Shelly's Yummies

Recipe Courtesy of Alton Brown


Ingredients:

2 3/4 cups sugar
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
3 tablespoons butter, plus more for greasing pan
1 cup half-and-half
1 tablespoon corn syrup
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped, roasted nuts, optional


Prep Time: 10 min
Cook Time: 30 min
Serves: 64 (1-inch) pieces



Preparation:

Grease an 8 by 8-inch pan with butter.

In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine the sugar, chocolate, 1 1/2
tablespoons of the butter, half-and-half, and corn syrup.

Over medium heat, stir with a wooden spoon until sugar is dissolved and chocolate is melted.

Increase heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and boil for 3 minutes.

Remove the cover and attach a candy thermometer to the pot.

Cook until the thermometer reads 234 degrees F.

Remove from the heat and add the remaining butter. Do not stir.

Let the mixture cool for 10 minutes or until it drops to 130 degrees F.

Add vanilla and nuts, if desired, and mix until well-blended and the shiny texture becomes matte.

Pour into the prepared pan.

Let sit in cool dry area until firm.

Cut into 1-inch pieces and store in an airtight container for up to a week.

This is a recipe that comes from Best of the Best Vol. 8, a Food & Wine cookbook that I stumbled upon on an ultra-clearance table at some bookstore a while back. I doubt that the book cost more than a box of Girl Scout cookies (hurray for sale pricing!) and this recipe alone is more than worth it. It’s from Thomas Keller, a cookie recipe that is used at his Yountville, CA bistro, Bouchon.

The overall result from this recipe is a cookie that looks a heck of a lot like the Do-Si-Do, but tastes much, much better. The cookies are crisp and ultra-tender, the kind of cookie that crumbles into your mouth immediately when you bite into it. There is no misprint in the amount of leavening given in the recipe below; the baking soda and baking powder help to create this texture. The filling is very creamy with a sweet peanut butter flavor. The main differences between these and the GS cookies are that the cookies themselves are more delicate and the filling is softer. They are dangerously addictive if you like peanut butter and, to give fair warning, you may never go back to the GS version no matter how cute those kids look when they’re pitching them.

I made little holes in half of the cookies to get the same overall look as the GS cookies. Use a straw or the tip of a knife to carve a little hole when the cookies are hot from the oven, that way they’ll set up with the hole in place.

Ingredients:

1/4 cups all purpose flour
2 tbsp baking soda
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup Hampton Farms peanut butter (Dollar Tree, Jewel)
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats (not instant or regular)

Filling:

1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter, room temperature - Hampton Farms peanut butter (Dollar Tree, Jewel)
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. Start with the cookies. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

3. In a large bowl, cream together butter and peanut butter. Beat in the sugars until fluffy, then add in the eggs one at a time, waiting until each is fully incorporated before adding the next. Stir in vanilla extract.

4. Working at a low speed, mix in the flour, followed by the oats (if you don’t have quick-cooking, pulse whole rolled oats in the food processor to chop them up a bit).

5. On a parchment-lined baking sheet, drop teaspoonfuls of batter (roughly 3/4-in. sized balls), leaving about 2 inches between each to allow for spread.

6. Bake for about 10 minutes, until cookies are a light golden brown. Cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes, making small holes in 1/2 of the cookies (for the tops of the sandwiches) before they set up. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

7. Once cookies have cooled, make the filling.

8. In a large bowl, cream together smooth peanut butter, butter and confectioners’ sugar until very smooth. Spread 2-3 tsp onto half of the finished cookies and sandwich with the remaining halves. If you chose to make yours with GS-lookalike holes in some of the cookies, use these as the tops of the sandwiches.

Store in an airtight container.

Makes about 48 sandwich cookies.

Note: Use unsalted butter with this recipe, as different brands of peanut butter can vary hugely in salt content and it’s possible you’ll end up with a too-salty cookie with the salted butter, salted peanut butter and added salt. If you must use salted butter and are using brand of peanut butter that seems a bit salty, you can always reduce or eliminate the added salt. Personally, I like the salty sweet combination with peanut butter, but it’s only fair for me to give a little warning just in case!

Ingredients:

2 ounces almonds (to yield 1/2 cup ground almonds)
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup firmly-packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
Pinch salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract


Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Position two oven racks in the middle and upper third of your oven. Line two (2) cookie sheets with parchment paper or use Silicone baking mats to prevent the cookies from sticking. I personally recommend that you use the Silicone Baking mats as nothing sticks to them.

2. In a food processor, grind almonds finely; measure out 1/2 cup and set aside.

3. In a medium saucepan over low heat, heat the butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and corn syrup until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves, stirring often. Increase the heat to medium high and, stirring constantly, bring the mixture JUST to a boil. Immediately remove the pan from the heat and stir in the flour and salt until incorporated. Stir in the ground almonds and vanilla extract.

4. Drop the batter by the teaspoon, 3-inches apart, on the prepared cookie sheets (about 1/2 dozen cookies per cookie sheet). Prepare all your pans of cookies at this time even though you are only going to bake 1 or 2 sheets at a time.

5. Bake the cookies until evenly light brown, approximately 8 to 10 minutes until the cookies spread, become thin, and take on a deep golden color. After 5 minutes into the baking time, switch the baking sheets from top to bottom and back to front to promote even baking. The cookies won't begin to spread until approximately 6 minutes into the baking time.

6. Line wire cooling rackswith plastic wrap. When cookies are done baking, remove the cookies from the oven and, as soon as they're firm enough to lift off the baking sheet (which will take just a few minutes), use a wide spatula to transfer them to the prepared cooling racks to cool completely. Allowing the cookies to cool slightly on the cookie sheet will also cause them to flatten out more. NOTE: If the cookies become too cold and hard to remove from the baking sheet without shattering them, replace the pan in the oven to soften the cookies again.

7. Bake the remaining cookies; the batter will have firmed up a bit, but that is fine.


Store the flat cookies between sheets of parchment paperin a tin or plastic container with a tight-fitting lid.

Makes approximately 25 to 30 cookies.

Mold warm lace cookies into different shapes:

Because these cookies are so thin and still pliable while warm, lace cookies can be shaped in all kinds of ways. Little tubes, made from rolling the warm cookie around a dowel or wooden spoon handle are a great and interesting way to serve these cookies.

To do this, carefully remove the warm cookies from the baking sheet and drape over a small dowel or wooden spoon handle. As soon as the cookies cool enough to become rigid, remove them from the mold. They will now hold their shape.

Variations:

Add 1/2 teaspoon almond extract for an almond flavor.

Add 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest or orange zest.

Replace the ground almonds with ground hazelnuts.

Dissolve 1 teaspoon instant coffee with the sugar.

Mix in 3 tablespoons very finely diced crystallized ginger.

Melt semi-sweet chocolate and spread thinly over the flat side of the baked and cooled cookie.

Chocolate Whipped Cream Cake RecipeChocolate fans will love this double chocolate dessert cake!





Ingredients:

1 package (18-1/4 ounces) chocolate cake mix
1 pint heavy whipping cream or 1 carton (8 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup baking cocoa

Prep: 20 min. Bake: 30 min. + chilling
Yield: 16-20 Servings



Preparation:

1. Prepare cake mix according to package directions, using two 9-in. round baking pans. Cool completely after baking.
2. If using whipping cream, place it in a chilled bowl; beat, gradually adding sugar and cocoa, until stiff peaks form. If using whipped topping, place in a bowl and fold in sugar and cocoa. Frost one cake layer with whipped cream mixture; top with second layer and frost entire cake.
Refrigerate 24 hours before serving.
Yield: 16-20 servings.



Originally published as Chocolate Whipped Cream Cake in Grandma's Great Desserts Cookbook , p94