Ever since Mini SGCC’s accident, it has been a crazy, hectic time around here!  Most of my time has been filled up with driving her back and forth to school, taking her to doctor’s appointments, physical therapy and everywhere else she needs to go.  In the midst of all that, Mr. SGCC had the audacity to develop pneumonia.  Can you imagine?  What nerve!  And, let’s not forget that we also had to get through the Holidays, which managed to pop up at the most inconvenient time.  Just between you and me, I feel like I’m living in a house of cards.

Cooking these days has consisted of throwing things together and dropping them on the table.  Trust me, there hasn’t been much I’ve wanted to share with you.   Those leisurely days of simmering, braising and roasting as I snapped photos along the way seem like a distant memory.  I know that eventually I’ll be able to get back into my normal routine, but it ain’t happening anytime soon.   And, boy is it frustrating!  

One interesting thing that I did manage to make are these healthy and delicious breakfast cookies.  They’re made with whole wheat flour, and are chock full of great breakfast-type ingredients like rolled oats, Cheerios, peanut butter and bananas.  To keep them a little healthier, I only used a minimal amount of butter, adding moisture with mashed bananas and applesauce.  Of course, the benefit of that was probably canceled out when I decided to add chocolate chips.  Oh well.  It’s the thought that counts… isn’t it?

Breakfast cookies are a great alternative to packaged granola bars.  They’re self-contained and portable, so you can grab one on the go.  They’re also full of wholesome, all natural ingredients, which you can customize according to your own tastes.   Plus, who doesn’t love the idea of having cookies for breakfast?

These breakfast cookies are very easy to make.  All you do is mix together your wet ingredients, mix together your dry ingredients, then put them all together and bake.  The cookies are dense and chewy, with a little crunch from the cereal.  I’m not saying that they’ll ever edge out a gooey glazed doughnut as my breakfast of choice, but they’re a satisfying alternative.  And honestly, at 6:00 in the morning, I could chew on a cardboard box and not really know the difference!

When Mini SGCC was a little girl, there was one Christmas Eve ritual that we never missed.  We would always bake one special kind of cookie for Santa Claus to enjoy as a snack when he stopped by our house during the night.   We had a special plate designated just for him and would leave the cookies on it, along with a glass of milk, under our tree before we went to bed.   We figured that with all of that racing around on his sleigh and heavy lifting all night long, he could probably use a little sugar rush by the time he got to our house.  After all, Santa is no spring chicken anymore!

On Christmas morning,  Mini SGCC would rush out to see if the cookies were gone, thus verifying that Santa had indeed been there.  I remember one year we forgot to take the cookies off of the plate.  Mini SGCC was a little upset.  She assumed that Santa didn’t “eat” them because he didn’t like them.  After that, we were never allowed to make that same cookie for Santa again.

I’m not sure where the tradition of baking Christmas cookies began.  Some say that their history can be traced back to medieval times in Europe.  Whenever and wherever the practice originated,  baking Christmas cookies has become a cherished holiday tradition for families in just about every corner of the world.  It’s a lucky thing for Santa too.  He must make out like a bandit!   

In the aftermath of Mini SGCC’s accident, there hasn’t been much opportunity for cookie baking.  Too many doctor appointments, physical therapy sessions and other running around have gotten in the way.  I have been able to make a few bathes of cookies, here and there, but not nearly what I usually do.  I’ve also had to pack up most of my makeshift photography studio for the time being.  Bella has been banished to my bedroom so that she doesn’t accidentally knock Mini SGCC down.  So, the cameras, lights and fragile props had to be moved to higher ground.   It’s definitely not an ideal situation for a food blogger!

Fortunately, I have some great Christmas cookie ideas from the SGCC archives to share.  I hope that you enjoy them and are inspired to go forth and bake!   I also hope that I’ll be back soon with some new recipes to share.

Every year, long before the Thanksgiving dishes are even dried and put away, the Christmas rush is on. That’s when so many of us find ourselves racing around, spending money we don’t have on lots of things we don’t need. It’s crazy! One way that I’ve found to minimize the stress of Holiday shopping – and spending – is to make delicious gifts for family and friends in my own kitchen. Not only are homemade gifts often more economical, but they can also be much more meaningful to their recipients.

Each year, I choose a different assortment of tasty treats to give as holiday gifts.  I package each in pretty decorative packaging and make up cheery goodie bags to deliver to the lucky recipients.  I usually choose a few easy recipes along with some that are a little more complex to get a nice balance in my bags.   I really enjoy doing this, and the whole process helps to get me into the Holiday spirit.  And, after all that has happened around here lately, I could really use some help getting my Christmas mojo on! 

When it comes to creating edible gifts, the possibilities are endless. From the simplest sugar cookies to more labor intensive items like candies or preserves, there are plenty of recipe options available, regardless of your level of culinary expertise.  Below are some of some of my favorite gifts from the kitchen from years past.  I hope you find a few that inspire you.

What are your favorite edible gifts to give and to receive?

While cupcakes will always hold a special place in my heart, the newest trend in sweet treats these days is whoopee pies.  Yessiree folks, whoopie pies are hot, hot, hot!  And, it’s no surprise either.  What’s not to love about a creamy, cloud-like filling sandwiched between two moist and tender disks of cake?

The origin of the whoopie pie is a subject for debate. It is claimed to have been invented in both New England and Pennsylvania Dutch country, depending upon whom you ask.  The most likely scenario is that Amish groups migrating to Maine in the early 20th century brought the whoopie pie to the area with them.  According to some food historians, Amish housewives would bake these desserts out of leftover cake batter and slip them in their husbands’ lunch pails.  When the men would find the treats in their lunch, they would shout “Whoopie!”.  Wherever they came from, whoopee pies have become a very popular and much loved snack food all over the country. 

The traditional whoopee pie consists of two round slabs of chocolate cake filled with a fluffy vanilla frosting.  Since Halloween is just around the corner,  I’m sharing this more seasonal version.  The pumpkin cakes are lightly spiced with cinnamon, ginger and clove, and the filling is made with cream cheese and jarred caramel sauce.  Trust me.  The combination is divine!

These whoopee pies are great little self-contained treats that would be perfect for hungry trick-or-treaters or just about anyone at all.

Anyone remember the old Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups commercials?  In them, two unsuspecting souls would be strolling down the street – one eating peanut butter and the other eating a chocolate bar -  and would somehow collide with each other, smushing the peanut butter and chocolate together.  Each would be outraged, but after tasting the resulting chocolate/peanut butter concoction, they would be be smitten and wander off together,  hand in hand, licking their lips.

Take a look.

Yeah, I know. Who the heck walks down the street eating a jar of peanut butter? The Hershey Company, which owns Reese’s must be doing something right, however. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are one of the top selling chocolate bars of all time, generating approximately $398.9 million in revenue last year. That’s a whole lot of peanut butter and chocolate!

The point is that peanut butter and chocolate is a wildly popular and much-loved  combination, not only in candy bars, but in all kinds of sweets.  And, you’d be hard pressed to find a better example than these Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies. 

There are tons of peanut butter cookie recipes floating around the web, and many of them are very good.  But, my all time favorite is the one from The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook.  The recipe is easy to make and the cookies are divinely soft and chewy. The addition of peanut butter chips (Reese’s, of course) to the dough really amps up the peanut butter flavor.

The original recipe calls for chunky peanut butter.  I like to use the super chunky kind.  Those little peanut bits add a nice texture and extra crunch to the cookies.   Magnolia’s recipe also doesn’t include chocolate chips, but I say – why not?  Adding the chocolate chips just puts these cookies way over the top!  And, what’s not to love about that?

If you’ve never baked your own peanut butter cookies, this is a great recipe to start with. They truly are the best I’ve ever eaten.   I highly recommend having a nice icy cold glass of milk handy when you eat these cookies to help wash down all of that peanut buttery and chocolate goodness.  These cookies are rich, rich, rich!

]]> http://stickygooeycreamychewy.com/2011/10/25/irresistible-peanut-butter-chocolate-chip-cookies-recipe/feed/ 19 http://stickygooeycreamychewy.com/2011/10/21/maple-pumpkin-cheesecake-bars/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=maple-pumpkin-cheesecake-bars http://stickygooeycreamychewy.com/2011/10/21/maple-pumpkin-cheesecake-bars/#comments Fri, 21 Oct 2011 15:41:33 +0000 Susan http://stickygooeycreamychewy.com/?p=3947 Remember the joys of early air travel?  You know, those days where they showed you a movie that you could hear without having to pay for ear buds,  stowed your luggage without a fee and actually fed you a free meal on any flight that was longer than two …]]>

Remember the joys of early air travel?  You know, those days where they showed you a movie that you could hear without having to pay for ear buds,  stowed your luggage without a fee and actually fed you a free meal on any flight that was longer than two hours?   I’ll admit, the food wasn’t exactly fine dining, but depending on the airline, it wasn’t bad.  I remember flying to Rome on Alitalia many years ago and being served a pretty darn tasty veal cannelloni and a nice Pinot Grigio to wash it down with too.  Oh, yeah. Those were the days…

Now, all you get for free is a plastic cup filled with watered down soda or juice, and a choice of peanuts or cookies.  Seriously!  Have you seen those tiny packets of peanuts?  They’re miniscule!  The cookies are a much better bet.  At least you get two full-sized cookies.  And, they’re really, really good cookies too.  In fact, those cookies have become so popular, that the company that makes them now imports them all over the world – including my very own local supermarket. 

Biscoff Cookies are made by  Belgium-based Lotus Bakeries.  They are crispy, crunchy little spiced cookies, very similar to gingersnaps.   And, I’m telling you people, they are addictive.  They also make a very nice piecrust, which is where I was going with this story.

Now that we’re firmly entrenched in Autumn, I was looking to make something with pumpkin – maybe a pie or a cheesecake.  Since I had several boxes of cookies lying around, I figured that I could use some of them to make the crust.   I ended up deciding on Maple Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars with a Biscoff cookie crust.

The recipe for these bars is super easy and virtually foolproof.   I essentially took a basic pumpkin pie recipe and tweaked it by adding cream cheese and maple syrup to the filling, and of course, by using my Biscoff cookies for the crust.  I also saved a little time and minimized the clean up by mixing up both the crust and filling in my food processor.  Who wants to wash a bunch of extra dirty bowls?

I loved, loved, loved these!  The bar format worked out great.  I could cut them into any sized squares I wanted and decorate each square individually.  They were also neater and easier to eat than a pie or cheesecake because you didn’t really need a fork.  And, the taste?  My, oh my, did these taste amazing!  They were like a silky, smooth pumpkin cheesecake laced with spice and a hint of maple.  Topped with a splotch of whipped cream and candy corn, these bars are a perfect little Halloween treat!

When Ruth Graves Wakefield mixed bits of semi-sweet chocolate into a vat of cookie dough back in the 1930’s, she unwittingly created what is arguably the most popular recipe of all time – the chocolate chip cookie.  By some accounts, it was an accident.  Others claim that Wakefield intentionally added the semi-sweet chocolate when she ran out of regular baking chocolate.  Whichever version is true, cookie lovers everywhere are thankful.

Since then, professional chefs and home cooks alike have been on a quest to find the Holy Grail of chocolate chip cookie recipes.   A quick Google search turned up almost 2,500,000 entries.  That’s a lot of cookies, folks!   Of course, every chocolate chip cookie aficionado has their own criteria for what makes a cookie “the one”.  Some love them thin and crispy, while others seek out the thick and chewy.  Most people consider the ultimate chocolate cookie to be somewhere in between – thin and shatteringly crisp on the outside, while soft, gooey and chewy on the inside.    I’m an equal opportunity cookie eater.   I can definitely appreciate the joys of both the crispy and the chewy. How about you? 

To further confuse the issue are the numerous chocolate chip cookie mutations that have evolved over the years, including those containing various kinds of nuts, fruits, toffee chips and oh yes, even bacon.  It’s enough to make one’s head swim, preferably in a sea of melted chocolate!

A few years ago, on a mission for the New York Times, David Leite set out to find the perfect chocolate chip cookie.    In his search, he left no chip unturned.  One of his most interesting revelations was that letting the dough “rest” in the fridge for at least twenty-four hours before baking makes for a much better cookie.  The chilling process is said to allow the dough to “dry out”, which bakes to a better consistency.   Leite also discovered that Ruth Wakefield’s original recipe for the Toll House cookie did, in fact, call for letting the cookie dough chill in the fridge overnight.   Somewhere along the way, that little nugget of information got lost in the translation, and has never been included in the official recipe.  How do you like that?  For over seventy years, we’ve been doing it all wrong!

And apparently, size does matter when it comes to chocolate chip cookies as it does with other things in life.  On his journey to cookie enlightenment, Leite learned that  the bigger the cookie, the  greater the delineation of texture, from crisp to chewy to soft.  Among the gurus that he interviewed, the consensus was that the ideal chocolate chip cookie should bake up to a whopping five to six inches in diameter.  Now, this is where I draw the line.  If I got into the habit of eating six-inch chocolate chip cookies, or any cookie that big, I’d have to climb into my closet and dig out the “fat pants”.  And, I ain’t willing to dig them out again for anything – not even the most perfect chocolate chip cookie on the planet!  Besides, if I shoved a six-inch cookie in Mini SGCC’s face, she’d probably run screaming into the night, never to be heard from again!

What I was willing to do, however, was try this recipe making smaller cookies.  Instead of monster cookies, I made three inchers.    I still let them rest for thirty-six hours before I baked them.  I also still used a good quality bittersweet chocolate and sprinkled them with sea salt.  And, I added  some nuts, just because that’s how I roll.   I have to say, they were pretty damn fabulous!  They had a thin edge of crispy that splintered upon contact with my teeth, which then yielded to a soft, chewy, chocolatey center.  There were toffee and brown sugar undertones too -  just like there was supposed to be – that were beautifully enhanced by the little flakes of salt on top.  All in all, an amazing cookie.  Were they worthy of being dubbed the perfect chocolate chip cookie?  I don’t know. I think I’ll let you decide.

Remember that luscious rhubarb berry jam I made last week?  Well, we’ve been enjoying the heck out of it here at Chez SGCC.  I’ve slathered it on homemade bread, spooned it into creamy yogurt and cooked it into a few tasty recipes.  I also baked some into these delectable Rhubarb Berry Crumb Bars, which have spoiled me forever.  From now until the end of time, every other crumb bar that I put past my lips will pale in comparison.  That’s how incredibly good these are.

I adapted the recipe for these bars from the one for Blueberry Almond Crumble Bars that I wrote about a few years ago.  The original recipe used whole berries.  I thought about doing the same with these, but I wanted to get that deeply concentrated fruity flavor that only comes with slow cooking the fruit down into a thick, jammy pool of goodness.  Besides, the whole point of me making the jam in the first place was to extend the life of that beautiful and rarely found rhubarb I managed to get hold of. 

If you’re so inclined, you can find lots of recipes for various different kinds of crumb bars around the web.   Some have cakey bases; some are like brownies.  My crumb bars have a more of a cookie crust – like a shortbread.  A crunchy, buttery and delicious shortbread.  And, the genius thing about it is that the same dough for the base is also used to make the crumb topping.  I love when I can kill two birds with one stone.   Um…wait a minute.  While lots of fruit was pulverized and butter was creamed, no birds were killed in the making of these crumb bars.  Just want to be clear on that.  No need to get the folks from  PETA all in a twist.

These rhubarb berry crumb bars are ridiculously easy to make, and require no electrical equipment – except for an oven, that is.  All you really need are a big bowl, a fork and a pan to bake them in.  That means you can whip up a batch before you sit down to dinner, and have them ready to enjoy by the time you’ve finished doing the dishes.  And, who wouldn’t love a good crumb bar to keep you company during a riveting episode of America’s Got Talent?

Rhubarb Berry Crumb Bars will keep at room temperature for a few days in an airtight container, although they probably won’t last that long.  If you want to hide save some for later, they can also be frozen.  I actually liked them better chilled.

Until recently, I never understood some people’s fascination with biscotti.   My parents loved them.  I did not.  To me, they were long, thick, rock-hard bricks with a peculiar licorice taste, obnoxiously trying to pass themselves off as cookies.  They didn’t fool me, though.  Whatever they were, I was certain that they were not any kind of  cookies I was interested in.

When I was a kid, every Sunday dinner was finished off with a pot of espresso and a plate of those obnoxious biscotti – always Stella d’Oro brand.    Every self-respecting Italian housewife kept a stash of Stella d’Oro cookies in her pantry, including my mother and my nonna.   You know, in case anyone happened to stop by.    God forbid someone should stop by for coffee and there were no cookies or cake to serve with it!    Tongues would wag for weeks!

As they sipped their espresso, the adults would dunk the biscotti into the thick, dark liquid and eat  them.  Gah! The only thing worse than biting into one of those jaw-breaking biscotti, was biting into one turned to mush by strong black coffee.  To this day, the thought of it makes me cringe. 

It wasn’t until I began blogging that I realized that all biscotti were not the same.  In fact, homemade biscotti were kind of wonderful.  You can flavor them however you like, and stud them with all kinds of dried fruits and nuts – or even chocolate.  And, instead of being as hard and tough as granite, they could be delightfully crunchy.  The best part is, that biscotti are not hard at all to make at home, so you can have nice, fresh ones whenever you want.  You never have to keep cellophane-wrapped packages of that other kind in your pantry again.

Perhaps, if my mother and grandmother had baked their own biscotti from scratch, I would have discovered their allure at a much earlier age.  Think of all the years I wasted hating them!  Unfortunately, except for certain holiday specialties, neither Mom nor Nonna were much into baking.  Such a shame…

Since I began baking my own biscotti, I’ve tried several different recipes.  Over time, I’ve taken a pinch from some and a dash from others and come up with a “go to” recipe that I really like.  The basic recipe stays the same, although I switch the various add-ins based on what I have on hand and whatever my whim is that day.  For these, I’ve used toasted almonds and plump dried cherries.  I think think that this is my favorite combination of all.   The cherries add a little chew and a touch of tartness to balance out the sweet.    The texture of the biscotti is light, but super crunchy.  And, there is no danger of chipping a tooth on one!

I like to add a little Fiori di Sicilia to these biscotti as well.  It’s a little difficult to describe, but Fiori di Sicilia is an Italian flavoring that has notes of vanilla and citrus.  Think of an orange creamsicle and you’re on the right track.  It literally means “flowers of Sicily”.   I get mine at King Arthur Flour, but you can simulate the same flavors by mixing 2 parts vanilla extract with one part each of orange and lemon extracts.  It smells heavenly and gives the biscotti a certain special something.

The key to a biscotti’s signature crunch is that they are baked twice.  The first time, they’re baked in one long log.  Then, they sit and cool off for a while.  After that, they are sliced into bars and baked again until they get all browned and crispy.

Here they are getting ready for round two.

Even though I do sometimes serve my biscotti with espresso, I never dunk.  I’m convinced that the reason my parents did is because the ones they had were so damn hard.  These biscotti are toothsome, but with one bite they yield into lovely, crumbly bits of deliciousness.  Move over Stella d’Oro.  There’s a new game in town.

From the first moment I saw these sticky, gooey, creamy, chewy gems on Michelle’s site, Brown Eyed Baker, I knew that I would have to make them.  There wasn’t a doubt in my mind.  And, of course I also knew that I would have to share them with you, in case you missed them over at Michelle’s.  How could I not?   If I didn’t, I couldn’t live with myself, because these Salted Peanut Chews are that good.    Mind-numbingly good, actually.  They deserve to be shared with the world – for the good of all mankind!

Think of Salted Peanut Chews as a sort of sophisticated riff on Rice Krispies Treats.  I know I just posted another Rice Krispies Treats-related recipe, but I happen to currently be obsessed with them.  Besides, these are very different – and they actually contain Rice Krispies.   They’re layered bars with a buttery, brown sugar base, covered with oozey, melted marshmallows and finished off with a sinfully rich peanut butter, rice krispies and salted peanut topping.  Need I say more? 

The recipe for these Salted Peanut Chews is very straightforward and the bars are a snap, crackle and pop to make.  In fact the most difficult part is waiting the forty-five minutes it takes for them to set up in the fridge.  I ended up cutting into mine early.  But, do as I say and not as I do – and wait the whole time.

Do yourself a favor and make your own Salted Peanut Chews as soon as possible.   Everyone you know will thank you!