretzel with a candy crunch? What’s not to love?? Well, obviously the only way to make them better is to put them into a cookie. A peanut butter cookie to be exact.

The first time I made these was for book club and although I liked them enough to bring them, they weren’t perfect yet. I knew I didn’t want to share them with you guys until I was 100% in love with them, so I tried again, and this time I added chocolate chips, took out a little flour, and didn’t chill the dough. I think the rice krispies soaked up too much liquid when I chilled it the first go around, and they lost their crunch.

I am SO glad I gave them a second try! They ended up with the most perfect cookie texture–you know, crunchy on the outside, soft and gooey on the inside. The extra chocolate worked like a charm, and the cereal was crunchy, and added that little bit of extra texture I was craving. They were a huge hit, and Steve even said he had a new favorite cookie! 🙂

Pretzel M&M Peanut Butter Cookies

yield 1 1/2 dozen

1 cup white whole wheat flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
4 oz light cream cheese
1 cup peanut butter (I used White Chocolate Wonderful)
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup crispy brown rice cereal (or just regular rice krispies if you have them on hand)
1 cup pretzel m&ms
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Line 2 large cookie sheets with silpat or parchment paper. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.
In a large bowl (I used my stand mixer), beat together cream cheese, peanut butter, and sugars until combined. Beat in egg and vanilla followed by flour mixture. Gently, fold in rice cereal, m&ms and chocolate chips. I ended up just using my hands to get everything combined.
Roll dough into balls just over 1″ and transfer to prepared baking sheet. Bake until edges are golden and cookies are just set, about 12-15 minutes. Do not over bake.
Let stand for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store completely cooled cookies in a tupperware with the lid sitting on top, but not sealed–these will get mushy if they are in a completely airtight container–for up to one week.

Cookie Butter Cookie Dough Bars

February 11, 2013 · by Ari ·

You know those people who go through life only speaking the bare minimum amount of word required to get by in social situations?

Yeah, that’s not me. I’m that person who, even as an adult, can’t get through situations where you’re supposed to be quiet. Work meetings? Don’t put me next to anyone I find remotely interesting. Library? I get the evil eye from everyone who actually went there for some peace and quiet. I even talk the entire time through massages.

I think the only time I ever stop talking is during a run when I get reallllly tired, and then it doesn’t matter because I’m usually with the only girl I know who loves to talk more than I do. 😉

So when I name a recipe, I always want to tell you every single thing about it. The name doesn’t do justice for me unless it accurately describes every detail of the food. In fact, if I were going to name these what I wanted to, they would be called Double Salted Chocolate Covered Cookie Butter Cookie Dough Tops with Graham Cracker Crust. I had to put it in bold so that you could actually see the beginning and end. It’s only slightly excessive.

The problem is, it is all of those details that make these bars so fantastic. It took me a few tries to actually figure them out. The first time, I didn’t put two layers of chocolate–I only put chocolate on the top–and the dough didn’t stick to the crust, and they ended up a sticky mess.

Then I tried to cut them before freezing them–well that resulted in cookie dough oozing out. It wasn’t pretty, but they still tasted great. However, it was when I finally completely froze them before cutting that they finally worked for me. You can see that cutting the frozen chocolate causes the tops to crack, but I didn’t mind it. If you do, you could always cute them when the chocolate is first put on, and is still melty, then freeze.

For the graham cracker crust, you must use old fashioned graham crackers. Please don’t use the regular store bought one. The crust is probably my favorite part, and it is due to that spicy cinnamon and molasses taste that the old fashioned graham crackers bring. This crumbly crust is topped with a layer of melted chocolate, then sprinkled with sea salt, followed by soft, gooey, eggless cookie butter cookie dough, and topped with more chocolate and an other layer of sea salt. If you don’t love sweet and salty as much as I do (ummm WHY NOT?). you could leave out the salt on the bottom layer, or (gasp) all of the salt, but I wouldn’t do that. With all the sweetness of the graham crackers, chocolate, and cookie butter, the salt puts everything into perfect balance.

Using a spring form pan makes them about a million times easier to get out, but it does make cutting them….interesting. I did most of the outside pieces in triangles, but did the middle in squares and rectangles. Honestly, it doesn’t matter how you slice ’em–they are a totally out-of-this-world decadent treat that is perfect for any occasion. I made them after Steve’s first century and again for after my marathon.

Cookie Butter Cookie Dough Bars

8 oz old fashioned graham crackers
3 tbsp coconut oil, melted
1/2 cup apple butter
1 cup cookie butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 cup white whole wheat flour
12 oz bag dark chocolate chips, melted and divided
coarse sea salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Line the bottom of a 9-10″ springform pan with parchment paper. Spray edges and parchment paper well with nonstick spray. Set aside.
Pule graham crackers in a food processor until you have fine crumbs. With the food processor on, stream in the coconut oil and continue to run until combined, about 1 minute.
Press graham cracker crust into the bottom of your spring form pan making smooth, even layer. Bake until lightly browned and set, about 15 minutes. Place on a wire rack to cool slightly.
Spread half the melted chocolate over cooked crust. Sprinkle with sea salt. Let set in the refrigerator.
Meanwhile, beat together apple butter, cookie butter, sugars and molasses until well combined. Beat in vanilla and almond milk. Slowly beat in flour and continue mixing until fully combined.
Top cooled chocolate with cookie dough. Use a sprayed piece of parchment paper to press cookie dough into a smooth even layer.
Top with remaining melting chocolate. Use a pastry brush or spatula to spread evenly. Sprinkle with more sea salt.
Either slice immediately, then freeze, or freeze completely for about 3 hours, then slice and serve. Store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 1 month (yes, I was eating these for a WHOLE MONTH!).

Chocolate Frosted Orange Donuts

February 4, 2013 · by Ari ·

I have something really embarrassing to tell you.

So I pretty much never know the correct way to store my baked goods. Either I wrap it all up super close in an airtight container when it is still entirely too warm resulting in a big gooey mess of cookies/cupcakes/etc. basically unbaking themselves; or I leave everything out chillin’ with all the breezy air flowing freely throughout my house resulting in stale baked goods in something like 48 hours.

It is a particularly sad experience to spend 75% of your life baking cookies, only to end up not being able to enjoy them the next day. Life is hard when you have a food blog.

Okay, but we’re not even to the embarrassing part yet. This happened when I chose option B, letting my baked goods hang out (read: I was lazy, and didn’t store anything properly). You see, this became a problem because I was unbelievably head over heels for these donuts. That’s part of the reason I didn’t store them in the first place. They were so tempting. I was scared to keep them.

Well, my plans to trick myself into not eating all of the donuts failed miserably when I found myself picking at the lone stale donut still standing 3 days later. That’s the embarrassing part. But if you baked the most perfect tasting orange donuts that were melt-in-your-mouth soft, and covered with sweet chocolatey goodness, you would be picking at the stale leftovers too.

Oh, and by the way, they’re vegan, and gluten-free. 😉

Chocolate Frosted Orange Donuts

yield 8-10 donuts

For the donuts:

2 cups almond meal
zest of 1 orange
3 tbsp corn starch
3/4 tsp baking powder
dash salt
3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/4 cup honey or agave
1/3 cup orange juice
1/2 tsp orange extract

For the frosting:

1 cup powdered sugar
2-4 tbsp hot water
1 and 1/2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted

Directions:

Start with the donuts. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray donut pan with nonstick spray. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together almond meal, orange zest, corn starch, baking powder and salt. Stir in almond milk, honey/agave, orange juice and orange extract until combined.
Fill donut molds about 2/3 – 3/4 full. Bake for 12-16 minutes until golden and set. Let stand for 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack (I flipped mine over onto the rack and they came right out) to cool completely.
To make the frosting, place powdered sugar in a medium bowl. Slowly add in water 1 tbsp at a time, stirring constantly, until it reaches a spreadable glaze consistency. Stir in melted chocolate. If glaze becomes too thick, add an other tbsp hot water. Spread glaze on top of cooled donuts.
Top with extra orange zest and/or sprinkles if desired. Store in an airtight container (so you don’t pick at stale donuts) for up to one week.

**Note: If while spreading the glaze it becomes too stiff, stick the bowl in the microwave for 10 seconds, and it will thin out again.

Peanut Butter Chip Brownie Cookies

January 21, 2013 · by Ari ·

This was the last thing I made in 2012, and let me tell you, it was a heck of a way to end out the year!

You see, our New Years Eve was realllll exciting. I had stopped drinking for taper (or I had said I was, then had a glass of champagne, then went to a wedding 2 weeks later, and well, ya know…), and we were all exhausted from the holidays. We went to a friends house, watched Looper (Matt’s choice) which I didn’t like at all, then watched Burlesque (my choice) which never gets old if you ask me.

I’m not sure which part of my evening was better: these cookies, or Cher’s You Haven’t Seen the Last of Me. It’s a really tough choice, so I will say the best part of my evening was eating my weight in these cookies while watching Cher sing her heart out during her 11 o clock number.

Fresh out of ideas from my overkill holiday baking, I hit up my girl Sally’s site for some inspiration. I knew I was craving something with chocolate and peanut butter, and I had some peanut butter chips I’d been wanting to use, so I looked for a base chocolate cookie recipe.

I wasn’t surprised that Sally’s cookies delivered (her recipes are amaaaaazing), but I was pretty blown away by just how amazing these cookies were! They had the perfect flakey brownie top, and the middle was rich and gooey like a perfect batch of brownies, but in my favorite baked good. Can you tell cookies are my favorite thing to make? I think my recipe page speaks for itself. 😉

The peanut butter chips add the perfect touch, and we all know that chocolate and peanut butter is the best combination since pb&j. Steve also said more than a few times that these were “the best cookies I’ve ever made”, and since we all know how many cookies I make, you know these are a must try!

Peanut Butter Chip Brownie Cookies

yield 2 dozen

adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction

1/2 cup gluten-free baking blend (or white whole wheat flour)
2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
dash salt
4 oz dark chocolate, melted and cooled
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 tbsp apple butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter chips

Directions:

In a medium bowl, whisk together baking blend, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat together chocolate, egg, vanilla, apple butter, and sugars until well combined, then slowly beat in dry ingredients until just combined. Fold in peanut butter chips. Cover and chill for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silpat. Use a small cookie scoop to transfer dough to prepared cookie sheets. Use a small piece of parchment paper sprayed with nonstick spray to lightly press down dough balls to flatten slightly (they don’t spread when they bake, so if you don’t flatten them, you will end up with round cookies).
Bake for 10 minutes until just set. Let stand for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container for one week (these cookies stay pretty darn soft and gooey for days!).

Black & White Cookies {vegan}

January 15, 2013 · by Ari ·

Look to the cookie.

I know I’ve posted that video before. It’s from one of my favorite Seinfeld episodes. I’m also pretty sure I’ve mentioned my Seinfeld addiction. I spent the weekend with my NY Husband, and when I got to his house Thursday evening, he had a Seinfeld all cued up and ready for us to watch before bed. That’s love.

Black and white cookies are the epitome of nostalgia for me. You know how you have certain foods that remind you of certain relationships in your life? Like the way my dad is still always buying me white chocolate kit kat bars because they were my favorite when I was a kid. They still remind me of my dad. The first time I ever had a black and white cookie was when my friend Lisa and I split one at Chompies.

It was pretty much as cliche as you can get–2 Jewish girls at the Jewish deli eating black and white cookies. What can I say? It’s in my blood.

It was love at first bite. The soft, cake-like cookie was absolute perfection. It was so huge we had to eat it with a fork! Ever since, any time I’m in NYC, all I want is a black and white cookie. I had my heart set on one when I was there in November, but it never happened, and so I decided I was going to need to make it happen in Arizona.

I made these cookies with the intent to wait until either Lisa’s baby shower (in March) or when she delivers her baby girl (in May-ish), but I just couldn’t wait.

The homemade version of this deli classic was everything I dreamed it would be! Soft, fluffy, cake-like cookies topped equally with light, white powdered sugar glaze and its rich, chocolatey counter part. It truly is the ultimate flavor combination.

So in honor of Lisa, Mac, and my latest (9 hour) trip to the city, make yourself some black & whites.

Black & White Cookies

adapted from Smitten Kitchen

yield approx. 3 ½ dozen

1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon lemon extract
1 and 1/4 cups whole wheat cake flour
1 and 1/4 cups white whole wheat flour
2 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 tsp baking powder
dash salt
1 and 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
2 cups powdered sugar
2-4 tbsp hot water
1 and 1/2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted
1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silpat.
In large mixing bowl, combine sugar and applesauce and extracts until combined.
In medium bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, cornstarch and salt. Add half of the dry ingredients into applesauce mixture, followed by milk, then remaining dry ingredients. Mix until incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl when necessary.
Use a small cookie scoop to drop the dough 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Bake 15-18 minutes until edges begin to brown. Cool completely.
To make the frosting, place powdered sugar in a medium mixing bowl. Slowly, mix in hot water 1 tbsp at a time, until icing has reached your desired consistency. Be careful—a little bit of liquid goes a long way with powdered sugar!
Spread icing on half of the flat (bottom) side of each cookie. Once all cookie halves have been half frosted, add melted chocolate to remaining frosting. To make the “black” darker, you may add in 1 tbsp of unsweetened cocoa if desired (I did). If icing appears too thick, add an other tbsp. of hot water.
Frost the remaining half of the cookies with the chocolate frosting. If icing becomes dry, just whisk in a little bit of extra water—it can dry up pretty quickly, and I had to do this a few times.
Let frosting set and serve immediately or store in an airtight container for 3-4 days.

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies with Dark Chocolate, Cherries & Coconut

January 14, 2013 · by Ari ·

Friends, these are not the prettiest cookies I’ve ever made.

In fact, when I made them for our first Ragnar team meeting, I almost didn’t serve them because I didn’t love the look, but as I kept reaching over, and over, and over for the pieces of the uglier ones I planned to throw away, I realized they were so delicious, I just had to save them, and post about them, pretty or not.

I don’t think I’ve mentioned it yet, but this February I will be running Ragnar Del Sol with 11 other amazing ladies! The line up includes Nicole, Karla, Melissa, Megan, Tara, Stacey, Jaime, Bety, Jennifer, Jenn, and Kelli. I am sosoSO excited! We had our first official meeting a couple of weeks ago, and did a potluck at my house, so of course I called dibs on making dessert. 😉 Tara and Jaime don’t eat gluten or dairy, so I wanted to make something that everyone would be able to enjoy.

So I did end up serving my visually-challenged cookies, and I’m even sharing them with you, because I love them. They are so chewy, and packed with flavor. In true Ari style, there is definitely a lot going on, which leads to my new longest title ever (I think?), but it all comes together perfectly in a way that rather than tasting each component, you taste the combination as a whole.

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies with Dark Chocolate, Cherries & Coconut

1 tbsp coconut oil, melted
3 tbsp apple butter
1 cup natural peanut butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup sugar
½ cup unsweetened almond milk
1 and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 and 1/4 tsp baking soda
2 tbsp cornstarch
dash salt
1/3 cup reduced fat unsweetened shredded coconut
3 cups raw oats (use gluten-free if you care about that sort of thing)
6 oz good quality dark chocolate, chopped into chunks (I used 2 bars—a coconut dark chocolate and a sea salt dark chocolate)
3/4 cup sweet cherries, pitted and chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silpat.
In a large bowl, beat together coconut oil, apple butter, peanut butter, and sugars until smooth. Add almond milk, vanilla, baking soda, cornstarch, salt, and coconut, and beat until well combined. Fold in oats, followed by chocolate, cherries and coconut.
Use a small cookie scoop to drop batter onto prepared baking sheet about 2 inches apart (these spread quite a bit).
Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden brown around the edges. Cool completely on baking sheet before transferring to serve.

**Notes: These cookies are very sticky. I don’t recommend sealing them for storage. You also don’t want to crowd them. They work best unstacked in a large Tupperware with the lid resting on top, but unsealed.

Sunflower Butter White Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake

January 11, 2013 · by Ari ·

SOMEONE’S GETTING MARRIED TODAY!!!!!

Noooo, not me silly gooses. I already have a real husband and a New York Husband, and that is plenty. Plus, you know I said some vows to my Kitchenaid…

Ummm, I know what you’re thinking, but it’s totally normal to have two human husbands and one appliance. And everyone says vows to their favorite kitchen appliance, okay?

Sunflower Butter White Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake

This is one of the most pointless food pictures I’ve ever taken. It shows you nothing about the actual cake, but for some reason I just love it.

Today my beautiful, wonderful friend Jen is getting hitched! I flew in to NYC late last evening, and today I’m road tripping down to Virginia for the wedding. It’s a long story, but the extra states saved me a night’s hotel fair, and earned me some extra time with NY Husband, so it’s well worth the extra travel. Jen is one of the most giving, loving people I have ever met, and I can’t wait to be a part of her special day!

I figured since today was extra special, I would do something I never do and post a CAKE! I very rarely make real cakes. I’m much more of a cupcake girl. I like the built in portion control of a cupcake, because lord knows I will break out a fork, and eat the entire cake if left to my own devices…

One time, I made Steve a red velvet cake for his birthday. Of course, this was before I knew how to cook, like at all, so it came from a box. I forgot the eggs (which is pretty typical for me), and the cake, although delicious, was a crumbly mess. This was also pre-weight-loss for both of us. We each ended up grabbing a fork, and almost completely devouring this double layer cake. It was really cute, I swear.

I can’t promise you that you will not have the same problem here, because this cake is GOOD. The edges browned and got slightly crispy while the middle stayed perfectly gooey and soft. The cake isn’t overly sweet to balance out the rich, chocolatey icing, and the white chocolate chips throughout create a perfect flavor balance. In basic terms, it tastes kinda like a HUGE, soft peanut butter cookie with white chocolate chips, that’s covered in rich chocolate cream cheese frosting. Except, it’s a cake. A cake I can get behind. Now, please pass me the fork.

Sunflower Butter White Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake

yield approx 16 servings

1/4 cup apple butter
2/3 cup sunflower butter (or any nut butter you have on hand will work)
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 and 1/2 tsp baking powder
dash salt
3/4 cup brown sugar,packed
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg

For the Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting:

12 oz reduced fat cream cheese
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 and 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 and 1/4 oz dark chocolate, melted and cooled
1 tsp vanilla extract
2-3 tbsp unsweetened almond milk

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350. Line the bottom of a 9-10″ springform pan with parchment paper. Spray edges and parchment paper well with nonstick spray. Set aside.
In a medium bowl. whisk flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl (or in the bowl of a stand mixer), beat together apple butter, sunflower butter, brown sugar, and vanilla until well combined. Beat in egg. Slowly add dry ingredients and mix until incorporated. Fold in white chocolate chips.
Transfer dough to prepared pan, and use a piece of sprayed parchment paper to gently press into an even layer.
Bake for 18-22 minutes, until lightly golden. The center should be set, but soft. Cool completely in pan.
Once cooled, run a butter knife along the inside to release any areas that are stuck, then open springform, and transfer cake to your preferred frosting area.
To make frosting, beat cream cheese on medium speed until smooth. Add vanilla extract. Add in powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time, beating on low speed, followed by cocoa powder. Increase to medium speed and add melted chocolate. Beat until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl often. Slowly, add almond milk 1 tbsp at a time until frosting reaches a spreadable consistency.
Frost cooled cookie cake completely, and serve.

Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies

December 22, 2012 · by Ari ·

OOOOMMMMMGGGGG it’s 3 days until Christmas!!!!

The other day I was teasing Nicole about being backed up on her recipe posting. “Are you even going to be able to post everything by Christmas???” I asked her. She responded with “I have to post every day.”

It was so funny until I started counting and realized that I do too…

You see, I may have gotten a little overzealous in my holiday baking this year. I’ve just been so excited! I didn’t realize how many holiday themed recipes I had to share with you until just now! Either that, or I’ve been in denial that it’s actually Christmastime, not just the time I like to call “Christmastime” that begins on Veteran’s Day…

Perhaps instead of spending my time blogging I should be out, you know, buying presents for the 700 people still on my list. But I already did all the hard work on the recipes. This is just like doing the wrapping, which I LOVE…obviously.

Actually, I wish I had 2 dozen more of these cookies to use for gift wrapping fuel right now. Sally always tells me I should use cookies for “fuel” and I’m beginning to think she’s onto something. How much more fun is sitting on the floor in a mess of wrapping paper, dollar store tape, and puppy hair when you have spicy, cinnamony chocolate cookies stuffed with melty, oozy chile dark chocolate to keep you warm and energized??

These cookies will keep you warm and cozy even if you live in a place that actually has winter. Pinky promise. And if the dough didn’t have enough bold spices, I’ve topped them off with a dusting of cinnamon powdered sugar for even more cinnamon sweetness. You will absolutely love with the way the cayenne and cinnamon pair with the sweet, rich dark chocolate. So much love.

And if you love it as much as I do, I have to give some love to some of the best cookies I’ve eaten. Ever. Oooooomg, make both batches at once and you will be so happy.

Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies

yield approx 2.5 dozen

3/4 cup white whole wheat flour
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp espresso powder
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
Pinch black pepper
Pinch cayenne pepper
5 oz dark chocolate, melted and cooled
1 cup + 2 tbsp sugar
1/4 cup apple butter
1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/3-1/2 chile dark chocolate bar, chopped into fairly large chunks (big enough so that each cookie only needs 1, small enough that a 1″ cookie dough ball can cover it completely)

For the powdered sugar topping:

1 tbsp powdered sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, espresso powder, baking powder, salt, and peppers. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat together melted chocolate, sugar, apple butter, almond milk and vanilla, Slowly mix in dry ingredients until well combined. Cover dough and refrigerate for 30 minutes (this is optional, but recommended).
Preheat oven to 350 and line 2 large baking sheets with Silpat or parchment paper. Roll chilled dough into 1″ dough balls then press a chunk of chile dark chocolate in the center and re-roll the dough so it is covering the chocolate completely and drop onto prepared baking sheet. Bake for 8-12 minutes until set. Let stand for 2-3 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
In a small bowl, whisk together powdered sugar and cinnamon, then lightly dust cookies with mixture.

Cookie Butter Puppy Chow

December 21, 2012 · by Ari ·

Do you call it puppy chow or muddy buddies?

I call it delicious.

If you’re not familiar, first of all I’m so sorry, you’ve been missing out. Puppy chow is usually Chex cereal mixed with chocolate and peanut butter and then covered with powdered sugar. It’s one of those perfectly simple snacky desserts that takes about 5 minutes to make, and is always a hit. I’ve been making it for years since before I knew how to cook or bake, and I always find myself reaching back into the container to sneak more out.

One of the great things about puppy chow is that the possibilities are endless. I used to think I was “fancy” when I would add white chocolate. Back in the day, that’s what I considered “being creative”. I guess you could say that even before I knew what I was doing, I always wanted to change things up and add my own flair. I just can’t help it.

This recipe isn’t what you’d call innovative, or let’s be honest….healthy, BUT it is sososo yummy, and a perfect foodie gift to give to all of your friends, family, after school theatre teacher (they like presents too! 😉 ), or you know, yourself. I used TJ’s speculoos cookie butter, but you could also use Biscoff spread. The perfectly sweet spread pairs perfectly to create a mix with hints of cinnamon and ginger flavors to give you some extra holiday spirit.

Cookie Butter Puppy Chow

2/3 cup cookie butter or Biscoff spread
3 tbsp coconut oil
1 cup white chocolate chips (or dark chocolate chips, or cinnamon chips, or butterscotch chips…)
1 tsp vanilla extract
9 cups Corn Chex cereal
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine cookie butter, coconut oil and chocolate chips until fully melted and combined, stirring constantly. Slowly stir in cereal, mixing gently until cereal is fully coated.
Transfer to a large trash bag or paper bag and pour in powdered sugar. For lack of a better term, shake the heck out of it! Just keep shaking it around (make sure the top is fully sealed! 😉 ) until everything has come together. Lay out to cool on parchment paper, then store in an airtight container.

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