Olive Oil Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Olive oil is the new butter. There, I said it. In baking, and especially the “chocolate chip cookie” world, we always seem to be looking for the new, better thing. We’re browning butter, roasting sugar, aging dough— any and every tip or trick to get a better tasting cookie. And it’s not just about taste—it’s also about texture.

Which brings us back to olive oil. Here’s the thing about really good olive oil—its got this subtle, floral flavor. It’s the exact type of flavor that you want to impart to a cookie to elevate it. I love the Filippo Berio Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil—it’s delicate and delicious (did I mention it’s organic?!) The oil also affects a cookie’s texture. Whether you’re #TeamChewy or #TeamCrispy, you can use olive oil because it gives you the best of both worlds! Crispier edges with a chewy center.

And what about butter? Well, let’s not throw out the baby with the bath water. Butter still has a place in these cookies. The chewy center part? Yeah, that’s from the butter. Plus, we’re all used to the taste of butter. The butter and olive oil live in harmony in this cookie.

And the best part of this cookie? It’s easy. Like, really easy. If you can make a cookie, you can make this cookie! ;) .

Olive Oil Chocolate Chunk Cookie Recipe

Makes 18 cookies

Ingredients

1/3 cup Filippo Berio Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg, room temp.
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 and 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 ounces semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate (chips or cut into 1/2 inch chunks)
flaky sea salt, to garnish

Method

Combine olive oil, butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix on medium to combine. Once homogenous, reduce the speed to low and add the egg and vanilla. Mix until combined.

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add dry ingredients to mixer and mix on low until barely combined. Add chocolate chips or chunks and mix for a couple seconds. Remove the bowl and finish combining with a wooden spoon or sturdy spatula.

At this point, you can bake immediately, OR let the dough “mature” in the refrigerator overnight.

if baking immediately: preheat oven to 350F. Line two baking pans with parchment paper. Form 18 balls of dough, about 40 grams each. Place 9 balls of dough on each sheet. Bake at 350 for 12-13 minutes. Remove and let cool on a cooling rack. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt, if desired.

If “maturing” or “aging” the dough: Place dough in refrigerator overnight, or up to three days. Then, proceed by following the “baking immediately” instructions above.

Adapted from cookie maven Displaced Housewife.

I made Lemon Curd with Buzzfeed's Goodful.

This video makes me SMILE! Click the link above, and I bet you will too :)

Health-ier Mini Muffins

I’m always a little wary to post rich, buttery baked goods and desserts in January. People seem to be shouting from the rooftops— or at least social media, “New Year, New Me!” I love to bake, but I don’t want to mess up anyone’s 2019 diet plan!

But it’s January, and it’s COLD and snowy and perfect baking weather! I may live in New York that gets its fair share of wintry weather, but the city isn’t prepared for “feels like 2 degree" weather. So of course, I spent the past weekend snuggled up inside—baking.

I adapted a recipe that a neighbor shared, and I came up with these health-ier mini muffins. They are healthy-ish because they are full of good stuff— carrots, apples, and sunflower seeds, and they use all wheat flour and coconut oil, making each muffin hearty and nourishing despite their “mini” size. They have less sugar than other muffin recipes, but the plumped raisins add bits of sweetness (naturally-occurring sugar!) throughout.

Feel free to swap out half (or all) of the sunflower seeds for chopped walnuts or sliced almonds. I also topped the muffins with sunflower seeds to give them flair while adding crunchy texture.

Healthier Mini Muffins Recipe

Makes 2 dozen mini muffins

1/4 cup raisins (1.5 ounces)
1 cup wheat flour (130 g)
1/2 cup brown sugar (light or dark, 100 g)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1  teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup grated carrots (3.5 ounces, about 1 large carrot)
1/2 large green apple, peeled, cored and finely chopped
1/4 cup sweetened, shredded coconut (0.75 ounces)
1/3 cup sunflower seeds, plus more for sprinkling on top. 
2 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable OR coconut oil (if using coconut oil and it’s solid, gently heat until it becomes liquid
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 teaspoons vanilla extract 

Preheat oven to 375.  Line a mini muffin tray with 24 muffin cups. 

Plump the raisins: place the raisins in a small bowl. Cover them with hot water.  Let them soak while preparing the remainder of the muffin batter.

Whisk together the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl.

Stir in the grated carrots, apples, coconut, and seeds. 

In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, coconut oil, orange juice and vanilla extract.  Add to flour mixture and stir until combined. Add the drained raisins and stir them in.

Scoop the batter into the prepared pan.  The batter should come to the top of the pan.  Sprinkle sunflower seeds on top.  Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 12 -14 minutes.

Remove from oven and allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes.  Then, remove the muffins and allow them to cool on a cooling rack.

Enjoy them as is, or slather with butter, jam or cream.  These can be stored for up to three days in an air tight container. 

Chocolate Dipped Orange Madeleines for People Magazine

I was pumped when I got an email from People Magazine asking me to contribute a recipe for their holiday cookie spread. They wanted a festive cookie, so I decided to spruce up my traditional madeleine recipe. The results were delicious and truly beautiful. I’m used to doing my own styling and shooting—this opened my eyes to how amazing a simple recipe can be presented when there’s a team of super talented professionals behind it!

I decided to make my own recipe today. I altered it slightly because I can’t help myself. I had a bowl of chopped, toasted hazelnuts just sitting on my table that were leftover from some rugelach I made. When I dunked the madeleines in the melted milk chocolate, my hand just went and dipped them in the chopped hazelnuts!

These tasty little treats can be whipped up pretty quickly. Most madeleine recipes require that the batter rests, but not this one. Just mix the orange zest, sugar and eggs until frothy. Then, fold in the dry ingredients, and stir in the butter. They bake in a 400 degree oven for 8-10 minutes, and once they’re cool, you can dunk them in melted milk chocolate.

These madeleines are a treat all on their own. No hazelnuts needed. The chocolate isn’t even needed. If you make them, make a few with chocolate and some without and see which you like best!

Chocolate Dipped Orange Madeleines Recipe

Featured in Dec. 10, 2018 issue of People

3/4 cup unsalted butter (1 and 1/2 sticks, 6 ounces), plus softened butter for greasing the pan
1 and 1/3 cups (5 ounces) cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons orange zest (from two oranges)
1 cup milk chocolate chips

1. Grease 2 (12-mold) madeleine pans or mini muffin pans with softened butter; dust with flour. Chill in refrigerator until butter hardens, about 10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400°F. Microwave 3/4 cup butter in a small microwavable bowl on HIGH until melted, 30 to 45 seconds; set aside.

3. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Beat eggs, sugar, honey, and zest with a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment until pale and frothy, 2 to 3 minutes. Fold flour mixture into egg mixture using a spatula until just combined. Add melted butter; stir until just combined.

4. Spoon batter evenly into madeleine molds, filling each three-fourths full. Bake until golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Cool in pans 5 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, about 30 minutes.

5. Microwave chocolate in a small microwaveable bowl on MEDIUM (50%) until melted, 11/2 to 2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds. Dip halves of cooled cookies into chocolate. Transfer to a plate lined with parchment paper; let chocolate set, about 30 minutes.

No Churn Peppermint Bark Ice Cream

I have heard about no-churn ice cream for years. And for whatever reason, I had never tried it. It just seemed impossible— that something so easy could actually be ice cream. Ice creamy is creamy. And crave-worthy. It’s the kind of thing that is dangerous to eat straight from the tub— I’ve got to portion out a bit, and then put it away. Otherwise, I’ll want to keep eating it!

As much as I love ice cream, I’ve only made it a couple of times as a kid— and it never turned out quite right. Always a little soupy. Or something. We probably were too eager and didn’t let the bowl freeze all of the way. I grew up on Bluebell Ice Cream, and that was good enough for me. Homemade not necessary!

Well, I finally got on the no-churn train and made the deceptively simple “No-Churn Ice Cream” for the first time last month. The formula is so matter-of-fact, you don’t even need a recipe. Two cups heavy cream whipped to stiff peaks. Fold it into 1 can (14.5 ounces) sweetened condensed milk. Freeze. VOILA!

I can attest to the goodness and simplicity of this ice cream! BUT, if you want it to be NEXT LEVEL creamy, use more cream. I used 2 and 1/2 cups and something magical happened. The bits of chocolate that once started to sink were now magically floating. That half cup of cream made this ice cream so much creamier. I also added some flavoring: 1 teaspoon of vanilla (I’m sparse with vanilla these days cuz it is pricey!) and 1/2 teaspoon of peppermint extract. I also folded in one cup of chopped peppermint bark. And all I can say is you must try this recipe.

Get real crazy and add some expresso (or regular coffee) to it. You can get away with having it for breakfast that way.

No Churn Peppermint Bark Ice Cream Recipe

2 and 1/2 cups (20 ounces) heavy cream
1 can (14.5 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
1 cup chopped peppermint bark

*Serving Suggestion: Make this the classic Italian treat Affogato by pouring some hot expresso on top of a scoop!

Whip the heavy cream to stiff peaks. Set aside.

Add the sweetened condensed milk to a large bowl. Stir in the vanilla and peppermint extract.

Fold the cream into the condensed milk just until no streaks remain. Gently fold in the chopped peppermint bark (reserve a few pieces to sprinkle on top). Pour into a 9x5 inch loaf pan. Sprinkle some bits of chopped peppermint bark on top. Freeze overnight, or at least 6 hours.

Scoop into a cup and try not to eat all of it. Bonus points if you pour coffee on top.

Had a blast making this with Bake from Scratch at Williams Sonoma!

For the full “Cookies and Milk for Santa” Recipe, check it out here on Bake From Scratch’s site.

Lattice Crust Tutorial Video

I stopped over to Ali Rosen’s house to make a lattice crust pie. Check out this video for a step-by-step tutorial for this decorative pie crust that will impress for the holidays.