Longtime Denver food writer Allyson Reedy asked top bakers and food bloggers for their best cookie and cake recipes. The likes of Christina Tosi, Tieghan Gerard, and Joanne Change replied. The result is Reedy’s new cookbook, “50 Things To Bake Before You Die.”
She and her 10-year-old daughter Austen visited Colorado Matters Sr. Host Ryan Warner’s cramped kitchen to scare up some funfetti cookies and reminisce about her buttery, sugary project. “We added up all the flour, sugar, butter and the chocolate that we used in the recipe testing and it ended up being 12 pounds of flour, 64 pounds of sugar, 30 pounds of butter, and 17 pounds of chocolate,” Reedy said.
Two of the 50 recipes follow. Listen to the audio for the full (and wonderfully flawed) experience.
Kate Wood’s funfetti cookies
Recipe from Wood & Spoon
I anger-baked these funfetti cookies. That may seem like an odd choice for an anger bake, but hear me out. There were all levels of drama going on at my house, including, but not limited to, refereeing kid fights over snow shovels and hammers. It was either anger-bake or pack a bag and head for the airport. But since my kids need a mother, I chose the funfetti. In return, I got to play with rainbow sprinkles, had a house smelling of vanilla, and achieved (temporary) household peace as my kids set aside their hammer differences to help pour in ingredients.
So yes, I recommend anger-baking Kate Wood’s funfetti cookies, which taste like buttery nostalgia. They lead to happy eating, because sugar and rainbow sprinkles are known for their anger-melting properties.
Makes about 30 cookies
Ingredients
- 10 tablespoons (1 ¼ sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 ½ teaspoons clear vanilla
- 1 large egg
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 cup rainbow sprinkles
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare baking sheets by lining them with silicone mats or parchment paper.
2. In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter, sugar, and brown sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl and add the vanilla and egg, beating on low until incorporated.
3. Add the flour, baking soda, salt, and cream of tartar, and beat on low speed until the dry ingredients are just combined. Scrape the sides of the bowl and add the sprinkles. Beat until just combined.
4. Scoop out 1-1 ½ tablespoon sized scoops and roll each dough ball briefly in your hands to smooth out the edges. Place on prepared baking sheet 2 inches apart. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until the tops of the cookies have just begun to crack and the edges are set. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes before transferring to a rack to complete cooling.
Blueberry Galette
Recipe by Jennifer Essex, Owner of Ruby Jean Patisserie in Denver, CO
God bless the galette. Less fussy but just as stunning as an intricate pie, the galette is a free-form pastry, which means if it doesn’t turn out the way you intended, you can totally claim artistic license. There’s almost no messing it up, which is probably why “galette fails” has only 291,000 Google results while “pie fails” has more than 31 million. (Yes, I looked it up.) Galette: easier than pie.
Makes one galette
Ingredients
For the crust
- 1 7/8 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2/3 cups (1 stick + 3 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cubed and cold
- 1/3 cup water, very cold
- Turbinado sugar, for sprinkling
For the filling
- 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
- 1/8 cup sugar
- Pinch of salt
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 4 tablespoons corn starch
Directions
1. For the crust, mix salt and flour. Using a bench cutter or knives, cut in butter into the flour/salt mixture until butter pieces are pea-sized.
2. Mix in water and knead quickly. Add more flour if mixture is too wet, or more water if too dry. Shape into a disk, wrap in plastic, and chill for at least 2 hours.
3. Combine all filling ingredients. Roll your pie dough into a 12-inch round circle on a baking sheet.
4. Put the fruit filling in center of dough, leaving a 2-inch rim. Pile fruit high and crimp dough edges. Freeze for 45 minutes.
5. Preheat oven to 375°F. Egg wash the folded sides of the galette and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
6. Bake for 1 hour (or longer), checking for a brown and crisp crust. Let rest for 30 minutes, then you’re free to serve with vanilla ice cream.
