Strawberry Shortcake cookies

It's strawberry season.  Well, it is in California.  I think all over the country prime picking season in from April through June.  Anyways, I bought a whole bunch of them last week because they're gorgeous, cheap and perfect right now.  So I made strawberry shortcake for dessert when we had friends over for dinner.  I also made some homemade hot fudge to go along with it.  Everything about it was awesome and there was nothing left at the end of the night.  The next morning I get an email from Martha Stewart about her strawberry shortcake cookies.  With all of my leftover strawberries (I went a bit overboard) I decided to make them.  They shouldn't be called a cookie, but whatever you want to call them, they're delicious.  They're more of a biscuit, or maybe a breakfast pastry, or a dessert with ice cream, whipped cream and homemade hot fudge... or a cookie I guess.  The traditional strawberry shortcake has 3 different parts, but this is just all in one, super easy.  These are the perfect summer picnic dessert...

Strawberry Shortcake Cookies

Adapted from Martha Stewart

12 ounces strawberries, hulled and cut into 1/4-inch dice (2 cups)

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

3 ounces (6 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

2/3 cup heavy cream

Sanding sugar, for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine strawberries, lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons granulated sugar. Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and remaining 7 tablespoons granulated sugar in a large bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter, or rub in with your fingers, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in cream until dough starts to come together, then stir in strawberry mixture.

Using a 1 1/2-inch ice cream scoop or a tablespoon, drop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment, spacing evenly apart. Sprinkle with sanding sugar, and bake until golden brown, 24 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool. Cookies are best served immediately, but can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 day.

Iced Oatmeal Cookies

Do you remember those store bought oatmeal cookies with the white frosting?  The ones that were always a little too crispy and the icing was always really hard but they were still awesome?  Im assuming they're still out there somewhere but  I haven't had them in years.  The other day I randomly started craving them.  I thought I'd just make regular oatmeal raisin cookies so I would stop thinking about them, but then I found this recipe.  The flavor is identical to the bagged oatmeal cookies, except these are the perfect kind of crunchy and the icing isn't white or too hard.  Ok not identical at all.  They probably shouldnt even be compared.  These were such a hit, total keeper.  

Iced Oatmeal Cookies

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Butter for baking sheets

2 1/2 cups + 1 tablespoon old fashioned oats

1/2 cup  whole wheat flour

1 cup all-purpose flour*

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons kosher salt**

1 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon (2 grams) freshly grated nutmeg 

8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted

2 large eggs

Icing:

2 1/4  cups powdered sugar

5 to 6 tablespoons whole milk

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt**

Preheat oven to 350°F with racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Rub two baking sheets with butter. In a food processor, grind 1/2 cup of oats to a fine powder, then add remaining oats and grind them all together until it resembles coarse meal, with only a few large flakes remaining.

Sift dry ingredients into a large bowl, pouring back any bits of grains or other ingredients that remain in the sifter. In a small bowl, whisk butter and eggs until combined. Using a spatula, fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.

Scoop balls of dough about 2 to 3 tablespoons in size (I used a #40 cookie scoop, which scooped 2 tablespoon-sized balls) onto cookie sheets about 3 inches apart. Bake for 16 to 20 minutes, rotating the sheets halfway through. When tops are evenly brown, take them out and transfer them to a cooling rack. Repeat with remaining cookie dough. Let cookies cool completely before icing.

In a bowl, whisk icing ingredients together until smooth. It should have a honey-like consistency. Drizzle the frosting over the cookies. Let the frosting set for 30 minutes (or more; it took longer at my place but by the next day, was fully firmed up) before eating. The cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to a week.

Wedding cake

I was in a wedding boutique the other day flipping through bridal magazines and I came across this gorgeous cake by Momofuku in New York City.  It was the only cake that I have ever looked at and thought "oh my god we need that for our wedding".   It's simple and looks so undone, yet so beautiful and fun.  

We don't have a wedding cake yet.  And seeing as though we're nearing the 1 month mark, I need to find one this week or we're probably not going to have one.   But when I saw this one I decided that I should just make our wedding cake.  So I came home and tried, and it totally turned out.  I only made one layer and showed the small example to my fiance who reminded me it probably isn't the best idea to make your own wedding cake.  He's probably right. But if I decide to, this is the one. 

Basic white cake

2 1/4 cups cake flour

1 1/2 cups white sugar

3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup shortening

1 cup milk 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 egg whites

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour baking pan; 9x13 inch, or 2 round 9 inch pans.

In a large bowl, measure flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, shortening, milk  (I used this new coconut milk instead and I highly recommend it)  and the vanilla into a large mixing bowl. Beat 2 minutes on high speed, scraping bowl occasionally.

In a large glass or metal mixing bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold 1/3 of the whites into the batter, then quickly fold in remaining whites until no streaks remain.  (At this point I added a ton of sprinkles.)

Pour batter into pan(s), Bake 9x13 inch cake for 35 to 40 minutes. If using 9 inch rounds, bake 30 to 35 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the cake will come out clean.

Let cake cool completely.  Remove cake and place on a flat surface.  I flipped the baking pan I used upside down and put the cake on top of that, it worked great.  Using a serrated knife, cut off the edges of the cake evenly until the inside is exposed. 

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

1 cup butter, softened, no substitutes 

4-1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

1-1/4 cups baking cocoa

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup milk (again used coconut milk)

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter.  Gradually beat in confectioners sugar, cocoa and vanilla.   Add enough milk until frosting reaches spreading consistency. 

Crunchy Almond Apple Cake

I was flipping through my new cookbook yesterday afternoon looking for something to make for dinner.  I stumbled upon the dessert section and saw this recipe and decided I'd rather make a cake than dinner.  We ended up with fruit smoothies and crackers and cheese.  But we did have dessert!  And oh was it worth it.  I've had apple cakes before and never been super in love, and my fiance thinks he hates all desserts with fruit in them, but not this one.  This one was different.  Much to my surprise, he was a huge fan and I am now super in love with an apple cake.  It tastes like a caramel apple.  But with almond cake thrown in there somewhere.  So I guess its better than a caramel apple.  Its awesome.  Just make it, trust me.   

I'll give you the recipe, but first I"ll show you what it says in the cookbook on top of the page. 

 "This cake has a tender bottom, crunchy crust, and a layer of soft fruit in between.  The textures are so intriguing that you'll nibble at this cake every time you pass it by.  Until its gone" 

They were right.  I had to send the cake to work with my fiance today so the last part didnt come true. 

Crunchy Almond Apple Cake 

Adapted from Hip Kosher

2 Granny Smith or other tart apples

3/4 cup unsalted butter

1 cup sugar 

2 large eggs

1 cups flour

2 tsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. almond extract (I doubled it)

Topping:

6 Tlbs. unsalted butter

1/2 cup sugar

1 Tlbs. flour

1 cup chopped almonds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease a 9-inch springform pan. 

Peel, core and chop the apples into 1/2 inch chunks and set aside. 

Place the 3/4 cup butter and 1 cup sugar in a large bowl and cream together with electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Add the eggs and beat them in thoroughly.  Add the 2 cups flour, baking powder, salt and almond extract and blend them in.  

Spoon the batter into prepared pan.  Arrange the apples over the batter. 

While cake is baking, heat the 6 Tlbs butter and 1/2 cup sugar (I used 1/4 cup dark brown sugar and 1/4 cup white sugar, highly recommended) in small saucepan over medium heat.  When butter has melted, stir in 1 Tlbs flour and almonds.  Set aside.

After the cake has baked 40 minutes, spoon the topping over the partially baked cake.  Return the cake to oven for 20 minutes longer, or until top is golden brown.  Let cake cool in pan for about 15 minutes.  Remove the sides of pan and let the cake cool or serve it slightly warm.  

Challah (Egg Bread)

I've been learning over the past few months how to do Friday night Shabbat dinners.  So every Friday, I go to a different store to get a loaf of challah bread so we can find which kind we like the best.  We haven't loved any of them yet.  I keep saying how I need to learn to just make it, so today is the day.  Last Friday we had some people over, so I was too embarrassed to present them with my first time bread maker loaf of challah.  But tonight it's just us so I'll give it a try.  (I have a spare loaf in the freezer just in case this ends badly.) 

I thought that I'd write about it while making it since it takes a bit of time.  I have to admit that I've never made a loaf of bread in my life.  I once attempted to make homemade soft pretzels, thats kind of the same thing as bread I guess, but they tasted like a brick of yeast and salt and weren't even that pretty.  So don't judge if this turns out like my pretzels.  I'll show you what I've done so far.  

So I mixed everything like I was supposed to, covered it for 1 hour under a towel and let it rise.  But I think it got smaller.  Seriously. Well, it got wider, but I think that's because the top just flattened.  Now Im supposed to take off the towel and punch it down and let it double in size.  I don't think it's that good of a sign when literally punch the dough ball and it hurts your hand.  It was really hard.  

I seperated the dough into 3 parts and braided it.  I brushed it with some egg yolks and put it in the oven.  Now I cross my fingers. 

OMG it totally worked!  

Challah (Egg Bread)

Adapted from The Art of Jewish Cooking

1 cake or package yeast (1/4 tsp.)

2 tsp. sugar

1 1/4 cups lukewarm water

4 1/2 cups sifted flour

2 tsp. salt

2 eggs

2 Tlbs. vegetable oil

1 egg yolk

4 Tlbs. poppy seeds (optional)

Combine the yeast, sugar and 1/4 cup lukewarm water.  Let stand for 5 minutes. 

Sift flour and salt into a bowl.  Make a well in the center and drop the eggs, oil and remaining water and the yeast mixture into it.  Work into the flour.  Knead on a floured surface until smooth and elastic.  Place in a bowl and brush the top with a little oil.  Cover with a towel, set in a warm place and let rose for 1 hour. 

Punch down and cover again and let ruse until it doubles in bulk.  

Divide the dough into 3 equal parts.  Between lightly floured hands, roll the dough into 3 strips of even length. Braid them together and place in a baking pan.  Cover with a towel and let rise until it doubles in bulk.  Brush with egg yolk and sprinkle with poppy seeds (if using). 

Bake in a 375 degree oven for 45 minutes of until browned. 

Makes 1 very large challah.  If you wish, divide the dough into 6 parts and make 2 loaves.  

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

This past weekend we got invited to a barbeque at our friends house.  Not wanting to show up empty handed, I asked my fiance what I should make.  He said he didnt want chocolate chip cookies, he said he wanted chocolate chip cookie bars.  He swears they are better than cookies.  I went ahead and made chocolate chip cookies anyways, and kept telling him that the round version is the same as the bar version, just not in a pan.  They were fantastic, and they got rave reviews at the party.  (I'll post my favorite recipe later)  So today I received my daily Martha Stewart email and it happened to be a recipe for chocolate chip cookie bars.  Having never heard my fiance say he loves them so much and having never seen the recipe before, I took it as a sign and made a batch.  He was right, they're totally better than the cookie. 

This should be the next recipe you make.  They're super easy and a huge hit.  Don't be offended by the excessive amount of butter, there is a lot of it, but that must be why they're so excellent.  

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars 

Adapted from Martha Stewart

1 1/2 c. (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp, plus more for baking sheet

4 c. flour

2 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. salt

1 c. granulated sugar

1 1/2 c. packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 Tlbs. vanilla extract 

1 (12 ounce) bag senisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Generously grease a 12 x 17 inch pan with butter.  

In medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt.   Set aside. 

In bowl of electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream together butter, sugar and brown sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.   Add eggs and vanilla; mix until well combined.  Add flour mixture and beat on low speed until just combined.  Beat in chocolate chips.  

Spread dough on prepared baking sheet.  Bake, rotating halfway through until edges are brown and top is golden, 20-25 minutes.  Transfer to wire rack, let cool completely on baking sheet.  Use a serrated knife to cut into bars. 

Cinnamon chocolate chip sour cream coffee cake

I should start off by saying that we eat a lot of bread in our house.  In the form of waffles, pizza, toast, bagels, pasta and just plain old bread, we eat a lot of it.  So when Passover ended on Monday night for us,  I had psyched myself up quite a bit to have my beloved whole wheat english muffin.  When sundown rolled around, my breaded chicken breast on my english muffin turned out to be pretty anti-climactic.

But let me tell you what gave me the exact opposite feeling of anti-climactic,  the cinnamon chocolate chip sour cream coffee cake I made later that night.  This is one of my go to never fail desserts.  It's good every single time, and you can tweak the recipe every time too, but it's just always good.  The one thing to make it better is to add more sour cream than is called for.  When dealing with quick breads or cakes, more sour cream is never ever a bad thing.

Cinnamon chocolate chip sour cream coffee cake

Adapted from www.smittenkitchen.com

1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 c. sugar

3 eggs, separated

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

16 oz. sour cream (add at least 1/4 c. more if you have extra)

3 c. all purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

12 oz. chocolate chips

1/2 c. sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon (I usually go closer to 2.)

Preheat oven to 350.  

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, 1 1/2 cups sugar, then mix in egg yolks and vanilla.   Sift flour, baking powder and baking soda together in a separate bowl.  Alternately add the sour cream and then the dry ingredients into butter mixture.  

Beat egg whites in separate bowl until stiff, then fold into the batter. Mix 1/2 cup sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. 

In a greased 9x13 inch pan, pour in half of the batter.  Sprinkle the top with half of the cinnamon-sugar mixture and half of the chocolate chips.  Pour remaining batter on top, sprinkling the top again with the remaining cinnamon-sugar and chocolate chips.  

Bake for 40-50 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean. 

Keeps really well for a few days if covered properly.