Chonky Boys: The Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches that Scream Summer!

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Featuring my thick and nuggy Chonky Boy Chocolate Chip Cookies, these ice cream sandwiches are the stuff that summer dreams are made of.  If you've ever had the Cookie Ice Cream Sandwich at Disneyland , you are going to LOVE these!  These big and bold chocolate chip cookies are based on a recipe from my culinary school studies at Auguste Escoffier, but with a few modifications to give them that Jennuine touch.  They make the perfectas book for a fat slice of real vanilla bean ice cream.  And those mini chips?  You just gotta have that extra cronch! Thank goodness this recipe only makes 8 sandwiches, otherwise I would be eating them for breakfast lunch and dinner.  This way, my big family can help save me from my inner child diet-saboteur.   Print With Image Without Image Chonky Boy Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches Yield: 8 Author: Jenn Erickson Loaded with chocolate chips and buttery, brown-sugary vanilla flavor, these mall-sized cookies form a perfect partnership with a

Cranberry Upside-down Babycakes
~Holiday Baking with Hodgson Mill~


The very best baked goods start with using quality ingredients.  It's always a joy to discover a new source for ingredients that are a cut above the rest.  So it was a distinct pleasure to have found my new favorite whole wheat flour, compliments* of Hodgson Mill as part of their Have a Grain Holiday Recipe Contest.  


Hodgson Mill is a family-owned business that's been grinding grain in in Illinois since 1882! Their business may be 125 years old and their promise of wholesome, naturally healthy food (with no artificial preservatives, additives or colorings) timeless, but their commitment to the environment through sustainable practices is as modern as can be! 

I hope you'll give Hodgson Mill flours, pastas, cereals, mixes and other fine products a try.  Use the Hodgson Mill 100% stone ground wheat flour with my Cranberry Upside-down Cakes and you'll be an instant convert!

The tart cranberries glazed in brown sugar glisten like jeweled holiday baubles, making these light and tender little cakes the perfect dessert to compliment your holiday celebration.  Served warm with freshly whipped cream, the babycakes are an easy and elegant way to end a meal.  Served cold with a cup of coffee or tea, they can turn an ordinary morning into a festive one.  The Hodgson Mill whole wheat flour gives the cakes a delicious, nutty graham flavor.  Nutrition-minded twists on classic upside-down cake like the whole wheat flour, low fat milk, and whipped egg-whites make merry with the Hodgson Mill philosophy of “healthy eating that tastes great.”


Cranberry Upside-down Babycakes
Makes 8

Prep time:  15 Minutes
Baking Time:  30 minutes

Non-stick cooking spray
(2) Four-cavity Foil Texas Muffin pans
(you may substitute 2 standard muffin pans for smaller cakes)



These inexpensive disposable pans make the
perfect little individual serving-sized cakes, and
are readily found in the baking aisle of most grocery stores.







For the cranberry “jewel” topping
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) butter, sliced into cubes
6 oz. fresh cranberries, rinsed and dried

For the cake
3/4 cup Hodgson Mill Whole Wheat Flour
3/4 cup Hodgson Mill Unbleached White Flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon table salt
1 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened
2 egg yolks
2 egg whites (reserved for the end of the recipe)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup low fat milk

Preheat oven to 350°.  Arrange oven rack to middle of oven.

Step 1:  Lightly spray the cavities of both aluminum pans with nonstick spray. Heat brown sugar and the cubes of butter in a small pan over medium heat. Cook 2 minutes or until butter melts and sugar dissolves, stirring occasionally. 

Step 2:  Spoon a tablespoon of the brown sugar sauce into each cavity.  Arrange a single layer of cranberries evenly over sugar mixture in each cavity.

Step 3:  In a large bowl, whisk flours, baking powder, salt and sugar.   Set aside. 

Step 4:  In the bowl of a standing mixer (or a large bowl and an electric mixer) whip butter until fluffy.  Add egg yolks, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add vanilla. Mix flour mixture into sugar mixture alternately with milk.

Step 5:  In a separate bowl, whip egg whites till light, white and foamy (but not to stiff peaks). Fold egg whites into the batter until fully incorporated. 

Step 6:  Portion batter into the cavities (about a ¼ cup each). Do not over-fill.  (If using a standard muffin pan, fill each cavity only ½ way with batter).

Step 7:  Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted into center of the cake portion comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes. Invert pans, one at a time on a large plate or cutting board.  Lightly tap bottom of cavities to help release the cakes.   

Step 8:  Transfer each cake to a dessert plate and serve with a dollop of fresh whipped cream.  Delicious served warm, and excellent at room temperature as a breakfast coffee cake as well.

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Disclaimer:  I was provided with a free bag of Hodgson Mill wheat flour as well as a bag of bread flour.  The opinions, accolades, and enthusiasm are genuine and are all my own.



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