How To Have Happy Puppies...

...Or, What To Bake When You're Trying To Lose the Weight You Gained On Your Honeymoon?

The answer: homemade dog cookies!

I had the itch to bake something the other night and the free time and supplies to do it, but have been very carefully watching what I eat for the past couple of weeks in an effort to lose the Newlywed Five (Six? Eight?) that I gained in Greece. My answer to this dilemma was to bake something for my doggies to enjoy!

I used a simple recipe and made cut-out cookies from most of the dough with whatever dog-themed cookie cutters I had on hand -- a dog bone, a sock, and a tree, I think. Random, I know. With the rest of the batter, I cut little tiny squares up and baked them into Yorkie puppy-sized treats. I don't have any pictures of those because they're not nearly as appetizing to look at, but my little Stella has a pretty little tummy because she clocks in at just about 4 pounds, so the bigger treats weren't an option for her.

My dogs have been totally digging them (as have our overnight boarders!), plus it's way most cost-effective to make your own treats. This recipe made a huuuuge jar full of dog cookies and hardly cost anything to make, plus it really didn't take a whole lot of time. Next time, I might try to find some teeny tiny cookie cutters so I can make cute treats for the little doggies, too.

Would you ever consider making homemade treats for your pups? Have any recipes to share?

A baker's heaven

I'm hosting a small dinner party tomorrow night and in honor of that, have decided to try out my Mom's new recipe for individual molten chocolate cakes, kind've like the ones they have at Applebee's and Chili's, for those of you suburbaners (don't get me wrong, I actually miss the simplicity of Applebee's at times).

I didn't have the correct pan to make said dish, however, so I ventured down to Chelsea and hit up New York Cakes and Baking Supply on W 22nd street, between 5th and 6th.

Much as I had expected, it was literally a pastry chef's wet dream. There were mountains of cookie cutters, cake pans, wedding cake decorations, dozens of varieties of sprinkles, baking tools...you get the picture. I found several different options for what I was looking for and, of course, ended up going with the most expensive one (because it was the coolest!). I got a pan that looks kind've like a muffin pan, except instead of muffins, it makes six individual bundt-shaped cakes. I guess only a kind've dorky 22-year-old would be excited by this, but whatever.

As I had been warned on the Chowhound boards, the service was brusque and abrasive, but you can't beat the selection for your baking needs. This place, combined with my accidental find of Broadway Panhandler (See: previous entry, "Non-cookie cutter cookie cutters"), should keep me well-supplied with anything I need for my kitchen.

One of my favorite parts of living in Manhattan is the ability to find a specialty store for just about anything you could possibly want. You can get so much unique stuff if you know where to look, which I don't always. I won't lie, though...I still wish they would build a Target in Manhattan. Brookyln's got us beat on that one.

Fall flavors

In honor of the changing seasons, I made the most wonderful fall pastries ever today: the pumpkin scone.

It's a Starbucks knock-off recipe that I found online after having my first ever pumpkin scone last week. Since I don't want to literally eat myself out of house and home, I figured I should make my own because I can't stop craving them.

I have included the recipe below because you should really make them. They're delicious and are such a fabulous way to incorporate some delicious fall flavors into your day. Each bite is bursting with cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, and pumpkin undertones, plus there's lots of yummy icing.

Note to all: These are not diet food.

Unless you eat one and nothing else all day, I guess.

The recipe is as follows:

Starbucks Pumpkin Scones Recipe #214051

These are great for the holidays...or any other time of the year. Recipe origially submiited at icollectcookbooks.com by Rachel-Snachel

30 min | 15 min prep

6 scones

Scones

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 7 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 6 tablespoons cold butter
• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
• 3 tablespoons half-and-half
• 1 large egg

Powderered Sugar Glaze

• 1 cup and 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons whole milk

Spiced Glaze

• 1 cup and 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons whole milk
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 pinch ginger
• 1 pinch ground cloves

1. TO MAKE THE SCONES:.
2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly oil a baking sheet or line with parchment paper.
3. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and spices in a large bowl. Using a pastry knife, fork, or food processor, cut butter into the dry ingredients until mixture is crumbly and no chunks of butter are obvious. Set aside.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together pumpkin, half and half, and egg. Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Form the dough into a ball.
5. Pat out dough onto a lightly floured surface and form it into a 1-inch thick rectangle (about 9 inches long and 3 inches wide). Use a large knife or a pizza cutter to slice the dough twice through the width, making three equal portions. Cut those three slices diagonally so that you have 6 triangular slices of dough. Place on prepared baking sheet.
6. Bake for 14–16 minutes. Scones should begin to turn light brown. Place on wire rack to cool.
7. TO MAKE THE PLAIN GLAZE:.
8. Mix the powdered sugar and 2 tbsp milk together until smooth.
9. When scones are cool, use a brush to paint plain glaze over the top of each scone.
10. AS THAT WHITE GLAZE FIRMS UP, MAKE THE SPICED ICING:.
11. Combine the ingredient for the spiced icing together. Drizzle this thicker icing over each scone and allow the icing to dry before serving (at least 1 hour). A squirt bottle works great for this, or you can drizzle with a whisk.

I only baked them for 12 minutes and they were just right. And I ended up with a ton of extra spiced glaze, so you could definitely reduce that if you wanted to put the effort in.

Happy fall!

Non-cookie cutter cookie cutters

As some of you may know, I have a strong affinity for cookie baking. Since I acquired my own New York-sized (read: tiny, but adequate) kitchen in May, I have successfully conquered eight different cookie recipes.

One of my favorites, though, is the sugar cookie recipe that my mom has been using since I can remember. They're delicious and work for any occasion, provided you have the right cookie cutters and enough frosting/icing/sprinkles to make them festive.

One of the things I realized when I went to go make these cookies, however, is that interesting cookie cutters don't just materialize in your kitchen drawers, sad to say. And on my move-in shopping list, they had somehow been left off. We wound up with bath mats, a mattress, pots and pans, vacuum cleaner bags, etc., but cookie cutters didn't quite make the list. To further complicate matters, I discovered that I didn't even know where to shop for cookie cutters in the anti-suburban/anti-Walmart landscape that is New York City. I even asked a few online forums where to go and I didn't get much in the way of a satisfying answer.

What I found out today is that, like everything else in Manhattan, you shop for cookie cutters at a specialty store. I was walking back to the 8th street/NYU subway stop after rehearsal this morning and I strolled right by a kitchen store that has become my new favorite place to shop.

It's called Broadway Panhandler and it's at 65 East 8th street. Not only does it have nifty kitchen gadgets and cute tea sets, but it has a whole wall of interesting and unique cookie cutters for $1.25 a piece. Check out this selection:

I didn't buy any of the usual cookie cutter suspects, because I'll probably find a pack of 4 Christmas ones at Jack's for a dollar like I did my Halloween ones, but I was able to snag a bunch of cool ones like a wedding dress, a margarita glass, and a teapot. I can't wait to make some cute little sugar cookies for tea now!