Boston Is In Lockdown. Carrot Cake, Anyone?

So Boston/Cambridge/Watertown/Surrounding areas are on lockdown.  I'm sure you know that.  

I was woken up shortly after 6am this morning with simultaneous texts from my roommate, who was stuck at Logan Airport, and from the Cambridge Police.  The police text said:

"This is the city of Cambridge. Do [sic] to the police investigation in Water Town [sic] and the surrounding area, MBTA."  

TOTALLY unhelpful, but by then I was wide awake, so I turned on my computer to learn more.  Good lord, things are CRAZY in this city right now.  From my kitchen window I saw MBTA buses full of police being transported while I was eating breakfast.  Otherwise there's been very little vehicular traffic and few people out along the river, which is usually packed with walkers, runners, and bikers.  With the exception of occasional sirens, my neighborhood is very quiet, much like the whole city.  After what seemed like a lot of activity this morning, mostly from various media outlets catching up on the night's activity, there's been little fresh news since late morning.  It's kind of crazy to think that a city can literally shut down, and people more or less respect the command to stay inside, but so far it's working.

One friend wrote on Facebook that it feels like "a scary, weird snow day in spring."  Which is true.  Can't go outside, no where to go, and nothing to do.  So clearly, that called for snow day amusement tactics, namely baking.  

Apple Tart, Pure & Simple

I've started giving cooking & food blogging lessons to a great girl named Molly.  (Check out her blog, After the Bell Cooking).  For our first lesson Molly wanted to make the apple tart recipe in the food memoir My Berlin Kitchen by Luisa Weiss.  (Luisa also writes the blog The Wednesday Chef.)  The tart was a great success, and it smelled so delicious when we were baking it that I decided to try it for myself the following week.  

The recipe couldn't be more simple nor the results more delicious.  The dough is a basic pastry crust that comes together in the food processor in minutes.  The filling is simply apples sprinkled with sugar before baking.  While it bakes you cook the apple peels and cores with water and sugar to make an intensely sweet and apple-y glaze that gets brushed over the whole thing out of the oven.  I thought that a homemade salted caramel ice cream would be the perfect accompaniment to this dessert, but alas I didn't think of it in time to make any--next time.  Vanilla ice cream or whipped cream would also be great, although we enjoyed this just fine with no frills at all.  

Resolution Keeping Cookies

 
I want to tell you about some cookies I made the other day.  Essentially heartier, ostensibly healthier jam thumbprint cookies, they're a little weird, but oddly delicious as well, and I feel like I need to share them and get some feedback to wrap my mind around them.

A year ago or so I checked out Gwenyth Paltrow's cookbook:
  
 

It was a bit of a whim; I think it was propped up by the checkout section--the library equivalent of impulse-buying People magazine at the grocery store.

Like most cookbooks I check out, it sat on my desk for a month and then I realized it was overdue, so I quickly scanned through it, copied a few recipes, filed them away and didn't think about it again. 

But then 2 things happened.  The first, which I already blogged about, was the great recipe reorganization.  The second was that the other day my sweet tooth was out of control.  I really wanted a cookie, and I had nothing.  Nothing!  (For the record, that rarely happens.) 

Summer Desserts

 

I got my first out-of-the-blue reader email recently (from someone who turned out to be my parents' neighbor, although we don't actually know him!), asking for summer dessert suggestions.  In my typical long winded way (when you get me talking about dessert), I ended up writing a fairly lengthy response.  Since I haven't had a lot to contribute to the blog lately I figured I'd share my musings with the rest of you, just in time for the Fourth of July!!  My response to him was mostly comprised of ideas, but has a few real recipes thrown in, too (and a reference to my 2010 post about rhubarb jam, that will never, ever get old for me!). 

I love light and fruity desserts, always, but particularly in the summer.  One of my favorite things to make is fruit compote or macerated strawberries, which I serve over a simple panna cotta, yogurt, or a good quality vanilla ice cream.  Panna cotta is lovely because it seems like it's fancy and complicated, but it's actually quite quick to make, and is cool and creamy and can play host to any number of fruity accompaniments.  I have used Ina Garten's recipe with good success.  You need to prep it a day ahead, but the active time is quite short, and won't heat up your kitchen in the summer.  It is as follows: 

World Peace, One Cookie at a Time

 
I can't remember where I first heard about them, but cookbook author Dorie Greenspan has a recipe for these chocolate chip-studded chocolate sable cookies, and let me tell you: they are something.  They are so named because a friend of hers once said "in our house, we call them World Peace Cookies, because we're convinced that a daily dose of the cookies is all that's needed to ensure planetary peace and happiness."  I couldn't agree more.

Nearly two years ago I wrote about my ongoing quest for a chocolate cookie to satisfy my father's insatiable sweet tooth, and while these fit the bill in a very different way than most, they definitely do satisfy.  A sable cookie, much like shortbread, is a bit drier and has a sandy texture (sable literally means sand, en francais).  While it doesn't have that ooey-gooey texture that I'm usually after in my cookies, they are still quite soft despite their dryness.  Something about that makes them seem more sophisticated than your average super chocolatey cookie.  Plus, the best part is the satisfying hit of salt, which intensifies the flavor in an oh-so-amazing-and totally-addictive way.  So whip up a batch (they're quite quick), but remember that they do need time to set up in the fridge or freezer, so they're not ideal as a last-minute cookie.  However, they are a perfect prep-ahead cookie (see note at the bottom).

Orange Almond EVOO Heaven

  

In the weeks leading up to Christmas, every food blogger/writer/celebrity/enthusiast (and their mothers) were putting out their "Top 10 Cookbooks of the Year."  Over and over these lists mentioned NYTimes columnist Melissa Clark's new book Cook This Now:120 Easy and Delectable Dishes You Can't Wait to Make.  If you're not familiar with Clark, she writes "In the Kitchen With a Good Appetite" (and has another book by the same name), which is, in my opinion, the highlight of the NY Times's Wednesday Dining Section.  After the holidays I finally requested the book from my favorite place, the Cambridge Public Library.  Since picking it up I have to say I'm totally in love with it, if only for the following recipe, an Orange-Almond-Olive Oil Cake that is just out of this world.  I also want to make about 90% of the other recipes, too, but in the last 2 weeks I've made this cake 3 times.  Yes, it's that good.  (And no, I haven't eaten them all myself--I gave 2 away.)  But seriously, this cake: so good!  It has this incredibly light texture, while still being very moist.  Clark calls it "intensely almond-y" but I really pick out the orange flavor--guess they're both there in perfect harmony.  The cake also contains buckwheat flour, which I had never used before, despite owning a bag (that, admittedly, I pilfered from my mother's cupboard).  The nuttiness of the buckwheat flour offers another interesting layer of flavor, so I'd recommend getting a bag, even if it's just for this cake.  You'll probably want to make it so many times that it'll be gone in no time!  However, if you're so desperate the try this before making a trip to the grocery store, I'm sure that replacing it with all-purpose would also produce a very good cake. 

Simple, rustic, but oh-so-tasty!

Mmmm...Peanut Butter....

 
UPDATE: I just discovered this morning on NPR via Facebook--not even 12 hours after posting this!!--that it is not my most timely post, since apparently we're in the midst of a peanut, and therefore peanut butter, shortage.  Who would have guessed??  So I say run, don't walk, to your nearest grocery store and stock up, because actually, you don't want to miss these cookies!


Wow.  I am a bad blogger.  Please accept my apologies.  Please?  I wrote this post in JULY and then forgot to post it.  Or rather, I thought I had photos that I had to upload and edit, and I really didn't want to.  And then today, when I went to look through my camera, I realized I never even took any photos of the finished product, so there was really no reason to delay so long.  So not only is the post MONTHS late, it is kind of devoid of photos.  Again, apologies.  Then I dropped off the planet for a while.  By which I mean I moved to Cambridge into a dorm at Harvard, started a second job there, started eating in the dining hall, and stopped cooking.  And therefore stopped having things to write about.  Pathetic.  I need to do better.  My first step is FINALLY posting these cookies.  So without further ado:

So far the most popular recipe on the blog was the last one, for the Grapefruit Campari pops.  Note to self:  readers like recipes with only 3 ingredients, one of which is alcohol, and involve no cooking.

Okay.  Duly noted.  (I mean, I don't blame you.  I like recipes like that, too.)

If, however, you're feeling more ambitious, like you might be up to the task of turning on the oven, combining multiple ingredients, shaping, and baking, and you happen to like peanut butter, then this next recipe is for you.

I have never actually been to Flour Bakery in Boston/Cambridge, despite its fame & popularity.  It hasn't been a conscious decision, I just never happen to be walking by it when I need a baked good.  However, I did have the pleasure of working with Flour's owner, Joanne Chang, when I was a student at Boston University.  She came in and taught us four recipes: scones, quiche, pop tarts, and her famous (and award winning!) cinnamon buns.  She was a delight to work with--friendly, unassuming, and a great teacher.  As a bonus, we each received a copy of her cookbook, Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston's Flour Bakery + Cafe.  There are tons of recipes that I want to try, but one that I have already baked twice, with excellent results, are Joanne's Peanut Butter Cookies.  There is nothing unusual about them, they're just really really good peanut butter cookies.  Just the right amount of salt, sugar, and peanut, and they bake up soft, thick, and chewy.  My inclination with simple cookies like this is to fuss with them (by which I mean add chocolate), since plain cookies aren't always my thing, but even I can't keep my hands off these.  But, if you did want to add chocolate chips, I say, go for it!  I still haven't done it, but I'm sure I won't resist the temptation forever.  And for me, perhaps the best part of this recipe (and all of the book's recipes, for that matter) is that the ingredients are listed by weight in addition to cups (a real baker's recipe!), so it's very quick to scale out.  I've said it once but I'll say it again (and probably at least a few more times down the road): digital scales.  A baker's best friend!  (And for more on the joys and wonders of scaling, please refer to the New York Times article I posted).

Peanut Butter Cookies (From Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston's Flour Bakery + Cafe by Joanne Chang)

Makes about 24 (big!) cookies

* 2 sticks/1 cup/228 g unsalted butter

* 1 cup/200 g granulated sugar

* 1 cup/220 g packed light brown sugar

* 2 eggs

* 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract

* 1 3/4 cups/454 g/a 1 pound jar of peanut butter, chunky unsalted is my preference

* 2 2/3 cups/375 g unbleached all purpose flour

* 1 teaspoon of baking soda

* 1 teaspoon of Kosher salt

1. Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a bowl using an electric hand mixer, cream together the butter and sugars until the mixture is light and fluffy--this will take about 5 minutes in a stand mixer or about 8 with a hand mixer.  (Joanne says 10 minutes, but I don't know ANYONE, myself included, who has the patience to cream something together for 10 minutes!)  Stop your mixer several times to scrap down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula to ensure all the ingredients are mixing thoroughly. 

2.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until thoroughly combined after each one, then toss in the vanilla, beat some more. 

 

3. Plop in the peanut butter, using a rubber spatula to get every little bit out of the jar and into the mixing bowl.  Beat on medium-low speed for a couple of minutes until it's thoroughly combined.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl again--get it all in there!

 4. In a medium bowl, use a fork and combine the flour, baking soda and salt.  On very low speed, or with a wooden spoon, mix the dry ingredients into the wet, just until they're evenly incorporated.  

5.  For best results, Joanne says to let the dough rest for at least 4 hours or overnight.  To do this, transfer the dough to an airtight container, or push all the dough into the mixer bowl and cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate.  Alternatively, if you have a large cookie scoop, (large being 4 tablespoon/56mm size) now is a good time to portion out the dough.  Scoop your cookies, lining them up on a parchment-lined cookie sheet.  When I scoop my cookies I put them all on one sheet, nearly touching, and then wrap it with plastic wrap then pop it in the fridge.  

Scooped cookies hanging out in the fridge.  Peanut butter are on the right.

6. When you're ready to bake the cookies, heat your oven to 350 degrees F.  Drop cookie dough in 1/4 inch balls on a parchment lined cookie sheet.   Flatten slightly with your hand, then make the traditional criss-cross shape on top, using the tines of a fork.  (If you've refrigerated your cookie dough pre-scooped, you'll have to let them sit out a room temp for about 30 minutes to soften enough for flattening and patterning).  Bake the cookies for 18-20 minutes, or until the edges turn a golden brown but the middles are still fairly pale and soft.  Cool the cookies for 5 to 10 minutes on the cookie sheet on cooling racks, then transfer them to the racks to cool completely. 

7.  Cookies, once cooled, can be stored for 3 days in an airtight container.  Unbaked dough can stay in the fridge for up to a week in an airtight container.  

Enjoy!!

Everything and the Kitchen Sink Cookies

  

I just realized the other week that this blog is nearly two years old, and I still haven't told you about one of my favorite cookies ever.  Oops.  Sorry about that.  No, really, I am.

They come from Dorie Greenspan (adorable and so talented!), and can be found in her book Baking: From My Home to Yours.  I don't have the book, but at some point the recipe was published in a cooking magazine, which is where I discovered it.  (Judging from the font I'm going to say it was Bon Appetit, but I managed to trim away any real identifying details).  Dorie dubs these cookies, which are absolutely packed with oats, nuts, fruit, and chocolate, Chockablock cookies.  The type of nuts & fruit you use is entirely up to you, depending on what you have kicking around the pantry.  This time around I used dried cherries and apricots, pecans, and lots of chocolate, but I've tried lots of combos, all tasty and delicious.  My only minor change to the recipe is nixing the dried coconut (hate it!) and upping the oats and other add-ins to equal an extra half cup of stuff.  The cookie purists in your life might find these babies a little overwhelming, but if you like a cookie with a lot of flavor and texture, they are definitely worth a try.

Chockablock Cookies (From Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan)

About 30 cookies

* 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

* ¾ teaspoon baking powder

* ½ teaspoon baking soda

* ¼ teaspoon salt

* ½ stick (4 tablespoons/2 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature

* ¼ cup solid vegetable shortening (i.e., Crisco)

* ½ cup sugar

* ½ cup molasses (not blackstrap)

* 2 large eggs

* 1 ½ cups old-fashioned oats

* 1 cup coarsely chopped nuts (walnuts, pecans, almonds or peanuts are good)

* 1 cup coarsely chopped dried fruit (apricot and cherries are my faves, but I also love raisins, prunes, and cranberries, and I'd like to experiment with apple at some point)

* 12 ounces of bittersweet chocolate coarsely chopped, or about 2 cups of chocolate chips

* ½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut (or add an extra half cup of oats & fruit/nuts)

1. Place your oven racks in upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat it to 325 degrees F.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

3. Fit your stand mixer the paddle attachment if you have one, or with a hand mixer and a large bowl, beat together the butter and shortening until very smooth, about 2 minutes.  Add the sugar and beat two minutes more.  Add the molasses and beat for 1 minute more.  Add the eggs one at a time, beating for a minute after each addition. 

4. With the mixer on low, mix in the oats, then the dry ingredients, mixing just until they are incorporated.  Add the nuts, fruit, chocolate chips and coconut (if using), and pulse the mixer a few times to incorporate them (or just use a sturdy rubber spatula to fold them in).

(At this point, the dough can be refrigerated, covered in plastic, for two days.)

5. If you have a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop, that's a perfect size for these cookies.  If you don't, simply drop rounded tablespoons of dough onto the prepared pans, leaving about 1 ½ inches between the mounds.  Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, rotating pans from top to bottom and front to back at the midway point, until the cookies are just set.  (Because they are dark in color, it's hard to judge done-ness by the color.  When in doubt, underbake I always say!)  Remove the baking sheets to cooling racks and let the cookies rest on the sheets for at least 5 minutes before transferring them to racks to cool.  Cookies keep for about a week in an airtight container.  

Another do-ahead trick is to scoop the dough into mounds onto a cookie sheets and freeze them.  Once they're frozen solid, the mounds can be transferred to a freezer bag and kept for up to 2 months.  You can bake the cookies right out of the freezer, simply add a couple of minutes to the baking time.

Enjoy!

My New Lemony Love

  

Can I tell you what I'm obsessed with right now?

Lemon Curd.

Because if there's one thing I like as much as chocolate, it's lemon.

Unfortunately chocolate and lemon don't go all that well together (in my opinion, anyway--I've always preferred the more classic chocolate and orange combo).  But do you know what goes REALLY well with lemon curd?  Whipped cream.  It's my new favorite combo.  Swear to god.  I eat it plain.  I just ate it with soggy berries too, and that was fantastic.  And not that I like to brag, (but I will for a minute), my culinary school instructors said that the dessert I made for my final project, which was a lemon layer cake with strawberries, was the best in the class.  I chalk it up to the GENIUS use of lemon curd/whipped cream filling that glued the whole thing together.  (But shhh, don't tell anyone.  That was basically the only "secret" ingredient.) 

I was intimidated by lemon curd after reading somewhere in the blogosphere about a blogger's inability to master it even after multiple attempts.  Luckily for me (or perhaps unluckily, since I now know how fast and easy it is to make), we made it in class a couple of weeks ago as part of a mini-pastry unit, so I'm feeling confident.  The recipe was provided to us by Janine Sciarappa, our awesome pastry instructor.  What I like about it is it's simplicity, but also how easy it is to tweak to one's palate.  When I first tasted it I found it sweet for my palate--I almost had to search for the tangy lemon flavor I was expecting.  When I made it again I upped the amount of lemon zest considerably and used a few teaspoons less sugar.  While that was a good start, the texture of all the extra lemon zest was not appealing on my tongue, and I ended up straining it out, and then adding another few teaspoons of lemon juice after it cooked.  Ultimately I think the best technique is to use the recommended amount of lemon zest, and to chop it even after grating so that its texture isn't noticeable.  Use less sugar, and stir in more lemon juice at the end if further adjustments are needed.  Below you will find my tweaked version of the recipe, which is tangy but certainly not sour!

So what do you do with this magical stuff once you've made it to your liking?  Other than eating it plain out of the pot, it is great folded in with whipped cream on top of fresh berries, as filling in a layer cake, or on top of plain or lemon cheesecake, which was the way it was originally presented to us.  Pastry Chef extraordinaire David Lebowitz also suggests spreading it on crumpets (I think those are like scones?), and he ALSO had the idea of mixing it with whipped cream, but to be served alongside gingerbread--genius!  Although it's not gingerbread season yet, I love love love that stuff, so I will have to get back to you on that one come fall.

Lemon Curd (Adapted from Janine Sciarappa)

Makes about 1 1/2 cups

* 4 large eggs

* 1 cup + 1 tablespoon granulated sugar

* 6 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons)

* 2 Tablespoons finely grated lemon peel

* 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter

1.  In a heavy bottomed non-reactive (i.e., stainless steel) saucepan, whisk together the eggs and sugar.  Then whisk in the lemon juice and peel.

2.  Cook the mixture over medium heat for about 5 minutes, whisking the whole time, until the mixture is nice and thick--I'd say somewhere between ranch dressing and mayonnaise, and just on the verge of boiling.

(You may say here, Macy, if I am whisking the whole time I will never know if the mixture is about to boil because I'm constantly agitating it.  Good point.  You can stop whisking for a few seconds now and then to assess thickness, and see if any bubbles are starting to form around the edges.  But for the most part, whisk whisk whisk.)

3.  When the curd has reached a good thick consistency, remove it from the heat and whisk in the butter.  Taste it and if it's not tangy and lemony enough for you, stir in a few more drops of fresh lemon juice.  Transfer to a small bowl or a plastic container and chill until cold, about 2 hours.  To prevent a skin from forming on top of the curd, press a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface.

The curd will keep for about a week in the fridge, so you can make it several days ahead of time if needed.  If you want a super smooth texture, you can push the curd through a mesh strainer with a rubber spatula when it's warm or cold.  Sometimes the zest bugs me and sometimes it's fine--can't really explain it.  But it's easy enough to get rid of it, so do that if you like. 

Enjoy!

Outrageous Brownies

 

I didn't name these little gems, but it certainly does them justice.  They are in fact Barefoot Contessa brownies, so you know they have to be good.  And they are.  Let me tell you:

I mentioned it somewhere on the blog before, but I have a running challenge to make the most chocolate-y things possible for my dad whenever I go back to Boston, which I did, briefly, this past weekend.  Thursday it just poured and poured all day on Nantucket, so in lieu of work I flexed my domestic muscles, cleaning a good portion of the house, and making some things in the kitchen that needed to be made.  Like, you know, more banana bread, and two batches of pesto (basil/pinenut and parsely/walnut).  And then, in the evening, as I was packing my suitcase, I realized that I had TOTALLY forgotten to make a chocolate offering.  At this point I was in my pajamas, and was not going to go to the store, so I needed a recipe that used things I already had on hand.  Luckily I stumbled upon Ina's recipe pretty quickly, and realized they were PERFECT.  Why?  First, you melt the butter, so I could use sticks right out of the freezer (although cut into cubes with a chefs knife to speed up the melting).  Add to that a little unsweetened chocolate, lots of semisweet chocolate, just a smidge of flour (so immediately I knew they had to be good), baking powder, vanilla and salt.  And, as I mentioned a few weeks ago in the Whiskey Soaked Bundt Cake post, Ina is a fan of adding that extra ingredient to bring out the essence of an ingredient, and in this case, instant coffee (or espresso) powder is that special something that makes you say "wow!"  Ina's recipe is enormous, and is baked on what is called a "half sheet" pan.  These pans, which measure 12 x 18 inches, are common in commercial kitchens, but bigger than most home cooks' pans.  I realized that half of a "half sheet" is essentially a lasagna pan (9 x 13 inches), so I halved the recipe and baked it in a Pyrex lasagna pan, which worked perfectly.  Below you will find the half recipe, which is probably all the brownie you need, anyway!  If you are cooking an enormous batch of brownies though, here's the full recipe, so you don't even have to do the math all on your own ;)

And if you're wondering what my dad thought of these?  He left me a voicemail and simply said "save the recipe."

Ina's OUTRAGEOUS Brownies (Adapted from the Barefoot Contessa Cookbook)

Makes about 24 2x2-inch brownies

I'm not normally a walnuts in brownies fan, so I omitted them, but I actually think these would have been better with nuts to break up the outrageous chocolatey-ness of these squares.  As most of the chocolate flavor comes from the chocolate chips that you use, it is worth using a quality brand that you really like.  You can also use bar chocolate for the 8 ounces of chocolate that you melt with with the butter.

* ½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter
* 8 ounces (1 1/3 cups) + 6 ounces (1 cup) semisweet chocolate chips, divided
* 3 ounces unsweetened chocolate
* 3 extra-large eggs (I used 4 large eggs, which is probably a little more than needed, but I think it worked fine)
* 1 ½ Tablespoons instant coffee or espresso powder

* 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
* 1 cup + 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
* ½ cup + 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour, divided
* 1½ teaspoons baking powder
* ½ teaspoon kosher salt
* 1 ½ cups diced walnut pieces (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9×13 baking pan (aka, a standard lasagna pan).  (If your pan is a dark colored metal pan, only preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.)

2.  Melt together the butter, the 8 ounces of chocolate chips, and unsweetened chocolate on top of a double boiler (a mixing bowl on top of, but not touching, a pan of barely simmering water). Cool slightly. Stir (don't beat) together the eggs, instant coffee, vanilla and sugar. Stir this mixture into the warm chocolate mixture and cool to room temperature

 

3. Sift together the ½ cup flour, baking powder and salt, and then gently stir into the cooled chocolate mixture. Toss the walnuts and chocolate chips with flour to coat. (If you are omitting walnuts, use only 1 tablespoon of flour to toss the chocolate chips.)  Fold chocolate chips and nuts into the brownie batter, then pour batter into the prepared pan.

4. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until tester just comes out clean. Halfway through the baking, rap the pan against the oven shelf to allow air to escape from between the pan and the brownie dough. Do not overbake! Cool thoroughly, refrigerate for several hours or overnight before cutting into squares.  I was nervous about these brownies not coming out of the pan, but I discovered that running a knife around the edges of the pan, then inserting a flexible metal spatula down and under the brownies made the whole pan pop out nicely.  Use a nice sharp chefs knife to cut these dense, fudgey brownies into nice, clean squares. 

ENJOY!!! (And be sure to have a big glass of milk on hand--these babies need it!)

Luscious Lemon Bars

 

May I, just for a moment, sing the praises of the lemon bar?  Gosh, I love those things.  Breakfast, snack, dessert, whenever.  I will never tire of them.  I love all sorts of lemon desserts, but I think the humble yet delicious lemon bar is my favorite.  

I had occasion to ponder these bars of wonder last weekend, for the final Armchair Theatre of the season.  I can't remember if I've written about Armchair on this blog before or not, and I'm entirely too lazy to look through the archives, so I may be repeating myself.  Feel free to skip ahead if I am.  Armchair Theatre is organized under the auspices of Nantucket Theatre Workshop.  Once a month from January to June a kind person volunteers their home for a play reading, done from chairs, hence the "armchair" part of the theatre.  Anyone who wants to attend may do so, the only entrance "fee" is a dish for the potluck that precedes the play reading.  Inevitably there is too much of one kind of food at the potluck, and it will switch from month to month.  In February the AT fell on Valentine's Day, and about half the the attendees brought brownies, in heart shapes or otherwise.  May also had lots of dessert, so I knew June would be lacking in the dessert department.  I also knew I didn't want to go to the store, so I had to make a dessert that could be thrown together from things I already had around.  Luckily, lemon bars fit the bill.  All you need is one real lemon, which I had, and then you can use bottled lemon juice for the rest, which I always have on hand.  And it was a good thing I did: only one other person brought dessert, just as I guessed.  Needless to say, the squares were a big success!

Before making lemon bars for the first time I assumed that they were complicated, that achieving that perfect sweet-sour lemony filling on top of the crumbly, buttery crust was difficult.  As it turns out, it's not one bit difficult.  These bars have what I consider to be the optimal crust to filling ratio, about 1:2.  I know this is a matter of personal preference, but I think these are pretty darn perfect.  Before I had a lasagna pan I tried fussing with the quantities so that it would fit other sized pans, but I never quite got it right.  This recipe is perfectly suited for the lasagna pan, so if you have one, use it, and if not, it is a worthwhile purchase, if only so you can have perfect lemon bars every time.

Lemon Bars (From the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook)

Makes about 30 bars

* 2 cups all-purpose flour

* 1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted

* 2 Tablespoons cornstarch

* 1/4 teaspoon salt

* 3/4 cup cold butter, cut into squares (1 1/2 sticks)

* 4 eggs, slightly beaten

* 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

* 3 Tablespoons flour

* 3/4 cup of lemon juice

* Zest of 1 lemon

* 1/4 cup milk, cream, or half & half

* Additional powdered sugar, for dusting

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.  Line a lasagna pan (9" x 13") with foil, then grease the foil.

2. Combine the 2 cups flour, 1/2 cup powdered sugar, cornstarch and salt in a large mixing bowl.  Add butter pieces, and cut into the flour mixture using a pastry cutter or two knives, until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  

This is what the crust will look like when the butter is sufficiently incorporated

3. Pour the mixture into the baking pan and press the crumbs evenly around the pan with your fingertips.  Bake for 18-20 minutes, until the edges are golden brown.

3. While the crust bakes, make the filling.  Combine the eggs, granulated sugar, 3 TBS flour, lemon juice, lemon zest, and milk in a bowl.  Pour the filling over the hot crust and put it back in the oven for an additional 15-20 minutes, until the center is set.  

 The foil makes the bars easy to lift out and cut

4.  Cool on a wire rack.  Dust the top with additional powdered sugar and cut into bars.  If any of the edges are particularly uneven or over-browned, cut them off (and sneak them while no one is looking :)  Store in fridge until ready to serve. 

 Serving them in cupcake papers makes for a nice & neat presentation

Enjoy!!

Leaving You With A Little Something

 
My sister Allison and I are off to Europe tonight (in theory, if the volcano would please dear god just stop spewing crap into the sky so our plane can leave).  We're visiting Ireland, Scotland and Amsterdam in honor of her graduation (with honors, yay Ali!), and very belatedly in honor of graduation (or so I like to tell myself, since I started working immediately upon graduating...times were different back in 2006, when there were jobs...) I don't know much about the food cultures of those places, other than boiled meat, sausage, and cabbage, so I don't know if I will be returning with any great ideas, so I wanted to leave you with one cookie recipe that will absolutely knock your socks off, so you have something to bake in my absence. 

My dad has always had a soft spot for this incredible triple or quadruple-y chocolate cookies from a Boston bakery chain called Rebecca's.  These cookies are so intense that he eats one over the course of several days, and if you ask for a bite he'll give you a piece about the size of your thumb nail, which is kind of stingy (sorry, Dad), but in fact is all you really need, because they are just that powerful.  It has been a personal mission of mine to bake something for him that matches Rebecca's cookies in intensity, and I think I have finally found that recipe.  I was waiting for my dad's approval before writing about them, because I didn't want to share something that was just so-so.  Fortunately, these cookies are not so-so, not even close!  (A few of my prior attempts, which I found delicious, did not make the cut, by his standards.)  These cookies come from Baker's Illustrated by way of Brown Eyed Baker, which is also the blog that turned me on to the Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies a few weeks ago.  They are triple chocolate, and totally amazing.  Along with the Thick and Chewys, I may never try any cookie recipes ever again.  I just don't need to, these are just THAT GOOD.

So without further ado (and apologies for being a lazy photographer, yet again), the recipe, in its original quantities.  When I made these I halved the recipe, because one man, even a chocoholic like my father, does not need 42 cookies at once.  Fortunately it halves very nicely.  It also gives the dry ingredient measurements in ounces, which is great if you have a scale. 


Thick and Chewy Triple-Chocolate Cookies (From Baker's Illustrated and Brown Eyed Baker)
Makes about 42 cookies 

* 2 cups (10 ounces) all-purpose flour
* ½ cup (1½ ounces) Dutch-processed cocoa powder
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* ½ teaspoon salt
* 16 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
* 4 large eggs
* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 2 teaspoons instant coffee or espresso powder
* 10 tablespoons (1¼ sticks) unsalted butter, softened but still cool
* 1½ cups packed (10½ ounces) light brown sugar
* ½ cup (3½ ounces) granulated sugar
* 12 ounces (about 2 cups) semisweet chocolate chips


 1. Place the chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water.  Melt the chocolate, stirring a few times, until smooth, then remove from the heat. (Alternatively, you could melt the chocolate in the microwave, just be careful to check it often, so it doesn't overheat and scorch.)

2.  While the chocolate is melting, beat the eggs and vanilla together in a small bowl, then sprinkle the coffee powder over to dissolve, and set aside.  In a separate medium bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

3. Either by hand or with an electric mixer, beat the butter at medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 5 seconds. Beat in the sugars until combined, about 45 seconds; the mixture will still be quite granular. Reduce the speed to low and gradually beat in the egg mixture until incorporated, about 45 seconds. Add the chocolate in a steady stream and beat until combined, about 40 seconds. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. With the mixer at low speed, add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Do not overbeat. Fold in the chocolate chips. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature until the consistency is scoopable and fudge-like, about 30 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, adjust the oven racks to the upper- and lower-middle positions and heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheet(s) with parchment paper or silicone mats. Scoop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets with a medium ice cream or cookie scoop, spacing the mounds of dough about 1½ inches apart.  (If you don't have a scoop, make balls of dough that about the size of ping pong balls)

5. Bake until the edges of the cookies have just begun to set but the centers are still very soft, about 10 minutes, rotating the baking sheets front to back and top to bottom halfway through the baking time.  Don't over bake these--You want them to stay soft and chewy!  Cool the cookies on the sheets about 10 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to finish cooling to room temperature.  Cool the baking sheets before scooping more dough onto them (I pop mine in the freezer for a few minutes to expedite this); the parchment paper can be reused. 


ENJOY!!!  And don't miss me too much while I'm away :)

Volkswagens, Daffodils, and Some Damn Good Cookies

I love that time in the spring when everything starts to green up, when the hedges and the shrubs and wild growth along the sides of the road begin to bud, so that from afar they look as though they have simply been dusted with the faintest hint of green.  Then, seemingly overnight, plants are covered with actual leaves, and it really feels as though spring has arrived.  The transition from brown to green means two (somewhat related) things.  I am ridiculously busy at work, and Daffodil weekend is approaching.  For my non-Nantucket readers, Daffodil weekend, which occurs in late April, is a festival of sorts for which locals and visitors alike turn out in droves to celebrate the simple daffodil.  (It's also the first time that many seasonal folks come to the back to the island,  hence the busy-ness at work.)  The highlight of the of the weekend is the Antique car parade, which starts in town and then crosses half the island to 'Sconset, where the cars park, their drivers set up tailgates, and then everyone proceeds to blatantly ignores open container laws and gets boozed up while dressed in all manner of ridiculously bright/preppy daffodil-adorned attire.  While I've gone out and spectated for the past two years, this will be my first year participating in the decorating of an antique car and being part of that spectacle.  The Nantucket Historical Association was the lucky recipient of a 1960s VW van, which is undergoing a major decorating effort and will be part of the parade this year.  I'm not going to spill the beans just yet, but it's going to be awesome.  But in order for it to be awesome, we needed to do some work.  And naturally, workers need to be fed, right?  So yesterday we gathered and sawed and drilled and taped and painted, and worked up an appetite, so we ate.

A stock-market-themed tailgate.  They only get more elaborate from here...

I use any gathering of people where food is being served (in this case, lunch), to try out new recipes and make yummy baked goods that I won't make just to have around the house (because that is just asking for trouble!).  Naturally my contribution to this gathering would be sweet in nature, because that's just how I roll.  My limiting factors were: a) ingredients, since I didn't do any shopping beforehand, and b) timing, since I only left myself about an hour to make something, and c) easy to serve and eat.  With that criteria, I figured my best bet would be cookies, since they bake quickly and are finger friendly.  The one catch with cookies, however, is that they often use room temperature butter, which I didn't have on hand (and didn't have time to wait for!)  For inspiration I turned to Brown Eyed Baker, which has a wealth of basic yet fantastic baked-good recipes.  I quickly stumbled across one incredibly indulgent "Thick and Chewy" chocolate chip cookie recipe that called for melted butter instead of room temperature--timing problem solved!  I got to work immediately, and about an hour later I was packing the cookies, still warm from the oven.

As you readers have probably guessed, I always like to try new recipes.  Sometimes they're good, sometimes they're just so-so (obviously I don't write about those), and sometimes they're so great they're an automatic keeper, and let me tell you, this one is a keeper!  There are about a million chocolate chip cookie recipes out there, but as far as I'm concerned, I've found my winner.  And I'm not the only one.  My first assurance that these cookies were in fact as great as I thought they'd be was when my friend Beth nabbed one before lunch and declared "these cookies are amazing!" (or something like that).  When we all broke for lunch the praise kept rolling in, and it was impossible for people to eat just one (despite their hefty size!).  Here's what makes them so amazing:  the fact that they stay chewy, even after cooling (thanks to the butter plus and extra egg yolk).  Enough vanilla so you could actually taste it.  A perfect sweet-salty balance.  The aforementioned hefty size (and I even down-sized mine a tiny bit!).  The thick-and-chewiness...oh wait, I already said that.  The key to the chewiness is pulling them from the oven when the centers are still soft and puffy looking so you don't run the risk of over-baking them.  Apparently cooling the cookies on the sheets also enhances the texture--as I was a bit crunched for time I didn't have an opportunity to let them cool all the way before packing them, and as far as I can tell, they didn't suffer too much because of it.  We consumed most of these cookies about 2 1/2 hours after they were pulled from the oven, so not only were they soft, but the chocolate chips were still partially melted, which no doubt contributed to the overwhelmingly positive response. Still, 24 hours later they're still awesome (don't worry, I just ate another, just to be sure), so don't delay, makes these cookies today, and you too will be singing their praises. 

Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies (Adapted from Brown Eyed Baker and Baking Illustrated)

Makes 18-22 large cookies

This recipe's original source, Baking Illustrated, gives ingredient measures in weights as well as cups.  Armed with a trusty kitchen scale, I measured the dry ingredients by weight.  To satisfy my own curiosity I compared the weigh and volume measurements, and found that when measuring by volume I always ended up with more flour and sugar.  So, if you have a scale, use it, and if you don't, be sure not to overfill your cup measures.  When you're going for soft and chewy you don't want to dry out your cookies with too much flour, or over-sweeten with too much sugar!

* 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (10.625 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour

* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled until warm
* 1 cup packed (7 ounces) light or dark brown sugar
* 1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar
* 1 large egg plus 1 additional egg yolk
* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* About 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

 

1. Adjust the oven racks to the upper- and lower-middle positions and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper, a silicone baking mat, or spray them with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl and set aside.

3. Using an electric mixer or just a wooden spoon or spatula, combine the melted butter and sugars until thoroughly blended. Beat in the egg, yolk, and vanilla until just combined. Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed just until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand.

4. Roll the dough into ping-pong sized balls--a scant 1/4 cup or so of dough.  Place the formed dough balls on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them 2 1/2 inches apart.

5. Bake until the cookies are light golden grown and the outer edges start to harden yet the centers are still soft and puffy, 14 to 17 minutes, rotating the baking sheets front to back and top to bottom halfway through the baking time. Cool the cookies on the sheets before removing with a metal spatula.  Enjoy--I know you will!!!

Apple Spiced Upside-Down Cake

 

Inspired partly by the previous recipe (Apple Walnut Bread), and partly by the fantastic Plum Upside Down Cake that I posted about last fall, I decided to do a little experimenting this weekend.  I've been desperate to make the upside-down cake again--it's simple to prepare yet rich and buttery, and when topped with caramelized fruit, I can think of few things better.  Since plums are months away from being in season, I thought I would try the cake using a fruit that never seems to go out of season: apples.  I caramelized them in butter and sugar until they were soft and syrupy, and I enhanced the batter with cinnamon and nutmeg, a pair that always complements apples.  The result, I have to say, was fantastic.  I brought it to Armchair Theatre, a monthly potluck/play reading that Erik and I often attend, and then took a page out of my dad's book and enjoyed some of the leftovers for breakfast!  For breakfast or dessert, this cake is a winner! 

Apple Spiced Upside Down Cake, (Inspired by Real Simple Magazine, August 2009)

Serves 8-10

* 3 apples, each peeled, cored, and cut into 8 wedges 

* 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature, plus an additional tablespoon
* 1/4 cup brown sugar 
* 2/3 cup white sugar
* 1 cup all-purpose flour
* 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/4 teaspoon salt

* 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

* 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
* 2/3 cup sour cream (lowfat is fine)
* 1 large egg
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter an 8 inch cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper

2. Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the brown sugar and the apple wedges. Cook, tossing occasionally, until the sugar dissolves and the apples begin to soften, 5 to 6 minutes. Arrange the apples in the cake pan in slightly overlapping concentric circles, starting from the outside. Spoon any remaining syrup over the top.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.

4. With an electric mixer, beat the 1/2 cup of butter and 2/3 cup of sugar until fluffy. Beat in the egg, sour cream, and vanilla. Gradually add the flour mixture, mixing just until incorporated.

5. Pour the batter over the apples (you'll have to use a spatula to spread it around, it's thick).  Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 50 to 55 minutes.  Let cool in the pan for 1 hour. Place a large plate over the cake pan and invert the cake onto the plate.  Slice and enjoy!!!

 Pardon the glare.  It doesn't quite do it justice, but this is one darn tasty cake!