Saturday Morning Snapshot
Photo shoot props/lunch…
State of the Blog
There was grilled cheese and Nutella all around on the blog this week. This was a fun one, but I had to send those cookies on to new homes, because I could not handle having them in my kitchen without eating them. 🙂
Next week, there’s another hot sandwich, a post on one of my favorite things, and I booze up a favorite childhood treat.
Recipes/posts released this week were:
Spicy Chicken Bacon Avocado Grilled Cheese Sandwich – A grown up grilled cheese sandwich loaded with bacon, avocado, chicken, and pepper jack cheese. Homemade Nutella Chips for Baking – A simple and easy method for making homemade Nutella chips for baking. Salted Pretzel and Nutella Chip Cookies – Delicious cookies with chunks of salty, crunchy pretzel and homemade Nutella chips in every bite.
Pop-culture Corner
Man, as a long-time fan of both Scarlet Johansson and Ghost in the Shell , this whole mess just bums me out.
In not bummer casting, I had a dream and a wish we’d get a Jonathan Tucker Low-Key Lyesmith on American Gods , and we did!
Moving on to another Neil Gaiman novel I love, it was announced this week that Good Omens is being adapted into a mini series. (I, uh, did not cry ugly tears reading the Terry Pratchett mentions in that article.) This is one of my very favorite books, so I’m excited to see how this one turns out.
Finally, we’ve reached the point in the insanely long Marvel Captain America press tour where all possible serious articles on the existing footage/trailers have been written, and we start getting posts like, “All the times Chris Evans has touched his left pec while laughing.” I love this point in Marvel press tours.
Meal Planning
Saturday: Burgers Sunday: Lomo Saltado Monday: Salsa Chicken Tuesday: Salad Wednesday: Teriyaki Chicken Thursday: Carne Asada made into Burrito Bowls Friday: Chicken Noodle Soup
Delicious cookies with chunks of salty, crunchy pretzel and homemade Nutella chips in every bite.
On Wednesday, I shared a recipe for Nutella baking chips. Today, we’re going to put those chips to use with Salted Pretzel and Nutella Chip Cookies!
If you read my Weekend Posts, you’ve actually already seen a peek of these cookies. My BFF since childhood came into town a few weeks ago and I put this recipe together for her on the fly since, as we’ve established, baking for people I care about is one of my favorite things in the world, and I’d noticed that she’d had these cookies from the fantastic Averie Cooks pinned forever.
Of course, they didn’t all make it out of my kitchen. I may have eaten one or two or three, because it turns out, pretzels and Nutella are kind of amazing.
I’d heard tales of the mythical combo, but I’m not much of a snacker, so I’d never actually tried it out myself. Put them in a cookie though, and oh man, that’s my jam.
Salty and crunchy with the rich taste of hazelnut and chocolate in every bite. Yes please.
These cookies are so much fun because at first glance, they look like standard chocolate chip cookies. Then you get closer and start to see the pretzel chunks in there, and it’s not until you take a bite that you realize hey, that’s Nutella! Cookie surprises are the best surprises. 😉
Ingredients
- ▢ 1 cup ( 8 oz) unsalted butter room temperature
- ▢ 1 cup ( 200 g) brown sugar
- ▢ 1/2 cup ( 100 g) granulated sugar
- ▢ 2 large eggs
- ▢ 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ▢ 2 3/4 cups ( 330 g) all-purpose flour
- ▢ 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- ▢ 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ▢ 1/2 teaspoon salt
- ▢ 1 1/2 cup mini pretzels broken into pieces
- ▢ 2 cups Nutella chips keep in freezer until just before using
Instructions
Dough
- Using your stand mixer with the paddle attachment or a hand-held electric mixer, beat the softened butter and sugars together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Scrape down sides and bottom of the bowl and add eggs and vanilla. Beat on low until well-combined, about 1 minute.
- Add flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. Mix on low until just combined, scraping sides and bottom as needed.
- With the mixer on low, mix in pretzels and Nutella chunks.
Chill, Scoop, and Chill Some More
- Place dough in the freezer for 15 minutes to firm up.
- Once dough is firm enough to handle, scoop dough into 2-ounce spoonfuls and roll into balls (about 2 inches). Place all of the balls on a parchment paper-covered tray (they can be touching). Cover with plastic and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, up to overnight.
Bake
- Preheat oven to 350°Cover 3 cookie sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Bake cookies 8 to a sheet for 10 to 12 minutes until edges are set and the top of the cookies are golden.
- Allow cookies to cool on the tray.
Notes
Nutritional Information Recipe Adapted From: Averie Cooks
Used to Make This Recipe
Six of my favorite (non food-related) podcasts to cook to.
I had a recipe planned for today, but after much fiddling, the thing never quite came together. So rather than share a sub-par recipe on the blog, I’m writing about something else I love, podcasts!
I’m a total podcast and audio book junkie. I listen to them while I work out, while I drive, and thanks so a handy dandy water resistant bluetooth speaker (best Christmas present ever!), I even listen to them in the shower! Since I started Baking Mischief, I spend MANY more hours in the kitchen than I used to, so it was only natural that audio books (more on those another time) and podcasts would become one of my favorite ways to pass the time there too.
These are my favorite kitchen-listening podcasts. They’re mostly pop-culture related. (No political podcasts should be listened to in close proximity to knives, and I can’t process science or economics chatter and mentally third a recipe at the same time.) All are engaging, all come highly recommended, and all will make your time in the kitchen a thousand times more enjoyable!
The Podcasts…
With your pantry doors closed and in full daylight: The Black Tapes Podcast The Black Tapes podcast is like The X-files meets Serial , a genuinely scary storytelling podcast that explores a series of supernatural events, with a connected central mystery at its core. Episodes run 30-40 minutes, so it’s the perfect length for a quick batch of cookies or weeknight dinner. Also, Tanis (a Black Tapes sister podcast), Welcome To Nightvale, and The No Sleep Podcast
This spring, whilst chopping some sausages: A Cast of Kings & A Storm of Spoilers Smart insightful commentary on Game of Thrones from people who love the show but are willing to engage with it on a critical level. You’ll find great discussion on everything from the nature of adaptation to Jon Snow’s hair. Start with A Cast of Kings for non-spoilery discussion and then follow Joanna Robinson on over to A Storm of Spoilers for book/news spoilers and crazy-pants speculation. Also, every single one of Joanna Robinson’s other podcasts, especially The Station Agents (general TV), The Thought Bubble (comics), and both Justified podcasts
When Marathon baking: The /Filmcast Long-form podcast film reviews. Episodes routinely run close to two hours and go in depth reviewing a single film with a spoiler section at the end. So if you’re dying to discuss that twist in the movie none of your friends have seen yet, get it out of your system listening to these guys. Also, Movie B.S. with Bayer and Snider
Preparing perfectly paired appetizers and mixed drinks: The Next Picture Show Some of my favorite critics from the dearly departed Dissolve compare and contrast a recent film release with an older classic. It’s a fantastic podcast for people who like smart criticism and maybe have some major holes in their film-related knowledge. Also, Filmspotting
While making some Sherlock Cookies or BB-8 Cupcakes : Overinvested This is a new weekly pop-culture podcast and already so great. It’s definitely a show for the overinvested among us, so give the Doctor Strange mini episode a listen, and you’ll immediately know if you’re in or out. Also, Fansplaining
While making a little bit of everything: Talking TV With Ryan and Ryan Some of the most thoughtful TV talk out there, on every show under the sun. Keep up with this one and not only will you be entertained, but you’ll always find something new to watch, and probably come away from each episode a slightly better person. I know I do. Also, The Vulture TV Podcast
