Tasty Recipes from Recipe Wizards

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes per batch

Makes 36

Peiye Chung of Sacramento saved a chocolate chip cookie recipe featured in The Bee several years ago. It called for Nucoa margarine. Chung made them and said they were delicious. She has since lost the recipe and was hoping someone else saved it.

Mary Beth Embree of Orangevale shared the original recipe which was created by Marcie Bombola. Bombola also saw the request and told us the Nucoa margarine’s formula, which was key to these delicious cookies, changed. The cookies no longer turned out, so Bombola tried many different margarines and butters, and finally found one that gives perfect results.

Bombola sent hundreds of her chocolate chip cookies to the troops in Iraq. In appreciation for her generosity, they flew a flag in her honor from a plane over Iraq. Bombola received the flag in a special presentation.

This is her new recipe.

INGREDIENTS

2¼ cups plus 2 tablespoons unbleached flour, lightly spooned into the measuring cup

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

A little less than ¾ cup granulated sugar

A little less than ¾ cup firmly packed brown sugar

¾ cup Challenge butter (not unsalted, not sweet)

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2½ cups semisweet chocolate chips

INSTRUCTIONS

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, salt and baking soda. Set aside. In a separate bowl, by hand, mix the sugars, making sure there are no lumps.

Microwave the butter for 13 seconds and cream thoroughly with the sugar mixture. Add eggs and vanilla to the butter and sugar mixture. Stir several minutes. (Do not use a hand mixer or an electric mixer.) Add flour mixture to the wet mixture and stir by hand. Add chocolate chips.

Drop dough by a tablespoon onto an ungreased dark cookie sheet. Bake at 365 degrees for approximately 10 minutes. Cookies are done when they are firm and pale (not golden brown) and have no brown edges. Check them every 30 seconds until done. Remove from baking sheet to a wire rack to cool. Allow cookie sheets to cool completely before baking another batch.

Per cookie: 154 cal.; 2 g pro.; 22 g carb.; 7 g fat (5 sat., 2 monounsat., 0 polyunsat.); 22 mg chol.; 145 mg sod.; 1 g fiber; 15 g sugar; 42 percent calories from fat.

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 11 minutes per batch

Makes 48

After a 20-mile bike ride on the American River trail, Inez Talbott of Sacramento used to indulge in the chocolate-oatmeal cookies she found at Karen’s Bakery in Folsom. She was hoping for the recipe or one close.

Although we haven’t received Karen’s Bakery’s recipe, Ruth Person of Carmichael shares her cookie recipe that she says has garnered many compliments.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup butter or margarine, softened

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1¼ cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt, optional

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

One 11½-ounce package chocolate chips

2 cups rolled oats, (quick or old-fashioned, uncooked)

1 cup chopped walnuts

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat butter or margarine, sugars, eggs and vanilla until creamy. Sift together flour, baking soda, salt (if using) and cocoa powder. Gradually add dry ingredients to sugar mixture and mix well. Stir in chocolate chips, oats and walnuts.

Drop dough by rounded measuring tablespoon onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 9 to 11 minutes or until set. Cool 2 minutes on cookie sheet; remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Store tightly covered.

Per cookie: 138 cal.; 2 g pro.; 16 g carb.; 8 g fat (4 sat., 3 monounsat., 1 polyunsat.); 19 mg chol.; 36 mg sod.; 1 g fiber; 10 g sugar; 49 percent calories from fat.

Prep time: 25 minutes

Cook time: 5 minutes per batch

Serves 4 to 6

This recipe is from Donatella Arpaia’s “Donatella Cooks: Simple Foods Made Glamorous.” Note: Serve with little pots of chocolate sauce for dipping.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 large eggs

3 tablespoons plus 1/2 cup sugar, divided

1/2 pound fresh ricotta

2 tablespoons grated lemon zest

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 to 4 cups vegetable oil, for deep frying

INSTRUCTIONS

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Set aside. Whisk together the eggs and 3 tablespoons of the sugar in a large bowl. Add the ricotta, lemon zest and vanilla, and stir until just combined. Do not overmix. Gradually add the flour mixture to the ricotta mixture and stir until combined. Combine the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat until hot and faint streaks appear on the bottom of the pan. Working in batches, carefully drop 1 tablespoon of dough at a time into the oil and fry, turning several times, until golden brown. Adjust the heat as needed to prevent the fritters from burning. Do not walk away from the pan while the fritters fry. Drain on paper towels or on a brown paper bag.

Toss the warm fritters in the cinnamon-sugar mixture, pile on a rimmed serving platter, and serve immediately.

Per serving without chocolate sauce: 321 cal.; 10 g pro.; 41 g carb.; 13 g fat (5 sat., 4 monounsat., 4 polyunsat.); 125 mg chol.; 219 mg sod.; 1 g fiber; 23 g sugar; 37 percent calories from fat.

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 55 minutes

Serves 8

This recipe is from “Everyday Food” and was downloaded from www.marthastewart.com.

Note: Light brown sugar can be substituted for granulated sugar in this recipe and yields a wonderfully rich flavor. The prep time does not include the 20-minute cool time after tart is baked.

– Niesha Lofing

INGREDIENTS

All-purpose flour, for dusting

1 unbaked store-bought refrigerated pie crust (7½ ounces)

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

6 (about 2¾ pounds) Rome Beauty or McIntosh apples, peeled, cored and each cut into 8 wedges

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. On a floured work surface, unfold store-bought dough. Invert a 9-inch plate on top of dough; trim dough around plate with a sharp paring knife to form a round (discard scraps, or save for another use). Refrigerate until needed.

In a 10-inch cast-iron skillet, press softened butter evenly into the bottom, then sprinkle with the sugar. Arrange apple wedges in a circle around edge, then fill in the center with remaining wedges. Place skillet over medium heat, and cook until sugar mixture is light amber in color and bubbly, 8 to 10 minutes (syrup might brown unevenly).

Transfer to oven; cook until apples have softened, about 30 minutes. Carefully place dough round on top; bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes more.

Let cool, about 20 minutes. Run a knife around edge of skillet; invert tart onto a serving platter. Replace any apples that may have stuck to bottom of skillet; drizzle with any remaining pan juices. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Per serving: 335 cal.; 1 g pro.; 47 g carb.; 16 g fat (7 sat., 6 monounsat., 3 polyunsat.); 23 mg chol.; 154 mg sod.; 3 g fiber; 31 g sugar; 44 percent calories from fat

MICHAEL ALLEN JONES mjones@sacbee.com
Two words for this pie featuring cream cheese filling and Pillsbury peanut butter cookie dough for the crust: Yum, yum.

Prep time: 25 minutes

Cook time: 16 minutes

Serves 8

Can a pie get any easier? Niesha Lofing developed this recipe after brainstorming ideas on pie shortcuts. The crust is premade peanut butter cookie dough. This was very popular with the office testers.

Note: The prep time does not include the 2-hour cool time for the cookie crust after it is baked or the 30-minute chill time after pie is prepared.

INGREDIENTS

one 16.5-ounce roll Pillsbury Peanut Butter Cookie dough, allowed to soften at room temperature for about 10 minutes

3/4 cup shelled pecans

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1/4 cup brown sugar

one 24.2-ounce tub Philadelphia Ready-to-Eat Cheesecake Filling

Mrs. Richardson’s Butterscotch Caramel sauce, for drizzling

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pat cookie dough evenly into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie dish (you likely will not need all of the dough), about the thickness of a typical butter pie dough.

Bake for 12 to 16 minutes, or until cookie dough is rising and golden brown on top and sides. Dough will puff up significantly. Remove dish from oven and immediately place on counter, banging it several times to deflate the dough. Allow it to cool completely.

To make the glazed pecans, heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat and melt one tablespoon of butter. Add brown sugar and stir constantly with a wooden spoon or heat-durable silicone spatula until sugar is fragrant and starting to spread and thicken in the pan, about 2 minutes. Add pecans and stir constantly for 30 seconds, then remove from heat. Continue stirring, making sure the sugar mixture coats all the nuts. Remove pecans to a piece of foil to cool, separating them so they don’t stick together.

Spoon the cheesecake filling into the cooled cookie pie shell, spreading to fill evenly. Decorate the edges of the pie with candied pecans. Refrigerate pie for at least 30 minutes. Drizzle with caramel just before serving.

Dear SOS: There is a wonderful orange muffin recipe that is highly guarded at the Morrison Lodge in Oregon on the Rogue River. It would be a huge coup to get that orange muffin recipe.

-Jane Chambers, via e-mail

Dear Jane: These dinner rolls are gently flavored with orange zest and lightly sweetened with sugar. They’re shaped like cinnamon rolls and baked in muffin tins, puffed to a rich golden-brown. Morrison’s Lodge shared this recipe, which originated with Elaine Hanton who, with her husband B.A., purchased the lodge in 1964.

ORANGE DINNER ROLLS

Total time: About 1 hour, plus rising time for the dough

Servings: Makes 2 dozen rolls

Note: Adapted from Morrison’s Rogue River Lodge.

1 cup lukewarm water

1 packet active-dry yeast

3 1/4 cups (13.8 ounces) flour, divided, plus additional for kneading

2 1/2 tablespoons plus 1/3 cup sugar, divided

2 1/2 tablespoons shortening, at room temperature

1 egg, at room temperature

1 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons softened butter

3/4 teaspoon finely grated orange zest

1. In a large bowl, or in the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the water, yeast and one-half cup flour, stirring to dissolve. Set aside just until the yeast is activated (the mixture will begin to bubble), 5 to 10 minutes.

2. While the yeast is activating, combine the remaining flour and 2 1/2 tablespoons sugar in a separate bowl.

3. With a fork (if working by hand), or using a mixer fitted with a dough hook, work half of the flour/sugar mixture into the activated yeast, then add the shortening and egg until combined. Slowly add in the remaining flour/sugar mixture (the mixture will at first be stringy, then very sticky as the flour is absorbed). Stir in the salt.

4. Move the dough to a floured surface. With floured hands, gently knead the dough (it will be sticky at first) about 5 minutes, adding only as much flour as is needed just to keep the dough from sticking to your fingers or the kneading surface. The finished dough will be tender, soft and slightly tacky.

5. Heat the oven to 400 degrees. On a well-floured surface, roll the dough into a rectangle measuring 24 inches by 10 inches.

6. In a small bowl, combine the remaining one-third cup sugar with the orange zest.

7. Brush the dough with the softened butter, then sprinkle over the orange sugar mixture.

8. Roll the rectangle lengthwise into a tight tube (as when rolling cinnamon rolls). Cut the tube into 24 (1-inch) slices, using thread if possible (the thread will slice more easily and cleanly than a knife). Roll the tube one-quarter turn after each slice to keep the tube round; otherwise, it will flatten from all the slicing.

9. Place each of the slices into a well-greased muffin tin (the tins must be well-greased or the finished rolls will stick to the bottom). Cover loosely and set aside until the rolls double in size.

10. Bake the muffin trays 1 at a time, until the rolls are puffed and golden brown, about 8 to 10 minutes. Rotate the trays halfway through for even baking.

11. Cool the rolls slightly, then unmold. Serve warm.

Each roll: 126 calories; 2 grams protein; 22 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram fiber; 3 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 13 mg. cholesterol; 10 grams sugar; 101 mg. sodium.