Light Rocky Roads

 

Light Rocky Roads  (Source: Maida Heatter's Cookies (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 1997 ed.), pg. 134.

A very easy and very quick recipe. I doubled it and made them in a 13" x 9" pan. I thought the crust should have been thicker (she says it makes a thin crust and it certainly does). I wanted to use pecans instead of walnuts but I didn't have enough on hand. I simply like pecans much better than walnuts.  Either is fine. 

I would advise you to line the pan with baking paper. The recipe does not specify this but I suspected that it would be hard to remove them neatly from the pan otherwise.

There is also a "Dark Rocky Roads" with a chocolate layer and glaze but I have not tried that one yet.

(Makes 18 bars)

1/4 cup sifted all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

Pinch of salt

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/3 cup dark or light brown sugar, firmly packed

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 TBSP unsalted butter, melted

1/2 cup walnuts or pecans, finely cut

Preheat the oven to 350. Use the lower third rack. Butter or spray an 8-inch pan and line with parchment paper.

Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and set aside. In another bowl, combine the egg, sugar, vanilla and butter. Add the flour mixture. Stir in the nuts. Spread the mixture into the pan and smooth out evenly.

Bake for 15 minutes or until the crust springs back when lightly pressed.

Topping

I cup miniature marshmallows

1/2 cup walnuts or pecans, coarsely chopped

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Have the topping ingredients ready so that they can be applied to the crust as soon as it comes out of the oven. Immediately cover the crust with a layer of marshmallows, then the nuts and the chocolate chips.

Place the pan back in the oven on the top rack and bake for only 2 or 3 minutes just until the chocolate is softened. Use the back of the spoon to spread the chocolate over the marshmallows.

Let it sit until it has reached room temperature. Chill in the refrigerator to set the chocolate.

Cut into squares with a sharp knife. Sprinkle with confectioners sugar if desired.

Whoopies

Whoopies (Source: Maida Heatter's Book of Great Chocolate Desserts (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 2006 ed.), pg. 142.

I had never made whoopie pies before but last week I made some from two different recipes. The other recipe was the one from King Arthur Flour and it uses shortening instead of butter. Both of them turned out well and there wasn't much difference between the two. I gave some of both to my neighbor John who was having a birthday. He and his wife thought that the King Arthur recipe was the best (although they loved both). Michael, on the other hand, liked Maida's better.  

Maida's recipe filling seemed a bit complicated (the King Arthur recipe is much simpler) but I didn't encounter any difficulties by following the recipe exactly. Both fillings are heavy and I wondered how a lighter filling (something similar to Cool Whip) might work.

Regardless, these are quite a delicious treat.

3 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
3 tsp. cream of tartar
1/2 tsp. salt
6 oz. (1 1/2 sticks) butter
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 /2 cup plus 1 TBS. unsweetened cocoa
1 cup plus 2 TBS. milk

Preheat the oven to 375. Fit cookie sheets with foil or a baking mat. 

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt. Set aside.

Cream the butter. Add the vanilla and sugar and mix well.

 

Add the eggs one at at time, scraping the bowl as necessary.

 

Add the cocoa.

 

Add the sifted flour alternately with the milk.

 

Use a 1/4 cup scoop to form the dough. Shape each mound as round as possible. Place the mounds about 4 inches apart on the baking sheets.

 

Bake for 12-15 minutes or until done.

Remove from the oven - slide the foil off the baking sheet and let them stand for a few minutes. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. You should have 27 large cookies to make 13 whoopies.

 

Creamy White Filling

1/3 cup plus 3 TBS. sifted all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups milk
3/4 lb. (3 sticks) butter
Generous pinch of salt
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 3/4 cups strained confectioners sugar

Place the flour in a 1-quart saucepan. Add the milk gradually, stirring with a rubber spatula. 

 

Cook over moderate heat, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan, until the mixture starts to bubble. Simmer for about 2 minutes.

Stir in 1 tablespoon of butter and set aside to cool to room temperature. Stir ocassionally with a whisk. (The mixture will resemble mashed potatoes.)

Beat the remaining butter until softened. Add the vanilla, salt and sugar gradually. Beat for 2 minutes. Gradually add the cooled flour and milk mixture one tablespoon at a time, then beat on high speed 1-2 minutes until light and fluffy.

Place a generous tablespoon (or more) of the filling in the center of each cookie. Spread and cover with a second cookie.

Granny's Old-Fashioned Sugar Cookies

 

Granny's Old-Fashioned Sugar Cookies  (Source: Maida Heatter's Cookies (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 1997 ed.), pg. 63.

Another holiday season, another sugar cookie recipe. These cookies are very good with an nice lemon flavor. However, I found the dough hard to work with - very sticky and requires a lot of flour to keep it manageable.  A few years ago, I made the Plain Old-Fashioned Sugar Cookies and I recall that the dough was easier to work with. Still, these are quite delicious and they last a long time if kept airtight.

1 3/4 sifted all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
4 oz. unsalted butter
Finely grated rind of 2 lemons
1 TBS. lemon juice
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
2 TBS. whipping cream

Cinnamon Sugar

1 TBS. granulated sugar
1/3 tsp. cinnamon
Pinch of nutmeg

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Beat the butter until soft.

 

Beat in the lemon rind, juice and sugar.

 

Beat in the eggs and the whipping cream.

 

Add the flour mixture until smooth.

 

Turn the dough out onto wax paper or plastic wrap. Wrap and refrigerate overnight.

 

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or foil.

Cut the dough into thirds. Roll out the dough until thin (about 1/8 inch). If the dough is cold, pound it to soften up slightly. 

 

Cut out the cookies with a cookie cutter (about 3") and place them on the baking sheets about 1/2 inch apart. 

 

Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the cookies.

 

Bake for 10-13 minutes. The cookies are done when they are sandy-colored and dark around the rims. Transfer to a rack to cool.