or should I just call it Brown Rice Pudding?

When I was a little one, I remember lulling myself to sleep by listing off in my brain all of the things that I might like to find in heaven should I find myself there.  I started off with important things like:

I’d like to find my little sister Lauren in heaven, but I don’t want to have to share my toys with her if I don’t want to.

I’d like to find my best friend Natalie in heaven because I love to play with her hair.

I’d like to find Grandmother, Granddaddy and Aunt DeeDee in heaven because they make the best hamburgers every Friday night .

And then this list would surely devolve into something that resembles my Christmas wish list:

I want an Easy Bake Oven in heaven…

I want a Barbie Dream House in heaven.

I want mechanical pencils in heaven… I had a serious thing for mechanical pencils.  Still do.

Nowadays I’m barely awake enough to get my socks off before I’m zonked out on my pillow.  I’d like to put this down on record now, if you’ll indulge me.

I want Rice Pudding in heaven.  Rice pudding with raisins.  Rice pudding with dried cherries.  White rice.  Brown rice.  Any kind of rice cooked with milk and sugar.  Please.

A few mechanical pencils might be nice too.

Awesome.  Thanks.

It’s hearty.  It’s warm.  It’s creamy and sweet.  It’s filling and it might just be the most comforting bowl of goodness I’ve ever encountered.

Note:  When served cold, the brown rice has a bit of a bite to it.  I like it cold as much as I do warm, but be warned that cold brown rice pudding will be just a tad more work for your jaw.

Brown Rice Rice Pudding

serves 4 to 6

Print this Recipe!

4 cups water

1 cup brown rice

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 Tablespoons butter

4 cups whole milk

2 Tablespoons sugar

2 Tablespoons honey

1/2 vanilla bean, split open (or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)

1 cinnamon stick

pinch of ground cardamom

1/2 cup dried sour cherries (or any dried fruit you fancy)

Rinse brown rice in a strainer under cold water for 30 seconds.  Set aside.

Bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Stir in brown rice and salt.  Turn flame down to medium and simmer rice, uncovered for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.   After 30 minutes, drain rice and water.  Let rice sit in strainer for 10 seconds and then return to the pot you cooked it in (not over a flame) and immediately put a tight fitting lid on the pot.  Let rice rest and steam for 10 minutes.

Once rice is cooked, place it in a bowl and set aside. Add 4 cups of milk, sugar, honey, cinnamon stick, pinch of cardamom and vanilla bean to the pan. Bring to a very low boil, stirring often so the milk doesn’t burn. Add the cooked rice, butter and cherries to the hot milk. Stir often.  Don’t ignore the milk or it might boil to furiously and curdle.  Simmer until the milk cooks down and the rice is creamy, about 30 minutes. Place in a large bowl or serving dishes to cool. Serve cold or at room temperature.

Autumn is settling in.  Autumn has settled in, and here I am ready to accept it.  I’m also ready to accept the fact that my days in the kitchen are about to dramatically increase (if you can believe that) as my cravings for apple crisp (lovelovelovelovelovelovelove), pumpkin cookies and cranberry treats become harder to ignore.  I’m less ready to embrace the way my jeans are tightening around my thighs… or maybe it’s my thighs growing inside my jeans.  Either way, the tightness and the sucking in of the tummy seems to be just a part of the season.

What are you up to in the kitchen these days?  Here’s some food for thought  Yes… I totally just said that. 

Mocha Hazelnut Marble Cake.  This cake was gorgeous, classy and utterly fine… until I tried to transport it in a fancy cake stand and got this glistening chocolate glaze exactly everywhere.  Everywhere.  Lesson learned. 

Sweet and soft Ginger Chewies.  Full of molasses attitude.  

Spiced Pear Walnut Cake with a praline walnut glaze.  How about I just go ahead and make the glaze and then spoon it into my mouth… forget the cake.  This beauty is all about the glaze.

Cinnamon Spice Buns.  The dough is spiced.  The filling is sugar and spice.  There’s butter and glaze.  Make this a part of your life please.

Vanilla Bean Rice Pudding.  I ate the whole pot.  The whole pot.  By myself.  

Pizza.  Homemade pizza.  Easy.  Not hard. Worth it’s weight in gold and precious stones.  

I’ve got a guilty conscience.  Here’s a little peek inside:

Dear Coworker David,  

Tonight when you were detailing the twenty one shots you had for your twenty first birthday, I stopped listening at about shot number four… the Raging Bull I think you said.  How do you remember all twenty one shots after twenty one shots anyway!?   Sheeesh!  Though I was smiling and nodding tonight, I heard not a word you said.  True. 

Dear Downstairs Neighbor,

Is it noisy down there?  Does it seems sometimes like I’m stomping around on my second floor apartment floors?  Probably.  I am.  I can have some heavy feet from time to time.  Do I do it on purpose?  Sometimes.  Yes.  To be fair, I do this because, as you know, I left cupcakes on your doorstep for you one afternoon and I watched you discover them and take them to the dumpster to throw away.  I saw you do that.  Not cool.  Not cool at all.  

Dearest Friend (pssst!… that’s you),

Sometimes I make recipes vegan simply because I’m out of eggs and/or butter.  It’s true.  A severe and persisting egg shortage in my house was the inspiration for the Vegan Pumpkin Bread.  If you’re vegan, you’re probably annoyed.  That’s ok.  I can be annoying.  If you’re not vegan, you’re probably happy to know that you can still bake up some wonders without eggs and butter.  Your call.  

Love,

Joy the Baker

Pumpkin Bread.  Ooooh, you’re a tough one to futz up.  Pumpkin adds moisture and flavor that just won’t quit.  When combined with plenty of spices, pumpkin bread becomes a treat that will stay fresh and moist for days and days.  This version is sweetened with both brown sugar and maple syrup.  I. Love. It.  

Vegan Pumpkin Walnut Bread

     makes 2 loaves

     Print this Recipe!

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour ( or whole wheat flour… or just use only all-purpose flour)

2 cups light brown sugar, packed

1/3 cups granulated sugar

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon allspice

1/2 teaspoon cloves

1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree, or just under two cups

1 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup maple syrup

1/3 cup water

1 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Place a rack in the center of the oven.  Grease and flour two loaf pans (mine are 8×4x2) and set aside.  

In a large bowl, whisk together flours, sugars, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices.  

In a medium bowl, carefully whisk together pumpkin puree, oil, maple syrup and water.  

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and use a spatula to fold all of the ingredients together.  Make sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl well, finding any stray flour bits to mix in.  Fold in most of the chopped walnuts, reserving some to sprinkle on top of the batter once in the pan. 

Divide the dough between the two greased pans and sprinkle with a few walnut pieces.  Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.  Remove from the oven.  Let rest in the pans for 20 minutes, then invert onto a cooling rack.  

Serve warm.  Maybe even wrap one loaf up in plastic wrap and store in the freezer for future munching.

Persimmon Pudding, from tree to table.  

Step One:  Find a neighbor with a gorgeous, almost cartoon like persimmon tree.  Ask your Mom to help you pick persimmons… Mom always likes to help.

Step Two:  Entice neighbor and Mamabear with the promise of fresh baked persimmon pudding if you’re granted access to their persimmon tree.  

Step Three:  Try this phrase, “Hey Neighbor!  I think you’re just swell.  Can I borrow a ladder?  That’s one tall tree.  Sweet… thanks.”

Step Four:  If you decide to sneak a peek into the other neighbor’s yard while you’re up on that ladder picking persimmons… maybe you’ll want to be more subtle than my mother.  I’m just sayin…

Step Five:  Pick the ripest, softest persimmons.  Way to be, Mom!

Step Six:  Carefully place super ripe persimmons in bag to cart off home, thanking your neighbors Dan and Libby for their ladder and their abundant tree. 

Step Seven:  If you don’t happen to have a neighbor with a persimmon tree, I’m betting that the local farmer’s market will have some gorgeous Hachiya persimmons for you this time of year…. and you won’t need a ladder. 

Step Eight:  Call your favorite Aunt from Indiana and ask her to promptly send you all of the persimmon recipes she owns… that will be a lot.  Seriously.  Thanks Judy!

Let’s very quickly clear up any confusion you might have about persimmons.  There are probably two types of persimmons that you might run in your search for the fruit this autumn.  Fuyu persimmons are the squat little darlings that you can eat when they are hard.  Hachiya persimmons are the more bulbous fruit that are best enjoyed super right and super soft.  Hachiya persimmons are lovely for baking as they are super sweet… like eating nectar… dreamy.

Now… let’s talk about ‘Simmon Puddin’.  When you think of Persimmon Pudding think of sweet and super moist bread pudding meets spice cake.  If you can… close your eyes and think about a dessert that you grandmother might make in October 1976 if you lived in Indiana… now, you might not like this dessert as much as you like your grandmother’s chocolate cake, but you liked that she served her Persimmon Pudding with super melty vanilla ice cream… which made everything ok.   There you go…. that’s Persimmon Pudding.

Persimmon Pudding

     some old school Indiana newspaper 1976

     makes 6 to 8 servings

     Print this Recipe!

2 cups fresh Hachiya persimmon pulp, removed from the skin

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup sugar

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

pinch of salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

2 cups milk

1 egg

1 tablespoon melted butter, plus more for buttering dish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Butter a 9×9 baking dish and set aside

Stir the baking soda and sugar into the persimmon pulp and set aside.  This mixture may thicken as it sits… that’s ok!

Sift together flour, baking powder, salt and spices.  Add to the persimmon mixture all at once and stir until flour is almost completely incorporated.  

Whisk together milk, egg and butter and add to the persimmon and flour mixture.  Batter will be very loose.  Pour into the baking dish.  

Bake for 1 hour covered with foil, or uncovered.  If you make the pudding covered, you’ll have a very wet and moist pudding.  If you bake the pudding uncovered, you’ll have a drier pudding topped with a bread like crust.  I baked my pudding uncovered.  Bake the pudding until it is firm but still very moist.

Allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.  Best served warm with vanilla ice cream.

I sometimes wish that my future self could just pop into my present world just to… you know… say hi, and let me know that everything in the future is going along just swimmingly.  That never happens, but maybe I just haven’t given future me enough guidance.  With this in mind…  here’s a quick letter to future me.  Now maybe 48 year old me will get crackin’ on some answers.  Slacker.  

Dear Future Me,

Hi.  How’s it going?  You look really pretty in that sweater.  

I have a few questions for you.  I hope you’ll indulge me.  

Are you still unreasonably afraid of spiders?  Probably.  You know what?  That’s ok.  That’s what spouses are for… clearing spiders from anywhere that might interfere with you.  

Speaking of spouses… do you have one?  How’s that going?  Awesome.  I hope it’s awesome.  I hope you two hold hands and take morning walks and go out on dates.  

Do you still buy the cheap mascara?  Have you been to Italy yet?  

Tell me you still wear a little black dress and heels on occasion.  Please.  

Kids.  Do we have Mom hands yet? Oooh, I love Mom hands.  I can’t wait to have Mom hands… well I can wait.  I’m waiting right this very second and I don’t feel bad.  But Mom hands…. I bet we totally have Mom hands. 

How do you feel about eggplant?  Do you like eggplant yet?

What’s been good?  What’s been not so good?  Are you livin’ the dream?

Let me know how we are.  Send me a sign… maybe a paper airplane with your answers… whatever you need to do.

I’ll be sitting here with a cup of tea and my Spiced Apple Cake waiting to hear from you.

Love,

Present Me

Quick Blurb of Shamelessness

Hi… it’s me, Joy the Baker.  I hang out here a lot.  So do you.  I like that.  Thanks. 

Last week I was nominated for the Foodbuzz Blog Awards.  The Best Baking Blog… go figure.  If you’re feeling… votey, you might head on over to Foodbuzz to vote for all the fine folks that are up for an award.  Yea?  Thanks!

I love this apple cake.  LOVE IT!  It’s perfectly spiced, full of tart fall apples and moistened with sour cream.  I baked my apple cake in an old fashioned tube pan, but I think this recipe is best made in a 8″ or 9″ spring form pan.  Bonus!  This cake freezes well.  I sliced my cake and wrapped up pieces individually to grab as an afternoon snack at work.  Spiced Apple Cake with hot tea… a perfect world. 

Spiced Apple Cake

     from The Sweet Life

     Print this Recipe!

Sauteed Apples

2 tart apples (about 1 pound)

2 Tablespoons butter

2 Tablespoons sugar

Cake

12 Tablespoons butter, at room temperature

1 cup packed light brown sugar

4 egg yolks, at room temperature

1 3/4 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1/2 teaspoon clove

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/2 cup plus 1 Tablespoon sour cream

1/4 cup raw sugar (or granulated if you don’t have raw on hand)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and place a rack in the center of the oven.  Butter and flour an 8-inch spring form pan and set aside.

To sautee the apples: peel, core and dice the apples into 1/4-inch cubes.  Melt the butter in a saute pan over medium heat until butter beings to bubble.  Add the diced apples and cook for one minute, stirring with a wooden spoon.  Add the sugar and continue to cook for 2 minutes.  Turn the heat to low and cook the apples, uncovered for 4-5 minutes until they are softened.  Remove from heat and allow to cool.  You’ll only use the sauteed apples for the recipe so you can discard any liquids that may have accumulated.  

To make the cake:  cream the butter, sugar and spices in a stand mixer fit with a paddle attachment until light in color and fluffy.  This may take 6 to 8 minutes.  Stop the mixer occasionally, to scrape down the sides of the bowl and continue beating until mixture is light and fluffy.

Add the egg yolks one at a time and continue beating until fluffy and glossy.  

Measure out the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda.  With the mixer set on low speed, add half of the dry ingredients to the batter.  Mix until no flour streaks remain.  Add the sour cream all at once and incorporate.  Add the rest of the dry ingredients and mix until no traces remain.  Fold in the cooked apples with a rubber spatula.  The cake batter will be thick.  

Spread the cake batter into the prepared pan and distribute evenly.  Take a knife and run it in a singular circular motion through the batter 1-inch from the edge of the pan.  This will help the cake to rise evenly.  Sprinkle the cake with the raw or granulated sugar and bake for 60- 70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.  Allow to cool for 10 minutes before removing the sides of the spring form pan.

The date was September 17th, 2009.  

Yes.  Yesterday.  

That’s the day that I finally stopped totally sucking at scone baking.  That’s the day that I didn’t pull a tray of overly sweet, super flat triangle shaped mounds out of the oven, trying to pass them off as scones.  

Summon the parade.  I’d like you to call in the marching band please.  Flag twirlers would also be nice.  This is sort of a parade worthy occasion.  Fluffy, rounded, nicely browned, fruit filled scones?  From my oven?  Yes.  Parade please.

Oh!  Just so we’re clear…  I’ve made at least twenty dozen terrible batches of scones in my lifetime.  Terrible terrible.  I just couldn’t get it right!   Let this space hold as proof that I’ve wrestled scone dough and oven temperatures and come out successful.

Here’s proof:  pink and fruity, spiced, hearty and subtly sweet scone proof.  

These scones are a combination of old fashioned oats and all-purpose flour.  Much of the oatmeal breaks down in the scone dough, creating a robust and slightly dense crumb.  The freshly grated nutmeg, believe it or not, adds a touch of mystery to the scone… like you just can’t quite put your finger on the spice or flavor… I love that.  Sweetness?  These scones aren’t too sweet.  You won’t feel like you’re eating a cakey muffin top  but rather an appropriately sweet breakfast treat perfect with sweet and milky tea.

Feel free to use fresh or frozen blueberry or raspberries for this recipe.  I used frozen raspberries.  Divine!

Oatmeal Raspberry Scones

     adapted from Dorie Greenspan

     makes 12 scones

     Print this Recipe

1 large egg

1/2 cup cold buttermilk

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/3 cups old fashioned oats

1/3 cup sugar

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

1/2 to 3/4 cup fresh or frozen raspberries or blueberries

1 stick plus 2 Tablespoons (10 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, grated on a box grater or cut into small pieces

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and place a rack in the center of the oven.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil and set aside.  

Stir the eggs and buttermilk together and set aside.

Whisk together the flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg in a large bowl.  Using a box grater, quickly grate the butter until all is shredded and add to the dry ingredients, using your fingers to quickly incorporate the butter and flour mixture.  If you don’t have a box grater, you can also simply cut the butter into small pieces and quickly rub the butter into the dry ingredients until it is pebbly.  

Pour the egg and buttermilk miture over the dry ingredients and stir with a fork just until the dough, which will be wet and sticky, comes together.  Add the berries.

Still in the bowl, gently knead the dough by hand or turn it with a rubber spatula about 8 to 10 times.  Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and press the dough until you have a circle that is about 1 1/2-inches thick.  Use a 1/4 cup ice cream scoop to portion out 12  scone dough balls.  At this point the scones can be frozen on the baking sheet, then wrapped airtight.  Don’t defrost before baking, just add about 2 more minutes to the baking time.  

Bake for 20 minutes or until their tops are golden and firmish.  Transfer them to a rack and col for 10 minutes before serving, or wait for the scones to cool to room temperature.

Is it just me, or is making a pie sorta like going to jury duty?

Don’t get me wrong… I sometimes (no.. not always) like throwing together a pie.  I also sometimes like trucking my rear downtown for jury duty…. that’s after kicking and screaming in the weeks prior to said dutying.

The process of going to jury  makes me feel super adult.  What?  You want me to sit in this crowded room with a bunch of angry people missing work, and you want me to possibly make decisions Law and Order style?  Ok.  I’ll play your game justice system.  I’m a tax paying adult… thanks for the recognition.

The process of making a pie also makes me feel all adult like.  Something about tacking a many layered recipe and busting out my pie plate tells me that yes… you’ve got bills to pay, but why not take a minute… ok, an hour… and show to world who’s in charge by making a pie?  Orange and Cream… done and done.

Because the temps are still absolutely blazing here in Southern California, I thought a no-bake pie was in order.  One problem though… crust!  This graham cracker crust is baked for a quick 10 minutes before the filling is poured into it, making this No-Bake Orange and Cream Pie a little bit of a lie.

The filling for this pie is easily thrown together on the stove top.  Bonus!  You can make this with either fresh orange juice and zest, or lemon juice and zest.  Also, feel free to skip the whipped cream on top if you like.  The pie will be just a lovely without it.  My only problem was that the crust was a tad bit crumbly… but really, that’s wasn’t a huge problem for me.  I could have easily eaten this pie directly out of the pie plate with a jumbo spoon.

No-Bake Orange and Cream Pie

Print this recipe!

For the crust:

1 2/3 cup crushed graham crackers

1/4 cup sugar

dash of ground cinnamon

1/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons melted butter

Mix together the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, cinnamon and melted butter until evenly moistened.  Press into a 9-inch pie plate and bake at 350 degrees F for 10-13 minutes, until lightly golden.  Cool before filling.

For the filling:

3 1/2 Tablespoons cornstarch

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup butter

1 cup sour cream

1 Tablespoon orange zest

1/2 cup fresh squeezed orange juice

3 large egg yolks

1 cup milk

1 cup heavy whipping cream (for the whipped cream top)

Combine the sugar, cornstarch, orange juice, zest yolks and milk in a heavy bottomed sauce pan over medium heat.  Cook until thick, stirring constantly.

Add butter and stir until melted.  Cool the mixture for 15 minutes, then add the sour cream.  Stir to incorporate.  Pour into cool pie crust and chill for 3 hours.  I left my pie unwrapped in the fridge because I love a skin to form on top of the pie.  Cover your pie loosely if you’d like.  Whip up the cream, adding a few tablespoons of powdered sugar if you’d like, then spoon on top of the orange filling.

Let’s play a game called What’s on Your Nightstand?.  What?  Too personal?  Oooh come on!  We’re all friends here.  Let’s try to figure out what our night stands say about the state of our lives.

On my night stand is:

1 Ikea lamp.

A water color painting made by my aunt in the 80’s.

A cup of what once was hot lemon water with honey, now just a mass of lemon seeds at the bottom of a mug.

A glass bowl with a ring and a business card for a French bed and breakfast.

Two books:  Unaccustomed Earth and Seize the Day.

My credit card, and a small bowl with cookie crumbs in it… Lemon Rosemary Palmier cookie crumbs.

What might my night stand contents say about me?  I love a home furnishing bargain.  When I run out of tea I make do with lemons.  I can’t sleep in jewelry and I like to daydream about vacationing in the French countryside. I either read a book or go internet shopping before I fall asleep, and I eat cookies in bed.  All things considered, it seems like a pretty cushy and self indulgent life…. plus, cookies!

I’ve taught you how to make Palmiers.  Have you made them yet?  It’s amazing how easy they are.  The only trick is to get the right store-bought puff pastry.  Make sure to buy an all butter puff pastry like Dufour.  Puff pastries that aren’t made with all butter are liable to have all sorts of mystery fat in them.  Ick.

These Palmiers are flavored with lemon zest and fresh rosemary.  They’re delicate and sophisticated but delicious enough to munch on in bed on a Saturday night.

Lemon Rosemary Palmiers

Print this Recipe!

1 package puff pastry

1 scant cup of sugar

zest of 1 large lemon or 2 small lemons

1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Finely chop fresh rosemary and set aside.  Measure out one cup of granulated sugar (it doesn’t have to be exact).  On a clean, flat surface rub lemon zest into the sugar using a bench knife or the back of a spoon.  The sugar will become fragrant as the zest is rubbed into it.  Sprinkle about half of the lemon sugar onto a clean work surface.  Unfold the thawed puff pastry onto the sugared surface and sprinkle the top of the pastry with the remaining lemon sugar.

The Dufour Puff Pastry unfolds out of the package just about the length and width you’re looking for.  You’ll just need to roll it to thin it a bit, extending it about 1/2 to 1-inch on all sides.

What’s that?  You have a little rip on the seam of your puff pastry!? Me too.  Maybe just try to patch that up a bit.  But really?  It’s not that big a deal.  Don’t sweat it!

Sprinkle the surface with fresh rosemary.

Your puff pastry should be roughly 8(to10)x12-inches in size.  Now start rolling.  Roll up the left vertical side towards the center seam.  Roll the right vertical side towards the center too.

Gently press together.  Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour, or until cold and firm.

Remove dough from the fridge and slice in 1/2-inch slices.  Place on lined baking sheet.  Bake in 400 degree F oven for 10 to 15 minutes of until golden brown.  You may want to rotate the baking sheet halfway through baking.  Keep a close eye on the cookies after about 11 minutes.  They might burn quickly.

If using just a greased and floured baking pan instead of a parchment or silicone lined pan, remove the cookies from the pan immediately after they come out of the oven.  If you’ve lined you baking sheet, you’re fine to let the cookies cool on the sheet.

It’s August 3, 2009 and I refuse to believe a) that summer is almost over, and b) that we’re a handful of months away from 2010.  Turns out that whether I believe or refuse to believe these two things… they’re still true.  

It’s August 3, 2009 and I will openly admit that in the past few days I’ve been stress eating like a maniac over these picnic plans.  I’m not proud.  

It’s August 3, 2009 and tonight is the night I’m going to polish off the frozen dough balls in my freezer.  Again, not proud.

It’s August 3, 2009 and I’m thinking it’s going to be really awkward when Dr Martens come back into style and I bust out my original pair that I sported back in middle school.  Yes, I still have them.  Yes, they still fit.  

It’s August 3, 2009 and among the many other things I’m thankful for today, I’m also thankful for internet shoe shopping and these beautiful thumbprint cookies.  

I like to think of these cookies as the slightly grown up version of thumbprint cookies from my youth.  

See, instead of adding a bunch of peanut butter to the cookie dough, I ground up honey roasted peanuts, added some flour, butter and sugar and baked them up.  The ground peanuts add a great texture and a subtle peanut flavor.  These cookies are crisp, almost crumbly and just lovely paired with a good quality jam.  

Consider these the thumbprint cookie for those of us who are real life grownups… maybe with a little college debt… maybe with the cheap health insurance… maybe hoping our rent check doesn’t get cashed until 7th of the month.  Grownups…. yea.  Grownups. 

Honey Roasted Peanut Thumbprint Cookies

     adapted from Baking: from my home to yours

     makes 30-34 cookies

     Print this Recipe!

1 3/4 cup finely ground honey roasted peanuts (use a food processor fit with a blade attachment)

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

powdered sugar for dusting

about 1 cup good quality jam of your choice

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and position a rack in the upper third of the oven.  Line two baking sheets with parchment or foil and set aside

Whisk together ground peanuts and flour.  

Using a stand mixer fit with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 or 4 minutes.  Add the extract and beat to blend.  Reduce the speed of the mixer to low and gradually add the nut-flower mixture, mixing only until just incorporated.  Use a spatula to hand mix any flour or nuts that have not been mixed in thoroughly.  

Working with a scant tablespoon (just eyeball it) of dough at a time, roll the dough between your palms to form small balls and place the balls two inches apart on the cookie sheet.  Steadying each cookie with the thumb and finger of one hand, use the pinkie of your other hand to poke a hole in the center of each cookie.  Be careful.  You don’t want to press all the way down to the cookie sheet.  

Bake for 15-18 minutes.  The cookies will only be slightly colored and might even look underdone.  That’s fine.  You don’t want them overbaked. When the cookies are done, remove the baking sheet from the oven and let the cookies rest on the sheet for 2 minutes before transferring them to  cooling racks with a metal spatula.

Repeat with the remaining dough until all the cookies are baked off and cooling.  

Bring the jam to a boil in a small saucepan over low heat, or in the microwave.  Remove from heat.  Sprinkle the cookies with powdered sugar and then fill the indentations (they might have smoothed over slightly during baking) with you jam of choice.  Enjoy!

Some things just shouldn’t be a luxury.  Some things are an absolute necessity.

Spending too much money at Target, for example.  Sometimes… (you know it’s true) that’s a total necessity.

Hot bath plus cold beer.  You need it.  I need it. Necessity.

A super comfortable dress that shows a little shoulder.  Everyone loves a little shoulder.

A girlfriend you can talk about your lady parts with.  Yes, I said lady parts.  Please don’t under estimate this necessity.

Aaaaand, last but not least… a little pancake love on a weekday morning.  Do it.

This recipe is super simple and straight forward.  It’s bound to put a smile on your face.  The recipe yields 12 silver dollar pancakes… minis, if you will.  It’s the perfect little breakfast to throw together for just you, or for you and your sweetie on a dirty old Wednesday morning.  Give it a go!

Vegan Jam Swirled Pancakes

makes 12 silver dollar pancakes

Print this Recipe!

2 1/2 Tablespoons sunflower or almond oil

1/2 cup soy milk, almond milk, rice milk or water

splash of vanilla extract

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2 Tablespoons whole wheat flour

1 Tablespoon sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

pinch of salt

2 generous spoonfuls of your favorite jam, plus more for topping the pancakes

Preheat oven to 2oo degrees F to keep the pancakes warm once they’re cooked.

In a small bowl, combine milk or water, oil and vanilla extract.  In a medium sized bowl combine flours, sugar, baking powder and a pinch of salt.  Whisk with a fork to combine.  Add the wet ingredients all at once to the dry ingredients. Stir to combine.  It’s ok if a few lumps remain in the batter.

Let the batter sit for five or so minutes while the griddle heats up.  Heat 1 Tablespoon of sunflower or almond oil in a cast iron skillet over medium heat.  Once the batter has rested, fold in two generous spoonfuls of your favorite jam, swirling into the batter, and drop generous tablespoonfuls of batter onto heated griddle.  Cook until bubbles form along the edges.  Flip.  Cook until browned.  Add more oil to the pan as needed and cook remaining batter.

Once cooked, place on a plate in the heated oven until ready to serve.  When ready to serve, spread with more jam or top with maple syrup.