Tuesdays with Dorie BCM: Honey-Nut Nougat
December 24, 2019 at 8:42 am | Posted in BCM, candy, groups, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 8 CommentsTags: candy, holiday, nuts
Happy holidays! Is Christmas Eve too late to show you a fabulous edible, homemade gift idea? I admit that I am one of those last minute types, but I really think it isn’t too late, as this Honey-Nut Nougat can be ready to cut up in a just couple of hours (provided you have a candy thermometer and an abundance of nuts in your pantry). And anyway, we still have plenty of party-time ahead of us. This isn’t difficult to make, but the instructions are lengthy, and since you’ll be dealing with a hot sugar syrup, it’s advisable to read them all the way first. Trust me, I would almost never say that, as I would almost never do that, but here it’s important, because timing is everything in candy-making.
You can find nougat in every Italian deli/specialty shop year-round, but the nice thing about making it yourself, aside from the freshness and the fun, is getting to choose exactly what goes into it. Dorie’s recipe uses heaps of roasted nuts, so I went for a combo of hazelnuts, almonds and pistachios, along with tart dried cherries. Nougat is traditionally formed between sheets of edible rice/wafer paper to help with the stickiness, but you can use cornstarch and powdered sugar instead. I actually had the rice paper, which I bought the last time I was in Australia (now that I write that down, it seems like a weird souvenier)…you can also get it online and in decorating supply stores.
This is delicious–chewy and full of nuts and honey flavor–and it lasts for a few weeks, so if you don’t take it to a holiday party, you can just cut off little hunks as you want them. Which will probably be often.
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: Snowy-Topped Brownie Drops
December 17, 2019 at 12:01 am | Posted in cookies & bars, DC, groups, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 4 CommentsTags: baking, cookies, holiday
What happens when you take brownie batter and treat it like a crinkle cookie? You get Snowy-Topped Brownie Drops! So cute! So tasty! OMG!
Just like making brownies, this is a hand-mixed dough, so it’s easy to put together. I flavored mine with a bit of mint extract instead of vanilla, because ’tis the season for peppermint treats. The dough does need some time in the fridge to firm up before scooping, since it really more of a loose batter when just made. After you scoop and roll the dough into cookie balls, dredge it in a ton of powdered sugar. And I mean coat them well, or else the sugar will sort of absorb into the dough as the cookies bake and it won’t look like a snowy day on Mount Brownie. I baked mine for exactly the time stated in the recipe and they came out fudgy and chewy and with enough powdered sugar still clinging to the crackles to make me cough just a little. Perfect.
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: Touch-of-Crunch Chocolate Cake
December 10, 2019 at 12:01 am | Posted in BCM, cakes & tortes, groups, simple cakes, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 5 CommentsTags: baking, cake, chocolate
I totally didn’t realized what this Touch-of-Crunch Chocolate Cake was all about until I actually went to make it. I just thought, “gonna make a chocolate cake today,” and assumed it would be like most others. Then I had to switch out my cake pan for a pie plate, get a double boiler going and locate some black sesame seeds in the freezer (they’re the hidden crunch in the batter). But what a nice surprise this turned out to be. It baked up with a pretty, crackly, brownie-like crust and a rich mousse-like middle. Super chocolatey, there’s not much in the way of dry ingredient binder here…just a spoonful of flour or cornstarch. I used cornstarch to keep it GF. Dorie says that this cake shines straight from the fridge, and it does, but I actually preferred it at room temperature, when it’s smooth like a truffle, except for that touch-of-crunch from the surprise sesame seeds of course!
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: Double-Ginger Molasses Cookies
December 3, 2019 at 12:01 am | Posted in cookies & bars, DC, groups, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 6 CommentsTags: baking, cookies, holiday
I love these Double-Ginger Molasses Cookies. I love them so much. Not only do these molasses-spice cookies have double ginger (ground and crystalized), they also have double chocolate (cocoa and bits)! I want to share them with everyone I know, but I also want to eat them all myself. That, my friends, is the sign of a fabulous cookie.
Once you have your dough mixed and portioned into balls, you can bake the cookies free-form, but I went with Dorie’s muffin tin option, which keeps them chubby and chewy and perfectly shaped (especially if you weigh each dough ball…I used 26-28 grams per). The dough is rolled in sugar before baking…I do suggest flattening the balls into pucks before dredging them in sugar, instead of after. You can flatten them gently in your hand and then toss them in the sugar before laying them into the muffin tin. If the sugar gets pressed all the way into the dough, you might lose the sparkly, crunchy effect.
These are definitely worthy of your cookie box, your cookie swap or your secret hidden alone-time cookie tin (I know you have one!). 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: Caramelized-Coffee Bean Pots de Crème
November 26, 2019 at 12:01 am | Posted in BCM, groups, pudding/mousse, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 7 CommentsTags: caramel, coffee, custard
Pots de crème are luxurious baked custards (pots of cream! and egg yolks!), and these Caramelized-Coffee Bean Pots de Crème are flavored with cracked coffee beans further roasted and toasted in caramelized sugar. Pots de crème are rich, and a small-ish serving will do. I baked these babies off in some cute little French yogurt pots that I had to go all the way to Europe to collect! Turns out it was worthwhile trip. I served my cream pots with a little whipped cream and some chocolate covered espresso beans.
For the recipe, see Baking Chez Moi by Dorie Greenspan. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TWD Blogroll.
Everyday Dorie: Apple Custard Crisp
November 22, 2019 at 12:01 am | Posted in cobbler/crisp/shorties, cook the book fridays, everyday dorie, groups, sweet things | 6 CommentsTags: baking, everyday dorie, fruit
Nothing against pie, but I honestly like a fruit crisp or crumble just as well. Some people won’t agree with this, but me, I’m mostly eating pie for the filling. Why not just skip the crust and sprinkle on a little sweet streusel instead? So much easier and just as good, IMO. This Apple Custard Crisp ups the easy deliciousness with a creamy brown sugar custard (quickly whisked up in a measuring cup) that’s poured over the apples before the streusel goes on top. My custard didn’t really come out saucy when baked, but it coated the apples luxuriously. The no-oat streusel baked up crispy and not too sweet, and the recipe for it made extra, so I have some in the freezer for another custard crisp when the urge strikes.
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: Croquets
November 12, 2019 at 12:01 am | Posted in BCM, cookies & bars, groups, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 8 CommentsTags: baking, cookies
If you are like me and need a little treat to go with your coffee, then you’ll appreciate what these Croquets have to offer. Crisp and sugary, with lotsa nuts (I used macadamias, and also a pinch of cinnamon), they are a perfect saucer sidekick.
They are not flourless, but the base of the dough is a meringue. Therefore, the dough is sticky but it bakes up sweet and with a crackly crust. The dough is formed into logs, which are cut after baking, biscotti-style. The croquets don’t need a second bake, though– they are very crunchy. In fact I think croquet must be a play on the word croquant, which means “crunchy” in French (unless it has to do with the lawn game, in which case I’m baffled!). This crunchiness makes them excellent coffee dunkers, but they’re also good smashed up a bit and sprinkled on an ice cream sundae.
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: Chocolate-Pecan Pie Cookie Bars
November 5, 2019 at 8:36 am | Posted in cookies & bars, DC, groups, pies & tarts, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 4 CommentsTags: baking, cookies, pie
Dare I say that I like these Chocolate-Pecan Pie Cookie Bars even more than I like pecan pie? These have heaps of pecan and chocolate pieces, with just enough goo to hold them together. And the base is Dorie’s Sweet Tart Dough, which is so easy to work with. I didn’t even need to roll it out or to chill it before baking it here…I whizzed the dough up in the food processor, pressed it into the pan, weighed it down and it was ready to blind bake right away. The cookie bars are easier and faster to make than pie, and they cool faster, too. (That means you can be eating them faster!)
I made a half recipe in a loaf pan, but if you have a big crowd to serve, go for the full 9-inch square because they’ll be gone fast. If you need to make them in advance, they seem to keep just fine for a few days in the fridge.
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: Petite Apple Croustades
October 22, 2019 at 12:01 am | Posted in BCM, groups, pies & tarts, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 5 CommentsTags: baking, fruit, galette
Wow– I am just going to brag and say that my Petite Apple Croustades came out so beautifully! I was totally not expecting that. Working with phyllo dough (the “crust” for these) always makes me a bit crazed because I refuse to cover it or handle it gently. I go fast and messy…so I usually expect the results to look messy, too. Instead of raggedy wads, I opened the oven to find perfectly bronzed and frilly apple-phyllo bundles looking out at me. Why, hello there!
Each croustade is made from six strips of buttered and sugared phyllo arranged in a muffin tin. I can see the assembly work being a bit tedious, but I only made two of them, so it wasn’t a big deal. And the mess I made was fairly small, haha. Add in a filling of caramelized cooked apples (I soaked raisins in Grand Marnier and put them in, too), twist up the overlapping phyllo strips around it and you’re good to bake. I had a little filling left over that, along with some caramel ice cream, I spooned on the side. A perfect fall dessert.
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: White Chocolate and Poppy Seed Cookies
October 15, 2019 at 8:04 am | Posted in cookies & bars, DC, groups, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 3 CommentsTags: baking, cookies
White Chocolate and Poppy Seed Cookies are another riff on Dorie’s Do-Almost-Anything Vanilla Cookie Dough. This time the tasty sugar cookie dough contains, you guessed it, chopped white chocolate and poppy seeds. These bake up nice and crisp and the little bits of white chocolate in the dough kind of caramelize with the heat of the baking sheet. Do watch them in the oven at the end though…the edges can go from blonde to brown quite quickly. After the cookies have cooled, you can ice them with a bit more melted white chocolate, or just leave them be if you want something a tad less sweet.
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!
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