Lemon Bars for a Lasting Mother’s Day Impression

Mother’s Day is coming up, and since so many of you brave souls will be attempting a celebratory brunch, I thought I’d post this much-requested lemon bars recipe, in case things don’t go as smoothly as anticipated. 

Preparing brunch can be tricky anytime, let alone under mom’s watchful (aka “extremely concerned”) eyes. Can someone please get her a mimosa and walk her into the garden?

So, even if a few poached eggs break, or the toast gets a little too golden-black, no worries! If you finish the meal with these gorgeous, and absolutely impossible to mess-up lemon bars, she'll be as proud as she will be impressed. Our moms may have taught us the importance of a good first impression, but its America’s restaurateurs who discovered the importance of a delicious last impression. There's nothing like a well made pastry to make one forgive a tough steak.

Other than a baking dish, there’s no special equipment or techniques required. Both the shortbread base and the lemon custard take only minutes, and are simply hand-mixed in a bowl. 

Basically, if you can move your arm in a circle, and effectively set a timer (there’s one on your phone), your lemon bars should look just as good as these (maybe better – see meringue note below). Anyway, whether you’re going to make these for Mother’s Day or not, I hope you give them a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 16 Small Lemon Bars:

For the shortbread crust:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup room temp unsalted butter (1 stick)

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1/4 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp salt

Bake crust at 350 degrees F. for 22 minutes

For the lemon layer:

2 large whole eggs

1 large egg yolk

1 cup white sugar

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1 tbsp grated lemon peel

Bake at 350 degrees F. for 25 minutes

Garnish with powdered sugar; or top with *meringue (the extra egg white whipped with 1 tablespoon of sugar) and brown with torch.

*My Meringue
If you decide to turn these into lemon meringue bars, do yourself a favor and actually measure the sugar. I couldn’t be bothered to check a recipe, so I only tossed in a teaspoon of sugar, and it should be closer to a tablespoon. The technique is the same; beat the extra white to the ribbon stage (where drips of white stay on the surface for a few seconds), and then add the sugar and continue whipping until you have nice, glossy peaks. My “by eye” batch worked fine, but it was a little too dry, and not quite sticky enough. Be advised.

View the complete recipe

Gingerbread White Chocolate Cookies

These cookies are very similar to those found at Espresso House shops all through Sweden in December. A chewy cookie, slightly spicy, with chunks of white chocolate and almonds.

Gingerbread White Chocolate Cookies

170 g butter, melted
100 g sugar
200 g brown sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
300 g flour
1/2 tbsp salt
1/2 tbsp baking soda
1 tbsp gingerbread spice (cinnamon, cardamom, cloves)
125 g white chocolate chips
125 g almonds, blanched and slivered

Mix the butter with the two sugars until combined. Add the egg and egg yolk and mix again. Stir in flour, salt, spices and baking soda, and mix until it's just combined. Finally add the chocolate and almonds, and mix again.

Place large scoops on a baking sheet and bake at 160°C for 12-14 minutes. (I use a convection oven, if yours is not, you might want a slightly higher temperature.) Let the cookies set before attempting to move them. (For smaller cookies, you don't need more than 10 minutes.)

And as always, I heartily recommend freezing the scooped-out cookie dough, and then baking from frozen. You might need an extra minute or two in the oven.

Easy Almond Cookies Recipe

This is the easiest almond cookie recipe ever. And I bet you could use an easy cookie recipe about now. It requires only a few ingredients and you prepare the dough in the food processor so making them takes maybe 10 minutes and there's barely any clean up. They are a variation of almond macaroons, rich and chewy with just a little crunch from the almond on top. The secret is a hint of almond extract, and to really processing the ingredients until they make a very easy to work with dough.

I was recently sent some almonds from the Almond Board and I was looking for a good way to use them. There are lots of similar recipes to this one, but the comments on Epicurious led me to make a crucial change in the recipe. I cut the sugar in half. I also made slightly larger cookies than the recipe calls for and skipped dusting them in confectioners sugar. It might seem odd to add almond extract to almond cookies, but without it they can be a little bland. Because they are such dense little bites, they won't crumble making them good for travel or shipping. They are gluten free and have no added oil or butter.

While no one eats cookies for health purposes, these are pretty healthy. Lots of research has been done on almonds and they are a true nutritional powerhouse very high in manganese, vitamin E and magnesium and eating them lowers cholesterol and reduces the risk of heart attack. So eat them in good health!

Easy Almond Cookies
Makes 14 cookies, but recipe can easily be multiplied
adapted from a recipe published in Gourmet magazine, 1997

Ingredients

1 cup blanched almonds, whole or slivered
1/3 cup sugar
Pinch salt
1 egg white
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
14 whole almonds

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor combine the almonds, sugar and salt. Process until very finely ground. Add the egg white and almond extract and pulse until the dough comes together. Roll the dough into 14 evenly sized balls, and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Press one almond into the center of each cookie, pressing down slightly.

Bake for 10 minutes or until just starting to show a hint of gold. Let cookies cool on the pan, then transfer to an airtight container.

Enjoy!

Gingerbread Whoopie Pies – So Wrong, and Yet So Right

Admittedly, the witch joke at the beginning of the video may have been a little graphic, but that’s what I always think of when I hear the legend of how these cookies supposedly got their name. As the story goes, when these sweet treats first made their appearance, people that tasted them were so taken by the sheer awesomeness, that they went nuts and started running around shouting, “Whoopie!! Whoopie!!” 

Sure they did. This seems very exaggerated, but no matter how they got the “whoopie” part, at least the rest of the name is not accurate either. That’s right, not only is this cookie not a pie, this pie isn’t even a cookie…it’s really a little cake. Confused? Me too, and I just wrote that.

Anyway, despite the dubious name, and the other dubious name, at least the gingerbread part is accurate. Although, now that I think about it, it’s not really a ”bread”…okay, this has to stop. With holiday cookie exchanges in full swing, the only thing I can say with certainty is that these whatever-they-are’s were very delicious, fun to make, and I hope you give them a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 9 to 12 finished Gingerbread Whoopie Pies (depending on the size!)

10 ounces (by weight) all-purpose flour (about 2 cups of sifted flour - see note below!)

1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

2 rounded teaspoons ground ginger (3 if you like it spicy)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup dark molasses

1 egg, beaten

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup boiling water

Bake at 350ºF or about 12 minutes

For the filling (makes extra!):

1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, room temperature

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup butter, room temperature

2 tsp cream or milk

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

*you can adjust texture by adding more powdered sugar or milk

View the complete recipe

Flour portioning note: It is critical to weigh the flour for this recipe to work as seen in the video. 10 ounces by weight is about 2 cups by volume, but because flour can become quite compressed in the bag or canister, portioning by cup is not very accurate. If you are not going to weigh, only add about a cup and a half of flour, proceed as shown, and if the batter seems too thin after mixing, add more flour, little by little, until you have the thick batter seen in the video.

I Married for Love, Not Cookies

I get a lot of cookie requests this time of year, and while I’m not a fanatical cookie lover myself, I have posted videos for a fair number of them. In fact, I have a new and exciting Christmas cookie post coming later this week. In the meantime, I thought I’d repost this great recipe from three years ago, featuring my favorite, Michele’s famous Chili Chocolate Cookies.

As most of you know, Michele is my lovely and talented wife, and as I joke about in the original post, this would still be my favorite chocolate cookie, even if I weren’t legally bound by marriage to say so. I hope you enjoy this very chocolately blast from the past, and stay tuned for what I hope will have many of you yelling, “Whoopie!”

Click here to read the original post and to get the ingredients.

Cooking with my Blog Friends

How are you east coasters doing so far?!  Right now my kids and I are hunkered down in the living room with flashlights strapped to our foreheads, waiting for the eye of the storm.  I've got a pile of blankets, a bunch of candles and two loaves of bread.  That's what they tell you to stock up on for huge tropical storms, right?  So far it's just pretty nasty and drizzly, and I'm hoping that it doesn't get worse than that.  Unfortunately, I think it's probably wishful thinking.

Speaking of storms, I've been a tornado in the kitchen lately.  My schedule has me at home a lot more, and to keep myself occupied, I've been tackling so many of the recipes all of you have been putting out.  Each and every one has been a complete hit in our home, and they are all perfect for fall, especially if you need something to distract you from oncoming hurricanes!

All of the pictures below belong to the blogger who posted them.  They are not mine.

Taste and Tell: Homemade Tator Tots (Perfect for your leftover mashed potatoes.)

Two Peas and Their Pod Apple Cinnamon Granola

Mel's Kitchen Cafe Pumpkin Blondies

Mel's Kitchen Cafe Baked Spaghetti Pie

Mel's Kitchen Cafe:  Ultimate Beef Stroganoff (As you may have noticed, I've currently got a bit of a  crush on Mel's blog.  She can do no wrong!)

Epicurian Mom:  Eggplant Parmesan

Gonna Want Seconds: Fresh Apple Cake with Caramel Glaze

Eats Well with Others: Oatmeal Pumpkin Cookies

Recipe Shoebox:  Pork Chops with Apple Butter

Recipe Shoebox:  Homemade Granola Bites

Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice: Stovetop Macaroni and Cheese 

Stay safe east coasters!  We'll get through this together!

Hazelnut Cocoa Cuts

A very yummy version of the humble chocolate cut cookie, which is normally sprinkled with pearl sugar. I don't have a photo of the finished cookie, which should serve to tell you that it's delicous. (Actually, I have some stashed in the freezer. They thaw in seconds, making them perfect to have with a cup of afternoon coffee.)

Hazelnut Cocoa Cuts

about 40 cookies

200 g butter, at room temperature
240 g sugar
2 tbsp golden syrup
3 tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 vanilla bean
2 tsp baking powder
135 g all-purpose flour
135 g wholewheat flour

To decorate:
one egg, beaten
toasted hazelnuts, crushed

Mix all ingredients for the dough, into a smooth and supple dough. Shape into logs - mine were about 4 cm wide - and place on a lined baking sheet. Flatten slightly, then brush with egg wash and sprinkle with crushed hazelnuts.

Bake at 200°C for 10-12 minutes. Wait a minute or two, then cut diagonally into cookies. Let them cool completely on the baking sheets before transferring to a plate or, in my case, to the freezer.

Lemon Crinkle Cookies

 While I am fully embracing the onset of fall, I completely understand if you're not.  In fact, to help ease you into it, I thought I'd send one more summer treat before the apple/pumpkin/winter squash frenzy is in full force.

 Am I the only one that things of summer when I think of lemon?  Is lemon even considered a seasonal summer fruit?  It's just so bright, fresh, and yellow like the sun.  These are the kind of cookies I want to pack on a picnic where there are going to be volleyball games and watermelon seed spitting contests.

I found these tender and tangy gems at Pam's fabulous blog.  If you haven't been by her site, you're seriously missing out.  I pin just about everything she posts.

Lemon Crinkle Cookies
For the Love of Cooking

Ingredients

1/2 cup of unsalted butter, softened
1 cup of white sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp fresh lemon zest
1 1/2 cups of flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup of powdered sugar

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a silpat mat.

In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together with a mixer until creamy. Add the vanilla, egg, lemon juice, and lemon zest and beat until smooth and well mixed. Combine the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda together until well combined. Slowly add the flour mixture to the lemon mixture until mixed. The dough will be very sticky. Place into the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes or until firm enough to roll into balls.

Roll the dough into small balls then toss in the bowl of powdered sugar until evenly coated. Place the balls on the baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Place into the oven and bake for 9-11 minutes.
Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool on a wire rack for at least 7 minutes to set.

Serve the cookies immediately

Blueberry Shortbread Bars – Please Don’t Call These Cookies

I’ve gotten a lot of shortbread requests, but haven’t done a video for it yet, since I’m not a huge fan of that particular cookie in its classic form. However, I love those little bars you see in the pastry case at the coffee shop, which feature a slightly moister shortbread base, topped with some kind of seasonal fruit.

I always wondered how they were made, and then I saw this peach shortbread post on Smitten Kitchen, which looked just like the aforementioned bars. So, I adapted that recipe, losing the egg white and switching out peaches for the very user-friendly blueberries. Besides, by adding fruit and calling them “bars,” we have something that sounds so much healthier than “cookies.”

There are no special skills required here, but you really want to get your hands on a wire pastry cutter, literally. Sure, you can dirty your food processor, but a pastry cutter will do the job quickly and easily, and you can really feel and see what’s happening in the bowl. Of course, if you’re not doing the dishes, go ahead and use the machine.

As I say in the video, any summer fruit will work, as long as you don’t use too much, and it’s not too wet. You need to have room for the crumbs on top to nestle down around the fruit to hold everything together. Also, if you roll with a particularly large entourage, you can easily double this recipe for a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. I hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 12 bars:

6 1/2 ounces (by weight) AP flour (about 1 1/2 cups of sifted flour, aka not packed)

1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp Chinese 5-spice (or a pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg)

1 stick (1/2 cup) very cold unsalted butter, cubed
1 egg yolk

1/2 teaspoon ice water, dripped over mixture

about 3/4 cup blueberries, or enough to cover surface

View the complete recipe

Orange Pistachio Greenies – They Only Sound Like Pet Snacks and Speed

Calling a brownie made with pistachios a “greenie” seemed like a perfectly sensible thing to do, until I realized that was also the name of a popular brand of pet treats, as well as the street name for amphetamines.

Most chefs, not wanting their recipe associated with such unsavoriness would have changed the name, but not me. I’m hoping that these become so popular that eventually the pet people and druggies will be forced to change their names instead. We shall see.

Anyway, as I exclaimed in the video, these were great, but some dark chocolate chips really would have put this over the top. I’m adding a half-cup of mini chips to the recipe ingredients below, and I highly recommend you do as I say, not as I did.

I’m generally pretty mellow (unless I’m on greenies) about substituting ingredients in my recipes, but I can’t think of another nut that would work here instead of the pistachio. There's something about the relationship between orange and pistachio that’s just so much more intimate than other nut/citrus combinations.

The good news is, thanks to mass-marketing and large grocery stores, shelled pistachios are now widely available at a very decent price. Buy a few extra, since snacking on them while you make these is virtually impossible not to do. They’re really addictive…like greenies, and greenies. I hope you give these a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 9 Orange Pistachio Greenies:

Wet ingredients:

1/2 cup melted butter

2 tbsp grated orange zest

1/2 cup white sugar

2 eggs

1 tbsp orange juice

1 tbsp milk

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Dry ingredients:

2 cups shelled, dry-roasted pistachios (*note: mine were lightly salted, so if yours are not salted or heavily salted, please adjust the added salt in the recipe)

1/2 to 1 tsp salt to taste

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (add when you combine dry into wet ingredients) 

*Bake at 350 for about 20-25 minutes
For the glaze:
1 or 2 tbsp orange juice
2 tsp orange zest
enough powdered sugar to thicken

Dark Chocolate Macarons – Better Three Years Late Than Never

I did it. I made macarons. Finally, I can apply for my food blogger merit badge! Hold on, I’m being told I still need to make mini-cupcakes and a quinoa salad to qualify. Oh well, I’ve waited this long.

Anyway, this was my first attempt at macarons, and for not having any clue what I was doing, I was quite happy with the results. They looked fine, and the texture was almost identical to the ones sold at Chantal Guillon, a famous macaron bar here in San Francisco.

So, was it beginners luck? Yes. You would think since I waited three years to make these, I would have done more research, but I did almost none. In fact, I literally used the first chocolate macaron recipe I found, which happened to be from David Lebovitz. He’s an American, but he lives in Paris, so I figured I was okay.

I watched a few videos, read a few articles, had a couple drinks, looked at a few step-by-steps, and off I went.  One thing I did notice was every single resource used a different recipe, as well as different times, temperatures, and techniques. So, I figured I would just use my instincts and try the most straightforward method possible.

I didn’t do any high-heat/low-heat tricks; no waiting for the tops to dry; no sugar syrups, etc. I just made the batter, piped it out, baked them off, and as you can see, they were not bad at all. One thing I did figure out all by myself was to use the ugly ones as the bottoms. By the way, there’s a very inappropriate metaphor there, if you’re looking.

So, here’s the deal; if you’ve never made these before, I hope this inspires you to give them a go. Believe me, if I can do these anyone can. However, if you’re an experienced macaron maker, we’d love to have you chime in. I can’t wait for this comment section to fill up with invaluable tips and tricks for what I should have done, and how I should have done it.

I know I piped them wrong. You’re not supposed to make a swirl, but keep the tip pressed in the center as you squeeze. I also heard that I should have cooked one pan at a time, because the bottom pan is more likely to crack. What else? Don’t worry about my feelings…after four years of posting videos on YouTube, I don’t have any left…so let me have it. And, as always, enjoy!

Basic Chocolate Macaron Batter (I found this recipe on davidlebovitz.com):
Makes about 18 finished cookies

*Weighing the ingredients is critical. Do not make these unless you have a digital kitchen scale!

100 gram powdered sugar

50 grams almond meal aka almond flour (the finer the better)

25 grams unsweetened cocoa powder

2 large room temperature egg whites

65 grams granulated sugar

For chocolate ganache:

1/3 cup hot heavy cream

4 ounces dark chocolate, chopped

pinch of salt

*pour hot cream over chocolate, and stir until smooth. Allow to cool slightly before filling cooled cookies.

Bonus Coverage: For more chocolate macaron information, my friend Denise from ChezUs makes some amazing ones, and knows WAY more about these than I do, so you can bug her with your questions too! ;-)

Classic Peanut Butter Cookies – These are to Chocolate Chips as Turkeys are to Eagles

This classic peanut butter cookie recipe has me thinking about something I saw on the history channel a few months ago, about how the bald eagle became our national bird, instead of the wild turkey.

While the regal eagle was the popular choice, many, including Benjamin Franklin, argued that the lesser attractive turkey was more deserving. Not only was it truly indigenous, but they also argued it was more courageous, and unlike the eagle, was not a lowly scavenger. Of course, we all know how that one turned out.

Now, I don’t think America has an official national cookie designation, but if it did, I bet you a Benjamin (see what I did there?) that the ever-popular chocolate chip would beat out peanut butter cookies for the honor. It would be eagle vs. turkey all over again.

Sure the chocolate chip is always popular, and more visually enticing, but when you compare the relative historical significance to American culture, the peanut far eclipses the chocolate chip. I mean, come on, is there even a “Mr. Chocolate Chip?” I don’t think so.

By the way, let me go ahead and answer the obvious question that’s probably on many of your minds right now… no, I don’t have anything more important to worry about. I hope you give this peanut butter cookie, America’s cookie, a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients (makes about 24):

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 egg

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (or 1/4 tsp fine table salt)

1/2 teaspoons baking soda

*Bake at 375 degrees F. for 10 minutes

Chocolate Mint Brownies – Behold, The Tree of Disappointment

I loved everything about these brownies, except the flavor. I love mint, I love chocolate, and I love chocolate mints, but for whatever reason, I don’t like chocolate mint brownies. It’s quite a personal mystery.

My wife Michele’s theory is that since we love the pure chocolately goodness of classic plain brownies, the addition of that extra layer of flavor, especially one as distinctive as mint, just throws everything off. That could be.

Also, I don’t like the combination of nuts and mint, and so these didn’t contain walnuts or pecans like they usually would. Maybe it’s nut denial that has me in this anti-mint mood. Anyway, enough about my problems, if you like chocolate mint brownies, which based upon all the requests I got, many of you do; you’ll probably love these.

I’ve used a very stripped-down method here that requires almost zero technique, and uses only cocoa powder to achieve a dense, chewy, very chocolatey brownie. I hope you give these a try, and if you don’t enjoy mint either, just leave them un-iced, or add another flavoring like vanilla, orange, or rum extract. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

1 1/8 cups sugar

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs

2/3 cup all-purpose flour

For the icing:

1 cup powdered sugar

1/4 tsp mint extract, or to taste

2 tbsp milk

Let’s Get Ready to Rum Ball!

I want to thank a Twitter follower of mine, RookieKoo, for giving me the idea for today’s Michael Buffer-inspired post title. Of course, if you’re not familiar with the iconic boxing ring announcer’s catchphrase, then none of this will make any sense, and you’ll just have to trust me when I tell you it was an amusing reference.

There are hundreds of ways to make rum balls, but this one’s my favorite method. It’s very easy, especially if you have stale brownies lying around. I know, that never happens, which is why I’m linking to an all-purpose brownie recipe below the post. This will also work nicely with store-bought brownies, but stay away from anything that’s frosted. We don’t want to add any additional fat into the recipe, since that will hinder the absorption of the rum.

The amount of rum you add depends on how cakey and/or dry your brownies are, but for a half-pound, you’ll probably need between 1/4 and 1/3 of a cup to soak the crumbs sufficiently. A proper rum ball should be a fire hazard. By the way, I’m not responding to any comments asking about how to make these without using rum. In my humble opinion, you can’t.

The other issue I'm not going to be a big help with is altering the type of chocolate. I used a quality dark chocolate (70% cocoa), which worked beautifully for this, and hope you do the same. I don't have a lot of experience working with chocolate, so I'm not sure what will happen if you want to use white, milk, or other kinds of chocolate for the coating.

I realize these are more of a candy, than a cookie, but after about a half-dozen rum balls, culinary semantics will be the furthest thing from your mind. I hope you give them a try on your holiday dessert table. Enjoy!

Ingredients for about 20 small rum balls:

8 ounces stale chocolate brownies, crumbled

1/4 to 1/3 cup dark rum, or as needed

4 oz dark chocolate (I used Lindt Dark Chocolate 70% Cocoa)

NOTE: For a quick and easy brownie that will work well for these rum balls, check out this recipe from Allrecipes.com. I recommend checking out the comments on that recipe page before starting.

Milk Chocolate Cookies

It's Saturday. Have a cookie.

Cut cookies like these are so quick and easy to make - you can easily make a lot of them, and the freeze well. Use a really good quality milk chocolate for these, one that you like to eat, as it'll definitely be dominant in the finished cookies.

Milk Chocolate Cookies
makes about 40

170 g butter, at room temperature
45 g white sugar
45 g raw sugar (or brown sugar)
3 tbsp golden syrup
300 g all-purpose flour
1,5 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla sugar (or 1/2 tsp vanilla extract)
150 g milk chocolate, chopped

Whisk the butter with both sugars until pale and fluffy. Add the golden syrup, and then all remaining ingredients. Mix into a supple dough.

Shape logs (in my case, three), that are about 2-3 cm thick. Place on a baking sheet, and bake at 175°C for about 20 minutes. They will start to look cracked on top - this is normal.

Leave to cool for a few minutes, and then cut into 2 cm thick cookies, diagonally. Leave to cool completely on the sheet

Recipe in Swedish:
Mjölkchokladsnittar

Sour Cherry & Milk Crumb Cookies

It's Friday! It's summer! It's vacation time for many of us!

I've never been to Momofuku, but I'm slightly obsessed with them since the cookbook came out, and I've read so many recipes for creating their lovely food at home. And especially, their lovely cookies from Momofuku milk bar... I've tried several of their creations (or well, my take on their creations) and this time, I have to say.. I'm not sure it's worth the extra effort.

See, these include a milk crumble. And while it's nice, and not that hard, I think plain white chocolate would be just as good. So, try them both ways!

These cookies (as most) are excellent to keep in the freezer, unbaked. Just scoop out cookies as you normally would, place them on a plate and freeze. When frozen solid, toss them in a ziploc bag and keep in the freezer. You can bake them directly from frozen - add another minute or two to the baking time.

Sour Cherry & Milk Crumb Cookies
makes about 50

Based on this recipe.

Milk Crumble:
3 + 3 tbsp dried milk powder
2 tbsp flour
1,5 tsp sugar
1 tiny pinch of salt
1 tbsp corn starch
25 g butter, melted
40 g white chocolate, melted

Mix 3 tbsp of milk powder with flour, sugar, salt and corn starch. Melt the butter and add to these dry ingredients. Mix into crumbs. Place the crumbs on a baking sheet and bake for about 8 minutes at 115°C. The crumbs should dry, but not get much color.

Mix the crumbs with the additional 3 tbsp milk powder, and the melted white chocolate. Set aside.

For the cookies:

220 g butter, at room temperature, unsalted (if salted, omit the extra salt in the recipe)
250 g raw sugar (demerara) (or regular brown sugar)
85 g white baking syrup (or corn syrup)
1 egg, at room temperature
375 g flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 tsp salt
200 ml dried sour cherries
milk crumble, see above

Beat butter, sugar and syrup until very light and fluffy. Add the egg and mix well. Stir in flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Finally add the milk crumbles and the cherries.

Scoop out round cookies on a baking sheet, and bake at 175°C for 8-10 minutes.

Grädda på 200° i ca 10 minuter.

Recipe in Swedish:
Kakor med sura körsbär & mjölksmul

Lemon Blueberry Buttermilk Cookies

As I've mentioned in the past, my husband is a dental student out here in Philly. Because of this, virtually all of our friends are students as well, all of us away from family, and most of us experiencing the east coast for the first time. It's really nice because we can all sympathize with each other when we get homesick, or when we're feeling exceptionally poor that day. We all rely on each other for babysitting, support, or even just a shoulder to cry on. For four years, they ARE your family and we become very close.



The hard part about having student friends is that every year you have to say goodbye to a fraction of them who are lucky enough to be graduating and moving on. It's always sad, but it's also so exciting for them to reach that next step. About a month ago we had a big bbq for the families leaving. It was a lot of fun and a good chance to give hugs and well wishes. Everyone contributes to the potluck and there is always lots of good food.



These were my contribution, I found these cookies on Maria's blog Two Peas and Their Pod. I love Maria's blog, her food is so beautiful and fresh and there is NO shortage of cookie recipes, this girl can bake! These were bright and delicious, and my favorite part was biting into a juicy blueberry. They're perfect for summer and the recipe can be found here. Thanks Maria!

Thick and Chewy Triple Chocolate Cookies

How did you all enjoy the long weekend? I love Memorial Day weekend. Not only does it give us an opportunity to think of those that have fought for our country, but it also feels like the perfect kickoff to summer! My little boy turned four yesterday, which gave us even more of a reason to celebrate with lots of food, friends, and WATER! Our winter-white skin is paying the price now, but it was so worth it.

These cookies were actually made by my husband, who, I've decided, probably needs more recognition on my blog then I give him. We make a good pair, I love to cook, and he loves to bake. It's a hobby I didn't expect him to have, but we haven't had to buy bread in almost a year, so I'm not complaining! The fun thing about having a husband who bakes is that he doesn't get scared easily, he's attacked some pretty involved recipes that I wouldn't dare try.

The funny things about these cookies is that my chocolate loving husband didn't even care for them. But I, who doesn't crave chocolate often, loved them! I thought they were rich, chewy and delicious. I had a really hard time stopping at one. It's probably a good thing that I'm not a huge baker, otherwise these would be in stock at all times!

Thick and Chewy Triple Chocolate Cookies
America's Test Kitchen Baking Book

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoons salt
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons instant coffee (I omitted this)
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
16 oz semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Adjust the oven racks to the upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt together in a medium bowl In a small bowl, whisk the eggs, vanilla, and coffee together until the coffee is dissolved.

2. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugars together with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 6 minutes, scraping down the bowl and beaters as needed. Beat in the egg mixture until incorporated, about 30 seconds. Beat in the melted chocolate, about 30 seconds.

3. Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly add the flour mixture until combined, about 30 seconds. Stir in the chips until incorporated. Cover the bowl of dough with plastic wrap and let stand at room temp until the consistency is scoopable and fudge-like, about 30 minutes.

4. Working with 3 tablespoons of dough at a time, roll the dough into balls and lay them on the prepared baking sheets, spaced about 2 inches apart. Bake the cookies until the edges are set and beginning to brown but the centers are still soft and puffy, 10 to 12 minutes, switching and rotating the baking sheets halfway through baking. (The cookies will look raw between the cracks and seem underdone.)

5. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, then serve warm or transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely. Repeat with the remaining dough using a cooled, freshly lined baking sheet.

Om Nom Bombs

Just because I'm on vacation doesn't mean you won't have any blog posts! Good thing I have a bit of backlog. I made these balls a while ago - they're a version on rice crispie treats, and I found the original recipe here. Mine didn't come out very sweet at all but that will depend on your peanut butter. If you want them sweeter, add more honey.

Om Nom Bombs
makes 30

100 g almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped
75 g rice crispies
20 g freeze-dried cherries
30 g pistachios, unsalted, whole
4 tbsp crushed linseed
3-4 tbsp honey
250 g peanut butter
coconut flakes

Mix everything, except the coconut, into a smooth dough. Shape into balls, about the size of golf balls, and roll in the coconut. Keep cool - I have mine in the freezer.

Recipe in Swedish:
Mumsbomber

False Alarm! Gonna Celebrate with Some Cookies!

If you could see me right now, I would look a bit like this!
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Why? Because life went ahead and handed me a complete freebie today. When I woke up this morning, my beloved camera wasn't working, and the prognosis was not looking good. And my other equally beloved point-and-shoot camera (along with three months worth of pictures) was lost, hopelessly lost, trust me, I had called and looked EVERYWHERE. There was heartbreak, there were tears, and there may have also been irrational ebay bidding, along with ebay panic, and then utter ebay relief to find that i had been outbid at the last minute.

But then miracles happened, and not one, but BOTH of my cameras were restored to me by the end of the day. There was relief, there were more tears (so I love my cameras okay), and then there were cookies. How else does a foodie celebrate if not with food? Thank you all for your sweet comments at my post below, but I can't even tell you how happy I am to not have to take a break after all!



I found these gems at Gina's Skinny Taste, a wonderful blog with light recipes, especially conducive to those doing Weight Watchers. Now I'm all about cooking and eating healthy, but when it comes to dessert, I'm a purist. I don't think dessert should be messed with, just eat the dang brownie! But if you were to serve me these cookies without ever mentioning that they were light, I don't think I'd ever know. They're chewy, they're sweet, they are loaded with chocolate and my whole family LOVED them! Like a good girl, I had two, but I could have eaten these babies all night. Check out the recipe here!


Don't you love the plate? My parents sent it for my birthday a few days ago, I think I should be allowed to use it for at least a month, don't you? :)