How To Not Bake Cookies

Step 1: Spend an hour totally engrossed in (and grossed out by) Cake Wrecks.

Step 2: Finally haul your new-to-you toy out of the closet to finally mend those tank tops and pillow cases (which you've been using all along anyway), only to discover that you don't have an owner's manual. And getting one off Ebay will cost you $5 and 2 weeks. Sewing machines take skillz, people.

Step 3: Call your mom and whine about doctors, feet, and shoes for an hour. Receive picture from mom of homemade tortilla chips to accompany homemade tortilla soup and wish you were there. Start sorting through your own recipes lying on the top of the microwave out of jealousy.

Step 4: Review your grocery list (parchment paper? check. bananas? check. flour? oh no!) and suddenly remember that you were planning on bringing cookies to your friend's St. Patrick's Day party. Realize you do not have green dye, scheme up ways to create green dye from vegetables currently in refrigerator, and soon thereafter trash the whole green dye idea. Feel relieved that you don't have to use green dye because you are highly uncomfortable with the idea of food dye in the first place. Who ever thought up neon green mashed potatoes?

Step 5: Reminisce about the cookies you made on Friday and start searching through cupboards to check on ingredients. AHA!

Homemade Oreos
from Smitten Kitchen

Cookies:
1 1/4 c. flour
1/2 c. Dutch cocoa
1 tsp. soda
1/4 tsp. powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. sugar (can be decreased to 1/2 c., which I would recommend)
1/2 c. + 2 Tb. unsalted butter, room temp.
1 egg

Filling:
1/4 c. unsalted butter, room temp.
1/4 c. shortening
2 c. powdered sugar
2 tsp. vanilla

1. Stir together flour, cocoa, soda, powder, salt, and sugar.
2. Add butter and mix thoroughly, then add egg and mix until dough comes together.
3. Spoon small teaspoons of dough onto parchment-lined or lightly greased cookie sheet and flatten slightly with the heel of your hand or the bottom of a cup.

4. Bake at 375* for 7-9 minutes. Watch them because cookies this small can burn quickly. Stand back and admire the neat little rows of chocolate goodness.

5. For filling, blend butter and shortening, then add powdered sugar and mix until crumbly. Add vanilla and mix until smooth.

6. I transfer my filling to a large ziploc bag and cut the corner off as a makeshift piping bag. Make that my usual piping bag. Pipe about a tablespoon of filling into the middle of a cookie and top with another cookie. Press together gently until filling reaches the edges. Pinkie lift optional.

7. Store between layers of parchment or wax paper in an airtight container. If there is anything to store...

Big, bright, shiny yellow lemons...

could be made into lemonade, but

they make lovely lemon bars.

Walnut Fudge... in a cookie

Yeah, what's up with all the food posts? Well if you know me you know I like to bake. Or should I say love to bake. Without baking, my life would be sad indeed. So. I present to you the Walnut Fudge cookie. Walnut fudge was one of my dad's favorite candies growing up, so this is a re-creation of the rich stuff with no candy thermometer necessary. The basic ingredient in this cookie is... umm... I'll let you guess. These aren't to be confused with the chocolate cookies I made on December 8.

Chocolate, walnuts, brown sugar, flour.... good stuff. And I can't make cookies without my trusty culinary scoops.

Sorry the picture is so dark but hey, it's chocolate.

And... the final result. So shiny, with that great crackled top that is so fun to bite.

Dad, these will be in the mail tomorrow! :-)

Raspberry Cheesecake

While Anya was here (yes I know, pictures coming soon!), we made some eclairs and this lovely little cheesecake. And wow was it good... thanks to the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. We both almost fainted when we took our first bites. Yeah... just. that. good.

Raspberry Cheesecake

2 c. chocolate wafer crumbs

1/3 c. butter, melted

3 Tbsp. sugar

3 c. fresh or frozen raspberries, thawed (1 cup reserved for garnish)

2/3 c. sugar

2 Tbsp. cornstarch

2 tsp. lemon juice

3 8-oz. packages cream cheese, softened

1/2 c. sugar

2 Tbsp. flour

1 tsp. vanilla

2 egg whites

1 c. heavy cream

2 Tbsp. raspberry liqueur or orange juice

1. Crust: stir together chocolate crumbs, butter, and sugar. Press onto the bottom and 1 inch up the side of an ungreased 8- or 9-inch springform pan. Chill.

2. Raspberry sauce for filling: Blend 2 1/2 cups raspberries in a blender until smooth; add water to bring the volume to 1 cup. Stir together sugar and cornstarch in a small saucepan; stir in blended raspberries. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat; cook and stir 2 more minutes. Stir in lemon juice. Pour out 3/4 c. sauce and cool slightly; reserve and chill the rest for garnish.

3. Cheesecake: Combine cream cheese, sugar, flour, vanilla; beat until fluffy. Add egg whites and beat on low just until combined. Stir in heavy cream.

4. Assembly: Pour half the cheesecake mixture into the crust. Pour the 3/4 c. raspberry sauce over the cheesecake, and cover with the rest of the cheesecake mixture. Place in a shallow baking pan to catch drips and bake at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool in the springform pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Loosen sides of pan and cool 30 minutes more. Remove sides of pan; cool 1 hour. Chill at least 4 hours. Serve with remaining raspberry sauce mixed with the liqueur and whole raspberries.

Applesauce: a winter staple

In our house, Mom's applesauce was served at every meal. Because it was just that good. So for the past 2 years I've been trying to replicate it. I'm getting close, but not quite there. Chunky, not much sugar, lots of cinnamon. I will probably be walking this road for a long time... but at least the detours taste good!