The Frugal Foodie Cookbook (23 page)

1 cup powdered sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon cocoa powder

Preheat oven to 200°F. In large bowl, use electric mixer to beat egg whites, salt, and cream of tartar. When whites form stiff peaks, gradually add ½ cup sugar. As peaks become glossy, fold in remaining sugar, vanilla extract, and cocoa powder. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment or wax paper. Use pastry bag or spoon to form 1" mounds of mixture on cookie sheets. Bake until meringues are firm and lightly browned, 1 ½–2 hours. Transfer to cooling racks for several minutes and serve. Makes 2 dozen cookies.

Stir-Me-Not Bars

price
$12
servings
12
price per serving
$1

T
hese bars are irresistibly tasty and require almost no effort!

1 stick butter, melted

1½ cups graham cracker crumbs

1 cup sweetened flaked coconut

12 ounces chocolate chips

1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

1 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350°F. Pour batter into 9" × 13" pan and top with crumbs, coconut, chocolate chips, milk, and walnuts. Do not stir. Bake 35–40 minutes. Let cool before cutting into bars. Makes 2 dozen bars.

Danny’s Sweet and Salty Almond Cookies

price
$12
servings
12
price per serving
$1

T
hese cookies are predominantly sweet, with a slight savory, salty note. They’re funkier than your average cookie and are a huge hit with fans of other sweet-and-salty dessert foods like chocolate-covered pretzels or potato chips.

1½ cups all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon kosher salt or sea salt

½ teaspoon baking soda

1½ teaspoons cinnamon

½ cup butter (1 stick), room temperature

½ cup granulated sugar

½ cup brown sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups roasted salted almonds, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 350°F. In small bowl, combine flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon. In separate, larger bowl, cream together butter and sugars; beat in egg and vanilla. Gradually beat in dry ingredients; stir in almonds. Form into cookie rounds; place on greased baking sheets. Bake 12 minutes, until they begin to show a golden color around edges. Transfer to cooling racks for several minutes and serve. Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

Grandma’s Italian Cookies

price
$15
servings
10–15
price per serving
$1

T
his is a recipe for traditional Italian cookies that we first discovered through a close friend’s grandmother. Because they’re often made for big parties, each batch produces a lot of cookies. We once multiplied the recipe and made more than 100 but still managed to finish these light and buttery treats within a week.

½ cup (1 stick) butter, melted

2 cups sugar

3 eggs

4 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

16 ounces fat-free ricotta cheese

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

ICING:

¼ pound margarine

3
cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon skim milk

Colored sprinkles (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Cream butter and sugar in small bowl; add eggs 1 at a time. In large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix liquid mixture into dry ingredients. Add ricotta and vanilla; mix. Spoon dough onto baking sheets, making each cookie the size of a quarter and placing at least 1"–2" apart. Bake 12 minutes, or until brown on the bottom (they will still be fairly white on top). Transfer to cooling racks for several minutes before frosting.

To make icing, add margarine to powdered sugar; mix. Mix in vanilla and milk. When cool, ice and top with sprinkles. Makes 4 dozen cookies.

Lemon–Poppy Seed Cookies

price
$12
servings
12
price per serving
$1

A
s we mention frequently, we don’t believe in the phrase “too much lemon.” These cookies are the culinary embodiment of that idea. They’re very, very lemony, which is precisely why we bake them.

Juice of 1 lemon

1 stick butter

cup sugar

1 egg

2 teaspoons vanilla

Zest of 1 lemon

1½ cups flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon poppy seeds

Preheat oven to 350°F. In small saucepan, bring lemon juice to boil; reduce by half. Melt ½ stick of butter into lemon juice; set aside to cool. Cream together remaining ½ stick of butter and sugar; add egg and vanilla. In separate small bowl, combine lemon zest, flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix lemon juice and butter into wet ingredients; gradually add dry ingredients. Mix in poppy seeds. Scoop 1" dough balls onto greased cookie sheet; bake 10–12 minutes. Transfer to cooling racks for several minutes and serve. Makes 1 dozen cookies.

Hershey Kiss Peanut Blossoms

price
$12
servings
12
price per serving
$1

Y
ou may recognize these from eating them during the holidays, from the grocery store box, or maybe from your own recipe. We included our favorite version of them because despite their ubiquity, we still think they’re special.

1¾ cups flour

½ cup sugar, plus additional for rolling

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup butter (1 stick), room temperature

½ cup brown sugar, packed

½ cup peanut butter

2 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 egg

48 milk chocolate Kisses, unwrapped

Preheat oven to 375°F. In medium bowl, combine flour, white sugar, baking soda, and salt. In large bowl, combine butter, brown sugar, peanut butter, milk, vanilla, and egg; beat well with electric mixer. Add dry ingredients; mix thoroughly with wooden spoon until stiff dough forms. Place additional sugar in shallow bowl or plate. Roll dough into 1" balls; roll in sugar and place 2" apart on cookie sheet. Flatten lightly with fingers; bake 10–12 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven; immediately press 1 Kiss firmly into each cookie. Remove from cookie sheets; let cool on wire rack. Makes 4 dozen cookies.

Pistachio Biscotti

price
$12
servings
8
price per serving
$1.50

T
hese biscotti aren’t particularly sweet, but they have a wonderful texture and a subtle nutty flavor that makes them perfect for dipping in coffee any time of day.

1½ cups shelled raw unsalted natural pistachios

2¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

3 eggs, room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon lemon zest

Preheat oven to 350°F. Toast pistachios in oven 5 minutes; cool and coarsely chop. In medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. In large bowl, beat together eggs, sugar, and vanilla with electric mixer until mixture forms ribbons. Gently stir in flour mixture until just incorporated; fold in pistachios and lemon zest. On greased or parchment-lined baking sheet, form dough into 2 smooth, 3" wide loaves; bake 25 minutes. Cool 10 minutes; cut into ½" thick slices. Lower oven temperature to 300°F . Bake for an additional 10–12 minutes on each side until just brown. Serve with coffee or tea.

PART III: DESSERTS

CAKES
AND PiES

Blueberry Coffee Cake

price
$10
servings
10
price per serving
$1

B
lueberries are among our favorite fruits, so we can’t imagine going a whole winter without cooking with them. This coffee cake satiates our blueberry cravings, and because it tastes just as yummy with frozen blueberries as with fresh ones, we can bake it year-round. For a healthier version, just skip the crumb topping.

¼ cup butter, softened, plus 1 tablespoon for greasing pan

8 ounces nonfat cream cheese

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups frozen blueberries

CRUMB TOPPING:

2 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small pieces

¼ cup all-purpose flour

½ cup dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350°F. Cream together butter and cream cheese using electric mixer on medium speed. Beat in sugar and egg. Combine flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and lemon zest; add to butter mixture. Mix in vanilla; fold in berries. Pour batter into greased 9" round cake pan. For crumb topping, combine all ingredients in small bowl; mix together with fork until crumbly. Sprinkle over batter; bake 1 hour. Let cool before serving.

Caramel Apple Tartlets

price
$8
servings
12
price per serving
$.70

T
hese tartlets draw inspiration from extreme caramel apples—you know, the ones with caramel, chocolate, nuts, the works. The tartlets taste just as delicious and stick to your teeth with the same persistence (in case you were worried about that). They make a great dessert for a crowd.

1 recipe pie crust

20 wrapped individual caramel candies

2 tart apples, peeled and sliced into 1" pieces

½ cup walnuts, toasted and chopped

½ cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°F. Roll out dough; cut into 3" rounds. Place rounds in mini tartlet pans; weight down by covering with foil and filling with pie weights or rice. Bake 15 minutes with weights; remove weights and foil and bake additional 5 minutes. Melt caramels in microwave by heating 30 seconds, then stirring until melted. Add 1 teaspoon caramel to bottom of each tart; fill with apple. Top apples with toasted walnuts; drizzle with additional caramel. Melt chocolate chips by microwaving 30 seconds then stirring until melted; drizzle on top. You can melt caramels or chocolate gently in a double boiler as an alternative to the microwave. Allow chocolate to harden and serve.

Cheesecake with Berry Sauce

price
$20
servings
10
price per serving
$2