Shortbread Cookies

Butter, a culinary treasure. Butter has been reported to be the gateway to a host of health problems. But butter's negative reputation is undeserved, and that actually butter substitutes and man-made trans fats are the true culprits that pose the health threats. Good natural butter is made from fresh wholesome cow's milk......what I call dairy goodness.

We are not breakfast people. Never really have been, it's probably the early work hours we keep, but come mid morning you start to feel the empty stomach and need a little pick me up. I try and make sure my husband has something nice to fill his tummy to tide him over until lunch. I usually make some sort of dried fruit scones, granola bars, or tea type cookies. Nothing too sweet as it is....essentially....breakfast.

Shortbread cookies have such an incredible rich flavor, thanks to butter. Who knew added flour, sugar, vanilla, and a pinch of salt could be such a fantastic addition to butter. Such a few simple ingredients can make a delightful cookie that imparts that pure wonderfully rich, creamy yet crisp, heavenly taste.

Eat a cookie, thank a cow!

Shortbread Cookie Recipe

Ingredients

nocoupons

• 3/4 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 to 7 ounces very good semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix together the butter and 1 cup of sugar until they are just combined. Add the vanilla. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and salt, then add them to the butter-and-sugar mixture. Mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a surface dusted with flour and shape into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.

Roll the dough 1/2-inch thick and cut with a 3 by 1-inch finger-shaped cutter. Place the cookies on an ungreased baking sheet and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the edges begin to brown. Allow to cool to room temperature.

When the cookies are cool, place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Put 3 ounces of the chocolate in a glass bowl and microwave on high power for 30 seconds. (Don't trust your microwave timer; time it with your watch.) Stir with a wooden spoon. Continue to heat and stir in 30-second increments until the chocolate is just melted. Add the remaining chocolate and allow it to sit at room temperature, stirring often, until it's completely smooth. Stir vigorously until the chocolate is smooth and slightly cooled; stirring makes it glossier.

Drizzle 1/2 of each cookie with just enough chocolate to coat it.

Recipe by Ina Garten 

Kim's Notes: I just roll dough into a 1-1/2" log, chill, and slice into 1/2" thick rounds. I skip the chocolate. It's not that I don't adore chocolate, but there is a time and a place, these are just too good on their own!

Goat Cheese, Chicken, & Sun-Dried Tomato Roll-ups

Very rarely do I get goose bumps over savory dishes. I'm a sweets girl, they are so much more fun to make but I have to say this was impressive.

Every now and then I get in the dinner "rut" and have to start searching for something new. I love Cooks Illustrated. I found this while searching for new creative ideas. This won't exactly replace or add to a weeknight dinner menu as it was fairly time consuming but I am very excited none the less. This would be a perfect dinner party entree. The nice thing about this is the ability to do prep earlier in the day, or even the day before.

The filling consisted of a cheese base including parm, mozzarella, and goat. Shredded chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, pine-nuts, a host of herbs and a little lemon zest with an egg to bind made up the rest of the filling. The sauce was a nice take on a Mornay using the addition of chicken broth and more herbs. I love using lasagna noodles as a way to bundle up the filling goodness into nice little packages. I can't wait to use this filling in ravioli. I love when a recipe can do double duty.....how fun is that!

Goat Cheese, Chicken, & Tomato Roll-ups Recipe

Ingredients

CHICKEN AND SAUCE:
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts and/or thighs, trimmed
2 1/2cups low-sodium chicken broth
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1 medium onion , minced
4 medium garlic cloves , minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 4 teaspoons)
1/3 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 cup heavy cream
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
1ounce Parmesan cheese , grated (1/2 cup)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves
Salt and ground black pepper
FILLING AND NOODLES:
10 ounces goat cheese
6 ounces whole-milk mozzarella cheese , shredded (1 1/2 cups)
2 ounces Parmesan cheese , grated (1 cup)
1 large egg , lightly beaten
1 teaspoon grated zest and 1 tablespoon juice from 1 lemon
1 medium garlic clove , minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 1 teaspoon)
Salt and ground black pepper
1/4 cup pine nuts , toasted
2 teaspoons minced fresh oregano leaves
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes , rinsed, patted dry, and chopped fine
16 no-boil lasagna noodles

Instructions

1. For the chicken and sauce: Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the chicken and broth in a large saucepan, cover, and simmer over medium heat until the breasts register 160 to 165 degrees and the thighs register 175 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, 8 to 12 minutes.
2. Remove the chicken from the pot and pour the liquid into a measuring cup. Let the chicken cool slightly, then shred the meat into bite-size pieces (see illustration below).
3. Wipe the pot dry, add the butter, and melt over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Slowly whisk in the white wine and simmer until nearly evaporated, about 30 seconds.
4. Gradually whisk in the reserved broth and cream. Stir in the bay leaves and nutmeg, and simmer, whisking often, until the sauce is thickened and measures about 31/2 cups, about 10 minutes. Off the heat, remove and discard the bay leaves. Whisk in the Parmesan and basil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover the sauce to keep warm; set aside.
5. For the filling and noodles: In a large bowl, combine the goat cheese, mozzarella, 1/2 cup of the Parmesan, egg, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper until uniform. Gradually stir 1/2 cup of the sauce into the cheese mixture, then fold in the shredded chicken, pine nuts, oregano, 1/2 cup of the basil, and sun-dried tomatoes; set aside.
6. Pour 1 inch of boiling water into a 13 by 9-inch broiler-safe baking dish and slip the noodles into the water, one at a time. Let the noodles soak until pliable, about 5 minutes, separating the noodles with the tip of a knife to prevent sticking. Remove the noodles from the water and place in a single layer on clean kitchen towels; discard the water and dry the baking dish.
7. Spread 1 cup more sauce over the bottom of a 13 by 9-inch baking dish. Mound 1/4 cup of the chicken-cheese mixture evenly over the bottom of each noodle and roll, and compact into a tidy log. Roll the noodle up around the filling, and lay seam side down in the baking dish. Spoon the remaining sauce evenly over the filled noodles, covering the pasta completely.
8. Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil that has been sprayed with vegetable oil spray (or use nonstick foil). Bake until the edges are just bubbling, 25 to 30 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time.
10. TO MAKE AHEAD Assemble the Pasta Roll-Ups with Chicken and Goat Cheese or Pasta Roll-Ups with Chicken, Sun-Dried Tomatoes, and Pine Nuts through step 7, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for up to 1 day. Remove the plastic wrap and bake as directed in steps 8 and 9, increasing the covered baking time in step 8 to 45 to 55 minutes.
     

Recipe by Cook's Illustrated

Mom's Birthday!

Don't you just love birthdays? My sisters and I, together with my mom, started a tradition about a year and a half ago we now refer to as "Girl's Day". We all get together once a month just to be. Sometimes we have lunch and go to the movies, or sometimes we just grab sandwiches and walk around downtown, find a place to sit and gab. We always end up with ice cream, frozen yogurt, or coffee. It's a wonderful time to sit around and catch up. Everybody leads such busy lives but this is one day where we all just stop. It became such a desirable event that my father was allowed on "Girl's Day" last month and was able to enjoy the company of all his daughters together too.

This month just happened to be on my mom's birthday weekend, but instead of some big birthday shindig, she just wanted to have "Girl's Day". We took her out to lunch on a beautiful sunny day and sat outside in the sun. We walked thru some antique stores, consignment shops, and book stores. Who can't get lost in a book store? After generous helpings of frozen yogurt we waddled our way home and had birthday cupcakes and coffee...how fun is that!

Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Carrot Cake Cupcake Recipe

Cake from Essential Baker

1 pound coarsely grated carrots (I actually made mine finely grated)
4 extra large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/4 cup canola oil
2/3 cups firmly packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla
Finely grated zest of 1 large orange
2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmegs
1 1/4 cups toasted walnuts (I used shredded coconut instead, which was one of the options Bloom suggested as well)
1 cup raisins (I substituted chopped dried cherries)

Cream cheese frosting from Essential Baker

 (I doubled this recipe to make sure I would have enough. Now I spread the leftovers on EVERYTHING!)

12 ounces cream cheese, softened
4 ounces unsalted butter, softened
2 teaspoons pure vanilla
1/4 teaspoon lemon extract (optional)
2 teaspoons lemon zest
2 teaspoons orange zest
2 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar

Mix all ingredients together
Prepare muffin tins with papers (about 60 mini or 48 regular cupcakes) or two 9″ cake pans with parchment and oil. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
I coarsely grated the carrots in a food processor using the grater attachment.
I then chopped them into finer pieces with the medal blade attachment in the food processor so that the texture of the cake would be a little bit finer.
Mix together the eggs, sugar, oil, brown sugar, vanilla extract and orange zest. Mix together all of the dry ingredients in a bowl with a whisk. Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture. Add the finely chopped carrots, coconut, and dried cherries.
Pour the batter into the prepared pans or scoop into cupcake papers (fill 3/4 full).
Bake cupcakes for about 18-25 minutes, or until tester comes out clean.
Bake 9″ cakes for about 35-40 minutes, or until tester comes out clean.
To assemble the cake. Remove from pan and peel off the parchment paper from the bottom, place on a cardboard round. Put the cake on a cake turn table.
With a Wüsthof Superslicer or other thin serrated knife slice off the very top of the cake. Do this by using a sawing motion.Then cut the cake in 2 or 3 equal layers. Slide the layers onto a cardboard round or any other flat surface. The false bottom of a tart pan works perfectly.Put about 1 1/2 cups of the cream cheese icing.Using an offset spatula spread the frosting evenly over the surface of the first layer. Repeat for the rest of the layers.Place about 2 cups of the icing on the top of the cake and spread evenly.Spread the icing onto the sides of the cake.Lift the cake off the turn table and place on the serving platter.Using the spatula spread the frosting and create swirls on the cake. This cream cheese frosting is very soft so you won’t want to try for anything too exacting.I pressed coconut onto the sides and sprinkled the top.

Recipe adapted by Zoe Francois from Carole Bloom's book The Essential Baker

Don't you just love free time?

I love those rare lazy Sunday mornings. The type of day when your "To Do" list really can wait. I always manage to fill those times with baking. I never seem to keep the same recipe in my repertoire, even though it may be tried and true, I always gotta try a new one. It must be the alpha in me that always thinks there must be something better and I have to be the one to find it.

Well, this is a good one; I will move this one up the ladder and do this one again. I love the integration of toasted coconut in this. Of course I will continue to strive to find the ultimate banana bread but this is wonderful and was a successful morning. Don't you just love when a new recipe gives you everything you imagined? How fun is that!

Banana-Coconut Walnut Bread

Banana-Coconut Walnut Bread Recipe

Makes one 9-inch loaf

Greasing and flouring only the bottom of a regular loaf pan causes the bread to cling to the sides and rise higher. If using a nonstick loaf pan, on which the sides are very slick, grease and flour sides as well as the bottom.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup flaked, sweetened coconut
• 1 cup chopped macadamia nuts
• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon table salt
• 3 very ripe bananas , soft, darkly speckled, mashed well (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 1/4 cup plain yogurt
• 2 large eggs , beaten lightly
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted and cooled
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Toast coconut and macadamia nuts on small cookie sheet, stirring every 2 minutes, until golden brown, about 6 minutes. Readjust oven rack to lower middle position. Grease bottom only of regular loaf pan, or grease and flour bottom and sides of nonstick 9-by-5-by-3-inch loaf pan; set aside. Combine first four ingredients, coconut, and nuts together in large bowl; set aside.
2. Mix mashed bananas, yogurt, eggs, butter, and vanilla with wooden spoon in medium bowl. Lightly fold banana mixture into dry ingredients with rubber spatula until just combined and batter looks thick and chunky. Scrape batter into prepared loaf pan; bake until loaf is golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 55 minutes. Cool in pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature 

Recipe by Cook's Illustrated 

Kim's Note: I prefer walnuts, so I made the obvious substitution :)