Searching for the perfect chocolate chip cookie seems to be a culinary “Holy Grail”. I’m not sure if such a thing even exists, since it is really a matter of preference. I’ve tried many recipes over the years, starting with the quintessential “Toll House Recipe”.

A few years ago, I came across my favorite recipe in a 1980’s version of Better Homes & Gardens cookbook. That recipe has proven to be a reliable standard that people always love. I’m not sure why it’s so good. It may be the half butter - half shortening that gives the cookies a moist, yet buttery taste and texture. It may be the salt and baking soda that offset the sweetness with a little savory. It may be the extra vanilla that rounds out the flavor. I’m not really sure, but I often get asked for the recipe and people clamor for the cookies when I make them.

I have found that freezing the dough in individual portions helps create a better consistency when baking. When baked soon after mixing, they are great tasting, but sometimes spread too much. When I make the dough ahead of time, I can freeze individual cookie balls and then bake from frozen. It takes longer to bake, but that is the only downside. One of the benefits is that you can bake as many as you want, leaving some in the freezer for when a cookie craving hits.

I also love the convenience of using a scoop or disher to make perfect little dough balls. I am a gadget geek, but this is one of my favorites. In fact, I currently have four in varying sizes. Parchment paper is also a must in my kitchen. I used to buy the rolls until I found I could buy half sheets that fit my Vollrath cookie sheets perfectly. I bought both the parchment sheets and cookie sheets at Surfas Online, a restaurant supply store in Los Angeles.

The recipe in the current Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook differs slightly, so I’ll post the “retro” version here. Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 2 1/2 cups (12.5 oz) of all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1/2 cup of unsalted butter (1 stick) softened to room temperature
• 1/2 cup of vegetable shortening
• 1 cup (7 oz) of brown sugar
• 1/2 cup (3.5 oz) of granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt and set aside. Cream together butter and shortening with an electric mixer until well combined. Add brown sugar and granulated sugar and mix until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla and mix until well combined. Stir in flour mixture until well combined. Fold in chocolate chips.

Drop by spoonfuls onto cookie sheets and bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking racks.

Freeze Now, Bake Later

You can also make the cookie dough ahead of time and freeze in individual portions. I like to use a cookie scoop to make nice round cookies. It also speeds things up quite a bit if you bake often.

Scoop out dough onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or wax paper.
Put cookies in the freezer for at least 15 minutes.

When they are frozen, you can put the frozen cookie dough balls in a zip lock bag and keep in the freezer until you are ready to bake. You can bake as many as you want and save the rest for later.

You will need to adjust the baking time when baking frozen cookie dough. I find that 14 minutes works well in my oven, but check ahead of time. Keep the temperature to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. If you bake two sheets of cookies at once, swap out the cookie sheets front to back and top to bottom halfway through. They will bake more evenly that way.

Update: June 4, 2007

This cake has proven to be very popular at my work. I have made it as birthday cake four times. I’ve also made it twice as cupcakes. Once I made a peanut-butter butter cream frosting for the center. That was very good. My husband has asked me to make it with all peanut butter frosting sometime. This last time, I chopped the almonds up a little to help them stay on when cutting. This worked very well.

I’ve had great success using Ghirardelli unsweetened cocoa powder and semi-sweet chocolate. Trader Joe’s carries the semi-sweet chocolate in chunks that is quite a cost savings. I got the cocoa powder at Whole Foods.

A few years ago, I used to make Lemon Bars (or squares) quite often. I had a really good recipe that was tart but sweet. The only thing I didn’t like was how sticky they were when eating. It was easier to eat them with a fork than with your hands, which shouldn’t be the case for bar cookies.

I found a new recipe in the King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion that seemed like it was worth a try. The amount of lemon juice and lemon zest foretold a lemony, tart taste. I had tried the Cook’s Illustrated version before, but had not been impressed.

One of my favorite people at work, Montie, is leaving to go pursue a dream to work in the entertainment industry. His one request before he left was that I make Lemon Bars again. I decided to try the King Arthur recipe, although it is always dangerous to try a recipe out for the first time on a crowd.

We had a going away party for him that was well attended. As I descended the stairs to go to the conference room, I could hear the gathered voices rising into the roar of a crowd.

I carried the lemon squares on a tray as eager hands reached for a treat. I could see Montie fighting his way towards the lemon squares shouting, “Out of my way!” so he could grab one of his favorite desserts.

The King Arthur Lemon Squares were a hit. One friend commented that she usually doesn’t like Lemon Bars because they taste too “eggy”. This recipe does call for four eggs, but is not eggy in the least. All you can taste is delicious lemon curd atop a shortbread crust. Heaven if you like lemon.

I forgot to take a photo of the lemon bars as I was exhausted last night when making them. They were so good that I’ll make them again soon and publish a photo.

Lemon Squares

Crust

• 1 1/2 cups (6 1/4 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup (1 ounce) confectioner’s sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt
• 1/4 cup (1 stick, 4 ounces) unsalted butter

Topping

• 4 large eggs
• 1 1/4 cups (8 3/4 ounces) granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup (4 ounces) freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/4 cup (1 ounce) unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons grated lemon zest
• Confectioner’s Sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9 x 9 inch, 11 x 7 inch or similar sized pan.

To make crust: In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt. Using a pastry blender, your fingers, or a mixer, cut in the butter, mixing to form course crumbs. Press the crumbs in the prepared pan. Bake the crust for 20 minutes or until it’s light brown.

To make the topping: In a medium sized bowl, beat together the eggs, granulated sugar, and the lemon juice until smooth. Stir in the flour, salt and lemon zest.

Pour the topping over the hot crust, return the pan to the oven and continue baking for about 25 minutes or until the top appears to be set. Remove from the oven and cool in the pan. Cut and sprinkle with confectioners sugar just before serving.

Nutrition Information: (1 square, 58g): 183 cal, 7 g fat, 3 g protein, 10 g complex carbohydrates, 17 g sugar, 70 mg cholesterol, 117 mg sodium, 44 mg potassium, 82 RE vitamin A, 4 mg vitamin C, 1 mg iron, 10 mg calcium, 36 mg phosphorus.

Some Tips

• Use fresh lemons instead of bottled lemon juice.
• Lemon Squeezers work really well to get most of the juice out of a lemon.
• Roll the lemons on the counter or microwave for a few seconds to break down the cell walls making juicing easier.
• Use a Microplane Zester to grate the zest before you cut and juice the lemons. A great deal of the lemon flavor comes from the zest.
• While preparing the rest of the topping, let the zest soak in the lemon juice. This will enhance the lemon flavor.
• Consider coating the pan with two intersecting layers of aluminum foil creating a sling and greasing or spraying with baking spray. This will allow you to remove the bars in one piece and cut them on a cutting board instead of the pan. It’s easier and saves your pan from scratches.

Yesterday was our anniversary. We usually have Fridays off, but unfortunately Dave had to work that day. I decided to make him a nice dinner and wanted to have a sinful dessert to go with it. He loved the chocolate cupcakes I made a few weeks ago, but I didn’t want to have that many cupcakes in the house.

I’ve been intrigued by the chocolate cakes that ooze yummy goodness when you cut into them. They go by different names; lava cakes, fallen cakes, molten chocolate cakes, etc. The cake was originally created by master chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten and is popular in restaurants. King Arthur Flour and Trader Joe’s had mixes to create this cake at home. I wanted to try making one from scratch for this special occasion. One nice thing about this recipe is that you can make it ahead of time and bake it when you are ready. This would be perfect for a dinner party.

I chose to use the recipe from Cook’s Illustrated. It is similar to others I saw online, including the original recipe for Molten Chocolate Cake from Jean-Georges Vongerichten which is published on Food & Wine magazine’s web site.

Some type of electric mixer is must as you need to beat the eggs at a very fast speed until they triple in volume. This was a breeze with my KitchenAid stand mixer. It might be tedious with a hand mixer, but still doable. You then gently fold the egg mixture into the melted chocolate and butter. You have to work gently so that you don’t remove all the volume you created with the mixing.

I cut the recipe in half to make four individual cakes since it was just for the two of us. I baked two last night and will bake the other two tonight. I’m not sure how well the cakes will rise tonight after being refrigerated for more than 24 hours. The cakes last night rose well and were delicious. I served them with a small scoop of Double Rainbow vanilla ice cream. Dave loved them. It was a nice ending to a long day for him.

Individual Fallen Chocolate Cakes

Servings/Yield
8 servings
8 cakes

You can substitute 5 ounces of unsweetened baking chocolate for the semisweet if need be, but you’ll also have to increase the sugar by 6 tablespoons, for a total of 7/8 cup. To melt the chocolate and butter in a microwave oven, heat chocolate alone at 50% power for 2 minutes; stir chocolate, add butter, and continue heating at 50% for another 2 minutes, stopping to stir after 1 minute. If chocolate is not yet entirely melted, heat an additional 30 seconds at 50% power.

• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), plus extra for ramekins
• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 4 large eggs
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon table salt
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour, plus extra for ramekins
• confectioners’ sugar or unsweetened cocoa powder for decoration, optional
• whipped cream for serving, optional

Method

1. Adjust oven rack to center position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Generously butter and flour (or use cocoa powder) eight 6-ounce ramekins or Pyrex custard/baking cups; tap out excess flour and position ramekins on shallow roasting pan, jelly roll pan, or baking sheet. Meanwhile, melt 8 tablespoons butter and chocolate in medium heatproof bowl set over a pan of almost simmering water, stirring once or twice, until smooth; remove from heat. (Or melt chocolate and butter in microwave oven. See instructions above.)

2. Beat eggs, yolk, vanilla, salt, and sugar at highest speed in bowl of a standing mixer fitted with whisk attachment until volume nearly triples, color is very light, and mixture drops from beaters in a smooth, thick stream, about 5 minutes. (Alternatively, beat for 10 minutes using a hand-held electric mixer and large mixing bowl.) Scrape egg mixture over melted chocolate and butter; sprinkle flour over egg mixture. Gently fold egg and flour into chocolate until mixture is uniformly colored. Ladle or pour batter into prepared ramekins. (Can be covered lightly with plastic wrap and refrigerated up to eight hours. Return to room temperature for 30 minutes before baking.)

3. Bake until cakes have puffed about 1/2-inch above rims of ramekins, have a thin crust on top, and jiggle slightly at center when ramekins are shaken very gently, 12 to 13 minutes. Run a paring knife around inside edges of ramekins to loosen cakes and invert onto serving plates; cool for 1 minute and lift off ramekins. Sieve light sprinkling of confectioners’ sugar or cocoa powder over cakes to decorate, if desired, and serve immediately with optional whipped cream.

After making the practice cupcakes, I decided to be adventurous and try a new recipe. While the devil’s food cupcakes were really good, I was not happy with the frosting. I was able to salvage the recipe by adding unsweetened chocolate and cocoa, but the consistency was a little off and by omitting half the sugar I wasn’t sure it would be enough for a two layer cake.

Instead I decided to try Ina Garten’s Double Chocolate Layer Cake from Food & Wine Magazine. I read about this fantastic cake on another Food Blog, Dine and Dish. I was intrigued by this cake because it did not call for the usual creamed butter, but used buttermilk and coffee. The frosting only had 1 cup of powdered sugar which was much better than the 3 - 4 cups in most recipes.

The cake batter was very thin, which concerned me a little before baking. One of the layers was a tiny bit lopsided so I trimmed a bit off. This also allowed me a sneak taste, it was divine. My husband thought it was fantastic and he’s not a big cake fan.

The frosting was luscious. I made sure to get the freshest organic butter I could find. The last time I made a butter-cream frosting, I made the mistake of buying whatever butter was on sale. The butter was not great and the taste came through in the frosting. I did add two tablespoons of dutch processed cocoa powder to the frosting in the final mix. It didn’t really need it, but I wanted an extra chocolate punch.

I really love the taste of almonds with chocolate. I toasted some almond slivers in the oven and added them to the side of the cake. I finished off the top with some chocolate shavings from a bar of Scharffen Berger Semi-sweet chocolate. This is the same chocolate I used in the frosting.

The birthday girl was out sick on Monday, so we are saving the cake for today. My hope is that it will still be moist and delicious after being refrigerated for almost 48 hours. I’ll update later today with more comments and hopefully more photos of the cut cake.

Update

Well, the birthday girl is still out but she wanted us to eat the cake and save her a piece. Boy, was that difficult. This cake is amazing, even after two days. I had a line of colleagues out the door begging for a piece. A few people commented that they are very picky about their baked goods and that this cake was divine. It’s not difficult to make and the results are spectacular. One person who hates chocolate (I know, hard to believe) ate the crumbs off the cake round. So, if you need to make a chocolate cake for an event, try this one. The almonds on the side worked very well. For future cakes, I might chop them a bit smaller. They fell off the cake during cutting.

Double-Chocolate Layer Cake

MAKES ONE 8-INCH LAYER CAKE

“This is the most fabulous chocolate cake that I’ve ever made,” says Ina Garten, host of Food Network’s Barefoot Contessa. “It’s so easy and so moist and light. There’s buttermilk and a cup of coffee in the batter! The frosting is just buttercream and a little coffee.”

Ingredients

CAKE

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee

FROSTING

• 7 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (I added 1 more ounce of chocolate.)
• 2 sticks (1/2 pound) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar, sifted
• 1 tablespoon instant coffee granules
• 1 tablespoon of dutch cocoa powder (My addition)

Directions

MAKE THE CAKE: Preheat the oven to 350°. Butter two 8-inch round cake pans and line them with parchment paper; butter the paper. Dust the pans with flour, tapping out any excess.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle, mix the flour with the sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt at low speed. In a medium bowl, whisk the buttermilk with the oil, eggs and vanilla. Slowly beat the buttermilk mixture into the dry ingredients until just incorporated, then slowly beat in the hot coffee until fully incorporated.

Pour the batter into the prepared pans. Bake for 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of each cake comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then invert the cakes onto a rack to cool completely. Peel off the parchment paper.

MAKE THE FROSTING: In a microwave-safe bowl, heat the chocolate at high power in 30-second intervals, stirring, until most of the chocolate is melted. Stir until completely melted, then set aside to cool to room temperature.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle, beat the butter at medium speed until pale and fluffy. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and beat for 1 minute, scraping down the side of the bowl. At low speed, slowly beat in the confectioners’ sugar, about 1 minute. In a small bowl, dissolve the instant coffee in 1 tablespoon of hot water. Add 1 tablespoon of dutch cocoa powder and stir. This will help the cocoa “bloom” and create a more rich chocolate flavor. Slowly beat the coffee and the cooled chocolate together and then add into the butter mixture until just combined.

Set a cake layer on a plate with the flat side facing up. Evenly spread one-third of the frosting over the cake to the edge. Top with the second cake layer, rounded side up. Spread the remaining frosting over the top and side of the cake. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before slicing.

MAKE AHEAD The frosted cake can be refrigerated for 2 days. Let stand for 1 hour before serving.

Update: April 9, 2007

I made this recipe a second time this past weekend as cupcakes. They were amazingly good and were a huge hit at my work and my husband’s work. The cake batter is really thin, so pour it into a liquid measuring cup to fill the cupcake tins about 3/4 full. Bake at 350 degrees for 22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a few cupcakes comes out clean. I made 28 cupcakes with this recipe. With the frosting, they are about 200 calories and 10 grams of fat. Not too bad for the delicious richness. I’d take this over a Krispy Kreme any day.

We have another birthday in my office next week. I asked the birthday girl to name her favorite type of cake and her answer was chocolate with chocolate frosting. I decided to take a practice run to make sure I had a good recipe. I hate making something for the first time for an audience.

I looked through my cookbooks and decided to try a Devil’s Food Cake from the King Arthur Flour “Baker’s Companion”. I cut the recipe in half and made cupcakes. It was a little difficult to cream the small amount of butter in my 6 quart KitchenAid mixer, but in the end it worked out well. Rumor has it that KitchenAid is coming out with a smaller bowl with a new attachment sometime in Spring. I’ll be on the lookout for that.

The cupcakes were very moist and delicious. They had the light, moist quality of a boxed cake mix but with all natural and mostly organic ingredients. I used organic all-purpose flour from King Arthur, organic natural cocoa powder from Trader Joe’s, organic milk and organic butter.

I tried to make the Chocolate Buttercream recipe from the King Arthur cookbook, but found that it was far too sweet for my taste and not nearly chocolatey enough. Luckily I tasted it before adding all of the sugar. I added some more unsweetened chocolate and that improved the taste considerably. I also added a tablespoon of unsweetened dutch process cocoa powder. That addition made a delicious frosting, full of dense chocolate flavor without being overly sweet. I’m not posting the recipe for the frosting yet as it was purely experimental.

Devil’s Food Cupcakes

• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks, 6 ounces) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 1 3/4 cups (12 1/4 ounces superfine or granulated sugar)
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
• 2 cups (8 1/2 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup (2 1/4 ounces) natural cocoa powder
• 4 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) milk, room temperature

Preheat the oven to 350º F.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, salt, baking soda, and vanilla until fluffy and light, at least 5 minutes. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour and cocoa. If lumps remain, sift the mixture.

Add the eggs to the butter mixture one at a time, beating well after each addition. Slowly blend 1/3 of the flour mixture into the creamed mixture, then 1/2 of the milk, another 1/3 of the flour, the remaining milk and lastly the remaining flour. Be sure to scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally throughout this process.

Line a muffin tin with paper liners. Fill cups 3/4 full and bake for 20 - 22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcakes comes out clean. Cool for ten minutes in the tins and then remove and cool completely on a wire rack. Spread with chocolate frosting of your choice.

Makes 24 - 26 cupcakes.
168 cal | 7g fat | 3g protein | 9g complex carbohydrates | 14g sugar | 1g dietary fiber

(Modified from Alton Brown’s Instant Pancakes)

These pancakes are so good that I’ve become very picky about the ones I have in restaurants. Restaurant pancakes just don’t live up to the possibility, often times they are tough and flavorless. This recipe is actually quite easy. I usually already have everything except the buttermilk. AB recommends making the “mix” (the dry ingredients) in bulk so that you only have to add the wet. I did this for a while, but our waistlines didn’t like eating pancakes that often. This recipe is modified to make the pancakes without the “mix”.

Pancakes

• 2 cups/10 oz/284 g of all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon/2g of baking soda
• 1 teaspoon/6g of baking powder
• 1 teaspoon/8g of table salt
• 2 teaspoons/10g of granulated sugar
• 2 eggs, separated
• 2 cups/488g of buttermilk
• 4 tablespoons of melted butter

Heat an electric griddle or frying pan to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and sugar. Whisk together the egg whites and the buttermilk in a small bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the butter and egg yolks. Add the yolks and butter to the egg whites and buttermilk, whisk until combined. Pour the liquid ingredients on top of the dry ingredients. Using a whisk, mix the batter gently to combine. Stop as soon as you don’t see any more flour. The lumps will cook away.

Check to see if the griddle is hot by placing a few drops of water on the griddle. The griddle is ready when the water dances across the surface. If it evaporates immediately, it’s too hot. Turn the griddle down and try again in a few minutes. Electric griddles work very well for this because you can set the temperature. I have a Cuisinart Griddler. A very nice appliance for under $100.

If your griddle is non-stick you may not need to butter it. If you are not sure, lightly butter the griddle and wipe off the extra with a paper towel.

Gently ladle the pancake batter on the griddle. I like to use a 1/4 cup disher or ice cream scoop. When bubbles begin to set around the edges of the pancake and the underside is a golden brown, gently flip pancakes. Continue to cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until the pancake is set.

You can freeze the leftovers by placing them on a baking sheet and freezing individually. When they are frozen through, place them in a zip lock bag or use your FoodSaver.

Our refrigerator is about 13 years old. It’s a not-so-lovely beige Maytag which still works fairly well. My two complaints are 1) that it’s kind of ugly and outdated and 2) that the freezer seems to have a temperature fluctuation causing freezer burn to happen rapidly. We end up throwing out a lot of food due to large amount of ice crystals that form inside the containers.

It really is time for a new refrigerator, but with a kitchen remodel in the not too distant future we have waited. Both of my sisters swear by FoodSaver vacuum sealers. I have found that things that come pre-sealed this way do survive our freezer rather well. A few months ago, I researched vacuum sealers and people rave about the FoodSaver brand, so I decided to give it a try.

Costco had a nice version that included some canisters for about $135. Bed Bath & Beyond had one with a flip up design for $160. This one was chrome and black instead of white. I have very limited counter space and I knew that if it was put away I would rarely use it. I opted for the BB&B version and used a 20% Off Coupon which brought it to $128. I didn’t get the extra canisters, but I had a more usable appliance.

The bags and rolls for the FoodSaver are kind of expensive, but you can reuse them if you don’t store meat in them. Since we’re vegetarians, that’s not a problem. Costco does have a 6 roll box for $40. I bought that and still have a lot left. My best guess is that it will last me for about 6 months.

I love using it because now I can vacuum seal left overs or food I buy in bulk, including flour. We love buying the 1 pound block of Tilamook cheddar cheese at Costco. Sometimes it molds before we can eat it all. It’s a lot of cheese for two people. Now I portion the cheese into manageable pieces and vacuum seal the extra. When I made the Shepherd’s Pie this weekend, I already had most of the ingredients in the freezer sealed away for future use. This included a wonderful vegetarian gravy I made that would have gone to waste.

I’m not sure if it’s saving me all the money I’ve spent on it and the supplies, but if we count not eating out as often, we’ve saved tenfold. Besides, my husband really hates wasting food. When he found out this would help with waste, he was happy to indulge my gadget fetish.

I’ve only used the bags and rolls so far. I may get some of the canisters to see how they work in the future. This is one gadget that has lived up to the hype.

Growing up, my idea of making a pie was to buy a Mrs. Smith’s frozen pie from the grocery store and put it in the oven. I didn’t even do that well. My first pumpkin pie was blackened and burnt on the top.

My best friend’s mom made the most wonderful apple pie from scratch and she showed me how to core and peel the apples and make an oil and flour crust. It was thin, light and flaky.

My future mother-in-law showed me how to make a thicker pie crust using shortening. This was the perfect vehicle for pumpkin pie. I still use her recipe for the custard filling to this day. However, my crust using her recipe was never quite as good as hers, so the search continued.

Two Thanksgivings ago, I used the Cook’s Illustrated butter/shortening crust recipe. This was very tasty, but it was hard to make in the food processor as the butter clumped terribly. It seemed to be too much fat for the flour or the food processor was just too powerful. This past Thanksgiving, I tried a variation of Alton Brown’s pie crust substituting shortening for the lard. It was good, but not as good as the CI recipe. However his technique of adding the water with a spray bottle and putting the dough in a gallon sized zip-top bag to chill and roll was ingenious.

This weekend I made a Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie in honor of St. Patrick’s day. I tried a new crust recipe out of the King Arthur baking book but used my KitchenAid mixer and the wire whip to cut the fat into the flour. This was truly a success. Not only was it easier than using a food processor it was also less clean up. The pie dough came together perfectly. I then put it in the zip-top bag and chilled until I was ready to roll it out. The great part about using the bag, is you snip off the edges and and roll the dough inside the bag. It works well and clean up is a breeze.

Oh, and the pie crust was delicious. I ended up using real buttermilk, since I had some in the fridge, but didn’t have buttermilk powder. I also didn’t have any vinegar so left that out. The crust was flavorful and flaky, just perfect for the pie.

Pie Crust
Makes one 9″ pie crust

• 1 1/2 cups (6 1/2 ounces) Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1 tablespoon (1/8 ounce) buttermilk powder (optional)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick, 2 ounces) butter
• 1/4 cup (1 1/2 ounces) vegetable shortening
• 1 teaspoon white or cider vinegar
• 3 to 5 tablespoons (1 1/2 to 2 1/2 ounces) cold water

Mixing the dough
Place the flour, salt, buttermilk powder and baking powder in the bowl of your standing mixer. (Note, you can also use 1 tablespoon of buttermilk, but add this to the liquids and cut back water by 1 tablespoon.) Attach bowl and whisk attachment to mixer and mix on speed 2 for 30 seconds to combine dry ingredients. Cut cold butter and cold shortening into 1/2 inch cubes.

The easiest way to cube the butter and shortening is to use a pastry or dough scraper and slice the butter into thirds along the long side, turn 1/4 turn and slice the next side into thirds, then cut the butter into 1/2 inch pieces on the short side.

Add butter and shortening bit by bit to flour mixture and mix at speed 6 until fat is cut into the flour and resembles small peas. Combine vinegar and water. Turn down the mixer to speed 4 and slowly add the liquids until dough just comes together. You may not need all the liquid. The dough will clump inside the wire whisk and will form a ball when squeezed by hand. Stop the mixer and remove bowl and attachment.

Gather the dough and place in a gallon sized zip-top back. Form the dough into a flat disk. Seal the bag and place in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

Rolling the Dough
Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Cut off the top and sides of the zip top bag. Using a rolling pin roll out the dough inside the bag to the edges. Rotate the bag a 1/4 turn each roll to get a nice circle. Peel back one side of the plastic and ease the dough into your pie pan. Remove the second side of plastic and gently press the dough into the bottom and sides. Using a fork poke holes in the bottom and sides to let steam escape. Fold over any excess dough and crimp the edges. If you have a short side, use extra dough from another side to piece together the crust.

Part of my bread making marathon has been the search for a soft, tasty loaf that would be great for sandwiches. I’ve always been partial to oatmeal bread and have tried several recipes. All were good, this one is great.

I adapted the Cook’s Illustrated “Oatmeal American Loaf Bread” recipe after several tries. All were delicious, but I found the liquid to flour ratio to be off for me. I kept having to add more flour to get the dough to come together. I’ve tried using less milk instead of more flour, but have found that I prefer the whole amount of milk and add up to a cup more flour if needed. I was using All Purpose (AP) flour, which is part of the issue. I’ve tried making it with bread flour, but have found that I actually prefer the AP flour. I get a more tender and moist bread.

Note: After reading the King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion, I realized I should not double the yeast when doubling the recipe for bread. They recommend 1 tablespoon for up to 8 loaves. The rise time may slow, but it works out better. I found this to be true, as doubling the yeast made my loaves rise too quickly causing air bubbles.

Oatmeal Bread

Makes two 9 x 5 inch loaves.

• 1 1/2 cups of water
• 1 1/2 cups of rolled oats
• 6 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour (plus extra for work surface)
• 2 teaspoons of table salt
• 2 cups of milk, warm (110 degrees)
• 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter, melted
• 6 tablespoons of honey
• 1 tablespoon of instant yeast

Directions

1. Bring water to boil in small saucepan. Add oats and cook to soften, about 90 seconds. Set aside. The oats will absorb the water.
2. Whisk together the flour, salt, and yeast in the bowl of a standing mixer. Add the cooked oatmeal and attach the dough hook and start mixing at speed 2 (KitchenAid mixers). Mix the milk, melted butter and honey in a 4 cup measuring cup. With the mixer running at speed 2, slowly add the liquid. If the dough is too wet, add 1/2 cup of flour at a time until the flour is combined. When the dough comes together and pulls away from the side, continue kneading for 2 - 4 minutes longer. Dough will be sticky.
3. Divide dough into two equal pieces. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and knead briefly with floured hands to form a ball. Place dough ball in lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Repeat with second piece. (A dough bucket works very well for the rising process.) Let rise in warm place (70 - 80 degrees) for 40 - 50 minutes or until doubled.
4. Form dough into loaf by gently pressing the dough into a rectangle, one inch thick and no wider than the length of the loaf pan. Next, roll the dough firmly into a cylinder, pressing with your fingers to make sure the dough sticks to itself. Turn the dough seam side up and pinch it closed. Place dough in the pan and press it gently so it touches all four sides of the pan. Finally, place dough in greased 9-by-5-by-3-inch loaf pan.
5. Cover with plastic wrap; set aside in warm spot until dough almost doubles in size, 20 to 30 minutes. Heat oven to 350 degrees, placing empty loaf pan on bottom rack. Bring 2 cups water to boil.
6. Remove plastic wrap from loaf pan. Place pan in oven, immediately pouring heated water into an empty loaf pan; close oven door. (Note, this step is important. Without it, the bread will not rise as high or be as moist.) Bake until instant-read thermometer inserted at angle from short end just above pan rim into center of loaf reads 195 degrees, about 40 to 50 minutes. Remove bread from pan, transfer to a wire rack, and cool to room temperature. Slice and serve.