Time for a few Thursday Things.
1. This gorgeous cutting board from Anthro.
It’s almost too pretty to cut anything on. And for the price, I would probably just hang it on my wall as art rather than cut anything on it. It’s a showpiece not a workhorse. Who is buying $250 cutting boards, anyway?
2. These Kraft Caramel Bits
I have never worked with them but after I saw Lindsay post her caramel bark, I want to buy them just so I can make something with them.
You know, a life bucket list thing I never knew I wanted to do but now I must tackle.
3. I love caramel anything.
From Raw Vegan 3 Ingredient Caramels
4. To HFCS caramel sauce more sugary and decadent caramel sauces that I use in Caramel Apple Bars (GF with vegan adaptation)
Caramel makes my heart go pitter patter.
5. If you have interest in attending a blogging, writing, or photography workshop in 2012, Dianne has a fabulous master list.
It’s the most thorough and comprehensive I’ve seen put together for 2012. Open the link at your own risk because there are so many fabulous offerings and it will probably make you want to take a trip or attend a conference in 2012.
6. The Today Show Re-Pinned my Pretzel Peanut Caramel Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Truffles
The fact that they even know who I am
Or pinned something of mine just about made me choke on my peanut butter.
7. I saw this question on The Kitchn
There are many people who chimed in how to make The Perfect Cookie. The most common suggestion was chilling the dough first.
8. I did a cookie dough analysis in this post, discussing which ingredients and various ratios will tend to produce which certain results.
What to do if you want thin and crispy cookies vs. soft, fat, and chewy cookies.
I prefer the later. The former isn’t even worth eating in my opinion.
9. Thanks to everyone who’s been pinning my Orange PushUp Smoothie (Vegan, GF)
It tastes just like Orange PushUps or freeze the mixture in molds for at-home PushUps.
10. Have you entered the Avocado Giveaway?
Questions:
Have you seen any things lately that have you excited? What are your things?
Do you have a recipe for The Perfect Cookie? Or any tips, tricks, or suggestions?
Everyone has their own little cookie baking tricks for perfect cookies.
That, or you have a recurring cooking baking problem and no matter what you try, you’re coming up with less than stellar results. I hope that’s not the case though.
The Cooks Illustrated Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe is what I based my peanut butter oatmeal white chocolate cookies on and it’s my new go-to recipe.
The other one I want to try is the New York Times Chocolate Chip cookie recipe.
One of my favorite thursday things is your page! Great with a cup of coffee ;) The caramel bits melted well, but they didn’t melt when I tried to make cookies with them. It still tasted good b/c it is caramel afterall, but I wish they would have made the cookies gooey. There is my two cents ;) Congrats on the Today Show Pin!!!!
Oh, the chewy cookie debate. It is eternal. I swear, I’ve tried all these tricks and sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t. I think cookies are magic.
Awesome about the Today show pin!! I want (need?) to try those truffles…
Yes..sometimes all these tricks work and other times, not so much.
LOVED the cookies breakdown! Thank you! And how exciting about the Today Show!!!! Wahooo!!!!
Brooke
http://www.TheAnnessaFamily.com
Thanks Brooke!
$250?! I bought an entire freakin’ butcher block table at the thrift store for 60 bucks! (Some people have way too much money.)
By the way, I purposely didn’t enter your avocado give-away because last week my mother-in-law sent us a big box of home-grown avocados. I’m throwing avocado on everything this week!
Well if you have any avo recipes you love, holla.
And great $60 score!
I’d choke on my peanut butter too if the Today Show re-pinned anything of mine! How exciting! LOVE that cutting board too :)
Glad you liked my little joke…I saw your last recipe on the Food Buzz Top 9…CONGRATS!
I saw that cutting board on Anthropoligie… and I was like WHA-WHAT?? It better do the chopping and wash its self! Like McKella… I have my own twist… dark brown sugar and bake for 8-9 minutes :)
And it better give me a back massage and a pedicure, too, for $250 :)
amen. ;)
I love chocolate chip cookies! I use my own twist of the Tollhouse recipe, but my trick is to only bake them for 8 minutes. They stay soft that way. When they come out of the oven, I like them to be so gooey that I have to eat them with a fork.
Underbaking is key for me, too. Wherever the line from half raw to barely baked is, that’s the line I like to stand on.
thanks for the little cookie tutorial! i’m definitely going to go the melted browned butter route next time.
caramel makes me melt… in any way, shape or form.
Yes, try the melted butter trick. It’s the Cooks Illustrated recipe and many bloggers have been using it. Also when you see a recipe that calls for 1 egg + 1 yolk, that’s the other part of the secret IMO.
Mmmm, the caramel bits look yummy! I still have most of a bag of butterscotch bits (my favs) from when I made my grandfather butterscotch rice krispie treats. Maybe I’ll make haystacks or something soon.
butterscotch rice krispie treats with caramels…sounds fab!
My perfect cookie dough definitely has double brown sugar vs. white sugar, melted butter and one whole egg and one egg yolk. That combo makes a perfect cookie!! And congrats on the Today show pin, so awesome!
Thanks, Cassie :)
And yes the brown sugar and egg + egg yolk tricks are the KEYS to keeping the cookies soft. If you have any fabulous recipes you’ve made, link ’em up!
I love cutting boards. Probably not too many people say that. So cool on the pinning! That’s awesome. That’d make me feel like a celebrity.
It kind of did for a second. Til I realized I need a celebrity maid, dishwasher, and garbage-taker-outer. :)
Okay who the heck would buy a cutting board for $250? I’m blown away that there even is such a thing!
Yea, I know. Crazy!
THAT BOARD WAS $250!? Does it cut the food FOR YOU?
And seriously awesome the pin status! Wa-hooo!
It better give me a back massage, facial, pedicure, take out the trash, and wash itself, too.
That is SO cool that they repinned your recipe! I played around a lot with cookie recipes for a while before coming up with my big oatmeal chocolate chunkers. Love. I find definitely the ratio of brown to white sugar and the amount of baking powder and soda makes a huge difference. Happy Thursday Averie!
those cookies you made today, when I saw them, I thought of what tricks and options you did with that recipe b/c they look awesome and your big oatmeal cookies get me EVERY time. I need to make them. Sugar is easier to adjust for me; it’s playing with ratios of baking powder and soda that I am always a bit more leery of…either you end up with flat pancakes or cakey domes!
Maybe I need to get more active on pinterest! I’m a fan of chewy cookies too, so I’ll have to try the other version next time :)
It’s my fave way to waste and fritter away a whole bunch of time :)
Those truffles look fantastic! Almost makes me want to become vegan. No, I’ll just be a part time vegan! Part-time as in, “truffle-time”! It’s my first time to LV&Y, but I love it! Finding lots of delicious things. . . .
On another note – I am the opposite – I am a big fan of thin cookies that are crisp on the edges and soft and chewey in the middle. . . and I LOVE the Toll-House recipe. They always taste better than the store-bought in my opinion. Those truffles are going to haunt me now!