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Tag: cookies


half-pound cookies!

28
February

citycake cookie closeup

Trips to New York City always include some great eating stops – there are so many to choose from!

One great dessert place to visit is Citycakes.   The unassuming storefront of this bakery is easy to miss – it is located on the basement level of 251 West 18th Street in Manhattan.

citycakes storefront

Because it is only a few blocks from the High Line, Citycakes is a fun stop after an invigorating High Line walk!  The menu here includes cakes and cupcakes, but for my daughter and I, the true hero of the shop is the signature line of cookies – weighing in at half a pound each!

Here is my pick this trip:

citycakes nyc cookie closeup

citycakes cookie flavor

Though this shop may not have the finesse of a New York City bakery like a Dominique Ansel Bakery, there is definitely something to be said for a huge, delicious cookie!

As a Food Network junkie, I have seen Chef Benny Rivera from Citycakes compete on many different programs – making the shop all that much more attractive to me!

citycakes cookies

If in the neighborhood while in Manhattan, it is worth a stop to pick up some cookies!  They are definitely a fun gift to bring home to someone!

(For comparison – one cookie is half a pound or 8 oz. – an entire box of Girl Scout Toffee-tastic cookies is under 7 oz. and cost $6.  I used a Girl Scout cookie to compare because everyone knows it!  Of course, a boxed cookie is not freshly baked!)

Thanks for stopping by!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

Comments Off on half-pound cookies! | field trips, food & festivities, travel

essence of roses

25
June

rosewater meringues

I am working on a menu for a charity garden tour, so I have been experimenting with recipes for both sweet and savory items that utilize flower and herb components.  I fell in love with the combination of the Middle Eastern flavors of rosewater and pistachios when I made a Persian Love Cake.  Thinking about the flavors of that wonderful cake and still having roses in my thoughts, I decided to try and create a rosewater meringue.

rosewater meringues

I was very happy with the result and wanted to share the recipe with you.  This light and airy cookie has a wonderful essence of roses…perfect for my garden tour menu!

pretty photo quote about roses

Recipe for Rosewater Meringues

  • 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
  • 2 whites from large eggs
  • ¼ teaspoon rosewater (you can purchase bottled rosewater…if you make your own, be sure to use organic rose petals!)
  • 1/3 cup finely chopped unsalted natural pistachios

Preheat oven to 175 degrees F.  Line 1 large cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Sift the confectioners’ sugar twice to remove all lumps and divide into two equal portions.

Put the egg whites in a medium bowl.  Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until foamy.  Increase the speed to medium high and beat until the whites hold soft peaks.  Continue beating while gradually adding one portion of confectioners’ sugar.  Beat until firm, glossy peaks form.  Add the rosewater and mix briefly.  Sift the remaining confectioners’ sugar over the meringue and gently fold in until blended.

Scoop the meringue into a large pastry bag fitting with a large star tip.  Pipe swirls (about 1 ½” wide and 2″ high) about 1 inch apart onto the prepared cookie sheet.   (If not using a pastry bag, just drop the meringue by 2 Tablespoonfuls).   Sprinkle the finely chopped pistachios over the meringues.

Bake until dry and crisp, about 3 hours.  Turn the oven off and let the meringues cool in the oven for 1 hour.  Serve immediately or cover and store at room temperature for up to 1 week.  (And since I don’t have air conditioning, I can strongly recommend from experience to store your cookies in a cool place until you are ready to serve.)

This recipe was adapted from a meringue recipe in a wonderful book called Desserts 4 Today by Abigail Johnson Dodge that contains recipes for flavorful desserts using just four ingredients.

rosewater meringues recipe

I hope you enjoyed sharing my rosewater meringues recipe.  Thank you so much for stopping by.

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

Sharing at Timewashed and Mona’s Picturesque.

4 comments » | food & festivities, garden, recipe

great ice cream sandwiches

24
July

rice cakes & ice cream?  Oh, yeah!

This time of year, you can always find an abundance of ice cream and ice cream related recipes.  I loved Real  Simple magazine’s recipes on ice cream sandwiches made from cookies that they featured recently.  Like s’mores, these treats are a summer standard in the dessert category.  Unfortunately, Real Simple  left out the two BEST combinations…the nerve!  Here is a glimpse of my two favorites…

 

A photo of one of my favorite diy ice cream sandwiches: ginger cookies filled with key lime ice cream and rolled in coconut. The ginger cookie recipe is included at the end of this post.

The first combination is ginger cookies filled with key lime pie ice cream and rolled in coconut. To be really decadent, white chocolate can be drizzled on the top.  There are a lot of good ginger cookie recipes.  I usually don’t have crystallized ginger in the house, so I use the recipe I included at the end of this post because it doesn’t require it.

A photo of the ginger cookies used to make the ice cream sandwiches…the recipe is included at the end of this post.

I think the key to a good ginger cookie is a good ginger spice.  I use Penzy’s spices.  There is no spice like it.  It is amazingly flavorful.   If I have crystallized ginger in the house, I use Ina Garten’s recipe, which is really great and calls for the crystallized ginger.  The ice cream, if store bought, really needs to be Ciao Bella, Key Lime Graham.   No other brand or flavor compares.  Of course, if you have a shop that makes homemade nearby, that is a great option.

The second  ice cream sandwich I adore uses rice cakes in place of the cookies.  It is a combination of rice cakes, smooth peanut butter, and a good quality vanilla ice cream (or frozen yogurt).  I used Breyers.  I first came up with this combination during one of my pregnancies, and I thought the pregnancy cravings were what made it taste so good.  I was wrong.  I like them just as well when I am not pregnant!

A photo of one of my favorite ice cream sandwiches…rice cake, peanut butter, and vanilla ice cream!

I have a store locally (Stew Leonards) that makes their own rice cakes and, in recent years, also sells them with drizzled chocolate…I used the chocolate enhanced ones for this post  :)  Just spread the insides of both rice cakes with the peanut butter  before sandwiching the vanilla ice cream in the middle.

The ginger cookie recipe follows.  Hope you enjoy my favorites and hope this gets your creative juices flowing to come up with some of your own favorite combos!  Let me know if you come up with some good ones!  Thanks for visiting.  Enjoy, Jackie

Ginger Cookies

Ingredients

  • 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 cup light brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup unsulphured molasses
  • 2 large egg whites
  • 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 2 2/3 cups all purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1-2  teaspoons ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1 cup white sugar (for rolling)

Directions

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 2 – 3 minutes). Add the molasses, egg whites, and vanilla extract and beat until incorporated. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until well combined. Cover the batter with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for about 60 minutes.

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

Place about 1 cup of white granulated sugar in a medium sized bowl. When the dough has chilled sufficiently, roll into 1 inch balls. Then roll the balls of dough into the sugar, coating them thoroughly. Place on the baking sheet, spacing about 2 inches apart and, with the bottom of a glass, flatten the cookies slightly. Bake for about 8 – 10 minutes or until the cookies are firm but are still a little soft in the centers. (The longer the cookies bake, the more crisp they will be.   For the purposes of an ice cream sandwich, you don’t want them crisp since that would make them hard to eat.)  Cool on a wire rack.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

Recipe adapted From:  Mendelson, Susan & Cruz, Joey. The Lazy Gourmet. Whitecap Books. Vancouver/Toronto: 2000.

3 comments » | food & festivities

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