Feast or famine

And now, we wait. My sister-in-law is currently 39 weeks pregnant with my first niece and we are all very anxious for her arrival. The shower was lovely (I made yet another diaper cake) and this kid will be very well dressed for some time. One of the shower games was basically guessing which day you thought the baby would be born and the closest (with closest weight) gets a prize. After seeing the most recent belly pictures, my pic of the 9th is looking fairly promising. It's isn't that I want to win the prize, I just want the baby here to cuddle with and spoil rotten!

I'm actually rather proud of that cake. It's 4 tiers tall and over 100 diapers went into it. I even managed to coordinate the colors with minimal insight from the hostesses (not that I blame them - it's just hard that I live 200 miles away from everyone else).

GIS Day was mid-November and I made globe cakepops. They were such a big hit I'll bust out with Christmas tree ones later this month. Please forgive for the globes not being geographically accurate. Working with candy melts is harder than it looks; that's why most of them just spell out G-I-S D-A-Y in the background.


Following that came Thanksgiving where I spent I week in the frozen tundra that is Wisconsin. My grandmother and I covered a lot of ground - she supervised me making a batch of rolls, making little suggestions along the way, I baked a batch of Martha's Grammy's Chocolate Cookies which my grandma liked as well as 2 batches of her famous Christmas cookies. First we made the cut out cookies and I was impressed with how few times she rolls her dough. I positively let mine get tough but I think it's easier to cut that way. She did like my idea about chilling the dough for a while although we didn't really need to. We also made some of her spritz cookies that are colored like Christmas trees. I made the red dough, so my hands looked like I'd murdered someone. Here she is in her tiny kitchen. Isn't she cute? She said the rolling pin fell of the table many years ago and that's why it only has one good handle. And she really only busts out that table cloth when she's baking, even though it is holiday appropriate right now.

I made sure her pantry and freezer were stocked and left my present with her - 4 trips to beauty parlor. The big family Thanksgiving dinner was downsized a bit since part of the family branched off on their own this year. We didn't mind - it meant we could actually have a conversation over dinner and more leftovers for Grandma.

Secret Santa has started at work and I have a new employee. He filled out his form rather thoroughly as far as likes & dislikes but I had a hard time finding things to get him. So improvised and basically, all he's getting from me is goodies. Mostly store bought, but tonight I'm testing out Martha's peanut butter cookie recipe from her book. She hasn't steered me wrong until this point. The recipe says the cookies bake for 25 minutes, rotating halfway. I adjust time and temp down due to my wacky oven but even then, my cookies were burnt. I lowered the time again and yet another tray of blackened cookies. If it weren't for that dozen cookies, I would almost have the amount called for in the book and a few leftover to share at work. It looks like he'll get most of them. I guess that's OK.

My littlest helper, Bert, isn't so little anymore. He weighs at least 10 pounds now and doesn't fit in that blue bowl anymore so I have a hard time weighing him. He's discovered that he can jump up on the kitchen counters without assistance, so no place is safe anymore. He's also renewed his love of boxes and I'm afraid if we'll need to stage a box-hab intervention.

It's Always Something (Icebox Cookies)

The other day I was shopping and passed by Sur La Table and for those of you unfamiliar, it is a higher end kitchen & cooking supply store. It's a lot like I would imagine heaven would be like, actually. I couldn't skip by without peeking inside so I made my way to the back, where all of the baking supplies live. Granted, most of the things that I need I can find at the grocery store for a better price (sanding sugar, vanilla extract) but if I ever need a kangaroo shaped cookie cutter, I know where to find it. I also noticed that they had some really nice baking chocolate and different varities of cocoa powder. That's been sort of a quest for me lately so I had to check it out. And I found this...
I realize that it isn't my precious dutch process powder, but come on, it's Valrhona! Probably one of the best chocolate makers in the world. I had to have it. So I bought it. And then I had to scan through "the book" to find recipes I could use it in.

Icebox Bull's Eyes & Spirals sounded easy enough, even if it was a little futzy, with dividing the dough into portions and rests in the refrigerator. The only modification I made was using 1% milk rather than whole, only because I didn't want to make a trip to the store on a Sunday.

Bull's Eyes, pre-oven

Spirals, pre-oven

Martha would not be pleased with the shapes of my spirals and bull's eyes but cut me some slack, it's my first try.

Bull's Eyes, post oven

Spirals, post oven

Since I had so much down time while the dough rested, I tried to keep up with the mess I'd made. I put the mixing bowl in the sink and filled it with warm, soapy water to let the other utensils soak for a bit. Me being the klutz that I am, I managed to knock it over, spilling a lot of water on the counter, on "the book" and all over the floor. I salvaged the book, although now a lot of the pages are going to show some wear. And on the plus side, I've put a little dent in washing the kitchen floor!

Not for lack of trying

If I were a regular reader of a blog, I would start to get concerned after a certain point. I'm alive, I promise. I just haven't been baking as much since I'm trying to deal with some weird cards the universe decided to deal me. I'll cover the baking first, because that's the good part.

A couple of batches of Grandma's reliable chocolate chip cookies. We've had a few birthdays in the office and these are always crowd-pleasers.

Alton Brown's Moo Less Chocolate Pie. I altered this since it coming to the office with me. I'd feel a little weird since the recipe calls for Kahlua and the alcohol does not cook down. In the past, I've brewed strong coffee or used instant, but I just didn't have the time. I went to Starbucks and asked for a triple shot of espresso. Apparently, espresso "turns" quickly - I don't normally drink it, how would I know? - so the barista offered to put some soy milk in there. The pie uses tofu, so that worked out well. No one was able to guess the secret ingredient and were shocked when it was revealed. I like adding some drama to my goodies.

Martha's double chocolate brownies. I'm a convert to making brownies from scratch. I don't know what's taken me so long! These were rich and straightforward, mixing melted chocolate with cocoa powder. These brownies don't need nuts or frosting or anything like that - just a cool glass of milk.

Life

Some background. I moved into my house nearly 10 years ago, fresh out of college and rather shocked that I could get a mortgage and become a homeowner. My neighborhood is what Planners like to consider a transitional neighborhood, meaning a mix of homeowners and renters. I've been relatively happy with the neighborhood (I wish I had more parking to have people over, etc) and most of the people are great. I've had some run-ins, mainly with renters who no longer live there. Until this summer. Some rather unsavory folks have moved in on end and brought some unwanted elements to the street. We can't really do anything but ask the police to patrol more, which they have, but it's still uncomfortable.

A few weeks ago, I enjoying a lazy Sunday afternoon doing laundry when I noticed some movement on my driveway. The windows on my door are frosted so I could see but I could tell someone was out there. So I peeked through the blinds and discovered a strange car in my driveway, blocked in by a police cruiser. I decided that it was time I got dressed, in case the police needed to talk to me. Now, don't panic. I was never in any danger. I never spoke to the police so the rest is speculation. On of my good neighbors had a better view of everything from his house and told me his thoughts. The police signaled to the car to pull over and rather than pulling to the curb, they decided to act like my house was their destination and pulled into my driveway. They tried to convince the officer that they intended on coming to my house. While he was talking to the driver, the passenger dumped a suspicious substance out the window (my neighbor is certain it was cocaine). The officer called for back up and by the time they arrived and searched the car, they didn't find anything but empty baggies. No one was arrested and the police left. The strange car remained on my driveway for about half an hour - it seemed like they were having a hard time getting it started again. But eventually they left.

It was bad enough to think of some of the things that were happening in the alley or down the street but now it's in my driveway! So, I called up my mortgage company and got myself pre-qualified for a home loan. I'd thought about moving closer to the office when I first started but the timing wasn't right. I'm working on purging the house of clutter before contacting a realtor and moving forward, but I'd like to be moving by New Years or close to it. That's the plan.

On top of all of this, my hands have been giving me trouble again. My mother had rheumatoid arthritis so it's very likely that I will too, eventually. A few years back, I woke up one day and my hands felt strange. That's the best I can describe it. My joints weren't swollen and the pain wasn't sharp. Just constant. I've always been a little clumsy and seemed to get worse - dropping my keys, alot. I went through the whole process of tests and x-rays with the specialist but it was all inconclusive. And then one day, I woke up and my hands felt better. Apparently, this does happen. So right about the time of the driveway incident, my hands started bothering me again. I actually dropped a knife on my foot while baking and that's when I decided I needed to see the doctor again. Don't worry, I was wearing shoes! I see the specialist the first week of November.

As if things are complicated enough, I got a wild hair to bake and ship cookies to out of town friends (that means you, Patty!) for the holidays. I think I'll use the fixed price boxes from USPS but I need to double check the sizes. It will a mix of my usual suspect cookies - chocolate chip, grandma's frosted & sugar cookies. I'll take special requests, within reason.

Baby Shower cookies

The fun group I cruised with last summer gathered in August to celebrate a baby shower for one of the ladies. Naturally, I volunteered to bring some deserts. As she knows that she's having a little girl, I decided to alter Martha's Sugar Cookies to utilize pink sanding sugar. I'm somewhat pleased with the results.

I still don't have the recommended scoop so I formed these by hand.

The sanding sugar I used is a very fine grain and I think a larger grain would have looked a little better. They still tasted really good, so it doesn't matter that much. I also made a batch of chocolate chip cookies, because, really, who doesn't like chocolate chip cookies. I made sure Mommy-to-be took them home to share with Daddy-to-be. :)

Grammy's Chocolate Cookies

We had another birthday in the office last week and despite the record breaking high temperatures we've been experiencing here, I offered to turn on my oven for some birthday cookies. I debated the recipe as this coworker had not noted a favorite from Martha's book. And while I love my coworker, she opted for the "whatever you want to bake" option.

So I chose Grammy's Chocolate Cookies from the book. The picture was very appetizing and the recipe didn't call for any odd techniques or outlandish ingredients (who am I kidding, I now keep at least 2 whole vanilla beans in my pantry at all times!). It did call for Dutch Process Cocoa Powder, which I recall seeing on Good Eats - Alton Brown, I love you! - that there is a difference between regular, natural cocoa powder and dutch process. Something with alkalies and chemical reactions. I had regular cocoa powder in the house, 3 kinds, actually. One kind being particularly good - Scharffenberger. Try their bars or chips; you'll thank me later. The 2 others are readily available at the regular supermarket. I made a couple of stops at a few different stores looking for dutch process but couldn't find any. A friend suggested one other store before heading to the specialty shops and I found a dark blend that included dutch process and figured that was better than nothing.

The recipe was straightforward and easy to follow. The dough needed to rest in the refrigerator for an hour before rolling into balls so that gave me a little time to catch up on my TiVo backlog. I rolled the dough, rolled the balls around in white sanding sugar and baked em. I used up every last bit of white sanding sugar that I had.

The dough looked like pretty little rum balls before going in the oven!

These cookies baked up beautifully! They were crisp, but not break-a-tooth-when-you-take-a-bite crisp. They were a little on the dark chocolate side, considering the cocoa powder I used, but still very tasty. They'd go perfect with a nice, cold glass of milk.

Almost like homemade Oreos, but better!

As usual, they went over very well at the office. I should have saved some for my neighbor but I didn't want to share my leftovers. :) This is definitely a recipe that I will repeat.

Post Script: At the store today, the regular store on my way home from work, I found the dutch process cocoa powder in the baking aisle. I almost didn't look, considering the luck I had (I even called Central Market looking for it but got disconnected twice). So now I have some. Friends on Facebook suggesting looking into King Arthur and I think I'll order from there, too. Who knew they did more than flour?!

Post Post Script: I found a book of ice cream and sorbet recipes at Half Priced Books over the weekend. Maybe I'll bust out with ice cream this weekend!

One More Thing

I made oatmeal raisin cookies earlier this week, too. I don't know what I did differently, but this batch looks much prettier than the last one. The batch before this spread really thin; it seemed like the only lumps were the raisins themselves. The texture this time is what you picture when you think of oatmeal raisin cookies. And these are healthy for you because there's wheat germ in there! Yeah, that's the ticket.

I was too lazy to grate the zucchini I have, so I'll make that bread tomorrow. Then, no more baking for a while. The next work birthday isn't until July.

Turtle Brownies

I've had the Martha book for over a year now so you'd think that I would know better than to not heed her advice. Always, always, always listen to Martha!

Assembling the brownie batter was not that difficult. Pretty standard stuff, actually. I was frustrated that HEB did not have ANY Ghirardelli baking chocolate in stock but the Hershey's worked out fine. I think next time I might try melting the chocolate and butter in the microwave rather than the double boiler because I'm rather clumsy and one day, I will seriously burn my hand. As Alton Brown would say, "Not good eats". That, and I have a hard time scraping all of the chocolate out of the bowl I use for the double boil. I want to use every single drop or at least as much as I can. Grandma would not be impressed by my bowl scraping abilities. The brownies baked up nicely and I had no trouble toasting and chopping the pecans myself. The major challenge with this recipe would be the caramel topping.

I have worked with sugar before, but not to the point of peanut brittle or other hard candy. I've made a few batches of my non-baking-inclined grandmother's peanut butter fudge and can confidently say that I've mastered that recipe with one minor modification - taking Alton's advice by adding a bit of corn syrup to avoid the recrystallization of the sugar. And not stirring it after it starts to boil. The result is consistently smooth and creamy. I guess I was a little too confident going into the caramel stage of this recipe. One tiny step overlooked nearly ruined the whole thing. Once the sugar started to boil, she said to stop stirring and to brush the sides down with a damp pastry brush. I'll admit that my kitchen is too tiny to have every single recommended gadget, so I don't own one - yet. After the disaster that ensured, maybe it's time to invest.

Sure enough, crystals started to form on the side of the pan. And they just kept getting bigger and bigger, like I was trying to make rock candy or something. I tried scraping them off with a clean spoon but that didn't really help. Now, I realize that I could have stopped what I was doing and started over. That's what a responsible baker would have done. I had plenty of sugar and enough time. But I didn't want to pour molten sugar down my drain and start from scratch. So I made it work* and added the cream and pecans once the color was right. I'm still not sure if it was truly light amber - it's so hard to tell. I cut the brownies once the topping was cool and could tell that the texture was not quite right, but it tasted OK.

In the end, the brownies were still a hit, even with the disclaimer that the topping would be a little grainy rather than smooth. I'll give this recipe another go and see if I get better results.

Next time, on OSC: baking with Grandma! For real this time.

* Thanks for the inspiration, Tim Gunn! When does Project Runway come back?!

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

We had another birthday in the office today so I baked another batch of cookies. Although these were a special request, I have worked through this recipe one time before. It calls for the usual fare, but it also includes wheat germ, which adds a little something to the cookies. I had the hardest time finding it at the grocery store - I had no idea where to look for it! First, I assumed it would be in the bulk food section. Some of our local stores have fantastic bulk foods and I can only purchase the amount that I need if it is something that I don't use that often. But they also have choices for different types of salt and flour but I haven't branched out into that yet. The stores closest to me did not have it the bulk area and the clerks were useless. I called another store and asked and they were able to direct me to which side of the aisle to find it. I felt rather silly once I found it because I realized that the closer stores also carried; I just didn't know where to look. In case you're wondering, it's in the cereal aisle, usually near the end and on an upper shelf.

This batch of cookies reinforced the idea of thoroughly checking the ingredient list and making a list before going to the store. While I did have the elusive wheat germ, I forgot to check my supply of raisins! After combining the dry ingredients and getting the butter into the mixing bowl, I realized I didn't have enough raisins. I had to turn off my oven and run to the store. I hate running to the store for just one item - it makes me look like such a scatterbrain and fate will always put me in the slowest line possible if I'm in any sort of a rush. I made sure to buy the large canister of raisins, in case I have any emergencies!

Once everything was in order, the whole batch came together nicely, although my count was a little short of Martha's projection of 5 dozen. I ended up with 4 dozen, which still is a lot of cookies. Mine were also a little thinner and crisper than the picture in the book - I'm blaming the wonky temperatures on my ancient oven. I'm serious, my next major purchase will be a new oven.

As always, the cookies were a big hit. Check 'em out...

I always get a nice little assembly line going. :)

The whole batch.


On the plus side, I learned how to turn off my flash (nevermind that I've had the camera for like 4 years!) since all of my attempts at close ups washed everything out. The texture on these was amazing.

Coming up on One Smart Cookie... Actual baking with Grandma! Yes in a few short weeks I'll be heading north, experiencing real spring (as opposed to our 1 day of it) and working on making those yeast rolls whose recipe she keeps in her head. The last time we made them, just as the dough was ready for the first rise, I noticed that she didn't use any eggs. Her response, a very cute, "Well, not this time!". I'll be taking copious notes. I just had an idea, I might even record it for posterity! And of course, I'll be sharing the whole adventure with you.

Old-Fashioned Sugar Cookies

Martha's, not Grandma's, just to clarify.

Tomorrow is another birthday at work and the honoree is allergic to chocolate. That forced me to rethink my standard chocolate chip cookie choice. She had not selected anything from the Martha book, so I thought about what I had handy in the house. Vanilla sugar, waiting to be used and some leftover lemons from the lemon sorbet fiasco. And lo, the perfect fit - the old-fashioned sugar cookie.

While I waited for the butter to soften, I zested and juiced a lemon and prepared the rest of the dry ingredients. I sifted the vanilla sugar to make certain that none of the hull made into the mix.

Martha suggests using a 2 inch ice cream scoop, which I don't have. Mine is 2 1/2 inches and I've had some gigantic cookies when I use it. I did my best, leaving the scooper partially not filled. I thought I spaced the cookies well but the first round baked into each other. And since my oven runs hot, I adjusted the temperature and the baking time down a little. Sometimes it takes a little trial and error to get it right.

So I cookies on the next few sheets. I really like how the sanding sugar sparkles.


That second batch came out beautifully. I think even Martha would be impressed. The first batch were a little browner than I would like, so I dialed back the baking time by 2 minutes. For once, I even got the exact number of cookies as the recipes says it will make (18, but they are really big)! Only one or two of them are not presentable - those are for taste testing, and some of them look like they could be the photo in the book. I'm really proud of this batch and I'm sure it's a recipe that I'll add to my regular list.

Final picture here

Martha Stewarts's Cookies, AKA "The Cookie Book"

So I received Martha Stewart's Cookies for my birthday last year and decided I wanted to make an effort at branching out and trying new recipes. My coworkers have been kind enough to make selections and act as guinea pigs for my attempts. They really are a brave lot. :) If you enjoy making cookies and want a variety of recipes in one place, you can't go wrong with this book.

So far, I've attempted the following recipes with different levels of success: Chocolate Crackles, Milk-Chocolate Cookies, Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, Banana-Walnut Chocolate-Chunk Cookies, Pumkin Cookies with Brown-butter Icing, Brown-butter Toffee Blondies, Thin and Crisp Chocolate Chip Cookies, Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies, Peanut Butter Whoopie Pies and Mini Black-and-White Cookies. Unfortunately, I haven't taken pictures of all of these batches and it's a shame, too - some of them turned out rather awesomely. This is a mistake that I will remedy in the future since there are plenty of recipes in this book and I've just scratched the surface!

p.s. I've had some trouble adding photos tonight so you can follow this link to view the cookies mentioned above