Next level chocolate chip date cookies · Monday April 18, 2022 by colin newell
I love the occasional chocolate chip cookie – and I have dabbled with a variety of recipes and approaches but have never really knocked it out of the park.
After catching a Bon Appetit YouTube video on the subject, I realized that maybe I have found what I was looking for. I was. These cookies use Olive Oil and Tahini and no butter. They are graced with sliced date and flaked sea salt. Honestly, one cookie could feed a sweet tooth for a week.
Let’s get to it.
The Dry Ingredients…
- 280G White flour
- 1 TSP Baking Soda
- 1 TSP Kosher Salt
- 1 TSP Cornstarch
Add ons…
- Dates
- Figs
- Flaked salt – Sel de Mar
Wet stuff…
- 1/2 Cup Olive oil (120G)
- 1/4 Cup Tahini (80G)
- 2 Eggs
- 2 TSP Vanilla
- 3/4 Cup White sugar
- 3/4 Cup Brown sugar
Instructions…
In a medium sized bowl add your flour, baking soda, kosher salt and cornstarch. Lightly whisk until these ingredients get to know each other.
In a bigger bowl, add Olive Oil, Tahini and 2 chilled eggs. Use electric blender and mix on medium-high speed for around 3 minutes or until smooth and creamy. Add vanilla. Add sugars. Blend for 3 minutes more (give or take) or until the mixture is creamy with no sugary lumps.
Add dry to wet in two steps (add one half of the dry mix to the wet – and mix until 50-70% incorporated…)
Add the rest of the dry and mix until around 70% incorporated. Explanation to follow.
Add 1/2 cup of your preferred chocolate (seriously you can go crazy here with anything; light, dairy milk, dark, unsweetened… sky is the limit…)
Add 1/4 cup thinly sliced (and pitted dates…) or figs.
Mix until all the dry is absorbed and chill in the covered bowl for a minimum of 3 hours – ideally overnight or 12 hours.
Let’s bake…
Cookie sheets should (must) have a layer of parchment paper between the cookie dough and the pans!
I used an ice cream scoop to dose out the dough and this yields jumbo cookies – you have been warned!
You can dress the ready to bake formed dough with flake salt and a slice of date, fig or a lump of chocolate!
Bake for 16 – 18 minutes at 375 degrees (F) or 365 degrees (F) in convection mode.
Pay attention. Cookies are easy to burn.
Transfer to a drying grid as soon as you can handle them – the centre of the cookie may appear a bit “fluid” right out of the oven – but they set when they cool. You can eat them directly out of the oven but be aware of the fact that they are super hot and the chocolate is molten at this point. You have been warned.
Tech notes…
The cornstarch helps keep gluten strands from developing, yielding a chewier cookie.
All olive oils are not equal. I suggest starting with a milder all purpose olive oil.
Chilling overnight is almost a must — for the ingredients to get acquainted and the flavours to develop.
Conclusion…
I have made a lot of cookies over the years. These are the closest to Pure gourmet to my taste buds and give me a great template for experimentation. Do watch the video above. There may be some tips I missed.
Vitamix Vegan Avocado and Cacao Pudding · Monday January 31, 2022 by colin newell
There are few things more fun than the simplicity of a great recipe that whips up quick and satisfies unconditionally.
And for those of you that say, “…hang on! Avocado in a dessert, are you crazy?”
Avocado is a tasty and healthy way to add incredible texture to a pudding or dessert. Trust me.
This dessert comes together quickly with the Vitamix – its texture is Bistro quality and the taste is out of this World!
Let’s go!
Count them – 5 ingredients
2 Avocados, ripe (of course!)
Refrigerated 1/2 cup Almond (or Soy or Oat milk, unsweetened…)
1/2 cup Maple syrup
1/2 cup Cocoa powder, unsweetened
1 tsp Vanilla extract
Garnish – Mint, Chocolate shavings, fresh fruit… Use you imagination.
Place all of the ingredients into a food processor and blend on high until the ingredients have broken down.
Give the pudding a good stir and continue blending until very smooth and creamy. Taste and adjust according to personal preference.
Garnish with shredded dark chocolate, a sprig of mint or a fresh strawberry.Serves 4 people
Short and sweet – you are welcome!
Colin Newell is a Victoria resident and writer of words, recipes, kitchen inspirations and adult libations. His treatise on the edible and drinkable have populated these parts since the mid-1990’s. Dig in and enjoy.
Gorgonzola and peas in penne pasta - winter home cooking for the holidays · Monday January 3, 2022 by colin newell
We have some fav local eateries in Victoria like Cafe Brio – Il Covo Trattoria and Zambri’s – they are hard to beat for pure romance on date night. We have been doing a date night for 25+ years and put it down to the love for each other, the love of food and wine or the lack of children — I don’t know. It is a recipe that works for us.
And in this classic and massively tasty recipe (tried here for the first time!) we venture into the world of creamy, herbaceous, lightly seasoned and hugely tasty!
Sidebar on Gorgonzola over here – 100% Worth your time.
The basics
Pasta: We used Penne for this recipe, a tubular pasta that the creamy gorgonzola sauce clings to.
Oil and butter: For cooking. You can just use oil, but butter adds a nice richness.
Onion and garlic: For a nice base layer of flavour. Dice finely so that it mixes in well with the sauce.
Gorgonzola: This is a soft and creamy Italian blue cheese. It is milder in flavor than a hard blue cheese.
Whipping Cream: Use a heavy or whipping thick cream for a thick and rich sauce.
Peas: They add a nutty and herbaceous tang to the dish – as well as fresh parsley
Optional: Walnuts: Walnuts add a great flavor and texture to this pasta recipe, as well as some plant based protein.
Exact Ingredients
6 ounces Penne dried pasta
1 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 small onion finely diced
2 garlic cloves minced
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
3 ounces gorgonzola (85g)
1 cup heavy or whipping cream
Optional – 1 cup walnut pieces (125g)
1 cup green peas
Fresh parsley to garnish
Instructions
Cook the pasta al dente according to the instructions.Cook the peas in the last 2 minutes of the pasta cooking – yes, in the pasts pot! Drain and set aside.
While the pasta is cooking, you can start on the blue cheese sauce.
Heat the butter and oil in a large skillet on pot on a medium high heat.
Add in the onion and cook til soft.
Add in the garlic and cook for another minute.
Add in the salt and pepper, pour in the cream and crumble in the gorgonzola.
Simmer at a very low heat, for around 10 to 15 minutes until the cheese has melted and the sauce has thickened.
Add the cooked pasta (and peas) and optional walnuts to the sauce. Toss to combine and coat the pasta.
Serve with a garnish of fresh parsley and serve with some of my legendary focaccia bread
Colin Newell is a Victoria area resident and food writer. His blogs go back to 2007 and as always, this food blog has no click bait, crap, ads or amazon links. We respect our readers so we only offer what you are looking for – recipes and no B.S.
Happy New Year Shakshuka with Feta · Saturday January 1, 2022 by colin newell
Welcome to the New Year everyone – 2021 is behind us and ’22 is ahead.
Our New Year’s brunch tradition is Shakshuka.
Shakshuka is a Middle-Eastern dish that is not only perfect for breakfast and brunch, but also for a quick and delicious dinner.
Best of all, it truly easy to make. Let’s do this…
Ingredients Overview
Quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil – Don’t scrimp on cheap olive oil!
Onion and Red Pepper –
Spices – Roasted cumin, smoked paprika and cayenne pepper.
Tomatoes – Fire roasted, canned and chopped is best.
Eggs – Free range or organic if you have them.
Ingredient specifics
▢14oz / 389g Chopped (Fire roasted) Tomatoes
▢ 2 large Eggs
▢ 2 tbsp Good Quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil
▢ 2 cloves of Garlic, finely diced or 1 TBSP minced garlic
▢ 1 medium Red Pepper, finely diced (optional)
▢ 1 small White Onion, finely diced
▢ 1 tsp Cumin
▢ 1/2 tsp Salt, or to taste
▢ 1/2 tsp Sugar
▢ 1.5 tsp Smoked Paprika
▢ 1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper, or to taste
▢ 1/4 tsp Black Pepper, or to taste
▢ Feta, crumbled to serve
▢ Fresh Parsley or Cilantro/Coriander, finely diced to serve
1.) Fry pepper and onion in olive oil until softened and beginning to brown. About 5 minutes.
2.) Add garlic and fry for a couple of minutes longer.
3.) Stir in spices.
4.) Pour in tomatoes and season (salt, pepper, sugar). Leave to simmer for 5 mins.
5.) Crack in eggs and cook. (see additional tips!)
The skinny of this is: You are cracking eggs into a “sauce” – there are many ways of approaching this, the quick way or the slow way. Many adherents suggest a long slow simmer to thicken the sauce. The problem with that is that you lose moisture and the sauce dries up. I believe in adding the ingredients after simmering the sauce for 5 minutes (medium heat) until it just begins to reduce. Make a divot in the sauce to hold two eggs. Crack in the eggs into the divots, turning the heat to low to simmer for 10 minutes. From there, cover the skillet and poach the eggs for an additional 2 minutes. Ideally, you want soft yolks, so there may be some practice required here.
Note: The feta cheese and parsley is actually sprinkled onto the serving plates — not into the pan!Colin Newell is an ancient 20th Century writer, photographer and electronics expert. He has roamed the streets of Planet Earth looking for genuinely good coffee and food. As always, if any of these recipes don’t seem quite clear, send me a note. Answers guaranteed!
West Coast Peanut Butter Cookies · Wednesday December 22, 2021 by colin newell
Peanut butter cookies
are my favourite cookie – ever.
There is something about the taste
and the texture that takes me straight back to childhood.
INGREDIENTS
▢ 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 180g▢ 1/2 cup butter unsalted, room temp 113g
▢ 1 cup smooth peanut butter 250g
▢ 1/2 cup brown sugar 100g, lightly packed
▢ 1/2 cup sugar 100g
▢ 1 tsp vanilla extract 5mL
▢ 1 egg large, room temp
▢ 3/4 tsp baking powder 3g
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 350F – you can likely convection bake these at 325 to 340 degrees but shorten your time!
Sift flour and baking powder together then whisk to combine.
Cream butter and sugars in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. You can add an optional 1/4-1/2 tsp sea salt.
Add peanut butter and mix until incorporated.
Mix in egg and vanilla extract then add flour mixture and beat until incorporated.
Roll dough into one inch balls and place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
*I used a tool called (I think) a melon baller – kind of a much smaller version of a ice cream scoop to get the perfect size every time.
Flatten cookies with a fork in a criss-cross pattern.
Bake cookies for about 10 minutes. Pay strict attention to timing. These cookies are dead easy to burn.
Allow cookies to cool completely on baking sheet, before being transferred to rack.
This cookie pairs well with any kind of black coffee or tea. It is guaranteed to take you back to a simpler time.
Colin Newell is a Victoria resident and long time editor of the CoffeeCrew.com website.
