NYMTK: Olive Oil Chocolate Chip Cookies (w/ video)

Thanks to Kat for sending this recipe to Not Your Momma's Test Kitchen. She bookmarked it from Crepes of Wrath, who saw it on Slice of Feist, who got it from the Chicago Sun-Times. Whew, this recipe is a traveller! These cookies are delicious! They're chewy and packed with flavor, but they're not greasy at all. My favorite thing about these is the ratio of chocolate chips and nuts to cookie dough. I don't like chocolate chip cookies that are so packed full of chips it feels like you're eating nothing but a handful of chocolate chips. I like to taste the actual COOKIE part of the cookie!

Oh, btw pals, I made a video to go along with this recipe! I got a haircut yesterday, and everyone I knew was at work. I had to show SOMEONE! Why not the entire world?

I was gonna go back in and add captions on the clips that I had to fast forward in order to make YouTube's rediculously strict 10 minute limit. Who can make chocolate chip cookies in 10 minutes??? Tell me! Who!? Anyway, all you missed during those sped up bits can be found in the recipe. I followed it exactly. I also ate a metric ton of chocolate chips, and I talked about what I was having for lunch and other non-important things that were still witty enough that I wish I didn't have to cut them out. Oh well. I don't donate to YouTube, so I guess I shouldn't complain about their time limit. It's free!
I plugged the recipe and yield (24 cookies) into a calorie counter thingy, and here's what I got:
Calories 186.3, Total Fat 8.3 g, Saturated Fat 2.0 g, Polyunsaturated Fat 2.9 g, Monounsaturated Fat 3.0 g
I'm not claiming those amounts are actually right. Lol, I have no idea what the website does with the info when I type it in, but let's hope it's somewhere in the vicinity!
Olive Oil Chocolate Chip Cookies
MAKES 4 TO 5 DOZEN (Hahaha! I got 2 dozen)

2 1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a medium bowl, mix flour, salt and baking soda.
In a larger mixing bowl, beat eggs. Add olive oil and beat until completely mixed with eggs.
Add sugars, vanilla and mix until combined.
Beat in dry ingredients slowly. (As you can see in the video, the dough is very stiff.) Fold in chocolate chips and nuts, if using.
Drop by rounded teaspoon onto ungreased baking sheets. (I used a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop and got exactly 24 cookies.)
Bake for 9 to 11 minutes until bottom of cookies are golden brown (tops will be a pale blonde color). Let stand for 2 minutes, then place on wire racks to cool.

Video: Making a Pumpkin Pie with a Fresh Pumpkin

Yay! Another video! I love making videos, and it sucks that I barely ever have time to make them. But here's a good one! As you know, I love pies. Me and pies are pretty much BFFs now. And you may also know that I have an infinity-long list of things I want to bake in my lifetime. One of those things is a pumpkin pie with a fresh pumpkin. I figured it would be a pretty fun video topic since I'd never done it before. We can learn together!

Whew! Well after all that work, was it worth it? Sadly, no. Don't get me wrong. It was extremely delicious. But it's a totally different flavor than what your mind goes to when you think of pumpkin pie. And personally, I prefer the pie made with canned puree. Not only because it's rediculously easier, but because it's what I grew up on and it's what I'm used to. But hey, if you've got plenty of time and you're curious... go ahead and try it. You won't be disappointed! ;) We ate ours with homemade caramel sauce, which I felt was the best part!! If anything, you'll definitely wanna try that!
Pumpkin Pie with Caramel Sauce (from Bubby's Homemade Pies)
Makes 1 9-inch single-crust pie

Par-baked 9-inch crust (or a fully baked 9-inch graham cracker crust)
1 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
Pinch of ground nutmeg
2 cups fresh pumpkin puree or canned, unsweetened pumpkin
1 1/3 cups heavy cream
3 large eggs
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Caramel Sauce (recipe follows)

To prepare fresh pumpkin, halve the pumpkin lengthwise—stem to bottom—and remove and save the seeds, but leave the pulpy inner lining of brighter flesh they nest in—it's the sweetest part of the pumpkin. Chop the pumpkin in chunks and boil in unsalted water until tender. Drain very well. Remove the skin with a knife, discard the skin, and mash the flesh.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

In a small bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, blend the pumpkin, cream, eggs, sugars, and vanilla until smooth. Add the dry ingredients and blend just until combined. Pour the filling into the par-baked pie shell.

Bake the pie on a lipped baking sheet for 50-55 minutes, or until just barely set in the center. Wiggle the pie gently to test its doneness—look for a center that jiggles but doesn't slosh. The retained heat in the custard will continue cooking the middle as the pie cools off. Don't overcook it or the texture won't be as silky. Cracks in the custard are signs of overcooking. A cracked custard is still quite edible, but not optimal.

Cool the pie completely on a cooling rack before cutting, at least a few hours, then refrigerate. Serve it cold with Caramel Sauce. Store the pie covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Caramel Sauce
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cubed

Combine the sugar and water in a heavy pot over medium heat (check the heat setting or too much water will evaporate before the sugar has had a chance to melt.) Don't stir it. Clip a candy thermometer to the side so that the tip is immersed in the water but not touching the bottom of the pan.

Whisk together the heavy cream and sour cream. Set aside at room temperature.

Cook the syrup until it is a rich caramel color (340 to 380 degrees F on the thermometer) and remove it from the heat. You can choose how dark and intense you want your caramel flavor—the lower temperatures yield a light, sweet caramel, while the higher temperatures create a darker, less sweet caramel. If the syrup gets hotter than 380 degrees F, the caramel will be burnt and bitter, so start over.

Use caution during the next stage: The butter releases a lof ot steam when it hits the caramel, so be careful no to get burned by the steam. With the caramel pot off the heat, add the butter a little at a time, stirring quickly. Add the cream and sour cream and stir well.

Cool and store the caramel sauce in an airtight container. It will keep for 30 days at room temperature or up to 3 months refrigerated. To reheat, warm the sauce over a double boiler, stirring occasionally. (I reheated mine in the microwave, stirring between 15-second intervals.)

Suggestions for Video Topics???

I'm on my out to get sushi with Josh, so I'll just let the video do the talking in this post! ;D

5 Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

Earlier today, I was checking my e-mail and noticed this fun looking recipe from my aunt. It's a recipe for making chocolate cake in the microwave. I'm a big fan of those Betty Crocker Warm Delights microwaveable cakes when I gotta have chocolate cake in 1 minute or less! This recipe looked pretty interesting, and I knew it was be a fun video topic! That's about all it was... I'll let you watch the video to see what I mean. Enjoy!

UPDATE: Thanks to your success stories, I tried it again with a few changes. I used self-rising flour and regular cocoa. I mixed it in a bowl first and poured it into the mug. I definitely recommend using the dark cocoa. Regular cocoa just doesn't have enough flavor. Also, unless you have a weak or old microwave, you don't need to cook it for 3 minutes. This time I only cooked mine for about 2 minutes. And let it cool! I know you want to eat it warm, but the texture changes drastically when it's cooled down! When it's hot, I gave it a 5 out of 10. When it cooled down I'd move that up to a 6.5 out of 10! Not much... but hey! It's a freakin microwaved cake! ;P

5 Minute Chocolate Mug Cake (courtesy of The Internet by Al Gore... haha see what I did there?)
4 Tbsp flour
4 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp cocoa
1 egg
3 Tbsp milk
3 Tbsp oil
3 Tbsp chocolate chips (optional)
Splash of vanilla
1 large coffee mug (microwaveable)

Add dry ingredients to mug and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly.
Pour in the milk and oil. Mix well.
Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla extract. Mix again.
Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts.
The cake will rise over the top of the mug. Don't be alarmed!
Allow to cool a little and tip out onto a plate, if desired.
Eat! (This can serve 2 if you want to feel slightly more virtuous.)

Ferrero Rocher Mini Cupcakes

They won the poll! I knew they would. And I'm ecstatic because I really wanted to make them! I started with the chocolate hazelnut cupcake recipe from Cupcakes Galore by Gail Wagman. I chose it because it called for Nutella instead of hazelnut extract (which I don't have, nor do I know where to find some). I filled the suckers with MORE Nutella. Then I topped each one with the crispy part of a sugar wafer cookie. Finally I topped them with half semi-sweet/half milk chocolate ganache filled with chopped hazelnuts. I couldn't find hazelnuts in the store, so I rummaged through a bag of espresso trail mix I got from Target. I got about 1/3 cup of hazelnuts from that. These tiny cupcakes are slam full of hazelnut flavor. The ganache is rich but delicious. The chopped hazelnuts give it great texture. The sugar wafer cookies go stale quickly, but once they're soggy you don't even know they're there. Definitely make these at home if you love Ferrero Rocher chocolates!

Ingredients (sans milk because I suck at remembering things) Mmmmm Nutella batter!!
Ready for the oven...
The sight still makes me drool!
Can you see the thin wafer cookie and the yummy Nutella in the middle?
A sea of Ferrero Rocher heaven!

Mmmm aren't they yummy? Here's a handy little video to show you how to put them together!

Cupcake recipe adapted from Cupcakes Galore by Gail Wagman
Ferrero Rocher Mini Cupcakes
Makes 24 minis and 6 regular

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs
3/4 cup Nutella (plus the rest of the jar, for filling)
1/4 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon instant coffee granules (my own addition)

Ganache
8 oz. semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips (or both)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup chopped, toasted hazelnuts

1. Preheat oven to 350 F (325 F for dark pans) . Line mini muffin pan with paper or foil liners.
2. Mix flour, baking powder, and salt together and set aside.
3. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy (2-3 minutes) . Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add 3/4 cup of Nutella and blend thoroughly. (Warm the milk in the microwave. Stir in instant coffee until disolved.) Alternately add flour mixture and milk, blending well after each addition (Don't overmix! Blend only until no traces of flour remain.)
4. Using a tablespoon, fill each cup with batter. Bake for 14-16 minutes or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool on wire racks.
5. When cupcakes are cool, fill them with the remaining Nutella.
6. Make the ganache. Put chocolate chips and cream in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for 45 seconds to 1 minute, depending on your microwave. Stir gently with a rubber spatula. Heat for 15-20 more seconds. Stir until well blended. Let sit about 30 minutes, or until ganache is spreadable. Stir in chopped hazelnuts and spread on cupcakes.

Overall rating on a scale of 1-5
Moistness: 4
Tenderness: 4
Frosting: 5

Face Your SMBC Fears!

I've heard many stories about people saying they tried to make Swiss Meringue Buttercream and it looked too wet or goopy. I cringe when I hear people say, "It just ended up looking like soup so I threw it away." Noooo! All that delicious, perfectly good frosting wasted! Well, have no fear! The "QUEEN OF SMBC" is here! SMBC is my favorite frosting, and it's so easy to make. I made this video to assure people that it does look soupy at first, but if you're patient it will turn into the silkiest, creamiest, dreamiest frosting your tongue ever tasted!

Here are some things to remember:

1. Use a thermometer and make sure you're cooking the egg whites to around 160F.
2. Use the whisk attachment on a stand mixer (stand mixers are very important, I've never made this frosting with a hand mixer) to beat the egg whites.
3. When you beat the egg whites and sugar, make sure they are cooled to room temperature before adding the butter. Touch them with the back of your finger to test.
4. Next switch to the paddle attachment.
5. Add the butter about 2 tablespoons at a time on medium-high speed. Make sure the butter is soft, but still cool. Wait about 10 seconds before adding the next piece of butter.
6. Make sure you're adding enough butter, and don't use margarine. All of my recipes use the minimum amount of butter needed to form an emulsion (2 oz. per egg white). If you like it really buttery, (*ahem* I'm talking to you, Paula Deen), feel free to double it to 4 oz. per egg white.
7. Once all the butter has been added, turn the speed up to HIGH and let it go. It can take up to 5 minutes if it's too warm.

For a more in depth video about making SMBC from start to finish, watch this video. I'll be making my own more detailed video soon. :)

Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Makes about 4 cups (enough to generously frost 24 cupcakes)

Ingredients
4 large egg whites
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temp
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions
Put egg whites and sugar into the top of a double boiler over a pan of simmering water. Whisking constantly, cook until sugar has dissolved and mixture is warm (about 160 degrees).
Pour heated egg whites into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat egg white mixture on high speed until it forms stiff (but not dry) peaks. Continue beating until fluffy and cooled, about 7 minutes.
Switch to the paddle attachment. With mixer on medium-low, add butter two tablespoons at a time, beating well after each addition. Increase speed to medium-high; continue beating until frosting appears thick, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low; add vanilla extract and continue beating 2 minutes to eliminate air bubbles.

For Chocolate SMBC: Reduce vanilla extract to 1 teaspoon. Add 1/2 cup melted and cooled semisweet or bittersweet chocolate and 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder while beating on low speed.


If you have additional questions, feel free to e-mail me at howtoeatacupcake{at}yahoo{dot}com!