A Smart Cookie Maker

On the TV show, “Night Court,” Joleen Lutz plays feather-brained court reporter Lisette Hocheiser, a cross between Betty Boop and Goldie Hawn.

But take Lutz, a former stand-up comedienne, into a kitchen and you’ll find a serious cook.

“Baking is a creative outlet for me,” Lutz says. “It’s kind of meditative and I get totally absorbed. Lots of times I’ll make up a recipe from just things in the house.”

Her grandmother was her inspiration: “She was a great baker; she made delicious pies.” Lutz’s culinary interest grew after she got out of high school in Chicago. While working as a waitress, she would slip into the kitchen to try her hand at cake decorating.

After familiarizing herself with various recipes and techniques, she experimented. “I’d take a basic recipe and play,” she says. “You have to know certain basics. Baking is a lot of chemistry. For example, if the cookies are flat, I may have added too much shortening or not enough flour. Also, always make sure you have fresh baking powder and baking soda.”

Her experiences gave her the confidence to prepare everything but the wedding cake for the sweet table for her own marriage to actor/screenwriter Danny Hart. Decorating with a heart motif, she made various kinds of cookies, from butter cookies to chocolate chip. “The butter cookies freeze well, so I made them three weeks ahead of time,” she explains. The rest were last-minute tasks.

“I made mixed berry pies and decorated the top with small berries on a vine made out of marzipan,” she says.

Even though her schedule keeps her busy, Lutz still bakes, especially on holidays. For Valentine’s Day, Lutz shares the following recipes for cookies and muffins . . . all, of course, baked in hearts.

BETTER-THAN-TOLLHOUSE CHOCOLATE CHIP HEARTS

1 cup butter

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 cup brown sugar, packed

2 eggs, beaten

1 tablespoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

2 cups flour

1/2 cup quick-cooking oats

12 ounces (scant 2 cups) semisweet chocolate chips, such as Guittard

6 ounces milk chocolate chips (scant 1 cup) or bar, broken

1 cup chopped roasted almonds or walnuts

Melted chocolate, optional

Cream butter until light. Beat in granulated and brown sugars. Add beaten eggs, vanilla, salt and baking powder. Mix well. Add flour and oats and mix well.

Fold in semisweet and milk chocolate chips, then nuts.

Spoon dough into greased and floured small heart-shaped (disposable foil pans work well) cake pans (about 1/3 to 1/2 cup dough for 4- to 5-inch heart pans). Bake at 350 degrees 12 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned. (Bake longer if filling pans more fully for cakelike cookies.) Or drop dough by large spoonfuls onto greased baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees 10 minutes.

Let stand 5 minutes in pan then cut along side with knife and turn over pan, tapping lightly on center of pan until released. Cool. If desired, frost with melted chocolate. Makes 20 to 24 large heart cookies or 4 dozen round cookies.

Each cookie from batch of 20 large heart cookies contains about:

375 calories; 192 mg sodium; 48 mg cholesterol; 21 grams fat; 34 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams protein; 0 fiber; 50% calories from fat.

BLEEDING HEART MUFFINS

1 3/4 cups flour

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 tablespoons brown sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 cup butter

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup milk

12 teaspoons raspberry preserves, about

Sift flour, sugars, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves into bowl. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Make well in center.

Whisk egg, vanilla and milk until blended and add to dry ingredients. Stir just until moistened (will be lumpy). Don’t overmix.

Fill 12 greased standard muffin cups 2/3 full. Spoon about 1 teaspoon raspberry preserves onto each muffin, swirl into circular pattern. Bake at 400 degrees 15 minutes. (Or spoon into well-oiled heart shaped cast-iron muffin cups, about 1 tablespoon batter for each, and bake 10 minutes.) Serve with more preserves, if desired. Makes 12 muffins.

Each muffin contains about:

163 calories; 228 mg sodium; 21 mg cholesterol; 5 grams fat; 27 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams protein; 0 fiber; 26% calories from fat.

HEART-SHAPED LINZER COOKIES

1 egg

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon almond extract

1 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 cup butter

2 1/4 cups flour

5 to 10 tablespoons raspberry or other preserves

Powdered sugar

Beat egg in bowl. Stir in sugar, almond extract and vanilla. Cream butter until light and fluffy. Mix and combine thoroughly with egg mixture. Mix in flour. Gather into 2 balls and flatten into discs. Chill until firm.

Remove dough from refrigerator, 1 disc at time, and roll to about 1/8-inch thickness on floured board. Cut heart shapes with 3- to 4-inch heart-shaped cookie cutters. Place half of hearts on lightly greased baking sheets.

Take remaining half of hearts and using smaller heart-shape cutters, cut out centers to create border of heart. (Re-form cut out scraps, roll and cut.) Spoon 1/2 to 1 teaspoon raspberry preserves in center of whole hearts and top each with heart border. Bake at 375 degrees until slightly brown around edges, about 10 minutes for small hearts and 12 minutes for larger. Cool. Sprinkle cookie edges with powdered sugar. Makes about 2 1/2 dozen double-layer cookies or 6 dozen plain heart cookies.

Each double-layer cookie from 2 1/2-dozen batch contains about:

106 calories; 50 mg sodium; 19 mg cholesterol; 5 grams fat; 15 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram protein; 0 fiber; 41% calories from fat.

VARIATION:

Heart Lace Cookies:

Roll out chilled dough about 1/4-inch thick. Cut with extra-large heart-shaped cookie cutter (4 to 6 inches). Place on baking sheet to finish intricate designs. Make lace patterns around border of hearts by using plastic straws to punch out dough simulating eyelets.

Use tiny cookie cutter and hors d’ouerve cutter for interesting cut-out designs inside heart. Bake at 375 degrees until slightly brown around edges.

Or frost cookies with butter cream or royal icing. Icing flowers may be piped on or marzipan cut-outs used. Candy hearts, flowers and birds can be found at candy-making stores and even at grocers. Attach to cookies with butter cream or tube frosting. Cookies may also be painted with food color. Simply paint on with paint brush adding water for softer shades. Cookies can also be placed on top of cake.