oh hello there. it’s been a while, huh? well, let’s get this out of the way – sorry for leaving you all hanging. thank you for the comments and emails asking if everything was ok, and when i’d be returning with more recipes and stories. i really hate going to a blog and finding that the author has stopped updating with no explanation, and i swore i would never do that, but it just sort of happened. a week off turned to two, which turned to just shy of 2 months. wow.

so where have i been? well, i have been cooking and baking, but a few other things have sort of conspired against my free time lately, namely: leaving my old job (sad to leave everyone there), starting my new job (as a graphic designer! scary and challenging but endlessly rewarding), and going into the homestretch of my graphic design certificate at CDIABU (amazing program). combine that with finding time for freelance work to support going back to school, and there just aren’t enough hours in the day anymore.

things are finally settling down though, and i think i can give this blog the time it deserves. so again, i apologize for disappearing without warning or explanation and neglecting comments and emails for a bit, but i love this too much to give it up. thanks for hanging around if you have, and if any of your friends have taken me off their feed readers, let them know i’m back – and i brought you all these cookies.

about these cookies – they are SO GOOD. we’re lucky enough to have fresh rosemary growing in the backyard, and combing it with lemon in shortbread cookie form is just a natural fit. the cookies are still great if can’t get  your rosemary right from the plant, but if you have a choice, fresh is definitely the way to go.

not too sweet, not too savory, and perfect with coffee or tea. this was actually the first time i had made icebox cookies from scratch, and it could not have been easier. basically, you make a simple dough (something else this recipe has going for it), roll it into a log and freeze it. when you’re ready to bake, just slice the log up into rounds and bake.

the logs were rolled in decorator’s sugar before slicing – totally optional, but also totally delicious. doesn’t this picture just make you want a tall glass of ice-cold milk right now?

it’s officially fall here in dc (just took the air conditioner out yesterday!) and i can’t wait to get back into all the seasonal recipes and ingredients. i believe apple and pumpkin picking are both in our immediate future, so get ready for that. see you all in a few days with another post (seriously!). it feels great to be back.

rosemary lemon cookies

1 c (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
3/4 c sugar
1 egg and 1 egg white (for brushing)
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
2 tsp grated lemon zest
2 1/4 c flour
1/2 tsp salt

1. beat the butter and sugar together in a stand mixer or with a spoon until pale, light and fluffy. add the egg and vanilla and mix until well blended. add the rosemary, lemon zest, salt and flour and mix well.

2. divide the dough in half and shape them into logs and place on a piece of parchment paper. roll the logs about 1 1/2″ in diameter. chill in the fridge or freezer for at least an hour (more is fine).

3. preheat the oven to 375F. take the logs out of the fridge, brush with egg white and roll in sugar. cut the logs into 1/4″ slices and place on a parchment covered baking sheet. bake for 12-15 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. cool on a wire rack before eating.

i’m still sloooowly working my way through gourmet’s favorite cookies (from 1941-2008), and while i still have a long way to go, these chocolate coconut squares are going to be tough to beat. so tough, that i might just stop here and keep making batches of these instead of any other cookie, forever. they are so good.

adding powdered sugar designs is an easy way to make a dessert look fancy. i just made two quick stencils out of typing paper and carefully sifted some sugar over the top of each bar. it was a surprisingly easy (if a bit tedious) process, and while the small amount of sugar doesn’t really impact the taste, it’s totally worth it.

my baking dish is 8″ square instead of 9″, so they ended up a bit thicker. i think the consensus among everyone who ate these was actually to leave the bottom half thick and make the chocolate layer thinner. this one nitpick didn’t really stop us from finishing these off in a few hours though.

chocolate coconut squares
from Gourmet Magazines favorite cookies of the 1990s. makes 36 squares.

13 small (2-inch) wheatmeal biscuits such as Carr’s or ten 5- by 2 1/2-inch graham crackers
3/4 stick (6 Tbsp) unsalted butter
2 cups sweetened flaked coconut (about 5 oz)
1/4 tsp salt
12 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened)
2 large egg yolks
1 cup heavy cream
confectioners’ sugar for dusting

1. preheat oven to 350° F. in a food processor pulse biscuits or crackers until finely ground. melt butter and in large bowl stir together with crumbs, coconut, and salt until combined. firmly press crumb mixture evenly onto bottom of a 9-inch square baking pan and bake in middle of oven until golden, about 15 minutes. cool crust completely in pan on a rack.

2. chop chocolate. in a double boiler or a metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water melt chocolate, stirring until smooth. remove top of double boiler or bowl from heat and cool chocolate 15 minutes.

3. in a small bowl lightly beat yolks. in a saucepan heat cream over moderate heat until it just boils and whisk 1/2 cup into yolks, whisking constantly. add mixture to remaining cream and cook over moderate heat, whisking, until an instant-read thermometer registers 160F. whisk custard into chocolate until just smooth and pour evenly over crust, smoothing top with a small metal offset spatula or rubber spatula.

4. chill confection, covered, at least 4 hours, or until firm. with a sharp thin knife cut confection into 36 squares. squares keep, layered between sheets of wax paper in an airtight container and chilled, 1 week.
using star shapes cut out of parchment paper as a stencil, dust squares with confectioners’ sugar.

gourmet magazine put out a feature on their favorite cookies – one for each year from 1941 to 2008. i’ve got this crazy notion that maybe i can tackle every. single. one. not all at once, mind you, or even in order, but i’d like to keep it in my brain as a “someday” goal. i’ve gotten a few suggestions for which i should bake next via the magic of twitter (seriously, why aren’t you following me yet?), but wanted to start off with this classic from 1988. apparently when i was 4, pistachio tuiles were the best thing going. at the time, my favorite food was probably hot dogs. or a good grilled cheese. or baloney sandwiches. come to think of it, not much has changed.

tuiles get their unique shape after they bake. you have to scoop them off the baking sheet with a spatula really fast and then lay them over a cylinder to cool. there’s a 10 second window to get this done, so if they stick to the sheet or cool too quickly, put them back in the oven for a few more seconds to loosen. things i loved about this recipe: i happened to have all of the necessary ingredients in my kitchen at the time, they take about 10 minutes to make from melting the butter to pulling them out of the oven, and they’re basically sweet pistachio potato chips. how great is that? oh yeah – and they taste awesome. use them as a scoop for a big bowl of ice cream (pistachio flavored?) or be classy and enjoy with a glass of wine (port?).

pistachio tuiles
from goumet magazine. makes 12 cookies.

2 Tbsp softened unsalted butter
1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/4 tsp almond extract
1 large egg white at room temperature
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/4 cup shelled natural pistachio nuts, blanched and oven-dried and chopped

1. in a bowl cream the butter, add the sugar, and beat the mixture until it is light and fluffy. add the almond extract, the egg white, and a pinch of salt, and beat the mixture for 5 to 10 seconds, or until it is smooth but not frothy. sift the flour over the mixture and fold it in with the pistachios (the batter will be thin).

2. spoon rounded teaspoons of the batter 3 inches apart onto buttered baking sheets and with a fork dipped in cold water spread them to form 2-inch rounds. bake the cookies in batches in the middle of a preheated 375F oven for 5 to 8 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown.

3. transfer the cookies with a metal spatula to a rolling pin and curve them around the pin (if the cookies become too firm to remove from the baking sheet, return them to the oven for a few seconds to soften). let the cookies cool on the rolling pin. the cookies may be made 1 day in advance and kept in an airtight container.

i’m not sure if it’s the weather, but lately i’ve been craving christmas cookies. it actually snowed here a few days ago, and since i’ve associated being cold 24/7 with stuffing my face with festive baked things, it’s been a delicious week. although rugelah are decidely jewish, we always had them on christmas morning with breakfast as a treat.

i don’t mention my day job very often, but i’m privileged enough to work a place where i can use my passion for food every day. i don’t want to get into much more detail, but one of my perks is occasionally getting free cookbooks, like  joan nathan’s The Jewish Holiday Kitchen. i’m especially excited because her challah recipe was my first yeast bread.

does this look like a lot of extra filling? it is. i accidentally halved the dough recipe but kept the filling recipe the same, so not only were the cookies stuffed, there was a bunch of spill-over. luckily, when sugar coated raisins and nuts get baked, the result is an incredible caramelized trail mix (minus any redeeming health benefits). i’ve been eating it by the handful since.

i’ve had trouble in the past with doughs that need to be refrigerated and then rolled out later, but this one seemed to hold together perfectly. it didn’t stick to the table when i rolled it out, and it puffed and crisped every so slightly and perfectly in the oven. don’t like raisins and nuts? try any kind of jam or preserves and whip up a batch. then eat them in front of a roaring fire with big cup of hot cocoa to stave off freezing. spring, get here NOW!

rugelach
makes 24. from joan nathan’s The Jewish Holiday Kitchen.

dough
1/2 lb (2 sticks) butter, softened
8 oz cream cheese, softened
2 cups flour

filling
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup raisins
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup chopped nuts (i used walnuts and pecans)
1/4 cup decorating sugar (for sprinkling)

1. in a large bowl, cream the butter and cream cheese together. beat in the flour, little by little. knead the dough slightly until all the flour is incorporated. refrigerate for 1 hour.

2. combine the filling ingredients (except for the 1/4 cup decorating sugar) and set aside.

3. prehead the oven to 350F. remove the dough from the fridge and divide into two portions. roll out one of the portions of dough in a circle about 1/16 inch thick. spread half of the filling on the dough. using a knife or pastry wheel, cut the dough into 16 pie-shaped wedges. roll the the dough wedges starting from the wide edge and ending at the point.

4. place the cookies on an ungreased baking sheet and sprinkle with decorating sugar. bake for 15 minutes, remove, brush with 1 Tbsp melted butter, and bake for another 10 minutes until golden brown.

i have a (possibly  irrational) fear that the bacon trend may be waning. with the advent of bacon salt, bacolicio.us and any number of bacon blogs, a once underground community of bacon lovers is on the verge of going mainstream. just last week, the new york times published an article on the bacon explosion, a giant roll of bacon wrapped in sausage wrapped yet again in bacon. the times even recognized the absurdity of publishing the bacon explosion piece alongside another article about nyc’s war on salt.

this leaves me a little worried that the bacon overload could go the way of pirates, ninjas, robots, monkeys and zombies, concepts that have just been driven into the ground, particularly by the internet masses. i’m holding that  bacon stays timeless and untouchable, which explains why i decided to make a recipe that combined candied bacon with chocolate chip cookies.

enough about my bacon fears, let’s get to the recipe. i was inspired to make candied bacon by david lebovitz, who combined it with ice cream. i also found several recipes for bacon chocolate chip cookies, but they used ordinary bacon. i wanted to take the decadence of candied bacon and insert it into the sweetness of a cookie. dare i? i dared.

the candied bacon by itself was overwhelmingly delicious, so much so that i could only eat a bite at a time without my taste buds exploding with joy. i chopped up the bacon into tiny pieces and mixed it in with ordinary chocolate chip cookie batter (the tollhouse recipe of course). before i put them in the oven, i worried that the bacon would overtake the taste of the cookie and simply be too much to handle. luckily, i was completely wrong.

in fact, what results is a very subtle bacon flavor that teams up with the chocolate chips to elevate the cookies – sweet and salty never disappoints. you might want to canvas your friends before making a full batch of these though. no matter how i explained the process, i got the same incredulous looks from everyone i told and couldn’t get even one person to try a single cookie. apparently, candied meat cookies are still ahead of their time, which means i have some work to do. maybe this bacon trend isn’t on its way out quite yet.

bacon chocolate chip cookies and candied bacon

candied bacon
1 pckg thick cut bacon (about 10 strips)
brown sugar for sprinkling

chocolate chip cookies
2 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
12 oz toll house semi-sweet chocolate morsels

1. make the candied bacon: preheat the oven to 350 F. lay bacon on a parchment covered baking sheet so they are not overlapping. sprinkle about 2 tsp brown sugar evenly on each strip of bacon. bake for 12 minutes, remove from oven, flip bacon and drag it through the syrupy liquid that’s collected on the baking sheet. put the bacon back in the oven for another 12-15 minutes, until it is fully cooked and very dark (mahogany). remove the strips from the sheet and cool on a wire rack. after they have cooked, chop them or quickly food process into tiny pieces.

2. make the cookies: combine flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl. beat butter, both sugars and vanilla in a large bowl. add eggs, one at a time, beating well. gradually beat in flour mixture. stir in morsels and bacon pieces.

3. spoon dough (about a Tbsp per cookie) onto an ungreased baking sheet and bake at 375 F for 9-11 minutes. i tend to go a little under 9 minutes so they come out just underdone. remove to cooling racks or eat immediately with a tall glass of cold milk.

REMINDER! there’s still time to enter to win a copy of artisan bread in 5 minutes a day or another cookbook of your choice! tell your friends!

merry christmas and happy chanukah from pete bakes! i hope you’re having a happy holiday, and if you’re not too cookied out yet, i hope you make your family some of these cinnamon crackle cookies. they go perfectly with a cup of cocoa or coffee after a long day of entertaining, and might just cause your guests to go back and reward you with a few more gifts.

i’m writing this post from my parent’s house in beautiful and freezing king of prussia, pennsylvania on christmas eve, and the house is bursting at the seams with cookies. my mom bakes 18 (seriously) different types of cookies every year. so yeah, i’ll be coming back with some new recipes.

the citrus and the cinammon work together perfectly, and although they literally crackle into a million pieces when you bite down, it’s nothing a quick dunk in a big mug of cocoa won’t fix. speaking of cookies, i hear some pitzels and pressed almond tuiles calling my name right now, so i’ll just say have a safe and delicious holiday!

cinnamon crackle cookies
makes about 6 dozen. from the Taste of Home Complete Guide to Baking.

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
2 1/2 cups flour
3 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cream of tartar
2 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp grated orange peel
1 tsp grated lemon peel
1/2 tsp salt
additional sugar for sprinkling

1. in a large bowl, cream the butter, shortening and sugars until light and fluffy. beat in egg and extracts. combine the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, cream of tartar, nutmeg, orange and lemon peel and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture.

2. shape into 1-inch balls and roll in sugar. place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. bake at 350 F for 10-15 minutes or until lightly browned. remove to wire racks to cool.

there are just some recipes that will never get old. the tollhouse chocolate chip cookie recipe is a great example. another is the quaker oats “vanishing oatmeal raisin cookie recipe.” you don’t have to look far for a good oatmeal cookie recipe; just flip over the lid to a can of quaker oats. it’s been there, unchanged for as long an anyone can remember. i tried doing a little research on the history of the recipe, but i couldn’t nail anything down. anyone out there know anything?

the only change i make with the quaker oats recipe is to completely melt the butter instead of just softening it and slightly underbake the cookies so they are simultaneously chewier and crispier. raisins are great and all, but i love using chocolate chips in these cookies. the best part is that since they have oats in them, you feel like you’re eating something healthy.

there’s good reason to call these “vanishing” cookies. i brought a batch to an election results watching party and they disappeared long before obama was officially declared the 44th US president. you might want to make more than one batch. just throwing that out there.

oatmeal chocolate chip cookies
makes about 4 dozen. from the underside of the lid of quaker oats.

1/2 lb (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt (optional)
3 cups quaker oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. heat oven to 350 F. in large bowl, beat butter and sugars until creamy. add eggs and vanilla; beat well. add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well. add oats and chocolate chips; mix well.

2. drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

3. bake 10 to 12 minutes or until light golden brown. cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. cool completely. store tightly covered.

no doubt about it – it’s time to start breaking out the pumpkin recipes. there’s no wrong time of year for it, but there’s just something about the chill of the fall and the colors of the trees that makes every pumpkin flavored thing more magical. and while pies are going to be dominating everyone’s lives over the next month, i wanted to try something new.

these cookies are like taking tiny pumpkin pies with you wherever you go, and there’s definitely nothing wrong with that. the combination of white chocolate and pumpkin is surprisingly refreshing – i can’t believe i haven’t seen more recipes featuring both.

i based this recipe on the never-fail tollhouse chocolate chip cookie recipe, with the ingredient amounts slightly tweaked to adjust for the moisture of the pumpkin. there are 2 things that happen as a result: the cookies have to bake for almost twice the amount of time, and the texture becomes much more moist and cakey. they’re irresistible with a giant glass of milk.

i’ll be honest: these cookies are ridiculously amazing. i cannot stop eating them. if you’ve got weak self control in the presence of delicious sweets, you might want to make these and give them to your best friends as halloween or thanksgiving gifts. and if you’re already overloaded on pumpkin recipes, save this one for later and bring back the flavors of the fall all year round.

white chocolate macadamia nut pumpkin cookies
adapted from the from the toll house chocolate chip cookie recipe.

3 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
cinnamon to taste
nutmeg to taste
cloves to taste
ground ginger to taste
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 cups white chocolate chunks or chips
1 cup chopped macadamia nuts

1. in a small bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

2. in a large bowl, soften the butter in the microwave and cream in the white and brown sugars, pumpkin, vanilla, and eggs. add cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger to taste (or smell). if you don’t have all of those spices, pumpkin pie spice works just as well.

3. gradually mix in the flour and add the white chocolate and  macadamia nuts. spoon onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 375 for 15-17 minutes. remove to cool on racks and serve immediately with a glass of  milk as you lounge in front of a roaring fire.

when’s the last time you’ve been to the library? it had been more than a few years for me, not counting the five or so times i went during my college career. i’ve gotten into the habit lately of just buying books when i want them, and while i like owning and displaying them on my bookshelf, the practice has gotten a bit expensive. so the girl and i ended up at the west end library last weekend in search of recipes. it’s funny, after spending so much time in bookstores, you forget how amazing it is to walk into a library and just take a book home for free. for two hours i ran around the place like a kid in a candy store, realizing they stocked both cookbooks and comic books. walking out, my backpack bursting at the seams, i felt like a thief.

this is how i ended up with a copy of dori greenspan’s Baking: From My Home to Yours. her name should sound familiar if you spend any time reading food blogs. i’ve only got the book for a few weeks, so i’ve been studying it intensely for new and interesting treats. she provided both (that’s right, a double dose of goodness) recipes this time. which brings me to the ice cream. the girl got an ice cream maker (still on sale at amazon if you’re interested) for us to share, and surprised me with it last week. we decided the first ice cream had to be refreshing seasonal fruit, and peaches are amazing right now. i really wanted to bake something to go along with with the ice cream and the girl found these tuiles while flipping through the book.

they are virtually idiot-proof. the recipe calls for pure maple syrup, and while i don’t think the syrup that comes out of a giant log cabin shaped bottle is pure, the finished product was incredibly delicious and paired up well with the honey in the ice cream. my advice while baking is to stay on the conservative end of the 5-7 minute span. my first batch burned literally in a matter of seconds. that said, once they come out the oven, these little guys are fun to mold.  you can wrap them around anything and they’ll harden in seconds. and although they look brittle, the taste is buttery and rich. now to experiment with new ice cream flavors. i definitely see basil ice cream in our immediate future…

maple tuiles
from Dorie Greenspan’s Baking: From My Home to Yours.

1/2 stick butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/3 cup plus 1 Tbsp flour

1. beat the butter and brown sugar and maple syrup together in a large bowl. stir in the flour, mixing until incorporated. cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

2. roll small scoops of dough between your palms to form small balls (the size of a marbles) and place them a few inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet. bake for 5-7 minutes at 400 F until they are golden brown and honeycombed.

3. remove from oven, let them sit for about a minute, and immediately lift them from the sheets with a thin metal spatula. quickly lay them on a rolling pin or slender bottle to form them into curves. if they stick or harden too quickly, place them back in the oven for under a minute and they will loosen up again.

honey-peach ice cream
another recipe from Dorie Greenspan.

4 large ripe peaches
1/4 cup honey
1 cup whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
3 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla

1. chop 2 of the peaches into 1/2 inch chunks and toss them in a small saucepan. add the honey and bring to a boil, lower the heat, cover the pan and cook until the peaches are soft (about 10 minutes). scrape the mixture into a blender or food processor and puree. set aside.

2. bring the milk and cream to a boil in a saucepan. meanwhile, whisk the yolks and sugar together until blended in a heatproof bowl. drizzle in a bit of the hot milk mixture to temper the eggs (making sure they don’t curdle). slowly add the rest of the milk mixture. pour the milk/egg mixture back into the saucepan and heat while stirring until it thickens. remove from the heat, pour into a heatproof bowl, and stire in the vanilla and peach puree.

3.  refrigerate the custard until chilled. scrape into the bowl of an ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions. while the ice cream is churning, dice the remaining 2 peaches and add them just before the ice cream is thickened. when the ice cream is ready, pack into a container and freeze for at least 2 hours until it is firm enough to scoop.

i don’t know if you noticed, but it’s HOT outside right now. so hot, in fact, that when people ask what i’ve made in the kitchen lately, i’ve actually found myself saying “it’s too hot to even think about making food.” while i wish i was a bit more motivated, i’m having a pretty good time just snacking on fresh fruit constantly because it’s easier and more refreshing. fact: i can eat an entire watermelon without even realizing, and with juice still dripping off my chin, ask for another. bananas, strawberries, oranges – there are few lazier foods for hot summer days.

kids aren’t really troubled by the heat. they’ll stay outside all day playing just because they can. meanwhile, i’m racing from one shady air-conditioned place to another in a desperate attempt to stay cool and keep from getting skin cancer (my skin has two settings: pallid white and lobster red). wow, i’m sounding really old here. anyway, the kids in my neighborhood have taken to selling lemonade on the corner, and while i haven’t indulged them yet (2 bucks a glass?!), i found myself thinking, during my sprint from the bus stop to my apartment door, about how delicious lemon bars would be.

the girl pointed me to this recipe, and i’m eternally grateful. they have oatmeal in the dough, which is something i’ve never seen before. it’s a great excuse to eat oatmeal, since the only time i use it is in baking. i got my fill of mushy hot oatmeal on boy scout camping trips growing up. it’s also an incredibly simple recipe that doesn’t require any eggs. really, you can have this in the oven in less than 10 minutes.

what’s so great about lemon bars? how about the combination of sweet and sour, the refreshing bite of the filling, the realization that you are going to finish the entire tray of bars before they make it out of the kitchen…

lemon bars
adapted from foodnetwork.com. makes one 13″x9″ pan of bars.

1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1 1/4 cups oatmeal (not instant)
juice of 3 lemons
zest of 2 lemons, chopped fine
zest of 1 orange, chopped fine
1 can sweetened condensed milk (14 oz)
confectioner’s sugar for dusting

1. in a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar and add the flour to make the dough. the butter can be a little soft, but it should not be melted. the mixture should be crumbly. butter a 9″x13″ pan and press the dough into the pan.

2. in another bowl, stir the juice and zest into the condensed milk. spread the lemon mixture evenly on top of the dough. bake at 350 F for 30 minutes.

3. when cooled, cut into squares. dust with confectioner’s sugar before serving.