Brown-Eyed Susans

This is my Maw, my grandmother's, recipe.  It is so special and loved that Mom and I made Brown-Eyed Susans ourselves to serve at my reception.  (The caterer made everything else, don't worry.)

Not only were these cookies served at my wedding reception but the blog, Style Me Pretty, actually took my submission for their "Grandma's Favorite" recipe contest.  I didn't realize it was published until LONG after the fact.  Click the image below to see it for yourself.  Pretty cool:

Lastly, I must share the original recipe card.  Maw had a cursive typewriter!

Brown-Eyed Susans

Ingredients:

2 sticks of room temperature butter (yes, that is oleo!)
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon real almond extract
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

Frosting:
1 cup confectioner's sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla (just one time even though there is a typo on the card above)
2 tablespoons cocoa
2 tablespoons of hot water

Steps:

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

2. Cream the butter on high speed for 2 minutes.

3. Turn to medium speed and add the sugar and almond extract.

4. Turn down to low speed and add the flour and salt.  You will have to scrape the bowl midway through.  The butter tends to stick on the sides of the mixing bowl.  The dough will be stiff so lock the tilt head or your mixer might walk off the counter.  (I know this from experience.)

5.  Grease 2 insulated cookie sheets.  Insulated is best.  You don't want these babies to brown on the bottom (easier said than done).

6. Make tablespoon-sized balls of dough.  Round in your hand until all creases disappear.  I use my pointer and middle finger to flatten the tops slightly.    This will keep the icing from running. They should be very moldable...you can smooth out the cracks again after you smush if you are very particular.  

FYI: My recipe made 2 dozen.  I guess I am a little more generous on portion sizes than Maw! 

7.  Bake on 400 degrees for 12 minutes.  I did 6 minutes and swapped the top/bottom cookie sheets in order to keep them from browning.  It is better to undercook than overcook these cookies.

8.  When they come out of the oven immediately remove them to a cooking rack.  Again, you don't want the bottoms to brown!  Let cool completely.

9.  Now to make the icing...  In another mixing bowl combine 1 cup of confectioners sugar, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, 2 tablespoons of cocoa and 2 tablespoons of water.  If it is too thick you can add drops of water to thin.  It will harden as it sits.  You certainly can just spoon icing on the cookies.  I use some of my tools from my cake decorating days.  (wilton 12 tip)

10.  Top with almond slivers.  *It is important to add the almond slivers before the icing hardens so they stick!*

11.  Try not to eat too many yourself!  Again, easier said than done!  They literally melt in your mouth.

How beautiful is a day like today for baking?!

Best-of-Both-Worlds Cookie Recipe (the brownie cookie)

  

This weekend I visit my sissy.  She is a Halloween baby so I thought I might as well surprise her with cookies for her birthday - and ones that travel well.  She has already tried these cookies, which are still my favorite chocolate chip cookies to date.  SO I googled for recipes that include two ingredients I had purchased at the local farmer's market.  Hunter has been wanting to use them as bad as I have!  

I hit the jackpot with this recipe.   Lately I started to blog only recipes I've done a few times to make sure they are tested.  But these are too good not to share.  They are sure to satisfy a chocolate craving with a rich, chocolately taste.  I am a cookie and brownie girl, so naturally, these are the "best of both worlds."  

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup Dutched cocoa flour (not your typical Hersheys!)

3/4 tsp baking soda (always use this with dutch process)

1 stick unsalted butter, room temp

1/2 cup packed DARK brown sugar (keeps moisture)

1/2 cup honey

7 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped (I use trader joes pieces)

1/4 c granulated sugar

Steps:

Mix your dry ingredients in a large bowl.  

It turns out the coolest color!

In a separate mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until fluffy (about 2 minutes).

Then add honey and beat again.

I was fascinated so of course I took e  picture.

Reduce the speed and add the flour mixture until well combined.

Then add chocolate pieces.  The batter is a beautiful, rich color.  This cell phone night picture doesn't do it justice.

Now, like many good recipes, you refrigerate the dough for at least 30 minutes.

Go ahead and preheat your oven to 325 and use this time to clean the kitchen!

........fast forward 30 minutes.

I used two large cookie sheets (both insulated and non and I don't have a preference).  Shape into tablespoon-sized balls.  

Sprinkle the top with coarse sugar (of course this is optional but does make them look special).  

Place a couple inches apart.  They do flatten out while baking. 

Now, like a brownie, you do not want to over bake.  I made mine large and 9 minutes was plenty.  You want to get them just as they begin to set and the tops start to crack.

Let cool on a wire rack.

I will leave you with one more picture....ENJOY!

Pumpkin Chip Cookies

Every year, about this time, I get a craving for these pumpkin chip cookies.  Let's be honest...I crave them year round. But this time of year I find an excuse to make them more often.  Some places only carry pumpkin seasonally (ahhem Trader Joes) and some all year.  So if you cannot find it, don't give up.  In Albertsons it is by the pie fillings and not by candied yams and sweet potatoes like one would think.  This was one of the first recipes I discovered on pinterest circa 2011.  I have made it my own.

The cookies can be described by having a hint of pumpkin. Even those that do not like pumpkin like this recipe.  They are very cake-like and fluffy (so leave room on your cookie sheet for them to spread). Think of them as muffin tops.  If you don't care for butterscotch you substitute 2 cups of chocolate chips (I prefer half and half).

Pumpkin Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

2 large eggs

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup canola oil

i cup canned pumpkin

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup butterscotch chips

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Steps:

Preheat your oven to 325.

In a separate bowl, mix the first section of dry ingredients.

In your mixer on medium speed (with the paddle attachment), beat eggs and sugar until light yellow (almost 2 minutes).   Turn to slow speed and mix in oil, vanilla and pumpkin.

Add your dry ingredients until just combined (about a minute).

Fold in chocolate/butterscotch chips.

*I used two baking sheets, one insulated and one not, to see which I preferred.  I would NOT use insulated.  They cook more thoroughly and stay together better.  I even think they rise better using a traditional cookie sheet.*

Using your 1/4 measuring cup, make about 10 cookies per baking sheet. Don't fill up the cup entirely.  I did 8 per sheet (2 sheets) and they were entirely too large (even for me).  If you did 10 a sheet, the recipe will yield about 20 cookies.  They pour out quite nicely.

Bake in the oven for about 16 minutes.  Let cool for 5 minutes before removing from the baking sheet.

The picture above shows the cake and muffin-like consistency.

ENJOY!  

Averie's Chocolate Chip Cookies

I want to be this girl, Averie.  I have a love/hate relationship with her because I LOVE her recipes but I hate that I lose all self control! :)  It is a miracle I have not blogged about this recipe.  It is my favorite BY FAR.  I've made about 10 batches since I moved here.  They are highly approved from all visitors and Hunter's office.  I even shipped them to the home office.

A couple things stand out in this recipe:

1.  Pudding Mix

2. Refrigeration of dough required

3.  They are MASSIVE

Ingredients:

3/4 c. unsalted butter, softened (1.5 sticks)
3/4 c. light brown sugar, packed
1/4 c. granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract (or 1/2 tsp of vanilla paste)

2 c. all-purpose flour
1 3.5-ounce packet instant vanilla pudding mix (not sugar-free and not 'cook & serve')
1 tsp baking soda
pinch salt
1 bag (10 oz) Trader Joe's chocolate chunks

I've tried different chocolate chips but these by far are the best.  I stock up on these.

I've been meaning to post a picture of the butter here.  I first saw the small bars when I moved out here.  They are squatty but the same measurements of the long sticks back home.

This discovery is from the farmer's market (I am obsessed).  You can see the vanilla bean specs in the cookies because of it.

Steps:

In your mixer with the paddle attachment, mix the wet ingredients (first paragraph) for 4 minutes on med-high speed. 

Scrape the sides.

Add dry ingredients on low until just combined (about 1 min).

Add the chocolate until just combined (30 seconds). 

This is how large the cookies should be.  I use my 1/4 measuring cup. 

They make 14 cookies (ok, i ate one).  Do not be confused.  Be accurate.

When you place them on the tray, flatten them a bit.  They do not spread when baking.  

You will them cover with plastic wrap and put in the frig for at least 4 hours.

They bake at 350 for 11 minutes.  Let them cool on the pan.

I believe they are best the next day...if you can wait that long.

Hunter's Ice Cream

Today I am sharing my husband's favorite ice cream recipe (just go ahead and consider him an ice cream connoisseur). I was shocked when I noticed this recipe was not on my blog! I'll go ahead and admit, baked goods rank higher on my guilty pleasures list.  But not his...

This recipe comes from a good friend of ours, Ashley Cole-Tyson.  She made ice cream a couple summers ago in different flavors for a cookout at her house.  I went out and bought an ice cream maker like hers the very next day.  No regrets...no rock salt and it takes minutes to freeze.  This recipe makes a great ice cream base.  I love to add mint and chocolate chips but most commonly I add cookie dough.


Vanilla Ice Cream
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup milk (I use skim)
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 dash salt
2 tsp vanilla

These are the simple ingredients.  I bet you have everything you need but the cream. I was shocked to find corn syrup listed as the  4th ingredient in the ice cream most commonly purchased at our house.

Combine cream and milk in a saucepan and bring to a boil.  (Notice our great, new AllClad pan!?)  If you don't remember anything else, remember to watch this mixture carefully.  Once it starts to boil you must IMMEDIATELY take it off the heat or it will boil over and make a fluffy, tremendous mess.



While the mixture above is heating, combine eggs, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl and beat for 3 minutes until fluffy.  



Temper the eggs; pour in about a cup of the hot cream into the eggs (verrrry slowly) while the mixer is running on low speed.  Repeat with another cup of hot cream. 



After it is all mixed together, pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining hot cream.  Crank up the heat until the temp reaches 170 (usually is a minute for me).  

Turn the heat off, stir in the vanilla, and stick the mixture in the frig overnight or in the freezer for a couple hours.  

After the mixture is cold, mix it in the ice cream maker for 20ish minutes, adding in cookie cough or other topings last minute once the ice cream is pretty much set.  

I like to keep cookie dough in the freezer (make twice the batch I need).  I will slice some for cookies (350 degrees for 14 minutes) and some for the ice cream! 





Store in tupperware in the freezer.  The mixture will be very creamy!  If given the choice, this is how I
 prefer my ice cream!

Maw's Refrigerator Cookies (Shortbread Cookies)

The family recipe book assembly is still underway!  It's reminding me of some of my FAVORITE recipes from childhood.  These shortbread cookies Maw (Mom's mother) made for us.  She would sprinkle them with colored crystal sugars.  The bonus about this recipe....you can keep them in log form (see below) in the refrigerator for a week!  And for a girl who absolutely loves chocolate - I can tell you these rank up there!

Mine were a little brown.  Keep your eyes on them!  I am not going to write out the steps because I did what was written on the recipe card.  This is one of Maw's recipe cards.  You can tell because she always used her cursive typewriter. I love it!

Note:  It is easier to make the logs actually square.  I wrapped mine in parchment paper!

"Neiman Marcus" Oatmeal/Chocolate Chip Cookies

I will never forget the time I googled this recipe instead of going to my recipe book.  I ended up with  112 cookies. I should have known better but it was in my early baking days.  Even halved, like the recipe below, makes plenty of cookies (about 4-5 dozen!).  I usually freeze a log for later and/or for use it in Hunter's cookie dough ice cream.  

If you are not familiar with this recipe, you must try it.  It's a mix of my oatmeal crispies and a chocolate chip cookie.

Neiman Marcus Cookie Recipe

• 1 cup unsalted room temp or softened butter 
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup packed brown sugar 

• 2 large eggs 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• 2 cups flour 
• 2.5 cups blended oatmeal (I use my food processor to make it into a powder)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda 
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 12 ounces chocolate chips (I use 10 oz Trade Joes semi-sweet chunks, my favorite)
• 4 oz grated chocolate bar (Hersheys, Ghirardelli, etc - I use the food processor)
• 1 1/2 cups chopped nuts (optional)

My food processor gets to work on the oatmeal.

AND the chocolate bar because I am lazy....

• Preheat the oven for 375 degrees.
• Grease your insulated cookie sheets.
• Cream the butter and both sugars, stopping to scrape the bowl.
• Add eggs and vanilla.
• Mix together with oatmeal, flour, salt, baking powder and soda 
• Add chocolate chips, grated hershey bar and nuts (optional).  Stir by hand (your workout).

The mixer gets full!  Mix in chips by hand to save the motor. The batter is stiff.

To freeze a log I lay it out on wax paper and wrap it/smush it as I roll.

This will go into a cookie dough ice cream recipe eventually (Yes, I know it has raw eggs).  I have also cooked from the frozen logs and they taste just wonderful. 

I am always curious how the cookies spread for recipes and how many you can fit on a sheet.  So, just for you, I included the not-so-glamorous yet handy photos.

Bake 10 minutes or 375 degrees until the tops begin to turn golden.

Let sit for a couple minutes before moving to a cooking rack.  Enjoy with a big glass of milk!