Recently I was asked to demonstrate how to make the Uzbek cookies that I blogged about last month (read about it here). Because the pattern can be easily lost during baking, I’ve been trying it with different cookie recipes and the one I shared in that post is one of my favorites. I used it for these video tutorials.
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Here is the first video, with special thanks to Prince Freckles of Tatarrax, for his guest appearance.
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The second video shows how I paint the cookies, using Sugarprism.
I made the cookies using pistachio flour, but you can substitute almond or pecan flour, and flavor it with any extract of your choice. Once you add all the ingredients, you might have to add a little more flour (like I mentioned in the video) because depending on the size of your egg and the moisture of your flours, the dough might require a little extra.
I hope you find the tutorials useful. I need to learn my way better, paying more attention to centering the image and also avoid banging the holder of the cell phone with my arm. But I had a lot of fun making the videos and might do others in the future…
Once again I share with you bakes that I’ve made over the past couple of months, following recipes from blogs I love… (links to recipes below each individual picture)
TROPICAL SHORTBREAD COOKIES from Pastries Like a Pro
These are shortbread type cookies with macadamia nuts and coconut, absolutely delicious! I made the chocolate glaze in two different ways, one simply dipping like Helen suggests, and the second way adding some texture. To do so, I laid a piece of textured paper on the chocolate while still wet as shown below. It is hard to get it smooth to the very edge of the chocolate, but I still liked the effect.
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RAMASAN PIDESI from Caroline’s Easy Baking Lessons
This is a great soft bread, ready in 2 hours! Uses instant yeast, and depending on the size of your pizza pan, you can have enough for 2 full round breads or go with a large round and the leftover used for a different shape of your liking. I opted for a 4-stranded braided loaf.
The crumb is spectacular, Phil now wants this bread on a regular basis… His favorite is the flat shape.
These were made famous by Thomas Keller, and they use a specific mold to make the right shape, like a cork. I’ve had the mold for years, unfortunately it does not seem to be available any longer, but you can use a muffin tin. I used the exact recipe blogged by Karen, which is a variation from the original. Absolutely delicious, but you must adore a strong chocolate taste, this is not a sweet, kid-friendly concoction. It will be showing up again in our kitchen, for sure!
Helen was a tent-baker with me during the Great American Baking Show and she is now a professional baker, with a super busy life! She keeps her blog with great recipes, and this one got the most enthusiastic reviews from our departmental colleagues. A must-make! It was a great opportunity to put to use my little cupcake corer thingie…
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RED TART CHERRY PIE BARS from Bakes by Brown Sugar
Another tent-baker friend, Cheryl, from a season before mine, these are absolutely spectacular! She uses canned tart cherries, which I had never even bought before, not knowing if they would be good. Well, they work wonders in this preparation, and you will not be disappointed at all. Easy, sharp, sweet and tart at the same time. Make them!
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CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES WITH PEANUT BRITTLE (from David Leibovitz)
Have you ever made peanut brittle? If not, you absolutely need to correct this handicap. The only problem is stop sampling the brittle so you have enough for the cookies. You’ve been warned. The cookies are amazing, with the regular flavor of a chocolate chip, but the added intensity of the caramelized peanuts.
I hope this series got you inspired to bake some sweetness!
A small collection of goodies, all inspired by a Mexican fiesta… Cupcakes, Chocolate-Chipotle Cookies, Macarons (filled with Mexican chocolate ganache), and Chocolate-covered Oreos.
FIESTA CUPCAKES
Any vanilla cupcake recipe (or chocolate) will work. Refer to this post for the buttercream, which was divided in two unequal portions: a larger portion dyed pink, and a smaller portion dyed orange. Then, a petal tip like 102 was used to add the icing in layers, as shown below. Any combination of colors will work, this one seemed appropriate for the Cinco de Mayo theme.
CHOCOLATE-CHIPOTLE COOKIES
I am so smitten by these! Not at all complicated to put together, start with your favorite chocolate cookie recipe (mine is definitely this one), paint with Americolor white before baking to get the crackled effect. Then use Royal icing dyed with flesh tone or ivory to pipe a round for the face. Use any colors you want to make the wavy decorations. Once that sets, you can paint the face and hair, add the arms, and you are done. You can see the steps below.
They make for a real fun set, and will please those who prefer a modest amount of icing on their cookies.
Many colors will work, and I also made a batch with sugar cookies instead of chocolate, with a pink and orange skirt.
MEXICAN CHOCOLATE MACARONS
For these macs, I used my default French meringue method (recipe here), divided the batter into three portions, a large pink, a medium size yellow, and a smaller orange. Piped a circle of pink, went with yellow in the center, then orange to form three concentric circles. Baked the shells and decorated with Royal icing. The ganache was made with
4 oz semisweet chocolate 1/4 cup heavy cream 1/2 tsp cinnamon a pinch of cayenne pepper
Once the ganache cooled, I whipped it with a handheld mixer for a minute or so. You cannot go too long or the whole thing will turn grainy. You just want to incorporate some air into the ganache.
FIESTA CHOCOLATE COVERED OREOS
These are so much fun to make! I used chocolate transfer sheets cut to fit the inside of the mold, as described in this post. I love this colorful pattern, that would look good also on a white chocolate background.
I am absolutely in love with this recipe, which I adapted from past adventures to incorporate pistachio flour to the party. It is hard for me to pick a favorite cutout sugar cookie recipe, but this is a very strong contender. Plus, it has the advantage of keeping the shape for patterns from molds, rolling pins, and…. a bread stamp! Yes, this post joins bread with cookies, by using the Uzbek stamp to create a design. I tell you, I am over the moon with these! To see the bread stamp used for its intended purpose, visit this old post of mine by clicking here.
PISTACHIO SUGAR COOKIES (from The Bewitching Kitchen)
150 g butter, room temperature 90 g powdered sugar 1 g salt 1 egg (45 to 50g) 30 g pistachio flour 250 g all purpose-flour 1/2 tsp pistachio bakery emulsion (I used this one from LorAnn) 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Cut the butter in small pieces, add to the bowl of a Kitchen Aid type mixer with the sugar and salt. Mix on medium-speed until creamy and light.
In a small bowl, whisk the egg with the flavor emulsions. Add to the creamed sugar in low speed, in three additions. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula to make sure everything is mixing homogeneously. Once the butter and egg are mixed, add the flours. Mix on low speed until it starts to form a dough, remove from the bowl and gently knead by hand until smooth.
Form a disc and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Roll the dough, cut cookies and gently press with the Uzbek stamp tool dipped in flour to prevent it to stick to the dough. Depending on how soft your dough is, you might need to brush a little flour on top before pressing the design.
Freeze the cut and stamped cookies for 10 to 15 minutes before baking at 325F until it starts to get dark on the edges. Fifteen to twenty minutes, depending on your oven. Remove to a cooling rack and paint once the cookies are at room temperature.
Comments: Take a look at that speckled dough! The pistachio flour adds wonderful taste and texture to the cookies. Please give it a try. Cookies will be great even baked without any adornment. Of course, if you sandwich them with some lemon buttercream or a pistachio ganache, I won’t hold any of it against you.
For more ideas on how to paint them, and details on the Uzbek stamp, please visit my cookie blog with a click here.
Bewitching Kitchen 