Granola mint chip cookie wedges

I've been waking early in the morning. Research supports rising before the responsibilities of daily life amount, and taking a personal moment to reflect, have a coffee, whatever brings you calm. My mornings are filled with making. Of late, I've developed this urgency to hone a craft. While my skills are varied and I'm proud of them, I crave the tangible, the physical creation of something with my own hands.

I shut the kitchen light and rely on the early morning sun peaking through my window alone. It's subtle, almost dark, but peaceful. In these moments there is time to day dream, to conceive of where I'd like to go both literally, as in Tuscany, and figuratively, to a place of confidence and self awareness. 

Most importantly though, there are cookies. I comb through my cookbooks and magazine clippings gathered over time and find my inspiration. I've decided to make a different cookie every morning this week to share with family and friends. Today's cookie: Granola Mint Chip Cookie Wedges. Mint chocolate chip is a favorite of mine and the green specks are festive per the season. Lastly, they are a lighter variation so I can still indulge in Christmas cookie-ing.

Ingredients

(adapted from Cooking Light Magazine)

  • 1/3 cup light brown sugar  
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 tablespoon melted butter
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda  
  • 1 large egg white
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup quick cooking oats
  • 1/3-1/2 cup Andes Creme de Menthe baking chips (Feel free to use other chip, nut, dried fruit combinations per your preference. Next round I will be making white chocolate and cherry.)

To prepare

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine first seven ingredients in a bowl and stir until well combined. Add the flour, oats, and baking chips to the bowl and stir until just combined. Scrape dough into a 9 inch pie plate coated with cooking spray. For a thicker wedge, use a 8 inch dish or smaller. Spread to the edges using a spatula. (It may seem like there isn't enough dough, but it spreads and fluffs up nicely.) Bake at 350 for 13 minutes or until set. Cool on a rack until the cookies firm up and cut into wedges. 

 

You mean something to someone

In the age of social media, big business, and the endless pursuit of affirmation, the focus seems to have shifted from quality to one of quantity. How many followers do we have, how many strangers "like" something we have released into the world, how many dollars we take home at the end of the week. These metrics are important, undoubtedly. Dollars put food on table, rent checks in the mail, and shoes on feet. Followers and fans pave the way for business opportunities, social influence (hopefully in the direction of good),  and link communities across the world. Access encourages communication, and even competition which fuels innovation. In the absence of competition, we may never reach the cutting edge, but rather hover in the mediocre zone. The pursuit is necessary.

Thus the negative connotation I speak with is not an assault on striving, pursuing material success, or aspiring to attain fame in a particular field. It's more so a reminder that regardless of these metrics, you mean something to someone.  

I recently read for the countless time a darling little book by Anna Quindlen called A Short Guide To A Happy Life. It has offered me great consolation in times of anxiety and uncertainty. It has reminded me to be grateful when worry rears its unceasing head. I highly recommend reading it; it's brief so there is no excuse not to. In it she writes, 

“Life is made of moments, small pieces of silver amidst long stretches of tedium. It would be wonderful if they came to us unsummoned, but particularly in lives as busy as the ones most of us lead now, that won’t happen. We have to teach ourselves now to live, really live…to love the journey, not the destination.”

She speaks with a humility that is inspiring (she is an accomplished author and New York Times bestseller on multiple occasions), and an appreciation for life's beautiful moments that we all too often overlook. Dew resting on blades of grass, a belly laugh from a toddler, a wet kiss from your dog. She has helped me to quiet the noise, focus on "small pieces of silver", and give thanks for them.

Recently, I've gotten engaged and have successfully put off any serious thought about the expectations of planning a wedding. People have asked about the details, who will shoot the photos, what brand the dress will be, who will cater... the list goes on. I've managed to avoid getting caught up in these details just yet so that I may soak in this moment in my life. A moment that hopefully doesn't come around again. James and I each have so many quirks that I think we are more or less bound together. Regardless of the venue, the cost of the dress, the size of the ring, and the champagne served for a toast, at the end of that day I'll be a wife, he'll be a husband and our loved ones will have been there to rejoice in a happy moment. A moment where two people decided they'll face the world, the pursuit, the uncertainty - together. While I won't walk a runway in my gown, and James won't get a James Beard award, I will still feel beautiful in that dress and he will still be the greatest Chef I know. I mean something to him and he means everything to me. And that is enough for this day. We'll face tomorrow when it comes. 

My cousin took some photos of us to commemorate this moment. Obviously we decided to go to a farm that sells apple cider donuts. 

date.jpg
James.jpg

If you have rate inquiries for photography and you live in or around Central New Jersey, fill out our contact form. Tammy also makes custom designs using wood and natural materials featuring your images. To see a sampling of her work thus far, visit her Facebook page. 

Pumpkin Cutie Pies

There are endless food-focused theories detailing how best to promote health and wellness. Some preach eating a diet that is protein rich, others carbohydrate free. The only way I have ever been able to eat is moderately.

“If we are what we eat, then I want to be balanced and complex, mostly hearty, and often sweet. ”

I practice moderation by indulging every so often in decadent miniatures as I know neglecting dessert is not easily done. Thus, this week's edition of Northern Skillet is a set of Pumpkin Cutie Pies using my Lodge Mini Cake Pan. This pan embodies my belief that a little bit of something lovely, is superior to none at all. 

As I endeavor to become a better baker and cook, I've been reading more cookbooks and refining my technique. While any pie crust and pumpkin filling recipes will do for this "cutie" pie, I used a recipe from a recent acquisition from Williams-Sonoma called Bake Good Things. It's a concise collection of traditional, dare I say basic, recipes for the everyday. After all, it's quite a feat to beat a classic. 

Ingredients 

Pie Crust 

  • 1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
  • 4 tablespoons ice water, plus more if necessary 

Filling 

  • 1 can pumpkin puree (15 ounces)
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 2/3 firmly packed light brown sugar
  • 2 whole large eggs plus 1 large egg yolk, room temperature 
  • 4 teaspoons all purpose flour 
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • pinch of salt

To prepare the crust

Combine the flour and salt with a fork in a bowl. Add the butter cubes and toss with a pastry blender, or two knives. I picked up a pastry blender along with this book, as I knew the pie crust making would be habitual. It's a very helpful tool. 

Cut in the butter until the mixture forms large crumbs. Drizzle the ice water and toss with a fork until the dough is evenly moist. If the mixture is too crumbly, add additional water, a spoonful at a time until the dough comes together in a rough ball. Form a disk and wrap the disk in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before using. 

Turn out the disk onto a floured surface, and flatten with a rolling pin. I used my late grandmother's rolling pin, an old able beauty. It felt comforting to channel her as I rolled. 

Cut out circles that are roughly 5 inches in diameter. I used a bowl and a pasta cutter here. 

Coat your Mini cake pan with Pam, and line each section with a dough round. Form a decorative edge as desired. Freeze the dough lined pan for 30 minutes, and preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

While the crust is setting, use the remaining scraps to cut out the word "Cutie" repeatedly, with cookie cutters. Reserve your crust cutouts for later. You may want to refrigerate them. Note: If you have not yet gotten your mini cake pan, you may use a cupcake or muffin tin. Adjust dimensions accordingly. 

Remove the pan from the freezer. Line the pies crusts with foil, and fill with pie weights. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove the weights and foil, and return to the oven for an additional 5 minutes until golden.

weights.jpg

 To prepare the filling

Let the crust cool while you prep the filling and reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees. Combine the pumpkin, cream, brown sugar, eggs, yolk, flour, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Pour roughly 1/3 cup of filling into each crust. 

Bake the pies for 50 minutes. At 50 minutes, remove the pan and quickly but gently spell out cutie on each pie. Return to the oven and bake for an additional 5-8 minutes until the filling is set, and letters cooked. Let cool. 

Once cool, the pies come easily from the pan. Impress your loved ones with these darling cutie pies. The guilt that accompanies these treats is proportionate to their size - very small. 

Skillet Sour Cream Coffee Cake

This summer my family and I took a trip to Nashville, Tennessee. Within moments of arriving, I was entirely bewitched by the comfort food, congeniality, and charm. Music blared from every establishment, people greeted us with a smile, and we tasted the love with which the meals were carefully prepared. As a tribute to a transformative moment in my life, I also got engaged on that trip, I wanted to bring a bit of Tennessee home with me to the North, and begin a column here on Pensive Foodie dedicated entirely to traditional fare and cast iron cooking. I purchased some cookbooks, expanded my collection of Lodge and took to the stove. 

Cake. Coffee. Cake and Coffee. Coffee Cake. Two of my favorite indulgences coupled together. This recipe for Sour Cream Coffee Cake is written by Lynda King Kellerman and taken from A Skillet Full of Traditional Southern Lodge Cast Iron Recipes and Memories. It was compiled by the South Pittsburg Tennessee Historic Preservation Society, and proceeds from sales have gone to worthy causes in Lodge's hometown.

As the name would connote, a coffee cake is served to be eaten alongside a cup of coffee, as a simple sign of hospitality, or a break between meals. This variation is filled with a sugary blend of pecans, cinnamon, and sugar and topped with the same; sour cream gives the cake a heavenly texture and welcome comforting element. 

Ingredients

  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 2 cups plus 4 teaspoons sugar
  • 2 eggs 
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 
  • 2 cups flour 
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt 
  • 1 cup chopped pecans
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour your skillet. 

Cream butter and two cups of sugar gradually, until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, very well, and then fold in your sour cream and vanilla. 

Sift flour, salt, and baking powder together in a separate bowl. Fold mixture into the batter. Then, combine four teaspoons of sugar, with cinnamon and nuts. 

Place 1/3 of the batter into your skillet, and top with 3/4 of the sugar mixture. Cover with remaining batter, followed by the remainder of sugar mixture.

Bake about 60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on rack and serve with a cup of your favorite coffee.

For a frequent fix of drool inducing meals and inspiring history, check out Lodge. Follow along this tribute to the culinary techniques and recipes of the South on Instagram with #northernskillet.