Millionaire's Shortbread

To be completely honest, I have never heard of Millionaire's Shortbread. When I heard about "Millionaire's Shortbread", the first thing that came to mind was that it was some sort of dessert that has to do with shortbread, obviously. But what exactly is it? While watching a show on the food network called 5 Ingredient Fix with Claire Robinson, I was intrigued when she said at the top of the show that she would be making Millionaire's Shortbread. To find out what Millionaire's Shortbread was, I watched the whole show and now understand what it is. Simply, Millionaire's Shortbread is a "cookie" that has a layer of shortbread, a layer of caramel and finally, a layer of chocolate to top it off. It's sort of like a Twix candy bar. Sounds good, right? I mean, we're talking about caramel and chocolate! That's definitely one of my favorite combinations when it comes to dessert. The best part is, even though it has three layers to it, it's pretty simple to make. You probably already have the ingredients on hand just waiting to be turned into Millionaire's Shortbread. This is the first time making it and the recipe is from Claire Robinson's show. *This is definitely a test recipe.

Millionaire's Shortbread
Ingredients
Shortbread:
2 sticks butter, cut into small pieces, plus more for preparing pans
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for preparing pans
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
Caramel Layer:
2 (14-ounce) cans sweetened condensed milk
2 tablespoons butter
Chocolate Topping:
3/4 pound good-quality milk chocolate
Directions
Shortbread:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter 2 (8-inch) square nonstick pans and coat with flour, tapping off excess. Place the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse once. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles peas. Press the shortbread mixture into prepared pans and bake until golden brown around the edges, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.

Caramel Layer:

In a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-low heat, combine the condensed milk and 2 tablespoons of butter. Slowly bring the mixture to a boil, stirring continuously. Continue stirring over the heat until mixture becomes thick and amber in color, about 15 minutes. Pour the caramel over the cooked shortbread and spread evenly using an offset spatula. Cool to room temperature.

Chocolate Topping:

In a glass bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water, melt the chocolate. Once chocolate has melted, pour it over the cooled caramel layer. Cool at room temperature for about 10 minutes, and then place in the refrigerator to cool completely, allowing chocolate to slightly harden but not get hard. Cut into 2-inch squares and enjoy, or store in an airtight container, at room temperature, or my favorite - keep in the refrigerator for a yummy sweet and cool treat!

Millionaire's Shortbread is SOOO GOOD! I mean, the chocolate was of course good, the caramel was made with ONE ingredient so that was easy and the shortbread was simple to make. Overall, I do think this recipe needs to be tweaked. The things I would tweak would probably be adding more salt along the way, whether it be in the shortbread or caramel, to balance out the sweetness and the shortbread was definitely one dimensional. It needed that, what I like to say "Somethin, somethin" to bring it to the next level. But, in all, really great "cookie" that reminded me of a fresh take on a Twix candy bar but looks fancier.


-Aaron John
My Food Outings: AJ's Food Adventure
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White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

After searching through various food blogs, I stumbled across a cookie that used Cranberries and White Chocolate. This got me very curious. I knew I had bought some cranberries previously because I wanted to try a biscotti recipe that used cranberries and pistachios but with just my luck, the store didn't have pistachios. So, hoping I would get pistachios soon, I bought the cranberries anyway. However, a few days went by and I still didn't get some pistachios. When I stumbled upon the recipe that used cranberries, I said to myself "Why not?". I saw that the recipe for the batter was very similar to a chocolate chip cookie batter. In doing so, to make things easier on myself, I decided to just use my chocolate chip cookie recipe and add the cranberries and white chocolate instead. Sounded like a good idea, right? Well it actually was! The combination of the tart but sweet cranberries with the vanilla flavored white chocolate was actually really good. The white chocolate made the cranberries less tart and more sweet which was a delight. So, for the third time, I'm going to post Tyler Florence's chocolate chip cookie batter recipe with the addition of cranberries and white chocolate. X)

White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup white sugar
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 (8-ounce) block white chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup of dried cranberries (cut into smaller pieces)
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.

Place the butter, sugar, and brown sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer; cream together on medium speed until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Beat in the vanilla and eggs. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture and continue to mix until a smooth batter forms. Turn off the mixer and fold in the chocolate chunks using the spatula.

To form the cookies, scoop about 1/4 cup of cookie dough into your hands and roll it around into a ball; place them about 3-inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets; you should get about 4 cookies on each pan. Press down the tops of the dough slightly and bake until the cookies are light brown, 12 minutes for chewy cookies, or about 15 minutes for crispy cookies.

Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough/cookie sheets.

Makes 1 dozen (5-inch) cookies


-Aaron John
My Food Outings: AJ's Food Adventure
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Chocolate Chip Macadamia Nut Cookies

Ever since I can remember, every time I were to go to the mall with my parents growing up, my mom always did one thing. Buy a chocolate chip macadamia nut cookie from Mrs. Fields. I have to say, when I was younger, the chocolate chip macadamia nut cookie was not my favorite at all. I just didn't like the combination of a nut and chocolate in my cookie. However, over the years, as my taste for foods developed, I have grown to love the combination of macadamia nuts and chocolate. I do have to say, I do love the classic Chocolate Chip Cookie more though. In turn, since I began to make chocolate chip cookies, my mom suggested that put macadamia nuts in them just for her and so I did exactly that. The macadamia nuts give a nutty, salty, buttery flavor to the cookie which is a nice way to cut the sweetness that the chocolate gives to the cookie. In order to make these cookies, I used the exact recipe I have for chocolate chip cookies but just have an additional step of adding macadamia nuts. Since I'm not ready to give up my chocolate chip cookie recipe, I'm going to give Tyler Florence's cookie recipe (once again) with the amount of macadamia nuts I usually add.

Chocolate Chip Macadamia Nut Cookies
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup white sugar
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 (8-ounce) block dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup macadamia nuts

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.

Place the butter, sugar, and brown sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer; cream together on medium speed until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Beat in the vanilla and eggs. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture and continue to mix until a smooth batter forms. Turn off the mixer and fold in the chocolate chunks using the spatula.

To form the cookies, scoop about 1/4 cup of cookie dough into your hands and roll it around into a ball; place them about 3-inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets; you should get about 4 cookies on each pan. Press down the tops of the dough slightly and bake until the cookies are light brown, 12 minutes for chewy cookies, or about 15 minutes for crispy cookies.

Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough/cookie sheets.

Makes 1 dozen (5-inch) cookies

-Aaron John
My Food Outings: AJ's Food Adventure
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Sugar Cookies

There are essentially two main types of sugar cookies: Rolled or scooped. I personally do not like recipes that involve rolling out a sugar cookie. There are all these requirements of having to chill the dough, flouring a surface, having it be a certain thickness, having cookie cutters, etc. The list goes on and on. Not to mention that you have a huge mess to clean up afterwards. Who really has the time to do all the complicated steps of a rolled sugar cookie? That is exactly why I love the scooped sugar cookie. It's quick and easy (less messy too). Just like a chocolate chip cookie, I desire that chew, height and, especially for a sugar cookie, a great vanilla flavor. Over the years I have always stuck to one of my personal recipes for sugar cookies but recently I found a new recipe for sugar cookies at a different blog named Delish. Curious about how they would come out, I decided to make them and compare them to my recipe. *Keep in mind that this is a TEST recipe.

Soft Sugar Cookies
2 cups granulated sugar*
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
14 Tbsp (1 3/4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350°F. Spread 1/2 cup of the sugar* in a shallow dish for coating and set aside. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together and set aside.

Beat the butter and remaining 1 1/2 cups sugar together in a large bowl using an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3-6 minutes. Beat in the vanilla, then the eggs, one at a time, until combined, about 30 seconds, scraping down the bowl & beaters as needed.

Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly mix in the flour mixture until combined, about 30 seconds. Give the dough a final stir with a rubber spatula to make sure dough is combined.

Line large baking sheets with parchment paper. Using wet palms, roll 2 Tablespoons of dough at a time into balls, then roll in sugar to coat. Place balls on parchment-lined baking sheets, spaced 2 inches apart. Flatten cookies with the buttered bottom of a drinking glass, then sprinkle and remaining sugar over flattened tops.

Bake cookies, one sheet at a time, until the edges are set and just beginning to brown but the centers are still soft and puffy, 10-12 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through baking. Allow cookies to cook on baking sheet for 10 minutes, then serve warm or transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.

* If you have vanilla sugar, substitute 1/2 cup for vanilla sugar for rolling cookies

Makes 2 dozen cookies

This sugar cookie is one that I will not stick to. While making these cookies I actually made a mistake. Since I usually know the steps in making cookies I immediately added ALL the sugar to the butter and creamed them together. It was not until after I creamed them together that I saw you had to RESERVE 1/2 a cup of the sugar. BIG MISTAKE!! Well, to make up for it, I did add a bit more butter and flour. The outcome was something not that great. It wasn't as chewy as my recipe. There was a chew around the edges but the center was very "cake-like" but it still had a nice flavor. I'm sorry but when I want a cookie, I don't want it to have a texture of cake. I expected something totally different. Feel free to try out this recipe and tell me your thoughts on it. As for me, I'm sticking to my original recipe.


-Aaron John
My Food Outings: AJ's Food Adventure
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The Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Out There

Ahhh, the chocolate chip cookie. The all-time american favorite. No matter who you are, you probably have eaten a chocolate chip cookie (even the raw cookie dough) once in your lifetime, right? I mean, who can resist? It's an irresistible, sweet vanilla flavored batter, that is enhanced by the addition of CHOCOLATE!! My fav!! From dark, to milk, to even white chocolate, it all seems to work in a chocolate chip cookie. Whatever your prefer, the vanilla flavored batter is just a vehicle for the chocolate. Chocolate chip cookies are so popular today that a variety of brands compete with their own version of a chocolate chip cookie. However, none of those pre-packaged cookies compare to a chocolate chip cookie that is made from scratch with the best ingredients you can find. Not even pre-made cookie dough in the refrigerator section of your grocery store can compare. There's just something about starting out with various ingredients, mixing them together and creating a cookie you can call your own and have the knowledge of what exactly is in it.

There are many recipes for a chocolate chip cookie and I believe that I have the best one. I have tweaked my recipe so much that I believe it is definitely the best chocolate chip cookie out there. In a chocolate chip cookie, I look for a nice chew, a cookie that has some height to it, the right amount of sweetness and vanilla flavor in the batter and just enough chocolate to enhance the cookie and bring it to the next level without overpowering the cookie to the point where I think I'm eating a chocolate bar instead of a cookie. I first started off with a recipe from Tyler Florence that I used for 4 years. However, there was something off about them. It didn't have that chewy aspect that I desired in a cookie. They were more "cake-like" rather than "cookie-like". They did have a nice flavor though. Then about 2 years ago, I discovered an even better recipe that I now have been using. With this recipe, I have adapted it by changing the measurements of flour, sugar and vanilla so now it's something that I'm proud to give to people. These cookies, have that height, the chew, the flavor and the right amount of chocolate to make what I think is the Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie. That's why mine are the best :) I have to say, I kind of had to skimp on the chocolate since I ran out X). They still tasted great nonetheless.

If you would like to try the cookie recipe of Tyler Florence, here it is:

My Big, Fat Chocolate Chip Cookie
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup white sugar
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 (8-ounce) block dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.

Place the butter, sugar, and brown sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer; cream together on medium speed until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Beat in the vanilla and eggs. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture and continue to mix until a smooth batter forms. Turn off the mixer and fold in the chocolate chunks using the spatula.

To form the cookies, scoop about 1/4 cup of cookie dough into your hands and roll it around into a ball; place them about 3-inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets; you should get about 4 cookies on each pan. Press down the tops of the dough slightly and bake until the cookies are light brown, 12 minutes for chewy cookies, or about 15 minutes for crispy cookies.

Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough/cookie sheets.

Makes 1 dozen (5-inch) cookies

As for my own recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookies, that will remain a secret until that day when I become famous :P As for now, enjoy the cookie of Tyler Florence because that was the first ever recipe I used and the very first recipe that started off my baking passion.


-Aaron John
My Food Outings: AJ's Food Adventure
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Another Blog?

The answer is YES! I decided to create another blog to coincide with my other blog called AJ's Food Adventure. Anyways, I started cooking and baking about 6 or 7 years ago. I was always in awe watching my parents cook and it gave me the drive to do my own cooking and baking. It's definitely something that relieves me from stress and i can't imagine my life without my talents in the kitchen. Over the years, I've been testing recipes and making them my own, tweaking them just enough so that it pleases me and everyone around. In turn, that is exactly why I wanted to make another blog. The first focusing on, what I call, "food adventures" where I taste delicious foods from various restaurants and this blog will be used to share my recipe testing that I do. My main focus is to make a sweet or savory item from one of my own recipes that I have tweaked or try out a brand new recipe. This will be done each week, suggestions on food will be taken and ya'll get to see what I make! Whether I will share my own tweaked recipes is still up in the air. Maybe when I get famous then I'll share them :P However, I will definitely be posting the brand new recipes that I test out and give my opinions on it. So definitely suggest recipes you would want me to try and I hope you all will enjoy this brand new blog!! :D

Almost forgot, the blog name. So why is this blog called "AJCooks"? Well, it's all because of my great friend Michael Appelgate. I needed a name for this blog and I had no ideas. Michael Appelgate came up with this name. Basically, he played with my initials of "AJC "and came up with "AJCooks". So, thanks a bunch to Michael!!

I will have a my first post for this blog soon :)

**Update: The new name of this blog is now "AJ's Cooking Secrets"

-Aaron John
My Food Outings: AJ's Food Adventure
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