Half Assed Kitchen

Molasses cookies

We are thrilled to present our favorite cookie recipe on the face of the earth. It is our mother's recipe and before that, her mother's recipe. Which probably means it's from an old Betty Crocker cookbook, but we don't know for sure, so we're going to pretend it's very exclusive and very family.

As part of our Half Assed family, we're giving it to you. These melty little pieces of heaven cookies are chewy and rich and meant to be eaten five at a time. At least that's how we do it.

One caveat: Do not over bake these guys. Not unless you prefer molasses snaps.

Rating: Truly 1/2 assed

Here's what you need and how you do it

2 cups brown sugar, packed

1 cup vegetable shortening

2 eggs

1/2 cup molasses

4-1/2 cups flour

4 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 teaspoons ginger

1 teaspoon cloves (optional)

1/2 teaspoon salt

Granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream the brown sugar, shortening, eggs and molasses. Blend in remaining ingredients.

Spoon cookie dough into round balls and dip into granulated sugar. Place on lightly greased baking sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes (tops!). Immediately remove from cookie sheet.

For a printable version of this recipe, click here.

Pumpkin bread

One of our favorite things about fall is pumpkin everything. Doughnuts, muffins, cookies, soup and, of course, quick pumpkin bread. Pumpkin bread is easy and rich and we've been eating it for breakfast, snacks and everything in between.

We started with a classic pumpkin bread recipe, then added a few of our own ingredients to spice it up.

Rating: Truly 1/2 assed

Here's what you need and how you do it

3-1/2 cups flour

1-1/2 cups sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1-1/2 cup pumpkin purée

2 eggs

1/8 cup molasses (optional)

1/4 cup milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup applesauce (or another 1/2 cup vegetable oil)

1-1/2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 9x5x3 inch loaf pans. Mix dry ingredients in one bowl, wet ingredients in another. Then combine.

Bake for 45 minutes to one hour, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

For a printable version of this recipe, click here.

Chocolate panna cotta

Up until this week, we'd never made panna cotta before. And now, well, we're not exactly panna cotta experts, but we know a thing or two about this dessert.

It's considered easy to make. Nothing more than heating cream and sugar and adding gelatin. 

Maybe it's just that we tried to make ours lower fat or because we added chocolate, but, while our panna cotta wasn't difficult, it wasn't a complete snap either.

There were a few bowls dirtied, a strainer involved and more than a couple steps to making this rich little concoction. Still, we think it was worth it and no harder than baking cake or pie.

We modified this recipe from one we found in Sunset. It's sweet, sophisticatedly tangy and, as we mentioned before, insanely rich.

Rating: 3/4 assed (maybe a little less, but we can't, in good conscience, give this a half assed rating either).

Here's what you need and how you do it

4 teaspoons gelatin (we used Knox)

2 cups milk or half-and-half, divided (traditionally heavy cream is used, you can go this route if you so desire)

3/4 cup sugar

6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate

1 cup plain Greek yogurt

1 teaspoon vanilla

Chocolate shavings (optional)

In a small bowl or measuring cup, sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup milk. Let sit about 10 minutes until softened.

In a saucepan, mix remaining milk, sugar and chocolate and heat, stirring often, until it starts steaming. Pour in milk and gelatin and whisk to dissolve gelatin.

Mix yogurt and vanilla in a large bowl (that's three big dishes to wash already. I know!!). Pour chocolate mixture through a fine strainer into yogurt and vanilla and stir.

Lightly oil a muffin tin and divide chocolate/yogurt mixture evenly. Chill for at least 2 hours. Top with chocolate shavings (if desired) and serve.

If you don't have time to chill thoroughly, serve in wine glasses or other decorative bowl and they'll still be pretty and tasty.

Serves about 8.

For a printable version of this recipe, click here.

Peach blueberry pie

This is a classic end-of-season fruit pie. We made it after our friend and mentor, Heather, gave us a bag full of peaches and we needed some delicious way to use them. We love pie. It's so easy and so...homey.

Rating: Truly 1/2 assed (simple, but not ridiculously so)

Here's what you need and how you do it

7-8 ripe but firm peaches

3/4 cup sugar

1-1/2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup blueberries

1 Tablespoon milk

1 teaspoon granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Fill saucepan with water, add peaches and bring to boil for a minute or two. Run under cold water to cool peaches. Skin should peel off easily. Slice peaches and mix with sugar, lemon juice, flour and blueberries.

Pour filling into pre-made pie crust. Cover with top layer of crust. Brush with milk and dust with granulated sugar.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until top starts turning golden (you can cover the edges with foil if they start browning too much).

For a printable version of this recipe, click here.

Clafoutis

A fancy name for a simple, little dessert. Clafoutis is a French twist on custard with berries. It's amazingly easy to pull together and makes an elegant finish to your meal. It's also versatile. You can bake clafoutis with frozen fruit all year round.

It's creamy and rich without being too creamy and rich. Smooth eggs combined with tart berries roll satisfyingly over your tongue.

Give this one a whirl and serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Rating: Truly 1/2-hassed (simple, but not ridiculously so)

Here's what you need and how you do it

1-1/2 cups milk

1/2 cup butter (or margarine), room temperature

4 eggs

2/3 cup flour

2/3 cup sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 teaspoons almond extract

Dash salt

4 cups berries, fresh or frozen (traditionally cherries are used, but we made ours with a mixture of raspberries and blueberries)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a blender, mix the milk, butter, eggs, flour, sugar, vanilla, almond extract and salt.

Dump berries into a baking dish and top with the milk-butter-egg mixture.

Bake for 60 to 75 minutes, checking often toward the end. The top should turn slightly golden and the inside should be soft without being too liquidy.

For a printable version of this recipe, click here.

Chocolate chip oatmeal pie

We don't know what we were thinking, but yesterday morning, in the midst of packing for a trip to Brooklyn, we decided it was crucial that we make a pie. Not to take with us as an offering to our hosts. But to eat NOW. To scarf down over the kitchen sink if necessary.

We based our recipe on The Baking Badger's Fudgy Oatmeal bars over at Tasty Kitchen. In fact, we pretty much copied it and made a couple additions.

This pie is meant to be served slightly warm with vanilla ice cream. It really is best that way. But, in a pinch, it also makes a great breakfast. Don't tell anyone we said that.

Rating: Truly 1/2 hassed (Simple, but not ridiculously so.)

Here's what you need and how you do it

3/4 cup butter or margarine, at room temperature

1 cup brown sugar

1 dash salt

1-1/2 cups flour

1-1/4 cups oatmeal

1 Tablespoon cinnamon

2 cups chocolate chips/chunks

1 can sweetened, condensed milk (alternatively, you can use 3/4 cup soy or rice milk whisked with 1/2 cup brown rice syrup--you may have to bake a little longer if you do this dairy-free version)

2 Tablespoons vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine butter, sugar, salt, flour, oatmeal and cinnamon with a mixer or hand pastry blender (it will be very crumbly). Press 1/3 of this mixture into greased pie plate.

Bake for 10 to 15 minutes to form a crust.

In the meantime, mix 1 cup chocolate chips with the sweetened condensed milk and vanilla.

When the crust has finished baking, pour the chocolate/milk blend into the pie crust. Top with remaining oatmeal/flour mixture and remaining chocolate chips.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Do not over bake.

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

For a printable version of this recipe, click here.

Zucchini chocolate chip cookies

This recipe comes from an old Sunset and gives the impression of making halfway nutritious cookies (if you don't count all the butter and sugar--we prefer to focus on the zucchini).

They are cakey, moist and complex. They work equally well with egg or egg replacer and are a must try.

Rating: Truly 1/2 assed (Simple, but not ridiculously so...there is a little shredding, though Zucchini shreds very easily.)

Here's what you need and how you do it

1 cup butter or margarine, room temperature

1-1/2 cups sugar

2 large eggs (or the equivalent egg replacer)

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups zucchini (unpeeled, shredded)

2-3/4 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup chocolate chips

1 cup walnuts (optional, chopped)

1/2 cup raisins (optional, we left them out)

1 cup sweetened, flaked coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Beat in eggs (or egg replacer) and vanilla. Stir in zucchini.

In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Add to zucchini mixture. Stir in nuts, chocolate chips, raisins and coconut.

Drop by spoonfuls onto greased cookie sheets. Bake until lightly browned, 8 to 12 minutes.

For a printable version of this recipe, click here.

Strawberry shortcake

Summer means fresh, local strawberries and old fashioned strawberry shortcake. We made some this past weekend and it was gone by the end of Day One.

Rating: Truly 1/2 assed (Simple, but not ridiculously so)

Here's what you need and how you do it

Biscuits:

2 cups all purpose flour

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 Tablespoons sugar

1 stick butter or margarine, chilled

2/3 cup half and half, milk or soy creamer

Filling:

1 quart strawberries, washed and cut into halves or quarters

1/3 cup sugar

Topping:

1-1/2 cups whipping cream or non-dairy whipped topping

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

In a bowl, sprinkle 1/3 cup sugar over berries and let sit.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Slice butter into 8 pieces and, with a pastry blender, mix into dry ingredients until it resembles a coarse meal. Stir in milk or cream and work with your hands until just moistened. Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead 2 or 3 times.

Pat the dough into a rectangle about 3/4-inch thick and, with a circular cookie cutter, cut out biscuits.

Transfer to buttered cookie sheets and bake for 10 to 12 minutes (do not overbake or you will have rocks).

Let biscuits cool some, then slice in half, top first layer with berries, replace top, Drizzle on more berries and finish with whipped cream.

For a printable version of this recipe, click here.

Thin mints

We wish we could say that these are far and away better than the Keebler Grasshoppers you can buy at the grocery store. They're good...but they're a bit of effort. Not back-breaking effort, mind you. Just more work than we like to put into food.

Still, if you're up for a little mixing, chilling, baking and melting, you might skip the Grasshoppers and try these.

We went to the trouble (and are proud of what we got), so there was no way we weren't going to post our results.

The basic recipe came from Baking Bites, with a few modifications.

Rating: Full assed (Some serious effort and time required)

Here's what you need and how you do it

Cookie:

2-1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
6 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine, room temperature
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon peppermint extract

Chocolate coating:

10 ounces dark or semisweet chocolate
1/2 cup butter or margarine

1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, cocoa powder and salt.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar. With the mixer on low speed, add in the milk and extracts. 

Gradually, add in the flour mixture until fully incorporated. (You may have to knead by hand as the dough turns out fairly crumbly).

Shape dough into two logs, about 1-1/2 inches in diameter, wrap in plastic wrap and freeze for at least 1-2 hours, until dough is very firm.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Slice dough into rounds about 1/8-inch thick and place on greased or parchment-lined baking sheet.

Bake for 12 to 13 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

In a sauce pan, mix chocolate, butter or margarine and peppermint extract until smooth. Dollop a spoonful of chocolate coating on top of each cookie and give them an hour (at least) to set up.

(Try them refrigerated too.)

For a printable version of this recipe, click here.

Chocolate chip graham cookies

We like to randomly make up chocolate chip cookie recipes. It's how we prefer to spend rainy afternoons. Sometimes our concoctions work. Sometimes not so much. But yesterday, we think we hit upon a winner.

These little guys are made with graham flour and oatmeal.

They're good, sweet and chewy.

Rating: Truly 1/2 assed (Simple, but not ridiculously so)

Here's what you need and how you do it

1 cup butter or margarine

3/4 c. brown sugar

1 cup graham cracker crumbs

1 cup flour

1 cup oats

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 cup milk

Dash vanilla (optional)

1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream together sugar and butter. Add milk and vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, flour, oats, salt and baking powder. Mix with butter/sugar/vanilla mixture. Fold in chocolate chips.

Drop in dollops onto greased cookie sheets and bake for 10 to 12 minutes.

For a printable version of this recipe, click here.