chocolate

Bready or Not Original: Chewy Honey Chocolate Chip Cookies

Posted by Beth on Jun 26, 2019 in Blog, Bready or Not, chocolate, cookies | Comments Off on Bready or Not Original: Chewy Honey Chocolate Chip Cookies

Bready or Not is back with an original recipe for Chewy Honey Chocolate Chip Cookies!

This recipe arose from my need to create a good, basic chocolate chip cookie that could last for weeks to be shipped cross-country. I looked to my staple Chewy Honey cookies for inspiration, and started tweaking.

On my first try, the cookies were good but a tad bland. Therefore, I upped the vanilla extract and also added espresso powder. Espresso powder is a secret weapon for anyone who bakes with chocolate, as it deepens the inherent flavor without making it taste like coffee.

This second version worked in every way. Not only did it taste delicious, but it was perfect to pack and ship, too.

Mind you, I wouldn’t do that right now because I live near Phoenix. In June, this isn’t a chocolate-friendly place outside of air conditioning!

Try my other original Chewy Honey cookie recipes! If you’ve met me at a con, I’ve likely offered you the Maple or Snickerdoodle Cookies.
Chewy Honey Maple Cookies
Chewy Honey Snickerdoodles
Chewy Honey Lemon Cookies

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Bready or Not Original: Chewy Honey Chocolate Chip Cookies

This Bready or Not Original reinvents the chocolate chip cookie using a mixture of flours and corn starch for soft and chewy cookies that stay delicious for weeks in a sealed container. Note that the dough needs to chill for at least a few hours prior to baking.

Course: Dessert, Snack

Keyword: chocolate, cookies

Author: Beth Cato

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup unsalted butter softened
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar packed
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 Tb honey
• 1 large egg room temperature
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup bread flour
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon espresso powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup chocolate chips add a variety!

Instructions

• In a large bowl, beat the butter until smooth. Add the sugar and honey and beat until creamy and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and then mix in the egg and vanilla extract.
• In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients: bread flour, all-purpose flour, cornstarch, baking soda, espresso powder, and salt. Sift together.
• Slowly stir together the wet ingredients and flour mix until just combined. Sprinkle in the chocolate chips. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and stash in the fridge for several hours or days; dough can also be frozen at this stage.
• When ready to bake, preheat the oven at 350-degrees. Use greased stoneware, parchment paper, or silpat mats. The cookie dough, even straight from the fridge, has a soft Play-Doh-like consistency, and will spread when it bakes; keep this in mind when spacing cookie dough.
• Teaspoon-sized cookies need to bake 9 to 12 minutes; Tablespoon-sized take 11 to 13 minutes. Let set on cookie sheets for 10 to 15 minutes before moving to a rack to cool completely.
• Stored cookies will keep in a sealed container, between waxed paper or parchment layers, for weeks. They are excellent for travel or shipping.
• OM NOM NOM!

Bready or Not: Oreo Thins Cake Batter Blondies [cake mix]

Posted by Beth on May 22, 2019 in Blog, blondies, Bready or Not, cake mix, chocolate, cookies, oreo | Comments Off on Bready or Not: Oreo Thins Cake Batter Blondies [cake mix]

I’m no baking snob. Cake mix has a place in my kitchen when I need quick-fix baked goods. This recipe for Oreo Thins Cake Batter Blondies is fantastic.

I made a different variation of this back on my old LiveJournal lo those many years ago. In that one, I used regular Golden Oreos as Oreo Thins didn’t exist yet.

Both styles of Oreos are great in this recipe. If you use Thins, use the entire package, chopped-up. For regular Oreos, use about 2 cups of chopped cookie.

There IS such a thing as too many Oreos in a recipe like this. They can overwhelm the batter and make everything (a delicious) crumbly mess when it’s cut. I speak from experience.

Use whatever kind of Oreo you want here. I used Oreo Thins Salted Caramel when I took these pictures. Use Golden Oreos, regular Oreos, or any seasonal remix–and choose different color sprinkles to match!

Sprinkles make everything better, right?

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Bready or Not: Oreo Thins Cake Batter Blondies [cake mix]

This super-simple recipe uses cake mix to bake up a delicious dish of blondies. Use an entire package of Oreo Thins, whatever flavor you fancy (Salted Caramel is great if available)! Regular Oreos are also fantastic for this recipe, but use only about 2 cups of chopped Oreos or they will overwhelm the batter. Adding chocolate chips is an option, too, depending on the Oreos being used; with some kinds it may make the bars too sweet.

Course: Dessert, Snack

Keyword: bars, cake mix, oreo

Author: Beth Cato

Ingredients

• 18.25 oz yellow cake mix
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup milk or half and half
• 1 package Oreo Thins crumbled
• 1/2 cup sprinkles
• 1/2 cup white chocolate or chocolate chips, optional

Instructions

• Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Line a 13x9 dish with foil and apply nonstick spray or butter.
• In a large bowl, mix together the cake mix, oil, egg, and milk. The batter should be thick. Fold in the Oreo Thins and sprinkles [and chocolate chips, if using].
• Pour into pan and even out. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until middle passes toothpick test. Cool completely. Use foil to lift contents onto cutting board to slice into squares. Store in a sealed container.
• OM NOM NOM!

Bready or Not: Cranberry-Candied Ginger Blondies with Macadamia Nuts

Posted by Beth on May 8, 2019 in Blog, blondies, Bready or Not, chocolate, cookies | Comments Off on Bready or Not: Cranberry-Candied Ginger Blondies with Macadamia Nuts

Cranberry-Candied Ginger Blondies with Macadamia Nuts! The name is a mouthful, but I assure you, the goodies make for delicious mouthfuls, too.

If the basic ingredients sound familiar, they should. I did a similar-sounding recipe just recently, but you’ll notice, they don’t look the same–nor do they taste the same, but both are excellent.

This recipe has a different sort of soft chewy texture, plus macadamia nuts. Macadamia nuts make almost everything better, right?

I think these look especially pretty because of the topping as well. You have to sprinkle on the cranberry and ginger bits fast at the end to make sure they stick in the melted white chocolate.

It’d be a tragedy if the pieces fell off. Then you have to eat them all. Darn.

Modified from Brownies & Bars Magazine.

Print Recipe

Bready or Not: Cranberry-Candied Ginger Blondies with Macadamia Nuts

These soft, chewy bars include dried cranberries, crystallized ginger, and macadamia nuts inside and out.

Course: Dessert, Snack

Keyword: bars

Author: Beth Cato

Ingredients

Blondies

• 11 oz white chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter room temperature
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup macadamia nuts coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 2 Tablespoons candied ginger chopped

Topping

• 4 oz white chocolate chips
• 1 Tablespoon shortening
• 2 Tablespoons candied ginger chopped
• 1 Tablespoon dried cranberries

Instructions

• Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Line a 13x9 pan with foil and apply nonstick spray or butter.
• In the microwave or in a saucepan on the stovetop, at low heat warm the bag of white chocolate chips until melted. In the microwave, that means brief bursts at low power and stirring well between each pass--watch it, as it can burn fast! Stir in the butter until it's melted. Set aside to cool for 15 minutes.
• Whisk the eggs and sugar into the white chocolate mix followed by the flour and vanilla. Fold in the macadamia nuts, cranberries, and candied ginger. Spread evenly in the ready pan.
• Bake for 28 to 30 minutes, until top is light brown and center passes the toothpick test. Cool pan completely.
• In the microwave or in a saucepan on the stovetop, melt the white chocolate and shortening over low heat until smooth. Drizzle over the bars. Immediately sprinkle the remaining ginger and cranberries over the top and gently tap them into the drizzled chocolate. Let set at room temperature or fridge.
• Use the foil to lift contents onto cutting board. Slice into bars. Store in sealed containers with waxed paper between the layers.
• OM NOM NOM!

Bready or Not Guest: CASSANDRA COMPLEX author Wendy Nikel with Chocolate Blueberry Cupcakes

Posted by Beth on May 7, 2019 in Blog, blueberry, Bready or Not, chocolate, guest recipe | Comments Off on Bready or Not Guest: CASSANDRA COMPLEX author Wendy Nikel with Chocolate Blueberry Cupcakes

I’m happy to welcome back author Wendy Nikel for the release of the 3rd book in her time-traveling novella series with World Weaver Press. The Cassandra Complex is out TODAY. Be sure to print out her previous recipes for Continuum Coffee Cupcakes and Grandmother Paradox Cherry Cupcakes.

The third book in my Place in Time novella series, THE CASSANDRA COMPLEX, is now out into the world, which means it is once again time to make some celebration cupcakes!

My original plan was to use one of the original Harvey Girls recipes, which have been collected online by Stephen Fried in the Harvey Girls Cookbook Project. The Harvey Girls were waitresses who worked at one of the “eating houses” (and later dining cars) of Fred Harvey, a restaurant pioneer of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His goal was to serve good food to people traveling west on the new railroad lines, and he was very successful in doing so, thanks in part to the thousands of women who came out west to serve his food – including the protagonist of my story, Cass.

I soon found out, though, that in trying to bake from a classic recipe like this one for Homemade Blueberry Cake, I was biting off a bit more than I could chew. Even after doing all the math to figure out how much 5 ounces of sugar is in tablespoons and how much 1 gill of milk is, my dough didn’t rise as it was supposed to, and I ended up with a sticky mess.

It was time for Plan B. I pulled out a tried-and-true cupcake recipe, made some tweaks, and created a chocolate cupcake, topped with blueberry frosting and fresh chocolate-covered blueberries for my own version of a blueberry cake.

I started by melting down some chocolate chips with a tiny bit of coconut oil. I created my garnishes by dropping a nickel-sized dot of chocolate on waxed paper, then stacking five blueberries together and sprinkling with sea salt before throwing them in the freezer. These are some of my favorite snack treats, so I made a couple extra.

After that, I started on the cupcakes, mixing the dry ingredients (flour, cocoa, and baking powder) in one bowl and the wet ingredients (sugar, butter, and eggs) in another before combining them together, along with some milk. These then went in cupcake trays with a couple chocolate chips on top, and went into the oven for 16 minutes at 350 degrees.

While those were cooling, I made up my blueberry frosting. I started by blending a cup of butter until it was smooth and then alternated adding powdered sugar and blueberry pie filling until I had the consistency I wanted. I loved the color the blueberries turned the frosting – a perfect match for my new book!

Then, it was time for my favorite part: decorating! I added two kinds of sprinkles to the top.

And, for the final touch, I pulled my frozen chocolate-covered blueberries out of the oven and plopped them on top. And there you have it: a tasty treat for an afternoon of train riding, reading, or traveling through time.

About The Cassandra Complex:

Cass is a 22nd century university student who – like most young adults – has always believed her parents were a bit stuck in the past. But on her eighteenth birthday she learns exactly how true this is: not only are her parents time travelers, living in an era different than either was born in, but now, to ensure that history plays out as it’s supposed to, she must travel to the year 1914 to live out her adult life.

Cass isn’t the type, though, to just sit back and watch while all the tragic events she’s learned about in her history courses play out in front of her. Not when she’s the only one in the world with the foreknowledge – and determination – to change it.

The Cassandra Complex: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iTunes/Apple Books | World Weaver Press

About the author:

Wendy Nikel is a speculative fiction author with a degree in elementary education, a fondness for road trips, and a terrible habit of forgetting where she’s left her cup of tea. Her short fiction has been published by Analog, Nature: Futures, Podcastle, and elsewhere. Her time travel novella series, beginning with The Continuum, is available from World Weaver Press. For more info, visit wendynikel.com

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THE CASSANDRA COMPLEX Chocolate Blueberry Cupcakes by Wendy Nikel

A chocolate cupcake with blueberry buttercream frosting, inspired by THE CASSANDRA COMPLEX by Wendy Nikel

Course: Dessert

Keyword: chocolate, cupcake

Author: Beth Cato

Ingredients

Cupcakes:

• 1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup butter
• 4 eggs
• 3 Tablespoons milk
• chocolate chips

Frosting:

• 1 cup butter
• 4 cups confectioners' sugar
• 6 Tablespoons blueberry pie filling

Topping:

• Blueberries
• Melted chocolate chips

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Sift together flour, cocoa, and baking powder.
• In separate bowl, blend sugar and butter.
• Add eggs to sugar mixture one at a time.
• Gradually add the dry mixture and milk into the sugar mixture until well blended.
• Fill cupcake liners half full, add a few chocolate chips on the top, and bake for 15-17 minutes. Let cool.
• Melt chocolate chips and make nickel-sized dots on waxed paper. Create a pyramid of blueberries on each dot, with 4 berries on the bottom and 1 on the top. Drizzle melted chocolate over them, sprinkle with sea salt, and freeze.
• Beat butter until creamy. Alternate adding 1c powdered sugar and 2T pie filling, mixing well after each addition, until all ingredients are mixed in.
• After cupcakes are cool, frost and top with frozen blueberries and sprinkles. Enjoy with a good book!

Bready or Not Original: Caramel Apple Chip Blondies

Posted by Beth on May 1, 2019 in apples, Blog, blondies, Bready or Not, chocolate, cookies | Comments Off on Bready or Not Original: Caramel Apple Chip Blondies

Caramel Apple Chip Blondies! This recipe is what happens for you buy a big bag of apple chips at Costco and your kid doesn’t like them.

Apple chips are pretty expensive at the grocery store, so buying them at a big membership club is a great way to get them. They are seriously delicious, crisp like potato chips but made of pure apples.

When baking with apple chips, break them into small pieces. They will soften up as they bake, taking on a raisin-like chewy texture with loads of apple flavor. Larger pieces will be even chewier, though, and get caught on the knife when slicing.

The chips are easy to break up. You can do it with your fingers or throw them into a sealed sandwich bag and smash them with a rolling pin of the bottom of a heavy glass.

In the end, these blondies are sweet and chewy with a mild but very present apple flavor throughout that’s complemented nicely by the caramel and white chocolate chips.

Print Recipe

Bready or Not Original: Caramel Apple Chip Blondies

Apple chips are crisp like potato chips. For this recipe, break them small, to the size of raisins. Otherwise, larger pieces stay chewier and will be more likely to catch on the knife when the bars are sliced.

Course: Breakfast, Dessert, Snack

Keyword: apple, bars

Author: Beth Cato

Ingredients

• 2 1/8 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter room temperature
• 1 cup light brown sugar packed
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 large eggs room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup caramel chips
• 1 1/2 cup apple chips crumbled, Bare Brand recommended

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Line a 9×13-inch baking pan with aluminum foil and apply nonstick cooking spray.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, mix butter and sugars together until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla. Slowly add dry ingredients. Stir in the white chocolate and caramel chips followed by the apple chips.
• Pour blondie dough into the prepared pan and smooth out with uneven spatula.
• Bake for 28 to 30 minutes or until the top of the blondies are light golden brown and the middle passes the toothpick test. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.
• Once they are cool, use foil to lift blondies onto cutting board to slice into bars.
• OM NOM NOM!

Bready or Not: Cheesecake Brownies

Posted by Beth on Apr 24, 2019 in Blog, Bready or Not, brownies, cheese galore, chocolate | 2 comments

Cheesecake Brownies. Beautiful to behold. Delicious to eat.

I’m not a cheesecake person. But the pairing of chocolate and cheesecake? That makes it work.

This recipe is all about that balance of different kinds of sweetness. The addition of semisweet chocolate chips complements both and adds a different texture, too.

I have to say, I love the swirl effect on the top of these brownies. There’s something especially pleasing about food that looks as amazing as it tastes.

If you want a similar, stronger (and more expensive) pairing, my Swirled Goat Cheese Brownies will also interest you.

Modified from All Recipes Magazines, November 2017.

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Bready or Not: Cheesecake Brownies

This take on a classic pairs brownies with rich cream cheese. The semisweet chocolate chips throughout complement in a delicious way.

Course: Dessert, Snack

Keyword: bars, brownies, chocolate, cream cheese

Author: Beth Cato

Ingredients

• 8 oz cream cheese softened
• 3/4 cup white sugar divided
• 3 eggs
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips divided
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions

• Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Line an 8x8 or 9x9 pan with heavy foil and apply butter or nonstick spray.
• Beat together cream cheese, 1/4 cup sugar, and 1 egg until fairly smooth; some small chunks are fine. Stir in 1 cup chocolate chips.
• In a microwave safe bowl, heat the butter and remaining 1 cup chocolate chips in brief bursts until fully melted and smooth; watch it carefully and stir well between each burst. Stir in the remaining 1/2 cup sugar, followed by the 2 eggs, flour, baking powder, and salt.
• Pour half the chocolate batter into the ready pan and spread into an even layer. Gently spread the cream cheese batter on top. Drop dollops of the rest of the chocolate batter on top. Use a butter knife or narrow spatula to swirl the layers together for a marbled effect.
• Bake until the top is crinkled and edges are pulling away from the sides of the pan, about 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool at room temperature for an hour, then stash in the fridge for another few hours to completely cool.
• Use the foil to lift the contents onto a cutting board to slice into bars. Store in a sealed container in fridge, waxed paper between stacked layers to prevent stocking, for up to three days, or freeze for later enjoyment.
• OM NOM NOM!