French Fridays with Dorie: Sweet and Spicy Cocktail Nuts
December 31, 2010 at 3:51 pm | Posted in french fridays w dorie, groups, other savory, savory things | 8 Comments
OK, I know it is New Year’s Eve afternoon already, and maybe I’ve missed the boat on telling you about this….but if you happen to be ringing in 2011 by having people over for cocktails, or if you are going to someone else’s place and looking for something to bring, I have just the thing. Dorie’s Sweet and Spicy Cocktail Nuts are fast and easy (provided you have a stash of nuts in your fridge or cupboard), and trust me, they will be gobbled up.
The technique is simple: take a couple cups of your favorite nuts (a mix is best), coat them lightly in a frothed-up egg white and then toss them in a mix of sugar, salt and spices. Bake for half an hour at 300°, making sure they are in a single layer so they don’t stick together. Let cool and enjoy with wine or bubbly.
For the exact recipe, see Around my French Table by Dorie Greenspan. Don’t forget to check out my fellow francophiles’ posts (not all of us are doing the recipe this week). Happy 2011, and I’ll see you next year!
Glitter Ball Cookies
December 29, 2010 at 5:15 pm | Posted in cookies & bars, sweet things | 12 Comments
I like sparkly things. Sequins, glitter, rhinestones, metallics…totally mesmerizing. Well, ’tis the season for sparkly things, and for New Year’s Eve, why not make cookies with some bling? These little Glitter Balls are just shortbread rounds dressed up in shimmery sugar. Festive little head-turners…and tasty, too.
Happy New Year!!
Glitter Ball Cookies- makes 12 double cookies
adapted from marthastewart.com
Steph’s Note: While the suggested filling here is flavored with ginger, you can flavor it with anything you wish. I actually made mine almond instead (using extract), but vanilla, lemon and rum are other tasty-sounding options.
for the cookies
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1/4 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
sanding sugar, in assorted colorsfor the filling
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2 teaspoons finely grated peeled fresh ginger
1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon honey
-Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment.
-Beat butter, confectioners’ sugar, and salt with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes, scraping down side of bowl as necessary. Beat in vanilla. Reduce speed to low; add flour, and mix just until combined. Shape into 3/4-inch balls (chill dough if too sticky).
-Place sanding sugar in shallow bowls. Roll each ball in sanding sugar, and place on baking sheets, spacing 1 inch apart. If you find that the sugar won’t stick, lightly wet one hand, and roll the cookie first in your hand just to dampen, and then roll in sugar.
-Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until edges are lightly golden, 15 to 18 minutes. let cookies cool completely on a wire rack.
-While the cookies cool, make the filling by beating all ingredients by hand or with an electric mixer on medium high speed until smooth.
– Spread two cookies with just enough filling to allow them to stick together.
Tuesdays with Dorie: Cardamom Crumb Cake
December 21, 2010 at 12:06 am | Posted in breakfast things, cakes & tortes, groups, muffins/quick breads, simple cakes, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 11 Comments
Have I told you what I have been up to lately? I started November wishing I could find a part-time job, and now I have two part-time jobs, totaling way more hours than a typical full-time one. I get very anxious about waking up for job #1 at 5:45 in the morning after I’ve been at job #2 until 11:00 at night. How do I get myself into these things, and why have I started every new food job I’ve had during the super-busy holiday season? Oh well, it won’t last forever…job #2 is only for another few weeks.
For the time being, I do really look forward to the one morning a week when I can drink coffee out of a proper cup and stuff my face with things like Cardamom Crumb Cake for breakfast. I get really happy when folks like Jill pick a breakfast recipe for TWD, and this coffee cake highlights one of my favorite spices. I’d say that this is a simple, plain cake, but cardamom is an interesting flavor and is something a bit more unexpected than cinnamon. Combine it with orange zest, espresso powder and walnut crumb topping, and you’ve got a cake I’d eat any day of the week. Happily, the second half of mine is tucked away in the freezer until Saturday.
For the recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan or read Jill’s Blog. Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll!
Tuesdays with Dorie: Apple-Coconut Family Cake
December 14, 2010 at 9:37 am | Posted in cakes & tortes, groups, simple cakes, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 16 Comments
R and I just got ourselves a new desktop computer. After working off laptops for the past six or seven years, my fingers feel very clumsy on a full-size keyboard and I’m not used to a mouse at all. (Can you tell I also haven’t had a desk job in a really long time?) I have to be sure to hit the spell-check button, or this post will be riddled with typos. I’m excited to see all the beautiful Apple-Coconut Family Cakes on a big screen, though!
There’s something about the term “family cake” that sounds really appealing…cute and cozy. And there’s something about the apple-coconut combination that sounds unusual…how often do you see those two paired up? Even though there is quite a lot of coconut in this cake (I used unsweetened desiccated coconut from the health food store, which is more finely grated than the sweetened sheds), I didn’t find its flavor to be that pronounced…I actually thought it tasted more of the rum than coconut. Instead, I noticed most what it gave to the cake’s texture– sturdiness and bit of chew. A heap of diced apples kept it moist and the unsweetened coconut kept it from being too saccharine. This is one I’ll make again.
We are just a family of two, so I only made half a recipe. Despite its small size, my cake took longer to bake than the 45 minutes Dorie recommended for the full version. At the 45 minute mark, the edge was nicely browned, but the middle was still wet, so I put foil over the pan and popped it back in the oven for an extra 5+ minutes. That helped steam up the middle a bit and cooked it through.
For the recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan or read Cobbler du Monde, as it was Amber’s pick this week. Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll!
Eggnog Snickerdoodles
December 10, 2010 at 5:28 pm | Posted in cookies & bars, sweet things | 7 Comments
Every December I have these grand plans for holiday cookie baking…and that’s as far as I get. Plans, but no cookies. What I should really do is host a cookie swap– make one big batch of cookies and invite my other baker friends over to trade away for a fabulous variety. I’ll work on getting that together next year, because I think it would be tons of fun (especially if Christmas cocktails are involved!), and I’ll be sure to consult my new book The Cookie Party Cookbook by Robin Olson for the organizational low-down. Did you know there are rules to hosting a cookie swap? Glad I have the book, because I had no idea. My cookie exchange would have been lawless, sugar-fueled chaos!
This book is not just about rules and tips, of course. It has heaps of recipes…homey recipes, straight from the kitchens of the author and the friends and family she’s been exchanging with for years. Some of the recipes are not my really style, but I tape-flagged a whole mess of them that I’m eager to try. I couldn’t resist making Eggnog Scickerdoodles first. The boozy, nutmeg flavor of eggnog gets me jazzed about Christmas, and I’ve already declared my love for snickerdoodles here. These are buttery, chewy and really do remind me of eggnog. A definite contender for next year’s cookie exchange!
Eggnog Snickerdoodles- makes about 40 cookies
adapted from The Cookie Party Cookbook by Robin Olson
Steph’s Note: While I usually think I can find anything I could ever want in NYC, sometimes that’s just not true. I couldn’t find rum or bandy extracts in my local grocery stores, so I just subbed a teaspoon each of the real things.
for the dough
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon rum extract
1/2 teaspoon brandy extract
2 large eggsfor the nutmeg-sugar mixture
1 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/4 cup sugar, colored or plain
-Heat oven to 400°F/200°C. Line baking sheets with parchment.
-In a large bowl, whisk the flour, salt, cream of tartar and baking soda. In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar. Add in the eggs and beat well, followed by the extracts. Gradually add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture and beat until well blended.
-Stir together the nutmeg and sugar in small bowl. Shape rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into 1-inch balls and roll in sugar mixture. Place 2 inches apart onto the lined cookie sheets.
-Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned (less time if you prefer softer cookies). Transfer to wire racks to cool.
Please note that the publisher, St. Martin’s Griffin, sent me a copy of this book.
Tuesdays with Dorie: Translucent Maple Tuiles
December 7, 2010 at 10:14 am | Posted in cookies & bars, groups, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 16 Comments
I’ve had a busy last couple of weeks, with back-to-back sets of houseguests to entertain, take care of and clean up after. It was fun, but I’m glad to be back to my regular routine…and that includes getting my Tuesday TWD post up.
Luckily, this week’s pick, courtesy of Clivia of Bubie’s Little Baker, couldn’t be easier. The world’s simplest cookie dough, made of just maple syrup, brown sugar, butter and flour, gets a quick-mix by hand. After a brief rest in the fridge, and only seven minutes in the oven, Translucent Maple Tuiles are ready! Tuiles are crispy, buttery, lacy-thin cookies. The coolest thing about a tuile is that, while still warm from the oven, it’s pliable. If you don’t want to cool your tuiles flat on a rack, you can gently curve them around a rolling pin, or roll them more tightly, like cannoli tubes.
I followed Clivia’s suggestion to use a “shave” less butter than the recipe called for. They come out of the oven a little greasy, so I was glad I did. R and I enjoyed our maple tuiles with a little bowl of ice cream.
For the recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan or Bubie’s Little Baker. Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll!
Tuesdays with Dorie: Devilish Shortcakes
November 30, 2010 at 12:01 am | Posted in cobbler/crisp/shorties, groups, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 19 Comments
I had a quick thought of skipping these Devilish Shortcakes and this week’s TWD. Then on Sunday, after the last of our Thanksgiving pie had disappeared, my husband asked what we’d be having for dessert. Seems as though someone’s not worried about putting on extra holiday pounds!
I’d never made chocolate shortcake biscuits before (never even thought about chocolate shortcakes before), and I wasn’t quite sure what to do with them. Fruit and chocolate combos aren’t usually too appealing to me, and anyway the berries right now look downright sad. But then I found a sudden burst of inspiration sitting on my counter– a banana! I caramelized banana slices with a little brown sugar, added a spoonful of peanut butter to my whipped cream, and grabbed a handful of salty peanuts and two baked shortcakes. Bingo!
The photo is a little…well…unappetizng, but these were good. It’s hard to go wrong with chocolate, peanuts and bananas, I guess. The shortcakes themselves weren’t very sweet, so I was glad I’d caramelized the fruit. I have a few more shortcakes in the freezer, so I’ll be looking through the TWD Blogroll for some more ideas for what to do with those.
For the recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan or Love Big, Bake Often, as it was Tania’s pick of the week. Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll!
French Fridays with Dorie: Caramel-Topped Semolina Cake
November 26, 2010 at 10:27 pm | Posted in cakes & tortes, simple cakes, sweet things | 13 Comments
Oops– Friday almost passed me by. Too much leftover Thanksgiving turkey putting me to sleep, I guess. But I did make this Caramel-Topped Semolina Cake last week, so gosh darn-it, I’m making sure I get this up, stat!
What intrigued me about this cake is it can be made with Cream of Wheat. I always have a box of that stuff in the cupboard. I just love it. It makes me think of snow days when I was a kid. Waking up and finding out that school was cancelled because of snow was the best feeling ever. Going back to bed for another couple hours and later having a piping hot bowl of Cream of Wheat while watching “Classic Concentration,” “Scrabble” or “The Price is Right” on TV, then bundling up and going outside to horse around in the snow with my brother and our neighborhood BFFs, Shannon and Andrew…that, to me, equaled childhood bliss.
This cake turns Cream of Wheat (or semolina) into something almost flan-like. Caramel on the bottom of the cake pan becomes sauce when the baked semolina custard-cake is turned out. I think the result is supposed to be a bit more saucy than mine (all the caramel was absorbed into the cake), so next time I’ll double the caramel in the recipe. Very tasty, though. I’ll make this again and serve it with one thing I never ate my kiddie CoW with– rum whipped cream!
For the recipe, see Around my French Table by Dorie Greenspan (it’s also here on Martha Stewart’s site). Don’t forget to check out my fellow francophiles’ posts (not all of us are doing semolina cake this week)!
TWD Rewind: Cranberry Upside-Downer
November 23, 2010 at 12:01 am | Posted in cakes & tortes, groups, simple cakes, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 12 Comments
This week the TWD crowd will be going in about 200 different directions (and I’m not just talking about holiday travel plans)– we’re having a “rewind” day to make up a missed recipe or remake a favorite. I’ve been in the group for a long time, and I think I can count on one hand the number of recipes I’ve skipped. At some point, I’d like to tick at least a few of those of the list, but not this week…this week, I’m revisiting a recipe I’ve been itching to try again.
Back in September I made a Summery Peach Upside-Downer, and I’m been thinking about trying the original Cranberry Upside-Downer version ever since. Now’s the time, especially since I’m on a cranberry roll this month! The cake was just as soft and cinnamony as I remembered from the first time. I think I actually prefer this version, though, because the tart cranberries are a perfect balance for the sticky sweetness of the butter-sugar topping. If my husband weren’t insisting on pie for Thanksgiving, I would certainly not hesitate to put this on the table on Thursday night!
For the recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, or read Superfluous, as it was Sabrina’s choice a couple months ago. Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll to see what everyone chose to make this week! Happy US Thanksgiving!!
Bolzano Apple Cake
November 18, 2010 at 4:22 pm | Posted in cakes & tortes, simple cakes, sweet things | 27 Comments
When my husband comes home from work, he likes to plop down on the couch and settle in with some ESPN or some business news. Yawn. I like to plop down beside him and settle in with a cookbook. For the past couple of weeks, my book of choice has been Amanda Hesser’s The Essential New York Times Cookbook. I have to tell you that you won’t find many pictures in the book, but that’s fine with me because it makes way for heaps more recipes! The book spans the archives of newspaper, and the recipes in each section are arranged by date (one day I’ll be adventurous enough to make you a cake from 1876, but for today’s one is from 2004). It also has a beautiful red cloth cover, and would make a pretty sweet holiday present for anyone who loves to cook.
When I came across the Bolzano Apple Cake recipe in the book, I knew instantly that I wanted to give it a shot. (Just because October has come and gone, does that mean I should move past apple desserts? I hope not, because I still have half a crisper drawer full of them from my orchard excursion a month ago.) What really attracted me to this cake, was that it sounded so similar to Marie-Hélène’s Apple Cake (which I was crazy about) from a few weeks back.
The cakes are not quite identical twins– maybe fraternal? Marie-Hélène’s has a healthy dose of rum in it, while the Bolzano is all about real vanilla bean. And while Marie-Hélène’s certainly has a custardy texture, this one does, too, but even more so. In the Bolzano cake, the apples are thinly sliced, instead of cut into chunks. The cake bakes up into a stack of soft apples with batter barely seeping in between the layers. I’m glad that I don’t have to choose between the two cakes, but can quickly and easily make either one!
Bolzano Apple Cake- makes 6 to 8 servings
adapted from The Essential New York Times Cookbook by Amanda Hesser
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for greasing pan
2 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped and reserved
1 1/4 pounds (3 to 4 small to medium) Granny Smith apples
1/2 cup AP flour, plus mor for dusting the pan
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup milk, at room temperature
Powdered sugar for dusting
-Heat oven to 375°F (190°C). Line the base of an 8-inch springform pan with parchment, then smear with thick layer of butter. Dust with flour; turn pan over and tap lightly to remove excess flour. Melt butter in small saucepan (you can take it a step further and lightly brown it, if you like). Set aside.
-Beat together eggs and half the sugar in a bowl (it’s not hard to do by hand). Continue to beat while slowly adding remaining sugar until thick; it should form a ribbon when dropped from a spoon. Add the vanilla seeds to the batter and add the pod to the melted butter.
-Peel, quarter and core apples, then trim ends and slice thinly.
-Remove vanilla pod from butter and stir butter into egg-sugar batter. Combine the flour and baking powder, then stir it into batter alternately with milk. Stir in apples, coating every piece with batter. Pour batter into pan, using fingers to pat top evenly.
-Bake for 25 minutes, then rotate pan; bake for about 25 minutes more, until cake pulls away from pan and is brown on top; a thin-bladed knife inserted into center will come out clean when it is done. Cool 30 minutes on a rack.
-Remove the sides of the springform, cut the cake into wedges and sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Please note that the publisher, W.W. Norton, sent me a copy of this book…but I would have bought it anyway!
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