Snacko Backo

mmm… balsamic strawberries.  This combination might sound a bit unusual but man, it’s so good.  The vinegar is not overpowering– but it does something somehow– so it tastes more like a strawberry sauce. I went over to my sister’s house on Monday- and when I told her what I was making for dessert, she was not enthusiastic. But, she tried it, and has these words to add: “so basically, i thought this would be disgusting.  i really don’t like balsamic vinegar.  but since monday- i’ve had a one track mind- and i’ll i can think about is eating more of them.”  This is great to serve when having people over- because it is no cook- you just mix it up-  and let it sit.  It is especially delicious over vanilla ice cream. I had leftovers (which keep surprisingly well) in greek yogurt.  Also good on its own- or i imagine it would be bomb on top of pancakes/french toast.  This is an Ina recipe- she has it for breakfast or on panna cotta.  Another good thing, it still works well w. out of season berries. The recipe easily cuts in half if you only have one pint.  You can’t mess it up.

2 pints (4 cups) sliced fresh strawberries
2 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Cut strawberries.  Mix all this in a bowl.  Set aside at room temperature for 30 min to an hour before serving.  Stir every now and again. This gives them time to get syrupy and delicious.

This is a Doris Greenspan recipe.  I bought her cookbook this summer and paging through it, this recipe didn’t really jump out to me.  But Melissa brought these to Techluck (BM tech dept’s weekly vegetarian potluck), and I was impressed.  I am usually not into chocolate cookies—but these don’t really taste like it.  They taste more like shortbread- with melty chocolate bits in it. Check out my new section- Just the Tips– for tips on shaping the dough into logs. Doris uses a paper towel roll to help the log keep its shape in the fridge.  If I was just refrigerating it- I would have followed Melissa’s lead- and instead of using this method, just flatten all sides and make square cookies.  But because I was freezing the dough- I used the paper towel roll method.  It was actually very easy because dough so crumbly and dry.  This was my first time freezing dough, and I wasn’t sure how it would compare– but it worked like a charm.

1-1/4 cup flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 stick plus 3 tablespoons unsalted butter (11 tablespoons), softened
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp fleur de sel, or 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
5 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped or 3/4 cup mini choc chips

Sift flour, cocoa and baking soda together.
Working w. a mixer, beat butter on medium until soft and creamy.  Add both sugars, the salt and vanilla extract and beat for 2 minutes more.
Pour in flour mixture.  Can cover w. a kitchen towel so the flour doesn’t fly.  Pulse mixer at low speed about 5 times, a second or two each time. Look at it—still lots of flour pulse a couple more times; if not, remove the towel. Continuing at low speed, mix for about 30 seconds more, just until the flour disappears into the dough — try to work dough as little as possible once the flour is added.  It’s ok if dough is crumbly. Toss in the chocolate pieces and mix only to incorporate.
Turn the dough out onto a work surface, gather it together and divide it in half. Working with one half at a time, shape the dough into logs that are 1 1/2 inches in diameter. (Check out new section- Just the Tips– for tips on this.  I didn’t divide in half- just rolled it all in one paper towel roll.)  Working with one half at a time, shape the dough into logs that are 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap the logs in plastic wrap and refrigerate them for at least 3 hours. (The dough can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months. If you’ve frozen the dough, you needn’t defrost it before baking — just slice the logs into cookies and bake the cookies 1 minute longer.)
Getting ready to bake: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325°  Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats (i fit mine all one way baking sheet- something i consider a major bonus).  Working with a sharp thin knife, slice the logs into rounds that are 1/2 inch thick. (The rounds are likely to crack as you’re cutting them — don’t be concerned, just squeeze the bits back onto each cookie.) Arrange the rounds on the baking sheets, leaving about one inch between them.  Bake the cookies one sheet at a time for 12 minutes — they won’t look done, nor will they be firm, but that’s just the way they should be. Transfer the baking sheet to a cooling rack and let the cookies rest until they are only just warm, at which point you can serve them or let them reach room temperature.

This was my first shot at christmas cookies.  My dear friend Corcs inspired me with the possibilities.  I knew I didn’t want something crunchy and tasteless with hard frosting. So I decided to go with chewy sugar cookies from America’s Test Kitchen.  Now, the recipe doesn’t sound all that appealing- it has cream cheese and veg oil in it.  But I knew as well as to trust the test kitchen.  These are not just for christmas.  I added red decorative sugar to be festive- but you can definitely just make them for everyday. Bonus, this recipe doesn’t use any sort of mixer.  I only did a couple stars- dough not quite ideal for cookie cutters.

2 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 1/2 cups sugar , plus 1/3 cup for rolling (can add decorating sprinkles here)
2 ounces cream cheese, cut into 8 pieces
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter , melted and still warm
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 large egg
1 tablespoon milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat to 350.  Set oven rack to middle. Line backing sheets w. parchment paper.
Whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt together in medium bowl.  Set aside.
Put the 1-1/2 cup sugar and cream cheese in large bowl.  Put remaining 1/3 sugar (and decorative sprinkles if using) in shallow dish.  Pour warm butter over sugar and cream cheese and whisk to combine (there will be some small lumps but will smooth later). Whisk in oil until incorporated. Add egg, milk, and vanilla; continue to whisk until smooth. Add flour mixture and mix with rubber spatula until soft dough forms.
Scoop out cookies- about 2 tablespoons each (maybe a little less).  Using hands, roll dough into balls (maybe 1.5 inch diam?).  Working in batches, roll balls in reserved sugar to coat and evenly space on prepared baking sheet, 12 dough balls per sheet (these spread a lot). Using bottom of drinking glass, flatten dough balls until 2 inches in diameter (then they come out perfect circles). Sprinkle tops evenly with 4 teaspoons of sugar remaining in shallow dish (2 teaspoons per tray), discarding any remaining sugar.
Bake, 1 tray at a time (do this), until edges are set and just beginning to brown, 11 to 13 minutes (11 was fine, they might not look quite done, but they are), rotating tray after 7 minutes. Cool cookies on baking sheets 5 minutes. Using wide metal spatula, transfer cookies to wire rack and cool to room temperature.

They say it makes 2 dozen cookies, but I got closer to 3.

I first had these at Kevin & Sarah’s place.  They made cake pops- I bought the sticks and all– but during my first pop- i gave up and decided to go w. cake balls.  I used vanilla cake and frosting– but you can go w. whatever– chocolate, red velvet etc. Baking chocolate is the way to go for dipping because it hardens well.  I ran out- and tried w. semi sweet chocolate chips- but that was much messier.  Sprinkles are a great way to dress them up- and cover up those imperfections.  There is something so delicious about the cake box/store bought frosting– reminds me of my youth– and with all the preservatives these keep very well.

1 box cake mix
1 container frosting
Baking Chocolate- I used semi-sweet- i’d say you need at least 2 packs

Make cake according to directions. Cool cake totally.  Break up cake with your hands (which it oddly fun).  If you have one, you can put it in the food processor for extra fine uniform crumbs.  Put in a big a bowl, mix w. about 3/4 tub of icing or 1/2 cup of homemade frosting, until it comes together- can use your hands.  Mix in additional frosting if necessary.  Roll mixture into 1″ balls and place on a cookie sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour or overnight.  Melt chocolate in microwave- in about 15 second intervals,  stir and repeat.  Roll balls in chocolate (twss), sprinkle w. sprinkles, put back on cookie sheet to harden.

One of my favorites things is peppermint bark from William Sonoma. A couple years ago, Chrissy got me some for my birthday.  Last year, Charlotte awesomely made me some.   This year, I wanted to try to make it myself and give it to a someone (who should receive it via fedex tomorrow).  Terry sent me this recipe- from a Philly paper. Would be great for holiday parties/office gifts.  It is so good- and is very easy- you are just basically melting chocolate. Make sure you use good chocolate- I always go Ghiradelli.  I used about a 9×13 inch jellyroll pan. You’d think- the thicker the better- but this was actually perfect thickness/proportions—too thick and it separates and is hard to eat.

1-1/4 pound dark/semi-sweet (ghiradelli calls it bittersweet) 60-70% cocoa
3/4 pound white chocolate
5 candy canes (i used 6, but same difference)

Line a jelly roll/baking sheet w. edges with parchment paper. Put candy canes in a zip lock bag. Bang with a frying pan to break up. Melt dark chocolate in a heatproof bowl (pyrex bowls work great) over simmering water (just a couple inches of water- it shouldn’t touch bottom of bowl) in a small saucepan . Pour and spread melted chocolate on prepared sheet.  Refrigerate until firm (only takes like 10/15 minutes). Melt white chocolate.  Pour and spread on dark chocolate.  Sprinkle on candy cane pieces and dust.  Refrigerate again until firm. Break/chop up as you wish.