Levain Bakery-esque Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies

After seeing Levain Bakery on Food Network's Throwdown with Bobby Flay, I KNEW I had to try and recreate those cookies in my own kitchen. Sorry, but Bobby's cookies were a sad comparison to the giant, chewy, gooey gobs of cookies from Levain Bakery. I did a Google search for "Levain Bakery chocolate chip cookie recipe," and I found a handy little compilation of various copy-cats on Levain's own website. Nice! I settled on a recipe from LisaMichele.wordpress.com. She had already made and RE-made her own copy-cat version of Levain's cookies. The only change I made was to use all light brown sugar because I think that's what the Levain girls said they used in their cookies.The end result was FAB-U-LOUS! Truthfully, I've never had a cookie from the famed Levain Bakery in NY... YET! I say "yet" because Josh and I will be headed to NY in August, and I'm going to try my hardest to get my hands on a world famous cookie! Anywho, these cookies are scrumdiddlyumptious! They've got a thin, crackly crust on the outside, but the inside is gooey and soft. They're not cake-like at all. They've got a nice chew and great flavor. I think I differ from the Levain girls' opinion that vanilla has no place in their CCC. Next time I'll add a teaspoon of the good stuff just because that's what my mouth expects to taste in a choco-chip cookie.All in all, I'm very happy with this recipe. Maybe if I think about it, after I get a REAL Levain Bakery cookie, I'll come back and edit this to see how they compare.

Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies (copy-cat recipe)
I got 21 cookies using a #20 scoop (about 4 tbsp of cookie dough)

2 sticks unsalted butter, cool but slightly softened
2 cups light brown sugar
2 eggs, straight from the fridge
2 3/4 cups AP flour
1 teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup walnuts

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In bowl of electric mixer fitted with paddle, mix together butter and sugar on low speed until blended. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat on low speed until incorporated.

Add flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and mix until just combined. Gently fold in chocolate chips and nuts.

Scoop cookie dough onto parchment lined baking sheet 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake 15-20 minutes until the edges are golden brown and the tops are just lightly browned. (For smaller cookies, of course you'll need to watch them because they'll bake much faster.) Cool completely on wire racks. Store airtight until you eat them all!

Apple Raisin Bread

What happens when I get bored and there are apples on the kitchen table? I bake! Well, really that question could just be "what happens when I get bored," and the answer would still be the same. But that's not the point. The point is this apple raisin bread! The recipe comes from The Modern Baker by Nick Malgieri. It was absolutely delicious. But I think I should've squeezed some of the liquid out of my apples. They were really juicy, and after 10 additional minutes of baking, the bread was still gooey in the center. I was afraid of overbaking the edges, so I took it out. The baked parts are delicious, but the middle was still a bit raw. Oh well, nothing the dog won't take care of!Apple Raisin Bread (from "The Modern Baker" by Nick Malgieri)
Makes one 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf

2/3 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 large eggs
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2 large tart apples, such as Granny Smith
1/2 cup dark raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1. Set a rack in the middle level of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Butter an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
2. Combine the flours, baking soda, and cinnamon in a bowl and stir to mix well.
3. In a separate large bowl, whisk the eggs to break them up and whisk the sugar into the eggs. Whisk in the oil and set the bowl aside.
4. Quickly peel and grate the apples into a shallow bowl. You should have about 2 cups of grated apple.
5. Use a large rubber spatula to fold the flour mixture into the egg mixture. Quickly fold in the apples, raisins, and walnuts.
6. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake the bread until it is well-risen and a toothpick or a narrow-bladed knife inserted into the center of the bread emerges clean, 35-40 minutes.
7. Cool the bread in the pan on a rack for 5 minutes, then unmold it and cool it completely on a rack. Transfer the bread to a platter or cutting board before serving.

Banana Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookies

Remember in my last post about cookies how I said I'd never make another chocolate chip cookie again without refrigerating the dough? Well, that was a total lie. It was true at the time, but once I got the idea of these Banana Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies in my head, there was NO way I could wait. Yes, I could've baked a few right away and saved the rest of the dough for a later date. But I didn't! Oh well... This morning I was making oatmeal for breakfast. It really made me want oatmeal cookies. I had some bananas that were near death, so I thought "how can I use oatmeal and bananas in a cookie?" I immediately went to my go-to cookie book, Martha Stewart's Cookies, and sure enough there was a recipe for Banana Walnut Chocolate-Chunk Cookies. As you can see I changed the name of them in my title. I think the oatmeal needs some recognition! These cookies are SO good. They're what I imagine it would taste like if banana nut bread and chocolate chip cookies went on a date... One thing leads to another, and a cup of rolled oats later, BAM! Banana Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookies!

Some things I learned while making these cookies:

1. I dunno why I never figured this out before, but chocolate chunks taste SO much better than chocolate chips in a cookie. The chips have something in them to help them keep their shape in the oven. But a chopped bar of chocolate gets all melty and gooey in the oven. Yum!
2. Kosher salt is WAY crucial in chocolate chip cookies. If you're as big a fan of sweet & salty as I am, definitely go buy some kosher salt. You can use it in everything, and salt is cheap. You'll be glad you did it!
3. If I don't have time to chill the whole bowl of cookie dough first, I like to scoop it out onto a baking sheet and stick it in the fridge for about 10 minutes before baking. It reduces spreading while baking so the cookies puff up more.

Sorry for making you read so much! Here's the recipe:

Banana Walnut Chocolate-Chunk Cookies
MAKES 3 DOZEN (I got about 26-27 (I forgot to count) using a #30 disher)

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour (I just used all-purpose flour)
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup (l 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature (for cookies, I like to use butter that’s softened but still cool)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar (I used dark brown)
1 large egg
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup mashed ripe banana (about 1 large) (I used 2 that were kinda small)
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped into 1/4-inch chunks
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (about 2 ounces)

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Whisk together both flours, salt, and soda in a bowl.
2. Put butter and both sugars into the bowl of an electric mixer ­with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until pale. Reduce speed to low. Add egg and vanilla; mix until combined. Mix in ­banana. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Stir in oats, chocolate chunks, and walnuts.
3. Using a 1 1/2-inch ice cream scoop (I used a #30 disher) , drop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing about 2 inches apart. Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until golden brown and just set, 12-13 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks 5 minutes. Transfer cook­ies to wire racks; let cool completely. Cookies can be stored in airtight containers at room temperature up to 2 days.

Christmas Cookie Caper '08: #4 - Kitchen Sink Cookies

Alright, so you can say I punked out because this isn't a new recipe. Actually we used 3 recipes that we've done before. But you can't deny recipes that are super delicious!! I made these kitchen sink cookies a few months ago. I kinda made up the recipe by compiling a bunch of recipes. I wanted a cookie full of stuff and this is what I came up with. They've got oatmeal, walnuts, two kinds of chocolate chips, coconut, and raisins. Feel free to leave out any of those if you don't like them. One tip I like to remember when making cookie dough is to use butter that's softened but still cool. I'm not sure why but I feel better putting cold cookie dough into the oven. If you want, you can make this dough a few days ahead and scoop it straight from the fridge.

Kitchen Sink Cookies
Makes 18 cookies

MY NOTES: I used a cookie scoop that holds 2 tbsp of cookie dough.

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup chopped and toasted walnuts
1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup milk chocolate chips
1/4 cup coconut
1/4 cup raisins

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line 2 large cookie sheets with parchment paper.In a medium sized bowl, sift together the flour, salt and baking soda. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugars on medium speed until smooth and fluffy, about 1 minute. Add egg and beat until fully incorporated. Mix in vanilla extract. With the mixer on it's lowest speed, slowly add the flour until almost incorporated. Mix in oats, then with a rubber spatula fold in the chocolate chips, walnuts, coconut and raisins. Drop by heaping tablespoons onto the prepared cookie sheets.Bake one sheet at a time for 13-15 minutes, or until golden brown. Allow the cookies to cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheets. Transfer them to wire racks to cool completely.

My Banana Split Birthday Cake!!

UPDATE: THIS RECIPE HAS CHANGED! Read this post for details and new recipe!

Happy birthday to me! Happy birthday to me! Happy birthday, dear Cassie! Happy birthday to me!

Friday, August 8, was my 22nd birthday. Saturday night I had a small party at my house. And as tradition goes (the tradition I started last year), I made my own cake! Thanks to everyone who left a comment a few entries back suggesting cake ideas. I decided to make a banana split cake. Let's put it this way... I might be making this cake for myself every year until I am so old and mangled that it just wouldn't be possible. It tasted exactly like a banana split! I used the highest rated Hummingbird Cake recipe on Allrecipes.com. I omitted the cinnamon (Have you ever had a banana split with cinnamon on it? Duh, me either). I layered it with whipped cream, fresh strawberries, and chocolate ganache. Then I frosted the whole thing with whipped cream, drizzled on some more ganache, carefully placed a few cherries, and threw on a butt load of sprinkles and HELLO DOLLY! Perfection was reached! The cake is sooo moist, and every single flavor of a banana split is dead on. It's incredible! It tastes delicious right out of the fridge. It's the perfect cake for a summer birthday!

Two unbaked cakes on a cluttered kitchen table.Two cakes cooling on an empty washing machine.Two cakes split into four (with mom's help because I'm no good at splitting cakes).You can see how moist it is.Layered with whipped cream, strawberries, and chocolate.TADA!Closeup!This is the prettiest cake I've ever made!And probably the tastiest!

UPDATE: THIS RECIPE HAS CHANGED! Read this post for details and new recipe!
Hummingbird Cake III from Allrecipes.com

INGREDIENTS
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (I omitted this)
3 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil (Next time I'll reduce this to 1 cup)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained (REALLY DRAIN IT!)
1 cup chopped pecans (I used walnuts)
2 cups diced bananas

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour two 8-inch round cake pans.
Combine flour, white sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Add eggs and oil; stir until moistened. Do not beat. Stir in bananas, 2 teaspoons vanilla, pineapple, and pecans walnuts.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown around the edges. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Invert and remove pans. Cover cakes with a lint-free kitchen towel to finish cooling.

To make a Banana Split Cake:
When cakes are completely cool, split each layer into two. Thinly spread whipped cream over each layer. Sprinkle chopped fresh strawberries and drizzle ganache (or chocolate syrup) over the whipped cream. Frost the whole cake with whipped cream and drizzle more ganache over it. Add cherries and sprinkles for decoration.

And how about some photos from the party to finish this post!

My mom & my friend LanceJosh & me <333He always finds a way to undress at my parties!The best friends, Beth & Aaron.
Aaron was on prescriptions meds but couldn't resist Jello shooters...My book collection after getting 7 more for my birthday!

Mini Cinnamon Rolls

For the past few weeks, I've been haunted by a major craving for cinnamon rolls. Every time I passed the biscuits in the refrigerator section at the grocery store, I could see that little dough boy staring at me from the can of sweet sticky cinnamon rolls. I never bought any because I wanted to try making them from scratch. Finally this morning I didn't have anything to do, so I began searching food blogs for a great recipe. Much to my chagrin, all of the recipes called for yeast. Now excuse me while I go off on a rabbit trail... Last year, I bought some of those little yeast packets. I put them in the cabinet where we keep all the baking powder/soda, corn starch, gelatin, etc. A few months later I wanted to make something with yeast, so I searched and searched and searched and could not find those freakin packets. To make a long story short, I bought them and they disappeared before I got to use them. That's why I didn't have yeast this morning! Great story, eh? Anyway, I decided to use a simple biscuit recipe but tweak it a little, and this is what I came up with. They are really delicious. I ate two while they were hot out of the oven!

Mini Cinnamon Rolls (10-12 small rolls)

1 cup all purpose flour

1 tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons COLD unsalted butter, cut into 8 cubes

1/2 cup COLD whole milk

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened, to spread on the dough

1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 cup raisins, soaked in hot water until plump, then drained

1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts, toasted

2/3 cup confectioners' sugar

2-3 teaspoons warm water

Preheat oven to 400F. Grease a 8x8, 9x9, or 13x9 baking pan with cooking spray.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a food processor or in a bowl. Mix well. Add cold butter and pulse in a food processor (a pastry cutter or a fork will work also) until the butter is the size of small peas. Pour in milk and mix just until dough comes together.

Working on a well-floured surface, knead dough 4 or 5 times. Roll into a rectangle about 1/4 inch thick. Using your hands or a pastry brush, smear butter over dough. Sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon over butter and pat it down so it sticks. Sprinkle walnuts and raisins evenly over dough. Starting on the long side of the rectangle, roll into a long log. Cut ends off, and cut remaining log into slices about 1 inch thick.

Place rolls cut side down into a small baking pan about 1/4 inch apart if you want them to touch. Place rolls in a larger baking pan 1 inch apart if you do not want them to touch. Bake for 13-15 minutes, or until tops are golden brown. Remove from oven and make glaze.

Whisk together confectioners' sugar and water together to make a paste (add more water 1/2 teaspoon at a time if it's too thick). Spread glaze over warm rolls. Enjoy!

Kitchen Sink Cookies

These cookies are called Kitchen Sink Cookies because everything is in them except the kitchen sink! That's totally an exaggeration of course. I'm not sure how delicious they'd be with wooden spoons and paper towels mixed in. Anyway, I'm not usually a cookie person. If I am faced with a decision, I'll always choose cake over cookies. But yesterday the mood struck me to bake cookies. I searched and searched for a recipe, but nothing was jumping out at me. Finally I just took a bit from a few recipes and came up with these yummy masterpieces this morning! Some bites taste like an oatmeal raisin cookie. Some bites taste like a tollhouse chocolate chip cookie. Some bites are chewy. Some bites are crunchy. But all bites are fantastic! These are most delicious if you microwave them for a few seconds before eating them.

ingredientscookie dough (no walnuts, read to the bottom to find out why)

ready for the oven

cooling

Soooooo tasty!!

After the first 9 cookies were in the oven, I noticed the bowl of chopped walnuts still sitting on the counter! So I added half of them to the second half of the cookie dough. It was a miracle that I ended up with 9 cookies w/o walnuts and 9 cookies with walnuts. Almost like I did it on purpose... almost.

MY NOTES: I used 1/4 tsp vanilla extract and 1/4 tsp vanilla butter nut flavoring. I used a cookie scoop that holds 2 tbsp of cookie dough.

Kitchen Sink Cookies (my recipe adapted from like 5 other recipes)
Makes 18 cookies

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1-1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup chopped and toasted walnuts
1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup milk chocolate chips
1/4 cup coconut
1/4 cup raisins

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line 2 large cookie sheets with parchment paper.
In a medium sized bowl, sift together the flour, salt and baking soda. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugars on medium speed until smooth and fluffy, about 1 minute. Add egg and beat until fully incorporated. Mix in vanilla extract. With the mixer on it's lowest speed, slowly add the flour until almost incorporated. Mix in oats, then with a rubber spatula fold in the chocolate chips, walnuts, coconut and raisins. Drop by heaping tablespoons onto the prepared cookie sheets.
Bake one sheet at a time for 13-15 minutes, or until golden brown. Allow the cookies to cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheets. Transfer them to wire racks to cool completely.

Soft Pumpkin Cookies w/ Craisins and Walnuts

After making the pumpkin roll, I had about 1 cup of pumpkin left. My original plan was to use it in vegan pumpkin cinnamon rolls. However, when I went searching for the dry yeast it was no where to be found. Soooo, these cookies were plan B. And what a great plan B! They're so delicious. They're soft cake-like cookies that remind me of eating a muffin. This recipe is definitely a keeper!

The craisins and walnuts are coated in flour (a tip from Ina Garten). The dough was delicious! Heaping tablespoons of dough ready for the oven. Yummy cookies cooling and smelling great! Tada! The best pumpkin cookies I've ever tasted!

Recipe adapted from allrecipes.com

Pumpkin Cookies w/ Craisins and Walnuts
Makes about 40

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 cup solid pack pumpkin puree
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup dried cranberries
1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla, egg and pumpkin. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon; stir into mixture until well blended. Fold cranberries and walnuts into mixture until incorporated. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto cookie sheets.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

Pumpkin Roll Cake w/ Cream Cheese Filling

Sometimes the best baking is done without any planning at all. I woke up today, realized I had no plans, and decided to put my oven to use! I just bought some dented cans of pumpkin puree on sale, so I looked for a recipe on one of my favorite recipe sites, allrecipes.com. I came upon a recipe for a pumpkin roll. I had never baked a cake in a jelly roll pan, in fact, I didn't even know we owned one. After searching the cabinets I actually found two of them! Here's how it went...

ingredients (no oil or butter!)
pouring the batter into the jelly roll pan I sprinkled some walnuts on top before baking. a piece of parchment paper dusted with confectioners sugar,
ready for the hot pumpkin cake Uh oh! When I flipped the pan upside down, the center stuck to the pan! I managed to put it back together and roll it up. After an hour in the refrigerator, I spread the glue (filling)
onto the 3 pieces hoping it would hold it all together! AND IT WORKED! I cut off the ugly ends and ate them... ...while watching Project Runway!

It was delicious! I'll definitely try to make this cake again without breaking it!

Recipe from allrecipes.com

Pumpkin Roll Cake
Serves 12-16

INGREDIENTS
3 eggs
1 cup white sugar
2/3 cup canned pumpkin
1 teaspoon lemon juice
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup chopped walnuts
6 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
In a mixing bowl, beat eggs on high for 5 minutes. Gradually beat in white sugar until thick and lemon-colored. Add pumpkin and lemon juice.
In another bowl combine flour, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg; fold into the pumpkin mixture.
Grease a 15x10x1 inch baking pan; line with waxed paper. Grease and flour the paper. Spread batter into pan; sprinkle with walnuts.
Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 15 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched.
Immediately turn out onto a linen towel dusted with confectioners' sugar. Peel off paper and roll cake up in the towel, starting with the short end. Cool.
Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, 1 cup confectioners' sugar, butter, and vanilla until fluffy.
Carefully unroll the cake. Spread filling over cake to within 1 inch of edges. Roll up again. Cover and chill until serving. Dust with additional confectioners' sugar, if desired.