Archives for December 2006
Cookie recipes
I really did mean to post all my cookie recipes before I packed them all up and gave them away and yes…we ate them. There are only a few left and they’ve been shoved around the cookie tray for days now and I’m so sick of them I can’t bear it. But as a woman of my word I will post the recipes, sans photos.
Double Chocolate Pecan Biscotti
adapted from Gourmet Magazine, December 1994
2 cups unbleached flour
1/2 cup dutch cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
1 cup chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350
In a bowl whisk together the dry ingredients. In your mixer bowl beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and beat well. Slowly add the dry ingredients and mix well. Add the pecans and chocolate chips, again mix well.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter top. Form the dough into two flattened logs about 12 inches long and about an inch or so in depth. Mine are usually 12″ x 4″ x 1″. carefully transfer them to a parchment lined baking sheet.
Bake for 35 minutes or until firm to touch. Remove from oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Cut diagonally into 1/2″ to 3/4″ slices, depending on how you like them. Arrange on the baking sheet with a cut side down and bake for about 10 minutes or until crisp.
Cool on a rack.
I also made my mom’s Butterballs. Everyone makes these but here’s my version:
2 cups butter, softened
6 tablespoons sugar
4 teaspoons vanilla
4 cups unbleached flour
2 cups pecans, chopped
Preheat the oven to 350.
Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the vanilla and mix well. Add the flour slowly and mix well. Add the pecans. Once this is mixed, but not over-mixed you should give it 20 minutes or so in the refrigerator to firm up. Once that is done you can the dough into balls the size of quarters. Place them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 35 minutes. Allow them to cool and then roll them in powdered sugar.
The other cookie’s I made included Barmy Baker’s Chocolate Crinkles, Tummy Treasure’s Ginger Cookies (to which I added a tablespoon of cardamom), Barmy’s caramels, and some truffles from Smitten Kitchen, and this toffee, and Elise’s pecan pie
Obviously this food blogging has made me insane because there is no way any of us needed to eat all of that. But now that we’ve got that behind us we can go forward.
Lovejoy
Strawberry Scones
Today is the start of winter break for Dexter and Alex. To celebrate I made Dexter’s favorite, Strawberry scones. On Williamson Street in Madison is a favorite restaurant of ours called Lazy Jane’s. They make the absolute best scones in the whole world…take my word for it. Whenever we need to feel better about life we stop by there for a friendly smile, a steaming cup of drinking chocolate, and a scone (or two). They make other awesome food…but that will be saved for another day.
My scones are not even weak imitators. I’ve actually never attempted to make scones before and I think I messed up somewhere because once I added the strawberries the dough became way too loose. But I scraped them up and baked. They may be impostors…but they are delicious just the same.
Vanessa’s Strawberry Scones
2 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 cup of sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons butter, cold
1/3 cup heavy cream
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
12 strawberries, sliced (I used thawed frozen ones)
Combine the dry ingredients in a food processor. Add the butter and process until it because sandy in texture. Add the combined wet ingredients and process until the dough comes together. Put on a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake at 400 for about 15 minutes.
This is Dexter, he’s holding the last of the scones and I imagine his brother will have to wrestle him to get a taste. We’ll be wrapping up our cookie gifts today so I’ll post more pictures and recipes later.
Recent comments...