Recently, I was digging through old posts when it occurred to me that I used to do a lot more baking. I can’t put my finger on why I stopped baking so much. Maybe it’s because the kids got a little older. Maybe it’s because I need to devote more time to work. Maybe it’s because I thought the baked goods were hurting my waistline. Really, it could be any of these things. But realizing that I am baking less was a little sad for me. I love having homemade treats for the kids when they get home from school.

So yesterday, with a mere 40 minutes before school pick up time, I tossed together these easy, fast cookie bars. They came out of the oven just in time for me to run to school — good timing, right? Read the rest of this entry…

This morning felt like a baking kind of morning. I have a dozen recipes bookmarked to make from various cookbooks, but when I saw one for Oatmeal Macaroons in the 1936 tome The New England Cookbook, I was intrigued. These little babies are free of flour and butter and just sounded so interesting. Together with Paige, I whipped up a batch this morning.

Did I mention that they were super easy? We mixed up the cookie dough and had them baking in about 10 minutes. So simple.

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Right now, I am sitting in a Starbucks, sipping a Venti Nonfat Peppermint White Mocha and praying I can finish this blog post and hit publish in the next six minutes — before I have to dash out of here and head back to get my daughter from ballet so we can head to my son’s school for his winter concert. It’ll be the second winter concert we’ve attended today, the first being my daughter’s this morning, and the third time I’ve been to the school today.

It’s that kind of day. And let me tell you, these biscotti — they are not for making on a day like today. While they aren’t hard to make, they do take some time and a little patience. And a dash of ends-justifies-the-means. Save this one for later this week, when you have a little time to spare — it’s totally worth making.

This biscotti is filled with chocolate (my favorite kind!) and has a light hint of coconut — it’s really subtle. These bake up perfectly crisp and are fabulous dipped in a cup of fresh, strong coffee.

You start by mixing up all the dry ingredients. Just stir them all together in a bowl. It’s really that simple.

Then you whisk together the wet ingredients and add them to the dry ones. Don’t be fussy about it — just pour it all in.

When you stir it together, it will look all crumbly — like it couldn’t possibly form a dough, let alone make those fabulous slices of crisp biscotti. Don’t worry. It will. This is the point where you turn the dough out on a floured board and knead it like crazy for two minutes or so.

Once it’s all kneaded, you form a log. I did it on the cutting board this time, but generally, it’s easier to do this directly on the baking sheet. Which ever way you do it, the next step is to pat it into a 1-inch-thick log that’s sort of rectangular shaped.

Then you bake it. This is what it looks like after the first bake. After this, you cut it into 1/2-inch slices and rebake it. Twice (once for each side of the slice.). Then it’s done. Well, once it’s cooled it is. You know what I mean.

These are perfect for packing up with a coffee gift card for teacher’s gifts. It’s what all of Paige and Will’s teacher’s got this holiday.

Or you could just eat them yourself with a cup of coffee. It’s a fabulous breakfast.

Now, I am off and running.

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Back in November, I told myself that this would be the holiday season where I went back to my old ways of baking a ton of deliciousness and giving it to family and friends. Then I woke up one day and it was ten days until Christmas … well, not really, but it sure felt that way.

I had a choice: I could do a little baking (I’ve been doing a little baking all along, but not much) and just forget about it. Or, I could get off my tush (yes, I said tush) and do something about it. I opted for the latter. So this past weekend, I whipped up dozens of confections and packed them up for gifting. It was a blur of mixers, baking sheets and lots of butter. And you know what? It was so, so worth it.

I love baking for others, especially around the holidays.

This week is all about the holiday treats here at Sarah’s Cucina Bella. And to kick it all off, I just had to share this recipe from Food Network Magazine’s December 2011 issue.

I made just a few changes — first, I used a medium cookie scoop to scoop out the dough, ensuring that I got a perfect 1 1/2 tablespoon ball every time. The recipe called for a scant tablespoon, but I really liked the slightly larger size. I also didn’t add the center — the Candy Cane Hershey Kiss — until after the cookies were baked. I wanted it to maintain it’s shape without any melting or browning. Oh, and adding that Candy Cane Hershey Kiss? Totally my idea.

These cookies are a rich, dense, chocolatey confection, almost brownie-like. The sugary coating gives them this fabulous coolness that almost mimics the minty center. I can’t tell you how many compliments I got on these. This recipe is a definite keeper.

Making these is pretty simple — though it does have a chill step. You start by sifting the dry ingredients and then mixing in the wet ones. The dough will be crumbly and seem like it will never come together. That’s when (and this is a step I added), you mix it by hand until it’s smooth and in a ball. Then the dough is chilled for 30 minutes.

Next, you scoop out 1 1/2 tablespoon balls of dough (with a cookie scoop, of course) and lightly roll them in your hands. Then you dip them first into granulated sugar then into confectioners’ sugar.

Arrange the balls on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Then you press each one down at the center with your thumb. Then they bake.

Finally, you press a Candy Cane Hershey’s Kiss into the center and let them cool completely. Oh, the deliciousness.

What’s the best thing you’ve made this holiday season?

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Paige had preschool homework this week: decorate a paper ornament for school and (with my help) write about a favorite holiday tradition in class. (Yes, she’s barely 4 … don’t get me started.) When I asked her what tradition she wanted to put on her index card, I already had in the back of my mind that I would suggest baking if she wasn’t sure. But I didn’t need to suggest anything. Paige immediately answered “Baking and decorating cookies.”

I was excited. No, make that elated. Read the rest of this entry…

When Will and Paige tried these cookies, it was supposed to be a single cookie for dessert one evening. But then Will finished his and looked wistfully at the other cookies sitting on the table. I saw him, but didn’t let on. Then he made his eyes big as saucers and wildly licked his lips. When neither wistful nor obviously wanting worked, he finally said,”Mommy, can I have one more?”

I said yes. It was just so cute.

These Chocolate Pretzel Cookies are crisp rounds of sugar cookie, dusted with pretzels and drizzled with sweet milk chocolate. It ends up with this amazing texture.  And the flavor? It’s divine — a little savory, a hint of salty and perfectly sweet. No wonder Will wanted seconds so much.

General Mills recently contacted me about creating a holiday cookie recipe using their chubs cookie dough (apparently the official name for the rolls of dough is “chub” – who knew?). This idea came to me right away since it combines some favorites: chocolate covered pretzels and cookies in an all-new and delicious way. Also, this is a super easy recipe that only requires three ingredients — perfect for whipping up at the last minute, or just because.

To make these cookies, you start by scooping out balls of dough using a medium cookie scoop. If you don’t have a cookie scoop, I highly recommend getting one. It makes cookie making a breeze.

Once you have your dough balls, you roll them in crushed pretzels, coating them all over.

Then you arrange the cookies on a baking sheet, leaving at least two inches between them. This is important because these cookies will spread a lot as they cook. Bake ‘em up and let them cool on a wire rack.

Set the wire rack on a baking sheet lined with something like waxed paper or aluminum foil. This will make cleanup so simple.

Drizzle the cookies with melted milk chocolate. I use a spoon and carefully drizzle it onto all the cookies. Once the chocolate hardens, they are ready to devour.

See, I told you! Ultra simple.

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This morning, all I could think of was homemade cookies. All that time without power has sent me head first back into the kitchen — a good thing, no doubt. But I’ve also been busy with work, making sure that all my proverbial balls remained in the air throughout. So it was late afternoon before I finally cleaned out  my stand mixer bowl (banana pancakes were this morning’s breakfast for our extended family who arrived bright and early for a shower) and set out to bake a batch of cookies.

The flavor combination – Dark Chocolate Coconut Shortbread – is something my friend Rhian and I came up with this afternoon while chatting on Google Talk. She loves food as much as I do and is awesome about dreaming up flavors with me. I may just have to send her some now … or bribe her to make a visit with promises of homemade baked goods (I like the second idea better, personally). All it took was a mention that I really wanted to make cookies, and she was shooting out ideas and mere minutes later, I had a recipe in mind.

Oh, Dark Chocolate Coconut Shortbread Cookies … they are mouthwatering. The cookies have a buttery shortbread base that’s best eaten cooled. The texture is crumbly, but the cookies don’t break apart into bits (in other words, they don’t make a mess). Dotted with sweet bits of dark chocolate and coconut, every bite is a little different … a happy surprise. And since they aren’t overly sweet, Paige loved them as much as Will and I did. That’s a feat in itself.

The shortbread recipe is the same one that I use for my Shortbread Candy Cookies. It’s a tried and true that adapted easily for this recipe. If you make these, they are awesome with coffee – and don’t be shy about dipping. It’s totally worth it. Read the rest of this entry…

Oh, brownies … served warm or cold, with ice cream or not, they are such a super treat. These ones, from an old family recipe, are thin but super fudgy brownies with a light, crackly top. Heavenly!

This recipe, called Agnes’ Brownies, is adapted very slightly from my handwritten and bound family cookbook. Agnes wasn’t a family member (or, at least I don’t think she was) — she was the local reverend’s wife and probably lived somewhere nearby my family (the church was walking distance from the family homestead).

These were part of last weekend’s bake-a-thon (but don’t worry … this isn’t turning into a sweets or baking blog. It’s just been that kind of week. We’ll be back to savory foods on Monday).

Back to the brownies …  If you are shy about homemade brownies made with melted chocolate, you aren’t alone. I was too. But you can’t beat the flavor of a really good unsweetened chocolate (I used Ghiradelli’s Bittersweet Chocolate for these) and the ensuing fudginess.

And here’s a little tip I learned recently: If you want your brownies to look as fudgy as they are, cut them using a plastic knife. It totally works.

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When it comes to desserts, my sweet tooth knows no bounds. It’s something that Will inherited from me. That little guy loves cookies, cakes … anything sweet. Paige, on the other hand, is less sweet-addicted. Sometimes she wants dessert, other times she simply says “No, thank you.” Now, offer her some fresh mozzarella and she’s a happy girl. It’s kind of amazing, shocking and unbelievable all rolled up together — at least to this sweets lover.

This little, easy dessert? It’s a fabulous dreamy thing for this sweets lover. It starts with soft, lightly sweet madeleine cookies. They are bathed in a layer of caramel. Then, they’re sprinkled with freshly toasted coconut, which is a little nutty and has a nice crispness to it. Finally, milk chocolate is drizzled on top adding a glorious richness.

For the base – the madeleines – I used ones made by the company Donsuemor, which were a perfect introduction to this French confection. They’re available online or can be bought in stores like Fairway (Connecticut and New York).

The flavors are a riff on my favorite Girl Scout Cookie – Samoas. Oh, my kryptonite. I’ve been known to eat whole boxes without sharing. In a couple of sittings, of course. Not recently, of course. Honest. Really.

Anyway, once you’ve glazed, sprinkled and drizzled, you can either eat these babies hot or chill then until you are ready to eat. Either way, they are divine. And easy. Did I mention easy?

Oh, how cookies tempt me.
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When I was a little girl, I would sometimes curl up in my grandmother’s bed in the early mornings, where she’d tell me stories of our family and sing to me in French. She called Connecticut home, though she lived more of her life in New York than Connecticut. Still, the Nutmeg State was where our family’s homestead was located, where she’d spend summers on the shoreline with her mother, sister, aunts and cousins. It was where holidays were spent, gathered around a big table.

By the time I was born, the family homestead – a Victorian house and farm – had been sold and much of the family had relocated to Cape Cod. But the house is still there, just a few miles from where I live now. It’s no longer a home or a farm though. The land has been sold off, and the house loosely converted into offices.
Still, it retains the charm and magic that captivated my family for nearly 70 years.

I spent summers here as a child with sandy feet and salty wet hair from the Long Island Sound and for the last 10 years, I have called it home.

When Better Homes and Gardens asked me to represent Connecticut in their State Cookie Contest, I said yes right away. A state cookie? No problem! Naturally, I turned to the recipes of my Connecticut Yankee family.

This recipe is adapted from our family cookbook, The Moulding Board, a 30-year-old book that combines recipes from my extended family and diary pages from my Great-Great Grandmother compiled by my cousin Barb. A former neighbor at our family’s homestead, Mrs. Phil Webber, used to make these cookies for my Great-Great Aunt Sarah, my namesake.

Fresh nutmeg ... grate it with a Microplane

For my rendition of these classic cookies, I’ve replaced shortening with butter, changed the method a little and added nutmeg — in honor of Connecticut (which is the Nutmeg State. Don’t ask me why – I don’t know either).

They’re soft, a little chewy, with a rich flavor and a slight bite. They’re sweet but not crazy sweet. They would be amazing served with coffee, shared on a sunny front porch with a cousin or neighbor.

EDITED: You can vote for your favorite cookie in the BHG State Cookie Contest. I’d be honored if you voted for my Connecticut Spice Cookie.
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