Folks are often surprised to hear this, but for most of my life I’ve hated peanut butter. “What about peanut butter and jelly sandwiches?” they ask, “Didn’t you eat those as a kid? Or Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups? You have to like those.” No and nope, I always respond. My mother couldn’t even get me to eat peanuts.

Then one day (I think it was January 6th, 2007 at approximately 3:54PM… kidding) I decided I liked peanut butter cookies. I tried them on a whim, but from then on a whole world of peanutty goodness opened up to me. From chocolate dipped vanilla ice cream sprinkled with chopped peanuts to ye ole stand by: peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Look ma! I like peanuts.

The chewy peanut butter cookie recipe featured in this post is from “The Sweet Melissa Baking Book,” and though they are incredibly easy to make and may seem un-blog-worthy as a result, this is precisely why I wanted to share them. I showcased a relatively more complicated Hazelnut Raspberry Cake in my last post; now it’s time for some down-home, no-fuss, compulsively munchable cookies. I don’t know about you, but one of these is just the sort of thing I need on sleepy weekday mornings, served with a tall mug of strong coffee…. or stashed in my bag for the train ride into the city. My husband loved them, though he did say a dip in melted chocolate would make them even more satisfying. Ah, a man after my own heart.

But enough about me. I know there is one bit of information you’re all waiting for: the names of the 5 lucky people who won a copy of “The Sweet Melissa Baking Book!” Without further ado, they are: #59 Tatiana, #72 Lari, #93 Julie, #121 Olivia, #175 Tammy. I’ll email the winners tomorrow to confirm. Many thanks to everyone who participated in the book giveaway, and to the random number picker, which relieved me of the burden of picking the winners. Whew.

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The Sweet Melissa Baking Book, by Melissa Murphy, is a book that lives up to its subtitle: it really is filled with recipes that are bound to become everyone’s favorite treats. From ‘Raised Waffles with Warm Brown Sugar Bananas’ in the “Dessert for Breakfast” section, to ‘Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Caramel-Rum Raisin Sauce’ in the “Sunday’s Supper’s Grand Finale” chapter, the goodies in this book are tempting and satisfying. The ‘Hazelnut Raspberry Cake’ was one of the best desserts I have ever tasted, while the ‘Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies’ were just the thing to eat with a glass of cold milk. Of all the recipes I tried, the only one I did not like was the ‘Whole Orange-Poppy Seed Cake’, which had a bitter aftertaste, but I’ve heard that others have enjoyed this recipe so perhaps it’s simply my taste buds that were the problem. There are only eight color photographs in the book, but recipes are written in such a clear, approachable manner that I dare say you don’t need the photos to create even the most mouth-watering results. Murphy prefaces each recipe with a short story, which adds a warm, friendly feel to her instructions. I especially appreciated that she outlines how to store her cookies, muffins, cakes and other treats so that they will last as long as possible. She also includes helpful sections on how to frost multi layered cakes, toast nuts, and even make preserves from scratch. Chapters include: Dessert for Breakfast, After-School Snack, It’s Somebody’s Birthday!, What Will We Do With All This Fruit?, Sunday Supper’s Grand Finale, and Favorite Gifts. Overall this is a great book for bakers (and candy makers) of every skill level. If you’re looking for a baking book that will add oomph to your collection, this is definitely one to try. I’d recommend you make the ‘Bee Stings’ first, which are yeasted buns sprinkled with sliced almonds, drizzled with a honey caramel glaze and filled with vanilla bean pastry cream. Yum!

Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies
Reprinted with permission from The Sweet Melissa Baking Book, by Melissa Murphy.

Ingredients: Makes 2 dozen cookies

• 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter (I used organic)
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Position the rack in the top and bottom third of your oven. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or aluminum foil.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the peanut butter with the butter and sugars until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Beat in the egg.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the peanut butter mixture and mix until combined. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl so that everything is combined evenly.

Scoop dough by the rounded tablespoonful and roll into balls. Place the balls about 2 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheets, and press down slightly. Using a fork dipped in flour, press down on the cookies first one way and then the other to form an “X” pattern, creating the cross hatch effect. (The cookies should now measure approximately 2 inches in diameter.) Bake for 10 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden. Overbaking will cause these chewy cookies to become crunchy, so try to avoid it.

The cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. For longer storage, they can be frozen wrapped in plastic wrap and aluminum foil for up to 1 month. Do not unwrap before defrosting.

Yesterday was my friend M’s 29th birthday and to celebrate we threw a little party at my place. On the menu? Butternut squash soup with crème fraîche; mini spinach quiches; blue cheese, walnut and pear sandwiches; and homemade French fries (the best kind!); all served with tall pitchers of pink lemonade and kiwi slices. A few food-loving girlfriends came over beforehand to help put the finishing touches on everything, including the grand finale: a Hazelnut Raspberry cake with PINK buttercream frosting! Maybe we shouldn’t have been so tickled by the color, but we were - especially M’s 5 year old daughter, who was beyond ecstatic when we unveiled the rose-colored hue. “Oh wow! Oh wow! Oh wow Mom!” she exclaimed, clapping her hands and jumping up and down on her little feet, “It’s pink! I loooooove pink!” Kids are so cute.

The cake lasted about, oh, 30 seconds - it was that good. But I had a moment of panic when we were making the buttercream about an hour before guests arrived, because upon tasting a finger’s worth I was taken aback by the decadent flavor of the frosting. “This is too much, I thought to myself… it’s really rich!” Yet it was too late to turn back, so we finished it up and served the cake with slightly shaky confidence at the appointed time. I served everyone before digging into my own slice, and it was then that it all came together. The toasted hazelnuts gave an irresistible nutty aroma and flavor to each cake layer - held together by raspberry preserves - while the meringue made them light and toothsome. When paired with these the buttercream’s perfection shone through, with the raspberries and raspberry liqueur complimenting the sugar and butter just so. This cake was sinful to be sure, but if butter, sugar, and more butter mixed with hazelnuts and raspberries are “bad” for you… then being bad never tasted so good.

When the evening was over there was one slice left on the cake stand, daring guests to squabble over the rights to taking it home. But in the end a 5-year-old with the big brown eyes won us over, taking her slice home in a little white box with a grin on her face. I hear she shared it with her favorite stuffed friends this afternoon during one of her upscale (albeit imaginary) tea parties. “The teddy bears couldn’t stop raving about the color,” M told me. Brilliant!

This cake takes a fair amount of time to make, but the finished product is worth every ounce of effort. I spread the work over two days, making the cakes on Saturday and the frosting on Sunday afternoon. The recipe is from The Sweet Melissa Baking Book, which includes recipes for delightful treats like Chestnut Honey Madeleines, Chocolate Malted Layer Cake and Sour Cherry Pie with Pistachio Crumble. I’m going to share another recipe along with a review next week, but in the meantime I’m happy to tell you that, thanks to the generous folks over at Penguin/Viking, I have 5 copies of this book to give away. To enter the raffle simply comment on this post. On Sunday, March 23rd, I’ll use the random number generator that has aided me so many times in the past to pick the winners! (Tartelette is giving away 5 copies too if you want even more chances to win!)

Hazelnut Raspberry Layer Cake
Reprinted with permission from The Sweet Melissa Baking Book, by Melissa Murphy.

This is a very elegant (it’s pink!) cake for any special occasion. Eat it at room temperature because buttercream just isn’t as yummy when it’s cold. If you’ve had it in the refrigerator, be sure to let the cake sit out of the fridge for at least one hour before serving.

Ingredients:

For the cake:

• 1 2/3 cups hazelnuts or filberts, toasted and cooled
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 12 large egg whites, at room temperature

For the raspberry buttercream:

• 1 cup loosely packed fresh raspberries
• 2 tablespoons raspberry liqueur
• 2/3 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 3 large egg whites, at room temperature
• 3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 1/3 cups seedless raspberry preserves, for filling
• 2 cups fresh raspberries, for garnish

Position a rack in the center of your oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour two 9×2 inch cake pans. Line each pan with a 9-inch round of parchment paper.

Step 1: Toast the hazelnuts

Once your oven has reached 350 degrees F, spread the hazelnuts in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until lightly golden and you can smell them. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

Step 2: Make the cakes

In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade, combine the hazelnuts with 2/3 cup of the sugar and pulse grind until it is a coarse flour. Transfer the hazelnut flour to a large bowl. Add the all-purpose flour, an additional 2/3 cup of the sugar, and the baking powder, and whisk to combine.

Have ready a fine-meshed strainer. In a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, brown the butter over medium heat. (The butter will melt first, and then the milk solids will settle to the bottom. After a little while, the milk solids will start to turn golden.) When the milk solids have reached a nutty brown color, immediately remove from the heat. Using the fine-meshed strainer, strain the butter into the flour mixture. Stir to combine. Discard the butter solids. Stir in the vanilla.

In the very clean bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a very clean whip attachment (make sure both are 100% DRY too), beat the egg whites on medium-high speed until they hold soft peaks. (Note: If there is even one speck of yolk in the whites they will not form soft peaks properly because the fats in the yolk will prevent the proteins in the whites from adhering to one another. To avoid this dilemma, I always separate my eggs into 3 bowls: one for the yolks, which will be frozen for later use; one for all the whites; and one for breaking the eggs. In this last bowl I separate the whites/eggs and make sure there is no yellow in the white before adding it to the other whites. I know this seems like a lot of work but I learned this trick from Alton Brown, and trust me, it works.) In a slow steady stream, with the mixer on medium speed, add the remaining 2/3 cup of the sugar. Increase the speed to high. Beat until there are firm - not dry - glossy peaks of meringue.

Using a rubber spatula, briskly fold one-third of the meringue into the bater to lighten it. Add the remaining meringue and gently fold in until just combined.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cake pans. Spin the pans or use an offset spatula to level the batter. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove to a wire rack to cool in the pans for 20 minutes before turning the layers out onto the rack. Cool completely before filling or frosting.

The baked layers may be stored tightly wrapped at room temperature for 2 days. For longer storage, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 5 days, or freeze wrapped in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil for up to 2 weeks. Do not unwrap before thawing.

Step 3: Make the buttercream

In a small bowl, combine the fresh raspberries with the raspberry liqueur. Set aside.

In a small heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the 2/3 cup of sugar and the water and cook to 240 degrees F on a candy thermometer, about 7 minutes.

Meanwhile, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whip attachment, beat the egg whites on high speed until they hold soft peaks. Slowly add the 3 tablespoons sugar and beat until there are medium stiff - but not dry - peaks of meringue.

When the sugar syrup reaches 240 degrees F, decrease the speed of the mixer to medium, and immediately but slowly pour the hot liquid sugar in a steady stream down the side of the bowl and into the meringue. (Or, if the syrup is not yet 240 degrees F when the meringue is ready, turn off the mixer until it is. Then turn on the mixer to medium and add the syrup.) Beat together until stiff glossy peaks form.

With the mixer on medium speed, add the butter in pieces to the meringue. The mixture will break, but just keep beating and it will come together beautifully.

Pour the raspberries and the raspberry liquid into the buttercream and beat on medium-high speed until combined.

If using the buttercream immediately, set aside at room temperature. If not, refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. If the buttercream has been chilled, let it reach room temperature before beating it with an electric mixer. The buttercream will break, but then it will come together again beautifully.

Step 4: Assemble the cake

Before you do anything, use a serrated knife to trim off any excess cake that has domed or risen up, and make your layers as flat and even as possible. Give the scraps to your kids or save them for something like trifle.

To begin, cut 4 strips of wax or parchment paper about 12 inches by 3 inches wide. Place the bottom cake layer trimmed side up on your serving plate. Tuck the wax paper under the edges of your cake on all sides. Later, after frosting th cake, you can pull away the strips to reveal a nice clean serving plate.

Using a metal offset spatula, spread the preserves across the top of the layer, but leave about 1/2 inch uncovered around the outside edges. (This leaves room for the filling to be squished down but stay inside the cake.) Place the second layer trimmed side down on top of the filling and press down gently with your hands.

You are going to frost your layer cake in two steps. The first step will be a crumb coat, which will keep most of the unsightly crumbs from ruining your finished frosting. To do this, simply apply a light, even layer of frosting on all sides of the cake. (Really, it doesn’t matter what it looks like; it will be underneath the final frosting.) Place the cake in the refrigerator to chill for a good 30 minutes.

After the crumb coat has chilled, smooth on your final layer of frosting. It does take a lot of time to get it really smooth and perfected, so I prefer to make the frosting all swirly and peaked - it looks more delicious this way as well.

If you must travel with your cake, finish it the night before, and refrigerate it overnight. Your layer cake will be a lot happier on the trip, and have the best odds of getting to the party in one piece.

Step 5: Garnish

After frosting the cake, garnish the top of the cake with the fresh raspberries. If you are making the cake a few days in advance, finish the cake to the point that it is frosted, but wait to buy the berries and put them on the cake until the day you will be serving. You want the fruit to be as fresh as possible.

Let the cake sit at room temperature for at least 1 hour before serving. This cake keeps very well in a cake saver at room temperature for 2 days. For longer storage, store in a cake saver in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. It should come to room temperature before serving.