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.

The Nervous Bakes

Some people get the nervous shakes. 
Or the nervous giggles.
I get the nervous bakes.
This leads me to do regrettable things, like attempt a batch of yeasted, flourless, sugarless, banana-oat bread at 1:30am.
Than a new recipe for chocolate peanut butter cookies at 2am. When I'm on a diet. 

I didn't realize I was nervous until I emptied the too-large jar of yeast, busted out the peanut butter and began mixing even though there were dirty dishes still in the sink.
I didn't realize I was nervous until I started planning a cookie spree instead of tomorrow's workout (I stopped that one dead in its tracks)
I didn't realize I was nervous until I started using Punchfork like a stress ball, scrolling farther and farther down the page with every squeeze of my heart, each clench of my stomach.
I didn't realize I was nervous until 20 different people asked me if I was nervous. I told them 
No.
I'm fine.
Excited.
Just fine.

Then I went a little nuts.
In the kitchen-with the rubber spatula and metal bowl I will have to leave behind.
With the oven knob and the tablespoon measure.
With the plastic wrap and tiny tasting spoon.

But now I know. I know I'm nervous. 
I know I screwed up. I know that tomorrow I will finally pack.
And finish that survey. And find my passport.

Oh, and I have some cupcakes to make, too.

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.