It's almost time to bust out the pumpkins!

Now that everyone is back home, we're starting to get back into a good routine and I'm looking forward to fall-time cooking and baking. When I was menu planning for this week, I was trying to think of what type of cookie we have not made for awhile. I went to the website and started scrolling through the cookie list and noticed the last time we made Snickerdoodles was back in December 2005!

We had to rectify that and I found a recipe in my little (ha!) hill of to-try piles that sounded good. The first thing I noticed was this recipe did not call for cream of tartar... I mentioned in my other post that I thought this was a key ingredient to snickerdoodles. I thought about messing around with the leavening agents, but decided to give the cookies a try as is.

The dough came together well and was not too firm or soft - it was slightly sticky, but not so much that you couldn't easily roll them into balls. When I started tossing the dough balls into the intoxicating sugar and cinnamon coating, I noticed they were getting a better covering if I gently rolled them around, rather than shaking the dish all over. If I tried to rush coating them, the dough seemed to get a light coating of cinnamon and did not pick up much of the crunchy sugar. The cookies had a fantastic texture and that classic crackled finish - they had crispy edges with a slight bend in the middle that alluded to their chewiness. They didn't have that light ethereal texture that the cream of tarter tends to give, but nonetheless, I could not tell that much difference and am happy to know that they can be successful without the cream of tarter.

It was pouring outside tonight while I was making dinner and as I was tearing a few leaves of fresh basil for this Tri-Colore Orzo dish, I was hoping that it was going to bring back one last flash of that bright summer aroma to this dreary and stormy evening. A pound of rice-shaped orzo pasta is the only thing that needs to be cooked in this recipe. Once tender, yet still retaining a slight bite, the pasta is spread on a large baking sheet and tossed with a couple tablespoons of olive oil to keep it from sticking as it cools as it is best served at room temperature. The orzo is then given a face lift by tossing in peppery arugula, salty feta cheese, rosy dried cherries and fresh basil. For a buttery crunch, a quarter cup of toasted pine nuts is also tossed in to the mix. You don't even need to whisk together the dressing for this dish - fresh lemon juice and olive oil are just drizzled over to develop the tangy and clean-tasting coating. If you are so inclined, feel free to replace the pungent feta with ricotta salata for a more smooth and mild flavor.

Recipes
Snickerdoodles
Tri-Colore Orzo