use real butter

Whenever I read the word doing I think of it as doing - as in sounds like boing. Anyway, you get another cookie recipe today because I made a veritable boat load of cookies yesterday. I really enjoy holiday baking except when I have surgery and then a head cold right before the holidays. I had to wait until I was fully well enough to 1) bake and 2) not make everything all nasty and sick because that would be a really unkind token of appreciation.

But wait! It is Teh Last Day of the Menu for Hope IV fundraising campaign. If you haven’t skidaddled yourself over there to bid on some prizes, please consider doing so now (and then come back to my post). Pim has neatly organized the prizes according to your statistical chances of winning if you should bid (and you should bid!). Thankfully, my prize is not listed under Great Chances, but under Good Chances. See, you have a good chance of winning this prize from me if you bid on UC01. Repeat - UC01. Just think, you could pay $10 for a raffle ticket to get a print of this image which was featured on the NPR website:

or you could pay considerably more $ for a straight purchase or persevere years of medical training and slice me open like my surgeon to get one. Uh, the raffle ticket is the definite no brainer.

So it was only a few posts back that I was raving about almond extract. Almonds are just about my favorite nut. Oh wait, I like hazelnuts too. And pistachios… and pine nuts… It really does rank up there for me. During my stint in Ithaca, New York, there was a bakery across the gorge from the geology department. I spent many a morning, afternoon, evening, and night walking over to grab sustenance. I gauged that a cookie could last me another hour of work, a bagel was good for 3 hours. They had these delightful almond crescent cookies half-dipped in dark chocolate that I would sometimes get for Jeremy on our mile walk home. Ever the baker, it wasn’t long before I began to think, “Why the #%@# am I paying $1.50 for a cookie when I could make this myself?” As graduate students, we were just above the poverty line. I called the bakery for the recipe and they gave me some bullshit reply like, “Oh, it has almonds, sugar, and egg whites in it.” What the hell kind of recipe is that?!

i know what goes in those cookies now

I searched through all of my recipe books, and you won’t believe where I found it. Mrs. Fields Cookie Book. Yup - the lady with the hair and the franchise! Perfect. Thank you, Debbie. Although Debbie likes the use of salted butter, I do not. I use unsalted butter and will add salt if necessary.

mix in ground almonds

I generally prefer to use skinned almonds when I have to ground them. I discovered that my store of skinned almonds was depleted, so I used whole almonds with skins. I know you can skin them by baking them briefly and then wrapping them in a towel to sweat them and then pop the almonds out of the skin. I’ve done it before and swore a lot. It’s actually much easier than skinning hazelnuts, which doesn’t mean that skinning almonds is so easy, but that skinning hazelnuts can turn you homicidal. I mean to say: the skins do not detract from the overall loveliness of the cookie.

roll in sliced almonds

You would be surprised at how much of the sliced almonds you go through when you roll the dough balls. Just make sure you have enough and then some.

bakie bakie

A nice finishing touch is to drizzle dark chocolate glaze or dip in dark chocolate glaze. I didn’t do any of that, but I have in the past and it works fine. Debbie Fields lists her own dark chocolate glaze, but I prefer straight melted (tempered, if you will) good quality dark chocolate to her glaze. The recipe doesn’t yield a lot, so I typically double or quadruple it.

so nutty!

Almond Crunch Cookies
Mrs. Fields Cookie Book

1/2 cup salted butter, softened (Jen uses unsalted and didn’t add salt to this recipe)
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp pure almond extract
1/4 cup (1 oz) almonds, ground in a food processor
1 cup flour
1 cup (4 oz) sliced almonds

glaze
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 cup (6 oz) chocolate chips
2 tsp light corn syrup

Preheat oven to 350F. Blend butter and sugar to a grainy paste. Mix in egg and almond extract and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add ground almonds and flour and blend at low speed until just combined, taking care not to overmix. For dough into 1 1/2 inch balls and roll in sliced almonds. Place on ungreased cookie sheet, 2 inches apart. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until cookies are golden along the edges. Remove and set on cooling rack.

Make the glaze: Scald cream in small saucepan and remove from heat. Stir in chocolate chips and corn syrup. Cover and let stand for 15 minutes. Gently mix glaze until smooth, careful not to introduce too much air into the chocolate. When cookies are cool, drizzle or dip the cookies while glaze is warm. Refrigerate on waxed paper until glaze has set, about 10 minutes.

Makes 1 1/2 dozen.

One more day for Menu for Hope! The bidding ends tomorrow and then your are SOL. So be sure to get your raffle tickets for all of the lovely prizes being offered. Don’t forget - it is for a terrific cause!

Remember the batch of candied lemon peels that I bricked the other day? I successfully made a batch yesterday morning. Then I went into town to pick up some gifts for Jeremy’s administrative staff at a local cook/gourmet shop and what did I see? Candied lemon peel… for $3.25. Huh. Had I known they stocked this, I would not have gone to the trouble of making my own. Since I didn’t know, I tossed my head back and walked off feeling superior because I *did* make my own. But really, I was kicking myself on the inside.

made my own damn candied lemon peels

I needed candied lemon peels for this great recipe that my friend, Pailin, had given me years ago. Pailin is Thai, a chef in California, and a sweetheart. When Pailin and Wayne visited us in Pasadena, they brought whole bags full of fresh herbs and vegetables from their amazing garden and a couple of bags of cookies that she had made. I noshed on those cookies for many days and when they were gone, I felt as if something was missing from my life. I emailed for the recipe and Pailin happily obliged. They used to live in the small town of Independence, California - gateway to the Eastern Sierra. She was *famous* for her baking.

crystallized ginger

I realized the reason I loved the cookies so much was because of the candied ginger. I used to hate ginger. My mom loves the stuff and she cooked with it often. The biggest gripe that Kris and I had growing up was how Mom wouldn’t chop the ginger into chunks large enough to remove. No - she sliced it so it looked just like bamboo shoots or something else we willingly ate, and then we’d bite into the little stealth ginger slice and wince and spit it out. Maybe it requires maturity of taste buds to appreciate it, but today I’ll eat ginger in just about any dish: sweet, savory, raw, cooked, candied, pickled… I always have fresh ginger root on my counter, right next to the garlic.

chopped ginger, chopped candied lemon peel, grated fresh lemon peel

I have shied away from cookies since we moved to our present elevation. The leavenings are a bitch to puzzle out. That’s frustrating for someone like me, who used to crank out 6 dozen cookies after work with my hands tied behind my back. I had the right temperature and times dialed in for the perfect texture, baby. It was my thang. Then we came here and the cookies came to represent failure after so many years of perfection, much like graduate school - and I was like “who needs that?! pffffffttttt!” But I believe knowledge can overcome fear and I figured out that cookies without leavening are relatively stable to deal with. So when I dug around for a cookie recipe, Pailin’s ginger lemon cookies were perfect.

lemon juice for a little tang

add the goodies

It’s a buttery dough that requires chilling. I definitely cut the slices too large because they spread a lot more than I had anticipated.

slice and bake

lay the dough down with more spacing than this

The flavor is nice and light. I might try upping the amount of crystallized ginger and perhaps a little more lemon juice. Since I used my own candied lemon peel, which is drier than the store-bought stuff, I am wondering if perhaps the texture would be slightly chewier/softer with that gooey candied lemon peel?

waiting for a cup of tea

Pailin’s Ginger Lemon Cookies

2 cups unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 lemons’ freshly grated zest
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp vanilla
4 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut (oh, I omitted this because I didn’t have any)
1/2 cup crystallized ginger, coarsely chopped (use as much of this as you like)
1/2 cup candied lemon peel (use as much of this as you like)

Cream the butter and sugar together. Mix in the zest, lemon juice, and vanilla. Add flour and salt and mix until well blended. Finally stir in the coconut, ginger, and lemon peel. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and shape into a log (or whatever shape you want) and refrigerate for a couple of hours. Preheat oven to 325F. Remove from refrigerator and slice the dough about 1/4 inch thick. Set on baking sheet with enough space for spreading. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

You must think we - the dog and I - partied our collective bums off and were lying about in drunken stupor for several days without lifting a finger to post for the joy of it all. How I wish. No, instead dog was fine and I was out with a head cold that was delivered to me by my beloved. Today I have emerged from the fog only to tank a batch of candied lemon peels this morning. Dayquil-induced? Perhaps…

So let’s take care of some business first: seasonal cheer. I do cheer this season because snow mantles the majestic Rocky Mountains - our home… And then we slap on our skis and tele, baby! I digress. Happy New Year to all. I wish you every happiness your heart desires. And an ass ton of home cooked goodies :)

Second: I’m so late in getting this posted…

A huge thanks to the judges and Zorra, the host, for the DMBLGIT November 2007. I won for aesthetics on this entry:

chocolate covered orange peels - a great way to get you swearing by noontime

Check out the other winners and all of the fabulous entries. People are terribly creative and talented! Consider joining the fun, no? Big shout out to my home girl, Peabody, who took the whole enchilada. Whoop!

Third: Menu for Hope IV is still going strong, but you have got to mosey your mouse over there AND BID. Just don’t bid on the one that I want… No wait, it’s for a great cause - bid away! I don’t care what you bid on, whether it be oh I dunno, a large landscape print from my own hot little hands, or any of the other amazing and tantalizing prizes. Please, just do it, yeah?

Fourth: There really is a recipe in this post. I made it before I had surgery and had every intention of posting it but… Hell, handbasket. Get in.

don’t forget to eat your greens

I grew up eating a lot of greens. My mom prepared them in all manner of Chinese cooking, which is probably why I still love my greens. It’s a sorry sorry sight to see them boiled into a pukey mass, which was de rigueur in the South. My dear man (yes, the one who gave me the head cold) used to give wide berth to many vegetables when we first met. Today, he eats them all with gusto. This simple dish is easy to whip up and just as easy to snazz up. The two main components are asparagus and chicken.

mix sliced chicken breast with salt, cornstarch, and shao xing cooking sherry

If you want to get a little fancy, toss in some straw mushrooms, water chestnuts, and baby corn. My flexitarian (read: eats fish and chicken) pals loooove it.

this, a large wok or frying pan, and some vegetable oil and you’re set

What I learned from my mom was that you stir-fry the meat first, until it’s nearly cooked, but still pink. Then you remove it to a waiting bowl, and stir fry the vegetables separately. When the vegetables are almost done, add the meat back into the pot and give the whole thing several turns in the hot pan and then serve so your vegetables are crisp and hot. How she managed to entertain with multiple stir-fry dishes is beyond me. Moms are amazing like that. Okay, yes - a more holiday-appropriate post to come, I swears it.

goes great with steamed rice

Chinese Stir-Fried Chicken and Asparagus

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, sliced against the grain about 1/8-inch thick
1 lb fresh asparagus, woody stems trimmed, sliced on the diagonal (2-inch pieces)
4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
4 stalks green onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/4 cup Shao Xing Chinese Cooking Wine (or cooking sherry)
1 tbsp corn starch (more if you like thicker sauces)
salt
vegetable oil
1 can baby corn, drained (optional)
1 small can water chestnuts, drained and sliced (optional)
1 can straw mushrooms, drained (optional)

Mix the chicken, cornstarch, sherry, and salt together in a small bowl. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a wok or large frying pan over high flame. Toss in half of the garlic and onions. Sauté until the garlic becomes fragrant. Add the chicken and stir fry until the meat is just undercooked. Remove the contents to a bowl. Add another tbsp+ of oil to the pan and heat over high flame. Add the remaining garlic and onions and stir until garlic is fragrant. Pour in the asparagus and sauté until the spears begin to turn a deep green. At this point, you can add any additional vegetables and stir fry for another minute. Add the chicken back into the pan and stir fry until it is thoroughly cooked (just a few minutes). Serve immediately.