out of this world cookie cake

My goodness! Has it really been over two weeks since I shared a recipe with you all? The time is flying and here I am…I’m emerging from a two (or three?) week baking hiatus. Baking is good for my soul, so hopefully I don’t take a hiatus that long moving forward. Well….unless it’s over 95 degrees outside and I don’t want to melt alive in my house.

I recently found the most simplest of baking recipes and here is what I love about it: (a) it contains eight simple ingredients that you most likely already have in your kitchen, (2) it’s a crowd pleaser and (3) it’s incredibly versatile. For example, you can add nuts or seeds, dried fruit, real fruit, white chocolate chips, caramel and more.

The original recipe is for a chocolate chip cookie cake, however, I wanted to be playful and use chocolate-covered pomegranate seeds in place of the chocolate chips. I was looking for that chocolaty, sweet and tart flavor profile and I achieved it. Oh, did I achieve it. Moreover, when you bite into a slice of this cookie cake, you’ll enjoy the sweet and tart punch of melty chocolate-covered pomegranate seeds. I know, right?! Don’t forget, pomegranate seeds contain antioxidants, which are good for you. More reason to enjoy this cookie cake.

Cookie Cake with Dark Chocolate-Covered Pomegranate Seeds
Inspired from a recipe in this book. Pg 54

Print Recipe

– 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
– 1 cup all-purpose whole wheat flour
– 1^1/2 tsp baking powder
– 1/4 tsp sea salt
– 1 cup packed light brown sugar
– 1 tsp organic vanilla extract
– 1/2 tsp organic almond extract
– 1 large egg
– 1 cup dark chocolate-covered pomegranate seeds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 10-inch spring form cake pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, beat the butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer until well blended. Add the vanilla and almond extracts, and egg until light and creamy. Incorporate the dry ingredients until just blended. Fold-in the dark chocolate-covered pomegranate seeds.

Pour the batter into the cake pan and use a rubber spatula or butter knife to even-out the top. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.

Enjoy warmed, room temperature, dunked in cold milk or a la mode!

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buttery lemony lace cookies

Friends. It has been quite a month. I often find myself crashing on the couch at the end of the day and dreading hopping back on the computer. As a Social Media Manager, I spend most of my waking hours tuned-in…hardcore. In the evening, sometimes, I just want to unplug. Ya feel me?

This post will be brief and to the point. The take away? An easy-peasy recipe for buttery lemony lace cookies. These lace cookies contain ground almonds by the way. I love almonds, they’re good and good for you! They’re good for your heart and packed with antioxidants and nutrients.

I found a great recipe for classic lace cookies, but decided to take a fresh and uplifting spin on it by adding freshly grated lemon zest to the batter. Also, my friend Roger put in a special request for something lemony. Roger…enjoy!

Buttery Lemony Lace Cookies
Inspired from a recipe from this book

Print Recipe

– 1/2 cup raw ground almonds
– 5 Tbls unsalted butter
– 1/3 cup organic unrefined sugar
– 2 Tbls light corn syrup
– 1/3 cup all-purpose wheat flour
– pinch of sea salt
– zest from one lemon
– 1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium saucepan over low heat, combine the butter, sugar and corn syrup. Stir often until the butter is melted and the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat to medium-high, stir constantly and bring to a boil. Once the contents begin to boil, remove from the heat. Stir in the flour and salt until well incorporated. Finally, stir in the ground almonds, lemon zest and vanilla extract.

Using a teaspoon, drop the batter onto the baking sheet. Bake the cookies until evenly light brown, about 10 minutes. At the 5-minute mark, turn the baking sheet around in the oven to ensure even baking. The cookies won’t begin to spread till about 6 minutes into baking.

Cover a cooling rack with paper towels. When the cookies are done baking, place them on the paper-toweled covered wire rack and let cool.

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beary unconventional madeleines

So, you pour yourself a bowl of cereal. You’re starved. You open the fridge and gasp! No milk! This has happened to you right? Or am I the only one? The real story…I wanted coffee and something sweet to snack on. Had the coffee…but….no….sweet….snack!!

Well, thank goodness I keep my baking ingredients well-stocked. Phew!

I call these “beary unconventional” because I don’t own a madeleine pan but I did have a baking pan with small bear molds on-hand. Hey…I was working with my resources. Another reason these are unconventional is that I used brown sugar rather than white sugar. The brown sugar added a nice deep flavor. I approved!

Beary Unconventional Madeleines
Inspired by this recipe

Print Recipe

– 1/2 cup cake flour
– 1/2 tsp baking powder
– 1 egg
– 1/2 cup brown sugar
– 1 tsp rose water
– 4 Tbls unsalted butter, softened

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Position baking rack in lower third of the oven.

Generously butter the molds of your madeleine pan; in my case the bear pan.

Sift together the flour and baking powder into a bowl and set aside. In another bowl, using an electric mixer, beat together the egg, brown sugar and rose water on medium speed for about 30 seconds. Increase the speed to high and beat until the mixture has quadrupled in volume and is very thick. This took me about 8 to 10 minutes.

Using a rubber spatula, carefully fold in the flour mixture and then the butter. Spoon the batter into the prepared molds, filling each one about three-fourths full.

Bake until the madeleines are light brown around the edges and on the bottom, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and immediately remove the madeleines from the pan to a wire rack. Enjoy with hot tea or coffee!

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operation lemon cookie

I firmly believe a majority of people are on a mission to satisfy a food craving. We’re trying to find that perfect something and it’s this ongoing cycle of smell, see, taste, reflect, taste again, then verdict. Is the mission complete? Yes? No? Mission still “active”…bummer.

This is the case for my colleague, whom I’ll call Ms. LC (“LC” for lemon cookie. ha! get it??). I became enlightened a couple of weeks ago when Ms. LC disclosed her mission is to find the perfect lemon cookie; the perfect sweet and tart morsel of lemony sunshine. A cookie that’s good on it’s own, or with a spot of tea, or cold milk.

Knowing she was on the mission to find the perfect lemon cookie quickly became a mission of mine, so read on and I hope you enjoy this recipe and cookie!

A surprising fact about this cookie is that I added rose flower water into the recipe! I love the flavor of rose flower water in baked goods; it adds such majestic depth. Most often one cannot pinpoint what the “special something” is, but it leaves one intrigued and going back for seconds…still pondering and enjoying.

a hint of rose flower water

Rather than adding shortening or butter to the cookie batter, I used coconut oil. You may be thinking, “The cookies taste like coconut and lemon?” or “Ugh, I don’t like the taste of coconut!” No worries friends, the coconut oil fortunately does not add a coconut flavor to the end product, BUT it is considered the “healthiest oil on earth.” Woo hoo!

More on nutritional perks –

Coconut oil – comprised of medium chain fatty acids (MCFA), which do not have a negative effect on cholesterol. coconut oil also protects against heart disease. FYI, 98% of all fatty acids consumed are long chain fatty acids (LCFA), which are harmful to heart health.
Lemon – good source of folate and potassium. A very good source of Vitamin C.
Nutmeg – good source of dietary fiber and a very good source of manganese.

lemons are ready!

Lemon Cookies with Nutmeg and Rose Flower Water
Adapted from shecancook on Tasty Kitchen

– 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted. original recipe used shortening
– 2 eggs
– 2 ^1/2 tsp grated lemon rind
– 2 cups all purpose wheat flour
– 1 cup pure cane sugar
– 1 tsp baking powder
– 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
– 1/4 tsp rose flower water
– 1/2 tsp baking soda
– 1/2 tsp sea salt
– 1 Tbls fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Beat the eggs and melted coconut oil in a medium to large bowl.

Combine grated lemon rind, flour, sugar, baking powder, nutmeg, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl and mix well.

grated lemon rind

Add flour mixture to the egg and coconut oil mixture. Add the lemon juice and rose water. Mix well.

lemony dough!

Drop by the tablespoonful onto a baking sheet and bake 10-12 minutes. Cool baked cookies on a cooling rack.

Operation lemon cookie officially closed!

mission accomplished!

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