Bready or Not Original: Chewy Cookie Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
These Chewy Cookie Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies are embodied with extra cookie dough flavor thanks to the miracle of cookie butter.
It always seems someone is always discovering cookie butter for the first time, so I shall repeat: this stuff is basically ground-down cookies blended with oil, giving it the same consistency as peanut butter, but without the health benefits. And oh yeah, it’s delicious.
Ccookie butter can be found under the Biscoff brand at many grocery stores (and sometimes in a store generic brand) and at Trader Joe’s as Speculoos. You can use it just as you would peanut butter for sandwiches or for baked goods.
It’s fantastic stuff paired with chocolate, as in this recipe. It makes cookies taste more… cookie. Once you try it, you’ll know what I mean.
This recipe makes a nice, big batch of crispy, chewy cookies. Use any kind of chocolate chips that you want–or use a mix! It’ll all be good.
Bready or Not Original: Chewy Cookie Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Equipment
- tablespoon scoop
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 cube), room temperature
- 1/2 cup creamy cookie butter
- 1 cup brown sugar packed
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 2 Tablespoons light corn syrup
- 2 Tablespoons water
- 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 bag milk chocolate chips or semisweet chips, about 1 3/4 cups
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 375-degrees.
- In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In a big mixing bowl, beat butter and cookie butter until completely blended. Add the two sugars. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, followed by the corn syrup, water, and vanilla. Gradually mix in the dry ingredients. Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Use a tablespoon scoop to dole out dough onto a cookie sheet, giving each one room to spread while baking. Bake for 10 to 11 minutes, until golden, then let them sit on the sheet another 5 to 10 minutes to set. Transfer to rack to completely cool.
- Store in a sealed container at room temperature. They will keep well for up to 3 days.
*OM NOM NOM!*
Bready or Not Original: Food Processor Brioche Rolls
My no-fuss Food Processor Brioche Rolls recipe will dazzle your mind because they are SO EASY. Enriched doughs like this have a reputation (that is well-earned) to be time-consuming and aggravating. Not anymore.
The food processor is what makes this easy-peasey. It mixes the dough in no-time, and aerates the butter and eggs into the flour and develops that all-important gluten.
These rolls are good for any variety of uses, as they can be eaten with things sweet and savory. As the bread is nice and durable, we found they worked well for shredded pork sandwiches, with barbecue sauce and all.
Once these are baked-up, they are fantastic to freeze and thaw, too. They really are best eaten within a day–I suppose they still had to be fussy in at least one way!
Bready or Not Original: Food Processor Brioche Rolls
Equipment
- food processor
- food scale
Ingredients
1-lb batch
- 1/4 cup warm water no hotter than 130-degrees
- 2 1/4 teaspoon dry yeast 1 packet
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 Tablespoons white sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter melted
2-lb batch
- 1/2 cup warm water no hotter than 130-degrees
- 4 1/2 teaspoons dry yeast 2 packets
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 6 Tablespoons white sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 large eggs room temperature
- 12 Tablespoons unsalted butter melted (1 1/2 sticks)
For egg wash
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 Tablespoon milk or half & half
Instructions
Follow these same directions, regardless of the batch size.
- Affix steel S-blade inside food processor.
- In a cup, stir together the dry yeast and water. Place the flour in the work bowl, followed by the yeast-water, sugar, and salt. Pulse a few times. Add the eggs and spin until they are mixed in, no more than 10 or 15 seconds.
- Start the processor on low and pour in the melted butter in a solid stream. Stop mixing after about 20 seconds. The dough will be very sticky and fluid.
- Apply nonstick spray or butter in a big mixing bowl. Pour in the dough. Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rise at room temperature until it has tripled in size, no more than 3 hours. Keep an eye on it, because it can expand fast.
- Flour hands and punch down dough.
- Cover bowl with plastic wrap again, and stash the bowl in the fridge. Keep it there overnight, at minimum, or up to a day. It will rise a bit but nowhere near as much as the initial rise.
- To make rolls, prepare a baking sheet with parchment or nonstick spray.
- Prepare egg wash. Crack egg into a bowl. Beat in milk. In addition, add water to a small saucer and set it within reach.
- Grab small handfuls of dough. To get amounts even, use a kitchen scale to measure out 4-ounces worth. Working fast, pat into a ball. Dip fingers in water then stroke dough to smooth out rough spots. Set rounds on prepared sheet, spaced out. If the dough gets too sticky to work with, place in fridge briefly to chill again.
- Once rolls are formed, brush them with the egg wash. Let them rise for an hour, until nicely puffed.
- Preheat oven at 400-degrees.
- Gently brush on more egg wash. Place in oven and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until browned and set. Doneness can be double-checked by jabbing a thermometer into a subtle spot along the bottom to ensure the middle is over 190-degrees.
- Rolls are best eaten within a day, but they keep very well frozen. Eat them warm or at room temperature.
OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not Original: Slow Cooker Apple Steel Cut Oats
These Slow Cooker Apple Steel Cut Oats are not the most photogenic of foods, but they are delicious, healthy, and good, and probably one of the most convenient meals in my cooking repertoire.
I’ve been cooking this recipe for over five years now, tweaking it here and there, making it better. What I present here is really a foundation. This recipe can be customized all kinds of ways–either when the food is being assembled, by adding in different spices or apples, or by tweaking it at serving time.
I love using Gala, Honeycrisp, or Pink Lady apples, but go for any good baking-type apple or a variety thereof. You don’t want the apples to go to mush. Or maybe you do? That might not be a terrible thing here.
I typically use unsweetened vanilla almond milk or cashew milk, but any plain or vanilla nut, soy, or oat milks would work, or you can opt for dairy milk.
This isn’t an overnight slow cooker oats recipe. I’ve tried that. Even on low and warm settings, the oats just plain overcooked for my preference. The consistency goes brick-like and the pot requires some intense scraping if you don’t use a removable liner. I prefer to make this during the day, and then portion out the oats to go in the fridge and freezer. They reheat beautifully.
Bready or Not Original: Slow Cooker Apple Steel Cut Oats
Equipment
- large slow cooker
Ingredients
- 2 cups steel cut oats no substitutes
- 2 cups nut milk or oat milk, regular or vanilla, sweetened or unsweetened
- 2 cups water
- 2 medium apples peeled and chopped
- 1/4 cup brown sugar packed
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in slow cooker and stir to distribute. Place lid on pot and put heat level to LOW. Cook for 3 hours before lifting lid again. Stir and taste to test doneness. Continue to cook for 30 minutes to an hour more, dependent on the desired texture for the oats. The longer it cooks, the thicker it will be.
- Serve oats fresh, or stash in fridge to reheat in microwave over the next week. These oats are great to portion out and freeze for later. If desired, add more spices, fresh fruit, or extra milk when serving–the customization possibilities are endless!
*OM NOM NOM!*
Bready or Not: Snickerdoodle Brookie
Don’t struggle to choose between Snickerdoodles and Brownies. Have them both at the same time in this extraordinary Snickerdoodle Brookie!
This is essentially like a massive cookie-cake hybrid. It looks impressive, and the flavor is impressive, too. If the layers work out right, you get a bit of everything in every bite.
If you eat the brookie warm, the chocolate flavor is quite strong. I actually liked this best at room temperature. The flavors play together better then.
I mean, it’d be a shame to not get to enjoy the Snickerdoodle side of things. A travesty.
I modified this from the original in my favorite food magazine, Bake from Scratch. I tried to make it easier by using the microwave, prepping the pan with parchment, and clarifying the steps throughout.
I can also testify that this is a great recipe to portion out and freeze. Pieces don’t take long to thaw and the brookie is dense enough to be pretty portable, too, though the dusting of cinnamon and sugar on top can sometimes be messy.
Modified from the March/April 2020 issue of Bake from Scratch Magazine.
Bready or Not: Snickerdoodle Brookie
Equipment
- 9-inch round cake pan
- parchment paper
Ingredients
Brownie batter:
- 6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips or bittersweet (170 grams)
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter 1 cube
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup Dutch process cocoa powder sifted
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Snickerdoodle dough:
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
Topping:
- 1 tablespoon white sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Cut a piece of parchment to fit inside a 9-inch round cake pan. Apply nonstick spray in pan, place parchment, then spray parchment as well. Set aside.
Make brownie batter
- Melt together the chocolate and butter either in a double boiler on the stove or in the microwave in a microwave-safe bowl. Stir until everything is mixed and smooth. Stir in sugar. Set aside to cool for a few minutes before mixing in the eggs and vanilla.
- In a medium bowl, stir together flour, cocoa, and salt. Fold the dry ingredients into chocolate mixture just until combined. Set aside.
Make snickerdoodle dough
- Beat together the butter and sugar until they are fluffy; in a stand mixer, this will be at about 3 to 4 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl a few times. Add the egg and vanilla.
- In a separate bowl, stir together flour, cream of tartar, salt, cinnamon, and baking powder. Gradually mix the dry ingredients into butter mixture. Dough will be quite thick.
Assemble the cake
- Spoon large dollops (about 3 tablespoons each) of brownie batter into bottom of the prepared pan, leaving space between each lump. Crumble dollops of snickerdoodle dough in between brownie batter. Top with any more scoops of brownie batter and snickerdoodle dough. Gently use fingers to even out top.
- Bake until the middle passes the toothpick test, 33 to 40 minutes.
Make topping
- Stir together cinnamon and sugar. As soon as the cake is removed from the oven, sprinkle the mixture across the top.
- Let cool at least 15 minutes before cutting in. Cake can be served warm or at room temperature. It can also be frozen in slices and thawed for later enjoyment.
OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not: Potato Rolls
These Potato Rolls are perfect for a hearty sandwich with a wet filling like BBQ sauce.
The ‘potato’ here is potato flour, a not-so-secret ingredient to create soft bread with a tender crumb. It handles moisture in a different way than standard wheat flours.
It’s not the kind of thing carried by a standard grocery store, but the internet comes to the rescue! I use the kind sold by King Arthur Flour (an all-around fantastic purveyor of bready goods), but it is also sold by Bob’s Red Mill and (of course) Amazon. Check your local natural goods store, too.
Nonfat dry milk powder IS sold by many grocery stores, but I like the results of King Arthur Flour’s version best.
I’ve made these rolls several times and I find they didn’t double for me during the rise stages, but did they puff, and at the end the crumb showed a good texture inside.
I found that dividing by 8 made for good-sized sandwich rolls, but you can make these as big or small as you want, and any shape, too.
Modified from Food & Wine Magazine June 2020.
Bready or Not: Potato Rolls
Equipment
- parchment paper
- food scale
- basting brush
Ingredients
- 2 2/3 cups bread flour
- 1/3 cup potato flour available from King Arthur Flour and Bob's Red Mill
- 1/3 cup nonfat dry milk powder
- 2 1/2 Tablespoons white sugar
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 1/4 oz active dry yeast or one store-bought envelope
- 1 cup warm water 100 to 110-degrees
- 5 Tablespoons unsalted butter divided
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the warm water and 4 Tablespoons of melted butter. Add the bread flour, potato flour, milk powder, sugar, salt and yeast, and mix using the dough hook. Beat until the dough is cohesive, about 3 minutes.
- Increase the mixer’s speed and beat for another 6 minutes to make it smooth and elastic. Dough might be sticky. Grease another large bowl and dump the dough in there. Cover with plastic wrap or a towel and let it rise for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
- Place parchment paper on a large baking sheet. Use the food scale to weigh the dough. To make rolls of a good sandwich size, divide the total by eight; if smaller rolls are desired, go smaller. Pull off pieces of dough and shape into rounds. To smooth the surface, keep a saucer with water in it nearby, and use moistened fingers to smooth the dough. Set rounds spaced out on parchment. Loosely cover rolls with plastic wrap or a towel and let rise until they are puffy, about 35 to 45 minutes.
- Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Remove plastic wrap or towel. For sandwich-sized rolls, bake for 15 to 19 minutes, until the outside is nicely browned. Dip the basting brush into the remaining tablespoon of butter, and paint butter atop each roll to make glossy.
- Let rolls cool at least 15 minutes before cutting in. Rolls will keep for at least 2 days in a sealed bag at room temperature. They can also be frozen and thawed for later consumption.
OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not Original: Apple-Oat Cookies
These Apple-Oat Cookies are like a cross between apple oatmeal and apple pie, in a convenient portable form.
Really, these cookies feel homey. They take like comfort, with the apples and oats a little dense but not too heavy. The glaze on top adds a touch of sweetness that is just right.
As I have a husband who loves apple oatmeal AND apple pie, he enjoyed these cookies greatly. They are a perfect breakfast cookie!
I found that they kept for at least three days at room temperature. Even better–as these were all for my husband to enjoy–I found they froze and thawed without a problem. I actually froze most of the batch straight away. Portion control is a good thing, especially with over thirty cookies offering temptation!
I used a Gala apple, but I say any sweet baking apple would work well.
Bready or Not Original: Apple-Oat Cookies
Equipment
- tablespoon cookie scoop
- parchment paper
- waxed paper
Ingredients
Cookies
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup old-fashioned oats also called rolled oats
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter 1 1/2 sticks, room temperature
- 1/2 cup brown sugar packed
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 large baking apple peeled and finely chopped; Gala and Fuji are ideal
Glaze
- 1 cup confectioners' sugar plus more if needed
- 2 Tablespoons milk or half & half, plus more if needed
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Line a large baking pan with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, oats, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and allspice.
- In a big mixing bowl, combine the soft butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. Follow up with the eggs and vanilla. Slowly mix in the dry ingredients. Fold in the apple pieces.
- Use a tablespoon scoop or spoon to dole out dough spaced an inch apart on the cookie sheet. Bake until set, about 10 to 12 minutes. Let set on rack for 10 minutes, then move to a cooling rack. Continue with the next batch.
- Once all of the cookies are cool, make the glaze. Stir together the confectioners’ sugar and milk to form a thick but oozy consistency. Spoon over the cookies.
- Store in a sealed container at room temperature, with waxed paper between the stacked layers. They will keep for at least three days. Cookies will freeze and thaw without issue.
OM NOM NOM!
