The 919 Girls and the Banana Bread Snickerdoodle Cookies

During my last few months in Salt Lake I made a huge move, from the upstairs apartment (The HOGL) all the way downstairs to 919. I was lucky enough to move in with four amazing women- Brit, McCall, Aftony, and of course Mel-Mel.  The space was a little cramped but the rent was cheap and the entertainment was non-stop!!!  There always seemed to be a revolving door of guests so it was rarely only the five of us, more like nine or ten of us, but that was because these girls were just so awesome that no one could stay away from them. We had some really good times, and in order to not make this post into a ten chapter book, I am just going to list some of them and hope it will bring back some good memories for the 919 girls. So anyway, here I go (in no particular order): friends’ marathons, video games- carnival games, guitar hero, and that damn monkey bubble game hahaha, someone always sleeping on that green couch, dead fish, mad hatter parties, and just knowing that we were all ALWAYS there for one another no matter what!!! That was such a fun time in my life and I wouldn’t change it for the world! I love and miss those girls more than words can say so I am hoping these cookies can say it for me!!! XOXOXOXO

Banana Bread Snickerdoodle Cookies

Yield – Over 4 dozen cookies

For the cookies:

• 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, using a spoon to lightly scoop the flour into the measuring cup
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. ginger
• 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
• LARGE pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
• 3 medium sized very ripe bananas, peeled and sliced
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup granulated white sugar
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons banana syrup (from reduced banana juice)

For the spiced sugar:

• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, spices and set aside. Place sliced bananas in a microwave safe bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and make several slits in the wrap. This will act as steam vents. Microwave on high until the bananas are soft and have released liquid, about 2-3 minutes. Transfer the bananas to a fine mesh strainer set over a medium bowl and drain, stirring and mashing the bananas to release the liquid. You are going to end up with a bit less than ½ cup of liquid, and about ¾ cup of banana puree. Transfer the banana puree to a small bowl and set aside.
2. Transfer the reserved banana liquid to a small saucepan and place over medium-high heat. Cook until the liquid is syrupy and reduced to about 1 oz, (2 tablespoons), about 3-4 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the liquid to cool.
3. In a bowl of an electric mixer set on medium high speed, cream the butter until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add sugars and the banana puree and mix until well combined. Add the egg, vanilla extract and banana syrup, scraping down sides of the bowl to incorporate the ingredients well. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add flour mixture to the wet ingredients about one cup at a time. Mix just until incorporated. Cover dough with plastic wrap and chill at least an hour, or until dough becomes slightly firm.
4. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. In a small bowl, mix cinnamon and brown sugar. It’s going to look a bit clumpy, but that’s the nature of brown sugar. Don’t sweat it.
5. Remove cookie dough from refrigerator, and using a small cookie scoop (1 teaspoon) or a small spoon, scoop out dough and roll into small balls. Roll the balls in the cinnamon sugar making sure the dough balls are well coated. Place sugar coated dough balls 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Use a glass with a flat bottom to flatten the balls. If desired, sprinkle additional sugar on the flattened cookies.
6. Bake the cookies for 10 to 14 minutes, or until they are slightly firm to the touch. If you pick up a cookie you will notice some caramelized brown sugar in the bottom. Resist the urge to eat a hot cookie. I didn’t and I burned my tongue. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheets for about 5 minutes, and then move them to a wire rack to cool completely. Now eat one…

***Some Important Notes***

1.  After buying fresh nutmeg I realized I didn't have a grater (and was kind of nervous about the whole grating nutmeg process) so I used 1/8 tsp of ground nutmeg. Hopefully it works ok.

2. After taking the bananas out of the microwave and trying to mash/liquify them through a strainer, there was no banana "liquid". Who knows maybe I'm not strong enough but regardless I therefore skipped the second step, put the puree when indicated in the recipe, and skipped the adding any banana syrup stuff since my weak little arms couldn't produce any.

3. This is the first time I made some changes on my own, not by someone else's suggestion, so here's hoping they don't turn out like shit... Yay, they didn't, as per my taste-testers review!!!

Linds’ and the Applesauce with Caramel Frosting Cookies

Linds and I met in middle school on the Navigators Team and quickly became friends. We didn’t stay as close for the rest of middle school as we were on different teams and then in different schools, but we got back together in high school. Linds and I had a lot of the same interests/classes in high school… we did band (until I learned how much I sucked and then quit), we played sports (not the same ones but we still rocked at them), we were math dorks (we even were part of the Math Club), and we had a lot of the same friends. So needless to say we got to see a lot of each other during high school. We kept in touch during college mainly on weekends home/going to Canada, when I “luckily” got to be the DD. I have to admit though, those did make for some interesting/funny nights!!! Once I moved away Linds even came to Utah a couple of times for vacation. Unfortunately I didn’t actually get to see her while she was there but hey at least we were in the same state haha. Anyway, now we are both back in the WNY area and are able to catch up and see one another once in a while, although probably not as often as either of us would like. Maybe soon we can take another little road trip down to DC, we definitely had some good talks the last time.  Until then (or the next time I get to see her) hopefully Linds will enjoy these yummy cookies!!!


Applesauce Cookies with Carmel Frosting
Makes about 3 dozen cookies

Cookie Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
½ cup butter
1 egg
1 cup applesauce
2 cups flour
1tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp cloves

Frosting Ingredients:
3 Tbs Butter
¼ cup heavy cream
½ cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar

For the Cookies:
1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Mix the sugar, egg, and butter in a large mixing bowl.
3. Once mixture is combined mix in the apple sauce until incorporated.
4. In a separate bowl mix together the dry ingredients.
5. Incorporate the dry into the wet.
6. Scoop onto a greased cookie sheet. No need to pat down just scoop and drop.
7. Bake for 8-10 minutes.

For the Frosting:
1. Mix together the butter, brown sugar & vanilla. Once mixed slowly add in the heavy cream and mix well then by the ¼ cup add in the powdered sugar until you find it to be sweet enough. I used the entire cup of powdered sugar because I LOVE things sweet!!!

***No changes were made during the making of these cookies***

The Dunlaps and the Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

The Dunlap family, consisting of Rina, Gary, and Natalie, are seriously some of the funniest and sweetest people I have ever met. I was lucky to meet the Dunlaps through Gadawski’s Restaurant. I then had the even greater privilege of working with Rina at Niagara Street and that further cemented our friendship. Rina always always always looks out for me, whether she is trying to find a man for me, a job for me, or just a way for me to have a good time and I adore her for that. Gary is hilarious and always has a good story for us which ends up leading to Rina’s laugh. If you know Rina, you know her laugh… it is seriously the funniest and most contagious laugh ever. When we are out, whether at a restaurant or a comedy night for Gadawski’s, if Rina starts laughing the place falls silent and then starts laughing with her. And it honestly will go on for 10 minutes straight!!! And not that I saved the best for last but… yeah I kinda did… Natalie is the sweetest little girl ever. She is always complimenting people and telling them how much she loves them… who doesn’t like hearing stuff like that?!?! Natalie is very playful and will keep you entertained for hours. And she is sooooooooo smart, seriously like a little genius. It’s no surprise to me that Natalie turned out so well, she has the most amazing parents and she turned out just like them!!! I hope the Dunlap family knows how much they mean to me and that they enjoy these delicious cookies!!!


Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Ingredients:
2cups flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup butter, melted (1½ sticks)
1 cup packed brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 ½ cups old-fashioned oats
1 heaping cup raisins
½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Your cookies turn out so much better with parchment paper. Believe me! Buy some!

Melt butter and let cool slightly.

Mix flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the cinnamon, vanilla, egg, and egg yolk for 2-3 minutes until light and creamy. Mix in the flour mixture until just blended. Add the oats, nuts, and raisins. Mix until just blended.

Place 1/4 cup balls of dough onto parchment lined cookie sheet and bake for 14-16 minutes. Do not overbake. Remember I'm at sea level so if you aren't you may need longer. The edges should look brown and the centers still slightly soft. Let the cookies rest on the cookie sheet for a couple of minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

*** Didn't make any changes... Made a little over a dozen large cookies***

Pat and the Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies

Pat is a dear cousin of mine who, like some other family members, has moved clear across the country. He moved to sunny CA to attend USC for a Master’s Degree in Public Health. He is actually graduating this week but planning on staying in CA and taking the MCAT in August. Then as they say, “the world is his oyster” (by the way I don’t get that saying… I wonder if it’s because I’ve never had one… haha just kidding).  When Pat is not “hitting the books” (hmmm let’s see how many clichés I can use in one blog) he knows how thoroughly enjoy his down time. Pat is a man’s man and likes his sports and video games. He especially likes Notre Dame Football (yes he’s a Gadawski) and Sabres hockey. And I’ve heard he plays a pretty sick game of golf.  From what I can gather from Facebook, he seems to really be adjusting well to the fun and exciting California lifestyle. I think his favorite foods have gone from wings and pierogis to wheat grass and sushi.  Regardless of his current eating habits Pat is really an amazing guy and we REALLY miss him back here in WNY. Hopefully he will take a few days off from studying and come home and visit us all, or even just come here and study (hint hint PAT)!!! Anyway, in an attempt to break his healthy eating and because it seems like such a manly cookie… I decided to make him Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies. Here’s hoping the bacon/chocolate mix is as good as people have been claiming lately. More importantly, here’s hoping that Pat likes them. Enjoy Pat and come home soon!!!!

Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe adapted from nytimes.com
yield: 9 large cookies

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons butter at room temperature
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup dark chocolate, chopped
8 slices of bacon, finely chopped then pan-fried until crispy and drained on paper towels
Sea salt

Instructions:

Sift the flour, baking soda and powder into a bowl and set aside. Cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the egg and mix well. Stir in the vanilla. Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Drop in the chocolate and bacon and incorporate. Refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Scoop 6 3 1/2 ounce mounds of dough (the size of large golf balls) onto the baking sheet leaving ample space between cookies as they will grow quite large. Place the rest of the cookies on another sheet. Sprinkle cookies with a touch of sea salt. Bake until golden brown but still soft, 18-20 minutes. Cool on sheet for 10 minutes then move to rack to cool until you are ready to enjoy!


***One little side note... bacon grease HURTS!!!!

Cathy and the Chocolate Peppermint Patty Cookies

Cathy is one of my mom’s best friends and has since become like a mother to me. In fact she is appropriately nicknamed Mom #3. Cathy owns the Village Diner down in Youngstown and is an amazing chef (if you’ve never been there before you NEED to go… especially for breakfast). Since she is such a great chef I have to admit I am a little worried about baking for her, but I couldn’t leave her off the list. Anyway, besides being such a great chef, she is an amazing mother, friend, and grandma. I know that I have turned to her countless times for advice and she has never let me down. More importantly Cathy is always there for my mom and I appreciate that more than words can express!!! Cathy likes to travel and now makes sure that my mommy does some traveling too. They have been to the Caribbean, Arizona, and Florida together and I am sure there is more traveling planned for the future. Maybe one of these times they will actually let me come too!!! Well I hope she likes these cookies but I have to explain them a little bit first. I heard through the grapevine that Cathy would like chocolatey/minty cookies so I began to search for a recipe. Unfortunately, most of the recipes were almost exactly like a batch I had made in December and I couldn’t bear to make a repeat batch. Eventually I found a recipe that was different enough but this one called for a boxed cake mix. I know what you’re thinking, because I’m thinking it too, IT’S CHEATING!!! I am making myself feel a little better by rationalizing that I am still forming the cookies and putting stuff inside of it so it’s not as much cheating. Anyway, I feel bad but not bad enough to search for another recipe. Enjoy Cathy!!!

Chocolate Peppermint Patty Cookies
Makes 18 Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 box devil's food cake mix
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 18 peppermint patties (the small ones)
• powdered sugar, for sprinkling

Instructions

1. Beat together the cake mix, eggs, and oil until well combined and a sticky dough forms.
2. Place dough in the fridge for 20 minutes to chill. If you skip this step, the dough will be very hard to work with, but if you're in a hurry just make sure your hands are cold by running them under cold water after you shape each cookie.
3. Grab a golf ball sized ball of dough, roll into a ball, and flatten it into a disc. Place a peppermint patty in the center and bring the excess dough up and around the patty to cover it.
4. Repeat with remaining dough and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet 2 inches apart from each other.
5. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 9 minutes.
6. Remove from oven and sprinkle on powdered sugar.
7. Cool on a wire rack.

The Cubbies and the Oreo Pudding Cookies

There’s nothing like shoving about ten people into a space that should fit about five people to make everyone feel really really close (both literally and figuratively). But that’s what happened when I worked at Niagara Street and I LOVED IT!!! Sarah, Tracy, Christina, Miquel, Phil, Dee, Jim, Marie (and sometimes Joe), occasionally Maria, and myself all shared what at times felt like a clown car. But I seriously had some of the best times in that cubby area. From stealing candy from Dee, to sitting under Tracy’s desk, to trying to navigate between the chairs from one end of the room to the other, to enjoying some Pandora music (when Phil could actually get a signal), to actually trying to get a little work done, and last but DEFINITELY not least the constant buzzing sound that we all became immune to but seemed to bother everyone else. Unfortunately we are not all together still, I believe Sarah has a new office, Dee has a new room, Christina is working at the High School, and I am at Hyde Park. I think most of them are still in the cubbies though. Regardless of where we are most of us still keep in touch. And more importantly nothing can take away the memories I have of the cubbies. I miss everyone dearly and hope that these cookies will remind them each of how much they mean to me!!! Love you fellow cubby dwellers!!!!  


Oreo Pudding Cookies                  
Makes two dozen

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, room temperature 
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 (4.2 ounce) package instant Oreo Pudding mix
2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 Hershey's Cookies N Cream Candy Bars broken into small pieces (I used 2.6 ounce King Sized bars)
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips  

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl and set aside. Cream together butter and sugars. Beat in pudding mix until blended. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix well. Add the flour mixture and mix to combine. Stir in cookies n' cream pieces and chocolate chips. Batter will be thick.

Using a cookie dough scooper, place golf ball sized dough balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes. You do not want to overbake these! Let cookies cool for 5 minutes on baking sheet before moving to a cooking rack. Store in air-tight container.

***No changes, however, after doubling the recipe it made more like 5 dozen cookies not 4 dozen***

Emily & Reid and the Mocha Swirl Cookies

I have known Emily for a verrrrrrrrrrrrry long time. Like 20 years long. We met way back in elementary school, ah good old Harry F. Abate. Anyway, I will admit that we weren’t always the closest of friends back then but we are now and that’s what really matters!!! Emily has an amazingly creative and artistic soul and if you are lucky then you might just get to see one of her many artistic outlets. Some of these outlets include painting (on doors that magically go missing), photography (of just about anything but usually of her beautiful nieces), knitting/sewing (blankets, hats, costumes, etc.) and interior design (see Jenn & Paul’s apartment… and hopefully my house someday). But I have to say that Emily is most artistic when it comes to the human canvas. Not only does Emily always have beautiful hair, makeup, and clothing herself but she has the amazing ability to make other people look and feel beautiful too. Whenever I need to look nice I go see her. I have never received more compliments than whenever Emily has worked her magic on me. She is truly an amazing artist and an amazing friend, and I am so happy that we have become close again!!! Now I can’t leave Reid out nor would I want to. Reid is such a genuinely caring and kind man. And I really enjoy when we are all able to hang out with each other. Oh yeah and did I mention that he is a rockstar… like a certified travel-around-the-world-on-tour- rockstar?!?! No??? Well he is… and it’s pretty freakin’ cool!!! Well I hope that the artist and the rockstar like these cookies and know how much they both mean to me!!!

Mocha Swirl Cookies
Yield: 40 cookies
Ingredients:
3 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp instant coffee
2 oz. Dark chocolate, melted and cooled slightly

Directions:
1. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
2. In the bowl of a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter until creamy.
3. Gradually add sugar to butter while mixer is running.
4. Add egg and vanilla, beat well. Scrape down sides and bottom of bowl and mix again until incorporated.
5. With mixer on low speed, gradually add in flour mixture until just combined.
6. Remove dough from mixer and divide into two even portions. Dough should not be sticky.
7. Return half of the dough to the mixer and add the instant coffee. Mix until combined and dough is speckled with coffee granules. Use finely powdered instant coffee like Starbucks' VIA, or you may choose to grind standard instant coffee finer in a food processor. Espresso powder would also work well in this recipe. Remove coffee dough from mixer.
8. Return the other half of dough to the mixer and add the melted chocolate. Mix until well combined.
9. Roll out each dough separately between two sheets of wax paper - approximately 1/4" thick. Each piece should be a 9 x14" rectangle. Chill on baking sheets in the refrigerator, at least 1 hour.
10. When dough is thoroughly chilled, top chocolate dough with coffee dough. Gently press together the two dough pieces using a rolling pin.
11. Let dough stand at room temperature until malleable.
12. Use a knife to even one side (down the 14" length) of the dough. This gives you a nice even start for the spiral.
13. Roll dough tightly, jelly-roll fashion, using the wax paper to guide the dough. The chocolate portion of dough usually tears a little when rolling. When this happens - STOP- and pinch the dough back together before you continue to roll. Remember, this is not a race to see how fast you can roll the dough. Do this slowly and deliberately.
14. Cover the dough roll in wax paper, then in a length of plastic wrap. Chill thoroughly, at least 1 hour. Turn the dough halfway through chilling to make sure it doesn't become flat on one side.
15. Heat oven to 350 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
16. Remove dough from refrigerator, uncover and slice in half with a sharp knife. Place half of dough back in the refrigerator to keep cold.
17. Cut dough into 1/4" rounds.
18. Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes. Let cool for 2-3 minutes on baking sheet before transferring to a cooling rack.
19. Repeat with remaining dough.

***No Changes Were Made***