This one is a throwback to my childhood.  To the skinny tall yellow box that my parents may or may not have strategically placed on the very top shelf of the pantry, so that we kids would probably have a hard time reaching them.  Growing up with a diabetic dad, this was a secret “low-fat-ish” snack that he would have in lieu of double-stuffed Oreos (although those did make a very short appearance every once in a while as well….).  We’d crumble them up over ice cream, dip them in tall, cold glasses of milk, or just eat them plain out of the box.  Vanilla wafers.  Plain old fashioned goodness in cookie form.

Recently, in a discussion with someone I am very fond of, I came to learn that one of his favorite cookies was similar to the old school vanilla wafer..with fudge on top.  I stuck that in the corners of my mind and quickly did a search to see if I could find a recipe to make a homemade version.  I was pumped when Shawnda’s version came up first in my Google search, so I went off to try my own hand at it.

Now, a caveat.  They are not *exactly* like the cookies that come from the box.  They have more of a shortbread consistency to them, and they pack a little less of the vanilla flavor.  (I was tempted to try vanilla beans in lieu of vanilla extract, and next time I might add one or two beans in to add a little more vanilla punch to the cookie.)  And, as far as the fudge frosting, I found a nice smooth chocolate ganache with a little sour cream in it to add a little tanginess.  (I love piping with ganache, so that was a bonus.)  Top them off with some sprinkles?  Why, of course.

Homemade Vanilla Wafers with Fudge Frosting

Servings: approximately 24 cookies

Ingredients

For the wafers:

16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 egg yolks

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 and 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

For the frosting:

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

3/4 cup sour cream

Sprinkles, for garnish (optional)

Instructions

1. For the wafers:  In the bowl of your standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter, sugar, and salt on medium-high speed and mix until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.

2.  Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the egg yolks, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

3. Add the vanilla.

4. Add the flour and mix until thoroughly combined.

5. Transfer the dough to a clean and lightly floured surface and divide it into three equal portions.

6. Roll each portion in to a 2-inch diameter cylinder.

7. Wrap each cylinder tightly with plastic wrap and chill until firm, at least 2 hours.  *You can also do a quick freeze of about 20 minutes if you are short on time.

8. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

9.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

10. Unwrap each cylinder, and very carefully, cut each cylinder into 1/4-inch thick slices.  Place each slice onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing each wafer about one inch apart from one another.

11. Bake until the wafers are lightly golden, about 12-15 minutes.  Let cool completely before frosting.

12. For the frosting: In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the whipping cream and butter and stir until the butter is completely melted.

13. Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the chocolate chips. Let sit for about 2 minutes before stirring.

14. After two minutes, whisk the chocolate into the melted butter mixture, mixing until completely smooth.

15. Add the sour cream and whisk until combined.

16. Transfer to a medium bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and chill for at least 30 minutes.

17. Pipe as desired onto the wafers.

Sources:  Vanilla wafers from Confections of a Foodie Bride, originally adapted from Williams-Sonoma.  Frosting from Bon Appétit, via Epicurious.

Long title, huh?

It’s worth it.

Usually, when I go to pair chocolate with something in the realm of sweetness, I go with raspberry or cherry (as evidenced by the umpteen chocolate-raspberry or chocolate-cherry flavor combinations on this website).  But, recently at a “I really shouldn’t go because I’ll spend money I don’t have” trip to King Arthur Flour Company, I walked away with a set of flavoring citrus oils (lime, lemon, and orange) and absolutely no idea of what to do with them.

I’ve never really been a fan of the chocolate-orange combination, either.  Which is why it was a leap of faith when I decided to take a regular sour cream pound cake (oh, yeah!) and mix in a little orange oil and orange zest.  It’s citrus season, right?

The results? Well, the chocolate pound cake speaks for itself.  How can that not be good?  Dense, rich, chocolatey.  I added in chocolate chips, well, because, you know…..who in their right mind wouldn’t?   The powdered sugar glaze was almost like a thick, candy coating. And, as far as that orange flavoring?  Holy smokes.  I think I’m a convert.  I cut this loaf into little bite-sized pieces and brought them into work, for two different departments.  At the end of the day, every crumb was gone.  I assume this means that it was good.

How to find the flavoring oils?  Most bakery/specialty stores will have them.  You can find them online at King Arthur here.  I’m not sure what the equivalent would be if you tried to use zest in place of the oil (It would have to be a lot because these are pretty potent.)  But, they are worth the splurge.

Chocolate Orange Sour Cream Pound Cake

Servings: 1 loaf

Ingredients

2 and 1/4 cups cake flour

3/4 cup cocoa powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 cups granulated sugar, divided

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 teaspoons orange oil

1 cup sour cream

6 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup water

Zest from one orange

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

2.  Generously butter the bottom and sides of a loaf pan (I used a 9-inch) with butter, and place a pre-cut piece of parchment paper on the bottom of the loaf pan.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda; set aside.

4. In the bowl of your standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and 1 cup of the granulated sugar at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.

5. Reduce the mixer speed to medium and add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

6. Add the vanilla and the orange oil.

7. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the sour cream and dry ingredients (alternating them) in 3 separate additions.

8. Add the chocolate chips and mix until completely combined.

9. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and gently smooth the top with a rubber spatula.

10.  Bake until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 1 hour and 1o minutes.

11. Remove the cake from the oven and let cool for at least 10 minutes before inverting onto a cooling rack.  Let cool completely before glazing.

12. For the glaze:  In a small saucepan, combine the remaining 1 cup of granulated sugar and the water over medium-high heat.

13.  Bring the sugar water to a simmer and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved, about 5 minutes or so.

14. Brush the cake with the glaze and let sit for about 5 minutes (you should wait for the glaze to soak in and dry slightly.)

15. Repeat the glazing process two more times.  **The glaze should end up thick and shiny.  Sprinkle with orange zest.

Source: Adapted from Food and Wine.

It’s cookie time.  Awwww, yeah.

I haven’t posted all that many coconut recipes on here yet, which is ironic considering that I do love coconut.  Usually when I make cookies, I go for something with chocolate and/or peanut butter.  But, in a recent effort to clean out my baking shelf in the pantry, the half bag of sweetened coconut caught my eye.  And the leftover jar of raspberry preserves (from these cupcakes) also caught my eye when I attempted to clean out the fridge.  Cleaning out the kitchen is a bonus. Making cookies with these ingredients equals a win-win situation.

These cookies are great for a couple of reasons.  They are simple to throw together-one bowl, a little mixing, and a relatively short baking time.  Another good reason?  Just the idea of toasted coconut makes me think of tropical, sunny weather (a much needed respite from the gray un-wintery winter here in New England).  And one more reason?  While I used raspberry jam (and baked the jam into the cookies), you could probably put anything chocolate or nutty in there (Nutella, what?) after you bake them if you wanted to avoid the jam thing.  Who doesn’t love thumbprint-style cookies?  The possibilities are endless.

So what lesson did I learn here?  Breaking out of the usual cookie shell can be a totally good thing.

Coconut Jam Cookies

Servings: 12 cookies

Ingredients

1 large egg

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 teaspoons lemon zest

2 and 1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut

1/4 cup seedless raspberry jam

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.

3. In the bowl of your standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg on medium-high speed until light yellow and smooth, about 2-3 minutes.

4. Switch to the paddle attachment, and, on medium speed, add the sugar, vanilla, and lemon zest.  Beat for 5 minutes.

5. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the shredded coconut, mixing until thoroughly combined.

6. Drop the batter in 1-2 tablespoon mounds onto the parchment-lined baking sheets, about 2 inches apart from one another.

7. Using the back of a spoon or your fingers, gently make an indentation in the center of each cookie mound.

8.  Place about 1 teaspoon of the raspberry jam into the center of each cookie mound.

9. Bake the cookies for about 15 minutes, or until slightly golden brown.

10.  Immediately turn off the oven, crack the oven door open slightly, and let dry in the (still warm) oven for a few more minutes.  (The original recipe states another 15 minutes, but I had to rescue my cookies after about 7 minutes because they were still continuing to brown a lot.  Use your best judgement here-oven heats can vary significantly.)

Source: Slightly adapted from Williams-Sonoma.