Lemon Bars and Scat Singing

My sister makes the most superb lemon bars!  And the best recipe for lemon bars is in Mary Engelbreit's Cookies Cookbook.  You really should buy the book.  It's my favorite go-to cookbook for cookie recipes.

Ella Fitzgerald was a quintessential scat singer.  In her own inimitable way, she could scat like no other!  So here's a live version of "Lemon Drop" sung by Ella to go with these superb lemon bars!

Turtle Brownies: Too Marvelous for Words!

Turtle Brownies: Sugar Rush!

These Turtle Brownies are from Mary Engelbreit's Cookies Cookbook: The Queen's Best Recipes, the same cookbook the Double Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe came from.  Let me warn you: these brownies will give you a sugar rush!

Chocolate, caramel, and pecans are a perfect combination.  And these brownies are surprisingly easy to make.  However, the recipe says to do all the mixing by hand.  I cheated and used a handheld mixer.  I used to be a purist until I wound up with sore arms and poorly mixed dough.  Now, the only mixing I do by hand is folding whipped cream or beaten egg whites into batter, and kneading bread gently!

As you know, I like almost all my baked goods frozen--or at least chilled.  These brownies are no exception.

So turtle brownies are just "Too Marvelous for Words."  Ella sings it best in this live version!

Dearly Beloved: Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

Today I made my favorite chocolate cookies: Double Chocolate Chip Cookies.  This is a recipe adapted from Mary Engelbreit's Cookies Cookbook: The Queen's Best Recipes.  I love this cookbook.  My favorite recipes from it are this recipe and the Old Fashioned Sugar Cookie recipe.

I use almonds instead of macadamia nuts and I alter the flour/cocoa ratio.  The original recipe is quite greasy and the cookies are flat.  I like my cookies less greasy and more cake-like.

So for Double Chocolate Chip Cookies, I needed the perfect song.  I decided on "Dearly Beloved" sung by Nancy Wilson.