Family Bites

Chocolate Chip Cookie Cups

"If you build it, they will come." 

The voice that whispered to Kevin Costner may have been talking about a baseball diamond, but in my head the murmur is more of a parenting message, and it simply states the following: offer fun food, and good food, and plenty of it, and the boys will want to hang out at home with their friends instead of the neighbourhood park, plaza, or shopping mall.

This is more of a mental memo for the teen years, of course, but I'm putting it into practice now. Should you feel inclined to do the same, I might suggest these chocolate chip cookie cups as a good starting point.

To make them, press your favourite cookie dough into a muffin tin - about 2 tablespoons per cup - and bake them for 10-15 minutes, depending on your recipe. Halfway through the cooking time, remove the tray from the oven and press the cookie dough down with the back of a spoon. Let the cookies cool for five minute then remove them from the pan. Once they've cooled completely, fill with a small scoop of ice cream or frozen yogurt and pass around to the kids who are over. 

I promise you, they'll want to come back again.  

How to make a cookie tree

The photo from my recent Thanksgiving dinner that attracted the most attention was the cookie tree I made for the kids in our family. Since there were a lot of comments about how people might like to do this for Christmas, I thought I would give you a quick breakdown of how I put it all together (minus photos - I didn't take many!).

1) For starters, I made my sugar cookies three weeks before Thanksgiving weekend. There is enough to keep you busy in the days leading up to a big holiday that I'm sure you can think of other things that will need your attention more than cookies. Take a free afternoon a few weeks before the big day and whip up a batch, cutting them into shapes that match the theme of your event.

2) Before baking, use a straw and poke a small hole in the cookie. This will be where you thread the string or ribbon that you use to hang them. Make sure it isn't too close to the top of the cookie; I make my holes 1/4" down from the top. Bake the cookies as per the recipe and store them in an airtight container in the freezer until you need them for decorating.

3) Make the royal icing one week before decorating. My friend Marian assures me this okay. Because I used her recipe, which is made with meringue powder and not egg whites, it can be stored in a lidded container at room temperature. Colour your icing at this point, or do it just before using it. Keep different colours in separate containers.

4) Two or three days before your party/holiday send your husband and youngest son on a walk to find decent, yet barren, branches. Dig out a tall container - I used a stainless steel one I had picked up at the dollar store - and fill it almost full with sugar. Insert the sticks into the sugar, positioning them however you like. The sugar will hold them in place. To me, it looked like the branches were in snow so I covered mine with leaves from my front yard. For winter holidays I would leave it as is...it will look pretty and seasonal. 

5) The day before you need your tree, remove the cookies from the freezer and decorate them with the icing. Allow the cookies to dry for a minimum of 8 hours in a non-humid space. Slide the dried cookies onto your ribbon/yarn/string and tie a double knot at the top. Hang the cookies from the branches, spreading them out evenly over the tree. 

I think this would be a brilliant addition to any birthday party. Just cut out cookies that match the theme of the party, or go with something fun and festive like balloon-shaped cookies paired with ones that are cut out in the number of the birthday child.

S'mores Cookies

The last time I baked a batch of cookies for the kids our parkas were still hanging from the wall-mounted coat rack by the front door. It seems I make them far more often in the cooler months when they can sit alongside warm mugs of hot cocoa or creamy tea. In summer, though, watermelon and frozen lollies serve as the perfect sweet treat, and cookies are all but forgotten about. Or they were, until I spotted this recipe for s'mores cookies in Wednesday's Globe and Mail. 

I tore the recipe from the food section of the paper early in the morning, and the tantalizing image of toasted marshmallows, rich chocolate and crisp graham crackers enveloped in a crispy cake haunted me all day. Even though it was after 9pm by the time I found my way into the kitchen - sheesh, it's hard to get things done during the day with the kids home from school - those cookies were made. And eaten. 

The boys have devoured far more than necessary in the last day and I'm told they taste great with a cold glass of milk. I munched on mine while downing a crisp glass of chardonnay, and that combination was pretty tasty, too, I must admit.

I've been struggling to figure out what I'm going to take to a pot-luck lunch in August and now I know. I mean what could be more befitting than s'mores stuffed cookies on a hot August afternoon? 

S'mores Cookies

Slightly adapted from The Globe and Mail

• 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• ½ cup white sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 200g dark or milk chocolate, chopped into pieces
• 13 graham crackers
• 24 large marshmallows 

Preheat the oven to 375. Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the butter, brown sugar and white sugar until thick and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix until each is completely combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula, add vanilla and beat until well combined.

Turn the mixer to low and stir the flour mixture in; fold in the chocolate chunks.

Place the graham crackers in a freezer bag and crush them into pieces with your hand. Add them into the cookie dough.

Take a heaping tablespoon of the dough and place it on the greased cookie sheets.  Repeat with the remaining dough, spacing them a few inches apart to allow for spreading. Flatten the cookies with your fingers and then top with a piece of large marshmallow that has been cut in half (kitchen scissors work well).

Bake the cookies for 8 to 10 minutes. If you are baking more than one tray at a time, switch the top tray with the bottom tray halfway through so that they all bake evenly. They are done when the marshmallows are melted and golden brown and the bottoms of the cookies are slightly darker. Transfer to a wire cooling rack.

They will keep in an airtight container at room temp for a week or two and in the freezer for two months. 

 

Give a Little Love

We're not that big on Valentine's Day. Rob and I try to have a date-night at home every week, and have been doing so for many, many years, which means that February 14th isn't that significant to our relationship.

Having said that, it's often been a day where we've done a few fun things with and for the boys. I always buy them a new book, something sweet if possible, and I like to add a little extra love to their breakfast plate with heart-shaped pancakes or red smoothies. And of course we've made all manner of Valentine's Day cards for the classroom exchanges, which Jackson is boycotting this year, for reasons to0 many to list here, but all of them his own.

Despite our lack of celebration for this holiday (is it really a holiday?), I've never been short on ideas for craft and baking projects. I recently put together a few things for iVillage Canada that I thought you might like to see.

The little bags above are my idea for boy-friendly treat packaging. For a day made up of pink and hearts aplenty, it can be a challenge to create something masculine. The how-to can be found here. 

I also made some bakery-style mini cupcakes and cocoa snap cookie sandwiches perfect for a classroom parties or post-dinner dessert.

Happy Love Day!

 

 

 

Cookie of the Week: Honey Cinnamon Madeleines

 
Our very favourite cookie is the modest madeleine.  Seemingly small, plain, possibly even ordinary, these cookies are anything but.  The boys and I have long loved these tiny treats, and when Rob and I went to Paris three years ago we brought back a Madeleine pan for Jackson as a souvenir.  That's right.  At six, the boy requested a baking pan from France and his wish was my command.

While these are very easy to make, there are essential requirements that will yield the most perfect madeleine, the first of which is the baking pan.  I'm not one for keeping a collection of one-use-only gadgets in my kitchen, but because we love to make these, the pans are worth the real estate in my cupboard. We have Jackson's authentic pan, and mine, which was picked up for $10 at my local home goods store.

On the note of baking pans, please use metal and not silicone.  When brushed with butter to prevent sticking, the metal pans provide a golden hue to your crumb that you don't want to miss out on.

The other vital tip in making great madeleines is to start with room temperature eggs.  In my opinion this isn't negotiable, so be sure to pull them out of the fridge early in the day so they are ready when you are. Okay, let's get started.....

PS - See the droplets of water in the picture?  Only a fool would stand outside and try to capture a photo in the pouring rain before her kids and their friends ate all the cookies.

Honey Cinnamon Madeleines

The recipe this one is adapted from weighs the ingredients instead of measuring them with cups and spoons. When I was taking baking courses in college, I was taught that this method always yielded the best results. These are the most perfect madeleines I have made, proving the point I think.  Last week there was an article in the New York Times about baking with measurements if you're interested.

• 4 oz unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 medium eggs, room temperature
• 2 3/4 oz superfine sugar
• 1/4 oz soft dark brown sugar
• a pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3 1/4 oz all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Brush the madeleine molds with some of the melted butter.

Put the remainder of the butter in a small saucepan with the honey and melt it, then cool slightly.

Meanwhile, place the eggs in a large bowl with both the sugars, the salt and vanilla. Whisk until pale yellow and doubled in volume.

Sift the flour, cinnamon and baking powder into the eff mixture. Fold them into the wet ingredients gently.

Add the melted butter and honey, and incorporate it. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for one hour.

Using two small spoons, scoop about a teaspoon of mixture into the middle of each mold.  The mixture will spread during baking, so it's not necessary to fill the molds.

Place in the oven and bake for four minutes for small madeleines or 8 minutes for large ones. 

Allow to cool for one minute, remove from the pan and served.

Tip:

Madeleines are best served the day they are made.  If you would like to make the mixture in advance, it can be refrigerated overnight, and then baked the day you are serving them.  If you go this route, reduce the butter by 3/4 oz. and then melt that amount the following day to grease your pans with it.

Cookie of the Week: Ginger Cookies

With the cool fall air that's been swirling about these days, it only seems fitting that the first cookie recipe I've made in weeks should be a warmly spiced ginger cookie. While many people are mourning the sudden demise of summer, I for one couldn't be happier about these newly arrived sweater-wearing days. I'm an autumn girl through and through, and the idea of swapping popsicles and lemonade for hot tea and crisp cookies is perfectly fine with me. Especially if the cookies are coated in Demerara sugar and flecked with ginger, cinnamon and freshly grated nutmeg.

Ginger Cookies

adapted from Alice Medrich's Chewy, Gooey, Crispy Crunch 

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup Demerara sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the flours, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg in a medium-sized mixing bowl and stir together with a fork or a whisk.

Combine the warm butter, molasses, sugars, vanilla and egg in a large bowl and mix thoroughly. Add the flour mixture, and stir to incorporate.

The dough will be soft.  Chill for 15-30 minutes until it's firm enough to roll.  Form 1" balls with the dough and roll in the Demerara.  Place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet - 2 inches apart - and bake for 9-10 minutes.  

Allow to cool completely before eating.  Store in an air-tight container for up to one week.

 

Milk and Cookies Cocktails

You know when you hear a song on the radio, or in a movie, and you can't get it out of your head for days? You find yourself singing the theme song to iCarly as you wash the dishes, or better yet, all you can hear in your head is (as your talking to a client at work!) is  "shake ya a**, watch yourself" after watching About a Boy for the sixteeth time.

That's how I felt about these sprinkle-rimmed glasses of milk I spotted over on Oh Sweet Babies. I couldn't get the image out of my head, and for days all I could think was what a fun idea for a party, don't you agree?

In my mind these would be absolutely perfect for a tween birthday party. Originally I was thinking a real girly party would be the ideal time to serve these, but the reaction of my tween boys to these kiddie cocktails made me realize they would work for both genders.  

Little kids would love them too, but I might consider forgoing the glass and using plastic or disposable sippers for them if you're serving them at a party.  For playdates, or smaller groups, I would definitely use the fancy glasses.  Won't the kids feel so grown up and special?

As I was sitting here uploading these pictures, it also occurred to me that they would be wonderful to serve at a baby shower, where there are generally a few ladies in attendance who can't indulge in a nice glass of wine.  For that type of event I would likely use little shot glasses, and serve a milk and cookies shooter to the crowd.

Milk and Cookies Cocktails

Using two plates, place a few tablespoons of agave nectar or honey on one and coloured sprinkles on the other.  Dip the rim of the glass into the honey, allowing the excess to drip off before dipping the rim into the sprinkles.  Leave the glasses upside down and allow the sprinkles to adhere before turning the cups right side up (or the sprinkles will run down the side of the glass).

Make your favourite chocolate chip cookie recipe and shape some of the dough into small balls, approximately 1" in size.  Place a lollipop stick in the middle of the dough ball and press down to ensure the stick is covered by dough on all sides. Bake as per your cookie recipe.

Fill the glasses with milk and rest a cookie garnish on the rim of the glass.

I'm Sorry Chocolate Chip Cookies

I think I've been a grumpy mommy lately.  Actually, I know I have.  I'm not normally the bad-tempered sort, so I'm attributing my behaviour to my busy days of late.  

More work days than usual, combined with new projects, new freelance work (yippee!), March Break, broken fingers resulting in full arm casts rendering one child less capable then before, hockey for one, hockey for the other, a new job for Rob, homework for the kids, more work for me, a dog that needs walking, lots of company, sleepless nights (note: daylight savings wrecks havoc on me), and so on.  

Don't worry, this isn't a pity party for one.  I love almost everything mentioned above, but I do acknowledge now that the busy months are taking their toll on my pleasantness.  And when I'm busy, and a little overwhelmed, it's natural for me to want to bake to soothe my soul (so logical to add more to my to-do list, I know!).

But this time I needed to bake for the boys, and not me.  Something to remind them that their cheery mom still lives within, and to apologize for being a wee bit huffy lately. The kids are both very sensitive to my cantankerous ways, and I'm positive that if we can say I love you with food, then we can certainly also say I'm sorry. So, I am.  With cookies.  Warm from the oven, wrapped in parchment and tucked into the lunchbox with a note.  

 Whole Grain Chocolate Chip Cookies, adapted from Orangette

A few notes: 

• This recipe comes from the book Good to the Grain.  If you're interested in whole grain baking, this is an excellent resource.
• Although I love dark chocolate, I like to use milk chocolate in this recipe.  I think it pairs nicely with the wheat-y taste of the cookies.
• I use whole wheat pastry flour as I find it to be the best substitute for all-purpose flour.  The original recipe uses the regular whole wheat flour variety, so please feel free to do so.

Recipe:

• 3 cups whole wheat pastry flour (see note above)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup cold butter, cut into cubes
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips

Method:

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a mixing bowl and set aside.

Place the sugars and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer and cream together on the lowest speed for 2 minutes or until well combined.  Add the eggs, one at time, mixing well between each addition.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the vanilla and blend together. 

Slowly add in the flour mixture, beating until just combined.  Remove the bowl from the mixer, pour in the chocolate chips and stir together with a spatula. 

Drop large dollops of batter (approx. 3 tablespoons) onto a cookie sheet and cover with plastic wrap.  Refrigerate for minimum one hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Bake cookies for 18 minutes, rotating the pans half way through.  Allow to cool and eat while warm if possible.

Rainbow Mini Meringues in a Pot of Gold

We don't usually go all out for St. Patrick's Day.  More often than not it falls over our Spring Break, and other fun things are happening which keep us from celebrating our heritage.  Between Rob and I we are in fact quite Irish. His grandparents came from the Emerald Isle, as did a handful of my great grandparents. Ben sports a red-ish hue to his hair and freckles aplenty, which can only come from that ancestral line, I'm sure. 

Now, while I'm not that interested in celebrating the day of green, I do confess to being quite smitten with all things rainbow these days.  I love seeing it in food and gift wrapping and think it was makes the most ordinary items so much more fun.  Case in point with Jackson's rainbow birthday cake earlier this year.  

All of this to say that it was rainbow colours that inspired this treat, more than St. Patrick's Day itself.  But since the holiday does fall on this Thursday, and your kids might be looking for something fun and easy to make to stave off boredom, it seemed like the perfect time to share this with you.

Mini meringues.  Perhaps the easiest and sweetest little cookie you can make. There are three ingredients required, all of which I'm pretty sure you have in stock in your kitchen, and as long as you have a hand or electric mixer you are in business.  I do use a little vanilla powder in my recipe, but it's certainly not essential.  Vanilla extract would work just as well, but neither is fine too.  

Once the meringue is whipped up, divide it into as many bowls as colours you have, tint it slightly, pipe the mixture onto a baking sheet, or scoop out small amounts with a spoon, and bake for 90 minutes.  While the cookies are cooking paint a small plant pot or container shimmery gold and you have a celebratory vessel for your little sweets.  And when it's served it a fun and pretty way, it's so much more fun to eat.

My little freckle-faced boy, his brother and I are skipping town for a few days to go and relax.  We've stockpiled new books, a few movies, chess, Risk and a few other goodies to keep us busy.  We plan on getting in some hiking and swimming (indoor of course) and will return on Wednesday.  See you then!

 

Rainbow Mini Meringues

• 4 large egg whites, approximately 1/2 cup
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla powder 
• Gel paste food colouring

Preheat the oven to 175 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Set a pot of water over medium high heat and cover the pot with a heat-proof bowl.  Bring the water to a boil and place the egg whites and sugar inside.  Whisk lightly over the heat until the sugar has dissolved.  Add the salt and transfer the mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer (or use a hand mixer at this point).

Beat the eggs on medium-high speed until stiff peaks forms, approximately ten minutes.  Add the vanilla powder and continue beating until well incorporated.  

Divide the mixture among six bowls and tint with desired colours.  Spoon each colour into a disposable piping bag fitted with your desired tips (I used round and star) and pipe out 1" shapes that sit about 1" high.  

When the baking sheets are filled with meringue cookies bake for 90 minutes, turn the sheets halfway through the cooking process.

Allow to cool completely before removing from the pan.

 

 

White Chocolate, Cornmeal and Dried Cranberry Biscotti

I'm at a loss for words today.  This doesn't happen often, believe me, but as I sit here typing, bleary-eyed from a lack of sleep over the past few days, I find myself with nothing to say.  Nothing at all.  Nada.  

I could tell you that I finally finished my gift wrapping yesterday, and am pleased as punch with the shimmery corner of my living room, now aglow with twinkle lights and sparkling packages.  Or I could tell you that I didn't cook once this weekend since Friday night.  Which means I'd also have to admit that the boys had cereal for dinner last night, while Rob and I dined on cheese and crackers, with a side helping of roasted garlic hummus.

I could mention that I recently made some wicked good hot cocoa powder, or that Jackson informed me that he needs Christmas vacation far more than I do, because when I go to work all I do is plan parties, but when he goes to school he works very hard every day for his paycheque, which is his good grades.  And I'm sure I should tell you that Ben scored a goal in hockey, and then snuggled up on the sofa with me for an entire hour while we watched an HBO special on the the upcoming Winter Classic featuring his beloved Washington Capitals.  

But I suppose I really should just tell you about the biscotti.  The biscotti I decided I had to make at 9pm, when the kids were down and the dog was sleeping, and the house was quiet and clean.  The one that I knew, upon quick review of the ingredients, was going to be a keeper.  It's also the one that's made with cornmeal, flecked with dried cranberries and peppered with chopped walnuts.  And the drizzle of white chocolate on top?  Well, that's just an added flavour bonus.  One that yields deep rewards from the first bite to the final swallow. Yes, I really do need to tell you about the biscotti. 

And to think I thought I had nothing to say.  

 

White Chocolate, Cornmeal and Dried Cranberry Biscotti, adapted from Alice Medrich's Chewy, Gooey, Crispy, Crunchy

• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour (or all-purpose flour)
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 3/4 cup walnut pieces
• 3 oz. white chocolate, melted

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

Combine the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar.  Add the eggs and vanilla, and mix until light and fluffy.

Add the flour mixture, stirring until all of the ingredients are moistened.  Mix in the cranberries and walnuts.  With damp hands, shape the dough into a 12" x 3" log and place it on the lined baking sheet.

Bake for 35 minutes, or until cracked on top.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes. Transfer the log onto a wooden carving board and, using a serrated knife, cut the loaf into diagonal pieces, about 1/2 inch wide. Transfer the slices to the cookie sheet and bake for another 15 minutes, or until the cookies become slightly browned along the edges.   Cool completely and drizzle with melted while chocolate. Once chocolate has hardened, store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.