Saturday, March 29, 2008
Healthy Cookies!
Monday, March 24, 2008
Tuesdays With Dorie - #5
1/3 cup sugar
3 tbsp water
squirt of fresh lemon juice
For the Flan
1-1/2 cups heavy cream
1-1/4 cups whole milk
3 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Getting Ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a roasting pan or a 9-x-13-inch baking pan with a double thickness of paper towels. Fill a teakettle with water and put it on to boil; when the water boils, turn off the heat.
Put a metal 8-x-2-inch round cake pan-not a nonstick one-in the oven to heat while you prepare the caramel.
To Make the Caramel: Stir the sugar, water and lemon juice together in a small heavy-bottomed saucepan. Put the pan over medium-high heat and cook until the sugar becomes an amber-colored caramel, about 5 minutes-remove the pan from the heat at the first whiff of smoke.
Remove the cake pan from the oven and, working with oven mitts, pour the caramel into the pan and immediately tilt the pan to spread the caramel evenly over the bottom; set the pan aside.
To Make the Flan: Bring the cream and milk just to a boil.
Meanwhile, in a 2-quart glass measuring cup or in a bowl, whisk together the eggs, yolks and sugar. Whisk vigorously for a minute or two, and then stir in the vanilla. Still whisking, drizzle in about one quarter of the hot liquid-this will temper, or warm, the eggs so they won't curdle. Whisking all the while, slowly pour in the remainder of the hot cream and milk. Using a large spoon, skim off the bubbles and foam that you worked up.
Put the caramel-lined cake pan in the roasting pan. Pour the custard into the cake pan and slide the setup into the oven. Very carefully pour enough hot water from the kettle into the roasting pan to come halfway up the sides of the cake pan. (Don't worry if this sets the cake pan afloat.) Bake the flan for about 35 minutes, or until the top puffs a bit and is golden here and there. A knife inserted into the center of the flan should come out clean.
Remove the roasting pan from the oven, transfer the cake pan to a cooking rack and run a knife between the flan and the sides of the pan to loosen it. Let the flan cool to room temperature on the rack, then loosely cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
When ready to serve, once more, run a knife between the flan and the pan. Choose a rimmed serving platter, place the platter over the cake pan, quickly flip the platter and pan over and remove the cake pan-the flan will shimmy out and the caramel sauce will coat the custard.
Yield: 6 to 8 Servings
Easter Dessert #2
This is my final recipe from my week of Ireland. It's by no means a traditional Irish dessert, but it contains Baileys Irish Creme. It was delish!
8 oz. white chocolate
½ cup butter
3 tbsp. Bailey’s Irish Crème
2 eggs
3 egg yolks
1 tbsp. honey
Tart Dough:
2 cups flour
2 tbsp. sugar
1 stick of cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 egg yolk
2-3 tbsp. ice water
½ tsp. salt
To make pastry, combine flour, sugar and butter ina food processor. Pulse until it resembles crumbles, add yolk and water, process until a soft dough forms, wrap in a ball in plastic, chill for an hour.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Roll out dough and press it into a tart shell. Cover dough with aluminum foil. cover with pie weights and bake for 15 minutes.
Remove from oven, reduce to 350.
In a small saucepan over medium, melt chocolate and butter. Stir in Baileys, remove from heat, and cool for 20 minutes. In a large bowl, beat eggs, yolks, and honey until light and fluffy, whisk into chocolate mixture.
Pout into the shell, bake for 30 minutes until golden on top.
Recipe taken from
The Irish Spirit, Margaret M. Johnson. Chronicle Books, San Fancisco: 2006.
Easter Dessert #1
Ingredients:
1 rolled-out round of tart dough (below)
8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. finely grated orange zest
2 tsp. Cointreau or other orange-flavored liqueur
2 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and halved lengthwise
1/2 cup apricot jam
Directions:
Fold the dough round in half and carefully transfer to a 9 1/2-inch tart pan, preferably with a removable bottom. Unfold and ease the round into the pan, without stretching it, and pat it firmly into the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Trim off any excess dough by gently running a rolling pin across the top of the pan. Press the dough into the sides to extend it slightly above the rim to offset any shrinkage during baking.
Refrigerate or freeze the tart shell until firm, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, position a rack in the lower third of an oven and preheat to 375°F.
Line the pastry shell with aluminum foil or parchment paper and fill with pie weights or raw short-grain rice. Bake for 20 minutes, then lift an edge of the foil. If the dough looks wet, continue to bake, checking every 5 minutes, until the dough is pale gold, for a total baking time of 25 to 30 minutes. Remove the weights and foil. Continue to bake until the shell is golden, 7 to 10 minutes more. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, beat the cream cheese and sugar on medium speed until smooth. Mix in the orange zest and Cointreau. Spread the cream cheese mixture evenly over the bottom of the tart shell. Arrange the strawberry halves, overlapping them, in concentric circles on top of the cream cheese, completely covering the surface.
In a small saucepan over low heat, warm the apricot jam until it liquefies. Pour through a fine-mesh strainer set over a small bowl. Using a small pastry brush, gently brush the strawberries with a thin coating of jam. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Let stand at room temperature for 20 minutes before serving. Makes one 9-inch tart.
Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Collection Series, Pie & Tart, by Carolyn Beth Weil (Simon & Schuster, 2003).
Basic Tart Dough
Ingredients:
1 egg yolk
2 Tbs. very cold water
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
8 Tbs. (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into
1/4-inch cubes
Directions:
In a small bowl, stir together the egg yolk, water and vanilla; set aside.
To make the dough by hand, in a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar and salt. Using a pastry cutter or 2 knives, cut the butter into the flour mixture until the texture resembles coarse cornmeal, with butter pieces no larger than small peas. Add the egg mixture and mix with a fork just until the dough pulls together.
To make the dough in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, stir together the flour, sugar and salt in the mixer bowl. Add the butter and beat on medium-low speed until the texture resembles coarse cornmeal, with butter pieces no larger than small peas. Add the egg mixture and beat just until the dough pulls together.
Transfer the dough to a work surface, pat into a ball and flatten into a disk. Use the dough immediately, or wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until well chilled, about 30 minutes.
To roll out the dough, on a lightly floured board, flatten the disk with 6 to 8 gentle taps of the rolling pin. Lift the dough and give it a quarter turn. Lightly dust the top of the dough or the rolling pin with flour as needed, then roll out until the dough is about 1⁄8 inch thick. Use a small, sharp knife to cut out a round or rounds 2 inches greater in diameter than your tart or larger tartlet pans. Use a small, sharp knife or a cookie cutter to cut out rounds 1⁄2 to 1 inch greater in diameter than your miniature tartlet pans. If using a rectangular tart pan, cut out a rectangle 2 inches larger on all sides than the pan. Makes enough dough for one 9 1⁄2-inch tart, six 4-inch tartlets, twelve 2-inch miniature tartlets or one 13 3⁄4-by-4 1⁄4-inch rectangular tart.
Easter's with Dorie!
I was in charge of bringing desserts to Easter, and I knew my sister would not let me go without a rich, dark chocolate dessert. I thought this would be perfect, and it was. It's by far my favorite Dorie recipe yet. My younger sister speaks French, and I thought gateau was a fancy word, but it's just cake. So if you don't want to sound pretentious (like Kristine said my gateau was) then just call it a fudge cake, but if you want to be fancy, tell people you're bringing a Gateau!
Almost-Fudge Gâteau
For the Glaze (optional)
Getting Ready:
Set a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and add the chocolate, sugar butter and coffee. Stir occasionally until the chocolate and butter are melted; the sugar may still be grainy, and that's fine. Transfer the bowl to the counter and let the mixture sit for 3 minutes.
Using a rubber spatula, stir in the yolks one by one, then fold in the flour.
Working with the whisk attachment of the mixer or a hand mixer, beat the egg whites with the pinch of salt until the hold firm, but glossy peaks. Using the spatula, stir about one quarter of the beaten whites into the batter, then gently fold in the rest. Scrape the butter into the pan and jiggle the pan from side to side a couple of times to even the batter.
Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until the cake has risen evenly (it might rise around the edges and you'll think it's done, but give it a few minutes more, and the center will puff too) and the top has firmed (it will probably be cracked) and doesn't shimmy when tapped; a thinn knife inserted into the center should come out just slightly streaked with chocolate. Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and let the cake rest for 5 to 10 minutes.
Run a blunt knife gently around the edges of the cake and remove the sides of the pan. Carefully turn the cake over onto a rack and removethe pan bottom and the parchment paper. Invert the cake onto another rack and cool to room temperature ride side up. As the cake cools, it may sink.
Put the chocolate in a small heatproof bowl.
Melt the chocolate over a pan of simmering water or in a microwave oven - the chocolate should be just melted and only warm, not hot.
Meanwhile, bring the cream to a boil in a small sauce pan. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and stir very gently with a rubber spatula until the mixture is smooth and shiny. Stir in the corn syrup.
Pour the glaze over the cake and smooth the top with a long metal icing spatula. Don't worry if the glaze drips unevenly down the sides of the cake - it will just add to its charms. Allow the glaze to set at room temperature or, if you're impatient, slip the cake into the refrigerator for about 20 minutes.
You'll need a glass of milk, too
I can't go home for a weekend empty handed, so I made some chocolate chip cookies for the family. I have a giant bag of bittersweet chocolate chips, and there was a recipe on the back of the bag. It's also online here.
Yield: 18 cookies
23 ounce(s) 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Chips
1 1/4 cup(s) butter, softened
3/4 cup(s) brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1 teaspoon(s) vanilla
3 1/2 cup(s) all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon(s) baking powder
2 cup(s) walnuts, chopped (optional)
DirectionsPreheat oven to 350°F. Place 1 1/3 cups chocolate chips in a bowl and set aside. Place another 1 1/3 cups of chocolate chips in a large bowl and microwave on HIGH power for 1 to 2 minutes. Remove and stir until chocolate is melted and smooth. If not melted, microwave for additional 30-second increments until smooth. Stir in butter with a wooden spoon until blended. Add brown sugar and stir. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth. Stir flour with baking powder in a small bowl; add to chocolate mixture and mix slowly until blended. Fold in reserved chocolate chips and nuts. Place bowl in refrigerator for 5 minutes. Drop by heaping tablespoon onto an ungreased baking sheet.
Bake for 12 – 14 minutes. Cool 5 minutes on baking sheet then transfer to wire rack.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Here comes Peter Cottontail...
I found a bunny head shaped cookie cutter, and knew I could get creative with it. I wanted to incorporate carrots somehow because of Easter. I've never seen a rolled carrot cake cookie, so I decided to make something up and take a chance. I had no idea how these would turn out when I was adding ingredients. They came out kind of like a biscuit, not overly sweet, and pretty puffy. It was good the cookie wasn't too sweet, because the buttercream and coconut are! I tried to use as many elements of a carrot cake without making the cookies too moist and un-rollable. They came out pretty much how I wanted them to!
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
TWD #3- Brioche Raisin Snails
For this week's Tuesdays With Dorie recipe, Brioche Raisin Snails were chose. At first, I didn't think I was going to make them because the brioche contains 3 sticks of butter! I'm sticking with this though, so I decided to make them anyway, and just eat one. I liked them, but they weren't as great as I thought they would be since I worked on them for a day. The recipe is long, and seems tedious, but it really wasn't bad at all (thanks to ms. kitchenaid).
Brioche Raisin Snails
1 cup moist, plump raisins
3 tablespoons dark rum
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
Scant 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 recipe for Golden Brioche Loaves(page 48), chilled and ready to shape (make the full recipe and cut the dough in half after refrigerating overnight)
1/2 recipe Pastry Cream (page 448)
For The Optional Glaze
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
About 1 teaspoon water
Drop of pure vanilla extract
Getting Ready: Line one large or two smaller baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.
Put the raisins in a small saucepan, cover them with hot water and let them steep for about 4 minutes, until they are plumped. Drain the raisins, return them to the saucepan and, stirring constantly, warm them over low heat. When the raisins are very hot, pull the pan from the heat and pour over the rum. Standing back, ignite the rum. Stair until the flames go out, then cover and set aside. (The raisins and rum an be kept in a covered jar for up to 1 day.)
Mix the sugar and cinnamon together.
On a flour dusted surface, roll the dough into a rectangle about 12 inches wide and 16 inches long, with a short end toward you. Spread the pastry cream across the dough, leaving 1-inch strip bare on the side farthest from you. Scatter the raisins over the pastry cream and sprinkle the raisins and cream with the cinnamon sugar. Starting wit the side nearest you, roll the dough into a cylinder, keeping the roll as tight as you can. (At this point, you can wrap the dough airtight and freeze it up to 2 months; see Storing for further instructions. Or, if you do not want to make the full recipe, use as much of the dough as you'd like and freeze the remainder.)
With a chef's knife, using a gentle sawing motion, trim just a tiny bit from the ends if they're ragged or not well filled, then cut the log into rounds a scant 1 inch thick. Put the snails on the lined baking sheet(s), leaving some puff space between them.
Lightly cover the snails with wax paper and set the baking sheet(s) in a warm place until the snails have doubles in volume--they'll be puffy and soft--about 1 hour and 30 minutes.
Getting Ready To Bake: When the snails have almost fully risen, preheat the oven: depending on the number of baking sheets you have, either center a rack in the oven or position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Remove the wax paper, and bake the snails for about 25 minutes (rotate the sheets if you're using two, from top to bottom and front to back after 15 minutes), or until they are puffed and richly browned. Using a metal spatula, transfer the snails onto a cooling rack.
If You Want To Glaze The Snails: Put a piece of wax paper under the rack of warm rolls to act as a drip catcher. Put the confectioners' sugar into a small bowl, and stir in a teaspoon of water. Keep adding water drop by drop until you have an icing that falls from the tip of a spoon. Add the vanilla extract, then drizzle the icing over the hot snails.
Golden Brioche Loaves
2 packets active dry yeast
1/3 cup just-warm-to-the-touch water
1/3 cup just-warm-to-the-touch whole milk
3 3/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature but still slightly firm
For The Glaze
1 large egg
1 tablespoon water
To Make The Brioche: Put the yeast, water and milk in the bowl of a stand mixer and, using a wooden spoon, stir until the yeast is dissolved. Add the flour and salt, and fit into the mixer with the dough hook, if you have one. Toss a kitchen towel over the mixer, covering the bowl as completely as you can-- this will help keep you, the counter and your kitchen floor from being showered in flour. Turn the mixer on and off a few short pulses, just to dampen the flour (yes, you can peek to see how you're doing), then remove the towel, increase the mixer speed to medium-low and mix for a minute or two, just until the flour is moistened. At this point, you'll have a fairly dry, shaggy mess.
Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula, set the mixer to low and add the eggs, followed by the sugar. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat for about 3 minutes, until the dough forms a ball. Reduce the speed to low and add the butter in 2-tablespoon-size chunks, beating until each piece is almost incorporated before adding the next. You'll have a dough that is very soft, almost like batter. Increase the speed to medium-high and continue to beat until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 10 minutes.
Transfer the dough to a clean bowl (or wash out the mixer bowl and use it), cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature until nearly doubled in size, 40 to 60 minutes, depending upon the warmth of your room.
Deflate the dough by lifting it up around the edges and letting it fall with a slap to the bowl. Cover the bowl with the plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator. Slap the dough down in the bowl every 30 minutes until it stops rising, about 2 hours, then leave the uncovered dough in the refrigerator to chill overnight.
The next day, butter and flour two 8 1/2-x-4 1/2-inch pans.
Pull the dough from the fridge and divide it into 2 equal pieces. Cut each piece of the dough into 4 equal pieces and roll each piece into a log about 3 1/2 inches long. Arrange 4 logs crosswise in the bottom of each pan. Put the pans on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat, cover the pans lightly with wax paper and leave the loaves at room temperature until the dough almost fills the pans, 1 to 2 hours. (Again, rising time with depend on how warm the room is.)
Getting Ready To Bake: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
To Make the Glaze: Beat the egg with the water. Using a pastry brush, gently brush the tops of the loaves with the glaze.
Bake the loaves until they are well risen and deeply golden, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer the pans to racks to cool for 15 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the pans and turn the loaves out onto the racks. Invert again and cool for at least 1 hour.
Pastry Cream
2 cups whole milk
6 large egg yolks
1/2 cups sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch, sifted
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into bits at room temperature
Bring the milk to a boil in a small saucepan.
Meanwhile, in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, whisk the egg yolks together with the sugar and cornstarch until thick and well blended. Still whisking, drizzle in about 1/4 cup of the hot milk-- this will temper, or warm, the yolks so they won't curdle. Whisking all the while, slowly pour in the remainder of the milk. Put the pan over medium heat and, whisking vigorously, constantly and thoroughly (making sure to get the edges of the pot), bring the mixture to a boil. Keep at a boil, still whisking, for 1 to 2 minutes, then remove the pan from the heat.
Whisk in the vanilla extract. Let sit for 5 minutes, then whisk in the bits of butter, stirring until they are full incorporated and the pastry cream is smooth and silky. Scrape the cream into a bowl. You can press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface of the cream to create an airtight seal and refrigerate the pastry cream until cold or, if you want to cool it quickly--as I always do--put the bowl into a larger bowl filled with ice cubes and cold water, and stir the pastry cream occasionally until it is thoroughly chilled, about 20 minutes.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Ireland #5
Happy St. Patrick's Day! I saw this dessert in The Irish Spirit cookbook, and I thought it would be a great use of the rest of my Brown Soda Bread, as well as a nice, healthy dessert.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Ireland #3
I always bake cookies for whatever holiday it is to give to friends and family. I've become pretty awesome at the spritz cookie gun, and I noticed it had a shamrock plate. I took Wilton's basic spritz cookie recipe and changed it a bit to make these. I used Bailey's instead of milk, and I used only the egg yolk rather than the whole egg (like my mom's recipe).
After trying the baked cookies, I felt like the Bailey's flavor wasn't strong enough, so I decided to make an icing/filling for them. I used a basic buttercream recipe, again subbing Bailey's for the milk or water.
1 1/2 cups butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg yolk
3 Tablespoons Baileys Irish Cream
3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ tsp. salt
Food coloring, optional
Preheat oven to 375°F.
Thoroughly cream butter and sugar. Add egg yolk and Bailey’s; beat well. Stir together flour, salt and baking powder; gradually add to creamed mixture, mixing to make a smooth dough. Chill for an hour. Place dough into cookie press and press cookies onto cold, ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes; remove cookies from sheet; cool on rack.
Bailey's Buttercream
1 stick of unsalted butter at room temperature
1/4 cup Baileys
4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
Cream together butter and Baileys, add salt, slowly add powdered sugar until it reaches desired consistency (I made this stiff to hold the cookies together).
Ireland #2
Lately on the weekends, JJ and I are out running errands, and stop at Panera or McAllister's for soup and a sandwich. After I found this recipe, I decided I'd make it today rather than going out to lunch. At first I didn't think about French Onion Soup in an Irish Cookbook, but then JJ said isn't this French, not Irish? No worries, the author took a French soup and used all Irish ingredients and flavors to really make this a delicous Irish Onion Soup!
I've never really looked for Irish ingredients before, so I don't know that Kroger always carries them, but since it's St. Patrick's week, I had no problem finding Kerrygold Irish Butter, Kerrygold Swiss Cheese, and Murphy's Irish Stout. However, you could easily substitute regular butter and swiss, and another dark beer. (I don't know that the butter tasted any differently, but it was $3.99/half a pound! Land 'O Lakes butter was only $2/1 lb.)
The recipe doesn't call for any bread or croutons on top, but any French Onion Soup I've had always does. I used the Brown Soda Bread to top this!
Murphy's Onion Soup
2 tbsp. Kerrygold Irish Butter
3 yellow onions, sliced
2 red onions, sliced
4 shallots, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tbsp. dark brown sugar
3 cups beef stock
1 cup Murphy's Irish Stout
Salt and Pepper
1 cup Kerrygold Swiss Cheese
In a large saucepot over medium heat, melt butter, add onions and garlic. Saute' for 12-15 minutes until softened, but not brown. Add in the seasonings and beer. Bring to a boil, reduce to low, add stock and simmer for 30 minutes.
Heat the broiler to high. Ladle soup into ramekins, top with bread then cheese. Broil for 2-3 minutes, until cheese is melted and brown. Serve immediately.
Recipe from:
The Irish Spirit, Margaret M Johnson. Chronicle Books: San Francisco, 2006.
I was in tears, but I made it through all the onoins and garlic!
Ireland #1
Friday, March 14, 2008
Country Challenge Winner #4 - Ireland!
Since St. Patrick’s Day is Monday, I had to make this week’s Country Challenge winner Ireland! I was so excited about cooking traditional Irish food, until I read what it consisted of. The middle class and poor in the country had a diet that consisted of milk, butter, cheese, oats, barley, potatoes, cabbage, bacon, and ham. Ireland has since been influenced by many cultures and their food is very worldly. In recent years, a new Irish cuisine has emerged, using traditional Irish ingredients, but adding new flavors and ingredients to update them. This was the approach I took for this week.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Tuesdays With Dorie - #3
Saturday, March 8, 2008
A cookie a day...
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup fat-free vanilla or plain yogurt
2 tablespoons canola oil or corn oil
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/3 cups uncooked old-fashioned oats or quick-cooking rolled oats
1 cup Sun-Maid Natural Raisins
Directions:
HEAT oven to 350 F. Cover 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
COMBINE flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda and salt together in a small bowl.
COMBINE brown sugar, yogurt, oil, egg and vanilla in a large bowl. Add flour mixture to make a blended dough.
STIR in oats and raisins.
DROP mixture by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart on prepared cookie sheets.
BAKE for 10-12 minutes until very lightly browned. Do not over bake.
SLIDE cookies from parchment paper onto countertop to cool.
Makes 40 cookies. (I made 32, they're pretty small too)
Nutrients per serving (1 cookie): Calories 63; Protein 1g; Fat 1g (Sat. Fat 0.1g); Carbohydrate 13g; Dietary Fiber 1g; Cholesterol 5mg; Sodium 63mg
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Until there's a cure...
(updated 12/2012)
Monday, March 3, 2008
Tuesdays With Dorie #2
This week's TWD recipe was Snickery Squares. They are supposed to bean adult/gourmet version of a Snickers bar. It was complete fate that brought this recipe and Argentina in the same week because I needed 1/2 cup of dulce de leche for my Alfajores, and 1 1/2 cups of dulce de leche for this recipe. The recipe I had made 2 cups, and I didn't know what I'd do with the other 1.5 cups after making the cookies (besides eat it with a spoon). I knew making this TWD recipe was meant to be!
These bars were good, but I have mixed feelings about them. My husbandand I both thought the chocolate seemed to overpower the rest of the layers. I think also the caramel/peanut layer could have been doubled. If I make these again, I'll definitely use 3 cups of dulce de leche.
I absolutely loved the peanuts. They tasted exactly like cracker jacks peanuts. I never knew it was as simple as making caramelized sugar. They cooled and hardened much faster than I expected, and I couldn't stop snacking on them while waiting on the crust. Overall, I'd say it's a good recipe, I would just tweak it next time and use more dulce de leche and maybe a little less chocolate.
Snickery Squares
For the Crust:
1 cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup sugar
2 TBSP powdered sugar
¼ tsp salt
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into small pieces and chilled
1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten
For the Filling:
½ cup sugar
3 TBSP water
1 ½ cups salted peanuts
About 1 ½ cups dulce de leche (I used homemade)
For the Topping:
7 ounces bittersweet, coarsely chopped (I used 6)
½ stick unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces, at room temperature
Getting Ready:
Preheat oven to 350F. Butter a 8 inch square pan and put it on a baking sheet.
(I used a 5x10)
To Make the Crust:
Toss the flour, sugar, powdered sugar and salt into a food processor and pulse a few times to combine. Toss in the pieces of cold butter and pulse about 12 times, until the mixture looks like coarse meal. Pour the yolk over the ingredients and pulse until the dough forms clumps and curds-stop before the dough comes together in a ball. Turn the dough into the buttered pan and gently press it evenly across the bottom of the pan. Prick the dough with a fork and slide the sheet into the oven. Bake the crust for 15-20 minutes, or until it takes on just a little color around the edges. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool to room temperature before filling.
To Make the Filling:
Have a parchment or silicone mat-lined baking sheet at the ready, as well as a long-handled wooden spoon and a medium heavy bottomed saucepan. Put the sugar and water in the saucepan and cook over medium-high heat, stirring, until the sugar dissolves. Keeping the heat fairly high, continue to cook the sugar, without stirring, until it just starts to color. Toss the peanuts and immediately start stirring. Keep stirring, to coat the peanuts with sugar. Within a few minutes, they will be covered with sugar and turn white—keep stirring until the sugar turns back into caramel. When the peanuts are coated with a nice deep amber caramel, remove the pan from the heat and turn the nuts out onto the baking sheet., using the wooden spoon to spread them out as best you can. Cool the nuts to room temperature. When they are cool enough to handle, separate the nuts or break them into small pieces. Divide the nuts in half. Keep half of the nuts whole or in biggish pieces for the filling, and finely chop the other half for the topping. Spread the dulce de leche over the shortbread base and sprinkle over the whole candied nuts.
To Make the Topping:
Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water. Remove chocolate from the heat and gently stir in the butter, stirring until it is fully blended into the chocolate. Pour the chocolate over the dulce de leche, smoothing it with a long metal icing spatula, then sprinkle over the rest of the peanuts. Slide the pan into the fridge to set the topping, about 20 minutes; if you'd like to serve the squares cold, keep them refrigerated for at least 3 hours before cutting.
Cut into 16 bars.
I was a little worried my bars wouldn't come out nicely, so I took this photo of the whole thing before cutting into it. Luckily they didn't stick and came out really nicely.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Argentina - #1
Alfajores
(Cookies with Dulce de Leche Filling)
Alfajores pg. 372
Makes 24 cookies
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
¼ cup confectioners sugar
2 egg yolks
1 tbsp. grated lemon zest
2 tbsp. brandy
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 cup dulce de leche
1. In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and confectioners’ sugar until smooth. Beat in egg yolks. Add the zest and brandy and mix well. Sift together flour and baking powder then mix into the butter mixture to make a dough that is soft but not runny. Form into a ball, cover in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, grease a large cookie sheet.
3. On a lightly floured work surface, roll the dough out to 1/8 inch thickness and cut into 1 ½ inch rounds. Place on cookie sheet and bake until set, about 10 minutes, the cookies should have no color.
4. Remove cookies and let cool on a wire rack. Spread one cookie with dulce de leche and press a second cookie on top.
Dulce de Leche pg. 390
Makes 3 cups
4 cups milk
1 ¼ cups sugar
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
¼ tsp. baking soda
In a heavy 4 quart saucepan, mix together the milk, sugar, vanilla, and baking soda. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon to prevent sticking. Cook for about an hour until it is thick and caramel-colored. Transfer to a jar and store in the refrigerator for a few weeks.
Both recipes are taken directly from:
The South American Table, Maria Baez Kijac. Harvard Common Press: Boston, Massachusettes, 2003.