PASTA FROLLA FOR LINZER-STYLE COOKIES

Posted in Cookies by sallybr

Some baking projects make me very happy. This was definitely one. For starters, the idea to make them came from my dear friend Jill, who shared a picture she saw in a Facebook group, and led me to investigate how to get my hands into those cookie cutters. It turns out, they are from Italy. That did not stop me….

PASTA FROLLA COOKIES WITH RASPBERRY JAM
(From the The Bewitching Kitchen)

200 g butter, cut in pieces and softened
75 g powdered sugar
40 g honey
2 g salt
1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp vanilla paste
300 g all-purpose flour
raspberry jam for filling
powdered sugar to shower the assembled cookies (optional)

Mix the flour with salt, reserve.

In the bowl of a KitchenAid type mixer, beat the butter with powdered sugar and honey until lighter in color and the sugar is fully dissolved, about 2 minutes. Add the yolk and vanilla paste, and mix well at low-speed.

Gradually add the flour/salt mixture. Mix until fully combined, but it is best to finish mixing by hand. Remove the dough from the bowl, wrap in plastic refrigerate at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.

Roll the dough, one half at a time 1/8 inch thick. Cut shapes (tops and bottoms) and bake at 350F for 10 to 12 minutes, depending on the size. Remove shapes that are smaller as they get ready.

Once the cookies are cool, cover the bottom part with raspberry jam and add the top half. Shower with powdered sugar before serving, if so desired.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: Pasta Frolla might very well be my favorite for cookies at the present time. Texture, taste, everything works. As to the cookie cutters, they can be found here. Beware, that site has things that are VERY hard to say no to. I did not worry about how long it would take for shipping, and it was a little less than 1 month. Not bad. Here is the set I used for this first adventure.

You will need two of the large 7-petal flower, 14 of the other two shapes. Then the smaller cutter is used to make the empty space in half of the cookies before baking. It is best to do the cut while the dough is still in the large cutters as I show below:

By doing that, you prevent the dough from getting distorted as you cut the inner portion out.

The other thing to consider is that the cut shapes will bake faster. Either bake them separately or be sure to remove them before the larger pieces get done, or they will brown too much.

I am totally in love with this cookie set…
Stay tuned for more “Italian Adventures” in the future.

ONE YEAR AGO: Ravioli Cookies, the Shortest Path to Insanity

TWO YEARS AGO: Peanut Butter and Jelly Babka and a Cookbook Review

THREE YEARS AGO: Painted Sourdough

FOUR YEARS AGO: Over-the-Moon Blueberry Lemon Macarons

FIVE YEARS AGO: Springtime Macarons Bake-Along

SIX YEARS AGO: Macarons for a Little Princess

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Gilding the Sourdough Loaf

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Lolita Joins the Bewitching Kitchen

NINE YEARS AGO: Cashew Cream Sauce

TEN YEARS AGO: Blood Orange Margaritas

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Smoked Salmon Appetizer

TWELVE YEARS AGO: Clementine Cake

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO: Springtime Spinach Risotto

FOURTEEN YEARS AGO: The end of green bean cruelty

FIFTEEN YEARS AGO: Torta di Limone e Mandorle

28Mar2025

A COTTON CANDY DUET

Posted in Cake, Cookies by sallybr

A bit of an unusual flavor, but so much fun!
Cupcakes or cookies? You decide!

COTTON CANDY CUPCAKES

I cannot share the recipe for the cupcakes, but the cookbook is a definite must-have if you like to bake cakes. It is full of fun ideas, unexpected flavor combinations and cute decoration ideas. Girls Just Want to Bake Cupcakes, by Courtney Carey. It is inspired by the 80’s and each recipe has a song associated with it. Huge trip down memory lane! I adore this cookbook…

In the book they suggest dividing the batter in two portions and adding pink to half, blue to half. I totally forgot about it. So my cupcakes were pure white. The frosting is marbled and the cotton candy flavor comes from LorAnn (click here). I used Cotton Candy jelly bean to decorate each cake.

MOVING ON…
COTTON CANDY CUTOUT COOKIES

COTTON CANDY SUGAR COOKIES
(from The Bewitching Kitchen)

1 cup (227g) room temperature unsalted butter
1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
1/8 cup agave nectar
3/4 tsp Cotton Candy Flavoring (LorAnn)
1/4 tsp vanilla extract or paste
1 large egg
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups (360g) all-purpose flour

Royal icing in pastel pink, blue and white, flooding consistency.
Royal icing in thick consistency for cotton candy (I used pink)
Royal icing in piping consistency for writing and cone (I used gold)
Sprinkles for edges.

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine baking powder, salt and flour in a bowl. Reserve.

Cream butter and sugar until smooth, at least 2 minutes. Add the agave nectar and mix until combined.

Beat in cotton candy flavoring, vanilla and egg. Add the dry ingredients and mix just until a dough forms.

You can roll it right away or place in the fridge for 30 minutes if you prefer.

Roll the dough, cut shapes and freeze for 10 minutes before baking until slightly golden at the edges. Depending on the size of the cookie, 10 to 14 minutes.

Decorate with Royal icing as desired.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: Decorating these cookies is quite straightforward, just pipe the border with white icing and coat with sprinkles. Then flood the whole cookie with three pastel colors and marble them with a spatula. Allow it to set and add the details. Once it all set, I painted the letters and the cones with Rose Gold luster powder from SugarArt. I am not sure one can really detect the flavor of Cotton Candy but they were delicious anyway…

ONE YEAR AGO: Helen Fletcher’s Pineapple Kolache

TWO YEARS AGO: Blood Orange and Cranberry Mini-Cakes

THREE YEARS AGO: Simnel Cupcakes

FOUR YEARS AGO: Oat and Sesame Seed Sourdough

FIVE YEARS AGO: Moroccan Turkey Pie with Olive Oil Crust

SIX YEARS AGO: Another Twisted Sister of the Shepherd’s Pie

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Cashew Chicken, My Way

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Two Deliciously Simple Salads

NINE YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen, April 2016

TEN YEARS AGO: Spring has Sprung with Suzanne Goin

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Chai Brownies

TWELVE YEARS AGO: Pomegranate-Molasses Glazed Carrots

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO: Braised Brisket with Bourbon-Peach Glaze

FOURTEEN YEARS AGO: The Real Vodka Sauce

FIFTEEN YEARS AGO: Spring Rolls on a Spring Day

15Feb2025

BAKING WITH THE HEART – FEBRUARY 2025

Posted in Breads, Cake, Cookies by sallybr

A few bakes for the season

CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES with RASPBERRY BUTTERCREAM
(decoration inspired by @cookingclassy)

CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES WITH RASPBERRY BUTTERCREAM
(from The Bewitching Kitchen)

for the cupcakes (makes 10):

100g all-purpose flour
150g granulated sugar
20g cocoa powder (Dutch-processed)
45g unsalted butter
1/8 tsp salt
120ml milk at room temperature
1 large egg, room temperature
1 + 1/2 tsp baking powder

Heat oven to 350F.

Place flour, cocoa powder, salt, butter and sugar in the bowl of a KitchenAid type mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium-high speed until the mixture resembles coarse sand.

In a small bowl, whisk milk and egg. Pour half this mixture into the dry ingredients, and mix on medium speed. Scrape the bowl, continue mixing and pour the other half of the milk-egg. Mix on low speed until combined, then increase the speed to high for a few seconds.

Fill cupcake tins a little over half the volume, and bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting.

RASPBERRY BUTTERCREAM

113g (1/2 cup) butter, softened
1/4 cup raspberry jam, seedless
pinch of salt
3 cups powdered sugar
super tiny amount of pink food gel color

Cut the butter into cubes and place in a mixing bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix butter until smooth, for about 4 minutes. Add jam, the pinch of salt and mix again until well mixed with butter, a couple of minutes. Add the pink gel color.

With the mixer on low speed, add powdered sugar one cup at a time, mixing until fully combined and free of lumps. Once it is all incorporated, turn the speed to high and mix for 2 minutes. That will give you a smooth buttercream that you can use immediately to frost the cooled cupcakes.

Decorate with a fresh raspberry and hearts made with tempered chocolate (or compound chocolate) melted and piped into parchment paper or acetate.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: Normally I donate all the sweets I bake, but because it was Valentine’s Day, I saved one cupcake to enjoy with the hubby after our meal. OMG! Words of the husband: “Good thing we only had one to share because if we had more I could not stop eating them”. Moist, delicious, and the buttercream frosting absolutely perfect, bringing a little sharp flavor to the party. Make them. Just make them if you want a wonderful treat.

MOVING ON…

VANILLA CAKE WITH HIBISCUS GLAZE
(recipe published in the past, click here)

SUGAR COOKIES WITH RUFFLES AND ROSES
(after @sweetambs)

CHOCOLATE-CHIPOTLE COOKIES WITH CUTOUT HEARTS

OWLS IN LOVE
(after Haniela)

CHOCOLATE-COVERED OREOS

LADY-GREY MACARONS
(from the past, click here)

POLKA-DOT LOVE SOURDOUGH
(from the past, click here)

IF YOUR HEART IS NOT IN IT, EXCELLENCE IS NOT POSSIBLE

ONE YEAR AGO: Baking with the Heart

TWO YEARS AGO: Roasted Cauliflower with Chickpeas and Quinoa

THREE YEARS AGO: A Savory Phyllo Pie

FOUR YEARS AGO: Nut-Free Lady Grey Macarons

FIVE YEARS AGO: Mini-Heart Cakes for your Valentine

SIX YEARS AGO: Blue Moon Milk

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Slow-Cooked Chicken Meatballs

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Zesty Flourless Chocolate Cake

NINE YEARS AGO: Maple Pumpkin Pecan Snacking Cake

TEN YEARS AGO: Silky Gingered Zucchini Soup

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Sweet Fifteen!

TWELVE YEARS AGO: Sesame and Flaxseed Sourdough

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO: Green Beans with Miso and Almonds

FOURTEEN YEARS AGO: Saturday Morning Scones

FIFTEEN YEARS AGO: White Bread

28Dec2024

GINGERBREAD CUTOUT COOKIES

Posted in Cookies by sallybr

I am a bit surprised that I never blogged on this particular recipe, adapted over the years from several sources, including a version from Phil’s family. It uses a small amount of baking soda, that makes the cookie puff a little bit but not spread too much. My current favorite version includes ground star anise, I am kind of smitten by its flavor.

GINGERBREAD CUTOUT COOKIES
(from The Bewitching Kitchen)

375g flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp ground ginger
1 + 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp cardamoon
1/2 tsp ground star anise
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup butter (170g)
1/2 cup molasses
1 egg

Mix flour, baking soda and spices in a large bowl. Reserve.

To a mixer, add butter at room temperature and brown sugar. Beat until smooth, 2 to 3 minutes. Add molasses, mix until incorporated. Add egg and mix. Add the flour mixture in two steps, mixing at low speed.

Place dough in fridge for 1 hour to overnight. Roll out, cut shapes, bake preferably from frozen for 10 min, at 350F.

Decorate if desired, when at room temperature.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

I love the smell of these cookies while baking and also as they sit later at room temperature. The star anise is a fantastic addition, a tip I got a few years ago from Haniela.