home made kit kat bars of glory

I still have a couple of Thailand posts up my sleeve, but I realized today that I promised this post to Sarah and then it completely slipped my mind.

When I first read the recipe for these "Homemade Kit Kat Bars" I was skeptical. They looked tasty, and certainly contained enough good looking ingredients like butter, chocolate, and peanut butter. And the recipe comes from Paula Deen, butter extraordinaire. But the base was constructed of Club crackers, which seemed dubious. I'm glad I went ahead and gave these a shot. The sum of the parts make for something unholy. The addition of a dash of butterscotch chips is truly an inspired choice. Calling them "Homemade Kit Kat Bars" is a misnomer because they don't really taste like the store bought Kit Kat bars. These lack the crunch and are about 200% richer. Also, they age really well. Like a fine wine or cheese, these just seem to get better after a day or two in the tupperware as the flavors continue to meld. Not kidding. It makes a 9x13 pan, but slice these puppies into tiny squares, you'll thank me later.

These are also incredibly easy to put together. The most annoying part is crushing the graham crackers into crumbs. The original recipe said it took about "45 minutes" of active time. Yeah, maybe if you take a 30 minute nap in the middle of making them. If you have the ingredients lined up, this will come together very quickly. Perfect for any summer picnics!

Kit Kat Bars of Glory
75 Club crackers (roughly 2 and a 1/2 sleeves of a standard box of crackers)
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup butterscotch chips

Line 9- by 13-inch rectangular baking pan with one layer of Club crackers (you may need to break some to fit).

Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Add graham cracker crumbs, dark brown sugar, milk, and granulated sugar. Bring to boil. Boil for five minutes, stirring constantly. Remove pan from heat. Pour half of butter mixture over crackers in pan. Smooth surface with spatula.

Arrange another layer of Club crackers over butter mixture. Pour remaining butter mixture over surface. Smooth surface with spatula. Arrange a third layer of crackers over top.

Combine peanut butter, chocolate chips, and butterscotch chips in small saucepan. Melt over medium-low heat, stirring constantly. Spread evenly over crackers.

Cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate two hours. Cut into 2-inch bars. (I cut them much much smaller - see picture - closer to tiny squares) Bars will keep for two weeks, stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Sawadika

Yesterday afternoon I finally made it to Thailand. So far I've been battling two formidable opponents, jet lag and the heat. Neither of which are kidding around, and both trying really hard to kick my ass. But then as I'm sitting here at this coffee shop, visiting the internet while my personal tour guide, aka Brian, has some teacher's meeting. And the skies just opened pouring rain. I'm sitting outside on an open air porch, because this is where the one outlet is and the breeze coming in off the rain is amazing.

Now on to more important topics, like food. Last night we went to the night market, where we had some slightly spicy, delicious concoction I forget the name of at the moment. But today for lunch he took me to "the rice lady." I had the pad krapow moo (fried rice with pork) and Brian had the pad krapow gui (fried rice with chicken). Both worth writing home about. Mmmmm. Thai food.

Boom Boom Mex Mex

boom boom mex mex (#119), a photo by the_musical on Flickr.

Even thought my food loving Professor has been recommending this place to me as the best Mexican food in Syracuse, for the better part of two years, I hadn't made it out there. Some other friends went and had mixed reviews (note to self: don't trust their food opinions). Also the owners close up shop during the winter, which let's face it, is most of the time here. But they just opened back up for the Summer.

This is the Mexican platter, featuring some kind of pork, the chilis and cheese filling, plus all the fixins' and two tortillas. I also got this amazing dulce de leche flan. So sad I didn't try this place out sooner.

coffee and a muffin

coffee and a muffin (#115), a photo by the_musical on Flickr.

The muffins are still nice and tasty on Day Two after baking. Especially when enjoyed with a friend and coffee.

Easter Brunch Basket of Baking

Liz decided to host a brunch yesterday. As I told someone else, it wasn't so much an Easter brunch - as a brunch that happened to fall on Easter. The moment Liz told me she was planning on hosting a brunch I offered to bring things. I love brunch. And I especially love making brunch foods. The problem with most of them - they don't keep well. I can't whip up a bunch of scones in the morning and pass them out the next day at school, like I usually do.

I made a baked french toast casserole, which is fabulous but requires very little effort. So I also offered to bring cranberry scones and blueberry muffins.



I've made the blueberry muffins before, and the recipe title isn't an exaggeration. They are beautiful, perfect easy muffins. I knew they wouldn't be a problem. But every other time I've tried to make scones they've been really finicky. Hard to handle. Not the right consistency. These scones on the other hand were awesome. The batter came together easily and baked like a dream. I want to wake up every Sunday morning and make these scones. Now, I just need people I like to volunteer to help me eat them every Sunday morning.

Perfect Blueberry Muffins
from Smitten Kitchen

Makes 9 to 10 standard muffins

5 tablespoons (2 1/2 ounces or 71 grams) unsalted butter , softened
1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces or 100 grams) sugar
1 large egg
3/4 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 1/2 cups (6 3/4 ounces or 191 grams) all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon (7 grams or 1/4 ounce) baking powder
1/4 teaspoon (1 gram) baking soda
1/4 teaspoon (2 grams) salt
3/4 cup (3 3/4 ounces or 105 grams) blueberries, fresh or frozen (if frozen, don’t bother defrosting)

Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a muffin tin with 10 paper liners or spray each cup with a nonstick spray. Beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add egg and beat well, then yogurt and zest.

Put flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a sifter and sift half of dry ingredients over batter. Mix until combined. Sift remaining dry ingredients into batter and mix just until the flour disappears. Gently fold in your blueberries.

The dough will be quite thick (and even thicker, if you used a full-fat Greek-style yogurt), closer to a cookie dough, which is why an ice cream scoop is a great tool to fill your muffin cups. You’re looking for them to be about 3/4 full, nothing more, so you might only need 9 instead of 10 cups.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until tops are golden and a tester inserted into the center of muffins comes out clean.

a unholy matzo combination for passover

matzo crackers (#109), a photo by the_musical on Flickr.

The first day of Passover this year happened to fall on a Bleier screening day. We were going to be watching the Rugrats Passover episode, and so it seemed fitting that I bring in something kosher for Passover.

This may seem like a really benevolent gesture on my part, but in fact this was just as much for me as it was for the observant Syracuse Jews. I love these things. I first made them last Christmas as part of my gift care packages. These are so simple and so delicious. A little butter, brown sugar, chocolate and sea salt transforms the matzo into an unholy substance. Deb at Smitten Kitchen calls these "caramel crack (ers)" and that's very accurate.

I might be able to go a week eating nothing but these crackers.

sunday dinner: southwestern pulled brisket

sunday dinner: southwestern pulled brisket (#107), a photo by the_musical on Flickr.

For dinner last night (and the rest of the week) I made this Southwestern Pulled Brisket (from Smitten Kitchen).

I got up around 9, browned the 3lb hunk of beef brisket I bought at Wegman's the day before for about ten minutes. Then I added that some spices, and tomatoes to the slow cooked, turned it on low and went away for the rest of the day. When I came back home after writing all day, the brisket was nice and cooked and ready to eat. I pulled it apart with two forks and spooned it on to a soft hamburger bun, added some pickled red onions and barbecue sauce. Mmm.

This Is How We Live and Eat - a Blood, Bones and Butter Review

I heard this book reviewed on the New York Times podcast, and then my friend Nino told me I needed to read it immediately. I followed her advice. I loved this book. I want to crawl inside parts of this book and live there. Which is odd, because it's not always a particularly uplifting book. There is something about the way Gabrielle Hamilton describes everything, food, hard work, her relationships, mothering - that makes me want to take up arms and dedicate myself to the cause. Which cause? I'm not even sure, all of them. This makes me want to eat better, it makes me want to cook better, and it makes me want to take care of people better - to build a small space where I could invite the people I love to come, and to eat and to be cared for. I love her descriptions of traveling in foreign countries, and of the people who took her in and fed her. Also I'm totally with her on comfort foods. I don't understand people who eat with only the blandest interest in all the world has to offer. Or as she puts it: "This is the crepe. This is the cider. This is how we live and eat.

The other thing she highlights is something I began to realize in earnest after college. There are people who when things go wrong will simply throw up their hands. Happily leave the hard work to someone else, go back to sitting at their desk and putting their feet up. The people who have no desire to problem solve. Who will refuse to help move boxes or shovel the driveway. There was this guy in Syracuse talking about his long term girlfriend and a really bad snow storm we had that lasted several days. She said she would not help him do the shoveling. Because it was hard and cold. And she would prefer to sit inside while he did the hard work, the bones of the thing. I almost told him that would be a deal breaking quality for me in a potential life mate and I'm not sure why it wasn't with him. And so I've realized I am not one of those people. I am the person that rolls up my sleeves and helps with the hard stuff. Or in other words:

"But at thirty-eight years old, hugely pregnant with my future tiny son, I don't want anything to do with badass. I want to be J. Crew catalog-clean. I don't want to be that woman who can-and did-get down on all fours and scrape pancake batter off the over door after having just cooked three hundred eggs with a near-constant monologue of fucking fuck of a fuck issuing from her lips. That disgusts me. While I would never want or hope to be the type of pregnant woman who would doze languidly in the afternoons while playing Mozart tapes to her womb, being down on the mats with a soapy green scrubby and rattling my unborn fetus with a string of expletives to make a trucker blush...well, that is certainly not the woman I want to be either.

When you are the one throwing the party every night, emptying the ashtrays, making sure the tonic is cold, the limes fresh, the shifts covered, the meat perfectly cooked and adequately rested, the customer's carefree and employees calm and confident, it will leave its marks. Someone has to stay in the kitchen and do the bones of the thing, to make sure it stands up, and if it's you, so be it." (pg 197)

The only other question - who's coming with me to Prune and when are we going?

Bacon Jam is Made of Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice

Consider me a convert to the Church of Bacon Jam. I had seen this floating around the blogosphere for a while, and I had my doubts. It was the onions that swayed me. In my opinion, only good things come from the long slow cooking of onions (see also : French Onion Soup, Burgers with Caramelized Onions and Blue Cheese). Also I had some leftover bacon from last week's pasta with bacon and tomato sauce. Since I had everything on hand, I decided to go for it.

Bacon Jam from Minimally Invasive

1 1/2 lbs. bacon sliced into 1-inch pieces
2 yellow onions, peeled and thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
1 tablespoon bourbon
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
3/4 cup very strong brewed black coffee
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon (or more, if you like) cayenne pepper

Cook bacon in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. (I did mine in two batches.) When bacon is browned, use a slotted spoon to transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. Drain all but 2 tablespoons of drippings from the pan.

Place Dutch oven back on the burner and adjust heat to medium. Stir in the onions and garlic and saute until onions are mostly translucent, about 10 minutes. Deglaze with bourbon. Stir in the bacon and remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.

Turn heat to low and simmer, uncovered, until onions are meltingly soft and the liquid is thick and syrupy, 30-40 minutes. If mixture starts to become dry, add up to 1/4 cup of water.

Transfer the bacon and onions to a food processor and pulse several times or until the bacon jam is a spreadable consistency. (I used the trusty immersion blender) Scrape into a jar or container with a tight-fitting lid. Store in the refrigerator for up to one month.

I can't even tell you how amazing this stuff is. Words do not describe. Everything slow cooks and melts down into this beautiful syrupy, onion-y, bacon-y goodness. I was eating it out of the pot with a spoon. Then I divided it up into jars. Two quarter pint jam jars and one slightly larger jar. It's not processed like jam, so it will only keep in the refrigerator for a month or so. Don't get me wrong, I don't think I'll have much of a problem eating it all. The first order of business last night was toasting some home made bread from last week and smearing a giant spoonful on top. Next up, more bread and possibly a home made grilled cheese with a little of this stuff thrown in.

Trumpet Bells Ringing, Bass Drum is Swinging - As the Trombone Groans, and the Big Horn Moans

My friend Sarah is heading to New Orleans in a bit and she asked me to put together some recommendations for when she heads down there. I know some of these suggestions are terribly touristy and cliché, but let's face it - they are cliché for a reason, in that most of them are awesome.

John Boutte, Treme Song.

1. If you haven't seen the HBO series Treme, I would highly recommend watching it before you go. It's shot almost entirely on location in New Orleans, using a lot of local musicians (Kermit Ruffins for one) and places. In the first or second episode the Steve Zahn character directs some college kids out of the Quarter and to a brunch place that does exist and is amazing.

2. For some pre-trip / pre-flight reading, I can recommend Feet on the Street: Rambles Around New Orleans and The World That Made New Orleans : From Spanish Silver to Congo Square.

3. A po'boy. I had fried shrimp, I don't even like shrimp that much and it was amazing. I went to Parkway but it might be hard to get to without a car and if you're staying downtown.

4. Ride a streetcar (bonus points if it's the "Desire" one) and walk around the Garden District. Attempt to find the home you would pick if money was no problem.



5. A muffuletta at Central Grocery in the French Quarter. It comes with this olive spread on top of the meat, I hate green olives and it was amazing. (I know this is a reoccurring theme, but trust me).

6. Beignets and a Cafe au Lait at Cafe du Monde. When we walked by during the day it was super crowded. I went back around 1 am and it was the perfect drunk food. The moral of the story - they are open late if you're up late, if not it's worth waiting for them during the day or super early in the morning as you watch them clean the streets of the French Quarter.

7. Bread pudding from anywhere, bonus points if it has a whiskey or rum sauce on top.

8. If you're eating dinner anywhere that has alligator sausage on the menu, order it. As Roy Blount Junior says in Feet on the Street : "They say anything will grow here, and everything eats it."



9. Walk around Jackson Square and look at the local art for sale.

10. Embrace the open container laws, walk around the French Quarter in the sun with a drink in hand.

Enjoy!

Po'boys at Parkway Tavern

"Po-boys aren't sandwiches, they're a way of life." - Treme, I'll Fly Away (1x10)

I got off the plane in New Orleans, found my friend Laura picked me up, we dropped off my stuff, gathered the rest of my friends and we headed for item one on my NOLA Consumption list : a po-boy.

Laura took us to Parkway Bakery and Tavern. I had a fried shrimp po-boy with a side of sweet potato fries and a bloody mary. I'm not a huge shrimp cocktail fan, so I was surprised to find out how much I liked the suckers fried. Maybe it was also the bread and sitting outside in the warm sun while eating it. I wanted to eat about three more.

Compost Cookies (For Nino)

I just got back from Spring Break (a trip to Florida with the family) and a trip to New Orleans with my good friends from college. The last time the BFC got together, it was for Ally's wedding, and I brought these compost cookies along, because they are possibly my favorite cookies in the world. Nino mentioned she attempted to duplicate them, so I promised to post the recipe for her.

Compost Cookies
Momofuku’s Christina Tosi, via “Live With Regis and Kelly”

INGREDIENTS
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1 Tbsp corn syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp kosher salt
1 1/2 cups of your favorite baking (sweet) ingredients, such as chocolate chips, peanut butter cups, etc*
1 1/2 cups of your favorite crushed snack foods, such as potato chips, corn chips or pretzels**

The picture features all my mix-ins in my 4 cup measuring cup : my preferred combination is toffee bits, chocolate chips, potato chips and coffee grounds.

DIRECTIONS

In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream butter, sugars and corn syrup on medium high for 2-3 minutes until fluffy and pale yellow in color. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl with a spatula.

(Note: the butter and sugar really need to be beaten for 10 minutes, at the least maybe longer with a hand mixer. You will see and taste the sugar almost completely dissolve, a stand mixer makes this easier, but just be prepared with a hand mixer)

On a lower speed, add eggs and vanilla to incorporate. Increase mixing speed to medium-high and start a timer for 10 minutes. During this time the sugar granules will fully dissolve, the mixture will become an almost pale white color and your creamed mixture will double in size.

When time is up, on a lower speed, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix 45-60 sec just until your dough comes together and all remnants of dry ingredients have incorporated. Do not walk away from your mixer during this time or you will risk over mixing the dough. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl with a spatula.

On same low speed, add in the hodgepodge of your favorite baking ingredients and mix for 30-45 sec until they evenly mix into the dough. Add in your favorite snack foods last, paddling again on low speed until they are just incorporated.

Using a 6 oz ice cream scoop, portion cookie dough onto a parchment lined sheetpan.

Wrap scooped cookie dough tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour or up to 1 week.

DO NOT BAKE your cookies from room temperature or they will not hold their shape.

Heat the conventional oven to 400F. (350F in a convection oven)

When the oven reads 400F, arrange your chilled cookie dough balls on a parchment or silpat-lined sheetpan a minimum of 4″ apart in any direction.

Bake 9-11 min. While in the oven, the cookies will puff, crackle and spread.

At 9 min the cookies should be browned on the edges and just beginning to brown towards the center. Leave the cookies in the oven for the additional minutes if these colors don’t match up and your cookies stills seem pale and doughy on the surface.

Cool the cookies completely on the sheet pan before transferring to a plate or an airtight container or tin for storage. At room temp, cookies will keep fresh 5 days. In the freezer, cookies will keep fresh 1 month.

Laissez Le Bon Temp Rouler

Maybe it's all the New Orleans reading I've been doing to get ready for my visit there, (T-3 days!) but when I realized my normal baking Tuesday also happened to be Mardi Gras - I decided I needed to do something to reflect the spirit. I decided to do a King Cake, this despite never actually having had King Cake myself. But when have I ever let that stop me? After combing through a bunch of recipes (there seem to be as many King Cake recipes as individual cakes), I finally settled on Emril's recipe with a Cream Cheese filling (pictured).

I went ahead and made this Sunday night (because my Monday's are a little busy with class) and then class got cancelled on Monday because of a lot of snow. So I decided to make another one. I decided to go with this recipe adapted from Southern Living with a cinnamon sugar filling. While the second cake certainly had more fans, I had more trouble with that dough. It didn't rise as much, and I accidentally over filled it a bit. Less photogenic, but still really tasty.

Also, I colored the sugar myself. So glad I didn't spend the extra money on colored sugar. Just put some granulated sugar in a ziploc bag, add a few drops of gel food coloring and mix. Perfectly colored sugar!

fear of cooking with rice noodles...conquered!

I'm not going to lie, cooking with rice noodles always freaked me out for some reason. Then again I have long consider most Asian wok style cooking outside of my abilities as a Chef. Part of this was feeling uncomfortable with the flavor palette, and some of it was my resistance to prep everything before cooking. I tend to cook my preparing and chopping as I go, which doesn't fly with wok cooking. But looking through recipes this weekend and faced with a serious and near constant craving for Asian and Thai food (I'm going to blame weekend chats with Brian that always involve a long discussion on what he's going to eat) I decided the time had come to put up or shut up.

So this is an approximation of Pad Thai. I must have looked through half a dozen different recipes for this. In the end I went with this one from Use Real Butter / Chez Pim because it seemed the most authentic, was scaled for one serving, and provided the most instruction and explanation. (In case there was any doubt the pickled turnips were omitted). Because of the snow i didn't feel like venturing to the Asian market (the Wegman's international foods isle had everything but taramind paste) so I was lazy and used a Pad Thai sauce. Worked pretty well, although the sauce is on the sweet side and needs some kind of spice to it. Aside from that the texture was awesome. And rice noodles totally not scary. It is jumping around the kitchen, king of the lab good. I will be making this all week. Fear conquered.

Swiss Meringue Buttercream Frosting of Glory

I've always been scared away from making a swiss meringue buttercream frosting because it sounded finicky and complicated. I finally decided to pony up and make one for Liz's birthday cake a few weeks back - and it was glorious. Yes, there was a long period of time (it felt like forever) where I just had butter/meringue soup and I thought the frosting wasn't going to come together. But I did as Deb said and I just kept whipping. I had a five layer cake with no back-up frosting plan. But backup plans are for the weak. Also I did this both time sans stand mixer, so it is possible using just a tiny hand mixer. Liz had requested a completely vanilla cake and I was dying to make the swiss meringue with a chocolate cake.

Both recipes for this come from Deb at Smitten Kitchen: Chocolate Butter Cake and Swiss Buttercream frosting.



Nom nom.

white chocolate pumpkin cups

When I originally came across this recipe I was a little worried about the no bake nature of the pumpkin filling. I thought it might too gooey. Instead after the incorporation of the sugar and the graham crackers, the filling was pretty substantial and not at all runny or gooey. Also don't be fooled by how small the empty baking cups look, one of these things when finished is very filling.

Also, at first glance it might seem like these cups might take a long time to put together, but don't be scared away. These go really quickly, the whole process probably takes 35 minutes.

White Chocolate Cups with Pumpkin Pie-ish Filling
(Slightly adapted from HealthyFoodforLiving)
makes about 10 mini (2 inch) cups

• 10 oz good-quality chopped white chocolate or white chocolate chips


• 10 mini (2 inch) aluminum/tin foil muffin liners


• 2 oz (about 4 Tbsp) cream cheese, at room temperature


• 1/4 cup pumpkin puree


• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice


• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract


• 1/4 cup powdered sugar


• 1 cup finely ground cinnamon graham cracker crumbs (a food processor works best here)

Directions:

1. Melt half the white chocolate. I just melted it in the microwave, approximately 3 times at 30 seconds apiece stirring between each. Or, if you feel more ambitious melt it in a double boiler.


2. Using a small spoon, “paint” the melted chocolate all over the insides of 10 mini tin foil muffin liners (the tin foil cups are easier to peel off than the paper cups). The layer of chocolate should be thick enough so that you cannot see through it, but thin enough that the paper cups remain upright and intact.


3. Allow chocolate cups to cool and harden completely by placing on a tray or in Tupperware containers in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. You can also complete this step the night before.


4. In a medium bowl, combine the cream cheese, pumpkin, pie spice and vanilla extract and beat with an electric mixer until smooth. Add in the powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Stir in graham cracker crumbs.


5. Using a mini ice cream scoop or a small spoon, evenly divide the pumpkin mixture between the hardened chocolate cups. Smooth the top to create an even surface.


6. Melt the remaining chocolate.


7. Evenly divide the remaining melted chocolate amongst the filled cups, smoothing the tops and making sure the chocolate reaches all the way to the edges in order to seal the cups.


8. Chill in the refrigerator until set, about 1-2 hours.

pumpkin breakfasts : the good, the bad and the ugly

So there's no doubting my commitment to pumpkin. I love mixing pumpkin puree to pretty much anything. This week I attempted two pumpkin breakfast recipes - pumpkin oatmeal and pumpkin pancakes.

First the bad - I tried this Pumpkin Spice Steel Cut Oatmeal. I might have done something wrong, but mine turned out bland and thick enough to spackle my walls with. I definitely want to try it again though, maybe with brown sugar.



And the good - and by good I mean life-changing-ingly good - Martha's Pumpkin Pancakes. These things are perfection. I don't understand people who issue blanket statements like "I don't like pumpkin" and their experience with pumpkin is based in a couple bad Thanksgiving pumpkin pies.

Pumpkin Pancakes

Whisk 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour; 2 tablespoons sugar; 2 teaspoons baking powder; 1/2 teaspoon each cinnamon, ground ginger, and salt; 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg; and a pinch of ground cloves.

In a separate bowl, stir together 1 cup milk, 6 tablespoons canned pumpkin puree, 2 tablespoons melted butter, and 1 egg.

Fold mixture into dry ingredients.

Melt some butter in a skillet over medium heat; pour in 1/4 cup batter for each pancake.

Cook pancakes about 3 minutes per side; serve with butter and syrup. Makes 8 to 10.

chocolate peanut butter whoopie pies

I had a request for something chocolate / peanut butter and I went with these Martha Stewart Chocolate Peanut Butter Whoopie Pies. In the past I have occasionally found Martha's recipes a bit finnicky, but not these. These turned out perfectly.The cookies were moist and dense, and the filling was very light.

If I were to make these again, I might swap in a more substantial frosting - like a peanut butter cream cheese frosting. This filling is really tasty, and I might return to it for something else - but for this it seemed almost too delicate.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Whoopie Pies
(from Martha Stewart)

For the Cookies:

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, not Dutch-process
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed dark-brown sugar
1 large egg
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the Filling:

2/3 cup natural, creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar

Make cookies: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a small bowl; set aside.

Put butter, shortening, and sugars into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on high speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add egg; mix until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in half the flour mixture, then the milk and vanilla. Mix in remaining flour mixture.

Drop rounded tablespoons of dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake until cookies spring back when lightly touched, 12 to 14 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks 10 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks using a spatula; let cool completely.

Make filling: Put peanut butter and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on high speed until smooth. Reduce mixer speed to low. Add confectioners' sugar; mix until combined. Raise speed to high, and mix until fluffy and smooth, about 3 minutes.

Assemble cookies: Spread 1 scant tablespoon filling on the bottom of 1 cookie. Sandwich with another cookie. Repeat with remaining cookies and filling. Cookies can be refrigerated in single layers in airtight containers up to 3 days. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Apple, Gouda, Oatmeal and Raisin Cookies, Oh My!

So while I was at the grocery store I called my mother to confer on the amount of cheese I would need to buy to make these cookies. And the conversation went something like this:

Me: Ok, so I'll buy this 1/4 pound block of gouda, and that should be enough.
Mom: Yeah, so what are you making?
Me: Apple, Gouda, Oatmeal and Raisin cookies.
Mom: What? Oh, that sounds disgusting.

I wasn't sure what to expect from these cookies. I liked the sound of them when I saw the recipe, but then again the recipe didn't call for one tablespoon of butter. Highly suspicious.  In the end, I think calling them cookies is a bit of a misnomer. I liked the taste, but they seem heartier than cookies, almost biscuit like. As one person put it, I could see serving these with a bowl of soup.

These cookies also have the benefit of being extremely easy to put together. One bowl and a liquid measuring cup is all that making the batter will take you. Although grating apples with cheese grader is sort of an arduous process.

Apple Gouda Oatmeal and Raisin Cookies
makes 24 cookies
Recipe from The Kitchn

2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla OR 1 tablespoon dark rum
3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup golden raisins (I used regular raisins because they were cheaper)
1 medium-sized apple (about 10 ounces)
4 ounces Gouda cheese, finely chopped (about 1 cup)

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Whisk the olive oil and egg together in a glass measuring cup until completely combined. Whisk in the vanilla or rum. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, and oats. Stir in the raisins.

Peel and core the apple. Use the coarse side of a grater to grate it directly into the flour. (You should have 1 1/2 to 2 cups of shredded apple.) Stir in the apple and the chopped Gouda.

Add the liquids from the measuring cup and stir just until everything is moistened. The dough will be loose and clumpy. Drop in large spoonfuls on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 17 minutes, or until the cookies are golden. They will be very soft still. Let them cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before removing to cooling racks to cool completely.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting

October is officially under way and that means I can start breaking out the solid pack pumpkin. I can take or leave pumpkin pie, but a soft moist pumpkin cake topped with cream cheese icing might be the death of me. Paula Dean calls these pumpkin bars, but they taste more like cake to me. Still I sliced them in to brownie sized portions.

Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
(from Paula Dean)
4 eggs
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
15-ounce can pumpkin
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda

Icing:
8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Using an electric mixer at medium speed, combine the eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin until light and fluffy.

3. Stir together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and baking soda.

4. Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and mix at low speed until thoroughly combined and the batter is smooth.

5. Spread the batter into a greased 13 by 10-inch baking pan. Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting. Cut into bars.

To make the icing: Combine the cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the sugar and mix at low speed until combined. Stir in the vanilla and mix again. Spread on cooled pumpkin bars.