Cookie Friday

Sorry for the delay between posts! February has been such a busy month both with work and personally. I left you last time with a preview of a huge cookie project I was working on. I made cookies and cake pops for a friend's Valentine's Day event. It was the first time I've taken on a project that large or made food for that many people. It was a great time and I would love an opportunity to do it again! In the mean time I thought I'd share my cookie recipe with you.

After years of trial and error I have found my perfect cookie. I love soft, sweet, melt in your mouth cookies so if you like crunchy cookies, this recipe is not for you! I'm sure you could adapt it for thinner crunchier cookies, after all it is an adaptation of Mark Bittman's Roll Out Cookies. These are sweet and soft and keep their shape well.

2 sticks butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 egg, room temperature
pinch of salt (big one, like on tv)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the egg and mix until incorporated.

Combine the flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl and mix with a whisk or sift together. Add this to the butter mixture in parts alternating with 1/2 tablespoon of milk. (fl, m, fl, m, fl) and stir in the vanilla.

Shape the dough into a disk, wrap in cling wrap, and refrigerate for 2 hours or up to 2 days. I you want to do sliced cookies, shape it into a log and then refrigerate and slice instead of using cookie cutters.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Cut the dough disk in half and leave one half in the fridge. Lightly flour a work surface and a rolling pin and roll the dough to 1/4 of an inch thickness. This makes them softer, make them thinner if you want them crisper. Turning and adding flour to prevent sticking. Cut with a cookie cutter and place on a greased or parchment lined cookie sheet. I had never used parchment paper before and I won't be without it again! It's amazing I would highly recommend the investment.

Bakes for 6-10 minutes or until the edges are lightly brown and the center set. I only bake them for 6 minutes, rotating them halfway through which leaves them a little under baked and softer.

Let rest on the sheets for a minute or so before removing to cooling racks to cool completely. This makes about 4 dozen cookies with the 1/4" thickness, it also depends on the size of the cutter you choose.

You can frost these however you like, or enjoy them plain. I use a fondant that I discovered at a cookie decorating class my sister and I took over the summer when we were in middle or elementary school. It keeps the cookies really soft and make a pretty and shiny glaze. I found liquid food coloring works best.

Fondant Icing

1 pound powdered sugar
1 1/2 oz butter (3 Tbs)
1/2 pint milk
1/2 tsp almond extract

Head the milk and butter on the stove or in the microwave just until the butter is melted. Add it to the powdered sugar. I don't use all of the liquid, I like the fondant to be quite thick which makes it very smooth and hard when it dries. If it's too thin add more powdered sugar, too thick, add more milk.

To frost the cookie, just drop it in a wide bowl of fondant, topside down into the icing, and lift it out and spin it gently so all the excess drips off. I also let them dry on a rack over some paper towels as they do drip a bit.

Once they're dry you can pipe on decorations with royal icing. Let those dry overnight. These cookies are great for shipping and have a long shelf life not to mention they taste good!

Noodle Soup Thursday

It is cold....very cold! I am also feeling a little run down and on the verge of catching a cold, so this meal was just what I needed. My ultimate comfort food is pasta of any kind kept pretty simple. This meal made me feel warm and comfortable and a little bit like a kid again when Grandma would make me noodle soup when I wasn't feeling well. This meal warms both the body and the heart!

Glazed Carrots from Mark Bittman
4 Servings

1 lb of carrots, baby, coins, sticks, your choice
2 tbs butter or olive oil
salt
pepper

Place all the ingredients in a small saucepan no larger than six inches across. Add 1/3 cup of water and bring to a boil. Cover, and reduce heat to a simmer. Let it cook relatively undisturbed for 10-20 minutes or until the liquid has reduced quite a bit and the carrots are tender. I cook mine for the full 20 because I love when the carrots melt in your mouth. Uncover and boil off the rest of the liquid. Add a tsp of lemon juice if you'd like and season to taste. I added 1 cup of cooked peas- I always have some in my freezer. The touch of green on my plate makes me feel like I'm being healthy.

Simple Alphabet Noodle Soup
by Me
Serves 1

1/2 a small onion, diced or minced, however you like them in your soup
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tbs butter
1/3 cup alphabet noodles, you know the kind
2 cups stock, I used mushroom
salt
pepper

I cooked this in the same pan I cooked the carrots in so it had some of the earthy carrot flavors in there...and the butter! Melt the butter over medium high heat and add the onion and garlic and cook until soft, about 5 minutes or so. At this point you can add the stock bring it to a boil and then add the noodles and cook until tender. I added the noodles before the stock and let them toast in the butter until lightly browned and then added the stock. Finish it by seasoning it with salt and pepper. You can add some thyme to get a more classic soup flavor, but I find it a little overpowering and like the simplicity of the broth.

Now I'm all cozy and ready to get some rest which I'll need because here's a preview of my weekend!

I'm making a ton of these this weekend for a Valentine's party on Monday, and cake pops too, my first commission! Hopefully the first of many! Stay tuned...

Poached Egg Wednesday

Because of my job, I have a schedule where my weekends fall in the middle of the week. So instead of having awesome Sunday brunches with the rest of the hip city people I treat myself to a midweek brunch...for one...

I end up eating the same thing every time I wake up late on a Wednsday because it is so easy and delicious -poached eggs on a bed of wild rice with tomato sauce and cheese- I was inspired by one of the timea I actually got to go eat some brunch with friends recently, plus these are ingredients I always have handy and they're relatively inexpensive. We never had poached eggs growing up so I just learned how to make them with my favorite cookbook How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman.

Poached eggs:

water
2 eggs
1tsp vinegar
1tsp salt

Fill a deep skillet with about a inch of water (I don't have one so I just use a medium-ish saucepan) and bring to a boil. Add a teaspoon of both salt and vinegar and reduce to a simmer where only one or two bubbles rise to the surface. I've been experimenting with different kinds of vinegar, initially just because I didn't have any white vinegar, and so far like rice vinegar the best but white wine and red wine vinegar were good as well.


Crack your eggs into a small bowl one at a time and slide the egg gently into the water. I only cook two at a time because it is all I need, and Mark Bittman suggests doing them in small batches so they cook properly. Let them cook until the whites are opaque and the yolks are cooked, but not hard, so about 5 minutes. Remove them gently with a slotted spoon.

I usually put them right onto my bed of wild rice (about 1/2 cup) but you can put them on paper towels to get some of the water off and if you want them to be prettier you can trim off the fluffy edges. Then I top them with a few tablespoons of home made tomato sauce, but I'm sure some warmed up from a jar works just as well. It would also be great with some sauteed spinach in the mix which I keep meaning to try. Sprinkle some freshly grated parmesan on top and you're done.














For a quick and flavorful sauce try...
Mark Bittman's Fast Tomato Sauce:

3 tbs olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 cans whole tomatoes, drained and chopped (I use diced when that's all I have)
salt
pepper

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat, add the oil. When it's hot add the onion and cook for a few minutes or until softened. Add the tomatoes and cook for about 10-15 minutes or until the tomatoes have broken down and the sauce has thickened and season with salt and pepper to taste. Let cool and puree if you'd like. I like to add a little garlic, sometimes minced carrot and celery - he has at least 25 variations on this sauce in How to Cook Anything Vegetarian. It's so fast and tastes fresher than canned sauce and can be used in a variety of recipes so I make it once a week or so.

You can adjust the fat and sodium easily if you need to and poach just the whites of the eggs if you want to be super healthy, but it's a relatively healthy brunch choice as is.

Birthday Tuesday

I know the name of this blog is Pizza Tuesday and my first post should really feature pizza but this Tuesday we did not make pizza we made cake, birthday cake! My good friend's birthday just happened to be on a Tuesday and she requested red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting as she is a recent convert to this confection. These cakes are so popular this time of year and generally seem to be everywhere you look in New York City. Since one of my food blog heroes (blero?) Sprinklebakes posted a gorgeous red velvet cake recipe the day before with some interesting ingredients, I was looking for an excuse to give it a try anyways. You can find the original recipe here among her many other wonderful desserts but I will share it with you as well.

Cake:
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
2 cups of sugar
1 cup butter (2 sticks) softened
2 eggs (room temperature)
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1 1/2 tbsp liquid red food coloring
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp cider vinegar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease and flour 2 or 3 round 9" cake pans-I only have 2 that's what I used. Then mix the salt and flour together and set aside. Combine the butter and sugar and mix with a hand held or stand mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time mixing well after each addition. Add the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Blend in the vanilla.

In a small bowl combine the cocoa powder with the food coloring until you form a smooth paste. If you are anything like me, be very careful with the food coloring, wear an apron and don't wear a white shirt! Add the paste to the batter and mix well. In another small bowl, mix together the cider vinegar and baking soda, mix well (it will foam) and add it immediately to the batter. Mix until it reaches an even consistency.


Spoon Batter into the pans, it is very thick so you will need to spread it evenly with a spatula. I like to drop the pan on the counter from a few inches above it once just to release any huge air bubbles but I don't know how necessary it is for this cake. Pop it in the preheated oven and bake for 25-30 minutes. Mine came out a little unevenly so I had to leave the thicker cake in a few minutes longer. The cake should spring back and pushed gently in the center or you could use a cake tester and make sure it comes out clean. Turn the cakes out onto wire cooling racks and make sure to cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting:
2 8oz packages cream cheese (softened)
1 cup butter (2 sticks) softened
2 tsp vanilla extract
4-5 cups sifted confectioners sugar (I never sift so it was a bit less)

In a large bowl beat together the cream cheese butter and vanilla with a mixer until smooth. Keep the mixer set to low and gradually add the powdered sugar unless you want powdered sugar pants!
















Beat until light and fluffy. As always with frosting, if it is too thin add more powdered sugar, too thick add a little milk. I always have trouble working with cream cheese frosting because it is so gooey so I took Sprinklebakes advice and chilled it in the fridge and it firmed up nicely.

It was funny to see a red velvet cake covered in sprinkles and pink frosting, like a familiar friend in an unusual outfit. The cake is amazingly dense and rich and I loved adding butter to the cream cheese frosting which made it more palatable, it is usually too rich for me. And the color, wow!

It was great sharing it with everyone, having everyone say "You made this?" and best of all making a very happy birthday for the birthday girl!

Also, I just want to thank all my friends who kept telling me to start this food blog, I think this is going to be fun! <3 Ms. Tuesday