Hey guys! Let’s all just make the jump today okay? It’s cookies and it’s coffee, and why not? This is a twist on my classic Chocolate Sugar Cookie recipe, and it’s a keeper.
Hello and welcome! My name is Nicole, and Dough-eyed is a food blog for people who want to bake for their family and friends in high-altitude areas. Think of me as a friendly voice there with you in the kitchen, here to give you confidence when you’re baking, and to help you with the struggles of baking at high-altitude. Come back every week for new recipes, tips, and advice on high-altitude baking!
Here we are again guys, the beginning of the week. And if there is any better day to be making a batch of cookie dough that you can eat raw, I don’t know which. So let’s get to it.
I’m gonna be honest. I eat a lot of cookie dough as it is, and I’m talking about the stuff with raw eggs and raw flour right in there. I feel like through my life I’ve probably built up a tolerance entirely from eating cookie dough. It is what it is man, and I love tasting a dough before putting it in the oven. I’m not sorry.
Hello and welcome! My name is Nicole, and Dough-eyed is a food blog for people who want to bake for their family and friends in high-altitude areas. Think of me as a friendly voice there with you in the kitchen, here to give you confidence when you’re baking, and to help you with the struggles of baking at high-altitude. Come back every week for new recipes, tips, and advice on high-altitude baking!
Hey everyone! I’ve recently ventured into vegan baking for some chocolate chip cookies and guys, you wouldn’t even know the difference!
I don’t actually know any vegan eaters, but I do have a family friend who has some diet restrictions that, in baking, may as well be vegan. Plus, I find it really intriguing to bake vegan recipes- it kind of turns everything you know about baking upside-down, and it’s fun to experiment with egg and dairy replacements!
Add on top of all that the high-altitude factors, and we’ve got some science up in here this week. So, here’s what I’m swapping out:
I have to say, of anything, the chocolate chips are like. Entirely not noticeable as a substitute. So much so that it makes me wonder why we even need milk in chocolate to begin with- these taste EXACTLY the same as your normal semi-sweet chocolate chips. Also, they’re available in all my normal grocery stores!
And a note on the egg substitute- there are a lot of options for egg subs. Chia seeds just happened to already be in my pantry (instead of applesauce) but it’s really easy to find egg swap charts online!
These cookies are chewy, soft, and chocolatey. I actually really loved them, and I ate plenty on my own- they taste very indulgent, and while the flavors are just slightly different from your classic chocolate chip cookies, the different is minimal to be honest. Score!
So let’s call it a high-altitude-vegan-chocolate-chip-cookie kind of day, shall we? Enjoy!
In a small bowl, stir together the chia seeds and water, and set aside. It will thicken while you prepare the rest of the dough.
In a large bowl, beat together the margarine, brown sugar, sugar, vanilla, and almond milk until smooth. Add in the soaked chia seed mixture, and stir until combined. Add in the flour, baking soda, and salt, and beat until completely incorporated. The dough will be fairly soft. Fold in the mini chocolate chips.
Cover the bowl, and refrigerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees, and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Scoop the batter in two-tablespoonfuls onto your baking sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges just start to become golden brown. Cool and enjoy!
Hello and welcome! My name is Nicole, and Dough-eyed is a food blog for people who want to bake for their family and friends in high-altitude areas. Think of me as a friendly voice there with you in the kitchen, here to give you confidence when you’re baking, and to help you with the struggles of baking at high-altitude. Come back every week for new recipes, tips, and advice on high-altitude baking!
Hey guys! Do you have the after-Christmas-blues a little bit? I definitely do. But I’m trying to push through that with more cookies because listen, it’s still winter, and we’re still wearing leggings and big sweaters so it’s all good tbh.
And anyways, I was in the grocery store the other day, and they still had a big display of holiday baking items, and so I was browsing that, and saw all kinds of interesting chip-type-things. So like instead of just chocolate chips, there was a bad of s’mores chips with mini marshmallows and graham cracker pieces too (I bought those). And then also there was a weird mix of cookies & cream stuff, and I don’t know exactly what it is yet, but I bought those too. PLUS though, some little toffee chips, further seen below.
So here we are- I feel like this is a deconstructed candy bar cookie of some kind. And I know if you watch cooking competition shows, you’re probs saying “DUDE, don’t use the term ‘deconstructed,’ you know better!” But listen, I’m at home, and it is what it is.
And more importantly, these cookies are good man.
So basically I made some shortbread dough, and tossed in a bunch of these little crunchy toffee bits. They get all exploded in the oven, and make craggy edges, and it’s very charming and sweet. Oh as a sidenote, if you can’t find these little bits, I’m of the opinion that it’d be kind of awesome to just like chop up a toffee candy bar and go for it that way.
So anyways, I dipped these ones in chocolate to add that well, chocolate factor. I went at an angle, and I think they would be super yummy if you even just drizzled chocolate all over the entire cookie too, idk guys, do you.
I’m feeling weird today, and this post sounds weird as I read it, but I’m keeping it as is just as a reminder of this weird after-holiday vibe I’m feeling strongly this year. The point is, cookies will bring us all joy no matter what time of the year it is. JOY IT UP GUYS.
Preheat your oven to 325 degrees and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, beat together the cold butter and powdered sugar until combined. Since the butter is cold, you might need a few more minutes than you are used to for mixing time. Beat in the vanilla extract.
Add in the flour and salt slowly, beating until the dough forms. It will be slightly crumbly, but should completely combine. Beat in the toffee bits until combined.
Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface to about 1/4 inch thick. Cut the dough into whatever shapes you like- I did rectangles- and poke holes over the top with a fork. Transfer dough to your prepared cookie sheets.
Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the edges just start to become lightly golden. Cool on the cookie sheets completely. Dip into the chocolate or drizzle chocolate on top of cookies. Place the cookies on parchment or wax paper to let the chocolate set. Enjoy!
Hello and welcome! My name is Nicole, and Dough-eyed is a food blog for people who want to bake for their family and friends in high-altitude areas. Think of me as a friendly voice there with you in the kitchen, here to give you confidence when you’re baking, and to help you with the struggles of baking at high-altitude. Come back every week for new recipes, tips, and advice on high-altitude baking!
Hey guys!
Today we’re making cookie bars, and if you haven’t tried making cookies in one giant sheet, now is the time to start. I’m not saying all cookies should be baked this way, but man, it’s SO much easier.
Don’t get me wrong, the effect is slightly different when you bake them in one big sheet. You won’t get crisp edges around each cookie, for example, if that’s what you’re into. And sometimes that’s right for a cookie.
But with these, you can bake the whole dang batch at once, with very little work, and without scooping out cookies and switching pans and baking 4 separate times. So that’s a pretty big take away. That being said, you can totally scoop and bake these cookies as well if that’s what you’re feelin.
So, these cookies stem from a simple concept- I wanted chocolate chip cookies without the chocolate. I know, I know. Everyone loves chocolate, and me too, but sometimes you aren’t in the mood for chocolate. So here we are.
The browned butter kind of just kicks up the flavor on these. It’s only barely noticeable, but it’s worth it for the overall effect. It’s a very simple cookie, which means every little step counts. So we brown the butter. And let it cool back down to room temperature, which can take some time- go watch some TV while you wait or whatever.
The espresso powder does not make these taste like coffee, so don’t be afraid of it if you aren’t into coffee flavors. It just pops out the other flavors in here, like the brown butter, and adds to the whole end result flavor, which I promise you’ll love!
Last, we’re sprinkling coarse salt over the top right when it comes out of the oven, which helps it stick to the cookies without baking in during the actual, well, baking time. The salt is just enough to make these bars totally addicting.
The rest is really simple, so I hope you guys enjoy this one- plus I hope it converts you to making cookie bars occasionally, I think it’s a great trick! Enjoy!
In a medium saucepan, brown the butter over medium-high heat. This takes me about 10 minutes. Your butter should melt, become frothy and foamy, and eventually will start to brown on the bottom. Transfer to a heat-safe glass measuring cup. Add enough water to the hot butter to make 1 1/2 cups total liquid in the measuring cup. Cover, and let the mixture cool on your counter to room temperature, about an hour.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and line a 12 by 18 inch baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, espresso powder, and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat together the browned butter mixture, brown sugar, and sugar until combined. Add in the eggs and vanilla, and beat until smooth. Add in the dry ingredients slowly, and beat until completely combined.
Scoop your dough onto your prepared baking sheet, and spread evenly. It should fill the entire sheet. Bake in your preheated oven for 15-17 minutes, or until the cookies have set around the edges and are just starting to become golden. Sprinkle the coarse salt over the cookies right after they come out of the oven. Cool in the sheet pan for 20 minutes before cutting and serving. Enjoy!
Hello and welcome! My name is Nicole, and Dough-eyed is a food blog for people who want to bake for their family and friends in high-altitude areas. Think of me as a friendly voice there with you in the kitchen, here to give you confidence when you’re baking, and to help you with the struggles of baking at high-altitude. Come back every week for new recipes, tips, and advice on high-altitude baking!
Hey guys!
Still no baby haha!
Meanwhile, I’ve been working on a new chocolate chip cookie recipe. Basically, people do a lot of really interesting things to make chocolate chip cookies extra special, and I rarely ever try any of them. And honestly, this is a really classic cookie, you don’t always need to do it fancy.
Speaking of which, if you aren’t interested in fancy, here’s my traditional recipe for chocolate chip walnut cookies– they are super easy and fantastic too!
So, onto the fancier version. I took many of the tips used here from this video/article by Tasty, and it’s definitely worth a look. I wanted to apply some of these tips to my favorite recipe, and work from there. Here’s the things I tried, some from Tasty, some not:
Anyways, there’s even more tips and tricks about this classic recipe out there, but those are the changes I made to my classic recipe. I’ve got thoughts. So basically, I definitely think there’s much to be said about using these tips and making the fancier version. The flavor is SUPER good, and it’s definitely more complex than the original.
BUT, if you want cookies in a hurry, this just won’t cut it. When you add in the time it takes to brown and cool the butter, and chill the dough before baking, it takes far longer start to finish. Also, things I’m not sure make a big difference include the salt on top (probably a taste thing- if you add more, I bet it’s more noticeable), and the bread flour switch. Since I normally add cornstarch anyways, I’m not sure it really matters to use both.
Here’s what I know for sure; there are a TON of recipes for chocolate chip cookies out there, and A LOT of them are great. It’s such a classic, and there’s so many variations that depending on your taste, you’re likely to find many versions that you truly love. For me, this is definitely a great one, as long as you’ve got the patience to work with it!
Enjoy!
In a medium bowl, stir together the all purpose flour, bread flour, cornstarch, baking soda, salt, and espresso powder. Set aside.
To brown the butter, melt and cook over medium-high heat for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until brown flecks start to appear all over, and then pour into a bowl to cool.
In a large bowl, beat the cooled browned butter, brown sugar, and sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs, vanilla extract, and water. Slowly add in the flour mixture until completely combined, and fold in the chocolate chunks, including any smaller flecks.
Scoop the dough into 2 tablespoon-full balls onto a baking sheet. You're going to chill these, so you can put them right next to each other. Sprinkle the coarse salt evenly over the top of all the dough.
Chill for at least 30 minutes, or longer. When you're ready to bake the cookies, preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick sheets. Place the pre-scooped cookies about 2 inches apart on the baking sheets, and press down with the bottom of a glass until they are about 1/2 inch thick.
Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the cookies are golden brown on the edges. Cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, and then transfer to a cooling rack. Enjoy!
Hello and welcome! My name is Nicole, and Dough-eyed is a food blog for people who want to bake for their family and friends in high-altitude areas. Think of me as a friendly voice there with you in the kitchen, here to give you confidence when you’re baking, and to help you with the struggles of baking at high-altitude. Come back every week for new recipes, tips, and advice on high-altitude baking!
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