Sweet and Salty Brownies

I keep accidentally opening a folder on my computer that has pictures of these brownies that I took about one year ago.  I didn't like think the pictures looked good, so I wasn't going to post them, but every time, I accidentally scroll over them (like everyday)-- I want to make them and I love the pictures a tiny bit more.

Yesterday, I was so excited to find my new favorite baking chocolate, Scharffen Berger, at Target.  In honor of the score, I'm making brownies and posting this recipe.  I refuse to make brownies anymore unless it's with good chocolate.  To me, using bad chocolate is like using margarine instead of butter.

This recipe is definitely my go to brownie recipe and you won't be disappointed either.  If you are looking for a non-traditional Thanksgiving dessert, you should make these (and eat them all!)

Sweet and Salty Brownies:

Caramel:
1 cup sugar
1 TBSP corn syrup
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
2 TBSP butter

Brownies:
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
2 TBSP unsweetened cocoa powder
11 oz dark chocolate, chopped (60-72% chocolate)
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
5 eggs, room temp (important!)
2 tsp vanilla

1) Make the caramel.  Measure out heavy cream, and set aside, place butter and salt in small bowl, set aside.  In medium saucepan- preferably metal- combine sugar, corn syrup, and water- stir carefully- don't splash onto sides, it can wreck the caramel later.  Cook over medium high heat until it reaches 350' or a dark amber color (like beer)- it will take a while to turn amber, but once it does, it can get brown fast and burn.  You don't need to stir while it is heating up, maybe swirl the pan once or twice.

Once it reaches the amber color, turn off heat and slowly add cream and salt and butter- be careful because it will release a LOT of steam, the caramel may even seem to harden, just keep whisking it until smooth.  Set aside to cool while you mix the brownies.

2) Preheat the oven to 350'.

3) Grease a 9x13 baking pan.  You can also choose to line it front to back and side to side with parchment paper- I never have done this and my brownies have never stuck in the pan.

4) In a bowl, whisk flour, cocoa powder, and salt- set aside.

5) Put chocolate and butter in a double boiler- set this over a pan of boiling water- stir until the chocolate and butter have melted and are smooth.  **(If you do not have a double boiler- put chocolate and butter in microwave safe bowl and microwave in 20 second increments, take out and stir each time- longer increments can result in the chocolate burning and drying out. )

6) Keep double boiler over pot of water, turn off the burner.  Add the sugar and brown sugar to the chocolate mixture and whisk until combined.

7) Transfer chocolate mixture to a large bowl- use a scraper to get it all out.  Add three eggs to the chocolate mixture and whisk until just combined (do not over mix here- this is the difference between gooey fudge brownies or dense cake ones).  Add the last two eggs and mix until just combined.

8) Add vanilla and whisk until combined.

9) Sprinkle flour mixture on top of chocolate mixture- fold in with a spatula or wooden spoon.  There may be small amounts of flour mixture that aren't mixed in, that is ok-Remember over mixing will result in denser brownies.

10) Pour half of the brownie batter into the prepared pan.  Spread about 1/2-3/4 cup of the caramel sauce around the top of the batter- stay about 1/2 " away from the edge of the batter.  Drop the rest of the batter on top of the caramel layer and use a spatula to carefully spread it out.

11) Bake the brownies for about 40-45 minutes total.  After 20 minutes of baking, rotate the pan halfway to ensure even baking.  After 35 minutes of baking, you can insert a toothpick into the center of the brownies to check for doneness- a few sticky crumbs will come out on the pick, but should not be dredged in batter.  Remember, there is caramel in there, so it will be a littly sticky-but when in doubt cook a little longer- I have made these before and taken out when they weren't done and it is hard to finish cooking a half baked batch once you realize you under baked them.

12) Remove from oven and sprinkle the top with sea salt or another coarse salt.

Recipe adapted from Baked Explorations
Caramel recipe from Bakingdom blog.

Carrot Cake Whoopie Pies

Over the past few months (year), I have been up and down with my baking.  I have given up sugar for a spurt here and there.  My son has given up sugar for a month here and there, and I have noticed changes in him for the better when he does.

Well, that's part of the reason why I haven't been on here.  It is very hard to have a blog to inspire people to bake and cook from scratch when I am also trying to inspire people to eat less sugar and live a healthy lifestyle.  I'm stuck in the middle.

I'm hoping that those of you who follow me are at the same point and that I am inspiring you to stop buying processed foods and start making your own from home.  I just can't shake eating sugar and sweets and at the times when I have completely given it up, the day I'm done, I just want to eat cookies.  I find that when I bake, I am happy.  When I find a delicious recipe from scratch that I love, I want to share it.  I want to inspire you to get in the kitchen and cook- I hope that you will learn something new and bring it to the table for your family to enjoy.

I am spending more and more time in my kitchen these days, trying to use all fresh ingredients and making more and more on my own.  I seem to make a dessert on the weekends and try to make it last through the week, unless I find a rare gem, like this, which it was made on Sunday for Easter, then again on Tuesday for dessert for the rest of the week.

OK, fine, then again a few weeks later, because after all, there are carrots in them, so they are kind of healthy...  If you have a BBQ or party to go to this summer, I highly recommend bringing these.  You they will not disappoint.

Carrot Cake Whoopie Pies-
1 1/2 c all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter- room temp (important)
1 egg - room temperature (important)
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup old fashioned oats
1 cup finely shredded or grated carrots

Filling:
3 oz cream cheese, room temp
1/4 cup ( half stick) unsalted butter- room temp
1 tsp vanilla
2 cup confectioners sugar

1) Preheat oven to 350'.

2) In small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  Set aside

3) In bowl of mixer, beat butter for 2 min until creamy- add in brown sugar and beat again on medium until fluffy.  Scrape down sides.

4) Add egg and vanilla, beat until incorporated, about 1 minute.  Scrape down sides.

5) Add in dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated, scrape down sides of bowl.  Add in oats and carrots, mix until incorporated.  Scrape bowl, then mix one final time.

6) Drop 1 TBSP sized rounds of batter onto cookie sheet.  Bake approx 11-14 minutes.  Halfway through baking, rotate cookie sheet.  Depending on your oven, the cooking time will vary.  Smaller cookies will take about 11 min, whereas larger will take up to 14.

7) Remove cookies from oven and let cool.  Set cookies onto baking rack to cool completely before filling.

8) Prepare filling:  Beat cream cheese and butter in bowl of stand mixer for 8 minutes, will be light and fluffy- I promise, mix for the whole 8  minutes on medium-high.  Add vanilla and confectioners sugar and beat again for 8 more minutes, stopping halfway through to scrape sides once.  Put filling into a bag and pipe onto a cookie, press another cookie on top to make a sandwich.

Makes approx 20 small whoopie pies.

Adapted from Annie's Eats.

Black Raspberry Swirl Ice Cream

I'm baaaack and hopefully for good.  I realized today that July is National Ice Cream Month.  I thought I'd make my comeback with this amazing ice cream that I made last weekend.  I got a vitamix recently so I've been hitting up the farmer's market hard every weekend to stock my freezer full of farm grown local fruit for my smoothies.  Last week, I came across black raspberries.

The sighting of the black raspberries was kind of nostalgic for me. I  had never actually seen them for sale before, but back in Massachusetts, black raspberry is one of my favorite flavors to get at the local ice cream shop.  Here, where I live now, there are not very many local dairy bars that have a variety of hard ice cream flavors, it's mostly soft serve, so it makes me sad that my kids miss out on that experience.  I immediately bought a quart of black raspberries and went home that very day to make black raspberry ice cream.  I don't know who I was with, but I think it was my dad, that ordered it with jimmies- black raspberry with chocolate-you can't go wrong.

I recently purchased David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop.  It has been on my wishlist for a very long time.  I decided to buy it because my son expressed interest in learning how to make ice cream.  As I was searching for a black raspberry ice cream recipe, I pulled out the book and there it was, "raspberry swirl ice cream".  If you are looking for a fun way to introduce new fruits to a picky kids, here you go! All of my kids ate it and liked it.  It is good to know that the ice cream is actually made with real, local berries.  If you can't find black raspberries, I'm positive it will be just as delicious with red ones, which are also in season now.

Black Raspberry Swirl Ice Cream:

Ice Cream:
1 cup Whole Milk (if you use low fat, it will not turn out as creamy)
2/3 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1 1/2 cup Heavy Cream
5 Egg Yolks
1/2 tsp vanilla

Black Raspberry Swirl:
1 1/2 cup black raspberries (fresh or frozen)
3 TBSP Sugar
1 TBSP vodka

1) Make the raspberry swirl.  Mash the raspberries together with the sugar and vodka.  (The vodka helps the ice cream stay smooth- I did not have vodka, but since I make my own vanilla with vodka, I used 1 TBSP vanilla)- I also was lazy and just mashed it together in my food processor, just way easier.  Place a fine mesh sieve over a bowl, and strain the raspberry mixture to remove the seeds.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

2) For the ice cream, place egg yolks in a medium sized bowl and whisk.

3) Place milk, sugar, and salt in medium sauce pan, warm it to about 175'.

4) While milk mixture is warming, pour cream into a large bowl, with a mesh sieve over it.

5) Once milk mixture is warm, pour half of it over the egg yolks, stirring constantly.  This is called tempering the eggs.  Pour this mixture back into the pan with the rest of the milk mixture.  Continue heating, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan.  The mixture should reach about 185', you will notice it will thicken like a custard, and coat the spatula.  Remove from heat.

6) Pour custard mixture through mesh sieve into cream.  Stir in the vanilla and stir until cool, over an ice bath.  Once mixture is cool, cover and place in the refrigerator to chill.  Once the mixture is chilled, about 1 hour, you can churn in your ice cream maker, according to directions.

7) Chill the container you will be storing the ice cream in in your freezer.  When the ice cream is done churning, layer a scoop of ice cream, spread a thin layer of raspberry swirl, then ice cream, etc until you have filled the container.  Freeze until ready to serve.

Source:  Adapted from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

Chocolate Frosted Vanilla Cupcakes with Cream Filling

Back in March, it occurred to me that I hadn't made cupcakes in months.  It was this blog that got me obsessed with cupcakes, and how magical they are.  I used to make cupcakes more than anything else, then I stopped.

My cousin sent me a message saying she missed reading about the cupcakes I was making and it really occurred to me how much I missed making the cupcakes.  I decided to recreate the first cupcake I ever made for this blog, which, in fact was the first filled cupcake I had ever made, and the last one I ever used a box mix with.

All this coincided with my photography club's presentation that I was giving about food photography, so I knew it was the perfect time to show how far I've come in three years with a photo of the same batch of cupcakes, not only with my photography skills, but my baking skills as well.
THEN:

NOW:

I wish I had time to post this before Mother's Day so my cousin could have made them for herself, but it's early enough in the day that if she wants, she can still make a batch.

Happy Mother's Day Em, thanks for inspiring me to make cupcakes again!

Oven: 350'

Yellow Cupcakes:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
8 TBSP unsalted butter, room temp
1/2 cup sour cream
1 egg plus 2 yolks
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Marshmallow filling:
1/6 cup confectioner's sugar
3.5 oz marshmallow fluff (we made our own homemade-OMG wait for this recipe soon)
pinch salt
1/2 TBSP water
3-4 TBSP butter, room temp

Chocolate Frosting:
1/4 cup plus 2 TBSP dutch process cocoa powder
1/4 cup plus 2 TBSP boiling water
15 TBSP unsalted butter (she used a lot more, I don't like butter flavor frosting, so I modified)
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
pinch salt
16 oz semi-sweet chocolate, melted and cooled (use bars if you can, not chips)

Preheat the oven to 350'
1) For the cupcakes:  In the bowl of your mixer, using the paddle, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

2) Slice butter into 8 pieces and slowly add them to the flour mixture.  Add in sour cream, egg, yolks, and vanilla and beat on medium until smooth.  Scrape down bowl and mix again until all ingredients are incorporated.

3) Line muffin pan with paper liners.  Scoop batter into cup wells until 2/3 full.  This will make 12 cupcakes, so there should be just enough batter to fill one large muffin pan.

4) Bake in oven 20-24 minutes, rotating halfway through.  They are done when a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool completely on wire rack before filling or frosting.

5) For the filling:  With whisk attached to hand or stand mixer, beat butter and marshmallow fluff together.  Add in confectioner's sugar, salt, and water, beat until fluffy and combined.

6) Cut a small round cone out of the top of each cupcake, scoop a TBSP of filling into each cupcake.  Shave the cake off the bottom part of each cone and replace the top of the cupcake, once it has been filled.

7) For the frosting:  Break semi-sweet chocolate into pieces, put in microwave proof bowl and microwave for 20 second increments, stirring in between each time, until completely melted and smooth, set aside to cool.

8) In a medium bowl, whisk the cocoa powder and boiling water until cocoa dissolves.  Set aside.

9) In bowl of mixer (stand or hand), using whisk, beat the butter, confectioner's sugar, and salt on medium until light and fluffy.  Reduce mixer speed and add in the melted, cooled chocolate.  Beat until combined.  Scrape down sides and mix again.

10) Beat in the cocoa mixture until combined, scrape down sides and remix again.  Put frosting in bag with a piping tip and frost the cupcakes.

Source:  Cupcakes- Cook's Illustrated Cookbook, Frosting- Martha Stewart Cupcakes, Filling- Skip to my Lou blog

Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies

Well, here's my "new" cookie recipe for the month of January.  I have the Cook's Illustrated Cookbook and I decided to try their recipe of an old classic.  I have been trying lots of chocolate chip cookie recipes over the years, but realized that I have tried my most trusted cookbook's recipe.  Shame on me!

These cookies were so delicious, that the first batch I made was gone the very first day, something that never happens in my house- for real. So, I made another batch the very next day.  I hope this is an indication to you of how much we all enjoyed them.  The method of making the cookies was different than any other I've made before.  You brown the butter first, so you are going in with completely melted butter, which is something that is normally taboo in a cookie recipe.  Then you do a mix and rest period- not sure exactly what it does, but the cookies turn out soft, gooey, and great!

I did all this by hand, and normally I won't try a recipe I don't think I can use my mixer with.

Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies:

Oven: 375'

1 3/4 c flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
14 TBSP unsalted butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
1 1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1) Whisk flour and baking soda together in a medium bowl and set aside.

2) Melt 10 TBSP of the butter in a skillet over medium heat.  Cook until butter is browned and has an aroma, about 3 minutes.

3) Transfer browned butter into a large bowl and immediately add the remaining 4 TBSP butter, stir until butter has completely melted.  Add brown sugar, sugar, vanilla, and salt to the melted butter and whisk until incorporated.

4) Add egg and egg yolk to butter mixture and whisk for 30 seconds.  Set bowl aside to rest for 3 minutes.  Then whisk again for 30 seconds.  Let it rest for 3 minutes and whisk for 30 seconds 2 more times.

5) Using a spatula, fold the flour mixture into the wet ingredients.  Mix until combined.  Slowly fold in the chocolate chips.  Drop evenly onto prepared baking sheets (I like to use parchment paper).  Bake 10-14 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through.

Source:  Cook's Illustrated Cookbook

Honey Apple Almond Layer Cake

As part of my New Year's Resolutions, I want to continue to get better at food photography.   A friend of mine and I decided to do a food photography challenge to hold each other accountable.  I had seen another blog that did a challenge where they made every recipe out of a food magazine- while it appealed to me, there are just a lot of recipes, I know I couldn't stomach, particularly those involving seafood.  I do want to expand my taste palate, so we are using food magazines as our source, and this month we chose a Honey Apple Almond Layer Cake from the Food Network Magazine.  I'm not usually keen on making cakes from magazines- I like to stick to my favorite cook books (Cook's Illustrated, Baked, Pastry Queen)- so not only was this a completely new flavor of cake, it was a new cake recipe source.

My overall review is that the cake came out pretty good.  I think it was not as sweet as your traditional vanilla or chocolate cake and for those of you looking for something different, give this a try.  My favorite part of the cake was the frosting.  It is almond flavored swiss meringue butter cream- for those of you unfamiliar with swiss meringue butter cream, it is a very fluffy light frosting, that you can pile on  high without feeling disgusting from the sweetness.  However, in this case, the cake was very dense, almost like a pound cake, so if I made the cake again, I would use a thicker frosting, such as a traditional buttercream.  The apple butter layer in the middle was not overwhelming and complimented the cake well.  I feel like the brushed honey could almost be skipped, I'm not sure it made that much of  a flavor difference.  I opted to top the cake with cinnamon red hots, because I just thought it would compliment the apple butter, as opposed to slivered almonds.

The thing that excited me most about this cake was frosting it.  My husband got me a rotating cake stand for Christmas and I am wondering how I lived without it.  It is definitely awesome and any serious cake baker should add it to their wishlist now!

Honey Apple Almond Layer Cake

Oven:  350

Cake:
2 sticks unsalted butter
2 cups all purpose flour
1 TBSP baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 TBSP vanilla
1 1/4 cup whole milk

Frosting:
4 egg whites
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp almond extract
1 tsp vanilla
2 sticks unsalted butter (room temp** see note below)

Filling:  
3/4 cup apple butter
3 TBSP honey
2 TBSP water

1) Preheat the oven to 350.  Grease 2 9" cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper.

2) In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.  Set aside.

3) In mixer, beat the butter with the sugar on medium-high until fluffy (~3 minutes).  Scrape down the sides of the bowl.  Add the eggs one at a time.  Scrape down the sides, then beat in the vanilla.

4) In alternating batches, starting and ending with the flour mixture, add in flour mixture and milk.  Scrape down sides after last flour addition and give one final mix until smooth- do not overmix or cake will be very dense.

5) Evenly divide the batter in the two prepared cake pans.  Bake in oven for 30-35 minutes, rotating halfway through- a cake tester inserted in the center should come out clean.  Let cakes cool for a few minutes, then invert to remove cakes and let cool on baking rack.

6) Once cakes are completely cool, make the frosting.  In heatproof pan (or double boiler) set over a saucepan of simmering water, whisk egg whites and sugar.  Heat until sugar is dissolved and mixture reaches a temperature of 160'.  Remove from heat and pour into bowl of your stand mixer with the whisk attachment.  Beat on medium high until completely cool and stiff white peaks form- will sort of look like marshmallow fluff.  (If you have never made swiss meringue buttercream before, here is a great tutorial/video).  Once it is at this stage, switch to the paddle attachment.  One TBSP at a time, drop in the butter and beat on medium.  Eventually the frosting will thicken like pudding and you will notice a different sound of it slapping against the paddle.  After you have added all the butter, scrape down the sides and beat in the almond extract and vanilla.
**If you run into a problem where the frosting is too runny or looks curdled because you did not use room temp butter - like I did- go here to find out how to save your frosting- it saved mine!

7) To assemble the cake, use a bread knife and level off the bottom layer- place it on a plate or cake stand.  Heat the honey and water in a saucepan until simmering.  Brush half of the honey mixture onto the bottom cake layer.  Drop the 3/4 cup of apple butter onto this layer, and spread out to about 1/2" from the edges.  Place the top layer of the cake on.  Brush the remaining honey onto the top layer.  Frost the cake, starting the the sides.  Set some frosting aside for decorative edges, if you want.

Source:  Adapted from Food Network Magazine, Jan/Feb 2013

Enjoy the cake!  If you make it, let me know if you liked it or not.

Homemade Oreo Ice Cream

I've been holding out.  I've made variations of this ice cream since the spring over and over again, but I have not posted the recipe.  It's not that I didn't want to, it's just that 1) the ice cream is so good, it does not last long enough to photograph, and 2) when I do have a bit of it hanging around, I don't have enough time to photograph it the way I'd like.

Tuesday was my daughter's birthday and she asked me to make her some ice cream.  I decided to take the new candycane oreos I bought and use them as a mix -in to my favorite vanilla ice cream recipe.  The result:  AWESOME (although I bet Trader Joe's Candy Candy Jo Jos would be incredible!).

I've been having a hard time finding time to do anything lately and this blog is something I enjoy to help me be me.  It seems as though I've let it fall by the wayside and I have TONS of things to share, so hopefully this will springboard me back in the swing of things.

If you get a chance to make this ice cream, it will work well on its own, or with a variety of mix ins, the key is to add the mix-ins at the very end of the ice cream churning process.

Treat yourself today- I know I am- (and tomorrow)!

Oreo Ice Cream-

1 vanilla bean (or 1 TBSP vanilla)
1 3/4 cups heavy cream
1 1/4 cups whole milk
1/2 cup plus 2 TBSP sugar
1/3 cup light corn syrup
1/4 tsp salt
6 egg yolks

1) Split vanilla bean lenghtwise, scrape out seeds.  Place vanilla bean pod, seeds, cream, milk, 1/4 cup plus 2 TBSP sugar, corn syrup, and salt in medium sauce pan.  Whisk, then heat to about 175' over medium heat.

2) Whisk egg yolks and remaining 1/4 cup sugar in medium bowl.  Set aside.

3) When cream mixture has reached 175', remove pan from heat- remove vanilla bean pod.  Slowly whisk 1 cup heated cream mixture into the bowl of the egg yolk mixture.  This is tempering the egg yolks.  Return this tempered egg yolk mixture back to the saucepan with the rest of the cream mixture.

4) Return the cream mixture to medium heat until it registers a temperature of about 180', the mixture will be slightly thickened like custard.  Place a fine mesh sieve over a medium bowl- pour the custard mixture through the sieve and collect in the bowl.  Let cool to room temp, then cover and refrigerate until completely cool, about 4 hours.

5) Remove custard from refrigerator.  Start your ice cream maker, pour custard in, and churn according to directions.  When the ice cream is beginning to firm up, before you stop the mixer, chop up the oreos into bite sized pieces and pour into ice cream maker for the last 30 seconds.  Transfer ice cream to air tight container and freeze before serving.

Source:  adapted from Cook's Illustrated Cookbook

Blueberry Pie

I've always had fun going blueberry picking and found it to be one of my summer rituals.  The only problem with this blueberry picking was that I didn't like to eat the blueberries, just liked to pluck them off the bush.  When I was a senior in high school, I did the pie eating contest for my class- it was blueberry pie, and I actually realized that I liked blueberry pie.  I've only made a couple in my life, but I've always enjoyed them.

My sister, on the other hand, LOVES blueberry pie and in fact, for her birthday a few years ago, my mom made her a blueberry pie and now every year, she asks for another.  Her birthday was a week ago and I know she won't get to eat this pie that I made, but I wanted to make her the blueberry pie that she wanted for her birthday.  This pie is so good, I can say that I LOVE it too.  The crust is what makes this pie.  Take anything you hate or love and roll it up in this crust and it's like a little piece of heaven in your mouth- seriously!  Even though my sister can't have a slice of my pie, she can use the recipe to make her own and be assured it's dangerously good!

Top it with some homemade ice cream, and just try to eat one slice, just try!

Blueberry pie:

Oven:  425'

Crust:
3 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups crisco (use crisco not butter)
1 egg
1 TBSP white vinegar
5 TBSP cold water
1 tsp salt

Filling:
2 pints blueberries
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1 TBSP lemon juice

1) For the crust, using a pastry blender if you have it (or if you're kind of lazy like me, your kitchen aid with the dough hook attached), cut the crisco into the flour until it is crumbly like sand.

2) Crack the egg into a bowl, whisk it, then add it to the flour mix until it is incorporated and mixture is clumpy.  Slowly add the 5 TBSP of cold water, the white vinegar, and the salt and mix until incorporated and dough forms a sticky ball.

3) Divide dough into 3 equal sized balls.  Place each ball on a piece of plastic wrap, flatten into a small disk, wrap in the plastic, and freeze for 15 minutes.  If you forget and leave it in longer, just let it thaw on the counter for a few minutes.

4) Lightly flour the counter and rolling pin.  Gently roll the dough into a round that is slightly wider than your pie pan- flip and reflour frequently so dough does not stick to counter.  Using the rolling pin, transfer the dough into the pie pan.

5) Prepare the filling:  Rinse the berries in a colander.  In a medium bowl, mix the flour, sugar, and lemon juice.  Add the blueberries in and stir until coated.  Pour the filling into the pie pan.

6) Roll out the top crust- if you want to do a lattice like I did, lay out a piece of parchment paper, cut out the strips of dough with a pastry cutter, or a crinkle cutter, or just a pizza cutter for a straight edge.  Then weave the strips in and out of each other on the parchment paper.  If you are patient, refrigerate it for about 10 minutes to solidify the lattice- or if you are like me and not patient, just quickly flip the parchment paper with the lattice on top of the filled pie to transfer the lattice on.  Press the edges together and roll the excess under to give a nice high crust.

7) Bake the pie for 20-30 minutes until crust is golden- at this point, you can put foil around the edges to prevent burning, then cook an additional 15-20 minutes until filling is bubbly. (40-50 minutes total cook time)

8) Let cool before cutting and serving.

Source:
Filling:  Fine cooking magazine June/July 2012
Pie Crust:  Pioneer Woman

S'mores Whoopie Pies

I've been wanting to make this recipe for over a year now.  I tend to have recipes in my head and then impulsively decide it is time to make them.  Last summer, I decided to make them, but one of the ingredients in the cake part of the pie was Graham Flour.  I did not have that, so I could not make them.  I finally bought some and then let it sit pretty in the pantry for about six months.  It's been so dry here that I wasn't too keen on setting up our fire pit on our sorry looking lawn.  When we were having my son's friends over for dinner, I knew these would be the perfect alternative to actual fire roasted s'mores.

The first one I bit into was okay, the next day, I had one for breakfast and it was really good, and finally on the second day- they were AWESOME!  Even my husband at first said, they are the second best type of Whoopie Pie I've made, then he changed his mind the second day to the best.  I'm not sure what it is, maybe the flavor of the graham flour marinates itself into the cake more as each day passes, but they just kept getting better and better!

If you are looking for a fun summer inspired treat, try these today, they won't disappoint!

S'mores Whoopie Pies:

Oven:  375'

1 1/2 cups graham flour (**)
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
4 TBSP unsalted butter
4 TBSP shortening (CRISCO)
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 TBSP milk
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp white vinegar
1 tsp vanilla
**(If you can't find graham flour, you can use whole wheat flour, I was also thinking part whole wheat/part fine graham cracker crumbs)

Marshmallow Icing:
3/4 cup marshmallow fluff
6 TBSP unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract

Chocolate Ganache:
2 oz semi-sweet chocolate
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 TBSP light corn syrup

1) Preheat the oven to 375'.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

2) In a bowl, whisk together graham flour, all purpose flour, baking powder, 1 tsp baking soda, and salt.  Set aside

3) Cream butter, shortening, and brown sugar in bowl of mixer with paddle attachment.  It should be light and fluffy.  Scrape down sides, add in eggs, mix, then add in butter milk, mix, then scrape sides again.

4) In a liquid measuring cup, mix 1 tsp baking soda, milk, and white vinegar.  Add this mixture to the mixing bowl, along with the flour mixture.  Mix on low until combined.  Add in vanilla, mix on medium for about two minutes, scrape down sides, and mix once more.

5) Using a spoon, drop batter onto prepared cookie sheet.  Leave about 2 inches in between each.  Bake 10-12 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through.  Tops will be golden brown.  Let cool and remove to a wire baking rack.  Let cool completely before filling.  I was able to make 36 cookies, which makes 18 whoopie pies.

For the Marshmallow Icing:

1) Beat Marshmallow fluff and butter in mixing bowl with paddle attachment.  Add in powdered sugar and vanilla, mix about 3-4minutes on medium until light and fluffy.  Using a spoon, scoop a dollop of icing into the center of a cookie.  Use the back of the spoon to spread it out to the edges of the cookie- repeat until you have half the cookies frosted. **You could also use straight up Marshmallow fluff in a pinch.

For the Chocolate Ganache:  

1) Break up 2 oz chocolate (I used Ghiradelli semi-sweet).  Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl.  Heat cream in small saucepan until boiling.  Remove and pour over the chocolate.  Let this sit for about 5 minutes while the chocolate softens.  Using a whisk, stir the chocolate and cream until combined and smooth.  Add corn syrup, whisk to combine and let sit about 5 minutes.  Scoop a small amount of chocolate onto the marshmallow icing on the cookie- use the back of the spoon to spread it out.  Place a top on the cookie and you have a whoopie pie ready to eat!

Source:
Graham Whoopie Cake adapted from Whoopie Pies by Sarah Billingsley and Amy Treadwell
Marshmallow Icing adapted from How Sweet Eats
Chocolate Ganache adapted from Pastry Queen by Rebecca Rather

Which one do you want?

Homemade Cherry Sherbet

Not long ago, I posted about the lime sherbet I made.  Since then, I have been on a sherbet kick- I have made five kinds in the past two weeks!  I'm almost positive that this cherry sherbet is the clear favorite in our house.  I'm not sure that more than one of my kids would actually eat a real cherry, but cook them and mash them and put them in sherbet, and they all ate them!

I went to a farmer's market last weekend to take pictures for my photography club and the cherries are starting to come into season.  Now would be the perfect time to try buying fresh cherries (locally if possible) and make some of this refreshing summer treat.

Cherry Sherbet:

3 cups cherries, stems removed and pitted
1 cup sugar
1/8 tsp salt
3/4 cup water
3 TBSP lemon juice
2 tsp vanilla (or vodka)- I used 1 1/2 tsp vanilla and 1/2 tsp cherry extract
2/3 cup heavy cream

1) Cook 3 cups pitted cherries, sugar, salt, and 3/4 cup water over medium heat- until it reaches a simmer, about 7 minutes.  I used a flat bottomed whisk and mashed the cherries while they were cooking to help extract more of the juices.  Place a fine mesh sieve over a bowl and strain the cherry mixture.  Press down on the solids to help extract more juices.  Discard the solids when done.

2)  Add lemon juice and vanilla (and/or vodka- cherry extract). ** This amount of alcohol helps to keep the ice cream smooth, not frosty when it freezes. Cover and place in freezer for about 30 minutes, do not freeze.

3) Whip heavy cream in medium or large bowl until soft peaks form.  Slowly whisk in juice mixture from freezer.

4) Turn ice cream maker on.  While ice cream maker is moving, slowly add mixture into ice cream maker and let it churn until it reaches the consistency of soft serve ice cream.  Place in a covered, air-tight container and store in the freezer.

Adapted from:  Cook's Illustrated Cookbook

This baby was on fire about this sherbet:

Happy Friday Everyone!

Thousand Layer Chocolate Chip Cookies

I found the recipe for these cookies the day after I got my wisdom teeth out.  I was immediately intrigued by the title, thousand layer- who wouldn't want to try a thousand layer chocolate chip cookie?  Talk about sheer torture, I couldn't make them because I couldn't eat them, so I made a note to myself to make them as soon as I could chew.  The very next weekend, I made my first (and second batch of these cookies).

The recipe is pretty much the same as the toll house recipe, except you use egg yolks only and you layer the dough and smash the chips in.  The extra step of layering the dough had me intimidated for about two days before I finally bit the bullet and made them.  Seriously, the extra step adds very little time and the end result is so good that you won't even mind.  The cookies are crispy on the outside and edges and soft and delicious in the middle.  They taste exactly like the big giant chocolate chip cookies I used to buy from the bakery that used to be in the town where I grew up.

If you've got a party or barbecue to go to this summer, you might consider bringing a batch of these, they are sure to be a hit.  The best part?  You can freeze the cookies once you cut them out and bake them directly from the freezer and your craving hits.

Thousand Layer Chocolate Chip Cookies:


Oven:  375'

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
4 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/4 cup flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
6 oz mini chocolate chips- I wouldn't try normal sized chips, I don't think they'd work well here (or you can shred a chocolate bar)

1) With paddle attachment in mixer, cream together the butter, sugar, and brown sugar on medium high until light and fluffy.

2) While butter/sugars are beating, separate eggs, saving the yolks.  After butter is creamed, add in egg yolks and vanilla.  Scape down sides.

3) In separate medium bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, and salt.  Slowly add flour mixture to batter in mixing bowl, mix on low until combined.  Scrape down sides, mix again, then stop mixing. Scrape dough off of paddle.

4) Stretch a piece of plastic wrap on your counter.  Take 1/3 of dough, place it on the plastic wrap and using your hands, form it into a 4X8 rectangle.  Wrap the dough rectangle up in the plastic wrap and set aside.  Repeat the process for the remaining 2/3 of the dough.  Try to keep each rectangle the same size.  Place the three wrapped rectangles in the refrigerator to firm up slightly for 30 minutes.

5) After the dough has been in the fridge for 30 minutes, remove it and bring it to the counter top.  Lightly flour the counter top, unwrap and place the first rectangle on the floured surface.  Place 1/2 of the chocolate chips on top of the dough rectangle.  Place the second rectangle on top of the chips, then place the remaining 1/2 of the chocolate chips on top of this, and finally, cover the top with the last dough rectangle. You will have a pretty high mound of dough and chips (it's ok if chips fall out, you will collect them later).

6) Using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll/pound the dough down to about 1- 1 1/2" thick.  Using a round cookie or biscuit cutter, cut out cookies and place them on a plate covered with parchment paper.
Take the dough scraps and smoosh them together (at this point, I abandon the rolling pin and just use my hands).  Form another 1" thick dough piece and cut out more cookies, continue until there is enough dough left to smoosh into the center of the cookie cutter to form the last cookie.

7) Put the cut out cookies in the fridge for 1 hour (lightly covered with plastic wrap).  At this point, you can stick them in the freezer for about thirty minutes to begin freezing, and then transfer them to a freezer safe plastic bag for storage until you are ready to cook them.  (Note:  I have made them from the freezer, from the fridge after 1 hour, and impatiently right away after cutting them out.  I haven't noticed a huge difference in flavor immediately, but the leftovers the second day taste way better from the ones that have been refrigerated for 1 hour before baking.  If you do any type of research online for the best chocolate chip cookie recipe, they all seem to stand by refrigerating the dough before cooking to maximize flavor - most are in there at least six hours).

8) After 1 hour, remove cookies from the fridge, place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  If you like (and I do), sprinkle the tops with sea salt.  Bake in 375' oven for 15-20 minutes (until edges are golden and tops start to turn golden.  Try to let them cool before biting in.  If you are baking from the freezer, cook time will be 20-25 minutes, but let the color of the tops be your guide.

Source:  The Newlyweds Cookbook by Sarah Copeland via Tracey's Culinary Adventures

How did I do it?  The first time I made these, Dave was out of town on a business trip.  Since I was using the mixer, I didn't need to be fully paying attention.  I was adding ingredients to the mixer while I was making dinner for the kids.  When the dough was done, I took five minutes while they were drinking their milk to form the rectangles and get them in the fridge.  Then while they were in there for 30 minutes, I served dinner, did the dishes, and cleaned up the table.  While I was pounding out the cookies, a few kids were helping, and the others were reading books.  WHile the cookies were refrigerating for 1 hour, we did baths and jammies, then we got impatient and baked them after 30 minutes.  While they were baking, we read bedtime stories, then we ate them, brushed teeth, and they were off to bed so I could sneak a few more cookies.

Homemade Lime Sherbet

I admit, I have never really been a fan of sherbet, that is, until last year.  On hot days, I don't like to eat, so I found that a nice cold fruit smoothie was not only refreshing but filled me up.  I had a really tasty smoothie at Jamba Juice last summer, and it had lime sherbet in it.  I find myself substituting sherbet into my smoothies instead of yogurt now.  I bought some lime sherbet when I moved into my new house and my kids were eating it up faster that I could use it in my smoothies, so I knew the flavor would go over well with everyone.

After making the peanut butter ice cream last week, I've been inspired to keep more homemade stuff on hand in the freezer, since it really is just so easy.  In my Cook's Illustrated Cookbook, there are a LOT of ice cream, sherbet, sorbet, and frozen ice recipes.  My son and I found a recipe for a sherbet cake we are going to make together, involving lemon and raspberry sherbet (first I need to get a springform pan).  I thought it would be a good idea to make our own sherbet for the cake, but since we don't have the pan yet, I decided we'd try lime as our tester flavor of sherbet.

How good was the lime sherbet?  So good that I made it last night and it's completely gone now.  We all had a bowl for dessert last night and then Hazel and I had our strawberry lime smoothies for lunch.  In fact, it was so good, there's no question that I will ever have any other type of sherbet in my freezer but homemade.  In fact, I actually whipped up a batch of orange sherbet while the kids were eating dinner and that's in the freezer now (think creamsicle- check back soon for this recipe).

And you're welcome!

Lime Sherbet:

1 TBSP lime zest
2/3 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (about 6 limes)
1 1/2 cup cold water
1/8 tsp salt
1 cup plus 2 TBSP sugar
2 tsp triple sec or vodka (or 1 tsp vanilla- I make my own vanilla, and it's from vodka and vanilla beans so I figured it'd be an ok substitute)
2/3 cup heavy cream

1) Put sugar, lime zest, and salt in bowl of food processor, fitted with blade.  Pulse for 1 minute until zest is incorporated into the sugar.

2) With the food processor running, add the water and lime juice.  Mix for 1 minute until all the sugar is dissolved.  Pour the mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl that has a lid.

3) Add alcohol or vanilla to the strained mixture, stir, cover, and place in the freezer.  Leave in freezer for about 30-45 minutes, until the temperature of the liquid is about 40'.  Do not let it freeze.

4) After removing the liquid from the freezer, pour the heavy cream into a bowl.  Using a whisk, beat the cream until stiff peaks form.  (I cheated and used a hand beater, and whipped it on medium until stiff peaks formed).

5) While slowly whisking the cream, after the stiff peaks formed, keep whisking while adding the liquid mixture from the freezer.  Turn the ice cream maker on, while it is turning, slowly pour this liquid into it.

6) Run the ice cream maker for about 25-30 minutes until the sherbet is thick and creamy.  Place in an airtight container with a lid and freeze for about 3 hours until firm before serving.

Source:  Cook's Illusrated Cookbook

Peanut Butter Ice Cream

OK, my Mother's Day was less than ideal.  My husband left on a business trip early in the morning, I'm still recovering from my three wisdom teeth being pulled, and this picture sums up the attitudes of my kids at many points throughout the day.

The weather, however, was amazing and what better to do on a beautiful sunny day when you can't chew food, than make ice cream.

This peanut butter ice cream recipe is sooo delicious.  It is the BEST peanut butter ice cream I have ever had!  There is a place called Far Fars near my parent's house that makes homemade ice cream, and their peanut butter ice cream was my favorite before this- but there is no comparison, this takes the cake!  I didn't even need to add hot fudge or peanut butter cups to top it off.  The peanut butter flavor was so prevalent and rich!

I would like to thank David Lebovitz for making my Mother's Day everything I wanted it to be by writing this totally amazing and super simple ice cream recipe.  I will try to never buy store bought ice cream again!  Try this today, but be careful not to eat the whole batch in one sitting.

Happy Mother's Day to all the mother's out there!

Peanut Butter Ice Cream:

3/4 cup peanut butter (I like Whole Foods Brand)
2 2/3 cup half and half
3/4 cup plus 2 TBSP sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla
pinch salt

1) Put all ingredients in a blender or food processor, blend until combined. Pour mixture into a bowl, cover and refrigerate until chilled.

2) Once chilled, pour into the bowl of your ice cream maker.  Let mix for 20-25 minutes until it begins to harden.  Place in an airtight, covered container in the freezer to finish hardening.

Source:  Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz via dinneranddessert blog

Lemon layer cake with Lemon mousse and Raspberry curd Filling

Now, thats a title for a cake, isn't it?  Well, I just realized it's been over two weeks since I've made a post.  For that I'm sorry, but with my husband's awesome travel schedule and the two photography classes I've been taking, I haven't had time to do anything else but make it through the day.  Also, now that I know how to take a good picture, stuff that I had already shot and had waiting to be posted doesn't seem good enough anymore.  I just got a new mega camera and I'm still playing around with it.  I hope to get some awesomely delicious shots up this week.

This is a cake I have made several times (and also it is my go to lemon cupcake recipe) and I can't believe I have yet to post it.  I actually made it and brought it to class for everyone to shoot.  I originally made it about one year ago for my dad on his first day back to work after his hip replacement and it was a big hit with the family.  My mom really loved it and she even made it herself, and if I remember correctly, it may have been her first attempt at a cake from scratch.  For that, I am proud to have inspired her to do so.  So, since she liked it so much, I figured why not post the cake for a Mother's Day treat.

Yes, I am an awful daughter and still have her Mother's Day card sitting on my coffee table.  I had every intention of sending it on Thursday, but I was preparing for my three wisdom teeth to be pulled on Friday and totally forgot.  Since I can't eat food, I'll write about it and since I didn't send her a gift, I'll post the recipe in an easy to find place for her as her gift.

This is a 3-layer lemon cake, filled with a fluffly lemon mousse and homemade raspberry curd, and topped off with a freshly whipped cream icing.  I didn't use a standard buttercream because I think it makes the cake too sweet.  I was even thinking about skipping the icing all together and just putting a large dollop of the lemon mousse on top.  The lemon mousse is so good, I could swan dive into it (seriously)!

Lemon Layer Cake with Lemon Mousse Raspberry curd and Whipped Cream Icing:


Oven: 325

Lemon Cake:
3 cups flour
1 TBSP baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp
2 cups sugar
4 eggs, room temp
3 TBSP lemon zest (from about 2 lemons)
2 TBSP lemon juice (from 1 lemon)
1 cup buttermilk (you can make your own w/ 1 cup milk and 1 tsp of either white vinegar or lemon juice)

Raspberry Curd:
1/2 cup (1 stick butter)
12 oz raspberries (frozen or fresh)
5 egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
pinch salt
2-3 tsp fresh lemon juice

Lemon Mousse Filling:
4 oz. cream cheese or marscapone cheese (I used cream cheese)
2 1/2 TBSP unsalted butter, room temp
1 1/4 cup confectioner's sugar
2 tsp lemon extract (I didn't have this, so I used lemon juice)
zest of 1/2 lemon
1 cup heavy cream

Whipped cream Icing:
2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup confectioner's sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla

For the cake:
1) In bowl of mixer, fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar on medium, until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

2) Add in eggs one at a time, scrape sides of bowl, mix, then add lemon zest and lemon juice, mix until combined.

3) In small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt.  In three additions, add dry ingredients, alternating with two additions for the buttermilk.  When finished adding final addition of dry ingredients, stop mixer, scrape sides of bowl, and give it one final mix.

4) Line the bottoms of 3 cake pans with parchment paper and grease and flour the sides.  I used 9 inch cake pans because that's all I have.  You can use 8 inch pans, but you might need to increase the bake time to accomodate for the slightly thicker cake.

5) Bake for 25-35 minutes.  Rotate halfway through.  Cakes are done when a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.  Let cakes cool on a rack for ten minutes, then invert pan, remove cakes and let them cool completely before frosting.

For the raspberry curd:
1) Melt the butter in a medium sauce pan.  Add the raspberries, sugar, salt, and egg yolks.  Cook over medium heat, mashing the berries.  Stir frequently, until mixture has thickened, about ten minutes.

2) Remove mixture from heat, pour mixture through a fine mesh sieve, set over a bowl.  Press the berries to make sure to get as much liquid out as possible.  Cool to room temp, it will thicken as it cools.  Stir in lemon juice to taste.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.  This can be made a few days ahead of time.

For the lemon mousse filling:
1) In bowl of mixer, fitted with paddle, beat butter and cream cheese on medium until smooth.  Add in confectioner's sugar, mix at low until combined.  Add in the lemon juice and zest until combined. Increase mixer speed to medium-high and beat until fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Scrape sides of bowl, mix once more, then set aside.

2) Put heavy cream in a medium bowl and beat with electric mixer until stiff peaks form.  Slowly fold the whipped cream mixture into the lemon cream cheese mixture until well combined.

For the Whipped Cream Icing:
1) Beat the heavy cream until stiff peaks form.  Mix in the confectioner's sugar and vanilla until smooth.

To assemble:
Place one cake layer on a 10" cake board.  Spread 1/3 of the lemon mousse filling on the cake.  Place 1/3 of the filling in a piping bag with a large tip.  Pipe a circle of the filling around the circumference of the cake (save the rest for the next layer).  Spoon raspberry curd in the center of the piped circle and spread it in atop the layer of mousse.  (You can view a photo of how I learned about this technique in this post I found on Bake at 350 blog). The circle of lemon mousse will help keep the curd in place.  Place the second cake layer on top of this.  Refrigerate for about ten minutes to let it set.  Remove from the refrigerator and repeat laying the mousse, piping the circle of mousse around the circumference, and filling in with the raspberry curd.  Place the third cake layer on top.  Refrigerate for about ten more minutes.

Spread a very thin layer of icing around the edges of the cake and the top.  This is a crumb coat.  Refrigerate to let it set and then remove and continue frosting.  By adding the crumb coat, you will eliminate stray crumbs from appearing in your frosting.  Use the extra frosting to pipe on edging. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Adapted from:
Lemon cake from Confections of Foodie Bride, Raspberry Curd from Beantown Baker, Lemon Mousse from Annie's Eats, Whipped Cream Icing from Pastry Queen cookbook

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Pie

Happy National Pi Day!  Yes, I am nerdy enough to know that today, 3/14, is a celebration of the infamous math symbol pi (3.14).  Yay for math being an excuse to make pie!

The good thing is that two weeks ago, I stumbled across a new blog, Love and Olive Oil, that I liked so much, I scrolled through 1 year of her recipes, and stopped when I found this recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cream Pie.  HELLO??!!  She is even writing a cookbook completely filled with recipes that ALL have to do with cookie dough!!

I wasn't sure that anything could ever beat the chocolate chip cookie dough cupcakes that I love so much, but this... there may be a tie.  My son told me this was the BEST dessert I have ever made!

The day I found the recipe was the day I made it and decided this had to be the pie I post in honor of pi day.  I'm not  terribly proud of the pictures I took (I hope you cut me some slack, I had a sick kid in the house and my husband has been away for 10 days now).  I was trying to use natural sunlight to take the pictures, and I'm not complaining that it was 79' on March 14, but it was 79' and the whipped cream started to melt.  When I went to cut the slice out of the pie, it flung off the spatula and landed on top of the opposite side of the pie.  I tried to doctor it as best I could, but seriously, pictures aside, this is something you have to try if you're a fan of cookie dough.

You start off with a crushed chocolate cookie crust.  Top it with a thick layer of raw cookie dough.   Fill it with a brown sugar/cookie dough pudding.  Cover it with a thick smooth layer of homemade whipped cream!  Garnished on top with cookies, are you sold?

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Pie:

Crust:
7 oz. chocolate wafer cookies, finely ground (1 1/2 cups) (I used teddy grahams)
6 TBSP melted butter

Cookie Dough Layer:
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
3/8 cup sugar
3/8 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 TBSP milk
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Pudding layer:
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups whole milk
3 egg yolks
1 TBSP unsalted butter
1 tsp vanilla

Whipped Cream Topping:
1 cup heavy cream
3 TBSP sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla

1) Preheat oven to 350'. Using food processor, grind up the cookies.  Melt butter, then mix with cookie crumbs.  Press into a pie pan, make sure the edges rise up about 1-2 inches.  Bake in oven, 8 minutes, until set.  Set aside to cool.

2) While crust is baking, prepare cookie dough layer.  Beat sugar, brown sugar, and butter in bowl of mixer with paddle, until light and fluffy.  Scrape down sides, add in vanilla and milk.  Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl.  Add to mixer bowl, mix until combined.  Add in chocolate chips, mix, scrape down sides.

3) Put 3 small balls of dough onto a cookie sheet, lightly press down on the tops.  Bake in the oven at 350, 8-10 minutes.  These cookies will be the cookies that will garnish the top of the pie.

4) While the cookies are baking, press the remaining cookie dough into the cooled cookie crust.  Set aside.

5) Prepare the pudding filling by mixing the brown sugar, flour, and salt in a medium saucepan.  Add in 1 cup whole milk, stir constantly over medium heat until mixture reaches a boil.  Let simmer for 2 minutes, then remove pan from heat to cool slightly.

6) Put egg yolks in a small bowl, whisk until smooth, then add in remaining 1 cup milk.  Whisk, set aside.  Once the mixture in the saucepan is slightly cooled (I usually let it sit about 3 minutes), pour a small amount into the bowl with the egg yolks and milk, while whisking.   This is tempering the eggs.  Add a bit more of the mixture from the saucepan to the egg mixture, while whisking.  Then, add all of the egg mixture into the mixture in the saucepan, whisking constantly.

7) Return saucepan to heat, and stir constantly over medium until mixture comes to a boil.  Let simmer 1 minute, then remove from heat- should be the consistency of pudding.  Add in the 1 TBSP butter and 1/2 tsp vanilla now and mix.  Let cool slightly, then pour into the pie pan ontop of the cookie dough, smooth the top with a spatula.

8) Cover pie so pudding does not form a skin.  Refrigerate until the pie is completely cool.  Before serving, make whipped cream topping.  In medium bowl, beat cream until it forms soft peaks.  Mix in sugar and vanilla, beat again until firm peaks form.  Spread whipped cream on top of pie.  If desired, reserve 1/2 - 1 cup whipped cream and pipe it on to form decorative peaks to insert the cookies into.

9) Garnish the pie with the cookies you made earlier and enjoy it!

While I was eating my pie, I noticed a perfect shot of the cookie dough on the inside.  It was dark out, so there was no natural light, but I wanted to take a picture anyways to entice you further:

This pie was taste tester approved.

Here's something I love even more than this pie:
My little girl can walk!  I want to eat her up too!

And just for kicks, 3 years ago, big sister in the same dress :(