Martha Stewart, you rock my world...kinda

Note: This looks like a long post. It's really more like two posts in one. And the recipes make it look long. Skip over that part if you want.

I am not a fan of Martha Stewart the person. I cannot stand the sound of her voice, she makes too much money and she just plan works my nerves. However, I do subscribe to and thoroughly enjoy her magazine Martha Stewart Living and I frequent her website for recipes. I feel the same way about Rachael Ray; she's a bit too peppy for me and I hate how she calls extra virgin olive oil "EVOO". Just call it olive oil - we know what you mean. I also subscribe to Everyday with Rachael Ray and I think it's a great magazine, but you won't catch me watching her TV show.

Martha's elves send me a cookie-of-the-day email and I save them all in a folder for when I need a cookie that's a bit more special than the regular chocolate chip (which is still fabulous - see previous post). First I tried the Dark Chocolate Cookies with Sour Cherries and brought them to work for a co-workers last day celebration. The cookie part was divine, but the cherries were a little weird. I've made a batch or two since then without the cherries, and I think they are my new favorite cookie. I've been dying to make them with peanut butter chips and I finally tried it yesterday, but something went awry and they came out flat and crispy. But they still taste darn good. I'm trying to figure out if it was the cocoa I used (Nestle as opposed to the usual Hershey's) or if I overbeated (is that a word?) the dough. Nevertheless, the flavor is still fantastic!

























Dark Chocolate Cookies with Sour Cherries
yield: 3 dozen

Ingredients
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups unsweetened cocoa
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup firmly packed dark-brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (I used a bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips)
1 1/2 cups (9 ounces) dried sour cherries, firmly packed (I used an 8 ounce bag of dried Bing cherries from Trader Joe's)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets (or one if you only own one like I do) with parchment paper; set aside. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (Martha thinks we all own big expensive mixers. I use a 3-speed hand mixer and it works just fine, thank you very much!), cream the butter and sugars until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla extract; beat until well combined. Add the flour mixture and beat on low speed until just combined. Do not overbeat (I repeat, do not overbeat. I think this is what caused my most recent batch to come out flat). With a wooden spoon, fold in chocolate and cherries. (Dough can be frozen at this point, wrapped well in plastic, up to one month; thaw completely before baking).
3. Form balls of dough, each about 1/4 cup (note: if you make them this big, you will not end up with three dozen cookies); place balls on baking sheet about 3 inches apart. Bake until puffed and cracked, 9 to 11 minutes (they will seem slightly undercooked at this point, but that's okay). Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container, at room temperature, up to 3 days.

Recipe can also be found at
http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/dark-chocolate-cookies-with-sour-cherries?xsc=eml_cod_2009_07_10


The most recent recipe of Martha's I've discovered was for banana bread. I searched her website using the advanced recipe search and entered keywords banana bread and sour cream (because I wanted a recipe using sour cream, obviously). I chose the first recipe that came up and was stoked when I realized that there weren't any exotic ingredients included and that I wouldn't have to go to the store first. Oooh, this bread was so moist and tasty. The only thing I didn't like was the entire stick of butter in it. I'm going to try substituting all or part of the butter with applesauce next time I have some ripe bananas.
























Banana Bread
yield: 1 loaf

Ingredients
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups unbleached flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup mashed very ripe bananas
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter (or spray with cooking spray) a 9-by-5-by-3-inch loaf pan; set aside. In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (again, it's okay to use your inferior hand mixer), cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and beat to incorporate.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. Add to the butter mixture, and mix until just combined. Add bananas, sour cream and vanilla; mix to combine. Stir in nuts and pour into prepared pan.
3. Bake until a cake tester (in my kitchen, this is a butter knife) inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 1 hour and 10 minutes. Let rest in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool.

Recipe can also be found at
http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/banana-bread?autonomy_kw=banana%20bread,%20sour%20cream1