Compost Cookies with Neal Brother's BBQ chips

I’ve never been much of a chip eater. I’ll eat it at parties or if my friends and I order nachos at a restaurant, but I rarely buy a bag of chips because they’re too addictive. I cannot allow myself to eat just a few and it's worst if there are 5 flavors, I’ll want to try them all. My fingers uncontrollably reach for the chip bowl bringing pristine crisps to my lips, their crackly sensation is like crack to me, absolutely irresistible, not to mention how their salty, sweet, spicy coating blows up all the dopamine neurotransmitter synapses from my tongue to my brain telling me to EATMOREEATMORE!! The struggle is real, I’m sure you can relate and that’s why I don’t buy chips lest I go all Hulk-like on them.

And somehow when it comes to cookies or chocolate, I can exercise some self-control. Nonetheless, when Neal Brothers contacted me to offer samples of their latest flavours, I could not decline. 

So that’s how I ended up combining one of my favourite foods (ie. Cookies) with chips. I chose the popular Compost Cookies recipe from Cristina Tosi of Momofuku’s Milk Bar and for the potato chips, used Neal Brothers's sweet and salty BBQ kettle chips. When I threw the chips into the batter, I loved hearing them crunch and break apart, a sign of good things to come. The cookies contain a combination of milk chocolate, butterscotch chips, coffee grounds, rolled oats and chips, the idea behind it is to use up leftover ingredients that’s been hanging out in your pantry. 

I’ve made cookies from Milk Bar before, and though I enjoyed those cookies, I like these Compost Cookies more. The sweet and salty flavours work well here and I love the idea of using up whatever you have in your kitchen, it makes them unique and memorable. Neal Brother’s kettle chips are a great compliment to these cookies, the chips are delicious on their own, they’re sweet, salty, and lip-smackingly good, and yet their flavors are not overpowering. And as a bonus, their thick texture doesn’t disintegrate into the batter so you still get hints of BBQ in each cookie.

I love that Neal Brothers's chips are all natural and organic. I've tried other chips from them and they're all bold in flavor yet not overwhelming. I will definitely buy other products from them, like their Srirachup Chips or Honey Mustard Pretzel Nibblers!

My dad was skeptical about the addition of chips in these cookies, but he was so pleasantly surprised at how they turned out he polished off two in immediate succession and managed to mumble “MMMHMHMHMHHHMMM!” So yeah, I guess they’re pretty good. Thanks to Neal Brothers for the chips!

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Recipe here!

White Chocolate Rice Krispies Treats with Peanuts

I drafted another post a while ago but couldn't bring myself to hit publish. I broke up with my boyfriend in a while ago and the things I had written were still too raw and I wasn't ready to share them. I'm constantly trying to busy myself, the evenings are filled with tennis dates or hours at the gym, weekends are spent with mom and friends, and recently, I ate and drank my way through Montreal, coming home with Fairmount bagels stuffed into my luggage, permeating my clothes with their sweet yeasty fragrance.

Finally, more than a month later, I've found peace and forgiveness. I was staring at old pictures I took of Jacques and felt strong enough to contemplate his kind brown eyes, his crow's feet, that smile that always made me feel safe, his deep chuckle that I could never get sick of. Some days I miss him terribly.

We weren't engaged but had plans to get married in a few years, we were that couple. We had started a list of potential wedding songs, bookmarked pictures of our dream home, daydreamed taking time off work and travelling together. It's difficult to go from that level of intimacy to constant fighting, crying, more fighting, and finally, breaking up. There were a few fleeting moments were I felt certain that what we were going through was just a rough patch, something all couples go through, but our unresolved differences were too significant to ignore. I've never been good at talking about my feelings and I recognize my fault for not asking what I wanted and needed from our relationship sooner. At least I'm learning from my mistakes and trying to be a better partner in my future relationships. I guess that's important right?

Heartbreak aside, let's talk about rice krispies. I've had a jumbo box of the snap, crackle and pop sitting on my kitchen counter for at least half a year (surprisingly not stale yet!) and was browsing through David Lebovitz's site when I came upon this recipe. It's super easy and can quickly satisfy any sugar craving. 

The white chocolate adds sweetness and sophistication to the treats, the peanuts add a nutty crunch and the salt counters the sugar just right. I ate two large squares in quick succession while watching Blue Bloods with mom and sneaked a few bites for breakfast the next morning. I brought these to work and they were gone by the end of the day. They are a sure crowd-pleaser.

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Peanut Butter Sandies

If you asked my boyfriend, Jacques what his favourite cookies were, he’d say “Peanut Butter Cookies!” with the enthusiasm of a six year old. He’s very good at dropping hints for what I should make for my next baking project. It was his birthday last week so instead of making them alone, I thought it would be more fun to boss him around make it together.

Most of the peanut butter cookies I've had are crisp and dry, not that it’s a bad thing, but they’re predictable. These cookies on the other hand, will blow your mind. Dense and buttery, they are reminiscent of shortbread. The marriage of brown and granulated sugars gives it a sandy texture and the peanut butter adds a wallop of flavour. Not to mention the sprinkle of salt on top makes them freakingly irresistible. For those who live for sweet and salty desserts, these are for you.

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Dulce de Leche Cheesecake Bars

I made these cheesecake squares for a birthday party a few weeks ago. I don’t like showing up to a party empty-handed. Cake makes perfect conversation-starters, especially if you're shy around a new group of people and love being showered with compliments. Besides, who doesn’t like to celebrate their birthday with a little sweet treat? 

These bars are delicately sweet, the filling is velvety smooth and rich, it sits on top a thick graham cracker crust flavoured with a hint of cinnamon. I prefer cheesecake with a thicker crust for some textural contract to the cream cheese and these seal the deal. Also, you might have noticed the flaky sea salt, everyone at the party loved it. The combination of salty and sweet never gets old. Happy December!

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Neiman Marcus $250 Cookies

I had a craving for chocolate chip cookies. I knew exactly what kind I wanted: thick, chunky, cookies riddled with generous pieces of dark chocolate and a little sea salt on top to off set the sweetness. The kind that of cookies that makes you lick your lips right before biting into them, the kind that is so full of chocolate, it melts between your fingers. Finally, I made these and viola, my cravings were settled.

I picked up work at another nursing home a few months ago. The staff are great, I'm finally starting to learn people's names (though my eyes still linger over their name tags when in doubt) and the best part, the commute is the shortest compared to my other nursing homes. I brought a box of these cookies to work and everyone loved them. I offered them bright and early at 7am to my coworkers, word spread like wild fire and they came barging into the office for more. Are these the legendary cookies with the legendary hyperbolic title? My coworkers certain think so. 

These cookies are similar to the NY Times version I blogged about here and the whole wheat version here, the main difference is the use of oat flour in this recipe, which gives it an extra textural mouthfeel. There's also grated chocolate, for extra chocolatelyness, which is never a bad thing. I used the NY times tip in leaving the dough overnight in the fridge which improves the flavour and is highly recommended.

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Chocolate-Covered Caramelized Matzo Crackers

I always give away my baked goods lest I eat them all to myself, self-control is not my forte. For more than half the year, many of the goodies I’ve featured on my blog have also been shared with my boyfriend (save for one week when I forgot to pack some granola and he sarcastically bemoaned, “This is not acceptable behavior”). I’ve long understood the love that comes from cooking or baking for someone you care about, there’s nothing that makes me as elated as when my friends bring me dessert or when my mom buys me an egg tart from the Chinese bakery, so fresh it steams the plastic baggy it came in.

My boyfriend now has his own Tupperware that I put his baked treats in. When I hand over his edible gifts, he roars with excitement as if he just won the lottery, tears open the box and takes a big bite before reluctantly saving the rest for later. I think one of the top reasons I bake every week is getting to watch the way he eats followed by the giddy look on his face.

These crackers are no exception and generate the same welcome to everyone I shared it with. I’ve never eaten matzo crackers before and normally wouldn’t since they’re too bland, but covered in an irresistible combination of chocolate, toffee and nuts, you can’t go wrong. Not only is this recipe easy peasy, the result is dangerously addictive. It makes me think of peanut butter brittle minus the stone hard crunch.

I love recipes that allow you to customize it to suit your preferences or whatever you have on hand. Instead of almonds, you can sprinkle some chopped pistachios, or toasted coconut if that’s what you’re into, maybe even cocoa nibs if you’re fancy like that. I like adding flaky sea salt when I can’t decide if I’m craving for sweet or salty. No matter what you add, these crackers are transformed from bland paper-like crisps to crack-like treats. I’m warning you, these are dangerous.

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Recipe here!