Our weather has been hotter than normal for this time of year, but it will change to cooler than normal tomorrow. Our first crop of Sherwood Jujubes is on, a little ahead of schedule. A second crop, on new growth, is coming up in a few weeks. The green fruits are hanging below the brown ones on the same branch.
I prefer the fruit of this variety when it is fully brown, but before it starts to shrivel on the tree. I don't think it will fully dry on the tree like Lang is reputed to do. The fruit tends to drop just after it starts to shrivel. The flesh starts to oxidize and brown as it shrivels.
The skin of the mature, but not shriveled, fruit is hard and crispy and the flesh is flavorful, aromatic and very sweet. Its texture is like a slightly dry apple. You don't notice the texture of the flesh as much as the crunchiness of the skin.
I chose Sherwood because of its weeping habit, slightly smaller size (compared to the largest cultivars) and relative lack of thorns, for the front corner near the driveway. It is a beautiful, narrow tree with shiny leaves that turn yellow in fall and weeping branches. But we may need to take it out this winter because it is in a very small space and the suckers sometimes creep into the street asphalt a little and into the neighbor's yard. We placed upright perforated irrigation pipe around the tree to allow for deep watering, but this was not enough to prevent suckering. I think it did help the tree grow faster. The suckers are very thorny.
The tree grew a little faster than I expected and started bearing fruit young. It started to sucker once the tree got a little larger, Once I neglected to cut a sucker for a couple of months, and it set fruit, too.
This tree is worth considering as a landscape tree where you can mow or cut the suckers regularly. Water deeply to avoid suckers, too. It does well in reflected heat even in our hot climate. There is some fruit drop, but if you want a fruit tree in the landscape, this is one of the least-messy to clean up after. It doesn't require much special care. To grow as a landscape tree, train to a central leader to prevent large branch crotches. Encourage horizontal (weeping) branches from the central leader. To grow for fresh fruit production, prune a dormant whip at knee level to several form low main branches, or prune a leafed-out young tree to encourage lower, well-formed branches.
LE Cooke sells four varieties of Jujube, and plans to introduce "Sugar Cane" in 2011. CFRG has more information on jujubes and recipes for candied jujubes and jujube syrup. I think I would add a little lemon and/or vitamin C crystals to the syrup to limit oxidation. I like the idea of using the leftover syrup from candying the fruit as pancake syrup. I might try candying a few halves (eating the central sliver containing the seed fresh). Seems to me they could make good nests for an almond as a little treat.
Cross-posted here.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Coconut/Oatmeal cookies
David loves these. The recipe is from blogger Jane Galt (nom de blog) who writes,
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1 cup sweetened, flaked coconut
1 1/2 cups oatmeal (old fashioned; not quick or instant)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit. Cream the butter and sugars together. Beat in egg. Sift together flour, salt, and baking soda, and add to mixture. Stir in nuts and coconut. Stir in oats. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet and bake 12-14 minutes, until golden brown.
Allergy information: Most sweetened, flaked coconut products contain corn derivatives and also a sulfiting agent to preserve whiteness. Sulfites can cause anaphylaxis in sensitive people.
These are the rare cookies that improve with age; they just get crispier and more delicious every day. Hope y'all enjoy.1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1 cup sweetened, flaked coconut
1 1/2 cups oatmeal (old fashioned; not quick or instant)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit. Cream the butter and sugars together. Beat in egg. Sift together flour, salt, and baking soda, and add to mixture. Stir in nuts and coconut. Stir in oats. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet and bake 12-14 minutes, until golden brown.
Allergy information: Most sweetened, flaked coconut products contain corn derivatives and also a sulfiting agent to preserve whiteness. Sulfites can cause anaphylaxis in sensitive people.
Chewy Chocolate Chip or Coconut Cookies or Bars
The Best Recipe includes recipes for both traditional chocolate chip cookies and big, chewy cookies like the ones you get at cookie stores. And they tell you how they came to the ideal recipes. The latter recipe uses melted butter. Following are tweaks and variations on that recipe. The bars are seriously chewy.
You can divide the dough to make more than one kind at the same time. You might want to prepare some cookies to eat while warm and bars to cool for later. Or make part nut or coconut and part chocolate-only cookies. If preparing part of the batch with nuts, prepare them after the no-nut cookies to prevent problems for anyone allergic to nuts.
If you don't have two big cookie sheets (around 11 x 17 inches) or if you want to make smaller cookies, you may not be able to get all the cookies in the oven at the same time. But you could make one sheet of cookies and one pan of bars at the same time - say a 9 x 13 inch pan of coconut bars and 6 chocolate chip cookies (slightly smaller than in the directions) to eat while warm. They would fit on a smaller cookie sheet. Or make a big sheet of big cookies and a 9 x 9 inch pan of bars. I would put the sheet of cookies on the top oven rack if I chose this option. Cookies will be done before the bars. You could move the bars to the top rack when you take the cookies out if you like.
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, melted and cooled to warm. (1 1/2 sticks, 12 Tablespoons)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups plus 2 Tablespoons flour (stir, spoon into cup, level without shaking)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup to 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips or dark chocolate chunks
I prefer not to use the full amount of chocolate chips in most chocolate chip cookie recipes. Half a cup for the entire recipe below is fine for me. Choose your personal chocolate level.
Directions
Set oven racks at medium-high and medium-low levels. Set oven temperature to 325 degrees. This is a lower temperature than most cookie recipes. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter and the sugars well. Beat in the egg and egg yolk, then the vanilla until well-combined.
Sift baking soda into some of the flour, whisk together with the rest of the flour and the salt. Beat flour mixture into butter/sugar mixture just until combined. Do not over-mix. Stir chocolate pieces or other additions (below) into dough.
Big Cookies
If dough seems too soft to handle, refrigerate for a few minutes while preparing cookie sheets. Line 2 large cookie sheets with baking parchment. Roll scant 1/4 cup portions of dough into balls. For a "bumpy" look, pull apart and jam together again with jagged sides facing up. Space on cookie sheets. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, reversing sheets top to bottom and back to front halfway through baking. For smaller cookies, reduce baking time. When cookies are golden brown and have started to harden at the edges but are still soft and puffy in the center, remove from oven. Cool on cookie sheets on rack. Serve warm (not hot) or allow to cool completely then peel from parchment. Makes about 18 big cookies.
Bar Cookies
If you are worried about the bars sticking to the pan, oil the pan or spray with non-stick spray and line the bottom and two sides (leave enough at the two sides for "handles" to remove cooled cookies for cutting) with parchment or waxed paper, folded under to fit the bottom flat, while missing the corners. Oil waxed paper again to plaster it flat to the pan. This is a good idea if you are baking the bars in a metal pan which you could mar while cutting the bars.
Press dough in a 10 x 15 x 1 (at least) inch baking pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 23 minutes or more, until golden and starting to harden at the edges but still soft and puffy in the center. You may also bake half the dough (with chips, etc.) in a 9 x 9 inch pan or 3/4 of the dough in a 9 x 13 inch pan for 20 minutes or more. Prepare the remaining dough as cookies. See above.
Cool bars in pan on a wire rack. If you lined the pan with waxed paper or parchment, loosen the sides of the cooled "cookie" and lift out of the pan with the paper "handles" to a cutting board. Peel paper off the bottom, place right-side up and cut into bars with a serrated knife. Cover when fully cooled. You may put cut bars back in the baking pan if you don't want to dirty more dishes.
Chocolate Chip/Nut Cookies or bars
Add 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans with chocolate chips. You may substitute white baking chips for half the chocolate chips. Save a few nuts to garnish the top if making bars.
Coconut/Nut Cookies or Bars
Toast 1 cup sliced almonds or whole almonds or pecans and cool, or use raw almonds or pecans. Chop nuts if not using sliced almonds.
Lightly mix nuts and 1 1/2 cups sweetened dried coconut into the prepared dough. You may also add chocolate chips as above. You may reserve up to half the nuts to garnish the top if making bar cookies (try to pick the large pieces if using chopped nuts). Press into the dough lightly before baking.
Bake as for chocolate chip cookies or bars (see above).
Milk Chocolate-topped Coconut/Nut bars
Omit chocolate chips. Press dough containing coconut and half or more of the nuts (in the variation above) into baking pan. See directions under "bar cookies" above. Sprinkle remaining nuts over the dough and press into dough lightly. Bake as for bars above. Remove from oven and cool for three minutes in the pan, or until center feels "set". Sprinkle with Guittard Milk Chocolate baking chips (or other favorite chocolate). Leave some of the bars "bare" if you like. Allow chocolate to melt and swirl over the top of the bars. Chocolate may not harden for several hours after cookies are cooled. You may wish to refrigerate cooled cookies for a while if you want the chocolate hardened sooner.
To cover about half of a 9-inch square pan use 1/2 cup chocolate chips. For the entire pan, use 1 cup.
For a 9 x 13 inch pan use 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips. Use 3/4 cup to cover half the pan. If you cover half the bars lengthwise with chocolate, you can make 5 rows of bars (the long way) with the middle row half plain and half chocolate.
For a 10 x 15 inch pan use 2 cups milk chocolate chips (1 package) for the entire pan of bars, 1 cup to cover half the pan.
You can divide the dough to make more than one kind at the same time. You might want to prepare some cookies to eat while warm and bars to cool for later. Or make part nut or coconut and part chocolate-only cookies. If preparing part of the batch with nuts, prepare them after the no-nut cookies to prevent problems for anyone allergic to nuts.
If you don't have two big cookie sheets (around 11 x 17 inches) or if you want to make smaller cookies, you may not be able to get all the cookies in the oven at the same time. But you could make one sheet of cookies and one pan of bars at the same time - say a 9 x 13 inch pan of coconut bars and 6 chocolate chip cookies (slightly smaller than in the directions) to eat while warm. They would fit on a smaller cookie sheet. Or make a big sheet of big cookies and a 9 x 9 inch pan of bars. I would put the sheet of cookies on the top oven rack if I chose this option. Cookies will be done before the bars. You could move the bars to the top rack when you take the cookies out if you like.
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, melted and cooled to warm. (1 1/2 sticks, 12 Tablespoons)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups plus 2 Tablespoons flour (stir, spoon into cup, level without shaking)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup to 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips or dark chocolate chunks
I prefer not to use the full amount of chocolate chips in most chocolate chip cookie recipes. Half a cup for the entire recipe below is fine for me. Choose your personal chocolate level.
Directions
Set oven racks at medium-high and medium-low levels. Set oven temperature to 325 degrees. This is a lower temperature than most cookie recipes. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter and the sugars well. Beat in the egg and egg yolk, then the vanilla until well-combined.
Sift baking soda into some of the flour, whisk together with the rest of the flour and the salt. Beat flour mixture into butter/sugar mixture just until combined. Do not over-mix. Stir chocolate pieces or other additions (below) into dough.
Big Cookies
If dough seems too soft to handle, refrigerate for a few minutes while preparing cookie sheets. Line 2 large cookie sheets with baking parchment. Roll scant 1/4 cup portions of dough into balls. For a "bumpy" look, pull apart and jam together again with jagged sides facing up. Space on cookie sheets. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, reversing sheets top to bottom and back to front halfway through baking. For smaller cookies, reduce baking time. When cookies are golden brown and have started to harden at the edges but are still soft and puffy in the center, remove from oven. Cool on cookie sheets on rack. Serve warm (not hot) or allow to cool completely then peel from parchment. Makes about 18 big cookies.
Bar Cookies
If you are worried about the bars sticking to the pan, oil the pan or spray with non-stick spray and line the bottom and two sides (leave enough at the two sides for "handles" to remove cooled cookies for cutting) with parchment or waxed paper, folded under to fit the bottom flat, while missing the corners. Oil waxed paper again to plaster it flat to the pan. This is a good idea if you are baking the bars in a metal pan which you could mar while cutting the bars.
Press dough in a 10 x 15 x 1 (at least) inch baking pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 23 minutes or more, until golden and starting to harden at the edges but still soft and puffy in the center. You may also bake half the dough (with chips, etc.) in a 9 x 9 inch pan or 3/4 of the dough in a 9 x 13 inch pan for 20 minutes or more. Prepare the remaining dough as cookies. See above.
Cool bars in pan on a wire rack. If you lined the pan with waxed paper or parchment, loosen the sides of the cooled "cookie" and lift out of the pan with the paper "handles" to a cutting board. Peel paper off the bottom, place right-side up and cut into bars with a serrated knife. Cover when fully cooled. You may put cut bars back in the baking pan if you don't want to dirty more dishes.
Chocolate Chip/Nut Cookies or bars
Add 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans with chocolate chips. You may substitute white baking chips for half the chocolate chips. Save a few nuts to garnish the top if making bars.
Coconut/Nut Cookies or Bars
Toast 1 cup sliced almonds or whole almonds or pecans and cool, or use raw almonds or pecans. Chop nuts if not using sliced almonds.
Lightly mix nuts and 1 1/2 cups sweetened dried coconut into the prepared dough. You may also add chocolate chips as above. You may reserve up to half the nuts to garnish the top if making bar cookies (try to pick the large pieces if using chopped nuts). Press into the dough lightly before baking.
Bake as for chocolate chip cookies or bars (see above).
Milk Chocolate-topped Coconut/Nut bars
Omit chocolate chips. Press dough containing coconut and half or more of the nuts (in the variation above) into baking pan. See directions under "bar cookies" above. Sprinkle remaining nuts over the dough and press into dough lightly. Bake as for bars above. Remove from oven and cool for three minutes in the pan, or until center feels "set". Sprinkle with Guittard Milk Chocolate baking chips (or other favorite chocolate). Leave some of the bars "bare" if you like. Allow chocolate to melt and swirl over the top of the bars. Chocolate may not harden for several hours after cookies are cooled. You may wish to refrigerate cooled cookies for a while if you want the chocolate hardened sooner.
To cover about half of a 9-inch square pan use 1/2 cup chocolate chips. For the entire pan, use 1 cup.
For a 9 x 13 inch pan use 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips. Use 3/4 cup to cover half the pan. If you cover half the bars lengthwise with chocolate, you can make 5 rows of bars (the long way) with the middle row half plain and half chocolate.
For a 10 x 15 inch pan use 2 cups milk chocolate chips (1 package) for the entire pan of bars, 1 cup to cover half the pan.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Traditional Chocolate Chip Bar Cookies (Like David's Mom's)
David's Mom makes great Chocolate Chip Cookie bars. She uses the recipe from the Nestle Chocolate Chip bag, substituting shortening for half the butter. This improves the texture when making chocolate chip cookies as bars. She mixes her dough with a heavy-duty mixer. If you don't like the flavor of shortening in cookies but still want improved texture for bar cookies, try using 1/4 cup shortening or high-quality lard and 3/4 cup butter.
This recipe is very similar to the Nestle recipe, but uses more brown sugar and less granulated sugar, 1/4 cup more flour, less salt and less soda. See notes at bottom of the recipe.
The recipe below may be conveniently halved. If baking as bars, bake a half-recipe in a 9 x 9 inch baking pan. Or a 9 x 13 inch pan for thinner bars.
To use this recipe to make all-butter drop cookies, reduce the flour to 2 1/4 cups and add 1/2 teaspoon water with the vanilla. (Per The Best Recipe, the original Toll House Cookie recipe contained a little water). Unsalted butter may produce better results than salted butter. Substitute an extra stick (1/2 cup) of butter for the shortening in the recipe below.
I prefer not to use the full amount of chocolate chips in most chocolate chip cookie recipes from chocolate chip packages. I think they want to sell more chocolate chips. Less than a cup of chocolate chips or chunks is fine with me. Easier to taste the non-chocolate part of the cookie. I do like nuts in these cookies.
Ingredients
1/2 cup shortening (room temperature)
1/2 cup butter, (softened but not squishy)
1/2 cup granulated sugar or superfine sugar*
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt **
1/2 cup to 2 cups (12 ounce package) semi-sweet chocolate chips or dark chocolate chunks
Up to 1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
Directions
In a large mixing bowl, beat together the shortening and butter on high speed for 30 seconds. Add the sugars. Beat until light and fluffy, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla until combined.
Sift baking soda into some of the flour, combine with the rest of the flour and the salt. Beat in as much of the flour as you can into the creamed ingredients with the mixer. Stir in remaining flour. Stir chocolate pieces and nuts, if desired, into dough.
Bar Cookies
Press dough in a 10 x 15 x 1 (at least) inch baking pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes, until golden. Cool on a wire rack and cut into bars. Makes about 48 bars. For thinner bars, use a 10 x 17 inch jelly roll pan, a 11 x 17 inch half sheet cake pan or half hotel sheet and bake a few minutes less.
Drop Cookies
Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 8 - 10 minutes, until edges are lightly browned. Allow to cool on cookie sheet for 1 or 2 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack with a metal spatula. Makes about 60 cookies.
Cookie Pizza
Prepare dough as above, but do not add chocolate chips. Press dough into two ungreased 12-inch pizza pans. Sprinkle half of chocolate chips and nuts on dough in each pan. Press in lightly. Bake at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes, until golden. Meanwhile, melt about 4 ounces white chocolate baking pieces or cut-up white baking bar. Drizzle over baked cookie pizzas. Cut each into 8 wedges, then cut a middle circle. Makes 32 pieces.
* Most traditional chocolate chip cookie recipes use 3/4 cup each brown and white sugar. Granulated and superfine white sugars may be measured the same. Superfine sugar produces a finer texture, which may or may not be an advantage in this recipe.
** Many similar recipes include an entire teaspoon of salt plus an entire teaspoon of soda, even though there is not sufficient acid (mainly from brown sugar) in the recipe to react with an entire teaspoon of soda. Some people may prefer the saltier flavor from a full teaspoon of salt and soda. The Better Homes and Gardens recipe upon which the recipe above is based contains no salt, but I think a little makes the cookies taste better. You may wish to increase salt to 1/2 teaspoon if using unsalted butter. An alternate recipe substitutes chopped, salted peanuts for chocolate chips, which would negate the need for extra salt.
This recipe is very similar to the Nestle recipe, but uses more brown sugar and less granulated sugar, 1/4 cup more flour, less salt and less soda. See notes at bottom of the recipe.
The recipe below may be conveniently halved. If baking as bars, bake a half-recipe in a 9 x 9 inch baking pan. Or a 9 x 13 inch pan for thinner bars.
To use this recipe to make all-butter drop cookies, reduce the flour to 2 1/4 cups and add 1/2 teaspoon water with the vanilla. (Per The Best Recipe, the original Toll House Cookie recipe contained a little water). Unsalted butter may produce better results than salted butter. Substitute an extra stick (1/2 cup) of butter for the shortening in the recipe below.
I prefer not to use the full amount of chocolate chips in most chocolate chip cookie recipes from chocolate chip packages. I think they want to sell more chocolate chips. Less than a cup of chocolate chips or chunks is fine with me. Easier to taste the non-chocolate part of the cookie. I do like nuts in these cookies.
Ingredients
1/2 cup shortening (room temperature)
1/2 cup butter, (softened but not squishy)
1/2 cup granulated sugar or superfine sugar*
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt **
1/2 cup to 2 cups (12 ounce package) semi-sweet chocolate chips or dark chocolate chunks
Up to 1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
Directions
In a large mixing bowl, beat together the shortening and butter on high speed for 30 seconds. Add the sugars. Beat until light and fluffy, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla until combined.
Sift baking soda into some of the flour, combine with the rest of the flour and the salt. Beat in as much of the flour as you can into the creamed ingredients with the mixer. Stir in remaining flour. Stir chocolate pieces and nuts, if desired, into dough.
Bar Cookies
Press dough in a 10 x 15 x 1 (at least) inch baking pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes, until golden. Cool on a wire rack and cut into bars. Makes about 48 bars. For thinner bars, use a 10 x 17 inch jelly roll pan, a 11 x 17 inch half sheet cake pan or half hotel sheet and bake a few minutes less.
Drop Cookies
Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 8 - 10 minutes, until edges are lightly browned. Allow to cool on cookie sheet for 1 or 2 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack with a metal spatula. Makes about 60 cookies.
Cookie Pizza
Prepare dough as above, but do not add chocolate chips. Press dough into two ungreased 12-inch pizza pans. Sprinkle half of chocolate chips and nuts on dough in each pan. Press in lightly. Bake at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes, until golden. Meanwhile, melt about 4 ounces white chocolate baking pieces or cut-up white baking bar. Drizzle over baked cookie pizzas. Cut each into 8 wedges, then cut a middle circle. Makes 32 pieces.
* Most traditional chocolate chip cookie recipes use 3/4 cup each brown and white sugar. Granulated and superfine white sugars may be measured the same. Superfine sugar produces a finer texture, which may or may not be an advantage in this recipe.
** Many similar recipes include an entire teaspoon of salt plus an entire teaspoon of soda, even though there is not sufficient acid (mainly from brown sugar) in the recipe to react with an entire teaspoon of soda. Some people may prefer the saltier flavor from a full teaspoon of salt and soda. The Better Homes and Gardens recipe upon which the recipe above is based contains no salt, but I think a little makes the cookies taste better. You may wish to increase salt to 1/2 teaspoon if using unsalted butter. An alternate recipe substitutes chopped, salted peanuts for chocolate chips, which would negate the need for extra salt.
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