Restaurants in Philadelphia

1. Federal Donuts < went! DELICIOUS 
2. Garces Trading Company (Endless Steak Frites)
3. Magpie (pie!) < went! DELICIOUS 
4. Nan Zhou hand drawn noodles << went!yum!
5. Carman's Country Kitchen 
6. Vic sushi < went! Yum! 
7. European Republic (Belgian fries) 
8. Pitruco Pizza food truck < delicious =) 
9. John's Roast Pork
10. Hot Diggity 
11. Fat Salmon Sushi 
12. Amis (waffles) 
13. Artisan Boulanger Patissier 

On a side note, I want to go to Joseph Fox Bookshop and the Barnes Museum before I graduate too! 

Almond Jello

Serves 4-6
Ingredients:

• 2 packets Knox gelatin
• 1/4 c. sugar
• 2 tsp. almond extract
• 1 c. cold milk (2% or whole)
• 1 can 8oz fruit cocktail

Directions:

1. Bring 1.25 cup water to a boil, when it is ready pour into a mixing bowl and sprinkle gelatin over it.
2. Let sit for a minute, then stir the mixture until all the gelatin is dissolved. Hint: set the bowl over low heat to keep it hot enough to melt all the gelatin.
3. Add sugar and almond extract. Stir until dissolved.
4. Add cold milk
5. Pour liquid mixture into a casserole or baking pan. Bonus points if it is Pyrex or Corningware, and even better if it’s something you can serve the dessert in!
6. Refrigerate until firm.
7. Cut the gelatin into 1″ cubes and then carefully mix with fruit cocktail and syrup, thinned with cold water to taste.

Cheesy Mushroom Bread

This looks amazing. From Beantown Baker.

Very Quick Recipes

In an effort to make a New Year resolution to eat properly without eating out all of the time, I'm trying to alter my approach to cooking. I haven't quite figured it out, but ideally any dish that requires few ingredients, or ingredients with long shelf lives (so I can minimize grocery store trips), that requires little preparation, and that uses few dishes (so I can minimize cleaning time) would be great. That seems nearly impossible now that I write it out, but... maybe I can figure something out.

• Cream biscuits
• Congee! (Juk)

Baked Brie

Fitler Square

Food to try in my neighborhood!

• Tastebuds Market (24th and Lombard) << visited... it was ok... my chicken salad sandwich was quite dry, and although I was supposed to have grapes in it, there was a total of one grape in my sandwich (one half in each half of my sandwich).
• My Thai (South and 22nd)
• Grace Tavern (Grays Ferry and 23rd) << visited - great burger, great fries. would recommend again in a heartbeat.
• Ants Pants Cafe (South between 22nd and 23rd) << went! It was delicious! definitely would go again.
• Bacchus Market and Catering (23rd and Spruce) << went! It was pretty good - the hot apple cider and mashed potatoes were fine, but the lemon bar was WONDERFUL
• Betty's Speakeasy (23rd and Grays Ferry) << went! it was good, but I wasn't really in love... I'm not sure I would be eager to go back, sadly.
• JG Domestic
• Apple Cider dessert at Square 1682 
• Not in Fitler Square, but FEDERAL DONUTS! 

Food in NYC

I'd like to try some more places to eat in NYC! Ok... mostly dessert places...

• Brunch!
• Coolhaus - I've always loved this in LA and would like to visit it in NYC too.
• Wafels & Dinges - I do like waffles.
• Van Leeuwen Ice Cream
• People's Pops
  
• LA Burdick Dessert
• Desserts by Michael Allen
• Artichoke Pizza
• Fong Inn Too
• Lulu's Sweet Apothecary
• Two Little Red Hens
• Treats Truck
• Catania, Brooklyn
• Gray's Papaya
• Junior's
  
• Murray's Bagels
  
• Clinton St Baking Company (biscuit sandwich)
• Momofuku Noodle Bar/Milk Bar
  
• Chikalicious' Cheesecake
  
• Crif Dogs
• Je and Jo Ice Cream
• The City Bakery (3 w 18th Street btwn 5th and 6th)
• Chelsea Market

A Collection of Recipes

• Japanese Potato Salad
• Penne di Funghi con Pollo e Salsiccia
• Churros and chocolate
• Egg salad
• Shrimp and walnuts
• Chinese asparagus
  
• Mushroom Carbonara Pasta
• Chocolate Cake Roll
• Apple Cake
• Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Sour Cream Cake
  
• No-Bake Cheesecake
• Japanese Tuna Spaghetti
• Red Potatoes, Green Beans and Mushrooms
• Honey Ginger Salmon
• Japanese Chicken Rice

Sweet Potato Biscuits

Yields approximately 18 (2-inch) biscuits

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
6 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into cubes
1 cup cooked and mashed sweet potato (approximately 1 large potato)
1/2 cup buttermilk, plus additional as needed
For the maple butter
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 tablespoons real maple syrup

Directions

Preheat oven to 375°
In a large bowl, mix together all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. Using a pastry blender (or your fingers if you don't have one) cut the butter into the flour mixture until the butter is a mix of pea-size balls and small crumbs.

In a separate bowl, mix together the mashed sweet potato and buttermilk until well-combined. Fold into the flour mixture, adding more (up to 4 tablespoons) buttermilk if necessary. The dough should form a nice ball, and be just a bit on the sticky side, as opposed to crumbly and dry. Chill the dough for thirty minutes, if desired, although you can bake them off immediately if you would like. I happen to like the way the biscuits look when the dough has chilled (a bit more crackly on top), but the flavor is not affected by this step.

Pat out the dough onto a lightly floured surface to about a 1-inch thickness (do not roll out the dough with a rolling pin). Cut out rounds using a well floured biscuit cutter. Gather the remaining scraps and repeat until all the dough is used. Place the biscuits on a large sheet pan and bake for 15 minutes (or bake in batches).

For the maple butter, mix the room temperature butter and maple syrup until completely combined and smooth. Serve with warm biscuits or refrigerate until needed.

Note: the cooked biscuits will freeze beautifully and can be pulled out at a moments notice. Just bake at 375° until heated through.

Char Siu

Recipe from Kirbie Cravings.

Ingredients
2 lbs pork
3 tbsp hoisin sauce
1 1/2 tbsp honey
1/4 cup sugar
3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp cooking Chinese wine
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp 5 spice powder
3 drops red food color
honey for brushing

Directions
1. Combine all seasoning together to form a thick sauce. Then put with pork in a large container. (You may want to cut pork to smaller pieces first to make it easier to cook with. I cut mine into 4 pieces.) Marinate pork for a few hours or overnight in fridge. I marinated overnight.
2. Heat oven to 375 F.Prepare a baking tray with aluminum foil over it.Place marinated pork on the baking tray, bake pork for 30 minutes,then turn the other side,bake for another 30 minutes. Pork should be just about done.
3. Change setting to broil at 400F, roast the pork for another 10-15 minutes or until the top develops a slightly charred look.
4. Remove roast pork from oven,brush with honey to give a glossy shine look. Cut and serve as appetizer or main dish.

Apple Pie Bars

Recipe from the velvet bird.

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
pinch of ground cloves
1 stick of butter, softened
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 TBSP of vanilla
2 apples, cored and diced (don't bother peeling them& granny smith is best, but any variety will do!)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, and spices.
In a large bowl (or your stand mixer) beat butter and sugars together until light&fluffy.
Add in eggs one at a time on low speed until completely mixed together and smooth.
Add in a little flour mixture at a time on low, mix until all of the flour is incorporated.
The dough will be super thick, more like the consistency of cookie dough so don't worry if its hard to mix!
Stir in apple chunks.

Spread dough evenly into your greased pan, you can use a spatula to help get it even or I just sprayed my hands with a little of the nonstick spray and flattened everything out that way.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, it will be a yummy golden brown looking.
Let cool completely before cutting into them.

Spinach Artichoke Dip

This looks so delicious...

Recipe from TheKitchn.

Yields 2 cups

Ingredients
2 (10 ounce) bags fresh spinach
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup milk (2% or whole)
1/4 cup dry white wine (optional)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 cup chopped artichoke hearts
1/4 cup sour cream
1/2 grated white cheddar cheese
Kosher salt and pepper, to taste

Directions
In a large stockpot of boiling water, add spinach and cook until bright green, approximately one minute. Drain and squeeze out excess water. Coarsely chop and set aside.
In a straight-sided saute pan or sauce pot, melt butter over medium heat. Sauté onions until soft and tender, then add garlic and cook for another minute. Add flour and cook for another minute, until no flour is visible. Pour in cream, milk, wine and, stirring constantly, cook until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in Parmesan and Worcestershire sauce. Season with salt and pepper.
Meanwhile, mix together spinach, artichokes, and sour cream. Pour warm cream mixture over spinach, add white cheddar, and combine thoroughly. Season again, to taste.
Serve warm with tortilla chips, pitas, or crudité and sides of salsa and sour cream. To reheat, warm in a saucepan over medium low heat.

Pasta with Sausage, Artichokes and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Recipe from Taste and Tell.

serves 4

Ingredients
1/2 cup drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, sliced, 2 tablespoons of oil reserved
1/2 pound Italian sausage
8 oz. artichoke hearts, quartered
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 1/4 cup chicken broth
8 oz. short cut pasta
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish
2 tablespoons fresh basil leaves, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley, chopped
8 oz. mozzarella, cubed
salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions
Heat the oil reserved from the tomatoes in a heavy large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the sausages and cook until brown, breaking up the meat into bite-size pieces with a fork, about 8 minutes. Transfer the sausage to a bowl. Add the artichokes and garlic to the same skillet, and saute over medium heat until the garlic is tender, about 2 minutes. Add the broth and sun-dried tomatoes. Boil over medium-high heat until the sauce reduces slightly, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta in boiling water until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring often, about 8 minutes. Drain the pasta (do not rinse). Add the pasta, sausage, Parmesan, basil, and parsley to the artichoke mixture. Toss until the sauce is almost absorbed by the pasta. Stir in the mozzarella. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Serve, passing the additional Parmesan cheese alongside.

Broccoli Beef

I really hope to eat better once Grant is here!
Recipe from Dishing the Divine.

Ingredients
1 lb flank steak, cut into 2-inch-wide strips with the grain, then sliced across the grain in to 1/8-inch-thick slices
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp dry sherry
2 tbsp chicken broth
5 tbsp oyster-flavored sauce
1 tbsp light brown sugar
1 tsp Asian sesame oil
1 tsp corn starch
6 medium garlic cloves, pressed
1 piece (1 inch) ginger, minced
3 tbsp peanut or vegetable oil, divided
1 1/4 lb broccoli, florets cut into bite sized pieces, stems trimmed, peeled, and cut on diagonal into 1/8-inch-thick slices
2/3 cup water
1 small red pepper, cored, seeded, and cut into 1/4 inch pieces

Combine beef and soy sauce in medium bowl; cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 10 minutes or up to 1 hour, stirring once.

Meanwhile, whisk sherry, chicken broth, oyster sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, and cornstarch in measuring cup. Combine garlic, ginger, and 1 1/2 teaspoons peanut oil in small bowl.

Drain beef and discard liquid. Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons peanut oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over high heat until smoking. Add half of beef to skillet and break up clumps; cook, without stirring, for 1 minute, then stir and cook until beef is browned around edges, about 30 seconds. Transfer beef to medium bowl. Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons peanut oil in skillet, and repeat with remaining beef.

Add 1 tablespoon peanut oil to now-empty skillet; heat until just smoking. Add broccoli and cook 30 seconds; add water, cover pan, and lower heat to medium. Steam broccoli until tender-crisp, about 2 minutes; transfer to paper towel–lined plate.

Add remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons peanut oil to skillet; increase heat to high and heat until just smoking. Add bell pepper and cook, stirring frequently, until spotty brown, about 1 1/2 minutes.

Clear center of skillet; add garlic and ginger to clearing and cook, mashing mixture with spoon, until fragrant, 15 to 20 seconds, then stir mixture into peppers.

Return beef and broccoli to skillet and toss to combine. Whisk sauce to recombine, then add to skillet; cook, stirring constantly, until sauce is thickened and evenly distributed, about 30 seconds.

Carrot Cake

I still want to bake a cake this break

Recipe from David Lebovitz.

One 8- or 9-inch (20-23cm) double layer cake

Ingredients
For the cake layers:

4 large eggs, at room temperature
¼ cup (60ml) vegetable oil
¾ c (180ml) melted brown butter (or more oil)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups (280g) all-purpose flour
2 cups (400g) sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 tablespoon cinnamon
generous pinch each of nutmeg and cloves
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups (13 ounces/375g) loosely packed grated carrot
1/2 cup (60g) raisins, preferably golden raisins (sultanas)

For the frosting:

1 pound (450g) cream cheese, at room temperature
4 oz (110g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2-3 cups (240-360g) powdered sugar, sifted
a few drops of vanilla extract

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Butter and flour two 8- or 9-inch (20-23cm) cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper.

2. To make the cake layers, sift together the flour, sugar, spices, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. With a handheld mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, beat the eggs until they are pale and frothy (they need not increase dramatically in volume). With the mixer running, drizzle in the oil and melted butter, then the vanilla.

3. Add the dry ingredients to the eggs and mix carefully until just combined. The paddle will accomplish this easily but if you only have a hand held mixer you may want to just do it by hand.

4. Fold in the carrots and raisins, then divide the batter between the two pans. Bake 30-35 minutes, until the surface springs back when gently touched. Cool the cakes completely before frosting.

5. To make the frosting, beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth. Slowly add the powdered sugar (do this on low speed to avoid a dust cloud) and mix until light and silky. Add the vanilla.

Serving and Storage: This cake is best served at room temperature but will keep for a few days stored in the refrigerator.

Porridge!

If I had time to cook, or eat, really, I would love to make this. I'd be nice to make this for my parents as well.

Recipe from the Kitchn.

Serves 2
1 cup oat bran (oat bran is my preference, but you can also use a 7 or 10-grain cereal)
2 cups water
1 generous cup berries (fresh or frozen) or sliced, very ripe, bananas
pinch of salt
1 to 2 tablespoons honey or maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Toppings:
• nuts (try sliced almonds with the berries and toasted pecans or walnuts with the bananas)
• heavy cream
• flax seeds
• brown sugar (or try honey or maple syrup)
• fresh fruit
• sea salt (a sprinkle on top really pushes this over the edge!)

In a medium pot over medium-high heat bring water, pinch of salt, and half of fruit to a boil. Add the oat bran and honey and stir regularly until cereal is cooked, about 2-3 minutes for oat bran- longer for 10-grain. Serve hot, topped with suggested toppings

Corn Muffins!

These won the Thanksgiving bread vote, so I will be making these for Thanksgiving dinner along with my turkey =)

Recipe from Smitten Kitchen.

Yield: 12 regular-sized muffins or 48 miniature ones

Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal, preferably stone-ground
6 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg (optional)
1 cup buttermilk
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3 tablespoons corn oil (I used olive oil since it was handy)
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 cup corn kernels (add up to 1/3 cup more if you’d like) – fresh, frozen or canned (in which case they should be drained and patted dry)

Directions
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter or spray the 12 molds in a regular-size muffin pan or fit the molds with paper muffin cups. Alternatively, use a silicone muffin pan, which needs neither greasing nor paper cups. Place the muffin pan on a baking sheet.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg, if you’re using it. In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whisk the buttermilk, melted butter, oil, egg and yolk together until well blended. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and, with the whisk or a rubber spatula, gently but quickly stir to blend. Don’t worry about being thorough – the batter will be lumpy, and that’s just the way it should be. Stir in the corn kernels. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.

Bake for 15 to 18 minutes (12 minutes for minis), or until the tops are golden and a thin knife inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes before carefully removing each muffin from its mold.

Places to Eat in Philadelphia

I'm going to keep a list going here of places I'd like to eat in Philadelphia so I remember and check them off as I go.

1. Village Whiskey (Burgers!)
   
2. Brueggers (bagels)
3. Manhattan Bagel (18th and Sansom)
   
4. Capogiro (I've been here for gelato, but not bagels, so I'd like to try them here)
   
5. Metropolitan Bakery
   
6. Day by Day (I'm hoping to find pie or cake here...)
7. Sweet Freedom Bakery (I have a coupon for her to use...)
   
8. John's Roast Pork (Cheesesteak)
   
9. Tony Luke's (Cheesesteak)
10. George's Sandwich Shop (Cheesesteak - 9th and Christian)
11. Nook Bakery and Coffee Bar (20th, between Chestnut and Market)
    
12. Parc Restaurant
    
13. Ants Pants Cafe (Brunch - 22nd and South)
    
14. Cafe Lift (Brunch)
15. Sabrina's Cafe (Brunch)
16. Tacos Don Memo (Mexican - I'm not a huge fan of Mexican, so this is for Grant)
17. Sugar Philly Truck
18. Lyn's Food truck
19. White Dog Cafe
    
20. Must find... boba, dimsum, bakeriess and other places in Chinatown
    
21. I need to find more food near Penn...
    
22. More suggestions for food trucks and more food trucks
    

EATING. Is fun.

Cake

Today I was struck by the random idea that I'd love to bake a plain cake and bake it well. Here are 2 recipes - one for an intense, professional buttercream frosting that sounds amazing and another for a strawberry chiffon cake that looks wonderful!

Recipes from Washington Post and Diamonds for Dessert.

Buttercream Frosting

Makes about 4 cups (generously frosts a three-layer cake)

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 1/2 cups whole or low-fat milk
1/4 cup heavy cream
24 tablespoons (3 sticks) unsalted butter, soft but cool, cut into small pieces
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
Whisk together the sugar and flour in a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan.

Add the milk and cream; cook over medium heat for about 20 minutes, whisking, until the mixture starts bubbling and becomes thick.

Transfer the mixture to the bowl of stand mixer or hand-held electric mixer. Beat on high speed until cool.

Reduce the speed to low and add the butter in several increments; beat until thoroughly incorporated. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat for 5 to 6 minutes, until the frosting is light and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and beat to incorporate.

If the frosting is too soft, transfer the bowl to the refrigerator to chill slightly, then beat again until it is the proper consistency. If the frosting is too firm, place the bowl over a pot of barely bubbling water and beat with a wooden spoon until it is the proper consistency.

Strawberry Chiffon Cake

Ingredients
6 egg whites
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 egg yolks
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup water
1 t vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
3 t baking powder
pinch of salt

Whipped Cream Ingredients
4 T sugar, divided
2 cups heavy whipping cream, cold and divided
1 t gelatin
1 T water
1 pint strawberries (+ kiwis, canned peaches, etc.)

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the egg whites in a bowl and use an electric mixer to beat them until soft peaks begin to form. Once this happens, gradually add 1/2 cup sugar while mixing until stiff peaks form. Set aside. In another bowl, mix the egg yolks, vegetable oil, water, and vanilla together. Set aside. In another bowl, mix the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, salt, and 1 cup sugar. Mix the egg yolk mixture with the dry ingredient mixture till smooth. Then gently fold in the egg white/sugar mixture.

Gently pour the mixture into 2-8" nonstick sprayed or parchment paper lined cake pans and smooth the tops. Bake the pans for around 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean and the top springs back when you press on it. Remove the cake from the pan and let cool on a wire rack.

Strawberries: Wash and dry the strawberries. Cut off the leaf portion of the berries. Keep a few prettier strawberries to top the cake (I kept 6 for a 6-inch cake, so if you make an 8-inch cake, keep 8 berries) and set them aside for now. Take the rest of the berries and thinly slice them.

[NOTE: In addition, you can also use other similarly textured fruit, like sliced kiwi, or slices of canned peaches with the strawberries.]

Whipped Cream: Chill two large metal bowls and your beaters in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. Place the teaspoon of gelatin and tablespoon of water in a pan. Mix and let sit for 5 minutes. In the meantime, pour 1 cup of heavy whipping cream and 2 T sugar in the chilled metal bowl. Beat on high power until you get soft peaks. Stop.

Heat your pan of gelatin and water over low heat until it turns liquid and the gelatin is just dissolved in the water (it should be warm, not hot, if hot, let cool a little). Scrape this liquid into your whipped cream. Continue beating the cream until stiff peaks form. Then stop, cover this with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

Next, in the other chilled bowl, add 1 cup of heavy cream with 2 T sugar. Beat on high until you get stiff peaks in the cream. This cream without gelatin will be used first when assembling the cake layers.

[NOTE: In the final decoration steps, the whipped cream with gelatin is used in order to ensure that the piped design keeps. If you prefer whipping all the cream in one step, just double the amount of gelatin and water and add it in after you get soft peaks while beating all the cream. (I did it in two because I prefer not having so much gelatin in my whipped cream and I like working with smaller amounts of cream at a time).]

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies!

Ariel made some amazing pumpkin chocolate chip cookies a week and a half ago. I am attempting to replicate them with this recipe...

Recipe from Joy the Baker.

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup canola or corn oil
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips, or any chip you like

Directions
Position a rack in the middle of the oven . Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and butter the paper.

Stir the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices together in a medium bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the eggs and sugar until smooth and lightened in color, about 1 minute. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing. On low speed, mix the oil, pumpkin, and vanilla until blended. Mix in the flour mixture to incorporate it. Mix in the chips.

Using an ice cream scoop with a 1/4-cup capacity, scoop mounds of the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing the cookies at least 2 1/2-inches apart. You could also simply use a 1/4-cup measuring cup if you don’t have a scoop. Use a thin metal spatula to smooth and flatten the rounds.

Bake the cookies one sheet at a time until the tops feel firm and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry, about 16 minutes. Cool them on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then use a wide metal spatula to transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool cimpletely.

Dust the cooled cookies lightly with powdered sugar. The cookies can be stored in a tightly covered container at room temperature for up to 4 days.

If I want to make whoopie pies out of these cookies...

Filling Ingredients
1/2 stick butter
4 oz. cream cheese
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions
Mix together melted butter, brown sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla, pie spice, pumpkin puree and eggs until smooth. Add flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Mix well until a thick batter forms. Drop by spoonful onto parchment lined cookie sheets. You need 24 cakes for 12 pies. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 - 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of cakes comes out clean. Cool completely and make filling.

Blend softened butter and cream cheese with vanilla. Add powdered sugar and stir until smooth. Fold in chocolate chips. Spread on 12 cakes and top each with another cake.