Di's Kitchen Notebook

Wordless Wednesday - Birthday #9

2012-01-25T07:47:00.000-06:00

I'd like to propose some toast

2012-01-22T11:30:00.000-06:00

I usually pack my lunch to take to work. It saves money, not to mention that it's usually nice not to have to go anywhere to get food. That means more reading time. =) Occasionally, I just have to get away from work for a bit, but I try to keep that to a minimum. I get lots of comments from those who envy my lunches, even when it's just a sandwich. "I bet you made that bread, didn't you?" No, I don't always, but I definitely like to when I have the time. I generally prefer hearty breads or rolls for my sandwiches, rather than traditional "sandwich bread." I'd rather save those pan loaves for toast, or better yet, French toast. They're also good for grilled cheese, but not what I prefer for cold sandwiches.

White bread dough also makes good dinner rolls, or hot dog & hamburger rolls. I almost never buy those anymore. Homemade ones just taste better, as well as hold up better to juicy burgers or sauerkraut on dogs. Another great thing is that white bread loaves or rolls are relatively quick to make--you use a straight dough that is done all in one day. There's no need to remember to make a preferment the night before. The butter and sugar in the dough can slow the rising times a bit, but you can remedy that with either some SAF Gold yeast or using a slightly warmed oven as a proofing box. Either way, look out, since although the dough can get off to a slow start when proofing, once it gets going it can blow the lid off your container if you're not paying attention. =)

I've pretty much decided that there's no way I'm going to fully complete the BBA Challenge, but my friends Kayte and Margaret are still trying to get it done. (Some of the recipes just don't appeal to me, and I don't feel like making them just to say that I did.) Even though I've skipped a bunch of recipes they invited me to join in on the White Bread variations. I don't actually make regular white bread very often--I usually can't help myself from substituting some white whole wheat flour for part of the bread flour. In fact, I did just that with the second variation of the BBA white bread, which I posted quite a while back. This time I decided to stay true to the recipe and make it with just bread flour. The first variation uses dry milk powder and water rather than milk or buttermilk. Fortunately I had some dry milk in my pantry, though I think it's almost time to replace it. Unless it's pretty fresh, I find that it tends to clump up and make small lumps in the dough.

I made the dough with the lesser amount of water, but still found it to be quite sticky. I added some additional flour while it kneaded in the mixer. I often start doughs in my stand mixer then finish kneading them by hand so I don't overheat the machine. That's what I did for this recipe, and I ended up kneading in a bunch of bench flour by hand to get the dough to the point where it was just tacky rather than sticky. I didn't keep track of the time, I just kneaded until I got a fairly decent windowpane. It wasn't perfect, but I tend to be impatient when kneading. After the initial proofing (which took a couple hours), I formed the dough into one pan loaf and half a dozen oval rolls. After letting them rise, I baked the rolls first--they got 15 minutes at 400ºF. Then I turned the oven down to 350ºF and baked the loaf for about 30 minutes.

The verdict? Whole grains and hearth breads are wonderful, but sometimes you just want some plain white sandwich bread. This one is delicious. The girls and I sampled some of it with jam for a snack, and it was a hit all around. B is excited to have the rolls for her lunch, and I'm sure both girls will be happy to have bread stashed in the freezer so we can make toast for breakfast.

If you'd like to make this bread for yourself, I highly recommend getting a copy of The Bread Baker's Apprentice. There are still a lot of people out there trying to baking through the whole book--you can read about it on the BBA Challenge Facebook page. You can read Kayte's post about this bread on her blog. And check out Yeastspotting for lots of other delicious yeasted treats.

Wordless Wednesday - Everything's better with glaze

2012-01-18T09:20:00.001-06:00

(Cream scones from Cook's Illustrated, with chips instead of currants)

P is for perfect, they're close enough for me

2012-01-17T05:00:00.000-06:00

Monday was a mostly lazy day around here. I was lucky enough to have the day off due to the holiday. It was just me and Brianna at home; I sent Gillian to daycare so I didn't have to listen to the two of them arguing. =) Actually, it was just as much because I knew I needed to take Brianna shoe shopping, and you couldn't pay me enough to do that with both of them in tow. (I like to think I've learned my lesson--the hard way--with that one.) I was pleasantly surprised that the shopping went pretty quickly. I was just plain old surprised at how much B's feet had grown--the salesperson said that the new shoes she picked run a bit small, but we still had to buy a size 4 (!) to make sure she had a bit of growing room. Crazy.

Other than the shopping, we were pretty lazy--we sat around and watched cartoons. I napped; Brianna read. I did summon up the energy to bake some cookies, though. This is yet another one of those recipes that I've made a whole bunch but never blogged. Everybody needs a good chocolate chip cookie recipe in their repertoire. For the longest time, mine was the one in my Betty Crocker cookbook, and I do still make that one sometimes. But a couple years ago, Cook's Illustrated published a recipe for what they claimed to be the Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie.

Their definition of perfect is cookies that are chewy in the middle but crisp on the edges, with lots of buttery, toffee-like flavor. Sounds pretty good to me! The keys to achieving that flavor are browned butter--melted butter makes for a chewier cookie, and browning it adds flavor--and dark brown sugar. For the texture, besides melting the butter they went with a somewhat unique mixing method to dissolve some of the sugar (helps with the crisp edges) and also removed an egg white for more chewiness. The recipe says it makes 16 cookies. Those must be some huge cookies! I made mine smaller (still about 3" across) and got twice as many. I baked them for 12 minutes. For this batch, I skipped the nuts (which I'd like but my girls wouldn't eat) in favor of a mix of semisweet and bittersweet chocolate chips.

The verdict? Well, the dough itself is extremely dangerous--to the point where I'm not usually very interested in eating the cookies once they're baked because I've eaten too much dough. =) I'm a sucker for anything with browned butter. The baked cookies are really good, too. I've made quite a few variations over time--the most popular (with people outside my house) was probably the batch I made with pecans and white chocolate chips. This recipe is my pantry focus for this month--I always have the dough ingredients on hand, and the mix-ins can be whatever I have in the pantry that sounds good.

If you'd like to make these for yourself, you can find the recipe here at Cook's Illustrated. My friend Tracey also has it on her blog.

Thank you, thank you, Sam-I-am!

2012-01-15T18:24:00.001-06:00

I do not like granola. I do not like it from a box; I would not like it with a fox. I will not eat it as a bar; I will not eat it in a car...

I bought some granola several years ago to make these TWD cookies, and as Brianna would say, it was okay, but not my favorite--definitely not something I'd eat outside of a cookie, or on a regular basis. I can sort of understand the appeal--it's a good way to get some fiber, and it can have assorted fruits and nuts in it, which are good for you. It just doesn't taste all that great, and way too much of it seems to have coconut of some sort. No need for that. And don't get me started on store-bought granola bars. Ick.

In spite of my dislike of granola, when I saw my friend Tracey's blog, I was intrigued. I had just made some oatmeal scones for breakfast using toasted oats. I don't like cooked oatmeal due to the texture, but sometimes I wish that I did like it, since you can add so many interesting things to it. The granola Tracey made had lots of ingredients that I like--pecans, brown sugar, cinnamon. I also have a giant bag of dried cranberries (thank you, Costco) in my pantry, so I was excited to see a way to use some of them. I figured, what the heck, if I hate the granola, I can always give it away. =)

I wasn't sure how much I'd like the honey in the recipe (another thing that isn't my favorite), but decided to make the recipe as written. It's really easy--first you mix together the oats, pecans, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt in a big bowl. Then you put the oil, granulated sugar, and honey in a small saucepan and warm them up. I'm guessing that's to make it easier to mix into the dry ingredients, since honey is a lot more fluid when it's warm. You stir in a whole bunch of vanilla (I used my good stuff) once the rest of the ingredients are warm, and pour the liquids over the oat mixture. Once everything is stirred together, it goes into a somewhat low oven (300ºF) for about half an hour, stirring every ten minutes or so. That's another thing that I liked about the recipe--some granola recipes have you baking the granola for a hour or longer. Once the granola is out of the oven and cool, you mix in the cranberries.

The verdict? Wow. This stuff is fantastic! It's a perfect example of why you should make things at home--freshly made granola is a whole different thing from the stuff you buy at the store. Who knew? I took a bunch of this batch to work--everyone seems to be avoiding sweets right now, having indulged too much over the holidays, so I thought maybe they'd appreciate something healthier. It was a big hit all around. I promised them that I'd bring in more as I try different variations. I can't wait to play around with the recipe to see what else I can come up with. Today I tried substituting grade B maple syrup for the honey--the honey taste isn't overpowering in the first version I made, but I really prefer other sweeteners. And how can you go wrong with maple & pecans & brown sugar? The result isn't super mapley, but it's really good. It's a bit drier/less sticky than the honey version, probably because the maple syrup isn't as viscous as honey. I also rubbed vanilla bean seeds into the granulated sugar, and cut the vanilla extract back to just one teaspoon. I'm really happy with how it turned out.

If you'd like to try the original granola recipe for yourself, you can find it here on Tracey's blog. Be sure to look around while you're there--she posts so many delicious recipes, both sweet and savory. =)

Don't fear the caramel

2012-01-13T22:46:00.001-06:00

It seems like it's been quite a while since I made anything with caramel. It's not that I was consciously avoiding it, but I realized that the last time I attempted it was when I had my difficulties with the microwave caramel sauce back in October. (I'm happy to report that my hand is all better--you can barely tell where I burned it.) I decided to revert to my old way of making it on the stovetop, and definitely won't go months without making it next time. So what exactly prompted me to start caramelizing sugar again? A cake. And what prompted me to make the cake? A new pan! It's a Christmas present of sorts--I spent some of my Christmas money (thanks, K&L!) on a very cute little 6-cup Bundt pan. For the record, it's possible that my collection is getting a bit out of control, though Mary still has me beat.

The new 6-cup pan is in the back, between the Heritage pan (left) and Kugelhopf pan (right)

Speaking of Mary, I have her to thank for the cake inspiration. Back in November when she was celebrating National Bundt Day with her latest round of 30 bundts in 30 days, Mary also did a giveaway. She invited everyone to bake and post a cake on National Bundt Day, and then drew a name to receive a copy of Cake Simple, a book full of bundt cakes. I was the winner! The book is from Christie Matheson--if the name is familiar, it may be because she also worked with Joanne Chang on the Flour Bakery cookbook.

Since I was eager to use my new pan, I started by looking through the recipes that called for a 6-cup pan. (There are also recipes for 10 or 12 cup pans, as well as a chapter on minis.) The one that immediately caught my eye was the recipe for the Salted Caramel Bundt. First you make a caramel syrup, which is used in the cake and in the glaze. The cake itself is made with the creaming method, and comes together pretty quickly. There's almost too much batter for the pan, but it worked out okay. My cake took about 45 minutes to bake.

The verdict? This was pretty tasty! The cake is really moist. I didn't really care for the texture of the glaze, so I may change that up a bit next time (no cream, I think), but it did add to the caramel flavor. As I was making the cake, I thought that the method (using the caramel syrup in the batter) seemed really familiar. Then I realized it was because I've made the cake before in a different form--this Caramel Cake with Browned Butter Frosting.

I'm sure I'll be sharing more recipes from this book in the future, but for now, here's the recipe for the Salted Caramel Bundt.

Salted Caramel Syrup

(adapted from Cake Simple by Christie Matheson)

1/4 cup (60 grams) + 1/2 cup (120 grams) water

1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar

1 teaspoon light corn syrup

1/8 teaspoon fleur de sel or other sea salt

Put the quarter cup of water, the sugar, and the corn syrup in a small saucepan with high sides and mix until combined. Bring the mixture to a boil, then cover the pan with a lid for about 2 minutes to allow steam to clean the sides of the pan. Remove the lid and cook the mixture, watching carefully, until the sugar turns a dark amber color. Swirl the pan so that the sugar will color evenly. Remove the pan from the heat and carefully add the remaining half cup of water--the mixture will bubble up furiously, so stand back. Put the pan back over medium heat and whisk to dissolve any hard bits of caramel that may have formed. Whisk in the salt, remove the pan from the heat, and let the syrup cool to room temperature before using in the cake or glaze.

Salted Caramel Bundt Cake

(adapted from Cake Simple by Christie Matheson)

2 cups (240 grams) all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon table salt

10 tablespoons (about 140 grams) unsalted butter, slightly softened

1 1/4 cups (250 grams) granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1/3 cup (about 90 grams) salted caramel syrup

1 cup (240 grams) whole milk, at room temperature

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease and flour the inside of a 6-cup Bundt pan or spray it with baking spray (I use Pam for Baking).

Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl until combined.

Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then add the vanilla. With the mixer on low, slowly add the caramel syrup and beat until incorporated. Add the flour mixture alternately with the milk (flour, milk, flour, milk, flour), beating just until the flour is incorporated.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake the cake for 45 to 55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted midway between the outside of the pan and the center post comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan on a rack for 15 minutes, then invert the cake onto a rack and let it cool completely.

Caramel Glaze

(adapted from Cake Simple by Christie Matheson)

2 tablespoons (30 grams) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup (115 grams) powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons caramel syrup

large pinch of sea salt

1 tablespoon heavy cream

Whisk all of the ingredients together in a small bowl until the mixture is smooth and pourable. Add additional cream to thin the glaze if necessary (I actually thinned mine with more caramel syrup, too). Drizzle over the cooled cake.

Warm and toasty

2012-01-11T08:49:00.003-06:00

So I said that more information would be coming on how I want to focus on my blog this year. It took me a few days to come up with a plan that I think will work well. My initial problem was that there are so many things I'd like to do. I have a ton of cookbooks, and I don't use them nearly enough. Ditto with the cooking magazines that I read regularly. I have lots of baking pans these days, and don't use them enough either. I have lots of great cooking tools, and interesting ingredients. When I started to think about all the possibilities, I didn't know where to begin. That's where the focus idea comes in. I started to make a list of ideas, and here's what I came up with:

Cookbooks

Magazines

Friends (featuring a recipe from a friend's blog)

Kids (cooking with, or stuff they would like)

Ingredients (maybe seasonal?)

Pantry (using what I routinely have on hand)

Bread (I want to make at least one new one a month)

Pans (I have lots of interesting ones, and lots of different sizes)

Tools

I stopped there--nine is my favorite number, and nine seemed like a reasonable number to fit into a month's time. Some recipes may fit into more than one category, but I'll post at least one for each separate category each month. I'm not going to do them in any particular order, since I don't need that much pressure. This idea appeals to me because it's sort of like a puzzle. Some categories may be easy to cover in a given month. Then I'll have to see what I can come up with to fill in the blanks. For January, I've already done Tools (my balloon whisk) and Magazines (the fudge cake was from Fine Cooking, one of my favorites). I've got ideas for all but Kids and Pantry, but it's fun to try to figure out what to make for those categories. This post is going to take care of Cookbooks.

I thought I'd go with one of the new cookbooks I got for Christmas. The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook is quite the tome, and contains all the best recipes from 20 years worth of magazine issues. I love my website subscription to CI when I'm searching for something, but I really enjoy browsing through a physical cookbook--that way things can jump out at me that I might never think to search for. In this case, I knew I wanted to make scones for breakfast because when I ask the girls what I should make, the answer is always "Scones! With chocolate chips, please!" I wanted something a bit more interesting than a plain scone. As for the chocolate chips, I'm not always in the mood the way they are, but it's pretty easy to divide the dough (usually two-thirds for them, one-third for me) and add in different things. I settled on the Oatmeal Scones--never hurts to sneak in some fiber when the girls aren't paying attention. =)

The thing that intrigued me about this recipe is that you toast the oats before you start mixing things together. I never would have thought to do that, but it makes sense that, like with nuts, it would add to the flavor. There are several variations at the end of the basic oatmeal scone recipe. I love maple scones, so I went with that option. In place of the granulated sugar, you use maple syrup (I used grade B). I also toasted some pecans to add to my part of the dough and I put a mix of semisweet and bittersweet chocolate chips in the rest so I wouldn't have to listen to B&G complain. =) I think the substitution of the maple syrup made the dough stickier than usual, and I didn't think I could pat it out without having to use a lot of flour. So I made drop scones instead. I used my #16 disher and got an even dozen. I baked them for 12 minutes, but could probably have left them in a minute or two longer to get a bit more browning on top. Once the scones had cooled for a few minutes, I drizzled them with maple glaze (just some maple syrup & powdered sugar, with a bit of water to thin it out).

The verdict? Who would have thought that toasting oats would make such a bit difference in the taste? These are my new go-to scone. Brianna and Gillian loved them with the chocolate chips; I thought they were terrific with the pecans. They weren't at all dry; I'm sure the maple syrup helped with that, as did the high baking temp and shorter baking time.

If you'd like to give these a try, you can, of course, find the recipe in the new Cook's Illustrated Cookbook. It's also in Baking Illustrated, and can be found online here if you have a membership to the CI website.

I'm excited about blogging again, so I think my focus idea is going in the right direction. I've added a tab at the top of the blog where I can keep track of the different categories each month. I'm also tagging the individual posts (e.g. this one is labeled with "cookbook focus" among other things) so they can be searched that way. Next up, another new acquisition--my 6-cup Bundt pan!

One little word

2012-01-08T23:01:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year! Hopefully 2012 is treating you all well so far. My year started with house guests and a busy work schedule, so I haven't had much time for blogging. But I had this weekend off, which means time to bake, so I now I have a bunch of stuff to share. First, though, I wanted to write about my ideas for what I want for my life in 2012.

I don't do New Year's resolutions. But last week, I read an intriguing post on my friend Anandi's blog. Rather than starting off the year with resolutions, she came up with a single word to use as her theme for the year. She shared a post from Ali Edwards, who has been doing One Little Word for a number of years now. The idea is to come up with one word that stands for what you want for yourself for the year. I started reading through the comments on Ali's post where others had shared the words they picked and why they chose them. Some were interesting, but after a little bit of reading I found the one that really spoke to me. FOCUS. That's what I want for my life this year.

I struggle a lot with stress and anxiety--I'm a worrier by nature. The more things that are going on, the more I feel overwhelmed and unable to figure out where to start. So I don't. I just shut down and avoid dealing with anything. I also worry way too much about being perfect and about what others think, instead of figuring out what's right for me. Already, I see my daughter Brianna (who'll be nine this month) struggling with these same things. I want to provide a better example for her. I need to focus on doing a better job of taking care of me so I can do a better job of taking care of everyone and everything else. I need to focus and handle one thing at a time. Heck, I need to slow down and figure out which things really need to be handled by me, which can be handled by someone else, and which things just aren't that important.

Sometimes I feel like I'm forty years old and I still don't really know what I want to be when I grow up. I tend to go with the flow and do what's expected of me, instead of figuring out what I really want. I've struggled with that a lot in the past year. It's really hard for me to say no when someone else wants me to do something, and even when I do say no, I end up feeling really guilty. I need to focus on that inner voice, listen to it, and give up the guilt. I suspect it's going to take me the entire year (maybe longer) to get good at all these things. And that's okay.

When I shared with Anandi that I was going to do One Little Word this year along with her, she asked if I was going to write about it, or "maybe bake a cake with FOCUS iced onto it?" Well, here you go! It was too good an idea to pass up. The great thing about this cake is that it's really quick and easy to make, and it's delicious. It was published in Fine Cooking in 2004, and I've made it quite a few times since then, but have never blogged about it. The recipe is from one of my favorite authors of chocolate recipes, Alice Medrich. One reason I love her is that she most often uses natural cocoa, which I prefer. I broke out the good stuff--Scharffen Berger--since cocoa provides all the chocolate flavor in the cake itself. Once the cake is cooled, you top it with ganache for another punch of chocolate flavor. To be honest, I've topped the warm cake with ganache and promptly eaten it with vanilla ice cream, and it's quite fabulous that way. This time, though, I made sure the cake was cool and then let the ganache set for several hours so I'd be able to decorate it.

The verdict? Anything with chocolate is well-received in this house, and this was no exception. =) As soon as Brianna and Gillian saw it, they wanted to know how soon they could have some. One thing I really like about this cake is its size--just the one layer, so we actually get through all of it while it's still at its best.

If you'd like to try the cake for yourself, you can find it here at Fine Cooking. (The recipe appears to be available to all, not just website subscribers.) If you're thinking of picking a word for yourself, Ali compiled a list from the comments on her post--you can find it here, and see what speaks to you.

Stay tuned for more posts this week. I've come up with some ideas for what I want to focus on here on my blog this year. I want variety, as well as the chance to share lots of things that I like, and I think I've come up with a good way to do that.

Wordless Wednesday - Whipped cream, unplugged

2012-01-04T05:00:00.000-06:00

(My balloon whisk is great for stuff like this.)

Wordless Wednesday - Letters to Santa

2011-12-28T06:48:00.003-06:00

Blog party!

2011-12-27T06:21:00.000-06:00

I'm still trying to figure out what was going on in December 2007 that prompted so many people to start food blogs. It seems like I keep finding other bloggers that I feel like have been around forever that started their blogs right around the same time I did. Today, I'm excited to wish Shelby of The Life & Loves of Grumpy's Honeybunch a very happy 4th anniversary for her blog! A while back, Shelby sent me an invitation to a virtual party to celebrate her blogiversary. We're all bringing one of my favorite types of party food--appetizers and small plates. What better way to get to sample lots of yummy dishes without getting full too quickly. =)

I decided to share a recipe that I've made a bunch of times, but somehow never blogged--Cheddar Cheese and Pecan Crisps. They're flaky, buttery, nutty cheese crackers that are excellent with a glass of celebratory beverage. =) You can cut out round cookies, but I like to do other shapes, like these stars. (Snowflakes are fun too, this time of year.) I've confused people a few times, when they thought they were picking up a sweet cookie and instead ended up with a savory mouthful. Not a bad thing, of course, just unexpected. The recipe suggests using a mix of cheddar and parmesan, but you can use other sharp cheeses as well. I usually make mine with just cheddar. I'm not a big fan of spicy things, but the bit of cayenne in these gives them a little kick that's very tasty. One last note--the recipe calls for 7 ounces of butter--that's 14 tablespoons. The first time I made these, I misread the amount, and used only 7 tablespoons. The crackers actually turned out okay. I'm not sure they really need the full amount (feel free to try it and see what you think), but I have increased the amount I use from 7 to 10 tablespoons, which I think works well.

The verdict? These crackers are always a hit whenever I serve them. The recipe makes lots, so I usually even have a few left over to snack on for a couple of days. I pretty much only make them for parties, otherwise I'd be tempted to eat the entire batch myself. =)

You can find the recipe here on the Fine Cooking website. For lots more great appetizers & snacks, be sure to check out all the other links to Shelby's blogiversary party. Also, to celebrate her blog anniversary, Shelby is sponsoring a giveaway on her blog. Here are the details:

Receive one entry by leaving a comment on this blog post telling me about your favorite appetizer.

For additional entries, visit the blog links that will take you to the blogs of others who have joined in the celebration party and leave a comment on each of their posts.

The giveaway will end on January 7th at 5 PM EST. The winner will be announced on January 8th via a blog post on The Life & Loves of Grumpy's Honeybunch.

The winner will be chosen via a random drawing (drawing to be done by Grumpy). The prize will be a $50 gift card which can be for ONE of the choices listed here:Sears; Kohls; Amazon; Target; Wal-mart; Chili's; Uno's; Marshalls/TJMax; Bed, Bath & Beyond; Macaroni Grill; Olive Garden; Starbucks; Barnes & Noble

The giveaway is limited to US and Canadian residents only.

Until we meet again (soon!)

2011-12-27T00:01:00.001-06:00

I posted at the end of last week that I've been blogging for four years now. I wasn't entirely sure how to begin. I started by just posting some of our favorites, and assorted things that I decided to make. So not that much different from what I do now. =) That got me through the first month or so. Then I decided to be brave. After reading this post from Peabody, I decided to join a fairly new baking group called Tuesdays with Dorie. At the time I thought I was crazy, but it's one of the best things I ever did. I've learned to bake lots of amazing things, and made some fantastic friends.

In the beginning, I participated almost every week. Over time, other things (work & family being two of the biggest) claimed more of my time than they used to, though I still tried to keep up. For the past couple months, I've still been baking a lot of the time, but haven't always had the time or felt the inspiration to write. And now, after four years, we've come to the end of the book. Don't worry, you'll continue to see Dorie recipes here on my blog, since there are some that I haven't posted that I want to. Not to mention the fact that Dorie has written other books. But more about that in a bit.

I was looking through some of my earliest blog posts and was amazed to see how much my girls have grown. When I started all this, Brianna was about the age that Gillian is now. Wow. After getting a new baking book for Christmas, Brianna made us breakfast (mini corn muffins) on Monday pretty much all by herself. I have to say, it's quite a change to be just a coach when you're used to being the baker. I promised Gillian that she could help me with the TWD recipe, fittingly the Kids' Thumbprints. She helped me measure things on the scale and add them to the mixing bowl. When the dough was done, she helped me shape it into balls and did most of the thumbprints. Her only complaint was that she doesn't really like peanut butter. =)

We mostly followed the recipe as written. I did chill the dough for a bit after it was made, since it seemed kind of soft. To make sure the dough balls were all the same size, I used my #70 disher to portion the dough, which we then rolled between our hands to form smooth balls. We filled most of the cookies with a couple big chocolate chips, but left a few empty to be filled with raspberry jam after baking. A handful of cookies ended up with both when I discovered that I had a little jam left over. The size of cookies we made took 14 minutes to bake. We did skip the chopped nuts on the outside of the cookies; I knew there was no way the girls would even consider eating them that way.

The verdict? Well like I said, G doesn't like peanut butter, so she isn't a huge fan of the cookies. B thought that they were okay, but nothing great. Fortunately, Jamie liked them a lot. And I'm sure I'll be able to find a home for any extra cookies. I was surprised to find that I preferred the jam ones. I think it's because the chips didn't melt to fill the thumbprints (which makes sense, in retrospect). If I make these again, I'll used chopped chocolate instead of chips, or just fill the holes with ganache after baking.

If you'd like to try the recipe, you can find it in Baking From My Home to Yours, of course. For this final week of this incarnation of TWD, Dorie herself is our host and will have the recipe up as well. If you're not currently a member of Tuesdays with Dorie, membership in the group will be opening up again very soon. The next book will be Baking with Julia. I've had a copy of the book for a long time, but haven't really baked from it. I'm hoping that this will be the push I need to pull it off the shelf.

I'm sure there will be lots of participants this week, so be sure to check out all the Links!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T10:12:00.000-06:00

Wishing you all a wonderful holiday!

Retrospective

2011-12-23T14:06:00.004-06:00

Happy blogiversary to me! It's amazing what a difference 4 years can make. I've been having a hard time deciding what I wanted to write about my blogging adventure so far, and it occurred to me that I just had to include this picture from yesterday morning. One huge thing that has changed is my girls--when I started blogging, Gillian was just over a year old and Brianna was not quite 5. Now, they're both very capable of assisting me in the kitchen. Yes, that's ravioli that Brianna is making. She asked me for advice on how to shape them, but that was it. Well, I did also let her borrow my pastry wheel, on the condition that it got thoroughly cleaned afterwards. I couldn't resist her sad face because she couldn't figure out how to make the edges look right with the tools she had. =)

I love the fact that both my girls want to spend time in the kitchen, probably way more than I actually let them (still working on that patience thing, even after 4 years). They just assume that I can make anything, or can figure it out pretty quickly. They don't know it yet, but they're both getting baking cookbooks and some kitchen tools of their own for Christmas (color coded--blue for B, purple for G). I love the fact that they won't think it's odd that I didn't get them measuring cups--they're used to using a scale to measure ingredients. I've made so many things in the past four years--puff pastry, croissants, bagels, sourdough bread, amazing cakes, scores of scones, caramel, ice cream... I could go on and on. But the best thing to come out of my kitchen is showing my girls it can be done. I set out to write a blog about baking, but many of my favorite posts are also about my life and family. I look forward to filling many more notebook pages with notes and share many more stories (in words and pictures) with all of you.

Tradition

2011-12-22T22:38:00.001-06:00

As I was making my 4th batch of fudge in about as many days, Brianna asked me why I only make fudge at Christmas. She's right--I don't really make it any other time of year. It's not a conscious decision to reserve it for the holidays; it just doesn't really occur to me to make it during the rest of the year. I'm like that with certain cookies, too. Chocolate chip cookies are not Christmas cookies (though my husband would probably disagree with me there, since his grandmother made them during the holidays). Spritz cookies are Christmas cookies. My cookie press came with about a dozen different plates for various shapes, but the only one I've ever used is the Christmas tree. What sort of treats do you only make during the holidays?

I don't usually make four batches of fudge, though. The first one I made didn't turn out. It was a recipe I hadn't tried before. It's frustrating when something doesn't work--I always want to know why. In this case, I think I didn't cook it quite long enough; it never got all the way firm. I didn't like the flavor very much, either. The second batch was one I've made before, a great recipe from Fine Cooking. The third was this interesting cookie dough fudge that my friend Tracey posted recently. It doesn't have quite the usual fudge texture, but it definitely tastes like cookie dough. Batch number four was a repeat of the Fine Cooking recipe--I gave away most of the first batch and needed more. It was one of the key components in my treat bags this year.

I first made this fudge a couple years ago, when it showed up in the magazine. It was the first fudge that I'd made that didn't use marshmallow cream or other shortcuts. It starts off as sugar, unsweetened chocolate, corn syrup (helps keep the sugar from crystallizing the wrong way), cream, and salt. Everything gets brought to a boil, and cooked until it reaches about 238ºF. Then you remove it from the heat, add some butter (without stirring it in any way), and let the mixture cool until it's 110ºF. This takes a while, so it's a good thing to make when you have other things going on in the kitchen to keep you occupied for a while. Once the mixture gets to the right temperature, you beat the heck out of it. I did try once to do it by hand, but my arm got too tired before I could get it to the right texture. What the recipe recommends is using a hand mixer, and that works quite well, though I do usually worry that I'm going to overheat my mixer. Once the fudge starts loses its shine and starts to thicken, you put it in a pan and let it finish setting up overnight (or at least for a few hours).

The verdict? I just love this fudge, both the recipe and the final product. I've made it several times, and it always turns out great. The texture of the fudge is very smooth. I think the bit of salt in the recipe makes all the difference in the flavor--the new recipe this year tasted flat and just sweet without the salt. I shared this fudge with lots of people, and while I'm not sure yet how they all liked it, but my girls seem to be big fans.

If you'd like to try the recipe for yourself, you can find it over at Fine Cooking. If you're looking for ideas for goodie bags, I found my supplies at a variety of places. The treat bags are from Target, the snowflake stickers are address labels that I got at Office Depot, and I find that Michael's is a great place to buy ribbon. The papers are just standard mini muffin cups.

Wordless Wednesday - Cookie Exchange

2011-12-21T05:00:00.000-06:00

(Both paintings were done by Allison of Allifer Designs)

Rolling into the holiday season

2011-12-20T10:00:00.000-06:00

Yay! I'm finally on vacation and getting caught up on some of the things I haven't done for the past few weeks. Blogging is high on that list. So are Christmas shopping and baking. I should actually be baking right now, since tomorrow is the last day of school before break, and there are teacher treats to be made. However, when I thought that I would have lots of time in the kitchen while the plumber was here this morning, I didn't consider the fact that he'd have to turn off the water for some of the repairs. (Nothing serious, just little things that we don't want to turn into bigger things, and that J didn't want to tackle.) I'm too messy to even thing about doing anything in the kitchen without being able to wash stuff (including my hands).

So this is the perfect time for me to tell you about a fabulous dessert that I made for a holiday potluck a couple weeks ago. Right when I was trying to decide what to make for the party, I picked up a magazine full of Chocolate Desserts (one of the newsstand-only issues from Cook's Country). It had lots of yummy ideas in it, but the one that really caught my eye was the Chocolate Roulade.

A roulade is something rolled up, which in this case is a cake. You often see them this time of year--pumpkin versions for Thanksgiving, and chocolate versions as Yule Logs. Crazy as it may sound, I'd never actually made one before! You bake a large, thin layer of sponge cake, turn it out onto a cocoa-dusted towel while still pretty warm, and roll it up (towel and all). Once the cake has cooled some, you unroll it, add a layer of filling, then roll it back up (which is easier because it was already rolled up once). You can finish the cake with a simple dusting of powdered sugar or go all-out with a rich coating of chocolate ganache.

As with almost everything I've made from the folks at America's Test Kitchen, the roulade turned out great. The recipe recommends making the ganache (chocolate, cream, butter, and a bit of cognac) first, since it needs time to firm up. The filling can be mixed up next (mascarpone cheese, cream, instant espresso powder and some powdered sugar) and stashed in the fridge until you need it. The cake bakes quickly, so it's good to have everything else done first. I learned a couple things while making this recipe. One is that you really need to make sure that your towel has a lot of cocoa powder rubbed into it, or the cake will stick. Thankfully, the ganache will cover any imperfections, and the towel was easier to wash out than I expected. =) Also, be prepared to dirty almost every bowl and whisk you own. This was one time when I really wished that I had an extra bowl for my stand mixer. But it worked out okay in the end.

The verdict? I think it's safe to say that this one was a hit. After sampling the scraps from the ends I cut off, Brianna's first question was, "So are you going to save some of it for us?" When I told her that the whole thing would be going to the party, her response was, "But you can make another one for us, right?" I think Jamie won't mind at all if I do. =) Gillian wasn't a huge fan of the espresso flavor in the filling, so I'll have to see what I can come up with for next time. Everyone at the party really seemed to enjoy it as well. One warning--the recipe says that it serves 8 to 10, but those would have to be pretty big slices, and this is a very rich dessert. We fed a lot more than that.

If you'd like to try this recipe for yourself, you can find it here if you have a web membership for Cook's Illustrated. If have a copy of Baking Illustrated, it's also in there. And of course you can find the recipe in the same place where it caught my eye--the recent Cook's Country Chocolate Desserts issue. (If you're wondering about the stars on top, they're from King Arthur.)

2nd Annual Virtual Cookie Exchange - The Round-up!

2011-12-17T21:57:00.000-06:00

Well, it's safe to say that I didn't realize just how crazy life was going to be the past couple weeks. I figured it might take me a week to get the round-up done for our Virtual Cookie Exchange, but instead it's closer to two. The good thing about the delay is that it allowed others (whose lives are also crazy, so I feel a little better) to get their posts done, even if it wasn't for the 4th. So without further ado, here are all the tasty contributions. I'm excited to be on vacation now until the 27th, so I'll actually have time to try some of these!

I think Phyl's Scottish Shortbread may have been the last cookies I read about, but they're one of the first on my list to try. I love shortbread--mmm, buttery. =) I often make shortbread into round cookies, but I think I need to invest in some pretty scalloped cutters.

Jessica was also a bit delayed--hopefully her technical difficulties have finally been resolved. She recently renamed her blog to What Happens After Singleton, since she got married a couple months ago. She's having fun figuring out how to blend holiday traditions to come up with something that works for her new family. Personally, I think her husband is crazy not to like these English Gingersnaps. =)

Julie is a new member of our merry band of seasonal bakers. I hope she brings lots of yummy things like these Nutella No-Bake Cookies! No-bake cookies are a favorite of mine, but I never would have thought to make them with Nutella instead of peanut butter. Considering how much my girls love chocolate hazelnut spread, I will definitely be making these soon.

Chaya made cookies with one of my favorite things, butterscotch chips. I ate them by the handful when I was pregnant with Brianna. I don't eat them quite so often these days, but I always have a bag or two stashed away in my pantry. So I'll be able to make these yummy Butterscotch Oatmeal Cookies.

Nancy got to break out her German cookie molds for these gorgeous Soft Gingerbread Cookies from Tartine. I don't have the book, but I think it's going on my wishlist. And these cookies will be a perfect way to use some of the blackstrap molasses that I bought by accident...

Kayte brought us these adorable Orange Creme Roll cookies. I admit, my first thought was that they look like cannoli. =) I need to get my hands on some of her clothespins first, though. I have some, but not the right kind. I suspect I can improvise something, though.

Once again, I think Marthe is the participant from farthest away. (She lives in The Netherlands.) That's one of the things I love about our virtual exchange--we don't have to worry that distance will keep people away. I definitely wouldn't want to miss out on these Chocolate Munchies that Marthe made!

I'm pretty sure that Mike has the same cookie press that my mom had. I love his addition of salt on top of his Caramel Spritz Cookies. I still prefer the butter ones, but I'll have to try substituting some brown sugar in my recipe, or putting butter in Mike's. Either way, I have to try these.

I have a copy of Alice Medrich's recent cookie book, but haven't baked nearly enough from it. Fortunately, Leslie brought these fantastic Chocolate Espresso Cookies to my attention. I'm sure B&G will be thrilled when I make them--they think I don't make nearly enough chocolate cookies.

You can't go wrong with a classic combination like chocolate and peanut butter. That probably explains why these Peanut Butter Blossoms are always so popular. I'm really glad that Kayte convinced Katie to join us this year so she could share these.

At first glance, you might think that Jessica brought us more chocolate cookies. And she did, sort of. But she went one better, and combined chocolate with ginger for these yummy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies. Don't ask me why, but even though I don't care for cinnamon with chocolate, ginger with chocolate is just fine.

Dorie is always suggesting that we play around with her recipes, and Spike did just that. She took the already awesome World Peace Cookies and added candy canes to make them World Peace & Peppermint Cookies. Maybe if I have some of these in the house, I won't be as tempted by the Starbucks Peppermint Hot Chocolate. Right?

Another great pairing with chocolate is caramel. These Heartland Turtle Bars that Mary brought look like a great way to combine the two. I have to admit, sometimes I really love making bar cookies so I don't have to mess with baking multiple pans of cookies.

Next up is our over-achiever, Margaret. =) When I sent out the email about this year's cookie exchange, I was teasing Margaret about making two cookies last year instead of just one. Well, this year, she made three! All look wonderful--Angel Wings, Double Drizzle Pecan Cookies, and Eggnog Thumbprints.

If you need a whole bunch of cookies but don't want to make several kinds, then Abby's Peppernuts (from her mother-in-law) might be the cookies for you. She mentions that the yield from the recipe is about 560 cookies. No, that's not a typo. Fortunately, she also mentions that they keep well and you can freeze them. =)

Next up is a good example of why I love these cookie exchanges. My other friend Margaret shared a very special cookie with us. She received the recipe for these Candy Cane Cookies from her sister-in-law shortly after she married into the family. I bet they would be lots of fun to make with my girls. And she gives a handy tip for crushing the candy canes, too!

Elaine was worried about running late, but I think I've got her beat. =) Besides, if you show up with cookies, who cares if you're late? These Pecan Crunch Cookies have an unusual ingredient, but you'll have to head over to Elaine's blog to see what it is.

I was really excited to see Tracey's contribution to the cookie exchange. Every year I make goodie bags for the girls' teachers. This year, I really wanted to make biscotti for some of them, but I also wanted something without nuts. These Candy Cane Biscotti are perfect! They'll be the first cookie exchange recipe that I make, but I'm sure they won't be the last.

Last but not least, we have my Spritz Cookies. This is another recipe that makes a lot of cookies--they're small, so you can eat several without feeling too guilty.

I really hope that you've enjoyed this year's Virtual Cookie Exchange. If this isn't enough cookie recipes for you, you can always go back and look at last year's roundup, too. If you'd like to join us for future blog events, email me at diskitchennotebook at gmail dot com, and I'll add you to my list. Look for the Winter event sometime in February!

Wordless Wednesday - Star bright

2011-12-14T05:00:00.000-06:00

(cupcake recipe here, glitter here)

Wordless Wednesday - Holiday lights

2011-12-07T10:39:00.001-06:00

(candle holder can be found at Crate & Barrel)

Virtual Cookie Exchange - Not my mother's Spritz Cookies

2011-12-04T18:51:00.001-06:00

I mentioned in my post earlier today that I had a holiday party last night. It was for a bunch of people from work, most of whom have eaten lots of the baked goods that I take to work. One person walked into the house, commented on how pretty our Christmas tree looked, then walked over to the kitchen (we have a pretty open floor plan) and said, "So this is Di's kitchen, where the magic happens!" =)

There's definitely something magical about Christmas cookies. I have fond memories of helping my mom make cookies during the holiday season. There were certain types that we always made every year. I don't have quite the same line-up now, but there are still some varieties that have to make an appearance. One of my mom's favorites was Spritz Cookies. They were usually in the shape of trees, and the dough was tinted green. My mom had an old school cookie press that required you to turn the handle on top to make the dough come out--definitely a workout with a stiff cookie dough. One of my sisters has the cookie press, but I do have the recipe. I don't make it much, though, since it uses all shortening, no butter. I just love the flavor of butter cookies, so I use a recipe from Cook's Illustrated that first appeared in the magazine in 2004.

The dough for these cookies is easy to mix up. First you whisk together an egg yolk, a bit of cream and some vanilla in a small bowl and set it aside. Next up is creaming the butter, sugar and salt. Once that mixture is light and fluffy, you mix in the liquid mixture. Finally, you stir in the flour. The fun part is playing with the cookie press. I have one much like this. It holds just enough dough for a pan of cookies, about 2 dozen of the small trees. I spooned a little bit of colored sugar on top of each cookie before baking.

I almost always bake cookies on parchment lined baking sheets, but that doesn't work for these--the dough from the cookie press won't stick to the parchment. So use an unlined, ungreased pan. For the best flavor, be sure to bake the cookies until they are just starting to brown around the edges--if they're still completely pale, they won't have that great browned butter flavor. I baked mine for 12 minutes at 375ºF.

The verdict? I love these. The butter and vanilla flavors are immediately apparent, and they have a lovely crisp texture. The only thing that you might not like about these cookies is how easy they are to pop in your mouth, since they're bite-sized. The good news is that the recipe makes at least 6 dozen, so you'll probably still have enough to share even after you eat a bunch yourself. Brianna paid me a high compliment indeed, making a point to say how much she liked these cookies. =)

Spritz Cookies - ingredients

1 large egg yolk

1 tablespoon heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

225 grams (two sticks) unsalted butter, slightly softened

140 grams (2/3 cup) granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon table salt

285 grams (2 cups) all-purpose flour

You can find the full recipe online at Cook's Illustrated, or in the current Holiday Baking newsstand issue.

Check back next weekend for a full round-up of delicious holiday cookies from our cookie exchange!

Logo courtesy of Allifer Designs

2nd Annual Virtual Cookie Exchange!

2011-12-04T09:59:00.001-06:00

Happy December, everyone! I'm not sure how it got here already, but I can't change the fact that it's started, so I might as well embrace it! In contrast to last year, we're actually doing quite well getting into the holiday spirit. Our Christmas tree is up and decorated, without any drama at all (unlike last year). We had a holiday party last night, which gave me lots of incentive to get my house cleaned up (at least downstairs; upstairs still needs some work). I've spent the past two days in one of my favorite places--my kitchen--doing one of my favorite things--making lots of yummy food to share with friends.

Last night's party was definitely a success, and now I'm here for another one. The nice thing about this one is that no one will get to see that my house is still a mess from the last one. =) (I even broke my own rule about not going to bed until all the dishes are washed.) Some of you may remember that last year I hosted a Virtual Cookie Exchange here at Di's Kitchen. It was lots of fun, and we all came away with some great cookie recipes to try. I'm excited that we're doing it again this year! I made it a little earlier--this way I can get the round-up done by next weekend and everyone will still have some baking time before most of the major holidays that are celebrated this time of year.

Many thanks to my friend Nancy's daughter Allison, who was kind enough to paint us a cookie badge again this year. Check out her website for more custom artwork! Hopefully you'll see lots of posts with it out there today, but if you miss a few, check back next weekend for the full round-up!

Wordless Wednesday - Monkey Business

2011-11-30T05:00:00.000-06:00

(Cupcakes here, frosting here)

Chocolate for Monday

2011-11-28T05:00:00.000-06:00

While I have been reveling in fall flavors (apples, pumpkin, lots of spices), not everyone around here is quite as happy about it. In fact, as I was assessing dessert options one night a few weeks ago (ginger crackles or caramel candy corn), Gillian looked at me and said, "Mommy, can't you just make us something chocolate?!" Something chocolate often means brownies, but I was more in the mood for cookie baking. So I hit the books to see what I could find. Actually, I hit the magazines, too. While I was waiting for all the new holiday baking magazines to arrive on the shelves, I pulled out some of my old ones for inspiration. That's where I found these.

"These" are Triple Chocolate Cookies from the folks at America's Test Kitchen. I found the recipe in my 2009 Cook's Illustrated Holiday Baking issue. Definitely no shortage of chocolate in these! The three chocolates referred to in the title are unsweetened chocolate and bittersweet chocolate chips, which are melted (along with the butter) and added to the batter, and semisweet chocolate chips that are stirred in at the end. The mixing method reminds me more of making brownies than most cookie recipes. First, the eggs and sugar are beaten together for several minutes. Vanilla and coffee (I used espresso powder) are added for flavoring, then the melted chocolate/butter mixture is mixed in. Finally, flour, salt and a bit of baking powder are folded in. Since the batter is very soft, you let it sit at room temperature for half an hour or so to firm up. I made my cookies a bit smaller than the recipe called for and baked them for about 10 minutes.

The verdict? Well, Gillian was definitely thrilled with these cookies. =) Brianna seemed pretty happy, too. In fact, I think they were a hit with everyone here, so I'm sure I'll be making them again. While they were fine with just the chocolates, I bet they'd be pretty tasty with some toasted pecans or dried cranberries or cherries mixed in.

While these aren't a traditional holiday cookie, if you're craving chocolate this time of year (or just need it to treat a case of the Mondays), I recommend trying these out. You can find the recipe online at either Cook's Country or America's Test Kitchen. For other great recipes from magazines, check out Magazine Mondays over at Cream Puffs in Venice!

Wordless Wednesday - Ready for winter (even here in Texas)

2011-11-23T05:00:00.000-06:00

Wordless Wednesday - Baked Chocolate Doughnuts

2011-11-16T05:00:00.000-06:00

(My friend Tracey has the recipe on her blog)

I like big bundts, again

2011-11-15T05:00:00.000-06:00

Happy National Bundt Day! I'm excited once again to be celebrating the day with Mary the Food Librarian. This is her third year of I Like Big Bundts, where she's baked 30 Bundts in 30 days, leading up to National Bundt Day on November 15th. I missed the first year, but last year I joined in with an Espresso Gingerbread Bundt. I've been on the lookout for a good recipe for this year, and finally settled on one.

I went shopping on my day off last week, heading down to the outlet malls in San Marcos. We have outlets closer to home, but not the specific stores that I was looking for--Crate and Barrel and Williams-Sonoma. WS in particular ended up being quite dangerous. I've been wanting a cake stand for a while, and finally bought myself one. It seemed perfect for showing off my bundt. You can also see my makeshift cake dome, which is the bowl from my salad spinner. It's the perfect size! =) The cake recipe that I used comes from one of the other acquisitions from my shopping trip--a copy of Sarabeth's Bakery: From My Hands to Yours. At 50% off, I just couldn't pass it up. There are several yummy looking bundts, so it was just a matter of picking one.

I decided to make the Ruby Cake, so called because it has a raspberry filling hidden inside, along with some bittersweet chocolate. I love those flavors together, so this was definitely my first choice to make. The batter itself is a rich one, loaded with butter and sour cream, though lighter on the eggs (only 3) than some I've made. The batter is made by the creaming method, and came together with minimal effort in my stand mixer. The recipe calls for using two piping bags to put the batter and filling in the pan, but I didn't follow the instructions for that. I just spooned half the batter into the pan, made a trough for the filling, added the jam and chocolate very carefully so they weren't near the edges of the pan, and topped them with the remaining batter. It worked fine. I really wanted to use my Heritage Bundt pan for this cake. The recipe calls for a 10-12 cup pan, so I thought I'd be okay. I baked my cake for just under an hour.

The verdict? Well, I wish I'd left the cake in the oven a bit longer. Or used a different pan. Or just put less batter in the pan I used. The cake rose about an inch about the top of the pan, but didn't overflow at all. It seemed to test done, but the middle (near the raspberry part) was definitely a little under-done. While it might not have been exactly to my taste, the texture didn't stop my coworkers from devouring it. =) My friend Nancy pointed out that lots of people like under-done cake. Better that than too dry, I guess. And as I'm writing this on Monday night, I'm now laughing, since Brianna's opinion of the cake is that it could be a little more moist. =) She also thinks that it needs more chocolate. G pronounced it pretty good. My only critique of the flavor is that it needs a bit more salt to balance out the sweetness. (I'll probably use a full teaspoon next time, instead of half.)

I did like the cake enough that I'm sure there will be another attempt at it. If you'd like to try it for yourself, you can find the recipe here. You can also find it in Sarabeth's book, of course. Don't forget to head over to Mary's blog for her post today, which includes the list of all the bundts she's baked this year. She'll also have a round-up with lots of fabulous bundts from other bakers later this month.

Wordless Wednesday - Shopping!

2011-11-09T05:00:00.000-06:00

What's in a name?

2011-11-08T00:01:00.000-06:00

When I was pregnant with both of my children, we didn't find out the gender until they were born. So we were prepared with names for both possibilities. It drove some of my friends crazy that we wouldn't tell the names ahead of time, either. But I really didn't want to hear anyone's opinions in advance. The names we chose for both girls followed the same sort of pattern as the names that my sisters and I all have. Our middle names are all family names, but the first names are just names that my parents liked, as far as I know. That's the case for Brianna and Gillian--I picked the names because I liked them, and J liked them too. Their middle names are both family names from J's side--Gillian's middle name of Rose comes from J's grandmother, and B's middle name comes from his great-grandmother. Her name was Maddalena (she was Italian), but we went with a more American version, Madeline. But we pronounce it the same as Madeleine, with a short i sound, not a long one.

So B was understandably intrigued by the name for these shell-shaped cookies. Or are they cakes? Whatever you call them, they're yummy. And they just happen to be my pick for Tuesdays with Dorie this week. I wasn't really expecting to get another chance to host, but I'm glad I got to pick these Mini Madeleines. I bought my madeleine pans (both big and small) for the first madeleine recipe that we made back in May 2008. It was actually just a couple weeks before my first pick. The sad thing is that I've been so busy baking other things that I haven't used the pans much since then. I need to change that...

As usual, I didn't quite manage to make this recipe exactly as Dorie wrote it. My changes were small, though. I increased the salt to 1/4 teaspoon, since I think it helps bring out the other flavors. I went without one of those flavors, though, omitting the lemon zest. I'm sure they're great with it, but I wanted to focus on the brown sugar flavor. To that end, I also made a change with one of the sweeteners, using Lyle's Golden Syrup in place of the honey.

For the actual baking, I also deviated from the recipe a bit, but with good reason. I remembered that over the summer, I'd read a post about madeleines on Dorie's blog. She experimented with putting her madeleine pan on a preheated baking sheet to get a nice bump on the cookies. I decided to try putting mine on my baking stone (which lives on the bottom rack in my oven) to get a similar effect. It worked great! A couple of my baking buddies mentioned that their madeleines got dark really fast, so I made sure to watch mine carefully, and ended up pulling them out at 7 1/2 minutes.

The verdict? Well, I'm lucky these lasted long enough for pictures. =) Brianna and Gillian immediately asked me when I was going to make more. (J liked them, too.) Since I only baked one pan, I still have batter in the fridge so I can do that tomorrow. I may try baking some regular size madeleines with the remaining batter. I think using my baking stone worked really well for baking these, so I'll definitely use that technique again.

My apologies to Valerie for not even thinking of attempting her pick--Depths of Fall Butternut Squash Pie--this week. I have enough trouble getting one recipe done right now, let alone two, and didn't want to drop the ball on my hosting duties this week. To see what everyone thought of the pie, check out the Links for that recipe. And head over to Valerie's blog for the recipe if you'd like to try the pie.

If you'd like to make the madeleines, I have the recipe below. You can see how everyone else fared with them in the Links here.

Mini Madeleines

(from Baking From my Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan)

2/3 cup (90 grams) all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

pinch of salt (I used 1/4 teaspoon)

2 large eggs, room temperature

6 tablespoons (75 grams) granulated sugar

1 tablespoon (13 grams) packed light brown sugar

1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

grated zest of 1/2 lemon (I omitted)

6 tablespoons (85 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 teaspoon honey (I substituted golden syrup)

confectioner's sugar, for dusting

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugars until smooth. Whisk in the dry ingredients, followed by the vanilla and lemon zest. Gently whisk in the melted butter, and finally, the honey. You'll have a thick, smooth, shiny batter. Press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface of the batter and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 days. (For convenience, you can spoon the batter into the madeleine molds, cover and chill, then bake the cookies directly from the fridge; see below for instructions on prepping the pans.)

Getting ready to bake: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Generously butter up to three mini madeleine pans, dust the insides with flour and tap out the excess. (I coated my pan with baking spray, e.g Pam for Baking.) Or, if you have nonstick pans, just spray the interiors with vegetable cooking spray. If you've got silicone pans, they can be used just as they are. Put the pan(s) on a baking sheet.

Fill each little madeleine mold with about a teaspoon of batter; the molds should be about three-quarters full. Don't worry about leveling the batter--it will do it by itself in the oven.

Bake the cookies for 8 to 10 minutes, or until they are puffed and golden brown around the edges. Remove the sheet from the oven and give the madeleine pan(s) a hearty rap against the counter. Gently pry out any cakes that don't want to leave their nests with your fingers or a butter knife. You can serve the madeleines immediately or put them on a rack to cool.

Repeat with any remaining batter, making certain to cool and rebutter and flour or respray the pan(s).

Just before serving, dust the madeleines with confectioner's sugar. Makes about 36 cookies.

It's virtually Thanksgiving!

2011-11-06T22:04:00.000-06:00

I have to admit, I have mixed feelings about Thanksgiving. Sure, it's the ultimate food holiday. But it's also kind of a pain. So many dishes to make, and trying to coordinate things so that you can actually manage to cook it all in one kitchen and have it done at the same time. Then there's the fact that turkey isn't my favorite. I'd be happy just having all the other dishes--mashed potatoes with gravy, stuffing, vegetables, cranberry sauce... Yum. Then there's bread. Do you really need bread with everything else that's going on? It does come in handy for mopping up the extra gravy. And I do like to bake bread and rolls...

That's why I'm bring you these rolls, even though we have some time before Thanksgiving. My friend Phyl, who talked us all into making pumpkin recipes last month, came up with the idea of having a Thanksgiving round-up this month. That way we can all try out some recipes well before the holiday gets here, and also get new ideas from each other. As the host, he's got the turkey taken care of, and a bunch of us are bringing the rest of the dishes. Now if only we lived close enough together that Phyl could share his actual Thanksgiving turkey with us, so I wouldn't have to make one. =)

These rolls are pretty straightforward to make, especially if you're comfortable working with yeast doughs. First, you put the milk, sweetener (I used golden syrup since I prefer it over honey), butter and shortening in a large liquid measuring cup. You microwave the mixture on high for about 90 seconds, until the milk is warm and the fats are beginning to melt. They'll melt the rest of the way as you stir the mixture to combine everything. Then you put most of the flour (4 1/2 cups, or about 630 grams), yeast and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and stir them to combine. You add the liquid to the flour and stir to combine, then mix in the egg. I usually use my dough whisk to get everything roughly combined, then use my mixer with the dough hook to knead the dough. You add half a cup (70 grams) of additional flour to the mixer as the dough is kneaded, then add up to half a cup more if necessary to get a dough that clears the sides of the bowl and is tacky but not really sticky. Once the dough is the right consistency (which takes 5-6 minutes), you hand-knead it for a minute or so to form a smooth ball. The dough is soft, but really nice to work with.

The dough goes into a greased bowl (covered with plastic wrap) or rising bucket (with lid) to proof for about an hour, or until it's doubled in size. Then it's formed into 15 rolls. I did the math, and found that my dough balls needed to be about 90 grams (around 3 ounces) to get 15 equal pieces of dough. The balls are formed into tight rounds and placed in a greased 13" by 9" pan. (I used a Pyrex pan.) The pan is covered with plastic wrap and the shaped rolls are allowed to rise for another 45-60 minutes. Then they're baked at 375ºF for 25 to 35 minutes, or until the internal temperature is about 190ºF. The original recipe calls for an egg wash on the dough before baking, but I skipped that. I did brush the rolls with melted butter when they came out of the oven.

The verdict? Oh, these definitely deserve a place on the Thanksgiving table! The texture is soft and rich, and the fluffy crumb makes a nice contrast with the browned exterior. They're delicious served warm from the oven, with some butter. You can also make the rolls ahead, let them cool, then wrap them up and store briefly at room temperature or longer in the freezer. The rolls can then be wrapped in foil and reheated in the oven before serving.

If you'd like to try these rolls for yourself, there are several places you can find the original recipe. For subscribers to the Cook's Country website, it's here. For those with back issues of the magazine, it was published in Dec/Jan 2007. You can also find this roll recipe in the current newsstand special issue America's Test Kitchen All-Time Best Holiday Recipes.

Ingredients for Fluffy (Make-Ahead) Dinner Rolls

(adapted from Cook's Country)

350 grams (1 1/2 cups) whole milk

105 grams (1/3 cup) golden syrup or honey

70 grams (5 tablespoons) unsalted butter

50 grams (1/4 cup) shortening (I use Spectrum Organic)

700 - 770 grams (5 - 5 1/2 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour

9 grams (1 tablespoon) instant yeast

13 grams (2 teaspoons) table salt

1 large egg

Wordless Wednesday - Anniversary gifts

2011-11-02T07:24:00.000-05:00

Nuts about scones

2011-11-01T21:20:00.000-05:00

Well, I made it. The past week and a half at work have been draining; I've pretty much felt like I might as well live there with the number of hours I've worked. But the worst is over--the rest of the week is pretty normal, and then I'm off this weekend. I only had one day off this past weekend, and didn't manage to fit in much baking. I ended up making these scones Monday morning so I could take some of them to work with me. (I'm not the only one who's been working hard, so I thought some breakfast would be appreciated.) I had enough energy Sunday night to do most of the mise en place, which really helps when I want to pull off some early morning baking.

I'm tired enough that I just realized that I haven't yet mentioned that I was making the scones because they're one of this week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipes. Yes, plural--we're almost done with the book, and are doubling up on recipes so we'll be finished by the end of the year. I've really enjoyed the scones recipes in Baking, and was looking forward to trying this one, Honey Nut Scones. Well, except for the fact that I'm not that fond of honey. But then I had an idea--I could substitute maple syrup (grade B) for the honey. I'm sure that walnuts would have been great with maple, but I had pecans in my freezer (thanks, Margaret!), so that's what I used. The only other change I made was due to laziness and being a bit short on time--I used my 1/4 cup scoop to make drop scones, rather than patting the dough out and cutting it into triangles. To bring out more maple flavor, I also drizzled my baked scones with a maple glaze (powdered sugar, maple syrup, a bit of milk and a pinch of salt).

The verdict? I love scones, and these were no exception. They aren't very sweet, so I liked the addition of glaze. The girls won't eat them because they don't like the pecans, but the ones I took to work disappeared pretty quickly. I'll definitely make these again, even if it's just for me.

Jeannette has the scone recipe on her blog, and you can find everyone else's Links here. I didn't get to the Far Breton, but be sure to check out those Links, too, and head over to Nicole's blog for that recipe. And be sure to come back here next week, when I get to be a host!

I can't resist leaving you with a picture of my trick-or-treaters from last night:

Wordless Wednesday - Sunday football season traditions

2011-10-26T05:00:00.001-05:00

(recipe here--made two-thirds; sprinkled w/cheese powder for J & B but not G; I don't really like popcorn)

An apple cake for fall

2011-10-25T04:00:00.000-05:00

I didn't want the whole month to pass by without at least one Tuesdays with Dorie post. I don't have the fig cake that was on the agenda for this week. (Head over to Cookie Rookie for this week's recipe.) I also passed on last week's Ginger-Jazzed Brownies. You may have seen why I had some trouble with the biscuits the week before that. (I made them, but they weren't great, and I didn't take any pictures. I'm still hoping to make them again.) The cake I have for you today is actually the first recipe for October, the Apple Nut Muffin Cake picked by Katrina of Baking and Boys.

In the hopes that my girls would eat the cake, I skipped the nuts and raisins. Afraid that the cake would be a little plain after that, I added a crumb topping. This was also a good chance to break out my bottle of King Arthur boiled cider, since I didn't have any regular cider on hand. I used about 3 tablespoons of the boiled cider, then added milk to make a full 8 ounces of liquid. I thought about using some white whole wheat flour in place of the all-purpose, but didn't this time. I fully intend to make this cake again, so I'll see how that works out next time.

The verdict? The cake was well-received both at home and at work. I really liked it with the crumb topping, but that's not really a surprise. =) I know Dorie originally made the cake because she was too rushed for muffins, but I want to try the muffin version next time, keeping the crumbs.

If you'd like to play around with the recipe yourself, you can find the original on Katrina's blog. For more about the muffin cake, check out the Links for that week. For the fig cake, check here. I promise to do better with posting next month, especially since I get to host again! =)

Handmade Loaves - The round-up

2011-10-23T12:24:00.000-05:00

I was thrilled to see such a wonderful turnout for my Handmade Loaves event! We got all kinds of loaves--yeast breads, quick breads and pounds cakes, as well as a few savory contributions (yes, including a meatloaf) and a no-bake dessert. I hope these enticing pictures will lead you to check out the full posts from all of these great bakers.

First up is the one that I'm probably most eager to try. Abby of Stir it! Scrape it! Mix it! Bake it! made this gorgeous Windsor knot loaf of Berne Brot. I'm so glad that she included a link to a shaping tutorial, because I have got to try it for myself. Read more about it here.

Next is Phyl from Of Cabbages and King Cakes, lover of all things pumpkin. He recently hosted a pumpkin blogging round-up, and in the process of deciding what to make himself he ran across this yummy pumpkin cornbread. He discovered that it paired nicely with a bowl of chili. Check it out!

Pamela of Cookies with Boys also went the pumpkin route. She added some Biscoff Spread (I admit, I have a jar, but so far it's only made it as far as a spoon) and drizzled it with caramel. Sounds good to me--go take a closer look!

If you're in a rush, try out this cake from Mike of Living Out West. He freely admits that he used cake mix and box pudding. But with the additions of lots of nutmeg and even more sherry, I don't think anyone will complain! Just be sure to check the liquor cabinet before you head to the store for the other ingredients--3/4 cup will certainly put a dent in your sherry supply. Read more here.

My daughters are sure to approve of this loaf from Elaine of California Living. She shared a loaf of pumpkin bread that's chock full of chocolate chips. I was pretty skeptical about the combination of chocolate and pumpkin the first time I tried it, but I have to agree, it's pretty tasty. Head over to her blog for the recipe!

Next we have a new participant, Carol of Bookcase Foodie. I totally agree with the goal of her blog--trying to use all the cooking magazines and cookbooks that she already has. I need to do the same. At first glance, you might think that she's made us another quick bread. But it's actually a kugel in loaf form. Read more about her Carrot Kugel here.

Yay! I was very excited to see some savory entrees from our next baker, Chaya. She sent me one for each of her blogs. The first is a breakfast quick bread with cheese and veggies that you can find on Bizzy Bakes. The second is, yes, a meatloaf! I'm sure that my husband would love the Mexican flavors if I made it for him. Read about it here on My Sweet and Savory.

I love how Mary of Popsicles and Sandy Feet subtitled her blog post "A cautionary tale." Apparently she missed the instruction in the recipe that said to lower the oven temperature after putting her loaf in the oven. Hmmm, I wonder who else will admit to having similar baking mishaps? (For me, it's not if I've done it, it's how many times...) Read more here.

Besides Abby's shaping, this is the loaf that I am most excited to try. Margaret of The Irish Mother developed her own recipe for Multigrain Bread. And it is absolutely gorgeous! There are lots of helpful process pictures in her post, so go read it!

Now for my other friend Margaret. You might think that she brought us another pumpkin quick bread. But she went with another winter squash to make this lovely Butternut Squash Bread. I'm always looking for more ways to sneak veggies into my kids, so I'm going to have to try this. (though I may have to add chocolate chips to get them to eat it) Head over to Margaret's blog for more info, as well as a picture of her cute steamer.

The list of things I want to try ASAP just keeps getting longer and longer. As someone who never gets tired of pizza, I was so excited to see the pictures for Jeannette's bread. She added pepperoni, but I might have to see what other "toppings" I can get in there. (Mushrooms are my favorite.) Go check out her blog post at The Whimsical Cupcake, for more photos to drool over.

I may have a hard time finding space for all the bakeware I already have, but that doesn't stop me from wanting the cute 4-loaf pan that Peggy has in her post. Head over to her post at Pantry Revisited to see the pan as well as all the cute Halloween decorations she has pictured with her Pumpkin Bread mini loaves.

Gillian keeps bugging me to make raisin bread for her. I'm still trying to work it into the baking schedule, but when I do, it's going to be this loaf from my friend Nancy. She posted it on her bread blog, Corner Loaf. Her daughter bakes with a bread collective, and they were kind enough to let Nancy share the recipe for this yummy cinnamon swirl loaf. You can get the recipe here.

Jessica of Cookbookhabit found out about our blogging event at the last minute. She says that her loaf of Portugese Sweet Bread isn't handmade since it came out of her bread machine. I say that it came out of her kitchen rather than from a store, so that's close enough. =) Every time King Arthur has a blog post that uses a bread machine (mostly for mixing), I kind of want one. You can read more about Jessica's loaf here.

A couple friends were running a bit late, but I often have the same problem, so I understand. Marthe of The Baking Bluefinger shared this easy no-bake dessert with us--Arretje's Cake. I love reading about Dutch things on Marthe's blog--it's fun to see what's popular in other cultures. Be sure to read about this recipe and others.

Tracey was also having a crazy week. She got her loaf baked, but just took awhile to get it posted. No problem--her Lemon Lemon Loaf was definitely worth waiting for! I love anything lemon, so I can't wait to try this recipe. Tracey always has gorgeous pictures, and this post is no exception. Go take a look!

And last but not least, I made a pound cake, too. Mine was flavored with nutmeg, one of my favorite spices, as well as a bit of bourbon. I had to make a second loaf to get pictures, since the first loaf disappeared so quickly. You can read more about it here.

I hope you've enjoyed reading about all of these wonderful loaves. (If I somehow missed your loaf in the round-up, please let me know!) Check back in early December for our 2nd annual Virtual Cookie Exchange! If you want to join in the fun but aren't already getting emails from me about the seasonal blogging events, send me an email at diskitchennotebook at gmail dot com.

Wordless Wednesday - Birthday girl

2011-10-19T05:00:00.000-05:00

Handmade Loaves - Bourbon & Nutmeg Pound Cake

2011-10-16T13:38:00.000-05:00

The only problem with picking loaves as the theme for my autumn blogging event was that I had a really hard time deciding what to make myself! My first thought was to make a yeast bread. I usually do non-pan loaves when I bake bread, since I'm not that excited by typical sandwich loaves. However, I seriously considered Dan Lepard's Simple Milk Loaf (posted here by my friend Nancy), since somehow I haven't blogged it even though I've made it many times. This week ended up being kind of crazy, though, and I spent my day off on Thursday making a fancy birthday cake for a certain young lady who turned 5 on Friday. Thursday evening I decided to try to throw something together quickly so I wouldn't end up baking at the very last minute. The other thing I had been considering was pound cake. I ended up turning to my copy of Alice Medrich's Pure Dessert. I made several of the variations of her Kamut Pound Cake a couple years ago, but again, never got them posted. I didn't have an kamut flour in my pantry, so I decided to go with one of the variations.

The version that caught my eye was the Bourbon and Nutmeg Pound Cake. As I mentioned in another recent post, nutmeg is one of my favorite spices, and this recipe sounded like a good one for fall. The kamut flour from the original recipe is replaced with either spelt flour (nope, out of that too) or whole wheat flour (yes! I have that!). I actually used white whole wheat flour. I also got to use some of my unbleached cake flour blend for the cake flour in the recipe.

My favorite pound cake recipes are usually the ones that fold melted butter into the batter at the end. I haven't had much luck with pound cakes using the creaming method. This recipe doesn't really do either. Medrich mentions that she adapted the recipe from The Cake Bible, so if you've made cakes from that book, the mixing method will be familiar. First you whisk together the wet ingredients--milk, bourbon, eggs and vanilla, and set that mixture aside. Next, you mix together the dry ingredients--flours, sugar, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Chunks of butter are added to the dry ingredients, along with a third of the liquids, and the mixture is beaten together for about a minute to develop the structure of the cake. Then the remaining liquid is added in two additions, beating for about 20 seconds after each addition.

The recipe calls for an 8" by 4" loaf pan lined with parchment paper, and a bake time of 55 to 65 minutes at 350ºF. I decided to use the vintage loaf pan that I received from my friend Nancy, which is about 3.5" by 10" and only 2.5" deep. For others who have similar pans, the bake time is about 40 minutes. Once the cake was baked, I let it cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then lifted it out (I let the parchment overhang the sides a bit so I'd have handles) and let it cool completely on a rack. The next morning I cut it into thick slices and took it to work. (I did take a few pictures, but it was early in the morning and still dark outside, so they weren't very good.)

The verdict? Well, I had to bake a second loaf today to take decent pictures. I thought I'd have some left from the first loaf that I took to work, but it was pretty well devoured. I'll take that as a positive review. =) I really liked it myself--the cake is delicious, with a subtle spice from the nutmeg. I've made some dry pound cakes in the past, but this one definitely is not. I really like the slight nuttiness from the whole wheat flour, too. But don't take my word for it, try it for yourself!

I highly recommend getting your hands on a copy of the book (maybe your local library will have it!)--there are lots of other enticing recipes besides this one. I was also able to find the recipe on Google Books here. (The link shows the variations page; the full recipe is on the previous page.) For those who like to use metric weights, here are the ingredients I used:

30 grams(2 tablespoons) whole milk, at room temperature

15 grams (1 tablespoon) bourbon

3 extra large eggs (what I had--the recipe calls for large)

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

100 grams unbleached cake flour blend (KAF)

50 grams white whole wheat flour (KAF)

150 grams granulated sugar

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon table salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

185 grams (13 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened

For lots of other delicious loaves of many varieties (including some savory ones!), check back later this week for the round-up!

Handmade loaves (a seasonal blogging event)

2011-10-16T08:09:00.003-05:00

Time for another blogging event! I mentioned in my Sundae Sunday post back in July that I was going to start hosting this sort of round-up about once per season. Today we have the Autumn event. I had a few different ideas for the theme. I thought about going with a specific fall ingredient (kind of like my friend Phyl's pumpkin round-up). My only hesitation was that not everyone likes the same things, and I wanted a theme that would appeal to everyone.

Then it hit me--loaves! Lots of things can be made in a loaf shape--yeast breads, quick breads, pound cake, terrines, even meat loaf. =) Now that we're getting some cooler weather (even here in Texas), it's much more appealing to turn on the oven, so loaves seemed like a perfect idea. Be on the lookout for a bunch of loaves this weekend, either from pans or freeform. Don't worry about missing some--I'll have a round-up of all the posts later this week.

If you'd like to join us in future events, you can leave a comment on this post or email me at diskitchennotebook at gmail dot com. Next up will be our 2nd annual Virtual Cookie Exchange, in early December!

Sugar and spice and everything nice

2011-10-13T09:05:00.001-05:00

One of the things that I love about blogging is all the great friends that I've made. I'm especially glad that some of my bloggy friends convinced me to start using Twitter--it's so fun to bake along with each other. It's also so nice that there's usually someone around pretty much any time of the day (and well into the night) if I need someone to talk to. As wonderful as that is, though, sometimes it's nice to talk to someone in person. Which is why I was so happy to have lunch with my friend T when I was off from work last Friday. I have a new--male--manager, and she's currently working in an office full of guys. So we both really ~~wanted~~ needed some girl time. =) Of course, I can't show up for a lunch date empty-handed, so I decided to bake some cookies.

Chocolate is good, but this time of year I'm more in the mood for spices. When you think fall, you probably think cinnamon first, but my favorites are actually nutmeg and ginger. I go with nutmeg more for cakes or muffins, but ginger is perfect for cookies. So I turned to one of my favorite ginger cookie recipes, Double Ginger Crackles from Fine Cooking. I first made these cookies shortly after they appeared in the magazine, around the holidays in 2005. I've made them many times in the past 6 years, yet somehow I've never included them here on my blog! Time to fix that.

You start by creaming butter and granulated sugar, then add molasses, an egg, and a bunch of diced crystallized ginger. I admit, I add about a quarter cup, rather than the 3 tablespoons that the recipe calls for. Then the dry ingredients--flour, baking soda, salt and a hefty dose of ground ginger--are stirred in. The dough is scooped out by the tablespoon (I use my #70 disher), and rolled into balls. The balls are coated in more granulated sugar, then baked on a sheet lined with parchment paper. The dough can be rather sticky right after mixing, so I often chill it first. The dough doesn't get rock hard like some, probably thanks to the molasses. The recipes says to bake at 350º for 12-14 minutes, but mine are usually done in about 11 minutes.

The verdict? We all love these cookies. I still can't believe that I haven't blogged about them before. They have a wonderful texture--slightly crisp around the edges, and chewy in the middle. One thing to watch out for--the dough itself is very tasty, so some of it may never make it to the baking sheet. The cookies are actually more flavorful cool than warm, so be patient and let them cool completely. If you manage to keep them around for a few days, the ginger flavor continues to intensify. I haven't tried it, but I bet these would be great for ice cream sandwiches.

If you'd like to try these for yourself, you can find the recipe here at Fine Cooking.

Wordless Wednesday - Warm apple cider for breakfast

2011-10-12T05:00:00.000-05:00

I fought the caramel, and the caramel won

2011-10-11T21:45:00.001-05:00

No, that's not this week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe, is it? Jennifer of Cooking for Comfort picked Basic Biscuits for us to make this week. I'm working on them, but it's slow going. My hand hurts. I burned it attempting some Easiest Caramel Sauce--apparently my microwave is more powerful than I realized. The sugar got way too dark, but I tried to salvage it and splashed caramel on my hand in the process. I shouldn't have bothered--I tasted it and it was definitely burnt. =(

So the biscuits will be delayed a bit. In the meantime, be sure to check out how everyone else did with them this week over on the Links page.

'Tis the season

2011-10-09T22:07:00.000-05:00

RAIN!! It rained today, a lot! I think we've had more rain in the past 24 hours that we've had in the past several months combined. This is the first day that it's really felt like fall--I think we barely hit 70º today. So awesome. =) Not that the lack of cooler weather has kept me from baking--once the calendar says October, I don't care what the temperature is, I'm baking with fall ingredients. Heck, I was so sick of summer, I started in September, when it was still getting over 100º on occasion. My favorite fall ingredient is definitely apples. While I do like to use local ingredients when I can, I think that the best apples are from New York. We are starting to get some of them down here, but it takes a little while to get the full variety. So I'm also baking with my second favorite fall ingredient, pumpkin.

For my blogging friend Phyl, pumpkin is definitely a favorite ingredient. So much so that he invited a bunch of us to join him in making and posting pumpkin recipes today. We're aiming to have a full dinner's worth--with a whole lot of courses, I think. I usually go for dessert, but I figured there would be several others more than willing to cover that course. So I decided to make a recipe that I've been wanting to for a long time--the Pumpkin Brioche from Sherry Yard's The Secrets of Baking.

The Secrets of Baking is one of the cookbooks that started off my very large (and still growing) collection of baking books. My husband got it for me for a birthday or another occasion--I can't remember exactly anymore. It was published in 2003 and he got it not long after publication, so I've had it a long time. It's a really nice book for someone who likes to bake but is looking to expand their repertoire of pastry skills. Each chapter starts with a basic recipe that shows a technique, like caramel or pound cake, and then uses that as a jumping off point for more complex recipes. I have quite a few technique books now, but this is still one of my favorites.

I've made brioche before, so this recipe wasn't as scary as I thought it would be when I first got the book. It's a medium-rich dough, so it's buttery without being a huge pain to work with. I used canned pumpkin puree, but you could certainly use fresh if you have it. I made a few small adjustments to the recipe. Since this is a rich dough, I used my SAF Gold yeast. I had extra large eggs in my fridge, so I only used 5 instead of 6. This is a pretty forgiving dough, since I totally didn't follow the mixing instructions. I forgot that you're supposed to develop the gluten with about 5 minutes of kneading before you add the butter. I added it not long after I added the eggs. So I just kneaded longer after the butter went in--about 8 minutes, I think. Everything still worked out okay.

The recipe says that it makes 3 pounds of dough, but by my measurements, it's actually about 4 pounds (about 1.8 kilos). I used about a kilo of the dough to make sandwich rolls--a dozen rolls of 85 grams (3 ounces) each. I'm still deciding what to do with the remaining dough--maybe cinnamon rolls. After shaping the rolls, I let them proof at room temperature for about 2 hours, then baked them at 350ºF for 25 minutes. As usual, I skipped the egg wash, though you could certainly use it if you prefer shiny brioche.

The verdict? Fantastic! The rolls don't really taste like pumpkin, but as Brianna said, there's something different about them. The color is gorgeous. And I think this is my favorite style of brioche--you can taste the butter, but it's not out of control. I used one roll to make a ham sandwich for lunch, and it was delicious. I think they would also be tasty with jam. Brianna was enthusiastic about having them in her lunch, so I'm sure we'll be making these again.

Phyl should have the full round-up of pumpkin dishes on his blog sometime this week, so head over to check it out. Updated: You can find the round-up here. And for more delicious breads and rolls, be sure to check out Yeastspotting.

Pumpkin Brioche

(adapted from Sherry Yard's The Secret of Baking)

170 grams (3/4 cup) whole milk, at room temperature

5 grams SAF gold instant yeast (or regular instant yeast)

225 grams (1 cup) pumpkin puree

65 grams (1/3 cup) granulated sugar

140 grams (1 cup) bread flour

700 grams (5 cups) bread flour

14 grams (2 teaspoons) table salt

5 extra large eggs (267 grams out of the shells) or 6 large eggs, room temperature

225 grams (1 cup, or 2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

This brioche starts with a sponge. Put the milk and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk to combine. Let stand for about 5 minutes, until the yeast is dissolved and starts to bubble a bit. (This step isn't absolutely necessary with instant yeast, but I figure in a rich dough like this, the head start for the yeast is still a good idea.) Mix in the pumpkin, sugar and the cup of flour. I like to use my dough whisk for this, but you could also use your mixer with the paddle attachment. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the sponge stand at room temperature until bubbly, 30 to 45 minutes.

For the dough, first add the flour and the salt to the sponge. Next mix in the eggs until they are absorbed. Then add the butter, 2 tablespoons at a time. Once all the butter is in, switch to the dough hook. (You can do so sooner if you need to, but I found it easier to mix the butter in with the paddle.) Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then knead with the dough hook for about 8 minutes, until the dough is smooth and shiny. Transfer the dough to a well-oiled 4-quart container and turn the dough so it is coated with oil on all sides. Cover the container (mine has its own lid) and let the dough rise until it is doubled in volume, about 2 hours.

Deflate the dough by folding the dough over on itself. Refrigerate the dough for at least 4 hours or overnight. It will rise to fill the container again. Once chilled, the dough can be made into loaves or rolls or used for other recipes. For the rolls I made, remove about half the dough from the container. Divide the dough into 12 pieces of about 85 grams (3 ounces) each. You could also do 60 gram (2 ounce) pieces for dinner rolls. Roll the dough pieces into smooth, tight rounds and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Spray lightly with oil (I use Pam) and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise at room temperature for about 2 hours, or until doubled in size. During the last 30 minutes of the rise time, preheat the oven to 350ºF. Bake the rolls for 20 to 25 minutes, depending on the size. The rolls will be nicely browned and register about 195ºF internal temperature when done. Transfer the rolls to a rack and let them cool before serving.

LiveSTRONG with lots of cookies

2011-10-02T15:49:00.000-05:00

I've been having a really hard time deciding what to write in this post. For the past several years, I've participated in LiveSTRONG Day by posting a yellow dessert and telling you all about how cancer has touched my life. I don't really want to go back over the same ground, but I still appreciate the chance to share something with you. First is these cookies. I generally associate yellow with lemon, so it's really not a surprise that I've got another lemon recipe for you this year. These simple cookies are flavored with lemon zest. Since the cookies themselves aren't that yellow, I also made some lemon curd to go with them. The other thing that I want to share is something that I posted on Facebook earlier this year, in remembrance of my first husband Nate, who lost his battle with cancer in 1996:

"People speak of you less often now. The things you did are being done by others. I no longer notice your lingering presence in every room. Then an old friend calls and we tell forgotten tales, or I find a place not yet emptied by my grieving. And I am touched by the reality of you once more, and quietly I celebrate your continuance."

The verdict on the cookies? I was pleasantly surprised to see how much the girls loved these cookies. I'm partial to pretty much anything lemon, but they often think things are too tart. That's the nice thing about these lemon wafers--they have more of a hint of lemon, rather than hitting you over the head with it. If you want a big lemon punch, add the lemon curd. This recipe of Alice Medrich's is one of the tartest I've made, I think. You can find the recipe for the lemon curd in her book Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-in-Your-Mouth Cookies. The Lemon Goldies are in there, too, but you can also find that recipe online here. (A bit of advice--just put the lemon curd on top of a cookie & eat it, don't try to make sandwiches. The lemon curd all comes out the sides when you try to bite the sandwich...)

There isn't an official LiveSTRONG with a Taste of Yellow event this year, but Barbara has a post up with links to the events from past years. You can read more about LiveSTRONG Day 2011 here. And the quotation is from Safe Passage: Words to Help the Grieving by Molly Fumia, a book of meditations on grief.

All in knots

2011-09-30T21:56:00.000-05:00

Every once in a while we end up doing our Central Market shopping on Sunday morning. Usually we shop Friday and Saturday nights (one CM, one HEB, depending on my work schedule), but we didn't want to go Saturday night last weekend for fear of not being back in time for the start of Doctor Who. The girls like to watch too, and the 11pm replay is way too late for them. Heck, most of the time it's way too late for me, too.

Anyway, the great thing about shopping on Sunday morning is that everything is fully stocked, including the bakery! Sure, I love baking my own bread. But I worked Saturday and was still tired on Sunday (from what seemed like a very long week), so there was no way I was going to pass up the still-warm loaves of Durum Sourdough and Ciabatta. We actually saw some of the bakers still at work, so Gillian and I stopped to watch for a minute. Her comments? "Mommy, he has a different kind of weigher than you do." (He had a balance.) "But he's making those rolls like you make!" He was, in fact, making knotted rolls, though they were a bit simpler than these ones that I made last week. He wasn't joining the ends together to make rounds. It was neat that she recognized that we make the same sorts of things at home that they make at the bakery. How many kids can say that?

I discovered these rolls as I was reading my new issue of Fine Cooking (Oct/Nov 2011). They caught my eye both because they looked delicious and also because the recipe is from one of my favorite authors, Peter Reinhart. They looked like they'd be pretty easy to make--it's a straight dough, no preferments necessary. The nice thing is that you can mix up the dough, then either leave it at room temperature to rise if you're baking the same day, or stick it in the fridge to rise overnight. You can keep it in there for a few days if you don't get back to it right away. The full recipe of dough makes 18 rolls, so I decided to bake half the first day after refrigerating my dough, then do the other half a couple days later.

I mostly followed the recipe, though I did decide to substitute some white whole wheat flour for part of the bread flour. I used about one-third www flour. I didn't really add any extra liquid, so the dough was probably a bit stiffer than it was supposed to be. Next time I'll probably add a little extra milk. The only other big change I made was to omit the egg wash on the rolls--most of the time I can't be bothered to fuss with it. It probably won't surprise you that I'm one of those people who prefers matte finish over glossy on my pictures... =)

The verdict? These were a big hit, especially with the girls. Baking them in batches on different days worked really well, too. That way we were able to get through them before they got stale. I'm sure we'll be making this recipe again. I doubt that the girls had any idea that there was whole wheat flour in them, either. =)

If you'd like to try the original recipe, you can find it in the Oct/Nov 2011 issue of Fine Cooking, or here on the Fine Cooking website. My friend Kayte baked along with me on this one, so if you'd like to see the rolls finished the way they were supposed to be (with egg wash & seeds on top), check out her blog post. I'm also submitting these rolls to Yeastspotting, where you can see lots of other yummy yeasted treats.

Wordless Wednesday - Stone fruit lattice pie

2011-09-28T05:00:00.000-05:00

(recipe here)

We flip for plums

2011-09-27T20:39:00.000-05:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe is courtesy of Becky of Project Domestication. She picked a fun recipe--Flip Over Plum Cake. The first thing you might think is that this is a recipe for an upside-down cake. But it's much easier than that--the cake and fruit do the flipping all on their own. You melt butter in a baking dish in the oven, then pull it out, pour in cake batter, top it with fruit, and stick the dish back in the oven. After baking, the fruit and cake have magically traded places so that you have something more like a fruit cobbler.

I only had a pound of plums, so I made half the recipe. I thought about using one of my 8" square baking pans, but then remembered my oval casserole dish, which seemed much more photogenic. =) I pretty much followed the recipe as written, except that I left out the almond extract and used all vanilla. I baked my cake for 40 minutes. That might have been just a bit too long, but not enough to be a problem.

The verdict? I really enjoyed this one! I especially liked the crispy/chewy browned edges. It was lovely with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream and made a great breakfast. Jamie and Brianna liked the cake too, but Gillian was not thrilled. I definitely want to make this recipe again--and I'm already trying to figure out what other fruit would work well.

If you'd like to try this one for yourself, you can find the recipe on Becky's blog. And to see what other variations people came up with, check out this week's Links.

Wordless Wednesday - Brioche Crumb Cake

2011-09-21T05:00:00.000-05:00

No respect, I tell ya

2011-09-20T21:35:00.000-05:00

Salt and pepper often don't get the respect that they deserve. How many times have you run across a so-called "5-ingredient recipe" only to discover that it's really more than that, because they don't count salt and pepper and water as ingredients? Water is actually the one that bugs me most. Sure, I understand not counting the water that you use to cook pasta, for instance. But it drives me crazy to read the ingredient list for a recipe, then get down in the directions and discover that you need to add a specific amount of water. If you need a specific amount, list it as an ingredient! I've run into the same thing with salt--the ingredients may list a type of salt, but not a specific amount. Yes, I know you're supposed to read through the whole recipe before you start, but even with doing that, sometimes I get distracted partway through...

Okay, done ranting. =) Now on to a baked good that does give salt and pepper a starring role, even in the recipe title. For this week's Tuesdays with Dorie, Tia of Buttercream Barbie picked the Salt and Pepper Cocoa Shortbreads for us to make. The nice thing about these cookies is that the dough is easy to mix up. I do recommend that you assemble all your ingredients ahead of time (mise en place) so you don't forget any... like the egg yolk. I realized as I was putting my logs of cookie dough in the fridge to chill that I had totally forgotten the egg yolk. (That's a bit ironic, since I started making the dough because I was looking for a way to use up egg yolks.) However, I've made plenty of shortbread recipes that don't have any egg in them, so I decided to just go with it.

After chilling the dough for a few hours, I cut it into thick slices with my serrated knife. I baked the cookies for about 15 minutes, I think. It's hard to say for sure, since I continued with my forgetfulness and didn't set a timer at first. Fortunately, I've baked enough cookies to be able to go by how they looked and smelled to figure out when they were done.

The verdict? These turned out to be quite good, despite the forgotten egg yolk. Like a lot of shortbread, I found that these were actually better the second day than the first. I probably should have used a little more pepper, since I couldn't really taste it. The fleur de sel definitely came through, though. I really enjoy the little bursts of saltiness with the chocolate. Everyone else seemed to enjoy these as well.

If you'd like to give this recipe a try for yourself, head over to Tia's blog. And to see what everyone else thought of the shortbread, check out this week's Links.

Have your cake and ice cream, too

2011-09-18T22:13:00.000-05:00

Well, it's back to work for me tomorrow. On Friday, I stopped by work briefly, and several people asked me what I'd been doing with my time off. The answer? Absolutely nothing. =) Or at least, pretty darn closed to that. I did get to spend a couple days with Gillian (while Brianna was at school), which was nice. At her request, we did a little shopping on Thursday. Ah, to be 4-going-on-5 again--the days when all it takes to make you happy is some new socks and leggings and a 99¢ plastic pencil box. Maybe it was the youthful company, but I did a little shopping for myself, and walked out of Office Depot with over a dozen colorful Sharpies. I try to stay out of there, since I lack willpower when it comes to office supplies... =)

I also did lots of baking over the past week. The most involved creation for the week was also one that would easily win the heart of any 4-year-old, not to mention most big kids. I've mentioned before that I'm a DBCB. The reason I went into work on my vacation is that Friday was the birthday of one of my employees, and another has a birthday tomorrow. Fortunately, they're both old enough not too complain too much about having to share. But just in case, I found a good solution--I made everyone a cake of his or her own. My employee A has been nagging me incessantly about making peanut butter ice cream for her ever since I brought some to work for another event. She even suggested that I make ice cream cake. Normally that would be too hard too pull off, but since I was off, I could bring the dessert in at lunch time so it wouldn't have time to melt. So I made a bunch of mini ice cream cakes!

The first thing to decide on was the cake. I knew I wanted chocolate, and a cake that would be good cold. One of the first recipes to come to mind was one from Dorie Greenspan's Baking From My Home to Yours. If you're familiar with the book, you'll remember the fabulous cake on the cover. In the headnote for the recipe, Dorie says, "Freshly made or at room temperature, they [the layers] are moist and a little fluffy; chilled, they're still moist, but denser and firmer, very much like a super-fudgy brownie." That sounded like just what I wanted. Since I wanted thin layers, I used my quarter-sheet pans in place of the 8" rounds called for in the recipe. (The bake time was 20 minutes, and I lined the pans with parchment to make it easy to remove the layers once cooled.) For the ice cream layer, I used one of the same pans, and right after churning the ice cream, I spread it in the parchment lined pan and froze it until it was very firm.

For the assembly, I used a 2 1/2" biscuit cutter (from this set) to cut out rounds. I got 14 from each layer. I stacked the layers--cake, then ice cream, then cake--and stuck the cakes into the freezer overnight to make sure they were completely frozen before I covered them in chocolate. I debated what to use for a coating, but decided to go with the Chocolate Bombe Shell from my copy of Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home. (The peanut butter ice cream was also from that book.) I put the cakes on a rack placed over a sheet pan lined with non-stick foil and spooned the chocolate mixture over them. I did three at a time, keeping the rest in the freezer until I was ready for them. Also, if you work fast, you can put sprinkles on top before the shell completely hardens so they stick well. The nice thing about the chocolate shell mixture is that you can stick the sheet pan in the freezer for a few minutes and the chocolate will harden so that you can easily peel it off the foil. Then you can just break it up and remelt it.

The verdict? Well, this is now the newest "best thing that you have -ever- made!" according to my co-workers. It was a big hit here at home, too. I'm already thinking of different flavors that I can put together, especially since Gillian wasn't a huge fan of the peanut butter ice cream. I have lots of cake scraps left, too, so they may end up in some sort of trifle, unless I manage to just eat them all.

If you'd like to try these little cakes for yourself, here's where you can find recipes for the components I used. Or you can just have fun experimenting for yourself. Enjoy!

Dorie's Devil's Food Cake

Jeni's The Buckeye State ice cream (I left out the chocolate bits & used Golden Syrup instead of honey)

Chocolate Bombe Shell (I doubled the amounts listed in this post)

Wordless Wednesday - Signs of fall

2011-09-14T05:00:00.011-05:00

(Recipe here; used 2/3 cup choc chips in place of other mix-ins)

All dressed up and nowhere to go

2011-09-13T09:48:00.001-05:00

I love vacation time--especially the kind where I get to stay home. Sure, it's fun to go places and visit people, but traveling can also be stressful. I'm ready for a break from stress. It's nice to be able to hang out and relax, and maybe catch up on a few things. Jamie's vacation time can roll over, but mine is the use-it-or-lose-it variety. So you can bet I'm going to use it, even if it means staying home by myself. To be honest, being on my own isn't bad. =) Brianna is in school, and Jamie is at work. Gillian stayed home with me yesterday and will probably do that again later in the week, but that's okay. One child at home with me is peaceful--both would be another story.

Knowing that I had a whole week ahead of me with plenty of time to spend in the kitchen, I was completely lazy this past weekend. I cooked dinner on Sunday, but that was about it. But that was okay, since I'd actually made this week's TWD recipe over a week ahead of time. Anne of Anne Strawberry picked Classic Brownies as this week's selection. That was perfect, since I needed something to pack in lunches last week. Only one problem--we managed to polish off the brownies without me taking any pictures of them. Oops.

So yesterday morning, I set out to make them again. I actually started off my day by turning a whole bunch of raspberries (I love Costco) into raspberry sauce. Then I made the brownies. It's an easy recipe--one bowl, and whisk and a spoon are all you need. I skipped the nuts and put in chocolate chips instead, since I don't care for nuts in my brownies (and B's school has requested no peanuts or tree nuts if possible, due to a student with a severe allergy). I baked the brownies for 30 minutes, and was quite happy with the fudgy texture. Next up was ice cream, since there wasn't any at all in the freezer. I made vanilla bean (with a splash of rum), figuring it would go nicely with another TWD recipe that I plan to make this week. Once I was done with that, I realized that I had all the makings of a fabulous brownie sundae. I also figured a sundae would be a way to make the brownies more photogenic. And my children now think I'm the best mom ever. =)

The verdict? We really enjoyed these brownies, both plain and dressed up. While they don't quite displace my all-time favorite, they are very high on my list. It certainly wasn't a hardship to make them twice, and I'm sure we'll be making them again. I'd like to try the recipe with other mix-ins, like peanut butter chips (just for eating at home).

If you'd like to try these for yourself, head over to Anne's blog for the recipe. To see how everyone else played around with these brownies, check out this week's Links.

Wordless Wednesday - Rocky Road Cupcakes

2011-09-07T05:00:00.001-05:00

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood

2011-09-05T21:25:00.003-05:00

This has been the first pleasant day we've had in months. Breezy and dry, with 70s this morning and 80s this afternoon. There's only one problem--it's dry. Way too dry. We had almost no rain in July, none at all in August, and none so far this month. It's crazy--I've read how much rain has been falling in Louisiana and the southeast US from tropical storm Lee, and all we've gotten from it has been wind. There won't be any grilling around here for Labor Day, at least there better not be, with all the wildfires burning around the Austin area. (Thankfully, none are near us at the moment, but we know people close to the affected areas.)

Still, parents with the day off from work and kids with the day off from school flocked to the park this morning to enjoy the lovely weather. We were among them. We're lucky to have some really great places to play, like the playscape at San Gabriel park. The girls got to run around like maniacs for about an hour, and I got to sit in the shade and read. Well, and take some pictures. =) Then it was home for lunch and naps. I love extra days off.

I did some baking yesterday. I'm starting to get back into the bread baking mood, now that we're actually seeing some days below 100º. (The Austin area has had 79 days of 100º+ so far, and there's still a chance we could have more.) I even revived Ernie, my sourdough starter, and have baked sourdough bread two weekends in a row. Last weekend, I baked Pain au Levain from one of my favorite books, Artisan Breads Every Day. I really like that recipe, but I wanted to make something quicker this time. I turned to one of my trusted resources, King Arthur Flour, to see what I could come up with.

I have to say, I really like the recent redesign that KAF did on their recipe section. For one thing, it's much more iPad-friendly. I was also happy to see that in addition to weights in ounces, many recipes now give the option for grams as well. It's an easy conversion if I have to do it myself, but it's nice to save a step. I do have to wonder, though, why it will tell me that a tablespoon of sugar is 14 grams, but not give me a weight for 2 1/2 teaspoons of salt. Oh well, it's not like it's that hard for me to figure out for myself. =)

There's a section of sourdough recipes, with all kinds of interesting stuff (including pizza and waffles and even chocolate cake). I settled on the recipe for Rustic Sourdough Bread. There is a handy blog post to go along with it, showing how the recipe can be adjusted to give different results depending on how much time you have on your hands. I went for the quicker version, which still has nice flavor while only taking a few hours. I fed Ernie Saturday night, so I had a nice active starter ready to go Sunday morning. I did have to do some math, though. I keep a firm starter, with a hydration of about 66%. That means that for every 100 grams of flour, it has 66 grams of water. The recipe has a link to KAF's fresh starter, and the instructions for it led me to believe that it's a 100% hydration starter, meaning that it has equal amounts of water and flour. So I had to figure out how much total water and flour were in the original recipe (totaling the amounts from the starter and what is added later). I decided to keep the amount of starter constant, so I had to figure out how much water and flour were in the same amount of my starter (the recipe calls for about 225 grams of starter) and adjust the additional water and flour accordingly. This is where I love my notebook. I didn't want to write it out here, so the photo below shows my calculations and notes for this recipe:

The verdict? Well, we've managed to polish off the first loaf already. Samples yesterday, toast for breakfast today, sandwiches for lunch. The other loaf got sliced and went in the freezer for B's lunches this week (and maybe some for me, too). The flavor is nice--a bit of tang, but not too sour. It was a hit with B, which is good, since she can be picky about bread. I'll definitely be making this recipe again--I love how easy it is, as long as I remember to feed my starter first.

If you'd like to try this bread for yourself, you can find the recipe here at KAF. If you don't have a starter of your own, there are a number of great tutorials on the web, including this one from my friend Phyl. I made mine using the steps in Artisan Breads Every Day, and posted about it here. For more yummy and beautiful breads, be sure to check out the collection each week at Yeastspotting.

Sourpuss

2011-09-01T20:30:00.000-05:00

I had a conversation the other day with a friend who is thinking of starting a family. He asked me, "Kids--they're worth it, right?" My response? "Most of the time." I love my girls, and I can't imagine life without them. But sometimes, like tonight, they just push all my buttons. Awhile back I decided that Thursday is invariably the worst day of the week--prime time for some sort of meltdown. Everyone is tired. We're tired on Friday, too, but by that point, the end of the week is definitely in sight. On Thursday, we're almost as cranky, and still have to find a way to get through another day.

Fortunately there wasn't a homework meltdown from B this evening. (That was last night.) And at least G didn't wait until right before bed to have her every-other-day marathon bathroom session. (Sorry, I know it's mostly a food blog, but anyone have any great solutions for 4yo constipation?) But by now, I really just wish they'd finish up with the fooling around in the bathroom (they're supposed to be brushing their teeth) and go to bed already... Though on the plus side, I did manage to feed them something for dinner that they both ate without complaint. And it wasn't macaroni and cheese--there were actual vegetables involved. =)

Oddly enough, although I'm feeling tired and decidedly cranky, I have no interest in one of my usual stress remedies, chocolate. (I know, crazy, right?) I do, however, wish I had some of this frozen yogurt left. It would really hit the spot right now. It's lemon frozen yogurt with raspberry sauce, from Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home.

I've made about a dozen recipes from the book so far--some that I've posted, and some that I haven't. (There's some Milkiest Chocolate with Marshmallows and Fudge Swirl in the freezer right now, for instance.) But it really hadn't occurred to me to try any of the frozen yogurt recipes. Then I went to a class that Jeni did here at Central Market last month. She mentioned that the lemon frozen yogurt was her favorite, and we got to sample it at the class. So I put it at the top of my list to try next.

More than with Jeni's ice cream recipes, you have to plan ahead a little for the frozen yogurt. The recipe calls for draining the yogurt for at least 6-8 hours to remove excess liquid. I didn't have cheesecloth, so I improvised. I lined my medium strainer with coffee filters, put it over a bowl, and added my quart of lowfat yogurt. I covered the top with plastic wrap, and stuck the whole contraption in the fridge overnight. By the way, can I just say that it's harder than I expected to find lowfat plain yogurt? I saw plenty of nonfat, and several brands of whole milk, but not a lot of choices for lowfat. I used Wallaby for the lemon. I think I'm going to try Stonyfield for the next batch, and see which I prefer. Another thing to note--you won't need all of the yogurt for this recipe, but the extra can be used for other things, like in place of sour cream in dips.

Besides draining the yogurt, you make a lemon syrup with lemon juice and sugar. The zest from the lemons gets added to the milk/cream mixture, which is similar to the ice cream, but with smaller amounts to account for the volume that will be added by the yogurt. Once the milk mixture is boiled and thickened with cornstarch and whisked into the cream cheese, the strained yogurt and lemon syrup are whisked in. I did add a pinch of salt that wasn't called for in the recipe. I also chilled my finished mixture in a regular ice bath rather than in a ziploc bag. Once the mixture was thoroughly chilled, I churned it and then layered it with Jeni's raspberry sauce as I packed it into a freezer container.

The verdict? I think I have a new favorite flavor. Much as I love chocolate, and the salty caramel (when I don't overcaramelize it), the lemon frozen yogurt is to die for. I do want to try the Lemon Cream ice cream as well, for comparison. What's actually up next is lime frozen yogurt with blackberry sauce. I'll keep you all posted on how that goes. Molly of Orangette says that she likes to eat this frozen yogurt from a teacup. I'd have to say my favorite way to eat this flavor is in a cone. You have the tart, refreshing tastes of lemon and raspberry with the crisp texture and browned butter-vanilla flavor of the cone. Mmm. I admit, I polished off most of the quart all by myself.

If you'd like to try this one for yourself, you can find the recipe here at The Splendid Table. But I strongly encourage you to get your hands on a copy of the book, so you can try lots of other fantastic recipes as well.

Wordless Wednesday - Raspberry sauce

2011-08-31T22:39:00.000-05:00

The great debate

2011-08-24T20:34:00.003-05:00

Welcome to Wednesday with Dorie! (Oops.) The first couple days of the school year have been a bit hectic and tiring for everyone, so some things are running a little behind. No homework yet for B, but other things have been worrying her. She is -so- my child. What 3rd grader worries about flunking on the second day of school? That would be my 3rd grader. She worries so much, and takes everything so seriously. Gee, I wonder where she got that? But is it nature or nurture? I've always been the same way, so is it in the genes? Or am I causing her to be this way, mainly because my parents influenced me the same way? Either way, I've been there, so I'm trying to do what I can to relieve some of her anxiety. Which is tricky, since I'm also trying not to let my own anxiety show, about whether I'm being a good parent--since I have a 3rd grader who worries about flunking on the second day of school... *sigh* No one ever said this parenting thing was going to be easy.

Fortunately, some things are easier than they look. Like this brioche. Though it is another one of those things you can question--is it bread, or is it pastry? Margaret of Tea and Scones picked this recipe for us to make for this week's Tuesdays with Dorie. You hear the word brioche, and immediately think, "French! Complicated!" (or is that just me?) I know I felt rather intimidated by it the first time I made it, back in March of 2008 (wow, has it been that long?), when we made the Brioche Raisin Snails. But even if you're kind of scared of yeast, it really doesn't take a lot of skill--just patience, and hopefully a stand mixer (or food processor, if you're like my friend Nancy). Some of the bread I make is dense enough that I forego the mixer--it's not getting any younger, and I don't want to overtax it. But brioche is a soft, sticky dough, so it doesn't cause any problems. Despite what Dorie says, mine never really pulled away from the sides of the bowl. In fact, you may wonder how this buttery blob could ever turn into bread. The answer? Time. And some serious chilling before shaping.

I mostly followed the recipe as written. I used instant yeast, rather than active dry, so I reduced the amount. I actually used some of my SAF gold yeast, which is designed to work better in a sweeter, rich dough. (I ended up using 10 grams, or about 3 teaspoons.) I wanted to use my "Nancy pan," so I changed the shaping a bit. I took half the dough, which was about 600 grams. (I froze the other half.) I divided it into 4 portions of about 150 grams each, and formed each piece into a ball, rather than a log. I put them in the pan, and covered it with plastic wrap. I let it rise until the dough was almost to the top of the pan. I skipped the egg wash, but about 15 minutes in the top of the loaf was getting rather brown, so I tented it with foil. I ended up baking the loaf for 30 minutes, at which point the internal temperature was about 190ºF.

The verdict? I love pastries, and brioche really isn't far off. My favorite part is the crunchy, buttery crust. I'm happy with how the pan worked for this loaf--the small slices provide nice portion control. =) So far, I've just been snacking on the brioche, making little jam sandwiches. Yum.

If you'd like to try this one for yourself, you can head over to Margaret's blog for the recipe. And be sure to check out the Links to see how everyone else did this week. I leave you with pictures from the first day of school. G doesn't start kindergarten til next year, but of course we had to take her picture, too.

Hidden treasure

2011-08-16T13:09:00.000-05:00

Is it just me, or do these papers remind you of candy corn?

I mentioned in my last post that I'm happy to be a DBCB (designated birthday cake baker). Of course, I bake lots of things besides cake, so I bring other things to work as well. I do want to be respectful of people's nutritional goals, so I try not to bring really decadent stuff too often--not that I get many complaints. =) So I'll bake things with fruit, or whole wheat flour snuck in, as a way to offset some of the recipes made with lots of chocolate and butter. Breakfast items are always popular--they get eaten at any time of day. So I figured these Tuesdays with Dorie Carrot Spice Muffins would be well-received. This pick was actually supposed to be for last week. I'm hoping my friend Nancy will forgive me for being late to the party. =) (And my apologies to Gaye for not making this week's Tropical Crumble.)

On the healthy side of the equation we have carrots, and the fact that these muffins are made with oil rather than butter. I didn't mess with the flour this time, but I'd like to try these with half white whole wheat flour. I don't think anyone would even notice, with all the flavor from the cinnamon (I used Vietnamese) and ginger. The original recipe also called for nuts and dried fruit, both healthy in moderation. (No chance that these would be made with coconut in this house.) I left those out--since I knew Brianna and Gillian would complain--but I'd be fine with some raisins or pecans, so I'll have to try that at some point.

Since I was omitting the fun mix-ins, I figured I needed to come up with something to replace them. I went browsing on the King Arthur Flour site, and found this recipe for Cream Cheese Carrot Cake Muffins. I'll have to make the muffins at some point, but for now, I just borrowed the filling. I actually reduced it a bit--I mixed together 150 grams of neufchatel (2/3 of an 8-ounce package), 35 grams of sugar (about 3 tablespoons) and a couple drops of Fiori di Sicilia (I'd just use a bit of vanilla extract if you don't have that). I put some batter in the bottom of each muffin cup, added a small scoop of filling, and topped it with more batter, so the cups were almost full. I baked my muffins for 20 minutes at 375ºF.

The verdict? Sometimes it's hard for me to predict what the reaction is going to be at work. Interestingly enough, it's often the non-chocolate goodies that get the best reception, and that was certainly the case with these muffins. They were a huge hit! I think we're all ready for fall flavors, and the cinnamon and ginger in these definitely made me think of autumn. It might be time to find some pumpkin recipes, too. =)

For the original muffin recipe, head over to Nancy's blog. To see what everyone else made this week and last, check out the Links for the muffins and crumble.

That's the way I like it

2011-08-08T21:36:00.002-05:00

I've been trying to write this post for the past week, and just haven't been able to figure out what to write. Then last night I opened up my Google Reader, clicked on the latest Baking Banter post, and started laughing. Why? Because I'm a proud DBCB, and have been for a long, long time. What's a DBCB, you ask? A Designated Birthday Cake Baker, of course. Meaning that I bake birthday goodies for all the people I work with. I've been doing it for about 15 years, and it's always appreciated. Sometimes it's cake, sometimes cupcakes. I've made strawberry shortcake a couple times, and several cheesecakes. I'll come up with something on my own if necessary, but I certainly take requests. The one that sticks out most in my mind is the German Chocolate Cake I made a few years ago for one of my employees. I absolutely detest coconut, so I didn't actually sample the topping or the finished cake. Fortunately, it was a hit. And everyone was amused by the fact that along with the cake, I also brought the rest of the bag of coconut to work. I wasn't about to let it stay in my house!

For this latest cake, I didn't have to do anything traumatic like buying coconut. =) I asked M, the birthday girl, if she had any special requests. She commented on how much she liked the texture of the frosting on the cupcakes I'd brought in a while back. They were topped with Swiss meringue buttercream, which I've made many times. Her only other request was something non-chocolate. As Brianna would say, she likes chocolate, but it's not her favorite. So I decided to go with a classic vanilla cake topped with vanilla buttercream. I thought M would be happy with it, and I suspected that no one else would complain. It's kind of like my favorite plain cheese pizza. Most people might not request it, but no one will turn it down if it's around!

For the cake, I used my favorite white cake recipe from The Cake Bible, the White Velvet Butter Cake. I added a tablespoon of rainbow non-pareils to the batter to make the layers more festive. You just have to work quickly to fold them in, so you don't end up with streaks of color in the batter instead of just polka dots. I wanted a taller cake, so I baked the batter in 8" round pans, rather than the 9" ones called for in the recipe. The layers took about 40 minutes to bake.

As I mentioned, for the frosting, I knew I wanted to make a Swiss meringue buttercream. I decided to try out a new recipe, from The Sweeter Side of Amy's Bread. The main difference is that it uses about 20% shortening instead of all butter, which is supposed to help keep the frosting a bit more stable at room temperature. As hot as it's been here lately, I wanted all the help I could get to keep the frosting from melting.

When I was assembling the cake, I topped the bottom layer with vanilla buttercream, then had the idea to add something else. I still had some of the raspberry "sauce" that I used for this ice cream, so I spread it on top of the frosting, before adding the second cake layer. The whole cake got covered in buttercream, then I piped rosettes around the top (thanks to another Baking Banter post for the inspiration) and a shell border around the bottom. The finishing touch was some rainbow sparkling sugar.

The verdict? This cake was a huge hit with the birthday girl and everyone else who tried it. The frosting was still rather soft, but I think it did hold up a bit better than my usual all-butter SWBC would have. The raspberry filling in the middle was just what the cake needed--a tart contrast to all the sweetness. I'll definitely be using that again.

I had a lot of fun making this cake. I love the way it turned out. One of my favorite parts of baking is pulling together a bunch of components from different sources to make something new. I might not make this exact cake again, but that's okay, since I'll enjoy making the next one just as much. I encourage you to pull some books off your shelves (or find recipes online, if you prefer) and do the same thing. Have fun!

Sundae Sunday - The round-up

2011-07-31T10:34:00.005-05:00

Well, it took me a week, but I'm finally back with the round-up of all the delicious treats that my friends made for Sundae Sunday. Ice cream month is just about done, but there's plenty more summer weather to come (especially around here--they're forecasting 107º for Tuesday!). Check out all these tempting photos, then try to decide what to make first! =)

First up we have Mike of Living Out West. He made what he referred to as "Plain Jim" ice cream. What I'd call it is fabulous. Vanilla, with both bean and extract, can be enjoyed as is, or become the perfect canvas for other things. Check it out here.

Next we have a new friend, Elaine, invited by Mike to join in the fun. She has a lovely blog, California Living. She immediately won me over by mentioning one of my favorite restaurants from college, The Old Spaghetti Factory. =) She went all out and made three different flavors, which she then combined for some fantastic homemade spumoni.

I invited a fairly new friend as well. Margaret of The Irish Mother is someone that I met through Adopt-a-Blogger. She started her blog to share her collection of family and other recipes, and is doing a wonderful job of it. In fact, she's about to celebrate her 1-year blogiversary next week. For our Sundae event, she took a delicious-looking Chocolate Velvet ice cream recipe and made it even more decadent by adding cheesecake! Go read all about it here.

Now we go from something totally decadent to something light and refreshing. Leslie of Lethally Delicious shared this lovely mango sorbet with us. She advises only using really good mangoes, and gives some great tips on finding them. Check out her recipe!

Next up is more fruit and gorgeous color from Nancy of The Dogs Eat the Crumbs. She has a couple favorite ice cream books, but was looking to try something new. She searched her bookshelf using Eat Your Books, which is also a favorite tool of mine, and found a new recipe for Blueberry Ice Cream. Read all about the service and the ice cream in her post.

Phyl from Of Cabbages and King Cakes continues our theme of fruity ice creams perfect for enjoying in a heat wave. He went for a grownup concoction featuring Pimm's No. 1. I've never tried it, but I definitely want to, now that I've read about Phyl's ice cream. He uses it with lemon and lime curd to make a delicious citrus ice cream. Read about it here.

Margaret decided to borrow an idea from Phyl and feature Lemon Curd Ice Cream on her blog, Tea and Scones. I'll be busy eating that with my friend Kayte, while everyone else can try the second ice cream she made....

...German Chocolate Pecan Ice Cream. Sorry, we won't be making this one here, since no one likes coconut. More for the rest of you, right? =P Be sure to head over to Margaret's blog for more about both of these great recipes.

On to more chocolate! Abby of Stir it! Scrape it! Mix it! Bake it! decided to take a break from playing with her new ice cream machine and made us these awesome Chocolate Pudding Pops. I'm definitely going to have to make these for my girls, since chocolate pudding is a favorite dessert of theirs. Having it in frozen form will definitely go over well. You can find the recipe for these chocolate treats here on Abby's blog.

If you want some delicious items to mix into Mike's vanilla ice cream up above, look no further than Mary's blog, Popsicles and Sandy Feet. She gives us not one, but two yummy treats that are just perfect for dressing up some homemade or store-bought ice cream. I don't know which to make first, the Maida Hatter Palm Beach Brownies or the Peanut Butter World Peace Cookies. Maybe just make both? Head over to Mary's blog for more, including links to the recipes.

If you're looking for something to serve alongside your ice cream, Jeannette of The Whimsical Cupcake has a great idea. She made Buttercrunch Toffee, and then topped her Bourbon Vanilla Ice Cream with some Salted Bourbon-Caramel Sauce. Sounds like a great way to beat the heat down here in Texas, where Jeannette and I both live. She has all the recipes here.

While Jeannette may be the closest to me geographically, this next treat comes from the person farthest away. My blogging friend Marthe of The Baking Bluefinger sends us this lovely sundae all the way from The Netherlands. She decided to make use of a gift from a Canadian friend, and made us a treat that features lots of maple syrup--Maple Syrup meringues topped with Maple Ice Cream, then topped with whipped cream and a drizzle of more maple syrup. You can find out more on her blog (now that her internet is cooperating!).

That brings us to my contribution, which also follows a theme. Mine was caramel. My sundae starts with a waffle bowl, which I filled with Salty Caramel Pecan Praline Ice Cream and topped with an amazing Butterscotch Sauce. And don't forget some whipped cream and a cherry! For more info and a recipe for the sauce, head over here.

I hope you've enjoyed the showcase of our frozen favorites. Next up will be an Autumn event--I'm still working on a theme--that will take place in late September or early October. If you'd like to be part of the fun, you can email me at diskitchennotebook at gmail dot com and I'll send you the details when we get closer. (I plan to contact all past participants unless you tell me not to.)

We all scream for...sorbet?

2011-07-26T20:51:00.000-05:00

Hopefully you aren't tired of ice cream posts yet. =) This one is actually courtesy of Steph of A Whisk and a Spoon. She's our hostess for Tuesdays with Dorie this week, and she picked Creamy Dark Chocolate Sorbet for us to make. It could be debated whether this recipe is actually for sorbet, since it contains milk, and sorbet generally doesn't. In fact, Dorie adapted this recipe from one by Pierre Hermé, which was made with just water, no milk. The substitution of milk for part of the liquid is what makes this sorbet creamy. The sorbet is pretty easy to make--you combine all the ingredients in a large saucepan, bring the mixture to a boil, and boil it for 5 minutes. Then you thoroughly chill the mixture and churn it in an ice cream maker. The result is a bit more "soft-serve" than usually, so it really benefits from several hours in the freezer (I left mine overnight) so it can firm up. The only changes I made were to add a bit of salt, and to increase the recipe by a third. I used a mix of chocolates, ending up with an average cacao percentage of about 62%, I think.

The verdict? It's hard to believe that such a simple recipe can make something so delicious! Chocolate ice cream is wonderful, but almost too rich sometimes. This sorbet is extremely chocolatey, but refreshing at the same time. I'm sure we'll be making it again very soon, since it's rapidly disappearing.

Here's my ingredient list, since I scaled the recipe up by a third (easier to do after converting to metric) to make about a quart:

300 grams lowfat (1%) milk

300 grams water

200 grams granulated sugar

265 grams bittersweet chocolate

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

For the original recipe, head over to Steph's blog. And to see what everyone else thought of the sorbet, check out this week's Links.

Sundae Sunday - Nuts about caramel

2011-07-24T22:31:00.003-05:00

So what do you think makes a sundae a sundae? Is it just having sauce on ice cream? Is it adding whipped cream? Is it the cherry on top? Well, I have all of those today, so there's no doubt in my mind that this is a sundae. =) I don't eat sundaes much. I usually eat a single scoop of ice cream, plain, in a small bowl or ramekin. Eating a small amount means I can get away with eating ice cream more often. Occasionally I'll put some chocolate or caramel sauce on top. But whipped cream? Never. And cherries? I don't even like them. Jamie got to eat the one on this sundae; he's the one who bought the cherries in the first place, so I can make him some ice cream with roasted cherries.

But since this is Sundae Sunday, I went all out. At the base is a waffle bowl, made from the same recipe as my cones, but sandwiched between a couple small bowls to give it shape. The ice cream is salty caramel with pecan pralines. (You can also find the salty caramel ice cream recipe in this Bon Appetit blog post. Thanks, Mike!) It's topped with a sinfully sweet butterscotch sauce and topped with softly whipped cream and a cherry.

I added the pralines to the ice cream because I wanted something that wasn't too plain, and I thought they would be good with the caramel ice cream. Initially, I was thinking of using hot fudge or some other chocolate sauce for the topping, but then I decided that I wanted to stick with the caramel theme. Regular caramel sauce seemed too obvious; I wanted something with a little more character. I consulted my bookshelf on Eat Your Books, looking for butterscotch sauce. I was a bit surprised when it pointed me to my copy of Ratio, by Michael Ruhlman. But sure enough, there was a butterscotch recipe in there. Butter, dark brown sugar, cream, salt, vanilla, and the intriguing ingredient of cider vinegar were fairly quickly combined into a delicious topping. As for the whipped cream, I made it by hand--I've finally learned that the best way to do that is to use a large bowl and my big balloon whisk, even for a relatively small amount of cream. The whipping goes fast that way, and I can easily stop before the cream gets over-whipped.

The verdict? Wow. This sundae was totally decadent, and completely delicious. I let the caramel for the ice cream get a little too dark, so the ice cream wasn't very sweet. But that was okay with the pralines and sauce, both of which were quite sweet. I don't usually go for nuts in my ice cream, but I like how the pecans were crunchy, while the praline coating melted into the ice cream. The butterscotch sauce was wonderful--the additions of vinegar and salt really gave it an excellent flavor.

Butterscotch Sauce
(adapted from Ratio by Michael Ruhlman)

55 grams (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter
115 grams (4 ounces, or a packed half cup) dark brown sugar
115 grams (4 ounces, or half a cup) heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

Place the butter and brown sugar in a small heavy-bottomed saucepan. Cook for 5 to 10 minutes over medium heat until the sugar has completed melted into the butter and the mixture is thick and bubbly. Remove the pan from the head and whisk in the cream. Let the mixture cool slightly--about 5 minutes--then whisk in the vanilla, vinegar and salt. Makes about a cup.

For more info on making the butterscotch sauce, check out this article from Shuna Fish Lydon, with great how-to photos.

And be sure to check back later this week for my Sundae Sunday round-up!

Sundae Sunday

2011-07-24T08:05:00.001-05:00

Fill 'er up!!

Welcome to Sundae Sunday! What is that, you ask? Well, if you're a regular reader of my blog, you've probably noticed my recent (well, ongoing) obsession with all things ice cream. We've been suffering through an incredible heat wave here in central Texas--we're up to almost 40 days of 100º+ temperatures since late May. This week, the intense heat has branched out to other parts of the country, and many of my blogging friends are suffering through it as well. At least I have air-conditioning! So what better time to make some delicious frozen treats? Plus July is National Ice Cream Month! It would be a shame to let it pass without some celebration.

So it seemed like a good time for a blogging event. Back in December, I hosted a Virtual Cookie Exchange. A bunch of us got together and posted cookie recipes on the same day, so we could share our favorites with each other. This is the same sort of thing--we're having a virtual ice cream social, with ice cream or other frozen treats or related items (e.g. sundae toppings). My sundae post will be up later today (a tease--I hope you like caramel!). Later this week I'll have a round-up of what everyone made.

I've also decided to make this a seasonal thing. I love getting my friends together for an event like this, but I know everyone is busy, so I don't want it to be too often. The schedule will be roughly as follows...

Summer - July
Autumn - late September or early October
Holidays - December
Winter - February
Spring - late April or early May

If this sounds like fun and you'd like to participate in future events, leave a comment on this post (make sure it's not anonymous, or I won't have a way to contact you) or send me an email at diskitchennotebook at gmail dot com. The more the merrier! I should have a specific theme for the next event figured out by early September. In the meantime, look around for some delicious ice cream recipes!

It's a virtue

2011-07-14T22:24:00.001-05:00

People seem to think that I have a lot of patience. When they learn how long I've worked in customer service, they think I must be a patient person. When they see something that I've created, be it a fancy cake or a piece of needlework, they say how making those things must take a lot of patience. Honestly, though, I think most of the time it's more stubbornness than patience--because I don't feel very patient a lot of the time, especially when I'm dealing with my children. And when I get an idea in my head, I don't want to wait. I want to make it happen now!

You've all seen that in action with all my recent posts about frozen treats. Sure, it's summer, and a great time for ice cream. But I want to make all the different flavors right now. I actually didn't make any new ones last weekend because I knew there wouldn't be room until we finished eating some of the ones I'd already made. I can hardly wait to make some more, though. It's not just flavors that I've been experimenting with, either. After buying some cones and waffle bowls at the grocery store that weren't very tasty (and arrived broken as well), I decided that I needed to make my own. Jeni's book has a recipe, but I was lacking one important thing--a waffle cone iron.

It wasn't always the case, but these days Austin has quite a few different places to shop for housewares. The place I end up at most often is Sur la Table. When SLT came to town a few years ago, the local Williams-Sonoma store expanded quite a bit as well. But despite the fact that they have a lot more to offer these days, I still don't shop there all that often. For some of the basics, I like to go to Ace Mart, a local restaurant supply store. And for some items, like cake boxes and decorating tools, I shop at All in One Bake Shop. I may not like shopping for clothes or shoes, but I can shop for kitchen gear all day long. =) Where do you all like to shop for bakeware and related stuff? I can always use some new places to check out. =)

How Brianna deals with the fact that I need more practice making cones without holes at the bottom...

When I started looking for a waffle cone maker, I started with Sur la Table and Williams-Sonoma. SLT didn't even have one on its website. W-S had one, but it was listed as online only. Sometimes that information isn't accurate so I still checked the store, but no luck. I even tried Bed, Bath & Beyond, but same thing--online only. If I wanted to buy one online, I could just order one from another favorite of mine, King Arthur Flour. I was about to give up and resign myself to having to wait a week or so, when I thought of something else. I'm not sure why I don't usually think of them, but we also have a Crate & Barrel store in Austin. I checked their website first. Success! They have this one. And it was on sale! Even better, I was able to check store availability from the website, and it looked like my local store had some in stock. I was doing this on a day off, so I headed right down to look. They had one! As it turned out, a lot of other ice cream related stuff was on sale, which is how I ended up with the cute dishes pictured here, as well as a couple of these glasses.

Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to eat ice cream...

The verdict? Well, I think you can see that the cones were a big hit with Brianna and Gillian. My only problem is that now they want ice cream for dessert every night. Unfortunately, I just don't have the patience for it--I swear they can take an amazingly long time to finish eating an ice cream cone. =) They had plain dark chocolate ice cream in their cones, but the others pictured are filled with a flavor that I made just for me. (Though I just discovered that J did sample some.) I love the combination of chocolate and raspberry, so I made a batch of the Milkiest Chocolate Ice Cream in the World, and layered it with some fabulous raspberry sauce and some of the Chocolate Bombe Shell.

As for the cones, I've made them a couple times. I think I'm starting to get the hang of it, though a couple of this last batch still had holes in the bottoms. I've learned that the cones taste better if you let them get more browned, too. We've made some waffle bowls, too, by sandwiching the hot waffles between a couple of small ramekins with rounded bottoms.

If you'd like to try these and lots of other great ice cream recipes, I definitely encourage you to get a copy of Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home. (No, this is not a sponsored post; I just really love this book.) You can find the recipes for the chocolate ice creams and the raspberry sauce in the book. Here's my version of her waffle cone recipe.

Waffle Cone Batter

(adapted from Jeni's Splendid Homemade Ice Creams)

2 egg whites (60 grams)

60 grams (1/4 cup) heavy cream

100 grams (1/2 cup) granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons vanilla

70 grams (5 tablespoons) melted unsalted butter

85 grams (2/3 cup) all-purpose flour

Whisk the egg whites and cream together in a medium bowl. Whisk in the sugar, salt and vanilla. Whisk in the melted butter, making sure that everything is thoroughly blended. Finally, gently whisk in the flour, just until the batter is smooth.

I let my batter rest (at room temperature) while my waffle iron was heating. For my waffle iron, my #40 disher is just the right size to scoop the batter. It took some trial and error to figure out exactly how long to cook the waffles. And be prepared to burn your fingers a few times while you learn to roll them into cones.