Lavender Brownies

At this point I'd say it's pretty obvious I'm lavender obsessed. Lavender cookies, lavender lemonade, lavender cupcakes, I've made this lavender granola before, lemon lavender pound cake, I've put lavender in my smoothies, the list really goes on. To keep the merriment going, today I bring you Lavender Brownies! 

I honestly found this recipe while searching for a recipe for lavender honey ice cream. I told you I was obsessed. I had all the plans in the world to make some lavender ice cream but these brownies intruded. No worries, ice cream to come!

To get the lavender into the brownies you pulse the sugar and lavender buds together in a food processor (perfect way to break in my new Cuisinart I got for my birthday, I'm so weird). This is the same method as used in these cookies. During my baking spree last Friday I apparently turned into this flavored sugar making machine. See below my lavender sugar and grapefruit sugar. Speaking of did you catch yesterday's Grapefruit White Chocolate Brown Butter cookies?

Butter and chocolate are melted together with the addition of the sugar, flour, eggs, vanilla and cinnamon. Don't worry these brownies don't taste like a flower or anything. The lavender really adds a lot and helps cut the richness of a traditional brownie. 

Lavender Brownies

yields 9 brownies, adapted from Homesick Texan

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar

1/4 tsp. dried lavender buds, plus additional for garnish

4 oz bittersweet chocolate

8 Tbsp. (1 stick) unsalted butter

1/8 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup flour

flaked or corse sea salt, optional

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a 8x8 or 9x9 square pan. 

In a food processor, pulse the sugar and lavender together until combined and the lavender is small.

In a saucepan on low, melt the chocolate and butter together. Once melted, turn off the heat and stir in the lavender sugar, salt, cinnamon and vanilla. Add the beaten eggs until well combined, then stir in the flour until everything is mixed. A thick batter will form!

Pour your batter into the pan and bake for 25-30 minutes until a knife or tooth pick comes out clean. Pull your brownies out of the oven and sprinkle with the sea salt and lavender buds. I like to rub the lavender between the palm of my hands to create smaller pieces to garnish with. Wait for the brownies to completely cool before you try to cut into them!

**You can find lavender on the spice aisle at Sprouts or other specialty grocery stores or spice markets. 

Try them, you just must. Dunk them in a glass of milk too for added deliciousness. 

Annie

Will You Marry Me?

You will after you eat these cookies. Marry Me cookies get their name from the delicious taste and possibility of someone offering to marry you after making them. It's not guaranteed, but they do have some magical powers. My mom first made these cookies while I was still at home over break. They rolled out about 3 dozen so she ushered me off with a big bag full before I went on my ski trip. I left them on the counter of the ski house we rented while I unpacked and came back downstairs to them almost all gone. 

I couldn't take the credit so I had to make my own batch once we got home. They were as big a hit the second time around. No proposals, but I mean I'm 21, not really trying to get married yet!!

Chocolate chips, white chocolate chips and pecans, all wonderful components ready to be dumped into the dough (and a few small handfuls into my mouth). The way these cookies come together is different than most cookie recipes. The butter and sugars are melted together on the stove, then instead of transferring to an electric mixer, you continue to combine all the ingredients in the pan on the stove. There are then stages of chilling the dough before baking, but I promise they turn out wonderful. 

Marry Me Cookies adapted from this recipe 
yields 2-3 dozen

Ingredients:
1 cup butter
1 1/4 light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 cup oats
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans

Directions:
In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat until melted. Remove from the heat. Add the brown sugar and granulated sugar and stir until sugars are incorporated and smooth. Chill the mixture for 10 minutes.

Remove from the refrigerator and stir in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla. Add the flour, oats, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon and mix together. Stir in the white chocolate chips, chocolate chips and pecans. Roll by hand into medium-size balls or use a scoop, and place on sheet pans (greasing is not necessary because of the melted butter). If desired, tuck extra chips and pecans over tops of dough mounds for a lovely appearance.

Preheat the oven to 325˚F. Chill, on sheet pan for 30 minutes in the fridge or just a few in the freezer. Remove the cookies from the refrigerator and bake for 14-18 minutes, or until golden brown. Allow to cool for several minutes on pan, then transfer to cooling rack.

If you are over pink, red and hearts galore, these are a perfect, yet subtle Valentine treat! 

Annie

Turtle Turtle

Alright, it's been two weeks, time to cheat a little on that New Year's resolution of eating healthy. 

Every year my family typically gets that same kind of things in our Christmas stockings. Socks, underwear, jewelry, gift cards, and candy. My sisters and I always get the Lifesaver Christmas Storybooks, mom gets her Russell Stover French chocolate mints, and dad gets Turtles. Homemade Lifesavers and mint chocolates seemed a little daunting, but I'd seen this recipe for homemade turtles and knew dad needed the homemade version this year!

Homemade Turtles adapted form Averie Cooks
yields 12 turtles

Ingredients: 
4 oz pecan halves
15 caramel squares, unwrapped
1/8 cup half-and-half
12 oz chocolate chips
sea salt, optional for sprinkling

Directions: 
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil. Choose one that will fit in your freezer or fridge. 

Make small piles of pecans, about 5 or 6 pecans on the baking sheet. Overlap them so the caramel doesn't seep through. 

In a microwave safe bowl, melt the caramels with the cream. Microwave on 30 seconds intervals stirring each time between. Will probably take about 2-3 minutes. Spoon about a tablespoon over each pile of caramels. 

Now time to heat the chocolate. Use the same method for the chocolate that you did with the caramels. 30 second intervals, stirring between. Once it is completely melted spoon about two tablespoons over the caramel and pecan piles. 

Add a pinch of salt to the top, then place the baking sheet in the freezer or fridge to firm up. Store at room temperature for a week or up to a month in the fridge! 

They were pretty much amazing and tasted just like your traditional chocolate, caramel, pecan turtle candy, only better! My dad is probably my favorite person to cook and bake for. I think every time I make something new he says "I think this is the best thing you've ever made!!" Let's see if I can keep impressing him!

Annie

Double Chocolate and Coconut Cookies

This was one of those, let's see what's in the pantry then check Pinterest for something using only ingredients I already have on hand so that I don't have to go to the store, kind of baking adventures.

I woke up at my parent's house Sunday morning after house sitting for them while they are galavanting around London and Paris (Happy 30th Anniversary Mom and Pops!). I always take advantage of their kitchen and food when I'm home. After watching a solid hour of Sunday morning Food Network shows, I was itching to bake something. I walked to the pantry and found a random abundance of chocolate chips. This was only random because no one bakes at home now that I'm gone. 

Regular chocolate chip cookies were not going to cut it, so I checked the chocolate recipes I had pinned and decided on these Double Chocolate and Coconut cookies. They are described as having a brownie like texture, and use cocoa and coconut. It wasn't going to take much more to convince me. 

Double Chocolate and Coconut Cookies: Recipe adapted fromToday's Mama
yields 3 dozen cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temp (straight out of the fridge then microwaved for 20 seconds also does the trick)
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup cocoa
2 cups flour
2 cups chocolate chips
1/2 cup shredded coconut, extra for sprinkling on top  

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350º F.  Line 2 cookies sheets by with parchment paper.

Sift the flour, cocoa powder, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside.

Using a handheld or stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on high speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides as needed. Switch the mixer to medium speed and beat in the brown sugar and white sugar until combined. Beat in the eggs, and vanilla, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.

Turn the mixer off and pour the sifted dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Turn the mixer on low and slowly beat until combined.  Slowly add in the chocolate chips and coconut.  Beat until well combined–do not overmix.

Form into about 1 1/2 Tbsp. size balls and place on cookie sheet.  Flatten the balls of dough slightly and sprinkle with a little more coconut. Bake for about 8-12 minutes depending on the size of the cookies (1 Tbsp of dough will take about 8 minutes, 2 Tbsp of dough will take closer to 12 minutes). 9 minutes was perfect for me!

Let cool for about 2 minutes on the sheets and then slide the parchment paper off the cookies sheets to finish cooling on the counter. Eat and enjoy! Store extras in an air tight container for up to 3 days, store in the freezer for up to one month.

The cookies were baked and Food network was still going strong on the TV, but it was time to pack up these chocolate and coconut sweet treats and head back to Norman. I brought these to my Homecoming pep rally dance practice for a Sunday pick-me-up. The cookies went over swimingly. I heard someone compare them to an Almond Joy, and I got a "these are actually amazing."

I love when random deliciousness can be stemmed from ingredients already in the pantry. I also think these would be cute at Christmastime because the coconut kind of resembles a dusting of snow. These may be a repeat offender come Decemember.

Annie

Pistachio Chocolate Chip Cookies

A fabulous combination. I've had these 

cookies

 pinned since back in December, then after my sweet friend Molly made 

them

 in April, they were on my radar again. I finally got around to making them and thank goodness I did. I originally found this recipe after going pistachio crazy around the holidays. My mom had bowls of them around the house and my sister and I would stand there and gorge on the whole bowl.

Note to self-buy the already shelled pistachios next time I make these.  

I made these cookies as a first day of school treat. I think they helped lift spirits of school starting again. 

Pistachio Chocolate Chip Cookies
yields 2 dozen

Ingredients:
1 ½ cup flour
½ tsp. sea salt

¾ tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. baking soda

½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

¼ cup sugar

¾ cup light brown sugar

1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract

¾ cup unsalted pistachios, shelled and roughly chopped
1 cup chopped dark chocolate


Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. 

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.

Using a mixer, cream butter and sugars together until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and beat for an additional 2 minutes.
With the mixer on low, slowly add in the dry ingredients. Mix until just incorporated.

Stir in the pistachios and chocolate chunks. Using a spoon or cookie scoop, form tablespoons size balls of cookie dough. Place balls on prepared baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Sprinkle cookie dough balls with sea salt. Bake cookies for 12 minutes, or until lightly browned around the edges. Let cookies sit on baking sheet for 2 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire cooling rack and cool completely. Store in an air-tight container for up to 4 days.

Like I said yesterday our neighbors were never around when we tried to deliver our friendly neighbor cookies, so I had two platters full of cookies to share with my friends on the first day of school!