Category Archives: Cookies

BAKING THROUGH THE BLOGOSPHERE

Posted in Breads, Cake, Cookies by

Today I share six recipes from blogs I follow and love. You can find the links to each recipe so you can visit the original source and get to know them too…

Here they are, in the chronological order they showed up in our kitchen…

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HANIELA’S CHOCOLATE WHIRLS

Haniela is a cookie decorator, but her blog covers all kinds of cooking, including savory stuff. Definitely worth subscribing to her feed. This particular recipe can be found here. The chocolate variation is in the end of the post, I made no changes and used the highest amount of powdered sugar listed. I made them as sandwich cookies, and used a little caramel buttercream that I had leftover from another project. Recipe for the filling is here. I loved the contrast of the chocolate with the caramel buttercream, so keep that combination in mind.

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MARTIN’S LEMON VERBENA SHORTBREAD COOKIES

Martin blogged on these cookies right after the Botanical Episode from Great British Bake Off aired in the US. He’s been very diligent about baking along with the show, and of course, he is the best person to do that, having won the last Great American Baking Show, with a totally stellar performance. I was lucky to meet him in person when we were in London taping season 5. The recipe for these super tasty cookies can be found here.

If you’ve never baked with lemon verbena, please do so, it has very unique flavor and works absolutely perfectly in a shortbread format. I made no changes whatsoever to his recipe, and it turned out wonderful!

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KAREN’S SIGTEBOLLER

Sigteboller are Salted Rye Rolls, made with a little rye sourdough starter and some commercial yeast. Rye is a very tricky flour to work with, but I had no issues with this recipe. Both hubby and I absolutely LOVED these rolls. The salt on top is a touch of genius, but everything works with them. The taste and texture, spot on. I think Paul Hollywood should send a virtual handshake to Karen for these! Recipe available here.

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HELEN’S HASELNUSSMAKRONEN

Also known as German Hazelnut Macaroons, these should go into the OMG files of Baking… Helen does it again, shares a recipe that is super simple to prepare but amazes the tastebuds once you try a bite. My only change was to use Nutella to fill them because I realized too late that I had no seedless raspberry jam in our pantry. You can find her recipe and super detailed tutorial here.

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TANYA’S IRRESISTIBLE SPICE CAKE CUPCAKES

In case you don’t know, Tanya was my tent-baking friend in Season 5 of The Great American Baking Show and we have kept in touch ever since. Recently she and her husband visited us and we baked together, but that is a story to be told another time (SOON!). Tanya’s recipes always work, and if she says something is irresistible, I pay attention. I was forced to modify the buttercream icing, because her original post uses cream cheese frosting, but I never know for how long the cupcakes will sit at room temperature once I donate them. I felt it was safer to go the route of American buttercream, so I “spiced it up” to go along with the cake. They smell simply amazing, and although I did not get to try any, the reviews from the volunteers who served them made me super happy, and I am sure Tanya will be glad to hear that also! You can find her recipe here. For the buttercream, I used my default recipe adding 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ginger, 1/4 tsp allspice.

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CARO’S EASY PEASY SMOKIN’ CHEESE CRACKERS

Caro’s blog is one of my go-to sites when I want a recipe that will not disappoint. As I mentioned before, her posts are real tutorials, all the details that matter to make a recipe work. These cheese crackers are addictive – salty, hot to the right level, great texture. I used two types of hard cheese for them, so play with what you have in the fridge and have fun. Recipe can be found here.

I admit that I had a little help while making them, as far as timing exactly when they were perfectly done!

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ONE YEAR AGO: Crispy Air-Fried Zucchini

TWO YEARS AGO: Pasta with Cremini Mushroom Ragu

THREE YEARS AGO: A Magical Marinade

FOUR YEARS AGO: Roast Veggies with Black Barley

FIVE YEARS AGO: Pumpkin Sourdough

SIX YEARS AGO: First Monday Favorite

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Secret Recipe Club: Paalak Paneer, a Farewell Post

EIGHT YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen, November 2015

NINE YEARS AGO: Helen Fletcher’s Oatmeal Cookies

TEN YEARS AGO: Thai-Style Pesto with Brown Rice Pasta

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Shrimp with Spicy Orange Sauce

TWELVE YEARS AGO:  A Simple Appetizer (Baked Ricotta)

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO: Sour Cream Sandwich Bread

FOURTEEN YEARS AGO: Pasta with Zucchini Strands and Shrimp

REVVING THE ENGINES FOR HALLOWEEN!

Posted in Chocolate Bonbons, Cookies, macarons by


It is almost time!!!! I share with you three baking ideas to keep you appropriately spooked…

SKULL AND SPIDER MACARONS

The idea for these came from my friend Dorothy, who tagged me on Instagram after seeing this post. I opted for a filling of Caramel Buttercream and Apple Jelly for these scary creatures.

CARAMEL AND APPLE MACARONS
(from the Bewitching Kitchen)

for the shells, use my default recipe.
I dyed the shells with a very small amount of AMERICOLOR CORK

For the filling:
60g butter
120g powdered sugar
pinch of salt
5 soft caramels (Werther’s)
2 tablespoon milk
apple jelly (store-bought is ok)

Pipe the shells in skull shape or round (if you prefer to simplify). Bake them, let them cool, and pair them.

Draw the design of your choice (skull or spider) on the shells.

Make the buttercream: beat the room temperature butter for a couple of minutes. Add the salt and powdered sugar, beat until almost incorporated (mixture will be dry). Microwave the caramels with the milk until very hot, and whisk the caramels to dissolve. Let them cool slightly and add to the buttermilk. Finish creaming everything together, you should not need to add any more liquid, but if necessary, add a few drops of milk to achieve piping consistency.

Add a circle of buttercream to the bottom shell, a little blob of apple jelly in the center, and close the macaron with the top shell. Keep in the fridge for 24 hours before eating.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here


Comments: The idea for the filling came from this post. That is a great site for macaron ideas, by the way. I did not make a template for the skulls, just improvised them starting from a regular circle, so they are not all the same shape, which I think is even better for a spooky bake.


SPOOKY CHOCOLATE-COVERED OREOS

Use your regular mold for covering Oreos and use a contrasting color of chocolate to drizzle and glue sprinkles. The ghost is made with a smear of white compound chocolate on parchment paper, and orange sprinkles for the eyes. Once that is set (within a few minutes), place on the covered Oreo with a tiny amount of melted chocolate.


NINE BLACK CATS

These are my default Chocolate-Chipotle cutout cookies, iced with orange Royal icing and painted with Sugarprism. I just did a free-hand drawing, following the design of Kathy Barbro (IG page here).

ONE YEAR AGO: Happy Halloween from my Cookie Blog to You!

TWO YEARS AGO: Incredibly Simple Carrots

THREE YEARS AGO: Sarah Bernhardt’s Cookies

FOUR YEARS AGO: A Really Big Announcement

FIVE YEARS AGO: Stir-Fried Chicken in Sesame-Orange Sauce

SIX YEARS AGO: Monday Blues

SEVEN YEARS AGO: A New Way to Roast Veggies

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Two Takes on Raspberries

NINE YEARS AGO: Spice Cake with Blackberry Puree

TEN YEARS AGO: Own Your Kitchen with Cappuccino Panna Cotta

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Chicken Parmigiana, the Thriller

TWELVE YEARS AGO: Wild Mushroom Risotto

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO: Tartine Bread:  Basic Country Loaf 

FOURTEEN YEARS AGO:  Pugliese Bread

DRESSING UP THE OREO COOKIE

Posted in Cookies by

Talk about a classic cookie, loved in more than 100 countries, born as Hydrox in 1908, sold in many flavors, some do not exist anymore (Lemon Meringue, anyone?). More than 40 billion Oreos are made every year, so why not make 20 or so in your own kitchen? Here is how.


OREO COOKIES
(slightly modified from Tasty.com)

FOR THE COOKIES
1 cup (225g) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup (200g)white sugar
2 teaspoons salt
2 large eggs
2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour
1 heaping cup (140g) dark cocoa powder
½ teaspoon baking soda

CREAM FILLING
½ cup (113g) butter, softened
2 cups (240g) powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Using a Kitchen Aid type mixer with a paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs until fully incorporated. In a bow, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and mix together until combined.


Turn the dough out onto your surface and push together into a flat square. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Heat oven to 325˚F. Remove the dough from the fridge, roll out and if desired, use a patterned rolling pin or other embossing gadgets to create a pattern. Cut the cookie rounds and freeze for 10 minutes before baking for about 15 minutes.

To make the filling, combine butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla in a medium mixing bowl. Beat together until light and fluffy. Assemble the cookies by spreading a generous scoop of the icing onto one of the cookies and sandwiching it with another.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: These are definitely for intense chocolate lovers, as the black cocoa pushes the chocolate flavor to higher levels. They are of course, totally fine made plain, but I cannot help dressing them up a bit with the pattern on top.

And now, let me take you through a little Chocolate-Covered Oreo Adventure! You need to get the appropriate molds, either plain or with designs and go to work. When using plain molds, I like to add chocolate transfer sheets to make them more visually appealing.

TRANSFER SHEETS
DARK AND GOLD

TRANSFER SHEETS
MISCELLANEOUS

The thing with transfer sheets is that unfortunately you get what you pay for. It is possible to find quite affordable options on amazon, etsy, but if you pay a little more you will be much happier with the results. Less flaking, sharper images. One great brand (the one I used for the ones below) is called LUCKS but apparently they are not in business anymore, it broke my heart. I had those golden dot sheets for years, and wanted to get some more.

SPECIAL MOLDS

All my molds with patterns are from Spinningleaf.com

You can dress up Oreos using molds that generate a pattern. I sometimes dye a small portion of compound chocolate and paint areas of the mold before pouring the contrasting color. You need to let the painted area fully set before pouring the warm chocolate on top.

REACH FOR THE STARS

For the stars, I dyed some chocolate with yellow ad also brushed the inside of the mold with gold. Next time I will go for more contrast.

WORSHIP THE SUNFLOWER


One of my favorites, the sunflower mold, you just need to be careful painting the center so that the edges stay sharp.

BAKE WITH YOUR HEART

Making chocolate-covered Oreos is a weekly event for me, as it turns out they are THE most popular item with the homeless meals. That and a certain banana bread that I shared not too long ago. I hope you enjoyed this post, and consider playing with Oreos also.

ONE YEAR AGO: OMG Roasted Sweet Potatoes

TWO YEARS AGO: Air-Fried Eggplant Raita

THREE YEARS AGO: Turkey-Pumpkin Roulade with Cider Sauce

FOUR YEARS AGO: Strawberry-Vanilla Mini-Cakes

FIVE YEARS AGO: Bourbon-Glazed Pork Tenderloin with Pea Pesto

SIX YEARS AGO: Chocolate Chip Cookies from Naturally Sweet

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Little Bites of Paradise

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Maple-Glazed Pumpkin Bread

NINE YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen, October 2014

TEN YEARS AGO: Grilled Steelhead Trout

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Brown Butter Tomato Salad

TWELVE YEARS AGO:  Spelt and Cornmeal Rolls

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO: Roasted Potato and Olive Focaccia

FOURTEEN YEARS AGO: Multigrain Bread Extraordinaire

HAVE A HEART

Posted in Breads, Chocolate Bonbons, Cookies, macarons by

A wordless post.

For last year’s version, click here

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ONE YEAR AGO: Chocolate-Hazelnut Tartlets

TWO YEARS AGO: Turkey Taco Salad

THREE YEARS AGO: Cheese and Pesto Emmer Roll-ups and Elaine’s Cookbook Review

FOUR YEARS AGO: Mango-Hazelnut Entremet Cake

FIVE YEARS AGO: Lebanese Lentil Salad and a Cookbook Review

SIX YEARS AGO: Cottage Loaf

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Sourdough Loaf with Cranberries and Walnuts

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Sichuan Pork Stir-Fry in Garlic Sauce

NINE YEARS AGO: Our Green Trip to Colorado

TEN YEARS AGO: Ditalini Pasta Salad

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Celebrate Wednesday with a Thai Seafood Curry

TWELVE YEARS AGO:  Post-workout Breakfast

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO: Semolina Barbecue Buns

FOURTEEN YEARS AGO: Lavash Crackers

MISO CARAMEL CRACKER COOKIES

Posted in Cookies by

If you like salty-sweet things, these are for you. If you are not into baking, or – dare I say – if you describe yourself as a total bake-o-phobe, these are for you. No baking involved. A little stirring, a little melting, a lot of fun. Beware: they are addictive!


MISO CARAMEL CRACKER COOKIES
(from Molly Yeh)

11 ounces store-bought caramels (Like these)
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 + 1/2 tablespoons miso paste
About 2 1/2 sleeves butter crackers, such as Ritz (about 72 crackers)
8 ounces chopped dark chocolate or dark chocolate chips (see my comments)
Sprinkles, for topping


In a medium pot, combine the caramels and heavy cream. Heat over medium low, stirring, until the caramels are melted and the mixture is smooth, about 7 minutes. Stir in the miso and remove from the heat. Let cool for a few minutes, so the caramel can thicken slightly.

Arrange half of the crackers salty-side down on a baking sheet lined with parchment and drop about 1 teaspoon caramel per cracker. Top each with another cracker salty-side up. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
In a double boiler or a microwave in 30-second increments, melt the chocolate, stirring until smooth. Let cool slightly.

Dip the crackers halfway into the chocolate and place back on the baking sheet. Add sprinkles. Let set in the refrigerator or at room temperature until the chocolate is firm, about 30 minutes.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: These got super nice reviews from our departmental colleagues. You can change the caramel by omitting the miso, adding orange, or anything you might fancy. Maybe use white chocolate to coat and different types of sprinkles. But the combination of miso caramel with the dark chocolate and the crackers is hard to beat. To coat, I used a 50:50 mixture of bittersweet chocolate with compound chocolate, which gives a little more smoothness to the coating and also tends to dry harder than untempered chocolate would. Feel free to temper chocolate if you prefer, or use any coating you like. The soft caramel with a hint of salt from the miso goes very well with the cracker and the intense chocolate coating. Truly delicious!

If you are looking for something to take for a potluck party, or to serve to friends watching a football game, or to sweeten up your book club reading, consider making a batch.

ONE YEAR AGO: Mooncakes for Mid-Autumn Festival

TWO YEARS AGO: Almond-Raspberry Triangles and a Special Cookbook Review

THREE YEARS AGO: Sweet and Spicy Roasted Cauliflower

FOUR YEARS AGO: Roasted Cauliflower Salad over Hummus

FIVE YEARS AGO: Queen of Sheba

SIX YEAR AGO: Brunch Burger

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Mango Salsa with Verjus

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Raspberry Bittersweet Chocolate Chunk Brownies

NINE YEARS AGO: Scary Good Pork Burgers

TEN YEARS AGO: Review of exercise program Focus25

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Celebrate Wednesday with a Thai Seafood Curry

TWELVE YEARS AGO:  Post-workout Breakfast

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO: Semolina Barbecue Buns

FOURTEEN YEARS AGO: Lavash Crackers