mellow yellow

The first bbq of the season is a grand return to the delights of summer: Drinking outside! Grilling! Dancing in the driveway! (See drinking outside). I modified a recipe from epicurious to see if it could compete with the Martha version. It did. The cookies survived the journey to Queens with nary a crack. I also learned that lemon cookies and mojitos complement each other quite well, though next time both should probably be consumed in moderation.

Glazed Lemon Pepper Cornmeal Cookies
Makes about 18 cookies
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup organic white sugar
1/4 cup egg substitute
3/4 cup unbleached white flour
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
Green pepper
Dash salt
Finely grated zest of one lemon

Cream butter, sugar, and egg in a large bowl. Blend in flour, cornmeal, salt and pepper (I just added about four grinds' worth). Stir in lemon zest. Chill at least three hours or overnight. Once chilled, roll dough into tablespoon-sized balls and slightly flatten. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 12 minutes or until edges are light brown. Cool and prepare frosting.
Lemon Glaze
1 cup (plus more) powdered sugar
Juice of one lemon

Mix one cup powdered sugar with lemon juice. Keep adding more powdered sugar until you reach your desired consistency. Drizzle on to cooled cookies. Go to Queens.
Baking tunes: Today's cookies were sponsored by the letter "L" -- Laura Burhenn, Le Loup, Levy, Lisa Loeb, and The Ladies and Gentlemen.

good golly miss molly

I like New Haven. It combines the charming homes and tree-lined streets of suburbia with the mugging risk and high crime rate of an urban environment. Still, creating a treat for my friend Molly in CT was daunting: it had to be fancy enough to be birthday-worthy yet stable enough to withstand the journey on Metro North. The birthday girl gave them a thumbs up. I hope she wasn't just being nice.

Peanut Butter Whoasies
For the cookies:
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
White chocolate chunks

For the frosting:
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
Powdered sugar
Splash of skim milk
Cream peanut butter, egg, milk, and sugar. Yes, just those three ingredients. Seriously.
Press spoonfuls of the dough into a mini muffin pan. Bake for 15 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Remove from the oven and drop a spoonful of white chocolate chunks in the center of each cup and press down with the back of the spoon. Return the pan to the oven for about five more minutes. Remove from the oven and cool.
For the frosting, beat the peanut butter, butter, and powdered sugar until you attain the desired consistency. Spoon into a pastry bag and pipe on the peanut butter cups. Consume.
Baking tunes: The Shins. It reminds me of when we were all confused young twentysomethings in D.C. and could, like, really relate to Garden State.

you got yr. cherry bomb

In Ohio, cherry pie filling is a cheap, common pantry staple. In New York, it's like gelatinous gold. I learned this after going to four grocery stores to find the comically expensive and elusive key ingredient for the Cherry Squares I made for the Casse-rock-n-roll party last night. I'm still in crushed-Dorito-and-sherbet withdrawal.

Cherry Squares
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup shortening (i.e. Crisco. That's right)
4 eggs
2 cups flour
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 can cherry pie filling
Powdered sugar

Gradually add sugar to shortening in large bowl. Cream well -- at least five minutes at medium speed (my hand mixer only has one speed -- too fast -- and my arm got tired, so I capped it at about 2 1/2 minutes).
Add eggs one at a time. Add the flour and lemon juice and mix well.

Spread the batter in a greased pan or cookie sheet with sides. Mark off squares.

Place one heaping teaspoon of the filling in the center of each square. Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes or until knife inserted in the center comes out clean. When cool, sprinkle with powdered sugar and cut. And eat.
Baking tunes: Spoon, natch. Recipe courtesy of the adorbsies scrapbook/cookbook my mom made me for Christmas.

hitting the bar (cookies)

In my opinion, dark chocolate is overrated. Yeah, yeah, antioxidants, I get it. But it's white chocolate that really gets neglected. So, it's my wish that these cookie bars elevate the status of my delicious friends. Plus there's cranberries for antioxidants. And Omega-3s. Take that.

White Chocolate Chunk-Cranberry Cookie Bars

1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 Omega-3 egg whites
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup white chocolate chunks
1/2 cup dried cranberries
Preheat oven to 350. Cream butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer. Mix in egg whites. I would have added vanilla, but I was out (sigh). Add flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir in white chocolate chunks and cranberries. Spread batter into an 8x8 greased glass pan. Bake 25-30 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Lick the bowl.
Baking Tunes: Ben Gibbard's cover of "It'll Be a Breeze." And these cookie bars were. I won't take that back.

mmm...chocolate

So apparently not all brownies come from boxed mixes. I know, right? I was also shocked to learn that this brownie recipe (adapted from cooks.com) didn't include baking soda or baking powder. This seemed suspect to me, but they turned out quite delicious, so who am I to question food science?

Frosted Fudge Brownies

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup Splenda
1/4 cup egg substitute
1 teaspoon vanilla
6 tablespoons cocoa
1 1/4 cup flour

Cream butter, sugar, and Splenda. Add egg and vanilla. Blend in flour and cocoa. Spread batter in 8x8 glass pan and bake at 350 for about 25 minutes or until a fork or toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

For the frosting, mix two tablespoons of cocoa with a splash of milk and about 1 1/2 cups of confectioners sugar or until you get your desired thickness.

Baking tunes: To match the guilty pleasure nature of the brownies, I listened to an '80s trinity of the Bangles, Belinda Carlisle, and The Cure. Oooh, heaven is indeed a place on Earth.

if you like pina coladas...

After a week of drinking my fruit (with rum) in the islands, I'm hooked on the tropical flavors, but aware of the need to consume them in a less hangover-inducing form. I adapted this Banana Pineapple Muffins recipe from Cooks.com to boost the flavor and cut the fat a bit. You know, so you can eat a muffin top without developing a muffin top.

Banana Pineapple Muffins

1 1/2 c flour
3/4 c sugar
1/3 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 c egg substitute
1/2 c apple sauce
1/2 c crushed pineapple, drained
1/2 c mashed banana
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. Add liquids and stir until combined. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until muffins spring back when lightly touched.

Baking tunes: "Brushfire Fairytales" by Jack Johnson, one of the roughly two V.I.-approved artists. I really need to get my hands on the calypso version of "Independent Women."

what leprechauns would eat

I'm an Irish lass, but there's not much my ancestral cuisine that I get excited about. Boiled potatoes? I'll pass. Corned beef? Sorry, vegetarian. Cabbage? Eh. Soda bread is the exception, so every year I make my mom's recipe (after emailing her because I always lose the instructions). I like it straight from the oven with a drizzle of honey. So much more enjoyable than drinking Irish Car Bombs until you puke. Believe me.

Irish Soda Bread

3 T margarine or butter, softened

2 1/2 cups flour

2 T sugar

1 t baking powder

1/2 t salt

1/2 cup raisins

3/4 cup buttermilk

Cut margarine into flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Stir in raisins and enough buttermilk to make a soft dough.
Turn onto a lightly floured surface nead until smooth one to two minutes. Shape into a round loaf about 6 1/2 inches in diameter. Cut an X on the top. Bake in 375 oven until golden about 30 minutes, knock on it to see if it sounds hollow. Brush with melted butter.