Baking | Writing, Wishing

Foodie Friday: Salted Espresso Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

August 31, 2012 By Alison 59 Comments

I haven’t posted a recipe in a while.

Not because I haven’t been cooking, baking or God forbid, EATING.

I just hadn’t made anything different.

One weekend however, while on a food blog browsing spree (what, you don’t do that??), I stumbled on this recipe for Salted Espresso Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies. The best six words in one sentence ever.

Also? One of the best cookies I’ve ever eaten!

BUT, we couldn’t really taste the espresso. Methinks it’s just my choice of espresso powder (confession: I didn’t have any so I resorted to instant coffee powder, eek!), so do use a good instant espresso powder.

We finished this batch of cookies in less than 48 hours. It was addictive. You’ve been warned!

Yield: 18 cookies

Ingredients

1½ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened but still cool
1 cup light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1½ cups semisweet chocolate chips
Fleur de sel, for sprinkling

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.

2. Whisk together the flour, espresso powder, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.

3. Beat the butter on medium speed until creamy. Add the sugars; beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time.

4. Stir the dry ingredients into the butter-sugar mixture with a wooden spoon or large rubber spatula. Stir in the oats and chocolate chips.

5. Working with a generous 2 tablespoons of dough each time, roll the dough into 2-inch balls. Place the balls on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them at least 2 inches apart. Sprinkle the tops with a pinch of fleur de sel.

6. Bake until the cookie edges turn golden brown, 22 to 25 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 2 minutes. Transfer the cookies with a wire rack and let cool for at least 30 minutes.

7. EAT THEM FOR BREAKFAST.

What’s your favorite cookie ever?

Filed Under: Baking, Cookies, Recipes Tagged With: I love cookies

Foodie Friday: Lemon and Yogurt Semolina Cake

February 24, 2012 By Alison

This picture probably looks a lot like my photos of other baked goods I’ve posted here – yellow. And yes, I do have an obsession with lemon.

I need to improve my photography and presentation skills, ahem.

However, don’t let that deter you from trying this easy to make cake I found in a Greek cookbook I bought years ago.

Pin It

Ingredients

For the cake:

1/2 cup/ 125g butter, softened

1/4 cup/ 175g caster (superfine) sugar

Zest of 1 lemon

4 eggs

1 cup/ 8 oz/ 250g fine farina (semolina, cream of wheat)

2 tsp/ 10g baking powder

1 cup/ 8 oz/ 250g ground almonds

1 cup/ 8 oz/ 250g raisins

1/2 cup/ 4 oz/ 125g flaked almonds

1 scant cup/ 7 oz/ 200g yogurt

For the syrup:

1 cup/ 8 oz/ 250g caster (superfine) sugar

1/2 cup/ 4fl oz/ 250ml lemon juice

1/2 cup/ 4 fl oz/ 250ml honey

1 cup/ 8 oz 250 ml whipping cream, to serve

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350°F/ 180°C.

2. Grease an 8in/ 20cm cake pan, and line with paper.

3. In a large bowl, combine butter, sugar and lemon zest. Using an electric beater, cream butter, sugar and zest until light and fluffy.

4. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

5. Fold in semolina, baking powder and ground almonds. Add raisins, almonds and yogurt, light fold in.

6. Pour mixture into prepared cake pan and bake for 35-45 minutes (or until cake is lightly browned on top).

7. To make the syrup, combine sugar, lemon juice and honey in a small saucepan. Cook on a low heat for 15-20 minutes, or the liquid thickens into a syrup.

8. Using a metal skewer, poke holes in the cake at regular intervals. Cook syrup slightly, then pour over the cake so that it absorbs the syrup. Serve with whipped cream.

Note: I made the cake without the raisins (my husband doesn’t like them) and flaked almonds (I don’t like them), but the cake tastes awesome anyway. Oh, and neither of us like whipped cream either. Yeah, when do I ever follow a recipe to the T?

Right before writing this, I ate the cake after taking the photo above, with a cup of hot tea. Ahem.

Make it and enjoy!

Want to come over for tea?

Filed Under: Baking, Foodie Friday, Recipes

Foodie Friday: Chocolate Candy Bar Brownies

February 17, 2012 By Alison

Link up now with February’s edition of Memories Captured with my co-host Galit Breen of These Little Waves and I! Join us between February 13 - 17 and you have a chance to win a $75 Minted gift card! Link up here now!

What do you do when you have chocolate candy bars lying around and your husband is bugging you to make brownies? You make chocolate candy bar brownies.

And what do you do but blog it after, especially after a lovely food blogger (Ann, that’s you!) urges you to? I blogged this before way back when no one read this, so here it is again, with better pictures.

Our preferred choices. Crunchie – honeycomb wrapped in chocolate. Bounty – coconut wrapped in chocolate. You can use any candy bar you like. These are mini ones, packaged a dozen a pack.

This is a slightly modified recipe I found online. I can’t remember the original source. Oops.

Crunchie Brownie. See the melted honeycomb on top? Delish.

Ingredients

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

3/4 cup granulated sugar (original recipe calls for 1 cup, and I modify the sugar level based on what candy bar I use. The Crunchie is sweet on its own, so I used 1/2 cup of sugar)

3/8 cup or 85 g tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup or 110g all-purpose flour, sifted

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons unsweetened natural cocoa powder

4 chocolate candy bars (mini), chopped (you can add as many as you like, 2 would be minimum)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350F°. Line an 8 inch metal pan with foil and spray foil with cooking spray.

Stir beaten eggs, sugar, melted butter and vanilla extract together in a mixing bowl.

Combine flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa powder; stir into sugar mixture. Fold in half of the chopped chocolate candy bars.

Spoon mixture into pan and bake at 350F° 22 minutes. Remove pan from oven and sprinkle top with the remaining chopped chocolate candy bars. return to oven and bake for 5 more minutes.

Remove from oven and cool on rack, then transfer to refrigerator to chill. When brownies are cold, lift foil from pan and score into squares.