Dark Chocolate Chips – Bead Yarn & Spatula

On this fourth day of Cookie Palooza I am bringing you a variation on the classic chocolate chip cookie. Now, I must say chocolate chip cookies are one of those baked goods that once you find your favorite recipe it becomes your go-to. I personally have two or three of them. A traditional chocolate chip cookie recipe and then two others that produce a nice twist on the classic. Today I am bringing you a version that some might say is nowhere near what a chocolate chip cookie should be… A Browned Butter Spice Cookie.

Let’s talk about the flavors that go into this cookie. First, browned butter. To make browned butter you are cooking butter just beyond its melting point. This produces a nutty flavor that is just not possible to get by using softened butter. A word to the wise though, it’s best to cook the butter on medium-low heat and with a cover on your saucepan. Melted butter can pop and shoot-up pretty high and make quite the mess. Along with cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg there’s also a splash of spiced rum that really ups the ante for the spice in these cookies. If you don’t have spiced rum you could sub it with vanilla extract or regular rum and just add a little extra of each of the spices. Finally, dark chocolate chips. The dark chocolate is a nice balance to the spice in these cookies. Semi-sweet would just be too sweet and the flavors wouldn’t work well together.

As with the Gingersnaps from yesterday, the cookie dough for these cookies needed to be refrigerated prior to baking. I did the same thing again though. I rolled the dough into balls and then refrigerated them as opposed to refrigerating the entire bowl of cookie dough.

I then baked them in a 350 F preheated oven and then transferred them to a wire rack to cool completely.

The end result… A cookie with a nice balance of spice and sweetness.

Browned Butter Spice Cookies

Servings: About 2 dozen
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Ingredients:

1 stick unsalted butter, cubed

1 cup light brown sugar

1 large egg

1 tablespoon spiced rum

1 1/4 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

Directions:

Place butter in small saucepan and cover medium heat until golden brown, about 5-7 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes.

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, ginger and nutmeg. Set aside.

Add cooled butter to a large bowl along with the brown sugar. Beat with a hand mixer on medium speed until blended. Add the egg and then the spiced rum. With the mixer on low, gradually add in the flour mixture until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Line a baking sheet with waxed paper. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and placed refrigerated dough 2 inches apart. Baked for 10-12 minutes. Until cookies are set and bottoms are beginning to brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool complete.

Store in an airtight container.

Recipe from Taste of Home

While pumpkin is the flavor of the Fall, peppermint / mint is the flavor of Winter; especially now during the Holiday season. Peppermint hot chocolate is available almost everywhere – I’m partial to getting mine from Starbucks, already made and topped with whipped cream -, red & green mint M&M’s, mint filled Hershey Kisses and candy canes – just to name a few candies – can be found on store shelves. And I recently came across Nestle Toll House Dark Chocolate & Mint Morsels, which I couldn’t resist picking up. And as luck would have it, there was a cookie recipe right on the back of the package waiting to be made.

To begin I combined the dry ingredients – flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt – in a medium bowl and set it aside.

In a large bowl I creamed together butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract and then added in two eggs, one at a time.

Next I gradually added in the flour mixture.

And finally I stirred in the dark chocolate and mint morsels (if you love the smell of mint you’ll be in heaven when you open this bag)…

Which resulted in the casualty of one of my spatulas since the batter for these cookies is so thick and dense – thankfully the cookies turned out completely opposite of that.

Next I drop rounded tablesoonfuls of the dough on parchment lined cookie sheets.

After baking in a preheated 325 F oven for 11 minutes I let them cool on the sheets for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

These cookies are all kinds of delicious and thankfully the recipe yields enough so that you can definitely get your fill!

Mint Chocolate Delights

Makes about 4 dozen

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

2/3 cup baking cocoa

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

2/3 cup granulated sugar

2/3 cup light brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs

1 2/3 cups (10-oz. pkg.) Nestle Toll House Dark Chocolate& Mint Morsels

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in a small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in a large bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in the flour mixture. Stir in morsels. Drop by well-rounded tablespoon onto prepared baking sheets.

3. Bake for 11 to 13 minutes or until cookies are puffed and centers are set. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.