Date and Nut Cookies

Do you ever have a day when every single thing is just freaking agitating and it all just explodes into a meltdown? Today was one of those days. It was a long day of silent treatment and death glares at work. I rounded up the day by inexplicable and hysterical sobbing to the Glee finale. Then I sprawled on the basement floor and attempting to eat popcorn. Heads up, it's difficult.

To try to get rid of my nasty post-crying face, which is red and blotchy and disfigured, I made cookies. The cure to unreasonable mood swings and my family's uncomfortable attempts to understand why I'm crying on the floor. Cookies means a happy family. That should be in parenting books if it isn't already. 

Date and Nut Cookies

Adapted from Food Magazine

These are healthy cookies. It's a contradiction and I feel like a tool saying it but they are nonetheless. Perfect for attempting to slim down and look like Brooklyn Decker in a bikini! 

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 pound dates, pitted and roughly chopped (This came out to a scant 3 cups but I would recommend using 2 cups or a half pound) 

1 1/2 cups pecans, toasted and then roughly chopped
3 large eggs
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons brown sugar
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon  

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, with racks in upper third and middle. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or butter them. In a bigger bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder. Throw in your dates and pecans and stir them around so they are coated in the flour mixture. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, lemon juice, salt and vanilla until combined. Then beat in 1/2 cup of the brown sugar until it is all nice and combined. Create a well in the flour mixture and add the sugar mixture. Mix it up until it is fully combined. In a tiny bowl, mix together the cinnamon and remaining two tablespoons of brown sugar. Scoop out heaping tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheets, about an inch apart. Sprinkle them with the brown sugar and cinnamon. Bake for about 8 to 10 minutes, switching the sheets halfway through, until they have golden edges. Move to a wire rack to cool completely. Chow down. Makes 4 dozen cookies. 

* I totally published this as Date and Nute Cookies. 

Lemon Raspberry Sandwich Cookies

Have I ever mentioned that Izzie and Denny complete me? That Meredith is my on screen double? How about that when Addison left it broke my heart like how Mark's abs make me melt? Grey's Anatomy, people. This yunk is good minus that horrible third/four season slump. All is forgiven. I'm nearly finished the seventh season and considering I started during our trip, that is damn impressive. Pathetic yet impressive. 

But it is almost unbearably depressing at times. I once was sobbing for a solid hour and a bit over Denny. Post breakdown, I called Bo to tell her what happened. She had already seen it but made me tell her what had happened causing the hysterics to fire up again. That son of a gun.

So if you happen to be as down and out due to fictional problems that you live vicariously through, make some bright and shiny cookies. Talk about a way to soak up your sorrows and fill up your bellay. The tart lemon smell is refreshing and the raspberries add a neon, discotheque mood minus the strobe lights. It's uplifting, promise.  

Lemon Raspberry Sandwich Cookies
Roughly adapted from here

cookies
1/2 cup butter, melted and slightly cooled
2 3/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp kosher salt
2 cups sugar
2 tbsp lemon zest
2/3 cup whole milk
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
filling
3/4 cup cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup raspberry jam

cookies Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. In a large bowl, whisk the melted butter (still warmish) with the sugar and lemon zest until fragrant. Whisk in the milk and lemon juice until smooth. Gradually stir in the flour mixture until no streaks of flour remain. The dough will be pretty soft so refrigerate for about an hour. Make the filling (below) in the meantime. Or don't if you roll like that. Preheat the oven to 350º. Drop dough in 1/2 tsp balls* onto prepared baking sheet, leaving about one and a half inches between cookies to allow for them to spread. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until cookies are set around the edges. Cool for 2-3 minutes on a baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack with a spatula to cool completely. 

filling In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Beat in the raspberry jam. Cover and cool in the fridge until ready to use.

Place about 1 tablespoon of the filling on one of the cookies and sandwich with another. Makes about 24 small sandwich cookies.

* I had used a larger sandwich scoop, as seen in the photos above, but I highly recommend a small scoop. The cookies will spread and they are much easier to eat when the sandwiches are smaller. It is also easier to eat smaller sandwiches thinking it's healthy. Obvz.

Lemon Poppyseed Muffins

I sort of broke my golden rule here. I did not brown the butter. Even when I was melting the butter my body was screaming 'Brown it!' But despite my self hatred, these are good. The texture is great and the icing really does make them that much better. But now to make up for not browning the butter I have to do some penance and go brown a couple pounds of butter. This is going to be the best redemption ever.

Lemon Poppyseed Muffins
Adapted from Dorie Greenspan

muffins

2/3 cup sugar
Zest of 2 lemons - 1 1/2 tbsp
juice of 1 lemon - 1/4 cup
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp kosher salt
3/4 cup sour cream
2 large eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 tbsp poppy seeds
icing

1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
2-3 T fresh lemon juice

muffins Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400°. Butter or spray the 12 molds in a regular-size muffin pan or fit the molds with paper muffin cups. Set aside. In a large bowl, rub the sugar and the lemon zest together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist and the fragrance of the lemon is strong. Whisk in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, whish the sour cream, eggs, vanilla, lemon juice and melted butter together until well blended. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and, with a rubber spatula, gently fold together. Don’t worry about being thorough-a few lumps are better than overmixing the batter. Stir in the poppy seeds. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until the tops are golden and a thin knife inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes before carefully removing each muffin from its mold. Cool the muffins completely on the rack before icing them.
icing Put the confectioners’ sugar in a small bowl and add about 1 1/2 tbsp of the lemon juice. Stir with a spoon to moisten the sugar, then add enough additional lemon juice, a dribble at a time, to get an icing that is thin enough to drizzle from the tip of the spoon. You can then drizzle lines of icing over the tops of the muffins or coat the tops entirely, the better to get an extra zap of lemon.

My Favourite Scones

Before I had made these my success with scones was here and there. Here being great and there being dry flour lumps. There was a lot of there. I think it was when I tried to make whole wheat peanut butter scones. Just one big no. But then I tried one from Bon Appetit and it was amazing! Then another dud. But then these came along. They have a different formula and it works.

These babies use a lot of whipped cream in place of the butter and the result is the perfect scone. I have made these several times in several different ways. Oh and as if they couldn't be any better, they are easy and can be made ahead of time in the freezer. Awesome? Heck yes.

Cream Scones

From America's Test Kitchen

2 cups (10 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour, preferably a low-protein brand such as Gold Medal or Pillsbury
1 tablespoon baking powder
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
5 tablespoons chilled, unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1/2 cup currants (Variations below)
1 cup heavy cream
 

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 425°F. Place flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in large bowl or work bowl of food processor fitted with steel blade. Whisk together or pulse six times. If making by hand, use two knives, a pastry blender or your fingertips and quickly cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal, with a few slightly larger butter lumps. Stir in currants. If using food processor, remove cover and distribute butter evenly over dry ingredients. Cover and pulse 12 times, each pulse lasting 1 second. Add currants and pulse one more time. Transfer dough to large bowl.  Stir in heavy cream with a rubber spatula or fork until dough begins to form, about 30 seconds. Transfer dough and all dry, floury bits to countertop and knead dough by hand just until it comes together into a rough, sticky ball, 5 to 10 seconds. Form scones by either a) pressing the dough into an 8-inch cake pan, then turning the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface, cutting the dough into 8 wedges with either a knife or bench scraper (the book’s suggestion) or b) patting the dough onto a lightly floured work surface into a 3/4-inch thick circle, cutting pieces with a biscuit cutter, and pressing remaining scraps back into another piece and cutting until dough has been used up. ** Place rounds or wedges on ungreased baking sheet and bake until scone tops are light brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on wire rack for at least 10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

* I have used raisins instead with or without 3/4 tsp cinnamon added to the flour mix, dried cranberries with or without 1 tbsp lemon zest, or omitted the fruit entirely and added the seeds from a vanilla bean. All have worked and each taste amazing! 

** At that point the scones can be placed on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and placed in the freezer for an hour. After the hour, or until they are pretty solidly chilled, they can be moved into a air tight freezer bag and be kept in the freezer for a month. Bake at the same temperature for a few extra minutes and do not defrost beforehand.

Lemon Shortbread Cutouts

The heart obsession continues. A day late, I know, but still delicious no less. They can obviously be shaped into any desired form such as a heart, star of David, garage, etc. It would not feel right if there wasn't a decorated shaped cookie on Valentine's day, or any holiday for that matter. I can't help myself.

Instead of the ol' sugar cookie recipe, which is perf, shortbread took over. Seriously. Shortbread is straight amazing on its own but works with the icing too. Isn't that little guy cute?

Lemon Shortbread Cutouts

1/2 cup confectioner's sugar

1/2 cup cornstarch

1 cup flour

3/4 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 tbsp lemon zest

Preheat the oven to 300º.* In a small bowl, sift together the sugar, cornstarch and flour. In a larger bowl, beat the butter until nice and fluffy. Slowly beat in the flour mixture until it forms into a loose, crumbly dough. Using your hands, knead the dough together to form a soft dough. Put the dough on a large piece of parchment paper or a lightly floured surface. Roll out the dough to about 1/8 inch to 1/4 inch thickness. Shortbread is better when it is on the thick side. Cut out the desired shape and place on a parchment lined or ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, rotating the sheet halfway through. Do not let the cookies brown, they will continue to set a bit on the sheets after they are removed. Allow the cookies to cool on the sheets completely. Eat them straight or decorate.

Royal Icing

4 cups confectioner's sugar

1/4 cup + 2 tbsp meringue powder

scant 1/2 cup water

Sift together the confectioner's sugar and meringue powder. Add about 1/3 cup of water and beat until combined. Add more water until the desired consistency is achieved. For a great tutorial on how to basically decorate sugar cookies, go here, and for the heart design tutorial, go here. Annie is the master of step by step for sugar cookies.

Lemon Squares

How was your Christmas? It was probably freakin' awesome. Thank gawd Christmas is in the Winter time eh? It would be eight long gray months if there was nothing to brighten it. Pretty sure that was intention, to bring some form of joy during the mess that is Winter. Everyone in the world right now does not want to see or eat any baked goods or anything ultimately sweet related but I shall sacrifice myself to bring more sweetness in the world. That is how noble I am. 

These are my favourite lemon squares. Nothing compares on my standards. They are so bloody lemony, it is not even funny. If you feel the need to step it up even more, which is nearly impossible, add some lemon zest to the crust. They may cause throats to burn in the best possible way. The only way. It is an authoritarian regime around here.

My Favourite Lemon Squares

From Martha Stewart Cookies
 

crust
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) butter, frozen
3/4 cup confectioner's sugar, plus more for dusting
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
filling
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup half and half cream
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 4 to 6 lemons)
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish; line dish with parchment paper. crust Grate butter on a cheese grater with large holes. In a separate large bowl, whisk together flour, confectioners' sugar, and salt. Add butter; stir with a wooden spoon until combined and mixture looks crumbly. Use your hands if necessary. Transfer mixture to baking dish; press evenly onto bottom with your hands. Chill crust in freezer 15 minutes. Bake until slightly golden, 16 to 18 minutes. Meanwhile, make filling: In a large bowl whisk together eggs, sugar, flour, and salt until smooth. Stir in lemon juice and cream. Pour filling mixture over hot crust. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees and bake until filling is set and edges are slightly golden brown, about 18 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack. Grip paper; lift out dessert, and set on cutting board. With a sieve, dust with confectioners' sugar. Cut into squares. Makes 24 squares.

Lemon Poppyseed Biscotti

Have I posted a biscotti recipe before? Probably not. In fact, I have only made it twice before. One was really dry and tasteless but the next things got better. And this one? Even better. It has a great lemon taste and texture from the poppyseeds. They are easy to pound back. This is definitely my go-to for biscotti. But I think I need a chocolate fix right now so that is next on the my to-do list. Like I must do that now. 

Lemon Poppyseed Biscotti
Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens

1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 egg
1 egg white
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp lemon extract
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tbsp lemon zest
2 tbsp poppyseeds
Raw sugar

Preheat oven to 350º and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or lightly butter it. Beat the butter until it is light and smooth about 30 seconds. Beat in the sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt until combined. Add the egg and beat till it is smooth. Then add the egg white, lemon juice, vanilla and lemon extract until combined and smooth. Mix in the flour, zest and poppy seeds until fully combined. Divide the dough in two. Shape each into a log of about 3 x 7 inches on the lined baking sheet. Sprinkle each with raw sugar. Bake for about 25 minutes, until lightly golden. Remove from the oven and let it cool for ten minutes on the baking sheet. Reduce the oven temperature to 325º. Once it is cooled, move the logs to a cutting board. Using a serrated knife, cut the logs diagonally by about half an inch. Place the biscotti back on the baking sheet lying down and sprinkle with more raw sugar. Bake for another ten minutes. Flip the biscotti over and bake for another ten minutes or until they are fully cooked. Remove from the oven and.. eat. Made 20 cookies, original recipe said 24.

Week 3 Twelve Weeks of Christmas:

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies/The Revamped Chewy

Alright, these are good. I have to stop naming favourites because it is nipping me in the butt. I don't want to name these my favourite as a result but if I were to hypothetically name a favourite, it would be these. Are they hypothetically better than the Chewy? Yes. However, they are the Chewy! .. so it's not really naming a new favourite. Literally, there are only two different additions, lemon juice and cream, which replace the milk. And the butter is obviously browned. But it makes it that much better. It brings an almost caramel flavour to the cookies. From now on, I will only brown, not melt, butter.

 

The Revamped Chewy

Nearly Identical to Recipe Girl's recipe via Macheesmo

2 1/4 Cups bread flour 
1 Teaspoon baking soda
1 Teaspoon kosher salt
1 Cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1/4 Cup sugar
1 1/4 Cups dark brown sugar (packed)
1 Tablespoon Half and Half or heavy cream
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
2 Teaspoons vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk 
2 cups milk chocolate chip cookies 

Mix the flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and set aside for later. Start by adding your butter to a medium pot over medium-low heat and let it melt. Once it starts frothing, turn the heat down to low and whisk the butter. As the butter cooks, the water will evaporate from the butter leaving only the oil and the milk solids. Eventually, the milk solids will separate out and start to brown which gives it the distinct brown color and also the delicious nutty flavor. It’ll take about 15-20 minutes for the butter to brown. Just whisk it every minute or so to make sure that it’s heating evenly. Let this cool for a minute and then add all your sugar to the brown butter. Stir it all together. It's okay if your sugar and butter separate out a bit. Let the butter/sugar mixture cool down before continuing since we are going to be adding eggs to them. You don’t want to cook the eggs! From here on out the process is the exact same as making any cookie dough. Add the butter and sugar mixture to a stand mixer or use a hand mixer on medium to cream the butter and sugar together. It should lighten up a bit and turn fluffy. Mine never turned fluffy exactly just not as saucey as before and cooler. Then add your egg and egg yolk and continue to mix. Add the vanilla, half and half, and lemon juice, and eventually you’ll have a very smooth caramel colored mixture. Turn the mixer to low and stir in the bread flour mixture in a few batches just until it’s combined. Then add in all the chocolate chips and stir again until they are evenly distributed. Try not to over-mix the dough. The dough must be chilled for about an hour or two before baking. I kept mine in overnight and let them sit out for a bit before scooping. I made two dozen one night and the next, then only a dozen worth of dough was left the next night. When you’re ready to bake, roll the dough into tablespoon sized balls and add them to a cookie sheet with parchment paper. They don't spread so they don't need to be very far spaced apart, about an inch is recommended. Bake them at 350 degrees for 9 minutes. I love them chewy. Let them cool for a few minutes then move to a wire rack. I highly recommend just digging in right away. Makes five dozen cookies.

* On a side note, I joined the 12 weeks of Christmas cookies! I saw it on Baked Bree, love!, and had to join. Perfect reason to make even more cookies around here.

Banana Upside Down Cake

Oh Summer. It is literally going by so fast. It may in fact may be so fast that I jumped the gun and made a winter style dessert. Like.. banana upside down cake. Bananas have been a friend of mine for some time now. As seen here, heerrree and over there. The oven and I are a different story.

The one upstairs has straight up died. It likes to broil, even broil convection and maybe clean itself but heaven forbid it wanted to bake. The one in the basement will bake but only unless it is guaranteed to give completely inaccurate temperatures. Perfect right? This cake was beautiful on the outside, flip it and it looks delicious. Turns out that it was not fully cooked in the center. Be careful!

Banana Chocolate Chip Upside Down Cake
Adapted from David Lebovitz


topping

1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar (preferably dark)

2 tablespoons water

2 large bananas

few drops of lemon juice
cake

1 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons melted butter, salted or unsalted

1 large egg

1 large egg white

1 cup banana puree (about 2 or 3 bananas)

1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350º. To make the topping, place the brown sugar and water or butter in an 8-inch (20 cm) square cake pan. Warm the pan directly on the stovetop over low heat, stirring until the sugar is thoroughly moistened. If using water, simmer the mixture for about 45 seconds. If using butter, stir just until the sugar is moist and bubbling, then remove from heat. (It won't melt completely smooth, and there may be a few bare spots, which is normal.) Let cool to room temperature. Peel and slice the bananas in 1/4-inch (1 cm) slices. Arrange them in slightly overlapping rows over the melted brown sugar. Sprinkle with a few drops of lemon juice. For the cake, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl, making sure there are no lumps. Mix in the granulated sugar. In a small bowl, mix together the butter, egg, egg white, banana puree, buttermilk, and vanilla. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and stir in the wet ingredients until almost combined. Do not overmix. Gently fold in the chocolate pieces. Scrape the batter into the pan over the bananas, then use a spatula to carefully spread the batter over the sliced fruit. Bake for 40 minutes, or until the cake feels just set in the center when you touch it. Make sure it is not undercooked! Cool the cake for about 20 minutes, then run a knife along the edges of the cake to help it release from the pan. Invert the cake onto a serving platter.

Lemon Crumb Cake

I am not a parent, nor am I going to be one in the near future. Why? Well I, myself, am still a kid. I live with my parents and I am not old enough to purchase alcohol, smokes or go out gamble. Mind you I don't think the last three are really necessary to raise a child unless all the rumors about sleepless nights are true.

However, one friend of mine, Pumpkin, is like my little child. In the sense that she loves when I bake for her. She also love my scent therefore leaving her clothes at my house and demands that I wash them before giving them back infusing them with said scent. Call her a freak. Two things I know she loves are lemon or peanut butter good, but hates raisins. Anyways, before leaving there was some sour cream in the fridge that needed to be used, like the pumpkin, so came the lemon crumb cake! (P.S. The photo is pre-bakeage.)

Lemon Crumb Cake
Adapted from the Bon Appetit Cookbook 

2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
4 tsp grated lemon peel
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice  

1 cup sour cream
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp lemon extract
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp kosher salt

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 325°F. Lightly butter and flour 8-inch square glass baking dish. Stir flour, 1 cup sugar, brown sugar, lemon peel and cinnamon in large bowl to blend. Add oil and lemon juice and mix until flour is evenly moistened and mixture forms clumps. Set aside 1 cup of mixture for topping. Whisk sour cream, egg, vanilla, baking powder and baking soda in small bowl until well blended. Using electric mixer, add sour cream mixture to crumb mixture and beat until batter is smooth. Spread batter in prepared pan. Sprinkle reserved crumb mixture over top. Bake until tester inserted into center of cake comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Transfer pan to rack and cool. Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover with foil; Store at room temperature. Sift powdered sugar over top of cake. Cut into squares and serve.

Little Lemon Tarts

Lovely little lemon tarts, I love. This is not the recipe that I use frequently but this recipe is quicker. The crust is similar to pie crust but with cookie qualities and the filling is creamy but still tart from the lemon. Honestly, I was straight up eating the left over filling. I know, I know, the egg yolks are bad but come on. How could I not?Little Lemon Tarts

crust
2 cups flour
4 1/2 oz. unsalted butter, chopped
2 tsp caster sugar (superfine) sugar
1 tsp lemon zest
1 egg yolk
filling
4 1/2 oz. cream cheese, softened
4 oz. (1/2 cup) caster (superfine) sugar
2 egg yolks
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk

Preheat the oven to 350º. Spray mini muffins tins with cooking spray or you could butter them. Sift the flour and a pinch of salt together in a bowl and rub the butter in until it looks like fine breadcrumbs. Add the sugar, zest, egg yolk and 2-3 tbsp iced water and use a pastry cutter, or knives, until a rough dough forms. Gently knead on a lightly floured surface until smooth. Cover in plastic and chill for 10 minutes.
For the filling, beat the cream cheese, sugar and egg yolks using electric beaters until smooth and thickened. Add the lemon juice and condensed milk and beat until well combined.
Roll out the chilled dough between two pieces of parchment paper until about 1/8 inch thick. Using a 7 cm fluted round cutter, or in my case a glass, cut rounds from the pastry. I kept a bowl of flour on hand so I could dip the glass in the flour before pressing therefore making an easy removal. Gently press the rounds into the muffin tins and lightly prick them with a fork three times. Bake for 10 minutes, or until just starting to turn golden. Remove from the oven and spoon 2 tsp, or until full, of filling into the little crusts. Return the tarts to the oven for another 5 minutes or until the filling is set. Cool slightly before removing from the tins. Enjoy!
Makes 24 tarts