Tea "Biscuits"

Ah, one of the joys of being an American is that a "biscuit" brings to mind something that you use as a side dish -- to pretty much any meal. You can have gravy on it (sorry, not my thing) or wedge a sausage patty in it. You can put it as a side to a dinner of meat (or not) and greens. You can spread jam or honey on it. You can do a lot of things to a biscuit. And, depending on where in the country you live, biscuits might be fluffy (Southern influence) or thinner and crispier (Northern influence).

SO MANY OPTIONS.

But, Americans don't usually hear biscuit and think "a sweet."

These tea biscuits are definitely more like cookies, if you're an American reader. They're sweet (yet have protein because of the g-bean flour!), and very versatile. The original recipe comes from the Flying Apron Bakery Cookbook, and calls for placing beautiful little berries in the center of each cookie. That's yummy (and frozen blueberries work great, btw). But you can also season these with sweet spices and create something that's (still) totally appropriate for eating with a mug of hot tea (or coffee), any time of day.

I make my tea biscuits much smaller than the original recipe recommends (it recommends baseball sized, mine are closer to golf-ball sized -- but then, I'm also not selling them in a bakery). A thought about this: If you're making them for a fundraiser or something along those lines, definitely make them big. I didn't have to make much of an adjustment to the baking time, so you should only need to leave them in for a few extra minutes. 

I like that these come together pretty quickly (though they do want to hang out in the refrigerator for a few hours -- you can make the dough in advance and just make a few at a time this way), but they will leave your hands sticky (something I'm less thrilled about). I recommend making the dough as listed below, and then modifying it however you'd like (suggestions also below, probably you don't want to try all the variations at the same time).


Tea Biscuits
2 1/2 cups brown rice flour
1 1/2 cups, plus 1 tablespoon garbanzo bean flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup canola oil
Scant 1 cup cane sugar
1 cup soy milk
Berries (optional)

Additions (probably only try 1-2 at a time, based on preference):
1/2-1 cup mini vegan gf chocolate chips (such as Enjoy Life)
4-5 drops pure orange oil (a little goes a long, long way -- and orange essence is not the same thing)
1 tablespoon of cinnamon
1/4 cup minced, candied ginger

Combine the brown rice flour, garbanzo bean flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl (or if you have a stand mixer, in that), beat together the canola oil and cane sugar until well mixed. Stir in the flour mixture and the soy milk a little at a time, alternating, until well mixed. Chill* the dough at least three hours (it can go less, but believe me, you want that garbanzo bean flour to hydrate).

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place golf ball sized balls of dough on a cookie sheet that has been greased or covered with parchment paper, about 1 inch apart (these don't spread much). Lightly flatten the balls with the palm of your hand. If you're using berries, press 2-3 into the top of each cookie.

Bake until golden and firm to the touch, about 20-24 minutes.

*Optional:
Stir in the mix-in to some (or all) of the dough before you let it rest in the refrigerator. If you're only making a few cookies and want to try out one of these options, I definitely recommend reducing the amount of ingredient you're choosing to mix in. You don't want to overpower the delicate flavors in these tea biscuits.

Monster Cookes

How many times have I made Monster Cookies over the past 4 years (since I first learned about them)? More than I'd like to admit. There was a period where I was making them for every bring-something potluck or dinner I went to, and also a period of time where I was making them about once a week for a on-going bake sale fundraiser to support a literary journal (along with cake pops), where I was a member of the staff.

The thing I like about Monster Cookies are that they basically work with what you probably already have in your kitchen -- peanut butter, sugar, oats, butter (or in my case, vegan butter or coconut oil or even just canola oil), eggs (ehm, fake eggs), and chocolate, nuts/seeds, and dried fruit. Or, whatever else you want to throw in them.

I haven't made them since switching to a vegan diet, though I have made vegan monster cookies before. And I haven't tried to consciously make them just a little better for you, while still definitely tasting like an indulgence. To be sure, these are cookies, and they are an indulgence, just so we're all clear. But some indulgences are worse than others, right??

What makes these monster cookies better for you? Well... that's a somewhat subjective question, but these cookies are:

• Gluten-free
• Vegan
• Low in refined sugar (they use agave nectar and the pictured cookies also use Enjoy Life (vegan, gf, soy free) semi-sweet chocolate chunks
• High protein (especially if you add seeds/nuts!)

They're also moderately low fat (only a small amount of oil is needed to help these cookies become chewy and crispy and soft, the perfect combo in my mind) since most of the fat comes from peanut butter. They include whole grains, and they can use dried fruits or nuts of whatever sort makes you happiest.

Monster Cookies (vegan, gluten-free)
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup agave nectar
1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted
2 flaxseed eggs (2 tablespoons ground flaxseed combined with 6 tablespoons water)
1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce
2 1/2 cups gluten-free oats (quick oats works best, but I never have them on hand, so pictured you'll see old-fashioned oats)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1.5 cups of any combination of the following (or whatever your heart desires): VGF chocolate chunks/chips, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, dried cranberries, raisins, chopped peanuts, VGF candy-coated chocolate (i.e. - sunspire drops), coconut flakes, slivered almonds, banana chips, etc.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the peanut butter, agave nectar, coconut oil, flax eggs, and apple sauce, and stir until well mixed. Add the oaths, baking soda, salt, and fruit/nut/chocolate combo. Stir well.

Allow the dough to rest for 20-30 minutes (especially important if you're using old-fashioned oats, because this allows them to become a little softer). Scoop the dough, by 1/4 cupfuls onto a baking sheet that has been lightly greased, or lined with parchment. Cook 12-15 minutes and allow to cool another 3-5 minutes on the cookie sheet, before trying to remove them.

Serve, or allow to cool completely and store in an airtight container for 3-5 days.

NOTE: You can also make smaller cookies (say 2 tablespoons, 1/8 cup). If you opt for this, keep an eye on them while they cook and reduce cooking time to 10-12 minutes. They should be golden brown around the edges when they are ready.

Snickerdoodles - thin

E wanted snickerdoodles at Christmastime. Not my favorite cookie (though the fact of cinnamon does help the fact that they're sugar cookies), but ones that are super-simple to make--or at least uses only ingredients I tend to have around (and ingredients that tend to be cheap).

Sadly, I didn't have cream of tartar. I could have subbed in baking powder--but didn't remember that little trick until after it was too late. And that means that my snickerdoodles didn't puff much. Still, they smelled like snicerdoodles--and presumably tasted that way. I didn't bother trying to make them gluten-free.

However, I did take a fair number of them in to work so I could make more, this time with a much more conscious effort to make them soft and chewy. Part of what I suspect I need: more flour. The dough seemed a bit soft. And part of what I need, of course, is the thing that makes baked goods puffed. So that I can stay in my happy, tiny budget, I'll probably just use baking powder because E and I already have that. And I'll add a little more flour than this recipe calls for. And I'll chill the dough. But aside from that...

The recipe below makes snickerdoodles that would be perfect for:

• Crumbling over ice cream
• Pressing (the dough) into a pie pan to make a snicker-doodle pie crust (I'd precook it first as it expands a lot initially and then collapses down about the time it's ready to come out of the oven)
• People who like thinner, crispier cookies

Thin Snickerdoodles (not gluten-free)

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup shortening

1 1/2 cups white sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons white sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

Cream together butter, shortening, 1 1/2 cups sugar, the eggs and the vanilla. Blend in the flour, cream of tartar, soda and salt. Shape dough by rounded teaspoons into balls.

Mix the 2 tablespoons sugar and the cinnamon. Roll balls of dough in mixture. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. They expand a lot—so this space is really important.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes, or until set but not too hard. Cool 2 minutes on sheet and then remove from baking sheets and place on wire racks. .

Tomorrow's Just an Excuse -- plus Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

One recent morning, as I sat down to write, Smashing Pumpkins' "Thirty-Three" played on one of my Spotify playlists. I didn't come to Smashing Pumpkins until I was an adult, or at least not really, even after listening to my friend Sanna talk about them pretty often when we were in 7th grade, and even after trying to listen to them around that same time.

I guess you could say I wasn't ready for that type of music then.

In fact, it took until a curly-haired friend with a big smile and always-a-twinkle-his-eye expressed amazement at  a bar in Iowa that I hadn't heard (or, as it turned out, didn't realize I had actually heard) "Tonight, tonight." He went up to the DJ and requested it, then as it came on, started rocking out at our table. This friend caused me to relax a lot around myself, and around him, because he seemed so comfortable in the man he was--and because of that, could act with kindness toward pretty much everyone he met. I admired this about him, and wanted to emulate it until it became part of the way I saw myself, and the world, as well.

Travels -- literally and figuratively -- made me ready for The Smashing Pumpkins, and for sitting down at the table, at the bar ($2.50 your call!) with that friend. That same night, he handed me a copy of the book Shantaram, a gift, the first time someone who didn't know me all that well had given a book that, when I read it (pretty much starting immediately), I liked. Or loved. I'm still not sure. It's a book I will need to revisit -- a book about travels, finding a place, learning about oneself, about, to some extent, the things I've been doing for the past four years (only on a more extreme level).

Listening to "Thirty-Three" also seems particularly appropriate for the season, because of the line "Deep in thought I forgive everyone," --what we should be doing this season, and every day.

Although I like to listen to music when I write, I also like to have music playing while I'm baking. Making these cookies, I listened to my Spotify mix that I titled simply The Stranger, after the Lord Huron song -- but it includes music from The Beatles and The National to Jonathan Coulton (re: Your Brains), Iron & Wine, and Chain of Lakes, among many others. The songs on the playlist are about distance, about the people we thought we knew (but discover we don't), about strangers, lost love, and missed connections, about becoming (or being) a stranger in the place you live. The songs explore the distances between us. Maybe I listen to this mix while I bake because I like to imagine that baking brings us together--even with people who have left us, even with people we never met--if nothing else, through the sharing of recipes.

This recipe is adapted from one by Deb from Smitten Kitchen so that it's gluten-free. Pretty much though, if I wasn't avoiding gluten, I would make these cookies as she describes. Oatmeal-raisin are among my favorite cookies (something like tied--depends on my mood--with spice cookies and/or gingersnaps). If you haven't checked out Deb's recipes, please do yourself the favor of exploring Smitten Kitchen. The photography is beautiful, the recipes tasty (and often quite innovative), and the writing wry, tight, and honest.

Remember, some people who are gluten-intolerant also react negatively to GF rolled oats (oats contain a different type of gluten than wheat--so many people are okay), so if you're making these for someone else please ask first.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies (Gluten-Free)

1/2 cup (1 stick or 4 ounces) butter, softened

2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup GF oat flour

1/4 cup corn starch or tapioca flour

3/4 teaspoon guar gum

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon salt 

1 1/2 cups GF rolled oats soaked in 1/3 cup warm water

3/4 cup raisins

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth. In a separate bowl, whisk the flours, guar gum, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt together. Stir this into the butter/sugar mixture. Stir in the oats, raisins and walnuts, if using them.

At this point you can either chill the dough for a bit in the fridge and then scoop it, or scoop the cookies onto a sheet and then chill the whole tray before baking them. You could also bake them right away, if you’re impatient, but I do find that they end up slighly less thick.

The cookies should be two inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake them for 10 to 12 minutes (your baking time will vary, depending on your oven and how cold the cookies were going in), taking them out when golden at the edges but still a little undercooked-looking on top. Let them sit on the hot baking sheet for five minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool.

Decorating Sugar Cookies

The other morning, as I walked the dog, I was able to witness the better part of the lunar eclipse, which as the moon sunk beneath the earth's shadow, caused me to think about chocolate dipped sugar cookies. Again, these are neither vegan or gluten-free, but I had the opportunity to make sugar cookies with E and our friends Caitlin and I*--and how could I pass that up? Especially if it meant the opportunity to take photos?

I remember, as a kid, that one of my favorite parts of going to the grocery store (specifically Winn-Dixie) was the opportunity for a free sugar cookie. It was a lovely once-a-week-ish treat (they didn't always have them) and those sugar cookies--probably Pillsbury or something similar in retrospect, and knowing what I know now about many grocery store bakeries)--were far superior to the ones from the recipe my mom had. The grocery store cookies were large and sweet and chewy, with absolutely no odd taste. I couldn't say the same for my mom's, which made approximately a zillioin--far too many for me to stay interested in decorating them--and were never as chewy, sweet, or just...sugar cookie flavored.

The cookies featured below are a perfect addition to a cookie exchange, or in the case of what I was creating for taking into work, a cookie platter at a party. You can dip them in chocolate, paint them with a basic milk-and-powdered sugar glaze, or add sugar before baking. I haven't tried them, but the recipe is a Julia child recipe so it's probably pretty yummy! E, Caitlin, and I* seem to like them.

We cut out "Christmas salmon," and "Christmas rhinos," moose and candy canes and gingerbread men, among other things. As the evening grew later and we all got punchier (sugar from cookies for E, Caitlin, and I* plus hot mulled cider for all of us), we started laughing about the idea of Christmas rhinos and the "guiding light" of the "Christmas lighthouse"steering us toward Jesus. We were, we decided, probably going to hell for that blasphemy.

In the write-up that follows, I made a couple of modifications to describe the roll-out and baking process we used. We also did not use a combination of cake and all-purpose flours, because we didn't have them and that change is also reflected in the recipe that follows.

I'm not sure which cookbook this originally came from--but we all thought since it was Julia Child, it was sure to be good. Caitlin, who brought the recipe, brought it on an index card. We actually tripled the recipe--and therefore, worked on this for a good three hours.

Julia Child's Sugar Cookies

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 ounces (1 stick) chilled butter, cut into 16 pieces

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 egg yolk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 tablespoon cold water, plus droplets

more water, if needed

  

Measure the flour, salt and butter into the container of a food processor and process about a minute, until the butter is thoroughly blended (you can also use two knives, or a pastry cutter, if you have those on hand and don't have a large enough food processor--we definitely don't). Add and process in the sugar, then the egg yolk, vanilla and water. Continue processing for several seconds, until the dough masses. Turn it out onto your work surface, form into a rough ball, then push out 2-tablespoon bits with the heel of your hand in 6-inch smears. Gather together into two or three small balls and refrigerate until well chilled, at least 1 hour. Roll out on a lightly floured surface and cut out the cookies, placing them on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 4-7 minutes (depending on the size of the cookie), or until cookies are golden around the edges. Decorate when cooled, if desired.

Tuxedoed Oreos (repost)

I originally published this recipe -- by no means original -- a year or so ago, but since it's so appropriate for the holidays, I wanted to post it again. I just made these during a cookie-making party E and I held, and here are pictures of the little beauties.

They're best if they've had a day to marinate -- the filling becomes creamier, more like a bon-bon. You can keep them in the refrigerator, or leave them on the counter (but only for a couple days). I recommend keeping them in the refrigerator, if possible. I'll be making more for a holiday party soon.

From the first snow of the season

It's not absolutely necessary that you use oreos -- a chocolate-vanilla wafer cookie generally (and generically) works well, as long as you like the flavor of the initial cookie. Oreos, however, are vegan, and you can use vegan cream cheese if you want to make these vegan (though if you choose this measure, make sure you choose a vegan white chocolate -- they do exist, but some types contain milk products). These are definitely not gluten-free.


They are easy though, and pretty much no-bake (okay, they are no bake, but a microwave or stove top is useful for melting the white chocolate), which makes these an activity kids can help with easily!

Oreo Bon-Bons

1 pound reduced-fat oreos

1 8-ounce block neufschatel (reduced fat cream cheese)

Powdered sugar for coating OR

White Bark coating (about 1/2 pound) (recommended)

Smash the oreos so no huge chunks remain. This can be done with a gallon bag and a rolling pin--just be sure to get all the air out of the bag before you start hammering it. Or, you can toss them in your food processor and pulse it to break up the cookies. In a large bowl, using a fork, mix together the cream cheese and oreos until the color is even and it starts to come together to form a ball.

Roll small, equally sized balls of the cookie-cream cheese mixture. These can be any size you want, but it's easier to coat these if they're evenly sized--especially if you're using the white bark coating. Chill the small balls for an hour or two (stick 'em in the freezer), until firm.

Spread the powdered sugar in a shallow dish, if using, or melt the white bark coating (follow instructions on the package, but generally you can do this in a double-boiler or by microwaving it on HIGH for 1 minute and then stirring. Microwave on HIGH for additional 15-second intervals until it is completely melted).

Dip or roll the balls through the powdered sugar or melted white bark. Let set and then store in refrigerator.

Product Review: Wow Baking Company

E headed back to the state she grew up in and, in preparation for this trip, picked up some snacks for herself at our local co-op. Among other things, she picked out two different types of cookies from the Wow Baking Company. She's not gluten-free, but her mom is encouraging her to avoid wheat--and from the research I've started doing on this, it seems like this might be moderately sound advice. Recent studies indicate that maybe we're not so well-equipped to digest wheat--and here's a link to a well-digested (pun intended) news article about these studies--and that part of the rise in gluten sensitivities is not only increased awareness in the medical community, but a reaction to the higher proportions of protein in wheat. But that's not the point of this post.

The point: a review of the two flavors of Wow Baking Company cookies E bought.

She picked up the boxed, smaller cookies (8 ounce boxes), which I expected to be crispy/crunchy because so many gluten-free products are crunchy. I wasn't particularly looking forward to this aspect, but agreed to eat them if she didn't like them. She bought Snickerdoodle Ginger Molasses.

A gluten-free flour mix (brown rice, sweet rice, tapioca) makes up the base of both these cookies -- the lack of bean-flours keeps these products from "tasting gluten-free." You know what I'm talking about if you've started in on GF eating, I'm pretty sure. The Snickerdoodles were particularly sweet--maybe too sweet for my tastes, but my roommate likes those better (I think both flavors are good). They have just the right amount of cinnamon (though it's the last ingredient on the list!) and, unlike some snickerdoodles, have flavor all the way through.

The Snickerdoodles have 3 types of sugar (cane, cane syrup, sugar) and they're high on the list. Even the back of the box says "a simple delicious cookie full of sugar..." and 240 calories per 2-ounce serving with 13 grams of sugar and 11 grams of fat.

That  being said, the molasses cookies are actually higher in sugar (probably because of the molasses) with 16 grams per 2-ounce serving, 229 calories, and 10 grams of fat. There are 3 types of sugar in these cookies too (cane juice, cane syrup, molasses), if you're keep track. I love ginger and loved these for their spicy taste, particularly with the nights getting cooler--it's starting to feel like the right time of year for warm-spice flavored things.

I learned, from the Wow Baking Company website, that it's possible to buy the dough for these cookies in some areas and that the company even makes cake mix. I'd certainly try these other products. As E pointed out, it's hard to tell the difference between these and non-gluten-free products. If you do decide to cruise about the website, don't take the ingredients too seriously. For instance if you click the ingredients for the Ginger Molasses cookies, you'll see that there are chocolate chips (dear Wow Baking Company, need a webmistress proofreader? I'm available). Don't worry -- in the real ginger molasses cookies (and on the box) these are blissfully chocolate free.

These are available (indirectly) through Amazon and other online retailers, if you don't have these products in your local co-op or grocer--but if you don't and you're gluten-free, you might try to request the product!

Cappuccino Cookies - Vegan & Gluten-Free



Cappuccino Cookies (they're vegan and gluten-free!)

As regular readers know, a friend of mine requires a gluten-free diet and her boyfriend is vegan. Cooking and baking for them isn't a challenge, exactly, but it is always an adventure, especially when I've been eager to try a new (non-vegan and/or GF) recipe. Luckily, the vegan is happy whenever someone bakes him something (the best type of customer!) and my GF friend is more than willing to provide me with xantham gum when I'm trying to convert a recipe to GF -- which is good because xantham gum is expensive, especially if you're not planning to use it on a regular (to me this means weekly or more often) basis! As I've mentioned in previous posts, xantham gum is binding agent and is necessary in most gluten-free recipes since you've lost the binding ability gluten provides.



Dough balls



I noticed this recipe on Joy the Baker's blog back in February and knew I had to try it (well, minus the white chocolate, not a favorite of mine). But, I didn't have an occasion (or the time) to make the 2 dozen cookies the recipe yields (note: I actually got a little over 3 dozen, I must have made mine smaller though they're plenty big in my opinion).

Fortunately, there was a potluck on Friday evening and I needed to bring a side or a dessert. Excellent excuse, right? Especially excellent since the crowd I'd be with drinks a lot of coffee. It's a group of writers, what can I say? We definitely live up to the stereotype in that department. But, I wanted to make sure my vegan friend and my GF friend could eat whatever I brought also. I decided it was worth at least trying to convert this recipe -- if it didn't work, I could always bring a side dish.

The original recipe calls for 1 egg and 1 egg yolk. Egg replacer works great for the egg, because it binds and helps create a fluffy product. Ground flax seed works well for the egg yolk because of the higher fat content and the ability to easily adjust liquid (usually you should mix 1 tablespoon of flax seed to 3 tablespoons of water to create a "flax" egg--in this recipe, I mixed 4 teaspoons of flax with 3 tablespoons of warm water). This was the first time I'd tried this replacement combination and was glad it worked!

These cookies taste like coffee and chocolate, which I think is pretty lovely, and get thin (usually I prefer thicker, chewier cookies). Like other gluten-free products they don't brown as well, so it can be hard to tell if they're "brown around the edges," but if you look closely, you'll see they do. They were a hit at the potluck!

I used Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free All-Purpose flour (although this seems to taste particularly "gluten-free" compared to some other brands I've tried), because that's what's on hand at my closest grocery store, vegan margarine, and vegan chocolate chips. As I've warned before, some vegans will not eat refined sugars -- the vegan who will eat these cookies doesn't care. Be sure to ask your vegan if you have doubts!

Cappuccino Cookies - Vegan & Gluten-Free

Makes: about 3 dozen cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) vegan butter (i.e. – Earth Balance), softened

3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 ½  Ener-G egg replacer, mixed with 2 tablespoons water until thick

4 teaspoons ground flax seed, mixed with 3 tablespoons water

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 1/4 cup gluten-free all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon, rounded, xantham gum
1 teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons instant espresso powder
1 cup vegan chocolate chips, coarsely chopped.

Place racks in the center and upper third of the oven and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside and we'll preheat the oven after we chill the dough.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, xantham gum, baking soda, salt and instant espresso powder.

Beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 5 minutes, by hand or 3-5 in a stand mixer). Scrape down the sides of the butter-sugar mixture with a spatula and add the egg replacer, flax seed egg, and vanilla. Beat until fluffy, about 1-2 minutes.

Add the dry ingredients, all at once. Mix until just combined and then fold in the chocolate chips until well combined. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour (an hour and a half seemed to work better for me).

Just before you're ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Scoop cookie dough by the heaping tablespoonful onto the prepared baking pans. Bake for about 12-13 minutes, until lightly browned around the edges. Remove from the oven, allow to cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Store cookies in an airtight container.

**Hint: These cookies spread a fair amount, so give them space on the pan. Dropping them about 2” apart seemed to work pretty well, though some of the edges touched.

Fast & Easy Biscotti

 Biscotti. A coffeehouse indulgence. Or from a box at the grocery store. Or homemade--but gosh, what a hassle! I've made biscotti from scratch a few times and although these twice-baked cookies are actually pretty simple, they seem intimidating. Get the dough just right. Add ingredients. Hope they hold together okay when they're finished. Geez.

I made these biscotti recently, for a presentation where I was supposed to bring some sort of snack. The original recipe doesn't call for chocolate--but chocolate goes so well with coffee. If you're not a chocolate person, leave it out. The base for these biscotti allows you a lot of flexibility with your ingredients, so work with what you have. I happened to want to make my biscotti tropical, since cinnamon and nutmeg are already tropical flavors (so is vanilla, for that matter), so I added papaya, semi-sweet chocolate chips, and sesame seeds.

When I worked my dough, it came out a bit drier than I would have liked so I added some cold coffee (about 1 tablespoon) to the dough. Why coffee instead of water? Extra flavor -- specifically an earthy flavor that would blend well with tropical flavors I was already using.



Fast & Easy Biscotti (with papaya, chocolate, and sesame seeds)
1 (16.5 or 18-ounce) roll refrigerated sugar cookie dough

2/3 cup all-purpose, whole wheat flour
1 ½ cups chopped papaya, coarsely chopped semi-sweet chocolate chips, and sesame seeds*
2 tablespoons grated orange zest

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract (a few drops of orange extract can be added as well)
1 tablespoon cold coffee, or water**

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly spray a cookie sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Break up the cookie dough into large bowl; let stand for 10–15 minutes to soften.

Add flour, cranberries, orange zest, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla extract to the cookie dough; mix well with your fingers, the paddle attachment of an electric stand mixer, or a wooden spoon. Add coffee/water if needed so that the dough just holds together.

Divide dough into two equal halves. On the cookie sheet, shape each dough half into a 12 x 2-inch rectangle, 3/4-inch high, spacing the dough halves about 3 inches apart.

Bake for 26–28 minutes or until the logs are deep golden brown and spring back in the center when touched. Remove sheet from oven; keep oven on. Let cool for 3-4 minutes and then using two pancake turners, lift logs, one at a time, from the cookie sheet to a cutting board. Using a sharp knife, cut one of the logs into 3/4-inch wide slices. Note: for longer biscotti, cut at a deep diagonal; for shorter biscotti, cut log crosswise. Repeat with second log.

Place slices on the same cookie sheet (do not worry about the spacing). Bake slices for 5 minutes; remove from oven and turn over all of the slices. Return cookie sheet to oven and bake for 5 minutes longer. Turn off oven and let biscotti sit in oven for approximately 15 more minutes.

Remove sheet from oven and let cool for 10 minutes and then transfer biscotti to a wire rack; cool completely.


Makes 28 biscotti.
 
*Other fun combinations might include:

• Cranberries, chocolate chips/white chocolate chips, pistachios
• Cinnamon chips and white chocolate chips
• White chocolate chips and pecans
• Pecans and dried apricots

**You'll want the dough to hold together just enough to form it into two logs. You do not want sticky dough. Add additional liquid only if needed.

Peanut Butter Oreos

Every fall, my graduate department hosts a "Welcome Back" party of some sort--held at a local park and potluck style. Although attendants are encouraged to bring something homemade, frequently we wind up with people who stop at the store on their way over and bring some sort of chips and dip, or something sweet. This year, more than last, these functions seem to see more of the name brand (or generic, sometimes) packaged goods, rather than the items made in store.

I find this unfortunate on many levels. The stores here are all small chains or employee owned. The bakeries are of varying quality, as are the delis, but in my mind, any of these stores will offer a higher quality product than something meant to be shelf stable for months, years...you get the picture.

Anyway, at this year's picnic, someone brought peanut butter oreos. Why not? I thought to myself. I would never purposely buy them--I only buy regular oreos when I plan to make oreo bon-bons--and they are one of the dozens of flavors of traditional-style oreos Nabisco has produced. We won't talk about the "cakesters" aside from my comment that someone finally figured out how to market "whoopie pies" mixed with stale oreos.

I grabbed a couple at the end of the picnic and gave them a try. The peanut butter cream is less creamy than a traditional oreo and for a "Double Stuf," they don't have all that much filling. In fact, the peanut butter doesn't even taste particularly peanut-buttery. It's got a hint of peanut and a hint of grittyness like a certain off-brand of Oreo, but it by no means screams "peanut butter!"

Okay, so the dilemna. I had more than one oreo--but not enough to really incorporate into a real recipe. What to do with them? I'm a grad student so I make an effort not to throw anything away as far as food goes--if I can salvage it, that is. So, I crumbled my remaining Oreos and tossed them in the DQ Blizzard I'd gotten for almost free, thanks to a coupon. Fortuntaely, my Blizzard had both Reeses and chocolate fudge in it, making up for the lacking quality of the Oreos. Given an option again, I'd pass.

Tuxedoed Oreos

"I'm serving chocolate mousse cake from Trader Joe's with French Vanilla ice cream. I was thinking about buying some of those chocolate wafers, but I didn't and these will work just as well."

I'm paraphrasing of course. My mom's boss and family friend held a going-away party for another co-worker and herself at the end of June. Their jobs had been "eliminated" in a series of budget cuts the local school district had to make in the wake of a budget shortfall--the third one within 9 months. The economy sucks everywhere, I know.

Anyway, she asked my parents to bring cantaloupe soup (a cold soup, it's wonderful for less than wonderful cantaloupe) and vegetarian picadillo stuffed peppers. Picadillo, pronounced peek-a-dee-oh, is a sweet and (sometimes) lightly spicy way of preparing meat. Our version has raisins and almonds in it and we use soy crumbles from the frozen foods section. She insisted she had dessert planned, that I didn't need to bring anything. But I didn't feel right going to a dinner party meant primarily for her co-workers without bringing something.

But, I was going to be going almost straight from my internship at a local natural history museum to her house. There was no way I was going to make anything that day. It had to be something that I could make over the weekend and which would age well.

When Mom said her boss would be doing something with chocolate mousse, these seemed like a natural. The Internet is full of recipes for this, so I don't claim anything particularly original, but I do want to point out that these work perfectly well with reduced-fat oreos and neufschatel. The best part about these is that they're kid-friendly (no baking, no sharp implements needed) and flexible...plus they go together pretty quickly. The ones I made used the white bark coating.

Oreo Bon-Bons

1 pound reduced-fat oreos

1 8-ounce block neufschatel (reduced fat cream cheese)

Powdered sugar for coating OR

White Bark coating (about 1/2 pound)

Smash the oreos so no huge chunks remain. This can be done with a gallon bag and a rolling pin--just be sure to get all the air out of the bag before you start hammering it. Or, you can toss them in your food processor and pulse it to break up the cookies. In a large bowl, using a fork, mix together the cream cheese and oreos until the color is even and it starts to come together to form a ball.

Roll small, equally sized balls of the cookie-cream cheese mixture. These can be any size you want, but it's easier to coat these if they're evenly sized--especially if you're using the white bark coating. Chill the small balls for an hour or two, until firm.

Spread the powdered sugar in a shallow dish, if using, or melt the white bark coating (follow instructions on the package, but generally you can do this in a double-boiler or by microwaving it on HIGH for 1 minute and then stirring. Microwave on HIGH for additional 15-second intervals until it is completely melted).

Dip or roll the balls through the powdered sugar or melted white bark. Let set and then store in refrigerator.

Sour Cream M&M Chocolate Chip Cookies

After a pre-Cinco De Mayo party I held this weekend (it's finals week, although we all seem to have more time, none of it's co-ordinated), I had leftover sour cream. Since I don't really like sour cream for eating--I'm that person that always asks the Mexican restaurants to leave it off--I knew I had to find some other use for it.

I'd already made a cinnamon chocolate chip sour cream cake for the Tres De Mayo party dessert, but still had more sour cream. I searched the internet, thinking I might make muffins or biscuits--but then couldn't decide when I'd want to actually eat them.

Last night I had a final at a professor's house. He was going to cook for us, but asked us to bring beverages or food. I took some of the cinnamon chocolate chip sour cream cake, some vegetable purses that I made spur of the moment to use up some phyllo dough, and these cookies.

I found the original recipe, which called for more fat, no oatmeal and no cereal, online. I always tinker and I didn't want to wait for extra butter to come to room temperature from frozen. Who really has time for that, most days? It was one of the few recipes that didn't contain nuts or fruit combined with spices. The one person who reviewed it "didn't care for the recipe," but an identical recipe that used yogurt instead had pretty good reviews. I decided I had to try it out--the worst that could happen was that I wouldn't like the cookies and my professor could take them into the mailroom tomorrow. I know from experience that any food that winds up in the mailroom gets eaten by grad students (who love free food because we get paid so little to teach!) and professors.

Sour Cream M&M Chocolate Chip Cookies

This egg-free cookie turns out crispy around the edges and soft in the middle. Be careful not to over bake. It should be soft in the middle when you pull it out and only lightly golden on the bottom.

½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons butter at room temperature
¼ cup canola oil
½ cup light sour cream
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
½ cup old fashioned rolled oatmeal (quick oats works too, do not use instant)
¼ cup (about 1 handful) plain cheerios, lightly crushed[1]
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
3-4 ounces semi-sweet baking chips
2-3 ounces small candy-coated chocolates

Preheat oven to 375º F. In a large mixing bowl combine sugars, butter, and oil. Beat with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the sour cream, sea salt, and vanilla. Blend until light and fluffy. Add in oatmeal, mixing by hand. Add the cheerios, if using, and flour and mix until a soft dough forms. Stir in the chocolate chips and candy-coated chocolates.

Drop dough 1 ½ teaspoons at a time onto a lightly greased cookie sheet, spacing about 2 inches apart. These cookies will spread slightly while baking. Bake for 9 minutes, or until the edges have started to firm and turn golden. Cool for 1 minute on pan before transfering to wire rack.

Yields: Approximately 48 cookies.
[1] If you do not have plain cheerios, you can use an additional quarter cup oatmeal