Double Chocolate Chip Cookies - Paleo Style

Oh how long has it been??????? Almost a year.

Let's just say life is busy.

Things have changed but now I'm baaaccckkk!!!

Over the past couple of months my fiancee and I have started a new lifestyle, working out and changing our diets. However, that being said you can't take away all the goodness, the yummy cheat snacks you crave while moving forward.

I have read a ton on the Paleo Diet in the last little while.

These are a nice treat to help with the cravings.

Enjoy.

I take NO credit at all for this recipe. Yes, I went through the laborious task of making my own almond butter but it's well worth it.

The recipe can be found here:

http://www.health-bent.com/treats/paleo-chocolate-chip-cookies

Fudge Crackle Cookies: This one is for you Cathy!

So as I was doing my daily browsing of Blogs last week, I came across a most peculiar recurrence on many of my daily readings. Cookies! Cookies absolutely everywhere.

What was all this buzz all of a sudden...a new cookie book perhaps??

Turns out I was right. A new cookie book, not just any book but a fellow blogger's cookie book.

Anita Chu, of Dessert First has written the quintessential guide to all things cookie. This book entails all of the most 100 popular and bake-able recipes for cookies you can find.
I first saw her appearance for her Blog book tour at Helen's Tartelette, then it was Aran's Cannelle et Vanille, where I stumbled across these tiny little tasty morsels.

These cookies hot out of the oven taste like rich flourless chocolate cake, even though they do have flour.
I made a full batch and froze half, the other half I baked up and got 2 dozen cookies out of. These were all promptly eaten in the span of 24 hours....

I used Anita and Aran's recipe but interchanged the 72% chocolate, for bittersweet chocolate chips, since that's what I had.

Make these and they will disappear instantly. (I will not be held responsible for expanding waistlines).

Adapted from "Field Guide to Cookies", by Anita Chu

and Aran, of Cannelle et Vanille

6 oz bittersweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbs unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 Tbs cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
confectioners sugar for rolling

Melt chocolate and butter over a double boiler. Remove from heat and cool.

In the meantime, whip the eggs with the sugar until thick. Add the vanilla extract and the melted chocolate and mix.

Sift flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking powder into a bowl and add this to the chocolate mixture. Mix until combined.

Place this bowl in the refrigerator for about 2 hours until the dough hardens enough to scoop out.

Preheat oven to 325F. Scoop one inch balls or teaspoon size. Roll these in powdered sugar and place them on cookie sheets lined with parchment or a Silpat. Flatten the cookies with your fingers, so they look like fat little discs and bake until set for about 12 minutes.

Makes about 4 dozen.

Mint Chip Fro Yo and Malted Chocolate Chip Cookie Sandwiches

I recently celebrated my birthday a couple of weeks ago and the number 1 thing on my list was, Dorie Greenspan's, "Baking from my home to yours".
It came by mail. So when I came home one day it was sitting there just like Christmas!...or my birthday.
I diligently read it from cover to cover. I read a few blogs that participate in "Tuesday's with Dorie" and I am always jealous when everyone refers to it as the "Bible" of home baking.

FINALLY it's mine...all mine!!!!!


So my first recipe were these amazing malted cookies, which are bascially Whoppers or Maltesers in cookie form.

Recipe:

1 3/4 c. of Ap flour

1 c. of Malted milk powder, I used Ovaltine

1/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1 stick US butter, room temp.

2/3 c. sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 whole milk, I just used 1 %

2 c. malted milk balls, Whoppers or Maltesers coarsley chopped

1 c. chocolate chips or chunks

So the funny thing was that there was no direction of how hot the oven was supposed to be. I did the 350 rule just to be on the safe side.

Position racks so you can fit 2 sheets one on top of the other. Line with Silpat or parchment.

Sift together, Flour, milk powder, cocoa, baking powder and salt.

Cream sugar and butter together until pale about 3 minutes. Add 1 egg at a time and incorporate after each addition. Add vanilla.

Add half the flour mixture and then the milk, mix until just incorporated. Add the remaining flour and mix just until incorporated.

Add malt balls and chocolate chunks, fold in by hand.

Drop tablespoons onto baking sheet, spaced 2 inches apart.

Bake 11-13 minutes.

Cool for 2 minutes and then remove to a cooling rack.

Makes about 30 cookies.

Pictured above, I just but some mint chocolate chip frozen yogurt inbetween to make sammies.