The Great Summer Cookie Caper, Part 3

S'Mores Bark

I have a thing for s'mores. There is something about oozy, gooey, slightly charred marshmallows sandwiched between melty chocolate and graham crackers that just melts my heart. My siblings and I have spent hours at the kitchen stove roasting marshmallows and making s'mores, much to the horror of my mother. Prince Charming doesn't get it. I've tried, really. I've made him s'mores, but it just doesn't speak to him.  I guess this is something we'll have to agree to disagree on. 

The fact of it is, that summer=s'mores. Every cooking magazine I have (Ok, I only have two now- Family Circle, and Joy of Kosher) had recipes of multiple s'mores variations that set my heart beating with absolute joy and bliss. 

The first one I tried, I made with my brother and sister. 

The Attempt

7 oz bittersweet chocolate

2 cups mini marshmallows

8 graham crackers, chopped into 1-inch squares

In a double broiler ( a glass bowl over a pot of simmering water) melt the chocolate. Once chocolate melts, remove from heat and mix in marshmallows and graham cracker cubes. Pour over parchment paper and spread it out to an even thickness. Top with sea salt

Allow to cool and break into large chunks. 

Notes:

1. The recipe called for using a baking bar of chocolate, but I just went with chocolate chips and it worked out fine. 
2. I hate double broilers almost as much as I love s'mores so I just melted the chocolate in the microwave. 
3. We may have used too many graham crackers because I forgot to tell my sister how many to break up so she kind of just kept going till I told her to stop. 
4. We used colorful mini marshmallows because that was what we had in the house. They're a little bit sweeter than regular mini marshmallows but that's about it. 
5. We forgot the salt. And didn't miss it. 

The Verdict

These things are addictive. 'Nough  said. 

Sister: "Esti, please don't make these again."

Me: "Why? They're awesome!"

Sister: "I know! I keep eating them!!" 

The Great Summer Cookie Caper, Part 2

Chai Latte Brownies

I found this recipe for Chai Latte Brownies in the post-Pesach (Passover) issue of Family First. Since then, I've been dying to make them. A. I love brownies. B. I love Chai Tea C. Chai Lattes are even better than Chai Tea. When I was in Israel for the year, I used to stay overnight in the hospital with sick children, so their parents could go home for the evening. Hadassah Ain Kerem hospital has a Aroma Cafe on the first floor and every time I went there I would get myself a chai latte on the way out. My sibs (with the exception of my brother, who is still trying to figure out what is wrong with us) are chai latte enthusiasts as well. So this seemed like the perfect time to try this recipe out. 

The Attempt

1/4 Cup chai tea (see instructions below)

2/3 Cup oil

2 Cups chocolate chips

2 tsp vanilla extract

4 eggs

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp cardamom (optional but recommended)

Preheat oven to 325. 

Place 2 chai tea bags in a small bowl (or mug) and pour over them 1/4 cup (or a bit more) boiling water. Let tea bags steep for a few minutes, then squeeze the tea bags to release all of the flavor.

Place tea, oil, and sugar into a medium sized pot over medium heat and let cook until just starting to boil. Remove from flame and quickly stir in chocolate chips until melted, followed by the vanilla. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring vigorously until they are fully incorporated. In another bowl, mix together all remaining ingredients and add gradually to the pot stirring until all is smooth and incorporated. 

Pour batter into a greased 9X13-inch pan and bake for 40 minutes, or less for a softer center. Flavors will intensify once cooled. 

I did the stuff in the pot, and my sister did the dry mixture (because she can't stand by the stove on account of her injured foot.) It went into the oven, but I forgot to mark the time I put it in so it was likely in for a little less than 40 minutes, which is fine with me because I like my brownies on the fudgy side. 

The Verdict

Initially I wasn't sure if making it in a pot over the stove was a patchke that was worth the end result. It actually wasn't that bad. There was no mixer involved and in the end I had to wash the same amount of dishes that I have to wash for my normal brownie recipe. (My mixer and I have a very complicated relationship, and don't even get me started on the Kitchen Aid.) 

So in the end, they are good as brownies, but they don't taste much like chai. For me that means, that I'll probably stick with making my regular recipe, seeing as it's just as good as this one, but without the addition of the pot. 

The Great Summer Cookie Caper, Part 1

Coffee Crinkle Cookies

I'm BAAACK!

It's been a long time since I posted. School and life got in the way. Now that the summer has officially arrived, though,  I have a surfeit of extra time on my hands and thus, am back to blogging.
There is much that I want to write about, including continued experiments with one-pot soups, multiple failed attempts at meat pizzas  (they are just not the same without cheese) and a plethora of smoothie and smoothie pop adventures!

For now I want to talk about cookies. Cookies make the world go 'round, and I love baking them. The problem is that my waistline, and PC's waistline don't appreciate them so much. The good news is, my parents and sibs do! The next few weeks are finding me spending much time at my parent's abode as my sister recuperates from a rather nasty accident involving a basketball, a long skirt, and a rather broken femur. Enter: The GREAT SUMMER COOKIE CAPER!

Basically, we're going to bake cookies, my siblings and parents will eat them, and we will then blog about it. My siblings have consented to joining me in my blogging so here are their voices.

Brother: What is a blog? It sounds like something that comes out of your nose?

Sister: I don't know how to help you blog, but I shall eat cookies, because cookies make me and my femur happy!

So, here we go!!

Last week found us baking coffee crinkle cookies from the wondrously amazing blog Overtime Cook.

The recipe is right here: Coffee Crinkle Cookies

The Attempt

We kind of just followed the recipe, but we mixed it by hand because I was too lazy to take out the mixer. C'est la vie.

We also wound up refrigerating the dough for a couple of hours because sister's physical therapist (The Evil One) arrived and broke up the baking party.

The Verdict

Yum! And YUM! I highly recommend these cookies. Some people commented on Overtime Cook that the dough was hard to work with, but once the dough was refrigerated for an hour or two it rolled like a dream. We did burn the first batch, but the cookies were so good that we didn't really mind it (Sister: Slightly crispy, but good.)

Stay tuned for this week's adventure: Chai late brownies!!