[Cookie 099] Coconut Swirl Brownies

So now that I'm back in America, I'm eatin' all the foods I really missed while in Ghana and trying to get over my obsession with Waakye. When it comes to baking, I'm really glad to be back because it was impossible to find the right ingredients without paying an arm and a leg, but more importantly, baking in 95º weather isn't really so hot (pun intended! see what i did there?). But the longer I'm here in NYC and the more I get readjusted, the more I miss the little things that I had every day while in Accra. For one, plantains. And coconut. Good god, getting a fresh, young coconut on the side of the street from a guy who would chop it open for less than 35 cents was pretty unbeatable. Also, condensed milk. Strange, I know, but they aren't really all that into fresh milk there (I think this is pretty common in most non-Western cultures actually...I think us Westerners are the weird ones drinking another animal's baby food). Anyway, I got really into putting condensed milk in my morning coffee. So of course when I came across this recipe for Coconut Swirl Brownies with condensed milk, I knew I had to make it for our first Ghana reunion!

Now, if I was able to buy chocolate more easily and cheaply while in Ghana, I most definitely would have made these in an instant. I had the strongest craving for brownies while I was there (and I wasn't the only one, fyi), but I think West Africa exports most their cocoa products, so the only chocolate you could get was super expensive imported Western brands like Cadbury and I just couldn't afford that ish!

But these brownies would have been so worth it. They are super fudgy, dense, and chocolatey--not dry at all. And the swirls of coconut/condensed-milk goodness are just awesome. Everyone liked them at the little reunion we had. They made me so popular. I am happier now having made these. Soooooo....I'm not trying to suggest anything about your own popularity....but......ya know, if you're feeling a little lonely, these brownies could keep you warm at night. Happy belated Valentines Day.

P.S. Thanks so much to all of you who gave me such great recommendations, tips, and recipes regarding biscotti! I'll be sure to use them for the next biscotti recipe.

Coconut Swirl Brownies

Makes 9 large or 16 small brownies

Ingredients

1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, plus more for pan

3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar

1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk

2/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

1 large egg white

2 1/4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped

4 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

2/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon coarse salt

3 large eggs

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a buttered 8-inch square baking pan with parchment, allowing a 2-inch overhang. Butter lining (not overhang).

Stir together 1 tablespoon of sugar, the condensed milk, coconut, egg white, and 1/4 teaspoon of the vanilla in a bowl.

Put butter and both chocolates in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water; stir until melted. Let cool slightly.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.

Whisk remaining 3/4 cup sugar into chocolate mixture. Add eggs; whisk until mixture is smooth. Stir in remaining 2 teaspoons vanilla. Add flour mixture; stir until well combined.

Pour 1/3 of chocolate batter into prepared pan. Spread evenly with an offset spatula. Drop dollops of coconut mixture (about 1 tablespoon each) on top of batter, spacing about 1 inch apart. Drizzle remaining batter on top, and gently spread to fill pan. Drop dollops of remaining coconut mixture on top.

Gently swirl coconut mixture into batter with a butter knife, running the knife lengthwise and crosswise through layers. Bake until a cake tester inserted into brownies (avoid center and edges) comes out with a few crumbs but is not wet, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool slightly in pan, about 15 minutes. Lift out; let cool completely on a wire rack before cutting into squares. Brownies can be stored between layers of parchment in an airtight container at room temperature up to 2 days.

****

{End Results}
Baking Difficultly: 3/5
Ingredient Accessibility: 3.5/5
Tastiness: 4.5/5
Attractiveness: 4/5
Is it worth it?: Yeah. Seriously, this is a brownie's brownie!

{Pairings}

Drink: Milk, duh. Whaddya some kinda idiot?

Song: Aben wo aha -- Daddy Lumba (this one is worth watching/hearing!)
Activity: Uh, I dunno, figure it out.

[Cookie 086] Baci di Dama

Oh guys, it's taking every ounce of strength in me to not turn this post into a sob story about the best summer ever coming to a close, but I will keep my strength. It is difficult and a little painful. Same goes for these cookies--Baci di Dama. Baci di Dama is italian for "lady's kisses," how apt. Though, let's get real: they look a little bit like poops. Haha sorry, sorry...is anyone still reading this? Whatever, let's just think of them as the cookie sisters to Hershey's kisses. Unfortunately, the baked incarnation of this phrase is far more tedious and frustrating than actual lady's kisses, but what can you do.

Traditionally, Baci di Dama are made with hazelnuts I believe, but this recipe uses almonds. Once again I used almond meal instead of almonds that I ground up myself, and this time I think I should have ground them myself. The dough was a little too thick, which in part might have been because of how I whipped the egg whites, but also because the almond meal I was using is rather coarse.

Here's a question for all you meringue pros: after whipping the egg whites to stiff, glossy peaks, whenever I add the sugar, the mixture gets very sticky, heavy, and gunky. And as a result, I think my cookies aren't as light and airy as they could be. Remember the Hazelnut Cookies of yore? Same problem. I'd love any advice you guys have to give! Granted, this recipe does specifically state that the batter should be thick and sticky, but I still think I could get the cookies to be a tad lighter in the end.

Alright, so after you make the dough, you pipe it out into a bunch of kisses onto your cookie sheet and baked them. Tedious tedious tedious. But not so bad. Here's the bigger issue: Martha tells you to make the kisses have a little mound, or peak, at the top (like a Hershey's kiss, sorta), but that makes the whole procedure that follows quite difficult. You see, you make this ganache and are supposed to sandwich it between two cookies, but with the peaks--kisses, if you will--it becomes nearly impossible to stand them up in a way that will let the ganache set. If you lay them sideways, the top cookie slides off and the ganache oozes everywhere into a mess. So I tried to wedge the peaks of the cookies between the grates on my cooling rack, but it still sucked. And plus, the ganache really refuses to set unless you refrigerate the cookies, which doesn't really help their texture much in the long run. Not impressed, Martha.

So I managed to make a million or so of these cookies and only had three mental breakdowns in the process. I wouldn't really mind though if the cookies were totally delicious in the end, but they weren't. They just tasted "meh." I'm sure you can buy some really fantastic Baci di Dama in Little Italy or at some Italian bakery somewhere, but this recipe isn't worth all the effort it requires.

I'll just tell it to you straight: I wouldn't recommend making these cookies. They don't really look that gorgeous when complete (even in the picture in the book), they don't really taste that great, and therefore they aren't really worth spending an entire afternoon swearing and sweating. Just hand out some real kisses instead--they'll be appreciated more, by both the receiver and the giver.

xoxo

Baci di Dama

Makes about 1 1/2 dozen (but I got way way more)

Ingredients

Cookies

2 large egg whites

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder, sifted

6 1/4 ounces (1 1/2 cups) medium-finely ground blanched almonds

• Filling

1/2 teaspoon solid vegetable shortening

4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, melted

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment.

Make cookies: Place egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on high until egg whites form stiff peaks. Add the sugar slowly; continue beating until egg whites are very thick, 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in cocoa until combined. Stir in almonds; mix until completely blended. Batter should be quite thick and sticky.

Transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2 inch round tip (such as Ateco #806). Pipe teaspoon-size, peaked mounds onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing about 2 inches apart.

Bake until slightly cracked, 15 to 17 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Let cool on sheets several minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Making filling: In a small bowl, combine shortening and melted chocolate. Spoon about 1/2 teaspoon of chocolate onto flat side of cookie; place another cookie on top. Press together gently so chocolate oozes out slightly. Return cookie to wire rack to set; repeat with remaining cookies. Cookies can be stored between layers of parchment in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.

****

{End Results}
Baking Difficultly: 4.5/5
Ingredient Accessibility: 4/5
Tastiness: 2/5
Attractiveness: 3/5
Is it worth it?: No.

{Pairings}

Drink: I think these would go nicely with an espresso, something small to go with their size.

Song: I Learned the Hard Way -- Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings Probably the best song that's come out this year.
Activity: Skip baking these and go give out some of your own lady kisses.

[Cookie 061] Chocolate Mint Sandwiches

Remember when I mentioned last week about the craziness that is Dean & Deluca? Well, I still stand by everything I said (and today I plan to head on over there and buy a little something called Sir Francis Bacon's Chocolate Covered Peanut Bacon Brittle--don't judge me), but I also mentioned that they sell Chocolate Mint Sandwiches in a set of 27 for $65. And that I have a recipe for you to make your own. And that we can all put 2 and 2 together and realize that this will probably save us a penny or two, right?

Now, in theory, I would think that no amount of physical labor and/or exquisite Valrhona chocolate could ever justify a price like that at...well...anywhere, but truth be told, I would need some substantial compensation in order to make these guys again. They were very tasty, chocolatey and super minty, but they actually took quite a bit of effort.

Let me elaborate, oui? Making the dough--a total breeze, no big deal. But things got a little sticky (pun...intended) during the rolling and re-rolling of the dough. This stuff does not want to leave the warm comfort of your cutting board. It coils itself tightly around your rolling pin like a boa constrictor around an innocent and unsuspecting daschund. No amount of powdered sugar or flour will allow your rolling pin free reign over the sticky expanse of dough. Really, I tried.

So, seeing as I was working with my dad, Fix-It Man 2010, he suggested that we abandon the rolling pins (we tried every variety that we owned, all to no avail) and use our bare hands instead. So we pressed down on this metaphorical boa constrictor (I should abandon that metaphor I think...) wherever we saw lumps and bumps, and eventually got it thin enough to work with. Unfortunately this meant less than perfect cookies, because the dough was never uniformly thin, but what can you do! Gotta make it work once you've already invested a couple sticks of butter and about 30 pounds of cocoa.

Side tangent: We had leftover ganache, so we thought, "Hey! Minty hot cocoa anyone? Hell yes!"

It didn't work. As you can see. Good try, though.

Pressing on (har har), we began to cut circles of dough out. Obviously, this wasn't too simple either considering that the dough had seeped about halfway through the thickness of our wooden cutting board. But we ended up with enough circles to make quite a few sandwiches.

After baking the cookies, you fill the centers with the minty filling--which is easy--and the you let them dry. Make sure you stick them in the fridge for that so they can be easily dipped into the ganache later. Yep, that's about it. It's a fun recipe if you ignore the trials of rolling the dough, so I still suggest you try it if you're feeling feisty! Plus, they are a chocolate lover's dream come true. So dense. So dark. So rich, minty, indulgent, awesome, make them, bake them, do it, I compel you.

And when you're done, maybe you'll be more likely to spend $65 on some more. Or maybe you won't. But maybe you'll understand. Or maybe you won't. I still don't. Whatever.

Chocolate Mint Sandwiches

Makes 3 dozen

Ingredients

• FOR THE COOKIES
• 1 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• Confectioners' sugar, for work surface
• FOR THE GANACHE
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 6 ounces semisweet chocolate, very finely chopped
• 3/4 teaspoon pure peppermint extract
• FOR THE GLAZE
• 6 ounces semisweet chocolate, very finely chopped

Directions

1. Make cookies: Whisk together cocoa powder and flour in a bowl. Put butter and granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in egg until well blended. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Divide dough in half, and shape each half into a disk; wrap in plastic. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour (or overnight).
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Transfer dough to a work surface lightly dusted with confectioners' sugar. Roll out dough to 1/8 inch thick. Cut out cookies using a 2-inch round cookie cutter; space 1/2 inch apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Repeat with remaining scraps of dough. Bake cookies until firm, rotating sheets halfway through, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool completely on sheets on wire racks.
3. Meanwhile, make ganache: Bring cream to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add chocolate. Cook, stirring constantly until chocolate is smooth. Stir in peppermint extract. Let cool slightly, 10 to 15 minutes.
4. Spoon 1 teaspoon ganache onto the bottom of 1 cookie; sandwich with another cookie. Repeat with remaining cookies and ganache. Refrigerate until firm, about 10 minutes.
5. Make glaze: Melt chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, stirring constantly. Let cool slightly. Dip one flat side of each sandwich into melted chocolate to coat; gently shake off excess. Place sandwiches, chocolate sides up, on wire racks set over baking sheets. Refrigerate until set, about 15 minutes. Cookies can be refrigerated in a single layer in airtight containers up to 2 days.

****

{End Results}
Baking Difficultly: 4/5
Ingredient Accessibility: 4/5
Tastiness: 3/5
Attractiveness: 4.5/5
Is it worth it?: I don't really think it's worth the effort involved, but hey, what does it matter what I think anyway?

{Pairings}
Drink: Dark chocolate cookie = milk. You should know this by now.

Song: One Piece at a Time -- Johnny Cash
Activity: Assembly line. Imagine: get all your friends in the kitchen, one person bakes, one fills, one sandwiches, one glazes. Bada-bing bada-boom! You are Dean & Deluca!

[Cookie 056] Rum Balls

Howdy! I'm excited to bring you today's recipe: Rum Balls. Why, you ask? Because every time I would open up The Book (which is in horrendous shape now, if you were curious) during the month of December, it would fall open to page 270--and facing me would be a big color photo of these sparkly rum balls. One of the Rum Balls in the photo is sliced in half and looks a lot like bologna or salami or some sort of bejeweled meatball, which only made me want to make this recipe even more.

So what better day to make these alcohol-infused truffle-like treats than on my 20th birthday, as a way to begin the countdown to my 21st birthday (when every cookie will be soaked in hard liquor whether the recipe says so or not--kidding, Mom, lolz!!!1). Anyway, this was at the very beginning of that big snow storm that the east coast got a few weeks ago, so I was very excited to be livin' the life and baking cookies as the snow was falling outside my window and I was listening to some early Beatles' music. Good stuff.

And clean-up is such a breeze! No need to bust out your ShamWow!

Oh and to top it all off, I got to use my new birthday present: A Cuisinart hand-mixer...in BRIGHT RED. So yeah, I was rockin out, doin' my thang, whiskin' a little of this, mixin' a little of that. All in all, feeling pretty bad ass, as I usually do.

Unfortunately, because this isn't really a cookie recipe in the traditional sense, I didn't get to test out my hand mixer as I intend to use it (meaning, I didn't get to try it out on make some sort of hefty cookie dough). Instead, I only used it to whisk up the eggs for the brownie batter, and I think that it was a little too powerful for that simple job, seeing as I nearly wallpapered my kitchen with egg yolk 3 seconds after turning the mixer on. Okay, you can bust out the ShamWow now. Ah, with time I shall master you, dear Cuisinart Mixer, and then you'll know who's boss.

But enough about me and my power struggles with kitchen appliances, let me tell you about this recipe. It's really a lot of fun to make, very hands-on, so probably great to do with kids (but I really wouldn't know, because I have absolutely no interaction with anyone under the age of 18, and I'm totally happy keeping it that way). The only baking involved is making a very very thin layer of brownies which you then tear up and reform into a ball of dough, with the help of the rum to hold it all together.

Then, once you have a huge ball of chocolatey, rummy goodness, you roll individual balls in coarse sanding sugar (I used turbinado sugar) and refrigerate. Be sure to refrigerate, because if you eat them right after rolling them in the sugar the rum is so powerful that they taste like a shot of Rum with a slight aftertaste of chocolate. Post-refrigeration, however, they are awesome.

Yes, they're good way to celebrate, that's for sure. Perfect for a New Year's Eve party...hello 2011!! Futuristic! Yeah, I'm laughing now, but it will be here before you know it, and then it will be 2012, and then the world will be destroyed by tsunamis or giant spiders and there will be no more cookies. But until then, make these Rum Balls and enjoy their intense chocolate-rum flavor and their awesome soft-yet-crunchy texture. They rock. They're glamorous. Glam Rock cookies. Or Pirate cookies, because of the Rum. Either way...Rock on, mates!

Rum Balls

Makes 4 dozen

Ingredients

• Vegetable oil cooking spray
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 6 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons dark rum
• Coarse sanding sugar, for rolling

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350. Coat a 12-by-17-inch rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray; set aside. Melt butter and chocolate in a small heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, stirring occasionally. Set aside.
2. Whisk together eggs, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt in a large bowl. Stir in chocolate mixture, then fold in flour. Pour batter into prepared baking sheet. Spread evenly with a rubber spatula. Bake until top is shiny and a cake tester inserted into center comes out with some crumbs attached, about 10 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack.
3. Break up brownie into small pieces; transfer to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. With machine on low speed, pour in rum, and mix until crumbs start to come together to form a ball.
4. Shape into 1-inch balls, and roll in sanding sugar to coat. Transfer to a baking sheet; refrigerate, uncovered, until cold, about 2 hours. Serve chilled or at room temperature. Rum balls can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 1 week.

****

{End Results}
Baking Difficultly: 2/5
Ingredient Accessibility: 3/5 (Depends on your age/ability to get your hands on some booze)
Tastiness: 4/5
Attractiveness: 4/5 (The sugar I used was brown, but if you use white sanding sugar, they'd be even prettier!)
Is it worth it?: Yes, I do believe so. They're like truffles, minus all the hard work! The simple man's truffle!

{Pairings}
Drink: Champagne, just to add some more glitz. But please, no dunking--let's keep a bit of dignity, okay?

Song: Diamond Dogs -- David Bowie
Activity: A black tie cocktail party? I think so! Party on, Garth!

[Cookie 044] Peanut-Butter Swirl Brownies

I did it again. I fell off the blogging bandwagon, so to speak. I've also being saying "so to speak" a lot, but that's an entirely different, unimportant matter. You'll have to forgive me if I sound a little silly in this post, or if I say "so to speak" a lot, or misspell words, or go onto too many tangents, or write insanely long run-on sentences like this one. You see, I had a truly college-dorm-life night last night. No, this does not mean that I went to a toga party, or that I drank my body-weight in hard liquor, or that I stayed up studying for midterms all night, or any combination of these collegey things. Instead, I went to bed at my usual time, but woke up at 5 am to the sound of the fire alarm blaring and my bedroom being flashed with a strobe light.

Ah college.

So every kid living in my building had to get up and out of bed, file down the stair case in our pajamas, and stand outside in the drizzling rain while the fire trucks flashed their lights at us. Not amused, no I was not. And I was in the middle of the dream, no less! So when the alarm went off, in my dream some random lady was explaining how it was a "Filipino Fire Drill!!!!" My other friend woke up thinking "Celery! Celery! Celery!" to the rhythm of the alarm.

That's not cool. If anything it should be "Cookies! Cookies! Cookies" or something of that ilk. But it probably wouldn't ever have been "Peanut-Butter Swirl Brownies! Peanut Butter Brownies! Peanut Butter Brownies!" because they were pretty forgettable (side note: did you like my nice little segue from anecdote to recipe? My sleep deprived mind is getting creative on me...)

So yes. These brownies. They sounded and looked good enough to eat--but sadly weren't that great. That's the second brownie recipe in a row that didn't quite work out as I had hoped, but this time I'm not sure if it's the recipe's fault or my own/my oven. To cut to the chase, they came out super dry and dense. Seriously, when I cut into the brownies and removed the first piece, it came out like a cleanly cut little brick. No gooey edges, no flaky top, nada.

Was it the fact that my oven is off by 100º? I doubt it, because I use an oven thermometer and set the temperature within 5 degrees or so. Maybe it was the recipe, who knows. The point is, we added some vanilla soy milk on top, and voila! Brownies a la mode...kind of. I dunno, I was a little disappointed.

This picture is so awful, but it really cracks me up for some reason...

However, there was one nice benefit! The peanut butter mixture that you put in the brownie batter is totally delicious (in a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup way) and the recipe left me with a bunch leftover. I stuck it in some tupperware and put it in the fridge, where it solidified and proved to be a delicious addition to bananas, pretzels, and the like.

So, yeah, not the best thing I've made from The Book by far, but it was fun to make the swirls in the batter. Give the recipe a go if you're feeling like toying with it a bit--I'm sure when it's made right, they are super delicious.

Peanut-Butter Swirl Brownies

Makes 9 large or 16 small squares

Ingredients

• FOR THE BATTER
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, plus more for pan
• 2 ounces good-quality unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 4 ounces good-quality semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• FOR THE FILLING
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
• 3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan and line with parchment, allowing a 2-inch overhang. Butter lining (not overhang).
2. Make batter: Put butter and chocolates in a heatproof medium bowl set over a pan of simmering water; stir until melted. Let cool slightly. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.
3. Whisk granulated sugar into chocolate mixture. Add eggs, and whisk until mixture is smooth. Stir in vanilla. Add flour mixture; stir until well incorporated.
4. Make filling: Stir together butter, confectioners' sugar, peanut butter, salt, and vanilla in a bowl until smooth.
5. Pour one-third of batter into prepared pan; spread evenly with a rubber spatula. Drop dollops of peanut butter filling (about 1 tablespoon each) on top of batter, spacing about 1 inch apart. Drizzle remaining batter on top, and gently spread to fill pan. Drop dollops of remaining filling on top. Gently swirl peanut butter filling into batter with a butter knife, running the knife lengthwise and crosswise through layers.
6. Bake until a cake tester inserted into brownies (avoid center and edges) comes out with a few crumbs but is not wet, about 45 minutes. Let cool slightly in pan, about 15 minutes. Lift out; let cool completely on a wire rack before cutting into squares. Brownies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.

****

{End Results}
Baking Difficultly: 3/5
Ingredient Accessibility: 4/5 (Pretty basic stuff)
Tastiness: 2/5
Attractiveness: 3/5 (The swirls got a little funky and bubbly, but they have potential for being really pretty)
Is it worth it?: Well, if they're always going to come out like mine, I'd say no...but I've got a feeling that if they aren't so dry, they will be really really worth it!

{Pairings}
Drink: Vanilla Soy Milk (if you're into that)

Song: Dryspell -- Aesop Rock
Activity: Uh...

[Cookie 040] Prune Rugelach

It is with a heavy heart and heavy cookie that I say adieu to summer--and Guten Tag! to autumn (my favorite season!). Summer was pretty swell, though, and I was able to make 27--count 'em: twenty-seven!--different cookie recipes from The Book during my time at home. Results varied, to be sure, but on the whole I think I made my family and friends very happy/weight-conscious. Mission accomplished.

Anyway, I found it particularly interesting that I started and ended this summer's cookie madness with two of the best recipes I've come across in The Book thus far. Remember the legendary Pecan Bars? Well, the last cookie I made at home in sunny California was these delicious Prune Rugelach, which I dare say stand up quite well next to summer's first cookie.

I chose this recipe to make with my dad, because we wanted to close the summer with a special, more involved recipe, and he had been eyeing these for several months. They definitely take a while to make, especially because you have to soak the prunes overnight, but on the whole the recipe isn't that crazy. And all the effort you put in is worth it in the end!

We were a little confused in the beginning, however, with the procedure that Martha developed to make the dough. She has you combine cold butter with room-temperature cream cheese with your hands, but we found it easier to use 2 butter knives held like scissors (a pastry cutter would probably work just as well). Basically, the dough is just like a pie crust dough, and because my mother is the Queen of Apple Pies, I applied her techniques of pie crust composition to this dough. Success! The key is NOT OVERWORKING THE DOUGH, because the last thing you want is a dense dough combined with the already dense prune filling of the Rugelach. You want the dough to be light and flaky, and in order to achieve this you basically have to work the dough without touching it at all (Harry Potter, anyone?).

Once you have the dough completed, you chill it in 2 batches for a while, and then roll it out flat and thin. This can be tricky, especially if you followed the directions and didn't overwork the dough, because then the dough should be fragile and break easily. Just work fast, and don't get too frustrated. It's gonna be a-ok!

Then you spread out the prune filling that you made earlier, sprinkle on some sugar-breadcrumb mixture, slice the dough like a pizza, and roll roll roll. Sprinkle the cute little croissants with more sugar and cinnamon and chill them again. Then stick 'em in the oven. Then voila. That's the gist of it!

Now, like many Martha recipes, we found that these cookies improved after they were 100% cooled. Don't get me wrong, they are delicious straight out of the oven, but let them cool so the dough can get flaky and crispy. Then eat them ALL!! AHHH!

So, in conclusion, these are fantastic. Fancy, yes. Fun, yes. Adorable, to be sure. And you should make them for a dinner party to impress your friends and family. But, alas, I won't be making too many super fancy cookies for a while, friends. Now that I am settled into my dorm, my budget is no longer as superfluous and my oven no longer as fantastic. But don't worry: I've already made 2 recipes here and they both were successes! So, here's to autumn! May it be filled with pumpkin, cinnamon, and ginger-flavored cookies!

Prune Rugelach

Makes 32

Ingredients

• 1 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar (save 1/2 cup for prune filling)
• 1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
• 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cups fresh breadcrumbs from soft white bread (save 1/2 cup for prune filling)
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1 cup prunes
• 1/2 cup brandy

Directions

1. Mix butter, cream cheese, and salt in a large bowl with hands until crumbly. Add flour, and mix until just combined. Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface, and divide in half. Shape each half into a disk; wrap each disk in plastic. Refrigerate until cold, about 4 hours or up to overnight.
2. Stir together breadcrumbs and 1/2 cup sugar in a small bowl; set aside. Stir together remaining 3 tablespoons sugar and the cinnamon in another small bowl; set aside.
3. Roll 1 disk to 1/8 inch thick. Cut out a 12-inch circle. Brush beaten egg in a 1-inch border around circle. Put half the prune filling in center, and spread out to beaten egg border. Sprinkle 1/2 cup breadcrumb mixture over filling. Cut circle into 16 wedges. Starting at outside edge of each wedge, roll up into a crescent shape. Space 1 inch apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush with beaten egg, and sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar mixture. Repeat with remaining disk and filling. Refrigerate rugelach until cold, about 2 hours.
4. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Bake rugelach until golden brown and cooked through, about 40 minutes. Let cool completely on wire racks. Rugelach can be stored in airtight containers at room temperature up to 3 days.
5. To make filling: Put prunes and brandy in a small airtight container. Let soak at room temperature overnight. Drain prunes. Puree in a food processor until smooth. Transfer to a small bowl. Stir in breadcrumbs and sugar. Refrigerate until ready to use, up to 1 day ahead.

****

{End Results}
Baking Difficultly: 4/5 (Don't be intimidated! This is totally do-able!!)
Ingredient Accessibility: 3/5
Tastiness: 4.75/5
Attractiveness: 4/5
Is it worth it?: Yes yes yes. Hard work totally pays off, 100%.

{Pairings}
Drink: Irish Breakfast Tea, or coffee.

Song: Fold -- Jose Gonzalez
Activity: Dinner party...something fancy! A celebration! End of summer fete!