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It's been quiiiiite a while since this blog has been updated, so my deepest apologies... But good news is that next time you see Wild Manatee, we (yup, me and Mikey) will have some awesome updates for y'all. Keep your eyes out, kiddies, cuz you don't want to miss this.

Sugar Cookies

Let's bring it back to the classics -- sugar cookies! My friend wanted something chewy, soft, and sugary, and I like that this recipe incorporates lemon zest into it. Unfortunately, I didn't have my zester at home so I just shaved off the skin of the lemon with a knife, so some of the pieces were a bit chunky. When my friend ate these, he actually liked that there were "raisin-sized chunks" of chewy lemon skin in the cookies. Hahaha... ohh how mistakes can turn out surprisingly well sometimes. Yay. Picture by me, and recipe by Martha Stewart.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest, plus 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup unsalted butter, (2 sticks), softened
• 2 large eggs
• Sanding sugar, for sprinkling
• 
  

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift flour, baking soda, and salt into a bowl; set aside.
2. Put sugars and lemon zest in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed 30 seconds. Add butter; mix until pale and fluffy, about 1 minute. Mix in eggs, 1 at a time, and then the lemon juice. Reduce speed; gradually add flour mixture, and mix until just combined.
3. Scoop dough using a 2-inch ice cream scoop; space cookies 2 inches apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Flatten cookies slightly with a spatula. Sprinkle tops with sanding sugar, then lightly brush with a wet pastry brush; sprinkle with more sanding sugar.
4. Bake cookies until golden, about 15 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks for 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to racks using a spatula; let cool completely. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days. (try not to overbake them if you want chewy ones, otherwise they'll be pretty crispy.
   

(see the huge chunk of lemon zest?)

Wordle

Wordle makes word collages out of the text on your blog. This is what Wild Manatee Bakery has so far :)

Cherry Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Chewy & Crunchy Cherry Chocolate Chunk Cookies -- C&C CCCC, anyone?

I love checking Martha Stewart's "Cookie of the Day" updates, and this one caught my eye because they not only sound tasty but looked delectable as well! (see pic below)
The different flavors and textures of chewy tart cherries, crunchy sweet toffee, and smooth and rich chocolate work together and balance the sugary oatmeal dough to form a symphony in your mouth. Haha, sorry this is so corny... But really, this recipe is pretty straightforward and will leave people craving for more! Credits to Torrie Hallock for the recipe.




Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups oats
• 1 cup dried cherries (Can be found at Trader Joe's...I cut mine into smaller pieces)
  
• 4 1/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 1 cup toffee pieces (Chocolate-covered Heath Bar bits, yum!)
  

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. In a large bowl, sift together flour and baking soda.
2. In a bowl, cream the butter and both sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice during mixing. Add the egg; mix on high speed to combine. Add the vanilla; mix to combine. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
3. Add flour mixture to egg mixture, and mix on low speed until well combined. Add the oats, cherries, chocolate, and toffee pieces; mix to combine after each addition. (At this point, I chilled the dough because I was busy... but I think chilling the dough helps it stay together and lets the flavors really mix and soak in together... Also, other reviewers formed them into logs and then cut them into rounds before baking)
4. Spoon a heaping tablespoon of dough onto a lined baking sheet. Repeat, spacing 2 inches apart. (These cookies spread a LOT and come out pretty thin, so be sure to leave enough space!)
5. Bake cookies until golden brown, 14 to 16 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Store in an airtight container up to 2 days. (Since you want these to be semi-chewy, be sure not to overbake them! They will continue to bake while cooling on the baking sheet. They will come out really thin, so parchment paper definitely helps with the lifting of them off the sheet.)
   

Chocolate Chip Rugelach

I think it's pretty fitting that I start off this blog with one of my favorite pastries, Rugelach! For those of you who don't know what Rugelach is, it's a Jewish pastry made out of a cream cheese dough and various fillings. Popular fillings include apricot jam, walnuts, raisins, cinnamon, but my favorite is chocolate chip. For some reason, they're ridiculously expensive in bakeries ($1/per) so I prefer to just make them myself :) There's something about the flakey texture and the cream cheese flavor that makes them irresistible. Usually I don't eat much of what I bake, but I can't help myself with these... Hahaha... Maybe it's a good thing they're so time consuming and labor intensive, otherwise I would make them every day.


Here's the recipe that I used, taken from my favorite cookbook: Great Cookies by Carole Walter. My tips are in italics.

Cream Cheese Pastry:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, spponed in and leveled, divided
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup strained confectioners' sugar, spooned and leveled

Chocolate Chip Filling:
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tbsp. strained unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 to 1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cups finely chopped walnuts (optional)
3/4 cup mini-chocolate chips
confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Directions:
1. In a large bowl, using a wooden spoon, mix together the butter and cream cheese until smooth and thoroughly blended. Very, very important to make sure they are both room temperature before you start!
2. Mix in 1 cup of the flour and the salt, working until almost incorporated. Cut in another 1/2 cup flour with the spoon, again working it until the flour is almost incorporated. Complete the process by kneading in another 1/2 cup flour. Do not overwork. (Note: The remaining 1/4 cup of flour is used for rolling.) You might have to knead with your hands to gain more control. Try not to overmix the dough, otherwise it won't be flakey.
3. With lightly floured hands, shape dough into a mound, then divide in half and form two 5-inch disks. Dust the disks lightly with a little flour, score with the side of your hands to even the tops, and wrap in plastic. Chill for at least 4 hours or up to 3 days. I was pressed for time, so I only chilled it for an hour... turned out okay.
4. Remove the dough from the fridge and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before rolling. Dust a pastry board or other flat surface with the remaining flour and w/ the confec. sugar.
5. Divide 1 disk of the dough into thirds, coat each third lightly with the flour and form into cylinders. Working with one cylinder at a time, roll it into a long rectangle approximately 5 inches wide and 18 inches long, about 1/16 inches wide. The thinner you roll it, the faster it will bake, so try to roll it semi-thin... Also, cut off the messy edges with a knife or pastry wheel.
6. Combine the granulated sugar and cinnamon and cocoa, and sprinkle the strip of dough with this mixture. If you are using walnuts, sprinkle some on top, and use the rolling pin to press them into the dough. Then, line the chocolate chips along one edge of the rectangle. Be very generous with sprinkling sugar on top -- you want to make sure your rugelach gets the chocolate flavor!
7. Roll up the dough starting with the edge with the chocolate chips. OR - Cut triangles at 2-inch intervals and roll it up.
8. Place on cookie sheets. Chill for 1/2 hour. I left my rugelach in logs, but I think next time I'll cut them into pieces before I bake them...It'll turn out a lot prettier. Also, I didn't chill it for half and hour bad.... but luckily it turned out okay.
9. Bake in oven at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes until the rugelach are golden brown.
10. When cooled, sprinkle with confec. sugar. This is when I cut them into pieces, and it got kinda messy.... but still tasted wonderful!

(the mound)

(I didn't have a rolling pin, so I used a POM glass. Pretty ghetto, I know...)


(I laid parchment paper on my cookie sheets -- makes cleaning up so much easier!)


(Ta-Da!!!! My small group absolutely devoured these little guys)