Ladies and gentlemen, as of today I am officially a lady of leisure. Well, at least for the next week and a half. I got a new job! And the vacation gods were smiling down on me because between leaving my previous employer and starting with my new one I worked in a little time off. And what will I be doing with all of this free time? Keeping our un-air conditioned apartment nice and hot by doing lots of baking, of course!

I kicked off my new (albeit temporary) lifestyle a few days ago by stocking up on a couple of pounds of butter and making cookies. Clone cookies, to be exact. These homemade oreo cookies taste exactly like the real thing. Well, except that you know what went into this version — just some sugar, chocolate chips, cocoa powder, flour and plenty of butter. These bad boys are a little time consuming and you might curse the day you stumbled upon this blog for heating up your apartment in late June with a hot oven but making homemade oreos from scratch is well worth the effort (and sweat).

The cookie dough feels odd, crumbly and oily and takes some sweet talking and extra rolling handiwork to cooperate and shape into a log of dough that is later firmed up in the refrigerator. But that might just have been my experience in my warmer-than-usual kitchen. (Have I mentioned yet that it’s hot outside?) Once you get past the fussy dough and finish wiping your brow after the cookies are baked and the oven has cooled the rest is smooth sailing. Ever wonder what is in that white oreo filling? Just four ingredients — butter, powdered sugar, vanilla and a splash of milk that can be whipped together with electric beaters or a strong wrist. I’ll let you guess which option I chose.  While it is never too hot to eat cookies, it is way too warm to be doing any sort of exercising while making cookies.

homemade oreos
adapted from Flour
yields about 18 cookies

The finished cookies do not need to be refrigerated, but if the weather is at all warm when you bake them the butter-filled centers start to soften to the point of cookie collapse. At that point, stick them in the refrigerator to firm up them up.

For the cookies:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3/4 cup (150 grams) sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup (200 grams) semisweet chocolate chips, melted and cooled
1 egg, at room temperature
1-1/2 cups (210 grams) all purpose flour
3/4 cup (90 grams) cocoa powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

For the filling:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1-2/3 cups (230 grams) powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon milk
pinch of salt

In a medium bowl, whisk together the butter and sugar. Whisk in the vanilla and melted chocolate. Add the egg and mix until everything is blended together.

In a second medium bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking soda. Stir the flour mixture into the wet mixture. The dough will seem too crumbly but keep stirring gently, using your hands if necessary, to help the dough come together. Let the dough sit at room temperature for one hour to firm up.

Measure and cut a piece of parchment paper into a 15-inch square. Using your hands, shape the dough into a log 10-inches long and about 2-1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap the log in the parchment paper and refrigerate for 2 hours. The dough may settle and start to loose its circular shape in the refrigerator, so check on it every 30 minutes or so and reshape if necessary.

Move an oven rack to the center position and preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cur the dough log into 1/4-inch thick slices and place about 1-inch apart on the baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes, checking after about 15 minutes. The cookies are finished when the center of the cookie is just firm to the touch. Cool the cookies the baking sheet, on a rack.

While the cookies are cooking and cooling make the filling. In a medium bowl beat together (this can be done by hand or with an electric mixer) the powdered sugar and butter until no lumps remain. Add the vanilla and milk and beat until smooth.

Scoop about 1 tablespoon of the filling onto one cookie and top with a second cookie. Press the cookies together to spread the filling toward the edges. Repeat with the remaining cookies.

Some days, I just need a cookie.  That’s it.  Just a simple piece of sweetened dough, with a few accompaniments like chocolate chips or oatmeal baked until lightly golden has the power to make it seem like everything is going to be okay.

So when I set out to make these black and white cookies a few days ago, that was all I wanted — a cookie.  Not having much experience with black and white cookies (as in, I had never tasted one) I assumed they were a garden variety, plain old sugar cookie carefully decorated with vanilla and chocolate icing.  I probably should have done my research before baking, because these are cookies with an identity crisis.  Black and white cookies look like cookies; heck, they even have cookies in their name.  But cookies they are not.

Tiny teacakes would be a much better description, although I do not know of too many teacake recipes that require half a pound of powdered sugar to make the icing.  Teacakes are typically sturdy enough to be picked up with your fingers but airy enough to still be considered a cake, and black and white cookies fit the bill.  After I got over my shock of being wrong about these little guys (I fancy myself somewhat of a cookie connoisseur, so it is a little painful to be so wrong about such a well-known cookie) I decided I adored them.  Fell head over heels in love with them.  First, there is the cuteness factor because anything with such meticulously applied icing is bound coo-educing.  But second, these individual, hand held cakes are buttery with a gentle suggestion of lemon and disappear quickly when left unmonitored.  After enjoying more than my fair share of these black and white “cookies” I decided my cookie cravings had been satiated.  For how long, nobody knows.

black and white cookies
adapted from Cookie Madness, who found the cookie recipe from Gourmet and the frosting from Baked Explorations: Classic American Desserts Reinvented
yields 12 cookies

For the cookies:
1-1/4c all purpose flour
1/2t baking soda
1/2t salt
1/3c buttermilk
1t lemon juice
1t vanilla
1/3c (5 1/3T) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2c granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature

For the icing:
1/2lb (1-3/4c) powdered sugar
2-3T whole milk
1-1/2T heavy cream
1t vanilla extract
1/4c plus 1T dark unsweetened cocoa
1t light corn syrup (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F and move the rack to the center position.

Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. In a second medium bowl, stir together buttermilk, lemon juice and vanilla.

Using an electric mixer* beat butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Add the egg, beating until well combined. Then on low speed, mix in the flour mixture and buttermilk mixture alternately in batches at low speed (scraping down side of bowl occasionally), beginning and ending with flour mixture. Mix until smooth. Be careful not to overmix.

Use a 1/4 cup sized measuring cup of batter about 2 inches apart onto a large baking sheet lined with parchment. Bake until tops are puffed and pale golden, and cookies spring back when touched, 15 to 17 minutes.

Transfer with a metal spatula to a rack to cool. While the cookies are cooking prepare the icing.

In a large bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, milk, cream and vanilla. Take out about 1/3 cup of the icing and place in a second bowl — this will be your white icing.  In the first bowl, add the cocoa powder and 1/2 teaspoon of water and whisk until smooth. If the chocolate icing seems too thick, thin it with a little water or milk. Adding at teaspoon or less of corn syrup will make the frosting shine.  To apply frosting, either use an offset spatula or a piping bag (I found more control when using a piping bag), starting with the white frosting then apply the chocolate frosting.  Serve once the frosting has set.

*A hand held electric mixer will also work for this recipe.

We sat outside yesterday. We sat outside yesterday under a clear gray-blue sky wearing the lightest of jackets while we sipped beer and listened to our stomachs growling from the wafts of barbecuing ribs and tri-tip marinated with garlic and rosemary. Spring has sprung in Sacramento, or at least teased us with warm breezes and Daylight saving time.

Although the air was delicious, it gradually cooled as the sun went down and we headed back into the house of our barbecuing hosts.  With music piping through the speakers and our stomachs full with potato salad and ribs, I sliced and served the mississippi mud pie I had made that morning.  My desire to bake a fruit pie has been particularly strong as of late, but with the slim pickings of seasonal fruit at the market I stuck with the season-less pantry standby, chocolate.  Can you blame me?

My friends did not seem to mind the absence of fruit in the pie too much either, as it quickly disappeared despite its enormous size (this adorable face also seemed very interested in the pie).  There was some serious chocolate going on in this pie — a chocolate cookie crust, a flourless chocolate cake (infused with coffee and espresso, I might add) and a layer of chocolate pudding.  Freshly whipped cream topped off the four layer masterpiece and although it was a bit of a mess to serve, I happily ate every bite of my misshapen slice.

mississippi mud pie (b) aka muddy mississippi cake
adapted from Baked Explorations: Classic American Desserts Reinvented
yields one 9-inch pie

This pie was a bit if of a time commitment to prepare, but well worth it.  I highly recommend preparing the layers over two days — making the crust and the cake the evening before and whipping up the pudding and whipped cream the day of.  Little about this cake is difficult, it just takes a few good hours in the refrigerator to come together.

For the chocolate cookie crust:
16oz (one package, 35-40 cookies) chocolate sandwich cookies, such as Oreos, crushed
5T unsalted butter, melted

For the flourless chocolate cake:
4T unsalted butter
6oz bittersweet chocolate
2T plus 1t instant espresso powder
1/4c strong coffee, at room temperature
1T vanilla extract
6 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
1c sugar

For the chocolate pudding:
3/4c sugar
1/2c dark unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4c cornstarch
1/4t salt
4 large egg yolks
2-1/2c whole milk
3T unsalted butter
2t vanilla extract
3oz bittersweet chocolate

For the whipped cream:
1-1/4c heavy cream
2T granulated sugar

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Coat the inside of a 9-inch springform pan with nonstick cooking spray, a layer of parchment cut to fit the bottom and another layer of spray.

Crust:
In a food processor, pulse all of the cookies (with filling) until they become small crumbs. Pour into a bowl and add the melted butter. Stir together to evenly distribute the butter. Pour the mixture into the bottom of the springform pan and using the bottom of a glass, press the crumbs in an even layer across the bottom and 1/2-inch from the top of the outside ring. Place in the freezer for 10 minutes, then into the oven to bake for 10 minutes. Let the crust cool on a wire rack while you prepare the cake layer.

Cake:
Increase the oven temperature to 350 degrees. Melt the butter and chocolate together over a double boiler and set aside to cool. In a separate bowl, whisk together the espresso powder, coffee, salt and vanilla and set aside.

In the bowl of a standing mixer* fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg yolks with 1/2-cup of the sugar until the mixture has doubled in volume, about 5 minutes. Add the chocolate mixture and beat until combined. Add the coffee mixture and beat until just combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as necessary to make sure everything is well mixed.

In a separate, very clean bowl, whisk the egg whites until foamy (this is possible to do by hand, but much easier using an electric mixer). Then add 1/2 cup sugar and continue beating until soft peaks form.

Scoop 1 cup of the beaten egg whites into the chocolate mixture. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the whites into the batter until they are almost completely combined. Add the remaining whites and carefully fold together. Do not rush this process, the whites ensure lift in this dense cake.

Pour the batter into the springform pan and bake for 38 to 42 minutes. The cake may not look finished when the time is up, but it should look slightly set and jiggly in the center. Transfer to a wire rack to let cool. As the cake cools, the center will cave in. This is normal — it is making room for the chocolate pudding layer. Once cooled, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight.

Pudding:
Off the heat, in a medium saucepan mix together the sugar, cocoa powder, cornstarch and salt. Add the egg yolks and whisk until combined. The mixture will look a little lumpy, so do your best to break down the lumps. Gradually add the milk, whisking constantly until completely combined and free of lumps.

Put the saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil. Once at a boil, whisk constantly for 30 seconds, then remove from the heat. Transfer to a medium bowl and add the butter, vanilla, chocolate and whisk until combined. Let the mixture cool for about 15 minutes, then press a layer of plastic wrap directly on top of the pudding to prevent a skin from forming. Let the pudding chill for at least 3 hours.

Assembly:
Stir the pudding, then pour on top of the cooled cake trying to stay within the cookie crust border. Use an offset spatula to create an even layer. Refrigerate or freeze for about 15 minutes while you prepare the whipped cream.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the cream until it starts to thicken. Add the sugar and beat until stiff peaks form.

Spread the whipped cream across the pudding layer, unmold the cake and serve right away.

*A hand held electric mixer will also work for this recipe.

It is hard to imagine that there is anyone out there who doesn’t love a good brownie. Sure, they might choose a cookie over a brownie every once and awhile, or get seduced by a slice of cake but if there is a brownie available that needs to be eaten you will never have a problem finding a grateful recipient. Therefore, it makes perfect sense that there are strong feelings and dueling schools of thought attached to these chocolaty, part-cake and part-cookie bars. Some folks (myself included) abhor a cake-y, fluffy brownie and strongly gravitate toward a dense, near flour-less version. There are edge haters and lovers, and those that would rather their brownies be baked just one step beyond raw batter so the center is barely set. Then there are the brownie purists, who like their bars to be free of any invading additions of walnuts, pecans, chocolate chips, cream cheese or peanut butter (all of which warm my heart, by the way).

So with all of that in mind, I would like to throw my brownie making hat into the ring. I’m not brazen enough to think that I might change some of the divergent opinions enough to knock a brownie-lover’s favorite recipe out of first place but, a recipe this good must be shared.  Having two favorites can’t be a bad thing, right?

The Barefoot Contessa does many, many things well and I can safely say that she can add brownie making to that long list.  These outrageous brownies are entirely her creation –  the only changes I made were to leave out the walnuts (not really my thing in brownies) and halve the recipe.  Otherwise, the recipe is as close to my definition of brownie perfection as you can get — dense, rich and soft but still cooked through in the center.  Of course, you could tweak this recipe to include nuts, or bake them a little longer to force the batter to come together more but that entirely depends on which brownie camp you fall into.  We served ours with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a spoon and savored every chocolate filled bite.

outrageous brownies
adapted from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook
yields 10 large or 20 small brownies

After baking and cooling the brownies, refrigerating them in the baking dish before cutting really makes life easier.  I always generously grease the pan with butter or vegetable shortening and dust with a coat of flour and have never run into any problem getting the brownies out of the pan.  If you are particularly worried about this, lining the pan with a greased and floured sheet of parchment paper would definitely do the trick.

2 sticks unsalted butter
14oz semisweet chocolate chips, divided
3oz unsweetened chocolate
3 eggs
1-1/2t instant coffee granules
2T vanilla extract
1-1/8c sugar
1/2 + 1/8 cups all purpose flour
1-1/2t baking powder
1/2t salt
1-1/2c chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter and flour a 9- by 13-inch baking sheet.

in a medium bowl over simmering water, melt together the butter, 8 ounces of chocolate chips, and the unsweetened chocolate. Allow to cool slightly. In a large bowl, whisk (but do not beat) together the eggs, coffee granules, vanilla, and sugar. Stir the warm chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and allow to cool to room temperature.

Sift together 1/2 cup of flour, the baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl and add to the cooled chocolate mixture. Toss the walnuts (if using) and 6 ounces of chocolate chips in a medium bowl with 1/8 cup of flour, then add them to the chocolate batter. Pour into the prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 15 minutes, then rap the baking sheet against the oven shelf to force the air to escape from between the pan and the brownie dough. Bake for about 10-15 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool thoroughly. Refrigerate to make cutting easier and cut into 10 large or 20 small squares.

Shortbread.  Is there a more perfectly simple food?  Butter, flour, sugar mixed together and baked until just starting to blush with color, cut into neat little squares or wedges with crumbly edges and consumed daintily with coffee or tea?  Needless to say, I have always been a big fan.  So why guild the lily?  Why fix what’s not broken?  (Use of  clichés ending here, I promise.)

Haven’t I already taught myself the lesson that both modest and ornate variations of the same thing can can coexist in perfect harmony?  Yes, yes I have.  Thankfully, this is an easy lesson to learn and for your viewing pleasure today’s case study will feature not just any shortbread, but millionaire’s shortbread.  The shortbread recipe from those two adorable bakery proprietors in Brooklyn can easily stand alone as your go-to recipe, but they do not stop there.  They recommend that you continue the cookie decadence by making your own caramel — just from sweetened condensed milk, mind you — and finish things off with a third layer of bittersweet chocolate.  A cookie trifecta, if you will.  The mix of textures and presence of rich flavors (read: butter) makes eating millionaire’s shortbread an oh-my-god-this-is-so-good-I-can’t-eat-just-one kind of  experience.

As someone who has always been fascinated by nomenclature (yes, it’s true!) I am sorely disappointed not to have any sort of story (factual or not) as to why these heavenly cookies got their name. Internet, you let me down today; you should be ashamed of yourself. Obviously, these cookies are made of shortbread, but does the addition of chocolate and caramel suddenly make you feel like a million bucks, thus “millionaire’s shortbread”? (Thank you! I’ll be here all night.) My self-fabricated naming story works for me, but I have a hunch that’s probably not how they got their name.  The Baked bakers call it “rich man’s Twix.”

There is no shortage of recipes for this tri-layer shortbread cookie in cookbooks and online, created using all sorts of techniques, ingredient lists and ratio of cookie to caramel to chocolate, despite sharing the same name (this one from Food52 looks particularly drool inducing).  Is one better than the other?  This answer is clearly a matter of personal preference; although, it is a safe bet that you will enjoy every bite of millionaire’s shortbread from any recipe you try.  This is my favorite.

millionaire’s shortbread
adapted from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking
yields 24 bars

For the shortbread:
1/2c granulated sugar
1c (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2-1/2c all purpose flour
1 large egg yolk

For the caramel:
2 14oz cans sweetened condensed milk

For the chocolate glaze:
6oz dark chocolate, coarsely chopped (60% cocoa)
1t light corn syrup
1/2c unsalted butter, cut into cubes, at room temperature

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and move a rack to the center position. Prepare a 9- by 13-inch baking pan by coating the bottom and sides with butter or nonstick cooking spray.

For the shortbread:
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the butter and sugar for 3 minutes at medium speed until the batter is lighter in color and fluffy.* Reduce the speed to low and slowly add 2 cups of the flour. Beat until just incorporated. Add the egg yolk and beat until combined.

Lightly flour a work surface and dump the dough onto the counter. Flour your hands and shape the dough into a square approximately 6- by 6-inches. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup flour over the top and fold/knead the dough until the flour is incorporated. Add the dough to the prepared baking pan and shape into a rectangle, in an even layer across the bottom. Prick the top of the dough several times with a fork and bake for 20-22 minutes until the center is cooked and the edges are starting to lightly brown. Let the shortbread cool completely on a wire rack.

For the caramel:
While the shortbread is cooling, prepare the caramel. Add the two cans of sweetened condensed milk to a large microwave safe bowl.** Cook on 50% (medium) power for 4 minutes, stirring halfway through. Cook on 30% (medium-low) power for 2 minute intervals, stirring after each, for a total of 12-18 minutes. The caramel will slowly start to darken. I stopped cooking mine when it was the same shade as peanut butter. Pour the caramel over the cooled shortbread in an even layer. Place the pan in the refrigerator to chill for two hours while you make the chocolate glaze.

For the chocolate glaze:
Create a double boiler by placing a glass (or other nonreactive bowl) over a saucepan filled with just simmering water (the water should never touch the bottom of the bowl). In the top bowl add the chocolate, corn syrup and butter. Stir with a rubber spatula until the ingredients are melted, combined and smooth. Remove the bowl from the double boiler and let cool for about a minute. Pour the chocolate glaze over the chilled shortbread and caramel. If necessary, smooth the top with an offset spatula.

To make your life easier and save yourself from more gray hair, put the pan of bars in the freezer for at least an hour, otherwise these will be impossible to cut and still look pretty (the chocolate glaze really wants to crack in unwelcome places). Remove the shortbread from the pan and using a sharp serrated knife cut into squares or rectangles. Let the shortbread come up to room temperature for 20-30 minutes before serving.

*A hand held mixer will also work for this recipe.
**If you don’t want to use a microwave, you can make the caramel on the stove. Add the milk to the top bowl of a double boiler and cook over just simmering water for 1-1/2 hours until the color starts to darken, stirring occasionally.