Mint Hot Cocoa Cookies

     Over the holidays I'd wanted to deliver some cookies to a few neighbors and families in the area. I really wanted them to be special, not just an ordinary find. That in mind, I came across a couple bags of Nestle's Dark Chocolate and Mint Morsels at the store and thought they might be a good starting place for a great cookie (being one of my very favorite combinations of flavors). I'd made a really tasty batch of double chocolate cookies the previous Christmas and thought I might just toss in these new bits of darker and flavored chocolate to mix it up a little. So, this I did, and then, subsequently, spotted some remaining marshmallows in my cabinet and thought what a lovely thing it might be (if it worked) to top the cookies with a few little marshmallows. Hot chocolate in cookie form--brilliant! With mint, dark chocolate chips inside--even better! And it worked! And even gave the marshmallows a dainty golden toast on top. These are doughy to the core, dense, and gloriously chocolatey. Absolutely addicting. My neighbors ended up getting a few less than I'd intended…

*ps: the photo might be a bit misleading. actually no crushed candy canes or peppermints involved. just thought it was a nice touch to the picture. :)

Mint Hot Cocoa Cookies

yields approx. 3 dozen

ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup light brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup white sugar

2 eggs, room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

2/3 cup cocoa powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt (i put in a heaping 1/4 teaspoon)

2 cups Nestle's Dark Chocolate and Mint Morsels*

a couple handfuls of mini marshmallows

*if these aren't stocked in stores, just use 1 cup dark chocolate/bittersweet/semisweet chips + 1 cup Andes Mint pieces for similar effect. if you don't have access to Andes mints or the like, try just using 2 cups of whatever chocolate chips you do have + 1/8 teaspoon mint extract.

directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 

2. In large bowl, cream butter and sugars until well-incorporated, about a minute. Beat in vanilla and add eggs, one at a time.

3. In separate bowl, sift flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Whisk together until well-combined. 

4. Mix dry mixture gradually into wet mixture (it will be thick). Stir in chocolate and mint morsels.

5. Drop by the heaping teaspoon onto parchment-lined baking sheets. Press 3 or so marshmallows onto the top of each unbaked cookie. Bake for 7 minutes (less if your oven tends on the hot side. just make sure not to overbake! take them out when they still seem too doughy. i promise they'll be just right once cool). Let cool on pan for several minutes, then use large spatula to carefully transfer cookies to cool completely on rack.

The Lemon Cake from Heaven

    I have a confession. I took this cake to my church community group last night. We each enjoyed our share with some coffee after dinner. I fought to remain content with my appropriate helping and proudly resisted a second slice. The end of the night came, it was time to go home, and there were a few servings left. I divvied up all but one last (large) slice, gave what remained to others, and made my way to the car with the good intention of freezing said slice for another night. A noble idea, right? Well, what happened next wasn't a pretty sight. As a matter of fact, I'm certain it might have been mildly horrifying if one were to witness. Before a moment passed (while driving, mind you), I was possessed by something terrible and forced to violently lap up every last crumb of that slice as if I had not tasted food in a month. What's worse, once the crumbs were gone, I sat idly in my driveway (my puppy glancing, confused, from the dining room window) savagely scraping from the plate what remained of the lemony frosting goodness. And so it was gone…the whole slice in a matter of moments. And such was the untimely end of last night's lemon cake. And a low, low moment for me. 

     This cake is ridiculous, definitely in my top three. Best on day two or three, the moist crumb of the cake soaks up the tart syrup and joins divinely with the sweet glaze to produce a little bit of lemony heaven. Ugh, so good. Especially in this season when most fruits aren't at their prime, lemons save the day in the dessert realm (ok, I'm a little biased…see exhibit A…and B…and C.). If you at all like anything lemon, please make this. Just beware of the side-effects.

The Lemon Cake from Heaven

borrowed from smittenkitchen who adopted it from Ina Garten's original version

yields 1 bundt cake

ingredients:

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

2 1/2 cups sugar

4 large eggs, room temperature

the zest of 8 large lemons (about 1/3 cup)

3 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon kosher salt

3/4 cup plus 3 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 5 lemons' worth)

3/4 cup buttermilk, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted

directions:

1. Prep ingredients (make sure butter, eggs, buttermilk are at room temperature, and go ahead and zest and juice your lemons).

2. Heat oven to 350F. Grease well and flour bundt pan.

3. Cream butter and 2 cups of the sugar in large bowl with electric mixer for about 5 minutes or until light yellow and fluffy.

4. At medium speed, add eggs, one at a time, then add zest.

5. In medium bowl sift and mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. 

6. In small bowl, combine buttermilk, 1/4 cup lemon juice, and vanilla.

7. **Stirring as minimally as possible,* add flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately to butter-sugar mixture, starting and ending with the flour mix. Pour into pan, smooth top, and bake for 45-50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. 

8. Combine 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup lemon juice in small saucepan and cook over low heat until sugar dissolves. When cake is done, remove from oven and spoon half of the syrup on top while still in pan. Then invert onto a rack positioned over a baking tray and spoon remaining syrup over the top side of cake. Let cool completely.

9. For glaze, combine confectioner's sugar with remaining 3 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice and spoon onto very top of cake so it runs down the sides. Serve (and remember to leave some for a couple days later when it tastes even better! also freezes well).

Winter Lentil Soup

    I'm here!! I've quite missed this little spot lately. Sigh. These last weeks have been busy. Good, but so filled with different ventures and events that sharing recipes kind of got knocked down to the bottom rung for a while. I'm really thankful for a new year. I'm deciding it might be one of my favorite times. There's something about a new calendar year that speaks hope to me, the chance at a restart, a time to reflect and consider your life, to think about what you were doing one year ago, what you hope to be doing a year from now. This is a season of intention and motivation if our culture ever had one, and that, in and of itself, is most refreshing (while it lasts). I'm hopeful this year as I press on into a new job. Still nursing, but now in an intensive care setting that is new and exciting to me. I'm hopeful that this year will be one characterized by balance and simplicity and prayer. Those are my decided themes as they seem like what I most need in my days. With so many demands to spend your time and money on so many things, my hope is that I might gradually learn to be content with less, to order my days in a way that nurtures my often tender self, yet sacrifices for the good of others. Life is so hard. But there is grace and God doesn't leave us alone. Well, here I am yapping when we have a delectable bowl of soup to discuss. Let's move on, shall we?

     This is a fabulous soup. I had wanted to make something with lentils as I feel like my mostly vegetarian habits lack diversity of grain and legumes and such. So, this jumped up to the top of my to-make list and, actually, totally took me by surprise (I didn't expect much from lentils)! I've mentioned Heidi Swanson before and must say I've yet to have a recipe of hers let me down. This one is very simple, inexpensive, super healthy, hearty, and so good. My very complimentary sister claimed it the best she's ever had. The best soup, period. I may not go that far (but thank you, Courtney!), but am with her that it's pretty crazy good. Good, easy-to-prepare soups are hard to come by, in my opinion, and this one stands out as refreshingly simple and surprisingly great. Ok, I think I've raved enough. The recipe calls for red lentils which are essential in creating the thick, creamy substance of the soup. Once heated for a while, the lentils lose their shape and sort of blend together with the rest of the ingredients in this wonderful way. You'll see. I found my red lentils in the bagged rice and beans section at Whole Foods (Bob's Red Mill brand), though another local grocery might carry them, as well. Enjoy!

    I'm so glad to be back. Have a few more recipes from the holiday season I'd still love to share, so hopefully will be back with more soon! Happy 2012.

Winter Lentil Soup

borrowed from Heidi Swanson of 101cookbooks.com

serves 4-6

ingredients:

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 onion, chopped

3 shallots, chopped

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

6 cups low sodium vegetable stock

1 1/3 cup red lentils, picked over and rinsed well (often have pebbles hiding amongst them)

1/2 cup brown rice, picked over and rinsed

fine grain sea salt, as much as you like

slivered almonds, toasted

crumbled feta

directions: 

1. In a large soup pot over medium heat, combine olive oil, onion, shallots, and red pepper flakes. Stir occasionally, letting mixture brown and caramelize a bit. 

2. Stir in broth and bring to a boil. Stir in lentils and rice and let simmer for 45 minutes to an hour, until rice is al dente (original recipe actually called for 30 minutes. my rice was totally hard at that point, so I had to leave mine simmering for an hour so the rice could soften up. just taste test intermittently.). At this point the lentils have lost their shape and are all blended together. Add more broth or water to thin the soup as you like. 

3. Salt generously, to your preference, and serve topped with almonds and feta.