Susan Mallery's Fool's Gold Cookbook: A Love Story Told Through 150 Recipes (Fool's Gold #12.1)

For filling:

1. In a large bowl with an electric mixer on high speed, beat cream cheese and butter until blended. Add powdered sugar; beat until light and fluffy. Add additional sugar as needed to reach desired consistency. Sandwich filling between 2 cooled cookies.

TIP: For guaranteed liftoff and ease in cleanup, line your baking sheets with parchment paper or invest in a nonstick baking pad.

WINTER

WINTER

White and Dark Chocolate Chunk Cookie Pie

An oversized chocolate chunk cookie shaped like a pie—what fun for kids and adults alike!

Serves 10

1¼ cups all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon baking powder

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

1 cup light-brown sugar

1 large egg, plus 1 egg yolk

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

6 ounces (about 1 cup) semisweet chocolate chunks

6 ounces (about 1 cup) white chocolate chunks

¾ cup toasted walnuts, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. In a bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, salt and baking powder.

2. Melt butter in a 9-inch cast-iron skillet over low heat. Remove from heat; whisk in brown sugar until completely dissolved and smooth.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk egg, yolk and vanilla until frothy. Whisk in melted butter mixture from the pan. Fold in dry ingredients just until blended. Fold in both chocolates and walnuts. Scrape dough back into the buttery skillet. Bake 20 to 25 minutes until just set in the middle and shiny on top. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

TIP: Substitute a 9-inch cake pan if you don’t have the correct size cast-iron skillet. Melt the butter in the microwave and prep the cake pan by rubbing the empty butter wrapper on the bottom and sides.

WINTER

Chocolate Marble Gooey Bars

Crazy easy, crazy delicious. Almost magically, the cake mix forms a shortbreadlike crust for the marbled cream-cheese filling.

Makes 24

Crust

Butter, to grease pan

1 box yellow cake mix

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

1 large egg

Filling

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, at room temperature

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 box (1 pound) powdered sugar

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

⅔ cup semisweet chocolate chips

Powdered sugar, for sprinkling

For crust:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly butter a 9-by-13-inch baking pan.

2. With an electric mixer at high speed, beat cake mix, melted butter and egg until blended. Dough will be a thick mass. Press mixture evenly into prepared pan.

For filling:

1. In the same electric mixer bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add eggs and vanilla; beat until blended. Beat in powdered sugar. Reduce mixer speed; beat in butter.

2. In a microwaveable bowl, melt chocolate chips in the microwave. Using a measuring cup, scoop out ⅔ cup of filling batter; stir into melted chocolate until blended. Spread the remaining filling over the cake layer. Drop chocolate batter in blobs over the filling. Using a knife, swirl the batter to create a marbled effect in the filling. Bake for 35 minutes, until golden brown around the edges but still jiggly in the center. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. When cool, cut into bars and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

TIP: Don’t be afraid to remove bars from the oven when the filling still looks underbaked.

WINTER

Chunky Chewy Oatmeal Toffee Cookies

The trick to baking a really thick, chewy cookie is to chill the dough before baking. You can form and bake the cookies when the dough is cold.

Makes about 18

1 cup all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

¾ cup light-brown sugar, packed

1 large egg

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1¼ cups rolled oats

1 cup chopped chocolate-covered toffee bars (such as Heath bars)

1 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking pads. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking soda and salt.

2. In a large bowl with an electric mixer on high speed, beat butter, brown sugar, egg and vanilla until blended. Add dry ingredients; beat just until combined. Remove from mixer; fold in oats, toffee and walnuts. Chill the dough for at least 20 minutes or up to 24 hours.

3. Drop cookies in large craggy spoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake 10 minutes, until golden around the edges but still wet-looking in the middle. Let cool in the pans for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

TIP: Traditional (or “old-fashioned”) rolled oats, not the quick-cooking kind, work best for baking.

CHAPTER 11