Coffee cake - a little square of comfort

I bake for lots of reasons, but one of them is to give thank-you gifts. My Grandma is generally the most frequent recipient of such things, as she is often the one I find myself needing to thank. I've gotten in the habit of baking for her whenever she dog-sits, if she patiently and selflessly hangs on the phone allowing to me to vent about the day, or at times because she's coming over for lunch. It also helps that baking is my cure-all. I bake when I'm sad, when I'm happy and when I'm procrastinating - three states I fluctuate between. This week, just back from a trip to Israel, I found myself feeling like I was on a merry-go-round of all three emotions. I was sad to leave my little cousin, happy to be back in my own home, and definitely procrastinating from facing a few big decisions ahead of me. Maybe I just wanted a reason to bake, so I found one  - a coffee cake for a belated Mother's Day. I quickly planned an impromptu lunch date.

My Grams is a serious connoisseur of all types of coffee cakes, though she does not discriminate between them. She loves them in any form, so I decided this would be the perfect thing to surprise her with. I pulled down the first cookbook that really changed the way I thought about cooking, The San Francisco Chronicle Cookbook. I devoured this book, and even if I haven't actually cooked all the recipes in it, I still know what's in there when I'm looking for an idea. After finding an open container of buttermilk in my fridge, I recalled there was a simple recipe in my old reliable that I had never tried. It wasn't one with a crumb topping, like I had in mind, but it was the perfect fix for it's recipient. It's a little different than ones I've had (maybe West Coast coffee cake is different than East Coast?), but really moist and all the cinnamon and nuts make it undeniably a coffee cake, but it stops short from turning into a spice cake. As I waited for Ma to drive from Queens to Brooklyn without getting on the highway (double the time, but twice as safe for Sunday drivers), I popped the cake in the oven. As it baked it infused the kitchen with a smell that reminded me that the farther I roam, the sweeter it is to come home.

Cafe Beaujolais Coffee Cake

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup oil (your choice, just not olive oil)
• 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 egg
• 1 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease your baking pan (8x8 or 9x9).

Combine the flour, salt, 1 teaspoon of the cinnamon, ginger, sugars and oil in a bowl. Mix well. Set aside 3/4 cup of the mixture for a topping. Add the nuts and remaining cinnamon to this bowl.

To the bowl with the cake base, add the baking soda, baking powder, egg, and buttermilk. Stir to combine. Pour the batter into your pan. Sprinkle the flour-but topping evenly across the top.

Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a tester in the center comes out clean. This cake is great served warm. 

Pink grapefruit to keep your cheeks rosy

It's that time of year when an extra dose of Vitamin C is needed. Flu epidemics, coughing, sneezing people on crowded subways, and bleak weather are just some of the facts of life during February in New York City. That, and the beautiful yellow-green undertone in my face. I need sunny things, bright colors, and bracing flavors but not another roasted root vegetable. This is why I crave citrus at this time of year. Citrus in the form of food. A glass of OJ doesn't cut it. I want citrus salads, citrus desserts and most recently citrus-flavored cocktails. When I was a kid, one of my Floridian great-aunts used to send up a package of pink grapefruits every winter. I didn't appreciate it at the time, thinking then that grapefruits were too sour to be edible, but the thought of a package of grapefruit arriving at my door now seems like the best mail you could find, unless of course that package also included a plane ticket to somewhere warm. To hold me over another month or two,  cooking food that evokes warm weather (tacos anyone?) and eating bold flavors (acidic, spicy, pickled to name a few)  is the only thing I can do to keep my taste buds from sinking into hibernation for good. One easy baked good that I make fairly regularly when my Grandma comes for lunch is a simple yogurt cake (aka Gâteau au yaourt that I found on Foodbeam's original blog ages ago) but doused with pink grapefruit juice and flecked with grapefruit zest. You can use any citrus you like, but pink grapefruit is unexpected, and sweet, and tart at the same time. It also smells divine. Before you serve it, pinch your cheeks for an added glow of health. Grandma-ma will approve, even if she tells you, you need a haircut.

Pink Grapefruit Cake From Foodbeam.com 1/2 cup 2% or full-fat yogurt (I use Fage) 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder pinch of salt 1 1/8 cup sugar 3/8 cup vegetable oil (1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons) 3 eggs Zest and juice of 1 ripe Pink Grapefruit

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Prep an 8-9 inch pan with parchment (can use a bundt pan but cake won't be that high). Mix yogurt through sugar in a bowl. Mix in oil, eggs and zest until thoroughly incorporated. Pour mixture into prepared pan. Bake cake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Flip the cake out of the pan onto a platter and drench with reserved grapefruit juice. (The cake will be very moist, and continue to soak up juice as it cools).

Green tea madeleines and the power of sweets

Last Saturday's Bakesale for Japan was a huge success. It took place in cities around the country and together we raised a lot of money. A lot. Like $124,000 lot. I have always believed in the power of sugary goods.

This is just a quick update to let you know what a success this sale was. Our NYC organizers (Lillian and Celia) did an amazing job, and nationally this sale accomplished what it set out to do, raise some serious money to help with disaster relief efforts in Japan. NYC raised $4644 dollars alone. Not too shabby. Too bad NYC has banned bake sales in public schools, especially when they can really be a great way to raise money and get kids and parents into the kitchen. I'm sharing the recipe for these Green Tea Madeleines, because they're my new favorite madeleine flavor. They're pretty much the same recipe as the Strawberry Madeleines I made last year for Mother's Day, but using matcha powder instead of strawberry jam. I prefer the flavor of the green tea ones a little better, and they're perfect for people who don't like very sweet baked goods. Now all I need is an ice cream maker to put the rest of my matcha powder to good use...

Green Tea Madeleines

• 2 eggs
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon - 1 1/2 teaspoons matcha powder
• pinch of salt
• 1 cup of all-purpose flour
• 10 tablespoons of unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter and flour madeleine pans well.

Melt butter and set aside to cool. Beat eggs and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer till blended. Beat in vanilla, 1 teaspoon matcha powder, and salt. Add additional half teaspoon of matcha till batter is desired color. Add flour and beat until just blended.

Gradually add cooled melted butter to mixture, beating until just blended.

Spoon one tablespoon (or teaspoon if making mini-sized) of batter into each cake shell. Bake until puffed and edges are lightly golden, about 12-15 minutes (4-5 minutes for mini-pan). Cool in pan for 5 minutes, then remove from the pan and finishing cooling on a wire rack.

Valentine's day - Red velvet cupcakes

Valentine's day came and went once more without that fancy box of chocolates. I'm not complaining. It maybe worth noting I like chocolate more than anyone else I know, and somehow the only time I've ever received chocolates on Valentine's Day, I had to specifically request them. I think the words were, "you better not come home without a box of chocolates this year". I could be bitter, but I'm not. Instead, I've found the next best solution. I bake whatever I think feels festive to celebrate the holiday, and than go buy myself my own chocolates post-Valentine's Day for half-off.

I understand that men who don't eat chocolate may not know where to go. I do, really. I'm older and wiser now, and have accepted that some men just can't manage to google "top chocolate stores in nyc" to find an answer in less than 30 seconds. It would be unrealistic to expect them to try and research it. I realized I was setting myself up for disappointment because I assumed guys understand that most women wouldn't walk into a chocolate store and buy themselves a box of truffles without a reason, at least from March through January. It seems guys have been pre-programmed to think that flowers from the corner store is sufficient. And, it is. Especially, if you agree that women of NYC need to lower their (my) expectations, as the writer of this Village Voice article suggests to find love. Truthfully, I'm happy that I get anything at all, because it is the thought that counts. That, and it beats the year I got stood up by another single girlfriend.

Actually this year, I spent a very fulfilling night on Valentine's Eve, and the next morning (get your mind out of the gutter), baking my festive treat of choice, red velvet cupcakes. It's the kind of sweet you need a reason to bake, and this seemed like the holiday for something red and decadent. I have to admit that watching the batter swirl around in the mixer till it turns a deep red is almost more fun that eating it. Every time I've made a batch, the color seems so vibrant and bright, but then it turns a bit more muted once baked. Next time, I'm really going to up the red so that the color of the finished product is every bit as bright as the pre-baked version. I'm aiming for a color similar to the one Pinch My Salt's version achieves with a whopping two bottles of red food coloring! I used a tablespoon which seems very skimpy in comparison.

A note about authenticity - there are many schools of thought on what makes a true red velvet cake, and being Southern in origin, of course there are some strong opinions on what is needed in the recipe. In case you missed it, Nicole Taylor, who's the fabulous host of Hot Grease on Heritage Radio Network, recently discussed the key ingredients to a true Southern red velvet. (The essentials are highlighted in this article by Brooklyn Food activist Adriana Velez). I wish I had found it before I set out to make mine this year. Although, this version is close enough to authentic to please, but not so exact that a good Southern cook wouldn't find room for improvement. Come to think of it, that's the way I like my Valentine's to be, thoughtful and sweet, but not so perfect that it ruins the excitement for the coming year. I'll always hope maybe next year there will be chocolate.

Red Velvet Cupcakes Cream cheese frosting is essential on these.

1 3/4 cup flour 2 1/4 teaspoon baking powder pinch of salt 1/8 cup cocoa powder 1 1/2 cup sugar 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened 2 eggs 1 tablespoon red food coloring (add more for a brighter color) 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 cup buttermilk 1 teaspoon white vinegar 1/4 teaspoon baking soda Cream cheese frosting to top (your favorite recipe)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line muffin tins with paper liners (makes approx. 18 cupcakes).

Sift flour, baking powder, pinch of salt and cocoa. Set aside.

Using an electric mixer or stand mixer, beat sugar and butter until smooth. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then food coloring, then vanilla. Mix in dry ingredients in 3 batches, alternating with 2/3 cup buttermilk in 2 additions.

Make a well in center, pour remaining 1/3 cup buttermilk, vinegar and baking soda in center. When you see little bubbles, stir into the batter.

Pour batter into muffin tins and bake about 20 minutes. Cool 10 minutes and then transfer to a rack to cool completely before frosting.

Smoky sweet chipotle cornbread

Today is Superbowl Sunday, and while I confess to only recently accepting that Sundays are were for football watching, I've always been into the Superbowl, for what else? The food. I've progressed (just a little) since college when it was dips and Chex mix that I offered up. The last few years, I've been fortunate enough to watch at friends' houses where their tvs are bigger than mine, and their homemade pizzas or 5 gallon pots of chili are too good to compete with. So, that's why I decided to share with you my recipe for not chili, but cornbread, the perfect partner to chili. Despite this, it is often the overlooked dried-out bore that most people will happily pass over. This version is different, and best of all you'll actually want to eat the leftovers the next morning when you wake up feeling sick from too much wings and beer from the night before.

If you can, I'd suggest trying to find some coarse-ground cornmeal at the greenmarkets. Around the NYC area, there are quite a few farms reviving the local grains options. Here's a list of regulars at the greenmarkets, (check for the Cayuga brand too). Of course, a high-quality supermarket brand will work as well, just look for one that is stone-ground, which means that some of the hull and germ has been left in, which equals better nutritional value and flavor.

This cornbread is moist without being heavy thanks to the use of buttermilk, and is sweet but not cloyingly so. The sweetness really works nicely with the smoky flavor that a small amount of chipotles (the chipotles in adobo kind) diced up will add. You can of course, use jalapenos if you'd prefer. Or, do as I did, and make a double-batch, one half with chipotles, one half with jalapenos. I guarantee the leftovers will not go to waste, and that's the only thing I'll be waging a bet on tonight.

Smoky Sweet Chipotle Cornbread        

Adapted from Allrecipes.com. This recipe would work great as mini-muffins if you'd rather serve them that way. Just drop the baking time to 15-20 minutes. Serve any leftovers warm with a drizzle of honey for breakfast (or dessert). It also can be easily doubled for a crowd.

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 chipotles in adobo, diced finely

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease your 8 inch baking pan (or 13x9x2 inch pan, if doubled), or muffin tins.

Melt the butter in the microwave, or in a small pot. While butter is melting, sift together the cornmeal, flour and salt. Set aside.

Place sugar in a large mixing bowl and pour in melted butter and stir together. Add eggs quickly mixing till smooth. Measure out buttermilk and mix baking soda into it before adding it to the batter. Add to the bowl and stir. Add sifted flour mixture to batter and fold in till completely incorporated. Add chopped chipotles and mix till distributed throughout.

Pour batter into prepared baking pan and bake about 30 minutes. Set on a rack to cool before cutting into squares.

Spekkoek means "spice cake you should eat this holiday" in Dutch

As you leave for your holiday vacations, and make a mental list of all the goodies you might bake for a big Christmas feast, or to give out to friends and neighbors, I suggest you make room for spice cake on your list. It's better than fruitcake, it's less work than cookies, and it smells more festive than a pine-tree scented candle that someone re-gifted to you. You can even get fancy with it and bake it in lots of different layers, if you are so inclined, as the original version of this Dutch by way of Indonesia cake is sometimes made. You can make mini-ones for easy gifting, or pour the whole batter into a bundt pan, as I did, and than go do something else, like watch It's a Wonderful Life for the twentieth time.

Traditionally baked in many, many, layers it is often visually impressive. Click here and here for examples of how cool it can look if you want to spend the time. But, the thousand layer presentation is not my reason for posting this cake for you, it's simply the ease of it compared to the countless hours that you can spend decorating holiday cookies. If you're feelings time-pressured, or you happen to be short decorating elves, as I am, this might be a good alternative to the usual cookie sweatshop that I turned my kitchen into last year. Don't get me wrong, I loooove holiday cookie baking, and as I write this I'm still considering how many types I will eventually end of baking. But, this year, for my initial baking tasks, I went with a cake, after a conversation with a friend about what a time-savor it could be. Most importantly, spice cake belongs at the holidays. It's got that holiday smell of cinnamon and nutmeg, and it's not too too sweet for those scrooge types who don't appreciate sweets. I found this recipe a few years back on Leite's Culinaria and have made it once a year every year since because everyone who tastes it seems to approve heartily. It has a perfect light texture, and really could be made in a tube pan, a more decorative bundt pan, or mini loaf pans. I hope you give it a try, and I hope you have a wonderful holiday filled with all matters of sweet things.

Spekkoek Adapted from James Oseland, Cradle of Flavor. If you choose to make it in mini-loaf pans, I'd adjust the baking time to 30-40 minutes depending on your oven, checking it at the 30 minute mark.

2 cups sifted cake flour (or 2 cups minus 4 Tbsp of all-purpose flour) 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon grated nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves or allspice (depending on your taste preferences) 4 teaspoons cinnamon Pinch of salt 1 1/2 cup butter (at room temperature) 1 2/3 cup sugar 4 eggs (room temperature) 3 egg yolks 2 teaspoons vanilla Powdered sugar to decorate

Take your butter and eggs out and let them come to room temperature. Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and grease and flour a bundt pan (unless you have a non-stick one).

Sift the flour, baking powder, spices (nutmeg - cinnamon) and salt. Sift twice.

With an electric mixer cream the butter until very soft, then slowly add sugar. Beat on high for 5 minutes until mixture is pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time and beat for another 2 minutes. Add flour mixture in 3 parts beating on low until well incorporated. Add eggs yolks and vanilla. Mix until combined.

Pour cake into bundt pan and bake for 45 minutes to an hour. To make sure it's done, test to make sure toothpick comes out clean from thick part of the cake.

Let cake cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes before flipping out of the pan onto a plate. Let cool completely and then dust the top with powdered sugar.

Halloween treats - peanut butter chocolate cookies

As a kid with a serious sweet tooth, spilling out candy I scored from my plastic jack-o-lantern pail, after trick or treating rank up there with some of my best childhood memories. The vision of digging through the treats I had been given, separating them into piles of good, better, and best candy (as well as wrapped and unwrapped for those of us that remember the razor blade scare) are crystal clear. For some reason, mini Reese's peanut butter cups is synonymous with those Halloween memories, always being a kind of candy that I was psyched to find, not to mention for that great vampire commercial they played around Halloween that I could never get out of my mind. I started thinking about treats to make for Halloween this year, and decided I would try to recreate a peanut butter cup in a cookie.

Truth be told, I don't mind peanut butter cookies, but I don't really love them either. Not the way some people do. I have made them in the past, but I really only love peanut butter when it's mixed with something else - jam, bananas, and of course chocolate. This cookie was a no brain-er. I started thinking that all candy bars, should have a cookie counterpart. The dough for this cookie, came from my best peanut butter cookie recipe, which I found in the Home Restaurant cookbook. It's basically one of the best American comfort foods cookbooks I have. These cookies were meant to be a drop cookie, meaning take spoonfuls of the dough and drop it onto the cookie sheet, like you do with chocolate chip cookies. Since I had decided to try and cut these little babies out into their candy counterpart's shape, I had to chill the dough for a bit first, in order to be able to roll it out. This dough is soft and a bit sticky. I found that 30 minutes in the fridge was not enough, but 15 minutes in the freezer after that helped. I also strongly suggest rolling it out between pieces of cling wrap, to minimize the sticky problem too (not to mention, minimizing clean up). They baked up thin and crisp. Exactly the way I wanted them. If you want them a bit denser or softer, I would just not roll them too thin before cutting. Unfortunately, their edges weren't as sharp after baking. Also, unfortunately I over baked a batch, as you can see below, while I was on twitter wishing everyone a happy Halloween. Yes, I am dressed as a big dork this year, thanks for noticing. After letting them cool, and taking a test cookie, or three, it's time to coat with chocolate. It's your call really, if you want to dip them and completely coat them with the chocolate, or just smear the top with it. Either way, they have to go into the refrigerator afterwards to help the chocolate dry a bit. The mini-sized cookies were my favorite, completely addictive as one-bite cookies. The situation quickly became a throw-back to those days when as a kid you'd lose count of all those miniature candies you'd eaten. They just go so fast. Good thing there's no one here to tell me to slow down before I get a stomach ache.

Peanut butter chocolate cookies Adapted from the Home Restaurant Cookbook.

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon sea salt 1 stick (8 tablespoons) of unsalted butter 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 brown sugar 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter 1 egg 1 tablespoon vanilla 1 1lb. semisweet chocolate, melted

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Mix the flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.

With an electric mixer, cream butter with the two sugars, and the peanut butter for 3 minutes. Add the egg and the vanilla, beating for another minute.

Slowly add the flour mixture on low speed, and beat until all is incorporated. If dough seems to be clumping. Mix the rest by hand till all the flour is incorporated. Flatten dough into a disk and wrap with plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour, or 30 minutes plus another 30 minutes in the freezer.

Roll out dough between two sheets of plastic wrap until 1/4 of an inch thick. Cut out shapes and bake for about 9-11 minutes, or until golden brown around edges.

Cool cookies on a rack, and once they are ready dip or spear top with melted chocolate.

Carrot to the cake and my first guest post

I know some people who know some people who write a slamming blog filled with cultural news, cartoons, political discussion, the goings on around Miami, and so much more. I recently contributed a food post, for the best carrot cake recipe I've ever tried. Head over to The Heat Lightning to check out the recipe, hysterical news on The Jersey Shore in Miami, and how I really feel about cupcakes.

Best Desserts - A Benefit for The LAMP with some fabulous food bloggers and yours truly

I'm baking again, for another great cause. This time it'll be part of a fun-filled benefit to raise money for a great organization, The LAMP, which supports media literacy skills. I'm not sure what I'll be making, but I do know that you'll get to taste all the goodies from myself and the other contestants. And, of course sweets are that much sweeter when you eat them for the sake of charity. I'll see you there!

Click here to buy your tickets in advance.

Madeleines for GrandmaMa's Day

Mother's Day for me is all about "Ma." She's been filling in for missing mothers in my family for more than twenty years now. As the years have gone on, she's taken on even more "children." Being a mother, is what she does best. She never had a professional career, although she would have made a hell of a teacher / bookkeeper / nurse / psychologist / personal assistant. I know because she's been busy playing all of those roles to an impressive amount of "children" consisting of her kids, grand-kids, great-grand-kids, nieces, and neighbors, for all these years. She isn't a grandmother like ones that you always hear about, cooking big meals from scratch of recipes from the old-country (she prefers the ones on the back of the box), or one with tales from a glamorous past from days long ago. She's sweet and simple, unfussy almost to a fault. She's wise and strong, and has only gotten more so with age, but she's also hysterical, and someone who can make you feel instantly comfortable. If she had a culinary equivalent it would be the Madeleine... even if she doesn't know what they are. Madeleines are little tea cakes that you can serve at breakfast, brunch, tea time or dessert. If you are like me and my Ma, you'll think most times are acceptable for a little something sweet. They are well-known as being associated with Marcel Proust's writings on involuntary memory. (More about that here). However, despite their fancy little shapes and associations, they're actually a snap to make, if you get yourself the proper pan. (I normally wouldn't advocate buying a one-trick pony pan, but these little cakes are great for party favors and all sorts of occasions, that I think you'll get a lot of use out of it). The traditional flavoring is a little lemon zest and vanilla. That is how I normally make them. In honor of Ma, I wanted to try to flavor them with strawberry, which turned out very nice too. The jam I used did nothing to change the color of the cake, so I cheated with a bit of pink food coloring. I know, I know, but pink seemed so much more festive. It was only a drop too. If you can find strawberry extract that might eliminate the need for the food coloring. I checked three stores, but I couldn't find it. I think the flavor from using jam is probably preferable anyways.

Bake these and give them out as Mother's Day gifts to friends or family, if you won't be celebrating with your mom. You pretty much can't mess these up, unless you over-bake them, so watch them towards the end. They're a classy choice, making it seem that you went to the extra trouble to think about someone other than yourself. Exactly what the best Mas in the world do naturally.

Strawberry Madeleines Adapted from Bon Appétit.

2 eggs 2/3 cup sugar minus 2 teaspoons 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 2 1/2 tablespoons good quality strawberry jam Couple of drops of pink liquid food coloring (optional) Pinch of salt 1 cup of all-purpose flour 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter and flour madeleine pans well.

Melt butter and set aside to cool. Beat eggs and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer till blended. Beat in vanilla, jam, and salt. Beat in food coloring if using till batter is desired color. Add flour and beat until just blended.

Gradually add cooled melted butter to mixture, beating until just blended.

Spoon one tablespoon of batter into each cake shell. Bake until puffed and edges are lightly golden, about 12-15 minutes. Cool in pan for 5 minutes, then remove from the pan and finishing cooling on a wire rack.

A bake sale at the Brooklyn Flea is music to my ears

There have been a lot of fun things that happened since I started this blog, but tomorrow might top them all. Two of my favorite things, baking, and going to the Brooklyn Flea on weekends, are coming together in the name of charity. I'm going to be donating some baked goodies to the Food Bloggers Bake Sale booth at the flea market this weekend, which is part of the national Share Our Strength Bake Sale happening around the country this weekend. All the monies raised go to fight childhood hunger in America. Click here to find a sale in your area this weekend and learn more.

If you're around NYC this weekend, come down to the Brooklyn Flea and buy a treat or three. The list of offerings that some local food bloggers are donating range from the classics to the extremely ambitious. I'll be bringing my lace cookies because they're always a hit, and I'm going to make cheesecake brownie bites, inspired by Smitten Kitchen's gorgeous looking recipe that I've needed an excuse to try. All the info you need to know about the sale, and the bloggers participating (and more importantly, what they'll be baking) is on Jacquie's blog , The JLH Life. And, as an added bonus, yours truly will be at the stand from 3-4pm. Come by and hi, kisses hello are free, but the cookies you have to pay for. Hey, it's for the kids!

A cheesy scone for teatime, or anytime

If you like tea and jam, then you probably know about scones. But, if flowery cups and saucers and sweet things are not your cup of tea (sorry) then maybe you're not a fan of them. Scones are a dense, sturdy type of biscuit that make me think of British ladies in funny hats at tea time. Actually, despite their association in my mind, I find scones very versatile and easier to adapt to different meals than say a muffin. There are many different types of scones, depending on where you live. (here's a brief history). The scones we often see in stores in the States are overly sweet. This recipe is a savory version with no sugar at all and works well not just at breakfast, but anytime a cheese infused baked good would be nice. And really, when isn't there such a time?

These savory scones were inspired by an old post by Clotilde of Chocolate & Zucchini. It was one of the first scone recipes I ever tried and it was a huge hit. It incorporates Clotilde's suggestions for how to make your own dried pears, which are easier than you'd imagine. Core a pear and place on a baking rack for 4 hours in a low temperature oven (175 deg F), flipping them half-way through. Just remember to dry them the night before you want to make the scones, and to avoid snacking on them, leaving you none left for baking. I have done it, and if you fall victim yourself, dried apricots finely chopped are a good substitute. I changed the type of cheese from the original recipe and tweaked the measurements a bit for what worked for me. I like using Gruyere cheese because it makes me think of France and French food, which in turn makes me think of Clotilde, who was one of my first introductions into the world of food blogging. I watched her blog grow with a mixture of admiration and jealousy. She made it all sound so lovely, living in Paris and discovering the joys of cooking. She was often my escape as I sat at my desk pretending to do work, reading about what I wanted to cook later that day. Her life seemed like a dream to me, filled with good smells and always something new and delicious to discover. I am glad that food blogging didn't disappear like a passing fad, but entrenched itself into our food culture, where we read and learn about cooking, and find inspiration and community. Food blogs have changed a lot since I started reading them, but the old posts are like old memories. It still thrills me to see my comment on her post from 2006 and remember how elated I was the first time I made this recipe. That's why I had to share it.

I have made these scones for tea parties, weekend brunches, and at times just for my own enjoyment. I generally eat them not in a dainty fashion, but standing over the kitchen counter slathering jam on them warm from the oven. That's really the key point to remember. You should think of these as the embodiment of what's great about home cooking. Your scones can be anything you want them to be, sweet or savory, plain or jazzed up. You do not need a special occasion more than a meal at home as your excuse to make these. Baking scones is all about doing something that makes you happy in your daily life, whenever you can make time, even if it's cheesy.

Cheesy Scones with Dried Pears Adapted from Chocolate & Zucchini. Feel free to substitute your favorite types of hard cheese and dried fruit in this recipe.

1 1/3 cup flour 3/4 teaspoon baking powder pinch of Cayenne pepper 3/4 teaspoon salt 3/4 cup grated Gruyere cheese 1/4 cup chopped dried pears 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces 8 tablespoons cream (heavy, half&half) 1 egg yolk + 1 tablespoon of water, beaten

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat.

Whisk flour through salt in a large bowl until combined. Add butter and rub into dry ingredients until mixture resembles course crumbs. I do this with my hands, working quickly.

Add cheese and pears and mix in with a fork. Add cream and mix gently until dough starts to come together. Add more cream if needed.

Turn dough out onto floured surface, giving it a gentle knead if it's not completely holding together. Roll out till it's a circle about 3/4 inch thick. If it's flatter that's ok, just means you'll have flatter scones. They're still tasty.

Place scones on baking sheet and brush top with egg mixture. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until puffy and golden. I like to rotate the baking sheet half-way through for even baking. Feel free to add a sprinkling of extra grated cheese on top 10 minutes before they're done.

Espresso-Maple-Walnut Nanaimo Bars

I did it. I completed my first Daring Bakers Challenge. The January 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Lauren of Celiac Teen. Lauren chose Gluten-Free Graham Wafers and Nanaimo Bars as the challenge for the month. The sources she based her recipe on are 101 Cookbooks and www.nanaimo.ca. I have never made graham crackers before, and decided to stick with wheat flours for this one being that I'm not gluten-free. These super sweet treats are popular in the Vancouver area, so in honor of the upcoming 2010 Winter Olympic games this was a great recipe to try.  My first surprise was that the non-gluten free graham cracker recipe didn't require graham flour. I, like many others, assumed there must be something complicated involved with making these childhood favorites. Otherwise, why is it so rare to hear about homemade versions? After trying this recipe, I conclude it might be rare to see homemade versions because the sticky dough makes it a bit difficult to get the crackers as thin as store bought versions. This problem was partially remedied by chilling and rolling out the dough in small batches. I must admit that I didn't love this recipe's results. It had the familiar smell of graham crackers, that warm honey, molasses-y scent you know, but none of the mouth-feel of a true graham cracker. It wasn't grainy, but more solid like a tough cookie. I'm curious to know if the texture of the gluten-free version was truer to the original. Regardless, now that I have demystified graham crackers, I definitely think I would attempt homemade grahams again, but preferably using graham flour. Once the graham crackers were done, they were used to make graham cracker crumbs (this would have really bothered me, had I liked them enough to eat them plain). The crumbs are mixed with cocoa powder, shredded coconut, and nuts to form the bottom layer. I only had finely shredded unsweetened coconut on hand, and chose walnuts for the nuts. I intentionally left some of the graham crackers in bigger chunks rather than pulverizing the whole amount thinking it might be more interesting. Chocolate and grahams trigger thoughts of s'mores for me, and I think that was where the thought came from.

The middle layer is the custard layer. It seemed more like a frosting flavored with the popular British custard powder, Bird's. It was mostly powdered sugar, blended with butter and a bit of milk (I didn't have cream on hand). Lauren, the challenge's host, mentioned this layer was the place to add in additional flavoring. I originally intended to do a mint flavor since it was a chilled bar with chocolate. Instead, I decided to stick with the Canadian theme and use maple syrup. I added two tablespoons in the hopes of being able to distinguish the maple flavor over all the icing sugar.

The top layer was simply melted semi-sweet chocolate with a bit of butter. I added a shot of espresso that I brewed, hoping it would be a good counter-balance to all this sweetness. It's rare that I'm wary of the level of sugar in something, but these bars had me wondering if they might be an acquired taste. I do love the idea of how easily the basic formula can be adapted to different flavors. I'm also thankful I got to learn a little bit about a dessert I had never heard of. I would rather be trying one of these sweets in Vancouver, but when I make it there eventually, I'll know to look out for them. Meanwhile, I have the perfect figure-skating watching snack waiting in my freezer for when the games start.

Espresso-Maple-Walnut Nanaimo Bars I have reprinted the recipe with the few changes I made. The recipe for homemade graham crackers is below.

For the bottom layer of Nanaimo bars: 1/2 cup (115 g) (4 ounces) Unsalted Butter 1/4 cup (50 g) (1.8 ounces) Granulated Sugar 5 tablespoons (75 mL) Unsweetened Cocoa 1 Large Egg, Beaten 1 1/4 cups (300 mL) (160 g) (5.6 ounces) Graham Wafer Crumbs 1/2 cup (55 g) (1.9 ounces) Walnuts, finely chopped 1 cup (130 g) (4.5 ounces) shredded Coconut (unsweetened)

For the middle layer: 1/2 cup (115 g) (4 ounces) Unsalted Butter 2-3 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons (40 mL) whole milk 2 tablespoons real maple syrup 2 tablespoons (30 mL) Bird's Custard Powder 2 cups (254 g) (8.9 ounces) Icing Sugar

For the top layer: 4 ounces (115 g) Semi-sweet chocolate 2 tablespoons (28 g) (1 ounce) Unsalted Butter 1 shot of freshly brewed espresso

1. For bottom Layer: Melt unsalted butter, sugar and cocoa in top of a double boiler. Add egg and stir to cook and thicken. Remove from heat. Stir in graham crumbs, nuts and coconut. Press firmly into an ungreased 8 by 8 inch pan. 2. For Middle Layer: Cream butter, cream, custard powder, and icing sugar together well. Beat until light in colour. Spread over bottom layer. 3. For Top Layer: Melt chocolate and unsalted butter over low heat. Cool. Once cool, pour over middle layer and chill.

For the Graham crackers: 2 1/2 cups + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1 cup (200 g) (7.1 ounces) Dark Brown Sugar, Lightly packed 1 teaspoon (5 mL) Baking soda 3/4 teaspoon (4 mL ) Kosher Salt 7 tablespoons (100 g) (3 ½ ounces) Unsalted Butter (Cut into 1-inch cubes and frozen) 1/3 cup (80 mL) Honey, Mild-flavoured such as clover. 5 tablespoons (75 mL) Whole Milk 1 tablespoons (30 mL) Pure Vanilla Extract

1. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. Pulse on low to incorporate. Add the butter and pulse on and off, until the mixture is the consistency of a coarse meal. If making by hand, combine aforementioned dry ingredients with a whisk, then cut in butter until you have a coarse meal. No chunks of butter should be visible. 2. In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together the honey, milk and vanilla. Add to the flour mixture until the dough barely comes together. It will be very soft and sticky. 3. Turn the dough onto a surface well-floured with sweet rice flour and pat the dough into a rectangle about 1 inch thick. Wrap in plastic and chill until firm, about 2 hours, or overnight. 4. Divide the dough in half and return one half to the refrigerator. Sift an even layer of sweet rice flour onto the work surface and roll the dough into a long rectangle, about 1/8 inch thick. The dough will be quite sticky, so flour as necessary. Cut into 4 by 4 inch squares. Gather the scraps together and set aside. Place wafers on one or two parchment-lined baking sheets. Chill until firm, about 30 to 45 minutes. Repeat with the second batch of dough. 5. Adjust the rack to the upper and lower positions and preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius). 6. Gather the scraps together into a ball, chill until firm, and reroll. Dust the surface with more flour and roll out the dough to get a couple more wafers. 7. Prick the wafers with toothpick or fork, not all the way through, in two or more rows. 8. Bake for 12 minutes, until browned and slightly firm to the touch, rotating sheets halfway through to ensure even baking. Might take less, and the starting location of each sheet may determine its required time. The ones that started on the bottom browned faster.

Gingerbread Cookie Decorating Party

I love gingerbread. It is a holiday classic. It may not be inventive or cutting-edge, but not everything should be. The recipe I follow came from Bon Appetit's December 2006 issue. It is slightly spicy, with a deep brown-sugar and molasses flavor. It puts a twist on tradition by suggesting you flavor your icing with juniper berries. This part I could take or leave. I know there are a million and one gingerbread recipes out there, and every year I say I'm going to experiment with others, but for the last three years all those who have tried them seem to love them so that I haven't found a reason to mess with a good thing. I wanted to share this recipe with you in case your looking for a well-tested classic version. I normally make these cookies at least twice during the holiday season. The first batch always seems to disappear before being wrapped up and gifted out to friends and family. The only changes I've made to the original recipe are switching out light brown sugar for dark, and using unsulphured blackstrap molasses in place of regular. It's a subtle change that make for a more intense cookie. It is the perfect cookie to practice your decorating skills on (and I learned I could use a LOT more practice) and make into a snowy weekend project. This batch was made after a wonderful holiday brunch my cousin hosted during Hanukkah. It was too cute to see four people each measuring out different ingredients and generally buzzing around the table. After the dough rested, we set up two separate rolling stations (photos at this point were getting a bit blurry after a few mimosas) and went to work lining up the cut out shapes on silpat or parchment-lined baking sheets. This would be perfect work for little kids, but the only kid we had on hand was still too little to help. Not that any of us big kids seemed to mind handling the task. These cookies bake up crisp, and the thinner you roll them out the crisper they will be. We went with about 1/4 inch thickness on the dough to have them be a bit more chewy. They also need to be carefully watched towards the end of the baking time, unless you don't mind them a bit well-done around the edges (I save those imperfect ones for myself). Once they're baked, let them cool and prepare the royal icing to decorate as you wish. That's when the real fun comes in. This time around we skipped the juniper flavor used in the original recipe (of course if you want to give the juniper a try, find it here). We used lime juice in place of lemon juice for the royal icing, simply because we were out of lemons. But we all agreed the lime was a nice little twist that we would make again. We used Martha Stewart's royal icing recipe, and it was a very good thing.

Gingerbread Cookies Adapted from Bon Appetit. See links above for two different icing options.

2 1/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour 1 teaspoon ground ginger 1 teaspoon ground allspice 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature 1/2 cup (packed) dark brown sugar 1/4 cup blackstrap molasses

Whisk first 6 ingredients in medium bowl. Beat butter and sugar in large bowl until fluffy. Beat in molasses. Beat in dry ingredients. Gather dough; divide into 4 pieces. Shape into disks. Wrap; chill at least 2 hours and up to 2 days.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Roll out 1 dough disk to 1/8-inch thickness. Using 3 1/2-inch cutter, cut out cookies. Transfer to sheet. Gather scraps; chill.

Bake cookies until almost firm in center, 12 minutes. Cool on sheets 2 minutes, then cool on racks. Repeat, using all dough.

Note: Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days or freeze up to 2 weeks.

Holiday Lace Cookies

You know these cookies. You've seen them in the cookies by the pound section of the bakery case. You've even eaten them before and loved them, most likely without knowing their name. They're an old-fashioned cookie, generally known as Lace Cookies because of their porous looking appearance. It appears there are lace cookie variations from one European country to another (like most cookies). French lace cookies were traditionally made with almonds, while Irish lace cookies were made with oatmeal and milk or cream, and German lace cookies are also oatmeal-based cookies, but with ginger, cloves and cinnamon added. My recipe came from the Fannie Farmer Cookbook, originally written to help bring some consistency to our young country, by creating recipes that were formulas. Fannie (as I like to call her) Americanized things in the process by removing any country of origin, and simply called them Lace Cookies. Additionally, many newer American versions today call for corn syrup, but I prefer to bake with butter when I can.

I'm entering this into the Share Our Strength, 12 Days of Sharing cookie jar. (A great cause, read more about it at In Jennie's Kitchen).This cookie recipe should be categorized under, Stupidly Simple, because it is. Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. Pour melted butter over it, then a beaten egg and some vanilla. Drop onto a cookie sheet and bake. Nothing more too it. It's the kind of recipe you'd be well-served committing to memory to whip up off the top of your head while visiting family, or away for the weekend skiing. The results would impress your onlookers and fool everyone into thinking your a culinary whiz in the kitchen. Sit back, smile, and think, "Ha, ha."

There's only a few tricks to know how to pull this recipe off without a hitch. First, you must must space the cookies at least 1 1/2 inches to 2 inches apart, depending on the size of your cookies. Second, you should stay close to the oven while these babies are baking. They go from well-done to slightly burnt quickly. My suggestion is to keep the oven light on (if you have one) and keep an eye on them after they've been in there for 3 minutes. Plus, it's fun to watch the cookies bubble away and bake. Third, you really must use some patience and give them a few minutes to cool before you try to move them off the cookie sheet. If you slide your spatula under one while it is still hot it will squish into the middle and resemble a piece of caramel. That is an irreversible error. Obviously it will still taste good, but baked goods should also look good too.

This being a holiday cookie, you should consider some options to gussy up your cookie creation. Consider shaping the cookies into a tuille by bending them around the handle of a wooden spoon while still warm (not hot). Then let them cool in that shape. This is a pretty example of how a tuille shape makes a more impressive presentation. My personal favorite is the way I had them as a kid, where the bottom is coated with melted chocolate. Yum. And, coating things with chocolate seems like a good task to include the kiddies in on. (Personally, I wish someone had let me do that as a kid, rather than play with a dreidel. I'm just saying.)

Holiday Lace Cookies Adapted from The Fannie Farmer Cookbook

1 1/2 cups uncooked oatmeal (not anything instant or quick-cooking) 1 1/4 cups brown sugar 2 tablespoons flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 2/3 cup (about 10 tablespoons) melted butter 1 egg, lightly beaten 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Mix the dry ingredients together in a big bowl. Melt the butter. Add to the dry ingredients and mix to combine. Add the egg and the vanilla and mix until all incorporated.

Line a baking sheet with a silpat or parchment paper. Drop cookies about 1/2-1 teaspoon at a time onto cooking sheet. Take care to keep them spaced about 2 inches apart. They will look small but will spread as they bake. Bake in the oven for 5 minutes or until firm. Watch them closely after 3 minutes, depending on how well done you want them. Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before you touch them. Carefully, using a spatula lift off baking sheet to cool completely.

Peach and Blackberry Cobbler

I finally found some time to bake for Dessert Corps again this week. I really do love doing it, even if it's very hard not to take a taste of the finished product. I'm also considering this post as my contribution for Fight Back Fridays, because allowing the soup kitchen to serve homemade desserts rather than the food "product" alternatives is food justice in action. Sometimes I think about doing a quality control, but in the end self-control kicks in and I choose not to hand over a dish with a piece missing, but boy oh boy it was hard this week. The local CSAs donate some of their extra fruit during the summer months to the soup kitchen, so I didn't pick my fruit, it picked me. I kind of like the surprise element to it all. This week they had some extra doughnut peaches (also known as Saturn peaches or pan tao peaches) and blackberries. Doughnut peaches are a very sweet heirloom variety of a peach that are delicious. They are also less acidic than the larger more common variety of peaches. I set out to think about what to do with these star ingredients. I love the combo of blackberries and cornmeal but wanted to make a one-dish dessert that would be easy to serve, so that ruled out making a blackberry sauce. I also wanted to utilize all the fruit so it didn't go to waste. I was leaning towards a cobbler but I wasn't super excited about it. Then I found a recipe for a cobbler that incorporated cornmeal into the biscuit topping. Indecision ended there. Blackberries and cornmeal baked goods (think pancakes) are a natural pairing. That matched with the sweetness of the peaches would be excellent. Cobblers are a pretty simple dessert to make and don't require any stand mixers or fancy equipment. I have always loved old-fashioned American style desserts despite their humble techniques and plain Jane appearances. There is something so comforting to me about being able to whip up a dessert with not more than a bowl and a wooden spoon (dream bubble pops above my head to my creepy 1950's sitcom fantasy of me and one of those frilly half-aprons setting out a pie to cool in my window). Back to reality and East Williamsburg. Regardless, a cobbler dough is a cinch to put together all in one bowl. It is a type of biscuit dough and as soon as you mix the wet ingredients into the dry ones you can smell that doughy goodness. Set that aside while you prep the fruit. Peel and dice your fruit, peaches in this case, and mix in a pot with a thickening agent, in this case cornstarch and some sort of sugar, a bit of lemon juice, cinnamon and a pinch of salt. Mix together and let cook for a mere five minutes. You're fruit mixture will be transformed what looks like and smells like the inside of a slice of warm pie. Yum. I think I might consider using less sugar next time, because I was concerned that the amount used in this recipe might mask the natural flavor of the peaches. But, being that this recipe was Southern in origin, I just went with it.

After the peaches are cooked all that is left is to assemble the cobbler. Mix the berries into the peach mixture, very carefully. Then pour into a greased baking dish (note the one in the photo is obviously too large, but I couldn't find a smaller disposable size to bring to the soup kitchen) and drop tablespoons of the biscuit dough all over the top of the fruit mixture. Maybe it's just because I didn't actually get to have a dish for myself but I can still smell how delicious it was, a mix of aromas of warm peach pie and freshly baked biscuits. Incredible, really. I just hope that it the diners thought it tasted as good as I thought it smelled.

Peach and Blackberry Cobbler Adapted from Epicurious and Down Home with the Neelys. Try this in winter time too with whatever is in season (apples, pears).

For the Biscuit Dough: 2 cups all-purpose flour 1/4 cup cornmeal 1/4 cup sugar 1 tablespoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter 1 cup whole milk 1 large egg, lightly beaten

For the Filling: 2 pounds fresh peaches, peeled, pitted, and sliced 1 cup brown sugar 2 teaspoons lemon juice 2 tablespoons cornstarch 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon Pinch salt 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 2 pints fresh blackberries

To make the biscuit dough - whisk together the flour, cornmeal, 1/4 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs (using your hands works well). Using a fork, stir in the milk and egg just to combine.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Generously butter a 7 × 11-inch baking dish.

To make the filling - take your prepped peaches and place in a saucepan with the brown sugar, lemon juice, cornstarch, cinnamon, and pinch of salt over medium-high heat. Bring the peaches to a boil, stirring frequently (this is an important step otherwise you'll have caramel). Reduce the heat to medium- low and simmer, stirring, until the sauce thickens and the peaches have softened, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat, and stir in the vanilla and blackberries. Transfer the filling to the baking dish.

To assemble - use 2 tablespoons, one to scoop up batter and the other spoon to push it off the spoon onto the fruit mixture. Drop spoon fulls of batter to cover the fruit evenly. Sprinkle the tops of the biscuits with some granulated sugar, and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the biscuits are golden brown and the filling is bubbly and thick around the edges.

Cool for 10 minutes. Would be great served warm with ice cream.

Better-than-Before-Brownies

So, I found a wonderful reason to bake (cause I always want an excuse to bake) without feeling guilty about making large quantities of dessert for myself. A few really clever people who help run The Greenpoint Soup Kitchen thought up a way to include home-baked desserts on their menu, and in the process get more volunteers involved at the soup kitchen who wouldn't otherwise have had the time to help out. Thus, Dessert Corps was born, a team of volunteers who regularly sign-up to bake the assigned dessert for the week, when they have the time. This concept is really great for baking addicts like me who want a reason to indulge their crazy need to bake, and do something good for the community in the process. A win-win situation. I really hope that other soup kitchens around the city implement similar projects. There are so many baking fiends out there that, it shouldn't be hard to find volunteers in most neighborhoods. For more info, check out their blog: http://craigskitchen.wordpress.com Back to the oven...this week I signed up for brownies.

In the past, I have steered clear of making brownies for others, having always failed to find a recipe that seemed to deliver the type of fudgey-chocolately brownie I wanted. I've tried recipes with a twist (adding coffee or banana) that all seemed intriguing, but the classic is what I wanted to master. I've tried recipes that utilized different types of chocolate, such as bittersweet, unsweetened, or cocoa powder, but there was never a clear winner (except maybe a clear loser, cocoa powder). I've also tried recipes that required an obscene amount of expensive chocolate, thinking that would surely be a winner for a chocoholic like myself, but the results weren't worth the expense. Why was it so difficult? Then I read an article from Cook's Illustrated, where an in-depth analysis of what was needed to concoct the perfect brownie was undertaken. Of course, I had to test their theory. Their attention to detail may have paid off in coming one step closer to perfection. I've tested their method three separate times so far. I've varied the brand of chocolate and the amount of sugar. The first time I made it, I pretty much followed the recipe verbatim, and used a higher quality chocolate. They came out super fudgey, almost gooey (possibly from being slightly under cooked) and a tad bit too sweet for my taste. I'm talking possible sugar shock sweet. Still, to my surprise people at work went gaga for them. I was flattered...but I was still not satisfied. I'm a perfectionist when it comes to my sweets. I promised my office taste-testers a few needed tweeks and another batch. Round-two, I used a smaller pan (8-inch, rather than the 13x9 inch) to have a higher brownie. I also decreased the amount of sugar by a bit and made sure not to under cook them. I thought they looked much better, although they received a much more lackluster reaction. Hmmm...stumped. Still through all this, this recipe is the closest I've ever come to a batch of brownies I can proudly offer up, even if the voice inside my head still thinks they're not perfect. This is one of those things I think I'll always be wondering what else is out there...but until I find it, these will do nicely.

Better-than-Before-Brownies Adapted from Cook's Illustrated The original recipe calls for cake flour, which should lead to a more delicate texture. I have read that cake flour is treated with chlorine, so I prefer not to use it. A quick substitution is 1 cup AP Flour minus 2 tablespoons.

1 1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 3/4 teaspoon baking powder 6 oz. unsweetened chocolate 12 tablespoons unsalted butter 2 cups sugar 4 large eggs 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325 degree Fahrenheit and take a 13x9x2 inch pan. Take parchment paper (or foil) and place on the inside of the pan with an overhang on both sides. Do

two pieces one going the length and the other going the width of the pan. This will help lift the brownies out of the pan. (If using foil, remember to butter or spray it to prevent sticking).

Whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.

Set up a large bowl over a pot of boiling water (or use your double-boiler) and place the butter and chocolate in to melt. Keep an eye on it and stir frequently to prevent burning. When mixture is completely melted, whisk in sugar slowly. Next, whisk in eggs, one at a time. Then whisk in vanilla. Fold in flour mixture in three additions, folding and blending until batter is smooth.

Pour batter into pan and spread into corners and smooth out the surface. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out almost clean (just a few crumbs is perfect). Cool on a rack until completely to room temperature. Then lift brownies out of pan and cut into pieces. Note - If you try to cut them to soon they will be a mess and the insides will stick to your knife. Patience Grasshopper.