em + the kitchen - pumpkin spice snickerdoodles.

While in Europe, I promised one of the Aussies on our TopDeck tour that I would send him snickerdoodles when we both got back to our respective continents. Apparently, they don't have snickerdoodles in Australia and that is just the saddest thing I've ever heard. I needed to rectify this situation so he could finally taste what is one of my favorite cookies of all time.

As I was prepping to make a batch, I was struck with a Fall-fueled epiphany: why not pumpkin spice snickerdoodles?? I would, of course, send him a normal batch -- it's the beginning of Spring for Australia, after all.

But we alllll know how crazy Americans go for pumpkin spice flavored anything, including but not limited to: M&Ms, Oreos, and Pringles. Yes, really.
How is this something I've never seen before? I'm positive it's out there somewhere. It's so simple - cinnamon is part of pumpkin pie spice; now just add some nutmeg, , and and suddenly you have a subtly seasonal cookie.

The taste of these is not overwhelmingly pumpkin pie, but is definitely there. Feel free to use your favorite snickerdoodle recipe and just replace pumpkin pie spice for the cinnamon, or follow along with the recipe I used.
I would make these again and again. Soft, chewy, and practically perfect. Nothing beats a good snickerdoodle. Mmm.

Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodles
(yields almost 4 dozen cookies)

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cream of tartar

8 tbsp sugar
4 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Combine dry ingredients - flour, salt, baking soda, and cream of tartar - in a bowl and set aside.
Beat butter and sugars together for several minutes until light and fluffy.
Add eggs, one at a time, until fully incorporated. Add vanilla.
Slowly add dry mixture to wet, being careful not to overmix.
Once fully mixed, chill dough for about an hour in the refrigerator.

Preheat oven to 300*.
Combine additional sugar and pumpkin pie spice in small bowl.
Scoop out 1 tbsp of dough at a time and roll in sugar and spice mixture.
Place on prepared cookie sheet and bake for 12 minutes.
Let cool for 5 minutes on cookie sheet before transferring to wire rack to cool completely.

The flavor is a subtle one, but it's there. So this is maybe for those friends who claim they're "over" the whole pumpkin spice thing, but that is just crazy talk and we all know it.
What's your favorite pumpkin spice flavored item??
-e.

em + the kitchen - perfect chocolate chip cookies.

So, I've been known to talk a pretty big game about my baking skills.
Such a big game, apparently, that one of Pete's friends, Briggs, was tired of hearing about it and needed actual physical proof. He told me chocolate chip cookies were his favorite and he wanted to see exactly what I could come up with. Nothing fancy, he told me, just chocolate chip and nothing more.

So for this recipe, I went in search of two things:
1) Simple, plain, perfect chocolate chip cookies.
2) Huge. Big, bakery-sized cookies because everyone loves cookies as big as the palm of their hand.

In my search, I found a recipe that did not disappoint.
These cookies are buttery and big. Chocolate in every perfect, puffed-up bite.
They're also gigantic. In fact, the recipe only makes a dozen cookies, but could potentially make 30. I mean, if you like normal-sized, wimpy cookies. And I don't.

Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies
(recipe adapted from Brown-Eyed Baker)

Ingredients:
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup cold butter, cubed
3/4 cup + 4 tsp brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 package semi-sweet chocolate chips

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
Beat butter on medium-high speed until a mass forms. Add sugars and beat for an additional 2 minutes, scraping down the sides as necessary.
Add eggs and vanilla, beating until combined.
Slowly add flour mixture and beat on medium-low speed until just incorporated. Fold in chocolate chips.

Put dough in fridge for at least 30 minutes. I left mine in for several hours.

Preheat oven to 375* and prep 2 cookie sheets.
Place large spoonfuls of dough in 2 rows - 6 cookies per sheet.
Bake for 18-22 minutes or until golden brown on the outside, but still chewy on the inside.
Let cool on the sheet for an additional 5 minutes before moving them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Enjoy!
Are you a fan of plain ol' chocolate chip cookies? What's your favorite fun addition?
-e.

things i love, lately - july 2014.

What an excellent month July has been! The weather has been practically perfect by Texas standards and so many other happy things happened!
Take a look at all the things that have made me appreciate life this month.

I adore cherry season. Purple fingers and lips.

These sweet friends that I've known since 4th grade (!!!) and how we still make an effort to catch up with one another.

 This city I call home and all it's beauty and adventure.

Bishop Arts on the left - swoon - and driving home from work on the right with excellent sun company.

That I have a man willing to go antiquing with me. My excuse? It's for the wedding!

Candid photos at crowded pools.

 An excellent new cookie recipe that yields 4 cookies as big as your palm.

And a quick snow cone date with my dad from the only place you should be getting your snow cones.

This gorgeous sunset that I was treated to every night this past week. There will be a CA post later this week!

I'm ready for fall now! Who's with me?

-e.

em + the kitchen - butterscotch blueberry oaties.

I promised, didn't I? Well, now I'm delivering.

On New Year's Day, some friends and I went to Jonathan's in Oak Cliff for their to-die-for chicken and waffles. It was packed inside, of course, so we sat at the bar -- the only available seats at the time. As we waited to order, we found ourselves face-to-face with the most scrumptious looking muffins I've ever seen. We tried to avert our eyes, but then someone ordered one and the dome was taken off the cake stand and we got a whiff of their true deliciousness.
We all ordered one and scarfed them down. It was a flavor combination I'd never seen before or since, so when I found this recipe for blueberry oatmeal cookies, I knew I wanted to add a twist to make it my own and to mimic that muffin I shoved into my mouth just a few months prior.

Blueberries and butterscotch may not sound like the most appealing flavor profile, but I promise you it is awesome. The sweetness of the butterscotch balances out the tartness that the blueberries carry.
These cookies are perfectly soft and remain so even days after baking them. They do tend to get a bit soggy after a few days, which is all the more reason to eat them quickly!

Butterscotch Blueberry Oaties
(recipe inspired from here)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup (or 1 stick) unsalted butter
1/3 cup white sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 & 1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
1 cup blueberries (frozen or fresh - either will work)
1/2 heaping cup butterscotch chips

Preheat oven to 365* and prepare two cookie sheets. 

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, cinnamon, and baking soda and set aside.
Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat for about 5 minutes or until it begins to brown. (Here is a great article for how to properly brown butter!) Pour into a bowl and let cool for about 5 minutes.
Add the sugars to the butter and beat until well combined.
Next, mix in the egg and vanilla, beating until smooth.
Add the dry ingredients that you've already whisked together, beating until just combined.
Fold the oats and butterscotch chips into the mixture until everything is evenly coated. Then, fold in the blueberries, being careful not to smash them if you're using fresh berries.

Scoop cookies into about 1&1/2 tbsp balls and set them an inch apart on the cookie sheet. Flatten slightly.
Bake for 12-13 minutes until edges are set, but cookies still remain soft.
Let cool on the cookie sheets for a while, as they'll be difficult to remove straight out of the oven.

Keep these cookies uncovered. The blueberries will make them soggy if you put them in an airtight container.

Have you ever been so influenced by something you just had to make it at home?
That seems to be happening to me quite a bit lately!
-e.

em + the kitchen - carrot cake whoopie pies.

The other day I found a recipe I was excited about: carrot cake pie. In my mind, it was going to be gooey, carrot cake-like filling inside of a flakey, buttery crust.

I was wrong.
It was quite literally carrot cake. In a pie crust. IT MADE NO SENSE. Why didn't I just make a carrot cake? I would've been less confused eating it, that's for sure.

As a result of this odd dessert, though, I had leftover carrots and cream cheese frosting, but not enough to make another carrot cake (sans pie crust...).
I found this great-looking recipe on Epicurious for carrot cake cookies with cream cheese frosting sandwiched in between. Yes, please!
They were sooo moist and delicious and I had 2 even though that's like having 4 cookies in one sitting, plus frosting, but I don't even care. They were delightful.

Also! It's almost Easter, so impress your relatives/coworkers/friends by bringing this to your holiday get together. I promise they will be impressed.

Carrot Cake Whoopie Pies
(makes 12-14 sandwiches)

Ingredients:
1 1/8 cup flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup + 2 tbsp packed brown sugar
1/3 cup + 2 tbsp white sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup grated carrots (about 2)
8 oz cream cheese
1/4 cup honey

(I didn't use their instructions for the frosting as I already had some made, but theirs is very simple and sounds delicious.)

Preheat oven to 375*. Prepare 2 cookie sheets.
Whisk flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl.
Beat together butter, sugars, egg, and vanilla in mixing bowl until well combined and fluffy.
Mix in carrots, then add dry ingredients, mixing until just combined.
(Note: you may want to chill your dough at this time as it's not the most firm dough. I didn't and panicked when my finished cookies came out of the oven very flat and darker than I'd planned. It turns out that they still maintained a soft texture, but I was concerned they would be crunchy as a result.)
Drop on prepared cookie sheets about 2 inches apart, making 2 dozen cookies.
Bake for 12-16 minutes, turning racks at the halfway point.
Cool on sheets for a minute or two, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
Meanwhile, make frosting by beating cream cheese and honey together until well combined and fluffy.
Sandwich like-sized cookies together with a generous dollop of your cream cheese.

Chow down and happy April!
-e.

em + the kitchen - texas sheet cake cookies.

Have ya'll ever had Texas sheet cake? It typically shows up at many a church potluck, so moist and dense and delightful. The icing on top is basically fudge. It's delicious, quite possibly because it's made with 3 sticks of butter and an actual pound of powdered sugar. Ugh, my mouth is watering.

When I saw this recipe, I knew I MUST make it. Combining sheet cake and cookies? I can't even.

The dense cookie middle with drippy icing on top is hopefully enough to make you quit reading now and get to baking. But if not, let me just show you what I'm talking about.

Yummmmm.
Now get to baking.


Texas Sheet Cake Cookies
(recipe from cookies & cups)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, room temp
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 & 1/3 cup flour
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted

Icing:
1/2 cup butter
2 tbsp cocoa powder
3 tbsp milk
2 & 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350*. Prepare 2 cookie sheets with silpats or parchment paper.
Whisk dry ingredients together in a bowl. Set aside.
In mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar together until creamy, scraping down sides.
Add egg and vanilla extract and mix until combined.
Add all dry ingredients, slowly, until just combined. Batter will be very thick.
Pour melted chocolate chips (microwave in 30 second increments, stirring between each, until melted) into batter and mix until evenly combined.
Drop by small spoonfuls onto cookie sheets and bake for 7-8 minutes. Don't overbake. These guys will probably look underdone in the middle, but that's okay. That's how we get them to stay dense.
Transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Icing:
Combine butter, cocoa powder, and milk in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk until melted together.
Remove from heat and whisk in powdered sugar.
Quickly pour over cooled cookies. Let icing harden completely before serving.

Which of your favorite desserts would you like to see turned into a cookie?
-e.

em + the kitchen - cream cheese chocolate chunk cookies.

These cookies are utterly satisfying.
One, because they're chewy, have huge chunks of chocolate in them, and are a fantastic comfort food.
And two, because there are few things more satisfying to chop in the kitchen than a big chocolate bar. The way it flakes and is perfectly asymmetrical just can't be beat. Maybe my food nerd is coming out, but if you've never chopped up a hunk of chocolate, this is the perfect excuse to try.

Because there's cream cheese in the batter, these cookies are chewy through and through and stay that way days after being made (if they last that long in your home!)

The chocolate chunks flavor the cookies throughout and make them delicious fresh out of the oven or cooled at room temp.

I highly recommend these become your new go-to chocolate chip cookies.

Cream Cheese Chocolate Chunk Cookies
(recipe adapted from here)

Ingredients:
6 oz cream cheese, softened
1 & 1/2 sticks butter, melted and cooled
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 cups + 3 tbsp flour
8-10 oz dark chocolate, chopped

Beat cream cheese, butter, and sugars together on medium-high speed for 3-5 minutes until creamy.
Add vanilla, salt, and baking soda. Mix.
Mix flour just until white streaks of flour can no longer be seen in the batter.
Stir in chopped chocolate. Cover bowl and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

Preheat oven to 325*.
Roll dough into 1 & 1/2 inch balls (I was able to get 3 dozen cookies from this recipe) and place on cookie sheet prepared with parchment paper.
Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes or until starting to turn golden brown around the edges.
Let cool on sheets for several minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Is there something that you find oddly satisfying?
Does it reveal your inner nerd like mine does?
-e.

em + the kitchen - chocolate butterscotch oaties.

For some reason, I haven't really been in the mood to bake lately.
I know, I know. That's blasphemy, basically.
Since I have the day off today, I told myself that it wasn't an option. I was going to bake and I was going to like, by golly.

And what do you know? I did.
And I think you will, too.
The bittersweet chocolate and oats sort of neutralize the sweetness of the butterscotch. They're perfectly gooey right out of the oven and stay that way even after they've cooled.

Chocolate Butterscotch Oaties
(recipe from Bake or Break)

Ingredients:
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 & 1/4 cups quick-cooking rolled oats
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup butterscotch chips

Preheat oven to 350*.
Melt your chocolate in the microwave or in a double broiler. Set aside to cool.
--(I use a makeshift double broiler by putting about an inch of water in a small saucepan and placing a glass bowl on top. Make sure the water doesn't touch the bowl. Bring the water to a boil and put the chocolate chips in the bowl - I find this way it's much harder to burn the chocolate and it's still a quick process!)
Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and oats in a bowl and set aside.
Mix the oil, sugar, eggs, milk, and extract on medium speed in your mixer. Gradually add the dry ingredients until just mixed. Stir in the pecans and butterscotch chips.
Place dollops of the dough about 2 inches apart on the cookie sheet and bake for 7-9 minutes.
Let cool on cookie sheet for about 5 minutes before moving to wire rack to cool completely.
--I was able to get 36 cookies out of this recipe.

-e.

em + the kitchen - confetti cookies.

Is there a better way to start the New Year than with cookies?
How about cookies that look like a party waiting to happen in your mouth?

Even as I get older, I still love sprinkles.
Sprinkles are the party animal of the food world. They're the confection that dances like nobody's watching. The sweet that drags you out for a night out even when you just wanted to stay home on the couch and catch up on Sons of Anarchy. Er...

Anyway.

These cookies are made with both vanilla and almond extracts to emulate the taste of cake batter without actually using a box mix. They're soft and chewy and perfectly sugary.
Bring these to your next party and you will not regret it.

 

Confetti Cookies
(recipe from Averie Cooks)

ingredients:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 teaspoons clear imitation vanilla extract (real vanilla extract may be substituted)
1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons corn starch
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
pinch salt, optional and to taste
3/4 cup sprinkles (jimmies)

Combine the butter, sugar, egg, and extracts and beat on medium-high speed until well-creamed - about 5 to 7 minutes. Do not rush this step!
Add flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt (if using) and mix until just combined.
Fold in the sprinkles by hand.
Now, either scoop the dough into 2-tbsp mounds and chill that way or refrigerate the whole bowl of dough and scoop out once chilled for at least 2 hours.
--Side note: even if the recipe doesn't call for it, I always chill my cookie dough. The cookies spread less this way and make thicker, chewier cookies.

Once dough has chilled for at least a few hours, preheat oven to 350* and bake for 8 minutes.
Cookies may look underdone at this point, but let them cool for at least 5 minutes on the baking sheet before removing them to cool on a wire rack.

What fun treats have you made to start the new year off right?
-e.

em + the kitchen - german chocolate cookies.

I decided I'd give you guys a bit of a break from all the fall flavors I've been overloading the blog with. Today's cookie is a classic: chocolate. You really just can't go wrong there. Add in coconut and pecans? Yes, I'm listening.
Also, they're made without flour so they're still a little gooey on the inside and are rich, rich, rich.

YUM. Let's get to it, shall we?
Today's take on a cake-turned-cookie comes from Real Simple mag.
I must say, though, that name is a little misleading. The recipe in and of itself is simple, but the batter doesn't go down without a fight. It's thiiiick and sticky. You might as well wait until they're in the oven to clean your hands of it all. It's gonna get everywhere.

But it's totally worth it!

German Chocolate Cake Cookies

Ingredients:
3 cups powdered sugar
1 cup cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups roughly chopped pecans
3 large egg whites, at room temp
2 tbsp sweetened condensed milk
2 tsp vanilla
1&1/2 cups sweetened coconut flakes
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 325* with the racks in the upper and lower thirds.
Whisk together the confectioners’ sugar, cocoa powder, and salt in a medium bowl.
Add the chopped pecans, egg whites, condensed milk, and vanilla extract and mix with a hand mixer until just combined. Fold in the coconut and chocolate chips.
Drop 2 heaping tablespoonfuls of the dough 2 inches apart onto prepared baking sheets.
Bake for 18-22 minutes, rotating the baking sheets halfway through, until firm around the edges. Cool slightly on the baking sheets, then serve warm or transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

They're soft on the inside, crunchy on the outside, and delicious all over.

Tired of baking posts yet? Come back Saturday for a Things to Do in Dallas (and call me if you want to tag along!).
-e.

em + the kitchen - pumpkin treats.

Ya'll knew this was coming.
As excited as I am about Fall? You knew there would be pumpkin in this blog's future.

I made a few pumpkin-y treats the other day, all from the same can of pumpkin. By FAR, the best of those treats were these cookies. I made a first batch that was devoured at work, then Peter requested another batch for his birthday. I was happy to oblige and you'll be happy, too.
I was told, "you've really outdone yourself" with the cookies. They're delightfully soft and have just the right amount of pumpkin so you don't feel like it's already Thanksgiving.

Pumpkin Sugar Cookies
(recipe from this blog)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup softened butter
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 large eggs
4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

for the glaze-
3 cups powdered sugar
4 tablespoons water
1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Preheat oven to 350*.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silpat and set aside.
In a large bowl, stir butter, oil, pumpkin, sugars, vanilla and eggs together until incorporated and smooth.
Slowly mix in all dry ingredients until completely incorporated.
Scoop onto prepared baking sheet using 1 1/2 tablespoon scoop.
Bake 8-9 minutes.

While cookies bake, stir all ingredients together for glaze until smooth.
Once cookies are finished baking, cool 3 minutes on baking sheet before transferring to cooling rack. While they were cooling, I used a drinking glass to flatten the tops of the cookies so the glaze would settle on them easier. You can do this before or after baking. I did both ways and preferred to flatten after they'd already baked.
Spread glaze over each warm cookie. Let glaze harden 2-3 hours before eating.

 

The other treats I made, which were okayyyy but not fabulous, can be found:
here (Pumpkin Breakfast Quinoa), and
here (Pumpkin Spice Latte Syrup).

Which flavor reminds you most of Fall? I think cinnamon in general for me. It's simply the best spice around.
-e.