Last weekend was an experiment in sugar cookies. I took two recipes (one for brown sugar cookies and another for angel sugar cookies made with white sugar) to see which came out on top. There wasn't really a winner — just two different types of sweet deliciousness. And there was a batch of "oops!" cookies in there, too, which I'll get into at a later date. For now, let's stick with the success stories, starting with the traditional white sugar cookie.
The key to these cookies is chilling the dough and cooking them for exactly the right amount of time (no browning!). Also, I learned the value of a good baking sheet (more on that tomorrow). But back to the cookies themselves, I halved this recipe and got about 30 3-inch-diameter cookies out of the dough. I can tell you right now: You're going to want to make the full recipe.
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ANGEL SUGAR COOKIES
WHAT YOU'LL NEED: 2 large eggs 1 cup canola or vegetable oil 2 sticks butter, softened 1 cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling 1 cup powdered sugar 1 tsp vanilla 4 cups plus 2 TBS flour 1 tsp salt 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp cream of tartar WHAT YOU'LL DO: 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, cream together eggs, oil, butter, sugars, and vanilla. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Cover and refrigerate dough one hour.
*Note: I refrigerated mine for two hours and it was perfectly fine. I'm guessing you could refrigerate overnight even — if the dough is too stiff to work with, just let it come to room temperature for 15 minutes or so. 2. Onto an ungreased cookie sheet, drop balls of dough (you can use a cookie scoop, or I just used a TBS measure and rounded out the dough with a spoon). On the bottom of a round, flat drinking glass, smear a dab of butter, then dip the glass in granulated sugar. Use the glass to flatten the remaining balls of dough, dipping it in sugar for each cookie as you go (I fit 10 cookies per baking sheet). If desired, sprinkle each with white or colored sugar before baking.
3. Bake for 8 to 11 minutes, until cookies are just barely turning brown. I set my timer for 4 minutes, turned the baking sheet around in the oven, then baked for another 5 minutes exactly. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, then transfer to cooling rack. Be careful! The cookies are rather crumbly.
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I think my search for the perfect traditional sugar cookie is over, and the search had hardly even begun! These cookies aren't insanely sweet (unless you douse them in sanding sugar or frosting, of course) and the texture is so nice. I really think that taking the cookies out of the oven when they're just barely turning golden (like, really barely) makes a huge difference in the taste. Too-browned sugar cookies, to me, have a very distinct flavor — like those Pillsbury slice-and-bake sugar cookies, which I don't care for at all. Avoiding any real browning on these cookies does the trick!
Here's a song and dance performed by Bob Fosse and Janet Leigh, with Fosse choreography. It's simple and sweet without much fanfare, but isn't that fitting to how real love is a lot of the time? Enjoy this little ditty, and Happy (early) Valentine's Day!
Charade, 1963 - showing Feb 10 The stars: Audrey Hepburn & Cary Grant The premise: What happens when a woman's husband is murdered and several shady characters turn up to claim a fortune said husband allegedly stole? Why I love it: Suspense! Paris! Audrey Hepburn's outerwear! - - - - - - -
Funny Girl, 1968 - showing Feb 12 The star: Barbara Streisand The premise: What happens when a funny, fresh, fish-out-of-water starlet named Fanny Brice rises to fame while navigating love and marriage with a suave gambling man? Why I love it: Barbara Streisand. She's good. So good. Watching this movie is like... laugh, cry, gape, and repeat. Laughing, because as the title implies, Babs really is a funny girl. Cry, because Fanny's romance is a turbulent one - and "People." Gape, because of the sheer power of Streisand's vocals (see also: "Rain On My Parade"). - - - - - - -
How to Marry a Millionaire, 1953 - showing Feb 13 The stars: Marilyn Monroe, Betty Grable, Lauren Bacall The premise: What happens with three single women set out to marry millionaires and find love along the way? Why I love it: This is one silly movie, but that's why I love it. It's total just-for-fun fluff. Marilyn Monroe is my favorite, playing a girl who's totally blind without her glasses but insists on removing them whenever a beau comes to call ("Men don't make passes at girls who wear glasses!"). She's too cute and charming. - - - - - - -
Roman Holiday, 1953 - showing Feb 13 The stars: Gregory Peck & Audrey Hepburn The premise: What happens when a bored princess escapes her guards and falls for an American in Rome? Why I love it: To be honest, I haven't seen this movie in ages - and that's why I'm excited to see it again. I mean... Audrey Hepburn + princess + Rome + romance = How can you go wrong? - - - - - - -
The Red Balloon, 1954 - showing Feb 14 The stars: A red balloon & an adorable little French boy The premise: What happens when a living red balloon befriends a young boy and follows him around Paris? Why I love it: This practically-silent short French film is so charming I can't stand it. As Winnie the Pooh says "Nobody can be uncheered with a balloon." I'll go one step further - nobody can be uncheered with a balloon with a life of its own.
My family loves pancakes — and coffee cake, muffins, and everything that should be a special treat but happens to taste great every weekend. So in an attempt to bring a dash of healthy to the table for at least one breakfast, I found a recipe for pancakes made with ground oats and banana instead of flour and white sugar. I'd never made anything like these before and was plenty skeptical. And no, these pancakes will in no way replace traditional pancakes in my book — but they'll be great to swap in every so often. The key, I think, is to really blend the batter so it's smooth — that way you lose the mushy oat texture. Also, the riper your banana, the sweeter and more flavorful the batter. This recipe makes enough to feed four people, if you have something extra to serve on the side like fruit or sausage. For a party of two, cutting the recipe in half would be just about perfect. Or, you could freeze the leftover pancakes — I hear that works like a charm!
- - - - - - - OATMEAL BANANA PANCAKES WHAT YOU'LL NEED: 2 cups oats 1 and 1/4 cup vanilla almond milk 1 large ripe banana 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1/4 tsp nutmeg 1 heaping TBS honey 1/4 tsp salt 1 tsp vanilla 1 and 1/2 tsp baking powder 1 egg 2 TBS butter, melted WHAT YOU'LL DO: Place all ingredients except egg in a blender and blend until smooth. Add egg and pulse until combined. Heat griddle or large pan, slather pan with butter, then pour 1/4 cup scoops of batter onto the griddle. At first, cook about 3 minutes on one side, then turn. As griddle gets hotter, cook 1 to 2 minutes per side. Serve with the toppings of your choice. - - - - - - - Now my family still topped these cakes with butter and syrup, but at least I could feel good about giving them a more hearty base for their sugary flourishes. Myself, I went for a little layer of butter (duh) and a very thin layer of Nutella... Okay, and maybe a dusting of powdered sugar. What can I say? I'm no angel.
Throughout February, Turner Classic Movies is showing Oscar winning and nominated films, 24 hours a day. Each week this month, I'll choose five of my faves for you to check out. My weekly lists won't be exhaustive — there are plenty of others in the TCM lineup that I'd recommend, of course. But these are the films I'm most excited about. You can also view the entire schedule and see what strikes your personal fancy. Whatever you do, embrace these classics while you can! Here are my picks for the rest of this week: The Awful Truth, 1937 - showing Feb 4 The stars: Cary Grant & Irene Dunne The premise: What happens when a divorced couple keeps getting mixed up in each other's lives? Why I love it:The Awful Truth is a classic screwball comedy - a sheer delight from beginning to end. Not to mention Cary Grant and Irene Dunne are so talented, funny, and terribly cute together. - - - - - - - You Can't Take it With You, 1938 - showing Feb 5 The stars: Lionel Barrymore, Jimmy Stuart, Jean Arthur The premise: What happens when a girl from an oddball, bohemian family falls for the son of a prominent banker? Why I love it: This is one of those movies with a bunch of wonderful characters and well-written lines. Frank Capra, director of It's a Wonderful Life, also directed this movie. In a similar vein, You Can't Take it With You is about sticking it to the man and staying true to yourself and your dreams. If you like that sort of thing — I know I sure do! — you're sure to enjoy this film. - - - - - - - Gone With the Wind, 1939 - showing Feb 6 The stars: Vivien Leigh & Clark Gable The premise: What happens when a pouty Southern plantation princess is forced to meet the challenges of the Civil War? Why I love it: I'll level with you - this isn't my favorite movie ever. But it's one that's worth seeing for Vivien Leigh being so perfectly snooty & insufferable — and for the costumes, the sets, the drama, and of course Clark Gable. - - - - - - - The Philadelphia Story, 1940 - showing Feb 7 The stars: Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, Jimmy Stuart The premise: What happens when tabloid reporters crash a high society wedding? Why I love it: Just check out those stars. Notably, Katharine Hepburn - she's totally zany, and this role really highlights her signature quick-witted, vivacious spirit. - - - - - - - Mrs. Miniver, 1944 - showing Feb 8 The star: Greer Garson The premise: What happens when a British family is faced with the onset of World War II? Why I love it: This movie took me by surprise a few years back. It was on TV during TCM's 31 Days of Oscar, and my mom and I had it playing in the background. It wasn't long before we were riveted. Mrs. Miniver is a mix of lighthearted British-isms (think: courtship & flower shows in town) and a strong female lead bolstering her family through the uncertain times thrust upon them. I'm not usually into war movies, but I'm big into this one. Watch with Kleenex.
As I write this, I'm recuperating from wisdom teeth extraction. I look like I have grapes in my jowls and I can't yet confidently eat much of anything beyond pudding and mashed potatoes. At first I welcomed the chance to eat such things (I love pudding and taters!), but I've reached day three and I'm so over it. In an attempt to give my taste buds a little something different — and my body some protein, in theory — I combined plain Greek yogurt with various mix-ins. Some turned out better than others (cocoa yogurt, you will never replace chocolate pudding!), but they're all worth sharing. So whip up your own mixed yogurts and let me know if you find a way to improve them! I'm all ears... and sore teeth. - - - - - - - Peanut butter & honey mix-in, AKA "cookie dough."
What to mix: 1 container yogurt, 1 heaping TBS peanut butter, 1 TBS honey, 1/4 tsp vanilla. This one is my favorite because it's sweet enough to pass for a healthy dessert (if you add mini chocolate chips) and nutritious enough to pack for lunch or a midday snack. - - - - - - - Banana cream pie mix-in.
What to mix: 1 container yogurt, 1 ripe mashed banana, 1/2 to 1 TBS honey, 1/4 tsp vanilla. I think this concoction would be best blended really well — like maybe even whipped with handheld beaters. And topping with graham cracker crumbs certainly couldn't hurt! - - - - - - - Cocoa yogurt mix-in.
What to mix: 1 container yogurt, 1 to 1 and 1/2 TBS unsweetened cocoa powder, 2 TBS sugar, 1/4 tsp vanilla. Maybe this would have been better with semi-sweet cocoa, but even two TBS of white sugar just couldn't completely beat the yogurt's tang. Not my favorite, but that's probably because I'm trying to make chocolate pudding out of plain yogurt — something that can never truly be. I'd welcome suggestions on how to improve this one!
- - - - - - - Lemon meringue pie mix-in. What to mix: 1 container yogurt, 1 to 1 and 1/2 TBS lemon curd. If you're a fan of lemon pie or lemon bars, you're going to love this one — it really tastes like a lemony dessert filling, no buts about it! Definitely my runner-up favorite.
In honor of everyone's favorite February holiday, I'm sharing a few romantic songs from the golden age of musicals. Here's one for all the single ladies: "Goodnight my someone," effortlessly sung by Shirley Jones. This song holds a special place in my heart; my mom used to sing it to me before bed when I was very young.
