Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

I just love that Victor is retired.

Little things like walking into the house after work and having the house smell like fresh-baked cookies just can't be beat.

Seriously can't be beat.

And it works on so many levels... the way the house smells, the fact that there's absolutely no mess, anywhere, the huge plate of inviting cookies just waiting for someone to start devouring them... It's a rough life I'm forced to live. But I'll do it.

Cookies really are fun - to make and to eat. While I haven't met too many I haven't liked, my preference for a drop cookie usually is a softer cookie. Not an underbaked cookie - but a naturally softer interior achieved by the perfect sugar/butter/egg/flour ratio.

These achieve this.

The recipe is pretty much the basic Better Homes and Garden's Peanut Butter Cookie recipe - from our tattered and worn BH&G Cook Book. He added the chocolate chips and pecans because we had them in the house.

When thinking about cookies, don't overlook the classics. Those old recipes usually used just a few quality ingredients that you probably already have in the house and always come out great.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup peanut butter
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup chopped pecans
  • Granulated sugar

In a large mixing bowl beat butter and peanut butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add the granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, and baking powder. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in the egg and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in any remaining flour, chocolate chips, and pecans. Cover and chill dough about 1 hour or until easy to handle.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll balls in additional granulated sugar to coat. Place balls 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Using the tines of a fork, flatten balls by making crisscross marks on top. Bake for 7 to 9 minutes or until bottoms are light brown. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.

Quick and easy - and sure to put a smile on your face!


Berry Cake in a Pie Plate

My original plan this weekend was to make a Bourbon Barrel Cake. I have to admit, that for a store-bought cake, these things are pretty good. On the other hand, there are more artificial ingredients, flavor and texture enhancers, and additives in it than I will normally go for. Hell - even the bourbon is an extract! Powdered milk, powdered eggs - whites and yolks and their accompanying stabilizers - all add to the chemical shitstorm.

There's a reason that your basic home cook can't replicate a store-bought or cake-mix cake - they don't have a chemistry degree or access to those commercial ingredients. And as scratch baking has slipped to the wayside, the cake mix flavor and texture has become the standard that one wants and then feels like a failure when they can't do it.

Loved the cake, knew I wasn't going to buy one, and then decided that making one this weekend was going to give me more cake than I needed - not wanted, needed. Let's face it, I could down half a cake without batting an eye. I love my desserts and really love boozy desserts.

I have an idea for making one, but I'm saving it for a crowd.

I didn't make that - yet - but we have to have our dessert, so... I decided on a Berry Cake. We had blackberries and raspberries in the 'fridge so off I went.

The recipe is a bit of a single layer right-side up upside-down cake, made in a pie plate. I think the concept originally came from Martha Stewart, but I didn't write it down, so I'm not positive. It seems like a Martha recipe, though!

Berry Cake

  • 6 tbsp butter
  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • pinch salt
  • 1 cup sugar plus more for top
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 12 oz mixed berries

Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C. Butter a 10-inch pie plate.

Mix flour, baking powder, and salt and set aside.

Mix butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in egg, milk, and vanilla.

Slowly add flour mixture and mix just until blended.

Place in buttered pie plate. Arrange berries on top of batter, pressing into batter. Sprinkle top with 2 tablespoons sugar.

Bake cake 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325°F/160°C and bake until cake is golden brown and firm to the touch, about 1 hour.

Cool and enjoy!

This really was a better match for the weekend - a nice crunch from the sugar on top, the cake was light, and the berries perfectly sweet.

And the Bourbon Barrel Cake is still a concept that's going to happen.

Reasonably soon.

 

 


Pumpkin Pie

I mentioned in the post that the Ricetta Maiorchino I made the other night was on the dry side. It was fine a few hours after coming out of the oven, but yesterday morning, it was Gobi Desert Dry.

It still had a good flavor, but it was seriously suck-the-moisture-out-of-your-mouth dry.

Being my mother's son, there was no way I was going to just throw it out - it was a dessert, after all! Time to get creative. I started thinking of what one can do with cake crumbs... when I worked at the Donut Center years ago, we ground up stale donuts for our bear claws and other danish pastries - but I wasn't about to make danish. Trifle, tiramisu, cobbler with a cake-crumb topping... more ambitious than I was feeling. As I was blankly staring into the cupboard, I saw a can of pumpkin - and a pie was born!

If you can make a crust out of cookie crumbs, you can make a crust out of cake crumbs, says I!

I took some of the cake and placed it in the food processor and when it was nice and crumbly, added some melted butter. Pressed it into the pie plate and added a basic pumpkin filling.

Into the oven.

It came out great! The crust held together and was solid but soft - a nice contrast to a traditional pie. And it had a great flavor.

My you-never-know-when-it's-going-to-hit frugality was a success. It's always fun to see when money is no object but $1.29 is too much to pay for something. I offer no explanations or excuses - it just is when it is.

And this is one of those times I'm glad it was.

 

 

 


Ricetta Maiorchino

Since the demise of the English version of La Cucina Italiana, I've had to make due with the Italian version via email. A couple of times a week I get an email with recipes and other food information - all in Italian.

If you've ever used Google Translate, you know how kludgy it can be. Translating recipes brings it to a whole new level. If you didn't have a basic understanding of cooking to begin with, you'd probably really be up a creek without a spatula.

But... I know my way around a kitchen and have a scale that I can use to measure out grams instead of cups or ounces. And I'm married to an Italian so certain things just come to me through osmosis.

Which brings us to tonight's ultime ricette - Maiorchino - which translates to "Majorcan." Majorca is certainly not Italian, but they do use lots of almonds, so I'm guessing that's where the name comes from. And while sitting here, I figured I might do a bit of research, and found a similar cake in Majorca called Coca de Cuarto - that just doesn't translate, right. But it does appear that it's at least based upon a Majorcan recipe.

All this for a piece of cake!

The La Cucina Italiana picture is what got me to look at the recipe in the first place:

Photo from La Cucina Italiana

Heck, ya look at that and immediately want to make it! So I did...

It was really easy - made a huge cake - and half of it went into the freezer because I know we'll never be able to eat it all before it goes stale.

Here's the Google-Translated recipe straight from the Google-Translated web page:

Ricetta Maiorchino

For the Majorcan recipe, mix the flour and granulated sugar with the eggs, the chopped almonds and a pinch of salt. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper and imburratela (butter it).

Roll out the dough in the baking pan and bake at 200 ° C for 25 '. Sfornate (remove from the oven) the Mallorcan, let cool, cut into slices and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

It's on the dry side, not too sweet, and the perfect after dinner - or afternoon snack.

Now... time for me to look up a few more ricette!


Lemon Coconut Cake

Nonna's Birthday Cake.

She no longer likes chocolate - go figure - but still really like coconut, so here we go!

Lemon Coconut Cake

  • 10 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1 cup shredded coconut
  • 1 tbsp lemon zest
  • 1 1/4 cups sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • 1 cup plain yogurt

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Butter and flour a 10" tube pan.

Mix the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda into a large bowl. Stir in the coconut and lemon zest.

Cream butter and 1 cup of the sugar until pale. Whisk in the eggs one at a time. Whisk in 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice.  Add half of the flour mixture and mix until incorporated. Add the yogurt and mix briefly on low speed until incorporated. Add the remaining flour mixture and mix on medium speed until the batter is smooth.

Scrape into the prepared pan and bake until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean, 55 to 65 minutes.

For glaze:

Combine 1/44 cup sugar with 1/4 cup water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and stir until the sugar dissolves. Boil one minute. Remove from heat and add the remaining 2 tablespoons lemon juice.

Place the cake pan on a rack. Poke all over with a skewer and pour syrup over.

Cool and serve.

This is a really simple and really tender cake. Have fun with it!


Walnut Cream Cake

Victor has been whining for years to Marie about a Walnut Cream Cake she used to make way back when. The original recipe came from Bon Appetit in Philadelphia - an upscale kitchenware store with a cafè upstairs. Marie worked there back in the day and got the recipe straight from them. She hasn't made it in years because once upon a time everyone was young and nobody cared about what they were eating.  Today, we're not as young - and at least pretend to be sensible. Sometimes. The cake is nothing but fat. A pound of butter, 8 egg yolks, cups of heavy cream... You get the picture. It is not a dieter's dessert. It's a cardiologist's nightmare - or delight, depending on your point of view.

But it is a dessert for a Social Security Birthday! And I had never had it, before.

Marie finally found the recipe and sent it off to me a few days ago. I made the cake Monday for tonight's celebration. OMFG! This may just be the most decadent dessert in the history of decadent desserts. It's almost indescribable.

Almost.

It is rich, it is buttery, the kirsch hits you gently - but it hits you. It's there. The drizzle of chocolate completes it. The whole thing just melts on your tongue.

As simple as simple can be. It takes a few steps, but nothing is difficult.

Walnut Cream Cake

1) Heat up 1 1/2 cups of heavy cream and 1 1/2 cups of milk. *

2) In a 2 or 3 qt saucepan, blend 8 egg yolks, 1/2 cup sugar, 2 tbsp flour, and 2 tbsp arrowroot.

3) Stir in 6 tbsp Kirsch.

4) Slowly add milk and cream mixture and heat on medium flame until it thickens. **

5) Toast 1 lb walnuts and grind to very fine.

6) Cream in Cuisinart till fluffy 1 lb unsalted butter.

7) Add 1 1/2 cups sugar and blend.

8) Blend in ground nuts.

9) Fold in pudding (after it has cooled.)

10) Pour into a lined cake pan.

* If you heat the cream and milk up to hot (not boiling) it will thicken faster.

** Don't let this come to a boil. It won't get real thick but it will thicken somewhat.

I used a basic 10" springform pan lined with plastic wrap. The fun thing about making something you've never made before with basic instructions and no pictures, is you get to do what you want with the finished product! Crushed walnuts on the side, and walnut halves on the top to make everything look pretty. It is a birthday cake, after all!

Victor had a vague memory about it being drizzled with a sauce, so I drizzled it with a warm fudge sauce.

Simple elegance.

Five of us ate less than a quarter of the cake. I'm going to portion this up and put it in the freezer - and pull out a slice when I'm feeling especially bad.

It's worth it.

 


Guinness, Whiskey, and Bailey's Cupcakes

I went into work this morning just as the snow was beginning to fall. 30 minutes after punching in, I was punching out - no need to hang around on a snow-day.

8:30 in the morning found me in the kitchen with a recipe for cupcakes that a coworker had mentioned - made with Guinness, Irish Whiskey, and Bailey's Irish Cream.

8:30 ayem - definitely time to break out the booze and start baking, right?!? Especially this booze - Readbreast is some seriously good Irish Whiskey. Seriously good. I've always liked my Jameson, but this really takes it up a couple of notches.

I got out all the necessary ingredients and realized I didn't have a bottle of Guinness! I did have a bottle of Sierra Nevada stout, however, so that had to suffice. I wasn't going to head out into the Blizzard of '17 for a bottle of beer when I had something at home that would work.

The recipe comes from the Browneyed Baker. It's her most-requested recipe, so I'm not going to reprint it, here. Head over there and grab the recipe. Suffice to say, it is worth making.

First thing is making the batter. Guinness, cocoa powder, and butter are all melted and mixed together. It's a thinner batter than many cake recipes you may be used to. I dripped it everywhere and made a mess filling the cupcake holders. Messes R Us.

After the cupcakes cool, you make a ganache with more chocolate and Irish Whiskey. I used the Readbreast, today, just because I wanted to show it off. I have Jameson's in the cabinet, as well - and next time I make them I'll use it.

Then it's cut a little hole in the cupcake and fill with the ganache.

 

And then top with the Bailey's Irish Cream frosting.

The recipe makes 2 dozen cupcakes - more or less. I got 21, today, but may have been a bit too generous with the first few... I did use a scoop, but I think the first ones were a bit fuller. No harm.

And what do those yummy cupcakes look like inside?!?

The cupcake is chocolatey, moist, and just a tad boozey. You taste the stout but it's not overpowering. It's nice. Different. The whiskey ganache is pure decadence. As in pure decadence. It is really rich and a little goes a long way. And the icing really is the icing on the cake. The Bailey's really comes through in it - all the frosting is is butter, powdered sugar, and the liqueur, so there's nothing to mask it.

I really do suggest you stop what you're doing and head right over to Browneyed Baker and make a batch, today!

 


Christmas Eggnog Cake

It's a really quiet Christmas Day around here. Almost too quiet. Both of us are used to loud, raucous family gatherings, so it's a bit strange to be home in a relatively quiet house. Nonna just isn't up to traveling to North Jersey anymore - she got carsick the last two times she went, so I don't see any more trips north, for a while. We miss the fun, but it is what it is...

So with a mere three in the house, there's lots of time to do things. Like bake a cake. And what to do when you have a quart of eggnog in the 'fridge? Why... make an Eggnog Cake, of course!

I was first going to make my mom's Eggnog Pie, but changed my mind on the way to the kitchen. I do that often...

A quick Google Search brought up a score of the exact same recipe, so I went for it.


Eggnog Cake

All Recipes.com

Ingredients

Cake:

  • 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
  • 1 1/4 cups white sugar
  • 3 eggs, room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup prepared eggnog (or see notes for recipe)
  • 2 tablespoons bourbon whiskey

Frosting:

  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 cups prepared eggnog (or see notes for recipe)
  • 1 cup butter, room temperature
  • 1 1/2 cups white sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon rum-flavored extract
  • 1/8 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped toasted pecans (optional)

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.
  2. Beat 1/2 cup butter and 1 1/4 cups sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Mixture should be noticeably lighter in color. Add eggs, one at a time, allowing each egg to blend into butter mixture before adding the next. Stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1/4 teaspoon lemon peel, mixing well.
  3. Combine 2 cups flour, baking powder, and 1 teaspoon salt in a bowl. Pour flour mixture into the batter alternately with 1 cup eggnog, mixing until just incorporated. Stir in bourbon. Divide batter evenly between prepared pans.
  4. Bake in preheated oven until cake springs back when touched lightly with a fingertip or a toothpick inserted in the centers comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes (test both cake layers). Cool in pans for 10 minutes before inverting on a wire rack to cool completely.
  5. To make frosting, combine 1/4 cup flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a saucepan. Gradually whisk in 1 1/2 cups eggnog, whisking until smooth.
  6. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently. When mixture boils, cook for 2 minutes, whisking constantly, until thickened. Remove from heat and let cool completely to room temperature.
  7. Beat 1 cup butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar in a bowl until light and fluffy. Mix in cooled eggnog mixture, 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, rum extract, and 1/8 teaspoon grated lemon peel. Beat on high speed until mixture is fully incorporated and frosting is fluffy.
  8. Spread cake with plain frosting between cake layers, over the top and on the sides. Coat the sides with toasted pecans, pressing the nuts onto sides in small handfuls. Refrigerate until serving time.

The frosting is interesting - you cook a batter of sorts with eggnog and flour, let it cool, and then whip it in to butter and granulated sugar. It's very soft and fluffy - easy to work - and definitely needs to get into a refrigerator to set up.  Both the cake batter and the icing tasted great on their own.

And it was a hit! We may have to add this onto the Holiday Baking List!


Scandinavian Apple Cake

Halloween has certainly changed since the days of my youth. As a little kid, we'd hit the neighborhood with our brown bags. Later, we transitioned to pillow cases. There were 50 houses per block - 25 on each side - and the majority of them handed out something. We scored big-time. We needed to score big because we had to give up half of our haul for the kids at the local orphanage. Yeah... the folks were adamant that we share our good fortune with those who were not as fortunate. And we couldn't just give up the stuff we didn't like - we had to part with some of those coveted Hershey bars, too. And that was before San Francisco was liberal!

I guess at another place in time I would be at a party bobbing for apples, tonight. Instead, I made an apple cake. I have a vague memory of bobbing for apples once, somewhere, but that's all there is - a vague memory. The only part I do remember is that it wasn't easy.

Baking a cake is infinitely simpler.

And the porch light is out. We do NOT want Trick-or-Treaters ringing the bell, driving Blanche crazy, and waking Nonna. We put a basket of candy and glo-sticks on the front walk with a nice note asking folks to not ring the bell.

If someone is dumb enough to do it, Blanche may just have to go out and explain the errors of their actions.

Our little girl is not vicious but she is protective. Seeing a bunch of people in strange outfits at her door is not going to make her all warm and fuzzy.

halloween

So we have a blissfully quiet house and cake for dessert. Life is extremely good.

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The recipe comes from my mom's cook book. I have no idea what makes this Scandinavian, but it's really good!

scandinavian-apple-cake

Really good.

 

 


Oatmeal Cookies

Last night Victor mentioned that we hadn't had any cookies in a while. Of course he was right. We hadn't. No particular reason... neither of us had made any. We tossed around a few ideas from double chocolate to pistachio biscotti - Victor stated the pistachio biscotti were Christmas cookies - but didn't decide on anything.

This morning I went looking around at old recipes and found one I haven't made in a long, long time. I have a file folder of clipped recipes from who knows where that one day I have to deal with. I guess. It sits on a shelf in the office and I just add to it when I see something that looks interesting.

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I keep adding to it, not really making anything. But I will. I'm sure of it. Otherwise there would be no reason to keep collecting them, would there?

There's no source for the recipe. Something like where it came from would only make sense - and lord knows I can't do that. That being said, a large amount of the recipes came from Bon Appetit, and a few other food magazines heading back 25 or so years. I've gone through and culled a few times, but at any given moment there are probably 300 recipes that I'm holding on to...

I'm glad I held on to this one! These are a soft cookie - not a crisp one. I think I like them better than the crunchy variety - and Victor said they were the best cookie I have ever made, so who am I to argue?

Oatmeal Cookies

  • 1 cup butter
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 tbsp vanilla
  • 2 tbsp molasses
  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 3 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 3 cups rolled oats
  • 1 cup raisins
  • 1 cup walnuts

Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C.

Cream butter and sugars together until light - about 2 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time and mix well. Add vanilla and molasses and mix well.

Blend together flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon. Mix into butter and eggs. Blend in walnuts and raisins.

Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop 2 tbsp balls onto pans about 2" apart. Don't flatten.

Bake about 12 minutes, flipping pans halfway through.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

10-23-16-oatmeal-cookies-1

I didn't have any raisins - what a shock - but I did have some whole dried cranberries, so they went in. The molasses and all of the vanilla really make these. Don't skimp.

These should keep us going for a few days...

 


Kentucky Bourbon Cake

Victor headed off to Chicago on Monday and I headed off to the grocery store. I had noticed we were low on wine and thought a stop to the state store was in order. We're not big drinkers but we do use a bit of alcohol in our cooking - from wine in sauces to rum in cakes and cookies. Liquor really can add some interesting flavors and nuances in a dish.

I walked in and noticed a "Made in Pennsylvania" display next to the Italian wines I usually seek out. I started past it when I noticed a potato vodka. Victor is a Chopin Vodka drinker when he's of a mind, so I grabbed a bottle. What the heck. Then I noticed a Rye. I had recently seen a recipe calling for a rye whiskey - no idea what it was, right now - but I grabbed a bottle, because, well... I might remember what the recipe was... We do pride ourselves on being able to make just about anything at a moment's notice, after all.

I picked up a few bottles of wine and as I was walking down the aisle, I noticed several single malt Irish whiskies. I had seen a single malt at the Manchester airport and came really close to buying it - and then didn't. I couldn't quite justify the price. It's not like we're whisky connoisseurs and have tastings at the house after a round of golf at the club. But there I was staring at another bottle. I picked it up. Put it down. Picked it up. Put it down. Picked it up, again. Third time you pick something up you have to buy it. It's a rule. Into the cart it went.

And then, because I now needed a less-expensive alternative if I was going to make something, I grabbed a bottle of Jim Beam.

A lot of booze for someone who really doesn't drink.

09-15-16-whiskey-cake-3

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Fsst-Forward to Thursday. Victor's coming home. That means a nice dinner and dessert.

The nice dinner became chicken soup and a loaf of bread because he caught a nasty cold. But dessert stayed as planned - a Kentucky Bourbon Cake. I had Kentucky Bourbon. Had to use it.

I have a folder on the computer with hundreds - many hundreds - of recipes I've collected over time.

09-15-16-recipes

I just get them there and every now and again I get them into their correct sub-folder. Recipes I actually want to make one of these days I keep un-filed. And, lo and behold, there was the bourbon cake recipe!

As with many recipes in this folder, I don't quite remember where it came from. The folder itself is a remnant of a cook book my old roommate Steve and I were going to write back in the '70s. It was called the Scraped off the Wall Cook Book and would have been a Best Seller, for sure, if we had every stopped getting high long enough to actually concentrate on it. I had transcribed all the recipes and had them on my computer when it crashed back in the early '90s and I lost them all. I've tried recreating over the years but I just don't have it in me. Maybe when I finally retire.

But I digress...

The file is dated 11-18-2003 so it's probably something I found for Thanksgiving that year and never made.

The only change I made was I used 2 tbsp of buttermilk powder and a cup of whole milk when making it instead of the cup of buttermilk. I pretty much never have buttermilk on hand, so buttermilk powder is good to have around.

Kentucky Bourbon Cake

  • 3 cups cake flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 cup butter
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 1/3 cup bourbon

For the Bourbon Butter Glaze:

  • 1 stick butter
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup bourbon

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Butter and flour a 10-cup bundt pan or tube cake pan.

Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

Cream butter and sugars together until very light and fluffy - about 5 minutes.

Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

Mix bourbon with buttermilk.

Add dry ingredients alternating with the buttermilk and bourbon mixture in 3 additions - starting and ending with the dry. Mix well but don't overmix.

Spread evenly into prepared pan and bake until cake is golden brown and a pick in the center comes out clean - 45 to 55 minutes.

Remove from oven and place on rack.

Make glaze.

Place butter, sugar, and bourbon in a small sauce pan. Bring to a boil and stir until everything is syrupy.

With hot cake in pan, poke holes all over with a skewer. Slowly pour about half of the syrup over the cake, stopping to  make sure it's getting absorbed. For bundt cake: Cool in the pan about 20 minutes and then place on cake dish and brush with remaining glaze. For tube pan: Flip out of pan onto another pan or plate and brush glaze over the bottom of the cake. Let dry about 20 minutes and then flip onto a serving plate and brush the last bit of sauce over the top.

Sprinkle with demerara sugar.

It really came out great!

The cake has a great texture thanks to the buttermilk and cake flour and a nice crunch on the top thanks to the demerara sugar. A really nice full bourbon flavor without being overpoweringly alcoholic. I probably wouldn't serve it to a 12-Stepper, but your maiden aunt would love it.

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This would definitely make a nice holiday gathering treat!

Thanksgiving is coming up. Maybe it will make the cut, this time - a mere 13 years later...

 


Chocolate Cookies

It's a gorgeous day out there. Hermine didn't pack the punch they were expecting and we haves sunshine and blue skies with a gentle breeze in the air... Perfect weather for baking chocolate cookies.

Actually, any weather is perfect for baking cookies, but, you know what I mean. The windows are open and the scent of baking cookies is wafting throughout the neighborhood. It's a grand day, indeed!

After a crazy couple of weeks, we're hunkered down, this weekend. Bad TV, frying peppers, baking bread, and picking more tomatoes are pretty much the extent of our weekend activities. Gloriously quiet.

We have a whole week of nothing and then Victor has to take off for business - I get to stay home and Nonna-Sit - and the following week we fly off to San Francisco for my nephew's wedding. That is going to be a blast and a half! I have the most fun, wild, and crazy family - we definitely know how to do family gatherings. Yes, it's going to be fun.

But back to the present...

Cookies. Chocolate cookies. Also fun, but in a different way. These are pretty much a go-to recipe. They're easy to make and you can add just about anything to them. The basic is three cups of chips, nuts, or any combination. Today, I chopped up a 500gr. chocolate bar with almonds and added a half-bag of white chocolate chips. Add nuts, raisins, or whatever happens to be sitting around in your cupboard.

And have fun!

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Oh - and here's a tip if you only have Dutch processed cocoa - add 1/4 teaspoon of white vinegar to the dough to add the acidity needed for the Dutch processed cocoa to work.

Chocolate Cookies

  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1/2 cup cocoa powder (add 1/4 tsp white vinegar with Vanilla if using Dutch process)
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 sticks butter, softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 3 cups assorted nuts, chips, chunks, and/or raisins

Preheat oven to 350°.

Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Beat together butter and sugars until light and fluffy and beat in egg and vanilla until combined well. Mix in flour mixture until just combined and stir in chips.

Drop dough by tablespoons about 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets and bake about 12 minutes.

Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

Cool as long as you can, and then eat!