Double Chocolate Banana Bread - Gluten Free!

The original version of the recipe, from smitten kitchen, is one of those recipes that instantly becomes a classic.  You take one bite, then just want more and more.  It is a perfect combination of chocolate (in two forms) with the moist banana that makes you addicted.  And before you know it, you end up buying 3 extra bananas each week, let them brown, and make it again, week after week.  I think I made this 4 times the first month I discovered this recipe.

Occasionally one will stumble upon a chocolatey recipe that is so perfect, that even the addition of peanut butter does not improve it (for example slutty brownies).  Well, this is one of those recipes (pictured below with pb).  I predict it will soon become your new standard for pot lucks, book clubs, or anything other event.

Spider peanut butter blossoms

We had a halloween bake sale at work this week, which inspired me to create a spider version of the classic hershey's peanut blossom cookies.  Taste is usually one of my biggest focuses when baking, however with halloween this weekend, I wanted something to fit the theme as well.  When I first googled for halloween baked goods, I found that many of the recipes didn't look very tasty, and seemed like they took way too much effort decoration wise (like complicated iced sugar cookies!).  Then luckily I stumbled upon some pictures of similar peanut butter spider cookies, and knew I had found a winner.

The base recipe for these - the classic hershey's peanut blossom - is delicious, and should be a staple in your recipe book.  I used nerds for eyes (I do not have the time to fashion my own candy eyes!), and just piped on melted chocolate for legs.  The decorating aspect of it only added about 10 minutes to the whole process.  So if you have a halloween party coming up this weekend, get baking!  Happy Halloween!

Chocolate covered oreo surprises

My mom sent me a link to this recipe a few months ago. At first peek it looks like the classic american thing to do - oh, lets just take a few things that are all bad for you, and combine them together!  (Fried twinkles??).  But luckily I was lured in by my love of chocolate, peanut butter, Oreos, and simple recipes (4 ingredients!).  I’m happy to report these are not just another gimmicky recipe, they are delicious, and were devoured rapidly at work.  They taste basically like a crunchy, chocolatey-er Reeses - and who doesn’t want that??

We’ve been struggling to come up with a suitable name for them.  The best suggestion so far is the “Whor-e-o” - as I think of this cookie as a cousin to the slutty brownie. While I think this name is pretty perfect, it may possibly not be appropriate for all situations… So if you have any ideas please comment below!

Coconut Chocolate Chip Biscotti

The last few months I have actually been baking pretty frequently, but two things have been holding me back from updating the blog.  First - It has been dark as I arrive at and leave work each day, making it hard to capture good photos of anything new I do bake.  Second - I've been making a lot of old classics that are already on here, or that don't seem exciting enough to post (my cravings for chocolate +/- peanut butter seem ever present...).   I also actually started worrying for a short period that maybe I had run out of new recipes/ideas - how many variations on chocolate and cookies and brownies can there be??  (Luckily I then convinced myself I am not there yet!).  So I opened of a new cookbook I'd recently received as a gift to look for some inspiration, and stumbled upon this recipe.  Plus I'm currently working nights, which means I can take food photos in sunlight!

The name "biscotti" is an italian word that means twice-cooked, and that is why these delightful cookies are so crunchy.  They are best served with a hot drink to dunk them into - they go especially well with hot chocolate.  The dried out nature means they keep well, so they are a great cookie to make in advance of having company.  The addition of coconut is subtle in flavor, but adds well to the texture, making them a little more moist.

Baltimore Berger Cookies

Back while I was still living in the UK one of my friends brought us some Berger cookies from her hometown of Baltimore.  Like most of the rest of the world, I had never heard of these cookies.  According to wikipedia, they were developed by a baker in Baltimore in the 1850s, adapted from a German recipe.  The base is similar to that of the black and white cookie, aka a soft boring sugar cookie.  But then that simple white cookie is piled high with a fudge like chocolate frosting and that is what makes this cookie shine.  My friend from Baltimore tells me the goal when making them at home should be to have as high a ratio of chocolate to cookie as possible.  I usually aim for 1:1, before the chocolate looks about to topple off the cookie base.

I think I've finally perfected the chocolate fudge topping, now that a few people from Baltimore have tasted them and said they are better than the original.  I shipped some this week to the friend who introduced them to me, and she wrote back that "they taste like friendship and home."  For a blog that is all about comfort food and baking away from home, that seemed like a pretty perfect endorsement (at least for those from Baltimore).

Coconut macaroons (aka the other macaron)

Coconut macaroons where a dessert I grew up eating only at passover, store bought from a can; which is why I always call these the "jewish macaroons," as opposed to the french macaron that is so trendy right now.  (Though no one else seems to know what I'm referring to when I say that...).  While they were always great, but I never thought to make my own or to eat them the rest of the year, until a friend shared some of her homemade macaroons with me recently.

These are even better than the store bought ones of my childhood, the texture and taste comes out a bit like the inside of a mounds bar.  These are very chewy, delicious and addictive.   What's more, they only require 5 ingredients (2 of which are chocolate), they are gluten free, and they freeze well!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

These last few months have been quite a transition period.  They included finishing vet school rotations, a few trips to the US, planning a conference, studying for finals, planning a move back to the states, and taking final exams...  I have actually fit in quite a bit of baking into that period (its possible I'm a stress baker, oops!), but I only recently realized that I've let the blog fall behind!  My most recent baking has alternated between french macaron's (as usual) and recipes chosen purely to use up ingredients left in our cupboards - which didn't always lead to the most delicious, blog-worthy things.   I do have a few newer recipes to share at some point in the future, but I decided that as I'm moving back to the US, and started this blog about baking American in the UK, maybe an old fashioned classic would be a great transition recipe.  So here I present you with my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe.  (My apologies if posts continue to be sparse over the next year, I'm not sure how many hours I will get to spend outside of the hospital walls!)

This recipe, if baked right, will give you a thick-ish cookie, soft in the middle, a little crunchy on the edges, and oh so delicious.  In fact is so good I've often had people ask for the recipe, which is impressive for something as simple as a chocolate chip cookie!  I'm sure anyone who bakes in the US already has their standard go-to recipe for the chocolate chip cookie, but if you ever have any disappointment in the outcome, then I recommend you try out this new variation, it has a few things going for it!  Here are some of the aspects to the recipe that I think makes the difference:

Melting Chocolate Meringue Cookies

Passover is just around the corner, so I thought I would share a pesach-friendly recipe to get everyone excited.  The holiday often is often known for having mediocre desserts, as people try to adapt their favorite every day recipe to not include leaveners, replacing flour with matzah meal etc.  But personally, I prefer to instead choose recipes that are meant to not rise or have flour in them to begin with.  There are a lot of delicious recipes out there that I make all year, that just so happen to be kosher for passover.  I just realized last year that this cookie recipe is one of those... And it is also gluten free!  So this is a great recipe to have in your book, and its fast to whip up.

These melting chocolate cookies are made from meringue, so they are light as air when you pick them up, and melt in your mouth, filling it with a rich chocolatey taste.  Even though they are light, and small, they are full of flavor and decadent, so just one or two little cookies will fill your your chocolate cravings.  These are delicious all year round!

Candy Cane Holiday Crunch Cookies

The holidays are one of my favorite times of year, because this whole season one does not need an excuse to bake.  Of course, I bake frequently all year long, but suddenly it becomes ok, or even expected, to bring desserts for every occasion. And there are so many fun holiday flavors and decorations!  These candy cane cookies are one of my favorite easy festive recipes. They are pretty fast to whip up, and they look so cute!  The crunchy minty candy canes complements the softer chocolates fudgey cookie below, held together with a touch of white chocolate.  This year I was excited to stumble upon already crushed bags of candy cane in our local grocery store in the US, making these even easier to make.

And if you are looking for quick homemade holiday presents, these cookies in a jar are a great option! Every time I bake these, they get lots of complements.... Something about the m&ms, oatmeal AND chocolate chips, combined with the great chewy texture make them a favorite for any occasion.

Oreo Chocolate Fudge

I've been travelling a lot for rotations the last two months, away from my kitchen, so I've been behind in posting new recipes, however I've still been somehow baking 2-3 times.  I'm enjoying making simple old classic recipes recently, and have been asking around for inspiration of forgotten desserts.  This current recipe came up due to complaints in the difficulty of making reliable fudge, along with annoyance at using candy thermometers.

So I set out for a simple reliable fudge recipe that isn't picky enough to require a candy thermometer (thus ruling out most the really classic recipes).  I've stumbled upon this fudge base recipe, and look forward to building on it with all sorts of flavor combinations (next is dark chocolate and raspberry!).  I believe the fluff gives it more stability, leaving you with less risk of a grainy fudge, or one that doesn't set up.  I'm not the biggest fan of white chocolate, so I altered the original recipe to use half dark chocolate and half white chocolate, and really liked the resulting flavor, it tastes a bit like milk chocolate.

The texture of this is part way to being mousse-like, melting in your mouth with chocolaty goodness, and the cookies add a great crunch. After trying this I realized I hadn't eaten fudge since I was a kid, so while I can't attest to how classic this tastes, I can say it was hard to stop snacking on.  Remember when buying white chocolate for baking to make sure it has cocoa butter as one of the first few ingredients!

Brownie Bites

These are some of the most addictive chocolaty treats I have made. The first time I made them, I found myself eating way too many, and just couldn't stop myself (it starts with just one for breakfast... then a snack... then its the end of the day and you've eaten 8). So I packed them up and gave them out at school. But then two days later, all I wanted was more brownie bites, so of course I made them again. DANGEROUS.

 I'd had the original recipe bookmarked for a while to try, it was actually meant to make cookies. I usually intend to make recipes exactly as written the first time, but I couldn't stop myself and made a few changes... The first few came out, in cookie form, and were ok, but sort of a confusing texture and flavor for a cookie. I then baked the rest in the mini muffin tins, and a masterpiece was made. These are soft and chocolatey and melt in your mouth, with just a hint of espresso. If you have enjoyed brownie bites from places like Trader Joes, these are better. I recommend you make some soon. And of course try some of the delicious batter in the process. And they try to give them away rapidly, before you eat 2 dozen yourself.

Homemade Chocolate Peanut Butter Macarons

I must start this post with an apology for my recent lack of posting. While I don't really have a valid excuse, at least I am back with something delicious and impressive. Over the holidays I learned that some of my friends have never tried a french macaron and that Harrods sells them for a whopping £3 per cookie. There seems to be a general consensus that these are very hard to make and not something one does at home, but I figured it was worth a shot. After all, how hard can meringue cookies be?

My first batch of these turned out better than expected - they had the little feet and they tasted pretty good. They were by no means perfect: some were slightly overcooked, my white ones had browned a bit, some of the feet were uneven, etc. But I learned a big secret about homemade macarons - it turns out even the not perfect ones taste delicious... and with that I was hooked on making these. Not only are these super fun to watch in the oven, (with every batch I get excited watching them rise in the oven and grow their cute feet), but people seem very impressed when you bring in homemade macarons and the flavor and color combinations are limitless! I just can't stop making them. Plus its fun to perfect the recipe, changing and improving with each batch.

S'more bars

Graham crackers have not made it to the UK yet, so of course s'mores don't exist here either.  They are one of those things I did not eat often in the states, however as soon as I can't have them...

One of my class mates brought over these soft graham cookies last summer and they were delicious!  I hadn't realized that baking a cookie with the flavor of graham crackers was soo easy (homemade graham crackers just didn't seem worth the effort).  These cookies are definitely worth making and eating on their own - but of course I figured they might be improved by adding in chocolate and marshmallows.

I tried a few variations of stuffed cookies, then found that a bar cookie was less effort, and allowed a better distribution of chocolate and marshmallows in every bite. Luckily none of my friends complained at having to try 4 or 5 variations of these cookies over the last few weeks... I used milk chocolate in my last edition, to make it more similar to the S'mores of our childhood - but they are also delicious with a dark chocolate, if you want a more adult version.

The Chewy Brownie!

The brownie has been a recipe I've struggled with ever since I started baking.  The previous brownies I've made have always been ok, as it is hard to go wrong with a chocolaty square, but I just never felt they were great (and I always sorta thought a box mix brownie was better).  I spent a few years making everything but brownies, then decided recently that I needed to finally find a decent recipe - it just seemed pathetic that I could make homemade Samoas, but not brownies.

I tried a lot of recipes, each claiming to have the trick to the chewy brownie - things like putting the tray into an ice bath straight out of the oven, adding extra egg yolks, or having the perfect ratio of oil to butter.  In fact it was the first time a cooks illustrated recipe failed me (I felt their chewy brownies were much too cakey).  I finally tried this simple recipe from King Arthur Flour cook book, just because it was different from the others, not expecting much.  I'm happy to report that this recipe is the one I've been looking for.  Not only does it make an amazing chocolaty chewy brownie - but it comes together in one pot, in 10 minutes!

Note: the original recipe actually called for whole wheat flour, but I misread that and used bread flour by mistake.  They came out great, and very (very) chewy.  Since then I have also been making it with regular flour, and they are also delicious - still chewier than cakey, but not quite as hard on your jaw.