Rich Chocolate Cookies

Last week I was playing around, as I so often do, with chocolate chip cookie recipes, and I decided to blend the elements of three of my favorite recipes together into one cookie. What I got in the end was a dark, rich cookie that was cakey and not too sugary – exactly how I enjoy my chocolate chip cookies. Normally, I use semi-sweet chips in my cookies, but given the addition of unsweetened cocoa powder, milk chocolate chips work perfectly to soften the flavor.
As usual, I had a wonderful time experimenting in the kitchen, and I wanted to save this particular recipe, as I feel that it's a bit more special than regular chocolate chip cookies, but not overly fancy: just a simple, delicious drop cookie of chocolaty goodness.

Rich Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
¾ cup packed brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 large eggs
¼ cup milk
2 cups milk chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a small bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. In a medium bowl, blend together the sugars, butter, and vanilla extract. Add the eggs one at a time. Gradually beat in the flour mixture, alternating with the milk. Stir in chocolate chips.
3. Bake for 11-13 minutes and cool on a wire rack.

The Sweet Summer Berries to Come

The abundance of Spring produce that entices us with their fresh, sustaining scents and flavors fills me with unlimited gratitude, especially now that I am able to spend so much of my time on an organic farm here in the Pacific Northwest. Never have I felt so close to the food that I eat: the fresh spinach I had for lunch, my breakfast eggs that had been plucked from the hen house only a day before, the texture of homemade bread baked through with hand-picked rosemary. Each meal and snack is a treat for the senses and a gift to the body.

Living in this area of the country, I am particularly thrilled for berry season. While I love my assortment of vegetables, berries are my weakness. I'm looking forward to days where I consume nothing but fruit and homemade bread, the occasional nibble of cheese thrown in here and there for good measure. This past weekend, I enjoyed a little preview of what berry season can mean to Washington State when my boyfriend and I picked up a 3 pound bag of frozen berries, straight from Remlinger Farm in nearby Carnation, WA. Our initial plan was to make a mixed berry cobbler for dessert, but there was such an abundance of berry delightfulness I was able to put together a whole second mixed berry dessert – Berry Crumb Bars – the next day.

I've always loved the month of June, but this year I'm full of another level of anticipation: strawberry season begins mid-June at Remlinger Farm, with raspberries and blueberries following close after. That, combined with the copious amount of wild blackberry bushed in this beautiful state, stand to guarantee a gloriously colossal array of fruit-filled desserts...assuming, of course, that the berries make it home at all.

Mixed Berry Cobbler

From Cooking Light Magazine

Ingredients:
2 cups granola
½ cup milk
2 (12-oz.) packages frozen mixed berries
¼ cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 tsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. cardamom
¼ tsp. ground nutmeg

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350º. Stir together granola and milk in a small bowl. Let stand 5 minutes.
2. Toss together berries and next 5 ingredients in a large bowl. Spoon berry mixture into a 8-inch square baking dish.
3. Stir granola mixture, and spoon over berry mixture. Lightly coat with cooking spray.
4. Bake at 350º for 1 hour or until bubbly.

Berry Crumb Bars

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tbsp. white sugar
2 tsp. lemon zest
1 pinch salt
½ cup butter, chilled and diced
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Filling:
2 ½ cups mixed berries
¼ cup white sugar
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Topping:
5 tbsp. butter, softened
½ cup packed brown sugar
¾ cup all-purpose flour

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400º. Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together the 2 cups flour, 2 tablespoons white sugar, lemon zest and salt. Cut in the 1/2 cup butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Beat egg and vanilla together; stir into the crumb mixture. Press into the bottom of the prepared pan.
3. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden. Remove from oven and set aside to cool slightly.
4. Sprinkle berries over the crust. In a small bowl, combine the 1/4 cup sugar and nutmeg; sprinkle over the berries. Make the topping: In a medium bowl, cream together the 5 tablespoons butter and brown sugar until smooth. Mix in the flour until the mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle over the berry layer.
5. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, until browned.

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

As is common knowledge, I have quite the soft spot for cookies; it doesn't matter if they are the most traditional of traditional, the same chocolate chip cookies that have been made since the dawn of Hershey's, or if they are strange, adventurous recipes that mix unlikely partners in a surprisingly tasty and offbeat snack.

Peanut Butter cookies are on my list of classic cookies that adorn every bakery case, and I've never found the need to experiment much with them – some chocolate chips or cocoa powder here and there, perhaps. But when I found this recipe for peanut butter cookies, I was amazed at the different, and altogether wholesome, ingredient list: oats, wheat bran, whole wheat flour. I knew I had to try these cookies, and add my own twists. I replaced applesauce for the butter, used raw sugar instead of granulated, and reduced the overall amount of sugar (only slightly with the brown sugar).

The original recipe also made no mention of chocolate chips, and I figured that must have been a printing error of some sort; the chocolate only enhances the peanut butter flavor, and it provides a good, sweet balance to the bran and the oats.
The cookies, then, turned out not only delicious, but nourishing (at least partly so, or as much as a cookie can nourish). At the very least, my spirit was heartily stimulated after eating a couple of these Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies.

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
Yield: About 4 dozen

Ingredients:

½ cup applesauce
¾ cup raw sugar
1 cup peanut butter
1 ¼ cup whole wheat flour
¾ cup rolled oats
¾ cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup wheat bran
2 tsp. baking soda

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, beat together applesauce, sugars, vanilla, peanut butter, and eggs. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, bran, oats, and baking soda. Slowly stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture until smooth. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto an ungreased baking sheet.
3. Bake 15-17 minutes. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

Birthday Banana Cake

Like so many bakers, one of the greatest joys I get from baking is creating something that I can give to another person, offering them a present that comes not only from my heart, but from my hands. Artists and carpenters, potters and knitters, poets and farmers all can relate to this feeling, I'm sure. And while I enjoy picking up presents for my loved ones as I may find them in various shops and markets throughout my travels, what brings me the most happiness is to give a gift of a baked good from my very own kitchen. When I'm in a whimsical mood, I even like to think that my baked presents are doubly fine, since they're so copiously sprinkled with tenderness and affection.

But aside from my secret magic ingredients, whatever they may be, I also like to hand-pick a recipe based on the recipient, as I would any other gift. And since there is a special person in my life who is celebrating a birthday very soon, I wanted to find a dessert that he would especially savor: one that I found just for him. With that in mind, I searched for banana cakes (as it's for a birthday, I simply needed to make a cake of some kind; and since this particular person is so fond of banana bread, I wanted to find a cake with similar properties).
I found the following recipe, and with it I saw a long thread of comments celebrating the cake and the brilliance of the recipe. My experience with the cake was not far off from that of the commentators, but I would offer a possible alteration.

One primary remark about the cake was it's unrivaled moistness; while I won't dispute that, I found that the center of the cake was not so much moist as it was under baked. To avoid ruining the entire thing, I opted to leave the center as it was, and not over bake the perimeter. To remedy this, I think I would simply try a higher baking temperature, and monitor it closely to see what length of time in the oven works best. Other than this slight problem, the cake came out wonderfully. It boasted the perfect amount of banana flavor, and although the same could not be said of the frosting, the cake itself was not too sweet: one of the key elements of a strong banana bread. However, the frosting truly completed the cake, in my opinion.

It was a birthday cake that warranted second and third helpings, abundant praise, and a grateful hug from the birthday boy. With reactions like that, I would certainly try this cake again, experimenting a bit more, but with a general security in its delicious outcome.

Banana Cake

Ingredients:
Cake:
1 1/2 cups bananas, mashed, ripe
2 teaspoons lemon juice
3 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter, softened
2 1/8 cups sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
Frosting:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
Chopped walnuts

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 275°. Grease and flour a 9 x 13 pan.
2. In a small bowl, mix mashed banana with the lemon juice; set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt; set aside. In a large bowl, cream 3/4 cup butter and 2 1/8 cups sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then stir in 2 tsp vanilla. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk.
4. Stir in banana mixture.
5. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake in preheated oven for 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven and place directly into the freezer for 45 minutes.
6. For the frosting, cream the butter and cream cheese until smooth. Beat in 1 teaspoon vanilla. Add icing sugar and beat on low speed until combined, then on high speed until frosting is smooth. Spread on cooled cake. Sprinkle chopped walnuts over top of the frosting, if desired.

Not-So-Bad Lemon Bars

Once upon a time, there was a magical recipe for the most luscious lemon bars in all the land, and I had access to this brilliant recipe card, and the treasure that could be created from its contents. These lemon bars were foolproof, they were creamy and sweet and tart and a joy to consume. Of course, I have no idea where that recipe has disappeared to, but I've intermittently spent the rest of my days searching for a lemon bar recipe that replicates this long-lost culinary jewel.

Unfortunately, I have not quite succeeded.

That seems like an awfully unfair thing to say here, as I follow with a recipe for lemon bars that I made recently; like telling a child that although his drawing is passable and may take up space on the refrigerator for a few days, it will never live up to his dead older brother's masterpiece painting, which is now hanging in the living room above the sofa.

Perhaps that isn't the most precise analogy...the lemon bars below are more than simply passable; they are quite good – tangy, light, and refreshing – though they still are not the lemon bars I was searching for. They would make any bake sale or picnic a bit more cheerful, with their bright yellow hue and lovely lemony aroma. But I'm not sure that I would bake them again, knowing that the bar I am looking for is still out there. However, I feel responsible for putting this recipe out there, as one I have tried. These bars are very simple to make and have quite a low-key ingredient list; a trip to the grocery store is most likely not even needed to make these, so they would be a perfect last-minute dessert to put together if guests were coming over or if they were needed for an emergency surprise party.

Lemon Bars

Ingredients:
Cookie Base:
1 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
Lemon Filling:
2 cups sugar
4 tablespoons unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
4 eggs
6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon rind

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together butter, powdered sugar and flour until well blended. Press mixture into the bottom of a 9x13-inch glass baking dish. Bake for 20 minutes.
2. Sift together sugar, flour and baking powder into a mixing bowl. Add eggs, lemon juice and lemon rind. Beat by hand or with electric mixer until well blended. Pour mixture over crust and bake for 25 minutes.
3. Allow bars to cool, then dust with powdered sugar and cut into squares.

Stress-free Lemon Coconut Chiffon Cake

In the past, the idea of throwing a “dinner party” has, for me, usually brought on an emotional combination of excitement and anxiety. The thought of having a house full of friends is very appealing, but the anxiety surfaced when I got caught up in overthinking the menu,the pre-party cleaning, the necessary amount of plates and silverware. I had always made dinner parties into hefty affairs, where the threat of a minor imperfection haunted me for days beforehand, even well into the party itself. I think this hostess distress is fairly common, but over the past several weeks, I've come to view “dinner parties” differently. What if, instead of worrying about how the apartment looked, I worry about nothing? What if, instead of obsessing over finding the ideal recipe for a main course, I obsessed over nothing? What if, instead of expecting something to go wrong, I expected nothing?

I've found this manner of dinner parties to me much more enjoyable and gratifying. Of course, there are times for the formal and nit-picked party, but I don't see why those should be the norm when having guests over. For me, I much prefer inviting a bunch of people over, cooking a lot of good food, and seeing where the evening might lead, hoping for nothing more than an entertaining night with friends.

And since for me, baking is a stress-reliever, as opposed to a stress-inducer, I decided to try a cake that I had wanted to make for some time, but hadn't yet had the proper audience. But the warm weather and a table full of friends prompted me to open up my copy of Baking Illustrated and try the Lemon Coconut Chiffon Cake. Although I pointedly did not stress over what they may have thought of the cake, I was still pleased when they smiled at their first bites and told me that it was absolutely wonderful: light, lemony, and moist.

Lemon Coconut Chiffon Cake

From Baking Illustrated

Ingredients:
Cake:
1 ½ cups sugar
1 1/3 cups flour
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
7 large eggs, 2 whole and 5 separated, room temperature
2/3 cups water
½ cup vegetable oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract
½ tsp. cream of tartar
Grated zest of 2 large lemons (about 3 tbsp.)
2 tbsp. strained lemon juice
1 cup lightly packed sweetened flaked coconut
Icing:
4 tbsp. (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted
5 tbsp. lemon juice
2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

Directions:
For the cake: 1. Adjust the rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 325 degrees. Whisk the sugar, flour, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. Whisk in the 2 whole eggs, 5 egg yolks (reserve the whites), water, oil, vanilla extract, zest, and lemon juice until the batter is just smooth.
2. Pour the reserved egg whites into another bowl and beat at low speed until foamy, about 1 minute. Add the cream of tartar and beat until the whites are very thick and stiff, just short of dry, about 10 minutes. Fold the whites into the batter.
3. Pour the batter into an ungreased large tube pan or bundt pan (9 inch diameter, 16 cup capacity). Rap the pan against the countertop a few times to rupture any air pockets.
Bake the cake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 55-65 minutes. Immediately turn the cake upside down to cool, and elevate it on a wire rack so that air can flow through the pan. Let the cake cool completely.
4. To unmold, turn the pan upright and run a knife around the pan's circumference. Use a skewer to loosen the cake. Invert onto a serving plate.
For the icing: 1. Beat the butter, lemon juice, and confectioners' sugar in a medium bowl until smooth. Let it stand 1 minute, then spread on the cake.

A Green Space of One's Own

Over the years, whether I was living in a college dorm, at home with family, or alone, I have consistently agreed with Virginia Woolf's assertion that a woman (or a man – an individual, in my opinion) must have a space of one's own. This, ideally, is a quiet space that is set apart from where the routine of day-to-day life takes place. It cannot be a kitchen or a bedroom, because in these places it is impossible to truly separate one's self from the entrapments of everyday life, and the roles that are played there; to find peace, and to allow creativity to flourish, there must be a specifically designated area where one can go: a spare room, a bench in a garden, a tree stump in the forest. The examples are endless, though still not always easy to find – especially when living in a city.

I'm still searching for the perfect space of my own here, but I'm pleased to find that I did not need to travel far to find a green space of my own. Luckily, my apartment had a delightful, small balcony, perfectly sized for a bistro table, a couple of chairs, and a selection of plants and herbs (although it is just the right size for a small bee hive as well, which would be simply ideal for me, the location isn't quite suited for it). But the herbs seem to be thriving in my little green space.
It was with a superfluous amount of excitement that I first brought home a lavender plant a couple of weeks ago, and my thrill hardly diminished as the lavender was followed by sage, thyme, and then rosemary. They go well with the potted pea plant, and I'm brainstorming on what else I can add to my pseudo-garden.

The reason, naturally, for my burgeoning herb collection is to have a host a fresh herbs at my disposal for spring and summer baking. My inaugural expedition into baking with fresh-picked herbs was with the following Rosemary Shortbread. Even if these cookies had turned out to be inedible (which was not the case at all), the fragrance that filled my kitchen as these baked in the oven would have been solely worth the effort. Fortunately, the cookies turned out wonderful – crumbly, buttery, aromatic. One sampler even gushed that these were, quite literally, some of the best cookies he had ever tasted.

If this recipe is any indication of what I have to look forward to with my herb garden, it is going to be a splendid season.

Rosemary shortbread

Ingredients:

3/4 sticks (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
1 tbsp. honey
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary leaves
Garnish: small rosemary sprigs

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. and butter a 9-inch cake pan.
2. In a bowl with an electric mixer beat butter and honey with sugar until light and fluffy. In another bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and rosemary. Beat flour mixture into butter mixture until just combined.
3. On a lightly floured surface knead dough about 8 times, or until it just comes together. With floured hands press dough evenly into pan or mold. Press small rosemary sprigs on top.
4. Bake shortbread in middle of oven 20 to 30 minutes, or until pale golden, and let stand in pan for 10 minutes. While shortbread is still warm, loosen edges from pan with a small knife and invert onto your hand covered with a kitchen towel. Invert shortbread onto a cutting board and cut halfway through round along score marks. Cool shortbread on a rack.