Cookies of the Sanctum Sanctorum
For your eyes only.
…but feel free to share the cookies.
Christmas is almost here. I’ve done 22 days (or so) of holiday cookie-baking and have barely scratched the surface of what I want to bake.
Then there are the cookies I made earlier in the month, which the crazed hoards (my family) ate up. Halfway through the month I resorted to packing up cookies as soon as they were baked and stashing them in the freezer. I can’t even locate them now. I did find a pumpkin bread tho, from 2017.
I’d love to send you all boxes of cookies as a thank-you for being my first subscribers and to bribe you to keep coming back. We know how unreliable the postal service is these days, so instead I offer you some of my favorite recipes that I didn’t have time share.
**Also: Look for a special announcement this week. My podcast, The Secret Life of Cookies may debut. It would be an honor if you’d listen.
Peanut Butter Chocolate Brownies
Ingredients
For the Brownies
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
7 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour
For the Frosting:
1 cup peanut butter (I used smooth; don’t use natural peanut butter)
1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature (you should be able to touch it with your finger, leave a mark, but not leave a big indentation)
3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Ganache:
7 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup unsalted butter
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line a 13 x 9 x 2-inch metal baking pan with foil. Leave at least 5 inches of foil overhanging on the short ends of the pan. Spray with cooking spray, or carefully butter the foil.
Make the brownies:
In a large, heavy saucepan, heat 3/4 cup butter and both chocolates over low heat, stirring occasionally until smooth. Whisk in the sugar, vanilla and the salt. Add the eggs, one at a time, being sure to incorporate them completely. Fold in the flour.
Spread the batter in the prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs attached, about 30 minutes (bear in mind that every oven is different.) Let cool on a rack.
Make the icing:
Using a stand or hand mixer, beat peanut butter and 1/4 cup butter in a medium bowl until well-blended and no butter lumps remain. This may take some patience. Beat in the powdered sugar and salt. Then add the milk and the vanilla. Once the brownies are completely cool, spread the frosting over the brownies.
Make the chocolate ganache:
Melt the chocolate and 1/4 cup butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir occasionally until smooth. Drop spoonfuls of the chocolate all over the frosting and spread it evenly. Refrigerate it until set. Holding your aluminum foil “handles” gently pull the brownies from the pan. Cut the brownies into small squares. Eat them frozen, cold, or room temperature. Each has its merits.
Cinnamon Roll Pancakes
These pancakes are unlike any you've had before. Fluffy and light, they get crusted in bits of caramelized brown sugar. They taste as if a pancake married a piece of French toast. And, I suppose, a cinnamon bun.
This recipe contains whole wheat flour and wheat germ. It wouldn't be breakfast without a sprinkling of sanctimony. Nothing bad will happen if you substitute all-purpose flour for the whole wheat flour, or oat flour, or even finely milled almond flour. As for wheat germ, if you don’t have it, don’t rush out and buy it.
Feel free to leave off the icing if you want to be better than the rest of us. Either way, they are excrutiatingly good.
Ingredients
For the Pancakes
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder (scant)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 cups milk
2 large eggs
For the Cinnamon Filling
1/2 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon (or to taste)
For Cream Cheese Glaze
4 tablespoons butter
2 ounces cream cheese
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Make the Pancake Batter:
1. Whisk the dry ingredients together in a medium-sized bowl. Add the eggs, oil and milk, and whisk until the batter is nearly smooth. Pancake batter should have a few lumps in it. Set the batter aside and make the cinnamon roll filling and the glaze.
Make the Cinnamon Roll Filling :
1. Add the brown sugar and cinnamon to the melted butter and mix until all the lumps disappear (unlike the pancake batter!).
2. Pour the mixture into a zipper-lock bag, smooth the filling down to one of the corners and make sure all the air is out of the bag before you seal it. Snip a teeny bit of the corner off bag and voila! instant pastry bag.
Make the Cream Cheese Glaze:
1. Soften the butter for 15 seconds in the microwave and mash it together with the cream cheese until smooth. Stir in the powdered sugar and vanilla until well-blended and creamy.
Make the Pancakes:
1.Preheat a griddle or whatever pan you like to use. I spray mine with non-stick spray just before I add the pancakes, but you can also use a tablespoon of canola oil to grease the pan.
2. When the pan is hot, turn the heat under the pan to medium-low. Dollop pancake batter onto the pan, then decorate the top of each with a swirl of the cinnamon filling. When the pancakes look dry at the edges and begin to bubble, flip them and cook until lightly brown on the bottom.
3. Remove them to a serving plate and dollop each with a teaspoon of the glaze while they are still warm and let your family/guests/lone-self spread the icing.
I hope you all enjoy these. Thank you again for subscribing to my newsletter. It means so much to me. Take care of yourselves. Take care of each other. And eat cookies.