Intentional living

I ask that you suspend disbelief on my blog’s title, look, and feel matching my current life. Jeremy and I have long ago turned in our city folk cards. These days, it’s white picket fences, soccer games on Saturday mornings, and block parties. And I love it.

Rather than suburban, I’d like to call us small-town.  Like I wave hello to Vicky and Larry through their bakery’s window as I make my way to the train station in the morning kind-of-lifestyle.

So for now, I’m using the space to cook, muse, write, and repeat. Talking with a graphic designer, figuring out how to get a new URL, migrating my recipes, and all of that business will come with time. And with that introduction, here we go.

Thinking big thoughts for 2015. I’m trying to make more conscious decisions about my time.  I might do Activity A or Activity B, but I’m not going to make myself completely nuts by doing all of the above.

Two good books are giving me some keys to helping me live more intentionally, valuing my time and sanity. Overwhelmed: Work, Love, and Play When No One Has the Time is about the time pressures of modern living – work, home, and play, and how working parents might find some balance in their lives and – gasp – even some leisure time.  I Like Giving: The Transforming Power of a Generous Life is my bedtime read – a faith-based book on giving and the inward and outward benefits of living a generous life. I like and would recommend both.

I've made incremental changes to reflect this resolution in the new year. I've said “not now” to considering a big volunteer role at Jack’s school; I tried to choose something for myself – like heading to the gym – rather than feeling the need to put our Christmas decorations away in the perfect order on a Saturday afternoon.

No one’s perfect and I’m the first in line. Last night was a circus. I choose to make a dinner that required my attention longer than a weeknight dinner should. Jeremy choose to work from home but had to fervently pitch a story to a major media outlet and was on the phone and checking email simultaneously. At the same time, Jossie was rightfully underfoot, and I had one eye on the clock so we weren't late to pick up Jack from soccer. A little too much; we all survived.

And so now here I’m finally landing on the real point of this post: Cookies.

I chose baking cookies over a fair number of other tasks last week, and I also gave myself a break on trying to get everything else done on my to-do list. Two batches, even. And when one little classmate oogled Jack’s mint-chocolate cookies at lunch time the other day, he asked Jack if his mom had a website for recipes. And yes, little unnamed school boy, Mrs. M sure does.

Andes mint cookies
Adapted from a friend of a friend; these are the best kinds of recipes!

¾ cup unsalted butter
1 ½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons water
12 oz semi-sweet chocolate
2 eggs
2 ½ cups flour
1 ¼ teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoons salt
1 lb Andes mint wafers

Cook butter, sugar, and water until butter is melted and sugar is dissolved.  Add chocolate until partially melted.  Remove from heat and stir until chocolate is completely melted.  Pour into bowl and let stand 10 min to cool slightly.

With mixer, beat in eggs, one at a time.  Add dry ingredients, mix until blended.  Chill dough 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 350 deg.  Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.  Roll teaspoons of dough into balls.  Place 2” apart on sheets.  Bake 12-13 minutes.

Remove from oven and immediately place Andes mint on each cookie.  Allow to soften and then swirl mint over cookies.  Remove from cookie sheets and cool completely.

Big soft ginger cookies

From A Taste of Home

3/4 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1/4 cup molasses

2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon salt

Additional sugar

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and molasses. Combine the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture and mix well.2. Roll into 1-1/2-in. balls, then roll in sugar. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes or until puffy and lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool. Yield: 2-1/2 dozen.

Happy weekend, friends!

Can we start again?

If you are reading this, then you must be my mom or sister. Hi Mom, Dayna, and Laura.

I've taken a considerable break from blogging. I'm concerned with putting myself out there while protecting the privacy of my children. I don't want future prom dates or college admissions offices to find my blog, where they will read tales about how long it took someone to graduate from diapers to underpants.

But I do want to chronicle these days for my kids and Jeremy and for myself. I do want to write things about being a mom who works in the nonprofit sector. Who lives on Chicago's North Shore. Who has an interfaith marriage. Who comes from and married into very loud, very loving families. Who easily harps on the bad stuff, even when the good stuff is overflowing. Who likes to cook. And entertain. Who sees recipes as both honoring the past and welcoming the future.

Yesterday was one of my favorite days - Valentine's Day. Simple interactions at school - a hello, a knowing smile over our kindergartners' heads shared with a fellow parent - mean so much to me. Quiet time at home by the fireplace next to Jeremy, reading a book instead of doing laundry, work email or the dishes. Treats in the mail sent thoughtfully by a friend and the kids' grandparents. Decorating sugar cookies with Jack, and a Valentine's Day playdate with Jossie and her new little girlfriends. This is the stuff that I cherish.

I've posted this recipe before, but among my friends, it's been officially branded as Mrs. Caruso's sugar cookies.

Mrs. Caruso's sugar cookies
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract

Mix together flour, baking soda and cream of tartar in a bowl and set aside. Mix powdered sugar, butter, egg, vanilla and almond extract in a stand mixer. Mix in flour mixture; do not overmix. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Roll out cookie dough and cut into desired shapes. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake 7-8 minutes until edges are slightly brown.

Makes 5 dozen 2-inch cookies.

Creamy decorator's icing
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-2 tablespoons of half and half
2 or 3 drops of food coloring (optional)

Mix all ingredients together until smooth and of spreading consistency. Tint with food coloring if desired.

So we'll see where this goes. Maybe there will be more stock art and less photos of the kids. Thanks for sticking with me.

End of summer

We spent our Labor Day weekend at home, visiting, baking, and organizing. Not a bad weekend in my book - glad to have some quiet (and not-so-quiet when the kids were involved) time with friends. The weather was hot and humid but my mind is already focused on fall. We're thinking about back-to-school and fall birthdays. I made a batch of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies:

Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies
Adapted from The Foster's Market Cookbook: Favorite Recipes for Morning, Noon, and Night

Makes about 6 dozen 2.5-inch cookies

1/2 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened
1 1/4 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
4 cups rolled oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 oz chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease baking sheets and set aside.

Cream together butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.

Add the eggs to the butter mixture one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla and beat until well blended.

Combine flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a separate bowl. Stir dry ingredients together with a whisk.

Add flour mixture to wet ingredients and stir just until the dry ingredients are moist and blended. Do not overmix. Mix in chocolate chips.

Scoop dough with a 1/4-cup ice cream scoop or by a heaping tablespoon and drop onto the prepared baking sheets about 3 inches apart. Press the cookies flat with the back of a spatula.

Bake 12 to 14 minutes for soft, chewy cookies; 15-18 minutes for crunchy cookies. Enjoy!

While I'm ready to usher in a new season, I also have moments where I wish I could just preserve time. My 4-year-old Jack told me today he wants to go to Lego camp and he wants me to be his girlfriend. Can we hit the pause button just for a bit? Happy week ahead!

Visions of sugar plums

One of Jack's classmates hosted the loveliest holiday cookie party today after class. Parents held their children's hands as we crossed a sunny but chilly Michigan Avenue to our hosts' building.

Sweet smells of buttercream icing and candy welcomed us. Our hosts had thought of every detail - each child had a red tin with his or her name on it, which Jack and his classmates decorated with holiday stickers. Lunch was served and then it was cookie time. Cookies lined the tables; small hands filled the tins. Undecorated cookies were set at the end of one table, with a tub of Sweet Mandy B's icing and sprinkles for decorating.

A few of the recipes shared:

Stylin' Snowmen
Ingredients 
1 cup white chocolate chips
50 mini chocolate chips
Orange decorators' gel
Fruit leather
10 gummy rings
10 gumdrops
10 (8-inch long) pretzel rods

Directions
Place the white chocolate chips in a 2-quart bowl. Microwave them for 1 minute, then stir with a wooden spoon. If the chips are not completely melted, microwave them for 30 seconds more, then stir until smooth. Let the chocolate cool and thicken slightly.

One at a time, dip one end of a pretzel rod into the melted chocolate and use a plastic spoon or knife to spread the chocolate two-thirds of the way down the pretzel rod. Place the pretzel on a sheet of waxed paper and press on mini chocolate chips for eyes and buttons. Use orange decorators' gel to add a carrot nose.

Chill the pretzels in the refrigerator until the chocolate hardens, about 2 minutes.

Stand the pretzels in a mug or glass and tie on strips of fruit leather for scarves. For each hat, stretch a gummy ring over the narrow end of a gumdrop and secure it to the pretzel rod with a dab of melted chocolate. Makes 10.

Deep Dark Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients

Nonstick vegetable oil spray

1 ½ cups bittersweet chocolate chips (about 9 ounces), divided

3 large egg whites

2 ½ cups powdered sugar, divided

½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tablespoon cornstarch

¼ teaspoon salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Spray 2 large baking sheets with nonstick spray.  Melt 1 cup chocolate chips in glass bowl in microwave, stirring twice, about 2 minutes. 

Using electric mixer, beat egg whites in large bowl to soft peaks.  Gradually beat in 1 cup sugar.  Continue beating until mixture resembles soft marshmallow creme.  Whisk 1 cup sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, and salt in a medium bowl to blend.  On low speed, beat dry ingredients into meringue.  Stir in lukewarm chocolate and ½ cup chocolate chips (dough will become very stiff).

Place ½ cup sugar in bowl.  Roll 1 rounded tablespoon dough into ball; roll in sugar, coating thickly.  Place on prepared sheet.  Repeat with remaining dough, spacing 2 inches apart.  Bake until puffed and tops crack, about 8 minutes.  Cool on sheets for 10 minutes.  Transfer to rack; cool.  Makes about 24.


Italian Pizzelles
This is an Italian wafer-like cookie that Jack and I brought. It requires a pizzelle press.


Ingredients
3 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 1/3 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder


Directions
Beat eggs and sugar. Add cooled melted butter and vanilla. Sift flour and baking powder and add to egg mixture. Batter will be stiff enough to be dropped by spoon. Batter can be refrigerated to be used as a later time. Bake using a pizzelle press, following the manufacturer's instructions. Makes 30 pizzelles.

And one mama's honest response when I asked for cookie recipes:


Pressed wreath cookies
Ingredients
1 roll Pillsbury premade sugar cookie dough
Peppermint candies


Directions
Shove dough into cookie press (wreath-shaped, of course). Sprinkle cookies with peppermint candies and bake per package instructions. Place in extremely overpriced cookie tin in hopes of fooling friends. Even the extremely overpriced cookie tin won't fool anyone but they won't call you on it either!

We are very fortunate to have found Jack's preschool. It is such a warm community of teachers, parents and children. And today's activity could not have been more festive and full of childlike wonder.

Making time for the good stuff

I would like to preface this post by saying I love Internet shopping. It is my saving grace this holiday season. Thank you, Amazon.

This past Sunday morning, I was standing on Michigan Avenue and thought to myself, "What the heck am I doing here?"

You could feel the rush of holiday shoppers descending on this shopping destination. I myself had just left church. Taking advantage of my validated parking at a nearby building (that's city living for you - validated parking to attend church), I had three errands to run: Return a pair of pants bought online; buy gloves for Jeremy at Bloomingdale's; and buy a box of thank you notes. I kept my head down and moved quickly.

As most parents I know, Jeremy and I are trying to keep perspective on the holiday season, focusing on the joys of Christmas and spending more time with family and less time on the hustle and bustle of the season.

Last night, we felt the joy. Jack and I made a mess of holiday cookies. Emphasis on the mess. There were sprinkles everywhere but we had the Frank Sinatra holiday station playing on Pandora; Jossie squealing at her toys as the Christmas lights sparkled; and the sweet smells of sugar cookies perfuming the air.

I've shared this recipe before but it's worth sharing again. It's my mom's tried-and-true recipe:

Sugar Cookies

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 cup butter, softened

1 egg

1 t. vanilla extract

1/2 t. almond extract

2 1/2 cups flour

1 t. baking soda

1 t. cream of tartar

Mix powdered sugar, butter, egg, vanilla and almond extracts. Stir in flour, baking soda and cream of tartar. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Divide dough in half. Roll each half 3/16-inch thick on a lightly flour-covered surgace. Cut dough in desired shapes with cookie cutters. Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for about 7 to 8 minutes (until edges are slightly browned). Frost and decorate as desired.

I did not frost the cookies; I simply used sprinkles because it was easier. I picked up red and green sanding sugar at Williams-Sonoma and was so pleased with the results. If you do have time for frosting, however:

Creamy Decorators' Frosting

Beat 1 cup powdered sugar, 1/2 t. vanilla extract and about 1 T. water or 1 to 2 T. of half and half until smooth and of spreading consistency. Tint with 2 to 3 drops of food coloring, if desired. Makes enough for 3 to 5 dozen cookies.

This morning, I plugged in the Christmas tree lights and held Jack close as we enjoyed a quiet moment. I asked him what Christmas is about.

"Being nice...," he replied and I felt my heart sing and a tear spring to my eye. "...to Santa, so I can get presents."

Okay, so maybe there's a bit more work to be done.

And mamas, my BFF turned me on to this website if you do need some quick, good ideas for Christmas gifts. All of these links are my own personal editorial - nothing was sponsored - just me spreading my finds.

Living right now

It's Labor Day weekend - the last official weekend of summer. Jeremy and I are at home with the kids, having one last weekend of hanging around in our jams, eschewing nap schedules and sipping another glass of red wine after the kids go to bed. We watched Northwestern's first victory of the season yesterday, and Jack and I made a new chocolate chip cookie recipe:

Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookies from Secrets of a Restaurant Chef

Ingredients

·         2 cups all-purpose flour

·         1 cup rolled oats

·         1 teaspoon baking powder

·         1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

·         1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

·         1 cup brown sugar

·         1/2 cup granulated sugar

·         2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature

·         2 eggs

·         1 teaspoon vanilla extract

·         12 ounces block dark chocolate, coarsely chopped

·         1 cup walnuts, chopped

·         Large flake sea salt, for garnish

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a small mixing bowl, combine the flour, oats, baking powder, cinnamon and kosher salt.

In large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the brown sugar, granulated sugar and butter. Using an electric beater or the paddle attachment of the stand mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until it they are light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and beat them into the butter and sugar mixture. Add in the vanilla as well.

With a rubber spatula or with the stand mixer on low, gradually add the flour mixture into the butter/sugar mixture. Mix until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chunks and walnuts.

Spoon the cookie dough by 2 tablespoon-size balls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Place the cookie dough balls 2 inches apart on the cookie sheet. Place the cookie sheet in the oven and bake for 12 to 13 minutes.

When the cookies come out of the oven immediately sprinkle each cookie with a few grains of sea salt. This is really important to do while the cookies are hot.

Let the cookies cool for 2 to 3 minutes and then transfer them to a cooling rack.

* * *

But don't let the laziness trick you: We're readying ourselves for a crazy month. I won't bore you with the details but a quick list includes my first gala benefit for Openlands, Jack's first day of preschool, business trips for Jeremy, budgeting at work, visits from family, milestone birthdays for both of our dads and a trip home to Cleveland. Oy.

I got a little worked up this afternoon just thinking about it all, so Jeremy declared we were going outside. He barely packed a thing, and I practically got hives at the prospect of leaving the house with no sippy cups, no snacks and no sun hats.

We headed to Northwestern's lake fill to soak in the sun, the views of Chicago and the waves of Lake Michigan. Being outside, I was able to let go. And it was nice to just be.

We ended Daddy's outing with an early dinner at Lulu's. If Lulu was a woman, Jeremy would have left me for her and her wide rice noodles year ago. And Jack loves the dinosaurs they have to play with.

So tomorrow, we rest one more day, and after that, September, it is on.

Truly decadent

Some of us are bringing desserts into the office tomorrow for a co-worker's birthday. Yes, my kitchen is typically closed on Mother's Day, but I do love to bake with Jack, so we made these brownies together. We also had the calorie-free benefit of the chocolate smell wafting through our condo.

They are purely sinful; I halved the recipe:

Outrageous brownies
From The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

Ingredients

·        1 pound unsalted butter

·        1 pound plus 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

·        6 ounces unsweetened chocolate

·        6 extra-large eggs

·        3 tablespoons instant coffee granules

·        2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract

·        2 1/4 cups sugar

·        1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

·        1 tablespoon baking powder

·        1 teaspoon salt

·        3 cups chopped walnuts

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter and flour a 12 x 18 x 1-inch baking sheet.

Melt together the butter, 1 pound of chocolate chips, and the unsweetened chocolate in a medium bowl over simmering water. Allow to cool slightly. In a large bowl, stir (do not beat) together the eggs, coffee granules, vanilla, and sugar. Stir the warm chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and allow to cool to room temperature.

In a medium bowl, sift together 1 cup of flour, the baking powder, and salt. Add to the cooled chocolate mixture. Toss the walnuts and 12 ounces of chocolate chips in a medium bowl with 1/4 cup of flour, then add them to the chocolate batter. Pour into the baking sheet.

Bake for 20 minutes, then rap the baking sheet against the oven shelf to force the air to escape from between the pan and the brownie dough. Bake for about 15 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Do not overbake! Allow to cool thoroughly, refrigerate, and cut into 20 large squares.

Marisa's favorite: Gingerbread boys

Marisa is a part of our college trio, with Amy. As a freshman, she was always my favorite meal companion in the cafeteria - she would tell good stories and has the best laugh. Those early meals have turned into a lasting friendship - sophomore roommates, senior roommates in our first off-campus apartment, and now as married old broads living in Chicago. She has great stories now, traveling the world wide for work, study and fun with her husband Luke. 

Her mom is a very special person to me. Ann always remembers the small pleasures in life and if you love Marisa's laugh, you'll find Ann's perfectly infectious:

Gingerbread boys
5 cups all-purpose flour, sifted before measuring
1 1/2 t. baking soda
2 to 3 t. ground ginger
1 t. ground cinnamon
1 t. ground cloves
1/2 t. salt
1 cup vegetable shortening
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 cup light molasses
2 T. distilled white vinegar
Red cinnamon candies


Sift flour with baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and salt. In a large bowl, beat shortening and sugar. When creamy, beat in egg, molasses and vinegar.  Stir in flour mixture, one fourth at a time, mixing well after each addition.  (Mixture will be stiff so you may want to use your hands.) Cover dough and chill 3 hours or longer. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Cut dough in half. On a lightly floured board or pastry cloth, roll one piece of the dough 1/8-inch thick.  Dip a ginger boy cutter into flour and cut dough. Places cookies on lightly greased baking sheets and use cinnamon candies to make buttons. Bake 5 minutes. Remove from oven and transfer cookies to write racks to cool. Repeating with remaining dough.


Makes 5 dozen cookies.

Emily Y.'s favorite: Dried cherry and almond cookies with vanilla icing

I am overwhelmed by my family and friends' generosity. They have responded to my call to action, opening their worn binders and recipe boxes to share some of their favorite cookie recipes with me. As I draw to a close on my 25 Days of Cookies this Christmas Eve, I'm able to look over the long list of some of the wonderful women in my life and feel truly blessed.


I actually have more than 25 recipes to share - so today I'm sharing two with you, gentle reader. Emily is Jeremy's work wife. They are the two reporters in the Chicago bureau of an advertising trade publication. Emily is a serious reporter with a delightful laugh and lovely singing voice. And she can cook too. In fact, she is starting a food blog of her own; stay tuned.


Here is her introduction and recipe:
I don't come from a cooking family, and it's taken me awhile to learn my way around the kitchen. So this is first year that I've made Christmas cookies. I wanted to try something more modern than the tree-shaped, green-sprinkle sugar cookies my mother still buys from Magee's Bakery in Lexington, Ky every year. My boyfriend, bizarrely, is not a fan of desserts, especially of the sweet and chocolatey variety. This Giada DeLaurentiis recipe for dried cherry and almond cookies with vanilla icing caught my eye because it's got cherries and almonds (two of my favorite things) and it didn't look like it would be too sugary. The comments on the site are raves. Turns out - they are fantastic. The flavors are really festive, the icing makes it fun, and they're not too hard to make. But they've got a little something for everyone. The picky eater in my house described them as "the best cookies ever."


Dried cherry and almond cookies with vanilla icing
I started by creaming:
½ c unsalted butter (1 stick) at room temperature
½ sugar plus 2 tablespoons - I like vegan cane sugar because it's mellower
½ vanilla extract
½ almond extract
¼ t ground cinnamon
¼ t fine sea salt


I left this running in the stand mixer with paddle attachment while I got the other ingredients ready. It was frothy and white by the time I added:


1 egg


After it's all incorporated, scrape down the bowl and paddle, and gradually add:
1 ¼ c all-purpose flour (I used white wheat flour for half of that quantity)


next fold in:
¾ c chopped dried cherries
½ c slivered blanched almonds that have been toasted and cooled (I had slivered almonds for baking on hand, and it was fine)


Form the cookies into a log, about 12 inches long and 1 ½ inches in diameter. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or as long as three days. Later, slice the log into ½ inch pieces and arrange on two heavy baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Space them about one inch apart. Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes until cookies are puffed and beginning to brown around the edges. (I added a couple of minutes to get them all slightly brown, and frankly could have pulled them at 15) Cool on wire racks for at least 30 minutes


Meanwhile, recipe calls for a glaze, made with
2 ¾ c. powdered sugar
2 t vanilla extract
3T water, and more if necessary (I needed 5)


Whisk vanilla extract into sugar, and add water one tablespoon at a time, until it becomes a good drizzling consistency. I needed 5 tablespoons, and could have added even more.
(This made easily twice the amount of icing I needed to drizzle each one. If you want them really sweet, and decide to coat the entire cookie, this would be enough. I'll half the amount next time.)


Let cookies set completely before serving, about 1 hour. Of course I had to try one right away. It was sensational. But they're mellower in flavor after setting, and even better the next day.

Abby's favorite: Chocolate peanut butter bars

Abby and Adam are our dear friends who live too darn far away (San Diego). Adam is one of Jeremy's best friends, and he was the best man at our wedding. He and Jeremy talk like schoolgirls on the phone often about the Jets, Mets and Wildcats. Abby is a wonderful friend and mom - a teacher by profession, she is calm, patient and extremely creative. Some of my favorite memories with them are walking around San Francisco, savoring an affogato from North Beach; their beautiful wedding and sharing many other of our friends' weddings; and them traveling to Chicago to surprise Jeremy for his 30th birthday. Here is one of her favorite recipes that her mom makes.

Chocolate peanut butter bars

1 cup peanut butter

6 T. butter, softened

1 1/4 c. sugar

3 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 c. flour

1/4 tsp. salt

2 cups semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl, beat peanut butter and butter. Add sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Blend in flour and salt. Hand stir 1 c. chocolate chips into the mixture. Spead into ungreased 13 x 9 inch baking pan. Bake 25-30 mins until edges begin to brown. Immediately, sprinkle with remaining chocolate chips. Let stand 5 mins until chips are shiny. Spread evenly over top. Cool completely. Cut into bars.

Carol's favorite: Sandies by the sea

Carol is one of my North Carolina cousins. She is creative, artistic and very funny (she even submitted a picture with her entry!). She is a lot like her mother, my aunt, which I know she would find as a compliment. I love that she gave me this recipe - when I think of my North Carolina cousins, I think of the beach, lots of laughter and lots of good food and conversation.

Sandies by the sea

2 cups all-purpose flour 

1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup firmly-packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup pecans, lightly toasted and very finely ground*
20 caramel candies
3 tablespoons cream or whole milk
2 to 3 tablespoons large crystal sea salt or fleur de sel, as needed**
1 cup chopped bittersweet chocolate or chocolate morsels (at least 60% cocoa)

1. Combine flour and salt in bowl; set aside.
2. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla; beat to blend. Add dry ingredients in batches, mixing between each. Stir in ground pecans. Cover and chill dough until firm.
3. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper or butter the sheets.
4. Roll dough into 1-inch balls with floured hands. Place on baking sheet at least one inch apart, and form a cavity in center of each ball with thumb. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes or until bottoms are brown and set.
5. Remove cookies from oven; cool briefly on baking sheet. Transfer with a metal spatula to a wire cooling rack set over a piece of parchment paper.
6. Melt caramel candies and cream together in a saucepan over low heat, stirring frequently. Fill center of each cookie with approximately 1/2 teaspoons of caramel. Sprinkle warm centers evenly with sea salt, and let sit until firm.
7. Place chocolate in plastic bag in a bowl, heat on medium at 30-second intervals in microwave. Massage between each interval until melted. Cut a small hole in bottom corner of bag,
8. Drizzle chocolate across each cookie; add additional salt if desired and allow cookies to sit until chocolate has become firm.

Makes about 4 dozen.

*To toast pecans, place nuts in a single layer in an ungreased shallow pan.  Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 5 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan to cool.

** Sea salt and fleur de sel are found at specialty food markets and most supermarkets. For this recipe, choose a white or pink variety with large crystals.

Val's favorite: Mrs. Cozzi's cookies

Val is the kind of co-worker/friend everyone needs in their life - she lets me go on and on with Jack stories; she can toe-to-toe with Jeremy on Bruce Springsteen; and really is always up for a good giggle.


I am so honored that she, her sister and her mom have shared this recipe with me. While she admits they are simple, they have a lot of fond memories associated with them. Here is her introduction:

These simple butter cookies have become one of my family's holiday favorites. Their green and red coloring make them festive-looking in any holiday cookie selection.  The recipe is from our cherished neighbors, Gus and Mary Cozzi. The Cozzis were the best kind of people. Mrs. Cozzi frquently invited us in when we were kids and fed us her fabulous Italian cooking. We loved these simple butter cookies so much, after much begging and pleading, Mrs. Cozzi graciously shared her simple recipe with us. Gus and Mary Cozzi are both gone now, but I still think of them especially around the holidays.

Mrs. Cozzi's cookies
1 lb butter
1 1/3 c powdered sugar
6 T vanilla
4 c flour
red and green food coloring

Blend & divide dough in half. Color half red and other green. Roll into small balls and bake 350 12-15 min until slightly browned on bottom. Let cool then lightly sprinkle tops with powdered sugar.

Pam's favorite: Java sticks

My dad's cousin Pam is a wonderful baker. Her introduction and recipe are taken from the cookie cookbook that my mom compiled for my sister Dayna's wedding. My Italian family has a nice tradition of having a cookie table at the wedding reception, where aunts, mothers, sisters and cousins contribute. It's definitely one of the reasons I have a food and family blog today - I couldn't live without either one.

From Pam:

Flo Baker, an award-winning cookbook author and baking expert, has devoted her life to making Thumbelina-size sweets, including these mocha-flavored fingers edged with white chocolate and walnuts. They are not too sweet – I like them with a mellow cup of hazelnut coffee. The recipe was taken from “Holiday Cooking with America’s Top Chefs."

Java sticks
1 ½ cups unsifted, unbleached all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
½ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup walnuts
¼ cup unsweetened, Dutch-processed cocoa powder
¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon instant coffee powder, dissolved in 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
6 ounces white chocolate, finely chopped
4 ounces (1 cup) walnuts, finely chopped

Adjust rack to lower third of oven and preheat to 325° F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.

Dough: In a food processor, pulse the flour, salt, sugar, ¼ cup walnuts and cocoa powder just until blended. Add the butter and coffee powder mixture and process with on/off bursts just until the mixture forms a ball.

Place half the dough in a 16-inch pastry bag fitted with a ½” plain decorating tip (such as Ateco #6). Pipe dough into sticks 1 ½” in length and 1” apart on baking sheets. To cut off the dough at the end of each stick press the decorating tip down toward the sheet. You may wish to anchor the parchment paper by dabbing dough under each corner of the paper. Fill the pastry bag with remaining dough and pipe it into sticks.

Bake, one sheet at a time, 8 to 11 minutes, or until the cookies no longer appear shiny and are pale tan in color. (Sticks spread to about 1” wide.) Cool sheet on wire rack.

Decoration: Melt chocolate in a bowl over 110° F. water. Spread finely chopped walnuts on a plate. Lightly dip both long edges of each cookie in chocolate, then into the walnuts, placing each cookie on a clean baking sheet as you finish. Refrigerate sheet a few minutes to set the chocolate. Store in a single layer in a foil-lined box at room temperature up to 3 days.

Margaret's favorite: Polish kolaczki

Margaret is a wonderfully warm friend - truly beautiful inside and out - whom I've met through work. She's very caring, down-to-earth and remembers to ask how you (and your mom, sister, best friend, etc.) are doing. She is from a very Polish family, and her mom dictated this recipe to her from memory:

Polish kolaczki

1 package (8 oz) cream cheese

2 sticks unsalted butter

2 egg yolks

2 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 can apricot pastry filling

Mix cream cheese, butter and egg yolk. Mix together flour and baking powder and add to cream cheese mixture. Roll dough out to 1/8-inch. Cut circles using cookie cutters. Put apricot filling in and roll up. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

Whitney's favorite: Sour cream cookies

Whitney is a favorite friend - she is witty, fun and intelligent. We started out as friends through working on Northwestern's yearbook. We were also sorority sisters. After college, we met regularly for dinner and movie dates. Our lives followed somewhat similar paths...we both work in Chicago's nonprofit sectors (she has the most awesome job - managing the temporary and traveling exhibits for The Field Museum, criss-crossing the globe) and our weddings were within a month of each other. We're fellow Libras (she's 3 days older, which I don't let her forget) and members of Fourth Presbyterian Church. And one night in spring 2007, we met for tapas. "I have news," I started to say, to let her know I was pregnant. "So do I," she said.

That night, realizing we were due within days of each other, we decided to share childcare. Our lives have been even more intertwined ever since. Her son Nate and Jack are like brothers. Friday when I was leaving for work, I got big hugs and kisses from our sweet boys and that reminded how happy I am to have my family so close to Whitney's.

Sour Cream Cookies
1/2 c. shortening
1 1/2 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
1 c. sour cream
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 3/4 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda

Mix and bake @ 375 degrees for 10 minutes

Icing
1/4 c. butter
1 c. powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1-2 tsp. hot water

Mix and ice cookies when cool. Add sprinkles, raisins, cinnamon, or other fun toppings as desired. This part is good to do with kids!

Jeremy's favorite: Snowball cookies

My mom has made this cookie nearly every Christmas since we were little. It’s taken from her original Betty Crocker cookbook that she used in a nutrition class at Indiana University of Pennsylvania – the first cookbook she ever owned. Jeremy just loves them. He brought them to work this week, and I got a thumbs-up approval from his co-workers.

Snowball cookies
1 cup butter, softened
½ cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract
2 ¼ cups flour
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup finely chopped walnuts or pecans

Heat oven to 400° F. Mix thoroughly butter, sugar and vanilla (or almond extract). Work in flour, salt and nuts until dough holds together. Shape dough into 1” balls. Place on ungreased baking sheet.

Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until set but not brown. While warm, roll in powdered sugar. Cool. Roll in sugar again.

Makes 4 dozen.

Mom's favorite: Nut kifles

This recipe is a relative newcomer to my mom’s cookie plate. It comes from a Sherwin-Williams employee cookbook that my dad gave my mom one Christmas.

Nut kifles

1 pound (2 cups) margarine
4 cups flour
3 eggs, separated
1 ½ cups sour cream
1 ½ cups ground walnuts
1 ½ cups sugar
2 teaspoon cinnamon

Cut margarine into flour as for pie dough. Beat together egg yolks and sour cream; combine with flour mixture. Divide dough into six or seven parts. Wrap in waxed paper and chills 6 hours or overnight.

Roll out each piece of dough on floured surface to a 12-inch circle. Brush with egg whites. Combine ground nuts, sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle on top. Cut into 12 equal wedges. Roll up from wide end to point. Curve into crescent with point under. Brush top with egg whites and dip top into nut mixture. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes or until lightly browned.

Makes 6 to 7 dozen.

Note: The dough is very sticky – flour the working surface frequently.

Kathryn's favorite: Ranger cookies

I've known Kathryn since our days at Northwestern. Our lives has intersected at many points; we served on a student/alumni group together at school and she and her husband are good friends of Amy and Mark, so these days, we see each other at picnics and parties. It's nice to keep up on each other's life via Facebook. She and I are also faithful fans of Ina. All of that said, I'm going to declare that Kathryn's recipe is my first reader-submission recipe. Yea, Kathryn! Thank you for sending along this recipe, and I hope others will as well. There are still 9 days left, gentle readers!

Kathryn tells me this is a favorite for cookie exchanges, makes a million cookies and only uses one bowl (three thumbs up!):

Ranger Cookies
1 1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup butter
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups rolled oats
2 cups rice flakes (Special K)
2 cups coconut

Mix ingredients. Drop by teaspoonful on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes.

Geoff's favorite: Peanut butter buckeyes

Geoff is known as "Uncle" in our household. He is my sister Dayna's husband, and Jack (and our nephew Andrew) just adore him. He is truly the good times' guy and is always coming up with silly games for his toddler nephews.

He is the ultimate Buckeyes fan - though what Buckeyes fan isn't? This is one of his favorite recipes...is it the chocolate/peanut butter combination or something else?

By the way, I'm originally from Ohio, so many friends have offered me this recipe. This particular one comes from the mother of Dayna's best friend Emily.

Peanut butter buckeyes

3 cups smooth peanut butter
2 pounds confectioner’s sugar
2 sticks butter

Combine all ingredients thoroughly. Mixture should be just a little dry; if not add additional confectioner’s sugar.

Roll with hands and form into buckeye size balls. You will need the heat from your hands to help the mixture form the ball. When done chill overnight in refrigerator. This recipe makes around 200 buckeyes, so plan the time accordingly.

Melt 18 ounces of chocolate chips with 1/3 slab of paraffin wax in a double boiler. Dip each buckeye using a toothpick leaving the top of the ball partially exposed (buckeye). Let excess chocolate drain off for a moment then place on wax paper to dry.

Final step is to smooth toothpick holes with tip of butter knife. Place in small paper muffin cup or candy paper for easy serving.