Weekend Update

One of these days, when Benjamin goes out of town, I am going to spend the entire time sitting on the couch reading a book or watching TV. Not this past weekend. Nope, nope, I was too darn busy. On Saturday, I played tennis (twice), had a hair cut, did the weekly grocery shopping, walked the dog, did dishes. Sunday, I did three loads of laundry, went to church, cleaned the bathrooms, vacuumed, baked bread, made soup, made yogurt, walked the dog, washed dishes (at least twice, thanks to all the baking), and eventually picked Benjamin up from the airport. And in doing all these things drove at least 200 miles - half the things I did were in Conway, which is 15 miles to the north, and the tennis was 20 miles to the south.

Oh, and I baked these cookies. So good. Go make them. Now. Here is the recipe from Simply Recipes (if you follow the link, you can get a handy printable version, which is very handy).

Chocolate Orange Shortbread Cookies Recipe

Prep time: 5 minutes 
Cook time: 40 minutes

I like Hershey's Special Dark for this recipe as it gives baked goods a dark, nearly black color and a rich cocoa flavor. However, Ghiradelli unsweetened cocoa or any other brand will do just fine and give more prominence to the orange flavor.

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (*Hope's note - yes, Kosher salt for baking. It give the cookies a great bit of saltiness that keeps them from being too rich or sweet.)
• 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 Tablespoon of orange zest

Method

1 Preheat oven to 325°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2 Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, and salt in a bowl. (Do not skip this step as cocoa powder has a tendency to clump. You want the dry ingredients sifted to ensure a tender cookie.) Set aside.
3 Beat the butter and sugar together on medium speed in a mixer for 5 minutes, being sure to scrape down the sides and bottom as needed. Add the vanilla and orange zest and mix for 30 seconds. Add about half the flour mixture and mix on low speed. Scrape down the bottom and sides and add the rest of the flour mixture. Once incorporated mix at medium speed for 2 minutes.
4 Lay out a sheet of parchment paper and place the dough on it. Cover with another sheet of parchment paper and roll out to 1/4-inch thickness with a rolling pin. (You can also lightly flour a work space, but I find my method far easier, cleaner, and the shortbread keeps a sandy texture by not picking up the extra flour.) You may find the dough getting too soft. If it does, place it in the freezer for ten minutes to firm it up before you continue rolling or cutting. (The dough is very hard to work with when soft.) Cut into desired shapes and place on the baking sheets about 1-inch apart.
5 Bake for 13-15 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking. It can be difficult to tell when these cookies are done, so when they smell like freshly baked cookies and the edges are slightly firm but still give a bit then consider them done (simply enough, it takes some judgment on your part). Remove the pans and allow the cookies to cool for a minute or two before moving to a wire rack to cool completely.
Yield: Makes 2 1/2 dozen.

Weekend baking

After not baking anything last weekend, I did quite a bit this weekend. On Thursday, for a work party and philosopher's widows night, I baked ginger cookies - sorry no pictures of those. They are all gone, thanks to the many hungry mouths. Because they are so easy to make, and aren't too rich, they are great to make for parties or pot lucks.

At the office party, E. brought a very yummy banana pudding. I have never had banana pudding (according to the various Southerners there, it is because I am a deprived Northerner), and I am going to have to try making it some time. While I didn't do that this weekend, I was inspired to make banana bread - that, and the large number of bananas in my freezer. I like making banana bread in two smaller pans, instead of the large pan called for, because Benjamin and I cannot (should not) eat an entire loaf at one time. By making two, I can stick one in the freezer for later, when I don't want to bake. Anyway, it turned out really well.


At the same time on Saturday, I also made hamburger buns. In Austin, we used to buy fresh baked bolillo rolls for buns, but the only buns here are pasty, high-fructose laden bread impostors. So, we have taken to making our own. To come clean, most of the work for the buns was done by the bread machine, but I did have to shape them. As you can see, they came out beautifully (except for that one on the top left...don't know what happened to that one *smile*).

And, of course, I also baked my weekly loaf of bread on Sunday. This week was just a regular wheat loaf, nothing special, but it went really well with the broccoli soup from Orangette that we had for dinner.

Everywhere I have taken the gingersnaps I have had requests for the recipe. Maybe you will like it as well. Here it is:

Gingersnaps: From Cooking Light, May 2001.

2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar, divided
7 tablespoons butter, softened
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg

1) Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cup, and level with a knife. Combine flour, ginger, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl. Place 3/4 cup granulated sugar, butter and brown sugar in a large bowl, and beat with a mixer at medium speed until well-blended. Add the honey, vanilla, and egg, beat well. Add the flour mixture, beating at low speed until well-blended. Cover dough and freeze 1 hour or until firm.
2) Preheat oven to 350 F.
3) Lightly coat hands with cooking spray (optional, but it will prevent sticking), shape the dough into 24 (1-inch) balls. Roll the balls in a 1/4 cup granulated sugar; place the balls 2 inches apart on baking sheets. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool for 2 minutes on pans. Remove cookies from pans and cool on wire racks.

Everyone Needs Cookies!

I made a batch of one of my favorite cookies last night. Everyone needs good, unhealthy, easy to bake homemade cookies once in a while, so I thought I would share the recipe with you. It is from From Amish and Mennonite Kitchens by Phyllis Pellman Good and Rachel Thomas Pellman. I've had this cookbook since I was in elementary school, and it shows - the book is broken into pieces at the recipes I've used the most. I think the reissue of it is spiral bound - a good thing, if you ask me. All cookbooks should be spiral bound! Now, on to the cookies:

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies

1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup shortening
1 cup peanut butter
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour (I used 1/2 cup wheat flour, 1 cup white flour this time)
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups rolled oats (quick is what the recipe calls for, but I only have old fashioned - they work)
1 cup chocolate morsels or raisins (be honest - who would prefer the raisins?)

• Cream sugars and shortening. Add eggs and peanut butter and beat well.
• Gradually add flour, salt, and baking soda. Add vanilla. Stir in oats and chocolate morsels.
• Drop by heaping teaspoons onto cookie sheets and bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes. Cool on a rack.