Doubletree Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ever had a Doubletree cookie? I hadn't until 1.5 weeks ago. What's a Doubletree cookie? Well read more about it here but the jist is that each guest gets a cookie when they check in, fresh out of the oven (warmed at the desk but baked on premises) and supposedly if you stay there you can go down anytime and ask for another cookie.

My work event in Santa Barbara was at a Doubletree and on the way to the airport, I remembered about the 'famous' Doubletree cookies. I asked the front desk if I could buy just one (they sell containers), since I'd never had them. The front desk gal was nice enough to just gift me one. It was my 'in the taxi on the way home' snack, it had been smushed in my bag for 2+ hours by then and guess what? It was still friggin' amazing, the chocolate was still a little warm and gooey and quite messy.

I looked at the ingredients and thought that I wanted to try this at home. Then I have no idea what I did with the wrapper. But lucky for me I remembered some of the more unusual ingredients (lemon juice!) so that when I googled the recipe, I chose the one with the exact same ingredients, even down to the Ghiradelli chips.

So how close was it? Very close actually. I chilled the dough for a few hours before scooping which I will not do next time for more than 30 minutes. This is a super soft gooey dough so I think it needs some chilling, but a few hours was too long and the cookies were more puffy than spready...and the original are more spready.

Don't get me wrong, puffy or spready, I don't really care as I am stuffing them into my gaping maw. I think I ate 5 in one sitting on Friday. So these were GOOD. Very close to the one I had 1.5 weeks ago.

I didn't really get any pictures as it was a spur of the moment baking thing, but here is the recipe I used. Unfortunately, I didn't copy the source since I looked at so many recipes, and there are a ton of recipes online that have small variations of this recipe. One note is that I did not use all the butter, 3 sticks is ridiculous in my opinion and I didn't want greasy cookies, I used about 1 stick for 1/2 the recipe and it was perfect.

Make these..and it's my suggestion to stick to the recipe pretty closely. As you all know, I love variations but these are worth it to make AS IS at least once, because they are really amazing. Don't overbake, take them out when they are still soft and a little visually underdone, they will cool to a perfect texture. The Ghiradelli chips do make a difference, they melt perfectly and stay gooey for hours even after the cookie cools.

The one thing that I think Doubletree does, that this recipe omits, is grind the oatmeal to a finer texture, because when I ate them I was surprised to see Oatmeal as an ingredient because there were no big visible flakes at all. But I did not grind mine and you could not see flakes as well...so either way.

Doubletree Hotel Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 1/2 C. butter — softened (i used less)
1 1/2 C. granulated sugar
3/4 C. firmly packed brown sugar
4 eggs
2 1/2 tsp. Vanilla
1 tsp. lemon juice
3 C. all-purpose flour
3/4 C. old-fashioned oatmeal — uncooked
3/4 tsp. Baking Soda
1 tsp. Salt
1/4 tsp. Ground Cinnamon
3 C. Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips — Ghirardelli!
1 1/2 C. chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Place the butter in a large bowl and cream lightly with an electric mixer. Add the sugars and beat on medium speed for about 2 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla and lemon juice and mix well. In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, oatmeal, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Add to the creamed butter mixture and stir well to blend. Add chocolate chips and walnuts and stir to combine.

Using a 1/4 cup measure or a 2-oz ice cream scoop, drop the batter on the parchment-lined pans, leaving 2 -3 inches between each cookie. Bake for 13 - 15 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges. Remove from parchment and cool on wire racks.

What Kinda Cupcake ... Are YOU???

I am apparently a super dark chocolate cupcake...oh my. It looks yummy right? Careful, it goes quickly onto the hips! Sneaky..HEE.

What kinda cupcake are you?! Take the fun quiz below and post your results easily into your blog!

The Dozen Cupcakes Quiz

Dark Chocolate Cupcake "dark chocolate cake made with east end brewing co.'s black strap stout, covered with dark chocolate ganache and topped with irish cream buttercream" You are dark and sensuous, mysterious and decadent. You appreciate the finer things in life and you have expensive taste. With a sharp, sometimes deceptive wit, you manipulate the world around you to suit your taste, but never let anyone see the power you wield.

Fun quizzes, surveys & blog quizzes by

TWD: What's In a Name...Cinnamon Apple Cakes.

Okay, so what IS in a name? This week's TWD, chosen by Michelle over at Bake-En, is called Dimply Plum Cakes. Now either that's a term of endearment for your spouse gone horribly wrong, or else it's just a really unappealing name for something that should be appetizing, aka something sweet and desserty.

Therefore, I am not posting Dimply anything this week..because dimply is more like what we turn into from from EATING said TWD's...rather than an edible tasty.

Enough random babbling about unappealing dimply parts. I present you Cinnamon Apple Cake as my TWD. Much more edible sounding, right? Right.



The original recipe called for plums and cardamom. My version contained sliced apples, cinnamon, and nutmeg...a tasty combo. I replaced AP flour with White Wheat Flour, and sprinkled fresh ground cinnamon sugar on top of the apples before baking. One of the cakes, baked in small 2" square porcelain dishes, got a drizzle of oatmeal to bake into the top.



I was unsure about making the TWD this week because the name just sounded so wrong. But a few smart TWD gals said they had tried this recipe previously and loved it...and when I read it I thought seriously? It's just like a cinnamon coffee cake with fruit in it.

Why would anyone ever label this lovely thing a 'dimply cake' I am unsure. But names aside, this is great little breakfasty morning yumcake with apples, cinnamon, nutmeg and lots of whole grain goodness. Glad I made it...very tasty with a scoop of vanilla bean gelato.



Check out the other TWD Fruit Cakes here...and find the recipe over at Michelle's fabulous blog. But really, you should buy the book, it's cheap at Amazon and worth it!

Cupcake Hero: Almond Joy Chocolate Cupcakes

(cutie banner snagged from new Cupcake Hero home!)

So Cupcake Hero is a year old. Hip Hip Hooray...! In the blogging world, one year is like a 10 year anniversary or something. aka a big deal. So in the spirit of things, the fearless leaders over there did two things. (a) we got our own Cupcake Hero vanity url..woot. and (b) we got to choose this month what we wanted to bake...only thing was that it had to use at least 2 of the previous year's monthly baking ingredients.

This made me super excited. I was not able to partake in Jalapeno..because let's face it, I am really just not that creative. And I don't even like Jalapenos. Plus I was really busy in August. I am also really busy in September...but I love the idea of choosing my own thing.

I was daydreaming on what to go for when I realized I had to make some cupcakes for a friend..and ding ding...it struck me. What I wanted to make for her actually combined 3 elements of previous Hero's AND it's one of my favorite cupcake combinations. PERFECT! My September Hero was born.

So without further ado..one of my most favorite cupcake combos ever...I love making these for people and this time I made it even better in my opinion. This is a very rich chocolate cupcake with a very dense texture, with bursts of coconut and marshmallow. YUM!



Almond Joy Chocolate Cupcakes
Makes 24-36 miniature cupcakes (depending on pan size!)

1/2c hot water
2/3c unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp instant coffee or espresso powder
1 oz bittersweet chocolate chunks
1/3c heavy cream
1 stick butter, room temp
1c sugar
2 eggs, room temp
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2c whole milk
1 1/2c all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
chopped chocolate almond coconut candies (aka like almond joy)

Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder. In a small bowl, add chocolate bar/chunks and heavy cream, microwave for 45 seconds. Mix until creamy and combined. In another bowl, mix cocoa and instant coffee granules with the hot water until a thin paste forms. Set both chocolate bowls aside.

Cream sugar and butter together until fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Add the eggs one by one, mixing well each time. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the bowl, mix together on low, add 1/2 the milk. Repeat flour/milk alternating until combined. Add both chocolate ganache and water/chocolate mixture bowls to the larger bowl, and slowly beat in...whipping on high for 30 seconds at the end to get a very fluffy light moussey batter. Scoop into cupcake liners, press a chopped candy into the batter, and bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes (miniatures).



A thick outer crust will form, but the inside of the cupcake stays soft, so do not overbake..these will appear softer in the middle due to the melting candy than your typically 'done' cupcake, but they are done. Remove and let cool in pan for 5 minutes, then unmold onto a cooling rack. Cool entirely before frosting.



For the frosting, I use a Fluffy Boiled Icing that GigiCakes introduced me to. It's not a marshmallow frosting, but it sure looks like and it tastes just like marshmallow, so I will consider it 'marshmallow'...why not?!

Fluffy Boiled Icing
From GigiCakes.blogspot.com
3 tablespoons of meringue powder
1/2 cup of cold water
2 cups of sugar
1/4 cup corn syrup
1/2 cup of water

Beat meringue powder and cold water until stiff, about 4 minutes.
In a medium saucepan, mix the sugar, corn syrup, and water. Bring to boil and cool slightly.With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the syrup mixture to the meringue.
Then beat on high for 4 minutes, until stiff and glossy.
Store at room temperature.
It's super fun to pipe as well and will develop an outer shell, and can be left out overnight with no issues.



Random note on the frosting but sometimes when I make it I get not as firm results, anyone know why this might happen?? Sometimes it's not as thick as previous times. Also, DO NOT REFRIDGERATE this frosting on the cupcakes...I did it on Friday night and it glopped and melted all over the place. Maybe something about the structure of the frosting while cooling in the fridge? It was a disaster. But it still tasted good...anyway any tips on this appreciated.

Hero elements used: Cocoa, Marshmallow (faux!), Coffee. Happy Birthday Hero...check out all the other fabulous September Bakers Choices at the new Hero home here.

TWD: 'Oodles of Chocolate' Chunkers (and Rogue Whopper Drops!)

Okay, so I lied. I was going to make the Malted Chocolate Whopper Drops and post them before I went to Europe but as it usually does, somehow time got away from me...and even though I chopped the Whoppers and chocolate chunks a good 3 days before I was leaving, somehow they just sat there and stared at me until I left on Friday 9/5.



When I returned on Friday 9/12, and actually surfaced from a 10 hour sleep coma on Saturday 9/13, I thought...I will make those cookies this wkd. And make them I did...I have a few random pictures but since this is not a post about the Malted Chocolate Whopper Drops, I won't steal away from the TWD this week which is Chocolate Chunkers, thanks to Claudia from Fool for Food. I just had to say that I MADE THE COOKIES! It alleviates my own TWD slacker guilt. I did however, pause while consuming a third chocolate croissant in Paris last Tuesday and think about the TWD clan, so that counts right? So, here they are...and they were yummy.



Anyhow, I am back from Europe, it was a wonderful fun AND productive time...I traveled for work but it was my first time to Europe so I had to make it count. I have wonderful memories and we got a lot of work done which was, of course, the whole goal.

So onto Chocolate Chunkers. The name is deceiving. When you think Chocolate Chunkers you think, big fat chocolate chunks in a yummy old fashioned kind of Toll-House cookie, right? RIGHT? Well I did anyway.

But in reading the recipe, I started having Granola Grabbers flashbacks. Apricots? Raisins? Chocolate? What? So, I went a little old school with these and just did...mostly oodles of chocolate chunks. Dark, bittersweet, and milk chocolate. With some peanut butter in the cookie base instead of the melted chocolate and cocoa, so they were more of a visually traditional looking cookie. And diced pecans in 1/2 for fun. Because seriously, something called Chocolate Chunkers should primarily be about chunks of chocolate!



By the way...cookie recipes are the best. They take all of 10 minutes to whip together, you can easily half the recipe, eat 2-3 (or 5) and then take the rest into work and pawn them off on people who need an afternonon pick me up at 3pm. I didn't take that many photos because, as many of the TWD community has been saying...cookies don't always photograph well. And let's face it, I'd rather be eating these things than taking photos of them!

I used white wheat flour in these cookies as I find it's a perfect sub for regular in something like chocolate cookies. Plus fiber is always fun. These did not spread at all, as most people noticed in the P&Q...so I smooshed them down before baking.



Next week's pick is something that sounds slightly unappetizing, Dimply Plum Cake. I am not sure I will participate because (a) I won't eat it and (b) I doubt anyone else at work will want to unless I rename it. So maybe I'll make Dimply Plum chocolate raisin cookies or something. Anyway, check the rest of the TWD community's cookies out here!

Cupcake Tease Revisited...Fondant Animals & Barn Scene!

I just realized I never updated you guys on those fun fondant animal cupcakes I made for a party recently. The Mom of the cute little 1 year old whose birthday it was sent me a picture of the setup...so I just had to share.

I did the barn cake which was about a 10x12 finished product made of 2 thick layers of red velvet with cream chese frosting inside. It was ridiculously heavy...I used 3 cake boards glued together to hold it all up. The cupcakes which were vanilla w/vanilla bean buttercream.



I frosted some of the cupcakes to look like grass, and put fondant letters on top of them and #1's. Also some of them got tasted coconut on top for haystacks.



The rest of the yummy, cutely frosted cupcakes got the fondant animals as toppers.



The cake was time consuming extraordinaire...it took me 2 nights of about 3-4 hours each. I like cupcakes way better! Overall though, after the enterprising Mom got a cloud/grass tablecloth and arranged it all, the scene was SO CUTE...it matched almost to the tee the invitation the Mom had sent out.

I also got the sweetest email from the Mom about how happy she was with everything. Somehow it made it all worth it. I love this hobby! Oh yes and PS I am back from Europe. More on that in my TWD!

TWD: Chunkalicious PB Choco Chipsters

YAY ...another cookie! Seriously, how can you go wrong with a little cookie makin'??? I adored the Granola Grabbers, drunken rum style and I knew just by the name (chocolate, peanut butter, oatmeal?!) I'd love these too. Chosen by Stefany of Proceed with Caution, these had all the amazing elements for a fabulous treat.

Especially since thanks to the caking and cupcaking I have been doing lately, I am really not loving the idea of cake as much right now. Cookies are simple, easy...and even if they come out looking wonky, they typically still TASTE good.



Speaking of looking wonky, these cookies kinda do. I halved the recipe and mine didn't spread AT ALL. If I hadn't pushed them down a bit to give them a slight dip they would be little chunky chippie mounds. So in the 2nd batch, I added about 3 tbls melted butter and about 2 tbls water just to try to loosen the mixture up a bit.



I subb'd white wheat flour for the ap but I used 1/2 the amount of oatmeal as well...because all I had on hand was instant maple and brown sugar, lower sugar style ala Quaker. I think that might be the dry culprit because lets face it. When you put one of those packets into a bowl of water...it puffs up and absorbs like no tomorrow. So really, I might have needed way more fluid.



The 2nd batch didn't really spread much either actually though they spread a little more than the first batch. The third batch I pressed down with a mini spatula and got fun lines in them.

But looks aside, these are easily a new favorite. I used peanut butter reese's chips AND 60% bittersweet ghiradelli chips...and more of the jar of Skippy than the recipe called for. Other than the white wheat and oatmeal subs, everything else was pretty much the same. The taste on these was 'stuff them in your mouth' good. I could see why other TWD gals were saying they were having problems getting the dough in the oven...because they kept EATING it! Gals after my own heart.



I am traveling in Europe for work next week, so I will do my TWD this week and just set it to post next Tues, but if I am lax in responding for comments, that's why!! However I am here this week so can't wait to see what everyone's chippies look like....YUM! Don't forget to check out the rest of the TWD baking community's wonderful chipped goodness here. Enjoy!