Crispy Chocolate Cookies

The recipe is originally from the New York Times Cookbook. I thought it sounded good, so I decided to try it.

The funny thing is that (in the original recipe) they're supposed to be chewy... but for me they turned out crispy. Every batch was crispy, but that's ok.

I think I like this type of cookie to be crunchy anyway.

It was necessary to change the name!

BUT, I'm writing the recipe as I found it (and if you happen to have chewy cookies, I'm sorry, but it's a nice surprise).

Grating the chocolate by hand can be tedious as well as a version of Russian Roulette for your knuckles, so it's very nice to have a food processor to do the job for you.

I don't know who would dare to try grating a cup of nuts by hand...

One important thing to remember is that the dough will spread while baking. They're baked at a relatively low heat which causes the chocolate to melt into the dough and likewise gives the dough time to melt and spread instead of setting up in a more rounded shape. You'll want to make sure to give them plenty of room- I baked them with six per sheet.

True, it does take a while to bake all of them...

I did like them, but I would like to try to see what I can do to make them chewy.

I believe more technique, time, and temperature experimentation is necessary... or maybe it's my oven.

Crispy Chocolate Cookies

makes about 60

2 c flour

1 scant T kosher salt

1 1/4 t baking soda

1 1/2 c packed light brown sugar

1 1/4 c sugar

16 T unsalted butter, softened

2 eggs

1 T vanilla extract

12 oz finely shaved bittersweet chocolate

8 oz finely ground walnuts

Whisk flour, salt, and baking soda in a bowl. Combine sugars and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat on medium speed until fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Beat in vanilla. Add reserved flour mixture, chocolate, and nuts. Mix until just combined. Cover with plastic wrap and chill.

Heat oven to 325 degrees F.

Scoop dough into tablespoon-sized portions and roll into balls if not using a rounded spoon or a small scoop. Transfer cookies to a parchment paper lined baking sheet and space at least 3 inches apart. Flatten cookies and bake until set, about 15 minutes.

Risotto Cakes

So, let's pretend you have a bunch of leftover risotto (maybe the guests you invited didn't come). No, let's pretend you made risotto last night for dinner and you purposefully made extra.

Maybe it wasn't totally purposeful, maybe it was completely inadvertent.

Maybe it was your "unconscious" covertly doing it's thing.

It's officially a leftover- but a leftover with purpose. You actually plan to make risotto cakes (good call on your part) since (in a situation just like when you want to make fried rice) you can't make them with fresh, warm risotto.

The type of risotto really doesn't matter. When I make a "plain" risotto (what this particular one happens to be), I make it with chicken broth, a little white wine, some fresh Parmesan, maybe some parsley, and it's seasoned with salt and pepper.

They're much easier to make when the rice is cold and when they'll hold together more easily. Plus, you're more than halfway done since the rice was made ahead of time.

The good news is that they'll be easier to deal with than arancini, AND you don't have to worry about deep-frying.

If I have plain breadcrumbs to use, I like to dress them up with a little Italian herbs, salt and pepper for flavor. A little bit of mozzarella in the middle is optional, but it's a nice surprise!

Cold risotto is a bit sticky. The risotto will be easier to shape if your palms are a little damp, so it may help if you have a small dish of water close by your assembly line.

I know one of the labels is "pasta"... it's not exactly pasta, but it can certainly be pasta-esque, right?

Risotto Cakes

makes about 15

4 1/2 c cold risotto

2 large eggs, cracked into a bowl and beaten

2 c breadcrumbs or panko spread in a large, flat dish (such as a pie pan)

salt, pepper, dried herbs to taste (optional)

mozzarella cheese, cubed (optional)

olive oil

marinara sauce or chili sauce for serving

Place a cookie sheet in the oven and preheat to about 200 degrees F.

Scoop a 1/4 c portion of risotto into your palm. Flatten the risotto, shape into a disc, add a cheese cube (if using) and re-shape the disc to enclose the cheese and so that the risotto patty is approximately 3 inches in diameter.

Dip risotto cakes in beaten egg, transfer to breadcrumbs, and turn to coat.

Place on a pan or platter while you shape the rest of the risotto cakes.

Heat 3 T olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat until it shimmers. Place 4-5 risotto cakes in the pan (don't crowd it!) and let cook about 3 minutes, or until they are crisp and golden. Turn over and fry the other side in the same manner.

Add more olive oil as needed with each batch.

Transfer the risotto cakes to the pan in the oven so they stay warm while you cook the other risotto cakes.

Donut Muffins

I really do think these are better than donuts- and they're probably better for you, too (being homemade AND not fried).

They're tight crumbed in texture and have a nice crust... they're very reminiscent of cake donuts.

Mom used to make these sometimes when we were little.

They became lost in the annals of time, and in the recipe box, but I found them. Ta-da.

They've been resurrected (so to speak).

Breakfast, brunch, tea...

They're great warm just after they finish a little roll in cinnamon sugar, they're also nice the next day with a cup of coffee or tea (and a newspaper or book). I think nutmeg is what makes them so good.

It's originally a recipe from Grandma (she's a dietician- so these MUST be ok to eat, right?), but I had to tweak it a little. No, I'm not saying I know more than a dietician here. The original recipe said it made 12, but it only made eight when I tried it.

Maybe they're meant to be small and flattish, the batter having been divided into 12 parts, but I like muffins that are shaped like muffins (and that's the story of how 12 became eight, and how I decided that I really did want 12 to mean 12).

Just don't eat all 12.

I don't know if muffin tins have changed since the 1950s or so (could be)... but I wanted to bake a FULL regular-sized (not mini and not enormous), 12-hole muffin tin.

My thought? Why would you ever buy a donut? Um, I'm not really part of the donut fan club, but I do really like these.

Donut Muffins

makes 12

1/2 c (1 stick) butter, softened

1 1/2 c sugar

1 XL egg

3/4 c milk

2 t baking powder

1/2 t salt

2 c flour

generous 1/4 t nutmeg

generous 1/2 c sugar

generous 1 t cinnamon

7 T melted butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Cream butter and sugar. Add egg and milk and mix well. Mix/sift dry ingredients in a separate bowl. With the mixer on low speed slowly add the flour mixture into the butter and sugar. Mix just until combined. Divide evenly among well-greased muffin tins.

Bake about 25 minutes. If it looks like the bottom/sides are getting brown too quickly, turn the oven down to 350 degrees.

While the muffins bake, melt the extra 7 T butter. Set aside and make sure it doesn't cool too quickly. You want it to stay liquid!

Mix the extra sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl.

Carefully pop the muffins out of the tin. While still very warm (but when you can handle them without scalding yourself), quickly dip/roll each muffin in butter (you don't want them soaking up butter here), and then dip/roll them in cinnamon sugar.

Spiced Pear Applesauce

We have some apple and pear trees, but the fruit that are produced are not "pretty" things. Well, they're not necessarily the kind of things that you'd look at in a market and decide they're your first choice of fruit to take home with you.

But... strange as it may sound, I still think they're beautiful. They have character.

A raspberry in the same condition would not be beautiful since it's so delicate, but these are apples and pears we're talking about here. It's sort of like "une belle laide" to me- a beautiful ugly woman. Flawed and imperfect, but at the same time beautifully intriguing.

To me, the same goes for fresh figs. They're a little strange looking both inside and out, but at the same time they're gorgeous.

The other day we had a throw-together meal of tomato-y spicy cioppino, fresh, crusty country bread, bleu cheese, and fresh figs. It was perfect.

We don't get fresh figs here in the midwest too often, and I assume most people have never had anything past Fig Newtons, but if you see them you should definitely try them.We do happen to have a fig tree (that travels inside during the winter for protection), but we don't get very many figs.

I think they would make a nice oil painting- any of these fruits alone or together would be a great still-life. Certainly more interesting, natural and individual than plastic and completely and almost impossibly perfect. There's something to see, something to study in a still-life of fruit whether at the art museum or on someone's wall. Have you ever stared at one to take in all the details? It can be amazing to me.

Part of the reason for their imperfection is caused by the landscape. Cedar trees wreak havoc on the apples and pears- they have grey-brown spots staining the skin on the outside.
Because of their imperfections, the fruits aren't the best for just eating out of hand. They still taste good, but you have to peel them and cut them up.

They're organic, that's good.
I made this a couple times since we had a bunch of apples to use. It's a little chunky and apples are always great with grilled or roasted meats!

I think it's best made with red apples which are crisp and slightly tart. However, you can mix and match apples to your liking.
When the applesauce bakes it smells like warm apple cider. A great, spicy, autumn scent fills the house.

If you don't like it quite so spiced, just add less.

Spiced Pear Applesauce

makes about 10 cups applesauce

14 cups firm red apples, peeled and cut into large chunks

5 ripe Bartlett pears, peeled and cut into large chunks

2 lemons, zested and juiced

1/2 c packed brown sugar

3 T honey

2 t ground cinnamon

1/2 t ground allspice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Add all ingredients to an ovenproof 5 1/2 to 6 qt. pot. Cover and bake for 1 hour, remove from the oven and stir/smash with a potato masher or the back of a wooden spoon. Place the pot back in the oven and cook for another 1/2 hour, remove from the oven and stir/smash again. Cover with the lid and let sit for 1/2 an hour and stir/smash a final time. Serve warm or room temperature.
Cover and refrigerate in an airtight container.

* A food processor is definitely an option for making this sauce a little more smooth...

Plum Strawberry Crumble

If I'm really focused I can be forgetful at times... or my mind wanders and I don't pay attention as I should.

I walk into the laundry room when I initially meant to go to the kitchen and wonder what I'm doing there... and I completely forget where I was supposed to be or what I was supposed to be doing.

I've put my keys and cell phone in the fridge while having something else on my mind.

The other day I put lemons in the dishwasher. I KNOW the reason for it- I washed them since I planned to use them, and I put them in there to drain while dealing with the other things on the counter... but I closed the dishwasher. They were completely lost to me and I didn't find them until I no longer needed them.

Strange segue, yes I'm aware of it, but there are times when you only have a little while to use certain produce. Don't forget about them! If you see them, get them while they're at their peak.

This is a great early fall dessert, when there are still "ok" strawberries available (not really the best for eating though) and the plums are nice.

In addition to seasonality, another thing that I think is important is not to waste something (food-wise) if it can be used for something else. Vanilla beans, for instance (hey, they're not cheap). If you split the pot, scrape out the seeds, and then simmer then pod in cream for a custard, you can rinse the pod after straining it from the cream, let it dry, and put it into a covered container with sugar.

Vanilla sugar- they sell that stuff!

It has to sit at least a week to infuse the sugar with flavor, but it's great for finishing desserts, as a little flavor enhancer, or in coffee (if you happen to like coffee with sugar).

Back to the dessert...

It's an unexpected sweet and tart fruit combination with oatmeal cookieness on top, the fruits are softened and enhanced by doing some time in the oven.

I like individual portions served in ramekins- things look fancier and more put together for "presentation"- but I suppose it's also a good thing if you're at all concerned about portion control.

It makes about 10, 1/2 cup (4-6 oz. or so) ramekin servings that are great served warm with a little vanilla ice cream.

Of course, you can bake it in a larger pan (9x13 perhaps). Just remember to place the baking dish on a sheet pan before baking in case of bubbling hot fruit juice overflow.

Cleaning a pan is easier than cleaning the oven. You may need to add a little time to that which is specified in the recipe- just keep an eye on the crumble for any extra time you add. Look for bubbling juices and golden brown crust on top!

This dessert is adapted from Donna Hay's Entertaining.

Autumn Crumble

serves 8-10

6 red plums, washed and chopped

16 oz strawberries, washed and cut into quarters (depending on size)

5 T sugar

3 T lemon juice

3/4 t cinnamon

1 c oats

2/3 c firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 c flour

1 t ground cinnamon

10 T butter, softened (if unsalted butter, add a pinch of salt)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Gently toss plums, strawberries, sugar, lemon juice and cinnamon. Evenly divide the fruit mixture amongst 10 1/2 cup ramekins or pour it all into a 9X13 inch baking dish. Place the ramekins (or baking dish) on a sheet pan.

In a separate bowl, mix the oats, sugar, cinnamon, flour and butter until combined. Crumble the mixture evenly over the fruit.

Bake approximately 30 minutes, or until the juices are bubbling and top is set and golden. Serve warm or room temperature.