Caramelized Plum Galette

Two weekends ago I visited my sister in Pittsburgh, where among sisterly activities such as thrifting, eating corn fritters, and tallying the number of cicadas that Trout (cat) killed, we also had a dinner party of sorts.  I'm going to hijack the nuanced reason and say that it was a test drive for Olly Oxen Free, which is the secret cafe that I've been doing in Washington, DC (well, did once anyway).  The menu, was a simple savory tomato and thyme tart, an all greens and herbs salad with shallot vinaigrette, a super delish roasted chicken, our adopted and adapted recipe for truffled macaroni and cheese, sweet corn custard with blueberry compote, and a plum and apricot galette with an almond-y crust.  Oh and an assortment of bar drinks, especially red wine spritzahs and a seriously good Katie-made St. Germain cocktail.

The dinner was awesome, the kitchen only a mild disaster, and the food coma so very severe that we skipped the Night of a Thousand Bowies in favor of unzipping on the couch and listening to the addling 4:00 a.m. ramble of a well-meaning neighbor.  In addition to learning that truffle is best goddamn flavor I have ever put in my mouth, I also discovered that plum desserts are totally underrated and  fully delightful. I got zero pictures of the evening (well almost zero, here's an iPhone snap), but the macaroni and the plum galette were my favorite edible parts, so I tinkered with and recreated the dessert recipe last weekend.  What follows is a caramelized and more buttery (and more photogenic) version of the galette from Pittsburgh. Baby, it's pure late summer in a pie shell. 

All-Butter Pastry Dough
(Makes enough for two crusts)

2 sticks unsalted butter, very cold
1 cup ice water, divided
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt

1.  Read this if you want to get some good advice about pie crust. I'll throw in some of my own hints, but Deb has compiled some excellent suggestions about how to keep your dough cold and your crust flaky.  Start by cubing your butter into small, half-inch pieces.  Put these in the freezer while you ready the rest of the ingredients.  Measure one cup of water, add some ice cubes and set aside to chill.

2.  I use a food processor for my dough, but was making wonderful crusts with a pastry blender until very recently. If your kitchen is very warm, you might want to chill the bowl or the blade of the processor to ensure that it cuts rather than melts the butter. Add all of your dry ingredients to the bowl of the processor, and pulse once or twice to blend the mixture. Sprinkle the cubes of butter over the top, and blend in pulses about 15 times, or until some pieces of butter are the size of peas, and the rest resembles oatmeal.

3.  Dump the mixture into a chilled, shallow bowl, and drizzle a half-cup of the ice water (minus de cubes) over the top.  Using a rubber spatula, cut the moisture quickly into the dough, gathering it together as you do. If the dough is too dry, add more water 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough comes together in a shaggy mess. (Sidenote: I never use more than two or three additional tablespoons of water, and generally keep it to a half-cup anyway, but this all depends on the moisture and heat in your kitchen!) Knead the dough gently a few times to make it come together more, divide into two equal pieces, and wrap in plastic wrap.  Flatten into disks and store in the fridge for at least an hour, preferably longer.

4.  If not using all of the dough that day, it will keep in the fridge for up to a week, wrapped in an additional layer of plastic.

Plum Filling 
Freely adapted from Sunday Suppers at Lucques

Suzanne Goin's recipe is for a plum tarte tatin with puff pastry, but since I lack a cast iron pan and love galettes, I used her caramelizing technique and scaled back the filling to make this summery tart with a crust.  Do not be dissuaded by all the text -- this recipe is simple and delightful.

1 1/2 pounds of plums, or about 12 small (I used a combination of Italian, red, and black), sliced vertically and pitted
1/4 cup + 6 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon lemon zest, optional
Pinch salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 egg

1.  In a medium bowl, gently mix plums, quarter-cup sugar (or less if your plums are real sweet), pinch of salt, and zest if you're using. Allow to macerate for half-hour.

2.  Meanwhile, heat a large, flat skillet over medium heat for one minute.  Add butter and melt until foamy, then add the six tablespoons of white sugar, stirring quickly just to evenly distribute.  Over medium-low heat and swirling often, cook the mixture for about six minutes, or until it's the color of dark caramel.  Remove from heat and allow to cool for 20 minutes.  It will harden, but that's okay!

3.  Once the plums are finished macerating, drain the liquid.  Arrange the plums cut side down on your skillet and return stove to medium heat.  Cook the plums in the caramel for 20 minutes without stirring.  They'll release a lot of liquid and essentially stew in their own awesome juices.

4.  Allow to cool for an hour or two.  Then preheat the oven to 375 degrees F, and roll out one piece of dough to a 13-inch round and trim the edges so they're smooth (If it's hot in your kitchen, place the rolled-out dough onto the back of a cookie sheet and slide it into the freezer or fridge for ten to fifteen minutes to keep the butter from melting).  Slide your dough onto a sheet of parchment on the back of a cookie sheet. Maintaining a three-inch border of crust, arrange the plums cut side up in a tight concentric circle. Gently fold the edge of the dough over the fruit, pleating as you go.

5.  Brush pastry with the beaten egg and sprinkle with sugar if you wish.  Bake in the middle of the oven for 45 to 55 minutes, until pastry is deep golden brown and fruit is bubbling.  Allow to cool on cookie sheet for ten minutes, then eat it up or let it cool further on a cooling rack.  Whipped cream or ice cream would be excellent companions here.

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Butter: Rustic Blueberry Cornmeal Tart

I don't know that I've ever given the Fourth of July its due.  Maybe it's because I gave in to the misguided undergraduate angst at my university, or confused orginality with being anti-patriotism, or maybe I just totally feared incurable dorkdom, but for the majority of my post-adolescent years (few though there are), I have celebrated Fourth of July among friends with comical irony and among family with only hesitant sincerity.  How so very trite of me!  And with so much pie and sparklers to be had?  I'm glad I finally got a clue.

Other awesome things about the Fourth of July include going to Belgrade Lakes, Maine with my family every year and generally hamming it up while also fishing, grilling, eating lobster, perusing antique stores, wearing matching plaid button-downs, getting daily homemade old-fashioned donuts from the general store, and of course, lounging on the dock with slices of pie on our bellies and beers in our hands.  Last year, my dad decapitated a two-inch long spider with a seven-inch long hunting knife, and my mom and I went canoeing on Sundays to go to the farmers' market and bring home berries and breakfast.  Granted, these things don't all occur on the Fourth, but I'm grateful for the occasion and the excuse to get together with my favorite people and eat butter as a family. 

Rustic Blueberry Cornmeal Tarts

Adapted from The Craft of Baking by Karen Demasco
Since I was so into the strawberry rhubarb tarts from a few weeks back, I tried to swap some corn flour into this crust recipe. The results were good, if slightly too tender, but I so love the flavor of corn that I had to try it. The original and my adaptation are provided below.

For the crust
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons buttermilk (or make your own:  add 1/2 teaspoon white vinegar to 2 tablespoons of milk, stir, and allow to curdle for ten minutes)
1/4 + 1/8 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 cup finely ground corn meal
3/4 cups all-purpose flour*
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg for brushing the crust

*If you'd like, use 1/4 cup corn flour and 1/2 cup all-purpose flour instead.

For the filling
3 cups fresh blueberries (or a 15 oz. package of frozen**)
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 to 2 tablespoons Turbinando sugar

**If using frozen berries, mix the berries, sugar, flour, and lemon juice in a bowl and allow to come to room temperature. This will help improve the flavors and allow the juices to thicken. Also add a second tablespoon of flour since frozen berries tend to have more juice than fresh.

1.  In a large bowl, rub the butter and sugar between your fingers until it's evenly blended. Or, as Demasco suggests, use a KitchenAid with the paddle attachment for 30 seconds.  Add the buttermilk and vanilla, scraping down sides and mixing with a rubber spatula.

2.  In a small bowl, whisk corn meal, all-purpose flour, corn flour (if you're using it), and salt. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, blending with your rubber spatula until well combined. Try not to over-stir. Flatten dough into a disk, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least an hour, or overnight.

3.  On a lightly flour sheet of parchment paper, roll chilled dough out into an 11-inch circle. Slice parchment with dough onto a cookie sheet and let rechill in the refrigerator for at least five minutes while you prepare the filling.

4.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a medium bowl, toss berries, sugar, flour and lemon juice. Remove rechilled dough from fridge and mound berries in the center, leaving a four-inch border all the way around. Gently fold the edges of the dough up and over toward the berries, pleating for an even look, or folding casually for a rustic look. Work quickly, especially if your kitchen is hot, lest the crust become hard to work with. Slide tray back into the fridge for 20 minutes.

5. Whip the egg in a bowl until whites are fully incorporated. Once tart has chilled, brush the crust with the egg wash and then sprinkle Turbinando sugar over the crusts (and filling too if you wish). Bake for 40 minutes in the center of the oven, rotating once halfway through. Tart crust will be golden brown when finished baking. Remove to a cooling rack and serve warm or at room temperature with whipped cream, ice cream, or creme fraiche. Since corn is fragile, this tart is best eaten the same day.

A Wedding and Forty-Eight Cupcakes (+ Yellow Cake)

I used to be on the fence about summertime in DC. Being from the desert and all, I developed what my boss calls a "tender California constitution" that leaves me absolutely enfeebled by the humidity. I had a killer summer last year anyway, but I was starting to feel languid last week when temperatures hit 100 and going to work felt like bicycling through a butterstick. This year, I've decided to run with it. I embarked upon my summer with a trip to Richmond to visit the very best of pals, and when not eating Cuban food or drinking iced coffee, we explored the neighborhood, hiked through the forest, and thrashed down the river, earning belly scrapes and having a ball with the best dog of all time. I made a new friend too, and I'm riding my post-Richmond high all the way to Maine on Friday, followed by Texas and Seattle, and back to North Carolina and Pittsburgh in late July, just time to revel in the peak of east coast heat. 

So I've recently vacated my perch to plant myself on the pro-summer side of the fence, which, in addition to unholy heat, boasts baseball, swimming holes, piles of fruit pies, IPAs, citronella, Arsenal Park Olympics, and no time to wait for autumn. And then there are the weddings! Summer has also brought a slew of weddings, and for one of these, I was hired (hired!) to bake four dozen cupcakes for a small Friday-night reception. I'll soon get to the fruit pies (and their buttery, flaky, and possibly cream cheesy crusts), but for the mo' I want to delight in the floor-to-ceiling pile of dishes and frosted floors that begot my first wedding project, one dozen each of:  carrot cake with maple cream cheese frosting and cinnamon flecks, rich chocolate cake with vanilla-marshmallow frosting, my favorite yellow cake with bittersweet chocolate buttercream, and vegan dark chocolate cake with vegan chocolate buttercream. I realize that I posted this yellow cake recipe once before, but I did it such a sloppy disservice, that that's the recipe I'll post today. Happy summer y'all.

Yellow Cake Cupcakes

Adapted from Sky High: Irresistible Triple-Layer Cakes by Alisa Huntsman

This recipe makes exactly 18 cupcakes. The quantities might strike you as impractical, but they are they way they are because I've halved this recipe from a triple-layer cake recipe. The original quantities are available here. 

1 1/2 cups + 6 tablespoons cake flour (all-purpose is fine)

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

2 3/4 teaspoons + 1/8 teaspoon baking powder (or, one scant tablespoon)

1 1/4 sticks (ten tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cups + 2 1/2 teaspoons buttermilk

2 1/2 whole eggs

1 egg yolk

1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract

1.  Preheat over to 325 degrees F. Spray two cupcake tins lightly with cooking oil and line with cupcake liners.

2. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt; stir with a fork to combine. Using an electric mixer on low speed, mix butter and 3/4 cup buttermilk to briefly blend; then increase the speed to medium and blend for two to three minutes, until fluffy.

3.  In a smaller bowl, whisk together the eggs, remaining buttermilk, and vanilla extract. Pour one-third of the egg mixture into the flour mixture at a time, folding it in completely with a rubber spatula after each addition. Divide the batter between the cupcake tins, filling each bowl about three-fourths full.  Bake for 15-20 minutes (mine were finished at 18), or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean.

4.  Allow the cakes to cool in the pans for ten minutes before gently twisting them out of the pans and allowing them to cool completely on wire racks. Proceed with the frosting recipe that follows, or consult a different one!

Bittersweet Chocolate Buttercream

This makes a little more than enough to pipe the frosting onto cupcakes, about 2 1/2 cups. You'll need less if you plan to spread it instead.

7 ounces bittersweet chocolate (I used Ghiradelli)

1 cup heavy cream

1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature

1.  Melt the chocolate with the cream in a double boiler set over barely simmering water. Whisk to blend well. Remove from heat and let stand, whisking occasionally, until the chocolate has thickened to the consistency of mayonnaise (this might be tough if your house is particularly hot -- a stint in the fridge could help).

2.  Place the butter in a large mixing bowl and whip on medium-high speed with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, one to two minutes. Add the chocolate cream and beat until lighter in color and somewhat stiff, about three minutes. Do not overwhip, or your frosting might separate. Pipe away!

Rustic Rhubarb Tarts

Two weeks ago, I took my first foray down to Wolf Trap National Park in Virginia to see Prairie Home Companion (and Gillian Welch!) with some near and dear friends. While I've only been to a handful of outdoor performance spaces (and never to The Gorge), I can say with some confidence that Wolf Trap is remarkable, especially when it's blazing sunshine and you've just come from an indoor picnic and possibly maybe a beer-chugging session. We watched the radio show (what a concept!) in the Filene Center, which is ten stories of dizzying carpentry set in the middle of an expanse of lawn for picnickers.  Our troupe had planned to picnic along with everyone else, but when thunderstorms (that never materialized) threatened to close in, we relocated to Tory and Joey's house to potluck, drink (Dogfish Head Immort Ale), and of course, eat dessert.

My obsession with Kim Boyce's new cookbook still hasn't relented, so when I finally got to the farmers market early enough to pick and choose my produce, her corn flour rhubarb tarts became the obvious choice for a Saturday baking endeavor.  While I've managed to acquire some obscure flours for her recipes, I still can't find the dried hibiscus flowers this one calls for, so I altered the rhubarb compote and made it with strawberries instead. Call me boring, but this dessert is anything but, and while the free-form pastry dough can be slightly troubling on a sweltering day, this is still a simple, beautiful, spring or summer tart.

Rustic (Strawberry) Rhubarb Tarts

Adapted from Kim Boyce's Good to the Grain:  Baking with Whole-Grain Flours

Her full recipe makes ten tarts.  I made the full pastry recipe, but only made six tarts, and cut the compote recipe in half because I didn't purchase enough rhubarb.  From the leftover pastry, I made ten thumbprint cookies dolloped with the remaining compote.  The tarts cook for 35 minutes, and  my cookies were finished after 18.  You can follow what I did, or scale back the pastry by half, or better yet, pick up a copy of Kim's book and get her original recipe. 

For the pastry (full recipe)

1 cup corn flour (I used Bob's Red Mill)

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup fine cornmeal 

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 teaspoon Kosher salt

1 stick (four ounces) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream

2 egg yolks

1.  Combine dry ingredients in a food processor.  Add the butter and process in short pulses, until mixture resembles coarse corn meal.  Add the heavy cream and egg yolks, and pulse until combined.  Don't overmix here; the dough will look crumbly, but it will come together when kneaded.  You can also do this all by hand, just by rubbing the butter into the flour with your fingertips until it reaches that same corn meal consistency.

2.  Divide the dough into ten equal pieces.  Lightly flour a work surface and, using the heel of your hand, flatten a piece of dough into a rough circle.  Continue flattening until it's approximately five inches in diameter (or, I found, even a little larger).  Try to work quickly so that the dough doesn't get too soft.  For a more elegant edge, Boyce recommends flattening the outer edge with your fingertips, making it thinner than the rest.

3.  Spoon three tablespoons of the strawberry rhubarb compote (recipe below) into the center of the dough (Boyce calls for four tablespoons, but based on advice from SmittenKitchen and my own observations, I went with three).  Fold the dough into the center of the tart and up, to make a ruffled edge; continue all the way around until you've achieved your rustic aesthetic. Slide a bench scraper or metal spatula under the pastry and place on a parchment-covered cookie sheet.  Continue with the rest of the dough.  Freeze the tarts for at least an hour, or up to two weeks if wrapped tightly in plastic.

4.  In an oven preheated to 375 degrees Fahrenheit, bake the tarts, still frozen, for about 35 minutes or until the edges are golden and the compote is bubbling and thick.  Serve warm or at room temperature.  The tarts keep in an airtight container for up to two days (but they probably won't last that long). 

For the Strawberry Rhubarb Compote (half recipe)

Again, Boyce makes Rhubarb Hibiscus compote. I'm still trying to get my hands on some hibiscus flowers, which I bet are fully excellent (Lottie and Doof says so too).

1 pound strawberries, rinsed and hulled

1 pound rhubarb stalks, de-leafed

3/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed 

1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest + 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1.  Rinse rhubarb stalks and trim very ends.  Cut in half lengthwise and cut stalks on the diagonal into 3/4-inch pieces (You should have about 3 cups).   Cut the strawberries lengthwise into quarters (You should have about 3 cups).

2.  Leaving three-quarters cup of the rhubarb aside, combine rhubarb and brown sugar in a heavy-bottomed pot.  Add the sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest, and turn the heat to medium low.  Cook, covered, for 15 minutes until the rhubarb has released its juices and your kitchen smells awesome.  Add the strawberries, increase heat to medium, and cook, uncovered now, for another 15 to 20 minutes, or until the compote is fairly thick and a metal spoon leaves a trail at the bottom of the pan.  Watch the mixture closely so it doesn't burn.

3.  Remove from heat, toss in the remaining rhubarb.  Spread compote on a cold plate or baking pan and allow to cool and thicken for about a half hour, then proceed with filling the tarts. Remaining compote keeps covered in the fridge for about a week, and is awesome mixed into yogurt, ricotta, or on toast. 

Whole-Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

I just arrived home in the District, fresh from a four-day seafood, BBQ, Fat Tire, and sunshine bender in Savannah, where Joey (time to give him some photo love) and I celebrated a birthday, food-laden and Southern style.  This means truffled macaroni and cheese, shrimp and grits, red rice, oodles of okra, tuna steak sandwiches, sweet tea galore, mashed sweet potatoes, wonderful coffee, and pretty wonderful people too.  A park every other block and ornateness that transfixes for hours, well when we weren't stuffing ourselves, swimming, bicycling, or (let's be honest) drinking, we were usually just walking around staring at the people and the houses. I think we both started to feel at home our last day there, which was an encouraging shame since we loved it (so quickly!) but had to leave (so soon!), and also a testament to how easily the city's charm and grit can really hook you.

Well and so then there are these cookies.  They have nothing to do with Savannah except that I made them right before we left and haven't stopped thinking about them either, so I guess they share bewitchment over the mind of a capricious 24-year-old.  I might even like these better than the all-famous Leite/New York Times recipe. The whole-wheat flour adds the best nutty flavor, and these are so shamefully buttery and perfectly salty--the texture is outstanding. I also cannot profess my love enough for the book from whence this recipe came, which has expanded my list of obsessions by eight new flours. Those plus a few cities in the South, and I'd say I have my daydreams all sorted out.

Whole-Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

Adapted from Kim Boyce's Good to the Grain: Baking with Whole-Grain Flours

I halved the recipe and also halved the size of my cookies (from three tablespoons of dough to 1 1/2 tablespoons).  As you can see, they're plenty big that way.  I've included Kim's original amounts below, but a halved batch with smaller cookies yielded exactly 30.

3 cups whole-wheat flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons salt (I used sea salt)

2 sticks unsalted butter, cold, cut into half-inch pieces

1 cup dark brown sugar, packed

1 cup granulated white sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

8 ounces high-quality bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped into quarter- and half-inch pieces

1.  Position racks in lower and upper thirds of oven.  Preheat to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2.  Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl.  Add any leftover grains that remain from the sifting.

3.  Combine the butter and sugars in a large bowl, beating on low speed with an electric mixer for two minutes, or until just blended.  Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing to incorporate after each addition, then add the vanilla.  Then, add the flour mixture until barely combined.  Scrape sides and bottom of bowl using a rubber spatula.  Add the chocolate using the rubber spatula, and make sure it's evenly distributed.  Make sure all of the flour mixture is incorporated by using your hands to blend in any visible dry ingredients (Boyce asks you to do this on a lightly floured surface, but I found it worked great to just do this in the bowl).

4.  Scoop three-tablespoon mounds of dough (I did 1 1/2-tablespoon mounds) onto your prepared baking sheets, spacing them three inches apart.  Bake for eight to ten minutes, then rotate sheets from top to bottom and front to back, and bake for an additional eight to ten minutes, until evenly browned (I baked my cookies for 13 minutes total, since they were smaller).  Remove to wire racks and let cool.  Mine kept for three days, covered. 

Espresso Chocolate Shortbread Cookies and Radio CPR Record Sale

A little more than a year ago, I was lamenting the District (I was so misguided!) while proffering the Radio CPR Record Sale as a rare form of social recourse (I was so correct!), and this year the radical ladies (one in particular) who power the station were kind enough to let me contribute to the sale again.  Two veteran baked goods soldiers continued their history of wowing, but this year I also offered a new recipe of vegan granola bars with a plethora of nuts and sticky things keeping 'em together and some espresso chocolate shortbread cookies that are like a double shot of caffeine and awesome straight to your heart.

And really, the heart doctor business must be booming.  The past three weeks might have limped along on the chronicling front here, but there's butter/batter a'beating in my kitchen nearly every day. In spite of jam-packed days and a few spectacular failures, I've emerged from my sweltering kitchen armed with a handful of buttery, awesome recipes to share.  These espresso chocolate shortbread cookies are numero uno, and if you live and die for butter and coffee (me too!), you very much must make them. 

Espresso Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

Adapted from Dorie Greenspan who says they make 32, but my method (madness?) made only 18

1 tablespoon instant espresso power

1 tablespoon boiling water

2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature

2/3 cup powdered sugar

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate (I guesstimated from a Ghiradelli bag and probably used closer to 5 ounces), finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt (Kari addition)

Additional powdered sugar for dusting, if you like

1.  Dissolve the espresso in the boiling water and set aside to cool to room temperature. 

2.  In a large bowl, beat the butter and powdered sugar together on medium high for about three minutes, until very smooth and somewhat pale. Beat in the vanilla and espresso, then reduce the speed to low and add the flour and salt, mixing only just until the flour disappears into the dough. Do not overwork the mixture. Fold in the chopped chocolate with a rubber spatula.

3.  Scoop the dough into a gallon-sized zipper-lock plastic bag. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a 9" x 10 1/2" rectangle that's 1/4" thick -- your rectangle should take up about half the bag.  Make sure the dough has even thickness throughout, seal, and the pop it flat into the fridge for at least two hours and up to two days.

4.  Position the racks to divide the oven in thirds and preheat to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove the dough from the fridge, cut the plastic bag away, and, using a ruler to guide you, slice the dough in 1 1/2" squares. Space the cookie squares one inch apart on the sheets, and then make two sets of fork marks in each cookie, gently pressing the tines all the way through the dough until they hit they sheet.  Careful not to crumble the cookies when you do this step.

5.  Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, rotating pans and switching from top to bottom halfway through. The cookies will not take on much color.  Remove from cookie sheets once you pull them from the oven, and allow to cool completely on racks. Dust with powdered sugar if you like. The cookies seem to get better with a day of rest, stored in an airtight container.

Best Peanut Butter Cookie Quest: Part One

You may have noticed that I'm capricious and that I get really "into" things for brief periods of time.  Awhile ago it was sewing.  Then photography.  Bikes for quite some time, but never long enough to hone any lasting expertise.  At one point it was the South, and this week it's Twitter, secret cafes, and Rickshaws.  I'm gearing up to be real into camping and web design, but in the meantime, I'm still all about baking—possibly my longest-running hobby—and therefore I have decided, as much as a noncommittal kid can, to undertake a quest for my personal favorite peanut butter cookie of all time.  Did I mention that the quest is going to be totally delicious?  Oh yes, absolutely yes.

This one here used to be my all-time favorite, but this time around I found the peanut butter flavor wasn't pronounced enough, partially because I think there might be too much butter, but also because the chocolate overpowered the peanut butter chips.  This is a peanut butter cookie recipe for a chocolate-lover, which I am, but which preference I will forego in favor of something more sincerely peanut buttery.  Stay posted:  If I don't suddenly decide to take up furniture design, I think constant baking energy could do us some sweet, sweet wonders.

Peanut Butter Cookies (makes 50 to 60 small cookies)

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup peanut butter (I used hand-milled chunky, but apparently the fake shit works best)

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed

1 large egg at room temperature

1 tablespoon milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup peanut butter chips (I'd up to 3/4)

1/2 cup semi-sweet chips (I'd decrease to 1/4)

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

2.  In a small bowl, mix flour baking soda, baking powder, and salt.  Set aside.  In a large bowl, beat together butter and peanut butter on medium-high until light and fluffy, two to three minutes.  Add in sugars and beat until smooth.  Add egg and mix well.  Add milk and vanilla, and a little bit at a time, beat in flour mixture.  Using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, mix in all of the chips.

3.  Put a couple tablespoons of sprinkling sugar on a plate, and by rounded teaspoonfulls, drop balls of cookie dough onto the sugar and roll them around until covered.  Place the balls onto your cookie sheets (mine were bare, but parchment paper never hurts), press down lightly with a fork, and toss 'em in the oven for ten to 12 minutes.  Do not overbake.  Leave cookies on sheets for one minute only, then remove to a cooling rack to let cool completely.  These are awesome after they've been sitting for about an hour, eaten in groups of five or six.

Best Sugar Cookies + Tooth and Nail Craft Fair

I am seriously relieved to learn that sugar cookies go really well with beer.  All this time I spent bemoaning (and well, celebrating too) the cold and the winter, and suddenly spring is here and it's warm as hell, and I didn't think I'd ever want to put anything sweet in my mouth ever again.  Okay yeah, the future tastes like summery pies and the Californian in me is practically throwing a tantrum for stone fruit tarts, but sweet sweets have been another story.  Then I came across this recipe that yields the most perfectly shortbready sugar cookie of all time, and while I sprinkled pepper on some, herbs on others, and topped a few with ground coffee, all variations went equally well with my spring beer of choice, which is most excellent because I can't imagine a day without a baked good or a spring day without a beer.

Well, and part of the reason I was feeling anti-supersweet is because I've been occupied with testing recipes over and over again for the past three weeks as preparation for selling baked goods at a craft fair. Hooray! DC's Bored of Trade arts collective threw the Tooth and Nail Craft Fair at the Velvet Lounge on Saturday, and it brought together all kinds of vendors, from Treasury Vintage and Smash Records to a DC comics collective and the makers of instruments crafted from salvaged wood and toys.  Cookies out of a suitcase and tartlets out of a library card catalogue, and the super supportive crowd still ate up all 107 of my baked goods.  It was an honor and a pleasure, and next time there will be sugar cookies too.

Lindsay Shere's Sugar Cookies

Adapted from Sunday Suppers at Lucques

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup granulated white sugar, plus a little extra for rolling

1 extra-large egg yolk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Fresh rosemary, cracked black pepper, finely ground coffee, or other toppings of your choice

1.  In a large bowl, cream the butter at high speed, about one minute.  Add the sugar and beat three to four minutes longer at medium-high speed until light and fluffy.

2.  Add the egg yolk and vanilla and beat a few more minutes, until light and fluffy again.  Slowly add the flour and salt, and mix at a low speed until the dough (thick by this point) comes together.  Shape the dough into two logs about 11/2 inches in diameter, roll the logs in sugar, then wrap each in plastic and refrigerate until firm.

3.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Once the dough is firm, slice it into quarter-inch-thick rounds, place them on the baking tray with about an inch of space between them, and besprinkle each with the topping of your choice.  Bake for ten to 12 minutes, until they're lightly browned on the bottom.  Let sit on the tray for one to two minutes, then remove to a cooling rack.  Enjoy!

Obi Wan Kasnowbi: Crafting Sanity

My house, with twenty inches of cotton balls outside and four people approaching insanity inside. 

Coffee-molasses-ginger cupcakes with coffee icing. Recipe to follow in the coming days!

My first earrings project for a lady who works at my favorite brunch spot in Takoma Park, MD.

I worked on a few valentines for my nearest and dearest before giving in to the blizzard malaise and cracking open very many beers.

Super Bowl party at my house tonight supplied much jubilation, burritos, pizza, pepper dip, and beers—social reprieve from our thusly two-day snow sentence.  Both thankfully and not though, I'm off work again tomorrow while the city patches up the roadways and makes getting around reasonable, so I'll be catching up on a few more crafts, seeing a movie or two, and working on some baking endeavors (anyone see Smitten Kitchen's walnut-jam cake post? Yes.).  And I'm hardly bored, but tomorrow will definitely be a dig-deep sort of day, best begun by a serious brunch and a couple long walks in the forest. Capping it with some drinks and Yahtzee for money wouldn't hurt either.  Happy snow day to you!

Render-You-Speechless Chocolate Chip Cookies

Oh hai! I am as big as a golf ball!

Oh hi! You were maybe expecting words, but there is only gluttony, excessive drool, glasses of milk, disavowal of all sharing principles, and an absolute replacement of anything nutritious in my diet with cookies served in multiples of six (read: seven). Word. Do not ignore the authority of the recipe when it tells you to refrigerate the dough for 36 hours; I am now a David Leite neophyte. I made a batch of these cookies before and after a 36-hour refrigeration, and they were astoundingly more buttery, crispy on the outsides, flavorful, and soft in the middle after a stint in the fridge. Just like me! Now I am softer in the middle too!

Leite's Chocolate Chip Cookie
David Leite, New York Times

I just used all-purpose flour. The weights are provided for the fastest, easiest measurements, but I'm not fast or easy (snerk), so I measured.

2 cups minus 2 tablespoons (8 1/2 ounces) cake flour
1 2/3 cups (8 1/2 ounces) bread flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract
1 1/4 pounds bittersweet chocolate disks or fèves, at least 60 percent cacao content (I just used Ghiradelli chips in the brown bag--took a little less than two bags)
Sea salt


1. Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.

2. Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment (or an egg beater!), cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Add your mega amounts of chocolate and mix well. (These latter stages of dough mixage did not work so well for me. My dough was hella thick, and I practically broke a wooden spoon trying to stir all of this up at the end. Just be patient, and use your hands to do the final incorporation, if need be.)

4. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. (Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.)

3. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat.

4. Scoop fat mounds of dough (the size of generous golf balls) onto baking sheet. I used an ice cream scoop that holds nearly three tablespoons for this step, and my cookies worked out just fine. Do not flatten. They are perfectly excellent cooked in all of their golf-ball glory. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 15 to 20 minutes (mine took exactly 16 minutes, the original recipe recommends 18). Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more. Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day.

Cakewalk: Best Chocolate Cake Recipe with Almond Buttercream

This is a weighty claim to make, I know, but this is the best g.d. cake I have ever eaten. It seems like it would be a mocha cake, but it's really just a rad cake that gets all rich and delicious with the addition of coffee, which through some sort of chemistry science I do not understand, makes chocolate taste better. Science=delicious.

According to Corby Kummer, the cupcake pandemic is really only worth cheering on in the hopes that somebody somewhere will finally get the cupcake right. Novelty cupcakes and overkill cuteness be damned, and let’s get rid of dry cakes and grainy or greasy frosting while we’re at it. Excepting the rare encounter with a truly killer cupcake, I always leave bake shops feeling totally suckered by cute decorations and swirly buttercreams, and then immediately disappointed by bland cake and stale frosting. The proceeding recipe is like the panacea for paltry cake.

Besides being sifter-less, I was (and still am) clearly pastry-bag-less.

Best Chocolate Cake

To instantly disenchant yourself with cupcakeries, top this recipe with your favorite frosting. I'd recommend a boiled vanilla-bourbon frosting or chocolate ganache, because really I'm not so into buttercream. Butter=good on bread, freaky on cake. I'm not sure where this recipe is from originally. It's ubiquitous online, though you might see it with different proportions since it was originally made to be a ten-inch layer cake. The following proportions will work for two dozen cupcakes or a double layer caked baked in two nine-inch pans.

2 ounces high-quality semi-sweet chocolate (I used Ghiradelli)
1 cup hot brewed coffee (high-quality coffee is preferable, decaf. is fine; take care to avoid burning the coffee)
2 cups sugar
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process—I used an extra dark powder)
1 1/3 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup well-shaken buttermilk (1 cup regular milk plus 1 tablespoon white distilled vinegar, mixed together and left for ten minutes to curdle, will also work)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F and prepare cupcake tins with liners. Lightly grease the pan before inserting the liners for easy removal of cupcakes.

Finely chop chocolate and in a bowl combine with hot coffee. Let mixture stand, stirring occasionally, until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.

Into a large bowl sift together sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In another large bowl with an electric mixer beat eggs until thickened slightly and lemon colored (about 3 minutes with a standing mixer or 5 minutes with a hand-held mixer). Slowly add oil, buttermilk, vanilla, and melted chocolate mixture to eggs, beating until combined well. Add sugar mixture and beat on medium speed until just combined well.

Divide batter into cupcake tins, filling each one 3/4 full of batter. Bake for 25 to 27 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. Do not overbake. If your oven bakes unevenly, be sure to rotate the pans halfway through baking. Let cupcakes cool in their pans for about 10 minutes, then gently remove, place on a rack, and let cool until ready to frost. Cupcakes are best eaten within the day, but will keep for three.

Almond Buttercream

1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
3 egg whites
3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 teaspoons almond extract

In a small saucepan on medium heat, bring sugar and water to boil. Stir to dissolve the sugar, and use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the pan and keep the sugar from building up. Boil until the mixture reaches the soft-ball stage, or 238 degrees F. If you don’t have a candy thermometer, test for doneness by dripping the mixture into a glass of cold water; the mixture should adhere in pliable balls when ready.

In a large bowl, beat the egg whites on medium until frothy and pale, and continue to beat while slowly adding the hot syrup. Raise the speed to medium-high after all the syrup has been added, and beat until the mixture has cooled to body temperature.

Reduce speed to medium, and gradually beat in butter, 2 to 3 tablespoons at a time. At the end of adding the butter, the mixture will fall apart, but don’t despair! Keep beating and eventually the frosting will come together in a fluffy whip. Add the extract, and continue beating on medium until buttercream has the consistency of whipped butter. Frost your cakes, leftover cinnamon buns, your ice cream, your baby brother, what/whomever.

Non-Onomatopoetic Cinnamon Buns

There are three things I have missed from Pilsbury cinnamon rolls during the past six or so years of their absence from my life. First, is the firecracker “pop” that sounds off when you peel back the Pilsbury label and that would send our cats yowling to cower under the kitchen table. Second, is the resounding “thwap” that that heavy log of dough would make when it fell out of its aluminum tube. And third, is the circular cake pan I used to bake the rolls in so they would hug sides and bake up puffy and close. I might miss the convenience of Pilsbury buns too, but it’s hard to feel cheated when your kitchen is filled with the scent of homemade cinnamon rolls and you can excuse yourself for eating three or four since you made them. Oh yes, I operate on a labor-based baking economy. Homemade buns mean I eat at least three, maybe four to account for inflation, and I surely dip a finger in the glaze here and there to preempt my tax refund. And even though the sounds of homemade cinnamon buns aren’t as exciting as Pilsbury’s onomatopoetics, I absolutely enjoyed the suspense of seeing (literally watching) the dough rise and hearing the cinnamon sizzle. This recipe pays off big, in aesthetics, taste, and a certain lack of nutrition facts dictating whether or not five buns is considered a single serving (it is, promise).




Cinnamon Buns with Cream Cheese Glaze
Via Bon Appétit

Dough
1 cup whole milk
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 1/2 cups (or more) unbleached all purpose flour, divided
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 1/4 teaspoons rapid-rise or instant yeast (from 1 envelope)
1 teaspoon salt
Nonstick vegetable oil spray

Filling
3/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon (plus more if you're really into cinnamon)
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
Pinch of salt

Glaze
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For dough: Combine milk and butter in glass measuring cup. Microwave on high until butter melts and mixture is just warmed, about 30 to 45 seconds. Pour into bowl, and add 1 cup flour, sugar, egg, yeast, and salt. Beat on low speed with an eggbeater for 3 minutes, stopping occasionally to scrape down sides of bowl. Add additional 2 1/2 cups flour. Beat on low until flour is absorbed and dough is sticky, scraping down sides of bowl. If dough is very sticky, add more flour by tablespoonfuls until dough begins to form ball and pulls away from sides of bowl. Turn dough out onto lightly floured work surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, adding more flour if sticky, about 8 minutes. Form into ball.

Lightly oil large bowl with nonstick spray. Transfer dough to bowl, turning to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, then kitchen towel. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 2 hours. I let mine rise in the oven, which had been preheated to 200 degrees F. the hour before, then turned off and left open while I prepared the dough. DC was cold that day, so the warming precaution was necessary.

For filling: Mix brown sugar, cinnamon and pinch of salt in medium bowl.

Press down dough. Transfer to floured work surface. Roll out to 15×11-inch rectangle. Spread butter over dough, leaving 1/2-inch border. Sprinkle cinnamon mixture evenly over butter. Starting at the longer side, roll dough into log, pinching gently to keep it rolled up. With seam side down, trim ends straight if they are uneven, and cut remaining dough crosswise with thin sharp knife into 18 equal slices (I made 16, so each was a little plumper).

Spray two 9-inch square glass baking dishes (I used a 9 x 14-inch rectangle dish) with nonstick spray. Divide rolls between baking dishes, arranging cut side up (there will be almost no space between rolls). Cover baking dishes with plastic wrap, then kitchen towel. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until almost doubled in volume, 40 to 45 minutes, though this part may take you longer. I let mine rise overnight in the refrigerator, then took it out and let it come to room temperature for an hour and 15 minutes in the morning before baking.

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375°F. Sprinkle rolls with extra cinnamon if you so desire, which I did, because cinnamon is rad and highly delicious. Bake rolls until tops are golden, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and invert immediately onto rack. Cool 10 minutes. Turn rolls right side up (I skipped all this and glazed mine in the pan).

For glaze: Combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter, and vanilla in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat until smooth. Spread glaze on rolls. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Kale Rebellion: Double Chocolate Rads

Well I have certainly been having an embarrassing time at the grocery store lately. Last week after leaving the gym, I stopped at my neighborhood grocery store (understocked and overpriced as is the DC way) and pranced around the baking and dairy aisles looking for ingredients for one set of cookies and anticipating ingredients for the next. I ended up at the checkout aisle behind another young woman who had also just left the gym and who had actually been walking in front of me and down most of the same aisles during my ingredient-finding endeavor. The difference was that somehow her basket was filled with produce, dried fruits, nuts, whole grain everything, and enough plain yogurt to make this creamy-grits-wielding, yogurt-scoffing baker feel ashamed of her chocolate cache.

My tiny kitchen (employed by six people) makes multi-tasking a necessity.

Behind my fellow gym-goer’s sort of beautiful and rather inspiring lode of healthy food, I plunked down four pounds of butter, two pounds of bittersweet chocolate, two bags of semi-sweet chips, some heavy cream, all-purpose flour, and a head of purple cabbage to confuse anyone who might have been wondering what sort of flagrant disregard for diabetes and cholesterol I have. My gym pal eyed my soon-to-be-purchases and assessed my gym outfit and my flushed cheeks before I asked her save my place in line while I ran 15 feet to the produce section. I returned triumphantly with a bunch of kale, which I laid conspicuously atop my butter, leaving that gym-going girl to wonder bemusedly what sort of diet I must be playing at. In any case, this was neither the first nor last time I have left a grocery store feeling rather shamed, but it is the first time that I felt pressure to buy kale to make up for it.

See how airy the batter is? Those bubbles signify ungodly delicious things.

Well, I guess I was hoping that the kale would be some sort of talisman to ward off my bad habits and sugar binges, but that forgotten green bundle sat around in my vegetable crisper until it wilted. Apparently, I had bigger, sweeter things to worry about. I don’t want to get into the habit of proclaiming “favorites” and “bests” on this blog because I don’t want to have to stop baking at recipe number 10 and admit that I don’t have anything amazing left to make. With a resounding however, however, I have to say that that chocolate cookies that resulted from my shaming shopping experience were the singly most delicious cookies I have had in years. I might insert my big foot into my big mouth later this month when I take a stab at the famous World Peace Cookies, but until then, I have to assert that these Chocolate Rads are, quite simply, tops. My sweets-loathing friend referred to them as “incredible,” and they made my CFO stop mid-sentence and mid-bite to utter a mild expletive and turn really far-away-eyed and quiet.

Like the crackled crust of the pound cake, these crinkled tops were nearly impossible not to detach and eat alone.

This reminds me that I have been very content to cook on Sundays these days since I can foist my leftover baked goods upon unsuspecting, Monday-bummed coworkers. Last Sunday was no exception. After a baby mouse (not as cute as he sounds) made a throne atop my Sunday-afternoon oatmeal cookies (which I promptly threw into the trash), I decided to double-do my Sunday and go for the Chocolate Rads I’d been drooling over on Orangette for weeks. Well, their crispy crust is reminiscent of pecan crackles and other cookies that rely on egg whites, but this recipe relies on chocolate. The batter is so fluffy, yielding, and rich, it has the texture of softened rocky road ice cream without the nuts. A brief round in the fridge makes the batter workable before you drop it by hearty scoopfulls onto baking sheets and let the oven do its alchemy. Actually, before the melted chocolate is added, the batter has an airy texture not dissimilar from fresh meringue. In any case, these cookies are delicious and dangerous, and even though I accidentally left them at home Monday, they held up perfectly in the designated cookie tupperware until Tuesday, and my coworkers appreciated the crinkly shell and gooey interior just as much as I had on Sunday night.

I make no excuses. Four of these composed my Monday-morning breakfast.

So even though my Thursday night ended in post-gym sheepishness, my weekend was without kale and my Sunday culminated a chocolate bliss that was a subtly and just-so rebellious way to ring in a new workweek. When kale is unthinkable, I'd rather rejoice with cookies than sulk with a carrot, so enjoy! Again, coffee is the perfect accompaniment, and if you're a fruity type like my mother, a swath of good cherry jam might be the perfect breakfast accessory.

I love how distinct the skyline of the chocolate-y shell is in this picture. The insides gush with chips and a soft center that contrasts satisfyingly with the cookie's crackled outsides.

Chocolate Rads
Adapted from Bon Appétit and via Orangette

1 pound bittersweet chocolate, chopped (I used Ghiaradelli)
1 ¾ cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
4 Tbs unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 Tbs pure vanilla extract
1 tsp instant espresso
½ cup cake flour (I used all-purpose, and it worked fine, but the original calls for cake)
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
2 cups (about one bag) good-quality semisweet chocolate chips (I used Guittard)

1. Melt the bittersweet chocolate in a double-boiler or metal bowl set over gently simmering water. Stir until smooth, then remove from heat, and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, combine the sugar and eggs, and beat with an electric mixer until thick and pale yellow and somewhat fluffy, about three to five minutes. Add the melted chocolate, melted butter, vanilla extract, and espresso powder, and beat to mix thoroughly.

3. Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into small bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the chocolate mixture, and stir with a rubber spatula to just combine. (The batter will be sticky and hard to work with, but it's okay!) Stir in chocolate chips. Place the bowl in the refrigerator, and chill until the batter is firm, for about 30 minutes.

4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Either lightly butter and flour two large cookie sheets or, better yet, line them with parchment paper. Drop the batter by large scoops – I used an ice cream scoop and a big spoon, both at about two tablespoons each – onto sheets, leaving about two inches of space around each mound of dough. With moist fingertips, press down on each ball to flatten it slightly. Bake the cookies until tops look dry and crackled, about 11-13 minutes. Do not overbake. Transfer the cookies on the parchment paper to a wire rack, and allow to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough, remembering to keep the dough in the fridge between each set of cookies. Remove finished cookies from the parchment paper, and store them in airtight container.

Note: I froze a portion of these cookies for my housemates, and they were delicious once restored to room temperature, and even a little delicious still frozen. They hold up wonderfully to a frozen wait!