Lemon Yellow and Holland Blue: Crunchy Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies . . .

Have you ever looked closely at poppy seeds? I mean really closely? They're actually not black, but an unusually appealing shade of grayish blue. And they're not essentially tasteless, as they've often seemed to me in the past. Think about it . . . you're munching a deli sandwich made with a poppy seed roll on your lunch hour; do you even have the time or inclination to truly taste the poppy seeds, much less admire their color, or to pay them any mind at all? I thought not. The only reaction you might have to them is annoyance when one becomes stuck in your teeth, right?

In the U.S. at least, they go mostly unnoticed and get little respect. Based on my now decades-long perusal of baking cookbooks, you're far more likely to see them used in European recipes. But that's too bad, because heaven knows they're no Johnny-come-lately to the pantry. In comparison to most of the things we throw into our everyday American chow, they're an old and distinguished soul. Native to Asia, the tiny dark seeds are rich in history. They've been used medicinally for centuries. In ancient cultures they were valued for metaphysical, as well as practical, properties. Luckily for us, they willingly lend their esoteric magic to baked goods.

Whoever first had the idea to combine the flavor of lemon with poppy seeds was certainly on the right track. The toasted-nutty flavor of poppy seeds--for that is how they taste when we pay attention--is pretty subtle. Diminutive seeds that they are, they simply don't blow their own horn. Combining them with another distinct flavor is almost always a good idea, and they just cohabit so nicely with lemon.

Thus we have today's recipe for lemon poppy seed cookies. Now, if you don't like crunchy cookies, and I mean really crunchy cookies, you probably won't write home about these babies. I'm sure there are more delicate, fragile cookies that could be made beautifully with lemon and poppy seeds, this just doesn't happen to be one of them. This is the kind of cookie you can dunk in a cup of hot tea knowing that it won't immediately fall apart and dissolve, the kind of cookie you can nibble on slowly, savoring the small chewy seeds and the nice citrus aspect. It's like a very firm shortbread. Firm firm.

Not convinced? Are you worried about those opium rumors? Have you been watching the Seinfeld rerun where Elaine eats a lemon poppy seed muffin, and frets because she thinks it caused her to flunk a drug test at work? Well, not to worry. The poppy seeds used in our food (as opposed to whatever it was Elaine may have ingested) are mature seeds, not the unripe seeds that contain the milky stuff from which opium can be extracted. It's the mature seeds we're baking with, and the best ones come from Holland. So while you might very well become a cookie junkie (and there are support groups to help you with that), chances are slim and none that you'll become an opium addict from using poppy seeds in your pastry.

So, are you game?

Okay, good. Grab your car keys and go buy some premium Holland Blue poppy seeds. Then go home and make some cookies!


Crunchy Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a couple of cookie sheets with parchment paper or Silpats.

3 cups All Purpose flour, bleached
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cream of tartar
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter, unsalted and softened
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. lemon extract
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 and 1/2 tsp. fresh grated lemon zest
2 and 1/2 Tbsp. high quality poppy seeds such as Holland Blue*

In a bowl, measure and whisk together the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt. Set aside.

In a large mixer bowl fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together on medium speed the butter, shortening, and sugar until fluffy (about two minutes). Add in the vanilla and lemon extracts, the lemon juice, and the lemon zest; mix until combined.

On the lowest speed, or by hand, gradually mix in about one third of the dry ingredients--except for the poppy seeds.

After you've mixed in about one third of the dry ingredients, pour in all the poppy seeds, mix those in, and then continue adding in the rest of the flour gradually. Don't overmix.

Chill the dough in the fridge or freezer for at least 20 minutes. (Good idea to chill your cookie sheets in the freezer or fridge also, if you can manage it.) After the dough is cold, portion them onto the sheets. I used a No. 50 sccop for these; that holds about 1 and 1/4 Tbsp. Place the cookies about two inches apart.


Put a few tablespoons of sugar in a shallow bowl. Find a small drinking glass that's completely smooth on the bottom; dampen the bottom and dip it in the sugar, then use that to press down the cookies, as pictured. For each cookie, dip the glass again in the sugar.


Bake the cookies on an upper rack in your oven for approximately 10 to 12 minutes, just until the bottoms are lightly golden. If you're brave and you want super crunchy cookies, bake them a couple of minutes longer.


Let them cool on a rack . . . and then feel free to start crunching.

(Oh, and before I forget, I wanted to mention that poppy seeds are considered fairly perishable, so take note bakers. Some sources even suggest keeping them in the freezer.)



Recipe Full Disclosure: This recipe derives in part from the recipe for "Tangy Lemon Butter Cookies" in George Geary's The Complete Baking Cookbook. I changed the formula by adding in the poppy seeds, increasing the salt slightly, using butter and shortening instead of butter and oil, adding in lemon juice, increasing the amounts of vanilla and lemon extracts, and halving the amount of baking soda to make the cookies crunchier and more shortbread-like.

*I bought my Holland Blue seeds at a Penzey's spice store.


(If you'd like to comment about this post or view any existing comments, just click on the purple COMMENTS below!)

Vacation Part 1

So far we've visited all around Vail. The first day we went to the Betty Ford Alpine Gardens which I really enjoyed. Unfortunately, the lighting was very bright so my pictures weren't as good as I hoped.

We then walked around town and went to a place called the Red Lion Inn and watched a performer named Phil Long.



I ate fish tacos and drank a lot of margaritas. The next day both Brian and I were very tired because we stayed up too late the night before and took it easy by visiting the Vail Market and bought some peaches from Palisade (oh my gosh scrumptious!!) and also a smoked turkey leg. We then headed back to the condo, took a long nap. Later in the evening the clouds started to roll in, so we went to the City Market and bought the makings for a salad. Came back, ate the salad and watched a movie together. Today we are well rested and hope to enjoy the scenery that the mountains bring. It is so beautiful here. I could see us buying a place to enjoy during the warmer months. I love the weather up here...have yet to have to use air conditioning.

Weekend Mornings are for Muffins . . . Double Berry Muffins with Streusel Topping

My major mission this Saturday had nothing to do with muffins. No, my critical mission took the form of an ice cream cake, constructed in concert with my son in preparation for his early 13th birthday celebration, a celebration that took place this evening. It was nothing fancy, but still it was a sight: two thick, dark chocolate cake layers, with a hefty layer of vanilla ice cream sandwiched between, iced on the top and sides with sweetened whipped cream, and coated on the sides with crushed chocolate cookie crumbs. Holy moly. Now that's a cake for a 13 year old boy's birthday. No decorations. No fondant. No candles shaped like big numbers. No bright colors. It turned out just exactly as we'd hoped and, by golly, if it wasn't the tallest cake I think I've ever had a hand in producing. Tall. Humorously tall. Anyway, I should shut up about it until I have some photographic evidence to show you. More about that cake in another post, okay? Now as for muffins . . .

Despite the ice-cream cake mandate, I found myself compelled to make a few fresh and fruity muffins this morning. A container of strawberries in the fridge, just on the cusp of being overripe, beckoned to me. Likewise some lovely blueberries. The prospect of a crunchy oat-streusel topping sealed the deal. Saturday mornings were just made for berry-stuffed muffins. And, of course, coffee. (Don't ever forget the coffee. Please.)

This recipe gives you a baker's dozen or so of regular sized muffins. They are cakey but not too delicate and fragile. The small bit of oats in the batter lends a little extra substance, and echoes the oats in the streusel. You can use any berries in these, as long as they're not soaking wet.

Tomorrow's Sunday. Sunday's a good muffin day too. Maybe you should make some?


Double Berry Muffins with Streusel Topping

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line 12 regular size, or 6 jumbo size, muffin cups with paper liners or use baking spray liberally.

2 cups All Purpose flour, bleached
3 Tbsp. quick or old fashioned oats
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

3/4 cup whole milk
1 large egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
4 oz. unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup of chopped ripe strawberries, patted dry with paper towel to remove excess juice
3/4 cup blueberries

For the streusel topping:

1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup oats
1/4 cup All Purpose flour
2 oz. unsalted butter, cold and cut into chunks
1/8 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. finely chopped pecans or walnuts, if you like (I used pecans in the muffins pictured)

Measure the dry ingredients -- flour, oats, baking powder, and salt -- into a bowl and set aside.

Make the streusel: Put all streusel ingredients in a medium bowl and mix them together well with a pastry blender or fork. When it's thoroughly mixed, put the bowl in the fridge; that will keep the butter in it cold until you're ready to use it.

In a separate small bowl, whisk the milk, egg, and vanilla extract just until combined. Set aside.

In a large mixer bowl, using the paddle attachment, cream the sugar and butter together until smooth and light; at least 3 minutes. Alternately with the dry ingredients, add in the milk and egg mixture in a couple of additions, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Blend on low speed until just combined, then increase your speed to medium and mix for about two more minutes.


Taking your bowl off the mixer now, pour the berries in and fold gently by hand, just until they're evenly distributed. Don't mix too much or your muffins might be not only tough and rubbery, but also grayish purple from the blueberries and pinkish from the strawberries.

Portion your batter into the muffin cups evenly. Sprinkle the top of each one liberally with the streusel. ("Liberally" . . . what a useful word for a baker to have in her lexicon . . . I think I shall pepper my recipes liberally with the word "liberally" from now on.)

Bake the muffins about 18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean. Keep an eye on them while they're baking so the streusel tops don't overbrown; tent a piece of foil loosely over the top of the pan if it looks like that's starting to happen. (Maybe we should start a campaign to nip overbrowning in the bud, fellow bakers. Think we could get federal funding?) Cool the muffins in their pan for about five minutes, then remove them to a rack to finish cooling.

Aren't muffins great? These have so much flavor they really don't require butter. But if you love butter on muffins, be my guest. (Hey, who am I to put a crimp in your plans? Butter away!)


(If you'd like to comment on this post of view any existing comments just click on the purple COMMENTS below!)

Kahlua-Soaked Mocha Pound Cake Trifle . . .

Dedicated bakers must be competent and inventive salvage artists. If we weren't, we'd likely end up throwing away a considerable amount of food -- some of it perfectly edible, though less than absolutely stellar. Not every recipe goes quite according to plan, as we all know, so it's comforting when an inspired contingency plan magically presents itself.

The domestic angst that invariably accompanies the freakish result of a recipe gone wrong can really ruin a girl's afternoon, don't you think? The dessert pictured above represents triumph over adversity or, if that's too strong a statement, at least the humble attempt to salvage a pound cake that turned out to be simply too dry and, thus, not as appealing as I'd hoped. (And it was a pound cake with so much promise . . . so much promise. Sighhh.)

With or without a dry cake, though, this is a yummy dessert. I'd recommend you start with your favorite plain pound cake recipe (I recommend the recipe I used for my very first blog post; it's an excellent pound cake and I've made it many times). When the batter is ready, remove one third of it into a separate bowl. Into that one third add two ounces of melted dark chocolate, and two tablespoons of strong brewed coffee into which has been dissolved two teaspoons of instant coffee. Stir that up completely. Now, pour 2/3 of a cup of chopped dark chocolate into your white batter and stir to combine. Into the 1/3 of mocha flavored batter, stir 1/3 of a cup of chopped dark chocolate. Take your greased and floured (or baking-sprayed) pan, and spread one third of the white batter evenly in the bottom.

Cover that with all of the mocha batter. Take something skinny, like a skewer, and gently run it through the batter to introduce a nice marble effect.

Cover that with the remaining one third of white batter, smoothing it out with a spatula or the back of a large spoon.

Bake your pound cake per your recipe's instructions.

When it's done, if you like, glaze it with a shiny chocolate ganache (heat about a half cup of heavy cream, just barely to a simmer; take it off the heat and pour it into a bowl of about 4 oz. of chopped chocolate; let that sit for a minute, then stir slowly until it's all mixed--you've just made a basic ganache! Use more chocolate to make it thicker, a bit more very warm cream if it's too thick).

Enjoy that cake, but when the last few slices are still on the cake plate and it seems they are beginning to languish, confiscate them! Cut them up into bite size pieces. Take your trifle dishes and spoon some whipped cream into the bottom of each one. Layer the squares of cake onto that. Now, using a regular spoon, liberally dribble Kahlua onto all those cake pieces, whether they started out dry or not! Cover that Kahlua-soaked cake layer with more whipped cream. Repeat with cake, Kahlua, and whipped cream, and repeat again if you like. Garnish your dessert with a few dark chocolate covered espresso beans.

There. No muss, no fuss and a handsome trifle to boot. Be sure you've got a few sweet loving, coffee loving guests around to appreciate your creation. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve.



(If you'd like to comment on this post of view any existing comments, click on the purple COMMENTS below!)

Gone for a week

Brian and I are taking our first ever vacation...all by ourselves. I might be checking in from time to time, but won't be posting. Expect a lot of pics when we get back...we're going to go visit the Betty Ford Alpine Gardens!!

For those sick and twisted people, don't get any ideas. We have a housesitter and a rabid dog...

H

Chocolate Cream Tarts . . . Good Things Come in Small Packages!

In the middle of summer, a great big gooey dessert doesn't always sound too appealing. It's smallness that suffices, much of the time. A charming little tart can be the perfect fit. One of these chocolate cream tarts won't make you feel as if you've just rolled yourself away from the Thanksgiving table, but likely will satisfy a modest craving for something decadent and sweet.

The filling in these tarts is genuinely creamy, beautifully chocolatey, and--of course--homemade. That said, you should be aware that it doesn't resemble what you'd get from preparing a box of Jello pudding; that is, it doesn't firm up like . . . like . . . well, like Jello pudding. When I was critiquing these tarts yesterday evening with my dessert-loving 12-year old son (hey, is it pathetically obvious that I'm savoring his 12-year-oldness before it's gone for good? . . . before I must legitimately refer to myself as the mom of two teenage boys? . . . the little dude turns 13 next week). The 12-year-old said to me, when I was commenting about the texture of the filling, "Oh, Mom, it's more like Snack Pack pudding!" Hmm . . . well, ok. Not exactly my goal, but I guess maybe the texture's more like Snack Pack. Is Snack Pack any good? From peronal experience I don't know. I'll just have to take his word for it.

The crust is super simple and quick to mix up. The recipe is similar to the type of dough you'd use to make rugelach, though softer, and the batch it makes is pretty small. In fact, I just used a hand mixer to make these.

Because I was only planning to make about eight little tarts (ultimately the dough could have made 10), I decided to roll out the dough for each one individually, and I kept part of the dough in the fridge as I went along so it wouldn't get too warm. This worked fine and it didn't take me too long, all things considered. If I had to make a few dozen of these tarts, however, for a larger special event, I'd need to roll out a bunch at a time and plan out how I'd keep the dough chilled throughout the process.

I garnished the top of the tarts with sweetened whipped cream, and sprinkled a tiny bit of shaved chocolate on the top. I keep a little shake-jar of shaved chocolate around, usually leftover from some other recipe(s), and it comes in handy for just such occasions. It's a combo of milk and dark Callebaut chocolate shavings; the light and dark look nice mixed together.


Chocolate Cream Tarts

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

• Gather at least ten little tart pans, around 3" in diameter and 1" to 1.5" tall.

• Have ready a pan with shallow sides, or just a cookie sheet, to hold your tart shells for baking and to use for moving them around after the shells are filled.

• Also, you'll probably have a little leftover chocolate filling. If you want to, you can fill a couple of custard cups or any little bowls/cups you like, with the extra filling. Chill them, and eat them with a spoon just like pudding. (Maybe get a 12-year old to eat them for you.)
  

• Have a round cookie cutter ready, of sufficient diameter for your tart pans. I used a 4" cutter for my 3" tart pans and that worked perfectly.

For the tart dough:

4 oz. cream cheese, cool
4 oz. unsalted butter, at cool room temperature
2 tsp. of granulated sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 and 1/4 cups All Purpose flour, unbleached

Using a hand mixer, or your regular mixer with the paddle attachment and a small mixer bowl, cream together the butter, cream cheese, sugar, and salt until completely smooth.


Add the flour, a bit at a time, on very low speed until it's incorporated and the dough can form a soft ball.

Press the dough into a disk shape and wrap it in plastic. Chill it in the fridge for about half an hour.

When you're ready to roll it out, ideally have a cold surface on which to do so, like a chilled marble board if possible. Sift some flour onto the board. Using a lighter weight rolling pin (for this I used a wooden French pin; works well for this because the pin is thin and so lightweight it won't compress this delicate, soft dough, and flour coats it well--that's not so true with a marble pin), roll the dough out no thinner than 1/8th of an inch, a little thicker if you like.


Cut them with your cookie cutter. Use a thin metal/plastic spatula to lift up the cut pieces and put them onto the tart pans.

Gently, gently, gently (did I remember to say "gently"?) urge the dough down into the tart pan and shape it with your fingers into the scalloped sides, pressing so the thickness of the dough is relatively even all over. The heat from your hands will soften the dough, so don't belabor this step if you can help it.

Using a little fork (I used a funny old shrimp fork, or maybe it's a pickle fork?), dock the dough on the bottom of each tart shell, to help prevent it from puffing up when it's blind-baked.


Bake the shells for about 10 minutes or so, until golden brown. Let them cool a few minutes in their tart pans on a rack, then remove them from the pans to cool completely.



For the chocolate filling:

1 cup granulated sugar
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/4 salt
2 cups whole milk
2 and 1/2 ounces good chocolate (I used Ghirardelli 60% bittersweet), in small pieces
2 large egg yolks
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 and 1/2 Tbsp. butter, unsalted

In a medium saucepan whisk together thoroughly the sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Pour in the milk and chocolate pieces. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened. Remove the pan from the heat. In a small bowl, whisk the two egg yolks, and add a very small amount of the hot chocolate mixture into the eggs, stirring quickly; pour this back into the sauce pan, stirring constantly, and return the pan to the burner, over medium heat. Cook, and slowly stir, about two minutes.


Remove from heat and add the butter and vanilla extract, to combine. Let this mixture cool to at least room temperature before filling the cooled tart shells.

Once you've filled the tart shells, refrigerate them until completely cold.

When you're getting ready to serve them, whip about a cup of heavy cream, and garnish the tarts as you like.



Be sure to keep any uneaten tarts in the fridge. If there are any!


**Recipe info full disclosure: The crust dough recipe comes from King Arthur Flour (I didn't alter this one at all, never having made it before); the filling recipe is my variation of one I saw on allrecipes.com.

(If you'd like to comment on this post, or view any existing comments, click on the purple COMMENTS below!)