Lime Sugar Cookies

Posted on 7 September 2013 by Elizabeth

It’s been unbearably hot here this past couple of weeks, and it came time to make a treat for the ladies at church and all I could think about was cool things: icy drinks, ice cream, and lime, because for some reason I associate lime with cool summery things. And I usually make the ladies a cookie, so I went hunting for a recipe. What I present below is a variation of a recipe found on Epicurious (first published in Gourmet Magazine in July of 2000), incorporating a few of the reviews.

While I don’t usually like cookies that take too many steps (I believe you’re just supposed to throw stuff into a mixing bowl, then onto the cookie sheet, then pop the resulting warm baked treat into your mouth), this extra step of making lime sugar is a good step to add, for these cookies are pretty tender, and getting the lime-infused sweetness into them and onto them adds to their appeal.

If you don’t have a food processor, I suppose you could use a rasp to grate the lime peel, then blend into the sugar WELL, and it will probably work. This batch made about 55 cookies. Last caveat: the dough is really soft and must be chilled for easier handling, so while these are easy to whip up, be sure to chill them at least four hours. As far as shaping goes, I used a small cookie dough scoop to get them uniform; alternatively you could roll the dough into the size of a golf ball with your hands.

First make your Lime Sugar
9 limes
2 1/2 cups sugar

Preparation
Remove zest from limes in strips with a vegetable peeler being careful not to strip off the white pith along with the zest (a little won’t matter, but pith imparts a bitter flavor). Unchopped, the zest measures a healthy one cup (see photos above). Place sugar in the food processor, add lime peels and grind until mixture is pale green with bits of zest still visible. Lime sugar may be made 3 days ahead and kept, chilled, in an airtight container, but could also be frozen for longer storage. NOTE: The sugar becomes aerated in the food processor; do not pack when measuring.

Now make the Cookies
2 and 1/4 sticks (18 tablespoons) butter, softened
6 tablespoons cold vegetable shortening
3 cups lime sugar
3 large eggs
3 teaspoons vanilla
3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 and 1/2 teaspoons salt

Preparation

Beat together butter, shortening, and lime sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt together then add gradually to the egg mixture; beat on low speed until just combined.

Cover and chill dough until firm, at least 4 hours.

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Mix 1 cup granulated sugar with 1/2 cup lime sugar in a bowl. Using a small cookie scoop about the size of a golf ball, scoop balls of dough into the sugar mixture, then roll to cover well. (At our house, we put the sugar mixture in a ziploc bag, add the dough balls to that and shake gently to cover them in sugar.)

PROPERLY PLACED COOKIES

Shake off excess, then place 2-3 inches apart on parchment-lined cookie sheet. Press lightly with bottom of a drinking glass to flatten slightly.

Bake cookies in batches in middle of oven 11 to 12 minutes, or until pale golden with slightly dark golden edges. (Don’t overbake.) Immediately transfer with a metal spatula to a rack set. Cool cookies. Dough can be made 2 days ahead and chilled, wrapped well in plastic wrap. Cookies keep in an airtight container at cool room temperature 2 days.

FAIL.

This is why you shouldn’t crowd the cookies. They were still good, but required 13 minutes to cook and were slightly square. Confession: I still packaged them up and gave them out, but put the prettier ones on top.

Cherry-Arugula Salad

Posted on 1 July 2013 by Elizabeth

Bedridden from a foot surgery, I fantasized about getting up and cooking and about what I’d make when I could finally get out of bed. An article in the New York Times about cherries was published just about that time, and a friend picked up the ingredients for me to make this creation from Martha Rose Shulman (whose recipes I generally adore). It was just the ticket for bringing some new flavors to our menu which had been, for a week or more, built around prepared freezer meals from the grocery store. It was wonderful!

It has a strong flavor so don’t serve something delicate with it–to go along with this, try seasoned barbequed chicken thighs and a sturdy side dish. But the combo of the tangy vinaigrette alongside some brilliantly flavorful cherries and creamy chevre was heaven.

1 6-ounce bag baby arugula
16 cherries, halved and pitted
Scant 1/4 cup pistachios or almonds, (about 1 ounce), lightly toasted and chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
Salt and freshly ground pepper
3-5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 ounces goat cheese, crumbled

Combine the arugula, cherries, half the nuts and the tarragon in a large bowl.

Whisk together the vinegars, salt and pepper and olive oil. Toss with the salad. Arrange on a platter, sprinkle the goat cheese and remaining pistachios over the top, and serve.

Yield: 4 servings.

Cook’s Note: I didn’t have sherry vinegar, so I used rice wine vinegar with about 2 teaspoons sugar, for a substitute.

Nutritional information per serving: 212 calories; 18 grams fat; 5 grams saturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 10 grams monounsaturated fat; 11 milligrams cholesterol; 9 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 87 milligrams sodium (does not include salt to taste); 6 grams protein

Quick and Easy Pie Crust

Posted on 14 April 2013 by Elizabeth

Based on the old-fashioned taste test, this is a winner pie crust recipe, and it’s easy, too. And it tastes WAAAAAY better than those things you buy in the store, although if you have broken your hand or something, you’ll just have to buy those instead. This recipe makes a one-crust pie shell. For a two-crust pie, please double.

In a medium bowl, place:
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

Blend together, then cut in 1/2 cup shortening until the pieces look like little peas. Here’s a video, with an annoying beep, with the cook using a pastry blender, OR, here’s a video, with narration, of the cook using two knives.

I’ve done both (the pastry blender is easier). Pictured above is my favorite kind. If the dough stuff gets caught in the loops, just run a knife over it to get it out. You’ll know what I mean when you use it.

Toss in 3-4 Tablespoons of really cold water, about 1 Tablespoon at a time, fluffing and tossing with a regular dinner fork, until the dough starts to hold together in clumps, and when you try to gather it together in a ball with your hands. . . you can. The less you work your pie crust, the more tender it will be. And the least amount of water you can put in keeps it from being soggy.

Roll it out to the desired size, usually about 11″ round for a regular pie, then roll it back onto your rolling pin, and lift it onto your pie plate. This website has some pretty good pictures of the process, including the cutting in business (it’s where the picture above was taken from).

Follow the directions in your recipe for baking and filling, but generally, if you are going to cook an unfilled pie crust, you’ll need to weight it down with a square of tin foil, on which you’ve placed uncooked rice or beans. Bake for about 10 minutes at 425 degrees.

Above you see my Foley Pastry Frame, which is a square of canvas stretched between two bars and held in place by wire thingies. I also have a stockinette for my rolling pin. I wash this only when it becomes heavily spattered with food, and believe it or not, I store it in the freezer to make sure the cupboard moths don’t find it.

And one last detail: I think a rolling pin with ball bearings makes life easier, but you get to choose.

Tortellini en Brodo

Posted on 29 December 2012 by Elizabeth

Translated, this means tortellini in broth.

We arrived in Bologna on a rainy October night, and asked the hotel desk for a dinner recommendation. Da Nello, he said. A restaurant just off the main square. And then he said, “Tortellini en Brodo is very good. My favorite this time of year.” Apparently this soup is served when the weather turns cold, and since Bologna is the birthplace of the tortellini, I thought I should try it.

This is a photo of the soup that night. They brought me this steaming bowl of tortellini and a jar of grated Parmesan cheese, which the server indicated that I should sprinkle over the top. The tortellini were very small–about the size of my thumbnail and chewy rather than soft. I doubted this serving would fill me up, but by the end, I was happy, warm and in possession of a new traditional recipe.

We found the food in the Emilia-Romaga region to be simple, yet incredibly flavorful. I think it is because they use very high quality ingredients. So when you prepare this ready-in-ten-minutes soup and because there are only three elements, be sure to use high quality ingredients.

Ingredients
1 quart low-salt chicken broth, good quality. [Note: I use Swanson’s and have good results.]
1 8 oz. package fresh tortellini from the grocer’s, often found near the deli section

Preparation
Heat the broth to a low bubbling boil, then slide in the tortellini. Cook for 5-8 minutes until pasta is tender (but don’t overcook). Serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese (not the stuff in the green bottle–use high quality, please).

Tortellini Soup

Posted on 29 December 2012 by Elizabeth

When it’s raining or cold outside, it’s a Soup Night inside. And this one is a good candidate because it is chunky, hearty and has lots of vegetables and flavor. It is — as are all soups — generally better the next day, so you can use that as your excuse for making a big batch and serving it twice.

This soup was originally published in Bon Appetit, but I have made changes over the three billion times I’ve made it. Well, maybe I haven’t made it that many times, but I’ve made it for our own supper, potlucks, soup parties and everytime I bring it somewhere, someone asks for the recipe. Here it is.

Italian Sausage Soup with Tortellini–Yield: 8 servings, 1 1/2 cups each
(That’s the official name, but we just call it Tortellini Soup.)

1 lb. Italian sausage (I use Jimmy Dean’s Sage sausage as a back-up.)
1 coarsely-chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, sliced
4 cans (14.5 oz) beef broth
1/2 cup water
2 1/2 cups (5 medium) chopped, seeded, peeled tomatoes, or 1 1/2 pounds Roma tomatoes (see note below)
1 cup thinly sliced carrots (about 3)
1/2 tsp. basil leaves
8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 1/2 cups sliced zucchini (about 2 medium–8″ long)
1 bag of dried tortellini (8 oz)
1 pepper, preferable a sweet red or golden pepper

Grated Parmesan Cheese (I used cheddar tonight, which is what you see above.)

If sausage comes in a casing, remove casing and brown sausage in a 5-qt. soup pot. Remove sausage; drain. In 1 Tbs. of drippings, sauté onions and garlic until tender. [Cook’s note: I just throw in the onions and garlic to the almost browned sausage and keep stirring.]

(They call for peeled seeded tomatoes. Sometimes I do peel mine, but other times, I just cut them up, then pop out the seeds with my thumb.)

Add beef broth, water, tomatoes, carrots, basil, tomato sauce and sausage. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered 30 minutes. Skim fat from soup.

(If you use the full 16 oz. package of dry torrellini, you will have less of a soup and more of a casserole; try using just half of the package for a more soupier soup. Fresh tortellini can also be used, but it won’t be as delicious, as the dry pasta soaks up the broth and flavors of the soup.)

Stir in zucchini, tortellini and pepper. Simmer covered an additional 35-40 minutes or until tortellini are tender. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top of each serving.

NOTE: I added crimini (brown) mushrooms this time around, cuting them into chunks. This is strictly optional. If you use the Jimmy Dean’s sausage instead of the Italian, add a pinch of red pepper flakes to amp up the flavors.

Reindeer Christmas Cookies

Posted on 10 December 2012 by Elizabeth

My daughter informed me that these are all over Pinterest, but I found them by following a series of links to *this* page, where I swear this cook has photoshopped her cookies to look that good. Or maybe she’s just a better baker than I am, or maybe it’s because I substituted a cube of butter for some of that shortening — thinking it would taste better — but forgot how soft it makes cookies. So note to self: don’t swap out the shortening. Now, prep your stuff.

I couldn’t find baby chocolate-dipped pretzels, so if you think I was going to dip them all, you don’t know me very well. Spend your time where it counts, and improvise the rest. So I cut all my sort-of-mini pretzels in half. Antlers are kind of hoary looking, aren’t they?

I purchased minty white chocolate M&Ms for the nose. They come in a package with red and white. We ate all the white ones, while saving the red ones for this project. I had also purchased mini M&Ms for the eyes. We decided we liked brown and blue, and that the reindeer with the green eyes looked like Zombie Reindeer (so that would be for a different holiday).

Make up a double batch of the dough in the Christmas Kiss cookies. Roll them into 1-inch balls, but I have to admit that I used my cookie scooper, which I think is 1 and 1/2 inches. Place a couple of scoops of sugar in a large plastic baggie, drop in the balls of cookie dough, and shake lightly to coat them with sugar (so much easier than rolling them around in a dish).

Flatten them slightly with the bottom of a glass, then pinch their “nose” slightly, to get that elongated shape. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, then remove from the oven. QUICKLY set in a matching pair of antlers, then do the nose, then the eyes last. Or get someone to help you: my husband did all the antlers while I was throwing on noses and eyeballs.

Let cool on the cookie sheet. When mostly cool, transfer to a rack.

NOTE: you can see I used parchment paper on this batch. You can buy it in rolls from the grocery store or (now) from Costco. If you don’t use parchment paper, the world won’t end. However, you may want to transfer your cookies to the cooling rack when they are still sort of warm, instead waiting until they are really cool.

Christmas Kiss Cookies

Posted on 10 December 2012 by Elizabeth

Cream together:

1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar.

Add:

1 egg
2 Tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (not flavoring, use extract!).

Mix together then add to creamed mixture:

1 3/4 cup flour (I use 3/4 cup whole wheat flour, and 1 cup white flour)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Form into balls about 1 inch in diameter, roll in granulated (white) sugar. Bake in 350 oven for about 8-10 minutes or until set. Take out of oven and immediately press a chocolate kiss into center. Remove to wire rack to cool. Kisses will get soft as they take on the heat of the cookies, but will firm up again as the cookies cool.

Cranberry, White Chocolate Chip and Oatmeal Cookies

Posted on 10 November 2012 by Elizabeth

I found this on the web, and decided to try it out for my monthly treat for the ladies at church. That’s usually never a good idea, but it turned out fine. I do think, though, that these could benefit from a little something or other to make them pop: maybe a touch of cinnamon? nutmeg? If you figure it out, leave a comment and let me know.

I had just purchased a huge bag of fresh cranberries and wanted to bake something using them. I found scads of recipes on the web using dried cranberries, but few with fresh cranberries. I adapted one to make these cookies.

I think these bake up best when the dough is cold, so if you are going to have everything at room temperature, please leave time to chill the dough before baking.

1 cup cold butter, or barely softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
rind of one orange, grated (about 1 Tablespoon)
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups white flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1 bag (12 oz) white (or vanilla) chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries, washed & picked over, then coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 375 degree F.

Measure out cranberries, then place in a wire mesh strainer and rinse, picking out the wrinkled or barely ripe berries. Place in a food processor and pulse one or two times, or until coarsely chopped. If you don’t have a food processor, it can be done by using a heavy knife, but it is tricky. Be of good courage.

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until it is light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add in vanilla extract and orange rind. Mix well, then add in oatmeal. In a separate bowl, stir together the flours, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Add to the butter mixture until blended, but don’t overbeat. Add chopped fresh cranberries, walnuts, and white chocolate chips, stirring well to incorporate throughout.

Drop by large tablespoonfuls onto parchment-covered cookie sheet about 2 inches apart; cookies will be about the size of a small plum. (I put the cookie sheet in the refrigerator at this point to chill before baking, but if you chilled the dough after mixing, you should be fine.)

Bake for 19 minutes, or until edges are lightly brown. Let set 1 minute outside of the oven, then drag the parchment sheet with cookies on it, onto a rack to let them cool. Yield: about 24 large (3″) cookies.

Cook’s Note: Parchment paper can be purchased at any grocery store. I noticed that Costco carried it last time I was there. One recipe said you could just grease the pan, but be vigilant during baking so the cookies don’t burn.

Mediterranean Chicken

Posted on 10 November 2012 by Elizabeth

This dish hails originally from Martha and I pretty much make it like she says, but don’t worry so much about the proportions. If I think it needs more tomatoes, I add a few. Likewise with the olives. This goes together quickly and is good for a crowd. Once I served it to over 50 people, and they all liked it (although I did see a few olives left on plates–guess they didn’t like those).

Cook’s Note: Like I’ve said before, I think the chicken breasts these days are beyond one person’s serving size, so I “fillet” them into thirds by slicing them on the diagonal, with the blade closer to horizontal than vertical.

This is the yield from two chicken breasts. While the recipe originally called for 4 chicken breasts, I find that by filleting the chicken and leaving the amounts of the vegetable mixture the same, this will feed four nicely.

Ingredients:
2 cups grape tomatoes (1 pint) *I like to cut some of mine in half, the long-way. I have used Roma tomatoes cut into large thumb-sized chunks and that works just fine too. Different flavor, though.*
16 Kalamata olives, pitted and drained *The ones from the grocery store are bigger than the ones from Trader Joe’s, so use 20-25 of the Trader Joe’s olives.*
3 Tablespoons drained capers
3 Tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (although Martha calls for chicken breasts with skin)
Salt and Pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Toss tomatoes, olives, capers and 2 Tablespoons oil together in a medium bowl.

Rinse chicken and pat dry. Season both sides with salt and pepper. Heat a large skillet over high hot until hot. Add 1 Tablespoon oil and heat until hot, but not smoking. Place chicken in skillet; cook until golden brown, then turn chicken over to sear the backside briefly.

Place chicken in oven-proof baker. Add tomato mixture all around. Roast until chicken is cooked through and tomatoes have softened, about 18 minutes.

Note: Martha says to use an oven-proof skillet, then you can just add the tomato mixture to the pan and pop that in the oven. Now you have options.

Lemon-Poppyseed Sugar Cookies

Posted on 8 September 2012 by Elizabeth

It’s baking time again, not only because I’m completely thrashed from grading papers and need a break, but also because this Sunday I teach the women in my church. The lesson is on Faith and we have a saying that Faith is like a seed (that needs to be nourished and fed). And there’s also that connection between faith and mustard seed which we all know about, but I wasn’t going to make mustard. So poppyseed it had to be. I got the base recipe from a Cooks Illustrated book, but sometimes they can over-analyze a recipe, so I tried to be easy with this one, and just enjoy the making of it. My changes are incorporated into the recipe below.

How much flour you use may be a bit of a guesstimate. The dough should be soft, but not sticky. The overall yield was about 54 cookies, but those first warm ones go fast. This is a light, delicately flavored cookie.

1 pound butter, or 4 sticks, softened by sitting them out on the counter (resist the temptation to use margarine!) If you microwave the butter, it may get too runny, so be careful.
2 cups white sugar
2 Tablespoons light brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 Tablespoon lemon rind (one medium lemon)
4-5 cups flour (I used all five)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon poppy seeds

1/2 cup sugar for outside of cookies

Prepare your oven by adjusting the oven racks to the upper- and lower-middle positions, then preheating your oven to 375 degrees. Prepare the sheets by lining them with parchment paper (now sold at Costco!).

Cream the butter and sugars together on medium speed, scraping as needed, until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

Add the eggs, extract, lemon juice, lemon rind. Beat at medium speed until well combined, less than a minute.

Stir together the 4 cups flour, salt, baking powder and poppyseeds. Add to creamed mixture and mix until just blended together. A light hand will yield a tender cookie. Test for stickiness. I ended up adding about another 3/4-1 cup flour. You don’t want them so stiff they turn out to be cardboard, but you do have to shape them for baking.

Place the 1/2 cup sugar in a large bag. Using a 1 1/2″ cookie scoop, scrape them out of the bowl and dump into the bag of sugar. Shake gently, then reach in and with your hand, shake the extra sugar off and put the rounded mounds onto the parchment-covered cookie sheet. (They say that if you don’t have parchment, you can use a nonstick cooking spray, but be aware that the bottoms of your cookies will be darker.)

Using one of those papers from your butter cube, butter up the bottom of a drinking glass that’s about 2″ across, then dip the glass into the sugar.

Flatten the cookies just until they reach the edge of the glass. (They will be about 5/8″ thick.)

Bake for 16 minutes, switching the cookie sheets mid-way through baking, as well as turning them around, so the cookies bake evenly.

Bake until the edges are golden brown and the middles are just set and very lightly colored. The range the book gave was 15-18 minutes, but 16 was about right for us.

If you are using parchment paper, slide the entire sheet — cookies and all — onto a wire rack for cooking. If you are not using parchment paper, let them cool on the sheets for about 3 minutes, then move them to the wire rack.

Note: the original recipe called for 2 Tablespoons poppyseed, so if you really like it, you can add some more. I was happy with the amount we had.