A few years ago I was a fundraiser for a secondary school. I enjoyed my job, it was fun to speak with the alumni, hearing all of the reasons they valued the institution and the education it provided. As with working at any school, I quickly became part of the close-knit community, frequently attending athletic events, student recitals and awards ceremonies. The camaraderie among the colleagues was always fun and interesting, and, all in all, it was a great place to work. One of the perks for working at a place that provided free food for it’s students was that we, the employees, were invited to eat in the dining hall as well. I ate there daily, crossing the quad at lunchtime with my colleagues, and enjoyed many of it’s culinary offerings. Sure, there was a lot of standard “school food” fare like tater tots, veggie burgers and oversteamed carrots, but there was good food as well. I was a big fan of the sandwich and salad bar, complete with toasted pine nuts, as well as the homemade potato chips. I never once missed the pasta with artichoke hearts, and, above all, I never missed an opportunity to enjoy the double chocolate butter cookies.

You see, the menu varied so much that these particular cookies only appeared in the dining hall about once every couple of weeks. They were so popular with the students and faculty alike that it was imperative to get to the dining hall early that day in case they were all snapped up. It was not unusual to see a student cramming several cookies into an empty plastic bag, saving them for a late-night study hall snack. I begged and pleaded with the Chef for the recipe on many occasions, but he always turned up his nose at me, citing the recipe an “institutional secret.” From the taste of them I was pretty sure they were composed of one part butter, one part sugar and one part chocolate, but I needed the exact ratios in order to replicate their deep buttery chocolate taste.

I started my quest by reviewing my favorite baking books, among them titles like Tate’s Bake Shop Cookbook, More from Magnolia Bakery and, even, a recent Cook’s Illustrated. There were many recipes for double chocolate cookies to be found, so I started experimenting. Unfortunately, most of the recipes did not have enough butter to recreate the taste of the cookie I had loved so dearly. However, I found by adding butter as well as extra flour and chocolate to the recipe I was creating brought me closer to the flavor I was aiming for. Along the way I got the idea from a Tate’s recipe to add almonds. I liked the idea of having a little crunch to counteract the cakey texture of the cookie. I also added a hint of almond extract in lieu of vanilla, I felt this helped the almond and butter flavor really blossom in my mouth.

Finally, after many months of cracking eggs, creaming butter and rolling out the Silpat, I was pleased to create a recipe I deemed worthy. When I made these last week my husband made the comment “best ever” which further bolstered my confidence, it is good to know that I have made a recipe other people like. These cookies have a delicious buttery chocolate almond flavor and are studded with chocolate chips and sliced almonds. They are packed with good flavor and crunch, and, trust me, are impossible to eat in small quantities. I hope that you enjoy these as much as we do. I have even thought about taking these back to my old job for a “taste off” with Chef, although I’ve done my own tweaking to the flavor, I’m sure they would stand up to the original any day of the week.

Naptime’s Chocolate Almond Butter Cookies – inspired by the dining hall, Tate’s and Magnolia Bakery

¾ c.	dutch-processed cocoa powder
2 ½ c.	all-purpose flour
1 t.	baking soda
1 t.	salt
1 ¼ c.	unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 c.	sugar
1 c.	light brown sugar
1	large egg
½ t.	almond extract

6 oz.	sliced almonds
1	12oz. package semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
3. In an electric mixture cream the butter and sugars until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
4. Add the egg and almond extract until just combined.
5. Add the dry ingredients to the butter batter, carefully, until totally combined. Do NOT overbeat.
6. Stir in chocolate chips and almonds.
7. Using an ice cream scoop or large spoon, place dough two inches apart on the cookie sheets.
8. Carefully squash down the tops of the dough balls, this will help them flatten during baking.
9. Bake for 15-17 minutes. They may still be slightly puffy when you pull them out of the oven, but don’t worry, they will harden up while they cool. 10. Remove the cookies from the oven and cool on wire racks.

This is a basic cookie dough recipe with tons of flavor. The dough tastes even better after it has rested to prepare it during naptime, let it rest in the fridge for the evening, then bake it after bedtime. Or, you could even bake it the next day during naptime, there is nothing wrong with letting it rest for 24 hours.

The batter is easy to prepare and takes about 15 minutes to do so. The baking might take a little longer depending on how many cookies you can fit on your cookie sheet.

This recipe had gotten all-around thumbs up to everyone who has eaten them. Obviously my daughter loves them, what child doesn’t love chocolate?!

• Freezer-Friendly, Homemade Gifts & Bake Sales, Potlucks & New Parents, Yummy Cookies
• almonds, Chocolate

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Sometimes, on the weekends, I put my husband in charge of cooking. I am lucky, he is a very capable cook, having grown up in a household where both parents regularly turn out delicious meals that would make any chef green with envy. Since I’ve known him he has made some fantastic dishes including homemade vegetarian spring rolls, mustard-crusted rack of lamb, and all sorts of seafood dishes involving scallops, which are my favorite. It is pretty rare that he takes a misstep in the kitchen. I’ve only seem him burn – no, char – a pork tenderloin once. In his defense we were also trying to hang pictures in the other room at the same time, hence, we learned our lesson about multi-tasking when cooking. Last month, having witnessed many of his past successes, I decided it was time to give him a true challenge. I put him in charge of an emergency meal.

You see, that morning my daughter and I had just flown home from Florida. The trip had not gone well, my daughter was wide awake and crying for the entire flight, plus, she had a low-grade fever. We were tired, cranky and not in the mood to do anything other than be lazy on the sofa while watching Dora and Boots scamper over rickety bridges. For the duration of the afternoon my husband served as chief runner, jogging back and forth from the kitchen bearing sippy cups of ice water and cheddar goldfish for my daughter, and fresh cranberry spritzers with sourdough pretzels for me. By dinner time I recovered enough from our flight trauma to generate a small appetite, and, after all the running to and fro, my husband was ravenous. When he looked to me, desperate for meal ideas, I held both hands out to my side and turned my palms upward. I was at a loss for inspiration, he was on his own.

Being the resourceful guy that he is, in the middle of this meal crisis, he pulled a brilliant move. From the dark recesses of a kitchen cabinet he retrieved our panini maker. We had received the panini maker as a gift at my “alphabet” themed wedding shower in Cooperstown, my hometown. My friend, Christina, was assigned the letter “P” and, thus, bought me a panini maker. I hadn’t registered for it but I am forever grateful for the gift. The panini maker quickly became one of our most favorite kitchen gadgets from the moment we unwrapped it. In our pre-parenthood years, when we were both working at offices, we would come home spent and uninspired after long days at work. It was during these times we discovered that, as long as you have a loaf of bread, almost any combination of ingredients can form a panini. In this particular instance my husband had spied a fresh loaf of sourdough bread on the counter, along with recently purchased thinly sliced spanish jamon, roasted vegetables and a ball of mozzarella in the fridge. I hadn’t planned on making sandwiches with all these ingredients, but, despite my original intentions for them, it was obvious they were meant to form our dinner.

As with any toasted sandwich the assembly was a total snap. It was even snappier because of the low-tech kitchen tool we had at our disposal. All we had to do was assemble sandwiches and squash them between the heated plates to toast. During the few minutes it took to cook I had time to refill my spritzer, pull a plate out of the cupboard and prepare myself for warm, oozy mozzarella. As expected the flavors of this sandwich were perfect. Instead of using anything too heavy my husband had drizzled the inside of the bread with olive oil and a sprinkling of balsamic vinegar. The dreamy mozzarella perfectly offset the sweet vegetables and salty jamon. I found comfort in every single bite, exactly the kind of meal I needed after an arduous journey. Even my daughter liked the sandwich we made for her, just a simple pressed cheese of fresh mozzarella with diced vegetables on the side. I think she was as grateful for the warm, homemade meal as I was. After we tucked her into bed that evening I hugged my husband, congratulating him on surviving an emergency meal, one of the great cooking challenges of all time. I was glad to be home.

Naptime Jamon, Vegetable and Mozzarella Panini – inspired by ingredients in the fridge

Olive Oil

Balsamic Vinegar

4	slices of fresh sourdough bread
6	slices of fresh lightly salted mozzarella
2	thinly sliced pieces of spanish jamon (or prosciutto if jamon is unavailable)
4	slices of roasted vegetables, any kind you want (we had slices of roasted red pepper, squash, zucchini and eggplant)

Yields 2 paninis, double portions to make more sandwiches

1. Preheat panini maker and lightly brush plates with olive oil. If you don’t have a panini maker you can use a simple griddle pan, or even a skillet. Just be sure to have a wide spatula to press the sandwich down with while it toasts.
2. On one slice of sourdough bread drizzle it lightly with olive oil. Then sprinkle it with balsamic vinegar.
3. Cover this slice of bread with a layer of jamon.
4. Then, over the jamon, place a layer of roasted vegetables, allowing the vegetables to overlap slightly.
5. Finally, place three slices of mozzarella on top of the vegetables. Top with second slice of bread.
6. Place sandwich on the panini maker and toast until the bread is crispy and cheese is fully melted.

Everyone loves a warm sandwich and this one fits the bill. I encourage you to explore the flexibility of this recipe. Try different vegetables or cheeses, or, if you are a vegetarian you can omit the meat altogether.

This meal took about 15 minutes from start to finish. Assembling the sandwiches takes about 3 minutes, then the toasting takes about 7-9, depending on your sandwich maker.

A panini ranks right up there with a grilled cheese, an ideal comfort food. We all loved it, including my daughter. I know we will leave this kitchen tool where it is easily accessible.

• Sandwiches
• Cheese, Ham

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