Cake Boss Black And White Cookies, Take Two

Wow  I didn't realize how ugly this picture was until now.  Oh well, they tasted awesome.  And I only know this because I may have eaten about 40 of them.

 So way back last year, I got to meet he Cake Boss, not a huge meeting, just a "thanks for watching"  sort of thing at a book signing.  It was neat because Pork Chop got to give him a few treats and he was really excited to meet a celebrity.  Anyway, we got a book and I poured over it for things to make.  And the first thing I made were these black and white cookies.  That was before Christmas last year.  And ever since then I have wanted to make them again.

 Once you taste these you will understand, they are like sugar pillows covered in a sugar blanket.  Which if you try not to think of actually eating a pillow or a blanket, is really yummy.  I made them the way the Cake Boss said at first.  And they were great, but they were huge.  And in being huge I could only eat one, and even then it was a stretch, those were sure some big cookies.

These are them, they were still big, I used my smaller cookie scoop and they still turned out big.

  At the time I swore to myself that I would make them again, and make them smaller and that I would not get sick eating them.  I kept two of those promises.  Bet you cannot guess which ones.

  So I did exactly like I did last time, except this time Pork Chop was not having any of it.  He was all "I don't want to help!"  And I was all "well I don't want your help!"  And he was all "fine!"  and I was all "Fine!"  And that really didn't happen.  I just asked him if he wanted to help and he said "No thank you."  But that does not make for good blog reading, so you pick the story you like best.

So this time, I tried to again spread the icing, but again it globbed up so I just dribbled it on, worked great.  And on my word, I never once licked the icing bowl.  Oh but I so wanted to!

  So here is the last post with the recipe I used.  The only difference was that I doubled the batch.  I got a butt load of cookies.  And that translates to I forgot to count.  But I has so many I think people at work were sick of them buy the end of the week.  Also I left them out in a box and they still seemed nice and soft about 4 days later.  But if you are normal they won't last that long.  My friends at work are on a summer schedule and as such it is too hot to eat too many.  Or at least that is what I tell myself.

  I cannot tell you how much I love these, seriously as soon as I ate the last one I was wanting to make more.  To preserve the somewhat enlarged butt I have going on, I won't. For now at least.

Cake Boss Cookie - Brownie Walnut Bites

They are way bigger than what Buddy made!

  Firstly I just wanted to say happy new years!  We had a nice night, we went out to city hall for some outdoor skating. Then we came home and watched the TV specials and ate yummy stuff.  We stayed up late, and I am so tired.  Hubby is trying to fix the kitchen sink and I have about 100 cookies to bake today. So it should be a sort of busy day, but I plan to do it all in my PJ's so you know, it could be worse.  So here is my first post for the year, since last year my most viewed post was a cake boss one, I did another one. So enjoy, and I look forward to a year full of yummies I can share.  Oh and I need to win the lottery, so you know, I am being realistic about my new year.


 So I made Cake Boss Cookies a while back.  They were the most tasty cookie I have had in a long time.  I think mine looked ugly, but seriously I have thought about making them again every day since. I plan to try and make mini ones this year.  You know mini makes them less calories and makes for a good new years resolution right?

  Anyway when I first got the new cake boss book, this recipe for Brownie Walnut Bites was what jumped out at me.  I loved the fact that they had very few ingredients and that they looked somewhat easy.  The only problem being that Hubby cannot be in the house when I bake with nuts, the smell bothers him.  He is allergic, which is good and bad.  Good because I get to eat all the things I make with nuts without sharing.  Bad because he could die, you know because I need him around to take out the garbage and stuff. So I cannot use nuts while he is home.  So when I had a free evening and Hubby took my son with him to a party, I was so excited!  I had plans people, and they involved baking with nuts.  I know, my life is boring. You don't have to tell me.

All ready to go! Please ignore the double lemon juice thingies, I will learn to photo shop one day.  Not today obviously.

  So for my Hubby free evening I had plans to make these cookies, Nutella fudge and to wrap Christmas gifts.    This was also the day I worked my first shift at my new part time job, after watching my son play hockey.  I was up late, and I was tired.  So the pictures are bad, no worse than usual I guess.  But at least I have an excuse right.


Brownie Walnut Bites
From Baking with the Boss

Set oven to 325 (I did it at 300 since I have a convection oven)

-3 extra large egg whites
-1/2 TSP lemon juice
-1 1/2 cups icing sugar
-1/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
-1 1/2 cups walnut halves

Whip egg whites and lemon juice for 2 minutes on low, then on high for 5 minutes until still peaks form.
Sift dry ingredients and fold into the egg whites.
Fold in the walnut and mix until they are all covered.
Place spoonfuls on parchment lined cookie sheet.
Bake for 12-18 minutes, until the bottoms pull away from the paper.

  So to start I got set up with all my ingredients, which was not much.  A few eggs, sugar, lemon juice, walnuts and cocoa powder.  I also put my mixing bowl in the sink, filled it with hot water and some white vinegar.  I put my whip attachment and spatula in and let them sit while I got everything measured.  When you are working with egg whites, you need a grease free bowl and whisk or you may not be able to get your eggs to whisk up as they should.

I may have over beat the egg whites, maybe just a little.

  So I followed what Buddy said and got my lemon juice and egg whites going. I just set the timer and let them go.  Now my egg whites did not get stiff peaks, I think I may have gone a minute too long as they were all stuck in my whisk, but I was not going to try again so I went ahead and carried on.

Right about here I was ready to give up, it looked just wrong.

 When I put the icing sugar and cocoa in and started to fold them in, I thought I had ruined them.  The stuff would not mix in, and then I got frustrated and mixed a bit harder.  And it all came together.  But I if I had more patience I would have had a fluffier mix.  Oh well, I will never learn.  Anyway I added the walnuts and folded them in until they were all covered.



A little better but I over mixed them, as usual, and they really deflated.

  Then I took two table spoons and scooped out a spoon full and then used the other to push the dough off.  I did not get nice cookies, just sort of puddles but you know, they all taste the same. Maybe next time I will use my ice cream scooper thingy, it might be better.


I could not get a nice shape, so they turned into puddles.




They set up nicely when they were baked.

  I baked them for 12 minutes then checked and thought I needed another 3 minutes.  They were a bit over cooked I thought, but they still had nice chewy centers so not too bad.



I am very happy with how they looked.




The picture is horrible, but you can sort of see how chewy the inside was.


 I think they are nice and light, not heavy like a brownie.  I have not found anything else in the book I want to try yet, so we will see.  I have a tonne of other cook books to look through, oh and I scored a cake mix book.  Right up my alley, all recipes start with a cake mix.  Remember if you have to crack an egg, it is home made!

 So thanks so much to all my readers and my followers, I really get a little thrill when I see a new follower and comments, I get giddy.  I am a dork I know:)  I hope this year brings me some great things to share, maybe a new big kitchen aid ( a girl can dream) and you know, a happy healthy family.  But you know where my priorities are, I can admit it. Happy new years all.