MITCH IN THE KITCHEN

compost cookies

Hot damn these cookies are good. I used to have an uncontrollable habit of marching into Momofuku Milk Bar anytime I was within a 10-block radius and picking up some of my favorite things there: a slice of chocolate chip cake (back when they used to sell cake slices), a volcano, a blueberry cookie, and/or a compost cookie. I found the recipe for that last item online and figured it would be a good contribution to an event that is (for me, anyway) all about over-consuming fatty, salty, crunchy, and sugary things to wash down lots of beer in front of a televised sports event featuring expensive commercials.

The recipe calls for rolled oats, graham cracker crumbles, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, coffee grounds, potato chips, and pretzels. In the true spirit of composting, I dumped whatever other cookie-appropriate leftover stuff from my pantry into the mix: pecans and shredded coconut. If you choose to make these cookies less enormous than the recipe calls for, make sure you reduce the baking time accordingly.

banana mocha chocolate chip muffins

These are my favorite muffins ever. The recipe is from The Cheese Board, one of my favorite places in Berkeley. It is impossible for me to separate these muffins from memories of sunny weekend mornings with John, back when we were just a couple of scruffy little college kids (who have since become slightly less scruffy little semi-adults). He makes these better than I do, probably because he is naturally heavy handed with coffee (you need really really strong coffee in the batter for these to taste good) and gentle handed when it comes to mixing things (I am a notorious over-mixer). This was my best attempt to date, probably because I used the stand mixer our friends got us. And even though my love for these muffins is inextricably linked to my own romance-fogged nostalgia, I’m pretty confident that they taste good even without the cheeseball background stories.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 12-cup muffin pan.

In a medium bowl, combine: 1 egg, 1 egg yolk, 2 mashed ripe bananas, 1/2 cup really strong brewed coffee (cooled off), 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 cup plain yogurt or sour cream

In a large bowl (or stand mixer bowl), sift together: 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour, 1/4 teaspoon baking soda, 2 teaspoons baking powder

Add to dry ingredients: 1/4 teaspoon salt, 3/4 cup sugar

Cut in (using the paddle attachment of a mixer, or a pastry blender): 1/2 cup (1 stick) of cold unsalted butter

When the butter is the size of small peas, mix in: 1 cup chocolate chips

Make a well and gently fold in banana-coffee mixture.

Scoop batter evenly into muffin pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown and springy. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then on a rack.

homemade oreo cookies

I’ve had this recipe for homemade Oreo cookies bookmarked for a long, long time. Superbowl Sunday (whose traditional feasts of beer, cheese, and guacamole I look forward to more than the game itself) finally gave me an excuse to make them. I adjusted the recipe a tiny bit to dial down the sugar and amp up the salt (3/4 cup of sugar and about 1/2 teaspoon of salt in the cookies). The best part is total control over how much cream (or is it “creme”? there is no actual cream in the stuff) filling gets sandwiched in those cookies. If you like only a thin layer of filling (ahem, me), you don’t need to scrape half of it out while people frown at you. And if you’ve ever had drooling fantasies about Triple- or Quadruple-Stuf cookies (ahem, Pavla and Jake, cutest snack-sharers I’ve ever seen), you can go home happy in a DIY sugar-filled haze.

rugelach

I learned at a very young age (thank you, Kindergarten Multicultural Day) that Hanukkah has some really popular food traditions. Latkes? Jelly doughnuts? Yes. I learned at an older age, after tearing through a gifted box of rugelach, that I really like these rolled up pastry-like cookies. And what do you know, rugelach may be a traditional Hanukkah food too. I did plain chocolate, chocolate raspberry, and apricot raisin walnut (the best of the three, in my opinion) for Nicole’s Hanukkah potluck this past weekend.

Future plans now include savory rugelach. With things like leeks and fresh herbs and olives and cheese. Perfect for dipping in pan sauce from the Blumenfeld family brisket recipe.

(white) chocolate chip cherry oatmeal cookies

If you’ve hung out with John (yes, he is coming up in all of these posts now) in the past few months, you’ve probably heard about how we’re planning to install wood laminate flooring in our apartment, as a couple of hapless, decorating-challenged newlyweds would. After a solid day of moving furniture around, Asian-squatting over and over, and sawing and pounding on many many planks of stuff that looks like wood but is much cheaper, we were dead tired and wanted only greasy Thai takeout and cold beer for dinner.

Luckily I planned ahead for dessert by making some cookie dough the night before. I will be baking small batches at a time throughout the week (unless I end up just freezing it for later). I meant to use brown chocolate chips but found only white chocolate chunks in the kitchen. These were a huge improvement from the failed apricot cookies I made a few weeks back. Chewy and moist and maybe a little bit sweeter than I usually like stuff, but perfect with a glass of cold milk in the late evening. Ok fine, or for breakfast.

Sift together and set aside:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Cream together for 3 minutes using an electric mixer:
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, left out at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup (lightly packed) light brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix into butter and sugar mixture:
1 large egg

Then add the flour mixture while the mixer is still going on low speed.

Fold in:
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup dried cherries
1/2 cup chopped pecans, lightly toasted in a dry pan (more is ok)
1/2 cup chocolate chips or white chocolate chips (this is also a pretty conservative amount)

Chill dough for several hours, or overnight. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Scoop tablespoon-size balls of cold dough on to a parchment-lined baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Bottoms of the cookies should be barely golden and the centers should still be gooey. Let cool for 5 minutes, then dig in. Makes about 60 1 1/2-inch cookies.

spicy chocolate cookies

I’ve probably mentioned before that I don’t bake much, mostly because I’m not really a sweets and desserts eater. I am, however, trying to get better at it (the baking part, not the eating part), so yesterday was a perfect opportunity to bake a bunch of cookies for a holiday party (again, at Pavla and Diana’s). I’m not sure if they were eaten in the sangria-fueled chaos and gift-exchange-rage that ensued, but I’m glad they at least looked cute.

(recipe adapted from Epicurious)

Makes about 5 dozen (I got up to 66 cookies)

6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 3/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
3 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

powdered sugar
candied cherries, dried cherries, almonds, or pistachios

Remove butter from the refrigerator and let it sit out at room temperature (I forget to do this all the time).

Melt chocolate in a bowl over simmering water, or in a double boiler. Set aside.

Combine flour, baking powder, salt, and spices in a medium bowl. Beat 1 3/4 cups sugar and butter in large bowl until light. Beat in eggs one at a time, then add vanilla and chocolate. Gradually add dry ingredients, mixing just until combined. Chill dough until firm, about 2 hours (or throw it in the freezer for 20 minutes while you worry about being late to your friends’ party because you didn’t read the recipe directions).

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly butter your baking sheet(s), or line them with parchment paper. Place powdered sugar in a plate or shallow pan. Form dough into 1-inch balls. Roll each ball in sugar to coat; shake off excess sugar. Arrange cookies on prepared baking sheets, spacing 1 1/2 inches apart. Press one cherry or nut into the center of each cookie. Bake until cookies puff and crack but are still soft, about 10 minutes. Transfer cookies to rack and cool completely.

chocolate dipped strawberries

I don’t know why chocolate dipped strawberries are seen as some kind of romantical (don’t steal that word from me!), expensive treat for special occasions. Sure, the version sold at specialty stores are made from huge strawberries with long stems and premium chocolate, but I find that stemless, smaller strawberries and lower-end chocolate are equally delicious. These guys are also ridiculously easy to make; it took an event as big as my cousin Brenda’s bachelorette party for me to realize how simple and hassle-free it is to make an impressive treat for a lot of people at the last minute (the idea occurred to me 5 minutes after stepping into Trader Joe’s, and 3 hours before party time).

recipe:

6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped (or chocolate chips)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
3-4 tablespoons heavy cream
1 to 1 ½ pound strawberries (about 1 dry quart)

Bring about an inch of water to a simmer in a small pot or saucepan. Place a medium bowl over the pot (the water should not touch the bottom of the bowl). You could also use a double boiler if you have one. Add chocolate and stir until melted. Add butter and enough heavy cream for the chocolate mixture to become smooth and dippable.

Dip strawberries in the chocolate mixture, and place on a baking sheet, large plate, or large tray lined with parchment paper. Refrigerate until chocolate is set, about 30 to 45 minutes.