pumpkin cookies or cake with brown butter icing

So if you’ve been reading my blog – you’ll remember that although we all really liked the orange pumpkin cake — it wasn’t overwhelmingly pumpkiny.  I had to try again.  It’s not that I even (personally) love pumpkin flavor so much but feel that the kids should know what pumpkin tastes like.  (Since they were clueless with the last cake!)  Plus I know that many adults really like pumpkin.  I scoured my cookbooks and finally found a good looking pumpkin cookie recipe from Martha Stewart.  These cookies came out great and were a huge hit with family and the many friends who tried them.  I had a feeling that the cookies would have a cake like consistency (which many people loved, although I do not) so I also baked them in a muffin and mini loaf cake shape.  Both cakes and cookies were delicious – pumpkiny and have all the spicy warm fall flavors – ginger, nutmeg and cinnamon which round out the pumpkin so nicely.  The brown butter icing completes them.  Enjoy!

pumpkin cookies or cake with brown butter icing (barely adapted from Martha Stewart’s Cookies):

2 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cups) butter – room temp
2 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin (14 oz)
3/4 cup evaporated milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

icing–
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/8 cup plus a few teaspoons evaporated milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
pinch kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and line sheet pan with parchment.  Or, prep mini loaf tins with butter and parchment and/or line your cupcake pans.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg.

Cream the butter and brown sugar on medium high speed in the mixer for about 3 -4 minutes until light and fluffy.  Reduce to medium and add the eggs one at a time until each is incorporated.  Scrape down the bowl and mix again.  Reduce the speed to low and add the pumpkin puree, evaporated milk, and vanilla – mix well.

Add the reserved flour mixture – and mix until just combined.  Now here Martha (Stewart) advises to put the batter in a pastry bag and pipe out the cookies.  I know this can overwhelm some people.  Soo…now you have your muffin pans or loaf pans!  Problem solved.  Or…drop by spoonfuls onto parchment.  I did a side by side comparison to show you the difference – the right side is the cookie that was piped, the left dropped.  Honestly no biggie here…right?  Plus, once you add the icing it makes even less of a difference. 🙂  If you do decide to pipe the cookies, here are some tips: 1 – do not overfill piping bag.  You will lose control of the batter.  2 – to fill the bag, place it in a large container – a glass or measuring cup or vase – so that you have two hands to fill it.  3 – twist the end of the bag and with light pressure, squeezing from the twist, gently pipe the cookies.  Use a round 1- 1 1/2 inch tip – I just used the coupler but do what makes you happy.

Bake cookies about an inch apart and for about 12-18 minutes.  As usual check often and before – and rotate the pans to ensure even baking.  The muffins took about 30 minutes and the loaf cake took about 40 minutes.  The cake or cookies should have a good spring to the top – or use a toothpick to check the crumb.

Let cool on rack.  Invert the cake (if you made a cake) after it has cooled for about 10 minutes.  In the meantime make the icing.

Place the confectioners’ sugar in a bowl and melt the butter in a saucepan over medium high heat.  Cook the butter swirling it occasionally and keep cooking until you brown the butter.  Now I went very far here – and really took it as brown as I could go because I love the nutty taste of brown butter.  But be careful, you do NOT want to burn the butter.  Cook it as long as deep as you want – or feel comfortable with (at least a golden brown) which should take about 3 minutes.  When browned, immediately add to the confectioners’ sugar and mix – add the evaporated milk, vanilla and the pinch of salt and mix and whisk until smooth.  Add evaporated milk as you see fit – you can make this loose here and just like a glaze – or keep it thick – more like a frosting.  I like it runny and glazy.  Again, do what you like!

Once the cookies/muffins/cakes are cool – frost with the brown butter icing.  If the frosting gets too hard to work with, you can heat it in the microwave for 10 seconds to re-soften – or add more evaporated milk if too dry.

Yum.  Jason was here just now (the guy and friend who inspired my first post on oatmeal cookies) and said – “Oh, I LOVED those cookies.  I just love that pumpkin with all those flavors…my favorite!”  I hope you like them too!

chocolate buttermilk waffles

Sometimes the recipe that comes in the instruction manual is actually pretty good!  In this case, very good.  You may know (from a previous post) that I’m always on the lookout for suitable breakfast foods for Andy.  Andy who doesn’t eat cereal and who really likes chocolate and isn’t all that hungry in the morning.  I found another one!  If you can believe it, this recipe is adapted from the Cuisinart waffle iron manual.  And although I don’t often use this particular waffle iron since it makes little squares (and not big Belgium rounds), I do happen to like most of the recipes in this booklet.  Again, and maybe I’m kidding myself here – these seem fairly healthy; I knocked the butter out of the recipe because he eats these every day (if making for company or a special treat, keep the butter!) and I added some whole wheat flour.  In addition, the eggs, buttermilk and low fat yogurt make me feel good about the cocoa powder and chocolate chips in them.  A few banana slices and he’s on his (somewhat) healthy way.  Greg of course doesn’t eat them (because they are chocolate) although his friend Alex was over and raved about them to my friend Val (his mom)…a nutritionist of all things!  Sylvie happily had one for lunch on Sunday with berries and I made myself a delicious waffle ice cream sundae that night.  This recipe makes about 14 – 6 inch waffles.  I wrapped each individually in plastic wrap and then into a freezer bag.  (I just read about Freeze-tite – a product that is best for the freezer from the same maker as my beloved Stretch-tite!)  Each night I pull one  from the freezer for Andy’s breakfast – ready to pop in the toaster oven or microwave.  A little powdered sugar or maple syrup is nice too.  Feel free to add the butter if you want a richer waffle.

 

 

 

 

chocolate buttermilk waffles:
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup cocoa powder (natural)
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
4 eggs slightly beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled (optional, I did not use and these are still good!  or at least cut it to 1/4 cup!)
2 cups buttermilk
2 cups low fat yogurt (plain or vanilla)
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (or more or less to taste)

Whisk together the flour, cocoa, sugar, brown sugar, baking soda and salt in a medium to large sized bowl.

In another bowl, mix eggs, vanilla, butter (if using), buttermilk and yogurt.  Pour the wet into the dry and mix until incorporated, stir in the chocolate chips.  Let batter rest for 5 minutes.

Pre-heat your waffle iron to desired setting (although better to go lighter than dark because you don’t want to scorch the chocolate).  And cook as instructed (depending on your waffle iron).  Enjoy!

brown sugar cookies (with walnuts and white chocolate)

The week of my daughter Sylvie’s school bake sale, my son Andy was sick with fever.  I normally go cookie crazy the days leading up to the sale because as I’ve mentioned, I like baking!  But this week was a little different – dividing my time between keeping him company, taking him to the doctor, talking to my friends about him, asking my dad and brother (who are docs) about him, and worrying about him (was it swine? no, it wasn’t, well, not sure).   Luckily I made a large sheet pan of brownies last week – and froze them in preparation.  I had the Halloween Peeps as well.  I planned to make my soft meringues the day of the sale but really wanted to do more but keep it simple. I found what looked like a good recipe in Richard Sax’s Cookie Lover’s Cookie Book – and just fiddled a little.  Richard Sax calls them butterscotch cookies – but it is the brown sugar that really stands out.  My son Greg (the non chocolate lover) thought white chocolate would go well in these and yes, we adored them – especially him.  And my au pair Alisa said these were her favorite cookies and she could eat them all up!  The guys who came to fix the power unit in the house also seemed very happy with their cookies.  As usual – I think these would make a great ice cream sandwich.  A home made sour cream, buttermilk or creme fraiche ice cream would really compliment the brown sugar flavor – but store bought vanilla will also do the trick!

brown sugar cookies (with walnuts and white chocolate):
2 sticks (1 cup) softened butter
1 7/8 cup dark brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups coarsely chopped toasted walnuts (optional)
1 cup chopped (good quality) white chocolate (optional)

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt and place in a bowl.  Set aside.

Toast the walnuts to bring out their flavor.  Place nuts on baking sheet or foil and bake for about 6-10 minutes at 350 – until fragrant.  Do not burn.

Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees.

In mixer with paddle attachment, cream the butter for 3-4 minutes on medium high speed until light and fluffy.  Add the brown sugar and continue to beat for another minute, until mixture is smooth.  Scrape down the bowl and mix again to incorporate.

On medium speed add the eggs one at a time and the vanilla extract, scrape and mix again.  Gently stir in the flour mixture and when almost combined, add the chopped white chocolate and toasted (cooled) walnuts.

Bake on parchment lined sheet pans – drop by tablespoons or bigger or smaller depending on your needs – just watch the baking time.  The cookies should take 11-15 minutes or so – but as usual check often and before.  I made a double batch and rolled the extra dough in logs to freeze as outlined at the bottom of the oatmeal raisin cookie post.  Enjoy!

berry or plain yogurt cake

I loved the write-up of this recipe in Cake Keeper Cakes – in that you usually have the ingredients for it on hand.  This is a great simple plain cake.  One that my son Greg loves.  He said “mom, this is amazing – it is just perfect for me!”  Every day this week there was a piece in his lunch – and he was a very happy person.  Laura Chattman’s recipe calls for the cake plain which is delicious, but I happen to have some mixed frozen berries and I added them to half the batter (I doubled the recipe and made two cakes).  The result was equally as great.  Greg’s friend Jamie was over and exclaimed that he loved berries and cake and “oh, Lisi, this is really really good.”  My daughter Sylvie loved the berries in it too.  I like this cake because there is no butter, and the low fat yogurt and eggs somehow make this feel like a healthy treat despite the sugar and white flour.  (So I didn’t scold my au pair Alisa for eating it for breakfast.)  Enjoy!

(berry) yogurt cake (adapted from Cake Keeper Cakes by Laura Chattman):

2 cups flour
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 (scant) teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup plain low-fat yogurt (or whole-milk)
1/3 cup canola oil
2 large eggs (room temp)
2 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
mixed raspberries, blueberries or blackberries – frozen (do not thaw) or fresh – amount to your liking
confectioners’ sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and butter or grease the bottom and sides of a 9 inch round cake pan.  Place a parchment round in the buttered pan, and then lightly flour – knocking out any excess.

Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.  In another bowl, mix the yogurt, oil, eggs and vanilla extract.

Pour the wet mixture into the dry and mix until flour is just incorporated.  If using berries, add now.  Pour into prepped pan and bake for about 40-45 (for plain) and about 50  minutes (for berries).  As usual check often and before to avoid over baking this cake.

Let the cake sit for 5-10 minutes, then run a knife around the edges and invert onto a rack and let cool.  Dust with the confectioners’ sugar (if you’d like) and enjoy!

berry cheesecake with sour cream topping

My dear friend Dani read my first five posts and said – “love it, but what about my cheesecake and my peppermint ice cream?”  Cheesecake first.  Dani  was very close to having gestational diabetes with her first pregnancy.  Doctors orders… no sugar – none!  It was wicked hard (yes I’m originally from Boston) for her so I really wanted to do good by her when she could eat sweets again.  When I asked what she needed as as she was going into labor, she replied, “the cheesecake please!”  That was that.  I proudly arrived – cheesecake in hand – and I think I was her very favorite person at that moment (well, except for maybe her newborn baby).  This is not a light and fluffy cheesecake, it is dense and rich and packed with berries.  My friend Elese said “OMG that cheesecake is crazy good – it is really outstanding and I’m not just saying that.” My favorite part is the buttery graham cracker crust – so much so that I changed the recipe to make 1 1/2 times the original amount of crust.  This cheesecake is so easy to make and tastes even better the following day.  Perfect for a make-ahead dessert.  (A side note: Dani read this and apparently I made – at her request – Oreo cheesecake.  Think she was really craving sugar.  I don’t remember that which is somewhat scary, but she loved it with Oreos and wanted me to tell all of you that, although I really prefer berries!)

mixed berry cheesecake with sour cream topping (adapted from my mothers recipe)
1 7/8 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
7.5 tablespoons melted butter (almost one stick)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 pound (2 – 8 oz packs cream cheese – not whipped!)
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (or more to taste),  3/4 teaspoon salt
mixed berries (about 2 cups – I use 1 cup blueberries and 1/2 cup each blackberries and raspberries – but do what you love – more or less – one type of berry or even no berries.)

topping:
1 1/2 cups sour cream, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 1/4 teaspoon salt

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.

Mix crumbs, sugar, melted butter and salt.  Squish mixture  into an 8 or 9 inch spring-form pan and bake for 8-10 minutes.  Let cool for 10 minutes.

In mixer, mix cream cheese and sugar – when blended, add eggs one at a time and mix well.  Remember to scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix again.  Add the vanilla, cinnamon and salt.  Remove from mixer and by hand, fold in the berries being careful not to break them into pieces.

Pour mixture into pre-baked crust and continue to bake at 375 for about 30 minutes.  (Sometimes the butter from the crust leaks out of my pan, not sure why, and onto the oven floor so I often line the shelf below with tin foil to catch the drips and make clean up easier.)

As usual, remember to set your timer for 25 minutes and then check every 5-3 minutes thereafter so that you do not over cook.  Put cake on wire rack and let cool for about 15- 30 minutes.

Raise the oven temp to 400 degrees and make the topping.  Mix the sour cream, sugar, vanilla and salt and spread on top of the baked cheesecake.  This tastes delicious and also covers any cracks in the cheesecake.  Pop in the oven for 5 minutes to set.  Remove and once cool, cover with plastic wrap and let set in the refrigerator.  The following day, or several hours later, run a knife around the edges of the pan, unlock the spring and un-mold the cake.  If you have a hard time releasing the crust from the pan you can cut in slices first and then remove.  Enjoy the love and smiles  from your family and friends…

salted peanut butter toffee cookies

The recipes in Alice Medrich’s cookbook Pure Dessert are so innovative and fresh.  I read through the book dog-earring many pages vowing to bake from it.  I finally made the time even though I knew that these cookies would be a tough sell for my family.  No  peanut lovers  here (except for me) and my brother-in-law Patrick turns his nose with disgust whenever I make anything with  peanut butter (he’s French and says the French just don’t get peanut butter).  But I forged ahead because I knew I’d like them and I just needed to try.  Well…yum!  If you like peanuts and peanut butter – then this is a cookie for you.  My friends Ali and Jonathan generally get to try and enjoy most of  my sweets (they are neighbors so they get it all) but claim to not be critical enough.  But I’ll take Ali’s concise comment – “loved them.”  My daughter Sylvie surprised me by telling me that they were yummy – that the nuts reminded her of the chou-chou nuts that they sell on the beach in France.  Oh, and by the way, these cookies are truly beautiful to look at.

salted peanut butter toffee cookies (just barely adapted from Pure Dessert by Alice Medrich)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1  teaspoon sea salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup  firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup natural (smooth or chunky) peanut butter (not unsalted)
1+ cup lightly chopped toffee peanuts*

Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl.  Mix the melted butter with both sugars in a large bowl.  Whisk in the egg, vanilla and peanut butter.  Add the flour mixture and mix  until just incorporated.  Do not over mix.

Cover the dough and refrigerate for an hour or  overnight.  Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  Place the chopped nuts onto a tray.  (I line the tray with parchment for easier clean up).  Oh and re-use and re-use your parchment.  Spoon out about 1  to 1 1/2 tablespoons of dough for each cookie and roll in a ball and then  into the nuts. Press in the  pieces that fall off.  I like to cram as many as I can into the cookies.  Place on cookie sheet and bake for anywhere from 14-19 minutes.  Baking time will vary and depends on the size of  the cookie,  where they are placed in the oven,  and how you measured your ingredients that day.  The humidity and weather can also affect baking time.  So please check the cookies often so as not to over bake.  They should look very lightly browned on the top.  Let cool and enjoy!  Turn into a peanut cookie ice cream sandwich with vanilla ice cream.  A little messy but delicious.

* I bought toffee peanuts on-line at Feridies.com.  Amazon.com  sells them too – as well as many other sites if you look around.

toffee-peanuts-and-log

As usual – (you’ll see this often when I bake cookies) I reserved some un-peanut coated dough to freeze.  I rolled it into logs (see oatmeal cookies for more instruction) for use the next time I’m hankering for a peanut cookie.  Defrost the dough in the refrigerator and follow steps above – coating the balls of dough.  Bake and enjoy with very little effort.