108 ASIAN COOKIES

Posted in Cookies by sallybr

I am totally in love with this cookbook! I have a soft spot for baking that is not overly sweet, which might sound strange, as I bake so many sugar cookies, macarons, and cupcakes. But a recipe that calls for adding miso to a cookie gets me dreaming. Salted caramel? Same thing. This is actually my second cookbook from Kat Lieu, and I think both would be a great Christmas gift for bakers (wink, wink).

To order 108 Asian Cookies, click here

To order Modern Asian Baking, click here

Without further ado, here is a wonderfully delicious recipe for Masala Macaroons…

MASALA MACAROONS
(published with permission from 108 Asian Cookies)

One 14-ounce (396 g) can sweetened condensed milk
1 ripe small banana, mashed
1 teaspoon red miso
One 14-ounce (396 g) bag unsweetened shredded coconut
2 teaspoons garam masala
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
½ teaspoon ground ginger
About ⅓ cup (60 g) semisweet chocolate chips, plus more as needed
1 teaspoon neutral oil
Sea salt flakes, for garnish
Sprinkles, for garnish (optional)

Heat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. In a large mixing bowl, mix the condensed milk, mashed banana, and miso until combined. Add the shredded coconut, garam masala, cardamom, and ginger and mix until well combined and the dough can hold itself together.

Scoop heaping tablespoons of batter for each macaroon and place on the prepared baking sheet. Keep their rounded mound shapes and give each about 1 inch of space. Bake all the macaroons until the edges are crispy and golden brown and the tops are lightly toasted, 16 to 18 minutes.

Let the macaroons set on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. While the macaroons are cooling, combine the chocolate chips and oil in a medium heatproof bowl and microwave in 30-second bursts, stirring after each interval, until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Dip the bottoms of the cooled macaroons into the melted chocolate. Place them back on the parchment-lined baking sheets to set. Drizzle additional melted chocolate on top of each macaroon. Before the chocolate sets completely, sprinkle a few flakes of sea salt and sprinkles on top of each macaroon.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: These were superb, I confess to stealing one from the donation box and being happy that I did… If you don’t like coconut, of course these are not for you, but if you love them, be ready for a treat! Easy to make, rich and luscious, one will satisfy your sweet tooth, but the spices and miso tone it down substantially. Truly special… You need them in your life.

As a teaser, these are chocolate chip cookies described by Kat as Best Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever. They take Ovaltine, molasses and miso. To die for, honestly. You need these cookies and this cookbook in your life.

Big thank you to Kat for allowing me to share this recipe today!

ONE YEAR AGO: Three Little Cookies for the Holidays

TWO YEARS AGO: Two Festive Cakes, Part One

THREE YEARS AGO: Broccoli Slaw Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

FOUR YEARS AGO: Vegan Blueberry-Lemon Cheesecake

FIVE YEARS AGO: Green Tea Rice with Edamame and Butternut Squash

SIX YEARS AGO: Santa Hat Mini-Mousse Cakes

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Fun with Sourdough

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Pasteis de Nata

NINE YEARS AGO: New Mexico Pork Chile, Crockpot Version

TEN YEARS AGO: Chocolate on Chocolate

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Double Chocolate and Mint Cookies

TWELVE YEARS AGO: The Story of my first Creme Brulle’

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO: Sourdough Mini-rolls

FOURTEEN YEARS AGO: Focaccia with Sun-dried Tomatoes and Gorgonzola

FIFTEEN YEARS AGO: Mediterranean Skewers

SIXTEEN YEARS AGO Fettuccine with Shrimp, Swiss Chard, and Tomatoes

5Dec2025

THE NUOVVA PAN, MY NEW SOURDOUGH TOY

Posted in Breads by sallybr

I admit it. I didn’t try to resist the temptation to buy this pan. It was too adorable and I needed it in my life. Today I share my very first adventure with the Nuovva double Dutch oven (click here for ordering info).

The pan is available in several colors, but my heart was set on this gorgeous red version. It is almost exactly 16 inches, so unless your oven is really small, you should have no issues using it.

DUET OF SOURDOUGH BOULES
(from The Bewitching Kitchen)

580g bread flour
20g whole-wheat flour
420g water
11g salt
85g starter (I used stiff, at about 75% hydration)

Mix all ingredients in the bowl of a KitchenAid type mixer fitted with the dough hook. Knead gently for about 4 minutes (first or second speed maximum).

Transfer dough to a lightly oil bowl and do a bulk fermentation with 4 folds made 45 minutes apart. Before you start the fermentation , remove a very small amount of dough to a small glass container (like those that hold spices), and mark where the level of the dough is with a permanent marker. Keep that at room temperature to monitor fermentation.

After the last folding cycle, keep an eye on the fermentation using the small vial. Ideally you want to let the dough ferment until it is double in size. Depending on the day, temperature of your kitchen, it might take 8 hours or more. Be patient, it will pay off.

Once bulk fermentation is over, divide the dough in two equal parts, shape them as two small balls and place in a floured banetton. Place in the fridge overnight.

Next day, freeze the dough for 30 minutes in the banetton, to make it easier to score later. Invert the dough on the paper liner, place in the loaf pan, you can invert it over 3 strings if you like to make a pumpkin/flower shape. Score in any way you want, or use a stencil.

Close the pan and bake at 450F for 30 minutes. Remove the lid, and allow the bread to bake further for another 15 minutes or so. I found that the surface of the bread was not browning enough so after 40 minutes I removed them from the pan and let them bake for additional 10 minutes over the rack, outside of the pan.

Let it cool completely before slicing.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: Cannot tell you how much we loved these loaves! They look adorable and baked perfectly side-by-side in the pan. I will be using it often. The loaves would be perfect for a dinner party, a sure way to impress your guests.

Did I need another sourdough toy? Probably not.
Am I happy I got it? OH, YEAH!

ONE YEAR AGO: November Cookie Round-up

TWO YEARS AGO: Pumpkin Shaped Soft Pretzel Rolls

THREE YEARS AGO: Cod Coconut Curry

FOUR YEARS AGO: The Best Ever Eggplant Parmigiana

FIVE YEARS AGO: Roasted Butternut Squash and Grapes with Maple Pomegranate Glaze

SIX YEARS AGO: A Really Big Announcement

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

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Monday Blues

NINE YEARS AGO: A New Way to Roast Veggies

TEN YEARS AGO: Two Takes on Raspberries

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Spice Cake with Blackberry Puree

TWELVE YEARS AGO: Own Your Kitchen with Cappuccino Panna Cotta

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO: Chicken Parmigiana, the Thriller

FOURTEEN YEARS AGO: Wild Mushroom Risotto

FIFTEEN YEARS AGO: Tartine Bread: Basic Country Loaf

SIXTEEN YEARS AGO: Pugliese Bread

22Oct2025

SPIDER WEB SOURDOUGH LOAF

Posted in Breads by sallybr

And three small changes in my overall sourdough approach… I will save those for the comments, check it out in case you are interested. But first things first, the method to make a scary good sourdough bread in the comfort of your kitchen…

SPIDER WEB SOURDOUGH LOAF
(from The Bewitching Kitchen)

410g bread flour
275g water
8g salt
75g starter (I used stiff, at about 75% hydration)

Mix all ingredients in the bowl of a KitchenAid type mixer fitted with the dough hook. Knead gently for about 4 minutes (first or second speed maximum).

Once bulk fermentation is over, shape the dough and place in a floured banetton. Place in the fridge overnight.

Next day, freeze the dough for 30 minutes in the banetton, to make it easier to score later. Invert the dough on the paper liner, place in the loaf pan. Add cocoa powder on the surface and score the pattern of a spider web.

Place small cubes of ice on the four corners of the pan, sliding the ice cubes between the metal pan and the paper liner. Place an inverted pan on top to act as a lid, and bake at 450F for 30 minutes. Remove the top pan, and allow the bread to bake further for another 15 minutes or so.

If when you remove the bread from the pan the bottom seems a little soggy, place it back in the oven over a rack and bake for 5 minutes outside of the pan.

Let it cool completely before slicing.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Pan liners available here

Loaf pans similar to these ones. I have a set of four, could not find the exact match. But they are 9 x 5 (inches).

Comments: I’ve been playing quite a bit with my default recipe for sourdough and the main change is that I now prefer to use a stiff sourdough starter to make my dough (sourdough starter from my fridge + 80g flour + 60g water, for a 75% hydration level). I like the way it handles, I like that it stays at maximal height for longer time than the 100% hydration version. In some bakes I have reduced the hydration to 60% – in this case the starter almost behaves like a dough that you can knead to mix – but after talking with my friend Philip, who recently also got into stiff starters, I settled for 75%. The good news is that I don’t need to adjust anything in the recipe, I can use my formula with the exact same amount of stiff versus loose starter. The difference in the amount of total flour is negligible and does not affect the outcome.

My second change is following the fermentation
with a small amount of dough removed once I mix it.

It turns out that I never bothered doing that, and yes, my bread was usually pretty good, no problems, but I had some inconsistencies from loaf to loaf that were hard to explain. It turns out that I always left the dough for 5.5 hours in bulk fermentation and after monitoring my dough with this method, I realize that in most cases I was cutting it a bit short. What I love about this simple detail is that I now wait until it doubles or almost doubles, shape the dough and retard in the fridge. It is really fun to see how it is quite sluggish in the first few hours and then in the last 90 minutes or so it gets going at a faster pace. No need to buy special gadgets that monitor the fermentation under controlled temperature. A simple little glass vial is all you need…

And finally, the third change is that I now freeze the dough for 30 minutes before inverting it out of the banetton and doing the scoring. Especially when doing more intricate designs, freezing the surface helps a lot. If you are just slashing the dough with two crossed lines, no need to freeze, but anything that requires a bit of more time you will notice a huge improvement.

And let the countdown to Halloween begin!

ONE YEAR AGO: Halloween Almond Cookies

TWO YEARS AGO: Miso-Honey Chicken Thighs

THREE YEARS AGO: Raw Zucchini and Chickpea Salad with Tahini Yogurt

FOUR YEARS AGO: Black Tahini Shortbread Cookies

FIVE YEARS AGO: A Fruitful Trio (of Macarons)

SIX YEARS AGO: Halloween Entremet Cake

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Pork with Prunes, Olives and Capers

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Kansas Corn Chowder

NINE YEARS AGO: Impossibly Cute Bacon and Egg Cups

TEN YEARS AGO: Pulling Under Pressure

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Cooking Sous-vide: Two takes on Chicken Thighs

TWELVE YEARS AGO: Miso Soup: A Japanese Classic

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO: On my desk

FOURTEEN YEARS AGO: A must-make veggie puree

FIFTEEN YEARS AGO: Vegetarian Lasagna

SIXTEEN YEARS AGO: Brazilian Pão de Queijo

18Oct2025

FRIENDLY GHOST CUPCAKES (NO FONDANT!)

Posted in Cake by sallybr

The idea for these cupcakes came from this recent post in a blog I love… She added the disclaimer of “NO FONDANT” in her title and I decided to do the same because the first thing that comes to mind when you see these babies is… wow, that is A LOT of fondant! No, friends. The ghost “clothing” is made of modeling chocolate! How cool is that?

The road to make these babies was full of trepidation. I opted for cupcakes after exchanges with Haniela, the Cookie Goddess who is also an amazing baker in all fronts. She had made cupcakes covered in fondant (check them out here) so my adventure was a cross between two ideas.

First things first. I made chocolate cupcakes using this adorable pan from Wilton, the same that Haniela used in her bake. The result was a complete disaster. I forgot to spray the cavities (can you believe it?) and the cakes did not release. I was left with a mess of cake crumbs. I was ready to bag the project for that day, but Hani gave me the brilliant idea of making cake pops in the pan. I gathered the crumbs, mixed with a simple American chocolate buttercream, and pressed into the cavities. Froze for 1 hour.

That worked like a charm. Brought the pan to room temperature, dipped the bottom in hot water for 5 minutes, and they all came out perfectly domed. After that, I gave them a light coating with chocolate buttercream and placed back in the freezer while I worked on the modeling chocolate.

MODELING CHOCOLATE USING WILTON CANDY MELTS

Melt 15 oz WHITE WILTON candy melts gently in the microwave

Heat 1/3 cup light corn syrup in the microwave for just 10 seconds until barely warm

Mix corn syrup with melted candy, stir. When it forms a dough, stop immediately.

Allow it to sit at room temperature, covered in plastic for 2 hours or overnight.

Roll out between two sheets of parchment paper, cut circles large enough to drape over the cakes.

Cut circles for eyes using a small piping tip. Glue sprinkles, and if desired, spray with diamond dust or another type of glitter of your choice.

I am so in love with this project! Maybe one day I will be brave enough to do the large cake from Sprinklebakes blog, but for the time being I am happy with these. Huge thank you to Haniela for saving my day after the baking fiasco.

ONE YEAR AGO: Semolina Sourdough

TWO YEARS AGO: Incredibly Simple, times three

THREE YEARS AGO: Chile Rellenos

FOUR YEARS AGO: Vietnamese “Pizza”

FIVE YEARS AGO: Chocolate Bonbons with Mango-Ganache Filling

SIX YEARS AGO: Giant Cookie Meets Mousse

SEVEN YEARS AGO: The Brazilian Battenberg

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Salzburg Sourdough

NINE YEARS AGO: If I had One Hour

TEN YEARS AGO: Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Cake

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Sourdough Rye Bread with Flaxseeds and Oats

TWELVE YEARS AGO: Apricot-Raspberry Sorbet: A farewell to Summer

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO: Marcela’s Salpicon

FOURTEEN YEARS AGO: Pork Kebabs

FIFTEEN YEARS AGO: Fondant au Chocolat

SIXTEEN YEARS AGO: Got Spinach? Have a salad!

23Jul2025

A TRIO OF BROWNIES

Posted in Cake by sallybr

I cannot pick a favorite. Ok, one is not technically a brownie, but a blondie. Tomatoes, tomahtoes… They are all delicious, luscious, satisfying, rich, borderline decadent.

BISCOFF BLONDIES

If you are a lover of Biscoff cookies, these will bring a huge smile to your face. The recipe comes from thebiteofthebakes.com but for some reason it is unavailable, so I will cut and paste it from the file I had previously saved. I linked to the main site, but for some reason it won’t work in Safari, only in Chrome.

BISCOFF BLONDIES
(from biteofthebakes)

170g butter
170g white chocolate
110g brown sugar
110g granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 egg yolk
30ml heavy cream
250g all-purpose flour
25g cornstarch
200g chocolate chips
150g chopped Biscoff cookies
200g Biscoff spread

Heat your oven to 350F. Line a 9×11″ rectangular baking dish with baking paper.

In a microwaveable bowl, melt together unsalted butter and white chocolate. Melt in short bursts stirring well each time until smooth. In a large bowl or stand mixer add your melted chocolate, butter and sugar and mix until combined.

Add the eggs, egg yolk and double cream and stir until combined, then add the flour, cornstarch, fold gently. Add the chocolate chips and Biscoff pieces. Pour the mixture into your lined baking tin and swirl on some melted biscoff spread and top with more biscoff biscuits.

Bake for 25-30 minutes. Once baked, let the blondies cool completely in the pan, then place the blondie (still in the tin) in the fridge for a few hours or overnight before slicing.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

RED VELVET OREO BROWNIES

RED VELVET OREO BROWNIES
(from cakemehometonight)

½ cup unsalted butter
½ cup light brown sugar
¾ cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs room temperature
1 large egg yolk room temperature
¼ cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp red gel food coloring
½ tsp white vinegar
1 cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
½ tsp salt
1 ½ cups roughly chopped Oreo cookies
8 Oreo cookies

Heat the oven to 350℉. Prepare a 9×9 baking pan with nonstick cooking spray and cover with parchment paper.

In a microwave-safe bowl, combine the unsalted butter and brown sugar. Microwave for 90 seconds until the butter is melted, and then whisk until the mixture is well combined and smooth. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the granulated sugar, eggs, and egg yolk. Use an electric hand mixer to whip the eggs and sugar for 2 to 3 minutes until light and pale. While mixing on low speed, slowly drizzle in the brown sugar mixture to temper the egg mixture. Add in the vegetable oil, vanilla extract, red gel food coloring, and white vinegar and mix until well combined.

Add in the all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, and salt, and mix on low speed until combined and smooth. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. Fold in the roughly chopped Oreo cookies.

Pour the red velvet brownie batter into the prepared baking pan and spread evenly with an offset spatula. Add additional broken Oreo cookies to the top of the brownie batter. Bake the brownies for 24-26 minutes until set. An inserted toothpick in the center of the brownies should come out with moist crumbs. Remove the pan from the oven and cool the brownies to room temperature. Cut the brownies into 16 squares.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

S’MORES BROWNIES

S’MORES BROWNIES
(from Eric Kim, by New York Times)

½ cup/113 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature, divided
135 grams honey graham crackers (about 9 whole crackers)
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
113 grams semisweet chocolate, broken into pieces
½ cup (100 grams) packed dark brown sugar
½ teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
½ cup (60 grams) all-purpose flour
170 grams marshmallows

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Grease a 9-inch square metal baking pan with ½ tablespoon of the butter. Line the pan with parchment paper leaving an overhang to make it easier to remove the brownies after baking. Use another 1/2 tablespoon of butter to grease the paper.

Line the bottom of the pan with a single layer of graham crackers, breaking them as needed to fit, then crush the rest of the crackers over and sprinkle with the granulated sugar.

Melt the remaining 7 tablespoons butter and chocolate gently in the microwave at 50% power. Stir in the brown sugar and salt, then let the mixture cool slightly until the bowl is no longer hot to the touch. Whisk in the eggs and vanilla, then continue whisking until smooth and shiny, about 1 minute. Whisk in the flour until no white streaks remain. Pour the batter over the graham crackers lining the pan.

Top the brownie batter with the marshmallows in a single layer and bake until the top is toasted and a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center of the brownie comes out smudged with a little chocolate, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool completely, then refrigerate in the pan until ready to serve.

To serve, lift the brownie out of the pan and slice into squares or bars. Enjoy chilled, or at room temperature.