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Yummy Links: From Dungeness Crab to Turkey Cookies

partysugar — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 06:50:32 -0800

San Franciscans get excited: it's dungeness crab season! - SFoodie
This holiday season, why not bake a beautifully festive cake or cupcakes? - Hostess With the Mostess
Eating dark chocolate may help you handle stress. - The Epi-Log
The FDA has withdrawn the ban on the sale of Gulf Coast raw oysters during warm months. - Eater
Introducing: people talking on bananas. - People Talking on Bananas
Could Jose Garces be the next Iron Chef? - Grub Street Philadelphia
Rachael Ray on the Martha Stewart Show makes for some uncomfortable television. - Eat Me Daily
Learn how to fight wine snobbery. - Chow
Turn Keebler Fudge striped cookies into Thanksgiving turkeys. - Serious Eats

Halloween Fingers Two Ways - Beginner and Expert

YumSugar — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 05:50:39 -0700

Whether you're throwing or attending a Halloween bash this weekend, chances are you'll need some flavorful frights to go with whatever hard drinks you're having on All Hallow's Eve. Go ghoulish - but not too gruesome! - with a treat that's also a bit of a trick: bony witches' fingers. Make a handful in a flash with the help of pre-made breadstick dough. Going for the realistic? Take the time to make them from scratch, knuckles, almond fingernails, and all. Tickled yet by one or both recipes? Get them after the jump.

Name That Dish!

partysugar — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 16:15:04 -0700

The classic cookies pictured below were not featured in a recent cookie roundup, but I'm dying to make them soon. Do you know what kind they are?

Cookies, Cookies, and More Cookies!

partysugar — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 06:50:13 -0700

Did you know that October is National Cookie Month? Cookies are a quintessential, individual, and portable dessert, and there are so many varieties we could feature a new recipe every day. Whether you enjoy something chewy, fruity, or crispy, to celebrate national cookie month, I've rounded up our best cookie recipes. It's never too early to start thinking about what kind of cookies you'll be making over the holidays, so check out the cookies we have to offer now.

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Come Party With Me: Tailgate - Dessert

partysugar — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 11:30:49 -0700

No Cal-USC tailgate is complete without a sweet treat and I like to serve cookies. Specifically, classic oatmeal raisin cookies - they're chewy, not too sweet, and scream Fall.

Cookies are also perfectly portable and can be made in advance, meaning they're ideal for a tailgate. Because the finished dough needs time to chill in the fridge before being baked, this recipe must be prepared several days before the game.

To make these cookies for your friends and family, get the recipe and keep reading.

Simple Tip: Transport Baked Goods in Bakery Boxes

partysugar — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 10:15:40 -0700

Unless you make and transport cupcakes on a very regular basis, you probably have no need for a bulky plastic cupcake carrier. However, on those occasions when cupcakes have to be carried from your kitchen to another location, do what I do and pick up a baking box. A local bakery, or even the baking section of your grocery store, has a large supply of these boxes in a variety of sizes. If you've developed a relationship with the employees, they'll most likely give you the box for free. Ask for a large, medium, or small box and you can safely transport cakes, cookies, or pies without ruining a beautiful frosting job. Does anyone else do this? What's your secret for taking baked goods from one place to another?

Nestlé Toll House Cookie Dough Makes a Comeback

YumSugar — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 11:41:46 -0700

One of the food industry's more massive headlines occurred at the end of June, when a deadly strain of E. coli bacteria was discovered in a batch of Nestlé Toll House refrigerated cookie dough. Two months later, Nestle is returning its dough batter to shelves - albeit with an important warning.

At least 66 people in 28 states reported getting sick from the product. Nearly all of the victims were female, under the age of 19, and reported eating raw dough before experiencing symptoms. In response, Nestlé voluntarily recalled 3.6 million packages of its cookie dough, and shuttered the portion of its Danville, VA, plant as federal investigators tried to determine the source of contamination. After completely disassembling the equipment in the plant for inspection and sanitizing, the company is shipping out fresh refrigerated cookie dough packs. To help shoppers identify it as new and improved, the package now contains a blue, star-shaped seal that says "New Batch" - along with the warning "Do not consume raw cookie dough" on both the front and back.

Are you excited to hear that Toll House cookies are back - or are you afraid to eat them? What do you think of the new warning labeling? Does the recall situation make you reconsider the idea of eating raw cookie dough straight out of the package?

Source: Flickr User √oхέƒx™

Will Wal-Mart's New Cookies Hurt the Girl Scouts?

YumSugar — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 10:30:00 -0700

Over the years, world's biggest retailer Wal-Mart has been the source of heated scrutiny for many organizations, from labor unions to environmental groups. The grocery giant's latest purported victim? The Girl Scouts.

According to Ad Age, the corporation, which has focused on expanding its Great Value private label, handed out test versions of its cookies at Chicago's recent BlogHer conference. One Ohio mommy blogger - and former Girl Scout cookie mom - took immediate notice of the cookies' resemblance to Girl Scout varieties.

"Wal-Mart has copied the Girl Scouts' two best selling cookie types, Thin Mints and Tagalongs," wrote C.V. Harquail on her blog, Authentic Organizations. "There goes the Girl Scout cookies' special allure, and there go the profits that fund the Girl Scouts' programs."

The issue, which has already garnered a reasonable amount of attention, once again raises the question of the corporation's concern for its community. Do you think the new cookies will cannibalize sales of Girl Scout cookies? Is Wal-Mart responsible for considering the impact of its sales on its surroundings - or is it up to the Girl Scouts to evolve with the times?

Source: Flickr User zaui

Come Party With Me: Rehearsal Dinner - Dessert

partysugar — Wed, 27 May 2009 11:30:52 -0700

When planning your rehearsal dinner, take into consideration the theme of the wedding. If you're having a black tie big day, don't host an equally formal rehearsal dinner. Instead throw a laid back luau, festive hoedown, or in the case of my girlfriend, Ronda, a backyard grilled pizza party. Simply put, the rehearsal dinner should not upstage the wedding reception. For this reason, avoid serving cake.

Instead, offer guests a delightfully crisp frosted cookie like these Italian-inspired chocolate hazelnut spiced cookies. They are ideal for a party because they can be made up to four days in advance. Check out the scrumptious recipe when you read more.

Chocolate Hazelnut Spiced Cookies
From Gourmet

Ingredients

For cookies:
1 1/2 cups hazelnuts (9 ounces), toasted , loose skins rubbed off in a kitchen towel while still warm, and nuts cooled completely
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
3 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1 tablespoon hazelnut-flavored liqueur (preferably Frangelico)
For icing:
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)
3 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon hazelnut-flavored liqueur

Directions

Make cookies: Preheat oven to 325°F with rack in middle. Butter a large baking sheet.
Pulse hazelnuts, sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and cloves in a food processor until nuts are finely chopped, then add butter and zest and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal with some small (roughly pea-size) butter lumps.
Add juice and liqueur and pulse until dough comes together into a ball but is still crumbly. Form level tablespoons of dough into balls and flatten to about 1 1/2 inches in diameter, arranging 1 inch apart on baking sheet.
Bake cookies until puffed and slightly cracked, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.
Make icing while cookies cool: whisk together all icing ingredients until smooth.
Dip tops of cooled cookies into icing and transfer to a wax-paper-lined baking sheet. Let stand until icing is set, about 1 hour.

Makes 2 1/2 dozen cookies.

Make ahead: Cookies keep, layered between sheets of parchment paper, in an airtight container at room temperature 4 days.

Print recipe with images | without images

Mother's Cookies Are Back

YumSugar — Fri, 01 May 2009 13:00:37 -0700

If Mother's Cookies were on your list of discontinued products that you continue to miss, you can cross them off now, because beginning May 4 - just in time for Mother's Day - select Mother's Cookies will return to store shelves in the West.

In October of last year, Mother's unexpectedly closed its doors. Cookie lovers everywhere mourned the loss with farewell t-shirts and by raiding supermarkets for the last of the brand's cookies.

Then, in December, Kellogg's purchased the rights to Mother's Cookies, which is why in a matter of days the snacks will be back in grocery stores where they rightfully belong. To see what varieties will be returning, read more.

Chocolate Chip
Circus Animal
Coconut Cocadas
Double Fudge
English Tea
Iced Lemonade
Iced Oatmeal
Macaroons
Oatmeal
Taffy
Vanilla Crème

Which cookies are you most excited about?

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