Engaging stories of love, joy, comfort and friendship with proven scrumptious, healthy recipes, we celebrate LOVE as the secret ingredient for wonderful food!

DATE BARS! – updating a tradition

December 30, 2015 by Mary 24 Comments

This year, I only baked four types of cookies instead of my usual five. Maybe there’s something wrong with me but I’m starting to not make any recipe the exact same way twice. Do you do that? I keep on wanting to improve on them, tinkering, tinkering. So this year, my date bars were due for that tune up.

I have a funny story to tell you about my date bar post from a couple of years ago, when I first started this blog and posted the recipe. It was also about this time, right before New Year’s Eve. That one post got a ginormous amount of hits. Hint: DATE BARS – right before New Year’s Eve… very funny.

So here’s the change I made, which is small, but made an enormous difference. Everyone said, “Best I’d ever made!!”

I took a lesson learned from making homemade cornbread, in that you should let the batter rest for 5 minutes, in your baking pan right before you put it in the oven to bake, in order to let the baking powder do its thing and rise.

Because these date bars have only a quarter cup of flour in them and 2 eggs, there really isn’t much batter to speak of, yet you want a little cake around them to make it be like a bar cookie and not just totally dates. So I let this resting time happen and yes!! They did rise more and this bar cookie was much better!

So here is the revised recipe for my date bars. This recipe is originally from my mom and has been in the family for more than 70 years! I bet it’s been made every year by someone in our tribe for at least that length of time. (yikes – I’m just realizing this now!)

I hope these date bars will become a tradition in your home. They’re easy to make, use the in-season super fresh dates that are out now and are super delicious.

Serve with LOVE and a hot cup of coffee or a luscious glass of dessert wine. Enjoy!!

DATE BARS – makes 24 bars

2 large eggs
1 cup powdered sugar
1 Tbs. melted unsalted butter
1/4 cup cake flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 cup chopped dates
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
1 tsp. vanilla
More sifted powdered sugar to roll the bars in

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease an 8” or 9” square pan. I use a 9” glass Pyrex pan.

Beat 2 eggs a long time until very light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar and melted butter.

Sift together the cake flour, salt and baking powder and add gradually to egg mixture on a low speed. Then add the vanilla, dates and nuts. Stir well. Pour evenly into your prepared pan and let sit on the counter for 5 minutes before putting in the oven. This allows for the baking powder to do its work.

Bake for approximately 25 minutes, until nicely browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let cool completely. Cut into 24 bars and roll each one in powdered sugar. Store in a wax paper lined tin. Make sure the tin closes tight to insure freshness!

Happy New Year to you all!! Wishing you LOVE, peace, joy and prosperity for 2016!

Delectable Chocolate Cake with Loacker Rose of the Dolomites

December 23, 2015 by Mary 10 Comments

A Rose is a rose is a rose? Not so with these decadent chocolates from Italy. The Loacker family makes these beautiful chocolates to mimic the rose of the Dolomites – which grows wild right by their factory at the foot of the Alps. Oh my, they are totally yummy in dark chocolate and winter white.

And these are not just chocolate. In staying true to their wafer roots, (they make the number one wafer cookie in the world) there is a small wafer and a hazelnut cream center in every pretty rose. I think that’s so clever and also great for reinforcing their brand.

So how can I possibly improve on them with some sort of recipe?

Let them melt on cake!!

Here’s the thing. When you make a cake, to me, it’s always a big deal because not only do you have to make and then bake the cake, but then you have to make a frosting and ice the darn thing. My suggestion here is to use the Rose of the Dolomites as a decoration and the frosting!

Brilliant, right?

You need to put these babies on gently, as soon as your cake comes out of the oven so they melt a little and adhere. Position evenly and nicely and voila! You’re done!!

Here is the most delicious, decadent chocolate cake recipe. Sour cream makes it moist and the fresh brewed coffee adds depth to the chocolate. This is not too time consuming and well worth the effort.

I think you will enjoy adding this to your repertoire of holiday treats as this one’s easy peasy.

DELECTABLE CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH LOACKER ROSE OF THE DOLOMITES – serves 16

Unsalted butter, for greasing
Flour for dusting cake pan
1.5 cups of cake flour
4.5 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup hot brewed coffee
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 large eggs at room temperature
½ cup canola oil
½ cup sour cream at room temperature
1 ¼ cups of sugar
¾ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. fine sea salt
8 Loacker White Chocolate Rose of the Dolomites
8 Loacker Dark Chocolate Rose of the Dolomites

Preheat the oven to 350° and position the rack in the center. Butter a 9”-by- 9” square cake pan and dust the pan with flour, tapping out the excess.

In a medium bowl, combine the finely chopped chocolate with the hot coffee and vanilla and let stand for 2 minutes, then stir until the chocolate is melted. In another medium bowl, whisk the eggs with the oil until pale yellow, then whisk in the sour cream. Gradually whisk in the melted chocolate mixture until smooth.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, combine the 1.5 cups of flour with the sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt and mix well. At medium speed, beat in the wet ingredients in 3 batches until just incorporated. Scrape down the bowl and beat until the batter is smooth.

Pour the batter evenly into the prepared cake pan. Gently tap the pans on the counter to release any air bubbles. Bake for about 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

When cake is out of the oven, wait 1 minute, then gently place the Loacker Rose of the Dolemites evenly on the top of the cake as shown in the photo.

Let cake cool completely. The bottom of the chocolates should melt a little and adhere to the cake. Cut into 16 pieces and serve with LOVE.

Discover other unique, gourmet products in our upcoming spring box – mails March 25th! Our box subscriptions make a great last minute holiday gift. You can download a gift card at check-out to put under the tree.

Decadent Oatmeal with Michel et Augustin Cookie Squares

December 22, 2015 by Mary 6 Comments

So here’s my rationale for this one. The French and the Italians always eat something very sweet for breakfast. It’s the holidays so we can be a little decadent. And, the oatmeal part is good for you!

These cookies from Michel et Augustin in the MARY’s secret ingredients winter box are so darn delicious, they really don’t need any help with a recipe. They’re made with only simple and real ingredients, as if you would make them in your own home. And the chocolate in each of them is super special! However, we always promise our product partners that we will create a new and exciting recipe or serving suggestion.

So for a super powerful breakfast, make yourself some steel cut Irish oatmeal. Then take two of these shortbread cookie squares, either flavor, cut them into chunks and place on top of the oatmeal. Wait a bit and watch the chocolate in the cookies begin to soften and melt into pure luxurious decadence!

OMG, so the shortbread gives a buttery crunch and the chocolate with the sea salt is just divine.

Oatmeal like this every morning?

Yes please!

If you have young ones, this is a terrific way to get them to eat their oatmeal. Promise.

Then for a further treat upon treat, fire up some marshmallows over your gas burner, take two cookies and have them face each chocolate side to each other and place that melty marshmallow in between and you have just made yourself THE most amazing s’more and you can tell the Girl Scouts to take a hike with their graham crackers and Hershey’s crappy chocolate variety.

Total yum.

Total heaven.

DECADENT OATMEAL WITH MICHEL ET AUGUSTIN COOKIE SQUARES – serves 4

4 cups of water
Tiny pinch of salt
1 cup steel cut Irish oatmeal
8 Michel et Augustin cookie squares, either flavor

Bring the water to a boil. Add salt and gradually add the oats, stirring as you add them. Lower heat to medium and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

When done, portion out into 4 bowls. Roughly chop up two cookies for each bowl and place in the center of the oatmeal.

Serve with LOVE and watch everyone swoon!!

Herbed Sea Bass for a Birthday Dinner

December 5, 2015 by Mary 19 Comments

My real birthday was on Thanksgiving Day this year, so my sweet oldest son and his lovely girlfriend wanted to make me a birthday dinner on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. Of course I was delighted!! It is particularly kind of them since they have been so very busy working alongside their contractors, renovating a townhouse they bought in Brooklyn. Very exciting! But a lot of work!

Beautiful colorful bouquet of fresh flowers.

Flowers from Zach who’s in Europe right now.

Our other son and his fiancée are in Europe doing research for their dissertations. One of the gifts from both boys was the new Jean-Georges Vongerichten home cooking cookbook, signed by Jean-Georges, no less! My job was to choose the recipes for my dinner. What fun!!
This book is terrific! The recipes are really doable for the home chef, with just a few unusual ingredients that you may have to search for. So here I was, marking off way too many recipes, having trouble deciding.

We started with Crudites with Anchovy Dip. OMG – so UMAMI!!! Amazing!!

We ate the WHOLE thing – supposed to service for 8 – 12 but we all couldn’t stop eating it! It was very light and none of us had had lunch. The dip comes out thin, so we all loved it with endive spears, so you could scoop up a lot of its deliciousness!

Sorry, we were all so busy eating that none of us took a picture! But here is a photo of the recipe.
For the entrée, we decided on this fantastic Sea Bass dish that tasted like it was made in some fine restaurant.

Really!

Jean-Georges Herbed sea bass and potatoes in broth in a white bowl.

Isn’t this beautiful?!

It was so delicious – so flavorful with all the fresh herbs and the broth literally tasted buttery with not a spec of butter. The fish was cooked perfectly. It was so totally delicious and beautiful as well.

And the dessert that his girlfriend made – well – we all had two pieces!! Crazy good. Super yummy.

I am so very, very proud of the cooking and baking skills of both of my boys and both of their girlfriends. They are not afraid to tackle ANYTHING!! Their confidence and skill level are unmatched, along with the LOVE they impart while making a meal.

That’s just one of the reasons everything tastes so darn good.

Yep! This is my family.

I am so very lucky.

And I’m so very lucky to have you to share it with. May you all have very happy birthdays whenever they are.

Ultragrain All Purpose Flour in Biscuits & Chocolate Cake

October 20, 2015 by Mary 26 Comments

The flour in our fall MARY’s secret ingredients box seemed to be a surprise for some. But then again, this isn’t just any flour. It is Ultragrain All Purpose flour from Ardent Mills that replaces white flour, cup for cup. In the past, I’ve baked with straight whole wheat flour and some other partial combinations. Sadly, all did not have a good success rate. Not so with this flour!! I put it to the test on biscuits and cake and this Ultragrain multigrain flour performed in a terrific way!!

It is unique in that it’s whole wheat flour that offers whole grain nutrition but with the taste, texture and appearance of white flour. It’s made with specially selected white wheat that’s grown on family farms in Colorado and surrounding states. Naturally milder, sweeter and lighter in color than red wheat, it’s milled using a unique method that retains all of the whole grain nutrition while achieving the consistency of white flour.

Ultragrain All Purpose Flour contains 9 grams of whole grain per serving and twice the fiber of other all-purpose flours.

But this is what most interests me, this flour is unenriched, unbleached, has no bromate, and the wheat is a non-GMO grain. This is a BIG thing! Who needs all that added crap or bleach!

I would even go so far as to say that I would bet that if you have a gluten sensitivity, (not intolerance or celiac) you may find this flour to be ok. Wouldn’t that be awesome?

Check out these biscuit and cake recipes. Notice the lovely texture of both in the photos. The taste and light texture are wonderful, yet this is so much better for you all around without the additives, bleach, or genetically modified base, plus you get the added fiber with 30% of the flour being whole grain. You can have your cake and eat it too!!

SKILLET BUTTERMILK BISCUITS – adapted from Food & Wine Magazine – contributed by Coleen Cruze Bhatti

1 stick cold unsalted butter, cubed, plus more for greasing
2 cups Ultragrain multigrain all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 1/4 cups cold buttermilk (I used Kate’s Buttermilk – the real thing)

Preheat the oven to 450° and butter a 12-inch cast-iron skillet. In a large bowl, whisk the 2 cups of flour with the baking powder, salt and baking soda. Add the cubed butter and using a pastry cutter or your fingers, pinch the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles very coarse crumbs, with some of the butter the size of small peas. Gently stir in the buttermilk, just until a soft dough forms.

Scrape the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and pat it into a 3/4-inch-thick round. Using a 2-inch round biscuit cutter, stamp out biscuits as close together as possible. Gently press the scraps together and stamp out more biscuits. Arrange the  biscuits in the prepared skillet and bake for 12 to 14 minutes, until golden brown. Serve warm.

So good, you don’t even need butter!

CHOCOLATE CAKE!

This made in the pan chocolate cake is super easy and quick to make. The recipe is from Mollie Katzan. I add a little more cocoa for a super chocolaty taste. Just be sure you’ve thoroughly mixed your dry ingredients and then the wet as well, lifting up the pan periodically so you can check.

You can literally make this in 15 – 20 to mix and then 30+ minutes to bake. Now there’s no excuse not to make a dessert, and it’s even vegan!!

MADE-IN-THE-PAN CHOCOLATE CAKE – serves 9 – adapted from Mollie Katzan

1 1/4 cups Ultragrain multigrain all purpose flour
1/3 heaping cup unsweetened cocoa
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1 cup water
1/3 cup canola or vegetable oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. cider vinegar or white vinegar

Preheat oven to 325°F. Have ready an 8-inch-square glass baking pan. Put flour, cocoa, sugar, salt and baking soda into the pan. Mix it together thoroughly with a whisk and spatula making sure all is blended together and no white flour clumps are visible. Lift up the pan and check to make sure all is blended on the bottom and especially in the corners.

Add water, oil, vanilla extract and vinegar. Stir slowly with a whisk in small circles to blend. As it becomes a batter, mash, scrape, and stir with whisk and spatula until smooth, particularly scraping and blending from the corners of the pan.

Scrape the sides with a rubber spatula and spread it evenly. Clean the edges, then bake for 30 minutes until top bounces back on your finger impression and a toothpick come out clean.

Cool completely in the pan, on a rack. Dust with some powdered sugar (there is no need for frosting) and cut into squares.

I served it with LOVE, a dollop of ice cream and some strawberries for a really pretty and super easy dessert.

Ardent Mills Ultragrain All Purpose flour was one of the products in our MARY’s secret ingredients fall box. You can get your SURPRISE winter box here! Make a great gift and helps us in our support of Feed The Children.

Blueberry Buckle

September 7, 2015 by Mary 20 Comments

Happy Labor Day! Time to buckle down now and get back to school and serious business tomorrow, right? Somehow I think we all revert back to our younger selves, our school day calendar, and I find it’s rare that any serious business gets done in the summer, you agree? So yesterday, I made this Blueberry Buckle in honor of “buckling down.” (I couldn’t resist!)

So what exactly is a buckle, I asked and looked it up. From whatscookingamerica.net on the history of these things, they say, A buckle is a type of cake made in a single layer with berries added to the batter. It is usually made with blueberries. The topping is similar to a streusel, which gives it a buckled or crumpled appearance.

I adapted the recipe by Melissa Clark in a recent New York Times and while this is a terrific, light fruit dessert, not too sweet, just the way I like it, it did not have a streusel top. The top cracked as you can see, but no streusel crumbs. Maybe I should work on that for next time…

No matter, this is not time consuming to make, although I think mine turned out so light precisely because I did take the time to thoroughly cream the butter and sugar, while I grated the lemon zest and prepared the dry ingredients. Incidentally, one tablespoon of lemon zest is not too much – I might even add more lemon the next time as it diffuses once it bakes – you’ll use about 11/2 large lemons. And I continued to thoroughly beat the batter after adding each one of the three eggs, using speed two on my KitchenAid. When you add the dry mixture, use speed one, mixing just until no flour is visible. Fold your blueberries in by hand and you’ll be all set.

As I said, I adapted Melissa’s recipe, so there are changes. She calls for 41/2 cups of blueberries while just barely 4 cups is more than plenty in my book. I also buttered the pan and dusted it with flour to prepare it for baking. I don’t trust just using butter and there’s nothing more disappointing than to go through all this work and then have to struggle to get the beautiful dessert out of the pan, in order to make a neat presentation.

Also, I followed her instructions to serve with ice cream, but I think I would prefer creme fraiche the next time.

Hope you get a chance to make this, with LOVE, while fresh blueberries are still abundant! Enjoy!!

BLUEBERRY BUCKLE – serves 8 – adapted from Melissa Clark

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing pan
½ cup granulated sugar, more for sprinkling
¼ cup light brown sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 Tbs. finely grated lemon zest
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1¼ cups all-purpose flour plus some extra for dusting the pan
½ tsp. fine sea salt
3/4 tsp. fresh grated nutmeg – use ½ tsp. if already grated out of the jar
¼ tsp. baking powder
4 cups blueberries or a mixture of summer berries (a mix of blueberries, raspberries, blackberries or use any one kind)
Cinnamon, for dusting
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 9-inch round cake pan. Dust with flour on all surfaces.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar and beat together until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, then add lemon zest and vanilla and mix until combined.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt, nutmeg and baking powder, and whisk to combine. Gradually add dry ingredients to egg mixture and mix until just combined.

Gently fold blueberries into the batter by hand, then spread batter in the prepared pan and sprinkle lightly with more granulated sugar on top. Bake 40 to 50 minutes, or until top is golden and cake is cooked through. (Mine took 50 minutes.)

Allow cake to cool, then sprinkle with cinnamon and confectioners’ sugar.

Serve with vanilla ice cream or crème fraiche. LOVE!!

Melissa states that this is best eaten the same day but I had a bite this morning with my coffee after breakfast, and it was just fine!!