How many of you have Pinterest Boards that you pin and pin and pin to but never actually try anything that you’ve pinned? I actually really enjoy PINNING. I have delusions of grandeur thinking I’ll go back and be a crafting queen or a domestic goddess who masters the kitchen but who am I kidding? I especially love to pin FOOD. Why?? Because I can “virtually” consume it and not have any of the calories that go along with it. Where’s the fun in that, you ask? You’re right. That’s no fun. AT. ALL.
The other night, like most nights, the kid & I were watching the Vampire Diaries (AGAIN) and we got the hankering for something sweet. I knew our lack of options in the house and I also knew I was too lazy to get up out of the chair and get in my car to buy anything. PLUS Crumbl didn’t have any flavors we wanted to try this week (which my expanding girth was thankful for. DARN YOU PANDEMIC! Ok.. the pandemic is just an excuse. I was already fat). So, I opened up Pinterest and searched for desserts with less than 3 ingredients… I found lots of peanut butter cookie options. I was still too lazy to actually make anything and the vibes of “get up and make it yourself” I was giving off were clearly NOT working on the kid. So we didn’t have any dessert that night which is ok. I honestly didn’t need it. That being said, I did notice that my Food Board was chock full of things that I was probably never going to try but should. I casually mentioned to Michaela that maybe we should make it an activity to try a recipe we find online at least once a month – or maybe make a weekly Sunday afternoon activity because clearly we don’t eat enough – but I digress, the REAL reason I thought of this idea was because I am starting to realize that these moments with Michaela are going to get fewer and fewer was she gets older and pretty soon I will have to amuse myself. Which is ironic because my very first foray into this new “I Saw It On Pinterest” feature on my website I did alone because she is spending this Sunday with her boyfriend’s family (and so it begins).
So how was that for a segue into I SAW IT ON PINTEREST? I am not sure how much of these I will do. Doing a food blog takes commitment, an attention to detail and remembering to take photos of the food BEFORE you consume it (oops). So, just so you know, the Killerwebs Design “The Wandering Widow” Blog is NOT a food blog but part of it will be dedicated to food because that means, I am bored, alone & when the dogs stop responding to me talking to them, I start to talk to my food. Today, I will be talking about BUTTERBEER THUMBPRINT COOKIES following this recipe that is saved to my Food Board on Pinterest.
The recipe:
Cookies
- 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon butter extract
Ganache
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 5.5 ounces butterscotch chips
I didn’t have unsalted butter. So, I opted to leave the salt portion OUT of this recipe. I followed the instructions given in the recipe and agree with the person whose blog the recipe I got it from that 5.5 ounces of butterscotch chips wasn’t enough. I actually think the 8 oz they said that they used was not enough either. In hindsight I would have used all 11oz from the bag so the ganache was super thick and set up better.
At first glance I thought there is no way this was going to make that many cookies.
Adding in the flour did NOT result in a dough. Not even close. I added a teaspoon of water like the blog suggested. In the end it took about 8 teaspoons of water to get to a dough consistency.
Much better. But this was VERY little dough. (I was right, before. The first batch made a whopping 16 cookies). I got out another stick of butter and softened it to room temp the cheater’s way – thank you, microwave).
Of course I tasted the dough! DUH!! It was decent. I wouldn’t eat the whole bowl but it wasn’t bad. No eggs to worry about salmonella but really, do we actually worry about THAT? I don’t.
I used a cookie scoop because I actually have one of those. But you can just spoon it out and roll it up with your hands. It would probably make for a prettier cookie if you did it that way. But I wanted to look special using my scoop and I felt like Martha Stewart when I did it.
I used a teaspoon to make the “thumbprint”. I probably should have used my thumb. But you have to do this part TWICE and I didn’t think I’d want to stick my thumb in a hot cookie so I opted for the spoon. The spoon sticks to the dough on the first go around, btw. Maybe dip it in flour? Cooking Spray? Or just do what I did and pry it off with your finger. Don’t bake the cookies for 10 minutes like the recipe said. The blogger had suggested shorter times saying that her total cook time was 14-15 min. I went with that. I baked round 1 for 7 minutes, removed them and pressed the cookies again with the spoon (no sticking when they’re hot!) and then returned them to the oven for 8 more minutes.
While the cookies baked, I prepared the ganache. I didn’t use the stove. I poured half of the 11 oz bag into a large measuring cup (microwave safe) and added the 1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream. Microwaved for 30 seconds, stirred, returned it to the microwave for 25 seconds longer, stirred again, realized this was going to be thin, added half of the remaining chips in the bag and stirred some more. It thickened and since it was going to sit out & cool to room temperature while the cookies baked/cooled ,I figured it would thicken more. It DID. But I don’t think it did enough. Just use the whole bag, people. THIS is where the Butterbeer flavor really kicks in and you want that essence. Yes of course, I licked the spoon, and the measuring cup, and the drips on the counter. I’m not stupid (or wasteful).
You can tell which cookies were cool and which were not when I put the ganache on them. By this point I had gotten impatient. I was ready to be done and just get in my mouth already! But alas, they still had to go to the fridge to set some more. What’s not shown is the counter that was covered in butterscotch ganache because it had poured out of the top of the bag. Oops. There was still quite a bit of the stuff left over so I squirted it into a storage container and put it in the fridge. It will probably sit there for 6 months behind the 3 things of mandarin oranges that I forgot to use.
So this is what they ended up looking like. I tend to make things that taste good but they don’t look all that pretty. I think I put all my energy into the preparation. I don’t think I will ever be a chef. That being said, I may one day share my sugar cookie recipe. It is the best I have ever tasted. The homemade frosting I do is also the best. No commercial or other homemade cookie has ever come close to it. I know that’s boastful but I don’t care. They’re THAT good.
Yep. Maybe I’ll share it…Maybe someday….
