Thumbprint cookies

Thumbprint Cookies
30 cookies

Use an electric mixer to cream together until fluffy:
3/4 cups unsalted butter, softened (1.5 sticks)
2/3 cups sugar

Beat in just until incorporated:
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. lemon extract (optional)

Whisk together and add slowly to the butter mixture:
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

Refrigerate the dough for about 1 hour.

Roll the dough into 1" balls using your palms, then flatten them into fat disks.  Place about 2" apart on baking sheets lined with baking parchment or silicone mats (2 across x 4 down in a half sheet baking pan).

Use a finger to shape an indentation in each disk. A wide, shallow basin makes for the best ratio of jam to cookie.  Fill each with 1/2 tsp. of jam (about 1/3 cups jam total).

Bake 15 minutes at 350, until golden but not browned.  If baking two pans at once, rotate them from top to bottom halfway through.

Remove to wire rack to cool.

Springerle with Fiori di Sicilia

My husband's family has German roots, and makes traditional Springerle cookies every Christmas. We've collectively worked our way through several variations of the recipe: we started with his grandmother's, moved on to the Joy of Cooking, and then stumbled across this gem from King Arthur Flour.

The King Arthur version steers clear of the traditional anise flavor and instead uses a floral and citrus extract called Fiori di Sicilia. We didn't want to invest in a bottle of fancy extract just for one recipe, so I whipped up a close approximation from extracts we already had on hand. The rose water adds a nice floral note, but is optional.

Springerle with Fiori di Sicilia
makes 2-3 dozen cookies

Combine to create home-made Fiori di Sicilia:
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. orange extract
1/4 tsp. lemon extract
1/8 tsp. rose water

Beat together for 5-6 minutes, until the mixture falls in thick ribbons from the beater:
3 large eggs
3 cups (12 oz.) powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. lemon or orange zest
1/4 tsp. Fiori di Sicilia flavoring

Slowly add in 3 cups (12 oz.) of cake flour to form a stiff dough. (AP flour is an okay substitute, but results in a denser cookie.)

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, and allow it to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Flour your rolling surface and Springerle molds. Working with half the dough at a time, roll it out 1/4" thick. Press the mold firmly into the dough, then remove. Cut around the design and transfer the cookies to a greased baking sheet.

Allow the unbaked cookies to dry at room temperature, uncovered, for 24 hours. Turn them over once after 12 hours.

Bake at 250 for 35-40 minutes, until firm but not browned. Transfer them to a cooling rack.

Shopping list
3 large eggs
1 lemon or orange for zest

Check the pantry
3 cups powdered sugar
3 cups cake (or AP) flour
vanilla extract
orange extract
lemon extract
rose water

Pecan Pie

Pecan pie is a delicious Southern staple, and often makes an appearance at Thanksgiving.  However, most recipes for it are cloyingly, tooth-achingly sweet. This recipe actually has the proper ratio of pecan flavor to sugar! It comes to me via my friend Kathleen, who modified it slightly from the Farmhouse Cookbook by Susan Herrmann Loomis.

If you want to create a decorative pie, leave the pecans whole and arrange them in the pie shell in whatever pattern you desire. However, a pie made with whole pecans is harder to eat.  If you don't possess a food processor, you can easily buy crushed pecans and mix the pie filling by hand with a whisk.

Not-So-Sweet Pecan Pie

Ingredients
1.25 cups whole pecans
3 large eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup dark corn syrup (e.g. Karo brand)
1/4 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 pre-baked pie shell

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Briefly pulse 1.25 cups of whole pecans in a food processor to break them down slightly. Set aside.

Blend in a food processor until thoroughly combined: 
3 large eggs
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup dark corn syrup

And and blend until smooth:
1/4 cup sour cream
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt

Pour the pecans in an even layer in the pre-baked pie shell. Carefully pour the blended egg mixture over them, transfer the pie to a baking sheet, and place it in the bottom third of the oven. Bake the pie at 350 for ~35 minutes until the filling is set. Remove it from the oven and let it cool to room temperature on a wire rack before serving.

Raspberry Coulis

Theoretically, you can make this coulis with any berry as a base, but the raspberry version is so very, very good that I've never felt the need to stray.  Peach sorbet? Chocolate mousse? Cheesecake?  Lemon souffle? It works really well on all of them.

This makes a LOT of coulis, so it will make plenty for whatever dessert you plan to top, even if you're serving a small army.

Raspberry Coulis
makes 1.5 cups

Cook in a sauce pan over medium, for ~5 minutes:
12 oz. individually quick frozen raspberries
1/4 cup water
1 tbsp. Chambord raspberry liqueur (optional)
6 tbsp. sugar
1/8 tsp. salt

Once the raspberries have mostly broken down, pour the hot mixture into a Cuisinart or blender.  Add 2 tsp. of lemon juice, then puree briefly.

To remove the seeds, pour the coulis through a fine mesh strainer, working it back and forth with a silicone spatula.

Refrigerate covered for ~1 hour before serving.

Summer Berry Pie

Credit once again goes to Cook's Illustrated for this gem.

Because berries are very acidic, it's best to use non-reactive cookware like stainless steel or non-stick saucepans, silicon spatulas, and wooden spoons for this recipe.

Summer Berry Pie
one 9-inch pie, serves 6-8


Graham cracker crust

• 9 graham crackers, broken into rough pieces
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 5 tablespoons butter, melted and warm

Adjust your oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Melt 5 tbsp. butter in the microwave.  In a food processor, process 9 graham crackers until evenly fine, about 30 seconds.  (This should yield about 1 cup of crumbs.)  Add 2 tbsp. of granulated sugar and pulse to combine. Continue to pulse while adding the warm melted butter in steady stream. Pulse until the mixture resembles wet sand.

Transfer the crust mixture to a 9-inch glass pie plate.  Form the crust by pressing down and around with a 1/2-cup dry measuring cup.

Bake the crust at 325 until fragrant and beginning to brown, 15 to 18 minutes.  Transfer the plate to a wire rack and let it cool completely while you make the filling.

Pie filling

• 2 cups fresh raspberries (~9 oz.)
• 2 cups fresh blackberries (~11 oz.)
• 2 cups fresh blueberries (~10 oz.)
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 3 tbsp. cornstarch
• 1/8 tsp. table salt
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• 2 tsp. red currant or apple jelly

Combine all the berries in a large colander and rinse them gently, being careful not to bruise them.  Spread the washed berries on rimmed baking sheet lined with paper towels, and pat them dry.

In a food processor, puree 2.5 cups of the mixed berries for at least 1 minute, until smooth. To remove the seeds, strain the puree through a mesh strainer into a small nonreactive saucepan, scraping with a spatula to extract as much puree as possible.  This should yield 1.25 to 1.5 cups.  If not, keep scraping!

Whisk together in a small bowl:
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 tbsp. cornstarch
1/8 tsp. salt

Whisk this dry ingredient mixture into the puree.  Bring the puree to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly with a non-reactive spoon to avoid scorching the bottom.  When the mixture has thickened to the consistency of pudding, remove it from the heat and add 1 tsp. lemon juice.  Set it aside to cool slightly.

Place all the remaining whole berries into a medium bowl. Melt 2 tsp. red currant (or apple) jelly in second small saucepan over low heat.  Pour the melted jelly over the whole berries and toss gently to coat them.  (This increases their sweetness while giving them a beautiful glossy sheen.)

Pour the slightly cooled puree into the baked and cooled graham cracker pie shell, then add the whole fresh berries.  Loosely cover the pie with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for about 3 hours to set the puree.

Mardi Gras king cake

If anyone knows how to make a proper king cake for Mardi Gras, it's Southern Living! Their recipe has a sour cream base for the dough and cream cheese for the filling, which is critical for keeping the cake moist and gives it a nice tang.  The dough requires serious stirring power, especially if you use bread flour.  We burned out the motor on our small hand mixer one year trying to make it, so beware.

The filling is a plain base to which you can add many different flavors.  I recommend using extracts and liqueurs, and trying flavors such as amaretto, raspberry, or orange.  Since the dough recipe makes two cakes, you can divide the filling base in half and make two different fillings.  Get creative and have fun with this part - the recipe is very forgiving.

King Cake
makes 2 cakes; each yields 10-12 slices

Ingredients list
2 0.25-oz. envelopes active dry yeast
3 large eggs
1/4 cup milk
7 tbsp. butter
2 8-oz. packages cream cheese
16 oz. sour cream
6-6.5 cups bread (or AP) flour
1.5 cups granulated sugar
3 cups powdered sugar

2 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

2 tbsp. lemon juice
3-4 tsp. flavoring extracts or liqueurs of your choice

Dough (for two cakes)
Yeast prefers a temperature similar to the human body, so the liquids below should be about the same temperature as your hand. If it's too hot for you to leave your finger in, it will kill the yeast and your dough won't rise.

Combine and let stand at least 5 minutes:
2 0.25-oz. envelopes active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1 tbsp. granulated sugar

Melt in a small sauce pan on low:
16 oz. sour cream
1/3 cup granulated sugar
4 tbsp. butter
1 tsp. salt

Remove the sour cream mixture from the heat and let it cool down.

Beat at medium speed with a heavy-duty electric mixer until smooth:
yeast mixture
sour cream mixture
2 large eggs
2 cups bread flour (can substitute AP flour)

Reduce the mixer speed to low, and gradually add 4 to 4.5 cups more flour until a soft dough forms.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface.  Knead until it's smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Place it into a well-greased bowl, turning the dough ball to grease the top.  Cover the dough with a kitchen towel and let it rise in a warm place for 1 hour (or until the dough is doubled in size).

Cream cheese filling (for two cakes)
Beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth:
3/4 cup granulated sugar
16 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 large egg
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Divide the filling in half and flavor each as you see fit. It should require about 1.5 tsp. of extract or liqueur, bumped up to 2 tsp. for chocolate.

Punch down the risen dough, and divide it in half.   Roll each portion into a 22x12 inch rectangle. Spread the cream cheese filling evenly on each dough rectangle, leaving 1-inch borders.  Roll up each dough rectangle, jelly-roll fashion, starting at a long side.

Place one dough roll, seam side down, on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bring ends of roll together to form an oval ring, moistening and pinching edges together to seal. Fit a small bowl into the center of the circle to help it hold its shape.  Repeat with second dough roll.  Cover and let the cakes rise in a warm place for 20 to 30 minutes (or until doubled in bulk).

Bake at 375 for 14-16 minutes until golden. Cool cakes on pans on wire racks for about 10 minutes.

Glaze (for two cakes)
Stir together:
3 cups powdered sugar
3 tbsp. butter, melted
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

Stir in 2 tablespoons milk.  Add up to 2 more tablespoons, 1 teaspoon at a time, until the glaze is the right spreading consistency.

Drizzle glaze evenly over warm king cakes.  Sprinkle with colored sugars in purple, green, and yellow, alternating colors and forming bands. Let the cakes cool completely before serving.

Chewy chocolate chip cookies

Move over, Toll House: my husband wants his chocolate chip cookies to be chewy instead of crispy, and the recipe for that is Alton Brown's.  I've recorded the recipe as we made it, rather than replicating Alton's exactly.

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
2 dozen cookies

Melt 1 cup of salted butter in a 2-cup Pyrex measuring cup.

In a large bowl, combine and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes until smooth:
2 ounces granulated sugar
8 ounces light brown sugar
1 cup melted butter

Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl:
12 ounces bread flour
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda

Whisk together wet ingredients in a Pyrex measuring cup:
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1/8 cup 2% milk
1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract


Slowly pour in the wet ingredients into the butter/sugar mixture.  Beat for about 30 seconds until mixed.  Add the dry ingredients in batches, until completely incorporated.

Stir in 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips.

Refrigerate the dough for 1 hour.

Portion out eight 1.5 oz. cookies per baking sheet.  Cook at 350 for 12 minutes on the top oven rack.

Shopping list
2 large eggs
1/8 cup 2% milk
1 cup salted butter
12 ounces bread flour
2 ounces granulated sugar
8 ounces light brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract

Sour Cherry Pie

My husband's family is completely obsessed with sour cherries.  When we last visited, I scored their easy no-bake sour cherry pie recipe, and am recording it for posterity.  We don't often get fresh sour cherries here, so if your cherries are frozen, thaw them out and drain them before putting the filling together.  If they aren't drained, the pie filling will be too runny.

My mother-in-law uses Pillsbury Pet-Ritz deep dish frozen pie shells.  For this recipe, all you need to do is thaw one in the refrigerator - it doesn't need to be baked.


Sour Cherry Pie (no bake)

Let sit 10 minutes, then simmer 15 minutes:
4-5 cups sour cherries, pitted
1 cup granulated sugar
3 1/2 tbsp. cornstarch

Take off the heat and add:
1 tbsp. butter
1/4 tsp. almond extract
1 tsp. citric acid powder

Pour into a pre-made pie shell and chill.  ("How long?" I asked.  "I'm not sure.  We never make it more than a few hours.")

Lemon Bars

These are the most lemon-y of lemon bars.  They're very tart and not too sweet.

The recipe comes to me from CookingForEngineers.com (which includes such useful features as a Gantt chart), but was originally written up in Baking Illustrated.  I've made minor modifications, disposing of baking-specific ingredients that I don't typically buy like unsalted butter and whole milk.  Salted and 1% seem to work just fine.

Lemon Bars
makes one 9"x13" pan

Crust
Combine in food processor:
1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
2/3 c. powdered sugar
1/4 c. cornstarch
3/4 tsp. salt

Add and process until flour forms a coarse meal (~12 seconds):
3/4 c. butter, cut into 1” pieces

Lubricate a 9"x13” baking pan with butter or cooking spray.  Press the crust mixture into the pan, at a thickness of about 1/4 inch (a large measuring cup is helpful for shaping).  Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Bake crust at 350 for 20 minutes, until golden brown.

Filling
Make the filling while the crust is baking.

Whisk together:
4 large eggs
1 1/3 c. granulated sugar
3 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1/8 tsp. salt

Stir in:
1/3 c. milk
2/3 c. lemon juice
2 tsp. lemon zest

Pour filling into the still-hot crust.  Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, until the filling is firm to the touch.  Rest on the counter or in the fridge until it's cool enough to slice and eat.

Shopping list
4 large eggs
1/3 cup milk
2-3 whole lemons for zest & juice (need 2/3 cup)

Check the pantry
1.5 sticks of butter (12 tbsp.)
2 cups AP flour
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch