Margarita-Glazed Madeleines

I am in love with a cookie.  Her name is madeleine.

Seriously.  I have never even had madeleines before, but I was bound to love anything that had to be baked in such a beautiful pan.  Then, add the word “margarita” to the mix - I am there!  The batter was easy to put together, the cookies slid right out of the molds, the glazing process went well - it was a very fun baking project.  And oh - these cookies!  They are “lighter than air” (quick, name that TV show!), perfectly puffy, and the glaze adds just the right amount of sweetness with a nice lime flavor.  The alcohol flavor in the glaze comes through well when tasting it alone, but on the cookie, I wasn’t able to pick it out.  That certainly won’t stop me from adding it again though Now that I have made one flavor of these beautiful, delicate cookies I cannot wait to try some other variations.  Mmmm.

I am submitting this recipe to the Tasty Tools event hosted by Joelen, featuring whisks for the month of August.  I use my whisks all the time in the kitchen and find them very useful when making glazes for baked goods, so I thought this recipe would be a good submission.

Now get your booty into the kitchen and make some madeleines!  You can thank me later.

Margarita-Glazed Madeleines
Yield: 18-24 madeleines

Ingredients:

For the cookies:

3 large eggs, at room temperature

2/3 cup sugar

1/8 tsp. salt

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder (optional)

zest of one lime

½ tsp. orange zest

9 tbsp. butter, melted and cooled to room temperature

additional melted butter for preparing the molds

 

For the glaze:

¾ cup powdered sugar

1 tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice

1 tbsp. tequila

1 ½ tsp. Grand Marnier (or other orange liqueur)

 

Directions:

Brush the indentations of a madeleine mold with melted butter.  Dust with flour, tap off any excess, and place in the fridge or freezer.

 

Whip the eggs, granulated sugar and salt with a stand mixer for 5 minutes until frothy and thickened.  Spoon the flour and baking powder, if using, into a sifter or mesh strainer and use a spatula to fold in the flour as you sift it over the batter.

 

Add the citrus zests to the cooled butter, then dribble the butter into the batter, a few spoonfuls at a time, while simultaneously folding to incorporate the butter.  Fold just until all the butter is incorporated.  Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.  (Batter can be chilled for up to 12 hours.)

 

To bake the madeleines, preheat the oven to 425°.  Plop enough batter in the center of each indentation to fill it about ¾ full (approximately 2 tbsp. for a regular madeleine mold and approximately 1 ½ - 2 tsp. for a mini-madeleine mold).  Do not spread the batter.

 

Bake for 8-9 minutes or until the cakes just feel set.  While the cakes are baking, make the glaze in a small mixing bowl by whisking together the powdered sugar, lime juice, tequila and Grand Marnier until smooth.

 

Remove from the oven and tilt the madeleines out onto a cooling rack.  The moment they are cool enough to handle, dip each cake in the glaze, turning them over to make sure both sides are coated and scrape off any excess with a dull knife.  After dipping, rest each one back on the cooling rack, scalloped side up, until the cakes are cool and the glaze has firmed up. 

 

Storage: Glazed madeleines are best left uncovered, or not tightly wrapped; they are best eaten the day they are made.  They can be kept in a container for up to three days after baking, if necessary.

Source: adapted from Confections of a Foodie Bride

Chocolate Chip Treasure Cookies

This past Thursday night Ben and I had our first date since Andrew was born.  Our wonderful friends Allie and Paul volunteered to babysit and we were happy to take them up on their offer.  I knew they wouldn’t accept money as payment, but I don’t think anyone would say no to baked goods so I decided to make them a sweet treat.  I have been wanting to try these cookies for quite a while and this was the perfect time as they helped use up several ingredients that have been sitting in my pantry - graham crackers, sweetened condensed milk and coconut.

These cookies were enjoyed by all.  They taste very similar to regular chocolate chip cookies but with a hint of coconut.  Next time I may add a bit more coconut or maybe a touch of coconut extract to make that flavor a bit more prominent.  They do have a really nice chewy texture.  This is a nice option if you are looking for something sweet to make but don’t have any eggs on hand.

And here is a pic from dinner - we went to one of our favorite local restaurants, Corner Wine Bar.  I love to order their wine flights.  This time we tried the pinot noir flight and it was excellent.

Chocolate Chip Treasure Cookies

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs

½ cup flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk

½ cup butter, at room temperature

1 1/3 cups shredded coconut

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a small bowl, mix graham cracker crumbs, flour and baking powder.  In a large bowl, combine sweetened condensed milk and butter until smooth.  Add graham cracker mixture; mix well.  Stir in coconut, chocolate chips and walnuts (if using).  Drop by rounded tablespoons onto prepared cookie sheets.  Bake 9-10 minutes or until lightly browned.

Source: My Kitchen Cafe

Peanut Butter Crisscrosses

I am finally the proud owner of Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan.  I took advantage of the fact that it has recently been a “bargain book” on Amazon and could definitely not pass up such a great deal.  There are tons of recipes in the book that I want to try but as soon as I saw these cookies I knew they would be the first thing I would make.  I have been wanting peanut butter cookies lately, and boy, did these deliver!  I brought half of them over to our new neighbors, and I have been unable to resist the rest practically every time I walk past them.  Everyone seems to have their own favorite peanut butter and I’m sure these cookies would be great with any kind (not all-natural though, Dorie emphasizes).  I used reduced fat creamy Jif and also omitted the peanuts, and they are perfect!  These were so great, I can’t wait to try my next recipe from the book!

Peanut Butter Crisscrosses

Ingredients:

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. baking powder

¼ tsp. salt

pinch of grated nutmeg

2 sticks (8 oz.) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup peanut butter (crunchy or smooth)

1 cup packed light brown sugar

¾ cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 ½ cups chopped salted peanuts

about ½ cup sugar, for rolling

 

Directions:

Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 350°.  Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.

 

Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and nutmeg.

 

Working with a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed for a minute or two, until smooth and creamy.  Add the peanut butter and beat for another minute.  Add the sugars and beat for 3 minutes more.  Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition.  Scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl and, on low speed, add the dry ingredients, mixing only until they just disappear.  Mix in the chopped peanuts.  You’ll have a soft, pliable (mushable, actually) dough.

 

Pour the ½ cup of sugar into a small bowl.  Working with a level tablespoonful of dough for each cookie, roll the dough between your palms into balls and drop the balls, a couple at a time, into the sugar.  Roll the balls around in the sugar to coat them, then place on the baking sheets, leaving 2 inches between them.  Dip the tines of a fork in sugar and press the tines against each ball first in one direction and then in a perpendicular direction – you should have a flattened round of dough with crisscross indentations.

 

Bake for about 12 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back at the midway point.  When done, the cookies will be lightly colored and still a little soft.  Let the cookies sit on the sheets for a minute before transferring them to cooling racks with a wide metal spatula.  Cool to room temperature. 

 

Repeat with the remaining dough, making sure to cool the baking sheets between batches.

Source: adapted from Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

I really have been cooking regular balanced meals in my kitchen lately, not only sweets as my blog may imply!  I have had an urge lately to bake something with banana, but unfortunately bananas almost never last until they are ripe enough for baking in our house.  During my last trip to the store I bought a bunch of bananas specifically for ripening and baking (off limits for eating!)  I used some to make these fabulous cookies and froze the rest.  These cookies are wonderful!  Very soft and cakey as you might imagine.  I think they have just a touch too much spice (nutmeg and cloves in particular) and it may overwhelm the banana flavor.  I will probably reduce those two spices a teensy bit next time, but otherwise this recipe is great.  Simple and quick so you have yummy cookies in no time.

Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yield: 25-30 cookies

 

Ingredients:

½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 egg, at room temperature

1 cup of mashed bananas (about 2 ½ large bananas)

1 tsp. baking soda

2 cups flour

pinch of salt

½ tsp. cinnamon

½ tsp. nutmeg

½ tsp. ground cloves

1 cup chocolate chips

 

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and the sugar together until light and fluffy.  Add the egg and continue to beat until well incorporated.

 

In a bowl, mix the mashed bananas and baking soda.  Let sit for 2 minutes.  The baking soda will react with the acid in the bananas which will in turn give the cookies their lift and rise.

 

Mix the banana mixture into the butter mixture.  Mix together the flour, salt and spices and sift into the butter and banana mixture until just combined. 

 

Fold chocolate chips into the batter.  Drop into dollops on baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Bake for 11-13 minutes or until nicely golden brown.  Let cool on wire racks.

Source: adapted from Erin’s Eats, originally from Simply Recipes

Ultimate Triple Chocolate Cookies

I think the name says it all. This is for the true chocolate lovers out there (like me!) I saw this recipe in a recent issue of Food and Wine and I knew I had to try it. The recipe was in a Ghirardelli advertisement, and the picture looked divine. However, when I read the recipe I was surprised to see that the white chunks which I thought were white chocolate chips had actually been walnuts in the picture. So, I decided to make these cookies even better and triple (not just double) chocolate by subbing white chips for the walnuts. Good decision! These are awesome. I highly recommend enjoying these with a glass of milk on the side.

It was fun to form the dough logs and just slice the cookies off. I let my dough refrigerate a little bit before I formed the logs because the batter was a little too soft initially to make logs easily. I think it would also be fine to just let the dough sit in the refrigerator to firm up a bit and then drop onto the cookie sheets. I may try that next time just to see if it makes a difference. One nice thing about the dough logs is that you can freeze them for use later. That definitely seems like the kind of thing I want in my freezer

Ultimate Triple Chocolate Cookies
Ingredients:
11.5 oz. 60% cacao bittersweet chocolate chips
6 tbsp. unsalted butter
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
½ tsp. baking powder
12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup white chocolate chips

Directions:
In a double boiler over hot water, melt bittersweet chocolate chips and butter. Remove from heat. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat eggs and sugar until thick; stir into chocolate mixture. In a small bowl, stir together flour and baking powder; stirn into chocolate mixture.  Gently mix in semi-sweet and white chocolate chips. Using a sheet of plastic wrap, form dough into two logs, each 2 inches in diameter and about 12 inches long. The dough will be quite soft so use plastic wrap to hold dough in log shape. Wrap tightly; refrigerate at least 1 hour or until firm. (Dough may be frozen; thaw in refrigerator before proceeding with recipe.) Heat the oven to 375°. Unwrap dough; with a sharp knife, cut into ¾-inch slices. Place slices 1 ½ inches apart on greased or parchment-lined cookie sheet.

Bake 12-14 minutes or until shiny crust forms on top but interior is still soft. Cool on baking sheet.

Source: adapted from Ghirardelli

Cappuccino Love Bites

These cute little cookies are a lot of fun to make and eat! I specifically chose these to go in the holiday tins that I shipped because they are not delicate. Also, I wanted something with coffee flavor in the tins I shipped since those did not include the cappuccino fudge (below). I think these were a really nice addition because they are not super sweet. The base is soft, and has a shortbread and coffee flavor, and the chocolate in the middle goes wonderfully. A great alternative to the traditional peanut butter blossoms

Cappuccino Love Bites
Yield: about 36 cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
1 ½ cups sugar, divided
1 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
1 egg
1 tbsp. coffee-flavored liqueur or milk (I used 1 tsp. espresso powder and 2 tsp. milk)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
2 tbsp. instant coffee crystals
36 Hershey’s Hugs, wrappers removed

Directions:
Beat the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds. Add one cup of the sugar, the baking powder, and salt. Beat until the mixture is combined, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally. Beat in the egg, coffee liqueur, and vanilla until combined. Beat in the flour gradually until well combined. If necessary, cover and refrigerate dough until it is easy to handle.

Preheat the oven to 350°. Lightly grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Combine the remaining ½ cup of sugar and the coffee crystals in a small bowl. Roll dough balls in the sugar mixture. Place each ball 2 inches apart on prepared cookie sheets.

Bake about 10 minutes or until tops are cracked and sides are set (do not let edges brown). Immediately press a chocolate kiss into the center of each cookie. If desired, while the chocolate is still warm, swirl the kiss gently with the tip of a knife. Transfer cookies to wire racks and allow to cool completely.

Source: adapted from The Canadian Baker, originally from BHG Christmas Cookies 2007

Christmas Cookies

In my opinion, no holiday tin is complete without a few decorated sugar cookies. I know that I just posted another sugar cookie recipe very recently, but I had to share these because they are my absolute favorite sugar cookies ever! The situation with these is similar to with the fudge I posted below. They are one of the many goodies given to our family during the holidays, and I was just blown away by how good they were. I made sure to find out who had given us the cookies and then tracked down the recipe. I have been making these for probably five or six years now and I just love them. They always turn out wonderfully and they keep very well. I typically decorate with store-bought frosting just because the process of making the dough, rolling it out, cutting out shapes and baking the cookies leaves me less than enthusiastic by the time I get to decorating. Even so, they turned out pretty cute

Ella’s White Sugar Cookies
Ingredients:
1 cup butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 ½ t. almond extract
1 t. vanilla
1 t. salt
2 ½ c. sifted flour

Directions:
Cream butter. Add powdered sugar. Blend in egg, almond extract, vanilla, salt and flour. Chill dough until firm. Roll to ¼” thickness on well-floured surface. Cut with cookie cutters. Place on greased cookie sheets. Bake at 375° for 8-10 min. Cookies should not brown. Frost and decorate when cool. Yields ~40 cookies.

Source: passed on to me by family friend Donna

Coconut Macaroons

This is another treat that went into some of my holiday tins. I have never made these before, and actually I’ve never even eaten one before. I was browsing around for ideas to accomodate some food allergies and I came across this recipe. I thought it looked pretty easy and decided to give it a shot. I’m so glad I did! Ben claims that he doesn’t like coconut, but he loves these cookies. He kept asking me if there were broken cookies or extras for him to eat I love them too. They are sweet and light and a nice addition to a holiday package.

Coconut Macaroons
Yield: about 2 dozen cookies

Ingredients:
4 large egg whites
1 cup sugar
¼ tsp. salt
½ cup cake flour
2 ½ cups sweetened coconut

Directions:
In a stainless steel bowl over a pot of simmering water, whisk together the egg whites, sugar and salt. When the mixture is warm to the touch, remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract, flour and coconut. Cover and refrigerate about one hour or until the dough is firm.

Preheat the oven to 325°. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Place small mounds (about 1 tbsp. each) of the dough on the parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing several inches apart. Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes. Then place on a wire rack to cool completely.

Source: Joy of Baking

I’m Pregnant!

Yes, it’s true, we’re having a baby! I am 10 weeks pregnant today and decided it was finally time to break the happy news! Ben and I are just overjoyed and we cannot wait until June 28 to meet our little peanut.

This is our first ultrasound picture, taken at 7 weeks, 5 days. The round thing in the middle is the yolk sac and the rest is the baby, with its head pointing up. It has already grown quite a bit since this picture. Growth charts say it is now about the size of a lime!

This is the true reason for the severe lack of blog updates lately. I have been very fortunate to not have any real nausea, but I have had some major food aversions and cravings which has made cooking somewhat difficult. I haven’t had any weird cravings yet, but most of the things I’ve been wanting have been spaghetti, mac and cheese, and grilled cheese (not to mention every kind of fast food you can think of). When my stomach cooperates and I make something slightly more original I will update the blog. I only have a few more weeks of the first trimester so hopefully I will feel more “normal” again soon.

One thing that did sound good to me was sugar cookies with frosting, and I have been dying to try this recipe for ages. I have also really, really wanted a set of “ABC” cookie cutters for a long time and found this adorable set at Williams Sonoma. All of this came together for a cute and delicious announcement This frosting is truly delicious and I have a feeling I will use it quite often. I used 1% milk because that is what I had on hand but it didn’t seem to matter. I did add a bit more liquid to the frosting after adding the last cup of powdered sugar to get a better consistency, and that has been reflected in the recipe below.

Jon’s Super Sugar Cookies
Ingredients:
¾ cup margarine or butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

For the frosting:
1 stick (8 tbsp.) butter, softened
1-2 tbsp. cream or whole milk
1 tsp. vanilla
4 cups powdered sugar, sifted

Directions:
Cream the margarine or butter and sugar well in the bowl of an electric mixer. Add in the vanilla and eggs; mix well to combine. In a separate bowl, sift the baking powder, salt and flour together. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture until thoroughly combined. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled and firm.

Remove the cookie dough from the fridge. On a well-floured surface, roll out the dough to ¼” thickness. Preheat the oven to 400°. Cut out cookies in desired shapes with cookie cutters. Place on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven for 8-10 minutes. Check often to prevent over-cooking or burning. Remove from oven and allow to cool on a cooling rack.

To prepare the frosting, cream butter, milk and vanilla together until smooth. Slowly add the powdered sugar until the desired consistency is reached. (Add extra milk if necessary.) Add liquid food coloring if desired. Decorate cookies once they have cooled.

Source: passed on by Nestie Joelen

Iced Pumpkin Raisin Cookies

WOW. These cookies are every bit as good as the name might lead you to believe. It may not quite be fall just yet, but since fall is my favorite season and I love all things pumpkin, it is never too early to be getting into the fall spirit (if there is such a thing). These are really, really delicious and I feel that all pumpkin-lovers should give them a try. You won’t be disappointed!

The only change I made to this recipe was to omit the nuts, as usual. I just added extra raisins to make up for it (I ended up using about 1.5 cups total). The original recipe is below.

Iced Pumpkin Raisin Cookies
Ingredients:
For the cookies:
2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. baking powder
1 Tbs. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 ½ tsp. ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
½ tsp. salt
¾ cup pumpkin puree
1 egg
2 tsp. vanilla extract
12 Tbs. (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter
¾ cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
¾ cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup chopped toasted walnuts (optional)
1 cup raisins

For the glaze:
2 oz. cream cheese
1 Tbs. unsalted butter
1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
½ tsp. vanilla extract
2 ½ tsp. milk, plus more as needed

Directions:
Have all ingredients at room temperature.

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Spray a cookie sheet with nonstick cooking spray.

To make the cookies, over a sheet of wax paper, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and salt. Set aside.

In a small bowl, stir together the pumpkin, egg and vanilla. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, beat the butter on medium-low speed until smooth, about 30 seconds. Add the brown and granulated sugars, increase the speed to medium and beat until slightly fluffy, about 1 minute, stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the pumpkin mixture in two additions, beating well after each addition and stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Reduce the speed to low, gradually add the flour mixture and beat until just combined. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the walnuts and raisins.

Drop the dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto the prepared pan, spacing the cookies about 2 inches apart. Bake until golden brown, about 12-15 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let the cookies cool on the pan, then transfer them to a wire rack. Repeat with the remaining dough.

To make the glaze, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, beat the cream cheese and butter on medium-low speed until combined, about 2 minutes. Add the confectioners’ sugar and beat until smooth, adding more milk as needed. The glaze should be thick but pourable.

Set the rack over a sheet of waxed paper. Using a spoon, drizzle the glaze over the cookies. Let stand at room temperature for 1 hour before serving. Makes 36 cookies.

Source: Williams Sonoma