The Breakup Cookbook

by Cate Wells

‘Tis the season for a girls-only get-together: no drama of who will be your plus one, no office hijinks, no dressing to impress, and no healthy food. We all love to bake but who has time or patience to crank out a variety of cookies for a magazine-worthy display tray? I’m lucky enough to know an organized lady who has kept a Holiday Cookie Exchange tradition going strong for 16 years now. (Thanks Aunt Wendy!) Every guest brings one type of treat but you all go home with a variety sweet drops, bars, and truffles—so you get to become your neighborhood’s new Sugar Mama.

You’re Invited . . .
When: During the holiday season—whether you celebrate Christmukkah or Kwanzaa.
Where: At the home of a hostess with the mostess.
Who: The more ladies invited, the more everyone has to bake so consider a guest list of 6-12 people and be sure to get firm RSVPs.
How: Ask each guest to bring one dozen wrapped for each person plus one extra dozen for nibbling. Supplement some savory snacks and drinks, music, and voila! Festive packaging also doubles as decoration.

by Cate Wells

What do you get when you combine two Welsh ladies, a giant griddle, and an holiday exchange party? Welsh cookies—our family’s traditional holiday treat. I spent a recent afternoon with my mom baking a recipe that comes from generations back as we prepped for our girls get-together. Thankfully there were no men allowed (and no fires like at the start of the Dylan Thomas’s Child’s Christmas in Whales) though bonding and baking is always good for a mother and daughter. I compare the cookies more to biscuits; sometimes they are also called Miner’s Cakes. And you don’t bake them in the oven, instead you brown them on a griddle.

Check out the slideshow to see them in process—complete with wild (non-Welsh) packaging for the party!

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by Cate Wells

Limited edition mint and dark chocolate chips inspired me to think outside the box of brownie mix. What better way to move on than a double chocolate and minty fresh cookie combination? And classic cocoa brownies are almost as easy as any mix—make them even more your own and build your cooking confidence by added these morsels just before cooking.

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoon butter or margarine
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 8-inch by 8-inch metal baking pan. On waxed paper, combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt.
2. In 3-quart saucepan, melt butter on low. Remove saucepan from heat; with spatula, stir in sugar, then eggs, 1 at a time, and vanilla until well blended. Stir in flour mixture. Spread batter in prepared pan.
3. Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in brownies 2 inches from center comes out almost clean. Cool brownies completely in pan on wire rack, about 2 hours.
4. When cool, cut brownies into 4 strips, then cut each strip crosswise into 4 squares.