Mini Butter Tarts

Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday.  In my family it consists of spending the whole day (and a few before it) cooking/baking in the kitchen with bickering family, followed by the traditional giant meal with friends and family, and then eating left overs for the rest of the week.  Pretty traditional.

But growing up, it was also the one day of the year that it was justified for me to make that 8 layer cake, with 4 kinds of chocolate, that takes 3 days to make, plus 4 other desserts, and I was guaranteed an audience to eat it!  Since I always wanted to try new recipes, and there were always a few traditional desserts that had to be made each year (parents requested a fruit aspic, sister wanted pecan pie etc), each year my desserts grew in quantity.  And each year they got more complicated... I would hand my mom a shopping list asking for a gallon of whipping cream, 4 pounds of chocolate, and a few boxes of butter among other things, and no one would bash an eyelash at me.  I don't see how a holiday can get better than that...

Ginger-not-so-snap cookies

In the UK, since they don't celebrate thanksgiving, we are now well into the holiday cookie season, which I love!  I am always looking for an excuse to bake something (its much more fun than studying for upcoming exams....).  This past week I brought out my gingersnap recipe from my archives, and discovered they are way better than I remembered them.  The spices in them make them taste like the holidays!  One of the other great things about this recipe is that they age well.  Fresh out of the oven they are good (what cookie isn't?) but 24 hours later, they soften up, and the flavors seem to meld together, and then they are really good...



Here is some of the feedback I received:
               "Best cookies slash biscuits I’ve ever had,"
               "Even though they don't have chocolate in them, these are great," 
               "Can you please please please make some more," (I did, I made another batch a few days later).

Notes: *This recipe teaches that molasses in the US = black treacle in the UK!
This is a recipe for a soft, buttery gingersnap - so if you prefer the crunchy variety, steer clear! They can be a bit sensitive with their baking times - so it may take a tray or two to find the exact time to bake them for in your oven, but its worth it!  You want to take them out of the oven while they are still puffed up, then watch them collapse into a thin cookie while they cool on your wire rack.  If they collapse in the oven, cook them less.

Iced Pumpkin Spice Cookies

Happy Halloween!  Growing up I was never a big fan of pumpkin, and thus never baked much with it.  However this time of year I always start to feel an increasing pressure for pumpkin baked goods.  So I gave in and started baking more with it this year - and learned that pumpkin is mainly a vessel for delicious fall spices.  These cookies were the final touch in winning me over!  They are a soft spice filled cookie, with a light sugary/spiced icing on top - great for a blustery autumn day.

Note - if you are in the UK and have struggled to find cans of pumpkin, no worries, just roast your own!  Follow this link for simple steps and pictures of how to roast a pumpkin.  And remember: you can substitute any type of squash you like the flavor of, in a recipe that calls for pumpkin.  If you are sticking with pumpkin - pick a small one, as they tend to be sweeter.  I roast and puree a few pumpkins at the beginning of the season, then freeze little containers with 1 cup of puree - a great way to have easy pumpkin all season.

S'more bars

Graham crackers have not made it to the UK yet, so of course s'mores don't exist here either.  They are one of those things I did not eat often in the states, however as soon as I can't have them...

One of my class mates brought over these soft graham cookies last summer and they were delicious!  I hadn't realized that baking a cookie with the flavor of graham crackers was soo easy (homemade graham crackers just didn't seem worth the effort).  These cookies are definitely worth making and eating on their own - but of course I figured they might be improved by adding in chocolate and marshmallows.

I tried a few variations of stuffed cookies, then found that a bar cookie was less effort, and allowed a better distribution of chocolate and marshmallows in every bite. Luckily none of my friends complained at having to try 4 or 5 variations of these cookies over the last few weeks... I used milk chocolate in my last edition, to make it more similar to the S'mores of our childhood - but they are also delicious with a dark chocolate, if you want a more adult version.

The Chewy Brownie!

The brownie has been a recipe I've struggled with ever since I started baking.  The previous brownies I've made have always been ok, as it is hard to go wrong with a chocolaty square, but I just never felt they were great (and I always sorta thought a box mix brownie was better).  I spent a few years making everything but brownies, then decided recently that I needed to finally find a decent recipe - it just seemed pathetic that I could make homemade Samoas, but not brownies.

I tried a lot of recipes, each claiming to have the trick to the chewy brownie - things like putting the tray into an ice bath straight out of the oven, adding extra egg yolks, or having the perfect ratio of oil to butter.  In fact it was the first time a cooks illustrated recipe failed me (I felt their chewy brownies were much too cakey).  I finally tried this simple recipe from King Arthur Flour cook book, just because it was different from the others, not expecting much.  I'm happy to report that this recipe is the one I've been looking for.  Not only does it make an amazing chocolaty chewy brownie - but it comes together in one pot, in 10 minutes!

Note: the original recipe actually called for whole wheat flour, but I misread that and used bread flour by mistake.  They came out great, and very (very) chewy.  Since then I have also been making it with regular flour, and they are also delicious - still chewier than cakey, but not quite as hard on your jaw.

Cinnamon rolls!

There is a Cinnabon location in London, right near Picadilly Circus...  and every once in a while after a night out in town, with a pack of Americans, we find ourselves devouring Cinnabons late at night (4 for £10!).  And they are delicious.  While it may just be nostalgia for childhood sleepover parties with Cinnabons for breakfast, I think we get lured in because it reminds us of home.

I recently remembered this recipe for cinnamon rolls I had made a few years back and tried it again, inspired by the idea of home made Cinnabons.  They may not be quite identical to the original, but they are pretty delicious, and these get devoured very fast, especially fresh out of the oven.  The only draw back I've found  to them is that they don't leave you feeling as sick as a real Cinnabon does, leading me to over-consume.

One of the great things about this recipe is you can prepare it all in advance, then put it in the fridge overnight, pop it in the oven in the morning, and have amazing hot cinnamon rolls for breakfast!

*This recipe taught me that bread flour(US) = strong white flour (UK).

Wedding Cookies

I tend to think that cookies are a good thing to bring to most occasions.  When planning our wedding, I had a grand plan of having a cookie table that people could contribute to and then take home at the end of the night.  However I was sad to find out once we picked our venue that due to food safety laws no homemade food could be served there.

After some brainstorming - we came up with the idea of cookies in a jar.  I figured this was even better than taking away already made cookies - as our guests could take them home, and have easy delicious cookies whenever they wanted.  I set out to find a recipe with ingredients that just fit inside a quart jar, had a variety of colors, and were tasty - and I lucked out to stumble upon this monster cookie recipe.

Not only are these cookies simple to make, but they are delicious!  They are sort of a like a chocolate chip, M&M and oatmeal cookie, all mixed in together into one chewy cookie.  And they make great gifts either in a jar, or in cookie form :).