baking

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies…Being Martha

May 6, 2013 by Wendy Cohen 1 Comment

This is one of the best recipes I have ever tried for Oatmeal Raisin Cookies…it makes the softest and chewiest cookies!

Make sure you have maple syrup before you start this recipe!

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

You can find the recipe on Page 77 of the Martha Stewart Baking Handbook or you can find it here!

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Makes about 2 dozen These classic drop cookies are large, soft and chewy. Look for Grade B maple syrup, which has a deeper flavor than Grade A.

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup sweetened, shredded coconut
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
1 large egg
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup raisins

1.) Preheat the oven to 325°F, with racks in the upper and lower thirds. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt; stir in the coconut. Set aside.

2.) In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and brown sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes. Add the maple syrup, and mix to combine. Add the egg and vanilla; beat until well combined, about 1 minute, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

3.) With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture in two batches; mix until just combined. Add oats and raisins; mix until just combined.

4.) Shape 3 level tablespoons of dough at a time into 1 1/2″ balls (or use a 2″ ice cream scoop) and place 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes.

Let cookies cool on sheets for 2 minutes, then transfer parchment and cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Cookies can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.

These are amazing cookies made especially nice and chewy by the maple syrup!

They are so good!! Trust me!!!

1 Comment

White Chocolate Butterscotch Cookies…Being Martha

May 6, 2013 by Wendy Cohen 3 Comments

I am making progress through the Martha Stewart Baking Handbook and have found some great recipes along the way.

This post covers White Chocolate-Butterscotch Cookies found on page 76 or right here.

Make sure you have these two ingredients before you start this recipe: white chocolate chips and vegetable shortening.

White Chocolate Butterscotch Cookies

Ingredients: Makes about 2 dozen
- 1 ¾ cups of flour
- ½ teaspoon of baking soda
- ½ teaspoon of salt
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature.
- ¾ cup of vegetable shortening, room temperature.
- 1 ¼ cups packed dark brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon of pure vanilla extract
- 8 ounces best quality white chocolate, chopped into ¼-inch chunks (I used white chocolate chips)

Here’s the mix…kind of a pasty grainy mix and light in color.

Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
- In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the brown sugar, butter, and shortening until light and fluffy. Scrape the sides of the bowl.
- Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat until combined.
- With the mixer on low speed and the flour in two batches until just combined.
- Stir in the chocolate.
- Drop 2 tablespoons of dough at a time about 2 inches apart.
- Bake rotating the pans halfway though, until lightly golden around the edges, about 15 minutes.
- Let cookies cool on the pans for 2 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely. Cookie can be kept at room temperature in an airtight container up to 4 days.

Here are the finished cookies on the right.

They are super yummy and have such a different taste than I would normally prefer, but the combination makes them taste great!

They stayed nice and chewy…I took them out just when they browned per the instructions.

The vegetable shortening makes for nice chewy cookies.

You can find the recipe for the oatmeal cookies here. Happy Baking!

Filed Under: baking, cookies, martha stewart Tagged With: butterscotch cookies, cookies, Martha Stewart, martha stewart baking handbook, martha stewart cookies, white chocolate butterscotch cookies, white chocolate cookies

3 Comments

Let them EAT Cupcakes…

April 22, 2013 by Wendy Cohen 2 Comments

Let me preface this post first by saying that this is an awesome recipe. Not only is it really yummy, but it is a bit different than I am used to and I don’t mean different than “out of a box.” Technically, this recipe is called “White Cupcakes” with “Swiss Meringue Buttercream”. You can find the cupcake recipe on Page 169 and the frosting on Page 386 of the Martha Stewart Baking Handbook. Or, you can find it here (minus the strawberry frosting) and here on line.

Hold your horses…this recipe has a dozen eggs or egg whites!

The recipe starts with your typical butter and sugar, add in vanilla and then alternate flour and milk. Here’s where it goes different…you then whisk 8 large egg whites plus more sugar until you get stiff peaks.

You then fold the egg mixture into the cake mixture which gives you a loamy light and fluffly batter. This recipe makes 24 cupcakes.

Here they are right out of the oven…nice and golden brown.

TIP: make sure you spray the top of your pan with baking spray! I did not!

Now, time for the frosting. Here’s my double boiler with my pan and the metal bowl to my mixer.

Sugar and egg whites over medium heat…

until the sugar dissolves…

Now, here’s the crazy part. You take this and you whisk it while warm for about 6 minutes.

After 6 minutes, the mixture will be cool, flully and form stiff peaks. This is ONLY sugar and egg whites. How cool is that?

Next, you mix in 3 sticks (cut into chunks) unsalted butter…this is where you get the “buttercream”.

TIP: Make sure the butter is room temperature…DO NOT warm the butter as it will make the frosting too soft.

I use a technique I learned over at Sweet Sugar Belle to prepare my icing for frosting the cupcakes. You can click on the link here for the tutorial. Please not that the frosting recipe is different is this, but the technique is the same.

You first lay out plastic wrap and place frosting in the middle. You then roll the plastic wrap around the frosting and twist the ends.

You then get a pastry bag (disposable or cloth), place the couple on the inside and clip the end open. (NOTE…I forgot the coupler in this photo). Then, feed the twisted end of the plastic wrap through the hold in the end of the pastry bag.

Once you pull the plastic through the pastry bag, add the second half of the coupler on the outside and cut the plastic wrap. With a small squeeze, you will have frosting. The best thing is you don’t have to worry about a big mess and frosting squeezing out the back of the bag. TRUST ME!

Here are the finished frosted cupcakes. I should note here that my frosting was a little warm (because of the butter noted above). Had I been a little more patient and cooled the frosting a bit, the frosting would have looked much better and set higher.