Tuesday Desserts
Today's desserts have a little of this, a little of that, and a whole lot of yum. Check out the Chocolate Chip Fudgie Cups and the Cherry Turnovers, along with the rest of today's yummy post. Enjoy!
GINGERBREAD WITH LEMON SAUCE
This is from Kristen Oak of Pocatello, Idaho, and posted on Taste of Home. Kristen wrote, "I asked my mother-in-law for this recipe once I learned it's my husband's favorite. Now I bake it whenever he needs an extra-special treat. Spice cake topped with lemony sauce makes us both smile."
Prep Time: 15 minutes; Bake Time: 35 minutes + cooling; Makes 20 servings
To view t his online, go to https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/contest-winning-gingerbread-with-lemon-sauce/.
Ingredients
1 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 cup molasses
2 large eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup hot water
Lemon Sauce:
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
Dash salt
Dash nutmeg
1 cup half-and-half cream
2 large egg yolks, beaten
2 tablespoons butter
3 to 4 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
Directions
Preheat oven to 350°. Beat shortening, sugar, molasses and eggs until well blended. Combine next five ingredients; add to molasses mixture alternately with hot water.
Pour into a greased 13x9-in. baking pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 35-40 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
Meanwhile, for lemon sauce, combine first five ingredients in a small saucepan until smooth. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Remove from heat.
Stir a small amount of hot filling into egg yolks; return all to pan, stirring constantly. Bring to a gentle boil; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Remove from heat. Gently stir in butter, lemon juice and zest, increasing juice if needed to thin sauce. Serve with warm cake. Refrigerate leftover sauce.
CHOCOLATE CHIP FUDGIE CUPS
This is from Diabetic Gourmet, and begins, "This cookie has something for everyone. The crust is chocolate chip cookie dough; the filling is a rich brownie. They are a little more involved to make, but well worth the effort."
Recipe Yield: Yield: makes 2 dozen
Source: Equal
Recipe and image appear courtesy of Equal.
View this online at https://diabeticgourmet.com/diabetic-recipes/chocolate-chip-fudgie-cups.
Ingredients
Chocolate Chip Dough:
1/3 cup stick butter, softened
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup Equal Spoonful*
1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
Fudge Nut Filling:
1 cup Equal Spoonful**
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1/3 cup chopped nuts
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
6 tablespoons stick butter, softened
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
* May substitute 8 packets Equal sweetener
** May substitute 24 packets Equal sweetener
Directions
For Chocolate Chip Dough, beat 1/3 cup butter with electric mixer until fluffy. Beat in 1 egg and 1 teaspoon vanilla until blended. Mix in 1/3 cup Equal* and brown sugar until combined. Combine 1 cup flour, baking soda, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Mix into butter mixture.
Stir in chocolate chips. Form dough into circle about 1/2-inch thick. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and freeze while preparing Fudge Nut Filling.
For Fudge Nut Filling, combine 1 cup Equal**, 3/4 cup flour, cocoa, nuts, baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Beat applesauce, 6 tablespoons butter, 2 eggs and 1 teaspoon vanilla until blended. Stir in combined flour mixture until well blended.
Remove Chocolate Chip Dough from freezer. Spread approximately 1 rounded tablespoonful of dough in each of 24 mini-muffin pans. Fill each with Fudge Nut Filling to top of cup.
Bake in preheated 350F oven 15 to 18 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool in muffin pans about 5 minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely on wire racks.
Store in airtight containers at room temperature.
Nutritional Information Per Serving: Calories: 138; Fat: 8 g; Sodium: 106 mg; Cholesterol: 41 mg; Protein: 2 g; Carbohydrates: 14 g
Diabetic Exchanges: 1 starch, 1-1/2 fat
BLACKBERRY FOOL
This is from Vallery Lomas in The New York Times cooking enewsletter. Vallery wrote, "Whipping up this dessert may be the wisest decision you’ll make in the summer: It comes together quickly and uses only five ingredients. Mashed juicy berries folded into lightly whipped cream results in a simple dish that manages to feel both decadent and light. Macerating ripe in-season blackberries in sugar extracts their natural sweetness and goodness. Serve this dish with shortbread cookies for a buttery crumble to contrast the creamy blend."
Yield: 6 servings; Time: 15 minutes
To view this online, go to https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1022353-blackberry-fool.
Ingredients
1 pint fresh blackberries (12 ounces)
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
Shortbread cookies, for serving (optional)
Preparation
Place the blackberries in a medium bowl and sprinkle with the granulated sugar, then drizzle with the vanilla. Toss lightly to evenly coat. Allow to steep for 10 minutes, then mash the blackberries until they release their juices and form a thick pulp.
Combine the heavy cream and confectioners’ sugar in another medium bowl. Use an electric stand or hand mixer or whisk to whip the cream to medium peaks. (When you lift the beater or whisk, the cream should hold a peak for a moment.)
Pour the berry mixture over the cream and use a rubber spatula to gently fold until combined. You can leave streaks of the berry mixture or completely incorporate it. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate for up to 1 day. To serve, scoop into glasses or dishes and top with cookies if desired.
SHORTBREAD, 10 WAYS
This is from Melissa Clark in The New York Times cooking enewsletter. Melissa wrote, "Shortbread is not only one of the easiest desserts you can possibly make, it’s also one of the most adaptable. As long as you keep the butter-to-flour ratio constant (1 stick butter to 1 cup flour), everything else is negotiable. You can reduce or increase the sugar and salt, or mix in any type of flavoring from citrus zest to vanilla to herbs and spices. You can even alter the type of flour, swapping in some rice flour for all-purpose flour for increased crunch, or cornmeal for a nubby texture. Just be cautious about adding liquid to the dough; any more than one tablespoon could interfere with the texture. Here we give a master recipe and nine variations to play around with."
Yield: 24 servings; Time: 1 hour, plus cooling
This was featured in "The Simplest Shortbread You Can Bake", and can be viewed online at https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1018784-shortbread-10-ways.
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon fine salt
2 sticks/1 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch chunks
Preparation
Heat oven to 325 degrees. Pulse together flour, sugar and salt in a food processor. Add butter and pulse to fine crumbs. Pulse a few more times until some of the crumbs start to come together, but don’t overprocess; the dough should be somewhat crumbly. (You can also mix the dough in a bowl using two knives or a pastry cutter.)
Press dough into an even layer in an ungreased 8- or 9-inch-square baking pan, or a 9-inch pie pan. Prick dough all over with a fork. Bake until golden brown, about 35 to 40 minutes for the 9-inch square or pie pan, 45 to 50 minutes for the 8-inch. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Cut into squares, bars or wedges while still warm.
Tips
Here are nine variations for the master shortbread recipe above.
Scottish Shortbread: Use 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour and 1/2 cup white rice flour.
Tender Shortbread: Substitute confectioners' sugar for the granulated sugar, and 1/3 cup cornstarch for 1/3 cup of flour.
Vanilla Bean Shortbread: Split a vanilla bean in half lengthwise and use the back of a knife to scrape out the pulp. Pulse the pulp into the flour-sugar mixture before adding butter. Or add up to 1 teaspoon vanilla extract with the butter.
Citrus Shortbread: Add 1 to 1-1/2 teaspoons finely grated lemon, lime or orange zest with the flour. Add up to 1 teaspoon orange blossom water with the butter if desired. These are classic with poppy seeds.
Nut Shortbread: Grind 1/2 cup toasted nuts in the food processor with the flour before combining with remaining ingredients.
Spice or Seed Shortbread: Add up to 1 teaspoon spices, like ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg or cardamom, or seeds like caraway or anise. Or add up to 3 tablespoons poppy or sesame seeds.
Brown or Maple Sugar Shortbread: Substitute 1/3 cup light or dark brown sugar or maple sugar for the granulated. This yields a slightly softer shortbread.
Cornmeal or Whole Wheat Shortbread: Substitute up to 1/2 cup cornmeal or whole wheat flour for 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour. Season with spices, seeds, citrus or rosemary if desired.
Buckwheat Shortbread: Substitute up to 1/3 cup buckwheat flour for 1/3 cup of all-purpose flour.
BROWN-EYED SUSAN COOKIES
These yummy cookies are from Diana Rattray on The Spruce Eats. Diana wrote, "These delicious thumbprint butter cookies are topped with a chocolate candy, making them look similar to brown-eyed Susan flowers, hence the name. Portions of the simple cookie batter—made with butter, sugar, egg, vanilla, and flour—are rolled into balls, placed on the baking sheet, and then topped with chocolate candies partway through baking. In this recipe, a chocolate kiss is used to push the dough ball flat while on the baking sheet."
Prep Time: 10 minutes; Cook Time: 10 minutes; Chill Time: 60 minutes; Total Time: 80 minutes; Makes 12 servings; Yield: 24 cookies
To view this online, go to https://www.thespruceeats.com/brown-eyed-susans-cookies-with-chocolate-3052182.
Ingredients
3/4 cup (6 ounces) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1-3/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 dozen milk-chocolate candy kisses, or use a similar chocolate candy, unwrapped
Directions
Gather the ingredients.
In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, egg, vanilla extract, and salt.
Stir in the flour. Cover and refrigerate the dough for 1 hour.
Heat the oven to 400 F. Shape the cookie dough into 1-inch balls and place about 2 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet.
Bake for 6 minutes, remove baking sheet from oven, and quickly press one kiss into the center of each cookie.
Return to the oven to bake for 2 to 4 minutes, until cookie is light golden and chocolate is soft.
Cool cookies on the pan for 2 minutes, then transfer individual cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Store cooled cookies in an airtight container with waxed paper or parchment paper between the layers.
Recipe Variation
You may come across other recipes for brown-eyed Susan cookies where the chocolate candy is melted and spread onto the cookie, or instead of a chocolate candy, the center is filled with chocolate frosting.
Cookie Lingo
In addition to the flavors and ingredients, cookies are distinguished by how the dough is used, whether it is simply spooned onto the baking sheet or molded into a shape. Thumbprint cookies are considered a type of molded cookie, where the dough is shaped by hand into a ball and then flattened with an indent in the center. Molded cookies can also be rolled into logs or crescents, as well as other shapes. Drop cookies, also known as scooped cookies, are the most basic type of cookie to make. Using a tablespoon or teaspoon—or a cookie dough scoop, which is like a mini ice cream scoop—the batter is dropped onto the prepared pan and then baked.
Another easy cookie method is the slice-and-bake cookie. The dough is formed into a log, chilled, and then sliced into rounds. Each round is placed on the baking sheet to result in a circle-shaped cookie. To use cookie cutters to create different shapes, you need to make a rolled dough; the cookie dough is rolled out using a rolling pin and then cut into shapes using cookies cutters or a knife. You can also make decoratively shaped cookies, called pressed cookies or spritz cookies, with a cookie press or pastry tube; the dough is pushed through resulting in intricately detailed cookies.
If you don't have time to make individual cookies, then bar cookies are the answer. The dough is spread in a rectangular or square pan and baked; it is then cut into bars, hence their name. Most drop cookie recipes can be baked as bar cookies.
CHERRY TURNOVERS
This is from the January/February 2014 issue of Vegetarian Times, page 64. It begins, "The puff pastry crusts of these tasty turnovers get a quick sugar glaze when they come out of the oven." Makes 18 servings
To view this online, go to https://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipes/cherry-turnovers/.
Ingredients
1 16-oz. bag frozen cherries
1 Tbs. plus 1/2 cup sugar, divided
1 Tbs. cornstarch
1 tsp. lemon juice
1/8 tsp. almond extract, optional
1 pinch ground cinnamon, optional
1 17.3-oz. pkg. frozen puff pastry (2 sheets), thawed
Preparation
Place cherries and 1/4 cup water in medium saucepan, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, and boil 5 minutes, or until juices begin to thicken, crushing cherries with fork to break up.
Combine 1 Tbs. sugar and cornstarch in bowl. Whisk in lemon juice and 2 tsp. water. Stir cornstarch mixture into cherries, and cook 1 minute, or until juice is thick. Remove from heat. Stir in almond extract (if using) and cinnamon. Cool.
Preheat oven to 400˚F. Roll out 1 puff pastry sheet to 12-inch square. Transfer to parchment paper, place on baking sheet, and chill 10 minutes. Repeat with second puff pastry sheet.
On floured work surface, cut each puff pastry sheet into 9 squares. Brush edges of squares with water, then spoon 1 Tbs. cherry mixture in center of each square. Gently fold dough from corner to corner to form triangular turnovers; press dampened edges together to seal. Place turnovers upside down on parchment-lined baking sheet, and return to refrigerator to chill 10 minutes.
Remove turnovers from refrigerator, and crimp edges with fork. Score tops with 3 small, shallow knife slashes. Bake 17 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown.
Meanwhile, combine remaining 1/2 cup sugar and 1/4 cup water in small saucepan, and bring to a boil. Boil 1 minute, then remove from heat.
Remove turnovers from oven, and immediately brush with sugar syrup. Cool 15 minutes before serving warm.
GINGERBREAD WITH LEMON SAUCE
This is from Kristen Oak of Pocatello, Idaho, and posted on Taste of Home. Kristen wrote, "I asked my mother-in-law for this recipe once I learned it's my husband's favorite. Now I bake it whenever he needs an extra-special treat. Spice cake topped with lemony sauce makes us both smile."
Prep Time: 15 minutes; Bake Time: 35 minutes + cooling; Makes 20 servings
To view t his online, go to https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/contest-winning-gingerbread-with-lemon-sauce/.
Ingredients
1 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 cup molasses
2 large eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup hot water
Lemon Sauce:
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
Dash salt
Dash nutmeg
1 cup half-and-half cream
2 large egg yolks, beaten
2 tablespoons butter
3 to 4 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
Directions
Preheat oven to 350°. Beat shortening, sugar, molasses and eggs until well blended. Combine next five ingredients; add to molasses mixture alternately with hot water.
Pour into a greased 13x9-in. baking pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 35-40 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
Meanwhile, for lemon sauce, combine first five ingredients in a small saucepan until smooth. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Remove from heat.
Stir a small amount of hot filling into egg yolks; return all to pan, stirring constantly. Bring to a gentle boil; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Remove from heat. Gently stir in butter, lemon juice and zest, increasing juice if needed to thin sauce. Serve with warm cake. Refrigerate leftover sauce.
CHOCOLATE CHIP FUDGIE CUPS
This is from Diabetic Gourmet, and begins, "This cookie has something for everyone. The crust is chocolate chip cookie dough; the filling is a rich brownie. They are a little more involved to make, but well worth the effort."
Recipe Yield: Yield: makes 2 dozen
Source: Equal
Recipe and image appear courtesy of Equal.
View this online at https://diabeticgourmet.com/diabetic-recipes/chocolate-chip-fudgie-cups.
Ingredients
Chocolate Chip Dough:
1/3 cup stick butter, softened
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup Equal Spoonful*
1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
Fudge Nut Filling:
1 cup Equal Spoonful**
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1/3 cup chopped nuts
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
6 tablespoons stick butter, softened
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
* May substitute 8 packets Equal sweetener
** May substitute 24 packets Equal sweetener
Directions
For Chocolate Chip Dough, beat 1/3 cup butter with electric mixer until fluffy. Beat in 1 egg and 1 teaspoon vanilla until blended. Mix in 1/3 cup Equal* and brown sugar until combined. Combine 1 cup flour, baking soda, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Mix into butter mixture.
Stir in chocolate chips. Form dough into circle about 1/2-inch thick. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and freeze while preparing Fudge Nut Filling.
For Fudge Nut Filling, combine 1 cup Equal**, 3/4 cup flour, cocoa, nuts, baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Beat applesauce, 6 tablespoons butter, 2 eggs and 1 teaspoon vanilla until blended. Stir in combined flour mixture until well blended.
Remove Chocolate Chip Dough from freezer. Spread approximately 1 rounded tablespoonful of dough in each of 24 mini-muffin pans. Fill each with Fudge Nut Filling to top of cup.
Bake in preheated 350F oven 15 to 18 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool in muffin pans about 5 minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely on wire racks.
Store in airtight containers at room temperature.
Nutritional Information Per Serving: Calories: 138; Fat: 8 g; Sodium: 106 mg; Cholesterol: 41 mg; Protein: 2 g; Carbohydrates: 14 g
Diabetic Exchanges: 1 starch, 1-1/2 fat
BLACKBERRY FOOL
This is from Vallery Lomas in The New York Times cooking enewsletter. Vallery wrote, "Whipping up this dessert may be the wisest decision you’ll make in the summer: It comes together quickly and uses only five ingredients. Mashed juicy berries folded into lightly whipped cream results in a simple dish that manages to feel both decadent and light. Macerating ripe in-season blackberries in sugar extracts their natural sweetness and goodness. Serve this dish with shortbread cookies for a buttery crumble to contrast the creamy blend."
Yield: 6 servings; Time: 15 minutes
To view this online, go to https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1022353-blackberry-fool.
Ingredients
1 pint fresh blackberries (12 ounces)
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
Shortbread cookies, for serving (optional)
Preparation
Place the blackberries in a medium bowl and sprinkle with the granulated sugar, then drizzle with the vanilla. Toss lightly to evenly coat. Allow to steep for 10 minutes, then mash the blackberries until they release their juices and form a thick pulp.
Combine the heavy cream and confectioners’ sugar in another medium bowl. Use an electric stand or hand mixer or whisk to whip the cream to medium peaks. (When you lift the beater or whisk, the cream should hold a peak for a moment.)
Pour the berry mixture over the cream and use a rubber spatula to gently fold until combined. You can leave streaks of the berry mixture or completely incorporate it. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate for up to 1 day. To serve, scoop into glasses or dishes and top with cookies if desired.
SHORTBREAD, 10 WAYS
This is from Melissa Clark in The New York Times cooking enewsletter. Melissa wrote, "Shortbread is not only one of the easiest desserts you can possibly make, it’s also one of the most adaptable. As long as you keep the butter-to-flour ratio constant (1 stick butter to 1 cup flour), everything else is negotiable. You can reduce or increase the sugar and salt, or mix in any type of flavoring from citrus zest to vanilla to herbs and spices. You can even alter the type of flour, swapping in some rice flour for all-purpose flour for increased crunch, or cornmeal for a nubby texture. Just be cautious about adding liquid to the dough; any more than one tablespoon could interfere with the texture. Here we give a master recipe and nine variations to play around with."
Yield: 24 servings; Time: 1 hour, plus cooling
This was featured in "The Simplest Shortbread You Can Bake", and can be viewed online at https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1018784-shortbread-10-ways.
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon fine salt
2 sticks/1 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch chunks
Preparation
Heat oven to 325 degrees. Pulse together flour, sugar and salt in a food processor. Add butter and pulse to fine crumbs. Pulse a few more times until some of the crumbs start to come together, but don’t overprocess; the dough should be somewhat crumbly. (You can also mix the dough in a bowl using two knives or a pastry cutter.)
Press dough into an even layer in an ungreased 8- or 9-inch-square baking pan, or a 9-inch pie pan. Prick dough all over with a fork. Bake until golden brown, about 35 to 40 minutes for the 9-inch square or pie pan, 45 to 50 minutes for the 8-inch. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Cut into squares, bars or wedges while still warm.
Tips
Here are nine variations for the master shortbread recipe above.
Scottish Shortbread: Use 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour and 1/2 cup white rice flour.
Tender Shortbread: Substitute confectioners' sugar for the granulated sugar, and 1/3 cup cornstarch for 1/3 cup of flour.
Vanilla Bean Shortbread: Split a vanilla bean in half lengthwise and use the back of a knife to scrape out the pulp. Pulse the pulp into the flour-sugar mixture before adding butter. Or add up to 1 teaspoon vanilla extract with the butter.
Citrus Shortbread: Add 1 to 1-1/2 teaspoons finely grated lemon, lime or orange zest with the flour. Add up to 1 teaspoon orange blossom water with the butter if desired. These are classic with poppy seeds.
Nut Shortbread: Grind 1/2 cup toasted nuts in the food processor with the flour before combining with remaining ingredients.
Spice or Seed Shortbread: Add up to 1 teaspoon spices, like ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg or cardamom, or seeds like caraway or anise. Or add up to 3 tablespoons poppy or sesame seeds.
Brown or Maple Sugar Shortbread: Substitute 1/3 cup light or dark brown sugar or maple sugar for the granulated. This yields a slightly softer shortbread.
Cornmeal or Whole Wheat Shortbread: Substitute up to 1/2 cup cornmeal or whole wheat flour for 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour. Season with spices, seeds, citrus or rosemary if desired.
Buckwheat Shortbread: Substitute up to 1/3 cup buckwheat flour for 1/3 cup of all-purpose flour.
BROWN-EYED SUSAN COOKIES
These yummy cookies are from Diana Rattray on The Spruce Eats. Diana wrote, "These delicious thumbprint butter cookies are topped with a chocolate candy, making them look similar to brown-eyed Susan flowers, hence the name. Portions of the simple cookie batter—made with butter, sugar, egg, vanilla, and flour—are rolled into balls, placed on the baking sheet, and then topped with chocolate candies partway through baking. In this recipe, a chocolate kiss is used to push the dough ball flat while on the baking sheet."
Prep Time: 10 minutes; Cook Time: 10 minutes; Chill Time: 60 minutes; Total Time: 80 minutes; Makes 12 servings; Yield: 24 cookies
To view this online, go to https://www.thespruceeats.com/brown-eyed-susans-cookies-with-chocolate-3052182.
Ingredients
3/4 cup (6 ounces) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1-3/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 dozen milk-chocolate candy kisses, or use a similar chocolate candy, unwrapped
Directions
Gather the ingredients.
In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, egg, vanilla extract, and salt.
Stir in the flour. Cover and refrigerate the dough for 1 hour.
Heat the oven to 400 F. Shape the cookie dough into 1-inch balls and place about 2 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet.
Bake for 6 minutes, remove baking sheet from oven, and quickly press one kiss into the center of each cookie.
Return to the oven to bake for 2 to 4 minutes, until cookie is light golden and chocolate is soft.
Cool cookies on the pan for 2 minutes, then transfer individual cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Store cooled cookies in an airtight container with waxed paper or parchment paper between the layers.
Recipe Variation
You may come across other recipes for brown-eyed Susan cookies where the chocolate candy is melted and spread onto the cookie, or instead of a chocolate candy, the center is filled with chocolate frosting.
Cookie Lingo
In addition to the flavors and ingredients, cookies are distinguished by how the dough is used, whether it is simply spooned onto the baking sheet or molded into a shape. Thumbprint cookies are considered a type of molded cookie, where the dough is shaped by hand into a ball and then flattened with an indent in the center. Molded cookies can also be rolled into logs or crescents, as well as other shapes. Drop cookies, also known as scooped cookies, are the most basic type of cookie to make. Using a tablespoon or teaspoon—or a cookie dough scoop, which is like a mini ice cream scoop—the batter is dropped onto the prepared pan and then baked.
Another easy cookie method is the slice-and-bake cookie. The dough is formed into a log, chilled, and then sliced into rounds. Each round is placed on the baking sheet to result in a circle-shaped cookie. To use cookie cutters to create different shapes, you need to make a rolled dough; the cookie dough is rolled out using a rolling pin and then cut into shapes using cookies cutters or a knife. You can also make decoratively shaped cookies, called pressed cookies or spritz cookies, with a cookie press or pastry tube; the dough is pushed through resulting in intricately detailed cookies.
If you don't have time to make individual cookies, then bar cookies are the answer. The dough is spread in a rectangular or square pan and baked; it is then cut into bars, hence their name. Most drop cookie recipes can be baked as bar cookies.
CHERRY TURNOVERS
This is from the January/February 2014 issue of Vegetarian Times, page 64. It begins, "The puff pastry crusts of these tasty turnovers get a quick sugar glaze when they come out of the oven." Makes 18 servings
To view this online, go to https://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipes/cherry-turnovers/.
Ingredients
1 16-oz. bag frozen cherries
1 Tbs. plus 1/2 cup sugar, divided
1 Tbs. cornstarch
1 tsp. lemon juice
1/8 tsp. almond extract, optional
1 pinch ground cinnamon, optional
1 17.3-oz. pkg. frozen puff pastry (2 sheets), thawed
Preparation
Place cherries and 1/4 cup water in medium saucepan, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, and boil 5 minutes, or until juices begin to thicken, crushing cherries with fork to break up.
Combine 1 Tbs. sugar and cornstarch in bowl. Whisk in lemon juice and 2 tsp. water. Stir cornstarch mixture into cherries, and cook 1 minute, or until juice is thick. Remove from heat. Stir in almond extract (if using) and cinnamon. Cool.
Preheat oven to 400˚F. Roll out 1 puff pastry sheet to 12-inch square. Transfer to parchment paper, place on baking sheet, and chill 10 minutes. Repeat with second puff pastry sheet.
On floured work surface, cut each puff pastry sheet into 9 squares. Brush edges of squares with water, then spoon 1 Tbs. cherry mixture in center of each square. Gently fold dough from corner to corner to form triangular turnovers; press dampened edges together to seal. Place turnovers upside down on parchment-lined baking sheet, and return to refrigerator to chill 10 minutes.
Remove turnovers from refrigerator, and crimp edges with fork. Score tops with 3 small, shallow knife slashes. Bake 17 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown.
Meanwhile, combine remaining 1/2 cup sugar and 1/4 cup water in small saucepan, and bring to a boil. Boil 1 minute, then remove from heat.
Remove turnovers from oven, and immediately brush with sugar syrup. Cool 15 minutes before serving warm.
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