Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Papaya Cookies


These were more cakey than cookie. But they were good!



This recipe would also work well with persimmons. Heck, it would probably work well with pumpkin even. I bet white chocolate chips or pecans would be delicious too, I just didn’t have any on hand.

1 1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup (4 oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
3/4 cup papaya puree
2 3/4 cups flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)


Glaze:
1 1/4 C confectioner’s sugar
2 tbs milk
1 tbs papaya puree
1 tsp grated orange peel

Cream the butter, brown sugar, vanilla and eggs. Add the papaya puree, stirring until blended. Stir the dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Add them to the papaya mixture, stirring until the flour is just mixed in. Add the nuts if you’re using them.

Lay out plastic wrap on a large, smooth surface. Place the cookie dough on the plastic wrap and form into a long cylindrical log, wrapping the dough completely with the plastic wrap. Place in the freezer, and chill at least a couple of hours, until frozen or almost frozen.

Preheat the oven to 375. When the dough is fairly solid, unwrap from the plastic wrap and slice with a sharp knife into 1/4 inch rounds. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the cookies spring back when lightly touched. Let them cool completely before frosting.

When the cookies have cooled, lay them over a sheet of wax paper. Whisk the confectioners sugar with 2 tbs of milk until smooth. Add the papaya puree and the orange peel and mix until smooth. Dip the spoon into the glaze mixture and dribble over the cookies. Let them harden and serve!

Monday, May 21, 2007

Chocolate-beet cupcakes


2 cups beet puree (about 3 large beets)
2 sticks unsalted butter, melted
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 eggs
1/2 cup warm water
1 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 cups unsweetened cocoa
2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1Cchocolate chips

Bake the beets until they are cooked. Peel and trim them, and then puree them in a food processor. Or you can be all old fashioned and mash them with a potato masher.

Preheat the oven to 325F.

Combine the melted butter, sugar, eggs and water, and mix until smooth.

Mix the flour, cocoa and baking powder together into a bowl, and then stir in the salt. Then, add the wet ingredients to the dry. When it is smooth, fold in the beet puree.

Scoop the batter into a prepared baking pan. You’ll have to adjust your baking times for the size of your pan. For a small, 4-inch round, bake for about 30 minutes. Cupcakes are about 20-25 minutes. The Budnt cake from the original recipe called for 70 minutes. The cupcakes seem more portable though... Don't overcook the cake, you want it still moist.

I have an idea for a healthy version of this cake (replaces the chocolate chips with walnuts, for one, and replacing some oil with applesauce), but I haven’t tried it yet so I won’t post it. It will very likely be a flop first time round. This version, however, is delicious! I tried it both plain and with some thawed out frozen raspberries, which was delicious, but hid some of the delicate beet flavor.