'OREO' Cookies

After a night out with the girls, getting dinner at Homeroom Mac & Cheese Restaurant in Oakland, I was left wanting another one, or two or three, of their homemade Oreo cookies. So, with the help of Martha Stewart (and my husband), I whipped up my first batch of homemade chocolate cream-filled sandwiches. Perhaps the sandwiches I like best.

The original recipe comes from Martha Stewart's Cookies Cookbook, with some of my adaptations based on the versions from Homeroom. With my cookie scoop, they made exactly 2 dozen.

What's in them

For Cookies:

1 1/4 C flour (unbleached of course)

3/4 C unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 C sugar

1 1/4 sticks butter (10 Tbl), unsalted, room temperature

1 large egg, room temperature

sea salt for sprinkling

For Cream Filling:

1/2 C (1 stick) butter, room temperature

1/2 C solid vegetable shortening

3 1/2 C powder sugar

1 Tbl pure vanilla extract

How they are made:

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Line cookies sheets with parchment paper, or silicone mat (I highly recommend the investment).

Sift together dry ingredients (flour, baking soda and powder, salt, cocoa). Set aside.

In a large bowl cream together sugar and butter for about 2 minutes until fluffy. Add egg and mix to combine. On low speed, gradually add dry ingredients until well combined.

Using a 1 1/4 inch ice cream scoop (also known as a cookie scoop), drop dough on sheets at least 2 inches apart, they will double in size. Dip the bottom of a glass (with a flat bottom at least 2 inches wide) in sugar, moistening with water first. Press glass down on cookies to flatten to 1/8 inch thick. Repeat for the rest of the cookies. Sprinkle all the cookies with a tiny bit of sea salt. Bake 8 minutes (or 10 for slightly crispier cookies), rotating halfway through. Let the cookies cool on the rack. Tip: if you want your cookies to come out with clean edges, roll the dough in a ball after you scoop it out with the cookie scoop.

In the meantime, as the cookies bake, make the cream filling. Cream butter and shortening together with an electric mixer (or stand mixer) on low until well combined. Gradually add sugar until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and mix to combine. Set aside.

When cookies are finished baking, using your cookie scoop, scoop out filling onto the bottom of one cookie, then press another cookie onto it, to make a sandwich. You may need to twist them slightly to get even coverage. Repeat for the rest of the cookies. Store in an airtight container for up to two days.

Maple Pecan Shortbread Cookies

I used to work for Starbucks in California. In the pastry case, full of terrible-for-you and not-even-that-good-tasting pastries (I guess I would rather have homemade), there was one treat that stood out. A scone. A maple oat nut scone to be exact. This scone had a wonderful maple flavor, was studded with pecans, and iced with a perfectly sweet glaze. So many delicious flavors converging in one little pastry!

But, I moved to Oregon and, alas, the Starbucks in Oregon do not carry the delectable maple oat nut scones. Sad, sad day.

These maple pecan shortbread cookies have been on my to-bake-soon short list ever since I opened my copy of Martha Stewart's Cookies. I've made many wonderful cookies from that book in the intervening years before finally getting around to these. I'm sorry it took me so long.

These cookies knocked the socks off of everyone I've shared them with. They really are a perfect winter cookie. As I've already established, maple and pecans are a natural and particularly tasty pairing. The shortbread here only compliments and highlights these homey and satisfying flavors.

In fact, these taste just like a cookie version of my favorite and now distant scones. These cookies will more than suffice in their absence. I will definitely curl up with a small stack of these and a cup of Starbucks coffee. I will once again know maple pecan bliss. Thanks, Martha!

Maple Pecan Shortbread Cookies

~Print Recipe~

• 2 3/4 cups flour, plus more for work surface
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp.
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup, preferably grade B
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1/4 teaspoon pure maple extract
• 1 large egg lightly beaten
• 24 pecan halves, for decorating
• Turbinado sugar (or regular sugar) for sprinkling

1. Sift flour and salt into a bowl. Whisk in chopped pecans.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar on medium-high speed until smooth and light, about 1 minute. Add maple syrup, egg yolk and extract. Beat on medium until well combined. On low speed, gradually add flour mixture, beating until just combined. The dough should be smooth and pliable. 
3. Turn dough out onto plastic wrap. Flatten into a disk, wrap it up and refrigerate until firm, 1 /2 hours to overnight.
4. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment.
5. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to 1/4 inch thick. (I had to let my dough warm up a little before it would roll out.) Cut out rounds using a 2-inch cookie cutter. (The only cookie cutter I had was heart shaped, though the hearts didn't really turn out in the end.) Place on a baking sheet. Brush the tops with beaten egg and place a pecan half in the center of each cookie. Sprinkle cookies with sugar.
6. Bake cookies, rotating halfway through, until golden around the edges, about 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. 

Makes about 2 dozen

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars

Yesterday was one of my coworker Nancy's last day of work, and in her usual form, she brought in several trays of baked goods to share with us all. What a sweetheart. One of the treats were these amazingly tasty cheesecake bars. I usually am not a huge fan of cheesecake (because there isn't enough chocolate) but these mix the best of both worlds: cheesecake and chocolate chip cookies. Enough said.

What's in it

Your favorite chocolate chip cookie dough recipe

16 oz cream cheese (room temp)

3/4 C sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

How it's made

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees. Butter a 9x11 baking pan.

Whip up a batch of your favorite chocolate chip cookie dough (I recommend Martha Stewart's Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe from her "Cookies" book, or the back of the Nestle Tollhouse bag). Press a little more than half of the cookie dough into the bottom of the baking pan evenly with a rubber/silicone spatula. Set aside remaining batter.

In a bowl whip together sugar and cream until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and cream until mixed well. Pour on top of cookie layer in baking pan.

With the remaining cookie dough batter, press handfuls of batter flat in your palms, then drop on top of cream cheese mixture in the pan. Repeat until evenly distributed across the top.

Bake at 325 degrees for about 45-60 minutes until toothpick inserted comes out clean and cookie dough is golden on top. Let cool then slice into bars.

Peanut Butter Whoopie Pies (with traditional filling option)

I have been on a whoopie pie spree lately, and thought I would update this post with some new found wisdom. Everyone seems to love them because they are so silly and different. I included the traditional filling option at the end of this post. This peanut butter chocolate version comes from "Martha Stewart's Cookies" book, thanks for the recommendation, Alexis! Plus, who can resist the name?

These tasty treats are two chocolatey, fluffy cookies with peanut butter cream sandwiched between them. Yum.

Peanut Butter Whoopie Pies

~Print Recipe~

What's in it

For the cookies:

3 1/2 C flour

1 1/2 C unsweetened cocoa powder

1 Tbl baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 sticks (1 C) unsalted butter, room temperature

2 C sugar

2 large eggs

2 C buttermilk, room temperature

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

for the filling:

1 1/3 C natural, creamy peanut butter

1 C (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 1/4 C confectioners sugar

coarse salt

How it's made

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, salt. In a separate large bowl, with an electric mixer beat butter and sugar on med speed until fluffy. Add eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla. Beat until well combined. On low speed, gradually add the dry ingredients. Mix until combined.

2. Drop 1 1/2 Tablespoons of batter onto prepared baking sheets, spacing 2 in. apart. Bake until set, about 8 minutes, rotating halfway through. Cool completely on a wire rack. (I have found using a pastry bag and larger tip makes it much easier to handle the batter, and and makes much more uniform cookie sizes. It's also easier putting the filling on the cookies. See first picture up top versus second picture here.)

3. For filling, beat peanut butter and butter on high speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Reduce speed to low and add confectioners sugar. Mix until combined. Raise speed to high, and mix until fluffy and smooth, about 3 minutes. Season with salt, if desired.

4. Assemble the cookies: Spread 1 heaping Tablespoon filling on the flat side of one cookie,. Sandwich with another cookie. Repeat for all cookies.

Enjoy!

Whoopie Filling Alternative

Traditionally whoopie pies have a marshmallow-y filling, and often are rolled in sprinkles for decoration. I found a recipe and tried it for a bbq, but the filling melted in the 100 degree heat. It would be great for Bay Area weather!

Beat together until smooth:

1/2 C butter softened

1 1/4 C powdered sugar

2 C marshmallow fluff/cream

1 tsp vanilla

Roll in sprinkles for a fun spin.

Chocolate Covered Honey Florentines

In Cuba, there is not much to eat. When I was studying there for a month, we had a weekly rotation of dinner menu items that repeated itself over and over. We also had eggs for breakfast every day, though we could chose a variety of egg preparations--omelet, scrambled, fried, hard cooked. (We also had a beautiful array of fresh tropical fruit, though, which helped.) 

For lunch, between classes, my friends and I would walk down the street to one of the recently legalized paladares, a restaurant (in this case take-out window) operated out of someone's house. The menu was very limited and every day I would order pollo asado, a huge piece of roasted chicken served with moros y cristianos, a savory mixture of white rice and black beans, and a "salad" of un-dressed shredded green cabbage. (All of this for criminally low price of less than a dollar's worth of Cuban pesos.) The food was very good, but very basic. Cuban food is not spicy and this dish was hardly spiced at all for that matter. (Fancy ingredients and fresh vegetables are hard to come by in Cuba--except at expensive tourist resorts---due to our stubborn embargo. Boo.)

Imagine my surprise then, when I first dined at Pambiche, a lively, vibrant and bountiful Cuban restaurant in Portland. They had my moros y cristianos, but everything else seemed much too elaborate and fancy. Of course it is delicious, but I hardly recognized the food given what I had eaten everyday in Cuba.

Regardless, the best thing about Pambiche is the dessert. When I am there I usually eat as little as possible for dinner and save my appetite for the good stuff. They serve some of the best cakes--and most inspired dessert flavor combinations--- I've ever eaten. That first evening,  I had the arroz con leche---rice pudding. One of my favorite aspects of the dessert was the edible bowl it was served in---my first encounter with a Florentine cookie--- that delicate, crunchy, lacy caramelized sugar goodness. I've been thinking about it ever since.

Chocolate Covered Honey Florentines

(adapted from Martha Stewart's Cookies)

~Print Recipe~

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar (I only had dark and it was fine)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons flour
• Pinch of coarse salt
• 4 oz good quality chocolate

1.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Melt Butter, brown sugar and honey in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Transfer to a small bowl. Stir in four and salt until smooth.
3. Working quickly, drop 1/2 teaspoons of batter onto lined baking sheets, spacing them about 3 inches apart. Bake cookies until they spread and turn golden brown,  about 6 minutes.
4. Let cool completely on baking sheets on wire cooling racks. Carefully remove cookies from sheets with your fingers.
5. Melt chocolate in a double boiler [or a bowl set over (not touching) a saucepan of simmering water], stirring often. Remove from heat as soon as chocolate is mostly melted, continue stirring until it is fully melted.
6. Dip Florentines in chocolate, make chocolate Florentine sandwiches, or use a knife to spread half of each Florentine with melted chocolate. 
7. Cool and serve.

Makes about 2 dozen cookies

Chocolate Chip Coconut Macaroons

I hear that macarons are the new cupcakes, but I've never actually tried a macaron. Anyway, they don't look as good as one of my all time favorite cookies (if they even should be called cookies---these dense, sticky, sweet stacks of shredded coconut): macaroons. I don't know exactly what the difference is, but I think maracons are more meringue-y, French and have no coconut (boo). Someone out there should try one and let me know. Or I'll just wait to try one myself when some hip young entrepreneur opens up a macaron food cart here in Portland, which will probably happen any moment now.

But let's focus on the moral of the story here---COCONUT MACAROONS are the best--- if you like coconut, of course, which everyone in their right mind absolutely must; although I am sad to report that I personally know at least a few coconut haters. I do feel very sorry for them and their missed dessert opportunities. But, you know, their loss really.

My favorite way to enjoy a macaroon is covered in chocolate. (See The Upper Crust Bakery in Chico, CA or The French Corner Bakery in Cambria, CA for particularly fantastic specimens.) To save time when making these at home, I made a batch with chocolate chips mixed in--not the same, but close. It is exceedingly important to use the best sweetened coconut you can get your hands on here. I used the regular supermarket sweetened flaked coconut and it tastes good, but not as coocnut-y as it should. I would consider adding a drop of coconut extract in addition to the vanilla next time if I had to use that generic coconut again.( I'd happily take suggestions on which brands to buy/where to get extra delicious coconut. No, really, do tell.)

Even so, these coconut macaroons are pretty tasty. Toasted coconut crunch and chewy, chocolate-y center! And, really truly EASY. Thanks---yet again---Martha.

Chocolate Chip Coconut Macaroons

~Print Recipe~

• 1 tablespoon sugar (2 Tbsp if you like them sweeter)
• 2 1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips or chunks
• 2 large egg whites
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon coconut extract (optional)
• pinch of salt

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Mix well, using your hands to fully incorporate the ingredients.
3. Form 1 1/2 tablespoon mounds on prepared baking sheet, spacing 1 inch apart.
4. Bake until golden brown, 15-20 minutes, rotating halfway through. Cool on a wire rack.

Dark Chocolate Frosting

I have to admit I'm a little disappointed with the Martha Stewart's Cupcakes cookbook. I've only tried two recipes, but the results have been merely mediocre. I'm a huge fan of her Cookies cookbook, from which I've probably made 20 different cookies that all came out fantastically, so I had high expectations.  I thought Martha was like the gold standard for these types of things...

Maybe it's me. Maybe I don't love cupcakes as much as I love cookies. I don't know. But, so far, the only thing that has impressed me about the Cupcakes book has been this frosting recipe. I LOVE cream cheese frosting, and you know butter cream is ok, but I've never come across a frosting recipe like this. Cocoa powder AND tons of melted chocolate (ok, lots of butter, too.) But I like the idea of a melted-chocolate-based frosting. It tastes just like you'd think it would--very chocolate-y. It is definitely important to use your favorite high quality chocolate here.

I halved the following recipe when I made my chocolate mint cupcakes, because this will give you 5 cups of frosting. Which is fine---if you are feeding a small army. I also added pure mint extract as I was mixing in the chocolates at the end. I'd imagine any other complimentary flavor would work well here, too. Coconut? Almond? Mmmm. I haven't completely given up on Martha's cupcakes. Yet. I'm willing to give the Cookies and Cream Cheesecake cupcakes a try.

 

Dark Chocolate Frosting

~Print Recipe~

• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon boiling water
• 2 1/4 cups unsalted butter (4 1/2 sticks), room temperature
• 3/4 cup powered sugar, sifted
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 pounds best-quality semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped (or use chips)

1. Place chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over (not in) a pan of simmering water. Do not let any of the water touch the bottom of the bowl. Heat until chocolate is almost melted, then stir with a spatula until it is completely melted. Remove bowl from pan and let cool, stirring occasionally. Wait 30 minutes before using. 
2. Meanwhile, boil water. In a small bowl, combine cocoa and boiling water, stirring until the cocoa has dissolved. 
3. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, mix butter, sugar and salt until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to low and add melted and cooled chocolate. Beat until combined. Beat in cocoa mixture and any extracts.

*If not using immediately, frosting can be refrigerated up to 5 day, or frozen up to 1 month. Before using again, bring to room temp. then beat on low until smooth.

Yield: 5 cups

Gingerbread Cupcakes with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

I needed something to pair with Christmas Blend coffee, so something with ginger, orange, cinnamon, nutmeg or cloves. I found this Martha Stewart gingerbread cupcake recipe (Martha always comes through in a pinch) online and that took care of all of the spices in one fell swoop. Then I saw a recipe on 52 cupcakes that topped gingerbread cupcakes with a lemon cream cheese frosting. I figured orange would work just as well. And done---I've got all of my flavors present and accounted for. This recipe makes 10 "jumbo" sized cupcakes, but since I only have the regular size pan it made about 20. And that's ok with me, because I figure the more cupcakes the merrier!

These cupcakes have 2 teaspoons of baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon salt, which I felt made them a little too salty. I would maybe add 1/4 teaspoon salt. Then again, maybe that's just the way gingerbread is suppose to taste, so salt to your preference.

I had forgotten how much fun cupcakes are to make and eat!

Gingerbread Cupcakes with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

~Print Recipe~

• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (or less, to taste)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2/3 cup packed dark-brown sugar
• 1 cup unsulphured molasses
• 2 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line you cupcake tin with paper baking cups, set aside. In a saucepan or kettle, bring 1 cup water to a boil. In a small bowl, combine boiling water and baking soda and set aside. In a large bowl, sift flour, spices, salt and baking powder together and set aside. 
2. With an electric mixer, cream the butter until light. Add the brown sugar and beat until fluffy, around 1 to 2 minutes. Beat in the molasses, baking soda mixture and flour mixture. Beat in the eggs. 
3. Fill cupcake liners until 3/4 full. Bake cupcakes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Let cupcakes cool in the pan on a wire rack for a few minutes, then transfer them to the rack to cool completely before frosting.
4. Frost and sprinkle with crystallized ginger.
 

Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

~Print Recipe~

• 1 8 oz. package of cream cheese, room temperature
  
• 1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) of unsalted butter, room temperature
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• zest of one orange
• 1 tablespoon fresh orange juice

1. Beat cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer until soft. Slowly add sugar, zest and juice. Beat until creamy--about 3 minutes.
2. Chill frosting before frosting cupcakes.
   

Molasses Cookie and Pumpkin Ice Cream Sandwiches

Exactly three years ago, I was in Gearhart, a small town on the Oregon coast. (Really small, of maybe a thousand people.) I happened to find a wonderful ice cream shop that served Tillamook ice cream. (Tillamook ice cream is right up there with the best. You've probably heard of Tillamook cheese---their ice cream has a more limited distribution.) I ordered a homemade ice cream sandwich. This was new to me, the idea of homemade ice cream sandwiches---I thought they were limited to the packaged kind with vanilla ice cream. But, of course not! What an easy idea, homemade cookies with ice cream in the middle! What could be better? These particular sandwiches were made with gingersnaps and pumpkin ice cream. I've dreamed about them ever since.

Well, Mark had a coupon for a free pint of ice cream (Dreyer's, not Tillamook, sadly) and we stumbled upon their seasonally available pumpkin ice cream. I knew exactly what to do! After much deliberation, I decided to make Chewy Molasses cookies, from Martha Stewart's Cookies, for my ice cream sandwiches.

Martha Stewart's Cookies, what can I say? I've made dozens of different cookies from this book and they are all delicious. I'm really looking forward to making the Iced Oatmeal Applesauce cookies, Cashew Caramel cookies, Honey Florentines, Lemon Madeleines, Chocolate Waffles, Rugelach...OK, I could go on and on. That's one of the nice things about this book, there are more recipes that I want to make than I have time to make! I have a lot of cookbooks that end up having more recipes that I'm not interested in than the ones I am. Not the case with Cookies.

As you know, I am not a huge fan of the Martha Stewart empire or what she stands for. But, when you make a Martha Stewart recipe, you know it will turn out and it will taste good.

And these Chewy Molasses cookies really did pair well with pumpkin ice cream.

Molasses Cookies
~PRINT RECIPE~

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar.
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar, plus 1/4 cup for rolling
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup unsulfured molasses
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

1. Beat butter, brown sugar and 1/2 cup granulated sugar on medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. Mix in the eggs one at a time, followed by the molasses and oil.
2. Reduce speed to low and gradually mix in flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, allspice and salt. Cover dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm---1 hour or up to overnight.
3. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Put remaining 1/4 cup granulated sugar in a bowl. Using an ice cream scoop or a spoon, form balls of dough. (Caution--the dough is extremely sticky!) Roll balls in sugar to coat and space 3 inches apart on parchment lined baking sheets. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until cookies are flat and the centers are set---about 17 minutes. Cool completely on sheets on wire racks.
   

Sandwiches

• Homemade cookies
• Ice cream of your choice

1. Take ice cream out of freezer for a few minutes, until it is soft enough to work with but not melt-y.
   
2. Grab 2 cookies. Place them upside down on a plate. Scoop ice cream on to one cookie until it is thick enough for your liking. Spread the ice cream around so it is level and all the way to the edges.
3. Place second cookie right side up on top of the ice cream and voila! Easy.
   

Lentil-Walnut Burger with Creamy Cilantro Lemon Sauce

Lentil burgers remind me of the Sierra Nevada Brewery pub in Chico, CA. They offer enticing dishes of all types, but whenever I am there I have to get the lentil burger. It's just too delicious to pass up.

I saw this lentil-walnut burger recipe in my Everyday Food: Great Fast Food cookbook, from the people who do the Martha Stewart Living magazine. So far, what I've made from this book has been tasty, and what I really appreciate (just like in my Martha Stewart's Cookies cookbook) are the fantastic photos. It certainly helps motivate me to make new dishes when I'm staring at a mouth-watering picture.

I'm going through a cook-what-I-already-have-in-my-cupboards phase. I happened to have some dried lentils on hand--in fact I'd had them for quite some time. And I always keep a Costco-sized bag of walnuts (so much cheaper!) for baking and the like. So, the stars aligned and I decided to make these burgers for dinner. It was a bit of a process (maybe because I have the smallest food processor known to man), but not a complicated or terribly elaborate one. And the results were definitely worth the effort!

Lentil-Walnut Burgers
~PRINT RECIPE~

• 3/4 cup lentils, picked over and rinsed
• 3/4 cup walnuts
• 1/3 cup plain dried breadcrumbs
• 3 garlic cloves (or more to taste) coarsely chopped or pressed
  
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1/4- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• Course salt and fresh ground pepper
  
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large egg
• Creamy cilantro sauce (optional)

Creamy Cilantro Sauce

• 3/4 cup low-fat or non-fat sour cream
  
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• Course salt and fresh ground pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place the lentils in a small saucepan and cover with 1 inch of water. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook until the lentils are tender but still holding their shape--about 15-20 minutes. (The older the lentil, the longer the cooking time. I actually soaked my old lentils for about 2 hours before I started cooking so they wouldn't take as long to cook.) Drain well and cool.
2. Meanwhile, spread the walnuts on a baking sheet and toast in the oven until fragrant and darkened, about 10 minutes. Let cool.
3. While waiting for lentils and walnuts to cook, whisk together all ingredients for creamy cilantro sauce, season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
4. In a food processor, combine the walnuts, breadcrumbs, garlic, cumin, coriander, red pepper flakes, 1 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Process until finely ground.
   Add the lentils and 1 tablespoon of oil. Pulse until coarsely chopped. (Some lentils should remain whole).
5. In a large bowl, whisk the egg. Add the lentil mixture and mix well. Divide into 4 equal-sized parts. Roll into balls and flatten with your palms into 3/4-inch-thick patties.

6. Heat the remaining 3 tablespoons oil in a large nonstick skillet. Add the burgers and cook over medium-low heat until crisp and browned, gently flip the burgers---8 to 10 minutes each side. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate to drain. Serve with creamy cilantro sauce and other burger fixin's.

Shortbread

I never really liked shortbread, or at least I didn't think I did. I have faint childhood memories of tins and tins full of tongue-numbingly similar cookies in different shapes--though I do maintain that the ones with big sugar crystals tasted better than the plain ones. (Those might have been butter cookies for all I know--apparently, the main difference is the addition of an egg.) I do specifically remember that my dad used the old tins to store his shoe polish in the garage, but that's pretty much the extent of my interaction with shortbread.

Until a few months ago, that is. I must have been really hungry, because I ended up eating a small package of shortbread cookies that happened to be lying around one day. Before tasting those Walker's shortbread cookies that day, I'd always thought, "Shortbread--what's the point? There's no chocolate, no peanut butter, no nuts. This is one bland, boring cookie and I don't have time for cookies like that."

Well, I was wrong. The shortbread was amazing. It had such a satisfying texture and a rich, buttery sweet, but not too sweet flavor. I was really converted when I friend of mine made a batch of shortbread cookies from scratch. Fresh baked shortbread, holy cow! I immediately added it to my list of recipes I needed to try.

The really fascinating thing about shortbread is that it only uses four ingredients: flour, sugar, salt and, most importantly, butter. You can really taste everything you put in these cookies, so use the very best quality you can find and afford. Because it's so straight forward, they are easy to make and the returns on your investment will be multi fold.

This is baking at its purist. (Thank you once again, Dear Martha.)

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for the pan
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar

1. Sift together flour and salt into a bowl. Set aside. In a separate bowl, mix the butter with an electric mixer on medium (use the paddle attachment if you are cool enough to have one) until fluffy--3 to 5 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl.
2. Gradually add powdered sugar and beat until pale and fluffy--2 minutes. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture all at once and mix until just combined. (It will have a crumbly texture.)
3. Using plastic wrap, press the dough into a buttered 10 inch tart pan (I only had 9 inch glass pie pan and that worked just fine...) With plastic on dough, refrigerate 20 minutes.
   
4. With a few minutes to spare, adjust oven rack to the upper third. Preheat your oven to 300 degrees.
   
5. Remove plastic wrap and cut out a round from the center using a 2 1/4-inch cookie cutter (I just used the rim of a glass). [Martha says to discard it, but I put in on a separate pan and cooked it too! Why waste cookies?] Put cutter back in center (or not, like me). Cut dough into 8 wedges using a paring knife. Prick the dough all over with a wooden skewer at 1/4-inch intervals.
6. Bake until golden brown and firm in the center, about 1 hour. Transfer pan to a wire rack. Re-cut shortbread into wedges. Let cool completely in the pan.
   

There are also many variations on shortbread--t's a nice base for other flavors. My next batch is going to be lime, white chocolate and almond shortbread. Oh man, I can't wait.

Iced Very Lemony Pound Cake

A recent dinner with friends had a theme: home. I used to always request lemon pound cake for my birthday when I was a child, so it was an easy choice for this gathering. I found the recipe my mom used in her original Moosewood Cookbook--and found out why it's called a pound cake. I looked at the ingredients list and decided I didn't actually want a pound of butter in my cake, thankyouverymuch. So, I turned to the internet. Recipes abound. Some use lemon extract or shortening--YUCK! I found this recipe on the Martha Stewart website, and since I feel like I can pretty much trust Martha at this point, I decided to give it a try. With a twist, of course.

The Cake:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for pan
• 3 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for pan
• 3/4 cup low-fat buttermilk
• Zest of 2 lemons, finely grated
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 cups sugar
• 5 large eggs

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with rack in lowest position. Butter and flour a bundt pan or two loaf pans.
2. In a small bowl, combine buttermilk with lemon zest and lemon juice. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda.
3. With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
4. With mixer on low, add flour mixture in three parts alternately with the buttermilk mixture in two parts, beginning and ending with flour; beat just until smooth (do not overmix).
5. Pour batter into the pan and smooth the top. Bake until a toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes (tent with foil if browning too quickly).
   

The Sauce:

• 1/3 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup sugar

1. Leave the cake in the pan and set it on a wire cooling rack. As soon as you take the cake out of the oven, poke small holes in the top with a toothpick. Drizzle half of the lemon sauce over the top, letting it soak into the cake.
   
2. After the cake has cooled for 10 minutes, turn it out onto the cooling rack. Poke more holes in the top and drizzle the remaining lemon sauce over the top.
3. Let the cake cool completely before icing.

The Icing:

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 3-4 tablespoons lemon juice
  

1. Whisk the powdered sugar to remove clumps. Stir in lemon juice in small quantities until all of the sugar is dissolved and desired consistency is reached. I used 3 tablespoons and still found it to be slightly runnier than I'd have liked.
   
2. Set the cake's cooling rack over a baking sheet lined with waxed paper. Pour glaze over cakes, letting it run down the sides. Let dry, about 30 minutes--if you can wait that long. This cake is good warm, as well as cold the next day.
   

Chunky Peanut, Chocolate and Cinnamon Cookies

These cookies were easy to make and very yummy. A good spin on our old favorites. Plus, I love cinnamon. We made these for Andy's housewarming party. It's originally from Martha Stewart's Cookies.

What's in it:

2 C flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

3/4 C butter, room temperature

1/2 C smooth peanut butter

1 C packed brown sugar

1/2 C granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 1/2 C semi sweet chocolate chips

2/3 C roasted, salted peanuts, chopped

2 tsp vanilla extract

How's it's made:

Preheat oven to 350. Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a small bowl.

Put butter and peanut butter in a large bowl and cream together (you may need to soften butter more). Mix on medium until creamed. Add sugars and cream. Mix in eggs. Gradually add dry mixture, mix until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips, peanuts and vanilla. Refrigerate dough until slightly firm, about 15 minutes. (I forgot to do this and was fine).

Roll dough into balls and space on cookie sheet. Press each ball to flatten slightly. Bake until just golden, about 13 minutes, rotating halfway through. Cool on wire racks.