Nothing says I love you or thanks a lot like a food gift from your kitchen. Homemade goodies can be as fun to make as to receive! Here’s 2 great recipes for giving or keeping.
Cookies: The Universal Love Food
The classic chocolate chip cookie brings smiles but how about something else to drool over. Snickerdoodles are quick and fun to make (just like saying the name).
Snickerdoodles*
2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. course salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter (do not substitute salted butter) at room temperature
1-1/2 cups plus 2 tbsp. sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl (Sharon’s time saving tip: put these dry ingredients into the bowl and use a whisk to combine and break up any lumps).
- Put butter and 1-1/2 cups sugar into bowl of mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in eggs. Reduce speed to lowest setting; gradually add dry ingredients.
- Stir together cinnamon and remaining 2 tbsp. sugar in a small bowl. Shape dough into 1–3/4 inch balls; roll in cinnamon sugar. Space balls 3 inches apart on baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until edges are golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks. Cookies can be stored between layers of parchment in airtight containers at room temperature for 3 days (if they last that long).
* Recipe from Martha Stewart’s Cookies (2008, Martha Stewart living Omnimedia, Inc.)
When Only Chocolate Will Do
Brownies are a favorite and this recipe is quick and tasty.
Michael’s Fudge Brownies*
- Work time: 15 minutes
- Bake time: 20-25 minutes
- Makes sixteen 2-inch brownies
- Only 134 calories per gooey brownie
1 cup sifted all-purpose flour (4 oz.)
1/2 cup plus 1/2 tbsp. unsweetened Dutch process cocoa
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking powder
5 tbsp. butter (margarine can be used)
1-1/4 cups sugar
1 egg
2 egg whites
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. instant espresso or coffee powder, dissolved in 1 tsp. hot water
One 8-inch square pan
- Position the rack in lower third of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. (If using a glass pan, reduce temperature to 325 degrees F.) Spray the pan with vegetable oil spray (i.e. Pam)
- Stir together the flour, cocoa, salt and baking powder with a whisk. Set aside.
- Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Off the heat, stir in the sugar until combined (texture will remain sandy). Add the egg, egg whites, vanilla and the dissolved espresso powder. Beat with a wooden spoon about 40 strokes, scraping the sides of the pan as necessary. Add the dry ingredients and beat for another 40 strokes, or just until completely mixed.
- Scrape mixture into prepared pan. Spread evenly. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out a little gooey. Cool on a rack. Cut into 16 squares. Brownies may be stored, well-wrapped, for about 2 days at room temperature or frozen for up to 2 months.
Author’s Note: I originally did this recipe with a handheld mixer, and that works fine also. Just don’t over do the mixing.
* Recipe from Chocolate and the Art of Low-Fat Desserts (Alice Medrich, 1994, Warner Books, Inc.) This book is a real gem but hard to come by. If you are a cookbook collector or chocoholic, check out used bookstores for this must-have tome.
Have a gift-giving favorite you’d like to share?Leave a comment and I’ll be in touch.
Perhaps you should make a double batch of these great treats. Keep one and give one as a thank you!
What a great way to greet visitors! This will make everyone chuckle and let them know how much you love your canine friends.
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