Baking Fever

{Me and my little sister, Analiese. She is quite the aspiring baker!}

I don't know why, but I had a sudden urge to bake this week. Maybe it was the tempting recipe photos in my fave cooking magazine—Martha Stewart's Every Day Food. Here are the recipes and my evaluations:

#1 Mint-Chocolate Sandwich Cookies

{These babies are similar to Milano cookies but softer and heartier. Yum!}

Recipe:

1 1/4 C all purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1/2 tsp coarse salt
1/2 C (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temp.
2/3 C granulated sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 large egg
4 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (I used milk chocolate chips)
3/4 C confectioner's sugar (I used powdered sugar which is slightly different, but it worked fine)
1/4 tsp peppermint extract

1. Preheat oven to 325 with racks in upper and lower thirds. In small bowl, whick together flour and salt. In medium bowl, using electric mixer, beat butter and granulated sugar on high, scraping the bowl as needed, until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add vanilla, beat to combine. Add egg and beat to combine. With mixer on low, gradually add flour mixture and beat just until combined. Transfer dough to quarter-size zip-top bag and snip a 3/4 inch hole in one corner. Pipe 54 cookies (I did less) 3/4 by 2 inches, 1/2 inch apart, onto two parchment-lined baking sheets. Chill until firm, about 20 minutes.

2. Bake until cookies are light golden at edges, about 15 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Transfer immediately to wire racks and cool.

3. Microwave chocolate for about 1.5 minutes, stir until melted. In medium bowl, whisk together confectioner's sugar, peppermint extract and 4 teaspoons water. With small spatula or table knife, spread chocolate on flat side of half the cookies and mint glaze on the other half. Sandwich cookie halves together.

These were my favorite of the three for sure. So delicious, a refreshing alternative to your standard cookie and surprisingly easy. Next time, I will remember to bake the cookies before adding the filling (oops) and I'll add more peppermint. I'll also use semi-sweet chocolate instead of milk chocolate, which the recipe calls for.  

#2 Oatmeal Cream Pies

 {These cookies are a little gooey and a lot delicious.}

{My little sister Madi enjoying an oatmeal cream pie}

Recipe:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp.
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 T unsulfered molasses
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs, room temp.
1 1/2 cup rolled oats (old-fashioned, not quick-cooking)
1/2 cup golden raisins (I omitted these. Not a fan of warm raisins.)
8 ounces (1 pkg.) cream cheese, room temp.
6 tablespoons confectioner's sugar (again, I used powdered)

1. Preheat oven to 350 with racks on upper and lower thirds of the oven. In large bowl, whisk flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. In another large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter, brown and granulated sugars and molasses on high, scraping down bowl, until light and fluffy (about 4 minutes). Add vanilla, beat. Add eggs one at a time and scrape down bowl after each addition.

2. With mixer on low, add flour mixture and beat just until combined. With rubber spatula, add oats (and raisins if you're adding them). Drop dough in 2-tablespoon mounds, 2 inches apart, onto two baking sheets lined with parchment paper. (My cookies were so big and spread out a lot during baking, so I would make the mounds smaller and spread them out more.) Bake until cookies are just set at edges and slightly soft in middle, about 11 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Let cookies cool on sheets, 5 minutes. Transfer to wire racks and cool completely.

3. In medium bowl, using mixer, beat cream cheese and confectioner's sugar until light, 2 minutes, scraping bowl as needed. Spread filling on flat side of half the cookies. Sandwich with remaining half. Store in fridge up to 5 days.

These were so soft and the cream cheese filling made them amazing. They reminded me a lot of Little Debbie's oatmeal creams. Next time I will probably bake them slightly longer so they aren't so gooey.

#3 Whole-Wheat Brownies

{These rich brownies aren't as healthy-tasting as they sound. You won't be disappointed.}

Recipe:

6 T unsalted butter

1/2 c all purpose flour

1/2 c whole wheat flour

1/3 c unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp coarse salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 c packed light brown sugar

1 1/4 c unsweeted applesauce (I had to use 1/2 c canola oil since I didn't have applesauce)

1 large egg

8 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (I used milk chocolate chips and they were delish)

1. Preheat oven to 350. Butter an 8-inch square baking dish, line with parchment paper with 2-inch overhang on all sides. In medium bowl, whisk together flours, cocoa, baking powder and soda and salt.

2. In large bowl, stir together sugar, applesauce, and egg. Microwave butter and chocolate about 1.5 minutes and stir until melted. Stir chocolate mixture into sugar mixture. Pour into flour mixture and combine. Pour into pan and top with 2 oz. chocolate.

3. Bake about 40 minutes. Let cool on wire rack, lift using parchment paper and cut into squares. Store in airtight container.

I like that these are slightly healthier version of a brownie because of the whole wheat flour, the semi-sweet chocolate and the applesauce (which I will use next time). Next time, I'll add less flour so they are more gooey because they turned out a little too cakey for me. They were much more delicious on the second day though. I also think they'd be yummy with mint or a little bit of cream cheese frosting.

Happy baking!