June | 2010 | Kathy Can Cook

I like it when friends have birthdays, there are parties and there are excuses to bake. We’re not talking about simple things like chocolate chip cookies either, but the things that you save for special occasions – ganache filled cupcakes and hand dipped chocolates, cookies that require the maker to first brown then strain the butter before even adding other ingredients. These cookies are like that, complicted, delicious, and for a birthday.

The first time I made these I vowed to NEVER MAKE THEM AGAIN not because they were too much work, but because they didn’t leave the kitchen. I barely got them out of the oven when my boyfriend grabbed one off the cooling rack yelling, “Hot hot!,” and ate it with a taunting grin. I know I should be greatful he realized they were hot, mostly I was irritated that I barely got one before they disappeared. But the one was a magical cookie, deep rich caramel tones that were fluffy and didn’t even threaten to pull out my million-and-one fillings – I’ll take two please (or would have if there had been two to have).

So here I was asking said friend what she wanted for her birthday and she asked for these, of all things. I tried to dissuade her, “Are you sure you don’t want gingersnaps?” I wheedled. She was steadfast and I was stuck covertly making delicious, decadent cookies hoping my TF2-playing-boyfriend didn’t notice the kitchen bustle. He did. I lost two cookies before I was able to seal them in a Ziploc bag marked “FOR NIKKI DO NOT TOUCH” (admittedly he did get a consolation prize of coconut macaroons, which were fine but nothing to write home (or here) about).

So without further ado, caramelly, rich, crackly infinitly amazing Brown Sugar Sugar cookies.

Brown Sugar Sugar Cookies
Adapted, very slightly, from Cook’s Illustrated

Note: These cookies can be frozen, premade, for later usage and eating (but I would strongly recommend a double batch in that case)

Ingredients
14 Tbs unsalted butter (I use half Salted hlaf unsalted but it doesn’t really matter)
2 Cups packed Dark Brown Sugar
2 Cups plus 2 Tbs All Purpose flour
1/2 tsp Baking soda
1/4 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Salt (use a little more if you are using all unsalted butter)
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 Tbs Vanilla (it really is neccessary, DON’T SKIMP HERE)
1/4 cup granulated raw sugar (i prefer the raw but don’t go get it especially regular granulated works fine)

Heat 10 Tbs of the butter in a light bottomed sauce pan over medium until melted and nutty brown, it will smell rich and there will be some solids in the bottom, stir the butter nearly constantly and watch it like a hawk or IT WILL BURN (and that is sad). Transfer the melted butter to a large mixing bowl and add the rest of the butter to melt. Let the melted butter mixture cool to room temperture, this should take 10-15 mins.

Place oven rack in the middle position and line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Mix the raw sugar and the brown sugar together in a small bowl (bowl 2) until even and set it aside, you will use this later to dip the rolled cookies in.

Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt together into another bowl ( I know bowl 3 is a little confusing try to keep up) and set it aside.

Add the remaining 1 3/4 cups of Brown sugar to the melted, delicious, butter and stir it until there are no lumps 30-45 seconds, it will be a very dark and molasses-y looking mixture -that is OK. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla mix it all until fluffy-ish and incorporated, another 30-45 seconds. Side note: recipes alwasy say “mix until fluffy” when they really mean mix it until eveything is incorporated and it looks a little mor opaque than before, because lets face it – you’re not making whipped cream here. Add the flour mixture (from bowl 3) to the liquids (bowl 1) and mix until just combined ~1min. This mixture will be a little stiff, that is okay – brown sugar and butter will do that. Give the dough one final stir and scrape the bowl to check for even distribution.

Scoop out the dough in 11/2 to 2 Tbs balls (really don’t try to make these smaller they’re better as a chewy cookie) and roll in in the sugar mixture to coat evenly. Stick the doughballs on cookie sheets 2-3 inches apart and cook them fro 12-14 minutes. The cookies will begin to crack on the tops and look a little raw, they’re not. Also if your cookie is getting dark on the edges its been in there too long and you should maybe eat that one as a tester… you know for the sake of the cookies.

Cool the cookies for 5-10 mins on a rack and hide them a… wait that wasn’t what I meant.

ENJOY!

It’s been hot here in Boston for the past week, like July hot with humidity you can see in the air and pavement full of mirages. I don’t even want to turn on my oven or stovetop and in general have been avoiding heated foods like the plague that they become in the summer time. I want something refreshing, something that that makes me swoon with the freshness of it. A while a go one of the many food blogs I read posted about Tzatziki – which I had never really had and had certainly never made, but it sat there niggling the back of my mind until last week.

Last week, if I wasn’t clear, was hot. The heat was making me want to cry with the lack of cooking, so I drove to Russo’s – I realize that this doesn’t make much sense, but consider it as a haven of fresh vegetables to be rinsed and eaten as they are at prices a girl paying back scads of money in education loans can afford. At Russo’s I found tomatoes for a steal, european cucumbers in need of chopping, and fresh dill.

A side note about dill – I am in LOVE with dill, it always makes things taste better for me while at the same time reminding me of childhood and weeding in my mother’s garden in the sunshine. Dill just tastes like summer, with the idea of canning jars covering the kitchen table full of garlic cloves and dill blooms. It’s rich and decadent and proliferates itself wherever you plant it, I love that about it.

When I got home from Russo’s with the good intention of writing my yearly assessment for my job in my mind I went to the kitchen and chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, dill, and green onions until my head swam and I was starving. The heat in my kitchen was getting to me and THAT DILL SMELL was something that I couldn’t get enough of so I did what any sensible person would do – I made Tzatziki..

Tzatziki is what everyone is talking about right now, I’ve been wanting to make it for blog it forever with the intention of letting it get out for the summer heat and keeping us all cool. It is now June. I haven’t posted up here in far too long and this tzatziki is still delicious and well worth the chopping, cross-my-heart-and-kiss-my-elbow.

Tzatziki

A Note: if you find yourself not wanting this much tzatziki adjust the recipe accordingly it can be made for anyone – singles or large groups, it’s really one of my favorite parts about it, also the tomatoes don’t really NEED to be seeded it’ll just be watery if you don’t seed them. Also this recipe is flexible – don’t like raw tomatoes? add more cucumber. Just want it as a sauce? skip the tomato and cucumber all together.

1/4 cup Green onions, scallions, or chives (or some combination) chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
1 vine ripe tomato chopped into half inch sections with seeds removed (1/2 -3/4 cup)
1/2 English cucumber chopped into half inch sections (1/2 – 3/4 cup)
2-3 Tbs of finely chopped dill, add more or less depending on your fondness for dill
1/4-1/2 cup of Greek Yogurt
1/2 tsp Garlic powder or use garlic chives and just skip this step (more if you want it garlicky)
Salt to taste

Chop the onion, tomato, and cuke so it is about the same size and put it in a big bowl with the dill. Sprinkle your garlic powder on top and fold in the greek yogurt. Serve it in little rice bowls with a sprig of dill across the top and a dash of salt. SERVE IT IMMEDIATELY. I know that there are a lot of food blogs that tell you otherwise, you can drain it in cheesecloth overnight or let it sit for a bit. I like it better freshly made because I don’t drain mine.

I love Tzatziki and now you will too, I promise.