You CAN send love in the mail!

It's tough being caught between two places. I spent the first 18 years of my life in the peaceful village of Los Altos (I still get annoyed that we're a "village"), but the last 3 in San Diego have been incredible and I feel just as much at home there as I do in little LA. Of course one of the things I miss the most about being in either place are the friends I've left in the other - and what better way to send a little love than with baked goods? 

My former roommate Elise's favorite thing is white chocolate macadamia nut cookies, and I unfortunately never made them for her while we were living together. BUT it's never too late, and I found these amazing blondies that I knew I had to send to her immediately! Who says you can't buy (or make) love? 
Once again, I subbed in some whole wheat flour, and you can decide whether you want more or less in your own. I just like having that feeling that I'm at least trying to be healther... right?



White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Blondies
From Crepes of Wrath

1/2 pound (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 C brown sugar
2 eggs
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract (optional)
3 C all-purpose flour (or 2 C all-purpose and 1 C whole wheat flour)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 C white chocolate chips
1 C macadamia nuts, toasted and roughly chopped

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, baking powder and salt and set aside. Cream brown sugar and butter in a large mixing bowl, then add eggs, vanilla and almond extracts. Add dry ingredients and mix until well blended. Stir in white chocolate and macadamia nuts. Spread batter into a square baking pan prepared with nonstick baking spray and bake for 30-35 minutes (until completely set and golden brown). Let cool completely and cut into squares.

Summer in a cupcake

When I saw this recipe, I knew I had to try it! The only hitch was that it called for matcha (a finely milled Japanese green tea). When I finally found it at Whole Foods, it cost $26 for a couple of ounces... so the plan definitely needed to change. I wanted to preserve the spirit of the original recipe, so I decided to infuse the milk with green tea from tea bags instead. It definitely didn't turn the cupcake green like the matcha would, and wasn't a very strong flavor, but I decided it was definitely a valuable addition. The cake didn't taste like vanilla and had a bit more sophistication and subtlety. If you happen to already have matcha at home, I would encourage you to try it (add 1 Tbsp to the dry ingredients). 

Green Tea and Strawberry Cupcakes
Adapted from Sweetest Kitchen
Makes 12 cupcakes

3/4 C + 2 Tbsp cake flour
1/2 C + 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 C sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 C unsalted butter, softened, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 eggs
1/2 C whole milk
3-4 bags of green tea
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Strawberry jam or preserves

Directions: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper liners; set aside. Microwave the milk until hot, then steep with 3-4 green tea bags (make sure it can sit for at least 6 minutes). Combine flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Add butter, mixing until the cubes of butter are peanut-sized or a little smaller. In another small bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, and vanilla. With mixer on medium speed, add wet ingredients in 3 parts, scraping down sides of bowl before each addition; beat until ingredients are incorporated but do not overbeat. Divide batter evenly among cupcake liners, filling about 2/3 full. Bake until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Once cupcakes have cooled completely, use a sharp paring knife or apple corer to cut out a small circular area of the cupcake center. Fill hole with strawberry jam.

Strawberry Buttercream
Adapted from Martha Stewart
Makes about 2 1/2 cups

2 egg whites
1/2 C + 2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened, cut into small pieces
3/4 C fresh strawberries, pureed

Directions: There are a couple of things that I learned while working in the kitchen for the good folks at Sugar Butter Flour, and they definitely will save you a LOT of wasted egg whites and sugar. First off, make sure you put the egg whites and sugar in a heatproof mixer bowl that is COMPLETELY DRY. Even the slightest drop of watter in the bowl will make it impossible to whip the eggs correctly. Heat the bowl of egg whites and sugar over a pot of simmering water (make a double boiler). Whisk pretty constantly until sugar dissolves. You'll know it's at the right point when you can't feel any sugar crystals when rubbing the mixture between your forefinger and thumb. It's the right temperature when you can hold your finger in the bowl for a few seconds before it gets too hot.

Remove from heat and beat on medium-high speed until stiff, glossy peaks form. Reduce speed to medium, and add butter, 1 piece at a time, beating well after each addition. With mixer on low, add strawberry puree, and beat until smooth. Use immediately, or cover, and refrigerate for up to 3 days.


This, folks, is stiff and glossy!

Summer moments

Today was fantastic. I hit the farmer's market in Sunnyvale with Julia to stock up on fruits and once again commence our weekly tradition, then drove over the hill to Capitola and spent the day absorbing sun on the beach (for me, probably too much as usual...). After catching up on the day's World Cup games, I knew the perfect end to a perfect day would be to try the first of my summer recipe to-do list. I also had two very eager sous chefs, who were quite excited to be included (please see lovely photo at left). They were excellent help and even better taste testers. Their trusted and refined palates gave the following cookies a big thumbs up...

This one is super simple and very delicious - somehow the cookies are very rich and very light at the same time. These are not, however, for the faint of heart in terms of sugar content. Even I think they're really sweet, and that's saying something! I think they would be quite lovely at a tea party:)
If you're a big fan of frosting, I'd double the filling recipe because a single recipe cuts it pretty close. I didn't have mini chocolate chips so I chopped the regular chocolate chips I had and it was great. I'd actually recommend it anyway, because it incorporates the chocolate a little more.


Chocolate Chip Melting Moments 
From Erin Cooks
Yields 15 sandwich cookies 

Cookies
1/2 C all-purpose flour
1/2 C cake flour (lower protein content and starchier than AP flour)
3/4 C cornstarch
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 C unsalted butter, softened
3/4 C powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Filling
1/4 C unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 C powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 C miniature semisweet chocolate chips (or chopped chocolate)

Directions: Preheat the oven to 300º F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Sift together both flours, the cornstarch, baking powder, and salt and set aside.
In a large bowl, beat the butter and powdered sugar on medium speed until smooth and lightened slightly in color, about 1 minute.  Add the vanilla and mix until blended. Add the flour mixture at low speed, mixing just until it is incorporated and a smooth dough forms.
For each cookie, roll a tablespoon of dough between the palms of your hands into a smooth ball. Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them 2 inches apart. Use a fork to gently flatten the cookies to 1 1/4 inch disks, leaving an impression of the fork tines. Bake the cookies one sheet at a time until the tops feel firm and the cookie bottoms are lightly browned, about 30 minutes; the tops of the cookies should not color. Cool the cookies completely before adding the filling.

Make the filling. In a medium bowl, beat together butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla on medium speed until smooth. Stir in the chocolate.
Spread about a teaspoon of filling on half the cookies and sandwich with the others. Voila!

Chunky Monkey

My joy after finishing the quarter coincided perfectly with brown bananas to result in this fantastic recipe. I don't throw around this statement lightly, but I think I may have found something I like better than chocolate chip cookies...
What I love most is the very subtle banana flavor in these cookies - kind of like banana bread but even less so. I gave them to people without telling them they were banana, and it wasn't a "whoah, banana!" reaction but more of a "mm... these kind of taste like banana" kind of thing. The texture is also fantastic - they stay very soft even when fully baked, so you get the best of both doughy and dense. I didn't add nuts because I'm not a huge fan, but if you really want to go for crunchy, use chunky peanut butter and add nuts. An added bonus is that these can be "veganized" by using margarine, vegan chocolate, and soy milk (with added lemon juice). The absence of eggs also means that you can eat the dough raw without worrying (not that I ever do...).
But whatever you do, just make them. You won't regret it!

Chunky Monkey cookies
Adapted from Namely Marly

1/4 C buttermilk, (or 1/4 C milk with 1/4 Tbsp lemon juice added)
1 1/4 C all-purpose flour
1 C whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 C butter, softened
1/2 C peanut butter (I used smooth, I know there's some diehard chunky fans out there though)
1/2 C granulated sugar
1 C packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 ripe bananas, mashed
2 C chocolate chips
1 C walnuts, chopped (optional)

Directions: Heat oven to 375°. Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, peanut butter, sugars, and vanilla in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add mashed bananas and beat well. Gradually beat in flour mixture and then soy buttermilk mixture. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Lemons lemons lemons

Large bag of lemons + finals week = endless baking  possibilities



Jose recently came into possession of an obscene number of lemons, and naturally I suggested trying some new recipes using lemon. Honestly, I never liked lemon flavor before I went to France, but I had some of the most incredible desserts based off of lemon that my mind was changed forever. It's such a perfect contrast for the sweetness in baked goods, and definitely makes me start thinking of summer. 


The lemon drop cookies below are unreal. Super light, refreshing and uncomplicated. I didn't want to make them too sweet with the glaze, so I dusted them with powdered sugar to make them more like Russian tea cakes. Great decision - it was the perfect balance of tart and sweet. As for the muffins, I decided to take out the candied ginger that the original recipe called for because I personally hate biting into a chunk of ginger. I upped the ground ginger content and thought it was a great compromise. It's not a combination I've used much before, but I really loved the subtlety and sophistication in the taste. I was worried the whole wheat flour would make them too heavy, but only using it for 1/3 of the amount seemed to strike a good balance. 

Let's just say that these two recipes made for some very big smiles amidst the general malaise of finals week, and let me play around with an ingredient I don't often get to use. I give this effort an A+!



Lemon Drop Cookies 
From What Megan's Making

1 1/4 c. flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 c. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 c. powdered sugar
2 Tbsp granulated sugar
Zest of 1 large lemon (2 if they are small)
Juice of 1/2 lemon (about 2 Tbsp)

Glaze:
1/2 c. powdered sugar
Juice of 1/2 lemon (or more, depending on the consistency of the glaze)

Directions: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt and set aside. In bowl of stand mixer, cream the butter and powdered sugar on medium. In a small bowl, rub the sugar and lemon zest together. Add to the butter mixture. Blend until smooth. Add the lemon juice and beat until well combined. Turn mixer to low, and slowly add in the dry ingredients.  Turn the mixer up to medium and mix until flour mixture is combined. Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes and up to overnight.  Roll the cookie dough into little balls, using a Tablespoon of dough or a little less per cookie. Place the cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake 10-12 minutes or until bottoms are very slightly browned. Remove from oven and let cool on cookie sheets. Transfer to a cooling rack.

To make the glaze-mix powdered sugar and lemon juice together in a bowl.  Use enough lemon juice that the glaze is about the consistency of honey.   Dip the tops of the cookies into the glaze. Let sit until glaze is hard.



Lemon Ginger Muffins
Adapted from Hot Polka Dot

2 C all-purpose flour
1 C whole wheat flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 C unsalted butter, room temperature
1 C granulated sugar
1 Tbsp lemon zest
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 eggs
1 C milk

Glaze:
2 Tbsp lemon juice 
1 C powdered sugar 

Directions: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and position a rack in the center. Line a muffin tin with muffin liners. In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, ginger and salt then set it aside. In a large bowl with an electric mixer cream together the butter and sugar until it's light a fluffy. Add the lemon zest and lemon juice then mix that in. Add the eggs one at a time and beat until each is just incorporated. Alternate the addition of milk and the dry ingredients by thirds, making sure not to over mix each addition.
Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tin and fill each nearly to the brim of the liner. Bake them for 15 – 20 minutes until the tops are a nice golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Transfer them to a cooling rack.

Petits palmiers

I really hate to admit this, but there is one baked good I never tried in France. For some very odd reason, I never got around to buying a palmier ("palm" in French) and I've regretted it ever since. Better late than never, however - these cookies turned out to be the easiest I've ever made. They're also foodgasmically delicious, so if you're looking for the most bang for your buck in terms of prep time and ingredients, these are definitely up there. 
I took the easy road and bought frozen puff pastry sheets. You're welcome to make your own puff pastry dough but frankly, I've got cell biology to study and hungry mouths to feed. If you look at food blogs online, you'd think that frozen puff pastry dough was really easy to find - but I looked at Ralph's, Trader Joe's and Whole Foods and only found one type at Whole Foods from the Aussie Bakery brand. It's important to let it thaw for about 40 minutes before trying to unfold each sheet, because frozen dough can crack easily. 

The beauty of this recipe is that you can even make savory flavors. I've seen recipes for pesto, sundried tomato and even meat fillings in place of the suggestions for filling below, and I'm sure they'd be amazing. I'm itching to try nutella filling and even baklava filling (chopped nuts, honey, etc.). I made up my own lemon filling to use up the abundance of citrus in my house, and it turned out AMAZING. The four-spice recipe below that I found, is also fantastic - as my roommate Elise said, "it's like childhood in your mouth."

Four-Spice or Lemon Palmiers

Four-Spice filling from Food Lover's Odyssey

1 sheet puff pastry (the brand I bought had three sheets in the box, each about a 12-inch square)

1/4 cup granulated sugar, plus an extra 3 tablespoons

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon allspice

OR

Finely grated zest of 3 lemons
1/8 C granulated sugar

Follow instructions for thawing the pastry dough, letting it rest on a parchment-lined baking sheet for about 40 minutes before unfolding. Mix together spices, or for the lemon recipe rub the zest and sugar together in a bowl to get the juice flowing out of the zest.

Sprinkle a generous portion of the filling onto the sheet of puff pastry.  Starting at the outer edges, fold over 2 1/2 inches of the puff towards the center of  the sheet.  Do this on both sides.  Sprinkle the newly folded over portions with the filling mixture. From both outer edges, fold another 2 1/2 inches over towards the center.  Do this on both sides.  At this point, the folds will meet in the center.  Sprinkle the newly folded over portions with the filling mixture.

Fold the two parts together.  Wrap in plastic wrap and freeze for 30 minutes. 

 

Preheat the oven to 410ºF and place parchment paper on two baking sheets. Remove the puff pastry from the refrigerator and slice into even slices, 3/8-1/2 inch in thickness.  Place on the baking sheet, leaving a 3-inch space between each palmier. Bake for 15-17 minutes until lightly golden.  Cool slightly.

When life gives you brown bananas

My roommate Kaitlyn cannot eat bananas if they have a spot on them, so as you can imagine, I often come into possession of raw materials for banana baked goods! There were two very brown bananas staring at me this morning, and I knew today was the time to act. Instead of banana bread, though, I wanted to do something a little more unconventional, like biscotti! I found this banana bread biscotti recipe and knew I had to give it a shot. For some unsettling reason, I didn't have any chocolate in the house, but I did add cinnamon and nutmeg to add a little extra something to the flavor. GOOD choice :) If you prefer milder flavor, skip the nutmeg and add chocolate along with the cinnamon.
I'm still a little conflicted about the texture, though - mine have a little more banana than the original recipe and I don't know if that contributed to the fact that they're not quite as crispy as I'd like. I think I'd go back to the original recipe listed below...

Banana Bread Biscotti
Adapted from Cookie Madness

1 C whole wheat flour
3/4 C all purpose flour
1/2 C sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 C mashed banana (1 banana)
1 Tbsp canola oil
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 C chopped, toasted pecans or walnuts (optional)
1/3 C chocolate chips (optional)

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt; set aside. In a large bowl, combine banana, oil, egg and vanilla and mix until well blended. Add the flour mixture, toasted pecans and chocolate chips to the banana mixture and stir just until combined. If the mixture seems dry, use your hands to mix until the dough comes together.
Shape into a 12-inch log. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and flatten to about 4 inches across. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until firm and cracked on top. Transfer the logs to a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes and reduce oven temperature to 275 degrees F.
Place log on a cutting board and cut diagonally into 1/2 - 3/4 inch thick slices. Place biscotti cut side down on the cookie sheet. Return them to the oven and cook for 20 minutes. Flip them over and cook for another 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.