Thumbprint Cookies

These are rich butter cookies, resembling shortbread. They contain no eggs or leavening, so if you want kids to have the experience of eating cookie dough, this is a good recipe to use.

Little Cooking Lessons

Creaming butter and sugar: Some classic baking recipes (such as butter cakes and some cookies -- like this recipe, which contains no leavening and very little liquid) depend on creaming butter and sugar to add lightness and proper texture to the finished product. The temperature of the ingredients, especially the butter, is important. Butter and sugar will cream to a "light and fluffy" consistency when at 65 to 67 degrees. Start creaming the butter first, then add the sugar,as described at the link. Beating creates some heat, so you may need to put your bowl in a shallow container of cool water to keep the butter from melting, especially if the room temperature is above 67 degrees F.

Sifting Flour: Some precise baking recipes still call for sifted flour, which gives a more reproducible measurement than newer methods. When I was little, Mom, who hates to measure, had a flour sifter in the flour canister. My high school cooking teacher, Miss Hauser, had us sift flour onto a sheet of waxed paper with a relatively fine-meshed strainer, spoon the flour into a measureing cup and level with a knife without shaking or tapping. She also had us sift the measured flour together with the salt and/or leavening in a recipe two or three times for the highest-quality results. This recipe calls for sifted flour.

Some popular recipe books simplified the method for measuring flour by calling for stirring the flour in the canister then spooning the flour into a cup without shaking or tapping, then leveling. Then came the "stir, dip and level" method. It is good to be familiar with the method recommended by your favorite recipe books (accurate measurements matter more for some recipes than others).   Heritage recipes were often developed with sifted flour.  People who compete in baking at state fairs, etc. usually use recipes which call for sifted flour.

Ingredients

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened but not mushy
1/2 cup superfine sugar (baker's sugar)
2 teaspoons vanilla or a combination of flavors*

Directions

Mix measured, sifted flour with salt, sift together and set aside. Cream butter, then cream with sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in flavoring. Gently fold in flour about 1/2 cup at a time. Do not over-mix. Cover dough and refrigerate for 1 - 2 hours (you can also divide into 2 or 3 portions to use on different days. Avoid over-handling. Keep sealed and refrigerated).

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Roll cold dough into 1-inch balls and place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets (I line a cookie sheet with heavy-duty aluminum foil) if making a single sheet of cookies). Make a deep indentation in the top of each cookie with your thumb. Avoid handling dough too much. Cookies don't have to be perfect, especially if kids help. Fill with jelly or preserves (or fill after baking with chocolate or preserves). Bake for 15 to 17 minutes, or until edges start to brown. Makes about 48 cookies.

I don't fill the cookies before baking. Instead, for a chocolate version, I slide the foil off the baking sheet onto a cool surface or a wire rack, immediately place 3 big Guittard milk chocolate chips in the indentation of each cookie and press the chips together slightly when they have partially melted. For a more traditional thumbprint cookie, I put a little dab of boysenberry preserves in some of the cooled cookies. Someday, I may try a baked filling with brown sugar and coconut, almonds or pecans.

Allergy information: This recipe contains no baking powder and so is free from corn products (unless toppings contain them - watch for corn in jams and jellies). It is one of a limited number of cookie recipes that don't include eggs.

* You can also use a combination of flavorings to make exactly 2 teaspoons: 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla with 1/2 tsp. almond or lemon extract or 1 3/4 tsp. vanilla with 1/4 tsp. almond or other extract. I think that 3 parts vanilla to 1 part almond is sometimes called "Viennese vanilla".

Cardamom the Spice - plus Homemade Applesauce


Cardamom is a spice which originally came from India, where it is used in many dishes, including sweet saffron rice. In some parts of India, cardamom ice cream and cardamom-flavored milk take the usual place of chocolate ice cream and chocolate milk. There is also a spice called "black cardamom", a cousin, which is very different from true cardamom.

True cardamom is popular in Scandinavia, Germany and elsewhere, especially for winter baking. It is used in Danish pastries, Swedish breads, and cookies from many European countries. It is very compatible with several other spices, especially cinnamon. It is often used with orange, apple, peach and pineapple. Cardamom is less familiar in the U.S. than in Europe, perhaps because it loses its flavor soon after it is crushed or ground. We're so used to pre-ground spices. Mom discovered the whole spice years ago and started using it in cinnamon rolls, sometimes with a little orange zest. She had the bleached pods and the seeds seemed a little softer than the ones in the green pods which I have now. I used to crush the seeds she bought between two spoons. The latest batch of cardamom seeds I got seemed harder - see the directions for crushing with a hammer below.

You can buy whole cardamom pods either green or bleached - less flavorful. Or "decorticated" seeds, which have been removed from the pods, but not ground or crushed. For people who use a lot of cardamom. If using whole pods, remove cardamom seeds from pods and grind seeds in a spice grinder or crush in a large mortar and pestle. Or place seeds in the empty, tough inner plastic liner from a cold cereal or cracker box (not from strongly flavored crackers such as garlic) and tap lightly on a non-marring surface, such as smooth concrete, with a finishing hammer or other smooth-faced hammer to crush. Rub crushed cardamom through a fine sieve before measuring. Wrap any extra crushed cardamom in a little foil packet and keep it in the freezer for the next time you want to use it.

Cardamom is a potent spice. 1/8 teaspoon per cup of flour will give a pronounced cardamom flavor if the cardamom is ground or crushed fresh. Before adding more than that, consider whether the person who developed the recipe may have been using commercially ground (less potent) cardamom. Many recipes will use less than 1/8 teaspoon per cup of flour, for a more subtle effect.

Below are three recipes for cardamom in applesauce. The first one can sub for apple pie, at least sometimes (warnm maybe with some toasted chopped almonds, butter cookie crumbles or a little vanilla ice cream). Two kinds of apples - one to fall apart quickly during cooking (forming a natural sauce) and one to retain some chunkiness - are recommended. This was one of Keira's Mom's tips, too. The second recipe looks very good, too - it calls for more liquid and seems a little more "country-style". Granny Smith and Golden Delicious apples together would be a good choice for winter applesauce.

Apple Varieties: I've always thought of the season for McIntosh apples (first recipe) as coming before the Granny Smith season. Granny Smith is a late, warm-climate apple which can be exceptional when it is allowed to stay on the tree until the bright green color mellows to yellow-green. It is grown here in our hot-summer climate, and home growers can allow it to ripen fully on the tree. It is often picked commercially long before it is ripe, while still sour and even sometimes a little bitter. I think one could find a better fall variety than Granny Smith to pair with McIntosh apples.

Of varieties grown locally, Gala seems to be the top choice for the early season. It loses much of its flavor in storage. Fuji and Red Fuji are recommended for later harvest and storage. Pink Lady is also recommended for sauce. Granny Smith can be picked fully ripe here if you grow it at home, and should be good mixed with other varieties. I used 2 pound Washington Fuji to 1 pound Washington Granny Smith in January, and the Fuji had held its crispness much better in storage. The Granny Smith tasted like they had been picked green, but fell apart easily in applesauce around the tender chunks of Fuji apples.

The third recipe below (pureed like most commercial applesauce) is made with commercially ground cardamom. It calls for A LOT of the spice compared to the other two recipes. Add cardamom to taste if using freshly-crushed spice.

Fresh Cardamom Spiced Applesauce

We like to use a combination of McIntosh and Granny Smith apples for the best texture and a little bit of tart flavor. Cardamom, a member of the ginger family, has a unique, aromatic quality that is just delicious with apples and ramps up the flavor of this sauce immensely. If you don't have any on hand though, you can use a little extra cinnamon and a pinch of ground ginger in its place.

Or, for more conventional flavor, substitute nutmeg for cardamom.
Ingredients ~ 

2-1/2 to 3 pounds apples (about 6 medium)

2 tablespoons lemon juice 

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom 

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla (optional)

Pinch of salt

Preparation ~ Measure lemon juice and water into a a3 quart saucepan. 
Peel and core the apples and cut them into 1-inch pieces, right into saucepan, tossing to coat with lemon-water as you prepare the apples. Mix in the sugar and bring to a simmer, uncovered, over medium-high heat until the apples begin to break down and give off liquid, about 8 to 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium, stir in the cinnamon, cardamom, butter, vanilla and a pinch of salt. Cover and continue cooking for another 15 to 20 minutes, until the apples have broken down completely and the sauce is thick. Remove from the heat and allow to cool before serving.
Makes about 4 cups. Fresh applesauce will keep 3 or 4 days tightly covered in the refrigerator.

Chunky Country-Style Spiced Applesauce
Bon Appétit  | November 1993
yield: Makes about 6 cups

ingredients
• 2 pounds Granny Smith apples, cored, peeled, sliced
• 2 pounds Golden Delicious apples, cored, peeled, sliced
• 2 cups water
• 2 tablespoons (or more) fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon (generous) ground cardamom

Combine first 4 ingredients in heavy large Dutch oven; bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium; cover and simmer until apples are tender, about 20 minutes. Uncover and cook until mixture is thick, stirring frequently, about 10 minutes longer. Mash apples slightly with potato masher until chunky applesauce forms. Stir in sugar and spices. Cool. Add more lemon juice if desired. Transfer to bowl; cover and chill overnight. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep refrigerated.)

Cardamom Applesauce (probably too much cardamom if you crush it fresh - but they did call it "bracing")
Bon Appétit  | November 1995

• 2 pounds Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup (packed), golden brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/4 teaspoons ground cardamom

Combine all ingredients in heavy medium saucepan. Cover, bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer until apples are very tender, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes. Cool slightly. Transfer to food processor; puree. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.)

Allergy information: No corn, wheat or egg. First applesauce recipe contains butter. Others are dairy-free.

Food Safety and Storage Life

Answer to questions on shelf life of foods, proper storage conditions and food safety here.

Tomato Flowers with Cottage Cheese Salad

When Miss Hauser taught us how to make these in high school cooking class, we peeled the tomatoes after rotating them over the flame on our gas stoves on a fork stuck in the stem end. You can also blanch tomatoes to remove the peels. I prefer to use a variety of tomato which is easy to peel while it is raw. This works best with fully-ripe tomatoes.

A fancy-looking dish from ordinary ingredients. I don't have Miss Hauser's exact recipe, but I do remember being surprised that MSG and a little extra salt were added to the cottage cheese. The MSG really does make a difference in flavor, but I don't use it anymore.

Cooking Science: In China and Japan, where the use of monosodium glutamate is commn, there is a theory that our tongues have receptors for a "meaty" flavor in addition to sweet, sour, salty and bitter. Monosodium glutamate is the sodium salt of an amino acid (one of the building blocks of protein), glutamic acid. I believe it is sometimes extracted commercially from sugar beets. It is also present in hydrolyzed protein products. If you react to it with a headache, flushing or other symptoms, don't use it. The higher the dose, the more likely a reaction is. A 5 mg dose reportedly causes a reaction in many people.

I have a cookbook from the 1950s, and era when exploration of the uses of processed foods was in full swing, in which almost every recipe with a savory flavor contained MSG. It is most familiar in the US under the brand name ACCENT. It is used in a variety of foods, especially soups and salad dressings (like Ranch). Some evidence suggests it increases weight gain (perhaps by making food tastier).

Ingredients
1 pint cottage cheese, regular or low-fat
1/8 teaspoon salt - optional
1/16 teaspoon monosodium glutamate (ACCENT) - optional
2 Tablespoons diced or chunked green bell pepper
1 - 2 Tablespoons minced scallions (white part, maybe with some of the tender inner green tops) and/or up to 2 Tablespoons chives

3 or 4 medium to large tomatoes
Salt and fresh ground pepper
Lettuce, if desired

Directions
Mix all ingredients except tomatoes and allow flavors to blend for a few minutes to overnight, refrigerated.

When ready to serve, peel tomatoes and remove a slice from the stem end so that they will sit flat on a plate. Remove the shallow white cores from the cut end and place cut side down on a cutting board. Carefully cut across tomatoes to make eight segments, stopping an inch or less from the bottom. Gently spread into "flowers", sprinkle with a little salt and fresh-ground pepper and allow to drain for a minute or two. Carefully transfer on a spatula to individual serving plates, over lettuce leaves or on a bed of shredded lettuce if desired.

Pile cottage cheese mixture into the center of the tomato flowers. Serve.

Variations:

1. I cut the peppers in chunks because I have trouble digesting them. They will flavor the salad, but I can push them aside when eating the salad. If your tummy REALLY can't take raw green peppers, substitute ripe red, orange or yellow bell peppers or canned diced mild chiles or pimento. Or add minced Italian parsley in place of peppers.

2. Use a different hearty salad mixture in tomato flowers - chicken, tuna, potato, etc. Let me know if you have other ideas.

Fruit Cobbler or Clafouti (egg-free)

When Miss Hauser taught us to make this cobbler in high school cooking class, she told us to remember the recipe in case there was a war and eggs were rationed. It has become a favorite in our family. True heaven is a square of this cobbler made with boysenberries, still warm from the oven, with homemade Vanilla Custard ice cream (or egg-free vanilla ice cream if you're allergic to eggs). It is also great with whipped cream, custard sauce, a fresh fruit sauce or plain. At a relaxed breakfast or brunch, it can stand in for high-labor waffles topped with fruit. It's best served soon after baking.

Today, I found out that our homey cobbler is actually a form of the more exotic-sounding French Clafouti or Clafoutis. Clafouti or Clafoutis is "A baked dessert composed of a layer of fresh fruit topped with a thick batter." The fruit layer has a custard-like quality where it intersects the cake. The fruit becomes thickened during baking and no thickener is added to the fruit beforehand. It resembles those lemon or chocolate pudding cakes where the filling and cake switch positions during baking. The Joy of Cooking has a recipe for Clafouti made with dark cherries, cognac and a thin batter rich in eggs with no other leavening. Probably comes out somewhat crepe-like in texture.

Our homey American version is not a deep-dish cobbler. It is excellent for boysenberries, blackberries, blueberries and other precious fruits because it "stretches" the fruit between several servings. Peaches, apricots or pie cherries are also wonderful choices. Add some raspberries or blueberries to the peaches or pineapple to the apricots or cherries if you like.

For cobblers topped with biscuits, butter cookie dough or pie dough, The Best Recipe, 1999 edition, has an elaborate work-up of recipes for thickened fillings and toppings. There are also directions for "Dowdy", Brown Betty and crisps. Can't vouch for the newer editions. I may post an example with the butter cookie dough if I get a chance to try it soon. Sounds great. But the recipe below is one you can really "cobble together" quickly. Even if it might not be what some people normally think of as a cobbler.

Cooking lesson - Sifting Flour: This recipe calls for sifted flour. Miss Hauser was a stickler for sifting flour before measuring, then spooning lightly into the measuring cup and leveling with a knife. We then sifted the flour together with the leavening, salt and any spices once or twice more. This type of sifting is still used by championship bakers who want perfect results. But for most modern recipes which do not call for sifted flour, stir the flour, spoon lightly into a cup and level with the flat back of a knife.

As an experiment, I used the "stir and spoon" method to measure a cup of flour, then sifted it through a fairly fine sieve (I don't even have a flour sifter) and measured it again after spooning into the cup and leveling. I had about 2 Tablespoons extra flour. So if you're too pressed for time to sift the flour in this recipe, reduce the amount of flour to 1 3/4 cups. I still sift leavening with part of the flour through a fine seive when I bake (unless I can mix the leavening with abrasive sugar) then whisk well into the remaining flour. I hate lumps of baking soda in baked goods. Sifting the leavening with the flour produces a finer-grained crumb.

Grease the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking pan. If using bare aluminum, grease bottom and sides well, flour the sides. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Fruit Mixture:

2 to 3 cups fresh or frozen fruit, peeled and sliced if necessary.
1 cup water or juice, more or less depending on juiciness of the fruit
Up to 1 cup sugar (depending on tartness of the fruit)
1 Tablespoon butter

Bring fruit, water, sugar and butter to a boil, stirring occasionally, to soften fruit slightly and dissolve sugar. Set aside.

Cake Batter

1 stick butter (1/2 cup) softened (not melted)
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla, 1/8 teaspoon lemon zest or other flavoring (optional)

2 cups sifted flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt (1/2 teaspoon if using unsalted butter)

1 cup milk

Cream butter and sugar together well. Beat in flavoring, if desired. Mix and sift dry ingredients together well. Stir about 1/3 of the dry ingredients into the butter/sugar mixture, then 1/3 of the milk. Continue by thirds, stirring lightly after each addition, until smooth. Do not over-stir. Spread batter evenly in baking pan with a rubber spatula. Spoon hot fruit mixture gently over the batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes, or until the lightly browned cake springs back when touched lightly near the center.

Serve warm or at room temperature from the pan or cool, cover and refrigerated for later serving - individual servings may be warmed in the microwave.

Sarah's Favorite Twisty Pasta

We had Sarah, age 3, over to visit not long ago during a stressful time for her, and she wanted this pasta at every meal. Definitely kid comfort food. No onion, pepper or other strong flavors added. Slightly more palatable to adults than the canned kid stuff. A nice way to incorporate some vegetables for veggie-resistant kids. Divide and freeze some of the sauce if you like.

Ingredients
about 1 pound ground turkey or extra-lean ground beef
about 2 medium or 3 small grey zucchini (Mexican or Lebanese type), finely shredded. Sarah will pick it out if she can see it. You could use dark green zucchini for less-picky kids. You could also try adding shredded carrot, skipping the sugar in the recipe.

1 jar spaghetti sauce (about 26 ounces)
1 tsp. sugar or to taste (optional)
salt to taste

Cooked rotini or other twisty pasta
Shredded or diced medium cheddar cheese (or cheddar and mozarella, etc.)

Directions
Thaw meat if frozen. Frozen 1-pound chubs of ground turkey are convenient for this recipe, and the fats are more healthful than those in ground beef.

Cooking Lesson Adapted from a recipe for Sloppy Joes by the obsessive people who produce books like this:

For some recipes, we want ground beef to "give" easily when chewed. This result can be accomplished by not browning the meat too much before liquids (or moist vegetables, etc.) are added. For this recipe, saute meat in a lightly oiled skillet just until it starts to lose its pink color, breaking it up with a spatula as it cooks. We don't want the meat to turn firm. We're feeding kids. (For adults, you can start with some chopped onion sauteed until it becomes translucent, or until it starts to caramelize.) Mix in zucchini (and/or carrots), stir and cook until vegetables are limp. Mix in spaghetti sauce.

Simmer for at least 10 minutes. Add sugar and salt to taste. You can cool and freeze part of the sauce at this point.

Boil twisty pasta until done. Drain and mix with hot sauce and a little cheese and serve.

Leftovers keep refrigerated for a couple of days, though some of the moisture may be absorbed into the pasta. Microwave individual servings topped with a little extra sauce and/or cheese if you like.

Sloppy Joes: Use the same principle of partially cooking meat before adding zucchini. You could probably work up a nice recipe using undiluted condensed chicken gumbo soup, tomato sauce or paste and ketchup. Aunt Elizabeth prepared Sloppy Joes once for a family party using condensed chicken gumbo soup when I was a teenager, and they were wonderful. I can't eat it now. Corn products. Let me know how it works.

Allergy Information: You can find commercial spaghetti sauce with no corn sweeteners if you look hard. Many Classico varieties contain no corn sweetener.