May 2009

  • Coffee Cookie Recipes

    By sparklyscotty on 5/26/09 4:57am
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    Not till I have had my coffeeNot till I have had my coffeeMany people across the globe, myself included, wake up each morning and head to the kitchen to grab their first cup of freshly brewed coffee before they face the stresses and strains of the day ahead.  Many of these same people are known by their loved ones as absolute grumps who must be avoided at all costs until they have successfully finished that first cup of coffee.

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  • Cute and Kitsch Kitchen Timers

    By sparklyscotty on 5/21/09 4:02am
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    Would be cool if it crowed when my cookies were done.Would be cool if it crowed when my cookies were done.I have a memory like a sieve.  And not one of those fine mesh sieves for dusting cookies with fine sugar,  I'm talking about those colanders with holes the diameter of hazelnuts.   I have lost track of the number of times that I have been alerted to my cookies being (over) done by either the long suffering shouts of my boyfriend,  or the acrid smell of burning chocolate and sugar as my creations begin to cremate.

    My trouble is that I am always on the go, and after popping my cookies in the oven I invariably go off to do something else for 'just a couple of minutes' and then completely lose track of time.  So a timer (with a nice loud alarm) is a necessity in my kitchen.   Loving any excuse for a gadget, any timer that makes it into my kitchen is not going to be your run of the mill, basic wind up alarm clock.  No, it has to earn it's place, and will be graded on both looks and function.

    Here are some of my favorite kitchen timers on the market at the moment:

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  • Perfect Brownies

    By lisala on 5/19/09 8:22pm
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    The first known printed brownie recipe dates back to the 1897 Sears Roebuck Catalog, but recipe folklore attributes the invention of the recipe to a Brownies on a plate.fortunate mistake. A cook forgot to add baking powder to the batter for a chocolate cake, and brownies were the result, a happy result for us. Brownies before the Internet were largely a North American bar cookie, generally chocolate, and ranging in texture from cake like, to slightly chewy, to incredibly rich and dense and very comparable to a small chunk of a flourless chocolate cake. I do have a few very strong opinions about brownies. First, they're one of the best "first baking" projects to begin with. Secondly, you can make exceedingly good brownies from a decent mix; I favor Betty Crocker or Ghiradelli. Third, the quality of the chocolate or the cocoa is crucial. Don't cheap out; don't use cocoa you wouldn't drink, or chocolate you wouldn't eat. Fourth, the best brownies I've ever had were made from a recipe using Crisco, rather than butter or margarine. I don't have the recipe here, or I'd post it.

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  • Zucchini Cookies

    By sparklyscotty on 5/7/09 9:00am
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    ZuchinnisZuchinnisCarrying on this week's theme of healthy, herby is-it-savory-or-is-it-sweet cookies, here is another idea for adding some extra nutrition to your cookies recipes.


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  • Cardamom, A Love Story

    By Cheryl Tan on 5/4/09 10:26am
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    I've had cardamom on the brain recently. And I blame Padma Lakshmi.

    We weren't even talking about food--we were discussing jewelry for a Wall Street Journal fashion piece, for heaven's sake. 

    But then the "Top Chef" host started describing a long gold chain that she liked that's flecked with little gold nubs. "Like cardamom pods," Padma explained.

    I immediately began thinking about cardamom cookies and haven't stopped since.

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  • Herby Cookies

    By sparklyscotty on 5/4/09 8:09am
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    Bay LeavesBay LeavesDid you know that this week is National Herb Week ?  Herbs contain a wealth of health-boosting properties and it is unfortunate that most Americans use fresh herbs so little in our cooking.  With so many of us relying on pre-packaged, frozen and ready made meals, our food is a bit anemic when it comes to fresh herbs and their nutrients.

    When you think of herbs, you might not automatically reach for the cookie recipe book, but you can create a wonderful variety of sweet to savory cookies using herbs such as rosemary (great for preventing headaches), spearmint (a wonderful digestive aid) and many more.

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  • A Fashion Critic's Bacon-Fat Cookies

    By Cheryl Tan on 5/4/09 8:02am
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    High-end fashion and bacon fat.

    I couldn't think of two things more disparate and yet, flipping through the pages of the New York Times a few years ago, there it was: Fashion critic Cathy Horyn's  paean to a recipe for Swedish ginger cookies made with bacon grease that she has "cherished for years."

    My first reaction: Be still my beating heart, both figuratively and, quite possibly, literally. The cookie seemed like an insane, artery-clogging idea. The first ingredient listed, after all, was "3/4 cup bacon fat, cooled (from 1 1/2 to 2 pounds Oscar Mayer bacon)."

    Two pounds of bacon? Cathy was officially my new hero.

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