Chocolate Cranberry Spice Cookies

Something strange happens around June first in Lower Manhattan: everybody moves.

New York is a transient place already; there's a lot of coming and going. Additionally, between CUNY, NYU, the New School, and Pace University, there are a lot of students living in this neighborhood - all of whom have leases that expire on June first. In fact, I imagine that many normal (ie., not-student) people have leases that end June first too, left over from their student days.

Advantages to the Great June First Exodus:

1. Getting rid of crappy miserable kid neighbors you hate because they pee off the roof onto your herb garden;

2. Sidewalk-scavenging for move-out household items such as a snazzy new pullout loveseat for your book nook, featured at right;

3. Getting new and potentially better neighbors;

4. Baking cookies to take to them.

I know - didn't people stop bringing their new neighbors cookies in like, 1959? Well, friends, the cookies are all part of a strategy to:

a) Get on good terms with new neighbors so they'll feel guilty about engaging in activites such as those of my neighbors directly upstairs, who play what I can only assume is a game of Race the Heavy Furniture Across the Floor and See Who Collides with the Wall Hardest;

b) Get a chance to bemoan the old tenants ("Oh man, everybody in the building hated them. They *list atrocities committed by previous tenant/imply guidlines for how not to behave in the building*...I'm so excited to have you here! You fellas seem very sweet and way more mature than that rabble");

c) Eat cookies;

d) Impress new/not-your-boyfriend audience with culinary ability;

e) Be nice! C'mon, people, why all the cynicism? What's the world coming to these days?

I took a plate of these flavor-packed cookies to pretty much everyone I could think of (because I need "about 66" delicious cookies in my apartment about as much as I need to be introvenously fed sticks of butter). They're easy-to-make drop cookies that have impressively sophisticated, complex flavor pairings.

Chocolate Cranberry Spice Cookies

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon groad cloves
Pinch of salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanuilla extract
3/4 cup dried cranberries
7 oz. good quality white chocolate, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
3/4 cup walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped

DIRECTIONS

(To toast walnuts, simply chop them and toss in a hot saute pan just until fragrant; set aside.)

Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt into a medium bowl. Set aside.

Beat butter and sugars at medium speed until light, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Beat in the vanilla extract. Reduce speed to low and add the dry ingredients in three additions, mixing just until combined. Using a wooden spoon, stir in the cranberries, white chocolate, and walnuts. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough for at least three hours (or up to three days), until firm.*

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or foil.

Pinch off pieces of the dough and shape into 1-inch blls. Arrange them on prepared sheets, spacing them two inches apart. Bake the cookies, once sheet at a time, for 9-11 minutes, until just set but very soft. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.

Makes about 66 cookies.

*Three hours may seem like a long time, but it's really important. If you don't chill the dough for long enough, it won't be firm enough to take the heat in the oven and your cookies will come out flat.

This recipe comes straight to you from The Good Cookie by Tish Boyle.


I upped the amp on the flavors in these cookies by using fresh-ground nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves (bless you, mini-Cuisinart food processor!). The tart cranberries are the best part - they stand out against the smooth, buttery white chocolate and the medley of spices.

Now go bake yourself some cookies. And save some for your neighbors.

Spice It Up for Summer - Kate's Thai Mojitos

My mojito can beat up your mojito.

This is what I hope to say in August, when my family goes beach-bound and I take my sister Kristin on in our second annual Mojito-Off. Last year, participants' (my family's) preferences were split down the middle, with my coconut-rum mojitos playing sugary-but-delicious kid sister to Krissy's clean and refreshing traditional grownup beverage.

Well, not this year, kiddo. This year, Kate's bringing down the beach house with a mojito that packs a punch.

Kate's Thai Mojitos

INGREDIENTS

2 oz. Bacardi coconut rum (or better!)

1 oz. fresh-squeezed lime juice

5 spearmint leaves and 1 sprig, for garnish

4 medium basil leaves

1-2 inches ginger root, peeled and jullienned (chopped into matchsticks)

1 teaspoon sugar, plus extra for rim of glass

Club soda

DIRECTIONS

Rub rim of glass with ginger root and dip in granulated sugar. Muddle spearmint leaves, basil, 1 tsp. sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon of the lime juice until sugar is mostly dissolved. Add ginger, rum, and rest of lime juice; add ice and fill with club soda. Garnish and serve.

SPF 30 or higher recommended - these beachy-keen mojitos are way intense! The spicy, tangy, sweet (but not too sweet!) flavor with a zesty basil-coconut twist will really fog your sunglasses. (Optional: for a drier finish, do a half-coconut, half-regular light rum combo.)

This is my submission for the blog event Mixology Monday III: Mint, hosted by Kaiser Penguin. The round-up will be posted there on Tuesday, so check back!

Sunrise Lemon Cream Tart

I'm only going to say it one more time (such a lie!): I LOVE LEMONS. And this tangy, creamy, zesty-sweet tart epitomizes them! Puckery lemon curd and a slightly lemony, just-a-tad-sweet whipped cream/crème fraîche blend are swirled together for the filling - see the marbleization in the picture? It looks like sweet little fluffy clouds in a sunrise and tastes like that, but better. And with lemons.

I chose a sweet, chewy-crunchy brown sugar butter crust with a little chopped crystalized ginger and just a pinch of cardamom; the ginger and cardamom were fragrant while baking but barely discernable to the palate, adding just the tiniest hint of complexity to the lemony bliss.

By the way, this lemon curd recipe is my standard, and it comes out perfectly every time. Lemon curd is great as a spread for scones, pie fillings, or by itself with a spoon while you hide behind the refrigerator door.

I served wedges of my Sunrise Lemon Cream Tart with a drizzle of leftover rhubarb compote - its puckery sweetness was well matched to the lemon, but the flavors were different enough to compliment each other nicely...and the sunrise colors were beautiful!

I'm telling you, this tart rivals even my adoration of Key Lime Pie. And that's saying a lot.

Sunrise Lemon Cream Tart with Rhubarb Compote

INGREDIENTS

Lemon curd filling:

4 large egg yolks
3 large eggs
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, diced
1/2 cup sugar

Cardamom-Ginger Brown Sugar Crust:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

2 tablespoons chopped crystallized ginger

1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom

Lemon crème fraîche:

3/4 cup chilled heavy whipping cream
3/4 cup crème fraîche
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon peel

Rhubarb compote (optional):

4 cups 1/2-inch pieces fresh rhubarb (from about 1 1/2 pounds)
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Zest of 1 lemon

DIRECTIONS

For rhubarb compote:

Combine all ingredients in heavy large saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until rhubarb is tender, stirring occasionally, about 7 minutes. Transfer rhubarb mixture to bowl. Cover and chill until cold, about 2 hours.

For lemon curd:

Whisk yolks and eggs together in small bowl. Combine lemon juice, butter, and 1/2 cup sugar in top of double-boiler. Set pan over simmering water (medium-low heat); whisk until butter melts and sugar dissolves. Gradually whisk 1/3 of hot butter mixture into eggs, then whisk mixture back into bowl with remaining butter mixture set over simmering water. Whisk constantly until custard thickens enough to hold marks of whisk, about 5 minutes (do not boil). Pour lemon curd through strainer set over medium bowl. Place plastic wrap directly on surface of lemon curd; chill overnight. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep refrigerated.)

For Cardamom-Ginger Brown Sugar Crust:

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350. Grease the bottom and sides of your tart pan (I don't have one of those, as you can see). In a small bowl, stir together the flour and salt; set aside. In a separate bowl, beat butter and brown sugar together until combined, about 1 minute; at low speed, add the flour mixture and mix just until crumbly. Pat the dough evenly into the bottom and sides of pan; prick well with fork. Bake crust for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown around the edges. Cool completely on a wire rack.

For lemon crème fraîche:

Using electric mixer, beat whipping cream, crème fraîche, 3 tablespoons sugar, and lemon peel in large bowl until stiff peaks form.

Spoon half of lemon curd and half of lemon crème fraîche into another large bowl. Using small rubber spatula, gently fold curd and lemon crème fraîche together, creating marble effect and being careful not to overmix to retain marbling. Spoon marbled mixture in dollops into cooled crust. Using tip of knife or small rubber spatula, swirl and pull mixture upwards in peaks. Repeat with remaining curd and crème fraîche mixture. Refrigerate tart at least 1 hour and up to 4 hours. Remove pan sides. Place tart on platter. Serve with rhubarb compote.

Makes 8 servings; can be chilled up to one week.

(This recipe was adapted from Bon Appetit, courtesy of Epicurious.com; the crust recipe comes straight to you from Tish Boyle's most excellent cookie book The Good Cookie, recommended to me by the illustrious Ivonne over at Creampuffs in Venice. For more Tish Boyle cookies, look on Ivonne's blog here and here.)

Thank You!

Just a brief, heartfelt extension of gratitude to my beloved J, who made me sit on the sofa and read a book (Hungry Planet, what else?) while he prepared the luxurious dinner featured above: a fabulous stir-fry featuring giant prawns, ramps(!), snow peas, cashews, shitake mushrooms and garlic...all atop a gorgeously crispy nest of fried vermicelli (which was by far the most exciting thing to ever happen in my kitchen - the noodles magically quadrupled in size when they hit the hot oil!). Dessert was a yummy bowl of gourmet green tea ice cream and vanilla cream cookies. I finished everything...including my book!

Love's grand, ain't it? So are boys who cook for you...

(Message from J: recipe available upon request!)