So I’m sick. I’m sort of snotty and definitely achy and I am running many a fever. Yet for some reason every time I get sick I feel the need to clean. Now I never really have the energy to clean when I am this sick so I try to find things to clean or organize while I sit. The bottom shelf of my pantry holds all my baking needs and so I started to rummage through that in hopes of making some sense out of it all. I have left over bags of dried fruit and chocolate through out the shelf. I decided to gather up my 1/3 cup of mini chocolate chips, my 1/3 of cup of dried cherries, my 1/2 cup of white chocolate chips and my 1/2 cup of bittersweet chocolate chips and do something with them so they would stop cluttering my shelf. So I made cookies. Don’t worry the only person eating my sick cookies is my also equally sick husband. So I am not infecting others with my diseased cookies(though for the right price I will gladly ship them to a relative you don’t like or maybe an annoying co-worker of yours).

I’m not sure why I chose to bake today. I was running a fever and it was 76 degrees, which is pretty warm for this time of year here…but obviously the fever made me more delirious than what I usually am and I fired up the oven. I just used a basic cookie base and started adding to it. I rolled them in sugar to give them an extra little crunch.

Cleaning Out My Pantry Cookies

1 cup unsalted butter

3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup powdered sugar                                                  

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 1/2 cups flour

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1/3 cup mini chocolate chips

1/3 cup dried cherries

1/2 cup white chocolate chips

1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup granulated sugar(for rolling)

1. Cream the butter and sugars(brown and powdered) together, about 3 minutes. Add in eggs, one at a time. Scrape down the bowl using a spatula.

2. Add vanilla and mix for one more minute.

3. Slowly add in the flour, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder.

4. Add the various chips and dried cherries and mix until incorporated.

5. Roll cookies into a ball and roll in granulate sugar.

6.. Bake at 375F for 9-10 minutes.

So this meme was much easier than the last one sicne I did not have to narrow down my favorite 5 foods…that was tough. Lis over at La Mia Cucuina tagged me for this and I am finally get around to it. 

I am thinking about: when am I going to get over this flu/cold whatever it is

I said: I would give the dog a bath but ugh, I so don’t want to

I want to: go to Paris and experience Pierre Herme

I wish: I had more cabinet space and that my evil blog stealer would stop stealing my blog(no doubt this will show up on there)

I regret: very little, life is too short to regret anything….

I hear: some really bad vampire movie in the background that my husband is watching

I am: not a fan of the Fall Skinny jeans look

I dance: around the kitchen more often than I like to admit

I sing: so badly that people pay me to stop(true story)

I cry: more than I should

I am not: a very good housekeeper

I am: a lousy ice hockey player(but I love it)

I write: legibly

I confuse: anyone who talks to me

I need: to put more non baking things on my blog

I tag:   Retorte , Gabriella and Laura

All text and images on this site have ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Copyright (c) 2006 by Peabody Rudd.

So when you bake two cheesecakes in one week you can only take so many creative pictures of it….and there aren’t that many in the first place. So if you are wondering what is up with my first photo…boredom.

Once a month I have book club. We all have one thing in common, we are newlyweds. Though most of us have been married long enough not to fit into that category. We pick a book and a handful of us(out of 15 or so) read the book. We rarely discuss the books. We are there for the food and gossip people. So book club is always my chance to make something I really want to eat but wont make because I would eat all of it. My pumpkin swirl cheesecake went over extremely well at the party I took it to, that I decided that I should make another cheesecake.

I’m really not one to use a graham cracker crust with my cheesecakes. I like to create a bottom that will compliment the filling. I chose a shortbread type crust for my Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake(I’m very swirly this week). This time I added walnuts but that isn’t part of my original recipe. If you choose to do that I just added 1/4 cup of chopped walnuts. I also added a layer of jam to my fruit cheesecakes but if you don’t like that idea feel free to omit that, though it really does add to the cheesecake in my opinion.

For Crust:

4 oz unsalted butter

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1 egg yolk

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups flour

Filling:

1/3 cup raspberry jam

2 1/2 lbs cream cheese

2 1/2 cups sugar

2 TBSP flour

5 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups raspberries, pureed and strained

1. For the crust, cream together the butter and the powdered sugar. Add in the egg yolk and vanilla. Add in the flour and mix until you have a soft dough.

2. Line a 10 inch springform pan with parchment paper. Press the crust onto the bottom of the pan. Prick well with a fork. Bake in a 350F oven for about 10 minutes until the crust is golden brown. Cool the crust.

3. Meanwhile, cream the cheese and sugar untl soft. Add in eggs one at a time. Mix until incorporated and scrape down the bowl down occasionally. Add flour and mix well. Stir in the vanilla.

4. Spread the raspberry jam over the cooled crust coming about 1/2 inch from the edge. Pour in 1/3 of the cheesecake batter. Then drizzle half of the puree on top. Repeat with more cheesecake batter and then puree. Pour the last third of the batter on.

5. With a thin knife marble the cheesecake.

6. Bake in a water bath at 350F for approximately 2 hours.

7. Remove cake from water bath. Cool to room temperature and then chill over night.

All text and images on this site have ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Copyright (c) 2006 by Peabody Rudd.

I feel bad that I have neglected my lovely little blog. I was score keeping hockey(my other passion in life..hockey not score keeping) all weekend for a tournament…trying to make money to pay for my own hockey. Anyway, no baking was done and cleaning either   So I feel guilty. I remembered that I made cookies awhile back and chose not to put them up because I had just done something with Nutella. But since my blog is feeling rejected I thought I would throw something up so that my thief has something new to add to his/her collection. I also feel really bad because I haven’t had to time to go around and read all of my favorite blogs. I did get to read some SHF stuff but still have to go read and vote for HHDD. So much to do.

This cookie is really cakey and visually not that exciting(so I threw chocolate chips on top for a little character). I really enjoyed these, but then again, I really enjoy Nutella. There isn’t an overwhelming hazelnut flavor so if you have someone who is only so-so about hazelnuts they will probably eat these….my husband did(Mr. Picky himself).

Nutella Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies 

1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 (400 g) jar of Nutella
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup milk

Pre-heat oven to 375 F. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter, sugar, eggs and Nutella until well blended; set aside.
In another bowl, stir together flour, soda, salt and chocolate chips. Stir flour mixture into
Nutella mixture, alternating with vanilla and milk.
Drop by tablespoons onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake 10 to 12 minutes. Allow to cool several minutes on the baking sheets, then remove to wire racks to cool completely.
Makes about 30 cookies.

All text and images on this site have ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Copyright (c) 2006 by Peabody Rudd.