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White Chocolate Chunk & Macadamia Nut Cookies
Adapted from Lesley's Recipe Archive

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour (or whole wheat pastry flour)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2(3oz)-bars of white chocolate, cut into 1/2” pieces (or 6oz white chocolate chips)
1 cup salted (or unsalted) macadamia nuts, coarsely chopped    

Preheat oven to 350°F.  In a large mixing bowl, combine brown sugar, butter, egg, and vanilla.  Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until well mixed, about 1-2 minutes.  Reduce speed to low.  Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Continue beating for 1-2 minutes, scraping bowl often.  Stir in white chocolate and nuts by hand.

Drop rounded spoonfuls, 2” apart onto greased cookie sheet.  Bake for 9-12 minutes or until lightly golden.  Cool 1 minute.  Remove from cookie sheets.

Makes approximately 24 cookies that Rebecca, Jessica, and Big Davey agree are "absolutely delicious".

Chocolate Cupcakes
Adapted from a recipe found on recipezaar.com

Yield: 12 cupcakes

These just happen to be dairy- and egg-free. 

Ingredients:

1 1/2      cups whole wheat pastry (or all-purpose) flour
2/3         cup packed brown sugar
1             teaspoon baking soda
1             teaspoon salt
1/3         cup dutch-processed (unsweetened) cocoa powder
1/2         cup vegetable oil
1             cup water
1             teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1             Tablespoon white or cider vinegar*
1             Tablespoon orange zest, chopped fine (optional)

Instructions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 
2.  Prepare muffin tin with cupcake liners or grease and flour well. 
3.  Whisk together first 5 ingredients in a large bowl (try to get all of the lumps out).  If using all-purpose flour, you could sift the entire mixture if you like.
4.  In another bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients.
5.  Add the liquid mixture to the dry ingredients, mix until well combined.
6.  Fill muffin tins about 2/3 full.  Fill any empty muffin cups with water to keep the heat even.
7.  Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

*The vinegar may sound weird but it's essential.  It will react with the baking soda to make them rise, don't worry you won't taste it. 

Elizabeth David's Flourless Chocolate Cake

This is a classic French chocolate cake.  It's very dense and rich, not one of those light and airy American-style cakes.  Plus, it's great for people with wheat/gluten allergies (though very bad for those with egg allergies, sorry Catherine!).

Ingredients:

4        ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) chocolate (114 grams)
1        teaspoon vanilla extract
1        Tablespoon brewed espresso (or any other *strong* brewed coffee)
1        Tablespoon dark rum
6        Tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2    cup sugar
1/2    cup ground almonds
3        large eggs, separated

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. and butter an 8-inch springform pan.

2. In a heavy saucepan over low heat (or in a double-boiler), melt chocolate with vanilla and brewed espresso and rum.

3. Add butter, sugar, and almonds and heat the mixture until the butter has melted. Remove the pan from the heat and cool slightly.

4. Beat the 3 egg yolks until they are lemon coloured and stir them into the chocolate mixture.

5. Whip the 3 egg whites until they are just stiff and fold them gently into the chocolate mixture.

6. Turn the batter into the pan and bake the cake in the middle of the oven for about 45 minutes. 

The cake will have some cracks on top, and a tester inserted into the cake will not come out clean (this is OK because the cake will continue to cook in the pan, you don't want to overcook it or it will be very dry).  Let the cake cool completely on a rack and remove the sides of the pan.  The cake will rise and then fall.  No frosting necessary, just serve it with whipped cream (with a little sugar and rum).

ps - Elizabeth David was a British food writer who wrote some great books during the 1950s-1970s about French, Italian, and British cuisines.

No-Knead Rustic Bread

Adapted from Jim Lahey, Sullivan Street Bakery
Time: About 1½ hours plus 14 to 20 hours’ rising

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour (or 1 cup whole wheat and 2 cups white), more for dusting
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast (not rapidrise or active)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed.

1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, 
and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with 
plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at 
warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a 
work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour 
and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap 
and let rest about 15 minutes.

3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or 
to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously 
coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; 
put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or 
cornmeal. [Sue May's note:  Instead of letting the dough rise on a towel,
put a sheet of parchment in a skillet, dust with flour and put dough on the paper. 
When ready to bake just lift dough out using the paper and place the dough
in the pot, paper and all.  Much easier and no worries about the dough sticking
to the towel]
Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. 
When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not 
readily spring back when poked with a finger.

4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. 
Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or 
ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot 
 from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam 
side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice 
if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. 
Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 
30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

Yield: One 1½-pound loaf.