Chocolate Chip Cookies with Cacao Butter

I am always searching for a delicious dairy free cookie.  Unfortunately, there is no equal to the palate pleasing purity of cow's milk butter.  Yes, there are substitutes that do fairly well like magarine, but they have a dairy ingredient, plus loads of other ingredients too. Once life delivered me a dairy free mandate, I have been searching out tolerable alternatives to my beloved butter.  I use Earth Balance Soy Free Sticks for the best results for most of my baking – the Soy Free sticks leave the least amount of fishy aftertaste unlike the yellow Earth Balance box which contains flax and has notes of fish which is not what I desire for in a baked treat. Coconut based butters can overpower baked goods with a coconut aftertaste from stong to mild.  I find most dairy free butter substitutes too salty and they can leave a greasy texture on the palate.

This cookie delivers a delicious creaminess that is not butter but a mysterious whole mouth feel of the cocoa butter.  Raw cocoa butter is available at Whole Foods, specialty grocery stores or Amazon.  It costs about $10 for 8 ounces. I use the Navitas brand.  Cacao nibs by Natierra. If you want to keep your guests guessing the secret ingredient make this cookie.

4 ounces; 115g; raw cocoa butter such

8 3/4 ounces; 250g; 1¼ cup sugar

1 3/4 teaspoons ; 7g kosher salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

4 ounces unsalted butter; 115g; 8 tablespoons softened but cool, about 60°F 
1 large cold egg

½ ounce, 15g, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

10 ½ ounces; 300g; 2 1/3 all-purpose

6 ½ ounces; 185g; ¾ cup chocolate chips of your choice

1 ounce; 30g;¼ cup cocoa nibs

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a heavy bottomed sauce pan, melt cocoa butter over medium-low heat, stirring frequently with a flexible.

When cocoa butter is fully melted, pour into the bowl of a stand mixer and cool to approximately 90°F.

Add sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, and butter to cooled cocoa butter.

Using the paddle attachment cream mixture until it is fluffy and light, about 3 minutes.

With mixer still running, add egg, vanilla, and continue beating until well combined.

Scrape bowl and beater with flexible spatula

With mixer on low, add flour until just combined.

Fold in chocolate chips and cocoa nibs with flexible rubber spatula by hand.

Scoop dough onto parchment or Silpat lined cookie sheets using a 1 ½ tablespoon cookie scoop or your size preference.

Place cookies about 2 inches apart.

Bake until puffed and firm around the edges, about 15 minutes.

Due to their low lactose content, these cookies are pale in color.

Cool on the baking sheet about 5 minutes.

Store in an airtight container up to 4 days at room temperature.

Lemon Olive Oil Biscotti

I made limoncello in 2016 and I keep it in my freezer – the limoncello has been improving with age and is the real secret in this recipe. I sometimes toast my almonds depending on whether I want a stronger almond flavor in the biscotti.

Lemon Olive Oil Biscotti

2½ cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup slivered almonds chopped

2 large eggs

1 cup sugar

½ cup olive oil

Zest of 3 lemons

2 teaspoons lemon juice or limoncello

1 teaspoon vanilla or lemon extract*or ½ teaspoon of each

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.

Add chopped almonds and stir to combine and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat together eggs, sugar, olive oil, lemon zest, and vanilla on medium speed for 1 minute.

Scrape down sides of bowl as needed.

Reduce mixer speed to low; gradually add flour mixture and mix until dough just begins to come together.

Do not overmix.

Divide dough into 2 equal pieces and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Shape each piece into a 12-inch-long log, 1/2 inch high.

Bake logs until firm, about 28 minutes, rotating baking sheets halfway through.

Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees F.

Cool logs on baking sheet for 12 to 15 minutes.

Transfer logs to a cutting board.

Using a serrated knife, slice each into 24 half-inch-thick biscotti. Place biscotti on parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing 1/2 inch apart.

Bake biscotti until slightly crisp, about 14 minutes, rotating baking sheets halfway through. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Notes:  2^nd bake at 300 for the 15 minutes

Limoncello Icing

¾ cup powdered sugar

3 teaspoon limoncello

1 ½ tablespoon milk

¼ teaspoon lemon extract

½ teaspoon lemon juice

Dairy Free Olive Oil Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have been on a long 2 year journey after being poisoned by listeria and relearning how to eat.  I no longer am able to tolerate dairy - dairy as defined by anything made from cow's milk.  Now I am vigilant about the products I consume and I am searching for a baking substitute for butter that does not use bunch of chemicals.  Butter has that smooth, sweet, slight nutty flavor that is ever so subtle but once butter is not available for use, a person notices.  I have tried several varieties of vegan buttery sticks, preferring the Melts brand despite the coconut aftertaste.  It is better to eat a cookie with a tinge of coconut versus the tinge of fish that comes off the Earth Balance buttery sticks.  Once dairy is off the table, flavor must compromise.  I have read many a blog eschewing the wonders of coconut oil whose fat content is close to that of butter but it doesn't sit like butter on the palate or the stomach - it is strangely heavy.   

This chocolate chip cookie has the same texture and crumb as a butter based chocolate chip cookie.  The flavor of your olive oil comes through in a subtle and surprising way that is nice.

Dairy Free Olive Oil Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 ½  cups light brown sugar sugar

½ cup granulated sugar

3 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

¾ teaspoon sea salt

1 stick (4 ounces) buttery sticks* softened

*Note:  I prefer the Melts brand buttery sticks or when I can’t find the Melts I use the Earth Balance brand Soy-free buttery sticks – their other buttery sticks give baked goods a noticeable fishy flavor from the flax oil used in them.

½ cup flavorful olive oil

2 large eggs

4 teaspoons vanilla extract

6 - 12 ounces dark chocolate chips

1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts to dip the top of cookies in (I use this method to make some cookies with nuts and some without) or add the nuts with chocolate chips. 

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.

In a medium bowl whisk together all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt, set aside.

In an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream your brown sugar, granulated sugar, oil and buttery stick on medium speed.

Add the eggs one at time and mix until incorporated after each addition at medium speed.

Add vanilla and mix until well blended.

Scrape the bowl.

Slowly add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients on low speed.

Add the chocolate chips and mix until evenly distributed, about 10-20 seconds

Use a cookie scoop of your preference or two teaspoons to scoop walnut size balls on your baking sheets.

Dip tops of cookies in nuts if using.

Bake the cookies on silpat or parchment lined pans for about 7-11 minutes depending on the top of oven you use.

Hi Hat Cupcakes

Many versions of this cupcake are seen with chocolate cupcakes, but I desired my delicious vanilla cupcake recipe.  These are fun cupcake that are impressive.

Hi Hat Cupcakes

Makes 12 cupcakes

I recipe vanilla cupcakes

1 recipe marshmallow frosting

1 recipe chocolate dipping sauce

Vanilla Cupcakes

Makes 12

3 large eggs

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

1 ½ cups of cake flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

1 ¼ cups sugar

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter at room temperature

1/3 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 325° Fahrenheit. 
Line or grease muffin tin.

Whisk eggs, vanilla in medium bowl to blend.

Mix flour, baking powder and salt in another bowl with whisk.

In a mixing bowl, cream together the sugar and butter.

Scrape sides and add the egg mixture mixing until blended.

Add the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk in two additions each.

Bake for 25 minutes or until done with a cake tester no longer has crumbs when inserted into a cupcake.

Marshmallow Frosting

1 3/4 cups sugar

3 large egg whites

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

In a large heatproof bowl, combine sugar, 1/4 cup of water, egg whites, and cream of tartar.

Use a handheld electric mixer, your stand mixer, beat on high speed until foamy, about 1 minute.

Set bowl over a pan of barely simmering water.

Beat with the electric mixer or a hand mix until frosting registers 160° Fahrenheit on a candy thermometer.

Move bowl to stand mixer and whisk until stiff peaks form. 

If using the hand mixer, continue over the double boiler until stiff peaks are formed about 14 minutes.

Remove from heat; stir in vanilla extract, and beat for 2 minutes more until frosting thickens.

Transfer frosting to a large pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain pastry tip.

Leaving a 1/8-inch border on each cupcake, pipe a spiral of frosting into a 2-inch-high cone shape, using about 1/2 cup of frosting per cupcake.

Transfer cupcakes to a baking sheet, and refrigerate while preparing the chocolate coating.

Chocolate Coating

2 cups chopped (about 12 ounces) semisweet chocolate

3 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil

Combine chocolate and oil in a medium heat-proof bowl set over a medium saucepan of barely simmering water; stir until melted and smooth.

Transfer to a small bowl, and let cool about 15 minutes.

Assembly

Hold each cupcake by the bottom, and then dip cupcake in the chocolate to coat frosting.

Quickly allow excess to drip off.

Transfer to a wire rack.

Let cupcakes stand at room temperature 15 minutes.

Set chocolate coating in refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Cover, and refrigerate for 2 hours more.

Cupcakes can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Apple Pie

It is easy to appreciate that the low round pie shape of modern apple pie comes from the frugal Pilgrims settlers looking for a way to stretch ingredients and survive.  Pie is a delicious way to deliver cooked fruit or meat to the table. The idea of a bowl of cooked fruit is not as appealing as the balance of the fruit to crust ratio of a pie.  Yet, the frugal Pilgrims' version was too much for me as I have not always been a fan of cooked fruit encased in a delicious crust.  I remember not liking a fast food hot apple pie as a child or my grandmother’s frozen boxed pies served for dessert.  I remember my mom making apple pie just the way I like it, now, not too sweet and syrupy but sadly I don’t remember eating her apple pie except as a vehicle to eat whipped cream and crust with the sweet filling squeezed out.  Thank goodness things have changed, I love the smell, taste, and texture of, especially, apple pie. 

I always double this recipe (apples only).  I make an apple pie for the table and one to freeze for later.  In a foil and plastic wrap lined pie plate add in the apple mixture, wrap and freeze.  When ready to bake the frozen pie, prepare crust, add the frozen unwrapped pie in the crust, cover with second crust and proceed as below.  Bake for 10 – 15 minutes longer until done.  Do not thaw the apples.  This is a beautiful way to have a dessert on hand for nearly any occasion.

Apple Pie

makes 1 pie

7-8 tart apples such as Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Gala or a mix

¾ cup sugar

2 tablespoon flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Dash of nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons butter

Pie pastry for 2 crusts (see below).

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Peel and slice apples thin. (I use a spiral apple peeler).

Place peeled apples in a large bowl of with lemon juice from a lemon squeezed into the water until all apples are peeled.

In a bowl toss the well-drained apples with the cinnamon, nutmeg, flour sugar, and salt.

Roll out crust and line a 9 inch pie plate.

Empty the filling into the crust lined pie plate and top with butter.

Roll out second crust and carefully place on top of pie.

Press edges together and trim edges to 1 inch.

Crimp edges with thumb and index finger of one hand, gently press dough against knuckle of other hand; continue around pie making deep indentations.

Chill pie for 30 minutes.

Place on a foil lined baking sheet.

Bake for 50 minutes until done.

If the edges began to darken, cover with foil.

Pie Crust Pastry

Makes top and bottom

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

8 ounces (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup ice water without cubes

In a food processor:

Pulse flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor until combined.

Add butter, and process until mixture resembles coarse meal, about 10 seconds.

With the machine running, add water in a slow, steady stream until mixture just begins to hold together.

Shape dough into 2 disks. Wrap each in plastic, and refrigerate 1 hour to 2 days (or freeze for up to 1 month; thaw in refrigerator before using).

Buttermilk Chocolate Cake and My Sister's Cocoa Frosting

I am so grateful for chocolate cake.  Sometimes I crave chocolate cake with a rich chocolate frosting.  There was a time when I thought box chocolate cake was the best cake (my grandmother’s specialty was Duncan Hines chocolate cake baked in a sheet pan and frosted with white frosting made with Crisco and then covered liberally with festive rainbow sprinkles).  I have vastly improved my grandmother’s cake that I loved as a child.  Today, I have the benefit of a wide range of available products plus instant access to videos and thousands of recipes to compare that helps me inject the same love and care into my cakes like my grandmother.  One of my favorite recipes is my Mom’s Chocolate Cake recipe, a delicious moist, fudgy and chocolaty recipe.  This buttermilk cake has its own character -  a slight tang and tenderness from the buttermilk with full chocolate flavor especially if you use your best quality cocoa powder.  I use Ghiradelli, or Droste.  I have used Hershey’s and it a good chocolate cake, but the extra fine cocoa makes the chocolate flavor stand out.  A single layer easy cake to make is this Chocolate Fudge Cake.

My sister’s chocolate frosting is so simple yet so delicious.  The best quality cocoa powder is a real standout here.  When she makes this recipe she uses 2-3 cups of powdered sugar and 6 tablespoons of milk.  I use the 5 cups for a stiffer and sweeter frosting.

Buttermilk Chocolate Cake

1 ¾  cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans

2 cups sugar

¾ cups best quality cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

¾ teaspoon salt

1 cup buttermilk, shaken

½ cup vegetable oil

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee

Preheat oven to 350ºF.

Butter two 8-inch inch round cake pans or 1 9 x13-inch pan.

Line with parchment paper, then butter and flour the pans.

Whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer.

In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla.

Using the paddle attachment, with the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry.

With mixer still on low, add the coffee and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula.

Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean.

Cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.

My Sister’s Cocoa Frosting

½ cup plus two tablespoons of softened butter

5 cups powdered sugar – my sister uses 2-3 cups

8 tablespoons of milk

3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons unsweetened, best quality, cocoa powder

1 ¼ teaspoons vanilla

Beat butter until smooth and creamy.

Gradually add powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla.

Add cocoa powder and mix until smooth and creamy

Add additional milk or powdered sugar as needed to reach the desired spreadable consistency.

Place 1 layer, flat side up, on a flat plate or cake pedestal. With a knife or offset spatula, spread the top with frosting.

Place the second layer on top, rounded side up, and spread the frosting evenly on the top and sides of the cake.
Or frost the top of the 9 x 13-inch cake in pan or removed from pan, as desired.

Coconut Cream Pie

I have a coconut lover in the house.  Her passion for coconut may have started when we pried open a coconut on a trip to Hawaii or more likely influenced by all the paleo recipes and advice from the nutrition and exercise gurus on the internet expounding the benefit of the coconut.  A birthday request for a coconut cream pie was placed.  This was a delicious pie – rich and creamy and delicious. 

Coconut Cream Pie

½ cup granulated sugar

¼ cup cornstarch

¼ teaspoon salt

1½ cups unsweetened coconut milk (from a 13.75­ounce can)

1¼  cups whole milk

4 large egg yolks

¾ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

¾-1 cup shredded sweetened coconut, to your preference

Crust one recipe of pâte brisée

Pâte Brisée

Makes Single Crust

1¼  cups flour

2 teaspoons sugar

½  teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons of ice cold butter cut into 1 inch pieces

¼ cup ice water

In the bowl of a food processor, pulse flour, sugar and salt for 10 seconds.

Open lid and spread butter cubes over flour return lid and pulse for around 10 seconds until mixture looks like crumbs with some larger pieces of butter.

Add water through the feed tube until dough comes together when you gather up in your hand a squeeze.

This should take no more than 30 seconds (over processed dough equals a tough crust).

If too crumbly and it won't hold together, add 1 tablespoon of water at a time.

Flatten into a disk on a piece of plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour or overnight or I pop mine into the freezer for 20-30 minutes

Remove the dough from the refrigerator. 

Roll dough on a lightly floured surface into a disk about 9 inches in diameter and 1/4 inch in thickness.

Place dough pie dish gently pushing dough into edges not stretching. 

Trim edges and refrigerate for 30 minutes or 15 minutes in the freezer.

Blind bake using foil or parchment to line the crust and fill with pie weights or dried beans.

Bake the crust at 375ºF for 25 minutes.

Remove the foil with the weights and bake the crust until the bottom is golden and dry about 10 more minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool

Coconut Filling

Combine granulated sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a medium saucepan.

Whisk in coconut milk and whole milk.

Cook over medium­ high heat, stirring constantly, until bubbling and thick, about 7 minutes.

Whisk egg yolks in a medium bowl.

Add milk mixture to yolks in a slow, steady stream, whisking until completely incorporated.

Return to saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly, 1 to 2 minutes, until thickened.

Strain custard through a fine sieve into a bowl, and stir in vanilla and shredded coconut. Pour into piecrust, and smooth top.

Wrap tightly in plastic, and refrigerate until filling is completely set, about 4 hours, and up to 2 days.

Toasted Coconut

Preheat oven to 350ºF.

Spread coconut amount of your choice evenly on a rimmed baking sheet.

Bake until golden, 10 to 12 minutes, tossing occasionally.

Slow Whipped Smooth Whipped Cream

1 cup heavy cream

3-5 tablespoons granulated sugar (add more or less sugar to your preference)

¾ teaspoon vanilla extract

Chill your bowl and whisk of your stand mixer, in the freezer or refrigerator 15 minutes prior to mixing.

Add the cream to a mixer with the whisk attachment and set to a low speed*.

Add the sugar and vanilla to the mixture slowly.

Whisk for around 10 to 15 minutes, until the mixture begins to ripple.

Turn the mixer off and finish whisking by hand, until the mixture starts to stiffen and sticks to the whisk.

Be careful not to whisk too hard or the frosting will become clumpy.

*This method of mixing your whip cream produces a thick, smooth and stable whipped cream that will not breakdown and become runny.  The low speed forms small air bubbles that create a stable structure in the cream.  Whipping cream fast creates large unstable air bubbles that collapse and run.  

Sweet Grammy - Blonde Brownie Recipe

My Grammy

Genevieve Charlotte  1918 – 2012

A generation is swept away with the fallen leaves on a chill breeze

No longer there to pass the time to

Share their wisdom, their view of a world that now travels at hyper-speed,

Sit with confusion and pain

Melancholy and fatigue,

Mondays are for washing and hanging clothes on the line

Tuesdays are for hair and shopping

Wednesdays are for lunch with the ladies at the diner

Saturday is for mowing

Sunday is for baking and family,

Famous for banana bread and blonde brownies,

Lover of ice cream,

Bestow smiles on the young

Hold a daughter's hand ever so tightly,

Hang on to this place, this time,

Hold sway at the kitchen table with coffee and english muffins,

Fret over a husbands misgivings and whereabouts

"Hon, what are you doing now!"

“Oh, hon!” with a small foot stamp and clenched hands,

Tackle the lawn with a fierce gusto

Take down screens and put up storm windows

Take down storm windows and put up screens

Close the windows when it rains,

Struck by lightning as a girl

Hard times and displacement,

Plant spring flowers with a great granddaughter

Lover of flowers and houseplants

Johnny jump-ups reseed every year, planted by her son when he was 5,

Look with delight at a babies and toddlers

Laugh with innocence at silly jokes

Ready for a hand of Old Maid

Busy grandchildren with coloring books and crayons,

Worrying,

Summer blueberry muffins

Store more "junk" in the attic,

Married for 74 years,

Poppy walked from New York to Connecticut to court Grammy,

Bent back and bent fingers,

Express frustration at your own elderly mother

Tipsy with a secret glass of wine

Wearing Emeraude perfume

Long hallway past the

Dark and quiet bedroom where Poppy slept into the afternoon due to his late hours playing cards or going to the casino,

Listening, always listening, listening for what is next, listening to stories of loved ones, listening to the radio, listening to know where loveds are and what they are doing,

Drinking black coffee, always

Until her final years when she switched to green tea,

Telling her troubles to the weeping cherry tree,

Bearing her arthiritis pain with nobility

Being ready to go when the "good lord is ready to take me"

Frustration exhalation of whfff,

Washing the dishes, drying the dishes,

Serving,

Making sure everyone is set,

A cookie for each hand

Reading mystery stories

Loving cardinals

Feeding the birds, squirrels and chipmunks,

I began this post  2 years ago and couldn’t find the right words, so I thought, but after re-reading, I thought it was like a poem.  My grandmother was a kind hearted special lady.  She lived a full life surrounded by her family – she was the glue that kept us together.  She baked blonde brownies, often and it seemed like she always had a batch ready in her rectangle Tupperware container on her dining room table.  I am certain she liked to make blonde brownies because they are so easy to make.  She sometimes liked to add coconut flakes and orange peel granules.

Grammy’s Blonde Brownies

Blonde Brownies

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup butter or margarine

2 tablespoons hot water, if using margarine

2 cups light brown sugar         

2 eggs                     

2 teaspoons vanilla

12 ounces chocolate chips

1 cup chopped nuts, if desired

Preheat oven to 350 °F.

Melt butter or margarine.

In medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; set aside.

In large bowl, combine melted butter and brown sugar.

If using margarine add the hot water.

Blend in eggs and vanilla.

Add flour mixture gradually, mixing well.

Spread in 13"x 9” greased or parchment lined baking pan.

Sprinkle with chocolate chips and nuts, if using.

Bake for 30 minutes.

Cool in pan and cut into squares.

The last batch of brownies I received from Grandmother.