Tuesdays with Dorie DC: Old Bay Pretzel-and-Cheese Cookies
May 21, 2019 at 12:01 am | Posted in cookies & bars, groups, savory things, snacks, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 4 CommentsTags: baking, cookies, savory
I grew up in Northern Virginia and when I was a kid, my dad and a friend from Maryland co-owned a boat together on the Chesapeake Bay. My mother would wrinkle her nose at this, but Old Bay is a flavor of my childhood, I guess, and one I still like lot today. Now I mostly sprinkle it on corn or oven fries, but here it’s used in savory Old Bay Pretzel-and-Cheese Cookies. With chunks of pretzel rods and bits of cheddar cheese, too, they’re just the thing to have with a beer or a Bloody Mary, or even a bowl of tomato soup.
The dough is like a shortbread and is made in the food processor. I actually had a hard time getting mine to come together, even before adding the pretzel bits, and wound up adding a blob of sour cream for a bit of extra moisture to make it less crumbly. It’s slice-and-bake, so I managed to finagle the dough into a rough log, but then it crumbled again when i sliced it. I wound up having to hand-form my cookie crumbles into little nuggets on the sheet tray. When baked, I’m happy to report that they finally held together! They’re salty and savory and crunchy, and if I find myself going boating again anytime soon, they’ll find their way into my snack bag.
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!
Tuesdays with Dorie BCM: Cookies-and-Cream Tartlets
May 14, 2019 at 12:01 am | Posted in BCM, groups, pies & tarts, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 6 CommentsTags: baking, chocolate, tarts
We are on a cookie butter roll here in TWD-land. First two cookies, now Cookies-and-Cream Tartlets. These tartlets are an assemblage of components, which I like, because they can be done over time if I just don’t have the time. We’ve made Dorie’s Sweet Tart Dough for so many things now, and here it’s baked in mini tart pans. There’s a layer of cookie butter on the bottom of each fully-baked shell and then a luxurious salted dark chocolate ganache covering that. The recipe has chunks of broken-up speculoos cookies mixed into the ganache, but I chose to hide them underneath in the cookie butter because I wanted a smooth and shiny top layer. I did dust some crumbs over the top for a hint at what’s inside. What’s inside is pretty fabulous.
For the recipe, see Baking Chez Moi by Dorie Greenspan. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TWD Blogroll!
Everyday Dorie: Green-as-Spring Soup
May 10, 2019 at 4:24 pm | Posted in cook the book fridays, everyday dorie, groups, savory things, soups | 7 CommentsTags: everyday dorie, savory, soup
This Green-as-Spring Soup was pretty easily put together after a walk through my neighborhood farmers’ market. After a long winter of turnips, the stalls are overflowing with green stuff right now! Armed with some leeks, garlic and shallots, a bunch of asparagus (which I trimmed, but did not bother to peel) and a zucchini, I got to work. After a quick sweat down of the alliums, it was everything else in the pot with some broth to simmer till soft. I had some nice spinach from my favorite farmer and I threw in just a handful of that, along with my herbs, for extra pop. Happily for those of us lacking amazing knife skills, it doesn’t matter how neatly things are cut up…it all gets puréed smooth in the blender. I fished out a few of the asparagus tips before blending the soup, which I used as garnish, along with a quick herb cream I made from pesto and greek yogurt. I added a drizzle of good olive oil, too, because, well, more green!
This soup was delicious and velvety even though it contains no dairy (apart from the garnish). It’s fresh and satisfying, and was even better reheated the next day.
For the recipe, see Everyday Dorie by Dorie Greenspan, and head over to Cook the Book Fridays to see how the group liked this one.
Tuesdays with Dorie DC: Chocolate-Oatmeal Biscoff Cookies
May 7, 2019 at 12:01 am | Posted in cookies & bars, DC, groups, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 5 CommentsTags: baking, cookies
I have a soft spot for oatmeal cookies of any kind. I don’t know where this fondness comes from in my own life, but if I had children, I’d bake them oatmeal cookies to encourage it in theirs. These Chocolate-Oatmeal Biscoff Cookies would be in my after-school snack rotation for sure. With oatmeal, cocoa, chocolate chips and cookie butter (what?!?) these tick all the boxes for a great treat. You can use nut butter instead of Biscoff if you want, and I’m pretty sure that would be just as awesome.
I recently made my own cookie butter for the Good, Better, Best Cookies, and while Dorie specifically states to use store-bought Biscoff here instead of a homemade version, there was no way I wasn’t going to use it. Yes, I blatantly disregarded her instruction, but I did try to compensate for it. I added in an extra couple tablespoons of flour to my dough because my homemade cookie butter seems softer than the commercial product. I don’t really think that they suffered for it in any way. My cookies baked up soft, chewy and pliable, and really full of chocolate flavor, with a slightly spicy something-something in the background.
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: Cardamom and Mocha Marble Cake
April 23, 2019 at 2:29 pm | Posted in BCM, cakes & tortes, groups, simple cakes, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 8 CommentsTags: baking, cake
I love cutting into a marble cake. Will there be swirls? Will there be layers? Will there be blobs? It’s like a surprise inside! This Cardamom and Mocha Marble cake is one of Dorie’s Bonne Idée suggestions for the Double Chocolate Marble Cake in the book. Chocolate with coffee and cardamom is a combo that really speaks to me, so I went for it.
This cake is pretty much like a pound cake, with dark chocolate (and espresso powder) mixed into half of the batter and white chocolate (and ground cardamom) mixed into the the other half. I didn’t need a whole 9″x5″ loaf, so I scaled down the recipe to 2/3 the original (fun times with kitchen math!) to make it my 8.5″x4.5″ pan instead. I was sure to watch it in the oven and it took around an hour to bake through. I did tent it with foil at the 40-minute mark so that it wouldn’t get too dark and crusty. This is a dense cake with a fine crumb. Even though it’s a simple loaf, the flavors make it seem more sophisticated. And the marbling is, of course, very exciting to behold.
For the recipe, see Baking Chez Moi by Dorie Greenspan. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TWD Blogroll to see other rewinds!
Tuesdays with Dorie DC: Good, Better, Best Cookies
April 16, 2019 at 3:59 pm | Posted in cookies & bars, DC, groups, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 3 CommentsTags: baking, cookies
These Good, Better, Best Cookies are a straight-line progression of deliciousness. It’s really very logical…a good cookie, crisp with almonds and cinnamon, can be made better if it’s sandwiched with cookie butter, and that sandwich cookie can be the best it can be if it’s dipped in ganache. Of course, I wanted the best version.
I made and rolled the cookie dough a few days before I needed it, so I stashed the dough sheet in the freezer. I was really happy with how perfectly the cut cookies held their round shape and how flat they stayed in the oven. Dorie has a recipe for homemade Spiced Cookie Filling and Spread in the back of the book, and since I had taken home some reject speculoos from work, I made myself a little pot of it for sandwiching my cookies. I admit that I didn’t bother to turn it into a buttercream as per the the “better” instructions. I just used it as-is. I eyeballed my dark chocolate ganache for dipping after reading that the “best” recipe makes a rather thin one, and a lot of it. I think everyone I shared these with appreciated that I took them all the way– they were the best!
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!
Everyday Dorie: Salmon Burgers
April 12, 2019 at 12:01 am | Posted in cook the book fridays, everyday dorie, groups, other savory, savory things | 13 CommentsTags: burgers, everyday dorie, fish, savory
One of my grandmas used to like to make salmon patties for dinner. They were a regular thing on nights when she’d babysit my brother and me. I can’t say that I loved them, but I thought about her as I made the Salmon Burgers from Everyday Dorie. Grandma used canned salmon, but these burgers are made with fresh salmon fillets, quickly zipped in the food processor. The fish mince is mixed with a lemony, herby yogurt concoction for moisture and flavor and formed into burgers. There was a lot of chatter on the C&Cs about how well the burgers held together (or didn’t) while cooking, so I took Mardi’s advice to add a sprinkling of breadcrumbs to the mix. After chilling the burger mix in the fridge for a couple of hours, I didn’t have any problem flipping them or getting them out of my nonstick pan.
The guy in this house got his burger on a bun. I had mine on a bed of lettuce instead, and ate it with a fork. Both got pickled red onions and a schmear of yogurt-herb sauce that pretty much mimicked the dressing mixed into the burgers themselves. I’d say this is an upgrade from Grandma’s canned salmon cakes, and I’d make them again.
For the recipe, see Everyday Dorie by Dorie Greenspan, and head over to Cook the Book Fridays to see how the group liked this one.
Tuesdays with Dorie BCM: Palmiers
April 9, 2019 at 12:01 am | Posted in BCM, cookies & bars, general pastry, groups, other sweet, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 7 CommentsTags: baking, cookies
What to do with a little stack of frozen puff pastry scraps left over from Banana-Nutella Chaussons and a Potato Tourte? Make Palmiers! These are so easy. Just roll puff into a square, brush with melted butter, sprinkle with sugar and fold in towards the center. I used vanilla sugar for extra flavor, and because I found a jar of it in my cupboard and want to use it up. Some of my palmiers sort of unfurled into donut shapes the oven, but I don’t mind. Puff pastry does what it wants to sometimes…I like things made with it to be really caramelized and crispy, taken almost to the edge of dark. I’ve got no time for pale puff. These palmiers are just as good with ice cream as they are with coffee.
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: Matzo Morsels
April 2, 2019 at 8:19 am | Posted in cookies & bars, DC, groups, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 4 CommentsTags: baking, chocolate, cookies, passover
If I buy a box of matzo breads, I’m usually putting tuna salad on top of them or turning them into matzo brie. Well, now I can make cookies out of matzo, too! Actually these Matzo Morsels are almost more candy than cookie, with no baking required. Melted butter and chocolate bind together crumbled matzo, plumped dried fruit (I used cherries) and chocolate chips (I used chopped white chocolate) into tasty little globs of crunch and chew. I had some déjà vu while making these and then I realized they are almost identical to the Desert Roses from BCM we did a couple of years ago, but with crushed matzos standing in for the cornflakes. No wonder I reached for the exact same mini muffin cups to put them in! I found they were easier to scoop and kept a better shape when I let the mix sit on the counter for about five minutes before portioning them.
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: Banana-Nutella Chaussons
March 26, 2019 at 7:53 am | Posted in BCM, general pastry, groups, other sweet, pies & tarts, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 8 CommentsTags: baking, chocolate, turnovers
These Banana-Nutella Chaussons are a take on traditional French puff pastry turnovers that are usually filled with apples. Dories says chaussons are most often breakfast or snack treats, but they are pretty amazing for dessert, too, especially when they are filled with a combo of gooey melted chocolate and bananas. Maybe even more so when you replace the straight-up chocolate in the filling with a generous amount of Nutella, like I did here. Things got a little wild in the oven, and my chaussons pretty much erupted, even though I egg washed and sealed them well. C’est la vie…the delicious filling and flaky layers just could not be contained! My evil genius dessert brain spotted an opportunity and decided a scoop of salted caramel ice cream would be perfect tucked into the opened sides.
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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