Dorie's World Peace Cookies

With some time to kill before I left to Tahoe on Tuesday (which was amazing, by the way.. but more on that later), I decided to bake some cookies. I skimmed through my baking bookshelf and pulled out my good ol' favorite: Baking: From My Home To Yours by Dorie Greenspan. Every recipe that I've tried from that book has always been more than pleasant, so I figured why not? Now, I've made these cookies before... but they weren't too successful the first time around. The first time I made them, the dough was crumbly and refused to form into desirable shapes-- heck, they wouldn't form into any shape! Even after freezing them and cutting the dough, it would shatter into tiny pieces with every movement of my knife. Being the cookie dough tester that I am, I just ate the dough as is and was amazed. The dough was beyond DELICIOUS! I probably snacked on half of the cookie dough the first time around because I couldn't bake them (the recipe doesn't use any eggs, either... so eating the cookie dough is practically harmless!) The cookie dough tasted so good that I was determined to try this recipe again.

I followed the recipe exactly as stated and made sure to press the dough firmly together when rolling into logs. I didn't give up this time! If the cookie broke apart after cutting them into slices, I pressed the cookie dough back together with my hands and formed them into discs (this happened quite a bit). I found an easy way to do it.. You roll the dough into a ball, then flatten it between your palms. To shape the dough, you then put your left hand into a shape of a "c" and move the dough around inside the "c", gently pressing your forefinger to your thumb. This will make an even circle shape while your right hand keeps the surface even by pushing and forming the dough together. I have no idea if that made sense to you, but I tried to explain my method the best I can! Sorry if it's confusing. :/

The second time around was a total success! Boy, were these worth it. The fine sea salt in it makes all the difference. I might even dare to say that these are my favorite cookie! If you don't already have Dorie's book, I highly recommend getting it! It's a great first baking book and an essential for your desserts. You can buy it online HERE.

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 stick plus 3 tablespoons (11 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon fleur de sel or 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chips, or a generous 3/4 cup store-bought mini chocolate chips

Makes about 36 cookies.

Sift the flour, cocoa and baking soda together.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until soft and creamy. Add both sugars, the salt and vanilla extract and beat for 2 minutes more.

Turn off the mixer. Pour in the flour, drape a kitchen towel over the stand mixer to protect yourself and your kitchen from flying flour and pulse the mixer at low speed about 5 times, a second or two each time. Take a peek — if there is still a lot of flour on the surface of the dough, pulse a couple of times more; if not, remove the towel. Continuing at low speed, mix for about 30 seconds more, just until the flour disappears into the dough — for the best texture, work the dough as little as possible once the flour is added, and don’t be concerned if the dough looks a little crumbly. Toss in the chocolate pieces and mix only to incorporate.

Turn the dough out onto a work surface, gather it together and divide it in half. Working with one half at a time, shape the dough into logs that are 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap the logs in plastic wrap and refrigerate them for at least 3 hours. (The dough can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months. If you’ve frozen the dough, you needn’t defrost it before baking — just slice the logs into cookies and bake the cookies 1 minute longer.)

GETTING READY TO BAKE: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.

Working with a sharp thin knife, slice the logs into rounds that are 1/2 inch thick. (The rounds are likely to crack as you’re cutting them — don’t be concerned, just squeeze the bits back onto each cookie.) Arrange the rounds on the baking sheets, leaving about 1 inch between them.

Bake the cookies one sheet at a time for 12 minutes — they won’t look done, nor will they be firm, but that’s just the way they should be. Transfer the baking sheet to a cooling rack and let the cookies rest until they are only just warm, at which point you can serve them or let them reach room temperature.

SERVING: The cookies can be eaten when they are warm or at room temperature — I prefer them at room temperature, when the textural difference between the crumbly cookie and the chocolate bits is greatest — and are best suited to cold milk or hot coffee.

STORING: Packed airtight, cookies will keep at room temperature for up to 3 days; they can be frozen for up to 2 months.

Crumbs' Mint Chocolate Cupcake

My little sister brought me home a Crumbs cupcake the other day and boy, was it delicious! It wasn't my first Crumbs cupcake and it definitely won't be my last. Living in LA, I am spoiled to have so many cupcake shops around me. The two most popular ones are Sprinkles and Crumbs.. which are also basically right next to each other! Talk about a rivalry.

This one was a chocolate cupcake with a slightly mint buttercream frosting, dipped with mini chocolate chips and dotted with a dollup of vanilla buttercream. There was also a chocolate fudge-like filling inside (which I failed to capture.. bust). As always, Crumbs never fails. In my opinion, out of all the cupcakes that I've tried at both Sprinkles and Crumbs, Crumbs reigns supreme. Their cake is pleasantly moist and the frosting is just right. The cake at Sprinkles is never quite moist enough for me and the frosting is just off.... but that's my opinion. For those that don't have a Sprinkles or Crumbs by them, you can always buy the Sprinkles cupcake mix and make it at home. I think that the mix you make yourself actually tastes better than the actual cupcake you buy. Crazy, right? Especially the red velvet! It's probably because I prefer using my favorite cream cheese frosting recipe to top off the cupcake, which makes it THAT much better.

Crumbs Bake Shop
9465 Little Santa Monica Blvd
Beverly Hills, CA 90291

Mon - Thurs: 9:00am - 10pm
Fri: 9:00am - 11pm
Sat: 10:00am - 11pm
Sun: 10:00am - 10pm

Snickerdoodle Blondies

Hooray! Finally, finals are over and I have time to sleep during regular hours once again. I wrote a total of 51 pages in essays last week and am so glad it's all over. I decided to celebrate and do what I haven't been able to do all week.. Bake! Thank goodness I had a little bit of time to bake before I leave for Lake Tahoe tomorrow morning. I'm so excited to finally take a break from everything. Does anyone have experience with baking in high altitudes? Any tried and true recipes for the high elevation? I'd love to know!

I've seen this recipe floating around Tastespotting and Foodgawker for quite some time now and always wanted to try it. I mean, snickerdoodles into a bar? Genius! Everyone that has tried them raved about them on their blogs, so I knew I had to try it out. The result? Well, let's just say it didn't tickle my fancy as much as everyone else's. Even with the ridiculous sweet tooth that I have, I just couldn't handle the 2 cups of sugar plus some in this recipe. It was just way too sweet for me.. I think I'll stick to my regular snickerdoodles. You can still give these bars a shot too, maybe you'll rave about them just like everyone else.

I adapted the recipe from the crepes of wrath:

• 2 2/3 cups AP flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 1 cup softened butter
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp white sugar
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• a pinch turbinado sugar

1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9x13 pan. Combine flour baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt and set aside.

2.) In a large bowl, beat together butter and brown sugar for 3-5 minutes. Add in the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla, and beat until smooth.

3.) Stir in the flour mixture until well blended. Spread evenly in prepared pan. Combine the granulated sugar, cinnamon, and turbinado sugar in a little bowl. Evenly sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture over the top of the batter.

4.) Bake 25-30 minutes or until surface springs back when gently pressed. Cool before cutting. Makes 20-24 bars.

Announcing the winner...

Entry #18- "Eeeee now this blog is ever MORE awesome! I love cookie cutters :D"

Congratulations to Lori at clevercakestudio.com for winning the Crate & Barrel cookie cutters! I'll be contacting you for your mailing address. Sorry for such a short post! I desperately need to finish my papers this week. :(

Chocolate, Toffee, & Almond Cookies

WOW! Where did all you people come from? Apparently a giveaway was all it took to bring you guys out of your shadows. :) I'm so overwhelmed with the responses I got on my last post, thank you! It also bought me some time for posting because I've been so busy with finals coming up this week that I haven't had time to update my blog as often as I normally do. I'll probably be taking this week off as well, considering I have 4 essays to write by Wednesday. Eeeekk! Talk about a week of all nighters. Thank goodness I only have to do all of this ONE more time and then I'll be done with school for good!

Remember, the last day for my giveaway is this Saturday by midnight! So if you haven't left a comment there yet, I'd recommend doing it before time runs out. I'll be posting again briefly on Sunday to announce the winner since I won't have time to bake next week, either. :/

Now on to the cookies... I LOVED them! They were thick & chewy, sweet and salty. I was lucky enough to be contacted by Oh Nuts! a couple weeks ago to sample some of their items. I received dried blueberries, dried strawberries, and slivered almonds. Boy was I surprised to see that I got a POUND of each! I used the slivered almonds in these cookies to bake with, and they surely are addicting! Speaking of addicting, I couldn't stop eating the dried strawberries. They tasted just like fruit leather, but seemed healthier... a perfect alternative when you need to satisfy that sweet tooth! What's even better is that Oh Nuts! sell their items in bulk; When buying in bulk, you know that you're saving money by stocking up on necessary items!

The only thing I would change about this recipe is that I would cut down the brown sugar to 3/4 cup instead of 1 cup the next time I make them (and I will be making them again) because I found the cookie to be a bit sweet. I would either do that, or substitute using a dark chocolate/bittersweet chocolate bar to chop up instead of milk chocolate. Besides that, the cookies were perfect.

• 1/2 cup softened butter
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 2 1/4 cups AP flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/4 cups of chopped chocolate (you can use chocolate chips if you'd like)
• 1 cup of toffee pieces
• 1 cup almond slivers

1.) Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2.) Mix dry ingredients together in a separate bowl: all purpose flour, baking soda, & salt.

3.) Cream together butter & both sugars. Add eggs & vanilla, mix well. Slowly incorporate the dry mixture into the sugar mixture.

4.) Stir in the chocolate chips, toffee pieces, & almond slivers.

5.) Drop by tablespoons onto baking sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes.

Chocolate Cupcakes & a Giveaway!

When I'm in the mood for chocolate, I'm in the mood of chocolate.. lots and lots of it. A little piece from a candy bar won't satisfy my craving. I need a mound of it, something that's over the top chocolate-y. I was thinking of some of the most decadent chocolate treats to make for myself (chocolate mousse, pudding, flour-less chocolate cake, fudge, brownies, etc), when I just happened to turn my box of Hershey's cocoa over. What did I find? Hershey's "perfectly chocolate" chocolate cake with "perfectly chocolate" chocolate frosting. With a name like that, I knew I was sold. I mean, what other dessert has chocolate 4 times in the title?

I have nothing but great memories of Hershey's. I was lucky enough to go to Hershey's Chocolate World in Pennsylvania when I was younger with my family and see how chocolate was made. I still have a souvenir from there-- a picture of my entire family on the ride that teaches you the entire chocolate making process. I remember being so appalled and in complete awe of the amount of chocolate in the factory, while wanting to take a bite out of everything. I'd definitely recommend a trip there, if you haven't already, for all the chocolate fiends like me! :]

I followed the recipe exactly as stated, adding a bit more cocoa into both batters. The result? A perfectly chocolate chocolate cake. Moist, sweet, and chocolate-y, without a sense of empowerment from any of the flavors. Everything blended perfectly together. I dusted half the cupcakes with powdered sugar and left the other half as is. The cupcakes were so beautiful that I couldn't help but post a million pictures of them. Enjoy!

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 3/4 cups AP flour
• 3/4 cup HERSHEY's cocoa
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup boiling water

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease & flour 2 9-inch round baking pans or line muffin cups with bake cups.

2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on med speed for 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter onto prepared pans.

3. Bake 30-35 minutes if doing 9-inch round pans, 22-25 minutes for cupcakes until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans/cups to wire racks and cool completely.

• 1/2 cup or 1 stick butter
• 2/3 cup HERSHEY's cocoa
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Melt butter, stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. Makes about 2 cups of frosting.

Hooray for my 100th post on Lovin' From the Oven! Thank you so much everyone for following along. You guys are the very reason why I'm still blogging today! To show my appreciation, I'll be doing my very first giveaway! I'll be giving away A Year of Cookie Cutters from Crate & Barrel!

If you recall, I own this set myself and LOVE it! I used the cutters in my previous post to make no fail sugar cookies. I love it so much that one lucky winner will be able to get your own, BRAND NEW set! It comes with 12 different cookie cutters, one for each month. The cookie cutters are adorably packaged in its own cookie container. It doesn't get any better than that!

All you have to do to enter in my giveaway is leave a comment, saying anything you'd like... a random comment, a question, a thought... on this post with a way for me to contact you by Saturday, March 14th, 11:59PM Pacific time. I'll choose the winner by using random.org. Good luck!

You can find more details about this gift (or if you just want to buy it for yourself) on Crate & Barrel's site HERE

It's just been one of those days..

...You know, one of those days where you don't want to do anything, one where you just want to lay in bed all day and watch movies, one where you just never want to change out of your PJ's. Well, today was that kind of day. I had just finished planning a spring break trip for 10 people to Lake Tahoe in three weeks, studying for a quiz, and listing/shipping out all my Ebay items. What better way to reward myself than with chocolate cake? Oh, I know! Let's add ice cream, maraschino cherries, chocolate syrup, and caramel sauce and call it a day. ;)

I must admit that the chocolate cake was made from a box-- hey, I told you it was one of those lazy days! Even though it was baked from a box, it still satisfied my chocolate craving. Sometimes that's all you need-- a good ol' box mixed cake topped with spoonfuls of cake batter cookie dough ice cream, cherries, and syrup. I cuddled up in bed with my chocolate cake sundae and started reading Black Heels to Tractor Wheels, Pioneer Woman's tale of how she met her husband. Once I started reading, I was hooked. I probably spent a good hour, if not more, going through chapter by chapter reading this amazing love story. My boyfriend thought that I was being a sappy/typical girl for "aww-ing" at the end of each chapter and spending so much time reading romance stories. WARNING: Once you start reading, you won't be able to stop (Not to mention that her food blog is also very inspiring and well worth your time)! So if you have time, I'd recommend reading her story from beginning to end. It truly shows how amazing love is and it's capacity.

So, sorry there isn't a recipe for today.. But stay tuned for my next post, for I assure you there will be a recipe. I'll be blogging about cupcakes and doing my very first giveaway in celebration of my 100th post! Hooray!

Soft & Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

I honestly don't think that someone can ever try enough chocolate chip cookie recipes. This is my 3rd of 4th on my blog so far, but trust me, I've baked far more variations of this cookie than that. Now this particular cookie & recipe will always relate to a 42" plasma for me. Why? Let me tell you the story...

My boyfriend had a 32" LCD TV in his room and had been researching for weeks in search of a reliable 42" plasma to replace it. He read review after review about pretty much every TV out there. He wanted something bigger and better than his old one. Oh, boys... They're all the same when it comes to technology gadgets and gizmos- what they have is never good enough and they always have to have the best, the top of the line. He was going to buy this particular TV online for a steal, but his mom convinced him not to at that moment and I told him save his money. The very next day, the TV was sold out/discontinued from the store online. Boy, was he angry.. there was no other deal like that online or in stores and he missed out on his chance on getting the TV at that price. The very next day, I went with him to Costco to check out the TVs there because they had the one that he wanted to buy online. Three hours later, he walked out of Costco with a brand new 42" plasma for nearly $100 less than the online price. Good thing he didn't buy it online when he had the chance to!

The next day, my boyfriend went to The Getty Villa Museum in Malibu with my family and was telling my dad about his amazing purchase. The instant my dad heard the price tag for the 42" plasma, his eyes lit up like a kid in a candy store. My dad turned his head to my mom and said, "That's so cheap! Let's get it," with a big smile on his face. Mind you, we have this disease that runs in our family called the "Nguyen disease" (yes, we made it up and that is my family's last name).

What is the Nguyen disease? The Nguyen disease is basically the act of impulse buying on bargain items. We cannot let great deals go by us and when there is a good deal.. we usually don't just buy one, we buy multiple numbers of the same item and usually give them away to other family members. Example? My dad bought five digital scales because they were only fifteen dollars, marked down from like fifty. What in the world could you do with five scales in one household? He kept one and gave the other four away to my cousins/uncles/aunts/friends. Ridiculous, I know.

After the Getty, we went out to lunch and I would catch glimpses of my dad whispering to my mom, ending with "...please? Can we get it?" Finally, my mom agreed. The moment we finished lunch, my dad drove to Costco and bought the TV. Why? We don't even need a TV in our house. We already have 3 flat screen TV's that are 45" and up... but because the price tag was so cheap, my dad couldn't pass up on it. We didn't even really have a spot for the TV, so where did my dad put it? In my tiny room. Now he hangs out in my room all the time, playing the guitar and turning my room into his own little sanctuary.

While on this trip to Costco with my family and boyfriend after lunch, I picked up Martha Stewart's Cookies, which has been on my list of baking books to get for quite some time. The book has lots of tips and recommended tools, accompanied by colorful pictures. This is only my first recipe from the book, but I guarantee you it won't be my last. These cookies are delightfully chewy and flavorful, making it to my list of top 3 chocolate chip cookie recipes. Give them a shot! you can find the recipe online here.

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups (about 12 ounces) semisweet and/or milk chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and baking soda; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter with both sugars; beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low; add the salt, vanilla, and eggs. Beat until well mixed, about 1 minute. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.
2. Drop heaping tablespoon-size balls of dough about 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
3. Bake until cookies are golden around the edges, but still soft in the center, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven, and let cool on baking sheet 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool completely. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.