Remember when “vegetable oil spreads” threatened to take over the home bakers’ kitchen? At the time, so many of us (meaning me) thought we were improving our health by shunning margarine and butter, and choosing the “healthy” spread, but a not-so-funny-result occurred: our (my) baked goods were terrible.

It took awhile before the collective “we” figured out what the issue was, but eventually, cookbooks started to warn against using those spreads in baked goods because all they did was produce flop after flop. My mom thought something happened to her trusty bakeware, and frankly, I was still too young to really understand the chemistry of baking.

However, back in those days, I was still a little baker at heart, and it was not uncommon for me to sort through my mom’s recipe box, looking for a new recipe to try. Though this recipe for chocolate crinkles isn’t the one I tried back then, I did have a massive chocolate crinkle failure that I’m guessing was due to a spread. The cookie tasted delicious – like a giant brownie coated with confectioners’ sugar. Yum.

But 20 little balls of dough ended up as one very large cookie.

When I decided to try these cookies again, and I found a recipe using oil instead of butter (which I had none of and was quite pricey), it seemed fate was stepping in to help me out. The cookies are great – chewy, full of chocolate flavor, a lot like brownies with a touch of holiday flair. I know it seems odd that in a post about vegetable oil spreads, I finally use a recipe that uses oil, but whatever. Butter is rather pricey these days, and if I can save someone a little money by using canola oil in some cookies, so be it.

Chocolate Crinkles
adapted from Betty Crocker

1/2 cup (118 mL) canola oil
4 ounces (113 grams) unsweetened baking chocolate, melted and cooled
2 cups (550 grams) granulated sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon prepared strong coffee (breakfast leftovers are fine)
4 large eggs (room temperature)
2 cups (220 grams) unbleached all purpose flour
2 teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
1/2 cup (60 grams) confectioners’ sugar

In large bowl, combine oil, chocolate, sugar, and vanilla. Add eggs one at a time, stirring well after each addition with a wooden spoon.

Add flour, baking powder, and salt; stir until just combined. Cover bowl with plastic wrap or cover and refrigerate at least 3 hours.

Preheat oven to 350F/176C. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or grease with cooking spray. Drop teaspoonfuls of dough into confectioners’ sugar and roll into balls. Place balls on sheet, evenly spaced, about 2 inches (5 cm) apart. Bake 10-12 minutes or until slightly firm to the touch (the white sugar should form cracks). Cool on pan for 10 minutes, then remove to wire racks to cool completely. Store in airtight container in refrigerator.

Ok, let me just get this out there. As evidenced by these pictures, I am not an artist. Not even close. It would have been easier to simply use candy for the eyes, and probably the nose, too. But my real cat has these beautiful green eyes, and I wanted to at least attempt to somewhat replicate them, especially since it was, er, her birthday party. (Yes, we had a little family party for my cat’s 10th birthday. If you have a pet, or a kitty-obsessed toddler in your family, I’m sure you understand.)

I used a cake pattern from McCormick, figuring this would be easy enough to follow. I picked up black food coloring and some cake boards from the craft store, baked the cakes a few days ahead (I individually wrapped the layers and froze them), and made the frosting in my kitchen a couple days ahead of time, as well, and refrigerated that. To transport it all a couple of hours away to my parents, I just piled the frozen cakes on top of the bowl with the frosting – it pays to pick a bowl with a matching lid the same size as the cakes.

The morning of the party, I thawed the cakes and brought the frosting to room temperature. A warm water bath (nestling the smaller bowl in a larger bowl filled partway with warm water) helped speed up the softening time for the frosting.

And then it was time to get to work!

First, I had to cut a circle within a circle – about an inch (2.5 cm) inside the border, but slightly off center, then cut the outer ring into thirds. I needed the inner circle slightly off center because two of those pieces would form the tail, which is slightly tapered at the end.

Out of the third piece of the ring I cut two triangles for ears and two rectangles to represent paws. Don’t worry – the bit of extra cake didn’t go to waste – I sampled it to make sure it tasted good enough to serve to my family. If the cake had dried out at all, I would have thrown together a quick sugar syrup (equal parts sugar and water) to brush on top. Luckily, the cake tasted great. As in, this recipe is my new go-to recipe for vanilla cake.

Not sure if I could fit the entire cake onto a single board, I lined the board with parchment, just in case I needed to slide the work-in-progress from one board to two boards I had taped together.

Then, it was time to start arranging the pieces in the shape of a cat…

and add blobs of frosting to spread for the crumb coat.

My mom left to run errands while I assembled and frosted the cake, just in case I got frustrated and needed to swear like a sailor. What can I say? I try not to swear in front of my mom, and she knows it.

But for the record, I did not utter a single curse word during that time…

and I could have, maybe should have, as spreading frosting over cut cake isn’t the easiest thing in the world to do. Those ears did not want to stay put, but a little extra frosting helped seal everything together.

For the eyes I had purchased a tube of green decorator icing very close to the color I wanted for the eyes. I also picked up a tube of black gel icing (the proximity to Halloween meant all stores were sold out of standard black decorator icing), thinking perhaps I could use it for the nose, whiskers, and mouth, but the consistency was simply too runny for detail work.

So, I went back to my remaining black chocolate frosting (I kept a little aside for an emergency such as this), and added a fair amount of black food color to darken it even more. What’s the point of piping on facial features if no one can see them? (Even if my 3 year old niece likely could have done a better job with the piping.)

To try to replicate the shape of my cat’s eyes as closely as possible, I made her pose for me. If you’re familiar with cats, you probably won’t be shocked to learn that she had absolutely no interest in posing any longer than…about half a second.

Can I just blame her for my elementary-looking kitty facial features???

A couple of notes about supplies:

And finally, the cake boards also came from JoAnn.

On Halloween, my cat turned 10 years old. My 3 year old niece thought throwing a birthday party for “the kitty,” as she likes to call Eleanor, was a great idea. Since we had the idea, I’d been trying to figure out how exactly you throw a party for a cat. I mean, the cat can’t exactly eat cake, though she can eat her favorite meat & gravy cat food.

We could still have fun with the cake though, right?

My cat also happens to be black. Perfect for Halloween, no? At first, I wanted to just make a rectangular cake, and trace an image of a cat in the frosting. Then I thought, hmm, maybe I can cut cake in the shape of a cat, and frost it all with black frosting. So I looked for a pattern, which you’ll see in my post for Black Cat Cake.

I’m getting ahead of myself, though. First, I needed a cake recipe to use! Wanting to use as little black food coloring as possible, I decided I would use chocolate frosting, with a little black color added as needed. I’m not really a fan of chocolate cake with chocolate frosting…yellow cake with chocolate frosting is a different story.

After looking through recipes, I decided on this cake and frosting duo. I’ve already made cakes from Sky High, with excellent results, so I knew I wouldn’t be disappointed. Turns out I was right. The crumb is tender, the cake incredibly moist. The fudge frosting? Oh. My. God. After frosting the cat cake, I didn’t have any frosting left over, so my mom whipped up some vanilla frosting for the cupcakes.

A big part of the fun of this party was watching my niece decorate, shoving candy corn and sprinkles into the frosting with both hands.

Vanilla Buttermik Cake with Instant Fudge Frosting
adapted from Sky High via Sweetapolita

Print Recipe

for the cake

4 large eggs (room temperature)
2 egg yolks (room temperature)
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups (296 mL) buttermilk, divided
3 cups (285 grams) cake flour
2 cups (450 grams) granulated sugar
4 1/2 teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
1 cup (227 grams) unsalted butter (room temperature)

Preheat oven to 350F/177C. (For kitty cake, grease two 9×2 inch round pans then line with parchment rounds. Line a muffin pan with cupcake papers for remaining batter.) For triple layer cake, grease three 8 or 9-by 2 inch round baking pans, then line with parchment rounds. Grease the parchment.

Whisk eggs and yolks in medium bowl. Add vanilla and 1/4 cup (59 mL) buttermilk, whisk. If desired, transfer to large liquid measuring cup for easier pouring.

In large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Whisk to blend. Add butter and remaining buttermilk. Turn mixer on lowest speed and pulse (turn on and off quickly) to mix the dry ingredients in. Increase speed to medium until fluffy, 2 minutes.

Add the eggs in 3 additions, scraping down bowl each time, and mix only until incorporated. Divide the batter among the pans. A kitchen scale helps ensure the batter is evenly divided.

Bake layers until a tester comes out clean and the cake begins to pull away from the pan, about 22 minutes for 9 inch layers, 30 minutes for 8 inch layers, 24 minutes for cupcakes. As oven temperatures vary, keep an eye on the cakes and don’t touch the pans until the top is set, else you risk the cakes deflating.

Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then turn layers out onto wire racks to cool completely. If not frosting immediately, wrap each layer tightly in plastic wrap and freeze. Defrost in fridge. Cupcakes can be frozen in a well-sealed container.

To assemble layer cake, place first layer flat-side-up on serving plate or cake stand. Spread 3/4 cup frosting to the edge of cake, repeating with the next layer. Top with the third layer and use all but 3/4 cup frosting to cover the top and sides. Place reserved frosting in pastry bag fitted with star tip and pipe a border around base of cake and top layer.

To assemble kitty cake, please refer to Kitty Cake post.

Instant Fudge Frosting

6 ounces 85% cacao chocolate, melted and cooled (I used Lindt)*
4 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter (room temperature)
6 tablespoons half and half
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon brewed coffee (breakfast leftovers are fine)
*if making Kitty Cake, you may wish to further darken the frosting with black food coloring

equipment: large food processor**, double boiler

Fill bottom of double boiler (I use a small saucepan and a heat-proof glass bowl for my double boiler) with about 1/2 inch (1 cm) of water. Chop chocolate into small pieces and place in top of double boiler. Heat water over medium heat to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer. Stir chocolate frequently until melted, remove from heat. Cool to room temperature, about 72F/22C.

Fit food processor bowl with S blade. Add confectioners’ sugar, butter, half and half, and vanilla. Pulse to combine, then drizzle in cooled chocolate and process until well blended. If not using immedidately, transfer to bowl, press plastic wrap directly on surface of frosting, and cover bowl with lid. Refrigerate until ready to use, then bring to room temperature and mix briefly on low speed with electric mixer before icing the cake.

**If you don’t have a food processor, beat the butter and sifted confectioners’ sugar in stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment on low for 1 minute, then increase speed to medium-high for 1 minute. Add half and half, vanilla, and cooled chocolate, then beat on low to combine, then medium-high for 2 minutes.

This past weekend, my parents and I drove through Door County, Wisconsin, to see the fall colors, take pictures, do some wine tasting, and spend some money on fun things. You know, like apple cider doughnuts, cherry strudel, rum fudge, caramels, and wine. And, um, the things we picked out after the wine tasting, which naturally seemed like best idea ever at the time. I am now the proud owner of a baseball cap with a picture of a corkscrew on it that reads “Screw It.” I love my hat, though I know I wouldn’t have had the nerve to pick it out if not for a little liquid courage.

We stopped at lookouts and boat landings, along the side of the road, and even snapped many pictures while driving. I was very excited when we stopped in Sister Bay, as it’s been close to 20 years since I’ve seen Al Johnson’s. What’s so special about this place, you wonder? I’ll let the pictures tell the story:

In case you’re wondering, yes, those goats are indeed on the roof.

I hadn’t originally intended to do a post about our trip but then thought, why not? If I’d planned on a post, there likely would have been even more pictures of the various shops, the Sister Bay Cafe where I had a delicious bread pudding swimming in warm lemon sauce, and dinner at Sonny’s Pizzeria where we enjoyed lasagna and fettuccine alfredo. (If you’re wondering why I didn’t have pizza at a pizzeria, refer to my last post; I simply couldn’t handle pizza again so soon.)

Instead, you’ll get lots of fall colors, followed by the doughnuts I tried to recreate.

During our travels, my mom spotted a couple of wild turkeys wandering through an orchard. I tried to zoom in as much as possible while maintaining some clarity in the picture…

I’ve heard about apple cider doughnuts before, and even went on a mission to try one during an apple orchard visit a couple of years ago. Unfortunately, they were sold out, my mission to try a cider doughnut abandoned.

But this time, this time there were not just one, but TWO doughnuts left. Yes, I grabbed them both, excited to finally be able to find out if the fuss was warranted.

It was. Oh, was it ever. I was sold at one bite, and frankly, I wanted to eat every last crumb then and there.

I attempted self restraint.

But I wanted more. I considered making a trip to an orchard upon my return home, but then thought, why not make them myself? So I looked up a recipe, realized I was only short two ingredients (the cider, and shortening for frying), and planned my breakfast around doughnuts.

I started boiling the cider to reduce it, and oops! I overreduced it to about 1/8 cup. So I reduced some more to get my 1/4 cup of syrupy cider. I figured a little extra sweetness and flavor never hurt anyone.

I made the dough, patted it out, and discovered my smallest circle cutter went missing. So, my doughnuts were slightly bigger than originally planned, with larger holes. But really, who cares if the doughnuts and doughnut holes are slightly larger than normal?

I’ve heard that for frying, shortening is preferable to oil, as it seeps less into the dough or coating, rendering the finished product crispy without being greasy. I’m not a fan of using hydrogenated fats, but I figured these doughnuts warranted an exception.

My Door County doughnuts were simply coated in sugar, as they needed no additional adornment. But, since I made the doughnuts for B and I, and I know how much he likes cinnamon sugar, I decided to do both.

As it turns out, that was a very good decision. With just one bite, we realized these doughnuts didn’t have a whole lot of apple flavor, so the cinnamon sugar helped give a little flavor boost. I may not have gotten my apple cider doughnut fix, but I do have to say these doughnuts turned out very, very good: browned and crispy, yet not at all greasy. Apparently, shortening really is the way to go for frying doughnuts. I later sampled the cider I had picked up from the grocery store, cider that came from a nearby orchard (one I had considered going to for doughnuts, no less), and discovered the cider wasn’t all that flavorful. I guess my poor doughnuts never really had a chance at bursting with apple cider flavor.

But can you ever really go wrong with fried dough? I think not.

Apple Cider Doughnuts
adapted from this farmers’ market recipe

Print Recipe

1 cup good apple cider
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter
2 large eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
shortening for frying

Boil apple cider until it’s reduced to 1/4 cup; cool.

While cider is reducing, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl; stir to combine.

Beat butter and sugar in separate large bowl until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, until well mixed. Add buttermilk and cider, stir to combine.

Add dry ingredients to wet and SLOWLY mix at first to avoid being attacked by a flour bomb, increasing speed slightly until all ingredients are incorporated.

Line a baking sheet with parchment, sprinkle with flour, and pat dough with your hand to 1/2 inch thickness. Chill in freezer for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, line a second baking sheet with parchment and sprinkle with flour.

Run a doughnut cutter or a 3 inch circle cutter under cold water, then cut doughuts/circles from chilled dough. If using circle cutters, run a 1 inch cutter under cold water, and cut holes out of the middle of the large circles. Use the 1 inch cutter to make additional holes with smaller areas of remaining dough. Transfer half the doughnuts and holes to second baking sheet. Place baking sheets in fridge for 10 minutes.

Line several large plates with paper towels. Set aside.

Melt shortening in heavy-duty deep pot (I like my cast iron Dutch oven for this) until a temperature of 375F is reached. Fry doughnuts a few at a time until deep brown, carefully flipping over with a heat-proof tongs or spider halfway through (about a minute or two total per doughnut – it goes fast, so don’t take your eye off them).

Remove to paper towel-lined plates to drain. While still warm, roll in sugar or cinnamon sugar* mixture, if desired.

*To make cinnamon sugar, combine 1/2 cup granulated sugar with 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon; stir to combine.

A couple of weeks ago, I started thinking about cookies.

Very specific cookies.

Chocolate cookies with Reese’s Pieces, to be exact. Where this thought came from, I haven’t the foggiest notion: I don’t eat Reece’s Pieces, and I rarely make chocolate cookies, except at Christmas. And those are laced with peppermint.

And yet, the thought would not go away. Not sure how they would turn out, I turned to the Internet to look for a smallish batch of cookies, and adapted a recipe from Joy of Baking.

It’s quite similar to the recipe I used for chocolate cookies with white chocolate chips, but this one used Dutch process* cocoa powder, which I happen to have and love. The flavor is a bit more mild than natural cocoa powder, and I’ve yet to be disappointed with the results.

They’ve been disappearing rather quickly. B was over for dinner the other night, and I offered freshly baked cookies as dessert. He started with one, then went back for more, then went back yet again. I took it as a clear stamp of approval.

The chocolate/peanut butter combo just can’t be beat. If you’re able, have a cookie or two while they’re still warm; the peanut butter in the candy is still a bit melty, making them doubly delicious.

Reese’s Pieces Chocolate Cookies
adapted from Joy of Baking

Print Recipe

1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup (100 grams) light brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup (55 grams) granulated sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon brewed coffee (leftovers from the morning is fine)
1 cup (110 grams) all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (30 grams) Dutch-process cocoa powder*
1/2 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups (312 grams) Reese’s Pieces, divided

Preheat oven to 375F/190C. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl.

With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugars in large bowl until fluffy. Add egg, vanilla, and coffee, mix to combine. Add dry ingredients and mix until just blended.

Add 1 cup of Reese’s Pieces to cookie dough, stir with wooden spoon to disperse.

With two small spoons or a small ice cream scoop, drop dough 2 inches/5 cm apart on baking sheets (11-12 per sheet, 22-24 total).

Bake 7 minutes, then top with 3-4 candies and press into the partially baked cookies. Bake for another 2-4 minutes until just baked through. Cool on baking sheets. Store in airtight container with waxed paper or parchment between layers of cookies.

*Cocoa that has been “Dutched” has neutralized the acids in the cocoa. Baking soda relies on an acid to perform as a leavener (ever mixed baking soda and vinegar as a kid?), so baking powder must be used as leavening with Dutch process cocoa, as it simply needs moisture to do its job. It’s difficult to find Dutch process cocoa in the US; I order mine from Amazon.

If you can’t find it, or don’t want to purchase it for just one recipe (though if you like hot cocoa – the real deal – it makes amazing hot cocoa), go ahead and substitute regular natural cocoa powder, and baking soda in place of the baking powder.

I first came up with this recipe a couple of years ago, when I was obsessed with dulce de leche. I guess I still am, but I’m now smart enough to keep it far, far, away from me because I just can’t seem to control myself around the stuff.

Back then, I wanted a recipe for chocolate chip cookies that made a small batch, and I wanted to incorporate dulce de leche, because I had not yet learned to keep myself away from this decadent caramel.

I modeled the cookies on a premade dough tray I purchased from the grocery store years and years ago. My cookies remind me of those cookies from long ago, only I think they’re better. They don’t use up the entire can of caramel, but I’m sure you can come up with plenty of ideas for the leftovers – I know I did…

Dulce de Leche Chocolate Chip Cookies

Print Recipe

8 tablespoons (113 grams) unsalted butter
1/2 cup (100 grams) light brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup (55 grams) granulated sugar
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup (110 grams) all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (170 grams) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 can dulce de leche

Preheat oven to 375F/190C. Line baking sheet with parchment.

In medium bowl, cream butter and sugars until fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Add the egg yolk, stir until incorporated. Add vanilla, stir to combine.

In a small bowl, sift the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to the sugar mixture and stir until just a few streaks of flour remain. Add chocolate chips, fold to combine.

Divide the dough into 12 balls. Flatten each ball and spoon a small amount of dulce de leche in the center. Wrap dough around the caramel to reform a ball and seal the edges. Repeat with remaining dough.

Bake 9-13 minutes and cool slightly on pan.

For several weeks, I had an intense cookie craving.

Not just any cookie, but a chewy cookie bursting with chocolate and a hint of caramel flavor. I figured the easiest way to get that combination would be to modify a current recipe. So I looked to my go-to recipe for chocolate chip cookies, and thought about what I needed to do.

First, I ditched the cake flour – I wanted chewy, not tender. If I’d had bread flour, I would have substituted it for the cake flour. Instead I settled for using just all-purpose flour.

Next, I used just baking soda, no baking powder, because I really didn’t want the cookies to puff up too much.

For more depth of flavor, and a hint of caramel, I used half light brown, half dark brown sugar. To further enhance the overall flavor of the cookie, I used cultured, salted butter from grassfed, pastured cows (it has a higher fat percentage than regular grocery store butter, not to mention much, much more flavor). And being the vanilla addict I am, I used more in this cookie.

And finally, because I had been craving chocolate like there was no tomorrow, I used semi-sweet chocolate discs (chunks would work, too) that melt easily.

Sometimes I just can’t leave good enough alone…

and in this case, that’s a good thing.

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Print Recipe

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons salted butter, melted
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg (room temperature)
1 large egg yolk (room temperature)
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate discs or chunks

Preheat oven to 325*F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and position oven racks in the middle of oven.

Stir together dry ingredients into a small bowl. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the melted butter and sugars, and stir with a wooden spoon until mixed. Add the egg and yolk and stir until well mixed. Add vanilla, stir to combine.

Add half the flour mixture to sugar mixture, stir until half the flour is mixed in. Add the chocolate and remaining flour, stir to combine. Using a large spoon, divide the dough among the baking sheets (about nine cookies per sheet).

Bake for 17-20 minutes, rotating pans halfway through. Cool for 15 minutes on baking sheet, then transfer to wire rack.

It seems as if I’m growing zucchini myself. Each week, our produce box contains several zucchini, many of which are large and only good for baking.

Last weekend I gave away a batch of muffins, and my freezer is overflowing with loaves of baked zucchini bread.

Oh yeah, and I baked a cake.

Now, I can’t eat an entire cake by myself, but I was desperate. Anything to use up shredded zucchini…

And this was all from last week’s box – I now have a new box, filled with zucchini. Any ideas for ways to use it up? Not the small ones – those are easy. But the large zucchini? I’m running out of things to do, besides experimenting in an attempt to better my favorite recipes.

Zucchini Cake

Print Recipe

2 cups (450 grams) granulated sugar
1 ½ cups (355 mL) canola oil
4 large eggs
3 cups (450 grams) shredded zucchini
2 cups (220 grams) all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Dash of salt

Preheat oven to 325*F/165*C. Butter and flour a 9×13 inch (23×33 cm) cake pan.

Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt into medium bowl.

In a large bowl, beat sugar and oil with a handheld mixer or wooden spoon until well blended. Mix in eggs, then zucchini, blend well.

Add flour mixture to sugar, beat until combined.

Transfer batter to cake pan. Bake 45-60 minutes or until inserted cake tester comes out clean. Cool on wire baking rack.

Frost with cream cheese frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Print Recipe

16 ounces (455 grams) cream cheese, softened
½ cup (115 grams) unsalted butter, softened
2 ¾ cups (305 grams) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

Beat butter and cream cheese on medium speed with paddle attachment until combined. Reduce speed to low and slowly add powdered sugar. Add vanilla and beat until mixed, then add a pinch of salt and mix.

As a kid, my favorite part of summer was playing outside. Well, and of course the long break from school.

As an adult, my favorite part of summer is the abundance of fresh produce. Memories of washing off a carrot just pulled from the garden, and munching on it with the greens attached just like Bugs Bunny. Or going strawberry picking with my mom and worrying that they really were going to weigh me before and after, to charge us for all the berries I ate while picking (can you tell it was a lot?). Large green salads served alongside grilled steaks. Or simply the rainbow of color in a fresh fruit salad.

These days, I think more about how little room I have in the fridge after picking up the weekly produce box or hitting my favorite markets to stock up on fruit. With the heatwave just beginning, and a fresh bunch of peaches and raspberries in my fridge, I remembered that I had yet to post this summer recipe for a peach raspberry crisp. The original recipe has you peel the peaches, but I have to say, it’s not worth the extra work and time. Peach skins are so thin that when baked, they seemingly melt in your mouth.

Leaving the skins in place makes this an extremely quick dessert to prepare, though it does need to spend some time in the oven. It’s best to make if you’re going to feed a crowd, as a crisp doesn’t stay crisp all that long in the height of summer.

Peach Raspberry Crisp
adapted from the barefoot contessa cookbook

Print Recipe

12 large peaches
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 pint raspberries
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 pound (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, diced

Preheat oven to 350*F. Butter 13x9x2 inch glass baking dish.

Slice peaches into wedges and place in large bowl. Add 1/4 cup sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar, almond extract, and 2 tablespoons flour. Toss to coat. Mix in raspberries and let sit for 5 minutes. Transfer to baking dish.

With a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, mix 1 1/2 cups flour, 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar, salt, oatmeal, and butter on low until crumbs form; sprinkle over peaches.

Bake 1 hour, or until juices are bubbling and top is brown and crisp. Serve warm.

Store leftovers in fridge, reheating in a 350* oven for 20 minutes.

After taking an unplanned vacation from baking when my oven died, I quickly got over my withdrawal when my new oven was delivered. You already saw the first baked good to emerge from the new oven when I made these chocolate shortcakes. That wasn’t enough, so then I made a super-secret dessert (super-secret because I haven’t shared it with you yet…in due time), which quickly succumbed to the warm temperature and humidity.

It was enough. I had my fix.

Or so I thought.

I blame Martha Stewart. More specifically, one of her many magazines. There it was, sitting next to the grocery checkout, adorned with red, white, and blue iced cookies, all decorated to look like fireworks.

I couldn’t get it out of my head, you see. And with the weather about to go all tropical on me again, if I were to bake cookies, and cover said cookies with royal icing, I had a limited amount of time to accomplish this goal. If I was going to do it, I had to do it NOW.

Out of the fridge came two sticks of butter, over to the store I walked to purchase a bag of confectioners’ sugar, dough was made then chilled, and a counter was cleaned off and thoroughly disinfected to become my workspace. Dough was rolled, cookies baked then cooled.

Then came the real project: icing. It’s not difficult, but egg whites are notoriously temperamental when the moisture content of the air is high. Even though I was tired and hungry for dinner, I had to set that aside to ice the cookies, so the icing could set before the humidity went through the roof.

The thing is, these cookies aren’t difficult to make (or ice), as long as you’re organized. (They are time consuming, however. You don’t want to know what time I finally ate dinner last night.)

I didn’t always know they were easy, though. I shied away from royal icing for years. Years. All because I was intimidated. So, I thought rather than just list the recipes, I’d do a step-by-step of both components: the cookies and the icing. So get ready for a lengthy, picture-filled finish. (That said, it was a challenge to get some of the pictures, holding a camera in one hand while using the other to demonstrate a technique.) Please note, you will still want to print the recipe, but the pictures serve as a guide to each step.

The Cookies
Print recipe

Cut butter into the dry ingredients with 2 knives, a pastry blender, or the paddle attachment on your stand mixer.

Crack the eggs into a small bowl.

Add the sugar and vanilla, then whisk or combine with a fork.

Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture.

Pour the egg mixture into the well.

Mix with the paddle attachment or a wooden spoon until combined. If you use a mixer, you’ll still probably need to use the spoon a little at the end, to get that stubborn flour hanging out at the bottom.

Spoon 1/3 of the dough on a generous size piece of plastic wrap, smack-dab in the middle.

Fold one side of the plastic over.

Spreading the dough out a bit with your hands, then press the plastic together around the edges.

Fold it up to seal, then repeat with the rest of the dough. Into the refrigerator they go for at least an hour, up to 48.

Roll out dough (1/8-1/4 inch thickness) on a floured surface and cut into desired shapes. Bake at 350*F for 8-10 minutes. Cool.

The Royal Icing
Print Recipe

Sift the confectioners’ sugar into a medium bowl.

Combine the meringue powder and water in mixing bowl. Beat with paddle until foamy. Add the corn syrup and extract, mix.

If you don’t want to wear a bunch of white powder, turn the mixer off and add the sifted sugar. Slowly increase the speed until you reach medium-high. Beat until glossy with stiff peaks.

If outlining in white, add some icing to your pastry bag fitted with a small round tip (I use #2 or #5). Use way less than you think you need. I used about 1% of what’s in this bag. Smooth the icing towards the tip, twist the bag above the icing and secure with a twisty tie. Get out a tall glass and pour enough water in to cover the bottom. Place the decorator tip into the water so the icing doesn’t dry out.

Divide your icing into clean containers for each color. Notice my glass of water with the pastry bag in the back?

Get your colors ready…

And mix! Remember, in general, a little of the paste coloring goes a long way. Well, except red. I think I used half the bottle. If you need some of the thick icing for outlining, add it to a prepared decorator bag.

Thin the remaining thick icing with water, a teaspoon at a time, until a ribbon of icing falls back onto itself after 3 seconds. Pour into squeeze bottle and cover the tip with a damp paper towel.

Get organized! Try to have a clean tray or board nearby for decorated cookies, as well as your work area. Make sure the bottles are easily accessible.

If necessary, move things around a bit. Notice my glass with icing has moved? I remembered from experience that it’s more convenient to have it located off to my right. Also, make sure plenty of toothpicks (clean ones!) are available.

My least favorite part: outlining. The first ones are always the worst. Work in batches of 4-6 at a time.

My favorite part: flooding. Just squeeze the thinned icing around the cookies; try to get pretty near the outline without touching it, then move in towards the middle in a swirl.

Use a toothpick to spread the icing a bit to fill in the gaps…

so it looks like this.

To make hearts, place dots on the cookie in the pattern you want the hearts to go in. Here, I plan to make a circle of hearts.

Slowly drag the toothpick through the dots, creating hearts.

To make a “flower firework”, add circles in the desired colors.

With your toothpick, start at the outside and drag it through the circles to the middle, then back out towards the edge. (Sorry for the crazy picture – I had the camera in one hand, the toothpick in the other.)

Continue the toothpick pattern, creating petals.

So it looks like this. Well, minus the part where I hit the edge because the camera slipped. Whoops.

(For the more traditional fireworks pattern that I somehow didn’t get a picture of but resembles a spiderweb, do the colored circles, but run each line from the middle to the edge, pick up the toothpick, go back to the middle, run it to the edge, etc.)

When you’re done, your kitchen might look like this. If necessary, move everything to a safe area (kitty-, child-, significant other-proof area) to dry. Overnight works perfect.

Enjoy your cookies! They’ll keep quite awhile.

Royal Icing recipe adapted from Bake at 350