BAKE IT BETTER, THE BOOK & THE VIRTUAL SPOT

Posted in Cookbook Reviews by sallybr

Wondering what to give to that friend who loves to bake but seems to own every single gadget known to mankind? Here is a suggestion for you: offer Matt Adlard’s Bake it Better, still hot from the press! And if you want the gift to be even more special, add to it a membership to his virtual cooking school, where every month a series of two or three recipes of increasing complexity are shared. Not just the recipe, but a super detailed video tutorial to make it happen flawlessly in your own kitchen. And when you join the site, you will immediately gain access to the closed Facebook group, where you can hang out with other baking-addicts such as yours truly… To order the book, click here… To get the membership-gift, click here.

I will now share a few recipes I’ve tried from this wonderful book, which recently was the focus of a nice baking weekend with my friend Tanya (see post about it here). The recipes are listed in the order I made them.

CHOCOLATE CHUNK BROWNIES

These are fudge-y, intensely flavored, and have a crackly topping made more special with the drizzle decoration. Matt is known for always gilding the lily in unexpected ways, often simple touches that add a lot to the final bake.

TOASTED MILK POWDER AND BROWN BUTTER COOKIES

What is different and unique about these cookies is the use of toasted milk powder plus browned butter. If you have ever heard of “bronze butter”, this is pretty much the easiest way to achieve that level of buttery intensity. His trick to add a few chips right when the cookies are out of the oven make them look pretty professional… Yes, it is the “bake it better” at work!

ALL-BUTTER SHORTBREAD

These are very special cookies that remind Matt of his Dad’s special cookies baked at his restaurant. Matt’s technique is quite straightforward, with small details that make this one of the simplest bakes of the book, but with amazing complexity of taste and texture. I aded just a little pattern on top with a rolling cutter.

PEANUT AND WHITE CHOCOLATE COOKIES

These are simply amazing! Delicious cookie that bakes soft and tender, with a puddle of peanut butter in the center. The whole design and simple decoration is typical of Matt, taking a humble cookie into a cute playful presentation through the little details. These cookies were a huge hit with our departmental colleagues.

TIGER MADELEINES

My favorite bake of this series, it required me to buy a special silicone pan for the madeleines because to do the coating with tempered chocolate you cannot quite use metal pans. Totally worth it.

Once again the traditional madeleines are made super especial by just splitting the batter in two portions, adding chocolate to one of them and making a simple pattern with a piping bag. Genius. Coating the back with chocolate just ties the whole thing together, but you can conceivably skip that step, and just bake them in a regular, metal pan. They are spectacular!

I hope you enjoyed this little peek into Matt’s first (and let’s hope NOT last) cookbook! If you love to bake or if you are a beginner baker and would like to learn perfect technique, this book is for you. Apart from the recipes I listed today, I was honored to test a few other recipes from the book while Matt was writing it and I can tell you that the Cardamon and Orange Custard Tart is simply to die for…

(available at amazon.com)

ONE YEAR AGO: Broccoli Slaw Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

TWO YEARS AGO: Vegan Blueberry-Lemon Cheesecake

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

FOUR YEARS AGO: Santa Hat Mini-Mousse Cakes

FIVE YEARS AGO: Fun with Sourdough

SIX YEARS AGO: Pasteis de Nata

SEVEN YEARS AGO: New Mexico Pork Chile, Crockpot Version

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Chocolate on Chocolate

NINE YEARS AGO: Double Chocolate and Mint Cookies

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

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Sourdough Mini-rolls

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

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO: Mediterranean Skewers

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

30Oct2023

REVVING THE ENGINES FOR HALLOWEEN!

Posted in Chocolate Bonbons, Cookies, macarons by sallybr

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

6Oct2023

DRESSING UP THE OREO COOKIE

Posted in Cookies by sallybr

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

21Sep2023

A BOUQUET OF MACARONS

Posted in macarons by sallybr

Last month I was minding my own business when my friend Vy sent me a message with a little macaron-design-teaser. This amazing baker – check her page here – shared some carnation macarons that were simply spectacular, and Vy thought I should try to make them (don’t I have great friends????). I resisted for a while, but then decided to go for it. I attempted two floral designs, first using my regular French meringue method, but that did not work well. So I am sharing the exact recipe I used for both, a Swiss-meringue version that is slightly sturdier and performed better to hold shape. The tulip-shape template for piping was from this site. I used it for the larger, pink flowers, the others were free-hand over a circle shape.

MACARON FLOWERS
(from The Bewitching Kitchen)

100g almond flour
100g powdered sugar
100g egg whites
100g granulated sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
pink, red, green gel food color

Process almond flour and powdered sugar in food processor, about 10 pulses, then pass through a sieve. Reserve.

Bring the sugar and egg whites to the top of a pan with simmering water and whisk until the sugar is fully dissolved and the mixture feels smooth if you rub your fingers into it, 2 to 3 minutes. Immediately transfer it to a KitchenAid bowl and whisk on medium-high until the meringue form solid peaks that fold just slightly as you hold the whisk up. This will take 8 to 12 minutes. Add vanilla. Add the almond flour/powdered sugar mixture, put the blade beater and mix for a few seconds. Mix a little more by hand, remove a small amount do dye green, and dye most of the meringue pink or red. Proceed to do the macaronage but do not take it as smooth as normally for regular macs, you need to hold it back so that the mixture is thicker and holds its shape when piped.

Place the red meringue in a piping bag fitted with a leaf icing tip (104 works well). Place the green meringue in a piping bag fitted with a small round tip, maybe 1/4 inch.

Pipe petals in the shape you desire, then a little green stem. Do not bang the sheet. Let them fully dry until the surface is not moist at all. These need to dry more than round shells, or they will explode. Some cracks will happen, but they usually do not interfere too much with the design.

Fill the shells with the filling of your choice. I used raspberry buttercream (from this post, but regular butter instead of vegan).

Leave the macarons in the fridge for 24 hours before serving.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: The larger, pink version had a slight curve in the shape, so it is important that you print the template in two orientations, and then pipe half the shells in one particular way. The smaller, red flowers were symmetrical, so no need to worry about that.

The more you hold back the macaronage, the sharper the shape will be, and I could have made my batter slightly thicker, but it is hard to judge when to stop. I think it was a good compromise and I did not have that many cracks or explosions. All the shells were painted with a little luster powder and vodka but that step is of course optional. It is hard for me to leave cookies alone, as you know…..

If you enjoy making macarons, consider trying some alternative ways to pipe the batter, there are so many possibilities, I am thinking of autumn leaves next, so stay tuned!

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

8Aug2023

ALMOND-CRANBERRY SANDWICH COOKIES

Posted in Cookies by sallybr

I am deeply enamored with these cookies. Think Linzer wearing a different outfit… You will need a special ingredient, that can be found here.

ALMOND-CRANBERRY SANDWICH COOKIES
(adapted from Selefina website)

FOR THE COOKIE
226g butter, room temperature
50g sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp cinnamon (cassia), ground
1 tablespoon cranberry juice powder (from Selefina)
250g all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
50g almond flour
¼ tsp salt

FOR THE BUTTERCREAM FILLING
60g butter, softened
160g powdered sugar, plus more for dusting
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 to 2 tbsp milk
1 tbsp cranberry juice powder

Make the cookie:
Using an electric mixer, cream the room temperature butter with the sugar. Once combined and smooth, add in the egg and vanilla. Stir again.

In a separate bowl whisk together the remainder of the ingredients. Once mixed, add the dry into the creamed butter mixture. Mix only until combined. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, then chill for about 20 minutes. After the dough has had time to chill, remove it from the plastic wrap and roll it over parchment paper in the thickness you prefer for sandwich cookies, I like to go reasonably thin. Using a round cookie cutter, cut out your circles and transfer them onto a parchment-lined baking tray. Then go back and cut out a smaller whole in the center of just half your cookies. Freeze the unbaked cookies for 10 minutes before baking at 350F for 8-12 minutes.

Make the buttercream: In an electric mixer, whip the butter and then slowly add the powdered sugar at a low speed. Add in the vanilla, then some milk 1 teaspoon at a time until you reach your desired consistency. Whip on high speed to add air into the buttercream for just a minute or so. Then slowly add the cranberry powder until you get your desired pink color.

Assemble the cookies: To assemble, add the buttercream into a pastry bag with a 1M tip and pipe it onto the bottom cookie pieces. Before you add the tops on, make a 50/50 mix of powdered sugar and cranberry power to dust over the top cookies. Once they’re dusted pink gently press them onto the buttercream/cookie.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: I never thought of showcasing a filling for sandwich cookies using a star icing tip to pipe a rose, but now I think it is one great way to do it. Of course, you cannot make it with jam, but it is pretty straightforward to whip up a little buttercream, and I believe totally worth it. Selefina has many interesting powders for sale. I have cranberry, butterfly pea flower, and mango. Stay tuned to see them in baked goodies soon!

The recipe for these cookies is found in their website but I modified it to use a lot less of the cranberry juice powder. It seemed excessive to almost empty my bottle to make a batch of cookies. The cranberry flavor came through bright and clear the way I did it, so I am happy with the way they turned out.