White Chocolate Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Wow! The name for these cookies is quite a mouthful! White Chocolate Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies. Say that five times fast.

 

As you can see, I haven't baked in a really long time. I just haven't felt like it. Also, most of my precious free time has been spent AWAY from the kitchen (and on dates with my boyfriend. Aw.)

 

But the holidays are upon us and I felt like baking (not to mention it's cold here in NYC so turning the oven on is quite nice.)

I wanted to make something with peanut butter and then I saw this White Chocolate Wonderful peanut butter and decided that I had to try it as the base for cookies. It's really sweet so I added chunks of dark chocolate on top to even out some of the sweetness from the white chocolate.

 

They are pretty good, but in the long run I prefer regular ol' peanut butter. What can I say? I'm a traditionalist.

White Chocolate Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

You can find the base recipe here: rachelschultz.com

Just substitute white chocolate peanut butter for the peanut butter and then add dark chocolate chunks or normal chocolate chips

Bake well and prosper!

White Chocolate Butterscotch Buddies

I was interested in trying this twist on muddy buddies (aka puppy chow.) I figured it was the perfect fodder to bring to a Super Bowl party. It was always a beloved football party staple where I grew up in Texas.

 

I was shocked to find that no one at the party I went to yesterday was familiar with muddy buddies/puppy chow. However, I wasn't shocked to hear that they loved this dessert and kept going back for more. 

My friend above was nice enough to be a hand model for my photo shoot yesterday. He's also a professional model, so this came naturally for him. ;) I posted a photo of him posing with the dessert on my Facebook page. Have you liked my page yet? I post different photos and sometimes just some plain silly things on my FB page. You should definitely check it out: https://www.facebook.com/LifesTooShortToSkipDessert

 

Oh, and you should check out this dessert if you're a big fan of butterscotch and sugar!

White Chocolate Butterscotch Buddies (found at Creme de la Crumb)

6 cups rice chex cereal

12 ounces white chocolate chips, melted

1 small box butterscotch pudding mix (dry)

⅓ cup powdered sugar

 

Place the rice chex in a large bowl. In a double boiler, melt white chocolate. (Erika's extras: It doesn't become very syrupy. It becomes gummy and malleable.) Pour/stir in melted chocolate over cereal. Stir to coat all cereal in chocolate. (Erika's Extras: I had to do this in a couple of stages due to dealing with putty like chocolate.) Transfer to a large zip-lock bag. In a small bowl combine pudding mix and powdered sugar and whisk together. Pour into the plastic bag with the cereal mix and zip to close. Shake the bag to coat the cereal well with the sugar mix. Allow chocolate to harden, then break cereal into smaller chunks. Store in airtight container.

Bake well and prosper!

Lots of Chocolate Cherry Cookies

Cookies. Where would I be without cookies? The same place I'd be without chocolate. (It's a very scary place.)

I must admit that I love making cookies at the beginning of the week and having them as a snack for the rest of the week. (Or as long as they last. Sometimes only 2 days...I DO share you know!)

Not only do I love the taste of cookies, I also enjoy that they come in so many varieties. It would probably take two lifetimes to make all the cookie recipes in the world. Don't you think so? Well, if you would just like to make one recipe for now and want something a little different, try these yummy cookies with lovely dried cherries in them!

Lots of Chocolate Cherry Cookies (adapted from allrecipes.com)
Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup white sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon instant coffee granules (I left out this ingredient bc I don't like coffee)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

1/4 cup white chocolate chips

1 cup dried cherries

Directions

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F.

Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. (I baked without parchment paper and I think that's why mine came out so crispy.)              
Combine flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.               
Beat the butter and sugar together in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed, until light and fluffy.               
Beat the egg, coffee granules, and vanilla into the butter and sugar mixture until blended.               
Change the speed to low and pour in the flour mixture. Beat until just combined.
Stir in semisweet mini chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, and dried cherries.               
Drop spoonfuls of the dough two inches apart onto the prepared baking sheets.             
Bake 10 to 12 minutes per batch in the preheated oven, until cookies are just becoming firm.               
Let cool on baking sheets for two minutes.              
Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.               

Bake well and prosper!

Blueberry and White Chocolate Chip Cookies

The groundhog lied. Like, big time lied. If you've seen Spring, please send her to NYC, because it's still wintry here. The high temp on Sat was 34. THIRTY-FOUR! As you can imagine, I've gone a little bonkers. I even refused to run outside because I'm tired of bundling up. Me, who ran a half marathon in 3 degree wind chill, can't stand the thought of running in 30 degree weather at THE END OF MARCH. That's it, I'm moving back to TX.

One saving grace has been a lovely art installation on Park Ave, just a couple of blocks away from where I work.

Every time I see these, my spirits soar.

There's something uplifting about seeing giant roses. (And cute giant lady bugs!)

This whimsical "love letter to NYC" is by Will Ryman. Read more about The Roses on Huffington Post.

Another thing that has helped lift my spirits this long winter is good food, wine, and conversation. Which reminds me, I MUST share with y'all that I saw Martha Stewart at the Little Owl, where I had the pleasure of dining last Thursday. Seeing her there made me know I was in for some great food. (And man, was it!)

Speaking of good food, these Blueberry and White Chocolate Chip Cookies have helped in the cold days here in NYC. (They have lemon and nutmeg in them. A great pick-me-up!)

Blueberry White Chocolate Cookies (adapted from Blisstree)

½ cup unsalted butter
½ cup shortening
¾ cup sugar
¾ cup brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons grated lemon peel
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup dried blueberries
1½ cups white chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment or silpat (if you like using either).
2. Cream together butter, shortening, and both sugars. Add eggs, vanilla, and lemon peel; beat until well blended.
3. Mix dry ingredients together; stir into creamed mixture. Blend well; add dried blueberries and white chocolate chips. (Erika's Extra: I used my Oh! Nuts dried blueberries. So flavorful!)
4. Drop by generous, rounded teaspoonfuls onto parchment baking sheets. Keep cookies about 2″ apart. Bake 8–10 minutes, removing from oven when just barely done.
5. Cool on pans 5 minutes; remove to cool

Yields 4-5 dozen depending on size and how much dough you eat

Erika's Extras: I felt like the amount of white chocolate chips was a little overbearing. I ended up having so many at the bottom of my mixing bowl. I would go with 1 cup of white chocolate chips.

Bake well and prosper!

White & Semi-sweet Chocolate Chip Cookies with Caramel Bits

My last two posts referenced items I brought from my parents' home in TX to my tiny apt in NYC. I talked about my grandmother's mixing bowls and my mother's sifter. Well, I also brought back something I used to own and "bake" with.

When I found this in a box I squealed with joy. When I was little I loved putting on my "Little Cook" apron. My mom would give me some pie dough to use my "to0ls" on. It was perfect bliss. Especially when my mom's pies came out of the oven.

Well, the apron is a little short on me now, but who knows. Maybe I'll use it and the tools once in awhile. You know...to make sure they still work and stuff. Yeah... 

Anyway you look at it, one cannot deny that I don't have a kid's attitude as well when it comes to making cookies. I decided to experiment with a child's joie de vivre and created my version of a toffee chocolate chip cookie that I found on tastespotting. The cookies weren't as soft as I like cookies to be, but the flavor was incredible!

White & Semi Sweet Chocolate Chip Cookies with Caramel Bits (adapted from Rebel without a Sauce)
*Makes around 20 medium sized cookies
½ cup sugar
½ cup light brown sugar
½ cup (1 sticks) butter, softened
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1½ cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup semisweet chocolate chips
¼ cup white chocolate chips
½ cup caramel (chopped into quarters or smaller)

-Preheat oven to 375°f/190°c and prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper. (Use parchment paper or you'll have a sticky mess to deal with.)
-Add sugar, dark brown sugar, butter, eggs and vanilla in a bowl and beat whisk until smooth.

-Add baking soda, salt and flour to the sugar mixture and *whisk together until smooth.
-Fold in chocolate chips.
-Create a tablespoon full or cookie scoop full of the dough and press a couple of the caramel bits into the middle area of dough. Make sure no caramel is exposed to the sides/bottom becuase the caramel will ooze out and burn on the cookie sheet.
-Drop the dough onto baking sheet approximately 2 inches apart.
-Bake for 5 minutes, rotate the baking sheet and then bake for another 5 minutes.
-Remove from the oven and allow to cool on baking sheet for 1-2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

(I had to bake my cookies for about 12-15 minutes.)

Bake well and prosper!

PS My mom asked if I could share a link of my opera singing on my blog. In honor of her request, I've made a silly slideshow with me singing Que fais-tu from Romeo and Juliette. If you've made it this far to the bottom of my post, then this treat is for you and your diligent reading! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOtqXmDsApo

Do you know you can bake with lavender?

I know. *hanging head* It's been 2 weeks since I posted something (and I try so hard to post once a week!) My excuse: preparing an opera role and training for a marathon. Am I forgiven?

Last week, in between singing at church and singing at opera rehearsal, I bought some lavender from the farmers market by the Natural History Museum.

My mission was to emulate a brownie I loved when I worked at Cafe Lalo.

The brownies were easy enough to make. I used the Supernatural Brownie recipe and added about 2 more tablespoons of flour to make the brownies a little less fudge like.

I wanted to make some sort of white chocolate ganache/glaze to put over the brownies, so I started with white chocolate chips.

Then I poured the heavy cream that I had just heated to boiling point over the chocolate.

I whisked until combined and let cool. THEN (drum roll please), I added the lavender.

That's right. I wanted to make a white chocolate lavender topping to put on the brownies.

My topping turned out a little thinner than I expected, so I set it in the fridge overnight which seemed to do the trick.

White Chocolate Lavender Ganache/Glaze

Ingredients needed:

8 oz White chocolate

1 Cup Heavy Cream

1 teaspoon baking lavender

Put 8oz of white chocolate in a large bowl. Bring the heavy cream to boiling and remove from heat. Pour over white chocolate. For a heavier topping, add more white chocolate. Whisk until fully combined and smooth. Let cool. Add lavender. (Add more than a teaspoon for a stronger taste.) Once cooled completely, feel free to put in fridge to make it a little firmer.

Erika's Extra: If you don't want to chomp on the grainy texture of the lavendar, feel free to blend in a food processor with 1/4 cup of sugar and then add that to the mixture.

Bake well and prosper!
Lavender