Lovin' From the Oven

Day 3: York Peppermint Pieces Cookies

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Day 3 of my 12 days of cookies: York Peppermint Pieces Cookies. I’ve always seen those cute little packages at Target of candy pieces (Reeses, Almond Joy, Hershey’s Special Dark, etc.), but I never bothered to buy any because I’m so used to the original form of the candies.

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Then, on a flight that I was working, a passenger gave us a bag of these York Pieces. YUM! Of course, the people I was working with wanted nothing to do with the candy (we get a lot of treats and apparently everyone’s watching their figure), so I gladly took the bag for myself.

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The first thing I think of when I get candy is, “Can I bake this into something?” The hard shells remind me of M&M’s, so naturally, the candies went into a cookie.

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… and what a mighty fine cookie that was. It should be a crime for cookies to look this pretty. Just look at the crinkly top, the beautiful clash in colors, the perfect circle shape (I didn’t even use a cookie scoop!), and the uniformity of thickness in each cookie. You’re lucky to get one of those characteristics in a cookie, but all four?! Impossible… Or so I thought.

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The dark chocolate cocoa powder that I used goes great with the minty flavor. Dark chocolate and mint go together like peanut butter and jelly. They just belong.

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Day 3: York Peppermint Pieces Cookies

Ingredients

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I used dark)
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 4 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
  • 1 stick (½ cup) butter, cut into pieces
  • ¾ cup York Pieces (or similar candy)
  • 1½ cups sugar 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

  1. Preheat your oven to 325˚F.
  2. Melt the semisweet chocolate and butter using a double boiler method, stirring until smooth. Set aside and let cool for 2-3 minutes.
  3. In a mixer, combine the melted chocolate, sugar, eggs, and vanilla.
  4. Slowly mix in the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir in the candy pieces.
  5. Roll the dough into tablespoon sized balls and place on baking sheet.
  6. Bake for 13-14 minutes. Let them cool on pan for 2-3 minutes before removing to wire rack to cool completely.
https://lovintheoven.com/day-3-york-peppermint-pieces-cookies/

Tate’s Bake Shop: Chubby Tates

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Tate’s Bake Shop was lovely enough to send me a copy of Kathleen King’s new book, Baking for Friends. The book is nice and solid– not too thick and not too thin. It’s very similar to her first cookbook, except with brand new recipes.

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A quick browse through and I know right away I’m going to get along just dandy with this book. All desserts, nothing too crazy. All the ingredients are ones that I’m most likely able to find in my pantry. I decided to give the cookie on the cover a try. After all, wouldn’t you put your best item on the front page?

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Chubby tates are, in other words, chocolate chip cookies. What made this recipe interesting was that it had corn syrup in the mixture. It didn’t make a difference in the cookie dough itself, but it did make a difference in the baked cookie. It had a more caramelized taste in the end, creating one heck of a chocolate chip cookie.

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Head on over to Tate’s website and get King’s latest cookbook. Don’t forget to use the discount code: BAKEOFF for $5 off an autographed copy!

Chubby Tates
from Kathleen King’s Baking for Friends, page 111.

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Tate’s Bake Shop: Chubby Tates

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoons alt
  • 1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
  • 1 1/2 sticks salted butter, at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
  • 1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

  1. Position the oven racks in the top third and center of the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. In a large bowl, beat the brown sugar, butter, granulated sugar, and corn syrup with an electric mixer set on high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Beat in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, mix in the flour mixture, just until combined. Mix in the chocolate chips.
  3. Using 2 tablespoons per cookie, drop the dough about 3 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheets. (Or use a 1-ounce food portions coop to scoop the dough onto the baking sheets.) The mounds of dough can be frozen on the baking sheets until hard, then transferred to a zip-tight plastic bag and frozen for up to 1 month. Bake without thawing.
  4. Bake, rotating the positions of the sheets from top to bottom and front to bak halfway through baking, until the cookies are lightly browned on the edges, about 18 minutes. (If using frozen cookies, bake for about 20 minutes.) Let cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire cooling rack and let cool completely. Repeat with the remaining dough, on cool baking sheets.
https://lovintheoven.com/tates-bake-shop-chubby-tates/

 

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Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars

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In case you were wondering, the top half of that stack has no chocolate chips. I did half the batch with chocolate, half the batch without.

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They’re equally delicious, although some chocolate lovers may disagree.

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Are you a chocolate with pumpkin kind of person? Or do you prefer things plain and simple?

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Personally, I’m all about the plain and simple. No need to complicate a good thing.

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With all that election mumbo jumbo people are bickering about, I’m happy to sit in silence with a plate of these pumpkin bars. I’ll stay away from Facebook, Instagram, and TV if I can help it so that I don’t have to deal with all the negativity and attacking back and forth. And to think…. for someone that was a political science major, I sure dislike politics. Hah!

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I’ve never been one to really strongly voice my opinions, and I’m not about to start anytime soon. All I’m saying is let everyone make up their own minds about things. Stop trying to shove opinions down other peoples’ throats.

Now let’s all hold hands and sing kumbaya.

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Alright, I’m over it. This is recipe number two for my week of pumpkin.

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They make enough to bring to a party or gathering, and people will love you for doing so. They’re dense, moist, and pack well. Recipe from Bake at 350.

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Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars

Ingredients

  • 2 c all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 3/4 tsp ginger
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/8 tsp allspice
  • 1/8 tsp cloves
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 3/4 tsp coarse salt
  • 1 c unsalted butter, room temp
  • 1 1/4 c sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 1 c pumpkin puree
  • 12 oz chocolate chips

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350. Line a 13x9" pan with foil, leaving an overhang on all sides.
  2. Cream together the butter and sugar. Mix in the egg, vanilla, and pumpkin puree.
  3. Slowly add the flour, spices, baking soda, and salt until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.
  4. Evenly spread the batter into the pan and bake for about 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely before cutting.
https://lovintheoven.com/pumpkin-chocolate-chip-bars/

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