Cooking

Best cookies E.V.E.R!!!

These are from a recipe I got from the Times awhile back; it appeared again on their "Best of 2002" list. It originates from a bakery in Vancouver called Senses Bakery and is flourless.

Ingredients (I double the recipe because the 1X is small):

* 1 pound bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, preferably 70% cocoa (I'm using a pound plus here)
* 6 tablespoons butter
* 4 eggs
* 2/3 cup sugar
* 1 1/2 cup ground almonds (I used 1.5 cup preground hazelnut meal, from Trader Joes)
* More sugar, and powdered sugar for garnish

>>75 Name: h3

<h3+//guvoW> 2005-08-30 00:51:58 PDT

55 view(s) I cut the butter into pats, about 1 tablespoon each, before tossing into the chocolate.

>>76 Name: h3

<h3+//guvoW> 2005-08-30 00:51:58 PDT

57 view(s) OK, once that's all melted, fold into the egg mixture. I switch to the paddle attachment and slowly add the chocolate while mixing on low.

>>77 Name: h3

<h3+//guvoW> 2005-08-30 00:51:58 PDT

53 view(s) Taking color...

>>78 Name: h3

<h3+//guvoW> 2005-08-30 00:51:59 PDT

54 view(s) Once finished mixing in, throw in the ground nut and mix thoroughly. It should look like this. Put this into the fridge overnight.

>>79 Name: h3

<h3+//guvoW> 2005-08-30 00:51:59 PDT

53 view(s) Now for the messy part: take a small scoop, about 2 tablespoons, and roll into a ball (should be about the size of a ping pong ball). Roll in granulated sugar.

>>80 Name: h3

<h3+//guvoW> 2005-08-30 00:51:59 PDT

53 view(s) Place on parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Bake at 325F for 10-12 minutes.

>>81 Name: h3

<h3+//guvoW> 2005-08-30 00:51:59 PDT

66 view(s) This is what they look like out of the oven. The cracks are cool.

>>82 Name: h3

<h3+//guvoW> 2005-08-30 00:51:59 PDT

57 view(s) Messy part. I tried dunking my hands in ice water periodically, I don't think it helped much. Also not helping much is the heat wave we're currently experiencing.

>>83 Name: h3

<h3+//guvoW> 2005-08-30 00:52:00 PDT

59 view(s) Sprinkle with sifted powdered sugar when slightly cool.

All told, I get a yield of about 24-30 cookies from a double batch. The original recipe says it makes about 36, so I must make them large or something.

These are excellent with coffee.

>>142 Name: fghfgh

<0DzQe8YjtI> 2008-12-29 04:57:43 PST

C-C-C-COMBO BREAKER

ggg

so I cn post somwhere on here

The ingredients:

2 sticks (8 oz) soft butter
1.5 cups firmly packed brown sugar
4 large eggs
3 really ripe bananas
2.5 cups flour
0.5 teaspoon salt
1.5 teaspoons baking powder
6 oz chopped walnuts
4 oz blueberries

>>56 Name: h3

<h3+//guvoW> 2005-08-07 16:56:34 PDT

70 view(s) Begin by heating the oven to 350F.

In a mixer, beat the butter and brown sugar. If the butter isn't soft (I actually remembered to leave it out this time), you can microwave it - no big deal. The recipe calls for light brown sugar, I used dark - whatever.

>>57 Name: h3

<h3+//guvoW> 2005-08-07 16:56:34 PDT

59 view(s) While that is beating on medium for about 3-5 minutes, I chopped the walnuts in a food processor.

>>58 Name: h3

<h3+//guvoW> 2005-08-07 16:56:34 PDT

59 view(s) Add the eggs to the butter/sugar two at time, mixing completely between. All told, I probably let this stuff mix for about 10 minutes.

>>59 Name: h3

<h3+//guvoW> 2005-08-07 16:56:35 PDT

56 view(s) Mash the bananas while the last of the eggs are mixing in. The riper the better because it gets sweeter.

>>60 Name: h3

<h3+//guvoW> 2005-08-07 16:56:35 PDT

56 view(s) After mixing the bananas in, it starts to look like vomit.

Then, add the dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking powder, and nuts). Mix some more on slow.

>>61 Name: h3

<h3+//guvoW> 2005-08-07 16:56:35 PDT

56 view(s) Throw in the blueberries and stir by hand so as not to crush them.

Why are blueberries so expensive? The recipe doesn't actually call for blueberries but I like to add them.

>>62 Name: h3

<h3+//guvoW> 2005-08-07 16:56:35 PDT

54 view(s) The recipe calls for pouring the batter into a loaf pan, but I can never get it to fit in one pan. Maybe I have non-standard pans or something.

Anyway, it comes out just fine in a regular baking pan.

>>63 Name: h3

<h3+//guvoW> 2005-08-07 16:56:36 PDT

63 view(s) Bake for 45-50 minutes (toothpick should come out clean), and let rest for about 30 minutes to cool and settle before turning it out.

Yum! It's really good if you toast slices and top with vanilla ice cream.

>>109 Name: me

<9EzFcHrROX> 2007-03-22 01:26:13 PDT

a small test =)

>>131 Name: Hydden

<SBn01NuGaY> 2008-07-29 00:51:41 PDT

I'm just testing if you don't mind.

I've been making hummus a lot lately, playing around with the recipe. This is one I found on epicurious.

* 2 cloves garlic
* 1/2 tsp salt
* 19oz can garbanzos (stupid Trader Joes comes in 15oz cans)
* 1/3 cup tahini
* 2 tbs lemon juice
* 1/4 cup water (not shown)
* 2 tbs oil

>>90 Name: h3

<h3+//guvoW> 2006-03-30 21:35:39 PST

49 view(s) I processed the garlic and salt together first.

>>91 Name: h3

<h3+//guvoW> 2006-03-30 21:35:39 PST

45 view(s) Then everything else. I suppose the recipe came with directions, but that's the beauty of hummus - just blend stuff. I also mixed it up a bit and added 3 large habenero stuffed olives.

>>92 Name: h3

<h3+//guvoW> 2006-03-30 21:35:39 PST

46 view(s) Money shot - sprinkled some paprika and drizzled some olive oil for show.

>>93 Name: h3

<h3+//guvoW> 2006-03-30 21:35:39 PST

48 view(s) It was really good! The olives made it really interesting. Alternating chews would taste like olive, or have the habanero's kick, or taste of olive oil, or sucker punch you with garlic.

The garlic was actually a bit strong for my tastes - maybe using a smaller portion of chick peas than called for left the garlic a little overwhelming. Next time I'll try using roasted garlic instead, for a mellower taste.

Or sun-dried tomatoes... or black olive... or goat cheese... or roasted eggplant... or roasted bell pepper...

This is a really quick dish. Start out by boiling 1 cup of water.

>>65 Name: h3

<h3+//guvoW> 2005-08-12 14:12:51 PDT

47 view(s) Once it's boiling, toss in 2/3 cup couscous (I get bulk stuff from Whole Foods - it's heck of a lot cheaper than boxed stuff).

Cover, and remove from heat. That's pretty much it for the couscous part.

>>66 Name: h3

<h3+//guvoW> 2005-08-12 14:12:52 PDT

48 view(s) The rest of the ingredients. Depulp and chop 1 tomato (or 2-3 Romas). Chop 4 oz feta into 1cm cubes (half of the package shown here). Open 1 can (2.25 oz) sliced black olives.

>>67 Name: h3

<h3+//guvoW> 2005-08-12 14:12:52 PDT

45 view(s) Throw it all into a mixing bowl. The nice part of this recipe (other than how quick it is) is that you can go cheap with supermarket ingredients as shown here, or you can splurge and get some good Kalamata olives and something like mild sheep's feta, and using the same recipe get something that's a cut above.

>>68 Name: h3

<h3+//guvoW> 2005-08-12 14:12:52 PDT

51 view(s) Toss with some olive oil and red wine vinegar. I don't really measure. I would guess like 3 tablespoons olive oil and 2 tablespoons vinegar. Adjust to your taste.

>>69 Name: h3

<h3+//guvoW> 2005-08-12 14:12:52 PDT

48 view(s) Finally, dump in the couscous, which should be done by now, and stir with a fork to fluff it up.

You could also throw in some chopped toasted walnuts and/or chopped fresh basil if you have some lying around.

It took longer to upload these pictures and annotate them then it did to make the dish!

The primary ingredients

>>44 Name: h3

<h3+//guvoW> 2005-08-04 23:47:10 PDT

45 view(s) While that's going, I'm trimming the chicken. 2 lbs boneless/skinless thighs (the recipe calls for 3 lbs but that's like skin-on/bone-in). I hate all the little fatty bits, though, so I have to get rid of as much of that as possible.

>>45 Name: h3

<h3+//guvoW> 2005-08-04 23:47:10 PDT

42 view(s) Once that's all done, chop the thighs into reasonable size (I like them big, so each thigh part into thirds), and season with salt and pepper.

>>46 Name: h3

<h3+//guvoW> 2005-08-04 23:47:10 PDT

43 view(s) The sausage is mostly done by this time. They are going to cook some more later, so it's OK if they are a little underdone. Set these aside, and throw the chicken in and brown over high heat.

>>47 Name: h3

<h3+//guvoW> 2005-08-04 23:47:11 PDT

42 view(s) The recipe calls for 1.5 cups chicken broth. I start 1.5 cups with 2 bouillion cubes at this point.

>>48 Name: h3

<h3+//guvoW> 2005-08-04 23:47:11 PDT

37 view(s) The vegetables: 1 each green and red bell pepper, cut into strips. 1 onion, in coarse chop. And 2 small cloves of garlic. Remember to mind the chicken (flip once) while you are chopping these.

>>49 Name: h3

<h3+//guvoW> 2005-08-04 23:47:11 PDT

42 view(s) Chicken looks about done - again, they are going to cook some more, so don't worry about it being cooked completely. Just as long as they are browned and sealed.

>>50 Name: h3

<h3+//guvoW> 2005-08-04 23:47:11 PDT

41 view(s) Throw the chicken into another pot. At this point, I slice the sausage and then sear the slices to seal them a bit before also tossing them into the pot.

Then the vegetables, sauteed vigorously over high heat, until they just become soft. Those go into the pot, too, along with 1 cup of rice (I used like 1.25 cups, cuz I like rice).

>>51 Name: h3

<h3+//guvoW> 2005-08-04 23:47:11 PDT

39 view(s) Now for the broth. The pan all the stuff above was cooked in should be properly messy by now. Toss in:

chicken broth
0.5 cups white wine
2 chopped tomatoes (I used 5 Romas, actually)
0.25 teaspoon saffron
0.5 teaspoon oregano
0.25 teaspoon cayenne

Stir vigorously, scraping the pan all over, to deglaze all the tasty gunk.

>>52 Name: h3

<h3+//guvoW> 2005-08-04 23:47:12 PDT

44 view(s) Toss the broth into the pot and stir well.

>>53 Name: h3

<h3+//guvoW> 2005-08-04 23:47:12 PDT

51 view(s) Simmer for 25-30 minutes. Then, add 1 cup sliced black olives and 1 cup frozen peas (I discovered at the last minute, I didn't have any peas, so I used 1 cup frozen succotash from Trader Joe's). The recipe calls for 0.5 cups of each, but I find that too slight.

Then, simmer another 5-10 minutes to heat the late additions.

This is the finished product! The beauty of this dish is that it tastes even better reheated after a couple of days in the fridge.