My Grandma Conn was a bundle of energy; my brothers and I nicknamed her "Hyper Harriet". She had a long and healthy life, living to age 94, married 67 years and always surrounded by friends. One of those friends, a German woman named Hulda, gave my grandma one of my favorite cookie recipes: Bruna Kakor. They are a deceptively simple sugar cookie, and since they are patted into large rectangles and sliced into strips after baking, simple to prepare as well. When I serve them at parties, people don't tend to immediately gravitate to them - they are not flashy, they have no frosting or sprinkles - but once tasted, the plate quickly empties. You can find the recipe for Bruna Kakor here.
There is no special story about another favorite cookie of mine: I found it on the back of a package of butterscotch chips. With all the nut allergies out there, nut cookies have fallen out of favor, but when I serve this recipe to my pecan-eating friends, they fall in love just like I did. I must credit Guittard with coming up with this delicious flavor combination! The recipe is here.
Brownies are one of the simplest treats to make, and one of the recipes we prepare in my beginner classes. A few years ago, I ran a brownie taste-test at my husband's office, baking three pans of brownies: Pillsbury, Ghirardelli and homemade (adding chips to the Pillsbury recipe so all would be the same). When I called my husband at work to see how the taste test was going, he sent me a photo. The Pillsbury pan was barely touched, the Ghirardelli pan was about half-eaten and only a couple of crumbs were left of the homemade. When the votes were counted later, over 75% voted the homemade best, with most of the remaining votes for the Ghiradelli and one lone vote for Pillisbury. It's worth noting that the homemade brownies can be prepared in one bowl (just like the box), have only three more ingredients than the box and might take 3-4 minutes longer. There are probably fancier homemade brownie recipes out there, but for simple chocolate fudge goodness, this one is wonderful, and the recipe is here. One note, because they have so much butter, they are not a good choice for outdoor summer gatherings. Chill before slicing.
Finally, I just recently came upon a recipe for "Compost Cookies". I'm not sure if the name comes from the large and strange list of ingredients, or from the ground coffee that gives them a compost-like look, but they are incredibly tasty. Developed by the Momofuku restaurant in New York and adapted from the blog Table for Two, you can try the recipe here.
Everyone loves a sweet treat now and then; the next time you "need" a batch of cookies, why not try something new?
There is no special story about another favorite cookie of mine: I found it on the back of a package of butterscotch chips. With all the nut allergies out there, nut cookies have fallen out of favor, but when I serve this recipe to my pecan-eating friends, they fall in love just like I did. I must credit Guittard with coming up with this delicious flavor combination! The recipe is here.
Brownies are one of the simplest treats to make, and one of the recipes we prepare in my beginner classes. A few years ago, I ran a brownie taste-test at my husband's office, baking three pans of brownies: Pillsbury, Ghirardelli and homemade (adding chips to the Pillsbury recipe so all would be the same). When I called my husband at work to see how the taste test was going, he sent me a photo. The Pillsbury pan was barely touched, the Ghirardelli pan was about half-eaten and only a couple of crumbs were left of the homemade. When the votes were counted later, over 75% voted the homemade best, with most of the remaining votes for the Ghiradelli and one lone vote for Pillisbury. It's worth noting that the homemade brownies can be prepared in one bowl (just like the box), have only three more ingredients than the box and might take 3-4 minutes longer. There are probably fancier homemade brownie recipes out there, but for simple chocolate fudge goodness, this one is wonderful, and the recipe is here. One note, because they have so much butter, they are not a good choice for outdoor summer gatherings. Chill before slicing.
Finally, I just recently came upon a recipe for "Compost Cookies". I'm not sure if the name comes from the large and strange list of ingredients, or from the ground coffee that gives them a compost-like look, but they are incredibly tasty. Developed by the Momofuku restaurant in New York and adapted from the blog Table for Two, you can try the recipe here.
Everyone loves a sweet treat now and then; the next time you "need" a batch of cookies, why not try something new?
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