cookie in a cookie.

there was a recipe that i had been wanting to try for a while that my friend and i finally had the chance of making a few days ago. oreo stuffed chocolate chip cookies (inspired by picky palate) a cookie inside of another cookie? YES PLEASE. the chocolate chip cookie batter for these types of cookies are a bit different than usual cookie batter because it includes more flour and thus comes out a bit thicker. this helps so that the oreo actually has cookie surrounding it after they finish baking.

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 3 1/2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 10 oz. bag of chocolate chips
• 1 package of oreo cookies (although you most likely won’t use all of them!)

preheat the oven to 350 degrees. cream the butter and sugars until well combined. gradually add in the eggs and the vanilla. mix well.

in another bowl, mix the flour, salt and baking soda. slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, mixing well after each addition. stir in the chocolate chip cookies.

to make the cookies themselves, place one scoop of cookie dough on top of the oreo and another scoop under. press the edges together so that the oreo is complete encased with chocolate chip cookie dough. place onto parchment paper lined baking sheets and bake about 15-20 minutes.

these cookies come out HUGE. but so good! chocolate chip cookies and oreos are an awesome combination. and they’re really surprising for people who don’t know there is an oreo inside. yum. and they taste even better with a little bit of peanut butter spread on top!

a hodge podge.

as another week of summer comes to an end, i’ve realized that baking in the summer is a lot easier than baking in the winter. sure, the hot oven helps to fill the kitchen with a lot of heat during the winter but the coldness also means the ingredients rarely get to right softened-ness. for example, most recipes call for “softened unsalted butter” which requires you to let the butter sit in the kitchen before using it. in the winter, it takes FOREVER to soften so you either have to wait like an hour or be impatient and just start baking with partly softened butter (i usually end up doing the latter…). but in the summer, the butter becomes soft enough for baking like ten minutes after taking it out of the fridge! it’s awesome and saves a lot of boring waiting time. 🙂

today, i decided to make what i want to call hodge podge cookies because one, i like that phrase and two, it’s like three different types of cookies in one! but really, they should actually be called chocolate coconut walnut cookies. (adapted from Voila!)

• 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
• 1 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

preheat the oven to 350 degrees. beat the butter and two sugars until smooth and well blended. add in the eggs one at a time making sure to beat well after each addition. add the vanilla. mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt into the butter mixture until everything is well combined.

stir in the chocolate chips, coconut and walnuts. with a spoon, drop the batter onto ungreased baking sheets about two inches apart. bake for 10-12 minutes.

a blend of chocolate chip cookies and walnut cookies with a hint of coconut. cookies are definitely the easiest baked good to experiment with because you can basically add anything into them! and (for the most part) they’ll taste really good!

i’m sad that summer is slowly coming to an end but i’m off to nyc in the morning for my last week! excited to spend the weekend there enjoying all the amazing food that new york has to offer. 

one more week until SOPHOMORE year of college! eek!

a day on the cape, random baking and vegetables on steroids.

this past saturday, i went down (or is it “up”? i’ve never really understood the difference between the two…) to the cape with my parents! they let me drive which was fun although there ended up being some traffic so we didn’t have time to go to the beach. four years and counting of me not properly going to a beach…i suck. anyways, we walked on main street for a bit, looked at some houses, and then decided to stop for dinner at Kian n’ Rylee’s. they had outer seating which was awesome because the weather was absolutely gorgeous and they had almost 20 varieties of burgers which just made them more awesome.

i ordered the bistro burger which included melted cheddar cheese, bacon, slices of granny smith apple and honey mustard dressing. i’m not usually a big fan of dressings that include mustard but the honey mustard flavor wasn’t too strong. the bacon and apple slices added the perfect crunch and made the burger DELICIOUS. i love a good burger. 🙂 my mom ordered their steak tip sandwich which i would also totally recommend. steak, caramelized onions and melted provolone. yummm.

and when i got home…i was kind of bored so made some classic chocolate chip cookies (so many c’s!) on a whim. super easy and super good! i had some extra chocolate so i dunked some of the cookies in chocolate and added sprinkles for a bit of flair. 

and in other news, my mom’s garden has grown out of control. here’s a picture of how many cucumbers (plus there are even MORE still growing) she’s already harvested. there’s also a zucchini in the mix somewhere.

it’s actually RIDICULOUS how crazy her garden has gotten. needless to say, i have been eating lots and lots of cucumbers these past few weeks. yay for homegrown organic vegetables!