Young & Always Hungry (2024)

Good Morning, Kitchen.

Good Morning, Blog.

Good Morning, Brooklyn light.

Alright, watching the movie, ROOM(Note: This movie was fantastic and Jacob Tremblay was absolutely wonderful! Definitely a Must-Watch!) and trying to breathe some life back into the spaces I used to call home. Work and family have had me away for almost five months, so my first full week back in my apartment in Brooklyn (with no work!) involved a lot of quiet mornings and lazy afternoons. In fact, I’m pretty sure I didn’t leave the apartment for the at least 72 hours, maybe more. Don’t judge. It’s no where near seven years like in the movie, but I did find myself developing a specific rhythm to my mornings and a special comfort in my small space that I yearned to call familiar again.

So trying to get back at it again–trying to get more words down and not just a few Instagrams here and there. A lot can change in five months, but we should also be reminded that a lot can change in one day.

Within a 24-hour period, two very special people in my life lost their mothers. W is cousin, who I actually just met back in China a couple of years ago; she’s a young girl who recently turned 18 and loves to iMessage me about her English homework and One Direction. M is a colleague and mentor, and the epitome of a New Yorker boss-lady. She has taught me everything from navigating our industry with style and grace to how to slow-fry potatoes to perfection.When I found out the news from both of these ladies, my heart broke into a million pieces. Two women, from two very different places on this globe, at two completely different points in their lives–feeling the same weight and emptiness of losing their mother; but somehow the symmetry of their losses somehow created a beautiful and peaceful balance in this unimaginable moment.I didn’t know what else to do, but call my mother. I wept with gratitude just hearing her silence on the other end. We were both at a loss for words.

Both W and M spoke from a place of strength, empowerment, love and light, knowing that their ill mothers were no longer suffering or in pain anymore. I am in awe of these two women, and although I was not lucky enough to meet either of their mothers, I know they had to have been incredible women too to pass on the maturity and grace that I have witnessed in both my cousin and my friend. They inspired and reminded me that there can be light and balance, even in our darkest of days.

LEMON ROSEMARY SHORTBREAD BUTTON COOKIES

Recipe by My Recipes.

Makes approximately 3 dozen cookies.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 Cups of Flour
  
• 1 Cup Unsalted Butter, Cold and Cubed
  
• ½ Cup Granulated Sugar
  
• ¼ Teaspoon Salt
  
• Zest of 2 lemons, divided
  
• 1 Teaspoon Chopped Fresh Rosemary
  
• 1 ½ Cups Powdered Sugar
  
• 2 Tablespoons Fresh Lemon Juice
  
• 32 Small Fresh Rosemary Sprigs
  

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 325°.
2. Put flour, butter, granulated sugar, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer (I used my hands). Add the zest of 1 lemon and rosemary. Mix on low speed, then increase to medium and mix until dough is no longer crumbly and just comes together.
   
3. Form dough into a disk and chill 30 minutes. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough until ½ in. thick. If you’d like super clean edges, place rolled dough in the freezer for a couple of minutes.
4. Cut dough into circles (or other shape) with a 1 ½-in. cookie cutter. You can re-roll the scraps as needed. Arrange on baking sheets about 1-inch apart and chill 15 minutes.
   
5. Bake until light golden brown, approximately 12 -15 minutes. Cool on wire racks.
   
6. Mix powdered sugar, lemon juice, and the remaining zest until smooth. Spoon about ½ teaspoon glaze over each cooled cookie, spreading with the back of the spoon. Lightly lay 1 rosemary sprig into center of each cookie and admire your beautiful work.
   

There are no words that I can write in a card or say to W or M that can make the loss of their mothers any easier; all we can do is reach out a hand, find ways to take care of them, and love them in their grief. Food is my love language–so cooking or feeding people is how I like to show them my support. I brought these cookies over to M’s home last week and woke up to an email from her the next morning. It read: “You are the only person I know that I’d go off my gluten-free diet for! Those cookies are AMAZING!!! OMG.” It made me smile.

Let’s take care of one another. Together we will find the light, my friends.

Early morning apartment cleaning.New candles burning bright.And I’m enjoying a midday espresso with the light sounds of pitter-patters on the window sill.

It’s a perfect rainy Saturday here in Brooklyn.

So, what better way to kick off soup, stew and chili season than with this awesomely quick and easy recipe for some White Bean and Roasted Garlic Chili. Keep in mind that you can always use less stock to create a thicker more hearty chili, or feel free to use more stock and not thicken with cornstarch to make it lighter soup. Oh…and choose your chiles wisely. The first time I made this, I used some chile peppers with a major KICK. ;)

TURKEY, WHITE BEAN AND ROASTED GARLIC CHILI/SOUP

Adapted from Melissa d'Arabian’s White Chili with Quick Roasted Garlic

Recipe makes about 6-8 servings.

• 12 cloves garlic, unpeeled
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Chili

This trick is AWESOME.You can use this roasted garlic in almost any recipe…or even just spread onto some lightly buttered toast for a snack.

This can be done a couple different ways. I usually prefer the latter since it is quicker and easier for me, however, this first option requires less of your concentration if you’re looking to multitask. :)

Soup-Base

Back in May, a college friend called and asked if I had any free time to work on a side project. “I was grabbing drinks with the guys,” he said, “and we were just complaining about how we needed to take a break from all the corporate stuff and get our hands dirty with something more CREATIVE. Decided to throw together a crew and shoot this short on Monday. So what do you think? No pay, a couple days of long hours…but I can guarantee it will be a fun time.”

Without hesitation, I said, “I’m in. Do you need me to draft the call sheets?” He laughed.

It was just like college…but this time around we had fancier equipment, a few more years of experience, and little more cash for craft services.

And speaking of craft services–after a long pre-light, I rushed home and baked some salted chocolate chip cookies for the crew. I knew the next day was going to be a long one, I had lunch in the works, but since a few of us were basically donating the money for gear, craft, etc…I knew we needed some decent (homemade) snacks on set to keep the crew happy. So with only about 6 hours until our Monday morning call time, I decided to stick with a classic that I knew would be a set pleaser.

CLASSIC CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES FOR THE CREW

FromBrown Eyed Baker, adapted fromCook’s Illustrated

Recipe makes about 2 dozen cookies.

INGREDIENTS

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line 2 large (18x12-inch) baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and baking soda; set aside.
3. Heat 10 tablespoons of the butter in a 10-inch stainless steel or cast iron skillet over medium-high heat until melted, about 2 minutes. Continue cooking, swirling the pan constantly until the butter is dark golden brown and has a nutty aroma, 1 to 3 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and transfer the browned butter to a large heatproof bowl. Stir the remaining 4 tablespoons butter into the hot browned butter until completely melted. Set aside and let cool to room temperature.
4. Add both sugars, salt, and vanilla to the bowl with the butter and whisk until fully incorporated. Add the egg and egg yolk and whisk until the mixture is smooth with no sugar lumps remaining, about 30 seconds. Let the mixture stand for 3 minutes, then whisk for 30 seconds. Repeat the process of resting and whisking 2 more times until the mixture is thick, smooth, and shiny. Using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, stir in the flour mixture until just combined, about 1 minute. Stir in thechocolatechipsand give the dough a final stir to ensure there are no hidden flour pockets.
5. Scoop the dough into 16 even portions, each about 3 tablespoons, and arrange them 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets, 8 dough balls per sheet.
6. Bake the cookies 1 tray at a time until the cookies are golden brown but still puffy, and the edges have begun to set but centers are still soft, 10 to 14 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through baking. Transfer the baking sheet to wire rack and allow cookies to cool completely before serving. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

For the crew…for your friends…for yourself–I don’t think you will regret making these. And that’s the thing about MAKING STUFF…getting your hands dirty…sometimes you just need to drop everything and MAKE SOMETHING. Put your hands to work and create something that you can be proud of. Doesn’t mean you have to take time off of work to make a short film by any means, but perhaps you can start with taking an hour to whip up these delicious cookies. Everyone you share them with will thank you. YOU will thank yourself.

And if your up for some “fancy” language to go with your ridiculous cookies…check out the funny short we made and entered in theMyRØDEReelinternational short film competition.

The Winning Ticket

It’s time for you to CREATE something awesome.

Well it’s been quite the post-production process, but we’ve finally wrapped my first Young & Always Hungry food video! It was a fun and mouth-watering project to work on…and hopefully this is just the beginning to many more.

That said, what I really hope though is that this post doesn’t come too late in the strawberry and rhubarb season because this pie was seriously ridiculous. If you’re looking for the perfect summer party dessert–this pie is what dreams are made of.

PEACE, LOVE & STRAWBERRY RHUBARB HAP-PIE-NESS

ALL BUTTER, REALLY FLAKY PIE DOUGH

Source:Smitten Kitchenvia Cooks Illustrated, November 2007

Makes enough for one 9-inch double-crust pie

• 21/2 cups flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon table salt
• 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, very cold
• ½ to ¾ cup of ice cold water

DIRECTIONS

Crust

1. Fill a one cup liquid measuring cup with water, and drop in a few ice cubes; set it aside. In a large bowl, whisk together 21/2 cups flour, 1 tablespoon of sugar and a teaspoon of salt. Dice two sticks (8 ounces or 1 cup) of very cold unsalted butter into ½-inch pieces.
2. Sprinkle the butter cubes over the flour and begin working them into the flour. I prefer using my hands because the heat does help if your butter is ice cold, but you can also use a pastry blender or a food processor if you don’t want to get your hands dirty. But where’s the fun in that? Carefully work the butter into the flour, until the butter pieces are about the size of tiny peas. (Deb warns against over working the flour. I don’t question her.)
3. Next, drizzle ½ cup of the ice-cold water (but not the ice cubes) over the butter and flour mixture. Using a rubber or silicon spatula, gather the dough together. You will probably need an additional ¼ cup of cold water to bring it together, but drizzle it one tablespoon as a time. Once you’re pulling large clumps with the spatula, take it out and get your hands in there. Gather the disparate damp clumps together into one mound, kneading them gently together.
4. Divide the dough in half, and place each half on a large piece of plastic wrap. Let the dough chill in the fridge for 1-2 hours before rolling it out. You can also do this ahead and leave it in the fridge overnight or in the freezer if you are making it farther in advance. Just be sure to pull it out with enough time so that it because soft enough, but still cold and firm, to roll out. Dough will keep in the fridge for about a week, and in the freezer for much longer. To defrost your dough, move it to the fridge for one day before using it.

Strawberry Rhubarb Filling

1. In a medium bowl, toss together rhubarb, strawberries, sugars, cornstarch, flour, salt, and lemon juice. Toss until all of the fruit is covered in a coating of sugar and cornstarch. The cornstarch will disappear and the sugars will begin to make juice with the fruit.
2. Allow to rest while you roll out your dough and cut your lattice.

To Assemble the Pie

1. Remember: Depending on how long your dough has been in the fridge, you may need to let it rest at room temperature for about 3-5 minutes.
2. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil. Set aside.
3. On a well-floured surface (or if you’re a neat freak :D you and use two pieces of wax paper to sandwich your dough ball), begin to roll out the first dough ball for the lattice. Once your dough is about 1/8 inch thick and about 12 inches in diameter, carefully cut 1-inch wide strips. Transfer to a cookie sheet and place in your fridge to stay cold.
4. Roll your second ball of dough out to a similar 1/8 inch thick and about 12 inches in diameter wide circle. Fold the circle in half, and then in a quarter.
5. Butter your pie dish. When I use up a stick of butter, I like to save them in a plastic bag and place in my freezer. These are perfect for buttering dishes or pans at a later time. Lightly flour the dish.
6. Transfer your folded crust to your pie pan, lining up the point of your triangle with the center of your dish. Carefully unfold it and reposition as necessary.
7. Using a fork, poke holes in the crust so that if it expands while baking, your crust won’t break.
8. Fill your crust with the fruit filling, being careful to drain as much liquid as possible. If you’re worried, you can also add a sprinkle of cornstarch to the bottom of the crust before adding your fruit mixture to help absorb some of the fresh fruit juices.
9. Remove your lattice strips from the fridge and begin to lay out pattern. If you want to see a diagram, Smitten Kitchen posts an easy step-by-step look…but sometimes it’s more fun to try it out on your own. Trial and error is the best way to learn! :)
10. Curl up the excess dough around the rim of the pie to secure. Use any extra pieces from the lattice to lay on the edges if you need more.
11. Using your forefinger, middle finger, and thumb, crimp the edges to give your pie a more finished look.
12. Paint your masterpiece with a little egg washand then lightly dust with white sugar.
13. Delicately, wrap foil around the edge of your pie to prevent it from burning.

Time to bake!

1. Bake the pie for 25 minutes at 400 degrees F, then reduce the heat to 350 degrees and bake for another 35 to 45 minutes, or until the pie is juicy, bubbling, and golden brown. You will want to remove the foil around the edges about 20 minutes before your pie is done. This allows it to brown like the rest of the crust.
2. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for at least 2 hours before serving. This is the last step to follow, and DEFINITELY the toughest, but it really is key to let the pie cool for at least 2 hours. This will help the juices mellow and thicken a bit…or else you’re serving runny pie. Still tastes delicious, so I won’t judge :) but it won’t look as good on Instagram! Haha.
3. If you’ve prepared your pie a day or hours ahead and you’d like to reheat it (perhaps while your guests are finishing up dinner), you can leave the pie at roomtemperature, then warm at 350 degreesFahrenheitfor 10 minutes. Or, even better, if you’ve already baked something in the oven, put the pie in and turn the oven off.

I hope you have as much fun baking this pie as I did–I made it 3 times in one week for the video! :) At one point I needed help eating it so that I could use my dish to make another one, so I went downstairs to my neighbors and knocked on their door.

“Hi! I’m sorry to interrupt if you’re working from home today too, but I’m actually making a pie video right now and I need help eating this one so that I can reuse my dish. Would you guys be interested in helping me?”

He just laughed. “Wait, are you serious?” He leaned back and said something to his (I’m assuming) colleagues inside. “She’s offering us pie.”

“I’m very serious,” I replied with a smile.

He looked back at me and laughed again, “Uhm–YES. That’s amazing. How could we say no to someone knocking on our door and asking us to help them eat freshly baked pie?”

I’m pretty sure they will gladly lend me some sugar when I need to borrow it in the future. I’m hoping this sealed the deal.

Peace, Love & Strawberry-Rhubarb-PIEness.

I always make sure that my kitchen is stocked with extra sticks of real butter, just in case I feel the desire to make some pastry dough from scratch or these ridiculously buttery jam-filled thumbprint cookies. These cookies take a little less time (especially with the clean up!) than baking a pie, but bring you just as much buttery joy to share with your closest friends and family. Thumbprint Jammers = A sure thing.

And right now, I think your weekend needs these.

THUMBPRINT JAMMERS for your FRAMMERS

From love & olive oil

Recipe makes about 3 dozen cookies, more if you make them smaller.

Ingredients:

DIRECTIONS

My first “porkshoulda” was a success….even I was surprised.

When I moved to Brooklyn, I was nervous about having to re-discover my neighborhood “Go-Tos” that I had become so comfortable with on the Upper East Side. But seriously–I don’t know what I was thinking because that has to be the best part about moving to a new ‘hood! So when I realized that my closest grocer happened to also be the best grocery store in the neighborhood…I was happy, happy camper. The Metropolitan Citymarket on Bedford carries all the weird things I NEED…like a million and one different brands of D-free ice cream (I still reach for Steve’s,which deserves it’s own blog post at another time), fresh pork shoulder from the butcher, and a plethora of spices when I find a recipe that calls for something more than dried thyme or ground nutmeg. Oh yeah…so about that pork shoulder. It’s fresh and CHEAPPPPP! Whatup, Brooklyn!

I’ve been back multiple times…just to buy pork shoulder (to feed people…not just for myself, so stop with the judge-y eyes). It takes time, but it’s so “lo-may” (still trying to make this a thing) and feeds so many people. So make the time, and invest some love. It’s worth it.

SLOW-N-LOW ROASTED PORK SHOULDER

Source: Jamie Oliver’s Slow Roasted Pork Shoulder

INGREDIENTS

• ~4.5 lb higher-welfare shoulder of pork, bone-in, skin on
• 2 Red onions, halved
• 2 Carrots, peeled and halved lengthways
• 2 Stalks of celery, halved
• 1 Bulb garlic, skin on, broken into cloves
• 6-8 Bay leaves
• 2.5 Cups (600 ml) water or vegetable stock
• 1 Tbsp cornstarch, or 2 Tbsp flour
• 1/3 Cup water
• Sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat your oven to 425°F/220°C.
2. Place your pork on a clean work surface, skin-side up. Using a small SHARP knife(Super sharp! Or it gets a little tough) and make scores about acentimeterapart through the skin into the fat. Cut into the skin, but not sodeep that you cut into the meat. (If the joint is tied, try not to cut through the string.)
3. Rub salt right into all the scores you’ve just made, pulling the skin apart if you need to.
4. Brush any excess salt off the surface then turn it over. Season the underside of the meat with a few pinches of salt and pepper.
5. Place your pork, skin-side up, in a roasting tray and pop in the preheated oven. Roast for 30 minutes, until the skin of the pork has started to puff up and you can see it turning into crackling.
6. At this point, reduce heat to 275°F/135°C.
7. Cover the pork snugly with a double layer of tinfoil, pop back in the oven and roast for a further four and a half hours.
8. Take out of the oven, take the foil off, and baste the meat with the fat in the bottom of the tray. Carefully lift the pork up and transfer to a chopping board. Spoon all but a couple of tablespoons of fat out (save it for roasted potatoes!).
9. Add all the veggies, garlic and bay leaves to the bottom of your pan and stir them into the fat.
10. Place the pork back on top of everything, cover and return to the oven without the foil to roast for another 60-90 minutes. By this time the meat should be meltingly soft and tender.
11. Carefully remove the meat to a board or serving dish and cover again with tinfoil and leave to rest while you make your gravy.
12. Remove vegetables and set aside in a bowl. Spoon away any fat in the tray.
13. Add the water or stock andplace the pan on the stovetop. Bring to the boil and reduce heat to simmer.
14. In a small cup or bowl, dissolveyour cornstarch or flour in 1/3 cups of water. Gradually stir into simmering contentswith a wooden spoon to scrape up all those lovely sticky tasty bits on the bottom of the tray. Add a pinch of salt and pepper to taste. Simmer and allow gravy to thicken for about 1-2 minutes.
15. Serve the pork and cracklings with your jug of gravy and your lovely roasted vegetables. You can also roast some potatoes in the pork fatseparately to serve with your roasted pork and gravy.
    

Please invite friends over. Enjoying slow-roasted pork is a treat that just tastes better with good friends or family and funny stories that make you belly laugh.

So who’s bringing dessert?

Happy Fastnachts Day!

Even though I don’t think I need to give this recipe much of an introduction (the photos pretty much speak for themselves), I thought it would be nice to share a little background on these historical doughnuts. Maybe if we treat this as an educational experience, we can feel better about the amount of butter we are sacrificing for this special occasion.

Fasnacht, sometimes spelled Fastnacht, Faschnacht, Fosnot, Fosnaught,Fausnaught,is an English name for a frieddoughnutserved traditionally in the days of Carnival or on Shrove Tuesday, the day before Lent starts. Fasnachts were made as a way to empty the pantry oflard,sugar,fat, andbutter, which were traditionally fasted from duringLent.

The word Fastnacht originates from the German words “fast”, which is the shortened version of the verb “fasten”, which means “to fast”, and “Nacht”, meaning night, indicating the eve of the traditional Lenten fasting period observed by many Christian denominations. It is the equivalent celebration to Mardi Gras or Carnevale.

So in honor of this special holiday, and to take a trip down the sweet and buttery, childhood lane of my dear friend, Juliet…she decided to share her Grandma’s special recipe.

GRAMMIE'SFASTNACHTS(German Apple Doughnuts)

Family recipe by Carolyn Smith, passed down to her granddaughter (and one of my dearest friends) Juliet.

Recipe makes approximately 2 dozen doughnuts.

INGREDIENTS

Doughnuts

• 3 Cups Flour
• ½ Tsp Salt
• 1 Tsp Nutmeg
• 4 Tbsp Baking Powder
• 1 Cups sugar
• 2/3 C Solid Shortening, placed in the freezer or fridge to get it cold
• 2 Eggs, Beaten
• ½ Cup Milk
• 1 Cups grated apples

Cinnamon Sugar

• 1 Cup Sugar
• 2 Tbsp Cinnamon

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F.
2. Combine flour, salt, nutmeg, baking powder and sugar.
3. Cut in shortening until dough texture is the size of small crumbs. You can mix by hand using a pastry cutter or a wide-toothed fork. (Bare hands might be too warm for the shortening this time.)
4. Add eggs, milk, and apples. The dough will be very wet and sticky and should have puffed up quite a bit from the baking powder.
5. Fill well-greased muffin tins about ½ full.
6. Bake in preheated 350°Foven for 20 minutes.
7. Test with cake tester–also known as a toothpick/knife/thin utensil to check if the doughnuts are cooked all the way through. :)
8. While still hot, quickly dip into melted butter and ensure it covers the outside, but don’t leave them in the butter too long or they will become soggy.
9. Roll in cinnamon sugar mixture and cover the outside completely.
10. Cool on racks.
11. Indulge and try to refrain from inhaling two more.

Juliet shared:

These do not taste like apple doughnuts. The apple should be finely grated and ismoreso for moisture. Do not be shy about dipping in butter - they should be generously dunked. They are deceiving when they come out of the oven and are much lighter than expected - this is okay. All of the measurements are spot on! Do not question a German Baker! ;)

Ok ok..so I’m not questioning…but I do have one question:

Why are we only allowed to make these once a year???

Thanks for sharing, Juliet and Grammie!

Man Dip is a thing…but it’s not just for men. Some people say it’s because men love it, but that’s silly becauseI can honestly tell you that it’s the women who really eat this stuff up (three lovely ladies from Bucks County taught me everything I know about Man Dip). Others say it’s called Man Dip because it’s so easy “even a man can make it,” but I take slight offense to that because my Popsa is the best gosh darn cook in all the land, so you can check that theory at the door.

Either way, this sausage-y, spicy, cheesy goodness may be the most addictive thing you get into this season. (Well, maybe second to your new obsession to finding out what actually happened with Fitz and Ballard on OperationRemington. ;D)

MAN DIP FOR ALL MANKIND

Source: My stunning Smith ladies

INGREDIENTS

• 1 Pkg. Jimmy Dean Hot Sausage (Just in case: If you can’t find hot sausage, you can use regular breakfast sausage and just add some red pepper flakes and cayenne pepper before heating)
• 1 Pkg. Cream Cheese
• 1 Can Rotel Tomatoes

DIRECTIONS

1. Invite friends over.
2. Brown sausage and drain oil.
3. Stir in other stuff.
4. Heat until combined.
5. Serve with Tostito Scoops.

Stupid easy, stupid good. Don’t be afraid to double the recipe. One helping won’t be enough for all the man[dip] eaters in your life.

Oh, and if you’d like to discuss other theories/conspiracies about how this dish got its name (or Operation Remington), I’m all ears. Might as well kill some time before kickoff.

It’s the Polar Vortex 2.0 and the snow’s falling againnnn in New York. Seems only appropriate to help heat my apartment with something warm baking in the oven to battle the bitter cold.

ALLBUTTER-NOT-BITTER SCONES

Source: Group Recipes’ Mom’s Butter Scones

Recipe makes about 8 large scones or 12 smaller scones.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 ¾ Cups Flour
• 3 Tbs Sugar
• ½ Tbs Baking Powder
• ½ Tsp Salt
• 1 stickunsalted butter, chilled and cut into bits
• 2 Eggs
  
• ¼ Cup Milk

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat your oven to 425°F (or 400°F if using convection).
2. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a medium mixing bowl.
3. Cut the chilled butter chunksinto the flour with a pastry cutter, fork, or if your butter came from the freezer like mine (I always leave a couple of sticks in there just in case I want to make pastry dough, etc.) use your hands. Butter pieces should be crumbled into small pea-sized bits, but not so small that the mixture looks like cornmeal.
4. Beat eggs and milk together until combined.
5. Pour liquids over the flour-butter mixture and stir until the mass comes together. Be careful not to overmix. Dough should be sticky.
6. On a greased cookie sheet, with floured hands, gently pat the dough into an 8-10" circle, or two, 5" circles. Dough should be ½ inch or more thick.With a large knife, cut this into wedges.
7. OPTIONAL: You can brush with a light egg wash to add some shine to the top (one egg and 2 Tbs of water) or milk to help them brown on the top.
8. Place into the center of a preheated 425° oven (or 400° if using convection).
9. Bake for about 10 minutes, keeping a close eye on the bottoms so they do not burn. Slightly reduce heat at about 8 minutes if they are looking too brown.
10. Baking until golden brown and crispy on top.
11. Serve hot with fruit preserves, jam or honey.

Now put on a pot of coffee, curl up on the couch, and jump back into your Scandal marathon. It’s going to be a good day.

My momma and I argue a lot–but isn’t that normal? I think it’s because we are so much alike…especially when it comes to “who’s right” or “the final word.” We’ll probably even argue about those statements, but it just better supports my theories. However, when we move past all the grey hair I’ve given her or all the headaches I complain she’s caused me–we are, undeniably, each other’s best friends. (Actually–I’m pretty sure she might start a debate about how I treat some of my other friends better than her.)

She can be salty and a little moody, but mostly she is thoughtfully sweet…to a fault sometimes :) and I know that she would do anything for family. Although we may be opinionated and stubborn with each other, we will almost always agree on the important things in life. We value the same qualities in people–integrity, respect, humility and empathy; and believe that hard work will get you far in life. Our family is our rock and we’ve both been blessed with incredible friendships that we now refer to as family.

When we’re not agreeing on life’s big matters, we’re exchanging words in the kitchen about silly things, like what kitchen utensils will work best, what “small” looks like when it comes to spooning out the cookies, or even if I actually like to bake or not. (FYI: I actually prefer to bake when I am stressed, but I definitely won’t be opening up a bake shop anytime soon.)

Anyways…this recipe was a fun little collaboration (and slight compromise) we made this week. I think you will appreciate the result of our two strong opinions combining forces.

MOMMA YOUNG’S POP-N-TOFF COOKIES

Adapted from Hershey’sHeath Bits O’ Brickle Toffee Drop CookiesRecipe makes about 6 dozen cookies.(This is a LOT of cookies–perfect for a party or cookie exchange, butI would have halved the recipe if I made them again.)

INGREDIENTS

• 1.5 Cups already popped popcorn (slightly salted and buttered, if you wish)
• 1 Cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 Teaspoons cream of tartar
• 1 Teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3.5 Cups all-purpose flour
• 1 Cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
• 3 eggs
• 11/3 cups (8 oz. pkg.) HEATH BITS ‘O BRICKLE Toffee Bits
• ½ Teaspoon salt
• 2 Teaspoons baking soda

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease cookie sheet or line with parchment paper.
2. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla and salt in large bowl until blended.
3. Add eggs; beat well.
4. Stir together flour, baking soda and cream of tartar; gradually add to butter mixture, beating until blended.
5. Stir in toffee bits.
6. Then carefully fold in your popped popcorn. Some of it will crush, and Momma will say a couple of times, “This is not gonna work,” but just tell her to “have faith” and I guarantee–it will all come together.
7. Drop heaping teaspoons onto prepared cookie sheet.
8. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned.
9. Cool slightly; remove to wire rack. Cool completely.

Thanks, Momma, for letting me be bossy in the kitchen…and in life. I get it from you. :) I’m lucky and thankful you have taught me so much, and challenged me to do better and be better. Love you, Bestie!