Category: Cookies

Not Mrs. Field’s Cookies

March 19, 2010

Remember Mrs. Field’s?  I know she is still around, I just passed one of her dated looking store-fronts in a mall the other day.  But does anyone still eat those cookies?

The first time I had one (and the second, third, fourth, fifth, etc.), I thought it was the most delicious thing I had ever tasted.  My mom is a good baker and we often had cookies in our house, but her cookies didn’t taste like Mrs. Field’s.  Maybe because Mrs. Field’s cookies are usually warm?  Maybe because of a high chocolate to cookie ratio?  Maybe because there was a “no nut” option for this no-nut-lover?  Maybe because there are things in those cookies that I don’t want to know about?  I think the real reason is because they are so incredibly sweet.  When you are a kid, sweet = good.  Now that my palate is a little more sophisticated, I like a better balance of flavor.  Even in my cookies.

I have to give the woman credit for introducing us all to the white chocolate and macadamia nut combination.  I’m sure someone made it before her, but my 10-year old self had never tried it.  Yes, I have gone on and on about how I don’t like nuts in my baked goods, but super salty macadamia nuts are another story.  Especially when combined with white chocolate which is so sweet.

I made these cookies as a potential peace offering to my husband.  I don’t usually push things he doesn’t like on him but I was dying to try that Golden Split Pea Soup.  So, I made a big salad, bought one of his favorite breads, and baked with white chocolate which, if you ask him, is the only chocolate he likes.  (Randy lives in a bit of a dream world where he thinks he doesn’t like chocolate but inhales anything chocolate that is put in front of him.  And while I am “taking the piss out of him” as he is fond of saying, I must tell you that he also inhaled this pasta salad and asked me what made it so good.  BEETS!  One of his most hated things!)

Anyway, fortunately the soup was a hit and so were the cookies.  My boys liked them too.  A cookbook note.  If you are a cookie baker and are looking for a good and comprehensive book, I have to recommend Nancy Baggett’s The All-American Cookie Book.  I always turn to this book when I need inspiration and it never disappoints.  Great photographs and well-researched and charming recipes.  Everything is clear, right down to the table of contents – something I can’t say about many of my baking books.

One Year Ago: Garlic Ciabatta Bread and Roasted Tomato Caprese Salad

White Chocolate – Macadamia Nut Cookies
The All-American Cookie Book
Makes 25-30 cookies

Baggett suggests you wipe off the nuts if they are salted.  Because I love to taste salt in my baked goods, I opted not to take that step.  They were not overly salty.  She also recommends greasing the baking sheets or lining them with parchment – neither of which I did.  The cookies came off just fine.

1½ cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 1/3 cups all-purpose white flour
¾ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
1 cup minus 2 tablespoons (1¾ sticks) unsalted butter, slightly softened
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1½ tbsp. milk
2½ tsp. vanilla extract
1/8 tsp. almond extract
8 ounces top-quality white chocolate, coarsely chopped, or 1 1/3 cups top-quality white chocolate morsels
1 1/3 cups (about 6 ounces) coarsely chopped macadamia nuts

Preheat the oven to 325°F.

In a food processor, process the oats in on/off pulses until ground to a powder.  In a medium bowl, thoroughly stir together the ground oats, flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.  In a large bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter until lightened, about 1 minute.  Add the sugar and brown sugar and beat until very fluffy and smooth.  Add the egg, milk, vanilla and almond extracts and beat until incorporated.  Beat or stir in the flour mixture until evenly incorporated.  Stir in the white chocolate and macadamia nuts until evenly incorporated.

Using an ice cream scoop or spoons, drop the dough onto the baking sheets in generous golf-ball-sized mounds, spacing about 3 inches apart.  Pat the mounds down slightly.

Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, in the middle of the oven for 12 to 17 minutes, or until the tops are pale golden and the edges are just lightly browned; be very careful not to overbake.  Reverse the sheet half way through to ensure even browning.  Transfer the sheet to a wire rack and let stand until the cookies firm up slightly, 2 to 3 minutes.  Using a spatula, transfer cookies to wire racks.  Let stand until completely cooled.

Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 1 month.


Category: Cookbooks, Cookies
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Moving Into Stillness and Making Choices (or Not)

February 28, 2010

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About a year ago, my amazing friend Jen told me her vision for quarterly day-long yoga retreats at her studio.  She wanted to theme each one around the season and asked me if I would participate and also cook lunch for the yogis.  Jen is one of my very closest friends and one of my favorite people in the world, so even if I hadn’t thought it was a good idea, I would have said yes.  But I thought it was a terrific idea and the first retreat happened the Saturday before Mother’s Day last year.  We did one in July, one in October and now, one in February.

Yesterday was the winter one – she called it Moving Into Stillness.  Jen emphasized the need for us to embrace winter and find beauty in it, instead of waiting for it hurry past.  She mentioned the importance of home at this difficult time of year and welcomed us into hers.

Parents of small children – I know you can understand when I say having a day away is one of life’s greatest treasures.  Even just being by myself in the car is precious.  Then throw in a ferry ride, a challenging and invigorating morning of yoga, a lunch prepared by me, time to just hang with incredible women, and then another yoga class, another ferry ride, and more time in the car by myself.  Nirvana or what?

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Now that I have done four of these, I have a rhythm down.  I get to Jen’s house early and unload my car.  Everything cold goes in the refrigerator and everything else goes on the counter in groups of how it will be served.  The menus I plan need to be as simple as possible in terms of last minute prep because I only have about 45 minutes to get it all out and that includes a shower (Jen teaches hot yoga).  Then, I go down to the studio to secure my mat space and Jen and I get a few moments of talking time before she and I are both “on”.

If you are lucky, you have had a wonderful teacher in your life.  Maybe you have had several.  I had a tremendous 3rd grade teacher, a 9th grade English teacher who taught me how to write, math teachers all through high school who sat with me patiently and explained things over and over, and a physics professor in college who gave me a “B” even though I was doing “C” work because I tried hard.  And now, Jen.  I have taken and taught a lot of yoga classes in my life.  I have never had a teacher like her.  She manages to make the class extremely challenging and extremely approachable.  She gives very clear and yet minimal instructions on the poses and talks more about real life.  Honoring yourself.  One of my favorite things she says is, “Try easy.  We are always told to try harder.  Try easy.”  She speaks in English, not yoga speak and she is very real.

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After a morning of intense self-focus using poses and breath, it always feels a bit weird to change into frantic trying-to-get-the-food-out mode.  But I know everyone is hungry (including me) so I do my best to hurry.  I worry the entire time that I don’t have enough food.  If I made enough to feed 100 (we were 21 this time), I would still worry.

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One thing I never have to worry about is dessert.  Things can be made in advance and people are so appreciative of a home-baked treat.  Especially after sweating their guts out in a challenging class.  This time I made Honey Nut Bars (recipe coming soon) and these cookies.

Sometimes making choices is great and sometimes it is nice to have a choice made for you.  This cookie makes a choice for you.  Rather than having to decide between a cookie and a brownie, this recipe just combines them for you.  Yes, those chunks are brownies.  There are lots of nice things about this recipe, one of them being that you only use half the pan of brownies in the cookies.  The other half can either be served just as brownies, or you can freeze them for next time.

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One Year Ago:  Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Brownie-Chunk Cookies
Adapted from Bon Appétit
Makes approximately 30 cookies

Take note that you will need to refrigerate the brownies overnight before using them in the cookies.

2½ cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
½ cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
½ recipe (½ sheet) chilled Old Fashioned Brownies (recipe follows), cut into ½-inch pieces

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Whisk first 3 ingredients in medium bowl.  Beat butter and both sugars in large bowl until smooth.  Beat in eggs and vanilla.  Sir in dry ingredients, then walnuts.  Gently fold in brownies cubes (brownies may crumble).

Fill a small bowl with water.  Dip ice cream scoop in water, scoop batter; drop onto cookie sheets, spacing about 2 inches apart and dipping scoop as needed.  Using moist fingertips, flatten mounds to 1-inch thickness.

Bake cookies, 1 sheet at a time, until just golden – 15 to 18 minutes.  Remove cookies to cooling rack.

Old-Fashioned Brownies
Makes one 13×9 – inch brownie sheet

5 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, diced
2 cups sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
4 large eggs
¼ tsp. salt
1 cup flour

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Line 13×9x2 – inch metal baking pan with foil, leaving overhang.  Stir chocolate and butter in heavy large saucepan over low heat until melted and smooth.  Cool 15 minutes.

Whisk sugar and vanilla into chocolate mixture, then whisk in eggs and salt; stir in flour.  Spread batter in prepared pan.

Bake brownies until tester inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs attached, about 20 minutes.  Cool in pan.  Cover and chill overnight.

Using foil as aid, lift brownie sheet from pan and cut in half to use in cookies.  Serve other half (cut into squares) or wrap well in foil and freeze for up to one month.


Category: Chocolate, Cookies, Personal, Yoga Retreat Food
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Peanut Butter Cookies Done Right

January 19, 2010

Cookie Collage

On a cookie plate, the first one I will go for is the chocolate chip and the last one is the peanut butter.  Why?  I don’t think I’ve ever had a good peanut butter cookie.  They tend to be dry and crumbly and the flavor is pretty one note.  I find at the end of eating one that my tongue kind of hurts.  Just not enough variety of flavor for me in that cookie.

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So why did I make these?  First of all, the milk chocolate chunk part of the recipe just screamed at me.  Then I noticed that they have a lot of peanut butter and not much flour which means that dry problem would most likely be taken care of.  Plus, in the header of the recipe, the authors say, “This is not your ordinary peanut butter cookie.  It is, in our humble opinion, the only peanut butter cookie.”  How could you not accept that challenge?  And so, I made them.  And so, now I have to deal with the temptation of having them in my house.  It’s not just the chocolate that makes these so much better than other peanut butter cookies I have had.  It is the cookie itself – moist but crisp in the right places and pure peanut butter flavor.

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Peanut Butter and Chocolate Together on Dana Treat: Holly B’s Peanut Butter Brownies, Peanut Butter Cup Brownies, Peanut Butter Candy Mini Brownie Cups

Peanut Butter Cookies with Milk Chocolate Chunks
Baked – New Frontiers in Baking
Makes about 24 cookies

Holy mistake Batman!  I just realized while typing in this recipe that I did not add the called for 1 cup of granulated sugar to the butter and brown sugar.  Yes, my cookies were missing a whole cup of sugar and are still delicious.  If you choose to leave out that cup of  granulated sugar, be sure to still use the cup of brown sugar.  Below is what you are supposed to do.

1¾ cups flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup granulated sugar, plus more for sprinkling
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 cup creamy peanut butter
6 ounces good milk chocolate, coarsely chopped

Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and both sugars together until fluffy.  Scrape down the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated.  The mixture will look light and fluffy.  Add the vanilla and peanut butter and beat until just incorporated.

Add half the flour mixture and mix for 15 seconds.  Add the remaining flour mixture and mis until just incorporated.

Using a spatula or wooden spoon, fold in the chocolate.  Cover the bowl tightly and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

Preheat the oven to 375°F.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.  (DT: I skipped this step and the cookies did not stick.)

Drop the dough by rounded tablespoons onto the prepared sheets, at least 2 inches apart.  With the palm of your hand, very gently press each cookie down so it forms a very tall disk shape.  Do not press too hard and do not press it flat.

Sprinkle the tops of the cookies with granulated sugar and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time, until the tops of the cookies just begin to brown.

Remove the pan from the oven and cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes.  Use a spatula to transfer the individual cookies to the rack to cool completely (although they are delicious warm).

The cookies can be stored, in an airtight container, for up to 3 days


Category: Chocolate, Cookies, Dessert
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Chocolate Caramel Treasures

December 17, 2009

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If you are relatively new here, you might think that this is a baking only blog.  First there is the name.  Dana Treat implies, well, treats – right?  And then there would be the fact there have been an awful lot of cakes and cookies here as of late.  The last time I wrote about a main course was on November 20th.  (Peanut Curry.  It’s a good one.)

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The fact of the matter is that after I cooked for Thanksgiving, main courses have not been a big part of my life.  The things I have been making are not really worth writing about.  My husband has been traveling a lot so I’ve been eating a lot of scrounged leftovers and baked potatoes.  Yawn.

And then there is the fact that between the teachers, bus drivers, babysitters and speech therapists in our lives there are 13 gift bags to fill.   Don’t even get me started on family.  And so, I started baking.  And I just kept baking.  And actually, I have some more baking to do.  But I also have some big meals coming up so I hope to share a few more savory things in the next few weeks.  Until then, go make these cookies.

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This is yet another one of these delicious recipes that I made long ago and just lost track of.  As I was making out my Baking List 2009, I stumbled upon them.  This is a great bang for your buck recipe.  Yes, there is a bit of fussing but nothing about it is hard.  The dough is incredibly easy to make and you can do it a day or two ahead and let it sit in the refrigerator.  The caramel filling is nothing more than store-bought caramels melted down with some cream, so if making caramel scares you – no worrying necessary.  Gourmet?  Not really, but who cares?  And the chocolate drizzle requires nothing more complicated than a Ziploc bag.  At the end of it all you get this very fancy looking and incredibly delicious cookie.  Double the recipe because you will want lots.

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One Year Ago:  Ina Garten’s Jalapeño Cheddar Cornbread

Chocolate Caramel Treasures
Adapted from Gourmet
Makes about 2 1/2 dozen

I really never grease my sheets when making cookies, but you will need to do so with this recipe.  Or you can use parchment paper.

For Cookies
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1 large egg yolk
2 tbsp. whole milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup flour
1/3 cup Dutch-process unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 large egg white, lightly beaten
1/2 cup finely chopped hazelnuts

For Caramel Filling
10 (1-by 1/2-inch) plain caramels, unwrapped
2 tbsp. heavy cream

For Chocolate Drizzle
3 oz. semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

Make cookies:
Beat together butter, sugar, yolk, milk, and vanilla with an electric mixer until blended well.  Sift in flour, cocoa, and salt and beat on low speed until mixture forms a dough.  Chill, wrapped in plastic wrap until firm, at least 30 minutes and up to 2 days.

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Roll scant tablespoons of dough into balls, then coat with egg white, letting excess drip off, and roll in nuts to coat.  Arrange balls, as coated, 1 1/2 inches apart on greased baking sheets and press your thumb into center of balls to flatten, leaving a depression.  Bake in batches in middle of oven until puffed slightly but centers are still soft, 10 to 12 minutes.  Remove from oven and immediately press centers of cookies again.  (Use the handle end of a wooden spoon.)  Transfer to racks to let cool.

Make filling while cookies are cooling:
Heat caramels and cream in a small saucepan over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until melted and mixture is smooth.  Spoon into centers of cookies and cool completely.

Make chocolate drizzle:
Melt chocolate in a double boiler or a metal bowl set over a pan of simmering water, stirring until smooth.  Cool to warm (this will take about 45 minutes) and pour into a sandwich size sealable plastic bag.  Seal bag, press chocolate to one corner and snip off a very small hole.  Drizzle chocolate over cookies and let stand until set, about 30 minutes.


Category: Chocolate, Cookies
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Holly B’s Rugelach

December 9, 2009

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Top three favorite smells coming out of my kitchen.  1) Any kind of brownies.  2) This granola.  3) Onions caramelizing.  And if I can extend the list to four, I would have to include this rugelach.  Jam, cinnamon, nuts, and cream cheese dough all doing magical things in the oven.

Up until today, I had never made a sweet rugelach before.  I have made savory ones as an appetizer (where is that recipe? ) but never the traditional kind.

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Shauna shared some amazing gluten-free rugelach with me last week and hers were filled with quince paste and bittersweet chocolate.  Hello yum.  Because this was my first time making this recipe, I needed to stick closer to the rules.  Holly calls these Raspberry Rugelach but I did have to bend the rules a bit and make Blackberry Rugelah because blackberry jam is all I have in my house.  A woman named Linda who lives on Lopez Island makes positively transcendent jam so we always stock up every summer.  The fact that Lopez jam lives in these Lopez cookies seems just right.

These little cookies are not the most beautiful things I have ever made but the smell matches the taste.  Delicious.  Buttery, flaky, sweet and spicy.  They are also really fun to make. If you are a person who is afraid of working with dough, this is a great one to start with.  It is very forgiving and does just what you want it to.

You can buy Holly B’s wonderful cookbook by visiting this site.

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Raspberry or Blackberry Rugelach
With Love & Butter
Makes 18 small pastries

Definitely keep these little treasures on the small side – they look much better that way.  I have large cookie sheets so I crammed them all onto one pan.  A lot of jam leaked out and I just transferred them immediately to a wire rack to cool.  I didn’t bother with the two fork option described below.

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
7 tbsp. granulated sugar
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1/3 cup raspberry or blackberry jam
6 tbsp. raisins
6 tbsp. sliced almonds
6 tbsp. brown sugar
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
Powdered sugar for dusting (optional)

Cream the butter with an electric mixer until smooth.  Add the cream cheese and combine until smooth.  Mix in 1 tablespoon of the granulated sugar and the vanilla.  Gradually stir in the flour, blending until just combined.

Scrape the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap and wrap loosely.  Shape the dough into a disk about 6 inches across and 1-inch thick and refrigerate until firm, about 3 hours.  (DT: I refrigerated mine overnight.)

Preheat the oven to 375°F with the rack in the center position.  Line 1 large or two small baking sheets with parchment paper.

Unwrap the dough and place on a lightly floured surface.  Begin rolling the dough into a circle, keeping both sides lightly floured and free from sticking to th rolling pin and work surface.  Continue rolling the dough into a circle about 18 inches across and 1/8-inch thick.  (DT: Because I seemingly incapable of rolling dough into a circle, I just did the best I could and trimmed the edges to make it circular.)  Brush off the excess flour on both sides of the pastry.  Smear the jam over the dough, right up to the edges of the circle.

Combine the raisins, almonds, brown sugar, cinnamon, and remaining 6 tablespoons granulated sugar in a small bowl.  Distribute this mixture evenly over the jam.  Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, gently cut the wheel of dough into 18 wedges.

Starting at the wide base of each wedge, roll the dough into a little tube.  It will look like a tiny croissant without the curve.  Place the pastries 1 inch apart on the cookie sheet(s).  One pan at a time, bake 10 minutes, then rotate the pan and bake 5 to 10 minutes more.  The Rugelach will be done with light golden in color.  Remove the pan from the oven and use 2 forks to relocated each pastry to a clean place on the parchment for cooling.

Cool thoroughly, then dust lightly with powdered sugar if desired.  Store at room temperature for up to 2 days.  Rugelach dough can be frozen for up to 1 month without any adverse effects.


Category: Cookies, Holly B's
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