Double Chocolate Cookies with PB Chips and Walnuts

Is there anyone in this world who doesn't appreciate a good chocolate chip cookie? If there is, I've never met them. There are few things in this world that can instantly boost your mood like biting into a warm, melty, fresh-from-the-oven chocolate chip cookie.

These cookies are chock full of good things. Two different kinds of chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, and toasted walnuts.  I am not ashamed to say that when I bit into the first one, I did a little happy dance around the kitchen island.

If you have any kind of love for chocolate chip cookies, you have to make these. Immediately. Or get someone who's easily manipulated a kind friend to make them for you.

Toasting the walnuts may seem like a bit of a bother, but it is so worth it. Toasting gives nuts a big flavor boost and a wonderful crunchiness. Definitely worth it.

 The original recipe used white chocolate chips, too, but I skipped them. I also used dark chocolate chips instead of semisweet.  Feel free to add white chocolate if you want to. They're your cookies!

It's practically impossible to resist the urge to eat some of this stuff raw. You probably shouldn't, though. Raw eggs and all that.

Double Chocolate and Walnut Cookies

adapted from One Sweet Cookie, by Tracey Zabar.

Ingredients:

2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

quarter-teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups dark or semisweet chocolate chips

heaping 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

1/2 cup white chocolate chips, optional

quarter-cup peanut butter chips, optional

three-quarters cup walnuts, roughly chopped.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. While oven is preheating, toast walnuts: Spread walnuts evenly on baking sheet. Place in preheating oven for 10 minutes, or until lightly toasted. Remove sheet from oven, remove walnuts from sheet, and set aside.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment (or by hand), cream together butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until smooth and creamy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then stir in vanilla. In separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add flour mixture to batter, and mix until incorporated.

Four. With silicone spatula, fold in dark and milk chocolate chips, peanut butter and white chocolate chips if using, and toasted walnuts. Drop by large spoonfuls onto prepared baking sheet. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until the edges are nicely browned. Cool on wire racks.

Pesto

Summer is practically over. Okay, not practically, summer is over. Everyone's back to school, sweaters are making a reappearance, and the number of fresh veggies harvested from our garden is rapidly diminishing.

As a way to use up the basil that is still going strong despite its garden companions' vanishing, I made pesto. It's ridiculously easy to make. You just throw everything in a food processor and blend until combined.

We've been enjoying our pesto tossed in pasta, but there are a multitude of other ways to use it.  Spread it in a sandwich, mix it with olive oil to drizzle over salads, pair it with grilled chicken, etc, etc.

Pesto

makes approximately 2 cups

adapted from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

3 cups packed fresh basil leaves

2-3 cloves garlic
three-quarters cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup olive oil
quarter-cup pine nuts
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped (I didn't use)


1. Combine basil, garlic, Parmesan cheese, olive oil, and pine nuts in bowl of food processor. Blend to smooth paste. Add parsley, if using.

Orange Cookies

I've got to admit something, guys: I have a soft spot for citrus sweets. Whether you offer me lemon poppy seed cake or an orange creamsicle, I'll eat it. So of course when I saw this recipe for Orange Cookies from the new cookbook in the library, I knew I had to make it.

These are wonderful little cookies to eat after a meal. They're deliciously orangey and buttery. The cookies themselves are not overly sweet, and the glaze complements them perfectly. The recipe makes plenty of cookies to share, so they're perfect for big gatherings. Plus, making these will leave your kitchen smelling like oranges and lemons, and that's never a bad thing.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds, Two Ways

My cat is a mystery to me. He loves peaches. Whenever anyone in the house is eating a peach, the cat is guaranteed to find out and come stare at that person with these big, inquisitive eyes until he finally gets a tiny piece of peach. Have you ever heard of a cat that loves peaches? I sure haven't.

He also enjoys sleeping in the bathtub and violently attacking people's feet.

But we forgive him because he's cute.

So, last week I made pumpkin puree and this lovely scone recipe. And those pumpkins left behind lots and lots of seeds.

Roasted pumpkin seeds are one of the perks of pumpkin carving. They're a yummy, healthy, crunchy snack for a fall day. Did you know that pumpkin seeds are a great source of protein and iron? (I didn't until a few seconds ago. I just looked it up on Wikipedia.)

Since we had so many seeds, I decided to make two different varieties.

The first is the traditional roasted variety. These are deliciously simple. All you need is seeds, salt, and olive oil. It's a great healthy alternative to other crunchy snacks.

And the second variety is a spiced-up, caramelized version, and boy are these good. Sweet and salty with a hint of spice. I've been snacking on these all morning.

The really beautiful thing about this recipe is that you can fiddle with it as much as you want. Add more cinnamon and less cumin, skip the ground ginger all together and go wild with the cayenne pepper, or go with a completely different selection of spices. The choice is all yours.

Roast Pumpkin Seeds

both recipes adapted from Allrecipes.com

Basic Roast Pumpkin Seeds:

1 1/2 cups raw whole pumpkin seeds

2 teaspoons olive oil 

a pinch of salt

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

2. Toss seeds in bowl with olive oil. Spread seeds in a single layer on baking sheet and sprinkle with salt. Bake about 25 minutes or until golden brown; stir every 10 minutes or so.

Spicy Caramelized Roast Pumpkin Seeds:

1 1/2 tablespoons white sugar

quarter-teaspoon cumin

quarter-teaspoon cinnamon

quarter-teaspoon ground ginger

couple of pinches of cayenne pepper

2 cups raw pumpkin seeds, washed and dried

salt to taste

olive oil (to drizzle seeds with)
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons brown sugar


1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. In large bowl, stir together white sugar, cumin, cinnamon, ginger, and cayenne. Set aside.

3. Place pumpkin seeds on prepared baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt to taste. Spread into an even layer and bake until golden brown, 20-25 minutes.

Four. Heat the butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Stir in brown sugar, then add pumpkin seeds. Cook and stir seeds until coated with the sugar, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir the caramelized seeds into the spice mix; toss to coat. Let cool.

Browned Butter and Sage Mushrooms over Cheesy Polenta

There was definitely a bit of autumn in the air this morning. That hint of a chill that makes you eager for sweater weather and hot cider.

This recipe is one way to bring the fall a little bit closer. It's comfort food at its best: a delicious meal that fills you up and leaves you feeling all warm inside. (And it has cheese. That's a necessity for good comfort food.)

The sage and brown butter were perfect complements for the mushrooms. And the polenta? Don't even get me started on the polenta. I could probably have eaten the whole pot if no one stopped me. 

Once you start cooking, things move pretty quickly so it's best to have all your ingredients prepped and ready to go as soon as you start.

 The recipe said it would serve three to four people, but I made an additional half cup of polenta and was able to feed six people.

Browned Butter and Sage Mushrooms over Cheesy Polenta

adapted from The View from Great Island

serves six

Ingredients:

Mushrooms

1 ounce package of dried mushrooms
8 ounces chicken stock or water
1 1/2 pints fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 stick unsalted butter
3 heaping tablespoons chopped fresh sage leaves
1/3 cup Marsala wine, or dry sherry
quarter cup heavy cream (I used half and half) 
salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Polenta

1 1/2 cups polenta
3 cups water
3 cups milk
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
Three-quarters cup grated Parmesan cheese


1. Heat the stock or water in the microwave until hot. Pour over dried mushrooms and let soak for about 30 minutes.

2. Brush the dirt off fresh mushrooms with a damp cloth and slice. Set aside.

3. Heat the butter in a large saute pan on medium heat. Continue heating butter until solids start to turn brown. The overall color of the butter will turn golden first, and then the milk solids will start to turn brown. As soon as this happens, add sage. Let cook for about 30 seconds, then add fresh mushrooms. Turn down the heat a bit and saute mushrooms for a couple minutes until they turn golden.

Four. Add the dried mushrooms with their soaking liquid along with sherry or Marsala. Bring to a simmer, then add cream, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook for a minute or two. Check seasoning and set aside.

For the polenta:

1. Bring milk and water and salt to a simmer in saucepan. Slowly pour in polenta, stirring constantly to prevent lumps. Cook polenta for 15 minutes, or time indicated on the box, until thickened.

2. Take the polenta off heat and stir in butter and cheese until smooth and creamy.

3. Ladle into shallow bowls and top with mushrooms.