Pumpkin Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

I went to the Dexter Cider Mill yesterday with Chani, Kolby, and Ariane.  It was my first time at a cider mill since moving to Michigan a half decade ago, and apples, apple orchards, and cider mills are sort of a big deal around these parts.  This year, unfortunately, because of the hot, hot summer and crazy climate changes, Michigan lost 90% of its apple crops (and a large majority of its other fruit crops), so we're a little short on apples.  But, the cider mill was still a great time.

Photo by Chani Hodonsky

We went in for pumpkin donuts, and I got a cinnamon roll with apple cider glaze.  Of course, we got hot apple cider, and I also bought a jar of pumpkin butter.

Pumpkin butter.  I don't really know what to do with this stuff, aside from throw it on some toast (and maybe sprinkle some cinnamon on it?).  So, today, when I was deciding that I must have chocolate chip cookies, I had the idea of putting pumpkin butter in them!

In fact, I found a recipe for pumpkin butter chocolate chip cookies and followed it.

The recipe:

Step one:Melt 6 tbsp butter and let cool.

Step two.While butter is cooling, mix the following in a separate bowl:

• 1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour,  

• 1-1/2 tablespoons cornstarch, 

• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda,  

• 1/4 teaspoon salt, 

•  1/4 teaspoon of each: ginger, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, 

• Plenty of cinnamon because its good.  (Yeah, I didn't measure this well, but just started shaking it into the bowl.)

Step 3.In butter bowl, mix: 

• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar 

• 1/4 cup granulated sugar 

• 1 large egg 

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

• 1/4 cup pumpkin butter

Step 4.Mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients 

Step 5.Add semi-sweet chocolate, and white chocolate chips.  Lots of them.

Step 6.  Bake at 325 degrees F for 12-15 minutes

Update:  Husband names these the best cookies I've ever made.  I promptly reminded him of the Chocolate Buttermilk Chocolate Chip Cookies and he then couldn't decide which was better....

Cake Batter Rice Krispie Treats

Growing up, my mom trained me to become a choco-holic. Not that I will complain at all about my deep love for brownies, cakes, and other tasty treats, but I always went to the neighbors' houses to get simple desserts like rice krispie treats. Never in my life had I made them before yesterday when I embarked on a mission to fill Naomi's left-behind brownie pan with a tasty treat so I could finally return her cookware.



Cake Batter Rice Krispie Treats.

Ingredients:

• 3 Tbsp. butter
• 1 (10 oz.) bag of mini-marshmallows
• 1/4 cup yellow cake mix
• 6 cups crispy rice cereal
• 1 (1.75 oz.) container of sprinkles

Method:

1. Melt butter in a large saucepan over low heat and add marshmallows.
2. Stir until they begin to melt, adding in cake mix one spoonful at a time so its combined.
3. Stir in cereal so it is completely coated with marshmallow mixture.
4. Sprinkle in half of the sprinkles and mix.
5. Press into a baking dish (any size will do) and top with remaining sprinkles. Let sit for about 30 minutes before cutting.

I almost doubled the recipe on the website above because I wanted to taste-test them since I had never before made rice krispie treats.
My tips are as follows:

1. Use lots of cake batter. I used an entire cup for a double batch. It's very sweet, but very tasty.
2. When doubling the recipe, don't add in double the rice krispies. There's not enough marshmallows to go over them. I used about 8-9 cups of cereal instead of 12.
3. Add a little extra butter. Everyone loves butter.
4. Use lots and lots of sprinkles. Sprinkles = happiness.

Heavy cream biscuits

In a previous post, I pondered what I should do with my extra cream from the panna cotta. Well, I started on Sunday morning with a delicious batch of cream biscuits.





Ingredients:

• 2 cups self-rising flour
  OR
  2 cups all purpose flour + 3 tsp baking powder + 1 tsp salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.
2. Stir everything together until the dough forms a ball.
3. Turn the dough out onto a surface dusted with additional flour. Fold dough in 1/2 and knead a bunch. (Add flour as needed to keep dough from sticking to your hands.)
4. Roll out dough to 1/2-inch thickness. Or, if you're lazy like me, just knead it until you think it's about the right thickness.
5. Using a 3-inch biscuit cutter coated with flour a glass coated with flour or, if you're me, an appropriately-sized metal measuring cup coated in flour, cut dough into biscuits.
6. Place on baking sheet coated with cooking spray, leaving at least 1-inch between each biscuit.
7. Bake for 10 minutes, or until golden brown.

You got served!


Nom. So, my one error is that I think I may have added too much salt and baking powder. I'd cut that by about 25% next time and I'd also use WHEAT flour next time.

Chocolate Buttermilk Panna Cotta

I couldn't find a recipe for chocolate buttermilk panna cotta, so I did my best to combine the chocolate recipe with the buttermilk recipe, and this is what I got:

Ingredients:

• 1 c + 2 tbsp heavy cream (I couldn't find heavy cream, so I used heavy whipping cream)
• 3 tbsp brown sugar
• 4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 3 tbsp cold water
• 1 package powdered, flavorless gelatin (vegetarian, if you can find it!)
• 1-2/3 c buttermilk
• 1/8 tsp kosher salt

1. Coat 5 or 6 ramekins or similar cup-type item lightly with flavorless oil. (I used small bowls.)
2. Place water into a small bowl. Sprinkle gelatin over it. (Do not stir.) Let stand 5-6 minutes.
3. In a medium saucepan over medium heat: Bring cream and sugar to a boil (about 7 minutes).
4. Remove pan from heat. Add chocolate and whisk until smooth.
   
5. Add gelatin mixture to chocolate mixture until melted.
6. Stir in buttermilk and salt.
7. Ladle mixture into ramekins.
8. Refrigerate, loosely covered, until set. (About 2 hrs.)

To serve:

• Run the tip of a small knife around the edge of the ramekins to loosen the panna cotta and unmold onto plates.
• Or, if you're me, just serve them right from the bowls in which they set
• Let stand until almost at room temperature (about 1 hr).
• Garnish with berries if you have them!

Now what do I do with all this extra cream...?

Chocolate Buttermilk Chocolate Chip Cookies

I bought buttermilk a bit ago to make Irish soda bread, which turned out pretty nicely. It had hints of nutmeg to spice it up a bit. Next time, I'd try some thyme and rosemary in it. Mmm...

Since, I've been trying to use the buttermilk up, so I've been making everything with it. Last weekend, I made delicious buttermilk pancakes last weekend, with a recipe claiming it's Al's Diner's recipe: http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/510/Als_Diner_Buttermilk_Pancakes31323.shtml.

Then, I made buttermilk popovers the next day for breakfast. They didn't seem to want to pop over, so they ended up buttermilk biscuits, but they were still super tasty, and worked nicely with some raspberry preserves.



I made buttermilk French toast for breakfast this morning, where I just replaced most of the milk in the egg mixture with buttermilk and it was surprisingly delicious.

Then, today, I made very delicious chocolate-chip buttermilk cookies!

Recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 eggs
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• For funsies, I added 1/3 c of Ghirardelli cocoa powder
• chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 375. Combine dry ingredients and set aside.
2. Cream together shortening and sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs, buttermilk and vanilla. Mix until combined. Add dry ingredients until blended. Stir in chips. Drop by teaspoons onto baking sheet.
3. Bake 8-10 minutes.

Pre-baking



DONE!




They are a really cake-y cookie -- soft and fluffy and chewy. So good.


Juggles says:
"These cookies are probably the most pretty cookies I've ever seen you make. They are totally decilicious. That's like a step above regular delicious"

Sour Cream Banana Bread

I baked tonight. :)



Sour Cream Banana Bread
Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup mashed banana
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup sour cream

Directions:

1. Grease 1 large loaf pan.
2. Cream butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla.
3. Stir in baking soda and salt, then add flour.
4. Add bananas, sour cream, then chocolate chips.
5. Mix well.
6. Bake at 350 F for 1 hour
   (I actually baked at 350 for an hour, then turned the oven to 325 and kept it in an extra 15 minutes or so because it was nice and dark around the edges, but the center wasn't quite done).

My conclusion: yum-tastic. It doesn't have as much of a sour cream taste as I was hoping, but it's still lightens the taste of the banana bread and makes it not quite as heavy as most traditional banana breads.