Levain Bakery

Any trip anywhere isn't complete without a bit of sweet to over indulge in.  While a trip to NYC usually necessitates a hike to The Doughnut Plant, the 3 Little Monsters made it too difficult to trek all the way out to the Lower Eastside.  Luckily we found Levain Bakery which was just a short jaunt away from our condo and is known for its cookies.  I love me a good cookie!!  It has 2226 reviews on Yelp so it had to be amazing right?

I was quite surprised by the limited selection of cookies.  You're pretty much looking at what they had. I asked if they had run out or something but they said this is what they usually serve.  Now I'm all for doing a few things really really well as opposed to have some gargantuan selection of low quality goods, but the most tantalizing foreplay to a fantastic meal or snack is the visual display of too many delicious things to eat.  The foreplay here left much to be desired.

Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookie
Dark Chocolate Chip Cookie
Fortunately, the main attraction did not disappoint.  The cookies are frickin' GINORMO, and really feel more like a heavy dense cookie cake than a true cookie.  Everyone preferred the regular cookie better than the chocolate chocolate one which I guess tasted more like a brownie.  This is NOT something you should eat in one sitting or alone.  These things have got be a giant calorie bomb.  They are flatter, but generally the size of your fist.

So Levain is pretty good, but not something I would trek across the country for, probably because I prefer a real cookie and not a cake cookie.  I'm still praying for that day that The Doughnut Plant decides to grace the West Coast with its presence.  I mean they have locations in Korea and Japan! Why not LA/OC???

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Lemon Ricotta Cookies with Lemon Glaze

I like baking, but I've realized lately that I only like to bake 2 things, brownies and chocolate chip cookies.  So this was my attempt at stepping outside my comfort zone and doing something new and different.  I figured I could do no wrong with a highly rated recipe from Giada De Laurentiis.

The dough is a pretty standard combination of sugar, flour, butter, etc

What makes it different is the added lemon juice and zest.

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Pecan Crescent Cookies

So I've always thought about which direction to take the blog.  Do I want to be focus on high end dining like kevinEats, cooking and recipes like Ravenous Couple, or have a blend of dining, cooking, foodie events like Gastronomy?  Lately, I've fallen into the genre of a dining out blog, but eventually I would like to incorporate more cooking.  I'm slowly learning that documenting my adventures in the kitchen is a whole different beast with a different set of challenges.  In restaurants, proper lighting is the biggest enemy.  At home, dressing up the food to make it look beautiful is a struggle for me.  I've always cooked to eat.  I don't use garnishes.  I don't have havc fancy dinner/cook/serving ware.  Everything in my ktichen is a mish mosh of cheap junk.  Anyways, I plan to jazz my kitchen up someday when the finances permit.  In the meantime, stick with me as I manage with what I got.

My sister's old roommate had these cookies sent to her by her mom.  I loved them the minute I tried them.  They are really quite light in sweetness, but still rich in flavor from the plentiful helping of pecans.  They would go great with a cup of hot tea.  They would also make a great holiday cookie, because they're like a softer shortbread cookie, and much more interesting than your regular sugar cookies.  You can still eat them year round like I do though.

I will most certainly be investing in a tripod to help take pics while I cook.  For now, you have these sad pictures.




My oven is EVIL.  I hadn't used it in a while and forgot that I needed to adjust the temp and cooking times for any given recipe.  As a result, the first batch of cookies burned!

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Two Tarts Bakery

I love a good cookie.  I like cookies more than brownies, ice cream, and cake.  Pies and tarts are a close second.  I had a craving for something sweet and buttery.  Two Tarts Bakery is popular for the variety of mini cookies they bake up daily.   They just have a case filled with many mini delights.



You might think its a bargain that everything is just 75cents, but the cookies are pretty darn small.  It would be better if the cookies were normal sized and 75cents, but oh well.  I still ended up buying 5.


Lil' Mama
This was probably one of my favorite cookies, because it is their version of an Oreo.  I love Oreos, but only the cookie part.  I'll buy a package of Oreos and cut out all the frosting and place all the cookies back to be eaten later.  It's just unnecessary unwanted fat and sugar that does not taste good.  This version has similar great cookie taste but with a delicious frosting center.  It gets sorta messy because the frosting is much softer so it all squishes out with each bite.

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Pitfire Pizza @ Culvery City

Dairy Queen (the person, not the fast food chain) really raved about this place. I liked the concept. Interesting twists on pizza, such as green eggs and ham pizza. We also tried the meatballs which were just OK, and the grilled steak salad which needed a better dressing. The place had a nice vibe, with large open spaces, modern decor and menu. I think maybe I'd go back but order different things. The one thing I really like was the Jumbo Chocolate Chunk Cookie with Vanilla Soft Serve from Strauss Family Creamery in Marin topped with Housemade Caramel Sauce and Maldon Salt.



I'm really beginning to appreciate sea salt on sweet foods. Somehow it just enhances the flavors if done correctly. There was also something really special about the soft serve, which I can't describe, but it was creamy, sweet, and perfectly textured. Not too thick, not too melty, not too icy. The cookie could have been softer, but overall it was a winner in my book!

Pitfire Pizza (its a chain, so go to the website to find a location near you)

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Chocolate chip cookies version XS

So a year ago I visited my sister in SF. A night out for sushi was followed by dessert at Citizen Cake.





Citizen Cake's familiarity to me was due to Chef Elizabeth Faulkner, who I had seen on an episode or two of Top Chef. I think shes a pastry chef, but the place is also a restaurant with full bar. But definitely ppl come here for the cakes.
I tried the retro tropical shag and the after midnight chocolate cake. Both weren't that memorable. Not something I'd go back for. What was memorable was getting free cookies cuz we stayed until closing so they started giving away the pre-packaged cookies. One of the cookies was delicious! There was something different about it, and after sufficient googling, I came across this:

"Elizabeth Falkner's Demolition Desserts" by Elizabeth Falkner (Ten Speed Press, 230 pp., $35)

She talks a lot about using organic ingredients and this particular recipe uses different types of sugars to create new flavors. This was totally a new concept to me. I never knew there were different types of brown sugars, or sugars other than brown and white. Anyways, the cookies came out somewhat similar to the ones I had from Citizen Cake. Whether they are the same ones, I'm not sure. The only thing I'm sure of is that the cookie from the store had something different about its texture, and this recipe contains old-fashioned rolled oats which I figured must be the secret.



Chocolate chip cookies version XS
1 1/4 cups (4 ounces) old-fashioned rolled oats
Serves 48

16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened but still cool
1 cup (about 8 1/2 ounces) firmly packed dark muscovado sugar
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) Demerara sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped the size of chocolate chips, or bittersweet chocolate chips (about 1 1/2 cups)

The special sugars were hard to find. The regular supermarkets and Trader Joe's did not sell them. But Whole Foods had them as expected. They were kinda pricey, $4-5 for 1lb, but I figured I'd test out the recipe and see if it was worth the cost.




"In food processor, pulse oats 15 to 20 seconds. Most of the oats will look like coarse sawdust, but you should still have some recognizable flakes."



"In saute pan, melt 4 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat, let cook about 3 minutes, or until it browns slightly. Add oats and cook, stirring constantly, about 2 minutes, or until you can smell a toasty fragrance. Take the pan off the heat as soon as you detect a hint of toast. Spoon oats onto baking sheet or sheet of parchment paper, spread them out with the spoon, and let cool."


"In large bowl, using a wooden spoon, cream together remaining 12 tablespoons butter and muscovado sugar until smooth but not overmixed. Add Demerara sugar and vanilla and stir briefly, just to mix. Add egg and stir just until combined."



"Transfer cooled oats to medium bowl. Sift together flour and baking soda onto oats. Add salt and stir to combine. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture and stir just until combined. Add chocolate and stir just until evenly distributed. Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Position racks in upper and lower thirds of oven. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Scoop up 1-inch balls of dough with spoon or mini-scoop and set them 2 inches apart on pans. Bake, rotating pans after 4 minutes, for 7 to 9 minutes, or until cookies are puffed but still soft. I like a medium-crisp cookie, so I bake these for 10 minutes, but experiment until you find the optimal baking time to suit your own tastes."

This is what happens when you don't follow the instructions of "set them 2 inches apart on pans"

I did a better job on the next batch

"Transfer to racks and let cool. Cookies will keep for 2 to 3 days in an airtight container, but they won't have as much flavor as the day they were baked."
They look pretty ugly, but they tasted pretty good. More special than your ordinary chocolate chip cookie recipe. I'll prob try making them again without burning them =)

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