Wake & Bake

For some people wake and bake has a certain connotation but I prefer a more literal interpretation.  An early riser,  I have a hard time sleeping in so even when I don't have to be at work until the afternoon I'm up and at 'em- often in the kitchen.  Yesterday I baked off these Gingered Carrot Cookies but when my husband's alarm went off this morning I hopped out of bed and whipped up some cream cheese frosting to slather on top.  Then I promptly boxed them up for him to take so I wouldn't eat them for breakfast.

Well not all of them anyway.
For the recipe, click here and check out the rest of the TWD'ers here.

Fabulous Baker Girl

The piano scene in The Fabulous Baker Boys- in my opinion, hands down one of the sexiest cinematic moments of my generation.  Who hasn't fantasized about serenading/seducing a handsome musician while slinking around a baby grand? 
Well I may not be a musically talented, french cigarette smoking blonde bombshell, but I can make some whoopie... as in these Chocolate Orange Whoopie Pies.

They may not be as sexy and Beau Bridges circa 1989, but they're just as irresistible.

Whoopie Pies
from Epicurious
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup well-shaken buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.  Stir together buttermilk and vanilla.

Beat butter and brown sugar at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy then add egg, beating until combined well. Reduce speed to low and alternately mix in flour mixture and buttermilk scraping down side of bowl occasionally, and mixing until smooth.

Spoon 1/4-cup mounds of batter about 2 inches apart onto 2 buttered large baking sheets. Bake in upper and lower thirds of oven, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until tops are puffed and cakes spring back when touched, 11 to 13 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool.

Orange Buttercream

1 1/2 sticks butter, softened

1 tbsp orange zest

1 1/4 cups powdered sugar

Beat butter on high speed until smooth.  Reduce speed to low and add sugar and zest until, then increase to medium high and beat until smooth.  For even smoother buttercream, switch to whisk attachment and beat until it has the consistency of sour cream.

Drama Free

If you're gonna stress out, don't do it over a cookie. Life is hard. This week's TWD, Dulce de Leche Duos, are easy. Sweet, buttery caramel sandwiched between lightly chewy cookies- 100% pleasure, 0% stress.
Even is you can't find the canned stuff, dulce de leche is a cinch to make. I used the oven method and I didn't so much as break a sweat.

Thanks Jodie for bringing some calm into my chaos.

Rule of Thumb

When you bake, and people know you bake, you can never show up anywhere empty-handed. That's why I'm always on the hunt for simple but special cookie recipes that fulfill my treat prerequisite. This week's TWD, Thumbprints For Us Big Guys, really fit the bill. These soft, nutty cookies are simply dusted with powdered sugar but the jam center gives them their wow factor. I used walnuts in the base, filled them with raspberry preserves, and dolled them up with some chocolate stripes and dots.

Show up at work bearing these and I guarantee you'll get a thumbs up from your co-workers. Thanks Mike for a great pick! For more thumbprint variations, check out the blogroll.

Must Love Dogs

I don't need a specific reason to bake. Birthdays and holidays area given, random parties, sporting events guaranteed, but these days I can be found in a cloud of flour an sugar at any given moment. I do love baking for a cause though, for examples the above doggie cookies.
A few months ago I donated some gingerbread dog cookies to Wines For Canines, a fundraising event for Rover Rescue. Dedicated to the rescue and adoption of LA shelter dogs, Rover Rescue is a wonderful non-profit and I was glad to help them. Last week I got an email asking if I would donate more cookies to their LA Marathon/5K team and I thought the Horlicks Doggie Cookies I saw on Foodgawker would be perfect.
Horlicks Doggie Cookies are made with malt powder, milk powder, flour and butter- crunchy and lightly sweet they will make a great post-race treat for Rover Rescue team. But I really just love them for their looks.


The recipe I used can be found here. Malt powder is a great substitute for Horlicks and I used Cocoa Pebbles instead of Koko Krunch which is chocolate cereal I've never seen in the states.
Make them for the dog lover in your life.

Honey Bunches

Chocolate chip cookies? Sign me up. Wheat germ cookies? Um, yeah, not so much. Normally I'd take a pass but one thing I've learned about Tuesdays With Dorie recipes is to keep an open mind. I had every intention of pawning these Honey Wheat Cookies off on the first health nut I could find but these things are seriously good. Sweetly, crumbly, insanely addictively good. Especially with local wildflower honey.

Reminds me of my Honey Nut Cheerio phase- I could never stop at just one bowl.
My usual "try one or two for quality control purposes" quickly snowballed and had the makings of a full-on binge until I packed those suckers up for my tennis class. Once they are in the tupperware they are off limits. The ones that didn't fit in the container though...come to Mama.
Thanks Michelle, for an awesome pick. For more honey-fied goodness, check out the blogroll.

Chocolate Chip Cookies, Now Hype Free

The most difficult choice when making chocolate chips cookies used to be with nuts or not. I always opted for not. Nowadays you've got so many decisions to make- semisweet, bittersweet, cocoa percentages, brown sugar, browned butter, to refrigerate or not, if so then for how long. Truly I find it exhausting. Do we really need all these criteria to come between us and a warm chocolate chip cookie in our hands? I think not, and it seems like Dorie Greenspan agrees.
This weeks TWD is My Best Chocolate Chip Cookies and they live up to their name. No fancy ingredients, no chilling periods, just mix, scoop and bake.
Thanks Kait for your pick this week and thanks to Dorie keeping it real with a simple rendition of a classic favorite.

Off Sides

The holiday season is all about peace on Earth and good will toward men right? I mean that's what Charlie Brown tells us. Obviously he and Linus never had their alma maters play each other in a bowl game.
New Year's Day 2010 brought us blue skies, an open tennis court, and most importantly contract arbitration between Time Warner Cable and Fox which allowed for the Sugar Bowl to be shown on tv in our market. That meant my husband and I began this year watching football and for the first time ever, not rooting for the same team. University of Florida Gators (class of '95 thank you very much) v.s. Cincinnati Bearcats (he only went there his freshman year but Ohio U already lost to Marshall) and thanks to a recent Vegas trip we both had money on the game. It was not looking good for the Cats.
In the interest of marital harmony, I thought some team themed sugar cookies might lessen the agony of what I was certain would be Cincy's impending defeat. At halftime we had a little photo shoot with my new toy.


By the third quarter it was a blow-out and even I began to lose interest. We started scrolling through available movies on demand.
The final score was 51-24. I won $10 and he lost $10 but we were up overall thanks to Ohio State in the Rose Bowl. And a plate of fabulous football cookies.

Even Wikipedia Doesn't Know

I love it when my Mom visits. We cook, we shop, we have serious heart to heart talks where we try to solve all the existential crisis of our lives like, "what does savory mean?" Really, define savory, without using the phrase "not sweet" or "umami." Even wikipedia is iffy on the subject.
Well next time someone asks me what savory is I'll say, Rosemary Lemon Shortbread.
Sweet but not too sweet, but herb-y too, these cookies will leave you scratching your head while reaching for another. You know, for research.
For the recipe go here, or out this month's issue of Sunset.

Chip Which?

I never met a chocolate chip cookie I didn't like. No matter how many different cakes, pies and ice creams come out of my kitchen, nothing truly satisfies my sweet tooth like warm cookies and a glass of milk . Traditional, Oatmeal Milk Chocolate, or World Peace Cookies...which chip would you choose?

Seriously help me out here people, I'm stumped.

Cookies From The Triangle House

I've got a little confession to make. Despite the outgoing and friendly impression I hope this blog gives off, I am truly awful at parties. I can speak to large groups of extras, effortlessly move from set to set meeting whole new crews of people each time, and have no trouble talking to customers at the bakery, but something about a party brings out my inner wallflower. Recently I've decided this is something I need to work on and have been purposely putting myself and my husband in social gathering situations where we don't know anyone. Case in point was the Joy The Baker Picnic where I decided we could not leave until I had approached and spoken to five strangers. Check out Joy's post for that event. See that couple on the bottom left walking alone towards the middle of the crowd? Yep that's us. Ultimately I did succeed, and exceed, that five people standard and had a lovely time doing so.
Today was our neighborhood's annual Labor Day Weekend Block Party. I am proud to live in a community that reveres bounce houses, water balloon fights, and neighbors hanging out in the street drinking beer and listening to a local band of fortysomethings live out their rock and roll fantasies. We go every year, and by go I mean slam a drink beforehand (for courage) and walk up and down the street twice before scurrying back to our little triangular shaped house on the corner. This year I vowed it would be different. This year I brought cookies.

And not just any cookies, David Lebovitz's chocolate chip cookies which are my new absolute favorite. Have you tried these yet? They are perfection I promise you.
Yeah so I made a big batch of these cookies and we marched our way down the street, cookies and beer in hand. By the time we reached the bounce house they were half gone and the rest didn't last five minutes on the dessert table. Of course once the cookies ran out so did my courage and I felt pretty dorky carrying around an empty plate. We walked back to house, ostensibly to drop off said plate and get another beer...and we never left. Oh, well there's always next year. Baby steps.

Kitchen Cousins

Meet Kaitlin. Budding chef, gymnast, all around great girl, and my cousin. At thirteen she has already mastered chocolate souffle- I don't think I even knew what a souffle was at her age. An avid food blog reader and food network watcher, Kaitlin is getting a great head start on knowing her way around the kitchen.

Today the student became the teacher when I packed up all my kitchen gadgets and headed over to her grandma's house for a day of baking. On the menu:
Red Velvet Mini Layer Cake and Cupcakes Lemon Tart Rugelach Croissant

Quite a line-up but after 16 weeks of baking class, infinitely doable. I got a head start on the croissant dough and did all four turns of the dough the day before. We made plain and chocolate and came out beautifully.


Kaitlin had checked out my blog and made special requests for the Red Velvet and Rugelach recipes.


I also wanted to teach her a great sweet tart dough and with fresh meyer lemons from the backyard, we tried our hand at Dorie's Most Extraordinary French Lemon Cream Tart. Here Kaitlin exhibits her natural knack for presentation.

After a full day of baking we took advantage of the beautiful afternoon light taking photos for Kaitlin's new blog, Starting From Scratch.


I 'm so proud of my cousin and can't wait to see what she does next. I'm pretty sure she'll be teaching me a thing our two real soon.

Problem Solving

Do you know what your problem is? You've got eggs whites laying around in your fridge. And you don't know what to do about them. Macaroons? Too labor intensive. Egg white omelette? Boring. Perfect Party Cake? Again? Let me help you. Actually, let me help Dorie help you. After all it was probably Vanilla Ice Cream that got you into this mess in the first place. Cocoa Almond Meringues are the solution.

They are light, chocolaty, easy to make, and most importantly they use 4 egg whites and no yolks. Your welcome.

For the recipe, you can go here but don't forget to go here.

Daring Bakers Copycat Cookies

As an avid reader, I am always wary of film adaptations of my favorite books. Here you are with a strong attachment to a story and a vivid picture in your minds eye of what the character look and sound like and then the movie comes out and completely destroys the world you've created. If this has never happened to you consider yourself lucky- oh and avoid Under The Tuscan Sun at all costs. So when I saw that this month's Daring Bakers Challenge I was filled with a familiar mixture of excitement and dread. Would I really be able to create a Mallow and a Milan Cookie to rival those mass market versions of my childhood?
Well, yes and no. Copying my favorite cookies was fun. Figuring out how to get that special hourglass shape, piping dollops of marshmallow fluff and swirling them in chocolate, I tried to channel my inner Keebler Elf.

When the floured dust settled my cookies did look the part but how would they taste? I was disappointed in the Milan Cookies. They were too tuile-like in texture and lacked the buttery dense crumb of the Pepperidge Farm brand but the Mallows rocked my world. The texture and taste of the cookie was spot on and I thought the chocolate coating was perfect.

Interested in a little cookie copycatting of your own? Check out our sponsors:
The July Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Nicole at Sweet Tooth. She chose Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies and Milan Cookies from pastry chef Gale Gand of the Food Network.

Black and White Is The New Black... And White

In my just over a year of blogging I have noticed a few items that are much debated and often duplicated. Some are fads, like the New York Times chocolate chip cookie experiment- which I have not tried but I suspect will never rival my husband's secret recipe (and by secret I mean he won't even tell me). Then there's the ongoing battle about what makes a real red velvet cake, the "how to get macaroon feet" suggestion box, and the ever popular butter v.s. Crisco pie debate- I'm firmly planted in the butter camp.
And then there's the Black and White Cookie. Not quite cookie, not really cake, with 2 icings meeting harmoniously in the center, this NY deli staple has been on my to do list for quite awhile. Whenever I come across a recipe for it, I make a mental note to come back to that page and after reading through quite a few I narrowed it down to two versions. Due to her hometown advantage, Smitten Kitchen's recipe was the obvious choice, although fellow SoCal-er Joy The Baker's version ran a close second. So in the East v. West Coast Black And White Cookie Challenge, which recipe won out?

Like the cookie itself, I found success when the 2 recipes met in the middle- Deb's cookie base and white icing and Joy's chocolate glaze. Compromise is key.
Want to try them for yourself? Click here and here.

Oh, and in the interest of full disclosure, the impetus for my finally making these cookies was in honor of my tuxedo cats, Chessie & Cleo. Happy 1st Birthday guys!

Ok, the cookies are for me. They much prefer ground chicken.

Rainy Day Raspberry Rugelach

Rain in So Cal makes me giggle. Not the rain so much as peoples' reaction to it. Driving past the elementary school in my neighborhood today, every single kid was carrying an umbrella! It was only sprinkling! Growing up in Florida rain was an everyday occurrence, especially in the summer. You could actually set your watch by it- three o'clock the storm would roll in. The skies would darken, thunder claps, lightning, everybody out of the pool! I loved the storms and they are one of things I miss most about my home state- well third most behind my mom and Dunkin Donuts.
Speaking of pastry, rainy days are made for baking and with the storm outside reminding me of home, and a bowl of homemade raspberry jam in the fridge, Chocolate Raspberry Rugelach was the obvious choice. I used Dorie's tried and true recipe, minus the dried fruit and nuts- just a layer of raspberry pan jam and chopped bittersweet chips. This was also a great way to use the Raspberry sugar I picked up from a great little spice market the last time I was home.
You don't need to wait for a rainy day to enjoy these delicious cookies, they are perfect in any weather.

Raspberry Pan Jam
adapted from Cardamom Addict
1 pint fresh raspberries
1/4 cup vanilla sugar
juice from 1/2 a meyer lemon
splash of vanilla

Combine raspberries and sugar in a saucepan over medium low heat, stirring occasionally until the berries soften and give up their juices. Add sugar to taste if needed. Stir for a few minutes then add lemon juice. Reduce heat to low and stir for a few more minutes until thickened to desired consistency. Stir in vanilla and remove from heat. Store unused jam in the fridge.

Righting Egg White Wrongs

I'm on some kind of intimidation-facing baking jag this week- vegan TWD, souffle, and now macaroons. My failure rate for egg white based recipes runs a little on the high side. It all started with a disastrous Filbert Gauteau- the genoise was so heavy you could use it as a door stop. I've never had a lot of luck with sponge cake in general and my meringue is often mediocre at best but today I put a sizebale dent in my Egg White Phobia with Hazelnut Chocolate Macaroons.
Bonbini! provided both inspiration and information to tackle these little French, blog envy inducing cookies. I went with the Hazelnut version because I had hazelnut flour on hand (left over from the aformentioned Gateau Wreck) and will take advantage of any excuse to use Frangelico in a baked good. It started out a little rough. The recipe calls for italian meringue made by boiling sugar to a soft ball stage before incorporating it in with the egg whites. First attempt I ended up with a hard crystallized mess. Second time, I burned the sugar. Finally got it right on the third try and frustratedly yet gently folded the batter together, piped it out and crossed my fingers. I was overjoyed when I took them out of the oven and saw little macaroon "feet," and pressing their little flat ends together between a big dollop of Frangelico laced chocolate ganache made me so darn proud.
Little cookies, little victories.

You can check out lots of macaroon recipes here. I used this one for the shell.

2880 Minute Magic

Writing this post feels like I'm back in grade school coming up with an excuse for why my book report was late. It fell out of my backpack. The dog ate my homework. My oven broke. Seriously, my oven freaking broke! Saturday I had just taken my second attempt at coconut cake out of the oven (the first one wasn't done in the middle) when the oven door locked and the self clean when on by itself. I swear! Unfortunately I had left a cookie sheet with a silicon handle in there so the whole house started smelling like burned rubber and every single smoke alarm went off. After the cycle finished, and I cleaned up enough ash to rival Mount St. Helens, I tried to run the oven and nothing. Zilch, zip, stone cold. Two days later, my oven has been diagnosed with either a broken thermostat or a dead control panel and is scheduled to be repaired next week.
The good news is I have a double oven and once the bottom unit passed its physical I was finally able to make this mini Chocolate Amaretti Torte.

And for extra credit, I made the amaretti cookies (thanks Barefoot Kitchen Witch!) and couldn't help making these amaretti nutella sandwiches with the leftovers.

I loved this torte, it reminds me off a fancy brownie with an almond vibe, and once I had all the components together it really was a breeze to make. Head on over to Holly's blog for the recipe and don't let the dog eat your torte!

You Put The Lime In The Coconut

I not a fan of rushing the season, seeing Christmas decorations going up the day after Halloween drives me crazy, however I always make an exception when it comes to Spring. I get so impatient for baseball season, warm(er) weather, looking at my jasmine every day thinking hurry up and bloom already! Once Spring has sprung it goes by fast so perhaps it would be better slow down, stop and smell the roses, the freesia, orange blossoms, honeysuckle, (my neighbors must think I'm crazy always sniffing around their yard) and definitely take time to appreciate this week's Tuesdays With Dorie-Coconut Butter Thins.
Think Lorna Doones on vacation and you'll get the gist of these cookies. The comforting, buttery taste of shortbread with a little tropical hint of lime, coconut, macadamia nuts, and (in my case) curry powder. They are the perfect way to welcome, and appreciate the season.


For more on these cookies, check out the TWD blogroll.

Any Requests

Due to my voracious baking habit (and appetite) I am always on the lookout for new victims, er I mean tasters, so I can bake without the burden of the final product remaining in my house. Often times, I sneak an offer for baked goods into casual conversation.

Looking at my blog...

Him: These look great, do you have any of this stuff here?

Me: As a matter of fact I do. Can offer you some...insert name of recently made treat here...

Him: Sure I'd love some.

Me: Hey, by the way, what's your favorite dessert?

Then whammo, guess who's getting a heaping helping of sugary goodness from your truly?!

On today's menu, Caramel Crumb Bars from The Modern Baker. Shortbread crust covered in a layer of creamy caramel with crumb topping. Perfect for someone who loves cookies and creamy treats. This one's for you Bob.