Badass Cookie Tip of the Week: When measuring dry ingredients for cookie dough or any baking recipe, measure by lifting the ingredient with a spoon or with hands and dropping it gently into the cup measure rather than scooping it and shaking the cup measure to level it. Scooping and shaking compresses the dry ingredient and more of it will end up in the cup than you need, resulting in heavy or overly sweet dough. To level dry ingredients in a measuring cup, use a knife or your finger rather than shaking the cup.


Photo credit: Bruce Ring

Badass Biscotti
Note: This 3 pounds 1 1/2 T. flour recipe may be doubled and even doubled again for a maximum of 12 pounds, 6 ounces of flour, yielding 500 cookies. Directions are given in the recipe for handling the large quantity of dough. It is well worth the time and trouble if you need a lot of cookies for gifts or an event. It’s best to have a kitchen scale for this recipe as the flour is weighed, not measured with cups, and the dough itself must be weighed out into chunks to bake off.
Yields 125 cookies, depending on thickness
3 pounds plus 1 1/2 T. of all-purpose unbleached flour
5 1/4 cups sugar
1/4 cup plus 2 T. anise seed
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1 T. baking powder
2 t. salt
1 pound (4 sticks) butter, room temperature
8 eggs
1/2 cup annisette liqueur or other anise flavored liqueur
2 cups whole roasted, blanched almonds
1 cup chopped roasted blanched almonds
1 cup whole pistachios
1. Measure all dry ingredients except nuts into the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or in a large mixing bowl to mix by hand. Crack eggs, stir to combine and set aside. Measure the annisette and set aside. Roast and measure the nuts and set aside.
2. With the mixer on low speed, or gently by hand, add pieces of softened butter little by little to dry ingredients without pausing between additions, and then drizzle in annisette. The minute the dough begins to hold together, add nuts in the same manner. Stop the machine the second all the nuts are in the dough. Do not over mix. Most stand mixers will accommodate a dough containing up to four cups of flour easily. If making a large quantity of dough, use a large (at least 20 cup capacity) mixing bowl to make the dough, or make in 4-cups-flour batches, dividing up the other ingredients proportionately. Then mix all the dough together at the end.
3. Transfer the dough to a sheetpan and refrigerate it wrapped in plastic wrap overnight or for several hours.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove dough from the refrigerator and weigh out in 1 1/2 pound chunks for 1/2 size 11” x 17” sheet pans (3 pound chunks for full size sheet pans.) Allow dough to stand at room temperature until it is kneadable, not too soft. Roll chunks into logs, about an inch short of the length of the sheetpans. Place on parchment paper covered pans, nonstick pad coated pans, or greased pans.  Put two logs on each 1/2 sheet pan, or 3 logs per full sheet pan, evenly spaced. Double sheetpans under the logs to prevent burning.
5. Bake logs approximately 30 minutes or until the dough is set and the top of the log is medium golden brown, not light. Cool on a rack completely before moving on to the next step. Note: For convection ovens, bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, then turn and rotate the sheetpans in the oven front to back and top to bottom. Then set oven temperature to 325 degrees and bake 10 minutes more until done.
6. When logs are cool, slice with a serrated knife with a sawing motion as thinly as possible without breakage. Place them again on doubled sheetpans covered with parchment, nonstick pads or greased, lying flat and end to end. Rebake them at 325 degrees about 10 - 15 minutes until even light golden brown and cookies feel firm and dry to the touch. Cool on racks, store in airtight containers. Will keep several weeks. Do not refrigerate.



Photo credit: Bruce Ring
Mmmmm, I like my biscotti buttery but I have seen recipes for biscotti with olive oil instead. This one looks good for those olive oil fans out there.
Do you have a Badass Cookie recipe for Nancy and Laura? Send it to us using the comments link above and we’ll test it. If it’s badass enough, we’ll post it as a Reader’s Recipe in future One Badass Cookie posts and you’ll win a copy of Nancy’s book.

see also: One Badass Cookie - Ginger Molasses Cookie

i>FRENCH CREAM CANDY. Put four cupfuls of white sugar and one cupful of water into a bright tin pan on the range and let it boil without stirring for ten minutes. If it looks somewhat thick, test it by letting some drop from the spoon, and if it threads, remove the pan to the table. Take out a small spoonful, and rub it against the side of a cake bowl; if it becomes creamy, and will roll into a ball between the fingers, pour the whole into the bowl. When cool enough to bear your finger in it, take it in your lap, stir or beat it with a large spoon, or pudding-stick. It will soon begin to look like cream, and then grow stiffer until you find it necessary to take your hands and work it like bread dough. If it is not boiled enough to cream, set it back upon the range and let it remain one or two minutes, or as long as is necessary, taking care not to cook it too much. Add the flavoring as soon as it begins to cool. This is the foundation of all French creams. It can be made into rolls, and sliced off, or packed in plates and cut into small cubes, or made into any shape imitating French candies. A pretty form is made by coloring some of the cream pink, taking a piece about as large as a hazel nut, and crowding an almond meat half way into one side, till it looks like a bursting kernel. In working, should the cream get too cold, warm it. To be successful in making this cream, several points are to be remembered; when the boiled sugar is cool enough to beat, if it looks rough and has turned to sugar, it is because it has been boiled too much, or has been stirred. If, after it is beaten, it does not look like lard or thick cream, and is sandy or sugary instead, it is because you did not let it get cool enough before beating. It is not boiled enough if it does not harden so as to work like dough, and should not stick to the hands; in this case put it back into the pan with an ounce of hot water, and cook over just enough, by testing in water as above. After it is turned into the bowl to cool, it should look clear as jelly. Practice and patience will make perfect.

Here’s my favorite way to bring cookies for a crowd to any party or holiday dinner. Trust me, you walk in with this, and it will elicit as many oohs and ahs as any fancy cake or pie, and maybe more, from children and adults alike. And one of the nicest things about it is that everybody pretty much gets their favorite, as there is a variety to choose from. It may look like a lot of work, but if you make lots of dough for each recipe in the weeks prior to your event, you can freeze the doughs in logs and then just slice them off and bake them on the day or day before you need them. Look for directions for freezing logs of dough, or for any portion of the recipes here that can be made ahead in all One Badass Cookie recipes.


Here’s my Badass Oatmeal Raisin Cookie recipe in a log that I froze last week. (To get this recipe, check back in the coming weeks when I’ll be posting more badass cookie recipes or scroll down to find the previous weeks’ recipes, Badass Chocolate Chip Cookies, Badass Ginger Molasses Cookies, and Badass Lemon Bar Cookies.) To freeze dough logs, simply take the dough from the mixing bowl once it is finished, and lay it onto a long sheet of plastic wrap. If the dough is soft, you may want to refrigerate it first to get it firm enough to shape. Alternatively, you can also use wet hands to shape logs, shape logs once they are wrapped up in the plastic, or loosely wrap a soft log, freeze it for thirty minutes or so and then take it out of the freezer to further shape it. Whatever you do, you will end up with a log like this, perfect for slicing into thick slices and baking off when you need it.


This is a shot of my favorite cookie basket. I got mine at Zabar’s. I like to line it with a nice cloth napkin in a coordinating color, but you can also use a sheet of waxed paper. Watch for another One Badass Cookie post coming soon that will show you lots of great ways to package cookies for gifts too.


Badass Cookie Tip of the Week: Double your sheetpans to ensure that the bottoms of the cookies don’t burn before the tops are done.

Got a Badass cookie recipe for Nancy and Laura? Send it to us and we’ll test it. If it’s badass enough, we’ll post it as a reader’s recipe and you’ll win a prize of Nancy’s book.

see also: One Badass Cookie - Ginger Molasses Cookie

For One 9-inch Pie:

First the crust.  Use your favorite.  Or try mine:

1/8 cup all purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
8 T very cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
A small bowl of ice water

1.  Sift flour, sugar, and salt together (or just mix well).

2.  Work quickly to add your butter to flour so it breaks up into little pea sized balls--without melting.  You can use your hands, a fork, or pastry blender. I prefer the food processor and process for 10 to 15 seconds until the mixture seems to have a cornmeal texture.

3.  Place it in a bowl and sprinkle 3 tablespoons of ice water lightly about the dough and start to pull it together.  Your goal is to gather it up in a ball in your hands.  If too dry, add more of the water, perhaps up to 4 or 5 tablespoons, but as little as possible. Shape dough into a flat round disk.  Wrap in plastic and put your dough in the freezer 10 minutes or the fridge for a half hour or longer if you’ve got the time.

4.  Roll dough on a floured surface.  Start in middle and roll outward.  Roll so it is VERY thin, otherwise your bottom will remain raw. 

5.  When you have your circle of thin dough, take your pie plate, invert and lay down on the dough.  Use wheel or knife to cut out a circle about two inches wider in circumference than your pie dish.  Then gently lift and place into the actual dish. Make pretty edges by crimping with your fingers or indenting all around with the tines of a fork. 

Filling for one pie

1 ½ pounds sweet potatoes
1 tablespoon butter
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup milk
juice of 1 small orange
grated outer rind (do not go down to the white) of half small orange
brown sugar to taste, from ½ to ¾ cup depending on your palate and the sweetness of your potatoes
2 large eggs, yolks and whites separated

1.  Bake or microwave the sweet potatoes and while still hot, mash them well with a fork or electric beater until very smooth. 

2.  Immediately add salt, butter, milk orange juice and rind.  Mix well.  Add ½ cup sugar and taste.  Add more if desired.

3.  Add egg yolks.  Then whisk or beat whites until they are fluffy and fold into mixture.  (You can decide how much effort you wish to put into this.  If you beat them to a real fluff you will have a lighter pie.)

4.  Fill pie crust with mixture and bake in 400 degree oven for 45 minutes.  Check half way.  If crust is getting too dark, cover with tin foil to prevent burning.  You will probably need to take this step for at least the last 15 minutes.

Badass Cookie Tip of the Week: Slice soft cookies like lemon bars with a knife dipped in hot water to avoid tearing or breaking the cookie bars. Wipe off the blade between cuts and dip in hot water again to make the next cut.

Badass Lemon Cookie Bars
Makes 1 9-inch square pan, or for cookies that are thinner and have less crust, 1 9-x-13 inch pan.
Crust:
1 1/2 cups all purpose unbleached flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted to remove lumps if necessary
6 ounces (1 1/2 sticks) cold sweet unsalted butter, cut in small pieces
Filling:
6 large eggs
3 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup plus 2 T. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
zest of one lemon
1/2 cup flour
Powdered sugar for dusting
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Combine flour and powdered sugar either by hand or in the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with a paddle on low speed. Add butter and mix until it is the size of small pearls. Press the crust mixture into the bottom of the pan. Bake the crust until golden, about 20 minutes turning the pan halfway through the baking time to ensure even browning.
2. Decrease oven temperature to 300 degrees. Whisk together eggs and granulated sugar in a large bowl. Stir in the juices and then the flour, whisking to combine well. Pour this juice mixture into the pan on top of the crust.
3. Bake the bars until the filling is set (it should not jiggle at all or the bars will not firm up completely) about 40 minutes, checking after about 1/2 hour or so as oven temperatures vary. Allow the bars to cool in the pan for 30 minutes, then refrigerate until firm and cold. Slice with a hot knife. Store in the refrigerator, covered.


Do you have a badass cookie recipes for Nancy and Laura? Use the comments link at top to send it to us to test, and if it ‘s badass enough, we’ll post it as a reader’s recipe and you’ll win a prize of Nancy’s book.

see also: One Badass Cookie - Ginger Molasses Cookie

All we had to do was cut each triangle into three smaller triangles and get rolling.  Mother-in-Law said she found it kind of zen to sit their and roll them up.  And she started dropping hints that maybe she’d make these for all her grandsons on Thanksgiving.

When the moment of the banquet arrived, the table was filled with feast foods for my son and his posse.  Ribs, lemon chicken, salad, coleslaw….and the star of the show:  pigs in the blanket, which by far generated the most enthusiasm from my son’s guests.

A in the raucousness.  One friend posed the question, “Hey did you ever think about how weird it would be to have an actual pig in a blanket?” The boys all paused quietly between bites to contemplate this cosmic question before moving on to the next joke, the next outburst, the next adolescent inappropriate joke.  It was a wild night. 

Soon the platter was empty.  And my dark-eyed baby headed into his fourteenth year.

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Badass Chocolate Chip Cookies
This recipe can be doubled. You may bake off these cookies right away after making the dough, or freeze it in logs to bake later.
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 t. baking soda (you may use half this amount if you like a denser cookie)
1/2 t. salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) sweet unsalted butter, melted
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 T. vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (or half white chocolate chips and half dark chocolate chips)

Badass Cookie Tip of the Week: Double your sheetpans under your cookies while baking to protect the bottom of the cookies from getting too dark or burning before they are done to perfection on top.


Slice the logs nice and thick for fat, chewy cookies.


Good sheet pans are a must. I like these.


Oh baby.

Got a badass cookie recipe of your own? Send it to us using the comments link above and we’ll test it. If it’s badass enough, you’ll get a copy of Nancy’s book as a prize plus we’ll post it as a Reader’s Recipe in future Badass Cookie posts.

see also: One Badass Cookie - Ginger Molasses Cookie

Badass Ginger Molasses Cookies

Yields approximately two 24” long x 3” diameter logs of cookie dough that can be sliced into approximately 2 - 3 dozen giant cookies depending on thickness.
Note: Do not divide this recipe as it does not work well if divided. It may seem like a lot, but it is well worth the trouble in flavor and texture and it freezes well. Tips are given below for handling the large quantity. You will need a mixing bowl or other container that can hold a dough containing 8 cups of flour. I like my stainless steel one with its 2 gallon capacity, and it’s a work horse, especially for entertaining.

3 cups unsalted, sweet butter (1 1/2 pounds, or 6 sticks) , softened to room temperature
4 cups white sugar
1 cup molasses (for thicker cookies, use robust unsulphured blackstrap molasses, for thinner, use unsulphured light, cooking, or fancy molasses)
4 eggs, lightly beaten
8 cups all purpose white flour
2 T. plus 2 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
4 t. cinnamon
1 1/2 t. ground cloves (this may be increased up to double the amount if you are a clove lover)
4 t. ground ginger
1/4 cup crystallized ginger, chopped (available at most supermarkets that carry dried and candied fruit)
Turbinado sugar, or any large crystal sugar for baking

Method:
1. Sift or whisk dry ingredients together (except sugar and crystallized ginger) and set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or by hand with a wooden spoon in a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light. Add molasses and crystallized ginger and mix to incorporate.
3. Add eggs a little at a time, in about four or more additions, stopping often to scrape down the bowl. Add more egg only when the egg that has been added is incorporated fully.
4. To accommodate the large quantity of dough in home kitchens, remove mixture from the stand mixer bowl and transfer it to a large mixing bowl. Add the flour all at once and gently mix it in. Do not over-mix. Spread dough onto sheet pans (unless you have a refrigerator that has room for the large bowl) and refrigerate several hours or overnight it until it is firm enough to roll into logs for freezing. (You can bake off the dough before freezing it, but it will yield cookies with a slightly different look and texture.)
5. When it is firm enough to handle, roll the dough in plastic wrap into thick (approximately 3” in diameter) logs and freeze them, several hours or overnight.
6. To bake, preheat oven to 325 degrees for convection, 350 degrees for still oven. Slice the cookie logs into thick slices (approximately 2” slices or more) and dredge one side in large crystal sugar for baking. Bake cookies 3 inches apart until set, about 15 - 20 minutes. Do not over-bake or the cookies will be crunchy instead of chewy. Cool on sheet pans a minute or so until the cookies can be moved without damaging their shape and then cool the rest of the way on a wire rack. Store in airtight container.

Tip: Don’t over-mix your cookie dough or gluten will form and make the dough tough. For tender cookies, always use the lowest speed on an electric stand mixer when adding flour and turn off the mixer to hand mix in the last bit of flour. If mixing by hand, stir only until the flour is incorporated and no more.


I like to slice the logs with my chef’s knife on a cutting board.


These silpat nonstick baking sheets are great. The cookies slide off them and the cookie sheets stay clean underneath. You can buy them here.


A big cooling rack is another wonderful addition to any kitchen. I bought mine from this fabulous kitchen ware store.


So what are you waiting for? Whip ‘em up! And check back here weekly for more Badass Cookie recipes.

Got a badass cookie recipe for us? Send it in using the comments link above and we’ll test it and see if it’s badass enough to appear as a reader’s recipe in future One Badass Cookie posts.

Mom had bowls like these too. We baked together a lot with them. She had great aprons. More on those another time.


This picture is of a doll’s set is all miniature old fashioned tools. I bought some old cookbooks too but they’ll fill a column by themselves soon.


Here’s Mom and me on my most recent trip to Florida where she and my Dad live. Sigh. Nostalgia can be sweet sometimes . . . Oh and by the way, my friend was selling these things which all belonged to her father from the front yard of the house he had lived in. He was 111 years old when he died recently, and quite a celebrity in the nabe as you can imagine. When people asked him the secret to long life, do you know what he said? “Strawberry ice cream.”

Peppers of various kinds.  Beans we let dry in the pod.  Good night front-yard garden.  Let the soil get a good rest.

see also: Vegetables in the Front Yard

Next step, cut them in half.

Then, steam them in a steaming pot.

After they are soft, drain off some liquid and put into the hopper of the processor.  This is a serious and expensive piece of eqiuipment that Lou and John share.  It is a workhorse.

Now comes the sputter.  The machine sends out the skins and seeds one way and the pure tomato pulp out the other, into the pot.  Hour by hour it fills. 

At last, Lou puts the tomato puree into quart containers.  Because he is relentlessly mechanical and efficient, he uses a siphon, which is quicker and neater.  Years ago, Lou used to do all this with sterilized mason jars, vacuum sealed, and a hand-cranked tomato machine--just like his mother did.  Nowadays he prefers technology for the job.  He lent me the old-fashioned crank. 

A week or so later, back at my house, I prepared for my maiden voyage.  Note the happy smile and joy at the beginning of the job.  Still perky.

Here I am with the handcrank.  Note dishevelment.  Fallen sleeve, sweaty chest. 

And finally at the end of the day--a pure wreck--only about 6 hours later. 

I thought I’d have 20 quarts.  But no, only 13--I was disappointed at first.  It took me about three hours to clean the kitchen.  But as the memory faded I became more content.  My tomato sauce is safely stowed in the basement freezer along with some pesto.  I calculate that I can use one a month.  Well, it’s a start.  Next year i can make more. 

Now it’s time to fry those last green tomatoes.

see also: Smoked Blues

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