Cookie Jar: Crispy Rice Krispies Cookies

D2 is back  home and we are digging our feet in, getting ready to brave out the last quarter of the 15-16 school year.  This year feels like it went by quickly, except when I was counting down the days for D1 to come home.

I had some big plans for this vacation, which is all but gone now (just a few HOURS left).  I managed to get some things done, but I didn't get to things I wanted to do.

I wanted to send D2 on her trip with a gigantic bag of cookies.  That never happened.  I wanted to clean my bedroom.  That didn't happen.  I was hoping to complete my pacing guides for next year.  That didn't happen (my efforts fell far short).  I wanted to buy a new car.  That didn't happen either.

Enough about what didn't happen.  Here's what DID happen (which I can smile about):

• I survived the senior prom.  Mother Nature blessed us with safe driving conditions.  I could hear thunder while the prom was going on, but by the time we hit the road for home, the rain let up.
• D2 did not appear malnourished from her trip.  And the iPhone 5C is practically bulletproof.
• I discovered a super ono sushi lunch place in Hilo.
• My cousins treated me to a Hilo Hawaiian buffet dinner on crab night.

Life is good.

These are the cookies I wish I made for D2.

She'll hafta eat the pics.

click on recipe title for printable recipe

Crispy Rice Krispies Cookies

     1 c butter

     1 c sugar

     1 c brown sugar

     2 eggs

     1 tsp vanilla

     2 c flour

     1 tsp baking powder

     1 tsp baking soda

     1/2 tsp salt

     2 c rolled oats (old fashioned oatmeal)

     2 c Rice Krispies cereal

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment.  Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a small bowl.  Set aside.  Cream butter and sugars until fluffy.  Add in eggs and vanilla.  Stir in dry ingredient mixture.  Fold in oats and Rice Krispies.  Drop by tablespoonfuls (#50 disher) onto prepared cookies sheets.  Moisten fingers and press gently to flatten slightly (top should be flat, not domed).  Bake 15 minutes.  Remove to a wire rack and cool completely.  Makes about 5 dozen cookies. 

Party Food: Crispy Chicken Wings

I'm not sure what it is about my kids, but they are so picky when it comes to chicken.  In fact, D1 keeps telling me she doesn't like chicken.

Over the years I have posted some awesome, kick ass chicken wing recipes:

• fried ginger chicken (Hoki's copykat)
• parmesan chicken wings
• fried garlic chicken
• sticky chicken
• fried sesame chicken

But these are the wings my kids, especially D1, will actually request.  I don't get it because I think the fried ginger chicken is the best thing on this list.  But this is what they pick.  I don't mind making this because there is no oil to clean up.  I made this for D1's 16th birthday party, and her friends devoured these wings.  D2 once remarked that cooking this makes the house smell like a Chinese restaurant.

Last week, an email came out at work.  The email contained a truly offensive reminder that the start of the next school year is but a mere 8 weeks away.  Really???  Cripes!  They HAD to go there?  Final grades weren't even due and they go reminding us about the next school year.  The "slap in the face" part for me meant that in less than 10 weeks, D1 will off to college.

I guess my mission for the next 10 weeks will be to cook things she likes.  I'm going to start with this chicken, although D1 is primarily a red meat eater.  If she had her way, we'd have either rib eye steak or pulehu ribs every night.  I'm wondering what she will eat when she goes away.

click on recipe title for printable recipe

Crispy Chicken Wings

     2 1/2 lbs chicken wings
     1 tbsp oil
     1 tsp salt
     1/8 tsp pepper
     2 tbsp brown sugar, packed
     2 tbsp maple syrup
     1/4 c water
     1/2" piece ginger
     1 star anise
     1/4 tsp sesame oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Line a baking pan with heavy duty foil.  Place rack in prepared pan.  Spray rack with non-stick cooking spray.  Remove wing tips (discard) and cut remaining wing into 2 pieces (drummette and flat).  Toss chicken pieces with oil, salt, and pepper.  Place in a single layer on rack.  Bake 50 minutes.  While chicken is baking, bring brown sugar, maple syrup, water, ginger, and star anise to a boil.  Cook for 15 minutes or until reduced to half.  Remove garlic, ginger, and star anise.  Place cooked chicken in a bowl.  Add sesame oil to sauce and pour over chicken.  Toss to coat evenly.  Place chicken back on rack and bake another 10 minutes.

Cookie Jar: Arare Cookies

2015 is finally here!

I'm looking forward to a better year than 2014.  I'm hoping to avoid being a client at the hospital ER.  I'm also hoping to avoid any type of medical procedure.  I had enough of that in 2014.

I'm down to the last few days of vacation.  Shucks!  And being laid up for most of it wasn't a good thing either.  We did still manage to get a lot done:  kittens for Kikukat Mom and Dad, passports renewed for the Ds, optometrist visit for all of us.  D1 is job shadowing at the dental clinic, but she is almost certain dentistry (other than as a patient) will not be a part of her future.  Mr. Dependable's mom should be happy. 

I guess there was no way to avoid the holidays without going to at least one party (I am so NOT a party person).  At the last moment, CAE and Kikukat Mom decided to have a small New Years party and put me in charge of desserts.  They told me there would be 20 people.  I figured that was manageable enough so I made a few things:  confetti jello, daifuku mochi, mini cupcakes with kick ass frosting, almond danish puff, and a jar of these arare cookies.

Now I'm not sure if "arare" is used much these days.  When I was growing up, arare was used interchangeably with kakimochi.  Nobody ever told me there was any difference.  When I went to college, many of my college friends from Oahu called it "mochi crunch".   When we went to the movies, "mochi crunch" was on the label of small bags of arare sold in the theater snack shop...purpose of the small, overpriced bag was to mix with the popcorn.  I guess this is a Hawaii thing; I don't think theaters on the mainland sell mochi crunch in their snack shops.  Anyway, arare, kakimochi, and mochi crunch all refer to small (quarter-size or smaller) Japanese rice crackers.

Sometime in the 1980s, Wholesale Unlimited became known to Hilo folk as THE place to go to in Honolulu to buy moonyagi (omiyage...gifts) before returning home.  They also sell all kinds of smelly (fishy) snacks, Chinese preserves, and gummy candies.  It's difficult to walk out of that store with just one thing.  Some people swear they have the best li hing powder.  My mouth is watering now!  Wholesale Unlimited was/is close to the airport, and they sell arare in all kinds of shapes, including the mini yakko, which is the shape you see in the picture at the top. 

Okay, so back to my party story.  The cookies were a big hit with the family.  Some old aunties were surprised that "could actually put furikake and arare in a cookie".  It took them a while to even guess there was furikake in it.

A few months ago, I ran a test batch past Aunty 3M (cookie baker snob), and the savory-sweet combo appealed to her palate.  I know Aunty 3M is a sucker for a non-chewy cookie too.  Of course, there will always be people who are not so quick to drink the water.  The Help and the Ds do not like this cookie.  The Help doesn't care much for arare so I can understand why he wouldn't appreciate it.  But I'm not sure why the Ds didn't like it since they both like arare AND furikake.  Perhaps their taste buds are not mature enough to appreciate the combination.

click on recipe title for printable recipe

Arare Cookies

     1 c butter

     1 c sugar

     1 tsp vanilla

     2 c flour

     1 tsp baking soda

     3 tbsp furikake

     1 1/2 c mini yakko arare

In a small bowl, sift flour and baking soda together.  Set aside.  Cream butter and sugar until fluffy.  Add in vanilla and mix well.  Gradually stir in flour mixture.  Stir in furikake and arare.  Chill dough for 30 minutes.  Line several large cookie sheets with parchment paper.  Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Using a #60 scooper, drop cookie dough onto parchment-lined sheets.  Bake for 18 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow cookies to cool on sheets 10 minutes before removing to wire rack to cool completely.  Makes 4 1/2 dozen cookies.