Let the cookie baking begin!!! Last weekend, we baked up about 8 dozen cookies to give away to friends, neighbors and clients. It was the most warm, festive, sugar-high, Christmas-spirited day. For a few weeks, we perused all my December food magazines and searched cookbooks marking possible recipes. Then, we made a long list and my husband and I took turns picking favorites until we had 5 different recipes. Unfortunately, a number of them were thwarted by the total sell-out in the baked goods aisle at the store. I have never seen anything like it in an American grocery store. The shelves were nearly bare!

But, I love a good excuse to change directions and be spontaneous. Still lurking and waiting to be bought were a number of bottles of large, salted macadamia nuts. Although I love white chocolate, macadamia nut cookies, I have never made them myself. I searched online and found this recipe that was rated highly by all who tried it.

Honestly, this was the best cookie dough/beater licking ever. I knew from the fragrant, salty-sweet batter that we were in for a treat. The fresh baked cookies were sublime. They are so good that just moments ago, I opened up a gift box of cookies intended for my office neighbor and snitched one out for myself!

White Chocolate Chip Macadamia Nut Cookies

Heat oven to 375 F. In large bowl, beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt with electric mixer until creamy. Add eggs, beat well. Stir together flour, and the baking soda; gradually add to butter mixture,beating until well blended. Stir in white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until set. (Edges are golden brown and center is set.) Cool slightly, remove from cookie sheet to wire rack to cool completely.

My grandma lives in Pella, Iowa, a unique little town in the middle of the state. It was founded by Dutch immigrants and this little town has more than embraced their heritage. It is basically an old-fashioned, miniature Dutch village in the middle of the Iowa farmlands. The town square has all Dutch storefronts, many of the people in the town still speak Dutch and they even built a full-size working windmill a few years ago that grinds flour. Hundreds of thousands of people flock to Pella each year for tulip time in the Spring. You have to see it to believe it.

One of the most famous attractions in town is Jaarsma bakery. At tulip time, visitors line up around the block to buy sweet rolls, spice cookies and other Dutch pastries and breads. This past week during Thanksgiving, my trip to Jaarsma resulted in the immediate consumption of two donuts, a sweet roll and an almond cookie.

Many Dutch sweets (my favorites) are made with almond paste. It comes wrapped in flaky pastry dough in the form of Dutch letters, sandwiched inside buttery cookies or in bars. Below is an easy recipe from my sister. Give it a try or order Dutch sweets the easy way by visiting Jaarsma online. Heel Lekker!

Almond Bars
12 oz. almond paste
3 sticks butter, room temperature
3 cups flour
3 cups sugar
3 eggs,
1 1/2 t almond flavoring
1 small packet sliced almonds

Mix almond paste and butter together. Add eggs, flour, sugar & extract. Mix together. Put in greased 15 x 10 x 1 inch pan and sprinkle with extra sugar and sliced almonds. Press down slightly. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until edges turn light brown. Cool and cut into bars.

Would you rather… never read another pumpkin recipe again OR overdose on everything pumpkin so that you can barely choke down a piece of pumpkin pie come Thanksgiving? Well, tis the time of year for pumpkin recipes and I have jumped on the bandwagon. Last year, I tried these pumpkin bars. This year, I stayed in the dessert category and followed my buttermilk love with this moist, bundt cake.

Of all the pumpkin clamor in food blog world, I am most excited about these ravioli from a blog I just discovered. Check it out.

Pumpkin Buttermilk Bundt Cake
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened, plus additional for greasing bundt pan
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour plus additional for dusting pan
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups canned solid-pack pumpkin (from a 15-oz can; not pie filling)
3/4 cup well-shaken buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs

To make glaze, heat butter until melted. Stir in sifted powdered sugar. Mix in cream or milk 1 Tablespoon at a time until desired consistency. Drizzle over cake while it is on a wire rack so excess falls through.

Recently, I had some feedback from a reader who was making my Best Chocolate Cake Recipe. In an email exchange with her, I realized that I was perhaps not always giving as many instructions as I could or should for baked goods. There are some things that I have come to take for granted after many episodes of trial and error, a few small kitchen fires, some ruined cakes and a shed tear or two. Although I am no expert and recognize I still have a lot to learn, below are a few things that will help beginning bakers make the best of each recipe. BAKERS - please add your own tips and tricks in the comments!

1. Baking is more like chemistry than regular cooking. A little extra pinch of this and a little less of that is much more dangerous. Substitute ingredients at your own risk.

2. Measure very carefully. It DOES make a difference if you take the time to pack the brown sugar and level off the flour with the back edge of a knife.

3. Maybe I am just suspicious but I truly think that eggs and other ingredients at room temperature make better cakes and cookies than cold ones.

4. Changing cake pan sizes will definitely result in different cooking times. The smaller and less deep, the faster they will cook.

5. Cutting circles of parchment paper and putting them on the bottom of your round cake pans will always make for easy and clean removal from the pans.

6. Wax paper does NOT replace parchment paper. When put in the oven, it may result in smoke or fire. (I wish I did not speak from experience.)

7. Invest in a good oven thermometer. Many ovens are not consistent with the dial. Proper cooking temperature is important.

8. When a recipe requires that you mix dry ingredients together separately, it usually refers to flour, baking soda/powder and salt. Sugar is most often mixed in with the butter or oil.

9. Let cakes cool in their pans for at least 5 minutes before turning them out.

10. Let baked goods cool completely before covering or wrapping. The trapped steam will make the outside sticky.

Happy Baking!

This past weekend, a most exciting thing happened in my life. I received my first organic produce weekly delivery box. I have been counting down the days like a 6 year-old waiting for Christmas. Even though I was out of town, I made my husband call me immediately upon its arrival and list its contents which were varied and plentiful.

One of the offerings was a dozen beautiful plums. (Detailed viewers - yes, two of them popped into our mouths before the above photo was taken.) I have never been much of a plum girl but ever since reading Luisa’s post about the Dimply Plum Cake, I have been aching to use my new tart pan and whip up something plumelicious. It was as if the organic produce delivery people had read my mind!

Based mostly on my desire not to leave the house and make a trip to the store on Sunday, I found the easiest recipe I could, adjusted it a touch and baked up my first ever plum dessert.

Half of the reason that I was jealous of Luisa’s cake was the name. Who doesn’t want to make something with such a cute name as Dimply Plum Cake? So, I decided that I would start making up my own more fun recipe names when I feel so inclined.

The Peekaboo Plum Cake is so easy it can be whipped up in minutes. And, I can speak from experience that it tastes good in the evening with a little ice cream or in the morning with your cup of tea.

Peekaboo Plum Cake
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch or two of salt
10-12 plums, halved and pitted
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Grease and flour a 10 inch tart pan or spring form pan. Cream butter and sugar together. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Sift together flour and baking powder (or as a shortcut, whisk them together in a bowl) and then mix them into the butter/sugar/egg mixture. Taste the batter and add a bit of salt as needed. Spread the batter in the pan. Place the plum halves skin side up around the pan. Mix together sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Sprink around the top of the tart. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes. Tart should be slightly brown on top and toothpick should come out clean.

Find a list of baking tips here.

My friend Stephanie (who is a co-founder of this amazing non-profit in Portland, Oregon) has been telling me for ages about her awesome cheesecake recipe. She emailed it to me months ago and I never made it, mostly because I had lost half of my spring form pan.

So, this weekend, during Steph’s visit to Chicago, we got down to business by buying a new pan and making her cheesecake. I have not been much of a cheesecake fan in the past which was always a confusing mystery because I LOVE cheese danishes, cream cheese fillings and less sweet desserts. This past weekend, the mystery was solved. Rarely had I eaten really wonderful cheesecake. Restaurant and bakery offerings are usually too cold, too hard and too old. Sinking my teeth into this fresh, light delicacy was a whole different story.

Not having tried any other cheesecake recipes, I can only guess at what makes this one so special. I suspect it is the long whipping time, which makes for a light, fluffy cheesecake and the sour cream topping that is baked on at the end. Steph’s Scrumptious Cheesecake will be a regular fixture in my baking repertoire… as long as I can keep track of this new spring form pan.

Steph’s Scrumptious Cheesecake
Ingredients:
24 oz cream cheese
4 eggs
1 3/4 c sugar
1 t vanilla
2 c graham cracker crumbs
1 stick butter, melted
1 T brown sugar
1 pint sour cream

For the topping, beat together the remaining 3/4 cup sugar and the
sour cream for no less than 10 minutes. (Don’t scrimp here on the time
you spend with the topping either; it gets fluffier the longer you
beat.) Pour over cooled cake and bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Cool cake completely before slicing and serving.

Note: I used a 9 inch pan and had to adjust cooking times. It definitely needed a good 10+ minutes more. You can tell that the cheese layer is done as the top will be lightly browned. It will continue to cook as it sits in the open oven. The topping should be set when it is done. It will also continue to firm up a bit while cooling.

Find a list of baking tips here.

Utilizes fresh in-season fruit. check
Pretty enough to present to guests. check
Takes 5 minutes to make. check
Crowd pleaser. check

There are very few dishes that I think are just perfect. I love so many things and appreciate a myriad of flavors but I often have the urge to tweak just one last thing or try something new in its place next time. Ahoy! Not with this recipe! This goes on my list of perfection. A favorite from my mom’s old Junior League cookbook, this Blueberry Crisp recipe is found in the “children’s section,” I suppose only because it is so easy to make. I daresay, this dessert would please teething toddlers, picky children, brooding teenagers, sweet-toothed adults and octogenerians alike.

I highly suggest serving the warm crisp alongside a scoop of vanilla ice cream. The warm berries burst and turn the bowl a crimsony-purple-magenta, which against the backdrop of cool, creamy vanilla ice cream, is enough to make you want to sing from a mountain top.

Blueberry Crisp

Fill a pie plate with blueberries and sprinkle with lemon juice. Blend flour sugar and butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over the berries. Bake 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees. Serve warm in a bowl with vanilla ice cream.

One of my dearest friends, Stephanie, sent me the most beautiful apron for my birthday last week. (Along with a pad of Mad Libs- she knows me so well!) The card said that she hoped the gift would inspire a yummy dessert for Whipped. I wrapped that hot pink sash around my waist and wanted to bake all weekend long!

I have saved this recipe for ages but had never made it. Ripped out from a 2004 In Style magazine, the cake was a suggested dessert for an Indonesian themed birthday party. It was the perfect summer cake - light and airy with exotic fruit flavors.

Purists beware!!! There is a yellow cake mix in this recipe. But, it looks so fancy and tastes so good, your guests will never know. (Unless you are like me and blurt it out the minute someone compliments you on the cake.)

Tropical Coconut Cake with Mango Sauce
1 ripe mango, peeled and chopped
2 tsps fresh lime juice
1 box (18.25) yellow cake mix
1 can (11oz) mandarin oranges
1 stick (8Tbs) unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 can (8oz) crushed pineapple, drained, juice reserved
2 cups heavy cream
1 pkg. unflavored gelatin
1 cup sweetened, shredded coconut

In medium bowl, whip cream. Stir in gelatin and pineapple. Place one cake on platter. Spread with cream mixture. Top with second layer and frost sides and top. Cover all with coconut. Refrigerate at least 1 hour before eating. Serve wtih mango sauce drizzled on the plate.

My favorite food/creative exercises this year have been taking inspiration from non-food objects whether art or photography and turning them into recipes. I hoped to do it more regularly but have found that it does not always come easy. Some weeks ago, moved by a gorgeous flowering tree, I invented a number of recipes but all were forced so I bagged it.

Last week, home late at night alone, I was feeling extra creative and open. In moments like those, my mind sees many pictures and colors and I am able to let go of the confines of everyday life and break the inertia of creative stagnancy. While surfing through my online photos, I came across this beautiful motorcycle and found myself on the open road with wind in my hair.

I met this guy, a friend of a friend, who makes custom bikes. He is an artist in every sense who puts color, beautiful lines and texture on wheels. Each part is specifically chosen and hand-applied - no two motorcycles are the same. The Criminal Customs workshop is truly an artist’s studio.

This beautiful motorcycle is exciting, handmade, beautiful and expensive. It is time consuming to build and inspires dreams of cool wind in my hair. I am drawn to its beauty but a little afraid of its danger.

As I thought about transferring the bike to an inspired food, my first instinct was mint for its cool, refreshing qualities. My second thought was good quality chocolate for decadence and expense. And, to do it right, and pay true homage to Chris, I wanted something that would take a long time and could be made by hand.

I decided on homemade dark chocolate gelato infused with fresh mint. Once I settled on the idea, I searched a number of recipes online and chose a Sicilian Chocolate Gelato recipe from the Scharffen Berger website. I added a fresh mint infusion to the recipe and churned the chocolate gelato by hand in my tiny, non-electric ice cream maker. Although this recipe has no eggs, it is rich and satisfying. Be sure to use quality cocoa powder.

Take a spoon of the gelato and slide it into your mouth. Feel the smooth, cool ride. Relax into the deep, chocolate flavor. Sit back while the mint cools your breath and dream of the open road.

Dark Chocolate Mint Gelato
Adapted from a recipe by Alice Medrich which appeared in her award-winning book Bittersweet

Once cooled, freeze according to your ice cream maker’s instructions. Garnish with fresh mint.

After returning from my March visit to Mexico, I posted about the food experiences I enjoyed for weeks afterwards. But, it isn’t until now that I share with you my favorite discovery.

Every morning, we enjoyed an enormous breakfast buffet. Some mornings, I spooned up a delicious bowl of oatmeal. Other days, my plate was piled high with fried plantains, eggs and refried black beans. But, EVERY morning I drank strong cafe con leche and ate 1-2 pieces of sweet bread that I later learned was called Panque. Each day, there was a different variety of flavors of this dense, spongy bread from walnut to lemon to pistachio.

I was dying to know what made the bread so delectable and wanted to ensure I could make it when I returned home. So, I befriended the dining room manager and asked him for the recipe. Day after day, I reminded my new friend, Manuel, (with a friendly pushiness) how much I wanted that recipe! On the last day, when the restaurant was closing and my flight was hours from departure, I stopped in one last time to request the Panque recipe. Manuel scurried back into the kitchen saying he had it for me and would meet me by the pool. To my surprise, he DID show up at the pool clutching a handwritten recipe. It was in Spanish and a bit messy but it held the key to my precious breakfast addiction.

Looking down at the recipe, I read the first line…. “45 huevos.” A quick scan of the paper revealed that not only was it in Spanish and in metric measurements but it was a recipe for enough bread to feed the entire hotel. For all these reasons, the recipe stayed crumpled in my kitchen for months, waiting to be translated.

At the end of last week, I finally took pencil to paper and turned the Panque recipe into something I could follow. A sharpened pencil, a fancy calculator, this wonderful conversion chart, a kitchen scale and even some last minute long division brought the first Panque out of my oven.

I must admit, it was not as delicious as I remembered. Due to ingredients and the convoluted and converted path this recipe took from their kitchen to mine, it was bound to be a bit different. Never the less, it is a tasty cake-like bread that goes well with fresh berries, coffee or tea. If you are familiar with this bread (or pound cake which is what it really is - I just feel better about the caloric intake when I call it bread), please send me your recipe!

When the recipe was delivered to me, it was a bit scrawly and didn’t have many instructions with the ingredients. The only thing I could tell was the order to add each thing and surprisingly, the oil gets mixed in last.

Panque
5 eggs
1 3/4 cups sugar
3 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 cups milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
Optional add-ins:
lemon zest, pecans, raisins, pistachios, walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix together the sugar and eggs. Add the milk and vanilla. Blend the flour with the baking soda separately and add to the mixture. Once mixed, blend in the oil until incorporated. Stir in either zest of 2 lemons, or nuts and/or raisins. Pour batter into two greased and floured loaf pans. Bake about 50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.