cookies Archives - Page 2 of 2

Happy Valentine’s Day! How do You Tell Someone You Love Them?

Posted on February 13, 2015 by Sherri

In the spirit of the week, Happy Valentine’s Day! How do you tell someone you love them?

I’m not a huge fan of this holiday although you’d never know it by the amount of baking and candy coming in and out of here the past few days! My mother called it “a card store” holiday. She always said if you love someone, tell them or show them now, don’t wait for a card company to tell you to do it. Of course she was was right, and I’m glad she taught me that. The last words I said to her were I love you. I have held that that in my heart everyday for the past 21 years.

That’s the funny thing about love, you carry it with you even when the person lives far away, doesn’t call, forgets your birthday, or is no longer with us. So in light of this, how can you not be captivated by a holiday that is all about love? How do you tell them you love them?

If you have someone you are in love with, infatuated with, smitten with, enchanted by, fascinated by, or bewitched by, don’t wait until tomorrow to tell them. Do it now – never wait – pick up the phone and say I love you. My 10 year old niece Amanda knows this. On Monday she put a little bag of candy in her mother’s purse with a note on it. She does things like this all the time. When she comes here for a visit, she leaves little love notes and drawings on post-it notes all over my house which I find for weeks after – pure love. On Tuesday, I received a package in the mail from my niece Brette and her husband Adam. It was a box of ruggalach from a new place in NYC I wanted them to try. I had no idea I would be trying them too! I was so surprised. I’ll be writing more about this in an upcoming post. Last week I sent a cozy blanket to my sister-in-law Cathy, “just because” It’s something she did for me in the fall which I have been meaning to share with you – see the photo below.

SONY DSC — This is the box I received from my sister-in-law Cathy. She sent it sometime last September. It was such a surprise! I loved every bit of it down to the notes written on scraps of paper! How cute are the baby spoons and toothpicks?

Most holidays I send baked goods to family as friends. Valentine’s Day, I send cookies to people that aren’t expecting them and it’s quite a surprise. I’ll usually pick someone I haven’t seen or spoken to in years. Tomorrow I’ll go into the post office and bring Janet a bag of cookies too. I’m always mailing out cookies and this year, I think I’ll bring some to her. So follow my lead. Bring someone candy on the 10th of February, call me and order a special box of goodies for your college student – for no reason, send someone flowers on March 14th, apologize to someone if you’ve upset them, write a love note just because, send someone a cozy blanket, leave chocolate kisses on a loved one’s pillow, bring a friend or co-worker a cup of coffee with a note on the cup, give beautiful strawberries without chocolate on them, write a poem – it doesn’t have to rhyme, send someone something in the mail by surprise, and most important… tell them you love them every single day – don’t wait until tomorrow!

On this day, Friday, February 13th (yikes! it’s Friday the 13th!) I am heading into my kitchen to get ready for the farmer’s market. Tomorrow, you can find me at 400 West Rich Street Farmer’s Market sharing the love with… Red velvet caramel popcorn, caramel apples all decked out for that special someone (could be yourself, in fact why not you?), valentine candy, and maybe even a special valentine granola mix! Time to get to work!

But before I go… Here is a challenge for you. How do YOU tell someone you love them? Share your answers with me and I’ll post them. Then, show me how much you love me, by sharing my website with a friend or family member. Ask them to subscribe to my blog and like me on Facebook. Happy Valentine’s day! Try it and see what happens, I might surprise you with a little love from Splash of Sherri’s… Kitchen!

1st Place Melt in your Mouth Soft Sugar Cookies

Posted on June 12, 2014 by Sherri

Hello my name is Sherri and I am crazy about cookies! I tape every episode of Unique Sweets on the Cooking Channel in hopes it will be a special episode on cookies and I will find some new kind of cookie to try. I have cookbooks about great cookies, drop cookies, rolled cookies, history of the chocolate chip cookie, the art of the cookie, fancy cookies, you name it. Every Valentine’s Day, I ship heart shape cookies all over the country to family and friends. I inherited over 100 cookie-cutters from my mother but that’s a story for another day and recipe (picture included)! I am always up for the cookie challenges my niece Brette gives me. Once she called and said what do you think about a chocolate chip cookie but instead of chips you put brownie chunks in it? My answer arrived to her in the mail 2 days later!

Now that my secret is out, back to the sugar cookies… I was watching a cooking show 10 years ago on the Food Network. I only know this because that’s the date stamped on the printout of the recipe – September 4, 2004! It was for some kind of cookie bake-off as far as I can tell and the recipe came in 2nd place. What I wrote on the recipe all those years ago was… I should make these a 1st place cookie, really easy sugar cookie recipe, make sure to cream butter and sugar until fluffy, and show says only 2 to 3 tablespoons of buttermilk, but recipe says 3 to 4… hmm. Well I made them not too long ago exactly as written. They were good and devoured in minutes, but I felt something was missing. I have made quite a few changes to them and in my opinion they are now a 1st place cookie! Enjoy!

Here is my version with much less sugar among other things. Let me know how yours turn out, Enjoy!

Yield 4 dozen 2″ to 3″ cookies

2 3/4 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon fine pink sea salt (or fine kosher salt)
1 cup (2 sticks) softened unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1 extra large egg (large would be fine here also)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 to 3 tablespoons low fat buttermilk

Sprinkles, or colored sanding sugar for decorating

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In a small bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt and set aside.

In a larger bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and mix just until combined. Scrape down the sides and then add the dry ingredients in two batches. Add the buttermilk one tablespoon at a time just enough to moisten the dough to make it soft, not wet.

I use a small 1 1/2″ cookie scoop for these but you could use a teaspoon to scoop a portion of the dough. Roll by the teaspoon into a ball and place on cookie sheet leaving 2″ between cookies (they spread quite a bit). Flatten with your hand slightly and then sprinkle with regular white or colored sugar on top.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until just getting golden. Let stand on cookie sheet for 2 minutes before removing to a wire rack.

The Absolute Best Chocolate Chip Cookies!

Posted on May 17, 2014 by Sherri

I have been in the mood for home-baked chocolate chip cookies for some time now. I think it might be ever since I read the book The Great American Chocolate Chip Cookie Book: Scrumptious Recipes & Fabled History From Toll House to Cookie Cake Pie by Carolyn Wyman. It’s a really interesting read which contains not only the history of the chocolate chip cookie but, in her opinion, where to get the best ones around the country. Carolyn listed state by state the best places she found. There are a lot of fun facts and stories, she really did her homework – I highly recommend reading it. One thing I may not have mentioned about me, I inherited the love of reading cookbooks from my mother. She would read them as if they were novels and I totally get that.

As far as I’m concerned, chocolate chip cookies have to be the most absolute perfect cookie. They can be a lot of things all at one time: chewy, crispy, cakey, ooey-gooey, sweet, salty, yummy and comforting! With or without nuts, crispy or chewy, dark chocolate chips or chunks, they are so versatile and my all time favorite cookie.

So today I celebrate you. I celebrate you big and small, hot out of the oven, with a tall ice cold glass of milk!

With one recipe I made them all different sizes yielding different textures and ultimately taste. I made miniature ones that are a one bite cookie and crunchy, then the next size which I baked for less time to yield a chewy cookie and finally larger ones which were crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. A cookie for everyone in my house!

Now for my favorites… of course everyone has their personal favorite. I’ve always been a fan of the original Nestle Toll House. In fact, when my family goes on vacation to Disney World, they know we’re not leaving without having a Toll House cookie ice cream sandwich at The Main Street Bakery. When I lived in NYC and had a tiny kitchen, there was always a bag of Tate’s Cookies (formerly known as Kathleen’s Cookies) in our apartment. They are simply the crispest, lightest and most delectable cookie, you won’t believe they come from a package. I have tried to make them from her recipe, but they don’t come out the same and I’m kind of glad about that. Now when I do have one of her cookies it takes me back to a great time and memory when my girlfriends and I would meet in the park with our babies! Now for my current favorite… drum roll please… my version of Jacques Torre’s Secret Chocolate Chip Cookie. Not such a secret if he let Martha Stewart publish it on her website, or the New York Times! However, I’m betting you didn’t know about it! So let’s keep this just between us! Below is his recipe adapted with a few adjustments. For starters, I cut the recipe in half as the original recipe makes 8 1/2 dozen cookies! I also cut down on the sugar, added a little more salt and vanilla.

2 sticks unsalted butter softened at room temperature
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 extra large eggs*
1 – 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon pastry flour
1 – 1/2 cups bread flour
1 – 3/4 teaspoons sea salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 pound best quality semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips (or combination)
(for mini cookies, use only miniature chocolate chips)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

In a large bowl cream together butter and sugars with an electric mixer. Add eggs and and vanilla, mixing well. In a separate bowl add all the dry ingredients. Reduce speed on the mixer and add the dry ingredients a little at a time. Add the chips or chopped chocolate and mix until combined.

For the mini cookies, I used a 1/2 teaspoon measuring spoon yielding a 1″ cookie. For the next size I used a 1 – 1/2″ teaspoon cookie scoop yielding a 2″ cookie. Place on prepared cookie sheet about 1″ apart for the smaller cookies and 2″ apart for the larger ones. Make sure to keep the same size cookies together on the baking sheet as they will bake at different speeds.

Bake the mini cookies for 6 to 8 minutes or until lightly browned. The larger cookies will take about 8 to 10 minutes. If you make what I call jumbo sized cookies using a 1/4 cup (4oz.) scoop for a 5″ cookie, bake for closer to 18 to 20 minutes. Keep in mind, cookies will continue to cook a little more on the baking sheet when you take them out of the oven. And you can adjust the baking time according to the type of cookie you like, more time for crispy, less time for chewy. Cool slightly on baking sheets before transferring to a wire rack to cool.

This recipe will makes thirteen 5″ cookies or 4 1/2 dozen 2″ cookies or if you want the cuties like I made, you’ll get somewhere around 300 mini’s! That’s why I did a combination. If I only wanted minis, I would have cut the recipe in half. Enjoy!

*eggs should always be room temperature when baking. You can put them in warm water for about 5 minutes if you forget to take them out ahead of time. Doing this will help the eggs blend well with the room temperature butter.