Chocolate Chip Halfway Cookies

A yummy treat my mom made recently which I want to have access to online.

From SL Trib (Parade Magazine?) Dec. 9, 2012

Makes 24

For bars:

1 cup softened butter

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar

2 egg yolks (slightly beaten with 1 tbsp water)

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups sifted flour

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 (12-oz) pkg semisweet chocolate chips

For topping:

2 egg whites

1 cup light brown sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 F

2. In a large mixing bowl, with an electric mixer on high speed, beat butter until creamy.  Add sugars and beat well.  Beat in egg yolks and vanilla extract.

3. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.  Add to creamed mixture.  Dough will be stiff.

4. Press dough flat onto a greased 10 by 14-inch baking sheet, cover with chocolate chips, and bake for 10 minutes.  (I used a 9 x 13 pan)

5. Reduce oven heat to 325 F.  Make meringue topping:  Beat egg whites until very stiff; add brown sugar and beat well.

6. Spread meringue across top of dough (don’t spread all the way to edges).

7. Return to over for 12 to 15 minutes or until meringue is very light brown and dough is set.

8. Let cool; cut into bars.

Per serving:  260 cal., 34g carbs, 2g protein, 12g fat, 40 mg chol, 130 mg sodim, 2g fiber.

Russian Beet and Potato Salad

 I've started my weekly summer farm produce pick-ups, which always leads to a few episodes of either "What is that?" or "I know what that is, but what do I do with it?" Last week we got beets. Luckily, beets are big in Russia, so I looked online for a recipe for one of Jeff's favorite Russian salads. Very nice and cool in the super-hot weather we've been having. And it actually makes me laugh how the beets dye everything (fingers, cutting board, all other ingredients in the salad) magenta.

Ingredients

• 2 beets
• 4 small potatoes
• 2 small carrots
• 3 small dill pickles, diced
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons champagne vinegar (I used raspberry vinegar)
• salt to taste
• 3 green onions, chopped

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and cook beets until tender, about 30 minutes. Bring a separate pot of water to a boil and cook potatoes and carrots until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain vegetables, cool, and remove skins. Dice and place in a large bowl.
2. Place the diced pickles in the bowl with beets, potatoes, and carrots. Drizzle the olive oil and vinegar over the mixture and toss to coat. Season with salt. Sprinkle with green onions. Chill completely before serving. 

  Cook's Note

• Beets will color everything red. If you like other vegetables to retain color you need to put beets aside and put some dressing on them separately. Then carefully fold them in with the rest of the salad before serving.

Fresh Lime Chiffon Cake

A super-yummy recipe from my Cooking Light book. I used raspberries as a garnish instead of blueberries--they're better with lime, and they're prettier! Jeff recommends squeezing the lime slices out onto the cake before eating it.

Ingredients

• FILLING:
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lime rind
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice (about 2 limes)
• 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• CAKE:
• Cooking spray
• 1 tablespoon cake flour
• 2 cups sifted cake flour (7 1/2 ounces)
• 1 1/4 cups sugar, divided
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 7 tablespoons canola oil $
• 1/3 cup fresh lime juice (about 3 limes)
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lime rind
• 1 teaspoon pure lemon extract
• 3 egg yolks $
• 8 egg whites $
• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
• FROSTING:
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons lime juice (about 1 lime)
• 2 1/2 cups fat-free whipped topping, thawed
• Fresh mint sprigs (optional)
• Fresh blueberries (optional) $
• Lime wedges (optional)

Preparation

1. To prepare the lime filling, combine 1 teaspoon lime rind, 1/4 cup lime juice, and sweetened condensed milk in a small bowl, stirring until blended. Cover and chill 3 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 325°.
3. To prepare cake, coat bottoms of 3 (8-inch) round cake pans with cooking spray (do not coat sides of pans); line bottoms with wax paper. Coat wax paper with cooking spray; dust with 1 tablespoon flour.
4. Lightly spoon 2 cups cake flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine 2 cups cake flour, 1 cup sugar, baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk until well combined.
5. Combine oil, 1/3 cup juice, 3 tablespoons water, 1 teaspoon rind, lemon extract, and egg yolks in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add oil mixture to flour mixture; beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth.
6. Place egg whites in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed until foamy. Add cream of tartar; beat until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining 1/4 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until stiff peaks form. Gently stir one-fourth of egg white mixture into flour mixture; gently fold in remaining egg white mixture.
7. Divide cake batter equally among prepared pans, spreading evenly. Break air pockets by cutting through batter with a knife. Bake at 325° for 20 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Cool in pans for 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pans. Remove wax paper from cake layers. Cool completely on wire rack.
8. To prepare frosting, combine 3 tablespoons sugar and 2 tablespoons lime juice in a small glass bowl. Microwave at high for 30 seconds or until sugar dissolves. Cool completely. Fold into whipped topping.
9. To assemble cake, place 1 cake layer on a plate; spread half of filling over cake layer. Top with second layer, remaining half of filling, and third layer. Spread frosting over top and sides of cake. Garnish with mint, blueberries, and lime wedges, if desired. Store cake loosely covered in refrigerator for up to 3 days. Slice cake into wedges.

Frozen Key Lime Pie

I didn't even make this one, so I don't have pictures. My mom made it last night, and she let me have the last leftover slice for a treat this morning. Yum! With April feeling like June around here right now, I thought it would be just the thing to have on hand.

Cook Time: 5 min
Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients:

Crust:
-1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (10 crackers)
-1/4 cup sugar
-6 Tbsp (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted

Filling:
-6 extra-large egg yolks, at room temperature
-1/4 cup sugar
-1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
-2 Tbsp grated lime zest
-3/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (4-5 limes)

Decoration:
-1 cup (1/2 pint) cold heavy cream
-1/4 cup sugar
-1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
-thin lime wedges

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

For the crust, combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter in a bowl. Press into a 9-inch pie pan, making sure the sides and the bottom are an even thickness. Bake for 10 minutes. Allow to cool completely.

For the filling, beat the egg yolks and sugar on high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment for 5 minutes, until thick. With the mixer on medium speed, add the condensed milk, lime zest, and lime juice. Pour into the baked pie shell and freeze.

For the decoration, beat the heavy cream on high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until soft peaks form. Add the sugar and vanilla and beat until firm. Spoon or pipe decoratively onto the pie and decorate with lime. Freeze for several hours or overnight.

Bananas Foster French Toast

Jeff and I went on a weekend retreat up to his family's cabin this past weekend. It was wonderful. We just relaxed, played board/card games, read books, watched movies, and ate yummy treats all weekend.


This was our breakfast Saturday morning. So scrumptious! It really makes a difference to make French toast with brioche (or, this time, with challah) instead of with regular sandwich bread.

Ingredients:
4 eggs
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup milk
6 Tbs. firmly packed dark brown sugar
Kosher salt, to taste
4 day-old slices brioche, each 1" thick (we actually used a whole loaf's worth of slices)
6 Tbs. (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
4 bananas, cut on bias into 1/2" slices
1/4 cup dark rum (I just used water with a splash of rum flavoring)
1/4 tsp. vanilla bean paste (I just added a splash of vanilla to the above water)
3 T. water

Directions:
In bowl, whisk eggs, cinnamon, milk, 1 Tbs. brown sugar and pinch of salt. Pour half of egg mixture into deep pie dish. Soak 1 bread slice (or as many at a time as you can fit in your dish), turning once, 1-2 minutes. Repeat with remaining bread and egg mixture. Pour any remaining mixture over bread until absorbed.
In 11" French skillet over medium heat, melt 1 1/2 Tbs. butter. Add 2 bread slices (or as many as you can fit); cook, turning once, until golden, 2-3 minutes per side. Transfer to wire cooling rack set over baking sheet; keep warm in 200 degree F oven. Repeat with 1 1/2 Tbs. butter and remaining bread. (Or just save the slices on a plate ...)
In 9" French skillet over medium-high heat, melt 3 Tbs. butter. Add bananas; cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, 2-3 minutes. Carefully pour in rum (flavoring in water), then add 5 Tbs. brown sugar vanilla bean paste (just vanilla), water, and pinch of salt. Simmer until bananas are soft, 2-3 minutes. Serve French toast with bananas. Serves 4.