Hello Robin!!

As a baker of cookies I was very excited to hear about the new cookie shop Hello Robin that would be opening in Seattle on 19th, a block that is quickly gaining fame with the addition of Linda Derschangs Newest restaurant Tallulaha and the beautifully curated grocery Cone & Steiner. Hello Robin is a beautiful partnership between Robin Wehl Martin and Molly from the well know Molly Moon's Ice Cream. 

Mr. Ramon and I stopped in one night to check out this spot and get our cookie on. I was blown away by the design of the shop. The use of robins egg blue and white were clean and sophisticated. The space - though small feels full of light and air with the high ceiling and open plan. I was so excited to see a huge work table/bar with chairs around it allowing for classes, demos and getting up close and personal to the cookie making process. I think one of the most beautiful parts of the store is the blue and white tile. 

Now the cookies. I am a bit of a cookie snob and know just what I like. Mr. Ramon chose the Habanero Orange Chocolate and I decided on a classic chocolate chip and a ginger cookie. I really liked the domed shape of the cookies knowing I would find it chewy in the center and just crispy enough around the edges. Honestly I was prepared to be a bit let down as I usually am when buying others cookies - but these were magical in every way. I honestly can't say I have had a better cookie anywhere in the city. 

The customer service was also fantastic. The employee working, Sophie was excited about her wares and we swapped cookie stories. It was so nice to have a freindly face working in this beautiful shop. 

If you are out and about I recommend you stop in at Hello Robin and pick up a couple of these amazing cookies to snack on. 

Brown Butter Snickerdoodles

I was excited to receive a baking book for Christmas from Mr. Ramon - Baked Elements: Our 10 Favorite Ingredients. I have already been baking my way through another of their books - Baked Explorations: Classic American Desserts Reinvented for the last year. In my eyes Matt and Renato of Baked can do no wrong. They continue to push the envelope of flavor and texture and always amaze me. I love to follow them on Facebook - when I am just waking up they are already posting delicious pictures of what the bakery is offering for the day. If you love drooling over baked goods - I recommend following them! 

I have several clients that I bake assorted cookies and bars for regularly so I scanned through my new book for something to add in to my rotation. I came across their recipe for Brown Butter Snickerdoodles. I love a snickerdoodle. This is a cookie that I remember often from my childhood. When I bake classic cookies I like to see how to take them to the next level - make them the adult version of what you remember as a child. That could mean adding rum, a little more salt or in this case browning the butter for a deeper flavor. 

I am always happy with the results of the Baked recipes and this was no exception. My house was filled with the scent of brown butter and cinnamon. Yum! I hope you get a chance to make these - you will enjoy them as much as my clients did!

Brown Butter Snickerdoodles

Makes about 24 cookies

For the cookies:

1 cup unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 & 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon milk
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

For the cinnamon-sugar:
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Place butter in a medium skillet. Cook over medium heat, swirling occasionally, until butter melts and foams. Continue cooking until the foam subsides, brown specks form in the bottom of the pan, and the butter turns nut brown (8-10 minutes).

Pour butter into the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat on medium-low speed for 5-7 minutes to cool the butter to room temperature.

Whisk together flour, cream of tartar, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

Combine eggs and milk in a small bowl. Whisk lightly.

Turn off mixer when butter has cooled to room temperature. Add sugar and brown sugar. Beat at medium for about 2 minutes. Stop Mixer and scrape down sides of bowl. Turn mixer speed to low and pour in egg mixture. Beat until well-combined.

Add flour mixture in three portions, beating just until combined after each addition.

Gather dough into a mound in the bowl. Cover bowl and refrigerate at least an hour, or up to 24 hours.

Preheat oven to 400°. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Stir together cinnamon-sugar ingredients in a wide-mouth bowl.

Using about 2 tablespoons of dough at a time, roll dough into balls. Roll each ball in cinnamon-sugar to coat. Place cookies about 1 & 1/2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets.

Bake for 10 minutes, or until cookies are cracked and set. Let cool on sheets for 10 minutes then transfer to cooling racks to cool completely. 

Recipe modified from: Baked Elements

Lebkuchen Bars

Thanksgiving is right around the corner and all I want to do is bake. The holiday season is my favorite time to be in the kitchen. I love the tastes of fall - pears, pumpkin, citrus and cranberries. The spices so rich - nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon and clove. With that in mind I thought I would begin baking some of my favorite holiday treats. 

Lebkuchen Bars are a a spicy gingerbread type bar hailing from Germany. They are a traditional Christmastime treat and would be delightful with a cup of tea after a cold day outside. Some recipes call for almonds, candied citrus peels or ginger. 

These bars are great the day they are made but only get better over the next couple of days - if they last that long!

Lebkuchen Bars

4 tablespoons butter

4 tablespoons vegetable shortening

3 cups all purpose flour

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspon cardamon

3/4 teaspoon ginger 

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup molasses

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest 

Glaze

1 tablespoon  lemon juice

1 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

3 tablespoons whole milk

Preheat oven to 325. Set oven rack to lower middle. Prepare a 13x9 pan by lining it with foil or parchment and greasing it. 

Melt butter and shortening together and let cool slightly. 

Whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, cardamom, ginger and salt together in a small bowl. 

In a large bowl, whisk granulated sugar, molasses, eggs and lemon zest loather, then whisk in cooled butter until combined. Stir in the flour mixture until just combined. 

Spread batter into prepared pan and smooth top. 

Bake 35-45 minutes - rotating pan halfway through baking. A toothpick inserted in the middle should come out clean. 

Let bars cool completely in pan on wire rack - about 2 hours. Lift bars out with parchment/foil overhang. Cut into 24 pieces. 

Whisk the Glaze ingredients in a small bowl and spread evenly over each bar. Let glaze set for 30 minutes before serving. 

Store in airtight container for 3 days. 

Ginger Carrot Cake Cookies

While every blog this month is filled with salads and juice cleanses I thought I would tempt you with a vegetable filled cookie.  

While a giant cake topped with mounds of cream cheese frosting is a delight - cakes in general can be hard to manage for some gatherings. I wanted carrot cake that was portable. After several recipe attempts I landed on one filled with spicy ginger and plump golden raisins. These are great as soon as they are made or they can be be made a day in advance and stored in the refrigerator. I think they are delicious chilled. 

Filling 

• 2 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon grated ginger
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice

With an electric mixer, beat cream cheese, butter, ginger and lemon zest until smooth. Add sugar and lemon juice; beat until combined. Cover and chill until firm, at least 30 minutes.

 Cookies

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon grated ginger
• 1 large egg yolk
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 3/4 cup packed, finely grated, peeled carrots
• 1/3 cup golden raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. 

In a large bowl, whisk together butter, Ginger, sugars, and egg yolk.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, ginger, and salt.

Add flour mixture to butter mixture; stir until combined.

Mix in oats, carrots, and currants.

Drop tablespoons of dough - 2 inches apart, onto prepared baking sheets and flatten.

Bake until edges are crisp, rotating baking sheets halfway through, 15 to 18 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool.

Turn half the cookies over, bottom side up; dollop each with about 1 teaspoon chilled cream-cheese filling. Top with remaining cookies, pressing gently to spread filling to edges. 

Serve immediately or store in refrigerator for 1 day. 

Raspberry Jam Bars

I love bar cookies. They are the simple no fuss cousins of regular cookies. Mix, dump in pan and bake. So easy. I was so excited to find myself with 2 flats of raspberries last week. I almost never indulge in reaspberries - the short growng season makes them a little too pricey for my budget. But this year our longer than usual sunny streak meant that I got a great deal on these little gems. 

I knew that jam would be in my near future. I followed the same reciped I used for my Strawberry Jam just substituting these berries. It turned out so great - sweet and the color of rubies. I had some left that would not quite fill a jar so I decided to make a batch of Jam Bars. You can use any jam on hand - I love them with apricot also. 

These are really easy to prepare and have a great butttery crust that pairs well with the sweet jam center. These are sure to disappear quickly. 

Raspberry Jam Bars

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cups oats
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup walnuts chopped finely
• 12 tablespoons butter cool room temperature cut into pieces
• 1 cup raspberry jam

Adjust the oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9x9 pan with foil allowing edges to hang over for easy removal. Spray foil-lined pan with nonstick cooking spray. 

In a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix flour through nuts on low speed until combined, about 30 seconds. With machine on low, add the butter and mix until fully combined - about 2 minutes. 

Press 2/3 of the crust into the bottom of the pan with your hand until even. Bake for about 20 minutes until crust is brown. Take out of the oven and spread the jam over the warm crust with the back of a spoon. Take remainder of crust and sprinkle it over the jam. Place back in oven and bake for about 30 minutes and golden brown. 

Cool on a wire rack before removing from pan. Cut 1/4 inch of edge off on each side for a neater presentation. Then cut into squares.