It’s sexy and it knows it

Am I the only one who finds the “wiggle wiggle wiggle wiggle” part of that song oddly (and probably inappropriately) hilarious? Yes? Okay then.

I had some hazelnuts that needed to be used. AND I figured that I’ve branched out enough lately that it just might be okay to return to my baked good of choice: bars.

And these? Are like an afternoon in Sienna in late spring; simultaneously sunny, decadent and more than a little sexy.

Brown sugar shortbread forms a lovely base. What’s that I hear? The theme music for a Misanthropic digression? So, see those shoes I’m wearing in the photo below? They were prototypes for what became You by Crocs. Just one of the perks of having a husband who scores strange and wonderful swag on a regular basis (as a note, he usually gives me the women’s shoes. Most of the time).

Anywho. Let’s boil some honey shall we? Don’t scrimp on this part, use the orange blossom honey the recipe calls for. The result is a beautiful floral note that plays ridiculously well with the hazelnuts and chocolate.

Hazelnuts go into the caramel. So does the candied orange peel. Of which, I had none. Even without it, the orange flavor comes through the with honey and fresh orange peel. These will be made again during the holidays with candied orange peel. Oh yes, they will.

Everything goes back into the oven until bubbly.

And here is where I diverged from the original recipe. As you’ll see below, the original instructs you to cut the squares then dip the edges in melted chocolate.

I thought it would be prettier to drizzle drizzle drizzle drizzle. Drizzle, drizzle, drizzle, drizzle.

Then cut.

Wrapped in a cellophane bag and orange ribbon, these would make a lovely gift to anyone needing a little love.

Soundtrack

No soundtrack this week. In its place, I offer an alternate ending below.

Chocolate Dipped (or drizzled) Hazelnut Caramel Squares

Bon Appetit, December 2010

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) plus 6 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2/3 cup sugar
6 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup orange blossom honey
2 teaspoons finely grated orange peel
5 ounces hazelnuts, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup chopped candied orange peel
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate (do not exceed 61% cacao), chopped

Special equipment: candy thermometer

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°. Line 13 x 9 x 2-inch metal baking pan with foil (or parchment). Mix flour, brown sugar, and salt in processor 5 seconds. Add 3/4 cup butter; using on/off turns, process until coarse meal forms. Transfer to pan; press firmly and evenly onto bottom of pan. Bake crust until golden, about 20 minutes. Maintain oven temperature.

Bring 6 tablespoons butter, 2/3 cup sugar, cream, honey, and finely grated orange peel to boil in heavy small saucepan, stirring until sugar dissolves and butter melts. Boil until candy thermometer registers 230°F, about 6 minutes. Stir in nuts and candied orange peel.

Spoon hot nut mixture evenly over crust in pan. Return to oven and bake until entire surface is bubbling, about 10 minutes. Cool 20 minutes. Using foil as aid, lift cookie from pan. Carefully peel foil from edges. Cut warm cookie into 1 1/2-inch squares. Cool cookies completely.

Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or waxed paper. Melt chocolate in small metal bowl set over saucepan of simmering water until warm to touch. Remove bowl from over water. Dip corner or edge of each cookie in melted chocolate and place on prepared baking sheet. Chill until chocolate is set, about 1 hour. DO AHEAD: cookies can be made up to 3 weeks ahead. Store in airtight container in freezer. Bring cookies to room temperature before serving.

ALTERNATE ENDING

Back it up to the part where the pan comes out of the oven. Let the entire pan cool to room temp. Melt chocolate over a double boiler or very slowly in the microwave on 50% power, whisking in between turns in the oven. Once chocolate is completely melted, drizzle over the entire lot in the pan (be generous). Let chocolate set until completely hardened. Remove entire block from pan (it will easily pop-out). Cut. Enjoy.

Because returning from a holiday in the middle of the week is, well, brutal

Today, because yesterday was the 4th, we’re going nice and easy.

A little Belgium pearl sugar. Or maybe confectioner’s.

Deceptively delicious. They’ll make having to return to work on a Thursday almost okay.

Soundtrack

Scissor Sisters. The Kitchen Gods love ’em. Oh, and of course, there was dancin’ today.

Brown Sugar Crinkle Cookies

Ingredients

1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 cup shortening
3 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
6 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
6 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt

Directions

In a mixing bowl, cream butter, shortening and sugars. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture (the dough will be soft).
Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 in. apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Flatten with a glass dipped in sugar. Bake at 350 degrees F for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool for 2 minutes before removing to wire racks.

This will show those berry-American flag cakes who’s boss

So, did you volunteer to bring dessert to the annual fourth of July [insert you choice of event here]? Did you maybe slack a little with the sign-up? Maybe you were distracted by the return of True Blood or the College World Series. And, in your distraction, did your next-door-neighbor or maybe your Aunt Janet steal the decorated-by-berries-to-look-like-an-American-flag cake, pie or tart slot?

Well then, I have a party cake for you. Five words: pistachios, limes, angel food cake.

Still with me? If you’ve never made angel food cake, you need to try. It’s really fun. And this one starts with 10 egg whites (Hint: use the yolks to make ice cream).

A little cream of tarter will help to stabilize the meringue.

As will a little sugar. Follow the instructions and repeat after me: one tablespoon at-a-time.

As you may have guessed at this point. Or maybe you already knew. Angel food cake gets its light and airy texture from a volumous and glossy meringue. And this meringue? Is decorated with lime zest.

The tenatious texture of the batter and the need to be really careful when transferring to your tube pan (so as not to deflate the whole mess) may have you momentarily wonder what you’ve gotten yourself into. Not to worry. You’ll see.

See, I told you the cake would turn out.

And here is the fun part–the cake cools…inverted. If you are using a tube pan like I did, it probably has some handy little spikes that allow you to invert. If not, a bottle should work.

While the cake hangs-out, it’s time to attend to the pistachios. I hand-shelled the ones in this recipe. It took a long time. Then I learned that you can buy pistachio “meat” at specialty and health food stores. I found them at Sprouts. So, pistachios get a nice fine chop.

And then those zested limes? The juice is made into a syrup.

And this is when the angel food cake gets dressed to party. Paint on the syrup, smush-in chopped pistachios. They’ll stick, I swear!

The original recipe calls for a little simple glaze, but, I love the green of the pistachios and didn’t think this cake needed anything more.

Light and refreshing with just enough zing from the lime to make you pucker a little and enough crunch from the pistachios to add intrigue. Now, whose having us over for the fourth?

Soundtrack

Did you know that Pandora has a Kate Spade channel?

4th of July Partay Cake

aka Lime Angel Food Cake with Lime Glaze and Pistachios, yawn

Bon Apetit, April 2010

Ingredients

Cake:

1 cup cake flour
1 1/2 cups superfine sugar, divided
1/4 teaspoon salt
10 large egg whites, room temperature
2 teaspoons finely grated lime peel
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cream of tartar

Lime syrup and lime glaze:

1/2 cup sugar
4 tablespoons fresh lime juice, divided
1/2 cup unsalted raw pistachios (about 2 ounces), finely chopped in processor
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Special equipment: 10-inch-diameter angel food cake pan with 4-inch-high sides and removable bottom (do not use nonstick pan)

For cake:
Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Sift flour, 1/2 cup superfine sugar, and salt into medium bowl; repeat sifting 3 times. Using electric mixer, beat egg whites, lime peel, and vanilla on medium speed in large bowl until frothy (mixture may turn neon green but color will change when remaining ingredients are added). Add cream of tartar; increase speed to high and beat until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining 1 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time, beating until stiff peaks form. Sprinkle 1/3 of flour mixture over whites and gently fold in until incorporated. Fold in remaining flour mixture in 2 more additions just until incorporated. Transfer to ungreased 10-inch angel food cake pan with 4-inch-high sides and removable bottom (do not use nonstick pan); smooth top.

Bake cake until pale golden and tester inserted near center comes out clean, about 38 minutes. Immediately invert cake onto work surface if pan has feet, or invert center tube of pan onto neck of bottle or metal funnel and cool cake completely.

Using long thin knife, cut around cake sides and center tube to loosen. Lift out center tube with cake still attached; run knife between cake and bottom of pan to loosen. Invert cake onto rack, then turn cake over, rounded side up. Set rack with cake atop rimmed baking sheet.

For lime syrup and lime glaze:
Combine sugar and 3 tablespoons lime juice in small saucepan; stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Brush syrup all over top and sides of cake. Immediately press pistachios onto top and sides of cake, pressing to adhere.

Stir powdered sugar with remaining 1 tablespoon lime juice in small bowl until smooth. Drizzle glaze over top of cake. Let stand until glaze sets, about 10 minutes. DO AHEAD: Cake can be made up to 1 day ahead. Cover with cake dome and store at room temperature.

Transfer cake to platter; cut into wedges and serve.

Roasted what?

In early April, TD and I went up to Morro Bay to kayak for a long weekend. Hurricane-like winds kept us from that activity (too bad we don’t kite-surf) so we found ourselves wandering the back roads of Paso Robles (at least inland the wind was a little warmer), sampling the wine and seeing what kind of trouble we could get ourselves into. One morning we had breakfast at a little place in town. TD’s meal came with the muffin of the day which happened to be strawberry. Of all the fruits I’ve baked with, I couldn’t think of a single time I’d included strawberries in the actual baking part (sauces don’t count). This is probably because strawberries can be incredibly watery–which can make the baked-good unappealingly soggy.

However, last summer’s peach cake got me thinking. What if one were to roast the strawberries first? Hmmmm. Of course, research demonstrated that someone had already thought of it several times over and I had a plethora of recipes to choose from.

I’ll tell you–if you like strawberries, you’ve got to try roasting them. As my kitchen filled with an aroma that would drive the Purple Pie Man to violence, my imagination conjured up multiple uses for these little gems beyond mere muffins. As you see, they shrivel a bit and the flavor becomes intensely concentrated (berry concentrated if you will). Sort of like strawberry shrinky-dinks.

Back to the muffins. These would be really fun to make with kids. The recipe is very tactile and forgoes modern equipment for fingers and simple instruments. The batter starts with sugar and lime zest that are rubbed together until the sugar is damp (yes, we’re back to lime sugar). The other dry ingredients are then added to the sugar mixture.

Riccota cheese, melted and cooled butter and eggs are whisked together and then added to the dry ingredients. And here is the trick–mix the batter as little as possible. Here we are at 12 folds.

And here at 18 folds. Time to carefully fold-in the roasted strawberries. Eighteen–that’s all you need. I promise.

The dough will be incredibly thick–so much so that I actually stopped and review the recipe just in case I’d forgotten any of the wet ingredients. Nope.

These are aethsetically beautiful muffins. The batter takes on a nice golden hue that is contrasted by the deep pink berries and little flecks of lime zest.

As I’ve mentioned before, I happen to think it’s a crime to zest a lime and not use the juice. Here, I used tit with just enough confectioner’s sugar to create a thin glaze to dress up the muffins just a tad. This is a slightly sophisticated breakfast treat and would be beautiful at a brunch buffet.

Soundtrack

I admit that I often stack several recipes on a Saturday and power-through three or four at a time. While an efficient use of time, it takes much of the relaxation out of the process and I often feel disconnected from what I’m doing. The Sunday I made these I had the luxury of focusing on a single recipe. Paired with some Hooverphonic, I was reminded of how fortifying working with my hands and concentrating on one thing at a time can be. I need to do it more often.

Roasted Strawberry and Ricotta Muffins

Adapted from Vanessa Higgins

Ingredients:

For muffins

2 cups medium strawberries
3/4 cup ricotta
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
10 Tbsp. butter melted and cooled, divided
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. lime zest
2 cups flour
2 tsp.baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda

For glaze

Juice of one lime
1/4-1/2 C confectioner’s sugar depending on desired consistency

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Gently wash and cut strawberries into quarters. Place berries on a cooling rack, seeds-side-down over a sheet pan. Bake until strawberries are partially dried, about 45 minutes. Let cool.
Increase oven to 400 degrees. Brush a 12-mold muffin tin with 2 Tbsp. melted butter. Set aside.
In a bowl, whisk together ricotta, eggs, and vanilla. Stir in remaining butter.
In a large bowl, use your fingertips to rub together sugar and lime zest until sugar is moist. Mix in flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Use a spatula to gently but quickly fold ricotta mixture into dry ingredients. Don’t overwork it. The batter will be thick and heavy. Stir in strawberries and spoon batter evenly into muffin tins. Bake until tops of muffins are golden and springy to the touch, about 20-25 minutes.
Out of the oven, allow muffins to cool 5-10 minutes, remove from tin.
In a small bowl, squeeze-in juice from the lime. Begin by adding 1/4 C confectioner’s sugar and stirring until smooth. Add sugar until desired consistency is reached. Drizzle over muffins.

When the hipsters are right

In a town full of hipsters, I am decidedly not. I don’t have a cool fedora or any tatoos. The last time we went out in Hollywood, TD and I were home by 10:30 (uhm, P.M.). I think cocount water tastes like spit. Despite the fact that I love Jud Apatow and think Lena Dunham is talented, every time I watch Girls all I can think is, ‘good gravy, just wash your hair…all of you’. Well, maybe that last one just means I’m old. I don’t Tweet because I am so not interesting enough. So yeah, if hipsters are cool, I’m pretty much the opposite.

We do share one thing in common, the cool kids and me: food. One of my favorite hipstery places is Huckleberry in Santa Monica. Despite its hipsteriness (or maybe because of it), I dig the whole vibe. So of course, I want to emulate it. And now I have and you can too because a couple of years ago Zoe Nathan (she of Huckleberry creation) published her recipe for salted caramel squares in Food & Wine.

It starts with a shortbread base (see…I was trying to be all hipster and instagrahmy with the artsy fartsy picture).

So that the shortbread does not puff, the recipe instructs it be weighed-down with pie weights. I use beans to the same end.

Be sure to line the unbaked cookie with parchment before adding the weights. I’ve done it the other way. More than once. Not good.

While the shortbread browns, it’s time to get down to the business of making caramel. Two pots: one with cream and vanilla bean, the other with sugar and just enough water to make you doubt whether the whole thing will work.

But it will.

This is a two-step process. After the sugar reaches a certain temp, the cream is added and then brought up to a final soft-ball stage. The last step: salt (they call for kosher, I used fleur de sel).

The finished caramel is poured over the golden shortbread. And then, into the fridge. For what seems like an interminable about of time.

This is what was going on in the other room while I was making the caramel. Despite our lack of, ney, anti-hipster household, we have made the jump to the new iPads. In my App downloading glee, I somehow procured a game for cats. Yeah, I know. In the game a life-like mouse skitters across the screen and if you “catch-it” it squeeks. I showed it to the Kitchen Gods one time. That’s all it took. Now, no matter where they are in the house, if I turn on the game (it has little mouse squeeks in the background), they come running. In fact, they only have to see the iPad to come running. Suddenly, everything thing from Flipboard to Words with Friends is a cat game. Nice.

Oh yeah, we were making something weren’t we? Okay, once the caramel has set, the entire slab gets pulled-out by the overhanging edges of parchment. Then cut.

I have to admit, if standing in line ease-dropping on all of the hipster conversations wasn’t so much fun, I’d proclaim that I no longer needed Huckleberry. Because these? Are legit.

Soundtrack

Elliott Smith. Kind of introspective for making molten-hot caramel sauce, but what do you do?

Salted Caramel Squares

Zoe Nathan as published in Food & Wine July 2010.

Ingredients

Pastry Shell

1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 large eggs, beaten
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 large egg white, beaten

Caramel

2 1/4 cups heavy cream
1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 3/4 sticks unsalted butter
2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°. Line a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on the short sides.
In a large bowl, using a handheld mixer at low speed, cream the butter. Beat in the confectioners’ sugar. Add the whole eggs and beat until incorporated, then beat in the flour and salt. Press the pastry into the prepared pan in an even layer, 1/4 inch thick. Freeze until firm, 10 minutes.
Line the pastry with parchment paper and fill with pie weights. Bake for 35 minutes, until just set. Carefully remove the pie weights and parchment. Brush the shell with the egg white and bake for 20 minutes longer, until golden and cooked through. Let cool.
In a saucepan, bring the cream, vanilla bean and seeds to a simmer. Cover; keep warm.
In a large, heavy saucepan, stir the sugar into 1/4 cup of water. Simmer over moderate heat, without stirring, until a deep amber caramel forms, 7 minutes.
Remove the caramel from the heat and carefully add the cream. When the bubbling subsides, stir in the butter. Insert a candy thermometer and cook over moderately high heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the caramel reaches 240°, 10 minutes. Discard the vanilla bean and stir in the salt. Pour the caramel over the shell. Refrigerate until firm, 4 hours or overnight; bring to room temperature. Remove the bar from the pan using the parchment overhang; cut into squares.
TMH note: these will keep well for a few days in the fridge. While solid, the caramel will soften and attempt to slip over the sides of the squares if left at room temp.

A pico de salsa

In our household, salsa is a food group. We eat it on everything. And while there are as many types of salsas as there are things to put it on, during the summer months, pico de gallo is on the list of things made weekly in my kitchen. Pico is a salsa of the uncooked variety. Pico can be made many ways. Here is how I do it.

Simple ingredients: tomato, purple onion, garlic, jalapeno, lime, salt, pepper and cilantro.

And, it starts as many salsas do, with tomatoes. For pico de gallo, I like to use firm roma tomatoes. This salsa version is a little more polite than others (and by that, I mean, less saucy). For this reason, I like to cut the tomatoes in half, give them a squeeze to release the seeds, and let them drain for a few minutes. For your salsa making needs, I suggest investing in a tomato corer. Well worth the $2.50 (and can secretly be used on large strawberries if you please).

Once, the tomatoes have drained, rinse out your strainer and start chopping. For a medium roma tomato, I like to cut each half into three ring, remove the middle, slice in half, and cut into smallish squares. You can go larger or smaller as desired. Two tidbits here. First, after chopping your tomatoes, return them to the strainer and sprinkle over 1/2-1 tsp salt. Then, toss and let drain for another 5 minutes. This not only seasons your fruit (yes, they are a fruit), it also helps to release additional juice. Second nugget: use your tomatoes…and your taste buds to gauge the ratio of the remainder of your ingredients. Personally, I like to add half as many onions as I have tomatoes.

I like using purple onion because they’re pretty. Use white or yellow if you prefer. And, please, learn how to cut an onion. It’ll help you win friends, impress potential clients and shorten your prep time immensely (for the record, I cut horizontally first, then vertically).

Now things start to heat up a bit. When cutting hot peppers (like jalapeno), I’ve conceded and use a plastic glove on the holding hand (or the reverse side of the plastic bag they came in). For years, I put up with burned fingers, chalking it up to overly sensitive skin. Then, one day, TD and I were watching Jamie Oliver make salsa in that ridiculous garden of his and he mentioned that while peppers don’t bother him, they burn his wife. Apparently, peeling skin wasn’t enough to convince me I should protect myself, but a celebrity endorsement was. I think I’ve lived in Los Angeles too long.

Anyhow, wear protective gear as desired. I like to add half of a large jalapeno (seeds and ribs removed) for every two cups of tomato. Adjust your quantities to your preferred heat levels.

Next up: garlic. I like to use the rasper to sort of melt the garlic into the other ingredients. I find it helps to better distribute the flavor and reduces the risk of running into a “hunk of raw garlic” while eating.

Three more very important ingredients plus seasoning. First two: the zest and juice of a large, ripe lime. Then, about half of a cup of chopped fresh cilantro. Now I know cilantro is a controversial and polarizing herb. People tend to love it (me) or outright detest it. There is actually some evidence that we humans may be genetically predisposed one way or another. If you happen to be one of the poor, disadvantaged variety for whom cilantro tastes like soap, leave it out (and seek help, there are a bevy of support groups out there for you).

Salt and pepper as desired.

Next comes the hardest part of all. Once all ingredients have been mixed together, cover your dish, put it in the fridge and let the flavors marinate for at least a couple of hours. Trust me on this part.

Soundtrack

Ozomatli’s in the house, you should know that by now.

Pico de Gallo

Ingredients

6 firm (but brightly colored) roma tomatoes
1/2 purple onion
1/2-1 jalapeno pepper (depending on how brave you are)
1 large or 2 regular cloves of garlic
1 large lime (you’ll use both the zest and the juice)
1/2 C chopped, fresh cilantorsalt and pepper to tastes

Directions

Core and halve tomatoes. Squeeze tomaotes to loosen seeds. Let rest in mesh strainer for five minutes, shaking strainer occasionally to release juices.
Chop tomatoes to desired size. Return to mesh strainer and salt as desired gently shaking strainer to release additional juice and seeds.
Chop purple onione (chop should be the same size as the tomatoes). Add both onion and tomatoes to a medium bowl.
Rasp garlic into tomatoes and onions, While you are at it, zest the lime into the mixture. Then add lime juice.
Donning protective gear (if you are a wimp like me), halve jalapeno. Remove ribs and seeds. Chop them into a small dice. Add as desired.
Chop cilantro, add to rest of ingredients along with salt and pepper to taste.
MIx gently until well-combined. Cover and let rest in the fridge for at least two hours (over night is a good call).

Monsters in my mouth

I’ve already bored you with stories of our fall camping trips, now let’s move to early summer. Most years growing up, our first two weeks of summer break were spent in the Sierra Nevadas. As a very young child, we would camp in an incredibly remote area called Jackass Meadows. This was boil-your-water use the outhouse sort of camping. It was called Jackass Meadows because of the wild horses. And the campers. At some point my parents switched to Twin Lakes. Often during these trips family and friends would join us. And always, there were lots of kids. We’d roam the woods, rivers and lakes like a troupe of scabby-kneed outlaws, our parents providing only one set of instructions: return at dusk. Not before.

On such adventures, we’d stuff a couple of monster cookies in our pockets. You know, provisions. I have no idea why monster cookies have such a scary name, perhaps because they are often big. Maybe they are the jabberwokcky’s baked good of choice.

A couple of years ago I asked my mom for the recipe. She claimed to no longer have it. So, I did some experimenting. I failed. And pretty much forgot about it. Until a couple of weeks ago when I was thinking about those trips (and how many bears there were…and how stupidly unafraid of them I was).

So I tried another recipe.

Don’t let the oatmeal and peanut butter fool you. The dough is just really a candy-delivery mechanism.

Hearty, stick to your ribs, good energy for afternoon-long games of ditch.

And sticky.

So, I finally figured out the secret to great monster cookies. You need to let them rest on their parchment until cool before attempting to remove. Otherwise, they fall completely apart.

Soundtrack

Beastie Boys. Yes, I realize I’m just like everyone else.

Monster Cookies

Paula Dean (I felt bad for taking a jab at her in last week’s post)

Ingredients

3 eggs
1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 12-ounce jar creamy peanut butter
1 stick butter, softened
1/2 cup multi-colored chocolate candies
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup raisins, optional
2 teaspoons baking soda
4 1/2 cups quick-cooking oatmeal (not instant)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats.

In a very large mixing bowl, combine the eggs and sugars. Mix well. Add the salt, vanilla, peanut butter, and butter. Mix well. Stir in the chocolate candies, chocolate chips, raisins, if using, baking soda, and oatmeal. Drop by tablespoons 2 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Do not overbake. Let stand for about 3 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool. When cool, store in large resealable plastic bags.

These also freeze incredibly well!

Hey sugar, how about a lime?

I decided to try this recipe just so I could have an excuse to make lime sugar.

I know, right?

I used a citrus zester because I like to live a little dangerously and risk peeling half my thumb when zesting limes. You could easily remove lime peel with a sharp pairing knife. I also think a microplane rasper would work as well (though it would change the texture of your final product). Once your limes are zested and said zest is chopped, then there is grinding. With sugar. Sounds dirty doesn’t it?

The result is fantastic. Lime sugar is like WD40. One product, many uses. Want a little extra zing to your margarita? Rim your glass with lime sugar. Want glowing skin? Just add coconut oil and you’ve got a fresh sugar scrub. I could go on for days.

In this instance however, we’re making cookies with it. Sugar cookies to be exact.

In the original recipe, the dough is rolled into a log and chilled. I was feeling a little frisky and decided to roll-out mine using this fail-proof method. One note here, this dough is much softer than a traditional cut-out cookie dough. For this reason, chill well, cut-out quickly and then re-chill the shaped dough before it goes into the oven.

After cutting-out the flowers, I dipped each in superfine sugar for some added texture. These would also do well iced. They are simple but pack a nice punch of flavor. Lovely with an iced-tea on a summer’s day.

Soundtrack

Vampire Weekend. To me, this band is like all the good things of summer rolled-into one. Their music makes me want to pop my polo collar, throw off my shoes and wiggle my toes in the sand. With one exception. Unlike Vampire Weekend, I do give a f&*k about the Oxford Comma. Well, insofar as I detest it. Serial comma? More like serial killer of my patience. Why anyone would think it necessary to punctuate before an obviously terminal conjunction is beyond me.

Lime Sugar Cookies

Gourmet, July 2000

Ingredients

3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
2 tablespoons cold vegetable shortening
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup lime sugar (see below for instructions)
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions

Beat together butter, shortening, granulated sugar, and 2 tablespoons lime sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together over egg mixture, then beat on low speed until just combined.
Form dough into a 10-inch log (2 inches in diameter) on wax paper, then wrap in wax paper. Chill dough until firm, at least 4 hours. Alternately, roll-out dough between two sheets of parchment or wax paper. Chill until firm and cut-out as desired. Dough can be re-rolled but will need to be chilled in-between (dough is very soft).
Preheat oven to 375°F.
Remove wax paper and cut log into 1/4-inch-thick rounds. Bake cookies 1/2 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets in batches in middle of oven 10 to 12 minutes, or until pale golden. Immediately transfer with a metal spatula to a rack set over a sheet of wax paper and sprinkle tops with remaining lime sugar. Cool cookies.

Lime Sugar

6 limes
2 1/4 cups sugar

Remove zest from limes in strips with a vegetable peeler (or zester or pairing knife) and cut away any white pith from zest (pith imparts a bitter flavor). Chop zest (about 1/2 cup), then grind in a food processor with sugar until mixture is pale green with bits of zest still visible.
Misanthropic Hostess note. Now you are left with 6 naked limes that will quickly go South if you don’t use them immediately. So what do you do when life gives you limes? You make lime simple syrup for warm weather cocktails. Juice your limes and combine 1/2 C of water with 1 C of sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly until sugar is dissolved. When mixture reaches boiling, turn off heat and add lime juice (and any extra lime zest you might have). Store in a covered container in the fridge.

Because summer is for loafing

Due to a leap year and some unusual academic scheduling, it just happens to be summer in my world. Of course no one told that to the intermidable marine layer that hangs around my little neck of the woods (to be fair, it does disapate at around 2:00 each afternoon. Of course it returns again at 3:00). But still, it’s summer. Even if it doesn’t feel like it. So, I’m celebrating now because by the time real summer rolls around in the lovely South Bay, students will be once again moving into the residence halls.

So then, let’s start the summer with a little loafing. I came across this recipe for a cream cheese butter cake while researching another recipe. Now, I know I have at least one other butter cake recipe on this blog but this one had to be made. I simply couldn’t imagine what cake with not only butter but cream cheese would taste like. Heaven? Nirvana? Paula Dean if you licked her arm?

True to its name, this loaf recipe starts with about 1 1/2 cups of butter and another cup of cream cheese.

If it makes you feel any better, all that dairy does go into two loaves.

And what comes out of the oven is beautifully buttery golden.

I knew that if the cake tasted anything like I’d imagined, we were going to need a acidy to counterbalance the heft of the crumb. Enter fresh strawberries, some lemon juice, a little sugar and some heat.

This recipe is solid and would stand up well to whatever summer fruit you’d like to throw at it.

Soundtrack

I can’t stop listening to the Glee version of Shake it Out. Don’t really understand it myself.

Cream Cheese Butter Loaf

Ingredients

3 C all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 C butter, softened
1 8oz package cream cheese, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
6 large eggs

Directions

Preheat oven to 325. Grease and line with parchment, two loaf pans.
Sift together flour and baking powder, set aside.
Using a stand mixer, cream together butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add-in sugar and beat an additional 3-5 minutes.
Beat-in eggs one-at-a-time.
Gently fold-in flour until just combined. Divide batter between pans. Place pans on a jelly roll pan.
Bake until inserted toothpick comes-out with crumbs.
Allow to cool on racks for 10 minutes. Run a butter or table knife around the edges of each cake. Gently remove and allow to cool completely on wire baking racks.

Strawberry-Citrus Sauce

Ingredients

1 1 /2 lbs strawberries, cleaned and halved.
1/2 C sugar
2 TBS lemon or orange juice
zest of 1 lemon (or half a navel orange)

Directions

Combine all ingredients into a heavy-bottom sauce pan. Simmer strawberries over medium heat until sauce reduces and becomes thick, 5-10 minutes. Allow sauce to cool. If desired, blend some of the sauce, leaving some strawberry chunks for texture. Store in sealed container in the fridge.

You had me at browned butter

I’m always on the lookout for a good chocolate chip cookie variation. So, when I came across one that included browned butter I said, ‘yes please and thank you.’ To add to the sophistication (this isn’t your kindergartner’s chocolate chip cookie), I added toasted walnuts and used super dark chocolate chunks.

Not a lot of process photos here because, well, browned butter isn’t very attractive on its own and at its core, this recipe follows basic chocolate chip cookie protocol (go here if you really need additional photos on how to make this cookie).

Two notes. Browned butter will form some sediment during the delicious smelling browning process. To keep this out of the dough I strained the cooled butter before using. Second, I prefer to toast my nuts in a pan rather than in the oven so that I can keep an eye on them (I know, I know). Heat a large pan over medium head, add nuts tossing occasionally until the start to smell toasty.

Soundtrack

….aaaaaand we’re back to Coldplay.

Browned Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies

I get a weekly recipe email for Southern Food from Diana Rattray. Who knows why I get the email but I always look at the recipes…mostly because I am amazed by what people eat in the South (at least according to Diana Rattray and Paula Dean). This recipe is adapted from one of those weekly emails. Who knew?

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter, browned and slightly cooled
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, room temp
1 large egg yolk, room temp
2 TBS milk
1 TBS vanilla
2 1/4 C all-purpose flour
1 TSP baking soda
1 TSP kosher salt
2 C dark chocolate chunks (chips would do as well of course)
I C toasted walnuts or pecans, roughly chopped (about the same size as your chunks or chips)

Directions

To brown butter, heat in a saucepan over medium heat until the butter begins to simmer. Continue cooking, stirring, just until butter begins to turn golden brown, about 4 to 5 minutes. Pour off into a measuring cup or bowl, leaving darkest sediment behind. Let the butter cool to room temperature.
While butter is browning, toast nuts in a pan on the stovetop or in the oven (350 degrees about 10 minutes). Let cool, chop roughly.
In a large mixing bowl with electric mixer, beat the browned butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add egg and egg yolk, milk, and vanilla. Beat on low speed until well blended.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the egg and butter mixture, mixing on low speed, until a soft dough forms. Scrape the bowl a few times. Stir in the chocolate chunks/chips and walnuts. Cover and chill for about an hour.
Heat the oven to 375°. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Using a cookie scoop, drop balls of dough onto parchment, allowing about 2 to 3 inches in between the cookies.
Bake for 6 to 10 minutes, until browned around the edges. Cool completely and transfer to an airtight container for storage.
Makes about 4 dozen cookies, depending on size.