Macadamia Chocolate Meltaways

We were going to friends for dinner the other night, but got cancelled on early in the day due to them getting Dodger playoff tickets. Salzman's vs. Dodgers, hmmm...I think they made a wise decision!

I had already made the batter for these cookies (The All American Cookie Book )the night before and couldn't let them go to waste. What I liked about this recipe is that the dough was easily made and had to be frozen overnight. This is the perfect dessert for those of you who want to pull off the homemade treat, but can't always achieve that.

I just baked these off to take to Eli's football game and the house smells really good. These are so light, crispy, yet soft. The combination of macadamia nuts, the chocolate and the use of powdered sugar as opposed to cane sugar is a winning trio!

ingredients:

1 3/4 lb. (8 oz.) macadamia nuts -divided

2 1/2 tbls. sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) cold butter, cut into chunks

2 1/2 tbls flavorless oil

1 egg yolk

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/4 tsp. salt (omit if using salted nuts)

1/2 oz. bittersweet chocolate, broken up into pieces

directions:

1. In a food processor, chop 1 1/2 cups macadamia nuts and the sugar until ground to smooth paste. Add the butter, 2 tbls. oil, egg yolk and vanilla and pulse just until blended. Scrape the side of the bowl. Add remaining 1/4 cup macadamia nuts, the flour, powdered sugar, salt and pulse until the macadamia nuts are chopped fine.

2. Melt 1/2 tbls. oil and the chocolate in a bowl over simmering water until just melted. Let stand to cool.

3. Line a 4 1/2 x 8" loaf pan with two long sheets of plastic wrap, laid crosswise and let them overlap with an overhang.

4. Divide the dough in half. Spoon half the dough into the pan. Lay a sheet of wax paper over the top and press down and smooth to even the surface. Using a pastry brush, spread the chocolate thinly over the dough. Freeze until chocolate completely sets (I forgot to do this and my chocolate oozed all over!). Place second layer of dough over chocolate and repeat with wax paper to smooth. Cover the loaf with the overhang of the plastic wrap. Freeze 3-4 hours or overnight.

5. Preheat oven to 325 and line baking sheets with silpat pads. Or spray with nonstick spray.

6. Peel the plastic from the dough. Using a large, sharp knife, Cut the dough lengthwise in half and then cut each half in half again (you will have 4 equal size logs). Cut each log into 1/4" slices, wiping knife after each cut. Place on cookie sheets, 2" apart.

7. Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, in the upper third of the oven for 11-15 minutes, until slightly browned. Rotate the sheets half way during baking.

Transfer sheets to a wire rack and let firm 3-4 minutes. Transfer cookies to another wire rack until completely cool.

Store in an airtight container for 1 week or freeze for up to 1 month. Be careful cuz cookies are fragile.

These are delicious. I highly recommend you make them!

p.s. Eli just walked in the room, eating one and said, "soft, yet crunchy and delectable!"

Beyond Brownies

I knew these were going to be good right when I looked at the recipe. Another winning bar recipe from my guy Nick (Malgieri). Sooooooooooo good!

The same day we were going to friends for breakfast (challah bread pudding), we were also seeing other friends for dinner. I totally overbooked us. What was I thinking? This was more socializing in one day than I usually do over a two week period!

Regardless, I had to bring treats. I wanted something I could do the day before and the Pecan, Coconut Chocolate Chunk Bars. These were somewhat similar to the dream bars that I make yet with a twist.

These melted in your mouth. They are the perfect balance between sweet, salty, crunchy, soft. Mmmm Mmmm good!

This is yet another recipe from my bible; The Modern Baker.

Little Wafers

Today was Levi's first day of school. He was super excited and couldn't wait to get out the door. He likes being one of the older kids and love being a "ducky".

I decided to make his teachers a little shortbread type cookie. I pulled out a few books, but the Cherry Orange Flaky Flats from 125 Cookies caught my eye. They were light and flaky. If I make them again, I will probably make them thicker (the recipe called for them to be rolled to 1/8").

ingredients

1 cup unbleached flour

1/2 cup cake flour

1/4 tsp. salt

3 tbls. sugar + more for dusting

6 Tbls. cold unsalted butter, cubed

3 Tbls. cold veg shortening

1/2 tsp. grated lemon zest

1 1/2 tsp. grated orange zest

1 large egg, separated

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup dried cherries

directions

1. Put flours, slat & 3 tbls. of sugar in food processor and mix for 10 seconds. Add butter and shortening, and mix until mixture looks like small lima beans. Mix in zests. Add the egg yolk, vanilla and 2 tbls. cold water. Add the dried cherries.

Continue to mix until it holds together. Press dough into 6" square, wrap and chill in fridge for at least 2 hours.

2. Remove dough from fridge and put between 2 pieces of wax paper and roll a rectangle 12 x8" and about 1/8" ( I would do 1/4") thick. Trim the edges evenly. Use a pizza cutter and cut 2" squares.

Using a pastry brush, lightly brush each cookie with the egg white and then sprinkle with a little sugar.

3. Preheat oven to 350*. Bake cookies on parchment lined cookie sheets. Bake 20 minutes until light golden and the bottoms are light brown. Cool completely.