A SoHo Jaunt

Yesterday I met my friend Carol in SoHo for lunch at Kelley and Ping, an overpriced and under inspired Asian noodle place on Greene Street in SoHo. The best thing about Kelley and Ping is that it's right around the corner from the Apple store where I had popped in to pick up a few gifts.

As Carol and I walked back toward her office, we passed Vesuvio Bakery, a SoHo landmark and a must visit if you're ever in that part of town. Vesuvio is a throw back to a simpler time when life was easier and mass market baked goods didn't exist. The space itself is tiny, but the selection of breads, sandwiches, wraps, salads, and home-baked goods is large and absolutely wonderful. The place is so tiny that there are no tables or chairs. You have to go elsewhere to eat.

I stopped dead in my tracks as we passed Vesuvio because of the wonderful display of cookies in both front windows. The cookies were mesmerizing. Stacks of cookies as big as you hand were beckoning. Among the cookie stacks were some random glass balls that looked like Christmas decorations strewn about. In the one window was a miniature version of the Statue of Liberty. I could hear her saying, "Give me your tired, your poor, huddled masses, yearning to eat cookies."

I whipped out my IPhone and started to snap away while unbeknownst to me, Carol was inside buying one of the luscious looking chocolate chip cookies. We devoured it right there on the street in front of the bakery. Before we dug in, we admired the deep golden color, the massive chunks of deep, rich, chocolate and the sheer size of the damn thing. It was one of the largest cookies I have ever seen. The cookie was pretty good, but I felt it was lacking salt. Frankly, it was a tad bland for my liking. Carol commented that it wasn't as sweet as some chocolate chip cookies she's eaten. In her book that was a plus. In my book, that's a negative. The sweeter the better.

We walked back west toward Hudson Street and said our goodbyes on the corner before I headed home to put on my workout clothes and burn off some of the calories from the cookie I just shared.

Left Window













Right Window













Cookies Piled High

















Cookie Close Up













Cookie With Carol's Big Bite

Hungarian Shortbread

Buttery, melt-in-your-mouth shortbread cookies are another one of my favorites. I tend to have a lot of favorite cookies if you haven't noticed but there's something about the simplicity of shortbread that I especially like. Other types of cookies rely on "stuff" to make them good such as chips, extracts, nuts, or glazes. Shortbread can stand on its own.

I've been making this Hungarian Shortbread recipe for a few years now and it's fairly simple, and makes a delicious cookie with or without the raspberry jam filling. A couple of weeks ago I made a batch of homemade raspberry jam from local raspberries I picked myself (well, with Mike's help) near our upstate home. While I was picking, I came upon a praying mantis among the raspberry bushes and snapped a picture of him with my IPhone. Just as I was about to take the photo, it turned its head and looked directly at me as if to say, "May I help you?"














The recipe requires freezing the dough for at least 30 minutes to 3 hours and then grating the frozen dough on a box grater. This helps the shortbread to have a light, crumbly texture. I bet it would be fun for kids to make (with proper supervision of course).

My oven is on the fritz so the top didn't brown as much as I would have liked. I've called Bill the repairman and he's scheduled for next week.

This recipe is based on one in Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan.

Special equipment needed: box grater and 10" springform pan
Any grater with large holes will do if you don't have a box grater. You may also use a 9" x 9" square baking pan, lined with foil and lightly greased with butter.


Hungarian Shortbread

2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 egg yolks
3/4 cup raspberry jam

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
Cream butter in a large bowl with a mixer on high speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Turn mixer to medium and add sugar and egg yolks; mix until sugar is dissolved and mixture is light, about 4 minutes. With mixer on low speed, slowly add flour mixture and mix until dough just begins to come together, about 1 minute.

Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and bring it together with your hands into one lump. Divide the dough in half and form two balls. Wrap each in plastic and freeze at least 30 minutes or up to 3 hours.

Arrange an oven rack in the center of oven. Heat to 350 degrees. Grease a 10" springform pan with butter. Remove a ball of dough from the freezer, unwrap, and grate, using the large holes of a box grater, directly into prepared pan. Gently pat the grated dough to even it out. Spread jam evenly over the dough, leaving about a 1/2" border around the edge. Grate remaining dough on top of jam and pat gently until the surface is even. Bake until light golden brown, about 25-30 minutes. Let cool completely in pan, on a rack, before cutting into wedges and serving.

Cookie press rating: 3.75 cookies (out of 5)

Grated Dough (looks like cheese!)













Spreading the Jam

Raspberry-Cream Sandwich Cookies

The name says it all. What could be better than raspberries and cream in the form of a sandwich cookie? Nothing comes to mind. Sandwich cookies are great because you get two cookies wrapped around a creamy center. There is a reduced guilt factor since technically you're eating only one cookie. Am I right?

The filling is made with white chocolate, heavy cream, and fresh raspberries. Believe me, these cookies are so rich you won't want to eat more than one at a time. They're great for sharing since their shelf is two or three days at most. After three days they turned to a sweet ball of mush.

The recipe calls for fresh raspberries, but I'm sure you could use frozen strawberries thawed and drained of excess liquid. I used a tablespoon of dough for each cookie but I suggest you make them smaller since they spread quite a lot which led to rather large cookies.

Here's the recipe on Martha Stewart's website.

Cookie press rating: 3 cookies (out of five)

Cookie Commerce

Ever since I started blogging about cookies my friends and family have been telling me to start a cookie business. Sure it sounds good, but I'm not sure it's something I want to do on a full-time basis. Sometimes hobbies are just hobbies. I'm afraid that if I'm forced to bake cookies it won't be fun any longer and I'm not sure I want to risk it. But on the other hand, I enjoy baking and that should count for something, right?

When my friend Ali asked me to make angel cut out cookies for her son's baptism this weekend I thought it might be a good time to test my theory. Can I bake cookies, deliver on time, make some money, and still have fun doing it? The answer to these questions are yes, yes, yes, and maybe. Let me explain.

After Ali and I decided on angel cookies I asked, "how many do you need?" After a slight hesitation she said, "Um, how about fifty?" Her voice raised a few octaves when she said fifty. I said "sure," no problem. The voice inside my head screamed "PROBLEM!" I had never made fifty, hand-cut, hand-iced cookies before. Ever. I had no idea how long it would take or how much ingredients I would need. But I had a few weeks to figure the details out and I was up for the challenge. I made a test batch using a new sugar cookie recipe but didn't like how the cookies puffed up, essentially taking most of the detail out of the design. My sister-in-law Tammy suggested using her no-fail Martha recipe which I tried and was pleased with the results. I calculated that I would need to make three batches of dough.

Over the course of two days I rolled dough and cut the cookies individually around a cardboard angel template which my mom drew many years ago. I carefully placed each angel on the cookie sheet and made last minute adjustments to the head or wing as needed. I was obsessing about each cookie. After all, this was my first foray into cookie making for profit.

Next I iced a few just to test my skills. For the wings, I decided on white icing sprinkled with white sanding sugar. For the body, a baby blue. For the hair, a light brown. I tried peach colored icing for the face, but decided it looked like the angel had a bad spray tan. It was best to not ice the face at all. I dabbed a spot of blue icing for the eye and tried bit of brown icing for the lips which ended up looking like a mustache. In the end I went with a pink icing for the lips, keeping the face details to a minimum.

Tammy also recommended that I use plastic squeeze bottles to apply the royal icing which I did and which worked beautifully. Once I got going, the process moved along and I enjoyed being a human assembly line. My angels began to multiply like rabbits in springtime and soon my counters and table were brimming with angel cookies.

Finished Cookies















Mother nature threw in a challenge of her own by turning up the humidity which caused the cookies to absorb the moisture in the air. The result was very soft cookies which were good for eating, but not good for icing and transporting. I cranked up the A/C and hoped for the best. Unfortunately, a few of the angels succumbed to the humidity and lost their heads as I picked them up to put the finishing touches on them. But fortunately, I had made extras and had just enough.

Headless Angels













The last challenge was getting the delicate cookies packed and delivered to Ali's apartment on the east side of Manhattan. I packed the cookies in various department store boxes since they were sturdy enough to carry the weight of the cookies. With the cookies carefully packed and layered with wax paper, I set off to Ali's apartment on East 45th Street. I was carrying two canvas bags, one needed to be kept flat and which I set on my lap during the subway ride. The other was held by my free hand. Just as the train pulled into Times Square it jerked unexpectedly and the man standing near me fell onto the man sitting two people away from me. The fall wasn't just a slip or a bump. It was a full-fledged, flat on your face, head first, ass over teakettle (to quote my mom) kind of fall. The six foot tall man landed squarely and firmly onto the guy near me with enough force to knock off his glasses. Had I been sitting there, just three feet to my left, the cookies would have been destroyed. Whew. That was close. I transferred to the shuttle over to Grand Central and then hauled the cookies through the masses of commuters. I was bobbing and weaving like a prizefighter. I reached my destination with the cookies intact.

Ali was delighted with the cookies as was her son, Vincenzo.

And so ends the story of my first professional cookie baking project. Stressful? Somewhat. Rewarding? Certainly. Would I do it again? You bet.

Here are the recipes I used for the sugar cookies and icing as well as a few tips when working with royal icing.

Sugar Cookies

4 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, unsalted
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Sift flour, salt, and baking powder into a bowl. Set aside.
Cream butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs and vanilla.

Add flour mixture, mixing on low until thoroughly combined. Wrap dough in plastic wrap, separating into two equal sized pieces. Chill for 30 minutes or overnight.

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Roll dough on lightly floured surface to a thickness of 1/8 inch. Cut into desired shapes and transfer to ungreased baking sheets. Refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes. Bake 8 to 10 minutes until edges brown slightly. Cool on wire racks.

Royal Icing

3 tablespoons meringue powder (available at baking supply stores or at Michael's Crafts)
1 lb sifted confectioners' sugar (it's important to sift the sugar!)
5 - 6 tablespoons warm water
1 teaspoon flavoring such as vanilla, lemon, orange, or almond extract (optional)

Combine all ingredients and mix with an electric mixer 5 to 6 minutes on low speed. Scrape sides of bowl as necessary. Divide icing into smaller bowls an add food coloring one drop at a time until desired color is reached.

Keep icing covered with a piece of plastic wrap directly on top of the icing so it doesn't dry out.

The goal is to make the consistency thin for making outlines but not too thin so it runs (like a glaze). It should be firm enough to hold its shape. Add water or additional confectioners' sugar to thin or thicken. Fill plastic squeeze bottle or pastry bag fitted with #2 tip and outline the cookie.

To fill inside the outline, add water to existing icing or make a new batch, adding water as needed to create a glaze-like icing (it should be a little on the thick side). Again, fill pastry bag or squeeze bottle with icing and fill in the outlines. Add sanding sugar or decorations as desired. Icing will spread and fill in any empty holes.

Tips for Success:

1. Use a toothpick to scrap any extra icing off of the cookie. This works well to smooth out the area where your outline begins and ends. You can also wet your finger and gently press to close the seam.

2. Use a toothpick to apply small icing details.

3. Always keep icing covered when not using. Any dried pieces will clog the pastry bag tip.

4. When creating the outline, hold the tip slightly above the cookie and let it fall gently.

5. The squeeze bottles are easier to use than the pastry bag and tip.

6. Allow outlines to fully dry before flooding.

7. Practice makes perfect.

Chocolate-Marshmallow Treats

Even the thought of turning on my oven when the temps climb to over 90 degrees makes me start to sweat. Tiny droplets form on my upper lip and I feel like someone is holding a lit match to my skin.

Oppressively hot weather causes a problem for bakers since baking usually requires the oven to be on for periods of longer than twenty minutes. If you're baking a few batches of cookies or prefer to bake one sheet at a time like I do, your oven could be on for well over an hour which either means your A/C is working overtime or your kitchen temperature rises to something feeling like hell.

To combat the steamy kitchen syndrome, or SKS as I like to call it, I went in search of some no-bake cookie recipes. I found some on Martha's website and while I don't classify these as cookies, they will do in a pinch to satisfy a summer sweet tooth.

This recipe for Chocolate-Marshmallow Treats is prepared on the stove top using a single burner for about 6 - 7 minutes. The treats remind me of the Rice Krispie Treats I used to make as a kid, with Mom's help of course. Martha has kicked it up a notch by adding dutch-processed cocoa powder to the marshmallows and bittersweet chocolate on the top.

I liked these because I could really taste the deep chocolate flavor and they didn't seem overly sweet to me. Mike enjoyed them too, but he said the crisps looked like lentils. As usual, he's right. I couldn't get Rice Krispies at Whole Foods, so I substituted with the Whole Foods, 365 Organic brand of Brown Rice Crisps which do in fact resemble lentils.

Crispy Chocolate-Marshmallow Treats

6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 bag (10 1/2 ounces) mini-marshmallows
1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder
6 cups crisp rice cereal
1 ounces bittersweet chocolate

Line bottom of and 8 or 9 inch square baking pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil, leaving a 2-inch overhang. If using foil, spray lightly with non-stick spray.

In a large saucepan (approx. 4 qt.) combine butter, marshmallows, and cocoa. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until melted, about 6 minutes. Sir in rice cereal. Press rice mixture into prepared pan. Wetting fingers with cold water will allow you to combat the stickiness of the marshmallows. Re-wet fingers as needed.

Drizzle with melted chocolate. Let cool to room temperature. Cut into 16 bars.

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

Variations:
Add 1/2 cup of dried fruit such as cranberries or cherries.
Crush up peppermint candies or add 1/2 teaspoon of peppermint extract.

Melting Marshmallows on the Stovetop















Cookie press rating: 3.5 cookies (out of 5)

Some other no-bake cookie recipes:

Peanut-Butter Granola Bars

Coconut-Pecan Cereal Bars

Coconut-Chocolate Patties

Lemon-Zucchini Cornmeal Cookies

Every workplace or neighborhood has them. You know the type. The overzealous gardener who planted too many seeds and now has tons of these lovely green and/or yellow cylindrical objects to get rid of before they rot. I call these people "zucchini pushers" because they seem to pop up from out of nowhere and insist that you take a few. But a few is not a few. It's usually several. Or to put it another way, more than you could ever use in a lifetime. But you take them because after all, they're free and you don't want hurt feelings. Little do you know your friend, neighbor or co-worker is probably laughing at you and saying to their spouse or significant other, "I unloaded a bunch more today honey!"

I've always wondered why I'm never offered the good stuff like vine-ripened tomatoes or corn. The stuff that costs a fortune at the farmer's market. Corn is sixty-five cents an ear this year and I've seen tomatoes as high at $3.99 per pound. No, I just seem stuck with tons of zucchini.

Once you bake a few loaves of zucchini bread what else is there to make? A quick search of the internet yielded recipes for zucchini cake, zucchini cobbler (yes, cobbler!), zucchini with pasta, and zucchini fritters. But what about cookies? Does a recipe for zucchini cookies even exist? It didn't take too much effort to find this recipe for Lemon-Zucchini Cornmeal Cookies from Everyday Food. And with a zucchini in the fridge just begging to be used, there was no time to waste.

The good news is that you need only one medium sized zucchini in these cookies. The bad news is that you need only one medium sized zucchini, unless you double the batch in which case you'll need two. Chances are you probably have three or four still waiting in the wings and a neighbor who just can't wait to bump into you so he or she can offer you more.

I was expecting these cookies to be terrible. Much to my surprise they were actually worse than terrible. They were dreadful. The texture was rubbery, dense, and didn't taste like zucchini at all. The lemon zest did give the cookie some much needed flavor.

Perhaps I should have followed the directions exactly as written and used a wooden spoon to mix the ingredients. Instead, I used my Mixmaster and perhaps I over mixed the dough. That would explain the rubbery texture but it still doesn't explain the lack of flavor.

So while I admit I may have blundered when making these cookies, I still can't wholeheartedly recommend them. In case you want to try these and judge for yourself, here's the recipe. If you look on the bright side, you'll have one less zucchini to throw away. Or you may throw it away in cookie form!

Lemon-Zucchini Cornmeal Cookies

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon packed finely grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup fine cornmeal
1 medium zucchini, grated on small holes of a box grater (about 1 cup)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a large bowl, mix butter and sugar with a wooden spoon until pale and fluffy. Stir in vanilla, lemon zest, and salt. Add flour and cornmeal and mix until mixture becomes crumbly. Add zucchini and stir until a thick dough forms.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoons, 2 inches apart, onto two parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake until cookies are light golden brown around the edges, 25 to 30 minutes. Rotate sheets halfway through. Let cool completely on wire racks.

Makes 25 cookies.

Cookie press rating: 1 cookie (out of 5)


Grating the Zucchini














The Soft Dough

Butterscotch Blondies

My sweet tooth was acting up last week so I decided to satisfy it with a fresh batch of Butterscotch Blondies. The butterscotch chips and brown sugar combine to make these on the sweet side. Some of you will find these to be to bit too sweet. In small doses I think they're quite good.

I decided to see what Wikipedia had to say about Blondies, but was disappointed to find no information as to the origin of these treats. The entry did explain that sometimes the bars contain white or chocolate chips, but that the dominant flavor comes from the brown sugar and often there is no butterscotch in them at all. Who knew? I guess I did learn something from the Wikipedia entry after all.

I'd love to hear your comments on these cookies. Please email me at: tleader @ nyc . rr . com . Close up all the spaces in the address so that it reads like a normal email address. I'm trying to outsmart the spammers who automatically collect email address from websites to feed their lists. You can also leave comments on the bottom of this entry.

Happy baking.

Butterscotch Blondies

1 stick unsalted butter, melted
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup butterscotch chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 9 x 9 inch baking pan with foil and spray bottom only with cooking spray.

Mix together the melted butter, brown sugar, egg, egg yolk and vanilla.
Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a separate bowl, then stir them into the butter/sugar mixture. Stir in butterscotch chips.

Pour into pan. Rap pan on counter to remove air bubbles and bake for 20-25 minutes until lightly browned around the edges. Cool in pan set on a wire rack.

Remove from pan when completely cool and cut into squares.

Cookie press rating: 3 cookies (out of 5)