Mad About Maida

East Hampton Chocolate Icebox Cake Source:  Maida Heatter's Cakes (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 2011 ed.) , pg. 313. (Note: A reader tells me that ladyfingers were indeed smaller than the ones sold today.)   Okay, as you see from the photo, I didn't do a great job at putting this together! I debated over posting the recipe at all but since it was delicious, I thought I would go ahead with it. I think my problems arose with the ladyfingers. Maida says to use two 3-oz packages of ladyfingers. The ones I found (at Publix) were in 7 oz. packages so I bought one pack. When she wrote this recipe, maybe ladyfiners were smaller in size? Whatever the case, I'm not sure if they were supposed to stand so tall above the cake and there were not enough to go around the cake and cover the base (I ended up using vanilla wafers for the base). In hindsight, I suppose I could have cut the ladyfingers in half but she didn't say to do that. This was very good though but be w...

Peanut Butter Pillows Source:  Maida Heatter's Cookies (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 1997 ed.) , pg. 17 6 . I was watching Michael Symon make peanut-butter sandwich cookies on The Chew and thought I would see if Maida had a similar recipe. This sounded the same but after they bake, the two layers almost completely meld together (or at least they did for me), so they looked nothing like the ones Symon made. Still, these are delicious! When I first read this recipe (and always read the entire recipe before you begin!), I thought this might be difficult but it turned out to be a breeze. The dough must be refrigerated a few hours so keep that in mind if you are in a rush. My cookies turned out more oblong that I thought they should be but then when I thought about it, I realized that pillows are shaped like that so maybe they are correct. The cookies have a sandy texture and are quite soft. They are very fragile and would not travel well. They are so good and if...

Oreo Cookie Cake Source:  Maida Heatter's Cakes (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 2011 ed.) , pg. 80 and (S ource:  Maida Heatter's Book of Great American Desserts  (Alfred A. Knopf, 1982, pg. 123). Oreo cookies make anything taste better, right? Thoughts of oreo cookie ice cream immediately come to mind. I've eyed this recipe for a long time and came across it again last weekend and decided it was time to make it. It has been a while since I've purchased Oreo cookies (I usually tend to avoid the cookie aisle as it is dangerous) and I was amazed by the variety of Oreo cookies available. Good grief - every flavor and color known to man took up 2 shelves. It took me a minute to find the Original Oreos!   This cake is a white sour cream cake that Maida Heatter added Oreos to at the last minute after talking to a reporter about the popularity of cookies and Oreos. We bought a container of chocolate ice cream and crushed up our remaining Oreos and mixed i...

Cowtown Chocolate Cake Source:  Maida Heatter's Cakes (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 2011 ed.) , pg. 78 and  (S ource:  Maida Heatter's Book of Great American Desserts  (Alfred A. Knopf, 1982, pg. 114). It has been awhile since I've made a chocolate cake. That is an odd statement since I absolutely love chocolate cakes (or anything chocolate for that matter). A few weeks ago I made this cake which hails from Fort Worth, Texas (aka "Cowtown"). It is wonderfully dense and fudgy and the icing is a wonderful soft icing that stays soft.  Watch your baking time carefully. When I took the cake out of the oven (about 20-25 minutes) it looked dry and I was sure I had overbaked. However, it just appears that way and it was fine and actually quite moist.  1 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-process) 1 tsp. baking soda 1/2 tsp. salt 1 tsp. powdered (not granular) instant coffee or expresso 5 oz....