Sweet Mary

Key Lime Tart

Last night was one of those nights when I think I should not have been in the kitchen. I was a little distracted; therefore, when making a really lovely Key Lime Tart, forgot to add the sugar to the filling. I could have faked you all out and just posted a photo and said that it tasted as delicious as it looked. But, the universe must have decided that wasn't the best plan because when I went to cut a slice, the graham cracker crust stuck to the tart pan in a way that, essentially, caused me to destroy the whole tart.

Consequently, no photo, no recipe, no tart.  But, don't worry, I'll make something else later this week and I promise to include all the ingredients and not destroy it.

Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies

I know. I make a ton of cookies. I can't help it. I just like to have them around, I think. And, sometimes, when I can't fall asleep, I stay up and bake.  I find that late but pre-midnight time frame a great time to shake the day's stresses and ruminations about silly often meaningless things by baking. Particularly, I like to bake cookies at night. Mostly because it's easy and doesn't require a ton of concentration. But, also, because, it's just nice to end the day with a warm cookie and some soy milk.

This recipe hails from Laura Bankard on All Recipes. I liked it because it doesn't yield a huge amount and, well, I am still very much into using whatever I have in my pantry to bake these days and I definitely had some coconut. The cookies came out just fine, although I got a little more spread than anticipated. My instincts were telling me to add just a little more flour given all the sugar and butter. That might have helped. I did chill the dough for 30 minutes in the fridge, too, to keep the butter cool and minimize the spread a bit. I also added a 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla and used bittersweet chips instead of semi-sweet. They were delicious and I would make them again.

1/2 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon coconut extract

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/8 cup all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup semi-sweet  or bittersweet chocolate chips 

1/2 cup flaked coconut

Heat oven to 375 F. Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl and set aside.

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and extracts. Combine thoroughly. Stir in chocolate chips and coconut. Chill dough for 30 minutes in fridge. Then, drop by rounded tablespoons onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 11-13 minutes or until golden brown.

Intersection of Food and Music

There is a great piece on NPR right now, Stubb Stubblefield: Archangel of Barbecue by the Kitchen Sisters. It is a wonderful example of how food and music can go hand in hand and create memorable and even historical stories. Give it a read and listen, especially if you don't know who Stubbs is (although you may recognize his face if you're into BBQ sauce). The piece is also mentioned on Serious Eats with a link to Stubbs in Austin and the remaining line up for the SXSW fest (including PJ Harvey tonight at 10pm - I sure do wish I was in Austin tonight eatin' BBQ and listening to music!).

Date Nut Bread

Here's a quick bread recipe using walnuts and dates from All Recipes. I really don't have much to say about this recipe except that it was OK and just kind of plain. So, if I used it again, I would definitely add spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, etc.) and/or add something else like apples, pears, apricots, etc. It just seemed to need something. The bread did, however, have a very nice moist texture.

1 1/2 cups chopped dates

1 1/2 cups hot water

2 tablespoons butter, softened

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

3/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

2 eggs, beaten

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Heat oven to 375 F. Grease two loaf pans (8x4x2). Combine water, dates, and butter in a bowl and let stand for five minutes.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, walnuts, baking soda, and salt. Stir in the eggs, vanilla, and date mixture until just moistened. Pour into two prepared loaf pans. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cover with foil if the top of the bread browns too quickly. Cool on rack for 10 minutes before removing from pans.

Pear-Walnut Cake with Honey-Orange Syrup

Lately I've been trying to use ingredients only from my pantry to bake to not only save money, but also to use up a few things that have been sitting around for a while. First, it was the dried cherries. Now, I am on to walnuts!  This cake is quite lovely and hails from Cooking Light. It smelled absolutely delicious when baking...an aromatic mix of orange and anise.  It is moist, flavorful, and a bit lighter in calories (which is nice). I really liked it and could see making it to go along with tea or coffee. I have plenty more walnuts, so expect a few more recipes in the next week or so.

 

Cake:

Baking spray with flour

1 3/4 cups sugar

4 large eggs

3 cups all purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon anise seed, crushed

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon finely grated orange peel

1/2 cup fresh orange juice

1/2 cup canola oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups chopped pear (about 3)

1/4 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

Syrup:

1/3 cup honey

2 tablespoons fresh orange juice

Heat oven to 375 F.

Coat a 10-inch tube pan with baking spray. Set aside.

Place sugar and eggs in large bowl. Beat with a mixer on medium until thick and pale (about 3 minutes).

Combine flour, baking powder, anise seed, salt, and cinnamon with a whisk in a medium bowl. Set aside. Combine rind, 1/2 cup juice, oil, and vanilla. Add flour mix to egg mix alternately with the juice mixture. Stir in nuts and pear. Pour batter into prepared pan.  

Bake at 375 F for 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Loosen the cake from the sides with a knife or small spatula. Place a plate upside down on top of the cake pan and carefully invert the cake onto the plate.

Prepare the syrup:  Combine honey and 2tbsp orange juice in a small pan over medium heat. Cook 2 minutes and stir constantly. Brush over top and sides of cake. Cool the cake completely before cutting.

Oatmeal Cookies with Dried Cherries and White Chocolate

Ah.  A snow day.  Finally.  It's only taken Rhode Island about three straight months of storms to finally call off, well, everything and let us sleep in, drink lots of coffee in our pj's, and lounge about all day as we see fit. It's been so nice. I spent the morning with KEXP (as usual) and received a nice on air shout out from John in the Morning for making a pledge for their spring drive and an email from him thanking me for the Lemon Cherry Muffin recipe below.  

After all that excitement, I rifled through a seemingly forgotten shelf in one of cabinets and decided I needed to use up two bars of white chocolate and some dried cherries. Consequently, I pulled out this recipe from Martha Stewart and swapped out the apricots for cherries. Yummy is all I have to say. I'd add a little cinnamon next time or maybe even some cardamom.  

*makes 4 dozen

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 sticks of unsalted butter, softened

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs

8 oz white chocolate, chopped

1 1/2 cups dried cherries (or apricots, or cranberries, etc.)

Heat oven to 350 F. Mix flour, oatmeal, and baking soda in a medium bowl and set aside.   

Cream butter and sugars on medium until light and fluffy. Add salt, vanilla, and eggs and beat until well combined. Add the flour mixture gradually and beat until just combined. Stir in the chocolate and dried fruit.  Cover and put in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Drop heaping tablespoons of dough onto baking sheets.  Space about 2 inches apart. Bake until the cookies are golden brown around the edges but soft in the center, about 14 to 16 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes and transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.