TWD: Chocolate Madeleines

So, we got snow! A whopping 3 inches! Aside from the fact that it really messes up my marathon training routines and despite the fact that I HATE being cold... I actually really enjoy the snow. I love watching it fall, I love anticipating the actual amount that will fall (which I'm always disappointed in... wherever I live never ends up getting the amount suggested by the local weather news team), and I love seeing it pile up on the trees and the sidewalks.

And as of yesterday, I have a new favorite thing about snow... I love walking in it! Yesterday was really the first time I've ever walked to work when there was actual snow piled up on the sidewalks. I wore my trail running shoes to work and was digging the sound of my shoes crunching through the snow. Sometimes its the simpliest things in life that can put a smile on your face.

In other news, I finally checked out the Birth of Impressionism exhibit at the Frist Center this past weekend. Admittedly, Impressionism is one of my least favorite art movements, but that almost makes impressionist exhibits that much more exhiliarating! Because, I'm going into it expecting to be wowed by the brushstrokes and the artist's eye to method and detail... but inevitably there's always that moment where I lock eyes on a piece and am moved like I never expected. There were a couple of pieces in the exhibit that did that to me.

One was Wrestlers by Alexandre Falguière. I am a sculpture lover. Sculpture is by far my favorite medium and as soon as I laid eyes on that painting, it immediately made me think of a sculpture. The attention to the muscles and the human body in this painting were as moving to me as they are in sculpture. Which is saying a lot. And of course, it was no surprise to find out that the artist was not only a painter, but a sculpter, as well.

The whole exhibit was amazing (Whistlers Mother! The Birth of Venus!) and I was thrilled by the amount of people that were at the museum. Sure, it makes viewing a little more difficult, but I get great satisfaction moving around shoulder to shoulder with the people of my city enjoying something so remarkable and beautiful.

I found this week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe to be in the spirit of my weekend visit to the museum. What better treat after milling around amongst Monets, Manets, Degas', Cezannes and Renoirs than a delicate madeline?

These came together so easily, but I must admit.. I've made madeleine's once before (for another TWD a couple years ago) and I'm still regretting the purchase of a mini madeleine pan. It's damn near impossible to not fill that tin up too much with batter. So, my madeleines end up being less than visually appealing blobs instead of cute, dainty shells.

I guess it doesn't really matter though, because they get gobbled up before anyone has a chance to look at them for too long.

Fluff Filled Chocolate Madeleines
Recipe by Dorie Greenspan

First of all, if you're a batter lover... then whoa nelly, this is the batter for you. Seriously, I probably ate about half the batter from the bowl. It was delicious. Light and frothy and chocolate-y. So very good.

I definitely overfilled my mini madeleine pan... but with a regular sized pan I dont think it would be a problem. To be honest, my favorite part of the madelines, were the crispy-ish edges that resulted from overfilling the tins.

The only issue I had was a lot of my madeleines came out with a gross white dusting (from the flour dusting of the pan), so next time I would definitely use cocoa instead of flour to dust the pans. (Of course you were technically supposed to fill these little cakes with marshmallow fluff and dunk in a chocolate glaze. Both of which I skipped. So, if that were the case, the flour coating on the outside wouldn't have mattered).

I do see myself making these again sometime. Or at least making the batter. ;)

Visit Margo of Effort to Deliciousness's blog for the complete recipe.

TWD Rewind: All American Apple Pie.

Last night I got to spend the evening with one of my best friends. She was only in town for a few days and between making time to see her family, Monday evening was the only spare time she had to squeeze me in. I was grateful to have the whole evening with her!

It's funny. You go through life having someone live down the road from you for several years... you go to dinner or lunch, you go to the museum, you go shopping... but you also go through some months where you don't really get together. You're busy, she's busy. It happens. But you still know what's going on in each others lives.

Last night I realized... I really had no idea what had been going on with her for MONTHS. And it made me very sad. Just because she's moved to the other side of the country, and just because I feel guilty that I've made trips to Montana, San Francisco, Mexico, etc and have yet to make it out to visit her in the Pacific Northwest is no excuse for allowing months to go by with little or no communication.

Luckily, things with her are great! She's enjoying her new town, making friends, and she absolutely loves her job. But, it definitely put things into perspective for me. I've slacked. I just assume that we'll always be great friends and we'll always pick up right where we left off when we do talk or get together... and while that's true. It's not fair. To either one of us.

Friendships are relationships, too. And just like anything in life... you have to give it attention for it to grow and bloom. And this year in particular, I've not kept my end of the friendship up very well.

I've taken our friendship for granted. We never fight or have arguments, so I know that we'll always be friends. But, that's not enough. This year I was the type of friend that called her maybe twice (once on her birthday), I was the type of friend who made plans to visit her and then bailed, I was the type of friend who only emailed or texted her a handful of times. I was, in a word: SHITTY.

So, as of today (or last night, really) I'm determined to be a better friend to her. Just because she's on the other end of the country, is no excuse. I miss her! I miss knowing whats going on in her life, I miss talking to her, I miss telling her whats going on in mine. And even if I can't go and see her as much as I'd like.. I can certainly call or email her!

In some ways... this recipe reminds me of my friend and I's friendship and how I've treated it this year. It's a recipe where you know what it's going to taste like. Who hasn't had apple pie, right? So, I never made it. In fact, I've never made any apple pie! There are so many other glamorous dessert recipes to be made, no?

But, I finally decided to make this pie for Thanksgiving. And oh my god... I had no idea an apple pie could be so good. I was reminded that the uncomplicated, familiar things in life are sometimes best. There's nothing flashy or unusual here. It's just good basic ingredients thrown together to make a most excellent pie.

All-American Apple Pie

Recipe by Dorie Greenspan

Chosen by Emily of Sandmuffin

Dead simple, folks. The hardest part is cutting up the apples, which I initially bought an apple corer/slicer for, but once I realized that it was still getting some of the core in the slices, I shoved the task off onto my mom to cut up (I highly suggest this step!)... so yeah... for me, this pie was a breeze!

Dorie's pie crust has definitely become my go to pie crust recipe. It's easy and so delicious. This coming from a girl who used to despise pie crust (and still despises all shortening based pre-packaged crusts).

If you have an apple pie lover in your life... this is the recipe to yes. This pie recipe might have just trumped my other favorite pies: pecan and cherry. It's that good.

Recipe found on Emily's Blog, HERE.

TWD: Fold Over Cherry Torte

When I was very small, one of my most very favorite toys was a Fisher-Price kitchen. I didn't have all the accessories that went along with it, but I didn't really need them. I was happy to pretend with some of my mom's cooking utensils or with nothing at all.

I don't really remember what all I cranked out of that little kitchen. But, I do remember baking a bunch of cherry pies. You see, Cherry Pie was my dad's absolute favorite dessert. My mom made him cherry pies all the time, so of course... I had to make him cherry pies as well! (I'm talking imaginary cherry pies, obviously).

The relationship between my dad and I has changed a lot through the years. When I was small, the highlight of my day (and I'm sure my mom's too) was hearing his key in the front door. I remember my brothers and I scrambling to the foyer to greet him with hugs and kisses when he got home from work.

As I got a little older, I always enjoyed whatever time I could get to spend with him. He's not the type of guy that you would imagine upon meeting him that he's warm, loving, and affectionate. And with anyone else besides our immediate family, he's not really. But with my mom, my brothers and me he has never been afraid to show his love for us. Which, I know isn't always an easy emotion to express openly with those around you.  But, there were times when I don't really remember much about him. He worked long and hard hours to provide for our family, and to ensure that my mom was able to stay home with my brothers and I. And even at a young age, I never resented it. Somehow, I understood and it made sense.

By the time I was in high school and went off to college, to be honest, I didn't feel like I related to either of my parents. I was at that age: the teenage-y, angst-y age and I thought my parents had no clue what was going on. And I really didnt make any attempts to get close to them.

During and after college, I started to become friends with my parents. Especially my mom. Our relationship got better and closer and my relationship with my dad definitely grew stronger, but it wasn't until I started working for him/with him 6 years ago that our relationship really changed.

At first, it was kind of hard. I was used to a different dad. Not the work environment dad, but the at home dad. So, it was interesting for me to see him in a different role. Also, I took everything way too personal. There were a couple of moments that I had to excuse myself to the bathroom to bawl my eyes out, because he'd yelled at me or gotten upset with me over something. But, eventually, I evolved. I grew a backbone and instead of being a little apprehensive about speaking my mind around my dad (which I never did before), I started doing it all the time. (I'm sure he thinks I've copped a little bit of an attitude, but whatev).

People ask me all the time.. isn't it hard to work for your dad? And I always have the same response: It's not hard at all, it's great! My dad and have become so close. I can definitely tell him anything and everything now and I feel like I know him more on a personal level, rather just on a parent/child level. I also tell people that it's nice, because as a kid, he wasn't around as much as he would have liked, and so now, I get to spend everyday with him!

One of the best things about working with him and spending so much time with him, is I get to see how good of a person he really is. I'm not longer only exposed to him in the "dad" role, but I get to see him as others see him. I get to see how hard of a worker he truly is. How well respected he is by his colleagues and clients. If I had a nickel for every time a client expressed to me in private how much they respected my dad as a professional as well as a person, I'd have a much better shoe collection.

It warms my heart to see him do what he loves and I'm thankful that I've had the opportunity to be apart of his daily work. His knowledge about his profession seems limitless and he's always willing to teach me new things and always pushes me out of my comfort zone to try more difficult things, and while sometimes I'm cussing him under my breath, because it's scary to learn new things, I'm always grateful in the end that he had the faith in me to give me such opportunities to grow and learn.

Aside from work, I've also grown an appreciation for my dad's generosity and his commitment to family. He's always willing to listen without judgement and offer up any advice or help he can give. He's not just a great father, he's a great man.

His birthday was Friday and I wanted to make him something Cherry related. Something that I might have whipped up in that imaginary kitchen of mine years ago. So, instead of trying to make two desserts one for Tuesdays with Dorie and one for my dad's birthday. I did a little substituting in the Tuesdays with Dorie recipe to make it more appealing to dad.

Honestly, it didn't really work for me. I'm not sure if it was the recipe, the execution or the cherries, but I suspect it was a combination of all three. Not a hit... I'll stick with my favorite cherry pie recipe for sure (actually, eating this cherry dessert made me crave my cherry pie, so I'm pretty sure I'll be making one of those for Thanksgiving this year)! But, it was an interesting idea and I had really high hopes for it.

My dad didn't complain. I'm pretty sure he's just happy to spend time with his family on his birthday. But, I was kinda disappointed that I didn't deliver with an excellent dessert to knock his socks off.

Happy Birthday Dad! I love you and appreciate you!

Fold Over Pear Cherry Torte

Recipe by Dorie Greenspan
Chosen for Tuesdays with Dorie by Cakelaw of Laws of the Kitchen

First off, the absolute best part of this recipe was the pie crust. I used to hate the taste of pie crust, but now that I'm getting better at making it myself, Dorie's pie crust is out of this world! YUM!

Second off, I used frozen cherries in a baked good for the first time. BIG mistake. Just not tart enough for a pie. The cherries were so bland and blah.

I substituted frozen cherries (thawed and drained) for the pears and dried cherries for the raisins.

I was afraid of overfilling the pie with custardy filling, so I think I didn't fill it enough, because there just wasn't much custard or cream to the pie.

Not the worst thing I've ever made, but not the best either. Probably better with pears. Or with tarter cherries.

Recipe can be found by clicking this link.

TWD: Peanut Butter Crisscrosses

Well, I guess that's it, folks. Summer is officially over. Labor Day is behind us, college football has started and there are no more long holiday weekends until Thanksgiving. Every year I find myself saying... where did the summer go? But this year.. while it did go fast... June and July somehow seem like eons ago.

Usually, I'm ready for summer to get the hell out of town. I mean... summers in Tennessee can be brutal. And this year was no exception... days after days of 90+ degree weather, some 100+ degree days. It was a sweat-fest out there. And I'm always looking forward to the cool, brisk days of fall with their bright blue skies and low humidity. (and football!!).

The only bad thing about fall? The clothes. I hate wearing jeans (because I can't find any that fit my body well) and I hate wearing closed toe shoes. Blah. Sure, I love looking at fall catalogs with their plaids and flannels and their tweeds and boots. But, unfortunately... it's not a look that I can very succesfully pull off. Oh well. Maybe this will be the year I find the one. The one pair of jeans that I can fall in love with. Fingers crossed.

I'm really looking forward to this fall, though. I've got lots of things planned:

Sept 24-26: Heading down to Auburn for the South Carolina vs. Auburn football game with friends
October 2: Stumpjump 50k
October 22-23: Bourbon Chase Relay
Nov 6-8: Chicago trip

Speaking of the Auburn/South Carolina football game... I made these peanut butter cookies and froze almost all the dough, to save for tailgating!

I can clearly remember the first time I ever made peanut butter cookies. You see... peanut butter cookies weren't really a standby in my house growing up. We had mostly chocolate chip cookies (in bar form), magic cookie bars, and grandma cookies (aka no bake cookies). I can't recall my mom ever making peanut butter cookies.

But one day when I was probably 13/14 I pulled down a little camel colored cookbook from the shelf and flipped through it. It was called something like... "recipes from the back of labels, jars, and cans." or something like that. I found a peanut butter cookie recipe and got to work.

The resulting cookies were crumbly and peanut buttery. They weren't chewy or moist, but they were full of peanut flavor and required a huge glass of milk to swallow. I made those cookies a few more times and now that I think about it, I need to copy that recipe from the book the next time I'm over at my parents house.

Since then, my favorite peanut butter cookie recipe is the one that is flourless. YUM. But, I'm an equal opportunity peanut butter cookie lover... I recently tried one of the Baked Peanut Butter Cookies and they were delicious!!! It seems just like chocolate chip cookies, there's no decisive peanut butter cookie recipe.. they're all good.

And these are good, too! Although, I do think I baked them a little long. With all the butter in the recipe, they stay pretty light in color and I kept expecting them to darken up a bit, so they got a little overcooked. But they were still pretty damn tasty. With all the other peanut butter cookie recipes out there, I'm not sure I'll be making these again... but it was fun to try a new recipe. And I'm sure once I pull these bad boys out in a couple of weeks and bake up a whole batch for some South Carolina Tailgating, I'll be shoveling them into my mouth and swallowing them down with loads of beer and thinking... DAMN these are some good cookies.

So, with that... bring on the fall! Bring on the weather, the changing leaves, the football, the tailgating and yes... the jeans. Ugh.

Peanut Butter Crisscrosses
Recipe by Dorie Greenspan
From her book: Baking from my Home to Yours
Chosen for Tuesdays with Dorie by: Jasmine of Jasmine Cuisine

These cookies were easy to make. No weird ingredients, no chill time before baking. Just whip up a batch and bake them off.

I did add vanilla (because I'm a vanilla whore and add it to everything) and I left out the peanuts. A good simple, classic peanut butter cookie recipe. The flavor of peanut butter could be a bit more intense for my liking, but still a yummy recipe.

Of course, I never could get my crisscrosses to do right on the cookies. Ugh.

Find the recipe here, scroll down for the english recipe.

TWD: Oatmeal Breakfast Bread... Veganized.

Yes, these muffins are vegan.

I know. I know I told you that I didn't see myself trying to veganize my baking. It's just not something that generally interests me, particularly with certain substitutions (like margarine or soy-processed products). But, I have a good excuse for this one.

I made this bread (actually, I made muffins) vegan, because I made it for a friend of mine who has recently gone vegan. Like for reals vegan. None of this wimpy 30 day challenge stuff. No sirree, she's gone truly vegan. Since I'm all about sharing my baked goods, I knew that I needed to try and make these vegan, if I could, so that I could share them with her. And I lucked out when I read over the recipe.

The recipe lends itself to veganizing. For one... it's a quick bread recipe, which in my experience, I've found quick bread recipes to be forgiving as heck to modifications... you can make it healthier, you can make it lighter, you can make it more fattening... whatever you do, it usually still turns out delicious. But, can you make it vegan?

The recipe already used applesauce and a tiny bit of oil as it's fat. So, I didn't have to worry about subbing out butter. The problem laid in two ingredients: Eggs and Buttermilk or Whole Milk.

What to do? Well, I subbed a smashed up banana to replace the eggs and I used unsweetened almond milk to replace the milk (I didn't even worry about trying to make the milk buttermilk, though I could have with a little vinegar in the milk).

The batter came together nicely and quickly and I had these bad boys in the oven within about 5 minutes of starting the process.

To be completely honest, I didn't have high hopes. I've had delicious vegan baked goods before, but I just assumed that my first foray into the genre would be lackluster. I figured that my banana and almond milk substitutions weren't good enough. That there were some other fancy dancy baking products that cost an arm and a leg that I should have bought and used instead.

But I'll be damned if these weren't some of the BEST muffins I've ever had. Not even one of the best vegan muffins, but one of the best muffins, period. Delicious. Sweet (I think, I probably should have accounted for the additional sweetness of the banana, and cut back on the sugar, but D-A-M-N I loved them being so freaking sweet), spicy, moist without being wet, and a tender crumb.

I mean, really... this is a kick-ass recipe. I will be making these again and again. And I've already got more ideas for more modifications... maybe I could make it a slightly healthier vegan muffin. But, I shouldn't get too far ahead of myself and just enjoy the muffins as they are now... delicious and animal friendly.

Oatmeal Breakfast Bread

Brilliant Recipe by Dorie Greenspan

Chosen for Tuesdays with Dorie baking group, by Natalie of Oven Love.

I know, right? Who knew you could take the taste of an oatmeal cookie and put it into the form of a moist, tender bread or muffin??? It's truly genious. The cinnamon is fragrant and alluring and the pop of the dried fruit (I used raisins) is like a little firework in your mouth amongst the sturdy, yet soft oatmeal.

Yes, I'm getting poetical on your ass, but this is truly a delicious recipe. It really is like an oatmeal raisin cookie in a softer, gentler form.

The substitutions I made: I made a half recipe and got exactly 12 muffins (although my vegan recipe didn't rise at all, so I might could have gotten 10 really full muffins). I used white whole wheat flour, I subbed one small banana smashed for the 1 egg, and unsweetened almond milk for the milk. I also used raisins and didn't have any walnuts or pecans, so I left those out of the topping.

Do yourself a favor.... make this recipe and make it vegan! I guarantee you won't be disappointed.

You can find the full recipe here on Natalie of Oven Love's Blog.

TWD: Gingered Carrot Cookies

Admit it, you didn't believe me when I told you that I'd be posting fairly regularly again, did you?

Haha. Fooled you.

Admittedly, one of the reasons for my lack of posting lately is I have a pretty severe case of writers block. Like, I am just having a really hard time coming up with some kind of story or anecdote to include along with blog posts. But, I've decided to just throw caution into the wind and attempt to blog anyway. Maybe I'll work my way through it, eh?

It sucks when you feel like you no longer have anything creative coming out of you. And I'm not really sure what the cause is. Maybe it's work... maybe I've been so overwhelmed at work, that work-related thoughts have now invaded the space in my brain that was reserved for creativity. Maybe, it's the fact that I'm not going out and getting drunk very often. Therefore, I don't really have any good stories. Or maybe it has something to do with the fact that my life basically consists of running, work, hot yoga, and sleep these days and there's just not much time for me to sit around and stew up some good bits. (Probably because any spare time that I have, I'm usually reading (educational, at least!) or catching up some television (hey, it's kinda educational).

I did get around to participating in Tuesdays with Dorie this week, though! So, I squeezed that in. I even put these together before work. When I woke up, I set the butter and egg out to come to room temperature, then I went out for my morning run and after I came back and showered, I whipped a 1/4 batch of these cookies up.

That's how easy they came together... And once they were cooled and photographed, I promptly packed them away and put them in my freezer, after nary a bite. (I've come this far with the vegan macrobiotic 30 day challenge, some carrot cookie isn't going to make me fail. Day 28, today! holla!). So, I can't tell you how they taste just yet, but they did look good and smell good.

Gingered Carrot Cookies

Recipe by Dorie Greenspan

Chosen for TWD by: Natalia of Gatti Fili E Farina

So, yeah, there's carrot and ginger in the cookie. So, immediately by the title, I'm thinking... yippee! A healthy cookie! And, while on it's own, it is fairly healthy. There isn't a lot of sugar or butter... but, I did do some substitutions with the sugar, just because I felt a good hearty carrot cookie could stand up to some healthifying.

I swapped the white sugar out and used honey instead and in place of brown sugar, I used molasses mixed with maple syrup. I was also out of coconut (the horror) and for extra texure, I added oatmeal instead. I was really, really tempted to swap out the butter for applesauce, but I decided to leave it in. Usually, I go too far making a cookie slightly healthier (yes, debatable whether or not subbing maple syrup, molasses, and honey to a cookie in place of white sugar and brown sugar. but whatev. it seems healthier in my head) and the cookies comes out tasting like crap.

In this case, I'm assuming it didn't, although I haven't, actually tried the cookies. I will though! And you should, too!

Recipe here at Natalia's Blog.

TWD: Banana Coconut Ice Cream Pie

This pie could be a metaphor for my life right now: A hot mess.

I mean, the components are all awesome... coconut crust, bananas, ice cream??? I mean.. you can't go wrong, right? Just like my life... work is busy, awesome vacations and busy weekends... it's all good, don't get me wrong! But it's kind of nice to get those things in small doses on their own, rather than all together at the same time.

But, when you have opportunities to do things in both your personal life and professional life you grab a hold of them and see how long you can hold on to it all (even if everything's happening simultaneously)... so far, I've been holding on tight and I have avoided the crash and burn, but I've still got a couple of weeks to go... so, we'll see what happens.

That's not the case with this pie. Things kept getting thrown into the dish until it was just too much to enjoy, for me.

First of all, I didn't really understand the concept of the pie. It felt like I was eating coconut cookies with chocolate ice cream and sliced bananas. I didn't feel like the flavors really melded all that well together. It was like instead of putting together a Dorie recipe, I was putting together a Rachael Ray dessert. It always annoys me when she makes desserts on her show. Like... seriously.. you don't need to show people how to make an ice cream sundae. Nobody is watching your show (at least the food network one, I never get to see her other show) for dessert recipes, trust me.

I made this for mother's day and was pretty disappointed in the end result. It wasn't that it was awful, cause it certainly wasn't. It just felt like so thrown together and separated. It didn't feel like a homemade dessert to me. Maybe it's partially my fault... I wasn't able to give the recipe the full time in the freezer to really freeze up. But, I kinda feel like that probably wouldn't have helped the issue I had with it. Which is that throwing sliced bananas into some chocolate ice cream and dishing it up in a delicious coconut crust does not a "dessert" make.

You win some, you lose some, I guess. In theory sometimes the idea of putting a whole bunch of things that you love together into one pot is a great idea. But in execution... it doesn's always work out that way, I guess. I'm hoping that's where the similiarities of my life and this recipe end.

Banana Coconut Ice Cream Pie
Recipe by Dorie Greenspan for Tuesdays with Dorie
Chosen by: Spike of Spike Bakes

The recipe called for chocolate ice cream, which I used, despite my better judgement. Dorie mentions that using vanilla ice cream is delicious, it's just the that bananas turn the ice cream a kinda of brownish-gross color. Which... on my own, I wouldn't have cared about. But for Mother's Day... not the best look.

I also skipped the lemon juice.. because... lemon juice and chocolate?? No thanks. But, I'm weird like that.

The real winner in this recipe is the crust!!!! Which I will use again and again.

Recipe Here.

TWD: Chockablock Cookies

I am currently gallavanting through Northern California's Wine Country, but please enjoy this post I prepared before I went on vacation. The recipe link at the end of the post will be updated once I get back to show the exact link for the recipe, instead of just the blog that the recipe is listed on. I realize the post is rather boring, but don't take that out on the cookie... it's delicious, I'm just in a rush. Thanks.

One of my favorite things to eat are chewy oatmeal cookies. They are like comfort food in a portable form. And you'd be surprised how hard it is to find oatmeal cookies that turn out chewy and moist instead of dry and brittle.

This recipe was chosen for Tuesdays with Dorie by Mary of Popsicles and Sandy Feet. And as I read through the recipe the first time, I immediately thought... Oh no, Dorie... dried fruit and chocolate in the same recipe... careful, now, careful. And then... then I saw molasses in the recipe, too! What the????

But, I started thinking about what combination of fruits, nuts, and chocolate I wanted to use that would all complement each other to my own picky palate (that hates chocolate and dried fruit) and go with the molasses as well. And I came up with the perfect combo: dried apricots, dried cranberries, pecans, and white chocolate.

Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner.

These cookies were DELICIOUS. I made them one morning before my mom came over to do some shopping. I made a full recipe, stocked the cookie dough in the freezer for easy baking later and baked up 4 immediately to photograph and take with us for a little snack while shopping. They were awesome!!!! All the flavors really blended well together!

Chockablock Cookies

Recipe by Dorie Greenspan

So easy to make. As I said before, I used white chocolate, dried apricots and dried cranberries and pecans. Wonderful combination.

I've found that I dont like cookie dough that has molasses in it, but I do love the flavor that the molasses imparts once the cookie is baked.

Homey and delicious. A real winner.

Recipe can be found here.

 

TWD: Sweet Cream Biscuits

I know. Biscuits again, right? But this time... there's no buttermilk involved. Not only that, there's also no lard or even butter! Bring out the smelling salts... someone's Aunt Sue Ellen from Montgomery, Alabama just fainted or rolled over in her grave or whatever. Can't call it a biscuit if it doesn't have all of those things or !gasp! none of them! That's just not right. Or not southern, at least.

Well, screw it. These biscuits were the easiest biscuits I've ever made AND they tasted great AND had a great texture. Bring on the cream biscuits!

Now, it's kinda fitting that I'd be making these biscuits. You see, Nashville's own Biscuit Lady, Carol Fay Ellison passed away a couple of weeks ago. Her biscuits were the best biscuits I'd ever had outside of a southern lady's kitchen. They were light and tasty without being too tangy and they were rich without feeling heavy. They were delicious and luckily the recipe lives on at Loveless Cafe. But, I did eat there about a month ago and even though I was on a diet, I couldn't say no to having one biscuit with some honey drizzled on it. YUM.

I'm pretty sure that these sweet cream biscuits will now become my go-to biscuit recipe. Just because they are easy, they require few ingredients and they have a very mild flavor and a fluffy texture that fits perfect with jams, honey, or meats.

The night before I made these biscuits, I cut up some strawberries with some sugar and let it sit in the fridge over night to juice up. Having biscuits with strawberries is a childhood memory from my maternal grandmother. She always served her biscuits piping hot with strawberries that had been picked and stored in the freezer with a little sugar (okay, a LOT of sugar). Delicious.

Of course... when I tasted these biscuits and realized how delicious they were, I had to try them with a little bit of honey drizzled over, as well (my favorite way to eat a biscuit).

These may not seem like traditional biscuits to you when you read the ingredient list... but they sure taste like it.

Sweet Cream Biscuits

Recipe by Dorie Greenspan

So, I always use White Lily flour. It's readily available in every store here and I find it to be the best flour. I love the soft, light texture of the flour. According to Dorie, it's so soft that you should add 2 tbsps for every 1 cup of all purpose that you use White Lily for.

I also did something different this time. I used a ton of flour when I rolled out the dough. I'd always been scared of using too much flour ("lightly dusting" it a relative phrase, I think). But, after watching an episode of Throwdown in which Carol Fay makes her famously delicious biscuits I noticed she used a ton of flour to roll her dough out... And let me tell you... it makes the process SO MUCH EASIER. (Incidentally, she lost on her episode of throwdown, which reminds me... I need to make Bobby's recipe to see how they compare!).

I also still don't have a biscuit cutter, so I just rolled into a square, cut the biscuits into squares with a sharp knife and placed them in a square baking pan that housed all the biscuits to where they were just barely touching each other.

They turned out perfect. Thanks to Melissa of Love at First Bite for choosing this week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe. It was a real winner, in my book!

Find the recipe here.

TWD: Swedish Visiting Cake

Well, it's finally happened.

After years of working on my baking, trying new recipes, having massive disappointments and failures, mingled in with some mediocrity and a few really great recipes sprinkled in, it's finally time to pack away the apron.

It's been fun. I love mixing and measuring, nothing soothes me more after a long day than getting lost in a recipe. And even though things don't always turn out utterly yummy... sometimes they do and even when they dont, my friends and family still gush and coo as only friends and family can do.

But this weekend, all that changed.

It all started with Nancy of The Dogs Eat The Crumbs (who, by the way, I just LOVE. She always posts all the crazy 1/4 recipe, 1/2 recipe , 8 inch pan, 10 inch pan, etc measurements (metric, even!!!) that keep math-idiots like myself from pulling my hair out when I don't want to bake an entire recipe to take a bite of and throw away. Stupid diets). She chose a recipe for Tuesdays with Dorie that I have been DYING to try.

The name is simple: Swedish Visiting Cake. And there is a picture accompanying the recipe... that shows a very dry looking cake baked in a skillet with sliced almonds on top. Now, honestly... the picture doesn't make the recipe look all that appealing. But the story that goes along with the recipe, about how it's so quick and easy that it's said you could whip it up in no time for unexpected guests who show up on your doorstep intrigued me. Not that I ever have guests like that... (but I might now).

 So, I was very excited to be finally attempting this recipe. The fact that the timing of the recipe coincides with my busiest time of year (tax season) and also my trying to eat healthy (marathon training season) did not bode well. But I was determined to make this recipe.

Saturday, I did it. And of course... it started off bad. I was halving the recipe, and making it in two mini loaf pans. I managed to halve the recipe easily, except... I totally forget to only use HALF the zest of a lemon (I actually used an orange) and I used the whole thing. I feared a citrus overload, but I kept on plugging. Initially, when I realized my mistake, I considered just making a whole recipe... but decided that that much orange can't be a bad thing.

The moment I took the mini loaves out of the oven, I realized it. I could already tell, just by looking at the cakes that I was done with baking. For years I've been searching for the one thing.. the one baked good that knocks my socks off and with the crunchy, yet moist crust settling on the counter as they cooled, I started to think... could this be the one? This could be the one!!! It could really, finally be the one!!

I waited for them to cool for 5 minutes and then cut into one of them.

Oh.My.God.

Seriously. This is/was hands down the absolute best thing I've ever put into my mouth. It was sweet and slightly gummy and chewy and lightly crispy on top. The texture was amazing. The flavor was amazing. And the effort was amazingly easy.

Hands down, bar none, the best thing I've ever baked. And I honestly can't imagine ever making anything else so satisfying. It's comfort dessert at it's best. It's like the macaroni and cheese of desserts. It's the one, I tell you!!!! THE FREAKING ONE.

I had fantasies that night of adjusting the recipe... maybe adding cocoa for some of the flour to make a chocolate cake. Maybe throwing in some chocolate chips. The opportunities are endless and I feel like there's no reason to bake any more. I've found my baking soul-mate.

Other recipes need not apply.

Swedish Visiting Cake
Recipe by Dorie Greenspan

The easiest cake you'll ever make. I don't even know what else to say except I know that this is a recipe I'll know by heart very soon. I see myself making this many, many times throughout the year. It's simply delicious. The flavor profile is very basic... just sugary (and citrus-y if you added a shit ton of orange zest like I did), but it's the texture of the cake that sets it a part. It's light, but rich. It's moist, but chewy.

I didn't sprinkle the top with almonds, because I didn't have any, but I did use all almond extract in the recipe (simply because I'm out of vanilla extract). It seems like the type of recipe you can easily sub things in and out and still wind up with a delicious treat.
It's amazing.

Find the Recipe here on Nancy's blog, The Dogs Eat The Crumbs.

TWD: Coconut Tea Cake

The older I get, the more I appreciate spring. I never really thought much about spring as a kid. My focus was always on getting to summer and more importantly, summer break. But, now that I don't have a summer break, I realize what a beautiful time of year spring really is.

After a cold, wet winter, we're finally getting warm, bright days and the trees and flowers are starting to bud out. The landscape is changing from brown to green and you can almost feel the excitement in everyone around you that it's finally spring. We deserve it. It's been a long winter.

This weekend, I spent all of Saturday and Sunday outdoors for the first time all season. And it was spectacular. A Saturday full of running and hiking and a Sunday with running and golf. It doesn't get any better than that.

Well, actually... it does... it gets better when you know you have a Coconut Tea Cake waiting for you at home to be sliced up and devoured. And there is something spring-like about a Coconut Tea Cake, as well. The light fruitiness of the coconut, the tenderness of the crumb. A perfectly dainty, but decadent (especially if you douse your cake in a coconut glaze like I did) cake to serve on a perfect, spring-time day.

Coconut Tea Cake

Recipe by Dorie Greenspan

Chosen for Tuesdays with Dorie by Carmen of Carmen Cooks

I halved the recipe and cooked it in a regular sized bundt pan. This would have worked out fine, I think, except I let the cake cook just a tad too long, so it was a bit on the dry side, even with dousing with a coconut syrup and the powdered sugar glaze. Great flavor though. I was out of vanilla extract so I used almond extract and a touch of coconut extract. The coconut extract really enhanced the coconut scent of the cake, but I'm not sure if it enhanced the flavor.

Click here for the recipe

TWD: Toasted Coconut Custard Tart

I love coconut. Always have, hopefully always will. I agree it has a different type of texture... but, what doesnt? It's not like I sit around and eat coconut out of the bag or anything... but I LOVE it in things, on top of things, whatever.

But, it's one of those foods that divides people. You're either into the coconut, or you hate it. There's no "meh." As much as I love coconut, I've never really been one to eat a lot of coconut cream pie. I'm not sure why... probably because anything with a huge plume of whipped cream or meringue on top generally makes me suspicious. It's like someone's trying to hide something underneath a veil of white fluff. I'm onto you meringues. I know your game.

So, I generally get my coconut in the form of cookies, candy bars (almond joys? swoon), cakes, breads, etc.

So when Beryl of Cinemon Girl chose the Toasted Coconut Custard Tart for this week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe, I was stoked. I'd never made a coconut custard tart and was excited to try something new. (Plus, coconut recipes are kind of low-man on the totem pole in a big group of bakers).

I made a small batch and of course, despite sitting down with the recipe and trying to quarter it properly... I botched it and came out with glop instead of custard. But, the beauty of this recipe is that it was STILL delicious. Like... one taste and I was in coconut heaven. It was unlike anything I'd ever had before. Creamy, sweet and packed with coconut flavor.

I cannot wait to make this again as a full recipe and see how good an accurately measured version is. If you're a coconut fan, this will seriously blow your socks off.

Toasted Coconut Custard Tart
Recipe by Dorie Greenspan

Besides trying to quarter this recipe (which I don't suggest you do), I also made a few other changes. First of all, since I was making a mini-recipe, I made a graham cracker crust instead of a standart tart crust. Easy and delicious!

Next, I skipped the whipped cream topping. To me, meringue and whipped cream just get in the way. But, if you're sucker for toppings, by all means make the one Dorie puts with the recipes... rum in the whipped cream sounds delicious!

Also, I added vanilla to the recipe in addition to the dark rum, I thought it added a nice subtle flavor.

The bad news? I used WAYYY too much cornstarch and so my custard turned into a thick, thick, goopy mess. But... the flavor was still delicious.

Entire Recipe Here

TWD: Honey Wheat Cookies

I've talked on here before how in the early 1980s, my mom was a bit of a health food nut. I was young enough to not really be bothered by it, (although, I do recall during that time that we stopped hitting up Krystal's or Hardee's on our way home from the gym). But to this day I still hear about the experiments in the kitchen that my family didn't care for... particularly the Buckwheat Biscuits (apparently they turned out like hockey pucks).

It's funny though... I understand. I mean, you hit your late 20s and you start thinking about how you feel. When you were 18 you could eat fast food for every meal and still be able to party hard all night, get up the next morning and feel totally fine. But, as you get older, it seems like your body gets more sensitive to what you're putting in it and at some point, it just begs for healthy, whole foods. Luckily, I've gotten to the point where a couple of weeks ago, I had a burger and french fries for lunch and I literally felt like shit the rest of the day. And now... when I go to a restaurant, instead of thinking.. yum.. a burger and fries sounds good, I'm thinking... god, I don't want to feel like that again. No burgers and no fries. It's taken me a long time to get to this point, but thankfully, I'm finally there. (This is not to say that I wont ever eat a burger and fries again... because obviously, I will. It's always my post marathon meal and even some other times, you just want it, despite how it's going to make you feel).

When you read the ingredient list for these cookies, you think... hmmm.. wheat germ and honey. It must be healthy! And while, sure... wheat germ is healthier than chocolate chips and yes, honey might be slightly less toxic on your body than an equal amount of sugar (the recipe does contain sugar, as well, though). But, it still has white flour, butter, and sugar. Not entirely health food. Not even close.

That fact didn't keep me from putting away about 6 of these cookies when I got home Saturday night after going out with my friends. In my drunken stupor, I stood in my kitchen and seriously chowed down on these cookies. All the while telling myself.. it's okay. There's wheat germ in it. Out loud, even.

But that's the dangerous thing. These cookies are delicious. I dont know what it is, they are different than any other cookie you'll ever have. They are sweet from the honey and tangy from the citrus and so addictive that they should come with a warning label. And since there is wheat germ in it, you TRY to convince yourself that they're healthy. But, that's dangerous. That's just like those commercials out there for Chef Boyardee, that proclaims there's a full serving of vegetables in every can. WTF? Seriously? We are telling our kids (and ourselves) that it's okay to count one of our daily servings of veggies in the form of canned beef lasagna. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

I mean, if you want to eat Chef Boyardee. Fine, eat it! But, don't eat it and think that it's healthy. Don't think that just because it's got tomato sauce, that you don't need to eat some broccoli or spinach or something. That really pisses me off.

So, yes... make these. Enjoy them as a different kind of cookie, that probably is slightly healthier than your average other cookie, but be sure to hide them somewhere where your drunk self can't find them. That drunk self can talk you into anything... the least of which you should be worried about is food.

Honey Wheat Cookies

Recipe by Dorie Greenspan

Chosen for TWD by Michelle of Flourchild

This recipe is so good. Really. They are light and delicate in flavor. You can taste the subtle honey sweetness and the citrus zest really brightens the cookie up. The crumb is tender and kind of cake-like, which usually I don't like, but there's something about the flavor that pairs so well with the texture. Any other cookie texture wouldn't do it justice, I dont think.

I subbed orange zest for the lemon zest (what I had on hand) and think it worked out perfect, I can imagine the lemon zest would be good, too.

I might actually try to make this recipe legitimately healthy. Subbing some whole wheat flour for the white flour, some applesauce for the butter and possibly swapping the white sugar for half that amount of brown sugar. I'll let you know how they turn out.

Recipe found here.

TWD: Dorie's Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have given lots of second chances in my life. Second chances to friends, boys, restaurants, television shows, books, even rock bands. To me... second chances come natural. I'm not one to hold grudges and always try to remember that shit happens. And it happens to everyone once in awhile. People make mistakes, we're all human and if you can reconcile things from your past without too much effort or heartbreak... it's almost always worth the effort. Even when the second chance doesn't work out... I rarely find myself kicking myself for giving it another go. Hell, sometimes I've even given 3rd chances!

So, yeah... I'm one of those... I like to refer to it as an open-mindness, a feeling that things and people can change, but other people refer to it as a sort of naivete or stupidity. Sure, I get burned sometimes. But what's a little burn every once in awhile, right? If it's not one thing, it's something else.

One thing I just realized this week, though, is that I NEVER give recipes a second chance if they wrong me the first time. I guess it's because with the number of recipes readily available out there through cookbooks and the internet, why would you ever try the same recipe twice, if it didn't work out the first time (and if you had a multitude of other similiar recipes to try)?

Well, up until this weekend... I hadn't. Ever. You see, the first recipe I made out of Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From My Home To Yours cookbook was this recipe, Dorie's Best Chocolate Chip Cookies. And while it certainly wasn't awful, it wasn't my favorite either. The cookies came out flat and greasy. Not my Chocolate Chip Cookie ideal (I prefer crispy edges, chewy center). So what, right? There are literally a zillion Chocolate Chip Cookie recipes out there to try. And eventually I found the perfect ones for me (I have a couple of favorites... David Lebovitz's if I'm looking to whip up a batch today and eat it and The Jacques Torres New York Times Cookie if I have bread flour on hand and time to prepare and wait on the chilled dough).

No need to revisit Dorie's Chocolate Chip Recipe again, right?

Until Kait from Kait's Plate chose the recipe for her Tuesdays with Dorie selection. I debated for awhile... Like I said, I'd never tried a recipe that I didn't like twice. But I read through the recipe again and decided that I'd go for one of the "playing around" options this time.

I added toasted pecans and toasted coconut to the recipe. I hoped that this would bulk up the recipe a bit, since I found them a bit too thin the first time around. And HOT DAMN. If these weren't delicious! They were bulky and chewy and the toasted pecans added such a depth of toasty, nutty flavor to the cookies! Success!

So, while I didn't follow the exact same recipe this time... it was still basically the same recipe and the second time around was awesome! I now have the perfect coconut pecan chocolate chip cookie recipe for my arsenal.

Just goes to show... maybe I should give more recipes a second chance...

Dorie's Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

Recipe from Dorie Greenspan

So, yeah, I added 1 1/2 cups of toasted coconut and followed the regular recipe per the pecans (I didn't add any nuts the first time around). A word about the coconut... you can't really detect it in the cookie, I mean... maybe you can get a hint of toasted coconut flavor, but my oldest brother who won't go near anything that has coconut in it with a 12 ft pole happily ate these and declared them very tasty. (Haha. Of course I didn't tell him there was coconut in it). I definitely suggest you toast both the coconut and the pecans though, it brings out such an intense flavor in the ingredients.

These are delicious cookies and super easy and straightforward to make. I couldn't keep from eating the dough or the cookies!

Recipe can be found here, on Kait's Blog.

TWD: Rick Katz's Brownies for Julia

How do you fancy your brownie? Generally, I'm a chewy girl. I'll a cut a bitch if anyone gets near the corner pieces. So, I have a trick up my sleeve. You see, when I make a batch of brownies, I cut all along the perimeter of the brownies, about 1/2 in from the edges. And then I cut my slices from the remaining inside. I tell people it's so that all the brownies have that pretty "just cut" edges, instead of some edge or corner pieces thrown in. But in reality, it's so that I can then proceed to eat all those edges and corners myself.

Sneaky, eh? It works though. I have good looking brownies and I have an excuse to eat my favorite pieces. It's a win-win.

Tanya of Chocolate Chic chose this week's Tuesdays with Dorie Recipe and after being an avid reader of her blog for awhile now (I almost feel like I know her, Superman, and the Chips because of all the cool photos and witty captions that she posts regularly), I knew that this recipe would be right up my alley: just pure blissful chocolate... no crazy Dorie add-ins. And boy, was I right.

So, this week is Valentine's Day week, right? What better week to bake up a batch of these fudgy, decadent brownies to share with the ones you love? Ummm... none. Sure, the recipe is a little weird in method and sure you have to pop these bad boys in the fridge for awhile before you can even think about cutting them, and sure they leave a sticky, thick chocolate residue all over your fingers. But they are sinful. Sinful, messy, sweet and delicious... and isn't that how all love should be?

Rick Katz's Brownies for Julia (Julia Child, that is).

Recipe from Dorie Greenspan's Cookbook, Baking: From My Home To Yours

Be warned, these are not dainty, tea-time brownies. These are heavy, sturdy, dense, chocolate-y squares of goodness. These are not the brownies that you take to a party. These are the brownies that you make with the intention of taking a fork to the entire pan and just going after it. They are messy. But, damn are they good. Rich and almost creamy. They're similiar to a truffle in consistency.

The preparation method is a little different than your standard brownie making, so be sure to read through the directions carefully before you start and then as you're working. There some weirdness going on with the eggs and some whipping, etc.

When they come out of the oven, let them cool (or, I suppose these would be heavenly scooped out messy and warm with a bowl of ice cream) and then pop them in the fridge or freezer to firm up for cutting. They even taste good cool and frozen!

Recipe here

 

TWD: Cocoa Nana Bread

I haven't been baking that much lately. And ya know what? I miss it. Hopefully I can sneak a few more goodies in a little more often.

So, this recipe is the latest Tuesdays with Dorie recipe. And it's a bread with loads of chocolate and bananas thrown in. Ya know... so you can eat it for breakfast or call it "kinda" healthy. Neither of which accurately pertain to this recipe.

I halved the recipe and made it in a disposable loaf pan. The cook time didn't really work for me, though. First of all... the bread oozed out of the top of the middle of the pan. And I never really felt like the center got cooked enough.

In the end I ended up with ends that were too dry and a center that was slightly over-cooked, but edible. The bread was definitely delicious though, and I think if maybe I cooked it in a regular loaf pan it would have cooked more evenly. Because of the dry crumb, I found myself digging the chocolate chips out of the bread and just eating them. The banana flavor was very subtle. I kept thinking that it would be delicious with a smear of peanut butter. Ya know... just to make it even "healthier."

Click HERE for the recipe, thank's to Steph of Obsessed with Baking's for choosing this week's recipe. I've had my eye on it for awhile and was happy to finally make it!

TWD: Mrs. Vogel's Scherben

aka... fried dough shards with cinnamon sugar and powdered sugar.

I've never been a fan of the "fried dough" foods. Never really liked doughnuts (although I will eat Krispy Kreme doughnuts sometimes), can't stand funnel cakes or elephant ears. It's just personal preference. I prefer my sweet baked goods to be more sweet and less doughy.

But, I gotta admit... the picture of these in Dorie's Book, Baking: from My Home to Yours looked interesting to me. They looked less "doughy" and more fried and crispy. I've been waiting for someone to choose these and finally, Teanna of Spork or Foon did just that (and please check out her blog, she's hilarious and one helluva cook and baker!).

But, the timing, Teanna... ohhh the timing. The timing just happens to be whilst I'm in the middle of a furious diet/exercise regime where I'm trying to get down to my ultimate weight (still have like 20 pounds to go and less than 3 weeks to make it. Oy vey) before my 30th birthday rolls around on February 1.  So while the actual ingredients are very reasonable (1 tablespoon of butter? thats it!), the actual frying of the dough is where the diet train stops and rears it's no fun head. Wah Wah.

Luckily, Caitlin (who recently got engaged! Congrats!) had the brilliant idea to try and bake these shards of dough. So... bake them is what I did!

Unfortunately... my diet-mindedness crept even further into the recipe by coming up with the not-so-brilliant idea of using half white whole wheat flour and half all purpose flour.

What I ended up with... were essentially Wheat Thins heavily dusted with powdered sugar. Seriously, the texture and the flavor of the baked dough was exactly that of Wheat Thins! Which.. honestly, I was kind of stoked about... I mean.. normally when I try to healthify a recipe and it doesn't turn out right, it just turns into absolute rubbish! But this is actually something I might could tinker with and make my own Wheat Thins! Just add some savory herbs and spices and bam!

I do think that these would be really tasty if you made them per the recipe and fried them in a vat of oil. So, if you're into the fried dough, you should give them a try, because they were surprisingly easy!

Mrs. Vogel's Scherben

recipe by Dorie Greenspan

So, yeah, I tinkered. A little too much. I used half white whole wheat flour and half all purpose flour. Then... instead of brushing with oil before baking (like Caitlin suggested), I just spritzed with cooking spray. Honestly.. the texture (though not the intentional texture for the actual recipe) turned out really well and would make a GREAT cracker. Luckily, I only baked up half the dough, and am freezing the rest to make my own savory cracker out of it sometime soon!

Check out Teanna's Blog for the recipe.