Cooking Club: Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies

A friend of mine started a Cooking Club and last night was our first meeting. Our Cooking Club is going to meet once a month and the basic premise is that each month we'll have a theme, selected by the person hosting. The host makes a main dish and everyone else has to make an appetizer, side, or dessert to go with the theme. Also, we each need to make something we've never made before. It can be a dish you've made before, but it at least needs to be a new recipe.

Last night's theme was Mexican, so I made the Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies found in the April 2010 Everyday Food Magazine. The picture is theirs, but mine looked pretty good! They were super easy to make and everyone seemed to love them.

I'm hosting next month - so we'll see what I come up with as far as a theme and a main dish!

Rhubarb Cake

Every spring, this giant plant of rhubarb springs up from besides the garage. This is the only plant that I can harvest from on our rental property, and it gives loads and loads of rhubarb.

I've made strawberry rhubarb jam and pie and crumble, but i wanted to try something new. So, here's the recipe for rhubarb cake. (Modified from this recipe)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup milk
• 2-4 cups coarsely chopped fresh rhubarb (I used 4)
  
• 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preparation:

In a large mixing bowl with electric hand-held mixer, cream the butter until it is light and fluffy. Add the brown sugar slowly, continuing to beat, until the mixture is well blended and fluffy. Beat the egg and vanilla into the creamed mixture until well-blended.

In a separate bowl sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda. Combine the lemon juice and milk; add it alternately with the flour mixture to the creamed mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Beat after each addition, just enough to blend. Gently fold the chopped rhubarb into the batter; spoon into a greased 9x13x2-inch pan, spreading evenly.

Dash the cinnamon on top of the batter. Bake in a preheated 350° oven for 50-60 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan at least 25 minutes, then cut into squares and serve.