S'mores Bark

If you're like me and having an urban Fourth of July weekend (which is lovely in its own right), here's a small way to bring a bit of the beach and campfires to your weekend or BBQ plans. I made these for the first time last year pretty randomly, and they are SO easy. You're basically just melting the ingredients of a s'more into an easily-transportable bark. S'mores have such an unmistakable flavor that they're an immediate bite of summer. 

Enjoy and Happy Fourth!

S'mores Bark 

Makes a 9x9 square

Prep time: About 20 min. 

Refrigeration time: About 60 min. 

3 4.25 ounce chocolate bars (e.g. large Hershey's bars), either milk or dark**

3/4 C mini marshmallows

3/4 C graham crackers broken into small pieces 

1. Line a 9x9 pan with parchment paper; paper will probably not lie down flat yet, which is fine. 

2. Crumble the graham crackers into small pieces, but not letting them get completely powdery. 

3. Break the chocolate into small pieces in a glass bowl, and microwave for two to three minutes, until melted, stirring half-way through. 

4. Once chocolate is melted, add in about a half cup of each the mini marshmallows and graham crackers (leaving the rest for the top) into the glass bowl, and stir until everything is coated with chocolate. 

5. Pour the mixture into the parchment paper-lined pan, and smooth out with a spatula so that mixture goes to edges of pan. Hold down the parchment paper in corners so that the liquid spreads to edges of pan. 

6. Pour remaining marshmallows and graham crackers over top of bark. 

7. Refrigerate for about an hour, until chocolate is completely cooled and solid. 

8. Using a large knife, chop bark into equally-sized squares. 

**I like a mix of milk and dark, and used two dark and one milk this time

Blackstrap Molasses Walnut Ice Cream

I think this molasses ice cream recipe by Jeni Britton Bauer of Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams is my new favorite holiday ice cream. I was a little surprised that it could have such a rich taste, since it's not a flavor that at first I thought would stand out as much in comparison to peppermint or chocolate, but there's something about the simplicity but depth of this that makes it really stand out. It kind of tastes like a molasses cookie distilled into ice cream. So if you are looking for a Christmas recipe, consider whipping some of this up! There are so many interesting things I think you could accompany this with: a chocolate-orange sauce or cookie, a glass of egg nog, or a plum or apricot sauce. Or just eat while sitting by your tree.

Hope everyone has a lovely holiday and some delicious meals! :) See you in 2015!

Molasses Walnut Ice Cream
From Jeni Britton Bauer
Makes about one quart
(requires an ice cream maker)

Ice cream: 

2 cups whole milk
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch 
1 1/2 ounces (3 tablespoons) cream cheese, softened 
1/4 t fine sea salt
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 c blackstrap molasses 

Blackstrap walnuts:

1 cup walnuts,  halved
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 tablespoon blackstrap molasses
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 

1. For the ice cream, mix about two tablespoons of the milk with the cornstarch in a small bowl to make a smooth slurry. Whisk the cream cheese and salt in a medium bowl until smooth. For later, fill a large bowl with ice and water. 

2. Combine the remaining milk, the cream, sugar and molasses in a four-quart saucepan, bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat, and boil for four minutes (the mixture may appear curdled from the acidic molasses, but it will come back together in the finished ice cream). Remove from the heat, and gradually whisk in the cornstarch slurry. 

3. Bring the mixture back to a boil over medium-high heat and cook, stirring with a heatproof spatula, until slightly thickened, about one minute. Remove from heat. 

4. Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture into the cream cheese until smooth. Pour the mixture into a one-gallon Ziploc freezer bag and submerge the sealed bag in the ice bath. Let stand, adding more ice as necessary, until cold, about 30 minutes. 

5. Meanwhile, for the blackstrap walnuts, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Combine the nuts with the remaining ingredients in a bowl, tossing to coat. Spread out on a baking sheet and bake for about eight minutes. Stir, and then bake for another five to six minutes, stirring twice. The nuts should look bubbly and somewhat dry. Remove from the oven and let cool completely, stirring the nuts every couple of minutes to break them up (they'll harden togeter if left sitting for too long). 

6. Pour the ice cream base into the frozen canister of your ice cream maker and spin until thick and creamy. 

7. Pack the ice cream into a storage container, folding in the walnuts as you go. Press a sheet of parchment directly against the surface and seal with an airtight lid. Freeze in the coldest part of your freezer until firm, about four hours. 

Monster Cookies

My college dining hall used to make these cookies. They always got them perfectly cooked so that they were the perfect softness. I've made these several times since college when I'm feeling nostalgic for the super-satisfying combination of peanut butter, M&Ms, and oatmeal. They are also really easy drop cookies, and are sweet, nutty, and energy-boosting at the same time.

I was trying to think of something to make for having a few people over for the Super Bowl last weekend, and remembered these. They seemed right for the Super Bowl because they seem like something that would be great for after a long workout... or, equally, after watching a bunch of professionals do that. 

Monster Cookies

Makes about three dozen

1/2 C butter
1/2 C peanut butter
2/3 C brown sugar
2/3 C white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 C oatmeal
1 C flour
1 C M&M's

1. Preheat over to 350 degrees.
2. Mix butter, peanut butter, brown sugar, and white sugar.
3. Mix eggs with baking soda and vanilla, then combine with former mixture.
4. Add dry ingredients, and bake 9 to 11 minutes on a greased cookie sheet. ** These are best when they're soft, so don't over bake. Check at 9 minutes and take them out if possible.

Music to cook to #1: 

Joanna Newsom, Does Not Suffice

I rediscovered her 2010 album "Have One on Me" while baking these cookies last weekend, and I'm readdicted to this song now.

Music to cook to #2:

I loved Prince on New Girl on the show that aired right after the Super Bowl! Better than  in the half-time show. He is so intentionally over-the-top but endearing at the same time. A favorite song:

Little Red Corvette

Lime Dulce de Leche Bars

I definitely always intended to make these as a winter dessert, but I ended up being off by one major holiday. After buying all of the ingredients around Christmas, but completely running out of time to make them, the cans of sweetened milk sitting in my cupboard kept reminding me that I wasn't going to be able to think of anything else to make with them. So I made them sort of for Valentine's Day last weekend, and they lasted all week, which was a nice.

At first glance they're not exactly a winter recipe; they're sort of tropical for this time of year. But I think that's why I like them. The citrus zest and the tropical-ness of the coconut kind of cut winter dreariness.

Eventually, I promise to work harder to move past posting lime/coconut/chocolate dessert recipes, but for now I think these confirmed my love of coconut-based desserts. Without the lime and chocolate they would be be way too sweet, but with those ingredients they're interesting. That said, I cut them pretty small because of how rich they are. Without any kind of crust, though, they're super easy to make and also keep really well in the refrigerator.

Lime Dulce de Leche Bars

Makes about 2 dozen small bars

2 14-ounce cans sweetened condensed milk
1/2 C light corn syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 t salt
14 ounce bag sweetened flaked coconut
5 ounce bag sliced almonds
zest of 1 lime (about 1.5 T)
1 C dark chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Line a 11x17 baking sheet (with raised edges if possible) with parchment paper.
3. In large mixing bowl, stir to combine the sweetened condensed milk, corn syrup, vanilla, and salt.
4. Dump in the coconut, almonds, and lime zest. Stir.
5. Spread mixture out evenly onto baking sheet.
6. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until golden brown around edges.
7. Let cool so that bars harden; refrigerate any leftovers.

Gingerbread with Cheesecake Layer

February Theme: Indulgence.



I'm taking a little break from the policy theme (which I attempt to connect my recipes to, however tangentially) for the month of February to focus on a very important quality of food: richness.



I love gingerbread, and this recipe allows you to eat it in soft, brownie-esqe form. To up the richness ante, these have a layer of cream cheese in the middle, which actually ends up seeming very crucial as it counter-balances the spiciness of the gingerbread. Delicious.



One note: the recipe calls for very hot water of 190 degrees F; I didn't take the temperature of the water I used, but microwaved it to about the temperature that you would for tea.

Gingerbread with Cheesecake Layer
Serves 6 to 8
Slightly adapted from The Splendid Table

Cheesecake Mixture
1 egg
4 ounces cream cheese
1/4 C sugar
2 t lemon juice
1/2 t vanilla extract
Gingerbread
2 C less 2 T unbleached all-purpose flour
1 t baking soda
Generous 1/2 t salt
1 T ground ginger
3/4 t ground cinnamon
1/4 t ground cloves
1/4 t cardamom
6 T unsalted butter, melted
3/4 C dark molasses
3/4 C very hot water (190 degrees F)
1/3 C packed dark brown sugar
1 large egg

1. Before starting the gingerbread, make the cheese mixture. Beat together the egg, cream cheese, sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla. Set aside.

2. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter and flour an 8-inch square light-colored metal or ceramic baking pan.

3. Make the gingerbread. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter, molasses, hot water, and brown sugar. When the mixture is almost frothy, beat in the egg, and gradually add the flour blend. Stir until thoroughly blended, but no more.

4. Pour half of the gingerbread batter into the pan. Drop spoonfuls of the cheese mixture over the batter. Then cover with the remaining gingerbread mix. Bake for 35 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

5. For a moist gingerbread, cool it in the pan on a wire rack. For a drier consistency, cool the gingerbread in the pan for 10 minutes; then turn it out of the pan and set it on the rack to cool.

Lime Macaroons Dipped in Dark Chocolate

You can't get something much richer than a macroon dipped in dark chocolate. So I was trying to think of a way to add a different flavor to all of the sweetness and richness. What I came up with is this recipe for macaroons with lime, still with the dark chocolate. And they're good! They're also kind of interesting as a holiday cookie, because lime is a tropical or summer flavor, but it's kind of nice to each something zesty this time of year.



Macaroons are pretty straight-forward and easy to make. I did have a couple of issues with this recipe, though. For one, I had one baking sheet of cookies on the bottom rack of the oven, and those burnt. So try and put both baking sheets on the top rack of the oven, or back in two batches. I also didn't use cooling racks and left the cookies to cool on the baking sheets, and they ended up getting a little stuck to the pans. So definitely put them on racks when you take them out of the oven.





Happy Holidays!

Lime Macaroons Dipped in Dark Chocolate
Makes about two dozen

1 egg
2/3 C sugar
1 t vanilla extract
2 1/2 C sweetened shredded coconut
1 T lime zest
juice of 1 lime
approx. 1 4-ounce bar of dark chocolate

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or grease.
2. In bowl, wisk egg and beat until light. Gradually beat in the sugar, vanilla, lime zest, and lime juice. Continue beating until light and fluffy. Fold in the coconut.
3. Drop batter by heaping teaspoons onto the baking sheets, making mounds and spacing about 1.5 inches apart.
4. Bake for 12-15 minutes on top rack of oven. Turn off heat and let cookies dry in the oven for 10 minutes. Transfer to racks to cool. The insides should be soft while outsides crisp.
5. Melt chocolate in microwave or on stove top. Once macaroons are cool, dip the flat part of each in chocolate and transfer to waxed paper. After dipping all macaroons, refrigerate until chocolate has hardened.