Giant Purple Cookie

I think Ted came home from work with the suggestion for this recipe from a co-worker. In original form it is called “Crustless Cranberry Pie”. A web search turned up a numerous variations on the recipe so we picked one that seemed reasonable. We’ve made it a dozen plus times and love the result. We usually call it ‘giant cranberry cookie’.

Tonight I had no cranberries. Blueberries seemed a fair substitute. The color is definitely eye catching before baking.

Giant Purple Cookie
Servings: 6-8
Prep time: 15 minutes
Total time: 55 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 cups frozen blueberries
• 1/2 cup roughly chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted and cooled slightly
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Arrange an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat to 350°F. Grease a 9″ glass pie pan and set it aside.
2. Mix together the flour, sugar and salt in a bowl. Add the blueberries and walnuts, stir gently to coat.
3. Combine the melted butter, eggs and vanilla in a separate bowl. Use a fork to combine the ingredients and then pour into the dry ingredient bowl. Stir to combine. The batter will turn purple.
4. Transfer the batter to the greased pie pan and distribute evenly. Bake for 40 minutes, rotating the dish 180° halfway through baking.
5. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 15 minutes on cooling rack before serving.

Peanut Butter Cookies

My plans to make oatmeal cookies were foiled by not having any oatmeal. Thankfully there are always other types of cookies that can be made with most of the same ingredients.

Peanut Butter Cookies
Servings: 3 1/2 dozen cookies
Prep time: 5 minutes
Total time: 50 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
• 12 Tbsp. (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/3 cup powdered sugar
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 egg plus 1 egg yolk

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder & soda and salt in a bowl. Set aside.
3. Combine the oil, peanut butter and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat for 1 minute at a low speed to combine and then another 2 minutes at high speed until smooth. Reduce speed to low, add sugars, beat until combined and then increase speed to high for 3-4 minutes until fluffy.
4. Add the egg and extra yolk and beat until combined.
5. Add the flour in 1/2 cup increments about 30 seconds apart until all the flour mixture has been mixed in. Rest the dough for 10 minutes.
6. Using a 1 Tbsp. measure scoop dough into balls and place on a cookie sheet. Use the tines of a fork to press into 3/8″ high cookies.
7. Bake one cookie sheet at a time for 9 minutes, rotating the cookie sheet 180°F half way through cooking.
8. Remove the tray and cool for 4-5 minutes before transferring cookies to a cooling rack. Store any cookies you resist eating in a sealed container for as long as they last.

Notes:
I was actually short on peanut butter as well (who stocks the pantry in this place anyway, oh ya, it’s me; doh). I had about 1/2 a cup of peanut butter so I made up the remaining 1/4 cup with cookie butter; specifically with Speculoos Cookie & Cocoa Swirl from Trader Joe’s. While evily delicious I’m glad I also finished that jar; it won’t be replaced. Evily delicious and attempting to lose some weight do not go well together.

Zucchini Brownies

I have dinner with my mom at least every couple of weeks. She shared a zucchini brownie that a friend of hers passed along and it was pretty good. I had a zucchini and thought I’d see what I could come up with. The results were pretty good, though more a snack cake than a brownie.

It is amazing to me how well the zucchini is absorbed into the finished product. If I didn’t know it was there I don’t think I’d be any the wiser.

Zucchini Brownies
Servings: 12
Prep time: 15 minutes
Total time: 55 minutes (plus cooling time)

Ingredients:

• 2 cup shredded zucchini
• 270g (2 cups) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. table salt
• 1/2 tsp. espresso powder
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prep a 13″x9″ pan by spraying it with vegetable spray, lining it with a piece of parchment to make a sling and then spraying it again with vegetable spray.
2. Whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, cocoa, soda, salt and espresso powder and set aside.
3. In a large bowl mix the sugar and oil together. Beat in the egg and vanilla until combined.
4. Add the dry ingredients and stir until combined. It won’t turn into a batter, more like lightly moistened sand.
5. Add the zucchini and chocolate chips; stir until well mixed. The batter will moisten up as you stir. You want it to just come together; a small pocket or two of dry ingredients won’t be a problem.
6. Transfer to the prepared pan and press to the edges. Bake for 35-40 minutes, rotating the pan 180 degrees at the halfway mark.
7. Allow brownies to cook in the pan for at least 1 hour.

Notes:
I shredded the zucchini on the large holes of a box grater.

I stand by the lightly moistened sand analogy. Shocking how much liquid the zucchini provided and how it goes from nothing-like-brownie-batter to a geez-this-is-thick-brownie-batter in less than a minute.

I drew inspiration from several recipes I found online including The Best Zucchini Brownies, Chocolate Zucchini Brownies and one at chef-in-training.com.

“Pricey” Brownies

At some point after we started dating my now husband decided that box-mix brownies were a waste of time. He came up with the following recipe and it has stood the test of time. These are a dense, slightly chewy, brownie with a deep chocolate taste.

The name “pricey” comes from the fact that Ted calls for high quality chocolate. We typically use a bittersweet chocolate that we get from King Arthur Flour. The original recipe called for Scharffen Berger Bittersweet Chocolate. We’ve used the Ghiradelli Bittersweet Chocolate Baking Bar with good success. The use of chocolate chips, no matter the quality, isn’t allowed when Ted makes these. 🙂