Kitchen Gadget Girl Cooks

Yesterday, 11 of my mom-friends from our school gathered to decorate over 200 cookies that were donated today to Ronald McDonald House at Stanford, and Haven House in Menlo Park, California. With the help of these friends, we are spreading a little joy through this holiday season!

Drop In and Decorate is the brain child of Lydia, from The Perfect Pantry. The idea is to make a bunch of plain sugar cookies and invite your friends over to help decorate, then donate to an organization in your community. A party with a purpose! I hosted one of these events last December, when we decorated 95 cookies to donate to the Ronald McDonald House at Stanford. In May, I hosted another event for Mother’s Day, and we decorated and donated 160 cookies. This time, we surpassed both those achievements!

Special thanks to Donna, Christy, Rachel and Cherie for helping me with cookie baking, and Lisa for being my frosting buddy! Could not have done it without you!

Last year, I promised to share more persimmon recipes, following my post about Persimmon Cookies. I have also written about Steamed Persimmon Pudding and making Hoshigaki at home. With persimmons in season again, it was time to pull out the recipes.

I generally use Hachiya for breads and cookies, and enjoy Fuyu in salads. The trick with Hachiyas is to make sure you let them ripen completely, until very soft and gelatin-like, otherwise, they are too astringent. And the Fuyus are meant to be eaten crisp – I like to peel mine, and slice into thin pieces.

Here are many more of my family’s favorite persimmon recipes:

Fuyu Persimmons

Persimmons in Salad

Originally from Joe Carcione’s The Greengrocer

Peel a Fuyu (the squat, crisp persimmon) and slice in small sections. Add to a bowl of salad greens and thin sliced red onions. Add a light vinegrette of lemon juice and olive oil for a refreshing seasonal salad.

Persimmon Cake

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 Tablespoons butter, softened
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 cup milk
• 2 cups persimmon pulp
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 2 cups chopped dates
• 2 cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350F.

Sift together flour, soda, powder and salt. Mix sugar, butter, vanilla, milk, and persimmon pulp, and add in flour mixture. Mix in bread crumbs, dates and nuts.

Pour into two (2) greased loaf pans and bake 65 minutes. Cool.

Hachiya Persimmons

Persimmon Oatmeal Drop Cookies

• 3/4 cup butter
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup persimmon pulp
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon cloves
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cup quick rolled oats
• 1/2 cup coconut
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 375F.

Cream together butter and sugar. Beat in eggs.

Stir soda into persimmon pulp and add to creamed mixture. Add vanilla and sifted dry ingredients. Mix well. Stir in rolled oats, coconut, and nuts.

Using your cookie scoop, drop balls of dough onto greased or parchment-lined cookie sheets. Bake 12 minutes. Makes 6 dozen.

Persimmon Cookies

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups persimmon pulp
• 2 teaspoons baking soda (dissolved in persimmon pulp)
• 4 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups raisins
• 1 cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350F.

Pour boiling water over raisins and let stand while mixing other ingredients.

Cream sugars and butter well. Add eggs and beat well. Add persimmon pulp and mix well. Sift dry ingredients and add. Mix in vanilla, nuts and raisins.

Using your cookie scoop, drop balls of dough onto greased or parchment-lined cookie sheets. Bake 20 minutes, until light brown. Do not overbake.

Hachiya (pointy and tall) and Fuyu (short and squat)

Persimmon Refrigerator Roll

• 1 cup persimmon pulp
• 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts
• 10 dates, chopped fine
• 10 marshmallows, chopped fine

Mix all ingredients together, then turn onto waxed paper spread with more graham cracker crumbs. Form into a roll about 2″ diameter, coating well with crumbs.

Wrap in waxed paper and chill for at least 2 hours. Slice and serve with whipped cream.

Frozen Persimmon Mousse

• 1 1/2 cups persimmon pulp
• 1/4 cup diced orange
• 1/2 cup diced canned pineapple
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 pint whipped evaporated milk
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice

Combine pulp, orange, pineapple, sugar, salt and lemon juice. Blend gently, and fold in whipped milk. Pour into freezer unit of ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer’s instructions.

Indiana Persimmon Bread
originally from Recipe Source

• 1 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup brandy
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 cups brown sugar, firmly packed
• 2 cups persimmon pulp
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 cup walnuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 350F.

Soak raisins in brandy, set aside.

Combine sugars, persimmon pulp and oil. Add eggs, one at a time, beat well after each addition. Sift together dry ingredients into medium bowl. Add to egg mixture and stir in brandied raisins and nuts.

Pour into greased 9×5″ loaf pans (two) or 8×4″ loaf pans (three) and bake 1 hour. The larger pans make take a little longer. Use cake tester to ensure bread is done.

Be sure to enter the Cuisipro and Vacu Vin Giveaway. A flour sifter would be a great kitchen gadget for this recipe!

I am sure you have seen this recipe, it has been in all my cooking magazines over the last 2 months. Today, we finally got around to making them and I have to say, they are definitely worth the effort.

We used Kirkland brand Organic Peanut Butter and Hershey’s Kisses Dark and the results are cookies that are crisp and light, not too sweet, with a good chocolate-to-peanut butter ratio. It is also an ideal recipe for kids to help with, as there are 60 chocolates to unwrap!

Hershey’s Kisses Peanut Butter Blossoms
recipe provided by Hershey’s Kisses

• 48-60 Hershey’s Kisses Dark Chocolates
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 Tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 375F. Remove wrappers from chocolates.

Cream butter and peanut butter together in a large bowl. Add in granulated and brown sugar; beat until fluffy. Add in egg, milk and vanilla; beat well. Sift together flour, baking soda and salt. Add flour mixture to butter, mix well.

Using your cookie scoop, form dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in granulated sugar and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 10-12 minutes until lightly browned. Remove pans from oven. Immediately press one chocolate into the center of each cookie. Remove cookies to wire rack to cool. Makes 4-5 dozen.

This week’s cookie started out with inspiration from Ina Garten’s Back to Basics cookbook, a great addition to any cookbook collection. Ina’s original recipe is Raisin Pecan Oatmeal Cookies, but due to some dietary restrictions in our house (the husband will not allow a raisin to pass his lips), I was “forced” to modify. Naturally, my go-to in a situation like this are chocolate chips. And boy, was that a great substitution!

Note: Do not skimp on toasting the pecans. It really makes a difference in the final product.

Pecan Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 1 1/2 cups pecans
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3 cups old-fashioned oatmeal
• 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F.

Place pecans on baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes, until lightly toasted. Chop very coarsely.

Beat butter and sugars in mixing bowl until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, then the vanilla.

Sift flour, baking powder, cinnamon and kosher salt together. Add slowly to butter mixture and mix well. Add in oats, chocolate chips and pecans. Batter will be very thick and heavy at this point.

Using your cookie scoop, drop 2-inch balls of dough onto cookie sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake 12 to 15 minutes, until lightly browned, do not over bake. Cool completely.

Inspired by a recipe included with a giveaway milk glass from the California Milk Advisory Board (see how I spelled Advisory? It was spelled wrong on all their marketing pieces!), I created a Pumpkin Chocolate Chip cookie for this week’s Cookie Thursday.

I had a moment of panic when I pulled them out of the oven – they looked like little rock hard balls and the color was very light pumpkin, and I was thinking they were going to taste just as bad.

Fortunately, looks can be deceiving!

The cookies are moist, and the semi-sweet chocolate is really nice against the autumn spices. I used a little less sugar than the original recipe called for, as I don’t like my cookies really sweet, but I have included the original amount in case you do. Let me know how your’s turn out!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
inspired by California Milk Advisory Board recipe
Makes about 6 dozen

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup each, packed brown and granulated sugars (original 1 1/2 cups each)
• 2 cups pumpkin puree
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 1/2 cups walnuts, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 350F.

Cream butter and sugars together until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add in pumpkin, egg, and vanilla, beating well after each addition.

Sift together dry ingredients. Gradually add to pumpkin mixture until well blended. Mix in chocolate chips and walnuts.

Using your cookie scoop, drop heaping teaspoons of batter onto cookie sheets. Bake 15-17 minutes, until edges are golden brown. Do not over bake!

Related Cookie Thursday posts:

Cookie Thursday: Chocolate Pumpkin Cupcakes

Cookie Thursday: Pumpkin Oatmeal Drops

Thank goodness for schools that need cookie incentives. I love to bake, but certainly don’t need to consume all those cookies myself. Tomorrow, my son’s school needs 2 dozen cookies for some project, and I was only too happy to oblige. It has been nearly 3 months since I posted my last cookie recipe, and I did not do a lot of baking this summer.

Today’s cookie is another from Dorie Greenspan’s Baking From My Home to Yours, and as far as I can tell (along with my tasters) it is a winner. Very easy to make, you don’t even need a stand mixer or egg beater. And they are perfect for the chocoholic in your family, while the added oatmeal reassures you that they aren’t completely bad for you!

Chocolate Oatmeal Drops

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 sticks unsalted butter
• 1 Tablespoon water
• 1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
• 9 ounces bittersweet chocolate (I use Ghirardelli bittersweet chips)
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups old fashioned oatmeal (not the quick cook kind)

Preheat oven to 350F. Line cookie sheets with parchment.

Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.

In a heat proof bowl over simmering water, melt the butter, water, brown sugar and chocolate chips, stirring occasionally until all is melted. Mine looked pretty grainy, and Greenspan warns not to overheat, which would cause the butter to separate.

Remove from heat, and add eggs one at a time (I was whisking constantly to avoid scrambled eggs). Stir in the flour, and then the oats.

Using your cookie scoop, scoop the dough onto the cookie sheets, leaving space between the blobs (they will spread). Bake 12 minutes, swapping the trays top to bottom and front to back, until the edges are crispy and the centers still a little soft. Cool on baking rack.

Next time, I might try adding a little espresso powder, but that might be gilding the lily. They are really outstanding as written….

I first heard about these from my cousin Janey, and it took her a while to explain how to pronounce the name Nanaimo. “Nah-nye-a-mo” seems to be the preferred pronunciation, as opposed to “Nana-e-mo”, and the recipe I have is from Doris Osborne, who was probably a friend of my maternal grandmother. I often see these bars as part of a bake sale or potluck, and after reading the recipe, I see why. 

Nanaimo Bars

• 3/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup cocoa
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla
• 1 egg
• 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1 cup flake coconut
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 2 Tablespoons vanilla pudding mix
• 3 Tablespoons milk
• 2 cups confectioner’s sugar
• 3 squares semi-sweet chocolate
• 1 Tablespoon butter

Melt 1/2 cup butter in saucepan. Blend in sugar, cocoa, vanilla, egg, crumbs, nuts and coconut. Press in a 9″ square pan.

Cream 1/4 cup butter and add dry pudding mix, milk and confectioner’s sugar. Blend well. Spread over top of crumb mixture and chill thoroughly. 

Melt chocolate with 1 Tablespoon butter. Blend and spread over chilled mixture, then cut into squares.

Well, what do you know? These are not even baked! Perfect for a hot summer picnic, when you need a little sweet treat. Or any other time when a bar cookie is appropriate!

For more vintage recipes, check out Joy of Desserts. Photo courtesy of Jodi Green. And more information about the origin of Nanaimo Bars can be found on Wikipedia.

 From my recipe box, I pulled this treasure, from my Great-grandmother on my Dad’s side, Grandmother’s Tea Cookies. She was English, although spent many years in Shanghai, China, where my Grandmother was born, but from the looks of the recipe, it sounds like she took her Englishness with her over the ocean.

For this week’s Vintage Recipe Thursday, I offer:

Grandmother’s Tea Cookies

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 Tablespoon white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 cup of flour
• 2 small teaspoons of baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• Dash of cinnamon and nutmeg

Mix all together and add any kinds of raisins, dates and nuts or just coconut (typed exactly as it appears on the card!)

No baking instructions, I might guess 350F for 8-10 minutes.

One of the things I love about looking through my recipe box is the validation that I come from a long line of cooks. And how do I know this? Well, for one thing, the recipes are from my Mom, my Grandmother, my Great Aunts (her sisters) and Great Great Aunts (way far back, late 1800’s). 

The other way I know? The brevity of some recipes. The two below definitely fall into that camp, with just ingredients listed and no instructions. Or instructions that are incomplete. There is a basic assumption that the reader knows how to cook, and that what is written down is just a reminder. If I had a scanner, I could show you exactly what I mean, but for now, here are my two vintage family cookie recipes that I would like to share today:

Spice Cookies
from Millicent (a Great Aunt)

• 1 cup fat
• 1 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 1/2 cup flour
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 tsp soda dissolved
• 1/2 TBS boiling water
• 1 package dates
• 1 cup walnuts

Makes 75

Bake 375F

That would be the brief one; here is the incomplete one.

Boston Cookies
from Aunt Ida (Great Great Aunt)

• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2+ cup butter
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup sour milk
• 1 tsp soda
• 1 cup raisins
• 1 cup nut meats
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• Spices of all kinds
• Pinch salt

Bake in dripping pan by spreading dough 1/2″ thick.

Spices of all kinds, eh? Cinnamon and nutmeg were probably what they had in mind, but how about Chinese Five Spice or Cayenne? Pepper? Dripping Pan? Isn’t that what goes under a roast? And what temperature oven and for how long? Might be fun to experiment.

Do you have an old family favorite that puzzles you?

For this week’s Vintage Recipe Thursday, I offer you a maternal family favorite, although it is also one of my Dad’s favorites: Date Nut Bars. The note on the card says this recipe is from 1935 when my Mom and her family lived in San Luis Obispo, California.

Even those among us who are not date fans will find something to love in this bar cookie – dense, sticky bar, with a crispy top and enough powdered sugar to cause a coughing fit. My favorite part are the corners, naturally, and next time I make them, I think I will put them in my new Brownie Edges Pan. 

Date Nut Bars

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 10 Tablespoons flour
• 1 cup chopped dates (about 20 medjools)
• 1 cup chopped nuts
• 3 egg whites

Beat egg whites until stiff; add remaining ingredients. Bake in greased square pan, 8×8, at 350F for 35 minutes. Cut while hot and sprinkle with powdered sugar.