I made some corn muffins...

Wow, I made these a long time ago. The occasion was a lovely brunch at Laura's house and I decided to make some muffins. They seem like a distant memory by now. BUT, it is never too late to revisit a good corn muffin recipe. These came to me via Smitten Kitchen (what else is new) but the original recipe is by Dorie Greenspan. Until recently, I did not know who Dorie Greenspan was, but now that I have been reading a fair share of food blogs, apparently Dorie is a pretty big deal.

I was drawn to these muffins because they were described on smitten kitchen as being not too sweet or heavy. I love muffins, but I don't love how dry and dense they can be sometimes. As I recall, a year or two ago I attempted to make banana muffins with wheat germ or flax seed meal or something healthy, and they came out really dry and heavy. They may have been healthy but they were totally disappointing. I was sad.

Luckily, these muffins are really fluffy and light. And although they are not too sweet, they still taste like MUFFINS and not CORNBREAD (even though you could still totally serve them with come chili if you wanted to.) I actually had fantasies of making chipotle lime butter to serve alongside these muffins, but did not have time. Instead, I attempted a blueberry butter, which was tasty. But these muffins don't need flavored butters or fancy spreadys to taste good. They are delicious served plain too.

Here's the recipe, which I followed basically as is. Go for it, make some muffins one Sunday morning. Bring them to a brunch or eat them while you watch a crappy movie on channel 11. Eat the leftovers Monday night with some of Sarah's sweet potato chili. It will be great.

Dorie Greenspan’s Corniest Corn Muffins
from "Baking from My Home to Yours"

Yield: 12 regular-sized muffins or 48 miniature ones

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal, preferably stone-ground
6 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg (optional)
1 cup buttermilk
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3 tablespoons corn oil (I used olive oil)
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 cup corn kernels (add up to 1/3 cup more if you’d like) - fresh, frozen or canned (in which case they should be drained and patted dry) - I used frozen, thawed and patted dry.

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter or spray the 12 molds in a regular-size muffin pan or fit the molds with paper muffin cups. Alternatively, use a silicone muffin pan, which needs neither greasing nor paper cups. Place the muffin pan on a baking sheet.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg, if you’re using it. In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whisk the buttermilk, melted butter, oil, egg and yolk together until well blended. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and, with the whisk or a rubber spatula, gently but quickly stir to blend. Don’t worry about being thorough - the batter will be lumpy, and that’s just the way it should be. Stir in the corn kernels. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.

Bake for 15 to 18 minutes (12 minutes for minis), or until the tops are golden and a thin knife inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes before carefully removing each muffin from its mold.

I made Cheddar Scallion Scones

I felt like baking the other day. I really didn't have any reason to bake apart from the fact that it was snowing outside and baking is always a nice cozy activity to pass the time when you really don't want to go outside. The catch was, of course, that because I didn't want to go outside, I needed to bake something with ingredients that I already had. Earlier that day, I read a recipe for cheddar chipotle scones on one of my favorite food blogs, Serious Eats, but it called for sour cream and other things I didn't have at home, so I did an old fashioned Google search and found the recipe below for cheddar scallion scones.

Miraculolusly, I had all the ingredients.

Cheddar Scallion Scones (from the blog Grow Cook Eat)

I should mention that the original recipe was for BACON cheddar scallion scones, but I didn't have any bacon at home. I certainly am all for adding bacon to the recipe though, don't get me wrong.

3 slices bacon, chopped (optional)
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 cup (packed) coarsely grated extra-sharp white cheddar cheese (about 4 ounces) I used a mix of white and yellow cheddar.
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
3 scallions, washed and cut into rings.
3/4 cup chilled whipping cream (or combination of milk and cream)
1 large egg

Preheat oven to 375°F.

If using bacon: Put bacon in a skillet, and cook over medium heat until the fat is rendered and the bacon is crispy. Drain bacon on a paper towel.

Combine flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Cut in butter using your fingers until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add cheese. Whisk cream, mustard and egg in small bowl, and add the scallions and the bacon. Add cream mixture to flour mixture and gently knead until just combined.



Turn dough out onto lightly floured work surface. Gather dough together; divide in half. Pat each half into 6-inch round. Cut each round into 6 wedges. Transfer to ungreased baking sheet, spacing 2 inches apart.



Bake scones until golden and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 20 minutes.
Transfer scones to rack and cool at least 10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature. They can be made 8 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature. If desired, rewarm in 350°F oven about 5 minutes.)

I think these scones would also taste delicious with a pinch or two of red pepper flakes. I also think that it would be cool to add some more grated cheese to the tops of the scones about 2 minutes before they come out of the oven, so that it gets nice and baked in and toasty.

These scones were flavorful and fragrant from the scallions. The sharp cheddar and addition of the dijon mustard made them a little tangy. There was also a nice salty/sweet thing going on. Definitely easy to make. I recommend you do!

We made Thin Mints (aka "The Difficult Cookie.")

Thin Mints have a very special place in my heart. I have proclaimed them to be "my favorite cookie in the world", and while I don't actually have a list of favorite cookies, the Thin Mint has managed to hold onto its imaginary # 1 spot, even as I continue to bake and taste new and exciting cookies all the time. The Thin Mint has staying power.

I suspect part of the Thin Mint's allure is it's rarity - available for a short time only once a year! I was never a Girl Scout, however when I was young, it was always a great day when one of my parents would come home from work with a box or two of Girl Scout cookies, purchased (I suppose) from a coworker selling them on behalf a Girl Scout child or relative.

Like many others before me, I prefer these cookies stored in the freezer. Somehow the cookie remains crispy without getting stale or tooth-chippingly hard, and the cool mint flavor is further enhanced by the nice cold temperature.

Recently, I realized that Girl Scout cookie season was upon us. Sadly though, my parents' Girl Scout cookie connections seem to have dried up. I racked my brain for any other possible Girl Scout cookie hook-ups, but came up with nothing.

Then, fortuitously, during a bout of insomnia, I came across a recipe for HOMEMADE Thin Mints.

I promptly composed an email to Faryl (sent at 2:02 AM):

Subject: I am crazy

Text:

http://bakingbites.com/2005/10/thin-minties/

I want to make them like tomorrow.

Haha.


Do you love these cookies as much as I do?


The next morning I woke up to this reply:

What are you doing TODAY!!!

(Or tomorrow!?)

The choice was obvious. We would make them that VERY day. Faryl came over, and we began.

From start to finish, the creation of the cookie spanned several days and multiple boroughs of New York City. But this is not the only reason that we ultimately dubbed the homemade Thin Mint as "the difficult cookie". This is not meant to discourage you from trying it yourself! It is fun to make and eat, just a little...unruly. A little messy. A little time consuming. And ultimately...it didn't taste much like a traditional thin mint. But hey, it is still a chocolate cookie that has been dipped in a thick layer of melted chocolate. So I guess in the scheme of things, there is not much to complain about.

Here's the recipe (Notes in bold):

Homemade Thin Mints
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
6 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/3 cup milk (any kind)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 tsp peppermint extract **I think you really need more than this. Definitely at least a full teaspoon, maybe even a tsp and a 1/4. See note below.

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, cocoa powder and salt.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar. With the mixer on low speed, add in the milk and the extracts. Mixture will look curdled. It's true.



Gradually, add in the flour mixture until fully incorporated.



Shape dough into two logs, about 1 1/2 inches (or about 4 cm) in diameter, wrap in plastic wrap and freeze for at least 1-2 hours, until dough is very firm. This was the first "difficult" part of the process. The dough was very crumbly. We managed to wrangle it into plastic wrap though.

At this point in the process, we ran out of time. Dinner plans had been set, and there was no way we could wait for these to freeze and finish them in time. We decided to leave the dough chilling in the freezer, and complete the process soon.

After a few days, and I retrieved the logs of dough from the freezer, and packed them up for a trip to Faryl's house. A bus ride and two subway lines later, we were ready to complete the process.

Recipe continued:

Preheat oven to 375F.

Slice dough into rounds not more than 1/4 inch thick - if they are too thick, they will not be as crisp - and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. We found that the dough was MUCH easier to cut when nearly frozen. The subway ride had thawed them a bit, and they were impossibly crumbly. We put them back in the freezer to re-harden, and it was much easier. I dare say they can be up to 1/2 inch thick though.

Cookies will not spread very much, so you can put them quite close together. It is true, the cookies do not really spread. What you see is what you get. We experimented with cookie size a great deal, with some tiny cookies and some larger ones. The larger cookies (the size of a traditional Thin Mint) were much, much better.



Bake for 13-15 minutes, until cookies are firm at the edges. Cool cookies completely on a wire rack before dipping in chocolate.

Dark Chocolate Coating
10-oz dark or semisweet chocolate
1/2 cup butter, room temperature

In a microwave safe bowl (or double boiler) combine chocolate and butter. Melt on high power in the microwave, stirring every 45-60 seconds, until chocolate is smooth. Chocolate should have a consistency somewhere between chocolate syrup and fudge for a thin coating.

Dip each cookie in melted chocolate, turn with a fork to coat, then transfer to a piece of parchment paper or wax paper to set up for at least 30 minutes, or until chocolate is cool and firm. Reheat chocolate as needed to keep it smooth and easy to dip into.

Makes 3 1/2-4 dozen cookies.



**Note about the minty-ness: Like I mentioned before, these cookies came out of the oven with a VERY subtle mint flavor. It was there, but barely. Did it lose potency due to the extended stay in my freezer? I do not know. In any case, I recommend adding more peppermint extract to your batter, but in moderation. You still want to be able to taste the chocolate.

After we baked these, I looked back at the original recipe. A few people had commented including someone named "Sarah" who had a very strange suggestion. Here it is:

An easier recipe that tastes exactly like Thin Mints is to use Ritz Crackers and dip them in a pound of melted Bakers Chocolate (double boiled) with 1 tsp. of peppermint extract mixed in the chocolate. set on wax paper and let dry and they are AMAZING.

I may be crazy enough to try it. My quest to recreate the Thin Mint may not have yielded precise results, but the journey is just beginning. While the real Thin Mint recipe is probably locked in a safe somewhere at National Girl Scout Headquarters, I feel confident that with perseverance, the home baker will someday create a worthy replica. Until then...will someone please tell me how to get my hands on one of those beautiful green boxes?!

I made brownies!

Since college I've had my standard brownie recipe from the Moosewood Cookbook. They are delicious and fudgy and use 5 eggs, and have many optional mix ins, although I only ever add chocolate chips. This is NOT that recipe, however, because Saturday I found myself in the brownie making mood while not at home, so I had to find a new recipe, and I'm very happy with the results. The recipe is from Cooks Illustrated, although I found it via Smitten Kitchen (of course). I like this recipe because the brownies are fudgy and the recipe doesn't require a lot of ingredients or dishes. The baking went very smoothly, except when I went to add the sugar to the chocolate and discovered that I didn't have enough, resulting in a store run (well, I did not make the store run, it was Zach, who very nicely offered to do it, but I waited in limbo, stirring the chocolate). Lesson learned (again): make sure you have all the ingredients BEFORE you start baking.

Here is the recipe as posted on Smitten Kitchen with my notes in bold:

1 cup (4 ounces) pecans or walnuts, chopped medium (optional). I am not a fan of nuts in most baked goods. Baklava, yes. Brownies, no.
1¼ cups (5 ounces) cake flour. I used regular flour. It didn't seem to make any difference.
½ teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon baking powder
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped fine. I used Baker's Chocolate and actually only realized just now that I was supposed to chop it. Seemed fine.
12 tablespoons (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, cut into six 1-inch pieces
2¼ cups (15¾ ounces) sugar. This is a lot of sugar. Make sure you have enough!
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract. This seemed like a lot to me, but I am always on board with vanilla.

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 325 degrees. Cut 18-inch length foil and fold lengthwise to 8-inch width. Fit foil into length of 13 by 9-inch baking dish, pushing it into corners and up sides of pan; allow excess to overhand pan edges. Cut 14-inch length foil and, if using extra-wide foil, fold lengthwise to 12-inch width; fit into width of baking pan in same manner, perpendicular to first sheet. Spray foil-lined pan with nonstick cooking spray. There was no cooking spray, so I used oil.

2. If using nuts, spread nuts evenly on rimmed baking sheet and toast in oven until fragrant, 5 to 8 minutes. Set aside to cool. No nuts for me.

3. Whisk to combine flour, salt, and baking powder in medium bowl; set aside.

4. Melt chocolate and butter in large heatproof bowl set over saucepan of almost-simmering water, stirring occasionally, until smooth. (Alternatively, in microwave, heat butter and chocolate in large microwave-safe bowl on high for 45 seconds, then stir and heat for 30 seconds more. Stir again, and, if necessary, repeat in 15-second increments; do not let chocolate burn.) I went for the stove top method and all went smoothly, even with large squares of chocolate. When chocolate mixture is completely smooth, remove bowl from saucepan and gradually whisk in sugar. Add eggs on at a time, whisking after each addition until thoroughly combined. Whisk in vanilla. Add flour mixture in three additions, folding with rubber spatula until batter is completely smooth and homogeneous.

Just kidding, I don't eat batter with raw eggs.
My mom scared me about salmonella when I was little.

5. Transfer batter to prepared pan; using spatula, spread batter into corners of pan and smooth surface. Sprinkle toasted nuts (if using) evenly over batter and bake until toothpick or wooden skewer inserted into center of brownies comes out with few moist crumbs attached, 30 to 35 minutes. Mine took 30 minutes and the knife was totally clean when I took it out. They were still moist. Cool on wire rack to room temperature, about 2 hours, then remove brownies from pan by lifting foil overhang. Cut brownies into 2-inch squares and serve.

Enjoying

I made Hill's Dad's Thumbprint Cookies!

The title says it all. I wanted to bake some cookies to bring to a LOST-viewing party on Wednesday, and the choice was clear - these cookies. I followed the recipe precisely, except I substituted raspberry jam for apricot jam and omitted the almonds (just in case anyone at the party had a nut allergy.) They were so popular, and every last cookie was eaten. People were very impressed that I had made them, but as Hillary noted in her post, they are very simple to make!

If you decide make these with raspberry jam, I recommended heating the jam over the stove until it liquifies slightly, and then pass it through a strainer to separate the seeds (that is what I did). That way your cookies will have perfect circles of smooth, flavorful jam with no crunchy seeds getting in the way.

But seriously, check out Hill's post and make these sometime, they are so delicious. (I bet Hurley would love them.)

Cream Scones with Currants made by Alena and Hill

I keep craving "perfect winter foods" these days, and scones certainly fit the bill. Hillary and I have been talking about making scones for some time now. We finally got around to attempting them on a cozy, snowy Saturday afternoon. They were actually much easier and faster to make than I anticipated, which is an added bonus.

I really wouldn't change anything about the recipe below - however in the future I might experiment with different flavors such as chocolate chips, dried cranberries or crystallized ginger....or even all of those things together.

Cream Scones (From America’s Test Kitchen Cookbook)



2 cups (10 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons chilled, unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1/2 cup currants
1 cup heavy cream

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees.

Place flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in large bowl or work bowl of food processor fitted with steel blade. Whisk together or pulse six times.

If making by hand, use two knives, a pastry blender or your fingertips and quickly cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal, with a few slightly larger butter lumps. Stir in currants. If using food processor,remove cover and distribute butter evenly over dry ingredients. Cover and pulse 12 times, each pulse lasting 1 second. Add currants and pulse one more time. Transfer dough to large bowl.

Stir in heavy cream with a rubber spatula or fork until dough begins to form, about 30 seconds.

Transfer dough and all dry, floury bits to countertop and knead dough by hand just until it comes together into a rough, sticky ball, 5 to 10 seconds.







Form scones by either a) pressing the dough into an 8-inch cake pan, then turning the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface, cutting the dough into 8 wedges with either a knife or bench scraper (the book’s suggestion) or b) patting the dough onto a lightly floured work surface into a 3/4-inch thick circle, cutting pieces with a biscuit cutter (as you can see we used the lid of a jar!), and pressing remaining scraps back into another piece and cutting until dough has been used up.







Before baking, we also scored the edges of the scones with a knife to make them look more finished, or cuter, really. Scones are pretty cute no matter what, but this technique makes them a tiny bit cuter.

Place rounds or wedges on ungreased baking sheet and bake until scone tops are light brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on wire rack for at least 10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.



As the scones baked, we prepared some tea and got all the fixings ready for a little tea party. After researching the traditional pairing for scones, clotted cream, we discovered that it is virtually impossible to recreate at home, so we settled on making some traditional whipped cream. We did this the old fashioned way, with just a chilled bowl, a whisk, and lots of stirring. Making whipped cream this way teaches patience and endurance. We added a teaspoon of vanilla extract and approximately two teaspoons of sugar to the cream, however, since the scones are nice and sweet, in the future I would leave out the sugar when making whipped cream as a scone topping.



Tea party!

I made Gingerbread!

I've been thinking about gingerbread recently for several reasons: it's delicious, Christmas, the winter weather. My gingerbread dreams remained unrealized, however, because I didn't have a "go-to" gingerbread recipe, aside from a very tasty gingerbread man one that we used when I was little. Also, although there is very GOOD gingerbread out there, gingerbread can also be very mediocre, and I was skeptical about many recipes I came across. Finally, I found this recipe on Smitten Kitchen (which is originally from Epicurious ) so I decided to give it a try, because all of her recipes I've tried have been delicious. It was a tiny bit of a pain, but only because I ended up having to try several stores to find molasses as it was late-ish on a Sunday and I wanted to avoid a trip to Met Food. After trying several local stores, I ended up at the Met Food and, of course, should have gone there all along since they had everything I needed. Oh well. Anyway, the gingerbread is really good and very hearty. One piece of advice -- it's much easier to clean up molasses right when it drips than when it has been sitting in a measuring cup/pot/on the floor, so cleaning as you go is a good idea for this recipe.

This is the recipe on Epicurious: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Gramercy-Tavern-Gingerbread-103087

My notes are in bold.

• 1 cup oatmeal stout or Guinness Stout (I used Guinness Stout -- and you can drink the rest as you cook!)
  
• 1 cup dark molasses (not blackstrap) (I wasn't sure what "dark molasses" was, so I used the regular yellow Grandma's jar -- seemed fine.)
  
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 tablespoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves (I omitted the cloves as I'm not a clove fan)
  
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• Pinch of ground cardamom
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup packed dark brown sugar (I used regular brown sugar)
  
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil (I used canola)
  
• Confectioners sugar for dusting

Extra note: I thought it was a little strange that the recipe didn't call for salt, so I added a decent pinch with the rest of the dry ingredients. I also used 1/2 tsp of vanilla as well, since I thought the flavor would be good.

Special equipment:

• a 10-inch (10- to 12-cup) bundt pan (I don't have a bundt pan, so I used two loaf pans. The results were two low cakes. Maybe you could use just one pan? It would probably take longer to bake...)

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Generously butter bundt pan and dust with flour, knocking out excess. (Smitten Kitchen emphasizes making sure you butter the pan enough. I didn't lose any cake except for a thin coating on part of the bottom)
2. Bring stout and molasses to a boil in a large saucepan and remove from heat. Whisk in baking soda, then cool to room temperature.

Molasses and Guinness...mmmmm

3. Sift together flour, baking powder, and spices in a large bowl. (This is where I added the salt)

4. Whisk together eggs and sugars. (This is where I added the vanilla)
5. Whisk in oil, then molasses mixture. Add to flour mixture and whisk until just combined.

Wet and dry ingredients, about to be combined...

6. Pour batter into bundt pan and rap pan sharply on counter to eliminate air bubbles. Bake in middle of oven until a tester comes out with just a few moist crumbs adhering, about 50 minutes (It was exactly 50 minutes for me). Cool cake in pan on a rack 5 minutes. Turn out onto rack and cool completely.
7. Serve cake, dusted with confectioners sugar, with whipped cream. (I didn't have whipped cream, just confectioners sugar, which was delicious. Ice cream would also be a great topping).

The final product.

Note from Smitten Kitchen: This gingerbread is better if made a day ahead. It will keep 3 days, covered, at room temperature.

Buh-NAna-NAna!Bread with Alena & Faryl

On Christmas Day, I received an email from Faryl with a link to the recipe for banana bread. "This is in the oven right now," she informed me. I thought it sounded like such a cozy winter baked good, and we made plans to recreate it soon.

And recreate it we did. This recipe comes from the old standby, "The Joy of Baking":

The ingredients:

1 cup walnuts or pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped (optional) - Faryl roasted some pecans in honey, maple syrup, cinnamon (and maybe some other things?) and we used those - Highly Recommended!!!

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup granulated white sugar

1 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled

3 ripe large bananas, mashed well (about 1-1/2 cups) - We also used an additional banana as a garnish on top of the bread

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and place oven rack to middle position. Butter and flour (or spray with a non stick vegetable/flour spray) the bottom and sides of a 9 x 5 x 3 inch (23 x 13 x 8 cm) loaf pan. Set aside.



As you can see, we did not use a loaf pan, but a bundt pan! Either will work.

Place the nuts on a baking sheet and bake for about 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly toasted. Let cool and then chop coarsely.

In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nuts. Set aside.



In a medium-sized bowl combine the mashed bananas, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla. With a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, lightly fold the wet ingredients (banana mixture) into the dry ingredients just until combined and the batter is thick and chunky. (The important thing is not to over mix the batter. You do not want it smooth. Over mixing the batter will yield tough, rubbery bread.)



Scrape batter into prepared pan and place the slices of banana on top of the batter for garnish. (If using a bundt pan, which you will FLIP over after the banana bread cools, remember to put the slices of banana on the BOTTOM of the pan, so that they're on top when you flip it. You know what I mean.)

Bake until bread is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 55 to 60 minutes. Place on a wire rack to cool and then remove the bread from the pan. Serve warm or at room temperature. This bread can be frozen.


"The Finale"

This bread is so flavorful and moist. I enjoyed a piece that night for dessert AND the next day for breakfast with some coffee. Adding the pieces of banana as a garnish on top was something I had not done before, but will do every time from now on. They get carmelized, soft and so tasty.

Amy and I made Rainbow Cookies AND Peanut Butter Kisses

Last Wednesday Amy came over. We had the need to bake. She consulted the internet and pulled up a very delicious looking recipe for rainbow cookies (or "seven layer cookies", as they are called in the recipe.) "Those are my favorite cookies!!"*** I proclaimed. Then we skimmed the recipe, and one note stood out: "THESE COOKIES MUST BE CHILLED FOR AT LEAST 8 HOURS!!!!" it said. Well, we did not have 8 hours. So we determined that the only way to make these cookies together would be to plan a sleepover. So we planned one.

With that dilemma solved, we decided to look for a recipe more suited to the short length of time we had together that afternoon, and settled on these:

Peanut Butter Kisses!

We followed the recipe pretty much as is.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup sugar, for rolling
24-48 chocolate candy kisses, unwrapped (number depends on the size of the cookies)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Combine 1/2 cup granulated sugar, brown sugar, butter and peanut butter in large bowl. Beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add egg, vanilla and salt; continue beating until well mixed. Add flour and baking soda. Continue beating, scraping bowl often, until well mixed.

Shape dough into 1 or 2-inch balls. (If dough is too soft, refrigerate 30 to 60 minutes.) Roll balls in 1/4 cup sugar. (Note: We didn't "roll" ours. I find that the sugar on the bottom of the cookie can sometimes burn in the oven. Instead, we just pressed the tops of the cookies into the sugar.) Place 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until very lightly golden brown. Immediately press 1 chocolate kiss in center of each cookie. Remove from cookie sheets; cool completely on wire racks.

They were very sweet, slightly chewy, and very comforting. They were also the kind of cookies that you find yourself eating way too many of without realizing it.

Rolling those cookies - see the motion!

Pressing the tops of the cookies into sugar.

Amy is dancing with the cookies before they go in the oven.


We couldn't decide on which kind of kisses to buy, so we got both traditional Hershey kisses and "hugs" with white chocolate. Here they are just waiting to be pressed into the centers of those cookies.


Look at those guys:


WARNING: If you don't let the cookies cool enough before moving them, this may happen:


...and it may make you sad.


A few days later, the rainbow cookie sleepover went down. It was crazy.

This was the recipe that inspired us.

Seven-Layer Cookies
Perfect as printed in Gourmet, December 2005

Time: These take at least 11 hours from beginning to end, most of it inactive, but make sure you have a good 2 to 3 hour window to bake in

4 large eggs, separated
1 cup sugar
1 (8-oz) can almond paste
2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
25 drops red food coloring
25 drops green food coloring
1 (12-oz) jar apricot preserves, heated and strained
7 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), chopped

Special equipment: a small offset spatula, a heavy-duty stand mixer if you have one; a hand-mixer should work as well (GUESS WHAT. I do not have ANY of these things and it worked out fine. Don't sweat it.)

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 13- by 9-inch baking pan and line bottom with wax paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on 2 ends, then butter paper. (GUESS WHAT #2: We bought three of those disposable pans so that we could bake each layer simulaneously. I recommend it. SO we lined the 3 pans with wax paper and greased them all at once.)

Beat whites in mixer fitted with whisk attachment at medium-high speed until they just hold stiff peaks. Add 1/4 cup sugar a little at a time, beating at high speed until whites hold stiff, slightly glossy peaks. Transfer to another bowl. (GUESS WHAT #3: Just use a whisk.)

Switch to paddle attachment (WHISK), then beat together almond paste and remaining 3/4 cup sugar until well blended, about 3 minutes. Add butter and beat until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add yolks and almond extract and beat until combined well, about 2 minutes. Reduce speed to low, then add flour and salt and mix until just combined. (GUESS WHAT #4: WE had a BAKING EMERGENCY when we realized that we forgot to add the flour/salt!!!! BUT it was ok. We discovered in time to add them just before they went in the oven.)

Fold half of egg white mixture into almond mixture to lighten, then fold in remaining whites gently but thoroughly.

Divide batter among 3 bowls. Stir red food coloring into one and green food coloring into another, leaving the third batch plain. Set white batter aside. Chill green batter, covered. Pour red batter into prepared pan and spread evenly with offset spatula (layer will be about 1/4 inch thick). (FORGET this, just bake em all at once like I said.)

Bake red layer 8 to 10 minutes, until just set. (It is important to undercook. They’ll look like they’re not done, but a tester does come out clean.)

Using paper overhang, transfer layer to a rack to cool, about 15 minutes. Clean pan, then line with parchment or wax paper and butter paper in same manner as above. Bake white layer in prepared pan until just set. As white layer bakes, bring green batter to room temperature. Transfer white layer to a rack. Prepare pan as above, then bake green layer in same manner as before. Transfer to a rack to cool.

When all layers are cool, invert green onto a parchment or wax-paper-lined large baking sheet. Discard paper from layer and spread with half of preserves. Invert white on top of green layer, discarding paper. Spread with remaining preserves. Invert red layer on top of white layer and discard wax or parchment paper.

Cover with plastic wrap and weight with a large baking pan. Chill at least 8 hours. (NOW the sleepover truly begins!!! IF you are like Amy and I, this means that now is the time to make baked tofu and watch Blondie videos on Youtube. But feel free to do any sleepover activity that you enjoy.)

NEXT MORNING:

Remove weight and plastic wrap. Bring layers to room temperature. Melt chocolate in a double boiler or a metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat. Keep chocolate over water. (Alternately, you can do what I did: melt the chocolate 3.5 ounces at a time just to make sure it doesn’t seize up between steps, though that shouldn’t be a problem if you only let it set for 15.)

Trim edges of assembled layers with a long serrated knife. Quickly spread half of chocolate in a thin layer on top of cake. Chill, uncovered, until chocolate is firm, about 15 minutes. Cover with another sheet of wax paper and place another baking sheet on top, then invert cake onto sheet and remove paper. Quickly spread with remaining chocolate. Chill until firm, about 30 minutes.

Cut lengthwise into 4 strips (I cut them into more, because I wanted them 1 to 1 1/2 inches wide, as I remember them). Cut strips crosswise into 3/4-inch-wide cookies.

Do ahead: Cookies keep, layered between sheets of wax paper or parchment, in an airtight container at room temperature 2 weeks. They’ll keep even longer in the freezer.

THE original baker (DEB) added these three "important notes":

I struggled with three things in this recipe (the first two were mistakes, and both came back to bite me in the tuchus) so you won’t have to:

1. Don’t stack cooled cakes: Once my first two cake layers were cool (and still on their parchment liners) and I needed to make room on the cooling rack for the third one, I went ahead and stacked them, their liners between them. DON’T DO THIS. Not because they crush each other (they won’t) or because they’ll stick (they don’t) but because that paper liner is greased on both sides from baking and the chocolate shell never quite stuck right to the pink cake because of the grease accidentally left on it. I can’t tell you how many cookies were rejected because their chocolate fell off. It is too sad to discuss.

2. Be careful dividing your jam: I mindlessly divided the jam wrong/unevenly and ended up with too much between one layer and too little between another. Too little was no biggie, but where there was too much it oozed out and was particularly difficult to keep stacked when sawing through with a serrated knife. So, if you’re using a scale to make two six-ounce divisions of jam, remember that you’ve probably strained out a good ounce or so of jam solids, or in other words DUH. Your divided amounts will be less than six ounces each.

3. They’re easier to cut when frozen: Nevertheless, they tasted amazingly and I was all ready to do a victory lap around my wee kitchen counter, however, when I got to cutting them up and then it all went south. People, these were trying to cut. The problem lies within the differing textures of the layers — the top hard chocolate shell more benefits from a sharp serrated knife (a regular, even very sharp knife will crack the edges when you press down on it), the same serrated knife that gets gummed with jam and tries to pull the soft cake layers in between apart. It was exasperating. It didn’t go well. I packed up some for a party and stuffed the rest in the freezer, only to discover the next day that these cut fantastically when frozen. Seriously. Trust me. I have the gummy floor and gray hairs to prove it


THESE cookies are seriously so fun to look at. I can't stop eating and looking at them.

When you don't have fancy equipment, and a whisk isn't cutting it, just mush the batter together like Amy is doing here. Check out her awesome nails.

Three layers getting ready to bake.

Apricot jamming it.

All the layers together! This was before they went in the fridge to chill.

Applying the melted chocolate:

After the chocolate cooled:

Close up:

So many.

Amy was good at cutting these.


***Besides Thin Mints.