Posts filed under 'Dessert'
This recipe, from the December 2008 issue of Real Simple, caught my eye because my mom loves ginger. I thought they’d be a nice twist on a traditional chocolate chip cookie, but unfortunately I think the spice combination was just enough so that they tasted different, but not distinctly spiced. It just made you wonder if something was off.
Of course, they were packed with chocolate chips, so the boys ate them happily (though they never asked for extras when they saw them out on the counter). Otherwise they garnered zero response when served as part of Thanksgiving dessert, so these go squarely in the “fine, but not again” file.
November 30th, 2008
I tasted these bar cookies at a fundraiser a few weeks ago thanks to my friend Alison, who donated her significant baking talents to the dessert table that night. The original recipe is from Fine Cooking (December 2006), but if you don’t have a subscription you can find it reprinted in its entirety on rachelleb.com.
I followed the recipe exactly except I subbed an equal amount of Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks instead of butter. This was solely to make the dessert pareve — the bars will be served after our Thanksgiving dinner. I did do a small taste test (just to make sure they turned out OK!) and while they’re not as good as a butter version, they are still yummy and definitely Thanksgiving-worthy. I think the Earth Balance also gives a bit of a greasy appearance and feel to the topping, which isn’t desirable but is an OK trade-off for me to make them go with a meat meal. Still, butter is better.
The recipe is a bit fussy in that it has several steps (make and chill dough, bake once, then add filling and streusel, bake again) but they’re easy to accomplish. Hopefully the rest of my Thanksgiving guests will enjoy them, too.
November 25th, 2008
This recipe for Crispy Salted Oatmeal White Chocolate Cookies comes from Deb at Smitten Kitchen, and I’ve been itching to make it for many months. I followed her recipe closely, except I used white whole wheat flour instead of AP (that’s what I keep in the house) and a cup of Ghirardelli Classic White Chips instead of a chopped-up white chocolate bar.
I whole-heartedly agree with Deb’s assertion that “These are scandalously good, yes, scandalously.” I am not a huge chocolate fan, and these chocolate-chip cookie alternatives are the perfect combination of not-too-sweet, a tiny bit salty, and crunchy without falling apart. The salt is not too prominent (you wouldn’t know it was there if I didn’t tell you about it), but it just adds this fabulous extra dimension that makes your eyes roll back in your head. I would say that these are now my all-time favorite cookie, and I have made and eaten many different kinds!
Interestingly, my father-in-law, who is also not much of a chocolate person either, agreed with my excessive gushing about how yummy these are. On the other hand, J. — a die-hard chocolate and super-sweet fan — said they were just “better than no cookies at all.” The boys liked them too, but they’re not too discriminating when it comes to cookies.
One minor alteration for next time: a half cup of the chips would have probably been better — the dough is super-stiff and I could barely get the cup-worth of chips incorporated. Also, I used an inexpensive, finely-ground sea salt from my supermarket, sprinkling a micro-pinch of salt over half the batch of pressed cookies before they went in the oven. The half without salt was very tasty too, but didn’t give me that same pause-from-deliciousness moment that the salted version did.
October 25th, 2008
My last Rosh Hashanah post for 2008! I have been making these cookies since I was a child. The recipe comes from the “Junior Jewish Cook Book,” published as far as I can tell in its first and only edition in 1956.
The original recipe calls for butter, but since I only make the cookies for a post-Rosh Hashanah meat meal, I needed a pareve version. Normally I use margarine, but this year I tried Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks instead, and they worked beautifully. My brother-in-law was surprised they were not made with real butter!
I will be honest and let you know that to me, these cookies are special because they are a family tradition, not because they’re mind-blowingly delicious. Although, my family seems to like them more than I do. Also, refrigerator cookies are just too fussy for me to make — I’d rather bake a drop cookie any day.
This year G. rolled out the dough with me and helped cut out the circles (using a shot glass!). Perhaps next year I’ll finally remember to buy cute cookie cutters.
Honey Cookies
Adapted from Junior Jewish Cook Book
2 sticks Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks, room temperature
1/2 c. white sugar
4 Tbsp. honey
2½ c. white whole wheat flour
With a hand mixer, cream butter, sugar, and honey in a large bowl. (If you spray your measuring spoon lightly with non-stick spray first, the honey will slide right out.)
Slowly add flour, continuing to mix, until dough is smooth. Form into a large ball and wrap with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
Preheat oven to 300° F.
Cut dough into thirds, and work with each piece individually. Roll out to 1/2-inch thick on top of waxed paper or foil. Cut out cookies with a glass or cookie cutter, and place on a non-stick baking sheet.
Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 25-30 minutes, or until cookies are golden and edges have just begun to dark. Allow cookies to cool — they will harden as they do so. Use a flat, stiff spatula to remove them from the baking sheet.
October 2nd, 2008
I made these cookies a few weeks ago, just because I was in the mood for cookies and I didn’t have any in the house. Can you think of a better reason to bake? I can’t.
I followed the recipe on the bag of mini chips for Original Nestlé Toll House Mini Morsel Cookies, with a few changes. I used 2 Earth Balance Buttery Sticks (1 cup) instead of butter, eliminated the brown sugar (I was out), used 1 cup of white sugar, added 1 cup of coconut (and now I finally finished my bag!), and increased the flour by 1/4 cup (I used white whole wheat flour instead of AP).
These use-what-you-have cookies baked up nice and high, with just the right combination of crispy edge and soft, chewy center. J. loved them, even with the coconut, and the boys did too. They satisfied my cookie craving and used up a bunch of infrequently-used ingredients — perfect.
August 29th, 2008
I saw the idea to make your own ice cream without an ice cream maker on Chris’ blog, Ordering Disorder. We had a severe thunderstorm warning yesterday afternoon, so I thought this would be a good alternative to going to the pool.
We used 2 cups of heavy cream, 4 tablespoons of sugar, and a teaspoon of vanilla. Sealed it all inside a quart-size Ziploc freezer bag, squeezing out as much air as possible. Then, in a gallon-size Ziploc freezer bag, I combined about 5 tablespoons of rock salt (got mine at Target near the ice cream makers) with a little more than 2 trays full of ice cubes. The ice cream bag went inside the larger one, and I sealed that bag, again squeezing out as much air as I could.
The bags were really too heavy and cold for the boys to do much with, though A. tried his best by resting the bag on a table and shaking the top of it. It took me about 20 minutes of semi-vigorous shaking to get the ice cream to a runny soft serve consistency. It was delicious, if not quite the right firmness. I just couldn’t listen to G. ask “Is it ready NOW?” one more time — otherwise I’d have shaken it longer.
It was a fun time-waster for a rainy afternoon, but truthfully the boys would have been just as happy if I’d pulled a container of Breyers out of the freezer.
July 24th, 2008
Carol put the idea of beet brownies in my head when she mentioned her CSA beets were headed for dessert. I was intrigued!
I had a small bunch of beets from my farm share that I never roasted last week, plus a box of Duncan Hines brownie mix at the back of my pantry, and I figured it would be a fun experiment to combine the two. This Chocolate Beet Brownie seems to be the go-to recipe if you want to try baking them from scratch, and is similar to the one Carol sent me.
I boiled the beets and let them cool before removing the tops, tips, and skins. I pureed them in my food processor until they were nearly smooth (the consistency of applesauce) and wound up with a full cup of puree. Then I added the beets to the brownie mix, omitting the 1/4 c. water and 1/2 c. oil specified on the box (but I did add the two eggs). Then I followed the baking instructions.
The result is a deep ruby-colored chocolate brownie that definitely tastes like it has beets in it. Sweet, but earthy with the chocolate flavor only in the background. It’s moist and pleasantly firm, though the beets (or lack of oil?) seemed to make the brownie a tiny bit rubbery. The boys did eat them, though G. left a bite over and there were no requests for seconds.
I’d probably only make them again if I already had pureed beets in my fridge and an urgent need to bake something chocolate. So, probably never.
July 21st, 2008
These were a nice change from plain oatmeal, but even with a whopping two cups of coconut, the coconut flavor was not very distinct. Still, this recipe made a big dent in the coconut left over from the Cabbage, Red Pepper, & Zucchini Palya (Dry Curry), and that was good enough for me.
I only baked a dozen of these cookies, and then rolled the rest of the dough into balls and froze them that way. I’ll bake them as needed in the future. I do that with my Kitchen Sink Cookies, too, and it’s a good way to avoid several days worth of the relentless clamoring for “just one more, Mom!”
The boys loved the cookies, but of course they’ve yet to meet a cookie they didn’t like.
Coconut Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from Coconut Oatmeal Cookies
Makes about 40 cookies
1 c. butter-flavored shortening, softened (I use Earth Balance Buttery Sticks)
1/2 c. brown sugar, packed
1/2 c. white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. white whole wheat flour
2 c. rolled oats
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
2 c. unsweetened, flaked coconut (I use Shiloh Farms)
1/2 c. mini chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350° F.
In a large bowl, cream shortening and sugar with an electric mixer. Add ingredients up to the coconut, and blend until combined.
Stir in coconut and chocolate chips by hand. Then drop cookie dough by the heaping teaspoonful onto a baking pan that is lined with parchment paper.
Bake for 8-10 minutes, until lightly golden. Cookies will harden slightly as they cool.
July 9th, 2008
When I had my food processor out to make tzatziki the other day, I whipped up some ice pops for the kids, too. I pureed one cup of fresh pineapple with one cup of vanilla yogurt (Stonyfield Farm low-fat, the boys’ favorite). I blended them until the mixture was a little frothy, and no visual evidence of the pineapple remained. Then I froze them in Popsicle molds.
A. loves them. I initially just called them yogurt pops, but in conversation later told him there was pineapple inside too. G. wouldn’t try them — he’d happily eat yogurt three times a day, but not frozen yogurt? I may never figure that kid out.
July 8th, 2008
Yes, it was as good as it looks! I wound up using Anna of Cookie Madness’ recipe for both the cake and frosting. My only change was that I used dark cocoa instead of regular, because that’s what I had in the house. That difference may have been just enough to totally obscure any Dr. Pepper flavor, but don’t worry:
My dad said this might have been the best chocolate cake he ever ate. J. thought it was delicious. GG mentioned several times how much she enjoyed it. And the boys, well, I’m sure I don’t need to tell you they gobbled it up. The cake itself has just the right density — substantial but not heavy-tasting, and a reserved sweetness that doesn’t overpower the chocolate flavor. A nice crumb that held together, and very moist without being sticky or cloying. The frosting, which is the first I’ve made without confectioner’s sugar, was luscious. Using melted Ghirardelli’s bittersweet chips in it give it an extra dimension — again not too sweet, and very smooth and decadent.
There were really rave reviews all around, and that’s a good thing because I am not joking when I tell you it took me hours to make! It is not a difficult recipe, and it is well-written, but there are a lot of interim steps in both the cake and frosting that just took me a lot of time, such as melting and then letting cool the chocolate chips (in each recipe). For a special occasion I didn’t mind the effort, but it was definitely a more involved recipe that I normally make — I am, after all, a huge fan of desserts where pretty much the instruction is “combine all ingredients in a large bowl.”
Want to see more pictures?
I’d save you a slice, but I think it’ll be finished off within the hour…
June 15th, 2008
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I'm Dara, the chick in the kitchen. Living in the suburbs of Manhattan with my two boys, ages 3 and 5, and husband. Trying to feed my family something more diverse than a different shape of pasta each night. Reach me at .