Wordless Wednesday: Sleeping Cats

Tess & Ginger sleeping

Chocolate Meringue Cookies

If you've ever wanted to eat crunchy hot chocolate, then this is the cookie for you. I'm not sure how else to describe these meringue cookies. They are weightless and taste like hot chocolate. I can't even decide if I like them or not! The taste/flavor/texture combination is just too odd for me.

I found this recipe online after some searching. It is easy to follow and doesn't require ingredients that aren't in the kitchen of someone who bakes. The only issue I have with the recipe (and every other recipe for this type of cookie!) is that it takes hours to bake. Some recipes require the cookies to do an overnight stay in the oven!

Chocolate Meringue Cookies (Printer-friendly PDF Version)

1/4 C Powdered sugar

1/4 C unsweetened cocoa

3 large egg whites (room temperature)

1/8 t cream of tartar

3/4 C granulated sugar

Preheat the oven to 225 degrees and grease a cookie sheet.

Sift together the powdered sugar and cocoa. This will remove any clumps.

Place egg whites into a mixing bowl (1) and beat on low speed until frothy (2).

Add the cream of tartar and beat on medium until soft peaks form (3). This means that you beat the egg whites until they hold some shape and starts to get a glossy appearance.

Continue to beat the egg whites and slowly add the sugar. Beat until stiff peaks form (4). This just means that you can make peaks in the egg whites and they will hold.

Turn the mixer to low speed and slowly add the cocoa mixture. Mix until well combined.

Place spoonfuls of the meringue onto the cookie sheet. You can also pipe the meringue onto the cookie sheet with a parchment bag and large frosting tip. This allows for creativity and results in pretty cookies!

Bake the cookies for an hour and a half. Do not remove the cookies from the oven after baking. Turn off the oven and open the oven door slightly. Let cool in the oven for at least an hour.

Store the cookies in a tightly sealed container.

Note: I used Hershey’s Cocoa: Special Dark.

Something about meringue cookies have always been intimidating to me. I think it is because of the egg whites. The cookie is basically just egg whites and sugar. Because of this, I'm awarding myself this little "I did it!"

Cookie Baker Lynn's "I did it!"

Doggie Cookies: Almost Minty

I'm working on new flavors of doggie cookies again. The main issue with the cookies seems to be texture and that they dry out. I'm cautious with what I will add to the dough because I want to keep the cookies healthy. Eventually, I'll get that all situated and post some new recipes. For now, here is a look at one type of doggie cookie that I'm working on.

My dad has bought quite a few different types of doggie breath mints for Bichon. Bichon has terrible breath that even daily brushing isn't helping. Unfortunately, since his teeth are part of the issue, he can't (or just won't) eat the doggie breath mints because they are too hard. I was asked if I could make some sort of cookie out of the mints.

What I did was crush up the mints into tiny pieces and dissolved them some in warm water. Next time I will let them sit in near boiling water for a bit to let the pieces dissolve a bit more. I then mixed in some oatmeal and flour until it reached a cookie dough consistency. I rolled the dough into little balls, pressed them down a bit with my thumb, and baked them for 8 minutes. The result was a greenish cookie with gooey melty spots.

Bichon ate the cookie, but only after realizing I didn't have anything better to offer. Lucky ate the cookie without thinking twice... he'll eat nearly anything.

Any suggestions for future flavors of doggie cookies? I'm considering chicken, turkey, and sweet potato.

Wordless Wednesday: Ducks

Ducks at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. Click the image to make it larger. Makes a nice desktop background!

Soft Peanut Butter Cookies

Insomnia is for baking. At least, that is one of the few useful things I can do when I can't sleep at night. I can't really work on my thesis or think critically at this point in the night. The only reasonable thing to do at 2am is bake. It doesn't disturb anyone sleeping and it provides me with something creative to do. Oh, yeah... it also gives me something delicious to eat!

Tonight I wanted peanut butter. I usually just eat a spoonful of peanut butter or put it on a banana, but I was bored so I decided to make cookies. I did a search on Google for "soft peanut butter cookies" and this is the first recipe I read through that I liked the sound of. They turned out pretty well! Very soft with a nice peanut butter flavor that isn't too strong or too weak. The recipe is also very easy to follow.

Soft Peanut Butter Cookies (Printer-friendly PDF Version)

Cream together the butters, sugars, egg, and vanilla. Add the baking soda, salt, and flour. Mix until well combined.

Roll the dough into balls and place on a cookie sheet. The size of the dough balls depends on how big you want the cookies. I tend to make smaller cookies. Use a fork dipped in flour to make a criss-cross pattern on the cookie to press them down. This allows the cookie to bake evenly!

Bake the cookies at 350 for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the edges start to brown. The edges didn't seem to brown for me, so I just baked them for 10 minutes. The cookie is fully baked when the bottom turns brown, but since the cookies are so soft, it is hard to check for browning.

Don't forget the milk!