Walnutty Chocolate Chip Cookies

I enjoy making fancy decorated cookies but truth be told, there really isn't anything that tastes better than chocolate chip — Especially when they're served warm with a glass of cold milk.

This recipe is my version of the classic Tollhouse recipe with walnuts.

My tweaks to the original are to use dark chocolate chips, heartier doses of vanilla and sea salt and use shortening in addition to unsalted butter. The butter adds flavor and the shortening adds chewiness and softness to the cookie, which is the way I like them. I think you'll like them too.

Here's the recipe:

Walnutty Chocolate Chip Cookies
(makes about 5 dozen 2-inch cookies)

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3 1/2 cups flour
3 cups dark chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a mixing bowl, whip together the butter, shortening, sugars and vanilla until light and creamy. Add the eggs and mix until well-combined.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt. Add this to the butter/egg mixture and mix until well-combined. Stir in the chocolate chips and waltnuts.

The finished cookie dough ready to be scooped.

Use a 1-inch scoop or teaspoon to scoop balls of dough and place them 2-inches apart on parchment-lined baking sheets.

Bake the cookies for 8 to 10 minutes or until they are golden brown just around the edges. Let the cookies cool for about 10 minutes on the sheetpans before transferring them to a baker's rack to cool completely.

Rosemary Olive Oil Macarons

I got to spend a wonderful afternoon yesterday baking with my nephew's girlfriend Mac and together we created these deliciously different Rosemary Olive Oil Macarons.

I have to admit, the flavor wasn't my original idea. I actually split a Rosemary Olive Oil macaron with my husband and daughter when we were in New York City a little over a month ago, at a cute shop near Central Park called Macaron Parlor. It was by far, the best tasting macaron we tried during our trip and we tasted quite a few macarons.

Rosemary Olive Oil was a flavor I just knew others would love. I had to try to reproduce it and I knew Mac would be the perfect partner to work alongside—  She is an avid and adventuresome cook and told me that she especially likes floral and earthy macaron flavors like lavender and rose so I knew she'd love Rosemary Olive Oil.

Mac piping the macarons. She is such a wonderful cook and a joy to work alongside.

In addition to creating a new flavor, we also experimented with painting on macarons which is becoming quite popular. We thought a brush stroke of purple would be appropriate since that's the color of the flowers on a rosemary plant.

A painted macaron.

Our flavorful filling was made by infusing first-pressed fruity olive oil with fresh rosemary and then adding the rosemary scented oil to a subtly sweet buttercream along with fresh finely chopped rosemary and a dash of fine sea salt.  These macarons are indescribably good and I hope you give them a try.

A cute package of Rosemary Olive Oil Macarons with a homemade tag made by Mac.

Packages of macarons ready for Mac to deliver to family and friends.

Here's the recipe:

Rosemary Olive Oil Macarons

180g ground almonds, sifted
270g powdered sugar, sifted
150g egg whites, aged 2 to 4 days in the fridge and then brought to room temperature
100g granulated sugar
green food coloring (I used Wilton Moss Green Gel Coloring)

Line four heavy baking sheets with good quality parchment paper and set aside. Also, set aside two pastry bags for the piping of the macarons.

Sift together your ground almonds with the powdered sugar and set aside.

Whisk the egg whites (at room temperature) to glossy firm peaks adding the granulated sugar gradually in four parts.  Towards the end of mixing, add the food coloring.

Incorporate the dry ingredients into the beaten egg whites using a large rubber scraper.  Mix well. 

Fold the mixture with the rubber scraper by pulling down the sides and flipping the mixture over. Do this until you have a smooth mixture that falls like a “ribbon” off the scraper.

Transfer the mixture into the two piping bags. Use rubber bands to close the piping bags. Clip the tip of the bags, one at a time, and pipe small quarter sized rounds, leaving 1-inch of space between each because they spread as they set.

Macarons resting before baking.

Leave to set for about 30 minutes or until the top has formed a crust and is not sticky to the touch.

While they are setting, preheat the oven to 325 degrees. A convection oven is preferable. 

Bake one sheet at a time in the center of the oven for about 12 minutes or until the cookie is firm, matte and doesn't wobble when touched.

Leave on the baking tray until cool then lift them all off the parchment carefully. You may need to use a thin knife to help lift them off.

Sort into pairs and paint the tops if desired and fill with Rosemary Olive Oil Buttercream.  


To paint the macarons:
In a small bowl dissolve 1/2 teaspoon of meringue powder with 1 1/2 teaspoons of water. Stir this well to make sure there are no lumps. Tint with purple food coloring.

Dip a small "for food only" paintbrush into the paint, dab off any excess on a paper towel and paint as desired the tops of one macaron in each of the pairs. We added just a simple swipe but you can of course get creative and decorate them however you like. Let the paint dry before filling the macarons. This takes about 15 minutes.

Rosemary Olive Oil Buttercream
1/4 cup first-pressed fruity olive oil
6 sprigs fresh rosemary
3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

Remove the rosemary leaves from the stems and chop enough of them to yield 2 teaspoons of finely chopped fresh rosemary, set this aside.

Finely chopped rosemary.

Roughly chop the remaining rosemary leaves and place them in the 1/4 cup of olive oil. Let this mixture set aside for at least 30 minutes to infuse the oil with the rosemary. Strain the rosemary from the oil and reserve the oil. 

Infusing the olive oil with fresh rosemary.

In a stand mixer, whip the butter, powdered sugar, sea salt, rosemary infused olive oil and finely chopped rosemary until it is light and creamy. This takes about 5 minutes.

Filling the macarons.

Chocolate Dipped Espresso Shortbread

I found a way to make my Espresso Shortbread cookies even better — Dip them in Dark Belgian chocolate!

I know this isn't that genius of an idea since chocolate makes just about anything and everything better, but these cookies really are extra special. They were among six kinds of cookies I made for a recent special coffee hour at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral and they were the first to disappear, by a mile.

The best thing though is that they are a breeze to make using the "icebox cookie" method of rolling the dough into logs, chilling and then slicing the cookies for baking.

Here's the recipe:

Chocolate Dipped Espresso Shortbread

Espresso Shortbread
(makes about 5 dozen)
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened
3 tablespoons espresso powder
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 1/4 cups sugar
3 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup raw sugar, optional (for rolling the cookies in before baking)


Cream together the butter, espresso powder, vanilla, sea salt and sugar until smooth and creamy.  Add the flour and mix until combined.

Divide the dough into thirds. Wrap each third in a piece of plastic wrap and roll into a log about 1.5 inches in diameter. If you are having trouble shaping the logs, just do your best and then let the dough chill for 30 minutes to firm up — then re-roll and re-shape the logs. Let the logs chill for at least 2 hours before slicing.


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. If desired, roll the logs in raw sugar (I do this extra step because I like the crunch and look that the sugar gives the cookies), and cut 1/4-inch thick rounds from the logs. Place the cookies on parchment-lined baking sheets, leaving 2-inches of space between them. Bake for 18 minutes or until the cookies are golden on the edges and set. Let the cookies cool completely before dipping.


Dipping the Cookies:
10 oz. dark chocolate, divided (I like Callebaut brand Belgian chocolate best)


First off, have your cookies at hand, ready to dip and a counter or sheetpans lined with parchement paper before you prepare the chocolate. You have to have a place to set your cookies after dipping.

Place 8 oz. of the chocolate in a small microwave safe bowl. You need to use a bowl that adequately holds the chocolate but is small enough so that the chocolate isn't too spread out. You need depth for the dipping.

Microwave the chocolate in intervals of 30 seconds, stirring after each until the chocolate is thoroughly melted. Immediately add the remaining 2 oz. of chocolate and stir until it's also thoroughly melted. This is called the seeding method and is a simple way to temper the chocolate.

Dip a cookie about 1/3 into the melted chocolate and give it a gentle shake to remove any excess. Place the cookie on parchment and keep working quickly until all the cookies have been dipped. Leave the cookies on the parchment until the chocolate is completely set.

Sloppy Joes And Some Financial Advice

Today's entree was Sloppy Joes with a baked potato and green beans.

Being the first Wednesday of the month, it was a quiet day at the Community Meal, so quiet that midway through the service, I decided to walk around Trinity Episcopal Cathedral and try to drum up business.

"You should come on in and eat, we have a lot of great food today," I told a group of guys on the sidewalk of NW 19th, near Everett Street. "I know, it's Sloppy Joes said one of them. I already ate and it was delicious."

"Well, we haven't been busy and have a lot, so please don't hesitate to come in for seconds and invite your friends," I said.

"That's because it's just the 4th and people have their checks," he said and added "But not me, I still come every week."

"I'm glad," I said. "You are smart to save your money."

It never fails — we serve fewer people at the start of the month than at the end of the month. Sometimes, especially in months with five Wednesdays, there will be a real sense of desperation in the dining room. I've heard many times from guests, "I'm completely out of money and haven't eaten in days."

I know that eating at the Wednesday Community Meal each week isn't a quick fix or the sole answer to the financial struggles of our guests, but I do think it helps, if only to prove that every penny counts and saving money feels good, especially when it comes with a side of homemade Sloppy Joes, soup, salad and cake from Baker & Spice.

We served 255 meals today.

Whip It Good!

A smooth and creamy blackberry buttercream is the perfect filling for these pretty purple macarons.

To quote the catchy 1980's song by New Wave band Devo, the secret to a light and creamy buttercream is to "whip it and whip it good."

Whipping a buttercream "good" is so worth the time it takes and it does take time, so using a stand mixer is ideal.

When I make simple fruit flavored buttercreams by just whipping low-sugar preserves and a pinch of sea salt into unsalted room temperature butter, it takes a good 7 to 10 minutes of whipping for the buttercream to fully come together.

As proof of the time it takes, here are the stages of my recent batch of blackberry buttercream:

After one minute of whipping,  the buttercream looks like a mess, but don't fret.

After three minutes, it's starting to come together, so don't give up.

After six minutes,  it's looking okay, but this buttercream can get even better with even more whipping.

After nine minutes, it's done. I can tell because the color has lightened and it's smooth and creamy with the preserves fully incorporated into the butter.

Filling macaron shells with the blackberry buttercream. It was definitely worth taking the time to whip it good!

Here's the blackberry buttercream recipe:

3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup low-sugar blackberry preserves
pinch fine sea salt

Whip the ingredients together until they are smooth and creamy. This takes a good seven to ten minutes.

Macaron Piping Tips

A tray of just-piped Lemon Mini Macarons.

Once you get the hang of it, you'll be filling trays fast and efficiently.

Don't get pulled into buying special kits, piping guides or indented silicon mats for making macarons. There are many "macaron cheats" on the market today but forget it, you don't any of those to make macarons and in the end, believe me, you don't want them.

To pipe macarons, all you need is your batter, disposable piping bags and four parchment lined sheetpans. It just takes a little practice and soon you'll be able to make beautiful macarons in any size you desire. Plus, piping macarons the old-fashioned way means there are no mats to wash and store!

A mat from Williams Sonoma that retails for $19.95 and an indented red silicon mat that retails at World Market for $7.99. You need four lined sheet pans for one recipe of macarons. Do you really want to buy four of these and have wash and store them them after each use? I don’t. Parchment paper works just fine and gives you the freedom to pipe the macarons any size you like.

This is just part of a single recipe of Cherry Mini Macarons that I recently made, sorted into pairs and ready for filling. I got 80 completed macarons!

Completed Blackberry and Cherry Mini Macarons

Here are a few helpful piping tips to get you started:

Tip #1: Start Small

Begin by making small quarter-sized macarons. Smaller macarons are easier to pipe and you'll get approximatley 80 out of one batch so you'll get a lot of piping practice when you make them. Take your time and just go for it.

Tip #2: Give The Tip A Straight Clip

When you cut the tip of your disposable pastry bag, clip straight across.  A diagonally cut makes wacky shaped macarons.

Tip #3: Take Your Time

Cut your pastry bag just about 1/3 of an inch from the bottom, creating a small hole for the batter to flow through. The batter won't come out fast but you'll have more control of the batter and can take your time to concentrate and pipe the best even-sized macarons that you can.

Tip #4: Tie The Bag

Don't forget to tie the top of your pastry bag with a rubber band or clip. This keeps the batter from spilling out the top of the bag as you pipe which trust me, is very frustrating.

Tip #5: Be Ready To Go

Before you even begin piping, have four sheetpans lined with parchment paper and be ready to go. Once you start piping, you want to stick with it until the end without having to set your bag down to get another pan ready.

Tip #6: Cut Yourself Some Slack

Practice makes perfect so don't expect to be a pro the first time you pipe macarons. Give yourself time to practice and improve and remember that a misshapen macaron tastes just as good as a perfectly round one.

Double Chocolate Espresso Macarons

Chocolate is great but double chocolate is even better and espresso, well that's chocolate's perfect partner, which is why I had to create these macarons.

The rich filling is so simple to make, it's just butter, sea salt, sugar, espresso, vanilla and dark cocoa powder whipped until smooth and creamy and the chocolate macaron shells are made by adding just 10 grams of dark cocoa powder to my tried and true recipe. It couldn't be easier and it couldn't be more delicous.

Here's the recipe:

Double Chocolate Espresso Macarons
180g ground almonds, sifted
270g powdered sugar, sifted
10g dark cocoa powder (I use Hershey's Special Dark)
150g egg whites, aged 2 to 4 days in the fridge and then brought to room temperature
100g granulated sugar

Line four heavy baking sheets with good quality parchment paper and set aside. Also, set aside two pastry bags for the piping of the macarons.

Sift together your ground almonds with the powdered sugar and cocoa powder and set aside.

Whisk the egg whites (at room temperature) to glossy firm peaks adding the granulated sugar gradually in four parts.

Incorporate the dry ingredients into the beaten egg whites using a large rubber scraper.  Mix well. 

Fold the mixture with the rubber scraper by pulling down the sides and flipping the mixture over. Do this until you have a smooth mixture that falls like a “ribbon” off the scraper.

Transfer the mixture into the two piping bags. Use rubber bands to close the piping bags. Clip the tip of the bags, one at a time, and pipe small quarter sized rounds, leaving 1-inch of space between each because they spread as they set. Leave to set for about 30 minutes or until the top has formed a crust and is not sticky to the touch.

While they are setting, preheat the oven to 325 degrees. A convection oven is preferable. 

Bake one sheet at a time in the center of the oven for about 12 minutes or until the cookie is firm, matte and doesn't wobble when touched.

Leave on the baking tray until cool then lift them all off the parchment carefully. You may need to use a thin knife to help lift them off.

Sort into pairs and fill with Chocolate Espresso Buttercream.

Chocolate Espresso Buttercream
3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 1/2 tablespoons espresso powder dissolved in 2 teaspoons of hot water, cooled
1/4 cup dark cocoa powder (I use Hershey's Special Dark)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup powdered sugar

Combine all of the ingredients in a mixing bowl and whip until smooth and creamy. This takes about 5 minutes.