Recipes with Julie Van Rosendaal: Cookies and a risotto

We've been eating our way through the summer, trying out recipes submitted by young listeners, answering their questions and taking requests.

This week, we nibbled Charis' big, cakey cookies made with a boxed mix, and corn and basil risotto — a perfect, easy August dinner.

Charis' Big Fat Cookies

This is Charis' childhood favourite, that she's been making since she was about 7. It can be made with any flavour of cake mix — vanilla, chocolate, rainbow sprinkle… and would be an easy way to make cookies at a campsite or cabin with a minimal kitchen and ingredients.

• 1 box cake mix
• 1/3-1/2 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (or chopped chocolate)

Preheat the oven to 375˚F.

Put the cake mix, milk, eggs and chocolate chips in a bowl. Mix. (Add a bit more milk if the batter seems too thick.) Put on a cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes (or longer, if you made longer cookies).

Sam's Corn + Basil Risotto

Corn is delicious in risotto — and it pairs well with other summery ingredients, like diced zucchini, chopped tomatoes (or whole, if they're tiny), and fresh basil.

If you like, cover your stripped corn cobs with water, bring them to a simmer and cook for about 15 minutes, then strain for some corn stock you can use in your risotto.

• 1 ear corn
• Olive oil, for cooking
• Butter, for cooking
• Half a small onion, finely chopped
• 3/4 cup short-grain rice (such as Arborio)
• 1/4 cup white wine (optional)
• 4 cups (approximately) chicken or vegetable stock
• 10 leaves fresh basil, torn or sliced
• freshly grated Parmesan cheese 

Cut the corn off the cob with a sharp knife. In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, heat a drizzle of oil and a spoonful of butter over medium-high heat. Cook the onion for a few minutes, until soft.

Add the rice and corn and stir for a minute or two, to coat the rice and corn with oil and butter. If you like, add a splash of wine and cook for a minute, until it evaporates. 

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Gradually add the stock and cook, stirring often, until your spoon starts leaving a trail through the bottom of the pan. Continue adding stock and stir until the rice is just tender, about 30 minutes.

Stir in some torn or chopped basil and lots of Parmesan cheese and serve with more cheese and a sprig of fresh basil on top.

Serves 2-4.