Tate’s Bake Shop Giveaway Winner! (& Chocolate Chip Cake)

Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway for a Tate’s Bake Shop cookbook and gift box of cookies!

I used random.org to pick a winner from the comments that made it in before midnight last night, and our winner was Anash! Anash, I’ll be emailing you to get your information so that we can send you your goodies. If I don’t hear back within 72 hours, we’ll have to pick a new winner.

If you weren’t the winner this time, don’t forget that Tate’s Bake Shop is generously offering Measuring Spoons readers a 15% discount off anything in their web store for the rest of April. Enter the code “cookies1″ at checkout to take advantage of this discount.

I’m loving the Tate’s Bake Shop Cookbook that I got. The other day, we had a bunch of friends over, and I whipped up Tate’s Chocolate Chip Cake. It’s simple and delicious, and you don’t need an icing. Thanks again, Tate’s!

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup salted butter, softened to room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
4 large eggs
2 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup sour cream
3 tablespoons heavy cream

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13×9 inch pan. Set it aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Set it aside.

In a bowl with an electric mixer, cream the butter till it’s light and creamy, about 4 minutes. Add the sugars and mix well. Add the vanilla and mix. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing them well and scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition.

Removed 1/4 cup of the flour mixture and toss it with the chocolate chips in a separate bowl. This keeps the chips from sinking to the bottom of the cake. Set it aside.

Add the remaining flour mixture alternately with the sour cream in three stages, beginning and ending with the flour. Mix in the heavy cream. Stir in the chocolate chip mixture.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and spread it evenly.

Bake the cake for 55 minutes or until a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean.

Yield: 16 servings.

Chocolate Chip Cookies for a Cause

This past weekend was our annual yard sale fundraiser for AIDS Walk NY. I’m extremely happy to report that it was a huge success (despite some finicky weather)! As has become tradition, we held a mini bake sale at the event. Chocolate chip cookies have always been the favorite, so my buddy Bo and I whipped up a big batch after we had to head in from the rain on Saturday afternoon.

Sunday morning, we got up early to package them and do a few other last minute preparations while we were setting up. We couldn’t get any little cello bags at the grocery store, and no place else was open at 7 a.m., so I settled for putting three of them in a row in a sandwich bag and folding the top over. I taped a red ribbon to the top of the bag (we give them out to everyone who donates to our sale), and they were just adorable. I wish I’d gotten a picture of the finished packaged product!

These cookies were great texturally, and the coarse salt gave a lovely contrast to the sweetness of the dough and the chocolate chips. These turned a gorgeous brown color on the outside, but stayed soft in the middle. Definitely a keeper!

Adapted from NY Times

If you’re into Chocolate Chip Cookies, don’t forget to enter my giveaway of some goodies from Tate’s Bake Shop, plus their wonderful cookbook!

Ingredients

3.5 cups of unbleached all purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt
1/4 cup vital wheat gluten
2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
1 cup light brown sugar
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon natural vanilla extract
1 1/4 pounds semi-sweet chocolate chips
a few drops of orange extract

Directions

In a stand mixer using the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each. Stir in the vanilla and the orange extract.

In a separate medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, coarse salt, and vital wheat gluten. Run a whisk through it to combine the dry ingredients.

A little at a time, add the dry mixture to the wet mixture, stirring it together until combined and no streaks of flour remain. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Chill dough for at least an hour.

Preheat the oven to 350*F. Drop tablespoons of dough onto parchment lined baking sheets. Bake for about 16 minutes at 350*F. Remove immediately from baking sheets and transfer to wire racks to cool.

Tate’s Bake Shop Review & Giveaway! [Closed]

This giveaway is now closed… The winner was announced here.

We don’t eat many cookies that I haven’t mixed up myself, but this week (a particularly busy one as we prepared for our annual charity yard sale), we got a special delivery from Tate’s Bake Shop. They generously sent a huge box of cookies and a copy of their cookbook for me to review.

Many shops in the NYC area stock bags of Tate’s cookies, and they’re delicious. I generally prefer a fluffier cookie, but Tate’s are so buttery and almost caramelized that I make an exception for their crispy cookies. I normally go for the standard chocolate chip ones when I buy them, but those almost pale in comparison next to the delicious White Chocolate Macadamia Nut cookies. And that crispy texture? It held up beautifully when I dunked the Oatmeal Raisin cookies in my cup of tea, softening it up and retaining that lovely flavor, but not crumbling sadly into my tea at all!

Suffice to say, Tate’s Cookies are welcome in our house anytime. I’m also super excited about the gorgeous cookbook they sent. It’s got a variety of muffins and scones, like the Carrot Muffins I’ll probably be making to use up the surplus from our farm share this week. There are pies, crisps, and cobblers that just might make their way into the rotation for our pie-eating contest this summer, like the not-too-sweet Apricot Pie. And oh! The cookies! There are over two dozen cookie recipes, like Orange & Oat Chewies and Toffee Pecan Cookies. Next week, we’re going on a long train trip, so I’m hoping to try out one of these recipes to share with you (and so we can snack on our ride!). To see the whole list of recipes, check out the book’s preview here.

Ready for the best part? Tate’s Bake Shop is going to give one Measuring Spoons reader a cookbook and gift pack of assorted cookies, too! All you have to do is leave a comment on this post to enter (make sure I have your email address so I can contact you if you win!).

For extra chances to win…

• Subscribe to Measuring Spoons and leave an extra comment saying you did so.
• “Like” Measuring Spoons on Facebook and leave an extra comment saying you did so.
• “Like” Tate’s Bake Shop on Facebook and leave an extra comment saying you did so.
• Tweet about this giveaway and leave an extra comment saying you did so.

Sample tweet: #Giveaway – Enter to #win an assorted cookie gift pack & cookbook from Tate’s Bake Shop & @MeasuringSpoons ends 4/21

If you’ve gotta get some of these cookies immediately, Tate’s Bake Shop is also kindly extending a discount to all you readers for the rest of April. Enter the code “cookies1″ at checkout for a 15% discount off anything in their web store.

Good luck!

The fine print: No purchase necessary. This contest will run from today, Saturday, April 16th, until next Thursday night, April 21st, at 11:59pm. The contest, unfortunately, is only open to people in the USA ages 18 and older. A winner will be chosen at random using random.org and will be contacted by email. The winner has 72 hours to respond, after which time, a new winner will be chosen. And, as a friendly disclaimer, I received complimentary products to review, but the opinions expressed here are completely my own.