Berry Delicious

I have now completed my LAST call of the month. Overall, my team had a REALLY good month. This last call was pretty good except that I really messed myself over by spacing a kid to albuterol treatments every hour at midnight KNOWING that at 3 am I would have to get up and go listen to him to see how he was doing...but he needed it, so I did my job! :-) Anyway, on one of our earlier calls, I decided to take something a little different. I usually make cookies but saw a great looking recipe for blueberry sour cream bars on Anna's site. With the way blueberries are right now, I knew I had to try it. Let me just say...delicious!!!! Everyone liked them and they were the perfect refreshing treat for call. The only problem was that they really got pretty soft if they were not refrigerated. I did have to make a change to the recipe as I was out of brown sugar. They tasted fine and I think that they only change would have been a browner color and slightly richer taste. Please, if you have some blueberries sitting around to be used, try these!

Blueberry Sour Cream Bars

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour (118 grams)
3/4 cup old-fashioned oats (60 grams)
1/2 cup granulated sugar (110 grams)
1/2 teaspoon salt (2 ml) – if using salted butter, reduce to a pinch
6 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut up (85 grams) - I think I used margarine

Filling:
6 tablespoons granulated sugar (70 grams)
1/2 cup regular (reduced fat) sour cream (114 grams)
1 1/4 tablespoons flour (10 grams)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla (1 ml)
1 teaspoon lemon juice (5 ml)
1/8 teaspoon salt (pinch)
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (176 C). Line an 8 inch metal pan with foil and spray foil with cooking spray.

Combine flour, oats, brown sugar and salt in food processor. Pulse to mix, then add butter and pulse until mixture is a coarse meal. Set aside about 2/3 cup, then press the rest into the bottom of the pan. Bake for 10 minutes to set crust.

Filling: Mix the sugar, sour cream, flour, vanilla, lemon juice and salt together in a bowl. Add the blueberries and stir to coat. Spread over crust. Sprinkle reserved topping and pecans (if using) over filling. Bake for 30 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. Chill for an hour, then lift foil from pan and cut into 12 (16) bars.

Clouds of Sugar

It's that time again. That time of them month...you know, when hundreds of bloggers post the same recipe, maybe with different variations and different styles, but the same base. Yep, it's Daring Baker time. The July Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Nicole at Sweet Tooth. She chose Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies and Milan Cookies from pastry chef Gale Gand of the Food Network. In my slowly becoming sleep deprived brain, I thought it was a week later than it was and decided I'd make these for a wedding shower at work...that happens July 30! Oh, well! Because of my call schedule, I had to break this process up into parts. I made the dough one day and put it in the refrigerator. This was pretty easy, though I was concerned that the dough was a bit too sticky. The refrigeration didn't really help that either. When it came to making the marshmallow, I decided to change things up a bit....one change was purposeful, the other was accidental! I didn't have any corn syrup and didn't want to make a trip to the store to buy any, so I substituted cream of tartar (which google says you can do!). The accidental change was my omission of the gelatin, which I DID actually have! ANOTHER mistake I made was putting the marshmallow on before I cooked the cookies...which I thought was how I was supposed to do it. None of these mistakes really made a bad effect on the outcome. I wasn't bowled over by the results BUT my parents really liked them. After a long weekend of moving apartments, my parents discovered these treats and dug in. My dad said, "Oh, yeah!" He really liked the combo of all the different ingredients. His suggestion was to add some peanut butter under the marshmallow or even use cappucino chips (melted) to cover the whole thing. Overall, this was a pretty simple challenge, especially when broken up into separate steps on different days. Thanks, Nicole! If you want to see more results go here.

Mallows(Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies)
Recipe courtesy Gale Gand, from Food Network website

Prep Time: 10 min
Inactive Prep Time: 5 min
Cook Time: 10 min
Serves: about 2 dozen cookies

• 3 cups (375grams/13.23oz) all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup (112.5grams/3.97oz) white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 12 tablespoons (170grams/ 6 oz) unsalted butter
• 3 eggs, whisked together (oops...I just put them in without whisking)
• Homemade marshmallows, recipe follows
• Chocolate glaze, recipe follows

1. In a mixer with the paddle attachment, blend the dry ingredients.
2. On low speed, add the butter and mix until sandy.
3. Add the eggs and mix until combine.
4. Form the dough into a disk, wrap with clingfilm or parchment and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 3 days.
5. When ready to bake, grease a cookie sheet or line it with parchment paper or a silicon mat.
6. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
7. Roll out the dough to 1/8-inch thickness, on a lightly floured surface. Use a 1 to 1 1/2 inches cookie cutter to cut out small rounds of dough.
8. Transfer to the prepared pan and bake for 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Let cool to room temperature. (Oops! Baked AFTER adding the marshmallow topping)
9. Pipe a “kiss” of marshmallow onto each cookie. Let set at room temperature for 2 hours.
10. Line a cookie sheet with parchment or silicon mat.
11. One at a time, gently drop the marshmallow-topped cookies into the hot chocolate glaze.
12. Lift out with a fork and let excess chocolate drip back into the bowl.
13. Place on the prepared pan and let set at room temperature until the coating is firm, about 1 to 2 hours.

Note: if you don’t want to make your own marshmallows, you can cut a large marshmallow in half and place on the cookie base. Heat in a preheated 350-degree oven to slump the marshmallow slightly, it will expand and brown a little. Let cool, then proceed with the chocolate dipping.

Homemade marshmallows:
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup light corn syrup (1/2 tsp cream of tartar)
• 3/4 cup (168.76 grams/5.95oz) sugar
• 1 tablespoon powdered gelatin (omitted accidentally)
• 2 tablespoons cold water (omitted accidentally)
• 2 egg whites , room temperature
• 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. In a saucepan, combine the water, corn syrup, and sugar, bring to a boil until “soft-ball” stage, or 235 degrees on a candy thermometer.
2. Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water and let dissolve.
3. Remove the syrup from the heat, add the gelatin, and mix.
4. Whip the whites until soft peaks form and pour the syrup into the whites.
5. Add the vanilla and continue whipping until stiff.
6. Transfer to a pastry bag.

Chocolate glaze:
• 12 ounces semisweet chocolate
• 2 ounces cocoa butter or vegetable oil

Microwave chocolate chips and oil for 40 seconds, stir and repeat until melted and smooth.

Mini Call

Typically, as an intern on call you don't get much sleep because you are the one the nurses call when they need anything...this child has a fever, this kid's chest is hurting but it's been hurting since they came in, so and so has a rash after antibiotics but this is the sixth dose, etc. Most of the time you don't have to leave the lounge BUT you do have to wake up, get up, and call the floor. Anyway, my second call, I don't think I had a single floor call after midnight...AWESOME! (Just so you know...that hasn't happened since!) Who knows, maybe this "mini" call was due to the mini-cookies I took. Emily, the amazing teen baker, created some cookies for her sister's birthday and I thought they looked delicious. So, I tried them out for the on-call treat. They were perfectly soft and moist but not at all cakey. The perfect cookie. I REALLY love using browned butter...it totally adds to the flavor of the cookie. In fact, at some point I have an original recipe from me (!) coming up that uses browned butter. Anyway, I think that a great addition would be some toasted nuts but these cookies were great as is. I used caramel-chocolate swirled chips for a little something special. Try them out for yourself! (Sorry about the poor picture quality!) Mini Peanut Butter-Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies (Recipe by Me)

Ingredients:
1/4 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups quick oats
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup caramel-chocolate swirled chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease cookie sheets.

Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat; continue to cook the butter, whisking frequently, until it starts to brown and foam, about 2-3 minutes. Set aside for 10 minutes (I was impatient and didn't wait...it worked anyway).

In a large mixing bowl, using a mixer on medium speed, beat together brown sugar and peanut butter until creamy, about 1 minute; beat in browned butter until combined. Beat in egg and vanilla until combined. Pour dry ingredients on top of this and lightly stir them together, then reduce mixer speed to low and beat in oat mixture until combined; stir in chocolate chips.

Roll tablespoons (I used about 1/2 tablespoon and got 4 dozen) of dough into balls, place on cookie sheets, and flatten slightly. Bake for 6-8 minutes or until golden brown around edges. Transfer to wire racks to cool.

Makes 4 dozen mini cookies (I got 4 dozen using 1/2 Tablespoon...I measured just to be sure.)

Resident Eating...or How it SHOULD Be!

You get pretty worn out on wards with Q4 call. My most recent call was particularly taxing. I didn't get any sleep and almost had two breakdowns...once early morning when the call I received was totally confusing and next at about 6:15 when the elevator I got in just stopped! I walked up when the doors finally opened! Anyway, with such a tiring schedule it's really important to eat well and healthfully. I found this recipe in Eating Well and made it a month or so ago. At first I wasn't sure how chickpeas would be but it turned out great. The vegetable protein is especially healthy as well since it can help reduce cholesterol. I made couscous to serve with it. I think when I make it again I'll probably increase the amount of tomatoes and maybe okra in it. Even if you're unsure, I suggest you at least try it.

Okra and Chickpea Tagine from Eating Well

1 pound fresh or frozen okra, stem ends trimmed, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
10 sprigs fresh cilantro, plus more leaves for garnish
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 red bell pepper, finely diced
1 medium onion, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
3 plum tomatoes, diced, or 1 cup drained canned diced tomatoes
1/2 cup vegetable broth or reduced-sodium chicken broth
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 15-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed
3/4 teaspoon salt

1. Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Add okra and cook for 2 minutes (I cooked for a little longer because my okra was frozen). This is like blanching it, so place in ice water if you like (Eating Well said to do this). Drain.
2. Tie cilantro sprigs together with kitchen string.
3. Heat oil in a tagine dish set over a heat diffuser or a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add bell pepper. Cook, stirring, until soft, 2 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl with a slotted spoon.
4. Add onion, garlic, ginger and pepper to the pan. Cook, stirring, until the onion is soft, 3 to 6 minutes. Mix in tomatoes, broth, cumin, the okra, cilantro sprigs and half the bell pepper. Reduce heat to medium; partially cover. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the okra is soft, 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in chickpeas and salt; cook for 4 minutes. Remove from the heat; discard the cilantro sprigs. Serve sprinkled with the remaining bell pepper and cilantro leaves, if desired.

NUTRITION INFORMATION: Per serving: 136 calories; 6 g fat (1 g sat, 4 g mono); 0 mg cholesterol; 20 g carbohydrate; 5 g protein; 7 g fiber; 443 mg sodium; 389 mg potassium.
Nutrition bonus: Vitamin C (80% daily value), Vitamin A (25% dv), Folate (20% dv).
1 Carbohydrate Serving

New Beginnings

I have officially written my first order (and many more) and signed it with an M.D. behind it...that means my order is official, no one has to sign behind me. My first day on the job was Wednesday and I had the privilege of being the intern on call that night...meaning that I got to work at 7:30 and left at 1:30 the next day, all with 1.5 hours of non-consecutive sleep and dinner at 1:30 am! It sounds horrible but I guess it's not that bad. I'm doing what I love (really!) and I guess your adrenaline gets going and you're able to do it. By 1:30 I wasn't even really hungry but I had already ALMOST made a mistake in an order and knew my brain and body needed fuel. After that 30 hours on you just come home take a nap, wake up do about one thing productive, eat, and go back to sleep! Today I took another nap and feel great...I do it all again on Sunday!

Just as I did when a medical student, I will be trying to take on-call snacks...so be on the look out. AND if you have any ideas for a good treat for young docs up all night, let me know...I'll pick some to try and then post about them here! In honor of my new step in life, I decided to let you in on a new peanut butter cookie recipe that I came up with. It ended up having a kind of sandy (as in pecan sandy) texture...which I like. The cinnamon chips add a different dimension and the peanut butter chips heighten the peanut butter flavor. I don't really think that chocolate chips taste quite right in these (it's just not the same) but if you can't find cinnamon chips (Hersey's makes them) then either increase the peanut butter chips or add you choice of chips. Cinnamon Chip Peanut Butter Cookies
1 stick butter/margarine
1 cup PB
½ cup turbinado sugar (this gives it a little crunch and texture...SO good!)
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 ½ cups whole wheat flour (I used the King Arthur white whole wheat...a little less grainy in cookies OR use whole wheat pastry flour)
½ cup AP flour (or cake flour…I used White Lily)
1 tsp baking soda
2/3 cup cinnamon chips
½ cup peanut butter chips

Preheat over to 350. Cream butter and peanut butter together. When light, add sugars. Mix. When well incorporated, add egg. When this is well mixed add the dry ingredients. Mix. Stir in chips. Place on baking stones or sheet in tablespoon sized scoops. Bake for 9-11 minutes or until done. After removing from oven, "tap" slightly with the back of a spoon or cookie scoop to SLIGHTLY flatten.

A History Lesson

History was NOT my favorite subject in school; in fact, I don't really like it that much...but my favorite teacher was my AP US History teacher. This month's challenge came with a history lesson, and I must admit that I didn't read it all! However, I will give you a little of the background.

The June Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Annemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar. They chose a Traditional (UK) Bakewell Tart... er... pudding that was inspired by a rich baking history dating back to the 1800's in England. This tart, like many of the world's great foods has its own mythic beginnings…or several mythic beginnings. Legend has it in 1820 (or was it in the 1860s?) Mrs. Greaves, landlady of The White Horse Inn in Bakewell, Derbyshire (England), asked her cook to produce a pudding for her guests. Either her instructions could have been clearer or he should have paid better attention to what she said because what he made was not what she asked for. The cook spread the jam on top of the frangipane mixture rather than the other way around. Or maybe instead of a sweet rich shortcrust pastry case to hold the jam for a strawberry tart, he made a regular pastry and mixed the eggs and sugar separately and poured that over the jam—it depends upon which legend you follow. Regardless of which story you believe, the diners loved it and an ensuing pastry-clad industry was born. The town of Bakewell has since played host to many a sweet tooth in hopes of tasting the tart in its natural setting. I always like when I can share my Daring Baker challenges with my family. For the second month in a row I got to do that as I went home, probably for the last time until Thanksgiving, for Father's Day. Since it was Father's Day I wanted to use flavors my dad chose...of course, he said he'd eat whatever I made, so I just made good suggestions! ;-) At first I was going to do half Nutella and half raspberry but we decided to do both on the whole pie (NOTE: I did Nutella to please my brother...who ended up not eating it because he "doesn't eat" nuts. Oh well.). I love the way the chocolate and raspberry looks in the crust...I could have just eaten the pie like that without the frangipane. I put the pie in the oven while we watched The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (which is SO sad!). When my timer went off I immediately took the pie out and didn't even think to check it because the crust and top was SO brown. WELL, fastforward to Sunday after lunch. I cut into the pie and it's quite soupy. Ugh! So, I put it back into the oven for probably 10-15 minutes. It did firm up and cook but I still don't think it was quite like it should have been. My dad really enjoyed it. His comment was that it was rich but really good. He loved the raspberries. I liked the raspberries but was a little disappointed with the texture of the frangipane. I ground my own almonds and didn't have a food processor...I was using my mom's "Oscar." It just didn't quite get as fine as I would have liked and left more of a nut texture that I thought it should have had. Overall this was a yummy dessert. I had never heard of it before and am glad that I've tried it. If you want to see more challenge results go here.

Sweet shortcrust pastry

Prep time: 15-20 minutes
Resting time: 30 minutes (minimum)
Equipment needed: bowls, box grater, cling film

225g (8oz) all purpose flour
30g (1oz) sugar
2.5ml (½ tsp) salt
110g (4oz) unsalted butter, cold (frozen is better)
2 (2) egg yolks
2.5ml (½ tsp) almond extract (optional - I didn't use)
15-30ml (1-2 Tbsp) cold water

Sift together flour, sugar and salt. Grate butter into the flour mixture, using the large hole-side of a box grater. Using your finger tips only, and working very quickly, rub the fat into the flour until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Set aside.

Lightly beat the egg yolks with the almond extract (if using) and quickly mix into the flour mixture. Keep mixing while dribbling in the water, only adding enough to form a cohesive and slightly sticky dough.

Form the dough into a disc, wrap in cling and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes

Frangipane

Prep time: 10-15 minutes
Equipment needed: bowls, hand mixer, rubber spatula

125g (4.5oz) unsalted butter, softened
125g (4.5oz) icing sugar
3 (3) eggs
2.5ml (½ tsp) almond extract (I didn't use this)
125g (4.5oz) ground almonds
30g (1oz) all purpose flour

Cream butter and sugar together for about a minute or until the mixture is primrose in colour and very fluffy. Scrape down the side of the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. The batter may appear to curdle. In the words of Douglas Adams: Don’t panic. Really. It’ll be fine. After all three are in, pour in the almond extract and mix for about another 30 seconds and scrape down the sides again. With the beaters on, spoon in the ground nuts and the flour. Mix well. The mixture will be soft, keep its slightly curdled look (mostly from the almonds) and retain its pallid yellow colour.

Place the chilled dough disc on a lightly floured surface. If it's overly cold, you will need to let it become acclimatised for about 15 minutes before you roll it out. Flour the rolling pin and roll the pastry to 5mm (1/4”) thickness, by rolling in one direction only (start from the centre and roll away from you), and turning the disc a quarter turn after each roll. When the pastry is to the desired size and thickness, transfer it to the tart pan, press in and trim the excess dough. Patch any holes, fissures or tears with trimmed bits. Chill in the freezer for 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 200C/400F.

Remove shell from freezer, spread as even a layer as you can of jam onto the pastry base. Top with frangipane, spreading to cover the entire surface of the tart. Smooth the top and pop into the oven for 30 minutes. Five minutes before the tart is done, the top will be poofy and brownish. Remove from oven and strew flaked almonds on top and return to the heat for the last five minutes of baking.

The finished tart will have a golden crust and the frangipane will be tanned, poofy and a bit spongy-looking. Remove from the oven and cool on the counter. Serve warm, with crème fraîche, whipped cream or custard sauce if you wish.

When you slice into the tart, the almond paste will be firm, but slightly squidgy and the crust should be crisp but not tough.

Summer Muffins

My favorite flowers, unfortunately, are tulips! I say unfortunately because I can't seem to get fresh tulips to last longer than two days, which makes me sad. Anyway, when I was in Hobby Lobby several months back I found a tulip cookie cutter that I thought was too cute...so I bought it! I haven't made any cookies with it, but a few weeks after that I found this muffin recipe at Jenny's site. It sounded good to me but I wanted to do something different. Hmmm...so instead to making muffins, I cooked this in two 8X8 pans and cut them out with my tulip cookie cutter. They turned out cute and VERY tasty! They are nice and moist without being mushy. They are the perfect summer muffins because of the berries...which are pretty inexpensive (at least in MS) right now. Jenny put a glaze on hers, which I know would be delicious...what isn't good with a glaze!? Peanut Butter and Berry Flowers adapted from Picky Palate
1/2 Cup white whole wheat flour
1/2 Cup all purpose flour
1/2 Cup oatmeal
1/4 Cup granulated sugar
1/4 Cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 mashed banana
1/2 Cup peanut butter
1 Cup buttermilk
2 Tablespoons melted butter
6 oz berries - I used blackberries and strawberries (be careful with strawberries because they will add extra moisture)

Glaze (optional)
1 1/2 Cups powdered sugar
3-4 Tablespoons heavy cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place both flours, oatmeal, sugars, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a large bowl. In a separate bowl mix the banana, peanut butter, buttermilk and butter until smooth. Add dry ingredients into wet ingredients until just combined. Slowly stir in berries. Spoon batter into greased 8X8 pans (2) or muffin tins. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean from center (be sure to check...I'm unsure of the actual time I cooked these). Let cool completely. Remove from pans and use whatever cookie cutter you want to use (or just cut into squares) to cut into individual pieces. If making glaze, whisk powdered sugar and heavy cream until smooth. Dip each piece into glaze and let dry.

April Fools!

Oh wait...it's not April, it's June! Oh, well! Before we start....WARNING: This is NOT a cookie post!! I seem to find that my comments (not that there are that many to start with) drop off when I post a "real food" recipe. Well, I still must do it. In fact, I have some yummy "real food" things coming up, so just get ready! Now, I'm not a big fan of mashed potatoes. Just not what I would choose. I think they taste a little dry to me. I don't know! Anyway...sometimes, though, you just need that little mound of white, soft goodness. So, what to do? Make mashed cauliflower! Yep! It really works. I have seen this in several different places and was a little skeptical about it but decided to try it anyway. SO good! The key to this is pureeing ("mashing") the cauliflower for long enough and seasoning it well. I've made this three times and this last time was the best! I used sea salt and vegetable broth this time. I don't know which made the difference but it was delicious! It even tastes like mashed potatoes...though there is a bit of a different flavor, it's not overwhelmingly cauliflower. Try it sometime! Mashed Cauliflower
1 head of cauliflower, steamed until soft
seasonings: I used sea salt
broth (I used vegetable...you could use cream if you wanted to)

When the cauliflower is steamed, place it in a food processor. Turn the processor on. When the cauliflower "gets stuck," open the food processor and move the pieces around so that the blades can reach the big pieces. Once it starts to appear "mashed" add the seasonings and start adding the broth (or liquid of your choice). Keep adding until it reaches the desired consistency. You may have to open and reposition the cauliflower several times. Serve alongside anything you'd serve with mashed potatoes. You can even top with cheese. Mmmm!

Toffee Taste without the Toffee Tug

This past weekend my mom's family had our reunion. It's always fun and we are currently adding new members just about every year. My cousin's little boy has autism as well as some food allergies, so his diet is limited. Friday night she decided to make a meal for all of us that he could it. It was pretty good...taquitos, guacamole, and salad. On Saturday we usually grill out. However, everyone is responsible to bring a sweet and salty snack to share. I took hummus for my salty along with carrots and broccoli. I actually took two sweet snacks...puppy chow, just like Cate made last week, and a yummy new recipe from Peabody. When I saw the recipe I wondered why she had called them toffee bars. There wasn't any toffee in there. Nope...none of that crunchy, tooth tugging, cavity forming goodness. Hmmm...WELL! When I tasted it, I knew why. It TASTED like toffee. So good. I thought it tasted better cold (as I tasted it after pulling it out of the freezer). So, if you love toffee but have braces or TMJ issues or don't want to damage your dental work...or if you just love toffee, give these a try! So good!
Brown Sugar Toffee Bars adapted from Peabody

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup rice flour
¼ tsp salt
1 cup semiweet chocolate chips
3 ounces almonds, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 325°F. Spray baking spray in a 9-x-13-inch pan. Beat 1 cup butter in large bowl until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add brown sugar and beat on medium high until fully incorporated. Turn mixer to low speed and mix in flours and salt. Press dough into prepared pan. It is a bit thin but will cover the pan easily. Bake until shortbread is brown, firm at edges and slightly soft in center, about 30 minutes.

Take shortbread out of oven. Sprinkle chocolate chips evenly over the shortbread. Place back in oven for 3 minutes. Remove from oven and using a spatula, spread the chocolate out evenly over the shortbread. Sprinkle the almond pieces on top of the chocolate. Let cool. Place in freezer for 10 minutes (helps with the cutting). Cut into rectangles about the size of graham cracker rectangles (the smallest size of the graham cracker).

Get This Outa My House!

Sometimes, I just get where I want to bake something. I have no reason to bake and I don't have family nearby, so I'm not baking for my husband or children (or parents). But when the baking bug hits, sometimes you just have to do it! So, a couple of weeks ago, I decided to try a new recipe from Baking Blonde. For some reason, I think that recipes that use sweetened condensed milk are fun. So, when I saw this recipe I knew I had to try it...plus, it has peanut butter and oatmeal! I used crunchy peanut butter and LOVED the way the nuts felt and added to the flavor, it was really toasty tasting. Also, I ran out of oatmeal, so I added some wheat bran to cover for that. This also added to the nutty taste. These bars were REALLY good! That's why I had to "get this outa my house." I ended up taking the bars to a pediatric department picnic. They were all eaten except for one bar...good job everyone! Apparently, I have been deemed the cooking resident! I'll take it. :-)

Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Dream Bars adapted from Bakingblonde

1 cup melted butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups Quick Cooking oatmeal (NOT instant)
1/2 cup wheat bran

1 1/2 cups flour

1/3 cup peanut butter (calls for 1/2 cup but 1/3 is what I had)

1 can sweetened condensed milk

2/3 cup peanut butter chips
2/3 cup Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 350. Line a 9×13 pan with tin foil (or wax paper) and spray lighlty with PAM.

In a medium mixing bowl, stir together melted butter, sugar, soda, oatmeal, flour & salt until it’s crumbly (mine wasn't crumbly...maybe the lack of oatmeal had something to do with that). Set aside about 1 cup or a little more. Press the rest of the crust into prepared pan. Bake crust for 10 minutes.

While crust is cooking, in a small bowl, stir together the peanut butter and sweetened condensed milk. Once crust has baked, evenly pour and spread peanut butter filling over the baked crust. Be gentle so you don’t pull up the warm crust while you spread the filling. Evenly sprinkle the reserved crumbs on top of the peanut butter and sweetened condensed milk mixture. Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, remove from oven and sprinkle the chips evenly over the top. Return to oven to bake for another 5-10 minutes or until topping is light golden brown and candy bars/chips are melting. Cool. Enjoy!

So Corny!

They say you learn everything from your parents. In general, you usually look like your parents. You probably talk a lot like your parents. Your humor...in my case, unfortunately...from your parents! You see, my dad's sense of humor is quite, shall we say, corny! Lots of puns, which can go on for many, many minutes! And because I got this sense of humor, my jokes are often corny or not understood. For instance, though you might get this because it involves a knowledge of food: What happened when the nurse accidentally gave the little boy a borscht infusion? Wait for it, wait for it....I said wait for it! Anyway, you also tend to get eating habits from your parents. When I was growing up, we had a typical Saturday lunch...peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with fritos and salsa. Sometimes we'd have banana, sometimes carrot sticks (okay, rarely carrot stick). My dad's favorite chip is the frito. So, when I saw these cookies, I really wanted to try them. I had seen them on Oatmeal Cookie Guy's site and then, the recipe I actually used, on Anna's site. They have lots of stuff in them and you can really customize them for what you want or have on hand. Unfortunately, I don't keep any of the chips on hand, so I had to purchase them specifically for this. I used fritos and pretzel sticks. (You can see both in this picture) These were good though I think it would have been better to use regular pretzels or the potato chips. My dad liked them but said he couldn't taste the fritos much. I think it was kind of fun to be eating the cookie and then all of a sudden get the "essence" of frito. Kind of made you stop and think...and I don't think much when I'm eating a cookie...unless I'm in a meeting, like I was today. But that's beside the point, mine got a bit dry more quickly than I like...but were still a good and fun cookie. Try them out sometime. Oh, and the answer to my joke..."his heart skipped a BEET!" :-) (That came from last one of our chief residents from last year, Maggie.) Compost Cookies adapted from Oatmeal Cookie Guy

1 1/2 sticks butter

3/4 cup dark brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

1 egg

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 cup oatmeal

1 cup flour

1 cup roughly crushed pretzels

1 cup roughly crushed Fritos

1/2 cup peanut butter chips

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 350º. Cream together butter and sugars. Add egg and mix until well incorporate. In a large mixing bowl, stir the dry ingredients (including baking chips) together. Slowly mix the dry ingredients in with the creamed mixture. Mix until evenly combined. Shape dough into ball or use a cookie scoop to scoop onto a pan. Place dough balls about 2 inches apart on baking stone or cookie sheet. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.

Dangerous Layers

When summer begins it gets kind of sad in the college department. Most of the students are either home for the summer or doing summer missions somewhere. However, we do have some people who stick around for summer school or come home from other colleges. So, a few weeks ago we had a summer kick-off grill out. The church provided the hamburgers, etc but teachers we asked to bring dessert. I knew that there would be chocolate chip cookies and brownies, so I decided to take something a bit different. There was a brownie that I have had before that is kind of a rocky road brownie but it has a chocolate base. Well, I found this slightly different recipe on Peabody's site (for full recipe, click on the word recipe) and combined the top of that with the browned butter blondies from cooking light. Turned out great! First off, the blondies don't EVEN taste like they come from CL. The browned butter really deepens the flavor. They combined perfectly with the peanutbutter, chocolate, marshmallow topping. PLEASE, just be sure that you label these are having peanut butter. I walked in from somewhere else and found one of the ladies checking her son's stomach...he's allergic and had taken a bite of these! He was fine, benadryl allergy fixed it. I felt horrible but she said they knew there was peanut butter b/c they smelled it, just didn't realize what it was in. Yikes! SO glad I didn't have to pull out my doctor's bag...they had an Epi-Pen Jr. in case it was needed. Despite that, these are a great treat and I recommend them!

Butterscotch Blondies

2 cups all-purpose flour (about 9 ounces)
2 1/2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoon unsalted butter
3/4 cup egg substitute
Cooking spray

Topping Ingredients (from Peabody):
7 ounces mini marshmallows
1 ½ cups milk chocolate chips
1 cup peanut butter
1 TBSP unsalted butter
1 ½ cups Rice Krispies

Preheat oven to 350°.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.

Place butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Cook for 6 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring occasionally. Pour into a small bowl, and cool for 10 minutes. Combine butter and egg substitute, stirring with a whisk. Pour butter mixture over flour mixture; stir just until moistened. Spoon batter into a 13 x 9-inch baking pan coated with cooking spray; smooth top with spatula. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Serving size - 2 squares (1/24 of recipe) Calories:170 (without topping)

Remove the blondies from the oven, and immediately sprinkle the marshmallows over them. Return the pan to the oven for 3 more minutes.
While the brownies are baking, place the chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter in a medium saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until melted (or melt all in the microwave using 30-45 second intervals, stirring in between...that's what I did). Remove from heat, add the cereal,and mix well. Allow this to cool for 3 minutes or so.
Spread the mixture evenly over the marshmallow layer. Refrigerate until chilled before cutting. Makes 12 3×3-inch bars.

Simply Strudel

I always get excited when I know that I'll have people to share my Daring Baker challenges with. This month, I was able to share the strudel with my family when they came for my graduation! The May Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Linda of make life sweeter! and Courtney of Coco Cooks. They chose Apple Strudel from the recipe book Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague by Rick Rodgers. After we went to lunch on Friday, I came back to my apartment and quickly put together a little dessert strudel while some of my family ran errands. I made the dough the night before and let it sit overnight as was suggested on one of the forums. One thing that frustrated me about the dough was the stickiness of it. The instructions say to knead it for 10-15 minutes...well, I couldn't knead it at all it was so sticky. However, I didn't want to put too much flour in it, so I quit kneading. Don't think it hurt the dough. When it came to stretching the dough, I split it into two pieces because I didn't have enough room to do it in one big piece. Surprisingly, it stretched fairly easily; though, I did have a hard time getting the dough on the edge to be thin, which resulted in thick pieces on the end. For the filling, I used what I had available...strawberries and chocolate. I simply sprinkled cinnamon on the dough after spreading some butter over it. I used oatmeal instead of bread crumbs...because I didn't have bread crumbs! Then I just put defrosted TN strawberries and chocolate chips on the dough and rolled. I think that was my favorite part...rolling! Unfortunately, the juices from the strawberries seeped out of the strudel. I did put too much chocolate in the pastry, which my dad commented on..."Next time it needs more fruit and less chocolate" and my brother responded with, "Fruit, what fruit" (knowing full well there were strawberries in there!). For the other half of the dough I scrambled some eggs, crisped some bacon, and tossed it all together with some cheese. The pastry for this one was a bit tough and the eggs got a little tough as well...I'm sure this is from being cooked twice. Probably would have been better to undercook the eggs a little first and then bake it. Overall, both of these were very good! The dough was easy to make (surprisingly) and was fun to put together. If I made this again, I think that I would like to try a spanikopita-like filling with spinach and feta or maybe roasted veggies with feta. Yum! Thanks for a great challenge, Linda and Courtney. Check out more results here. Here is the recipe for the dough and the instructions on how to fill. I'm not posting the apple filling since that's not what I used.

Strudel dough
from “Kaffeehaus – Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague” by Rick Rodgers

1 1/3 cups (200 g) unbleached flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons (105 ml) water, plus more if needed
2 tablespoons (30 ml) vegetable oil, plus additional for coating the dough
1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar

1. Combine the flour and salt in a stand-mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix the water, oil and vinegar in a measuring cup. Add the water/oil mixture to the flour with the mixer on low speed. You will get a soft dough. Make sure it is not too dry, add a little more water if necessary.
Take the dough out of the mixer. Change to the dough hook. Put the dough ball back in the mixer. Let the dough knead on medium until you get a soft dough ball with a somewhat rough surface.

2. Take the dough out of the mixer and continue kneading by hand on an unfloured work surface. Knead for about 2 minutes. Pick up the dough and throw it down hard onto your working surface occasionally.
Shape the dough into a ball and transfer it to a plate. Oil the top of the dough ball lightly. Cover the ball tightly with plastic wrap. Allow to stand for 30-90 minutes (longer is better).

3. It would be best if you have a work area that you can walk around on all sides like a 36 inch (90 cm) round table or a work surface of 23 x 38 inches (60 x 100 cm). Cover your working area with table cloth, dust it with flour and rub it into the fabric. Put your dough ball in the middle and roll it out as much as you can.
Pick the dough up by holding it by an edge. This way the weight of the dough and gravity can help stretching it as it hangs. Using the back of your hands to gently stretch and pull the dough. You can use your forearms to support it.

4. The dough will become too large to hold. Put it on your work surface. Leave the thicker edge of the dough to hang over the edge of the table. Place your hands underneath the dough and stretch and pull the dough thinner using the backs of your hands. Stretch and pull the dough until it's about 2 feet (60 cm) wide and 3 feet (90 cm) long, it will be tissue-thin by this time. Cut away the thick dough around the edges with scissors. The dough is now ready to be filled.

5. Put the rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a large baking sheet with baking paper (parchment paper). Make the strudel dough as described above. Spread about 3 tablespoons (I used about 2) of melted butter over the dough using your hands (a bristle brush could tear the dough, you could use a special feather pastry brush instead of your hands). Sprinkle the buttered dough with bread crumbs. Spread the filling about 3 inches (8 cm) from the short edge of the dough in a 6-inch-(15cm)-wide strip.

4. Fold the short end of the dough onto the filling. Lift the tablecloth at the short end of the dough so that the strudel rolls onto itself. Transfer the strudel to the prepared baking sheet by lifting it. Curve it into a horseshoe to fit. Tuck the ends under the strudel.

5. Bake the strudel for about 30 minutes or until it is deep golden brown. Cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing. Use a serrated knife and serve either warm or at room temperature. It is best on the day it is baked.

Dr. Claire

This past Thursday, my family came into town to attend my long coat ceremony. For four years I've been wearing the well known short coat of a medical student. It's one of the ways they distinguish us from the residents and attendings. So, this ceremony is a pretty exciting time! It's when we finally get that coat...with our names embroidered above the pocket with that all important "M.D." following it! (Yes, mine will have to be tailored!) I had a great time, even though my best friend and I were at mirror image tables (i.e., ALL the way across the banquet hall from each other at the same table). The food left something to be desired. The salad was your typical iceberg with feta/bleu cheese (not sure which), bacon, and (depending on your bowl...mine had none!) tomatoes. For the entree we had chicken cordon bleu (not stuffed but with ham melted to the chicken by cheese), about half of a red potato, and squash. Dessert was either carrot cake (which was pretty good) or chocolate cake (which was SOOO rich...I barely had a taste). Despite the lack of exceptional food (it was hotel food) it was a wonderful evening. One of the best times was when they had all of us stand up after receiving our long coats. It really hit me then that my class had done it, we were all doctors! Pretty cool! The next day was my official graduation. We had to get there an hour and a half before it started (WHY? Please, tell me why!) and then sit through all the other schools being announced as the medical school was next to last. However, then we were all hooded with the lovely green that designates a medical doctor. Do I feel different? Not really, until someone calls me Dr. Claire...then it's kind of weird. After graduation we went to a new restaurant called Mint. It was a cute little southern place with sandwiches and seafood. The food was pretty good outside of the french fries. I got a portabello sandwich. I enjoyed it but there was just a bit too much goat cheese for me. Daddy had the shrimp po-boy. The shrimp was brought in that day and hand breaded in the restaurant, so I'm sure it was great. Mama had the roasted chicken quesadilla with watermelon salsa. I didn't get much feedback on that one but I think it was pretty good (not as good as Daddy's crawfish quesadilla the next night!). Philip got the butter burger with fried pickles on it. He ate it all, so I'm sure it was good. Finally, Aunt Betty, who came all the way from Houston to see me graduate, had the green plate special (b/c of Mint) which was roast beef, greens, and Hoppin' John salad. She seemed to like the salad part the best. Cute place...I'd try it again sometime. It was a GREAT weekend and now my blog address is TRUE! Cookie DOC! :-)