running with tweezers

not perfect but just right

So on Friday, I had all these berries leftover from a photo shoot that were going to waste in the fridge. At the sweet's request, I took to the internet and found a recipe for a basic, yummy sounding recipe. Sure enough, it came together in a flash & went in the oven. Cobbler is something I love dearly but never think to make for myself...so this was quite a treat, despite its simplicity. I knew I had to share it with you

I took about 30 shots of this darned delicious cobbler before I took an extra spoonful out...trying to show more of the inside. After all, it's not about what's on the outside - cobbler is all about the sexy, mixed-together fruit inside. So sitting on my auxiliary dish was the rejected spoonful - all golden, mashed together and randomly delicious looking. I took a shot or two, brushed the goop off the top to show the crust, and snapped away.

I'm in love with this shot. It's everything cobblers...desserts...food in general should be. Delicious. Inviting. Unintimidating. It's definitely not perfect but for me, it's just right.

Strawberry - Blueberry Cobbler - original recipe found here 

• 6 cups fresh strawberries - rinsed and drained, tops removed and cut into halves
• 1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries - rinsed and drained
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 3 tbsp. cornstarch
• 2 cups of flour
• 1 stick of chilled butter
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 cup skim milk

- Preheat your oven to 350. Mix the berries with the first 1/3 cup sugar and cornstarch. Allow to sit while you make your topping batter

- Mix the flour, chilled butter, 1/4 cup sugar, baking soda, baking powder with your hands, pastry cutter or in food processor until just combined - it will have a chunky pebble like texture. Slowly add in the milk until it forms a dough. You don't want to overwork the dough - just mix until combined.

- Spread berry mixture into your baking pan - this filled a deep pie pan for me. Drop dough mixture over berries randomly but in a layer so that it covers the fruit. Bake in oven until the crust is golden brown and the fruit is bubbling on the sides - this took about 35 minutes in my oven. Serve warm alone or with whipped cream or ice cream.

sugar coma

Pardon the delay in getting this post done - I've been, quite literally, in a Sugar Coma. I came back from NYC with such quickness to see my dear friend Helen and attend what is already the event of 2010 here in Atlanta: Sugar Coma - a chauffeured tour of sweeteries and bakeries put together by ultra fabulous The Broke Socialite. Helen was in town acting as the "Sugar Mama" of the tour - visiting with attendees and talking about her life as blogger/pastry chef/photographer extraordinaire. It was quite a treat to spend part of the day with her and to meet all the chefs, restaurant owners and fellow bloggers (like Bakerella!) that were on the tour with me. 

The afternoon started at Le Fais Do-Do, a multi use event facility on the super-trendy West-side of Atlanta. One of the large ballrooms was set in gorgeous tables for us to have some lunch before we took off on our tour. The savory lunch from Black Tie BBQ was just the thing we needed before the sugar shock set in. 

After lunch, we loaded up in super-swanky 2010 Cadillac (our transportation sponsor) SRX's and took off...but not before we got our first sweet treat of the day. Love N' Cupcakes, who is launching Atlanta's first mobile cupcake truck - soon to be showing up in spots all over town -  brought us cupcakes in to-go boxes so we didn't have to stand in the rain to get our sugar fix. I had a lemon cupcake that was delish - as you can see from the photo, the HoHo flavor wasn't too shabby either. 

Next, we got to get a sneak peek at the new space that West-side classic West Egg Cafe is moving into. Those who live on that side of town are in for a treat - what a cool and creatively decorated space. Chef Patric Bell's cupcakes are the stuff of legend - his red velvet cupcakes make folks swoon. There were also coca-cola and black bottom cupcakes for us to try. That black bottom cupcake, which I ate too fast to take a photo of, was one of my favorite sweets of the day.

A new addition to the bakery scene here in Atlanta, Bakeshop, really outdid themselves. Tables and tables of one of everything they make allowed us to nosh, take photos and really get a feel for what Bakeshop is all about. While we were there for all things sweet, they have a great menu of salads and sandwiches, as well. Each guest was also sent home with a loaf of chocolate raisin panettone to enjoy later. 

For those who don't live in Atlanta, the doughnuts in this photo have created a foodie buzz and cult-like following that isn't often seen in this town. They're Sublime Doughnuts - a very fitting name. All flavors are delicious - I'm partial to any of the A-Town varieties. Their inclusion on our Sugar Coma tour had everyone buzzing.

We had our doughnut fix at Noon Midtown, who now carries Sublime Doughnuts during the week. I was super excited to make a stop at Noon - my schedule hadn't allowed me to have lunch there yet. The space is stunningly designed - I felt so calm and relaxed while I was there. They have an extensive lunch menu and specials during the week. You can follow them on Twitter where they conveniently announce those specials. The pairing of their Mexican spiced hot chocolate with the doughnuts made me dreamily sigh.

Our final stop on the tour was Little Cake Bakery, an adorable cupcakery in Buckhead. It's tucked away off Roswell Road and - without the Sugar Coma tour - I probably wouldn't have known it was there. They smartly sent us home with 4-pack boxes of cupcakes so we could enjoy them when we weren't so full and suffering sugar fatigue. The frosting shots were swooned over by everyone - I can't believe no one I know had thought of doing that before. Most people think the cake is a vehicle for the frosting, right?  

Everyone was also gifted with a KILLER swag bag, which was put together by various sponsors and The Broke Socialite. Included as one of the goodies was a Sugah candle from Low Country Luxe - I gave one of these beauties away in my Menu For Hope prize. There were also heirloom recipe cards from IceMilk Aprons, cookies from The Cookie Studio and yummy baked goodies from Scratch.   

I'm so glad I got to share this event with you - it was truly like no other food event I've ever been a part of. It was also a very sweet treat to meet all the great folks that experienced Sugar Coma with me.  Thank you to everyone who took part in organizing this and giving us a taste of all the sweet stuff Atlanta has to offer!

upside down and a little cooked out

Oh, December. It's almost time for us to part...and while our time together has been sweet, I'm feeling a bit...overwhelmed...and I think we need a break. It's not you, it's me. I promise.

Okay...so that's a bit dramatic. I'm back from the holidays in Shreveport and we had a really, really wonderful time. We spent Christmas day cooking, saw some friends, met new people, and were pretty much spoiled. So what's the problem? I'm full. I know, I know... that's the nature of the holidays and I really wouldn't have it any other way. That having been said, it's time for a week or two of clean living (low on carbs, high on vegetables and water!)

Before we embark on some healthy eating, I just had to share this cake with you. I've made it twice this month and it's been so well received that I couldn't keep it to myself. Pineapple upside down cake holds so many nostalgic memories for a lot of people that it just make folks smile when you uncover it. I'd forgotten how much *I* enjoyed it and I'm so glad I rediscovered it.

I've altered Nigella's recipe a little bit to make this a little moister and a little more flavorful. A touch of vanilla and a splash of orange juice does this recipe wonders. It also helps stretch the dough out to make a 9" or 10" cake. You can cut this cake and your guests can happily eat this as is. However, you could also serve this slightly warm with some vanilla ice cream or homemade whipped cream for some extra "mmmm"s.

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake - based on Nigella Lawson's original recipe found here - serves 8

• Butter or baking/cooking spray for greasing the pan
• 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 8 slices canned pineapple rings
• 1/2 cup candied cherries
• 2/3 cup flour
• ½ cup (1 stick) soft butter
• ½ cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup orange juice or pineapple juice - I used orange-mango juice and it was delish!

- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Prep your 9 or 10 inch spring-form pan or cast iron skillet with butter or cooking/baking spray

- Sprinkle the 2 tablespoons of light brown sugar over the bottom of the cake pan. Arrange the pineapple slices to make a circular pattern as in the picture.

- Fill each pineapple ring with a maraschino cherry and then dot one in each of the spaces in between the rings.

- Put the flour, butter, sugar, eggs, baking powder, and baking soda into a food processor (or large bowl & electric hand mixer) and blend until the batter is smooth. Then pour in the vanilla and the orange juice to thin the batter and amp up the flavor.

- Pour this mixture carefully over the cherry-studded pineapple rings- This recipe makes a large, flat cake. It will only just cover the fruit, so spread it out gently.

- Bake for 20-25 minutes depending on the calibration of your oven. I check mine at 20 minutes - it's done when a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool and run a knife around the edge of the cake in the pan to loosen the edges. Flip over onto serving plate or cake stand. Serve.

happy hour & happy holidays

Some things you eat or drink will always remind you of someone in your life. Do you all have those recipes that are connected with a friend or family member? It's been a bit of a whirlwind year (where has it gone!?) and Asheville played a big part in my travels this year. On the second trip there, for the National Gingerbread Competition, Helen and I had a cocktail at The Grove Park Inn that we talked about for days and days afterwards. It embodied everything about our long weekend there: sweet, imaginative, and a wee bit over the top: The Gingerbread White Russian.

I served this cocktail the other night at a holiday dinner party. While many people give a sideways look to the frou-frou "girly drink", this was happily consumed by everyone at the party - for some people, that meant multiple times. Be as fancy and embellished as you want - crush up gingersnaps or peppermint candies for the rim. Grate chocolate on top or dust with a sprinkle of cocoa or cinnamon. I used a candy cane as a swizzle stick in mine - the candy melts away and infuses the drink with minty flavor. This drinks is all about the just-a-tad-too-glitzy-but-who-cares-ness of the holiday season. 

Gingerbread White Russian - recipe makes one drink - based on a drink from The Grove Park Inn

• 1 1/4 ounces vanilla flavored vodka
• 1 ounce Kahlua
• 1/2 ounce Gingerbread Syrup - Torani makes one you can get at places like World Market or online
• 1 ounce heavy cream, half and half, or whole milk - I prefer half & half here
• Garnish ideas: sugar rim, crushed peppermint candy rim, peppermint swizzle stick, rock candy swizzle stick, crushed gingersnap rim, mint leaves, cinnamon/cocoa/chocolate sprinkle on top

- Measure all ingredients into a shaker filled 1/3 of the way with ice. Shake vigorously and strained into your rimmed martini glass. Sprinkle with cinnamon, cocoa or shaved chocolate. Serve immediately.

Chocolate: A Love Story...and a cookbook giveaway!

Two pieces of useless information about me:

1) I consider both carrot cake and red velvet cake merely vehicles for cream cheese frosting.

2) As some of you have heard before, I am not a fan of chocolate as most people are.

Having recently received a copy of Chocolate: A Love Story from Little Brown, I wasn't quite sure what I would tackle first. Let me say that this is one of the most visually moving and interesting cookbooks I've gotten in a long time - more a food coffee table book than a cookbook, per se. The graphic design elements in the book are like nothing I've ever seen from a cookbook. I was in a full swoon as soon as I opened it.

Trying hard to focus on the recipes as much as I was the design of the book, I got sidetracked as to what I would make first. Flipping through the pages in need of a dessert for a dinner party, I spied a carrot cake. SOLD! Wait...there's no frosting. There's no cream cheese frosting. Keep movin' along then. After I went through the rest of the book, I came back to that carrot cake recipe. A simple cake - something both Mike and I are fans of - chock full of candied ginger, dates, and a just a smattering of chocolate to sweeten things up. 

My first words of wisdom about this recipe are: the batter is a little scary. There is no sugar in this cake - it uses only honey as the sweetening agent. When I tasted the batter before pouring it in the pan, it tasted very mild and almost flour-y. Very thick and gloppy and intimidating. Don't worry - just make sure all of your ingredients are equally combined in the batter and throughout the pan.

I used a mixture of finely and coarsely grated carrots for a little more "tooth" in the cake - something everyone enjoyed. Being fans more of darker chocolate than its sweeter counterpart, I used Scharffen Berger bittersweet chocolate in mine - use whichever you prefer. For my dinner party dessert, I served it with a little maple ginger snap ice cream. The combination was a huge hit. You could also serve this with some cream cheese ice cream as a witty take on the classic. 

I have a copy of Chocolate: A Love Story to give away, courtesy of Little Brown. All you have to do to win this cookbook is leave a comment after this post and tell me what your favorite chocolate indulgence is. A random winner will be chosen at 10 am EST on Friday, November 20th. Please, please, please make sure to include an email address somewhere so I can contact you if you're the winner!

Modest Carrot Cake - makes between 6 and 8 generous servings - recipe originally from Chocolate: A Love Story by Max Brenner

• 1 stick butter, softened
• 1/2 cup good quality wildflower honey
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flower
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 3 cups freshly grated carrots (about 8 carrots)
• 1/2 cup chopped California dates
• 1/2 cup chopped candied ginger
• 6 ounces dark chocolate, coarsely chopped into chunks (i used Scharffen Berger)

- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Lightly grease a 9 inch round cake pan.

- In a mixing bowl, beat the butter and honey until smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in the milk and orange juice.

- In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, mixing until just incorporated. Fold in the carrots, dates, ginger and chocolate until just combined.

- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and rap the pan a few times against the counter to knock out any air bubbles. Bake until the crust is a light golden brown and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool on a rack. Dust with confectioners sugar before serving.

how sweet of you

I'm not going to mince words here: this is one of the best cookies I've ever eaten. My friend Jen, whom you just met through her soup recipe post, brought these to the Eat on $30 Challenge wrap party. They sat on a plate pretty innocent like. People plowed through all of the savory apps and then made their way to this unassuming brown crackly cookie. Glimmering with a little coarse sugar, they just hinted at how delicious they would be. A plate of them was devoured in mere minutes. Everything you want a cookie to be - sweet but not too sweet, chewy with a little give, perfectly spiced and baked.

Yesterday, a conversation online between Betty and I ended with BOTH of us baking these cookies. When I mentioned that I had made them, other people who attended the party gathered up the ingredients and made them, as well. A viral cookie baking outbreak. There are ginger chewies all over Atlanta...if they haven't been eaten already.

I made this batch - my first - per recipe to see how they turn out. Jen makes two tweaks to hers that I think are crucial: rolling them in coarse Turbinado sugar makes a world of different. The slight crunch of the sugar is incredible with the chewy cookie. Also, she makes her smaller, which aids to a better texture and a slightly flatter cookie. You can adjust the recipe however you prefer yours to be. Just be prepared to eat them quickly.

Ginger Chewies - original recipe shared with me by Jen found on Chow - makes 14

• 2 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon cloves
• 12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), at room temperature
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup molasses
• About 1/4 cup granulated sugar

- Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Heat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

- Sift the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and ginger, and cloves into a medium bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and brown sugar, egg and molasses, and mix until blended and an even light brown color, about 1 minute.  Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing. Add the egg and molasses, and mix until blended and an even light brown color, about 1 minute. On low speed, add the flour mixture, mixing just to incorporate it.

- Spread the granulated sugar on a large piece of wax or parchment paper. Roll 1/4 cup of dough between the palms of your hands into a 2-inch ball, roll the ball in the sugar, and place on one of the prepared baking sheets. Continue making cookies, spacing them 2 inches apart.

- Bake the cookies one sheet at a time until the tops feel firm but they are still soft in the center and there are several large cracks on top, about 14 minutes. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then use a wide metal spatula to transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

- The cookies can be stored in a tightly covered container at room temperature for up to 4 days.

a happy accident

We started out on the Saturday of our Swalloween dinner party with the best of dessert intentions: we were going to make pie. Let us not forget that neither Mike nor I are bakers - pie crust was one of two things (the other being fried chicken) that my mom couldn't cook. They were her kryptonite...and therefore, it's one of those things I haven't really ever attempted from scratch. Flipping through the November issue of Bon Appetit, Mike decided his contribution to the dinner party would be pie - a mock mincemeat pie. WITH A LATTICE TOP, no less. Oh boy.

It started out just fine. The filling was tedious but the smells told us it was well worth it. When it was time to tackle the crust, that's when things got dicey. Long story short, it didn't come together. Time really got the best of us and the panic set in as to what we'd serve to end the meal. In a moment straight out of Chopped (holy stocked fridge, batman!), we baked off some phyllo dough, made some boozy whipped cream and threw in the candied ginger I randomly bought at the market.

It was delicious. Actually, beyond delicious. It was wolfed down by 8 people in a symphony of "mmm"s and "yumm"s. Visually stunning, seasonally appropriate but light enough to end a filling winter meal - it's a winner, accidentally or not.

Mincemeat Napoleons with Rum Cream and Candied Ginger Petals - makes enough filling for 16 napoleons. A full package of phyllo dough gives you endless pastry layers. 

For the filling:

• 1 1/2 pounds Granny Smith apples (about 3 large), peeled, quartered, cored and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 cup dried currants
• 3/4 cup golden raisins
• 3/4 cup sweetened dried cranberries
• 3/4 cup diced dried apricots
• 1/2 cup dried tart or sweet cherries
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tbsp. mild flavored (light) molasses
• 2 tbsp. dark rum
• 2 tbsp. brandy
• 2 tbsp. cornstarch
• 2 tbsp (1/4 stick) unsalted butter
• 1 tsp. finely grated orange peel
• 3/4 finely grated lemon peel
• 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/4 ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• Large pinch of ground cloves
• Large pinch of fine sea salt

- Place 1/3 of apples in processor. Using on/off turns, chop into small pieces. Transfer chopped apples to large saucepan. Repeat chopping remaining apples in 2 more batches in processor. Add to saucepan. Place all dried fruit in processor. Using on/off turns, chop until beginning to stick together. Add dried fruits to saucepan with apples. Add sugar, molasses, rum. brandy, cornstarch, butter, orange peel, lemon peel, spices and sea salt. Stir to blend. Simmer over medium-low heat until mixture is very thick, stirring often to prevent scorching - about 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from heat. Transfer filling to large bowl and cool until warm but not cold.

For pastry:

• 1 package phyllo dough, thawed
• 1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted

- Preheat oven to 350.  On a large, nonstick cookie sheet, place one layer of phyllo perfectly flat. Using a basting or pastry brush, brush layer of pastry evenly with melted butter. Top with another layer of phyllo and repeat process. Do this until you have 4 layers of phyllo on top of one another with butter brushed on the top of the stack. With a very sharp knife, score the pastry into desired squares or rectangle shapes. Separate slightly and place in over. Bake until golden brown - for me, this was about 5 minutes. Allow to cool thoroughly.You want to have three pieces - regardless of their shape - per dessert you want to serve.

For garnish:

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 3 tbsp. dark rum (you can substitute any liquor you have on hand that would be complementary)
• 2 tbsp. powdered sugar
• candied ginger - cut into small dice or slivers

- In a stand mixer, combine rum, cream and sugar. Beat on medium-low heat until mostly stiff peaks form. Place in fridge until needed. Set ginger aside until assembly.

To assemble:

- Place one square of baked phyllo on serving plate. Carefully spread the slightly warm filling over the phyllo pastry, being careful not to break it. Top that layer with another piece of phyllo dough. Repeat and top with one more piece of phyllo. After it's all assembled, dollop with the chilled whipped cream and a sprinkle of candied ginger. Serve immediately.

bar none

In the "I rarely have a sweet tooth" weirdness that is my gastronomic cravings, there is a sub-topic that makes people really clutch their pearls: I don't really like cheesecake. I feel like I should like it because it's the decadent cousin to all the sweets I do like: creamy mousses, panna cotta, ice creams. Not the case. As it turns out, I'm even pickier about cheesecakes than I am most other desserts. It's often a texture nightmare and, quite frankly, it's too dense and too sweet a lot of the time. Oh yeah...and that "cheesecake" with the commercial grade cherry or strawberry sauce on it? Oy.

What I do like is pumpkin. I also like tiny doses of dark chocolate. Having both of them in the cabinet was just screaming for me to combine them. I don't make bar desserts nearly enough and it's something that everyone really does love. I figured this way, I could make them, have a little sample, and send them off with my sweetie to work.

That's exactly what I did because these bad boys are RICH. I used bittersweet chocolate (from Scharffen Berger. thanks, BlogHerFood!) to cut some of the sweetness. I went a little crazy with my swirls on top - if you want perfectly made desserts, go see Helen's blog. These are what I look for in a bar: rustic, gooey and sweet. The recipe says it makes 16 bars - you could EASILY cut this recipe into smaller pieces and everyone's sweet tooth would be taken care of.

Pumpkin Chocolate Cheesecake Bars - makes 16 generous sized bars - original recipe found here

FOR THE CRUST

• 20 chocolate wafer cookies, (half a 9-ounce package)
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

FOR THE FILLING

• 2 packages bar cream cheese, (8 ounces each)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin puree
• 3 large eggs
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin-pie spice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil, leaving an overhang on all sides. Set aside.
- In a food processor, blend cookies with sugar until finely ground (you should have about 1 cup crumbs); add butter, and pulse until moistened.
- Transfer crumb mixture to prepared pan, and press gently into bottom. Bake until fragrant and slightly firm, 12 to 15 minutes. Set aside to cool.
- Place cream cheese in food processor; blend until smooth. Add sugar, pumpkin puree, eggs, flour, pumpkin-pie spice, and salt; process until combined. Set aside. Place chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl; microwave in 30-second increments, stirring between each, until melted. Add 1 cup pumpkin mixture; stir to combine. Set aside.
- Pour remaining pumpkin mixture into prepared pan. Drop dollops of chocolate mixture onto pumpkin mixture; swirl. Bake until cheesecake is set but jiggles slightly when gently shaken, 40 to 50 minutes.
Cool in pan. Cover; chill until firm, at least 2 hours (and up to 2 days). Using overhang, transfer cake to work surface. With a knife dipped in water, cut into 16 squares. Serve.

tucking in

Oh, Autumn. I have missed you so. Even without those nasty bouts of some reverse seasonal disorder where summer in Atlanta makes me a teensy bit stabby, you've always been my favorite. I've always been in love with dramatic coats and boots with tights. The perfect cowl neck sweater and, oh yeah, HATS. Believe it or not, this hair of mine actually fits under one. I guess it all goes back to finding comfort and coziness when things are a little brisk.

The other fabulous thing about fall is the fruits of fall. While I love all things farmers market - and I've swooned over many a berry in my time - I do so love pears and apples. Walking through the aisles of our farmers market the other day, all of the colors of them shining on top of the boxes brought such a smile to my face.

Some D'Anjou (you can use any pears suitable for baking) pears were on sale, so I snagged a few and tub of oats and threw together this crumble. I used up some scraps of crystallized ginger I had around. You can definitely taste the subtle tang of the ginger that has melted into the fruit. It's a wonderful fall dessert - the pears stay just a touch firm, richly spiced and warmly comforting.

Pear and Crystallized Ginger Crumble - serves 6 to 8 - original recipe available here

For topping

    •    1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
    •    2/3 cup old-fashioned oats
    •    2/3 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
    •    1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
    •    1/8 teaspoon salt
    •    1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

For filling

•   3 pounds firm but ripe pears, peeled, cored, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
•   2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
•   1/3 cup sugar
•   2 tablespoons minced crystallized ginger
•   1 1/2 tablespoons unbleached all purpose flour


- Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter 13 x 9 x 2-inch glass baking dish. Mix first 5 ingredients in medium bowl. Add butter and rub in with fingertips until moist clumps form.

- Combine pear slices and lemon juice in large bowl. Add remaining ingredients and toss to blend.

- Transfer filling to prepared dish. Sprinkle topping over. Bake crumble until pears are tender and topping is golden brown and crisp, about 45 minutes. Cool at least 20 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

sandwiched between

Ever since I got back from the beach, I've had this insatiable desire to bake, which is weird for the girl with no real sweet tooth.  It could be a nesting thing - we're moved in now. More significantly, the Kitchenaid has moved in - that was a big step. While it's taking up more space on the countertops than I'd like to admit, it's this sexy orange appliance that's the symbol of what we're doing moving into the loft. Making something - together.

In the midst of getting ready to head to San Francisco for Blog Her Food '09 (so excited about this, btw!), I wanted to bake something sweet to leave behind in the fridge. I've been holding onto this recipe (virtually, of course) that I came across on a blog called Sweet Charity Pie. Of all the type of sweets I like, its citrusy ones. These whoopie pies just called my name. They are super easy to make - the batter for the cakey cookie alone would be delicious by itself. Add a more-gooey-than-fluffy lemon filling and it's just over the top - you could also make your own "fluffier" filling for a more traditional whoopie pie result.

Lemon Whoopie Pies
adapted from the Bit Fat Cookie book via Joy the Baker
yields 6-8 giant whoopie pies

For the cookies:
1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
6 T. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 c. sugar
1 T. lemon zest, finely grated (use a microplane rasp if you have one)
1 egg
1 T. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 t. vanilla
1/2 c. buttermilk.

For the filling:
6 T. unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 c. (6 oz.) cream cheese, at room temperature
1 t. vanilla
1 T. lemon zest, finely grated
2 T. freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 3/4 c. confectioner's sugar

To make the cookies:
Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, and then butter the paper (I forgot to do this but had no problems getting my cookies off the parchment).
Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter, sugar and lemon zest until smooth, about 3 minutes. Stop the mixer to scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during the mixing. Add the egg, lemon juice and vanilla, mixing until blended, about 1 minute. The batter may look curdled, and that's okay. On low speed, add half of the flour mixture, mixing just to incorporate it. Mix in the buttermilk. Mix in the remaining flour mixture just until it is incorporated and the batter looks smooth again.
Drop heaping tablespoons of dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 3 inches apart. I used a scoop for my dough- if you're using a professional portioning scoop, it's a size 20 scoop. Bake the cookies one sheet at a time for 10- 12 minutes- a toothpick inserted into the center of a cookie should come out clean, and the tops will be firm but not brown. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for 10 minutes, then use a wide metal spatula to transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the filling:
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on low speed, beat the butter, cream cheese, vanilla, lemon zest and lemon juice until thoroughly blended and smooth, about 1 minute. Add the powdered sugar (in batches if necessary) and mix until smooth. If the filling is too soft to hold its shape, chill it in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.

To assemble:
Turn half of the cookies bottom side up. Scoop about 3 T. of filling onto each (once again, I used my scoop). If your filling is really firm, spread it to within a 1/4" of the edge of the cookies. Gently press the flat bottoms of the remaining cookies onto the filling until it reaches the edges.
Wrap each cookie in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Serve cold. The wrapped cookies can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.