Flourless Cookies

Recently, my sister came to visit. Since she follows a gluten free diet, I wanted to make her some flourless cookies. Since it seemed like everyone was sick at the time, I postponed making the cookies. I'm unsure if all flourless chocolate desserts are very rich but I seem to pick them. My son loved them. My daughter thought they should have some powdered sugar dusting the tops. I thought they were plenty sweet. I think the addition of mini chocolate chips would have been good. If you want a chocolate, gooey fix, these are the cookies for you.

Flourless Fudge Cookies
2 1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cups cocoa powder
1/4 cup special dark cocoa powder
3 egg whites
2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Grease the parchment paper with nonstick baking spray. 
3. In a bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, salt, and cocoa powder. Set aside.
4. In a small bowl, whisk the egg whites until frothy. 
5. Fold in the egg whites with the vanilla extract.
6. Spoon about 1 Tbsp of batter onto the baking sheet. Flatten slightly on top.
7. Bake the cookies for about 8 to 10 minutes until slightly shiny on top and crackly on top. 
8. Remove from the oven and allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet. 

Recipe adapted from King Arthur.

One year ago..................................I made Graduation Cap Cookies.
Two years ago................................I made Texas Pralines.

Did you already know...................
-Even foods that are naturally gluten free could have added gluten during processing like powdered sugar.
-Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye, and barley.
-Potatoes, corn, and rice are naturally gluten free foods.

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

My youngest daughter came home and said she has a boyfriend. Since she is in 4th grade, I asked her what does this means. She said that they play basketball together. She also informed me that her two friends in class has a boyfriend too but it is with the same boy. I asked how they can have the same boyfriend. She said well he is bringing both girls to the dance today. Oh is all I could say. What does one say? I did encourage her to tell her dad this news. So, she decided to tell him quickly on the phone. I think some things are better left for the dad to handle.

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies
6 Tbsp unsalted butter
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
4 oz. semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
4 oz. unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. In a small saucepan, melt the butter, bittersweet chocolate, semisweet chocolate, and the unsweetened chocolate over medium heat. Stir occasionally. 
4. After the chocolate has melted, remove from heat and allow to cool.
5. In a large bowl, beat the eggs with the sugar until fluffy.
6. Add the vanilla and the melted chocolate. Beat until the dough is glossy and thick.
7. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir until incorporated.
8. Stir in the nuts and chocolate chips.
9. Refrigerate the dough for about 20 minutes.
10. Scoop slightly less than 2 inch balls of dough and place onto the baking sheet spaced about 2 inches apart.
11. Slightly press the cookies down.
12. Bake the cookies for about 12 minutes or until the cookies began to crack and are cooked through.
13. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes on the baking pan before transferring to a wire rack.

Recipe adapted from The Pastry Queen.

One year ago........................I made Mango Strawberry Muffins. 

Did you already know..........
-California grows about 2/3 of the world's commercial walnut.
-The walnut is one of the oldest tree food know to man.
-Walnut trees are native to North America, South America, Asia, and Europe.

Peace

I love chocolate cookies which is strange since I normally prefer vanilla ice cream and yellow cake. I gave my children several options for some cookies I wanted to make and they picked this one. Of, they are so good. I told my husband he needed to take these to work for them. They are butter rich with a sandy texture. They need to be refrigerated but it is worth the wait. If you can't wait, the dough is really good. 

World Peace Cookies
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
11 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions:

1. In a mixer, cream the butter until creamy.
2. Add the sugar to the butter and cream until fluffy.
3. Add the salt and vanilla to the butter mixture and mix for a few more minutes.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda together.
5. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and pulse about 5 times.
6. On low speed, mix the dough for 30 seconds or until the flour has been incorporated. The dough will be crumbly but do not overwork the dough. 
7. Separate the dough onto two separate pieces of plastic wrap. 
8. Shape the dough into logs and wrap well. 
9. Refrigerate over night or at least 3 hours.
10. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
11. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
12. Slice the hard dough into 1/2 inch rounds.
13. Arrange the dough onto the baking sheet with 1 inch space between slices.
14. Bake the cookies for 12 minutes and remove from oven.
15. Allow the cookies to rest for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.
16. Option: Top a few with a sweetened whip cream.

Recipe adapted from Baking From My Home to Yours cookbook by Doris Greenspan. 

Like the different nail polish? Peace Out!

Did you already know......
-In August 2011, the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial opened.
-The memorial in Washington, D.C. had a paraphrased quote which will be removed from the statute since Dr. King didn't say the inscribed quote.
-The corrected statute will be completed in the Spring of 2013.

4th of July

Happy 4th of July! Do you have big plans? We are just hoping it will not rain. My youngest daughter keeps telling me that we can still go to the beach. It doesn't matter if it is raining since we will be getting wet anyways. I guess it is the perfect way to miss the crowd.

When I was growing up, we would visit my relatives in New Hampshire around the 4th of July. 4th of July was my grandmother's birthday. We would go swimming at the pond and visit with our relatives. Plus my uncles would have a fireworks war. 

 Chocolate Cookie Cutouts
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
1/8 tsp salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups powder sugar, sifted
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
nonparelis, colored sugar, other decorations

Directions:

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, sift the flour, cocoa powder, and salt.
3. In a large bowl, cream the butter and powder sugar until fluffy.
4. Add the egg to the butter mixture and vanilla.
5. Slowly, add the flour to the butter mixture. Mix until incorporated.
6. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour or overnight.
7. After the dough is chilled, roll out the dough to 1/8 inch thickness onto a lightly floured surface.
8. Using a cookie cutter, cut out the desired shapes. Transferred the cutout shapes to baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart.
9. Transfer the baking sheet to the refrigerator and allow to chill for 20 minutes. (I worked in batches so the dough was chilling while some were baking.)
10. Sprinkle the dough with desired edible decorations. 
11. Bake the cookies for about 8 minutes or until crisp.
12. Allow the cookies to cool completely on wire racks.

Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart's Cookies.

(If you store these in plastic bags, the cookies will still taste good but will become soft.)

Did you already know...
-According to the weather channel, the weather in Philadelphia was 76 degrees F on July 4th, 1776.
-When the Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, 1776, there were 2.5 million people living in the newly independent nation.
-This July 4th, 2012, there is an estimated 314 million people living in the United States.

Happy Fourth of July!

Milk Chocolate Cookies

My husband said to me, "You know, you were right." Before he could continue, I replied, "You know, you can tell me that every day." He just laughed. Wouldn't that be a great way to start the day? "Good morning, dear. You know you are always right." I don't think he'll go for it or he'll try to comprise and I'll have to greet him as, "Good morning, Great One!"

When I made these cookies, he hadn't returned home yet. I left a couple on the counter for him. I had previously told him they were good. He tried them and told me that I was right. The kids agreed that the cookies were really good.

Dark Chocolate Cookies
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder, dark
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
8 oz. mini chocolate chips
1/2 cup butter, unsalted
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
3. In a microwave safe bowl, add 1/2 the chocolate chips and the butter. Microwave for 1 minute and stir. If needed, microwave in 20 second intervals until all the chocolate is melted.
4. Allow the chocolate to cool slightly.
5. Add the eggs, sugar, and vanilla to the cooled chocolate mixture. Mix until combined. 
6. Slowly add the flour mixture to the chocolate mixture. 
7. Fold in the remaining chocolate chips into the batter.
8. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
9. Scoop the batter onto the cookie sheet. Bake until the surface of the cookies have cracked. The cookies should be soft. The large cookies took about 15 minutes and the mini cookies took about 10 minutes.

Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart Cookies cookbook.

Did you already know.....
-Chocolate is made from chocolate liquor, chocolate butter, and sugar.
-White chocolate has no no chocolate liquor but does contain chocolate butter.
-Milk chocolate contains milk while dark chocolate has no milk added.