Red Velvet Crinkle Sandwich

I love baking! And I'm really glad my hiatus has ended. I guess those Chocolate Chip Cookies set the mood back.

Since the ber  months have started, I think anything Red Velvet will be a good idea. Thus this Red Velvet Crinkles with Cream Cheese Filling.

Crinkle recipe is from Cooking Classy while the cream cheese frosting is adapted from Martha Stewart.

Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

So I've mentioned how we loved the chocolate chip cookies from π Breakfast & Pies, and I've been craving for more after that visit. Add the fact that I sort of missed baking. Good thing we didn't have anything planned last Saturday so after some wife and mama duties, I went on with baking some of these goodies.

This recipe is adapted from Martha Stewart's Recipe, but I lessened the amount of sugar a bit for my little tot. I also made the cookie dough ahead of time and stored it for about an hour in the ref. The cookies turned out really soft and chewy, not too sweet and most of all, super chocolate-y.

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups All-purpose Flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 cup (2 sticks) Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature

1/2 cup granulated sugar 1/4 cup Granulated Sugar

1 cup Packed Light-Brown Sugar

1 tsp. Salt

2 tsps. Pure Vanilla Extract

2 large Eggs

2 cups (about 12 oz.) Semisweet and/or Milk Chocolate Chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and baking soda; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter with both sugars; beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low; add the salt, vanilla, and eggs. Beat until well mixed, about 1 minute. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips. 
2. Drop heaping tablespoon-size balls of dough about 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
3. Bake until cookies are golden around the edges, but still soft in the center, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven, and let cool on baking sheet 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool completely. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.

In the Kitchen: Chewy Oatmeal Cookies

This is a quick and easy recipe I adapted from (where else?) Martha's recipe. :)

The recipe originally calls for half a cup of raisin which is what I did the first time I tried this recipe. This is the ingredient that's pretty flexible, so you can try anything you think will work best with an oatmeal cookie. It also said rolled oats and not the quick-cooking ones but I used the latter since it was what I have that time. One last tweak I had to make was reduce the sugar by a quarter of a cup because I don't think Mr. T can handle a mother-daughter-sugar-rushing-till-dawn tandem kind of night in the middle of a workweek. :D

So here it is..

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (not quick-cooking)
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled)
• 1/2 cup figs
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/4 cup packed dark-brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

How to Bake:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together oats, flour, raisins, baking soda, and salt; set aside. Using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy, scraping down bowl as necessary. Add egg and vanilla; beat until combined. Gradually add oat mixture; beat just until combined.
2. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls, 2 inches apart, onto two baking sheets. Bake until cookies are golden brown but still soft, 12 to 16 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Cool 5 minutes on sheets; transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.