Chocolate Cookie Base Variation I: York Peppermint Patty Cookies

I found a fabulous recipe on Allrecipes.com for a chocolate cocoa cookie recipe that I've had fun experimenting with and finding all different ways to jazz them up.  The time of year is right for some minty chocolate goodness, so I decided to start with York Peppermint Patty cookies.

http://lifeasprayer.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/yorkpatty.jpg

Ingredients:
1 c butter, softened
1 c white sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
2 eggs
1 T vanilla extract
2 c all-purpose flour
2/3 c good-quality cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
8-10 1-inch diameter York Peppermint Pattie candies, finely diced

Recipe:
Preheat oven to 350F and grease two cookie sheets with a generous amount of cooking spray.  (The peppermint will melt in the oven and harden the cookies to the sheets if they are not greased well enough).

Cream together the butter and sugars.  Add eggs and vanilla, and beat until pale tan and fluffy.

Mix together flour, cocoa, soda, and salt, and blend into butter mixture.  Fold in York pieces.  I prefer the pieces to be quite small so that they melt right into the dough and make every bite of cookie taste minty and delicious.  :)

Bake for approximately 8-10 minutes, until puffed up and cracked on top.  Remove cookies from cookie sheet immediately to avoid sticking, and cool on cooling rack.  Then share.

What to Do With a half a Can of Pumpkin, part I

I've been trying to bake recipes with smaller yields lately, since there are only two of us at my house to finish them off at their peak. Since most recipes I find are for a 9x13 pan, I often have to convert. I decided to make pumpkin pie bars, and I started off with a couple 9x13 recipes, but then I ended up sort of inventing my own version for an 8x8 pan. They turned out delicious! This officially marks the first time I feel I can take credit for "inventing" my own recipe. If all the results end up like this, I'm going to have to do it more often!

Pumpkin Pie Bars

3/4 c whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 c sugar
1/4 tsp baking powder
6 tablespoons butter
1/2 c oats

4 oz cream cheese (I always use neufchatel)
1/3 c packed brown sugar
1 egg
  1 c pumpkin puree (about half a can)
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  For the crust , mix together sugar, flour, and baking powder, then cut in the butter (I just used my hands).  Add oats once the other ingredients are completely mixed.  Press 2/3 of this mixture into the bottom of a greased 8x8-in baking pan.  Bake for 10 minutes, or until the crust has puffed up and is slightly golden on top.

Meanwhile, whip together the cream cheese and brown sugar, then add the egg and beat until completely combined.  Add final ingredients and blend until uniform throughout.  Make sure there aren't any globs of cream cheese hanging out at the bottom of the batter.  Add more pie spice or sugar if necessary.

You can pour the batter onto the crust as soon as it's ready and the crust is out of the oven.  Then crumble the rest of the oat mixture on top of the pumpkin batter, spreading evenly over the whole pan.  Bake again for about 20-25 minutes.  I like mine a little firmer, so I baked them for 25.  Allow bars to cool completely before cutting and serving.  They go great with ice cream!

S'mores Cupcakes

I had half of a sleeve of graham cracks sitting on my counter one day, and I just up and decided I wanted to make s'mores cupcakes.  So I scoured the internet for a gelatin-free recipe that would strike my fancy, and I found it at http://annies-eats.com/2009/11/16/smores-cupcakes/.  I halved everything in the recipe, except for the frosting.  Enjoy!

S'mores Cupcakes

Ingredients:
For the graham cracker crust:
1½ cups graham cracker crumbs
¼ cup sugar
5 1/3 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped 

For the cake:
2 cups plus 2 tbsp. sugar
1¾ cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup plus 1 tbsp. cocoa powder
1½ tsp. baking powder
1½ tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
½ cup vegetable oil
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water 

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350° F.  Line two cupcake pans with paper liners.  In a small mixing bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter; mix well with a fork.  Drop about 1 tablespoon of the graham cracker mixture in the bottom of each cupcake liner and press down to line the bottom.  (Note: I found the bottom of my squeeze bottle to be the perfect size to do this job neatly and quickly.)  Sprinkle a small amount of the chopped chocolate on top of the graham cracker crusts.  Bake for 5 minutes.  Remove from the oven, and maintain the oven temperature.

To make the cake batter, sift together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on low speed just to combine.  In a mixing bowl, combine the eggs, milk, vegetable oil and vanilla extract; whisk together.  Add to the dry ingredients and mix on low speed for 30 seconds.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.  Add the boiling water and stir just to combine (batter will be thin).

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cupcake liners, filling each about ¾ of the way full.  Return the pans to the oven and bake about 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, rotating the pans halfway through baking.  Allow to cool in the pans 5-10 minutes, then remove and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

I created my own frosting from a thick vanilla buttercream frosting (1/2c butter, powdered sugar, and 1 tsp vanilla) and a half tub of marshmallow fluff.  I didn't have a blowtorch, but it's on my wish list after making these!

This recipe is definitely a keeper, and I'll have to make it again very soon.

Whoever put coconut in macaroons was wrong!

I've never been a fan of coconut.  I'm not sure if it's the texture, taste, or a little bit of both.  I have always steered clear of macaroons specifically because of the fact that I thought they always contained coconut.  Only last year did I discover that the original French macarons rarely, if ever, contain coconut.  They are actually an almond sandwich-cookie-type confection, and they're absolutely delicious: tenderly crisp and airy on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside, with a rich and decadent chocolate or cream layer in the middle.

These were my first try at making my own macaroons, so I stayed with a recipe that is about as basic as you can get.  Still, they turned out pretty fabulous, if I do say so myself!

Limoncello Macaroons

 

1 large egg white
14 oz / 400g almond paste
1/2 cup / 2 oz / 55g confectioners' sugar, sifted, plus quite a bit more for surface and coating

1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract

1 Tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon limoncello, plus 1/4 teaspoon lemon extract or to taste (I like mine extra lemon-y and tart!)
scant 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Beat the egg white, the almond paste, confectioners' sugar, and almond extract together either by hand or with an electric mixer, until creamy, about 2 minutes.

Add the zest, limoncello, and salt and beat until combined, another 30 seconds.

Coat a clean/dry surface with a generous handful of sifted confectioners' sugar then turn the dough out onto it. Shape and roll out the dough into two 3/4-inch thick logs, roughly 18 inches long. Cut each log into 24 equal pieces (see photo). Make sure each piece is entirely coated in sugar, tapping to remove excess.

Transfer to prepared baking sheets. They don't spread much so you can crowd them a bit more than you might with other cookies. Let stand for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350F / 180C degrees. Use three fingers to gently pinch each piece of dough to form an irregular pyramid shape of you like, or you can leave them pillow shaped. Another idea: cut out circular shapes with a small cookie cutter for sandwich cookies. Bake until pale golden, about 15 minutes. [I followed the recommendation of baking until deep golden, about thirty minutes, and I thought they would have tasted better with less time in the oven.] Transfer the cookies from baking sheets to wire racks, and let cool completely. These cookies keep well in an air-tight container for a few days.

Makes 4 dozen bite-sized cookies.

Source: http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/limoncello-macaroons-recipe.html

I found some Godiva liqueur in my cupboard recently, so my next idea is to try this same recipe with that instead of the lemon.  Mmmm, I salivate just thinking about it!



We served our macaroons with delicious, fresh homemade ice cream with raspberry puree from the garden.  They were absolutely perfect together!

Raspberry-Almond Poundcake with Chocolate Glaze

I realized I haven't baked in the longest time (traveling to China makes that difficult, I suppose!), and I had some fresh, organic raspberries that needed using.  This is what came of it.  I've had this recipe sitting on my computer for the longest time, and I can't even remember where it originally came from.  Most likely epicurious, but who knows?  Anyway, it turned out just as a poundcake should- rich, heavy with moisture, and full of flavor!  Enjoy!

Raspberry Almond Pound Cake

Ingredients:
3 Cups Sugar
2 sticks of real butter
1/2 pint sour cream (1 cup)
5 eggs
2 tsp. real vanilla

3/4 tsp. Almond Extract

3 cups Cake flour
If you don't have cake flour, use 2 1/2 cups + 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. baking soda

1-1/2 to 2 cups of Fresh or Frozen Raspberries 

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325.  Cream butter and sour cream together until light and fluffy. [I didn't have sour cream, so I used greek yogurt instead, subbing in a 1:1 ratio.] Add sugar and cream again.
Add 1 egg at a time, beating well after each. Add vanilla & beat again. Add flour & soda and mix until well blended. Carefully fold in the berries. Grease & flour a bundt pan or 2 bread pans. Fill pans, tapping side to release any air bubbles.
Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes at 325 degrees or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cake sit in pan for ten minutes, then run a knife along the edges to loosen and turn out on a plate or cake dish.  Drizzle the glaze over the top, Slice and serve as is, or top with raspberries and whipped cream.

GLAZE (I made this part up...but it worked)
about 3/4 c powdered sugar
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon vanilla (be generous)
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2-4 tablespoons milk

Mix the coca and powdered sugar together in a small bowl, then add the vanilla and butter.  Use a fork to whisk together.  You'll end up with a strange-looking, crumbly chocolate mixture.  Add milk slowly, 1 tablespoon at a time, until you get the consistency you want.  The glaze should be thin enough to pour onto the cake, but not so runny that it immediately runs down the sides of the cake and puddles at the bottom.

*Note: If making this cake again, I would probably use a deep, dark chocolate ganache to drizzle over the cake, rather than the chocolate glaze.  I've always got to have my chocolate fix!  Food network or epicurious have great recipes for ganache, and they're pretty easy, too.

China Culinary Adventures

I tried all kinds of new foods in China, and probably ate something I hadn't ever seen before just about every day. Most things didn't even have an English translation! But here are a few that I remembered to document with my camera...

Fruit vendor in Xi-An.

Fried and sugar-glazed taro root- delicious! I've only ever seen taro chips before...

Local market shop in rural Guilin- a small "town" of only one million (rather than 17 million in Shanghai!)

What to do with farmer's market raspberries

I made this for one of my family night dinners, and it got absolutely RAVE reviews!  I'm not exactly sure what the definition of semifreddo is, but I know I like it!

This is great for the summer, when we have fresh and local raspberries to use.  It's derived from an Epicurious recipe, but I used ginger snap crust instead of shortbread.  I think that made it even better.


Raspberry Semifreddo Torte

For crust

• 8-10 oz ginger snap cookies (must be crispy)
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup natural almonds, toasted and cooled (I always toast in a pan, rather than the oven.  I'm less likely to burn them that way.)
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

For filling

• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 1/2 cups raspberries (6 ounces)
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 cup chilled heavy cream

Preheat oven to 350°F. 

Make crust:
Combine ginger cookies, cinnamon, and nuts in a food processor until finely ground. Melt butter and pour into processor.  Pulse until completely mixed.

Press mixture firmly over bottom and halfway up the sides of a 9-inch springform pan. Bake crust in middle of oven 10 minutes, then cool in pan on a rack. 

Make filling:
Beat eggs, 1/2 cup sugar, and a pinch of salt together at medium-high speed until doubled in volume, about 5 minutes. Set beat custard over a double-boiler until an instant-read thermometer registers 140°F (I used a candy thermometer), about 5 minutes. Continue beating over heat 3 minutes more. Remove bowl from heat and chill custard until cool, about 10 minutes.

Toss raspberries with remaining tablespoon sugar in a large fine sieve set over a bowl, then force berries through sieve, pressing on solids, and discard seeds. Stir in almond extract.  Fold strained raspberries into cooled custard. 

Beat cream with cleaned beaters until it just holds stiff peaks and fold gently into raspberry mixture.

Spoon filling into crust, smoothing top. Wrap pan in foil and freeze at least 4 hours. (Filling will be firm but not frozen solid.

Run a thin knife around edge of torte and remove side of pan.

Original Recipe Source: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Raspberry-Semifreddo-Torte-103695#ixzz0utO0iQhV

Rhubarb-Berry Oatmeal Bars

Getting fresh produce at the farmer's market just puts me in a baking mood! I got some fresh rhubarb at the this weekend, and I had just a few organic raspberries leftover after I devoured most of them fresh.  I don't typically like baked fruit, but there's something about rhubarb that I just love.  Maybe it's because it's technically a vegetable, or maybe it's because I just like all the flavors that go along with it when it's baked.  Anyway, here's my own sweet concoction for fresh rhubarb.

Rhubarb-Berry Oatmeal Bars

Ingredients:

 3/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 c raspberry jam or raspberry puree (add sugar to the puree, or your bars might end up too tart)
4 ripe stalks fresh rhubarb, chopped and tossed in 2-4 tablespoons sugar

Recipe:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Grease a 9x13 inch pan

2. Combine flour, oats, sugar, cinnamon, and baking powder in a large bowl.  Cut in the softened butter and stir together until the mixture begins to clump together and is completely combined.  I like to use my fingers for this part!

3. Press half of the crumbs into the pan.  Spread the raspberries over the crust, then sprinkle the rhubarb over that.  Crumble the rest of the "dough" over the rhubarb, and press down lightly to flatten down.

4. Bake in the oven until golden brown on top, about 20-25 minutes.  Cool completely before cutting.

These go wonderfully with fresh vanilla whipped cream or vanilla ice cream!

New Pizza Recipe and Pumphouse- Yum!

My friend and I had an impromptu pizza night last night, before going out to Pumphouse Creamery, which has local, organic ice cream in phenomenal flavors, like Local Red Raspberry, Oatmeal Cookie, Cardamom, Hispaniola Cocoa, Sea Salt Caramel/Praline-Pecan Cream, and Buckwheat Honey.  I had a hard time deciding which flavors to try, but settled on Raspberry and Cardamom.  Overall, I thought the flavors were delectable, but the texture was slightly on the grainy side for the Cardamom.  This place is defnitely somewhere I'll return to, simply because it's local, and the flavors are one-of-a-kind.

And back to the pizza:

Honey Wheat Pizza Dough
 Makes 8 individual crusts


Ingredients:

2 1/4 tsp dry active yeast, or one envelope
1 1/4 warm water (not too hot, or it will kill the yeast)


2 c unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 c whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt 

2 T honey
2 T olive oil, plus more for greasing the bowl


Stir the yeast into the warm water.   Once dissolved, let stand for 5-10 minutes while preparing other ingredients.  Mix together the flours and salt in a large bowl.  Pour yeast into center of flour and stir together with a wooden spoon.  Finish mixing with hands, adding honey and oil once flour and water-yeast mixture and almost completely incorporated.  Knead dough for a minute or two on a floured surface and give the empty bowl a light coating of olive oil.  Replace the dough in the bowl, turning over a few times to coat it with the oil.  Cover with a thin dish towel and place in a warm (dog-proof!) space for 45 minutes-2 hours to let rise.


Once dough has doubled in size (it was summer and took only 35 minutes for us), punch it down before turning it back out onto the floured surface.  Cut the dough into 8 equal pieces, shaping each one into a round ball.  Let stand, covered by the cloth, for 10-15 minutes.


Preheat oven to 500 degrees (broil setting).  Stretch crusts thinly into round shapes, being careful not to overwork the dough or tear it.  Optional: dust the bottoms with cornmeal to prevent sticking. Top with whatever you want, then bake on a cookie sheet or pizza stone until crust is slightly browned, crispy, and the cheese is browned and bubbly, about 8-12 minutes.


Enjoy!

French Apple-Almond Tart

I made this a while back, for Father's Day (my dad's a huge fan of anything that includes baked goods and apples), and it was really good.  I loved the almond paste-like filling between the apples and the crust. 

Crust:
1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoons brandy
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 -inch pieces


Filling:
1/2 cup (heaping) raw almonds
1/3 cup sugar, plus extra for topping
1 large egg
2 tablespoons brandy
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tart apples, peeled, quartered, cored, cut into 1/8-inch-thick wedges (I used Fuji)


To make the crust:

Stir egg yolks and brandy in small bowl to blend. Combine flour, sugar, nutmeg and salt in processor. Add butter; cut in, using on/off turns, until butter is size of small peas. With machine running, add yolk mixture. Process until large moist clumps form. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap dough in plastic; refrigerate until cold, about 1 hour. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled. Let soften slightly before rolling out.)

Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to 11-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch round cake pan. Fold overhang in and press, forming double-thick sides. Chill while making filling.

To make the filling:

Combine almonds, sugar, egg, 1 tablespoon brandy, extracts and salt in processor. Blend until soft paste forms. Add 4 tablespoons butter; blend 10 seconds. Spread in crust. Chill until firm, about 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, stir apples, 1 tablespoon brandy and 1 tablespoon sugar in large bowl. Let stand 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400°F. Drain apples; overlap in concentric circles atop filling. Melt 2 tablespoons butter; brush over apples. Sprinkle with 1-2 tablespoons sugar.

Bake tart 10 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350°F. Bake until apples are tender, about 40 minutes. Transfer to rack to cool.

This tastes wonderful warm or chilled, and goes nicely with vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream on top!

Recipe adapted from:

 http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/French-Apple-Almond-Tart-4665#ixzz0t9J8IoOK

Another blog post and delectable cheesecake!

I just went away for the weekend, so I'm late in putting up this recipe, but it was beyond fabulous, thus worth the wait.  Trust me.   It is derived from a cheesecake recipe I found on Epicurious (of course!), but I made a few of my own adjustments to it, as always.  I had it today, three days after I made it, and it still tasted absolutely amazing.  I'll post pictures as soon as I have them.  Here goes:

Double-Decker Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

Crust
1 9-ounce package chocolate wafer cookies, coarsely broken
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted

Filling
1 12-ounce package frozen unsweetened raspberries, thawed, juices reserved
6 ounces good-quality bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

4 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature (I used neufchatel cheese)
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
4 large eggs
2 tablespoons whipping cream
1 tablespoons vanilla extract

2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon almond extract

For crust:
Preheat oven to 325°F. Double-wrap outside of 9-inch-diameter springformpan with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Place cookies in processor and blend until coarse crumbs form. Add butter and process until evenly moistened. Press crumb mixture firmly onto bottom and halfway up sides of prepared pan. You may end up with extra cookie crumbs.  Bake crust 8 minutes; cool on rack.

For filling:
Press raspberries and juices through fine strainer into small bowl. Measure 1/2 cup puree for filling (reserve remaining puree for another use). Stir chocolate in a double boiler until just melted and smooth; set aside.
Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar in large bowl until smooth and fluffy. Beat in flour, then eggs, 1 at a time. Beat in whipping cream and vanilla. Transfer 1/3 of the batter to medium bowl; stir in melted chocolate. Stir reserved 1/2 cup raspberry puree and almond extract into remaining batter in large bowl.
Pour raspberry batter into prepared crust; place springform pan in large roasting pan. Pour enough hot water into roasting pan to come 1 inch up sides of pan. Bake until raspberry filling is softly set in center and beginning to puff at edges, about 50 minutes. Remove roasting pan from oven; let raspberry layer cool 5 minutes to firm slightly.

Reheat the chocolate batter slightly over low heat, so that it becomes spreadable, and spread on top of raspberry layer. Bake until white chocolate filling is set in center, about 30 minutes.

I let the cake cool a little before refrigerating overnight.  It has to be chilled at least 4 hours before serving.

Recipe Source Site:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/printerfriendly/Double-Decker-Raspberry-and-White-Chocolate-Cheesecake-104844#ixzz0rL8S6nE4

My newest blog post is about the value of support from those who know what you're going through in recovery from an eating disorder.  It was posted a few days ago, and the link is below:

http://theemilyprogram.blogspot.com/2010/06/recovering-in-iop.html

My First Emily Program Blog Post

I've started writing for the Emily Program as an artistic outlet for the frustrations and triumphs of eating disorder recovery, and my first article was published last week! Yay! Follow the link to read for yourself!

http://theemilyprogram.blogspot.com/2010/05/power-of-food-in-recovery.html

Margarita Cake

My mom wanted to make an orange take-along cake at the cabin this weekend, so I asked if we could try using lime instead, and this is what we ended up with! It's deliciously tangy- a great summer cake! We didn't have fresh lime zest, but I bet that would only make it better.

Margarita Cake

1-1/4 c boiling water
1 c quick cooking oats
½ c butter
1c brown sugar
2 eggs
½ c frozen limeade concentrate, thawed and undiluted
2 t vanilla
1 ¾ c flour
1 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
½ t salt
½ t nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350°. Pour boiling water over oats. Set aside. Cream butter and sugars. Beat in eggs one at a time. Add limeade concentrate and vanilla. Mix together dry ingredients. Blend into creamed mixture alternately with oats, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Pour batter into a greased 9 x 13-inch pan. Bake until golden on top and toothpick comes out clean, about 30-40 minutes. Cool cake completely on a wire rack before icing.

Icing

Make a typical icing with powdered sugar, melted butter. Icing should be pretty thick. Add 1 T Triple Sec, 2 T fresh lime juice, 2 T tequila and 1 tsp of vanilla. Add warm milk 1 T at a time and more tequila to taste until the icing drizzles in a thin stream from a spoon. Drizzle the icing over the cooled cake in two directions to make a criss-cross pattern.

Serve the cake plain or with vanilla ice cream (or margaritas!).