Showing posts with label Cookie Jar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cookie Jar. Show all posts
Monday, 28 March 2011
An Imperial Delight
On my way back home from Winnipeg the morning after the wonderful concert by Emilie-Claire Barlow Tuesday night, I decided to stop by the High Tea Bakery to get some cookies, and specifically some Imperial cookies. Already locally renowned for making Imperial cookies, wedding cakes and other sweet delights, the bakery's received greater attention when it was asked to produce cookies for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II when she made a visit to Winnipeg in 2010. I'd been meaning to try some of these cookies, and I thought I'd share some with my colleagues as well when I returned for work that afternoon.
Friday, 10 July 2009
Cookies and Milk, Australian Style!
While I was still in Australia back in May I was unable to try something that was uniquely Australian and started by that country thanks to a particular product made in that country and well-known amongst cookie lovers around the world. So, with that in mind, and with some Australian currency in need to be emptied from my pockets at Sydney International Airport, I stocked up on three (yes, three) packages of Tim Tams, of which one I gave to share with my department colleagues the day I returned for work. These cookies are quite unique in that the two biscuits used to sandwich the chocolate cream filling and together coated with chocolate are actually not entirely solid; the biscuits have a sort of micro-honeycomb structure allowing air or liquid to run through them. Thanks to that, the Tim Tam Slam was also invented, the practice of using the Tim Tam cookies as straws. Both ends are bitten off, one end is inserted into a liquid and voila, you have an edible straw.
Hot or cold liquids can be used. In my case tonight, I used cold milk. I'll admit I felt quite excited when I realized I could suck the milk through the cookie like a straw, and in a few seconds I could feel the cookie start to collapse as the biscuits started to soften from the milk. However, I managed to gobble up the cookies before they broke up any further, chewing virtually only on the chocolate as the biscuits had completely lost their volume and crunch. It was such a unique experience being a non-Australian, and I can see why Aussies have a special place in their hearts for Tim Tams and the Tim Tam Slam. (As for my colleagues, apparently none of them tried the Slam... most regrettably, their loss in my opinion.)
Next time I should perhaps try with hot milk and see if the chocolate cream in the middle melts as well. In that sense, I'm fortunate that I'll be having single-digit overnight temperatures this weekend in spite of being in the middle of summer. Unfortunately, I only have two boxes of Tim Tams from overseas; if anyone knows where I can buy these cookies in Canada (preferably Winnipeg, Toronto or Ottawa), I wouldn't mind stocking up on these beauties over the winter!
Hot or cold liquids can be used. In my case tonight, I used cold milk. I'll admit I felt quite excited when I realized I could suck the milk through the cookie like a straw, and in a few seconds I could feel the cookie start to collapse as the biscuits started to soften from the milk. However, I managed to gobble up the cookies before they broke up any further, chewing virtually only on the chocolate as the biscuits had completely lost their volume and crunch. It was such a unique experience being a non-Australian, and I can see why Aussies have a special place in their hearts for Tim Tams and the Tim Tam Slam. (As for my colleagues, apparently none of them tried the Slam... most regrettably, their loss in my opinion.)
Next time I should perhaps try with hot milk and see if the chocolate cream in the middle melts as well. In that sense, I'm fortunate that I'll be having single-digit overnight temperatures this weekend in spite of being in the middle of summer. Unfortunately, I only have two boxes of Tim Tams from overseas; if anyone knows where I can buy these cookies in Canada (preferably Winnipeg, Toronto or Ottawa), I wouldn't mind stocking up on these beauties over the winter!
Wednesday, 27 February 2008
A Nutty Tart
Posted by Bonita
Sure, being called "nutty" is probably not the greatest thing in the world, but I must confess that I am quite a goofball myself, and to the average person out there, I probably do seem a bit "nutty" in their eyes. Calling me a tart however will seriously earn you my well-known "death" glare. However, this nutty tart is neither a crazy nut, nor a scandalous tart, but a delicious Cherry Frangipane Tart. What other kind of tart did you think I could have possibly been referring to?
It's hard for me to stay out of the kitchen for long, especially when I'm at home and thus, at the disposal of many of my beloved kitchen gadgets that I'm sorely lacking back in London. While I should seriously be working on the numerous assignments I have due in March to relieve myself of the workload (and stressload!) that'll be coming up in the next few weeks, I just couldn't help sneaking into the kitchen this morning to make a tart. I've been itching to make a tart lately, a pastry that has seriously been overlooked by me in the past. Mostly it has always been my fear and hatred of dealing with pie and tart crusts, as I've mentioned in the past, but I've slowly been conquering that fear with practice, and gaining confidence.
I came across this wonderful tart recipe over at Happy Home Baking (I've referred to this blog a few times before. It seriously is a great blog to check out if you haven't already!). The pictures of her tart looked gorgeous and beckoned me to try it out for myself. I didn't want to use canned peaches though (can you imagine how good this tart would be though when I'll have fresh peaches to work with later this summer?), so I pulled out a tub of frozen sour cherries from the deep freezer. The sweetness of the frangipane with the tartness of the cherries...how could you go wrong?
I ended up doubling the recipe though, since the original recipe yield one 18-cm tart, and I could only find my 23-cm tart mould. By doubling the recipe, I ended up with one 23-cm tart and 2 mini tarts. The crust was a dream to work with; it was soft and supple and rolled out easily without cracking. I did add two extra tablespoons of egg to help bind the dough better, since I found it slightly too dry (ah, there's my fear of dry, cracked crust dough again!). What's so great about this recipe is that I didn't have to fish out my pie weights; it bakes blind without any weights whatsoever! Hurrahs all around for less cleanup!
Another thing I loved about this recipe is that it completely used all-natural ingredients. No almond extract was used at all, so you didn't get that superly artificial almond flavour in the tart; all you got was the pure almond flavour from the ground almonds used both in the crust and the frangipane filling. The filling wasn't too sweet and definitely complimented the tartness of the cherries rather well, while the crust was deliciously buttery and fragrant from the ground almonds. It will definitely be a crust I will be using in the future for other tarts. Oh, and the mini tarts...they look adorable!
Continuing my obsession with ground almonds today, I also decided to make Almond Cookies. These are quite a popular Chinese treat, but it's hard to find really good ones in North America now, unless you're in the large cities with a dominant Chinese community (ie: Toronto, Vancouver...you get the picture). I found a recipe in a cookie book I bought in Hong Kong last year and thought I would give it a try. The end result wasn't bad, although it still a long way from the true Chinese almond cookies, which are have an amazing almond fragrance and flavour but also melts in your mouth. These cookies were more on the crispier side, and could use a bit more of an almond impact flavour-wise. Alas, it wasn't until after these came out of the oven that my dad pointed out we had whole almonds; oh well, the walnuts add some contrast to the cookie, both aesthetically and flavour-wise. However, I'd love to try these cookies again the next time around with ground walnuts and see how those will turn out!
Almond Cookies
Adapted from Japanese Cookies
Makes about 20
Sure, being called "nutty" is probably not the greatest thing in the world, but I must confess that I am quite a goofball myself, and to the average person out there, I probably do seem a bit "nutty" in their eyes. Calling me a tart however will seriously earn you my well-known "death" glare. However, this nutty tart is neither a crazy nut, nor a scandalous tart, but a delicious Cherry Frangipane Tart. What other kind of tart did you think I could have possibly been referring to?
It's hard for me to stay out of the kitchen for long, especially when I'm at home and thus, at the disposal of many of my beloved kitchen gadgets that I'm sorely lacking back in London. While I should seriously be working on the numerous assignments I have due in March to relieve myself of the workload (and stressload!) that'll be coming up in the next few weeks, I just couldn't help sneaking into the kitchen this morning to make a tart. I've been itching to make a tart lately, a pastry that has seriously been overlooked by me in the past. Mostly it has always been my fear and hatred of dealing with pie and tart crusts, as I've mentioned in the past, but I've slowly been conquering that fear with practice, and gaining confidence.
I came across this wonderful tart recipe over at Happy Home Baking (I've referred to this blog a few times before. It seriously is a great blog to check out if you haven't already!). The pictures of her tart looked gorgeous and beckoned me to try it out for myself. I didn't want to use canned peaches though (can you imagine how good this tart would be though when I'll have fresh peaches to work with later this summer?), so I pulled out a tub of frozen sour cherries from the deep freezer. The sweetness of the frangipane with the tartness of the cherries...how could you go wrong?
I ended up doubling the recipe though, since the original recipe yield one 18-cm tart, and I could only find my 23-cm tart mould. By doubling the recipe, I ended up with one 23-cm tart and 2 mini tarts. The crust was a dream to work with; it was soft and supple and rolled out easily without cracking. I did add two extra tablespoons of egg to help bind the dough better, since I found it slightly too dry (ah, there's my fear of dry, cracked crust dough again!). What's so great about this recipe is that I didn't have to fish out my pie weights; it bakes blind without any weights whatsoever! Hurrahs all around for less cleanup!
Another thing I loved about this recipe is that it completely used all-natural ingredients. No almond extract was used at all, so you didn't get that superly artificial almond flavour in the tart; all you got was the pure almond flavour from the ground almonds used both in the crust and the frangipane filling. The filling wasn't too sweet and definitely complimented the tartness of the cherries rather well, while the crust was deliciously buttery and fragrant from the ground almonds. It will definitely be a crust I will be using in the future for other tarts. Oh, and the mini tarts...they look adorable!
Continuing my obsession with ground almonds today, I also decided to make Almond Cookies. These are quite a popular Chinese treat, but it's hard to find really good ones in North America now, unless you're in the large cities with a dominant Chinese community (ie: Toronto, Vancouver...you get the picture). I found a recipe in a cookie book I bought in Hong Kong last year and thought I would give it a try. The end result wasn't bad, although it still a long way from the true Chinese almond cookies, which are have an amazing almond fragrance and flavour but also melts in your mouth. These cookies were more on the crispier side, and could use a bit more of an almond impact flavour-wise. Alas, it wasn't until after these came out of the oven that my dad pointed out we had whole almonds; oh well, the walnuts add some contrast to the cookie, both aesthetically and flavour-wise. However, I'd love to try these cookies again the next time around with ground walnuts and see how those will turn out!
Almond Cookies
Adapted from Japanese Cookies
Makes about 20
- 70 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 40 g caster sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- 140 g soft (cake) flour
- 40 g ground almonds (see Note)
- Pinch of salt
- 20 whole almonds, cashews or walnut halves
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a bowl, cream butter and sugar until fluffy and creamy, then gradually add the egg yolk and mix well.
- Sift together the soft flour and the ground almonds. Fold into the butter mixture with a spatula.
- Divide the dough into smaller portions, each weighing about 15 g (about 1-inch balls). Roll the dough into balls, place on a baking sheet and flatten slightly. Top each cookie with a nut.
- Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool completely on a rack.
Note: I like to toaste my ground almonds prior to using them, to enhance its flavour. Put the ground almonds on a baking sheet and pop them in a 250°F oven for about 10 minutes, or until fragrant, shaking the pan every few minutes. I also ended up adding a bit more ground almonds than it was called for in the recipe, to give the cookie a bit more of an almond impact. If you do so, just make sure to not add the flour all at once, so that you can control the moisture of your dough.
Saturday, 16 February 2008
The way to my heart...
Posted by Bonita
Thursday was that time of year again, when we were surrounded by all things red and white, stuffed toys, hearts, sappy music, even sappier greeting cards, cheap chocolates, expensive chocolates, overpriced roses, PDAs that made you go awwww, PDAs that made you wish you didn't witness, and the flying toddler wearing what appears to be a fancier version of a diaper, more commonly known as Cupid. Valentine's Day is probably the most commercially-driven, consumerist "holidays" following Christmas. I mean, can't you just picture the tagline: "Valentine's Day...brought to you by Hallmark." And wouldn't it make things twice as meaningful if you got flowers on any other day but Valentine's Day, the day when it is expected, thanks to our capitalist society, to give his woman flowers? Some may call me cynical and merely bitter about love (I'm not). I'd prefer it as having far too much of a university education that it's jaded my whole perception on light (or rather, has it enlightened me to my previously jaded life? Hmmm.....).
Despite my views on Valentine's Day, I am a hypocrite by jumping on the bandwagon. I can resist the flowers, the chocolates and the cuddly toys, but how can I resist adorable heart-shaped cookie cutters? They say actions speak louder than words, but it was a few words I overheard the other day that really spoke true to my gift to my lovely friends, "The way to my heart is through my stomach." Amen to that!
If you haven't already figured it out by now (and if you really haven't, please refer back to the first paragraph), I'm not a hugely materialistic girl. Yeah, I like things like most people, but if I want something, I usually get it for myself. I don't like basing my relationships with other people on material objects, which is why when I give gifts, I often give something that has some meaning attached to it, or something that I'm truly giving from my heart to theirs. Food is my passion, and I cook with my heart, so what would make a more fitting gift than something that I made myself in the kitchen?
Chocolate is a staple around Valentine's Day, and so I stuck to that general theme. I decided to finally try making truffles. I've always wanted to make them but just never got around to making them; however, this year's Valentine's Day gave me the perfect excuse to venture into unknown territory. I made two kinds of truffles: Pistachio Nut & Vanilla Bean and Orange & Grand Marnier. Unfortunately, all I had was extra-dark Lindt chocolate around the house (85%), which had me a bit worried at first, but my parents seemed to enjoy it since they're not big fans of overly-sweet chocolate. The vanilla flavour wasn't very pronounce, and I think that had to do with the overpowering dark chocolate. Next time, I would also dip the truffles in some melted chocolate before rolling them in the chopped pistachios; I meant to do that this time around too, but my laziness (and lack of time) got the better of me. The Orange & Grand Marnier truffles were a treat though; the orange flavour from the zest really stood out and worked really well with the dark bitterness of the chocolate. It was certainly a huge hit with a lot of my friends as well.
The other treat I made were Chocolate Ganache Heart Cookies (inspired by the recipe found here), which were extremely easy to make. The dough came together fabulously; sometimes rolled dough can be tricky if it's too dry or too wet, but this dough was absolutely perfect and was a breeze to roll and stamp out the heart shapes. I sandwiched some dark chocolate ganache between the cookies, and drizzled some white chocolate on top. These had a lovely, buttery, melt-in-your mouth texture with an intense chocolate flavour that wasn't too sweet. If this didn't win its way into people's hearts, I don't know what will...
Thursday was that time of year again, when we were surrounded by all things red and white, stuffed toys, hearts, sappy music, even sappier greeting cards, cheap chocolates, expensive chocolates, overpriced roses, PDAs that made you go awwww, PDAs that made you wish you didn't witness, and the flying toddler wearing what appears to be a fancier version of a diaper, more commonly known as Cupid. Valentine's Day is probably the most commercially-driven, consumerist "holidays" following Christmas. I mean, can't you just picture the tagline: "Valentine's Day...brought to you by Hallmark." And wouldn't it make things twice as meaningful if you got flowers on any other day but Valentine's Day, the day when it is expected, thanks to our capitalist society, to give his woman flowers? Some may call me cynical and merely bitter about love (I'm not). I'd prefer it as having far too much of a university education that it's jaded my whole perception on light (or rather, has it enlightened me to my previously jaded life? Hmmm.....).
Despite my views on Valentine's Day, I am a hypocrite by jumping on the bandwagon. I can resist the flowers, the chocolates and the cuddly toys, but how can I resist adorable heart-shaped cookie cutters? They say actions speak louder than words, but it was a few words I overheard the other day that really spoke true to my gift to my lovely friends, "The way to my heart is through my stomach." Amen to that!
If you haven't already figured it out by now (and if you really haven't, please refer back to the first paragraph), I'm not a hugely materialistic girl. Yeah, I like things like most people, but if I want something, I usually get it for myself. I don't like basing my relationships with other people on material objects, which is why when I give gifts, I often give something that has some meaning attached to it, or something that I'm truly giving from my heart to theirs. Food is my passion, and I cook with my heart, so what would make a more fitting gift than something that I made myself in the kitchen?
Chocolate is a staple around Valentine's Day, and so I stuck to that general theme. I decided to finally try making truffles. I've always wanted to make them but just never got around to making them; however, this year's Valentine's Day gave me the perfect excuse to venture into unknown territory. I made two kinds of truffles: Pistachio Nut & Vanilla Bean and Orange & Grand Marnier. Unfortunately, all I had was extra-dark Lindt chocolate around the house (85%), which had me a bit worried at first, but my parents seemed to enjoy it since they're not big fans of overly-sweet chocolate. The vanilla flavour wasn't very pronounce, and I think that had to do with the overpowering dark chocolate. Next time, I would also dip the truffles in some melted chocolate before rolling them in the chopped pistachios; I meant to do that this time around too, but my laziness (and lack of time) got the better of me. The Orange & Grand Marnier truffles were a treat though; the orange flavour from the zest really stood out and worked really well with the dark bitterness of the chocolate. It was certainly a huge hit with a lot of my friends as well.
The other treat I made were Chocolate Ganache Heart Cookies (inspired by the recipe found here), which were extremely easy to make. The dough came together fabulously; sometimes rolled dough can be tricky if it's too dry or too wet, but this dough was absolutely perfect and was a breeze to roll and stamp out the heart shapes. I sandwiched some dark chocolate ganache between the cookies, and drizzled some white chocolate on top. These had a lovely, buttery, melt-in-your mouth texture with an intense chocolate flavour that wasn't too sweet. If this didn't win its way into people's hearts, I don't know what will...
Friday, 14 December 2007
'Tis the season... Part II
Posted by Bonita
What's more Christmasy than a plate or cookies? Perhaps several plates of cookies, which seemed to be the dilemma at my house these past two weeks as I got lost in the throes of holiday baking. I always like to give out cookies to my friends and the lovely admin ladies of my Department during the holiday season, so my tiny little kitchen in London turned into a full-on Cookie Workshop all last week.
I got a variety of different cookies going on this year. Naturally on the list were biscotti, since my Italian friends always look forward to them now. I made three different biscotti this year (pictured above - from top to bottom): Cranberry Pistachio, Cinnamon Mocha and Chocolate, Cherry and Almond. I also just realised that the three biscotti juxtaposed together creates a lovely brown colour palette, with the progressive shades of brown!
There were also several varieties of drop cookies, probably one of the simplest cookies to make: Ginger, Orange White Chocolate Chip, and Cranberry Coconut Oatmeal. The Ginger Cookies is actually a recipe from my brother, which he got off of a friend back in high school. These cookies are absolutely delicious and reminds me of everything Christmas with all the different spices going on. If you underbake them a little, they have a chewy tenderness to them, whereas if you leave them for an extra minute or two, these cookies turn into wonderful Gingersnaps. The Orange White Chocolate Chip was a new recipe I tried out (again wanting to try a variation on the popular but worn-out Chocolate Chip Cookie. The flavour of this cookie...is beyond words. The orange-flavour from the zest packs a delightful punch to the cookie without being overpowering, and the white chocolate just adds that nice hint of sweetness that surprisingly works well with the orange. Next time, I think I'll try this recipe with dark chocolate chips and see how that will turn out!
I also made Coconut Macaroons. I was having cravings for them three weekends ago while writing papers and studying for midterms, but I don't like the store-bought ones because they are so sickeningly sweet. This recipe, however, is divine (as long as you use unsweetened coconut). The taste really reminded me of some that I had as a kid without having that cloying sweetness to it. Dipping the macaroons in semi-sweet chocolate also helps to cut the sweetness, and works really well with the cookie. Be warned though, these macaroons are highly addictive!
What is Christmas without the classic Shortbread? I absolutely adore the recipe my old roommate and friend, Nicole, gave me last year. It produces a deliciously buttery, decadent, melt-in-your mouth shortbread that has all my friends coming to me for more. The sprinkling of sugar on top make these lovely cookies even more irresistible!
There is also another classic Christmas cookie: the Sugar Cookie. What I love about the Sugar Cookie, besides it lovely buttery and vanilla flavour, is the fact that it makes anyone a kid again. The process of rolling out the dough, stamping out my shapes and decorating the cookies to my own liking is so therapeutic, and I quickly become lost in childhood memories of standing in the kitchen with my own mom as she stamped out cookies and I decorated them (or more likely stood around sprinkling a few candies and what not on the cookies, and then proceeded to munch on the rest).
So yes, aside from papers and finals, holiday baking has certainly been keeping me busy as well. In a few days, I'll need to start my holiday baking all over again for my family and friends back home! My next post will be about the Fruitcake I made, and wait till you see my new kitchen toy (just in time for Christmas! :D)!!!
Orange White Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes about 30
What's more Christmasy than a plate or cookies? Perhaps several plates of cookies, which seemed to be the dilemma at my house these past two weeks as I got lost in the throes of holiday baking. I always like to give out cookies to my friends and the lovely admin ladies of my Department during the holiday season, so my tiny little kitchen in London turned into a full-on Cookie Workshop all last week.
I got a variety of different cookies going on this year. Naturally on the list were biscotti, since my Italian friends always look forward to them now. I made three different biscotti this year (pictured above - from top to bottom): Cranberry Pistachio, Cinnamon Mocha and Chocolate, Cherry and Almond. I also just realised that the three biscotti juxtaposed together creates a lovely brown colour palette, with the progressive shades of brown!
There were also several varieties of drop cookies, probably one of the simplest cookies to make: Ginger, Orange White Chocolate Chip, and Cranberry Coconut Oatmeal. The Ginger Cookies is actually a recipe from my brother, which he got off of a friend back in high school. These cookies are absolutely delicious and reminds me of everything Christmas with all the different spices going on. If you underbake them a little, they have a chewy tenderness to them, whereas if you leave them for an extra minute or two, these cookies turn into wonderful Gingersnaps. The Orange White Chocolate Chip was a new recipe I tried out (again wanting to try a variation on the popular but worn-out Chocolate Chip Cookie. The flavour of this cookie...is beyond words. The orange-flavour from the zest packs a delightful punch to the cookie without being overpowering, and the white chocolate just adds that nice hint of sweetness that surprisingly works well with the orange. Next time, I think I'll try this recipe with dark chocolate chips and see how that will turn out!
I also made Coconut Macaroons. I was having cravings for them three weekends ago while writing papers and studying for midterms, but I don't like the store-bought ones because they are so sickeningly sweet. This recipe, however, is divine (as long as you use unsweetened coconut). The taste really reminded me of some that I had as a kid without having that cloying sweetness to it. Dipping the macaroons in semi-sweet chocolate also helps to cut the sweetness, and works really well with the cookie. Be warned though, these macaroons are highly addictive!
What is Christmas without the classic Shortbread? I absolutely adore the recipe my old roommate and friend, Nicole, gave me last year. It produces a deliciously buttery, decadent, melt-in-your mouth shortbread that has all my friends coming to me for more. The sprinkling of sugar on top make these lovely cookies even more irresistible!
There is also another classic Christmas cookie: the Sugar Cookie. What I love about the Sugar Cookie, besides it lovely buttery and vanilla flavour, is the fact that it makes anyone a kid again. The process of rolling out the dough, stamping out my shapes and decorating the cookies to my own liking is so therapeutic, and I quickly become lost in childhood memories of standing in the kitchen with my own mom as she stamped out cookies and I decorated them (or more likely stood around sprinkling a few candies and what not on the cookies, and then proceeded to munch on the rest).
So yes, aside from papers and finals, holiday baking has certainly been keeping me busy as well. In a few days, I'll need to start my holiday baking all over again for my family and friends back home! My next post will be about the Fruitcake I made, and wait till you see my new kitchen toy (just in time for Christmas! :D)!!!
Orange White Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes about 30
- 2 cups flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 3/4 cup butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- Zest of 1 orange
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line your baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter and the sugar with an electric mixer until light. Beat in egg, vanilla and orange zest and mix until fluffy.
- Gradually add in the flour mixture, stirring only until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Drop the dough by rounded tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheets and bake for 9-11 minutes, or until the edges are very lightly browned.
- Cool for 3-4 minutes on the baking sheet and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Sunday, 9 December 2007
'Tis the season... Part I
Posted by Bonita
I love December. Forget about the fact that I will soon have a nice, well-deserved three week break from school. December means all things Christmas, my favourite holiday of the year. Nothing gets me more giddy than bringing out my Christmas tunes (which I think I brought out in the second week of November this year...), decorating the tree and putting up Christmas lights. Oh yeah, let's not forget about baking!
Despite the school term winding down these past two weeks, I've still been a busy bee, either studying for midterms and finals, finishing off those last few essays or more importantly, starting my holiday baking. I always love giving cookies away as Christmas presents. It's fun for me to make them and it makes for great gifts that were made with much love.
I've been doing a lot (and I mean a LOT) of baking on my own these past two weeks, but I thought it would be a nice end to the term this year to have some friends over to bake cookies. With the Italian lit class over for good, it would be a nice way to get everyone together and celebrate having survived the term while eating good food, enjoying each other's company, singing along to christmas carols and baking cookies. It's nice for me because I get to play hostess, it's nice for them because they get to revisit their childhoods, and honestly, it's nice for everyone to just take a break from school before we all go back into hibernation-mode for finals.
I asked everyone to bring something savoury to the party, so we ended up with a pretty nice spread: cheese and crackers, an antipasti platter, these delicious fried risotto balls stuffed sausage and cheese (I think they were called polpette...but they are also known as arancini), sausage rolls, swedish meatballs, shrimp cocktail, and a Baked Brie with Roasted Pears and Thyme.
Good times were had by all. In between eating, laughing and reminiscing about the many inside jokes that involved our time in class, cookies were baked (with minimal mishaps!). Most importantly, my friends had loads of fun baking and decorating cookies, and I sent all of them home with treats that they could munch on these next few days as they bury themselves in their books and notes.
The leftover brie and the antipasti made for a lovely lunch yesterday afternoon, especially with a plate of good bread, crackers and some raspberry jam!
Stayed tuned for "Part II" to see what I've been baking lately!
I love December. Forget about the fact that I will soon have a nice, well-deserved three week break from school. December means all things Christmas, my favourite holiday of the year. Nothing gets me more giddy than bringing out my Christmas tunes (which I think I brought out in the second week of November this year...), decorating the tree and putting up Christmas lights. Oh yeah, let's not forget about baking!
Despite the school term winding down these past two weeks, I've still been a busy bee, either studying for midterms and finals, finishing off those last few essays or more importantly, starting my holiday baking. I always love giving cookies away as Christmas presents. It's fun for me to make them and it makes for great gifts that were made with much love.
I've been doing a lot (and I mean a LOT) of baking on my own these past two weeks, but I thought it would be a nice end to the term this year to have some friends over to bake cookies. With the Italian lit class over for good, it would be a nice way to get everyone together and celebrate having survived the term while eating good food, enjoying each other's company, singing along to christmas carols and baking cookies. It's nice for me because I get to play hostess, it's nice for them because they get to revisit their childhoods, and honestly, it's nice for everyone to just take a break from school before we all go back into hibernation-mode for finals.
I asked everyone to bring something savoury to the party, so we ended up with a pretty nice spread: cheese and crackers, an antipasti platter, these delicious fried risotto balls stuffed sausage and cheese (I think they were called polpette...but they are also known as arancini), sausage rolls, swedish meatballs, shrimp cocktail, and a Baked Brie with Roasted Pears and Thyme.
Good times were had by all. In between eating, laughing and reminiscing about the many inside jokes that involved our time in class, cookies were baked (with minimal mishaps!). Most importantly, my friends had loads of fun baking and decorating cookies, and I sent all of them home with treats that they could munch on these next few days as they bury themselves in their books and notes.
The leftover brie and the antipasti made for a lovely lunch yesterday afternoon, especially with a plate of good bread, crackers and some raspberry jam!
Stayed tuned for "Part II" to see what I've been baking lately!
Wednesday, 31 October 2007
Trick...or rather, treat
Posted by Bonita
Yes, it's that time of the year again where we have a good excuse to stuff ourselves silly with all things sugar and not feel guilty about it. I used to love Halloween as a child; it was definitely my favourite "holiday" after Christmas. I still love it now, although it saddens me that I never have the time now to put together a costume.
I did find some time though to bake some treats for my friends. To keep with the Halloween theme, I wanted to use candies in my treats. I found this recipe for Chocolate Caramel Pecan Thumbprints, which called for those oh-so-delicious soft caramels. I used bittersweet chocolate instead of semisweet chocolate, since that was what I had on hand; however, I kept the sugar the same since I was pretty sure the sweetness of the caramel would make up for it.
A bit time-consuming to put together, but they turned out really lovely. I loved the smell of these cookies while they were baking; the chocolatey-ness with the nuttiness of the pecans as they toasted in the baking-process was very nice. And look at that caramel filling practically oozing out of the cookies... How can you resist not having one? Happy Halloween everyone!
Yes, it's that time of the year again where we have a good excuse to stuff ourselves silly with all things sugar and not feel guilty about it. I used to love Halloween as a child; it was definitely my favourite "holiday" after Christmas. I still love it now, although it saddens me that I never have the time now to put together a costume.
I did find some time though to bake some treats for my friends. To keep with the Halloween theme, I wanted to use candies in my treats. I found this recipe for Chocolate Caramel Pecan Thumbprints, which called for those oh-so-delicious soft caramels. I used bittersweet chocolate instead of semisweet chocolate, since that was what I had on hand; however, I kept the sugar the same since I was pretty sure the sweetness of the caramel would make up for it.
A bit time-consuming to put together, but they turned out really lovely. I loved the smell of these cookies while they were baking; the chocolatey-ness with the nuttiness of the pecans as they toasted in the baking-process was very nice. And look at that caramel filling practically oozing out of the cookies... How can you resist not having one? Happy Halloween everyone!
Thursday, 25 October 2007
I do like green eggs and ham
Posted by Bonita
I do not like them in a box.
I do not like them with a fox.
I do not like them in a boat.
I do not like them with a goat.
I do not like them here or there.
I do not like them anywhere.
I do not like green eggs and ham.
I do not like them, Sam-I-am.
Thursdays are a nice change of pace from the craziness of the week, since I only have one class and it doesn't start until 3:30 in the afternoon. Technically, it means I can sleep in and have a leisurely morning, but like most mornings, I still get my butt out of bed at 8 in order to do school work, or if I'm lucky, get around to some household chores that have been neglected thanks to school.
My friend Kait is doing her Masters in Comparative Literature this year, and is lucky enough to be teaching a 1st-year Italian class. I've been wanting to pop my head in one Thursday morning and just sit in her class. After having my friends over for dinner last week, we made plans to all go together and invade Kait's class. That being said, I promised my friends breakfast as long as someone provided me with my all-important cup of joe.
I had some ingredients leftover from the dinner party: pesto, mascarpone cheese and prosciutto. This got the wheels in my head clanking, and I thought that it would make for a unique but (hopefully) delicious breakfast sandwich. I honestly tried coming up with a super-cool name for it, but it was ultimately described as a Contemporary Euro-style Green Eggs & Ham Breakfast Sandwich. Why so? Well, you have the Italian-inspired pesto-scrambled eggs (eggs scrambled with pesto, mascarpone cheese and grated parmesan cheese), prosciutto (Italian cured ham) and brie, a French cheese, all wrapped up in an English muffin. I topped each sandwich off with two basil leaves for an added punch of flavour. Firstly, I toasted the english muffins, and while those were in the toaster, I scrambled my eggs. I topped each muffin half with a slice of prosciutto, topped it with two slices of brie and then topped the cheese with the eggs and basil leaves. Closed the sandwiches up, wrapped them in some parchment paper and put them into their breakfast package, along with some slices of banana bread. I had no idea how these sandwiches would fare, but my friends loved them, and that's the most important part. What I love about this sandwich, besides how easy it was to put together and how delicious it is with the pesto and basil, is how the cheese becomes slightly melted from the heat of the eggs.
Considering we were invading Kait's class, I thought it would also be a nice treat if I brought some biscotti for her students. As always, I love to experiment with new recipes and new inspirations. This time, I wanted to try something new, and based my latest muse on this recipe. Looking at the recipe, I found it bland and boring, so I wanted to throw in some other ingredients to make it more interesting, and thus, I made Biscotti al cioccolato, madorla e ciliege (Chocolate, Almond and Cherry Biscotti). It had a really nice crunch to it without being too hard, and just the perfect chocolatey-ness to them. The almonds added extra crunch and flavour to the cookie, while sweet and tartness was perfectly balanced out between the chocolate chips and the dried cherries. I finished them off with a white chocolate drizzle to make them look prettier. These will definitely be made again in the future, especially with Christmas fast approaching!
Biscotti al cioccolato, madorla e ciliege
Adapted from Gourmet Magazine
Makes about 30 biscotti
I do not like them in a box.
I do not like them with a fox.
I do not like them in a boat.
I do not like them with a goat.
I do not like them here or there.
I do not like them anywhere.
I do not like green eggs and ham.
I do not like them, Sam-I-am.
-- Green Eggs and Ham, Dr. Seuss
Thursdays are a nice change of pace from the craziness of the week, since I only have one class and it doesn't start until 3:30 in the afternoon. Technically, it means I can sleep in and have a leisurely morning, but like most mornings, I still get my butt out of bed at 8 in order to do school work, or if I'm lucky, get around to some household chores that have been neglected thanks to school.
My friend Kait is doing her Masters in Comparative Literature this year, and is lucky enough to be teaching a 1st-year Italian class. I've been wanting to pop my head in one Thursday morning and just sit in her class. After having my friends over for dinner last week, we made plans to all go together and invade Kait's class. That being said, I promised my friends breakfast as long as someone provided me with my all-important cup of joe.
I had some ingredients leftover from the dinner party: pesto, mascarpone cheese and prosciutto. This got the wheels in my head clanking, and I thought that it would make for a unique but (hopefully) delicious breakfast sandwich. I honestly tried coming up with a super-cool name for it, but it was ultimately described as a Contemporary Euro-style Green Eggs & Ham Breakfast Sandwich. Why so? Well, you have the Italian-inspired pesto-scrambled eggs (eggs scrambled with pesto, mascarpone cheese and grated parmesan cheese), prosciutto (Italian cured ham) and brie, a French cheese, all wrapped up in an English muffin. I topped each sandwich off with two basil leaves for an added punch of flavour. Firstly, I toasted the english muffins, and while those were in the toaster, I scrambled my eggs. I topped each muffin half with a slice of prosciutto, topped it with two slices of brie and then topped the cheese with the eggs and basil leaves. Closed the sandwiches up, wrapped them in some parchment paper and put them into their breakfast package, along with some slices of banana bread. I had no idea how these sandwiches would fare, but my friends loved them, and that's the most important part. What I love about this sandwich, besides how easy it was to put together and how delicious it is with the pesto and basil, is how the cheese becomes slightly melted from the heat of the eggs.
Considering we were invading Kait's class, I thought it would also be a nice treat if I brought some biscotti for her students. As always, I love to experiment with new recipes and new inspirations. This time, I wanted to try something new, and based my latest muse on this recipe. Looking at the recipe, I found it bland and boring, so I wanted to throw in some other ingredients to make it more interesting, and thus, I made Biscotti al cioccolato, madorla e ciliege (Chocolate, Almond and Cherry Biscotti). It had a really nice crunch to it without being too hard, and just the perfect chocolatey-ness to them. The almonds added extra crunch and flavour to the cookie, while sweet and tartness was perfectly balanced out between the chocolate chips and the dried cherries. I finished them off with a white chocolate drizzle to make them look prettier. These will definitely be made again in the future, especially with Christmas fast approaching!
Biscotti al cioccolato, madorla e ciliege
Adapted from Gourmet Magazine
Makes about 30 biscotti
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp instant espresso powder
- 3/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted
- 1/2 cup dried cherries, halved
- 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a bowl whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, and espresso powder. In another bowl with an electric mixer, beat together butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat until combined well; mix in vanilla extract. Stir in flour mixture to form a stiff dough. Stir in almonds, cherries and chocolate chips.
- On prepared baking sheet with floured hands from dough into two slightly flattened logs, each 12 inches long and 2 inches wide. Bake logs for about 35 minutes, or until slightly firm to the touch. Cool biscotti on baking sheet for 5 minutes.
- On a cutting board, cut biscotti diagonally into 3/4-inch slices. Arrange biscotti, cut sides down, on baking sheet and bake until crisp, about 10 minutes on each side. Cool biscotti on a rack. Drizzle cooled biscotti with white chocolate, if desired. Biscotti will keep in airtight containers for 1 week, or frozen for 1 month.
Wednesday, 17 October 2007
The Return of the Biscotti
Posted by Bonita
School has definitely been keeping me busy lately, and unfortunately, it has kept me away from the joys of food-blogging. Firstly, I hardly have the time to blog, let alone getting some decent sleep in between getting all my readings and assignments done. Secondly, with my busy and hectic schedule, I usually just want to whip up something in 10 minutes or less, and often or not, it's not blog-worthy (or has already been blogged about before). I did whip up a really tasty, really fast pasta dish a few weeks ago. I like to call it Pasta al frigo since it was just stuff I had lying in the fridge that I threw together in a pan and tossed it around. I had some leftover broccoli, cherry tomatoes and ricotta cheese that day, so I tossed it with some spaghetti, garlic and basil for a quick dinner fix. Molto semplice e delizioso!
Being my last year of undergrad, I'm really taking my studies seriously this year. Not to say that I didn't in the past, but I certainly lost a lot of my motivation last year. Last year was certainly a tough year, and I ended up baking all the time as a form of escape from school. But I finally realised once again a couple of weeks ago the reason I'm here, at school, studying literature. Classes are interesting, the profs are fantastic, and I'm really eager to learn. That being said, there has been less escaping in the kitchen, and more reading and researching in its stead.
However, I do bake from time to time for both my Italian and Italian literature class. Both being small classes, it's easy to bring something in to feed everyone. It is a universal understanding that food brings people together, and it's a great way for everyone to get to know each other better. Their also Italians; Italians and food are practically synonymous. Lastly, I have free and willing guinea pigs who can try out new recipes and give me feedback. What more can I ask from them?
Keeping with the Italian theme, I found a new biscotti to try out, since I'm obsessed in finding new biscotti recipes to try out on my Italian peeps. This one was a Cinnamon-Mocha Biscotti, and also features pecans and chocolate chips. The cookie was absolutely divine; it has a nice subtle mocha and cinnamon flavour, and the chocolate and nuts had a nice layer of texture and complexity to the flavours of the biscotti. The use of butter also gave it a different texture from the traditional biscotti recipes that don't call for butter, giving it a crisp yet tender crumb. The only problem I really ran into was when I was slicing the biscotti; the baked logs were quite delicate, and it took a lot of care and patience to make sure I got nice clean slices that didn't crumble and fall apart on me. I think I would also like to amp up the amount of coffee granules used next time, just to give it that extra punch. All in all though, definitely one impressive cookie. My Italian lit professor definitely enjoyed them...do I foresee extra credit? Hehehe....
Cinnamon Mocha Biscotti
Adapted from Recipezaar
Makes about 2 dozen
School has definitely been keeping me busy lately, and unfortunately, it has kept me away from the joys of food-blogging. Firstly, I hardly have the time to blog, let alone getting some decent sleep in between getting all my readings and assignments done. Secondly, with my busy and hectic schedule, I usually just want to whip up something in 10 minutes or less, and often or not, it's not blog-worthy (or has already been blogged about before). I did whip up a really tasty, really fast pasta dish a few weeks ago. I like to call it Pasta al frigo since it was just stuff I had lying in the fridge that I threw together in a pan and tossed it around. I had some leftover broccoli, cherry tomatoes and ricotta cheese that day, so I tossed it with some spaghetti, garlic and basil for a quick dinner fix. Molto semplice e delizioso!
Being my last year of undergrad, I'm really taking my studies seriously this year. Not to say that I didn't in the past, but I certainly lost a lot of my motivation last year. Last year was certainly a tough year, and I ended up baking all the time as a form of escape from school. But I finally realised once again a couple of weeks ago the reason I'm here, at school, studying literature. Classes are interesting, the profs are fantastic, and I'm really eager to learn. That being said, there has been less escaping in the kitchen, and more reading and researching in its stead.
However, I do bake from time to time for both my Italian and Italian literature class. Both being small classes, it's easy to bring something in to feed everyone. It is a universal understanding that food brings people together, and it's a great way for everyone to get to know each other better. Their also Italians; Italians and food are practically synonymous. Lastly, I have free and willing guinea pigs who can try out new recipes and give me feedback. What more can I ask from them?
Keeping with the Italian theme, I found a new biscotti to try out, since I'm obsessed in finding new biscotti recipes to try out on my Italian peeps. This one was a Cinnamon-Mocha Biscotti, and also features pecans and chocolate chips. The cookie was absolutely divine; it has a nice subtle mocha and cinnamon flavour, and the chocolate and nuts had a nice layer of texture and complexity to the flavours of the biscotti. The use of butter also gave it a different texture from the traditional biscotti recipes that don't call for butter, giving it a crisp yet tender crumb. The only problem I really ran into was when I was slicing the biscotti; the baked logs were quite delicate, and it took a lot of care and patience to make sure I got nice clean slices that didn't crumble and fall apart on me. I think I would also like to amp up the amount of coffee granules used next time, just to give it that extra punch. All in all though, definitely one impressive cookie. My Italian lit professor definitely enjoyed them...do I foresee extra credit? Hehehe....
Cinnamon Mocha Biscotti
Adapted from Recipezaar
Makes about 2 dozen
- 1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 2 tbsp instant expresso or instant coffee granules
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 3/4 to 1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
- Preheat the oven to 325°F.
- Mix flour, baking powder, salt and ground cinnamon in a medium bowl; set aside.
- Combine sugar and butter and mix until light and fluffy. Add the espresso or coffee granules; mix until combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla extract and mix briefly.
- Add the dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated.
- Fold in the pecans and chocolate chips.
- Divide dough in half. Form two 12" x 2" logs on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 25 minutes, or until firm.
- Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes. Transfer the logs to a cutting board. Using a serrated knife, cut the logs diagonally into 3/4-inch-wide slices. Place slices, cut side down, on the baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Turn biscotti over, bake about 10 minutes more or until light golden and firm. Transfer biscotti to racks and cool.
Monday, 24 September 2007
A little bit of therapy
Posted by Bonita
Unfortunately I haven't had the chance to update much since I've gone back to school a couple of weeks ago. Work and readings have started to pile up, extra-curricular activites have to be attended to and the ever-present F-word seems to be haunting my every step lately: the Future. Yes, so it's been a bit of a stressful time ("a bit" being the understatement of the year), so what better than a little culinary therapy, right?
I usually try to eat healthy when I'm back at school. I also tend to opt for things that I can make in less than 15 minutes and that can be made in huge batches so that I have dinner ready for the rest of the week. I've made Miso with Tofu and Nori soup a couple of times, and had it with some store-bought kimchi. It's really fast, really delicious and really good for you. The dashi stock was instant though, since I really don't have the time to make my own dashi stock. Despite the stock being instant, the soup still turns out really well.
With the stress of school and life, I needed to bake this past weekend. I made Chocolate Chip Muffins for my roommate Amy, since she likes to have a muffin for breakfast. I also made some Italian-inspired cookies, Chocolate Baci Cookies. The cookie base is really moist and rich, almost reminiscent of a brownie, while the nutella adds some smoothness to the cookie, and the toasted hazelnut some crunch. The cookies went over very well with my Italian Lit. class; my professor ended up eating half the box! Yeah...extra brownie points for me?!? Lol....these were really easy to make. You can find the recipe over at chef-girl.net, a great food blog.
Oh yes, and I ended up picking up a case of Black Mission Figs this past weekend. Absolutely delicious simply served with some ricotta and honey. Delizioso! Also picked up a 10 kg bag of beets. Yes...10 kg! God knows what I'll end up doing with 10 kg worth of beets, but I plan to have a bit of experiment this weekend with dinner. I'm thinking Beet Risotto and Chocolate Beet Cake perhaps?!? Stay tuned and find out....
Unfortunately I haven't had the chance to update much since I've gone back to school a couple of weeks ago. Work and readings have started to pile up, extra-curricular activites have to be attended to and the ever-present F-word seems to be haunting my every step lately: the Future. Yes, so it's been a bit of a stressful time ("a bit" being the understatement of the year), so what better than a little culinary therapy, right?
I usually try to eat healthy when I'm back at school. I also tend to opt for things that I can make in less than 15 minutes and that can be made in huge batches so that I have dinner ready for the rest of the week. I've made Miso with Tofu and Nori soup a couple of times, and had it with some store-bought kimchi. It's really fast, really delicious and really good for you. The dashi stock was instant though, since I really don't have the time to make my own dashi stock. Despite the stock being instant, the soup still turns out really well.
With the stress of school and life, I needed to bake this past weekend. I made Chocolate Chip Muffins for my roommate Amy, since she likes to have a muffin for breakfast. I also made some Italian-inspired cookies, Chocolate Baci Cookies. The cookie base is really moist and rich, almost reminiscent of a brownie, while the nutella adds some smoothness to the cookie, and the toasted hazelnut some crunch. The cookies went over very well with my Italian Lit. class; my professor ended up eating half the box! Yeah...extra brownie points for me?!? Lol....these were really easy to make. You can find the recipe over at chef-girl.net, a great food blog.
Oh yes, and I ended up picking up a case of Black Mission Figs this past weekend. Absolutely delicious simply served with some ricotta and honey. Delizioso! Also picked up a 10 kg bag of beets. Yes...10 kg! God knows what I'll end up doing with 10 kg worth of beets, but I plan to have a bit of experiment this weekend with dinner. I'm thinking Beet Risotto and Chocolate Beet Cake perhaps?!? Stay tuned and find out....
Thursday, 9 August 2007
A dear friend
Posted by Bonita
Last week was my best friend's birthday. I've known Kae for 17 years now, ever since our days in Sparks, pink t-shirts, pigtails and all. She's been there for me through thick and thin; always someone to laugh with, occasionally cry with, and act silly with. We've both been busy last week, so we didn't have a chance to get together. But a break in our schedules opened up this week, so I finally had time to give Kae her belated birthday present.
Birthday presents between us are a simple affair. We don't expect anything materialistic from one another. Rather, our presents are usually home-made, with some "inside story" to it or some heartfelt meaning behind it, which makes the presents that much special. This year, Kae gave me a beautiful collage she made. She's quite the artist and I've always admired many of the collages she made in the past. Low-and-behold, when I came back from my trip out West, she had a collage waiting for me. It's absolutely breath-taking, and she says that van Gogh's Starry Night inspired this work. I'll definitely cherish this one-of-a-kind piece, and it'll look lovely in my new apartment in London!
Since my best gal pal is so good at art, I thought I would return the favour by making her something that I'm good at, which is baking. Kae is not only one of my best friends, but one of my favourite taste testers. She'll always accept any of my baked goods with a huge smile plastered on her face, and that always makes me very, very happy! :) Thus, I decided to bake her an assortment of yummy-licious cookies for her to enjoy on this special occasion.
I opted to bake four different kinds of cookies, which I thought would give her enough variety to try without killing me as I attempted to bake them all. In the end, I opted to make Rugelach, Jam Sandwich Cookies and Classic Shortbread. These three are some of my favourite cookies. I'm not a big shortbread fan, but when I first had these shortbread, these sugar-topped cookies literally melted in your mouth. The recipe for these shortbread came courtesy of my friend and former roommate Nicole. I've made these shortbread several times for a friend who has allergies to peanuts, and she confessed to me that she finished the whole tin I gave her in one weekend!
The fourth cookie was one that I never tried. I know...it was risky. But the recipe looked too good to pass, Pistachio White Chocolate Thumbprints, courtesy of Cream Puffs in Venice. The cookies were easy enough to make, although it does require a bit of time to put it all together. My only problem was during the baking process. The cookies seemed to spread a little too much and loss it's nice "thumbprint" shape in the process. I had to actually re-press them halfway during the baking process (while I was flipping the tray) to get the thumbprint again, but that was about the only major problem I ran into. The cookies tasted divine on it's own; I really loved the texture of the ground pistachios, and the hint of coconut and lemon is a really nice surprise. The white chocolate adds a nice, final touch and an extra sweetness to the final product. They did look really nice in the end, but more importantly, they smelled and tasted good!
I truly hope Kae enjoys her gift this year. Here's to you Kae, and to our friendship! Happy (belated) Birthday my dear!
Last week was my best friend's birthday. I've known Kae for 17 years now, ever since our days in Sparks, pink t-shirts, pigtails and all. She's been there for me through thick and thin; always someone to laugh with, occasionally cry with, and act silly with. We've both been busy last week, so we didn't have a chance to get together. But a break in our schedules opened up this week, so I finally had time to give Kae her belated birthday present.
Birthday presents between us are a simple affair. We don't expect anything materialistic from one another. Rather, our presents are usually home-made, with some "inside story" to it or some heartfelt meaning behind it, which makes the presents that much special. This year, Kae gave me a beautiful collage she made. She's quite the artist and I've always admired many of the collages she made in the past. Low-and-behold, when I came back from my trip out West, she had a collage waiting for me. It's absolutely breath-taking, and she says that van Gogh's Starry Night inspired this work. I'll definitely cherish this one-of-a-kind piece, and it'll look lovely in my new apartment in London!
Since my best gal pal is so good at art, I thought I would return the favour by making her something that I'm good at, which is baking. Kae is not only one of my best friends, but one of my favourite taste testers. She'll always accept any of my baked goods with a huge smile plastered on her face, and that always makes me very, very happy! :) Thus, I decided to bake her an assortment of yummy-licious cookies for her to enjoy on this special occasion.
I opted to bake four different kinds of cookies, which I thought would give her enough variety to try without killing me as I attempted to bake them all. In the end, I opted to make Rugelach, Jam Sandwich Cookies and Classic Shortbread. These three are some of my favourite cookies. I'm not a big shortbread fan, but when I first had these shortbread, these sugar-topped cookies literally melted in your mouth. The recipe for these shortbread came courtesy of my friend and former roommate Nicole. I've made these shortbread several times for a friend who has allergies to peanuts, and she confessed to me that she finished the whole tin I gave her in one weekend!
The fourth cookie was one that I never tried. I know...it was risky. But the recipe looked too good to pass, Pistachio White Chocolate Thumbprints, courtesy of Cream Puffs in Venice. The cookies were easy enough to make, although it does require a bit of time to put it all together. My only problem was during the baking process. The cookies seemed to spread a little too much and loss it's nice "thumbprint" shape in the process. I had to actually re-press them halfway during the baking process (while I was flipping the tray) to get the thumbprint again, but that was about the only major problem I ran into. The cookies tasted divine on it's own; I really loved the texture of the ground pistachios, and the hint of coconut and lemon is a really nice surprise. The white chocolate adds a nice, final touch and an extra sweetness to the final product. They did look really nice in the end, but more importantly, they smelled and tasted good!
I truly hope Kae enjoys her gift this year. Here's to you Kae, and to our friendship! Happy (belated) Birthday my dear!
Friday, 20 July 2007
A Sweet Treat
Posted by Bonita
There's something special about European cookies. Whereas your average American cookie is usually a drop cookie or a freeze and slice cookie, something that's fast and easy and simple to make in our busy, hectic lives, I find that cookies from abroad tend to require a lot more time, a lot more patience and a lot more love. But despite all the extra work, it's all worth it in the end. I really do love European cookies, even though I don't make it as often as I would like, frankly because I too don't usually have the time to spend on cookies.
I was in one of my baking moods today and really wanted to make cookies. I tried making Rugelach two weeks ago, and while they didn't taste bad, I did have some problems with them. Both the dough and the filling were hard to work with, and in the end, I had pretty ugly looking cookies. However, the problematic cookie did not discourage me. I went back to internet to search out another Rugelach recipe I could try out, and found one over at one of my fave food blogs, Milk and Cookies. The recipe looked appealing enough (plus the pictures of her cookies were the real clincher), and fortunately for me, I had all the ingredients on hand. Thus, I whipped up the dough in less than 10 minutes in the afternoon and popped them in the fridge so that they would be ready for me after dinner.
The assembly of these cookies does take a bit of time, but it's really very simple. Mostly just a lot of measuring and a bit of chopping, but once you have all your filling ingredients in front of you, the rest is pretty easy. This dough was absolutely a delight to work with. Compared to the other previous rugelach dough, this dough still had a bit of softness to it coming out of the fridge, which made it so much easier to roll without cracking on me.
Once I rolled it out to about the right size, I spread on my filling ingredients on top. Sliced the dough with a pizza cutter into 16 triangles and rolled them up crescent-roll style. Gave me no trouble at all. I opted to forgo the glaze and sugar topping and just popped them into the oven after chilling them for 30 minutes, as was directed. When they were done, I took them out of the oven and let cool for 5 minutes on a rack before dusting them with icing sugar. These cookies are absolutely delicious. The pastry is nice and flaky and filling is to die for. The combination of the apricot jam, cinnamon sugar, dried currants and chocolate is surprisingly delightful, and it makes for a real treat when you bite into one of these cookies. The good thing is that these are pretty small in size, so I don't feel as bad when I indulge in one...or two.
I also made Lemon Drop Cookies for my best friend this morning, who I haven't seen for awhile. I'm always happy to bake when I have an excuse, so what better reason than to make some for a friend, especially one who loves my baking! These cookies are really simple and you can whip them up in 10 minutes flat. They're actually called a drop sugar cookie, but it departs from your traditional sugar cookie because it's not crisp, nor does it contain any butter (**gasp**). But do not cringe! Just because it's missing butter doesn't mean these don't taste cook. They're really heavenly. These cookies rather have a more cake-like texture to them, soft and light. Plus the hint of lemon in these makes these cookies to die for. This recipe was actually passed on to me by a really close family friend.
Lemon Drop Cookies
Makes about 2 dozen
There's something special about European cookies. Whereas your average American cookie is usually a drop cookie or a freeze and slice cookie, something that's fast and easy and simple to make in our busy, hectic lives, I find that cookies from abroad tend to require a lot more time, a lot more patience and a lot more love. But despite all the extra work, it's all worth it in the end. I really do love European cookies, even though I don't make it as often as I would like, frankly because I too don't usually have the time to spend on cookies.
I was in one of my baking moods today and really wanted to make cookies. I tried making Rugelach two weeks ago, and while they didn't taste bad, I did have some problems with them. Both the dough and the filling were hard to work with, and in the end, I had pretty ugly looking cookies. However, the problematic cookie did not discourage me. I went back to internet to search out another Rugelach recipe I could try out, and found one over at one of my fave food blogs, Milk and Cookies. The recipe looked appealing enough (plus the pictures of her cookies were the real clincher), and fortunately for me, I had all the ingredients on hand. Thus, I whipped up the dough in less than 10 minutes in the afternoon and popped them in the fridge so that they would be ready for me after dinner.
The assembly of these cookies does take a bit of time, but it's really very simple. Mostly just a lot of measuring and a bit of chopping, but once you have all your filling ingredients in front of you, the rest is pretty easy. This dough was absolutely a delight to work with. Compared to the other previous rugelach dough, this dough still had a bit of softness to it coming out of the fridge, which made it so much easier to roll without cracking on me.
Once I rolled it out to about the right size, I spread on my filling ingredients on top. Sliced the dough with a pizza cutter into 16 triangles and rolled them up crescent-roll style. Gave me no trouble at all. I opted to forgo the glaze and sugar topping and just popped them into the oven after chilling them for 30 minutes, as was directed. When they were done, I took them out of the oven and let cool for 5 minutes on a rack before dusting them with icing sugar. These cookies are absolutely delicious. The pastry is nice and flaky and filling is to die for. The combination of the apricot jam, cinnamon sugar, dried currants and chocolate is surprisingly delightful, and it makes for a real treat when you bite into one of these cookies. The good thing is that these are pretty small in size, so I don't feel as bad when I indulge in one...or two.
I also made Lemon Drop Cookies for my best friend this morning, who I haven't seen for awhile. I'm always happy to bake when I have an excuse, so what better reason than to make some for a friend, especially one who loves my baking! These cookies are really simple and you can whip them up in 10 minutes flat. They're actually called a drop sugar cookie, but it departs from your traditional sugar cookie because it's not crisp, nor does it contain any butter (**gasp**). But do not cringe! Just because it's missing butter doesn't mean these don't taste cook. They're really heavenly. These cookies rather have a more cake-like texture to them, soft and light. Plus the hint of lemon in these makes these cookies to die for. This recipe was actually passed on to me by a really close family friend.
Lemon Drop Cookies
Makes about 2 dozen
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup sugar (plus additional sugar for topping)
- 2/3 cup vegetable oil
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp grated lemon zest
- Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl and mix well
- Whisk eggs in a large bowl until blended. Add sugar, oil, vanilla extract and lemon zest and mis well. Stir the dry ingredients into egg mixture until blended. Chill, covered, for 30 minutes or longer.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (if you know that your oven runs really hot, you might want to decrease it to 350-375°F).
- Drop the cookie dough by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Mist the bottom of a 3-inch flat-bottom glass with water and dip glass in additional sugar. Press the top of each cookie lightly with the glass to flatten, misting glass with water and dipping in sugar before pressing each cookie.
(N.B. Alternatively, you could try rolling the cookies into a ball by hand, and then rolling them in sugar before pressing them. I haven't tried this method yet but I'll probably give it a go next time I make it, only because none of my glasses have a completely flat bottom and it was frustrating how the sugar wasn't sticking to the bottom of the glass very evenly.) - Bake cookies until lightly browned, about 8 min. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool completely.
Sunday, 8 July 2007
Christmas in July
Posted by Bonita
Alright, so it WASN'T quite Christmas, but it sure felt like the holiday season with the amount of cookies I've been baking these past few days. I've only been back for 2 days, barely enough time to unpack, do a couple loads of laundry, repack my bags...oh yeah...and make some treats for my relatives when I head to Toronto tomorrow. But hey, I'm certainly not complaining after having been away from my kitchen for the past three and a half weeks. Does it make me slightly crazy if I told you that I actually hugged my Kitchen Aid when I got home? Yes...yes I did.
While I'm not fortunate to have the Food Network here at home, my lucky brother does, so during the times when there was nothing to do, I'd have the FN on. A few shows were making jam, Jamie Oliver with his strawberry jam on Jamie at Home and Laura Calder's apricot preserves on French Food at Home. Now, I've never been a jam-fan. I've always found them to be sickeningly sweet, but I've started to get over my aversion for them this year with my new-found love for Greaves' raspberry jam. Yet, despite not being a huge jam fan, watching the likes of Jamie and Laura make jam got me into the mood of making jam, even if I didn't plan on eating it myself. Thus, 9 lbs of fruit, 8 cups of sugar and lots of loving tender car later, I'm left with 4 jars of strawberry jam and 6 jars of apricot jam to give away. Well...actually, make that 3 and 5 jars to give away. I think I'll keep one of each. Nothing beats homemade, and I think I might have a new crush with these lovely jems. My mom was smart to bring out a loaf of bread I had baked awhile back ago from the freezer, and it was lovely toasted with a bit of butter and my apricot jam. Yummy!!!
As for the cookies, I made Cinnamon Hazenut Biscotti and Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti because my aunt loves my biscotti, but have yet to try these ones. My little cousin also loves the butter cookies that I make for him, where I usually sandwich some jam in between. However, feeling slightly lazy this time around (more like I didn't want the hassle of washing out my cookie press afterwards...), I decided to make him Jam Thumbprints this time around.
As for my other aunt, I made these lovely Jam Sandwich Cookies, thanks to a recipe from Cream Puffs in Venice (a really amazing foodblog!) and Apricot and Walnut Rugelach, inspired by the recipe at Williams-Sonoma. These cookies did take considerably more time to make, since it required making the dough, chilling it, rolling it out, and assembling them. The rugelach was a bit of a pain to make, but they did turn out pretty nice in the end, although slightly ugly in my opinion. However, the more you roll the cookies, the easier it gets, so my 2nd batch was definitely looking nicer than my 1st batch. The jam sandwich cookies took a lot of time too, but it was definitely worth it once you pop one of these treasures into your mouth. They literally melt in your mouth. I used raspberry and peach jam in between the shortbread cookies, although I do favour the raspberry cookies more (no surprise there). Both beautiful to look at AND tastes great, these gems were definitely the highlight of my baking weekend.
The end? Not quite. You'd think it would be after the scary amount of sugary sweets I have concocted already. I still have a banana bread on my "To Do" list, so I guess I'm off to get started on that. I'll see you next week!!!
Alright, so it WASN'T quite Christmas, but it sure felt like the holiday season with the amount of cookies I've been baking these past few days. I've only been back for 2 days, barely enough time to unpack, do a couple loads of laundry, repack my bags...oh yeah...and make some treats for my relatives when I head to Toronto tomorrow. But hey, I'm certainly not complaining after having been away from my kitchen for the past three and a half weeks. Does it make me slightly crazy if I told you that I actually hugged my Kitchen Aid when I got home? Yes...yes I did.
While I'm not fortunate to have the Food Network here at home, my lucky brother does, so during the times when there was nothing to do, I'd have the FN on. A few shows were making jam, Jamie Oliver with his strawberry jam on Jamie at Home and Laura Calder's apricot preserves on French Food at Home. Now, I've never been a jam-fan. I've always found them to be sickeningly sweet, but I've started to get over my aversion for them this year with my new-found love for Greaves' raspberry jam. Yet, despite not being a huge jam fan, watching the likes of Jamie and Laura make jam got me into the mood of making jam, even if I didn't plan on eating it myself. Thus, 9 lbs of fruit, 8 cups of sugar and lots of loving tender car later, I'm left with 4 jars of strawberry jam and 6 jars of apricot jam to give away. Well...actually, make that 3 and 5 jars to give away. I think I'll keep one of each. Nothing beats homemade, and I think I might have a new crush with these lovely jems. My mom was smart to bring out a loaf of bread I had baked awhile back ago from the freezer, and it was lovely toasted with a bit of butter and my apricot jam. Yummy!!!
As for the cookies, I made Cinnamon Hazenut Biscotti and Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti because my aunt loves my biscotti, but have yet to try these ones. My little cousin also loves the butter cookies that I make for him, where I usually sandwich some jam in between. However, feeling slightly lazy this time around (more like I didn't want the hassle of washing out my cookie press afterwards...), I decided to make him Jam Thumbprints this time around.
As for my other aunt, I made these lovely Jam Sandwich Cookies, thanks to a recipe from Cream Puffs in Venice (a really amazing foodblog!) and Apricot and Walnut Rugelach, inspired by the recipe at Williams-Sonoma. These cookies did take considerably more time to make, since it required making the dough, chilling it, rolling it out, and assembling them. The rugelach was a bit of a pain to make, but they did turn out pretty nice in the end, although slightly ugly in my opinion. However, the more you roll the cookies, the easier it gets, so my 2nd batch was definitely looking nicer than my 1st batch. The jam sandwich cookies took a lot of time too, but it was definitely worth it once you pop one of these treasures into your mouth. They literally melt in your mouth. I used raspberry and peach jam in between the shortbread cookies, although I do favour the raspberry cookies more (no surprise there). Both beautiful to look at AND tastes great, these gems were definitely the highlight of my baking weekend.
The end? Not quite. You'd think it would be after the scary amount of sugary sweets I have concocted already. I still have a banana bread on my "To Do" list, so I guess I'm off to get started on that. I'll see you next week!!!
Monday, 21 May 2007
The oven says, "Holiday? What holiday?"
Posted by Bonita
What better way to spend Victoria Day than going baking crazy in the kitchen? Alright, alright. I can actually think of better ways to spend a beautiful, sunny (if only slightly chilly) Victoria Monday outdoors, but for me, there’s nothing like spending a day baking up a storm. It’s been a couple of days since my last loaf of bread, which meant that it was time to bake a new one. Thus my pseudo-artisan bread, the wannabe that looks like an artisan bread, tastes like a gourmet bread yet doesn’t require a starter of any kind.
I do have a confession to make. I love recipe books. I mean, I love books in general, being an English major. I’m like a moth to a flame when it comes to me and bookstores (and it’s a similar story when it comes to kitchen supply stores). My bookshelf is filled to capacity with books, much like the family bookcase downstairs is filled with cookbooks that my mother and I have picked up over the years. I’ve had Jamie’s Kichen for a good couple of years now yet never really had a chance to try many of the recipes from them. I can tell you that I’ve flipped through the book many times, ooh-ing and aah-ing at the many recipes that I would love to try but never got around to doing so (although there was the time I made his Baked Chocolate Pudding which ended up keeping the whole family up half the night from my “extra strong” espresso!). But this summer, determined to experiment in the kitchen to the max, I decided it was time to bring out that gorgeous blue-cover book and try out one of his fabulous looking bread recipes at the back of the book.
It’s no secret now that I have a huge crush on Jamie Oliver. He’s a brilliant man: young, charming, dorky in a cute way and his accent and quirky saying…gotta love the man. I’ve made his Focaccia with Rosemary and Olive Oil Topping a good-number of times, and it has always come out beautifully and tasted delicious, and is in fact one of my brother’s favourite breads. Flipping through the bread section, there were a few options that looked appealing, like the Tomato Focaccia, the Sweet Roasted Red Onion and Garlic Bread or even the Slow-Roasted Tomato Bread, which would have looked adorable being baked in coffee tins. However, I wanted something a little different and with some sweetness to the bread today, so I opted for his Rosemary and Raisin Bread. It certainly sounds like an odd combination when you first think about it, but it’s different, I’ll get the sweetness from the raisins and generally, I trust Jamie.
I got up bright and early this morning to get the dough made so that it could proof while I went out for my tennis game. Dough came together beautiful, and I knew I definitely had active yeast when it started bubbling and overflowing my measuring cup when I left it alone to bubble away for a few minutes! I cut some fresh rosemary from our herb garden outside, and I soaked the raisins in hot water for a few minutes to let them soften a little. Since today was a little chilly, I placed the dough in the oven that I slightly warmed ahead of time and then turned off, and then went off to play tennis for an hour. Came back to find a beautiful dough that had doubled in size. Punched down and shaped into a sausage loaf and then let proof for an hour again. I actually preheated the oven to 400°F rather than the suggested 350°F. I wanted a crusty exterior, and while Jamie didn’t mention it, I sprayed the loaf with some cold water (with a handy water spritzer), dusted it with flour and scored the surface with a sharp knife. Popped it in the oven and then sprayed the bread with more water at 5 minute intervals for the first 10 minutes. I then reduced the temperature to 350°F and let it bake that way for the remaining time. The book said to bake it for about 25 minutes, but I needed about 5 more minutes to get a nice golden colour to my loaf, probably due to my opening and closing the door and having all that heat escape. The house smelled delicious from the rosemary, and I got my desired crispy crust! The loaf looked beautiful, like something you might find at an artisan bakery. So here’s my pseudo-artisan bread, because it was a pretty simple yeast bread without the use of a starter, and yet it looks like it could be an artisan bread. I made a small cheddar cheese sandwich for lunch with this bread and it was great! It also tastes great just as it is with some butter.
And since I had the oven going today, and I wanted something sweet in the cookie jar, I also made Cranberry Coconut Oatmeal Cookies. They’re one of my staple cookies that I always love to make, because they’re quick and easy, they taste fabulous and best of all, they’re freezer-friendly. I used to make Chocolate Chip Cookies all the time, but ever since I came upon this recipe, I’ve made these more often because they are healthier and make me feel slightly less guilty for indulging in a cookie…or two…sometimes even three.
The original recipe comes from Canadian Living magazine (I don’t know exactly which issue it came from, since I can’t seem to find the exact magazine around the house at the moment. But when I do, I’ll let you know!), and when I first saw it, I knew I had to make it. It sounded delicious, and the pictures of the cookies looked fabulous. However, after having briefly glanced over the recipe, I knew that something was fundamentally wrong with the proportions of the ingredients. The amount of dry ingredients they were asking for would produce a ridiculously dry dough that wouldn’t hold together. So, I took up a pencil and fiddled around with the numbers and came up with a formula that I thought would work much better in order to create a nice dough. Went to work and low-and-behold, the dough came out perfectly. Not too wet, nor too dry: just perfect! The cookies did indeed come out delicious, with a nice texture from the oatmeal and coconut and the right amount of sweetness. I initially made these using dried cherries, before switching over to the dried cranberries that is originally asked for in the recipe (after having been reconciled to dried cranberries earlier this year). These babies can work well with any combinations of dried fruits though, and I’d love to give dried apricots a try in the future. I’m sure they’ll also be delicious with nuts (almonds, pecans, hazelnuts, etc.) or chocolate chips. Best of all, they really do freeze well. I always make a big batch of these when I’m at school and just throw them in the freezer to have treats on hand when busier times keep me out of the kitchen. They make for a great study-break treat!
What better way to spend Victoria Day than going baking crazy in the kitchen? Alright, alright. I can actually think of better ways to spend a beautiful, sunny (if only slightly chilly) Victoria Monday outdoors, but for me, there’s nothing like spending a day baking up a storm. It’s been a couple of days since my last loaf of bread, which meant that it was time to bake a new one. Thus my pseudo-artisan bread, the wannabe that looks like an artisan bread, tastes like a gourmet bread yet doesn’t require a starter of any kind.
I do have a confession to make. I love recipe books. I mean, I love books in general, being an English major. I’m like a moth to a flame when it comes to me and bookstores (and it’s a similar story when it comes to kitchen supply stores). My bookshelf is filled to capacity with books, much like the family bookcase downstairs is filled with cookbooks that my mother and I have picked up over the years. I’ve had Jamie’s Kichen for a good couple of years now yet never really had a chance to try many of the recipes from them. I can tell you that I’ve flipped through the book many times, ooh-ing and aah-ing at the many recipes that I would love to try but never got around to doing so (although there was the time I made his Baked Chocolate Pudding which ended up keeping the whole family up half the night from my “extra strong” espresso!). But this summer, determined to experiment in the kitchen to the max, I decided it was time to bring out that gorgeous blue-cover book and try out one of his fabulous looking bread recipes at the back of the book.
It’s no secret now that I have a huge crush on Jamie Oliver. He’s a brilliant man: young, charming, dorky in a cute way and his accent and quirky saying…gotta love the man. I’ve made his Focaccia with Rosemary and Olive Oil Topping a good-number of times, and it has always come out beautifully and tasted delicious, and is in fact one of my brother’s favourite breads. Flipping through the bread section, there were a few options that looked appealing, like the Tomato Focaccia, the Sweet Roasted Red Onion and Garlic Bread or even the Slow-Roasted Tomato Bread, which would have looked adorable being baked in coffee tins. However, I wanted something a little different and with some sweetness to the bread today, so I opted for his Rosemary and Raisin Bread. It certainly sounds like an odd combination when you first think about it, but it’s different, I’ll get the sweetness from the raisins and generally, I trust Jamie.
I got up bright and early this morning to get the dough made so that it could proof while I went out for my tennis game. Dough came together beautiful, and I knew I definitely had active yeast when it started bubbling and overflowing my measuring cup when I left it alone to bubble away for a few minutes! I cut some fresh rosemary from our herb garden outside, and I soaked the raisins in hot water for a few minutes to let them soften a little. Since today was a little chilly, I placed the dough in the oven that I slightly warmed ahead of time and then turned off, and then went off to play tennis for an hour. Came back to find a beautiful dough that had doubled in size. Punched down and shaped into a sausage loaf and then let proof for an hour again. I actually preheated the oven to 400°F rather than the suggested 350°F. I wanted a crusty exterior, and while Jamie didn’t mention it, I sprayed the loaf with some cold water (with a handy water spritzer), dusted it with flour and scored the surface with a sharp knife. Popped it in the oven and then sprayed the bread with more water at 5 minute intervals for the first 10 minutes. I then reduced the temperature to 350°F and let it bake that way for the remaining time. The book said to bake it for about 25 minutes, but I needed about 5 more minutes to get a nice golden colour to my loaf, probably due to my opening and closing the door and having all that heat escape. The house smelled delicious from the rosemary, and I got my desired crispy crust! The loaf looked beautiful, like something you might find at an artisan bakery. So here’s my pseudo-artisan bread, because it was a pretty simple yeast bread without the use of a starter, and yet it looks like it could be an artisan bread. I made a small cheddar cheese sandwich for lunch with this bread and it was great! It also tastes great just as it is with some butter.
And since I had the oven going today, and I wanted something sweet in the cookie jar, I also made Cranberry Coconut Oatmeal Cookies. They’re one of my staple cookies that I always love to make, because they’re quick and easy, they taste fabulous and best of all, they’re freezer-friendly. I used to make Chocolate Chip Cookies all the time, but ever since I came upon this recipe, I’ve made these more often because they are healthier and make me feel slightly less guilty for indulging in a cookie…or two…sometimes even three.
The original recipe comes from Canadian Living magazine (I don’t know exactly which issue it came from, since I can’t seem to find the exact magazine around the house at the moment. But when I do, I’ll let you know!), and when I first saw it, I knew I had to make it. It sounded delicious, and the pictures of the cookies looked fabulous. However, after having briefly glanced over the recipe, I knew that something was fundamentally wrong with the proportions of the ingredients. The amount of dry ingredients they were asking for would produce a ridiculously dry dough that wouldn’t hold together. So, I took up a pencil and fiddled around with the numbers and came up with a formula that I thought would work much better in order to create a nice dough. Went to work and low-and-behold, the dough came out perfectly. Not too wet, nor too dry: just perfect! The cookies did indeed come out delicious, with a nice texture from the oatmeal and coconut and the right amount of sweetness. I initially made these using dried cherries, before switching over to the dried cranberries that is originally asked for in the recipe (after having been reconciled to dried cranberries earlier this year). These babies can work well with any combinations of dried fruits though, and I’d love to give dried apricots a try in the future. I’m sure they’ll also be delicious with nuts (almonds, pecans, hazelnuts, etc.) or chocolate chips. Best of all, they really do freeze well. I always make a big batch of these when I’m at school and just throw them in the freezer to have treats on hand when busier times keep me out of the kitchen. They make for a great study-break treat!
Cranberry Coconut Oatmeal Cookies
Adapted from Canadian Living magazine
Makes about 2-3 dozen
- ½ cup butter, softened
- ¾ cup packed brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup rolled oats (not instant)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup shredded sweetened coconut
- ½ tsp each baking powder and baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- Line rimless baking sheets with parchment paper or grease; set aside.
- In large bowl, beat butter with sugar until fluffy; beat in egg and vanilla. In separate bowl, whisk together rolled oats, flour, coconut, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add to butter mixture along with cranberries; still until combined.
- Drop by heaping 1 tbsp, about 5 cm apart, onto prepared pans. Bake in top and bottom thirds of 375°F (190°C) oven, rotating and switching pans halfway through, until golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to racks; let cool.
Sunday, 18 February 2007
Biscotti Obsession, Chapter 2
Posted by Bonita
If the culinary world ever held a pageant of some sort for cookies, I know which one I would give my vote for. Ladies and gents, I may have found the sexiest cookie ever. I would like to introduce you to my chocolate espresso biscotti.
As you can well imagine, as with almost every single weekend of mine, it was another bake-fest last night. With an Italian midterm looming over our heads, a couple of us decided to get together for a study group, and that only meant one thing for me: a group of willing guinea pigs at my disposable to try out some of my new experiments in the kitchen!
My obsession with biscotti continued this weekend. I like making biscotti when I bring them to my Italian classmates because: a) it’s in keeping with the Italian frame of mind and b) I can get feedback from my friends who are actually of Italian heritage. With the success of my cranberry and pistachio biscotti last week, I decided to branch out and try something new yet again. As I’ve mentioned before, I had previously attempted making a chocolate biscotti, but I wasn’t quite satisfied with that particular recipe. Inspired by my friend Vincent (who’s hosting the study group), who mentioned something about chocolate biscotti a couple of weeks ago, I thought it was time to have another go at it and try to find a recipe that would finally be a “keeper”.
After some searching, I turned to a recipe at epicurious as the basis of my chocolate biscotti. The original recipe wasn’t very appealing to me to begin with, so it’s funny how I picked this recipe anyway. While I like walnuts, I just didn’t think it would be a great pairing with chocolate; personally, I would substitute hazelnuts or almonds for the walnuts. But nuts aside, I thought that the basic chocolate biscotti would be good for me to play around with.
Thus inspired by Vincent with the idea of a chocolate biscotti and his cappuccino maker, I decided to create my own version of the chocolate espresso biscotti. I threw in 2 tablespoons of finely ground espresso beans (oh Illy, how I love thee!), and replaced the chocolate chips with Poulain’s Noir café, a 64% pure cocoa chocolate bar with coffee in it. The dough did come out dryer than I was used to for a biscotti dough, which did concern me a tad bit, but atleast it meant less of a mess on my hands as I shaped them. The smell of these biscotti while they were baking was absolutely divine, the coffee laced with the chocolate. However, there were two downsides to this recipe: 1) The bottom of my biscotti somehow burned a little after the 1st baking, especially on the ends. I eventually had to scrape off the bottom a bit when I got to the ends because it was just too black, and I wasn’t about to serve burnt biscotti. Still have to figure out why they burned, but I think I have a suspect. 2) These cookies did crumble a bit while cutting, especially when it got to the middle part. I definitely had to be a lot more gentler while cutting these biscotti, but in the end, they still turned out rather nicely with my steady hands and a decent serrated knife.
Nonetheless, all is forgiven (although not totally forgotten) after you’ve tried a bite of these cookies. The cookie is crisp but not to the point where it wants to break your teeth, and it has a very nice, rich chocolatey taste to them. The hint of espresso is absolutely wonderful, and definitely adds a level of depth and complexity to what would otherwise be a very ordinary chocolate biscotti. Mission accomplished! I have finally found a great chocolate biscotti recipe that’s a keeper!
My second batch of biscotti featured cinnamon and hazelnuts, based on a recipe which I found over at Culinary Concoctions by Peabody (lovely blog with even lovelier pictures!). The recipe looked very appealing in itself, since I thought that cinnamon and hazelnut would be such an interesting pairing (and who could resist the seduction of cinnamon?). Add to the fact that the pictures of her biscotti looked beautiful, I decided that I must give these biscotti a try as well.
The recipe itself was lovely. The dough was the perfect consistency (not too wet, not too dry), and they cut so beautifully that it almost made me cry. The only change I did make was that I added more cinnamon (1 teaspoon versus the ¼ teaspoon that was recommended) to the batter because I wanted to give the biscotti a more kick. I thought that ¼ tsp would be too little, especially for the amount of flour used, and in my mind.
I was unsure last night whether I liked these biscotti or not. After a night’s rest, however, I have come to the conclusion that these biscotti are lovely. The clincher? Opening the container that I had stored them in last night, I was meant with a sudden whiff of cinnamon. I can only imagine what these little lovely cookies will taste like alongside a cappuccino or a chai latté.
If the culinary world ever held a pageant of some sort for cookies, I know which one I would give my vote for. Ladies and gents, I may have found the sexiest cookie ever. I would like to introduce you to my chocolate espresso biscotti.
As you can well imagine, as with almost every single weekend of mine, it was another bake-fest last night. With an Italian midterm looming over our heads, a couple of us decided to get together for a study group, and that only meant one thing for me: a group of willing guinea pigs at my disposable to try out some of my new experiments in the kitchen!
My obsession with biscotti continued this weekend. I like making biscotti when I bring them to my Italian classmates because: a) it’s in keeping with the Italian frame of mind and b) I can get feedback from my friends who are actually of Italian heritage. With the success of my cranberry and pistachio biscotti last week, I decided to branch out and try something new yet again. As I’ve mentioned before, I had previously attempted making a chocolate biscotti, but I wasn’t quite satisfied with that particular recipe. Inspired by my friend Vincent (who’s hosting the study group), who mentioned something about chocolate biscotti a couple of weeks ago, I thought it was time to have another go at it and try to find a recipe that would finally be a “keeper”.
After some searching, I turned to a recipe at epicurious as the basis of my chocolate biscotti. The original recipe wasn’t very appealing to me to begin with, so it’s funny how I picked this recipe anyway. While I like walnuts, I just didn’t think it would be a great pairing with chocolate; personally, I would substitute hazelnuts or almonds for the walnuts. But nuts aside, I thought that the basic chocolate biscotti would be good for me to play around with.
Thus inspired by Vincent with the idea of a chocolate biscotti and his cappuccino maker, I decided to create my own version of the chocolate espresso biscotti. I threw in 2 tablespoons of finely ground espresso beans (oh Illy, how I love thee!), and replaced the chocolate chips with Poulain’s Noir café, a 64% pure cocoa chocolate bar with coffee in it. The dough did come out dryer than I was used to for a biscotti dough, which did concern me a tad bit, but atleast it meant less of a mess on my hands as I shaped them. The smell of these biscotti while they were baking was absolutely divine, the coffee laced with the chocolate. However, there were two downsides to this recipe: 1) The bottom of my biscotti somehow burned a little after the 1st baking, especially on the ends. I eventually had to scrape off the bottom a bit when I got to the ends because it was just too black, and I wasn’t about to serve burnt biscotti. Still have to figure out why they burned, but I think I have a suspect. 2) These cookies did crumble a bit while cutting, especially when it got to the middle part. I definitely had to be a lot more gentler while cutting these biscotti, but in the end, they still turned out rather nicely with my steady hands and a decent serrated knife.
Nonetheless, all is forgiven (although not totally forgotten) after you’ve tried a bite of these cookies. The cookie is crisp but not to the point where it wants to break your teeth, and it has a very nice, rich chocolatey taste to them. The hint of espresso is absolutely wonderful, and definitely adds a level of depth and complexity to what would otherwise be a very ordinary chocolate biscotti. Mission accomplished! I have finally found a great chocolate biscotti recipe that’s a keeper!
My second batch of biscotti featured cinnamon and hazelnuts, based on a recipe which I found over at Culinary Concoctions by Peabody (lovely blog with even lovelier pictures!). The recipe looked very appealing in itself, since I thought that cinnamon and hazelnut would be such an interesting pairing (and who could resist the seduction of cinnamon?). Add to the fact that the pictures of her biscotti looked beautiful, I decided that I must give these biscotti a try as well.
The recipe itself was lovely. The dough was the perfect consistency (not too wet, not too dry), and they cut so beautifully that it almost made me cry. The only change I did make was that I added more cinnamon (1 teaspoon versus the ¼ teaspoon that was recommended) to the batter because I wanted to give the biscotti a more kick. I thought that ¼ tsp would be too little, especially for the amount of flour used, and in my mind.
I was unsure last night whether I liked these biscotti or not. After a night’s rest, however, I have come to the conclusion that these biscotti are lovely. The clincher? Opening the container that I had stored them in last night, I was meant with a sudden whiff of cinnamon. I can only imagine what these little lovely cookies will taste like alongside a cappuccino or a chai latté.
The last thing I made were banana white chocolate muffins, which I will post about tomorrow! A domani!Chocolate Espresso Biscotti
Makes about 30
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons finely ground espresso (or 3 tbsp instant espresso
granules)- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- Preheat oven to 350°F. and butter and flour a large baking sheet.
- In a bowl whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl with an electric mixer beat together butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and beat until combined well. Stir in flour mixture to form a stiff dough. Stir in walnuts and chocolate chips.
- On prepared baking sheet with floured hands form dough into two slightly flattened logs, each 12 inches long and 2 inches wide, and sprinkle with confectioners' sugar. Bake logs 35 minutes, or until slightly firm to the touch. Cool biscotti on baking sheet 5 minutes. On a cutting board cut biscotti diagonally into 3/4-inch slices. Arrange biscotti, cut sides down, on baking sheet and bake until crisp, about 10 minutes.
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