Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie

We gave Joe a cookbook for his birthday and this is the fourth recipe we've made. We ate 1/8 size pieces and found them quite filling so we'll likely serve smaller pieces if we eat some with ice cream.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie
adapted from this cookbook
9" pan, 350 degrees (metal pan), 50 minutes
Serves 8-12

Ingredients:
1 9" pie crust, unbaked
1/2 c. (1 stick) butter, softened
3/4 c. packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
2/3 c. flour
1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 c. chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions:
Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Cream the butter and sugar then add eggs and mix until light and fluffy.
Stir in the flour then stir in the chocolate chips and nuts.
Place pie crust in pan then pour and spread filling.
Bake 50 minutes and cover lightly with foil if pie becomes too brown.
Cool pie for at least 15 minutes before serving.

For a good, easy breakfast...

... if you have time enough till it's finished baking.

Bread Pudding

9x9 pan, greased
Loosely cover with foil and bake at 325 degrees, 60-75 minutes

bread, cubed enough to fill pan, not packed (about 1/2 loaf)

Mix in bowl:
4 Eggs
3 c. Milk

Add:
1/4 t. Salt
1/2 t. Cinnamon
1/4 t. Nutmeg
1/4 t. Salt
3/4 c. Brown Sugar
1/2 c. Raisins, optional, separated if sticky

Pour liquid over bread then press down to soak all the bread.
Make sure raisins are evenly distributed, more or less.
Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out dry.
Enjoy.

Marie's Scones (as requested)

I never thought I'd actually forget this recipe since I made these 5 days a week for nearly 5 years. At work at 5 am, sometimes 4:30, working alone in the quiet kitchen. Usually all of the scones were gone by 8 am so if you weren't in line when the doors opened, well, you could wait until tomorrow. Or, if it was Friday, you might have been lucky and found an orange-chocolate muffin instead.

With the understanding that all recipes are made for tinkering, here's the original (or at least my best recollection to-date):

Flour 2 c.
Sugar 1/2 c.
Baking Powder 1 T.
Salt 1 t.

Butter 4 oz. (1 stick)

Egg 1
Milk 3/4 c.
Raisins 1/4 c

Lightly grease baking sheet or use baking parchment paper.
Heat oven to 400°.

In one container, whisk egg(s) then add milk & raisins.
(for plump raisins, make this ahead and soak overnight)

In another mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients.
Cut in butter until the mixture looks like cornmeal.

Add wet to dry and stir/fold together.
Turn out on floured surface and knead just until dough forms smooth ball.

Make a round approximately 1/2" thick, then cut into 8 pieces.
Brush pieces w/ water (or egg) and gently sprinkle w/ sugar.
Place scones on pan and bake for about 13 1/2 minutes until lightly golden.

Eat immediately. If there are any remaining a day later, reheating in a toaster oven works best.

As for the tinkering, I suggest dried cherries, apricots, or a diced apple are all good substitutes for raisins. Maybe a little cinnamon or nutmeg or cloves. Chocolate chips, chopped almonds or walnuts. Endless options, really...

Sour Cream Chocolate Cake

My mom has been making this cake for nearly her whole life. And I believe my grandma was making it before then. Needless to say, it's a family favorite and when we're together it rarely stays in the pan more than 2 days. Even when we're not all together! Call us weird, but we like to have a piece in a bowl with milk. Personally, I only do that with this cake. Why? Good question. Habit? Genetics? Of course, in the interest of graciousness, I will still eat it if there is no milk available. Vanilla ice cream is always a good substitute.

Lest I bore you further...

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
(if you're not using a metal pan, reduce 25 degrees)
My experience is to bake 30 minutes in metal pan, 40 in glass.

Grease a 9 x 13 pan

Combine in mixing bowl:
2 c. flour
2 c. white sugar
1/2 c. cocoa powder
2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt

Combine the wet ingredients:
1 c. sour cream (light sour cream works too)
2 eggs
2 t. vanilla

Measure and reserve:
1 c. hot water

Make a "well" in the dry ingredients then add wet ingredients and the hot water. Mix with an electric hand mixer just until completely blended. Bake 30 to 40 minutes, depending on pan. Spread on the frosting when the cake is completely cooled. Serve, devour, and try to share.

I've also made this cake in two 8" round pans. You'll have to adjust the baking times accordingly.

Icing/Frosting for whole cake: (or buy ready made)
2 1/2 c. powdered sugar (sift out any lumps)
1/4 c. cocoa powder
3 T. butter, very soft, almost melted
1/2 t. vanilla
1/4 c. milk

Combine the first 4 ingredients, then pour in some of the milk and continue stirring the icing. If needed, add more milk, but just enough to keep the icing firm, but still spreadable.

Pizza Night

Enjoyed dinner with friends this evening. Bob fired up the brick oven to about 1000 degrees and we had home-made pizza, roasted veggies, fresh bread, and chocolate chip cookie bars. The pizza was done in about 5 minutes and this was a first for cookies in the oven, but it's hard to go wrong with chocolate chip cookies. Elaine made a platter of garden vegetables with feta cheese. Perfect. Joe even helped get the coals in place inside the oven. (don't tell mom!)

No-Knead Bread

Tried making it with 1/3 white flour and 1/8 c. more water.















All went well until turning the dough into the baking dish.

Not enough flour on the towel and the dough stuck.

The dough had nearly deflated by the time I managed to get it off the towel.















Not a bad result, though.

Next time, a little more flour on the towel and a little less baking time.

Loafing around

I've been passing around the no-knead bread recipe lately and Mark Bittman has an update with links to more easy recipes.

Speaking of baking...

In case you didn't already know, the New York Times has ended (yea!) it's fee-only access to archives and some articles. In case you didn't copy it down last November, now you can access this recipe - it's towards the end of the article. If you're a visual person, you can watch the video. It really is as easy as it sounds and the bread is delicious. Amaze your friends at your next potluck.

Indentured servant?

As Rhonna mentioned in an earlier post, I'm working part-time (about 3 hours a week) and we agreed that the money I earned would pay for a new oven. After saving a fair amount, I told her that I was only going to look and as I left the house I really meant it. Well, we found a deal that was really too good to pass up. After re-reading Consumer Reports, making several trips back to the store and a quick tour of Sears, we decided to go ahead and get the KitchenAid. See, it was last year's model and nearly 40% off and it has all the features I'd considered, but assumed would never actually be affordable (yes, convection). Before I continue I should mention what we had been using. It came with our house and was, quite literally, the basic of the basic - 4 burners, an oven, 5 dials (within easy reach of walking babies!), and two lights. That's it. Nothing else. To give it some credit, it did work, but after 8 years it was time for a change. Funny thing is, it's sort of inspired me to start baking - or at least make plans to. Rhonna brought home a great book from the library about sourdough breads. Now if I can just find the time, I'd love to try some of the recipes and I only have to work 20 more hours to pay the balance on the oven!