Salted Brown Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yep...more cookies!  Sometimes Dave and I will make a half batch (or a quarter batch) of cookies when the mood strikes.  These were salty, sweet, and chewy, and the brown butter gives them such a nice rich flavor!

Here's the recipe for a full batch:

Ingredients:
8 oz unsalted butter
1 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 3/4 cups old-fashioned oats
10 oz chocolate chips
Flaky salt for topping (we omitted because we thought the sea salt would make them salty enough- I think we were right!)

Directions:

1. Cut the butter into small pieces and place them into a small pot over medium heat. Make sure you use a light colored pot so you can easily see when the butter starts to brown.
2. Stir the butter so it all melts. As the butter is completely melted, it will start to foam and you'll smell a little nuttiness. The color will start to change from yellow to a golden color. Once the butter is golden brown (or tan), remove the pot from the heat and transfer the butter to another bowl to cool. Once the butter is just cooled, strain out the little sediments in the butter and you'll be left with a brown nutty butter.
3. In a large mixer, combine the melted browned butter and brown sugar with a paddle attachment. Let mix for 2 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla extract.  
4. Add the flour, baking soda, sea salt and baking powder and slowly combine, making sure not to over-mix the batter. Add the oats and chocolate chips and combine. Refrigerate batter for at least 1 hour. (I didn't.because we were impatient!  The cookies were still awesome) It's very important to chill the dough since we started with melted butter.
5. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
6. Using a 1 inch scoop (yay! I used the new scoop I got from the Rzasas for Christmas!!), scoop 12 cookies onto each parchment lined baking sheet and sprinkle the top of each cookie with some flaky salt. (again, we skipped this step) 
7. Transfer sheets into oven and bake for 10-12 minutes until the cookies just slightly turn a golden brown color on the edges but are still soft and chewy in the middle. Remove from oven, transfer to cooling rack. Repeat process for remaining dough.

Awesome!

Recipe from What's Gaby Cooking

Homemade Soft Pretzel Balls

Dave and I were definitely inspired by the amazing pretzels at the Hawthorne with this one.  I found a great recipe for spicy bourbon mustard, then used a trusty Alton Brown recipe for the pretzel (changing the traditional shape to a ball to match the ones at our beloved bar).  I halved the recipe, and it made 8 good-sized pretzels.

I was surprised by how easily these came together.  I'll be making them again soon for sure!

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups warm (110 to 115 degrees F) water
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 package active dry yeast
22 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 4 1/2 cups
2 ounces unsalted butter, melted
Vegetable oil, for pan
10 cups water
2/3 cup baking soda
1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water
Pretzel salt (I used kosher salt)

Directions

1. Combine the water, sugar and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam. 
2. Add the flour and butter and, using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until well combined. Change to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. 
3. Remove the dough from the bowl, clean the bowl and then oil it well with vegetable oil. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and sit in a warm place for approximately 50 to 55 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size. (I usually preheat the oven to 200, then put the dough in and turn the oven off, keeping the door closed for the entire rise time)
4. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line 2 half-sheet pans with parchment paper and lightly brush with the vegetable oil. Set aside.
5. Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8-quart saucepan or roasting pan.
6. In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface and divide into 16 equal pieces. Form each piece into a small ball by tucking the ends under until the top is smooth.
7. Place the pretzels into the boiling water for 30 seconds. Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula. 
8. Return to the half sheet pan, and cut 2 slits into the top of each ball with a knife. Brush each pretzel with the beaten egg yolk and water mixture and sprinkle with the pretzel salt. 
9. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.

Recipe adapted from the Food Network

Spicy Bourbon Mustard

This is definitely a cheater's mustard.  When looking for a spicy bourbon mustard recipe, I found 2- one that consists of about 10-12 ingredients, and one that is made from 3.  Guess which I chose to make! :)

This mustard is perfect on a sandwich, or paired with some homemade pretzel balls

 Ingredients
2     tablespoons bourbon
1/3 cup Creole or grainy Dijon mustard (We used Grey Poupon Country Dijon)
1     tablespoon honey

Directions

1. Whisk ingredients together

We discovered that the mustard tastes even better the second day, so I recommend making it at least a day ahead and storing it in a sealed container in the fridge.

Recipe from Redbook