Nutty Chocolate-Raspberry Thumbprints

These are basically the most delicious cookies ever. They were a finalist recipe in the Cook's Country Christmas cookie contest, which coincidentally happened to be in the first issue my grandparents sent me.

Nutty Chocolate-Raspberry Thumbprints

Makes 3 dozen cookies

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened, or shortening
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup pecans, toasted and chopped fine
6 tablespoons seedless raspberry jam
½ cup white chocolate chips, melted

1) Make Dough: Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Combine flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl. With electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg and vanilla and mix until incorporated. Reduce speed to low, add flour mixture, and mix until just combined.

2) Shape and Bake: Place pecans in shallow dish. Roll 1 tablespoon dough into 1-inch ball, then roll in pecans, pressing to adhere. Repeat with remaining dough. Place balls 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Using teaspoon measure, make indentation in center of each ball. Fill each dimple with ½ teaspoon jam. Bake until set, about 10 minutes, switching and rotating sheets halfway through baking. Cool 5 minutes on sheets, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

3) Drizzle Chocolate: Drizzle cookies with melted chocolate and let sit until chocolate hardens, about 15 minutes. (Cookies can be stored in airtight container at room temperature for 3 days.)

Tips:
- Dutch-processed cocoa has deeper flavor than natural cocoa.
- To pipe the white chocolate from a plastic bag, pour the melted white chocolate into the bag. Use scissors to snip one corner and drizzle the chocolate over the cookies.

(Source: Ronna Farley, via Cook’s Country)

Suggestions and Requests

If anyone remembers something specific that someone else has made, request it here! Also, if there's a general recipe you're looking for a good version of, make a suggestion and maybe someone will know of something tasty!

• DJ, the cinnamon sugar chips and fruit salsa you make are delicious.
• Kate, your hummus recipe was awesome.

40-minute yeast-free vegan bread

I discovered this recipe a couple of summers ago when Natalie was vegan. It's super-low-fuss and perfect for someone like me who never thinks ahead enough to make real bread. I almost always add the olives but you can really add anything you want.

3 cups whole wheat flour (white flour doesn't come out as well)
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups water (You can substitute tomato juice or something similar)
1/4 cup oil (I use olive)
Chopped green olives or sun-dried tomato (optional)

Do not sift the flour!
Mix everything
Stir until there is no more dry flour.
The dough should be moist but not sticky.
Score lightly the surface in a diamond or X shape to prevent splitting of the crust.
Shape into a ball or whatever
Place on clean baking sheet.
Bake for 40 minutes at 400F.
I usually brush the top with olive oil and a liberal sprinkling of kosher salt and oregano

Sage Fruit Salad

Named after Russell Sage Dining Hall, where I stole this recipe from. I haven't quite worked out proportions for this recipe yet, since I usually just do it by taste, but I'll edit the post when I've had the chance to make it a few more times.

Sage Fruit Salad

Makes ???

canned pineapple, drained
canned mandarin oranges, drained
cilantro, fresh or dried
red onion, finely chopped
jalepenos, finely chopped

1) Put equal amounts of pineapple and mandarin oranges into a bowl. Add small amounts of cilantro, red onion, and jalepeno until it tastes awesome.

2) Experiment; it's really all up to your own preferences. Leave a comment if you discover any other good combinations!

I bet fresh peaches and/or mango would also go well, but I haven't been able to try them out first hand yet.

Breakfast Buttercups

Here are the breakfast buttercups we made at girls' night! So delicious.

Breakfast Buttercups

Makes 10 buttercups.

Note that while most recipes call for large eggs, this recipe calls for medium eggs.

10 medium eggs

10 slices white or wheat sandwich bread, crusts removed

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

10 thin slices deli Swiss or cheddar cheese (about 5 ounces)

5 thin slices deli ham (about 5 ounces), halved crosswise

salt and pepper

1) Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Place eggs in large bowl and cover with hot tap water. Let sit 10 minutes.

2) Meanwhile, following instructions 1 and 2 below, roll bread as thin as possible with rolling pin and press into 10 perimeter cups of 12-cup muffin tin, leaving 2 center cups empty. Brush bread cups with melted butter and bake until light golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes.

3) Top each cheese slice with a ham slice. Make cut from center to 1 side of each stack. Fold each ham and cheese stack into cone and press into toasted cup. Crack 1 egg into each cup and season with salt and pepper.

4) Return muffin tin to oven and bake until eggs whites are barely set and still appear slightly moist, 14 to 18 minutes. Transfer pan to wire rack and cover tightly with aluminum foil. Let sit 5 minutes. Serve immediately.

Engineering the cup:

1) Roll the bread thin before pressing it into the muffin cups; this makes it easy to shape the bread without tearing it.

2) Pinch the opposite long sides of the bread and press each slice into a muffin cup. Brush with butter and bake until light brown.

3) Cut a slit from the center to one side of each ham and cheese stack.

4) Fold each ham and cheese stack into a cone and place each cone in a toasted cup. Now you're ready to drop in an egg.

Tips:

Use oversize sandwich bread for the toast cups for the best muffin-cup coverage.

(Source: Cook's Country.)