Category Archives: Dessert

White Chocolate, Cranberry, and Macadamia Nut Cookies

January 6, 2010

Today is A Hint of Honey’s first Birthday! We made through a full year! I meant to celebrate today with cake, but the cake I baked didn’t turn out as grand as I’d hoped. I made a towering-tall red velvet cake. It was pretty with fluffy white frosting and a deep scarlet middle. It tasted much like I imagined red velvet cake would (it was my first try), but I just wasn’t thrilled with the result. It seemed a little dry and the frosting wasn’t the perfect match. Maybe it was the recipe, probably it was me. Anyhow, today we’ll be without a birthday cake. So instead, I have a different treat to share with you: white chocolate, cranberry, and macadamia nut cookies. Still worth celebrating! I feel obliged to make some soft of birthday speech. A toast to a full year of memorable meals, delectable desserts, mounds of dishes, and millions of messes. To food-spattered cookbooks (and computers and cameras), frustrating photo shoots, and friends and family who shared it all with me. To Dustin, for his patience and encouragement. To my readers, for making this so much fun! Happy 1!

White Chocolate, Cranberry, and Macadamia Nut Cookies

INGREDIENTS

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup (packed) brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups dried cranberries
1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips, coarsely chopped
1 cup salted macadamia nuts, coarsely chopped

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease or line two large baking sheets.

2. Using an electric mixer, beat butter in a large bowl until fluffy. Add sugars and beat until blended. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and then the vanilla.

3. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to the wet ingredients and beat until just blended. Stir in the chocolate, cranberries, and macadamia nuts with a spatula.

4. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets. Baked in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes until lightly golden. Cool on a wire rack. Can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature or frozen for several weeks.

Makes 48 cookies.

(Adapted from Bon Appetit)

Bird’s Nest Cookies (Thumbprint or Thimble Cookies)

December 21, 2009

This recipe is a Christmas tradition in my family. Every December my mom would begin Christmas cookie production. She’d store stacks of Tupperware containers in the cool garage filled to the brim with holiday treats such as peanut butter balls, and best of all, what we call bird’s nest cookies! They’re known by many names- thimble cookies and thumbprint cookies, but the general idea is the same. A sweet buttery ball of shortbread is rolled in nuts or coconut and dented with a finger or a thimble (or the end of a spoon in my case). Then they’re baked and the “nests” are filled with fruit jelly.

If you’ve never had a bird’s nest cookie it might sound kinda strange, but I promise they’re delightful! My little sister who doesn’t care much for jam, took one bite and with wide eyes declared the cookie “delicious”! She ate half a dozen. We use my mom’s homemade strawberry jam which is the best I’ve ever had. Someday I’ll have to make that on my own!

It’s always fun to have recipes that have been passed down through the family. This one came from my grandmother (mom’s mom) who died before I was born and so it has a special place in our hearts and our kitchen.

Bird’s Nest Cookies (Thumbprint or Thimble Cookies)

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups salted butter (if you use unsalted be sure to add about 1/2 tsp. salt)
3/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. pure vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
3 eggs, separated
jam or jelly of your choice (I used raspberry and strawberry)
sweetened dried coconut flakes
walnuts, finely chopped

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.

2. In a large bowl, cream butter with an electric mixer. Add the sugar gradually and mix well.  Lightly whisk the egg yolks then add them to the bowl with the vanilla and flour,mixing until thoroughly combined.  Shape into walnut-sized balls.

3. Place egg whites in a shallow bowl and lightly whisk. Place nuts and coconut in separate bowls. First roll the balls of dough in the egg whites and then in either the nuts or coconut to coat. Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet and dent in the center with a thimble or finger.

4. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes. Quickly remove from the oven and re-dent the tops of the cookies. Return the cookies to the oven and continue cooking for about 8  minutes, until golden. Remove from the oven to cool on a wire rack. Fill the centers with jam or jelly while still hot. Once cooled, store in an airtight container.

NOTE: If using coconut, make sure the oven rack is in the middle of the oven and watch the cookies closely at the end of cooking to prevent the coconut from burning.

Makes 40-60 cookies, depending on size.

(My mother’s recipe.)

Butter Tarts

November 28, 2009


My mother is Canadian-American. She comes from a tiny town in Alberta. She has lost her accent and her “eh”, but she’s still got her traditional Canadian recipes. Our northern neighbors know how to do dessert right. Some time ago I shared with you a recipe for Nanaimo Bars– a rich chocolaty Canadian delicacy. And now I finally got around to making butter tarts. I made them for my brother as a birthday gift. He’s a huge fan. It has been years since I’d had one and I’d forgotten how good they are!

These are amazingly simple to prepare. You make a buttery sweet pate brisee (pastry dough), form it into mini tarts, and fill it with a syrupy mixture of butter, sugar, and raisins. (I have detailed the pastry making process in another post, so be sure to visit that link for directions.) The filling is gooey and sweet, with a pleasant chewiness from the raisins. And I absolutely love the flaky, light crust. Don’t wait to try this Canadian delight!

Butter Tarts

INGREDIENTS

1 recipe all-butter pie crust (you will need to halve this recipe, because it is for a double pie crust)

Filling:
1 egg, beaten
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted
2 Tbsp. milk
1/2 cup raisins
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

1. Prepare the pie crust and refrigerate 2 hours.

2. Preheat oven to 375 F.

3. Roll out the pie crust on a lightly floured surface. Using a large round cookie cutter (or cup/bowl) cut out 12 circles large enough to fill standard muffin tins. Gently press the crusts into the muffin tins (they should reach up the sides almost level with the top).

4. To prepare the filling, combine all of the ingredients in a medium sized bowl, stirring until the sugar has dissolved (no lumps remain). Evenly distribute the filling among the 12 pastry crusts, filling each about 2/3 full. (Any fuller and they will bubble over when baking.)

5. Bake in preheated oven for 18-20 minutes until the filling is bubbling and the crusts are lightly browned. Remove to cool on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container.

Makes 12 tarts.

(My mom’s recipe.)

Apple-Cinnamon Cream Cheese Cake

November 14, 2009



Yay for apples! I still have an entire refrigerator shelf full of apples, so the recipes are gonna keep on coming! I whipped up this delightful cake last Sunday and am still smiling when I think about how it was dusted with cinnamon and sugar, studded with apples, and soft with cream cheese. The cream cheese is what it’s all about. It had the consistency of a slightly dense coffee cake. According to the recipe’s source, this is a traditional Jewish Hanukkah recipe. Well, it’s not the Holidays yet but that doesn’t mean I can’t have my cake, and love it!

The original recipe called for 6 ounces of cream cheese. Six? Well I was being my usual flighty self and threw in the whole block without thinking twice. After the batter was mixed and in the pan I realized my mistake. Oops-too late! But I liked the result so much that I decided to change the recipe- it seems silly to waste 1/4 block of cream cheese anyway! The cake could probably handle more apples as well. Two (large) apples was almost underwhelming- you could easily up it to three!

Apple-Cinnamon Cream Cheese Cake

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup stick butter, softened
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
3 cups apple, peeled and chopped (I used a Granny Smith and a Fuji)
3 Tbsp. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease a springform pan with cooking spray.

2. Beat 1 1/2 cups sugar, butter, vanilla, and cream cheese at medium speed of a mixer until well-blended (about 4 minutes). Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Add flour mixture to creamed mixture, beating at low speed until blended.

3. Combine 3 Tbsp. sugar and cinnamon. Combine 2 tablespoons cinnamon mixture and apple in a bowl, and stir apple mixture into batter. Pour batter into springform pan and sprinkle with remaining cinnamon mixture.

4. Bake at 350 F for about 1 hour or until the cake pulls away from the sides of the pan. Cool on a wire rack, and cut using a serrated knife. Yummy served with vanilla ice cream.

Makes 1 round cake.

(Adapted from Cooking Light)

Deep Dish Apple Pie with Sweet All-Butter Pie Crust

October 26, 2009


When we came home with 25 lbs. of Virginia grown apples, I knew apple pie was in our future. This dessert is extra special because Dustin helped out. He drove us to Charlottesville on our apple-picking adventure, braved gravity and climbed to the top branches to find the finest and ripest, and even helped make the pie! He’s usually not very involved in the cooking around here. Partly it’s my fault for being so territorial in the kitchen. That, and he lacks the desire. (Unless he’s having a sugar craving and wants cookies- NOW!)

But this dessert bears Dustin’s magic touch. He peeled and cored and sliced all the stunning Granny Smiths that filled the dish. In my time of need, he came to the rescue and he was indispensable! I was busy rolling out pastry and boiling caramel and fretting over what I wanted to be the perfect pie. And my cute husband rolled up his sleeves and chopped through those apples in no time! (Or just in time, rather, to smother them in cinnamon, butter, and sugar, pour them into a deep dish, cover them with a blanket of pastry, and send them off to bake).

It’s no wonder that I thought this pie was a sweet success. I made it with my honey. (Awww!) So my opinion might be a little jaded. Together, curled up on the couch under laptops, lecture slides, and books, we finished off half a pie. Including several scoops of vanilla ice cream. Dustin has never loved apple pie, but he agreed that this was a good one. My favorite part? The most amazing, buttery, flaky, spectacular crust I’ve ever had! I swear- I’ll never, ever buy one again. Reserve a little of the filling “juice” to brush on top and it will turn golden, sweet, and crunchy.

I was surprised that with all the butter and sugar, the filling was not super sweet. I liked that the tart-ness of the Granny Smiths snuck through. You could always mix in a few apples of a sweeter variety for a sweeter pie. I sure have a crush on that crust, though! Crust + thick caramel-apple filling + frozen vanilla ice cream = Ahhh.

Deep Dish Apple Pie with Sweet All-Butter Pie Crust

INGREDIENTS

1 recipe sweet all-butter double pie crust (below)
7-8 Granny Smith Apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
1 heaping tsp. cinnamon
dash of nutmeg
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup water
2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1/2 cup natural cane sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg white

DIRECTIONS

1. Make the pastry dough according to directions (below). Chill until ready to use. Roll out each pastry on a floured surface until large enough to cover pie dish. Place one sheet of rolled out pastry in the bottom of the dish. Brush with egg whites.

2. Preheat oven to 350 F.

3. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in flour to form a paste. Add water, sugars, and vanilla and bring to a boil. Reduce temperature and let simmer.

4. Toss apples with cinnamon and nutmeg. Pour caramel mixture over apples (reserving several Tbsp. to brush the crust) and stir to coat. Pour apples into pie dish.

5. Cover with the second sheet of rolled out pastry. Trim the edges, pressing them together. Make several slits in the top. Brush the top with the reserved caramel mixture.

6. Bake in preheated oven for about 1 hour, until the top is golden brown and the apples are soft. Place on a wire rack to cool for about 30 minutes before serving warm topped with vanilla ice cream. (If you serve it immediately the filling will ooze out- it needs some time to set up.)

Makes 1 9-inch deep dish apple pie.

Sweet All-Butter Double Pie Crust

INGREDIENTS

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. natural cane sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup (2 sticks) COLD unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
6-7 Tbsp. ice water

DIRECTIONS

1. Mix flour, sugar, and salt in food processor (or by hand with a whisk). Add butter and pulse until coarse mill forms (or cut in butter by hand with a pastry blender until only pea-size crumbs remain). Gradually blend in enough ice water until dough clumps (or mix in a Tbsp. at a time by hand). Form dough into a large ball. Divide in half. Flatten each half into a disk. Wrap in plastic and chill 2 hours or overnight.

Makes a double 9-inch pie crust.

(Crust from Epicurious, Filling adapted from All Recipes)