Bourbon Sugar Cookies

I've been working as a freelance illustrator/designer for some months now. I love it and I love that I have more time to cook and bake. It's Derby time again here in the Bluegrass and in celebration, I tinkered with a basic sugar cookie recipe to add the smoky flavor of bourbon. The texture of this cookie is spectacular and the soft center really brings out the hint of Kentucky's signature whiskey. I've included the measurements of some of the ingredients required if you choose to make plain cookies without the bourbon.

Bourbon Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour (2 3/4 without bourbon)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/4 cups white sugar (1 1/2 without bourbon)
1 shot quality bourbon (I used Woodford Reserve)
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.

In a large bowl , pour the bourbon over the sugar and let sit for a few minutes. The longer the sugar melds with bourbon, the stronger the flavor will be. I also covered the bowl during this time to cut down on the escape of vapor. Next, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients. Roll rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into balls, and place onto ungreased cookie sheets. (I used parchment. I think it keeps the bottoms of the cookies from getting too brown.)

Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden. Cookies will puff up during baking and fall with cracked tops upon cooling. Let stand on cookie sheet two minutes before removing to fully cool on wire racks.

Happy Derby everyone!

Pumpkin, Turkey, & Tomato Soup

It's that time of year, when everything is pumpkin, pumpkin, pumpkin. Amid the lattes and muffins, there skulks a more intriguing prospect—at least for me—the recipes for savory pumpkin dishes. Recently, I made up a pot of soup using this pumpkin chili recipe as a springboard. I wanted something lighter, more along the lines of a white chili, but with tomatoes. This soup has a sage and smoke flavor (like sausage) and a bisque-type consistency. It combines two fall staples, turkey and pumpkin, into a hearty, healthy soup that's perfect for lunch or anytime!

Tomato, Turkey, and Pumpkin Soup

Ingredients
1 to 1.5 lbs ground turkey
1 – 15 oz can cannellini beans, drained
2 – 14 oz cans (or 1 28oz can pumpkin puree
2 – 28 oz cans tomatoes (1 crushed and 1 diced)
4 cups chicken broth (I used Swanson low sodium)
1 large onion, diced
1 large green pepper, diced
1 poblano pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, diced
1.5 tsp coarse sea salt
.5 tsp fennel seed
2 to 2.5 tsp dried sage
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
.5 tsp smoked chipotle pepper
.5 tsp dried basil
.5 tsp or a few dashes of liquid smoke
1 large bay leaf

Directions

1. Brown turkey in a large soup pot on medium heat.
2. Transfer meat to a separate bowl and saute onion, diced green pepper, diced poblano pepper, and garlic until translucent and caramelized. Deglaze the pan with a little stock if necessary. (I like to use black coffee.) Reduce heat a little and reintroduce the turkey.
3. Add broth, tomatoes, pumpkin, and beans.
4. With a mortar and pestle, crush the coarse salt with the fennel seed until ground fine. Add the sage, black pepper, chipotle pepper, and basil; grind again. Add this mixture to the liquid with the bay leaf and liquid smoke.
5. Simmer on low heat for an hour or so, stirring occasionally, scraping the bottom and sides. The soup will be somewhat creamy.

Serve with some light cheese if you like, perhaps fresh grated Parmesan or a little fontina. Popcorn would make a fun side, but the soup is fine on its own. Leftover turkey could be used instead of ground turkey. Toss the meat in with the onions and pepper and make sure everything is warm and evenly seasoned.

Kentucky Bourbon Balls

Bourbon is a Kentucky tradition and a source of Bluegrass pride. The bourbon ball candy has been around for generations, a potent truffle of liquor, nuts, and chocolate. These little bits of rich, fun goodness (just one of the many types of recipe featured below) would be great for a holiday gift or to serve at a party. Enjoy your treats responsibly!

Click to embiggen!

Kentucky Bourbon Balls

hand drawn recipe

© Rachael Sinclair

A Toast to the Derby

The Kentucky Derby is almost upon us. Since the late 30's, the official drink of the Derby has been the mint julep. Served in either a silver julep cup or commemorative collectable Derby glass, the julep has roots in Virginia. Now it's a Kentucky tradition. You can find a simple recipe on the poster below. Enjoy the race responsibly!

Mint Julep
original vector illustration

Kentucky Bourbon Pie

The dew hangs loosely on the petals of the red roses. Golden sun slips over the famous spires, casting a long shadow on the track. Energetic thoroughbreds in hues of golden pecan, dark chocolate, and cream are wound ready like springs. Ice tangos with mint leaves and amber bourbon. It's the first Saturday in May and something special is happening.

Every year, the world turns its eyes to Louisville, Kentucky and the most exciting 2 minutes in sports, the Kentucky Derby. At Derby time, the parties are historic, the hats amazing, and the horses spectacular. Louisville knows how to celebrate a horse race and what party would be complete without the perfect dessert. 

In 1950 the Kerns at the Melrose Inn in Prospect, Kentucky created a pastry that is now synonymous with the Kentucky Derby, the Derby Pie (© Kern's Kitchen), a chocolate and walnut tart. Though the Kern's pie is quite tasty with a dollop of whipped cream, I prefer the version of a chocolate nut pie I make myself. I use pecans, dark chocolate, and a shot of quality bourbon. This pie is great for any occasion, but especially on that first weekend in May.

The pie before baking, yum!

Kentucky Bourbon Pie

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

1 cup pecans, chopped

1 shot bourbon

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup chopped dark chocolate

1 unbaked pie shell or 1 roll of crust

Notes: I use Woodford Reserve in my pies. If you choose to omit the bourbon, use 1 cup of sugar and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. I usually use chocolate with a cacao content of 60% or higher. If you wish to use 75% or higher, use in combination with milder chocolate unless you're looking for a stronger chocolate flavor.

Combine sugar and flour well; add eggs and melted butter. Add chopped nuts, chocolate, vanilla, and bourbon, mixing well. Pour into unbaked pie shell and bake at 325 for 40-45 minutes. Serve warm with whipped cream or for an extra fun treat, bourbon whipped cream, recipe here at Food & Wine.

This year, why not try a slice of a new tradition. Mix up a julep, pick your pony, and enjoy some Kentucky Bourbon Pie. A dessert this decadent is a sure bet!

Disclaimer: My recipe is in no way intended as an infringement on the copyright held by Kern's Kitchen.

Lemon Sunshine Cake

About this time of year, I crave lemon confections. There's almost nothing as decadently refreshing as a slice of spongy lemon cake. I adapted this recipe to use butter instead of oil and stress the use of lemon zest and freshly squeezed lemon juice.

Lemon Sunshine Cake

1 lemon cake mix (I used Duncan Hines)

1 4-serving package of lemon instant pudding
(I used Jello pudding)

1 cup water

4 eggs

1 stick butter, melted

zest from half a lemon

1/3 cup (approx) powdered sugar

5 tablespoons (approx) fresh lemon juice

remaining lemon zest

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour a Bundt pan. Blend cake mix and pudding mix together. Add water, melted butter, and eggs; mix well. Stir in lemon zest; note, batter will be thick. Pour into pan and bake for 35-40 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in pan for around five minutes before removing. Stir together glaze of powdered sugar, fresh lemon juice, and zest. Drizzle glaze over warm cake.

Pasta Fagioli

As winter approaches, we find ourselves seeking warmth. Soup is a great food for the cooler months both for its ability to warm us, but also keep us satisfied. One of my favorite soups is the Italian staple, pasta fagioli. With its bright, autumn-colored vegetables, it's not only filling, it's beautiful.

The soup has a base of tomatoes, a deep pinkish red. Add to that the translucent white of onions, the rich orange of carrots, and the wick green of celery. Great northern and dark red kidney beans round out the rustic rainbow with added spice of basil, thyme, and oregano. Use these colors in old fashioned design or anything dealing with cooking, food, or produce. In a room, the hues of pasta fagioli add lots of pop. They're bold and not for everyone, but can be a source of great interest in the right setting. The kitchen here features Behr French Pale Gold (350D-5), Startling Orange (S-G-230), Deep Garnet (110F-7), and Antique White interior flat enamel (1823).

The next time you need a hearty meal, I recommend pasta fagioli. It's fairly simple to make and can feed your creativity as well as your body. The recipe below is the one I use and was originally taken from Top Secret Recipes.

Pasta Fagioli

1 pound ground beef or turkey
1 small onion, diced (about 1 cup)
1 large carrot, julienned (about 1 cup)
3 stalks celery, chopped (about 1 cup)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 14.5-ounce cans diced tomatoes
1 15-ounce can red kidney beans (with liquid)
1 15-ounce can great northern beans (with liquid)
1 15-ounce can tomato sauce
1 12-ounce can vegetable juice (such as V-8)
1 tablespoon white or balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon thyme
8 ounces (around 1/2 package) ditali pasta

Brown meat in a large saucepan or pot over medium heat and drain. You can add the onion, carrot, celery and garlic with the meat, or transfer meat to a bowl so vegetables get more contact with the pan. Saute the vegetables for about 10 minutes or until they begin to caramelize. Optional: deglaze the pan with a little brewed coffee. Add the remaining ingredients (including the meat if you set it aside), except pasta, and simmer.

After soup has simmered for 45-50 minutes, cook pasta in separate saucepan until al dente. Drain the pasta. Add pasta to soup and cook for 5-10 more minutes. As an option, you can keep the soup and pasta separate as the pasta will continue to absorb liquid, making your soup thick. If you do this, add pasta to the bottom of the serving bowls, pouring the soup on top.

Serve with a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese and fresh-baked garlic or herb bread.

Color Flavor: Lavender

"Lavender is for lovers true, Which evermore be faine; Desiring always for to have Some pleasure for their paine: And when that they obtained have The love that they require, Then have they all their perfect joie, And quenched is the fire."-Clement Robinson 1584 (Handefull of Pleasant Delites)

A member of the mint family, lavender doesn't disappoint when it comes to fragrance. This flower's essence is used in everything from perfumes to candles, medicines to foods. From it's earliest history as a component in oils in ancient Egypt and a ward against the Plague, to it's many applications today, lavender is more than a nice-smelling flower. Lavender is a color often overlooked in design because of its tendency toward the feminine. But this beautiful spectrum of pinks, blues, and dusky purples is rife with possibility.

Purple, the color most would associate with lavender, has a royal, rich connotation. Used in darker forms, purple of both blue and red tints can be stuffy and overwhelming. Lavender is a toned tint that combines the sophistication of purple with the livability and freshness of a near pastel. It can be utilized to give a tinge of 'royalty' without being overwhelming.

Used many times to hint at romance, lavender is perfect for romantic products or marketing. It goes without saying that lavender is great when used for products or web sites that target women. It's also excellent as a main or accent hue for organic businesses because the plant itself is used frequently in natural and organic products. See the logo pictured for the fictitious 'Secret Garden' organic tea cookies. When paired with shades of gray, brown, or even orange, lavender can add just the right gentle freshness to a modern, masculine design.

The first room here is treated in the usual romantic way. Butter-cream walls and a toasted marigold ceiling (Behr: Quiet Veranda 350F-4 and Honeysuckle Blast S-H-330) are accented with a medium-tone lavender. This is certainly a feminine dining area, but is also quite provincial. This scheme would work well in a colonial or Victorian home.

The second room, a kitchen, uses a putty gray and vibrant lily orange (Behr: Country Club 770B-5 and Orange Spice 250B-5) to wake the senses and keep the lavender from being too soft. A storm cloud blue (Myth 740F-5, also Behr) is used to chill the warm orange and wood counter tops. This room could be too modern and cold, but the addition of lavender can help almost anyone feel comfortable.

I love lavender, both the color and the plant. It has always been a favorite of the women in my family. I remember sitting with my mother and grandmother making lavender sprig sachets woven with ribbon. As a special treat, I would like to share with you a cookie recipe that I make from time to time. This refrigerator shortbread is great with tea or just as a refreshing sweet treat.

Lavender-lime Shortbread

1 cup (two sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar (¾ cup powdered sugar, ¼ cup coarse raw sugar)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon salt
2 cups all-purpose flour (plus more for rolling)
1 tablespoon dried lavender flowers (you can use a bit more if you wish)
zest of one lime

To begin, comb the dried flowers for pieces of stems and leaves. Then crush the flowers using a mortar and pestle along with the ¼ cup of coarse raw sugar. Using this coarse sugar will ensure fine grinding of flowers. Combine in an air-tight container with ¾ cup powdered sugar and let sit overnight or as long as desired. The longer the sugar and flowers infuse, the more intense the aroma and flavor.

To make the cookies, first combine the sugar, butter, vanilla, salt, and lime zest. Beat with an electric mixer until smooth. Add flour slowly and mix just until the dough begins to form. Divide the dough into two equal halves. On wax or parchment paper, roll each half into a 1 ½ inch diameter log. You may want to flour your hands if the dough is sticky. Refrigerate the dough until firm, about 1-2 hours. If you refrigerate longer than 1-2 hours or wish to store the dough and you've used wax paper, make sure to wrap also in plastic wrap.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. With a serrated knife, make slices approximately 3/8 of an inch thick and place about an inch apart on a baking sheet. If your dough wants to crumble when slicing, let sit at room temperature for a few minutes. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden around the edges. Cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes then transfer to rack to cool fully.

Color by COLOURlovers

 

Aromatic

original watercolor

© Rachael Sinclair 2011

Palette Cleanser: Holiday Cookie Recipes

I thought I'd deviate from the art and design world for a moment and post some of my favorite cookies recipes. Baked goods make great gifts for almost everyone. All of these would be great with a hot cup of coffee or tea. Celebrate the season by getting creative in the kitchen and have a wonderful holiday!

Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

I like this cookie for a number of reasons. The chopped oats add extra nutrition and a soft, nutty flavor. I like to add whole wheat flour when I can and reduce sugar. I call these my healthy pleasure.

1 c butter
1 c sugar (3/4 c for lighter taste)
1 c brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 c flour (optional: 1 c all-purpose, 1 c whole wheat)
2 1/2 c quick oats *
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
8 oz chocolate chips or candy-coated chocolate pieces (For the cookies in the photo, I used both candy-coated chocolate pieces and mini chocolate chips.)

Cream the butter and both sugars. Add eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine flour, oatmeal, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix dry into wet ingredients then add chocolate chips. Roll into teaspoon-sized balls, flatten in your palms, and place two inches apart on a cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes at 375 °. Cool on wire rack.

*Place measured oats in blender or food processor and chop into a flour-like powder.

Chewy Ginger Cookies

This cookie is a hit and they never last long. For a lover of ginger, they're a soft wonder enrobed in caramelized sugar. Another not, when made at a reasonable size, each cookie works out to 1 point in the Weight Watcher's point system.

6 tbls butter, softened
2/3 c sugar
1/4 c molasses
1 egg
2 c all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
3 tbls sugar

Cream butter; gradually add 2/3 cup sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Add molasses and egg; beat well. Combine flour and next 4 ingredients; gradually add to creamed mixture, stirring until well blended. Wrap dough in plastic wrap, and freeze for 30 minutes. Shape dough into 1-inch balls, and roll in remaining 3 tablespoons sugar. Place 2 inches apart on cookie sheets coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350º for 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from sheets; cool on wire racks.

Grandma's Peanut Butter Cookies

The is the recipe my grandmother and I used to bake when I was a child. They hold a special place in my heart. They're not overly nutty, but just enough. Baked just right, they melt in your mouth!

1 c sugar
1 c brown sugar

1 c butter (or 1/2 c butter and 1/2 c shortening)

1 c peanut butter, crunchy or creamy
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3 c (approximately) all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt

Combine sugars and butter, beat until creamy. Add peanut butter, eggs, and vanilla. Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl and add to peanut butter mixture gradually. Roll teaspoon amounts of dough into balls and place on a cookie sheet. Dip a fork in sugar and make a crisscross pattern on top of the cookie, flattening slightly. If dough is too sticky to roll immediately, refrigerate for about 30 minutes before rolling. Bake in a preheated 350º oven for 8 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges. Cool on wire rack.

Chewy Chocolate-Ginger Cookies

I decided to try this recipe (I usually don't like Martha's recipes) and I'm glad I did. I love the heat brought by the fresh grated ginger. They're especially nice with a nice steaming cup of artisan dark roast coffee!

You can find this recipe at here through Martha Stewart's Web site.