Salted Caramel and Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Oh how I love salted caramel!  My ears perk up with joy when I hear those glorious words – salted caramel.  It is the sweet and salty thing along with the richness of the caramel that just makes me swoon.  I pinned these cookiesseveral weeks ago and know I had to make them soon.  I altered them a bit, but they were quite tasty as the orginal recipe.

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That moment came last week, when I was appointed to be the ambassador to two branches for our CEO Town Hall Road Show.  I wanted to make some homemade treats for each branch and make it special.  For the first branch, I made a Pumpkin Coffee Cake that kicked off the fall season since it was early in the morning. The second branch was late morning and cookies were the perfect snack.  I made a lemon crinkle cookie with lemon glaze and this Salted Caramel and Chocolate Chunk Cookie.  Both cookies were a hit and by mid afternoon, the platter with dozens of cookies was a mere white platter with crumbs scattered.

I recently found these Caramel Bits in the baking aisle at Safeway and instantly threw them in my basket.  What a glorious find and so perfect for cookies.  The addition of the flaked fleur de sel on top added that extra punch to the cookie.  My co-workers loved the salt on top and raved about how delicious they were.  I will have to post the lemon crinkle cookies soon – if you are lemon lover, you will jump up and down for these.

Salted Caramel and Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Makes approximately 5 dozen

2 ½ Sticks Butter, softened

1 ½ Cup Dark Brown Sugar

½ Cup Sugar

2 Eggs

1 Tablespoon Vanilla

1 teaspoon Salt

1 teaspoon Baking Soda

1 ½ teaspoon Baking Powder

2 Cup Cake Flour

1 ½ Cup Bread Flour

2 Cup Chocolate Baking Chunks

1 ½ Caramel Bits

Flaked Sea Salt

In a bowl of a stand mixer, cream together butter and sugars.  Beat in the eggs and vanilla followed by the remaining dry ingredients.  Mix in the caramel bits and chocolate chunks.  Chill dough for 2 to 3 hours or until chilled thoroughly.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking sheet.  Using a medium cookie scoop, scoop dough, being sure to avoid caramel bits on the bottom.  Space dough 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheet. Top each one with a pinch of the flaked salt prior to baking.  Bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until golden brown around the edges. Let set for 2 to 3 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool. Store in an airtight container.

Lavender Lemon Bars | Secret Recipe Club

I know I say this each time, but boy time flies.  It is time again for the big reveal for Secret Recipe Club.  This month I had the privilege of being paired with Chelsy from Mangia.  When I received the email about my match for September, something sounded familiar – it was because back in June 2012 I was assigned to her blog for the first time.  What a treat, a second time.  Since that time, I noticed that she has updated her website and put a ton of new food treasures on her site.

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Chelsy is a 20 something gal from Texaswith a big heart.  One of her biggest inspirations for creating her blog Mangia was for her younger sister who has celiac disease.  Growing up in an Italian family who loved pasta and bread, this was a challenge for Chelsy to recreate these Italian favorites so her sister could enjoy them too.  Like me, Chelsy loves to go grocery shopping, loves parmesan cheese and is always in the kitchen.  After sifting through her expansive list of recipes, the Lavender Lemon Bars just sang to me.  I absolutely love lemon and lavender is one of those things that either you love or hate.  I happen to love. I decided to change a few little things and most notably, double the lavender in the crust.

This yields a lot of bars, so I packed up a plate to bring to my early morning meeting tomorrow – I am sure they won’t last long.  It is a pretty good way to start off the morning – right?  Oh, and I will bring some to my neighbors – otherwise I will be super tempted to eat more than I should.  They were simply divine!

Lavender Lemon Bars

Makes 24 Bars

Crust

2 Sticks Butter

¾ Cup Granulated Sugar

¼ Cup Brown Sugar, packed

2 Cups Flour

1 teaspoon Dried Lavender

¼ teaspoon Salt

Filling

4 Large Eggs

1 ½ Cup Sugar

6 Tablespoons Flour

½ Cup Fresh Lemon Juice

Zest of one Lemon

Powdered Sugar and Dried Lavender for topping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 13 x 9 pan with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.  To make the crust – In a bowl of a stand mixer beat together butter, white sugar and brown sugar until pale and fluffy.  Scrape down the sides and add the flour, salt and lavender.  Beat on low speed until dough comes together.  Dump into pan and flatten with your hands until the base is level. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until slightly browned.

To make the filling – while the crust is baking, in a medium bowl whisk together the eggs and sugar until pale and light.  Add the lemon juice, flour and zest.  Whisk until completely incorporated.  Remove the baked crust from the oven and immediately pour the prepared filling over the crust.  Return to the oven and bake for 25 minutes or until browned around the edges and no longer wobbly in the center.  Let cool and then sprinkle with powdered sugar and garnish each piece with dried lavender.  The bars will stay fresh in an airtight container, in the fridge for up to 4 days.

   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

Gooey White Cheddar Bacon Crostini + Tillamook Blog2Farm Summit Part 2

The adventures continue for the Tillamook Blog2Farm Summit with our travels to the Oregoncoast.  After the Tillamook factory tour was complete, we loaded onto our party bus and headed west to the foggy Oregoncoast.  We took a short detour to visit a lighthouse and vista point on the coast.  The sky was amazing and the views spectacular – what stunning sights.  The land is so lush and green compared to the drought stricken Bay Area – a welcome sight indeed.

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We filed back onto the bus and were excited to stop at our resting location for the night – The Inn at Cape Kiwanda.  A quaint hotel that sat almost on the oceans edge was our home for the night.  I believe each of our rooms sported a balcony with a view of the ocean and a large, I mean large rock that would play peek-a-boo with the fog that would drift in and out.  The rock is actually called – Haystack Rock. 

As sunset was approaching, we headed towards the PelicanBrewery for our Sunset Beach Dinner.  What an amazing treat for the evening – need to bring my hubby back here, so he can enjoy the weather, food and views.  A tent with a long table was all set up for us along with darling Tillamook beach blankets to keep us warm should the weather turn chilly.  Amazingly, the weather never got too chilly.  The appetizer course was filled with Oregoninspired and appropriate delights.  We were treated to Chilled Oysters on the Half Shell, Clam Chowder Shooters, Three Capes Crab Fritters and Tillamook Cheese, Crackers and Crudités.  I have to say the Crab Fritters and Aged White Cheddar were my favorites – could have made a meal out of those.

We had our choice of entrees – Blackened Salmon Salad, Chicken Pesto Pasta, Brewers Blend Cheeseburger or Rockfish Tacos.  The salad was calling my name and was quite tasty.  After dinner, we adjourned to the fire pit on the beach with our blankets, glasses of wine provided by the Union Wine Companyand got ready to have some delightful smores.  In addition, Tillamook provided Tillabars – boy I need to buy these when I get back home.  The entire evening was very relaxing and enjoyable. 

Soda Pop PR Team + Katie from Tillamook: (Left to right: Becky, Katie, Dyan and Kelly

The next morning, we packed up our things, enjoyed a great breakfast with handmade granola and Tillamook Greek Yogurt – my kind of breakfast.  With our yellow boots in hand, we loaded onto the bus to head to the farm to learn about where the milk comes from for all this delicious cheese, ice cream, butter and yogurt.  We visited the dairy farm that Wendy and Ryanown.  I have to say that I was simply amazed to see the love, dedication and true soul that was put into each and everyday by Wendy and Ryan. Owning a dairy farm is a labor of love and these two certainly depict this attribute. It all starts on the farm.

Everyone adorned their yellow boots to tour the farm. I thought this was such a fun gesture from Tillamook and Soda Pop PR to provide.  Tillamook is a co-op of farmers, Tillamook County Creamery Association, in the valley and there are close to 100 farmers included.  The quality standards displayed was amazing.  They have close to 400 cows on the farm along with some goats that their kids enjoyed playing with.  Each day the cows must be milked twice a day.  This happens around 2:00am and 1:00pm each day.  The large Tillamook trucks makes its rounds twice a day to pick up the milk to ensure the ultimate in freshness and brings it back to the factory to make all of the delicious cheese, ice cream, yogurt and butter.

These are the epitome of happy cows – they are well fed, well loved and well cared for by Wendy, Ryan and the entire team of folks on the farm.  We were fortunate enough to see baby cows and know that they will have a great life ahead on the farm. I believe it takes almost two years until they are ready to produce milk.  I noticed on our tour that a few cows were licking this barrel of dark brown substance.  I found out it is a molasses sort of food that the cows just love.

I could tell by the end of the farm tour that Wendy and Ryantake pride in all that they do and idealize the quality that the Tillamook products represent.  The quality of the milk was evident from how they feed, care for and love their cows.  When I go to the store next time and purchase a Tillamook product, I have such an appreciation for the quality these products represent.  From the farm to our shelves, this is a product you can be proud to purchase.  I am now a Tillamook fan for life!

Gooey White Cheddar Bacon Crostini

Makes 20 to 22 

12 Slices of crispy Bacon, chopped fine

4 Tablespoons White Onion, Minced

2 Cups White Cheddar, Grated

1/4 teaspoon Garlic Powder

1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire

4 Tablespoon Mayonnaise

Pinch of Salt

6 Grinds of Pepper

20 to 22 slices of baquette

To a medium bowl, add the bacon, white onion, white cheddar, garlic powder, worcestershire, mayonnaise, salt and pepper.  Stir well until combined.

On a large cookie sheet, lay out the sliced baquettes and toast under the broiler on one side only until golden brown.  Remove from broiler and top each one with a heaping teaspoon of the bacon cheddar mixture and spread to cover the top of each baguette.  Return to the broiler and cook until golden brown and bubbly. Serve immediately.

Check out my fellow bloggers re-cap of the Tillamook Blog2Farm Summit:

Stephanie from 52 Kitchen Adventure

Dorothy from Crazy for Crust

Glory from Glorious Treats

Heather from Heather's French Press

Jane from This Week for Dinner

Deseree from Life's Ambrosia

Anita from Dessert First

Jessica from One Sweet Appetite

Rachel from Set the Table

Liren from Kitchen Confidante

Lizzie from Your Cup of Cake

Cheddar Cheese Beignets with Tomato Jam + Tillamook Blog2Farm Summit Part 1

Several months ago I received an email from Kelly at SodaPop PR inviting me to the Tillamook Blog2Farm Summit.  It was a simply click to respond to the email with a resounding YES.  I first met Kelly here and I was first introduced to Tillamook’s New Greek Yogurt.  It was simply divine and my favorite flavor is the Coffee House flavor.  I grew up with Tillamook but this was a perfect opportunity to learn more about this successful company and its high quality products.

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It seemed like light years away until the day arrived that I would jump on the plane to Portlandto begin my journey to Tillamook.  I was ecstatic to learn that my good buddy Liren was invited and we would be on the same flight.  What a fantastic time to catch up.  We were transported in style from the airport to Hotel Lucia which is one of Portland’s chicest hotels. After unpacking and touring the hotel a bit, we decided to venture out explore Portland.  One of the Tillamook buses was right out our hotel offering Ice Cream to the bloggers - what a treat. We discovered Powell’s Books, Food Trucks, Voodoo Doughnuts, shops and the general vibe and culture of Portland.

It was now 5 O’clocksomewhere so that meant Liren and I headed back to Imperial for a Prosecco with St. Germaine and a quick bite to eat before we would meet up with the other food bloggers and the Soda Pop PR girls.  I would highly recommend the handmade sausage – simply divine.  The Imperial perfects the Northwest culinary scene along with imparting a completely cool vibe. 

Chef Vitaly Paley is somewhat of a celebrity chef in this area and after tasting the food, I can understand why.  The atmosphere is current, creative and welcoming.  The evening began by mingling and enjoying passed appetizers and great wine.  It was nice to run into Jane who I met last year at another blogger event. We all sat down and enjoyed the wide variety of divine delights and got to know each other.  What a wonderful group of people – smart, nice and really into food.

After a group photo in the lobby we had the opportunity to meet, greet and chat with the CEO of Tillamook, Patrick Criteser.  He has held many leadership roles but as a native Oregonian, this was an opportunity that could not be passed upon. After speaking with him, you can sense his vision and dedication to the continued success, quality and growth of Tillamook. It was getting late, so we turned in to get some sleep before our early morning call to head to Tillamook.

Bottom Row:  Stephanie, Lizzy, Jane, Deseree, Anita

Top Row: Rachael, Glory, Jessica, Heather, Dorothy, Me, Liren

After a great breakfast, we loaded onto our luxurious bus and headed to Tillamook for a comprehensive tour of the factory.  The Tillamook Cheese Factory is over 100 years old with a rich history of quality and dedication.  It is an award winning Co-op of almost 100 farmers from the Tillamook Valley.  The Morning Star is the original ship that reached markets back in history to bring cheese to Portlandand beyond.  Folks back in the day knew that good cheese came from Tillamook and that is still the belief.  Tillamook makes a perfect place to make great cheese due to the endless rain and nutritious grass for the cows to produce high quality milk.  The factory receives one million visitors each year to understand how this quality cheese is produced.  I felt privileged to be on this tour since we had the behind the scenes tour.

Our tour began with Dale Baumgartner who is the Head Cheesemaker for Tillamook.  Dale has been with Tillamook for 45 years and worked his way up.  He leads the effort to perfect and uphold the quality of Tillamook Cheese and is a valued member of the Tillamook team. A quote from Dale – “If someone were to ask me what makes Tillamook Cheese special, I would first say our taste.  We just flat make the best tasting cheddar you can find.  Then I would say consistency.  No place else can meet our standards for quality and produce a superior tasting cheese again and again and again.”

We toured the warehouse where all this delicious cheese is stored.  Let’s just say that 64 million pounds of cheese will stay put for a minimum of 60 days to develop the extraordinary flavor along with meeting the rigorous standards set forth by Tillamook.  At a moments notice a block of cheese can be located and tested for quality.  It was truly a marvel to see.  We then headed to meet Jill Allen who is the Manager of Product Quality.  Okay what a cool job – right?  She gets to taste cheese and ice cream along with being part of the team who creates new products and flavors.  Jill is a native Oregonian who has been with the company for a little over 14 years.  We were privileged to taste some new products that have not hit the market yet. (We signed a non-disclosure agreement, otherwise I would have shared)  There are two in particular that I will definitely purchase and hope they make it to the Bay Area.

After a delicious lunch, we shopped a bit in the expansive gift shop and then headed to the Oregoncoast for our next adventure.  With such a wonderful trip, I decided to split this post into two parts.  Stay tuned for part two next week.  In the meantime, I was inspired by this divine cheese to make a snack for hubby and I last weekend.  The Tillamook Extra Sharp White Cheddar Cheese was my hands down favorite and inspired me to make these Cheddar Cheese Beignets with Tomato Jam.  They were simple and tasty.

Cheddar Cheese Beignets with Tomato Jam

¾ Cup Flour

¾ teaspoon Smoked Paprika

½ teaspoon Dry Mustard

¼ teaspoon Salt

¼ teaspoon Cayenne Pepper

½ Cup Whole Milk

4 Tablespoon Butter, diced

2/3 Cup Grated White Sharp Cheddar Cheese

2 Eggs

Oil, for frying

Tomato Jam (click here for recipe)

In a small bowl, mix dry ingredients together (flour, paprika, mustard, salt and cayenne pepper).  Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, over medium heat, add the milk and butter. Bring to boil then our in the dry ingredients.  Stir over medium heat until the dough forms a smooth ball – about 3 minutes.  Place the dough into a stand mixer bowl and add the grated cheese.  Blend on low speed until incorporated.  Add the eggs one at a time and make sure totally smooth until adding the second one.

Heat 3 inches of oil in a Dutch oven or equivalent to 350 degrees.  Drop a round tablespoon of the batter into the oil.  Fry until golden brown on all sides.  Remove and put onto a paper towel.  Serve with tomato jam.