At the beach we eat a ridiculous amount of Drumsticks. We even started buying the little ones so we can feel less guilty when we eat them daily. It was only a matter of time until I turned them into a cookie for the summer. These are a simple summer recipe - the only added step is the topping, but I think we can all agree the topping is the best part of the Drumstick!

We finally get to go back to the beach this week - but only for a few days. This time in life - raising teenagers - means our summer is a lot of driving kids around or being on hand for their friends to come over. I’m embracing it. At some point they won’t need me and I’ll be at the beach all the time. And eating way too many Drumsticks.

Drumstick Cookies

makes about 2 1/2 dozen

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 1/2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

12 ounces white chocolate chips

6 ice cream cones, crushed

1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

1 tablespoon coconut oil

1 cup peanuts, chopped

STEP 1

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream together butter and sugars until creamy. Add in eggs and vanilla and whip until light and fluffy. Do not rush it.

STEP 2

Blend in dry ingredients until it’s nearly combined.

STEP 3

Pour in white chocolate chips and cone bits and combine completely. Scoop batter onto a baking sheet and bake in the hot oven for about 10 minutes, or until golden on the edges. Let cool.

STEP 4

Melt together the chocolate chips and coconut oil. I use the microwave on 30 second intervals. Dip each cooled cookie and sprinkle the top with the the chopped peanuts.

Serve warm OR add vanilla ice cream to the center and make an ice cream sandwich!

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Also called a German Pancake, the Dutch Baby is a family favorite! My mom used to make it all the time when I was a kid and it always seemed so fancy. Then when I got older, I realized she made it all the time because it’s so simple. My mom’s recipe is the best one out there because it’s three ingredients. AND it’s scaleable.

When I was a kid we ate it with a dusting of powdered sugar. My oldest eats it with jam. My middle with whipped cream. And my youngest eats it with Nutella, strawberries and whipped cream. He’s extra. The best part of this super simple Dutch Baby is that you can top it with literally anything. Your favorite fruit, jam, a jammy spread, your call.

So here’s the secret to this: It’s just a 1:1:1 recipe. 1 egg is the equivalent of 1/4 cup which means for each egg, you add 1/4 cup milk and 1/4 cup flour. The recipe listed here is for a 12” skillet. If you go smaller in the skillet, then scale down. We have these tiny little skillets, so I’ll make individual Dutch Babies some mornings!

Gwen’s Classic Dutch Baby

makes one 12” pancake

3 eggs

3/4 cup milk

3/4 cup flour

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons butter

STEP 1

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

In a blender, whiz the eggs until they are light and fluffy.

STEP 2

Slowly add the milk until incorporated. Then, with the blender going, slowly add the flour. Blend on high for two minutes until incorporated and there are no lumps. Do not over beat! Quickly stir in the vanilla.

STEP 3

Place a 12” skillet in the oven with the butter in it. Let the butter melt completely. Swirl it around and then pour in the freshly blended batter.

STEP 4

Bake 12-15 minutes until the pancake has fluffed up on the edges and is golden brown.

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Every summer my mom makes her signature crab cakes. My cousins will happily sit and pick crab for hours if it means we get crab cakes for dinner. We all adore them. The secret is that it’s barely held together with anything - so it’s basically all crab. By letting them rest for a bit in the fridge - you can even leave them all day - they hold together a little better and cook a lot better.

Gwen’s Crab Cakes

serves 4-6

1 pound fresh cracked Dungeness crab

1 cup mayonaisse

1 egg, beaten

1 cup panko breadcrumbs

1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1 teaspoon baking soda

juice of 1/2 lemon

salt and pepper

butter

STEP 1

Mix all ingredients together – except for the butter – add salt and pepper to taste.  From the crab mixture into patties.  Let them rest about 1/2 hour in the refrigerator.

STEP 2

Melt 1/2 tablespoon butter in a skillet over medium heat. Working in batches, place patties in the preheated pan and cook 3-5 minutes on each side until cakes are golden on each side and warmed throughout.  Add more butter to the pan between each batch as needed.

STEP 3

To keep the crab cakes warm before serving, keep them on a cookie sheet in a 200 degree oven.

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