Spiced Double Chocolate Cookies

Spiced Double Chocolate Cookies

I woke up Saturday morning with Eric sleeping soundly next to me and Maki curled up at the end of the bed.  It took me a moment to realize what was so strange about this: it had been 2 months since I'd been home on a weekend.  Maybe all that travel is why this summer has flown by.  I took this as an opportunity to relax a bit, which meant baking cookies, followed by a day of eating and drinking and time spent outdoors with friends (eating and drinking, of course).  It was exactly what I needed.  A chance to decompress a little.

While I sat at the table, dropping heaping tablespoons of dough onto the baking sheet, Eric walked into the room and inspected the cookies that were cooling on the wire rack.  Always eager to be my taste-tester, he snatched one up and took a bite.

These are great!  Where did you get the recipe?

I looked up.

What do you mean?  I created it.  

They're really, good. There's some kick there. Cayenne?  

Yup. And some cinnamon too.

I love that.  Gonna post these on the blog?

Of course.

Awesome.

Spiced Double Chocolate Cookies

Spiced Double Chocolate Cookies

Spiced Double Chocolate Cookies

Spiced Double Chocolate Cookies

Servings 2 dozen cookies

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 pound bittersweet chocolate, shaved using a chef's knife

Instructions

1. Place the oven rack in the center of the oven.  Preheat the oven to 325°F.

2. In a bowl, stir together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder, cayenne pepper and cinnamon and set aside.

3. In the bowl of a food processor (or this can be done with a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment) add the butter and both sugars and pulse until combined. This may require that you stop the machine periodically and, using a spatula, pull the butter/sugar mixture from the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs and vanilla to the bowl and pulse to combine.

4. Carefully add half the dry ingredients to the bowl of the food processor and pulse to combine. Repeat with remaining dry ingredients.

5. Transfer the dough to a mixing bowl and, using a spatula, fold in the chocolate.

6. Scoop heaping spoonfuls of dough into the palms of your hands and roll into two and a half inch balls.  Place dough balls onto a non-stick baking sheet (or one lined with parchment paper) and space them about 2 inches apart.  Bake for about 15 minutes, or until lightly browned around the edges.

7. Remove from the oven and let sit on the tray for 3 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.  Let cool completely before serving.

Peach and Lavender Sangria Popsicles

Peach and Lavender Sangria Popsicles

A text came in from my mother the other week with a picture of my niece.  She was holding her first popsicle, which, not surprisingly, she was enjoying tremendously. It brought back such sweet childhood memories.  As a kid, I could eat those one after the next on a blistery summer day and never get tired of them.  Ones with pieces of fruit in them were pure perfection.  I'd plop down in front of the television and lick and chomp and slurp before it melted all over the floor.

One of the many fun treats that came out of my cookbook shoot from a few weeks ago was a popsicle maker. I'd been holding back on purchasing one, thinking that it was kind of lame and gimmicky. That was until, of course, I actually tried making my own... on a 90 + degree day. And how magnificent that first bite was. Eric and I immediately looked at each other and blurted out with big silly grins on our faces: boozy popsicles.  He suggested making a batch with sangria, which I thought was a fabulous idea. Instead of sweetening it with regular simple syrup, though, I decided to infuse them with some beautiful lavender my friend sent me from their trip to Hawaii.

There were a few points during the heat wave we experienced last week when these came in handy.  At five o'clock (or - ahem - maybe a little earlier than that), we'd get home and rush to the freezer.  Needless to say, I expect a few more batches will be prepared over the next month and a half.

Enjoy and stay cool everyone!

Peach and Lavender Sangria Popsicles

Peach and Lavender Sangria Popsicles

Peach and Lavender Sangria Popsicles

Peach and Lavender Sangria Popsicles

Servings
10-12 ice pops, depending on the size of the mold

Tools
Ice pop molds
Food processor
Whisk
Mixing Bowl
Pitcher

Ingredients

1 cup water
3 tablespoons dry lavender
1 cup sugar
2 ripe peaches
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
1 bottle of dry white wine

Instructions

1. Make the simple syrup by bringing the water and lavender to a boil in a pot.  Whisk in the sugar until fully dissolved.  Reduce the heat to a simmer and let cook for another 5 minutes.  Remove from heat and let steep for another 30 minutes.  Once it has cooled, strain the syrup.

2. While the syrup is cooling, peel one ripe peach and cut it into large pieces.  Place the peach into the bowl of a food processor along with the orange juice.  Puree until blended smooth.

3. Transfer the peach mixture to a pitcher. Add the white wine and 1/2 cup lavender simple syrup.  Stir to combine.

4. Thinly slice the remaining, unpeeled peach.  Place three peach slices inside the cup of each popsicle mold.  Fill each mold with the sangria and put in the freezer until frozen.

Apricot and Cherry Crumble

Apricot and Cherry Crumble

“All men are created equal. Now matter how hard they try, they can never erase those words. That is what America is about.” - Harvey Milk

How far we've come.

Last week, when the Supreme Court announced it's decision to strike down DOMA and to allow same-sex marriages to resume in California, I sat at my computer, stunned.   I wasn't exactly speechless.  In fact, I screamed so loud I'm pretty sure our neighbors heard me. I hadn't expected to be so emotional, but it hit me hard.  As much as we've tried to tell ourselves that our marriage (which took place four years ago on June 20th)... our love... our life... was no different than anyone else's, DOMA was always there to point out that it wasn't real.  At least that's how it felt... and it hurt terribly.

When the decision came in, I knew we had to do something to celebrate.  Maybe lobster and champagne. Something decadent.  I spent the afternoon buying groceries to prepare a nice meal.  By the time Eric got home from work that evening, I had the table decorated with wine glasses, cheese and cut up rounds of baguette. As he entered the kitchen, I rushed over and threw my arms around him.  "We're married... again!" I said. He laughed and gave me a kiss.  "Yay," he replied. "Now let's pop open some vino!"

Apricot and Cherry Crumble

Apricot and Cherry Crumble

Apricot and Cherry Crumble

Apricot and Cherry Crumble

Apricot and Cherry Crumble

Servings 6-8

Ingredients

For the filling 2 pounds apricots, pits removed 1 cup pitted cherries, sliced in half 1/4 cup sugar 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg Juice of 1/2 a lemon

For the topping 1 cup all-purpose flour 1 cup sugar 1/4 cup sliced almonds 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 1 stick unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled

Vanilla ice cream Lemon verbena, optional

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

2. Using 1 tablespoon of butter or cooking spray, grease a 9 inch glass pie plate.

3. Place the apricot and cherries into a large bowl, toss with sugar, flour and nutmeg and spread across the pie plate.  Drizzle the lemon juice over fruit.

4. In another bowl, add the dry ingredients for the topping.  Using a fork, mix the topping ingredients while drizzling the butter in, until it begins to come together. Sprinkle the topping over the fruit and pat it down until it has completely covers the pan.

5. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the top has turned a slightly golden-brown.  Serve warm with vanilla ice cream topped with fresh lemon verbena.