Cookie Press Gets a New Look

Regular blog readers will notice that the Cookie Press has a brand new look! Ever since I started the blog nearly nine months ago I've wanted to jazz up the header to give blog visitors a warm welcome and entice new readers to stick around. I enlisted the help of my friend Kim, a talented graphic artist and designer who created five possible designs for me in a matter of days. I had a hard time picking my favorite!

Kim runs a successful graphic design business called KupiArt. She mostly designs for the indie music scene, but is capable of creating eye catching designs for any purpose including logos, business cards, print and web ads, and even fine art paintings! Check out KupiArt for all of your graphic design needs. Thanks Kim for a job well done!

Chewy Chocolate Raisin Cookies

I am constantly clipping out cookie recipes and tucking them inside of cookbooks or pasting them into binders. I would be a prime subject for a new reality show called "Recipe Hoarders." I know I'll never end up making many of them, but just knowing I can is comfort enough. This week's cookie falls into the hoarder category. I don't remember when I first clipped it, but my guess is within the past two years. What attracted me to this recipe for Chewy Chocolate Raisin Cookies was the huge picture included on the page. The cookie photo is of a beautiful chocolaty brown cookie with a large white chocolate chunk and flecks of sugar coating the outside. It's my idea of not only a tasty cookie, but a beautiful one too.

This recipe is fairly easy to prepare. It requires soaking the golden yellow raisins in 1/2 cup of brandy for 20 minutes. While the raisins are soaking, I continued to measure and prepare both the wet and dry ingredients.

The chewiness of the cookie was evident from the very first bite. I detected a hint of the white chocolate, a hint of brandy-soaked raisins, and a hint of honey but not much else. Actually, they tasted like a chewy ginger snap. Don't get me wrong, these are good cookies. Especially if chewy cookies are your thing. But overall, they left me wanting a more intense flavor. Next time I may try swapping the raisins for dried sour cherries and use more and larger white chocolate chunks.

Chewy Chocolate-Raisin Cookies

1 cup golden raisins, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup brandy
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
6 ounces white chocolate, cut into 1/2 inch chunks (try 3/4 inch chunks)
1/2 cup granulated sugar

Bring chopped raisins and brandy to a boil in a small saucepan. Remove from heat, stir, and let stand for 20 minutes.

Mix flour, cocoa, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, baking soda, and salt together in a small bowl.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Beat butter and brown sugar with a mixer set on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add honey, and beat until creamy. Reduce speed to low, add flour mixture, and beat until combined. Drain raisins, discard liquid. Add raisins and chocolate to the dough. Mix to combine.

Whisk together granulated sugar and remaining 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon. Scoop 2 tablespoons of dough, roll into a ball and then roll in cinnamon-sugar mixture to coat completely. Place on parchment-lined baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake until just set and starting to crack, 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool on sheets.

Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Cookie press review: 3 1/2 cookies (out of five)

Raisins and Rum Boiling on the Stove














Whisking the Dry Ingredients Together














Mixing in the White Chocolate and Raisins













Ready for the Oven













Cooling on the Pan

Fig Crumble Bars

I always liked Fig Newtons as a kid. I'm not sure why since they aren't particularly sweet or nutty or chocolaty. There is something about the filling coupled with the plain, soft outer shell that I simply like. Or it may be the fact that they came packaged in a sleeve all lined up neatly which satisfied my urge to keep everything tidy.

This recipe for Fig Crumble Bars in a better version of the original Fig Newtons that I loved so much as a kid. The rich fig filling contrasts perfectly with the buttery, crumbly topping and firm bottom crust. These were actually better the second day as the fig flavor intensified. After the third day, they became less crumbly and softer, but tasty nonetheless. Calimyrna figs are golden in color and are not always labeled as such.

I pulsed the butter into the crust mixture but it would not come together as the recipe instructed so I added about 2 tablespoons of cold water to the mixture. I added another teaspoon or two of water to make the topping moist and clumpy.

The recipe is from Everyday Food.

Fig Crumble Bars

Special equipment: food processor

1 1/2 sticks cold, unsalted butter, cut into pieces plus more for pan
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons flour
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
8 ounces dried Calimyrna figs (about 1 1/2 cups) stems removed
3/4 cup apple juice
1 teaspoon grated zest

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter the bottom of a 8-inch square baking pan, then line pan with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang. Butter paper and set pan aside.

In a food processor, pulse 2 cups flour and 1 cup sugar. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse corn meal. Transfer half of the mixture to the prepared pan and press firmly into the bottom. Lightly flour fingers if necessary. Transfer remaining mixture into large, moist clumps (add a tsp. or two of cold water if needed). Transfer to a bowl and set aside. Wipe out bowl of food processor.

Make Filling
In the bowl of the food processor, blend figs, apple juice, lemon zest, and remaining 2 tablespoons of flour and sugar until a thick paste forms.

Using a small offset spatula or table knife, spread filling over crust. Sprinkle with topping and bake until topping is golden brown, about 60 to 65 minutes.

Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Lift out of pan and place on a cutting board. Cut into approximately 20 bars.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Cookie press rating: 4 cookies (out of 5)

Ready for the Oven














Baked and Cooled













Close Up

Flourless Double-Chocolate Pecan Cookies

A friend of mine recently asked if I've tried any gluten-free baking. "No," I quickly replied. It has always been my feeling that good tasting cookies require flour in the same way that sports cars require leather seats. Sure, you could take away the flour or change seat coverings, but why would you want to?

Shortly after that conversation I found a recipe for Double Chocolate Pecan Cookies which required no flour. It was kismet. I had to try the recipe. Much to my surprise the cookies were absolutely delicious. A crispy outside housed a moist and chewy inside bursting with deep chocolate flavor and an ever so faint salty taste. The pecans add some crunch and texture to the cookie. I'm a now on the gluten-free band wagon.

These cookies spread when baking so be sure to leave 3 inches between each when you spoon them onto parchment-lined baking sheets. After you add the egg whites you may think they will never blend into the dry ingredients. They will. Keep stirring.

I experimented with some leftover dough by baking it in a small ramekin. It required about 15 minutes more baking time, but came out looking and tasting great. Topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, it's a new take on the molten chocolate cakes that were so popular a few years ago and are still found on many restaurant dessert menus. I sprayed the ramekin with non-stick spray which didn't work. I suggest you serve it in the ramekin and let your guests scoop it out themselves as they devour it and tell you what a great baker you are. Fill the ramekin only two-thirds full to avoid a mess in your oven.

I tried the recipe a second time and added 3/4 cup of mini-marshmallows to the dough. This is a must if you like sweet and gooey cookies.

This recipe is from Everyday Food magazine.

Flourless Double-Chocolate Pecan Cookies

3 cups confectioners' sugar
3/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder (I use Droste)
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped or bittersweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans (or walnuts)
4 large egg whites, room temperature

Variation: 3/4 cup mini-marshmallows

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, cocoa, and salt. Sir in the chocolate and pecans. Add egg whites and stir just until incorporated. Do not overmix. Add mini-marshmallows if using.

Drop dough by 1/4 cupfuls, 3 inches apart, onto parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake until cookie tops are dry and cracked slightly, about 25 minutes. Rotate sheets halfway through baking time. Transfer sheets to wire racks and let cookies cool completely. Cookies keep for up to 3 days in an airtight container. Makes approximately 12 cookies.

Variation Using 3 Inch Ramekin














Variation With Mini-Marshmallows













Cookie Press Rating: 4 cookies (out of 5)

By the way, I'm still sticking to my belief that sports cars require leather seats and nobody will change my mind about that.

Cookie Cutters

A couple of weeks ago I received a wonderful and unexpected gift from my friend Argus. His partner, Walter, works for Macy's as a Senior Product Manager. Part of Walter's job is to evaluate new product lines so samples often come across his desk. And this time, I was the lucky recipient of Walter's collection of cookie cutters!

Argus and I met up on the corner of 16th and 8th where he handed over a plastic bag filled with curvaceous cookie cutters in many interesting shapes. As soon as I got home I examined each and carefully laid them out on my table. First I pulled a "C" shaped cutter out of the bag, followed by a "P", then a giraffe, and next a mini-cutter shaped like Michigan or was it a mitten? When I was finished, my table was filled with wonderful cookie cutters which I knew I just had to share on the blog.

Perhaps the strangest one of all is one that looks to me like a Rorschach test for bakers. Yes, it's shaped like an inkblot. No matter which way I turn it, I still can't seem to figure this one out. If any of you can, please leave a comment below. I'd love to hear some other suggestions.

In the next few months my plan is to try every single cutter. Stay tuned!
And thanks, Walter, for thinking of me! You've got some cookies coming your way as a thank you.















Here's an inventory of the loot:

All letters of the alphabet except M and W
Giraffes (2)
Bug
Star
Snail
Small Rabbit
Farm Animal (I think it's a calf)
Snowman
Sheep
Lion
Elephant
Kangaroo
Flower
Bat (the flying kind, not baseball kind)
Witches Broom
Mickey Mouse Head
Rabbit Head
Square With Semi-circle on Top (I'm guessing some kind of food)
and the Ink Blot.

Some of my favorites include:

Lion















Michigan (or mitten)













Inkblot














Elephant













Thanks Walter!