AWESOME - Martha's soft chocolate chip cookies

Ingredients

Makes about 2 dozen - I DOUBLED RECIPE TO MAKE IT WORTH MY WHILE

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 7 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons sour cream
• 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 3/4 cup milk-chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350. Whisk together flour, salt, and baking soda. Beat butter and sugars with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Beat in egg and vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in 2 batches, alternating with sour cream, and beat until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips by hand. Cover, and freeze for 10 minutes.
2. Using a 1 1/2-inch ice cream scoop or a tablespoon, drop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment, spacing about 2 inches apart. Flatten slightly. Bake until centers are set and cookies are pale golden brown, 12 to 14 minutes.

Made 2 dozen for my sister (freshman in college). Mailed in a care package with some cupcakes for her and the other dorm kids!

Martha's Monkey Cake - DONE! SUCCESS!

Ingredients

Serves 10 to 12

• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for pan
• 3 cups sifted cake flour (not self-rising), plus more for dusting
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3 very ripe, large bananas, mashed (about 1 1/3 cups)
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups packed light-brown sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup chopped pecans, optional
• Fluffy Chocolate and Yellow Buttercreams
• 2 black-licorice drop candies
• Black-licorice rope, for decorating

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour an 8 1/2-inch-diameter 3-quart stainless-steel or ovenproof bowl and 1 cup of a large (1-cup capacity) muffin tin; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together bananas, buttermilk, and vanilla.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine butter and brown sugar; mix on medium-high until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in eggs. Reduce speed to medium; mix in flour mixture in 2 batches, alternating with banana mixture. Stir in pecans.
4. Fill prepared muffin cup three-quarters full. Transfer remaining batter to prepared baking bowl. Transfer to oven, side by side. Bake cupcake until a cake tester comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Let cool in tin on a wire rack. Continue baking large cake until a cake tester comes out clean, about 1 hour and 10 minutes more (1 hour and 40 minutes total). Let cool in bowl on a wire rack 30 minutes. Invert bowl to remove cake; let cool completely.
5. Trim flat side of cake to be level. Trim away top of cupcake to be level. Cut cupcake in half vertically for the two monkey ears. Cut bowl cake in half horizontally to make 2 layers. Spread 3/4 cup chocolate buttercream on top of flat layer. Top with domed layer. Transfer to a cake plate. Spread a thick layer of chocolate buttercream over entire monkey head. Spread buttercream over cupcake ears. Attach ears to sides of head, top of cupcake facing forward, securing with toothpicks.
6. Place remaining chocolate frosting in a piping bag fitted with a small plain round tip (such as Ateco #5). Pipe dots around bottom edge of cake in a continuous line. Switch to a small multi-opening tip (such as Ateco #233); pipe hair on top of head.
7. Fill another piping bag fitted with a large plain round tip (such as Ateco #11) with yellow buttercream. Pipe an oval near the front base of cake. Fill in with frosting, and smooth. Place 2 small pieces of licorice rope inside for nose. Add a long piece of rope for mouth. Place licorice drops above oval for eyes. Pipe yellow half-circles in centers of ears; fill in with frosting, and smooth. Decorated cake can be refrigerated up to 3 hours.

First published: May 2006

‘Perfect’ Chocolate Chunk Cookies

*Wendy Gaynor’s ‘Perfect’ Chocolate Chunk Cookies

8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 cups semisweet chunks (preferably imported).

1. Place the butter in a large bowl and cream at high speed until
fluffy. Add the sugars and beat until light and fluffy, about 4
minutes, scraping down sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in eggs, one
at a time, until completely mixed.

2. In a separate bowl, mix flour, salt and baking soda. Add to the
butter mixture at low speed until just combined and add vanilla
extract. Beat on medium speed, scraping bowl down, until blended. Do
not overmix.

3. Add chocolate chunks and mix till thoroughly combined. Refrigerate
batter until cold, preferably overnight.

4. Preheat a conventional oven to 350 degrees or a convection oven to
300 degrees, and line several baking sheets with parchment paper. Drop
heaping spoonfuls of batter 2 inches apart on the lined baking sheets
and bake, turning tray once, until golden brown around edges and soft
(but not bubbly), about 9 minutes in a convection oven or 12 in a
conventional one. Cool on a wire rack.

Yield: 36 to 72 cookies, depending on size.

*This recipe appeared in The New York Times on October 27, 2002.

Recipe - Stareos

Stareos

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Servings:

18 cookies

Ingredients:

• Chocolate Shortbread
• 1½ cups all-purpose flour
• Pinch of kosher salt
• ½ cup unsweetened cocoa power, sifted
• 8 ounces (16 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• Flour for dusting

Filling

• 1 cup mascarpone cheese
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

To make the chocolate shortbread:
In a bowl, stir together the flour, salt, and cocoa powder and set aside. Combine the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on low speed until the butter and sugar begin to incorporate, about 15 seconds. Add the dry ingredients and continue to mix until the dough comes together, about 3 minutes. It will look dry just before it comes together.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough ¼ inch thick. Using a 2-inch star cutter, cut out scraps, reroll, and continuing cutting out cookies until you have 36 cookies. Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them 1 inch apart. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 300°F. Bake the shortbread until firm, about 35 minutes. At the midway point, switch the baking sheets between the racks and rotate them 180 degrees to ensure even baking. Let cool on the baking sheets to room temperature.

To make the filling:
In a small bowl, stir together the mascarpone, sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Turn 18 of the cookies bottom-side up on a work surface. Using a table knife or small icing spatula, spread about 1 tablespoon of the filling on the bottom of each cookie. Top with remaining cookies, bottom-side down Planning Ahead The shortbread dough may be made and cut out a week in advance. Wrap tightly and refrigerate or freeze.

The cookies may be baked 2 days in advance. Store in an airtight container at room temperature. The mascarpone cream may also be made 2 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate, but bring to room temperature before assembling the sandwiches. The cookies should be assembled the day you are going to serve them and keep covered and refrigerated until serving.