Life-Changing Chocolate Chip Cookies

Um, guys...  This is IT.  This THE cookie recipe to END ALL OTHERS.  And I've tried all the others.  I don't know if it's the combination of cake and bread flour (cake flour being finer; bread flour ensuring it's sturdy) or the unsalted butter with coarse salt and sprinkled sea salt (drawing out the savory), or the "aging" of the dough, or what.  But this is THE last and only chocolate chip cookie recipe you will ever need.  EVER.  EVER!!!

As written, this makes a huge batch.  That's not a problem at all because you basically keep the dough in the refrigerator - where it seriously only produces better cookies with each passing day - and make hot fresh cookies on demand.  And by demand I mean… like, twice daily.  And yeah, you might want to get your hands on some pasteurized eggs (try Whole Foods) so that you don't get sick from the dough you inevitably sneak.  Unless, of course, you're trying to cure some sort of ailment by consuming raw animal products.  If that's the case, a refrigerator full of this stuff is exactly what you need.  Just don't expect it to cure any of the illnesses it, um, causes you.  I digress...

Life-Changing Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 cups minus 2 tbsp cake flour (8.5 oz)

1 2/3 cups bread flour (8.5 oz)

1 1/4 tsp baking soda 

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp coarse salt (Kosher or Sea Salt)

2 1/2 sticks (1.25 cups) unsalted butter

1 1/4 cups light brown sugar

1 cup plus 2 tbsp granulated sugar (8 oz)

2 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla

1 1/4 pounds (20 oz) bittersweet chocolate discs, chunks or feves, at least 60% cacao (see note)

Sea Salt

Place flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a bowl.  Whisk together.

Mix butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.  Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each.  Add vanilla.  Reduce speed to low.  Add dry ingredients until just combined (5-10 seconds).  Mix in chocolate.  Press plastic wrap against dough - so it doesn't dry out - and refrigerate at least 24 hours.  (It still tastes great if you make a few right away… but it really does get even better each day).  

Bake at 350 after sprinkling each cookie lightly with sea salt; they are intended to be eaten warm and fresh.  If you don't already have one, you MUST get an Oxo cookie scoop - makes it so fast and easy to get perfectly even cookies.  The instructions say to use parchment paper and the friend who sent me this recipe says they're most amazing with a Silpat silicone nonstick baking sheet (on Amazon).  But I've been baking these daily and too lazy to keep up with the parchment.  Might check into the baking sheet.  [Update 6/15/16: YES, you need the baking sheet!!  Read the reviews, is a total game-changer for *all* types of cookies!!].  Anyway, the recipe says to bake 18-20 minutes but I only baked for 9.  Not sure what's up with that.  It did take me more time the day when I made the cookies straight from the refrigerator, but generally I let it sit awhile so it's easier to scoop.

Either way, these are ridiculous.  

Note:  Disks are sold at Jacques Torres Chocolate, from which this recipe was originally adapted. Valrhona feves can be found in the chocolate section (not the baking section!) of Whole Foods, or on Amazon.  Like the disks, they are outrageously expensive.  I did use them in the pictured cookies (feves) but only made half a batch.  I usually just use the Ghiradelli 60% chocolate chips and it's still pretty incredible. I might try a batch with just half or 3/4 of the chocolate called for... because I love the cookie part too.  I'll let you know how it turns out if I do.

Super soft, slightly chewy, and slightly crisp.  All in one.  Somehow.

Divine, melty, dark dark chocolate.

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*REAL* Pumpkin Pie

Huge shout-out to my BFF Hillary for advising me to make real pumpkin pie.  Not only was it a super fun autumn activity for my toddler, but the final result is just heavenly.  Especially if you think you don't like pumpkin pie... but you "give it another chance" every year wanting to like it since it's so traditional and classic... give this recipe a shot.  Fresh roasted pumpkin tastes nothing like what you get out of can (and I did a side-by-side taste test of just the purees).  If you enjoy baking and/or if you're out to fill your children's autumn with all the seasonal magic you can, this is a project worth doing.

Autumn on your plate!

First, you will need to get a 4-6 pound "sugar" or "baking" pumpkin.  My son loooOOOoooved picking this out at the store, and we had gorgeous fall weather and foliage for our walk to and from.

So much fun picking out a "sugar" pumpkin!

Since you're going to all the trouble, might as well err on the big side.  Leftover pumpkin puree freezes well and is great to have on hand.  We used ours to make The Pioneer Woman's Moist Pumpkin Spice Muffins with Cream Cheese Frosting:

Freeze the leftover puree and use it all season long in all your other favorite pumpkin recipes!

These are The Pioneer Woman's Moist Pumpkin Spice Muffins with Cream Cheese Frosting.

But back to the pie story.  I let the pumpkin "hang around" for a few days because it made such a great toy for my son.  He carried it around everywhere, even slept with it at night.  He'd try to get "tools" out and tell me he was "making his pumpkin pie."  So fun.

When the time comes, you'll need to slice the pumpkin in half the long way, remove the seeds and pulp, and roast it.  To roast, just sprinkle the flesh with kosher salt and put the halves flesh-down on some parchment paper on a cookie sheet.  Roast at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes, or until a paring knife can easily be inserted into and removed from the pumpkin, in various places.  Let it cool until it's manageable (about an hour).  Then scoop out the flesh and run it through a food processor.  Voila:  Your own home made roasted pumpkin puree!

Slice in half the long way, and remove seeds and pulp.

You can also toast the pumpkin seeds, if you like.
Picking the seeds out is really fun for kids, and will occupy them for awhile!

Once you have your pumpkin puree, you're ready to get baking.  I used Alton Brown's recipe but I sort of guesstimated the quantities since I can't measure ounces at home.

CRUST:

6 ounces gingrsnap cookies (I used about 1.5 cups of crumbs)
1 tbsp dark brown sugar
1 tsp ground ginger (spice section)
4 tbsp melted butter

FILLING:

16 ounces of pumpkin puree (I used 2 cups)
1 cup cream (half and half)
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp kosher salt
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
2 eggs + 1 egg yolk
Whipped cream to top

For the crust, pulverize the cookies with either a food processor or a mortar and pestle.  Add the sugar and ginger, either by whisk or in the same food processor.  Whisk in butter.  Press into pie dish.  It's okay if it only covers the bottom - mine did.  Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.  

Meanwhile, heat the pumpkin puree in a saucepan.  The recipe calls for simmering until it thickens but I didn't bother since my puree was fairly thick and not really simmerable.  Add the cream, nutmeg, and salt and simmer a little more.  

In a separate bowl whisk together the brown sugar, eggs, and egg yolk.  Add the pumpkin/cream mixture slowly and whisk until combined.  Pour into pie crust.  It will be pretty runny.  

Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes or until the sides are set but the middle still jiggles a little when shaken.  I believe I baked for an hour.  Remove and cool for at least 3 hours, or put right into the fridge.

*Homemade whipped cream can't be beat.  If you're so inclined, all you do is put heavy whipping cream in your Kitchenaid blender and use the whisk attachment.  Add a tsp or so of vanilla and powdered sugar to taste.  Presto.    

SO.  GOOD.

Fresh Sour Cherry Crisp with Sour-Cream-Brown-Sugar Ice Cream

Is that enough "sours"??

The sour is, in my opinion, what makes this combo.  It's just a little something different from your typical sweeter fruit crisp with vanilla ice cream... not that there's anything wrong with traditional, and I may blog about our all-time favorite fruit crisp recipe later.

Either of these recipes is well worth making on its own.  Sour Cherry Crisp is awesome because it's so perfectly tart and you get to use beautiful sour cherries (you may need to call around; we found ours at a local farm, but Whole Foods probably carries them).  High-end vanilla ice cream will do the crisp justice just fine (for the record, I strongly believe that Haagen-Dazs "Vanilla" is the best store-bought vanilla ice cream available).

The "Sour Cream Brown Sugar Ice Cream" is also a decent standalone.  It's a delightfully rich, not-too-sweet take on vanilla that pairs perfectly with any fresh berries or any other crisp.

Together, these recipes make for an unbeatable, somewhat unique experience.  My husband isn't as prone to hyperbole as I am but he's declared this combo the "best crisp-like-thing he'd ever tasted."  

Sour Cherry Crisp

2 cups pitted sour cherries (see below)
3/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp flour
optional:  a few squeezes of fresh lemon juice 


3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats (oatmeal)
1/2 brown sugar
1 stick butter (room temp or slightly softened in microwave)
1/2 cup shortening
optional:  several dashes cinnamon


First, rinse and pit the cherries.  I just used my thumbnail since they lose their shape when you bake them, but you can google "how to pit sour cherries" if you care to get fancy.  


Preheat oven to 375.  Stir cherries, 3/4 cup sugar, and 2 tbsp flour until combined (lemon juice too if you're adding it).  Pour into 8x8 baking or pie dish.  In another bowl, combine remaining ingredients and use a fork or pie cutter to cut them together until crumbly.  Spoon on top.  Bake 45 minutes.

Gorgeous sour cherries.

Photo Credit:  Food Gawker

Sour Cream Brown Sugar Ice Cream
(recipe from Sally Sampson's "Ice Cream of the Week")


1 1/2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
6 tbsp brown sugar
2 egg yolks, room temp
3/4 tsp vanilla
1 large pinch kosher salt
1 cup sour cream


Place the milk, heavy cream, and 2 tbsp of brown sugar in a small pan and cook over low heat, whisking from time to time, until warm.


Place the egg yolks, vanilla, and salt in a small metal bowl and whisk until completely mixed.  Add 1/4 cup of the warm milk mixture to the eggs and slowly add more while you continue to whisk until it's all uniform.  Eventually, return all ingredients to the pan on the stove and heat through until it just begins to thicken.  The recipe says not to boil but I actually let it get steaming for a bit and boiling on the edges if I didn't constantly stir it, because I needed to kill any salmonella from the eggs since I'm pregnant.


Pour mixture through a medium fine strainer into a metal bowl and discard any remaining solids (not necessary, but nice if you have such a strainer).  Set aside until it reaches room temp (refrigerate to speed along if you like).  Once room temp, add the sour cream and stir well.  Cover and refrigerate until chilled.  Transfer to your ice cream maker and churn until thickening  When it's beginning to come together but not yet hardened, add the remaining 4 tbsp brown sugar and process for about 5 more minutes.  You want to keep the specks of brown sugar if you can.

Photo Cred:  Desert Candy.

Photo Cred:  Desert Candy.

Sinful Salted Caramel Dark Chocolate Brownies

I finally made something I pinned on Pinterest.  And it was every bit as divine as it there appears:

Photo Credit as indicated.  Pinterest Link.

The original recipe is actually for "Chocolate Caramel Brownies" but I was craving salted caramel, super-dark brownies so I basically used Trader Joe's "Fleur de Sel" (salted) caramels and the darkest chocolate I could get my hand on to make these.  Here's the recipe with my alterations.  Please note that I actually halved the original recipe to make just one 8x8 pan - these are insanely rich and there's no way we could have handled a full pan of them.

Sinful Salted Caramel Dark Chocolate Brownies
Makes One 8x8 Inch Pan of Brownies

INGREDIENTS:

For the brownies:
1 stick butter
1 cup ultra dark chocolate chips (Ghiradelli 60% or E. Guittard 63% Extra Dark Chocolate Chips)
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 tbsp vanilla
1/2 + 1/8 cup flour (original recipe calls for 1 1/4 cup and I halved that; I estimated with the 1/8 cup)
1/4 tsp salt (I added, but will consider omitting next time because the caramel is quite salty)
3/4 cup pecans, chopped (optional - I did on half my pan and LOVED)
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips (or whatever you have, really - I used Ghiradelli mini semisweet chips)
For the caramel filling:
7 ounces Trader Joe's "Fleur de Sel" caramel candies, unwrapped (box was 10 oz; I used 21 out of 28 caramels)
1/8 cup heavy cream

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line an 8x8 square baking dish with aluminum foil.  Grease generously with room temp butter or cooking spray (I used butter).  Don't worry if the foil breaks a little (turned out fine for me).
2. In a saucepan on the stovetop, melt butter and 1 cup dark chocolate chips.  Stir as they melt to avoid burning. Remove from heat and stir in sugar, eggs, and vanilla until well-mixed.  Add flour and salt and stir until just mixed.  
3. Spread about half of the brownie dough in the prepared pan.  Bake for 18 minutes.  Cool for 20.
4. As you cool, toast the chopped pecans by stirring frequently in a saucepan over medium heat, until they are fragrant.
5. Make the caramel filling by, once again in a saucepan on low-medium heat, stirring the caramels and heavy cream constantly as they heat.  The mixture will eventually become uniform, even if it takes 5-10 minutes.
6. Pour caramel over baked brownies.
7. Add toasted pecans (if adding).
8. Drop remaining brownie dough in spoonfuls over the caramel and spread as evenly as you can.  Doesn't have to be perfect.  Sprinkle with remaining semisweet chocolate chips.
9. Bake 20 minutes.  Cool completely.  Okay to store in refrigerator but best flavor at room temp.

Caramel filling poured.

Ready to bake.

Final Product:  Too gooey to cut!  (try chilling completely)

Enjoy!

Blueberry Ice Cream: You've Never Had It Before.

Unless you had it homemade.  Anything else you had was really just vanilla ice cream with blueberries.  Just look at the color!!!

I don't know how to do color enhancement.  This is real.

I can now see why it (tragically) has to be that way.  It would cost ice cream shops a fortune to really do this dish justice, because it requires a LOT of blueberries.  Still... I feel hurt.  Betrayed, even - some of my favorite places in the world have been duping me out of good food (and antioxidants)!

Making this ice cream is SO easy.  It requires three ingredients - just three!!  You do need an ice cream maker.  We have the Kitchenaid ice cream bowl attachment. Then all you do is heat the milk/cream, add a few ingredients, chill, and run it through the mixer.

You can find ice cream recipes that are more involved.  One that I do every August is Fresh Peach Ice Cream (with Marcona almonds or fresh mint and cardamom).  It is AMAZING.  But after having made this the other day - along with another SUPER easy recipe for "Crunchy Coffee Ice Cream" (to which I added "Brickle" bits by Heath and crushed oreos), I'm basically convinced that they all are.  Ice cream shops, consider yourself the most recent addition to my "I can't eat out anymore because it's too disappointing" list (well, except you Izzy's... never you).

For This Recipe (makes 6 servings):

2 cups fresh blueberries

1 cup sugar (in retrospect, I would reduce to 1/2 cup or maybe 3/4 cup)

1 tbsp water

2 cups half-and-half

Simmer the blueberries, sugar, and water until sugar dissolves and berries are tender.  Stir in half-and-half.  Once chilled, run through ice cream maker.

THAT'S IT PEOPLE.  And you will NEVER have it this good in the stores (or even this healthy).

For a mind-blowing twist, take some sour cream (however much you want to taste) and stir it up a bit with brown sugar (I used dark brown sugar).  Add it towards the end of ice cream processing so that it blends but doesn't get fully mixed.  You now have a creation called "Sour Cream Blueberry Brown Sugar Ice Cream."  That's my plan for next time around - it will taste AMAZING based on what I was able to do softening some of my blueberry ice cream and stirring it up with a little sour cream/brown sugar mixture.


I plan to spend the rest of the summer trying new ice cream recipes.  I'll definitely post my tastiest finds - stay tuned!

Mango-Blueberry Muffins with Lime-Almond Glaze

These.  Were.  AMAZING.

They take a little more effort than classic blueberry muffins but are well worth it.  Tangy but still sweet, unique, a bit tropical... perfect.

If you use fresh mangoes (which I did) you'll need to make sure you have 2 ripe ones on hand - the original recipe gives the option of using frozen, but I can't vouch for that since I haven't tried it.  Plus, what's better than fresh mangoes??  I recommend using "champagne mangoes" - the yellow, flatter kind.  March is really the month for mangoes; they're pretty much the only seasonal enjoyment I take at a time when I'm usually SO done with winter weather.  You can still find them right now though... try to buy them yellow and wait until they're just getting soft and having a slight bit of give.

Here's a great video on how to best cut a mango.  I find that once I slice off the two big, flat pieces, it's best to cut those into strips and then use a knife to scrape the skin off the strips.

Here's the recipe, adapted from About.Com South American Food.  It makes 21 muffins.

For the Muffins:

• 2 and 3/4 cup flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 1 cup cubed mango, fresh or frozen (I used fresh - 2-3 mangoes)
• Juice of 1 lime (a little over 1 tbsp) - juice a fresh lime, it's worth it**
• 1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen (I used fresh)

For the Glaze:

• 3 tbsp butter
• 1 and 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• 3/4 tsp almond flavoring
• 2-3 tbsp milk or cream, depending on how thin or thick you want it
• 1-2 pinches salt
• Coconut shreds or sliced almonds for garnish, if you wish

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425.  Line muffin tin with paper liners.  Mix together flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar in a large bowl.  In a small bowl, whisk the egg, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla.  In a blender or food processor, puree the mango with the lime juice until smooth.  Gently mix the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients, stirring until just barely mixed.  Toss the blueberries with 1-2 tbsp flour to coat; gently fold into batter.  Fill muffin tins 3/4 full, almost to the top.

Bake at 425 for 5 minutes, then lower temp to 350 and bake another 10.  Check for doneness; muffins should be domed on top and firm or spring back to the touch.  If not done, bake another 5 minutes until done.

Cool muffins while you make the glaze.  Melt the butter, and whisk in the powdered sugar, milk/cream, lime juice, salt, and almond extract.  To glaze, you can either place the glaze in a bowl and dunk the muffin in top down (if it's a thinner glaze) or frost like a cupcake.  We LOVED this glaze and we preferred frosting it with slightly thicker glaze.

Fresh Strawberries and Whipped Cream Cake

I know strawberries aren't in season yet (what, June is still 3 months away?) but right about this time of year I start craving the fresh flavors of spring and summer and yesterday I just had to jump the gun.

I chose this recipe because very little is added to the whipped cream to stabilize it.  Other recipes I found called for mascarpone cheese or cream cheese... I just wanted the pure, fresh flavor of berries and cream. Plus, this recipe has a great tip for stabilizing whipped cream so that you can use it in place of frosting on any cake you want.  My family's birthday tradition has long been a chocolate cake with whipped cream frosting - love that I can now make my own from scratch.

Last, I love that it uses a from-scratch butter cake.  Shortcake is so often plain and dry.  This was the perfect texture and oh-so-moist... especially after drizzling the bottom layer with the strawberry juice!

NOTE:  If you do prefer a cream cheese whipped topping with your berries and cake, Allrecipes has a very good "Sturdy Whipped Cream Frosting" recipe - just omit the almond extract.  It's fantastic on chocolate cake too.

Fresh Strawberries and Whipped Cream Cake

Got rave reviews from my husband's colleague and her husband, who had us to dinner last night.

For the Butter Cake:

• 3 tbsp (approx) unsalted butter, for greasing pan
• 3 tbsp four, for dusting pan
• 1.5 cups flour
• 1.5 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick + 1 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup caster "superfine" sugar (baking section - Domino's box looks like this)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 large eggs plus 2 large egg yolks
• 1/2 cup whole milk

1. Try to allow time for the butter, eggs, and milk to come to room temp.  If that's not possible you can gently nuke them in the microwave in 10 second increments, but be very careful with the eggs because they cook FAST that way.
2. Preheat oven to 350.  Using a small pastry brush and melted butter, butter bottom and sides of an 8 inch round cake tin.  Alternatively, you can use a paper towel with the butter to grease it on as well.  Line bottom of tin with non-stick baking or wax paper; butter paper and then flour bottom and sides of tin.
3. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt into a medium-sized bowl.  Whisk to well combine, set aside.
4. In a mixer, cream the butter, sugar and vanilla on high speed until light and fluffy.
5. Add the eggs and yolks, one-at-a-time, beating well after each addition.
6. Reduce the stand mixer speed to low, add the flour mixture in thirds, alternating with the milk in 2 additions, beginning with the flour and ending with the flour; beat until just combined (do not over-mix).
7. Pour batter into prepared cake tin.  Spread evenly.
8. Bake 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean. 
9. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool in tin for 10 minutes.  Remove cake from tin and return to wire rack to cool completely.

Before baking.

After.

For the Strawberries and Cream:

• 1.25 lbs or about 20 ounces fresh strawberries, hulled (green removed) and thinly sliced
• 1/4 + 1/4 cup castor/superfine sugar (see above link)
• 1.5 cups heavy whipping cream, cold
• 1 teaspoon unflavoured gelatin (aka gelatine) - baking aisle by jell-o

1. In a medium-sized bowl, stir together the strawberries and ¼-cup sugar; set aside.
2. Place two tablespoons cold water into a small-sized saucepan and sprinkle with gelatin; let soften 5 minutes.  Place saucepan over low heat, and stir until the gelatin is dissolved.  Remove from heat and let cool.
3. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment, whisk the heavy cream and the remaining ¼-cup sugar until very soft peaks form.
4. Continue to whisk, and gradually add the gelatin mixture; beat until soft peaks form.

Soft peaks.  Don't let it get too stiff.

For the Assembly:

1. Using a long serrated knife (like a bread knife) carefully cut the cake in half horizontally.
2. Place the bottom half, cut side up, on a cake stand or plate.
3. Drizzle the juice from the berries onto the cake.
4. Evenly arrange half of the strawberry slices over the bottom cake layer.  Refrigerate the remaining berries.
5. Top the strawberry layer with half of the whipped cream, leaving about a 1 inch border.
6. Place the top half of the cake, cut side down, onto the layer of strawberries and cream.
7. Top the cake with the remaining whipped cream.
8. Refrigerate the cake at least 1 hour, up to 1 day max.
9. Just before serving, top the cake with the remaining chilled strawberries.

Sliced down the middle and drizzled with fresh strawberry juices.

First layer of strawberries.

Alternate view.

First layer of whipped cream.

Ready to refrigerate until until dessert time!

SO GOOD.

Sugar Cookie Cut-Outs with Cream Cheese Frosting

Sugar cookies are what my husband (a lab guy) would call "low-yield."  They take about five times as much work as chocolate chip cookies and let's be honest:  They're not *quite* as tasty.  Even these - and these are soft and moist with a little-something-extra in the cream cheese frosting - aren't something you'd OD on like you would a batch of Life-Changing Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Still, a single sugar cookie (or two) is a perfect compliment to coffee and kids LOVE them.  Plus, they're just so festive; I feel compelled to make them on certain occasions.  Valentine's Day is the big one, but sometimes I'll get a holiday hankering for cute green-frosted trees with ornament sprinkles.  They also make good favors for bridal or baby showers, or even weddings.  Just always, always, always calculate plenty of time.

This Valentine's Day - for Miriam's 2nd Birthday

Hillary's Bridal Shower

Something blue!

Growing up I tried many sugar cookie recipes and most of them failed.  The dough was a disaster to roll out, or the cookies were dry and flavorless.  Then one Valentine's Day in college my then-just-boyfriend's perfect sister Melissa sent him THE MOST AMAZING SUGAR COOKIES EVER.  I remember trying some with Hillary and marveling that my husband's sister was apparently (somewhat unsurprisingly) as perfect as he was, and so were her cookies.  Melissa has a generous heart and has shared several fantastic recipes with me over the years.  I'm delighted to say that this was one of them.  Try them - they roll out easily, cut easily ... they take a bit of time but the work is easy (and fun!).

Soft Sugar Cookies

1.5 cups powdered sugar

2 sticks butter, minus 1 tbsp

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp almond extract (optional - double if you love almond flavor)

1 large egg

2 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cream of tartar 

Mix powdered sugar, butter, vanilla, almond, and egg.  Stir in remaining ingredients.  Split in half and refrigerate both halves for at least an hour but not much more (plastic wrap works great for storing in the fridge).  Working with one half at a time, roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface. 

Tip:  After you get it just slightly flattened but still very thick, pick it up and re-flour the surface underneath it before continuing.  If dough is particularly sticky, sprinkle the top of the dough with flour, spread with hand, and flip floured portion over onto floured surface before you continue rolling.  

Roll to 1/4 inch thick which is actually sort of thick.  Cut with cookie cutters.  

Tip:  If the dough is sticking to the cutter, dip the cutter in flour.

You actually do NOT need to grease a tray if you use these amazing mats.  And they will bake more evenly too. 

Bake at 375 for 6 minutes.  You want the very, very edge to JUST be turning light brown if you look REALLY hard for it, but *NO MORE*.  Remove and cool completely before frosting.  

** The original recipe calls for two sticks, but I discovered by accident that the dough is even easier to roll if you omit 1 tbsp of butter, and the cookies are not too dry because the frosting moistens and softens them as it sets.

As for the frosting, credit Kelly with the brilliant idea of using cream cheese frosting on sugar cookies for added flavor.  Um, yes please!  Credit her with introducing me to the Sprinkles Cupcakes cream cheese frosting recipe as well.  Mmmm... I use about half cup less of powdered sugar because I prefer savory to sweet.  The original recipes is:

Sprinkles Cream Cheese Frosting

1 stick butter

1 (8 oz) packaged cream cheese

3 3/4 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

(mix together)

To frost the cookies, it works best to use a butter knife and put a dollup in the middle, then gently push it out towards the edges.  Apply sprinkles before the icing has set, so that they stick well.  Once the icing has set (2 hours?) you should be able to layer the cookies on top of each other to transport them, and the cookies themselves should be softer as they absorb moisture from the frosting.  The very best flavor of the cookies will be a full day later once the moisture from the icing has softened the cookie.  They will then taste fantastic for 3-4 more days, and storing at room temp is just fine.

Enjoy!

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Black Magic Brownies

If you're a lover of intense, deep, decadent, rich chocolate, please try this recipe.  I promise you'll be glad you did.  As a friend once noted, they're almost too intense to technically be brownies, and would more aptly be named "black"ies.  Whatever the name, give these a whirl.  They're perfect any time you have a chocolate craving, but are particularly appropriate around Halloween when all things dark get their time to shine.

These are tiny 1" squares on a tiny plate.  Tiny, intense brownies.

I adapted this recipe from Allrecipe's Best Brownies, by making a few minor changes and one major one:  Using just half of the powdered sugar called for in the icing.  PLEASE trust me and do cut that sugar in half, if you use the Allrecipe's version.  If you don't, the icing ends up stiffer, slightly dry, and overly sweet.  While that was apparently good enough to earn 4.5 stars out of 4,100 Allrecipe reviews, that single significant change takes it to a full five star recipe, in my opinion.

Ingredients:

1 stick butter (or better:  Smart Balance)
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt, slightly rounded (i.e., slightly more salt)
1/4 tsp baking powder

3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup powdered/confectioners sugar
splash or two of cream

Directions:

Grease and flour a square pan (8x8 or 9x9).  A pie pan also works if you don't have a square one.  Preheat oven to 350.  Melt stick of butter in small pot on stove.  Take off heat.  Add sugar, eggs, and vanilla.  Stir until consistent.  Add flour, cocoa, salt, and baking powder.  Stir until consistent again and pour into pan.

Bake for 25-30 minutes.  Do NOT overcook.  If tiny air pockets have appeared all over the top surface, it's done.  Cool at least 30 minutes before icing, but don't worry about cooling completely.  If the icing melts into the brownies, heck, why not; these are even better the next day, after the icing and brownie have somewhat merged into one.  Top with sprinkles if desired.  For a chocolate souffle effect, serve microwaved with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream on top.

The very close up close-up.

Enjoy.  Tell yourself it's healthy because to get this kind of satisfaction from regular brownies, you'd have to eat five times as much ;)  Then proceed to eat that much anyway, and melt away into total euphoric bliss.

To DIE For Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Holy MOLY!!!  Please try this cake!

My friend Hillary recommended it to me back in July of 2010 and it is downright TRAGIC that I didn't get around to trying it out until now.  In my defense, it uses a lot of butter and cream cheese... two things I avoid in my attempts to lower my husband's cholesterol.  But I'm home in Madison with my parents right now and we're all about saturated fat.  Mmm...

Anyway, this cake is A-MAZ-ING.  Banana-y and cream cheese-y, not too sweet, and moist as you can imagine.  It's perfect for anyone out there who doesn't absolutely abhor bananas.  Cutting to the chase, here it is:  EASY-

Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
adapted from allrecipes.com's "Banana Cake VI"

3/4 cup butter (1.5 sticks)
2 1/8 cup white sugar (next time I might try using just 1 cup packed brown sugar)
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
3 cups flour
1.5 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1.5 cups buttermilk
2 tsp lemon juice
4 mashed overripe bananas
OPTIONAL:  Chopped walnuts or vanilla wafers (or both) to sprinkle on top

Preheat oven to 275 (yes: 275), and grease a 9x13 inch pan.  Mash the bananas with the lemon juice; set aside.  In medium sized bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, and salt.  In mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time.  Add vanilla.  Alternate adding the flour mixture with the buttermilk, mixer on low.  Keeping mixer on low, add the banana/lemon juice mixture.

For these pics I made half a batch; otherwise I'd have needed a 9x13" pan.

Bake for at least an hour, until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean.  The center will go from jiggly to firm fairly quickly at the end - keep an eye on it.  Put it straight into the freezer, still uncovered, for 45 minutes.  Meanwhile, make the frosting:

8 ounce package cream cheese
1 stick butter
1 tsp vanilla
1.5-2.5 cups confectioner's (powdered) sugar

Beat the butter and cream cheese until mixed; add vanilla.  Add sugar to taste - I like it less sweet.

Again, I halved the recipe; be sure to use a 9x13 inch pan unless you do too.

Frost the cake.  If desired, crumble a few vanilla wafer cookies (or grab a bag of chopped walnuts) and sprinkle on top.

Keep it chilled and serve it about 15 minutes after you take it out of the fridge - even better this way.

Homemade Fresh Peach Ice Cream with Ginger-Molasses Cookies

Some of the best desserts do require a great deal of effort, and this one is well worth making once a year in August when peaches are at their best.

Fresh homemade peach ice cream with mint sprig from our garden.

You'll need an ice cream maker; we have the ice cream attachment for our Kitchenaid blender. 

Kitchenaid Blender with Ice Cream Maker Attachment

You'll need fresh, ripe peaches.  If you want the ice cream to work as a stand-alone dessert (without the cookies) you have GOT to use the BEST, juiciest, most flavorful perfectly ripe peaches you can get your hands on.  Ho-hum standard but fully ripe peaches that just don't *quite* pack that flavor punch won't be good enough.  This ice cream relies on summer's bounty for its flavor... and that goodness has to be timed perfectly in order to be fully harnessed.

This year's peaches weren't as good as last year's... I jumped the gun and should have waited for August.

I adapted this ice cream recipe from "Ice Cream:  Recipe of the Week" by Sally Sampson.

You'll need:

4 1/2 cups pitted, skinned, and dice peaches (about 7 peaches)
2 cups heavy cream (yup, ice cream is baaaaaad)
1 cup cream
4 egg yolks (large) at room temp
1 cup white sugar
Large pinch kosher salt
 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup Marcona almonds (salted), whizzed in food processor OR
Chopped fresh mint leaves and 3 tbsp cardamom - if going this route, add a full tsp of kosher salt

Place the peaches in bowl, cover and keep at room temp for a few hours.

Mash with a potato masher on occasion, or pulse just a bit in a food processor.

 You'll get a consistency sort of like this.  A few chunks to stumble upon in the ice cream, but mostly just puree.  Cover and refrigerate.

 Now, simmer the heavy cream and cream in a pan until heated through but not steaming.

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks, sugar, salt together.  If you're adding cardamom and mint, add it now.

Slowly add the warmed cream to the egg mixture, continuing to whisk.  Don't go too fast or you'll risk cooking the eggs with the warm cream.

Return the mixture to the saucepan and heat until just steaming but not boiling (note:  this probably doesn't kill all the bacteria; pregnant women, babies, and the elderly should avoid homemade ice cream).  Once done, let the mixture reach room temp (or to hurry things along, put it in the refrigerator).  Once cool enough, add the peaches, lemon juice, and vanilla and stir.  Cover and refrigerate 2-3 hours or until mixture is fully chilled.

Process the ice cream in your ice cream maker, per the manufacturer's directions.  If you are adding the almonds, add them just as the ice cream is coming together.

The ice cream will thicken as you churn.  I chose to churn slowly, this yields a more dense ice cream (and saves room in the ice cream maker if you're short on space).

Transfer ice cream to air tight container and place in freezer until the ice cream reaches your desired texture.  Personally I prefer it about 3 hours into freezing, when it's still somewhat soft.  Home made ice cream has a very short shelf life - it's best within 12-24 hours of making, and after a few days it loses its charm - TRAGIC, this is a recipe to share with neighbors while the gettin' is good!  

Now, if you're feeling ambitious - or if you're disappointed in your peaches - my husband agrees with me that this may be the best flavor combo we've ever found.  I have to credit our friends Aaron and Rachel for originally introducing us to peach ice cream with ginger snaps, and credit Kelly for finding the best-ever recipe for Big Soft Ginger Cookies.

You don't need to make ice cream sandwiches, which involves letting the ice cream soften so you can shape it appropriately between the cookies.  It's lovely as a small dish of ice cream with a cookie on the side.  

Homemade Fresh Peach Ice Cream with Ginger-Molasses Cookies.

This is my second year making this recipe in August and I hope to make it an annual tradition.  The ginger and molasses in the cookies are perfect compliments to sweet, fresh peaches-and-cream.  Ice cream and peaches are perfect for honoring the month of August, and the spices in the cookies hint of the cozy excitement just around the seasonal corner.

Enjoy!!