I can't believe that just 48 hours ago I was walking on the beach in South Carolina, breathing the salty air with the foamy surf at my feet. Now, I'm back home in Pennsylvania. Back to laundry and housework. Most important: back to cookies.
For the next week, I will be posting two cookies a day to catch up on my week away. We start with North Carolina:
Moravian Spice Cookies are a traditional recipe of the Moravian Churches in Colonial America. It's a molasses based cookie spiced with just about every spice in your spice cabinet. It's traditionally rolled out very thin to produce a crispy wafer. They are particularly delicious with a little vanilla ice cream.
North Carolina Moravian Spice Cookies
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup molasses
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups all-purpose flour
In a small saucepan, melt butter over low heat until the butter turns light brown. Add molasses, brown sugar and oil, stirring until sugar is melted and mixture is well combined. Transfer to a mixing bowl and let cool for 5 minutes.
Sift together flour, baking soda and spices. Add to butter/molasses mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, and beat until just blended.
Wrap dough in plastic wrap and flatten into a disk. Let dough rest at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours before rolling.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Divide dough in half and rewrap the unused portion. Roll out the dough on a floured surface as thin as possible, less than 1/16 inch. Cut out cookies with a small 2-inch cutter and place them about 1/4 inch apart on parchment lined baking sheets.
Bake one sheet at a time for 8 to 10 minutes or until the cookies are crisp and just beginning to brown on the edges. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Friday, August 6, 2010
Wish you were here...
The bags are packed.
The car is loaded.
The kids are excited.
For the next nine days I will be taking a short break from cookies as we take a family vacation to South Carolina.
I will return to blogging on August 16th with two cookies a day to get me caught up.
See you then!
The car is loaded.
The kids are excited.
For the next nine days I will be taking a short break from cookies as we take a family vacation to South Carolina.
I will return to blogging on August 16th with two cookies a day to get me caught up.
See you then!
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Cookie #52 - New York Black & Whites
Growing up in the suburbs of NYC, black & white cookies were one of my favorites. There was a local bakery that made the best B&W's. The cookie was thick and cakey. The chocolate frosting was smooth and soft and the white frosting was sweet and crispy.
Many people have their own methods for eating a B&W. Some eat right down the middle to get both the chocolate and vanilla in every bite. Some eat one side first, and then the other. I fell into the latter category. Since the white was my favorite, I'd often eat the chocolate first, so I could savor the white.
Since moving to PA, I've found it difficult to find a really good B&W. This recipe comes pretty darned close to that cookie from my childhood. The recipe is from Epicurious. I have to be honest. When I first tried this recipe some time ago, it didn't quite work out. I'm not sure if maybe I was stressed or having a bad day, but they just didn't turn out. This time they were close to perfect. I toyed with the idea of frosting the entire cookie with just the vanilla. How awesome would that be? However, I stayed true to the recipe and made true B&Ws.
New York Black & Whites
from Epicurious
For cookies
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup well-shaken buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup (5 1/3 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
For icings
1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 to 2 tablespoons water
1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
Make cookies:
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Stir together buttermilk and vanilla in a cup.
Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes, then add egg, beating until combined well. Mix in flour mixture and buttermilk mixture alternately in batches at low speed (scraping down side of bowl occasionally), beginning and ending with flour mixture. Mix until smooth.
Spoon 1/4 cups of batter about 2 inches apart onto a buttered large baking sheet. Bake in middle of oven until tops are puffed and pale golden, and cookies spring back when touched, 15 to 17 minutes. Transfer with a metal spatula to a rack and chill (to cool quickly), about 5 minutes.
Make icings while cookies chill:
Stir together confectioners sugar, corn syrup, lemon juice, vanilla, and 1 tablespoon water in a small bowl until smooth. Transfer half of icing to another bowl and stir in cocoa, adding more water, 1/2 teaspoon at a time, to thin to same consistency as white icing.
Ice cookies:
Turn cookies flat sides up, then spread white icing over half of each and chocolate over other half.
*Note: my camera battery is dead again this evening. It is 100% my fault, as I didn't turn the camera off after I took my last set of pics. Sigh... I will charge the battery overnight and post pictures of my black & whites tomorrow.
Many people have their own methods for eating a B&W. Some eat right down the middle to get both the chocolate and vanilla in every bite. Some eat one side first, and then the other. I fell into the latter category. Since the white was my favorite, I'd often eat the chocolate first, so I could savor the white.
Since moving to PA, I've found it difficult to find a really good B&W. This recipe comes pretty darned close to that cookie from my childhood. The recipe is from Epicurious. I have to be honest. When I first tried this recipe some time ago, it didn't quite work out. I'm not sure if maybe I was stressed or having a bad day, but they just didn't turn out. This time they were close to perfect. I toyed with the idea of frosting the entire cookie with just the vanilla. How awesome would that be? However, I stayed true to the recipe and made true B&Ws.
New York Black & Whites
from Epicurious
For cookies
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup well-shaken buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup (5 1/3 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
For icings
1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 to 2 tablespoons water
1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
Make cookies:
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Stir together buttermilk and vanilla in a cup.
Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes, then add egg, beating until combined well. Mix in flour mixture and buttermilk mixture alternately in batches at low speed (scraping down side of bowl occasionally), beginning and ending with flour mixture. Mix until smooth.
Spoon 1/4 cups of batter about 2 inches apart onto a buttered large baking sheet. Bake in middle of oven until tops are puffed and pale golden, and cookies spring back when touched, 15 to 17 minutes. Transfer with a metal spatula to a rack and chill (to cool quickly), about 5 minutes.
Make icings while cookies chill:
Stir together confectioners sugar, corn syrup, lemon juice, vanilla, and 1 tablespoon water in a small bowl until smooth. Transfer half of icing to another bowl and stir in cocoa, adding more water, 1/2 teaspoon at a time, to thin to same consistency as white icing.
Ice cookies:
Turn cookies flat sides up, then spread white icing over half of each and chocolate over other half.
*Note: my camera battery is dead again this evening. It is 100% my fault, as I didn't turn the camera off after I took my last set of pics. Sigh... I will charge the battery overnight and post pictures of my black & whites tomorrow.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Cookie #51 - New Mexico Bizcochito
Yet another cookie that I may add to my Christmas cookie repertoire!
The first time I ever heard of bizcochito was in a Food Network special that featured Santa Fe Biscochitos, a small company that sells the traditional cookie. Bizcochito is a thin, crisp cookie flavored with anise and cinnamon. Traditionally, they're served at special occasions, like weddings and christenings, or at religious holidays, like Christmas. They're very seldom known outside of New Mexico and it's a damn shame because these are some good cookies.
This was the first time I had worked with anise seed. I have used star anise in the past to flavor things like mulled wine, but never the actual seeds. I must say the seeds themselves are quite deceptive. You must grind the seeds first and then sift them to remove the hulls. For every tablespoon of anise seed you probably get about a teaspoon of actual ground anise. Allow me to give you a visual:
This is what you get:
The first time I ever heard of bizcochito was in a Food Network special that featured Santa Fe Biscochitos, a small company that sells the traditional cookie. Bizcochito is a thin, crisp cookie flavored with anise and cinnamon. Traditionally, they're served at special occasions, like weddings and christenings, or at religious holidays, like Christmas. They're very seldom known outside of New Mexico and it's a damn shame because these are some good cookies.
This was the first time I had worked with anise seed. I have used star anise in the past to flavor things like mulled wine, but never the actual seeds. I must say the seeds themselves are quite deceptive. You must grind the seeds first and then sift them to remove the hulls. For every tablespoon of anise seed you probably get about a teaspoon of actual ground anise. Allow me to give you a visual:
This is what you get:
And this is what you waste:
I was able to find anise seed relatively inexpensively at my grocery store - about $3 for a package. The flavor the ground anise brings to the cookie is so worth it.
Then there's the cinnamon sugar topping. The recipe says to wet the cookie dough before sprinkling on the cinnamon sugar. With my first batch, I used a pastry brush and brushed each individual cookie and sprinkle the cinnamon sugar on top. When I finished the first sheet of cookies, I looked at the huge ball of dough I still had to roll and cut and knew that wasn't the way to go. So, I got out my squirt bottle I use to moisten the oven when making pastry and filled it with water. Then I got out my small sieve I use for powdered sugar dusting. I misted the cookies and went over them with the sieve full of cinnamon sugar. Easy peasy!
I cut my cookies into star shapes because that was the first cookie cutter I grabbed. Traditionally, the cookies are cut into a fleur-de-lis. I didn't have such a cutter and my search of local retailers came up empty handed. I didn't have time to order one online, but if you desire, you can do so from Sur La Table.
When rolling out the cookies, the recipe I used called for the dough to be rolled out to 1/2" thick. I initially thought that was a bit thick for a cookie that is described as "thin and crispy." I rolled the next batch slightly thinner at 1/4" and they were perfect.
New Mexico Bizcochito
6 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons ground anise seeds (grind whole seeds in a spice mill and sift)
2 2/3 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
Cinnamon topping:
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
Cream butter, shortening and sugar together until light. Add egg, egg yolk and anise seed; mix until well combined.
Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Gently fold the flour into the butter mixture until just combined. Do not over mix and do not beat the dough. Divide the dough into four portions and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Flatten into disks and place in refrigerator for at least 45 minutes.
While the dough is chilling, stir together the cinnamon and 1/2 cup sugar. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
Roll out dough in small portions on a lightly floured work surface. Be sure to keep unused portions of dough chilled until you're ready to roll them. Cut out cookies with your cutter of choice and place on parchment lined baking sheets about 1" apart. (If your kitchen is particularly warm, you may want to chill the dough for a few minutes before placing in the oven.)
Using a spray bottle, moisten the cookies with water and top them with the cinnamon sugar mixture. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until they are lightly golden. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.
Apparently these cookies will keep very well if tightly covered - several weeks even. However, once you taste them, I can assure you they won't last that long!
Cookie #50 - New Jersey Cranberry Pinwheels
New Jersey isn't all about the shore, big hair and "the situation." Not everyone GTL's. New Jersey is a beautiful state. When my husband and I were dating, we'd take long Sunday drives through Warren, Morris and Hunterdon counties taking in the beautiful scenery. They don't call it the "Garden State" for nothing.
Then there's beautiful Cape May with it's beautiful beach and historic Victorian homes.
Then there's Atlantic City and of course the rest of the Jersey Shore. When I was growing up, my family, like many other families in our area, always vacationed on the Jersey shore every summer. Our destination was always Wildwood, but there's Ocean City, Long Beach Island, Point Pleasant and Seaside Heights. I have many memories of the boardwalk and the beach. The pizza and the saltwater taffy. The ring of the bells in the arcade and the rapid "tick-tick-tick" of the prize wheels. Oh, how I miss those summers.
New Jersey is also known for it's cranberries, ranking third among all the states in cranberry production. My favorite cranberry preparation, I'm sorry to say, is cranberry sauce. In a can. With the ridges from the can still on the cylinder sitting on a plate. I love it. I could eat it by the can. My husband, not such a fan. In fact, he never really had it growing up. My mother-in-law now buys it special, just for me, at Thanksgiving and I think I'm the only one who actually eats it.
These cookies use dried cranberries. They're tart and sweet and chewy - such a different flavor from the loaf of cranberry gelatin. The dried cranberries are mixed with some finely chopped almonds and a little orange zest and then rolled up in a rich butter cookie, sliced and baked until golden. I just think these cookies are so pretty - before and after baking. I could easily see these being added to my ever growing Christmas Cookie arsenal.
Cream butter and sugar. Mix in egg and vanilla until well combined. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Add to butter/egg mixture and stir until just combined. Form into a flattened disc and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 45 minutes (or freeze for 15).
Then there's beautiful Cape May with it's beautiful beach and historic Victorian homes.
Then there's Atlantic City and of course the rest of the Jersey Shore. When I was growing up, my family, like many other families in our area, always vacationed on the Jersey shore every summer. Our destination was always Wildwood, but there's Ocean City, Long Beach Island, Point Pleasant and Seaside Heights. I have many memories of the boardwalk and the beach. The pizza and the saltwater taffy. The ring of the bells in the arcade and the rapid "tick-tick-tick" of the prize wheels. Oh, how I miss those summers.
New Jersey is also known for it's cranberries, ranking third among all the states in cranberry production. My favorite cranberry preparation, I'm sorry to say, is cranberry sauce. In a can. With the ridges from the can still on the cylinder sitting on a plate. I love it. I could eat it by the can. My husband, not such a fan. In fact, he never really had it growing up. My mother-in-law now buys it special, just for me, at Thanksgiving and I think I'm the only one who actually eats it.
These cookies use dried cranberries. They're tart and sweet and chewy - such a different flavor from the loaf of cranberry gelatin. The dried cranberries are mixed with some finely chopped almonds and a little orange zest and then rolled up in a rich butter cookie, sliced and baked until golden. I just think these cookies are so pretty - before and after baking. I could easily see these being added to my ever growing Christmas Cookie arsenal.
New Jersey Cranberry Pinwheels
Cookie:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
Filling:
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tbsp milk
1/2 cup chopped dried cranberries*
1/2 cup finely chopped almonds
1 tbsp finely grated orange zest
Cream butter and sugar. Mix in egg and vanilla until well combined. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Add to butter/egg mixture and stir until just combined. Form into a flattened disc and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 45 minutes (or freeze for 15). In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and milk.
In another small bowl, combine cranberries, almonds and orange zest.*
Remove dough from the fridge and sandwich the disc between two pieces of waxed paper. Roll out into a rectangle, about 12" by 6" and 1/4" thick (the size of the rectangle isn't that important, but the thickness of the dough is). Remove top piece of waxed paper and discard. Spread brown sugar and milk mixture all over the dough, leaving a 1/4" border around all edges. Spread cranberry nut mixture on top of the brown sugar and disperse across the dough evenly.
Starting at one long side of the rectangle, roll the dough up, using the waxed paper to help you. Once the roll is complete, use your finger to press the seam closed and wrap the log in the waxed paper. Seal the ends tightly and transfer to the fridge for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Remove roll from fridge and cut into 1/4" thick slices using a serrated knife. If the cookies are crumbling under your knife, allow the roll to sit out for a few minutes before slicing. The the roll is flattening under your knife, return the the fridge for a few more minutes to allow it to set a bit more.
Place the slices about 1" apart on parchment lined baking sheets and bake for 10-14 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown. Allow to set for a few minutes on the sheet pan then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
*I initially tried adding the whole dried cranberries and nuts to the food processor to chop them. The cranberries clumped around the blade and didn't get a good dice. Instead, I chopped them by hand and pounded the nuts in a freezer bag until finely ground.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Working it out....
This weekend, I watched several episodes of the show "Rachel Allen - Bake!" on Cooking Channel. Rachel Allen is an Irish celebrity chef. Her show has three segments - one where she teaches you a recipe, one where she teaches her cooking students and one where she goes out and learns about a certain type of baked good, ingredient or cooking method.
There was one thing I noted as I was watching her show - she didn't use an electric mixer. Instead, she creamed the butter and sugar by hand. The sound of the spoon hitting the bowl and the softened butter mixing with the sugar and then the egg and the flour - it was captivating for some reason.
I decided at that point that I would try to use my mixer as little as possible. The cookies I've made for this week were all made not using my beloved KitchenAide. I was amazed at how in touch you get with your ingredients when you cook this way. You get an entirely different feel for the batter. I think it really helped me not over mix the batters and cream the ingredients just right. The result: some of the best cookies I've ever baked.
So, I encourage you to get in touch with your inner baker. Unplug that mixer and grab a wooden spoon. You won't be sorry - just make sure your butter's softened!
There was one thing I noted as I was watching her show - she didn't use an electric mixer. Instead, she creamed the butter and sugar by hand. The sound of the spoon hitting the bowl and the softened butter mixing with the sugar and then the egg and the flour - it was captivating for some reason.
I decided at that point that I would try to use my mixer as little as possible. The cookies I've made for this week were all made not using my beloved KitchenAide. I was amazed at how in touch you get with your ingredients when you cook this way. You get an entirely different feel for the batter. I think it really helped me not over mix the batters and cream the ingredients just right. The result: some of the best cookies I've ever baked.
So, I encourage you to get in touch with your inner baker. Unplug that mixer and grab a wooden spoon. You won't be sorry - just make sure your butter's softened!
Cookie #49 - New Hampshire Pumpkin Cookies
New Hampshire's state fruit is the pumpkin. New Hampshire loves their pumpkins so much that the town of Keene holds a Pumpkin Festival every October. In 1992, the festival set the world record for the most jack o'lanterns lit at one time - 1,628! That's a lot of pumpkins! But, wait! The festival topped their own record 7 more times. The current record holds at 29,762 pumpkins! Here's a photo from the Pumpkin Festival - check out the wall of lit pumpkins!!
Photo from http://www.pumpkinfestival.org/
Pumpkin is one of my favorite things to bake with. When fall comes, I can't wait to buy my local grocery out of canned pumpkin (I've yet to try to roast and puree my own). The smell of pumpkin bread, cake, cookies, muffins and pie fill my kitchen every weekend. Last year, at our town's farmer's market, I won the Scarecrow Festival Pumpkin Bake-Off with my Gingerbread Pumpkin Mousse Trifle. I was so stinkin' proud of myself, I think I walked on air for the remainder of the day.
Enough with the pumpkin love fest - onto the cookies.
These cookies encompass all I love about pumpkin baking. The moisture the pumpkin adds, the warmth of the spices and the sweetness of the sugar. I think these cookies would be pretty darned awesome with a cream cheese frosting....a caramel cream cheese frosting....a cinnamon caramel creem cheese frosting! Yum!! Alas, I didn't have cream cheese in the fridge, so I left my cookies naked. To be honest, they don't need a frosting - they're quite yummy the way they are.
Pumpkin Cookies
Photo from http://www.pumpkinfestival.org/
Pumpkin is one of my favorite things to bake with. When fall comes, I can't wait to buy my local grocery out of canned pumpkin (I've yet to try to roast and puree my own). The smell of pumpkin bread, cake, cookies, muffins and pie fill my kitchen every weekend. Last year, at our town's farmer's market, I won the Scarecrow Festival Pumpkin Bake-Off with my Gingerbread Pumpkin Mousse Trifle. I was so stinkin' proud of myself, I think I walked on air for the remainder of the day.
Enough with the pumpkin love fest - onto the cookies.
These cookies encompass all I love about pumpkin baking. The moisture the pumpkin adds, the warmth of the spices and the sweetness of the sugar. I think these cookies would be pretty darned awesome with a cream cheese frosting....a caramel cream cheese frosting....a cinnamon caramel creem cheese frosting! Yum!! Alas, I didn't have cream cheese in the fridge, so I left my cookies naked. To be honest, they don't need a frosting - they're quite yummy the way they are.
Pumpkin Cookies1 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground clove*
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Cream butter and sugar together until smooth. Add egg and mix well. Mix in vanilla and pumpkin until well combined.
In a medium bowl, sift together the remaining dry ingredients*. Add the flour to the butter pumpkin mixture and stir until just combined.
Drop by tablespoons full onto parchment lined baking lined baking sheets. Bake for 8-10 minutes until set. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
*a word about the cloves. I always freshly grind my cloves. The problem with this is my spice grinder doesn't really get a nice find grind and I end up with slightly larger pieces of clove. When I first started doing this, I thought it was going to be a reall problem, so I'd sift them out. Then, one day I just said "screw it!" and I threw a half teaspoon of my roughly ground cloves into a pumpkin mousse. What a difference! The clove flavor was fantastic and you didn't get any grit or chomp down on a piece of clove. So, when I make these cookies, I do NOT sift the cloves with the rest of the dry indredients. Of course, this whole issue could be resolved by buying pre-ground cloves, but what fun is that?
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