Valentine's Day Dessert

We're having profiteroles for a treat tonight since it's Valentine's Day. We are actually going out for dinner this weekend to celebrate so we're keeping it quite simple tonight. I've already checked out the restaurant's menu and I will be having cheesecake for dessert!

Are you celebrating with something sweet? I find it difficult baking when it is only for me and my husband because there is always too much.

We ate 6 cookie dough brownies each in 24 hours the other week.... Well I had 6, I think my husband only got 4 :P That's what can happen when I bake...

When in...

So, I'm in Canada at the moment! And since Canada is close to USA they have plenty of American candy here. One of my absolute favourites is Reese's Pieces! Yum! Anything from Reese's normally works for me - I love the combination of peanuts (or peanutbutter) and chocolate. So why not put some Reese's Pieces in choc chip cookies! Looks and seems delicious.

OREO & Choc Chip Fudge Cookies - recipe

photos © Russian Doll

Here we go! Very fudgy doubke chocolate cookies with chocolate chips and crushed oreo biscuits. Can't go wrong with biscuits IN COOKIES!
I halved the recipe below and got 16 medium sized cookies, just enough to fill a cookie tin.

Double Fudge Oreo Crunch Cookies

makes about 30 cookies

• 1 cup butter, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 1 cup crushed Oreo cookies (about 1 packet/roll of Oreos)
  

Cream butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla until fluffy. Add flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt and mix until combined.

Fold in chocolate chips and crushed oreos. Refrigerate dough for 2-4 hours (or more/overnight). When ready to bake, preheat oven to 180, roll into balls or scoop with an ice cream scooper and set on baking sheet.

Bake at 180 (Celcius) for 10-12 minutes. Let cool completely (on a rack).

Enjoy!

M&Ms brighten up anything!

Always PEANUT M&Ms for me :)

Close Ups!

Close ups of some of the goodies that put me and my friends in a sugar coma...

photos © Russian Doll

Finally! Pics from my b-day Cake Party :)

We have...
Saffron buns with "Mandelmassa" (Almond paste) and white chocolate!
Rainbow cupcakes
Carrot Cake
Apple Cake
Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
White Chocolate & Raspberry Cookies

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

photos © Russian Doll

My chocolate chip cookies

photo © Russian Doll
I made these yummy babies on Friday. Moist, soft and chewy.The recipe is top secret though!

Cookie dough

Yellow cake baked with a dollop of chocolate chip cookie dough, topped with chocolate buttercream frosting and mini chocolate chips. Sounds awesome.

Shortbread biscuits/cookies - recipe

Shortbread Cookies

Makes about 20 cookies

¾ pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3½ cups all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
6 to 7 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix together the butter and 1 cup of sugar until they are just combined. Add the vanilla. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and salt, then add them to the butter-and-sugar mixture. Mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a surface dusted with flour and shape into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.

3. Roll the dough ½-inch thick and cut into 3 by 1-inch fingers, either using a cookie cutter, pastry wheel, or pizza cutter. Place the cookies on an ungreased baking sheet and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the edges begin to brown. Allow to cool to room temperature.

4. When the cookies are cool, place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Put 3 ounces of the chocolate in a glass bowl and microwave on high power for 30 seconds. Stir with a wooden spoon. Continue to heat and stir in 30-second increments until the chocolate is just melted. Add the remaining chocolate and allow it to sit at room temperature, stirring often, until it’s completely smooth. Stir vigorously until the chocolate is smooth and slightly cooled; stirring makes it glossier.

5. Dip ½ of each cookie into the chocolate to coat, letting the excess drip off. Set back on the parchment-lined sheet and let sit at room temperature until chocolate is set. Store at room temperature in a tin.

Interesting Cookies - Milk and Cereal cookie - recipe

Milk and Cereal Cookies :
(based on a combination of recipes by Christina Tosi of Momofuku Milk Bar)

312g plain flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons salt
226g unsalted butter
100g caster sugar
100g light brown sugar
100g glucose
1 large egg
40g cornflakes, crushed
70g milk crumbs (recipe below)
50g dried cranberries or dried blueberries (optional)

Line two baking sheets with baking paper; set aside.

In a bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and both the sugars. Add the glucose and mix until well combined. Add the egg, mixing to combine, then fold in the flour mixture, followed by the cornflakes, milk crumbs and dried berries (if using).

Using an ice-cream scoop about 2 1/8 inch in diameter, scoop dough into balls and place them about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.

Preheat the oven to 190′C. Transfer baking sheets to refrigerator until dough is chilled, about 15 minutes. [Note: You can bake them straight away instead of chilling, if you can't wait. The resulting cookies will be slightly flatter] Transfer baking sheets to oven and bake, rotating pans halfway through baking, until cookies are golden brown and tops begin to crackle, about 15 minutes.

Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool.

Milk crumbs :
(This makes more than you need, but the crumbs are a delicious addition to other things, such as muffins)

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon skim milk powder
2 tablespoons plain flour
1 tablespoon cornflour
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
20g unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup white chocolate buttons, melted

Preheat the oven to 110′C. Line a baking sheet with baking paper; set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together 2 tablespoons plus 1 1/2 teaspoons milk powder, flour, cornflour, sugar and salt. Stir in the melted butter until well combined. Spread mixture on prepared baking sheet. Bake until dried and crumbly, about 12 minutes. Remove milk crumble from oven and let cool completely.

Transfer milk crumble to a large bowl and fold in remaining 2 tablespoons plus 1 1/2 teaspoon milk powder and melted white chocolate. Use immediately or transfer to an airtight container and keep refrigerated until ready to use.

Choc chip oat peanut cookies - recipe

Peanut Butter-Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes about 16 cookies

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup creamy peanut butter
½ cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
½ cup rolled oats
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

2. Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

3. On medium speed, cream together the butter, peanut butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and beat to combine. On low speed, gradually add the flour until just combined. Stir in the oats, and then the chocolate chips.

4. Use a large cookie scoop (3 tablespoons) and drop dough onto prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly golden. Cool completely on the baking sheet and then store in an airtight container at room temperature.

OREO baked cheesecake - recipe

Ingredients

• 22 OREO cookies
• 40 g butter, melted
• 400 g Philadelphia
• 100 g caster sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 eggs
• 30 g plain flour
• 100 ml soured cream

Instructions

Crumb 18 of the cookies, either in a food processor or with a rolling pin. Mix the crumbs with the melted butter. Press the mixture onto the base and 4cm up the sides of the cake tin.

Beat together the Philly, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low speed after each addition until just blended. Then stir in the flour and soured cream.

Roughly chop the remaining 4 Oreos and stir through the filling then pour into the crumb crust. Bake for 55-60 minutes or until set. Cool completely on a wire rack then refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

choc chip cookies

I made these yesterday! :)

Cookies and milk and...cupcakes

Oreo cupcakes. Can't go wrong.

Super easy! Bailey's Cookies - recipe

BAILEY'S IRISH CREAM CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

• 1/2 c. butter
• 1/2 c. granulated sugar
• 1/2 c. brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 c. Bailey's original Irish cream
• 2 1/4 c. cake flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 (6 oz.) pkg. semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 c. chopped pecans

Cream butter, sugars and egg until fluffy. Add vanilla and Bailey's Irish cream. Mix dry ingredients and blend into creamed mixture. Add nuts and chips. Drop onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Cool.

M&M’s Cookies - recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter or margarine, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 12-ounce package M&M’s Chocolate Mini Baking Bits or just M&Ms
  

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy; beat in egg and vanilla. In medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt; blend into creamed mixture. Stir in M&M’s. Drop by heaping tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10-13 minutes or until edges are lightly browned and centers are still soft. Do not overbake.
3. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; cool completely on wire racks.

double cookies - recipe

Cookies:

• 120 grams dark chocolate
• 120 grams butter
• 300 grams sugar
• 3 eggs, whisked
• 120 grams flour
• 1,5 tsp baking powder
• 120 grams cocoa
• 120 grams milk chocolate in small pieces

Filling:

• 150 grams peanut butter
• 50 grams icing sugar

1. Heat oven to 170 degrees
2. Melt the dark chocolate with the butter and let cool
3. Stir in sugar and eggs. Add flour, baking powder and cocoa. Mix well and add the small milk chocolate pieces
4. Roll a spoon of the dough to a ball with your hands. Put on a baking sheet on an oven tray and flatten slightly. Continue with the rest of the dough. Make sure there’s about 5cm in between the cookies
5. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Let cookies cool on a rack.
6. Mix peanut butter and icing sugar. Spread onto half of the cookies and make the other half the lids. Press gently so that they hold together. Serve with coffee or as a dessert with some vanilla ice cream.