Pumpkin Cookie

This Thanksgiving I am sending you a hug—in the form of a cookie. Maybe you need one today, after braving the supermarket, again, for that item which didn't make it into the cart. Maybe after spending hours in the kitchen prepping for a big meal, you're exhausted. Maybe there is a sense of loneliness, even when surrounded by people. Maybe you'd just like one, because hugs, let's face it, are always life-affirming and good for the soul.

This hug surprised me. I have never been a soft-cookie fan. Never ever. The Illinois College Roommate, however, had them waiting for me at our reunion, and being a polite guest, I partook... and was converted. This little mound epitomizes all kinds of warmth in its cinnamony flavor and comfort with its pillowy soft texture and just-right touch of sweetness.

Wishing you all a very happy and healthy Thanksgiving this year!

Pumpkin Cookies
slightly adapted from allrecipes.com

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/4 cups white sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For icing:
2 cups confectioner's sugar
3 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves and salt; set aside.

In a medium bowl, cream together the 1/2 cup butter and sugar. Add the pumpkin, egg, and vanilla to the butter mixture, and beat until creamy. Mix in the dry ingredients. Drop on cookie sheet by tablespoonfuls; flatten slightly.

Bake for 15-20 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool the cookies. While they are cooling, prepare the icing; In a medium bowl, mix the confectioner's sugar, milk, melted butter and vanilla until smooth. Add milk as needed if icing is too stiff. Drizzle the glaze with a fork.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Streusel Loaf

Nary a day passes without my thinking about blogging. One would never know, considering that my half-year silences grow ever my frequent. Yet, I do think, and I have stayed quiet. Sometimes it's just a matter of will to start the fingers typing and maybe, just maybe, inspiration hits.

Autumn flies by. Leaves turn russet, auburn and golden. Pumpkins proliferate. I love this season, and I couldn't let it escape without a new recipe. Three operative words: CHOCOLATE CHIP STREUSEL.

I am sure most of you have some sort of go-to pumpkin bread ideal, whether it's your homemade or store-bought treat. I love me a good streusel and the topping, combined with a chocolatey interior ribbon, won a definite place in my standard baking repertoire.

I tried five iterations of it and settled on this version. I like my streusel with some body to it and so I added flour and a little more butter to the topping; the original recipe was too crumbly.

PUMPKIN BREAD WITH CHOCOLATE CHIP STREUSEL
slightly altered from NYTimes, Melissa Clark

For the streusel:

1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon cold butter, divided
1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
4 teaspoons flour


For the cake:

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup light brown sugar, packed
½ cup canola oil
2 large eggs
½ cup pumpkin
½ cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Heat the oven to 350º. Grease and flour a nonstick 9-inch loaf pan. (Or, if the pan is not nonstick, line with parchment paper and butter the paper.)

Prepare the streusel: In a bowl, combine the brown sugars, nuts, cinnamon and ginger. Cut in 1/2 tablespoon butter with pastry blender or your fingers until mixture is crumbly. Divide the mixture in half and add the chocolate chips to one half. To the other half, add the remaining 1/2 tablespoon butter and 4 teaspoons flour and set this aside for the topping.

For the cake: In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat sugars and oil until light and fluffy.  Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add pumpkin, sour cream and vanilla extract; mix well. Gradually beat in flour mixture.

Spoon ⅔ of the batter into the pan. Sprinkle the chocolate chip streusel over the batter, not allowing streusel to touch sides of pan. Top with remaining batter. Make sure batter layer touches edges of pan. Sprinkle remaining streusel on the top.

Bake for 55-65 minutes, or until wood pick inserted in cake comes out clean. Cool for 30 minutes in pan on wire rack. Untold and cool completely.

oreo pretzel rice krispie treat

Hi People. After a year of silence, I am back! It has been so long that I forgot my password onto this site. Oh my.

Much has happened in a year.

The Daughter went grey-blonde and entered first year of college. I am nearing the half century mark with doom and gloom, with diet and health becoming an ever present topic of discussion.  I am also figuring out how to "help out" my son with his schoolwork, after 10 years of next to nil involvement. Don't ask.

I have done little baking exploration (diet!! health!!) and basically make my trifecta of standbys— chocolate chip cookies, brownies and cornflake crunch cookie— when occasions call for them. Today's treats, however, have made it into the rotation the past few months.

The BFF concocted this deliciousness and I want to share with you. It's particularly great in the summer months as it calls for just a little bit of stovetop heat and involves no oven. You will thank me for the cool kitchen, but will curse me when the one bite becomes two, or three, or four...

 I use miniature marshmallows so that they melt down more quickly.

One crucial technique pointer— try to keep oreos in larger chunks. Don't over pulverize.

OREO PRETZEL RICE KRISPIE TREATS

1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter

1 10-ounce bag mini marshmallows

pinch of salt

4 cups rice krispies

18 oreos, crushed (I place oreos in a plastic bag and lightly tap with a meat mallet)

3 handfuls of pretzel sticks

Grease a 9x13 pan.

Over medium low heat, melt the butter. Add the marshmallows and melt down, stirring constantly. Add a pinch of salt. Remove from heat and add the rice krispies. Mix thoroughly. Add the oreos and pretzels. (I squeeze each handful of pretzels as I add them to break them down a bit.) Mix thoroughly and dump into the prepared pan. Pat down the mixture evenly. Let cool a few minutes before cutting. 

easy salted caramel rice krispie treats

The Son rarely goes for seconds when presented with baked goods. He, like his dad, is a savory kind of a guy. Once in a blue moon, I find a treat which elicits more than a tepid response; he grazed on these throughout the afternoon. (I was so pleased he loved them that I neither stopped him nor did I contemplate the potential blood sugar spiking cavity inducing repercussions of said activity.)

My favorite aspect of this is that it stayed moist for three days. Have you ever bitten into a day old rice krispie treat and nearly broken a tooth? Or thrown it out because the dry factor was too much to bear? Yes, on the texture front, this recipe is definitely a winner. Add ease of execution and tasty flavor to the mix, and bingo, the snack rises to a top three treat.

easy salted caramel rice krispie treats

4 tablespoons butter
1 10 oz. bag of marshmallows
6 ounces caramel sauce
generous pinch of kosher salt 
7 cups rice krispie cereal

Grease a 9x13x2-inch pan.

In a large pot over low heat, melt the butter. Add the marshmallows and stir until completely melted.

Remove from heat. Add the caramel sauce and salt. Stir to incorporate. Add the cereal until fully incorporated.

Using a greased spatula or greased wax paper, evenly press the mixture into the prepared pan. Let cool before cutting into squares.

pretty things

Warning: this is not food related.

It's PRETTY. It's PRINTABLE. It's FREE.  I love all of the above and want to share the link.

Happy Hump Day!

cookies and cream cookies

Surprise! I'm baaaack! It has been one year to the day since my last post. Bet you never imagined you'd hear from me again. I wasn't sure you would either. We shall see how long this foray back will last, but I thought it fitting to celebrate this break-from-a-year-long-break milestone and say hello to you all with a cookie recipe.

chocolate crunch slice

As some of you might recall, my siblings and I had to clear out Dear Dad's stuff. The first time was a MAJOR undertaking, last year was just a tidying up, and this past month, it was another downsizing. That meant looking into his freezer, and low and behold, see what I found! Lots of chocolate! 11 bars, to be exact. We won't begin to question what Dear Dad was stockpiling for, but I immediately began wondering what I could do with them.

maialino olive oil cake

I'm a sucker for pretty foods and no grocery shopping. I saw the recipe on Food52, loved the gorgeous picture, realized all the ingredients were on deck, and decided, "Why not?" This I did, despite having never been drawn to the idea of olive oil in a baked sweet good.

I tried it out not once, but THREE times in as many weeks. Yes, I like it that much, and I fiddled a bit with the measurements to see if I could reduce the sugar and oil. Attempts #2 and #3 were in vain and bordered on epic fails. The Daughter's Attempt #4 followed the original to a T, and GUESS WHAT? Some recipes just shouldn't be fiddled with. (Ok, I still reduced the sugar, just a tad.)

My favorite aspect of this cake is its crackling top. It's rather unique in a cake. I also love the creamy, almost bread-pudding like texture.

The citrus scent is such a hopeful and lovely aroma, particularly as I'm still wearing wool sweaters mid-March. Hit me with some sunshine and vitamin C, please!

You probably have All-Ingredients-On-Deck, too. If so, gather those two bowls and whisk and get going. You'll be so glad you did.

Maialino Olive Oil Cake
adapted slight from Food52

2 cups all-purpose flour
1⅔ cup granulated sugar
1½ teaspoons kosher salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
1⅓ cups extra virgin olive oil
1¼ cups whole milk
3 large eggs
1½ tablespoons grated orange zest
¼ cup fresh orange juice
¼ cup Grand Marnier

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease a 9" cake pan. Line the bottom with a circle of parchment.

Whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.

Whist together the olive oil, milk, eggs, orange zest, orange juice, and Grand Marnier.

Add the dry ingredients and whisk until completely smooth and combined.

Pour into prepared pan, and bake 1 hour or until top is golden brown and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in pan 30 minutes. Run a knife around the sides to loosen, then turn out onto a wire rack and let cool for 2 hours.

mea culpa cookies- chocolate whoppers

I surprised myself. I didn't realize I had this Fonzie syndrome:


I never thought saying sorry would be so hard. I could easily admit my bad to others, yet, I couldn't manage saying it to the person I'd wronged.

power of the pause- hot chocolate mix

I thought I had paced myself this December to create some space for breathing. Even with good intentions, decorating, shopping, gatherings, parties, rehearsals, and performances filled up the to-do list and crowded out the silent moments. If one such moment appeared, it was filled with dvr'd TV. (Hello, Homeland! Scandal! Goodbye blog posts.)

chocolate crinkle cookies

Generally speaking, cracks are not appealing. Cracks in sidewalks, in ceilings, in heels and chapped lips- they are all very ugh-inducing. This, however, might be the one and only instance where cracks look good, even alluring. I say the more cracks there are, the better!

oreo owl cookies

These owls are a delightful treat to share with neighborhood kids- big AND small. They require no baking and are fun to put together.

mississippi mud torte

"This is rich."

Those were my first thoughts after taking my first bite.

Maybe it was because I'd just finished a huge Korean meal of bulgogi, seafood pancake, and jap chae, maybe it was because there are three different layers of chocolate in this bad boy, but can I tell you, IT WAS INTENSE.

If you're looking for a dessert that knocks you over with texture, flavor and power, you're at the right place.

chocolate-coffee ice cream pie

fool∙ish   /'fo͞oliSH/ :
     lacking good sense or judgement; unwise

That about sums up my decision to single-handedly work my way through this pie. I couldn't resist. It was 80 degrees out today, (as it was yesterday, and last week). I needed a pick me up.

I used just about every single excuse to justify my actions. Perhaps it can be argued that it would have been foolish of me NOT to eat it, it was so darn good.

lemon drop cake

Buh-bye, Summer!

Today's the last day (autumnal equinox occurs at 10:29 EDT tomorrow) and I'm trying not to shed a tear. Even though school's been in session for two weeks, even though I can't stand the humidity of August, even though I do love the fall season, saying good-bye always makes me a little sad.

crumb coffee cake

Hey everyone, I hope you're having a fine summer. I was watching my new guilty pleasure, Rush, on USA Network, and saw a back-to-school commercial. Wham, bam, kick to the gut. I felt as though my summer was dwindling to a close.

Now, I know for some of you (North Carolina people, I think?) you're already in session, and for many of you, school starts at the end of August. Here in NJ, it's always been after Labor Day, so yes, I want still want to think that I have nearly a whole month of vacation left! That said, my kids are at a two week sleep away camp, so talk to me after they're home for two weeks, and you know that school can't start soon enough.

But I'm not here to rail against vacation and back-to-school angst, I'm here to talk about this yummy coffee cake! I love the crumb to cake ratio (heavy on the crumb), the flavors are simple and straightforward, the texture moist and firm.

You can find the recipe over at kimchi MOM, where I'm guest blogging today. She is not just a friend in the blogosphere, but a friend in real life (you'll read why.) While you're there, take a look around her site; she has some amazing, delicious recipes you'll be inspired to try. (I'm partial to her Indian Style Roasted Cauliflower.)

taco seasoning mix

I never ever thought to make my own taco seasoning mix until The Daughter earmarked a recipe in the Food Network magazine. It was wonderfully simple, quick to throw together, and I'm guessing, cheaper than the packaged kind from the supermarket. If not less expensive, at least healthier. Once you make your own, you'll never buy a pack again!

Of course, I can't find that particular recipe in that particular edition from a few particular years ago... so I've been using the most popularly reviewed one on allrecipes.com.

Here is my variation—

Taco Seasoning Mix
adapted from Allrecipes.com

1tablespoon chili powder
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
¼ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
1½ teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon ground fennel (optional, some of The Family preferred it without this spice)
2 teaspoons cornstarch

In a small bowl, mix together all the ingredients. Store in an airtight container.

Mix 3 tablespoons of the taco seasoning and ½ cup water with 1 pound browned ground beef. Simmer until combined.

gluten-free almond butter cookies

I had one compelling thought as I was taking these photos. Brown cookies do not make great photos. You will just have to trust me that these cookies taste better than they look.

morning glory muffins

Are you one of those who combines different cereals for breakfast? I definitely am. I got hooked decades ago in college. With the cafeteria's huge selection, I mixed away. I haven't stopped since. (This morning it was Kashi GoLean Crunch with Peanut Butter Captain Crunch. I mix high/low, healthy/unhealthy. I need balance in my life.)

I appreciate variety, and that's why I'm drawn to these muffins. You could call these Everything-but-the-kitchen-sink and be very close to the truth. The more stir-ins, the merrier.

cornbread

I like cornbread. I really do. But my baking relationship with cornbread is complicated. We have issues.