Lesson of the day: Food bloggers have sous-chefs…
Simultaneously baking and photographing yourself baking is not an easy task!

I stumbled upon this wonderful idea on seriouseats.com and didn’t want to be rude, so I gave it a shot: Double Stuffed Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies. Yes, that’s right: a cookie inside a cookie. Just use your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe and add an Oreo. 

As an advocate of healthy eating, I’m still working on perfecting my chocolate chip cookie. I’ve always been a sucker for the Nestle Tollhouse recipe (on the back of the semisweet chocolate chip bag), but at two sticks of butter, I always feel guilty both eating and sharing these treats with others. In my cupcakes and muffins, I now use at least a 1:1 ratio of applesauce to butter, but substituting with cookies has proven difficult.  The flavor is still there, but the cookies don’t hold their shape, becoming very flat.  So, for me, chocolate chip cookies are still about experimentation.

This time, I used the Nestle recipe, but used pureed pineapple and banana as a substitute for half the butter, and threw in some whole wheat instead of all-purpose flour. The dough was very sticky and thus difficult to handle, but baked just fine. The final product was moist, mainly chewy, and only had a mild banana flavor (recognized by only one devoted eater).

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  
• ½ cup whole wheat flour
  
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
  
• 1 teaspoon salt
  
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
  
• ¼ cup pureed pineapple
  
• ½ banana, ripe
  
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
  
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  
• 2 large eggs
  
• 2 cups chocolate chips. (I had my chocolate chips and Reese’s pieces in the same jar, so I used semisweet baking chips, Reese’s pieces, and tossed in some white chocolate chips, too, just for kicks.)

Preheat oven to 375° F.
Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, pineapple, banana, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in chocolates.

Using an ice cream scoop, scoop a spoonful of cookie dough and place an Oreo on top. Scoop another spoonful and place on top of the Oreo. Squish down the dough from the top and bottom and make sure to push together the seam where the two balls of dough meet. Place on greased or parchment paper-lined cookie sheet. Bake for 11-13 minutes or until golden brown. Makes about 18 gigantic cookies.

Because the dough was so sticky, I had to coat my hands in flour in order to handle it and encase the Oreos. Also, the cookies were huge. Once I got the hang of the construction, I realized I could have made them significantly smaller and gotten a higher yield. There’s always next time…although I think in the future I want to try chocolate cookies with a nutter butter inside. Thank you, Serious Eats!

If you’re anything like me, your winter break was filled with a little overindulgence, especially in the sweets department. My mom is an excellent cook overall, but she really hits her stride when it comes to Christmas cookies. Every year, my family enjoys a variety of treats, including chocolate cherry kiss cookies, nut-butter balls (yes, the name is hilarious), mint squares, and ginger snaps. As I shared the remnants of the cookies with my friends on New Year’s Eve, it seemed that one type in particular was receiving a lot of attention: chocolate chip orange shortbread. Fortunately, this isn’t a holiday-themed cookie: you can make it all year round!

Before the new semester started, I stayed at a friend’s house in Jackson, where I suggested we try recreating the chocolate chip orange shortbread. After finding a recipe online and confirming it with my mom, we began seeking out the ingredients. But, we soon discovered that we didn’t have mini chocolate chips or icing sugar (otherwise known as powdered or confectioner’s sugar). Shrugging, we figured we’d just go with chopped up bar chocolate and a combination of granulated sugar and cornstarch (a recommended substitute for icing sugar). The chopped chocolate worked well. However, the granulated sugar, while not ruining the recipe, did produce a different consistency than what we had hoped. As shortbread, these cookies are meant to be light and crispy. Though the recipe isn’t complicated to make, little things—such as poking each slice with a fork three times—can greatly impact how the shortbread turns out. By adding granulated sugar, we created a much denser cookie, which was delicious, but not what we were aiming to achieve. 

So, Wolverine Cuizine readers, I provide you with a lesson. Sometimes substitutions work. Sometimes they don’t. It’ll take a bit of experimenting before you figure out which ones will best replicate their original ingredients. But, while you’re doing that, enjoy this recipe for chocolate chip orange shortbread. A buttery, sweet and slightly citrus-infused treat, it’s something a little off the beaten path of the cookie world. 

Chocolate Chip Orange Shortbread

COOKIES
1 Cup Icing Sugar
1 Cup Butter, Softened
1 TBSP Grated Orange Peel
1 ¾ Cups All-Purpose Flour
¼ Cup Cornstarch
¾ Cup Semi-Sweet Mini Chocolate Chips

GLAZE
½ Cup Semi-Sweet Mini Chocolate Chips
1 TSP Shortening

1. Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees. Sift or stir flour & cornstarch together—set aside
   
2. In a large bowl, beat icing sugar & butter until light & fluffy
   
3. Add orange peel & blend well
   
4. Stir in flour mixture—mix well
   
5. Stir in chocolate chips
   
6. Divide dough into 4 equal parts & shape each into a smooth, round ball
   
7. On ungreased cookie sheets, press or roll each ball of dough into a 6” circle ¼” thick
   
8. With a long knife, score each circle into 8 wedges
   
9. Leave in place on cookie sheet & prick each wedge about 3 times with a fork
   
10. Bake for about 17-20 minutes until the edges are very lightly brown (IMPORTANT: They should stay pretty pale, or else they’re hard to cut later)
    
11. Cool on cookie sheets for five minutes
    
12. Prick again & cut into wedges
    
13. Place on wire racks to cool completely
    

GLAZE

1. In a small saucepan over low heat, melt chocolate chips & shortening, stirring constantly
   
2. Dip rounded end of each shortbread wedge into chocolate
   
3. Place on cooling rack or wax paper. Let stand to set

For the Crust
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
2 tablespoons eggs beaten with cold water

For the Filling
2 pie pumpkins, cooked and pureed
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup half-and-half
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1. Prepare the dough: Pulse the flour, granulated sugar, and salt in a food processor. Add the shortening and pulse twice. Add the butter and pulse until it forms small pieces. Add egg mixture and pulse twice. Place dough onto plastic wrap and form into a disk. Wrap tightly and place in refrigerator for one hour.
   
2. Preheat over to 350. Roll out dough into a 13-inch round on a lightly floured surface. Place rolled out dough into a 9-inch pie plate. Crimp overhanging edges and pierce bottom with a fork all over. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
   
3. Place dough in oven for about 25 minutes or until crust is golden brown.
   
4. Prepare the filling: Whisk all ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Pour into crust and bake for an hour or until the edges are firm but the middle is slightly wiggly. 

Serve with whipped cream. Enjoy!

Before my Brazilian adventure this summer, I got on a bread pudding kick. I tried a couple variations, substituting banana for applesauce and cake for bread-all too much support. Once I arrived in South America, I found myself craving my new dessert and without measuring devices or chocolate chips so I improvised. They had no applesauce, so I grabbed some plantains off the tree in the backyard and mashed them to create a similar consistency. Though we were chocolate-chip-less, I had two massive chocolate bars begging to be chopped up.The chefs at the Jaguar Lodge enjoyed the variation from their normal dessert spread so much that they asked me to leave the recipe.


Bread Pudding Stateside

Ingredients:

• About 8 slices dried bread or cake (ripped into pieces)
  
• 2 c. milk
  
• 2 eggs
  
• ¾ c. brown sugar
  
• 1-2 t. cinnamon
  
• ½ c. chocolate chips
  
• ¼ c. dried cherries
  
• ¼ c. raisins
  
• 2 ½ c. applesauce 
  

Brazilian Style Bread Pudding

Ingredients:

• Dried bread or cake
  
• Sweetened condensed milk
  
• Bananas
  
• Raisins
  
• Chocolate bar
  
• Coconut (optional)
  
• Boxed milk

Instructions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 375°.
   
2. Place half of the bread pieces into a 9x13 baking dish.
   
3. Mix together 2 cups applesauce with ½ cup brown sugar, cinnamon, dried cherries, raisins and chocolate chips.
   
4. Pour mixture into dish with bread and mix to combine.
   
5. In a separate bowl combine milk, eggs, and brown sugar.
   
6. Pour ¼ of the milk mixture on top of the bread.
   
7. Place the rest of the bread in the pan.
   
8. Pour the rest of the milk mixture on top of the bread.
   
9. Spread ½ cup applesauce on top of the bread.
   
10. Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on top.
    
11. Bake until eggs set and sugar caramelizes, about 45-60 minutes. 
    

Brazilian variation
Don’t measure ingredients- just use what seems right. For the “chocolate chips,” cut pieces of chocolate bars into small pieces. Use mashed bananas in place of applesauce, boxed milk and no dried cherries. Once it comes out of the oven, pour sweetened condensed milk on top of the bread pudding. Sprinkle coconut flakes on top of sweetened condensed milk.