Butterscotch Cookies

 Now you KNOW I am not one to shy away from crazy desserts and snacks with strange combos of ingredients, right?  I think the very fact that I have Bacon Cinnamon Rolls on this blog is complete, incontrovertible proof that.  But every once in a while I get a longing for a simple, quiet, satisfying, low-key cookie.  My grandma's molasses cookies are the very best type of this sort of cookie, but these wonderful butterscotch cookies are definitely right up there.

This recipe is from the always wonderful Simply Recipes site.  Whenever I need a great, totally reliable, delicious recipe for something in particular, this is always one of the sites I check first.  In this case, I needed to have butterscotch cookies.  Not butterscotch pudding.  Not butterscotch brownies.  Not Butterscotch the cat.

Sorry Butters.

Nope, what I wanted was a perfect, simple, perfect butterscotch cookie, and here it is.  Maybe you need one too?

Butterscotch Cookies, from Simply Recipes

• 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon sized slices
• 1 3/4 cups dark brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Sugar Dredging Mixture

• 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons sugar

• Fleur de sel, Maldon, sea salt, or Kosher salt for sprinkling (don't use regular table salt, it won't taste right.)

1 Preheat oven to 375°F and line baking sheets with parchment paper. Sift together the flour, baking soda, and baking powder and set aside. Mix together the sugar dredging mixture in another bowl and set aside.
2 Place 10 tablespoons of butter into a thick-bottomed skillet over medium heat. The butter will foam a bit before subsiding. Once the butter takes on a tan color and begins to smell nutty take it off of the heat. Add the other two tablespoons of butter and mix it in until it melts.
3 Pour the brown butter into a mixing bowl fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the brown sugar and salt and mix. Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract and mix together, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl at least once. Add the flour mixture in three increments being sure to scrape down the sides and bottom once or twice. Mix just until the flour is incorporated. The dough will be very thick.
4 Take 1/2 to full tablespoon-sized pieces of dough (you can make them a bit bigger or smaller to your liking, just make sure the pieces of dough are all the same size) and gently roll them into ball shapes. Dredge them in the sugar dredging mixture until well-coated. Place on the baking sheet and sprinkle with a little bit of the sprinkling salt (be reserved with the salt as very little goes a long way).
5 Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges have browned a bit. Be careful not to over-bake. Allow to cool on the sheet for one minute before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Tastes best with a glass of milk for dipping.

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Butterscotch Pudding

A couple of months ago, the Southern husband and I went out to dinner to this fabulous place (pay attention, all you Rockland County New York readers out there) called Hudson House.  We had a simply fabulous meal there, and when it came time for dessert, we ordered butterscotch pudding, which you don't often see on menus and which sounded like a nice, regular dessert.  The owner (who is also the dessert chef) promised we would love it, saying it was based on Wolfgang Puck's recipe.

It was not a regular dessert.  It was an outstandingly creamy, silky, smooth pillow of butterscotch heaven on a spoon.  We devoured it down to the last molecule of butterscotch, and ever since then the Southern husband has been reminiscing about it.  Remember that butterscotch pudding?  Man, wasn't that butterscotch pudding out of this world?  Oh, that butterscotch pudding!

All right, all ready.  I thought, how hard could this be, and I went down a rocky, alarming butterscotch pudding road that was a little similar to the chicken-fried steak road I have been down before.  But I wasn't going to let that butterscotch pudding get the best of me, and I finally smartened up and Googled "Wolfgang Puck Butterscotch Pudding Recipe," and what do you know?  There it was.  And while it is supposed to be served chilled, let me just say that the Southern husband was licking the spoon, the bowl, the pot and the butterscotch drips on the counter, and musing aloud that warm pudding might be just as good as cold pudding.

Side note: when I was taking the picture, the pudding looked a little lonely by itself, and since I am STILL stumped about what to do with all the mint that is growing about 10 feet a day in my Aerogarden....

...I popped a sprig on top of each one, and it was just the right amount of festive.   So there you go - never let it be said that a butterscotch pudding got the best of ME!

Last but not least, I have to end with this seemingly unrelated picture of a cat.

It's my mom's cat, and his name is...Butterscotch.  Now it's all clear to you, right?

Butterscotch Pudding, from Wolfgang Puck via the LA Times

• 6 ounces butter
• 2 1/4 cups brown sugar, packed
• 2 1/2 cups half and half
• 10 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 cups milk or half and half
• 6 egg yolks
• 1 tablespoon vanilla

Combine butter and brown sugar in saucepan over low heat. Simmer 5 minutes, stirring. Add half and half, stirring until smooth.

Combine cornstarch and salt in bowl. Slowly stir in 1 cup milk or half and half until cornstarch dissolves. Add to saucepan with remaining 3 cups milk or half and half. Bring to boil over low heat, stirring constantly to prevent burning. Boil gently 2 minutes, stirring constantly until thickened. Remove from heat. Slowly whisk in egg yolks, stirring until smooth. Add vanilla.

Return saucepan to heat and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Strain and pour into 12 custard cups. Serve warm or cold. Makes 12 servings.

Click here for printable recipe

Maple Butterscotch Macadamia Blondies

Chocolate? Who needs chocolate when you have butterscotch, macadamia nuts and maple, all baked together into the richest blondie you will ever have in your LIFE? These delectable delightful treats are a breeze to make, and I promise that you will remember them long after the last one is gone, they are that wonderful.

I do have some words of wisdom for you about these babies. Ready?

1. Grease the pan really well. If you do, and if you run a knife around the outside edge while they are still pretty warm, you should have no problem popping them out of the pan.

2. Wait until they are completely cool before you cut them. It will be difficult. You will be sorely tempted. But until they are cool, they are very likely to fall apart when you cut them. Once they are cool, they are very well-behaved.

3. Cut them into small pieces. SMALL. When I say these are rich, I am not kidding around.

Okay, now that you have all these words of warning, I also have to say that these are hands down the best blondies I have ever eaten in my entire life. Yum, yum, a thousand times yum. Go get yourself some macadamia nuts and make these before any more time goes by.

MAPLE BUTTERSCOTCH MACADAMIA BLONDIES

• 3/4 cup chopped macadamia nuts
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 sticks butter, softened
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons maple extract
• 1 1/2 cups butterscotch chips

1. Preheat oven to 350. Place nuts on baking sheet and toast for 6 minutes. Remove from oven.

2. Grease 9 inch square cake pan.

3. In medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt.

4. In large bowl, combine butter and sugars and beat until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add eggs and maple extract and beat until combined.

5. Add flour mixture and mix slowly until combined. Stir in nuts and chips.

6. Spread batter in pan and bake for one hour.

7. Cook completely and cut into small, small, small squares.

Click here for printable recipe

Pumpkin Pie Bars

Tis the season for pumpkin - pumpkin pie, pumpkin soup, pumpkin bread, pumpkin muffins. I heart pumpkin. And so whenever a new recipe for pumpkin anything comes my way I will give it a try, especially in these early fall days when the frost is on the...pumpkin.

This recipe comes via my favorite baking site, Joy The Baker, and tastes like a cross between an oatmeal cookie and a slice of really great pumpkin pie. She says you can use either butterscotch or chocolate chips on the top - I made mine with butterscotch because them seemed more pumpkin-ish to me, but since I will definitely be making these another thousand times or so, I will try them with chocolate as well. As with most bar cookies, these are best if you cut them into pretty small squares (an inch or so). Plus that way you can eat ten of them at one time and still feel like you are having just a small bite. Right?

Happy autumn everyone, and bring on the pumpkin...

PUMPKIN PIE BARS, adapted from Joy The Baker

1 1/3 cups flour

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 sticks butter

1 cup old-fashioned oats

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1 8oz package cream cheese, softened

3 eggs

1 15oz can pumpkin

1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Handful of butterscotch or chocolate chips

1. Preheat oer to 350. Line 13x9 inch pan with foil, with ends extending over sides, and grease with cooking spray.

2. Combine flour, 1/4 cup of the sugar and all the brown sugar in medium bowl. Add butter and mix with 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. You can also do this by pulsing in the food processor. Stir in oats and nuts

3. Reserve 1 cup of the oat mixture and press the rest into the baking pan. Bake 15 minutes.

4. Beat cream cheese, remaining sugar, eggs, vanilla, pumpkin and spice until well blended and pour over crust. Sprinkle with remaining oat mixture and chips. Bake 25 minutes at 350.

5. Cool 10 minutes and use foil ends to transfer to cooling rack. Cool completely and then cut into squares.

6. Store in refrigerator.

Click here for Printable Recipe!