Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodles � Better Than Certain Coffees and Beers

This is a very unlikely post, considering the fact I�m not a big fan of snickerdoodles, and generally loathe adding pumpkin spice to non-pie things, such as coffee and beer. Despite that, I had a feeling the pumpkin spice would work perfectly with the buttery, cinnamon sugar cookie, and it did.

Unfortunately, a quick Google search showed I hadn�t invented it, and there were thousands of variations; from thin and chewy, featuring crisp edges, to much taller, pillowy versions. I decided to go thin, and adapted this snicker doodle recipe, from Averie Cooks.

One common denominator was the use of baking soda, plus cream of tartar, instead of baking powder. Since that�s pretty much what baking powder is, I don�t see what the big difference would be either way, but I thought I would mention in case you refuse to go out and buy cream of tartar. Either way, I really hope you give these a try soon. Enjoy! 

Ingredients for about 18-20 Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodles:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (6 1/2 ounces by weight)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (1/4 teaspoon fine salt)

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ginger 

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1/4 teaspoon clove

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temp
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed

1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg

For the rolling sugar:
1/4 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon

*plus a few extra pinches of the pumpkin spices, if so desired

For the icing:

1/4 cup powdered  sugar

stir in enough milk, lemon juice, or other liquid to achieve brushing consistency

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Chocolate Energy Bars � Looking Good�Maybe Too Good

If you compare these chocolate energy bars to similar fruit/nut bars sold at the store, I think they taste better, are nutritionally superior, and probably cheaper to make at home. The only problem is they look so good.

These look like fudge brownies, and so it does take a millisecond for the brain to process that they�re not going to taste like fudge brownies. Having said that, they really are delicious, and satisfying in a non-decadent, but still chocolaty way.

Try your hardest to find Medjool dates, but if you can�t, any dried date should work, as long as it�s soft and sticky enough. If the ones you�re using seem too hard and dry, simply soak them in water until they soften up a bit.

Beyond the advantages I�ve described already, you also have the freedom to use any combination of nuts, seeds, and dried fruits you�d like. There�s about a million ways you can go, and I expect to hear about any particularly brilliant combinations. I hope you give these a try soon. Enjoy!

Makes about 12 Chocolate Energy Bars:

2 cups chopped, pitted Medjool dates

2 cups raw cashews

1 cup raw or roasted unsalted almonds

3/4 cup high-quality unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Guittard Cocoa Rouge)

2 tablespoons coconut oil

1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 to 2 tablespoon cold espresso coffee or water,

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (or 1/4 teaspoon fine salt)

very small pinch cayenne

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Merry Christmas Cookie Update

Just a quick note to say I followed a viewer's tip, and rolled the chocolate snowcap cookie dough in white granulated sugar first, before coating in the powdered sugar. I was told this would prevent the white tops from fading in brightness, and as you can see, that's exactly what happened (don't let the bad cell phone picture fool you). Thanks, anonymous YouTuber! Enjoy!

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Chocolate Snowcaps � There�s Snow on Them There Cookies

I don�t think I�ve ever been involved in a holiday cookies swap (apparently you need to have like-minded friends), but if I were, I�d bring these chocolate snowcap cookies. They just look so wintry, with their powdery-white tops, contrasted against those deep, dark cracks.

They�re so captivating, that I find myself daydreaming about tiny Christmas elves skiing down them when no one is looking. I really should see someone about that. Anyway, the point is, if you�re looking for a holiday cookie so seasonally appropriate it hurts, this is the one for you.

As I stated in the video, the only way to mess these up is to not use enough powdered sugar. The first batch I made looked like they had plenty, but that little bit I shook off before placing them on the pan made all the difference. You want to coat them, roll them, coat them again, and then, coat them again. You can�t put too much on.

Also, the batch I made after letting the dough sit overnight didn�t spread out as much, which I thought looked better, and much more mini mountain-like. As far as baking time goes, mine took about 12 minutes, but that depends on exactly how large you roll your dough balls.

To be safe, you should probably do five or six practice batches to get this time dialed in [wink]. Once you do, you�ll be rewarded with a classic Christmas cookie that tastes as good as it looks. I think I speak for tiny, imaginary elves everywhere, when I say we hope you give these a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for about 2 dozen Chocolate Snowcap Cookies:

Recipe found here on Foodess.com

6 ounces dark chocolate, broken in small pieces, melted over hot water

3/4 cup AP flour

1/3 cup cocoa (I used Guittard�s Cocoa Rouge)

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp fine salt

1/2 cup room temp butter

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 cup powdered sugar, or as needed

*Bake at 350 degrees F.  for about 12 minutes, depending on size

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Chocolate Mint Brownies � Behold, The Tree of Disappointment

I loved everything about these brownies, except the flavor. I love mint, I love chocolate, and I love chocolate mints, but for whatever reason, I don�t like chocolate mint brownies. It�s quite a personal mystery.

My wife Michele�s theory is that since we love the pure chocolately goodness of classic plain brownies, the addition of that extra layer of flavor, especially one as distinctive as mint, just throws everything off. That could be.

Also, I don�t like the combination of nuts and mint, and so these didn�t contain walnuts or pecans like they usually would. Maybe it�s nut denial that has me in this anti-mint mood. Anyway, enough about my problems, if you like chocolate mint brownies, which based upon all the requests I got, many of you do; you�ll probably love these.

I�ve used a very stripped-down method here that requires almost zero technique, and uses only cocoa powder to achieve a dense, chewy, very chocolatey brownie. I hope you give these a try, and if you don�t enjoy mint either, just leave them un-iced, or add another flavoring like vanilla, orange, or rum extract. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

1 1/8 cups sugar

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs

2/3 cup all-purpose flour

For the icing:

1 cup powdered sugar

1/4 tsp mint extract, or to taste

2 tbsp milk

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Let�s Get Ready to Rum Ball!

I want to thank a Twitter follower of mine, RookieKoo, for giving me the idea for today�s Michael Buffer-inspired post title. Of course, if you�re not familiar with the iconic boxing ring announcer�s catchphrase, then none of this will make any sense, and you�ll just have to trust me when I tell you it was an amusing reference.

There are hundreds of ways to make rum balls, but this one�s my favorite method. It�s very easy, especially if you have stale brownies lying around. I know, that never happens, which is why I�m linking to an all-purpose brownie recipe below the post. This will also work nicely with store-bought brownies, but stay away from anything that�s frosted. We don�t want to add any additional fat into the recipe, since that will hinder the absorption of the rum.

The amount of rum you add depends on how cakey and/or dry your brownies are, but for a half-pound, you�ll probably need between 1/4 and 1/3 of a cup to soak the crumbs sufficiently. A proper rum ball should be a fire hazard. By the way, I�m not responding to any comments asking about how to make these without using rum. In my humble opinion, you can�t.

The other issue I'm not going to be a big help with is altering the type of chocolate. I used a quality dark chocolate (70% cocoa), which worked beautifully for this, and hope you do the same. I don't have a lot of experience working with chocolate, so I'm not sure what will happen if you want to use white, milk, or other kinds of chocolate for the coating.

I realize these are more of a candy, than a cookie, but after about a half-dozen rum balls, culinary semantics will be the furthest thing from your mind. I hope you give them a try on your holiday dessert table. Enjoy!

Ingredients for about 20 small rum balls:

8 ounces stale chocolate brownies, crumbled

1/4 to 1/3 cup dark rum, or as needed

4 oz dark chocolate (I used Lindt Dark Chocolate 70% Cocoa)

NOTE: For a quick and easy brownie that will work well for these rum balls, check out this recipe from Allrecipes.com. I recommend checking out the comments on that recipe page before starting.

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Michele's Chili Chocolate Cookies � I'd Love Them Even If She Wasn't My Wife!

The recent post which featured Denise from ChezUs' beautiful dark chocolate macarons with bittersweet ancho chili ganache reminded my wife Michele that it'd been a while since she'd whipped up a batch of her famous chili chocolate cookies.

These dense, dark, and dangerously addictive cookies feature a dose of black pepper and cayenne, which to some may seem like an odd addition. But one taste and you'll understand the method to this madness.

Just like adding a pinch of salt to dessert recipes makes them even sweeter and more delicious, the addition of pepper in this cookie really makes the chocolate even more chocolaty. The cookies aren't really "spicy," but you can definitely tell something strange and wonderful is happening.

I'm terrible with keeping my secret ingredients, secret. As soon as someone says, "Hey, what's in these?" I spill the beans. However, if you're one of those sadistic cooks that loves tormenting your foodie friends by not telling them what that certain something is, then this recipe is for you, since the spices are very hard to identify.

A couple notes about the recipe ingredients below. I use kosher salt for just about everything, but I always have to remind myself that it has a much flakier, larger grain, so 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt is really like 1/4 teaspoon of fine table salt. The measurement below is for fine salt, so double it if you also use flake-style kosher salt.

Also, Michele decided to reverse the chocolate blend in the original recipe by using 2 parts unsweetened chocolate to 1 part bittersweet. If you like really sweet cookies use 2 parts bittersweet to 1 part unsweetened.

If you're not sure, make 4 or 5 batches and experiment with different combinations. You really can�t practice too much when it comes to these strange, but spectacular cookies. Enjoy!



Ingredients:
1/2 cup dried currants
2 tablespoons Kahlua
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
2 room temperature eggs
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup chocolate chips

Note: Special thanks to Sigve Hoel who gifted me a sweet new set of OXO mixing bowls! He saw them on my Amazon Wish List (in the sidebar in case you're wondering). Thanks Sigve! We LOVE them.

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