Please note that this contest is now closed and we have a winner. Thank you for entering!

It may only be October, but I believe I’ve found the perfect stocking stuffer for the upcoming holiday season. The pocket sized cookbook A Field Guide to Cookies by Anita Chu promises to assist you in learning how to identify and bake virtually every cookie imaginable. She isn’t kidding either. The author offers up recipes in all the major cookie categories including drop, bar, molded, and rolled.

Each recipe is neatly outlined with a general description of the treat, the historical background, serving suggestions, helpful baking notes, and even storage tips. Best of all, located in the center of the book are color images of every recipe. This is especially helpful due to the number of recipes inside that I’ve never heard of before. Have you ever made a Financier? How about a Speculass or a Congo Bar? Sometimes I find it hard to break out of my chocolate chip cookie comfort zone, but I sincerely believe this cookbook will nudge any home cook out of the baking rut you may be experiencing.

The Chocolate Chip Amish Puff Cookies I chose to create from A Field Guide to Cookies had a unique name and familiar ingredients. As the book states, these cookies are quite similar to the more well known snickerdoodle. There were two variations of this recipe, one with chocolate, and one without. You aren’t supposed to roll the chocolate chip version in cinnamon and sugar, but I decided to take a little liberty and they came out fabulously. As soon as I set the plate down in my office they were gobbled up in record time.

So who wants cookies?! You’ll have until Wednesday, October 8th to enter to win your very own copy of A Field Guide to Cookies. All you have to do is leave a comment on this post (one comment per person please). A winner will be selected via the nifty random number generator on Wednesday, October 8th at noon and than I’ll promptly ship the book to your home. Good Luck!

Chocolate Chip Amish Puff Cookies
Originally Published In: A Field Guide to Cookies by Anita Chu
Yield: About 2 dozen cookies

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup softened unsalted butter
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup sugar
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon (Note: I only used one teaspoon in this step)

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt into a bowl and set aside.

In a stand mixer, cream butter and sugars on medium speed for several minutes until light and fluffy. Add the egg and mix until combined.

Add the flour mixture, and mix on low speed just until combined.

Cover dough and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Combine cinnamon and sugar in a bowl.

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line several cookies sheets with parchment paper (Note: I use silpats).

Roll tablespoon-sized balls of dough in the cinnamon sugar and place on cookie sheets about 3 inches apart.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through, until golden brown. Cool cookie sheets on wire racks.

Elaine Hamilton is a wallflower. She’s shy, awkward, and desperately doesn’t want to go to her mother’s alma matar Dartmouth. What she does want is to quietly perfect every recipe in Mastering the Art of French Cooking, attend Smith College, and eventually study at the Cordon Bleu in Paris — just like her hero Julia Child. A lofty set of ambitions to say the least, but Elaine’s mother, a consummate feminist and politician, thinks Elaine is absurd for wanting to “stay at home and slave over a burner.” Undeterred, Elaine continues to churn out mouthwatering and complex dishes on a daily basis for her parents and five rambunctious brothers.

Until Elaine meets the notorious Lucida Sans (yes, like the font) her only real excitement stemmed from writing unsent letters to Julia documenting her cooking missteps and accomplishments, and marketing trips to local specialty food stores for Parail de Brebis and glacéed fruit.  But where Lucida goes, drama and mayhem inevitably follow. Soon Elaine has more adventure in her life than she can possibly handle, including rescuing her eclectic friend from the treacherous clutches of a gorgeous bully, and undertaking the task of auditioning for a televised cooking show.

Coming out of her comfort zone does wonders for Elaine and this charming young adult novel culminates in a very whirlwind and whimsical way that I found quite satisfying. I absolutely loved the detailed cooking scenes throughout the book. Admittedly, it did take me a few chapters to warm up to Elaine’s verbose manner but eventually I found myself heartily rooting for her to stand up to her overbearing mother, break out of her shell, and succeed at her culinary dreams.

Dear Julia by Amy Bronwen Zemser will be released on October 14, 2008.

Sally Sampson’s newest cookbook, Recipe of the Week: Ice Cream, is going to get me into a lot of trouble.  Specifically, trouble with buttons not closing, pants not fitting, and no-doubt many a ruined appetite for dinner.  Ice cream is my Achilles heel.  I walk by the neatly frozen pints in the freezer case with a hangdog expression of thinly concealed lust.  I know I shouldn’t have it, but everyone has to break the rules sometime and that’s where SaIly comes in.

I admire the simplicity of this book on so many levels.  Sampson finds no need to wax poetic on the merits of ice cream — we, as her consumers, know that ice cream is phenomenal on an inherently addictive level so on with the show.  And oh what a show it is!  All of the frozen treat bases are covered from custard based ice creams to gellatos, sorbets, and granitas.  If that isn’t enough to peak your interest, how about the thought of one of these tempting flavors waiting for you in a big cold bowl: Graham Cracker Malted Vanilla Ice Cream, Triple Coconut, Molasses Ginger Snap Gelato - do I even need to continue?  Sampson also has a number of unusual flavors to peak your curiosity.  Have you ever wondered what Balsamic and Black Pepper Gelato might taste like?  How about Avocado Gelato?

My first foray into ice cream making was a given. I’m a cookie dough kind of girl.  I was also doubly excited to test out my new KitchenAid Ice Cream Maker attachment and also to have “permission” to make an entire bowl of cookie dough just to snack on.  After whipping up my favorite Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie batter I followed Sally’s straightforward instructions and watched with excitement as ice cream started to take shape on my counter.  To make us all feel slightly better about our new dependency I should point out that the recipes in this book are lower in sugar and fat than most commercially prepared ice creams.

To celebrate the release of Sally’s Sampson’s supremely summer appropriate cookbook, local ice cream legend Gus Rancatore (who also gave Sally ice cream making lessons and advice during the preparation of this collection) will be hosting a book party.

Monday June 16, 2008
6:00PM - 7:30PM
at Toscaninis in Central Square
899 Main Street
Cambridge, MA

So please stop by to meet Sally, get your book signed, and also enjoy a free scoop of ice cream!

Cookie Dough Ice Cream
Available in Sally Sampson’s cookbook Recipe of the Week: Ice Cream published by Wiley Press

1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/4 sugar syrup (Note: Per Sally - Place 1 cup white sugar and 1 cup water in a small saucepan and cook, over medium high heat, until the sugar has completely dissolved, about 3 minutes.  Set aside to cool, cover and refrigerate up to 1 month).
1 teaspoon vanilla (Note: I recommend using a really good quality, expensive vanilla. I rather lazily used the McCormicks in my cupboard and I really wish that I had picked up a bottle of Nielsen-Massey.  Next time I definitely will).
1 1/2 cups of your favorite raw cookie dough, such as chocolate chip or oatmeal

Place the milk, cream, sugar syrup, and vanilla extract in a bowl and whisk well.  Transfer to an ice cream maker and proceed according to the manufacturer’s instructions.  When the ice cream is just beginning to come together but has not hardened completely, add spoonfuls of the cookie dough and process for about 5 more minutes.

You know how sometimes you’ll find a recipe and really want to make it, but then you start reading the ingredients list and the instructions and it will slowly dawn on you that you’re missing EVERYTHING and there isn’t possibly anyway you could “fudge it” (so to speak). Well that’s what happened to me when I read the recipe for Double Shot Cake. I knew I couldn’t possibly do Diane Mott Davidson’s devilish dessert justice, when I didn’t have a double boiler, parchment paper, or a ten inch cake pan. So I made the horrifying decision to go to the mall–on a Saturday.

My cake baking journey took me to three stores and drained my wallet of about a hundred dollars. It’s my own fault. I’m a cookware snob and I only wanted the All-Clad double boiler insert for my four quart saucepan. They finally had it at Williams-Sonoma. Next, on my list was a cake pan. For some bizarre reason, Davidson wants us to use a ten inch cake pan. Frankly I thought this sized pan was as mythical as a unicorn, until once again I found a set at Williams-Sonoma. Are you sensing a pattern here? I rounded out my ridiculously frivolous purchases with parchment paper. The moral of the story is obviously to always start at Williams-Sonoma.

Note: I entered this pricey concoction in The Kitchn’s “Bittersweet Baking Contest.” Wish me luck!

Line & Butter	The Double Boiler Earns Its Keep
Foamy Eggs	Triple Sifted
Unintentional Yin & Yang	Stir it All Together
Fill	Set Into a Water Bath Very Carefully & Bake

Double Shot Chocolate Cake (Originally published by Diane Mott Davidson in her novel Double Shot)

10 ounces unsalted butter
10 ounces bittersweet chocolate, broken into small pieces (recommended brand: Godiva dark)
3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons extra-fine granulated sugar
2 tablespoons Dutch-style cocoa (recommended brand: Hershey’s Premium European-Style)
8 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350°.

Butter a 10-by-1 1/2-inch heavy-duty round cake pan. Line the bottom with parchment cut to fit. Butter the parchment. Set aside.

Fill a 16-by-11-inch roasting pan with 1 inch of hot water, place the roasting pan on a baking sheet, and put it into the oven.

In the top of a double boiler, melt the butter with the chocolate. When the ingredients are melted, remove the pan from the heat to cool slightly. Sift the sugar with the cocoa twice, then whisk it into the melted chocolate mixture.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs until they are foamy. Add the vanilla and the chocolate mixture. Blend with a spatula until very well mixed.

Carefully pour the batter into the prepared cake pan. Gently place the cake pan in the water-filled roasting pan.

Bake about 40 to 50 minutes, or until the cake begins to shrink slightly from the sides and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Place on a rack to cool for 15 minutes, then invert carefully and peel off the paper. Allow to cool completely.

Serve with sweetened whipped cream, best quality vanilla ice cream, or my awesome Espresso Whipped Cream (see recipe below).

Erin’s Espresso Whipped Cream

1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon very finely ground espresso beans

Combine cream, sugar, vanilla, and espresso and beat until soft peaks form. Try not to eat it directly from the bowl. It’s going to be difficult.

I picked up Amanda Hesser’s book Cooking for Mr. Latte after the holidays at the Harvard Book Store. I honestly had no idea who she was. In reality I thought that it was a new book since it was marked as a staff pick. Later in the evening Google revealed the truth to me. It seems Hesser writes for The New York Times and that her book actually came out in 2004. Apparently, she’s a fairly famous foodie in her own right, albeit at times a controversial one.

In the end I really enjoyed my selection. The short story format was fast paced and I loved how each chapter ended with an array of delicious recipes to try at home. I found myself dogearing page after page while reading on the T, which is a total sin and completely against my usual book etiquette but I didn’t want to forget to try anything. Those folded tabs have since been replaced by colorful mini post-its so you can all relax now.

It was difficult but I finally chose something simple to test. A cookie recipe with an obscene amount of chocolate — two entire bags to be exact (although Hesser used chocolate bars). When I told my cousin and her fiancé what kind of cookies they were eating the response was, “Wow…could you fit anything else in there!?”

Toast the Pecans	Mix the Batter
Chop, Chop, Chop	Fold
Scoop	Cool

Chocolate Chip, Toasted Pecan, Coconut Cookies (Inspired by Amanda Hesser’s recipe in Cooking for Mr. Latte)
Makes 4 dozen large cookies

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 large eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of sea salt
24 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 cups toasted chopped pecans
1 cup shredded coconut

Preheat the oven to 325°F

In a mixer cream the butter and sugars until fluffy. Add the vanilla and eggs and beat until smooth.

In a small bowl combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the mixer, beating on low until blended.

Pour in the chocolate, pecans, and coconut. Fold them in by hand with a spatula.

Chill the dough for 30 minutes.

Using an ice cream scoop, drop the dough onto a well greased baking sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes until lightly browned on the edges and cooked in the center. Cool on a rack.

About a million years ago, ok I’m exaggerating, but way back in 1992 my mother and I started reading a series of culinary mysteries written by Diane Mott Davidson and we’ve both been huge fans ever since.

Each book takes place in the fictional Denver town of Aspen Meadow where Goldy’s catering of events for the upper class denizens of the city always coincides with a shocking side of murder. Goldy than sleuths her way through clues and bizarre interactions with suspects, while simultaneously making us drool with hunger over each new recipe concocted in her state of the art kitchen. After-all, the catering business doesn’t stop just because some poor soul got bumped off in the first chapter. The original recipes used to be dispersed throughout the book as they were introduced as part of the story, but in the last few novels they’ve been compiled all together in a section at the end.

Excitingly enough, Diane’s new Goldy Mystery, Sweet Revenge, will be released on August 21. According to the publisher’s website, “Goldy Schulz is thrilled to be catering a holiday breakfast feast for the staff of the Aspen Meadow Library. But little does she know that on the menu, alongside the Great Expectations Grapefruit, Chuzzlewit Cheese Pie, and Bleak House Bars, is a large helping of murder.”

This description cracks me up, and is really just too tempting to pass on since I’ll actually be starting my Master in Library and Information Science in just three weeks. Plus, who doesn’t love themed food?! In addition, if you have an iPhone you can read a specially formatted excerpt of Sweet Revenge at the HarperCollins website.

In anticipation of my next book purchase I decided to make the crustless Asparagus Quiche (alas no quirky name) from Davidson’s most recent novel, Dark Tort.

Steam & Layer	Top With Cheese & Eggs
Bake Until Set	Enjoy Your Own Culinary Mystery

Asparagus Quiche (As Previously Published in Dark Tort by Diane Mott Davidson)

8 ounces asparagus, washed, trimmed of all hard, tough stalks, and cut into 1 1/2 inch lengths
4 large eggs
1/4 cup whipping cream
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or more, if desired)
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1 cup small-curd cottage cheese
1 cup grated Gruyére cheese
1/4 cup grated imported Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch pie plate.

Using a small sauté pan that has a cover, heat about half a cup of water just to boiling. Pour in the sliced asparagus, cover, and turn off the heat. Allow the asparagus to steam, with the heat turned off, while you prepare the other ingredients.

In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat the eggs on medium speed until they are very well blended. Blend in the cream, mustard, salt, pepper, and paprika until well combined. Using a heavy wooden spoon, stir in the cheese, stirring until they are well combined.

Drain the asparagus (it should still be bright green, with a tender, slightly crunchy texture). Put it into the bottom of the prepared dish. Pour the egg mixture over the asparagus. And place the quiche into the oven.

Bake for about 35 to 40 minutes, or until the quiche has puffed and browned, and is set in the center. Allow to cool 5 minutes before slicing.