Pretzels and chocolate and brown sugar caramel and sea salt and are you drooling yet? Here’s an awesome treat you can whip up in minutes and is just as addictive as the name dictates. Perfect for a snow day treat or something wonderful to crumble on top of vanilla ice cream.

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Crack Bark

Courtesy of Ezra Pound Cake.

Ingredients 

• Thin pretzels, broken into smaller pieces
• 1 cup (8 oz) unsalted buter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 cups (one 12oz bag) semi-sweet chocolate chips
• coarse sea salt

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line an 11? x 17? jelly roll pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Set aside.
2. Cover the pan in a layer of broken mini pretzels.
3. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the butter and brown sugar. When the mixture starts to gently simmer and bubble, let it cook that way for 3 minutes. (Don’t stir.)
4. Pour the butter and sugar mixture over the pretzels.
5. Bake for 5 minutes.
6. Place the pan on a cooling rack, and immediately sprinkle chocolate chips evenly over the top. Wait for about 2 minutes, until the chocolate melts. Grab a spatula, and spread the chocolate over the toffee. Sprinkle with sea salt.
7. Let the toffee cool completely, and break it into pieces. (To speed up the cooling process, you can place the pan of toffee in the refrigerator or freezer.)

© Jessica J. for jonesing for..., 2012. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: chocolate, indulge, salty, sweet

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Every time I come home I am expected to do a few things. Make dinner, fix problems on my mom’s iPhone and laptop, etc. Making my mom a lemon drop martini every night is also on the list. I’m happy to do it – playing bartender for my mom has a very fun Christina Crawford feel to it. Making lemon drop inspired cookies is even better.

I tried these weeks ago during a shoot at work and immediately photocopied the recipe for my own use. Finding a really really delicious no-bake treat is hard, in my opinion, and this one is fantastic. Just the right balance of sweet and tart, plus oddly refreshing since they’re chilled. There’s no vodka in them (sadly!) but instead crushed up lemon drop candies, my all-time favorite treat. Be sure to use the rough, cheap drug store-type lemon drops. The kind that make your tongue feel like sandpaper after having too many. Yummy!

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No-Bake Lemon Drops 

Makes 3 dozen treats.

Ingredients 

• 2 cups finely crushed shortbread cookies (about 7 ounces)
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• ½ cup whole almonds, toasted and finely chopped
• ½ cup finely crushed lemon drop candies
• 2 Tbsp. light-colored corn syrup
• 2 Tbsp. milk
• 2 Tbsp. butter, melted
• 1/3 cup powdered sugar
• 3 Tbsp. finely crushed lemon drop candies

Directions 

1.) In a large bowl, stir together the crushed cookies, the 1 cup powdered sugar, the almonds, and the ½ cup crushed candies. In a small bowl, stir together corn syrup, milk, and melted butter. Stir the corn syrup mixture into the cookie mixture until well combined.

2. Shape cookie mixture into 1-inch balls. In a small bowl, combine the 1/3 cup powdered sugar and the 1 tablespoon crushed candies. Roll balls in powdered sugar mixture. Place on a large baking sheet or tray.

3. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours before serving. Roll balls again in powdered sugar mixture just before serving.

© Jessica J. for jonesing for..., 2011. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: christmas cookies, cookies, indulge, sweet

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On the twelfth day of Christmas my oven gave to me… 4 dozen awesome oatmeal cookies!

Okay I know the twelfth day of Christmas is technically January 5th but it’s 12 days until Christmas right now and I can’t help it. It’s inevitable. The holidays roll around, I get insanely festive, and the baking bug bites me bad (try saying that 3 times fast!) Even after a full day of cooking and styling I still want to come home and just listen to Bing Crosby and make cookies. That is the power of Christmas. And that is why I love it so.

These cookies are a riff on my favorite oatmeal raisin by using some golden raisins and pecans, two things I had sitting around and just sounded fun to toss in. I’m such a fan of scooped cookies – rolls you have to chill and then slice seem so tedious and not at all what you want to bake after a hard day’s work. So throw these together and enjoy! You can even freeze the dough balls and bag them up to bake in the future. Not a bad present to save for yourself, if I do say so myself!

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Double Raisin Oatmeal Cookies

Makes 4 dozen.

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp. ground nutmeg
• ¼ tsp. ground ginger
• ½ tsp. table salt
• 3 cups old-fashioned oats
• ½ cup chopped pecans
• ¾ cup raisins
• ¾ cup golden raisins

Directions

1.) Preheat oven to 350°F. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment beat butter 30 seconds or until soft. Add sugar and beat on medium until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in eggs and vanilla until just combined.

2.) In a small bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt. Beat into liquid ingredients. Fold in oats, pecans, and both kinds of raisins.

3.) Using a cookie scoop or tablespoon, drop dough onto ungreased cookie sheets. Freeze or refrigerate until chilled, at least a half hour.

4.) Bake 9-11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely on cookie sheet. Store tightly covered.

© Jessica J. for jonesing for..., 2011. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: christmas cookies, cookies, indulge, sweet

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The Test Kitchen is swamped with cookies right now. Every few hours it feels like a new batch appears. Millionaire’s shortbread. Madelines. Pear bars. A new cookie book is in the works and you’d think it would make my desire for cookies wane, but oh no, the exact opposite has been happening. I just want cookies more now.

I whipped these together after reading the recipe in Everyday Food. I love macadamia nuts and the idea reminded me of one of my favorite guilty pleasures, the Sausalito cookie from Pepperidge Farms. Toasted macadamia nuts, bittersweet chocolate, and just the right texture of a moist inside with a delicately crisp bottom.

The chocolate is pretty thick so I didn’t dip so much as paint on the portion that is chocolate. I was tempted to break out the pastry bag and tips and do pretty designs but yeah, delusions of grandeur and laziness got the better of me. Lack of frills aside, these are still delicious and soul satisfying.

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Chocolate-Dipped Macadamia Nut Cookies

Makes 18 cookies.

Based on the recipe from Everyday Food.

Ingredients

• 1 stick (4 oz.) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/3 cup powdered sugar
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 tsp. lemon zest
• 1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
• 1/8 tsp. kosher salt
• ½ cup macadamia nuts, toasted & finely ground in a food processor
• 1 cup all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
• 5 oz. semi-sweet chocolate (morsels or chopped)

Directions

1.) In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium-high until fluffy, 2 minutes. Beat in egg yolk, lemon zest, juice, and salt until just combined. Beat in nuts and flour with mixer running on low until combined, 2 minutes.

2.) Lay out a piece of plastic wrap and pour dough onto it. Form dough into a 4½-inch log and freeze 30 minutes until firm.

3.) While the dough chills, set racks in top and bottom thirds of oven. Preheat oven to 350° F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

4.) Once ready, slice dough into ¼-inch slices and lay out on prepared baking sheets. Freeze sheets 5 minutes then bake until golden at edges, 12-14 minutes. Rotate sheets halfway through baking.

5.) Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool completely. Keep sheets lined with parchment on the side.

6.) Once cookies are cooled, microwave chocolate in 30-second increments, stirring in between each time, until completely melted. Dip half of each cookie in chocolate and transfer back to parchment-lined baking sheets. Chill until set, about 10 minutes.

© Jessica J. for jonesing for..., 2011. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: chocolate, cookies, indulge, macadamia, nuts, sweet

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My blog turned 2 a few weeks ago during which I was going through tissues like water and could barely stomach anything beyond tea and toast. I was sad to miss the opportunity to make something grand to celebrate it, but when I sat down to decide what to cook to commemorate the occasion, I realized something grand wasn’t the style at all. My blog should reflect what’s going on in my life. That’s the point of it (for me, at least). I cook food that makes me reminisce, that reflects the seasons or holidays around me, that reflects my mood and current life situation. I ate my feelings via baked goods living in Boulder. I started thinking about calories and eating healthier when I was working out hardcore. Now I work 2 jobs, pinch pennies like I never have before (thanks student loans!), have almost no time or energy to cook at home, yet am far happier now than I was a little over a year ago.

So in a way, this recipe perfectly reflects how I’m feeling, my life, and things going on around me. The Royal wedding. No time or energy to cook. Strapped for cash. Reminiscing about other times in my life and thinking about what I’ve learned this year.

British flapjacks are sort of their version of our Rice Krispie treats. You melt some sweet ingredients on the stove and stir them into dry cereal (and in this case, you bake them). The thing that really caught my eye about them was the use of Lyle’s Golden Syrup, an ingredient I had never heard of before starting my job in the test kitchen I still currently work in (and the job I was awarded right around the 1st anniversary of my blog). It took me ages to find it in the grocery store and it’s still something I don’t see very often (in stores or recipes). I tried it and learned something new – an ongoing theme in my life I still cherish at my job. It’s an almost sickly sweet sugar syrup that needs tempering with salt and other ingredients, but it’s a marvelously underused ingredient with tons of flavor and depth.

The bars are delicious. Like super sweet granola bars with a nutty, almost caramel undertone. I wish I had had some dark chocolate to drizzle on top but alas, they’re still delicious plain.

Also, it pains me to say it but as I indicated above, since time and money is short right now, my posts may be sporadic until life evens out.

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British Flapjacks

Recipe courtesy of Bon Appetit.

Lyle’s Golden Syrup is often found next to corn syrup, maple syrup, and other similar ingredients. It could also be found in the ethnic aisle of your grocery store since it’s imported.

Makes 16.

Ingredients

• 1 stick (4 oz.) unsalted butter
• ½ cup packed dark brown sugar
• ¼ cup Lyle’s Golden Syrup
• dash of salt
• 2 1/3 cups quick cooking oats (not instant and not old-fashioned)

Directions

1.) Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 8 x 8 x 2-inch metal baking pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

2.) Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in sugar and golden syrup and keep stirring until sugar has dissolved and mixture is smooth. Add salt and stir to combine.

3.) Once mixture is ready, pour in oats and stir until evenly coated. Pour into prepared baking pan and press down with either a spatula or your hands (hint: spray your hands with nonstick spray to make it easier).

4.) Bake 20-25 minutes or until edges are crispy. Cool in pan on wire rack 5 minutes then cut sheet into 4 large squares, then cut each square into 4 triangles. Cool completely in pan before removing. Store in an airtight container layered between sheets of parchment.

© Jessica J. for jonesing for..., 2011. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: indulge, oats, sweet

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