healthy oatmeal cookies

To the great delight and enjoyment of my darling apartment-roommate, Julianna, and boyfriend (Drew), today was a great baking day.

The morning started off with a batch of pumpkin spice scones (thank you, King Arthur Flour!). While they were not Martha (nor were they from-scratch.. shhh! If it's KA, it's ok!), the evening did bring an attempt at a new MS recipe: healthy oatmeal cookies.

Ingredients

Makes 18 to 20

1/2 cup whole-wheat flour (spooned and leveled)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup packed dark-brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup rolled oats (not quick-cooking)
1/2 cup dried currants or raisins (I used chocolate chips!)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together flours and baking powder; set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together oil, sugar, egg, and vanilla. Add flour mixture, and stir to combine; mix in oats and currants.
Using two tablespoons of dough per cookie, roll into balls; place on two baking sheets lined with parchment paper, 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake until lightly browned, 15 to 17 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through.
Cool 5 minutes on sheets, then transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature, up to 5 days.

Results: Yummy. A little health-food tasting, but not bad. Both Julianna and Drew had at least three. Perfect with a shot of milk.

umbrella sugar cookies (the best i've ever had)

Ok, so yeah. My escapades in trial MS sugar cookies haven't just started with this project, so I figured I'd go ahead and discuss them.

These are seriously (by FAR!) the best sugar cookies I have ever made.
And trust me, I have experimented through the entirety of allrecipes.com "soft sugar cookie" versions I-X, as well as countless versions found in magazines, cookbooks, family secrets... you get the point.

These surpass all.

Umbrella Sugar Cookies

courtesy of marthastewart.com

Ingredients
Makes about 30 cookies
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons ( 3/4 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cups granulated sugar, plus 2 additional tablespoons
2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped and reserved
Finely grated zest of 1/2 lemon
1 large egg
Fine sanding sugar, for sprinkling
2 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar
7 1/2 teaspoons meringue powder

Directions
Preheat oven to 375. Make the cookies: Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.
Put butter, granulated and confectioners' sugars, vanilla seeds, and zest into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Mix in egg. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in 3 batches; mix until combined.
Roll out dough between 2 pieces of floured parchment paper to 1/8 inch thick. Refrigerate until firm, about 45 minutes.
Remove parchment. Using a 3-inch umbrella cutter, cut out shapes. Reroll scraps, and cut out. Space cookies 2 inches apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake until pale golden, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool.
Make the royal icing: Put confectioners' sugar, meringue powder, and 1/4 cup water into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment; beat on low speed 10 minutes. Transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a small plain round tip.
Decorate each cookie with icing, and then immediately sprinkle with sanding sugar. (Leftover icing can be stored in an airtight container up to 2 days.)

Pictured from the batch I made for my dear friend's bridal shower tea luncheon (wedding bells, umbrellas, hearts, and dresses). They were eaten in record time.

plagiarism? naaah.

Okay, so yeah. This is totally ripping off the Julie/Julia Project and consequent blog, but as I've found, Martha Stewart and her wonderful recipes far outweigh anything Julia Child ever came up with (in terms of ease, accessibility to the modern cook, and practicality, not to mention pleasure to the modern palate). So in lieu of going through any particular recipe book (maybe that'll come later), I'm just browsing the incredible expanse of marthastewart.com.

Recipe 1: Blackberry Puffs

Ingredients

Makes 8 servings
All-purpose flour, for work surface
1 sheet puff pastry (1/2 of a 17.3-ounce package)
3 cups blackberries (12 ounces)
2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 cup mascarpone cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out pastry to a 10-by-12-inch rectangle. With a sharp knife, trim edges and cut pastry into eight 3-by-5-inch pieces. Place pastry on a large baking sheet and refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes.
Transfer sheet to oven and bake until pastry is puffed and golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool, then split each pastry horizontally.
In a bowl, mash blackberries and sugar with a fork until juicy but still chunky. Spread mascarpone on pastry bottoms. Top with blackberry mixture and pastry tops.

First published: July/August 2009



Results?? Perfection. Deliciousness. I used blackberries as well as raspberries, and they were heaven. The puff pastry was delicious (not too dry and flaky, just right), the mascarpone lended the perfect soft texture, and the berries were just sweet enough to balance everything.