Kitchen Wench

It seems like the internet has suddenly gotten really boring. Or at least, everyone else’s blogs have gotten really boring. Sadly, I don’t think I’m any exception to this rule; I’m just treading water until I have to move and start my new job. I thought about making up some lie for a blog entry, like the harrowing tale of my first foray into competitive eating during which I stuffed down 20 burritos in less than 5 minutes… er, well, you get the idea. Needless to say, the reality is much more mundane, but I did make some decent oatmeal cookies and I’ll share the recipe here.

Cinnamon Apple Oatmeal Cookies

Adapted from The Gourmet Cookbook

• 1 3/4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1/3 cup desicated coconut (dried, unsweeted coconut)
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup chopped dried Fuji apple pieces (You can use regular dried apple, but Fuji apples are much sweeter and flavorful. They sell them in my local Costco store.)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Farenheit. Grease or line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Stir together oats, flour, coconut, cinnamon, soda, and salt in a bowl.
3. Using an electric mixer at medium speed, beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until well combined. Add oat mixture and beat until combined. Stir in dried apples.
4. Drop rounded tablespoons of batter onto cookie sheets, about 2 inches apart. Make sure to flatten the cookies, as they will not spread much during baking and look pretty lumpy otherwise. Bake until golden, about 10-12 minutes.

Some of these are straight up from a magazine; others I have modified heavily over the years. Aside from links to the recipes, I have included comments and suggestions.

Cherry Almond Chocolate Biscotti

I modified this from the original recipe, for chocolate dipped Cherry Hazelnut biscotti. The first time I made these I found the cookie to be overpowered by the flavor of the orange zest. Instead I have replaced hazelnuts with almonds and used 2 teaspoons of almond extract for flavoring. Rather than dink around with dipping the biscotti, I stirred in a cup of chocolate chips.

Chocolate Hazelnut Ginger Biscotti

This dough is a sticky mess when it comes to to shape the biscotti into logs! I’m still experimenting with ways to remedy this. So far, my suggestion is to add a 1/2 stick of butter (cream with the sugar), use 3 instead of 4 eggs, and increase the flour by 1 cup. This leaves you with a dough that is kneadable, but decrease the cooking time by about 10-12 minutes. I also double the crystalized ginger, add a teaspoon ground ginger and cut back on the chocolate chips for a stronger ginger flavor.

Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti

I pretty much follow this recipe to the letter except I like them just fine without the white chocolate.

Some Tips for Biscotti Biscotti means “twice baked” in Italian (or so I’ve read) because you first bake a log of dough then slice it and bake the pieces again so they become crisp. I consider biscotti to be my signature holiday cookie–it’s the staple I make every year and the one I’ve had the most time to refine. They are great for the holidays because they are a) really hard to screw up, b) keep up to 2 weeks in tupperware, so you can make them ahead, c) sturdy enough to withstand shipping, and d) the flavor combinations are endless. I don’t make them in a particularly traditional manner, prefering instead to see what kind of fruit, nut, and chocolate combinations I can stuff into a little cookie.

While having all these flavors can lead to amazing taste senstations exploding in your mouth, it can make it very difficult to slice your log of hot cookie without a lot of broken cookies. Here are some suggestions for slicing:

• Do not overbake your biscotti log, or it will be like trying to saw through a real wood log.
• Use a very sharp knife. Different recipes produce different types of dough textures, so experiment with using both serrated and straight edge knives. Begin sawing carefully and once you have a good foothold, push straight down.
• Thinner is crispier, but slice too thin and your cookies will break apart. Try to slice as thin as you can without breaking.
• Broken cookies are often the result of your knife cutting through the dough, but not that piece of dried fruit, chocolate, or nut. Even if the recipe does not call for it, finely chop nuts and fruit. Even little dried cranberries can destroy a beautiful biscotti slice.
• In an airtight container, biscotti will keep 2 weeks, easily.

Snowballs

Following the advice of another reviewer, it works great to fill these coconut macaroons with a chocolate disk.

Fig Swirls

I have no idea how they get 48 cookies out of this recipe. I made “half” swirls and still got the same amount of cookies even though I was working with 4 logs of dough instead of 2.

Gingerbread

I like to make tiny gingerbread men–reallly thin, crispy, and small enough to be bite-sized. For a snappier cookie, I doubled the spices and tripled the amount of ginger. For a dough that is a little stiffer and easier to roll out, add a quarter cup flour.

Apricot Shortbread

This recipe is from an old Martha Stewart magazine. I must have missed something because she says you can roll and cut these cookies out, but my dough was so crumbly it was all I could do to press it into the bottom of a pan. Still, the flavor turned out just fine.

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups flour, sifted
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup chopped dried apricots

Combine all ingredients except apricots. Mix until just incorporated but not too creamy. Add apricots. Press dough into the bottom of a greased or parchment-lined 9×9 pan. Bake at 325 degrees F for 60-70 minutes. Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

Amaretti

I am in love with those Italian amaretti cookies that you get in that big red tin. I could eat a giant box in a single sitting, they are so delicious. I keep trying to recreate the crip texture and deep flavor in my own kitchen, but it is to little avail. These almond macaroons are good, if a bit time intensive. Next year, I will probably just satisfy my craving by purchasing one of those Lazaroni tins.

This recipe is from The Italian Baker by Carol Field. It is for Lombardy-style amaretti, meaning the crispy kind. They make soft amaretti in Pietmont; that recipe is also in this cookbook.

• 1 cup + 2 tbsps blanched almonds
• 2 1/2 tbsps bitter apricot kernels or 3/4 tsp almond extract
• 3/4 cup + 3 tbsps powdered sugar
• 1 tsp all purpose flour
• 2 egg whites
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar

Grind almonds and kernels to find powder in nut grinder or food processor. (If using food processor, process with 1/4 cup powdered sugar to avoid almonds from sticking.) Mix with flour and powdered sugar. Beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually add granulated sugar until stiff and shiny. Fold in nuts and extract. Spoon into pastry bag and pipe 1.5″ mounds onto parchment-lined sheets, 1.5″ apart (they will spread and puff).

The original recipe says to bake for 40-45 minutes at 300 degrees, then turn off the heat and let the cookies dry for another 20-30 minutes in the oven. This turned out to be a bad idea–my cookies were burning after 30 minutes! Obviously cooking time varies, so watch your cookies carefully. I only baked them for 20-25 minutes and skipped the drying step for fear they would burn. Makes 30 cookies.

“Once a year, at Christmastime, I make the best cookies in the world. It very nearly kills me.”

So go the opening lines to Celia Barbour’s article in the December issue of Gourmet. As I read this, I think, “Now, here is something I can relate to!” Not that I necessarily would be so bold as to say I make the best cookies in the world (though I do think they’re pretty damn good), but masochistic tendencies surrounding holiday baking does resonate with me. Last year I mailed out ten packages of cookies… this is a lot of cookies. Barbour is right, by the third late night hunched over the kitchen table, liberally dusted with flour, you begin to question your sanity. After a while, it becomes clear: these people do not appreciate your magnificent confections, for they will never understand even an inkling of the blood, sweat, and tears you poured into these delicious, sugary morsels. But, Barbour puts it perfectly when she writes: “You can’t very well accompany a gift of homemade cookies with the message, ‘I slaved for three nights over these. I cried while baking them. Please—just like them.’”

For the moral of this story, which Barbour puts far more eloquently than I, you’ll have to read this month’s Gourmet. What I’m actually interested in are these magnificent spoon cookies that Barbour makes: “You really have to wait,” says Barbour. “After a couple of days, the cookies’ texture becomes lovely and melting. Earlier, they are good, but later, they’re transcendent. Honest.” I have never read a cookie recipe that suggested I wait two days before consuming, but this seemed a small price to pay for transcendence. As for the recipe, it is startlingly easy. With no special ingredients required, I decided to give these a try; if they are even half as magnificent and easy as they sound, maybe my dear friends and family will get to experience a small bite of heaven this year.

I followed the recipe diligently, carefully browning my butter and even waiting the requisite two days (of course I cheated and ate a couple before that). I spent far too much time mushing crumbly, buttery batter into a small antique spoon and using a tiny plastic spatula to spread cran-raspberry jam onto delicate brown ovals. Two days later, I have to admit… I am not that impressed. They are, indeed, quite melting, not unlike the texture of a Russian tea cookie. But, I have never been particularly impressed by fragile cookie dough, since they do not survive a trip across the country via US post, and most of my friends live in far flung places.

Of course, these are not my cookies; I do not and cannot make them as well as someone who has perfected the recipe. Perhaps I didn’t brown my butter long enough. Maybe they do taste best with half strawberry and half cherry preserves, as the recipe suggests. Personally, I found them a bit too sweet, even with the tartness of the cranberry filling. Also, I remembered why I never make sandwich cookies. They always leave me feeling cheated: After putting in the effort to make countless cookies, my final product is always half of what a started with.

However, I did discover that these spoon cookies are quite delicious when filled with a layer of dark chocolate ganache. They’re like tiny Milano cookies, but with a softer texture. That’s when I realized, I should have had this cookie’s number the first time I read the recipe. How can anything be truly transcendent without chocolate?

Spoon Cookies

From Gourmet, December 2005

• 2 sticks (1 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon salt, slightly rounded
• 1/3 cup fruit preserves (your choice) OR 1/3 cup chocolate ganache (Alicia’s choice)

Make dough: Fill kitchen sink with about 2 inches of cold water. Melt butter in a 2- to 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until butter turns golden with a nutlike fragrance and flecks on bottom of pan turn a rich caramel brown, 10 to 12 minutes. (Butter will initially foam, then dissipate. A thicker foam will appear and cover the surface just before butter begins to brown; stir more frequently toward end of cooking.) Place pan in sink to stop cooking, then cool, stirring frequently, until butter starts to look opaque, about 4 minutes. Remove pan from sink and stir in sugar and vanilla.

Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl and stir into butter mixture until a dough forms. Shape into a ball, wrap with plastic wrap, and let stand at cool room temperature 1 to 2 hours (to allow flavors to develop).

Form and bake cookies: Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 325°F.

Press a piece of dough into bowl of teaspoon, flattening top, then slide out and place, flat side down, on an ungreased baking sheet. (Dough will feel crumbly, but will become cohesive when pressed.) Continue forming cookies and arranging on sheet. Bake cookies until just pale golden, 8 to 15 minutes. Cool cookies on sheet on a rack 5 minutes, then transfer cookies to rack and cool completely, about 30 minutes.

Assemble cookies: While cookies cool, heat preserves in a small saucepan over low heat until just runny, then pour through a sieve into a small bowl, pressing hard on solids, and cool completely.

Spread the flat side of a cookie with a thin layer of preserves. Sandwich with flat side of another cookie. Continue with remaining cookies and preserves, then let stand until set, about 45 minutes. Transfer cookies to an airtight container and wait 2 days before eating.

Cooks’ notes: • Dough can be made 12 hours before baking and chilled, covered. Bring to room temperature to soften slightly before forming cookies, about 30 minutes. • Cookies keep in an airtight container at room temperature 2 weeks.

Makes about 30 sandwich cookies.

For years, I’ve passed these bright orange, spikey, foot-ball shaped fruits in the grocery store. Today, I decided it was time to satiate my curiousity. Next to the mushroom display was a pile of 3 or 4 of the little alien-looking fruits, each one wearing a white sticker that said “HORNED MELON”. I picked one off the shelf, squeezed it a little in my hands, and put in the shopping cart.

“Horned melons” are also known as kiwanos. They are native to Africa but are also being grown in Australia, New Zealand, and California. Slicing the orange pod open revealed grass green “flesh”–a bunch of seeds covered in squishy, translucent membrane (like tomato seeds). When I squeezed one of the halves, the seeds came spurting out, along with this foamy, slimey green juice. Surely, I thought, with such delightful colors and textures, the kiwano would be a total taste sensation as well.

Wrong. Horned melon tastes kind of like a cucumber–which is to say, it’s really bland. Not sweet, not salty, just kind of squishy-chewy and devoid of flavor. In short, horned melons are a lot more fun to play with than actually eat. As it turns out, they’re not even meant for eating, according to one website I found: “The fruit pulp can be strained to make a juice. The primary marketing thrust, however, is to sell the fruit for garnishes or decorative purposes.“

Har har. Real funny now that I’ve bought this thing and gleefully squeezed it seeds all over the counter. After some Google searching, I found 2 recipes using horned melon: Grilled Beef with Horned Melon Sauce courtsey of Sara Moulton from the Food Network and Kiwano Melon Vinaigrette from Melissa’s Produce. I made the vinaigrette and it was not bad, though I recommend adding tbsp of vinegar to perk up the flavors. I can’t really taste the horned melon in the dressing, but then again, I couldn’t really taste the horned melon in the first place.

Kiwano Melon Vinaigrette

• 3 tablespoons Kiwano/Horned Melon Juice
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon rice wine or red wine vinegar

Process all ingredients in blender or food processor until smooth. Makes 3/4 cup.

Tonight’s menu, courtesy of moi:

• Garlic Herb Lamb Chops with Mint Jelly, modified slightly from this recipe in Bon Appetit. I used Herbs de Provence instead of rosemary and pan seared and then oven roasted the chops, rather than broiling. Oh, and I used about 4x as much garlic, which was totally worth it because it cooks up crispy and delicious in the pan drippings.



• Sour Cream and Chive Mashed Red Potatoes. Roughly, 1.75 lb red potatoes, 2 tbsp butter, 4 tbsp light sour cream, and 1 tbsp chopped fresh chives, plus salt and pepper to taste.


• Romaine Salad with homemade Green Goddess yogurt dressing using an herb base from Penzey’s Spices.


• Warm Plum Torte with a dollop of whipped cream.

After biting into his lamb chop, my dad proclaimed, “Well, Alicia, you are going to make some guy very fat someday.” Personally, I advocate portion control, not flavor control.

My version is modified slightly from the original recipe, which appeared in the New York Times and in the Cooking for Comfort cookbook. This torte is incredibly easy to make, not too sweet, and is a great way to use up extra or overripe fruit. The original recipe called for Italian prune plums, but I used little red plums instead and it worked out just beautifully. This torte would also be great using other stone fruit, such as peaches or cherries, and it would be easy to add a different flavoring or liquer to the cake for endless possibilities.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup PLUS 2 tablespoons sugar
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour, sifted
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• Pinch salt
• 24 halves pitted small plums OR 6 regular plums, sliced
• 1 -2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (depending on your taste)

Directions

1. Arrange a rack in the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9-10 inch springform pan. (If you don’t have a springform, a regular baking pan would probably be fine, but you wouldn’t be able to unmold and present it as nicely.)
3. In an electric mixer, cream the 3/4 cup sugar and butter. Add eggs and vanilla, then the flour, baking powder, and salt and beat to mix well. Batter will be quite thick. Spread into greased pan.
4. Mix remaining sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle half of the cinnamon sugar over the top of the batter. Then cover with the plums, skin side down. Don’t worry about overlapping, as the fruit will shrink as it bakes. Sprinkle the plums with the remaining cinnamon sugar.
5. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until the center tests done with a toothpick. Remove and cool to room temperature or serve warm. Serve plain or with vanilla ice cream.

Makes 8 servings. Storage Note: The torte may be refrigerated or frozen for several months, well wrapped. To serve, return to room temperature and reheat at 300°F until warm.