Tuesdays with Dorie BCM: Lavender Galettes
July 25, 2017 at 12:01 am | Posted in BCM, cookies & bars, groups, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 2 CommentsTags: baking, cookies
Usually I think of something else when I hear the word galette, but these Lavender Galettes are almost paper-thin crisps, straddling the line between cookie and cracker. I don’t really use lavender much at home, but the bar at work keeps candied lavender on hand for cocktail purposes, and I swiped (after asking, of course- haha) a couple of teaspoons to make these. The dough comes together easily by hand and is flavored with orange zest and olive oil, in addition to the lavender. To get them so thin, each cookie is rolled individually on its own parchment square. This sounds a bit fiddly, but the dough is easy to roll and isn’t too messy when done this way. They bake up flat and light as air, not too sweet and with nice floral notes. We ate them with blackberry ice cream that I sprinkled with a little bit of the candied lavender I had left over. Delicious!
For the recipe, see Baking Chez Moi by Dorie Greenspan. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TWD Blogroll!
Tuesdays with Dorie DC: Coffee Malteds
July 18, 2017 at 10:01 am | Posted in cookies & bars, DC, groups, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 5 CommentsTags: baking, cookies
I love the flavor of malt and I also love coffee, so needless to say, these Coffee Malteds were a hit with me. But while I do love malt, I usually can’t seem to get through an entire container of malted milk powder, so I decided not to go out and buy it just for one recipe. I do happen to have a jar of malt syrup in my fridge, so I added a bit of that instead. I used way less than the 1/4 cup of powder in the recipe– just a spoonful since the flavor is so much more powerful, and since it’s a liquid ingredient instead of a dry. I didn’t get the crumbly dough that the recipe indicated, and I’m guessing it was because of the malt syrup. My dough was a little sticky, so I just gave it a good chill before baking it off. I didn’t worry about it too much…I’ve found that if I am confident that my dough will become cookies or my batter will become cake, then it almost always does (and if it doesn’t, it’s because I’ve really screwed up.)
Dorie makes a special note in the recipe that the cookies won’t look completely done when it’s time to take them out of the oven…this is to keep their chewy texture. One of my favorite things about these cookies is that, because they are chewy, they make fabulous ice cream sandwiches. Try it out with a scoop of coffee ice cream if you make them.
For the recipe, see Dorie’s Cookies by Dorie Greenspan. It was also Dorie’s #cookiesandkindness selection for the month of July, so you can find the coffee malteds recipe on her site, too. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TWD Blogroll.
Tuesdays with Dorie BCM: Martine’s Gâteau de Savoie
July 11, 2017 at 8:17 pm | Posted in BCM, cakes & tortes, groups, simple cakes, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 6 CommentsTags: baking, cake
Martine’s Gâteau de Savoie is the kind of simple cake I’ll want to make all summer long. It’s the perfect thing to go with roasted strawberries, a pile of raspberries, sliced plums, whatever. It’s an easy to make separated egg sponge– no butter, oil or baking powder needed. I baked mine in a mold that’s traditionally used for something I’ve never made called a trois freres cake, but a bundt pan will do nicely here. I have a jar of scented geranium sugar in the cupboard that I made quite a long time ago and always seem to forget about. I made a mental note to bake with it here, thinking that its light floral taste would go nicely with the roasted strawberries I would be serving alongside the cake. I was too embarrassed to photo the extra large blob of whipped cream I also spooned on top, but you can take my word that shortcake-style ain’t a bad thing.
For the recipe, see Baking Chez Moi by Dorie Greenspan. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TWD Blogroll!
Tuesdays with Dorie DC: Classic Jammers
July 4, 2017 at 7:31 pm | Posted in cookies & bars, DC, groups, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 8 CommentsTags: baking, cookies
Happy Fourth of July! Classic Jammers may be one of Dorie’s best known cookie concoctions, and with good reason. I’ve made a larger galette version of these before, so I knew what I’d be in for…a sweet and sandy sablé base, topped with jam and ringed with sweet streusel. Yes, there are a few steps, some chill time and a little fiddling with muffin tins to get a uniform shape, but the work yields excellent cookies. They’re like little three-bite tarts. In fact, I may have put a little spoonful of ice cream on top of a couple, and it may have been a really good idea.
I admit to having a jam-hoarding problem, so I like that the recipe helps use up some of the random jam jars sitting in the fridge. I tried to get a little patriotic for the holiday and topped some jammers with a dark blue huckleberry jam and others with a deep red cherry jam. After they were baked, though, I honestly couldn’t visually tell the difference between them. Both jams baked equally dark (as you can see), and it was a crapshoot as to which was which. D’oh! But both were great, so I didn’t mind.
For the recipe, see Dorie’s Cookies by Dorie Greenspan. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TWD Blogroll.
Tuesdays with Dorie BCM: Streusel-Topped Rhubarb Lime Tart
June 27, 2017 at 4:20 pm | Posted in BCM, groups, pies & tarts, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 3 CommentsTags: baking, fruit, tarts
I look forward to a good rhubarb dessert every spring (now summer!), and this Streusel-Topped Rhubarb Lime Tart fit the bill nicely. Dorie’s sweet tart dough and crisp streusel encase a a kinda tart filling of rhubarb, lime and custard. It all balances out nicely…soft, tart insides and crisp, sweet outsides. I made little individual tartlets and guessed the baking time would probably be less than for a full-sizer. I decided to use some roasted rhubarb compote instead of raw chopped rhubarb in my filling, just in case it wouldn’t have time to cook down fully. That was the only change I made. It was delicious, and I see more of these in my future.
For the recipe, see Baking Chez Moi by Dorie Greenspan. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TWD Blogroll!
Tuesdays with Dorie DC: Berry-Buttermilk Pie Bars
June 20, 2017 at 7:50 pm | Posted in cookies & bars, DC, groups, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 14 CommentsTags: baking, biscotti, cookies
Well, I almost didn’t make these Berry-Buttermilk Pie Bars, but then I felt a little guilty this morning and since I was up early anyway, I decided to throw them together. However, things did not go exactly to plan, or rather, to recipe. I made the crust and baked it off…felt tight on time because I had a morning gym appointment (which takes priority over all else in my life…seriously) to go to, so I didn’t let it cool before pouring on the buttermilk custard filling. This didn’t seem to affect the bars at all, and I think it may have helped to quickly set the custard, which was a very loose mix, on the edges. The recipe called specifically for fresh blueberries, which I didn’t have. I did have frozen, so I used those. But then I didn’t have enough, so I also sprinkled in some frozen raspberries. I put the pan back into the oven and then at the half-way point realized I really needed to head for the gym. I decided to just turn the oven off and leave them in there until I got home. That’s what you would do, right? Maybe not. I had no idea what I would find when I returned an hour and a half later. Guess what? They were perfect-haha! I love it when I half-a$$ something and it works out– usually this is not the case! I’ve never had buttermilk pie before and I like these a lot. The crust has a nice crunchy sandiness from a bit of cornmeal, and the tangy buttermilk custard filling goes really well with the berries.
For the recipe, see Dorie’s Cookies by Dorie Greenspan. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TWD Blogroll and please join us if you haven’t already!
Tuesdays with Dorie BCM: Les Whoopies
June 13, 2017 at 3:09 pm | Posted in BCM, cakes & tortes, groups, simple cakes, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 5 CommentsTags: baking, cake, whoopiepies
It doesn’t matter if they’re called Les Whoopies or whoopie pies, I’m a big fan. I used to work in a bakery where we made heaps of them (the chocolate and the pumpkin ones were my favorites), so I know my whoops. These are great– moist and chocolatey, like little devil’s food sandwiches, with peanut butter filling. I always like how good whoopee pie cakes are a little sticky on my fingers. Is that weird? I made these a few months ago actually, but now that I’m looking at the picture I took, I should go make them again!
For the recipe, see Baking Chez Moi by Dorie Greenspan. It’s also here. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TWD Blogroll!
Tuesdays with Dorie DC: Dorie’s Newest Chocolate Chip Cookies
June 6, 2017 at 5:18 pm | Posted in cookies & bars, DC, groups, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 7 CommentsTags: baking, cookies
I’m very happy to make and sample all styles of chocolate chip cookies. Crispy, chewy, thin or chunky, they are all worth eating to me. And if Dorie has a “Newest” Chocolate Chip Cookie, then of course I want to know what it’s got going’ on. These have a little whole wheat flour in the mix, as well as nutmeg and coriander. I often think of coriander working in tandem with cumin in savory recipes…cookies are not the first thing that come to mind…but on it’s own, it’s a spice that’s gentle and fragrant and a little citrusy. The nutmeg and coriander don’t come across as strong in the baked cookies. They’re just a little something different in the background. These cookies manage to be thin and chewy at the same time, with a little crispiness on the outer edge. Best of all worlds, perhaps?
Chilling your cookie dough is good for flavor development and baking up into a nice round shape. Dorie says to chill the dough and then portion it, but I prefer to scoop the dough after it’s made and then chill the dough balls, even if it’s a little sticky. I’ve broken many a cookie scoop spring on cold, hard dough. I think an overnight chill is best, but you can just give it an hour if you need cookies ASAP! Cookie emergencies do happen.
For the recipe, see Dorie’s Cookies by Dorie Greenspan. It’s also here. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TWD Blogroll and please join us if you haven’t already!
TWD BCM Rewind: Tarte Tropézienne
May 30, 2017 at 4:52 pm | Posted in BCM, cakes & tortes, groups, layer cakes, puddings, custards, mousses, sweet things, sweet yeast breads, tuesdays with dorie | 4 CommentsTags: baking, bread, cake
A year ago, the group made Dorie’s Tarte Tropézienne, a pastry cream-filled, sugar-sprinkled brioche cake. I did not. That’s why rewind week comes in handy. I’d never had a Trop before…now I know what I’ve been missing. I really like pastry cream. And brioche.
Trops come in various sizes. I chose to make individual ones rather than slice up a large one. Mine came out looking a little more like burger buns than like the flatter cakes they should be…I clearly didn’t press the dough out enough. No matter, they were still delicious. I served them with chopped strawberries alongside, but next time I may put the berries inside instead.
For the recipe, see Baking Chez Moi by Dorie Greenspan. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TWD Blogroll!
Tuesdays with Dorie BCM: Pistachio and Summer Fruit Gratins
May 23, 2017 at 4:32 pm | Posted in BCM, cobbler, crisps, shortcakes, general pastry, groups, jams & preserves, other sweet, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 1 CommentTags: baking, fruit
What to say about these Pistachio and Summer Fruit Gratins? Well for one thing, they are pretty tasty. A layer of fruit and berries topped with pistachio frangipane could almost not be a winning dessert. I will fess up that I fudged the frangipane and used the “regular” almond kind, which I have a stash of in the freezer. I sprinkled a bunch of pistachios on top to fool everyone, though! Haha– I have a few tricks up my sleeve now and then. The fruit in this can be pretty much whatever’s in season…I went with a rhubarb/raspberry combo. The ‘barb and ‘berries bubbled up in the oven and turned into a jammy layer that was the most gorgeous shade of hot pink. Hot pink and pistachio green might be my favorite color combo, but I can see myself making this one over and over again this summer as different fruits roll though the farmers’ market.
For the recipe, see Baking Chez Moi by Dorie Greenspan. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TWD Blogroll!
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