One Girl Cookies: Recipes for Cakes, Cupcakes, Whoopie Pies, and Cookies from Brooklyn's Beloved Bakery [Hardcover]

Dawn Casale (Author), David Crofton (Author)

Book Description

Release date: January 10, 2012

Tucked away on a quiet, tree-lined street in Brooklyn, New York, is One Girl Cookies: a charming bakery and café whose owners have created what they call an Urban Mayberry. Little do most people know that this dessert destination—famous for its gorgeous bite-sized cookies, amazingly moist cakes, seasonal pies and tarts, and dangerously addictive whoopie pies—started simply, with one girl baking cookies out of a tiny apartment. One Girl Cookies shares the recipes for the shop’s sought-after treats, as well as the sweet story behind its beginnings.

To open One Girl Cookies, Dawn Casale looked to her family for inspiration, digging into a treasure trove of heirloom recipes and photos that she uses in her unique packaging designs. She often names her cookies for people special to her: Lucia (Espresso Caramel Squares with White and Dark Chocolate Swirl) is in honor of Dawn’s beloved grandmother, and Lana (Bittersweet Chocolate Sandwiches Filled with Raspberry Preserves) was created for her favorite teacher, who was a little bit bitter but mostly sweet. Dawn’s family life and the shop are so inseparable that it is only fitting that when she hired David Crofton, a professional baker, to expand the business, it turned out that she had found the love of her life.

From simple old-fashioned confections such as Lemon Bars and Strawberry Rhubarb Pie with Spiced Oat Crumble to modern treats like Orange Butter Drops with Shredded Coconut and Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Maple Spiced Filling, the recipes featured here will impress and delight anyone lucky enough to get a taste. With beautiful color photos and tips for wrapping and gift-giving, One Girl Cookies will become a cherished addition to every passionate baker’s kitchen.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

DAWN CASALE and DAVID CROFTON are the owners of One Girl Cookies in Brooklyn, New York, which has been featured in the New York Times, Martha Stewart Weddings, and Real Simple, among other publications. They live in Brooklyn with their son, Nate. Visit them at www.onegirlcookies.com

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Fresh Pumpkin Pie with Salty Roasted Pepitas

I love pumpkin pie so much that I’ve requested it as my birthday “cake” every year since I was about thirteen. I happen to have been born in October, so that helps my choice make some sense. I am also fortunate enough to be married to Dave, whom I refer to as a pie guru. The point is, I’ve eaten a lot of pumpkin pie, so I know what I’m talking about when I say that this is the best pumpkin pie ever. If someone feels otherwise, I am ready for a throwdown, because I can guarantee that their version does not have a grainy cornmeal crust and salty, crunchy pumpkin seeds on top. And without those elements, there’s just no match.
Makes one 9-inch pie
 
Crust
1 1⁄4 cups all-purpose flour
1⁄4 cup cornmeal
1 tablespoon sugar
1⁄2 teaspoon table salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
3 tablespoons ice water
1 large egg yolk
 
Pepitas
1⁄2 cup raw pumpkin seeds
1⁄2 teaspoon table salt
1⁄4 teaspoon canola oil
 
Filling
1 1⁄2 cups half-and-half
2 large eggs
1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree
3⁄4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1⁄2 teaspoon table salt
Pinch of ground cloves
 
1. To make the crust, combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the butter and pulse 4 or 5 times, until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

2. In a small bowl, mix together the ice water and egg yolk. Add the egg mixture to the food processor, and pulse until the crumbs begin to climb the side of the bowl and hold their shape when pressed together. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Using your hands—and a little muscle—form the dough into a 5-inch-diameter disk. Wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least 1 hour before rolling.

3. Unwrap the dough, and using a rolling pin, roll it out on a lightly floured work surface to form an 11-inch circle. Working quickly and carefully, line a 9-inch pie dish with the dough. With your fingertips, make sure that the edge of the pie is smooth and even. Refrigerate it for 20 minutes.

4. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

5. Remove the pie dish from the refrigerator. Line the crust with tin foil, making sure to cover the sides, and fill it with dried beans or pie weights. Bake for 15 minutes. Rotate the dish and bake for another 15 minutes, or until the sides are somewhat firm and hold their shape.
Remove the foil and bake for 6 minutes, until the bottom of the crust looks dry and the shell is a very pale golden color. Remove the dish from the oven and let the crust cool. Leave the oven on.

6. To make the pepitas, stir together the pumpkin seeds, salt, and oil in a small bowl. Scatter the seeds onto a small baking sheet and toast in the oven for 12 to 15 minutes, until the seeds are slightly toasted. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and let the pepitas cool.

7. To make the filling, mix together the half-and-half and eggs in a medium bowl. Add the pumpkin puree and mix well. Then add the brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, salt, and cloves, and mix well. The filling will be very runny. Pour the filling into the pie shell. Sprinkle the pepitas on the filling.

8. Bake for 25 minutes. Rotate the dish and bake for 20 more minutes, or until the center of the pie jiggles just a bit when you touch the oven rack. Transfer the dish to a wire rack and let the pie cool completely.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Clarkson Potter; First Edition edition (January 10, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0307720489
• ISBN-13: 978-0307720481
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 0.7 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #157,935 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #73 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Baking > Cookies

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Tasty results from a lovely book. Easy to read. Easy to use. March 19, 2012

By Ginkgo

Format:Hardcover

Expect good results from this pretty book with many charming and quaint photographs. The recipes are straightforward with simple instructions and readily available ingredients.

The book contains intriguing and special recipes, i.e. Buttermilk Tea Cookies, Sicilian Frozen Trifle, etc., as well as American recipes both "common" (apple pie) and "uncommon" (whoopie pies), and also Italian desserts like a delightful Lemon Olive Oil cake (quick and easy to make). The book does not contain some of the more complex and laborious French recipes such as brioche and croissants, but there are other good bakery cookbooks (Flour and Tartine) for those recipes. I was skeptical about the claim of "the best" chocolate cupcake but it really is the best. The crumb is moist and delicate. The taste is divine. (Used Valhrona Dutch cocoa powder with Trader Joes's chocolate chips and Fage Greek yogurt.) Both the chocolate lover and non-chocolate lover thought the cupcakes were superb. And, the cupcakes were all eaten before any got frosted.

My one complaint concerns ingredient measurements. No weights are given for ingredients, and the method for flour measurement (lightly spooned or dip and sweep) is not specified, so one cannot convert cups to weight. At first, I used the dip and sweep method but my biscuits came out extremely dry. (1 cup bleached all-purpose flour equals 145 grams for dip and sweep vs 121 grams for lightly spooned. This 20% extra flour makes quite a difference in the final product.) Later, I converted my weight to the spoon and sweep method and had consistently good results for the Vanilla Cupcakes, Chocolate Cupcakes, Lemon Oil Cake, Chocolate Chip Pistachio Cake, Pineapple Upside-Down Cake and Apple Pie. The author, David Crofton, confirmed via telephone message that the spoon and sweep method should be used.

I did modify one recipe. Pre-baked the bottom crust for the apple pie, and added some flour to the apple filling to avoid soggy bottom for the second day. And although side by side, the apple pie made from the recipe in Flour won, it was a very close call. Still, the One Girl apple pie recipe was top-notch.

This is a lovely book with good tasting (along with the fantastic Chocolate Cupcakes) home baked recipes accompanied with many photographs. The book even shows and encourages you to prettily package and present the final product.

You will be happy with this book.

Recommendation: For everyone, but especially for non-bakers, hesitant bakers, and occasional bakers. A good no-fuss, go-to book.

PS. Have made the crust for the pumpkin pie and will write up the results.

Update: 6 June 2012

The Pumpkin Pie was a good variation, where the pepitas added a nice crunch, but the pie was just as tasty without them.

Have also made the Buttermilk Tea Cookies, Chocolate Whoopie Pies with Peppermint Filling, and the Rich Chocolate Cake. Again, everything was delicious and easy to make. Instead of making the Chocolate Cake in a 10 inch cake pan, divided it into two 7 inch cake pans. Cut both cakes in half horizontally and filled them with apricot jam and coffee buttercream (Chang's Flour cookbook) on the first and third layer and espresso ganache (Desaulniers's Death by Chocolate cookbook) on the second layer. Then, coated the top and sides with the espresso ganache, refrigerated for ˝ hour and then covered the sides with buttercream and piped stars along the top and bottom edges. The cake, as with most layered and filled cakes, tasted the best the day after assembly. A big hit. (See picture above.) Would absolutely use this chocolate cake with other fillings and frostings.

Without hesitation, would still recommend this book.

Update: 10 June 2012

Tried the Strawberry Rhubarb Pie with Spice Oat Crumble. Although, my household really likes ginger in both sweet and savory dishes, the ginger in the Spice Oat Crumble met with strong disapproval. In fact, ended up taking the crumble off the pie. Would make the pie again but without the ground ginger and crystallized ginger.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Feast for the eyes, but not sure recipes are accurate June 21, 2012

By Sherri

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I bought this cookbook after checking it out from the library, so I knew what I was getting. However, I hadn't actually baked any of the recipes. After now making two, I am rather disappointed. First, I made the Lemon Olive Oil cake, which sounded lovely. She has you sprinkle turbinado sugar on top, but this burnt, so it ended up looking like there were black specs on it. The second recipe I tried was the graham crackers. The recipe was a bit confusing, but even so, mine ended up looking nothing like the picture. She shows a picture of a very dark cracker that looks like it has molasses in it. I even used dark brown sugar, instead of the light it called for, and mine still came out very pale. The dough was impossible to roll out (between parchment paper) and stuck to the paper. It ended up being a messy, frustrating experience. And then, they tasted very boring -- worse than store bought! So I won't give up, but so far, the recipes do not live up to the pictures.

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun Cookbook January 22, 2012

By Holly B. Toomians

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is a really fun cookbook. I've enjoy baking several of the recipes and all have been wonderful. I especially love the raspberry oatmeal bars. The recipes are super easy to follow and remind me of the old fashioned cooking my mother used to do when I was a kid.