This past weekend was a whirlwind of activity, much of which required favors being received and thank yous being doled out in spades. Buying a couch, borrowing a friend’s truck, asking a neighbor to help move said couch, etc, all warranted more than just a verbal acknowledgment, so I of course baked some delicious treats as an extra thank-you.

Snickerdoodles (which by the way, is the most fun cookie name ever) are one of those easy, but special things to make and eat. You don’t see them often enough at bakeries or coffee shops, despite the fact they’re delicious, simple, and can last for days if properly stored. I had been craving them the past few weeks and then suddenly they popped up in my Martha Stewart Cookie-a-Day newsletter. C’est parfait!

These are insanely good eaten warm so I recommend either eating them fresh from the oven (which believe me, I did… in great quantities) or microwaving the cookies for 15 seconds before devouring. Don’t worry, the amount of fat in the dough prevents them from drying out. It’s a good thing.

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Snickerdoodles

Based on the recipe from Martha Stewart.

Makes about 5 dozen cookies (I used a half-ounce cookie scoop).

Ingredients

• 2¾ cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• ¾ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1¾ cups sugar
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 2 large eggs

Directions

1.) Preheat oven to 400° F with rack set in center of oven. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

2.) In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or with a hand mixer), beat together 1½ cups of the sugar and butter until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs and beat until just combined, then with the mixer running, slowly add the dry ingredients until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix once more.

3.) In a small bowl, combine the remaining ¼ cup sugar and cinnamon. Using a half-ounce scoop, scoop the dough into small balls and roll in the cinnamon-sugar until well coated. Place 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheet and bake until spread and crackled, but not too done – only about 8-10 minutes. Cool on wire racks but eat while still warm.

© Jessica J. for jonesing for..., 2010. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: cookies, dessert, spicy, sweet

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Happy Oscar Sunday!

Just a quick post before the festivities start. Here’s a special treat to make for the ceremony tonight, using items I always have in my fridge and pantry. Spicy-salty popcorn you’ll eat handful after handful of, and not even feel that guilty about since I go easy on the oil.

Enjoy the awards tonight – and go “Inglourious Basterds” and Kathryn Bigelow!

Parmesan & Black Pepper Popcorn

Based on the recipe from CHOW.

Ingredients

• 4 cups air-popped popcorn
• 1 tablespoon melted butter (or a healthier alternative is to use a Misto oil sprayer filled with olive oil)
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• ½ teaspoon fine table salt

Directions

1.) Top hot popcorn with melted butter (or spray with oil) and toss with other ingredients. Serve hot.

© Jessica J. for jonesing for..., 2010. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: salty, savory, snack

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I feel like I write this a lot on here, but these were a going-away treat for another coworker who left to pursue other ventures. Unlike most of my former coworkers however, Robbie left to pursue something extra awesome: becoming a full-time chocolatier. I found out only in the past couple months after he gave me a sample of his very own single origin bean-to-bar formula, which was delicious and just so, well, cool. People don’t realize just how insanely labor intensive it is to create chocolate – let alone in an apartment kitchen, but Robbie outlines it quite well on his blog, Chocolate Baar.

Baking for someone who creates their own chocolate… well, it’s a little intimidating. You can go two routes – try to be über impressive and froufrou going over the top, or celebrating something simple and classic. Robbie said his favorite things were simple treats, like chocolate chip cookies, so I knew classic was the way to go. And a craving for marshmallow squares sealed the deal.

I jazzed these up by using really, really good chocolate (sadly not Robbie’s – but Askinosie has the same eco-conscious single-origin mindset, which is wonderful) and playing with salty-sweet by sprinkling chopped salted cashews and honey roasted peanuts on top. So I suppose you could say I combined the two previously mentioned categories. It’s a classic simple dessert in a frilly dress, which honestly, are the best kind of treats (in my opinion).

Puffed rice.

Mallows!

Sticky sweet.

CHOCOLATE.

Honey roasted peanuts, pre-chop.

This plate was from Turkey, 1963.

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Salty Sweet Marshmallow Squares

Makes one 9×13 baking dish full (cut into however many you like!)

This is a fun treat to customize and play with, so just add your own spin! (Like say, stirring peanut butter into the cereal mix before putting it into the pan or sprinkling cocoa nibs over the top.. oooh..)

Ingredients

• 5½ cups puffed rice cereal
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for greasing the dish
• 5 cups mini marshmallows (or 1 jar marshmallow fluff)
• 7-8 ounces very good semi-sweet chocolate (65% or higher, I like Askinosie’s San Jose Del Tambo 70% bar)
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• ½ cup salted cashews, chopped fine
• ½ cup honey roasted peanuts, chopped fine

Directions

1.) Butter a 9×13″ baking dish and set aside.

2.) Heat a large saucepan over medium heat and add the butter. Once melted, add the marshmallows and stir occasionally until dissolved. Remove from the heat and stir in the cereal. Once eveyrthing is mixed together, pour into the prepared dish. Using either a buttered rubber scraper or your hands which have been sprayed with non-stick spray, pat the marshmallow mixture down into the dish evenly.  Let cool to room temperature (at least 2 hours) on a cooling rack.

3.) Once cooled, prepare the topping. Melt the chocolate and cream either in a pot on the stove or in the microwave in 15-second bursts, stirring in between. Once the chocolate is silky smooth, drizzle over the marshmallow squares. Sprinkle with prepared chopped nuts and then let sit for a few hours in the fridge until the chocolate sets. Bring to room temperature and then cut into however many servings you like.

© Jessica J. for jonesing for..., 2010. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: chocolate, dessert, sweet

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This all started innocently enough. I had just seen “Crazy Heart” and after watching Jeff Bridges make “Bad Blake’s Legendary Biscuits,” I had a hankering I couldn’t ignore. So I turned to my usual goddess of southern cooking, Edna Lewis, and followed her recipe. Unfortunately… this happened:

Wah wah wahhhhhh. They don’t look too good do they? They tasted alright, but obviously they’re small, flat, and well, not very biscuit-y. Every recipe can’t be a winner, even from a trusted cook or source, but you can’t let it get you down. So, like with any challenge, I began to research and play with recipes. Butter vs. shortening, salt amounts, homemade baking powder vs. store-bought. And as always, altitude challenges. Finally, four rounds later, I made these gorgeous things today:

Victory! They taste even better than they look, too. I ended up using salted butter (just gave better flavor), homemade baking powder (from Edna), and just the right ratios to make sure they rose nice and proper here in the mountains. Nice crisp top and bottom, airy and moist on the inside, just begging to be slathered in more butter and strawberry jam.

Nice shaggy dough mess.

Ignore my chicken scratch.

Ready to bake!

White on white on white.

Golden brown.

I recently acquired this huge box of plates from an elderly couple who passed away. They traveled for 40+ years and got a plate from every place they went including Egypt, Monaco, Australia, Jerusalem… they were a cool pair. This one is from Denmark and I now have a huge boxful with others like it, plus so many other neat styles/shapes.

Half buttered, half jam, please!

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Buttermilk Biscuits

Big ol’ note – I made this for high altitude and have no version for sea level. My suggestion is to play with it yourself, first by reducing the liquid and increasing the baking powder. Then just have fun!

Makes about 7-8 biscuits.

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 6 tablespoons salted butter
• 1 tablespoon homemade baking powder
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup buttermilk, plus extra for brushing

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 450° F with the rack set in the middle of the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the dry ingredients with the butter a few times until the butter is pea-sized. Pour everything into a mixing bowl and add the buttermilk. Stir until just combined.
3. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead 2 or 3 times. Roll out or pat the dough ½” thick. Using a 2-inch round cutter or anything else that’s 2 inches and round, stamp out biscuits as close together as possible. Transfer the biscuits to a baking sheet. Pat the dough scraps together and cut more biscuits until everything is used. Pierce the top of each biscuit 3 times with a fork.
4. When ready to bake, brush with extra buttermilk. Bake until golden brown, about 15-17 minutes. Serve immediately with jam and more butter, because it’s right.

© Jessica J. for jonesing for..., 2010. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: bread, breakfast, dough, savory, sidedish

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Okay, it’s not the most photogenic thing in the world, but trust me – the ugliest foods always taste the best.

My buddy Clif recently asked me about making green chile chili and ever since I gave my tips, I couldn’t get it out of my head. And then as I was cleaning out the seemingly bottomless cabinet of appliances I have under my sink, my crock pot was staring me in the face, practically glowing with the suggestion to use it.

So here is quite possibly the easiest recipe I have on the site so far – even easier than the 2-ingredient ‘ice cream’! Only one step! This is the greatest set it and forget it kind of meal, and it reheats superbly, which is exactly what I need right now. Thick and rich from the beans and their natural starch, plus packed with flavor from all the spices – it could be served on a cold winter’s day with hot cornbread, or a warm summer afternoon with chips and guacamole.

Freshly ground white pepper.

Cannelini beans.

Mise.

It just needs 8 hours of love.

One hearty spoonful.

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White Bean Chicken Chili

Makes 6 servings

I prefer thigh meat for anything like this because it just has so much more flavor than breast. Since there really isn’t any fat in the dish anyway, you don’t need to fret about the calories, but feel free to use white meat if you just don’t like the flavor. Also, I’ve recommended it before, but using your bulk bin spices (if available) for recipes like this is divine. I just don’t need green chile powder or celery salt that often, so only having to buy a teaspoon at a time is so wallet-friendly.

Ingredients

• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into pieces, trimmed of excess fat
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken stock or broth (or even water)
• 3 15-ounce cans cannelini or white beans of your choice, drained and rinsed
• ½ cup chopped freshly smoked green chile (or 1 4-oz can chopped green chiles)
• 1 large yellow onion (not sweet), roughly chopped
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and membrane removed, but not sliced
• 4 gloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp Mexican oregano (or regular oregano)
• 2 tsp green chile powder (or regular chili powder)
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin (or 2 tsp cumin leaves if you have them)
• 2½ tsp kosher salt
• ½ tsp celery salt
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp honey
• 2 tsp freshly ground white pepper

Directions

1.) Add everything to the crock pot, give it a stir, and set to low. Cook for 8-9 hours on low (5-6 on high), skimming fat occasionally (if you can) and towards the end, mash everything up a bit with a potato masher to thicken the chili. Taste for seasoning before serving.

© Jessica J. for jonesing for..., 2010. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: chicken, crock pot, soup

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