Six years ago, right around this time of year, Randy and I were living in London.  One day I sat in a wonderful cooking class at Leith’s – a day-long class on vegetarian food.  The teacher was swift and engaging and while I didn’t learn much in particular, it was a joy to watch such a professional work.  My eyes kept drifting up to the stacks upon stacks of copper pots on the shelves behind her.  She mentioned that the school had bought the pots and pans back in the 1950’s and they were the ones still used in the kitchens.  Dreamily I thought, “I want copper pots from Paris”.  Practically I thought, “I just got brand new stainless steel All Clad pots – there is no way I could justify buying copper”.  Dreamily I thought, “For my 40th birthday, I want to go to Paris and buy copper pots”.  The class wrapped up, I went home and told Randy about my 40th birthday plan – six years in the future – to which he said, “Got it”.

“Got it” in Randy language means many things.  Sometimes it means “please stop talking, I understand you” and other times it means “I am taking your criticism and I am moving on”.  In this instance it meant “you are making a special request of me and regardless of how frivolous it may sound, I will see that I fulfill it”.  If you know my husband, he is a get-shit-done kind of guy.  He is a tremendous problem solver, an incredibly hard worker, and he really likes to plan.  What you may not know is that he is a pretty romantic guy and he really likes to make me happy.

So, my 40th birthday is this summer (July 26th to be exact) and on Tuesday, I am flying to France.  Randy has business in Cannes so I will meet up with him there, then fly to Paris for a few days, then take the Eurostar to London for one day, and then back home.  It will be whirlwind.  I feel very lucky.  My in-laws are flying in from Atlanta to stay with my kids and I will get my husband all to myself for a whole week.  A week in Europe where I have not been in six years.

Will I buy pots?  I don’t know.  It is highly impractical.  I can’t carry them on the plane and to ship them would be ridiculously expensive.  I hope to maybe find a brand that does business online and buy them that way.  I have a list of shops to visit but our time is limited, especially since one of our two full days in Paris will be a Sunday.  Maybe I will just buy a symbolic pot (like a ½ quart butter-melter) and spend the rest of my money on chocolate.  I know that it doesn’t matter.  I will lay on the beach in Cannes.  I will have an early birthday dinner with Randy and my parents (who are joining us) in Paris.  I will get to have lunch with Ele and Hilary in London.  I get to fly on an airplane armed with stacks of books and magazines and not one single Sesame Street DVD, garbage truck, or Leap Frog game.  Parents of small children, you know what I am talking about.

Whenever I feel extra spoiled, I feel like I want to give back.  Here is where the chocolate cookies come in.  I got the recipe for these treats from David Lebovitz’s new book Ready for Dessert.  David Lebovitz, if you don’t know, is an American pastry chef and ice cream guru living in Paris.  He has written a number of cookbooks (including the only ice cream book you will ever need – The Perfect Scoop) and also a memoir about living in the city of lights called The Sweet Life in Paris.  Wouldn’t it be nice to have a contest, pick a winner, and send that person to Paris?  Unfortunately, that is not going to happen.  So, I’m going to have a contest, pick a winner, and send that person a copy of The Sweet Life in Paris and winner’s choice of one his other books.  Just tell me what your favorite spot is in Paris and if you haven’t been, tell me what would be your first stop in that beautiful city.

I will pick a winner when I return from my journey.  I will have a few posts go up while I am gone.  Until then, à bientôt!

One Year Ago: Strawberry and Sour Cream Ice Cream (from The Perfect Scoop!)
Two Years Ago: Spicy Lime and Herbed Tofu in Lettuce Cups (pardon the photo)

Flo’s Chocolate Snaps
Adapted from Ready for Dessert
Makes about 50 cookies

I took the liberty of adding ½ a cup of mini chocolate chips to my batter which you could, of course, leave out.  I cut my cookies a bit thicker than he recommends and next time I will just listen to him so they are thinner and snappier.

3 cups flour
¾ unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
2½ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1¼ cups sugar, plus more for sprinkling
½ tsp. vanilla extract
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
½ cup mini chocolate chips (optional)

Into a small bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt.

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and the sugar on medium speed just until smooth.  Add the vanilla, then beat in the egg and egg yolk.

Gradually add the cocoa mixture to the butter mixture, mixing until completely incorporated and no streaks of butter remain.  If using, mix the chocolate chips in by hand using a spatula.

On a lightly floured surface, divide the dough into quarters, and shape each quarter into a log about 7 inches long and 1½ inches in diameter.  Wrap the logs in plastic wrap and refrigerate until they’re firm enough to slice, about 1 hour.

Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven; preheat the oven to 350ºF.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.  (DT: I skipped this step and had no trouble with the cookies sticking.)

Slice the logs into disks ½-inch thick and place the disks on the prepared baking sheets, spaced about ½-inch apart.  Bake, rotating the baking sheets midway through baking, until the cookies are puffed and slightly firm, 10 to 12 minutes.  Remove from the oven and immediately sprinkle with a bit of sugar.

Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets until firm enough to handle, then use a spatula to transfer them to a wire rack.  They will continue to firm up and get “snappy” as they cool.

(The dough can be refrigerated for up to 5 days or frozen for up to 1 month.  The baked cookies can be kept in an airtight container for 2 days.)

We food bloggers can be a bossy group.  You see a lot of “You have to try this!” and “This is the best (fill in the blank) recipe out there!  Throw away any other version!”.  We feel strongly about food and when we find something we like, we want to share.  I come by my bossiness naturally.  I am an oldest child and a Leo.  I have almost 40 years experience telling people what to do.

I like to think that I am not overly bossy on my site.  (Please let me know if you feel otherwise.)  I fully appreciate that taste is completely individual and something I love might be something you hate.  We all have different opinions about what is delicious and I respect that you might hate chocolate and french fries (although I will never never understand it).

It is with restraint and respect that I tell you that I have found the last chocolate chip cookie recipe I will ever need.  What I want to do is to type in all caps and tell you that you have found the last chocolate chip cookie recipe you will ever need…but I am holding my inner boss in check.  I respect that you might have a much beloved recipe that you will never part with.  But it is my duty as a food blogger to share my treasure.

I  never really gave much thought to chocolate chip cookies until the New York Times recipe came along several years ago.  Periodically I would see recipes in books and wonder why anyone would stray from the good old Tollhouse recipe.  When all the hubbub died down, I made the NYT recipe and understood that a chocolate cookie is capable of subtlety and there was a difference when you used different kinds of flour, used chocolate disks instead of chips, and let the dough rest at least overnight.  I made them again and again and thought I had found my until-the-end-of-time cookie recipe.

And then, just a few weeks ago, Ashley’s recipe came into my life.  You know Ashley, right?  If you don’t, you should.  This very sweet very young woman is very accomplished and a very very good cook and baker.  She teaches wonderful classes that happen to take place right next door to my house.  I have taken a few and I look forward to taking more.  I am a good cook and baker but I have learned some great things from her.  Like how to make a perfect chocolate chip cookie.

What makes them so special?  Three different kinds of sugar.  A long creaming time.  A lot of chocolate.  A little trick with adding the flour and chocolate pieces to prevent over mixing.  I don’t know.  I asked her what she thought made them so special and she answered, “It’s just all those things together”.  All right whatever, cookie genius.  What I do know is that these cookies turn out perfectly round (every single one of them!), they have loads of chocolate and no nuts (a big plus for me), and they are that perfect combination of crisp exterior and chewy interior.  They also have a sprinkling of sea salt on the top of each one which makes them irresistable.

I also asked Ashley about the let-the-dough-rest theory.  She said her cookies are in fact even better (is that possible?) if you refrigerate the dough for 24 hours.  When I told her that I found refrigerated dough kind of a pain to scoop, she said that she turns the dough out and forms it into a log.  Then she slices and bakes.  Cookie genius indeed.

One Year Ago:  White Chocolate Almond Chunk Cookies
Two Years Ago:  Feta and Ricotta Cheese Skillet Pie

Ashley’s Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies
Not Without Salt
Makes about 2 dozen

I have made no changes to the original recipe but have clarified a bit, with Ashley’s blessing.  I used bittersweet chocolate for my cookies but semi-sweet would be great too.

2 sticks (8 oz.) unsalted butter, softened
¼ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup Turbinado sugar
1¾ cup light brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
3½ cups all-purpose flour
1½ tsp. baking soda
¾ tsp. salt
12 oz. chocolate (use the best quality chocolate you can afford.  With a serrated knife, cut chocolate into roughly ½-inch chunks.)
Sea salt

Preheat the oven to 360ºF.  Set rack in the middle of the oven.

Cream the butter and the sugars on medium-high speed until light, 4-5 minutes.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl a couple of times during this process.  Continue mixing while adding the eggs one at a time.  Make sure each egg is incorporated before adding the next.  Add the vanilla.  Scrape down the bowl with a spatula.  Combine the flour, soda and salt in another bowl.  Mix with a whisk.  With the machine on low, slowly add almost all the flour.  Reserve just a bit of the mixture.  Remove the bowl from the mixer and add the last bit of flour along with the chocolate.  Stir with a spatula until just combined.

Using a large ice cream scoop, scoop out mounds of dough making sure there is about 2 inches between each cookie.  Do not crowd them and there is no need to press the dough down.  Sprinkle each mound with a bit of sea salt.

Bake sheets, one at time, until the cookies are lightly golden on the edges and a bit gooey in the center, about 12 minutes.  Do not overbake!  Remove sheet from oven and allow to sit undisturbed for two minutes.  Then carefully transfer cookies to a cooling rack.  Repeat with the remaining sheets.

(DT: I have a convection feature on my oven and was able to successfully bake three sheets at a time.  If you do not have convection, I would highly recommend just doing one sheet at a time.)

Every so often, I like to talk about my son Graham.  He has some special needs which I have written about here, and again here, and finally here.  Our very first venture into getting help for him started with his first speech assessment at about 22 months old.  Our pediatrician recommended a certain clinic and, because she had never steered us wrong, I took him there without hesitation.  We did not have a good experience and as I contemplated weekly visits for him, I knew we needed another option.

A friend told me about a place that helped children from birth through age 3, an amazing place called The Boyer Children’s Clinic.  I knew it sounded familiar and when I told my mom about it, she reminded me that she had brought my brother there over 30 years ago.  Dim memories of reading in a waiting room while eating a snack came back to me.

From the moment we stepped through the door at Boyer and continuing on to this day, our experience with those amazing people has been nothing short of incredible.  We started off just doing speech therapy but gradually joined in the preschool program that serves both typically developing and special needs children.

One day not long after we started, we rode up in the elevator with a little girl and her nanny.  The little girl was in Graham’s class and I had noticed how loving and sweet her nanny was with her.  I asked how long she had been working for the family and was surprised to hear that she was just filling in temporarily.  Because I had next to no childcare at that point with a toddler and a baby, I pounced.  Was she looking for more hours?  Yes, she was and that is how we got Erika, the most amazing babysitter on the planet.

Now that we have been working together for 2½ years, I can tell you that she is really just an amazing woman.  Babysitter is not the right term for her.  She has spent eight hours a week with my boys for all this time and their lives are richer because of it.  She is helpful to me in a million ways (she loves to fold laundry!  she is much neater than I am!) but the bottom line is that she adores my children and they adore her right back.  They do Dance Party USA in our basement, she takes them on walks to see the ducks and get doughnuts, she solves their squabbles kindly and firmly.  She has also introduced us to Jenna, Catherine, Steena, and Autumn – all lovely young women who have watched the boys on numerous occasions.  Erika is a treasure.  I am thankful to Boyer for all they have done for Graham, but I might just be most thankful to them for giving us Erika.

Graham left Boyer just after his third birthday (as all their children do) but we have stayed involved with them.  We go to their auction every year and, just recently, Randy was elected to their board.  They had a fundraiser last night and, when Randy told them that I cater occasionally, they asked me to do the food.  This party has been in the works for weeks as I planned the menu, got the shopping done, and cooked as far advance as I could.  The day before and day of were a little hectic, but I was so happy to be cooking for a place I believe in so deeply.

Early last week, I glanced at my calendar – my real one where the birthdays are written down in my handwriting, not my iPhone – and realized that today, Saturday, is Erika’s birthday.  Friday night I cater an event for Boyer and Saturday is the birthday of one of our favorite people, the woman we never would have met if it weren’t for Boyer.  Life is funny sometimes.

I took some of the batter I was using for cupcakes and made her a little cake.  I would have taken a photo along with the cupcakes but I had a frosting malfunction and therefore wouldn’t recommend the recipe.  She and the boys decorated it and she took the rest home.  I hope her celebration lasts for the next 24 hours straight.

I got my April issue of Food & Wine right around the time I agreed to do the food.  The dessert on the last page jumped out at me as something I wanted to make without question.  Lovely cookies with just a bit of spice and a lot of crunch topped with sweetened lemon ricotta and strawberries.  It is such a nice combination and so pretty for spring.  I brought some mint as garnish but a giant slug had taken up residence in the package.  Next time.  I am always apprehensive about working with cookie dough that needs to be rolled out but I found this dough dreamy to work with.

One more note.  The party last night was at a place called GlassyBaby.  This is a store that sells the most beautiful hand-blown small glass cups, usually used as candle holders.  They come in about 70 different colors and make a wonderful gift.  They have certain lines where they donate 10% of the proceeds to different charities or non-profits.  For the next three months, they will be donating to Boyer as long as you mention them.  This is about how many I want.

Oh yes, the food!

One Year Ago:  Miso Soup

Strawberry-Ricotta Tartlets
Adapted from Food & Wine
Makes 16 tartlets

This recipe calls for an oval cookie cutter which I was not able to find.  I bought a cheap 3-inch round one and squished it into an oval.

1 cup plus 2 tbsp. flour, plus more for dusting
¼ cup graham flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. salt
Pinch of ground cloves
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
2 tbsp. light brown sugar
1/3 cup plus 2 tbsp. granulated sugar
2 tbsp. honey
1½ tsp. honey
¾  pound strawberries, thinly sliced
1½ tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1¼ cup fresh ricotta (10 ounces)
2 tbsp. confectioners’ sugar
1 tsp. finely grated lemon zest

1.  In a bowl, whisk together both flours with the cinnamon, salt, and cloves.  In a standing mixer, beat the butter, light brown sugar and 2 tablespoons of the granulated sugar at medium speed until fluffy, about 1 minute.  Beat in the honey and molasses, about 30 seconds.  Scrape down the side of the bowl and beat in the flour at low speed, just until incorporated.  Pat the dough into a disk, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.  (DT: I refrigerated my dough overnight.  It took quite a while for it to warm up enough to roll, but suffered no ill effects.)

2.  Preheat oven to 350ºF.  On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough 1/8-inch thick.  Using a 3-inch oval cookie cutter, stamp out 16 ovals; reroll the dough scraps if necessary.  (DT: There is no need to re-chill the dough.)  Transfer the ovals to the baking sheets and bake for about 12 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through until lightly golden around the edges.  Let cool on the pans for 5 minutes, then transfer the ovals to racks to cool completely.

3.  In a bowl, toss the strawberries with the remaining 1/3 cup of sugar and the lemon juice.  Let stand until syrupy, about 20 minutes.

4.  In a medium bowl, mix the ricotta, confectioners’ sugar, and lemon zest.  Spread about 1 tablespoon of the ricotta mixture on each oval.  Arrange the strawberries over the ricotta and if there is syrup from the strawberries, drizzle over.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

So here is something I have not told you all yet.  I have stopped cooking for my clients.  I no longer describe myself as a personal chef.  It started this past summer when our schedules were not aligning well and I decided it made sense to take a break until the fall.  Truthfully, I was glad to have the break.  I started my business when Graham was 18 months old and I cooked for my clients through my second pregnancy, nursing, and sleepless nights.  I cooked reliably and without a break (except for vacation) through the three most exhausting and challenging years of my life.

I loved having my business.  I loved the creativity and loved feeding people.  I know there are many of you out there who dream of being able to do what I did and I have gotten emails telling me so.  I know I was very fortunate to be able to follow my passion in the way that I did.  I just got burnt out.  It wasn’t the cooking or the feeding people, it was the menu planning, shopping, and stressing about finding the time to cook to the standard that I held myself.  My boys have always napped reliably and I have spent almost every single nap of their lives rushing around my kitchen like a mad woman.

Not that much has changed.  There is always something I am cooking for.  My visions of sitting on the couch eating bon bons while reading War and Peace are just that – visions.  I figure I’ll spend another year attempting to relax and then will probably dive back into the world of personal cheffing when my big boy goes to kindergarten next fall.

Randy would tell you the downside to me not being a personal chef anymore is the lack of cookies in our house.  Once a week, when I brought my clients dinner, I would also bring them a treat (hence the name of this blog).  Often those treats were cookies and we always had the leftovers in our cookie jar.  I am still baking plenty but not as many cookies.  Randy complains regularly about this fact.  So, I chose to make one of his favorite kinds – this time from Holly B.

I find Gingersnaps and all the other cookies that fall into the spicy molasses world to be a bit elusive.  I want the perfect one and I have never found it.  Chewy but not gooey.  Crisp around the edges, soft in the middle.  Really spicy and not too sweet.  Rich molasses flavor but not bitter.  Does that cookie exist?

This cookie is pretty close.  Flavor-wise it’s exactly what I want.  Just the right amount of spice with a strong molasses tang coming through.  For me, the texture is a little off, maybe just a bit too cakey and with too much puff.  Still, it’s a good recipe until I find my dream one.  Do you have a perfect gingersnap?  Care to share?

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

One Year Ago:  Miso Carrot Sauce

Gingersnap Cookies
With Love & Butter
Makes a lot of cookies

3/4 stick butter, at room temperature
1/2 stick margarine, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar, plus more for coating
1 1/4 cups brown sugar, firmly packed
3/4 cup plus 1 tbsp. molasses
2 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
5 cups flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. ground ginger
1 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 tsp. allspice

Preheat the oven to 375 F with the rack in the top position.  Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper or grease lightly.

In the bowl of an electric mixer cream together the  butter, margarine, sugars, and molasses.  Add the eggs and egg yolk, mixing well.  Now add the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices and combine thoroughly, scraping the sides of the bowl several times with a rubber spatula.

Plop mounded teaspoonfuls of dough into a shallow bowl filled with about 1 cup of granulated sugar.  (DT: I made my cookies bigger and used a medium sized ice cream scoop.)  Roll the dough in the sugar until totally coated and shaped into a ball.  Space the balls 1 1/2 inches apart on the baking sheets, flattening the top of each cookie slightly with your fingers.

One pan at a time, bake the cookies for 5 minutes, rotate the pan, and bake for 5 to 9 minutes.  The cookies will be done when they settle after puffing up.  If you like your gingersnaps extra crisp, bake a little longer.  Cool, then store in a container with a tight-fitting lid.

(Thank you to all of you who have entered my giveaway!  I will announce a winner tomorrow.)

Have you heard that expression “small but mighty”?  When I hear it, the first thing I think of is my younger son.  He is actually quite big for his age but considering that age is only 2 1/2 he is still small, all things considered.  But oh, is he mighty.  I wouldn’t say he has the terrible two’s though.  I would just say that he is a force to be reckoned with.  Most of the time he is very agreeable, cheerful and funny.  But if he doesn’t get, say, a lollipop like his brother because he didn’t finish his lunch…watch out.  He threw such a fit that I had to take him outside and even then people were staring across the street.  Small but mighty.

On a visit to Holly B’s Bakery, you will find lots of large treats.  The slices of pizza are huge, the cinnamon rolls are generous, even the cookies are big.  These Cappucino Bars are not.  They are slender and delicate looking but they pack a flavor punch.  The combination of coffee, chocolate, and just a bit of cinnamon here is intoxicating.  In spite of the title, the coffee flavor here is fairly subtle so even my coffee hating husband thinks they are delicious.

To buy the Holly B’s cookbook, please visit this site.

One Year Ago:  Quick Olive and Cheese Bread and White Beans with Tomatoes and Sage

Cappucino Bars
With Love & Butter
32 bars

To get really flat bars, I find it works best to smooth them over with an offset spatula, using gentle pressure, just after they come out of the oven and before you apply the glaze.

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 tbsp. instant coffee or espresso powder (not granules)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Glaze
2 tbsp. milk
1 tbsp. butter
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 375 F with the rack at the middle level.  Line a 10×15 inch pan with baking parchment or grease lightly.  (DT: This is also called a jelly roll pan.)

Cream together the butter, brown sugar, instant coffee, and vanilla.  Blend in the flour, baking poser, and salt.  Last, stir in the chocolate chips by hand.  The mixture will be very crumbly, with barely enough dough to hold together the chocolate chips.

Use your fingers, palms, and heels of your hands to press the dough evenly into the pan.  If necessary, cover the dough with wax or parchment paper and use a small rolling pin to flatten the lumps.  Bake 5 minutes, rotate the pan, and  bake 5 to 10 minutes more or until the edges are just starting to brown (watch carefully).  Cool in the pan 5 minutes before spreading with glaze.

Put all the ingredients for the glaze in a small saucepan on medium heat.  Don’t leave this stuff!  Find a whisk and stir until smooth and barely bubbly.  Drizzle the glaze evenly over the bars and smooth out to the edges and corners with a rubber spatula.

Cool until the pan is just warm to the touch and cut into bars with a sharp knife.  (Holly recommends cutting 8 on the 10-inch side and 4 on the 15-inch side, equaling 32 candy-bar sized cookies.  You can halve them too.)