pretzel& macadamia nut chocolate chip cookies

now ain't that a mouthful to say; my goal was to cram as much into these chocolate chip cookies as i could haha. my sister found this recipe for me to try so i decided to make them for the weekend up to the mountain before i go back to school.

recipe
2sticks of unsalted butter
21/4c bread flour
1tsp. salt
1tsp. baking soda
1/4c sugar
11/4c brown sugar
1egg
1egg yolk
2tbs. milk or cream
1tsp. vanilla
1/2c pretzels, broken in pieces
1/2c macadamia nutes, chopped
1c chocolate chips
coarse sea salt

melt the butter in a saucepan until it turns golden brown. (right when it foams alot keep a close eye on it because it can go from golden brown to burnt in a matter of seconds). set the brown butter aside and let cool for a few minutes. sift the dry ingredients in another bowl. then pour the cooled butter and both the sugars in a bowl fitted with an electric mixer. combine then add the egg and yolk. then the milk, vanilla and beat for 2-3 minutes. slowly ass the flour mixture. lastly pour in all the fixings. refrigerate for a couple hours. preheat oven to 350degrees. scoop out the batter on greased baking sheets, bake for 10-12minutes. cool&serve.

this recipe comes from a blog that modified the original recipe from Alton Brown's The Chewy Cookies. this batter was so delicious and a pretty easy recipe to make. i've been trying to figure out what chocolate chip cookie recipe i like the best and as of now i'd say these. i think the key is using an egg+ a yolk, melting the butter and refrigerating the batter for as long as you can. the cookies keep their form better when you refrigerate. i've also been on this pretzel kick; they add salt and crunch. but i have to make a confession that i just realized when typing out this recipe ... i forgot a stick of butter. BIG mistake but i'm very confused because the batter was great, they baked well and taste delicious!. hmm well next time i'll remember and see if there is any change, which i'm thinking so. oh well, they'll be even better cookies in that case.

tribute-to-katherine-hepburn brownies

i've been in a brownie kick for awhile now so once i saw these i really wanted to try them. filled with nuts and very fudgy are my kind of brownies (notice how little flour is called for). so i thought i'd try to make these for some of my friends last friday night.

recipe
1/4c flour
1/2tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4tsp. salt
1stick unsalted butter
1/2c unsweetened cocoa powder
2tsp. ground instant coffee
2eggs, room temperature
1c sugar
1tsp. vanilla
1c chopped walnuts/ pecans
4oz. bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

preheat oven to 325degrees. butter an 8x8 baking pan then line the bottom with parchment paper. whisk the cinnamon, flour and salt together and set aside the bowl. melt the butter in a saucepan then start to add the cocoa powder, then coffee. once well combined take off the heat and cool for a few minutes. whisk in the eggs. next stir in the sugar, vanilla and then add the nuts, chocolate. bake for 30minutes. cool, cut and serve. enjoy! makes nine well-sized brownies.

this came from a blog i stumbled upon a few days ago (the URL: http://www.survivingoz.com/2009/07/lisa-vs-tribute-to-katherine-hepburn.html). the picture of them on her blog sold me. and they were a hit. no doubt a gut bomb, but deliciously rich and gooey. i didn't add the coffee and added more cinnamon instead. i also took them out at 28minutes. i used pecans and would have used whole pecans to decorate them but i only had whole walnuts. i liked how the chocolate bits/ pieces added at the end of the batter didn't fully melt. a very good recipe and these will definitely be made again.