French macaroons

These turned out amazing! Hubby made the cookies and I made the buttercream. We brought just under two dozen to a party and they were a huge hit.

For the cookies, we adapted Bon Appetit Magazine's recipe. For the filling, I used Martha Stewart's Swiss Meringue Buttercream recipe. Actually, I think both recipes are virtually the same for the cookies and filling.

COOKIES

The Bon Appetit recipe says that this makes about three dozen sandwich cookies, but for us it was more like two dozen.

Ingredients

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 cup (lightly packed) sifted almond flour, or 3/4 cup sifted almond flour and 1/4 cup sifted hazelnut flour (sifted, then measured; any coarse particles reserved for another use)
• 1/2 cup (scant) egg whites (from about 3 large eggs)
• 2 tablespoons plus 1/2 teaspoon sugar 

Directions

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 375F.
2. Sift powdered sugar, almond flour, and hazelnut flour (if using) into large bowl.
3. Using electric mixer, beat egg whites, sugar, and pinch of salt in medium bowl until medium (soft) peaks form.
4. Add egg white mixture to almond mixture; fold to incorporate.
5. Working in 2 batches, fill pastry bag fitted with 1/4-inch-diameter plain pastry tip with batter (batter will be thin and will drip from bag). Pipe batter in 11/4-inch rounds on baking sheets, spacing 1 inch apart (cookies will spread slightly). Let rest on sheets at room temperature 20 minutes.
6. Bake cookies about 5 minutes. (Hubby did it for about 3-4 minutes.) Reduce oven temperature to 325F.  Continue to bake cookies until puffed and golden on top, about 10 minutes. 
7. Remove from oven. Cool until cookies can be peeled off parchment. Cool cookies on a wire rack.

FILLING

The Martha Stewart recipe says this makes about 3 cups, which is fairly accurate. I only used about half of it for my two dozen cookies. So for the above cookies, I'd recommend cutting it down by at least one-third.

Ingredients

• 3 large egg whites
• 1 cup sugar (edit: I did find the buttercream too sweet for my taste so I think this could be cut down a bit)
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter at room temperature, cut into pieces
• 1 tsp vanilla, almond extract or other flavouring of choice

Directions

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk egg whites and sugar. Set mixer bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and heat mixture, whisking often, until it feels warm to the touch and sugar is dissolved, 3 to 5 minutes.
2. Transfer bowl to the mixer, and fit with the whisk attachment. Whip on high speed until mixture is stiff and shiny, 3 to 5 minutes. Add butter, one piece at a time, and continue mixing until butter is thoroughly incorporated. (Whip in vanilla, almond extract or other flavouring at this point.) The filling can be kept, covered and refrigerated, up to 1 week. Bring to room temperature before stirring.
3. Variations: To make hazelnut-honey filling: In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup of macaroon filling with 1/3 cup finely ground hazelnuts and 2 tablespoons good-quality honey.

Using a pastry bag, pipe about 1 tsp of filling onto the bottoms of half of the cookies. Press the rest of the cookies, bottom side onto the buttercream. Chill overnight. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.

French macaroons preview

We're making these for a party tomorrow. So far, the cookies are done, and now I shall move on to the buttercream filling.

I hope to be able to post tomorrow that these were a huge success. So far, so good.

Baked: Banana Muffins

My mom scribbled down this recipe from a friend's book and made these regularly when I was a kid. When I got to university, I made them so often that I eventually memorized the recipe. I made a lot of friends with these muffins. They are super moist and fluffy and make a wonderful breakfast. I zap the leftover muffins in the microwave for about 10-15 seconds each to make them taste just as good as freshly baked.

Depending on my mood, I may or may not add chocolate chips - fantastic either way. This time, I did half a batch of each. :)

Ingredients

• 3 large bananas - the riper, the better
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1/3 cup melted butter or vegetable oil
• chocolate chips, chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions

1. Mash the bananas.
2. Add the sugar & egg, mix.
3. Add the melted butter/oil, mix.
4. Add the dry ingredients, mix.
5. Bake at 350F for 20 minutes.

Baked: Chocolate Chip Muffins

I'm craving something sweet and cakey for breakfast, and I do have a box of Tastykakes sitting around... but I couldn't very well eat just Tastykakes for breakfast. (Could I?) Anyway, I've been in a cooking and baking funk lately so I thought I'd break out of it by making myself a batch of muffins.

The basic (chip-less) recipe is once again from my trusty BHG Baking Book. It's not a complicated recipe by any means, but that's what I love about it. I had everything on hand and it took no time to whip these up. They're nice and light, not too sweet or rich. But really, these are all about the chocolate chips. There are also lots of other variations at the end of this post.

Ingredients

1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 beaten egg
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup cooking oil (I have been known to substitute melted butter in the past)
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Grease twelve 2-1/2 inch muffin cups or line with paper baking cups; set aside.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in the centre of dry mixture; set aside.
3. In another mixing bowl, combine egg, milk, and oil. Add the egg mixture all at once to the dry mixture. Stir just until moistened; batter should be lumpy. Fold in the chocolate chips.
4. Spoon batter in prepared muffin cups, filling each two-thirds full. Bake in a 400F oven about 20 minutes or until golden. Cool in muffin cups on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Remove from muffin cups; serve warm.

Variations
(These obviously don't include chocolate chips)

Buttermilk muffins: add 1/4 tsp baking soda to dry mixture and substitute buttermilk or sour milk for the milk.

Cheese muffins: stir 1/2 cup (2 oz) shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese into dry mixture.

Cranberry muffins: combine 1 cup coarsely chopped cranberries and 2 tbsp additional sugar. Fold into batter.

Oatmeal muffins: reduce flour to 1-1/3 cups and add 3/4 cup rolled oats to dry mixture.

Poppy seed muffins: increase sugar to 1/2 cup and add 1 tbsp poppy seed to dry mixture.

This recipe also lists a variation to make banana muffins, but I have an even better banana muffin recipe which I will post some other time.

Baked: Cocoa Cookies

I found these cocoa cookies one evening when I had an urge for cookies, but found myself low on baking ingredients. I didn't love them at first because they seemed like a poor man's drier, less sweet, and Nutella-less version of the Chocolate Hazelnut Thumbprint Cookies I had made before, but they've since really grown on me. (I would have made the thumbprint cookies but I didn't have icing sugar or enough eggs.) They have a nice light cocoa flavour, but a satisfyingly heavy texture. They go great with a cup of tea or coffee.

I admit: I thumbprinted in them in case they needed the Nutella

From The Boston Globe

Ingredients

• 3 cups flour
• 6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup sugar (I used brown sugar)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• Extra sugar (for sprinkling)

Directions

1. Set the oven at 400 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, and salt; set aside.
3. In an electric mixer, cream the butter. Add the sugar gradually, beating until smooth. Add the vanilla and eggs, one by one, beating until thoroughly blended.
4. With the mixer set on low speed, beat in the flour mixture. You'll have to finish mixing with your hands; the batter is quite stiff.
5. Spoon rounded tablespoons of batter into your palms and roll into 1-inch balls. Set on the baking sheets about 1 inch apart. Press down with the tines of a fork, once in each direction, to create a crisscross pattern. Continue until all the cookies are shaped and marked.
6. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until the bottoms are slightly brown. While they are hot, sprinkle the tops with extra sugar. Cool for 5 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Baked: Big Soft Ginger Cookies

Continuing the fall theme, I thought I'd take a stab at these ginger cookies. OK, I suppose ginger cookies are more of a Christmas thing, but anyway. It's a great comfort cookie.

Whoops. That would be a ginger cat.

Small oven -> Small cookie sheet -> Square cookies

I tried replacing the ground ginger with a few tablespoons of grated fresh ginger, but it still wasn't gingery enough for my liking. So I wouldn't recommend it.

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup margarine, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 2 tablespoons white sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Sift together the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the margarine and 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, then stir in the water and molasses. Gradually stir the sifted ingredients into the molasses mixture. Shape dough into walnut sized balls, and roll them in the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar. Place the cookies 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet, and flatten slightly.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

Baked: Classic Apple Pie

Yes, I was excited about the 3 lb of Golden Delicious apples that I picked up in Kensington Market. But I was even more excited about the opportunity to use this contraption:

Medieval torture device? Nay. Modern-day deliciousness device!

It was a wedding gift from another engineer/scientist couple who decided that it would be perfect for both the food-lovers and engineers that we are. It was.

Step 1: Load up the apple

Step 2: Crank that handle

Turn, turn, turn

Step 3: Pop off the neatly peeled and cored apple

But wait! It's also sliced into a neat spiral!

All I had to do was make a single cut down the middle to get a perfectly sliced apple. Awesome.

Anyway, I unfortunately made the rookie mistake of forgetting to put a cookie sheet under the pie pan. So the pie leaked and now there's a sticky sweet mess on the bottom of my oven waiting to be cleaned. Sigh.

But it was worth it!

With pretty fluted edges

I was too impatient to wait for it to cool so I sliced into it a little early. That's probably why it's soupy - Whoops. 

I can't figure out how not to achieve that cave-like effect. I know that the apples shrink during baking, but how do I avoid the top puffing up OR make the pastry sink down with the apples? (I don't actually know what happens to cause this.)

But how could you resist that flaky crust??

Nonetheless, my craving for apple pie is well satisfied. The Golden Delicious apples were absolutely perfect for pie - just the right blend of tart and sweet, and they held their shape nicely. And the crust was nice and flaky. Mmm.

 

Old-Fashioned Apple Pie

From Better Homes and Gardens

Prep: 30 minutes Bake: 45 minutes Cool: 2 hours

Pastry for Double-Crust Pie: Stir together 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in 2/3 cup shortening (I used 1/3 cup shortening and 1/3 cup butter) until pieces are pea size. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon cold water over part of the mixture; gently toss with a fork. Push moistened dough to the side of the bowl. Repeat, using 1 tablespoon cold water at a time, until all the dough is moistened (6 to 8 tablespoons water total). 

Ingredients

• 6  cups thinly sliced peeled tart apples
• 1  tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2  cup granulated sugar
• 1/4  cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4  cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2  teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4  teaspoon ground nutmeg
• Dash  ground cloves
• 1 recipe Pastry for Double-Crust Pie (see above)
• 1 tablespoon butter or margarine
• Shredded cheddar cheese (optional)
• Milk (optional)

Directions

1. In a large mixing bowl toss apples with lemon juice. Combine granulated sugar, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Add to apples and toss until apples are coated. Set apple mixture aside.

2. Prepare Pastry for Double-Crust Pie. Divide dough in half. Form each half into a ball. On a lightly floured surface, roll out 1 ball of dough into a 12-inch circle. Ease pastry into a 9-inch pie plate.

3. Transfer apple mixture to pastry-lined pie plate. Dot with butter or margarine. Trim pastry even with pie plate. For top crust, roll out remaining dough. Cut slits in top crust. Place top crust on the filling. Seal and flute the edge. Brush with milk, if desired.

4. To prevent overbrowning, cover the edge of the pie with foil. Place pie dish on a cookie sheet. Bake in a 375 degree F oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil; bake for 20 to 25 minutes more or until the top is golden brown and apples are tender. Serve warm with cheddar cheese, if desired. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Baked: Chocolate Hazelnut Thumbprint Cookies

This was the weekly recipe on August Cooks, a cooking blog in which I contribute.

I haven't had Nutella since I was a kid, and had almost forgotten how good it is.

 
Delicious. Go and make these. Right now.

From Cooking Light

Ingredients

• 4.5 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 cup)
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon instant espresso (optional) [I used coffee liqueur instead]
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup finely chopped hazelnuts, toasted [I skipped these]
• 1/3 cup hazelnut-chocolate spread (such as Nutella)

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, sugar, cocoa, and salt; stir with a whisk. Place butter in a large bowl, and beat with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes). Stir egg yolks with a whisk, adding espresso, if desired. Add the yolk mixture and vanilla to butter; beat well. Add flour mixture to butter mixture; beat at low speed just until combined. [I mixed it in with a fork; if you beat it, the dry ingredients will go flying.]

3. Turn dough out onto a sheet of wax paper; knead 6 times or until smooth and shiny. Shape dough into 28 (1-inch) balls. Roll sides of balls in nuts, pressing gently. Arrange balls 1 inch apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Press thumb into center of each cookie, leaving an indentation. Bake, 1 batch at a time, at 350° for 10 minutes. Remove cookies from pans; cool completely on wire racks. Spoon a scant 1/2 teaspoon hazelnut-chocolate spread into center of each cookie.

Baked: Chocolate Chip Cookie-Brownie-Cake Thing

Text from my husband: Need eggs for cookies!

I arrive home. I smell baking.

"Are you baking?"

"Yeah!"

"Did you get eggs?"

"No..."

"Oh. What did you use instead?"

"I added some cornstarch and water."

...

The oven beeps. Mr. Ringy pops this onto the cooling rack:

"Um, honey? Why is it so thick?"

"I didn't realize that the recipe was for 60 cookies."

But just as I finished saying, "Perhaps you should leave the baking to me in the future," I popped a piece in my mouth. And... it's delicious. It's like a chocolate chip cookie/brownie/cake thing.

Anyway, here's the original recipe from Better Homes and Gardens. He tells me that, in place of the eggs, he used about a tablespoon of cornstarch, and enough water to make the dough look "right".

Yields 60 cookies
Ingredients 

• 1/2  cup  shortening
• 1/2  cup  butter
• 1/2  cup  granulated sugar
• 1  cup  packed brown sugar
• 1/2  teaspoon  baking soda
• 2    eggs
• 1  teaspoon  vanilla
• 2-1/2  cups  all-purpose flour
• 1  12-ounce package (2 cups)  semisweet chocolate pieces
• 1-1/2  cups  chopped walnuts, pecans, or hazelnuts (filberts) (optional)

Directions

In a large mixing bowl beat the shortening and butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add the brown sugar, granulated sugar, and baking soda. Beat mixture until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in the eggs and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in remaining flour. Stir in chocolate pieces and, if desired, nuts.

Drop dough by rounded teaspoons 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in a 375 degree F oven 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Transfer cookies to a wire rack and let cool.

Make-Ahead Tip: Bake and cool cookies completely. In an airtight or freezer container, arrange cookies in a single layer; cover with a sheet of waxed paper. Repeat layers, leaving enough air space to close container easily. Seal, label, and freeze up to 1 month.

Baked: Lemon Ricotta Cookies

Ever since we remodeled our kitchen back in April, spending time in the kitchen has been much more enjoyable. As a result, I've been doing a lot more baking. Cookies are my favourite.

Last week, I had a hunkering for something lemony, so I whipped up a batch of Giada De Laurentiis' Lemon Ricotta Cookies.

Yields: 44 cookies
Ingredients
Cookies
    * 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
    * 1 teaspoon baking powder
    * 1 teaspoon salt
    * 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
    * 2 cups sugar
    * 2 eggs
    * 1 (15-ounce) container whole milk ricotta cheese
    * 3 tablespoons lemon juice
    * 1 lemon, zested

Glaze
    * 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
    * 3 tablespoons lemon juice
    * 1 lemon, zested

Directions
Cookies
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In the large bowl combine the butter and the sugar. Using an electric mixer beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating until incorporated. Add the ricotta cheese, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Beat to combine. Stir in the dry ingredients.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Spoon the dough (about 2 tablespoons for each cookie) onto the baking sheets. Bake for 15 minutes, until slightly golden at the edges. Remove from the oven and let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 20 minutes.

Glaze
Combine the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest in a small bowl and stir until smooth. Spoon about 1/2-teaspoon onto each cookie and use the back of the spoon to gently spread. Let the glaze harden for about 2 hours. Pack the cookies into a decorative container.

The result

The cookies turned out light, airy and moist, almost like ladyfingers, but also had a really nice richness from the ricotta. I loved the cookies on their own and didn't feel that they needed the glaze. The glaze was intense - like lemon candy - and it really overpowers the cookie, even though I had doubled the lemon juice in the cookie. Depending on what you want, I'd suggest trying the cookies on their own before deciding whether or not to add the glaze. (I think that the naked cookies are great with a cup of tea, but perhaps you like candy-like cookies, as my husband does!) You could also try substituting some of the lemon juice in the glaze with water.

One more subtle tip about the directions: you'll make your life a little easier if you beat the butter first, before mixing in the sugar. This is the standard procedure in Better Homes and Gardens recipes that I always use; it's a good way to cheat if you're like me and always forget to let the butter thaw.