MangiaMore: WALNUT cookies

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RER 12.24.14

Like I said, we were trying some new cookie recipes for this Christmas holiday. In the past, I mentioned a super amazing math teacher that made cookies for us to eat during tests. For years after graduating high school we made almond cookies in effort to replicate those happy taste buds from our math teacher’s cookies. I may have also said that the almond variety we make is extremely similar to hers, but that is where I am very mistaken. We actually found the recipe she typed up on her typewriter and photocopied on very blue paper for all of the students in her classes.

RER 12.22.14

RER 12.22.14

RER 12.24.14

Miss Couturie’s White Walnut Cookies

aka: Viennese Crescents or Russian Tea Biscuits

adapted from the NY Times Cookbook

Grind, very fine, 1 cup walnut meats

Mix together well : ¾ cups granulated sugar

                                  2 sticks (1/2 pound) butter – at room temp is easier

                                  1 Tablespoon (or more to taste) genuine vanilla

Add the walnut meats and mix well.

Add a scant 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour and mix. Final part of mixing may need to be done by hand since dough can be crumbly.

Shape into balls or cubes and bake 8-12 minutes at 325 degrees on ungreased cookie sheet.

Allow to cool as they are fragile and move close together. Sift powdered sugar while still warm.     

Note: DO NOT OVERBAKE! To check for doneness, carefully look at the bottom— top should almost look “raw” but bottom should be no more than light golden.                                                                                                                                                            

RER 12.22.14

RER 12.22.14

RER 12.22.14

So this year, we tried out these cookies, word for word! They are delightful and are redolent of sweet memories while scratching quick math on color-coded sheets of paper. The generous amounts of powdered sugar speak to the sweet holidays and cold weather. These walnut-centric cookies are strikingly different in flavor from the almond ones we had grown accustomed to, but with similar buttery, crumbly textures, they are A-Okay for Santa.                                                                           

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12.22.14

RER 12.24.14

 

                                                                                                                               

MangiaMore: ZUCCHINI bread

RER 7.17.14

There’s nothing like seasonal summer produce, so alive that you don’t want the days to get shorter. Farmers’ markets are rainbows of grown goodies; favorite summer fruits like tangy strawberries, royal colored blueberries, and pretty plump peaches or warm weather vegetables like sweet corn, deep red beets, and mysterious eggplants. Each long to be consumed in any way, shape or form.

RER 7.16.14

RER 7.17.14

For us, summer means loaf after loaf of homemade zucchini bread. Once zucchini starts popping up at stores, it’s game on. We might have a legit problem; we can’t get enough of that subtly sweet, textured moist bread. Using this recipe, we make our zucchini bread like how we make our blondies— we toss in whatever deliciousness our hearts desire. 

RER 7.16.14

RER 7.17.14

I’ve made consecutive loaves, and I am planning to whip up more (though these are hopefully headed for the freezer.) Zucchini bread is wonderful all year round. A hint of cinnamon and nutmeg add warmth for the colder seasons, while the freshness of the green zucchini and coconut feel like sunlight. Tangy dried cranberries and meaty walnuts add unexpected turns in texture and taste. Just so much yum!

RER 7.16.14

 RER 7.16.14

I want to try a sweeter variety, like a cake dense with craisins and white chocolate chips, topped with a savory sweet cream cheese frosting. Or play up zucchini’s affinity for chocolate and stud the cake with chocolate chips and fleshy nuts. Maybe this week…

RER 7.16.14

RER 7.16.14

RER 7.16.14

How do you use fresh summer produce? A blueberry pie or strawberry shortcake perhaps? A pretty salad? Corn chowder, even? Time is running out for these seasonal goods, and I want to taste the rainbow. 

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7.16.14

RER 7.17.14