Cream Cheese and Walnut Cookie Bars

I was flipping through my mom's cook book, Still Life with Menu by Mollie Katzen, and came across this recipe. It sounded so peculiar that i had to try it out. The cookies were delicious, but had a drier consistency than i had anticipated. They are definitely not the melt-in-your-mouth kind of treat, but delightful just the same. They went nicely with a warm cup of Chai tea!

Recipe by Molly Katzen: Still Life with Menu

Ingredients:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup softened cream cheese
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup ground walnuts
1/2 tsp cinnamon

what to do:
1. In a mixer, cream together butter, sugar and cream cheese until light and fluffy
2. Add in the egg and continue mixing
3. Mix in the remaining ingredients
4. Measure a piece of aluminum foil to 10x13, and place dough in the middle
5. Wrap the dough with one side of foil, and roll dough over to the other side to create a log
6. Tuck sides in, and either refrigerate for a couple hours, or put in the freeze for 30-40 mins
7. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
8. Slice the frozen dough into 1/8" slices and place on cookie sheet
9. Bake for 12-15 mins

I would like to try this recipe out again, but slicing the cookies thinner than i did in the picture, and also trying it out with a sweet flavored cream cheese like hazelnut.

Salmon and Chive Cream-Cheese Omelet

I bought NOVA cured salmon from trader joe's (5.99) and chive cream-cheese to make lox bagels, but decided to ease up on the bready-carbs and come up with something else to use the ingredients in.

The cream-cheese in the omelet makes the inside really fluffy with added flavor. If you like salmon, the cured kind is nice to keep on hand. You can use it in so many recipes - on bagels/sandwiches, in pasta with a white cream sauce - and in omelets! Since it's cured it's already been salted and prepared, which makes the assembly much easier. Peas were added for a little color and texture.

Ingredients:
3 large eggs
1/4 frozen peas. thawed
1/3 cup chopped cured salmon
1/4 milk/half & half
1-2 handfuls of parmesean cheese
2 Tbs chive-flavored cream-cheese
pepper to taste


* since the salmon, cream-cheese and parmesan cheese are all pretty salty anyways, you don't really need to add anymore salt.


what to do:
1. In a mixing bowl, wisk together the eggs and milk
2. Add in the cream cheese and wisk until combined
3. Add in the salmon and peas and pepper
4. Heat a smaller round skillet with oil or butter
5. Pour in the egg mixture and keep the heat on low-med
6. Sprinkle 1 handful of parmesan on the egg 
7. Use a rubber spatula to run along the edges of the omelet against the pan to make sure it's not sticking.
8. Once the egg has almost firmed on the top, very carefully flip one side over onto the other
9. Flip the omelet once so both sides are evenly cooked
10. Top with the rest of the parmesan cheese and pepper