Isn’t it every child’s dream to be able to eat cookies for breakfast? Actually, don’t a lot of adults have that dream? While I can’t fully endorse cookies for breakfast, I absolutely can support making and eating muffins that taste just like a cookie!
Snickerdoodles have been a regularly made cookie in my home, both as a child and a mom. The combination of sugar and cinnamon plus an interesting hint of tartness makes them a “hard to eat just one” cookie. Turn them into a muffin, and they’re a delicious way to start the day.
Most of the ingredients in these muffins are pretty straightforward and probably are items that can be found in your refrigerator and pantry. The one ingredient you may not have but absolutely need is cream of tartar. You’ll find it in the spice section in the grocery store. Although you need only a small amount, it gives these muffins that special something. As for the milk in the recipe, use whatever you have: plant-based, whole milk, skim. It really doesn’t matter.
Now, for serving them, I highly recommend eating them warm, sliced in half and topped with a little bit of butter. They are so delicious they might be called “hard to eat just one” muffins.
Michele Pesula Kuegler has been thinking about food her entire life. Since 2007, the New Hampshire native has been sharing these food thoughts and recipes at her blog, Think Tasty. Visit thinktasty.com to find more of her recipes.
Snickerdoodle muffins Makes 12
Muffins 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1/2 cup milk 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 large egg 1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
Muffins Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a muffin pan with nonstick spray. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cream of tartar, salt and sugar. In a large measuring cup whisk the milk, vanilla and egg together. Add the milk mixture and 1/3 cup melted butter to the flour mixture. Stir just until flour mixture is fully moistened. It may be lumpy. Fill each muffin cup 3/4 full. Bake for 14 to 16 minutes. Cool muffins in the pan for 5 minutes.
Topping In a small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon. Remove the muffins from the pan. Brush the tops of the muffins with the melted butter. Generously sprinkle the tops with the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
New Hampshire Fisher Cats continue their run of home games at Northeast Delta Dental Stadium (1 Line Drive in downtown Manchester; nhfishercats.com) against the Binghamton Rumble Ponies with games through Sunday, Aug. 29. Games today through Saturday, Aug. 28, are all at 7:05 p.m.; Sunday’s game starts at 1:35 p.m. Special theme days include Alex Trebek Tribute Night on Aug. 26, Wrestling Night (with a Sumo Bobble Belly giveaway) on Aug. 27, post-game fireworks on Aug. 28 and a youth jersey giveaway on Aug. 29. The F-Cats begin another run of home games on Tuesday, Aug. 31, when the Portland Sea Dogs return (that game will feature post-game fireworks).
Friday, Aug. 27
Comedian Juston McKinney begins a four-show run at the Capitol Center for the Arts in Concord tonight with a show at 8 p.m. Subsequent shows are Saturday, Aug. 28, at 5:30 and 8 p.m., and Sunday, Aug. 29, at 7 p.m. Tickets cost $29.50 (plus fees). See ccanh.com.
Friday, Aug. 27
Get in your classic red Ferrari (but don’t try to roll back the odometer) to head to Wasserman Park (116 Naticook Road in Merrimack) to see Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (PG-13, 1986) tonight at 7:30 p.m., part of the Merrimack Parks and Recreation’s Summer Movies in the Park series. The screening is free and is open to the public. See merrimackparksandrec.org/movies-in-the-park. Looking for more nostalgia-filled screenings? The Prescott Park Arts Festival’s outdoor movie on Monday, Aug. 30, is Big (PG, 1988). It starts at dusk; see prescottpark.org.
Friday, Aug. 27
Watch hopefuls compete in the Hampton Beach Talent Competition, running today through Sunday, Aug. 29, at 7 p.m. at the Seashell Stage on Hampton Beach. Today, the juniors (under 18) compete; tomorrow, Aug. 28, it’s the over 18s, and Sunday is the finals, according to hamptonbeach.org, where you can find more about this and other beach events.
Saturday, Aug 28
It’s another day of Old Home Days.
Plaistow’s Old Home Day today will include a 5K road race (registration starts at 7:30 a.m.), fireworks, food vendors and more, according to plaistowohd.com.
Candia’s Old Home Day will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Moore Park (74 High St.), according to candiaoldhomeday.com. The day will kick off with a parade, followed by crafters, artisans, food, music and exhibits in the park as well as Michael’s Awesome Juggling and Variety Show at 12:30 p.m., the site said.
Gilford’s Old Home Day will kick off with a 5K road race and a free kids fun race (check-in starts at 6:30 a.m.) and a pancake breakfast hosted by the Gilford Rotary (7 a.m.), according to gilfordrec.com. The library will serve pie and ice cream starting at 9 a.m. as long as it lasts or until noon, and a book sale will run from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., the site said. Crafts people and food vendors will open for business at 9 a.m. on the Village Green and a parade steps off at 10 a.m., the site said. The day will also feature kids games and events, demonstrations, live music and fireworks at 9 p.m.; see the website for details.
Save the Date! Tuesday, Sept. 21
The fall season of art classes for children and teens begin on Tuesday, Sept. 21, at the Currier Museum of Art (150 Ash St. in Manchester; currier.org). Classes in comics, drawing and painting including offerings that are online and classes in person. Adult art classes kick off earlier in September with classes that have one- or two-day sessions as well as weekly classes. Offerings include figure drawing, painting, and an art sampler. See the website for details and to register.
First responders played a back-and-forth game of baseball on Aug. 20 during the 10th CHaD Battle of the Badges at Delta Dental Stadium in Manchester, but after pulling away in the eighth inning, Team Police beat Team Fire 11-5, making it their fourth straight victory in the series and bringing their all-time record to 7-3 over Fire, according to a press release. And along with all the fun, the event raised more than $111,000 to support patients and critical programs at Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock.
Score: +1
Comment: Team Police also edged out a fundraising victory, bringing in $2,200 more than Fire, according to the release.
Look out for lanternflies
New Hampshire might have a new invasive species to worry about. According to a report from NHPR, the invasive spotted lanternfly can devastate fruit crops, and while it so far has not spread in New Hampshire, state officials said it will likely return. The spotted lanternfly is currently causing problems in the mid-Atlantic, where in states like New York, officials are telling people to kill any lanternflies they see. They’re about an inch long with black-spotted grey wings and red underwings, the report said, and they weaken plants and trees by sucking out their sap and leaving behind feces that attract other insects and can cause black sooty mold. State entomologist Piera Siegert said the bugs’ favorite host plant is the tree of heaven and is also considered invasive in the U.S. — locally, it grows in Manchester, Nashua and other “disturbed habitat” areas, such as along highways and rail corridors.
Score: -1
Comment: Siegert said in the NHPR report that New Hampshire residents should look out for the bugs and their waxy egg masses and send any sightings or specimens to the state.
A cookie to look forward to
A new brownie-inspired cookie with caramel-flavored crème and a hint of sea salt is being added to the 2022 Girl Scout cookie lineup. According to a press release from the Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains, Adventurefuls will “take cookie lovers on a delicious taste adventure just like Girl Scouts go on their own amazing adventures through the program.” Such adventures include earning new Cookie Business badges for running their own cookie businesses and selling online via the Digital Cookie platform. The badges range from goal setting and effective sales-pitching to using market research, creating business plans and implementing digital marketing campaigns, the release said.
Score: +1
Comment: New Hampshire’s cookie season kicks off Dec. 29; sign up at girlscoutcookies.org to be notified when Adventurefuls, plus favorites like Thin Mints and Samoas, go on sale.
QOL score: 89 Net change: +1 QOL this week: 90
What’s affecting your Quality of Life here in New Hampshire? Let us know at news@hippopress.com.
Information from the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services
Covid-19 news
State health officials announced 174 new positive cases of Covid-19 in New Hampshire on Aug. 23. The state averaged 281 new cases per day over the most recent seven-day period, an increase of nearly 50 percent over those from the previous week. As of Aug. 23, there were 2,324 active infections statewide and 107 current hospitalizations due to the virus.
On Aug. 23, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration fully approved the Pfizer vaccine against Covid-19 for people ages 16 and older, according to a press release. The vaccine, which will now be marketed as Comirnaty, also continues to be available under emergency use authorization for people ages 12 to 15, and for the administration of a third dose in immunocompromised recipients. “While millions of people have already safely received Covid-19 vaccines, we recognize that for some, the FDA approval … may instill additional confidence to get vaccinated,” acting FDA commissioner Janet Woodcock said in a statement. “Today’s milestone puts us one step closer to altering the course of this pandemic in the U.S.”
Affordable housing
The New Hampshire Housing Board of Directors approved funding for 16 affordable multi-family rental housing developments during the fiscal year ending June 30, which will produce or preserve almost 1,000 units of affordable rental housing in the state’s communities. According to a press release, Low-Income Housing Tax Credits — a federal program that encourages developers and investors to create affordable multi-family housing for low- and moderate-income families by using tax credits — and other federal and state funding will support these projects. LIHTC-funded housing accounts for about 95 percent of publicly funded workforce housing produced in New Hampshire, the release said. Other funding sources that New Hampshire Housing administers for affordable housing include the federal HOME program and Housing Trust Fund, the state Affordable Housing Fund and tax-exempt bond financing. “The state and federal funding sources that New Hampshire Housing provides are essential financing tools for public and private developers to create and renovate affordable rental housing throughout the state,” Dean Christon, executive director of New Hampshire Housing, said in the release. Local projects include 42 general occupancy units in six townhouse-style buildings on Village Street in Concord, with; 74 general-occupancy units in Woodland Village in Goffstown; and 11 supportive housing units in the Nashua Soup Kitchen and Shelter, an adaptive reuse of a former school into units that will provide housing for people experiencing homelessness.
Drive sober
New Hampshire has rolled out this year’s Labor Day impaired driving high-visibility enforcement campaign, where drivers can expect to see increased law enforcement on the road now through Sept. 6 specifically targeting impaired drivers. The Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over initiative includes education efforts like messages on highway message boards, radio advertisements and social media public service campaigns, according to a press release. The New Hampshire State Police will work with 63 police departments for the border-to-border, statewide saturation patrol effort to reduce the number of crashes, injuries and fatalities due to impaired driving. Last year, 39 people died in alcohol-related crashes on New Hampshire roads, the release said. The New Hampshire Office of Highway Safety has several recommendations, including calling 911 if you see an impaired driver on the road; designating a sober driver or using a ride service; acknowledging that buzzed driving is drunk driving; and taking the keys of a friend who is about to drink and drive and making arrangements to get them home safely. The campaign is being funded by the New Hampshire Office of Highway Safety and grants from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Granite Tax Connect
The third and final phase of Granite Tax Connect — the New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration’s new online user portal and revenue management system — is now up and running. According to a press release, Granite Tax Connect provides an improved online experience to approximately 148,000 New Hampshire taxpayers, tax preparers and customers of the Tobacco/Smokeless Tobacco Tax, Real Estate Transfer Tax, Private Car/Railroad Tax, Utility Property Tax and Low to Moderate Income Credit. The system allows people to complete tasks online, such as filing taxes electronically, scheduling automated online payments, checking on the status of returns, payments, refund and credit requests and more. It also allows customers of certain tax types to complete additional tasks; wholesalers, manufacturers, taxpayers, practitioners and all DRA customers associated with the Tobacco/Smokeless Tobacco Tax, for example, can renew licenses, pay taxes electronically, view reports such as the Tobacco License lookup and License Additions/Deletions and more, according to the release. The state’s e-file for counties will no longer be available as of Jan. 1, so it is imperative to create an account prior to that date, the release said.
Police oversight
A commission at the New Hampshire State House has formed to try to create an independent police oversight body that would process reports of police misconduct in the state, according to WMUR. The effort has been backed by Gov. Chris Sununu and the Law Enforcement Accountability Commission established last year, but has not yet made it through the Legislature. Chaired by Attorney General John Formella, the commission has until Nov. 1 to work on the proposal.
Cyberthieves
The Town of Peterborough had $2.3 million stolen in two cases of cybertheft, according to NHPR. First $1.2 million was intercepted while being transferred from the Town to the ConVal School District. Investigation by the U.S. Secret Service Cyber Fraud Task Force revealed that the thieves had posed as school district staff and used forged documents and email accounts to access the transfer. Several weeks later, the thieves used a similar tactic to intercept funds being transferred to contractors for construction on the Main Street Bridge project. The money cannot be recovered by reversing the transactions as it was converted to cryptocurrency, and it has not yet been determined whether insurance will cover any of the losses. The Town’s total budget for this fiscal year is a little over $15.8 million, according to the article.
Downtown Concord has two new art pieces on North Main Street. According to a press release, “Into the Wind” and “Sunflower from Mars,” both created by Chris Plaisted, have been installed in front of The Works Cafe and near The POST Downtown and Parlor Salon, respectively. The sculptures are part of the 4th Annual Outdoor Sculpture Exhibit, Art on Main, a free, open-air, 24/7 year-round outdoor art exhibition, the release said.
All online processing fees, including fees for vehicle registrations, taxes and parking tickets, will be waived for Manchester residents for the next year, according to a press release. “By waiving online service fees, we’re hoping more residents who may be nervous about the rise in Covid cases take advantage of the convenience of engaging in city services online, rather than coming into City Hall in person,” Mayor Joyce Craig said in the release.
More than 275 children swam, biked and ran in the annual Kid’s Try-athlon at the Bedford Town Hall and Bedford High School on Aug. 15, according to a press release. The event benefited Friends of Aine, a nonprofit organization providing bereavement support services to grieving children, teens and families.
New Hampshire’s first finding of West Nile virus this year was detected in a mosquito batch in Salem on Aug. 3. According to a press release, the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services has elevated the risk from the baseline level to low.
With school back in session for some and starting soon for others, it’s time to make plans for after-school fun. Check out this guide to get some ideas, from art and music to dance and gymnastics.
Also on the cover, Market Days returns to downtown Concord, p. 6. More than 50 artists are setting up booths at Greeley Park in Nashua for the annual summer show, p. 18. And get a taste of culture at Mahrajan and the We Are One festival, p. 26 & 27.
Anika, Change (Sacred Bones Records)Collection of self-indulgent, googly-eyed runway-model-pop confections from a pan-European girl who apparently believes there’s a huge ...
Although so much of my summer cooking and baking revolves around local produce, this lemon recipe is a summertime favorite of mine. There is something about the bright flavor of lemons that makes me think of hot summer afternoons.
These whoopie pies are all about lemon flavor. Both the cake and the filling are lemon-centric with the addition of lemon extract, lemon zest and lemon juice. What is key to this recipe is to use freshly squeezed lemon juice. Although I keep a bottle of lemon juice in my refrigerator, you really need freshly squeezed for this recipe. It makes the flavor so much brighter.
If you’re hungry, make these full-sized whoopie pies. If you have a smaller appetite, make the scoop about half as big, and you’ll have 20 delightful mini whoopie pies to enjoy.
Michele Pesula Kuegler has been thinking about food her entire life. Since 2007, the New Hampshire native has been sharing these food thoughts and recipes at her blog, Think Tasty. Visit thinktasty.com to find more of her recipes.
Lots of lemon whoopie pies Makes 10
For the cakes: 1/2 cup butter, softened 1 cup granulated sugar 2 eggs 1 teaspoon lemon extract 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 cups all-purpose flour Zest of 1 lemon 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice 3 Tablespoons milk Yellow food coloring, if desired
For the filling: 1/2 cup butter, softened 2 1/4 cups powdered sugar 2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice 1 teaspoon lemon extract
To make the cakes: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Place butter and sugar in stand mixer, and beat with paddle attachment on speed 2 for 2 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing until each is fully incorporated on speed 2. Add extracts, baking powder, baking soda and salt, mixing well on speed 2. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides, and add lemon zest and 1 cup of flour. Mix on low; scrape sides with spatula, add lemon juice, and mix until fully blended. Add remaining cup of flour, mix. Add milk and food coloring, and mix until fully combined. Scoop approximately 1 1/2 Tablespoons batter, spaced evenly, onto baking sheets. Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until cakes spring back when touched. Allow to cool for 2 minutes on the baking sheets. Transfer to a baking rack to cool completely.
To make the filling: In a stand mixer combine butter, powdered sugar, lemon juice, and lemon extract; mix on low speed until combined. Spread the flat side of 10 cakes with the frosting. Top each with another cake. Serve or store in a sealed container.
