CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE DOUGH TRUFFLES

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE DOUGH TRUFFLES
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips
chocolate bark, to melt for dipping
additional chocolate chips, sprinkles, etc., optional for topping the truffles
1. In a large bowl, use electric mixer to cream together butter and brown sugar. Add vanilla. Beat in flour, 1 cup at a time, until it is incorporated and you no longer see chunks of brown sugar (if you spot any, squish them). Beat in sweetened condensed milk and mix until well-combined. Stir in 1 cup of chocolate chips.
2. Cover bowl and refrigerate until dough is firm (at least 1 hour). Use cookie scoop to scoop out heaping Tablespoonfuls, roll into balls and place on a waxed paper-lined cookie sheet. Place all of the rolled balls back into the refrigerator until you are ready to dip them in chocolate.
3. Melt chocolate bark in a glass bowl- easiest to do in the microwave in 30 second bursts, stirring after each heating time, until smooth. Use a spoon to help you dip the chilled dough ball into the chocolate and roll it around to cover all sides. Place it on a waxed paper-lined platter. Sprinkle with any desired toppings. Repeat with the rest of the dough balls. Keep them refrigerated until ready to serve.
Yield: 3 to 4 dozen truffles
Tips:
*I used the Ghirardelli Candy Making Dipping Bar- both Double Chocolate and White flavors. It’s available at Sam’s Club- they may have it at Costco too.
*You may wish to speed up the chilling process and place the balls into the freezer, but it’s not such a good idea. The dough freezes up and then when it begins to warm up again- it expands and may cause the chocolate coating to crack.

Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread

Let’s start at the beginning.  We’re making a yeasted dough, rolling it out flat, covering it in butter, cinnamon and sugar, and slicing it into little squares.  The squares are then stacked into a loaf pan and baked.

I did this all without the use of a stand mixer and dough hook.  I stirred and kneaded by hand… it was way easy.

This dough can be made and left to rise , then refrigerated overnight for use in the morning.  The cold dough is a bit easier to roll out than room temperature dough… but I made this recipe without chilling the dough overnight, and I had success.

This is the dough just before it’s left to rise.  It looks a little wet, right?  Yea… this is a bit of a sticky dough.  Try to resist loading the dough up with a ton of flour… it should be sticky.

After the dough has rested and risen for an hour, I knead it in a few tablespoons of flour.  It’s soft, and no longer sticky… and just a little pillow of heaven.

This is the part in the bread process where you can wrap the dough and place it in the fridge to rest overnight.  Once you’re ready to work with it, let the dough sit on the counter for about 30 minutes before rolling out.

I worked with my dough right away.  I rolled it 12-inches tall and about 20-inches long.  Then I slathered it with browned butter, cinnamon, and sugar.

I can’t even deal.

I sliced the dough, vertically, into six long strips.  I stacked em.  I sliced em into six little stacks of dough squares.  I drooled a little.

This is the dough stacked into a greased and floured 9×5-inch loaf pan… then I prayed for the patience to wait for this dough to rise again.

After 30 minutes in the oven… oh man…. bread heaven.

I carefully took the bread out of the pan while still warm.  It sunk and oozed just a bit, but it was so delicious warm.  Incredible.  Warm pull-apart yeasty sugar dough.  I don’t know what other words you want me to say.

Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread

Makes: one 9×5x3-inch loaf
Recipe adapted from HungryGirlPorVida
Print this Recipe!
For the Dough:
2 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons (1 envelope) active dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 ounces unsalted butter
1/3 cup whole milk
1/4 cup water
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For the Filling:
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
2 ounces unsalted butter, melted until browned
In a large mixing bowl (I used just the bowl of my stand mixer) whisk together 2 cups flour, sugar, yeast, and salt.  Set aside.
Whisk together eggs and set aside.
In a small saucepan, melt together milk and butter until butter has just melted.  Remove from the heat and add water and vanilla extract.  Let mixture stand for a minute or two, or until the mixture registers 115 to 125 degrees F.
Pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients and mix with a spatula.  Add the eggs and stir the mixture until the eggs are incorporated into the batter.  The eggs will feel soupy and it’ll seem like the dough and the eggs are never going to come together.  Keep stirring.  Add the remaining 3/4 cup of flour and stir with the spatula for about 2 minutes.  The mixture will be sticky.  That’s just right.
Place the dough is a large,  greased bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap and a clean kitchen towel.  Place in a warm space and allow to rest until doubled in size, about 1 hour.  *The dough can be risen until doubled in size, then refrigerated overnight for use in the morning.  If you’re using this method, just let the dough rest on the counter for 30 minutes before following the roll-out directions below.
While the dough rises, whisk together the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg for the filling.  Set aside.  Melt 2 ounces of butter until browned.  Set aside.  Grease and flour a 9×5x3-inch  loaf pan.  Set that aside too.
Deflate the risen dough and knead about 2 tablespoons of flour into the dough.  Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rest for 5 minutes.  On a lightly floured work surface, use a rolling pin to roll the dough out.  The dough should be 12-inches tall and about 20-inches long.  If you can’t get the dough to 20-inches long… that’s okay.  Just roll it as large as the dough will go.  Use a pastry brush to spread melted butter across all of the dough.  Sprinkle with all of the sugar and cinnamon mixture.  It might seem like a lot of sugar.  Seriously?  Just go for it.
Slice the dough vertically, into six equal-sized strips.  Stack the strips on top of one another and slice the stack into six equal slices once again.  You’ll have six stacks of six squares.  Layer the dough squares in the loaf pan like a flip-book.  Place a kitchen towel over the loaf pan and allow in a warm place for 30 to 45 minutes or until almost doubled in size.
Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.  Place loaf in the oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the top is very golden brown.  The top may be lightly browned, but the center may still be raw.  A nice, dark, golden brown will ensure that the center is cooked as well.
Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 20 to 30 minutes.   Run a butter knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the bread and invert onto  a clean board.  Place a cake stand or cake plate on top of the  upside down loaf, and carefully invert so it’s right side up.  Serve warm with coffee or tea.
I think this bread is best served the day it’s made, but it can also we wrapped and kept at room temperature for up to 2 days.

Panda Bread steps

Making Panda Bread isn’t easy, especially when you’re trying to make a face inside a bread (not something I do every day!). However, the hard work is so worth it when you slice open the sandwich loaf, peek inside and see a fun panda staring back at you. Who doesn’t love that?

To start off right with this bread, I suggest using unbleached all-purpose flour, as opposed to bread flour, because you’ll be working the bread a lot and don’t want the gluten to toughen. Gold Medal’s unbleached all-purpose flour is definitely up to the challenge.
Admittedly, I ran into some roadblocks while making this bread. The biggest one was deciding how to make the green dough. Though matcha, or green tea powder, works well and delivers a unique flavor, it’s also crazy expensive. If you’re not willing to drop some serious change on the stuff, green food coloring will also do the trick.

Another roadblock was, of course, making the panda face. These photos, combined with recipe directions, give step-by-step instructions on how to construct the face. As you can see, mine still didn’t turn out perfectly, but it was pretty darn close! Plus, I think it adds character.

Don’t get me wrong – despite the challenges, this was an incredibly fun, unique bread to make. And the flavor – a light, enriched white sandwich bread – was delightful. Though it was a little weird eating a panda’s face.

Panda Bread

Prep Time: 2 hours 30 minutes

Servings: 1 sandwich loaf

Total Time: 3 hours

Ingredients

• 3 cups Gold Medal unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 tbsp sugar
• 1 cup milk w/ 1 egg yolk (both should total 1 cup together)
• 3/4 tbsp salt
• 1 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
• 1 tbsp green tea (matcha) powder mixed w/ 2 tsp hot water, OR green food coloring
• 3 1/2 tsp cocoa powder mixed w/ 1 1/2 tsp hot water
• 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast

Directions

1. 1In a small bowl, microwave milk and egg yolk for about 30 seconds. Set aside.
2. 2In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine flour, sugar and yeast.
3. 3Add in butter, salt and milk mixture, stirring on low speed with the dough hook attachment.
4. 4Increase speed to medium and knead until dough comes together and pulls away from the sides, about 5-10 minutes. If the dough is sticky, add a tbsp-ful of dough at a time until it is smooth and elastic.
5. 5Divide dough into three pieces, two about equal and one about 1/3 the size of the other two.
6. 6Place one of the large pieces in the stand mixer bowl and mix with green tea/water mixture OR green tea food coloring until desired color is reached.
7. 7Remove dough from bowl and place in a lightly greased bowl, covered, to rise until doubled.
8. 8Clean stand mixer bowl, then place smallest piece of dough in stand mixer and combine with cocoa powder/water mixture until color is blended through. Remove dough from bowl and place in a separate, lightly greased bowl, covered, to rise until doubled.
9. 9Place plain piece of dough in a separate, lightly greased bowl, covered, to rise until doubled. All pieces should double in about an hour.
10. 10Once dough is risen, on a floured surface, divide plain dough in thirds, with one piece being half the size of the other two (as you did before). Use one of the larger pieces to form the face. Divide the cocoa dough in quarters and use two quarters to form the eyes.
11. 11Quickly place the smallest piece of plain dough between the eyes to keep them in place. Stretch remaining piece of plain dough over the whole bread to lock everything in place.
12. 12Take last two quarters of cocoa dough and form the ears.
13. 13Divide green dough in two pieces, one twice the size of the other. Take the small piece to fill in the space between the ears. Take the larger piece of green dough and stretch over the whole bread to lock everything in place.
14. 14Place dough in a lightly greased loaf pan, cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
15. 15Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
16. 16Once dough is risen, bake for about 30 minutes or until golden brown on the outside (the inside should register 190 degrees F). Allow to cool completely on a cooling rack before slicing or serving.