|
 Ginger Lemon Biscotti
Total time: 1 hour
3 cups cheap all-purpose flour (or 2 1/2 cups of King Arthur flour)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup – 1/2 cup minced ginger root
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp lemon zest
1/2 tsp salt
Preheat oven to 350.
Mix flour, baking powder and salt in a small mixing bowl, set aside.
Beat sugar and softened butter until smooth. Add eggs, zest and vanilla, beat until smooth. Add flour mixture to egg mixture and mix just until just blended. Fold in ginger.
Divide dough into two pieces. Form into long flat loaves about 1/2 inch tall and 12-15 inches long. Place the loaves 3-4 inches apart on a prepared or non-stick baking sheet.
Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool for 10-15 minutes (or until you can handle the loaves without burning yourself) on a cooling rack or cutting board.
With a serrated or extremely sharp kitchen knife, cut diagonally into 1/2 inch thick slices. Lay the slices flat on the baking sheet.
Bake for 15-18 minutes, turning over once. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Makes about 2 dozen.
I’ve used both lemon zest and orange zest to great, tasty success.
 Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Total time: 1.5 hours
1/2 c raisins, soaked for 30-60 minutes, then drained
1/2 cup butter, softened (1 stick)
3/4 c brown sugar
1/4 c white sugar
1 c cheap ap flour
1 egg
1.5 c rolled oats
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsps vanilla
Preheat the oven to 360.
Cream together sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add egg, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla, mix well.
Add flour and baking soda, mix lightly until just incorporated. Add oats and mix lightly to incorporate. Fold in raisins gently.
Spoon out dough by large tablespoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheets, leaving at least 2 inches between each cookie.
Bake until cookie edges turn golden brown, about 10-12 minutes. Cool completely on cookie sheets before moving to cooling rack (about 5 minutes).
 Cheesesteak "hot pocket" sandwiches
Total time: 1.5 hours
1/2 pound thinly sliced beef, cooked
1 cup shredded cheese
2 Tbsp cream cheese
1 large jalapeno, minced
half batch of Empanada Dough III or other pastry dough
Preheat oven to 425.
Mix together cheeses and jalapeno until somewhat smooth (about 40 times around the bowl).
Add meat and mix well.
If using the empanada dough or pastry dough, separate out into 8 equal parts. Roll nearly flat. Place a heaping tablespoon of meat mixture into the center. Fold over and press close.
Bake on 425 for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.
As I was rolling out the dough, I was thinking, “man, this would be a lot faster if I’d just used bread and made sandwiches in my sandwich maker”. Oh well, next time.
 Inside the cheeseteak sandwich... not-so-minced jalapenos!
Total time: 10 minutes
2 cups flour
4 Tbsp butter, chilled
4 Tbsp shortening, chilled
6-10 Tbsp really cold water
1 tsp salt
Mix salt into flour in a large bowl. Using a pastry blender (or the absolutely impossible double-butter-knife chopstick method), cut butter and shortening into flour until mix is crumbly with pea sized lumps or smaller. Slowly add one tablespoon of water, mix. Repeat this until dough forms a ball.
You should definitely use your hands to press the dough together after the 4th tablespoon of water.
 Brownies I
Total time: Approximately 1 hour.
Maybe it was the Peter Seller’s clip, maybe it was how easy the pita bread was, or maybe it’s just because I want a brownie recipe for when that pouch of yummy mix is not on sale… Whatever the case may be, I’ve lately been inspired by Michele at Veggie Num Nums to bake a lot of things.
3/4 cup + 2 T all purpose flour
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 T butter
1/2 tsp instant coffee (optional)
Preheat oven to 350.
In a small microwave safe bowl, melt butter and chocolate chips. Stir every 20 seconds.
Mix everything up, mix in chocolate, scrape into a greased pan. And to quote Michele “Bake for 25-30 minutes, rotating the pan from front to back halfway through. Brownies should be slightly firm to the touch and a crust should form on the top. A toothpick will not come out clean.”
I baked for 14 minutes, rotated, then baked for another 14 minutes.
Today, I am using 1/2 tsp of instant coffee from a packet of Starbucks Decaf Italian Roast VIA.
These were crisp around the edges, nice and chewy. The texture was spot on what I like in a brownie. I felt there was a sort of aftertaste of sugar, but that might have been from inhaling…
 Butter Tarts with Almonds
Total time: Approximately 1 hour.
1 cup flour *
3/4 cup almonds, chopped
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter (one stick), softened* + 1 Tbsp butter, melted
6 Tbsp cream cheese, softened*
1 egg
2 Tbsp heavy cream
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of cinnamon
pinch of allspice
Preheat oven to 350.
Cream together cream cheese and 1/2 cup butter. Add flour to make a dough. Press pastry into the bottoms and sides of a tassie pan (24 tassie size) or muffin tin (8-12 muffin size).
Mix together remaining ingredients. Spoon 1 tsp to 1 Tbsp of filling into each tart for tassie pan or 2-3 Tbsp of filling into each muffin cup.
Bake 20-35 minutes. Long range, I know; but what you’re looking for is for the pastry to turn golden and/or the filling to puff up. Tassie pans are typically 20-25 minutes. Muffin pans are 30-35 minutes. You definitely want to watch after you round the mark to make sure the golden doesn’t turn brown (it happens fast, apparently!).
 Inside the Butter Tart
* Use these items to make your own dough, or use store bought pastry shells, or use your favorite pie crust/pastry dough.
Canadian butter tarts are made like American pecan pies. You want for your gelatinous filling to settle at the bottom and for any nuts or filling to “float” to the top and create a crisp top.
I used my muffin tin, and I got 10 butter tarts. They were perfectly done at 25 minutes on 350. A toothpick came out clean.
It’s embarrassing how quickly these were devoured, so I’m just not going to tell you how many are left.
 Black Bean Brownies
Total time: 1 hour.
Gluten-Free intrigues me, and I couldn’t help but try making my own version of these. I thought that substituting some brown sugar in place of white sugar would help with some “stickiness”, but I still feel these could have held together better. The key might be xanthan gum or guar gum; if you’ve got either, try adding a teaspoon.
2 cups cooked black beans, rinsed and drained
3 eggs
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 c brown sugar
1/4 c white sugar
2 Tbsp canola oil
2 Tbsp butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp instant coffee (optional)
1/4 tsp salt
Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease your brownie pan, and set aside.
In a small microwave safe bowl, melt butter and chocolate chips. Stir every 20 seconds.
In a food processor or blender, combine beans and melted chocolate until it forms a smooth paste. You can add the rest of the ingredients and blend well, or you can transfer the beany chocolate to a large bowl and mix everything in the large bowl.
Transfer to an 8×8 brownie pan (or 7 x 11 glass pan), and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Today, I am using a packet of Starbucks Decaf Italian Roast VIA, which measured 1.5 tsp. I shouldn’t have put the whole packet in, as you can definitely taste the coffee. Maybe espresso powder or just cutting down to 1 tsp would make a better flavor. I don’t mind tasting the coffee, though. <3 coffee.
Overall, these were delicious and awesome. If I bake brownies from scratch again, I’ll be using this recipe. I might add some flour or guar gum to bind the brownie together better (it’s kind of crumbly), but I wouldn’t change anything else.
Day 2: They’ve been in a covered pan all night, and the top is now “sweaty” and they seem to be pretty dry. You can definitely tell it’s beans today. Very interesting.
Day 6: Don’t keep these for this many days. They developed a stench, and I had to throw them out.
 Olives, piyaz, hummus, pita bread, cucumber raita, and tabouli.
Total time: Approximately 5 hours.
The 2010 February Daring Cooks Challenge was hosted by Michele of Veggie Num Nums. Michele chose to challenge everyone to present a mezze table. The required recipes were pita bread (here) and hummus.
Recipe adapted from Flatbreads & Flavors by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid
2 teaspoons regular dry yeast (.43 ounces/12.1 grams)
2.5 cups lukewarm water (21 ounces/591 grams)
6 cups all-purpose flour (17.5 -21 ounces/497-596 grams)
1 tablespoon table salt (.50 ounces/15 grams)
2 tablespoons olive oil (.95 ounces/29 ml)
Directions:
1. In a large bread bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the warm water. Stir to dissolve. Stir in 3 cups flour, a cup at a time, and then stir 100 times, in the same direction to activate the gluten. Let this sponge rest for 90 minutes.
2. Sprinkle the salt over the sponge and stir in the olive oil. Mix well. Add more flour, a cup at a time, until the dough is too stiff to stir. Let the dough rest 10-15 minutes.
3. Turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 8 to 10 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Rinse out the bowl, dry, and lightly oil. Return the dough to the bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until at least doubled in size, approximately 90 minutes.
4. Place a pizza stone, or two small baking sheets, on the bottom rack of your oven, leaving a 1-inch gap all around between the stone or sheets and the oven walls to allow heat to circulate. Preheat the oven to 450F (230C).
 Pita Bread
5. Lightly flour the top of the dough and both sides of your hands. Gently punch down the dough. Divide the dough in half, and then set half aside, covered, while you work with the rest. Divide into 8 equal pieces and flatten each piece with lightly floured hands. Roll out each piece to a circle 8 to 9 inches in diameter and less than 1/4 inch thick. Keep the rolled-out breads covered until ready to bake, but do not stack.
6. Place 2 breads, or more if your oven is large enough, on the stone or baking sheets, and bake for 4 to 6 minutes, or until each bread has gone into a full balloon. If for some reason your bread doesn’t puff up, don’t worry. Wrap the baked breads together in a large kitchen towel to keep them warm and soft while you bake the remaining rolled-out breads. Then repeat with the rest of the dough.
Makes 16 large pitas.
Shown here with kalamata olives, Almost Turkish Piyaz, hummus, cucumber raita, and tabouli.
 Soft Fudge
Total time: 4 hours.
2 cups white sugar
2 cups miniature marshmallows
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
6 ounces evaporated milk
4 T butter
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
In a large mixing bowl, toss together chocolate chips and marshmallows. Set aside. Lightly butter or spray the bottom of an 8 x 8 pan. Set aside.
In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, salt, milk and butter. Bring to a boil. The contents will DOUBLE IN SIZE when it’s at a “boil”, so be prepared that your pan is large enough to handle it. Start your timer from there.
Boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Add vanilla and mix well.
Pour boiled mixture on top of chocolate and marshmallows. Mix really well for 3-5 minutes or however long it takes for the “glossy” look to fade from the chocolate. (It’ll look shiny at first, but the more you stir [or mix on low to medium speed], the more it’ll take on a faded look.)
Scoop contents into 8×8 dish. Spread evenly across the pan and pat down to make it as even as possible. Chill for 3-4 hours before cutting.
I’ve been trying to avoid corn syrup anything the last 10 years of my life. It’s been that long or more since I last made fudge.
This is my first attempt at fudge without marshmallow creme. Unfortunately, I thought it would make enough to put at least an inch on the bottom of my 9 x 13 lasagna dish – not so much; it maybe sticks up half an inch off the bottom of my glass pan.
This is definitely the sort of soft fudge you’d want in the middle layer of a decadent cake or inside truffles – but not chop up and hand out at Christmas. It is, also, perfect for making chocolate fondue. (Set your pot on low and add milk until you reach the desired consistency.)
Looking for peanut butter fudge? Click here.
 Cinnamon Almond Biscotti
Total time: 1 hour.
3 cups cheap all-purpose flour (or 2 1/2 cups of King Arthur flour)
1 cup sugar
1 cup toasted, unsalted almonds
2 eggs
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 tsps vanilla extract
2 tsps ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp lemon zest
1/2 tsp salt
Preheat oven to 350.
Mix flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in a small mixing bowl, set aside.
Beat sugar and softened butter until smooth. Add eggs, zest and vanilla, beat until smooth. Add flour mixture to egg mixture and mix just until just blended. Fold in almonds.
Divide dough into two pieces. Form into long flat loaves about 1/2 inch tall and 12-15 inches long. Place the loaves 3-4 inches apart on a prepared or non-stick baking sheet.
Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool for 10-15 minutes (or until you can handle the loaves without burning yourself) on a cooling rack or cutting board.
With a serrated or extremely sharp kitchen knife, cut diagonally into 1/2 inch thick slices. Lay the slices flat on the baking sheet.
Bake for 15-18 minutes, turning over once. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Makes about 2 dozen.
I used slivered almonds.
|
|