CANDY CANE COOKIES

Posted in Cookies by sallybr

Candy Cane Cookies 2

Before the holiday season is over, I must share with you these adorable little cookies I made for a Holiday Dessert Party hosted by a colleague from our department. The idea is a get-together mid-afternoon in which everyone brings something sweet. It can be a cake, a pie, cookies, bars, preferably home-made, but no one will be mad if you bring store-bought stuff. The important is to join the party and have fun. When I got the invitation, I quickly assembled a list of possibilities, but decided that it would be hard to top these babies, recently blogged by Chris, from The Café Sucre Farine. They are simply PERFECT for the season, and a lot of fun to make. Too bad Greenlee is a bit too young and way too far away. Still, I know one day I’ll be making a batch with her help. Can hardly wait.

CANDY CANE COOKIES
(from The Café Sucre Farine)

1 cup salted butter, softened
⅔ cup sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup color nonpareil sprinkles
1 10-ounce bag Hershey’s Holiday Candy Cane Kisses

Heat oven to 350°F. Pour sprinkles into shallow bowl. Unwrap Candy Cane Kisses, reserve.

Combine butter, sugar and ½ teaspoon vanilla extract in bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. Add flour; beat at low-speed, scraping bowl often, until well mixed.

Shape dough into small 1-inch balls, then roll balls of dough in sprinkles, patting sprinkles gently onto any areas where sprinkles have not adhered. Place 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 14-18 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned. Remove from oven and quickly place a kiss in the center of each cookie, pressing down barely (about ¼ inch or less!) into the cookie. Let stand 5 minutes on cookie sheets, then carefully remove to cooling rack. Cool completely before moving or touching them. The kisses will take a while to firm up, so be gentle.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: These are the simplest cookies ever as far as the dough goes. A regular shortbread type, no eggs, just butter, sugar and flour. I have very limited experience with shortbread, but when I made a batch of choc chip shortbread cookies there were no issues, and I loved the resulting texture. These are shaped as balls one by one, they don’t spread too much, get all plump instead. I was worried about the cookies hardening too fast, so I left one baking sheet in the oven when they were done baking, and worked as fast as I could on the first sheet. It turns out you can take your time, get both sheets out of the oven at the same time and move along. However, make sure to have all candies unwrapped and waiting. This batch made 26 cookies, which is about half the bag. I suggest you unwrap 30 just to be on the safe side, and if there are kisses leftover be brave and do the sacrifice expected from a real baker: polish them off.

The thing I loved the most about these cookies (apart from their cuteness) is the way the mint flavor of the candy permeated through the whole cookie. I did not expect that to be the case since the candies are placed after baking. Let’s say it was a very pleasant surprise.

cooling2

This basic recipe could be adapted to so many situations! All you’ll have to do is change the color of the sprinkles, and the type of kiss candy in the center. I can visualize a batch for Valentine’s Day, for Halloween, 4th of July, or to match the colors of your favorite team or school.

Thank you Chris for a great recipe, and super helpful advice!

This will be my last post for the year, so I wish all my readers a wonderful New Year’s Eve! We are heading to Colorado for a week. I intend to face the ski slopes with the bravery of someone born and raised in the Austrian Alps.
(I am laughing so hard now I’ll need to dry my eyes)

Candy Cane Cookies from Bewitching Kitchen

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26Nov2015

TWO TAKES ON RASPBERRIES

Posted in Cookies, Desserts, Desserts, Sweets by sallybr

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL MY AMERICAN READERS!

Berries in general (except for strawberries) were not part of childhood. They were either impossible to find in Brazil or terribly, terribly expensive. It took me a while to warm up to them once I moved to the US. At first I did not care for fresh blueberries, and found raspberries impossibly tart. Maybe aging changed my taste buds, or maybe it’s the result of my gastronomic stubbornness: if I don’t care for something the first time I try, I go back at it a few months later, with an open mind. Whatever the case, I now adore all berries, including the uniquely tart raspberries, or as they are called in Portuguese framboesas. Cute name, almost as cute as the French framboises. Obviously, it’s almost impossible to beat the charm of the French language. N’est-ce pas?

Today I share with you two recipes showcasing these cute berries, both from food blogs I follow and love. The first recipe comes from Gayle’s site, and in a nice coincidence exactly one year ago I reviewed her book The Global Pastry Table. Her recipe calls for raspberry jam (I used store-bought, but you can go the virtuous route and make your own). The second recipe, from Lynda’s blog, calls for a mixture of preserves and fresh fruit. In another nice coincidence, I also reviewed her book in a not too distant past. Both recipes turned out delicious, and will be perfect for the holiday season coming up…

Pecan Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies-3

PECAN-RASPBERRY THUMBPRINT COOKIES
(from Pastry Studio)

(Makes about 60 cookies)

14 1/4 oz (3 cups + 2 tablespoons) flour
6 oz (1 1/2 cups) pecans, toasted
3 oz (1 cup) powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 oz (3 sticks) cold unsalted butter
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup – 3/4 cup raspberry jam

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment or silpats.

Place the flour, pecans, powdered sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Process until the nuts are finely ground. Cut the butter into 1/2” pieces and add along with the vanilla. Process until the dough begins to form clumps around the blade.

Roll the dough into 1 1/4” balls and set them about 2 inches apart on the cookie sheets. Press your thumb gently into the middle of each ball to make a well for the jam. Stir the jam to loosen it and then spoon about 1/2 teaspoon into the wells.

Bake until the cookies are golden brown, about 17 – 20 minutes. Place the pans on a wire rack to cool.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

compositethumb

Comments: These cookies were a lot of fun to make, but of course I think there is room for improvement. By the way, I halved the recipe and got about 32 cookies. Next time I want to make them a little more uniform in size, and also smooth out the surface a little better. But, this time I went with a rustic look. When in doubt, apply “rustic” to the title of your productions and everyone will be impressed… Let this be our little secret. And one more secret for you… do you know when I made these cookies? Six months ago! I’m not kidding you when I say I’ve got way too many things waiting in line to go public. Which also explains why I’m giving you two recipes in one single post, after all I don’t want you to wait six more months to enjoy these amazingly delicious raspberry squares that I made just a couple of weeks ago. See? I don’t always blog at a snail pace.

Raspberry squares

RASPBERRY ALMOND STREUSEL BARS
(slightly modified from Taste Food)

for the crust and topping:
½ cup whole wheat flour
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup almond flour
½ cup old-fashioned oats
½ cup dark brown sugar
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup chilled unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon almond extract

for the filling:
3/4 cup raspberry preserves
1/4 cup apricot jam
6 ounces fresh raspberries
1/4 cup sliced or slivered almonds, coarsely chopped

Heat the oven to 375°F. Butter an 8 by 8-inch baking pan. Line the bottom with parchment leaving a 2-inch overhang on 2 opposite sides. Butter the parchment.

Combine the flours, almond meal, sugars, cinnamon, and salt in a food processor. Pulse to combine. Add the butter and extracts. Pulse until mixture is coarsely blended, 10 to 12 times. Transfer 1/2 cup of the mixture to a bowl to reserve for the topping. Press the remaining mixture firmly and evenly into the pan. Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes.

Place the preserves, jam, and raspberries in a bowl. Mix with a fork to combine, lightly mashing the whole raspberries but leaving large pieces intact. Spread the mixture over the crust. Add the almonds to the reserved topping, then sprinkle the topping over the filling.

Bake until the filling is bubbling and the topping is golden brown, about 25 minutes. Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. Remove from pan and cut in small squares. Serve at room temperature or cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

barscollage

Comments: It goes without saying that the combination of raspberries and almonds is a classic. In these bars, the cinnamon component will also be quite prominent. The three flavors together form a superb trinity! I think the almond extract could be omitted if you don’t have some hanging around in your pantry, but I must say it adds a lot to the crust and topping. Make sure you let the whole thing cool completely before slicing, or it will crumble on you. I actually placed the whole baking dish lightly covered with aluminum foil in the fridge and sliced it several hours later. I cut the squares a little smaller than Lynda did, ending up with 25 squares instead of 16. Since I take these treats to the department, I like to maximize the number of servings so that more people can profit from a little sweetness on a busy morning.

I hope you enjoyed this double feature with a raspberry theme. I find that desserts and cookies made with raspberries are never overly sweet, the tartness of the berries cuts through the sugar and brightens up everything. Plus, how can anyone resist that intense red color they offer? So gorgeous!

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30Aug2015

SECRET RECIPE CLUB: TAILGATING PARTY!

Posted in Cookies, Secret Recipe Club by sallybr

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you will probably be a bit surprised to see another Secret Recipe Club feature just one week after the last one. Here’s the reason: some months have five Mondays, but there are only four groups of blogs (A through D) in the club. So in some months a Monday would be empty of virtual fun, and that is sad. The moderators then had this brilliant idea of coming up with a special theme for these extra Mondays in which all groups participate. Since football season is starting, the theme for today’s Reveal Day is “Tailgating“. Now, I must say I’m not too wild about tailgating, probably because I did not grow up in the US. But, nothing makes me miss a party, and I loved coming up with a recipe appropriate for the occasion. I was assigned the blog Dancing Veggies, hosted by Amanda, a member of Group A. One of the things I got a kick out of stalking her blog is the way she chooses pretty creative, unexpected names for her posts. For instance, what do you think a post called “Heart Racing” would be about? A bowl of chili? a hot Indian curry? Nah. It’s about Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies! 🙂 How about a post called “Meet me at Midnight?” Caviar on toast and a shot of vodka? A platter of oysters on the half shell? No, not really. That one is about German Chocolate Brownies… For this tailgating event, my contribution is a plate of cookies, and since Fall is knocking at the door (stiff upper lip ON), my cookies include the P word. Talk about someone who dances with the music… that’s me, baby, all the way! And speaking of dancing to the music, Amanda just explained to me the meaning behind her posts titles: they are all song titles, the “dancing” part of her blog, Dancing Veggies. Too awesome for words!

PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
(slightly modified from Dancing Veggies)

makes about 30 cookies

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup mashed pumpkin
1 + 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 to 1/2 cup mini dark choc chips
1/4 to 1/2 cup white choc chips

Heat the oven to 350 F.

Cream the butter and sugar for 5 minutes, until slightly fluffy. Add in the egg, salt, and vanilla extract and beat for a few more minutes before adding in the mashed pumpkin.

In a small bowl stir together the flour, baking soda, and spices. Slowly add to the wet ingredients and beat until just mixed. Spoon the dough onto cookie sheets in walnut sized portions. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until a golden orange shade. Cool on a rack.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: My main modification of the recipe was to use a mixture of white and dark chocolate chips. I am very fond of white chocolate and had just a little bit left in a bag, so I decided to put them to good use. I left the amounts pretty flexible in the recipe, because Phil loves a cookie that is loaded with chips, so see how much your dough can take and go for maximal pleasure. I think dried cranberries would work great too, by the way. The texture of the cookies is on the chewy side due to the pumpkin puree, which by the way, I used canned. As usual, no one will be able to taste the pumpkin, it just gives them a mysterious flavor. The nutmeg and cinnamon of course complement it all beautifully. A perfect Fall cookie (stiff upper lip threatening to fail).

You cannot have summer back, but you can always have a cookie!

Amanda, I had a lot of fun browsing your collection of recipes, in fact your zucchini fritters were insistently calling my name, but I thought that maybe those would be hard to enjoy at tailgating with the dipping sauce and all. So I stuck with cookies, easy to grab and run away to the stadium not to miss the kick-off. As usual, everyone can check the collection of tailgating recipes by poking the cute blue frog at the end of the post.

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21Jul2015

CHOCOLATE CHIP SHORTBREAD COOKIES

Posted in Cookies by sallybr

It’s hard to make a case for one more chocolate chip cookie recipe, but this one is worth talking about… What makes this recipe special is its shortbread nature. No eggs in the dough. As Sue described in her original post, shortbread cookies were probably the first versions “invented” by bakers. Think flour, butter and sugar. Beautify it with your favorite additions. And that’s pretty much it. The texture is completely different from a regular cookie. I think I slightly over-baked this batch, as the edges turned just a tad too dark compared to hers. It did not compromise the deliciousness of the final product, though. Trust me.

MILK CHOCOLATE CHIP SHORTBREAD COOKIES
(from The View from Great Island)

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 + 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup milk chocolate chips

Heat the oven to 350F.

Cream the butter and the sugar together. Beat in the vanilla extract.
Add the flour, a little at a time, until the dough comes together. Fold in the chips just before it all comes into one mass. Turn the dough out onto a floured board and bring it all together with your hands. Form it into a plump disk and then roll it out, flouring your rolling-pin as necessary, to about 1/3 to 1/2 inch thick.

Cut cookies with a 3″ cookie cutter, pressing down firmly to cut through the chocolate chips. Reform the dough as needed to use it all up. Arrange the cookies on a cookie sheet and then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate the whole tray for at least an hour.

Bake the cookies for about 20 minutes. You want them to be every so slightly golden just around the edges, and be slightly firm to the touch. Let them cool for a few minutes on the tray and then transfer to a rack to finish cooling.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Such a nice dough to work with! It rolls smoothly, each cookie hiding the perfect amount of chocolate chip goodness… I rolled mine straight on the countertop, nice and easy.These cookies don’t spread much, so cut them in the size you’d like to enjoy them. You might be surprised to see milk chocolate instead of dark, but I think the extra sweetness is perfect in the shortbread environment. Of course, you can use this basic recipe to make many variations. Think white chocolate and dried cranberries, toffee bits and dark chocolate would be awesome too. Not to mention macadamia nuts, a little lemon zest… Ok, I’ll stop here, but you don’t have to, put your imagination to work…

I’d never had a shortbread cookie before. With the first bite, I asked myself “do I like it?”… one more bite…. “Hummmmm, I think I do like it!“….. After two cookies disappeared in lightning speed, I realized they won me over, big time! If you’ve only had “regular” cookies until now, open your baking horizons with a batch of these.

Sue, as usual it took me quite a while to blog on this recipe… I checked my files and noticed I baked these cookies back in January, can you believe it? But better late than never to say thank you for the inspiration!

😉

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13Jun2015

FAB CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Posted in Cookies by sallybr

These cookies were originally called “Flourless Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies.” If that’s not a mouthful of a name, I don’t know what is… But doesn’t it sound great? Flourless immediately conveys a soft, melt in your mouth fudgy texture. Almond butter is the grown-up, classy version of peanut butter. Once you add chocolate chips, oats, and a touch of coconut (omitted from the already long name), you can stop searching for the perfect cookie to start the day. Or as a mid-morning snack…

The recipe comes from Zainab’s blog, Blahnik Baker. Zainab is a food blogger who is working hard to finish her PhD in neuroscience. I remember those days (the PhD days, not the neuroscience); they are bittersweet like the best piece of chocolate. Part of you is thrilled by the vision of the finish line approaching, but getting there is never easy. Always harder than you anticipate. I don’t know a single PhD candidate who at the time of the defense said “I started writing my thesis early enough, it all went smoothly”. Nope, never. But, one way or another, we all seem to get there, and at some point forget the pain, enjoy the thrill.

FAB CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
(from Blahnik Baker)

⅔ cup old-fashioned rolled
1 teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
⅓ cup coconut flakes
1 cup almond butter (I used coconut almond butter)
⅔ cup dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
⅔ cup dark chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with wax paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the oats, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and coconut flakes

In another medium bowl, using a hand mixer or stand mixer, mix the almond butter and sugar until smooth. Add in the eggs, one at a time, and mix until combined. Beat in the vanilla extract.

Reduce speed to low and add in the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined (do not over mix). Using a rubber spatula, fold in the chocolate chips by hand.

Using a medium cookie scoop, scoop 2 tablespoon rounds of dough onto the prepared sheets.

Bake cookies for 9-11 minutes. Let cookies cool on sheet for 2 minutes. Transfer cookies to a cooling rack and let cool completely.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

I did not grow up eating cookies, they were not part of my family tradition. However, since moving to the US, I developed intense fondness for cookies with rolled oats. A common American practice is to dunk cookies in milk, but I find that hard to watch. It actually makes me a little queasy, much to the amusement of one of my stepsons, who loved to tease me about it. But, the truth is that even with my anti-American stance on the dunking of a cookie, I suppose that this one would be perfect for such objectionable act.

We loved these cookies! If you don’t have coconut almond butter, use the plain type, but don’t omit the coconut flakes, they contribute a nice texture and that tropical flavor that makes these babies special and unique.

Zainab, thanks for the recipe, and good luck in this final stretch of your research, have a batch of cookies nearby, they do give a lot of energy and will make writing a tad easier. Wishful thinking?

😉

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