First, You Make a Roux

Chocolate Crinkles

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Makes about 30 large or 45 small cookies

These are some of my very favorite cookies. They're based on a recipe from Williams Sonoma Essentials of Baking (my favorite baking book), and I bake them any time I get a chance. I baked them last week for my high school students' last day of class and again today to send to far away friends and family. My friend Savio calls them crack cookies - not sure whether it's because of their cracked appearance or because of their addictive nature. Here's how to make them.

 

You'll need:

2 ¼ c. semisweet chocolate chips          

¼ cup unsalted butter                            

1 ½ cups all-purpose (plain) flour         

½ cup Dutch-process cocoa powder     

2 teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

4 large eggs                 

2 cups granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

confectioners’ sugar for dusting

 

First, melt ¾ c. of the semisweet chocolate chips and the butter in a double-boiler or on a low microwave setting.

Then combine dry ingredients (flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt) in a bowl and set aside.

 

Combine eggs, sugar, and vanilla and beat on medium speed for two or three minutes.

 

Add melted chocolate and butter mixture and beat on low for another minute or two, then add dry ingredients and beat until well mixed.

 

Mix in remaining chocolate chips.

 

Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the dough is firm enough to roll into balls (takes about 3 hours, but can let it sit longer).

Preheat oven to 325°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

 

Sift confectioners’ sugar into a small bowl. For each cookie, roll a spoonful of dough between your palms, then roll ball in confectioners’ sugar.

 

Place cookies on prepared baking sheet far enough apart so they have room to spread. On a large cookie sheet I can fit 13 small cookies.

 

Bake, 1 sheet at a time, until the tops are puffed and crinkled, about 16 minutes. Adjust baking time depending on your oven and the size of the cookies. Sixteen minutes worked well for small cookies in my oven.

 

Here's the full recipe:

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies - Makes about 30 large or 45 small cookies

Ingredients:

2 ¼ c. semisweet chocolate chips        ¼ teaspoon salt

¼ cup unsalted butter                           4 large eggs

1 ½ cups all-purpose (plain) flour           2 cups granulated sugar

½ cup Dutch-process cocoa powder      1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 teaspoons baking powder                   confectioners’ sugar for dusting

Directions:

 Melt ¾ c. of the semisweet chocolate chips and the butter in a double-boiler or on a low microwave setting.

Combine dry ingredients (flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt) in a bowl. Combine eggs, sugar, and vanilla and beat on medium speed for two or three minutes. Add melted chocolate and butter mixture and beat on low for another minute or two. Add dry ingredients and beat until well mixed. Mix in remaining chocolate chips.

Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the dough is firm enough to roll into balls (takes about 3 hours, but can let it sit longer).

Preheat oven to 325°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Sift confectioners’ sugar into a small bowl. For each cookie, roll a spoonful of dough between your palms, then roll ball in confectioners’ sugar. Place cookies on prepared baking sheet far enough apart so they have room to spread. On a large cookie sheet I can fit 13 small cookies.

Bake, 1 sheet at a time, until the tops are puffed and crinkled, about 16 minutes. Adjust baking time depending on your oven and the size of the cookies. Sixteen minutes worked well for small cookies in my oven.

Fat Cow

 

If you live in or around Baton Rouge and have not yet tried Fat Cow I recommend that you do so immediately. In my opinion their hamburgers are the best in Baton Rouge, no contest.

It opened up about 2.5 weeks ago, and today I went for the 6th time. In my defense, it's less than half a mile from my house, and they do serve things other than fries deep-fried in duck fat and sprinkled with parmesan (although those are tasty).

My favorite burger so far is the Napa, which is topped with goat cheese, red onion marmalade (!), and pears. The Creole Cream Cheese Malt is dangerously good. And once when Patrick wanted to go for dinner and I didn't want to tell him I'd already been for lunch I ordered a salad - the Baby Bleu with blue cheese crumbles, candied pecans, dried cherries, and champagne vinaigrette. And it was delicious.

 

Today, because of my obsession I got the leftovers when the owner made a little too much chocolate shake.

This is kind of like that time in college when I got breakfast at New York Bagel every day before my summer class and stopped going when the cashier said, "see you tomorrow." Only I'm not going to stop eating at Fat Cow.

Here's a link to their menu.

No-Yeast Molasses Wheat Bread

This is my beautiful Mawmaw Joyce (and Pawpaw Aubry) -mother of eight, grandmother of twenty-four(?), great-grandmother of... many. Every Friday morning for years my grandma has folded bulletins at the church with several other ladies. This is a recipe she passed on to me from one of her bulletin-folding friends.

The honey and molasses make it moist and slightly sweet.

 

You'll need:

1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour

1 1/2 c. white all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1/4 c. honey

1/3 c. vegetable oil

1 1/2 c. buttermilk

1/2 c. molasses

 

First, preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and grease loaf pan with oil.

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl, and stir to combine thoroughly. In a separate bowl whisk together the remaining ingredients. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients, and stir until just combined to form a sticky dough.

Turn into prepared loaf pan, and bake for one hour.

So yummy and makes the house smell so good.

Thanks, Mawmaw Joyce! <3

Pears Wrapped in Prosciutto and Mint

This can serve as an easy, quick, and elegant appetizer fit for company or just a cool summertime snack. I love the blend of savory and sweet with the freshness of the mint. Here's what you do:

All you need are three ingredients: prosciutto, fresh mint leaves, and pears.

Really, whatever similar fruit you have on hand would probably be good - apples, peaches, etc. If you can't find prosciutto I suppose you could use ham, but I like the texture and saltiness of the prosciutto. In my experience mint is probably one of the easiest herbs to grow - plant a small sprig or two (even ones shared from a friend's herb bed), and you'll have a bed full in a matter of weeks. Even if all you have room for is a pot, it's easy to grow, much cheaper than buying fresh at the grocery, and there without having to plan ahead.

 

Slice up the fruit into slenderish wedges, and slice the prosciutto into strips. Wrap a mint leaf lengthwise around the each fruit wedge. Then wrap a strip of prosciutto crosswise around the fruit wedge and mint. You shouldn't need a toothpick or anything to hold it in place because the proscuitto will stick to itself.

 

Put them on a plate so they look pretty, and dig in.

Grilled Basil Shrimp and Orzo Salad

 With the hot weather I've been wanting to cook light, refreshing dishes, so last night I made an orzo salad with grilled shrimp. It was super easy and quick.

 

Here's how to make it.

 

Ingredients:

1/2 package orzo pasta (or whatever kind of smallish pasta you have)

1/2 c. pesto (I used Alessi store bought because my basil plants still need some time to grow before they're turned into pesto.)

2 tbsp. white wine vinegar  

pinch of salt and pepper

cherry tomatoes

snow peas

handful of fresh basil leaves, shredded (I used a mixture of green and purple)

fresh parsley, minced

2-3 tbsp. olive oil

shrimp

 

Directions:

1. Cook orzo according to package directions, then toss with pesto, white wine vinegar, salt, pepper, cherry tomatoes, snow peas, half of the fresh basil, and parsley. Chill until ready to serve.

2. Combine the remaining basil leaves, the olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste in a small food processor.

3. Place peeled, uncooked shrimp on skewers, and brush with olive oil mixture.

4. Grill shimp until just cooked through (only takes a couple minutes).

5. Plate and enjoy!

 

 

Wine "pairing": We drank 2009 Cupcake Cabernet Sauvignon. I suppose we should have had a white or at least a light red to go with the seafood, but we're not fancy enough to worry about appropriate wine pairings, and I love Cupcake.