cookie carnival :: march round-up!

we have carnival'd! not as many people who signed on came through, but we still had a great month and we'll hopefully see them in april. i'm just so thrilled that folks wanted to do this with me at all!

so, on to this month's cookie. i have to say, they were kind of pain in patootie to make, but dang, they are TASTY little buggers. really tasty. worth the bit of frustration. . .

of course i had my little kitchen helper on hand to help me thru it. he, as usual, had to make "my OWN cookies, mommy!" so, i had support. the trouble comes when rolling the log. the dough tends to crack and crumble a bit, so i had to sort of do repair work as i rolled, pinching the dough back together. i have no idea why this happened--i'm not a skilled enough baker. but, i wonder if it has to do with the temperature of the dough or the flour to fat ratio.



RASPBERRY SWIRL COOKIES
Bon Appetit | February 2004

Makes 2 dozen.

ingredients
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup raspberry jam
1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1/4 cup chopped toasted walnuts

preparation
Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until smooth. Add sugar and beat until blended. Beat in egg and vanilla. Add flour mixture and beat until moist clumps form. Gather dough into ball. Flatten and shape into rectangle. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate until cold, at least 1 hour. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep refrigerated. Soften dough slightly before rolling out.)

Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to 13x10-inch rectangle (about 1/4 inch thick). Mix jam and coconut in small bowl to blend. Spread over dough, leaving 1/2-inch plain border. Sprinkle nuts evenly over jam mixture. Starting at one long side, roll up dough jellyroll style into 13x2 1/2-inch log. Wrap in plastic and chill 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Unwrap cookie log; cut 1/2 inch off each end and discard. Cut remaining log crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick rounds. Arrange rounds, cut side down, on prepared sheets, spacing 1 inch apart; reshape into neat rounds, if desired. Bake cookies until edges and bottom are golden, about 20 minutes. Transfer cookies to racks and cool.

holly from pheMOMenon played along this month. here's her post. she and her son seemed to have no trouble making them. . .or eating them!

also joining this month was kitty from boring history girl. here's her post. she had a heap of trouble with the recipe, but she's got a good sense of humor about it. check out her post for the sorta sad pictures of her cookies! sorry, kitty! it'll be better next time, i'm sure!

and then there's cara from the picky apple. she had a hard time of it, too--due to sleep deprivation. believe me, cara, i've been there! many times. check out her funny post here.

lastly (but not leastly) we have mari at mevrouw cupcake who expertly thought to add vanilla bean to the dough. umm....YUM! check her post here.

if you'd like to join april's carnival, we would love to have you! drop me an email--kate AT thecleanplateclub DOT net.

thanks to everyone who participated!

join the carnival!

it's time to celebrate the cookie. dontcha think?

i've decided to start a cookie carnival! every month i'll be making a checking out a new cookie recipe and testing it in my kitchen (and my mouth). i'd love for you to join in the fun. the more the merrier for this experiment!

here is how it works:

:: send an email to kate{AT}thecleanplateclub{DOT}net, please put "cookie carnival" in the subject line. and i'll email you the recipe of the month.

:: when you've made your batch of cookies and posted about it, email me the direct link to your post and i'll include you in the round-up on the specified day the end of the month. please include a picture if you can and i'll put that up as well.

sound like fun? i hope so! let the cookie baking and mouth watering begin!

addendum :: tips for making the best granola

as a follow-up to a recent post on granola, i give you some good tips on making GREAT granola. it took me a while to get it "down" and i think i've these tips will help you if you are experimenting in the kitchen.

* spread the granola as evenly as possible on your baking sheet
* always add vanilla--it's just the right thing to do for maximum tastiness
* always add dried fruit AFTER baking (seems obvious, but just in case)
* take it out of the oven before it's too brown and crispy--take it out when it is still soft and it will crisp up as it cools
* store it in air-tight container and you're granola will last about a month

if you come up with any great combinations, do let me know.

happy baking!

covered in chocolate and spit-up :: a brownie recipe

i've got me a 3-going-on-4-month-old girl at home. she's awesome. she's my honey pie. she smells good enough to eat. her laugh is like sonic sweets for the soul. it's makes for an interesting challenge when my 3-going-on-10-year-old boy and i want to bake something in the kitchen. any mom knows this dilemma. most probably just avoid it all-together and stay out of the kitchen as much as possible, but i can't do that. partly because i love to cook and partly because my son does, too. and on these endless winter days when he's not in school, we need something to do! (and eat!) so, into the kitchen we go. my son has an interesting challenge of doing more than he used to because now mommy has to tend to baby. i walk around the kitchen with the babe in one hand and the other hand is busy getting ingredients and measuring cups ready. the boy has to do all the scooping, dumping, mixing. so what if there's an egg shell in my brownie? and maybe there's a little more salt in there than there should be. oh well. so we made brownies in a round pan instead of a square one because mommy couldn't bend down and search for the right pan. big deal. we still get it done. and it's yummy. and he feels proud. he and i come out of it unscathed--a little chocolate on our pants. baby drool all over my shirt. but at the end of it all, we sit down for brownies and milk. and that's good stuff. here is a GREAT recipe for chocolate brownies:

CHOCOLATE BROWNIES

Vary baking time for fudgier or cakier brownies

2 sticks unsalted butter 8 oz bittersweet chocolate coarsely chopped
1 1/4 cups all-purp' flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Grease a 9x2-inch square baking pan (or a 9" pie plate if you're like me!).

Melt butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water--stir occasionally, until just melted and smooth.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl.

Whisk together sugar, eggs, and vanilla in a large bowl, then pour the chocolate mixture in, whisking until well combined.

Whisk in the flour mixture and pour batter into baking pan.

Fudgy Brownies: Bake until top is shiny and set--the sides will have begun to pull away slightly and a toothpick or tester will not come out clean, about 35 minutes.

Cakey Brownies: Bake until toothpick or tester comes out clean, 50 minutes to 1 hour.

Cool brownies completely in pan on a rack. Invert onto a cutting board and cut into squares or the shape of your choosing.

ENJOY!