The Cookie Dough Lover's Cookbook

This cookbook isn't a specifically kosher cookbook, although all the recipes are kosher friendly (and can easily be made parve). I really like the ideas in this cookbook so I'm posting a review here.

I was browsing Amazon for cookbooks a few weeks ago and noticed this one on one of their bestseller lists. It look interesting so I checked my library and they had it.

The author has a cooking blog and always loved cookie dough, but because of fears of salmonella refrained from snacking on cookie dough. One day, she experimented and came up with a totally awesome eggless cookie dough meant to be eaten raw. She posted that recipe on her blog and it became popular. It became so popular, she wrote a cookbook based on that one recipe.

I made her regular chocolate chip cookie dough truffles (you dip them in chocolate) and inside out cookie dough truffle (chocolate dough and white chips) for Chanuka and they were really awesome. Dipping them in chocolate was the most annoying part and one I'm not inclined to do again.

She has a bunch of different variation for her basic cookie dough recipe (vegan, gluten free, peanut butter, white chocolate- macadamia nut, inside out, oatmeal raisin, sugar, almond, gingerbread, mexican chocolate), which all look yummy.

The main issue I have with her book is that most of the recipes are spinoffs of that one recipe. The pictures are gorgeous, but I wouldn't buy a cookbook for one recipe. A lot of her recipes seem to overdo the cookie dough (cookies stuffed with cookie dough, brownies stuffed with cookie, cupcakes with cookie dough, cake with cookie dough in the middle instead of frosting etc.)

I loved the original cookie dough and the inside out variation I tried. I would like to try the peanut butter cookie dough, oatmeal raisin/chocolate chip, vegan and gingerbread. I also want to see if the basic recipe would work with oil instead of butter/margarine.

She has a recipe for Invisible Cookie Dough Ice Pops that can easily be made parve. They look interesting and I do want to try them before I need to return the book.

If your library has this book, it might be fun to check out. The basic recipes are pretty kid friendly and the pictures are amazing.

Truffle pictures:
Regular

Inside out

Here's a link to her basic cookie dough recipe: http://www.loveandoliveoil.com/2010/01/chocolate-chip-cookie-dough-truffles.html
I would half the recipe unless you really like a lot of cookie dough.


To purchase the kindle edition of this cook click here to purchase the hardcover, spiral version click here.

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Cooking Inspired Part 3

9. Sides- (my favorite part of this book!!!)
Estee uses a lot of "weird" vegetables and using simple ingredients/techniques makes them taste awesome! I know whenever I pick up a new veggie at the grocery to check Estee's books since she usually has a recipe using it.
Grilled vegetable skewers- you marinate skewered veggies with a balsamic vinegar and spice mixture and grill. Great for summer time.
Honey balsamic rice- saute onion, celery and mushrooms and toss with cooked rice and a honey/balsamic dressing
Roasted radishes- I HATE radishes but this recipe made me tolerate them even though I didn't go over to the liking radish side with this recipe.
Cassava cubes- I discovered a new vegetable in the grocery store (I'm one of those weirdos that enjoys grocery shopping- my favorite section of the store is the produce section, I like finding new veggies.) called a yucca/cassova. Of course, Estee was the only one who had a recipe using it. I prepared the yucca/cassova a bunch of time with this recipe and it's yummy. The yucca/cassova looks like a long, brown bumpy log. Preparing it is a bit time consuming. You need to peel it, boil it, remove the center stem and then recook. I buy it occasionally.
Stuffed mushrooms- This is really a Pesach recipes. The mushrooms are stuffed with passover/bread crumbds and nuts and drizzled with wine/oil/spices.
Inspired sides- 2 pretty similar roasted carrot and parsnip recipes.
The first recipe is more simple calling for carrots/parsnips/anise seeds (fennel seeds)/salt and pepper/fresh parsley. I made it without the fresh parsley (I use dried thyme or rosemary instead) and it was awesome and so so easy!!!
The 2nd version also uses fresh fennel (which I didn't have so I used anise seeds), garlic, balsamic vinegar (or lemon juice) and maple syrup. I made this version also but liked the first, simpler version better.

10. Counter cakes (or how many different bundt cakes can you make?)
Vanilla bean apple bundt cake- This cake is pretty simple, different but not too different and is on my "I want to try list".
Pecan crunch cake- a pretty typical bundt cake (it calls for rum extract which is the only thing not typical) and is topped with a spiced/brown sugar/ pecan/coconut crunch

11. The grand finale (or dessert)
I also love that Estee has no problem dressing up fruit for dessert, which she does a lot here.
Jazzed-up bread pudding (great idea for leftover challah!!)- soak wet challah in a sugar/egg/oil mixture add apples spices and raisins and then bake.
Sweet squash muffins- very similar to the pumpkin spelt muffins I posted from a different site. They're mostly whole wheat.
Decadent Halva Ice cream cake- I want someone to make this for me!!! It looks SO good but it also looks like a huge patchke. This dessert recipe also appeared in the Mishpacha cookbook that just cake out (Estee's picture in this cookbook was nicer IMO)
Parve chocolate pudding- No raw eggs. This recipe uses tofu. It also uses coffee which I am not a fan of. That's probably why the pack of tofu I purchase to try to make pudding from is still sitting in my cabinet...
Rosemarie Mousse- A more typical chocolate mousse with eggs and hazelnuts(!!) and other such yummy things. I have pasteurized eggs, maybe I should try it.
(She has a recipe for creative cupcakes that is basically a buttercream frosting recipe- I am disappointed with that one!)
Pecan-Coconut Toffee bar- graham crackers topped with homemade toffee and pecans/coconut/marshmallows. Looks easy and kid-freindly (The Baker's Daughter)
Incredible (Passover) Nutty Bar- an easy and yummy Pesach dessert. Basically mix together fruit/nuts/egg/sugar/oil and bake.
Almond Toffee Squares- similar to the Pecan-coconut toffee bar- almonds/toffee mixture/chocolate on a graham cracker
Ellen's brownies- Estee claims these are the **best** brownies ever. And the junkie frosting recipe that goes along with it makes it even better (I'm sure it does...but I'll probably be skipping it if I ever try the recipe). I don't like that this recipe calls for melting chocolate- it's hard to find good quality parve chocolate.
Inspired Brownies- basic brownie recipe with suggested add ins (this was also in the Mishpacha cookbook)
They'll never know brownies (or the gluten free brownie recipe)
The base to this recipe is canned chickpeas. I don't have anyone GF in my life so I probably won't try them. They look good though.

Cooking Inspired Part 2

7. Fish- I'm not really a fish eater, so you won't be hearing much from me in this chapter.
Salt crusted fish- This looked cool. You take a whole fish and make a salt crust around it and then bake it. After baking you remove the salt crust and eat the fish. It looks fun, but I can't see my family finishing a whole fish and the thought of handling a whole fish is just...not for me.
Cedar plank salmon with maple glaze- Another cool recipe that I will most probably never make. You bake the salmon that has been marinated in a yummy sounding maple syrup/soy sauce/honey glaze (OMG the SUGAR!!) on soaked cedar planks.
Walnut crusted salmon- salmon brushed with dijon mustard and topped with a breadcrumb/walnuts mixture. Looks easy and tasty. (Daphna Rabinovitch)
Oven fried fish- turbo/sole/halibut dipped in egg/mayo and then breadcrumbs and baked
Simple sesame glazed fish- Arctic Char with a sweet teriyaki glaze

8. The Main Course (I guess this means meat/chicken?)- One thing I REALLY like in this section is that many of the recipes do not use some sort of sweetener as a main ingredient. I feel that our food already contains so much sugar and that sweeteners should be minimized as much as possible and only used for desserts (I have the same issue with salad dressings).
Grilled chicken breasts with chimmichuri sauce- chicken breast marinated in soy sauce/balsamic vinegar/garlic/evoo and topped with a chimmichuri sauce (parsley/garlic/evoo/red wine vinegar). Quick, easy and not sweet.
Capons with vegetable stuffing- This is a very simple chicken recipe. Chicken capons (or you can use thighs and stuff under the skin) are stuffed with onion/carrrot/celery/mushrooms/zucchini). It is topped with duck sauce, which does add a whole load of sweetener to the dish. It's pretty and elegant. The veggie stuffing does take a little bit of time (shredding in the food processor and then cooking) and does dirty a few dishes. It may be a nice idea for Shabbos or Yom Tov.
Maple roast- This roast recipe is on my wish list. The roast is brushed with dijon mustard and a soy sauce/maple syrup glaze is poured over. Even though this recipe does call for a lot of sugar, I love the sound of the flavor profile and wouldn't have a issue making it once in a while.
Spanish Chicken with herbs and peppers- A one pot dish!! Chicken cooked with peppers and jalapenos (leave out if it's too spicey for your kids), garlic, tomato paste/tomatoes, white wine, sugar (I would try to half the sugar), capers/olives, herbs and chicken stock. It looks like a simple and tasty dish that basically uses healthy ingredients.
Best burgers ever (also featured in the Best of the Family Table grrrr)- standard burgers get an upgrade with the addition of grounded portabella mushrooms and some herbs.
Hickory hamburgers- a ground chicken/beef burgers gets a smokey flavor with the addition of smoked paprika (this spice is awesome!!).
New meatloaf- meatloaf is upgraded with ground pastrami, dill and a shallot instead of the standard onion. It's brushed with duck sauce. The recipe is pretty simple, but you will need you good processor to grind the pastrami mixture.
Spicy meat sauce for a crowd- I love this recipe because it makes a huge amounts and cooks up in a crockpot. Estee says it freezes well. I don't love that the sauce calls for hot dogs, but you can use spicy sausages instead. You need to saute the onion/garlic/peppers first, but if you throw it in the crockpot raw it should come out fine. You also add ground beef/hot dogs or spicy sausages and tomato products/chicken stock/wine/bit of brown sugar/herbs and spices. I need to try this one day.
Savory honey glazed chicken- a whole chicken is rubbed with a dry spice rub, grilled and then brushed with a honey glaze. The glaze is sweet so I would only make this occasionally- maybe a good idea for Rosh Hashana?
Fruity Moroccan Chicken- chicken pieces that are rubbed with a spicy mixture are skewered with dried prunes and apricot and grilled. Nice for Tu B'shbat. No sugar although it is probably plenty sweet from the fruit.