Chopped-Chocolate Coffee Cookies

Finally! My own recipe, after adapted from here and there, experienced a lot of errors, and goodness too, I present my own chocolate chip cookies recipe. Tadaaaa.....

Butterism Chopped Chocolate Cookies

make about 25 2" cookies

110 gr butter, room temperature

55 gr caster sugar

55 gr brown sugar

1 egg

3/4 tsp coffee essence (if you want a lighter version, you can change it to vanilla essence)

200 gr all purpose flour

150 gr chopped dark chocolate (not chocolate chip, trust me it's so much better if you go with the chopped chocolate)

nb: I change my recipe's name halfway writing this post, as I realized it doesn't involve chocolate chip at all.

1. Preheat the oven to 180 ^oC

2. Beat butter and both sugars in a mixing bowl, whisk until fully incorporated and the mixture's color turn into lighter brown.

3. Crack in the egg and add the essence, keep whisking until mixture is thick, smooth and shiny with no sugar lumps.

4. Stir in the flour, whisking just until half-combined. Stop the whisking and using spatula continue the mixing. Stir together gently, don't overmix the dough.

5. Add the main ingredient, stir in the chopped dark chocolate, and giving dough final stir to ensure no flour pockets remain.

6. Using tablespoon or cookie scoop, drop balls of cookie dough on an ungreased cookie sheets. Don't flatten the dough.

7. Bake it for 5 minutes, and then take the cookies out (don't forget to close your oven lid!) flatten the cookies with fork, and get them back where they should belong. Bake for 15-17 minutes more, until the cookies are golden brown and start to smell like heaven.

I think everybody has their own characteristic of chocolate chip cookies. Me, I like it crisp and thick, rich and chocolaty, and I found it already :) How do you like yours?

Butterism on Tea Party

Strawberry, Lemon and Mint

I always love Chartreuse, this apple green color

Yayy~ I was so excited when my boss ask me to join her little showcase party. So the idea was several designers gather in this one event showing their artworks, and sell them, of course. There's clutch, accessories, shoes, dress, toddler clothes, and me as the pastry designer (that sounds good, isn't it? pastry designer :) )

I was a little bit worried, though. This is my first time trying to sell what I b

aked. So far, I just baking for my own happiness and relatives birthday. Oh, and for my boss' anniversary too. Wondering and asking myself, am I capable to organize my little showcase? Here's the thing, I'm a pessimistic, but on the other hand, J's annoyingly an optimist and positive person. Then he convinced me that I definitely can do this. So, what the heck, let's do this! :)

After couple days of research and research, I decided to bake :

1. Margarita Cupcake. which is basically a vanilla cupcake, with lemon cream cheese frosting, plus lime and straw for garnish.

It supposed to be a key lime with white pulp.

I accidentally grab the wrong lime -.-"

2. Saint Honoré. I was so intrigued to bake this when I saw this LV's video ad and this post. I never bake this before, and I didn't have time to practice. I just depend on luck, and hoping I can do this right :D I adapted the recipe a bit, still using the Chiboust Cream though, but I combine this delicate pastry with Mango preserve.

What a messy assembly

Chiboust Cream and Mango Preserve

3. Mini Cream Puff. Because I baked a lot of mini cream puff for Saint Honore, it's better if I sell them as well. I filled this mini puff with mango custard. It has a kinda hard shell, but when you bite it, the creamy custard is balancing the shell.

Sugar glaze on mini cream puff

4. Cookies. Too bad I didn't have enough time to bake this, so I asked

one of my friend to fill in this one job.

5. Cake Pop. Now, this one is a hit at the showcase! I read and read and practice and more practice. Why the cake fall off? How to melt the chocolate? Which cake is better for the cake pop? And so on.. I got them all, but still, practice makes you better.

Inside the cake pop

And I tried to make macaron. But it didn't succeed. Too bad :( I think it'll be a hit too.

Anyway, this event take place about err... 3 months ago. Yea yeah, i was so lazy updating my blog. But here's some of the pictures!

Whoops.. one of the cream puff fall off!

Little Bianca confused, pink or the blue one?

Blue it is!

aww... look at her chubby cute face

Almond Biscotti

I've tried a lot of biscotti before i decided to bake one. I have to make sure the perfect texture, the taste, and the flavor. After starbucks, coffee bean, bengawan solo, and cheese cake factory, the winner is Coffee Bean! They got the right texture, i love the flavor : Almond, but i should omit the berry thing.

So, here I present to you, my first Biscotti :

Almond Biscotti

from http://cookalmostanything.blogspot.com/2006/05/almond-biscotti.html

300g plain flour
200g caster sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
100g whole blanched almonds

Preheat oven to 160°C/320°F.

Sift the flour, sugar and baking powder into a bowl.

Whisk the eggs with the vanilla extract, then stir into the dry ingredients. Add the almonds, then turn out onto a lightly floured bench.

The dough should be soft but able to be moulded into shape. I found the mix to be too sticky so I had to add a fair bit of flour until it achieved the appropriate consistency. As all flours are different, this is just something you need to keep an eye on when baking.

Divide the dough into two and shape each into flat logs about 25cm (10 inches) by 5cm (2 inches) in size. Place on baking paper and onto oven trays. These will spread out so leave plenty of space or put them on two trays.

Bake for about 35 minutes or until they are lightly browned.

Remove and let cool slightly.

Using a serrated knife slice evenly - about 1cm or thinner.

Place the slices back on the trays (cut side down) and return to the oven - cook for 10 minutes, then turn them over and cook for another 10. You are looking for the slices to dry out but barely colour - if you press a finger into the cut surface there should be resistance.

When done, place them on a wire rack to cool. Store in an airtight container - these should keep for a few weeks

Best thing to do in the morning : dunk the biscotti to your coffee!

Espresso-Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

I love how the title sounds. It has Espresso, Chocolate, Shortbread and Cookies!! It just perfected each other. Got the recipe from Smitten Kitchen. It's easy and using simple ingredients. I think every baker will have these ingredients on hand already. The only one thing i don't like about this cookies (and some other cookies) is the waiting! Yep. In order to bake these cookies in square-shaped, we have to put it in freezer, so we can cut the dough in shape. Urrghh...It made me checking the dough every minutes i have.

And finally, time to bake them! First batch came out not so great, i think because it still unbaked. Resulted still chewy inside. But hey, i learned. So second batch, i lower the oven temperature a bit and baked it a lil longer than the first one. Woohooo... came out grrreatt! and the best thing is, it still crunchy after a few days (fyi, i gave some to my friend, and he's the one who said so. Mine? it didn't even last for 2 days!)

Espresso-Chocolate Shortbread Cookies
From Smitten Kitchen

Makes 32 cookies

1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
1 tablespoon boiling water
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate (plain, or a toffee variety), finely chopped, or 3/4 cup store-bought mini chocolate chips
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting (optional)

1. Dissolve the espresso in the boiling water, and set aside to cool.

2. Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter and confectioners’ sugar together on medium speed for about 3 minutes, until the mixture is very smooth. Beat in the vanilla and espresso, then reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour, mixing only until it disappears into the dough. Don’t work the dough much once the flour is incorporated. Fold in the chopped chocolate with a sturdy rubber spatula.

3. Using the spatula, transfer the soft, sticky dough to a gallon-size zipper-lock plastic bag. Put the bag on a flat surface, leaving the top open, and roll the dough into a 9 x 10 1/2 inch rectangle that’s 1/4 inch thick. As you roll, turn the bag occasionally and lift the plastic from the dough so it doesn’t cause creases. When you get the right size and thickness, seal the bag, pressing out as much air as possible, and refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours, or for up to 2 days.

4. Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.

5. Put the plastic bag on a cutting board and slit it open. Turn the firm dough out onto the board (discard the bag) and, using a ruler as a guide and a sharp knife, cut the dough into 1 1/2-inch squares. Transfer the squares to the baking sheets and carefully prick each one twice with a fork, gently pushing the tines through the cookies until they hit the sheet.

6. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back at the midway point. The shortbreads will be very pale–they shouldn’t take on much color. Transfer the cookies to a rack.

7. If you’d like, dust the cookies with confectioners’ sugar while they are still hot. Cool the cookies to room temperature before serving.