Match Monday: Italian Rainbow Cookies

 
PROFILE

In my own words: I'm known for my colorful and multi-layered personality. Though I was born and raised in the Big Apple, my roots are in Italy.  That's right - how you doin'?
Favorite things: The smell of rolling green hills just after a light rain.
For fun: Hanging out with my large Italian family.

I'm looking for someone sweet who appreciates my many flavors.  I could be your rainbow if you could be my pot of gold :-)


Today's Match Monday treat was requested by Goofy Guy*.  Goofy Guy used to do stand-up comedy and is now pursuing an acting career.  Among his favorite things are aviator sunglasses, flip flops, crossword puzzles, and this classic NY treat: Rainbow Cookies.

When Goofy Guy mentioned Rainbow Cookies, I have to admit that I had no idea what he was talking about - I'm a Cali girl after all, and have not a drop of Italian blood in me.  What I did know was that I had to make them.  Rainbow + Cookies = something good.  That was my logic.

When I found out they involved multiple layers of almond cookie-cake, raspberry jam, and chocolate, I was even more sure I had to make them - those are three of my favorite flavors.  But wanna know a secret?  I have never had an Italian Rainbow Cookie.  Four years in NYC and never once have I tried this Big Apple staple. It was definitely time to change that.

Goofy Guy pointed me to a recipe on AllRecipes, and Beck and I got to work.  This cookie takes some commitment - three days in total - but it is WELL worth it in the end.  You'll watch these disappear in about .000001% of the time it took you to make them (yes, that's an exact percentage), which might be slightly traumatic, but when your friends tell you they will never eat a store-bought Rainbow Cookie again, the shock quickly transforms into sweet self satisfaction.

Sei pronto a cominciare?

Empty a can of almond filling into a bowl.  Acknowledge that it looks like your dog just did his business in your kitchen.  Then awkwardly transition to reminiscing about how the almond filling taste and smell take you back to when Grandpa Tino use to "capture" day-old almond pastries from the senior center...

Cream the almond filling, sugar, butter, almond extract, and egg yolks.  Whip the egg whites in a separate bowl, then fold into almond mixture.  Make a note to get some better lighting in your kitchen.

Spray three baking pans.  Divide the dough into three portions and add food coloring.  Spread dough into prepared pans.  Think how serendipitious it is that the flowers you happen to have finish out your color palate so nicely.

Bake the cookie layers for 10-15 minutes, until lightly browned. Carefully remove from pans and cool completely on wire racks.



Spread the green layer with jam; top with yellow layer.  Spread yellow layer with jam; top with pink layer. Secretly delight in the jam squishing out the sides.

Cover layered stack with plastic wrap and place a heavy cutting board or baking pan on top to compress the layers.  If you have neither a heavy cutting board nor a heavy baking pan, place a not-so-heavy baking pan on top, then a stack of those food magazines that are hogging your coffee table. Let the stack chill in the fridge overnight.

Melt chocolate chips, butter, and heavy cream in the microwave.  Pour over layers and spread with an offset spatula.  Sprinkle on some chocolate jimmies if that suits your fancy, or if there are imperfections in that chocolate you just spread that you want to cover up.  Place back in fridge for about an hour or until chocolate sets.  These get better with age; feel free to cover and let sit for a few days more.

Remove from fridge and cut into approximately 40 pieces.  Set aside four pieces.  These are for 1) yourself 2) your sister, and 3) your sister's boyfriend.  And 4) yourself.  Then marvel at how the above - an unassuming pan of chocolate bars - is actually this: 

Serve to all your friends - Italian or otherwise - and then pat yourself on the back for having spent three days creating an NY staple.  Then eat one or two - you deserve it!

These are by far the most "professional" cookie Becky and I have ever churned out, and also one of the tastiest.  Like all Italian cookies, they get better as they sit - up to two weeks, I'm told.  If you think you can't wait that long to dig in, do like Beck and I did - make them, then leave town for the weekend.  They make coming home all the more sweet.

-Katie

*Nicknames are my own.  I will never reveal usernames or any identifying information beyond what is already public on Match.com.




Italian Rainbow Cookies
adapted from AllRecipes



1 can almond filling (12 oz)
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
¾ tbsp almond extract
4 eggs, separated
2 cups all-purpose flour
red, green, yellow food coloring (gel or liquid)
2/3 cup seedless red raspberry jam, divided
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
2 tbsp butter
¼ cup heavy cream
Chocolate sprinkles (optional)


1.     Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line three 9x13 inch baking pans with parchment paper, or spray three disposable pans with non-stick spray (our disposable pans were approximately 8 1/2 x 11 1/2).

2.     Empty almond filling into a large bowl and cream together with butter, sugar, almond extract, and egg yolks. When mixture is fluffy and smooth, stir in flour to form a dough. In a small bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Fold egg whites into dough. Divide dough into 3 equal portions. Mix one portion with red food coloring, one with green food coloring, and one with yellow food coloring. Spread each portion into one of the prepared baking pans.

3.     Bake 10-15 minutes in the preheated oven, until lightly browned. Carefully remove from pans and cool completely on wire racks.

4.     Place green layer onto a piece of plastic wrap large enough to wrap all three layers, and place on a baking sheet. Spread green layer with 1/3 cup raspberry jam, and top with yellow layer. Spread with 1/3 cup raspberry jam, and top with pink layer. Enclose layers in plastic wrap. Place a heavy pan or cutting board on top of wrapped layers to compress. Chill in refrigerator 8 hours, or overnight.

5.     Remove plastic wrap.  Melt chocolate chips, heavy cream, and butter in microwave in 30 second intervals and stir until smooth.  Pour over layers and spread with offset spatula.  Add sprinkles if desired.  Refrigerate 1 hour, or until chocolate is firm. Slice into small squares to serve.

Please sir, I want s'more.

Quick, name that musical!  Hint: It's just about the worst musical for an all-girls school to do because it has a total of like, four female roles.  I'm not bitter about having to dress up as a boy or anything.  Really, I'm over it.

But this post isn't about gruel (who would want more of that?!).  It's about your favorite summertime treat minus the graham crackers that always break in all the wrong places, the millions of Hershey's wrappers blowing away in the wind, and your North Face smelling like campfire.  Granted, all those things are kinda nice in their own way, but for when they're not readily available (hello apartment in the middle of the city), these bars make quite a salivating, ahem, satisfying replacement.

The recipe is adapted from Baking Bites.  We made them pretty much as directed and were pleased with the results (as evidenced by me eating four of them in one day), but next time we'll change a couple things:
1) There was too much chocolate (did I really just say that?!).  Next time we'll try using smaller (thinner) chocolate bars.
2) Overall, the bars were a little hefty.  Next time we'll try making smaller, thinner cookie bars by one and half-ing the cookie base, increasing the fluff to a whole jar (or maybe even 1.5 jars), using the thinner chocolate bars, and baking in a 9x13 pan.  The bigger pan will not only create thinner bars, but also make more bars - better for feeding a crowd like we normally do.  Of course, if you only want to feed yourself and your equally s-more-happy sister, you could still use the bigger pan...we won't tell.

So let us know if you try the above changes, but even without them, we gobbled these up.  Oliver - you ask where is love?  Well, I'm pretty sure it's right here in perfect layers of graham, milk chocolate, and marshmallow.


S'more Cookie Bars
adapted from Baking Bites
Makes 16 bars

1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs*
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 4.5 oz milk chocolate bars (e.g. Hershey’s)
1 1/2 cups marshmallow creme/fluff (not melted marshmallows)


1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment, leaving overhang on all four sides.

2. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light. Beat in egg and vanilla. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt. Add to butter mixture and mix at a low speed until combined. Divide dough in half and press half of dough into an even layer on the bottom of the prepared pan.

3. Place chocolate bars over dough. Two 4.5 oz Hershey’s bars should fit perfectly side by side, but break the chocolate (if necessary) to get it to fit in a single layer no more than 1/4 inch thick.

4. Spread chocolate with marshmallow creme or fluff.

5. To create top layer of cookie, place a piece of wax paper over your baking dish and run your fingers along the edges of the dish to form creases.  Remove wax paper.  Press remaining dough onto wax paper inside the "lines" of the square you just created.  Invert dough onto marshmallow fluff and peel away wax paper.  Alternately, you can place remaining dough in a single layer on top of the fluff by flattening the dough into small shingles and laying them together.

6. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until lightly browned.  Cool completely.  Using parchment overhang, lift bars out of baking pan and onto cutting board. Cut into 16 bars.

*Note: 3/4 cup crumbs is approximately 7 full-sized graham cracker sheets, whizzed in the food processor until fine.

Match Monday: Raisin Pecan Oatmeal Cookies

Welcome to the first post in a weekly feature called Match Mondays.  As some of you may know, I've recently entered the world of online dating, and if there's one thing I've learned in these few short weeks, it's that the way to a guy's heart is through his sweet tooth.

It's pretty awesome, actually: One day I list baking as one of my hobbies and the next thing I know guys are asking, "do you know how to make (insert baked item here)?" And poof! Just like that I have a conversation starter AND a baking challenge!

So hear me, O noble gentlemen of Match.com: I cannot guarantee that I'll return your emails, wink back at you, or go on a date with you, but I do promise that I'll take your baking suggestions to heart.  For as long as you keep 'em comin', I will try your suggestions and post the results each Monday.

Today's baked good was requested by "Cute Florida Guy"*. Besides oatmeal raisin cookies, he also enjoys crepes at 3am and playing guitar and piano.  He hopes to get a dog someday.

You might be saying "Oatmeal raisin cookies! Those are so ordinary!" (If you are saying that, please say it quietly - I am trying to get this guy to go out with me and would rather not offend him, okay?)

I assure you, these oatmeal raisin cookies are anything but ordinary.  Not only do they not flatten out like most oatmeal cookies, but they also have an extra special sweetness to them, due to one magic ingredient (no, not THAT magic ingredient - I haven't gotten any requests for THAT kind of baked good...yet).  This cookie gets it's magic from toasted pecans.

I baked these as directed, except I made mine slightly smaller than what the original recipe calls for.  Mine took 15 minutes to slightly brown, but they came out crunchier than I would have liked; next time I'll take them out sooner, move the oven rack up a slot or two, or chill the dough, in order to maintain chewiness while still getting the crunchy golden exterior.  This recipe is definitely a keeper though.

CFG: Please email me back so I can find out if you're a keeper too. :-)

*Nicknames are my own. I will never reveal user names or any identifying information beyond what is already public on Match.com.


Raisin Pecan Oatmeal Cookies
adapted from Ina Garten's “Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics” via Ezra Pound Cake.
Makes 35-40 cookies

In my own words: I consider myself a classy cookie but my friends say I'm more than a little nutty.
Favorite things: cold milk, hot apple cider
For fun: convincing health-conscious bakers that it's okay to eat me for breakfast cause of the whole oatmeal thing

1 1/2 cups pecans
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed
1 cup granulated sugar
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 cups old-fashioned oatmeal
1 1/2 cups raisins

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Place the pecans on a sheet pan and bake for 5 minutes, until crisp. Set aside to cool. Chop very coarsely.

3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. With the mixer on low, add the eggs, one at a time, and the vanilla.

4. Sift the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt together into a medium bowl. With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture. Add the oats, raisins, and pecans and mix just until combined.

5. Drop heaping tablespoons of dough onto sheet pans lined with parchment paper. Flatten slightly with a damp hand. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until lightly browned. Transfer the cookies to a baking rack and cool completely.

Happy Zucchini Bread Day!

Did you know April 25 is National Zucchini Bread Day?
 

There is really only one proper way to celebrate this most blessed of holidays, so Beck and I tried our hands at zucchini bread.  And when I say "Beck and I," what I really mean is Beck.  The I half was serving 500+ heaping spoonfuls of spanish rice to hungry folks at CHIPS in Brooklyn - an excellent organization you should check out if you have a chance.  Beck has been feeling a bit under the weather so she stayed home.  Spanish rice + boogers isn't appetizing, no matter how hungry you are.

Zucchini Bread Day aside, I've been wanting to try this quick bread for approximately two years and 11 months, ever since I first breathed in the aroma of my boss's daily slice of home baked zucchini bread toasting in her (illegal-per-building-codes) office toaster.

Two years and 11 months later, my boss no longer eats zucchini bread on a daily basis.  Then again, maybe she does...I hardly ever make it into the office early enough to catch her in her illegal toasting anymore, so I suppose I'm out of touch with her breakfast habits. But whether or not she still enjoys it, the national holiday was the extra motivation I needed to move this recipe from my "to try" recipe pile to the "been there done that" pile.

Beck did a great job with this bread (and the photos!), even though the bread didn't rise as much as we would have liked.  This is a family recipe for pumpkin bread, with zucchini substituted for the pumpkin.


Mama B's Pumpkin Zucchini Bread
adapted from Betty Crocker circa mid 1960's, we think
Makes two loaves, or 24ish muffins, or lots o' mini muffins (probably 48+)

2/3 c shortening
2 2/3 c granulated sugar
4 eggs
3 c shredded zucchini (about 3 medium)
2/3 c water
3 1/2 c all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
2/3 c coarsely chopped nuts (we used walnuts)
2/3 c raisins (we subbed currants this time)

1.  Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease bottoms only of two loaf pans or spray muffin pans (or line with paper liners).

2.  In large bowl, mix shortening and sugar.  Add eggs, water, and zucchini.

3.  Blend in flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and cloves.  Stir in raisins and nuts.

4.  Pour into pans.  Bake until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, about 50 minutes.  Cool slightly on rack (about 15-20 minutes).

5.  Loosen sides of loaves from pans; remove from pans to cooling racks.  Cool completely.

6.  To store, wrap in two layers of plastic wrap and refrigerate no longer than 10 days.  Also freezes well.  Defrost loaves in the refrigerator for 24 hours before serving.

Happy Zucchini Bread Day!

The first post...

Welcome to Sunday Treats!

My sister and I love to bake. Recently, it's become a bit of an obsession:

"Beck," I say.  "We should really put those cookie sheets away. They're taking up way too much table space."

"Nah.  Then we'd just have to get them back out tomorrow."

Oh, right.

It's true.  I read way more foodie blogs than publishing blogs (shhh, don't tell my boss), and our cookie sheets and cooling racks have pretty much taken up residence on our kitchen table.   I've started collecting coupons for parchment because I swear we go through it faster than toilet paper.

One of the reasons I think I like baking is because it's an exact science.  One cup of flour spooned and leveled IS different than one cup of flour scooped out of the bin.  I love to pick a recipe and then do it over again changing just one variable.  Our mom the science teacher and dad the engineer should be proud.

Anyways, as part of the scientist in me, I find it important to document my baking experiments, thus this blog. I'm not yet sure how often we'll post, or exactly what we'll post, and the whole photography thing is serious unfamiliar territory, so we're going to figure this out as we go along.  We welcome your comments!  Now if you'll excuse me, the oven timer isn't going to stop beeping on its own...