Peanut Butter Cookies and Birthdays

"Keep your face to the sun and you will never see shadows."

~ Helen Keller 

In the past week, my cookbook turned two years old, and I crept over to the dark side of 50 by celebrating my 46th birthday. Both are terrific achievements, to be sure. I love how I'm still getting emails from people buying my cookbook, and baking from it. Your messages are true inspiration, and I save every one. Thank you thank you thank you! Those early days of my book baby's release into the world were a crazy mix of emotions, not unlike turning 46. Gratitude, joy, feeling a little overwhelmed, all come to mind. 46 is a no nonsense number. 

The goals are set and there is plenty of stuff I want to do, places I want to go, food I want to eat. You know, the important stuff. 

Brown Butter Pumpkin Cookies with Milk Chocolate Chunks

Hey all!  Oh my gosh, long time no chat.  I feel badly about that.  The hours, the days, they are so jam packed lately, it's honestly hard to find time to hang out here.  I hope you understand.  The gigs that pay the money - like my regular food columns and recipes development often come first, because, well, I like to eat good things and I have to pay the mortgage.  And buy cat food!  And save for a new bathroom, because I hate mine so much every time I have a shower.  Speaking of bathrooms, if you follow along with me on social media, you know how I visited Toronto last month for a Food Bloggers of Canada Conference, thanks to the kind and generous sponsorship of Canadian Lentils. My suite was on the 29th floor, next to the CN tower, and it had the most magnificent bathroom that ever was.  Floor to ceiling windows.  Soaker tub, big enough for me to stretch out my long legs, amazing views of the harbour and CN tower.  I felt like the luckiest girl alive.  I would call my handsome farmer back in Sask, and talk to him all the while in the loo.  Sweet soul, he just laughed at me.  I probably spent too much time hanging out in this great bathroom, but who knows when such opportunities will surface again for me.  Seriously, if you find yourself in Toronto, book room 2914 in the new Delta.  It's so good!

Love! Links! Plus, Sour Cherry & Chocolate Scones!

"Millions and millions of years would still not give me half enough time to describe that tiny instant of all eternity when you put your arms around me and I put my arms around you."  ~ Jacques Prévert

Hello.  It's me.  Renée.  The blogger who has been missing in action for quite some time.  It's been forever since I last posted, and what can I say?  The summer has been keeping me occupied - with cookbook edits and work and the yard and visitors and small bits of travel here and there.  Oh, and I'm in love.  With a handsome, kind, sweet, funny man who lights up my life every single day.  This is the kind of love I've been looking for, and just when I had nearly given up hope on finding it, there he was, right under my nose.  I'm terribly happy.  The kind of happy that makes people tell you you're glowing.  The kind of happy where you can't stop smiling.  It's been nearly 3 months and I'm glowing and smiling all the time.  But, especially with him.  When we're together it's kittens and rainbows and lightning bolts and, well, magic.  It's love.  So, now that you know my story do you forgive me for my absence?  I thought so. 

Kitchen Sink Cookies & A Farm to Table Lentil Tour

I've always wanted to stand in a lentil field.  That's a fact.  It may seem like an odd goal to shoot for, but if you know me, you know how much I love lentils.  They are a major part of my diet at home, and I love coming up with creative recipes for the lentils.ca website.  So when I received the invitation to go on a farm to table media tour with the friendly folks at Canadian Lentils, you can just imagine my excitement!  Me, in a lentil field.  It was going to happen!  I was also super pumped to see some friendly faces (Ethan, Amy, Aimée, and Dan) on my home turf.  Food editors from Chatelaine, Canadian Living and Style at Home rounded out the troop, and our leader was none other than Chef Michael Smith.  Yes, that very tall, very handsome chef from P.E.I.  I was in most excellent company, to say the least.  

Real Life: Chocolate Chipotle Icebox Cookies

"For each new morning with its light, for rest and shelter of the night, 

for health and food, for love and friends, 

for everything this goodness sends."  ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

One week ago I was certain the Universe hated me.  It's true.  Just ask my sister about the text I sent her.  In the course of 72 hours 1) My house was almost broken into in broad daylight.  I'm fine.  My ever-aware neighbours across the street alerted the police before I even had to, which was wonderful.  Still, it was unnerving to say the least.  2) The next day I had an unexpected visit from an ex boyfriend that was just sad and awkward, awkward and sad.  3) The day after that I had a root canal to try and soothe some dental issues, only to find out that there is a wayward wisdom tooth, that if erupted, will require intensive oral surgery to remove. Oh!  And this surgery could leave my face permanently numb.  That's right.  Numb. It was all a little bit much.  I wanted to crawl under the duvet with a book and these cookies and not come out all week.

Sticky Toffee Lentil Cookies with Dark Chocolate Chunks

Secrets.  I've got them, you've got them.  Some are big, some are little, and some are much harder to keep than others.  Some secrets you tell people you wish you wouldn't have, and others you wish you could tell, but can't bring yourself to go there.  Holding on, letting go.  It's what we do.

Reflector: Brown Sugar Shortbread with Toblerone Chunks

"After years in New York City, Georgia O'Keefe moved to rural New Mexico, from which she would sign her letters to the people she loved, 'from the faraway nearby.'  It was a way to  measure physical and psychic geography together.  Emotion has its geography, affection is what is nearby, within the boundaries of the self.  You can be a thousand miles from the person next to you in bed or deeply invested in the survival of a stranger on the other side of the world." 
~ Rebecca Solnit, from "The Faraway Nearby"  

I'm sharing this quote for a couple of reasons.  1) I've always been a bit obsessed with Georgia O'Keefe.  In art school I tried to emulated her style, with little success.  She was bold and brave and loved the sky, as do I.  Plus she lived to be almost 100.  I swear one day I will make a pilgrimage to New Mexico, that's how much I love her.  And I love how she ended her letters.  I might just have to copy-cat that.  2)  This past week was bonkers busy, with work and deadlines and me feeling a tad under the weather didn't help matters.  But I still managed to put 40 or so Christmas cards and packages in the mail.  Some were sent to old friends and new; across the globe and to downtown Saskatoon.  With each address I scripted - especially the ones with destinations so far abroad - I wondered if I would ever see that person again.  Circumstances wrangle us in so many ways, and while we come together for brief or long periods of time, in the end our paths won't always run parallel.  But those who make a lasting impression will always carve themselves into my heart.  That's why at Christmas, I'll always sit down with a stack of cards and a good pen.  While the greeting may be brief, the intention runs deep.  The holidays are about hope and blessings and goodwill (and good eats!), but for me I become a bit of reflector.  What I wouldn't give to have every soul I've ever loved in my living room.  But at Christmas, in a way, they are.  The faraway nearby, indeed.  

Good For Ya: Peanut Butter Date Cookies with Cacao Nibs

I had second thoughts on telling you about these cookies, mainly because I didn't think they were super photogenic.  Silly me.  While they don't necessarily rack up the food porn points, they score a ten out of ten for their delicious healthy goodness.  I first spied these cookies over on Sprouted Kitchen (naturally) and knew right away I must make them.  I'm a fan of the date, especially the fat and juicy Medjool variety, and any time I can sneak dates into baked goods, I'm there.  Plus all you need for these cookies is a food processor, your hands and a fork.  Gotta love a low maintenance cookie.  Save the oven for another baking experience because these babies are raw, as in unbaked.  Did I mention they're vegan and gluten free too?  Well now you know. You know what else?  There is no butter in the recipe, and I don't even miss it.  That's a fact.  These cookies are good for ya!  So let's jump to it!  

Sweet Tidings! Brown Butter Ginger Cookies with Honey Mascarpone Cream

Two days before the big day, and I'm happy to report the unwinding has begun.  For the last several weeks the ol' nerves have been wound tighter than a Christmas Cracker.  No joke.  Just ask the handsome man.  But with the final catering gig out of the way, and an order from the boss not to return for two weeks, I'm able to finally feel merry about the season.  Yesterday I drove about town, not even bothered about the hideous road conditions in my city, and dropped off parcels of goodies to friends I haven't seen in so long.  Christmas hugs and wishes of good cheer felt so good.  I'm hoping the stress and anxiety of the last several weeks will wash away with a good dose of deep sleep, good food & drink and so much laughter my cheeks hurt.  And cookies.  This is really the only time of year when it's perfectly acceptable to have cookies at all meals.  Am I right or am I right? 

Wish: Chocolate Shortbread with Cacao Nibs & Sea Salt

Every Christmas Eve, when it's quite late, with just the Christmas tree lights glowing in the corner of my small living room, I peel back the curtain and find a tiny star to wish upon.  It's super dorky to admit that to complete strangers, but maybe you do it too.  And it's a big wish.  Something I yearn for deeply, to come true in the next year or so.  Something that I need to happen to just make life a little better.  Given the wonderful things that I've been blessed with this year, I can tell you they come true, too.  This small moment, after all of the stresses of the season have passed, is what I think I look forward to most.  Now more than ever, in a world filled with so much pain and suffering, we need to have hope in our back pocket.  

Heirloom: Raspberry Jam Jams

For as long as I can remember, I've been eating Jam Jams at Christmas.  Every year mom puts these on her baking list, though as the years go on, the list gets shorter.   Jam Jams remain there, firmly in place, because not only are they a delicious cookie, they are a tie to the past.  This recipe is my mom's grandmother's and came with her from Russia, almost a century ago.  My mom grew up eating these cookies, too.

My Seven Links and First Year Blogiversary!

 

One year ago today I put forth into the world my very first post on my brand shiny new food blog.  It was all about gingerbread waffles and caramelized pears and I was pleased as punch.  One year.  Time has flown, friends.  Almost 100 (!!) posts later, and I'm still over the moon that I've created a little world here for you to stop by, stay awhile and hear what I have to say about food and cooking.  Given the healthy measures of gardening, cat talk, single-girl bitching whining, lots of lovely photos and perhaps an over-active imagination when it comes to my boyfriend Don Draper, I hope you've enjoyed letting me share little pieces of my world with you.

Merry & Bright: Rosemary Oatmeal Shortbread

 

Baking (and eating!) shortbread at Christmastime is absolutely mandatory.  As is watching A Charlie Brown Christmas, enjoying Baileys in hot chocolate, and singing along to Christmas Elvis.  Is it me or is he damn hot especially handsome in this video?  I was never a super huge Elvis fan, but out of all the Elvises I like Christmas Elvis the best.  He's way smokin'.  Fun Fact:  Blue Christmas was a cover...someone else (Doye O'Dell) recorded it first in 1948, but Elvis' version in 1957 made it internationally famoso. It's listed #7 on a Rolling Stone Reader's Poll of the Best Christmas songs, and it ranks right up there with me, too.  I'm a little bit drawn to the sadder Christmas songs, not that I'm a particulary sad person, quite the opposite, really.  I just like mixing a little maudlin with my merry - just a touch seems to make the merry shine that much brighter. 

Don't be freaking that there is rosemary in my shortbread, okay?  You'll be down with the woodsy/savory/ sweet/buttery concoction of goodness after one bite, promise.
These cookies taste like Christmas.

My first taste was well over 10 years ago, when a pastry chef I was working with made a batch.  This is her Grandma's recipe and she was gracious enough to share with me back then.  'Tis the season of sharing after all, so think of this as my little prezzie to you.  These cookies will flatter any dessert platter and will gather rave reviews and recipe requests, even from people who were at first scared of the rosemary.  Trust me.  Don't be freaking about the 2 cups of butter either...this makes a massive batch of about 75 cookies.  And because there's oatmeal in them they are practically health food.  No bubble bursting, please!

 

I rather like rolling the dough out and cutting it into various shapes.  Stars are always good.  I don't see why you couldn't roll the dough into logs, chill, then slice and bake too.  That would probably save time, if you are lacking in that department (who isn't, really?).  One of the best things is the smell emanating from the oven while you bake these babies off...rosemary...butter...sugar. Keep an eyeball on them so they don't burn - once they start to brown around the edges I take them out, because over-browned shortbread does nothing for me.  A light dusting of icing sugar and you'll have the prettiest cookies in town.  Elvis would definitely approve.

Rosemary Oatmeal Shortbread 

2 cups of salted butter (if using unsalted, add about 1/2 tsp salt to batter)
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2 1/2 cups large flake oatmeal (not the small instant stuff, please)
icing sugar

In a mixer, cream the butter an sugar until fluffy.  Beat in the fresh rosemary.  On low, add the flour and oatmeal.  Mix until all is incorporated.
On a lightly floured surface, fold the dough into a ball, flatten and roll out dough to 1/4 inch thick.  Having a little flour on your rolling pin helps too. Cut into shapes and place cookies on parchment lined bake sheets.  In a preheated 350* oven, bake for about 11 minutes, or until edges start to turn brown.  Remove from oven and cool.  Repeat with  remaining dough.  Once all cookies are baked and have cooled down, dust with icing sugar.  Makes about 75 cookies.  They freeze rather well, too.  

 

And how cute do these look all packed up in a pretty tin?  Your loved ones will be overJOYed!

Play: Gingerbread Trees with Lemon Icing

 

Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmastime.  

Laura Ingalls Wilder

Nothing like a little Little House to get you in the Christmas mood, hey?  My love of reading stems from pouring over those books when I was a kid.  I especially loved the Christmas chapters; when the Ingalls are housebound by raging blizzards and old Mr. Edwards saves they day by bringing Laura, Mary and Carrie candy and oranges.  Love. It. So. Much.  Laura was right though.  Everyone becomes a kid again at Christmas.

I'm in full blown catering crazies, but happy to report no meltdowns and anxiety has been averted.  Touch wood!  Thanks, in part, to another set of hands peeling a million pounds of potatoes and dicing equal amounts of onion.  Poor guy will never want to touch either when he leaves our kitchen.  But just having those basic tasks done for me has meant the world.  And saved my sanity.  Give it up for Victor!  I've also decided I'm not going to let the stresses of the season bum me out.  My cortisol levels are staying relatively normal and I'm even having fun.  I keep getting invited to parties and I keep saying yes.  Good Lord, I'm tired, but this is the season to play, after all.

People think it's weird that after I cook all day at my real job, I would want to do anything in my own kitchen.  But honestly, it's not really mental to anyone who loves food like I do.  Rolling out gingerbread dough and cutting it into perfect tree shapes is playing.  And a reminder of a little girl with a blond head and a sweet tooth, by her Mom's side, eating the gingery dough behind her back and peeking through the glass door of the oven, watching the cookies rise into stars and trees and pigs.  I lived for those days before Christmas when the house smelled of butter and ginger and we got to decorate our cookies as we liked.  Icing! Sprinkles! Sugar!  The best part: biting off the limbs of the gingerbread man and saving head for last.  

Yes, me and cookie dough go waaaaay back - to days before everything was digital and my biggest worry was if my blue Club Monaco sweatshirt was washed so I could wear it to school the next day;  to days when my favourite song was "Eye of the Tiger" and I wanted to be Olivia Newton John when I grew up. Yeah, me and cookie making go way back.  If only my biggest "issue" these days could be whether or not I have clean laundry. Baking has always been a little therapy for this girl, and on more than one occasion it's saved me from holiday hell.  Sometimes the process of distraction is a magical thing.

This gingerbread is exactly what you want your house to smell like as you put that last star on the tree and as you finish addressing envelopes with the names of loved ones. The batter can be made the night before, so the next morning you just roll it out and cut into your favourite shapes.  They only need to bake for about 8 minutes if you like a softer cookie, or around 10 if you want your gingerbread to snap. The drizzle of lemon is a lovely compliment to the smooth bite of ginger.  Ginger + Lemon = Yummers.  Can't think of a better cookie to eat while I curl up on the couch to watch this, yet again.  It never gets old.

Gingerbread Tree with Lemon Icing

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour (spooned and leveled) plus a bit more for rolling
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp coarse salt
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temp
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/4 cup molasses

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 1/3 cup icing sugar
coarse sugar, optional

In a medium bowl, whisk flour with rest of dry ingredients.  In a large bowl of a mixer, cream the butter and granulated sugar on medium high until creamy, about 3 minutes.  Add egg and molasses and beat to combine, scraping down bowl as you need to. With  mixer on low, gradually add flour mixture and beat until combined.  Wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour or up to 3 days.
Preheat oven to 350*F, with racks in upper and lower thirds.
On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to a 1/4 inch thickness, and with cookie cutters, cut into your favourite shapes.  My Mom still uses the cutters from when we were kids and I love the pig!  Or you can use a sharp knife and cut into triangles.  Arrange cookies on parchment lined baking sheets, and bake until firm and golden, around 8 min for chewy, 10 min for snappy.  Let cool completely on sheets on wire racks.  Store in airtight containers for up to one week, or freeze.
To make the lemon icing, combine lemon juice, icing sugar with a small whisk.  It takes a little while for it to come together.  Add more lemon if too thick.  I just put the icing in a small Ziploc bag and cut one corner to make a tip.  Drizzle onto cooled cookies and sprinkle with sugar.  The cookies freeze well for up to one month.  Makes about 50-60 cookies.  

Double Chocolate Espresso Crackle Cookies

 

Assumptions are tricky business.  Take for instance, don't assume that after you scream at kindly beg your beloved felines to stop scratching the hell out of your brand new couch, that they will refrain from doing so.  Don't assume that just because you've never before worked this hard in your life, that you'll get that raise.  Don't assume that just because you had the best. date. ever. the cute boy will call.  And don't assume that just because he didn't means the world will stop turning.  And for God's sake don't assume that people can read your mind, unless of course you're hanging out with Sookie Stackhouse (if you are, what fun!).  And never assume you have the proper ingredients on hand before you start a recipe.  Do a little digging first.  Don't do what I do.

You're going to laugh when I tell you what kind of chocolate I used in these cookies.  For some reason I thought the recipe called for cocoa.  Not sure why in hell I thought that as I haven't seen the recipe in a year.  I assumed cocoa was listed amongst the ingredients, and I was dead wrong.  Semi-sweet and milk chocolate chunks all the way.  There was not nearly enough Callebaut chocolate on hand, but luckily further frantic digging in my cupboard produced an unlikely hero - the 99 cent IKEA chocolate bar I hastily grabbed at while waiting 30 minutes in line.  Who knew my impulse buy would come to my rescue?  I'm not super proud I had to swap in cheap lesser quality chocolate, but I kind of figure it all balances out with the Callebaut.  Not my finest culinary moment, but hey, sometimes a girl has to do what a girl...

So there I was on a Friday night, in my bunny hug hoodie and leggings and wool slippers, singing along to David and Freddie and mixing up a mighty fine cookie dough.  (Sometimes I'm positive I put the "ee" in "geek" and I'm down with that.)  One of the beautiful things about this cookie is that you can break it up in stages...do the dough up the night before and bake the cookies off in the morning.  The dough is quite soft, so it does that need that extra chilling time.  I love tossing the dough in icing sugar and making a mess, but hey, it's only sugar.

If you need a cookie recipe to add to your pile this holiday season, look no further.  These babies are soft and oh so fudgy - perfect for stashing away in the freezer and for sending across the country to loved ones, or just down the road.  Chocolate lovers will rejoice!  And look how darn pretty they are, all crackled up.  A cookie plate needs a little drama, no?  I found this recipe scrawled in a recipe binder from years ago, but I've switched things up quite a bit.  For instance, the original calls for just 2/3 can of condensed milk.  And what is going to happen to the other 1/3?  If you're like me, it would just sit in my fridge and drive me mental.  Or it would go in my coffee, and like I need that.  Plus the recipe calls for shortening instead of butter, and I just think that's weird.  I'll save my shortening for pie dough, thank you very much.  And I added the espresso because when I was searching for chocolate I found instant espresso.  Hooray!  What else did I do.  Oh, increased the flour to balance out more condensed milk. I think that is all...Below is what my recipe ended up looking like after I played around on that Friday night.  Pretty good,  all things IKEA considered.  Now excuse me a moment while I detach claws from couch. 

Double Chocolate Espresso Crackle Cookies

1/4 cup butter
1 1/4 cups (312ml) semi sweet chocolate chips or chunks (substitute IKEA chocolate if you dare)
1 tsp instant espresso powder
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 300ml can sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups (375ml) milk chocolate chunks/chips
3/4 cup icing sugar, sifted

Preheat oven to 350*F.  Line 2 bake sheets with parchment.  In a glass bowl melt butter and chocolate in microwave on medium, OR, do what I did and melted chocolate and butter in a large saucepan on the stove over medium heat.  Add the espresso powder after it's melted.  Stir in the sugar and eggs, one at a time, stirring well after each addition.  Let cool 5 min.  Mix in the condensed milk, and vanilla.  Add the flour, baking powder, salt and milk chocolate chips.  Mix well to combine.  Dough will be soft.  Refrigerate over night, or for 8-12 hours.
Have your sifted icing sugar in a shallow bowl.  Between the palms of your hand, roll pieces of chilled dough to form 1 1/4 inch (3 cm) balls.  Drop balls into icing sugar and toss lightly until well coated.  Place on prepared bake sheet and flatten just slightly.  Repeat with remaining dough, spacing about 1 1/2 inch apart.  Bake for about 10 minutes, until beginning to feel firm in centre.  Let cool on bake sheet on wire rack for 5 minutes, then transfer cookies to wire racks to cool completely.  Makes about 45-48 cookies.

Eating Cookie Dough: Double Chocolate Pecan Cookies

If you've read the "About" page at the top of my blog, you know that I've been making cookies since I was a kid, and yes, I have eaten my fair share of cookie dough.  Not too much has changed, really.  I have my favourite "stages" of cookie dough eating.  First, is the best.  The creaming of the butter and sugar together.  If left unattended, or without willpower, I could eat this forever.  With the addition of the egg, I just sneak a taste, seeing as it is a bit gross, knowing that there is raw egg mixed in with the beloved butter and sugar.  (My mom used to tell us that we would get worms if we ate too much cookie dough...or anything else that she didn't want us to eat, like raw potatoes and bread dough.  Not sure why on Earth as kids we'd want to gnaw on raw potato, but it didn't last long when she warned of the worms.  This warning was also used on fingernail biting, and eating anything that fell on the ground.  I can still hear Lorna yelling "Don't eat that!  You are going to get worms!" Oh, Mom.)  Lastly, is the stage when the dough is complete, after the addition of flour, chocolate, nuts, etc.  Magically, the egg is forgotten about, and dough is consumed at a furious pace.

Sugar cravings were at a peak this past weekend, and I wanted a double chocolate cookie.  Something with a chewy, fudgy middle, crisp outside, and with nuts.  The recipe I found on Epicurious also called for dried cherries, and while that would be pretty good, my cherries seemed a little too dry, and I think I'll save them for my Easter bread.  I made the cookie dough, enjoying all of the tasting stages, and must say I was blown away by the final tasting.  Had to consciously put the spoon down, and step away from the bowl, give myself a few minutes to regroup, and then scoop out the cookies onto the bake sheets.  Yes, it was that good.  The end product was right up there in the land of cookie perfection.  Definitely chewy inside, and when the bite contains a piece of melted chocolate and pecan and a smidge of the coarse salt, I'm glad in the end I didn't eat all of the dough.   

Double Chocolate Pecan Cookies

1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp coarse salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter (if using salted, omit salt above)
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
1 1/4 cup milk chocolate pieces
1 cup toasted pecan pieces

Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl.  In the bowl of a mixer, beat the butter and sugar until creamy and light, about 3 minutes. Add one egg at a time, scraping down the bowl between additions.  Beat two minutes more. On low speed, add the flour mixture beating just until combined.  Add  the chocolate and nuts.  Drop by two teaspoons, about 2 inches apart.  Flatten slightly with  damp fingertips.  Bake at 350 *F for 10 minutes.  Made almost 3 dozen (if I wouldn't have eaten so much dough, it probably would have been 3 dozen exactly!)  Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit.