Lemon Lovers' Lemon Bars

These are the lemon bars I’ve been craving! I always loved my mom’s recipe, which is virtually identical to the one in my red Betty Crocker cookbook. However, as my tastes and preferences have changed, I outgrew the classic. The shortbread crust is delicious, but it loses its crisp, flaky texture so quickly. There wasn’t much I could do about that, but mostly I just wanted more lemon.

Some people like the shortbread layer and the lemon curd layer of a lemon bar to be roughly equal in size. I have no objection to that, but I personally want a thick, soft lemon layer and just enough shortbread to provide a sturdy base. Two weeks ago, I made a version that contained more lemon than the classic version, but it still wasn’t quite enough. I also used Meyer lemons, which were surprisingly bad for this particular recipe. Their signature lack of tartness takes away that tangy acidic quality that I feel is essential to a good lemon bar.

Looking for a method for lemon bars with a thicker lemon layer, I stumbled on Smitten Kitchen’s version of Ina Garten’s lemon bars. Ina packs her bars with sugar, but the woman created an impressive lemon layer that you can see in Deb’s great photos. Ina’s version, however, used too much flour for my personal comfort. I didn’t want anything remotely cakey, but I knew the flour definitely contributed to the bars’ great height.

I also used this recipe on Cookie Madness for inspiration, which uses comparatively little sugar and must make a wonderfully tart bar. I took ideas from both recipes, as well as the classic Betty Crocker version and came up with something I really love. These bars still have plenty of buttery shortbread, but they have more filling than the average bar and are very lemony. One key to the flavor is lemon sugar. It’s an extra step that you have to do one day ahead, but it’s ridiculously easy and so totally worth it. It also requires you to finely chop the zest in a food processor, so you won’t end up chewing on any stringy bits of zest in the finished bars. And if you love lemon, the fragrance of the sugar (not to mention a fabulous dessert) will be your reward.

I’m sending this post to Helen of Tartelette, who is hosting Sugar High Friday this month. The theme is citrus sweets, so if you’re in the mood to make something a bit more exotic than lemon bars, you’ll find tons of inspiration when she posts the round up toward the end of the month.

Lemon Lovers’ Lemon Bars
The lemon sugar must be made one day ahead--see step one of the recipe. If you don't have time, just use one cup of plain sugar and 1 to 2 tbs. zest when you mix up the filling. Also, note that you must lower the oven temperature after baking the crust.

Makes 12 or 16

For crust:
3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into chunks and chilled

For filling:
1 cup granulated sugar
zest of 3 lemons
1/4 cup plus 2 tbs. all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
1/2 cup plus 1 tbs. lemon juice (3 to 4 lemons)

1. Make the lemon sugar: In a food processor, combine the granulated sugar and lemon zest; pulse several times, until zest is very fine. Transfer to a shallow container or baking sheet and let sugar dry out at room temperature for several hours. Cover and chill overnight.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat an 8 x 8 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray or line with nonstick foil. In a food processor, combine flour, powdered sugar and salt; pulse a few times to blend. Add the butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some pea-size chunks of butter still visible. Transfer the crumbly mixture to the baking dish and press into the bottom and sides of the dish with your hands. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes, or until lightly golden around the edges. Lower oven temperature to 325 degrees.

3. Meanwhile, whisk together the lemon sugar, flour and salt. In a separate bowl, lightly beat the eggs, then whisk in the lemon juice. Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until thoroughly combined. Pour the lemon mixture over the hot crust, return to oven and bake for 28 to 33 minutes. The center should be set, but still gooey when poked with a toothpick. Cool completely, at least two hours. Sift powdered sugar over the dish, cut into 12 or 16 bars and serve. To store, cover and chill.

Derby Day Brownies with Bourbon-Soaked Raisins

Let me start by saying that putting raisins in brownies is not something I would normally do. With a few notable exceptions (chocolate dipped strawberries come to mind), I don't usually like chocolate and fruit together. When I came across a brownie recipe with raisins that actually sounded appealing, I had to embrace that feeling and give it a try.

I am usually a little late with getting holiday or themed recipes on the blog--for example, I forget St. Patrick's Day was right around the corner and missed my chance to make some green pistachio cookies I wanted to try. Last weekend, Mike mentioned that the Kentucky Derby is coming up on May 3rd, so I made a mental note to blog about an appropriate, preferably bourbon-laced, recipe since the Mint Julep is the official derby drink.

The brownie recipe, from Baking by Dorie Greenspan, called for raisins soaked in dark rum, and right away I thought of switching it up to bourbon. Thus, I could complete a derby-themed recipe and indulge my current preoccupation with brownie-making. As it turned out, you can't really detect the bourbon in the final product, and the raisins--while a nice change of pace--were a little distracting to both me and Mike (despite the handful of semisweet chips I sprinkled on top because I felt a need to balance the fruit with even more chocolate). The raisins sort of got in the way of an otherwise really great brownie. On the other hand, if you like chocolate and dried fruit, you'll really like this.

The recipe produces a thick, moist (but not wet), fudgy brownie. I used fine quality bittersweet chocolate (Lindt 70%), as specified; great chocolate makes a great brownie. I also liked the addition of cinnamon in this recipe, and I raised the quantity to 1/4 teaspoon, which created a slightly spicy, but not overpowering, flavor that gives these brownies added interest. This is a nice recipe, so if you want to go with a derby theme sans raisins, just skip that part, tip in a shot of bourbon and you're good to go!

Fudgy Brownies with Bourbon-Soaked Raisins
Adapted from Baking by Dorie Greenspan

This recipe calls for bittersweet chocolate, so I would look for something with a 65 to 75% cocoa content. I love cinnamon and always have a fresh, potent Vietnamese variety on hand (Spice Islands found in most supermarkets makes a good one); if your cinnamon isn't very strong or past its prime, add a little extra or replenish your supply.

Makes 16 brownies

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 12 pieces
1/3 cup raisins
1 1/2 tablespoons water
1 1/2 tablespoons bourbon
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
scant 1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Mint leaves for garnish (optional)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Butter an 8-inch square baking dish, line with foil and butter foil; or use nonstick foil and skip the butter.

Put the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and microwave on medium power for 1 minute; stir thoroughly. Microwave again for 15 to 20 seconds and stir. Repeat, if necessary, until chocolate is just melted (don't let it get too hot and watch it closely to avoid burning). Set aside.

In a small saucepan, combine raisins, water and bourbon; bring to a simmer and cook 2 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Whisk together the flour, salt and cinnamon.

In a large bowl, combine the eggs and sugar and beat on medium speed until thick and pale, about 2 minutes. Add chocolate mixture and beat on low speed until just combined. Add flour mixture and beat on low speed for 30 seconds (flour won't be completely incorporated). Finish mixing in the flour by hand with a rubber spatula. Fold in the raisins along with any liquid in the saucepan. Scrape the batter into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle chocolate chips over the top and press slightly into the batter with a flat hand.

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes (mine took 57 minutes), or until top is dry and crackled and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean (a few moist crumbs is good; wet means it's not done yet). Cool on a wire rack. Use the edges of the foil as handles and lift brownies out of baking pan. Transfer to a cutting board and cool completely (alternatively, refrigerating brownies makes them easy to cut if you don't mind chilling them). Cut into 16 squares.

Pear-Almond Tart

I bet a lot of you are recovered from any Easter celebrations by now. If so, you will want to try this excellent pear tart that I made for Easter. I, on the other hand, am in recovery from a weekend of delicious meals at my favorite Boston restaurants. Here's some of the things Mike and I ate over our anniversary celebration weekend:

- Shabu shabu plus skewered hardboiled quail eggs wrapped in pork belly
- Fried New England-style clams with a side of steamed broccoli (it's all about balance)
- The gorgeous antipasto platter plus a great carbonara at my favorite Italian restaurant
- The best pad Thai and Drunken Noodle
- Exquisitely delicious and creative Mediterranean Middle Eastern food here
- Shanghai-style dim sum
- Tapas

It was a long weekend, okay. And it wasn't actually gluttonous. We don't order too much when we go out, and we do tons of walking and jogging along the Charles. The worst thing about the weekend, nutrition wise, was probably the coffee and donuts from where else that we ate for breakfast more than once.

So, I'm taking it easy this week with my oatmeal for breakfast, tuna sandwiches for lunch and healthy dinners, heavy on the vegetables. If the air-conditioning in the building had not gone unexpectedly down today, I would be making soup. But with the moist 80 degree indoor temperature, I'm craving something light and really spicy...hmmm.

Despite my healthy resolve, I have no trouble talking about how good this pear and almond tart is. From my beloved Gourmet, a magazine that really appreciates the food art form known as the tart, this one is both beautiful and delicious. The key is a custard made with pear brandy, or what's apparently known in the Alsace region of France as eau-de-vie.

Just 2 1/2 tablespoons of brandy may not seem significant, but you really can taste it. It sets the tart apart and complements the low level of sweetness with a more complex, mature flavor. It is the kind of thing you would want after an elaborate meal because it's so light and worthy of the indulgence.

The recipe appealed to me because of this lightness and because we always have Belle de Brillet, a gorgeous pear cognac, in our liquor cabinet. We discovered it in a cocktail called the Naughty Au'Pear served at a great lounge in Boston, now sadly closed. If you like this kind of brandy (cognac is brandy made in a specific region of France), I highly recommend it. But there are other pear brandies that may be easier to find in any well-stocked liquor store. Don't substitute a very sweet liqueur like pear schnapps, as it has less alcohol and more sugar than pear brandy. However, other potent liqueurs like Amaretto might work. If you don't want to buy pear brandy just for this, I think the best bet would be plain brandy or cognac, possibly with an extra 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla.

I followed the recipe from the March Gourmet with one (sort of) big change: I substituted reduced fat sour cream for "2/3 cup creme fraiche or heavy cream." I wasn't in the mood to splurge for creme fraiche, and I know that sour cream is a lot more similar to it than heavy cream. I'm right, aren't I? I'm not sure why they suggested heavy cream because my sour cream worked absolutely perfectly - and is much healthier too.

Additionally, I have a large, 11-inch tart pan, which caused me to fret that I didn't have enough dough, but it turned out okay. I substituted whole wheat pastry flour for all-purpose, and I reduced the butter in the pastry by one tablespoon. I guess I was already anticipating my weekend of eating out in Boston.

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Guinness Brownie Recipe

Another year, another Guinness recipe. This is a great brownie recipe ANY day of the year, but it's perfect for St. Patty's. These brownies do not taste like beer, but you can detect the smoky flavor of stout, which is a dream date for the intense dark chocolate in this recipe. Read on if you're a brownie fan (and who isn't?!) or check out last year's Guinness cupcakes with espresso buttercream (or this Guinness Beef Stew while you're at it).

I've been eating these brownies for a few days now, feeling guilty about not sharing them with you. Last week was so busy with work, and it carried right into the weekend (but don't feel bad for me; work is good news if you're a freelancer). Now that things have calmed down a bit, I can finally get back to my blog!

This is an easy recipe that I found on here on about.com. "About" is not my favorite recipe source, due to a truly awful cookie recipe I tried years ago, but this one looked solid compared to a few of the other Guinness brownie recipes I turned up. Then I saw that one of my favorite bloggers also used it with good results. There is not a lot of sugar in this recipe, so I think the white chocolate is there to add some additional sweetness, and the brownies are definitely sweet enough for me.

I recommend a good quality bittersweet chocolate (I used Lindt 70% cocoa), but I'm sure you could get away with semisweet too. The texture is fudgy, but not in an under-baked sort of way. I think the Guinness imparts a unique bubbly lightness, so these brownies are not as dense and heavy as your typical fudgy brownie. To my surprise, I like them just as much as these peanut butter swirl brownies. Both are rich and chocolatey, but that's where the similarities end. Just give them a try for St. Patty's Day, and you'll see what I mean!

Guinness Brownies
Adapted from About.com and Cookie Madness
I used Ghirardelli unsweetened cocoa powder; Hershey’s or Green & Black’s Organic are two other good brands. I used Lindt 70% cocoa bittersweet chocolate, which I believe is widely available in large, 3.5 ounce bars that cost about $2 each. I have to mention that this is also my favorite everyday eating chocolate. The price makes it a steal, and it’s just as satisfying to me as more expensive brands. For white chocolate, I used a Ghirardelli white chocolate baking bar. I don’t know if they are that different, but I think the bar has superior flavor to the Ghirardelli white chocolate chips, which I think are totally tasteless (but I’m not a fan of white chocolate). Finally, be sure the beer is at room temperature so you don’t bring an unwelcome chill to your other ingredients.
Makes 24 brownies (in a 9 x 13 pan)

1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder (not Dutch process)
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into cubes
8 ounces dark bittersweet chocolate, chopped
4 ounces high quality white chocolate, chopped
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/4 cup Guinness Stout beer, at room temperature
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a 13 x 9-inch baking pan with nonstick foil (or regular foil coated with nonstick spray); or, use a nonstick pan coated well with nonstick spray.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa and salt; set aside.

Melt the chocolate in the microwave: In a medium glass bowl, or other microwave-safe bowl, combine the dark chocolate, white chocolate and butter. Microwave on medium power for 45 seconds and stir. Continue microwaving and stirring at 30 second intervals, reducing to 15 second intervals as the chocolate is nearly melted. Stop just when the chocolate is smooth (all microwaves are different, so take care not to burn it). Set aside.

Combine the eggs and sugar in a large bowl and mix on high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add melted chocolate in two additions, beating on medium speed until combined. Add flour mixture in two additions, beating on medium speed until combined. Add one-third of the Guinness and whisk until combined. Repeat two more times with remaining Guinness.

Pour brownie batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle chocolate chips evenly over top. Bake for 23 to 27 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (mine took exactly 25 minutes). Cool completely in pan, cut into 24 squares and serve. These are excellent eaten within 24 hours (possibly longer; I’m not sure), and they freeze very well.

Pear Cornmeal Upside-Down Cake

I definitely have cornbread on my mind. I loved writing about The Cornbread Gospels in my last post, and I’m still enjoying the results of the recipe I gave you – buttery Almond-Herb Biscuits. They freeze beautifully, and I’ve been defrosting them one at a time to eat with soup for dinner…so good!

You’d think I had enough corn-y recipes for a while, but when I saw this cake in the February issue of Gourmet, I had to make it. I’ve been clipping cornmeal cake recipes out of magazines for the last couple years. I’ll see one now and then, often served with a fruit compote, sometimes topped with cream or a sweet glaze. Some cornmeal cakes remind me of my favorite blueberry-cornmeal pancakes (I’ll post them for you as soon as I can snap a decent picture!). I could somehow justify the pancakes as a balanced meal, yet the cornmeal cakes felt too much like desserts that weren’t quite as indulgent as say, a flourless chocolate tart.


But with the novelty of the upside-down cake and my love of pears – especially sticky, warm, caramelized pears – this cake got me into the kitchen. It is very easy to make – minimal ingredients and not much mess. Peeling and coring the pears is only slightly fussy, and everything else is a snap.

The flavor is deliciously subtle. It’s not tooth-achingly sweet from pounds of sugar, but sweet with maple syrup, stone-ground cornmeal and caramelized fruit. You could serve it with whipped cream or ice cream, but I love a little sour cream to swirl around with a drizzle of maple syrup on my plate. I don’t see myself getting tired of cornmeal cakes, cornbread, corn muffins, corn biscuits or the rest of it anytime soon.

But wait, there's more!
Head over to NPR's website and read the story with recipes that I wrote for their Kitchen Window column. It’s the dramatic tale of my obsession with gourmet pizza. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry…you might even bake.

Pear Cornmeal Upside-Down Cake
Adapted from this recipe, Gourmet magazine, February 2008

Gourmet calls this a “johnnycake,” after the griddled cornbread-slash-pancake that is a Rhode Island specialty. I don’t disagree – it was just too much to fit in the title. This is a dessert with actual nutritional value, especially if use whole wheat pastry flour instead of all-purpose. Stone ground cornmeal is the best choice because it is all-natural and has truer corn flavor. You can find it many supermarkets and natural food stores.

Serves 8

1 stick unsalted butter (4 oz.)
2 tablespoon granulated sugar
4 firm-ripe Anjou pears, peeled, halved lengthwise and cored
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg, divided
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour (or all-purpose)
3/4 cup stone ground cornmeal
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup milk (reduced fat or whole)
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
To serve: additional maple syrup and sour cream

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Melt the butter over medium heat in a large cast iron or nonstick skillet. Pour all but about 1 tablespoon into a small bowl. Use about 1 tablespoon from the bowl to brush the bottom and sides of an 8- or 9-inch cake pan.

Return the skillet to medium heat, sprinkle the sugar over the butter and add the pears, cut side up. Sprinkle with 1/8 teaspoon of the nutmeg and cook for 5 minutes. Flip the pears, sprinkle with 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg and continue cooking until the cut sides are lightly browned, about 8 to 10 minutes more. Transfer the pears to the cake pan, cut side down.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, salt and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, maple syrup and reserved 6 tablespoons of melted butter. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk just until smooth. Pour batter into the cake pan over the pears. Bake for 20 to 24 minutes or until the top is golden and sides pull away from the pan (it took 22 minutes with my 8-inch pan). Cool in pan on a rack for 15 minutes, then run a thin knife around the sides to loosen the cake. Invert onto a platter and serve with maple syrup and sour cream.

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Want to Experience Death By Chocolate?

So what do you say? There are worse ways to go than being overcome by one of most delicious things on earth. I found out about a little contest being run by Culinate, a tasty website full of articles, recipes and other foodie insights. They are giving away two trips to Napa Valley for the Annual Death by Chocolate Festival.

One winner (and their lucky guest) will be chosen by random drawing, so that means YOU can win. The other trip will go to a food blogger. Because I love chocolate, and would love to win a trip to Napa (ahem, wine!), I entered the food blogger contest by submitting my favorite blog post focused on chocolate. But I need your help! The food bloggers who entered will be narrowed down to 10 finalists based on your votes from now until this Friday at noon.

To get yourself entered in the contest, click on the "Death By Chocolate" graphic at the top of my left sidebar (if you're reading this as an RSS feed, click here). You'll have to register to enter the contest and vote. While you're there, check out the list of over 70 food bloggers who entered, read some to-die-for posts about chocolate, and vote for me! You can vote for as many bloggers as you want, and there is plenty of delicious competition. If you've already entered, you can still head back to Culinate and vote for the bloggers you like-- including me I hope! If I win, I promise many delicious chocolate-centric posts for your enjoyment.

And because this is all about chocolate, it wouldn't be right to beg for your vote without giving you a little something. This is my favorite brownie recipe, which I wasn't going to blog about because it's really Anna's, and she posted it quite recently. But, since we are talkin' chocolate, and since I LOVE this recipe, here you go. The brownie base is actually King Arthur's "Best Ever Fudge Brownie," and it's topped off with a peanut butter cream cheese swirl. It's the easiest brownie because you don't have to fuss around melting chocolate or track down expensive chocolate of varying cocoa percentages. They are intensely chocolatey, and fudgy without being wet. Even if you don't want to do the PB swirl, these are the best brownies!

For the contest, I submitted my post about tempering chocolate for truffles...mmm, truffles.

So, you're going to go enter the Culinate contest and do some voting, right? Even if you don't usually leave comments, or just read this blog for the sparkling prose or the stellar photography (I wish), I need your vote by noon this Friday! And if we both win, we can meet up in Napa and see who can eat the most chocolate.

Super Bowl Snacks: Bacon Brittle and Spiced Nuts

I'm really looking forward to the Superbowl because it's a great excuse to make really fun food. And because I'll get to see Tom Brady crush Eli Manning...yippee!

If you serve even one of these recipes to people on Superbowl Sunday (or any day), they will remember you for throwing the best Superbowl party ever. Serve both and people may not be able to handle all the tastiness--these snacks are unbelievably addictive.

I made them both over the holidays, and the bacon brittle was a surprise stocking stuffer for Mike. I had never made any kind of brittle by myself, but the process went smoothly, and it turned out perfectly. It's pretty well established that a little salt makes sweet things a million times more delicious. When that salt comes in the form of bacon, you've really hit the ultimate expression of the idea. Whatever doubts you might have about this recipe, just banish them and go for it. At the very least, you'll have fun breaking the brittle up with a hammer (in the photo above, the brittle is set, but not yet cracked into shards).

I followed this simple recipe, which was adapted from Obsession with Food. I did however use slightly more bacon, about seven slices. Needless to say, use the best bacon you can find for this recipe. Overly salty, watery stuff will reduce the deliciousness considerably. For planning purposes, note that this brittle stays hard for about 48 hours after you make it, then gets progressively softer.

The spiced nuts are another take on sweet and salty, this time with some fresh rosemary thrown in. I've been making these for years, since I saw the recipe in Nigella Bites. Nigella adapted it from the Union Square Cafe, a great restaurant in New York. When I was there on business a few years ago, that's where I went for dinner the first night because I remembered Sara Moulton talking about it on her old cooking show, and I loved Sara. I think they had bar nuts when I went, but they weren't quite like these.

I love these nuts. Anytime you're having people over, you won't go wrong if you put these out. They are incredible warm, and not really any less incredible after they've cooled. You can make them a day ahead if you want. I tweak the recipe a bit every time I make them, and I always start with different quantities of nuts. You can't really go wrong here if you use fresh rosemary, good salt and a chile seasoning you like. I use standard cayenne pepper, but you can use any ground chile.

If the Superbowl isn't your thing, wouldn't your Valentine love one of these treats? If he's a man who likes meat, you cannot fail with the Bacon Brittle.

Sweet and Spicy Roasted Nuts
Adapted from Nigella Bites
The nuts must be raw because you’re going to do the roasting and salting. My grocery store sells mixed bags of Brazil nuts, walnuts, pecans, cashews and hazelnuts in the produce section. Another good idea is to hit the bulk bins at a natural foods store and make your own mix. If you want more nuts to feed a crowd, scale the quantities up as needed.

Approximately 1 1/2 cups raw mixed nuts
1 tbs. finely chopped fresh rosemary (do not substitute dried)
pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste
2 tbs. dark brown sugar
1 tsp. coarse sea salt
1 1/2 tbs. unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spread the nuts out on a baking sheet and roast until lightly browned and fragrant, about 10 minutes. Give the tray a shake and turn the larger nuts once or twice during roasting, watching closely so they don’t burn.

Meanwhile, combine the rosemary, cayenne, sugar, salt and butter in a bowl. Add the hot roasted nuts and toss well to coat. Serve warm or cool and store in an airtight container.

Need more snack ideas? Here are a few picks from my archives:

1) Oktoberfest Crostini - great party bites with bratwurst and sauerkraut
2) Catalan Flatbread with Piquillo Peppers, Caramelized Onions and Anchovies - the title is a mouthful, but these appetizer pizzas are really easy to make!
3) Mini Corn Cakes with Guacamole - a great munchie if you're serving chili too.
4) Phyllo Triangles with Lamb, Onions and Pine Nuts - perfect if you want to go a little bit exotic.

Chocolate Chip-Oat Cookies with Coconut

Yum. I love when I have an idea of what I want and find a recipe that perfectly epitomizes what I'm craving. That's what happened with these cookies I made last night. They are chewy, just a little crisp around the edges and full of semisweet chocolate chips, oats, coconut and toasted pecans. Yum.

If you haven't noticed, I'm a big Cookie Madness groupie. Anna posts at least one recipe (not always a cookie, but usually sweet) every day. Whenever I want something sweet but I'm not quite sure what, I browse through the Cookie Madness archives. Thanks to the sheer volume of recipes, I always find something appealing along with an honest assessment of how it tastes, what it's like (crisp or soft, ultra-rich or more nuanced), and how it behaves during baking.

I really like this cookie because it's hearty, chocolately and reminds me of one of those tasty "congo bar" type desserts, probably because of the coconut. I made a very small batch, and after less than 24 hours they're almost gone. With whole oats and whole wheat pastry flour, it even has a bit of nutritional value. Here's the link to Anna's recipe, but I'll write it up here too in case you want to make a small batch like I did.

Chocolate Chip-Oat Cookies with Coconut
Adapted from Cookie Madness
I like the old-fashioned type of oats here--it's supposed to be a chunky cookie. I'm not sure if using quick oats (do NOT use instant) would make the cookie flatter. I gave a range for the quantity of pecans because I only had 1/4 cup on hand. Next time, I'll up the quantity a bit, but this batch definitely didn't suffer. To toast the pecans, spread on a rimmed baking sheet and roast in a 325 degree oven for about 8 minutes, flipping once, or until they take on some color and turn fragrant.

Makes 18 cookies.

4 tbs. unsalted butter, softened
1/4 c. plus 1 tbs. dark brown sugar, packed
2 tbs. granulated sugar
1 egg
1/2 tbs. milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup plus 3 tbs. whole wheat pastry flour (or all-purpose)--56 grams
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 c. old-fashion oats
1/2 c. semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 to 1/3 cup toasted pecans, finely chopped
1/4 c. shredded sweetened coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Beat the butter and sugars with an electric mixer until light and creamy. Beat in the egg, then beat in the milk and vanilla.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Stir into the butter mixture. Stir in the oats, chips, pecans and coconut.

Drop by rounded tablespoons onto parchment paper-lined baking sheets and bake for 10-14 minutes, or until the bottoms are lightly browned. Bake shorter or longer depending on how soft you like your cookies. Let rest on baking sheet for 1-2 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool.

Here are the other Cookie Madness recipes I've made (and loved):

Creamy Butterfinger Pie
Soft Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

My Favorite Thumbprint Cookies

Unlike Pecan Balls, I haven't seen a lot of thumbprint cookies in the blogosphere. Women's magazines, on the other hand, always seem to include one obligatory thumbprint in their collections of holiday cookie recipes. They usually look fairly uninspired, although they may be wonderful recipes. I'll never know because these are the only thumbprints I will ever make.

This recipe is another oldie but goodie from grandma. The original typewritten recipe that I have a photocopy of calls for all shortening. And this is from back when Crisco had plenty of trans-fat. When I was a kid, I think we made them with margarine, which was the good-health fat of choice back then. Now, I make them with delicious, organic unsalted butter (Organic Valley is my everyday butter of choice), and they taste as wonderful as ever.

I've mentioned how much I like soft, tender, nearly under-baked cookies, and that is how I like these. Thanks to the butter and brown sugar, they melt in your mouth. Still, a contrast of textures is important if you want a truly sophisticated cookie experience, so these thumbprints are rolled in finely chopped--almost ground--walnuts.

And, as with so many desserts, a sweet, simple frosting takes these cookies from great to really great. Jam in thumbprint cookies never did it for me. Why have jam when you can have actual icing? To each her own, I guess. If you happen to have ideas about thumbprints that are equally as strong as mine, I would love it if you tried the cookie part and added your filling of choice, whether it be chocolate, jam or candied fruit--just as long as you tell me all about it!

I'm submitting this post to Susan's Christmas Cookie round-up at Food Blogga. She's gathering cookie recipes from far and wide, so it might be a good place to go if you're still looking for cookie inspiration!

My Favorite Thumbprint Cookies
Makes about 3 dozen

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 egg yolks
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups (9 oz.) all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 egg whites
1 1/4 cup walnuts, ground or very finely chopped
1 cup powdered sugar
2 to 4 tbs. milk
red and green food coloring

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper. With an electric mixer, beat the butter, brown sugar and egg yolks at medium-high speed until thoroughly combined. Beat in vanilla. Stir in the flour and salt at very low speed or by hand.

Place the egg whites in a small bowl and spread the walnuts out in a shallow bowl or plate. Roll a spoonful of dough into a one-inch ball with your hands, quickly dip in egg white, roll in ground walnuts, shaking off any excess, and place on prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough, spacing cookies about 1 1/2 inches apart on baking sheets.

Bake for 6 minutes, remove pans from oven and quickly make a deep thumbprint in the center of each cookie. Return pans to oven and bake for 7 minutes more, or until just barely beginning to brown on the bottom. If notice the indentation you made disappearing as the cookies bake, pull them out and press again. Cool on baking sheets for 3 minutes, then transfer to wire racks until cooled completely.

In each of two small bowls, mix 1/2 cup powdered sugar with 1 to 2 tablespoons milk. Add red food coloring to one bowl and green food coloring to the other. Stir well to combine and create a thick icing that slowly drizzles off your spoon. When cookies are completely cool, fill thumbprints with icing. If you want to freeze some of the cookies, allow icing to dry completely, 8 hours to overnight.

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Holiday Baking and a Recipe for Pecan Balls

I love baking Christmas cookies. From what I've been seeing on so many other food blogs, I'm not the only one. This weekend I went into a highly organized frenzy of holiday baking.

All I did was make batches of cookie dough, watch sweet loaves of bread puff up out of their pans, and roll out individual little nut pies. Okay, I also went to a wine tasting on Friday, had a fun dinner out on Saturday and watched a football game on Sunday from the comfort of my sofa after the day's cookies were out of the oven.

It was all so much fun! This morning, I was wondering aloud why I go through so much work, especially when there aren't a ton of people around to eat my goodies (that's what freezers are for, right?). It's not because I need food to be happy (food makes me happy, but that's different) or because I want to relive childhood Christmases past (I wasn't a very child-like child, so that's not it). I just love to cook. And bake. Either way, I love recipes that challenge me somehow.

I do make a lot of family recipes this time of year because I want to make them my own--master them so I can then improve upon them--and enjoy them without thinking they don't taste quite the same as they did when I was 10. More than that, baking just tells me it's Christmas. It's a knee-jerk reaction sort of thing. Since I enjoy it so much, why not indulge?

All of the cookies in the photo happen to be things I ate as a kid, and I love them all. Today, I want to post the recipe for Pecan Balls (the ones that look like little snowballs). I've been seeing this cookie everywhere of late and no wonder--it's a Christmas classic. I poured over several recipes trying to find the ultimate version that would produce a very tender cookie with a nearly under-baked texture and without anything too fancy going on. In the end, I used a very old recipe from my mom that seems to be the classic version.

Newer recipes use more nuts, but I think one cup is plenty nutty. Sugar seems to be the most controversial ingredient. Cook's Illustrated has a recipe using superfine sugar (white sugar ground very fine), but they don't say if that produces a softer texture or not. Dorie Greenspan has a version in Baking with granulated sugar, but she seems to be a fan of crisp cookies. I will try these recipes eventually and tell you about any revelations they might bring. For now, I've got a simple, delicious cookie that is both tender and crumbly. Anna just posted a similar version here, and Jennifer made the Cook's Illustrated version with hazelnuts. More holiday goodies to come!

Pecan Balls
The recipe I used actually calls these tender little cookies Russian Tea Cakes (one of their many names), but my mom called them Pecan Balls, and I think that’s a more descriptive name anyway. You could substitute other nuts--I think walnuts or hazelnuts would work particularly well. I error on the side of under-baking these cookies because I like the centers to be a bit moist, as opposed to crumbly. A food processor comes in handy to chop the nuts, but be careful not to grind them to a powder. This recipe requires at least two hours of chilling time (for the dough, not you...hehe!).

Makes about 3 1/2 dozen

1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups (9 oz.) all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup pecans, toasted and finely chopped
Additional powdered sugar (about 1 1/2 cups) for rolling

With an electric mixer, blend the butter and 1/2 cup sugar at medium-high speed until smooth and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla. Stir in the flour and salt just until combined. Stir in the pecans. Refrigerate for 2 to 24 hours.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats. Roll dough into one-inch balls and place on prepared baking sheets (cookies will not spread much during baking). Bake for 12-14 minutes or until bottoms are just barely golden.

Sprinkle some powdered sugar on a rimmed baking sheet or a plate. Cool cookies on baking sheets for 2 to 3 minutes, then roll in powdered sugar and place on racks to cool. When cookies are completely cool, or just before serving, roll in powdered sugar again.

All-In-One Holiday Bundt Cake

Are you recovered yet?

This is the first year I've flown home from the family Thanksgiving in Connecticut without feeling exhausted, hungover and stuffed like a Thanksgiving turkey. I consider this to be a really good thing, especially since we had a great time this year as always.

So, between catching up with everyone, playing board games (and drinking games), hiking, and drinking lots of red wine (and Bud Light), Mike and I whipped up this All-In-One, All-Purpose Holiday Bundt Cake for Thanksgiving dessert. It was a well-traveled cake by the time it had been mixed at Aunt Jo's, transported down the road and baked at Grandma Jean's. But it never complained once and, even with all the juggling around, it baked up beautifully.

This cake is really good and moist. I thought it might have a chunky texture with all the add-ins, but the cranberries soften nicely and the apples absolutely melt into the nutmeg-scented pumpkin batter. All those great fall flavors are there plus pecans, cinnamon and maple syrup in sugar glaze. It disappeared by Friday morning.

This is Dorie Greenspan's cake and her reputation for writing reliable, do-able recipes is proven again. I opted to toast the pecans, but she didn't call for that, so do whatever you want. I think toasting does wonders to enhance the flavor of fresh, raw nuts even if you are mixing them into a cake. I also made a lot more maple glaze than she calls for in her book, but I make no apologies for that. You could also simply dust the cake with sifted confectioners' sugar right before serving. Though it was perfect for Thanksgiving, this is a cake that you'll love serving throughout the holiday season. I imagine it would freeze very well (sans icing) for some advance baking, if you're so inclined.

I'm sending this post to Definitely Not Martha who is hosting this month's Sugar High Friday, a super-sweet blogging event where food bloggers bake around a given theme. This month, it's beta-carotene--sounds a little healthy and clinical for Sugar High Friday doesn't it? But wait, that means everyone will be baking with ingredients like pumpkin, butternut squash, carrots and sweet potatoes--yum! I'll post a link to the round-up when it's done so you can check out the recipes from other bloggers.

All-In-One Holiday Bundt Cake
Adapted from Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan
This cake contains just about every traditional holiday flavor, so that is where the names comes from. Make sure your eggs, and especially your butter, are at room temperature when you begin mixing. Take the butter out of the refrigerator up to an hour before you start; there is no way to hurry it along besides cutting the stick into smaller pieces--so no microwaving. To toast the pecans, spread them on a baking sheet and put them in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes, shaking and turning them over halfway through, until fragrant and starting to take on some additional color. Watch them carefully to avoid burning.

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. minced or grated fresh ginger
1 1/4 sticks (10 tbs.) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup (packed) light brown sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup canned, unsweetened pumpkin puree
1 large apple, peeled, cored and finely chopped
1 cup fresh cranberries, halved
1 cup pecans, toasted (see headnote) and chopped
2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
5 to 6 tbs. maple syrup

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place a rack in the center position. Butter a 9- to 10-inch (12-cup) bundt pan well, using waxed paper or a pastry brush to spread the butter into every nook.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Using a stand mixer or a handheld electric mixer, beat the butter and both sugars together at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and beat for 1 minute after each addition. Beat in the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low and beat in the pumpkin, ginger and chopped apple. At this point the mixture will probably looked curdled, but that’s okay.

With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture slowly, beating just until it is incorporated (over mixing flour results in a tough texture in the finished cake). Using a rubber spatula, stir in the cranberries and pecans. Scrape the batter into the prepared bundt pan.

Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, or until a thin paring knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean (you might get some streaks if you hit a cranberry). Transfer the cake to a rack and cool for ten minutes in the pan. Unmold the cake and cool to room temperature on the rack.

Transfer cooled cake to a cake stand or serving platter. Sift the confectioners’ sugar into a bowl. Add 5 tablespoons of maple syrup and stir with a large spoon until you have a smooth, thick mixture that coats the back of the spoon and runs off enough to drizzle over the cake. Add additional syrup to thin icing if necessary (or if you need to thicken it, just add more sugar). Drizzle icing off the back of the spoon over the top of the cake so it runs down the sides. Let the icing set for at least 10 minutes before serving.

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Technorati Tags: recipes, desserts, bundt cake, Dorie Greenspan, holiday

Cranberry-Almond Crostata

I can hardly describe what a relief it is to finally feel an oh-so-slight chill in the air when you live in Fort Lauderdale. We’ve been regularly having temperatures above 80 degrees, but yesterday that hint of coolness finally crept into the air. Of course, Mike and I still went to the beach on Sunday morning. It was nice enough to lay out in a bathing suit, but I did have my legs covered with a towel for most of the time.

The first weekend of November was a very appropriate time to get our first “cool snap”--it was the weekend when we set back the clocks bringing on shorter, darker days, AND it was the weekend I started rolling out the holiday recipes. There are so many wonderful things to cook and bake during the much-too-short holiday season, so I spread it out over a bunch of little feasts. Since we are going to spend Thanksgiving with the O’Hara side of Mike’s family in Connecticut (a fabulously fun T-Day tradition), I took this weekend to make some Thanksgiving favorites in my own kitchen, and try out a few new recipes from my many food magazines.

I almost never follow a recipe exactly, so when I do, it had better be perfect. Okay, I made a couple hardly-worth-mentioning tweaks to this Cranberry Crostata from November’s Gourmet and still it was flawless. Really just a cross between a pie and a tart, this dessert has incredibly vibrant flavor from the fresh cranberry filling and richness from the almond pastry, but none of it is too sweet or flabby to enjoy after a big holiday meal. I highly recommend it for a Thanksgiving dessert or an anytime holiday treat--it kind of reminds me of a big Linzer cookie now that I think about it!

Here are my tweaks: I used whole wheat pastry flour in place of all-purpose. It’s a natural with the nutty crust, both for flavor and color. The recipe calls for 10 ounces of fresh cranberries, but as you may know, the standard bag of Ocean Spray cranberries in your neighborhood supermarket is 14 ounces. We picked out the smashed or dubious-looking berries, and used all that remained with no problems whatsoever. The dough is very soft and tender and doesn’t depend on being chilled during mixing. Follow Gourmet’s directions for rolling it out between parchment paper, and don’t worry about piecing it together in the pan. My lattice strips broke apart during transfer, but this didn’t matter much in the end. I also used turbinado sugar instead of granulated for sprinkling because I like the crunch. Click here for the recipe on Gourmet's website. What holiday recipes have you already tried?

If you enjoyed reading this article, and don’t want to miss a thing, you can sign up to receive new posts delivered to your e-mail box automatically. The service is provided by Feedburner and your e-mail address will never, ever be used for other purposes besides receiving my tasty blog posts. Just enter your e-mail address in the box in the upper right sidebar and click the subscribe button.

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In case your cranberry appetite is never sated, here are some more mouth-watering cranberry desserts from blogs I love:

Cranberry Linzer Tart on Orangette
Maury Rubin's Cranberry, Caramel and Almond Tart on The Wednesday Chef
Cranberry-Orange Cookies (with pistachios!) on Culinary Concoctions by Peabody
Cinnamon Cranberry Rice Pudding on The Perfect Pantry
Cranberry-Raisin Pie on David Lebovitz
Cranberry Ribbon Cake on Coconut and Lime
Apple-Cranberry Pie on Simply Recipes
Cranberry Banana Bread on Chocolate & Zucchini

Technorati Tags: recipes, thanksgiving, tart, cranberry, almond

Green Monster Peanut Butter Cookies--Go Red Sox!

What can a girl do when she's found the perfect guy? A guy who's a star at his job, who always makes her laugh, who has thick, unruly hair and burly good looks...? Just so you know, I'm not talking about my husband. I'm talking about Wally, the Green Monster. And the answer to that question is, bake him his favorite cookies!

Wally is the Red Sox mascot. He's named after Fenway Park's famous green "wall," and because he's a monster, I'm sure he loves cookies. Naturally, peanut butter cookies are his favorite ("Take me out to the ballgame..." and all that).

So these cookies (from fabulous blogger, Anna, of Cookie Madness) are for Wally (Just look at this sexy beast!), so he has the energy to lead my team to a World Series victory against the Colorado Rockies. The series starts tonight, so if you're a Sox fan, how about whipping up a batch of these for Wally too? As for my other favorite guy, Mike, he also happens to love peanut butter. Maybe I'll save some for him.


Green Monster Peanut Butter Cookies
Go to Anna's blog for the original recipe, and check out all her other wonderful desserts. These cookies are so easy to make--just one bowl! They are soft on the inside and don't flatten during baking. This is a scaled down version for a small batch, about 16 cookies. I had to go by weight for most measurements in order to scale down properly, but if you don't have a scale, just use Anna's recipe for a full batch.

1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/4 c. (2 oz.) dark brown sugar
1/4 c. granulated sugar
3 oz. creamy peanut butter (I love Jif)
1/8 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. (scant) salt
1 oz. (26 g.) beaten egg (half of one egg)
2 3/4 oz. all-purpose flour
1 1/2 oz. lightly salted dry roasted peanuts (like Planter's), chopped
2 oz. peanut butter chips

Preheat oven to 350. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Cream butter, sugars, peanut butter, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add egg in 2 additions. Stir in the flour. Fold in the nuts and chips.

Using a tablespoon, scoop onto prepared sheets. Bake 13-15 minutes or until set and very light brown around the edges. Cool on sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. I always recommend testing a few cookies if you have the time, so you know how your oven will bake and how "done" you like them.

Here are more Peanut Butter Cookies Wally might like:

Peabody's classic PB cookies--you've got to read this tale from a former Jif child model!
Alpine Berry's Old-Fashioned PB Cookies
Gluten-Free Girl's PB cookies
Cook Sister's Double PB Cookies
Culinary in the Country's Honey-Roasted Chunk PB Cookies
Coconut & Lime's Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
And my own Chewy Chocolate Cookies with Mini Peanut Butter Cups

Technorati Tags: recipes, desserts, cookies, peanut butter, Red Sox

Bacon-and-Egg Ice Cream (toast optional)

With my technical difficulties of late and readjusting to being home after our vacation, things feel a little strange. So, this is the perfect time for a strange food—bacon and egg ice cream.

Has anyone been watching Diary of a Foodie on PBS? I think the new episodes are over, but I still have one or two unwatched on my tivo, and I’m sure they are re-running the whole series now or sometime soon. It’s such a great show! My favorite episode was titled, Anatomy of a Meal, and featured Jose Andres, a Washington, D.C. chef originally from Spain. I ate in one of his less experimental restaurants, Zatinya, and the meal inspired this recipe for grape leaves stuffed with goat cheese.

The Bacon-and-Egg Ice Cream comes from the “Science of Deliciousness” episode. Luckily, it’s a really easy recipe if you’ve ever used an ice cream maker (like we did here and here). The bacon gets sprinkled with brown sugar as it cooks in the oven. The ice cream is made from a simple, pale yellow custard, rich and smooth with egg yolks and cream.

This ice cream is really delicious! When we saw it on the show, we decided immediately that we had to try it. I like bacon; Mike really likes bacon; and we thought the idea was brilliantly simple and cool. The egg yolk ice cream base would be a nice component of any less esoteric ice cream recipe. But add sweet, crispy, salty bacon and you’ve got a surprising dessert that might even make it easier to justify ice cream for breakfast.

Recipe Notes: I am giving you the link to the recipe on the Diary of a Foodie site. We followed the directions, and all was well. We used low-sodium bacon because that’s what we happened to have. After adding the brown sugar, the bacon was finished in about 5 minutes, not 15-20, as the recipe says, so keep an eye on yours. We let our custard churn in the ice cream maker for over 30 minutes, but it never got very firm. After 3 hours, in the freezer, it was still a little soft, but freezing overnight took care of that. We just added the bacon to the ice cream maker when we were almost done churning instead of folding it in by hand.


Technorati Tags: desserts, Ice Cream

Old Fashioned Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Today, I want you to talk amongst yourselves. I’ll give you a topic: coffee cake—discuss.

Finished? Good. Here’s my take: I wouldn’t bother with most coffee cakes. Give me a scone, a muffin, even a doughnut over coffee cake any day. My husband likes coffee cake and orders it occasionally at Starbucks. I never had the urge to make it myself until about two years ago. We had just moved into our condo, and a neighbor brought us a lovely, homemade, mini coffee cake. That was a good cake; nothing fancy, just moist, plain cake with a sugary crumb on top.

I was in no rush to duplicate the neighbor’s cake, but the seed was planted. In a baking mood, I batted around ideas yesterday to Mike. Rhubarb pudding cake? Italian Cream Cake? No dice. When I threw out coffee cake, Mike’s eyes lit up and the discussion was over.

I knew we wanted a plain, very moist cake with sour cream, topped with some kind of streusel or crumb. This is just the kind of recipe I knew I would find in my King Arthur Baker’s Companion book. The sweet recipes in this book can be a little heavy and rich, but they always turn out perfectly.

This cake may be even better than the neighbor’s. The batter is very thick, not pourable like a regular sheet cake. When baked, however, it is not too heavy, just incredibly moist and a little tangy due to the sour cream. I slightly cut the amount of flour and sugar in the crumb topping, and still had more than enough for a very sweet, crumbly cake. I also make this cake at night for breakfast today, and I think it does benefit from having ample time to cool and sit. So, it is the perfect sweet breakfast treat to make in advance. Easter brunch, perhaps?

So, now I am on the coffee cake bandwagon. Due to the intense sugar rush, I may not eat it as often as my beloved scones, but it is definitely a nice addition to my repertoire of breakfast treats.



Bloggers love coffee cake; there way too many great ones out there...

Alpineberry's Mini Cherry Walnut Streusel Coffee Cakes have a lovely pink tint.

Seriously Good's Apple-Ricotta Coffee Cake must be as good as it looks since it uses ricotta, an ingredient that's always in my fridge for spreading on toast.

Go take a gander at the gorgeous Apricot-Almond Coffee Cake at Cream Puffs in Venice.

The Dried Cranberry Coffee Cake from Tartelette is quick and simple and uses a secret ingredient--homemade eggnog!

In the archives of Baking Sheet (now Baking Bites) I found another old-fashioned sour cream coffee cake

I wish I had some fresh blueberries to make this Coffee Cake from Chocolate & Zucchini.

This apple coffee cake from Simply Recipes is easy and looks wonderful.

Old Fashioned Sour Cream Coffee Cake
Adapted from the King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion
I changed this recipe by using half whole wheat pastry flour in both the crumb and the cake. It works perfectly and is undetectable to the untrained eye. Use only all-purpose flour if you want. I suspect it would also be good with only whole wheat pastry flour. I would not use regular whole wheat flour which would change the flavor, texture and color too much for this tender, sweet cake.

Makes two 9-inch rounds or one 9 x 13-inch cake

Crumb Topping:
1 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. whole wheat pastry flour
1 c. granulated sugar
½ tsp. salt
1 ½ tsp. cinnamon
14 tbs. unsalted butter (7 ounces)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
¾ tsp. almond extract

Cake:
8 tbs. (4 oz.) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 c. granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 c. sour cream (I used lowfat)
1 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. whole wheat pastry flour
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 9-inch round pans or one 9 x13 pan.

Make the crumb: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt and cinnamon. Melt the butter in the microwave and stir in the vanilla and almond extracts. Pour the butter over the flour mixture and stir to combine until the flour is uniformly moistened and you have a sandy, moist crumb. Set aside.

Make the cake batter: In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer on high speed until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and sour cream, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula as needed. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt and baking powder. Add flour mixture to the sour cream mixture and beat on low to medium or stir with a large spoon until evenly combined.

Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan(s). Sprinkle the crumb mixture over the batter with your fingers, covering the batter completely. Bake for 20-25 minutes for 9-inch rounds or 30-35 minutes for a 9 x 13 pan. Cake is done when a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean and the sides are light gold and slightly pulling away from the edge of the pan. Cool cakes in their pan(s) on a wire rack.



Technorati Tags: recipes, desserts, breakfasts, cakes

Guinness Cupcakes & A Radio Show!

I have been looking for an opportunity to make Guinness cake, or cupcakes, or brownies for quite awhile, and I finally found it. On Thursday, March 1 at 1:30 eastern time, I am going to be talking about food blogs with Linda Gassenheimer and Joseph Cooper on WLRN, the NPR affiliate in South Florida. I wanted to come up with an easy recipe to share, and this is it!

You can listen in (and find out if they like the cupcakes) by going to www.wlrn.org and clicking on the live audio feed.

Now, back to the cupcakes. St. Patrick’s Day is right around the corner, and this is the perfect dessert to follow up corned beef and cabbage or any Irish feast you plan to serve. The cake is very light and moist, with a mellow stout flavor that is the perfect complement to the cocoa. They are not overly sweet, so the espresso buttercream is a perfect topper. This frosting has a light coffee scent, but is mild enough for anyone who is not a coffee lover. It is absolutely irresistible on the cupcakes and helps bring out the Guinness flavor.

I just got the name, “O’Hara,” by marriage, so if you don’t want to take my word for it, my Irish husband cannot stop eating these cupcakes.


Guinness Cupcakes with Espresso Cream Frosting
Cakes adapted from a recipe from The Detroit Free Press via Cupcakes Take the Cake and from a recipe by Dave Lieberman from Dave’s Dinners. Frosting adapted from The Betty Crocker Cookbook.
You can find the instant espresso powder for the frosting at specialty stores and many supermarkets. I ordered mine from the King Arthur Flour Baker's Catalogue.

Makes 24 cupcakes

For cupcakes:
1 stick unsalted butter
12 oz. Guinness
½ tsp. vanilla extract
2 c. all-purpose flour
2 c. granulated sugar
¾ c. natural unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. salt
1 ¼ tsp. baking soda
¾ c. sour cream
3 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Fill two 12-count muffin pans with paper baking cups.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the butter, Guinness and vanilla. Stir occasionally until butter is melted. Pour into a large mixing bowl and set aside to cool for at least 10 minutes.

In another large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, salt and baking soda. Using an electric mixer on medium speed, gradually combine with the Guinness mixture in three additions. Beat in the sour cream, then beat in the eggs one by one.

Pour the batter into the prepared muffin pans, filling each cup about three-quarters full. Bake for 22 to 28 minutes (mine took 25) or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Leave in the pan to cool for 5 minutes, then finish cooling on a wire rack. Frost when cooled completely.

For frosting:
3 c. powdered sugar
1/3 c. butter (5 1/3 tbs.), cut into cubes and softened
1 ½ tsp. instant espresso powder dissolved in 3 tbs. water

In a large bowl, beat the sugar and butter with an electric mixer on low speed to combine. Pour in the espresso mixture and continue beating on medium-high until frosting is smooth and creamy. If frosting is too thick, add water a couple drops at a time to reach desired consistency. Makes enough for 24 cupcakes or an 8-9 inch two-layer cake.

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Technorati Tags: recipes, desserts,