Extreme Baking: Turning 240 Red Velvet Cheesecake Cookies into Chocolate Cheesecake Cookies

This is the third part of my Extreme Baking Mini Series, so If you haven't checked out part one; I entered a Cookie Baking Contest or part two; Planning to Bake For The Masses, check that out before proceeding!

So, the night before the Boston Cookie Takedown, I started my baking at about five pm. I doubled the recipe so that I wouldn't have to make fifteen bowls of cookie dough, only seven (and a half?) - If I was lucky.

The recipe I had used goes as follows:

 

For the Cookie (adapted from How Sweet It Is)

• 1/2 cup of butter
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 1/2 cup of brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• pinch of salt
• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• ten drops of red food coloring

For the Cheesecake (my addition to the original recipe)

• 1/2 cup cream cheese
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar

First, you're going to cream the butter and the sugars. Then beat in the baking soda, salt, egg, salt, food coloring and vanilla. Mix in cocoa powder. Stir in one cup flour until incorporated, then add the second half.

In a small bowl, beat cream cheese until light and fluffy. Mix in powdered sugar.


Form a small cookie shape, about the size of a quarter. Put a dollop of the cream cheese mixture on the middle.

After manufacturing a few of these, I decided to use a piping bag (and when I say "piping bag," I really mean a ziplock bag with a hole cut in the corner) because I was making such large quantities and I wanted to move as efficiently as possible.

Top each with a larger piece of dough, big enough to be folded over the entire cookie and meet with the bottom, quarter-sized part. 

Repeat to cover the cookie sheet.

Bake for 11 minutes, turning halfway through. After the first batch came out of the oven, I tried a few to make sure they were delicious, and they were. Only one problem, I didn't add enough red food coloring. They looked just like chocolate cookies. 

Realizing that I had like, at least two or three more sheets of cookies to make with this batch of dough, I decided that the cookie I brought to the contest was going to be a Chocolate Cheesecake cookie. 

I baked for about three and a half hours when Kelsey had gotten in touch with me and said she was coming to my area of town. By then, I had about 150 cookies made, and I could desperately use a drink. When she arrived, I had her try a few cookies and hang out while I baked a few more sheets. When I got close to two hundred, we decided to go out for Starry Night shots. I had a few more drinks, stumbled across an article in the paper about the contest, and then eventually wandered home and attempted to bake again. 

I baked a batch, and then decided I didn't want to anymore, and went to bed instead. I set my alarm for super early, woke up morning of the contest and baked a couple more sheets of cookies. Then, it was off to the Boston Cookie Takedown.

Check out my next post, Extreme Baking: The Boston Cookie Takedown.