a whisk and a spoon

Tuesdays with Dorie: Rick Katz’s Brownies for Julia

For some reason, I’ve been having a hard time getting this post up.  Writer’s block?  I dunno…maybe it’s just that these brownies, chosen by Chocolatechic Tanya for TWD, were too good for words!

If you’ve made this recipe, or have even read through it, then you’ll have noticed something unusual…it requires a mixer to whip the heck out of the eggs and sugar!  These are certainly fudgy brownies, but whereas the brownies I make at work are quite dense, you can feel what the whipped-in air does to these…they have a softer texutre and some chew.  I read some reports of underbaked goo, so I baked my batch in a slightly larger pan than the recipe calls for, left them in the oven for a few extra insurance minutes and popped them in the fridge for half an hour before cutting into them.  Perfect squares of deliciousness, with a paper-thin top crust.

For the recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, or read Chocolatechic.   Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll!

Tuesdays with Dorie: Chocolate Oatmeal Almost-Candy Bars

I am the type who is already daydreaming about Halloween in January, so Lillian’s choice of Chocolate Oatmeal Almost-Candy Bars for TWD was alright by me!  Chocolatey, peanutty goo sandwiched between two layers of oatmeal chew make for a fine candy bar approximation, especially when cut into fun-size bars.

The original recipe yields a bit too much (actually a lot too much!) for just two people, so I made a third of it in a loaf pan.  For me it was a little too heavy on the oat mixture.  If I make it again, I’ll go with 1/4 of the oat mixture and 1/3 of the chocolate goo.  A little extra chocolate is always a good thing!   Also, I left out the raisins in the chocolate layer.  Something about that was a little too reminiscent of a Chunky Bar…despite what Nestlé’s website says, that combo does not bring back fond memories.  The peanuts alone were plenty tasty.

For the recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, or read Confectiona’s Realm.   Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll!

Tuesdays with Dorie: Café Volcano Cookies

Would you like to come over for coffee?  We can chat…we can gossip…I’d really love to meet you.  And, yes, of course there will be cookies.  It’s no problem at all…these little Café Volcano Cookies that MacDuff of the always entertaining The Lonely Sidecar picked for TWD are ridiculously easy to whip up.

Just a few ingredients (egg whites, sugar, espresso powder, walnuts and almonds) stirred together by hand produce these sweet and crispy little treats.  Not quite the same as a traditional meringue, they’re like coffee air held together by nuts.

For the recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan (it’s also here on The Splendid Table), or read The Lonely Sidecar.  Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll!

Tuesdays with Dorie: Sugar-Topped Molasses Spice Cookies

You may notice that the TWDers are not all posting the same recipe this week.  We’re able to tackle the month’s chosen recipes in any order we like, and I’ve decided to start off with Dorie’s Sugar-Topped Molasses Spice Cookies, picked by Pamela of Cookies with Boys.  I think I’m easing into November…it’s probably the least complicated of the month’s four recipes to make.  But don’t think it’s simple in flavor…molasses adds a complexity you don’t get with white sugar, and the spices here really shine through.  It’s a perfect cookie for this time of year. (I am having wicked thoughts of stirring some bittersweet chocolate chips into the dough the next time I make them, though.)

Dorie intends these to be crisp cookies, but mine were soft and chewy.  What can I say…I forgot to flatten my balls of dough before putting them in the oven.  As a result, they also didn’t spread quite as much.  No matter though…crispy or chewy, I like them equally, so I am pretending that they were meant to be that way. 

For the recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan or read Cookies with Boys.  Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll and see what everyone else made!

Tuesdays with Dorie: Cottage Cheese Pufflets

This is my second TWD in a row showcasing 45-45-90 triangles.  I majored in math back in the day and am seriously thinking of turning this blog into a weekly cooking/geometry lesson (changing the name to “a whisk and a protractor,” of course).  But before I start handing out purple-inked dittos to everyone, let’s review these Cottage Cheese Pufflets, which Jacque of Daisy Lane Cakes chose for TWD.

I really like cottage cheese, but I also really never buy it.  Don’t know why…it just doesn’t pop up on my grocery radar screen very often.  I was glad, then, to have a little leftover from these cookies to eat for lunch with carrot sticks.  I was also glad that these cookies were fantastic, because while I was curious to try them, I really wasn’t sure what to expect from a cookie with cottage cheese in the dough.  But I’ll tell you what to expect…they are puffy and light and flaky, but with a little chew.  (You can also expect the dough to be super sticky to work with, so chill it every step of the way and your life will be easier.)  The dough itself isn’t too sweet, but it’s complimented by a bit of jam in the center.  I filled my pufflets with some of my homemade Easy Plum Jam.  Such a pretty color poking out through the steam hole (and through the sides…hmmm), don’t you think?

For the recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, or read Daisy Lane Cakes.  Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll!

Tuesdays with Dorie: Espresso Cheesecake Brownies

My taste in brownies is usually pretty plain.  Lots of chocolate and some walnuts– that’s pretty much all I need.  I’ve never even had a cheesecake brownie…at least not until Melissa of Life in a Peanut Shell chose Espresso Cheesecake Brownies for TWD.   Espresso and chocolate are a winning combo, so I was game to give the recipe a shot (in half-recipe form, baked in a loaf pan).

The brownie layer was pretty standard.  My cheesecake batter was super-loose, though, and I was a little nervous that it wouldn’t set-up.  I wasn’t able to swirl the extra brownie batter into it, so I just plopped bits on (hence the leopard-print spots) and crossed my fingers as it went into the oven.  Success!  The heat did it’s trick, and everything cooked up fine.

I decided at first to go without Dorie’s suggested sour cream topping for the brownies, but after eating them the first night, I thought they needed more chocolate pop.  So the second night, I topped the remaining pieces with a chocolate sour cream topping.  Not bad, not bat at all.

For the recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, or read Life in a Peanut Shell.  Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll!

Tuesdays with Dorie: Brownie Buttons

Boy, are we cruising through the brownie section of BFMHTY.  Who knew there were so many types of brownies out there?  The latest take on these little squares of chocolatey goodness are actually not squares at all, but Brownie Buttons, chosen by Jayma of Two Scientists Experimenting in the Kitchen.

Baking the batter in a mini-muffin tin is all it really takes to turn your brownies into “buttons.”  There is some optional orange zest in this batter…I’m not usually a fan of fruit and chocolate, so I opted out.  I said “yes, please” to the white chocolate topping, though.

These gave a good little chocolate pop, but I won’t lie and say that I was only able to eat one at a time!  For that reason, I’ll probably stick to regular brownies (OMG– who else made these?!?), but I can see myself making these again if I need to do a cookie platter.

For the recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, or read Two Scientists Experimenting in the Kitchen.  Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll!