Desserts

The Chewy

August 24, 2009 by Lynsey 1 Comment

The Chewy

Chocolate chip cookies are classic cookies and I believe they are probably at the top of mosts people “favorite cookies” list. There really isn’t anything much better than a tall glass of milk and chocolate chip cookies right out of the oven. I’ve always been a huge fan of chocolate chip cookies, I’ve made my own chocolate chip cookie recipe which tasted pretty good (I’m still working on making it better though) and I’m also a fan of the neiman-marcus recipe. There are always new recipes coming out for this classic and I’m always looking for new recipes to try, just to see if there is one better than what I’ve had previously.
I’ve read where quite a few people have made “The Chewy” by Alton Brown and they’ve all seemed to be big fans of it. After reading a few reviews of the recipe I put it on my “to make” list so I could see what I thought about it. Once I finally got around to making it I discovered all the rave about these cookies was dead on. They are so good; the consistency is perfect and they have the right amount of chewiness and crunchiness to appeal to people of all tastes. I think the main difference between these cookies and other recipes is the use of bread flour versus regular flour. The bread flour just adds something to the consistency and texture of the cookies. I believe this recipe will quench anyones cravings no matter what type of cookies they like; crunchy or fluffy and chewy. Alton Brown definitely gave this cookie the appropriate name when he named it “The Chewy “.
If you like homemade cookies then I definitely suggest trying out this recipe at some point in the near future. I honestly think you will not be disappointed.
The Chewy
Ingredients:
2 sticks unsalted butter
2 1/4 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/4 cups brown sugar

1 egg

1 egg yolk

2 tablespoons milk

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Heat oven to 375 degrees F.

Melt the butter completely. Sift the flour, salt, and baking soda and set aside.

Pour the melted butter in a mixing bowl. Add the sugar and brown sugar. Cream the butter and sugars on medium speed. Add the egg, yolk, milk and vanilla extract and mix until completely combined. Slowly add the flour mixture until thoroughly combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Chill the dough, then scoop onto a prepared baking sheet.
The Chewy
Bake for 14 minutes or until golden brown, checking the cookies after 5 minutes. Cool completely and store in an airtight container.

Recipe Source: Alton Brown, The Food Network

Vanilla Ice Cream

August 10, 2009 by Lynsey Leave a Comment

I’m finally using my ice cream maker attachment! I got the ice cream maker attachment for my Kitchen Aid mixer for Christmas and I finally decided to break it out and give it a try. I know I’ve only had the attachment for almost 9 months but I’ve just had so much going on that I haven’t really had the chance to use it.

I’m usually a big ice cream eater no matter what season, but for some reason I didn’t eat a lot of ice cream during the winter so I never got it out. Now that we’re in the dead of summer, it’s definitely time for some ice cream. I was so excited when I got the ice cream attachment and I was just as excited to get it out and use it yesterday.

I have seen tons of different ice cream recipes that I want to try, so now that I’ve finally gotten it out I’m sure I’ll be making quite a bit of ice cream. Since this was my first time making homemade ice cream, I decided to keep it simple. The first kind of ice cream I made was vanilla, you just really can’t go wrong with homemade vanilla ice cream!

I have heard tons of wonderful things about the recipes from David Lebovitz. When I started broke out my ice cream maker I knew that I wanted to use one of his recipes so it was a no-fail first attempt. His directions were so easy to follow. I’m so happy that I went with this recipe because it was definitely everything I expected and then some.

Vanilla Ice Cream

About 1 quart (1l)
Adapted from The Perfect Scoop (Ten Speed Press)

Ingredients:

1 cup (250ml) whole milk

A pinch of salt

3/4 cup (150g) sugar

1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise

2 cups (500ml) heavy cream

5 large egg yolks

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Heat the milk, salt, and sugar in a saucepan. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the milk with a paring knife, then add the bean pod to the milk. Cover, remove from heat, and infuse for one hour.

2. To make the ice cream, set up an ice bath by placing a 2-quart (2l) bowl in a larger bowl partially filled with ice and water. Set a strainer over the top of the smaller bowl and pour the cream into the bowl.

3. In a separate bowl, stir together the egg yolks. Rewarm the milk then gradually pour some of the milk into the yolks, whisking constantly as you pour. Scrape the warmed yolks and milk back into the saucepan.

4. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom with a heat-resistant spatula, until the custard thickens enough to coat the spatula.

5. Strain the custard into the heavy cream. Stir over the ice until cool, add the vanilla extract, then refrigerate to chill thoroughly. Preferably overnight.

6. Remove the vanilla bean and freeze the custard in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Vanilla Ice Cream
Recipe Source: David Lebovitz

Daring Bakers June Challenge-Pudding Tart

July 1, 2009 by Lynsey 1 Comment

I know I’m a little late posting for the June challenge of the daring bakers, but better late than never…right? I was very excited about this challenge because I’ve never made a tart before and I’ve been wanting to make one for the longest time. Since the challenge was to make a tart it gave me the perfect opportunity to get my tart pan out and break it in. Although I did try this challenge I didn’t complete it successfully. I don’t know what went wrong but all the elements just didn’t go together for me. I will try this again and hopefully I will succeed and be able to post pictures. To see some completed challenges please visit the sites of the two hosts listed below.

The June Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Annemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar. They chose a Traditional (UK) Bakewell Tart… er… pudding that was inspired by a rich baking history dating back to the 1800’s in England.

Bakewell Tart…er…pudding

Makes one 23cm (9” tart)
Prep time: less than 10 minutes (plus time for the individual elements)
Resting time: 15 minutes
Baking time: 30 minutes
Equipment needed: 23cm (9”) tart pan or pie tin (preferably with ridged edges), rolling pin

One quantity sweet shortcrust pastry (recipe follows)
Bench flour
250ml (1cup (8 US fl. oz)) jam or curd, warmed for spreadability
One quantity frangipane (recipe follows)
One handful blanched, flaked almonds

Assembling the tart
Place the chilled dough disc on a lightly floured surface. If it’s overly cold, you will need to let it become acclimatised for about 15 minutes before you roll it out. Flour the rolling pin and roll the pastry to 5mm (1/4”) thickness, by rolling in one direction only (start from the centre and roll away from you), and turning the disc a quarter turn after each roll. When the pastry is to the desired size and thickness, transfer it to the tart pan, press in and trim the excess dough. Patch any holes, fissures or tears with trimmed bits. Chill in the freezer for 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 200C/400F.

Remove shell from freezer, spread as even a layer as you can of jam onto the pastry base. Top with frangipane, spreading to cover the entire surface of the tart. Smooth the top and pop into the oven for 30 minutes. Five minutes before the tart is done, the top will be poofy and brownish. Remove from oven and strew flaked almonds on top and return to the heat for the last five minutes of baking.

The finished tart will have a golden crust and the frangipane will be tanned, poofy and a bit spongy-looking. Remove from the oven and cool on the counter. Serve warm, with crème fraîche, whipped cream or custard sauce if you wish.

When you slice into the tart, the almond paste will be firm, but slightly squidgy and the crust should be crisp but not tough.

Jasmine’s notes:• If you cannot have nuts, you can try substituting Victoria sponge for the frangipane. It’s a pretty popular popular cake, so you shouldn’t have any troubles finding one in one of your cookbooks or through a Google search. That said, our dear Natalie at Gluten a Go Go has sourced some recipes and linked to them in the related alt.db thread.
• You can use whichever jam you wish, but if you choose something with a lot of seeds, such as raspberry or blackberry, you should sieve them out.
• The jam quantity can be anywhere from 60ml (1/4 cup) to 250ml (1cup), depending upon how “damp” and strongly flavoured your preserves are. I made it with the lesser quantity of home made strawberry jam, while Annemarie made it with the greater quantity of cherry jam; we both had fabulous results. If in doubt, just split the difference and spread 150ml (2/3cup) on the crust.Annemarie’s notes:• The excess shortcrust can be rolled out and cut into cookie-shapes (heck, it’s pretty darned close to a shortbread dough).

Sweet shortcrust pastry

Prep time: 15-20 minutes
Resting time: 30 minutes (minimum)
Equipment needed: bowls, box grater, cling film

225g (8oz) all purpose flour
30g (1oz) sugar
2.5ml (½ tsp) salt
110g (4oz) unsalted butter, cold (frozen is better)
2 (2) egg yolks
2.5ml (½ tsp) almond extract (optional)
15-30ml (1-2 Tbsp) cold water

Sift together flour, sugar and salt. Grate butter into the flour mixture, using the large hole-side of a box grater. Using your finger tips only, and working very quickly, rub the fat into the flour until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Set aside.

Lightly beat the egg yolks with the almond extract (if using) and quickly mix into the flour mixture. Keep mixing while dribbling in the water, only adding enough to form a cohesive and slightly sticky dough.

Form the dough into a disc, wrap in cling and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes

Jasmine’s notes:• I make this using vanilla salt and vanilla sugar.
• If you wish, you can substitute the seeds of one vanilla bean, one teaspoon of vanilla paste or one teaspoon of vanilla extract for the almond extract

Frangipane

Prep time: 10-15 minutes
Equipment needed: bowls, hand mixer, rubber spatula

125g (4.5oz) unsalted butter, softened
125g (4.5oz) icing sugar
3 (3) eggs
2.5ml (½ tsp) almond extract
125g (4.5oz) ground almonds
30g (1oz) all purpose flour

Cream butter and sugar together for about a minute or until the mixture is primrose in colour and very fluffy. Scrape down the side of the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. The batter may appear to curdle. In the words of Douglas Adams: Don’t panic. Really. It’ll be fine. After all three are in, pour in the almond extract and mix for about another 30 seconds and scrape down the sides again. With the beaters on, spoon in the ground nuts and the flour. Mix well. The mixture will be soft, keep its slightly curdled look (mostly from the almonds) and retain its pallid yellow colour.

Annemarie’s notes:• Add another five minutes or more if you’re grinding your own almonds or if you’re mixing by hand (Heaven help you).

Daring Bakers-Abbey’s Infamous Cheesecake

April 27, 2009 by Lynsey 3 Comments

This month the daring bakers were challenged to take on cheesecake. As much as I love trying the savory side of baking, I love attempting recipes on the sweet side. I love sweets so anything that gives me a reason to make something sweet…I’m all for it.

This was not my first time to attempt a cheesecake, I’ve actually made quite a few (pre-blogging days), but I was very excited to see a cheesecake recipe for this challenge. I’m always looking for new recipes and pointers to make my attempts that much better. I think this recipe and challenge helped me to improve some of my cheesecake baking skills.

In this challenge we were given the freedom come up with our own flavors for the cheesecake. We were given a basic recipe and then it was up to us to come up with the rest. They did give us some tips and ideas for different things that we could do with this recipe. One of the ideas that they gave us really stuck out to me; it was a Mexican Turtle Cheesecake. I knew I wanted to do something with chocolate and when I saw this spin on it I knew I had to attempt it. I know I didn’t necassarily come up with my own flavor combination but I just couldn’t pass it up. How could you not like chocolate, cheesecake and caramel???

The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey’s Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge.

Abbey’s Infamous Cheesecake:

crust:
2 cups / 180 g graham cracker crumbs
1 stick / 4 oz butter, melted
2 tbsp. / 24 g sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

cheesecake:
3 sticks of cream cheese, 8 oz each (total of 24 oz) room temperature
1 cup / 210 g sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup / 8 oz heavy cream
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. vanilla extract (or the innards of a vanilla bean)
1 tbsp liqueur, optional, but choose what will work well with your cheesecake

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (Gas Mark 4 = 180C = Moderate heat). Begin to boil a large pot of water for the water bath.

2. Mix together the crust ingredients and press into your preferred pan. You can press the crust just into the bottom, or up the sides of the pan too – baker’s choice. Set crust aside.

3. Combine cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a stand-mixer (or in a large bowl if using a hand-mixer) and cream together until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Make sure to scrape down the bowl in between each egg. Add heavy cream, vanilla, lemon juice, and alcohol and blend until smooth and creamy.

4. Pour batter into prepared crust and tap the pan on the counter a few times to bring all air bubbles to the surface. Place pan into a larger pan and pour boiling water into the larger pan until halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan. If cheesecake pan is not airtight, cover bottom securely with foil before adding water.

5. Bake 45 to 55 minutes, until it is almost done – this can be hard to judge, but you’re looking for the cake to hold together, but still have a lot of jiggle to it in the center. You don’t want it to be completely firm at this stage. Close the oven door, turn the heat off, and let rest in the cooling oven for one hour. This lets the cake finish cooking and cool down gently enough so that it won’t crack on the top. After one hour, remove cheesecake from oven and lift carefully out of water bath. Let it finish cooling on the counter, and then cover and put in the fridge to chill. Once fully chilled, it is ready to serve.

Pan note: The creator of this recipe used to use a springform pan, but no matter how well she wrapped the thing in tin foil, water would always seep in and make the crust soggy. Now she uses one of those 1-use foil “casserole” shaped pans from the grocery store. They’re 8 or 9 inches wide and really deep, and best of all, water-tight. When it comes time to serve, just cut the foil away.

Prep notes: While the actual making of this cheesecake is a minimal time commitment, it does need to bake for almost an hour, cool in the oven for an hour, and chill overnight before it is served. Please plan accordingly!

Some variations from the recipe creator (“Infamous” Abbey):

** Lavender-scented cheesecake w/ blueberries – heat the cup of heavy cream in the microwave or a saucepan until hot but not boiling. Add 2 tbsp of lavender flowers and stir. Let lavender steep in the cream for about 10-15 minutes, then strain the flowers out. Add strained cream to cheesecake batter as normal. Top with fresh blueberries, or make a quick stovetop blueberry sauce (splash of orange juice, blueberries, a little bit of sugar, and a dash of cinnamon – cook until berries burst, then cool)

** Cafe au lait cheesecake with caramel – take 1/4 cup of the heavy cream and heat it in the microwave for a short amount of time until very hot. Add 1-2 tbsp. instant espresso or instant coffee; stir to dissolve. Add this to the remainder of cream and use as normal. Top cheesecake with homemade caramel sauce (I usually find one on the food network website – just make sure it has heavy cream in it. You can use store-bought in a pinch, but the flavor is just not the same since its usually just sugar and corn syrup with no dairy).

** Tropical – add about a half cup of chopped macadamias to the crust, then top the cake with a mango-raspberry-mandarin orange puree.

** Mexican Turtle – add a bar of melted dark chocolate (between 3 and 5 oz., to taste) to the batter, along with a teaspoon of cinnamon and a dash of cayenne pepper (about 1/8 tsp.). Top it with pecan halves and a homemade caramel sauce.

** Honey-cinnamon with port-pomegranate poached pears – replace 1/2 cup of the sugar with 1/2 cup of honey, add about a teaspoon or more (to taste) of cinnamon. Take 2 pears (any variety you like or whatever is in season), peeled and cored, and poach them in a boiling poaching liquid of port wine, pomegranate juice/seeds, a couple of “coins” of fresh ginger, a cinnamon stick, and about a 1/4 cup of sugar. Poach them until tender, then let cool. Strain the poaching liquid and simmer until reduced to a syrupy-glaze consistency, then cool. Thinly slice the cooled pears and fan them out atop the cooled cheesecake. Pour the cooled poaching syrup over the pears, then sprinkle the top with chopped walnuts and fresh pomegranate seeds.

Some variations from Jenny (from JennyBakes):

**Key lime – add zest from one lime to sugar before mixing with cream cheese. Substitute lemon juice, alcohol, and vanilla with key lime juice.

**Cheesecakelets – put in muffin tins, ramekins, or custard cups. Try baking 20-35 minutes, or until still a little jiggly, and cool as before.

Daring Baker's Chocolate Valentino

March 1, 2009 by Lynsey Leave a Comment

For the Daring Baker’s challenge this month we made Chocolate Valentinos. This is the perfect thing to make for this month since it’s the month of Valentine’s, and we know that Valentine’s means chocolate. This Valentino is the one of the ultimate chocolate desserts. One of the best things about this dessert is that it can be adjusted to individual tastes by using different kinds of chocolate. The taste of the chocolate used really shines through.

The February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of WMPE’s blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef.
We have chosen a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan; a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Dharm and a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Wendy as the challenge.

February’s challenge is a Flourless Chocolate Cake, Chocolate Valentino, inspired by Malaysia’s “most flamboyant food ambassador”, Chef Wan. Recipe comes from Sweet Treats by Chef Wan

Ingredients:

Chocolate Valentino
Preparation Time: 20 minutes16 ounces (1 pound) (454 grams) of semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
½ cup (1 stick) plus 2 tablespoons (146 grams total) of unsalted butter
5 large eggs separated

Directions:

1. Put chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water) and melt, stirring often.
2. While your chocolate butter mixture is cooling. Butter your pan and line with a parchment circle then butter the parchment.
3. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and put into two medium/large bowls.
4. Whip the egg whites in a medium/large grease free bowl until stiff peaks are formed (do not over-whip or the cake will be dry).
5. With the same beater beat the egg yolks together.
6. Add the egg yolks to the cooled chocolate.
7. Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and follow with remaining 2/3rds. Fold until no white remains without deflating the batter. {link of folding demonstration}
8. Pour batter into prepared pan, the batter should fill the pan 3/4 of the way full, and bake at 375F/190C
9. Bake for 25 minutes until an instant read thermometer reads 140F/60C.
Note – If you do not have an instant read thermometer, the top of the cake will look similar to a brownie and a cake tester will appear wet.
10. Cool cake on a rack for 10 minutes then unmold.

This cake is usually served with fresh whipped cream as a topper. In this challenge we were given the option to make homemade icecream to pair with it or we could use the whipped cream option if we preferred. I chose to do the whipped cream to pair with this. I haven’t broken my ice cream maker out yet and so I went with the safer option:).

It's World Nutella Day! Nutella Rolls

February 5, 2009 by Lynsey 1 Comment

That’s right, Nutella has it’s own special day and there’s a website just for the occasion just click here to visit it. Sara of Ms Adventures in Italyand Michelle from Bleeding Espressothought that Nutella was so incredible that it deserved it’s own special day. Why not give Nutella it’s own day of honor; this creamy chocolate spread tastes so good and can be enjoyed in a multitude of ways.

Anyone who wanted to “honor” Nutella on World Nutella Daywas encouraged to make something using Nutella. It didn’t necessarily have to be a special or original recipe, it could be something as simple as spreading Nutella on a piece of bread and enjoying it. It’s so easy to find something to pair with Nutella!

For those of you who aren’t familiar with Nutella, here’s some background:

“Nutella®, in its original form, was first created in the 1940s by Mr. Pietro Ferrero, a pastry maker and founder of the Ferrero company. At the time, cocoa was in short supply because of rationing due to World War II, so chocolate was very limited.

So Mr. Ferrero used hazelnuts, which are plentiful in the Piedmontregion of Italy (northwest), to extend the chocolate supply. The original version of Nutella spread was called “pasta gianduja,” pasta which means paste, and “gianduja” which is the name of a carnival character famous to the region, a character that can be found in the first advertisements for the product. This original form of Nutella was actually made in loaves and wrapped in tinfoil, so it could be sliced and placed on bread for mothers to make sandwiches for their children. But many children, as you could imagine, would throw away the bread and only eat the pasta gianduja! So Mr. ferrero altered the product into a paste that came in a jar, so the paste could be spread on the bread. This then became known as “supercreama gianduja,” because it was a spread-able version of the gianduja. “Supercreama gianduja” was eventually renamed “Nutella” in 1964, with the origin of the word being “nut” and the “ella” giving it a soft ending.

The early version of Nutella spread was received very well once introduced, since it was a much more inexpensive way for people to enjoy something that tasted so good…a kilo of chocolate at the time was 6 times the cost of a kilo of pasta gianduja. So Nutella was a product that everyone could, and did, enjoy. The product became so popular that Italian food stores started a service called “The Smearing”. Children could go to their local food store with a slice of bread for a “smear” of “supercrema gianduja.”

Nutella was first imported from Italy into the U.S. over 20 years ago, in 1983, mainly in the Northeastern part of the country. The popularity of Nutella grew steadily over the next 10 years, and demand became so strong that the Ferrero company decided to build a plant in the U.S., in Somerset, NJ.”

This information was taken from: Nutella USA

Since finding out about National Nutella Day I knew I wanted to make something. I thought about different recipes and I looked at entries from previous years just to get some ideas. I thought about it for a while and then I thought that “Nutella Rolls” would be something new and interesting. It’s basically a take of cinnamon rolls but instead of the cinnamon filling it would be a Nutella filling. Sounds pretty awesome, right?

The Nutella Rolls were pretty easy to make. The only time consuming part of the whole process was waiting on the dough to rise. Once the dough had finished it’s rising process I had them put together in no time. These rolls would be a great for breakfast or dessert. You must try them fresh out of the oven too; that’s pretty hard to beat.

Nutella Rolls

Ingredients:

For the dough:

1 Package quick rising yeast

1/2 Cup warm water

5 Tablespoons butter, melted

1/4 Cup sugar

1 Egg, lightly beaten

3/4 Cup warm milk

1 1/2 Teaspoon salt

3 1/2 Cups flour

1 Tablespoon honey

For the filling:

1 Jar Nutella spread

2-3 Tablespoons instant coffee grounds

4 Tablespoons granulated sugar, divided

2 Tablespoons butter, melted

For the topping/glaze:

1 3/4 Cups powdered sugar

2 1/2 Tablespoons butter, melted

2-3 Tablespoons milk (add 1 spoon at a time until mixture reaches desired consistency)

1/4-1/2 Cup mini milk chocolate chips

Directions:

Pour yeast packet in a small bowl and then add warm water. Set aside to let dissovle.

In a mixing bowl add the melted butter, sugar and egg and mix well. Once mixutre is combined add in salt, yeast mixutres and 1 cup of flour and mix. After the flour is mixed add honey and 3/4 cup milk and incorporate completely. Once the milk and honey is mixed in slowly add the remaining flour and knead util mixture pulls together and makes a ball…about 5-10 minutes. (You can knead the dough by hand or with an electric mixer and dough hook)

Place down in a bowl that has been sprayed with Pam and the bottom is lightly sprinkled with flour. Spray top of dough ball with Pam/cooking spray and sprinkle lightly with flour. Cover bowl with a dish towel and let sit until dough has doubled in size, about 1 hour to 1 hour and a half.

Once the dough has doubled in sides, role out on a well floured surface. Role the dough until it’s about a 9×15 rectangle. Once the dough has been rolled pour the 2 tablespoons of melted butter over it and spread.

Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of sugar over the melted butter.

Spread entire jar of Nutella spread over the dough, making sure all of the dough is covered.

Sprinkle the Nutella with the instant coffee granules and the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar.

Once the Nutella is spread and the sugar and coffee are sprinkled begin rolling up the dough. Beginning at the 15 inch side, role the dough and press the edges to to seal. Cut the dough into 12-15 slices, slices will vary depending on how big the dough is cut. (I got 14 slices out of mine)

Place rolls on either a greased cookie sheet or in a round pan. (If you don’t have a ran pan, just place in a circle on a cookie sheet.) Let the rolls sit and rise another 45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

After the rolls have set for 45 minutes sprinkle with 1/4 cup of mini chocolate chips.

Place in a preheated oven. Cook for about 25-30 minutes or until rolls are a golden brown and cooked all the way through. Remove rolls from oven to cool.

For the icing/glaze:

In a bowl mix together butter and powdered sugar. When the mixture begins to thicken begin adding the milk and mix together until reaching a thicker consistency that can still be easily drizzled.

Once the glaze is complete drizzle or pour over the Nutella rolls and the sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup of mini chocolate chips over the glazed rolls.

Once the rolls have completely cooled transfer into a well sealed container.

Recipe Source: Lynsey

Daring Bakers

February 2, 2009 by Lynsey Leave a Comment

daring-bakers

For the Daring Bakers January challenge we made Tuiles. Tuiles are a very versatile thing; they can be made to compliment savory dishes or to go with sweet dishes. After Thanksgiving and Christmas the people that chose this challenge wanted to do a light dish, tuiles seem to be one of the lightest dishes out there.

This month’s challenge is brought to us by Karen of Bake My Day and Zorra of 1x umruehren bitte aka Kochtopf. They have chosen Tuiles from The Chocolate Book by Angélique Schmeink and Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux.

Here is a little background on tuiles from the hosts of the challenge: Traditionally, tuiles are thin, crisp almond cookies that are gently molded over a rolling pin or arched form while they are still warm. Once set, their shape resembles the curved French roofing tiles for which they’re named. The Dutch angle: traditionally this batter was used to bake flat round cookies on 31st December, representing the year unfold. On New Years day however, the same batter was used but this day they were presented to well-wishers shaped as cigars and filled with whipped cream, symbolizing the New Year that’s about to roll on.

There are many different variations of Tuiles available, both savory and sweet. For this challenge I decided to stick with the sweet recipe; you can never have too many sweets :). Although I’ve seen some recipes for the savory tuiles that looked pretty good too, so I may have to try them out at some point in time as well.

I just stuck with the basic recipe that was provided for us for this challenge. There were also some variations provided as well, but I thought the basic one would go with quite a bit.

Tuiles

Following is a recipe taken from a book called “The Chocolate Book”, written by female Dutch Master chef Angélique Schmeinck.

Recipe:
Yields: 20 small butterflies/6 large (butterflies are just an example)
Preparation time batter 10 minutes, waiting time 30 minutes, baking time: 5-10 minutes per batch

1/2 cup sifted all purpose flour
1 table spoon cocoa powder/or food coloring of choice
Butter/spray to grease baking sheet

¼ cup softened butter (not melted but soft)
½ cup sifted confectioner’s sugar
1 sachet vanilla sugar (7 grams or substitute with a dash of vanilla extract)
2 large egg whites (slightly whisked with a fork)

Directions:

Oven: 350F

Using a hand whisk or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle (low speed) and cream butter, sugar and vanilla to a paste. Keep stirring while you gradually add the egg whites. Continue to add the flour in small batches and stir to achieve a homogeneous and smooth batter/paste. Be careful to not overmix.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to firm up. (This batter will keep in the fridge for up to a week, take it out 30 minutes before you plan to use it).Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or grease with either butter/spray and chill in the fridge for at least 15 minutes. This will help spread the batter more easily if using a stencil/cardboard template such as the butterfly. Press the stencil on the bakingsheet and use an off sided spatula to spread batter. Leave some room in between your shapes. Mix a small part of the batter with the cocoa and a few drops of warm water until evenly colored. Use this colored batter in a paper piping bag and proceed to pipe decorations on the wings and body of the butterfly.If you don’t want to do stencil shapes, you might want to transfer the batter into a piping bag fitted with a small plain tip. Pipe the desired shapes and bake. Shape immediately after baking using for instance a rolling pin, a broom handle, cups, cones…. (I didn’t have a stencil so I did the piping method)

Bake butterflies in a preheated oven for about 5-10 minutes or until the edges turn golden brown. Immediately release from bakingsheet and proceed to shape/bend the cookies in the desired shape. These cookies have to be shaped when still warm, you might want to bake a small amount at a time or maybe put them in the oven to warm them up again. Or: place a bakingsheet toward the front of the warm oven, leaving the door half open. The warmth will keep the cookies malleable.

***pictures to come, as soon as I get them loaded.

A Take on one of My Favorite Candy Bars

January 27, 2009 by Lynsey 1 Comment

These candies are very similar in taste to one of my favorite candy bars, Take 5. I love the mixture of the sweet, salt, and caramel; you just can’t get any better than that. I’m always looking for different combinations of sweet and salty and I will try almost anything at least once.

The first time I had these candies Spencer and I were at our friends engagement party, I tried one and I was hooked. I had a couple and then started trying to figure out what all it took to make these. Spencer told me it was just pretzels, Rolos, and pecans; I thought that was too easy and there had to be more to it. When we finally started talking to the host he told us that it was just pretzels, Rolos and pecans; I couldn’t believe it. That was almost too easy to make these tastey candies; there’s not much to them at all.

I wanted to make these so bad after I tried them at the party but I really didn’t have a good excuse. I didn’t want to make a batch just have sitting at the house since it made so many and they are so addicting. Finally when Christmas came around Spencer’s mom asked me to bring some snacks and appetizers over so we could have them to nibble on until the meal was ready. Since the opportunity presented itself to make these I took it! I’m so glad I made them, they were such a hit with everyone there. The best thing is they are so easy!!!
Pretzel Candies

Chocolate Pretzel Candy

Ingredients:
Pretzel Candies

1 Bag small pretzels (I used pretzel waffles because the store was out of regular pretzels)

1 Package Rolos candy

1 Package of pecan halves

Directions:

Preheat oven to 200 F.

Line a baking sheet with foil and place pretzels in single rows on foil. Unwrap the Rolo candies and place 1 Rolo on each pretzel. Once all the pretzels are covered place in oven for 2-3 minutes, just until the candies are softened.

Remove from oven and place pretzels on top of Rolos and press down. Repeat process until all pretzels are topped.
Pretzel Candies

Recipe from: Lance

Bite into some Bark!

January 9, 2009 by Lynsey 1 Comment

The combination of mint and chocolate has been a favorite of mine ever since I can remember. I’ve had many different goodies that have had those flavor combinations and I love them all. So for the final part of the goody baskets I decided to make something that I enjoy everytime I have it.

Peppermint bark, like a lot of other foods and sweets, has become more and more popular over the past few years. It seems like whenever the stores start getting their Christmas stuff out the peppermint bark starts to be seen more as well. William-Sonoma has some of the best peppermint bark I’ve ever had. The chocolate is just incredible and it has just the right about of mint flavor in it where it blends so well. I take my time eating their bark whenever I get the chance to have some because I want to savor the taste of it!

After I had eaten some peppermint bark I decided that I wanted to try to make some. It didn’t seem like there would be that much to it and since I enjoy eating it so much I might as well figure out how to make some. It really wasn’t that hard to make at all. Making it yourself also gives you the control to add as much or as little peppermint flavoring as desired. I think my first time making it was right on the money; I loved the taste of it as well as everyone else that tried it. This just might be a tradition from now on:).

Peppermint Bark

Ingredients:

1 – 1 1/2 Bags of chocolate chips (I used a combination of milk chocolate and semi sweet )

1 – 1 1/2 Bags of white chocolate chips

1/4 Teaspoon peppermint extract, divided

1 Dozen and a half peppermints, crushed

Directions:

Cover a baking sheet with wax paper.

Place chocolate chips in the microwave or double boiler and melt completely. Keep a close eye on it to keep it from burning. Once chocolate is melted stir in 1/8 teaspoon of peppermint extract and about 6 crushed peppermints. Once everything is combined pour onto wax paper. Place the chocolate in the fridge to harden.

After the chocolate has had time to harden and set repeat the process above using the white chocolate chips. Once the chocolate is melted and everything is combined pour the white chocolate over the milk/semi sweet chocolate mix. While the white chocolate is still warm and melted sprinkle the remaining crushed peppermints over the top. Place chocolate back in the refrigerator and let harden. (I let mine set over night)

Once the chocolate has set up and become hard, remove from the refrigerator and pull off of the wax paper and break apart. Place in well sealed container and either keep at room temperature or in the refrigerator.
Peppermint Bark

This is how I packaged it to go in the baskets:
Peppermint Bark

Recipe by: Lynsey Lou

Salty and Sweet Makes an Awesome Treat!

January 8, 2009 by Lynsey 1 Comment

I’m a huge fan of snacks and candies that have a mixture of saltiness and sweet; it’s just the perfect combination all in one. I think the Take 5 candy bars are some of the best out there because you get your mix of salt and sweet in every bite, you just can’t beat that! There are many things that can be made using the salty/sweet flavor combinations and each thing can have an individuals personal touch.

Chocolate covered pretzels are another thing that I made to go in the goody basekts . They are so easy to do but the presentation can be as fancy or as plain as desired. I didn’t do too much to these pretzels since they would be toted around and all that but they looked great anyway.

I did two different varieties of these pretzels. One of the batches were plain; pretzels dipped in melted chocolate bark and then drizzled with white chocolate. The second the pretzels were dipped in chocolate bark and then rolled in crushed up peppermints and drizzled with melted candy cane Hershey Kisses. Both of the flavor combinations were incredible and they were a big hit with all the recipients!

Chocolate Covered Pretzels

Ingredients:

1 Bag pretzel rods

2-3 Squares chocolate bark

1/8 – 1/4 Cup white chocolate chips

Directions:

Prepare a place with wax/parchment paper to set pretzels once dipped in chocolate.

Melt chocolate in a double boiler until completely melted and smooth. Reduce heat or turn off completely to avoid burning the chocolate or overcooking.

Once chocolate is melted begin rolling pretzels in chocolate until desired coverage is acquired. Place covered pretzels on wax paper and let set. Continue process until all pretzels are covered.

Once the chocolate has set, place white chocolate chips in a microwave safe dish and heat until melted. Keep an eye on the chocolate to avoid burning. Once melted dip a fork in the chocolate and begin drizzling over the pretzels. Let the chocolate dry before storing in a well sealed container.

For the peppermint rolled pretzels:

smash a handful of peppermints and place on a plate. Repeat the dipping process as stated above. Once the pretzel is dipped in the chocolate immediately roll in peppermint and then set on wax paper to cool.

Once the chocolate has set place about 6 candy cane Kisses in a microwave safe dish and melt. Once they are melted dip a fork in the chocolate and drizzle over the top of the pretzels. Plet set and cool before storing in a well sealed container.
Chocolate Peppermint Pretzels

Recipe by: Lynsey Lou

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