Cooking for Seven

These cookies are a lovely blend of one of favorite flavor pairs - Chocolate & Peanut Butter. In fact, my favorite cookie recipe stars those two ingredients.

To be completely honest, I was scared of this recipe. I had my doubts about flourless cookies. So I made a half recipe.

But I had nothing to worry about! These cookies do have a very soft and chewy texture, but the flavor is straightforward and scrumptious. Make them with 60% cacao baking chips, and these cookies are lovely treat.

Note: The original recipe didn’t call for any butter, salt, or vanilla; I added all three.

.

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

Adapted from the little red house

Ingredients:

• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 cup brown sugar (homemade or regular)
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2) Place the peanut butter, butter, and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on medium speed until well blended, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the vanilla and mix.

3) In a small bowl, mix together the oats, salt, and baking soda. Add to the peanut butter mixture and stir well. Stir in the chocolate chips. The dough will be very soft and sticky.

4) Drop by spoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Allow to cool on the pan for a few minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes approximately 2 dozen cookies

.

Follow me on twitter…

Magazine Mondays is an event held by Ivonne at Cream Puffs in Venice. Once a week, bloggers are invited to post a recipe made from a magazine and submit the post to Ivonne. I think it’s a great way to motivate you to actually use your magazines!

This week, I decided to make New York-Style Cheesecake (in celebration of National Dessert Day) from an issue of Martha Stewart Living. Of course, I didn’t make the recipe as it was written. I used demerar sugar in place of granulated white sugar. And I must admit that I undercooked the cake slightly. But it still tasted wonderful!

New York-Style Cheesecake

Printable Page

Adapted from Martha Stewart Living, May 2004

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting work surface
• Cheesecake-Crust Dough (recipe follows)
• 7 eight-ounce packages of cream cheese, at room temperature
• 2 1/4 cups demerara sugar or granulated white sugar
• 1 cup sour cream, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 5 large eggs, at room temperature
• Butter, for greasing the pan
• Boiling water, for water bath
• Large, shallow roasting pan, for water bath

Directions:

For Rolling and Baking the Crust

1.) Make Cheesecake-Crust Dough and chill for the required amount of time. Preheat of to 350°F. Wash out bowl and paddle for stand mixer.

2.)  On a lightly floured sheet of wax paper, roll the Cheesecake-Crust Dough slightly thicker than 1/8 inch. Place the base of a 10-inch springform pan on top of the dough as a guide, then cut the dough. Flip the dough onto the base and remove the wax paper.

3.) Attach sides of pan to base. Wrap the exterior of the pan (including the base) with a double layer of foil. Freeze dough in pan for 15 minutes.

4.) Transfer pan to baking sheet and bake in preheated oven until golden, about 18 minutes. Transfer pan to a rack and allow to cool. Keep oven going.

For Mixing the Cake Batter:

5.) Place the cream cheese the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until fluffy & smooth, about 3 minutes.

6.) In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar and flour. Turn the mixer to low and slowly add the sugar mixture. Mix until smooth. Add the sour cream and vanilla and mix until smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing each just until combines. Do not overmix.

7.) Butter the sides of the pan. Pour batter into pan over crust. Set the pan in a large, shallow roasting pan. Carefully add the boiling water to roasting pan to reach halfway up the sides of the cake pan.

8.) Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes. Reduce temperature to 325° F and continue to bake until the cake is golden and set but still slightly wobbly in the center, about 30 minutes more. Turn the oven off. Leave the cake in the oven with the dore slightly ajar for 1 hour.

9.) Transfer cake to cooling rack and allow to cool completely. Refrigerate, uncovered, for 6 hours or overnight. Run knife around the edge of the cake before removing the sides of the pan. Serve plain or with your favorite toppings.

Yields approximately 12 servings (we got 16 servings)

Cheesecake-Crust Dough

Ingredients:

• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup demerara or granulated sugar
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• Pinch of salt

Directions:

1.) Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Cream on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and mix. Add the flour and salt and mix just until a dough forms.

2.) Shape the dough into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1/2 hour or up to 1 day.

Yields enough dough for one 10-inch cheesecake

Hello there! It’s National Dessert Day today! In celebration, I’m making cheesecake.

Here are my five favorite dessert recipes from Cooking for Seven.

Chocolate & Almond Biscotti

Eve’s Pudding

Maple & Pecan Banana Cake

Macadamia Nut Brownies

Maple Pecan Ice Cream

m

So go make yourself a delicious dessert!

m

I am  definitely a Minnesota girl. When the weather turns cold, I rejoice! And I get an itch to bake delicious, sweet things. Like these muffins. And this pie.

Our apples didn’t do so well this year. There were quite a few deformed apples, but I am thankful for what we did get! It is so nice to be able to munch on an apple whenever I wish.

These muffins have a lovely blend of flavors. Chunky apple pieces, nutty whole wheat flour, LOTS of cinnamon (1 whole tablespoon), and crunchy sugar granules on top.

“Do these have the same ingredients as apple crisp?” my brother asked.

They do resemble that delicious dessert.

Whole Wheat Apple Muffins

Printable Page

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

2 cups (8 ounces) whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 cup (1 stick, 4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup demerara sugar, sucanat, or rapadura, divided
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 cup (8 ounces) buttermilk or yogurt
2 large apples, peeled, cored, and coarsely chopped

1) Preheat the oven to 450°F. Grease and flour or line with paper muffin cups 14 muffin cups and set aside.

2) Mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon, and set aside. In a separate bowl, cream the butter and add 3/4 cup of the sweetener of choice. Beat until fluffy. Add the egg and mix well; stop once to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. Mix in the buttermilk gently. (If you over-mix, the buttermilk will cause the mixture to curdle.) Stir in the dry ingredients and fold in the apple chunks.

2) Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups, sprinkling the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar on top. Bake for 10 minutes, turn the heat down to 400°F, and bake for an additional 5 to 10 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool the muffins for 5 minutes in the tin, then turn them out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Serve warm with butter.

Yield: 12-14 muffins