Oatmeal-Chocolate Chip Waffle Cookies

Baking cookie dough in a waffle iron takes about a minute and a half, a real time-saver when you've got to have warm cookies right away. These cookies, excerpted from the book Dessert Express, look like mini waffles, but they bake up just like oatmeal-chocolate chip cookies, with browned, toasty oats on the outside and gooey, melty chips. Once cooled, they look cute garnishing bowls of ice cream. 

Yields 24 cookies.

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbs. firmly packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1-1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (not instant)
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Nonstick cooking spray

Heat the waffle iron according to the manufacturer's instructions.
In a large bowl, whisk the butter and brown sugar until smooth. Whisk in the eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir in the oats and chocolate chips.
Coat the grids of the waffle iron with nonstick cooking spray. Use a tablespoon or small ice cream scoop to portion out a cookie onto each waffle square. Close the iron and cook until set and beginning to brown, 1-1/2 to 3 minutes, depending on the heat of your waffle iron. Use a thin metal spatula to transfer the cooked cookies to a wire rack and repeat with the remaining dough, coating the grids with spray as necessary.

Coffee Toffee

After discovering how it brings out all coffee’s awesomeness in baked goods, I had to add molasses to this one. Of course, if you don’t trust me that it only adds a subtle bitter tinge or are molasses-averse there are alternatives but we really liked it. And also the espresso — if a piece of candy could ever taste like a cup of coffee, this would be it.

1 cup (2 sticks or 8 ounces) butter
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons molasses (can swap corn syrup or honey)
1/4 teaspoon salt (or a heaping 1/4 teaspoon flaky sea salt)
1 1/2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, or 6 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts (toasted, skinned and cooled) or another nut of your choice

Line a small baking sheet (mine are 9×13, to fit in my puny oven) with parchment paper or a silicon mat and set aside.

In medium heavy saucepan (I used a 3-quart) with a candy thermometer attached, melt butter, brown sugar, molasses, salt and espresso together over together. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally with a whisk (one that reaches into the corners is especially helpful here) until the temperature approaches 250¯F, at which point you should stir constantly until it reaches 300¯F.

Pour immediately into the prepared baking sheet — you can spread it more evenly with a offset or silicon spatula but don’t worry if you have neither. Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the toffee and let them sit for a minute until soft, then spread the chocolate evenly over the candy base. Sprinkle the chocolate with chopped hazelnuts and then, if you’re as impatient as we are, you can slide the sheet onto a cooling rack in the freezer until the toffee is set.

Break into pieces and store in an airtight container. If you’re kitchen runs warm, you might prefer to keep it in the fridge so the chocolate doesn’t get soft.

Best Waffle Recipe Evah!

Courtesy of Better Homes and Gardens...

• 1 3/4 C. All Purpose flour
• 1 T. Baking Powder
• 1/4 t. Salt
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 3/4 C. Milk
• 1/2 C. cooking oil
• 2 egg whites

In a medium mixing bowl stir together flour, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in the center. In another bowl beat egg yolks slightly. Stir in milk and oil. Add egg yolk mixture all at once to the dry mixture. Stir just till moistened (should be lumpy).

Now the important part. In a small bowl beat egg whites until stiff peaks form (tips stand straight up). Gently fold egg whites into flour and egg yolk mixture, leaving a few fluffs of egg white, DO NOT OVERMIX. And proceed to make your waffles, about a cup of mixture to make a waffle. Good luck

Mulled Beer

You've just walked through the door. It's freezing outside and you would like something hot to drink. Forget hot chocolate or tea, there is something much, much better--a hot glass of beer. Yes, you heard it correctly. For most of beer's 100 centuries of history, people enjoyed it without any kind of refrigeration, and so can you. This sweet, creamy recipe will warm you up on any cold, winter night.

• 12-16 oz decent-quality beer (the contents of your average bottle or can of beer)
• 1 chicken egg, separated
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 pinch ground ginger, or 1 slice (sometimes called "coins") of ginger 1/4" long
• 1 pinch ground nutmeg
• 1-2 pinch(es) cinnamon, or 1" section of a cinnamon stick
• 1 pinch ground cloves or 2-5 whole cloves
• 1 tablespoon honey

1. Put beer in a small saucepan and add spices.
2. Heat beer and spices in a small saucepan on low to medium-low heat. If the beer begins to boil, turn down the heat. The beer will begin to foam, but should subside after a minute or two.
3. Separate the egg white from the egg yolk and put in a small bowl. This recipe only uses the egg yolk.
4. Add two teaspoons of sugar to the egg yolk.
5. Beat the sugar and yolk with a whisk or fork until it becomes nearly white (it's the hardest part!).
6. Optional but recommended - Temper the yolk mixture. To prevent "scrambling" the egg yolk mixture by the heat of the beer, you can temper the mixture by adding 1-2 tablespoon(s) of the hot beer to the yolk mixture very slowly and mixing thoroughly.
7. Add the yolk mixture slowly to the warm beer and continue to heat for 5 minutes. Stir gently.
8. Add honey to taste.
9. Use a strainer to sieve out any egg pieces that may have formed, if you like. This likely will not have happened if you tempered the yolk mixture before adding it to the beer.
10. Drink and enjoy!

Sbiten

During the winter months, everybody craves a delicious hot beverage such as hot chocolate, tea, and cider. But what if you want to try something different? In Russia, Sbiten (Russian, сбитень) is a traditional honey-based beverage consumed during the long winter months. It's actually very simple to prepare and tastes a lot like fruity tea. Here's how to prepare this comforting drink.

Makes 10 servings

• 1/2 cup of pure honey
• 1 tsp of cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 tsp ginger
• 16 ounces (1 lb) blackberry jam
• 10 1/4 cups water
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1 mint leaf (optional)

1. Bring 10 1/4 cups of water to a boil.
2. Add the ginger, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, honey and homemade blackberry jam and stir gently.
3. Turn the heat down to about medium-low and bring it to a simmer. Stir the mixture for 6 minutes then take the pot off the stove.
4. Let cool for 2 minutes. Afterward, ladle the hot beverage into 10 mugs.