I mentioned on Sunday that I baked some cookies and in the essence of Christmas, I wanted to give some away. I decided that since I do not have “coworkers” to test them, and my parents live 3 hours away, I would have Jeff send them in to work for his team to Taste Test for me. I thought it would also be a cool feature of the blog to do every now and then.
I sent in 3 types that I modified from their original recipes, which reduced all of their saturated fat contents and also reduced the sugar a little without adding artificial anything.
1. Nana’s Chocolate Windows (Recipes Below Taste Test Results)
2a.Neiman Marcus $250 Cookies (Recipe at the bottom of this post)
2b. Same as Neiman Marcus only I added in mini Reese Pieces
Taste Test Results from Four Engineers’
Emily :
"First off, Andy and I THANK YOU for the tasty treats. Here’s our feedback on the deliciocity of these cookies:
1. This is Andy’s favorite. Only comment was that it leaves too much chocolatey-goodness on my hands when I’m done eating
2a.delicious balance of oatmeal and chocolate – not too sweet, but still a nice treat after dinner
2b. Nice improvement on the Neiman Marcus cookie. Just a small bit sweeter, perfect for afternoon tea .
Sign me up for more tastings in the future!
All the best,
Justin:
Chocolate Windows: I usually do not like peanut butter in a cookie but I did like these. The peanut butter flavor was not overpowering. The cookies were very soft but not messy.
a. Neiman Marcus Cookies: Chocolate chip is my favorite cookie so I liked those cookies the most. However they did not have nearly as much chips compared to 2b.
b. Added Reese’s Pieces: This cookie came in third for me only because of the peanut butter factor, but I liked them because they had a high quantity of chips and Reese’s Pieces
Woody:
Thank you for the cookies! I am not a dark chocolate or marshmallow person. I did try the Windows and they weren't bad, but not my cup of tea. The Neiman Marcus cookies were good! They were just the right moisture so they didn't crumble, but they weren't doughy either. Good blend of flavor and no one taste over powered the rest. Just the right amount of chocolate chips in them as well.
Jason Christ ( you pronounce it like "wrist"...but we like to refer to him as Christ as in Jebus Christ)
The Clog: That’s short for cookie blog.
Chocolate chip one (Neiman Marcus?) was great. Thick cookies like that can get crunchy because it takes longer to bake them but it was soft and chewy. And extra chewy because of the oatmeal. I like the small bits of oatmeal instead of the big flakes of oats. Those are probably awesome when they are warm out of the oven.
The chocolate door was a good blend of crispy to cut the sweetness and strength of all the chocolate so it’s more of a cookie than a piece of candy. I’ve had those made with golden grahams instead of rice krispies and I think these are better.
My only suggestions would be just like maybe a whole garbage-bag-full of them just for me
Thank You Everyone!! I thought this was fun so I am sure I will do another one sometime in the near future! Here are all the recipes, original and healthier!
Original Recipe CHOCOLATE Windows
12 oz. Chocolate Chips
1 Cup Peanut Butter
1/2 Cup Butter or Margarine
Melt ingredients in double boiler. Remove from heat & let cool
slightly.
Mix In:
2 Cups Miniature Marshmallows
2 Cups Rice Krispies
Put in a greased 8" x8" pan. Place in refrigerator. Once set, cut
into squares.
Healthier Recipe CHOCOLATE Windows
12 oz. Chocolate Chips ( I used milk chocolate and semi-sweet)
1 Cup Smucker's All Natural Peanut Butter
1/2 Cup Smart Balance 50/50
Melt ingredients in double boiler. Remove from heat & let cool
slightly.
Mix In:
2 Cups Miniature Marshmallows (I used more cuz I like em!)
2 Cups Rice Krispies
Put in a 8" x8" pan. Place in refrigerator. Once set, cut
into squares.
The important changes I made were using a peanut butter that has no Trans Fat, and cutting out butter/margarine with Smart Balance also cuts out Trans Fat- which could also be called "man-made Fat poison". Essentially, the manufactures of products that have Trans Fat take healthy, unsaturated fat ( which molecularly has a kink(s) in its form- creates easier fluidity through your body) then they partially hydrogenate it so that it can last longer on the shelf ( this takes the kink out of the molecule making it a solid straight fat molecule that builds up in your arteries ).
I did something similar with the Neiman Marcus' as well.
"Neiman Marcus Cookies"
Jeff's mom makes these at christmas and they are DELICIOUS! I made changes to the recipe but not too many because I would hate to have a less than stellar comparison.
Out of The Oven
Inside
Original Recipe:
1 cups butter
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cups granulated sugar
1 cups brown sugar
2.5 cups blended oatmeal (measure oatmeal and blend in blender to a fine powder)
12 oz. chocolate chips
1/2 tsp. salt
4 oz. Hershey bar (grated)
2 eggs
1 tsp. baking powder
1.5 cups chopped nuts (your choice)
1 tsp. vanilla
Cream the butter and both sugars. Add eggs and vanilla; mix together with flour, oatmeal, salt, baking powder, and soda. Add chocolate chips, Hershey bar and nuts. Roll into balls and place two inches apart on a cookie sheet..Bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees. Makes 56 cookies
Our Healthier Recipe
3/4 cups Smart Balance 50/50 butter
1 cup Organic Whole Grain White AP Flour
1 cup AP flour
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2.5 cups blended oatmeal (measure oatmeal and blend in blender to a fine powder)
12 oz. chocolate chips
1/2 tsp. salt
4 oz. Hershey bar (grated)
2 eggs
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. bourbon
( to the last half of the batch I added Reese's Pieces Minis - Jeff's fav)
Cream the butter and both sugars. Add eggs and liquor. Mix together flour, oatmeal, salt, baking powder, and soda. Add to creamed mix, then add chocolate chips, Hershey bar. Roll into balls and place two inches apart on a cookie sheet..Bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees. Makes 56 cookies
1 comments:
I am overwhelmed with cookie delight!
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