OK, technically, “Apple Brownies” are not brownies at all.
For one thing, there’s no chocolate in them.
But there are plenty of apples in a tender crumb that is suffused with cinnamon.
Plus, just like the best brownies, these bake up with an irresistible crackly texture on top. So much so, that just like brownies, you will be grabbing for the corner pieces first just to get as much of the sugary, crisp edges as you can.
You will lose yourself completely to these cookies. Resistance is not only futile, it’s not even in the dictionary any more. Not when it comes to these cookies.
Just imagine: 2 pounds — yes, pounds — of chocolate in these cookies.
They don’t call these “Chocolate Truffle Cookies with Crackly Crust” for nothing.
The recipe is from the new “The Dahlia Bakery Cookbook” (William Morrow), of which I just received a review copy. The book is by Seattle superstar Chef Tom Douglas and Shelley Lance, his former pastry chef who’s now his chief recipe tester.
Consider this the ménage à trois of cookies.
You have the complementary duo of dark and white chocolates — then throw in racy ginger for an even spicier time.
Are you getting all hot and bothered yet?
Your taste buds sure will in the best of ways with these “Dark and White Chocolate Chunk Cookies with Ginger.” The recipe is from “Bon Appetit Desserts” (Andrews McMeel) by the magazine’s former editor-in-chief, Barbara Fairchild. Ever since receiving a review copy of this 686-page cookbook two years ago, I’ve been slowly baking my way through its extensive collection of 600 recipes.
These cookies bake up soft and fudgy in texture. They boast craggy dark tops with striking big chunks of white chocolate that get a little golden on the edges like toasted marshmallows.
What would the holidays be without a perfect ginger cookie?
A whole lot of blah humbug, that’s what.
When these cookies go in the oven, the spicy fragrance that fills the kitchen is intoxicating.
With one whiff, you just know Christmas time is here.
“Molasses-Ginger Cookies” is from the new cookbook, “The Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook” (Artisan), of which I received a review copy, by Cheryl Day and Griffith Day. They are the founders of the Back in the Day Bakery in Savannah, Ga. Cheryl is a former “Soul Train” dancer. Griffith is a funk musician. They met in their early 20s over a love for music, then reconnected 15 years later over a passion for baking.
Their bakery opened a decade ago. They actually got married inside of it, too. The cookbook reflects that very personal touch. It’s filled with homespun treats rooted in Southern tradition, everything from ‘Nana Cream Pie to Plum Custard to Butter Mints.
These cookies are big-fisted, possessed of a crackly sugary top and a chewy-good center — all things you want in a Christmas-time ginger cookie.
Don’t be alarmed by the generous amounts of ground spices used, including a whopping 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon and 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon. That may seem like way too much. But the resulting flavor in the baked cookies is not overwhelming at all. The taste is spicy, but balanced.
For good measure, I even upped the ginger quota by using a sample of Aftelier Chef’s Essences ($16.95 to $19.95) in Fresh Ginger, available at Williams-Sonoma. These tiny bottles of essential, all-natural oils come in a variety of flavors, including Asian Lemon, Sweet Basil and Warm Nutmeg. Of course, I had to try the Fresh Ginger one, being the ginger fiend that I am.
Yes, it’s potato chips and cookies all in one.
Talk about the ultimate guilty pleasure.
When it comes to home decor and entertaining, Martha Stewart may be all about what’s prim, proper and precisely right. But you gotta give the woman a hand for sticking up for her fair share of junk food.
Her “Potato Chip Cookies” do just that.
Not only will you find crumbled potato chips in the dough, but rolled all around each cookie, too.