Cookistry

Do you remember the olden days, when Alexander Hamilton was some guy you learned about in history class, but you promptly forgot most of what you learned?

Now, he's everywhere. He's a historic superstar. Or a superstar of history.

The latest Hamilton-themed product is The Hamilton Cookbook by Laura Kumin. If the author's name if familiar, that's because she's the blogger at Mother Would Know.

The Hamilton Cookbook is both cookbook and history lesson. But rather than boring political history, this is food history. Well, okay, there's some political history, but I was more interested in the food. What did the Hamiltons eat, what cooking equipment did they have, and how did they cook it?

Turns out, some of the food from that time was a bit odd compared to today's tastes. Other food was very familiar. This book skips the recipes for lamb's tails and moves right along to foods that make more sense to our tastes, like apple pie, split pea soup, baked fish, and gingerbread cake.

And, to make our lives easier, the recipes are adapted to use modern equipment. That's a good thing, since I'm rather fond of all of my kitchen gadgets.

I picked this recipe to make since it's a good example of what you'll find in this book. And it's pretty darned tasty.

Syllabub is something that might sound vaguely familiar, but I'm pretty sure that most folks haven't made one. It's so simple, and the ingredients aren't difficult, so you can easily whip this up ahead of time and have it hanging out in the fridge, ready to serve. To adults only, of course.

This recipe says it serves 2, but I'd suggest making smaller portions. Perhaps divide by four since the heavy cream makes this pretty rich.

I also suggest tasting this for sweetness, since you've got both lemon juice and sugar, and those are tempering a wine that might be sweet or not.

This is the recipe as it appears in The Hamilton Cookbook:

Lemon Syllabub
Adapted from "To make Lemon Syllabubs a Second Way," Elizabeth Raffald, The Experienced English House-Keeper



Serves 2

This simple whipped syllabub is an elegant drink/dessert. Its creamy froth rises to the top of a glass, leaving a refreshing lemony wine on the bottom. Although it takes only minutes to prepare, allow several hours between preparation and serving so that the froth and liquid have time to separate. Use glasses wide enough to allow a spoon for eating the topping, which is similar to a lemon mousse. Select a white wine variety based on how sweet your want the syllabub to be. (Keep in mind that the topping resembles lemon mousse.) Using a dry white wine such as Sauvignon Blanc or Pinto Grigio will make the syllabub a bit tart, while a sweeter white, such as a Chenin Blanc or a Reisling will make the syllabub taste more like a sweet dessert.

Ingredients
1 lemon, cut in half, with rind grated from half and juice from one or both halves for a total of 1/4 cup juice
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup white wine
1 cup heavy cream

1. Rub the grated lemon rind into the sugar with your fingers until they are well combined. Mix the rind, sugar, lemon juice, and the wine.
2. Add the cream and whisk the mixture until it froths. Gently pour it into two glasses. Let them stand on a counter for about 2 hours, then refrigerate until serving. As the glasses sit, the froth will rise, leaving the lemony wine on the bottom of the glasses.

I received this book at no cost to me.

I really love to bake, but it seems sort of ridiculous to make a whole layer cake just for me. Fortunately, I have wonderful neighbors who are always willing to take in homeless baked goods. Still, a whole layer cake is a lot of cake, even when I have help eating it.

I usually look for recipes that make a single layer, or I cut the recipe in half, which isn't all that much fun when it uses 3 eggs. So, when a publisher offered me a copy of 175 Best Small-Batch Baking Recipes, I knew I had to try it.

Cake for one or two? Count me in. Don't worry, neighbors ... I'll still have plenty of goodies for you!

The first recipe I decided to try was for brownies. I love brownies, and they have the distinct advantage over other baked goods in that I like them when they're chilled, unlike many cakes that are best at room temperature. Storing them in the fridge gives them a longer life, so I can take my time eating them.

I was quite pleased to see that I had six different brownie recipes to choose from, including a white chocolate brownie with cranberries and hazelnuts. I chose a somewhat classic recipe that had nuts. It called for walnuts - which is pretty typical - but I used macadamia nuts, since I recently got some from a friend in Hawaii.

It's good to have friends.

One thing I thought was complete genius in this book was the way they handled pan size. They didn't suggest going out and buying some weird-sized pan to make the small batch in brownies. Instead, they use loaf pans. Wow. I never thought of that! And heavens knows I have enough loaf pans around here.

The recipe I chose made brownies that were a bit soft and cake-like and also a bit fudgy, but I think they would be more dense at sea level.

These don't include any leavening except the air beaten into the batter when the eggs are whisked, and that sort of whipped-in air tends to expand more up here in the mountains than it would where most people live.

The recipe was easy to make - I didn't even need a hand mixer. The ingredients all include metric measurements as well as US, so you can use whichever you prefer, and it also makes it easier if you prefer to weigh your dry ingredients rather than measure.

The recipe includes frosting, but I didn't make that. I prefer my brownies unadorned.

Chocolate Walnut Brownies
Adapted from 175 Best Small-Batch Baking Recipes by Jill Snider

2 1/2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1/3 cup butter
2 eggs
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (I used macadamia nuts)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9x5 loaf pan with parchment paper (I made a sling that covered the bottom and long sides) and spray with baking spray.

Put the chocolate and butter in a microwave safe bowl and heat on medium heat in 30-second increments, stirring after each heating, until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs until light and frothy (they might be easier to whisk in a larger bowl, but a medium bowl is all you need to hold the ingredients). Gradually add the sugar while whisking, until the mixture is thick. Whisk in the chocolate mixture and vanilla. Add the flour and walnuts and stir them in.

Bake in the preheated oven at 350 degrees until just set, about 20-25 minutes (mine took a bit longer). Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack before removing using the sling.

Click here for a coloring book version of this!

Vanilla ice cream might sound ... well, plain vanilla. But it's a good test of a new ice cream book. And just because I made unadorned vanilla ice cream doesn't mean I ate it that way. I had plenty of dulce de leche to use up from my recent sous vide experiments.

And to be honest, I like vanilla ice cream a lot. If it's made well, and it's rich and creamy, and it was made with good vanilla extract, it can stand on its own, without strong flavor covering the vanilla-ness.

Speaking of books, this recipe was from The Homemade Ice Cream Recipe Book by Robin Donovan. I got it from the publisher and immediately started to browse. The first thing that struck me was that many of the recipe used the same proportion of cream to milk to eggs - two cups of cream to one cup of milk to six eggs.

At first, I thought, uh oh, there are going to be a bunch of recipes that are all the same except one will have vanilla extract and another will have mint. But after looking more, that's not the case. That ratio happens to be a very good one for making a rich ice cream, so it makes sense that it's used over and over.

The funny thing is that I got another book recently (not an ice cream book) that had an ice cream recipe with the same ratio. Like I said, it makes good ice cream. And it's the right amount to fit into most home ice cream makers, so that's probably the reason it's so common.

The first chapter with recipes is called Classics and Standouts, and it's the more common flavors, from vanilla to mint chip to cookies and cream. The next is chocolatey flavors, followed by nutty, fruity, and party flavors, followed by a chapter of sherbets and frozen yogurts. It finishes with a chapter of cones, toppings, and other non-ice cream recipes.

I already have a couple of ice cream books, but it's always fun to try new recipes. The brown butter pecan is definitely on my list to try. Meanwhile, I was really happy with this vanilla. It uses a little less sugar than my standard for this amount - I usually use 3/4 cup, while this uses 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons. And I was perfectly happy with that level of sweetness, AND the texture of the ice cream.

Vanilla Ice Cream
Adapted The Homemade Ice Cream Recipe Book by Robin Donovan

2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
6 large egg yolks
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup whole milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

The recipe suggests cooking this mixture in a double boiler. I've done that and I've also cooked it on the stove. And I've cooked it in the Kitchenaid Precise Heat Bowl, which is very precise and won't overcook the mixture. Do it any way you're comfortable - the key is to heat it slowly and never let it get so hot that the eggs begin to scramble, because that's just ugly.

Combine the cream, sugar, egg yolks, and salt in your preferred cooking vessel. Heat slowly, stirring continuously, until it thickens and reaches a temperature of 170-175 degrees.

Strain the mixture though a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl. Add the milk and vanilla to the bowl and stir well. To speed cooling you can set this bowl in a larger bowl filled with ice water and stir until it has cooled down. Cover and refrigerate until well chilled.

Churn in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. When frozen, transfer to a storage container and freeze until firm.

I received the cookbook from the publisher at no cost to me.

Click here for a line art version of this photo that you can color!

I've become quite enamored with sous vide cooking. It's foolproof (with a good recipe) and much of the cooking is hands-off. Just put the food in the bag (with or without seasonings or other stuff), seal it, and drop it in the pot. Set the and temperature, and you don't have to think about it until it's done.

Much of the time, I cook the food and then refrigerate it until the next day, when I sear or broil it to get some browning on the outside. And of course, this also heats it up to serving temperature.

This time, my sous vide cooking was inspired by a new cookbook, The Complete Sous Vide Cookbook by Chris McDonald. Since the recipes are soooo easy, you're getting both a beef roast and some dulce de leche.

I hadn't heard of the author before, so I was wasn't sure how reliable the recipes would be. Sous vide cooking isn't like any other method when it comes to temperature and timing, so that's why it's a good idea to start with a good recipe, before you wander off on your own.

In this case, I actually did do some wandering. The recipe was designed for a prime rib roast, but I cooked a New York strip roast instead. I figured it wouldn't be too terribly different, since it's a tender roast that could use the same kind of cooking. Turns out, I was right. It was just as tender as when I've done rib roasts.

The one thing that's a little different with this recipe is that you preheat the water to a hotter temperature, then lower the temperature for the cooking time. I've never done that before - I usually just put the food in the water bath and let it heat up to the cooking temperature before I start timing the cooking.

I don't know if this method made a difference in the final product, but it worked well, and it made sense. When the cool roast went into the hot water, the temperature dropped to close to the final cooking temperature, so it was ready to start the timing.

Sous Vide New York Strip Roast
Adapted from The Complete Sous Vide Cookbook by Chris McDonald

1 New York strip roast or boneless rib roast
Olive oil, as needed
Salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat the water bath to 190 degrees.

Meanwhile, rub olive oil over the roast and season with salt and pepper. You could also use another spice mix or rub. I actually used a seasoning that's made by my local butcher shop.

Place the roast in the sous vide bag and vacuum seal. Put it in the water bath, reduce the temperature to 134 degrees, and cook for 9 hours.

Remove the pouch from the water and let it stand for 20-30 minutes, then remove it from the pouch, pat dry, and season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate fro 20-30 minutes.

Note: I just chucked mine in the refrigerator and seared it the next day. By the time it was browned, it was warmed to a decent serving temperature.

Preheat a grill to medium-high (I used a cast iron frying pan).

Put the roast on the grill and brown on all sides.

Transfer to a cutting board and slice against the grain.

Dulce de Leche

Click here for a line art version of this photo you can color!

If you've ever looked at recipes where you're supposed to put a whole can of condensed milk in a pot and cook it ... and you've wondered if that's a safe and sane thing to do, this method of making dulce de leche is pretty foolproof.

Just transfer one can of sweetened condensed milk (NOT evaporated milk!) to a sous vide bag and seal (don't vacuum it into your machine - just get most of the air out and then seal it).

I tried this method with plain sweetened condensed milk, and with chocolate sweetened condensed milk. Both worked fine.

Heat the sous vide bath to 200 degrees. Place the bag in the water and cook for 8-10 hours. I tried both 8 hours and 10 hours, and didn't see a difference. So cook it for however long is convenient for you.

Remove the bag from the bath and transfer the dulce de leche to a storage container.

I found the easiest way to get the dulce de leche out of the bag was to snip a corner and squeeze it out as soon as it was reasonable to handle. If you wait until it's room temperature, you can still squeeze it out, but it's pretty thick, so it's not as easy.

I received the book from the publisher at no cost to me.

Thanks to blogger events sponsored by Sprouts (the grocery store, not bean sprouts or anything peculiar like that), I keep finding new products that I absolutely go crazy over. This time around, it's a chocolate product called Cholaca.

Oh. My. Gosh.

Liquid cacao. You have to try this.

This stuff is like liquid happiness. Which, actually, it is, since it boosts seratonin levels, and that's the stuff that makes you happy. Plus, it has theobromine, which boosts energy. After sampling way more Cholaca products than a normal person would consume on a normal day (except maybe for Ira, who runs the company) I was feeling energized and happy. In a good way.

And without the jitters that I sometimes get with coffee. Which is awesome.

The first thing I sampled was a special concoction that Ira had discovered when he went into the kitchen for an afternoon pick-me-up of Cholaca, while a co-worked was grabbing a can of Coke. Ira had the bright idea to pour a little Cholaca into some Coke. He was telling a few of us about this, and when we expressed curiosity (horror? amazement?) he skedaddled off and came back with a can of coke and some Cholaca. So of course we had to try that. It was different, but good.

And that's where the epic chocolate journey started.

This is where it ended. Mmm. Ice cream. Download this photo as a coloring book page!

So anyway, the main product that Cholaca makes is a liquid cacao that's emulsified with water to make it drinkable. There are three different versions, but the only difference is the sweetness level. The original has just a little coconut sugar. There's a sweet version that has a little more coconut sugar. And there's an unsweetened version. They suggest a 2-ounce shot as an energy booster and happiness maker. Or mix it with some milk and heat it up for a crazy good hot chocolate.

If you've read this blog more than once, you probably know that I don't like coconut. However (mysteriously) coconut sugar is fine. Probably because it's made from the sap and not the fruit. Just like maple syrup is made from maple sap and not ... uh ... some other part of the tree.

So anyway, the next thing we tried was a straight-up shot of Cholaca that was served in a cute little jar. I polished that off in no time. And then we moved on to hot chocolate. Oh heck yeah. The hot chocolate was freaking amazing. And not overly sugary.



And then the chocolate wafers appeared. Wafers! These are intended as baking chocolate and are totally unsweetened. Right now, there are two different types available based on the country of origin, so you can choose Cholaca wafers from Ecuador or from Peru.

Have you ever tasted unsweetened chocolate? It's pretty ... not so good. But I ate a couple wafers while we decorated gingerbread cookies. The wafers were actually very nice, thanks to the high level of cocoa butter that's in them (this is what Ira told me).


By that time I was super-happy and made a demented gingerbread dude with part of his arm eaten by a shark. He got a little smudged during the trip home, but I think it only adds to the appeal.

Download this photo as a coloring book page!

And then we made a sugar scrub using white sugar, coconut sugar, cholaca, olive oil, and coconut oil. At that point, I wanted to just dive in and eat the scrub, coconut and all, but I decided I should behave myself.

And then there were the parting gifts from Cholaca. We each got a bottle of Cholaca (we got to choose between original and sweet) and some of those wafers. And a cute mug. And the jar of sugar scrub (I put mine in a different container when I got it home) and of course we brought home the cookies, too. No, they didn't give us ice cream to take home.


Oh, and if you're wondering how I made ice cream when that bottle of Cholaca seems to be full, it's because I immediately bought MORE of it.

Oh! Those wafers! I've set mine aside to bake with. I have ideas. Ira popped in during the cookie decorating to mention that the wafers might not be a perfect substitute for regular baking chocolate in a recipe because of the high cocoa butter content.

No worries. I think I can handle that.

At some point during the evening, I mentioned that I wanted to put Ira in a bottle and take him home with me. I have no idea what that even means, but his enthusiasm was obvious. He loves his job. He loves chocolate. He wants everyone to get to know the best chocolate in the entire world!!! Yup, he really loves his product. But he talked about it in an engaging way, and not in a pushy way and he spent some time talking about where the cacao is grown and how he's helping the local farmers. It was really interesting, but I was itching use the Cholaca in a recipe.


I had the good sense not to start cooking when I got home (although I was tempted) but it wasn't long before I decided to use some of the liquid Cholaca to make ice cream. The wafers will have to wait a bit, but I already have sooooo many ideas.

Okay, many of the ideas involve me hoarding the wafers and popping them into my mouth on a regular basis. But I might have to make brownies. Or ... something.

But first, Cholaca ice cream.

This is a very creamy ice cream, and not crazy sweet. It's not a super-dark-chocolate ice cream, so if that's what you're looking for, you'll need to add more chocolate in some form. I liked it the way it was, though.

Cholaca Chocolate Ice Cream

1 cup heavy cream
2 cups half-and-half
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup Cholaca original
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt

Mix everything together until the sugar and salt are completely dissolved. If the mixture isn't super-cold (most of the ingredients should be cold, except that sugar, right?) place it in the refrigerator to get a little chillier.

Churn in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instruction.

Transfer to a storage container and freeze until firm. There is likely to be a little bit that doesn't fit in your container. I suggest you eat that right away. Quality control is very important, you know.

Thanks to Sprouts for sponsoring the event, supplying additional non-Cholaca goodies, and of course thanks to Cholaca for hosting and supplying their products. 

One of my new favorite cookbooks is The Great Big Pressure Cooker Book by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough. I've written about it a number of times, and every time someone asks me for a good cookbook to go along with their Instant Pot, I recommend it.

Yeah, I really like that book. A lot. Hint: Make the cheesecake!

So when I heard that those same authors had written a cookbook called Turbo Blender Dessert Revolution specifically for high-powered blenders (like the Vitamix or Blendtec) I knew I had to have it. I was so excited, I pre-ordered it. I seldom do that.

As I browsed through the book, there were a ton of recipes I wanted to make. I had all the ingredients for the very first recipe in the book - vanilla pudding - so I was in the kitchen immediately, blending and "cooking" pudding in my blender.

I was yapping on Facebook about the book, and Mark Scarbrough replied to my post:


Well, shoot, if a book author tells you that you have to make a recipe, there's probably some kind of law that says you have to, right? Or maybe just a Facebook obligation.

I had used up all the eggs on the pudding, so I had to wait until I bought more, but it wasn't long before I was in the kitchen, blending the batter for the brownies.

There is no flour in this recipe, and no leavening. And no, it's not cooked in the blender. You do the mixing, then you put it in a pan and bake it.

While there are some recipes that are 100 percent prepared in the blender, there are a lot of them where you also use another appliance, like an ice cream maker or an oven.

But the blender isn't just taking the place of a hand mixer. It is used for purposes besides simple mixing. For example, there are recipes where you grind flour and then mix ingredients for something you're going to bake.

If you have one of those high-powered blenders, this book will for sure get you using it for more than smoothies and blended cocktails. Make the brownies. Trust me.

Gluten-Free Brownies
Adapted from Turbo Blender Dessert Revolution
By Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough

The book notes that they almost didn't want to label these as gluten-free, since they wanted "everyone to make them." Well, okay, they got me to make them. And I see what they mean. They're gluten free, but you'd never know it. They're just yum.

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, cut in small pieces
10 ounces semisweet chocolate chips, or semisweet chocolate broken into squares or roughly chopped
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/3 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I used black cocoa)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (I omitted this)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup pecans or walnuts, roughly chopped (I used walnuts.)

Heat the oven to 350 degrees with a rack in the center. Butter a nonstick 8-inch square baking pan (I used baking spray), then line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper (I made a sling rather than just covering the bottom) and then butter the parchment (again, I used spray).

Put the butter and chocolate into a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high in 10-second bursts, stirring each time, until about 3/4 of the chocolate is melted. Then remove the bowl from the microwave and stir until smooth. Set aside at room temperature for 15 minutes. This is a good time to do all the measuring of the rest of the ingredients.

Put the sugar, eggs, and vanilla into the blender container. (They refer to it as the large canister. Mine came with one blender container; there may be other blenders that come with different sized containers.)

Blend at the highest speed until the mixture is smooth and airy, about one minute. Add the chocolate mixture, cover, and blend at high speed for 20 seconds, until smooth.

Add the cornstarch, cocoa powder, cinnamon (I didn't use it) and salt. Scrape down the inside of the container. Cover and blend at low speed, stopping the machine often to scrape down the container to make sure it's all mixing evenly. This should take about 30 seconds of blending for it to be evenly blended and smooth.

Remove the blender container from the machine and add the nuts. Stir to combine.

Scrape the mixture into the prepared baking pan. Bake until set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs, about 35 minutes.

Cool the pan on a wire rack for about 10 minutes, then turn out the brownies, remove the parchment paper from the bottom, and flip it right-side-up again on the rack or a cutting board. Let it cool completely before cutting.

Oh, and just for the heck of it, here's some pudding for you. Sorry for the not-great photo. I hadn't planned on using it once I made the brownies, and this disappeared too fast for me to grab another photo. Oopsie!


The pudding had an interesting texture. A little airy from the bubbles added from the blending. Really good!

Mmmmm. Cupcakes.

I love when I plan comes together. I had a banana that was past its eating best, and I had a new hand mixer I wanted to test. The mixer came from OXO, along with a decorating tool that's like a cookie press married to a pastry bag.

Oooooh. I love new toys!

This month is National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, and OXO usually sponsors Cookies for Kids Cancer events on blogs. I missed out on this year's official events, but I shoehorned my way in, got some gear, and decided that cupcakes are sort of like cookies.

Because that's how I am.

The Cookies for Kids Cancer is one of the blogger events I really like. Bloggers don't get anything except product, but OXO donates to charity. Plus, they donate for people who hold bake sales. All the details, straight from OXO, are at the end of this post.

Meanwhile, cupcakes and gadgets.

I had been curious about the kitchen electrics from OXO since they first announced them. My favorite OXO tool is probably my vegetable peeler, but I like a whole lot of other things, too, like their containers, and their mango splitter and their cherry pitter and their cookie press. What I like best about the cookie press is the extra plates you can buy for it. I think I have them all ... but I'm a little afraid to look!

Oh, and I totally LOVE the cold brew coffee maker (reviewed here; buy it on Amazon here). I use that coffee maker pretty exclusively for my everyday coffee.

But those particular gadgets aren't electric. I was curious if the OXOness of the electrics would match the thoughtful way they design their other products.

When the OXO hand mixer arrived, there were a number of things liked about it right off the bat. It stands up very steadily with no threat of tipping. It comes with both normal beaters and swirly beaters that are designed for heavy batters. And it has a headlight.

I wondered if the light was necessary. I mean, I've had plenty of hand beaters, and none of them lit up. It's not like I make cake in the dark, right?

But here's the thing.

I was really able to see what was going on in the bowl. I could see when things were fully mixed without stopping the mixer to look inside the bowl without the mixer casting a shado.

Is it essential? Well, obviously not, because we've lived without lighted mixers for a long time. But it really does make sense. I like it. A lot.

As far as the OXO decorating tool, I was a little confused by it until I put frosting into it and started using it. Then it made perfect sense. And nice cupcakes. I don't think I'd use the tool if I wanted to make one super-long unbroken line of frosting. But that's not something I see myself doing any time soon.

The tool comes with several tips, but the good news is that standard-sized tips fit, so if you've already got a collection of them, you can use them with this tool. Both the small and large tips fit, which is even better. And the whole thing can go in the dishwasher to be cleaned. After you disassemble it, obviously.

These banana cupcakes aren't similar in to a pound cake in consistency. Not as fluffy as a sponge cake, but not as dense as banana bread.

Banana Cupcakes with Plum Jam Frosting

To make the cupcakes:
1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk
1 mashed ripe banana

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line one 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake liners.

Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt

In another medium mixing bowl, beat the butter, sugar, and brown sugar together. Scrape down the bowl and add the eggs and vanilla. Beat until well combined. Beat in the mashed banana

Add the flour mixture in three additions, alternately with two additions of the milk, beating until incorporated after each addition.

Fill each muffin cup about 3/4 full (these don't rise spectacularly, so they're fine at 3/4 full, even at high altitude). Bake, rotating the pans halfway through baking until the tops are firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean – about 18-20 minutes.

To make the frosting:
4 ounces cream cheese*
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
2 tablespoons plum jam** (or to taste)
Powdered sugar, as needed (about a pound, depending on the thickness you're looking for)

Beat the cream cheese and butter until it's smooth, then add the vanilla extract and salt beat until incorporated.

Beat in the plum jam until it's incorporated.

Add the powdered sugar in increments until the consistency is what you're looking for. You can leave it softer if you're spreading the frosting on, but you'll need it firmer if you want piped designs to hold their shape. If you somehow manage to get it too thick, and more milk or jam.

*The cream cheese you choose does make a difference. I've tried making frosting with fat-free cream cheese, and I thought it tasted terrible. If you like it, go for it. BUT! The brand and type of cream cheese will affect the consistency of the frosting. You might need more or less sugar to get to a nice frosting-like consistency.

**You can use any any jam you like, or leave it out and make a vanilla frosting.

From OXO about Cookies for Kids Cancer:

September is National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month and it's a very important time for us here at OXO. Childhood cancer is the leading cause of death by disease in the U.S. The reason, sadly, is simple: lack of funding for research specific to children. Even though pediatric cancer claims the lives of more children annually than any other disease, it receives less than 4 percent of the National Cancer Institute's budget.

In 2007, Liam Witt, the son of longtime OXOnians Gretchen and Larry Witt, was diagnosed cancer at the age of 2. OXOnians regard each other as family, and news of Liam's diagnosis hit all of
us hard. Motivated to help, Gretchen and Larry had the "crazy" idea to host a larger-than-life cookie
sale, gathering more than 250 volunteers (many of whom were fellow OXOnians,) to bake and sell
96,000 cookies. The larger-than-life cookie project raised more than $420,000 to fund childhood
cancer research.

Nine months later, Gretchen and Larry launched Cookies for Kids' Cancer as a national non-profit organization, inspiring grassroots bake sales and other events with the ultimate goal of funding research for new, improved, and less toxic treatments for children. Since then, the organization has granted more than $10 million, funding 80 research projects, 32 of which are therapies that children have access to today.

Everyone at OXO was profoundly impacted when Liam lost his 4-year battle. For years, Liam was a fixture in our office. He would visit frequently, riding his orange scooter, providing unsolicited (but always helpful) product feedback and sharing his vivacious energy with everyone. From a very young age he had a clear vision of what he wanted to do when he grew up: Become a chef and run OXO. We have no doubt he would have achieved both of his goals.


Through the years, OXOnians have devoted their personal time, energy and money to support Cookies, but the company wanted to play a larger role. In 2011, the year Liam lost his battle, OXO formalized its partnership with the organization, pledging to donate up to $100,000 per year through bake sale matches and other activities. Since then, we've helped inspire other "good cookies" to raise over $1 million and host more than 1,600 events in over 170 cities globally.

Awareness is one of the most important ways to create change, and we hope you'll support us in raising awareness around this very important cause. For more information and other ways to contribute - including hosting a bake sale of your own - visit Cookies For Kids' Cancer. If you register your bake sale and select "OXO" in the drop-down menu marked "How did you hear about Cookies for Kids' Cancer?", we'll match your proceeds for events held, before December 31st, 2016.