CookiePie

Moving on

2010-09-19T22:06:00.000-04:00

Hey there! Just want to let you know that CookiePie is moving. Please visit the new site here! And if you're a subscriber (thanks!), please cancel your subscription to CookiePie on Blogspot and join up at the new site.

Thanks!

"The ultimate" lemon bars

2010-09-14T21:42:00.000-04:00

OK, so why is "the ultimate" in quotes?

Well, thank you for asking :) You see, I always get suspicious whenever anyone calls their recipe for something "the ultimate" or "the best" or any other superlative like that. Who says it's "the ultimate"? What if I like another one better?

Have you been seeing those creepy posters around for that movie "The Last Exorcism"? They creeped me out but good -- until I walked by one with Mark and he said, "You know, it seems like a bad idea to call any movie 'The Last' anything." I just burst out laughing, and now those same posters make me giggle. But I digress...

So anyway, these lemon bars may or may not be "the best" or "the ultimate" or even "the last" recipe you'll ever need for lemon bars. But they are delicious! They're on the sweet side, and generally I like my lemon bars with a little more pucker -- but everyone who ate them raved. I think if you prefer them more tart you could leave out the milk, add another 1/3 cup of lemon juice and leave the sugar right where it is -- that's what I'm going to do next time. Also, there was a whole lot of crust and the recipe calls for spreading it in the bottom and up the sides of the pan -- that was more trouble to me than it was worth. Next time I'd cut back on the crust by about 1/3.

Having said all that, I'm going to post the recipe as I made it, since it works beautifully as is.

Enjoy!

"Perfect" Lemon Bars
Makes about 24-ish
(from recipe by Cook's Illustrated, via RecipeLink

Crust:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
3/4 tsp. salt
12 Tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into pieces

Filling:
1 1/3 cups sugar
2 tsp. grated lemon zest (from about 2 large lemons)
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
2/3 cup fresh lemon juice (from about 5 lemons), strained
1/3 cup whole milk
1/8 tsp. salt

1. For the crust: Adjust oven rack to middle position. Lightly butter a 9-by-13-inch baking pan and line with one sheet of parchment, then lay second sheet crosswise over it (note: I lined the pan with one sheet of foil and misted it with cooking spray, seemed less fussy and worked beautifully).

2. Pulse flour, confectioners' sugar, cornstarch and salt in a food processor. Add butter and process to blend, then pulse until mixture is pale yellow and resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle mixture into lined pan and press firmly with fingers into an even 1/4-inch layer over entire pan bottom and 1/2 inch up sides. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. During last 5 minutes, preheat oven to 350ºF, and bake crust for 20 minutes, until golden brown. Remove to a wire rack and reduce oven temperature to 325ºF.

3. For the filling: Whisk sugar and zest together until well combined, then whisk in eggs, flour, lemon juice, milk and salt. Pour into warm crust and bake until filling feels firm when lightly touched, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool to room temperature, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (I left in in the fridge overnight).

4. Remove the bars from the pan using the parchment or foil, place on a cutting board, remove parchment (or foil) and cut into squares, wiping off knife between each cut. Sift additional confectioners' sugar over the bars just before serving, if desired (note: I didn't, and I'm glad because they would have been way too sweet then).

Blueberry crumb bars

2010-09-03T12:24:00.000-04:00

Happy Labor Day weekend! Do you have any fun plans for the long weekend? Mark has been away for a few days, so we're just looking forward to a nice, relaxed few days together with the mush. We're planning to have a picnic in Prospect Park with some friends, visiting with friends and family -- just generally catching up and taking it easy.

I also need to do a 12-mile run, in preparation for my next half marathon: Grete's Great Gallop, coming up on Oct. 2! It's supposed to cool off tomorrow, so I'm looking forward to a nice long run outside that doesn't include insane heat and humidity :)

Anyway -- if you're looking for a treat to bring to a picnic or barbecue, whip up a batch of these beauties. They're so, so simple and a real crowd-pleaser. Feel free to swap in another berry, or even a mix of berries, if you're feeling frisky.

Enjoy!

Blueberry Crumb Bars
Makes 20

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
3/4 cups sugar
1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
8 Tbsp. (1 stick) unsalted cutter, cold, cut into pieces
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups fresh blueberries, picked over for stems
2 1/2 tsp. cornstarch

1. Preheat oven to 375ºF. Line an 8-inch square pan with foil and mist with cooking spray.

2. In a food processor, combine both flours, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Pulse to mix well. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. Drizzle egg and vanilla over mixture and pulse again, just until a crumbly dough begins to form. Transfer half of dough mixture into prepared pan and press down evenly.

3. In another bowl, toss blueberries with remaining 1/4 cup sugar and cornstarch. Spread over dough in baking pan. Sprinkle remaining dough mixture evenly over berries.

4. Bake bars until top is golden and berries are bubbly, about 45 to 50 minutes. Let cool to room temperature in pan on a wire rack, then cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to overnight before cutting into bars.

Peach pie

2010-08-27T13:41:00.000-04:00

Hello! If time flies when you're having fun, then I must be having some serious fun (serious fun?), because it seems like just yesterday that my friend Jayna got engaged, and she had months and months and months to plan. So how can it be that her wedding is only a few weeks away??

This peach pie was a practice run for me. The always-unconventional Jayna (I mean that in the very best way!) does not want a wedding cake. Instead, she is having a bunch of pies, and a few of her friends, myself included, are making them. Mine will include a peach-raspberry pie, a blueberry pie, and a classic peach, like the one you see here.

Lately I have a few friends celebrating their weddings, and I'm helping out a bit with the baking -- what could be more fun than that? There's nothing better than seeing your friends happy, and getting to bake to help everyone celebrate is just the most fun. No wonder time seems to be speeding up on me!

So, can we talk about pie for a second? I read on a blog recently (sorry, I don't remember which one) that you're not a "real baker" if you don't make your own pie crust. I'd like to respectfully disagree. Now, I did make my own crust for this pie, and I almost always do. But I happen to think that if you made the filling and put it all together, that is a homemade pie and you are a real baker. Some folks just don't like making pie crust, or are intimidated by it, or don't have time. If that sounds like you, and anyone tells you you're not a real baker, no pie for them! :)

Enjoy!

Peach Pie
Serves 8-ish

Crust:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
16 Tbsp. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, frozen
1/4 cup vodka, ice cold
4 to 6 Tbsp. ice water

Filling:
4 lbs. peaches, ripe but not mushy
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
1 large egg, beaten with 1 Tbsp. water

1. Make crust: Pulse flour and salt in food processor. Add butter pieces and pulse just until butter is incorporated and there are no pieces left that are larger than a pea. Add vodka and pulse to combine. Add water, 1 Tbsp. at a time, pulsing just until mixture is still crumbly but just beginning to clump (squeeze some between your fingers; it should hold together). Dump it out onto a countertop and knead it just enough to bring it together. Divide it in half, shape both halves into disks, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

2. Line a large baking sheet with foil. Remove 1 dough disk from fridge and let stand at room temperature until it's soft enough to roll (about 5 to 10 minutes). Roll it out (on a lightly floured countertop or between 2 sheets of plastic wrap or parchment) to a 12-inch circle. Fit into a 9-inch pie plate and trip edges, leaving a 1-inch overhang. Refrigerate.

3. Preheat oven to 400ºF. Place a rack on bottom third of oven and put lined baking sheet on rack. Make filling: Peel**, pit and slice peaches (I cut them in half, then quarters, then cut each quarter in thirds). Toss them in a large bowl with lemon juice. Add flour, cornstarch, brown sugar, 1/2 cup sugar, ginger, cinnamon and salt and mix well (I use my hands for this). Transfer filling into pie plate. Roll out second disk to an 11-inch circle, place on top of pie and trim edge. Fold edges together, crimp to seal. Using a sharp paring knife, cut a few slits in top crust to allow steam to escape. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with remaining 2 Tbsp. sugar.

3. Place pie on preheated baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes. Turn oven down to 375ºF and continue baking until crust is golden brown and filling bubbles through steam vents, 25 to 35 minutes longer. Remove pie to a wire rack and let cool for at least 3 hours before serving.

** The easiest way to peel peaches is with a serrated peeler. I live in NYC, so I have a teeny-tiny kitchen and it's rare that I recommend buying yet another kitchen gadget. But a serrated peeler is a must! You can use it on tomatoes, too, and you don't have to mess around with blanching, ice baths, etc. Get one! I like this one.

Red velvet cupcakes

2010-08-15T20:45:00.003-04:00

Hello! As I write, it's 8 p.m. and the laundry's in the dryer, the baby's asleep, her lunch for tomorrow is packed, and Mark is on the sofa reading the Sunday Times. Really, it just doesn't get any better than this. Sigh...

We're just back from a weekend in Chicago, where my sweet, lovely, wonderful friend (more like a sister, really) Heather celebrated her marriage to Tim, who we love.

So it was a glorious weekend full of love and great times. Their party was on the rooftop of a great sports bar in Wrigleyville, and after days of uncertain weather predictions, it couldn't have been a more perfect night -- warm and breezy, with a perfect sunset followed by a fairy-tale crescent moon. We all chowed on Chicago hot dogs, fried chicken and tater tots, rocked out to Tim's excellent handpicked song list and toasted and drank up a storm... and for dessert, indulged in fabulous cupcakes made by Heather herself! It was so much fun.

Here is the gorgeous bride and her fantastic groom (donning the tux T-shirt):

I was sad that I couldn't be there to bake with her (the one down side to summer Fridays is that you have to claim them early or you're out of luck! I actually couldn't get Friday off), but I got to help her frost and decorate them. Of course, Heather being her fabulous self, she didn't make just 1 kind of cupcake. You had your choice of -- yep, count 'em -- 4 different kinds: chocolate, carrot (both made from recipes in my cookbook!), vanilla or red velvet. The vanilla and chocolate had vanilla buttercream and the carrot and red velvet had cream cheese frosting. All were so delicious -- everyone gobbled them up!

So even though I couldn't be there to bake with her, I wanted to help out. Heather came to NYC a few weeks ago, so I tested out a red velvet recipe for her. When she came to dinner, that's what we had for dessert. She liked them, and that's the recipe she ultimately went with (yay!).

I have to admit, red velvet is not my personal favorite. But if you do like that flavor, this is a great recipe, courtesy of Martha Stewart (you may recall I had similar great results with her one-bowl chocolate cupcakes not long ago). It's very simple to do, and the cupcakes come out beautiful -- plus, they freeze very well. And the recipe makes 24 cupcakes, so if you're feeding a crowd, as Heather was, that helps a lot.

Enjoy!

Red Velvet Cupcakes
(recipe by Martha Stewart)
Yield: 24 cupcakes

2 1/2 cups cake flour, sifted
2 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil (I used canola)
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 tsp. red gel-paste food coloring
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. distilled white vinegar

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line 2 12-cup muffin tins with paper liners. In a bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa and salt.

2. Using an electric mixer, beat together sugar and oil until well combined. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then beat in food coloring and vanilla. Scrape down sides of bowl and beat again. Reduce speed to low. Bean in flour mixture in three additions, alternating with two additions of buttermilk. Beat just until incorporated. Stir together baking soda and vinegar in a small bowl (it will foam); add mixture to batter and beat for 10 seconds.

3. Divide batter evenly among baking cups, filling three-quarters full. Beat, rotating pans halfway through, until a toothpick inserted into center of a cupcake comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature (wrapped well) or frozen up to 2 months (in a ziplock freezer bag).

Hint: Gel-paste food coloring is much more concentrated than the liquid supermarket variety. If you need to swap in the liquid kind, you may need to use the entire 1.5-oz. bottle to get the desired shade.

Cream Cheese Frosting
(recipe adapted from Bon Appetit)
Makes 4 1/2 cups

2 8-oz. packages cream cheese, at room temperature
1 1/2 sticks (12 Tbsp.) unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

Using an electric mixer, beat together cream cheese and butter until light and well mixed. Beat in sugar gradually. Beat in vanilla and salt. Cover and chill until spreading consistency, about 30 minutes.

Blueberry clafouti

2010-08-07T22:44:00.003-04:00

Hi there! Quick post today -- friends are on their way over to visit with us, and by "us" I mean especially the mush. Not that I blame them! The cuteness is out of control these days. Out. Of. Control.

This is not just my opinion. I mean, of course I'm her mama so I think she's cute. But it also happens to be a fact. I submit as evidence:

Anyway, as I was saying... lately I'm still on the breakfast kick. But I won't subject you to more pancakes... yet. Today we have a lovely blueberry clafouti. If you haven't had clafouti before, it's kind of partway between a pancake and a custard, but it leans more heavily toward custard (as least, the way I make it). In France, it's traditionally made with cherries, and I do love it that way -- but I had blueberries in the fridge, so we went with that.

Clafouti (pronounced "clah-foo-TEE") can be a brunch dish or a dessert -- and truth be told, this was a little sweet for us for breakfast. Of course, we did gobble up the entire thing anyway! But I think next time I would cut back on the sugar a bit if I was making this for brunch again. For dessert it would be perfect though. It's also about as easy as you can get -- whisk a few really simple ingredients together, pour it into a pie dish and bake -- and so, so delicious. You can whip one up so easily and then impress everyone with your knowledge and mastery of French cuisine :)

Enjoy!

Blueberry Clafouti
Serves 2 to 4

Unsalted butter, for baking dish
1/3 cup plus 2 Tbsp. sugar
3/4 cup blueberries
3 large eggs, at room temperature
zest of 1 small lemon
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup milk
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 375ºF. Generously butter a 9-inch pie plate and sprinkle with 2 Tbsp. sugar. Move the pie plate around so that it's coated with the sugar; tap out any excess. Spread the blueberries out in the pie dish.
2. Using an electric mixer, beat the 1/4 cup sugar, eggs and lemon zest until light, about 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in the flour, salt, cream, milk and vanilla until well combined.
3. Pour the custard over the berries and bake until puffed and just firm in the center, about 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool on a rack for 5 minutes before serving. (You can dust it with confectioners' sugar just before serving, if you like.)

NOTES:
This would be just as delicious with raspberries or blackberries, or even a combo. Or, you could get wild and crazy and toss in peeled, chopped peaches.
I think this is a nice mix of milk and cream -- but you could go with a heavier cream-to-milk ratio if you want it even creamier and more decadent. You could also just use half and half. I've even done it with all milk and no cream -- but don't even try it with skim.

Maple walnut pancakes

2010-07-30T17:04:00.001-04:00

Happy Friday! If you're like us, then weekend breakfasts are sacred, something cherished and carefully guarded. It would take a lot to get us out for brunch on a weekend day. That was always true, even before the mush came along -- but now it's even more so. Saturday mornings we take her to an early swimming class at the Y (and if you've never seen a bunch of 12- to 17-month-olds learning how to swim, it is a sight to behold in terms of cuteness!), then to a park to play before coming home for the all-important naptime. So breakfast is early that day, but we like to make it something fun, delicious and hearty that we'll all enjoy (especially the mush) and will keep us going all morning. This often means pancakes (as evidenced by these, these, and, of course, these, among others) -- especially lately, while we're in this silly sublet and I'm without my waffle maker (but that's a different story).

So anyway, last weekend I whipped up these pancakes, based on this recipe from Bon Appetit. As you may know, I'm obsessed with anything maple-flavored, so that part was great. The walnuts? Not so much. Mark can't have raw walnuts (toasted are fine), and I thought cooking them in the pancakes would be enough. Turns out, nope -- my poor sweetheart got a terrible canker sore. And though I painstakingly chopped them as teeny-tiny as I could, the mush -- in between gobbling bites of pancake -- spit out all the little walnut bits. Hmm. So next time for me, no walnuts (a handful of wheat germ would be a perfectly fine substitute). But if that's not an issue for you, make these as-is -- they're delicious, and really satisfying, no matter where your weekend plans take you.

Enjoy!

Maple Walnut Pancakes
adapted from Bon Appetit
Makes 12

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
1/4 cup flaxseed meal
1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup plain yogurt (not fat free)
1/4 cup milk (not skim)
1/4 cup pure maple syrup (preferably grade B)
1 large egg
Unsalted butter, melted, for griddle

1. Preheat oven to 200ºF. In a large bowl, whisk together both flours, flaxseed meal, walnuts, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together yogurt, milk, maple syrup and egg. Pour maple mixture into flour mixture and stir until just combined.

2. Preheat a griddle or skillet over medium heat and brush with butter. Drop batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto griddle and cook until bubbles begin to form, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook until golden on the undersides, about 2 minutes longer. Keep warm on a plate in oven while cooking remaining pancakes. Serve warm, with additional maple syrup and butter.

Tipsy Key lime pie

2010-07-23T10:12:00.001-04:00

Happy Friday, everyone! Quick post today. We're lucky to have summer Fridays at my job, where we get a bunch of Fridays off between Memorial Day and Labor Day. It's a fantastic benefit, I love it! I always think I'm going to take it easy on my Fridays... but then, of course, I fill the day with all kinds of things I need to do. Not that I'm complaining -- doing that makes my Saturdays and Sundays much more relaxed, with all that other stuff out of the way.

Today my plans include working on recipes for my almost-finished book proposal, running 10 miles and hopefully getting a badly needed pedicure (because of the aforementioned 10-mile run, and all the other ways I abuse my poor little feet), among other various and sundry things. Not a bad day! Also, on my Fridays off I make a nice breakfast for Mark and the mush -- I'll post about what I made today very soon.

Anyway -- for your weekend baking pleasure, here is a cool, refreshing, crowd-pleasing pie recipe from my cookbook, You Made That Dessert? It's a take on the classic Key lime pie, with a bit of light rum thrown in to give it a kick. Of course you can leave it out if you're feeding any kiddos -- but if not, go for it and enjoy the little whooo-weeee it gives the pie.

OK, so about the Key lime juice -- I use bottled. You can certainly squeeze it fresh, if you have the limes handy and you're so inclined. And if Key limes aren't available, feel free to swap in regular Persian limes. There, I said it. Now, before you purists out there howl with rage at the very idea and tell me it isn't Key lime pie without Key limes, etc. etc. -- I know. I know! But just "lime pie" doesn't sound nearly as romantic, and though I'm sure you can, the average person can't tell the difference. OK, flame away :)

For you non-purists out there, here's the recipe. Enjoy!

Tipsy Key Lime Pie
Serves 8

Crust:
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
3 Tbsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

Filling:
4 large egg yolks
1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk
2/3 cup Key lime juice (I use Nellie & Joe's bottled juice)
1/4 cup light rum
Pinch of salt
Whipped cream for serving, optional

1. Preheat oven to 375ºF. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil.

2. Make the crust: In a large bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and salt; stir with a fork. Stir in the melted butter until all the crumbs are moistened. Press evenly into the bottom and sides of a 9-inch glass pie plate. Bake for 10 minutes until light golden, then remove to a wire rack.

3. Make the filling: In a medium bowl, whisk together the yolks, condensed milk, lime juice, rum and salt until well mixed. Place the crust on the lined baking sheet; pour the filling into the crust.

4. Bake for 17 to 19 minutes, until just set and the filling jiggles slightly when you lightly shake the pie plate (the filling will set as it cools). Transfer the pie to a wire rack to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate it until cold (at least 3 hours, but overnight is better). Serve with whipped cream, if desired.

Raw beet salad

2010-07-16T13:00:00.003-04:00

Greetings! If you're looking around, wondering if you're in the right place, it's ok. This is the CookiePie blog.

But CookiePie, that's a salad! Your recipes are always desserts, you say. Well, that's generally true. But hey, nothing wrong with shaking things up once in a while, right? Man cannot live by sweets alone. :)

So Mark and I belong to a CSA -- which stands for "community supported agriculture." The idea is, you join this group and pay a few hundred dollars upfront, which buys you a share in a local farm. Once a week for a set amount of months, you get a box with fresh produce from that farm. You get lots of fresh produce, and you get to feel good about supporting a local farm. Sounds great, right?

It really is -- we love it. My one issue with it (had to be something, right?) is that it's generally too much food (we have a partial share, and it's still too much!), and you get whatever you get, so sometimes it's more of one thing than you want and not enough of another thing. We belonged to a different one a few years ago and we were positively knee deep in green beans. This year, we belong to the Brooklyn Bridge CSA -- and while we've gotten waaaay more lettuce than anyone without a pet bunny could possibly eat, in general we like it much better. The produce so far has been pretty spectacular. One nice thing is that they have a swap box, where you can put in an item you don't want and take something that someone else has cast off. This week I dropped in a head of Boston lettuce (!) and took a kohlrabi. Have you ever had kohlrabi? Oh man, is it delicious! It's like, if broccoli and parsley and jicama got together and had a three-way that produced a love child, it would be kohlrabi.

Um, ahem. Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, the CSA.

One thing we've gotten pretty much every week that we love around here is beets. Fresh beets are just the BOMB, don't you think? And while I love them roasted, the other day I was so wiped out that I just couldn't even be bothered to wrap them in foil and roast them. So I peeled them, shredded them (in the food processor, of course), whipped up a super-quick dressing and we enjoyed a raw beet salad for dinner. Really delicious and refreshing, made from stuff we had laying around, and healthy to boot. What more could you ask from a summer supper?

Enjoy!

Raw Beet Salad
Serves 2 generously (can be doubled)

Zest of 1 orange
1 Tbsp. white balsamic vinegar (just about any flavored vinegar would work)
1/4 tsp. Dijon mustard
Large pinch of salt
Freshly grated black pepper
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
3 beets, trimmed, peeled and shredded
1 small shallot, finely minced
2 Tbsp. sliced almonds, toasted
1 Tbsp. golden raisins, optional
4 oz. goat cheese

In a large bowl, whisk together zest. vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper. Drizzle in oil, whisking constantly, until well combined. Add beets, shallot, almonds and raisins (if using) to bowl and toss well. Crumble goat cheese on top just before serving.

Apricot tartlets

2010-07-07T09:58:00.002-04:00

Greetings from NYC, otherwise known this week as the 8th circle of hell. As you no doubt know if you live in the Northeast or watch the news, we are trapped in a crazy heat wave. Crazy. Heat. Wave. I'm usually not one to sit around and discuss the weather, but can we discuss the weather for a sec? Holy hotness. Yesterday I stepped out to get some milk (yes, I have a toddler and I ran out of milk -- mother of the year, right here!) -- it was about 7:30 a.m., and walking out of the building into the "fresh" air was like walking into a wall. Crazy hot!

Anyway -- who turns the oven on in weather like this?? Yup, that would be me! :) In my defense, I made these sweet little tartlets on Friday, and it wasn't this hot yet. But I digress... So Mark and I were planning to go to one of those glorious outdoor concerts in Prospect Park with our dear friends Howard and Martha, and we were all bringing food for a pre-show picnic. Concert? Park? Picnic? Oh yeah! That is summer to me, in a nutshell. (Right now it's a 97-degree nutshell, but anyway.) So I whipped up enough pasta salad to feed an army, and these little tartlets, made with store-bought puff pastry (sue me) and the prettiest little fresh apricots. Really, these couldn't be simpler.

The one thing we were missing was a big melty scoop of vanilla ice cream on top, but we sacrificed that to eat our tartlets outside in the park. And then we danced and looked at the stars and had one of those lovely summer evenings outside. Sigh.

Enjoy!

Apricot tartlets
Makes 4
(Adapted from this recipe from Gourmet)

1/4 cup sliced almonds
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
Pinch of salt
6 fresh apricots (choose ones that are firm -- not hard, but not soft -- so you can slice them easily)
1 sheet frozen puff pastry (half of a 17-oz. package), thawed but still cold
2 Tbsp. milk
1 Tbsp. sugar
3 Tbsp. peach or apricot jam
1 1/2 Tbsp. brandy (optional, but do it!)

1. Preheat oven to 425ºF. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment.

2. Pulse almonds, confectioners' sugar and salt in a food processor until the nuts are finely ground and the mixture is well combined. Halve and pit the apricots and cut them into 1/8-inch-thick slices.

3. Unfold puff pastry onto a large sheet of plastic wrap and cover with another piece of plastic wrap. Roll out pastry to a large rectangle (about 1/2 of its original thickness). Remove top sheet of plastic. Using a large biscuit cutter or a small bowl and a paring knife, cut out 4 4-inch circles and place on baking sheet, spacing them apart as much as possible.

4. Divide the almond mixture among the pastry circles, leaving a 1/4-inch border (I placed a smaller round cookie cutter on top of the circle and sprinkled the mixture inside it, then lifted off the cookie cutter). Place the apricot slices on top of the almond mixture in concentric circles. Fold the edges of the pastry over the apricots, gently pressing down and folding to keep the pastry in place. Brush the edges with milk. Sprinkle the sugar over the tartlets.

5. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the edges are golden brown, switching the sheet front to back midway through baking time. While the tarts are baking, warm the jam and brandy in a small saucepan over low heat until the jam has melted. Remove the tarts from the baking sheet onto a wire rack and brush the fruit gently with the glaze. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Tart cherry-white chocolate blondies

2010-06-30T21:23:00.001-04:00

There's nothing I love more than someone asking me to bake something for them. I don't know about you, but sometimes I feel like I'm constantly foisting my baked goods on unsuspecting friends, co-workers and acquaintances. Invite me over, and I'm sure to show up with something I just whipped up. It's partially because that's how my mama raised me (me arriving empty-handed is like a vampire entering the home of a mortal without being invited - I couldn't do it if I wanted to), and partially because I try to eat as healthfully as I can, so I need people to take my creative output off my hands to prevent me from scarfing it all down myself.

Anyway, recently an old pal from college who I hadn't seen in years and years and YEARS came to NYC for a visit, and Mark and I met her for lunch. With her was her adorable, amazingly poised and mature 9-year-old stepdaughter, who was an absolute delight to dine with (at a Thai restaurant!). Our friend thought her stepdaughter would enjoy a homemade treat and asked me to make something -- naturally I jumped at the chance. She said the girl especially likes vanilla, so my brain went immediately to blondies, since they were doing lots of sightseeing and staying in a hotel (hence, a cheesecake or delicate pastry or even cupcakes would be difficult).

But of course, I can't just make blondies -- I wanted to make them special somehow. I knew I had some white chocolate chips burning a proverbial hole in my pantry, and some lovely walnut halves from Trader Joe's -- all I needed to make it complete was some tart cherries. Voila! I delivered them to that perfectly sweet, charming girl as we sat down to lunch and all was well.

Try these -- they couldn't be simpler and they really are yummy.

Enjoy!

Tart Cherry-White Chocolate Blondies
Makes 20

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
6 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp. packed dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup dried tart cherries, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line an 8-inch square pan with foil; mist foil with cooking spray. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.

2. In a saucepan, cook the butter and brown sugar over medium-low heat, stirring often, until melted and well combined. Transfer to a bowl and let cool until you can stick your finger in it (about 5 minutes). When it's cool enough, whisk in the egg and vanilla. Stir in the flour mixture until just combined, then fold in the nuts, chips and cherries. Scrape the batter into the baking pan and spread evenly.

3. Bake until just set in center and golden (do not overbake), about 25 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack. For easiest cutting, cover with foil and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. To cut, use foil to remove blondies to a cutting board. Peel off foil and cut into squares.

Notes:
Swap pistachios for the cherries, if you like. Shredded coconut would also be tasty.
Use a tablespoon of rum, bourbon or brandy instead of the vanilla, if you're feeling frisky (and not baking for a 9-year-old, as I was!)
Swap dried cranberries, dates, raisins or another dried fruit for the cherries, if you prefer.
Use dark or even milk chocolate chips instead of the white. Or toss in a combination.

Chive popovers

2010-06-21T21:26:00.003-04:00

Holy sweltering summer heat, batman! It was a sticky, sweaty Father's Day (happy father's day to all the daddies out there... grandfathers too!), so naturally I had to bake. (?!) Mark loves popovers, so I thought the mush and I would whip some up for a treat. I used a recipe by Ina Garten, whose recipes are always foolproof, in my experience. The only thing I changed was adding a few tablespoons of freshly snipped chives.

Also, I don't have a popover pan or custard cups (especially while we're in these temporary digs and all my kitchen stuff is sadly somewhere up in the Bronx in storage, sniff!). So I just used every other cup in 2 12-cup muffin tins. I had some batter left over, probably could have made another 4 to 6 popovers. But we were too busy gobbling up the first 12!

We had these for breakfast with some juicy fresh blueberries and apple-and-maple turkey sausage -- perfect fuel for our Father's Day trip to the Central Park Zoo (where the mush greeted every furry animal with "Hi dog," birds with "Hi duck" and animals she couldn't identify with a simple "Hi"). But you could also serve them at dinner with steak as a kind of Yorkshire pudding type of thing. They couldn't be easier.

Whenever you make them, plan to serve them right out of the oven, because they do deflate quickly. And they disappear fast, because they're delicious!

Enjoy!

Chive popovers
Makes 12 to 18 (depending on pan size)
(Slightly adapted from this recipe by Ina Garten)

1 1/2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted (plus more for greasing the pans)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. kosher salt (I used sea salt)
3 extra-large eggs, at room temperature (I used large)
1 1/2 cups milk, at room temperature
(my addition) 2 to 3 Tbsp. snipped chives

1. Preheat oven to 425ºF. Generously great cups of a popover pan or custard cups with softened butter (I used every other cup in 2 12-cup muffin tins). Place pans in oven for exactly 2 minutes to preheat just before pouring in batter.

2. Whisk together flour, salt, eggs, milk, melted butter and chives until batter is smooth (it will be thin). Fill pans less than half full and bake for 30 minutes (I baked for 20 since my pans are shallower). Do not open the oven to peek! Serve immediately.

Almond-raspberry cake

2010-06-14T22:16:00.004-04:00

Howdy! I'm in that funny place I go to every summer, where the work-me, the food editor at All You, is knee-deep in Thanksgiving and Christmas, while the other me, the home-me, is busy scarfing up all the summer fruits I can get my grubby little paws on. Work = turkey, sweet potato casserole, stuffing, gingerbread; while home = rhubarb, melons, and berries, berries, berries. I love it, though I never do quite get used to it!

So... Sunday night we had a lovely early dinner with the mush's friend Jude (and his parents, of course). This is the sweetest, cuddliest, pudgy-cheekiest, bluest-eyed little fella you ever saw. I love this kid! He's such a jolly little boy, so happy, smiley and full of enthusiasm. No wonder he and the mush are good friends. Here they are, two peas in a pod:

Please!

Anyway, we love his parents, Bliss and Patrick, too. They very kindly invited us to dinner, and so we showed up with the mush and this almond-raspberry cake, which is from my cookbook, You Made That Dessert? I also brought over a work-in-progress recipe from a new book project I'm working on... more on that at a later date. Stay tuned.

Anyway -- to bring this epically long post back around to where we started (are you still here? Excellent)... I love this cake because it's loaded with fresh raspberries, so non-work-me can enjoy the season in my favorite way: baking! :) It's also very moist and rich from the almond paste. It's great on its own or with just a dusting of confectioner's sugar -- but I'm sure no one would kick you out of bed for drizzling it with a simple glaze or serving the wedges with generous scoops of ice cream.

Enjoy!

Almond-Raspberry Cake
Serves 8

4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1 7-oz. tube almond paste, broken into pieces
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla or almond extract
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 6-oz. box fresh raspberries
1/4 cup sliced almonds

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease and flour a 9-inch round baking pan.

2. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on low speed, beat sugar and almond paste until well mixed. Add butter, raise speed to medium and beat well to form a cohesive paste. Raise the speed again to medium-high and beat until fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Beat in vanilla. Scrape down sides and bottom of bowl and beat again to combine.

3. In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking powder and salt. Add to almond paste mixture and stir together with a flexible spatula. Do not overmix. Fold in raspberries. Pour batter into prepared pan, spreading evenly. Sprinkle with sliced almonds.

4. Bake until a toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean or with just a few crumbs clinging to it, about 35 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack. Carefully flip it over again so that it's right side up on wire rack and let cool further. Serve slightly warm, or let it cool completely, wrap well in plastic wrap and keep at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Homemade pretzels

2010-06-06T21:39:00.003-04:00

Hello! I love a good project, don't you? Especially a cooking or baking project, of course. These days, with the mush, I don't have as much time as in the past to make multiple elements or construct elaborate designs on things -- but last week, Mark and I were so inspired by this story in the New York Times that we decided to dedicate some time to... making pretzels.

We had friends coming over, all of whom have babies the same age as the mush, so it was kind of a play date for the kids and for the adults. We called it for 3:30, waaaay too early for dinner, but smack squarely in the middle of snacktime. So we had a potluck snacktime, and one of our contributions was a batch of these gorgeous homemade pretzels.

This was not only a project in the actual baking itself, but also in gathering a key ingredient: food-grade lye. Now, the very idea of food-grade lye seems odd to me (is that like food-grade rat poison?) -- but evidently lye is what gives pretzels their signature color and flavor, so off we went to The Brooklyn Kitchen to procure some.

At some point I'll have to get back to you on the wonder that is The Brooklyn Kitchen... but for now, I'm going to share the pretzel recipe, implore you to make them, and say goodnight :)

Enjoy!

Bavarian-Style Soft Pretzels
(adapted slightly from the New York Times, recipe here)
Makes 12

1 Tbsp. barley malt syrup or dark brown sugar (we used 1/2 Tbsp. brown sugar and 1/2 Tbsp. molasses)
2 Tbsp. softened unsalted butter
2 Tbsp. instant yeast (we used active dried)
6 cups bread flour (we used 1/2 all-purpose and 1/2 whole-wheat)
1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. kosher salt
Food-grade lye, for dipping (according to the Times, you can get it at Amazon)
Coarse salt, for sprinkling

1. In a mixing bowl, stir together sugar, butter, yeast, 2 cups warm water and half the flour. Add kosher salt and remaining flour and stir just until dough comes together in a shaggy mass. Turn out onto counter and knead for 8 to 10 minutes, until smooth and supple. Cut into 12 pieces and let rest 5 minutes. (We covered the pieces with a slightly damp paper towel while they rested.)

2. Roll out each piece into a 22-inch rope. Lift both ends, twist them around each other once, then bring ends back and and press them on either side of fat "belly," at about 4 o'clock and 8 o'clock. Then gently spread out "shoulders" of pretzel. Transfer shaped pretzels to a baking sheet lined with parchment. Let rest at room temperature, then refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight.

3. Preheat oven to 425ºF. In a large, deep bowl, wearing rubber or latex gloves, make a solution of 1/2 cup lye and 10 cups water. Dip each pretzel in the solution, turning it over for 10 to 15 seconds, and place on baking sheet (make sure you line your baking sheets with parchment -- otherwise the lye can discolor them).

4. Sprinkle pretzels with salt. Bake for about 15 minutes, until deep brown. Remove to a rack and serve warm.

NOTE: We made a few different shapes, they all baked in 15 minutes and came out delicious! We served them with horseradish mustard.

Chocolate cookie ice cream sandwiches

2010-05-26T09:29:00.000-04:00

Hi friends! Quick post today. I'm off from work for a few days, enjoying a mini-staycation with Mark. We both could only manage a few short days off, and rather than trying to rush-rush a road trip with the mush, we thought we'd let her go to daycare and just have some free hours alone together. It's great fun spending time with our little munchkin, of course, but sometimes mama and daddy need some grown-up time!

Anyway -- it's promising to be a scorcher today, upwards of 90 degrees! So here's a treat from All You, where I work. Who doesn't love ice cream sandwiches?? And with rich chocolate cookies, they're truly fabulous. When we did the photo shoot, we all couldn't wait to eat these! My favorite ice cream flavor to sandwich is strawberry, but try these with cookies and cream, mint chip, coffee, classic vanilla... whatever you like.

Enjoy!

Chocolate cookie ice cream sandwiches
(from All You)
Makes 14

1 cup all-purpose flour
6 Tbsp. unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
10 Tbsp. (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips
2 pints ice cream (any flavor)

1. Make cookies: Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with parchment. Sift flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt into a bowl. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar until fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and beat until smooth. Beat in flour mixture until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips.

2. Scoop up heaping tablespoonfuls of dough and form into 1 1/2- to 2-inch balls. Place 3 inches apart on baking sheets (you'll fit about 6 to 8 per sheet). Bake until dry on top, 13 to 15 minutes. Let cool on baking sheets on wire racks.

3. Make sandwiches: Let ice cream stand at room temperature for 3 minutes to soften. Set containers on their sides on a cutting board and use a serrated knife to cut each pint into 7 circles, cutting through cardboard. Peel cardboard away and place each disk of ice cream on a cookie. Top with another cookie. Place sandwiches on a baking sheet, wrap with plastic wrap and freeze until firm, at least 1 hour.

Double chocolate birthday cupcakes

2010-05-20T14:11:00.003-04:00

OK, so remember a while back I was telling you all about the mush's first birthday party, how I made these yummy carrot cupcakes that everyone loved except for the birthday girl, I was scared she'd become a sugar addict, etc.? Well, I also mentioned in that post -- 6 WEEKS AGO -- that I was going to share the chocolate cupcakes I made for the party... and then I never did. Bad CookiePie! Bad! Bad!

I had been looking for an excuse to make Martha's One-Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes -- because you know I can't just make them on a random Tuesday or I would eat. Them. All. So I made them for the mush's party, topped them with a rich ganache, and sprinkled on some teeny little multicolored sprinkles (I'm told that in Australia these are called "hundreds and thousands" -- I love that!). They were simple simple simple to make and really delicious -- they even froze well (except for the sprinkles -- so don't do that...). You know I've had mixed results with Martha's recipes in the past, but I give this one two very enthusiastic and chocolate-covered thumbs up.

By the way, I also got to try out these pretty baking cups that Reynolds is introducing. They came by to see me at the magazine and gave me a bunch to try out. They're fantastic! I hate buying pretty paper cupcake liners only to have the lovely pattern disappear when the cupcakes get baked. Reynolds solved that problem by putting pretty designs on the outside of foil liners, so the design stays put. Hello! Look for them in your local supermarket or craft store.

On to the recipes -- enjoy!

Martha's One-Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes
(Very slightly adapted)
Makes 24

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. instant espresso powder
3/4 cup warm water
2 large eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk (shake before measuring)
3 Tbsp. canola oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line two standard-size 12-cup muffin tins with paper or foil liners. Sift together cocoa, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Dissolve espresso powder in warm water; add to bowl with cocoa mixture. Add eggs, buttermilk, oil and vanilla and whisk until well combined and smooth.

2. Divide batter among muffin cups. Bake until tops spring back when lightly touched, about 20 minutes, switching pans from front to back and top to bottom halfway through baking time. Let cool in pans on wire racks for 20 minutes, then remove from pans to racks and let cool completely. (These can be made 1 day ahead; cover tightly and keep at room temperature. They also freeze beautifully!)

Ganache Glaze
Makes about 3/4 cup

2 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream
pinch of salt

Place both chocolates in a bowl. In a pan, combine cream and salt and bring just to a gentle boil over medium-low heat. Pour over chocolates and let stand for 3 minutes, then whisk until smooth. Let cool until thickened but still very spreadable, 20 to 30 minutes. Dip cupcake tops in glaze, swirling cupcakes until excess ganache drips off. Let stand at room temperature to firm up, or place in fridge to get even firmer.

Cherry-almond scones

2010-05-11T17:40:00.000-04:00

Hi! It was my second Mother's Day this year, and after the chaos of attempting to go out last year, we decided to cook at home this time around. Especially since we were a bigger crowd -- along with my mom and her best friend (my dearest auntie Allie), my in-laws were in town from Mexico. And of course, there's the mush, Mark and myself. Too many people to try to wrestle into a restaurant -- plus, we just would rather cook anyway.

Mark did all the heavy lifting, preparing a gorgeous sun-dried tomato-olive-feta frittata, a tossed green salad and a lovely fruit salad. I contributed these little cherry-almond scones -- though I'm afraid the photo doesn't really do them justice. They're buttery, with just the right crumble factor, with a hint of sweetness. No glazes dripping off them, just a touch of whole-wheat flour, some ground toasted almonds inside and a few chopped dried cherries for simple sweet-tart goodness. So easy, and everyone devoured them.

Enjoy!

Cherry-almond scones
Makes about 10

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
1/3 cup plus 1 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 cup slivered almonds, toasted and cooled
8 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cold, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup plain full-fat Greek yogurt
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup dried cherries, chopped
2 Tbsp. heavy cream

1. Preheat oven to 400ºF and line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment.

2. In a food processor, pulse both flours, 1/3 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt until mixed. Add almonds and pulse until well chopped and combined. Pulse in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. In a small bowl, whisk together yogurt, egg and vanilla. Add to food processor and pulse until not quite combined. Pulse in cherries.

3. Turn dough out onto a well floured countertop and, using floured hands, knead dough until it just comes together (dough will be sticky). Pat into a 1/2-inch-thick circle. Using a 2-inch round cutter, cut as many scones as possible. Pat dough scraps together and cut as many scones as you can.

4. Place scones on baking sheet. Brush with cream and sprinkle with remaining 1 Tbsp. sugar. Bake until golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes, turning baking sheet around halfway through. Let cool on baking sheet on rack for 5 minutes, then transfer scones to rack to continue cooling. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Lemon-ricotta pancakes

2010-05-02T21:02:00.000-04:00

It was an incredibly beautiful weekend here in NYC -- weather-wise, certainly, but then it was also my mother's 70th birthday. Mom was very clear about what she wanted -- no parties, no gifts -- she wanted my brother, my sister-in-law, Mark and me to take her "someplace fabulous" for dinner and to see Denzel Washington on Broadway in "Fences." So that's exactly what we did. We had a beautiful dinner at Le Colonial and then went on to the show.

But about the no-gifts thing... we sort of ignored that. I think turning 70 is a huge deal, and so do Mark and my siblings, so we all chipped in and got my mother 10 classes at the Alvin Ailey school of dance -- which, if you ever met my mom, you would know is right up her alley! So it was really a lovely evening. Except for almost getting blown up by a car bomb in Times Square last night. But aside from that, it was great! ;)

Anyway, speaking of weekends... we had yet another amazing pancake breakfast recently, so I just had to share. We had some ricotta left over from a lasagna dinner recently, so we decided to whip up these fluffy, delicious lemon-ricotta pancakes. What a treat! We happened to have some blueberry compote taking up space in the fridge, so we piled that on instead of maple syrup -- but of course, syrup would be divine on these as well. And they're so quick and easy to make, perfect for a lazy weekend morning.

Enjoy!

Lemon-ricotta pancakes
(Slightly adapted from Gourmet)
Makes about 12

4 large eggs, separated
1 1/3 cups ricotta
1 1/2 Tbsp. sugar
Zest of 1 large lemon
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 pinches of salt
Melted unsalted butter, for the griddle

1. Preheat oven to 200ºF. In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, ricotta, sugar, zest and juice. Add the flour and a pinch of salt and stir until just combined. In a separate bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until they hold firm peaks. Fold 1/3 of whites into ricotta mixture just to lighten, then fold in remaining whites gently but thoroughly.

2. Warm a griddle over medium heat and brush with melted butter. Drop batter by 1/4 cupfuls and cook pancakes for 1 to 2 minutes per side, until light golden. Place on a plate and keep warm in oven while cooking remaining pancakes.

3. Serve warm, with maple syrup (or blueberry compote!).

Lemon-blueberry muffins

2010-04-25T19:50:00.001-04:00

Hello there! Quick post tonight -- I'm getting ready to curl up on the couch with Mark after a very busy Sunday, which began with me running in the More/Fitness Half Marathon... in the pouring rain! It wasn't my best race, but I was proud of myself for persevering in the cold, wet weather and finishing. Though to be honest I don't know how much is perseverance and how much is just compulsive stupidity... :)

Anyway -- here are some lovely muffins for you. They make a really nice breakfast or snack, and they freeze well, what could be better?

Enjoy!

Lemon-Blueberry Muffins
Makes 12

1 cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
zest of 1 medium lemon
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1/2 cup whole milk
1 large egg
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)

1. Preheat oven to 400ºF; line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper or foil liners.

2. In a small bowl, combine both flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a large bowl, combine both sugars with lemon zest and mix well (this will help release the oil in the zest to get the most lemon flavor). Whisk in butter, milk, egg and lemon juice. Add flour mixture and stir until just barely combined. Gently fold in blueberries.

3. Divide batter among muffin cups. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Let cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then remove from pan to rack to cool until serving (serve warm or at room temperature).

Flourless peanut butter cookies

2010-04-17T11:57:00.000-04:00

Hello friends! If you happen to be in NYC today, stop by the super-cool Brooklyn Flea! There you'll find all kinds of fantastic vintage and homemade treasures... including some amazing baked goods. That's right -- today is Share Our Strength's Great American Bake Sale, NYC edition.

My contribution to this incredible event, which is raising money to end childhood hunger, was these lovely peanut butter cookies. They're basically little peanut butter shortbreads, but made without any flour -- so they melt in your mouth like crunchy outside-smooth inside little explosions of peanut buttery deliciousness.

If you can't make it to the Flea, or to another Great American Bake Sale, you can still help! Contribute to this wonderful organization here.

And here's the recipe for the cookies -- they couldn't be simpler. Enjoy!

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies
Makes about 55

1 18.5-oz. jar crunchy peanut butter (use all-natural, unsweetened)
2 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with parchment. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat peanut butter until smooth (except for the little peanut chunks -- but you want to re-incorporate an oil that's separated out). Beat in the eggs and vanilla.

2. In a separate bowl, stir together both sugars, the baking soda and salt. Beat into the peanut butter mixture until just incorporated. Using a small ice cream scoop (or 2 spoons), form the dough into 1-inch balls and roll in your palms (the dough may be slightly crumbly, just squish it together in your hands and keep rolling). Flatten the balls slightly and place at least 1 inch apart on the baking sheets (you'll fit about 12 per sheet).

3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until just set and cracked on top. Place the baking sheets on wire racks to cool. The cookies will still be very soft -- don't attempt to take them off the baking sheets for at least 10 minutes. Transfer the cookies to racks to cool completely, and repeat with remaining dough.

Birthday carrot cupcakes

2010-04-08T11:59:00.001-04:00

Well, my little girl has turned 1. I can't believe it! Everyone says, "It goes so fast!" and when you're in the middle of it, it's hard to believe. Especially in the first few months, the days feel long and slow (not bad, just not the rush-rush-rush that I'm used to). But then, ZIP! All of a sudden it's a year later, and your teeny, tiny little peanut is learning how to walk, feeding herself and talking. It's amazing!

Of course we wanted to celebrate the occasion -- so we decided to throw a party at home. Mark and I did most of the cooking (my mom provided a delicious tabouli salad), and I baked up two kinds of cupcakes, chocolate with a rich chocolate glaze and carrot with cream cheese frosting.

Though I have a carrot cupcake recipe I love in my cookbook, I wanted to venture out and try a different one for the party. A while back I had bookmarked a fabulous entry on a blog I love, A Chica Bakes -- she made some gorgeous carrot goodies using a recipe by the inimitable Thomas Keller, chef extraordinaire and owner of amazing restaurants like Per Se and The French Laundry. Though his restaurants are the ultimate in fancy, the recipe looked pretty straightforward, so I gave it a shot.

Oh. My. GAWD. This was the simplest to make and yet the most gorgeous carrot cake ever. Everyone raved -- my friend Betsy said it was the best thing she had ever eaten. The only person who was kind of unimpressed and not all that interested? You guessed it: The birthday girl.

She had a few bites (probably just to be polite) and then started to try and wiggle out of her chair and pull her bib off. Oh well.

The funny thing is, I had been completely nervous and worried about giving her sugar -- we've been so careful to only feed her the healthiest foods, I was convinced that one bite of cake and she'd become instantly hooked on sugar, demanding Fruit Loops and cupcakes at every meal. (Not that I'd give it to her, of course.) As usual, there was nothing to worry about. She had a few bites, did the baby equivalent of shrugging and then got back on the floor to play with her friends. That's my girl!

Anyway -- if you want a truly delicious carrot cupcake recipe, here it is.

Enjoy!

Thomas Keller's Carrot Cupcakes
(from his book Ad Hoc at Home, via A Chica Bakes)
Makes 24

Cupcakes:
2 cups cake flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
4 large eggs
1/4 cup whole milk
1 tsp. vanilla paste or pure vanilla extract (I used extract)
1 cup sugar
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup canola oil
3 cups finely shredded carrots
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped toasted walnuts (I omitted these, didn't miss them)

Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 1/2 lbs. cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 lb. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into chunks, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 tsp. vanilla paste or pure vanilla extract (I used extract)

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line 24 cupcake cups with paper liners.

2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, beat the eggs, milk, vanilla and both sugars until smooth. Beat in the oil. Slowly add the dry ingredients. Mix in the carrots and 1 cup of the walnuts (if using).

4. Divide the batter among the lined cupcake cups. Bake for 10 minutes. Rotate the pans and bake for another 10 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Remove the cupcakes from the tins and let cool on a cooling rack.

5. Meanwhile, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, beat the cream cheese at medium speed until smooth. Add the butter and mix until smooth. Beat in the powdered sugar, then add the vanilla. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat for 30 seconds on high speed.

6. Spread the tops of the cupcakes with the cream cheese frosting and sprinkle with the remaining walnuts (if using). The cupcakes are best frosted and eaten the day they're made, but they can be refrigerated for up to 2 days; bring to room temperature before serving.

NOTES:
I made the cupcakes and frosting the night before. I kept the frosting covered in the fridge and the cupcakes on a baking sheet, tightly covered with plastic wrap. They kept beautifully!

To decorate these, I used yellow sparkling sugar and these adorable duckie royal icing decors, because the mush loves ducks ("duck" was one of her first words!).

(Usually) Chocolate-Dipped Coconut Macaroons

2010-03-31T20:15:00.000-04:00

Hi all! Quick post tonight. If you're celebrating, happy Passover! In honor of one of my favorite holidays, here are some delicious coconut macaroons. I make a version of this recipe pretty much every year, and this year was no exception. Usually I dip the bottoms in melted bittersweet chocolate and then drizzle some more chocolate over the tops (you really can't get too much of the chocolate-coconut combo, in my mind) -- but with a very sick little baby this past weekend (she's fine now), time was in short supply. Turns out they're still delicious, even without the chocolate (though better with it, of course...).

Enjoy!

(Usually) Chocolate-Dipped Coconut Macaroons
Makes about 4 dozen
(Adapted from Bon Appetit)

5 large egg whites
pinch of salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2/3 cup sugar
4 cups sweetened flake coconut, lightly toasted
3/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted, very finely chopped
12 oz. bittersweet chocolate, melted

1. Preheat over to 275ºF and line 2 large baking sheets with parchment. Place egg whites in a large bowl; add vanilla and salt. Beat with an electric mixer on high speed until soft peaks begin to form. Gradually add sugar and beat until firm peaks form and meringue is very white and glossy, about 5 minutes. Fold in coconut, then almonds. Using a small ice cream scoop, portion batter into small mounds on baking sheets.

2. Bake macaroons until pale beige on the outside but still soft inside, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool on pans on a wire rack, then transfer macaroons to countertop. Re-line pans with clean parchment.

3. Divide chocolate into 2 bowls, one with 2/3 of chocolate and the other with 1/3. Dip bottoms of macaroons, 1 at a time, in bowl with 2/3 of chocolate just to coat bottom 1/4 inch. Place dipped macaroons on baking sheet, chocolate side down. When all of the macaroons are dipped. dip a fork in bowl with 1/3 of chocolate and wave it over tops of macaroons to drizzle chocolate over the tops in a random pattern. Chill macaroons until chocolate is firm, about 1 hour. (Can be made up to 3 days ahead. Keep covered and refrigerated. Definitely do not chop up the "ugly" ones and sprinkle them over coffee ice cream -- that's a very bad idea.)

Ginger applesauce

2010-03-23T15:03:00.001-04:00

I know, I know -- it's spring, not autumn... I should be making treats with the first ruby stalks of rhubarb, not harkening back to fall's spices and fruits.

Too bad! :) We eat a lot of applesauce in our house -- the mush goes through a jar or two a week, just on her own, and Mark loves a bowl mixed with cottage cheese. (I like mine with a spoonful of Greek yogurt and a little cinnamon, as in the pic.) When it isn't fall I usually buy the jarred organic unsweetened kind, especially for the mush -- but we were headed to a brunch at a friend's recently and looking for something to bring (they were having baked french toast, so anything in the muffin-quick bread-scone-coffee cake family would have been overkill), and I thought, Why not make up a lovely batch of homemade applesauce?

I've made this sauce dozens of ways over the years, varying the spices and adding different fruits (cranberries, apricots, cherries and yes, rhubarb), tossing in the occasional splash of bourbon or whiskey when I'm feeling frisky. This time I went fairly straight up, stirring in a bit of fresh ginger just for a little kick.

Enjoy!

Ginger Applesauce
Yield: About 3 - 4 cups

1 1/2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
3 large McIntosh apples, peeled and chopped
3 large Golden Delicious apples, peeled and chopped
2 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger
1 cup apple cider
1 - 2 Tbsp. packed dark brown sugar
1 Tbsp. honey or maple syrup
juice of half a lemon (about 1 1/2 to 2 Tbsp.)
pinch of salt

1. In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add apples and ginger and cook, stirring, until apples begin to just get tender, about 2 minutes. Stir in cider, brown sugar, honey, lemon juice and salt. Keep stirring until all ingredients are incorporated.

2. Reduce heat to low, cover pan and simmer for 20 minutes, until apples are very soft. Stir well with a wooden spoon to mash apples and incorporate all ingredients into a cohesive sauce. Transfer sauce to a bowl and let cool. Serve warm, or cover and refrigerate.

NOTES:

Feel free to swap in other kinds of apples -- but be sure to stick to cooking apples like Granny Smith, Cortlandt or Fuji. Red Delicious are too mushy and will give your sauce a mealy quality. If you use Granny Smith, you may want to be slightly heavier-handed with the sugar and honey.
Cinnamon is obviously the classic spice that goes into applesauce, so swap that in for the ginger, if you like. I've also gotten great results with cardamom and 5-spice powder. Horseradish is also really interesting to add if you're going to serve the sauce with a meat, like pork chops.

Blueberry blintzes

2010-03-16T11:20:00.002-04:00

Hello! Just drying off after the monsoon of 2010 hit NYC this week. Now the sun is shining, what a relief! I'm in the midst of training for the More/Fitness Half Marathon, which is coming up next month, so my long runs have been challenging with all the weird weather. This weekend I'm looking forward to a 10-miler in the sunshine!

Anyway, my sweet husband, Mark, was away on business for a few days last week. Before the mush was born, he used to travel a lot -- and though I always missed him, of course, it wasn't a big deal. I'm a pretty independent sort, have plenty of interests and friends to keep me busy. But now, since we have the mush (and she gets cuter every day!), he's been traveling much less. He's working on a movie that was filmed here in NYC and is in post-production here, which we love. But the occasional trip to LA does come up, and that's where he was last week.

It was a quick turnaround for him, which is challenging for such a long distance -- plus, I know how much he missed the mush (and me :) when he's away, so I really wanted to make him a special treat to welcome him home. My sweetheart loves crepes and LOVES blueberries, so I thought some blueberry blintzes were in order.

If you've never tried blintzes, make them this weekend! Don't let the amount of ingredients or the number of steps intimidate you -- most of it you probably have in your pantry already, and the steps are very simple. You take crepes, wrap them around a creamy ricotta-based filling, then pan-fry them and douse them in delicious blueberry sauce. Yum! To save time I made the crepes, filling and sauce Friday night before Mark got home, so Saturday morning all I had to do was fill them, roll them up and fry them while the sauce heated up on the stove.

I used a recipe by Tyler Florence -- not who I would have expected, since this is an Eastern European dish, and he is so All-American to me! But hey, the recipe was easy to follow and came out beautifully, so shut mah mouth (as my southern friends would say).

If you do make the crepes ahead of time, just stack them on a plate, cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Same for the filling and sauce -- just cover and chill. Reheat the sauce just before serving.

Enjoy!

Blueberry Blintzes
(slightly adapted from recipe by Tyler Florence, here)

Crepes:

1 cup milk

1/4 cup cold water

2 large eggs

1 cup all-purpose flour

Pinch salt

1 Tbsp. sugar

3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly, plus more for sauteing the crepes

Cheese Filling:
1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese

4 oz. cream cheese

3 Tbsp. confectioners' sugar

Zest of 1 lemon

1 large egg

Blueberry Sauce:

2 Tbsp. unsalted butter

2 pints blueberries

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp. cornstarch

juice of 1 lemon

1. Make crepe batter: Combine the milk, water, eggs, flour, salt and sugar in a blender. Blend on medium speed for 15 seconds, until the batter is smooth and lump-free. Scrape down the sides of the blender and pour in 3 tablespoons of melted butter. Blend it again for a second just to incorporate. Refrigerate the batter for 1 hour to let it rest. If the crepes are made immediately, they have a tendency to be rubbery; when you let the batter rest, the crepes have a better texture and a softer bite.

2. Make filling: In a food processor, combine the ricotta cheese, cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, lemon zest, and egg and blend until smooth. Chill the filling to firm it up a bit so it doesn't squirt out of the blintzes.

3. Make sauce: Combine the butter, blueberries, sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice in a small pot over medium-high heat. Bring up to a low boil and stir gently until the berries break down and release their natural juices. The consistency should remain a bit chunky. It will thicken up when it cools down slightly.

4. Put an 8-inch crepe pan or nonstick skillet over medium heat and brush with a little melted butter for added assurance. Pour 1/4 cup of batter into the pan and swirl it around so it covers the bottom evenly; pour back any excess. Cook for 30 to 45 seconds, until the crepe batter sets. Lightly bang the edge of the pan with a wooden spoon to loosen the crepe; then flip it and cook another 30 seconds. The art of flipping a crepe in the air takes practice, so make sure no one is looking when you get the first one going. If this intimidates you, use a heatproof rubber spatula to loosen and flip the crepe. The crepes should be pliable, not crisp, and lightly brown. Slide them onto a platter and continue making the crepes until all the batter is used. Cover the stack of crepes with a towel to keep them from drying out. This makes 10 crepes. (I used my 6-inch crepe pan and it made more, I think 15 or so – hard to say because Mark started feeding them to the mush before I could wrap them all!)

5. Assembly: Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Forming the blintzes is kind of like making burritos. Spoon 1/4 cup of the cheese filling along the lower third of the crepe. Fold the bottom edge away from you to just cover the filling; then fold the 2 sides in to the center. Roll the crepe away from you a couple of times to make a package, ending with the seam side down. Put an ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Brush with melted butter. Pan-fry the blintzes for 2 minutes per side until crisp and golden.

6. Transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 10 minutes so the egg in the filling cooks slightly and the cheese sets. Using a spatula, transfer the blintzes to serving plates. Spoon the blueberry sauce on top and serve right away.

Crunchy cinnamon-apple tartlets

2010-03-09T21:30:00.001-05:00

It feels like spring has sprung here in Brooklyn -- it's been warm and slightly breezy these last few days, where you walk outside in the morning, take a deep breath, pull off your hat and gloves and loosen your coat. It's so easy to get sucked in, lulled into believing this is it, winter is over and it's warmer days from here on out... but ever the skeptic, I'm convinced we're going to have one last blizzard before all is said and done. Anyone taking bets?

Anyway, over this past glorious weekend my pal Sarah and her cute husband, Grant, came by to see the mush -- oh, and Mark and me too, I guess :) Here's a sweet photo of all three of them:

Cute, right?

So in between playing with the mush and discussing her adorableness, we managed to eat a lovely lunch that included this amazing parsnip soup and a hearty salad with greens, roasted carrots and a warm bacon vinaigrette. And for dessert, we had the pretty apple tartlets you see above.

The recipe is based on one that's in my cookbook, for Elegant Apple Tartlets. I'd been kind of hankering to make them after I demo'ed them on WGN TV a week or so ago. Mark had the brilliant idea of swapping filo for the puff pastry, since we live across the street from a Middle Eastern shop that sells gorgeous homemade filo, so I went with it. I still love the original puff pastry version, but these were crisp and delicious -- and better eaten by hand, without dealing with one of those pesky fork things :) We served them on their own, but a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream certainly wouldn't hurt matters any.

Enjoy!

Crunchy Cinnamon-Apple Tartlets
Makes 4

1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
tiny pinch of salt
8 sheets filo dough, thawed if frozen
6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, very thinly sliced
4 tsp. honey
4 tsp. packed dark brown sugar, optional

1. Preheat oven to 375ºF and line a large baking sheet with parchment. In a small bowl, combine sugar, cinnamon and salt; stir well.

2. Keep the stack of unbuttered filo under a slightly damp towel while you work, and be ready to dedicate yourself to making the tarts -- if you walk away and leave the filo uncovered it will dry out. Lay 1 sheet of filo on the baking sheet and carefully brush it with butter. Sprinkle it with some of the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Working quickly, repeat with remaining sheets of filo, butter and cinnamon-sugar.

3. Using a 4-inch round cookie cutter, cut out 4 circles, pressing and twisting the cutter to get through all the layers of pastry. (If you don't have a cookie cutter that big, use a wide mug and cut around it with a sharp paring knife.) When all the circles are cut, carefully remove the rest of the pastry from around the circles, leaving the pastry circles in place on the baking sheet.

4. Place about 8 apple slices on each pastry round, fanning them. Brush with melted butter and drizzle with honey. Bake until the pastry is golden and crisp and the apples are tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. You can stop there and serve the tarts, or take them out of the oven and preheat the broiler to high. Sprinkle the tarts with the optional brown sugar and broil just until the sugar melts -- keep an eye on them, because they can burn very quickly.

Enjoy!

Fudgy toffee-pecan brownies

2010-03-02T20:56:00.002-05:00

Hello friends! Hope you're enjoying the week so far. I'm floating on a bit of a cloud, having just returned from Chicago, where I was "best woman" at the wedding of my dear, dear friend Heather. She's more like a sister to me, really. So to see her marry the wonderful Tim just warmed my heart so much. Ah, love!

Anyway, last week we had yet another massive snowstorm. It began Thursday night and apparently it snowed more than an inch per hour all night long. I was supposed to have a book club get-together that night, but everyone begged off because of the weather. Of course, Wednesday night I had whipped up these lovely brownies for the girls, using the amazing Alice Medrich's gorgeous Best Cocoa Brownies recipe. I had some toffee bits and pecan pieces left over, so I tossed them in, just to gild the lily a bit!

Normally I'm skeptical of any recipe called "the best" or "the ultimate" or any such thing -- I figure, who's to say what's the all-time best recipe for anything? But I will give this one to Ms. Medrich. I've made her cocoa brownies before and they're so spectacular, I've never felt the need to try another recipe (for cocoa brownies, that is -- as you know, I make all kinds of other brownies all the time!).

Now, brownies made exclusively with cocoa are not the same as those made with chocolate -- they're so fudgy, they're actually creamy. If you like a cake brownie or even just a bit of crumb, you've come to the wrong place. But if you like to feel your teeth sinking into soft, rich fudginess, grab a bowl and whip these up. You won't believe how easy they are, and how gorgeous and delicious.

Since we didn't have book club last week, my co-workers gobbled these up. Now I have to figure out what to make for the rescheduled book club this week...

Enjoy!

Best Cocoa Brownies
(From Alice Medrich's Bittersweet, by way of The Wednesday Chef)
Makes 16 larger or 25 smaller brownies

10 Tbsp. (141 grams) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups (280 grams) sugar
3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. (82 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder (natural or Dutch-process)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs, cold
1/2 cup (66 grams) all-purpose flour
I also added:
2/3 cup milk chocolate-covered toffee bits
1/2 cup chopped toasted pecans

1. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 325°F. Line the bottom and sides of an 8×8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper or foil, leaving an overhang on two opposite sides.

2. Combine the butter, sugar, cocoa, and salt in a medium heatproof bowl and set the bowl in a wide skillet of barely simmering water. Stir from time to time until the butter is melted and the mixture is smooth and hot enough that you want to remove your finger fairly quickly after dipping it in to test. Remove the bowl from the skillet and set aside briefly until the mixture is only warm, not hot. It looks fairly gritty at this point, but don’t fret — it smooths out once the eggs and flour are added.

3. Stir in the vanilla with a wooden spoon. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring vigorously after each one. When the batter looks thick, shiny, and well blended, add the flour and stir until you cannot see it any longer, then beat vigorously for 40 strokes with the wooden spoon or a rubber spatula. (If adding toffee and pecans, stir them in here.) Spread evenly in the lined pan.

4. Bake until a toothpick plunged into the center emerges slightly moist with batter, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool completely on a rack. (I covered the pan and put it in the fridge overnight. It's the only way to get really nice, clean cuts, in my experience.)

5. Lift up the ends of the parchment or foil liner, and transfer the brownies to a cutting board. Cut into 16 or 25 squares. (I cut into 25 -- they are so rich!)

Whole-wheat buttermilk blueberry pancakes

2010-02-21T21:42:00.000-05:00

Well, hi there. How was your weekend?

As you know, weekend breakfasts are sacred in our house. Mark and I would rather cook than go out for brunch -- that was true before The Mush was born, but even more so now. The Mush is a very big fan of breakfast food (like her mama!), especially scrambled eggs (no wonder, since I ate them literally EVERY day of my pregnancy), pancakes and french toast.

I had some buttermilk left over from a chicken recipe I made earlier in the week, so I had a feeling that pancakes would be on the menu this weekend. When I spied the half bag of frozen organic wild blueberries in the freezer, I knew it was meant to be. Add some whole-wheat flour and you've got one tasty, healthy, satisfying stack of pancake goodness.

Enjoy!

Whole-wheat buttermilk blueberry pancakes
Makes about 12
(Slightly adapted from this recipe in Cooking Light)

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
3 Tbsp. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups low-fat buttermilk
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup frozen wild blueberries (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 200ºF. Combine both flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Combine buttermilk, oil, eggs and vanilla in a separate bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until moist.

2. Heat a nonstick griddle over medium heat; melt a little butter on it or mist it with cooking spray. Drop the batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto griddle. Sprinkle each with blueberries. Turn pancakes over when tops are covered with bubbles and edges look cooked, about 3 minutes. After turning, cook 1 to 2 minutes more, until golden on both sides. Keep pancakes warm on a plate in oven while cooking remaining pancakes. Serve warm with pure maple syrup and butter.

Double apple spice mini muffins

2010-02-15T17:32:00.001-05:00

Hi friends, and a very Happy Presidents Day to you. It was a nice surprise finding out we were off from work today. Mark is also off, but the mush's day care is open -- now that never happens! So Mark and I decided to have a day off alone together. We took it easy, made some food for the mush for the week (I roasted a big batch of root veggies, cut small enough for her and roasted until they got really soft. She still does some purees but mostly she just wants to feed herself -- she's growing up so fast!), ran some errands, had a nice sushi lunch -- just some grownup together alone time, not watching the clock and not rushing about. So nice!

Anyway -- so recently we went to my dear friend Jen's daughter's 2nd birthday party. So cute, seeing those toddlers run around and interact with each other the way only kids that age can. The politics are incredible! It was a lovely open-house brunch, so I brought these sweet little apple muffins with me. They're a real crowd pleaser -- who doesn't love apple and spice? And minis are perfect for a party.

These came out a little flat on top, I think next time I would fill them a little less. And if you wanted to be wild and crazy, you could maybe pipe a dab of cream cheese frosting on top.

Enjoy!

Double Apple Spice Mini Muffins
Makes 16-20 (depending on how much you fill the cups)

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour (or regular whole wheat)
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
pinch ground cloves
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
8 Tbsp. (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 small apple, peeled, cored and finely diced (I used a Granny Smith)

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line a mini muffin pan with paper liners. In a bowl, combine both flours, baking powder, spices and salt. In a separate bowl, stir together apple sauce, milk and vanilla.

2. Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat together butter and both sugars. Add eggs, beating until smooth. Stir in half of flour mixture, then apple sauce mixture, then remaining flour mixture, folding just until barely combined. Fold in apple pieces. Spoon batter into muffin cups, filling about 2/3 of the way.

3. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in center of a muffin comes out clean. Let cool in pan on a rack for 5 minutes, then remove to wire rack to cool completely.

* Find a printable version here (Thanks, Tidy Mom!)

Oatmeal Coconut Raspberry Bars... and some great news!

2010-02-07T09:48:00.001-05:00

After the last few hectic weeks of packing, moving and traveling for work, we're really enjoying just hanging out this weekend. NYC was supposed to have the blizzard of the century yesterday -- and to be honest, I was ready to hole up at home and just watch the snow fall outside. But of course that was a big bust, we barely got a sprinkling! Still, it's chilly outside and nice and toasty in here, so we're having a fantastic time just relaxing.

I made these yummy bars during my recent effort to clean out our pantry before the move. I wanted to use up some oats, coconut and raspberry jam, so these fit the bill perfectly -- and as a bonus, they were super-easy and really delicious! I usually like my jam bars more jammy, but with the coconut and oats, there's enough going on in these that you don't miss the extra fruitiness. In fact, I barely changed the original recipe at all, except to swap in some whole-wheat flour and use dark brown sugar instead of light. (Looking at the pic I can see traces of my old kitchen, which makes me a little sad. Our new apartment is fine for a temporary space -- we're subletting while we look for another place to buy -- but the kitchen is not designed for cooks, which is a bummer. Oh well -- more motivation to find a permanent place quickly...)

Enjoy!

Before I get to the recipe, I have one thing to report that I'm SOOOOO excited about! Check out this blog!!! It's called "Best Friends Baking," and it's by these 2 fabulous women who have taken on a project to learn more about baking by baking their way through my cookbook, "You Made That Dessert?"! Isn't that amazing???!!! I couldn't be more thrilled or flattered. Check it out!

And now, on to the recipe...

Oatmeal Coconut Raspberry Bars

(from Gourmet, recipe here)

Makes 24

1 1/2 cups sweetened flaked coconut
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole-wheat flour
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
12 Tbsp. (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
3/4 cup seedless raspberry jam (I may have added another tablespoon or 2...)

1. Preheat oven to 375ºF. Line a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with foil; mist foil with cooking spray. Spread 3/4 cup coconut evenly on a baking sheet and toast, stirring once or twice, until golden, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and let cool.

2. Blend together flours, sugars and salt in a food processor, then add butter and blend until a dough begins to form. Add oats and toasted coconut and pulse to combine.

3. Reserve 3/4 cup dough; press remaining dough evenly in baking pan. Spread jam over dough. Sprinkle reserved dough over jam, then sprinkle with remaining 3/4 cup (untoasted) coconut.

4. Bake until golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Remove foil from pan, peel off foil, place on a cutting board and cut into 24 bars. (These will keep for 3 days in an airtight container at room temperature, or 5 days well wrapped and refrigerated.)

Super delicious pancakes, baby!

2010-01-29T20:42:00.000-05:00

Hi friends! My apologies for having fallen off the face of the earth for a couple of weeks there -- between moving, traveling for work and various photo shoots, I haven't had a second to update my little corner of the web. But I'm back now, and happy to see you!

It's frrrrreeeeeeeeezing here in NYC right now, so I'm sighing as I look at this photo of Mark and Dylan (aka The Mush) out in the backyard at my in-laws' house in Mazatlan, Mexico over the holidays. We had such a lovely time with them! They're really the best -- I'm very lucky in that regard.

So anyway, one day while we were visiting them, Mark and I made some truly delicious pancakes -- and now that The Mush is eating solids like a champ, she happily chomped away on them, giggling like a goon the whole time. And you will giggle like a goon too if you make them -- they are seriously good, especially if you choose to make the decadent flavored butter that goes on top. Trust me, it is more than worth the effort! The butter elevates these pancakes to outrageously fantastic status. I didn't even put maple syrup on them -- and you know how obsessed I am with maple syrup!

We found there was more butter than we needed for the pancakes (it's rich, so a little goes a long way) -- keep it covered and refrigerated, and slather it on toast, muffins, waffles, whatever your little heart desires. You can't go wrong.

Enjoy!

Cornmeal Pancakes with Honey-Pecan Butter

Makes 10 to 12

(Slightly adapted from Bon Appetit, recipe here)

Honey-Pecan Butter

8 Tbsp. (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 Tbsp. honey

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/3 cup finely chopped toasted pecans

pinch of salt

Pancakes:

1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour

1/3 cup fine yellow cornmeal

2 Tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

2 large eggs

3/4 cup sour cream

3/4 cup milk

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 200ºF. Make flavored butter: Using electric mixer, beat butter, honey, and cinnamon in small bowl until fluffy. Stir in pecans and salt.

2. Make pancakes: Combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl; whisk to combine. Whisk eggs in medium bowl to blend; whisk in sour cream, milk, oil and vanilla. Gradually add liquid mixture to dry ingredients, whisking just until blended.

3. Warm griddle or heavy large skillet over medium heat. Working in batches, mist griddle lightly with cooking spray. Pour batter by 1/4 to 1/3 cupfuls onto griddle. Cook until bottoms brown, about 3 to 4 minutes. Turn pancakes over and cook until second sides brown, about 1 to 2 minutes. Keep pancakes warm in oven while cooking remaining pancakes. Serve warm, passing honey-pecan butter on the side.

Mint truffles

2010-01-15T21:21:00.001-05:00

Happy weekend! A while back I did a cooking demo for my book at a great store here in NYC called Broadway Panhandler. It's one of those amazing kitchen stores that has every gadget, hundreds of cookie cutters -- just aisle after aisle of fun kitchen things you didn't know you needed, but you do!

Anyway, I demonstrated a couple of recipes, one being chocolate truffles. You can make them any flavor just by changing the extract/liqueur -- the ones in my book are peppermint. Instead of rolling them in cocoa, I crushed some mint chocolate wafer cookies and rolled them in those. I just like the texture of the cookie crumbs instead of the powdery cocoa.

These make a fabulous gift if you're going to someone's house for dinner -- or they're just nice to have in the fridge if you want just a little something to calm those chocolate cravings. They're super-rich, so 1 or 2 will do ya.

Enjoy!

Incidentally, before I post the recipe, I just wanted to gently encourage you to... say something! Every week I get a report on how many people have visited my little corner of the web. There are lots and lots of you lurking around and not saying anything. Now, of course, I love that you've come to visit, I'm so honored that you took the time to come visit me, and you're under no obligation to comment. But I do love hearing your voice, and I certainly welcome any feedback, so don't be shy! OK, thanks.

Peppermint Truffles
(Note: This isn't the exact recipe from my book - it's a variation)
Makes about 30

4 oz. semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
pinch of salt
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 1/2 Tbsp. peppermint extract
1 5.25-oz. box mint chocolate wafer cookies, crushed in food processor (I used Anna's chocolate mint thins, but you could use Mint Milanos or Nabisco chocolate wafers)

1. Place both chocolates and salt in a stainless-steel bowl. Bring cream just to a boil. Pour cream over chocolates and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Add butter and stir with a small flexible spatula until smooth. Stir in peppermint extract. Cover with plastic wrap (allow the plastic to just touch the surface of the mixture) and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.

2. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment; place cookie crumbs in a bowl. Using a small ice cream scoop, portion the chocolate mixture into small balls and place on baking sheet. Roll a ball between your palms gently and quickly, then drop ball into bowl of cookie crumbs. Toss ball in crumbs just to coat lightly, then place truffle back on baking sheet. Repeat with remaining truffles and crumbs. Place baking sheet back in refrigerator and chill truffles until firm. Transfer truffles to airtight containers and keep refrigerated for up to 1 week.

"Chubby Hubby" bars

2010-01-10T19:22:00.001-05:00

Hi all! Hope you had a great weekend. Quick post tonight. These are some seriously addictive bars I made recently, bursting with all the flavors of Ben & Jerry's Chubby Hubby ice cream -- namely chocolate chips, peanut butter, pretzels and vanilla. You may recall that I made a version of these before -- but I like this one better because it has more peanut butter in it, and I'm nothing if not obsessed with peanut butter. I cut these pretty small because they're super-rich, so a little truly goes a long way. (Having said that, if you ever wanted to really, REALLY indulge, I think one of these warmed up with a scoop of Chubby Hubby ice cream on top might be kind of amazing. I'll have to get back to you on that...)

10 in 10 update: I had a completely delicious cookie at a photo shoot on Friday -- chocolate chip with dried cherries, heaven! It was the first dessert I'd had since New Year's Eve, and I ate it slowly and enjoyed every bite. (It was a photo shoot for the magazine I work for -- so really, eating it was quality control. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!) No sweets since then, and I even baked this weekend (more on that soon). So far, so good! Hope your 10 in 10 plan is going great!

Enjoy!

Chubby Hubby Bars
Makes about 32

16 Tbsp. (2 sticks) unsalted butter
3 Tbsp. peanut butter
1 3/4 cups packed dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1 cup dark chocolate chips (OK, maybe I threw in a little more...)
1 cup peanut butter chips
1 cup chopped pretzels

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF; line a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with foil and mist foil with cooking spray.

2. Melt butter, peanut butter and brown sugar in a saucepan over very low heat, stirring often. Remove from heat, scrape into a large bowl, and let cool slightly. When cool, whisk in eggs and vanilla. Stir flour and salt together, then stir into butter mixture. Fold in chocolate chips, peanut butter chips and pretzels.

3. Scrape batter into pan and spread evenly. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until just set. Let cool in pan on a wire rack. Cover and chill overnight. Cut into bars and serve. Keep any leftovers (yeah, right!) wrapped well and refrigerated, or in an airtight container at room temperature.

Tree-nut-free granola, and 10 in 10

2010-01-02T21:54:00.001-05:00

Happy New Year, friends!

Well, 2009 was pretty amazing for me: I had a baby, and my first cookbook was published (and it got some really good reviews, including a great online book tour and a really lovely write-up from one of my heroes, Rose Levy Beranbaum), the magazine I work for is doing really well (even in a year when several beautiful, extraordinary magazines, like Gourmet, shuttered) -- lots and lots of truly wonderful things happened. I also joined Twitter, with which I have kind of a love/hate relationship. But the thing I do love about Twitter is that it's introduced me to so many more of you, my great foodie friends!

So... what happened for you in 2009?

Of course, having had a great year, I want to make the next one even better. Where better to start than with improving myself? And thanks to my pal Lori, a.k.a. The Recipe Girl, I have some inspiration and support to do just that. I've joined her fantastic "10 in 10" program, in which a whole bunch of bloggers are setting goals for themselves to get healthier and supporting each other over 10 weeks to make it happen. Great idea, right? Read more about it -- and join us! -- here.

My goal is to eat less sugar. Now, you may be thinking, "Cookie Pie! Dumb-ass! You have a baking blog!" And you would be right (about both :) So here's the deal: Yes, I plan to keep baking just as much, just as decadently, and share the goodies with you. Usually when I bake it's either for an event or to bring to someone's house -- Mark and I generally don't sit around eating a ton of desserts. And if there's something I just really want to make for no particular reason, I usually bring it to work to pawn off on my colleagues. :) So this isn't a radical change. But over the past few months I feel like I've been having more and more treats, and it's time for a return to better habits. Still, with a sweet tooth like mine, it's soooooo hard to say no, so I'm very grateful to have Recipe Girl's fabulous program to help keep me motivated!

This isn't a strict diet by any means. I'm already at a healthy weight -- and I'm still nursing my baby girl, so I need a certain amount of calories every day. Plus, I'm not planning to give up all desserts (please! Life is too short!). The goal is to cut back to one treat a week, maybe occasionally two if I'm going out to dinner or something like that. I'd like to eat far fewer sweets, and really enjoy the ones I have, rather than having a little something several days a week.

Wish me luck! And all you 10-in10-ers out there, all my best to you!

Speaking of healthier eating, I'm starting CookiePie off this year with a good-for-you recipe too. I wanted to make a holiday gift for my good pal Brenda, who you may recall has tons of allergies. But she's on a health kick recently, so cookies and other treats were out of the question. So I decided to make her some granola.

Bren is allergic to tree nuts and cinnamon, so granola presented a challenge -- but I love a challenge! Fortunately she can have both peanuts and coconut, so I tossed them in along with oats, oat bran and some other goodies. If you like granola but have never made it, give it a try -- it's one of those things that's MUCH better homemade than bought (not to mention much cheaper!), and deceptively easy to make.Once you make it yourself, you'll never go back.

Enjoy! And a very happy 2010 to you!

Brenda's Nut-Free Granola
(Makes about 6 cups)

3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup chopped roasted unsalted peanuts
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1/3 cup oat bran or wheat germ
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp. pure maple syrup (preferably grade B)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup raisins

1. Preheat oven to 250ºF. Line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with foil.

2. In a large bowl, combine the oats, peanuts, pumpkin seeds, oat bran, coconut, brown sugar and salt. Toss to mix well.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the maple syrup and oil. Pour the maple mixture into the oat mixture and mix with a flexible spatula until all the dry ingredients are moistened. Divide the mixture among the 2 baking sheets and spread evenly. Bake for about 1 hour and 10 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. After the second stirring, rotate the baking sheets from top to bottom and front to back.

4. Remove the granola from the oven and transfer to a large bowl; let cool. Add the raisins and mix well. Store in an airtight container.

NOTES:
* Swap in any kind of nut for the peanuts, if you don't have allergies. A mix of nuts is also nice.
* Substitute honey for the maple syrup, and/or melted unsalted butter for the oil.
* Add a teaspoon of cinnamon, or a few spices, or a spice blend like pumpkin pie spice. Whisk it into the liquid before tossing the ingredients together.
* Instead of raisins, chop up some other dried fruit, such as apricots, apples or unsweetened dried pineapple. Dried cherries or cranberries are also great.
*If you're feeling frisky, toss in a few mini chocolate chips!

Hummingbird pancakes

2009-12-27T09:20:00.002-05:00

Well, hello there. Hope you had a very happy Christmas, and that you're enjoying a long holiday break! If so, here are some tasty pancakes you can whip up for that special someone...

Here's the story behind this yummy breakfast: Now that our baby (I call her "the mush," because she has a mushy little face! Sorry, just having a mommy moment...) is coming up on 9 months old, we've officially outgrown our teeny tiny little 1 bedroom apartment. And so we sold it. A big step for me, as this was the first place I've bought, and I did it by myself, which was a big life's goal of mine. Plus, Mark and I lived here together, got married while living here and had our baby here (did most of the labor right here!). So I'm sentimentally attached. But anyway, so we've rented a 2 bedroom a few blocks away while we look for a new home to buy. We're planning to move around mid-January, so we've been busily trying to use up all the odds and ends in our freezer, fridge and pantry.

Hence these pancakes, into which I threw a little of this, and a little of that -- but the result was a stack of healthy and satisfying cakes, full of grains and goodness, that tasted like a treat! The name comes from hummingbird cake -- that glorious southern concoction that features bananas, pineapple and pecans. The cake version is usually slathered with cream cheese frosting, but a dribble of pure maple syrup is all you need for my breakfast version.

Enjoy!

Hummingbird Pancakes
Makes about 12

1/4 cup buckwheat flour (or all-purpose, or whole wheat)
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp. cornmeal
2 Tbsp. oat bran
1/4 cup finely chopped pecans
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbso. packed dark brown sugar
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 large egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 small to medium-sized ripe bananas, mashed
3/4 cup milk (not skim)
1/4 cup plain yogurt (not nonfat)
8-oz. can crushed pineapple, not drained

1. Preheat oven to 200ºF. In a small bowl, combine both flours, cornmeal, oat bran, pecans, baking powder, salt and brown sugar; mix well. In a large bowl, whisk together oil, egg, vanilla, bananas, yogurt and milk. Add dry ingredients to banana mixture and stir until just moistened. Fold in pineapple, stirring until just mixed (do not over mix).

2. Warm a griddle over medium heat; butter griddle. Drop batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto hot griddle; cook until bubbles form and undersides are light golden, about 3 to 5 minutes. Flip pancakes and cook until light golden, about 1 minute longer. Place pancakes on a plate and keep warm in oven while cooking remaining pancakes. Serve hot with pure maple syrup.

Chocolate-chocolate chip gingerbread

2009-12-23T11:40:00.004-05:00

Here we are, only 2 days to go until Christmas! If you're running around shopping, good luck out there! If you're home and you realize that you've baked baked baked for everyone else but didn't save anything for yourself, or you need a quick and easy dessert to bring to someone's party, try these soft, spicy chocolate-chocolate chip gingerbread bars. They offer all the warm, delicious spices that make the whole house smell like the holiday, and a bit of chocolate and cocoa because... well, do you really need a reason?

Enjoy! Merry Christmas to all!

Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Gingerbread
(Adapted from Martha Stewart Everyday Food)
Makes 16

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
Generous pinch ground cloves
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup packed dark-brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1 large egg
1/4 cup sour cream
1 1/2 Tbsp. finely chopped crystallized ginger
1/2 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan. Line pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two sides. Butter parchment, then dust parchment and pan sides with cocoa.

2. In a bowl, whisk together cocoa, flour, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk butter, brown sugar, molasses, egg and sour cream. Fold flour mixture into molasses mixture just until moistened. Gently fold in crystallized ginger and chocolate chips. Spoon batter into prepared pan; smooth top.

3. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 30 minutes. Place pan on a wire rack and let cool completely. Using paper overhang, lift gingerbread from pan. Transfer to a cutting board and cut into 16 squares. To store, keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Oatmeal-pecan-chocolate chip cookies

2009-12-17T19:51:00.004-05:00

Have you ever done something so stupid that you knew everyone involved would be telling the story for years to come? And in fact, people who weren't even there would tell the story too, after they heard it? Well, that was me over Thanksgiving weekend.

Our upstairs neighbors, who were going out of town for the weekend, very kindly offered to let my in-laws stay in their apartment. Then it turned out my sister-in-law and my adorable niece were coming too, so I asked if they could stay up there too, and my amazing neighbors agreed. The only caveat was that my neighbors were coming back on the 28th, so we had to find other accommodations for everyone after that.

The Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend rolls around, my in-laws, sister-in-law and niece are out for the day, and Mark and I are home with the baby -- in fact, I think I was actually nursing! -- when there's a knock at our door. My neighbor, home from her trip! What?! "I thought you were coming home on the 28th!" I cried. Well, yes -- Saturday WAS the 28th. Oh. My. GOD.

So my neighbor calmly and sweetly says she is going to take her husband and kids out to lunch to give us some time to get everyone's stuff out of their place (oh yes, did I mention that she has 2 little kids AND she's pregnant??!!). Needless to say, Mark and I raced up there and gathered everything up, I cleaned and scrubbed like Mary Poppins gone mad and we left the place (hopefully) cleaner than it was originally. But of course, the damage was done -- clothes and stuff everywhere, dishes in the sink, etc. etc. Not that my in-laws are sloppy people -- just the opposite. Part of the reason there were clothes strewn about is that they didn't want to use the closets, out of respect for our neighbors! But you can imagine what the place must have looked like.

Anyway -- amazingly, my neighbors could not have been nicer or more gracious about the whole thing, told us not to give it another thought. But of course I was MORTIFIED. My in-laws brought them flowers and a gift, and I baked a batch of oatmeal-pecan-chocolate chip cookies. Which we would have done anyway, but it just seemed so much more, well, important after that! So here they are, the cookies that I hope made up for the mess.

Enjoy!

Oatmeal-Pecan-Chocolate Chip-I'm Sorry-I'm An Idiot Cookies
Makes about 36

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole-wheat flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
16 Tbsp. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
3/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted
1 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment. In a bowl, combine both flours, baking soda and salt.

2. Using an electric mixer at medium speed, cream together butter and both sugars until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in eggs and vanilla until smooth.

3. Using a wooden spoon or sturdy flexible spatula, stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture until just combined. Fold in the oats, pecans and chocolate chips. Use a small ice cream scoop to portion the dough into evenly sized balls. Place the dough balls on the baking sheets, spacing them about 1 1/2 inches apart.

4. Bake the cookies until light golden, about 9 to 11 minutes. Let cool on baking sheets on wire racks for 2 minutes before transferring cookies to racks to cool. Repeat with remaining dough (you can reuse the same parchment).

Chocolate-pumpkin cake and 2 pies

2009-12-09T21:24:00.002-05:00

Hi friends! If you're looking at this photo and wondering where the second pie is, why it's the cutie-pie! That sweet little face belongs to my adorable niece, Mikyla, who came with her lovely mom to visit us for Thanksgiving.

Speaking of Thanksgiving, this is rather a belated post, as I made these desserts for the holiday. There's a pear pie with a hazelnut topping, and the chocolate-pumpkin marble cake. The pie was just ok, nothing to write home about. But the cake! Beautiful and so, so delicious. It was great for Thanksgiving dinner, but really you could serve it any time. And we savored it! Mark, his parents and I ate slices every night for the next few nights until it was gone -- and none of them are dessert lovers! This cake would be fabulous at a Christmas party or to bring as a hostess gift if you're visiting friends or family over the holidays.

Enjoy!

Chocolate-Pumpkin Marble Cake
Serves 12
(Adapted from Sunset magazine, printable recipe here)

Cake:
1 1/2 cups (3/4 lb.) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 cups sugar
6 large eggs, at room temperature
1 Tbsp.. vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups canned pumpkin
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
3/4 cup natural unsweetened cocoa
2/3 cup buttermilk, at room temperature

Chocolate glaze:
4 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
2 tsp. honey
1/4 tsp. instant espresso powder
pinch of salt

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF; thoroughly coat a 12-cup Bundt pan with butter and flour. In a large bowl, with a mixer on medium speed, beat butter and sugar until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Scrape half the mixture into another bowl.

2. To make pumpkin batter: Beat pumpkin into half the butter mixture until well blended. In another bowl, stir together 1 3/4 cups flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and beat on low speed or fold in with a flexible spatula just until blended.

3. To make chocolate batter: In another bowl, mix remaining 1 cup flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and the cocoa. Add flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk to the other half of the butter mixture (starting and ending with flour mixture), beating after each addition just until blended.

4. Spoon half the pumpkin batter into Bundt pan. Drop half the chocolate batter by spoonfuls over (but not entirely covering) the pumpkin batter. Repeat to spoon remaining pumpkin and chocolate batters into pan. Gently run the blade of a butter knife around the center of the pan several times, then draw the knife across the width of the pan in 10 to 12 places to swirl batters.

5. Bake until a wood skewer inserted into center of cake comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 55 to 60 minutes. Let cake cool 10 minutes in pan, then invert onto a rack, lift off pan, and cool cake completely.

6. Make glaze: On top of a double boiler, combine all ingredients. Bring an inch or two of water to a boil in bottom of double boiler, then remove from heat. Place chocolate mixture over water and let stand, stirring occasionally, until melted and smooth, about 10 minutes. Pour warm chocolate glaze over the top of the cake, letting it drip down the sides. Chill about 30 minutes until glaze is set.

Black-bottom coconut bars

2009-12-04T11:47:00.003-05:00

Happy National Cookie Day, everyone!

As I promised recently, here are some more coconutty treats. I saw these lovely bars on a few blogs -- though I think it was Maria over at Two Peas and Their Pod who ultimately inspired me to try them. It's a Martha Stewart recipe, and as you know I sometimes find her recipes a bit inconsistent -- but Maria liked this one, so I knew it would be great!

One thing I did that I almost never do is follow the recipe exactly. I pretty much did (ok, I may have tweaked it a little -- just a little!). These would look snowy and lovely on any holiday cookie platter.

Enjoy!

Black-Bottom Coconut Bars
(Adapted from Martha Stewart Everyday Food)
Makes 16 bars

Crust:
8 Tbsp. (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 large egg
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. instant espresso powder

Topping:
2 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
pinch of salt
7 oz. sweetened shredded coconut, 1/2 cup reserved

1. Make crust: Preheat oven to 375ºF. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil, leaving a slight overhang; mist foil with cooking spray.

2. Melt butter in a small pan over low heat; transfer to a bowl. Whisk in sugar and salt. Whisk in egg, then cocoa, flour and espresso powder until smooth. Spread batter in prepared pan. Bake just until sides begin to pull away from edges of pan, 10 to 12 minutes (do not overbake). Let cool slightly on a wire rack. Keep oven on.

3. Make topping: In a medium bowl, whisk eggs with sugar and vanilla. Gently mix in flour, salt and coconut (except 1/2 cup reserved for sprinkling). Drop mounds of mixture over chocolate base; spread and pat in gently and evenly with moistened fingers. Sprinkle with reserved 1/2 cup coconut.

4. Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs attached, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool completely in pan on wire rack, then cover with foil and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Lift cake from pan, peel off foil, and cut into bars. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.

It's "The New Black" Friday!

2009-11-26T09:56:00.003-05:00

Stop! Turn off the alarm clock! Back away from the car keys! Take off your coat! Don't fight the crowds at the mall today, my friends. Take it easy, have a cup of coffee, relax.

Now, if you're saying, "CookiePie! Are you crazy? I can't relax! I have thousands of holiday gifts to buy!" I know, of course you do. But instead of tromping through a hundred stores, elbowing your way through the crowds, searching for just the right gift, simply hop on over to your favorite bookstore, or log on to Amazon or BN.com and buy the perfect gift for everyone on your list. Yes, of course, I'm talking about my new cookbook, "You Made That Dessert?"!

Here's what some of the best baking bloggers out there had to say about it:
"I can't wait to try all of Beth's recipes in You Made That Dessert? The book...has more than 100 dessert recipes that are EASY to make. I love the baking tips and tricks Beth shares in her book. This is a great book for beginning or experienced bakers. If you like desserts this book will be your new best friend:)"
- Maria Lichty of Two Peas and Their Pod

"This book gives you the building blocks to make tasty desserts, and that ladies and gentleman is all that you need to get some dessert making self confidence under your belt. There are pictures, pictures, pictures in this book. Which is awesome since it is geared towards those you don’t bake that often but want to...The directions are written really well. Step by step but not too complicated and written in everyday language, no super culinary speak."
- Peabody Rudd of Culinary Concoctions by Peabody

"This cookbook was a pleasure to peruse and a breeze to follow. I love its tag line: 'Create Fabulous Treats, Even If You Can Barely Boil Water.' I can attest to the clear directions and straightforward steps; they are going to make baking a whole lot easier for the novice...Beth has carefully outlined each step with such care, they will reassure even the most timid baker. Bravo!"
- Aimée Bourque of Under the High Chair

See more blogger reviews here.

It also received some great reviews in the press! For example:

YMTD was featured as one of the best new baking books of the fall by Publisher's Weekly -- see the article here.

"Beth Lipton...knows how to write a recipe so that even the rank beginner is reassured and will succeed. Also very helpful are the many tips called 'Good to Know' and the many color photos. Many of these recipes will intrigue the experienced baker as well."
- Rose Levy Beranbaum, Real Baking with Rose

Are you traumatized by special occasions that require a sweet ending? Do you always offer to bring a salad to potlucks? If so, Beth Lipton's 'You Made That Dessert?' could be your salvation. She has excellent taste...Nothing is too fussy, but much to her credit she doesn't succumb to pre-fab shortcuts. This is a book for anyone truly interested in gaining some baking skills and understanding what's going on without getting a degree in chemistry."
- Leigh Lambert, WashingtonPost.com

So what are you waiting for? You can buy the book online here or here.

Enjoy!

Almond Joy Cheesecake

2009-11-18T00:23:00.002-05:00

I love coconut. So much so that I can't understand how people don't like it! Of course I know there are lots of people who don't, but in this case I think that opinion is... well, wrong. What can I say? I love it!!

This cheesecake was one of the first recipes I developed for my book, You Made That Dessert? I knew I wanted to play around with the flavors in an Almond Joy candy bar, and cheesecake seemed like the perfect venue to do just that. It has a chocolate-almond crust, coconutty cheesecake and chocolate-almond-toasted coconut topping -- the perfect treat if you loved Almond Joys growing up, as I did. (Remember those commercials for Almond Joy and Mounds? "Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don't"?)

This recipe was one of three that was excerpted in the September issue of All You magazine, and I was thrilled when I saw it featured on MyRecipes.com as the opener for a gallery called Craving Cheesecake! There are lots of really yummy desserts in the gallery, so take a peek if you're looking for cheesecake inspiration.

But if you like the sound of an Almond Joy Cheesecake, check out the recipe HERE. And I have more coconut treats coming up soon, so stay tuned.

Enjoy!

Oatmeal-Apple Pie Bars

2009-11-11T20:30:00.002-05:00

What can I say about these bars except that a) they are autumn in bar-cookie form and b) Mark declared them "possibly your best bars ever." And friends, you know how many bars I make! We loved these, hope you do too!

They are yummy cold from the fridge, but I think warm out of the oven with a scoop of vanilla ice cream would make them really special. Maybe a little less neat when cut warm, but who cares? If anyone balks, no appley-oatmealy goodness for them.

Enjoy!

Oatmeal-Apple Pie Bars
Makes 12

Filling:
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
3 large apples (I used 2 Granny Smith and 1 McIntosh), peeled, cored and thinly sliced
2 Tbsp. packed dark brown sugar
1 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger
2 tsp. cinnamon
pinch of salt

Crust:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 cup quick-cooking oats (do not use instant)
8 Tbsp. (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line a 9-inch baking pan with foil; mist lightly with cooking spray.

2. Make filling: Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add apples, brown sugar, ginger, cinnamon and salt and cook, stirring often, until the apples are golden and tender and just beginning to caramelize, about 8 to 10 minutes. (Add water or brandy a tablespoon or two at a time if the apple mixture becomes too dry. I added a little whiskey, maybe 1 Tbsp.) Remove from heat, transfer to a bowl and let cool.

3. Make crust: In a large bowl, toss together flour, baking soda, salt, brown sugar and oats. Stir in butter. Remove 1 1/2 cups of oat mixture and press evenly into bottom of pan. Spoon filling over crust, spreading evenly. Crumble remaining oat mixture over filling.

4. Bake bars for 30 to 35 minutes, until topping is golden brown. Let cool on a wire rack to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or up to overnight. To cut, use foil overhang to remove bars from baking pan. Place on a cutting board, remove foil and cut into bars. Keep bars in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days (though they’ll never last that long!).

Cranberry-swirl cheesecake pie

2009-11-06T12:08:00.006-05:00

Hi all - quick post today. At All You, the magazine where I work, we created and shot our Thanksgiving recipes months ago. In fact, we're heavy into Easter mode right now! But as the most delicious holiday of the year approaches, I'm starting to think about my own menu. We're going to be a full house this year, lots of family and friends -- I love it! (We know they're all really coming to see little Dylan -- can't blame them for that!)

Though I love cooking all the savory dishes at Thanksgiving, of course the desserts are top of mind for me. One thing I'm thinking about including this year is this fabulous dessert from All You. It's amazing -- and I don't even like cheesecake! But something about the combo of the creamy cheese and the cranberries and the graham crackers... mmmmm. And you can make it ahead, which rocks.

Enjoy!

Cranberry Swirl Cheesecake Pie
(From AllYou.com)

Serves 8
CRUST:
9 whole graham crackers (1 1/3 cups ground)
1 tablespoon sugar
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

FILLING:
12 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
1 large egg plus 1 large yolk, at room temperature
6 tablespoons sour cream, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup whole-berry cranberry sauce, pureed and strained (about 5 Tbsp. after straining)

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF; line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Make crust: Place graham crackers in a food processor and process until finely ground. Add 1 Tbsp. sugar and butter and process until crumbs are moistened. Press mixture evenly across bottom and up sides of a 9-inch pie plate, packing tightly. Bake until crust is crisp, 6 to 8 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack.

2. Make filling: In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat cream cheese and sugar until fluffy. Add egg and yolk and beat until incorporated. Stir in sour cream and vanilla. Scrape down sides of bowl and stir until combined.

3. Scrape half of filling into prepared crust. Dollop half of cranberry puree on top of filling. Top with remaining filling and then puree. Use a knife to swirl puree through filling, creating a marbled design, taking care not to drag crumbs from crust into filling. Place pie on lined baking sheet and bake until set around edges but still slightly jiggly in center, about 35 minutes. Transfer to rack to cool completely, then loosely cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to 2 days.

Streusel-topped chocolate-chip pumpkin bread

2009-10-30T20:40:00.002-04:00

I hope you're all not too tired of pumpkin treats just yet! Fall gets me hankering for the aroma of spices wafting from the oven, itching to make lots of treats featuring apples, pears and pumpkin. One evening this week the desire to bake was so strong that I just had to make this delicious bread, even though it meant not cooking dinner! Luckily, Mark cooked us a meal so I could bake my little heart out.

I started out just thinking about regular pumpkin bread, then spied a bag of chocolate chips in the pantry and decided to toss some in. Then I saw some chopped toasted pecans and rolled oats in the fridge and began dreaming of a crunchy streusel topping. I couldn't decide between the chips and the topping... so I did both. Gilding the lily? Maybe just a little bit... :)

Enjoy!

Streusel-topped chocolate-chip pumpkin bread
Makes 1 9-inch loaf

Streusel:
1/4 cup chopped toasted pecans
3 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
pinch of salt
1 1/2 Tbsp. chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Bread:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
pinch of ground cloves
2 large eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup plain yogurt (not fat free)
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Make topping: Combine pecans, sugar, cinnamon, oats and salt in a bowl. Rub in butter until mixture is crumbly. Place streusel in fridge.

2. Make bread: In a large bowl, mix both flours, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, pumpkin, yogurt, honey, oil and vanilla. Pour pumpkin mixture into flour mixture and fold together until dry ingredients are just moistened. Fold in chocolate chips. Do not overmix.

3. Mist a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray. Scrape pumpkin batter into pan and spread evenly. Crumble streusel over. Bake for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in center of loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then turn bread out onto rack to cool completely.

Creepy-crawly Halloween cupcakes

2009-10-23T19:52:00.003-04:00

Hi friends! Just back from a work trip to Birmingham, Alabama, where we shot some videos for the All You website (like these). It was my first time spending the night away from Dylan. She did great (thanks to her wonderful Daddy and Grandma). I, on the other hand, was a bit of a wreck, practically breaking down in the airport when I saw a daddy playing with a 1-year-old. I missed my little pumpkin so much! But the trip went really well, and I'm very happy I went.

Anyway -- now that I'm back, I'm gearing up for Halloween. Yay! I've always loved Halloween, but having a baby makes it take on a whole new dimension! Even though she's too little to understand what's going on, it's so much fun to think about dressing her up in a costume, taking her trick-or-treating, etc.! Our neighborhood has a little Halloween parade in the park next to our building, and the merchants along the main street right down the block from us all have candy for the kids, so everyone gets out and marches around with their kids. It's a riot!

What are your Halloween plans?

If you're having anyone over, make these adorable cupcakes! They're so easy and fun to make -- all of the creepy critters are made out of candies you can buy in any supermarket. Click here for a photo gallery with each cupcake and the candies you use.

The cupcakes were designed by my friend and colleague Karen Tack, the amazingly talented food stylist and author of the fabulous book Hello Cupcake. If you love fun cupcakes and don't already own this book, go buy it NOW! :) It has dozens of incredibly creative yet easy-to-do cupcakes -- and Karen is truly one of the nicest, kindest people you'll ever meet.

Here's a yummy chocolate cupcake recipe from All You -- enjoy!

Chocolate Cupcakes
Makes 30

6 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
8 Tbsp. (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
4 large eggs
1 cup milk

1. Melt chocolate in top of double boiler set over simmering water. Stir until smooth, remove from heat and cool until lukewarm. Preheat oven to 350°F. Place cupcake liners in two 12-cup muffin tins and one 6-cup muffin tin.

2. Stir flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl until well mixed. Using an electric mixer, beat butter, sugar and vanilla until creamy and smooth. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Stir in chocolate. On low speed, beat in 1/3 of dry ingredients, then half of milk. Repeat, ending with last third of dry ingredients. Do not overmix.

3. Fill each muffin cup about 2/3 full and bake until a toothpick inserted in center of a cupcake comes out clean, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool in pan on wire racks for 5 minutes, then remove and cool completely on racks.

Gingersnaps

2009-10-17T21:19:00.004-04:00

When Aimee, who writes one of my favorite blogs, Under the High Chair, wrote me to ask if I would do a guest post, naturally I jumped. What an honor! I wanted to make something warm and welcoming, like UtHC, so I picked gingersnaps. Turns out that's Aimee's favorite cookie! Is that kismet, or what??

So please click on over to Under the High Chair and check out my gingersnap recipe, and Aimee's many, many fabulous treats.

Enjoy!

Whole-wheat peanut butter-chocolate chip banana bread

2009-10-14T14:44:00.002-04:00

We are crazy for bananas at our house (bananas for bananas? I digress...) -- Mark and I both love them, and now that we're starting little Dylan on solids, we're finding that she likes them too! Actually, that's the only food she's shown true enthusiasm for so far -- usually when I feed her she just looks at me like she can't imagine what I could possibly be thinking by doing this with her. It's really adorable, though of course I'm anxious for her to learn to like to eat so I can start feeding her all kinds of fun stuff!

OK, I digress again...

So where was I? Oh yes, bananas. Needless to say, with 3 banana fans in the house, we always have them on hand. But for some reason, we never quite finish them in time, so my freezer is always stocked with speckled bananas. When I find 3 or 4 in there, it's time for some banana bread, or pancakes, or some other banana-y treat.

Recently I found myself with not only several bananas in the freezer, but also with half a jar of a peanut butter that I wasn't digging too much. This is not something I say often -- I am mad for peanut butter, pretty much finish a jar a week on my own, would starve without it!! And while I love love love Peanut Butter & Co. peanut butter, I have to say that their maple flavor left something to be desired. It was waaaay too sweet (and this from someone who calls herself Cookie Pie!), and even worse, a little crunchy, as though it had sugar crystals in it. Blech.

Soooo... since I can't throw good food away, and I had the bananas, I decided to go with peanut butter and banana bread. Given that, of course there had to be chocolate chips thrown in! I used up the super-sweet maple peanut butter in this bread -- if you have a very sweet brand in your pantry anyway (like Skippy), you may be fine with the recipe as is. If you have a less-sweet brand, just add a few extra tablespoons of sugar. Either way, this bread is yummy! Perfect as an afternoon snack, though I did have it for breakfast a couple of times...

Enjoy!

Whole-wheat peanut butter-chocolate chip banana bread
Makes 1 8-inch loaf

1 cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
4 ripe bananas, mashed (if frozen, thawed)
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter (I used Peanut Butter & Co.'s maple flavor)
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350°F; mist an 8-by-4-inch loaf pan with cooking spray.

2. In a small bowl, stir together both flours, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, mash bananas with a large fork. Stir in peanut butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla with a wooden spoon until well combined. Add the dry ingredients and stir until just combined; do not overmix. Fold in the chocolate chips.

3. Spoon the batter into the loaf pan and bake for 1 hour, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean. Let cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then turn bread out of pan onto rack to cool completely.

Raised waffles with sauteed chai-spiced apples

2009-10-06T21:06:00.002-04:00

If you've been by my little corner of the blogging world before, you've probably already figured out that weekend breakfasts are a big deal at our humble abode, with either Mark or me whipping up some kind of crepe, muffin, pancake or some such treat. For years, Mark has been talking about raised waffles -- ones made with yeast and allowed several hours to rise -- but we've never gotten around to making them.

Well, last weekend was our last hurrah for a while -- Mark is working weekends until mid-December (he's the visual effects supervisor on a very cool movie called "The Adjustment Bureau"), so we won't have our lazy Saturday and Sunday morning breakfast fests for a while. So I decided to make those raised waffles, using a slightly adapted version of Marion Cunningham's classic recipe from The Fannie Farmer Cookbook (via David Lebovitz's blog).

Why did I wait so long?? They had a deliciously yeasty flavor and came out so crisp, just lovely. And to give them a touch of fall, I made some buttery sauteed apples to go on top.

Enjoy!

Raised Waffles
From The Fannie Farmer Cookbook by Marion Cunningham
Makes about 12

1 package dried yeast
2 cups low-fat milk
1/4 cup (4 Tbsp.) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 large eggs
1/4 tsp. baking soda

1. Use a rather large mixing bowl--the batter will rise to double its original volume. Put 1/2 cup warm water in the mixing bowl and sprinkle in the yeast. Let stand to dissolve for 5 minutes.

2. Place the milk and butter in a saucepan over low heat, until butter has melted and mixture is warm. Add the milk mixture, salt, sugar and both flours to the yeast mixture and beat until smooth and blended. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

3. Let the bowl sit at room temperature for 20 minutes. Preheat your waffle iron. Just before cooking the waffles, beat in the eggs add the baking soda, stirring until well mixed. The batter will be very thin. Mist the waffle iron lightly with cooking spray, then pour in about 2/3 to 3/4 cup batter. Bake until golden and crisp. Keep waffles warm in a 200ºF oven while cooking the remaining batter.

Sauteed chai-spiced apples
Serves 2 - 4

1 chai tea bag
3 Tbsp. unsalted butter
4 firm apples (I used McIntosh), cored and sliced
1/4 tsp. salt
3 Tbsp. sugar
Juice of 1/2 lemon

1. Bring a kettle of water to a boil. Pour about 1 cup boiling water over teabag and allow to steep for 5 minutes. Discard teabag.

2. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat until foamy. Add apple slices, salt, sugar and lemon juice and cook, stirring occasionally, until apples soften and liquid evaporates.

3. When all liquid has evaporated and apples are just beginning to lightly brown, pour in chai and stir to deglaze pan. Stir until mixture thickens, about 1 to 2 minutes, then transfer apples to a bowl and serve.

NOTES:
* I left the peels on the apples, but you could remove them.
* If you use a more tart apple than McIntosh, such as Granny Smith, you may need a bit more sugar. Or, if you use a sweeter one, like Golden Delicious, you could use less.
* Feel free to swap honey or maple syrup for the sugar.

Baked pumpkin french toast

2009-09-29T10:39:00.004-04:00

Fall is finally upon us, and I couldn't be happier. Apples! Pears! Butternut squash! And best of all... pumpkin. Glorious, delicious pumpkin, how I love thee.

Recently my amazing friend Courtney was in town visiting from California, and I couldn't wait to see her -- not only because it had been awhile, but also because she's pregnant and I couldn't wait to touch that belly! (I'm not one of those freaks that touches without asking or grabs strangers' bellies -- Court and I go way back, and she was fine with it...) I invited her over for brunch so she could also play with little Dylan, and she asked if she could bring another pal, Claire. Well of course, the more the merrier! AND, as a bonus, Claire is also preggers, how fun! (Claire wrote an amazing book that I just ordered and can't wait to read, about pregnancy and body issues -- check it out here.)

We had a ball, talked all about the book-writing process, pregnancy and babies, mutual friends, etc. etc. Lovely time.

So what did I make for the ladies? Luckily, they both share my love of pumpkin, so I whipped up a baked pumpkin french toast (inspired by a recent yummy post by the fabulous Recipe Girl). We had soy sausage on the side (they're both vegetarian) and some tasty homemade applesauce I made that morning (I'll post that recipe another time).

Of course, we gobbled it all up before we took a picture, my apologies. But try this one -- it's so delicious and satisfying, and it will make your house smell like pumpkin pie.

Enjoy!

Baked Pumpkin French Toast
Serves 4 - 6

4 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1/3 cup packed brown sugar (light or dark, doesn't matter)
2 Tbsp. maple syrup
1 cup half-and-half
3/4 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin
1/2 cup milk
2 large eggs plus 1 yolk
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
Pinch of ground cloves
5 cups cubed crusty bread (about 1-inch cubes, I used a Tuscan Pane from Trader Joe's)

1. In a saucepan, melt butter with brown sugar, stirring until the mixture is smooth. Remove from the heat and whisk in the maple syrup. Pour mixture into an 8-inch square pan and spread evenly.

2.In a bowl, whisk together half-and-half, pumpkin, milk, eggs, yolk, salt, and spices. Add the bread cubes and toss to coat. Let stand for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Preheat oven to 350ºF.

3. Pour the bread mixture on top of the brown sugar mixture and spread evenly. Bake until custard is set, 30 to 35 minutes.

NOTE: You can make this the night before; don't bake. Cover and keep in the fridge. In the morning, bring it to room temp before baking.

Cranberry-toasted pecan blondies

2009-09-22T21:10:00.003-04:00

Hello friends! Still on cloud 9 after my online book tour, in which some of my most favorite bloggers very kindly took the time to review my new cookbook, "You Made That Dessert?" What an experience! I'm so, so grateful.

This weekend I'm doing my first appearance for the book. If you happen to be anywhere near Tom's River, New Jersey, come on out to the Ocean County Library's Book Fest! I'll be there (with samples!), along with other cookbook authors -- including David Leite and Andrea Chesman. I'll be there from 11 to 3 -- would love to see you!

Recently my cousins from the Washington, D.C. area came over for a visit to meet little Dylan -- and you know me, any excuse to bake! So I made these little blondies, tossing in some dried cranberries to celebrate the beginning of autumn. The base is Mark Bittman's gloriously simple blondie recipe, which I've made before -- dozens of times in dozens of ways. I have to say, though I usually opt for chocolate chips in my blondies, I really loved the fruit in these.

Enjoy!

Cranberry-Toasted Pecan Blondies
Makes 16

8 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted
1 cup dried cranberries (Mine were a bit dry, so I soaked them in a bit of Grand Marnier)
1/3 cup mini white chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line an 8-inch square baking pan with foil. Lightly mist the foil with cooking spray.

2. In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the butter with the brown sugar, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat, transfer to a bowl and lot cool for 5 minutes.

3. Beat in the egg, then stir in the salt and flour. Stir in the pecans, cranberries and white chocolate chips.

4. Pour the batter into the pan. Bake for 25 minutes, or until set in the middle. Let cool completely on a wire rack before cutting.

Online book tour, and more

2009-09-17T21:47:00.007-04:00

Way back in 2006, at the suggestion of my dear friend Sarah and with the encouragement of Mark, I decided to write a book proposal. And now, in September of 2009, that seed of an idea has come to life, and my book has hit store shelves. How amazing!

And now, some of my favorite foodie bloggers have been kind enough to review the book, trying some of the recipes and sharing their results. It's so incredible to see my recipes on the sites of these amazing bakers! Here they are, please give them all a visit:

Sour Cream Coffee Cake on Two Peas and Their Pod

Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Cupcakes on Culinary Concoctions by Peabody

Cappuccino Biscotti on the Life and Loves of Grumpy's Honeybunch

Lime-Glazed Citrus Tea Cake on Sticky, Gooey, Creamy Chewy

Cookies & Cream Cheesecake Bars on Recipe Girl

Banana Snack Cake with Rich Caramel Frosting on Cookie Baker Lynn

PB&J Bars and Coconut Rice Pudding on Eat Me, Delicious

Geraldine's Chocolate-Date Cake on Under the High Chair

Cherry Clafouti and Coffee-Chocolate Blondies on Bunny's Warm Oven

Gingersnaps and Peanut Butter Banana Bread on How to Eat a Cupcake

Book review at Baking Bites

Also, Washington Post food blogger Leigh Lambert wrote a great review.

I'm thrilled! And there's more to come... stay tuned for some upcoming events, more stops on the online book tour, and more.

If you happen to try one of the recipes the bloggers have posted (or if you pick up the book) and have feedback for me, I would love to hear it!

In the meantime, thanks so much to the fabulous bloggers, and to all of my dear friends both online and off who have been so encouraging over this long journey.

Peanut-butterscotch bites

2009-09-12T10:20:00.002-04:00

Happy Saturday, friends! Quick post today as I have much to do before my visiting cousins arrive. Marge and John are two of my favorite cousins, stopping by to see us while in town for a wedding. Actually, they're really coming to meet Dylan -- not that I blame them! She is such a cutie pie. Sigh!

Anyway -- last weekend, when it was still summer (!), I whipped up these tasty little candies for a picnic with some of my mommy friends in Brooklyn Bridge Park. It was so nice to see all of them, and their husbands/partners and, of course, the babies! I'm happy to be back at work, but I do miss the camaraderie of all the mommies.

Wait, what was I talking about? Oh yes, the candies! These are ridiculously easy to make, require no baking, no candy thermometer, and they're always a crowd pleaser. The recipe is in my cookbook (titled "You Made That Dessert?" and hitting stores in 3 days!!) - and it was also posted by Publisher's Weekly when the book was featured in their "Cooking the Books" newsletter. Check out the recipe here.

Enjoy - and have a great weekend! Stay tuned for an online book tour this week!

Brownie Love

2009-09-06T17:38:00.005-04:00

Love and chocolate, chocolate and love. Valentine's Day? Chocolates. Wedding favors? Truffles. Chocolate and love go together like, well, um, like chocolate and peanut butter?

Anyway... my friend Liz got married Saturday night, in one of those epically beautiful weddings that feels like it came right out of a storybook. They're off on their honeymoon now... sigh...

We had a little bridal shower at work for lovely Liz a week or so ago, and my contribution was a few desserts. I decided to make a huge sheet of brownies and cut them into heart shapes -- that whole love + chocolate thing -- and I think they came out pretty cute! (Please excuse the terrible photo - I took it with my phone!)

This is the brownie recipe from my book (in stores Sept. 15!). I doubled it and baked it in a sheet pan (for 25 minutes) for this party, with great results. Since I hate wasting food, I saved the scraps and froze them for use in another recipe, stay tuned for that.

Enjoy!

Fudge Brownies
From my cookbook, "You Made That Dessert?"

Prep time: 20 minutes
Baking time: 30 to 35 minutes
Makes 24

Ingredients:
Cooking spray
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
4 ounces semisweet chocolate
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 1/4 cups (5.4 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs, at room temperature
2 cups (14 ounces) sugar
1 3/4 cups chopped walnuts (optional)

1 Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Line a 9 x 13-inch pan with aluminum foil, leaving a 2-inch overhang on two sides; mist lightly with cooking spray.

2 On a cutting board, using a sharp chef’s knife, chop both chocolates. Combine the chocolates and butter in a saucepan and place over your stove’s lowest heat setting. Cook, stirring constantly with a flexible spatula, until the chocolate mixture is
melted and smooth. Remove from the heat, pour into a large bowl, and let cool for 5 minutes.

3 In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; stir with a fork to mix well. In a small cup, dissolve the instant espresso powder in the vanilla extract, then stir it into the chocolate mixture. Use a whisk to beat the eggs and sugar together, then beat them into the chocolate mixture until well combined. Add the flour mixture; stir with the flexible spatula until all of the ingredients are well incorporated. Stir in the nuts (if using).

4 Scrape the batter into the lined pan and spread with the flexible spatula until it’s in an even layer. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until just set. Let the brownies cool in the pan on a wire rack.

5 To slice, use the foil overhang to remove the brownies and place on a large cutting board. Use a chef’s knife to cut them into 24 pieces, wiping off the knife between cuts, then carefully remove the foil.

Nectarine cobbler Melba

2009-09-01T13:00:00.003-04:00

Hello hello! It's Sept. 1, which means my book is coming out in 14 days! Yay - I'm so excited! What? You haven't pre-ordered your copy yet? You can -- here or here :) Also coming up is an online book tour... stay tuned!

In the meantime, though there's a hint of fall crispness in the air that gets me thinking about pumpkin, apples and other autumn joys, I'm still trying to enjoy every last drop of summer fruit, so I thought I'd try a recipe I saw on blogger Joy the Baker's site called Nectarine Cream Cobbler (she adapted it from The Pastry Queen). I made it for our friends Adam and Yadey when they came over to meet little Dylan. It's a really nice, very simple recipe that works so well for a weeknight or a lazy summer day. The batter starts off on the bottom and moves to the top, kind of like a pudding cake. Delish! I served it with Haagen Dazs Vanilla-Raspberry Swirl frozen yogurt to make it kind of peach Melba-like.

Enjoy!

Easy Nectarine and Cream Cobbler
Adapted from The Pastry Queen and Joy the Baker
Serves 4 - 6

8 Tbsp. (1 stick) unsalted butter
3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
pinch of ground cloves
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
3/4 cup milk
3 cups sliced ripe nectarines, skins left on
3 Tbsp. maple syrup

1. Preheat the oven to 350º F. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat until it bubbles and turns a nut-brown color. Watch the butter closely, as it can go from browned to burnt in just a few seconds. The butter will have all sorts of browned bits in it. That’s good! Pour the butter into an 8-inch square baking dish.

2. In a medium bowl, stir together the 3/4 cup sugar, flour, baking powder and spices. Add milk and stir. Pour the mixture on top of the melted butter. Do not stir! Without mixing, arrange the fruit evenly over the top of the batter. Sprinkle with 2 Tbsp. sugar and drizzle with maple syrup.

3. Bake the cobbler for 40 to 45 minutes, until the top turns golden brown. (The batter will migrate from the bottom of the pan to cover the fruit.) Serve warm.

Daring Bakers do Dobosh

2009-08-27T13:36:00.003-04:00

The August 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Angela of A Spoonful of Sugar and Lorraine of Not Quite Nigella. They chose the spectacular Dobos Torte based on a recipe from Rick Rodgers' cookbook Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Caffés of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague.

The Dobos Torte is a five-layer sponge cake, filled with a rich chocolate buttercream and topped with thin wedges of caramel. It was invented in 1885 by József C. Dobos, a Hungarian baker, and it rapidly became famous throughout Europe for both its extraordinary taste and its keeping properties. The recipe was a secret until Dobos retired in 1906 and gave the recipe to the Budapest Confectioners' and Gingerbread Makers' Chamber of Industry, providing that every member of the chamber can use it freely.

Now, I loved this idea -- I love making complex desserts with multiple elements, and I almost never do it -- this is one of the things I love about Daring Bakers! But trying to make buttercream in August in New York City... well, let's just say that I've been there, and it isn't fun. So instead, I thought I'd try to do a frozen version, the dobos ice cream torte!

So instead of the buttercream, I layered the cake with Haagen Dazs chocolate-chocolate chip ice cream (Mark's favorite!). I made a dark chocolate ganache to pour over the top, and I pressed toasted coconut on the sides instead of almonds or hazelnuts. I also didn't quite get to the caramel layer. Still, I think it came out pretty good -- and we had fun eating it.

Below is the whole dobos torte recipe, in case you're feeling ambitious :) I used the cake recipe and it was fantastic! I cut it in half and it made 1 sheet pan's worth.

Enjoy! And don't forget to check out all the other Daring Bakers' fabulous creations!

Dobos Torte

Sponge cake layers
* 6 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
* 1 1/3 cups (162g) confectioner's (icing) sugar, divided
* 1 teaspoon (5ml) vanilla extract
* 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (112g) sifted cake flour (SUBSTITUTE 95g plain flour + 17g cornflour (cornstarch) sifted together)
* pinch of salt

Chocolate Buttercream
* 4 large eggs, at room temperature
* 1 cup (200g) caster (ultrafine or superfine white) sugar
* 4oz (110g) bakers chocolate or your favourite dark chocolate, finely chopped
* 2 sticks plus 2 tablespoons (250g) unsalted butter, at room temperature.

Caramel topping
* 1 cup (200g) caster (superfine or ultrafine white) sugar
* 12 tablespoons (180 ml) water
* 8 teaspoons (40 ml) lemon juice
* 1 tablespoon neutral oil (e.g., grapeseed, sunflower)

Finishing touches
* 12 whole hazelnuts, peeled and toasted
* 1/2 cup (50g) peeled and finely chopped hazelnuts

Directions for the sponge layers:

NB. The sponge layers can be prepared in advance and stored interleaved with parchment and well-wrapped in the fridge overnight.

1.Position the racks in the top and centre thirds of the oven and heat to 400F (200C).

2.Cut six pieces of parchment paper to fit the baking sheets. Using the bottom of a 9" (23cm) springform tin as a template and a dark pencil or a pen, trace a circle on each of the papers, and turn them over (the circle should be visible from the other side, so that the graphite or ink doesn't touch the cake batter.)

3.Beat the egg yolks, 2/3 cup (81g) of the confectioner's (icing) sugar, and the vanilla in a medium bowl with a mixer on high speed until the mixture is thick, pale yellow and forms a thick ribbon when the beaters are lifted a few inches above the batter, about 3 minutes. (You can do this step with a balloon whisk if you don't have a mixer.)

4.In another bowl, using clean beaters, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in the remaining 2/3 cup (81g) of confectioner's (icing)sugar until the whites form stiff, shiny peaks. Using a large rubber spatula, stir about 1/4 of the beaten whites into the egg yolk mixture, then fold in the remainder, leaving a few wisps of white visible. Combine the flour and salt. Sift half the flour over the eggs, and fold in; repeat with the remaining flour.

5.Line one of the baking sheets with a circle-marked paper. Using a small offset spatula, spread about 3/4cup of the batter in an even layer, filling in the traced circle on one baking sheet. Bake on the top rack for 5 minutes, until the cake springs back when pressed gently in the centre and the edges are lightly browned. While this cake bakes, repeat the process on the other baking sheet, placing it on the centre rack. When the first cake is done, move the second cake to the top rack. Invert the first cake onto a flat surface and carefully peel off the paper. Slide the cake layer back onto the paper and let stand until cool. Rinse the baking sheet under cold running water to cool, and dry it before lining with another parchment. Continue with the remaining papers and batter to make a total of six layers. Completely cool the layers. Using an 8" springform pan bottom or plate as a template, trim each cake layer into a neat round. (A small serrated knife is best for this task.)

Directions for the chocolate buttercream:
NB. This can be prepared in advance and kept chilled until required.

1.Prepare a double-boiler: quarter-fill a large saucepan with water and bring it to a boil.

2.Meanwhile, whisk the eggs with the sugar until pale and thickened, about five minutes. You can use a balloon whisk or electric hand mixer for this.

3.Fit bowl over the boiling water in the saucepan (water should not touch bowl) and lower the heat to a brisk simmer. Cook the egg mixture, whisking constantly, for 2-3 minutes until you see it starting to thicken a bit. Whisk in the finely chopped chocolate and cook, stirring, for a further 2-3 minutes.

4.Scrape the chocolate mixture into a medium bowl and leave to cool to room temperature. It should be quite thick and sticky in consistency.

5.When cool, beat in the soft butter, a small piece (about 2 tablespoons/30g) at a time. An electric hand mixer is great here, but it is possible to beat the butter in with a spatula if it is soft enough. You should end up with a thick, velvety chocolate buttercream. Chill while you make the caramel topping.

Directions for the caramel topping:

1.Choose the best-looking cake layer for the caramel top. To make the caramel topping: Line a jellyroll pan with parchment paper and butter the paper. Place the reserved cake layer on the paper. Score the cake into 12 equal wedges. Lightly oil a thin, sharp knife and an offset metal spatula.

2.Stir the sugar, water and lemon juice in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over a medium heat, stirring often to dissolve the sugar. Once dissolved into a smooth syrup, turn the heat up to high and boil without stirring, swirling the pan by the handle occasionally and washing down any sugar crystals on the sides of the pan with a wet brush until the syrup has turned into an amber-coloured caramel.

3.The top layer is perhaps the hardest part of the whole cake so make sure you have a oiled, hot offset spatula ready. I also find it helps if the cake layer hasn't just been taken out of the refrigerator. I made mine ahead of time and the cake layer was cold and the toffee set very, very quickly—too quickly for me to spread it. Immediately pour all of the hot caramel over the cake layer. You will have some leftover most probably but more is better than less and you can always make nice toffee pattern using the extra to decorate. Using the offset spatula, quickly spread the caramel evenly to the edge of the cake layer. Let cool until beginning to set, about 30 seconds. Using the tip of the hot oiled knife (keep re-oiling this with a pastry brush between cutting), cut through the scored marks to divide the caramel layer into 12 equal wedges. Cool another minute or so, then use the edge of the knife to completely cut and separate the wedges using one firm slice movement (rather than rocking back and forth which may produce toffee strands). Cool completely.

Assembling the Dobos:
1.Divide the buttercream into six equal parts.

2.Place a dab of chocolate buttercream on the middle of a 7 1/2” cardboard round and top with one cake layer. Spread the layer with one part of the chocolate icing. Repeat with 4 more cake layers. Spread the remaining icing on the sides of the cake.

3.Optional: press the finely chopped hazelnuts onto the sides of the cake.

4.Propping a hazelnut under each wedge so that it sits at an angle, arrange the wedges on top of the cake in a spoke pattern. If you have any leftover buttercream, you can pipe rosettes under each hazelnut or a large rosette in the centre of the cake. Refrigerate the cake under a cake dome until the icing is set, about 2 hours. Let slices come to room temperature for the best possible flavour.

The 3 Bs: Buckwheat, bananas, blueberries

2009-08-23T10:07:00.005-04:00

Can you believe it's Aug. 23 already?? Today is Mark's birthday (happy birthday, my love!!), and though I always look forward to the chance to celebrate him, we were both lamenting yesterday how quickly the summer is passing by. Before you know it, we'll be hunkered down in coats and hats and mittens!

But, for the moment, we're still enjoying the steamy evenings and long, hot days. Not surprisingly, knowing us, we started yesterday with some delicious, hearty pancakes that combined bananas, juicy blueberries and nutty buckwheat, the latter being my current obsession. The bananas came from my stash in the freezer -- defrosted they were super-mushy, so they went straight into the batter.

These pancakes don't have any eggs, so they're great if you run out or are allergic. You could swap in mini chocolate chips for the blueberries, if you're feeling decadent...

Enjoy!

(Sorry for the stock photo -- we gobbled these up before we remembered to shoot a pic!)

Beth's 3B Pancakes
Makes about 12

1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup vanilla yogurt
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/4 cup milk
2 frozen bananas, thawed
1/2 cup blueberries

1. Preheat oven to 200ºF. In a large bowl, whisk together both flours, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. In a separate bowl, whisk together the yogurt, butter, milk and bananas. Add the banana mixture to the flour mixture, stirring until just combined.

2. Preheat a griddle. Lightly mist it with cooking spray or brush on a thin coat of melted butter. Drop the batter by 1/4-cupfuls onto the griddle and scatter a few blueberries over each. Cook until bubbles form and begin to pop and undersides are golden brown, about 2 minutes, then flip and cook until done, about 1 - 2 minutes longer. Keep pancakes warm on a plate in the oven while you cook the remaining pancakes. Serve warm with pure maple syrup.

BOOK NEWS: 23 days until my cookbook, "You Made That Dessert?", is released! You can pre-order it here or here. Coming soon: A new website for the book, and dates when I'll be doing promo events. Also, follow me on Twitter!

Baby blueberry muffins

2009-08-17T10:37:00.005-04:00

What, more blueberries? Oh yes! This time it's these cute little blueberry mini muffins, just a little bite. Originally I was going to make these with raspberries, but I found Maine wild blueberries at Trader Joe's and could not resist.

I used this lovely recipe from the magical Simply Recipes site, though cut in half and tweaked ever so slightly. The result was the perfect amount of batter for a tray of 24 minis. They're tasty but not overly sweet, really allowing the fruit to take center stage. We enjoyed them with our wonderful friends Kristen and Bob (and their unbelievably adorable baby girl, Morgan), who came over for brunch this weekend.

There are still a couple of little muffins left, and they kept beautifully at room temperature in a ziplock bag. They'd also freeze well too. And I think you could swap in just about any berry, or use frozen.

Enjoy!

Blueberry mini-muffins
Makes 24

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
5 Tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
zest of 1 small lemon
1 large egg, at room temperature
3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt (I used 2%)
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 cup wild blueberries (or regular ones)
1 Tbsp. turbinado sugar (optional)

1. Adjust the oven rack to the middle-lower part of the oven and preheat to 375°F.

2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter, sugar and lemon zest, beating until fluffy. Add egg, beating just until incorporated.

3. Beat in half of the dry ingredients until just incorporated. Stir the vanilla into the yogurt and beat that into the mixture just until incorporated. Beat in the remaining dry ingredients. Be careful to beat until just incorporated -- do not overmix. Fold in the berries.

4. Mist a 24-cup mini muffin tin with cooking spray. Distribute the muffin dough equally among the cups. Sprinkle each one with turbinado sugar. Bake until muffins are golden brown, about 15 minutes. Test with a toothpick to make sure the center of the muffins are done. Set on wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Remove muffins from the tin and serve slightly warm.

On another note -- my cookbook, "You Made That Dessert?", is coming out in 29 days!! Woo hoo! I'll have more info coming up about some events I'm doing, a guest appearance on a magazine's blog, and more! In the meantime, pre-order your copy (and one for your best friend, one for your mom, one for... :) here or here.

UPDATE!
Hey all - I'm so excited - my book got a really nice mention, with a photo and a recipe link, on Publisher's Weekly's "Cooking the Books" newsletter. Yay! Check it out HERE!

Blueberry Crumb Bars

2009-08-08T16:02:00.005-04:00

It's a lovely Saturday here in Brooklyn, one of those New York summer weekend days that make you want to just walk around all afternoon -- warm but not hot, not muggy, and perfectly breezy. Gorgeous! Even errand-running doesn't seem like a chore on a day like this... :)

When I think of summer, I always think of berries (since I do have food pretty much on the brain 24/7... :) -- and blueberries specifically, since they're Mark's favorite. I'm always looking for fun ways to use them that he'll like. A couple of weeks ago I whipped up these bars when we had friends coming over in the afternoon. They're so simple to make and absolutely delicious -- like little blueberry pies, without the fuss.

I always add cassis to anything I make with blueberries -- I learned that years ago from a fabulous blueberry pie recipe in the Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook. You don't taste the alcohol or the currant flavor -- it just brings out the blueberriness of the blueberries.

Enjoy!

Blueberry Crumb Bars
Makes 24

1 1/2 cups sugar
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. plus a pinch of salt
16 Tbsp. (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 large egg
4 cups fresh blueberries
2 Tbsp. cassis (optional)
1 Tbsp. cornstarch

1. Preheat oven to 375ºF. Line a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with foil, leaving an overhang over 2 sides. Mist foil with cooking spray.

2. In a food processor, pulse together 1 cup sugar, flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Add the butter pieces and pulse again until mixture resembles wet sand. Pulse in egg, just to blend. The dough will be crumbly. Pat half into the baking pan.

3. In a bowl, stir the remaining 1/2 cup sugar, cornstarch and pinch of salt. Fold in the blueberries and cassis, if using. Pour the blueberry mixture evenly over the crust. Crumble the reserved dough over the berries. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the berries are bubbling. Let cool on a wire rack until room temperature, then cover and chill for at least 1 hour before lifting out and cutting into bars.

Note: These keep beautifully in the fridge, covered, for up to 4 days. You can give them a little toast in the toaster oven to crisp them up again. They're also great with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. I didn't try it but I bet they'd freeze well, too.

Buckwheat crepes

2009-07-31T10:20:00.004-04:00

I know I've told you before that sometimes I get obsessed with an ingredient, and right now it's buckwheat.

Wait!! Before you crinkle up your nose, say "eeew" and click away, hang with me for a moment. Buckwheat sounds twiggy and tasteless, and it is incredibly healthy -- which I know doesn't generally translate into "yummy" -- but it has a delicious, cozy, nutty flavor that simply rocks.

So lately I'm obsessed with it, and have made some really delicious pancakes with it. But last weekend I wanted to, as Emeril says, kick things up a notch. My sweet Mark loves crepes, and I love making them, so I thought I'd have some fun and make buckwheat crepes. Oh. My. GAWD! The batter was so thin, it made the thinnest, wispiest, most delicate crepes -- but the star of the show, buckwheat, gave them just enough heartiness that they held together beautifully.

We filled them with a mix of cottage cheese, Greek yogurt and blackberry jam, but they would also be fantastic with a savory filling, like asparagus and eggs with some Gruyere. However you make them, sweet or savory, make them! You'll have a fabulous breakfast, and you can feel virtuous all day because you ate buckwheat :)

Enjoy!

Buckwheat Crepes
(from Gourmet, recipe here, slightly tweaked by me)
Makes about 12

2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
3/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp. buckwheat flour
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups milk
3 large eggs
Additional butter, for crepe pan

1. In a small saucepan, cook butter over moderately low heat until golden brown with a nutlike fragrance. (Bottom of pan will be covered with brown specks.) Remove from heat; let cool slightly. Into blender sift flours and salt. In a bowl, whisk together milk, eggs, and brown butter. Add milk mixture to flour mixture; blend until smooth. Chill batter, covered, 30 minutes.

2. Warm a small crepe pan over medium heat. Brush very lightly with butter. Pour about 3 Tbsp. batter into pan and swirl to coat pan. Cook until just light golden; turn and cook 1 minute longer. Repeat with remaining batter. Keep cooked crepes stacked on a plate under a clean kitchen towel. Serve immediately, or wrap well and refrigerate or freeze.

Daring Bakers go cookie crazy!

2009-07-27T01:00:00.005-04:00

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 make either cookie or both. I wanted so much to make both, but with a sweet little newborn baby and a full-time job, it just wasn't in the cards. So I opted for the Milan Cookies, and I promise promise promise to make the Chocolate-Covered Marshmallow Cookies another time! With homemade marshmallows and everything!

I did the Milan cookies, and to put my own little spin on them, I added instant espresso powder to the cookies, and filled them with Nutella instead of the chocolate filling. So they're kind of hazelnut-mocha Milan cookies. (I forgot, of course, until it was too late that I had just used coffee in another recent Daring Bakers challenge -- but I obviously love coffee, so there you go :)

I thought this recipe was really fun and very easy to do -- the cookies came out kind of oddly shaped, but that's because my pastry bags are out of reach, so I piped with a ziplock bag and no tip. Obviously that's my own fault! I think if I had piped them properly, they would have looked like the perfect Milans in the Pepperidge Farm bags. And the flavor was really outstanding -- even Mark loved them, and he doesn't like coffee! So all in all, thumbs up on this challenge.

Here's the recipe from the Food Network site, slightly tweaked by me and with my notes added. Enjoy!

And don't forget to check out what the other Daring Bakers did with this month's fun challenge.

Milan Cookies
Makes about 3 dozen

Cookies:
12 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
7/8 cup egg whites (from about 6 large eggs)
2 Tbsp. vanilla extract
2 Tbsp. lemon extract [I omitted]
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
[I added 1/4 tsp. salt and 1 1/2 tsp. instant espresso powder]

Filling:
1/2 cup heavy cream
8 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 orange, zested
[NOTE: Instead of making the filling, I sandwiched about 1 - 2 tsp. of Nutella between the cookies]

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF; line 2 baking sheets with parchment. In a bowl, using an electric mixer, cream the butter with a paddle attachment, then mix in the sugar. Add the egg whites gradually and then mix in the vanilla extract. Add the flour, salt and espresso and mix until just incorporated. With a small (1/4-inch) plain tip, pipe 1-inch sections of batter onto a baking sheet, spacing them 2 inches apart. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until light golden brown around the edges. Let cool on the pan. Repeat with remaining batter.

2. Cookie Filling: In a small saucepan over medium flame, scald cream. Pour hot cream over chocolate in a bowl. Whisk to melt chocolate, add zest and blend well. Set aside to cool (the mixture will thicken as it cools). 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. Repeat with the remainder of the cookies. [Or spread Nutella between the layers instead of making the filling.]

Cheesecake swirl brownies

2009-07-23T22:00:00.002-04:00

Hi friends - thanks for all the good wishes about my book! I really am so excited. If anyone would like to try out a recipe as part of an online book tour, please let me know!

So, what can I tell you about cheesecake swirl brownies that you don't already know?? I used the divine pastry chef David Lebovitz's recipe, tweaked ever so slightly by me. You undoubtedly know him from his famous ice cream book, The Perfect Scoop -- but all of his recipes are fantastic, and this brownie was no exception. If you're looking for a chocolate indulgence, look no further!

Enjoy!

Cheesecake Brownies
Makes about 16

Brownies:
6 Tbsp. (85g) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
4 oz. (115g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
2/3 cup (130g) sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup (70g) flour
1 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. instant espresso powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup (80g) mini white chocolate chips

Cheesecake swirl:
8 oz. (200g) cream cheese, at room temperature
1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
5 Tbsp. (75g) sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

1. Make the brownies: Line a 9-inch (23cm) square pan with foil, making sure it goes up all four sides. Use two sheets if necessary. Mist with non-stick spray or grease lightly. Preheat oven to 350ºF.

2. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and chocolate over low heat, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat and beat in the 2/3 cup (130g) sugar, then the eggs. Mix in the flour, cocoa powder, espresso and salt, then the vanilla and chocolate chips. Spread evenly in the prepared pan.

3. Make the cheesecake swirl: In a separate bowl, beat together the cream cheese, yolk, sugar, salt and vanilla until smooth. Distribute the cream cheese mixture in 8 dollops across the top of the brownie mixture, then take a dull knife or spatula and swirl the cream cheese mixture with the chocolate batter.

4. Bake for 35 minutes, or until the batter in the center of the pan feels just set. Let cool on a wire rack, then cover and refrigerate for at least an hour or up to overnight. Lift out the foil and peel it away. Cut the brownies into squares.

Storage: These will keep in an airtight container for a couple of days. They also freeze well, too.

Shameless plug alert - my book!

2009-07-16T12:35:00.005-04:00

Oh wow, am I ever excited to talk about this. Here it is, my first cookbook, ta da! It's called "You Made That Dessert?" and it has 100+ recipes, aimed at people who love food but have zero baking experience (many, many of my fabulous girlfriends fit into this category!). So it's written without any recipe jargon, with every step explained very carefully, and there are chapters covering the basics about baking techniques, ingredients, etc. Plus, every single recipe in the book has a photo, which I think is so important for beginners.

Makes a great gift! It comes out Sept. 15, but you can pre-order it now (yes yes, right NOW!) on Amazon, here, or at Barnes & Noble, here.

I had an amazing time developing the recipes and writing the book -- and doing the photo shoots as well, since all the amazing pictures were shot by my incredibly talented husband, Mark. So this book was a labor of love and a family affair. (I was even pregnant with Dylan during the shoots!)

Check it out! I hope you'll pick up a copy (or 2 or 5... :) And I'll let you know when there are events for it both online and in person.

Nectarine-blueberry crumble

2009-07-10T08:59:00.005-04:00

Happy Friday! Well, I made it through my first week back at work, and I'm happy to report that it went well. Of course I missed my sweet baby girl terribly, but I do feel fortunate to have a job at all these days, let alone one I love, working with people I love. Being a working mommy is definitely a challenge, but I'm staying positive that I'm up to the task. Thanks to all of you for your kind words of support!

Anyway -- one of the things I love most about summer is all the delicious, colorful fruit! I can't resist all the pretty berries, juicy peaches, plums and nectarines, and of course, my biggest weakness, cherries. So last night when we had a dear friend over for dinner, I decided to bake up one of Mark's all-time favorite desserts, a nectarine-blueberry crumble.

Now, as you know I love crumbles, crisps, brown betties, grunts -- all those luscious fruit desserts. It's partly the cozy names (who could pass up a warm crumble fresh from the oven??), and also that they're just so simple to make. No pastry dough to mess with -- just cut up some fruit, toss together a few simple topping ingredients, and you've got unbelievable scents coming out of your oven in no time.

I made this one in a pie plate, but it's also lovely in individual ramekins. We didn't have any ice cream on hand (unusual for us!), but a scoop of good vanilla would make this even better.

Enjoy!

Nectarine-Blueberry Crumble
Serves about 6

Topping:
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour (or all-purpose if you prefer)
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
pinch of freshly ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. salt
8 Tbsp. (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold, cut into pieces

Filling:
5 medium-ripe nectarines, sliced about 1/2-inch thick
1 1/2 cups blueberries, picked over for stems
1 1/2 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
pinch of salt

1. Preheat oven to 375ºF. Line a large baking sheet with foil. Mist a 9-inch pie plate lightly with cooking spray.

2. Make topping: In a bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, oats, nuts and spices. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs and holds together in small clumps. (Alternatively, you can pulse all the dry ingredients together in a food processor, then pulse the butter in just to combine.) Place the bowl in the fridge. (You can make this up to 2 days in advance if you like, just keep it covered in the fridge.)

3. Make filling: Place the nectarines and berries in a bowl. Add the cornstarch, brown sugar and salt and stir until the sugar is dissolved and everything is combined. Pour the mixture into the pie plate and spread evenly. Sprinkle the topping over the fruit, distributing evenly.

4. Place the pie plate on the baking sheet and bake until the filling is bubbly and the topping is lightly browned and crisp, about 40 to 45 minutes. Take the pie plate off the baking sheet and place it on a wire rack to cool for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Good morning coffee-cake muffins!

2009-07-04T20:07:00.003-04:00

Hello friends, Happy Fourth! I'm sorry I've been MIA for the last week -- one of my best friends got married on Cape Cod Thursday night, so Mark and I made a vacation of it, visiting his cousins outside Boston for a few days, then driving to the Cape for the wedding festivities. A great time was had by all, including little Dylan, who is a great traveler and was a hit wherever she went!

I promise I will visit all of your blogs in the next few days -- it was nice being away from the Internet for a week, but I have missed checking out all the yummy things you've been creating...

Here we have a lovely batch of coffee cake muffins I made recently when we were invited to my pal Serena's place for brunch. They're rich, buttery, spicy -- everything a coffee cake should be, but in muffin form so you don't have to wait an hour-plus like you would for a whole coffee cake. The recipe comes from a magazine I absolutely love, Cook's Country, slightly tweaked by me.

Enjoy!

One last thing -- speaking of magazines, this vacation marks the end of my glorious maternity leave. I return to work at All You on Monday. Fortunately, I absolutely love my job, and it's a very family friendly environment. So although it's incredibly sad to be leaving my amazing baby girl and I will miss our wonderful days together, I do feel very blessed to have a job and career that is fulfilling to return to. Of course, I will be crying nonstop the entire first week. I'm getting all weepy just writing about it now. So if any of you have words of wisdom for me about being a working mom, finding balance in life, or anything else, I would certainly appreciate it!

OK, on to the muffins...

Coffeecake Muffins
Makes 12

Streusel:
8 Tbsp. sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. cinnamon
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into pieces and chilled
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Muffins:
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup sour cream, at room temperature
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
5 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into chunks and softened

1. For the streusel: Pulse 5 tablespoons sugar, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and butter in food processor until just combined. Reserve 3/4 cup sugar mixture for cinnamon filling. Add pecans and remaining sugar to food processor with remaining sugar mixture and pulse until nuts are coarsely ground. Transfer to bowl and set aside for streusel topping. Do not wash food processor.

2. For the muffins: Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 375ºF. Lin muffin tin with paper or foil liners. Whisk eggs, sour cream and vanilla in bowl. Pulse flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and butter in food processor until mixture resembles wet sand. Transfer to large bowl. Using rubber spatula, gradually fold in egg mixture until just combined. Place 1 tablespoon batter in each muffin cup and top with 1 tablespoon cinnamon filling. Using back of spoon, press cinnamon filling lightly into batter, then top with remaining batter. Sprinkle streusel topping evenly over batter.

3. Bake until muffins are light golden brown and toothpick inserted into center comes out with a few dry crumbs attached, about 22 to 25 minutes. Cool muffins in tin for 30 minutes, then carefully transfer to rack to cool. (The muffins will keep in airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.)

NOTE: This recipe left me with some extra streusel. I covered it and kept it in the fridge, and we sprinkled it on oatmeal. It would also be good over vanilla ice cream.

Daring Bakers do "Bakewell"

2009-06-27T05:00:00.006-04:00

No, it's not a typo -- I mean, yes, the Daring Bakers do bake well, but also, this month's challenge was a Bakewell Tart. Get it? :)

To take care of business:
The June Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Annemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar. They chose a Traditional (UK) Bakewell Tart... er... pudding that was inspired by a rich baking history dating back to the 1800s in England.

I made mine with the recipes provided by our lovely hosts (see below), and filled it with apricot preserves. I didn't make the preserves myself, sadly -- but with a newborn baby, there's only so much baking and cooking I can do at a time!

Having said that, I loved the recipes for both the pastry and the frangipane. In fact, this is my new go-to sweet tart dough recipe! My only complaints about this challenge were my own fault: 1) I used vanilla extract instead of almond, and I found it made the frangipane a bit bland. I think almond extract would have given it the kick in the pants it needed; 2) I used apricot preserves because I love apricot and almond together, but I think raspberry would be just as yummy and would make the tart so much prettier.

But all in all, this was a lovely dessert and I would definitely make it again!

Don't forget to check out what the other Daring Bakers did this month!

Sweet shortcrust pastry
Prep: 20 minutes
Rest: 30 minutes (minimum)

8 oz. all-purpose flour
1 oz. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
4 oz. unsalted butter, cold (frozen is better)
2 large egg yolks
1/2 tsp. almond extract (optional)
1 - 2 Tbsp. ice-cold water

1. Sift together flour, sugar and salt. Grate the butter into the flour mixture using the large holes of a box grater. Using your fingertips only, and working very quickly, rub the fat into the flour until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Set aside.

2. Lightly beat the egg yolks with the almond extract (if using) and quickly mix into the flour mixture. Keep mixing while dribbling in the water, only adding enough to form a cohesive and slightly sticky dough. Form the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Frangipane
Prep: 15 minutes

4.5 oz. unsalted butter, at room temperature
4.5oz. confectioners' sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 tsp. almond extract
4.5 oz. ground almonds
1 oz. all-purpose flour

1. Using an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar for about a minute or until very fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. The batter may appear to curdle -- in the words of Douglas Adams: Don’t panic. Really. It'll be fine.

2. After all three are in, pour in the almond extract and mix for 30 seconds; scrape down the bowl again. With the beaters on, spoon in the ground nuts and the flour. Mix well. The mixture will be soft.

Assembling the tart
1. Place the chilled dough disk on a lightly floured surface. (If it's overly cold, you will need to let it sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes before you roll it out.) Flour the rolling pin and roll the pastry to 1/4-inch thickness, by rolling in one direction only (start from the center and roll away from you), and turning the disk a quarter turn after each roll. Transfer it to a 9-inch round tart pan, press in and trim the excess dough. Patch any holes with trimmed bits. Chill in the freezer for 15 minutes.

2. Preheat oven to 400ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment or foil. Remove the tart shell from the freezer. Evenly spread about 1 cup of thick jam or preserves over the bottom of the tart shell. Top with the frangipane, spreading to evenly cover the entire surface of the tart with an offset spatula, taking care not to mix the jam with the frangipane. Place the tart on the lined baking sheet and bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Five minutes before the tart is done, the top will be poofy and brownish. Remove from oven and sprinkle a small handful of flaked almonds on top [note: I used mini white chocolate chips instead] and return to the heat for the last five minutes of baking. The finished tart will have a golden crust and the frangipane will be tanned, poofy and a bit spongy-looking. Remove from the oven, remove the tart from the baking sheet and let cool on a wire rack.

3. Serve warm, with crème fraîche, whipped cream or custard sauce, if you wish. Or chill to serve cold.

Homemade granola bars

2009-06-22T11:00:00.005-04:00

I have kind of a love-hate relationship with granola/energy bars. The ones I love I REALLY love and probably eat too many of them. And the bad ones? EEEEW.

For me, the yummy ones include Lara Bars, Raw Revolution bars, Greens Plus and Clif Bars (mmm - a clif bar with a tablespoon of peanut butter spread over it... yum...). There are others, but these are my faves. I won't mention the bad ones! But you've probably tried them -- the ones that have miles-long ingredient lists and delicious-sounding flavors (cookies and cream! chocolate brownie indulgence!) but end up tasting kind of gritty and overly sweet but with no discernible flavor.

How about you, what are the on-the-go bars or snacks you love?

Anyway -- so recently I decided to make some homemade granola bars. And while I don't think Lara or any of the others have anything to fear from me, they were really delicious and super-easy to make.

Homemade Granola Bars
Makes about 20

Cooking spray
2 cups quick-cooking oats (I used McCann's quick-cooking steel cut, but regular quick-cooking oats would be good too)
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar (light or dark, doesn't matter)
3/4 cup chopped dried fruit (I used Trader Joe's golden berry blend, which is dried cherries, cranberries, golden raisins and dried blueberries, but you could use just raisins, or any dried fruit)
1/2 cup oat bran
1/3 cup mini white chocolate chips (optional)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped pecans (could use any kind of nut)
1/2 cup oil (I used grapeseed, but any veggie oil would work)
1/2 cup honey
1 large egg
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line a 9-by-13-inch pan with foil and mist foil with cooking spray.

2. In a large bowl, stir together oats, both flours, brown sugar, dried fruit, oat bran, chocolate chips (if using), salt, cinnamon and nuts. In a small bowl, whisk oil, honey, egg, and vanilla until well blended. Pour oil mixture into oat mixture and stir with a wooden spoon or flexible spatula until well mixed (make sure all the dry ingredients are moistened). Press evenly into the foil-lined pan.

3. Bake for 25 minutes, or until the edges are golden. Cool completely in the pan. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour (I covered the pan and left it in the fridge overnight) before placing on a cutting board and cutting into bars. Keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.

My little pumpkin pie

2009-06-21T11:39:00.002-04:00

Here she is, our baby daughter, Dylan! She's 11 weeks old and such a little love. One of my many nicknames for her is "Pumpkin Pie" -- it started as "pumpkin," but since my own mom calls me "Cookie Pie," could "Pumpkin Pie" have been far behind?

I usually wouldn't post pics of her here, since this site is for edible goodies, and Dylan has her own blog, but it's Father's Day, and I thought this was the cutest photo ever, so I thought I'd share it with you and wish all of you and yours a very Happy Father's Day!

Dylan and I made Mark a special breakfast, and we're off to see an outdoor jazz and bluegrass concert (let's hope the weather holds up!). Hope you're all having a wonderful day!

Jumping for Joy's jam cookies

2009-06-17T10:51:00.004-04:00

I was surfing around the food blogs recently when I found this sweet post on Joy the Baker's blog for cherry jam cookies. They looked so pretty and delicious, I decided right then and there that this would be the next treat for my new-mommy's group. Instead of cherry I went with blackberry jam, which turned the cookies purple, but I don't mind -- I think it's kind of fun. I tweaked the recipe very slightly -- but the heavy lifting was all Joy's.

The result? Very nice little cookies with a lovely, not-too-sweet, subtle flavor and slightly cakey texture -- perfect for afternoon tea! They would make nice sandwich cookies too, with more jam or buttercream in-between.

Enjoy!

Joy the Baker's Buttery Jam Cookies
Makes about 35

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. salt
8 Tbsp. (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cups sugar
1/2 tsp. grated lemon zest
1 large egg
2 Tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup thick jam or preserves (I used blackberry)

1. Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Line two baking sheets with parchment.

2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, ginger and salt. Working with a stand mixer, preferably fit with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter, sugar and lemon zest on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and beat for 2 minutes more. The mixture will be satiny. Add the milk and vanilla and beat just to combine. Don’t be concerned if the mixture looks curdled, it will even out. Reduce the mixer speed to low, add the jam and beat for 1 minute more. With the mixer still on low add the dry ingredients and mix only until they are incorporated.

3. Use a small ice cream scoop to portion the dough and place on baking sheets, leaving about an inch between the mounds. Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the pans from top to bottom and front to back at the midway point. The cookies will be only just firm, fairly pale and browned around the edges. Pull the sheets from the oven and allow the cookies to rest for 1 minute, then carefully transfer them to racks to cool to room temperature. Repeat with the remainder of the dough, cooling the baking sheets between batches.

More breakfast treats -- popovers!

2009-06-11T15:18:00.005-04:00

I don't know about you, but I for one am SO happy that the low-carb/no-carb fad has ended (for the most part)... but of course, not before the trend became completely stupid. Low carb Krispy Kreme donuts? Come ON. This is not the road to well-being.

Let's face it -- humans have been eating grains since the beginning of time! I'm a firm believer that carbs (healthy ones -- i.e., whole grains, fruit, veggies, etc.) are not the enemy -- being sedentary and eating too much of ANYthing are!

OK, this is me, climbing down off my soapbox.

So anyway, needless to say we eat pasta, bread and other carby things in our house -- in moderation, of course, and usually whole grain, though sometimes we treat ourselves to, well, treats. We're both very active, and most of the dessert stuff I bake is for events or gifts, we don't sit around eating it -- but as you probably know already, we do enjoy our weekend breakfasts. (And if you offer me a cookie or slice of pie, you know I'm saying yes! Are you offering? Please? :)

So on a recent morning, when I asked Mark what he wanted for breakfast, and he said "popovers," I nearly jumped for joy. I love popovers! And they're ridiculously easy to make, and they're not sweet, so it was a nice change from the usual pancake-waffle-crepe thing we love to do.

One interesting thing -- I made these in 2 muffin tins, one dark/nonstick and one light. I don't know if it was the type of metal, the darkness of the one pan or the shape of the muffin cups, but the ones in the lighter pan came out much lighter and airier. The ones in the dark pan tasted good, but they were much denser and eggier.

We had these with turkey bacon (we love Applegate Farms -- uncured and so delicious!) and fresh fruit, but you could also have them for dinner, a la Yorkshire pudding.

Enjoy!

Buttermilk Popovers
Makes 8

2 - 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
pinch black pepper (optional)
3 large eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk (shake well before pouring)
1/2 cup milk (do not use skim)

1. Preheat oven to 450ºF. Brush 8 cups in 2 muffin tins with melted butter (alternate cups so that none are next to each other).

2. In a bowl, combine flour, salt and pepper (if using). In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, buttermilk and milk. Whisk buttermilk mixture into flour mixture just until blended. Fill the 8 cups about 2/3 of the way with batter. Fill the empty muffin cups with about an inch of water.

3. Bake the popovers for 15 minutes. Without opening the oven door, reduce the temperature to 350ºF and bake for 13 to 15 minutes longer, or until deep golden brown. Serve immediately.

NOTE: I used buttermilk because I had some to use up -- you could just use regular milk if you don't have buttermilk handy.

Chocolate-banana pancakes

2009-06-06T23:30:00.003-04:00

As I've mentioned before, I'm often inspired by my fellow food bloggers. Recently I saw a particularly delectable post on one of my faves, Under the High Chair, for chocolate-banana pancakes. (Aimee of UTHC always has gorgeous photos to go with her sensational recipes -- if you haven't been to her blog, go!)

Chocolate-banana pancakes??? Yes, please!!!

I didn't think Mark would go for it, since he usually doesn't like things that sweet. But to my surprise, he saw me looking at (well, drooling over) the post on UTHC, and said, "WOW, those look great!" Isn't it incredible how you can know someone forever and be married to them and have a baby with them and everything, but they can still surprise you?

So I decided to make my own version of Aimee's yummy pancakes, basically by re-working the banana oat bran pancakes I had made recently to chocolate-ify them. They were yummy! Thanks so much to Aimee for the inspiration!

Chocolate-Banana Pancakes
Makes about 9

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup whole-wheat flour (use whole-wheat pastry flour, if you have it)
1/4 cup oat bran
3/4 tsp. baking soda
pinch of salt
3 Tbsp. honey
1/4 cup milk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 large ripe banana, mashed
1 large egg
1/2 cup plain low-fat Greek yogurt
1/4 - 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 200ºF. In a large bowl, stir together the cocoa, flour, oat bran, baking soda and salt. In a small bowl, mix together the honey, milk, vanilla, banana, egg and yogurt. Add the banana mixture to the flour mixture and stir until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chips, if using.

2. Preheat a skillet or griddle to medium and mist with cooking spray. Drop the batter by 1/4-cupfuls onto the griddle and cook until bubbles form and edges turn golden, about 3 minutes. Flip pancakes and cook until golden on the other side, about 1 to 2 minutes longer. Keep pancakes warm in the oven while you cook the remaining pancakes.

3. Serve with maple syrup (use Grade B if you can). Top with toasted pecans and more sliced bananas, if you like.

PB&J Bars

2009-06-01T17:11:00.003-04:00

Peanut butter? Check. Jelly? Check. Bar cookies? Check. These delicious treats are courtesy of Ina Garten, aka the Barefoot Contessa. I love her, love her show (and I'm not generally a food TV watcher), love her recipes. This one is especially yummy, very decadent, so little bites go a long way. Great for kids and grown-ups alike -- one woman in my mommy group declared them to be, "Sooooooo awesome!" :) I changed the recipe only very slightly -- here's the original.

Enjoy!

Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars
Makes 24

8 Tbsp. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 large eggs, at room temperature
3 Tbsp. milk
1 16-oz. jar creamy peanut butter (recommended: Skippy)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups (18 oz.) seedless raspberry jam

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line a 9-by 13-inch pan with foil and mist it with cooking spray.

2. Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until light yellow, about 3 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add the vanilla, eggs, milk and peanut butter and mix until all ingredients are combined.

3. In a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the peanut butter mixture. Mix just until combined.

4. Spread 2/3 of the dough into the pan and spread over the bottom with damp fingers or an offset spatula. Spread the jam evenly over the dough. Drop small globs of the remaining dough evenly over the jam. Don't worry if all the jam isn't covered; it will spread in the oven. Sprinkle with chopped peanuts and bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool on a wire rack for an hour, then refrigerate for at least an hour or up to overnight. To serve, remove the foil-lined bars, place on a cutting board and cut into squares.

NOTE: The original recipe calls for sprinkling peanuts on top -- I didn't because I didn't have them handy, but I bet it would be delicious. Peanut butter chips would also be yummy.

Chocolate-chip banana bread

2009-05-27T07:58:00.003-04:00

One thing I'm really enjoying about being on maternity leave is connecting with other new mommies. The community we live in (Cobble Hill, in Brooklyn) has many young families -- Mark and I have literally met and befriended people just walking around with Dylan!

One night in the little park next to our apartment building we met another couple with a newborn, and after a few minutes of chatting, the woman invited me to join her new moms' group, which meets once a week. Sometimes we all just hang out at someone's apartment, and other times we invite a speaker, for whom we all split the cost. Last week we had a lactation consultant come to talk with us about how to keep up breastfeeding when we all go back to work, how/how often to pump, etc. It was such great information -- and having the other moms there was especially helpful, since many of them asked questions I wouldn't have thought of, but no doubt would have come up!

And since you can't have a gathering of women without snacks (especially hungry nursing mommies!), I brought this banana bread. This is a great recipe because it uses ingredients we always have on hand -- and we always seem to have bananas in the freezer. I added chocolate chips, but it would be just as good plain, or with nuts, or raisins. Enjoy!

Chocolate-Chip Banana Bread
Makes 1 9-inch loaf

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
8 Tbsp. (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
3 large ripe bananas, mashed
1 Tbsp. milk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 325ºF. Mist a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray. In a small bowl, combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt; stir with a fork to mix well.

2. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light (you could use an electric mixer, but I just did it by hand with a flexible spatula). Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Stir in the bananas, milk and vanilla. Stir the banana mixture into the butter mixture until combined. Add the flour mixture, mixing just until almost combined, then fold in the chocolate chips. Do not overmix.

3. Spoon the batter into the loaf pan and bake for 60 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Place the pan on a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes, then turn the loaf out onto the rack to cool completely.

Triple chocolate cookies

2009-05-21T22:33:00.003-04:00

This week we took our first road trip with our little baby daughter, Dylan (yes, she has her own blog -- she is 7 weeks old, after all!). We went out to Amagansett, on Long Island, in the famous Hamptons. Amagansett is much more low-key than some of the fancier communities, like East Hampton, and that's part of what we love the most about it.

My wonderful boss, Clare, was beyond generous enough to invite us out to her weekend house -- we had lunch with her and her lovely family on Sunday, and then they left us and went back to the city, giving us use of their beautiful house for the week. It was so relaxing and wonderful, being out of the city, in such a pretty setting, watching the wild turkeys in the yard, going for walks, grilling suppers on the terrace. Incredible!

As a thanks, I wanted to bring something sweet, and cookies seemed to be a good way to go. Clare loves chocolate, so that was a no-brainer. But which recipe to use? I remembered a friend saying she loved Martha Stewart's double chocolate cookie recipe -- and though I've generally had mixed results with Martha Stewart's recipes, I figured I'd give it a try (my friend is a great baker and she's usually right about these things).

I am so glad I did! The cookies came out moist and super-chocolatey, on the flatter side but also generously sized and nicely chewy, so they're really satisfying. I tweaked the recipe slightly -- here is the original version (the recipe says it yields 3 dozen, I didn't get that many), below is the one with my changes.

Enjoy!

Triple Chocolate Cookies
Makes about 25

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. instant espresso powder
4 oz. good-quality milk chocolate, coarsely chopped
8 Tbsp. (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 - 2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 325ºF; line a baking sheet with parchment. Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt and espresso powder. Melt milk chocolate with butter in a small heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water; let cool slightly.

2. Put chocolate mixture, sugar, eggs and vanilla in a bowl and beat with a flexible spatula until combined. Gradually stir in flour mixture. Fold in chocolate chips.

3. Using a 1 1/2-inch ice cream scoop, drop dough onto baking sheet, spacing 2 inches apart (this is important, as the cookies will spread quite a bit). Bake until cookies are flat and surfaces crack, 15 minutes (cookies should be soft). Let cool on parchment on wire racks. Repeat with remaining dough. Cookies can be stored between layers of parchment in airtight containers at room temperature up to 3 days.

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins, take 2

2009-05-16T09:19:00.002-04:00

OK, let's try this again. After having a bit of a brain lapse and leaving out the oil the first time I tried these muffins, I went back and gave it another shot. This time I didn't have to stop partway through to nurse the baby (not that I minded that...), but only because she was strapped to me in the Baby Bjorn, fast asleep. I love carrying her around in that thing! It's cozy for both of us, I get a little bit of hands-free time, and she usually sleeps well in it. Everybody wins!

Anyway -- in the end these muffins were ok, not the best, but certainly a fine choice if you're looking for a healthier take on lemon-poppy seed, which can sometimes be pretty greasy, in my experience.

I based it on this recipe from Cooking Light, but I made lots of changes to it. Most notably, I didn't make the syrup, which probably would have helped a lot with the slight dryness and also would have punched up the lemon flavor a bit more. So, hmm, maybe you should try their recipe instead of mine?? :)

Either way, enjoy!

Lemon Poppy-Seed Muffins
Makes 12

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 Tbsp. poppy seeds
2/3 cup sugar
Juice and zest of 1 large lemon
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 8-oz. carton vanilla yogurt (do not use nonfat)

1. Preheat oven to 375°. Line cups of a 12-cup muffin tin with paper or foil liners.

2. In a medium bowl, combine flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt and poppy seeds; stir well. In a separate bowl, whisk together sugar, lemon juice and zest. Whisk in oil, eggs and yogurt until well mixed. Add lemon mixture to flour mixture and stir just until moist.

3. Divide batter into the lined muffin cups. Bake for 15 minutes, or until pale golden and springy to the touch. Let cool on a wire rack in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn out to cool further.

**Note: I froze some of these for "emergency" breakfasts.

Muffin mishap

2009-05-09T12:04:00.003-04:00

Oh boy -- is this baby brain? I made lemon-poppy seed muffins this morning, but got interrupted to feed little Dylan, and when I got back to it I forgot to add the oil. Needless to say, the muffins came out terrible. Oh well -- I will try again in the next day or so and get back to you!

Banana Oat Bran Pancakes

2009-05-02T11:02:00.003-04:00

Weekends mean yummy breakfasts at our place, followed by cuddling on the couch and reading interesting stories to each other from the NY Times. It's a tradition we want to continue with our little baby, Dylan (though for now, of course, she gets the together time, but not the breakfast...). Though the meal is tasty, we also usually try to keep it on the healthy side. In keeping with that idea, I recently made these delicious pancakes, in an effort to use up the ever-present bananas in the freezer, and a box of oat bran that I took home from a photo shoot.

Mark said these were some of the best pancakes he's ever had -- yay! Try them -- and by all means, don't tell the kids they're healthy :) (Sorry for the stock photo -- we gobbled them up too quickly to shoot a pic!)

Enjoy!

Banana Oat Bran Pancakes
Makes about 9

1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup oat bran
3/4 tsp. baking soda
pinch of salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1 Tbsp. honey
1/4 cup almond milk (or soy, or low-fat dairy milk)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 large ripe banana, mashed
1 large egg
1/2 cup plain low-fat Greek yogurt

1. Preheat oven to 200ºF. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, oat bran, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and ginger. In a small bowl, mix together the honey, almond milk, vanilla, banana, egg and yogurt. Add the banana mixture to the flour mixture and stir until just combined.

2. Preheat a skillet or griddle to medium and mist with cooking spray. Drop the batter by 1/4-cupfuls onto the griddle and cook until bubbles form and edges turn golden, about 3 minutes. Flip pancakes and cook until golden on the other side, about 1 to 2 minutes longer. Keep pancakes warm in the oven while you cook the remaining pancakes.

3. Serve with maple syrup (use Grade B if you can). Top with toasted pecans and more sliced bananas or berries, if you like.

Daring Bakers Take on Cheesecake

2009-04-27T08:43:00.004-04:00

It's that time again! This month, the Daring Bakers are making cheesecake, and it's especially fun because we were given a basic recipe and then lots of freedom to get creative. I can't wait to see what delicious creations all the DBers made!

The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge.

I decided, with babies on the brain since I had my little one April 2, to make baby cheesecakes, in a mini-muffin tin. And since I'm pretty sleep deprived these days :) I went for espresso flavor. I'll give you my version of the recipe. Enjoy!

Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake
(as interpreted by CookiePie: Espresso Baby Cheesecakes)
Makes about 24

Crust:
24 Trader Joe's mini "brownie bites" cookies (or other mini cookies that fit into the cups of the pan)

Cheesecake:
2 8-oz. blocks cream cheese, at room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2/3 cup heavy cream, at room temperature
1 1/2 Tbsp. instant espresso powder
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
24 large chocolate drops, for garnish (optional -- I used Ghirardelli bittersweet drops)

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Mist a 24-cup mini muffin tin with cooking spray, or line the cups with paper or foil liners. Place a cookie in each cup, flat side down.

2. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese, sugar and salt until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Make sure to scrape down the bowl in between each egg. Add heavy cream. Dissolve espresso powder in vanilla extract, then stir mixture into cheesecake batter.

3. Transfer batter to a measuring cup with a spout and carefully pour into each cup (you may have a small amount of batter left over). Tap the pan on the counter a few times to bring all air bubbles to the surface. Place a chocolate drop in the center of each cup, if desired. Place the pan onto a sheet pan and place in the oven. Pour hot tap water into the sheet pan until it's about an inch deep.

4. Bake 12 to 15 minutes, until cakes are just firm around edges but still slightly jiggly in centers. Remove muffin pan from sheet pan and place on a wire rack to cool, then cover with foil and refrigerate until cold and firm, at least 1 hour.

Ice Cream Sundae Pie

2009-04-25T07:38:00.004-04:00

It's going to be in the 80s today! Quick post this morning, as I'm typing with one hand, baby in the other :) This yummy pie, from All You, the magazine where I work, is a perfect warm-weather treat. Vary the ice cream or topping flavors to suit your tastes, or try slicing a banana and adding it between one of the layers. Enjoy!!!

Ice Cream Sundae Pie
Serves 8

2 pints vanilla ice cream, softened
1 (9-inch) graham cracker crust
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp. caramel sauce
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp. fudge sauce
3/4 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar

Use a large spoon to scoop 1 pint ice cream into thin, flat scoops, and then spread on bottom of crust. Smooth with back of spoon. Spread 1/2 cup caramel sauce over ice cream. Freeze pie until solid, 30 minutes to 2 hours.

Remove frozen pie from freezer and top with another 1/2 pint ice cream; spread evenly over caramel. Spread 1/2 cup fudge sauce over ice cream. Freeze pie until solid, 30 minutes to 2 hours. Remove frozen pie and top with final 1/2 pint ice cream. Drizzle remaining 2 Tbsp. each caramel and fudge sauce over pie. Freeze pie until solid, 30 minutes or up to 2 hours.

In a medium bowl, whip heavy cream and confectioners' sugar until firm peaks form. Transfer whipped cream to a plastic bag and snip off a 1/4-inch tip with scissors. Pipe whipped cream around edge of pie. Freeze until ready to serve. Serve with additional whipped cream, if desired.

Whole-Wheat Coconut Banana Bread

2009-04-19T21:11:00.006-04:00

I'm often inspired by my fellow food bloggers -- something I see on another blog will give me an idea, or remind me of a flavor or ingredient that I've not thought of for a while. But in the case of this recent post on one of my faves, The Life and Loves of Grumpy's Honeybunch, I wanted to make exactly what Shelby did! As it turned out, I gave it my own spin to suit our needs and tastes, but the inspiration was all Grumpy's Honeybunch. Thanks Shelby!

I wanted the bread to be more of a breakfast item than a sweet snack -- with the new baby, I often wake up starving, but have to get going right away with nursing and such. So I wanted something I could just grab on the go. Also, I was trying out going dairy-free for a few days (my MIL planted a seed in my mind that dairy might make little Dylan fussier, so I put it to the test. Didn't make a difference with her, but I'm glad I tried it), so I made it without dairy. The end result was a nice, moist, flavorful bread that makes a lovely breakfast treat and goes well with a cup of tea, without being too sweet. The whole wheat flour gives it a bit of heartiness too, to fortify you for the morning. Enjoy!

Whole-Wheat Coconut Banana Bread
Makes 1 9-inch loaf

2 cups whole-wheat flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup light coconut milk (shake can well before opening)
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
2/3 cup sugar
3 large ripe bananas, mashed
1/4 cup flaked sweetened coconut

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Mist a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan generously with cooking spray.

2. In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, coconut milk and vanilla until well mixed. Whisk in the sugar and bananas. Fold in the flour mixture just until moist, then fold in the coconut.

3. Pour the batter into the loaf pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes in the pan on a wire rack, then turn out bread and let cool further on the rack.

Cranberry-Chocolate Macaroons

2009-04-12T10:55:00.005-04:00

Happy Easter-Passover, etc., friends! Neither Mark nor I are particularly religious, but we both really enjoy Passover -- probably because there's so much fun stuff to cook! This year, since we're in the throes of new parenthood, our moms made all the food and we had a super-quick, small seder with just Mark, me, our baby daughter Dylan, Mark's parents and my mother. It was really lovely, and both of our moms are excellent cooks, so the food was fabulous!

I'm supposed to be off my feet and resting and all that since the birth, but I'm a pretty fidgety sort, so it isn't easy for me to sit around. I'm doing my best though! So all I did for the seder was contribute dessert, which was these little macaroons. These are not the French macarons, but rather more like coconut meringues. I had some dried cranberries and bittersweet chocolate in the pantry, so I added them too.

Even though these are a traditional Passover sweet, they're simple and tasty enough to make anytime. Enjoy! And happy spring :)

Cranberry-Chocolate Macaroons
Makes about 20

3 large egg whites
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups shredded sweetened coconut
1/3 cup dried cranberries, minced
1/3 cup bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips, chopped (or use mini chips)

1. Preheat oven to 275°F; line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Place egg whites and salt in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until very foamy. Slowly add sugar, continuing to beat until meringue is very thick, about 5 minutes. Beat in vanilla. Fold in coconut, cranberries and chocolate. Drop batter by rounded teaspoonfuls onto baking sheet, spacing about 1 inch apart.

2. Bake macaroons until pale golden outside and dry-looking, about 30 minutes. Turn oven off and leave macaroons in for 45 to 50 minutes longer, until slightly firm. Transfer baking sheet to a wire rack and let macaroons cool. Serve right away, or place on a plate, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for up to 3 days.

The bun is out of the oven!

2009-04-08T09:14:00.004-04:00

Hello friends! My apologies for being MIA from the blog world for the past week. Believe it or not, I have been thinking of you all and missing all of your delicious updates!

But I have been busy, it's true. Mark and I welcomed our precious baby daughter to the world on Thursday, April 2. Dylan Charlotte Russell made her debut at 10:25 p.m., with a fighting weight of 7 lbs. 8 oz., measuring 20.5 inches, and she stole our hearts immediately. Her hobbies so far include eating (well, she is my baby, after all), sleeping (getting better every day), pooping (I won't go into it, ever, I promise!), and being the cutest person in the room.

If you'd like to see more pics of her, and hear about what she's been up to this week, she does have her own blog (of course!): dylan.russelling.com.

Thank you so much for all of your good wishes! I really appreciate it so much. I'll be slowing down on the blog entries and visits to other blogs for a little while, but you'll still see me pop up as much as I can. In the meantime, you're all in my thoughts!

p.s. The brownies were a hit! The l&d nurses loved them ;)

Caramel Brownies

2009-04-02T07:06:00.003-04:00

A couple of months ago, Mark and I took a birth class. We learned a lot of really useful stuff about managing labor pains, how to swaddle a newborn (wow, I better go study those notes again...), and the like. (If you happen to live in Brooklyn and are looking for something like this, we took Sarah Moore's class, and absolutely recommend it!)

One thing that stuck in my mind, not surprisingly, is that the teacher mentioned that some women make treats for the labor & delivery nurses. I really liked that idea -- partially because I like any excuse to make treats, of course, but also because it just seemed like a nice thing to do for some people who probably work really hard. Plus, if there's anyone you really want to be extra nice to you, it's labor and delivery nurses, and I'm not above bribery through treats!

So here they are, a nice batch of caramel brownies for the l&d nurses, baked yesterday. If I don't go into labor today, I'll freeze them until "it's time." :)

Enjoy!

Caramel Brownies
(Adapted from this recipe from Bon Appetit)
Makes 32

12 Tbsp. (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, diced
5 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
2 tsp. instant espresso powder
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 to 1/2 cup dulce de leche

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Line a 13x9-inch metal baking pan with foil; mist foil lightly with cooking spray.

2. In a large saucepan, combine butter and chocolate. Stir over low heat until melted and smooth; remove from heat and let cool for 1 to 2 minutes. In a small bowl, dissolve espresso powder in vanilla; stir into chocolate mixture.

3. Whisk sugar into chocolate mixture until well blended, then whisk in eggs. In a small bowl, mix together flour, baking powder and salt; stir into chocolate mixture. Spread batter in prepared pan. Drop dulce de leche in dollops all over batter. Use the tip of a sharp paring knife to swirl duce de leche into batter, taking care not to scrape the bottom of the pan.

4. Bake brownies until set around the edges, about 27 minutes. Cool slightly in pan on wire rack, about 30 minutes. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour, then cut into squares and serve.

Lemon-blueberry muffins

2009-03-27T23:10:00.004-04:00

Well, our little one is taking its own sweet time in coming out to play, so we're trying to wait as patiently as we can. Meanwhile, I wanted to bake something for our friends Abby and Justin, who came over for brunch last weekend with their baby, Felix, who is a little bundle!

I still had some nice blueberries in the freezer from that batch of pancakes I had made recently, so I thought I'd re-create the lemon-blueberry flavors in muffin form. They came out really nice and even the leftovers held up well for several days. The secret? Heavy cream in the batter -- how can you go wrong, right? :) I think yogurt or sour cream would work equally well -- but in that case, I'd probably swap half of the baking powder for baking soda.

Also, I bet these would be just as good with raspberries, or even a berry combo.

Enjoy!

Lemon-Blueberry Muffins
Makes 12

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole-wheat flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
Zest of 1 medium lemon
1 large egg, at room temperature
1/3 cup heavy cream, at room temperature
1 cup frozen blueberries
2 Tbsp. turbinado sugar

1. Preheat oven to 400ºF and line the cups of a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.

2. In a large bowl, mix flours, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk vegetable oil, brown sugar, lemon zest, egg and cream. Pour cream mixture into bowl with flour mixture and stir just until dry ingredients are moistened. Gently fold in blueberries -- batter will be thick. Divide mixture among muffin cups, then sprinkle with turbinado sugar.

3. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean. Let cool in pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes, then remove muffins to rack to cool further.

Chubby Hubby blondies

2009-03-20T07:19:00.004-04:00

Maybe it's the "nesting" instinct with our baby coming any day now, but Mark and I have been cleaning out our fridge, freezer and pantry a lot lately, making meals out of things we've had stashed there. You know what I mean -- the 1 cup of dry orzo or red quinoa, the odd frozen pieces of lemon sole.

Being the baker in the family, that also means I've had some work to do using up the half bags of ingredients I've accumulated. I mentioned recently a nice package I got from Hershey's, and in fact I had a few goodies from them stashed in the fridge -- most notably part of a bag of milk chocolate chips and part of a bag of peanut butter chips. I thought, why not crush up some pretzels and toss it all into some blondies?

The flavors put together reminded me of Ben & Jerry's Chubby Hubby ice cream, which has a fudge swirl and peanut butter-filled pretzels in vanilla malt ice cream. Oh. My. GOD. Before salted-butter caramels became the trendy way satisfy those sweet-salty cravings, B&J were churning out this insanely delicious ice cream! (If by some tragedy you haven't had this flavor, you must try it. Seriously -- walk away from the computer, and go get some.) So here is my tribute to Ben & Jerry and their masterpiece, in blondie form.

Incidentally, the basis of the blondie recipe is Mark Bittman's -- I doubled it and changed it slightly.

Enjoy!

"Chubby Hubby" Blondies
Makes about 32

16 Tbsp. (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 3/4 cups packed dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
Plus:
You could add anything here -- nuts, dark chocolate chunks, coconut, etc. -- but I threw in about 1 cup milk chocolate chips, about 1 1/4 cups peanut butter chips, and about 1 cup chopped pretzels.

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF; line a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with foil and mist foil with cooking spray.

2. Melt butter and brown sugar in a saucepan over very low heat, stirring often. Remove from heat, scrape into a large bowl, and let cool slightly. When cool, whisk in eggs and vanilla. Stir flour and salt together, then stir into butter mixture. Fold in any add-ins.

3. Scrape batter into pan and spread evenly. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until just set. Let cool in pan on a wire rack. Cover and chill overnight (you don’t have to -- just makes it easier to cut).

Oh, and one more thing: Happy birthday, Derek!!!

Happy Pi Day!

2009-03-15T08:56:00.006-04:00

OK, so I did that really nerdy thing where I celebrated National Pi Day (3.14, get it?) by making a pie. It was fun :) We had a bunch of friends over last night, so I made a big chicken pot pie, and Mark made a yummy salad and some delicious sauteed broccoli. He also made an incredible spicy olive tapenade that we served with crackers and goat cheese -- delish! I would give you the recipe for the tapenade, but Mark is one of those cooks who doesn't use a recipe, just goes through the pantry like a mad scientist and keeps adding and tasting, adding and tasting, until the dish is done. He's amazing that way! I almost always at least start with a recipe, even if I end up changing it (which is what usually happens).

Anyway, for dessert we kept the casual-fun theme going. I made homemade vanilla bean ice cream and a couple of sauces, which we served with toasted nuts and sprinkles -- more on that soon.

Here's the pot pie recipe, adapted from Mitchell Davis' fantastic book Kitchen Sense. If you don't already have this book, get it! Seriously, I've made so many dishes out of this book, and they've all been fabulous. (My apologies for the stock photo -- we were so hungry, we just dug right in and forgot to shoot a pic! But this photo really does look a lot like what we served.)

Chicken Pot "Pi"
Serves 6

2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast (I used a mix of thighs and breasts), cut into 1-inch chunks
12 Tbsp. (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 medium onions, chopped
2 carrots, diced
2 celery stalks, chopped
8 oz. sliced mushrooms
1 tsp. dried thyme (I used herbs de Provence)
2/3 cup frozen peas
Freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup dry sherry
7 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
3 cups chicken stock
1 bay leaf
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
1 recipe biscuit dough or cream cheese pastry (I used cream cheese pastry, recipe below)
1 large egg

1. Preheat the oven to 425ºF; place a sheet of foil on the middle rack of the oven. Lightly mist a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. In a large skillet, melt 5 Tbsp. butter over medium-high heat. Saute the onions until soft, about 4 minutes. Add the carrots and celery and continue sauteing until soft, about 4 more minutes. Add the mushrooms and thyme and cook until the mushrooms wilt and give off their water, about 5 minutes. Add the peas, 1 tsp. salt and pepper to taste; stir for about 1 minute. Pour in 1/3 cup of sherry and stir to scrape up and browned bits stuck to bottom of skillet. Set aside.

2. In a large saucepan, melt 7 Tbsp. butter over medium heat. Stir in flour to make a roux. Cook for 2 minutes, whisking, until fragrant. Whisk in stock, remaining sherry, bay leaf, parsley, 1 tsp. salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for 4 or 5 minutes, whisking often, until thickened. Add the chicken to the pot, bring to a boil, cover, lower heat and simmer for 7 to 8 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. Remove the bay leaf; stir in the cooked vegetables from the skillet. Transfer the mixture to the baking dish.

3. Roll out the dough to a rectangle that's about 1/4-inch thick (I did this between 2 sheets of parchment, but you could also do it on a well floured surface). Drape the dough over the top of the baking dish and trim it so that it has a 1-inch overhang. Roll the edges under and crimp. Beat the egg with 1 Tbsp. cold water and brush on the surface of the dough. Using a sharp knife, make 4 or 5 slits in the top of the dough to allow steam to escape.

4. Place the baking dish on top of the foil in the oven. Bake for 20 minutes. Turn the oven temperature down to 350º and bake for 20 to 30 minutes longer, until dough is deep golden brown and filling is bubbling. Serve hot.

Cream Cheese Pastry
Makes 1 lb. dough
(adapted from Kitchen Sense)

16 Tbsp. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
6 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. herbs de Provence

In a bowl, using an electric mixer at medium speed, beat the butter and cream cheese to blend. Combine the flour, salt and herbs de Provence and add to the cream cheese mixture; work into a smooth dough. Form into a disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate until firm enough to roll out, at least 1 hour.

Cappuccino cupcakes

2009-03-08T19:18:00.002-04:00

I've been wanting to make black-bottom cupcakes for quite a while now -- I saw a recipe a few months back in Cook's Country, and that gave me the urge. But somehow other things have always come first... until a couple of weeks ago, when I got a big package at work from Hershey's with all kinds of baking chips and chocolates and such to sample. Most intriguing to me were the cinnamon chips, which I've seen other bloggers rave about but hadn't yet tried for myself.

I thought it would be yummy to make black-bottom cupcakes -- but instead of the regular cheesecake filling, make it coffee-flavored and throw in some cinnamon chips for a cappuccino twist. So off I went.

Instead of the Cook's Country recipe, I decided to try this one by David Lebovitz, out of his beloved Great Book of Chocolate.

All in all it's a great recipe -- very simple and quick, makes something delicious out of stuff you probably already have laying around in your pantry. One thing I will say is that I liked these cupcakes better refrigerated, rather than kept at room temperature as the recipe instructs. Also, I added some milk chocolate chips to the cupcake batter, and though the cupcakes would have been fine without them, I really liked getting the occasional extra burst of chocolate from a surprise chip here and there. I swapped in coffee instead of water, as the recipe calls for. Oh, and one more thing -- the recipe says it makes 12 cupcakes, but I found that with 12, the cups were filled a little too high and ended up kind of spreading out the sides too much. If I did this over again, I'd probably make 14 or 15 cupcakes out of it.

As for the cinnamon chips, I might be in the minority here, but I just didn't like them. They tasted odd to me, kind of fake. I think the black-bottom cupcakes would be better with just the cheesecake filling, or even with the cheesecake filling flavored with coffee, as I have it -- but next time I would leave out the chips. If you love the cappuccino idea, then go ahead and just add a teaspoon or two of regular cinnamon to the filling mixture.

So here's the recipe, minus the cinnamon chips and with a few other changes -- enjoy!

Mocha black-bottom cupcakes
Makes 14 - 15

Filling:
8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 tsp. instant espresso powder
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Cupcakes:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
5 Tbsp. natural unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup brewed coffee, cooled
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 Tbsp. white or cider vinegar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk or semisweet chocolate chips

1. Make filling: Beat together the cream cheese, sugar and egg until smooth. Dissolve the instant espresso in the vanilla and stir it into the cream cheese mixture.

2. Make cupcakes: Adjust the rack to the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F (175°C). Line a 12-cup muffin tin (and 2 or 3 cups of another muffin tin) with paper muffin cups.

3. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, brown sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the coffee, oil, vinegar, and vanilla. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and stir in the wet ingredients and chocolate chips, stirring until just smooth. Stir any longer and you will over mix the batter and end up with less-than-tender cupcakes.

4. Divide the batter among the muffin cups. Spoon a few tablespoons of the filling into the center of each cupcake, dividing the filling evenly.

5. Bake for 25 minutes, or until the tops are slightly golden brown and the cupcakes feel springy when gently pressed. Let cool in pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then remove cupcakes to rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Lemon-blueberry-ricotta pancakes

2009-03-04T18:10:00.004-05:00

Well, we're in the home stretch for the baby... I'm now at 36 weeks and counting (and waddling -- soooo sexy). This past weekend was our last in terms of busy social activity -- from here on out we're planning on taking things easy and playing it all by ear.

What better way to spend our last real social weekend than to have my pal Heather -- my sister from another mother! -- come to visit from Chicago with her fantastic, hilarious boyfriend, Tim? Needless to say, we had a blast -- I haven't laughed so much in a long time!

Saturday morning Mark and I made breakfast, including these yummy pancakes, which we served with turkey bacon and scrambled eggs. It's based on this recipe from Gourmet, though I made several changes to it. Light, lemony and fluffy, perfect for company, but easy enough to make just for the heck of it. Enjoy!

Lemon-blueberry-ricotta pancakes
Makes about 12

4 large eggs, separated
1 1/3 cups ricotta
1 1/2 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Zest of 1 large lemon
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup frozen blueberries

1. Preheat oven to 200ºF; preheat a griddle to 350ºF.

2. In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, ricotta, sugar, vanilla and lemon zest. Stir in the flour and salt until just combined.

3. In a separate bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until they hold stiff peaks. Fold about 1/4 of whites into ricotta mixture to lighten, then fold in remaining whites gently but thoroughly.

4. Lightly mist griddle with cooking spray. Working in batches, drop the batter, 1/4 cupful at a time, on the hot griddle, spreading it out lightly. Place a few blueberries on each pancake. Cook until the pancakes form bubbles on top, about 2 to 3 minutes, then flip them over and cook about 2 minutes longer, until golden. Place pancakes on a plate and put the plate in the preheated oven. Repeat with remaining batter and berries. Serve pancakes hot, with maple syrup on the side.

Daring Bakers: Romantic Chocolate Cake

2009-02-28T01:00:00.003-05:00

This month's Daring Baker's challenge was a perfect choice -- a delicious flourless chocolate cake, and a homemade ice cream to go with it. Mark and I had already decided to make Valentine's Day dinner at home, so this cake was a lovely finish!

I've made many flourless chocolate cakes before, and though we liked this one, my favorite is still Rose Levy Beranbaum's in The Cake Bible -- but I'm always up for trying a new recipe, and this was certainly fun.

Since it was Valentine's Day, I thought I'd go "spicy," and make a Mexican-flavored chocolate cake, with a dulce de leche ice cream to go with it. Good idea in theory -- but I used Green & Black's Maya Gold chocolate, which was heavier on the orange and lighter on the chili flavor than I would have preferred. Still, in the end it was luscious, and we really liked it. The dulce de leche ice cream is TO DIE FOR and so easy -- always a plus!

Thanks to our hosts for a great choice!

To take cake of Daring Bakers' business:

The February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of WMPE's blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef. We have chosen a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan; a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Dharm and a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Wendy as the challenge.

Chocolate Valentino
Prep: 20 minutes

16 oz. (1 pound) (454 grams) semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped (I used Green & Black's Maya Gold -- but Dagoba Xocolatl might work better)
1/2 cup (1 stick) plus 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
5 large eggs

1. Preheat oven to 375ºF. Put chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water) and melt, stirring often. While your chocolate butter mixture is cooling, butter your pan (I used an 8-inch springform) and line with a parchment circle, then butter the parchment.

2. Separate the eggs put the yolks in 1 medium bowl and the whites in another. Whip the egg whites until stiff peaks are formed (do not over-whip or the cake will be dry). Using a whisk, beat the egg yolks together. Add the egg yolks to the cooled chocolate.

3. Fold 1/3 of the whites into the chocolate mixture and follow with remaining whites. Fold until no white remains without deflating the batter. Pour batter into prepared pan (the batter should fill the pan 3/4 of the way full). Bake for 25 minutes, until an instant read thermometer reads 140ºF. The top of the cake will look similar to a brownie and a cake tester will appear wet. Cool cake on a rack for 10 minutes, then unmold.

Dulce de Leche Ice Cream
(adapted from Gourmet -- online here)
Yield: Makes about 1 1/2 quarts

2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 lb. dulce de leche (about 1 2/3 cups)
1/4 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1. Bring milk and cream just to a boil in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, then remove from heat and whisk in dulce de leche until dissolved. Whisk in vanilla and transfer to a metal bowl. Quick-chill by putting bowl in a larger bowl of ice and cold water and stirring occasionally until cold, 15 to 20 minutes.

2. Freeze mixture in ice cream maker until almost firm.

3. Transfer ice cream to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden, at least 1 hour.

Oatmeal-fudge bars

2009-02-24T14:03:00.002-05:00

Do you ever get obsessed with an ingredient? Right now for me it's oatmeal. I've always loved it as a breakfast food, and of course in cookies, but right now I want to do everything with oats. Recently it was Oatmeal-Banana Pancakes, and now it's these rich oaty fudge bars, which I've been putting together in my head for the last week or so and finally made a reality. I made these last night when I should have been making a decent dinner for Mark, who worked an incredibly long day (I fed the poor guy Annie's mac and cheese), or doing any of the umpteen things I need to do before the baby arrives... but instead, there I was baking. I'd love to use pregnancy as an excuse, but of course this behavior is nothing new :)

So what are your favorite things to do with oats?

Oatmeal-Fudge Bars
Makes 24

Crust:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 cups quick-cooking oats (do not use instant)
16 Tbsp. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted

Filling:
1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk
12 oz. semisweet chocolate chips
Pinch of salt
1 tsp. instant espresso powder
2 tsp. vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with foil; mist lightly with cooking spray.

2. Make crust: In a large bowl, toss together flour, baking soda, salt, brown sugar and oats. Stir in butter. Remove 3 cups of oat mixture and press evenly into bottom of pan.

3. Make filling: Combine condensed milk, chocolate chips and salt in a saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring, until melted and smooth. Remove from heat. In a small bowl or cup, dissolve the espresso powder in the vanilla. Stir into chocolate mixture. Pour chocolate mixture over crust; spread evenly. Crumble remaining oat mixture over filling.

4. Bake bars for 30 to 35 minutes, until just set and lightly browned. Let cool on a wire rack to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (I left it in the fridge overnight and it was really easy to cut the next morning). To cut, use foil overhang to remove bars from baking pan. Place on a cutting board, remove foil and cut into bars.

Secret-ingredient cake

2009-02-20T07:30:00.000-05:00

Here's a fabulous recipe from All You, the magazine where I work. Usually at photo shoots none of us eat much of the food being shot -- but when we shot this cake, we all couldn't stop eating it! It's a simple one-layer cake, perfect for snacking -- and the secret ingredient is cola.

I first was introduced to the idea of soda as a cooking/baking ingredient at 17, when I moved to North Carolina for my freshman year of college (I transferred to USC in Los Angeles after 1 year). I find you don't exactly taste the cola in this cake, but it has a richness and a sweetness that feels familiar but is hard to place. A little goes a long way, and I definitely recommend having a cold glass of milk nearby. But I think it's a perfect afternoon treat.

I'm off to LA this weekend -- Mark and a few of his colleagues were nominated for 3 awards by the Visual Effects Society for their work on the movie Synecdoche, New York. (It's a great film! If you haven't seen it, go see it, or rent it on DVD, I believe it's coming out next month.) I'm technically too pregnant to fly (I'll be 35 weeks on Monday), but I just couldn't miss this event! I'll let you know what happens. Have a great weekend!

Enjoy!

Chocolate Cola Cake with Cola Frosting
Serves: 16
Cost per serving: 36 cents

CAKE:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
12 Tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
2/3 cup cola

FROSTING:
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter
2 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
6 Tbsp. cola
2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 tsp. vanilla extract

1. Make cake: Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9-by-13-inch cake pan. Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs, buttermilk and vanilla.

2. In a pan, combine butter, cocoa and cola; cook over low heat, stirring, until butter has melted. Stir into flour mixture, then whisk in egg mixture.

3. Pour batter into cake pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 35 to 45 minutes.

4. Make frosting: Cook butter, cocoa and cola over medium-low heat, stirring, until butter has melted and ingredients are well mixed. Place confectioners' sugar in a large bowl. Pour cola mixture over sugar and whisk well. Stir in vanilla.

5. Poke holes all over top of hot cake with a fork or toothpick. Pour warm frosting over cake. Let cake cool in pan on a wire rack.

Feels-like-Sunday Oatmeal-Banana Pancakes

2009-02-16T09:23:00.005-05:00

It's President's Day, which normally means a bonus day off and maybe a sale on sheets and towels. But this year it seems to hold a more special meaning, doesn't it?

Along with the political implications, Mark and I are just really enjoying the long weekend together -- he got back last Sunday after a week away in LA, and then the very next day I took off for a business trip to Birmingham, so after all that time apart the extra day is soooo nice.

Normally one of us will make a big breakfast on Saturday or Sunday morning, and we hang out, read the Times, etc. We ended up doing that today -- which felt extra decadent, since it's Monday! :) -- and I decided to make these oatmeal-banana pancakes, based on what we had in the fridge.

Oh -- speaking of the Times! I wanted to share something so great with you. My mom's best friend, Alberta, who is basically my other mom, is one of the coolest, most clever, most hilarious people in the world. Don't believe me? She wrote up a funny anecdote and it got published in the New York Times! It's in the Metropolitan Diary section -- here, the last listing, signed "Allie Tabak." Take a second and read it -- so funny!

OK, back to the pancakes. They're definitely hearty -- almost a cross between a pancake and a muffin -- so they're not for those looking for a light, fluffy pancake. But if you want a tasty, stick-to-your-ribs kind of breakfast, give these a try. With rolled oats and whole-wheat flour, they're also a good source of fiber (and they're really filling, so a little goes a long way). We had orange segments and some chicken sausage on the side. If you like breakfast for dinner, these would be great for that, too.

Enjoy!

Oatmeal-Banana Pancakes
Makes about 9

1 large egg
3/4 cup milk
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil (I used grapeseed)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 large very ripe banana
1/2 cup quick-cooking or old-fashioned oats (don't use "instant")
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. packed dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1. Preheat a griddle to 350ºF. Preheat oven to 200ºF. In a medium bowl, whisk together egg, milk, oil and vanilla. Add banana and mash in well. Stir in oats.

2. In a large bowl, stir together both flours, brown sugar, salt, baking powder and cinnamon. Add the banana mixture to the flour mixture and stir until just combined (do not overmix).

3. Mist griddle lightly with cooking spray. Drop batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto griddle; use a spoon or bottom of measuring cup to gently spread batter out. Cook pancakes until the edges look dry and tiny bubbles appear. Flip pancakes; cook about 1 to 2 minutes longer, until bottoms are golden. Place pancakes on a plate and keep plate in warm oven while cooking remaining pancakes. Serve with maple syrup.