One plate piled high with 30 chocolate truffle cookies didn’t stand a chance against 30 hungry permaculture design students, who had been deprived of chocolate for 13 days. These were gone in seconds.

The Boyfriend earned his Permaculture Design Certificate and made 29 new friends during his 14 days living out of a [...]]]>

One plate piled high with 30 chocolate truffle cookies didn’t stand a chance against 30 hungry permaculture design students, who had been deprived of chocolate for 13 days. These were gone in seconds.

The Boyfriend earned his Permaculture Design Certificate and made 29 new friends during his 14 days living out of a tent and off the grid. He came away inspired to transform our yard into a sustainable, efficient, and productive plot of land, starting with an herb spiral in our front yard. These cookies were a small reward for the knowledge and inspiration of those 30 new permaculture designers, but they were certainly most appreciated.

Adding chocolate chips to rich chocolate truffle cookie dough is never a bad idea. It’s chocolate overload, appropriately balanced by a sprinkle of coarse sea salt on top that adds a satisfying crunch to each bite.

This cookie dough is a bit unconventional and messy to handle due to the small amount of flour (and overwhelming amount of chocolate) in the recipe. A short stint in the fridge firms the dough enough to form cookie-esque shapes that will puff up into chocolatey truffle goodness in the oven. Trust me, they’re irresistible.

Chocolate Truffle Cookies With Sea Salt
From Ghirardelli
Yield: 30 cookies

1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups 60% cacao baking chips, for melting into the dough
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 eggs
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup 60% cacao baking chips, for mixing into the final dough
2-3 tablespoons coarse sea salt

In a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

Add the 1 1/2 cups baking chips and butter to a heatproof bowl. Place the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Heat, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth. Turn off the heat and leave the mixture over the water.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs and granulated sugar until well combined. Slowly pour in the warm chocolate mixture while whisking. Add the vanilla extract, stirring to combine. Stir in the flour mixture. Allow the dough to cool for a few minutes if necessary, so that the baking chips won’t melt. When the dough is near room temperature, stir in the remaining 1/3 cup baking chips. Cover the dough and place it in the fridge for 15-20 minutes while the oven preheats.

Preheat the oven to 350°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Scoop the cookie dough by the tablespoon onto the prepared cookie sheet. Sprinkle each cookie with a pinch of coarse sea salt. Bake for 7-8 minutes, or until the outside of the cookie starts to crack. The cookies will continue to bake after they have been removed from the oven so be careful not to overbake them.

Place the cookie sheet on a cooling rack and allow to cool for 5 minutes before removing them from the cookie sheet. The cookies will be soft and slightly gooey in the center.

If you’re looking for more cookie inspiration to warm up your house this December, head over to the Cookie Love blog hop!

This weekend is all about mothers, so it’s only fitting that we just held a baby shower at work. The mom-to-be is due in just over a month, so all the ladies at the office are in baby mode! I offered to bring the treats since I’m much better at making cookies than [...]]]>

This weekend is all about mothers, so it’s only fitting that we just held a baby shower at work. The mom-to-be is due in just over a month, so all the ladies at the office are in baby mode! I offered to bring the treats since I’m much better at making cookies than coordinating baby shower decor.

Since the mom-to-be is a marine biologist with a passion for studying sea turtles, the cookie platter would have been incomplete without sea turtles. I cut each of these cookies by hand. Rather than fill up my already stuffed baking supply cabinets with extra cookie cutters, I made my own from a piece of heavy card stock. It takes a bit more time to cut each cookie by hand, but you are assured of getting just the size and shape that you’re aiming for.

My favorite part about giving cookies as a gift is designing unique shapes for the recipient. Both mother- and father-to-be are field hockey players, so I created a field hockey cookie for them.

The new baby’s name will be Wyatt, so I made some onesies with his initial on them. Mom-to-be is from Texas, so it was only natural for her to pick a good Texas name for her son!

These cookies were a joy to make and give as gifts. Mom-to-be and all the baby shower guests were thrilled with the cookies!

With all the fancy, technological ways to communicate with people in our modern world, there’s still something special about receiving a handwritten letter on pretty stationary in the mailbox. When I received the latest letter from my pen pal of 13 years last week it brought a smile to my face. And strengthened [...]]]>

With all the fancy, technological ways to communicate with people in our modern world, there’s still something special about receiving a handwritten letter on pretty stationary in the mailbox. When I received the latest letter from my pen pal of 13 years last week it brought a smile to my face. And strengthened my resolve to participate in Digital Detox Week this year. My pen pal lives 2,300 miles away and we’ve never met in person or communicated by any digital means. Sometimes we don’t write for months, but it never fails that one day I open the mailbox and find a small envelope with that familiar friendly handwriting in brightly colored ink.

With each letter I receive, I reflect upon the collective loss of patience that we all seem more and more susceptible to as we are bombarded by ever increasing amounts of information, blogs, and ways to connect. It feels as though each and every one of us is being pressured to digest a whole heap of digital information, useful or not. There are hundreds of emails to read and thousands of blogs to skim through in my inbox each week. Reading blogs and emails is like triage. If I don’t prioritize, I’ll be staring at the screen all day.

So what’s a stressed out blogger to do? Turn off the computer, grab a couple of cookies, and settle down to get lost in a book. Or perhaps write a letter to someone who lives far away. Play music, draw a picture, dance, bake cookies, take photographs with a film camera…anything analog goes!

Does this sound like the making of a rejuvenating week? If it does, I’d love to have you join me for Digital Detox Week from April 18th-24th. Or perhaps you’ll join me for just a day or two? I’m signing off the internet and my personal email for the entire week. I cut TV out of my life long ago, but I’ll be leaving my new Netflix movie in its envelope for the coming week.

Even if you’re not ready for a digital detox, I recommend that you make these cookies. Fresh rosemary and ever-so-slightly tangy Meyer lemon will transport you to a place far away from your computer screen!

Meyer Lemon Rosemary Shortbread Cookies
Adapted from The King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion
Yield: approximately 32 cookies (depending on size)

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons lemon zest
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped

With an electric mixer, cream the butter, salt, and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the flour, lemon zest, lemon juice, and rosemary. Stir until the mixture comes together.

Roll the dough into a long cylinder with a 1 1/2″ to 2″ diameter. Wrap with plastic wrap and freeze until firm. When ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 300°. Unwrap the roll of dough and slice the cookies 1/4″ thick. Place the cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet and prick each cookie with a fork 2 or 3 times.

Bake for about 20 minutes, watching carefully to ensure that the cookies don’t burn. When done, the cookies will be a light sand color on the bottom and the edges will be just beginning to brown.

Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack immediately. Store the cooled cookies in an airtight container. These cookies actually get better with age!

I have good news and bad news. Shall we start with the good news? These florentine cookies manage [...]]]> The February 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Mallory from A Sofa in the Kitchen. She chose to challenge everyone to make Panna Cotta from a Giada De Laurentiis recipe and Nestle Florentine Cookies.

I have good news and bad news. Shall we start with the good news? These florentine cookies manage to achieve both chewy and crunchy cookie status in the same bite. And as an added bonus, the dough is basically a big sweet bowl of oatmeal with tons of butter in it. Definitely good news.

The bad news? Panna Cotta and I just didn’t gel. I haven’t had a very successful track record with desserts that gel, but I approached this challenge with optimism. I was defeated yet again. I used the vegetarian gelling agent, agar powder, which was successful for many of my daring baker peers but not so for me.

I have a feeling that the secret lies somewhere within the instructions for heating the cream. The recipe instructions: “heat until hot, but not boiling, about 5 minutes”, and after adding the rest of the ingredients, “making sure that the mixture doesn’t boil, heat for 5-7 minutes”. The instructions on the agar package: a very unspecific “heat for 5 minutes”. I heated for 7 minutes, just to be safe. The cream was not even simmering. Maybe it should have been simmering but not boiling? If you know the secret to gelling panna cotta, I’d love to hear it.

As I waited hours in vain for my panna cotta to gel, at least I had a big comforting bowl of oatmeal cookie batter. Delicious.

These cookies were a breeze to whip up, and they baked just as thin and almost as crispy as promised. My first batch came out rather chewy so I left the second batch in the oven for a few minutes longer, until the edges were dark brown. The crispy edges balanced the chewy, buttery oatmeal center perfectly. A drizzle of dark chocolate on top adds the perfect touch!

The February 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Mallory from A Sofa in the Kitchen. She chose to challenge everyone to make Panna Cotta from a Giada De Laurentiis recipe and Florentine Cookies.

Here’s the panna cotta recipe, as I tried it. I can make no guarantees as to whether this will work for you. It didn’t gel for me.

Maple Panna Cotta
Adapted from Giada De Laurentiis
Yield: 6 servings

1 cup whole milk
4 teaspoons agar powder
3 cups whipping cream
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
pinch of salt

Pour the cold milk into a saucepan, sprinkle in the agar powder, and let sit for 5 minutes. Heat the mixture until it is hot but not boiling, about 5 minutes.

Stir in the rest of the ingredients. Making sure the the mixture doesn’t boil, continue to heat and stir occasionally until the maple syrup and salt dissolve, about 5-7 minutes.

Remove from heat and allow the mixture to cool slightly. Pour into glasses or ramekins and let cool to room temperature. Refrigerate until firm, at least 6 hours or preferably overnight.

I do highly recommend these Florentine cookies, and I can say that they make a particularly good consolation prize if your panna cotta doesn’t gel!

Florentine Cookies
Adapted from Nestle Classic Recipes and Meals.com
Yield: 18 cookies

2/3 cup unsalted butter
2 cups quick cooking oats
1 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup agave syrup
1/4 cup rice milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt
3 ounces dark chocolate (I used 70%)

Preheat the oven to 375°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

Melt the butter over medium heat, then remove from the heat and add the oats, sugar, flour, agave syrup, milk, vanilla extract, and salt. Stir until well combined. Drop tablespoonfuls of dough onto the cookie sheet, 3 inches apart. These babies spread quite a bit! Flatten the dough balls slightly with the back of your spoon.

Bake for 6-8 minutes, or until the cookies are golden brown. Place the cookie sheet on a cooling rack and allow the cookies to cool completely before removing from the cookie sheet.

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler, or a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Dip cookies in melted chocolate, use chocolate as cookie sandwich filling, or drizzle abstract designs onto cookies with a spoon.

You know those super motivated people who churn out hundreds (thousands, even) of cookies and batch after batch of holiday candy? I don’t know how they do it. In my world, the days fly by so quickly that I’m lucky if I can cook dinner from scratch, never mind an entire bakery case [...]]]>

You know those super motivated people who churn out hundreds (thousands, even) of cookies and batch after batch of holiday candy? I don’t know how they do it. In my world, the days fly by so quickly that I’m lucky if I can cook dinner from scratch, never mind an entire bakery case full of goodies. If you’re one of those people, could you share your secret with me? Especially if it involves time travel, because I’ve always wanted to give that a try.

But what kind of baker would I be if I let December sneak on by without even one batch of cookies emerging from my oven? So I set out to the store with a mental list of ingredients for a new cookie recipe. But something on the holiday baking display caught my eye. Shiny green and silver wrappers proclaimed “Mint Truffle”. And I was inspired.

Wrapped in cookie dough, these candies become the perfect surprise center for the classic chocolate chip cookie. They flatten out as the cookies bake so that nobody will know what’s inside. The burst of chocolate and mint in the middle is sure to inspire even a twinkle of holiday spirit in the most persistent of scrooges. And I know that Santa will love these, too! The recipe is simple and the dough comes together quickly so that those of us with a busy schedule can get to the next item on our to do list.

Mint Truffle Chocolate Chip Cookies
Created by Simple Math Bakery
Yield: 30 cookies

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 egg
2 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup bittersweet (60%) chocolate chips
30 small mint truffle candies, unwrapped

Preheat the oven to 375°.

With an electric mixer, cream the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and mix on low speed until combined. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix on low speed until the dough comes together. Using a wooden spoon, stir in the chocolate chips. To facilitate easier forming of the cookies, refrigerate the dough for 10 minutes or so.

Grab about one tablespoon of dough and wrap it around one mint truffle candy, forming a ball. Place the dough balls onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, about 2″ apart.

Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes, or until the edges just start to brown. Place the entire cookie sheet on a cooling rack to cool for 5-7 minutes, then remove the cookies from the sheet and cool them directly on the rack.

Our mission this month was to “get creative”! Using sugar cookies as our canvas, the Daring Bakers were challenged to [...]]]> The September 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Mandy of “What the Fruitcake?!” Mandy challenged everyone to make Decorated Sugar Cookies based on recipes from Peggy Porschen and The Joy of Baking.

Our mission this month was to “get creative”! Using sugar cookies as our canvas, the Daring Bakers were challenged to show what September means to us. For me, it’s my mom’s birthday. This year is a milestone birthday for her (of course, I can’t tell you which one), so I decided to send her a box of boxer cookies.

My mom is a dog lover, and one of her favorite breeds is the boxer. She is also a firm believer in rescuing dogs, and we always had dogs in the house when I was growing up. Boxers quickly became one of my favorite breeds as well. With their boundless energy and playful spirit, they bring lots of joy to their human families.

Plus, who can resist a face like that?

For these cookies, I made custom cutters from cardboard boxes. Once the dough was rolled out I cut each cookie with a paring knife, using the cardboard template as a guide. This is a great strategy for cookie shapes that you will rarely use, or in case you are unable to find a cookie cutter in the desired shape. It could get a little labor intensive depending on how intricate the shape and how many cookies you will be baking, but it’s a great option for small batches or simple shapes.

The September 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Mandy of “What the Fruitcake?!” Mandy challenged everyone to make Decorated Sugar Cookies based on recipes from Peggy Porschen and The Joy of Baking.

This sugar cookie recipe wasn’t my favorite. It didn’t have enough flavor for my taste, but it was still a good vehicle for icing. If you try this recipe, I would recommend increasing the amount of vanilla extract or experimenting with a different flavor altogether.

Sugar Cookies
Yield: 2-3 dozen, depending on size of cookie cutters

14 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
3 cups flour

With an electric mixer, cream the butter, sugar, and vanilla extract just until it becomes fluffy. Add the egg and beat until well combined, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary. Add the flour, mixing on low speed until a dough forms. Note: I found the dough to be slightly dry with 3 cups of flour. Try adding the third cup in parts, stopping if the dough starts to become dry. If the dough becomes too dry, mix in a small amount of water.

Gather the dough into a ball and divide in half. Shape each half into a disc, wrap with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm (at least one hour). Alternatively, you may roll out the dough flat between layers of parchment paper and place the rolled out dough in the fridge. This will shorten the chilling time to a minimum of 30 minutes.

Roll out the dough to about 1/4 inch thickness and cut your desired shapes. Place cut out cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet, and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350°. Bake for 8-12 minutes, depending on the size and thickness of your cookies. The cookies are done when the edges just begin to turn light brown. Cool the cookies on the pan for about 5 minutes, then place the cookies on a cooling rack to cool completely.

Royal Icing
From Wilton Cake Decorating Course II
Yield: 3 cups

3 level tablespoons Meringue Powder (you can find this at cake decorating or craft stores)
1 lb. (4 cups) sifted pure cane confectioners’ sugar
5-6 tablespoons lukewarm water

It is super important to make sure that all your bowls and utensils are free of any grease, as the icing will break down if it comes in contact with grease. I usually wash my mixer bowl and paddle again before making this icing. Also, try to avoid using any plastic bowls or utensils, as those generally have remnants of grease that are difficult to remove. I recommend using only glass or stainless steel containers.

Place meringue powder and sugar in the bowl of your mixer. Mix at low speed until blended. Add water and blend at medium speed for 7-10 minutes, or until icing loses its sheen.

This icing hardens when exposed to air, so be sure to keep it covered with plastic wrap when you are not using it. Keep a damp towel handy and store your decorating tips up against it to prevent the icing in the tip from drying out while you use other colors.

Outline the cookies using full strength icing and a plain circle decorating tip (I used Wilton tip #3).

To flood the interior of the cookies, the icing needs to be thinned. Spoon some icing into a bowl and start adding lukewarm water slowly, a small amount at a time. Mix well after each addition. To test whether it’s the right consistency, pull your spoon out and let the icing drizzle down into the bowl. The icing is thin enough when the drizzle disappears within 5 seconds.

Transfer the thinned icing into squeeze bottles (you can find these at craft stores). Fill in the cookies, using a toothpick to coax the icing into any corners that the bottle can’t reach. If any bubbles appear in the icing, gently pop them with a toothpick.

I decided to make some of my boxers brindle. To make a brindle pattern, make sure you have both light brown and dark brown/black icing ready. Fill the area with light brown. Immediately squeeze dark brown stripes onto the light brown icing, and draw a toothpick through the icing horizontally and vertically until you have a brindle pattern.

To make the pupils of the eyes, I placed a dot of thinned black royal icing in the middle of the brown eye as soon as I had flooded the brown portion. This allows the black dot to settle into the wet brown icing and dry as one layer.

To create accents that sit above the level of the icing, allow the flooded icing to dry until the top has crusted over completely. Using full strength, non-thinned icing, pipe designs over the base coat of icing. This is how I created the nose and mouth lines, since they are the same color as the base coat.

One last tip: it’s always a good idea to have a map of where you are going. Before starting my icing adventure, I sketched out a sample cookie to get an idea of which colors I would need and how much icing I would need to tint. Then it’s simply a matter of transferring the design from paper to cookie!

As a reminder, voting starts today for the second Project Food Blog challenge! A heartfelt thank you to everyone who voted for me in the first round. Check out the French-Canadian dish I made for the second challenge, and visit my profile to vote. Thanks for your support!

A jar of organic smooth peanut butter is one of those things that I always have in the fridge, even though I don’t eat it very often. I tend to forget that it’s in there, hanging out near the strawberry jam and applesauce. Since peanut butter has such a long shelf life, it’s [...]]]>

A jar of organic smooth peanut butter is one of those things that I always have in the fridge, even though I don’t eat it very often. I tend to forget that it’s in there, hanging out near the strawberry jam and applesauce. Since peanut butter has such a long shelf life, it’s one of my favorite snacks when I’ve got nothing else to eat in the pantry.

So how do I satisfy my cookie cravings when I’m out of fruit, chocolate chips, and everything else that I typically bake into cookies? My trusty jar of peanut butter in the fridge.

These cookies are made with whole wheat flour and sweetened with pure maple syrup. Contrary to what I was expecting, the result is a cake-like cookie that is light and fluffy. It’s almost as if you’re not eating a cookie at all! I keep telling myself that as I continue to devour these cookies.

Peanut Butter Cookies
Created by Simple Math Bakery
Yield: 2.5 dozen cookies

1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup pure maple syrup
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups white whole wheat flour

Preheat the oven to 375°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

With an electric mixer, beat the peanut butter and butter on medium speed until smooth. Add maple syrup, egg, and vanilla extract. Beat well.

In a separate bowl, combine baking soda, salt, and flour. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and stir just until combined. If the dough is too soft to shape into balls, place the mixing bowl in the fridge for about 10 minutes.

Shape the dough into balls and place onto the cookie sheet. Using a fork dipped in flour, gently press the cookies with an “X marks the spot” pattern.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the edges just start to brown. Perhaps you’d like to remove them just before the edges start to brown, since peanut butter cookies tend to get dry when overbaked. Cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes, then transfer the cookies to a cooling rack.

I won’t ever forget the day that I made these pavlovas. [...]]]> The June 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Dawn of Doable and Delicious. Dawn challenged the Daring Bakers’ to make Chocolate Pavlovas and Chocolate Mascarpone Mousse. The challenge recipe is based on a recipe from the book Chocolate Epiphany by Francois Payard

I won’t ever forget the day that I made these pavlovas. I got laid off from my job, and they were there to greet me when I got home. Chocolate certainly has a soothing quality, and this double chocolate dessert (with cream on top) definitely eased my pain. The meringue cookies are soft and chocolatey inside, the chocolate mousse is bittersweet, and the crème anglaise adds the perfect touch of sweetness.

I’ll be taking a hiatus from blogging for a few weeks. When I return, I will most likely have a lot more time to spend baking and visiting everyone’s lovely blogs! So I leave you with this doozy of a dessert for chocolate lovers.

The pavlova dessert was named after ballerina Anna Pavlova. She is most recognized for her role as The Dying Swan. And rightly so, as her performance is enthralling. I attempted to honor Miss Pavlova by fashioning a tutu out of the dessert ingredients.

Not quite as fabulous as I had hoped, but if you squint really hard you might see the resemblance! The meringue pictured below decided to grow a swan neck of its own.

The June 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Dawn of Doable and Delicious. Dawn challenged the Daring Bakers to make Chocolate Pavlovas and Chocolate Mascarpone Mousse. The challenge recipe is based on a recipe from the book Chocolate Epiphany by Francois Payard.

There were four components to make for this challenge: chocolate meringue cookies, mascarpone cheese, chocolate mascarpone mousse, and crème anglaise. It sounds daunting, but all the pieces came together easily and relatively quickly. They’re all delicious on their own and the crème anglaise makes an excellent ice cream base!

The changes I made are as follows: omitting alcohol and citrus. I don’t like the combination of citrus and chocolate. So for the sake of edibility, I omitted the lemon zest and orange juice from the original recipe.

Chocolate Meringue Cookies (Pavlovas)
Yield: 12 cookies (more or less, depending on size and shape)

3 egg whites
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/4 cup confectioner’s sugar
1/3 cup cocoa powder

Preheat the oven to 200° F. Make sure that the rack(s) you will be baking the cookies on are as close to the center of the oven as possible. Line two baking sheets with parchment and set aside.

Add the egg whites to the bowl of your mixer and mix on medium speed with the whisk attachment until soft peaks form. This will take a few minutes, so be patient!

Increase the mixer speed to high and begin to add the granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, while the mixer is going. Continue to beat until stiff peaks form. Again, this may take a while. This whole process took about 15 minutes for me. The egg whites should be firm but still moist. If you rub some of the meringue between your fingers, it should be smooth. If you can still feel the grainy sugar, continue to beat until all the sugar dissolves.

Sift the confectioner’s sugar and cocoa powder over the egg whites. With a rubber spatula, gently fold in the dry ingredients. It will seem too dry at first, but as you continue to fold everything will come together.

Fill a pastry bag with the meringue and pipe it onto the cookie sheets, or free form it in any shape you desire.

Bake the meringues for about 2 hours, or until they are dry and crisp. The outside of the cookies will form a hard shell. When the meringues are done, turn off the oven and crack the door. Let them sit inside until cool. This should prevent the meringues from cracking.

Chocolate Mascarpone Mousse
This recipe makes far more mousse than you will need for the pavlovas, but it’s delicious by the spoonful!

1 1/2 cups heavy cream (I used organic whipping cream)
9 ounces dark chocolate (preferably 72%), chopped
1 2/3 cups mascarpone
pinch of nutmeg

In a small saucepan, heat 1/2 cup of the cream over medium high heat. When it comes to a boil, add the chocolate and stir constantly until the chocolate has melted. Remove from the heat, pour into a bowl, and let cool to room temperature.

In the bowl of your mixer, combine the mascarpone, nutmeg, and the remaining cup of cream. Beat with the whisk attachment on low speed until well combined, then increase the speed to medium and beat until the mixture forms stiff peaks. Do not overbeat, as the cream may break (and you’ll have butter, but that’s not what we’re after here)!

Add about 1/4 of the mascarpone whipped cream into the melted chocolate and stir until combined. Fold in the remaining cream mixture until well incorporated. You can use a pastry bag to apply the mousse to the pavlovas, or just dollop it on top with a spoon.

Mascarpone Cream
Yield: Lots! This is half of the recipe provided, and still makes enough to drizzle over all the pavlovas plus make some delicious ice cream.

1 recipe crème anglaise (see below)
1/4 cup mascarpone
1/4 cup heavy cream (I used organic whipping cream)

Prepare the crème anglaise as directed below. After passing the cream through the sieve, allow it to cool on the counter for about 15 minutes. Gently whisk in the mascarpone, and allow the mixture to cool completely. Cover and refrigerate until chilled.

Whip the heavy cream with a mixer until it forms soft peaks. Fold the whipped cream into the chilled crème anglaise.

Crème Anglaise

1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 egg yolks
3 tablespoons granulated sugar

In a heatproof bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar until the mixture turns a pale yellow.

In a medium saucepan, heat the milk, cream, and vanilla extract until it comes to a boil. Remove from the heat. Pour about 1/2 cup of the hot liquid into the yolk mixture, whisking constantly to avoid cooking the eggs. Pour the yolk mixture back into the pan, and place the pan back over medium heat. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon as the mixture heats.

When it is thick enough to lightly coat the back of your spoon, remove it from the heat and pour it through a fine mesh sieve. If you are continuing with the recipe, follow the mascarpone cream instructions above. If not, cover and refrigerate the crème anglaise until chilled.

To assemble the dessert: use your creativity to pipe or spoon the mousse on top of the pavlovas. Drizzle mascarpone cream over the top and enjoy!

Let’s talk about cookies and bread. I’m hoping that these two simple favorites can help to fight hunger in our country. Bread is the most basic of food, recognized all over the world as a staple. And cookies, well, everyone loves cookies! I’ve chosen to donate cookies and bread for the first annual [...]]]>

Let’s talk about cookies and bread. I’m hoping that these two simple favorites can help to fight hunger in our country. Bread is the most basic of food, recognized all over the world as a staple. And cookies, well, everyone loves cookies! I’ve chosen to donate cookies and bread for the first annual National Food Bloggers Bake Sale.

The bake sale is taking place tomorrow, in many different locations! Gaby from What’s Gaby Cooking has organized (what I’m assuming is) the largest bake sale ever. Food bloggers from all over the country are baking their favorite treats. Trust me, you won’t want to miss this!

Since I plan to bake 6 loaves of sourdough today, I had to plan ahead to create the necessary volume of sourdough starter! I call this process “sourdough mitosis”.

The weather is getting warmer, so I decided to make cookies with a “summery” feel. This ice cream cone cookie cutter is just perfect! Except that those tiny little sections meant to stamp the ice cream cone design won’t let go of the dough. Hint: use lots of flour. Lots.

The cuteness factor of the finished cookies was definitely worth all the fuss while cutting them. And now I’m craving ice cream…no, cookies…ah, I can’t decide! Perhaps I’ll just have a cupcake.

All of the proceeds from the sale are donated to Share Our Strength, a non-profit organization that is striving to eliminate childhood hunger in America. Take some time to visit their website. The statistics on hunger are staggering.

I believe strongly that we can all make a difference in the fight against hunger, and it’s so simple to help. Buy a few extra cans of food at the store, and donate them to a local food pantry. Spend some time volunteering (it’s free)! Donate baked goods to a local bake sale, or support my bake sale team with a donation.

If you’re in Los Angeles, stop by our bake sale tomorrow to meet some fantastic food bloggers. And if you’re in another part of the country, find a food blogger bake sale near you!

It has been way too long since I’ve made oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. When my friend Susannah announced that she was coming to visit me, I asked her what kind of cookies she’d like to snack on. Oatmeal chocolate chip was her answer, and I couldn’t have been more thrilled.

These cookies have [...]]]>

It has been way too long since I’ve made oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. When my friend Susannah announced that she was coming to visit me, I asked her what kind of cookies she’d like to snack on. Oatmeal chocolate chip was her answer, and I couldn’t have been more thrilled.

These cookies have the perfect amount of chewiness in the center, and the edges are lightly crisped. Absolutely divine!

We spent lots of time this week at the museum and the beach. I don’t get to visit the beach as often as I would like, so it’s always a treat when I have an excuse to go. We took lots of photos, and we even photographed these balanced rocks while lying on the ground in true Susannah fashion! Susannah frequently photographs from unique angles, which is part of what makes her work so fascinating. It’s a constant joke that we have, since her bio shows her lying in the middle of the road to get the perfect angle for a photograph.

What a beautiful and peaceful pastime it must be to balance these rocks along the shoreline. This was one of my favorite sights at the beach.

And after a day full of exploring, what better way to wind down than with oatmeal chocolate chip cookies?

This recipe makes 4 dozen cookies. That’s a lot of cookies! I didn’t bake them all (although we might have polished them all off if I had). I froze some of the dough to bake later, or perhaps to eat straight from the freezer. Either way, it’s delicious.

If you like your cookies to spread, use the dough right away. Refrigerating the dough for at least 20 minutes will produce more compact, puffy cookies. Here are the cookies that I baked right away:

The cookies below were baked with dough that had been refrigerated for 20 minutes:

I didn’t notice any difference in taste between the two methods. Both batches of cookies were wonderfully soft in the center! I’ll definitely be making these again very soon.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from The Frog Commissary Cookbook via Bakingsheet
Yield: about 4 dozen cookies

1 cup butter, room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons soy milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups old-fashioned (rolled) oats
2 cups chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

With an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the soy milk and vanilla extract.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir the flour mixture into the wet ingredients by hand, or with the mixer on low speed. Add the oats and chocolate chips, stirring by hand.

If you’d like smaller, puffier cookies, refrigerate the dough for at least 20 minutes before baking. Form the dough into 1 inch balls, and place them on the cookie sheet 1 1/2 inches apart.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges start to brown. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet, placed on a cooling rack, for 5 minutes. Remove the cookies from the baking sheet and continue to cool them directly on the rack.