Snacking

We went to the store today because  . . . well, I wanted to make a cake and needed an ingredient for a revised version of the filling.  And because we wanted to get out.  I hadn't been shopping, really, since March 13, fully two months ago.  It made me nervous.  We were masked--with filters, even--and had our hand sanitizer.  The store wasn't crowded and there were arrows to direct flow.  Everyone was masked and we all stayed 6' apart.  And yet.  Breathing through the masks made me breathe harder, or the anxiety did. Even breathing, perhaps especially breathing, felt risky.  And my hands felt dirty and contaminated the whole time.  How easily I have gotten out of the habit of being around strangers! Target, which is such a familiar and safe place for me, felt alien and a little scary.  And rationally, I don't even believe it's that dangerous, with the proper precautions, which we were all taking.  Still, I was uncomfortable and ready to get home.  I wonder how long it will be before going to the store feels okay--not safe, just okay.  I think I was surprised by how anxious I was.  I'm just going to have to practice, not often, but intentional.  

But we got the marshmallow cream for the Twinkie Cake I'm making.  See, I shared the Smitten Kitchen recipe on my FB page and a friend encouraged me to make it.  But, referencing the Seinfeld episode about Elaine deeming men "sponge-worthy" or not, I said I wasn't sure if the cake was "flour worthy" because I was careful with my less-than-one-bag remaining.  So the friend offered to find flour and to share if I would make it.  Low and behold, she did!  A bag of flour appeared on my doorstep yesterday.  And so I'm making the cake today.  I told her I would share anything I made with that bag of flour.

It's a good thing she found some, too, because Target was out of flour!  And anything with alcohol (first aid wipes, hand sanitizer, rubbing alcohol), toilet paper, almost all paper towels, any vegetable seed packets, cleaning spray or wipes like Lysol or Chlorox.  It was surprising, even two months on, to see so many bare shelves.  And the arrows, the plexiglass protecting the employees, the long line of people which was then directed to the right open check out (instead of choosing your own line), marks on the floor where to stand, masks on everyone.  But no masks for sale.  No hand sanitizer to use. And you can't use your own bags so we're all back to plastic, which we'd made such in-roads into avoiding.  

I suppose the Twinkie Cake will be my reward tonight (I'm saving back a few pieces for the family and giving the rest away), a reminder of childhood and simpler times when we drank out of outdoor water hoses, rode in cars without seat belts, sat on the tailgates of moving trucks, didn't have helmets for anything, wandered around without cellphones for contact until the street lights came on, ate Twinkies, who knows what else.  Mercy, if this virus had hit during my childhood, I think we would have all just died--laissez-faire 70s parenting wouldn't have embraced quarantines and distance learning and all that.  Though, there would be fewer objections to vaccines than now.  

I remember when we thought Twinkies were going to disappear, years ago.  Mama and I even bought a pack for the kids to try so they would know what they were.  It was good childhood memories (if not good snacks) for Mama and me, but the kids were nonplussed.  They couldn't figure out why we'd eat such things.  Not just Twinkies but those orange Hostess cupcakes and Ding Dongs and Snoballs and the other snack desserts we brought home.  I liked chocolaty Little Debbie Star Crunches a whole bunch too, but don't remember HoHos or Devil Dogs much.  I do remember that the kid who had any of this in their lunch was the lucky one.  And it was rarely me.  I only remember getting those snacks on car trips when you'd stop at the gas station to use the restroom and fill up.  These weren't the big, fancy convenience stores at gas stations we have now, but sometimes just a rack of chips and a rack of Hostess, and one fridge area for Cokes.  Later there were Corn Nuts.  Today is a veritable travel snacker's paradise.

And yet, I find myself making one homemade. . . . 

Twinkie Bundt
Inspired by, but not the recipe from, Pure Vanilla

Cake
1 cup (225 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 3/4 cups (350 grams) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 large yolks (save the 2 whites for filling, below)
1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon fine sea salt or table salt
2 1/2 cups (315 grams) all-purpose flour
1 cup (235 ml) buttermilk

Filling* I'm using the Fluff recipe.
2 large egg whites
2/3 cup (135 grams) granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract

Heat your oven to 350°F. Generously grease a 10-cup Bundt pan, either with butter or a nonstick spray; I like to use a butter-flour spray and go over the pan twice. Bundts are sticky! Fortuntely, this cake is not.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, scraping down bowl between each, and then yolks. Add vanilla. Sprinkle batter with salt and baking powder and mix briefly to combine. Add about 1/3 of flour, mix to combine, then half of buttermilk, mixing again just to combine, repeating with next 1/3 of flour, remaining buttermilk then remaining flour.

Dollop batter into prepared pan and spread so that the top is smooth. Bake in heated oven for 40 to 45 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into cake comes out batter-free. Let cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes, then invert onto rack and let cool absolutely completely. You can hasten this along in the fridge; it will take about 45 minutes.

When cake is completely and totally cool, invert it again. If your cake had domed quite a bit in the oven, you can use a serrated knife to level it a little. Then, using a melon baller (my first choice), small spoon or paring knife, scoop out several mounds of cake through the underside, being sure not to cut through top or sides of cake. If using a traditional bundt shape (as I show), I used the larger bloops in the pattern (there are 8) for mine. What happens to the cake bellies you scoop out is between you and your gods.

Combine egg whites, sugar and cream of tartar in a heatproof bowl and place this over a pot of gently simmering water. Whisk constantly until sugar dissolves and whites are lukewarm to touch, about 3 minutes. Remove bowl from simmering water and use an electric mixer to beat with a whisk attachment on low speed, gradually increasing to high, until stiff, glossy peaks form, about 4 to 7 minutes. Add vanilla and mix to combine.

Scoop filling into a large piping bag fitted with a large, round tip or plastic bag with the corner cut off and fill the indentations of the cake. Center your cake platter over the cake and invert your filled cake back onto it. If desired, dust lightly with powdered sugar before serving.

This cake keeps at room temperature for up to 3 days. I keep mine under a cake dome.

* A few ways to approach the filling:

• Make the recipe as above. The filling will be a bit soft, but very marshmallow-like. Plus, I’ve engineered the cake to give you the spare egg whites you’ll need.
• Go in a different path. The next two things I’d have auditioned as fillings are Swiss Meringue Buttercream, which I know to be fairly stiff (I’d halve the 4 egg white-level frosting, and see if I could get away with just 8 tablespoons butter) or, as suggested by a clever commenter on Instagram, ABC Kitchen via Martha Stewart’s Marshmallow Frosting which is set with gelatin, which is, I think, exactly what this cake would need as you could keep the great marshmallow frosting flavor but not the softness.
• ***Get real and just buy a jar of marshmallow fluff. Seriously, Sever knew what she was talking about. In her recipe, you beat a 7.5-ounce jar with a 1/2 cup softened butter and 1 teaspoon vanilla and I believe many headaches can be avoided this way. Also: yum.

Rewards

It's a beautiful weekend, but I'm inside for the most part.  Mainly because I twisted my left ankle last week and I've put a boot on it (the boot from my bum right ankle last spring.)  So, I've mostly been on the couch, doing school work and learning a new crochet technique.  But I did feel better yesterday and did a bit of baking.  I made this poundcake recipe from Melissa Clark in the NYTimes--I really liked her citrus cornmeal poundcake, with all its flexibility.  And I sure used it here:  I added in all the options!!!  It was really good--I thought the zest was too bitter from this particular orange--but everybody really liked it.  It was easy and worth doing again, maybe even try it without all the extras.

Now Sis might make me some shortbread.  See, she had misplaced something and had been looking for a long time. And I found it in 10 minutes--and a baking project was my reward!  And I get to choose.  I have two shortbread recipes--both from Melissa Clark!--and so I want one of these.

I'll tell you about the crochet when I have some pictures.

Melissa Clark’s Snickerdoodle Poundcake (with Chocolate Chips)

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar--light or dark brown or granulated

2 eggs, beaten well

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon vanilla extract (with a dash of almond)--can also be shot of rum or Bourbon

1 teaspoon grated citrus zest (optional)

1/4 teaspoon cardamom (optional)

1/2 cup sour cream (or Greek or plain yogurt, mascarpone, creme fraiche, buttermilk or soured whole milk--which you make by adding 1 tablespoons lemon juice or vinegar)

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 to 3/4 cup optional mix-ins:  nuts, dried fruit, chocolate chips, or mix of these

Topping:

1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Start by heating your oven to 350 degrees and greasing 9 x 5 loaf pan.  and Beat butter with sugar.   Add eggs, one at a time, beating well.  Then add  cinnamon, cardamom, baking powder, salt, baking soda, vanilla extract and, if desired, orange zest. Beat til smooth.

Add in 1/2 cup sour cream and mix well. Then add 1 1/2 cups flour beating until smooth.  If mix-ins are desired, stir in and pour batter into a buttered loaf pan.

Break up the brown sugar with your fingers, then sprinkle the mixture on top of the cake. It looks like a lot of topping. It is a lot of topping, but in a happy, more-is-more kind of way.

Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until the top springs back when lightly pressed. Let it cool in the pan completely before starting to slice off slivers until the thing is gone.

NYTimes One Pot Shortbread

2 cups flour

1/4 cup rice flour (or cornstarch or more flour)

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoons salt

1 cup melted butter (if salted, reduce amount of salt)

1 teaspoon flavoring:  citrus zest, vanilla extract, ground cardamom (or see variations below) Good alone.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line an 8- or 9-inch square pan with parchment paper. 

In a bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, and salt. Stir in a cup of melted unsalted butter. Add any optional flavors.  Press the dough into the pan, and bake it until golden on top, 35 to 45 minutes.

When you remove it from the oven, shower the top with more sugar and be generous. Use a butter knife to cut the shortbread into bars in the pan while it’s still hot (or it will crumble.)

NYTimes Shortbread 10 Ways

2 cups/250 grams all-purpose flour

⅔ cup/150 grams granulated sugar

¾ teaspoon fine salt

2 sticks/1 cup/226 grams cold unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch chunks

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Pulse together flour, sugar and salt in a food processor. Add butter and pulse to fine crumbs. Pulse a few more times until some of the crumbs start to come together, but don’t overprocess; the dough should be somewhat crumbly. (You can also mix the dough in a bowl using two knives or a pastry cutter.)

Press dough into an even layer in an ungreased 8- or 9-inch-square baking pan, or a 9-inch pie pan. Prick dough all over with a fork. Bake until golden brown, about 35 to 40 minutes for the 9-inch square or pie pan, 45 to 50 minutes for the 8-inch. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Cut into squares, bars or wedges while still warm.

TIPS

Here are nine variations for the master shortbread recipe above.

• Scottish Shortbread: Use 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour and 1/2 cup white rice flour.
• Tender Shortbread: Substitute confectioners' sugar for the granulated sugar, and 1/3 cup cornstarch for 1/3 cup of flour.
• Vanilla Bean Shortbread: Split a vanilla bean in half lengthwise and use the back of a knife to scrape out the pulp. Pulse the pulp into the flour-sugar mixture before adding butter. Or add up to 1 teaspoon vanilla extract with the butter.
• Citrus Shortbread: Add 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated lemon, lime or orange zest with the flour. Add up to 1 teaspoon orange blossom water with the butter if desired. These are classic with poppy seeds.
• Nut Shortbread: Grind 1/2 cup toasted nuts in the food processor with the flour before combining with remaining ingredients.
• Spice or Seed Shortbread: Add up to 1 teaspoon spices, like ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg or cardamom, or seeds like caraway or anise. Or add up to 3 tablespoons poppy or sesame seeds.
• Brown or Maple Sugar Shortbread: Substitute 1/3 cup light or dark brown sugar or maple sugar for the granulated. This yields a slightly softer shortbread.
• Cornmeal or Whole Wheat Shortbread: Substitute up to 1/2 cup cornmeal or whole wheat flour for 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour. Season with spices, seeds, citrus or rosemary if desired.
• Buckwheat Shortbread: Substitute up to 1/3 cup buckwheat flour for 1/3 cup of all-purpose flour.

Distractibaking

Yes, that is what I am doing today.

There as a new poundcake in the NYTimes today and I wanted to try it--a citrus cornmeal poundcake.  Sounds so comforting.  And so I just put it in the oven and the fragrance is already amazing.

As I typed up the recipe below, I realized I totally left out the eggs.  Well, that will affect the texture and preservation, but not much else I think.  I guess I'm out of practice.  We actually haven't done too much baking.  Sis made a chocolate chess pie with a trefoil cookie crust.  So good, really sweet.

The recipe is written with many possibilities:

Citrus Cornmeal Poundcake:

Preheat oven to 350F and grease and flour loaf pan.

Combine in a big bowl:
approximately a cup of sugar (I used this wonderful scented sugar, Burnt Orange Caramel, from the Milk Street Store)
the zest of one orange, lemon, or lime (I only did a bit)
1/2 cup liquid fat (olive oil, coconut oil, melted butter)
2 eggs
1/2 cup yogurt, buttermilk, sour cream, whole milk (soured)
dash of vanilla or almond extract
maybe a 1/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg

Add
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 1/4 cups flour

Bake 45-60 minutes and cool in pan.

Melissa Clarke, NYTimes

-=-=-=-=-

Chocolate Chess Pie with Trefoil Cookie Crust
8 ounces Girl Scout Shortbread cookies, about 1 1/2 sleeves
1/4 c granulated sugar
4 Tbs butter melted
cooking spray

 ¼ butter

1 ½ cups sugar

2 tablespoons baking cocoa

2 eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ cup evaporated milk

For the Filling:

Melt the margarine in a small saucepan. Stir in the sugar and cocoa. Remove from heat. Stir in eggs; do not beat. Stir in the vanilla and evaporated milk. Pour into unbaked pie shell; cover edges with foil until last 5 minutes. Bake at 400°F for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until set. Let stand until cool. Chill, covered, until serving time.

Meet Me at the Loveless cookbook

For the Crust:

Pulse cookies in a food processor until finely ground.

Mix with sugar and melted butter until well combined.

Press into the bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie plate coated with cooking spray.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 15-18 minutes until golden brown. Cool completely.

Cookie Craze

I'm craving cookies, particularly snowball cookies.  But not the usual pecan-and-powdered sugar variety--peanut butter, almond, lemon, maple, cherry, chocolate-chocolate!  Mmmm, a veritable blizzard of cookies.  I'm also having an almond thing and searched my Pinterest board for almond cookies; so many to choose, but I was taken with a few especially.  I doubt I'll make most of them, or even any, depending on the craziness of the next ten days.  But as I've said before, I like reading recipes as much as making or even eating them sometimes.


Peanut Butter Snowballs from Southern Living

1 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup chunky peanut butter (wonder if you could sub Nutella?)
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted

Beat softened butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add granulated sugar, beating well. Stir in chunky peanut butter until blended.

Combine flour and salt; gradually add to peanut butter mixture, beating until well blended.

Roll dough into 60 (1-inch) balls; place 1 inch apart on parchment paper-lined baking sheets.

Bake at 350° for 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on baking sheets on wire racks 5 minutes. Roll warm cookies in powdered sugar. Dust with white edible glitter, if desired.
Chicago Magazine's Maple Pecan Snowballs

2 sticks (232 grams) good quality butter, unsalted (I used lightly salted), room temperature
1/2 cup powdered sugar, plus more as needed for rolling
Zest of half an orange (I used 2 teaspoons and would not use more)
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour (I used 250 grams)
1 1/2 cups ground pecans, toast before grinding (140 grams)

INSTRUCTIONS
With a hand-held mixer, beat the butter and powdered sugar until creamy. Beat in the orange zest, maple syrup, vanilla and salt.
By hand, stir in the flour until fully blended, then stir in the pecans.
Cover bowl and chill dough for about 30 minutes.
Using a rounded tablespoon OR a medium size cookie scoop, scoop out 24 rounds.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and bake cookies for 20 minutes or until they are golden.
I baked the cookies in a convection toaster oven and they were done in 18 minutes.
Remove cookies from the tray and let cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Roll cookies in reserved powdered sugar.

No-Bake Chocolate-Kahlua Snowballs

1/3 cup Kahlua coffee liqueur
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 teaspoon instant coffee granules
One 9-ounce package chocolate wafer cookies, finely crushed
1/4 cup sifted powdered sugar
3/4 cup almonds, toasted and chopped
Additional powdered sugar


In medium bowl, mix Kahlua, corn syrup and instant coffee granules until well blended.
In medium bowl, combine cookie crumbs, powdered sugar and almonds. Mix well.
Pour coffee mixture over crumb mixture, blending well.
Shape dough into 1-inch balls.
Roll each ball in powdered sugar two times, making certain to coat each cookie well.
Cookies can be stored in an airtight covered container for up to 1 week.

Almond Snowballs from Food Network

3/4 cup sliced almonds
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup unsalted butter, sliced and softened (1 1/2 sticks)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon almond extract
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
1 cup confectioners' sugar

Pulse the almonds and sugar in a food processor until very finely ground. Add the butter and process until smooth, about 1 minute. Scrape the dough off the inside of the bowl, if needed. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and pulse to combine. Add the flour and salt and pulse to make a soft dough. Turn the dough out onto a large piece of waxed paper and roll into a log about 15 inches long and 1 1/2 inches wide. Wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Cut the chilled dough into 1/2-inch pieces and roll by hand into balls. Space the cookies evenly on the prepared baking sheets and bake until slightly golden, rotating the sheets once, 15 to 20 minutes. Put the confectioners' sugar in a pie plate. Briefly cool the cookies on a rack, then gently toss in the confectioners' sugar until evenly coated. Return to rack, cool to room temperature, and then toss again in the confectioners' sugar.

Taste of Home's Cherry Snowball Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 jar (6 ounces) maraschino cherries without stems, drained and halved
Additional confectioners' sugar

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and confectioners' sugar; gradually add flour. Shape a tablespoonful of dough around each cherry, forming a ball. Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets.Bake at 325° for 18-20 minutes or until the bottoms are browned. Roll warm cookies in confectioners' sugar. Cool on wire racks. Yield: about 2-1/2 dozen.

Double-Chocolate Snowballs from Crazy for Crust

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Special Dark, use your favorite)
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup mini chocolate chips
Additional powdered sugar, for rolling (about 1 – 1 1/2 cups)


Preaheat oven to 375°. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Mix butter, 1/2 cup powdered sugar, cocoa, and vanilla with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add flour and salt and mix until the dough comes together. Stir in the chocolate chips. If dough is too soft, chill it until you can work it easily with your hands.
Scoop 1 tablespoon balls of dough and place on prepared cookie sheet.
Bake cookies for 7-10 minutes until bottoms are just slightly brown and the tops are no longer glossy. Remove from oven and cool for 5-10 minutes, until you can handle them. Fill a small bowl with 1 cup powdered sugar and roll each cookie in the sugar until coated. Place on a rack to cool. (Once cookies are cooled, you may want to re-roll them in more powdered sugar.)

Lemon Snowballs from Cooking Classy

2 cups (282g) all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp (24g) cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup (8 oz) butter, softened
2/3 cup (84g) powdered sugar
Zest of 2 lemons (about 4 tsp)
2 tsp lemon extract
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup (68g) finely chopped almonds
1 1/2 cups (180g) powdered sugar, for coating


In a mixing bowl whisk together flour, cornstarch and salt, set aside.
In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix butter on medium speed until creamy, about 20 seconds. Blend in 2/3 cup powdered sugar. Mix in lemon zest, lemon extract and vanilla extract. With mixer set on low speed slowly add in flour mixture and mix just until combine. Stir in almonds. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and chill 30 minutes, preheat oven to 350 degrees halfway through chilling.
Scoop dough out 1 Tbsp at a time and roll into a ball, then place balls on Silpat or parchment paper lined baking sheets, spacing cookies about 2-inches apart and bake in preheated oven for 14 - 16 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool several minutes then while cookies are still warm, pour 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar into a bowl and roll cookies in powdered sugar. Transfer to a wire rack to cool then once cookies are cool, roll in powdered sugar once more, this time to generously coat (I pressed it into the powdered sugar to give it a thick coating). Store cookies in an airtight container.

Chocolate Espresso Snowballs from Delish

2 stick softened unsalted butter, plus more for greasing
½ c. sugar
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1¾ c. all-purpose flour
¼ c. Unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp. instant espresso powder
½ tsp. salt
2 c. finely chopped pecans
Confectioners' sugar, for coating
DIRECTIONS
In a large bowl, mix the butter, sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Stir in the flour, cocoa, espresso powder, and salt until thoroughly blended. Stir in the pecans. Cover the dough and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly butter 2 cookie sheets. Working in batches, roll the dough into tablespoon-size balls, and place about 2 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheets. Bake in the upper and lower thirds of the oven for 15 minutes, until the tops are dry and the cookies are slightly firm to the touch. Let the cookies cool on the sheets for 10 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely; roll in confectioners' sugar to coat.

Nutella Snowballs from Life Made Sweeter

1/2 cup Nutella, frozen into 1/2 teaspoon portions
1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (measured correctly - spoon & level method)
1 cup finely chopped pecans (or nuts of your choice)
More powdered sugar for rolling cookies - about 1/3 - 1/2 cup

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Scoop sixteen 1/3 - 1/2 teaspoon sized balls of Nutella and place them on the baking sheet. Place baking sheet in freezer for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, line another large (or two medium) baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Set aside.
In a stand mixer or using your hand mixer, cream butter and sugar together, until light and fluffy - about 3-4 minutes. Add vanilla and slowly add flour and mix until just combined. Fold in chopped pecans. beating at low speed, scraping bowl as necessary, until well mixed.
Scoop out ONE tablespoon sized dough balls and flatten in your palm. Place ONE frozen Nutella ball and place into the middle of each dough ball. (Work with one frozen Nutella ball at a time and keep the rest in the freezer so they stay frozen)
Add another ONE tablespoon of cookie dough on top and press the sides together and wrap dough around and roll into balls.
Place on prepared cookie sheet. Repeat until all the dough is used up. Chill entire baking sheet in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Bake cookies for 14-15 minutes until bottoms are just slightly brown - rotating pans halfway through. Be careful not to over-bake.
Remove from oven and cool on baking pan for about 2 minutes until you can handle them comfortably with your hands.
Meanwhile, sift 1/3 cup icing sugar into a medium bowl. While cookies are still warm, roll them in icing sugar. Place cookies on cooling rack, once they have cooled completely, roll them in icing sugar again.
Store cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 days or freeze for up to one month.

Classic Scottish Shortbread from King Arthur Flour

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
generous 1/2 teaspoon salt*
1 cup oats, traditional or quick
1 1/2 cups flour
*If you use salted butter, reduce the salt to 1/4 teaspoon


Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease an 8" round cake pan.
The easiest way to make the dough is in a food processor. Place all of the ingredients into the work bowl, and process to make a smooth, sticky dough.
If you don't have a food processor, grind the oats in a blender before using. If you don't have a blender or food processor, use quick oats, rather than traditional. Combine the oats with the remaining ingredients, and mix until smooth.
Press the dough into the prepared pan, and score it into 16 wedges. A knife or baker's bench knife, dipped in water between cuts, is the tool to use here.
Bake the shortbread for 35 to 40 minutes, until it's firm and golden brown. Remove it from the oven, and after 5 minutes turn it out of the pan onto a piece of parchment, or a clean work surface. Cut all the way through the score marks to make wedges. Place them on a rack to cool completely.
Yield: 16 shortbread wedges.

Almond Fantasy Bars

Makes about 3 dozen

½ cup packed almond paste (about 5 oz; not marzipan), coarsely crumbled
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¾ cup granulated sugar
2 sticks (1 cup) salted butter, room temperature
1 egg yolk, white reserved
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
Reserved egg white, lightly beaten
½ cup sliced almonds (about 1 ½ ounces)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-inch square baking pan, then line with foil, leaving a 2 inch overhang on 2 opposite sides, and butter foil.

2. Pulse almond paste in food processor until broken up into small bits. Add salt and ¼ cup sugar and continue to pulse until finely ground, about 1 minute.

3. In an electric stand mixer with paddle attachment, beat together butter and remaining ½ cup sugar at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

4. Add almond mixture, egg yolk, and almond extract. Beat until well combined, about 2 minutes.

5. Reduce speed to low, add flour and mix until combined.

6. Spread batter evenly in pan with offset spatula. Brush some of lightly beaten egg white over batter and sprinkle with sliced almonds. Press lightly to adhere.

7. Bake until top is golden, 40-45 minutes. Cool completely in pan on rack, about 1 hour. Transfer with foil to cutting board, discard foil. Cut into bars.

Note: Cookies keep, layered between parchment, in airtight container at room temperature 4 days. Freeze for 2 months wrapped in foil in plastic ziptop bag.


Almond and Rose Petal Squares
1 1/4 cups icing sugar
3 egg whites
1 1/4 cups ground almonds
2 tbsp. rose petal jam (or your favorite jam or preserve)
3/4 cup shortcrust/pie pastry or try puff pastry in a pinch.
3/4 cup slivered almonds

Preheat the oven to 375 F.
Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface, pat into 8″ or 9″ square pan.
Prick the pastry with a fork and spread jam evenly over top.
Sift the icing sugar and mix in the ground almonds in a small bowl.
In a grease-free metal bowl whisk the eggs whites until stiff, then fold in the almond and icing sugar mixture.
Spread over the prepared pastry and sprinkle the slivered almonds.
Bake for an hour until golden brown and firm to the touch. Cool in the tin, then cut into squares.


Cardamom and Rose Tea Cookies by Meredith Steele
1 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups walnuts, finely chopped (the smaller the better)
3 Tablespoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon cardamom
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract or paste
2 1/2 teaspoons rose water
1/4 (1 stick) pound butter, room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 300°F. In a large bowl, combine flour, walnuts, sugar, and cardamom. Add the vanilla extract, rose water, and butter in small pieces. With your hands, combine everything together until it resembles a coarse meal.
Form the dough into 1 inch balls by gently squeezing the dough together and rolling it between your hands. Place the dough balls on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Next, place the cookie sheet in the oven and bake for 35 minutes. Once the cookies are finished baking, carefully transfer to a cooling rack to cool slightly.
Place the powdered sugar on a plate for rolling. Once the cookies have cooled but are still warm to the touch, roll the cookies in the sugar until evenly coated. Return the cookies to the cooling rack and allow to cool completely. Once the cookies have cooled completely, roll them once again in the powdered sugar for a second coat. Serve

Brownie Roll-Out Cookies*
Recipe from Deb’s mom, Smitten Kitchen

3 cups (375 grams) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon (3 grams) salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup (225 grams) lightly salted butter, softened (Deb note: I don’t really see “lightly salted” much these days, so I used one stick salted, one stick unsalted)
1 1/2 (300 grams) cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa (approximately 60 grams — weights can vary a bit depending on brand. I use the “good” stuff–Droste, Galler or Valrhona –but I can assure you that my mother only used Hershey’s growing up, so your choice)

Preheat oven at 350 degrees. Whisk dry flour, salt and baking powder in bowl and set aside. Mix butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla and cocoa in mixer. Gradually add flour mixture, and mix until smooth. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least one hour.

Roll out cookie dough on floured counter. Cut into desired shapes, brushing extra deposits of flour off the top. (It does disappear once baked, though, so don’t overly fret if they go into the oven looking white.) Bake on a parchment-lined baking sheet for 8 to 11 minutes (the former for 1/8-inch thick cookies, the latter for 1/4-inch cookies) until the edges are firm and the centers are slightly soft and puffed.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

* According to my mother’s recipe, they’re called chocolate sugar cookies but I do not feel that it does them justice.

Salted Peanut Butter Cookies from Smitten Kitchen
Barely adapted, just a bunch of extra notes, from the Ovenly cookbook

Yield 26 to 28 cookies with a 1 2/3 tablespoon or #40 scoop. (I halved the recipe and regret it so much.)

1 3/4 cups (335 grams) packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups (450 grams) smooth peanut butter (see note at end)
Coarse-grained sea salt, to finish

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

In a medium bowl, whisk together the light brown sugar and eggs until smooth. Whisk in the vanilla extract, then the peanut butter until smooth and completely incorporated; you shouldn’t be able to see any ribbons of peanut butter. Ovenly says you know the dough is ready when it has the consistency of Play-Doh, but I can tell you as the mom of a Play-Doh fanatic that mine was thinner, softer.

If you’d like to get those pretty striations across the top of the cookies, chill the dough by freezing it in its bowl for 15 minutes, stirring it once (so the edges don’t freeze first), before scooping it. If you’re not obsessed with these markings, you can scoop it right away. Scoop or spoon the dough into balls — Ovenly uses about a 1/4-cup scoop (probably #16); I use a 1 2/3 tablespoons or #40 scoop. Place on prepared pan. For the tallest final shape, place the tray in the freezer for 15 minutes before baking.

Sprinkle the dough balls lightly with coarse-grained sea salt just before baking. Bake smaller cookies for 14 to 15 minutes and larger for 18 to 20. When finished, cookies should be golden at edges. They’ll need to set on the sheet for a minute or two before they can be lifted intact to a cooling sheet. Trust me, you should let these cool completely before eating so the different textures (crisp outside, soft inside) can set up.

Do ahead: You can definitely make the dough in advance and either refrigerate it for a couple days or freeze it longer. However, if I were going to freeze it, I’d probably go ahead and scoop it first. You can bake them right from the freezer.

About chilling the dough: The Ovenly recipe says you can scoop and bake the cookies right away, but they keep their shape better if you chill them in the freezer for 15 minutes first. I tried it with and without and did find a better dome and final shape with the 15 minutes after. However, I was incredibly charmed by the striated marks from the cookie scoop on top of the cookie I bought last weekend, as well as in the photo in their book, and I realized that I couldn’t get it at home with just-mixed dough; you’ll get more of a blob shape from your scoop. So, I also chilled the dough for 15 minutes before scooping it and was then satisfied with the shape. It’s not necessary unless you’re as taken with top pattern as I am.

Two questions I suspect someone will ask very soon: Can you make this with all-natural peanut butter and can you make this with almond or a nut butter? The answer to both is yes, however, the authors themselves warn that you’ll get the best final shape and texture from a smooth, thick processed peanut butter like Skippy (their recommendation; updated to note, thanks to a commenter suggestion, that the 16.3-ounce jar of Skippy is estimated to contain 1 3/4 cups, saving you some measuring). I suspect an almond or cashew butter will have a similar effect as natural peanut butter. 

Bake Off!

We're not cooking Thanksgiving, but we have tried some new recipes recently. In fact, Sis is a baking fiend. She's on Pinterest a lot, choosing recipes, planning what to make next. We even had a Great Brownie Bake-Off; she made our regular recipe and I made Mama Teacher's special brownies. It was a tie, but the fun part was pretending we were on the Great British Bake Off, one of our favorite shows--Bud even interviewed us! She makes great crepes, especially in our new ceramic non-stick skillet, and has a recent thing for micorwavable mug cakes, which I don't quite understand. 

Perhaps she should start her own baking blog!

Mama Teacher's Special Brownies

1 pkg. (4 oz.) BAKER'S Unsweetened Chocolate 




3/4 cup butter or margarine 



2 cups sugar 



3 eggs 



1 tsp. vanilla 



1 cup flour 




Heat oven to 350°F. Line 13x9-inch pan with aluminum foil with ends of foil extending over sides. 

Spray foil with cooking spray.

Microwave chocolate and butter in large microwaveable bowl on HIGH 2 min. or until butter is

melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Stir in sugar. Blend in eggs and vanilla. Add flour

and nuts; mix well. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake 30 to 35 min. or until toothpick inserted in center comes out with fudgy crumbs. (Do not

overbake.) Cool completely. Use foil handles to remove brownies from pan before cutting to serve.

Molten Nutella Lava Mug Cake

• from Kirbie's Cravings
• 4 tbsp all purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 cup Nutella
• 3 tbsp fat free milk

Preheat oven to 350F. In an oven-safe mug (it won't rise too high, so an 8 oz is fine), add all four ingredients. Mix with a mini whisk vigorously until batter is completely mixed and smooth.

Place mug on a baking sheet and then place into oven. Bake for approximately 16-18 minutes (mine took exactly 17 1/2 minutes). Watch the cake carefully towards the end. You want the cake to have puffed up except the center, which should still look dark and not completely set (but no longer wet, like photo above). Let cake cool a few moments before eating. You can top with powdered sugar and eat with ice cream if desired.

Molten Chocolate Lava Mug Cake
from Girl on Gourmet

2 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
1 egg
3 tablespoons heavy cream
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons unsweetened baking cocoa
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 pinch of salt
3 tablespoons semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/4 cup vanilla bean ice cream (optional)

Combine the butter, egg, and cream together in a coffee mug until well combined. Add the flour and sugar and keep stirring. Add the cocoa, vanilla, and salt and stir until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.
Place the mug in a microwave and cook for 2 minutes. Remove the mug from the microwave and let it sit for a few minutes to cool.
Top the cake with the ice cream, grab a spoon, and dig in.

Sis's #1 Crepes

from Sweet as Honey

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour (230g)
3 eggs
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract optional
1 teaspoon white sugar optional
2 cups milk
2 tablespoons butter melted or vegetable oil of your choice

In a large bowl add the flour, eggs, salt, vanilla extract, melted butter and sugar if used.

Using a whisk or electric mixer, beat in the milk gradually until a smooth batter form with no lumps.
Heat a lightly buttered crepes pan over medium/high heat.
Pour or scoop the batter onto the pan, then tip and rotate the pan to spread batter as thinly as possible.

Brown on both sides about 1-2 minutes on each sides and serve hot with your favorite fillings

Recipe Notes

Store: you can cook all the crepes then store them in the fridge, on a plate covered with plastic wrap. It store well up to 2 days.

Filling ideas: jam, chocolate spread, honey, maple syrup, apple compote, fruits, nut butters, whipped cream, ice cream, nuts, coconut and more!

Chocolate Lava Cakes

from Sally's Baking Addiction

6 ounces (170g) high quality semi-sweet chocolate
1/2 cup (115g; 1 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 cup (31g) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (60g) confectioners' sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks²
optional for topping: ice cream, raspberries, and/or chocolate syrup

Spray each ramekin with nonstick cooking spray and dust with cocoa powder. This ensures the cakes will seamlessly come out of the ramekins when inverted onto a plate in step 7. *Or spray half of a 12-count muffin pan and dust with cocoa powder. If baking in a muffin pan, the recipe will yield 6 cakes.

Preheat oven to 425°F (218°C).

Coarsely chop the chocolate. Place butter into a medium heat-proof bowl, then add chopped chocolate on top. Microwave on high in 10 second increments, stirring after each until completely smooth. Set aside.

Whisk the flour, confectioners' sugar, and salt together in a small bowl. Whisk the eggs and egg yolks together until combined in another small bowl. Pour the flour mixture and eggs into the bowl of chocolate. Slowly stir everything together using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon. If there are any lumps, gently use your whisk to rid them. The batter will be slightly thick.

Spoon chocolate batter evenly into each prepared ramekin or muffin cup.

Place ramekins onto a baking sheet and bake for 12-14 minutes until the sides appear solid and firm-- the tops will still look soft. *If baking in a muffin pan, the cakes only take about 8-10 minutes.
Allow to cool for 1 minute, then cover each with an inverted plate and turn over. Use an oven mitt because those ramekins are hot! The cakes should release easily from the ramekin. *If you used a muffin pan, use a spoon to release the cakes from the pan and place each upside down on plates.
Add toppings. Serve immediately.

Make ahead tip and freezing: You can prepare the batter through step 4. Cover tightly and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Allow to come to room temperature before continuing with step 5. You can freeze the baked lava cakes for up to 3 months. Allow them to cool completely before freezing. Re-heat in the microwave.

Recipe Notes:

Make sure to use high quality chocolate, not chocolate chips. You won't have much "lava" with chocolate chips! I suggest high quality chocolate baking bars sold in the baking aisle such as Baker's, Ghirardelli, Nestle, or Lindt. They're all typically sold in 4 ounce bars, so you will need 1 and 1/2 bars total.

A note on the eggs-- for this recipe, you need 2 whole eggs plus an addition 2 egg yolks. After 10-14 minutes in an oven this hot, the eggs should be cooked to 160°F which is considered safe to eat. If you're concerned, you can take the temperature to be sure!

Birthday Weekend in Vermont

Having enjoyed Vermont so much this fall, we decided to visit again, this time in winter and, after the events of the last few weeks--deaths and politics--it was good for us to get away for a holiday weekend (I'm sorry we missed you this time, Sew and Sow.)  And it was marvelous!  Here are a few snapshots outlining the fun.




Our first stop in Vermont was the Vermont Country Store.  It's a rest stop, snack place, and souvenir shop.  We started our holiday shopping, picking up things for each other and friends and family.  We did not buy the hat that Bud models here!

A lovely tree with cookie ornaments

Next up:  King Arthur Flour.  Last time, we arrived very late in the day, when the bakery was almost completely empty of its goodies.  So we made an effort to arrive midday.  Oh, so good.  We had lunch--tasty grilled cheese, delicious homemade kaiser rolls, chocolate croissants, cardamom roll, and my favorite almond cloud cookies.  I liked the quote on the wall near the cafe, "All sorrows are less with bread" (Cervantes.)  And of course we did some shopping.  Sis was so excited to pick up boxes of cinnamon puff muffin mix, her new favorite.  And I got some unique mixes--Portuguese sweet rolls, Scottish oat bread, orange cranberry brioche. It was a tasty way to begin the weekend.

Another stop we made on the way was the Vermont Toy and Train Museum in Quechee.  There we wandered amid the displays of toys from our childhoods--Cher doll, Luke and Leia dolls, Donnie and Marie dolls, Holly Hobby dolls, various lunchboxes including Holly Hobby, Happy Meal toys, bubble bath dispenses, boxed Halloween costumes with plastic masks, Fisher Price Little People.  And there was a great model train through the Vermont countryside in summer, fall, and winter.


In the same complex, there were various shops, including an antiques store, with old photos ("instant ancestors"), tools, tea sets, food tins.  Fun to wander with the kids.

And then we arrived in Woodstock, considered one of the most picturesque towns in the country.  With holiday decorations, snow, early American houses, a preserved downtown including old dry goods store and pharmacy and unique shops, covered bridge, nearby river, and the surrounding mountains, it really is a great little place.  And we were staying at the Woodstock Inn, a venerable hotel sitting back from the town green.  (Lambeth, the kids said it was second only to the Lainston as their favorite place to stay!)

In our room were two treats--chocolate-covered strawberries and a notice that we would be riding in the town's Wassail parade, on the hotel's own wagon, both arranged by Mama and the concierge for my birthday!!!!  Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful.  It made for the perfect weekend.

But before the parade Saturday afternoon, we spent Saturday morning wandering the town, listening to the high school band play carols, and visiting the Dana House and the historical society with its displays on Christmas past.  (This was after breakfast, when we discovered our waitress grew up in the town we live in and her cousin owns the deli near our pediatrician's office.  Small world.)  Sis and Bud even ran down to the river behind the house, enjoying the snow (which we haven't really had in Connecticut.)

The parade!!  Mama had given me a heads-up about it, actually, first to see if I were interested and second so that I could pick a festive outfit.  As the theme was Victorian, I wore one of my long historic house skirts and my lovely blue wool cloak from Gommie, under which were layers of sweaters, leggings, extra skirts, and warm socks--because the morning temperature had been 3F!!  We all got a ride to the staging area where Sis was in her element around all of the horses.  Across from us was the donkey brigade which we just read about in the morning's paper (the group helps youth and adults with developmental disabilities who take care of the miniature donkeys.)  The little donkeys wear stuffed animals on their backs and pull small carts, led by their handlers.

And then we got on our wagon, wearing matching plaid fleece scarves supplied by the hotel.  The festooned wagon was led by two humongous Belgian draft horses.  We rode along with another family and an older couple, singing "Rudolph," "Jingle Bells," and "We Wish You a Merry Christmas!" and waving to the crowds (over 2,000 cheering people!)  It really was wonderful to see all the holiday cheer.  And I liked seeing the old town from the wagon, which put me back in the 19th century.  Though, it was pretty cold.

After the parade, we warmed up by the fire at the hotel with hot chocolate (and Bailey's!)  At 4pm, we went to look at the town tree, Yule bonfire, and luminaries as the sun set.  Dinner was the Wassail Feast at the hotel, with a variety of dishes such as prime rib, sliced salmon, Yorkshire Pudding, pumpkin bread pudding, buche de noel, and trifle.  Mama and I made Yard of Flannel--hot apple cider and rum-whipped cream--and sat by the fire.

That evening we sat in the room, warming up from the day.  I worked on my crocheted birthday blanket, in Lion Brand Thick and Quick Celestial Stripes.  The kids made Rainbow Loom bands and played with their light-up wheelie bopper toys from the Vermont Country Store.  (It was a no-screen weekend.)

Sunday, though it was cold again, we went to Billings Farm--with its draft horses, decorated farmhouse, and craft activities.  The kids dipped their own candles and then Bud made a pomander with cloves and a clementine.  Sis was enamored with the white Percheron draft horses and some more Belgians.  And I liked the snow, the barns, and the warm kitchen with apple pie and roasted pumpkins.

  

On our way home, we ate at delicious Worthy Kitchen (poutine!  fried chicken!  pickled pineapple!)  and then moseyed our way home.  We did stop at the lake we'd visited with my folks in October--it was completely frozen and snow-covered.  I did a 20-yard hike into the woods and watched Sis poked the ice with her toes.   

We got home after dark, with snow falling gently on our town, the last little treat of the weekend.

My favorite photo, from town (actually taken from the car as we drove by.)

-=-=-=-=-=-=-

There was one uncomfortable thing that happened repeatedly in Vermont:  there were a lot of questions about our family, race- and/or gender-based.  From the woman at King Arthur Flour who thanked me for having a big heart and adopting Sis, to a white woman who said hi to Mama in Mandarin and was surprised she didn't speak Chinese, to the six or seven people (and I'm not exaggerating here) who mistook Mama for a boy/my son, Sis for a boy, and Bud for a girl.  Never have so many assumptions been spoken to us aloud by so many in such a short time.  It was rather disconcerting.  We've had less trouble in rural Texas, for goodness sake.  Come on, Vermont, what's with that?  (And no, it wasn't just the tourists from elsewhere.)
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