Chocolate Snow Tracks Cookies

It took me a long time -- a lot of experimenting and Internet searching -- to find out the secret to big, soft cookies. No matter what I did, my cookies would melt down and come out crispy and flat. Then I looked at the expiration date on my baking powder (yes, that was problem #1). Here are a combination of measures that together help cookies keep their shape in the oven:

1. Make sure your baking powder is fresh. You also might increase slightly the amount of baking powder. Here is a quick summary of the difference between baking soda and powder.  Note that the soda and powder react with acidic ingredients such as lemon juice, honey or buttermilk, which you can use as a substitute for part of the other sugars and oils in the recipe.
2. Start the recipe with the egg(s) and make sure they are well beaten before adding anything else. This brings air into the batter. Add the flour last, but fold it in rather than using a mixer.
3. Make sure the dough is cold when it goes into the oven (give it a few minutes in the freezer). The dough is also easier to work with when it's chilled.
4. Make sure the oven is hot enough -- 350 or 375 for most cookies.
5. To make cookies softer, add a small amount of milk. I've found that other oil and sugar substitutes such as honey, jam, yogurt and fruit juice also result in soft, chewy cookies.

...Finally, here's a recipe I made up for chocolate cookies with white chocolate and semi-sweet chips in the center:

Chocolate Snow Tracks

2 eggs
1 cup butter (2 sticks)
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 T milk or unsweetened soymilk
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
dash of nutmeg
2 1/2 cups flour

white chocolate chips
semi-sweet chocolate chips
powdered sugar, vanilla and water for icing

Beat eggs, mix in other ingredients, fold in flour. Chill dough until easy to shape without sticking. Place a small scoop of dough on greased cookie sheet. Make a thumbprint in the center and fill with a few of the white and semi-sweet chips (I used three of each). Cover the chips with another piece of dough and pinch sides together. Bake at 375 degrees for 9-11 minutes, remove and place on cooling rack. When the cookies have cooled for a few minutes, brush over top an icing mixture of powdered sugar, a few drops of vanilla and just enough water to dissolve the sugar and spread over cookies.

(Recipe by H. Farrell)

Winter Brunch

What better way to beat the cold and still enjoy the huge, wet snowflakes than a December morning brunch with friends? Turn on some Christmas music, plug in the lights and start baking.
Here's what was on the menu:

Pumpkin pancakes with maple pecan syrup

Scrambled eggs with herbs, tomatoes and spinach

Cucumber dill salad (recipe below, adapted from Best of Three and Four Ingredients)

Apple cranberry crisp (I loved the cranberries in this recipe from Voila With Emily)

Elma Çay (Turkish apple tea)

Cucumber dill salad
1 large English cucumber, thinly sliced
1 medium sweet onion, cut into strips
3/4 T dried dill weed (more if using fresh dill)
4-6 T apple cider vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Brunch: Garden scrambled eggs

My brunch guests said this was their favorite of the dishes, and it's very easy to make. I like adding vegetables to eggs to lighten up the dish. It also reminds me of breakfast in Turkey, which usually includes an egg and fresh-from-the-garden tomatoes and cucumbers.

Garden Scrambled Eggs

Beat 6 eggs together with some milk (or unsweetened soymilk), chopped sweet onion, rosemary, thyme and a little salt. Scramble the egg mixture in a skillet. When the eggs are almost done, add a big handful of baby spinach and continue stirring. When the spinach starts to wilt, add a chopped tomato to the pan. Stir for a minute or less and serve.

(Recipe by H. Farrell)

Brunch: Pumpkin pancakes with maple pecan syrup

These pancakes are soft and dense, full of flavor and great for a winter brunch. 

Pumpkin pancakes with maple pecan syrup

For the pancakes:
1 egg
1 T oil
1 T agave nectar
1/3 cup plain yogurt
1/3 cup unsweetened apple sauce 
3/4 cup pumpkin* 
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 T ground flaxseed meal
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
*either flavor plain pumpkin with pumpkin pie spices and a little agave nectar, or add spices (ex: cinnamon, cloves, allspice, nutmeg, ginger) to pancake mixture.

Beat egg and mix in all ingredients. The mixture will be very thick -- add water a little at a time until the batter can be poured into small pancakes in a skillet.

For the syrup:
1 cup plain yogurt
2 tsp agave nectar
2 T maple syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla
4-5 T chopped pecan pieces

Mix all ingredients together and serve over warm pancakes (chill syrup if not using right away).

(Recipe by H. Farrell)

Cornbread with Apples

Cornbread with Apples

1 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup flour (I used whole wheat)
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
2 T sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup apple sauce (unsweetened)
2/3 cup beer
2 T oil
1 egg, beaten
3 cups apples, chopped
1/2 T molasses
cinnamon to taste

Mix together all ingredients except apples and molasses. In a separate bowl, mix apples with cinnamon and molasses and arrange on bottom of a greased square baking dish. Pour cornbread mixture over the apples and bake at 425 degrees for about 20 min or until toothpick comes out clean.

(Recipe by H. Farrell)