Tag Archives: Food

Lake House Cookies & Photos From the Lake

Posted on by Laurie

When I woke up this morning, I was craving these cookies, so after breakfast I made a batch. One good thing about running a bed and breakfast … having guests is always a great excuse to make cookies! After the recipe, I have included a photo of the cookies and pictures from my recent trip to the Adirondacks. Tomorrow, back to Kansas themes!

Lake House Cookies*

Makes about 28

Soft white chocolate chip cookies flavored with rum and studded with cranberries, coconut and walnuts. 

1 c. all-purpose flour (substitute white rice flour for gluten-free cookies or if you prefer crisper cookies)

3/4 t. baking powder

1/4 t. baking soda

1/4 t. salt

1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened

3/4 c. granulated white sugar

1 lg. egg

3/4 t. rum extract

5 oz. real white chocolate, chopped or 1 c. white chocolate chips

1/2 c. sweetened dried cranberries

1/2 c. sweetened flaked coconut

1/2 c. finely chopped walnuts

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper.
  2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
  3. In large bowl, beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and rum extract. On lowest mixer speed, beat in dry ingredients and then white chocolate, cranberries, coconut and walnuts.
  4. Scoop rounded tablespoonfuls of dough onto baking sheets leaving about 3” between cookies. Bake for about 12 to 14 minutes or until lightly browned on the bottoms and just barely set.  Place baking sheets wire racks and allow cookies to cool.

Lake House Cookies

Forget Me Not Cookies

Posted on by Laurie

Yesterday I was looking at a post by Big Hungry Gnomes about a tempting-looking dessert, called Eaton Mess. That dessert is made with little meringues which reminded me of one of my favorite little cookies. Forget Me Nots are wonderful to make in warm weather because you just preheat the oven in the morning, pop the cookies in, turn the oven off and then the cookies are ready for a late afternoon snack … all cool, crisp, and sweet.  These chocolate and nut filled meringues are the first cookies that I learned to make …  thanks, Mom! … and I still make them.

Forget Me Nots

Makes about 32 cookies

2 lg. egg whites

1/2 t. vanilla extract

1/8 t. salt

1/2 c. granulated white sugar

1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips or 5 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped

1 c. finely chopped walnuts

Note: Sometimes I get carried away and add a whole bunch of butterscotch chips too, which makes the cookies really chunky.

  1. Place egg whites in a large bowl. Let sit for 30 minutes or until they have come up to room temperature.
  2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
  3. Add vanilla and salt to egg whites. Beat until stiff but not dry peaks form. Very gradually beat in sugar until shiny, stiff peaks form. (Peaks are shiny and tips stand up straight.)
  4. Fold in chocolate and walnuts.
  5. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto baking sheets spacing cookies at least 2” apart. Place baking sheets in oven. Close the door and turn the oven off.  Without opening the door, let the cookies sit in the oven for 6 to 8 hours.
  6. Remove baking sheets from oven. Use a thin metal spatula to lift cookies off parchment paper.

Apricot Rhubarb Squares: A Seasonal Treat

Posted on by Laurie

Alas, I have no new stories … but I do have a yummy recipe to share. Serve these treats for breakfast or dessert.

Apricot Rhubarb Squares

2 c. diced rhubarb

1 c. granulated white sugar

1 cinnamon stick

4 whole cloves

2 whole allspice

2 T. water

1/2 c. dried apricots, diced

1 c. rolled oats

1 c. dark brown sugar, firmly packed

1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1/3 c. unsalted butter

1/2 c. finely chopped pecans

1 T. cinnamon sugar

  1. Place rhubarb, white sugar, cinnamon, cloves, allspice and water in a medium size non-stick pot over medium heat. Bring to a low simmer and continue to simmer for about 10 minutes or until the rhubarb is soft and the mixture resembles melted jam. When done cooking, the mixture should measure about 1 to 1 1/4 cups. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. Remove the cinnamon stick, cloves and allspice. (Count to make sure that you have them all.) Stir in apricots.
  2. While the mixture is cooling, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Generously butter an 8” square baking pan.
  3. In medium bowl whisk together oats, brown sugar, and flour.  Using your hands, cut in butter until the mixture forms pea-size crumbs. Mix in pecans. Evenly press 1 1/3 c. of the mixture into the bottom of the buttered baking pan. Spread the apricot rhubarb mixture over the oatmeal base. Top with the remaining crumb mixture. Sprinkle top evenly with cinnamon sugar.
  4. Bake for approximately 43 to 47 minutes or until the top is golden and the filling is bubbly. Cool on a wire rack before cutting into squares. If desired, chill before serving. Refrigerate any leftovers.

Apricot Rhubarb Squares

“Refreshing Minty Lemon Limeade” and “Baked Tomatoes with Mint Cream”

Posted on by Laurie

Having recently written in general terms about ways to use mint – see my post Mint: It Grows Like a Weed, but That’s Okay from 5/15/12 – I thought it appropriate to offer a few more mint recipes every now and then. Both of the recipes below contain mint ingredients employed to a subtle effect. Enjoy!

 Refreshing Minty Lemon Limeade

2 1/4 c. ice water

1/2 c. fresh lemon juice

1/2 c. fresh lime juice

3/4 c. mint simple syrup, or to taste

Stir ingredients together. Chill until serving. Serve over ice.  Garnish with mint leaves, or with lemon or lime slices.

Baked Tomatoes with Mint Cream

(based on a recipe from Scottish Heritage Food and Cooking, 2005, Lorenz Books of Anness Publishing, London)

5 large ripe tomatoes

1 c. heavy cream

2 mint leaves

1 T.  mint-infused vodka

1/3 c. crumbled cheese of a good melting variety, such as Monterey Jack

salt and pepper

1. Fill a large stock pot to about half full with water then add a dash of salt and bring to a boil.

2. Meanwhile wash and core tomatoes – a grapefruit knife works well for coring – and then cut an ‘x’ into the bottom of each tomato. Carefully drop tomatoes into boiling water. When the skins start to split, transfer tomatoes to a colander and give a quick rinse with cold water. Allow to cool.

3. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. While the oven is heating, place the heavy cream in a non-stick pot, add mint leaves and vodka, and allow to simmer over low to medium-low heat. Simmer until the heavy cream is reduced to about 3/4 of a  cup.

4. While the cream simmers, brush a baking dish with olive oil. Slice tomatoes and arrange them in baking dish, allowing them to overlap slightly. Strain the thickened cream over tomatoes. Sprinkle with cheese and then with salt and pepper. Bake for 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Serve as a side dish or with a rustic bread for a small but rich meal.

Baked Tomatoes with Mint Cream

Best Ever Gluten-free Blueberry Muffins

Posted on by Laurie

The first time I heard of gluten-intolerance was about fourteen years ago, back when we still had the B & B at our previous house. A guest who was staying with us for six weeks had Celiac’s disease and so I learned how to cook without wheat, barley or rye, and how to avoid cross contamination of  the gluten-free foods. After that, it was several more years before I had another guest ask for a gluten-free breakfast.  Now we receive that request every few weeks. Our gluten-sensitive and gluten-intolerant guests are always delighted to have these sweet and moist muffins. (Note, there are different degrees of gluten-sensitivity; but if you are cooking for someone who is truly gluten-intolerant, you will need to be extremely careful to avoid cross-contamination and even use cookware that has never has never had a gluten product in it. I always make a point to tell people on a gluten-free diet that we do not have a gluten-free kitchen, but that we take every possible precaution to avoid cross-contamination.)

Best Ever Gluten-free Blueberry Muffins

(Makes about 12)

2 c. white rice flour

1 c. granulated white sugar

1 T. baking powder

1 stick unsalted butter, melted

1 c. low-fat buttermilk

2 lg. eggs

2 c. blueberries (fresh or frozen)

confectioner’s sugar for serving

(1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Line muffin pans with muffin cups (using a foil cup inside a paper cup) or place muffin cups (using a foil cup inside a paper cup) on a large baking tray.

(2) In a large bowl, whisk together rice flour, sugar and baking powder. In a medium bowl, whisk together butter, buttermilk and eggs. Stir buttermilk mixture into dry ingredients. Fold in blueberries.

(3) Scoop batter into muffin cups. Bake for about 20 minutes or until muffins are firm to the touch and lightly golden brown around the edges.

(4) Place muffin pans or baking sheet on wire racks until muffins are cool enough to serve – about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar before serving.  Individually wrap any leftover muffins in plastic wrap and freeze.

Arroz Con Leche: Morning Comfort

Posted on by Laurie

The air felt cool and crisp when I got up this morning and the sky looked grey while I was thinking about making breakfast. It was a late breakfast this morning. Usually even in May I start cooking before or right around sunrise, so it was a luxury to be able to step outside to take a peek at the weather.  Feeling in the mood for some comfort food, I decided to make a pot of Arroz Con Leche. Arroz Con Leche – a sweet and creamy rice dish – is a dish that I love, but don’t make often enough in part because I often feel too pressed for time in the morning and in part because I know that if my guests don’t eat it all, I will finish off every last bite myself.  This morning, though, I decided that I could deal with both of those things and just when I was done cooking the rice, I noticed that the cloud cover had broken and the sky turned to sunshine.

Arroz Con Leche

(makes 8 side dish or 4 main dish servings)

1 3/4 c. to 2 1/4 c. water

1 stick good quality cinnamon

2 wide strips of orange zest about 2″ long

1/2 t. salt

1 c. long grain rice

4 c. whole milk

3/4 c. granulated white sugar

1/2 t. vanilla extract

1/2 c. mixed dried berries or currants

Cinnamon Sugar

(1) Place 1 3/4 c. water, cinnamon stick, orange zest and salt in a medium sauce pan. (It is good to use a pan with a glass lid so that you can keep an eye on the rice once it gets added.) Cover pan and bring water to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes.

(2) Add rice to the pot and simmer, covered, until rice is tender and water has been absorbed, about 10 to 20 minutes. (The time will depend upon the heat of your stove and the type of rice you are using.) If the water is absorbed before the rice is tender, add a little more water as necessary.

(3) Once the rice is tender, stir in milk, sugar and vanilla extract. Cook rice and milk over medium to medium low heat, stirring frequently, until the milk has thickened just slightly, about 20 minutes. Do not let the milk boil.

(4) Once the milk has thickened slightly, remove the cinnamon stick and orange zest. Stir in dried fruit. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar before serving. Serve warm.

Note: I tried many rice pudding recipes before I settled upon this one –  based on Rick Bayless’ recipe from Mexico One Plate at a Time (Scribner, New York, 2000) – as my favorite for breakfast. It goes nicely with fruits such as sliced bananas or diced mangoes.

NY Style Desserts

Posted on by Laurie

Yum! Yum! I just got done making Black & White Cookies and Miniature New York Style Cheesecakes for a NY-themed party. The miniature cheesecakes are from my Confectionately Yours: Cookies, Candies & Confections (p 6). To make them into NY-style cheesecakes I  topped them with a sweetened sour cream layer beneath the Bittersweet Chocolate Ganache (p. 107). ImageImage