nuts to that

Is it chocolate or is it a nut?

I had a request for cookies with white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts in them. I've heard of this combo before but I'm not really fond of chunky bits of nuts in my cookies so I've never bothered with them. But they asked, and so I make.

I figured though, if I'm going to fill a cookie with these pale bits of stuff, it needs to be something other than a typical drop cookie. So I decided to make a super chocolately brownie style cookie.

Reverse Chocolate Macadamia Nut Chip Cookies

What you need:

• 8 ounces unsweetend chocolate
• ¼ c butter
• 1 ½  cup sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour (I used 2 cups. DON'T do that; it's too much)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 1 cup white chocolate chips
• 1 c chopped macamadamia nuts

What you gotta do:

Okay, first off, I used too much flour. I made mine with a full 2 cups and they didn't spread at all as they baked, and they were a little crumblier than I'd hoped for. So, I'm thinking that if you reduce it to 1 1/2 cups, they should have a better shape and texture.

Melt the chocolate and butter together in the microwave. Start with a minute and a half at 50% power, stir, and then a minute at 50% power, stir. You don't want the chocolate to melt entirely in the microwave. Don't worry, the residual heat will get rid of the rest of the chunks.

In a big bowl, mix the eggs and sugar together.

Add the vanilla and the melted chocolate to the big bowl. Stir until it's lovely and dark and glossy.

I had thought I'd be able to bash the macamadamia nuts in the bag they came in with the bottom of the baking powder jar to break them up. Didn't work.

So, chopping them with a knife. They're a much softer nut than say an almond or a pecan, and they seem to shave better than they chop. mmm shaved nuts.

If you feel like sifting the flour, baking powder, and salt before you add it to the big bowl, go right ahead. I didn't. I just piled it all on top (srsly, don't use this much flour) and gave it a bit of a premix before I mixed it all in.

Yay, flour. I was having a seriously spilly kinda of day.

Yup, definitely too much flour.

It all mixed in though... there are times when chocolate really just isn't very photogenic.

Add the nuts and the white chocolate chips to the dough.

Now, if you only used 1 1/2 cups of flour, chilling the dough before you scoop it onto the baking sheet will probably work well to give you a nice soft cookie. Mine though retained their shape a little too well after chilling. So, I left the dough on the counter after the second round.

It didn't help much. There are some things that just can't be fixed, and too much flour in your cookie dough is one of them.

Good enough. They're chocolate, there's lots of them, and though the texture is a little less than ideal, they don't taste half bad. You could do this with bittersweet chocolate, but then they'd be too sweet to eat more than 3 or 4 at a time.

Bake them at 325 for 10 minutes and let them cool on a rack before you pack them up to take to work. Or pile them onto a plate to eat in bed. 

DIY, the not so extreme version

Indoor gardening is still gardening.

At the grocery store last week, I mentioned to the cashier that I wanted to plant the "live" basil I was buying. I mean, it came with roots, and in a cute little bag full of nutrient water, and looked perfectly plantable. At first she looked at me like I was nuts, and then like I was some kind of freaky genius. Because if I plant it, it will keep growing and I can keep harvesting it.

Freaking genius!

You could do the same with those "live" lettuce heads you see sometimes.

I've heard of people sprouting avocado pits and planting them too.

And if you get herbs that were cut right, you can sprout them too.

Yes, I know, I could just go to the garden store and buy seedlings, but it's more fun this way. There's a certain amount of challenge, a bit of suspense, that point of frustration where you're sure it won't work and so you stop checking it and stop adding fresh water...

And then you realize there are roots on your lemongrass stumps.

And in a couple days there are lots of them.

Lemongrass is extremely easy to root, and fairly fast growing. If you're going to put it in planters outside, make sure you are able to move them. This is a tropical grass and it doesn't like any kind of cold at all. You'll have to bring it inside in the winter.

Or just harvest it all and start again in the spring.

It's not like this is difficult.

If you're going to keep it indoors year round, choose a bright and sunny spot, as full sun as you can get.

I used a regular organic houseplant medium. i.e. Potting soil.

And potted it like a typical houseplant.

In a nice pot, it would make a lovely hostess gift or housewarming present. Include a recipe for Beef Chow Fun, or Thai Green Curry.

And you can always start another batch for yourself.

Have you ever sprouted something weird? (Your kids don't count)