Bailey’s Chocolate Chip Cookies

I know I just posted cookies last week but these were even better than I remembered so I needed to share them immediately. And I'm not going to hide it there may be more cookies on the horizon as I'm on a baking binge. I blame cold weather and academic anxiety. We'll just act like Spring isn't around the corner and that bikinis won't have to fit down the road. *cough*

Moving on. One of my former colleagues, Meghan, treated the office to these Bailey’s Chocolate Chip Cookies each year in December. When I first tasted them in 2008 I requested the recipe almost simultaneously as I love Bailey's. It wasn't until Tuesday night that I remembered I had it and decided it was the perfect dessert for Mom to share with the clinic.

These very tender cookies are boozy and sweet. While they are baked you would almost swear their middle is still dough (probably what these dough balls are going for). Their only redeeming value nutritionally is my use of white whole wheat flour...but who cares? They are delicious. Thanks so much the recipe, Meghan! I miss you and many others at the office (and in NYC in general).

Bailey’s Chocolate Chip Cookies
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup Bailey’s Irish Cream
2.25 cups cake flour (I used White Whole Wheat; She used All Purpose for hers.)
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
6 oz. chocolate chips (I used mini-chocolate chips
¾ c coconut flakes (skipped per Meghan's adaptation - why detract from the Bailey's?)
½ c. chopped pecans (skipped see above)

1. Cream butter and sugars until smooth.
2. Add egg, vanilla and Bailey’s; mix well.*
3. Combine flour, baking soda and salt; add to the mixture a little at a time until thoroughly blended. (I added the flour in thirds.)
4. Add chips, etc. Mix.
5. Drop by spoonful onto a greased cookie sheet.**
6. Bake in 375 degrees for 10 – 12 minutes.

*If you are me this is where you add milk to the measuring cup and drink milk with hint of Bailey's. Because you can.
**Using a 1 Tablespoon Scoop my yield was approximately 50 cookies, in spite of eating (plenty of) batter. Meghan's yield was 3 dozen. Presumably because dropping leads to a more traditional cookie shape.  

Fudgy, Cocoa Brownies

If you are a fan of Whole Foods' Brownie Bites, then you will love Deb at Smitten Kitchen's Best Cocoa Brownies. They are dense, fudgey and only create two dishes to wash, which make them a perfect anytime sweet. Their cocoa flavor holds it own against the sugar, which makes them something to savor instead of just shoving them in your mouth as quickly as possible though you may still want to do that.

I'm sure dutch process cocoa would enhance them but I used bulk unsweetened cocoa that I purchased at Sahadi's and was perfectly happy with my results. I also used the microwave for the second step of combining the butter, cocoa and sugar rather than a double boiler. It took a mere two minutes rather than waiting for water to boil and standing over the heat stirring and, in my case since I don't own a double boiler, struggling to hold two random pots at just the right angle.

I highly recommend this recipe. If you want to mix things up heating up a brownie and serving it with mint chocolate chip ice cream or crumbling an aged brownie into ricotta cheese with some almonds.




By the way, I'm experiencing the great outdoors in Big Sky Country i.e. Montana and Canada 8/13 to 8/24, so any responses will come when I return. Thank you for your patience and wish me luck seeing a moose with a rack.

Thin Mints

To celebrate my friend Danielle's birthday I made her Baking Bites' Thin Minties, as Thin Mints are her favorite cookie. The resulting cookies weren't machine perfect but they were crisp with a hint of mint and the requisite chocolate coating.

I added approximately 3 tablespoons of milk to the batter to make it form cohesive logs and I would recommend adding a bit more mint extract (perhaps to the chocolate coating) to make the mint flavor more prominent. I'd make a recommendation for my biggest issue with the cookies but I have no ideas... The chocolate coating never hardened!

I let the cookies cool completely prior to coating them in the chocolate/butter mixture and ultimately let them sit overnight with wax paper over them. In the morning? They were still soft. I ended up putting wax paper pieces between each one to prevent a mess and ultimately suggesting that Danielle keep them in the fridge, which isn't so bad as Thin Mints always taste good cold.

These were fun to try but I don't think they are worth the effort involved. I'll probably stick to supporting the Girls Scouts (or stealing cookies from others who support the Girls Scouts) when I want Thin Mints in the future. If you live nearby feel free to arrange a visit for a frozen cookie or two in the next few weeks... I have extras in my freezer.