Summer Camp Cookies

Can you believe it? Summer's end is just around the corner. To me, one of the tell-tale signs of fall is the start of the new school year. In the south, school starts in early to mid-August, as the air conditioning is a respite for the hottest month of the year. In the northeast, school starts in September, because most schools do not have air-conditioners, so they must wait until it is a bit cooler to start. And although September 22nd is officially the first day of fall, Labor Day seems to be most people's idea of "Summer's Last Stand," the last time to truly enjoy all that summer has to offer.

I have to admit, I am pretty excited about the arrival of fall. I love the change in the seasons! I think that it is a reminder of Ecclesiastes 3: For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven...I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God’s gift to man.

As much as I am looking forward to fall, I don't want to overlook the last few days of summer. After all, it will be another nine months or so before it comes around again, with all of it's fresh tomato, cucumber, corn, basil and butter bean goodness. And we do plan on celebrating on Labor Day, with an entire meal cooked on the grill. But until then, I will share these cookies with you.

These cookies really should be fall and winter cookies, as they are full of the spices that signify those seasons: cinnamon, ginger and cloves. However, to me, they are the ultimate summer camp cookie. My mom always made a double (or maybe triple?) batch of these to send to my brother, who would spend his summers working at Boy Scout camp. I remember her sending me a batch when I worked at Panama City Beach for a summer. I'm not sure, but I think a batch of these even made their way to Thailand, when my sister was living there. The thing that makes these the ultimate summer camp cookies is that they travel well, and they stay soft and chewy for quite a while. The key here is to take them out of the oven before they seem to be done, and they will be perfect.

Molasses Cookies

1 1/2 sticks of butter, melted
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg
1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat the oven to 350°. Mix the melted butter with the sugar and molasses. Lightly beat the egg and add to the butter mixture. Blend well. In a separate bowl, sift the flower with the spices, salt and baking soda. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix well. The batter will be wet.

Lay a sheet of foil on a cookie sheet. Drop batter by tablespoons on foil, leaving about 3 inches between the cookies. Bake for 8-9 minutes, until the cookies start to darken, but are still soft. Let cookies cool on the foil.

A Great Feast

Sunday, after church, my husband's Greek professor and his wife graciously opened their home for a small group of us to eat lunch. They were a perfect example of the message that our pastor shared in his Sunday sermon.

He spoke on 1 Peter 4:7-11, and spent a good long while expounding on using one's gifts to love one another and to show hospitality to one another. How hard is it to love one another? It truly is difficult! But, you know, we all have been given gifts, and should use those gifts, whatever they are, to show love to one another, even when it is difficult. That is true hospitality. Our host and hostess on Sunday did all that they could to welcome us into their home, to be hospitable, and to love us.

You know, I love that I love to cook. I am really happy that is one of my gifts. And although sometimes I struggle with my lack of other gifts, (my husband has a wonderful gift of conversation and the ability to know just what to say, which I often find difficult), one of the things that I love about cooking as a means of love and hospitality is that it points to a feast that is to come. Our small-scale "feasts" here are just a mirror of the beautiful wedding feast that we will enjoy when Christ is joined forever with his bride, the Church.

This cake was my contribution to our feast on Sunday. It is particularly rich and moist. Although it was wonderful as-is, I think that it would be excellent with 1-2 teaspoons of fresh grated ginger in the batter.

Carrot Cake
Adapted from Southern Living

For the cake:
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
3 eggs
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup oil
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 cups grated carrots
1 orange, zested
1/2 cup fresh pineapple, cut into small pieces
1 cup sweetened coconut
1 cup chopped pecans

For the Glaze:
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon soda
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup butter
1 tablespoon corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Icing:
16 oz cream cheese, room temperature
8 oz butter, room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar
zest of 1 orange
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 teaspoon almond extract

Butter and flour three round cake pans. Line the bottom of the pans with parchment paper; butter and flour the parchment.

Mix the dry ingredients in a small bowl.

In a medium bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, oil, buttermilk, and vanilla until well blended. Add the dry ingredients and mix well. Fold in the carrots, orange zest, pineapple, coconut and pecans. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes.

While the cake is baking, prepare the glaze. In a medium saucepan, heat the sugar, soda, butter, buttermilk and corn syrup over medium heat. Boil for four minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, and stir in the vanilla. Pour the glaze all over all three cakes while they are warm, brushing the glaze so that it soaks into every little part of the cake. Allow the cakes to sit in the pans for several hours, until they are completely cooled.

To prepare the icing, beat the cream cheese and butter until nice and creamy. Mix in the lemon juice and extract, and add the powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at the time. Use a spatula to fold in the zest.

Remove the cake layers from the pans, and remove the parchment. Ice the cooled cake layers, and refrigerate. Hint: I prepared the cake layers, wrapped them individually in saran wrap and froze them overnight. It makes icing the cake so much easier.

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Strolling

Our new neighborhood is very stroll-able. My husband and I go for a walk just about every weeknight, catching up on each other's days and looking at the beautifully landscaped yards and the gorgeous stone houses, wondering at their history. Sometimes we walk up and down the main street, looking in closed shop windows, admiring cakes and cookies and loaves of bread in the window of a bakery or stopping to read a posted restaurant menu.

I suppose that eventually we will try most of these places. I know our friends help us out with this, too; a few days ago, I went with a friend to a bakery cafe that is located in an old flower shop conservatory. I brought my leftovers home and sent them (half of a grilled cheese sandwich) with my husband for lunch the next day. He came home saying that he had his doubts about a cold grilled cheese sandwich, but it was so good that he was dying to go try that restaurant himself!

I do some strolling myself during the days, too. I often go up to the library to check out a book or two, and pass one of the neighborhood markets on the way home. A few days ago, I stopped by on my way home from the library, and I saw a beautifully unexpected sight; sour cherries! They are well past their prime; they usually show up for about two weeks in June or July. I have read about them in several blogs this summer, and have been intrigued by descriptions of this incredibly tart fruit and how if I see some, I must buy them! I grabbed two very full quart baskets and came home with my bounty.

I am freezing over half of them for a winter treat, but what to do with the rest of my new discovery? Well, given my recent baking kick, I decided to bake a loaf of cherry almond bread. How good does that sound?

The bread was wonderful. It was incredibly moist and yummy. The cherries were very tart, but a wonderful contrast to the sweet bread. If you happen to see some late-season sour cherries at your market, pick them up and try some!

Cherry Almond Bread

1 cup wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 Tablespoon orange cognac
zest of one lemon or orange
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 tablespoon buttermilk (or sour cream)
1 cup pitted sour (tart) cherries
1/2-3/4 cup sliced almonds

Sift together the first eight ingredients in a small bowl. Take two tablespoons of this dry mixture and toss with the cherries and almonds.

Cream the butter and sugars in a medium bowl with hand mixer. Beat in the eggs, one at the time. Mix in the extract, cognac and zest. Mix in the dry ingredients alternately wiht the buttermilk and sour cream.

Using a spatula, fold in the cherries and almonds.

Bake for 1 hour at 350°. Allow to cool for 10 minutes in the pan, and then allow to cool completely on a cooling rack.