Eggless Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies

People sometimes ask me if I'm a vegetarian or if I'm allergic to certain things because I've made quite a few eggless / gluten-free / dairy-free desserts. I don't have any food allergies and while I don't eat meat frequently, I'm not a vegetarian (and I don't have any problems with those who are). I always find it funny when people think this because the case usually is I was just out of certain items usually needed to bake but was determined to make something anyway. I also just really like trying new recipes and seeing what substitutes can work and still taste good.

Tonight, we had no eggs. The reason I wanted cookies so badly was for a ridiculous reason: Spongebob. Spongebob was on and he was eating a cookie and I instantly needed to make some. It's silly, but it's the truth. I wanted to make cookies so badly I looked up an eggless recipe and adjusted it accordingly. This is also the first baked good I've made a) with my replacement wire whip for my KitchenAid, and b) in the oven in my new apartment. So I was taking quite the risk.

It should be noted that the batter for these cookies is much lighter than normal dough because of the lack of egg, and it also has a slightly floury aftertaste that goes away with baking. If you bake the cookies too long, they crumble very easily (and don't taste very good) because of the flour to liquid ratio. The bottoms of my cookies got brown rather fast, but the tops barely browned at all, so don't worry about the bottoms burning and the rest not being cooked through. About 8-10 minutes and they should be perfect. They aren't crunchy and they aren't chewy, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. They're light and soft and melt in your mouth.

Eggless Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies (adapted from recipe4living )

• 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 3 tablespoons water
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1-1 1/2 cups dark (or semisweet, etc) chocolate chips 

Preheat oven to 375°F.
Beat butter and other wet ingredients until butter appears creamy. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Add in chocolate chips.
Bake for about 10 minutes.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies with Reese's Pieces

This weekend is being spent up in Portsmouth / Maine to celebrate my dad's 50th birthday. His birthday is actually September 2nd, but my aunt and uncle are going to be in the area, so we're celebrating early. I haven't seen my dad, aunt, uncle, or cousins in a while (especially the latter, I think it's been years) so I'm really excited. My dad adores peanut butter cookies and last year I made him peanut butter bacon cookies, so I made more this year since he loved them so much. I wanted to make something for the less adventurous in my family (mainly my cousins), so I made these cookies as well. Chocolate and peanut butter is always a good combination.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies with Reese's Pieces (adapted from The Curvy Carrot)

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoon light brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup Reese's Pieces candies
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips (I used Nestle chocolate chunks)

Preheat the oven to 350°F.
In the bowl of your standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, peanut butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, egg, and vanilla extract until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. In a separate large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and baking powder. With the mixer running, slowly add the flour mixture to the peanut butter mixture, mixing until combined.

Add the Reese's Pieces and chocolate chips. Mix to combine.
In rounded tablespoons, place the cookies about 2 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet, pressing each one down slightly to flatten.
Bake the cookies until the bottoms are lightly browned, about 10 minutes total. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack and let cool completely.

Triple Chocolate Cookies

It tastes just as good as it sounds and it made me wonder why I'd never mixed ground up cookies into my cookie batter before, because it's a brilliant idea (especially with Oreos).
I've since made these cookies two more times because they've become a new favorite.

I don't have a food processor (which if you read this blog often enough, you'd know) which may seem like a setback, but it's no problem at all. In order to crush cookies, crackers, and the like, all I do is take a ziploc bag, put the cookies in, and smash them up with a rolling pin. Sometimes (like with Oreos, specifically because the cream in the cookie makes it stick to the bag in large amounts), it's easier to smash one cookie at a time. It's tedious but worth it if you don't have a food processor. All that smashing is probably good for stress too.

Triple Chocolate Cookies (recipe via picky palate)

• 2 sticks softened butter
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips, I used semi-sweet
• 1 cup cocoa powder
• 15 whole Oreo Cookies, finely ground

Preheat oven to 350°F and get a large baking sheet ready.
In a stand or electric mixer, beat butter and sugars until well combined. Add eggs and vanilla, beating until well combined.

Place flour, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. Add to wet ingredients along with cocoa powder, ground Oreos, and chocolate chips, slowly mixing until just combined. With a medium cookie scoop, scoop dough onto prepared baking sheet, about 1 inch apart from each other.
Bake for 9 to 11 minutes, until cooked through. Let cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

Chocolate Cheesecake Bars

I have been in a ridiculous cooking-mode all week. I guess I missed baking and cooking a lot more than I thought while I was at college. 



Chocolate Cheesecake

• 1-1/2 cups finely crushed Oreo cookie crumbs (about half the package) 
• 3 tbsp. melted butter 
• 2 8oz packages of softened cream cheese 
• 3/4 c. sugar 
• 2 eggs 
• 1/3 cup dutch-process cocoa (1.38 oz) 
• a handful of semi-sweet chocolate chips 

Preheat your oven to 325 F.
Line a 9x9 baking dish with tinfoil, then coat it with cooking spray.

If you don't have a food processor (like me), place your Oreos in a plastic bag and smash them with a rolling pin until they're good and crumbly. They don't have to be perfect and small chunks of cookie are fine. After crushing the Oreo cookies, mix them with the melted butter and press into the bottom of the pan tightly. Cook crust for about 10 minutes.

Mix the cream cheese, sugar, and eggs in a mixing bowl on medium (or with a hand mixer) until creamy, then mix in the cocoa until everything is combined. Pour cheesecake batter into the prepared pan with crust and spread evenly. Coat top of cheesecake with chocolate chips.

Bake 35-40 minutes, until set. Let cool on a wire rack and then refrigerate for at least 2 hours before slicing into bars.

Cow Cookies

Not to be confused with "cowboy cookies" or "cowgirl cookies." Just cow cookies. Because they're black and white patterned like a cow!
I didn't have a lot to work with (we were almost out of cocoa powder and butter when I started making these and now we are out) but I didn't want to make plain old chocolate chip cookies. I made these before, but with a different recipe. I have to say I like this one better.

"Cow" Cookies (makes about 5 dozen)

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder (I use Hershey's)
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups Nestle chocolate chunks

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl. Beat butter, sugars, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl until creamy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chunks. Divide dough in half. Mix the cocoa powder with one half of the dough. Grab an equal amount of the plain and chocolate dough, and roll into a ball (about a tablespoon of dough should cover it, depending on how big you like your cookies). Place on greased baking sheet and bake for 9-11 minutes or until golden. Cool on baking sheet and enjoy!