Pecan Pie…for my Mom

Pecan pieEveryone loves my mother. No, really, they do. Many times in my life, when I’ve introduced myself to someone, they’ve said “oh, are you related to Genny Kozusko?” And when I confirmed that she’s my mom, they inevitably proclaimed, in wide-eyed fascination, “Genny’s your mom?!? I love her! What’s it like to have a mom like her?”

What is it like to have a mom like Genny? She was strict with my brother Andy and me when we were kids, tolerating no back-talk, tantrums, or nonsense. Weekly mass attendance was compulsory, good grades were expected, and junk food was rationed like it was World War II. But every summer, she packed us into the car for a week-long trip to Maryland, where she and my Aunt Liz would take us to Gettysburg, or DC, or Baltimore and teach us about everything they knew; during the school year, Genny came to all of our games, school plays, and concerts when her own busy teaching and coaching schedule permitted. When I lived away from Pittsburgh, I called her every week to check in, and I still call her when I travel to let her know that I’ve arrived safely. She helped Mike and me paint our house, landscape our yard, and renovate our bathroom. She’s our go-to dog-sitter and always happy to take Millie for a walk when she stops by.

What it’s like to have a mom like Genny is to know that I must leave this world a little better off than I found it; to know that family, faith, honesty, hard work, and humor are the most important things that exist. I’m incredibly lucky to have her as my mom. And because it’s Mother’s Day, I’ve baked this pecan pie for her.

Ingredients

  • 1 unbaked pie crust
  • 3 slightly beaten eggs
  • 1 cup light corn syrup
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/3 cup butter, melted
  • 1 1/2 cups pecan halves

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line a 9-inch pie plate with crust; trim edges and shape as desired.

In a medium bowl, combine eggs, corn syrup, sugar, and vanilla and mix well. Add melted butter, taking care not to cook your eggs, stirring to combine. Stir in pecans, then pour filling into crust.

Cover the edge of the pie with a guard or foil to prevent over-browning; bake for 25 minutes, then remove guard and bake another 20-25 minutes, until a knife inserted in the center of the pie comes out clean.

Cool on a wire rack for at least two hours before refrigerating.

Meet Genny

Genny O’Donnell Kozusko is the second-youngest of six children. Born in Howard County, Maryland on June 9, 1946, she is fifty minutes older than her twin sister, my Aunt Liz. She’s the director of athletics at The Ellis School in Pittsburgh, though she is retiring this year to spend more time volunteering at her church, hanging out with our nephew Roman, and hopefully walking Millie.

Below, Genny leans over to touch the Green Monster at Fenway Park in Boston.

Genny and the Monster

Butter Cookies with Chocolate Drizzle

butter cookies with chocolate

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My grandmother used to buy tins of Royal Dansk Danish butter cookies, and their signature blue tin meant one thing to me as a child: the pretzel-shaped cookie sprinkled with enormous granules of sugar. It was my favorite, followed closely by the one with the tiny chocolate chips in it. This recipe reminds me a bit of the Royal Dansk cookies; it is simple, with few ingredients, and easily adapted into various shapes. Before today, I’ve baked these as twists and pretzels, both dipped in chocolate. Because chocolate makes everything better, especially sturdy butter cookies like these.

The chocolate drizzle is incredibly easy to make and convenient for both drizzling or dipping, depending on what you prefer. Next time, I might coat each cookie entirely in chocolate.

Ingredients

For the cookies

  • 8 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 egg white
  • 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
  • 1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons flour

For the chocolate drizzle

  • 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
  • 1 tablespoon shortening

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a mixing bowl, combine butter and sugar and cream together until combined.

Add vanilla and egg white and mix until combined.

Add salt and one-half cup flour; mix until incorporated. Add remaining flour slowly, mixing until well incorporated.

Using a one-inch cookie scoop, scoop out dough and roll into balls. Place a few inches apart on prepared cookie sheets and flatted into discs using the bottom of a glass.

Bake for 14-16 minutes, until cookies are light golden brown.

Allow to cool completely before drizzling or dipping.

Once cookies are cool, combine chocolate chips and shortening in a small saucepan. Melt on low heat, stirring frequently.

Drizzle chocolate over cookies, or dip half of each cookie into chocolate and allow to set on waxed paper.

 

Caramel Popcorn

caramel corn

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Caramel is tricky. Chemically speaking, caramelization is the removal of water from sugar, a breakdown of molecules and re-formation of compounds that yield a distinct flavor. Making caramel can be a complicated business, because it’s a sensitive substance. Rainy days aren’t good for candy making in general, and you’ve got to be careful about stirring or not stirring according to a recipe’s specifications.

When Mike and I lived in Maryland and DC, my caramel popcorn turned out very differently, with a smooth caramel coating that I am yet to achieve in Pittsburgh. In LaPlata, Mike’s coworkers took up collections, giving me the proceeds to buy ingredients and keep them in caramel popcorn on a weekly basis. But here in my sunny Pittsburgh kitchen, the atmosphere, or moisture in the air, or humidity yields a crystalline caramel akin to rock candy, rather than a smooth caramel like it should. I’ve amend my recipe below to feature an additional half-teaspoon of vanilla from what I used today.

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup unpopped popcorn kernels
  • 12 tablespoons butter
  • 1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
  • 6 tablespoons light corn syrup
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

Preparation

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Using an air popper, pop the popcorn and place it in a large roasting pan; remove any unpopped kernels.

In a medium saucepan, combine butter, brown sugar, and corn syrup. Cook and stir over medium heat until the mixture comes to a boil, then continue boiling, without stirring, for 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and add baking soda and vanilla, then stir vigorously to combine; the mixture will puff up a bit and it is very important to do this off of the heat.

Pour immediately over the popcorn and bake for 15 minutes; stir, then bake 5 minutes more.

While the popcorn is baking, spread two large pieces of aluminum foil on a table; tape down at the edges and butter well.

When popcorn is finished baking, spread immediately on the buttered foil to cool.

Chocolate Chip Blondies

chocolate chip bars 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I wonder if people really ask their neighbors to borrow cups of sugar. It happens all the time on older television shows, facilitating friendships between spirited women and will-they-or-won’t-they love matches between handsome guys and pretty gals.

Last night, I fell one half-cup short of the requisite two cups of packed light brown sugar in this recipe. For a brief moment, I thought about running next door to ask if my neighbors had any, but I settled on a quick internet search and found the solution. (As it turns out, mixing equal parts dark brown sugar and white sugar will yield a similar flavor and texture.) And then, I wanted to know who came up with the world’s baking substitutions? Who took the time to experiment, and how did they get the ratios just right? Whoever they were, I’m grateful for them, for their bravery to try something new instead of just abandoning their recipes, and then for sharing that knowledge with the rest of us.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup butter, melted
  • 2 cups packed light brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 cups flour
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup chocolate chips

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Butter a 13 x 9 baking dish.

In a large mixing bowl, combine brown sugar and melted butter; mix well.

Stir in baking powder, salt, and vanilla until well combined.

Add flour and stir until well combined.

Add eggs and stir until fully incorporated.

Stir in chocolate chips.

Spread batter in buttered pan and bake for 35 minutes, until the top is golden brown and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool completely in the pan.

Peanut Butter Honey Muffins

pb honey muffins

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For the past three months, I haven’t eaten sweets. How, you ask, can a baker do such a thing? What would possess someone who clearly loves desserts to deny herself all manner of cakes, cookies, chocolates, and pastries for months? The simple answer is: her scale (which nearly got hurled out the window after Christmas). And so with only 14 days to go in Operation No Sweets ‘Til Denver (I’m going to Denver for work two weeks from now), I sought out something that was baked, but not dessert-like. Enter the peanut butter honey muffin.

One could argue that such a muffin is dessert-like, but it contains no sugar, only honey, so I put it in the same category as corn muffins or blueberry muffins; they are more of a breakfast item than a dessert (I mean, some people might have blueberry muffins for dessert, but I certainly wouldn’t).

Most of the time when I read a recipe, I have a good sense of how the finished product will taste. I expected far more peanut butter flavor in these muffins, which I’m sorry to say turned out bland. The original recipe called for only one cup of flour, but the batter was too runny, so I added about six generous teaspoons of additional flour, one at a time, to shore it up. I suspect that this may have altered the flavor, so next time I’d like to try adding crunchy peanut butter in a greater amount, and perhaps some brown sugar in addition to the honey to balance the texture.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup plus 5 to 6 generous teaspoons flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • pinch of salt
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 3 tablespoons peanut butter
  • 3 tablespoons honey
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • peanut butter, honey, or honey butter for serving

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Line a muffin tin with 10 paper liners.

In a medium bowl, stir together baking powder, salt, and one cup of the flour.

Add vegetable oil, peanut butter, and honey; mix with a fork, using a cutting-in motion like you would for pastry, until crumbs form.

Add milk and stir together; add additional flour, 1 generous teaspoon at a time, until the batter is no longer runny.

Using a 2-inch cookie scoop, scoop batter into liners, filling about three-quarters full.

Bake 12-16 minutes, until tops are very lightly golden brown.

Cool on a wire rack or serve warm; I recommend serving with peanut butter and honey, or honey butter, to enhance the flavor.

Molasses Applesauce Raisin Drops

raisin molasses drops

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Baked goods often employ interesting ingredients to yield certain textures, and this cookie calls upon applesauce to produce soft, chewy results. Mike requested these some time ago, and they involve many of his preferred ingredients, including raisins, molasses, and cinnamon.

Applesauce is usually used in baking to reduce the fat content in a recipe, but as this one contains a cup of butter, the purpose of applesauce here is more flavor- and texture-based. While cooking the applesauce, raisins, and lemon zest, keep a close eye on the mixture and don’t allow it to go above a simmer and stir it frequently to avoid burning. Be sure to use a very large mixing bowl, as this yields a large quantity of dough.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups sweetened applesauce
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest
  • 1 1/2 cups raisins
  • 3 3/4 cups flour
  • 2 3/4 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • generous 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup butter, cut into small cubes
  • 1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons molasses
  • 1 egg
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 3 tablespoons sugar, for shaping

Preparation

In a medium mixing bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

In a medium saucepan, combine applesauce, raisins, and lemon zest. Cook over medium heat until mixture is thickened and raisins are reconstituted, about 10 minutes. Stir frequently and take care not to let the mixture burn; remove from heat and pour into a large mixing bowl to cool just slightly.

Add butter, brown sugar, and molasses to raisin mixture and stir until butter melts.

Add egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and stir to combine.

Add flour and stir until evenly incorporated.

Cover with plastic wrap and chill at least two hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line several baking sheets with parchment paper.

Using a two-inch cookie scoop, scoop dough onto prepared sheets, spacing about two to three inches apart.

Grease the bottom of a large drinking glass and dip in sugar, then press to flatten cookies.

Bake for 15 minutes, until edges are slightly darker than centers.

Cool on cookie sheets for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Butter Biscuits with Apricot Preserves

apricot jam biscuits 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some bakers are loyal to kitchen scales, relying on grams and ounces rather than tablespoons and cups. I’ve never used a kitchen scale, though one is certainly on my dream-kitchen-supply wish list. Today, one would have come in very handy, because I found this recipe on the BBC’s website, and its ingredient volumes were listed in grams and ounces.

Using an internet conversion program, I translated the ounces into more familiar measurements—several tablespoons here, a cup plus a few tablespoons there. This made me think about how the rest of the world uses the metric system and Americans don’t, but that’s another story for another day. This recipe turned out to be a very quick and easy way to use up the two egg yolks I didn’t need in this morning’s icing for my Easter sugar cut-outs.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup plus 4-5 tablespoons flour
  • 7 tablespoons powdered sugar
  • 14 tablespoons butter, cut into cubes
  • 2 egg yolks
  • About 8 tablespoons apricot preserves

Preparations

In a large bowl, combine 1 cup flour and the powdered sugar.

Add butter and, using your hands, rub together until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Add egg yolks and stir with a fork to make a soft dough; add one tablespoon of flour at a time until the dough is firm enough to handle, but still very pliable.

On a lightly floured counter top, roll out dough to about 1/8 inch thickness.

Cut with desired cookie cutters (heart or flower shapes probably work best); cut a small hole in the center of half of the shapes for the top of the sandwich, through which the jam will show once the cookies are assembled.

Bake for about 14 minutes, until cookies are firm and just golden brown.

Cool completely on a wire rack.

Flip each whole cookie over and spread about one teaspoon of jam on each.

Top each cookie with a cut-out cookie to create the sandwich.

Devil’s Cut Brownies

brownies with whiskey cream cheese frosting

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mike is a Freemason. According to various conspiracy theorists, Masons run the world. And while I suspect that Mike and the other brothers of Dallas Lodge 231 don’t run the world, even if they did, he’d never be able to tell me. All that secret handshake business? It’s top secret, and for real.

The Masons meet on several Thursdays throughout the month, and these brownies accompanied Mike to this past week’s lodge meeting. Dinner that evening was corned beef and cabbage, and I thought that a good complement to an Irish dinner would be brownies with whiskey cream cheese frosting. Apparently they were delicious; even Mike didn’t get to eat one because they disappeared so fast.

Brownies

Ingredients

  • 1 cup butter, melted
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 4 eggs
  • 3/4 cup cocoa powder
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray a 13 x 9 pan with cooking spray.

In a mixing bowl, combine melted butter, sugar, and vanilla and stir until well combined.

Add eggs, one at a time, stirring well after each.

Stir in cocoa powder until well combined.

Add flour, baking powder, and salt; stir until well combined.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 30-35 minutes, until the edges pull away from the pan slightly.

Cool completely before frosting.

Devil’s Cut Frosting

Ingredients

  • 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
  • 4 tablespoons butter, room temperature
  • 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
  • 1/2 cup cocoa powder, sifted
  • 1 tablespoon Jim Beam Devil’s Cut whiskey

Preparation

In a mixing bowl, combine cream cheese and butter; cream together until very well combined and smooth.

Add powdered sugar, about one-half cup at a time, beating well after each addition.

Add cocoa powder and beat well.

Add whiskey and beat.

Frost brownies with a small offset spatula.

Store in the refrigerator; let stand at room temperature for about 10 minutes before serving.

Nut Bread

nut bread

 

 

 

 

 

Food historians speculate that quick breads originated in the United States during the Civil War, when food demands were high and bakers had neither the time nor the patience to wait for dough to rise in the traditional, yeast-based method. Yeast converts sugar into carbon dioxide and ethanol and causes the dough to rise, but quick breads rely on chemical leavening agents like baking soda and baking powder for rising purposes. Baking soda requires an acid, like lemon juice or buttermilk, while baking powder simply needs any liquid to begin its reaction.

Quick breads are versatile, welcoming creativity. This nut bread recipe uses both walnuts and almonds, but you could easily use pecans or hazelnuts. I’ve chosen not to identify nut bread as a “sweet,” since I have another six weeks to go in my mission not to eat treats; I’m thinking of nut bread as more muffin-like, since muffins are essentially quick breads baking in muffin tins.

Ingredients

  • 3 cups flour
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 2/3 cup milk
  • 1 beaten egg
  • 1/4 cup cooking oil
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
  • 1/2 cup chopped almonds

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place five miniature loaf pans on a cookie sheet; spray each with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Make a well in the center.

In a medium bowl, combine milk, egg, and oil; stir together and add all at once to the well in the center of the flour mixture and stir until just combined.

Fold in nuts.

Divide batter evenly among loaf pans.

Bake for 35 minutes, until tops are just golden and a cake tester comes out clean.

Cool on a wire rack.

Zella’s Homemade Chicken Soup

soup

 

 

 

 

 

Medication does nothing for my colds. While Nyquil usually helps me sleep, there is one thing, and one thing alone, that truly makes me feel better when I am sick: my grandma Zella’s homemade chicken soup. And while soup isn’t baked, of course, this recipe is one I’ve wanted to share for a while.

“Grandma’s making soup on Saturday,” my father would say, upon returning from his parents’ house down the street on any given weeknight. Immediately, my eyes would widen and my mouth would water. Zella’s soup is a two-course affair, the first involving golden broth and homemade egg noodles, the second, flavor-rich chicken, potatoes, and carrots, not diced or chopped so they blend into the broth, but left whole for the second course, a bowl of shredded chicken, mashed potatoes, and carrots, all drizzled with broth. This might sound strange, but to me, it was food heaven.

Growing up I’d sit in Zella’s tidy yellow kitchen and watch, transfixed, as she stirred in the ingredients; I got to help make the noodles, adding egg after egg into her noodle maker, standing at the ready to catch the fine strands from its extruder.  At the age of 26, while living in DC, I traveled home to Pittsburgh one weekend to be taught how to make the soup. There was no actual recipe that Zella could send me, of course. It was all in her head, as much about how you make it as what you put in it.

Yesterday, while I made this, my mom stopped by. “It smells like Grandma’s house,” she said. This rich aroma is distinctly tied with my grandparents, and when I smell it now, I marvel at the power of scent connected to memory. This time, I made her soup in the same pot she used, stirring with her wooden spoon. I’d like to believe she, my grandpap, and my dad were all in the kitchen with me.

Ingredients

  • About 2 gallons water
  • 4 bone-in chicken breasts (or one pick-of-the-chicken package)
  • 1 soup bone
  • 5 stalks celery, leaves removed
  • 1 green pepper, cut in half, seeds and stalk removed
  • 1-2 yellow onions (depending on size), cut in half
  • 1 pound carrots, peeled and cut in half length-wise
  • About 2 tablespoons paprika
  • About 1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
  • 5-6 medium Yukon gold potatoes, peeled
  • 1 bunch Italian (flat-leaf) parsley, bound with a kitchen band or twine
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 12-ounce package fine egg noodles

Preparation

Place chicken breasts and soup bone in the bottom of a large, 2-gallon stockpot. Cover with 1 3/4 gallons water and place over high heat on the stove with the lid tilted open.

Bring to a boil, watching carefully. When foam begins to form on the top, skim off with a small sieve; you will need to do this at least a few times. Continue boiling for one hour.

Add celery, green pepper, onion(s), carrots, paprika, and peppercorns. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for one hour.

Add potatoes, parsley, and salt (to taste-don’t overdo it); simmer for one hour. Once soup is finished, begin boiling water for egg noodles and prepare according to the package directions.

Remove soup from heat and extract the meat, bone, and vegetables; reserve the chicken, carrots, and potatoes (and other vegetables if you want to eat them); discard the bone.

Strain broth through a fine sieve and discard peppercorns.

Serve soup with noodles as a first course, then follow with chicken, potatoes, and carrots. Drizzle some broth over the chicken, potatoes, and carrots for extra flavor.