Diane's 6-spice oatmeal raisin cookies

A quick post between projects to tide you over 'til the weekend. These cookies are a perfect mid-week baking project: they're quick, chewy and pack well in lunches.

Don't be intimated by the lengthy ingredient list. If you don't already have everything on hand, you'll find what you're missing in any respectable grocery store. Once you've measured out all of the spices, the dough comes together in a snap.

My fondness for oatmeal raisin cookies surprises even me. I was an extremely picky eater as a kid, and raisins are surely among the top 10 most despised foods. In my experience, putting raisins in virtually anything is a surefire way to win a handful of scornful glances in any crowd. I've always kind of liked them though: they're sweet, plump and fabulous friends with oatmeal. Must be all those porridge breakfasts growing up.

R. has nothing against raisins, but cookies without chocolate concern him. And so, Diane's 6-Spice Oatmeal Raisin Cookies came to have chocolate chips.

That Diane was sure on to something, putting cumin in cookies, but I daresay it was R. that gave them a shot at stardom.

Diane's 6-Spice Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cumin
pinch of ground cloves
pinch of cayenne
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups rolled oats, old-fashioned or quick-cooking
1 cup raisins
1 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone baking mat.

Sift the flour, spices, baking soda and salt into a medium bowl. Set aside.

In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until smooth. Whip out your wooden spoon, the rest will be by hand.

Add the flour mixture and stir slowly, just until combined. Stir in the rolled oats, raisins and chocolate chips (if using). The dough should be quite stiff, but still sticky.

Drop by the tablespoonful onto prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Bake until golden (about 8-10 minutes).

Cool cookies on the baking sheet for 1 minute, before transferring them to racks to cool completely.

Source: Epicurious.com, originally published in Gourmet, September 1997.

Within cake distance

When there's a birthday in the family, I always bring the cake.



In June, it was Baked's Sweet and Salty Cake for my mom.

In July, it was Martha Stewart's Blueberry Pie for West Coast brother D. and partner in crime R.

In August, it was Smitten Kitchen's Best Birthday Cake for Uncle G. and first cousin once removed C. (No, seriously.)

My August cake showing was a bit weak. Cake flour and I, we don't get along very well. Try as I might, I can't recall a single cake flour cake I've ever made that wasn't dry. Maybe they're especially sensitive to over-baking, or perhaps the fine grind of cake flour makes volume-based measurements even sketchier than usual. Whatever the case, I've tucked my bag of cake flour into the deepest recesses of my corner cupboard. It needs a time-out to reflect on what it's done and how it's going to make things up to me.

In the meantime, people aren't getting any younger. The show must go on.

September strutted in with not 1, not 2, but -- count them -- 3 family birthdays: sister J., niece B. and nephew D. And those are just the ones within cake distance.* Prairie brother D. went without in Alberta, as did brother-in-law C. in Oakville. Just one more good reason to live in Vancouver, I guess.

But I digress.

We celebrated the trio of September birthdays with a citrus take on a tried and true classic. Once again, the recipe did not disappoint. The cake is so light and moist, everyone will be convinced it's from a box.** The frosting is rich and sweet, but whipped to airy perfection it's a dream to pipe. For those who insist there is such a thing as too sweet (introduce me to that, will you), the tangy slick of citrus curd should keep them satisfied.

Cake:
1 cup butter, at room temperature
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
6 egg whites
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 tablespoon citrus zest***
3 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/2 cups milk

Citrus Curd:
1/2 cup citrus juice
1 tablespoon citrus zest
2/3 cup sugar
4 eggs
1/2 cup whipping cream

Citrus Frosting:
1 cup butter, at room temperature
6 cups icing sugar, sifted
1/3 cup half milk/half citrus juice

Begin with the cake. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease two 9-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until very light. Add egg whites two at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla and citrus zest.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder. Set aside. Measure out the milk. Add about 1/3 of the flour and mix lightly with a wooden spoon. Follow that with 1/2 of the milk/juice and another light mix. Repeat until the flour and milk/juice are gone. Do not overmix!

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. Bake for 25-30 minutes or just until a cake tester comes out clean when inserted in the centre. Cool the cakes for 10 minutes in the pans and then flip them out onto racks to cool completely, removing the parchment from the bottom when you do.

While your cakes are cooling, prepare the citrus curd. Combine citrus juice, zest and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat.

In the meantime, beat the eggs in a medium bowl. Slowly whisk in the hot lemon juice mixture.

Return everything to the saucepan and cook on medium heat for 3-5 minutes, until thick and bubbling. Use a fine sieve to strain the mixture into a clean bowl. Refrigerate until cool.

Whip the cream until soft peaks form. Fold the whipped cream lightly into the cooled curd using a flexible spatula. Cover and refrigerate until you're ready to build the cake.

Next, prepare the frosting. In a large bowl, beat the butter on high until light. Gradually beat in 4 cups of icing sugar. Add the milk and vanilla and mix to combine. Gradually beat in the remaining 2 cups of icing sugar.

Place one layer of cake, top side down, on a serving platter. Spread a generous layer of the citrus curd (you probably won't use it all) and then top with the second cake layer, top side up. At this point, you may want to chill the cake for a half hour or so to help the curd set.

Before frosting the cake, insert 3-4 long skewers in the top of the cake, through both layers, to hold everything in place. Frost the sides, then the top. Remove the skewers and finish off the details as you see fit.

Makes one 9-inch, 2-layer cake.

* Think spitting/striking distance, but less disgusting/scary.
** Apparently that's a good thing to most people. As R. always says, "Just roll with it."
*** I used lemon in the cake and frosting and a combination of lemon and lime in the curd. Grapefruit could be cool.

Notes: This cake is a riff on the White on White Birthday Cake of August 2006. Has it really been 3 years already?

Source: Bonnie Stern's Essentials of Home Cooking

Toasted coconut marshmallows

The scene: It's the Tuesday after Summerscream 2009 and my office mates and I are just sitting down to a staff meeting.

Pulling a Tupperware from my purse:
I brought in a treat to get us through the next 2 hours.

Everyone leans in for a closer look.



Suddenly feeling a little self-conscious:
They're marshmallows.

The latest addition to the team pipes up, in disbelief:
Really? You made them from scratch? Who does that?

Attempting to explain how making marshmallows was completely logical -- reasonable, even -- given the circumstances:
I'm not crazy, it's not like I make them all the time or anything. I just had a lot of toasted coconut and egg whites kicking around and this seemed like a good way to use them up.

Another, slightly bemused face:
Why did you have so many egg whites?

Now I can really feel the pink creeping up my neck and into my cheeks:
They were left over when I made the batter for our homemade ice cream par...

Realizing it's a lost cause:
Oh nevermind.

--------------------

Toasted Coconut Marshmallows
~2 cups coconut, toasted
~1 cup icing sugar
2 tablespoons + 2 1/2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup cold water
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup hot water
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large egg whites (or the equivalent in powdered egg whites)
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spread coconut evenly on a metal baking sheet. Bake, stirring every 3-4 minutes, until golden brown (about 10-12 minutes in total). Remove from pan and set aside.

Grease the bottom and sides of 9x13-inch baking pan, dust generously with icing sugar and then a layer of toasted coconut. Set aside.

In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, sprinkle gelatin over cold water and let stand to soften.

Meanwhile, cook the sugar, corn syrup, hot water and salt in a heavy saucepan over low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon until the sugar is dissolved.

Increase heat to medium and boil mixture, without stirring, until a candy or digital thermometer registers 240 degrees Fahrenheit (about 12 minutes).

Remove pan from heat and pour sugar mixture over gelatin mixture, stirring until gelatin is dissolved.

With a stand or hand-held electric mixer, beat the mixture on high until it is white, thick and nearly tripled in volume (about 6 minutes with a stand mixer or 10 minutes with a hand-held mixer).

In a large bowl, with clean beaters, beat the egg whites (or reconstituted powdered egg whites) just until they hold stiff peaks. Add the egg whites and vanilla to the sugar mixture and mix briefly and lightly.

Pour mixture into the prepared baking pan, smoothing the top with a spatula. Shake toasted coconut on top, pressing lightly so that it adheres.

Chill, uncovered, until firm (at least 3 hours and up to 1 day).

Run a thin knife around the edges of the pan and flip the marshmallow slab out onto a large cutting board. Trim the edges and cut into cubes. Immediately roll the cubes in the remaining toasted coconut

Store in an airtight container at cool room temperature for up to 1 week. If you must stack your marshmallows, be sure to separate the layers with wax paper.

Source: Epicurious.com, originally published in Gourmet, December 1998.

Summerscream 2009

A few weeks ago, we hosted Summerscream, our annual* hand-churned ice cream event, for a few friends here in Vancouver. As in years past, we kept the ice cream simple and the toppings excessive.

The U.S. took on France in The Battle of the Vanilla Ice Creams. Despite my strong endorsement of the Philadelphia-style concoction, the richer French custard was the overwhelming 1st choice among our taste testers.

Public opinion on the toppings was far less conclusive. With too many options, people fall victim to the tyranny of choice and start second-guessing their instincts.

Based on the spoils, though, it's clear that fresh strawberries were a crowd pleaser. I suspect it has something to do with their nutritional value in a relatively vitamin-challenged selection. I can't say the same for the maraschino cherries. Once again, I may have been the sole indulger.

When all was said and done, we were left with:

• 15 egg whites
  
• a ridiculous amount of toasted coconut (among other things)
  
• a salt-stained balcony (a lesson in hand-cranked ice cream for those who haven't had the pleasure and are puzzled by the salt)

It was during the post-party clean-up, batting around soapsuds and contemplating what to do with all those egg whites, that I had the epiphany for what came next.

Stay tuned.

Source: Summerscream 2009 featured David Lebovitz's vanilla (French-style) and the Lutz family vanilla (Philly-style).**

* Summerscream took a brief hiatus in 2007 and 2008, during our globe-trotting years.
** Strictly speaking, the Lutz family vanilla is a quasi Philly-style ice cream. The recipe doesn't require a custard, but it does call for eggs.

Pint-sized peach pie (and plenty of P's)

As it turns out, peach pie packs a palate-pleasing punch for passing from summer to autumn pathos-free. Make it pint-sized, and your pants will be praising its pluses too.

Perfection personified.

Pint-Sized Peach Pie
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
700 grams (1 1/2 pounds) peaches

1/2 of your favourite pastry recipe, chilled and ready to roll
(i.e., enough pastry to fill the bottom of a regular-sized pie plate)

1-2 tablespoons whipping cream

In a large bowl, stir together the sugar, cornstarch and spices. Set aside.

Bring a medium saucepan of water to boil. Meanwhile, fill a medium bowl with ice water. Blanch the peaches, 3 at a time, for 1 minute each. Immediately transfer the blanched fruit to the ice water until cool enough to touch. Peel carefully using a sharp knife.

Pit the peaches and cut them into thin, bite-sized wedges. Add the peach slices and lemon juice to the dry ingredients above and toss to coat. Let the filling stand for 30 minutes, until juices form.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and have a loaf pan ready.

Roll out your pastry into a rectangle large enough to cover the bottom and sides of your loaf pan, plus a little extra. Transfer the pastry to the loaf pan, carefully easing it into the corners without stretching. Leave an overhang around the perimeter.

Use a slotted spoon to scoop the peach filling into the pastry shell. Drizzle a bit of the reserved sauce on top and discard the rest to avoid a runny pie.

Fold the overhang pastry up and over the filling, crimping it to hold the peaches inside. Don't worry if some of the filling is exposed. On the other hand, if your filling is completely covered, be sure to make a few decorative cuts in the pastry for steam to escape. Lightly brush the top with whipping cream (or an egg wash).

Bake for 25 minutes. Rotate and check progress, then return to oven until the pastry is golden brown and the filling is bubbling. Mine took about 40-45 minutes in total.

Notes: To make a pint-sized version of your favourite pie, simply halve your filling and pastry recipes.

Source: Spiced Peach Pie at Epicurious.com, originally published in Bon Appétit, July 2000.