When it rains it pours (baked goods) !

Some time ago I composed what was supposed to be a short list of “to bake for fall” recipes.  See, that right there is what I love about culinary pursuits–something as simple as seasonal change is all you need for an excuse to go gangbusters in the kitchen.  The original list was chock full of recipes involving pumpkin, oatmeal, caramel, apples, pears, etc.–such goodness.  This weekend, however, as I looked for the list (really just an email to my boyfriend with the instructions demand to “READ AND PICK OUT WHAT SOUNDS BEST”), I realized that I failed not only to send the email, but to save it as well, go figure.  Pretty tragic 10 minutes of searching, but in the end it was for the best.  While perusing recipes all over again I came across a little chestnut that I haven’t had for ages…a famous cookie that my mom absolutely perfected…The Neiman Marcus Cookie.  It was just the right ending to probably one of the best weekends I’ve had all year!

So, the recipes…all three of them!:

A cozy night in on Friday called for these chocolate souffles/cakes/puddings/whatever you want to call them, found here.  They’re pretty ridiculous, exactly what you’d want as a straight up, damn good chocolate dessert.  And the chance to use cute little ramekins is certainly a plus!  They rise beautifully in the oven and then completely deflate, but thank goodness for that otherwise there’d hardly have been room for ice cream…

Saturday = pie.  I’d actually never made a pie before…and it was clearly beyond high time.  I went for pumpkin, the basic Land O’Lakes recipe, which was great!   And I must say that Bridget Jones’s Mark Darcy has nothing on my boyfriend as far as being “helpful in the kitchen,” since Will was kind (and patient) enough to grind the cloves (a most necessary spice I think!)!

And Sunday, thanks to the shenanigans of Saturday evening, was a day of recovery.  Neiman Marcus cookies never tasted so good!  Hangover inspired appreciation aside, they’re absolutely in a league of their own in the cookie world.

NEIMAN MARCUS COOKIES

Makes about 112 (!!!) cookies (I halved it, and still felt like the kitchen had positively exploded with these things)

Ingredients:

2 cups (4 sticks) butter

2 cups granulated sugar

2 cups brown sugar

4 eggs

2 t vanilla

4 cups flour

2 t baking soda

2 t baking powder

1 t salt

8 oz. milk chocolate bar, grated

5 cups oatmeal, blended

24 oz. chocolate chips

Directions:

1) Pre-heat oven to 375 F; line cookie sheets with parchment

2) Measure oatmeal and run through a processor to blend into a fine powder

3) Cream butter and both sugars until light/fluffy; add eggs and vanilla

4) Whisk together the ground oatmeal, flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda; add gradually/slowly to butter/sugar mixture

5) Stir in the grated chocolate and the chocolate chips

6) Roll into balls (ping-pong sized) and place 2 inches apart on the cookie sheet

7) Bake for 10 minutes

8 ) Pour a glass of milk

Well, that’s it!  I’m heading home next weekend for fall break and I think I’m going to bring out the Cordon Bleu recipes…I ordered a lot of the equipment we used (from this great company), and am much better prepared for a dacquoise…brioche…etc.!