Black and White Peanut Butter Cookies

I wanted to make some peanut butter cookies for a friend's housewarming. I have been thinking about making a cookie with large chunks of mixed nuts in the batter. It seems like a manly cookie that I could send to my dad for his birthday. Also, I tend to like cookies that have salt in them so I added some coarse sea salt but this would probably sound crazy to some people.

I used 1/2 c. Planter's mixed nuts (peanuts, almonds, cashews, brazil) and 1/2 c. of macadamia nuts (I am always trying to think of ways to use the endless supply of macadamia nuts that my mother in law constantly sends us). I pulsed these in the food processor for a few seconds so that the chunks of the nuts were large enough that they maintained some of their original texture and flavor. For these I didn't want just tiny crumbs of anonymous "nut meal."

Well, as if I wasn't pushing it with the coarse sea salt, I decided that the first few batches were too dry* so I had the idea to dip them in chocolate and white frosting. This recipe is perfectly good without the frostings though or with just the chocolate. This makes about 40 cookies but it really depends on how large you make them.

*The first few batches of cookies came out dry because I was trying to be cute and make a nice crosshatch pattern by pressing down with the fork. By the last few trays I was barely touching them with the fork and they started to come out much chewier. I can't stress enough that you don't smash the cookies down very much at all.



1 1/4 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon of sea salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 tablespoon (I used almond milk)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 c. of some combination of mix-ins (some kind of nuts/chocolate chips)

For sprinkling: 1 tablespoon sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the flour, the baking soda, the baking powder, and the salt. Set aside.


2. In a large bowl, beat the butter and the peanut butter together until fluffy. Add the sugars and beat until smooth.

3. Add the egg and mix well. Add the milk and the vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and beat thoroughly.


4. Stir in the nuts/chocolate chips. Place sprinkling sugar — the remaining tablespoon — on a plate.


5. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls into the sugar, then onto ungreased cookie sheets, leaving several inches between for expansion.

***DON'T make them this flat or they will be dry***

***DON'T make them this flat or they will be dry***
6. Using a fork, lightly indent with a crisss-cross pattern but do not overly flatten cookies. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Do not overbake.


Cool the cookies on the sheets for 1 minute, then remove to a rack to cool completely.

For Black and White frosting:
4 c. confectioner's sugar
5 oz. or so of dark chocolate
about 1 c. of boiling water

1. For the Black part of the cookie, just melt the chocolate in a double boiler and dip half of the cookie into the melted chocolate.



2. I stick them in the refrigerator (on a flexible cutting board) for about an hour to harden the chocolate so you can get a good grip when you're dipping them in the white frosting.

3. To make the white frosting you just add the boiling water to the confectioners sugar and get rid of all of the lumps before dipping the other half of the cookie--refrigerate about another hour until the frosting is set.

Store air-tight and with wax paper between the layers.

Potatoes Dauphinoise

Ingredients:
3lbs potatoes (russet)
4 tablespoons of butter
3-5 garlic cloves
1.c heavy cream
salt and pepper


1. Slice potatoes as thinly as you can (I used my mandoline and cut my finger washing it) and soak them in cold water for 30 mins. Lay the potatoes out and dry them off with a towel or paper towel.

2. Preheat oven to 375


3. Butter the bottom and sides of a casserole dish. Sprinkle 1/2 of the garlic along the edges of the buttered pan


4. Make layers of potatoes, dot with butter pieces, sprinkle with salt and pepper, drizzle with a few tablespoons of cream. Continue to layer in this way until you are out of potatoes.


5. Bake for 1 hour, or a bit longer depending on your oven.

Foxy Chocolate Mousse

4 oz. dark chocolate
1 tbsp sugar
5 egg whites
3 egg yolks

-I wouldn't attempt this without a hand mixer, a medium-sized metal bowl to use over a pot of a water as a double boiler, and a reliable silicon spatula.

Directions-
1. Create a double boiler situation with the metal bowl and pot of water. Melt the chocolate--scraping the sides with the spatula.

2. Add the sugar and stir well. Remove from heat.
3. Add the egg yolks one by one and stir well.

4. In a separate bowl beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks.
5. Fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture with the spatula and mix until creamy and uniform (this took me 7 minutes last night).

6. Pour the mousse into small bowls, cover, and refrigerate over night.

I really like this recipe for mousse. Also, my lactose intolerant husband can enjoy it. I took it out of FWDGF. It's very elegant and delicious.

Tilapia and Brussel Sprouts

Pan-seared Tilapia:

4 (4 ounce) fillets tilapia
salt and pepper to taste
.5 c. flour
drizzle of olive oil
tiny dot of butter to melt on top

Directions:

1. Rinse tilapia fillets in cold water and pat dry with paper towels.
2. Season both sides of each fillet with salt and pepper. Place the flour in a shallow dish
3. Gently press each fillet into the flour to coat and shake off the excess flour.
4. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat
5. Cook the tilapia in the hot oil until the fish flakes easily with a fork, about 4 minutes per side. Drop a little butter on them to finish
6. Serve immediately.

Nutritional Information open nutritional information

Amount Per Serving Calories: 249 | Total Fat: 10.8g | Cholesterol: 56mg

Brussel Sprouts with Shallots and Bacon:
Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Shallots
serves 2-3

3 cups Brussels sprouts- halved
1 large shallot - thinly sliced
2 slices bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
drizzle of olive oil
salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Combine ingredients in an oven safe casserole and mix well.

Cook 35-40 minutes, stirring 3 times, until Brussels sprouts are browned all around.

Serve hot, with an extra sprinkling of sea salt.

**Also, Half a bottle of champange and 6 squares of dark chocolate**

Lace Cookies

I am trying to come up with a cookie recipe to bake and bring when I visit my mother in law next month. She is an amazing cook of Korean food but not much of a baker. She always seems impressed when I bring something that I baked. I think I will bring these and the Madeleines because they are the prettiest.

I think these are going to be a new staple cookie for me. They are shockingly easy to fix and they look adorable. They are like a cross between a cookie and almond brittle. This recipe calls for orange zest. I made four versions: plain with no orange zest, cinnamon, orange zest and plain dipped in dark chocolate. Yong preferred the plain ones. I initially liked the cinnamon best but also came to love the orange zest once I tried it--you need to be in the mood for orange zest.

Next time I make these I will probably reduce the sugar somewhat. Their family usually eats fruit for dessert so I try not to make anything crazily sweet for them. This recipe is great as-is for most people though. Because of the brittle-like qualities of this cookie, I think, as with my of my cookies, that they could be improved by adding a healthy dose of sea salt. Salty-sweet cookies are my favorite.

Check out my nail art.




Ingredients
1 3/4 cups sliced, blanched almonds (about 5 ounces)
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Finely grated zest of 1 orange (about 2 tablespoons)
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons heavy cream
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Chocolate Topping, optional:
2 to 4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped

Directions:

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.

2. Pulse the almonds in a food processor until finely chopped, but not pasty. Stir together the nuts, flour, zest and salt in a large bowl.






3. Put the sugar, cream, corn syrup and butter in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture comes to a rolling boil and sugar is completely dissolved. Continue to boil for 1 minute.


4. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla, then pour mixture into almond mixture and stir just to combine. Set aside until cool enough to handle, 30 minutes.


5. Scoop rounded teaspoons (for 3-inch cookies) or rounded tablespoons (for 6-inch cookies) of batter and roll into balls. Place on prepared baking sheet, leaving about 3 to 4 inches between each cookie since they spread.


6. Bake 1 pan at a time, until the cookies are thin and an even golden brown color throughout, rotating pans halfway through baking time, about 10 to 11 minutes. Cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to racks to cool. Repeat with remaining batter. Serve.


What the oven has joined together let no bear tear asunder.

Cinnamon Raisin Challah

I was feeling cold and sad yesterday and I wanted to make something that smelled like cinnamon. I decided to make some cinnamon raisin Challah for toast and whatever. I used half wheat flour. I altered my usual recipe only slightly.

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups whole milk
8 tablespoons (1 stick) sweet butter
1-2 teaspoon of cinnamon (I used freshly ground)
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 packages active dry yeast
4 eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons salt
3 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
3 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 cup raisins (or more if you like)
1/3 cup cornmeal
1 tablespoon cold water
sesame seeds

Directions:
1. Bring 6 tablespoons of butter (I browned the butter and added the cinnamon before pouring in the other ingredients), milk and sugar to a boil together in a medium-size saucepan. Remove from heat, pour into a large mixing bowl, and let cool for 15-20mins.

2. Stir 2 packages yeast into the milk mixture and let stand for 10 minutes (I think next time I make this I may add the raisins at this step to let them plump up a bit).

3. Beat 3 of the eggs well in a small bowl, and stir them and the salt into the milk-and-yeast mixture. I added the raisins here.



4. Stir in 5 cups of the flour, 1 cup at a time, until you achieve a sticky dough. Flour a work surface lightly and turn the dough out onto it. Wash and dry the bowl.



5. Sprinkle additional flour over the dough and begin kneading, adding more flour as necessary, until you have smooth elastic dough.

6. Smear the reserved 2 tablespoons of butter around the inside of the bowl and add the ball of dough into the bowl, turning to coat it lightly with butter. Cover the bowl with a towel and set aside to let dough rise until tripled in bulk, 1 hour.






7. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and cut into halves. Cut each half into 3 pieces and then cut those in half. Roll the pieces out into long "snakes" about 18 inches long. Braid six of the snakes together into a loaf and tuck the ends under. Repeat with remaining snakes. I should make a video of the six strand braid. It's tricky at first but easily learned and looks impressive.



8. Sprinkle a large baking sheet with the cornmeal, and transfer the loaves to the sheet. Leave room between the loaves for them to rise. Cover loaves with the towel and let rise until nearly doubled, about 1 hour.

9. Preheat oven to 350° F.

10. Beat the remaining egg and 1 tablespoon cold water together well in a small bowl. Brush this egg wash evenly over the loaves. Sprinkle immediately with sesame seeds to taste.



11. Set baking sheet on the middle rack of the oven. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until loaves are golden brown and sound hollow when their bottoms are thumped. Cool completely on racks before wrapping. Makes 2 large loaves.

Hen and Corn Soup

I am been taking out baking books from the library. I am trying to find a pastry to impress my mother-in-law without repeating the same Challah. I wanted to make something with an oxtail but I'm not sure I can make something interesting that isn't gross.

Tonight I threw together a soup:
Need:
Cornish game hen (I used frozen)
1 yellow onion, chopped
1/2 diced red pepper
1 large or 2 small carrots cut into coins
2 stalks of chopped celerey
1 chopped fresh jalpeno pepper
3-4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
2 ears of corn (kernels removed from cob)
salt
fresh cracked black pepper
2 bay leaves

1. Heat 1 tbs of oil oil in a dutch oven. Once the oil starts to sizzle add a chopped yellow onion and cook until tender (3-4 mins).
2. added diced red pepper
3. added carrot coins (from one LARGE carrot or two smaller ones)
4. 2 stalks of celery chopped, salt and pepper occasionally
5. add 1 chopped fresh jalepeno pepper
6. Once everything is seared and tender add some chicken or vegetable stock (3-4 cups)as well as the corn and 2 bay leaves.
7. I dig out a little spot for my cornish game hen and cover and cook on low for about an hour.
8. I removed the hen and separate the meat from the carcass. I use the carcass to make a chicken stock and mix the chicken meat back into the soup. Taste the soup and salt and pepper to taste.
8. You can add noodles, dumplings, rice or whatever starchy thing you like to put in soup. I used left-over bread <3

I wanted to make some variations of dutch crunch so I need to go buy some rice flour. I will take pictures next time.