Charleston Chewies

While it is spring now and I feel like I should be making something with the flavors of spring, we sure have had a lot of rain lately. We get a day or two that is nice but then the rain returns! I have some clothes that are ready for warmer weather; I do hope that I eventually get a chance to wear them.

Instead of spring I stick with traditional flavors like brown sugar and nuts. I had two different recipes that I was looking at, and asked my husband which to make. His answer was to make the Charleston Chewies as he’s had them before and they are great. Well, ok then! I even had dark brown sugar on hand, which is unusual!

These cookies are different in that you make them in a saucepan. I didn’t use my mixer at all, which is so strange! Melting the brown sugar and butter took care of any hardness that my sugar had, just be careful and don’t splash it all over the counter. My hand got tired mixing everything together as it dough was heavy and thick. They baked up easily and they cut like a dream. They have a great pecan/brown sugar flavor. I wonder how these compare to the cookies my husband had before?

Charleston Chewies
1 cup butter
16 ounces dark brown sugar
3 eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
¾ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
Powdered sugar

Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Line a 9” x 13” pan with foil and spray the foil with nonstick spray.

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Add the brown sugar and stir until the butter and sugar melts together, 1-2 minutes. Remove the pan from the stove and allow the mixture to cool 5-10 minutes.

Once the mixture is slightly cooled, add the eggs, one at a time, whisking after each addition. Stir in the vanilla and stir to incorporate. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and chopped pecans and stir until the dough comes together. The dough will be very thick. Pour the dough into the prepared pan, smoothing the top evenly.  

Bake for 25-28 minutes, until the bars begin to brown along the edges. Remove from the oven and allow the bars to cool.

Dust the cookies with powdered sugar before cutting until squares.

Recipe from Pizzazzerie

Chocolate Wedding Cookies

Wedding cookies, usually made with pecans, are one of my favorites that you see around the holidays. I have made a couple of variations with different holiday flavors, but there are so many more flavors to explore. Tim’s sister Maria and I are both big baking fans and we have gotten together to bake things, and we sometimes send recipes to each other. She is the one who discovered this chocolate version, and I knew they would be good!

These “Mexican” wedding cookies are so called because of the combination of chocolate and cinnamon. These call for so little cinnamon that you can’t really taste it, so I would think you are safe calling them chocolate cookies. The original cookies called for chopped pecans, but I followed Maria’s advice and made them all chocolate, adding mini chocolate chips to the dough.

These cookies are quick to assemble, but you do need to make sure that the dough comes together completely and there are no dry areas. If there is dryness, it will be impossible to shape them into balls. This recipe made about 30 cookies, which I was able to bake in two batches. Since they don’t spread, you don’t have to worry so much about spacing. Yes, powdered sugar-coated cookies are always messy, but you are rewarded with a super chocolatey cookies, lovely with chunks of mini chips!

Chocolate Wedding Cookies
1 cup butter, room temperature
3/4 cup powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 3/4 cups flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup mini chocolate chips
Additional powdered sugar

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

In a large mixer bowl, combine the butter, powdered sugar and vanilla. Mix until the ingredients are creamy. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, cinnamon, and salt. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour mixture, mixing until a dough forms with no dry patches. Stir in the mini chocolate chips.

Shape the dough into 1-1/4” balls and place on the prepared baking sheet. As these cookies don’t rise or spread, there is no need for extra space between the cookies.

Bake for about 12 minutes, until the cookies are set. Allow the cookies to cool for 5 minutes, and then roll them in a bowl of powdered sugar, coating the cookies evenly.

Recipe from Marie Saba

Salted Caramel Pretzel Brownies

We had some pretzels in the kitchen and I thought that it would be a good idea to look for recipes that used pretzels. I don’t know if you are like out family, but we buy pretzels, eat some of them, and then the rest linger on the counter until they go stale. I try not to be wasteful, but I can only eat so many pretzels. I guess I should buy those small individual packages, but they sure cost a lot more than the regular-sized bags.

Pretzels can be used in a number of different ways; in this case, the form the base of the brownies. I made the base by crushing the pretzels in the food processor, and then added the remaining crust ingredients. I pressed them in the pan fairly well, but the base becomes more stable once you add the brownie batter and bake everything together.

The original recipe had you make your own caramel, but I used purchased caramel sauce. Sometimes I have success making caramel and sometimes it end up being a big mess! I topped the bars with caramel and Hawaiian sea salt and refrigerated them for 24 hours. The caramel seemed thick but as soon as I took the bars out of the refrigerator to cut them, the caramel was everywhere. These are so messy and sticky, but they are also so tasty! I guess I can handle some stickiness in exchange for such a tasty brownie.

Salted Caramel Pretzel Brownies
1 cup crumbled pretzels
75 grams butter , melted
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar

160 grams butter
1 1/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup cocoa
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup caramel sauce
Coarse salt

Heat the oven to 390 degrees. Line an 8” square pan with aluminum foil.

Mix together the pretzels, melted butter and brown sugar in a small bowl. Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan and pack it down evenly.

Bake for 8 minutes; make the brownies while the base is baking.

In a medium saucepan, combine the butter, sugar, cocoa, and salt. Cook over low heat, stirring frequently, until the butter melts. Make sure that the mixture doesn’t come to a boil. Remove from the heat and add the eggs, one at a time, and then stir in the vanilla. Add the flour and baking powder and stir just until the flour disappears.

Spread the brownie mixture over the partially baked crust.

Bake for 25-28 minutes, until a thin knife inserted into the brownies comes out clean or with a few crumbs. Allow the brownies to cool completely.

Once the brownies are completely cool, top with about 1 cup of caramel sauce, then sprinkle with salt. Refrigerate the brownies for at least two hours before cutting. When cutting the brownies, dip the knife in hot water after each cut, which will make for cleaner edges.

Recipe from The Brick Kitchen

Browned Butter Chocolate Pistachio Cookies

This is the final recipe that I made with the bag of cinnamon pistachios that I purchased during the holidays. I feel like making three recipes was a victory! Some of the recipes that I found are quite similar, but there are little nuances to set them apart. This one uses browned butter, which does add an extra layer of flavor. It looks a lot like a traditional chocolate chip cookie, but it is more than that.

I have used browned butter in a number of different recipes. It’s frustrating that I can’t provide times for how long the butter will take to brown, but there are so many factors that make a difference. I will say that if you step away from the stove for even a moment, your browned butter will become burnt butter and that’s not good at all. I’m not sure why this happens, just be careful! You could also simply melt the butter, but that wouldn’t impart the same flavors.

Yes, I suppose this is a traditional chocolate chip cookie, but it has some extras. I used dark chocolate chunks and not milk chocolate. I felt this would pair better with the cinnamon pistachios. You really could use any type of chocolate, because it is the pistachios that make the big difference. There are lots of interesting flavors of pistachios out there on the market, and this cookie would lend itself to all sorts of flavors.

Browned Butter Chocolate Pistachio Cookies
½ cup butter
¼ cup sugar
¾ cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 ⅓ cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
¾ cup chocolate chunks
¾ cup cinnamon pistachios, roughly chopped

First, brown the butter. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Once the butter melts, continue cooking, swirling the pan frequently, until the butter browns and smells nutty. Watch carefully so that the butter doesn’t burn. Transfer the browned butter to a separate dish to cool slightly.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

In a larger mixer bowl, combine the browned butter, sugar, and brown sugar. Mix on medium to combine. Add the egg and vanilla and mix again to incorporate. With the mixer running on low, add the flour and baking soda. Stir in the chocolate chunks and cinnamon pistachios with a spatula.

Shape the dough into 1-1/4” balls and place on the prepared baking sheets.

Bake for about 10 minutes, until the cookies are browned along the edges. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from Kale Junkie

Maple Pumpkin Butter Bars

It's been rainy and dreary recently in the Seattle area, so while I was at first hesitant to make a cookie with so many flavors of fall, it just seemed appropriate. I had planned to make these last fall and I simply ran out of time. I had already scouted out some pumpkin butter, as it isn’t the easiest thing to find, and I was ready. Maple and pumpkin flavors in February? I figured it wasn’t too much of a problem.

While I am not the biggest fan of the texture of pumpkin puree, I have used a few varieties of fruit butter and I prefer that texture. It isn’t quite so heavy, and I prefer that. Initially, I was worried that I might not be able to find pumpkin butter, but one of the local jam/preserves vendors had it and I was thrilled. If you are unable to find pumpkin butter, feel free to use another type of fruit butter. Pumpkin puree nay work, but the texture of the bars would be different.

I have found that when I get home from work, I either get lots and lots of things done, or I sit on the sofa and get little accomplished. I wanted to get things done so I made these bars as soon as I got home. They mix together quickly, as long as you have the ingredients on hand. The original recipe had you brown the butter, but I skipped that. I also simplified the glaze, making a powdered sugar/maple syrup glaze which worked beautifully. These are typically what I would make in the fall, but these are so good that they are enjoyable any time of year.

Maple Pumpkin Butter Bars
1 cup butter, melted
1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup pumpkin butter
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup white chocolate chips

1 cup powdered sugar
 3 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
3-4 tablespoons milk

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9” x 13” pan with foil and spray the foil with nonstick spray.

In a large mixer bowl, combine the butter, brown sugar, pumpkin butter, maple syrup, eggs and vanilla. Beat on medium until the ingredients come together. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and salt. One the flour almost disappears from the dough, remove the bowl from the mixer. Fold in the white chocolate chips by hand and ensure that the dough is cohesive.

Spread the dough into the prepared pan, smoothing the top as best you can.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the bars are set and begin to brown along the edges. Remove the bars from the oven and allow the bars to cool before adding the glaze.

Once cool, take the bars from the pan and remove the foil. Make the glaze: in a small bowl combine the powdered sugar, maple syrup, and vanilla. Whisk to start combining the ingredients. Continue whisking and add the milk, one tablespoon at a time, adding additional milk until the glaze is thick but smooth. Drizzle the glaze over the bars. Allow the glaze to set before cutting the bars into squares.

Recipe from Half-Baked Harvest

The Best Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

I love a good peanut butter cookie and I have made a number of different variations of cookies with peanut butter. I came across this recipe and it is called “The Best.” Well, that is certainly up to discussion, but I thought that these had a good combination of peanut and peanut butter flavors. Whether they are the best ones ever is something that you can decide, but they are really tasty cookies!

I often make a half batch of cookies, in order to have a more reasonable amount of cookies around. (Hmm, I’m not even sure what that means. Oh well.) I did a full batch of these cookies as I was taking them to work, and I perhaps could have made a half batch. This made just over five dozen cookies, which is a lot. The original blogger noted that it would make a much smaller number, so the cookies she made must have been huge.

When I first started making peanut butter cookies, I often struggled getting the texture right. They were usually too dry. That isn’t a problem any more, and I am not exactly sure what makes the difference. These cookies, with the inclusion of honey roasted peanuts, have a nice crunch and overall the cookies are soft. The look extra special with the peanut butter chips on the top- not required but a good thing to add!

The Best Peanut Butter Chip Cookies
1 cup butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 cup sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup peanut butter
¼ teaspoon almond extract
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2-⅔ cup flour
1 cup of peanut butter chips
1 cup of honey roasted peanuts
Additional peanut butter chips

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

In a large mixer bowl, combine the melted butter, sugar, and brown sugar. Mix on medium until combined. Add the peanut butter, almond extract, and vanilla and stir again to combine. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the baking soda and salt, and then with the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour. When the flour in the dough is almost completely incorporated, stir in the peanut butter chips and the honey roasted peanuts.

Shape the dough into 1-1/4” rounds and place on the prepared baking sheets. Top each cookie with additional peanut butter chips.

Bake for 11-13 minutes, until the cookies are golden and are just beginning to brown along the edges. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from Fat Girl Hedonist

Chocolate Cherry Cinnamon Pistachio Cookies

Another recipe that I found where I could use the cinnamon pistachios was this chocolate chip cookie recipe with dried cherries and pistachios. This comes from a blog that focuses on bread and sourdough items. I edited this recipe a little, based on the ingredients that I had and the attempt to make a fairly standard cookie.

This recipe initially called for sourdough starter discard, which was not something that I had on hand. I have never had good luck with sourdough starter! Later I found out that this is something that my friend at work has, since her husband bakes sourdough bread. Of well, it was not a large quantity, so I omitted it from the recipe. I am not sure what the sourdough discard would add to the cookies, maybe a little more flavor? It wasn’t something that you traditionally see in a recipe.

This cookie started as a chocolate chip cookie, and the original recipe had you sprinkle the cookies with chopped pecans and then top them with dried cherries. I decided to add the pistachios and dried cherries to the cookie dough, which makes for a very chunky cookie, but they were great. A couple of cookies really spread around the edges, but that was just a few. The rest baked up without issue, and just looked wonderful. The cookies are chock full of add-ins, but that just makes these cookies interesting.

Chocolate Cherry Cinnamon Pistachio Cookies
1 cup butter, melted
200 grams sugar
70 grams brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
275 grams flour
300 grams chocolate chips
50 grams cinnamon pistachios, chopped
1 cup dried cherries

In a large mixer bowl, mix together the melted butter, sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. Once the mixture is cohesive, add the eggs and vanilla, beating on medium-low to combine. Stir in the flour and the chocolate chips. Once the dough is almost uniform, add the pistachios and dried cherries and stir in low until the dough comes together.

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and shape the dough into 1-1/4” rounds. Place the rounds on the prepared baking sheet, leaving space between the cookies.

Bake for 11-13 minutes, until the cookies are browned around the edges and set. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from Art, Bread, Love