taste it and make it: cookies!

When I was back in San Diego, I used to work for this resort. At the resort, they had a little coffee shop that sold some fancy pastries and coffee drinks. I remember, I would stop by there every other day and get this big ass bakery cookie that they sold. It was a German chocolate flavored cookie that was just awesome!

What I liked about the cookie was that it had coconut flakes, pecans, and chocolate chips baked into the cookie itself. It sweet, compact, and had the taste of German chocolate cake but in cookie form. So, rather than buying the cookie at $3.50 every other day and the fact that I'm now living in Guam, I decided to look in the internet to see if I could recreate those delicious cookies.

The problem that I kept coming across was the fact that the cookies I found were either, filled, topped, had the wrong base, or had ingredients that I really didn't want in them (namely corn syrup). The closest recipe that I could find was this, which had a nice short ingredients list. Still...not what I wanted in the recipe. So I decided to do some experimenting.

Taking some pointers from this site, I decided to change the flour amounts. Since I definitely wanted a chewy cookie, I added an extra yolk to the recipe. I also took out the corn syrup as I didn't think that it needed it and bumped up the vanilla. While I normally love coconut, I thought that 2 1/4 cups seemed a bit excessive so that got cut too. Needless to say, this recipe got dissected, pulled apart, and brought back together again.

So what did I end up with? A fantastic cookie that was amazingly identical to the cookie I had from the resort's cafe! It was nice and chewy, nutty from the pecans, caramelly from the toasted coconut, and oh so chocolatey from the semi-sweet chocolate!

I packed a batch of this for my hubby to take to work and it was gone within minutes. Poor hubbs, he didn't even get to taste any. Luckily for him, there was a batch waiting for him when he got home. Now, whenever he wants to be a popular kid at work, his number one request is a batch of these German chocolate chip cookies. Please and thank you! ;D

German Chocolate Chip Cookies
(adapted from FabFood and Cook The TV!)

2 cups flaked sweetened coconut
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
1 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup bread flour
1 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 tsp or so kosher salt
1/2 cup brown sugar, tightly packed
1/2 cup white sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 large egg plus extra egg yolk
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 pkg semi-sweet chocolate disks, chunks, or chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray cookie sheet with non-stick spray.

Toast the coconut and pecans on a large skillet, stirring occasionally, for 7 to 9 minutes, or until lightly browned. Be careful not to burn. Let stand until cool. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, thoroughly stir together the flours, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat together the sugars and butter until very well blended and light (do not over beat or else the cookie will not spread properly). Beat in the egg, extra yolk, and vanilla until well blended. Beat or stir in the flour mixture, then the pecans, coconut and chocolate, until evenly incorporated.

Drop the dough onto the baking sheets by heaping measuring tablespoons, spacing about 3 inches apart. Using the tip of a table knife (or your palm), spread out the cookies to about 1-1/2 inches in diameter.

Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, in the upper third of the oven for 6 to 9 minutes, or until lightly browned all over and slightly darker at the edges. Leave cookies on baking sheet until completely cooled. Makes about 45 cookies.

success, finally.

After yesterday's stupid failure, I decided to try my hand again at making the tangzong cinnamon rolls. This time, I made sure to hover over the oven and watch the rolls bake. Turns out, 30 minutes is waaaaay too long a time to bake these and 355F was also slightly too high a temp. I ended up with a bake time of 25 minutes or so at 350F. So when the magic moment came and I pulled these out of the oven, I gave a HUGE sigh of relief and did an internal happy dance. Not burned! :'D

One good thing about having to do these over again is the fact that I could tweak the recipe a little bit. To help solve my problem of leaky filling, I decided to change some ingredients and added flour *and* egg according to pointers I saw on the internet. Helped a little bit but It still leaked... And the second time I did the icing, I changed it a bit and added the walnuts with the icing instead of putting them on separately on the rolls. They worked so much better that way.

All in all, I was really happy with how these turned out. The bread was nice and soft...exactly like how I wanted it to be. And, really, that's all I was aiming for. Mission accomplished! Now, what to do about that filling....

Cinnamon Rolls with Walnuts and Caramel Cream Cheese Icing
(adapted from Culinary Couture, Food Delicious Heaven, and A Cozy Kitchen)

For the tangzhong (water roux):
1/2 cup water
3 tbsp bread flour

For the dough:
2 1/2 cups bread flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp kosher salt
2 1/4 tsp (1 pkt) active dry yeast
1 egg, room temperature
1/2 cup buttermilk, room temperature
2 tbsp vegetable oil

For the filling:
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
2 tbsp cinnamon
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 to 2 tbsp butter, softened
1 small egg, room temperature

For the icing:
2 cups walnut pieces, toasted
1/2 cup light or dark brown sugar
1 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup half and half
3 oz. light cream cheese

To make tangzhong, heat water in a small sauce pan over low to medium heat. Once the water starts to steam, add flour a tablespoon at a time, stirring continuously until flour is dissolved and no lumps form. Continue stirring until the mixture has thickened to a paste. The roux is done when if you stir, the spoon leaves a visible trail and you can see the bottom of the pan. Remove from heat and transfer to a clean bowl. Place a cling film over the paste and cool to room temperature before using.

For the dough, combine flour, sugar, salt, and yeast in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together egg, buttermilk, oil and the tangzhong. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the wet ingredients. Stir together with a spatula or wooden spoon until a rough dough forms.

On a clean, oiled counter, turn out dough and knead with oiled hands until dough becomes smooth and supple to the touch, about 15 to 20 minutes. To test if the dough is ready, stretch the dough and If it forms a thin “membrane”, it’s done.

Form dough into a ball and place in a greased bowl, covered with cling wrap. Let proof in a warm place until doubled in size, about 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the filling. In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and cornstarch until combined. Add the egg and stir until a thick paste forms. Set aside. Grease a piece of parchment about two feet long and also set aside.

Once dough has risen, turn out on greased parchment paper and roll the dough into a large rectangle. Spread butter on the dough leaving an edge, about an inch wide, untouched. Add the cinnamon paste, spreading evenly up to the untouched part of the dough. Starting with the edge of the dough closest to you, gently roll up the dough into a tight log, sealing it with the strip of dough you left untouched. Cut off any uneven ends. Score dough every 1 1/2 to 2 inches, then use those marks to evenly slice your dough into rolls.

Arrange rolls on a greased, parchment lined baking dish and cover with cling wrap. Let proof for another 40 minutes until doubled in size. Bake in a preheated 350F oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until tops turn golden.

While rolls are baking, prepare your icing. Combine butter and brown sugar in a small sauce pan and cook until the butter has melted and the brown sugar begins to caramelize, about 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in Vanilla. When the brown sugar begins to bubble, add the cream cheese, stirring constantly to combine. Once incorporated, gradually stir in the half and half. Cook the sauce further until thickened and reduce by a little bit.

Once the mixture is thick enough to coat a back of a spoon, remove from heat. Stir in the walnuts then pour over the rolls. Serve warm or reheat before serving. Makes 10 to 12 rolls.