Swirly Snickerdoodles

Mm. I'm home. The home where it's common to have a dog on your lap at any given moment (like right now), where I can eat my mom's spaghetti for every meal if I choose to, or stay up all night reading in my own room. 

But...school became home in a way too. I find myself referring to it as that now. And to be honest, at the beginning I never thought I would feel that way. Being a naturally introverted person (Very introverted. Have you taken the MBTI test? I got 100% introverted. Yeah.) , adjusting to the college setting was really quite difficult for me. But it just...happened. Gradually, I had places I could call my own, people I were comfortable with. 

It's nice to have more than one place to call home. What makes home for you? Do you have multiple homes?

Swirly Snickerdoodles

(I made these for my brother's orchestra concert reception. They're kind of a more grown up version of a snickerdoodle, extra cinnamon-y and crunchy. Lovely with a warm beverage.)

Ingredients

1/3 cup sugar

1 Tb ground cinnamon

1/2 cup butter, softened

3 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 cup sugar

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

2 2/3 cup flour

1 Tb melted butter

1. In a small bowl combine cinnamon and 1/3 cup sugar, set aside. 

2. In a large mixing bowl beat cream cheese and butter on high for 30 seconds. Add 1 cup sugar and baking powder, scraping sides as needed. Beat in egg and vanilla. Beat in as much flour as you can, then use a wooden spoon to mix in the rest. If necessary, chill dough until easy to handle (I didn't and it was fine)

3. Divide dough in half. Place each half between two pieces of wax paper, and roll into a 12x8 inch rectangles. Brush each with melted butter, and sprinkle two tablespoons of cinnamon sugar on each. Starting with one of the short sides, and using the wax paper to lift and guide, start rolling up your dough in a spiral. Moisten edges and pinch to seal. Repeat with other dough. 

4. Roll each...roll in remaining cinnamon sugar. Cover them and chill for 4 to 24 hours. 

5. Cut rolls into 1/4 inch slices. Place slices 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 8 to 10 minutes until edges are firm.

Cookie Experiment

Hm. I feel like I've been in sort of a rut lately. I've been in a state of insecurity about my academics, strengths, and I guess life in general. I need to keep remembering what it is that defines me. My slump extended sorta to baking. I sat around for a while yesterday trying to figure out what I wanted to make. I wanted to make something cool. Yeah. But I didn't have anything out of the ordinary in my room. 

In my heart, I wanted chocolate chip cookies. Plain and simple. I don't like to brag, but I definitely have a knack for them. Junior year of high school, we had a cookie baking contest in my chemistry class, in which I won first and second place. For my efforts I was awarded a large, outdated periodic table, a Three Musketeers bar, and the respect and admiration of my peers. You can see this is quite the defining moment for me. 

Anyway. Honestly, I prefer the recipe on the back of the Nestle chocolate chip bag. Don't judge. They never, ever go wrong. Ever. My snobbish side kept me from making them (and perhaps a bit of fear that they wouldn't be as magical without the aid of the trusty KitchenAid mixer). So I found a different recipe, and some caramels of mysterious origin in my room, and chopped them up and threw them in the dough. I don't really eat caramels. I kinda have TMJ. And hypochondria. 

Also, my brown sugar was a giant chunk, so I beat it with the Divine Comedy until it submitted. 

Almost immediately, things started going wrong with the recipe. My hand mixer, for whatever reason, could not handle the dough. One of the beaters didn't seem to be spinning properly. Then, the ingredients called for one egg, but in the directions, it said add eggs. I added one...and realized that the 2 1/2 cups of flour would totally overpower the wet ingredients. So I added 1 1/2. With a sinking feeling in my heart, I popped the dough in the oven and waited the 10 minutes they were supposed to cook. Nothing happened. I poked a ball tentatively. Pretty raw. I left them a little while longer...I mean, why not? Next time I checked, they looked like cookies. Perfect cookies. Really delicious cookies. 

So I guess I still have my touch. 

Chocolate Chip Caramel Cookies

Adapted from Forever Now and Then

Ingredients

• ½ cup butter, softened
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 egg
• 1 ½ cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ cup caramel bits
• ½ cup chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Cream sugars and butter together. Add egg, vanilla, mix well.
3. Mix in flour, salt, baking soda.
4. Fold in chocolate chips and caramel.
5. Fold in caramel.
6. Drop by the tablespoon onto a lined cookie sheet. Bake for 10-20 min. Sorry that's a huge range.
7. Remove and eat. Immediately. I have no idea what these taste like cooled.

Not a Typical Spring Break

Hey guys, this is going to be a short one. My spring break starts tomorrow, and I'm not going to have access to a computer. As I walk around the school, I see posters up informing students to be safe on their holidays and to drink responsibly. I guess I kinda forgot that stereotypical spring break involved heavy drinking in some tropical location. 

My break will consist of driving around the Midwest and upper regions of the south in a large bus doing community service and sleeping on church floors. It'll be a new experience for me. I'm kind of sad I won't get to see my family until Easter, but this will be an adventure I'm sure. I'll try to take pictures and hopefully eat some really good barbecue. That's my goal. 

Here's a biscotti recipe I made earlier this week. Enjoy, they won't break your teeth. Safe spring breaks everyone. 

Chocolate Chip Biscotti
adapted from All Recipes

(feel free to adapt this recipe with whatever flavors you like. biscotti is nice that way)

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 2 cups and 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips 
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon almond extract

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, beat together the oil, eggs, sugar and almond flavoring until well blended. Combine the flour and baking powder, stir into the egg mixture to form a heavy dough. Add chocolate. Form dough into a roll as long as your cookie sheet. Place roll onto the prepared cookie sheet, and press down to 1/2 inch thickness.
3. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown. Remove from the baking sheet to cool on a wire rack. When The cookies are cool enough to handle, slice each one crosswise into 1/2 inch slices. Place the slices cut side up back onto the baking sheet. Bake for an additional 6 to 10 minutes on each side. Slices should be lightly toasted.

Macaron Milestone

Back at school and you know what? It's good to be here. I never expected it to feel so much like home. But today I want to talk about a big step in my baking adventures that occurred right before I left for school: I made macarons. 

These are not to be confused with macaroons, which are those coconutty things (also delicious). Macarons have a sweet, airy shell of powdered sugars, nuts, and egg whites, and fillings range from buttercream to chocolate ganache. 

So the fact that this happened may not seem like a big deal to you, but macarons are notoriously difficult to work with. Honestly, I was a little bit scared. But browsing a blog I follow, I found a recipe I couldn't resist. So I took a chance, knowing they might not turn out at all, but that would be okay. It's all part of the learning experience. 

And you know what? They turned out beautifully. I'm not going to lie, they weren't easy, but I felt so empowered by the end. I kinda feel like I can do anything now. So lesson of the day is, take a chance on something that's maybe a little risky. It could be wonderful. 

Grapefruit and White Chocolate Macarons, adapted from Desserts for Breakfast
(Note: If you have a kitchen scale, go for the grams measurements. I'm sure they'll turn out better that way. I, uh, estimated. There are converters online.)
for macaron shells:
200 gr powdered sugar
120 gr blanched and slivered almonds
2 heaping Tbspn freshly grated grapefruit zest
1 or 2 drops red food coloring
30 gr granulated sugar
100 gr egg whites, aged 1-2 days at room temperature or a week in the refrigerator, at room temp
1/4 tspn cream of tartar

1. Prepare two baking sheets lined with silpats or parchment paper and a pastry bag with a large round piping tip.
2. Combine the powdered sugar, almonds, grapefruit zest, in a food processor and grind until a fine powder. 

4. In a separate mixing bowl, combine the egg whites, cream of tartar, and food coloring. Using an electric mixer, quickly stir the mixture until the entire surface is covered with foam. Then, start whisking the egg whites, gradually adding in the granulated sugar. Whisk until you reach glossy, almost-stiff peaks.
5. Gently fold the sifted almond and powdered sugar mixture into the egg whites in three to four stages, just until the ingredients are incorporated and the batter slowly re-absorbs peaks.
6. Transfer the macaron mixture to the prepared piping bag and pipe rounds on to the lined baking sheets. Tap the baking sheets on the table a few times to release air pockets.
7. Rest the macarons for at least 30 minutes (and up to 60), until the outside shells are no longer tacky and sticky to a light touch.
8. Preheat oven to 290 degrees F, with the oven rack in the bottom third of the oven.
9. Bake the macarons in the oven, one sheet at a time, for 24-28 minutes total, rotating the sheet half-way through the baking time to insure even baking.
10. Remove from oven and let cool.

for grapefruit curd:
1/4 cup freshly squeezed grapefruit juice
2 Tbspn cold water
3 Tbspn corn starch
1/8 tspn salt
1/2 cup sugar
2 egg yolks
2 Tbspn butter, at room temperature
2-3 drops red food coloring
3/4 cup boiling water
freshly grated zest of one medium-sized grapefruit

1. In a saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Gradually blend in the cold water and grapefruit juice.
2. Add the egg yolks, butter, and food coloring, blending until smooth.
3. Gradually add in the boiling water, stirring constantly.
4. Place the saucepan on medium high heat and bring to a full boil, stirring gently with a spatula and scraping the bottom (to prevent burning). Once the mixture begins to thicken, reduce the heat and simmer for one minute.
5. Remove the curd from heat and mix in the grapefruit zest. Let cool and then use to fill macarons.

for white chocolate buttercream:
1 stick butter, at room temperature
6 oz. white chocolate, melted and cooled to room temperature
1/2 - 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted

1. In a mixer bowl with the paddle attachment, cream the butter until fluffy.
2. Add the melted and cooled white chocolate to the butter and mix to combine.
3. Gradually add the powdered sugar until the frosting is the desired consistency. Use immediately to fill the macarons.

Once the macarons are filled, place them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for ~24 hours to "cure" and reach the height of their flavor.

Simple and Traditional - Mexican Wedding Cookies

Mm. My dog is cute. And she ate a couple tablespoons of raw ground beef.

Despite the somber look she has in this picture, Indie appears to be fine. She has an iron gut.

The house smells like butter and angels. Yes, I am familiar with the scent of angels. Angels smell like Mexican Wedding Cookies.

These were originally called Russian tea cakes, and they became popular in the US by the 20th century. But they changed the name to Mexican Wedding Cookies in the 50's. Y'know, anti Soviet sentiments and all that jazz. 

Apparently my mom "first had these at the international club in 7th grade." We've been making them for as long as I can remember. It's basically just butter, flour, nuts and sugar. So you can eat all the dough without salmonella fear. The texture is...crumbly. They kinda stick in your throat. Add to that the fact that they're rolled in powdered sugar and you've got yourself a great murder weapon if you want to choke someone. I'm not making them sound very appealing...they're good, I swear! Especially warm, and with a big glass of milk. I wouldn't lie to you about this. 

Mexican Wedding Cookies

2 cups flour

1/4 cup sugar

1 cup softened butter

1 cup ground pecans (stick them in the food processor or buy them that way) 

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups powdered sugar

Combine the first five ingredients, beat until everything is mixed together. It's going to look all crumbly. That's okay. Form balls with the dough and place on and ungreased cookie sheet. They're not going to rise or anything so you can pack them in. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes. Don't overbake. They will be disgusting. Let them cool for a couple minutes, then roll each ball in powdered sugar. Eat on a plate or napkin unless you want to look like a fool with cookie falling all over yourself. 

Rainbow Cookie Comfort

Readers, it's been one of those draining sort of days. Not like I've done anything physically exhausting, but my head is just tired. To get my mind off of things, I made rainbow cookies, a labor intensive but rewarding process. 

Mixer, I love you. 

For the majority of my life, these cookies were a treat that could be procured only when visiting relatives in New York. Sometimes, relatives would mail them or bring some when they visited, and those days were extra awesome. 

Okay, so once upon a time, my mom made a raffle basket for some school function. Oddly enough, she won her basket back. Thinking she would probably just give it to someone else as a gift, she put it aside for later. On a whim, she flipped through the cookie book from the basket, and lo and behold, stumbled across a recipe for "Italian Tricolors". Also know as Rainbow Cookies. So we kept the book. And lived happily ever after. 

The special ingredient in these cookies is almond paste, or I guess you could call it marzipan. It's kind of expensive, but it gives them their signature taste and moist, cake-y texture. It's worth it for a special occasion. They're supposed to look like the Italian flag but they're kinda just Christmasy. So the timing is perfect for you to make some. 

Hm...so many cookies...know anyone who may want some? 

Rainbow Cookies

Ingredients

• 7 ounces almond paste
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
•  3/4 cup butter, slightly softened
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup all-purpose flour, Sifted
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 15 drops green food coloring
• 15 drops red food coloring
• 2/3 cup raspberry preserves (pressed through a sieve to get rid of the seeds. You can also use apricot, that's easier. You just want the end result to be smooth.)
• 3 ounces semisweet chocolate
• 1 teaspoon vegetable shortening

Directions

1. Preheat Oven to 350 degrees.
2. 
   
   Grease 3 8"x8" metal baking pans. After greasing, line the bottoms of the pans with wax paper, smoothing the paper down onto the pan. Grease the tops of the wax paper and then flour the pans. Put aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, Beat together on medium-high speed the Almond Paste, Sugar, Almond Extract and butter until well blended. (there might be some small lumps of Almond Paste remaining and that's fine.).
4. Reduce speed to medium and beat in the eggs one at a time until blended. Reduce speed to low and then add the flour and salt slowly to the mixture until combined.
5. Take two small bowls and add 1 rounded cup of batter into each bowl. (there should be another rounded cup of batter still in the original mixing bowl.). Add 15 drops of red food color to one bowl and 15 drops of green food color to the other. Stir each bowl until evenly blended with color.
6. Spoon the untinted batter into one pan. With the back of a spoon, spread batter evenly (layer will be about 1/4 inch thick). Repear with red batter in second pan and green batter in remaining pan.
7. Bake until set and toothpick inserted in center of layers comes out clean. 10-12 minutes. Cool in pans on wire rack about 1/2 hour. Cake should be cool to the touch.
   1. 
      
      Lay a piece of wax paper on a flat surface that will be able to fit in refrigerator. Or garage if it's cold like it is here. Take the green layer and flip over pan onto wax paper. Gently pull off the wax paper. Spread 1/3 cup of raspberry preserves onto the green layer.
   2. 
      
      Take the untinted layer and remove from pan. Place it onto the green layer with the wax paper side up. Press down gently and then remove the wax paper.Spread remaining 1/3 cup of Apricot preserves onto the untinted layer. Take the remaining red layer and remove from pan and place upon the white layer again with the wax paper side up. Press down gently and remove the wax paper.
   3. In a 1 quart saucepan (or uh, the microwave), heat chocolate and shortening over low heat, stirring frequently, until melted.Spread melted chocolate mixture on top of the red layer evenly. Do not put mixture on sides.
   4. Refrigerate until chocolate is firm, at least 1 hour. (at this point, if you want, you can cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days before serving).
   5. To serve, with a large sharp knife, trim about 1/4 inch from the edges. Cut the stacked layers into 6 strips. Cut each strip crosswise into 6 pieces. You will get 36 square cookies from this. Keep in the fridge! 

It's Mah Birthday.

Well, almost anyway. Some people think it's sad to make your own birthday cake. Au contraire! It's fun, and you get to see your work being enjoyed. Birthdays are kind of a big thing in my family. I dunno why, it's just nice to celebrate. Usually my mom will cook whatever food I request, and we either make my cake together or she'll do it for me. I usually pick something rather complex and chocolate-y. Last year we made a Chocolate Darjeeling Tea Cake. This is the first year I'm alone (well, not with my family) for my birthday, and I totally do not have the resources to make a fancy layer cake. So I went for the old standby, a zebra cake! 

Ooh, ahhh. How did you do that Rebecca? It looks hard! Never fear readers, it's incredibly easy. I was exposed to this recipe at a very young age by way of the Magic Spoon Cookbook. So if a ten year old can make it, so can you! It's just whipped cream and chocolate wafer cookies. 

Heck, you can use Cool Whip and stale Oreos for all I care. 

It's delicious. Stick it in the fridge for a while and the cookies turn into cake. Cut it diagonally if you want the pretty zebra stripes. 

Zebra Cake

1 pint heavy cream

1 package chocolate wafer cookies

2 Tbsp powdered sugar

1/2 Tsp vanilla

1. Pour heavy cream into a largish bowl. Add sugar and vanilla, and beat until soft peaks form. 

2. Put a couple teaspoons of whipped cream between two cookies. Repeat process. So you get this kinda thing going on. Make two cookie stacks about twelve cookies each, and lay them next to each other on a 13x9 inch pan. 

3. Put some whipped cream between the stacks to glue them together, and cover the whole thing in whipped cream. Stick it in the fridge for at least four hours, and presto, you've got yourself a cake. 

I love whipped cream.

Because I have a lot of friends, I made two cakes. This second one was just me messing around. It's not that beautiful, but it tastes fantastic. I took an Oreo crust, made some more whipped cream, quick baked some double chocolate cookies from a mix I had (I know, I know...) and layered it with whipped cream in the crust. Mmm. Everyone really, really  liked this. You should try it. Experiment with different cookies and crusts and such. I dare you. 

It's the taste that counts...

Delicious Cookie Pie Thing

1 Oreo Crust (or graham cracker, or whatever) 

Approximately 10 cookies (any type you like)

1 pint heavy cream

1/2 tsp vanilla

2 Tbsp powdered sugar

1. Sugar, vanilla, cream, go! Whip until you get yourself some soft peaks. 

2.Spread a layer of whipped cream on the bottom of the crust. Then add a layer of cookies on top of it. Then a layer of whipped cream. Then cookies. You get it. End with a layer of whipped cream on the top. 

3.Stick it in the fridge for at least four hours, remove, devour. 

Slightly Sparkly, Somewhat Spicy Cookies

So I'm determined to change some people's minds about spicy + chocolate. This is a concept that pretty well developed in the food world, but completely weird to most people I've met. Okay, so maybe a chocolate malt with Sriracha in it wasn't the best introduction. But these cookies are. These were pretty much the first thing I baked with cayenne and chocolate in it, and I must say, I'm totally addicted to the combination. 

I...made a mess. 

In my opinion, the darker cocoa you can get, the better (Hershey's Special Dark is great, but I didn't have any) and you can vary the amount of cayenne pepper for a milder cookie, or one with more heat. I wish I had added more. Also a bit irritated with myself for forgetting to grab some pepper from the cafeteria. Don't leave it out if you can help it, it really adds something. 

So delicious. A bit labor intensive, yes, but everyone will love you. 

Recipe courtesy of Under The High Chair

Mayan Chocolate Sparklers

Topping:

½ cup granulated sugar 

1 tsp ground cinnamon 

Cookies:

¾ cup vegetable shortening 

½ cup unsalted butter, softened 

¾ cup granulated sugar 

¾ cup brown sugar, packed 

2 large eggs 

1 tsp pure vanilla extract 

1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour 

1 ¼ cups cocoa powder 

1 tbsp ground cinnamon 

2 tsp baking soda 

¼ tsp salt 

¼ tsp ground black pepper 

1 pinch ground cayenne pepper 

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips 

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350ºF . Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Topping:
Combine sugar and cinnamon for topping.

Cookies:
Beat shortening, butter, sugars and vanilla until creamy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. 
Sift together flour, cocoa, cinnamon and baking soda. Stir in black pepper, salt, and cayenne pepper. 
Gradually add dry ingredients to butter mixture, beating after each addition. Stir in chocolate chips.

Roll in 1” balls, don’t flatten. Roll into cinnamon and sugar topping. Place on prepared cookie sheets, about 2” apart.
Bake 7-10 minutes. Cookies should still be soft in center. Let cool on baking sheet for 3-5 minutes. Remove, cool on wire rack.