Snickerdoodles Revisited

Remember these?  They were supposed to be a one time deal.  But somehow I've managed to get suckered into making snickerdoodles once again.  I figured I'd try a new recipe, and this one came out wonderful.  These cookies are soft, light, and airy with slightly crunchy edges.  Be sure to follow the instructions on taking them out of the oven, and no, 300 degrees is not a typo!

Snickerdoodles (Revisited)
from here
Yield: 16-18 cookies
Ingredients
1/2 c. butter (1 stick), softened
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/3 c. brown sugar
1 egg, room temperature
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
For rolling:
2 tbs. granulated sugar
1 tbs. cinnamon
Directions
1. In a medium sized bowl, combine the dry ingredients: flour, salt, baking soda, and cream of tartar.  Set aside.
2. In another medium sized bowl, cream together the butter and sugars.  Add the egg and vanilla.  Beat until smooth.
3.  Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix well.  It's going to look very dry for a while, but keep mixing.  Now would be a good time to use your fingers, if you aren't squeamish about that sort of thing.
4. Wrap the dough tightly in saran wrap and place in the fridge for 30 to 60 minutes.
5. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
6.  In a small bowl, mix the rolling ingredients: sugar and cinnamon.
7.  Take a golf ball sized amount of dough and roll it into a ball.  Drop it in the bowl with the sugar and cinnamon mixture and roll around until coated.  Flatten cookie dough gently with the palm of your hand.  Place on ungreased cookie sheet.
8.  Bake cookies for 12-14 minutes and no more.  Leave on the baking sheet for 3-4 minutes.  They may seem undercooked when you take them out of the oven, but they will continue to cook on the cookie sheet.

Challah

Recipe: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ruthieki/57754872/

Raspberry Clafoutis

Recipe: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/08/the_great_cobbl/

Stuffed Cheese Buns

Original recipe: http://www.yammiesnoshery.com/2012/08/peetas-stuffed-cheese-buns.html
Modifications: provolone cheese, cheddar for the top, made them smaller

texture like dinner rolls
don't forget the butter+herb mixture on top

Vanilla Custard with Fig and Lime Compote

http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2012/08/vanilla-custards-with-roasted-blueberries/
 http://theindolentcook.blogspot.com/2012/04/lime-fig-compote-existential-crisis.html

One Bowl Brownies

So these are Smitten Kitchen's favorite brownies.  I can't promise to say I see why, because they didn't wow me or Sally, but they're a pretty good brownie recipe and relatively quick to make.

Original Recipe: http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2012/08/my-favorite-brownies/
Modifications: 1/3 c less sugar, added 1/4 t. cinnamon
made in a 8x6 glass pan because we're rebels like that (turn down the temp 25 degrees )

Ebleskiver

 
http://www.reluctantgourmet.com/blog/dessert-recipes/making-danish-pancakes-ebleskiver/
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/aebleskiver/
http://www.theidearoom.net/tag/best-aebleskiver-recipe

Gooey Butter Cookies

Recipe: http://www.lottieanddoof.com/2011/12/day-5-mathew-rice-and-gooey-butter-cookies/

Ghughra

http://www.rakskitchen.net/2010/04/badhusha.html
http://www.dessarts.com/2010/10/traditional-diwali-treats-ghugra-karanji.html

Teaser pics!

Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice

I expected more from these cookies.  They were soft and chewy with crunchy edges and just a hint of spice.  When Joy the Baker describes them as chocolate chip cookies without the chocolate chips, she's right.  And that's what was missing.  Silly Sally and I, attempting to make cookies without chocolate... that never ends well.

Brown Sugar Cookies
adapted from here and here
makes 2 dozen cookies
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
12 tbs. (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups dark brown sugar
1 large egg
Directions
1. Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, and cinnamon in a medium sized bowl.
2. In a separate bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy (yes, your arm will want to fall off if you do this by hand).  Add the egg and beat into the mix.  Add the dry mixture and stir until combined (it will look very dry at first, just keep mixing and everything will come together).
3.  Cover the bowl with saran wrap and chill for about 1 hour.
4.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
5.  Roll about a tablespoon full of dough into a ball and flatten.  Place dough on a baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches of space between each cookie (seriously.  these things spread).  Bake 8 minutes, turning the tray halfway through.  The edges should be slightly brown.  Leave the cookies on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes, until set (seriously.  they will fall apart if you try to move them sooner. and you will be sad).  Transfer to a cooling rack.

An Apple Tart

There is always a chance, in any endeavor, that something will go horribly wrong.  A badly written recipe, poorly described instructions, forgetting to add a vital ingredient - what? You've never done that?  Never been so careless as to simply misplace that last 2 tbsp. of butter or miscount the number of cups of flour?

When Sally first learned of my forgetful nature, she was sympathetic.  Granted, my muttering questions about the location of my cell phone or car keys had no direct impact on her.  But when my minor bouts of amnesia started to intrude on her life (hours stranded in parking lots on cold winter nights searching for the car, Christmas presents in July...) she decided to take a stand.  There would be no forgetfulness around Sally.  Twas simply not allowed.

Unfortunately, it doesn't work like that.  Oh, things certainly got better now that I had an incentive to remember things - breaking a 5 year friendship due to misplaced birthday cards was not too dramatic for Sally - but every now any then, I would have a minor relapse.

Like when it came to this tart.  This gorgeous, delicious, flaky apply tart.  That survived a minor scorching in the oven due to my forgetfulness... good thing I checked on it 15 minutes in, and was able to save most of it.  I'd say "Don't tell Sally!" except she obviously already knows - good thing the apple tart was yummy enough to distract her.

Alice Water's Apple Tart
adapted (more like followed) from here
Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
6 tbs. (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, softened, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
3 1/2 tbs. chilled water
2 pounds apples (I used 4 granny smith), peeled, cored (save the peels and cores), and sliced
2 tbs. unsalted butter, melted
3 tbs. sugar
1/4 cup sugar (glaze)
Directions
1.  Mix flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl.  Add 2 tbs. of the butter.  Mix until dough resembles coarse cornmeal.  Add remaining butter and mix until pieces look like large peas.
2.  Pour in some of the water, mix, and then add more until dough just holds together.  Toss with hands until it's ropy with some dry patches.  Keep tossing until you can roll dough into a ball.  Flatten into a 4-inch-thick disk and refrigerate.  Remove after at least 30 minutes and let soften.  Smooth cracks at edges.  Roll out dough into a 14-inch circle about 1/8 inch thick on a lightly floured surface.
3.  Place dough into lightly greased 9-inch round tart pan.  Heat oven to 400 degrees F.
4.  Place apple slices on dough in a ring, continue inward until reaching the center.  Fold the dough hanging off the edge of the pan onto itself and crimp edges at 1 inch intervals.
5.  Brush melted butter over apples and onto dough edge.  Sprinkle 3 tablespoons sugar over dough edge and apples.  Place tart in oven until edges brown (about 45 minutes, make sure to rotate tart every 15 minutes).
6.  Meanwhile, make the glaze by putting apple peels and cores in saucepan with 1/4 cup sugar.  Pour in just enough water to cover, and simmer for 30-45 minutes.  Strain syrup through cheesecloth.
7.  Remove tart from oven, let cool for 15 minutes.  Brush glaze over tart, then slice and serve.

Banana Bottom Baked Oatmeal

This isn't the healthy recipe the title would lead you to think.  Nope, it's chock full of sugary and buttery goodness, perfect for those cool fall mornings.  Maybe even too much sugar - though, according to Sally, you can never have too much sugar.

(pre-oven photo shoot)

It's perfect for those mornings when you crave something more substantial than milk and cereal and more satisfying than a granola bar.  The texture is similar to a dense, chewy granola bar, and the fruit on the bottom is a nice surprise.  Keep some in the fridge and reheat whenever you're craving oatmeal - it lasted a week before Sally and I managed to finish it all.

Banana Bottom Baked Oatmeal
makes around 6 servings
adapted from Annie's Eats
Ingredients
1/2 cup steel cut oats
2 tbsp. unsalted butter, divided
1 1/2 cups very hot water
2 bananas, sliced
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp. brown sugar, divided
2 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon, divided
1 tsp. cardamom (optional)
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
Dash ground cloves
2 tbs. maple syrup (optional)
1 tsp. salt
3/4 cup milk
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (you can use a toaster oven - Sally and I did).  Lightly grease a 1 quart baking dish (an 8x8 glass dish would be perfect, or a large pyrex bowl)
2. Add the steel cut oats into a large bowl with 1 tablespoon of the butter.  Pout the hot water over the oats and cover the bowl.  Let sit for 20 minutes.
3. For the caramelized bananas: Melt the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter in a medium skillet over medium heat.  Add the bananas, 1 tablespoon of brown sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon to the pan.  Toss gently and cook briefly, about 2 minutes.  Stop before the bananas start to break apart.  Remove from heat and pour into prepared baking dish.  Spread evenly on bottom of dish.
4. After the steel cut oats are done, stir in the old fashioned oats, remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar, maple syrup, salt, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, and cloves.  Add the milk.
5. Pour the oatmeal mixture on top of the bananas.  Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes.  Remove and let cool before serving. To reheat leftover oatmeal, place in microwave bowl, add a dribble or two of milk, and reheat in microwave for 30 seconds.

Teaser pics!

Are you ready for fall yet? Coming soon:

Caramelized Bananas & Baked Oatmeal

Simple Apple Tart

Non-edible but still gorgeous:

Pouding Chomeur in a mug

You've heard of cake in a mug?  The infamous yummy 5-minute cake made in mug in the microwave, single serving of deliciousness? No?  It's delicious. You should try it.

This isn't a recipe for cake in a mug.  Well, it is, but not the kind you'd expect.  Because Pouding Chomeur isn't technically cake.  It's more like a mix of cake and frosting, all rolled in one.  Made in Canada since the fur trading days, pouding chomeur is French for "poor man's pudding."

This isn't a traditional recipe for Pouding Chomeur either.  Sally says this is more like bread pudding, because of the addition of fruit, but she admits the texture is more like cake than bread.  Technically, in pouding chomeur, one would leave the brown sugar sauce on top of the batter instead of stirring it in like I suggested.  But when baking in the oven, there's more time for the sugar to seep into the cake - here it only has 3 minutes, so I decided to help it along.

Pouding Chomeur (in a mug)
adapted from here, advice taken from here
serves: 1!
Ingredients
1/2 tbs. butter
1 tbs. sugar
1/4 egg (I know, it's silly, use the other 3/4 to make some scrambled eggs... or more cake in a mug)
drop of vanilla
3 tbs. flour (divided)
1 tbs. milk
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 apple, peeled, chopped
10-12 raisins
2 tbs. brown sugar
2 tbs. water
Directions
1. Make sure your ingredients are at room temperature! Then, in a microwave-safe mug, cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy.  Add in the egg, beat again until well combined.  Add the drop of vanilla.
2. Add 2 tbs. of flour, stir into the egg mixture.  Add the milk and stir again.  Pile on the remaining 1 tbs of flour, baking powder, and cinnamon on top of the batter.  Stir it all together until smooth.  Add the apples raisins and stir once or twice.
3.  Mix the brown sugar and water in a separate small bowl, microwave 30 seconds until bubbling.  Pour on top of the batter and stir once.  Microwave the mug for 3 minutes, watching carefully.  The cake is done when it bubbles up.

Scallion Pancakes

I know I mentioned we have no flour, and it's true.  We have no all-purpose, standard, white flour.  What we do have is atta, which is half all-purpose and half wheat.  Along with rice flour, gram flour, chickpea flour, and several other never-heard-of don't-know-what-they're-used-for flours.

And since I'm going stir crazy rounding up all these recipes that just happen to require the one pesky ingredient we don't have, Sally suggested doing a little substituting.  Switch the amount of all-purpose flour for the same amount of atta, plug and chug, and ta-da! scallion pancake.

Kinda. Sorta. Maybe.  Ok, they turned out perfectly normal, except for the extra-brown color and a little bit more stiffness to the dough than usual.  And hey, they're a little extra-healthy too. It's a nice plus.

Scallion pancakes are the perfect thing to make when you have too many scallions.  They don't require many ingredients (aside from flour), assembly is a snap, and they last a while in the fridge.  Just reheat them in the microwave for about 20 seconds and you'll be good to go.

I've seen them served with a soy sauce/vinegar sauce before, but seeing as we didn't have either of those, I didn't bother to look up a proper recipe for it.  And they're just as delicious on their own.

Scallion Pancakes
adapted from here and here
makes about 10 pancakes
Ingredients
2 cups flour
1/2 cup hot water
1/3 cup cold water
4-6 scallions, minced
salt, to taste
sesame oil
Directions
1. Mix together flour and hot water in a medium sized bowl.  Add the cold water and knead the dough until smooth (~20 strokes).  Cover dough with damp towel, let rise for 15 minutes.
2.  Pinch off a piece of dough and roll it into a ball (1 1/2 - 2 inches in diameter, a little bigger than a golf ball). Flatten it in your palm and place on floured surface.  Use rolling pin to roll out dough into a circle as thin as possible (1/16th inch).
3. Spread sesame oil over the flattened dough (about 1 tsp), sprinkle some salt and add some scallions.  Roll the dough horizontally (to make a tube- or just look at the picture here).  Then swirl the dough around like a snail's tail and press flat.  Roll the dough out with a rolling pin again (1/8th inch thick).
4.  Heat a flat pan, the kind used for making omelets or pancakes, on the stove with a drop of oil in it.  Add the pancake when the oil is hot.  Flip over the pancake when one side turns brown, cook the other side, and you're done!

French Onion Soup

Fall is upon us and it's time for something hearty and delicious... well, maybe not so hearty, but definitely delicious.  Sally happened to buy a ginormous red onion from the market last weekend and we've spent the last three days eating salads while attempting to whittle down this bulbous vegetable before it starts to rot.  Too bad there's just so much salad a girl can take.  And only so much onion breath.

We started searching for recipes with red onions, trying to find something to break the monotony of lettuce+tomatoes+cucumbers+red onion salad.  Couscous and red onion?  Chickpea red onion salad? Tandoori chicken and red onion pizza?  The last one sounded tempting, but we're out of flour.

Yes, you heard me.  The queen of baking (ahem, Sally) is out of flour.  Which may or may not have contributed to our long absence.  But never fear! Delicious delicacies can be made with or without flour... whether they'll end up baked is another question.

Finally we settled on french onion soup.  Sally's a huge fan of this simple soup, consisting of only a couple ingredients (onions, broth, oil, and some seasoning. Oh, and of course, the whole french bread+cheese thing.  Which we totally have.  Totally.).  She's also a huge fan of onion breath. Which you will not get with this soup, I promise.

As simple as the recipe was, it called for a bit of modification. Mostly because we didn't have dry white wine. Normally I'd just substitute an equal amount of chicken broth and call it a day, but we were already using chicken broth as a substitute for the beef broth.  So that didn't seem right.  Our options: red wine, vinegar, mirin, and sparkling grape juice. We went with the red wine, not sure if it was the best choice, but hey, our taste buds didn't mind.

French Onion Soup
adapted from here, here, here, oh and here too.
makes 2 bowls of soup
Ingredients*
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 garlic clove, minced
2 cups chicken or beef broth
1/8 cup dry white wine
1 bay leaf
2 black peppercorns
salt to taste, about 1/4 tsp
4 baguette slices, 1/4 inch thick, toasted
1/4 cup shredded cheese (Gruyere is traditional, we used Swiss)
Directions
1. Heat the oil in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat.  Add the onions, toss with a wooden spoon to coat them in oil.  Cover the pot and reduce the heat to low.  Let the onions steep for 15 minutes.
2. Uncover the pot, increase the heat to medium.  Cook the onions for 30-40 minutes, stirring frequently, until they caramelize.  They'll turn a little grey-ish in color and clump together.
3. Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute.  Pour in the wine, stir, then add a little bit of the stock at a time, stirring in between each addition.  Add the bay leaf and peppercorns.  
4.  Bring the liquid to a simmer and leave it partially covered for 30-40 more minutes, skimming the top if it becomes frothy.  Add the salt.  Remove the bay leaf.
5. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.  Bring the soup to a boil and ladle the soup into two ovenproof bowls.  Set the bowls on a foil-lined baking sheet and add two slices of bread to each bowl to float on top of the soup.  Divide the cheese and mound it on top of the bread.
6. Bake the soup on the tray for 10 minutes, then turn on the broiler and brown the top lightly.  Serve immediately.

*Note: yes, I know the measurements are a bit crazy.  The reason Sally and I decided to leave it this way is because we're cooking for two people rather than the six people most recipes seemed to call for, and figured other people in smaller households might appreciate the scaled down version.  (or maybe we're just too lazy to do the math to scale it up.)  If you'd like to feed six people, take a look at the ingredient list for one of the adapted from recipes to get the proper proportions.

Alice Medrich's Best Cocoa Brownies

It's generally believed that the best brownies must be made from chocolate.  Chocolate, not cocoa powder, which was the one thing that Sally and I did not have this weekend.  Luckily, the First Lady of Chocolate came to our rescue with this rich and fudgy cocoa brownie recipe.

 These brownies are reputed to have the taste and texture of box brownies, which I would not know, as every pan of box brownies I have attempted to make has hardened/burnt/generally been inedible, regardless of how early I take them out of the oven.  These, on the other hand, did not burn, have not yet hardened, and are delicious.  Not too sweet (in fact, Sally thinks they could use a bit more sugar!), very chocolatey, and extremely dense.

Best Cocoa Brownies
Adapted from Alice Medrich’s Bittersweet, or online here 
Ingredients
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (natural or Dutch-process)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs, cold
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup walnut or pecan pieces (optional)
Directions
1. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 325°F. Line the bottom and sides of an 8×8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper or foil, leaving an overhang on two opposite sides.
2. Combine the butter, sugar, cocoa, and salt in a medium bowl and microwave for about 1 minute. Stir until the butter is melted and microwave another 30 seconds.  The mixture should be relatively smooth and hot enough that you want to remove your finger fairly quickly after dipping it in to test. Set the bowl aside briefly until the mixture is only warm, not hot.
3. Stir in the vanilla with a wooden spoon. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring vigorously after each one. When the batter looks thick, shiny, and well blended, add the flour and stir until you cannot see it any longer, then beat vigorously for 40 strokes with the wooden spoon or a rubber spatula. Stir in the nuts, if using.
4. Spread evenly in the lined pan. Bake in oven until a toothpick plunged into the center emerges slightly moist with batter, about 30-40 minutes. Let cool completely on a rack.
5. Lift up the ends of the parchment or foil liner, and transfer the brownies to a cutting board. Cut into 16 or 25 squares. (or random shapes, as I did above.)

Double Chocolate Mint Cookies

Happy St. Patty's Day!  Here are some cookies for you:

Aww, don't they look delicious?  They are.  Very delicious.  So fudgy and chocolaty, with just a hint of mint.  All for me and none for you.

Double Chocolate Mint Cookies
adapted from Annie's Eats here and Une Gamine dans la Cuisine here
Ingredients
1/2 cup of dark cocoa powder
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 cup butter, cut into chunks
1 1/4 cups of sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon of pure peppermint extract
2 1/2 cups of bittersweet chocolate chips (I threw in some mint chocolate chips too)
1/4 cup sugar (optional)
Directions
1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder, flour, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.
2. In another bowl, combine the butter and sugar. Beat together until well combined, light, and fluffy (about 3-4 minutes). Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the peppermint extract and mix until well combined.
3. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until just combined. The dough is very thick, so you might need to use your hands to work in the last streaks of flour.
4. Using a large spatula (or your hands), fold in the chocolate chips.
5. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight.
6. Preheat the oven to 350F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
7. Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Roll into 1 inch balls and flatten and shape (they don't spread very much).  Press into granulated sugar until evenly coated.
8. Place onto the prepared cookie sheets. Bake for 12-14 minutes. (Note: There really is no visual clue as to when these cookies are done, just don't over bake them.)
9. Allow them to rest on the cookies sheets for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. 

Makes about 40 cookies.

Sally Lunn Bread

Life's been having its way with Sally and I for the past month.  We've honestly been too busy wrapped in our own little worlds to contemplate baking anything.  Except, we did make cookies.  Once.  Though there's no evidence left of them, so it's like it never happened at all...

Since I took the time to bake this bread, I figured I might as well take the time to photograph it (with my awful phone camera, in the horrible lighting of my kitchen) before we scarf it down.  Because it is just that good.  Luckily the recipe is quite simple and perfect for days when you have tons of work to do.  You can find it here, on Smitten Kitchen's blog, and I'm not going to take the time to write it all out myself because I'm lazy this girl's got tons of work to do and not much time to do it in.  I did make some modifications, but none of them were particularly life-changing or awe-inspiring... at least, not enough to convince me to type out the directions.

I will say one thing.  Yes, you can make bread in a 9" pie pan.  Yes, that is what I did.  Yes, I did cut the recipe in half just in case it overflowed (which it obviously is nowhere close to doing).  If you don't have a bread pan and would still like to make this bread, please don't let a silly little thing like not having a bread pan stop you. Just remember to adjust the baking time and check often.