Lime Cornmeal Cookies

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Looking back over the last couple of years on my blog, I noticed a trend. I seem to start the new year with some lemon based dessert/baked item. I'm not sure why but I crave citrus this time of the year. It is a refreshing change from the rich, decadent desserts that pervade the holiday season. With the New Year, I get a feeling of fresh start, or a new beginning. So maybe that's why I find citrus so appealing this time of the year. 

What seems fresher than lemons, possibly only lime! That's partially what drew me to this recipe. The other reason I wanted to make these cookies is because I'd never a cookie with cornmeal as an ingredient. In the spirit of New Years, this year I want to challenge myself to bake and cook things I've never tried before. That's about as close as I'm getting to a resolution. 

Lime Cornmeal Cookies
source: Southern Living, Jan 2011 (adapted)
 (Printable recipe)
 Makes about 2 1/2 dozen cookies
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup plain yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tablespoon lime zest
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Wax or parchment paper

Optional sugar mix for rolling: 
1/4 crystallized cup sugar
1 tablespoon lime zest

Method:
Combine flour and cornmeal. Beat butter and sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add egg and next 3 ingredients, beating until blended. Gradually add flour mixture, beating just until blended after each addition. Cover and chill dough 1 hour. Shape dough into a 12-inch log using wax paper. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and chill 8 hours.

If using, stir crystallized sugar and zest together, Spread on a piece of parchment paper or on your work surface, Unwrap the cookie log and roll log in the sugar mixture. Try to coat the log evenly, pressing lightly to help sugar to adhere.

 Preheat oven to 375°. Using a sharp knife, cut log into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake 10-12 minutes or until set. Transfer to wire racks; cool completely.

When I tasted these cookies, I thought they were pretty good. They had a nice subtle lime flavor, but  I wanted to kick that up a little more so I decided to add a lime glaze. I think it made these cookies even better.
The glaze on these cookies is a totally optional addition...well maybe for you, for me it's mandatory!

Lime Glaze
1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
2-3 tablespoons lime juice
zest from one lime
In a bowl, stir confectioners sugar and lime juice together. Stir until smooth. If the mixture is too thick, thin out by adding more lime juice, a teaspoon at a time until you get a glaze like consistency. Stir in lime zest
Place cookies on a baking rack over a baking sheet, to catch any drips. Drizzle on about a teaspoon of the glaze on the cookies. Wait about 5 minutes for the glaze to set-up slightly.

Who needs dinner when you can eat rugelach?

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I was scrounging around in my freezer today, looking for something for dinner. I didn't find anything I wanted for dinner, but I did find a batch of rugelach dough. Score! I made the dough for Dorie Greenspan's rugelach around Christmas. We had so many other cookies and dessert at Christmas that I never finished the rugelach.  Today was cold, gray, and dreary. The thought of freshly baked rugelach filled with nuts and fruit was just the thing to put a smile on my face!
You can fill you rugelach dough with almost anything you like. I used several different fillings for mine. I filled some of mine with apricot jam, pecans, currants, and chopped chocolate. I filled some with apricot jam, chopped dried apricots, and pecans. Then, in honor of World Nutella Day, I filled a some with Nutella. There's no wrong way to eat Nutella!!!

 Just look at those chocolate chunks!

Rugelach
(From Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From My Home to Yours)
(Printable Recipe)
Ingredients:
For the dough
4 ounces cold cream cheese, cut into 4 pieces
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

For the filling
2/3 cup raspberry jam, apricot jam or marmalade
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts or almonds)
1/4 cup plump, moist dried currants
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped, or 2/3 cup store-bought mini chocolate chips

For the glaze
1 large egg
1 teaspoon cold water
2 tablespoons sugar, preferably coarse sugar

Method:

For the dough 
Let the cream cheese and butter rest on counter for 10 minutes. It should be slightly softened but cool.
Put the flour and salt in a food processor, scatter over the chunks of cream cheese and butter and pulse the machine for 6 to 10 times. Then process, scraping down the sides of the bowl often, just until the dough forms large curds. Do not work the dough too long that it forms a ball on the blade. Remove the dough from the food processor, divide into half, shape each half into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and then refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to a day. (Wrap airtight, the dough can be frozen for up to 2 months.)

To make the filling 
Heat the jam in a saucepan over low heat, or microwave until it liquefies. Mix sugar and cinnamon together.
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.

To shape the cookies 
 Pull one packet of dough from the refrigerator. If it is too firm to roll easily, leave it on the counter for about 10 minutes or give it a few bashes with your rolling pin.
On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into an 11- to 12-inch circle. Spoon (or brush) a thin gloss of jam over the dough, and sprinkle over half of the cinnamon sugar.  Scatter over half of the nuts, half of the chopped chocolate and half of the currants. Cover the filling with a piece of wax paper and gently press the filling into the dough, then remove the paper and save it for the next batch. Using a pizza wheel or a sharp knife, cut the dough into 16 wedges, or triangles.The easiest way to do this is to cut into quarters, then cut each quarters into 4 pieces. Starting at the base of each triangle, roll the dough up so that each triangle becomes a little crescent. 
Arrange the roll-ups on one baking sheet, making sure the points are tucked under the cookies, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. (The cookies can be refrigerate overnight or frozen for up to 2 months; don't defrost before baking, just add a couple of minutes to the baking time.)
 Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 350 degree F.

To glaze 
Stir the egg and water together. Brush a bit of the glaze over each rugelach. Sprinkle the cookies with sugar. Bake the cookies for 20 to 25 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back at the midway point, until they are puffed and golden. Transfer the cookies to racks to cool to just warm or to room temperature.

In case you didn't know today is World Nutella Day! Yes Nutella is so wonderful it deserves it's own day!!
Sara from Ms. Adventures in Italy and Michelle from Bleeding Espresso solemnly declare Friday, February 5th “World Nutella Day 2010″ – a day to celebrate, to get creative with, and most importantly, to EAT Nutella. So here is my submission to the cause! Long live Nutella!! (yes I love it!)

Nutella filled rugelach

Scrumpdillyicious Chocolate Chip Biscotti...

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...or the continued effort to have our dessert and eat it too!

I have to confess that with most baked goodies I can maintain a certain amount of restraint. I bake lots of cupcakes and can take them or leave them.  This however is not the case with cookies. Fresh homemade cookies are like a siren's call to me, especially during the winter. The cold weather makes me want a piping hot cup of coffee and there's really nothing better with coffee than a cookie. This is really true if you're a dunker, like me. Chocolate chip cookies are my favorite coffee dunking cookie. I really have no will power when it come to freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. I'll polish off three or four with a cup of coffee with no problem.
Anyway this winter has been the coldest one we've had since the ice age or something, and I been drinking potfuls of coffee. All this coffee drinking has had me craving chocolate chip cookies but haven't made any because I know I have zero cookie willpower. So I opted to make biscotti instead. This biscotti is lower in fat and calories than my chocolate chip cookie recipe. Not only does it taste great but the crunchiness biscotti makes it better than cookies for dunking into coffee.

As I was making these I realized that although I've eating lots of biscotti, I'd never actually made biscotti before. Well, I foresee lots of biscotti baking in my future!


Chocolate Chip Biscotti  (printable recipe)

Makes about 5 doz biscotti
2 cups all-purpose flour 
1 cup sugar 
1 tsp baking powder 
1/4 tsp. salt
Pinch ground cinnamon 
4 Tbls. cold  butter 
3 large eggs, lightly beaten 
1 cup semisweet-chocolate mini chips, or regular 
1 cup walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped 
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. With pastry blender, 2 knives used scissor-fashion, or quickly with your hands, cut in butter until mixture resembles fine crumbs. 
Spoon 1 tablespoon beaten eggs into cup; reserve. Add chocolate chips, walnuts, vanilla, and remaining beaten eggs to flour mixture; stir until evenly moistened. With hand, knead mixture a few times in bowl until dough forms. 
On floured surface, with floured hands, divide dough into quarters. Shape each quarter into a 9" by 2" log. Place logs crosswise, 4 inches apart, on 2 large cookie sheets. With pastry brush, brush tops and sides of logs with reserved egg. Bake logs 25 minutes. Cool logs on cookie sheet on wire rack 10 minutes. 

Place 1 log on cutting board. With serrated knife, cut warm log crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick diagonal slices.

You will be tempted to just eat it right now as you slice it!

 

do what I did and eat the little end piece...no one will ever know!

Place slices upright on cookie sheets. Repeat with remaining logs. Bake slices 15 minutes to allow biscotti to dry out. Cool completely on sheets on wire racks. Biscotti will harden as they cool. Store biscotti in tightly covered container.
 

Now brew a pot of coffee! 

Merry Decorating

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The holiday season is a great excuse to make lots of cookies, which are my personal weakness. I'll turn down a piece of cake, say no thanks to a doughnut, but wave a homemade cookie in my face and I'm all over it! Sugar cookies are pretty high up on my list of favorite cookies. I've posted before about how much I like this sugar cookie recipe, but if your looking for a great tasting cookie that really holds its shape when cut-out, then try these cookies. I discovered this recipe a couple of years ago when I hosted my first Drop in and Decorate party. These cookies are perfect for making cut out cookies. They maintain their shape and size and don't puff up when baked, so you end up with a nice flat surface to decorate.

 DROP IN AND DECORATE SUGAR COOKIES 

Makes 16-20 large cookies; see note below for making multiple batches.
 Printable recipe
3-1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1-1/4 cups best quality unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 Tbsp milk
2-1/2 tsp best quality pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a couple of baking sheets with a Silpat or parchment paper. In a large bowl, stir together flour, baking powder and salt. In another large bowl or the bowl of a heavy-duty stand mixer, beat together the butter and sugar, until fluffy. Add egg, milk and vanilla, and continue to beat until well blended and smooth. Beat flour mixture into the butter mixture until smooth. Divide dough in half. Place one half on a sheet of parchment paper or wax paper; cover with another sheet and roll to 1/4 inch. Repeat with second half of dough. Refrigerate dough for at least 30 minutes, or up to a couple of days (or, if making far in advance, you can freeze at this point. Wrap sheets tightly in plastic wrap). Remove one sheet from the refrigerator; peel off the top wax paper, then replace paper and invert dough. Peel off and discard what is now the top sheet of paper, and cut out the cookies. (cookies will spread, so do not place too close together on the baking sheet). Reroll scraps, refrigerating if necessary to firm the dough.
Bake for 6-9 minutes, or until just lightly colored on top and slightly darker at the edges. Rotate sheets halfway through for even browning. Remove pans from oven and let cookies cool 2-3 minutes. Then remove cookies to a rack and let cool completely. (At this point, the cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to two weeks, in layers separated by parchment or wax paper.) After the cookies are completely cooled, decorate with Royal Icing. 

*Note: to make multiple batches, do NOT double the recipe. It’s hard to control proportions. Instead, make multiples of the original recipe, one batch at a time, for guaranteed success!

*Another note: Rolled sheets of cookie dough can be made ahead and frozen (or, if you're going to use them within a day or two, you can stack the rolled sheets of dough on a cookie sheet in the refrigerator). Let defrost until dough is pliable enough to be cut without breaking cookies, but not necessarily completely defrosted.

I tried several different recipes for Royal Icing. Some work better than others. It's really all about getting the right balance of water. I've had the best success using this recipe, but still find that with each batch I have to adjust the amount of water slightly. For a step-by-step guide to decorating with Royal Icing, check out this tutorial over at Annie's Eats

Royal Icing
Ingredients:
4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2 tbsp. meringue powder
5 tbsp. water
Directions:
Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.  Mix on low speed until the sheen has disappeared and the icing has a matte appearance (about 7-10 minutes).  Transfer the contents of the mixing bowl to an air-tight container. Add water in small amounts mixing well until desired consistency is reached. Gel icing colors work best for coloring your royal icing. You can use liquid food coloring, but it will change the constancy of your icing, so keep that in mind if you intend to use a liquid food coloring. Keep the royal icing in air tight containers. Do not refrigerate.

 

 Merry decorating!!

This is also my submission to Food Blogga's 3rd annual Eat Christmas Cookies round up. If you'd like to send in a cookie to be added to the round-up go here. To check out all the cookies sent in so far, go here. 

There are some really mouthwatering looking cookies so be sure to check them out!!

 

Milan Cookies

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The July Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Nicole at Sweet Tooth. She chose Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies and Milan Cookies from pastry chef Gale Gand of the Food Network. We could pick either one or do both if we wanted. I have always been a huge fan of the Milan cookie so that's what I chose to make.
These cookies are very simple to make. The challenge comes in piping them out. They really spread out when cooking. My first batch of cookies were huge. Not necessarily a bad thing! The finished cookies taste just like the Milan cookies made by Pepperidge Farms, and they're so easy I can whip them up anytime.
Be sure to check out all the other Daring Bakers. The Mallows look so good I may just break down and make them soon!
Thanks to Nicole for a fun challenge!!


Milan Cookies

Prep Time: 20 min
Inactive Prep Time: 0 min
Cook Time: 1 hr 0 min
Serves: about 3 dozen cookies

• 12 tablespoons (170grams/ 6 oz) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 1/2 cups (312.5 grams/ 11.02 oz) powdered sugar
• 7/8 cup egg whites (from about 6 eggs)
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons lemon extract
• 1 1/2 cups (187.5grams/ 6.61 oz) all purpose flour
• Cookie filling, recipe follows

Cookie filling:
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 orange, zested

1. In a mixer with paddle attachment cream the butter and the sugar.
2. Add the egg whites gradually and then mix in the vanilla and lemon extracts.
3. Add the flour and mix until just well mixed.
4. With a small (1/4-inch) plain tip, pipe 1-inch sections of batter onto a parchment-lined sheet pan, spacing them 2 inches apart as they spread.
5. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10 minutes or until light golden brown around the edges. Let cool on the pan.
6. While waiting for the cookies to cool, in a small saucepan over medium flame, scald cream.
7. Pour hot cream over chocolate in a bowl, whisk to melt chocolate, add zest and blend well.
8. Set aside to cool (the mixture will thicken as it cools).
9. Spread a thin amount of the filling onto the flat side of a cookie while the filling is still soft and press the flat side of a second cookie on top.
10. Repeat with the remainder of the cookies.


Sorry my post is a little late but Hubs got me a new camera for my birthday and I've been learning to use it. I'm in love with it! Thanks Hubs for the great gift!

Chocolate cappuccino cookies

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I'm not a hoarder. You know someone who buys things they don't need and keeps things they never use. Although if you looked in my closet at the moment, you may disagree...haha. Definitely time for a good spring cleaning in there.
I do however find it hard not to buy interesting food products. Sauces, olive oils, chocolate, etc.. I find myself buy these things with no real idea of what I'm going to do with them but figuring out ways to use them is half the fun. The food sections in stores like Big Lots and TJ Maxx are some of my favorite places.
I came across these cappuccino chips while pillaging in our local Big Lots. I love the food section at Big Lots because it's a bit like a scavenger hunt, you never know what you might come across. I've found all sorts of things from chutney's to chocolate, all at really great prices. Yes you have to scrounge around a bit but you can find some really cool stuff. There's only one downside, you may never come across the same product twice. So if you fall in love with some product, it may never be there again! Oh well, time to try something new, I guess.


I wanted to make these chips into cookies and I thought they'd be really good with a chocolate cookie. I couldn't find a recipe that was exactly want I wanted so I adapted a recipe for chocolate chocolate chip cookies. I added a little cinnamon and some espresso powder to the these cookies. I think that a little coffee added to chocolate really adds depth of flavor to the chocolate and would be good with the cappuccino chips. The next time I make these, I think I'll do half cappuccino chips and half chocolate chips, just because I'd like them to be a bit more chocolaty. Well that's my plan if I can find the cappuccino chips again!

Chocolate Cappuccino Cookies

Method

2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 sticks butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs, beaten
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp espresso powder
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 cups cappuccino chips
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a bowl, stir together flour, salt, and baking soda. In another large bowl stir together butter, sugars, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, espresso powder and cocoa. Gradually stir flour mixture into butter mixture. Mix until combined. Stir in cappuccino chips (and walnuts, if using) until they are evenly distributed. Drop dough by tablespoonfuls onto greased baking sheets. Bake about 10 minutes. Cool on a baking rack.

Honey Shortbread

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I love shortbread cookies. All that flaky buttery goodness. What could be better? Well how about shortbread with a toffee-like layer on top and just a hint of saltiness? Oh yeah it's really good and super easy to make as well. The honey melts into the top of the shortbread and kind of caramelizes on the top. Paired with the salt and the buttery shortbread...in short (pun intended) yum!
Honey Shortbread
Nonstick cooking spray
7-1/2 oz. (1-2/3 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
6 oz. (3/4 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
3 Tbs. honey
1 tsp. kosher salt (I used gray sea-salt)

Spray a 9-1/2-inch tart pan with removable bottom with cooking spray.

In a food processor, briefly pulse the flour and sugar. Add the butter and pulse until incorporated and the mixture is sandy and uniform. Press the dough evenly into the prepared pan with your fingers. There will be some loose crumbs around the edges, but most of the dough should be solid and compact. Refrigerate until chilled, least 30 minutes.

Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350°F. Using the tines of a fork, dock the dough evenly all over. Bake the shortbread until golden in the center, 40 to 45 minutes.

Heat the honey in the microwave until warm and liquid but not boiling, about 10 seconds. Pour the honey over the shortbread and spread with a pastry brush over the entire surface. Sprinkle the salt evenly over the honey. Return the pan to the oven and bake for 3 minutes more.

Transfer the pan to a rack and let the shortbread cool slightly, about 15 minutes. While still warm, remove the tart pan ring and cut the shortbread into 12 wedges with a sharp knife. Cool completely before serving or storing. The cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 week.
Source: Fine Cooking
October 23, 2008

Tuiles the latest DB'rs challenge

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This month's challenge is brought to us by Karen of Bake My Day and Zorra of 1x umruehren bitte aka Kochtopf. They have chosen Tuiles from The Chocolate Book by Angélique Schmeink and Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux.
Okay I know I'm sliding in under the wire this month. It seems no matter how I think I'm going to change my procrastinating ways, the DB'rs challenge still sneaks up on me! Anyway this was a fun challenge. There was lots of room for creativity. I made my tuiles into cups filled with strawberry mousse in a pool of strawberry syrup. Just for fun I made some tuiles in the shape of butterflies. I had a great time with this challenge and the end results were very tasty! Be sure to check out all the other DB'rs tuiles. Thanks to our hostesses Karen and Zorra for such a fun challenge!


Strawberry Mousse
1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
3 tablespoons cold water
1 cup strawberries
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg white
3/4 cup heavy cream
In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over 1 tablespoon of the water and let stand until softened, about 5 minutes. In a blender, puree the strawberries with the remaining 2 tablespoons of water. Strain the strawberry puree into a small saucepan; there should be about 3/4 cup. Add the sugar and bring to a boil. Simmer the strawberry mixture over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until it is slightly reduced, about 5 minutes. Stir in the softened gelatin until dissolved. Let the mixture cool.
In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the egg white until firm peaks form. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the cooled berry puree until no streaks of white remain. In another bowl, beat the heavy cream until softly whipped. Fold the whipped cream into the berry mixture and refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour.

Strawberry Syrup
3/4 cup water
1/3 cup granulated sugar
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
1 cup strawberries, plus more for garnish
In a small saucepan, combine the water sugar and lemon zest and bring to a boil. Add the strawberries to the syrup and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and cook, crushing the blackberries against the side of the pan, until the liquid is slightly reduced and the berries have broken down, about 15 minutes. Strain the syrup into a heatproof cup without pressing. Refrigerate the syrup until chilled.

Snickerdoodles and giveaway winners!

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Snickerdoodles have always been one of my all-time favorite cookies. My mom made these all the time when I was growing up. I remember being thrilled when I opened my lunch box and in it was two snickerdoodles, wrapped in waxed paper. At that point I didn't care what else I had for lunch!
There are two different methods for making snickerdoodles. One that uses cream of tartar and one that uses baking powder. I've tried both ways and I know that baking powder has cream of tartar in it, but the cookies just don't taste quite the same. The cream of tartar lends a bit of tang to the cookies and also helps with the texture of the cookie. I also prefer the all butter recipe over the part shortening part butter recipes.
In my opinion snickerdoodles way better than your average sugar cookie. The top of a snickerdoodle is crackled and crisp but the inside is soft. Perfect cookie texture! For some reason though I haven't made them in a long time. They are an old fashioned cookie and I guess because I love trying new recipes, I just neglected to make snickerdoodles for a while. I recently renewed my love affair with this cookie and will be make anther batch before Christmas. I thought this would be the perfect cookie to submit to the Eat Christmas Cookies Season 2 round-up hosted by Susan of Food Blogga


From Joy of Cooking

Makes about 36 3" cookies

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease or line 2 cookie sheets.
Whisk until well blended
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Beat in a large bowl
1 cup (2 sticks)unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar

Add and beat until well combined
2 large eggs

Stir in the flour mixture.

In another bowl combine
1/4 cup sugar
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Shape the dough into 1 1/4-inch balls, roll in the cinnamon sugar, and arrange about 2 3/4 inches apart on the cookie sheets. Bake until the cookies are light golden brown and the edges, 12 to 14 minutes. Let stand briefly, then remove to a rack to cool.

And now for the winner's of the Silver Bells book giveaway!! I drew numbers and the winners are...Pam of For the Love of Cooking and Cathy of Noble Pig. Congrats!! Just email me your mailing address to paulahennig(at)msn(dot)com and I'll get your book in the mail. Thanks to everyone for all your great comments!

Triple Threat Chocolate Cookies

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Okay so taking dessert to your dentist probably seems like a strange thing to do.
Today I have to go back to the dentist to get my crown finished. Not an event I particularly look forward too, but I do have a really nice dentist. At every visit the conversation turns to food within a few minutes of my sitting in the chair. As much of a conversation as you can have with some one's hand in your mouth!
At my last cleaning, mouth open and much scraping going on, my hygienist starts asking me about cooking and what I like to cook. I try to answer her using mostly grunts. Our conversation went something like this:
Hygienist: "Do you ever watch the Food Network?"
Me: "Uh huh"
Her: "I just love that lady , you know the Southern one. What's her name?"
Me: Aula Een?
Her: "Yeah I just love Paula Deen. She's so funny. Do you ever watch her show?"
Me: "Om imes"
Her: "All her food looks so good. Have you ever made any of her recipes?"
Me "ess"
Amazingly it seems she can decipher this strange language.
When the dentist comes in to check on me, he asks, "So what'd you bring us to eat?"
So how do you answer that? The next time I see this person, he'll be drilling on my tooth!
I find myself promising to bring him some goodies on my next visit. Hey, I'm not above bribery. I'll bring you goodies, you give me happy gas! Besides dentists have lots of toothbrushes on hand.

I chose to make the Pastry Queens "Triple Threat Chocolate Cookies" for my bribery. These cookies are seriously chocolate. They're are almost flourless, just 1/3 cup of flour to about a pound of chocolate! Soft, densely chocolate, ...sublime!

Triple-Threat Chocolate Chip Cookies

Source: The Pastry Queen by Rebecca Rather

1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup chopped walnuts
6 TBSP unsalted butter
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
3 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 TBSP vanilla extract
1/3 cup all purpose flour
¼ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
1 ½ cups semisweet or milk chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350F. Arrange the pecans and walnuts on a baking sheet in a single layer and toast for 7 to 9 minutes until golden brown. Cool the nuts completely.
Grease baking pan generously with butter or cooking spray.
Melt the butter, bittersweet chocolate, and unsweetened chocolate in a small saucepan set over low heat. Stir occasionally, watching carefully to make sure the chocolate does not burn. Remove the pan from the heat to cool.
Using a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the eggs and sugar in a large bowl on medium speed for about 3 minutes, until fluffy. Add the vanilla and melted chocolate. Beat on medium speed about 2 minutes, until the dough is thick and glossy. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt to the chocolate mixture, stirring just until incorporated. Stir in the nuts and chocolate chips. Let the dough rest for 20 minutes, which makes it easier to scoop.
Use a 1 ¾ inch diameter scoop to drop spoonfuls of dough on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them at least 1 ½ inches apart. Wet your fingertips lightly with water and gently flatten the cookie dough(no need to press hard, just press out the hump) Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the tops begin to crack and look glossy. Cool the cookies for 10 minutes before removing them from the baking sheets.

Tale of two cookies

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I'm back!! After a whirlwind tour of visiting G's family all over the state on NC, we're starting to get back in to the swing of every day life. It's been great just to be able to do all the normal everyday things again. I didn't realize how much I've missed the routine of every day, like making dinner and sitting on the couch with someone other than the dog. The conversation is better too!
I've also jumped right back into baking this week with a large order for sugar cookies decorated like maple leaves. I tried a couple of different sugar cookie recipes to see which one worked best. Back in December I had hosted a Drop in and Decorate cookie party. The idea of a drop in and decorate party is that you invite a group of friends and neighbors to come over and decorate sugar cookies for charity. Lydia of Nine Cooks came up with this unique and fun concept. For the party I used Lydia's cookie recipe and it was great for cut-out cookies. So I knew her recipe would work great for making a large amount of cut-out cookies, but I can't resist trying new recipes. I made a batch of Dori's Greenspan's sugar cookies as well. The two recipes are only slightly different. Dori's had less butter and more egg than the Lydia's recipe. I thought maybe the lesser amout of butter would help when I cut out the cookies.
How did they compare? Well first of all, both recipes taste really great. Dori's recipe makes a softer cookie that puffs up a bit more during baking. Lydia's recipe makes a crisper cookie that keeps it's shape when baked and really holds up well to decorating.
If you want a really nice soft sugar cookie, go with Dori's recipe. However, if you've got to make 18 dozen cookies cut out in the shape of a leaf and then iced, Lydia's recipe the one to use!
For Lydia's sugar cookie recipe go here

Grandma's All-Occasion Sugar Cookies
Excerpted from Baking: From My House to Yours by Dorie Greenspan (Houghton Mifflin, 2006). Copyright 2006 by Dorie Greenspan

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 stick plus 2 tablespoons (10 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Whisk the flour, salt and baking powder together.

1. Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter at medium speed for a minute or so, until smooth. Beat in the sugar and continue to beat for about 2 minutes, until the mixture is light and pale. Add the egg and yolk and beat for another minute or two; beat in the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low and steadily add the flour mixture, mixing only until it has been incorporated — because this dough is best when worked least, you might want to stop the mixer before all the flour is thoroughly blended into the dough and finish the job with a rubber spatula. When mixed, the dough will be soft, creamy and malleable.

2. Turn the dough out onto a counter and divide it in half. If you want to make roll-out cookies, shape each half into a disk and wrap in plastic. If you want to make slice-and-bake cookies, shape each half into a chubby sausage (the diameter is up to you — I usually like cookies that are about 2 inches in diameter) and wrap in plastic. Whether you're going to roll or slice the dough, it must be chilled for at least 2 hours. (Well wrapped, the dough can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months.)

3. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.

4. If you are making roll-out cookies, working with one packet of dough at a time, roll out the dough between sheets of plastic wrap or wax paper to a thickness of 1/4 inch, lifting the plastic or paper and turning the dough over often so that it rolls evenly. Lift off the top sheet of plastic or paper and cut out the cookies — I like a 2-inch round cookie cutter for these. Pull away the excess dough, saving the scraps for rerolling, and carefully lift the rounds onto the baking sheets with a spatula, leaving about 1 1/2 inches between the cookies. (This is a soft dough and you might have trouble peeling away the excess or lifting the cutouts; if so, cover the dough, chill it for about 15 minutes and try again.) After you've rolled and cut the second packet of dough, you can form the scraps into a disk, then chill, roll, cut and bake.

5. If you are making slice-and-bake cookies, use a sharp thin knife to slice the dough into 1/4-inch-thick rounds, and place the rounds on the baking sheets, leaving about 1 1/2 inches of space between the cookies.

6. Bake the cookies one sheet at a time for 9 to 11 minutes, rotating the sheet at the midpoint. The cookies should feel firm, but they should not color much, if at all. Remove the pan from the oven and dust the cookies with sugar or cinnamon sugar, if you'd like. Let them rest for 1 minute before carefully lifting them onto a rack to cool to room temperature.

7. Repeat with the remaining dough, cooling the baking sheets between batches.

Storing: The cookies will keep at room temperature in a tin for up to 1 week. Wrapped well, they can be frozen for up to 2 months.



The icing has to dry overnight so my dining room table has so many leaves on it, it looks like it needs to be raked!

To dunk or not to dunk...

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When it comes to cookies, I believe that people fall into two distinct groups: the dunkers and the non-dunkers. My father's side of the family fall into the first catagory. That side of my family is Pennsylvania Dutch. As a small child I remember my grandmother on my dad's side telling me that it was very "Dutchy to dunk". And boy was that true! They are all big dunkers. They dunk way more than just their cookies. Pretty much everything sweet is plunged into some a liquid of some form. My mother, who was raised in California and transplanted to PA when she married my dad, was mystified by this practice.

I learned to dunk at an early. Taught by my grandmother and father, I was an expert dunker by the age of two, or so my mom says. Apparently I wouldn't eat a cookie if I didn't have any milk to dunk it in. I do clearly remember at the age of 4 or 5 of going to spend the day playing at a friends house. Her mom gave us some Oreos for a snack and no milk. I really wanted to eat it but with on milk, I wasn't sure what to do. I must have looked perplexed because my friends mom asked if something was wrong or if I didn't like Oreos. I told her I needed milk to eat my cookies. She told me I took after my father and handed me a glass of milk.

If you are a dunker, you also learn quickly what kinds of cookies can stand up to be dunked. If you're using milk, you can get away with most any cookies. Coffee or hot tea are a bit trickier. You definitely need a good sturdy cookie. Although some cookies are better than others for dunking, your timing is everything. You have to leave the cookie in the milk long enough to soak up some of it up, but not too long. Dunking your cookie too long will have disastrous consequences. The soaked cookie could break off and sink to the bottom of you glass. Or possibly just as your about to bite the cookie, it breaks and falls to the floor, or worse, on your lap. Horror! Now not only have you lost you cookie but your lap is covered in soggy cookie.
You non-dunkers may wonder why we bother. True we could just eat our cookies with our milk. But those of us that fall into the dunker category understand why we do it. It makes the cookie and the dunking beverage of choice, come together in a way they never could alone. It's all about that perfect bite. So to dunk or not to dunk which do you do?

Oatmeal Toffee Cookies
(about 4 dozen)

8 oz (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temp.
2 cups light brown sugar
2 large eggs, at room temp.
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp dark rum or rum extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups quick-cooking oats
1 1/3 cups (8 oz bag) Heath Bits 'O Brickle Toffee Bits
1/3 cup semi sweet chocolate pieces(optional)
Preheat oven 375°F.

Sift together flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix in vanilla extract and rum.

Add flour mixture and mix until flour is just incorporated. Mix in oats chocolate and toffee bits.

Drop dough by rounded teaspoons about 2 inches apart onto a parchment line cookie sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Allow to cool for 2 minutes on cookie sheet then transfer to cooling rack.

This is a an excellent cookie no matter how you choose to eat your cookies!

Love Triangle?... two men and a cookie

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Hubs has been deployed for about 6 months now and I gotta tell you it gets lonelier as the weeks go by. I gone through a lot of chocolate lately! Oh and I've fallen for a french man. I've worshipped him from afar for a long time and he sends me wonderful e-mails. The pictures make me swoon! I find him a bit intimidating, but he has wooed me with his chocolate and pastries. I have finally worked up the courage to introduce myself to Pierre Herme. Well not literally, but after drooling over his incredible confections for years, I wanted to try to make one of his delectable pastries myself. I found his recipe for Joyaux au Chocolat or Chocolate Sparklers and Pierre, I think I love you! These cookies are delicate, flaky, buttery, chocolaty, with just a hint of salt, in a word, perfect. The cookies simple to make, with only a few ingredients. Be sure to use a good quality butter and cocoa when making them because that's what really makes the cookie so divine. This was a great introduction to Pierre's recipes , I can't wait to try another. If your not already in love with Pierre Herme, just make these cookies and he'll sweep you off your feet!
P.S. don't worry hubs I haven't replaced you;)
Chocolate Sparklers
Makes about 30 cookies.

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup Dutch processed cocoa
Pinch of ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt
1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg yolk
Crystallized (turbinado) sugar for coating


Sift the flour, cocoa, cinnamon and salt together and keep close at hand. Place the butter in a mixer fitted with the paddle and beat on medium speed to soften it. Gradually add the sugar and vanilla extract and continue to beat, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, until the mixture is smooth and creamy but not airy.

Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture, blending only until the ingredients are just combined - no more. Alternatively, you can remove the bowl from the mixer and stir the flour into the dough with a rubber spatula. The point is to mix the dough as gently as possible - this light touch is what will give the cookies their characteristic crumbly texture.

As soon as the last of the flour is no longer visible, divide the dough in half, shape each half into a ball, wrap the balls in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.

Working on a smooth surface, form each piece of dough into a log that's about 1 1/2 inches thick and 7 1/2 inches long. To get a solid log, one without that commonly found hole in the center; use the heel of your hand to gently flatten the dough, then flatten the dough lightly each time you fold it over on itself to make the log. Assured that the log is solid, you can roll it gently under your palms to smooth it out.

Wrap the logs in plastic and chill for 1 to 2 hours. (The dough can be made ahead, wrapped airtight, and stored in the freezer for up to 1 month.)

Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set them aside.

In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolk until it is smooth and liquid enough to use as a glaze; keep it close at hand. Spread some sugar out on a piece of wax paper.

Remove the logs of dough from the refrigerator; unwrap them and brush them very lightly with a small amount of the egg yolk. Roll the logs in the sugar, pressing gently on the sugar to get it to stick if necessary. Then, using a sharp slender knife, slice each log into cookies 1/2 inch thick.

Arrange the cookies on the baking sheets, leaving about an inch of space between each one, and bake for 15 to 18 minutes, rotating the pans front to back and top to bottom at the midway mark, until the cookies are just firm to the touch. Transfer the cookies to racks to cool to room temperature.

Unbaked logs of dough can be frozen for up to one month (before rolling them in sugar).

Baked cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 to 5 days.



P.S.S. By the way in his latest e-mail, Pierre mentioned he's bringing back his gorgeous macaroons this month. Oh how I wish I were in Paris right now!

milk and grown-up oatmeal cookies

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Well they're perfectly fine for children I'm sure, but when I first saw a recipe for oatmeal cookies with fat raisins I had to make them. The raisins are simmered in rum and white wine. Boozed up raisins have got to be good! Oatmeal cookies are one of my favorite cookies so with drunken raisins...I really wanted to try these. Share them with the kids if you like, but after one bite you may want to tell your children these cookies are for "grown-ups".

The recipe is by Sherry Yard's newest cookbook Desserts by the Yard. I'm a fan of Sherry and love her latest cookbook. She made these cookies for a party at Spago for President Clinton. He declared them his favorite cookie. So in her cookbook she calls them President Clinton's Oatmeal Cookies. As if the drunken raisins weren't reason enough to try them, they've also got a Presidential endorsement! I have to say after making them, I agree with President Clinton. These are some good cookies.
The fat raisins are so tasty and add a wonderful depth of flavor to the cookie. And look how pretty the raisins are, like little jewels!

After making these tipsy raisins I want to put them in everything. They'd be great in muffins, over ice cream, or maybe in sticky buns...mmmm...all the possiblities. Luckly I doubled the raisin portion of the recipe and have leftovers to use. I'll let you know how I use them!

For the Fat Raisins
1 cup seedless golden raisins
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1 tablespoon dark rum
2 tablespoons sugar
Make the Fat Raisins: Place the raisins, wine, orange juice, dark rum, and sugar in a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Lower the heat so that the raisins are at a bare simmer, and poach for about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside, covered with plastic wrap. (The raisins will keep, covered and refrigerated, for up to 2 weeks.)


For The Cookies
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspon baking soda
7 ounces (1-3/4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 large eggs, at room temperature
3 cups quick-cooking oats

Make the Cookies: Sift the flour and the baking soda together in a small bowl.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, cream the butter on high speed until lemony yellow, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and paddle. Add the sugars and spices. Continue creaming the mixture on high speed until it is smooth and lump free, about 2 more minuts. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle.
Add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl and paddle after each addition. Beat on low speed for 15 to 30 seconds, until the eggs are fully incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and paddle.
On low speed, add the sifted flour mixture, beating until all of the flour is incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Still on low, mix in the oats and raisins.
With a rubber spatula, scoop out half the dough and plop it down along the center of a sheet of parchment paper. Roll it up in the paper, creating a log about 2 inches wide and 12 inches long. Repeat with the second half of the dough. Twist the ends of the parchment and fold them over, creating sausages. Refigerate the dough logs for a minimum of one hour. (Well wrapped, the dough can be refigerated up to 3 days or frozen for up to 1 month.)
Place the racks in the middle and the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degreesF. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Unroll the dough. Using a chef's knife or a serrated knife, preferably offset, slice 1/2-inch-thick rounds off the log. Place the cookies on the baking sheets, spaced 2 inches apart. Bake for 12 minutes. Rotate the baking sheets from the top to bottom and from front to back, and bake for another 5 to 8 minutes, until nicely browned. Remove the cookies from the oven and carefully slide the parchment off the sheet and directly onto the work surface. Cool for at least 5 minutes before eating, or cool completely and store in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature.

Makes about 4 dozen smaller cookies or 2 dozen large