As the Cookie Crumbles

I can't bake a cookie to save my life. More holiday guilt. Have you finished your Christmas shopping? I've bought one gift card. Have you wrapped all your presents? Did you know that Christmas Eve is only 11 days away? 
Everyone I know has everything they need, and they know it. My older kids just want money. My youngest wants presents, but she can't find anything she wants for a present. Want to know why? Because SHE ALREADY OWNS EVERYTHING. 
I've managed to avoid the cookie exchange for exactly 15 years. I actually ran away from home the morning after the last one I attended. This year, I did have one looming. Thankfully, a blizzard took care of that on Saturday.

So, I can't make cookies. Shoot me. I can, however, make cookie dough. If anyone here wants cookies, I will hand them a brick of dough and a pan.

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Dough for Dummies

(one recipe, hundreds of variations)

• 3 cups all-purpose flour 
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder (omit if making thumbprint with filling, ball or spritz)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Place the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and beat on medium-high speed for at least 3 minutes or until pale and fluffy. Beat in the egg, mixing well after it's added, and then add the vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture, and beat until combined.
If not using dough right away, wrap well in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. You can freeze the dough: Wrap well in plastic wrap and place in a sealable bag. It will keep 1 month.

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Chocolate variation: Replace 1/3 cup of the flour with 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder.

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Spice variation: Add 1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice and 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper when you add the flour mixture.

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Citrus variation: Replace the vanilla extract with 1 teaspoon finely grated citrus zest (lemon, lime or orange) and 1 tablespoon fresh citrus juice.

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Peppermint variation: Replace vanilla extract with peppermint extract.

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Thank you Martha Stewart Magazine

All Mixed Up and Going Bananas

It's Lumberjack Days in Stillwater, Minnesota, the birthplace of Minnesota. My husband, youngest daughter and I went yesterday afternoon. We watched the K9 show and wandered through the vendors and then went to Mill Antiques in the old saw mill.. where I found a 1936 Hamilton Beach mixer for $35. Whomever owned this beauty did not like to cook because it looks brand new. It's identical to the KitchenAid on sale at Amazon.. well, give or take a pair of glasses.

I like knowing that women in Minnesota and Wisconsin owned mixers during The Great Depression. They probably got a big discount since they had to build them. I also like that this mixer is not worth much because it LASTS FOREVER, probably because it was built by women.

Then, I bought the instruction manual on eBay last night..

I am really excited to see all the attachments that I cannot get for it. It came with the small bowl with the pouring lip, but the juicer was missing. That's okay, it's pretty weird looking anyway (found this picture online)..

So, onto using a mixer for something totally cool that involves egg whites. If you don't have an awesome mixer like mine, you'll just have to come over and eat this at my house. There's no food depression happening here. That's because I shop at Aldi.

 

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All Mixed Up and Going Bananas

• 1 tbsp. melted butter
• 2 ripe bananas (as ripe as possible without being rotten)
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 tbsp. lemon or lime juice
• 4 tbsp. sugar (just get the sugar out, you need 2, then 1, then 1)
• 2 tsp. vanilla 
• 3 large egg whites
• tiny bit of salt
• powdered sugar (to sprinkle on top)

In a small mixer bowl, blend the bananas, egg yolk, 2 tbsp. sugar, lemon or lime juice, and vanilla on a slow speed until smooth. Pour into a big bowl and set aside.

Butter 4 soufflé cups and coat with 1 tbsp. sugar (pour loose sugar from one to the next to the next).

In the large mixer bowl, beat the egg whites and the salt until it kinda peaks. Then add the 1 tbsp. of sugar left and beat until it peaks and is glossy.

Use a spatula to fold the egg whites into the banana batter - just do about 1/4th at a time. 

Fill soufflé cups to the very top, you can jiggle or tap them to make sure they're full.

Bake on a cookie sheet in a preheated oven at 400° for 15 minutes, but watch them the last 3-5 minutes as they grow way above the top and you want the tops to look brown.

Sprinkle with powered sugar and serve immediately.

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Disclaimer: I do not own these recipes. I cook from memory and often adapt things I've seen, tasted, heard about, or read about.

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

Give 'em an inch, they take a mile. My husband sent me a link to a video on how to make hot dog buns from scratch. It takes 4 hours. Hot dogs are specifically reserved for having to make a meal for 20 people, in less than 10 minutes, for under $5, in my book. There will be no homemade hot dog buns happening in this house.

We celebrated Father's Day on Sunday by feasting at Axel's Bonfire. Between left-overs from that dinner, my mom's hand-me-down produce (she was on vacation), and my laziness.. I haven't been to Aldi in about 6 days, and I'm having a bit of withdrawal. I know they are probably wondering why they didn't need to reorder grilled chicken breast strips. I think I'll make Chicken Taco Pie tonight, which means I'll have to pay them a visit in a few hours. Meanwhile, I'll throw this in the crock pot: 

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Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

• 1 box yellow cake mix (and everything needed to mix the batter)
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 1/8 cup brown sugar
• 1 can crushed pineapple, do not drain
• 1/2 jar maraschino cherries, drained and halved (if you have time)

Mix cake batter according to directions. Pour melted butter in crock pot and grease the sides with a bit of it. Sprinkle brown sugar on top of the butter and then layer pineapple and cherries. Pour cake batter over the top. Cover and cook on low for about 4 hours. You'll know when it's down when the center looks firm.

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Disclaimer: I do not own these recipes. I cook from memory and often adapt things I've seen, tasted, heard about, or read about.

Warm Chocolate Melting Cake

Within the past 12 days.. I've attended two of my daughter's graduations (200 miles away); cleaned almost every inch of my house; held a graduation party for 60+ (handmade 90 burritos and 20 burrito bowls to order); attended my son's orchestra concert; and attended my brother's graduation party. Today I have to go to a wedding; and my daughter is the narrator of the 3rd grade play on Wednesday.

This is the thought that keeps running through my head.. I want to be on a cruise! Instead, I think I will make Warm Chocolate Melting Cake. This is the famous Carnival Cruise dessert, and you may already have the "secret" recipe, but this one is different. This is maître d' George the Greek's adaptation. George took pity on a few of us and gave us a galley tour and this recipe. I won't go into detail about why the pity was needed, because I've already been in trouble over a trip report I posted online, so lets just say it wasn't the FUN Ship, it was the FUNeral Ship. We made the best of it, and it certainly was memorable.

 

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Warm Chocolate Melting Cake

• 1 bag (12 oz.) semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 3 sticks butter, softened
• 7 eggs
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup flour
• powdered sugar
• vanilla ice cream

Melt chocolate chips and butter. The easiest way to do this is to use a double boiler; or you can boil some water and find a dish or another pan to set on top of the pan that has boiling water. Ikea sells a great pan for this. Don't melt chocolate directly in a pan on the stove unless you like burnt chocolate taste. 

Whisk 4 eggs and sugar for a few minutes, then add flour and whisk, then add the other 3 eggs and whisk some more. Why? I don't know.

Add the egg/flour/sugar mixture to the chocolate/butter mixture and stir.

Fill small ramekin dishes halfway with mixture and bake at 375° for 15 minutes. This is a gooey cake, that's the point of it.

Sprinkle tops with powered sugar, add a scoop of vanilla ice cream in a side dish and serve immediately. This should make about 6-10 individual cakes, depending on the size of dish you use. I bought the dishes pictured on clearance somewhere, I've also seen a good size to use at Dollar Tree.

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Disclaimer: I do not own these recipes. I cook from memory and often adapt things I've seen, tasted, heard about, or read about.