Honey Wheat Cookies

Heeey, it's Tuesday, February 23 and not only is it baking day, but it's my dad's birthday! This meant that I had to make two desserts today- two desserts and a terrible cold! I made the milk chocolate baby cakes (see earlier blog) for my dad, which he loves. This evening, I made Honey Wheat Cookies which were chosen by Michelle of FlourChild. I have such a sweet tooth, and when I saw honey....wheat germ....lemon....I wasn't too excited. After reading other blog entries, I did start to become intrigued and couldn't wait to see what they would taste like. These cookies were so easy to make and bake up pretty fast. The dominant flavor in these cookies was honey. I used a local grown honey. The lemon didn't stand out as much as I would have liked. With my first bite, I wanted my cup of tea! What a perfect cookie for a cup of tea and to curl up with some wonderful reading. These cookies have a nice crisp edge and a soft cakey center. I have already bagged up some cookies to bring to work for everyone in the office. Yes, sniffles and all, I will trudge my way into the office.

My Best Chocolate Chip Cookies!

Today's baked goody was chosen by Kait of Kait's Plate. Her selection was My Best Chocolate Chip Cookies. I have to say, I was really worried about making these cookies after reading the many disappointments from other bakers. I reviewed many other recipes and techniques for this classic cookie. Even though I agreed with some that Cook's Illustrated does make a fabulous cookie, I was willing to give Dorie's a try without fiddling with the original recipe. I decided to add the espresso powder into these cookies to try a little something different. I had no regrets. These cookies came out with a little crunch on the edges and lots of chew in the middle. Although they were somewhat thin, they had a character all their own worth a big cheer! I used Jacques Torres 72% dark chocolate. His chocolate comes in bags of pistoles. I weighed out the entire 12 ozs. and once I started chopping I used a little bit more than half of it. This was plenty for me!!! Boy, these make a lot of cookies! I made two dozen cookies and scooped and froze the rest which resulted in another 30 cookies. Espresso cookies are for me!

Well, it's Wednesday and not Tuesday. My daughter came home late last night and heisted the computer to do her homework, so I was unable to post. This week Tanya of Chocolatechic chose Rick Katz's Brownies For Julia. This is a great storie behind these brownies which were made for Julia Childs. After reading the many different posts about the texture of these brownies, I have to say I wasn't too excited making them. I'm really not into gooey brownies. After leaving them in the oven for 30 minutes, I used the divot test that was put on Nancy's blog site "the dog eats the crumbs". This can be found on the King Arthur, website.

You take a toothpick or cake tester and pick up a little piece of the top and see what the texture looks like underneath. They definitely weren't done after 30 minutes and I gave them an extra 10 minutes. This did the trick! I have to tell you, it was very difficult not to eat those brownies

right out of the oven!!! I did stick a spoon in them, though...they are very rich and delicious.

After removing them from the fridge the next day, they tasted like a decadent fudge brownie. These are a keeper.

Well, today we made Milk Chocolate Mini Bundt Cakes which was selected by Kristin of I'm right about everything. I had some Guittard milk chocolate chips left over from the summer. When I poured them out of the bag, I noticed that the chocolate had bloomed but none the less, still good. I must've not realized that there was some water in the glass pyrex cup I used to melt the chocolate because the whole batch seized up! What a waste!!! I eventually went out to the grocery store and picked up a bag of Ghiradelli chocolate chips. Oh well. Again, another late night baking, but ya know what? It was worth it! El Yum-O! I've had a mini bundt pan for a couple of years but never used it. I sure wish I had used cooking spray to prep the pans vs. butter. They didn't come out of the pan very easily, but I prevailed. I used again, Ghiradelli chips to make the glaze topping. I think I figured out why the glaze doesn't flow for so many, including myself. In Dorie's recipe, she says to finely chop chocolate, aka a chocolate bar with a decent amount of cocoa butter, aka Callebaut, etc. Or as some may have done - add a drop of oil. So, I spread my chocolate on top of the bundts and this worked just fine for me. This mini bundt cake was a lovely treat and I hope I can bring myself to share them!