C'mon Irene!

Here in New York, we had many days to anticipate the coming of Hurricane Irene. Well, she was big and she was slow. Thankfully, the Upper West Side never lost power, which meant I could bake up my own storm! So with the hurricane anthem "C'mon Eileen Irene" playing constantly in my head, I came up with these tasty "Hurricane Cookies." I figured that it's better to be safe than sorry, so for these survival cookies I threw pretty much everything but the kitchen sink in the mixing bowl. The great thing about these cookies is that you can toss any sweet/salty snack in the cookie dough, so get creative! Not sure I could have lived off of these cookies if we had lost power, but they're all I've eaten today so who knows....(For my co-workers, you get to enjoy these on Tuesday.) 

Hurricane Cookies
INGREDIENTS

These are the add-inns I chose....

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375° F. In small bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. Cover two baking sheets with parchment paper or baking liners and set aside. 

2. Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugars until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until fully incorporated. Add in vanilla extract. 

3. Slowly beat in flour mixture. Stir in peanut butter chips, chocolate chips, corn flakes and chopped pretzels. Use a small ice cream scoop to make even sized dough balls. Place onto baking sheets, leaving at least 1 1/2 inches between each ball.
4. Bake for 11 minutes or until golden brown around the edges and just set in the middle. Cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes.

Yay! Cookies!

Eloise!

Recently, I was lucky enough to make a baby shower cake based on the adorably adventurous Eloise. Eloise at the Plaza was one of my favorites when I was a little girl, so I hope this cake awoke some childhood nostalgia in the women attending the shower. Looking back at these books, I realized how incredible Hilary Knight's illustrations are. I wish I could have translated more of her illustrative style into the cake, but I still love the way it came out.


I also created mini dark chocolate covered pretzel gift bags for the attendants! I think I ate at least half of the first batch I made. Luckily, my wonderful friend Marney helped me perfect these tasty treats. If you don't want to bother with tempering the chocolate, just melt the chocolate in a double boiler and add a tablespoon of shortening to every 12 ounces of chocolate (It makes for a smooth and shiny coat!)

Pretzel Time!

Theres been so much hype around soft pretzels lately, and really I can't complain! Homemade soft pretzels are one of the tastiest treats around and I welcome the trend with open arms. When perfected, they are blistery & crunchy on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside. They showcase the perfect blend of sweet and salty flavors, with a hint of tangy bitterness. I've been making soft pretzels for a while, but recently my friend Justin recommended using Rye flour to add more depth to the recipe. I gave the Rye flour a shot, and although they had that delicious rye flavor, I found them to be denser than the traditional pretzels. If you want to add a rich, hearty rye flavor to your pretzel recipe, substitute 1 cup of rye flour for the white flour. Luckily for New Yorkers, this trend has homemade pretzels popping up all over the city. Sigmund Pretzel Shop makes the perfect pretzel, but when you can't get there, FOOD & WINE magazine has given you all the tips and tricks you need to create the perfect soft pretzel. Check it out here.

There's been some argument about using lye vs. baking soda. Obviously, if you can get your hands on lye, there is nothing better. But, I used baking soda in this recipe and found that they were delicious!

SOFT PRETZELS

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups warm water

1 envelope active dry yeast

1/3 cup light brown sugar

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

(or 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour and 1 cup rye flour)

10 cups cold water

1/2 cup baking soda

Kosher salt or pretzel salt

Mustard, for serving

DIRECTIONS

1. In a medium sized bowl, empty the envelope of yeast. Add the 1 1/2 cups of warm water along with the brown sugar and swirl to dissolve the sugar. Add the flour and mix until incorporated and a firm dough forms.

2. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for 10 minutes. Cover with plastic and a damp cloth and let rest for 45 minutes to an hour. While the dough is rising, butter a large baking sheet and preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

3. Cut the dough into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece of dough into a 15-inch-long rope. To form pretzels, shape each rope into a U; cross the two sides of the U over each other, twist and press the ends down on the pretzel. Arrange the pretzels on the buttered baking sheet about 1-inch apart. Let the pretzels rest for 15 minutes.

4. In a large stockpot, bring the water to a boil. Add the baking soda. Carefully slide 2 of the pretzels into the boiling water and boil for 30 seconds, turning once. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the pretzels to paper towel to blot off any excess water. Transfer to the buttered baking sheet and sprinkle lightly with salt. Repeat with the remaining pretzels.

5. Bake on the upper rack of the oven for about 15 minutes, or until browned all over; Rotate the pan halfway through, for even baking. Serve warm or at room temperature, and don't forget the mustard!

 

The 15 minutes of baking is when my dogs begin to show some real interest in trying a pretzel. (Take note of the drool)