I Miss You, so Here's a Plum Cake

Hey all! I've gotta say that only posting ince a week s killing me in a small way. I miss the days when I would come home from work, crank up the oven, oblivious to the summer heat, and bake, cook, simmer, and steam almost every day of the week. I'm lustful for the days of spontaneous meringue-ing, baking brownies in the middle of the night. Oh, and this early November snow? I'm finding my hands subconsciously rotating like I'm stirring soup.
I'm an addict. This is withdrawal. It's bad, bad, very bad.

There is light at the end of the tunnel, though. THANKSGIVING IS COMING! This means day after day of shameless cooking. Cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, pot pies, crumbles, smoothies, and custards are all coming your way in the very near future. Oh, and I get to make all the dishes to satiate your sweet tooth every sunday from Thanksgiving until Christmas--an even longer period of shameless cooking with even more spices!

See how dark the batter is? That's from all the vanilla!

I miss you--writing these posts, thinking of new ideas--just as badly as I miss my pink rubber spatula back home. Because I miss you and you're even more fantastic than Christmas cookies and sweet potatoes (the highest of praise in my book) I made you a plum cake. Gone are the days when prunes were the dreaded black, crinkly rocks in the very back of the cabinet. Soaking the prunes in warm milk, and folding them into a thick, vanilla scented batter brings them to life like you wouldn't believe. So bake up, eat up, and enjoy a deeply vanilla cake with bursts of sweet and savory prunes.

Vanilla Plum Cake
Makes 1 9 inch cake

1 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk
1.5 tsp lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
6 large prunes

Preheat the oven to 400ºF, and prepare 1 9-inch cake pan by greasing, lining with parchment, greasing again and dusting with flour.
In a microwave-safe bowl, heat the milk for 1 to 2 minutes, until it's very hot but not boiling. Add the prunes to the hot milk and set aside.
In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and flouw until light and smooth. Add the egg and vanilla, mixing until well incorporated. Remove the prunes from the milk when they are plump and softened. Add the lemon juice to the milk and mix.
Add 1/2 the flour to the butter and egg mixture, when it is fully combined, add half of the milk. Add the rest of the flour and milk, mixing well.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and scatter (or carefully arrange) the prunes in the batter. Lightly cover the tops of the prunes with more batter to prevent burning.
Bake at 400º for 20-25 minutes. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes before turning out to slice.
This cake is great served at any temperature, but is at its best when served warm!

Pumpkin Cookies with Brown Sugar Glaze

Sometimes things are best left untouched. I can never resist messing with a recipe that I already love, making it vegan, gluten free, or otherwise "alternative". Some of these attempts are more successful than others, much more successful.
Take, for example, the humble pumpkin cookie. These classic cakey treats are the epitome of an adaptable recipe. They're also the epitome of delicious. This past weekend, I was home from school for fall break and I decided that pumpkin cookies were needed, and that they would be made without eggs, any form of fat, and minimal sugar.

Needless to say, they came out tasting exactly as you would expect a cookie that was essentially flour, spices, and pumpkin puree to taste. They had the texture of rubber cement and tasted of somehow overly sweet pumpkin skin.
They were bad.

Luckily, I didn't use all the pumpkin puree, so I was able to whip up a batch of the highly favored original recipe. Unlike my little mounds or orange rubber, these cookies are cakey, surprisingly light in texture, and so fragrant you're going to wonder how you can use them as air fresheners (all you can do is bake more). They're deeper and darker than a standard pumpkin cookie because of the brown sugar and molasses. These burnt orange beauties are a fall classic, tying together the holiday taste of gingerbread and the homey taste of pumpkin, perfect for an afternoon treat with a cup of coffee, milk, or hot cider.

Pumpkin Spice Cookies with Brown Sugar Glaze
Makes 24 cookies

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/4 cup molasses
6 Tbs unsalted butter, softened
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat your oven to 350ºF and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a medium mixing bowl, mix together the cinnamon, ginger, flour, salt, and baking powder. In another bowl, cream together the butter, sugar and molasses until light and fluffy. Add the pumpkin, vanilla, and egg and stir until thoroughly combined. Add the flour mixture and stir mix well, using a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
Drop by rounded tablespoon-and-a-half-fulls on your lined baking sheets and bake until the edges are firm, about 15 to 18 minutes. Remove from the oven, cool on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack for glazing.

Glaze:
3 Tbs unsalted butter
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 cup powdered sugar
Bring the first 3 ingredients to a boil in a small pan, stirring. When the mixture deepens in color, after about 2 minutes, remove from the heat and add the powdered sugar and stir until it cools slightly. When the glaze is still warm, drizzle it over the tops of the cookies.

Amaretti Cookies

When I was a little kid, my dad would go to Domino's bakery every Saturday morning. It was a small Italian pastry shop near my house, and every trip was the highlight of my week. Even the dog loved the trip in the car. Every Saturday, Joe Dad would put on his blue jeans and she would go wild, leaping in circles, and tackling my sister and I until we made our way out to the car.
My sister, Andrea, would always get either a chocolate eclair or a cream napoleon, my mom always got a Danish (I still don't understand this) and my dad and I would mix up our orders every week. I always gravitated toward the petits fours, with either a mini cheesecake, carrot cake, almond cream puff, or cannoli--the only thing more appealing than mini cakes. My dad seemed to get a different thing each time, though if there were almond croissants, he'd get at least one.
He always got a box of amaretti.

Well, he almost always got a box of amaretti. Each time we'd visit, he would ask the little old lady behind the counter whether the cookies were crisp or chewy, and would only buy them if they were chewy (lucky for us, the pastry chef who preferred chewy usually had the morning shift on Saturday)
These cookies are still my dad's favorite and though he has a new favorite bakery, every time he goes, he still picks up a box of amaretti and I get to relive those great Saturday mornings filled with delicious cookies, almond scented pastry cream, and adorable petits fours with my family.
I decided to leave each member of my family with a little gift of food when I leave for school, and thought these would be perfect for Dad. My mom's getting pretzel rolls, and Andrea's getting meringue cupcakes, but of the 3, these are my favorite, and the most sentimental.

I've tried several recipes and though they always come out tasting great (except the one batch that was crunchy shudders) I have never ben able to perfectly recreate the cookies from the bakery. This batch comes closest as it's pretty dense and has a stronger almond flavor from the almond extract. In all honesty, most people probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference between these and the cookies from my childhood, but I've had plenty of experience with amaretti, and the memory of the flavor of these cookies stands out in my mind because it's surrounded with so many other great memories.

Soft Amaretti Cookies
(Gluten Free)
Makes about 20 cookies

7 oz crumbled almond paste
1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 egg white
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 Tbs honey
Pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350ºF and line 2 cookie sheets with parchment.
In a stand mixer, beat the almond paste on high speed, until thoroughly broken up, somewhere between crumbs and a spreadable paste. Slowly add the powdered sugar, continuing to stir on low speed.
Add the egg white, extract, honey and salt and beat on medium, until thick and well mixed. This should take about 5 minutes.
Put the dough in a pastry bag with a plain tip and pipe 1 inch circles onto the cookie sheets and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until crisp on the outside but still soft and slightly gummy on the inside.

Salted Dulce de Leche Chocolate Tart

I'm not in a relationship. Well, I'm in relationships, I have friends, a sister, parents, all the extended family, and people like that, but I'm not in a relationship with a man/boy/male.
If I was, I'd probably make him fat. So, it's a good thing that my sister's boyfriend if a skinny guy because I've made it my goal to break his addiction to chicken fingers, fast food pizza, and Snickers and turn him on to something called--what's the word again? Oh, yeah, flavor. He doesn't even like brownies. I swear to God, I will change him.
The one food I've ever seen him get emotional over is manjar. He doesn't just like the creamy Chilean dulce de leche, he has a relationship with it, and I guess you can add it to my list of relationships too.
His birthday was last weekend, the same day as my mom's, so I decided to make him a birthday treat. Salted caramel chocolate dulce de leche bars. Oh. Yes. These things are all sorts of dangerous.
My sister brought them on a picnic dinner with all of his other favorite foods and was kind enough to snap a few shots of the bars at home on a picnic blanket and in their mouths.
Happy Birthday Al Pal!

Sorry there are no pictures. I told my sister to take pictures of it when they were on their picnic because I thought the scenery would be great for the pictures. They didn't take pictures, though. They squished it in the picnic basket and then they ate it. Sorry. I promise I'll make it again, and when I do, you'll be the first to see the pictures!

Chocolate Dulce de Leche:
Makes 1 9 inch tart

1 quart 2% milk
1 cup of sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup of heavy cream
4 large egg yolks
3 oz chopped bittersweet chocolate
1 tsp sa salt + more for the top

1 stick of butter, melted
2 cups ground digestive biscuits
1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 Tbs sea salt

For the Dulce de Leche:
In a large pot, combine int sugar and milk. Bring to a simmer, stirring regularly, until the sugar it totally dissolved.
Remove from the heat and add your baking soda (if it's lumpy, you can first dissolve it in about 2 Tbs of warm water) and salt. Whisk like crazy to combine, then return the pot to the heat.
Bring the milk back up to a simmer and cook for about an hour, until it is pale brown in color, stirring only occasionally.
Continue cooking, keeping a close eye on the mixture until it deepens in color, has reduced to 1 cup, and is about the thickness of jarred caramel, it will thicken even more when cooled.
Remove from the heat, strain through a fine sieve and cool to room temperature (it's fine if the mixture is still pretty warm)
Bring the cream and newly made dulce de leche to a simmer in a heavy pot, stirring until the dulce de leche is dissolved.
In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks and slowly pour in the dulce de leche, whisking as you pour. Continue whisking until the mixture is very well combined.
Return the mixture to the pan and cook over a gentle flame until the mixture is thickened and the spoon leaves tracks on the bottom of the pot. Remove from the heat and whisk in the chocolate and vanilla extract as if you were making a ganache.
For the Crust:
(Best made when the milk and sugar are still simmering for the dulce de leche)
Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line the bottom and sides of a 9 inch springform pan with a piece of parchment and grease the parchment.
In a food processor, blitz the digestives, salt, and brown sugar until very fine. Add the melted butter and pulse until the mix becomes thickened and crumby.
Press into the bottom of the pan and just about 1/4 inch up the sides. You want a good 1/2 inch thick crust for this recipe.
Sprinkle the top evenly with about 1-2 tsp sea salt and bake for 15 minutes. Chill until cooled after removing from the oven.
Construction:
Once the crust is cooled, pour the dulce de leche into the crust and spread into an even layer. Chill in the fridge until cold and set (2-3 hours)
To remove from the pan, just pop off the sides and peel away the parchment. Cut into generous slices, and enjoy!

Strawberry Swirl Meringue Cupcakes

My sister is a meringue fool.
Marshmallows are her absolute favorite, but a meringue with a soft center will make her crazy.
Meringues are to Andrea what Chocolate Chip Cookies are to me. Yes, Chocolate Chip Cookie is a proper noun here.

It's where they had the snowball fight in Elf!

Before we left for college, I made each member of my family a special treat. Mom's getting soft pretzel rolls, Dad's getting amaretti cookies, and Andrea's getting meringue cupcakes.

They may look like regular cupcakes, but...

These are pretty amazing, and I'm pretty proud of myself. Martha, as in Stewart, has a recipe that's really similar to this, but I didn't see it until after I developed my own. I sort of feel like a pro, but no big deal.


The meringues are still soft on the inside and the base is all vanilla. Andrea's a huge fan of strawberry, so that's the flavor I used, but if you prefer plain vanilla or another fruit, feel free to substitute. The mango from Trade Joe's would probably be great, and I'm dying to make a couple batches of these with apples and cinnamon in the fall.

But these are very special!

Strawberry Swirl Meringue Cupcakes
Makes 12 Cupcakes and tops

6 egg whites, at room temperature
pinch of salt
1 tsp white vinegar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup freeze dried strawberries, powdered in a food processor (use your favorite fruit)

Preheat your oven to 225ºF, and line a 12-muffin tray with cupcake liners and spray with nonstick spray.
In a clean bowl, with a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat the egg whites and salt on medium-high, until they are frothy, continue beating and slowly add the vinegar and vanilla.
Beat on high until the mixture forms medium peaks. Add the sugar 1 tablespoon at a time, beating continually, then beat for 2 more minutes more, until the eggs are shiny and form stiff peaks. The sugar should be dissolved.
Transfer the 2/3 of the egg whites to a plain pastry bag or plastic bag with the corner snipped off, and fill the 12 liners just to the top.
In the bowl, gently fold the powdered strawberries into the remaining egg whites, mix until the mixture is marbled with pink--swirled, not solid.
Transfer the strawberry meringue mixture to a clean pastry bag and pipe 2-inch swirls onto the tops of the cupcakes, coming about 1 inch above the top of the liner, at the highest point. The swirls should be the same diameter as the top of your cupcakes.
Put the cupcake pan in the oven on the center rack and bake for about 3 hours, until the outside is dry and brittle, but the middle is still soft. Turn the pan half way through.
Enjoy!

*You can find freeze dried fruit at Target (Archer Farms brand) and Trader Joe's*

Strawberry Rhubarb-Rhubarb Galette

Galettes are the pie world's cookie. They're free form, they're relaxing, they're whatever you want them to be.
I find galettes liberating.
Really, I do.
My mom's the kind of person who needs some liberation. A lawyer, a mom, a high stress individual who prefers birthday pie to birthday cake. Her favorite pie is strawberry rhubarb. Unfortunately, she was born in late July (the 2nd to last day) and by now, rhubarb is long out of season.
This high stress individual has an obsessive daughter. The kind of daughter who bought all the rhubarb she could get her hands on, flash cooked, and froze it in anticipation of July 30th. This daughter needs a galette.

Strawberry rhubarb pie is a taste of my childhood. Some people have memories of chocolat chip cookies and meat load, I have memories os rhubarb and spaghetti alla puttanesca. My sister, Dad, and I would hunt one down every July, always literally leaping for joy when we found one at Peterson's (the best pie in town) Now Peterson's is closed and we always get one in June from Eileen's Pies and Otherwise (If you go to Martha's Vineyard, find her, buy her warm pies, and spend the rest of your days in pastry-induced bliss)

Getting ready for a Dinner Picnic

I love the way the rhubarb cuts through the sickly sweet childhood taste of cooked strawberries,  love the way the cinnamon lends a much needed depth, and the way the honey plants the desser firmly on the ground. The nuttiness of whole wheat flour and slight tartness of Greek yogurt in the dough doesn't hut either.
This recipe works just as well with fresh rhubarb as frozen, though I don't recommend prepackaged frozen fruit because strawberry-rhubarb combinations tend to be pretty runny, and the frozen stuff gives off juice like you wouldn't believe. I know most of you will have to wait close to another year to make this exact recipe, but subbing 1 cup of rasberries, 1 cup of strawberries, and 1 cup of peaches will work just as well!

Strawberry Rhubarb Galette
Serves 6-8

2 c rhubarb, sliced thin
1 c strawberries, sliced thin
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp lemon zest
1/3 c corn starch
2/3 c turbinado or other raw sugar, plus more for sprinkling

2 c whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 c skim Greek yogurt
3-4 Tbs ice water
2 Tbs milk

For Crust: 
In the bowl of a food processor, pulse salt and flour until light. Add the yogurt 1/4c at a time until just combined. Add water slowly, until the dough just begins to form a rough mass. Form into a ball and chill while making filling.
For Filling:
Combine Lemon, flour, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Add fruit and sugar and toss to thoroughly combine, making sure the fruit is evenly spread, and that the flour is not clumping.
Construction:
Transfer dough to a floured surface and roll out to a 10x15 rectangle and move to a parchment lined baking sheet.
Spoon the drained fruit filling into the middle, leaving about 2 inches around the sides.
Fold in the shorter edges, then the longer sides to overlap.
Pinch the corners closed. Brush with milk, sprinkle with the extra sugar and bake, at 350ºF for 45 minutes, cover with foil if the crust gets too golden and the fruit is not yet finished.
Cool for 20 minutes, cut and enjoy!

Busy Week Birthday Brownies

I have four days left at school. Four short, busy, test filled, celebratory days. I have spent more than 400 days at my school, and now I only have 4 left. It's sort of crazy.
These are not 4 days of Popsicle licking and movie watching, like they were when I only had 4 more days of kindergarten or even eighth grade. These are 4 days or finals, concerts, and projects that I have put off for far too long. It's also my friend's birthday.
I cannot possibly let a friend's birthday pass without sharing a treat-usually chocolate-with them, and Emma is the last person whose treat should ever be forgotten, and certainly the last person you would dare present with anything other than chocolate. I wanted to make her a Butterfinger type chocolate bar but these bars take hours, or days and involve a whole lot of chocolate tempering. I other words, they are not ideal when you only have about 20 minutes free for the next 7 days.
I have a small arsenal of recipes that I can make in less than 20 minutes, most of them using five ingredients or less. I decided to make Emma one of my favorite recipes from this collection, that also happens to be one of the chocolatyist. Nutella Brownies.

Gotta love silicon baking cups-no messy muffin tins!

If you're really a brownie purist, you may call these brownie bites because they're baked in cupcake liners, but to me, these are brownies because they're a real dessert, not at all like the store bought 2-bite variety. These are gooey, nutty, chocolaty, simple, and soooo good. I especially like them topped with some nocciola ice cream, but this batch is for Emma, so I must resist.

Nutella Brownies

1 cups Nutella
1 c minus 2 Tbs AP flour
4 large eggs
Pinch of salt
A whole bunch of chocolate chips
(I used about 1 1/2 cups, which may sound like overkill but was really really good.)

Preheat your oven to 350ºF. Line a 12 muffin tin with liners.
In a bowl, mix eggs and Nutella until completely combined, add salt and flour 1 cup at a time, and mix until thoroughly incorporated. Fold in the chocolate chips. Divide evenly between the muffin cups and bake for 10 minutes. They should be completely jiggle-less, but an inserted toothpick should come out covered with damp, fudgy crumbs.

Super Gooey Peanut Butter Nougat Brownies

Sometimes you just need chocolate and peanut butter.

Sometimes a Reese's just won't cut it.
Sometimes you just need something so gooey it almost seems under cooked. Really, though, it's not. It's just what you needed.

Sometimes you just really need Super Gooey Peanut Butter Nougat Brownies.
If that time is now, I'll stop talking so you can make these, eat the whole pan, and not feel any guilt, because you just really, really needed them.

Super Gooey Peanut Butter Nougat Brownies


Brownies:
8 oz chopped bittersweet chocolate
6Tbs unsalted butter
2 large eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup minus 2 Tbs flour
2 Tbs cocoa powder
Peanut Butter Nougat:
5 oz marshmallows, half a standard sized bag
1/2 c smooth peanut butter
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease and line an 8x8" pan with parchment paper.
Melt the chocolate and butter together in the microwave or in the top of a double boiler, stirring every 20 seconds or so.
Remove from the heat and beat in the eggs, sugar and vanilla.
Once combined, add the flour and cocoa in 3 batches, mixing well.
Spread evenly into the bottom of a your prepared pan, reserving about 1/4 of the batter.
Bake for about 30 minutes, or until they're just undercooked.

Just before taking the brownies out of the oven, place marshmallows, salt and peanut butter in a vary large microwave safe dish, and warm until the marshmallows swell and the peanut butter begins to melt. Remove and stir until combined.
Scoop the nougat mixture out over the warm brownies and spread across the top, working quickly so the marshmallow doesn't set.
Dollop the rest of the brownie mixture over the top and continue baking for an additional 5 minutes, or until the top layer of brownie is just beginning to set.
Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature before cutting and serving while the top layer is still soft and gooey.
ENJOY!

I want more S'more Cookies!

My second favorite food, after the cannoli, has to be the S'more. I swear, it's one of about 184678415 reasons why I love summer. Fire, caramelized sugar, grainy crunchy crackers, and melty chocolate all together in a dessert that almost always means you're with people you love and having a great time? Yes please!
When we recently had a party, I had my own cookie extravaganza and baked up a batch of these beauties so all the family and friends could relive the glories of a camp fire S'more with out the fire hazard of small children and an over eager dog.

S'more Cookie Bites
(makes about 32 cookies)

1 1/2 cups roughly ground graham cracker crumbs (plus 1/2 a cup more for later)
1 cup of AP flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1 c softened butter
1/2 cup light brown sugar (medium pack)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder

10 oz chopped chocolate (I prefer milk for a real S'more taste)
16 marshmallows, cut in half

Preheat oven to 350ºF and line 2 to 3 baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a medium mixing bowl, cream together the sugar and butter until fluffy. Add the egg and mix in until incorporated.
In another bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, cracker crumbs, cinnamon and salt. Mix into the butter and sugar slowly, about 1/3 at a time.
Your dough will be thick, sticky, and little lumpy from any larger cracker crumbs, don't worry, that's normal.
Scoop 1 Tbs sized balls onto the baking sheets and bake for 9-12 minuts, or until golden.
Cool on a rack until luke warm.

While the cookies are cooling, melt the chocolate. When they are just slightly warm to the touch, top each cookie with a small dollop of chocolate and a marshmallow half. Toast the top of each cookie with a blow torch or under the broiler (only 30 seconds at a time if using a broiler!) Add another small dollop of chocolate to the top of the toasted marshmallow and sprinkle with the remaining cracker crumbs.
Cookies can be served warm for a classic messy S'more experience, of cooled for a more sophisticated crowd
(My group was all for the mess, though!)
ENJOY!

Red Velvet Almond Tart

Graduation parties are confusing. I've always thought that if a party's being thrown to commemorate a specific time in somebody's life, you're supposed to bring that person a gift. It get's awkward, though, when you (and just about all of the other guests) have just graduated as well. It get's even worse when there are no less than three of these parties every weekend. That's a whole lot of gifts.
I think I've come up with an answer to this situation: Food Gifts.

These are always my favorite gifts to give because they are home made, different, personalized, and, unless you brought chocolate chip cookies from a tube, you know that the recipient doesn't already have one lying around somewhere.

My go to gift is candy because there are millions of candies that look super impressive   and that only take about 15 minutes to make from start to finish. Candy making gets old, though, especially when you've sworn off caramel making for at least 2 months (or as long as it takes you to get your head when it comes to gooey, salty sugar) so it's always good to have a few non-candy recipes up your sleeve.
Enter the red velvet almond tart.

The Caramelized Malt (I said it's optional, but only in emergency situations)

It's vegan(-ish), and can easily be made gluten free (though the nuts pose a challenge in making it allergy proof) and is amazingly tasty. The light flavor of the chocolate in the crust is the perfect complement to the almonds. Because chocolate and almonds really are amazing together but sometimes you don't really want  a ton of chocolate flavor. It's great for cleaning out the fridge, or making when the fridge is already pretty cleaned out (how I came up with the recipe) and is versatile enough to be served at a barbecue, formal dinner, or packaged and frozen for gift giving.
This lasts in the freezer for a week, probably longer, but I've never had to store it for longer than 7 days.

The tart is extremely chewy and the almond topping sort of sinks into the crust, making it super delicious. The flavor of the chocolate in the red velvet crust is just peeking out enough to complement the almonds, but not nearly enough to make this a chocolate dessert. It is not a tall tart at all, so there's no need to line the edges of the pan with parchment, and if you don't want to bother with a springform, you can use a 9 to 10 inch part pan with a removable bottom and it will work just fine.

For the Crust
1/2 cup granulated sugar
4 Tbs vegan shortening
1 tsp red food coloring (more if you want it really red)
2 Tbs light corn syrup
2 Tbs almond milk (may not need all 2 Tbs)
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1Tbs corn starch
1 1/2 Tbs cocoa powder
Pinch of salt

For the Filling
1 1/2 cups raw sliced almonds
3 Tbs light corn syrup
1 tsp lemon zest
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 Tbs malted milk powder (optional)

Preheat oven to 350ºF, grease and line a 9-10 inch spring form pan with parchment paper.
In a bowl, with a rubber spatula, cream together the sugar and shortening. Add the corn syrup and food dye and mix until evenly combined.
Sift in the flour, baking powder, salt, corn starch, and cocoa powder. Mix with a wooden spoon until combined, adding almond milk until the mixture reaches the texture of soft cookie dough. Press into the bottom of your prepared pan.
In a bowl, mix the almonds, brown sugar, lemon zest, corn syrup, almond extract, and salt.
Spread evenly over the top of the crust and bake for 10 minutes at 350º.
After 10 minutes, turn the pan and lover the oven temperature to 275º for another 5-7 minutes, until the crust has risen and set.
Turn off the oven, remove the tart and sprinkle with the malted milk powder. Return to the oven for 10 more minutes, or until the malt powder has dissolved and begun to caramelize.
Remove from the oven, loosen the sides from the pan with a knife and cool for 20 minutes before removing from the pan and slicing into wedges.

Cut it into 16ths for gift bag size slices

If you're going to freeze the pieces, make sure they cool to room temperature before wrapping and freezing, in order to prevent condensation from ruining the texture of the tart.

Strawberry Balsamic Popsicles

I remember the very first time I had strawberries and balsamic vinegar. I was probably eight years old and my dad had read about the new crazy combination in Bon Appetit magazine. While I have always been a lover of balsamic vinegar (The reduced stuff is by far the best ice cream topping in the world--yes, even better than fudge or caramel or both) the mix of berries, vinegar and pepper was not very attractive to my eight year old self.

But then I tried it. Oh my goodness was it amazing! My dad added some sugar and let the berries soak up the vinegar for about an hour before we dug in to the bowl of ruby colored berries.
This is still one of my favorite combinations, and even though I absolutely hate black pepper, it is very very necessary in this recipe. It perfectly balances the sharpness of the vinegar and berries. Oh, and if you can, use the ripest strawberries you can find, they balance the sweet and savory combination without the addition of too much sugar, so you get more of the pure berry and vinegar flavor.

Strawberry Balsamic Pops

1 1/2 cups ripe strawberries, hulled and stemmed
2-4 Tbs sugar
1/2 Tbs Fresh ground black pepper (finer is better)
2 1/2 Tbs good balsamic vinegar

In a blender or bowl with a hand mixer, blend the strawberries and sugar until it forms a chunky liquid (hard to explain, but the picture above is more descriptive). Add the pepper and vinegar and mix well. Portion into your popsicle molds and freeze until solid, 6 hours or overnight.

Chai Coconut Milk Popsicles

Today beings the week of popsicles. I have a thing for week long challenges and even more of a thing for frozen deliciousness on a stick. I'm pretty darned excited, if you couldn't already tell.

This is probably the simplest of all the recipes. It's literally just brewing tea, as long as you use a good quality tea. If you've only got low quality tea lying around, add a cinnamon stick and a couple cardamom pods to the tea when it's on the stove to boil. This will perk it up a little so it tastes more like a rich tea pop and not just frozen sugar water.

What makes this even better is that on day 8, there's a special surprise for you. But we'll leave that for day 8, because it's a surprise!

Chai Coconut Popsicles

2 cups water
4 chai tea bags
1 cup coconut milk (I used Lite)
3 Tbs honey

Put the tea bags in a pot of kettle and cover with the water. Bring the tea to a boil and then remve from the heat. Cover and let steep for 3 to 5 minutes more. Mix in the honey and coconut milk and cool the mixture to room temperature. Divide the mix between your popsicle molds or cups and freeze.
If you're using paper cups or silicon baking cups, freeze for 1 hour before inserting a stick in the middle, then continue freezing until solid (about 6 hours) If you're using molds, the sticks are usually attached already, but if they're not, just follow the cup method.
Unmold, pop out, or tear away the paper and ENJOY!

Way Better than a Milky Way Homemade Chocolate Truffels

I discovered the Milky Way bar when I was 13 and my boyfriend got me a box of mini chocolate bars for Valentines day. Even though we went out for a grand total of 3 weeks, that boy changed my life. Whether you're a chocolate snob, a lover of anything sweet, or call them by their original name: Mars Bars (ooooh, I just love saying that and I have no idea why) you have to admit that the combination of chocolate, nougat, and caramel is pretty freaking amazing. And if you're like me, you have to admit that you really really just need to experiment with them.

After several attempts at cupcakes, a now semi-famous recipe for brownies, cookies, and an absolutely heavenly recipe for rice krispie treats, using these magic chocolate bars, I decided it was high time I made them myseld, and boy oh boy, am I glad I did. These are not your average chocolate bar. These are rich and salty and malty and bitter. They're buttery and extra chocolatey, and toffee-ish, and amazing. Make them. Please.

                                

I made mine in an ice tray because I spent my baking and cooking budget for the month on chocolate, a giant offset spatula, and a new springform pan. If you want a more traditional looking bar, you can use a chocolate bar mold, or make even smaller bars in a truffle mold but mine broke last time I made truffles, just about a month ago. I know, I have really really good luck in the candy making department.

You do have to temper the chocolate, which can be a challenge, but there really is an easier way than the marble slab method that leaves non-professionals like me with a giant brown mess. You can find easy directions and very detailed instructions and explanations here. Even I was able to follow these directions and end up with shiny chocolate, and I seem to have an inexplicable ability to fudge even the easiest process just because it's labeled as important.

Better than my Favorite Chocolate Bar

Chocolate Caramel
1/4 cup of unsalted butter
1/2 cup of sugar
1/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup milk (any type)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup light corn syrup
6 oz chopped semisweet or bittersweet chocolate
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp fleur de sel

Malt Nougat
You're going to have some extra, but I can't seem to get the recipe reduced to 
just the right amount. The leftovers are really good frozen in little squares.
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup water
2 egg whites
pinch salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 Tbs malted milk powder
(Optional toasted almonds for a riff on a Snickers)

For the Caramel:
Combine all ingredients but the salt, chocolate and vanilla in a heavy sauce pan. Cook over medium heat, stirring only every once in a while, until it comes to a boil. Continue cooking until it reaches 240ºF, just under soft ball stage. Remove from the heat and cool to about 200ºF, stir in chocolate and whisk until completely melted. Add vanilla. Pour into a piping bag and wait until the caramel has reached about 80º before piping a layer of caramel over the molded chocolate. top the caramel with a small pinch of fleur de sel. Cool completely before topping with the nougat.

For the Nougat:
Combine sugar, corn syrup, and water in saucepan. Boil the sugar combination, until it reaches 260ºF, without stirring. While syrup is cooking, beat egg whites to form stiff peaks. Add salt and the hot syrup, beating constantly, pouring slowly at first, and speeding up as the eggs temper and get used to the heat. When mixture is stiff, beat with a wooden spoon until creamy. Add the malt and vanilla (almonds), and return to the mixer until the nougat has an almost mousse like texture. When the nougat is still warm (about 70º) pop it into a piping bag and top the salted caramel. Cool completely before finishing it off with the last thin layer of tempered chocolate.


Temper about 1/2 lb of bittersweet chocolate and brush a layer across the bottom and sides of your molds. Cool inverted to allow some dripping.
When cooled, add caramel a little less than 1/2 way up the molds using a piping bag, squeeze bottle or very small spoon(caramel should be about 80ºF) Cool to about 50º.
Fill almost all the way to the top with warm nougat (80º) leaving room for a final layer of chocolate.
After cooling the nougat to about 50º, fill molds to the top with more tempered chocolate and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, until completely set. Unmold and enjoy! 

FlufferNutter Cookies

My parents make me a grand total of 2 FlufferNutter sandwiches when I was a kid. Both of these 2 sandwiches were for my birthday, and both of them were absolutely amazing. I did not grow up surrounded by sweets, by any stretch of the imagination, which is probably why I am so crazy about them now. Because neither of my parents were really fans of the sweet stuff, both of these sandwiches were adulterated with slices of banana. I'm sure that this was my parent's attempt to make the sandwich resemble an actual meal instead of a dessert, and instill in me a habit of healthy eating, but it sort of had the opposite effect. Instead, it instilled in me a deep love of the combination of peanut butter, marshmallows, and bananas. They have been combined with graham crackers and chocolate in many s'mores, and even found their way into a cookie. A really really good cookie, by the way.

These cookies are made with browned butter and whole wheat pastry flour to really bring out the toffee flavor, and impart a warm flavor that tastes a little like graham crackers. You could totally add a healthy helping of dark chocolate to the mix, something I seriously wish I'd done. Instead, I used chocolate marshmallows, because they were the only ones I had on hand. I found out the hard way that they taste no different from the regular white kind, so I don't recommend spending the extra couple bucks for the brown sort.
The marshmallows will also melt out of the cookies and caramelize on the pan, so make sure you use parchment or a Silpat, and DO NOT overcook these guys, because the caramel surrounding the cookies is one of the best parts.

Mmmmm... Gooey caramelized marshmallow

FlufferNutter Cookies
Makes about 30 cookies

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 stick of butter
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup gently packed light brown sugar
1 egg, 1 egg yolk
2 tsp vanilla
2 very ripe bananas, mashed
1 1/2 cups mini marshmallows
1/2 tsp flaked sea salt

Preheat oven to 350ºF, line 2 large (3 normal sized) baking sheets with parchment paper.
Brown the butter by heating, with salt, over medium-low heat until golden flecks start to sink on the bottom. Remove from heat, cool slightly, and add the peanut butter, mix until smooth, and cool completely.
In a medium bowl, cream together the eggs and sugar. Mix in the vanilla and mashed bananas. The mixture will be not quite smooth.
Whisk in cooled butter mixture. Add flour, baking powder, and salt. When the wet and dry ingredients are well combined, gently fold in the marshmallows.
Try adding them in 4 batches. Marshmallows seem to have a weird magnet effect and don't want to spread out from each other if you add them all at once.
Scoop the dough into 1" balls, tucking in any marshmallow pieces that seem to be coming out of the ball, to make sure they don't spread around the pan too much, press down to flatten slightly. Bake on the middle racks for 9-11 minutes, until golden, but still soft. They will start to smell like the marshmallows that kids used to burn at camp after they're cooked about half way. Don't freak out, they're not burning, they're just oozing caramel. But this also means that you'll have to be super careful about the timing. Remember, when in doubt, take them out. Underdone is always, always, always better than overdone.

Just thought I'd throw in another picture, as if you weren't tempted enough already

An Italian Dessert For Spanish Final

My Spanish final was to cook something. Well, the whole assignment was to make a dish that meant something to you, make a photo presentation, translate the recipe into Spanish, and talk about the recipe is made and why it is important to you. I made a list that was almost a whole page long with possible ideas. Most of the recipes I make, including the brownies I made earlier this week, have a great memory or important person attached to them.

After a couple days of reviewing my list, I realized what waswrong with my list and why the decision was so hard. I hadn't written down the obvious first choice: Cannoli cake!
Every family birthday party is centered around two things. Yep, the cake is just as important as the birthday boy or girl.

Crackly Circles of Spongy Goodness 

Cannoli cakes, and cannoli in general, make me think of my dad and twin sister. I never see either of them eating cakes or really any other desserts (other than ice cream. My dad's ice cream crazed) but as soon as a cannoli enters the picture, they're fighting over the last cheesy, almond scented crumb. Slices of cannoli cake go missing from the fridge night after night during birthday week, and we never manage to leave a cousin, aunt, or uncle's party without a hefty slice of ricotta filled cake. Cannoli cake makes me happy because it reminds me of when the whole group of us is happy. And they taste pretty darned fantastic.

The cakes at these parties, though, are from our favorite bakery here in Chicago, Ferrara Bakery. So, I was going to have to combine some of my go to recipes for this cake. I had a standby recipe for whipped  cannoli filling, and sponge cake. All was well. Then there was the matter of making the cake portable and easy to serve to 25 people with just a few napkins and a plastic butter knife. Mini cakes, or if we're still going with the fancy names: Petits Fours. They're the answer to almost every cake serving problem becausethey can be eaten with fingers and are precut into adorable mini cakes. For some added interest, I added a layer of pistachio cake to the center and topped it with marzipan, because, really, what's a cannoli without some nuts?

Slightly Chunky Pistachio Batter

When you cut out the little mini cakes from the sponge, you're going to end up with a lot of delicious scraps that should be saved. Even if you're not the "waste not want not" type, you absolutely must save these scraps. I added them to cups of coffee and topped it with vanilla yogurt mixed with a tiny splash of almond extract, and a dash of cinnamon and cocoa. The mix of the cake and coffee brings out a surprising combination of flavors that I had no idea were hiding on the cake. It was like magic. We feasted on 30 second tiramisu. Or, if you want to mak it sound more impressive tiramisu crudo. I find that if you give things fancy names, people think they're very fancy and that your slaved over them for hours.

I'm not sure how well I was able to translate this fairly long recipe into Spanish, and Petit Quatros de Cannoli doesn't sound quite as chic as the Italian name, Tortine de Cannoli, but they taste amazing, the perfect balance between sweet, savory, nutty, and fruity, travel well, and taste like little mini family birthday celebrations. They give a whole new meaning to, "It's like a party in your mouth."

Mini Cannoli Cake "Petit Fours"
Makes 1 sheet cake of each flavor (number of servings depends on size of petit fours)


Sponge Cake:
1 cup unbleached cake flour
5 extra large eggs, separated and at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch of salt.

Pistachio Cake:
4 extra large eggs
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup roasted unsalted pistachios
2 tsp baking powder
2 cups cake flour
8 oz butter, melted
1/2 c milk (almond milk will also work)
Pinch of salt

Marzipan:
3 cups slivered skinned almonds
1 2/3 cups sugar
Squeeze of lemon juice (about 1 Tbs)
2/3 cup water
1/4 tsp almond extract
Pinch of salt
Food coloring of choice (Optional)

Cannoli Cream:
3 cups Ricotta cheese (Drained for at least 24 hours)
1 cup mascarpone cheese
1/4 c granulated sugar
1 tsp almond extract
1/2 cup chopped pistachios
Zest of 1 Meyer lemon or 1/2 a lime
1 cup dried fruit or mini chocolate chips (I like using freeze dried oranges from Trader Joe's)


For the Sponge:
Preheat oven to 350ºF. With an electric mixer, beat the egg yolks and 1/2 cup of sugar until they are pale yellow and form medium peaks when the whisk is removed. In another bowl, beat the egg whites, salt and other 1/2 of sugar until they form stiff peaks. Add the vanilla and fold the egg white mixture into the yolks. Sift the flour into the eggs and fold in gently. Pour into a prepared sheet pan and bake for about 30-35 minutes, until golden. Cool for at least 10 minutes before cutting into small circles.

For the Pistachio Cake:
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Combine pistachios and sugar in a food processor and pulse until they form a medium grained powder. In a bowl, combine the flour, pistachio mixture, salt, and baking powder. In a different bowl, whisk together the butter, milk, eggs, and almond extract. Gradually add the dry ingredients into the egg mixture, combining thoroughly. Pour the mixture into a prepared sheet pan and bake for about 30-35 minutes, until done. Cool for about 10 minuted before cutting into rounds with a small cookie cutter or other round.

For the Marzipan:
In a spice grinder or food processor, grind the almonds into a fine powder. It is easier to get a finer powder if you work in small batches, about 1/2 cup at a time. Meanwhile, bring the water to a boil and add the sugar. Cook until the sugar dissolves. Add the almond powder, salt, and lemon juice. Continue cooking until the mixture forms a paste that stays together when a little bit is rolled into a ball. Remove from the heat and add the almond extract and any desired food coloring, making sure to mix both in thoroughly. The final stirring is a little challenging because of the thickness of the marzipan, but if you really beat it with a wooden spoon, everything should combine. Dust your work surface with powdered sugar and roll the marzipan out to about 1/4" thick. Use a small round cutter to punch out circles that are the same size as your cakes or a little smaller. Set the marzipan circles aside.

For the Cream:
In a food processor, pulse the cheeses and sugar until smooth. Add the lemon zest and pulse until it reaches the texture of cream cheese frosting (10 quick pulses should do the trick). Move to a bowl and fold in fruit, almond extract and pistachios. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or until ready to use. When removed from the fridge, the mixture should have thickened up quite a bit.
*To Drain Ricotta: Set a fine mesh strainer over a medium bowl so that it does NOT rest on the bottom of the bowl. Line the inside of the strainer with cheesecloth or paper coffee filters. Pour your cheese into the strainer, top with more cheesecloth, strainers or paper lunch bags. Top again with a heavy plate or bowl and refrigerate for 1 to 2 days. I like 2 days of straining because processing the cheese later brings out any retained moisture and the drier filling holds up much better with the cake.*

To Construct:
1) Cut the cake circles in half so you have 2 thin circles instead of 1 thick circle.
2) Top 2 pieces of sponge with a small dollop of cannoli cream (I used about 1 tsp but it depends on the size of your cakes)
3) Sandwich a pistachio cake half between the 2 creamed sponge halves.
4) Top the 3 layer mini cake with a marzipan round.
5) Alternate sandwiching pistachio between sponge and sponge between pistachio slices.
6) If you are going to be traveling with the cakes, it helps to put a toothpick through the top, deli style, so the layers do not come apart.

You can also make 1 big cake with this recipe if you bake the cakes in 9" round cake pans, roll the marzipan out to 1 large round, and frost the whole thing with whipped cream frosting. You will have to halve one of the cake recipes, though in order to get a 3 layer cake. If you want a 4 layer cake, just add a little more cheese to the cream recipe to make sure you have enough to fill the whole cake.

1 Bowl, Chewy, Caramel-ey, Nougat-ey Brownies

Brownies are probably one of the best desserts in the world. Everybody loves them, they welcome a whole plethora of add-ins, and you can stir them up with just a wooden spoon and a good helping of chocolate. I'm somewhat famous for what my friends call Milky Way brownies (My very long title provides a more appealing home made feeling, I think.) and they're the very first recipe I developed all by myself. I actually developed them as a gift for my little sister on my grade school's cross country team. Nothink like a big brick of chocolate and caramel before a run, eh? Of course, they hav been modified just a little bit since then but only on the most basic level: The quality of the melted chocolate has improved quite a bit. The old semi-sweet chips have been replaced by a decent quality dark chocolate--you don't have to use your best stuff, because there are so many other flavors going on, but I recommend at least 60%--I use 72% Valrhona dark chocolate.

Melted Butter and Chocolate. Need I say more?

They're the perfect brownie base, chewy, fudgy, and not very sweet, swirled with big chunks of Milky Way bars, and topped with salted dulce de leche (I created this recipe when I was 13. What 13 year old wants to bother with making caramel from scratch?) They're a very sentimental dessert.

Isn't this the cutest measuring spoon ever? It's a heart, and I got it as a wedding favor. So creative!

That's why I'm making them today. I went on a brownie bender for the better part of last year, and several of my friends became dangerously addicted to various combinations of chocolate, flour, butter, and sugar. This recipe, though, was always the favorite. Now, I only have a week left with these friends before we all graduate, and I realized I haven't made these brownies all year gasp! This next week is going to be almost too full of bake-worthy occasions, so I made these guys in advance (A whole week in advance) because they freeze and thaw amazingly well. Nobody will ever be able to tell that they weren't fresh made. I hope you get as much joy out of these brownies as I do, and that you share them repeatedly with your best friends and favorite family members -- hopefully all of them.

Now that I'm done getting sentimental about brownies, I do have some very serious notes on this recipe. The brownie batter itself is not very sweet. It's bitter and fragrant with coffee and vanilla. This is very important wo the recipe. There are so many super sweet additions that the brownies really do need the so if you're planning on using the caramel and candy technique with your own recipe, make sure your basic brownie recipe isn't overly sweet, and leans on the side of dark. Otherwise, you'll end up with a sickly sweet baked candy bar. Trust me. I've made this mistake more than once.
Oh, and make sure to keep a glass of milk within 3 inches of your plate (Or the pan if you're digging straight in) these are both fudgy and chewy. Dense + Chocolate = Thirsty.

Chewy, Caramel-ey, Nougat-ey Brownies
(Serves 16 if cut into 2 inch squares)

5 oz. Chopped dark chocolate
1 stick Unsalted butter
1 cup Light brown sugar, lightly packed
2 extra Large eggs (you can use regular large too)
1 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
1 tsp Instant espresso or coffee
2 Tbs Sour cream or plain yogurt
1/4 tsp Salt
2 Tbs cocoa powder (Not Dutch process or the Hershey's combination stuff)
1 Cup all purpose flour
15 mini Milkey Way fun size or 24-30 minis
1/2 can Dulce de leche (cook sweetened condensed milk, covered, in a double boiler for 45-50 minutes)
1 tsp Flaked sea salt (A couple good grinds from a salt grinder will do)

For the Brownies:
Preheat oven to 350ºF.
In a microwave safe bowl, melt the chopped chocolate and butter in 20 second bursts, stirring in between. Mix in eggs one at a time, until all combined. Stir in sugar, sour cream, coffee, vanilla, and salt. Add cocoa powder and flour and stir until completely combined. Fold in 12 of the Milky Ways (if using the larger Fun Size bars, cut them in half before adding) Pour into a prepared 8x8 inch square pan. Cut the 3 remaining bars into 8ths and sprinkle over the top of the brownies. Bake for 20 minutes.

For the Caramel Topping:
Mix half (or more) of the dulce de leche with the sea salt. After the brownies have cooked for 20 minutes, top them with blobs of the salted caramel. Return to the oven and bake for 15-20 more minutes or until the brownies have just started pulling away from the sides of the pan, but are nowhere near burned. If you're not sure, go with the 15 minute mark. They're amazingly good when they're slightly under done.

The DulceDoodle

I'm not a fan of snickerdoodles, but because I'm a good sister, and she's been begging for them for about a month now, I indulged my twinny and made snickerdoodles for this week's Sunday Sweetie. Because yesterday was Cinco de Mayo, and I cannot possibly make a cookie without some element of gooeyness, I decided to use the can of dulce de leche I'd been saving and make what three different people have told me is the best cookie in the whole wide world: The DulceDoodle.
These cookies are essentially a riff on the Argentine alfajore, which is a buttery cookie with cajeta (dulce de leche made with goat's milk) sandwiched in the middle. Alfajores are divine, by the way. Instead of a sandwich, though, this cookie is stuffed. Instead of a butter cookie, I made a not-super-sweet snickerdoodle with espresso powder and dulce de leche in the dough. Oh, and there's a special technique to really caramelize the cinnamon sugar on the outside and give it that perfectly burnt taste. Essentially, this cookie tastes blissfully foreign, but like your grandma made them at the same time. They're really, really good--and I really don't even like snickerdoodles.

Gnam Gnam!

DulceDoodles
(Makes about 20 cookies with leftover filling)

Cookie dough:
1 1/3 cup all purpose flour, plus 2 tablespoons
1 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 Tbs dulce de leche (straight out of the can, without the additions)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2-3/4 tsp instant coffee powder (depending on how much coffee flavor you want)

1) Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla, egg, dulce de leche, and coffee and continue beating until fluffy.
2) In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cream of tartar, soda, and salt. Add to the wet ingredients in 2 batches, mixing well between batches. When combined, cool dough thoroughly (at least 3 hours in the fridge)

For the Dulce de Leche:
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp milk (I used almond milk)

Rolling Sugar:
1/4 c sugar
1 1/2 Tbs ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp chili powder
(Mix all well)

1) Fill a medium sauce pan with water and completely submerge the can. Bring the water to a boil and cook the can for 3 hours. (Make sure the can is always completely submerged to prevent it from exploding and causing a whole mess of dangerous problems. If you are not comfortable with this method, there are several ways to make it with an opened can, in a slow cooker, and it is available already canned in most grocery stores, though you may have to check the international section)
2) Empty the can (minus the 3T used in the dough) into a bowl and thoroughly mix in the cinnamon, milk and vanilla. If you have time, it is easier to fill the cookies after the filling has cooled for a while and is a little thicker.

Making the Cookies:

1) Preheat oven to 400* Form the dough into rounds with a cookie scoop or spoon.
2) Split each dough ball in half and use your finger to create a dent in the middle of each half. Fill the halves with the dulce de leche, put the halves back together and roll back into a ball to seal the filling inside.
3) To really caramelize the sugar: Roll each ball in a little bit of water, then in the cinnamon sugar.
4) Place the cookies about an inch apart on a parchment lined baking sheet (preferably not greased) and bake for 10 minutes, turning the pan half way through.
5) Because the sugar caramelizes, it's hard to tell when they're finished by their color, so make sure to keep an eye on them. After removing them from the oven, they will be very soft and fragile from the filling, so let them cool on the baking sheets for about 5 to 10 minutes before moving them to a cooling rack.

6) ENJOY! Y Feliz Cinco de Mayo

Sorry for the lack of pictures, the cookies were snatched and devoured before I was able to get any shots, so I took that as a good sign, even if it does mean a slightly barren blog post.