Tag: Martha Stewart

Martha Strikes Again!

Sadie2 Comments

That’s right, I own a few books.  Though most of them are presidential biographies, I have a few food/cook books.  I was browsing through the Martha Cookie Cookbook the other day, and I saw a recipe that I’ve been meaning to try: Banana Walnut Chocolate Chunk Cookies.

Banana Walnut Chocolate Chunk Cookies

From Martha 

Yields about 3 dozen (maybe less)

Ingredients

  • 1 cup AP flour
  • 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1 tsp coarse salt
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 3/4 cup unsalted butter (1.5 sticks)
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup mashed ripe banana (about 1)
  • 1 cup old fashioned oats
  • 8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chunks (or chips if you don’t have chunks)
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 375.
  2. Cream together butter and sugars.  Combine flours, salt, baking soda, and oats in separate bowl.
  3. Mix banana, egg, and vanilla into butter and sugar mixture. Then slowly add dry ingredients to wet.
  4. Fold in walnuts and chocolate chips.
  5. Use an ice cream scoop to portion dough out onto parchment lined cookie sheets.  Bake 12-14 minutes.  Remove and all to cool.

    I made two batches at once. It was a good decision.

“Surprise” Cookies!

Sadie1 Comment

The men folk in my family are way into the peanut butter and chocolate combination.  Don’t get me wrong, I love it too, but not like these guys.  My default favorite dessert flavors are more in the vanilla, strawberry, or apple directions.  But I digress…  Anyway, the last time one of my brothers got a year older, I decided to find a good chocolate and peanut butter cookie recipe to try out.  I found a good one from Martha, who else, and have a made it a few times since, because it’s just that good.  It’s a little extra effort because the “surprise” means that there’s a special filling inside the cookies.  But it’s worth it!  My brother can testify!

Chocolate Peanut Butter “Surprise” Cookies

slightly adapted from Martha

yields about 2 dozen

Ingredients

  • 2 cups AP flour
  • 1/2 cup cocoa powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp instant coffee or espresso powder
  • 1 stick unsalted butter (room temp)
  • 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1 1/4 cups light brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup peanut butter

Method

  1. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, dry coffee, and cocoa.  Set Aside.
  2. Use an electric mixer to cream together butter, shortening, white sugar, and 1 cup of the brown sugar. Mix until fluffy.  Add eggs and vanilla extract gradually and mix until light and fluffy.
  3. Add dry ingredients gradually to wet, then mix in the chocolate chips until combined.  Chill dough for at least 1 hour.
  4. Mix together peanut butter and 1/4 cup of brown sugar for filling.
  5. Preheat oven to 350.
  6. Spoon chocolate cookie dough onto parchment lined baking sheets 1 Tbs at a time.  Form dough into little cups and fill the cups with a small amount of the PB filling.  Cover up the cookies with more cookie dough and make sure to seal in the peanut butter so it doesn’t leak out.
  7. Bake for about 12 minutes.  Remove and allow to cool.

Cookies for Purim

Sadie2 Comments

I’m going to be honest with you.  I’m Jewish, and I’m not always thrilled with the ethnic and holiday food that comes with that territory(Exhibit A: Gefilte Fish).  And actually the Jewish side of my family spends more time worrying about important things like the Mets, and doesn’t spend much time recreating the classics in the kitchen.  Have you ever heard the joke:

What do Jewish women make best?

Reservations

My grandmother in a nut shell.  Perhaps that’s why I tend to be sort of a free agent when it comes to family ethnic food.  I grew up with a lot more Italian, and classic American food than the Eastern European/Israeli dishes of my ancestors.

I can probably count the Jewish food that I find eatable on one hand: latkes (duh), Challah bread, Matzah ball soup, Charoset, and Hamantaschen.

Hamantaschen is a cookie made for Purim, which was last week.  They are simple and fantastic.  They always remind me of pre-school at my temple when we dressed up in costumes for Purim, and ate hamantaschen like there was no tomorrow.  It’s similar to a mild, soft shortbread with jam.  Martha Stewart posted a recipe for it last week, so I thought I would get into the Purim spirit and give them a try.

Hamantaschen

Yields about 2 dozen(maybe less if you make them big), from Martha

Ingredients

  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup oil
  • 1/2 lemon juice and zest
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 2 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • fruit preserves for filling

Method

  1. Mix together eggs and sugar.
  2. Add oil, lemon zest and juice, and vanilla.
  3. Combine flour with baking powder and add gradually to wet mixture.
  4. Allow dough to chill for an hour or overnight.
  5. Preheat oven to 350.  Roll out dough and use about a 3 inch circle cookie cutter to cut the cookies.  Place the circles on parchment lined baking sheets.  Put a small amount of preserves in the middle of each circle.  Paint the perimeter of the circle with a little water. Fold three sides of the circle into the center to form a triangle with a view of the preserves in the middle.  Make sure the joints are joined.
  6. Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes.  Remove when slightly golden brown, allow to cool.  The preserves will be hot and bubbly when it comes out of the oven, you want to make sure the cookies set a little before you move them around too much.  Otherwise it’s a hot mess, literally. I used mixed berry preserves on half, and apricot preserves on the other half.

(I sent these to my grandparents, because I know my grandmother isn’t making them…)