Peanut Butter Kisses

This week has been a whirlwind of baking, but I knew I had to make a big batch of my dad's favorite cookies.
I didn't realize till about halfway through making the dough that I was using a recipe that's already tripled. So it made A LOT of cookies (I'll be giving you a scaled down version, you probably don't need 12 dozen cookies).

Make sure to unwrap all the Hershey Kisses ahead of time, they need to go on as soon as the cookies come out of the oven. Better yet, have someone who isn't baking do it for you (you will have to repay them in cookies.)


Peanut Butter Kisses
(yields 4 dozen cookies)
1/2 cup of unsalted butter (1 stick)
1/2 cup of peanut butter
1/2 cup of sugar
1/2 brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 3/4 cup of flour
3/4 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 bag of Hershey Kisses

Another 1/2 cup of sugar (to dip the cookies in)

Cream the butter, peanut butter, sugar, brown sugar, egg and vanilla extract together in a mixer.

In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda and salt.

Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture.

Scoop out balls of dough slightly smaller than a tablespoon (these cookies should be very little) and roll the balls in sugar.

Place about one inch apart on a greased baking sheet. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until golden.

When you remove them from the oven, quickly transfer to a cooling rack and press a Hershey Kiss down into the center of each cookie. The Hershey Kisses will melt, let the cookies cool undisturbed until the Kisses set back up.

Fresh from the Oven- Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

The countdown to Christmas has begun, so this week I've got lots of baking to do.
It pales in comparison to the elaborate cookie baskets we made when I was little, sometimes we'd make a dozen varieties to give out. It was pretty chaotic.
This year my dad and I decided to just make three. (He's handling the sugar cookies.)

I had to track down a recipe online for Chocolate Crinkle Cookies, because I couldn't find our family recipe. Luckily these tasted exactly the same as I remember them growing up.
The cookies taste like little brownie bites. When I make them again I think I'll add walnuts.

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar

Combine cocoa powder, sugar, and vegetable oil.
Add eggs one at a time, then vanilla extract.
In another bowl mix flour, salt, and baking powder. Add to the wet mixture. (The dough should be pretty thick.)
Chill the dough for 3-4 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Scoop out tablespoon sized pieces of dough, roll into balls. Roll in powdered sugar.

Place on a greased baking about an inch apart.

Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Let cool and enjoy.

Creamy Corn Chowder

The weather outside continues to be wildly unpleasant, unless of course you like freezing temperatures, so now seems like the perfect time for a big hot bowl of chowder.

I found this recipe a few months ago and have used it several times, everyone I make it for loves it and I nearly never have leftovers (I usually have to double the recipe though). It's super tasty and not too rich. I hate to use cream unless I have to and this chowder manages to be very creamy with skim milk.

This corn chowder is incredibly simple, just a little chopping and letting it simmer. I can almost always make it with things I have on hand.

The only thing I would tweak is that I don't add the bacon until I serve the chowder, the bacon can get soggy if it sits too long.

Creamy Corn Chowder
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup flour
1 cup water
2 1/2 cup milk (I used skim and it worked great)
2 regular-sized chicken bouillon cubes, 1 Knorr chicken bouillon cube, or 2 tsp. chicken base (whatever you have on hand)
1/2 lb. bacon (optional)
1 small onion, minced
2 potatoes, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 C frozen fresh corn
Salt and pepper to taste
A few dashes of hot sauce (I used Frank's of course)
Shredded cheddar cheese

Fry the bacon until crisp and crumble, set aside.
In a pot, melt the butter.

Whisk in the flour.

Add the water and whisk out the lumps.
Add the milk and chicken base/bouillon and bring to a simmer. (DO NOT let it boil.)

Add the potatoes, onion and garlic and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are tender. About 20 minutes.
Add corn and heat through.

Season carefully with hot sauce and salt. The soup definitely needs both, but you have to be weary of over salting.
Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with bacon and cheddar cheese.

Homemade Oreos

I've always been a little weary of the "homemade" versions of treats.
While homemade Samoas and Thin Mints have always looked delicious, the number of steps to the end product doesn't seem worth it. (Although at $3 a box, I might soon be reconsidering).

I ran into Homemade Oreo recipes a few times recently and thought it was time to get on the homemade bandwagon. There are two versions circulating The Thomas Keller Oreos and The Smitten Kitchen Oreos.

I went with the former, seduced by the white chocolate ganache, rolling out the dough took a little effort, but the cookie was so spot on the original. The combination with the white chocolate ganache filling was close to the storebought, but fresh and uniquely tasty. (I snuck a few before packing them up as a housewarming gift.)
These cookies got ecstatic responses from everyone who tried them and I'm sure I'll be coerced into making them again soon.
Homemade Oreos
1 1/2 cups plus 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
15 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 3/4" cubes, at room temperature
1/2 cup heavy cream
8 ounces white chocolate

In a small pan, bring the cream to a boil (if you prefer, you can do it in the microwave).
Pour cream over white chocolate, let sit for a minute and then whisk until smooth.
Refrigerate.

In a stand mixer, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt, and mix on low speed. With the mixer running, add the butter, a piece at a time. The mixture will look sandy, and will slowly begin to incorporate. Once it forms a dough transfer to a work surface.

Divide the dough in half. Roll each half between two large pieces of parchment paper to 1/8 inch thick. Stack the rolled sheets of dough onto a baking sheet (to keep them flat) and chill until firm, at least 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment (I used the same sheets that I chilled the dough in between.)

Working with one sheet of chilled dough at a time, use a round 2 to 2 1/2-inch cutter to cut the dough into rounds. Place the rounds about 1/2 an inch apart on the baking sheets. (They won't puff up.) Scraps can be rolled out again.
(I didn't have a roll cookie cutter, so I used a 2in flower cookie cutter, it worked fine.)
Bake for 12-15 minutes, let cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes then transfer to a baking sheet.

Once the cookies are completely cooled, whip up the filling with a mixer, it won't really grow in volume, but it needs to be fluffed up a little. Transfer to a piping bag/plastic baggie. Cut a small tip off the end. Pipe about a teaspoon and a half of filling onto half the cookies. Top with the remaining cookies and press down lightly. Refrigerate and enjoy.

Mini Goat Cheese Tarts

As soon as I hear about a party, a holiday or really any event, I immediately start planning the food I'm going to bring. So when my friend Eileen had a house warming party, I decided to pull out all the stops and make some really fun appetizers.

I was a little worried that people wouldn't be into goat cheese, but these were a huge success. I assembled them at the party so there was no trouble with transport.

The cornmeal tart crust recipe is borrowed from my friend Hans and the rest was just sort of an experiment.


Mini Goat Cheese Tarts
(makes 48-60 tarts)
8 oz soft goat cheese
8 oz cream cheese, softened
handful of fresh herbs, minced (parsley, chives, whatever you have)

2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup, 1 tbsp cornmeal
1 tsp salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, cold, chopped into 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 cup of cold water

20 cherry tomatoes.

Mix goat cheese, cream cheese and fresh herbs. Transfer to a piping bag or plastic baggie.

Slice tomatoes and set aside.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
With a pastry blender or a food processor, mix the flour with the cornmeal and salt. Add the butter and pulse until the butter is the size of small peas. Sprinkle with the water and pulse just until the pastry is evenly moistened. Transfer to a lightly floured board and pat into a disk. Wrap and refrigerate the pastry for 30 minutes (or overnight, till you need it basically).

On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the pastry dough. Cut off enough to fit into mini tart pan and repeat as necessary until desired amount are made. Cook until firm and remove. (About 15 minutes.) Let them cool, then pipe goat cheese into each tart.

Top them with a slice of tomato.

The Marlboro Man Sandwich- The Best Steak Sandwich

I've been reading the Pioneer Woman's blog for awhile and loved it, so when I stumbled upon this sandwich the other day, I knew it was finally time to try one of her recipes.

I had to make a couple of substitutions, but the result was super delicious.

Next time I will definitely just buy cube steak at the store. I thought that I could just buy steak and use one of those meat tenderizer mallets, but I didn't have one. I got it pretty tender with the bottom of a wine bottle, but that was a lot of work.

I assumed we would have hot sauce in the house, but it all got used up at a party the night before (lots of chicken wings). I used srichacia instead and it was delicious.

Try to find a sturdy roll for the sandwich or the whole thing will be a mess, and of course use whatever cheese you like.

The Marlboro Man Sandwich

1 whole Large Onions, sliced
1 stick of butter
2 pounds Cube Steak
Steak Seasoning
½ cups (approximately) Worcestershire Sauce
Hot Sauce (your favorite), to taste
4 whole French/deli Rolls

Melt two tablespoons of butter a big skillet.

Add the sliced onions, let them cook on medium, until soft and brown (about 7 minutes).

Slice the steak and season with the steak seasoning.

Once the onions are done, transfer them to a bowl and add another two tablespoons of butter to the pan. Get it very hot.

Add all the steak in an even layer. Let it cook for several minutes, until the bottom is nice and brown. Then flip the steak.

Once it's cooked through, add about half a cup of Worcestershire Sauce and the hot sauce. Add another two tablespoons of butter.

And the onions.

Butter the rolls and toast them under the broiler, or on a griddle if you have one.

Top the toasted rolls with the steak, onions and some cheese if you'd like.

Enjoy!

Cheese Puffs

The quintessential party snack Cheese Puffs are light, fluffy and of course very cheesy.

They require a few steps, but the end result looks effortless and tastes delicious. I think these will be joining my roster of surefire hits.

There are plenty of recipes for these out there, but I used this one, they gave instructions for freezing too, if you're in a make ahead mood.

Don't be intimidated by making the dough, I made a similar one for the Croquembouche and if you follow the instructions it's super simple. You can use whatever kind of cheese you want, but it should be something sharp and very flavorful, something like mozzarella wouldn't work as well.

You might want to make a double batch though, these were devoured in minutes.

Cheese Puffs
1 cup water
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
large pinch of cayenne pepper
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 large eggs
24 chives, finely-minced (can be omitted)
1 1/2 cups (about 6 ounces) cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
In a saucepan, heat the water, butter, salt and cayenne pepper just until the butter is melted (don't let it simmer or boil).

Add all the flour at once and stir vigorously until it forms a smooth ball and pulls away from the sides of the pan. Take it off the heat and let it rest for 2 minutes.

Transfer to a stand mixer or a bowl, add the eggs one at a time. After the first 2 eggs the dough should start to become shiny and smooth.

After the eggs, add the cheese and chives.

Scoop all of the dough into a plastic baggy or piping bag (of course I always use a plastic baggy). Pipe about a tablespoon sized circles about an inch apart on the parchment.

Dip your finger in water and smooth the tops of the each puff. Sprinkle each with a little cheese.

Bake at 425 for 10 minutes then turn the oven down to 375 and bake for another 20 minutes.

Serve warm.

DIY: Hot Chocolate Spoons

Homemade edible gifts are the best.
They're cheap, just take a little time and effort and the recipient doesn't have to worry about finding a place for another piece of kitsch.
Also they're delicious.

I found this post in the summer and couldn't use it then, I've been saving it.
Today when I ran out of the powdered stuff, I knew it was time to try it out (and make enough for stocking stuffers).

While the resulting hot chocolate spoons don't look anything like the ones in the original post, they do make a rich delicious cup of hot chocolate.

An ice cube tray and some disposable spoons work perfectly, no need for any fancy candy making supplies.

I have to reiterate the original blogger's warning: Do not use candy wafers or chocolate chips, they won't melt properly. Use baking chocolate or real chocolate. Also don't add water, the whole thing will seize up.

Hot Chocolate Spoons
11 plastic spoons
ice cube tray
1 plastic baggy/piping bag
8oz of chocolate (semi-sweet, milk chocolate, whatever you want)
1/4 cup of cocoa powder, sifted
1/2 cup of powdered sugar, sifted

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave (at 30 second intervals).
Stir in the cocoa powder and powdered sugar. If it gets to thick to stir, give it another 30 seconds in the microwave. This happened to me and I panicked for a moment, but a little time in the microwave smoothed it out.
Pull into a piping bag or plastic baggy (I always just use plastic baggies).
Fill each square of the ice cube tray individually, nearly to the top (I had enough to fill 11 squares). Give the ice cube tray several sharp taps against the counter to shake out air bubbles.
Stick one spoon into each square and let set in the fridge for about an hour. (Don't leave them in much longer, chocolate tends to soak up odors in the fridge).

Once they have set, carefully remove the chocolate squares. (I found that bending the tray a little caused them to pop right out.) If they won't come out, put back in the fridge for another half an hour.

If you don't like how they look, dip them into some more chocolate and let them cool. Decorate with sprinkles or marshmallows. Wrap in little treat bags and give to friends or store for yourself. Dark chocolate lasts a year, white or milk chocolate last a few months.

Enjoying the Hot Chocolate Spoons
Heat one mug of milk to piping hot. (I used skim milk, but whatever you like works.)
Stir with hot chocolate spoon, until chocolate melts.
Drink.