Normal view
Beef with Garlic Sauce
Disco Fries (with Our Family Gravy Recipe!)
Scallion Pepper Stir-Fry (葱炒辣椒)
Chinese Pork Stock
Healthy Chicken Meatballs
Sesame Chicken
Toum Recipe (Lebanese Garlic Sauce)
Miso walnut chocolate chip cookies

There are two things I need to tell you about these cookies.
One is that they’re crazy-good. And the other is that they’re huge. The recipe makes just five cookies but each one is so packed with flavor, that you’ll be glad you can have one all to yourself. Your other four friends or guests will be delighted as well. (But they’re quite generous, so it’s okay to share…)

What makes these cookies extra special is their slightly savory, umami note, due to walnuts glazed with white miso. Miso is fermented soybean paste that can be purchased in Asian markets, but has become so popular, you can often find it in grocery stores. In these cookies, it adds a little je ne sais quoi, since it adds a subtle, yet complex note of flavors. Umami is often described as a flavor that’s craveable, and it certainly makes a compelling case for that description in these cookies.

If you don’t have white miso, or don’t want to make the candied walnuts, no problem. Just use toasted walnuts. Pecans, or another favorite nut will also work. You can also leave the nuts out, or swap in dried fruit for them. Do-ahead tip: The walnuts can be made a few days in advance and kept in an airtight container. The glaze will get a little sticky, but the walnuts are perfectly fine to use in these cookies.

Another “secret” to these cookies is to incorporate large chunks of chocolate into the dough. While it may be tempting to use chocolate chips, they’re really best if you chop up chocolate from a bar of good-quality chocolate. I leave the pieces quite rough and irregular, which – when baked – create large pockets and bites of dark chocolate.

I’ve adapted the recipe from SIFT: The Elements of Great Baking by Nicola Lamb. Her book explains many of the hows and whys of baking, as well as offering an array of creative recipes. Some are completely original and others are riffs on classics, and it’s a book that I refer to often and these cookies are a big hit whenever I bake them. I hope you enjoy these cookies as much as I do!

Miso Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
Miso walnuts
- 3 tablespoons mirin rice wine
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons (50g) white miso
- 1 cup (100g) walnut halves toasted
Cookie dough
- 6 tablespoons (90g) unsalted butter at room temperature
- 6 tablespoons (85g) light brown sugar
- 6 tablespoons (85g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg at room temperature
- 1 3/4 cups (220g) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/4 teaspoons flaky sea salt or 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt, plus more for sprinkling (optional)
- 9 ounces (255g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chopped in large chunks
Instructions
- To make the miso walnuts, in a medium saucepan or skillet over moderate heat, warm the mirin, the granulated sugar, and the miso, stirring to incorporate and smooth out the ingredients. When the mixture starts to boil, add the walnuts and cook, stirring frequently, until the walnuts are completely coated and the miso mixture has almost all been absorbed by the walnuts, which will take a couple of minutes. They're done when there's only about a tablespoon of the miso syrup in the pan. Remove from heat and let cool, giving them a stir a few times as they cool.
- To make the cookies, preheat the oven to 375ºF (190ºC). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on low speed, or by hand, cream the butter and sugars until well-incorporated for about 1 minute. Do not beat the mixture until it's too light or overly fluffy, which can cause the cookies to spread too much during baking.
- Mix in the egg. Sift the flour and baking soda together in a small bowl, then mix that into the dough along with the salt.
- Break or cut the walnuts up a little, but not too much, and stir them into the dough, then stir in the chunks of chocolate. You may need to get your hands in there to get everything thoroughly combined, but don't overmix. The dough can be somewhat irregular.
- Shape the dough into 5 equal mounds on the baking sheet, each about 6 ounces (180g), placing them evenly spaced apart. Bake the cookies for 15-18 minutes, sprinkling them with additional flaky sea salt after they come out of the oven, if you wish. The cookies are done when they are light golden brown across the top. Err on the side of underbaking rather than overbaking.
Grilled Lamb Chops
Chipotle Sauce

This creamy chipotle sauce is bold and punchy! It’s the kind of sauce that takes your meal to the next level, and brings together component-based dishes like tacos and burrito bowls. You can also serve it as an irresistible dipping sauce. It offers a thicker drizzle than chipotle mayonnaise and tastes better, too.
To make this chipotle sauce recipe, you’ll need a few basic ingredients. Start with a base of sour cream (use Greek yogurt if you prefer), chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (more on those below), a dollop of mayonnaise for a silky texture, dried garlic granules for intrigue, and salt and pepper.
Chipotle sauce should be somewhat spicy at minimum, but you control the spice level when you make it yourself. I’ve written the recipe below with a range of chipotle peppers. Start with the lowest amount, then taste, and blend in more if you’d like.
Continue to the recipe...The post Chipotle Sauce appeared first on Cookie and Kate.
Moelleux of Summer Fruits
This may or may not happen to you, but sometimes when I’m a guest in someone’s home, where everyone pitches in to make dinner, all eyes (or just the host’s eyes) fall on me to make dessert. Gulp. I happy to pitch in with the cooking or bringing along a few baked goodies for the weekend, but I’m not always prepared to bake on the spot.
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If you’re lucky, there may be a scale, a cake pan, a sharp knife, and hopefully sugar, butter, eggs, and flour. If you’re really lucky, there might be a whisk and a spatula, too. But if you’ve ever tried to peel a dozen apples with a steak knife because it’s the only one that’s even close to sharp, or eyeball 1 cup/140g) of flour, you know what I’m talking about. I once did a post on Things I Bring When I’m a Guest for the Weekend, which raised the ire of some, but I require a minimum of a knife, a spatula, a bowl, and a cake pan if I’m going to bake something, like a cake.
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You’re likely familiar with the Moelleux au chocolat, the soft warm individual melting cakes that everybody loves. (If you have the kind of friends that have six to eight ramekins, well, that’s great.) I recently saw French food writer and journalist François-Régis Gaudy (his book, Let’s Eat France, translated into English, is a lot of fun and pretty amazing) make a Moelleux à la abricot on his Instagram page, which didn’t require a mixer or any special equipment. Not even a whisk!
His Apricot Cake was a very casual affair, baked in a rectangular mold on a sheet of parchment paper, and came out of the oven rather free-form, looking exactly like something that would come out of a French home cook’s kitchen, when baking dessert for friends. I’m fine with that but didn’t know if you were, so I thought I’d tinker with it and make it in a cake pan, which is easier to slice. I also fiddled around with the ingredients, as well as putting the brown granulated sugar on top (rather than underneath), to give the moelleux a nice sheen.
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I used a springform cake pan but you can use any similar-sized vessel; an 8-, 9- or 10-square or round cake pan would work, or even a baking dish. The baking time will vary but if your experience with using a variety of ovens in other people’s homes is anything like mine, you’ll find that each one is different, and what one says is 350ºF/180ºC will be different than another whose dial says 350ºF/180ºC. I don’t travel with an oven thermometer but may add that to things I bring when I’m staying with people.
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Tip: If you’re staying in someone’s place for the weekend, you can mix the dry ingredients in a container or zip-top bag then put the dessert together when you get there.
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I made one cake with apricots first, which was sensational, but knowing fresh apricots are harder to come by elsewhere, I made another one with plums, which came out great as well. It would work with other summer fruits and berries but I really like the tanginess of apricots or plums against the moist cake layer, so stuck with those two. A handful of berries wouldn’t hurt either, but I do recommend keeping it simple.
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Moelleux aux fruits d'ete
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds (680g) apricots or plums (or another summer fruit, see headnote)
- 3/4 cup, plus 2 tablespoons (100g) almond flour
- 1/2 cup (65g) all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder preferably aluminum-free
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (230g) granulated sugar
- 5 ounces (140g) unsalted butter at room temperature
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or 1/2 teaspoon almond extract)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons coarse granulated brown sugar such as tubinado sugar (or granulated white sugar)
Instructions
- Halve the fruit and remove the pits. Slice the fruit into 3/4- to 1-inch (2-3cm) wedges. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC.) Grease a 9-inch (23cm) springform pan very well with butter or non-stick spray. (If you don't have a springform pan, you can use another cake pan but it may be harder to get the cake out so you may want to also line the bottom with parchment paper.)
- In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the almond flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. (My preferred tool to use for this step is a silicone spatula.) Add the soft butter and mix it in with the spatula until it's broken up into little pieces, roughly the size of kernels of corn. Stir in the eggs and vanilla extract, until it's almost smooth. It's fine if there are small pieces of butter visible.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Arrange the wedges of fruit on their sides in concentric circles over the batter, snugly placing the wedges against each other, pressing them gently into the batter as you go. Avoid putting them right up against the sides of the pan. It's best to leave some room for the batter to rise between the fruit and the pan, to avoid juices from the fruit adhering to the sides of the pan as the moelleux bakes. (It's unavoidable - and natural - if using juicy fruits, like plums, to have juice run out. But placing the slices not right up against the sides of the pan will help you get the cake out of the pan later.)
- Sprinkle the coarse sugar over the top and bake until the center just feels set; a toothpick inserted into the center should come out free of cake crumbs stuck to it, about 1 hour. Remove from the oven and set on a cooling rack. If any fruit juices have bubbled up and stuck to the sides of the pan, run a knife around the outside of the cake, which will help it release later.
Notes
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Chocolate olive oil spread

This recipe, from The Great Book of Chocolate, is one of my favorite recipes in the book. It’s a deep-dark chocolate spread that’s just as welcome on the breakfast table with warm croissants or toast, as it is as an afternoon snack, swiped on a slice of baguette.
The recipe comes from my friend Deb Perelman, of Smitten Kitchen, who came to Paris and made it in my kitchen with me. You can watch the full video here.

Since you’re making it at home, unlike store-bought spreads, you know what’s in this delectable. This recipe uses olive oil, which is healthy and delicious with the dark chocolate. I like to use one that’s fruity, which compliments the chocolate perfectly.

Depending on the type of chocolate you use, and it’s percentage of cacao solids, as well as the ambient temperature of your kitchen, the spread can be a bit firm, or soft, at room temperature. If it’s too firm, you can zap it for a few seconds in the microwave to make it more spreadable. If it’s too soft, it can be chilled briefly. In my kitchen, it’s perfect just as it is at room temperature…and I think you’ll love it too.

Chocolate Olive Oil Spread
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (70g) powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup (25g) unsweetened cocoa powder preferably Dutch process
- 4 ounces (115g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chopped
- 1/2 cup (125ml) olive oil
- Flaky sea salt such as Maldon or fleur de sel
Instructions
- Sift together the powdered sugar and cocoa powder in a small bowl.
- Warm the chopped chocolate and olive oil over low heat in a medium saucepan, stirring until the chocolate is melted and smooth. With a whisk, stir in the powdered sugar and cocoa powder mixture.
- Transfer the mixture to small bowl and refrigerate until it's spreadable, which can take 2 to 3 hours. Check it every 15 minutes until it's the consistency of chocolate pudding. Scrape the mixture into a jar and store at room temperature until ready to serve.
Notes
Affogato

Margot Lecarpentier is one of the best bartenders in Paris. At her bar, Combat, she shakes and stirs up cocktails – with and without alcohol – that are some of the best in the city. One a warm summer day, Margot stopped by to make an Affogato for us to enjoy in my backyard.
In Italian, affogato means “drowned,” and the typical affogato is a scoop of ice cream drowned in espresso, which is delicious. But Margot ramps things up a notch using a blend of rum, coffee liqueur, and amaro, which gives the dessert a lively kick. While you could use vanilla ice cream, Margot likes chocolate as much as I do, so I churned up a batch of chocolate sorbet, which also happens to be dairy-free, and she used that. Feel free to use your favorite flavor.
Cheers!

You can watch the full video of Margot and I making the Affogato in my newsletter here.
Affogato
Ingredients
- 3/4 ounce (20ml) dark rum
- 3/4 ounce (20ml) amaro
- 3/4 ounce (20ml) coffee liqueur
- Ice cream or sorbet
- 2 shots espresso (cooled slightly)
Instructions
- In a small pitcher or measuring cup, mix together the rum, amaro, and coffee liqueur.
- Put one generous scoop, or several smaller scoops, of ice cream or sorbet into two ice cream dishes or small bowls. Douse each serving with the mix of liqueurs.
- Add a shot of espresso to each portion and serve.
Notes
Steamed Chicken Legs with Sand Ginger
1-Bowl Honey Almond Snack Cake (Gluten-Free)
Honey almond snack cake!? You know you want to jump in on the fun! This GORGEOUS loaf is perfectly moist with a lightly floral flavor and beautiful sponge texture. Bonus? It’s made without gluten or dairy, but no one will know.
It’s the perfect cake for afternoon tea, brunch gatherings, and beyond! Just 10 ingredients, 1 bowl, and simple methods (no mixer) required. Let’s bake!
1-Bowl Honey Almond Snack Cake (Gluten-Free) from Minimalist Baker →
Back to School Recipes
Blackberry Cobbler

This blackberry cobbler recipe is a summertime delight! It features jammy blackberries underneath a tender, golden, scone-like topping. I’m quite smitten with this recipe—something borderline magical happens when you bake blackberries. The heat of the oven seems to enhance their floral undertones and make them taste extra special.
This is a simple dessert that you’ll want to make over and over again. Lemon zest, a touch of cinnamon, and a dab of tangy Greek yogurt add some flavor intrigue. Your guests might ask, “Why is this so good?”
It also happens to be gluten free, since I used almond flour in the topping instead of conventional all-purpose flour. Almond flour is very easy to work with and offers a subtle almond flavor that pairs beautifully with berries. If you’ve tried my peach cobbler or blueberry cobbler, you’re already familiar with it. I hope you’ll give this one a try!
Continue to the recipe...The post Blackberry Cobbler appeared first on Cookie and Kate.
Fried Eggplant, Chinese-Style
Stuffed Poblano Peppers

These stuffed poblano peppers are boldly flavored and legitimately hearty, boasting 20 grams of protein per pepper. They’re stuffed with soft, blended black beans followed by two kinds of cheese. The cheese turns gloriously golden in the oven while the chili peppers become nicely tender and caramelized.
Two layers of red salsa, one underneath and one drizzled on top, bring this crowd-pleasing vegetarian main dish together. Consider it a simpler alternative to enchiladas or layered casseroles that’s just as satisfying.
This recipe will be perfect for game days and casual home get-togethers as the temperatures drop. I hope you’ll make them again and again this fall—I’m already looking forward to my next batch.
Continue to the recipe...The post Stuffed Poblano Peppers appeared first on Cookie and Kate.