chocolate chip shortbread (finally!)

I've been screwing around with shortbread recipes for some time now, and I just haven't had any luck getting the results I've been after. Recently I found this blog entry and I knew that this was the recipe for me. Which began my quest to find caster sugar. I went everywhere, which is to say all four grocery stores we have here, and I came up totally blank. Eventually I was pointed to superfine sugar, at which point I Googled it and realized "caster sugar" is just British for "superfine sugar." Blargh;alrkgj.

Anyway, the making of this recipe also involved learning a neat new trick. I had the butter out on the counter for an hour or so and it was still pretty firm because, well, Potsdam, winter, old apartment: It's cold in here. So I figured someone on the Internet must have figured something out beyond microwaving it and getting little pockets of melty bits in between chunks that are still solid. And lo: Someone has. You know, I remember life before Google and I still don't know how we ever got anything done back then.

Also, don't measure your almond extract over the mixing bowl unless you have a very steady hand or enjoy your cookies smelling like they've been soaking in Amaretto. Whoops.

A word on bake times: Use your judgement. The original recipe called for 15-17 minutes, I wound up doing more like 22. The final bake step is essential, in my opinion, as it substantially improved the quality of the end product.

One final note, that has just now occurred to me: I was doubling this recipe and I'm quite sure I forgot to double the quantity of chocolate chips. But these are pretty chip-heavy. I really wouldn't enjoy having twice as many chips. As always, your mileage may vary.

Anyway.
awesome chocolate chip shortbread cookies
2 sticks butter, softened
2/3 cup superfine sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
~1/4 tsp almond extract (optional)
2 cups flour
"3/4 cup" mini chocolate chips (see note above!)

Cream butter & sugar extensively. Add extracts. Add flour, beat on low, stop when flour has just become incorporated. Stir in chips.
Transfer dough to gallon storage bag. Roll dough inside bag until it is 1/4 inch thick. You'll want to make sure the height is as uniform as possible; it really will make a difference in cooking time. Oddly, this step is kind of fun. Maybe it's an OCD thing.
Put the entire flattened mass, still in the bag, in the fridge to chill for at least two hours.
Once it's done, preheat the oven to 325°. Cut the bag off, put the dough on a cutting board, and use a pizza cutter to chop it into squares. Put them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment or the like, bake for ~20 minutes (see note above). Rotate them halfway through (top rack to bottom, front to back) for even cooking. Note that top of cookie will stay very pale throughout baking process, and cookies will likely be slightly flexible even when actually completely cooked. You just really have to guess. Sorry.
Put the cookies on trays, let them cool thoroughly. Put them back on the cookie sheets, "top" side down, then put them back in the oven for another 3-odd minutes. Cool and enjoy.

red lentil soup

Since the other recipe from my Canadian pen-pal was such a success, I decided to give the other a whirl. I fudged this recipe a bit more than usual, largely because I had to go to three different stores to get everything I needed, but oh my yes, do I like the results. Actually, I have two comments on the results:
1. It becomes exponentially better when served over jasmine rice. This might just be my texture preferences, though--I don't think I'm cut out to be a vegetarian.
2. On a related note, I kept thinking this really needed chicken, and I wasn't sure why until I realized I'm pretty sure I've stumbled upon the recipe Cedars uses for their butter chicken. I could be wrong--it's been ten years--but if I had hair on the back of my neck, it would be standing up. I think this is really it. Further experimentation will occur with great haste, I assure you.

Without further ado:
red lentil soup
3 tbsp butter
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 carrot, chopped fine
1 tbsp curry powder (I strongly recommend Auntie Arwen's Whirling Dervish)
1 tbsp fresh ginger, chopped fine (or grated! I need to get a ginger grater)
4 cups vegetable broth (I used some organic mushroom broth, it was awesome)
~6 oz coconut milk
~5 oz tomato paste
1 cup red lentils (dry)

In your soup pot, melt butter, sauté onion, garlic, and carrot.
Add the curry powder, let it work its magic.
Inhale deeply. It smells delightful. Seriously. Enjoy it.
Add ginger, broth, coconut milk, tomato paste. Bring to boil.
Add lentils. Cover & simmer for 20 minutes.
As noted above, I recommend serving over rice, but your mileage may vary.

buckeyes and a chemistry lesson

'Tis the season, by which I mean the end of Fall semester, and consequently time for ritual bribery. Which is to say I make baked goods and take them to various departments on campus, partly in thanks for all the help I've received, and partly in thanks for all the help I'll no doubt need in the future. Plus, for all my (considerable) cynicism, I really do enjoy baking for large quantities of people, and it pleases me to hear from a few dozen people how much they loved whatever I made that year.

At any rate, this year I decided cookies were passé, and I was going to make candy. Mostly because I wanted an excuse to make buckeyes. So I started with this recipe, doubled it, and then kind of made it up as I went along. I agonized over my peanut butter choices for a while, because I had this strange urge to use the all-natural kind. (The hippiness of this town is getting to me, I think.) I came to my senses while staring at the shelves, though: This is candy. It's not supposed to be healthy. So I bought a giant tub of Peter Pan. Your mileage may vary.

Also, you'll note below that I tell you to use Rice Krispies or their ilk. I can't give you a measurement because I just kind of poured them in until I liked how it looked. Also, I had significantly less left in the box than I thought I did. So I supplemented with Cocoa Pebbles. Don't judge me! The result is awesome.

Anyway, while doing the chocolate dip, I encountered a weird issue. I don't have a double boiler, so I was using a medium saucepan floating in a giant pot. This works fine in the short term, but as it turns out, it isn't good for extended dipping. Let me explain: As I got in to the second cookie sheet of buckeyes, I noticed that the chocolate was getting oddly gritty. Not unpleasant, but it was solidifying in little chunks in the pan. So I idly wondered how to thin it out. I didn't want to add more shortening because that just seemed excessive, and I flashed back to my family's cake. "Well," I thought, "if I mix chocolate in with water there ... let's try it!" So I splashed just a tiny little bit of water into the chocolate.

Whoops. Chemistry fail. So the chocolate immediately seized, and I went a-Googlin', only to find that I'd done something pretty stupid. No big deal, but lesson learned, certainly.

Once I made a new batch to dip the rest, I had a fair amount left over, so I mixed in a half-bag of butterscotch chips that I keep around for pancakes, and then poured in a bunch of Rice Chex. The result is messy but tasty.

Oh! And seriously! Parchment paper is the most awesome thing for cooking ever! I cannot believe I've been living without this for years! Why wasn't I told?!

Anyway, on to the recipe:
Candy center
1 stick softened butter
~20 oz creamy peanut butter
1 tsp. vanilla
~1 lb. confectioners' sugar
1-2 cups? of Rice Krispies or the like

Cream butter, peanut butter, and vanilla.
Add sugar until you like the consistency.
Add some sort of crisp rice cereal until you like the looks of that, too.
Roll into 1/2 inch balls, place on cookie tray lined with parchment paper. I say 1/2 inch because I always wind up making things bigger than I mean to and these work way better when they're roughly bite-sized.
Chill. My fridge is weird but they were in overnight and that seemed to work fine.

Candy coating
2 cups (1 pkg) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 tbsp shortening

Mix in double boiler. Insert toothpick into peanut butter ball. Dip, cover about 3/4 of candy. Put back on tray. Put back in fridge. Enjoy.