Cooking Creations

I really do want to make another blog for the recipes I make and then I figured I can put it into a bound book......I still may do that. As I think about it more I think that I can pass this book down to Alexandra when she begins to cook on her own. But for now I am going to add some of the recent recipes I've made that turned out really good. The first up is a 5th Avenue Bar. This recipe, which I got from another site, http://tinyurl.com/2cpnosf, is actually a recipe for a butterfinger bar but after tasting it I felt it tasted more like a 5th avenue. Either way, it's yummy!

Butterfinger Candy Bars (My version of a 5th Ave)

(Yields about 96 miniature candy bars)

1/3 cup light corn syrup

1/3 cup water

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup peanut butter

Spray Vegetable Oil (Pam, etc.) for keeping the knife lubricated in scoring

1 Pound of Tempered Semi-Sweet Chocolate for dipping

First begin by greasing a 12-by-17-inch jelly roll pan (with 1-inch sides) with safflower, vegetable or canola oil. Place the pan into a slightly warm oven to warm the pan while making the candy. (Don’t allow the pan to become hot, only barely warm to give you more time to spread and score the candy later.)

In a heavy 2-quart saucepan, combine the corn syrup and water, stirring well to combine. Place over medium-low heat and add the sugar. Cook the mixture, stirring constantly, until it is clear and then stirring often until it reaches a full boil. Clip on your calibrated candy thermometer, raise the heat to medium-high and continue to cook – without stirring – until the mixture reaches 310 degrees (F). During this cooking period, should sugar crystals form above the boiling line, carefully wipe away using a damp pastry brush, but be careful not to touch the boiling mixture. Rinse the pastry brush well – and make certain to blot-dry the brush well – between each swipe.

Remove your pan from the warming oven and place on your work surface.

Remove the candy from heat and add the peanut butter, stirring to blend completely using a clean wooden spoon. Working quickly, pour the mixture onto your well-greased jelly roll pan, and spread as evenly as possible. Score the mass with an oiled, heavy chef’s knife into 1-inch by 2-inch pieces, cutting at least half way through the candy. (The more quickly you do this, the easier and deeper your scoring will be.) It is helpful to spray the knife with cooking oil occasionally to aide the knife in scoring.

Allow the scored mixture to cool at room temperature about 2 hours. When cool and hard, complete cutting the scored pieces using a sharp, heavy knife (I like to use my Chinese cleaver here) and break into individual pieces.

Place the cut candies into the refrigerator while you temper your dipping chocolate and allow to chill for 15 to 30 minutes. Remove the candies from the fridge and dip each piece into the chocolate, then place on parchment paper to allow the chocolate to harden completely (About 3 hours).

Note: You can add a certain flair to the candy by taking a clean dinner fork and touching the tops of each freshly dipped piece raising lines of “peaks” (akin to meringue peaks). Just use the back of the fork laid parallel to the chocolate cops, touch, lift and slightly pull to one side. Looks pretty snazzy….

Store on waxed-paper sheets in an airtight container for up to two weeks.

Another one of the recent things I made was a batch of chocolate chip cookies. Yes, chocolate chip cookies seem simple but I wanted to make chewy chocolate chip cookies. It is true that it seems that each time I make them they turn out differently. I usually follow the recipe on the back of the Nestle bag just like many. But this time I decided to research exactly how to make your cookies chewy. I wanted to learn the tips and tricks to do this. Chris says to just add more butter. (He met the famous cookie maker Mrs. Fields at a work conference and she shared this secret!) I am sure this would work but I knew it was more than just butter. So I found some tips and tricks online and a good recipe, tried it out, and these cookies are sooooooo good!

To make them chewy it all depends on how much moisture is in the cookie, the baking time, and temperature.

So here are some tips I read about:

Tip # 1: when measuring the flour spoon it into the measuring cup instead of putting the measuring cup into the flour container. Spooning it in makes it light and fluffy whereas packing it adds an extra tablespoon or so.

Tip # 2: use a flat baking sheet instead of one with a lip. This allows a more even heat flow around the cookies. An extra thing I do is add parchment paper on top. I think the parchment allows the cookies to get a nicer brown bottom and not burnt. I've used dark cookie sheets before and the bottoms burnt due to the cookie sheet.

Tip # 3: Take the cookies out before you think they are actually ready. When you take the cookies out they continue to cook inside so taking them out early will ensure a nice gooey center.

Tip # 4: Really watch the cookies and time them. I know I've forgotten about them or have taken them out a minute or so late and they turned out too brown.

Ok so here is the recipe - again, not my original recipe, just one I found online but I thought it would be good to share a good recipe with you all. I followed this recipe to the tee and they are (soon to be were) delightful. They stay fresh in a storage container 2 days but I am not sure they will last that long.

CHEWY CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

If you are of the school that thinks chocolate chip cookies should be soft and chewy, you'll love this recipe. Store these cookies airtight for up to 2 days.

Total: 40 minutes

Yield: Makes about 28 cookies

Ingredients

· 1 cup (1/2 lb.) butter, at room temperature

· 1 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar

· 2 large eggs

· 1 teaspoon vanilla

· 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

· 1 teaspoon baking soda

· 1/2 teaspoon salt

· 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (12 oz.)

· 1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Preparation

1. In a bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter and brown sugar until well blended. Beat in eggs and vanilla until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.

2. In another bowl, mix flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir or beat into butter mixture until well incorporated. Stir in chocolate chips and pecans, if using.

3. Drop dough in 2-tablespoon (1/8-cup) portions, 2 inches apart, onto buttered 12- by 15-inch baking sheets.

4. Bake in a 400° oven until cookies are lightly browned and no longer wet in the center (break one open to check), 6 to 8 minutes; if baking more than one pan at a time, switch pan positions halfway through baking.

5. With a wide spatula, transfer cookies to racks to cool. If hot cookies start to break, slide a thin spatula under them to release; let stand on pan to firm up, 2 to 5 minutes, then transfer to racks to cool completely.