Recipe: Honey Pecan Squares, Loaded with Chips Chocolate Chip Cookies, Dark and White Chocolate Cheesecake, Strawberry Meringue Cake More Nick Malgieri recipes for Judy

Hi Judy,

If you like Nick Malgieri here are two cookie recipes from "Cookies Unlimited" and two cake recipes from his cookbook "Perfect Cakes".

Cookies Unlimited
Nick Malgieri
HarperCollins Publishers

Honey Pecan Squares
Makes one 9 x 13 x 2-inch pan, about twenty-four 2-inch squares

This is a rich and easy recipe given to me by Jayne Sutton of Darien, Connecticut. I'm proud to say that Jayne has been coming to my classes for more than 20 years, recently bringing her daughter Leslie, too.

Cookie Dough
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter
2 large eggs

Filling:
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
3/4 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
3 tablespoons dark honey
Pinch salt
2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
3 cups pecan halves or a mixture of halves and pieces

One 9 x 13 x 2-inch pan, buttered and lined with buttered parchment or foil

1. For the dough, combine the flour, granulated sugar, salt, and baking powder in the bowl of a food processor and pulse several times to mix. Cut the butter into about sixteen pieces and add to the work bowl. Continue pulsing until the butter is finely worked into the dough and the mixture is a fine powder again. Add the eggs; continue pulsing until the dough forms a ball.

2. Place the dough on a floured surface. Roll into a roughly 9 X 13-inch rectangle. Fold the dough in half (to make it easier to handle) and transfer it to the prepared pan. Unfold the dough and press it out evenly over the bottom of the pan. Use the back of a spoon to smooth it if necessary. With your fingertips, press the dough about an inch up the sides of the pan all the way around. Chill thedough while you prepare the filling.

3. Set a rack in the middle level of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.

4. For the filling, combine the butter, brown sugar, honey, and salt in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally with a metal spoon. Pour in the cream and allow the mixture to boil up once. Remove from the heat and stir in the pecans. Let cool for about 15 minutes, then pour over the chilled crust. With the point of a spoon, spread the pecans evenly over the dough. Bake for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until the pastry is baked through and the filling is bubbling.

5. Place on a rack until completely cooled.

6. Transfer the pastry to a cutting board and slide a long knife or spatula under it to loosen the paper or foil, then pull it away. Trim the edges, use a ruler to mark, then cut the pastry into 2-inch squares.

7. For up to several days, store the squares in a tin or plastic container with a tight-fitting cover. Freeze for longer storage.

Loaded with Chips Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes about 35 cookies

I used to make these so often that now, when I taste chocolate chip cookies without double the amount of chips to the amount of batter, I'm disappointed. For a standard chocolate chip cookie, halve the weight of the chips.

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups (one 12-ounce bag) semisweet chocolate chips
3 ounces (about 3/4 cup) coarsely chopped walnut or pecan pieces, optional
2 or 3 cookie sheets or jelly roll pans covered with parchment or foil

1. Set the racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees.

2. In a bowl, combine the flour, salt, and baking soda; stir well to mix.

3. In the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until combined, then beat in the egg and vanilla, beating until smooth. Don't overbeat.

4. Remove the bowl from the mixer and with a large rubber spatula stir in the flour mixture. Stir in the chips and the optional nuts.

5. Drop teaspoonfuls of the dough 2 or 3 inches apart on the prepared pans.

6. Bake the cookies for 12 to 15 minutes, or until they are deep gold and firm.

7. Slide the papers off the pans onto racks.

8. After the cookies have cooled, detach them from the paper and store them between sheets of parchment or wax paper in a tin or plastic container with a tight-fitting cover.

Variation
Chocolate Chunk Cookies: Instead of chocolate chips, use 12 ounces of dark, milk, or white chocolate, cut into 1/4-inch pieces. Or try combining two kinds of chips or chunks in the same batch of cookies.

Perfect Cakes
Nick Malgieri
HarperCollins Publishers

Dark and White Chocolate Cheesecake

Makes one 9-inch cheesecake, about 16 servings
Two layers of chocolate cake layers make this cheesecake complex and elegant.

CHEESECAKE BATTER
2 pounds cream cheese
1 cup sugar
5 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, melted
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
6 large eggs
5 ounces white chocolate, melted

One 9-inch layer 1942 Devil's Food Cake,page 212, sliced into two layers

One 3-inch-deep 9-inch springform pan, bottom buttered and lined with parchment or wax paper; one 10 x 15-inch jelly-roll pan

1. Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.

2. in the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat half the cream cheese on the lowest speed until smooth, no more than 30 seconds. Stop the mixer and scrape down the bowl and beater. Add 1/2 cup of the sugar in a stream, beating for no more than 30 seconds. Stop and scrape again. Add the melted dark chocolate, beating only until it is absorbed, no more than 30 seconds. Beat in 1 teaspoon of the vanilla. Add 3 of the eggs, one at a time, mixing only until each is absorbed. Stop and scrape after each addition and transfer to another bowl if you only have one mixer bowl.

3. Make the white chocolate batter following the same procedure as for the dark chocolate batter, using the remaining ingredients.

4. Wrap heavy-duty aluminum foil around the bottom of the springform pan to come at least 1 inch up the sides. Place one of the cake layers in the bottom of the pan. Pour the darkchocolate batter into the pan. Place the other cake layer on the batter and pour in the white chocolate batter.

5. Place the pan in the jelly-roll pan and pour warm water into the pan to a depth of 1/2 inch. Bake the cheesecake for about 75 minutes, or until it is lightly colored and firm except for the very center. Remove from oven and take the cheesecake pan out of the hot water. Remove the foil and cool completely on a rack.

6. Wrap the cheesecake and chill overnight. Unmold according to the directions on page 97.

Strawberry Meringue Cake
Makes one 9-inch cake, about 12 servings

This is an ideal cake for June and July, when strawberries are at their peak. The fruit filling and the meringue are light, and because the recipe calls for neither whipped cream nor buttercream, there is nothing to melt in hot weather.

STRAWBERRY FILLING
2 pints strawberries
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon kirsch
2 tablespoons cornstarch

LEMON-KIRSCH SYRUP
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons kirsch

COVERING MERINGUE
3/4 cup egg whites (from 6 or 7 large eggs)
1 cup sugar

Two 10-inch layers Classic G noise, page 116

1. To make the filling, rinse, hull, and slice the berries. Place one-quarter of the berries in a saucepan with the sugar and bring to a boil.

2. Meanwhile, combine the lemon juice, kirsch, and cornstarch. Off the heat, stir the cornstarch mixture into the strawberry mixture. Return to a boil, stirring, and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool, then stir in the remaining sliced berries.

3. To make the syrup, combine the water and sugar in a small pan and bring to a boil, cool. Stir in the lemon juice and kirsch.

4. Use a sharp serrated knife to slice each of the g noise layers into 2 layers. Only 3 layers will be used to assemble the cake. Place one layer on a cardboard round or platter and brush with one-third of the syrup. Spread with half the filling. Top with the second layer and, brush with syrup, and spread with the remaining filling. Place the last layer on top and moisten with the remaining syrup.

5. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400 F.

6. To make the meringue, combine the egg whites and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer. Whisk over simmering water until the egg whites are hot and the sugar is dissolved. Attach the bowl to the mixer and beat with the whisk at medium speed until the meringue has increased in volume and is cool.

7. Frost the top and sides of the cake with the meringue.

8. Place the cake on a cookie sheet and put in the oven for just 3 to 4 minutes to color the meringue. Remove the cake from the oven and cool, then decorate with the reserved strawberries and the sliced almonds.

SERVING: Serve the cake as soon as it has cooled.

STORAGE: Refrigerate leftovers.