Category Archives: Cookies

THE NEVER AGAIN FOLDER

Posted in Cake, Cookies by

Some adventures in the kitchen can be catastrophic. My lowest of the low was a certain Vegan Soufflee made in 2019 that was by far the worst thing I’ve ever made and maybe the worst I’ve ever tasted. Then there are things that ended up quite tasty but the process was so convoluted that… all I could think was “never, never again.” I share two examples today. You can actually use your own recipes to come up with them, they are both very simple. A brownie cake and sugar cookie dough, in two colors.

LADY BUG BROWNIE BITES

This one took me by surprise, after all I like to think I’m quite comfortable around Royal icing. And after baking the brownie bites in your favorite silicone half-dome mold, you are half way there. But, not so fast, my dear… not so fast. Getting the red icing to smoothly coat the surface, all the way down, is VERY messy and requires colorful language. Then you need to add the details in black while the red is still wet. Finally the white eyes are added later, when the base is set and any Zen you had is far gone.

They did look awfully cute, but I tell you, NEVER AGAIN!

Moving on…

JIGSAW BLACK AND WHITE COOKIES

For these cute looking cookies, all you need is the right cutter, and I recommend this one. I actually saw someone on IG making a pastry shell using this technique and immediately adapted it for cookies. It seemed so straightforward.

Roll out both doughs less than 1/4 inch thick (I was going to do sandwich cookies because I like to maximize suffering, so I wanted them thin). Cut with the mold, separate the pieces and assemble them together. Cut them in square shapes to bake.

I know they look pretty nice and appealing, but it was time-consuming, a lot of work to come up with just a few cookies. Also, you are left with some trimmings that to use you must mash together for a marble effect, no way to re-roll and get more jigsaw patterns going.

To be honest, I really like the Jigsaw Cookies and might do them again, maybe a Red Velvet and White when Valentine’s comes up. But I need some time to forget the hassle and tell myself “I don’t remember it being that bad.”

ONE YEAR AGO: Chai-Butterfly Macarons

TWO YEARS AGO: Roasted Cauliflower Salad over Hummus

THREE YEARS AGO: Sous-vide Egg Bites

FOUR YEARS AGO: Paul Hollywood, The Weekend Baker

FIVE YEARS AGO: Texas Sheet Cake

SIX YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen, September 2015

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Sour Cherry Sorbet: A Labor of Love

EIGHT YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen – September 2013

NINE YEARS AGO: Raspberry Sorbet at Summer’s End

TEN YEARS AGO: When three is better than two  (four years with Buck!)

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Grating Tomatoes (and loving it!)

TWELVE YEARS AGO: A Peachy Salad for a Sunny Day

A VEGAN TRILOGY

Posted in Appetizers, Cookies, Vegetarian-friendly by

Please, please, please, don’t run away. I promise you these are all absolutely delicious and worthy serving to any omnivore out there. A creamy dip that will leave you in disbelief that it lacks dairy or cheese. And two cookies, the classic chocolate chip (described by the resident Cookie Critic as one of the best I’ve made), and Vegan Linzers, not very easy to make but if you have a little patience and the inclination to try it, once you taste it, you will be glad you baked a batch.

CASHEW CREAM ROASTED BELL PEPPER DIP
(adapted from several sources)

1½ cups raw cashews
½ cup roasted red peppers (packed in oil, lightly drained)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
1/4 tsp pepper (or to taste)
water to adjust consistency
1/3 cup minced parsley leaves

Place cashews in bowl and add cold water to cover completely. Let sit at room temperature for 12 to 24 hours. Drain and rinse well. Process soaked cashews, red peppers, oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper in food processor until smooth, about 2 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add water if too thick.

Transfer cashew mixture to bowl, stir in parsley, and adjust seasoning. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature 30 minutes before serving.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: Using a Vitamix would be even better to get more of a creamy texture but I confess I hate removing things from the Vitamix bowl, unless they pour out easily. It is a little pet peeve of mine. This dip was absolutely delicious, and you can take it in many directions replacing the red bell pepper for some other ingredient, like roasted eggplants, or tahini. Vegan or not, it will definitely be a regular in our kitchen.

SECRETLY VEGAN SALTED CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Recipe available online here

I made no modifications, the recipe was recommended by my niece Raquel, who raved about it. It is absolutely true, you cannot tell they are vegan. Approved by all tasters!

VEGAN LINZERS
(adapted from Rainbow Nourishments)

200 g whole-wheat flour
40 g all-purpose flour
1/2 cup grapeseed oil
30 g powdered sugar
1/4 tsp cardamon (optional, but nice)
pinch of salt

jam of your choice to fill the cookies (I used strawberry)

Add all the cookie ingredients to a food processor. Process until evenly combined. Adjust the consistecy with more flour if needed, so that if you pinch the dough between your fingers it will not crumble.

Transfer the dough to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 1 hour. Dust a piece of parchment paper with flour and roll the dough to 1/4 inch thickness using a plastic wrap on top to protect it as you roll. Cut round shapes, at this point the dough might be getting too soft, so place it in the freezer.

Remove from the freezer, cut centers out of half of the rounds, place in the freezer again for 20 minutes and bake from frozen in a 350F oven.

Spread jam on the round cookies, top with the open circles, and dust the surface with powdered sugar.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: You know I never lie to you. These were a labor of love. The absence of butter in the dough makes it very soft and tricky to work with. If you are not comfortable making regular Linzer cookies, take your time, and keep chilling the dough in the freezer at each step. Roll out, freeze. Cut rounds, freeze. Cut centers, freeze. Move to final baking sheet, freeze.

But they turned out very good, another type of vegan baking that will please those in the Butter-Egg-Dairy Team. You can trust me on that. Hand on heart.

ONE YEAR AGO: The Mystifying Hurricane Roll

TWO YEARS AGO: Pop-Tarts with Strawberry Balsamic Jam

THREE YEARS AGO: Ptichye Moloko, a Russian Dessert

FOUR YEARS AGO: Cheesy Low-Carb Zucchini Tarts

FIVE YEARS AGO: Blogging Hiatus

SIX YEARS AGO: Apricots, Three Ways

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Up Close and Personal with Kale

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Black Berry Cherry Sorbet

NINE YEARS AGO: Asparagus Pesto

TEN YEARS AGO: Chocolate and Chestnut Terrine

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Under the spell of lemongrass

TWELVE YEARS AGO: Greens + Grapefruit + Shrimp = Great Salad!

HAVE A HEART

Posted in Breads, Cookies, macarons by

A WORDLESS POST

ONE YEAR AGO: Marbled Charcoal Sourdough

TWO YEARS AGO: Sundried Tomato and Feta Cheese Torte

THREE YEARS AGO: Blueberry and Mango Curd Macarons

FOUR YEARS AGO: First Monday Favorite

FIVE YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen, August 2016

SIX YEAR AGO: Ka’Kat, a Middle Easter Snack Bread

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Spinach and Chickpea Curry

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Sautéed Zucchini with Sun-dried Tomatoes and Basil

NINE YEARS AGO: Orzo with Heirloom Tomato Relish

TEN YEARS AGO:  Headed to Brazil!

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: The Rhubarb Brouhaha: Revelation Compote

TWELVE YEARS AGO: Love me tender…

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!

Posted in Cake, Cookies by

In this post I share chocolate cookies and brownie cupcakes, all dressed up for the occasion. Recipe for cookies can be found here, and brownie cupcakes with a click here.

Four types of decorations, depending on how much icing and how much work you’d like to put into the cookies. The simplest is the chocolate star with the sprinkle border. All you have to do is pipe a little line of icing all around and then dip the cookie gently in sprinkles. The hexagons were featured recently on my baby blog.

These stars were inspired by Haniela. They started with a flooded white cookie, and then some were air-brushed with a combination of stencils (stripes and stars), and some were outlined with a three-color icing using a flat icing tip.

The 4th of July Hearts were inspired by something I saw on Instagram last year and saved for the future. And the future is now!

Cupcakes were made using 1/8 tsp of orange oil to flavor the cake batter. The icing was flavored with chai extract, as described in my post from a couple of months ago. Patriotic sprinkles complete the look…

I hope you are having a wonderful 4th, and please if you are into fireworks, think a little bit about all those pets getting terrified out there. If you can minimize your fun, or do it away from residential neighborhoods, please consider doing so.

ONE YEAR AGO: 4th of July Inspired Baking

TWO YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen, July 2019

THREE YEARS AGO: Brigadeiros for the 4th of July

FOUR YEARS AGO: Kaleidoscopic Macarons

FIVE YEARS AGO: Zucchini Noodles with Sun-dried Tomato Pesto

SIX YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen, July 2015

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Sous-vide Pork Chops with Roasted Poblano Butter

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Roasted Strawberry-Buttermilk Sherbet

NINE YEARS AGO: Amazing Ribs for the 4th of July!

TEN YEARS AGO: Baby Back Ribs on the 4th of July

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Blueberry Muffins

TWELVE YEARS AGO: A Pie for your 4th of July

GROWN-UP SPICY CHOCOLATE COOKIE

Posted in Cookies by

I bake cookies often. So often that I ended up starting a new blog just to document my adventures in the subject. But whenever I want to share a new recipe, it will be here, in the good old Bewitching Kitchen. This cookie is super versatile. It is so flavorful and complex that it can stand on its own without icing, without filling. But I’ve used it in many different formats, as you will see in my post published simultaneously in my baby blog. It resembles an Oreo in texture and basic taste. But then the chipotle and cinnamon kick in… and all of a sudden you are in love.

GROWN-UP SPICY CHOCOLATE COOKIES
(from the Bewitching Kitchen)

226g butter
200g sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg
380g flour
12 g cocoa powder
12g BLACK cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 to 1/2 tsp chipotle pepper
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Mix flour, both types of cocoa powder, chipotle pepper, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl. Reserve.

Cream butter with sugar with a Kitchen Aid type mixer. Add vanilla and egg. Mix until incorporated, then add the dry ingredients in three portions, mixing on low speed. When the dough starts to glue together, stop, check if it holds well when you press a small amount of it with your fingers. Adjust with more flour if needed. Pat the dough into a disc and place in the fridge. It can also be rolled out immediately if you did not have the butter too soft in the beginning.

Roll to desired thickness, cut in shapes, freeze for 10 minutes before baking at 350F. Baking time will depend on size of the cookies, usually 12 minutes.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: I did something totally different to get the pattern on these cookies. I used a fondant impression mat, laid it on top of the rolled cookie and then cut the rounds and baked. Inspiration came from the great Dawn Williams, a virtual friend from Facebook, aka Queen of Molded Cookies.

This is the mat… Available on amazon.com

And this is the dough after imprinted with it (dough is rolled over parchment, mat goes on top, then a rolling pin presses it gently over the dough. Peel the mat off, and you are left with this:

Cut rounds, freeze for 10 minutes and bake straight from frozen…

The cookies will be ok without any further adornment. But you know I cannot resist some bling, so I used gold luster dust mixed with vodka and brushed lightly on the design. The suspension needs to be a bit on the thick side, so that it won’t puddle inside the whole pattern.

For the dough, you can also skip the cinnamon and use orange extract + orange zest. Works great too. If you don’t have black cocoa, simply use the full amount of Dutch cocoa. I find that mixing some black with it makes it perfect for my taste. I’ve done in countless times, tweaking the recipe a bit and pretty much anything works.

Now, I invite you to visit my baby blog
to see how versatile this simple dough can be…

See you there!

ONE YEAR AGO: The Home Bakers Collective, May Project

TWO YEARS AGO: Purple Star Macarons

THREE YEAR AGO: Smoked Salmon, Fait Maison

FOUR YEARS AGO: Kouign-Amann, Fighting Fire with Fire

FIVE YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen, Yin and Yang

SIX YEARS AGO: Chocolate Toffee Banana Bread

SEVEN YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen, June 2014

EIGHT YEARS AGO:  Strawberry Frozen Yogurt

NINE YEARS AGO: Baked Coconut and “The Brazilian Kitchen”

TEN YEARS AGO: Honey-Glazed Chicken Legs

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: French-Style Rolls