Oatmeal Cookies

Mimi Sheraton/Dieter Schorner's

Oatmeal Cookies

This recipe was published fairly recently in the NY Times, but it was originally published in the paper in 1981. The recipe is from Sheraton's book “Visions of Sugarplums”, one that I picked up a couple of years ago at Kitchen Arts and Letters, an incomparable bookstore in New York that specializes in everything food and drink. If you're ever looking for a cookbook or have a question about anything to do with cooking or baking, call them.

The Times credits Mimi Sheraton with this recipe because she published it, but Mimi credits Dieter Schorner. Schorner was the pastry chef at Le Cirque in 1981 when Le Cirque wore diamonds on the soles of its shoes.

This is a simple recipe from Schorner's childhood, an extraordinary recipe of memory.

In the Times, Sheraton writes, “Dieter Schorner, the pastry chef at Le Cirque, uses the following recipe to bake the cookies he remembers from his childhood in Germany. He loves the cookies still warm from the oven.” In her book, she quotes Schorner: “When we were children at home, it was our dream to eat these simple cookies warm from the oven.” 

She suggests you try them after only a few minutes of cooling, but in her recipe writes they are “really” meant to be eaten cold. You’ll decide if they’re better warm or cold. You’re the boss.

These aren’t American-style oatmeal cookies. They're neither crispy nor chewy; and they're not "natural" or "earthy." With no spices, save for some pure vanilla extract, you'll taste pure ingredients. No to brown sugar and no to eggs. Butter, flour, oats and raisins merge to produce perfect flavor and texture. Shortbread meets oatcake – cookie nirvana. I froze the lemon sole and ate them for dinner.

I’ve converted volume to weight measure (but retained the original measurements too .. phew), opted for unbleached flour and some organic ingredients and used European style butter. I adhered to Mimi’s/Dieter’s procedure. 

Always use the best quality ingredients you can obtain. It makes a difference.

Truc: If you don’t want to bake off all 5 dozen cookies at once, scoop cookies into balls and place them on a sheet pan that you’ve lined with either parchment or waxed paper. Place in the freezer. Once frozen, wrap well and store in an airtight container or plastic bag. Bake them directly from the freezer, adding time to the bake.

There are just seven ingredients in this recipe. Measure everything out. Grow accustomed to the luxury of mise en place.

To a beautiful and peaceful fall.

peace and love,

jane

Oatmeal Cookies

Adapted by Blue Heron Kitchen from Mimi Sheraton’s "Visions of Sugarplums"

Ingredients:

340.2 g./12 oz. unsalted butter, European style is best

214 g./7.5 oz. or 1 c. granulated sugar

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract (I always use Baldwin's)

2 tsp. sifted baking soda (sift it, it won't be clumpy)

264 g./9.3 oz. or 2 ¾ c. Old-Fashioned oats  - don't use instant!

      (I used Bob’s Red Mill organic oats. The recipe calls for Quaker brand.)

354 g./ 12.5 oz. or 2 ⅔ c. unbleached all-purpose flour

264 g./9.3 oz. or 1 ½ c. organic raisins

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 375º F.

Butter a cookie sheet and line with parchment. (Do this!)

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Stir in vanilla.

Add sifted baking soda and stir in.

Add oatmeal, flour and raisins and stir in thoroughly. Mix well.

Using your hands or a small cookie scoop, form dough into balls, each just a little larger than a walnut.

Place them about one inch apart on parchment-lined cookie sheet.

Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until pale golden brown. (Despite the baking soda, these will not spread much at all.)

Remove from paper and cool on rack. Although delicious when warm, “these are really meant to be eaten cold.” (Mimi Sheraton)

When cookies have cooled completely, pack in airtight containers.

Yield: approximately 5 dozen

Honey Cake 2014

Lekach 2014

(Honey Cake)

Adapted from The Complete American-Jewish Cookbook by Blue Heron Kitchen

For Janet

Recently, my dear friend, Janet sent a package of interesting and old books, food-related, that she’d acquired. This recipe comes from one of them. The book, The Complete American-Jewish Cookbook, published in 1952 by The Homemakers Research Group, is browned at the edges with curled pages and black and white photos. The book is wonderful. It is ‘scholarly’, defining the laws of kashruth, with a handy glossary of “special Yiddish terms” like “brith millah”, the ritual circumcision that takes place on the eighth day after birth and “synagogue”. For Jews (and probably for many folks who follow a religion) food accompanies pain and suffering. #eatingdisorder #comfort

Other, more positive terms are in the glossary, such as “arba kosot”, the four cups of wine you drink at every seder, “balabusta”, an efficient housewife, and my fave, “beryah”, a “jewel” of a homemaker.

The Yiddish term “lekach” made it into this little glossary. Mazel Tov!

I like “Golden Blossom” brand honey. If you can’t find it, use a light honey.

I like this recipe because it doesn’t call for that hot coffee or tea ingredient. (However, it’s interesting that at the end of this recipe, the editor adds a “variation” for a more “economical cake”, reducing the eggs from 6 to 4 and adding ½ cup of hot coffee or hot tea, diluting the honey with the hot liquid, a convention in so many honey cake recipes.) In fact, your recipe may call for this technique!

When I see a recipe calling for six eggs, I have a panic attack that I’m going to have to separate them and separately whip the whites. Not this one. You’ll beat whole eggs for about five minutes in an electric mixer.

Old Eastern European recipes called for rye flour (wheat flour “back then” was expensive and rye flour made a toothsome and heavy cake that was baked slowly for hours.) This one calls for pastry or cake flour. Nice.

One reason why honey cake is always on the dry side is because nobody adds the dried fruit and nuts. Add them. They'll keep the cake (relatively) moist (and add flavor.) Get some good quality citron (Italian markets .. try Eataly, Chelsea Market, Arthur Ave. or any good Italian market. Get a schtickle (a little piece) of candied citron .. not the gooey stuff.) It’ll last forever and you’ll have it for the winter months when your cakes and other confections call for dried fruit.

There’s so much bitterness in the world. Just make some cake. Eat some. Share the rest.

peace and love,

jane

Lekach

Ingredients:

3 ½ c. cake or pastry flour, scooped and leveled

1 ½ tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. ground allspice

½ tsp. ground cinnamon

½ tsp. ground cloves

6 eggs, size large, room temperature

1 c. granulated white sugar

1 c. honey (coat liquid measuring cup with oil for an easy pour)

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil (Canola is good)

2 Tbsp. brandy (good quality)

½ c. raisins (organic, if possible)

½ c. chopped nuts (almonds, toasted, cooled, chopped – or walnuts, pecans, your choice.)

¼ c. chopped citron

Procedure:

Mis en place:

Prepare a tube pan with a removable bottom by coating it with oil. Cut out a piece of parchment paper and line the bottom and coat the top of that too. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 300º F.

In a large bowl, measure flour, baking powder, baking soda and spices and whisk together.

Measure out your honey.

In a small bowl, combine dried fruit and nuts and mix together.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat eggs until combined.

Gradually add the sugar and mix for approximately 5 minutes (KA speed #5) with paddle or beater blade.

Add honey and oil and beat until combined.

Add brandy and fruit and nut mixture and mix until combined.

Dump in flour mixture and beat well until just combined.

Transfer batter to prepared tube pan and bake in preheated oven for approximately 1 hour (more or less, depending on your oven), in the center of the oven, until cake is golden and toothpick comes out clean.

Invert pan until cake is cold.

Like all cakes that have strong, aromatic spices, this cake will taste better after a day or two (or three).

After cake is completely cool, wrap well. 

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Brownies Voilà

Brownies Voilà

Individual microwave Brownies!

Adapted from Spark by Blue Heron Kitchen

Here’s a single-serve brownie that you can eat straight from the microwave. If you’re craving a (emphasis: a) brownie, need a quick after-school snack or don't have the time or gumption to whip up a batch, this is a remarkable recipe that you're going to adore. Two minutes. That's it.

Heightened: plate it, powder it and adorn it with fruit. Impressive presentation and remarkable taste for a dessert that feels like you're playing with your EZ Bake Oven.

Take care to not over-bake zap these or they’ll turn into rubber.

I had best results with cocoa that wasn’t dutch processed. Scharfen Berger, Special Dark Hershey’s or Trader Joe’s are all good choices. If you use the fancier dutched stuff, it’ll taste great, only slightly less fudgy.

I don’t need to tell you how to eat a brownie or what to put in, over or around it. I tried making a gluten-free version, replacing flour with almond meal. It exploded in the microwave. I guess some some xanthan gum or flaxseed meal or chia seeds would work, but I’ll start with the glutinous version. After I finish cleaning my microwave, I'll experiment with some gluten-free flour.

macrowaves of peace and love,

jane

Ingredients

1 Tbsp. whole wheat pastry flour
1 Tbsp. granulated white sugar
1 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa
1/8 tsp. baking soda
a pinch of Kosher salt
1 ½ Tbsp. of low fat (I used Greek style) plain yogurt, (more, as needed to blend.)

1/8 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Procedure:

In a straight-sided microwave-proof coffee cup or ramekin (ungreased), mix all ingredients together well.

Place in microwave and cook on high for 1 to 1 minute, 10 seconds, until done but not rubbery.

Eat directly from mug/ramekin. Or release onto plate and garnish with a dusting of cocoa or confectioner's sugar, sliced mango or fresh berries, raspberry coulis, sorbet, ice cream or Bosco. 

N.B. – According to the “Spark Recipes” site, the caloric content of each of these is 94.5, fat is 1.1 gram, cholesterol: 0.9 mg., sodium: 224.6 mg., total carbs: 22.1 g, dietary fiber: 2.7 g and protein: 2.6 g