Roasted Garlic Brown Butter Hummus

Remember my family reunion that I mentioned a couple weeks ago? Well, I made a little something for the occasion. My family clan (so: my grandma and aunts and uncles and cousins) was tasked with bringing appetizers and snacks and such, so I decided I wanted to make hummus for the first time!

Speaking of hummus...up until this point I had been pretty unsure about how I felt about hummus. Like...do I like it? I didn't know! But I figured...if it has roasted garlic and browned butter...what's not to like?

(Side note: when telling this to Michael's stepmom she told me, "You'd eat carpet if it had browned butter."

haaaaa. #sortatrue)

The good news is: I LOVE THIS HUMMUS! It's kind of funny because at first I wasn't sure how I felt about it and thought maybe the tahini was too strong (and Michael initially thought the garlic was too stron)...but it's one of those things where the more you eat of it, the better you like it. By the end I was all "'OM NOM HUMMUSSSS"!! And it went over really well at the reunion too-everyone said they liked it. Hooray! 

This recipe is very easily doubled-I doubled it for the reunion! (Although turns out that wasn't necessary, but it's ok, I ate the leftovers :P) AND...ya know....kinda healthyish. Chickpeas are good for ya, yeah? And....garlic? Yes? Ok maybe the butter and oil whatever, but it's not much. Yeah. I declare this healthy!

Healthier if you dip veggies in it, but I'm totally ok with it if you use pita chips.

Mmmm pita chips and hummus....

Browned Butter Belgian Liege Wafels

I dare you to take a bite of a waffle that is crisp and chewy, with pockets of caramelized sugar, that (according to my brother) "tastes like a cookie", and NOT became a full on addict.

I'm gonna stop you right now: YOU CAN'T!

Just ask Hayley....and...I'll admit it: ME.

I have found that the #1 food related thing I miss from NYC is probably the liege waffles (the "other" Belgian waffle. It's essentially like the long lost, prettier, more talented, and overall better sister of the Belgian waffle we all know and grew up with) from Wafels and Dinges. It makes me sad that it took me so long to discover them...I only had a year with those flavorful little beauties. And I didn't even appreciate them fully (I mean...I did but like...not enough) until I knew I would be leaving them. Before leaving NYC I probably ate 3+ of those waffles that I dubbed "my last"...but then...I'd see another truck...and I had another! #noregrets

Anyway, I had anticipated that I would go through sugary-waffles-from-heaven withdrawal so I bought myself some pearl sugar before I'd even made the move home (I had it shipped to my mom's house).

And then, as fate would have it, I found myself in possession of a jar of Nutella-my dinge (topping) of choice! Obviously it didn't take me long to tackle making my own homemade liege waffles!

To make the liege waffles you make a thick, yeasted dough and fold in big old chunks of pearl sugar. The pearl sugar chunks caramelize in the waffle iron and create those gorgeous sugary bites as well as the crisp exterior, while the yeasted dough gives us a chewy structure. 

...and this recipe called for melted butter, so I decided to brown it. Typical Kayle move.

Did I notice the browned butter? Ermmm...a little. Not a huge difference. Def. not a necessity. 

Did I love 'em? OF COURSE! They're so PRETTY! And they were sooo delicious, especially smothered in nutella with a good dusting of powdered sugar, and when you get a goood bite of caramelized sugar! 

Are they as good as Wafels and Dinges? Not quiiite (but close!) I think the dough might have been a smidge over-yeasted. That's ok, I'll just continue my quest and try more recipes!

Oh noooo....more liege waffles? Gosh darn it. Life is hard.

:P

Browned Butter Peanut Butter Cup Blondies

Just accept this fact: If a sweet recipe calls for melted butter....you can be pretty certain that I'll ending up browning it. As long as we've all agreed to this, we can carry on being friends. Glad we had this talk.

So yeah. These peanut butter cup blondies looked great to begin with, and they're only made better by browning that butter!

The texture is lovely-chewy and soft yet sturdy. Then you have the mellow peanut butter punctuated by dashes of rich peanut butter cup bites. And the added complexity of the browned butter adds just that little extra special something. 

And you can whip these yummies up in one bowl! (I mean...plus a skillet for browning the butter. Worth it.)

I made these lovelies to take to my grandma's for her 4th of July pool party. Did they go over well?

My cousin Christian (who is 16) ate at least 3 and kept saying, "Kayle...THESE ARE SO GOOD.", his little sister, my cousin Brianna, ate 1 (even though she's "sensitive to peanut butter" ! She insisted it was worth it) my brother ate 2 and 1/2, my cousin's husband ate about 2, and I don't even know who all ate what else, all I know is they were gone pretty darned quick. My Aunt complained that I should have cut them into smaller pieces because they were so rich! Josh (my bro) and I agree that we think she's crazy but hey, to each their own. 

Perhaps you should be the judge?

(You know...for science...)

Browned Butter Mini Chip Cookies

It took like...a crazy amount of time after we moved before I made cookies. Michael even pulled out the old "You know what we haven't had in awhile? COOKIES!" and he.was.RIGHT! And so I decided to go classic and try one of my bjillion chocolate chip cookie recipes that I had saved. Cuz...I mean...you gotta try lots of different ones! They're all different! And these ones have browned butter, which is my bestie.

I also added salt to the tops of these cookies because my sweet and salty situation is like...out of control. It's necessary. I ate a cookie the other day and it didn't have salt and all I could think of how much better it would've been with salt on top. Silly people here are all like "What? Salt on a cookie?" and I'm like "ahhhh you guys have not lived yet! GET SOME!" 

Speaking of cookies, I was soooo excited to make some cookies this week for Michael's cousin's wedding (which is TOMORROW!) Making my food for people I know and love gives me such a happy feeling. It's almost as satisfying as the feeling I get when I eat the food I make. Mmmm.

(speaking of good food....can we talk about the fact that my autocorrect consistently corrects the word "food" to "good"...like...I know food is good....but food is in fact a word, Apple, and it does not need autocorrection! Especially because, let's face it, I talk about food a lot.)

Like right now: These cookies are classic. They're crisp and chewy and have that little extra oomph from the browned butter and salt. Are they my favorite CCC recipe? No. These are...or maybe these...or perhaps these...oh no...or maybe these...or these ?? TOO MANY!

But am I happy I made and proceeded to eat the everloving crap out of these cookies?

Yes. Yes I am.

and I made my brother break his diet to have one. So that was a victory too.

buahahaaaaa....

Hazelnut Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

Hihiiii! *waves* I know, it feels like it's been forever since you and I just chatted, huh? Having guest posters has been amazing (and there are more to come) but it's nice to just share my own recipe, with my own photos, and my own words...on my blog :) I missed you guys!

Things are going pretty well here, we're settling in (although maybe not AS quickly as I would like but, it's ok.) And we have been more social than we've ever been. So many family functions, hang outs with friends, dinners with family....it is amazing and surreal! It's also been super fun to be able to actually share some of my treats with my loved ones! :)

Not these cookies though. Nope. The only person who ate these was me (and my former landlord). These were the last thing that I baked in my old kitchen and it was a great end to an era. These cookies were complex, salty & sweet, sturdy yet chewy...mmm yes. They were good. My landlord was impressed too!

I used to be a strictly "no nuts in my baked goods" kind of gal, but I've been converted (somewhat. Still no nuts in brownies.) And hazelnuts are sort of my favorite right now (or pecans?) so yeah. These cookies are a win. Annnnd....that's all I've got to say about that.

It was nice talking to you all again :D I've got lots more good stuff coming, promise!

Browned Butter Peanut Butter Cup Crunch Cookies with Sea Salt

Moving day is very quickly approaching. It's like stress levels to the max over here! My apartment is a mess of boxes and I'm just trying to keep calm and be ready for the fact that in 1 week...I'm gonna pack up and ship on out.

Emotional preparations aside, I also need to try to keep the stuff we have to bring with us to a minimum, so I've needed to do some pantry cleaning. That, my friends, is how these big, beautiful cookies were born.

I've had half a bag of crushed Butterfingers hanging out in my freezer since I made these and these. And I still had a good amount of mini peanut butter cups from this cookie recipe I made a little over a month ago. And those had to go! So I thought...hey...let's make some cookies. And I'll use that delicious cookie base recipe from Baker by Nature that I used for that cookie recipe I just mentioned-it's perfect for mix-ins! And...guys...they COULD NOT have turned out better!!

These are essentially a browned butter chocolate chip cookie base but...it straddles the line between that and a peanut butter cookie. I added a couple tablespoons of peanut butter to the dough-just enough to highlight the flavors of the butterfingers and peanut butter cups, but to still let that yummy browned butter/brown sugar flavor shine through!

And they are BIG, sturdy, chewy, gooey, perfectly textured, perfectly delicious cookies. They'd be perfect to give or send someone as a gift. PLUS-they're pretttyyy, just look at those crackly tops! I DIE over crackly tops!

And the taste aghhhh! You bite in and you get the crunchy toffee-peanut butter flavor of the Butterfingers throughout, and these awesome chunks of a bigger chocolate peanut butter punch from the pb cups, and there's the complexity of the browned butter and that hint of peanut butter that lingers...and...of course...there's sea salt (I used some gorgeously large cyprus flakes). Sweet and salty allll the way!

Fun story: I had a giant cookie at a restaurant recently and all I could think the whole time I ate it was how much better it would've been with salt on top. I am an addict.

Brown Butter Salted Pretzel and Toffee Peanut Butter Cup Stuffed Cookies

 

You know how there are cupcake bakeries (and now like doughnut ones too)? I sort of have a dream of having a cookie bakery. And by dream I mean...it sounds great in theory but then when I think about the amount of work, and the business stuffs, and being someone's boss....ugh. But I love the idea of baking and selling people cookies! Why can't life just be simple like that, hm? 

Anyway, this comes up because these cookies would be PERFECT to sell at a cookie bakery. They're big, they're chewy, they're full of yummy deliciousness, they're sturdy, and-oh yeah-they're pretty! Look at those cute little pretzels on top of cookies! Adorbs. Heck, they're lovely even sans pretzel. (Because that pretzel is, in fact, entirely optional.) What is not optional, however, is the salt. I mean...I guess it is. But...cmon...haven't you realized by now how MIRACULOUS sea salt sprinkled on cookies is??! IT'S WONDEROUS!

Anyway, let me break down this explosion of cookie deliciousness right heeere: browned butter. 2 sticks of it. Mandatory. Lots of toffee bits (I'm obsessed with toffee lately). Maybe some chocolate chips (if your toffee bits are naked-AKA sans chocolate-as mine were). Some little chopped up pieces of salty pretzels. Oh and a peanut butter cup surprise stuffed in the middle. And sea salt sprinkled on top of all 'o' that.

!!!

It's like a taste-bud adventure. Each bite of this cookie is completely new and different, and awesome! 

Michael and I both agree that the pb cup is really not necessary-but then, we're sort of on a kick where browned butter and toffee and salt are really all we need in a cookie. We need to force variety upon ourselves, however, and the pb cups ARE a tasty little treat inside.

I am guilty of eating a minimum of 3 of these cookies for every day that we had them, until they ran out.

....my plan to not be fat for my wedding is not off to a great start.

...whatever. WORTH IT!

Brown Butter Toffee Chocolate Chunk Brownies

These brownies get the Michael stamp of approval.

When I first mentioned I was whipping brownies up he was like...not super excited....but then he ate one.

After eating the final brownie of the batch, Michael texted me: "These brownies were sooo good. I already miss them." Poor dear. #firstworldproblems #foodbloggerhubbyproblems

But for serious....they ARE really good. Just the right amount of firmness and fudginess in the texture. And a delightful crunch from the toffee and hunks of decadent chocolate...mmmm...

You wanna know a delicious AND dangerous fact? These are really quick and easy to whip up (quicker and easier if you don't brown the butter but...you should really brown the butter. Trust me.) So it'll be awfully easy to convince yourself, "Oh hey, maybe today I should just make some 'o' those yummy brownies..." and then you and your fiance are sitting there, trying to remember what it was like before you were fat. And telling yourself that when you have a fitness center, you guys are totally gonna work out there together...

...probably.

Whatever. You do whatcha gotta do to continue eating intensely chocolatey brownies that have the extra boost of yumminess given via browned butter & toffee. Priorities people.

Exceptional Chocolate Chip Cookies

So, you know...I like cookies. Particularly chocolate chip cookies.

I'm quite picky about them. To the point that I rarely, if ever, buy cookies (especially if I'm in Ohio) because they-with very few exceptions-never live up to the grand majority of the cookies that come out of my very own kitchen. And even within the spectrum of chocolate chip cookies I've made...I could not tell you my favorite recipe. I love each of them in different ways for different reasons. They're all delicious. So, I don't really like to categorize any of my recipes as the "best". But I can definitely use the word "exceptional".

Kristin, AKA Baker Bettie, is just as much as a cookie fiend as I am. Actually, I'd call her an expert. She's had her own cookie baking business and she is amazing when it comes to delving into the science of baking (particularly with cookies). This recipe is from her, and she has called it "the best".

And I totally get it.

One of the big things that makes these cookies exceptional is the quality of ingredients. The better the quality, the better the cookie. Then we've gotten rid of that silly granulated sugar and just use all brown sugar (which is pretty much the source of all things delicious in a CCC. It makes them complex and adds to the chewiness and texture). Oat flour is just...so good. And, of course, browned butter, toasted pecans, and sea salt reign supreme in making things taste AHHHMAZING.

Funny story: At Christmas the topic of sweet and salty food came up with one of Michael's cousins. And I told him how much I love to put salt on chocolate chip cookies. And he was like...shocked. He did not like the sound of that. Michael jumped in, telling him "No....it works. It's good. Trust me."

Ok, Steve? Trust us!

XL Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie

Sooo uh....in case you all haven't noticed....I'm going a bit wedding crazy. I'm aware. I apologize to everyone around me.

Only one of my bridesmaids lives in NYC, so she got a little bit of a different "will you be my bridesmaid" request than the others....she got a giant cookie:

See, I figure, if someone asked ME a question written on a giant, browned butter, salted chocolate chip cookie, I'd probs. say yes. My diabolical plan worked, and my cousin Emily accepted! Then later, when she was home, she texted me:

"Omg this cookie I AM GOING TO EAT THE WHOLE THING DAMNIT KAYLE"

She also asked if I was trying to make her the fatty for my wedding...hehehee

So. Technically....I didn't taste this cookie. Because I gave it to Emily. But I know the ingredients that went in it, I know they're delicious, and I mean...you read what she said...sounds like it was pretty good to meeee!

I mean...giant chocolate chip cookie....browned butter....just...like...

it doesn't get much better, amiright?

Brown Butter Pasta

I've made this pasta like....almost every week. Real talk.

I mean really....we all know by this point how much I love browned butter, right? And I have a deep passion for pasta. Especially when it has copious amounts of Parmesan cheese.

Source

AND there's nothing not to like about a dinner that's done in like...10 minutes (or less?). Yeah. You get it now, right?

I don't even know what else to tell you. This pasta is nummy. It tastes like browned butter and Pecorino Romano cheese (because of this I suggest actually getting a nice hunk of Pecorino Romano and freshly grating the good stuff) and just nutty cheesy wonderful goodness. And I also recommend using like...LOTS of cheese. That's me though.

Ya know what? Sometimes you just need an easy dinner.

And sometimes I just need a short and sweet blog post.

MANGIA!

Brown Butter Salted Caramel Stuffed Toffee Chip Cookies for #CookieWeek

Here it is, my last #cookieweek post (although it lasts until the end of tomorrow, so you still have time to enter the giveaway and get more awesome recipes from the other participants!)! Susan of The Girl In The Little Red Kitchen and Kim of Cravings of a Lunatic have joined together this week with 23 of their blog friends to present to you a week of cookie treats! We have every type of cookie you can think of listed this week, including something for our furry friends! Now is the time to bookmark these recipes for the upcoming holidays and cookie swaps or simply visit our Pinterest board! Make sure you enter the giveaway with some fabulous prizes from KitchenAid, King Arthur Flour, OXO, Silpat and Zulka Pure Cane Sugar to help with your cookie making needs!

These cookies have been elevated in the pantheons to one of the all time best cookies that have ever graced my lips. But that's no surprise. I used one of my fave cookie bases (from these)-which has browned butter, used toffee chips, stuffed them with SALTED CARAMEL SAUCE, and sprinkled them with some more salt. Honestly...there's really no way to go wrong with these.

Now, like I said, there is caramel sauce stuffed inside these cookies. And caramel tends to ooze. So don't be alarmed if, when you pull the cookies out of the oven, you see some caramel has oozed out of them. That's totally ok. You can just use your spatula to mush it back to the edge of the cookie. Or leave it and just eat it as is. Yumminess either way.

These cookies are BIG.

They're crisp, yet chewy.

They have delicious bites of toffee, and ooey gooey salted caramel.

THEY ARE IRRESISTIBLE.

You're gonna love 'em.

Now check out all the other #CookieWeek recipes for today!:

• Bethmännchen cookies by Masala Herb
• Chewy Brigadeiro Pecan Bars by Food Lust People Love
• Chocolate Cookie Thumbprints with Sweet Pepper Jelly by Omeletta
• Chocolate-Stuffed Gingerbread Cookies by i heart eating
• Earl Grey Icebox Cookies by Crumb
• Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies by Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker
• Homemade Thin Mints by The Girl In The Little Red Kitchen
• Malted Chocolate Chip Cookies by Like Mother Like Daughter
• Miso Sesame Cookies by NinjaBaking.com
• Peppermint Cream Thumbprint Cookies by Beyond Frosting
• Salted Caramel Stuffed Toffee Chip Cookies by The Cooking Actress
• Sandwich Cookies by Texana's Kitchen
• Shortbread Christmas Mouse Cookies by Cravings of a Lunatic

And continue on past the recipe to enter the giveaway!

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Sandwich Cookies for #CookieWeek

Oh hey. Did you know I love cookies? Oh you did? I'm not surprised. It's not a secret. 

I. LOVE. COOKIES! 

So, obviously, I'm gonna participate in an event called #cookieweek 

(especially when it's orchestrated by some of my best blog buds!)

Welcome to #cookieweek my fellow cookie monsters! Susan of The Girl In The Little Red Kitchen and Kim of Cravings of a Lunatic have joined together this week with 23 of their blog friends to present to you a week of cookie treats! We have every type of cookie you can think of listed this week, including something for our furry friends! Now is the time to bookmark these recipes for the upcoming holidays and cookie swaps or simply visit our Pinterest board! Make sure you enter the giveaway with some fabulous prizes from KitchenAid, King Arthur Flour, OXO, Silpat and Zulka Pure Cane Sugar to help with your cookie making needs!

I had to kick off #cookieweek with a cookie OVERLOAD! You're pretty much getting 3 cookies in 1: 2 cookies, plus a filling of cookie dough. But these aren't just chocolate chip cookies or cookie dough, oh no, they're made with browned butter. And sea salt. AKA 2 of my most favoritest things to do to cookies.

Funny fact: these cookies are, in my opinion, best chilled. Which goes against most of my cookie preferences. But for whatever reason, the combo of cookies plus cookie dough just tastes better cold.

So, take a bite. A big bite. A bite that will cut through delectable cookies, a bite of sea salt, and a creamy, decadent, browned butter (eggless) cookie dough filling. It's like an experience. Possibly a healing one. I mean, I'm not saying these cookies will fix you but...ya know...I'm not saying they won't either.

Now, continue on past the recipe for an amazing #cookieweek GIVEAWAY and keep an eye out the rest of this week for more #cookieweek goodness!!

Brown Butter Gooey S'mores Bars

 Ugh. It's like...officially fall and stuff.

I feel like a toddler throwing a tantrum, "I DON'T WANNA I DON'T WANNA I DOOON'T WAAANNNAAA NOOOOO" but I just...I just want summer to stay a bit longer. So, I'm going to just be in denial (much like a child thinking if they cover their eyes you can't see them) and have s'mores bars and pretend it's still summer. *le sigh* 

Seriously, though, I just love s'mores. Just thinking of them makes me happy. Literally, in the days prior to baking these I was just giddy at the thought. Michael had a sore throat and had read marshmallows helped...so he asked me to go buy marshmallows. And I was STOKED! Buying marshmallows means I'll have to use up whatever is leftover (which in this case meant the whole bag, minus 2), which means I have a valid reason to make some S'MORES DESSERTS! Yessss!

These are so good that, after a tiny bite of 5 day old bar, my cousin Emily said, "It's a good thing you're not my girlfriend because you'd definitely make me fat." (this was in reference to Michael's earlier claim of getting fat-which he's not, for the record) I'll take that praise.

Now, I browned the butter in the super soft, chewy blondie base for these s'mores bars (because if I see melted butter, I'm gonna brown it) BUT you can totally skip that step. Honestly, you could barely detect a difference: there are pretty much more mix ins (graham crackers, chocolate, and marshmallows) than batter, so they definitely are the prevailing flavors. Regardless, you end up with wonderful soft cookies loaded with DELICIOUS pieces of graham cracker (prob. my fave part, I highly recommend homemade graham crackers), marshmallows that are gooey and have been toasted to a pretty golden brown in the oven, and gorgeous chunks of oozing chocolate. Oh and you just mix em up in one bowl-minimal dishes and no mixer needed, just a whisk and spatula!

S'mores are heaven. And they (almost) can make me forget that it's fall.