The Hard Questions...and a Monster Cookie

I just looked and was shocked to see that I have been contributing to this here blog for almost two and a half years. It's funny because it feels like forever and no time at all, both at once. While I'm still not a rock-star churning out Martha Stewart worthy recipes and photos, I am able to say that I'm learning and that over the years this little space of the web has seen a lot of improvement. Though I do NOT encourage you to look that far back at my posts...too scary.

A while ago, when I finally decided to pour more time, love and dedication to this blog, I joined a little community known as FoodBuzz. It was a great place to meet other like-minded cooks and bakers out there, find out what was going on in the foodie world, and get inspired by all the wonderful recipes freely shared among the members. Oh, and maybe earn a few pennies to pay for the few cups of coffee my friends and relatives can't stop me from buying. Apparently I'm not very sane or reasonable when I'm hyped up on caffeine, but this way I can always argue that I earned it.

A few weeks ago, I got an email from FoodBuzz talking about a blogging contest they were organizing for their members, and throwing caution to the wind, I tossed my name into the hat and signed up. Well, the contest is now in full swing (see my little widget on the right?) and the time has come for the very first round, which asks the following question:

What defines you as a food blogger and why should you be the next food blog star?

I believe that the answer to both those questions is curiosity and a willingness to always keep learning. I read cookbooks, food blogs, cooking magazines, and old note cards stained with oil with the same enthusiasm some people devote to fiction. Remember the Harry Potter craze? Like that. I look for ingredients or recipes I haven't seen or tried yet and I can't wait to get into the kitchen and give them a go. In the kitchen, I hover just to the side of not just my mother, but mothers, grandmothers and aunts of all my friends, pestering them with questions and sneaking in a spoon (or if I'm not watched, a finger) into the pot. I love tradition and I love innovation, and I'm always excited when I can meld the two together into something both comforting and new. But most of all I love coming here and sharing what I learned with all of you. In the beginning it was just a place where I could keep track of my own experiments, just meant to be seen by me, but over time I've discovered that I try harder and I write better when I'm trying to share my creations with someone who shares my passion for cooking.

Through my blog I am able to extend a virtual invitation to a new or an old friend to come in, sit down, and chat for a bit over a cup of tea and a treat. I only share the very best recipes I find and through my blog there are no judgments, suggestions and ideas flow freely, adaptations are encouraged, and even when things don't go right there are friendly words of support offered. It would be a wonderful thing to reach out and share my findings with and maybe learn something new from even more people.

So if you like what you see, take a minute and please vote for me via that widget on the right that says FoodBuzz Contest, the one with a picture of me drinking a BOWL of coffee (best day ever!). Voting starts on 9/20, so please come back then. I'm sure I'll have something fun to offer then anyways.

Oh...and since I'm not really above bribery, especially when I know first hand what people are willing to do for cookies, I'd like to share with you my newly discovered, just in time to be perfected for Halloween, favorite cookie ever:



This recipe also comes from Sophistimom's Bake Sale ideas and it was probably the easiest and the most fun cookie I've ever made. Even forming the huge burger-like patties and slapping them onto a cookie sheet was satisfying! And when I finally scraped up the very last of the batter for the last cookie, the chocolate chips sticking out of it looked like eyes. Doesn't it look cute up there with it's head cocked to the side? I think that top cookie is flirting with you, he's saying "please vote for me, won't you?".

And because I still have marshmallows and because I am who I am, I just had to play with it and give my monster some teeth, paws and a cape



Monster Cookies, a.k.a. Eat It Before It Eats You Cookie
via Sophistimom
Note: I would highly recommend you use the scale and weigh everything out instead of using cups. For one, the peanut butter is so much easier to deal with when you just pile it onto a piece of wax paper then trying to coax it into and then out of a cup. And two, um...you can skip the sifting of the flour step if you just weigh it :D

1 cup (100g) sifted flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
6 cups (480g) quick oats
1 1/2 sticks (172g) butter
2 cups (400g) brown sugar
1 cup (190g) granulated sugar
1 pound (450g) peanut butter
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup (170g) semi sweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and oats. Set aside.
2. Cream the butter and sugars together in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add in peanut butter and mix until smooth, about 2-3 minutes. Add in eggs, one at a time, incorporating well after each addition.
3. Slowly add the flour mixture to the peanut butter mixture, and mix until well incorporated. Remove the bowl from the mixer and fold in chocolate chips.
4. Use a large ice cream scoop or your hands to form balls of dough the size of a baseball. Place 6 on a cookie sheet, and press down slightly with your hands. Bake for 15 minutes, or until slightly brown around the edges, and not fully set in the middle. I made some of mine a bit bigger and they needed an extra minute, so use your judgment.

They will be puffy when you take them out but they will deflate as they cool. Let them cool a bit on the cookie sheets before you transfer them to a cooling rack or they might break. Stack them up really high with a small slip of wax paper or parchment between each cookie to keep them from sticking to each other. It will look impressive, I promise.

Rice Krispie Treats Galore

This has come as a great shock to a lot of people I know, but I have never before made rice krispie treats (RKT for short). I've never even thought about them. I've never been a huge fan of store bought marshmallows or Rice Krispies in general, so I never even considered that the combination would be worthwhile. That is until about a month ago. I was visiting a friend and while we were chatting, she offered me a piece of butterscotch RKT. Now this woman has never failed me on any recipe so there was no way I would refuse anything offered at her house. I took a bite and swooned. I have definitely been missing out. I may have stolen one more piece that day, but try them yourself and then try to judge me.



Late last week I went on a coffee run with some coworkers and when one of them began contemplating the plastic wrapped block on a tray under glass, I offered her a deal. She'll skip the block and I'll make something special. So on Sunday, I picked up some ingredients, whipped up a batch of butterscotch RKT and brought them to work. I've never seen anything disappear so fast. The container was shaken to see if any crumbs remained, and then brought to me with sad faces. I was on to something. So on Monday, I tried it again. I whipped up two different batches this time. The butterscotch again, since it was such a hit, and a cappuccino version. One box went to my sister's coworkers and the other will come with me tomorrow. I have a feeling they will be well received.

So whether or not you've ever made RKTs before, give these a try. The flavor is deeper and the treat is just as good as you remember, plus the possibilities to mess with the recipe are endless. Think of all the flavor and color possibilities!



Butterscotch and Cappuccino Rice Krispies Treats
I started with a standard recipe and I looked around the web for ideas, but in the end I simplified and made enough tweaks to say that this recipe is mine, but I give credit to my friend for getting me started and obviously to Kellogg's for the original inspiration.

2 cups butterscotch chips (or cappuccino chips)
1 regular box of butterscotch pudding mix (or chocolate pudding and a Tbsp espresso powder)
1 stick of unsalted butter
1 10.5 oz bag of mini marshmallows (about 9 cups)
1 12oz box of Rice Krispies (I used a generic brand and it worked fine)

Spray a rectangular pan with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.

Melt the butter in a very large pot, stir in the marshmallows and when they start to soften, toss in the chips. Stir vigorously until everything is melted and even, then quickly stir in the pudding mix (and espresso, if using).

Quickly stir in the cereal and stir to evenly distribute. Dump everything into the prepared pan and press firmly to spread mixture evenly. Let it cool for about 20 min, then flip onto a cutting surface and using a sharp knife, cut into squares. Enjoy!

Moving Forward by Looking Back

Many many years ago, just a few weeks after my little sister finally moved out of our room into her own we got into one of those pointless, nonsensical fights which involve lots of yelling, but lose wind almost immediately and, since it's been many many years since it happened and since no one remembers what it was about anymore, I can finally admit that it was probably my fault. I don't remember what I was doing right after the "slamming of the doors", but I must have been puttering around my room for a while fuming when my sister came in and put a sheet of paper on my desk and walked out.

Today, I am trying to bring a sense of order to my house after a hectic holiday season and while clearing out some shelves in my overstuffed and scary closet I ran across that sheet of paper. The slightly torn paper that I saved because it makes me smile every time I see it and I asked her permission to share the poem that was on that paper with you. On top of the page she wrote "Anna - here have a poem! Critisize it all you like!" I'm going to leave punctuation and spelling exactly as she had it because that makes me smile too...though for probably the same reasons as the ones that caused that long ago fight. So without any further ado, a poem from my little sister to me written in a fit of anger:

What the hell?
Whats that smell?
Oh it just my sister Anna
She smells like a ripe banana
It's not that bad
But she does get mad
When I say that
And give her arm a pat
She wants a cat
A pretty little black one
Light as a feather
Not heavy like a ton
One that you feed buns
But we cant get it
As much as we may beg & hit
Daddy just tells us to sit
Or go try to get fit
Which Anna don't know how to do
Ask anyone, she knows its true
Going to the fitness center rarely
Doing very little excersize - barely
She's still a cool sister
So don't say it's not so mister
She's one of the best
Not like any of the rest


Who ever said that writing things down isn't therapeutic? She started out mad, then got carried away by her need to rhyme, remembered she was mad again, and then decided that she loves me after all. She can't stay mad at me for long even now...and I'm still hoping to try and get the whole exercise thing off the ground this year.


I'm sharing this because it makes me happy and because I ran across it as I was cleaning and I decided to clear a few other things too. I have been baking, shopping, wrapping, crafting just like everyone else these past few weeks and I was planning on cheating and stretching out the pictures I have been taking over the next few days, letting myself get lazy, but still turn out posts. As I was cleaning though, I decided that I want every post that I will write to be "fresh off the presses", and while I didn't really have time to take too many pictures, what with the late nights and all, I am putting the good ones into this post. A few festive sugar cookies, some homemade raspberry marshmallows and these:


Because I made these crispy meringue cookies between my first and second shifts at work, implying that anyone with 5 minutes and an idle oven can do it, I'm sharing the recipe with you.

Cocoa Meringues
Adapted from Death by Chocolate Cake by Marcel Desaulniers

4 egg whites
⅛ tsp cream of tartar
⅛ tsp salt
1¼ cup sugar
2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa; sifted
1 tbsp cornstarch

- Preheat the oven to 225F.
- Place a sheet of parchment paper or a silpat onto a baking sheet.
- Place 4 egg whites, the cream of tartar, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a balloon whip and whisk on high until soft peaks form, about a minute.
- Gradually add 1 cup sugar while continuing to whisk on high until stiff, about 1 1/2 minutes.
- Remove the bowl from the mixer and use a rubber spatula to fold in and thoroughly combine the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons cocoa and the cornstarch.
- Fill a pastry bag fitted with a star tip with the cocoa meringue and pipe swirls onto the parchment as small or big as you like, as close as you want making sure that they don't touch.
- Place the meringue in the preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes.
- Lower the oven temperature to 200F and bake for 2 hours and 45 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 45 minutes before handling.
- Enjoy with a cup of coffee or hot cocoa, or share with a friend

You can also melt some chocolate and dip these in it if you want, but I was tired. Maybe next time.

I'm going back to cleaning for now, but I hope to have another year full of successful kitchen experiments to share with you.

Coconut Cookies - Can't eat just one

It's nice to be able to get away every once in a while, and when you're on a strict budget, it's nice to know that you can "get away" just by visiting a friend. Visiting J&J's house is like going to a B&B. It's right on the water on a quiet street, the couches are comfy, and the food is fabulous! They are both foodies and it's a pleasure to just sit with a cup of tea, play a game or two and chat. I went up there a few weeks ago and on the table was a freshly baked batch of these addictive coconut cookies. We must have polished off at least half of the batch before we even realized what happened, they were that good, so I thought I'd share the recipe with you too. They go great with a cup of tea and a nice conversation.

Toasted Coconut Icebox Cookies
The recipe was adapted from an orange coconut version by Aida Mollenkamp, and if you like, you can add some orange zest to the mix, but my friend left it out and I liked it just that way.

* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/2 teaspoon table salt
* 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
* 1/2 cup sugar, plus extra for rolling cookies
* 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
* 1 large egg, at room temperature
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1 cup toasted sweetened coconut

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F and arrange a rack in the middle.
2. Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl and whisk until evenly combined.
3. Using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment beat together butter and sugars over high speed until light and airy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until just combined.
4. Reduce the speed to medium and add the flour mixture and coconut and beat until just evenly combined. Lay 2 large pieces of plastic wrap on a clean work surface and put half of the dough along the center of each piece. Shape the dough into 2 logs measuring about 1 1/2-inches in diameter and 10-inches long. Roll logs up in the plastic and secure tightly. Refrigerate the logs for 1 hour or up to several weeks.
5. Cut the logs into 1/2-inch slices. Roll the cookies in sugar to coat and shake off excess. Arrange on a baking sheet, leaving 1/2-inch between the cookies. Bake until set and golden on the edges, about 15 to 18 minutes. Remove to cooling racks to cool completely.

Enjoy!

Happy Halloween!

After listening to my stream of complaints about my ancient computer that's refusing to get with the times and recognize any USB devices including my camera, a very wise (or very annoyed) friend recommended I just go to Walgreens and make a CD for just a few bucks. Huh. Now why didn't I think of that? Genius! I'm not completely in love with the kiosks that are available at the store, and neither was the poor woman trying for almost an hour to scan her pictures and get a CD made that was ahead of me in line, but once I got everything loaded up I was able to walk away with two CDs full of over 1000 pictures for about three bucks. Can't beat that. So why am I telling you all this? Because all the past few weeks that this blog has been sitting idle, I have been baking, cooking, and generally coming up with evil schemes while angrily staring at my stubborn computer, and now I'll be able to share with you some of what I've been up to starting with these Halloween Cookie Pops!

A good friend's little girl is turning one tomorrow and in honor of the occasion my friend is throwing a HUGE party for all family and friends within a reasonable driving distance. She's making a ton of decorations and food and asked me to make 75 cookie pops to include in the party favors. Since the birthday is the day after Halloween, she wanted a fall theme and pumpkins sounded perfect. Besides, everything is just THAT much more fun to eat when it's on a stick, don't you think?


I've made sugar cookies before, I have a great recipe and I make them every year around Christmas to include in the cookie boxes I give out, but because I always go a bit crazy, I never have time to really decorate them, so aside from a small attempt at Valentine's I've never actually made iced cookies before. Determined to make the very best icing that would not only look good, but also taste good, I again went hunting on the net and I found a great post for cookie pops on this fabulous blog: Our Best Bites. Her story about finding the perfect recipe echoed my own goal so closely that I decided to give her sugar cookie recipe a try along with the icing. And let me tell you, they came out great. I was a little nervous when I tried one straight from the oven as it was a bit dry, but they blossomed overnight and when I tried another cookie the next morning while testing the dryness of the icing, the cookie was tender and deliciously buttery. Success! Plus the addition of a bit of lemon extract to the icing gave it a nice hint of flavor that transformed the simple sugar cookie into something really special.

I ended up making over a hundred of these and after packaging up the prettiest ones for my friend I took all the rest to work as Halloween treats, where they were devoured with only one small fist fight over the last cookie, so I would HIGHLY recommend you find some time, head over to Our Best Bites for the recipes, make a batch or two of these cookies, decorate however you like, and share with a friend over a cup of tea. Tea optional.

Oh, before I go, in the spirit of Halloween, and since I can't exactly hand out candy to all of you through this site, I'll give you something else that I found recently, yet another awesome blog! Yes, it seems I've become an international serial blog stalker and no blog is safe from my prying eyes! Bwahahaha! Ahem. Anyhoo....where was I? Oh yes! The awesome blog! This lovely lady has taken recipe sharing to the next level by adding witty stories and colorful illustrations, and you better believe I'm putting her book on my Holiday Wish List. Click on the illustration to go to her site and join me in my unbridled adoration:



Enjoy and Happy Halloween!!!

Happy Purim!

This doesn't happen often, but I was inspired. Usually, on this holiday I am content with store bought Hamentaschen or, if I'm really lucky, my mom will make hers, but when I saw this post I knew I couldn't just sit idly by and let someone else have all the fun, so I "let it slip" to a friend that the holiday comes with cookies and she absolutely insisted that I make her some. Now that I was "cornered" into a commitment I was all set to roll up my sleeves and start baking. Laundry will just have to wait until a different day. I do still have clean clothes so it's not really urgent any ways.

First step was making the cookies themselves. The recipe was easy and straight forward and still I messed it up. I was trying to do things fast and ended up adding more butter than required. Quite a bit more. The cookies turned out delicious :) There was only one casualty where the folds came apart, but I dubbed that one the test cookie and moved on. The picture above is of the cookies while still in the oven. They looked so good I couldn't help sticking my camera in there.

Next up were the cupcakes. The recipe said that it makes 24, which I just don't know how to do, so I doubled it and ended up with a gorgeous, smooth and fragrant batter. This was the first time ever I tried a recipe like this and while somewhat lengthy, it was a great experiment and I'll definitely be making this again. The cupcakes came out light, spongy and moist. I filled them with some more apricot jam and brushed the tops as well to keep in the moisture and to hold the cookies. These were so much fun to make and came out looking fabulous. I can't wait to share these tomorrow and see what people say. Thank you Stef for a great idea and a wonderful recipe.

Happy Valentines Day!

I'd like to wish everyone a very happy Valentine's day full of love, happiness and promise. Things can change in the blink of an eye and I hope that for you, they always change for the better.



In honor of this holiday, and because it's a wonderful excuse to bake, I made lots and lots of cookies. One of my coworkers ordered some for her bf and family and I made many many more to share with everyone I know too. I wanted to make something cute and since I have two crazy crazy friends that don't like chocolate, I settled on sugar cookies...and because they are the minority, I also made chocolate chip cookies. I've never before bothered to decorate my sugar cookies thinking that the icing is unnecessary and too sweet, but I couldn't resist putting a few touches on these before packing them into little cellophane bags to share with friends and ship to my sister down in Champaign. She's been feeling a bit down, so I thought a pack of roasted tomato soup, a package of cookies and a mix of tango club music is my recipe for a hot, sweet and sultry Valentine's day for her.


And now that the warm and fuzzies are out of the way, I want to take a moment for self pity. No, I'm not sad because I don't have a date because I made plans to meet a bunch of new people at a pot luck a few minutes away, so there will be no pint of Ben and Jerrys and a sappy movie for me tonight. I have, however, realized that my priorities are completely off kilter. When making the chocolate chip cookies I was rushing a bit too much and when switching out cookie sheets I sent the fresh out of the hot oven one flipping through the air. It landed right on my arm before landing, face down, on the open oven door. Instead of scrapping the whole project and running to take care of the burn, I cleaned the door, set the timer for the next batch of cookies and then went to get the burn cream (a staple in my kitchen arsenal). In the next 10 minutes while the last batch was baking, I learned that I don't own any band-aids larger than the ones that fit on your pinky and I don't have an ice pack. After a quick visit to google ("how to treat burns") I ran cool water over my arm, pulled out a sheet of cheesecloth (it's just like gauze, right?) and a pack of frozen corn on the cob, and ran to take the last batch out of the oven. Now, as my arm is bandaged up I ask myself, just who thinks to save the cookies instead of their own skin first?

Pumpkin Pecan Comfort

Today was just one of those days that started out good, but by the end required the comforting task of baking something sweet and new to restore peace of mind, so I decided to make the very first recipe from my new cookie cookbook: Pumpkin Pecan cookies. They came out soft and cakey and just sweet enough. I didn't make the frosting that's supposed to go on top because I want to take them to work tomorrow, but I don't think they even needed it. All in all, it was a nice recipe that got my mind off of work, which was the whole point.

Holiday Cookie Insanity

For the past few years my friends and I have decided that there are too many of us for a gift exchange, so instead of gifts my friend and I take over another friends house (she has a much bigger kitchen then both of us combined) and bake bake bake the whole weekend before Christmas. Usually the number of boxes we need to make is semi-reasonable, but this year I ended up making 40 boxes filled with 7 different kinds of cookies. Originally I wanted to make 10 different kinds, but time and strength simply ran out. We literally worked around the clock both days and when I went to work that Monday after 1 hour of sleep, I felt like a zombie and I vowed never to go that crazy again. This of course lasts only until I catch up on sleep and then plans for next year start swirling in my head like snowflakes in a blizzard. But back to this year. Some of the cookies I had to make because they're family favorites, like sugar cookies, white chocolate cranberry shortbread and toffee. The others were new experiments, like molasses cookies (still not as awesome as my friend's recipe, but I'm getting closer), cannoli cookies, orange spritz cookies, and pecan nougat.




On the same topic, yesterday I got a package from a new friend introduced through BzzAgent, a company that lets members try new products and asks them to spread the buzz. For the holidays they decided to initiate a gift exchange amongst it's members and I got paired up with a girl from Florida that amazingly enough ended up having a lot in common with me. For example, we both love to bake, and as my gift she sent me this book, from which I'll now be baking from all year:



Thank you Erika and Happy Holidays everyone!