Recipes from The First Annual New Canaan Library Cookie Exchange

CHOCOLATE FUDGE COOKIES


Makes about 60 cookies
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
5 ounces unsweetened chocolate
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
4 large eggs
Pinch salt
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon dark rum
Confectioners' sugar

Several cookie sheets or jelly-roll pans lined with parchment or foil
I. Mix together flour and baking powder and set aside.
2. Bring a pan of water to a boil and remove from heat. Combine chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and set over pan of water, stirring occasionally until melted.
3. In a large bowl, whisk eggs with salt, then whisk in both sugars. Whisk in chocolate mixture, then rum.
4. Stir in flour to form a soft dough. Scrape dough onto a piece of plastic wrap and wrap tightly. Chill 2 hours.
5. Set racks in upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Flour your hands and roll the chilled dough into 2-teaspoon balls. They don't have to be too neat. Roll each ball in confectioners' sugar. Arrange well apart on prepared pans and bake about 12 minutes. Cool pans on a rack before removing cookies from pan.
ST O R A G E : Keep the cookies between sheets of wax paper in a tin or other container with a tight-fitting cover.


Cracker cookies

1 1/2 sleeves of Saltines or Ritz crackers (Saltines are better...)
2 sticks of butter (not margarine)
1/2 cup of sugar
1 bag of chocolate chips

Crush crackers and spread into thin layer onto cookie sheet that has been covered with foil. Melt butter and sugar, bring to a boil. Pour over Saltines. Bake at 350 until bubbly and light golden brown. Remove from oven and spread chocolate chips on top. Allow to melt, then spread with spatula. Chill in fridge. Break by hand.

You can use milk chocolate chips or semi-sweet or combine the two.



Holiday Fruit Drops

1 cup shortening
2 cups firmly packed brown sugar 2 eggs
1/2 cup soured milk, buttermilk, or water
3 1 /2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups broken pecans
2 cups candied cherries, halved 2 cups chopped dates

Mix shortening, sugar and eggs well. Stir in soured milk. Blend dry ingredients, stir in to wet mixture. Stir in the pecans, cherries and dates. Chill at least 1 hour. Heat oven to 400 F. Drop heaping teaspoons of dough about 2" apart on lightly greased cookie sheet. Place a pecan half on each cookie if desired. Bake 8 to 10 minutes until almost no imprint remains when touched lightly.
Note: If using self-rising flour, omit baking soda and salt.


Pizzelle

3 eggs
¾ cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 stick unsalted butter, melted (8 Tbs)
1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder

Beat eggs and sugar until light yellow and thick ribbons fall from the whisk, 2-3 minutes. Add melted butter, vanilla and lemon zest. Beat until blended.

Sift together the flour, and baking powder. Add half of the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, fold until just blended, add remaining flour and fold again until just incorporated.

Heat pizzelle iron. Brush lightly with butter and place about 1 tablespoon of batter on iron. The excess batter that may ooze out should be cut off immediately. Bake until golden brown (about 45 seconds). Remove and cool on a rack. Repeat with remaining batter to make about 25 pizzelles. Sprinkle with powered sugar. YUMMY!


Almond Cookies

Preheat oven to 300°

2 cups flour
1 cup soy margarine
2/3 cup natural cane sugar
1 tsp. pure almond extract
`/ cup slivered almonds (approximate)

1. Blend margarine and sugar with an electric mixer until smooth. Blend in the almond extract.
2. Slowly add the flour and mix thoroughly after each addition.
3. Shape the dough into 1-inch balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet about 1'/z inches apart. Press down lightly with a spoon to flatten. Press slivered almonds on top of each cookie.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes or until cookies are light brown around the edges. Let cookies cool on pan a bit and then transfer to a rack to cool completely.
Cookies are even better the day after you bake them. Store in an airtight container for up to four days or freeze up to two months.


Vegan Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

§ 1 cup soy non-hydrogenated vegan margarine
§ 1 cup packed brown vegan sugar (or equiv. non-sugar sweetener + 1/4 cup molasses)
§ 1/2 cup vegan sugar (or equivalent non-sugar sweetener)
§ 2 Ener-G vegan egg replacer "eggs"
§ 1 teaspoon vanilla
§ 1.5 cups flour
§ 1 teaspoon baking soda
§ 1 teaspoon cinnamon
§ 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (or ½ teaspoon ground cloves, for a spicier cookie)
§ 1/2 teaspoon salt
§ 3 cups rolled oats
§ 1 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350F. Mix up the "eggs". Cream wet ingredients together with a whisk or sturdy fork. Add dry ingredients and mix well, mixing in oats and raisins last. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheets (the cookie sheets don't need to be greased). Bake 9-10 minutes, until a little golden. Be careful not to over bake.
Serves: about 24 cookies
Preparation time: 30 min prep, 10 min baking



Grandma Rosie's Almond Cookies

Cookies:
1 cup shortening
3/4 cup sugar
2 egg yolks
1 egg white
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
1/4 tsp. salt
Topping:
1 egg white
2 tbs. granulated sugar
1/4 cup finely ground almonds
1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Pre-heat oven to 350.
Cream shortening, add sugar, beaten egg yolk, beaten egg white, add vanilla. Slowly work flour and salt into mixture. Roll dough out very thin and cut into desired shapes.
Once cut into shapes, add topping by brushing with beaten egg white and sprinkling cinnamon, sugar and nuts. Bake on heavy ungreased sheet for 8-10 minutes.
Cool and serve.


Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

(from All New Fannie Farmer Boston Cooking School Cookbook)
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 egg
2 ounces melted chocolate
(or 6 tablespoons cocoa and 2 tablespoons water)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup oatmeal
candied cherries (optional, also nuts, etc.)

Cream shortening and sugar.
Add egg, chocolate, vanilla, and almond extract and stir well. Add flour, baking powder and salt and stir. Add oatmeal and stir.
Drop by teaspoon fulls onto baking sheet.
Cut candied cherries into thirds or quarters. Place piece on top of unbaked cookie. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 - 10 minutes. Makes about 3 dozen.


Christmas Stars

INGREDIENTS
* 3/4 cup butter, softened
* 1 cup white sugar
* 2 egg
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 6 tablespoons strawberry jam
* 1/4 cup green decorator sugar (optional)

DIRECTIONS
1. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Gradually add eggs and vanilla. Mix well. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir flour mixture into the butter mixture until well blended. Refrigerate dough for three hours.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease several cookie sheets.
3. On a floured surface, roll out 1/2 of the dough at a time to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut dough into star shapes using a 3 to 4 inch star cookie cutter. Using a 1 to 2 inch star cookie cutter, cut a star into the center of half of the big stars. Sprinkle colored sugar on the cookies with the center cut out if desired. Put onto prepared cookie sheets about 1 inch apart, and bake for 6 to 8 minutes.
4. After cookies cool completely, spread 1 teaspoon of preserves in the center of each cookie that does not have a star cut out in the middle. Place a cookie with a cut-out on top of the layer of preserves. Pack cookies in a covered tin to preserve freshness.
Yields two dozen

Bread tales

After reading the novel Bread Alone by Judith Ryan Hendricks, I was inspired to dust off my dough hook and get back into bread baking.


I was in college when I baked my first loaf of bread--a friend of a friend had planned a day of bread baking and handed me a recipe as I walked in the door. I was hooked! When my daughter was a toddler, I was baking all of our bread, mixing, kneading and shaping it all by hand. Later I tried a bread machine, but was never really happy with the results. Next came the food processor, which does a decent job of kneading the dough, but is limited by it's rather small capacity. Finally, several years ago, I decided to stop waiting and buy a Kitchen Aid mixer. I know some purists will only knead dough by hand, but that mixer does a better, faster job of kneading that I have ever been able to do. Does anything smell or taste better than freshly baked bread?

Don't miss the sequel The Baker's Apprentice

Look for a display of books on making bread next time you come to the library.



Coming Soon:

Artisan bread in five minutes a day by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois.

One of my all time favorite cookbooks, back in print!

American Wholefoods Cuisine By Nikki & David Goldbeck

The Goldbeck's huge vegetarian cookbook was originally published in 1983, and it has sold more than 250,000 copies. Now it has been reissued with a new preface by culinary historian Barbara Haber and updated nutritional information. Often referred to as a vegetarian Joy of Cooking, the book includes a wide-ranging selection of recipes; a chapter on preserving, growing sprouts, etc.; another on menu planning; and a final section, The Food Reader, with information on stocking the pantry, equipment and techniques, kitchen math, and other such topics. Although some of the head notes seem slightly dated—pesto and falafel, for example, are no longer the unfamiliar exotics they once were.---From Library Journal

Some of my favorite recipes:

Baked Vegetable Omelet p. 136

Banana Bread p. 331

Deluxe Mushroom Barley Soup p. 97

Fettucine with Spring Vegetables p. 117

Baked Vegetable Cheese p. 127

Sweet Red Pepper Sauce (the fiery version) p. 318

Too many more to mention!--Maria

New Cookbooks

Check out our newest cookbooks here

New cookbooks @ NCL

Cook with Jamie

Sara Foster's casual cooking

My Italian garden


Arriving soon:

Pastry queen Christmas

Cookie craft

Christmas with Paula Deen

Martha Stewart Living Cookbook : the new classics

America's best lost recipes

Traditional teatime

James Beard Foundation Awards

The James Beard Foundation celebrates, preserves, and nurtures America's culinary heritage and diversity. The organization is best known to the public for awarding the annual Beard Awards for cookbooks. They award in many categories, from general cooking to techniques, vegetarian, international, etc, but all of the books that receive these prestigious awards are considered by culinary professionals to be the best of the bunch.

The large cookbook collection at the New Canaan Library contains many of the Beard award winners. Here are some of the recent award winners in various categories that we have in our collection:


Tasty by Roy Finamore (Award for General cooking, 2007)

Soul of a New Cuisine by Marcus Samuelsson: ( Award for International, 2007)


The New Mayo Clinic Cookbook (Award for Focus on Health, 2005)


On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee (Award for Food Reference, 2005)

Taste Pure and Simple by Michel Nischan (Award for Healthy focus and Vegetarian, 2004)


King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion (Awarded Kitchenaid cookbook of the year, 2004)



For further information visit the Foundation's website at jamesbeard.org

Bobby Flay

Just a reminder that Bobby Flay will be at New Canaan Library on Tuesday, October 16 @ 7:30 p.m.

Please call 594.5003 to register or register online. Admission is free.Seats are not guaranteed and early arrival is recommended.Reception and book signing will follow the program.

Check out Bobby Flay's website!

http://www.bobbyflay.com/

Original Plum Torte

The recipe I always look for as soon as I see Italian prune plums in the supermarket. I made this last week and it was just as delicious as ever!

Original Plum Torte

From The New Elegant But Easy Cookbook, by Marian Burros and Lois Levine.

8 Servings

Because of reader demand, this recipe has been published in one form or another in the New York Times almost every year since I went to work there in 1981. Lois brought this recipe, originally called Fruit Torte, to Elegant but Easy, and its appeal comes from its lovely old-fashioned flavor and its speed of preparation.

When I had been married just a couple of years, I had worked out an assembly-line process for making many tortes and putting them in the freezer. A friend who loved the tortes said that in exchange for two she would let me store as many as I wanted in her freezer. A week later she went on vacation for two weeks and her mother stayed with her children. When she returned, my friend called and asked: "How many of those tortes did you leave in my freezer?""Twenty-four, but two of those were for you."There was a long pause. "Well, I guess my mother either ate twelve of them or gave them away." Her mother must have liked them as much as I do. And the children. And possibly the neighbors.

1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup plus 1 or 2 tablespoons sugar
1 cup unbleached flour, sifted
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs
Pinch salt
24 halves pitted Italian (prune or purple) plums
1 teaspoon cinnamon or more, to taste

1. Arrange a rack in the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Cream the butter and the 3/4 cup of sugar. Add the flour, baking powder, eggs, and salt and beat to mix well. Spoon the batter into an ungreased 9- or 10-inch springform pan. Cover the top with the plums, skin sides down. Mix the cinnamon with the remaining 1 or 2 tablespoons of sugar and sprinkle over the top.

3. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool; refrigerate or freeze if desired.

4. To serve, let the torte return to room temperature and reheat at 300 degrees until warm, if desired. Serve plain or with vanilla ice cream.

Endless cole slaw

ENDLESS COLE SLAW

3 lbs. cabbage (1 med. head )
1/2 green bell pepper
1/2 red bell pepper
1 med. onion
1 c. cider vinegar
1/2 c. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper
1 tsp. celery seed
1/2 c. vegetable oil (or less--see note)

In food processor use the slicing blade to thinly slice cabbage, peppers and onions. Combine in a large bowl; set aside.

To make dressing:
In 1 quart stainless steel saucepan combine vinegar, oil, sugar, dry mustard, celery seed, salt and pepper. Bring to boil over moderate heat, stirring to dissolve sugar and boil 3 minutes.
Pour hot dressing over cabbage mixture and toss well.
Let stand at room temperature 30 to 60 minutes, tossing occasionally.
For best flavor, cover and refrigerate several hours before serving.


Maria's notes: I use less oil--about 1/4 cup. I copied and pasted this recipe from http://www.cooks.com/ but I first saw it in AARP magazine many years ago. It keeps well but gets quite soggy tasting after 2-3 days.

Cooking Magazines @NCL

Cooking Light

Fine Cooking

Bon Apetit

Every day with Rachel Ray

Gourmet

You can borrow all but the current issue of these titles. Loan period is 3 weeks.

Summer Scallops Recipe

Summer Scallops
From the kitchen of David Bryant

1 LB Bay Scallops
2 large shallots chopped
¼ cup dry white wine (pinot grigio recommended)
¼ cup low sodium, natural chicken or vegetable broth
Juice of ½ lemon
2 TBS canola oil
1 cup rice, (uncooked) brown or white
Curry powder to taste
1 lb. fresh string beans

Rinse and pat dry the scallops

Drizzle ½ of the lemon juice on scallops, set aside

Prepare rice according to instructions on packaging. (suggestion: substitute 2/3 chicken/vegetable broth, 1/3 orange juice for water, enhancing the flavor of the rice).

Steam string beans for 3-4 minutes, rinse, set aside

In skillet, saute shallots for 2-3 minutes in canola oil

Turn down flame, add the white wine, 2 minutes later, add the broth and curry powder, cook on low flame for 2 more minutes, add scallops, cook for 2 minutes. (bay scallops cook quickly!)

Make a bird’s nest of rice in center of each plate, top with scallops and broth mix, then top with parsley and/or scallion greens as garnish

Make a ring of string beans around the bird’s nest of rice and scallops.

Pinot grigio a good choice to serve here.

Newest cookbooks

The Summer Shack cookbook : the complete guide to shore food / Jasper White ; illustrations by Ann Wood

The flexitarian table : inspired, flexible meals for vegetarians, meat lovers, and everyone in between / Peter Berley, with Zoe Singer ; photographs by Quentin Bacon.

How to pick a peach : the search for flavor from farm to table / Russ Parsons.

Peach Blueberry Cake

Peach Blueberry Cake
From : Gourmet, August 2005

"This cake bakes for a long time at a moderate temperature, which helps keep the ripe fruit from bursting and releasing its juices. The easy-to-make pastry bakes up moist and crumbly, with a texture that's like a cross between a biscuit and a cake.

A note from our cooks: We've received some letters from readers complaining about a burned crust when making the peach blueberry cake (August 2005 cover), so we ran through the recipe two more times. Baked in a standard light-colored metal pan, the cake was perfect; baked in a dark metal pan, however, it burned — be aware that the cake's high sugar content makes it more susceptible to burning at high heat. We recommend always using light-colored metal pans for baking. Dark metal pans, including nonstick, will cause your baked goods to brown more quickly. Manufacturers suggest reducing the oven temperature by 25 degrees when using dark pans."

Serving size: Makes 8 servings.

Ingredients:

For pastry:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick (1/2 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla

For filling:
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon quick-cooking tapioca
2 lb firm-ripe large peaches (about 4), halved lengthwise, pitted, and each half cut lengthwise into fourths1 cup blueberries (1/2 pint)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Special equipment: A 9- to 91/2-inch (24-cm) springform pan

Preparation:
Make pastry:
Pulse together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a food processor until combined. Add butter and pulse just until mixture resembles coarse meal with some small (roughly pea-size) butter lumps. Add egg and vanilla and pulse just until dough clumps and begins to form a ball, about 15 pulses.

Press dough onto bottom and evenly (about 1/4 inch thick) all the way up side of springform pan with floured fingertips. Chill pastry in pan until firm, about 10 minutes.

Make filling while pastry chills:
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 375°F.

Process 2 tablespoons sugar with flour and tapioca in a food processor until tapioca is powdery, then transfer to a large bowl and stir in remaining 6 tablespoons sugar. Add peaches, blueberries, and lemon juice and gently toss to coat. Spoon filling into pastry and bake, loosely covered with a sheet of foil, until filling is bubbling in center and crust is golden, about 1 3/4 hours.

Transfer cake in pan to a rack and cool, uncovered, 20 minutes, then carefully remove side of pan.

Cool cake to barely warm or room temperature, then cut into thick wedges with a sharp knife before serving.

Cooks' note:Pastry can be made and pressed into pan 1 day ahead and chilled, wrapped well in plastic wrap. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before filling.


Maria's Notes:
Yes, it really does take almost this long to bake. In my oven, at the total time of 1hr 45 minutes, the crust is a little dry, so I bake it for about 1 hour and 30 minutes. Be sure to bake covered. I've made a variation of this using black and red plums (not the Italian prune plums) which is really delicious.

My favorite Gazpacho recipe

Gazpacho

(adapted from The Vegetarian Epicure, Book Two, by Anna Thomas)

Ingredients:

7-8 medium sized ripe tomatoes
2 medium sized (unwaxed) cucumbers
1 green bell pepper
1 small onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 slice of white bread
1 cup of cold water
4 T olive oil
4 T wine vinegar (more to taste)
1 ½ t salt
3 t paprika
¼ t ground cumin
fresh ground black pepper to taste

Preparation:

Cut the tomatoes, cucumbers, bell pepper, bread and onion into chunks. In a food processor, process the garlic and onion until finely minced. Now put the prepared ingredients, 2-3 cups at a time, into the food processor, adding a little of the water each time. Process mixture to a coarse puree. You may need to process several batches. Pour into a large bowl, add oil, vinegar, remaining water, and the seasonings. Whisk vigorously until all is very well blended. Taste for seasoning, adding a little more cold water if the soup seems too thick. Chill the soup in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Serves 6-8.


Maria’s Notes:
Most Gazpachos are served with additional chopped onions, cucumbers, peppers and tomatoes. I feel processing the soup to a coarse puree leaves plenty of texture making the addition of a garnish unnecessary. It’s best if the tomatoes are home garden grown or from the farmer’s market. This yields the best flavor. If the tomatoes are pale, add a bit more paprika to enhance the color of the soup. Soup keeps well for several days in the refrigerator.

Bobby Flay is coming to NCL!

Authors on Stage 2007

Please call 594.5003 to register.
Admission is free.
Seats are not guaranteed and early arrival is recommended.
Reception and book signing will follow the program.



Bobby Flay
Tuesday, October 16 at 7:30 PM in the Adrian Lamb Room
Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill Cookbook
Co-sponsored by Elm Street Books

Welcome

This is the new cooking blog for New Canaan Library. Look here for library events featuring cookbook authors, newly published cookbooks, recipe favorites from the NCL staff, and more. Feel free to post any comments or suggestions.

--Maria