Waaaaay behind on my big bags 'o veggies

It's been a very long time since I've posted about much other than Dorie.  We've been getting our Friday bag of fruits and veggies all fall.  We've really enjoyed some of the pickings.  

The squash has been really good.  I've roasted it with butter and maple syrup.  We've tried spaghetti, acorn, butternut, and one other that I couldn't quite identify.

We've had greens in many many forms.  Lots of kale, lettuce, cabbage, and a plant that I didn't know you could eat.  Seriously, I thought this stuff was ornamental.

We've made carrot soup a couple of times.  I've used fresh tarragon, oregano, and chives in soups and pasta dishes.  

The apples and pears we ate out of hand.  The onions, red and white, have been chopped, diced, sliced, and quartered.

I'm glad that we did this.  We've eaten many things that I never would have looked at twice at the supermarket.  I haven't liked them all.  There are some I don't want to eat again.  There are some that I've purchased again.  I'm not sure we'll continue through the winter.  What do you think?

TWD: Kugelhopf

Now, there were some people last week who were a tad unfamiliar with rugelach. This week was my turn to scratch my head. Here is an excellent NY Times article that gives some good information. I figured out that it is a sweet yeasted bread, similar to a brioche, but a little different. It even has its own pan. Which I did not buy. I had a lovely nine-cup Bundt Festival

This is a finished kugelhopf.



Anyway..... This was a good recipe, but I don't feel the need to really make this again. Now, had I actually really followed the recipe, I might have liked it better. To start, READ THE RECIPE! The ingredients weren't very fussy. I didn't have whole milk and used the skim that I had. I have a five-quart KitchenAid mixer. There wasn't quite enough dough to really follow the directions. My dough hook (the new one!) wasn't quite reaching the ingredients in the bowl. I used the flat beater instead. The mixing times were, to put it nicely, slightly long. I'm pretty sure that my mixer was running for a good 20-25 minutes. There was an interesting instruction: beat the dough until it climbs up the hook. You know my new dough hook? DOUGH DOES NOT CLIMB IT! But after all the mixing, it looked pretty good. I added my dried mixed fruit (blueberries, cranberries, golden raisins, and cherries) and set it aside to rise. It did actually double in about 90 minutes. Then for the next two hours you have to slap it around until is stops rising. I did this Friday night, and put it in the fridge to be ready to bake on Saturday.

Well, Saturday came along, and I just threw my bowl from the fridge into the oven (unlit. that's where I put dough to rise) to do its two hour rise. This is where reading the recipe would have been a good thing. See, I was supposed to put the dough in the pan and then let it rise. Because when you let it rise in a bowl and then transfer it to a pan, it deflates. I figured at that point that I didn't have much to lose. So I stuck it in the fridge and left it for Sunday.

Sunday morning, I put the dough, now in the pan, back in the oven to rise. Three hours later it had risen some. I set the oven, took over the wax paper, and hoped for the best. I followed the baking instructions, and what I got was a pretty nice looking bread. I did the butter/sugar topping, and we let it cool as long as we could. I forgot the powdered sugar, but I don't think it mattered. The boy, the girl, and the husband all gave it a big thumbs up. I enjoyed it as well. It certainly didn't last long. It was a cross between a croissant and a brioche. Kind of flaky and buttery with a delicate crumb. The four of us finished it in a day. While I did enjoy it, I thought it was quite fussy for what it was. Yes, I made a mistake. Even so, for all the rising time and slapping and mixing, it wasn't worth the work. I'm glad to have made it, though. Now I know!

The finished product. Golden brown and delicious.


The boy's slice.



A cross section of the finished kugelhopf.



The girl's slice.



(If I posted one child's slice and not the other's, it would get ugly around here)

I'm glad that Yolanda of The All-Purpose Girl chose this, because I never would have picked it out on my own. You can get the recipe at her site if you'd like to try this one for yourself. Next week is not one I'm looking forward to. It's Arborio Rice Pudding. Rice pudding is not a food I ever want to eat. We'll see if Isa of Les Gourmandises d'Isa can get me to try it. 

TWD: Rugelach

I love rugelach. I don't tend to make it very often, because I think of it as a time-consuming, difficult recipe. I've made a great rolled up version recently, but I haven't made the crescents in a looooooong time. This recipe could get me to change my mind.

The dough was incredibly easy to make. It came together very quickly in the food processor. I divided it into two discs and put it away overnight. I decided to make two versions. One was with apricot jam and pistachios. The other contained almonds, raspberry jam, and chocolate chips.

The construction of the cookies was both fussy and forgiving. The fussy part: For future reference, I need to make sure my nuts and chips are chopped into smaller pieces. It made it tough for me to cut my dough circle into wedges. I kept running into too-large pieces and it gummed up the works some. The layers of ingredients (jam, then cinnamon sugar, then nuts, then chips) made for quite a bit of juggling. There was a lot going on. The forgiving part: My "circle" was not too precise. And my wedges were a little less than even. But when you roll it up, it gets pretty well hidden. I enjoyed the sweetness of the apricot jam paired with the pistachio. Remember, the dough has no sugar, so the toppings are what bring the sweet. I did forget to sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture on the raspberry jam version. Truthfully, we didn't miss it.

Here's an apricot pistachio version.



Here's a shot with both flavors.



And a little further away shot.



On the boy's scale, these were an 11. (It goes to 11. It's one louder than ten) The rest of the family enjoyed them as well. I would certainly make these again. I'm thinking of new jam/nut combinations.

Thank you Piggy, from Piggy's Cooking Journal for choosing this great recipe. Next week's goodie: Kugelhopf chosen by Yolanda of The All Purpose Girl. This one may require a new pan. We'll see.....

Cookie Carnival: Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

Whoopie Pies is just so much fun to say. Almost as much fun to say as it is to eat. Yum! These lovely little pillows of chocolate cookies are, to say the least, tasty.

I'm not a fan of pumpkin. At all. But the pumpkin flavor was so mild, I didn't mind it. Having said that, I would absolutely make these again with a different, stronger flavored filling. Peanut butter, strawberry, and mint come to mind.

The cookies were easy to put together. I don't even think I used a mixer. My husband's office got this batch. We didn't quite need them at home.

Another close up of dessert goodness.

Thanks Kate and the Cookie Carnival gang for such a nice choice. I'm looking forward to November!

If you are interested in making these, here's the recipe!

Mini Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
Makes about 20.

INGREDIENTS

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

* 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
* 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
* 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
* 1/4 cup canned solid pack pumpkin
* Pinch of cinnamon
* Pinch of nutmeg


DIRECTIONS

1. Prepare cookies: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl; set aside.
2. Place 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.
3. Drop about 2 teaspoons dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake until cookies spring back when lightly touched, 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer baking sheets to wire racks and let cool 10 minutes. Remove cookies from baking sheets and transfer to wire racks using a spatula; let cool completely.
4. Prepare filling: In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip together cream cheese, butter and confectioners' sugar on medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add pumpkin, cinnamon, and nutmeg; whip until smooth, scraping down the bowl as necessary.
5. Pipe or spoon about 2 teaspoons filling on the flat sides of half the cookies. Sandwich with remaining cookies, keeping the flat sides down.

No Chocolate Chocolate Cupcakes for TWD

Sorry folks.  Instead of baking, I went on a cruise to the Bahamas with my husband.  Grown-up time beat chocolate cupcakes hands down.

Clara of I Heart Food 4 Thought had a lovely idea to decorate these cupcakes in a Halloween theme.  Check out her blog and the recipe.

Next week I'll definitely being making Rugelach.  Thanks, Piggy from Piggy's Cooking Journal for choosing that one.

TWD: Pumpkin Muffins

We were so very seasonal this week!  I have a little confession to make.  I don't like pumpkin.  I don't like pumpkin pie.  A recipe for pumpkin ginger tea cake sounded really good, but, have I mentioned that I don't like pumpkin?  Thank goodness there are three other people around here who eat pumpkin baked goods!  

This was an easy enough recipe.  There were quite a few ingredients, but my assistant was able to handle it all easily.  She especially liked the stirring.  We substituted almonds and regular raisins for the walnuts and golden raisins because that's what we had.

The scooping with the ice cream scoop and the sprinkling of the seeds was pretty fun as well.  If you don't use an ice cream scoop for muffins or cupcakes, you should.  It's very handy.

We actually got quite a few more muffins than the recipe called for.  Here is a close-up of an unbaked muffin.

Here it is baked.  Still working on my photography skills.  White on white = a no no.

The muffins smelled great while they were baking.  The rest of the family really enjoyed them.  They did think that the sunflower seeds didn't add a whole lot.  I did take a taste.  While they weren't bad, I don't think I'll be eating them again.

Thanks to Kelly of Sounding My Barbaric Gulp for getting me to try something new.  She'll also have the recipe on her site if you are interested.  Next week:  Clara of I Heart Food 4 Thought has chosen Chocolate Chocolate Cupcakes.

TWD: Lenox Almond Biscotti

Aaaaannnnnd, we're back to cookies.  But that's ok!  I like biscotti.  I like almonds.  This wasn't my most successful recipe, but I'd certainly give it another try.

This was a pretty simple recipe.  It was fairly straightforward.  I ran out of almond extract after only using one teaspoon, so I substituted vanilla for the other half teaspoon.  The logs formed pretty easily.  When Dorie said this was a sticky dough, she was not kidding!

I baked it according to directions.  Apparently, that was wrong.  It needed much more baking time than originally suggested.  I took it out, let it cool for 15 minutes, and then tried moving it to the cutting board.  Big mistake.  It was still pretty raw in the middle.  I shoved it back in the oven for a good ten minutes and then took it out again.  It looked more golden brown.  I let it sit for another fifteen minutes, and then I tried to move it and cut it.  

It still did not like being moved, and it proceeded to fall apart.  I was too annoyed at that point, so I salvaged the slices that I had and put them and the remaining lumps back on the sheet to put in the oven.

Here's a close-up that is a testament to the under-doneness that is my biscotti.

And this is what it ended up looking like after the third bake.  Some pieces were very biscotti-like!

All in all, I enjoyed this cookie.  I liked the crunch of the cornmeal that was a problem for some of the other bakers.  I would certainly try this again using some other flavor combinations.  And, I would bake it for a longer time the first go round.

Thank you to Gretchen of Canela & Comino for picking this recipe.  Next up:  Pumpkin Muffins chosen by Kelly of Sounding My Barbaric Gulp.

EDITED TO ADD:  I made these again.  This time I refrigerated the logs overnight, baked them for an additional 12 minutes for the first bake, and added six minutes to the second bake.  I also added orange peel with the sugar and some chocolate chips.  The extra time made all the difference.  Excellent!

You can make homemade baklava

This is one of THOSE foods.  The one that looks incredibly complicated.  The really impressive one that makes everyone say, "No way!  You made this?!" or, "Ooooooh, I could never make that!"  But, the truth is, yes, you can.

Baklava is incredibly time consuming, but it's actually pretty easy.  There are two main components.  There is the pastry/nut component and the syrup component.  The pastry/nut side of things is phyllo dough (purchased and thawed, couldn't be easier), chopped nuts,  cinnamon, and, melted butter.

Initially, you cut a package of thawed phyllo dough in half.  It fits very neatly in a 13 x 9 pan.  Mix the nuts and the cinnamon.  Get a brush for the butter.  That's it.

Here it is.  Pan.  Nuts and cinnamon.  Melted butter. Phyllo dough.

You brush a layer of butter in the pan.  Then layer in a sheet of dough.  Brush more butter to cover.  Then layer in another sheet of dough.  Yup, more butter to cover.

At this point, you sprinkle on 2 T. of the nut mixture.

Then the layering starts again.  Dough.  Butter. Nut mixture.  You do this until all of the nuts are gone.  Then make six or so layers of dough and butter.  Don't be stingy with the butter.  It's one of the best components.  Occasionally, I run out.  Just melt a little more and continue.

 Just a note about the phyllo.  I know this is the sort of thing that can be very scary.  It's not.  In this recipe, especially, it's very forgiving.  If it tears, so what.  It's just going to be covered with  more nuts and butter!  When you are between layers, I cover it with some plastic wrap to keep it from drying out.  Ok, actually, now that I've made this a bunch of times, I don't tend to cover it because I work pretty quickly.  If you are nervous, however, cover.

The next step was a little surprising the first time I made this.  You actually cut the baklava BEFORE you bake it.  I know!  Isn't that interesting!

This is what it looks like before it is baked.  Another little hint:  these pieces are kind of big.  I usually cut them smaller.

This is what it looks like after it is baked.  MMMmmm.  Toasty and delicious.  But not done yet!

While it is baking, you have another step.  The sweetness comes from a honey/sugar syrup.  The beauty of the syrup is that you can make it to your likeness.  I'm not a huge fan of honey, so I use more sugar than honey.  Once the pan is out of the oven, you evenly pour the syrup over the hot baklava.  Tricky!  You'll hear an amazing sizzle as the syrup lovingly coats all the flaky, delicious layers.  

Here is what it looks like when it's done.  More mmmmmmm.  

And here is a close up of the flaky, delicious layers.  Even more mmmmm.

It can be done.  And it can be done well.  Try it!  You'll like it!

Julie's Baklava

1 package frozen phyllo dough, thawed according to directions and cut in half to fit a 13 x 9

1 pound toasted, chopped nuts (I use pistachio and almond)

1 t. cinnamon

1 1/2 sticks butter, melted (may need more)

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix nuts and cinnamon.  Brush bottom of 13 x 9 pan with butter.  Layer phyllo, nuts, and butter until nut mixture is gone.  Cover with six layers of phyllo and butter.  Bake for 50 minutes or until golden brown.  While the pastry is baking, make the sugar/honey syrup.

1 c. granulated sugar

1 c. water

1/2 c. honey

1 t. vanilla

1 t. lemon or orange zest

Combine the sugar and water.  Bring to a boil.  Add the rest of ingredients and simmer uncovered for about 20 minutes.  Spoon the hot syrup over the hot pastry.

Store UNCOVERED!  Otherwise, it gets soggy.

Mostly, I just write about food.

But I could not pass this up.  I laughed very loudly and for a long time while reading this.  The next three weeks are either going to be highly amusing or scare the crap out of me.  Or both.

I had a completely hilarious flow chart up here, but because of Blogger's lay-out, it didn't fit.  So here's the link.  Go, laugh, cry, pass it on to your friends.

Coming next:  baklava

Just like a TWD: Caramel Peanut Topped Brownie Cake

If Dorie used a mix.....

See, it's been crazy busy around here.  We were out of town, it was Rosh Hashana, I did some baking for the baking gals, and there was still all the regular, everyday stuff going on.

So, when I made brownie bites (Ghiradelli mix that I doctor up with espresso powder and vanilla), there was some batter that didn't fit in the mini cupcake pan.  Just enough batter for a 4" round pan.  And there was that dulce de leche in my fridge.  It's just another way of saying caramel, right?

I cheated.  That's all there is to it.  I used the leftover batter.  I stirred some honey roasted peanuts into the melted dulce de leche.  I poured the mix over the top.  And we ate every last little bite.

It was delicious.  I'm sure it would have been even better had I made it from scratch.  Which I will.  I promise.  The very next time we have friends over and I need a dessert, it's on the top of my list.

Mmmm.  Rich caramel.  Salty sweet peanuts.  Chewy brownie.  Mmmmm.

Thank you to Tammy of Wee Treats by Tammy  for choosing such a delicious recipe.  

Up next week:  Lenox Almond Biscotti chosen by Gretchen of Canela & Comino.  I KNOW I'm baking that one, well, because I already have.

Baking Gals and Cpt. Chris Daleske

Well, my box is off today.  We made ginger cookies and brownie bites.  We included drink mix, candy corn, Ghost Dots, and pumpkin Peeps.  I figure they don't get a lot of Halloween over there in Iraq.

Thanks to all the soldiers for everything that you do.  And thanks to all the hosts who make this possible.

If you'd like to be a part of this for the next round, check out the Baking Gals website.

Mmmmm.  Treats!

TWD: Rosh Hashana

So, instead of making a creamy, crunchy creme brulee, I did some other cooking.  Ready for dinner Tuesday night:  chicken soup, kreplach (kind of like a won ton or dumpling), carrot coins in maple syrup, apples and honey, pomegranate (your good deeds for the year should equal the number of seeds), potato kugel, salmon, and orange honey spice cake.

You may notice a lot of sweet items.  It is very symbolic to fill the table with sweet foods to help bring a sweet year.  Honey is especially prominent on the menu.

I love the new year.  According to the Hebrew calendar, we are starting 5769.  It's a time of renewal and hope.  It's a reminder to stop, look, and appreciate.

L'shanah tovah umetukah.  May you have a good and sweet year.

L'shanah tovah tikatevi v'taihatemi.  May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year.

Some wonderful recipes have been picked for October.  I'll be back in full baking force next week.

TWD: Dimply Plum Cake

Whew!  A break from cookies!  This week's recipe was chosen by Michelle of Bake-En.  We were all pleased, at my house, to have something a little different.

I found these adorable little plums at Trader Joe's called Sugar Plums.  They are about the size of, well, a small plum.  I dutifully read the other baker's notes and proceeded to screw up anyway.

The batter came together easily.  Because my plums were so small and cute, I was able to use the eight that were called for.  I gently and carefully laid them in the pan.  I baked it for exactly 40 minutes.  My kitchen smelled fabulous!  I tested it with a cake tester and a knife.  I put it on the cooling rack for exactly 15 minutes.  That's when I noticed that the center was a little sunken in.  Ok, maybe more than a little.  I decided to flip it out of the pan anyway.

Oooops.

Totally fell apart.  Totally.  And see, I had been warned.  A few people mentioned that it didn't always hold together around the plums.  In this exact state, I threw it back in the oven.  It baked a little longer, or maybe it just dried out a little.  Regardless, it was really really tasty.  This is absolutely a recipe that I would make again.  I'm very glad I bought the cardamom.  It added a wonderful flavor dimension.

I think that the next time I make this, I'll use cut up apples.  Although the plum flavor was nice, the large pieces make it a little dangerous.  Plus, the skin on the plums added a little odd taste.

Doesn't this view make it look like an alien?

Don't look for Creme Brulee here next week.  Mari of Mevrouw Cupcake has chosen a perfectly wonderful recipe.  However, we're out of town this weekend (Homecoming!  Go Hawkeyes!), and Rosh Hashana starts Monday evening.  I'll be happy to show you my homemade chicken soup, kreplach, and apple cake.  Plus I'll be baking for the tailgate and Cpt. Daleske.  Yes!  I'm full of excuses!  Regardless, I'll be back with Dorie in October.

TWD: Chocolate Chunkers

Claudia of Fool for Food (which, by the way, is really cool because it's in German) continued our cookie baking trend of the last few weeks and chose Chocolate Chunkers.  I'm glad for the cookies, because cookies tend to be easy.  I love easy.  While this recipe wasn't difficult to make, it did require many ingredents.  I don't usually post the process, I'm more of a finished baked goods kind of gal.  But this I had to post.

We start with cocoa, flour, salt, and baking powder.

Then move on to unsweetened chocolate, bittersweet chocolate, and butter.

Sugar, eggs, and vanilla are also involved.

And then, there are the mix-ins.  More bittersweet chocolate, milk chocolate, toasted almonds, and a dried fruit mix.  (I substituted the almonds for peanuts and the dried fruit for raisins).  I skipped the white chocolate because, well, it's not chocolate.

There was a lot going on in this cookie.  I did discover that this is one of the few Dorie cookies that does not benefit from a little trip to the fridge.  Since the "dough" is largely chocolate, it made it difficult to scoop.  You'll notice the quotes around the word dough because there was little if anything holding all the mix-ins together.

Here is a finished cookie.  It was good.  It was also very rich.  This was not a snacking cookie.  And it definitely required milk.  Truth be told, it was on the expensive side as well.  I made more cookies than the original recipe stated, but I'm pretty sure I made them smaller than Dorie called for.  I don't think I'll rush out and make these again any time soon.  I just wasn't that into them.

Up next week:  Dimply Plum Cake chosen by Michelle of Bake-en.  Much as I've loved all the cookies, I'm excited to do something else.

Rained out

I had such high hopes for this weekend.  My family and I were going to go apple picking.  I had dreams, people.  I was going to make apple sauce, apple pie, apple butter, apple cake, and apple cinnamon ice cream.  I was going to make more dulce de leche just for dipping apple slices.  I bought a new jar of peanut butter.  Ok, I needed that anyway, but still.  I was going to go apple picking.

I had this lovely vision of my family walking through the orchard, smiling and laughing as we picked.  More laughter as we shared apple cider doughnuts fresh from the bakery.  And more laughing as we took a tractor ride through the trees.  Be quiet.  This is my fantasy.  No where was there any whining from my children.  Or husband.

What did I get?  Rain.  For three days straight now.  Rain.  A little drizzle?  That I could handle.  But this has been road closing, basement flooding rain.  Mind you, I'm grateful I'm not in Texas.  They have RAIN down there.

Rain out the back door.  Rain out the front door.

Rain on the patio.  Rain in the garden.

Lots and lots of rain.

Next weekend?  Next weekend my apple picking will happen!  Unless it rains.

So excited for the next round of the Baking Gals!

The nephew of one of my best friends in the whole wide world is going to be a recipient.  It was pretty special to be able to bake and know that I was making someone happy.  To know that someone is even more special.

If you aren't familiar with the Gals, check out the site.  I'll be baking for CPT Christopher Daleske.  He, and all the other service people, are very deserving of our treats.

The post office makes it pretty easy to ship.  You can go online and order free boxes designed especially to be sent overseas.  And they only charge a flat rate of $11.

Check it out!

TWD: Chocolate Whopper Malted Drops

I had some seriously high hopes for these cookies (see my previous entry).  And these are good cookies.  Very good.  I will make them again.  I just know what to do and what not to do next time.

I love Whopper candy.  I steal it out of my kid's Halloween baskets.  Shhhh.  Don't tell.  There has been a container of Whoppers on my counter just waiting to be baked into cookies.  I just want you all to appreciate my will power.  Thank you.  I bought malted milk powder just for the occasion.  I made some minor substitutions and made one small.... mistake is too big a word.  Just one thing I would change for next time.

The cookies used a minimum of dishes and came together pretty easily.  I didn't have whole milk, so I used skim.  I didn't have bittersweet chips and used semi-sweet instead.  Neither made a difference, I think.  Where I erred was being just a little too enthusiastic when it came time to smash up the Whoppers.  I put them in a freezer bag and just whacked the bejeesus out of them with my rolling pin.  Ooops.  Many of the other bakers recommended leaving them a little bigger.  Oh well.

I dropped them out on the cookie sheets.  No chilling time!  I didn't use the full recommended baking time.  I like my cookies a little chewy.  They turned out very chewy.  I really enjoyed the chocolate taste with the malted milk tang.  The chips added just a little richness to round out the flavors.  They are not very pretty cookies, but who cares about pretty when they are so tasty.

Mmmmm.  Malty, chocolatey, cookie goodness.

Here's a close up of the deliciousness.  See the little, and I do mean little malt pieces?

Funny side note:  I said that I liked my cookies chewy.  After they had cooled, I carefully put them in a jar.  I filled it to the top and was made sure not to smush any of the cookies.  When I came back a few hours later, there was about three inches of open space at the top of the jar.  I was ready to scold my husband when I looked really closely.  My chewy cookies had collapsed into each other.  Eating them was fun.  You didn't grab a cookie so much as you grabbed a hunk of cookie.  They still disappeared.

See the space on top of the jar?  That was full of cookie a few hours ago!

.

Thanks to Rachel of Confessions of a Tangerine Tart for helping me to discover a new favorite.

Next week:  Claudia of Fool for Food has chosen Chocolate Chunkers.  The cookie celebration continues!

TWD: Chunky Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Chocolate Chipsters

I have to say, I'm liking the trend of cookies.  Cookies are good.  Cookies are generally easy.Cookies tend to use fewer dishes.  Cookies are nice little bites that make me feel less guilty than when I eat a whole piece of pie or cake.  Of course, that only works when I don't eat half a dozen cookies, but I digress.

When I looked at the recipe (chosen by Stefany of Proceed with Caution), I thought it looked familiar.  I couldn't remember if I had made them previously.  I hoped that I hadn't, because these sounded really good, and I wanted them to be memorable.

Turns out I had made them before.  I tend to write in my cookbooks.  Hey, they're my books.  This one was "just ok" according to my notes.  I played around a little more this time.  Or at least I meant to.  I cut the recipe in half.  That usually messes with me a little.  According to some of the other TWDers, there was too much cinnamon.  I meant to cut it in half.  However, that would have meant half of the half I had already cut, and I didn't do it.  I substituted dark chocolate m & ms for the chips.  (On a side note:  I really like dark chocolate m & ms.  They are really good.  Really good right out of the freezer, too)

The cookies are good, but they aren't great.  If they are called "peanut butter cookies", I expect more peanut butter taste.  I don't know that I'll make these again to play around, but perhaps some peanut butter chips might improve things.  And definitely less cinnamon.  It's the predominant flavor.

I do have two "versions" because I used two techniques.  For some of the batch, I rolled the dough into balls.  For the rest of the batch, I dropped.  No difference.  The rolled ones are neater.  I just got lazy.

Rolled:

Dropped:

Both:

Up next week:  Chocolate Whopper Malted Drops chosen by Rachel of Confessions of a Tangerine Tart.  I have been ANXIOUSLY awaiting this recipe.  The Whoppers have been on the counter for a couple of weeks.  My children look daily to see if the container has been opened.  I even went and ordered malted milk powder from King Arthur Flour just to make these cookies.  That's quite a build up.  Stay tuned!

Cookie Carnival: Chocolate Almond Biscotti

Just under the wire for August!  Whew!

The recipe was for hazelnut biscotti originally, but I can't stand hazelnuts, and it is all about me.  So almond it is!

This recipe came together very easily.  The boy and I made the dough pretty quickly.  I shaped the logs using my favorite trick of putting plastic bags on my hands.  It works well.  He measured with our food safe ruler.  (Yes, I am that anal.  I measure)  We used two baking sheets, which was a really good thing.  Our 2 1/2" wide logs of dough turned into about 8" of biscotti.

I liked them after the first bake.  You know, you have to taste.  I really liked them after the second bake.  I cut the big logs in half.  That way I got more cookies, and really, smaller cookies have fewer calories.  Unless you eat more of them.  Which I would never do.  Really.

I'd certainly make this again.  This is one of the cookies I'm sending off as a Baking Gal.  My items are ready to go.  Now if the post office would just get me those boxes....

Here is the whole rack of them cooling.  I love the way the chocolate chips and almonds show up against the cookie.

And a close up of sorts.  I really need to get a better camera.  Or better photography skills.  It could go either way.

I'm excited to see what the Cookie Carnival will bring next month.  Woo hoo!

TWD: Move along. Nothing to see here

Sorry, folks.  I just couldn't get my act together to make the wonderful Chocolate Banded Ice Cream Torte chosen by Amy of Food, Family, and Fun.  

I'm two weeks behind on big bags 'o veggies.  I have two batches of cookies to make for my Baking Gals soldiers.  School started for my two children this past Thursday.  (You sensing a theme here?  Too bad I can't say I've only gained two pounds)

Ok, enough whining and moaning.  I'll be back in the baking saddle next Tuesday.  We're making Chunky Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Chocolate Chipsters chosen by Stefany of Proceed with Caution.  I think I've made these before, but I really can't remember.  I hope that's just because I'm getting old and not because they weren't memorable.