Most times when I make a recipe, I have spent a good deal of time looking for one with something specific, whether it be an idea I have or just an ingredient I have on hand. If I’m wanting brownies, for instance, I may look through ten cookbooks, my Yep files, and dozens of online recipes trying to find just the right one for what I have in mind.

Then there are times like today, when I’ve been at work all day and don’t have much motivation to trudge through my usual methods. I quickly find a recipe that looks quick and easy, and just go with it. That doesn’t always work out for the best, but some times you hit the proverbial jackpot. Today’s jackpot comes in the form of raspberry bars.

A couple of notes about the recipe. I didn’t have any lemons on hand for zesting, so I used about 1/2 tablespoon of lemon extract. The normal substitution is half the amount of zest, but I went a little lighter. It’s a good idea to add the extract while the food processor is pulsing so it gets evenly mixed into the crust. Also, as I was ready to put these in the oven, I noticed that there is no suggested baking time. My bars baked for about 25 minutes.

So, are they quick? Yes, from the moment I started gathering my mise en place to the time I put the pan in the oven, only about 25 minutes had passed. What about easy? The crust/topping gets mixed in a food processor. The raspberry component comes from a jar. In terms of return on investment, these bars are more than a winner.

Oatmeal Raspberry Bars

recipe from Real Simple magazine
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 1/2 cups quick oats
2 tablespoons lemon zest
1 1/2 cups raspberry jam

Preheat oven to 350° F. Place the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and butter in the bowl of a food processor and pulse several times until the ingredients are combined and a crumbly dough is formed. Add the oats and lemon zest. Pulse quickly twice to combine. Press 2/3 of the dough firmly into a greased 9-by-13-inch pan. Spread the jam evenly over the crust. Sprinkle the remaining dough over the jam, gently pressing down. Bake until golden brown. Cool completely, about 2 hours. Cut into 24 bars. Store in airtight containers.

This wonderful cookbook presents two basic styles of biscotti, Italian style and American style. American style is about what you’d expect our country would do to something - add butter and make it easier to eat. The Italian style is more what I think about when I think biscotti. It’s hard, crunchy, and makes me concerned for my teeth.

I went with the traditional Italian style version. After sampling a small piece, I was not disappointed. They are very hard and crunchy. As for the taste, these biscotti are delicious. The cinnamon and brown sugar really come through. If you have trouble finding cinnamon chips, check out The Baker’s Catalogue.

I haven’t made biscotti in years. I used to make it quite often, but other baking ventures have led me away from it for a while. My only personal drawback to biscotti is that I don’t drink coffee. I always thought that as I got older, I might develop a taste for it, but I just simply haven’t. I love to smell it, but that’s as far as it goes. If you’re like me in this area, don’t fret because biscotti is also wonderful with hot chocolate.

Brown Sugar Cinnamon Biscotti recipe from King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion

• 2 large eggs
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 cup cinnamon chips
• 1 cup chopped pecans (or other nuts)

Preheat oven to 350 °F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment or Silpat.

Beat the eggs, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, and vanilla until creamy. The mixture should be thick like pancake batter. Decrease mixer speed and add flour, cinnamon, cinnamon chips, and pecans. Mix just until blended.

Place dough on baking sheet. Shape into a log about 14 inches long, 2 & 1/2 inches wide, and 3/4 inches thick. Smooth the top and sides with a wet dough scraper.

Bake for 22 to 25 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325 °F.

Let cool on the pan for 5 to 15 minutes. Then, spray lightly with room-temperature water, covering the sides and the top, to make slicing easier. Wait 5 minutes, then slice the biscotti into 3/4-inch slices. Slice on the diagonal to yield longer biscotti. Be sure to slice straight up and down so the slices will not topple over during baking. Place sliced pieces on lined baking sheet, allowing about 1/2 inch between them.

Bake for 22 to 25 minutes. Remove from oven and transfer to a rack. After the biscotti have cooled, they can be stored in an airtight container for 2 weeks.

A few years ago, Quinn came up with this recipe as a special treat for me. I love, love, love all things cream cheese. Somehow, the recipe got buried among the countless recipes I’ve collected. Then, the other morning, I woke up to find that Quinn had not only unearthed the recipe but had the muffins baking in the oven.

If you love cream cheese like we do, these are the muffins for you. That is certainly the predominant flavor. Cream cheese is mixed in the batter, plus a dollop of it inside for an extra burst of it. Of course, what makes these even better to me is the sprinkling of pecans on top. Yes, he definitely came up with these just for me.

These are usually made in muffin tins, but this time Quinn used mini loaf pans. I think that size would be great for gifts, which is especially of note now that the holidays are upon us.

Quinn’s Cream Cheese Muffins

As far as making the cake, it’s really rather simple. There are several separate components to make, but it all came together rather easily and quickly. After I had the cake batter made, I began to doubt Nigella’s allegiance to this cake. I soldiered on, however, and had a beautiful cake to show for it in the end.

I wish I could tell you that I loved this cake. Quite simply, I didn’t care for it. That being said, I should also make a point that Quinn really, really liked it. We decided that our difference of opinion could be chalked up to the heavy citrus flavor. He’s a much bigger fan of lime, lemon, orange, etc. than I ever thought about being.

As I said, this cake is indeed lovely. It is not my intention to dissuade you from making it. If you like strong citrus flavors, then dive in and make it. As for me, I think I’ll stick with some of my tried and true favorites… like chocolate.

Nigella’s Zucchini Cake
from How to Be a Domestic Goddess

Cake

I’m still in the stage of only making the recipes included in the instruction manual. I will be brave and branch out soon, but I’m still trying to get my bread-legs steady. I can, however, augment those recipes, and that is how we ended up with this beautiful jalapeno focaccia to compliment our chili we made last weekend.

I must say that I may officially be spoiled to this little appliance. It does all the hard, temperamental parts of bread making for you. I’ve never been a big fan of those parts. For this bread, it combines the ingredients and kneads them into a lovely dough. Then, the proofing is done inside the machine at precisely the correct temperature. After that, all you need to do is roll it out and bake it.

We loved this spicy focaccia, and we plan on making it again and again with many variations. As for the bread machine, it definitely has my seal of approval.

Jalapeno Focaccia (recipe adapted from Cuisinart)

Crust:

• 1 & 1/8 cups water, 80-90 °F
• 2 Tablespoons + 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 Tablespoon chili powder
• 1/2 Tablespoon ground black pepper
• 1 Tablespoon red pepper flakes
• 1 & 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 3 cups + 3 Tablespoons bread flour
• 1 & 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

Attach kneading paddle to the bread pan. Place all ingredients, in order, in the bread pan, and place pan in bread machine. Select Dough/Pizza Dough. Select medium size. Press start to begin mixing, kneading, and rising. When cycle is finished, remove dough from pan. Punch to deflate. Let rest 10 minutes.

Topping:

• extra virgin olive oil, for pan and for drizzling
• cornmeal, for dusting
• 3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
• chili powder, to taste
• fresh ground pepper, to taste
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup (or to taste) shredded cheese (We used a Mexican blend)
• 1 jalapeno, sliced (& seeded, if you like)

Brush a 12″ x 8″ pan with olive oil and sprinkle with cornmeal. On a lightly floured suface, roll out dough to size of pan. Place dough on pan and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let dough rise in a warm place about 40-50 minutes, or until it has doubled in size. Preheat oven to 425 °F. Press fingertip indentations into dough about an inch apart and a half inch deep. Drizzle dough with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt, chili powder, ground pepper, and cheese. Place sliced jalapenos evenly on top. Bake until golden and crispy, about 15 minutes.

I am a loyal reader of King Arthur Flour’s The Baking Sheet newsletter. In the summer edition, one of the recipes that grabbed my attention was for this chocolate-caramel cookie. I am actually not a huge fan of caramel, but Quinn definitely is. Always aiming to please, I added it to the top of my “to-make” list.

I didn’t find strong butterscotch flavoring locally, but that did offer me the chance to order it from The Baker’s Catalogue. And, obviously, you can’t just order that one little thing. Once I got that (and a few other things), I was ready to go.

I have to say that even though I don’t care much for caramel, these cookies are delicious. The overall flavor is wonderful, and not too heavy on the caramel/butterscotch. They also have a light texture, with just a little crunch thanks to the turbinado sugar coating. Of course, they are also aesthetically pleasing - little round cookies with a caramel-filled chocolate kiss right on top.

As for Quinn’s opinion of them, well, let’s just say that there was no sharing of these cookies. I was lucky to get even just a few.

Choco-Caramel Cookies, recipe from The Baking Sheet

• 1 bag Hershey’s Caramel Kisses
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 & 1/4 cups packed dark brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons butterscotch-flavored sundae syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon strong butterscotch flavoring
• 2 large eggs
• 3 & 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup turbinado sugar

Beat butter, brown sugar, syrup, and flavoring together in a large bowl. Add eggs, beating well after each. In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Add gradually to the butter mixture. Refrigerate dough for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350° F. Form dough into 1-inch balls, and roll each in turbinado sugar. Place on lined baking sheets. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.

Place baking sheets on a rack to cool for 3 minutes. Press an indentation the size of a Kiss into the top of the cookies.

When the cookies have cooled to lukewarm, place a Kiss in the center of each one. Cool completely before eating.

Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

After flipping through the recipes, I decided it was high time I tried out his Supernatural Brownies recipe. How I’ve waited this long, I have no idea.

A suggested variation is the addition of walnut or pecan pieces. I do like nuts in my brownies, so that was a given. However, I used hazelnuts that were chopped and then lightly toasted.

I used semisweet chocolate because that was all I had on hand. Next time, I think I would use bittersweet chocolate to tame the sweetness a bit. In any case, these are some of the best brownies I have ever made.

Nick Malgieri’s Supernatural Brownies

• 16 tablespoons butter
• 8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups chopped nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350° F. Bring a saucepan of water to a boil. Turn off heat. Set a heatproof bowl over water, and put butter and chocolate in bowl. Melt, stirring occasionally. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs. Add salt, sugars, and vanilla. Stir in chocolate and butter mixture. Fold in flour and nuts. Pour batter into a 9″x13″ pan that has been buttered/sprayed. (The recipe also suggests lining the pan with buttered parchment or foil.) Spread batter evenly in pan. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes. The top will form a shiny crust and the batter will be moderately firm. Cool on a rack. Cut brownies into squares and enjoy!

I have been drooling over The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion: The Essential Cookie Cookbook for ages. It’s a bit hard to justify buying a new cookbook when I have stacks of them with recipes tagged that I’ve not gotten around to trying yet. Recently, though, I found it at a very good discount at our local bookstore. That’s pretty much all it took to get it finally added to my book shelf.

Deciding which recipe to make first was tough. I decided not even to tag any pages because I wanted to make so many of them. I narrowed it down to a few, and finally decided on these Monster Cookies.

These were surprisingly simple to make, considering the long list of ingredients. Everything goes in one bowl, which is especially handy and simple with a stand mixer. The dough was an interesting consistency. It was a bit like candy, or at least a bit unlike standard cookie dough.

I assume that the title of these cookies comes from the size of them, as well as all the flavors involved. I did, however, decide not to make enormous cookies. I used my usual cookie scoop and made average-sized cookies.

We really, really like these cookies. They are a nice twist on traditional peanut butter or oatmeal cookies. All the different flavors work well together. Plus, there’s the added bonus of how simple they are to make. These are a great cookie to whip up when you need an easy, quick recipe.

Monster Cookies (recipe from The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion: The Essential Cookie Cookbook)

• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon corn syrup
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 & 1/2 cups chunky peanut butter
• 4 & 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 3/4 cup butterscotch chips
• 3/4 cup mini M&Ms

Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease/spray/line baking sheets.Combine eggs, both sugars, vanilla, corn syrup, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add melted butter. Next add peanut butter, oats, and flour and mix thoroughly. Stir in the chips and M&Ms. Let the dough rest for about 30 minutes to allow the oats to absorb the butter.

Drop the dough onto baking sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned.

Note: The recipe calls for the dough to be dropped by 1/4-cupfuls, yielding 26 4&1/2-inch cookies. If you make them this size, they suggest flattening the dough slightly before putting the cookies in the oven. I used a much smaller scoop and made about 5 dozen “normal-sized” cookies.

My friend Tonya sent this recipe to me ages ago, and I put it in my embarrassingly enormous and ever-growing “to try” collection. One obstacle that has detained me in making these muffins is finding spelt flour in my area. I finally resigned myself to ordering some from King Arthur. That usually gets me in trouble, as I find I can’t just order the thing I need from them. So, then I end up with a huge box of stuff and the solitary thing I needed ends up costing five times as much. I’m sure some of you can relate.

This was my first time using spelt flour, so I did a little research. Spelt is a grain that has been around for ages. It’s even mentioned in the Old Testament. Although spelt is in the same general family as wheat, it has more protein, fat, and fiber than wheat. It has a bit of a nutty flavor, which makes for a good combination with the nuts in this recipe.

The recipe also has another less used ingredient, at least in my kitchen. Turbinado sugar is an unrefined sugar. The sugar cane juice is not removed from it, making it different than white sugar. Brown sugar may be substituted, although it’s usually not hard to find. A popular brand is Sugar in the Raw.

I know you’re probably thinking that the world really doesn’t need another banana nut bread recipe, but these muffins turned out wonderfully. Plus, the ingredients are a little different to keep things interesting. Even my husband Quinn liked them, and he usually doesn’t care for banana nut muffins. So, my friends, go in search of some spelt flour and turbinado sugar, and give these a try.

Banana Nut Muffins

• 2 cups spelt flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2/3 cup canola oil
• 1 cup turbinado sugar
• 1 & 1/2 cups ripe mashed banana
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray/grease muffin pans.Combine flour, salt, and baking soda in a small bowl and set aside. In a separate bowl, combine oil, sugar, banana, and eggs. Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture, making sure not to overmix. Stir in nuts.Fill muffins pans about 3/4 full. Bake for 20-22 minutes or until done.

Recently, while visiting our friends in North Carolina, we were privileged to have dinner at Magnolia Grill, one of Gourmet magazine’s top restaurants of 2006. After appetizers, entrees, and desserts, we can now all enthusiastically attest to its goodness. As an added bonus, I was treated by our friends to a signed copy of one of their cookbooks, Sweet Stuff, all wrapped up in that night’s dessert menu. Karen Barker, the author of the book and co-owner of the restaurant, is a James Beard Award winning pastry chef - a well-deserving one, in my opinion.

There are so many recipes in this book that I want to try that narrowing them down has been a lot of work. After much deliberation, my love of pecans prevailed, and I decided to make her Pecan Shortbreads.

One of my favorite things about Sweet Stuff is that with every recipe there are serving suggestions and variations. For these cookies, one of the options is to form the dough into a 1 & 1/2-inch diameter log for making slice-and-bake cookies. The suggestion I took was to garnish with melted semi-sweet chocolate. However, instead of dipping the cookies, I just rolled the outside edges in the chocolate.

I love these cookies. They are now on my short list of all-time favorite cookies. They are very delicate and almost wafer-like. I almost hesitate to say that they melt in your mouth because that has become such an over-used phrase. It is actually true, though, in this case.

As for the cookbook, I will certainly be revisiting it sooner rather than later. As for Magnolia Grill, I look forward to being back in the area to enjoy another fantastic dinner (but especially dessert).

Magnolia Grill’s Pecan Shortbreads

• 16 Tablespoons butter, softened
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 & 1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/2 cup lightly toasted, finely ground pecans

Cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Add salt and vanilla and combine. In a separate bowl, combine flour, cornstarch, and pecans. Add to the butter/sugar mixture in 3 additions. Divide the dough in half, and flatten each half into a disc. Chill for an hour, or until firm. Dough can be refrigerated up to 2 days. Dough may also be frozen for several months, then defrosted overnight in the refrigerator. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove dough from refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for a few minutes. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut out cookies and place on lined baking sheets. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, reversing the sheet midway, until cookies are golden around the edges.