Cookie Monster

Some of you may know that a couple of weeks ago my hubby wrecked my truck. We had a pretty bad ice storm (nothing like the one we had on Christmas Eve and nowhere near as horrific as the one the east coast is seeing right now). Hubby has to get up super early for work (he works 3 days a week and has to be in at 3:30AM). So on this particular Saturday, his first day of the week, he went downstairs and warmed up my truck. After almost an hour of scraping ice and getting the truck to where it wouldn't shudder and die because of the cold, he slowly made his way to the freeway. Luckily, because he leaves so early, no one else is really on the road. He made his way about a mile down the freeway when he spun out and collided with the new wire barriers (these bad boys tangle themselves up with your car so you won't cross the center median into on-coming traffic). To make a long story at least a little shorter, we had the truck towed to a family friend's auto repair shop. I've known this man and his wife since I was about 12, my sister and I call him abuelo (grandfather en espanol), and I would trust him with my life. After only a week he was able to get my car fixed and back to me. Great turnaround, wonderful customer service, and a heart of gold!

 

I decided that as a thank you I wanted to bake cookies for the men out in the shop. Not able to pick just one cookie, I decided on three. First I made a simple chocolate chunk cookie bar (the recipe is available on the back of the bag of chocolate chunks, I used Nestle). Then I made a peanut butter cookie (this one used a whole jar of peanut butter, and even though I'm not a fan of PB, I could have eaten the whole batch on my own). Lastly, I made a shortbread with chocolate and toffee (Anne knows exactly which ones these are). These are by far my second most favorite cookie in the whole world (yes, I have more than one favorite cookie; who doesn't?). I can't remember where I got this recipe since I just have it printed out of a Word document. I'll try to find the original and update with it later. For now, enjoy the awesomeness that is this shortbread cookie!

 

Shortbread Cookie with Mini Chocolate Chips and Toffee

1 cup unsalted butter

1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
3/4 cup mini chocolate chips
3/4 cups toffee pieces (I used Heath brand toffee bits)

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Cream together butter and powdered sugar until smooth. Stir in vanilla. Add flour in batches, mixing after each addition until incorporated. Stir in mini chips and toffee bits.
2. Shape spoonfuls of dough into small balls (I use a small cookie scoop) and place an inch apart on a baking sheet (I put parchment paper down so the sheet doesn't get all yucky). Flatten each cookie out a little.
3. Bake for 12-14 minutes. Allow to cool completely before removing from the pan. Enjoy with a glass of cold milk!

Macaron FAIL

So here is the FAIL I talked about last time I posted: macarons. Ever since the first time I checked out Tartelette's blog, I have been intrigued with the cookie. Two crispy shelled cookies encasing a creamy sweet center, sounds like a perfect cookie to me (especially if you make a chocolate version).

Mrs. Tartelette, being a sweet French lady, has several recipes posted on her blog, each with beautiful pictures of the delectable cookies that I so desperately had my heart set on. The recipe I used is here. I followed all of her directions to a tee...er...ok, except one. I did not pass the powdered sugar and pulverized almonds through a sieve (I had been in the kitchen literally all weekend making yummy snacks for the party and making meals for my sister and friend so we wouldn't have to lose precious time by going to get food).

Needless to say, I set the timer for recommended time and let the cookies do their magic. When the timer went off, I went to check. Seemed pretty wet to me still, so I added a couple of minutes and went about cleaning the kitchen. Ding! Checked again, still not done, two more minutes. The first batch cooked for almost 20 minutes before I finally pulled them out of the oven. As they sat cooling on my counter, they began to deflate. By the time the tray was completely cool, I took a spatula to the first cookie only to find that it still wasn't done. Where did I go wrong? Was it the one simple step I didn't follow out of lazi...uh...tiredness? Could it be the excessive humidity messing with the airiness of the egg whites? Was there something else I missed? I'm still intrigued by these yummy cookies, but I'll be waiting until the temperatures cool down again before attempting another go round. Maybe one of you might have a suggestion in the meantime???