Macadamia and White Chocolate Chunk Cookies

This cookie is my son's favorite and I'm not afraid to say that this has become my favorite as well.  The texture of the cookie is crispy on the edges but a bit chewy in the inner part. This recipe is taken from Alice Medrich's cookies book and I'm a fan of her recipes and when I make them, I'm seldom disappointed. 

When I bake this, I'll put one in his lunch box so that he can enjoy a treat for his school lunch.  He's getting very good at finishing everything I pack in his lunch box, so it's a joy to know that he's well fed :)

Macadamia and White Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Makes about 36 cookies


¾ cup rolled oats
¾ cup unbleached all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and still warm
⅓ cup granulated sugar
⅓ cup packed brown sugar
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 cup dry-roasted salted macadamia nuts, coarsely chopped
6 ounces chopped white chocolate

Pulverize the oats in the processor or blender until fine.  Add the flour, baking soda, and salt and pulse to combine.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the melted butter with the sugars and vanilla.  Whisk in the egg.  Stir in the flour mixture just until all of the dry ingredients are moistened.  Let the mixture cool for a few minutes if it is at all warm.  Stir in the nuts and chocolate chips.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, and preferably overnight.

Preheat the oven to 325F.  Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven.

Remove the dough from refrigerator to soften.  Scoop rounded tablespoons of dough and place about 2 inches apart on the ungreased pans.  Bake until the cookies are deep golden brown, 13 to 15 minutes.  Rotate the pans from top to bottom and from front to back halfway through the baking time to ensure even baking.  Transfer the cookies to racks to cool.  Cool cookies completely before storing or stacking.  May be kept in an airtight container for several days.


Source:  Chewy, Gooey, Crispy, Crunchy Melt-In-Your-Mouth Cookies by Alice Medrich

Ricotta Fruitcake

Christmas is in a few days and as a tradition I've always baked a variety of sweets during this festive month.  I've baked my cookies which are consumed daily by my family members, and I've also baked fruitcakes.  There's people who don't like fruitcakes but there's a few who likes them and that includes me and my family.  For me, fruitcake is like a cake with lots of fruits and nuts in them with a healthy dose of liquor.  Now, how good a fruitcake is, I conclude, depends on the recipe and who's making it :)

This particular recipe has a ricotta cheese pound cake as the base.  The cake itself is already flavorful and moist, so adding fruits and nuts is actually enhancing those qualities.  I agree that a lot of fruitcake is hard and could be dry at times; I don't quite like that in my fruitcake either.  And believe me, once this cake is made, it will never be kept for a long time and passed down to other people!  Quite the contrary, the cake has disappeared slice by slice before Christmas has even come.

Ricotta Fruitcake

Makes 4 loaves (about 8 servings per loaf)



1 cup chopped candied pineapple

1 cup golden raisins

1 cup coarsely chopped pecans

1/3 cup dark rum

1 recipe Ricotta Cheese Pound Cake

2/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut or sweetened flaked coconut

2 tablespoons unbleached flour



At least an hour before baking, preferably longer, combine the candied pineapple, raisins, pecans, and rum in a mixing bowl.  Stir, then cover, periodically stirring to saturate the mixture thoroughly.  In the meantime butter 4 3 3/4-x 7 3/4-inch loaf pans and line them with buttered wax paper, buttered side out, letting the paper come over the edge by about an inch so you can pull the cakes out easily later.  Set aside.  When you start to prepare the cake, preheat the oven to 350F.

Prepare the cake as usual.  Mix the coconut with the dried fruit and rum, then mix in the 2 tablespoons flour.  Fold the fruit mixture into the batter, then divide the batter evenly among the pans.  Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool the cakes in the pans on a rack for 10 minutes, then lift them out by the wax paper.  Cool for another 30 minutes, then carefully peel off wax paper.  As soon as the cakes no longer feel warm, wrap them in plastic wrap and overwrap in foil.  Store in a cool location in an airtight container.

Ricotta Cheese Pound Cake--adapted for the fruitcake

Makes 1 large cake



1 cup unsalted butter, softened

2 cups packed light brown sugar

6 large eggs, at room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Finely grated zest of 2 lemons

2 cups unbleached flour

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 3/4 cups milk or light cream

1 cup ricotta cheese



In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter with an electric mixer, gradually beating in the brown sugar.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each one.  Beat in the vanilla and lemon zest.

Sift the flours, baking powder, salt, and ginger into another bowl, adding any pieces of bran that remain in the sifter; set aside.  Puree the milk or cream and the ricotta cheese in a blender.

Stir the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture alternately with the milk/ricotta; do this in several stages, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.  Proceed with the making of the fruitcakes as described above.



Source:  Country Baking by Ken Haedrich

Macadamia Nut Brittle-Bake sale #1

Around this time of the year my son's school has a fall festival where there are produce, baked goods sold, games and activities for the family to participate, a cook-off; basically a day to try to enjoy fall day :)  The day actually started very rainy since the night before.  It was rainy on and off with some sunshine peeked through.  This year the activities and booths are located inside the gym which means braving the cold becomes easier.

I usually bake some goodies to be sold in the baked goods booth, and this year I restrained myself and made only five items.  Out of five, I only had to bake two, so the load wasn't so heavy.  Plus, this year I worked by myself instead of having another mom helping me.  All the goods are kid-friendly and I hope everyone would love them.

In this post, the first of the five series, I'm posting macadamia nut brittle recipe.  I love eating brittles, especially when they are crunchy and buttery.  Last year I made peanut brittles, this time macadamia nut takes a stand.  The recipe is from a book by Charity Ferreira:  Brittles, Barks, and Bonbons; a small book filled with good candy recipes.  Not too complicated yet the flavor of each recipe really shines through.  My favorite candy book so far!

Macadamia Nut Brittle

Makes 2 pounds brittle



6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, cut into chunks, plus more for pan

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup water

1/3 cup light corn syrup

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups macadamia nuts (about 12 ounces), lightly toasted and roughly chopped



Lightly butter a 10-by-15-inch jelly pan.  Dissolve the baking soda in the vanilla extract; set aside.

In a large pot over medium-low heat, stir together the sugar, water, 6 tablespoons butter, the corn syrup, and salt until the sugar is dissolved and the butter is melted.  Increase the heat and cook, stir occasionally with a heatproof spatula or wooden spoon, until the mixture turns a deep golden brown and measures about 335 degree F on a candy thermometer, 10 to 15 minutes.  Remove from heat and carefully (the mixture will bubble up) stir in the vanilla mixture and nuts.

Immediately pour into the prepared pan.  If necessary, use a spatula or wooden spoon to spread the mixture flat.  Let stand at room temperature until cool and hard, about 1 hour.

Bend the ends of the pan to release the brittle and chop or break into chunks.  Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.