Sinful Saturdays

Between this post and the last, you will not be lacking for something sinfully sweet when you have a craving. And the best part? Not only will you get two giant cookies (or 4 in my case) but it only takes one extra large egg. Mmm hmmm, that is correct. And if you only have enough room in your tummy for one of these monstrosities, both the raw egg as well as the unbaked dough can both be stored in your freezer for one of those rainy days when you can't be bothered to lift a finger, much less a mixing bowl.

A few warnings before you continue with this #recipe. Due to the alkali nature of the cocoa powder and the baking soda, it can have quite a bitter touch to it if your measurements are off, so measure accordingly. From previous experience, I can say that a lump of baking soda is not good eats. On that end, watch the baking of this cookie compared to the previous recipe. This one takes only about 13-15 minutes and it can be quite difficult to ascertain if the bottom of your cookie is burned due to the darkness of the dough. One more little tidbit before continuing, an extra large egg yields about 4 tablespoons, which as I said about, is about perfect for two giant cookie recipes.

Giant Chocolate Cookie

2 tbl unsalted butter (softened)
2 tbl granulated sugar
2 tbl brown sugar (light)
2 tbl beaten egg
2 tbl cocoa powder
1/4 cup (4 tbl) AP flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp vanilla
dash of salt
Additions: chopped walnuts, chocolate chips

Cream together the butter and sugar. (I've been using a fork since it's such a small amount and who can be bothered to dirty proper mixing utensils?) Add the egg and vanilla. Mix. Combine the rest of the dry goods and mix until thoroughly combined. As with the previous recipe, here is where the fun begins. I added in chopped walnuts because that's what I had on hand but you can use anything as long as it doesn't exceed 1/4 cup of extra goodies.

Waiting to get baked

Bake at 350 F for about 13-15 minutes, watching carefully. The cookie will appear underdone but will set up as it cools. :) This is a sinfully chocolaty cookie, more on the dark and rich side instead of sweet and sultry. The center is like the chewy goodness of a brownie with the outside crackly.

Oops, a cookie monster took a bite

The Comforts of Childhood

#ThrowbackThursday

Generally I don't participate in any of these internet-generated themed days of the week but the hashtag association seemed quite appropriate for this recipe and the events of the week. Especially if you're an 80s or 90s baby who grew up with old school Macs and floppy disk games which were the highlight of the week when it was your turn in class to have thirty minutes or an hour in front of the computer with a partner, playing Number Munchers, Oregon Trail and Pac Man.

Earlier this week, the Internet archive otherwise known to many on Ravelry as the Wayback Machine, released a number of MS-DOS games free for public consumption. So what did we do? My brother and I decided that Oregon Trail would be the best way to experience that joyous childhood game again in our 20s (and it was much more fun than a trip to the dentist).

Splint? External fixation?

Someone didn't get their MMR completed :D

Surprisingly enough, we didn't suffer much in the way of casualties, true, so a few members of the party broke a leg or two, perhaps contracted fevers and the measles but beyond some broken axles, stolen bullets, we made it to Oregon, having set out in May with the hopes that we would arrive before the snows came upon us. 

We survived!

If you want a little bit of your childhood back today, take a look over on The Internet Archive and search for your favorite game from the days of pixeled art, desktops with towers and mice connected with cords.

Now for some sugar to sweeten up the day.

Cravings for cookies can often be a pitfall, ending up a dozen, two dozen, even three occasionally depending upon the size of each morsel. And without anyone to feed, it can become more torture than a treat by the time you've eaten six or seven straight out of the oven. The cookie jars of childhood wouldn't be enough to house the resulting leftovers. But the following recipe is perfect for those days when you can't be bothered to fire up the oven, roll up your sleeves and slave in front of the oven for as long as it takes to bake off a pound of dough.

Having seen tons of single serving recipes on Pinterest as well as microwave mug cakes, both of which have made it onto Pinterest Fail lists in one way or another, I was a bit skeptical. However, this is definitely a win. I decreased the flour since the dough seemed thick enough and didn't add salt since peanut butter has quite a bit already. Added a dash more vanilla and didn't bother to measure my PB (because more is better). So here's the recipe with my tweaks. :D

And for even more awesome lazy craving fulfillment, I used a small toaster oven and didn't have to battle the pots and pans stored in the large conventional oven (that's how you know it's a Chinese house - the oven isn't used for baking) required for a full batch of cookies.

Find the original on Sally's Baking Addiction. 

Giant Peanut Butter Cookie

2 tbl unsalted butter (softened)
2 tbl granulated sugar
2 tbl light brown sugar
2 tbl egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
2-3 tbl peanut butter (smooth)
7 tbl AP flour (originally 8 tbl aka 1/2 cup)
1/4 tsp baking soda

Additional treats: chopped walnuts, Reese's cup pieces, peanut butter m&ms

In a small bowl, combine the butter, sugars, and peanut butter. Mix until thoroughly incorporated. Add the egg and vanilla. When combined, add the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda). Do not over mix. It will be a fairly thick dough.

Now here's where the fun begins. The original poster added Reese's pieces but I didn't have any on hand. So just add whatever your heart desires, as long as it doesn't exceed 1/2 cup of goodies. I used some leftover candy and walnuts. :)

Bake in a 350 F oven for 15-20 minutes. The cookie will still look a little underdone and soft in the middle but will firm up as it cools down.

Straight out of the oven

 This makes a massive amount for ONE cookie so I separated my dough into two 1/2 - 3/4 inch thick circles of about 4 inches in diameter and only baked one at a time. It came out to be 5 inches in diameter after baking. The rest of the egg is in a ziploc baggie in the freezer for my next cookie craving. Yum!