Week #2 - Snickers Cookies

These are tasty little cookies that can be whipped up in under 30 minutes. How do I know the exact time constraints? After prolific watching of timed food challenges on the Food Network Jeff and I were inspired to set a timer and create a dessert in under 30 minutes for imaginary judges. Easy. It took us, like, 24. Here they are:

Snicker's Cookies - from www.thesisterscafe.com

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 c. firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 c. butter, room temperature

1/2 c. creamy peanut butter

1 tsp. vanilla

1 egg

1 1/2 c. flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

30 mini sized Snickers candy bars (we used fun size and just cut them in half)

In a large bowl, combine sugar, brown sugar, butter and peanut butter. Add vanilla and egg. Beat together. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt to mixture. Shape dough smoothly around each candy bar (be generous), making sure the bar is completely covered, without having a lot of excess dough. Place on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 350 for about 12 minutes, (I found 10 minutes to be sufficient), and take out when they are slightly golden. Cool a minute or so and remove from cookie sheets. Delicious served warm. Or cold, actually. We liked them better cold with milk.

This was a tasty little treat. I might say it's more of a weekday cookie then a Sunday best, but since I like treats most days of the week and especially in 24 minutes or less - it's not too shabby!

Week #1 - Chewy Pecan Diamonds

Ingredients:

Crust

1 3/4 c. all purpose flour

1/3 c. powdered sugar

1/4 c. cornstarch

1/2 tsp. salt

3/4 c. (1 1/2 sticks) chilled, unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

Topping

1 1/4 c. (packed) brown sugar

1/2 c. light corn syrup

1/4 c. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

4 c. coarsely chopped pecans (about 14 1/2 oz)

1/2 c. whipping cream

2 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 13x9x2 inch pan with foil. Blend flour, powdered sugar, cornstarch and salt in processor. Add butter and process until mixture begins to clump together. (If you don't have a food processor a blender or beater will do.) Press dough evenly onto bottom of foil-lined pan. Bake crust until set and light golden, about 25 minutes. Remove from oven. Let stand while preparing topping. Reduce oven to 325 degrees.

Stir brown sugar, corn syrup and butter in heavy medium saucepan over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves and mixture boils; boil 1 minute. Add pecans and cream; boil until mixture thickens slightly, about 3 minutes. Stir in vanilla. Pour hot topping over warm crust. Bake until caramel is darker and bubbles thickly, about 20 minutes. Transfer pan to rack. Cool completely in pan (topping will harden).

Lift foil out of pan onto cutting board. Using heavy sharp knife, cut crust with nut toppinto into 1 1/2x1 inch diamonds. (I admit, I did not cut mine into diamonds, just squares. I feel that I can safely say that taste was maintained.)

-Recipe from Epicurious

Welcome to Cookie Clinic

Welcome to cookie clinic - where all cookies are welcome but only some are welcome back. I have found in the past that not all cookie recipes are created equal; I'm sure you'd concur. In a rigorous endeavor to seek out and find the best cookies, each week a new recipe will be posted for your experimental pleasure. I will be experimenting these new recipes as well, embracing the delicious and rejecting the dry, the stale, the boring. Nobody likes boring. Should you cast in your scientific spatula and try the new recipe please vote on its favorability at the end of every post and leave comments as you like. Be as honest as you can. It certainly won't hurt my feelings if you don't like the cookies - that is precisely what we need to find out!

Happy Baking! I look forward to your finely attuned culinary opinions as we embark on this culinary mission of 2012: no more bad cookies.*

*For our purposes cookie is general and may include brownies, bars, etc.