Thursday, September 9, 2010

Much love for the mix


A couple of years ago, I came across a recipe in Everyday Food for a baking mix that could be used for four different recipes. One recipe was for a Chewy Oatmeal Blondie, one was... you know what? Sorry. I didn't get past Chewy Oatmeal Blondie. I read "Chewy Oatmeal Blondie" and that was it. I was sold. Wouldn't you be?

The blondies turned out to be one of the most versatile, delicious, and easy to pull together recipes I have come across, and since then I have kept a batch of that baking mix on hand - tweaked a bit with some whole wheat flour - when life calls for... nay, demands, a blondie (Sometimes I think I hear that demand a little more than others).

A few weeks back I came across that Everyday Food issue and found the recipe for the mix again. This time, I made it past the Chewy Oatmeal Blondies and saw Jam Sandwich Cookies. I was on a bit of a jam kick this summer, so of course this caught my eye. Then something else did as well - the entire cookie is just three ingredients - the mix, butter and milk.

So the other day, I trotted out that baking mix to make Jam Sandwich cookies. The recipe is beyond easy - mix and butter in the food processor, then add milk. Bake, fill and eat. I filled mine with the blueberry and strawberry jam I made earlier this summer. Yum.

Maybe in a couple of years, I'll try out another recipe for the mix. Until then, it's jam sandwiches and blondies all the way. Not a bad way to be.

Everyday Baking Mix
(adapted from Everyday Food, April 2008)
Makes 9 cups
3 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
3 cups whole wheat flour, spooned and leveled
3 cups sugar
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 tablespoon salt

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 months. Whisk before using.


Jam Sandwich Cookies

(from Everyday Food)
4 cups Everyday Baking Mix, spooned and leveled
1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/2 cup whole milk (I used 2 percent with no ill effects)
3/4 cup seedless jam or jelly

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. In a food processor, pulse baking mix and butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add milk; pulse until a dough forms.
Drop dough by heaping tablespoons onto sheets, 4 inches apart. (You will fit about 9 cookies to a sheet; bake in two batches to make a total of 36 cookies.) Bake until cookies begin to turn golden but center is still pale, 12 to 14 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Spread flat side of half the cookies with 2 teaspoons jam each; sandwich with remaining cookies.

And the recipe for the Chewy Oatmeal Blondies can be found here...