Toasted Almond-Honey Ice Box Cookies.

I love ice box cookies, especially in summer.  You make one batch of dough without the worry of having to bake them right away and you've got something you can slice and bake whenever you feel that sweet tooth coming on.  These are the perfect little cookie to accompany anything - coffee, tea, sorbet, ice cream, or ice-cold milk!

Almonds and honey are one of my favorite combinations, but as always, feel free to substitute your favorite nut here.  Pistachios always make a beautiful ice box cookie since their color gets to shine through, though I would recommend lightly toasting and coarsely chopping whatever it is you choose if not sliced almonds.

I used white whole wheat flour in this cookie dough which gave them a lovely ecru color, along with some sparkly turbinado sugar sprinkled on top.

Toasted Almond-Honey Ice Box Cookies
1 3/4 cup white whole wheat flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
1/2 cup sliced almonds, lightly toasted
Turbinado sugar for sprinkling

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.  In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter, sugar and honey together until light and fluffy, then add the egg and vanilla extract, mixing well.  Stir in the flour mixture, then the almonds until a dough starts to form, then divide the dough into 2 portions.  Form the dough into logs on wax paper and wrap tightly.  Freeze at least 1 hour, or up to a month.

To bake these cookies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Unwrap a log of cookie dough and cut into 1/4" slices and place them on the baking sheet.  Sprinkle with turbinado sugar and bake until golden around the edges, 8-12 minutes.

Let cool completely, then store airtight up to 5 days.

By the way, hello August! :) I hope everyone is having an amazing summer, I can't believe it's already halfway over!

Ginger-Honeyed Apple and Apricot Phyllo Crunch Pie.

This was the dessert I made for Father's Day - a riff on apple crisp and pie, tucked into crisp and buttery phyllo dough.

The original idea for this came from somehow finding two boxes of phyllo dough in the freezer but not having enough time to make baklava.  My dad loves apple crisp and apple pie so I wanted to do a more summery version of it - there's very little sugar here, no cinnamon (a typically fall and winter spice, although my favorite) and I added the apricots to keep things fresh and different.

Phyllo dough isn't hard to work with at all, just make sure to keep it covered with a damp paper towel or even just a piece of wax paper when you have it out on the counter and you'll be fine.  If the edges start to crisp up a little, just brush with a little water or some of the butter mixture you're using in between the layers of the pastry.

I found the recipe for the crunch/crisp while searching for inspiration on a site that happened to have the measurements in grams and ounces and if you don't have a kitchen scale, GET ONE!  I find that using grams and ounces is actually easier (not to mention more accurate) than using cups, you don't have to wash every single little individual measuring cup, you just tare and weigh everything into one bowl!  Kitchen scales are inexpensive and absolutely necessary for baking.

Ginger-Honeyed Apple and Apricot Phyllo Crunch Pie

Crunch/Crisp:
Adapted from this site
54g light brown sugar
50g granulated sugar
105g all-purpose flour
21g quick-cooking oatmeal
35g toasted walnuts, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 stick/4 ounces unsalted butter, cut into small pieces and chilled

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. and have a cookie sheet next to you.  Measure all the ingredients except for the butter into a medium-sized bowl and mix them together.  Cut in the butter using a pastry cutter, a fork, or your fingertips until the butter resembles small peas.  Dump this mixture onto the cookie sheet and pack everything together lightly.  Bake until golden brown around the edges and on top, about 10-15 minutes.  Let cool completely, then break into small pieces and set aside.

Ginger-Honeyed Apples and Apricots:
4 large baking apples (I used Empire), peeled, cored and cut into large chunks
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
3 tablespoons honey
Pinch of kosher salt
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1/2 cup dried apricots, cut into slivers

Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes before adding the apples, brown sugar, honey, and salt.  Don't stir the apples right away, let them get a nice browned exterior on one side and then after about 2-3 minutes, turn them to get the other sides caramelized as well.  Once the apples are cooked down, add in the ginger and dried apricots, remove from the heat and let cool.

For assembly:
8-12 sheets of phyllo dough
About 8 tablespoons melted butter or olive oil, or a combination of the two

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.  Brush the bottom and sides of a 9" tart (or pie) pan and begin layering the phyllo dough into the pan.  Gently press the sheets of dough onto the bottom and brush each layer with some of the melted butter and oil on top of each before placing the next one on top.  Use about 4 or 5 layers going one way (the long or short way), then 4 or 5 layers going the other way.  Crumble some of the crunch into the bottom of the layers, then scrape the apple mixture over, then more of the crunch.  Gather the phyllo dough from around the edges of the pan and scrunch them on top.  Place the pie on a cookie sheet and bake in the oven for about 20-30 minutes, until it's golden brown.  I used the rest of the crunch and crumbled it on top halfway through the baking time for a decorative touch.

Let the pie cool slightly, then dig in!

Honey Cake.

Last week I made an orange poppy seed Bundt cake.  Well, I tried to.  When I went to take the cake out of the Bundt pan, of course the top of the cake stuck in the pan and only the bottom half came out.  It was still really delicious and we ate it all but I was really upset about not being able to get the whole cake out of the pan!

I was determined to make a Bundt cake that would look as beautiful as it tastes and I had a jar of honey crystallizing in the cupboard - honey cake!  This recipe is from the super cute Best Bake Sale Ever cookbook with a few adaptations.  I didn't have dark brown sugar and only 1 cup of honey so I added in 1/4 cup of molasses to compensate and used 3/4 cup light brown sugar instead of the full cup of dark brown that's called for.  I increased the amount of spices, added salt, and I used tea and brandy for the liquids. The book gives many options - you can use coffee or tea for the main liquid, orange juice, brandy or whiskey for the smaller amount of liquid.  I imagine you can also substitute 1 cup of any dried fruit you'd like here, I stuck with raisins and apricots but next time I'd love to try dried cherries, golden raisins, dates or dried blueberries!

I admit a big reason I decided to make this cake is because of the lack of fat needed - a mere 1/3 cup of oil!  This is a great dense, moist spicy cake for breakfast, snack or dessert.  I hope you enjoy it!

Honey Cake
Adapted from The Best Bake Sale Ever Cookbook
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1/3 cup vegetable (or canola) oil
1 cup honey
3/4 cup cold brewed tea or coffee
1/4 cup brandy, orange juice or whiskey
1/2 cup dark raisins
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. and grease a 10-inch Bundt pan well.

In a large bowl, whisk or sift together the flour, baking powder and soda, spices and salt until everything is incorporated and well mixed.  In another large bowl, whisk together the eggs, brown sugar, molasses, oil, honey, coffee or tea and brandy, juice or whiskey, then add the liquid ingredients to the flour mixture and stir until almost completely mixed.  Fold in the dried fruit, then pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake in the center of the oven for 45 minutes to an hour and 15 minutes.  It will be done when it has risen and cracked slightly on top and turned golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.  Let it cool in the pan for 20 minutes, then run a butter knife around the edges to loosen and invert onto a serving platter or cake stand to cool completely.

This cake will stay fresh up to 5 days stored airtight.

Ricotta Honey Oatmeal Muffins.

These are light, springy muffins that go perfectly with tea or coffee for breakfast and brunch.  They reminded me of what graham crackers would taste like in muffin form, I suppose from the honey-oat combination, and they were delicious.

I hate to keep bringing up the weather but I wish it would just make up its mind already!  This past week had days near 60, but today it's been snowy and rainy.  But these muffins, warm from the oven, delivered just the right amount of comfort to help remind me that warmth will be here soon enough.  And only two weeks from now I'll be on my way to warm(er) North Carolina anyway :)

The original recipe for these gives 18 as the yield - I got 12 and I always get more cupcakes or muffins out of a recipe!  I also left out the orange zest because I didn't have any on hand, but feel free to add the zest of any citrus as well as any dried fruit or nut you'd like.

Ricotta Honey Oatmeal Muffins
Adapted from Food.com
1 large egg
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/3 cup (5 1/3 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup honey
1 cup quick-cooking oatmeal
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup self-rising flour

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. and grease a 12-cup muffin pan or line with papers and set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and ricotta cheese.  In another bowl, whisk the softened butter with the honey  until creamy, then stir in the ricotta mixture, oatmeal, baking soda and flour and stir until everything is just combined.  Divide the batter among the muffin cups and bake for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown on top and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Let cool on a wire rack, then store airtight up to 3 days.

Honey White Wheat Knot Rolls.

September means beginning of major soup weather.  You can (and I do) make soups all year 'round but when you make soups in September through April, no one makes faces or thinks you're crazy.  To go along with steaming bowls of delicious chicken-vegetable gumbo, I made these lovely rolls.  They made a perfect accompaniment to the soup, but the leftover rolls were amazing toasted, spread with butter and jam for breakfast or just re-warmed for a few seconds in the microwave to make them taste freshly baked again.

I used this recipe but used white whole wheat flour instead of regular whole wheat.  The dough was incredibly sticky even after rising so the cloverleaf shape was a no-go, I just did knots instead (and was reminded of my days in culinary school when we had to do 4 dozen knot rolls every day...) Anyway, if you want to do the cloverleaf shape, after forming the dough into 12 pieces, you cut the 12 pieces into 3 each and roll them into little balls, then place into the muffin cups, let rise and bake.  They are adorable, but the knots are much faster and taste just as good.  Had the dough been less sticky, I might have attempted the cloverleafs!

Honey White Wheat Knot Rolls
Adapted from Cooking Light
2 1/4 teaspoons or one package dry yeast
1 cup warm water (about 100 degrees F.)
2 cups bread flour, divided
1 cup white wheat flour (or whole wheat)
3 tablespoons honey
2 1/2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon water
1 large egg

Combine the yeast and warm water in a large bowl, let stand for a few minutes until foamy.

Add 1 1/2 cups bread flour and the white whole wheat flour along with the honey, melted butter and salt.  Stir until a loose dough forms, then turn out onto a floured surface.  Knead the dough, adding the other 1/2 cup bread flour, until it's springy and elastic, about 8-10 minutes.

Place in a greased bowl and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, 45 minutes to an hour.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces (I weighed the dough first, then divided the total weight by 12.  Each piece was about 2 ounces.)  Roll each piece into a 5-6 inch rope, then make a knot and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet or into greased muffin cups.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, about 20 to 30 minutes.

Beat the egg and 1 tablespoon water and brush over the risen rolls.  Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes.  Serve warm.