You can never go wrong with bringing a basic chocolate chip cookie to party.  Everyone loves those babies and they get gobbled up in minutes.  But I’m always looking for new ways to spice up basic recipes and I may have met my match with these Toasted Coconut and Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies seen on Doughmesstic.  What takes these cookies to the next level are the:

1) browned butter (must must must brown the butter, don’t get lazy and think you don’t need to brown it)
2) coconut (takes me back to paradise)
3) sea salt (don’t think I can express enough in words how much I love a sweet and salty contrast)
4) chopped chocolate bars (I didn’t have Scharffen-Berger but wish I had. I’ve actually been on the Scharffen-Berger chocolate factory tour in San Francisco before, so fun and yummy!)

I made these over the holidays, hence I couldn’t bring them into work, sorry team, I’ll make another batch when I return at the end of March.    Me, Marvin and my parents finished these off in no time, they went with breakfast, lunch and dinner.  I promise you that these cookies (and you) will be the talk of any event if you make them, the more gourmet the chocolate, the more of a hit you’ll (err the cookies) will be.

While blog reading, I recently just found my new favorite fall cookie recipe!  In the past few things, I’ve been craving all things caramel… caramel macchiato, caramel apple pops, apples dipped in caramel, and of course any dessert with caramels would have been perfect!  So when I stumbled upon these Caramel Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies, I told myself it was a must for making.  I mean, the main flavors and ingredients, caramel and apple cider packets, are like the epitome of fall, don’t you think?  I sure do!  And let me tell you, when I brought these babies into work, people were taking seconds and thirds and fourths, no joke!  They were gone in no time, all 2 dozen that I brought in (I may have eaten the other 2 dozen, OK, maybe I gave some of those away as well).

Caramel Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies (by The Cooking Photographer)

Ingredients
1 cup unsalted butter, nearly melted
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 (7.4 ounce) box Alpine Spiced Apple Cider Instant Original Drink Mix *Not sugar free*
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 (14 ounce) bag Kraft Caramels

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line rimless cookie sheets with parchment paper. It has to be parchment this time.

2. In a stand mixer, cream together butter, sugar, salt, and all 10 packets of apple cider mix until smooth and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla extract, then mix in the baking soda and baking powder. Add the flour and mix until just combined.

3. With a standard (size 50) cookie scoop, scoop the dough scrapping off the excess as you go up the bowl. Flatten the dough slightly in your hand and place a caramel in the center. Work the dough around the caramel sealing well. Place the cookies two inches apart on the sheets.

4. Bake 12 to 14 minutes or until golden brown around the edges. After baking, carefully slide the parchment with the cookies onto the counter. Let cool until they are no longer soft but still slightly warm. Twist gently to remove, and cool the rest of the way upside down on the parchment or on a cooling rack.

Makes 51 cookies (it may sound like a lot, but just make them all, they are THAT good).

*These cookies are best served over a warm cup of tea, coffee, hot chocolate or any warm drink to soften up the caramel insides.  Or I suggest nuking them in the microwave for about 15 seconds for a similar effect.*

My goal these days as I’m on travel restriction from work because of baby is to bring in a dessert every (or every other) Friday for my coworkers.  It totally makes for a homely, aromatic smelling kitchen every Thursday night at least, oh and wider hips too but that’s in preparation for baby. 

And oh yes, I do have a GIVEAWAY WINNER to announce today!  The winner of the $25 credit to Maple Boutique is Melissa from Simply, Melissa Ashley!  CONGRATS!  Please send me an email to claim your prize and I’ll get you in touch with Maple Boutique!!

What are some of your favorite fall desserts?

Happy Friday and upcoming weekend, friends!!

Since I did my Flavors To Follow post this past Wednesday already, I thought today I’d share the bacon chocolate chip cookies I made for a Super Bowl party!  It’s the one I mentioned in my first Awkward and Awesome post from yesterday, that my coworkers were pleasantly surprised with!    I’m guessing some of you have tried it before, some of  you are severely intrigued and can’t wait to try them, and others, probably just think it’s plain gross.  These cookies, oh my, are a mix between salty, sweet, gooey, fluffy, crunchy and unexpectedly addicting.  Yea, we’ll keep the description at that.  And if your man is anything like my husband, it’s just another reason to eat cookies for breakfast… because bacon is breakfast food, right?  For my first time making it, I followed a recipe by Pete Bakes and I’ll probably be using it again!  Although I think you could probably follow any chocolate chip recipe and just throw in a handful of candied bacon and you’d get a similar taste! 

Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

candied bacon
1 pckg thick cut bacon (about 10 strips)
brown sugar for sprinkling

chocolate chip cookies
2 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
12 oz toll house semi-sweet chocolate morsels

Directions

1. Make the candied bacon: preheat the oven to 350 F.  Lay bacon on a parchment covered baking sheet so they are not overlapping.  Sprinkle about 2 tsp brown sugar evenly on each strip of bacon.  Bake for 12 minutes, remove from oven, flip bacon and drag it through the syrupy liquid that’s collected on the baking sheet.  Put the bacon back in the oven for another 12-15 minutes, until it is fully cooked and very dark (mahogany). Remove the strips from the sheet and cool on a wire rack.  After they have cooked, chop them or quickly food process into tiny pieces.

2. Make the cookies: combine flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl.  Beat butter, both sugars and vanilla in a large bowl.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well.  Gradually beat in flour mixture.  Stir in morsels and bacon pieces.

3. Spoon dough (about a Tbsp per cookie) onto an ungreased baking sheet and bake at 375 F for 9-11 minutes.  I tend to go a little under 9 minutes so they come out just underdone.  Remove to cooling racks or eat immediately with a tall glass of cold milk.

So there you have it, there’s your last minute Valentine’s Day present for you bacon loving lover!    And while we’re on the subject, please tell me…

What are some of your favorite strange, unexpectedly delicious, food combinations?

peanut butter and bananas, ramen and cheese, french fries dipped in ice cream, oreos in lemonade, grape jelly and saltines are a few to ponder…

Hi friends!!  I just wanted to interrupt your regular blog programming to make a few announcements!  I have recently been deemed the Giveaway Queen by a few sources, I’m flattered to have this title and just want to let you know that there will be at least one giveaway (maybe two) a week from now until Christmas!  But I also have tons of other posts full of recipes, baby pictures, wedding pictures, inspirations planned as well, so don’t you worry, I’m not turning into a giveaway blog, I just love free stuff and even more, I love sharing it with you all while helping to promote HANDMADE/BUSINESS OWNERS!

With that being said…  don’t forget to enter the $25 shop credit to junghwa by amy stewart giveaway and the $200 credit to a photography session by San Francisco based Bllew Photography giveaway!  And next week, I’ll have a fabulous GIVEAWAY TO CELEBRATE MY BIRTHDAY on Monday, can’t wait!!

Next up, if you have been following my twitter, you will know that yesterday I mentioned that Much Love, Illy and I have something BIG planned for you all!  While this is not quite the BIG REVEAL yet, here’s just a sneak peek at the fun swap we’re working on…

The details will be announced next Thursday, November 4, so make sure to check back!!

***

And finally, it’s about time for another recipe don’t ya think?  Like that super LARGE pic haha?  This one I made for my coworkers and let me tell you, people came back for seconds and thirds and they were gone pretty quickly!  So I pretty much knew I wanted to make something with pumpkin (b/c it is pumpkin season after all and this post has me craving it) and I had an abundance of white chocolate chips in the house that my husband told me to use up, so put the two together… and you have a delectable cookie!  I searched my trusty recipe sites and found a Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe on Food Network, only changes being that I used White Chocolate Chips instead of regular Chocolate Chips, I doubled the pumpkin, and doubled the spices~!

Pumpkin White Chocolate Chip Cake Cookies (adapted by me)

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups canned pumpkin puree
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 2 cups (12-ounce bag) white chocolate chips
• Nonstick cooking spray or parchment paper

Directions

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray cookie sheets with nonstick spray or line them with parchment paper. Using a mixer, beat the butter until smooth. Beat in the white and brown sugars, a little at a time, until the mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs 1 at a time, then mix in the vanilla and pumpkin puree. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Slowly beat the flour mixture into the batter in thirds. Stir in the chips. Scoop the cookie dough by heaping tablespoons onto the prepared cookie sheets and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the cookies are browned around the edges. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let them rest for 2 minutes. Take the cookies off with a spatula and cool them on wire racks.

Did you notice how I called them Cake Cookies?? Well I think doubling the pumpkin does make it more cake like, but it’s definitely a good thing!!  I think you shall give these a try if you’ve been craving something pumpkin lately!

What pumpkin desserts are you making??