milk bar mondays – chocolate chocolate cookies

Not just chocolate.

But chocolate chocolate.

(In case you haven’t figured it out, I made you uber-chocolatey cookies today.)

I know I’ve told you, but I was never been a huge chocolate person.

Yes. I said was.

Being on paleo has made me crave chocolate like whoah. Like, allllll the time! I have no idea what’s going on!

But since I can’t eat chocolate (the competition is in just 2 weeks, eeep!), I curb my cravings with fruit and jars & jars of nut butter. I’ve recently discovered Barney Butter, which is the most amazeballs almond butter made on this planet. It’s totally that good. Go buy a jar, or three. Then buy yourself some macadamia butter. Say whaaaa?? Yeah, it exists. And totally rocks my life.

Anywho, like I said, I can’t really eat chocolate right now, but when I saw we were making these cookies for Milk Bar Mondays, I knew it’d be a problem. I mean, how could I resist chocolate CHOCOLATE cookies?!

I couldn’t. Obvi.

These cookies were super duper chocolatey, just as promised. It was great how easy these were to put together. You just make a chocolate crumb, then add it to the chocolate cookie dough. Too easy! The chocolate crumb adds a nice texture & salty bite to the cookie.

If I’m being honest though, I thought the cookie was the most “normal” recipe I’ve made for Milk Bar Mondays. Usually, I find the desserts to be unique and unbelievably delicious. And while this chocolate cookie was good, they just weren’t anything spectacular. I still prefer my favorite triple chocolate cookies.

For the recipe, visit Cassie at Bake Your Day. And don’t forget to say hey to the rest of the Milk Bar Monday girls and check out their Chocolate Chocolate Cookies!


Audra at The Baker Chick
Erin at Big Fat Baker
Jacqueline at The Dusty Baker
Krissy at Krissy’s Creations
Meagan at Scarletta Bakes

Follow the Milk Bar Monday ladies on Twitter! 

milk bar mondays – birthday layer cake

I have never wanted cake so bad in my life.

Not just cake. But epic, funfetti cake. Layers and layers of sprinkley cake.

In other words, heaven.

I’ve told you guys that I am obsessed.with.sprinkles. I also told you that I’m on this crazy diet where I don’t eat gluten, dairy, or sugar.

What to do, what to do… cake just so happens to be made out of, oh, I dunno, gluten, dairy, and sugar.

Well, the last day of my 30-day Paleo challenge is conveniently on Tuesday. This is clearly the best-timed Milk Bar Mondays post everrrrr.

Can you guess what I’m eating on Wednesday? Yup! Cake for breakfast, cookies for lunch, cake for dinner, and sushi for dessert. Whaaaaaa? (Just go with it…)

But since I have this crippling weakness for funfetti, and upon smelling the gloriousness that is this cake baking in my oven, I decided that one bite would be had.

One bite.

I mean, what kind of blogger would I be if I didn’t tell you how amazeballs the dessert I made actually is?! (Ummm, kindly ignore the fact that I did this last time.)

So yeah, one bite.

One unhinged jaw sized bite.

I knowwww… I probably should’ve set size standards for the bite.

But OMGGGGG YUMMMM! It was soooooo worth it! I know I say this a lot, but for realios, this is the best thing in the entire universe! Like, stomp your feet, dance, and punch your thigh (simultaneously, duh!) kind of amazing.  <— the reason I have no friends.

It was everything I’ve ever hoped for in a cake! Just imagine the layers of funfetti cake, birthday cake crumb (which I will be eating as cereal), and perfect vanilla frosting.

All I can say is that I am thankful for whatever force kept me from shoving my face into that cake and eating my way out. Willpower FTW!

Thank you to Audra, who picked this phen-aaahhhh-menol cake for this week’s Milk Bar Monday’s recipe. I looooved baking & assembling the cake (super easy, bt-dubs!), and I am so happy to have this waiting for me!

For the recipe, visit Audra at The Baker Chick. And don’t forget to say hey to the rest of the Milk Bar Monday girls and check out their Birthday Layer Cakes!

Cassie at Bake Your Day
Erin at Big Fat Baker
Jacqueline at The Dusty Baker
Krissy at Krissy’s Creations
Meagan at Scarletta Bakes

Follow the Milk Bar Monday ladies on Twitter! 

The cake is taunting me from the fridge. Hellllppppp!

raspberry coconut macaroons

I’m back with more cookies.

I told you I was on a roll.

Totally different from chocolate chip, but I am so in love with these cookies! What’s not to love about raspberries and coconut?

I saw these on Pinterest, and decided to make these because of their color.  Yessss, seriously.

I don’t know if we’ve talked about this before, but I am obsessed with the color pink. Well, hot pink. Actually, make that hot pink and purple. Obsessssssed.

No matter how hard I try, I always end up with one of those colors. I.just.can’t.help.myself.

You can just picture my place right? Pink and purple everywhere. I SO WISH.

But, Matt would kill me. Huuuge personal victory for getting lavender pillows for our guest room daybed. Lavender with sequins. Baby steps, people.

So yeah, cookies.

Look at them! All pretty and magenta-y, which is, wait for it, hot pink + purple. OMG.

Not only are they adorable, but super yummy. I love macaroons to begin with, but adding in the raspberry is a pretty solid decision. They really brighten up the macaroons and provide the right amount of tartness. I think next time I might drizzle on some chocolate, because come on. Chocolate makes everything better.

Raspberry Coconut Macaroons
makes about 24 cookies
Printer-Friendly Version

Ingredients:
200 grams (7 ounces) sweetened, flaked coconut
65 grams (1/3 cup) sugar
45 grams egg whites (from about 1 1/2 eggs)
1/4 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
85 grams (3 ounces or 2/3 cup) raspberries, rinsed & completely dry

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

In a food processor, process the coconut for about one minute. Add the sugar and process for another minute. Add the egg whites, vanilla, and salt. Process the mixture for one minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add in the raspberries. Working in pulses of the food processor, pulse in the raspberries until mostly, but not completely, broken down, scraping down the bowl as needed.

Scoop the mixture (about 1 tablespoon mounds) onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes, or until lightly golden on the tops. Let cookies cool on pan for 10-15 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Enjoy!

*NOTES
– I used about 15 pulses to get the raspberries broken down, but next time, I would pulse less to achieve a more marbled effect with the white coconut.


Source: slightly adapted from Smitten Kitchen

You might want to double the recipe. These babies go fast.

brown butter chocolate chip cookies

Me want cookie.

a la Cookie Monster.

That guy is so cool. With his googly eyes and questionable, yet super awesome eating habits.

Anyway. You guys. I’ve been a cookie baking machine.

Something about being sick the past couple weeks has made me crave cookies like something fierce. Maybe it’s that chocolate chip cookies always feel like the ultimate comfort food.

I love that they are so simple, yet so delicious. I love that you can eat them warm out of the oven. Note: warm. Not straight-off-the-pan-and-still-sort-of-baking HOT.

Bottom line, I love me some cookies. They’re just about the only dessert that I eat and eat and eat. And eat.

On the day I was feeling the crappiest, I decided that I really needed cookies. Warm, gooey chocolate chip cookies. Never mind that I couldn’t really taste anything. Never mind that I should have been sleeping off the drowsy pills.

My medicated self decided that boiling butter over a fire to brown it would be a good move. What a smart person she is. I like her.

So, I baked these up using my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe, but with brown butter. The smell alone was outrageous. I inhaled three of them for the sake of having my cookies.

But, I made Matt taste test since I was clearly not qualified. His reaction? Pure bliss. Then I had my co-workers taste them. Record timing of treat disappearance. These cookies were seemingly winners.

Luckily, I saved myself some cookie dough to bake up when my tastebuds decided to rejoin the party.

And woah. Just woah. These are the best dang chocolate chip cookies everrrrr. Obviously to be enjoyed with a glass of milk. Duh.

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
makes 24+ cookies
Printer-Friendly Version

Ingredients:

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter

2 cups PLUS 2 tablespoons flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg PLUS 1 egg yolk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter until browned and little black bits start to form on the bottom, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and cool until warm.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the sugars and brown butter on medium-high speed until lightened in color and creamy, about 3-4 minutes. Add in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla, mixing until combined. With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients, mixing just until combined. Mix in the chocolate chips.

Scoop the dough (about 2 tablespoons) onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until lightly golden around the edges. Be careful not to overbake. Let cookies cool on pan for 10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Enjoy!


Source: adapted from Annie’s Eats

Om nom nom nom nom.

milk bar mondays – compost cookies

Composting is cool.

Especially when it results in cookies.

So, I’m just gonna throw this out there. Mondays are working their way up to becoming my favorite day of the week.* Say whaaaaa?!

I know. What a weirdo.

But these Milk Bar Monday posts are totes exciting for me. I am so in love with everything we’ve baked so far!

This week, Krissy chose Compost Cookies. They’re a Milk Bar favorite, and I get it. The cookies are stuffed full with crazy things like graham crust and potato chips. Sounds questionable but it.just.works.

These cookies were really easy to make. You could actually just throw whatever you have in your pantry into these cookies. You pick the fillings! Just maybe not shrimp chips. <– Those totally exist & are super amazing. Don't question me.

Anyway, I wish I could explain how these cookies taste. Sweet, but salty. Crunchy, but chewy. Chocolatey, but kind of coffee-y. And since that helps in NO way, I’m just going to tell you that they’re fantastic. And that you should make them.

For the recipe, visit Krissy at Krissy’s Creations. And don’t forget to say hey to the rest of the Milk Bar Monday girls and check out their takes on the Compost Cookies!

Audra at The Baker Chick

Averie at Averie Cooks

Cassie at Bake Your Day

Erin at Big Fat Baker

Jacqueline at The Dusty Baker

Meagan at Scarletta Bakes

Follow the Milk Bar Monday ladies on Twitter! 

*I’ve decided that Mondays are still only my 6th favorite day. Sloooowly but surely moving up.