Busy Days and Toffee Nut Bars
Craziness.
That pretty much sums up what’s been going on here lately. Between working, general life stuff, and gardening (read: trying not to kill plants), I’ve spent very little time baking.
I haven’t even used a single stick of butter in the past 3 weeks. Tragic.
Another reason I haven’t been baking sweets could be due to the fact I have a bridesmaid dress fitting approaching rapidly. Yep, that might have something to do with it.
However, I needed a dessert to take to a dinner party so, I settled on toffee nut squares. They have the texture of a chocolate chip cookie bar, but with a toffee-nut flavor and they are a cinch to throw together. They were a hit at the party and disappeared quickly!
Toffee Nut Bars
adapted from Great Cookies
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup (1 1/3 sticks) unsalted butter, slightly firm
2 cups lightly packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons medium-fine chopped walnuts, divided
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 10″x15″ jelly roll pan.
In a small mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
Beat the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer on medium speed until lightened in color. Add the brown sugar, 1/4 cup at a time, and beat until lightened in color, about 2 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping down sides of bowl as needed, then add the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients in three additions. Mix just to incorporate.
Fold in 1 cup of walnuts and the chocolate chips using a rubber spatula. Spread the mixture in the pan and smooth the top. Sprinkle the remaining walnuts on top.
Bake for 16 to 18 minutes or until the sides are lightly browned. Do not over-bake. Cool for 1 hour, then cut to desired size and shape.
Note: Because I love chewy cookie bars, I under-baked mine by about 3 minutes.
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Strawberry Sorbet
Oh, how I love strawberry season!
Living in Florida, strawberries aren’t that hard to come by. Finding nice strawberries, however, can be a pain. One of my favorite places to get fresh strawberries is Parkesdale Farms. Every so often I’ll take a drive over and brave the hoards of people to pick up some berries. Parkesdale is also well known around here for their strawberry shortcake and strawberry milkshakes, as evident by the lines (yes, plural) of people waiting that wrap around the building and spill out into the parking lot.
So, last week, I made the trip, found a parking spot after what seemed like an hour (okay, so it was 5 minutes), said my prayers, and ventured in. Twenty-five minutes later, I was safely back in my vehicle with a beautiful flat of strawberries.
Sorbet is something I’ve wanted to make for quite some time. So, this was a perfect excuse to break out the ice cream machine and try this recipe from The Perfect Scoop
Strawberry Sorbet
adapted from The Perfect Scoop
1 pound (450 g) fresh strawberries, rinsed and hulled
3/4 cup (150 g) sugar
1 teaspoon kirsch (optional)
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
Pinch of salt
Slice the strawberries and toss in a medium bowl with sugar and kirsch, if using. Stir until the sugar begins to dissolve. Cover and let stand for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
Puree the strawberries and their liquid with the lemon juice and salt in a blender or food processor until smooth. If you wish to remove the seeds, press the mixture through a strainer.
Chill thoroughly (overnight is best), then freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
It will be fairly soft at this point so you may want to pop it in the freezer for a few hours or until it gets to the desired consistency.
No Ice cream maker? No problem! Check out this post from David Lebovitz on how to make ice cream & sorbet without a machine.
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Chocolate Chip Cookies
I wouldn’t call myself a chocolate chip cookie expert, but I’ve tasted many a cookie in my day. And, I have to say, these are by far the best chocolate chip cookies I have ever eaten or baked. They are everything a great chocolate chip cookie should be; slightly crisp on the outer edges with a soft, chewy center. The chocolate chip to cookie ratio is perfect. I hate nothing more than to taste a chocolate chip cookie with only 2 chocolate chips. Kinda defeats the purpose, don’t you think?
Although these cookies do require some planning ahead (they have to chill out in the fridge for 6 hours), they are well worth the wait. You can also refrigerate them for up to 5 days (in an airtight container) so you can bake a batch whenever the urge hits.
It was all I could do to get the cookie dough from the mixing bowl to the baking sheets. It was quite a struggle. While they were baking, the smell of brown sugar and chocolate was pleasantly wafting through the kitchen and into the rest of the house. Ahh, pure happiness!
Chocolate Chip Cookies
adapted from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, soft but cool
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 2/3 cups (16 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli)
In a large bowl, whisk the flour, salt, and baking soda together and set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugars together until smooth and creamy. Scrape down the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated. The mixture will look light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and beat for 5 seconds.
Add half of the flour mixture and mix for 15 seconds. Add the remaining flour mixture and beat until just combined.
Using a spatula or wooden spoon, fold in the chocolate chips.
Cover the bowl tightly and refrigerate for 6 hours.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Scoop out dough in 2-tablespoon-size balls. Shape the dough into perfect balls and place them on the prepared baking sheets, about 1 inch apart. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, rotating the pans once during the cooking time, until the edges of the cookies are golden brown and the tops start to darken.
Remove the pan from the oven and cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Use a spatula to transfer the cookies to the rack; cool completely.
Cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Tip: Once the cookie dough comes out of the fridge, and the cookies are formed, try to get them in the oven quickly so the dough doesn’t have time to soften. This could cause them to flatten out while baking.
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Pear Vanilla Bean Cupcakes
It has been quite some time since I last baked (and blogged about) cupcakes. October of last year, to be exact. That’s entirely too long for one to go without cupcakes!
To put an end to the cupcake dry spell, I wanted to bake something special. I had the idea for these cupcakes while shopping at Bath & Body Works. Weird, yes, but stay with me here. See, every year they have a few holiday scented body lotions and this past year, they had one called Yuletide Pear Vanilla. After smelling it, I declared, “Hey, this smells good enough to eat!”.
The result? Pear Vanilla Bean cupcakes with vanilla bean buttercream frosting.
The cupcakes are very moist and flavorful thanks to the fresh pears. Add in a bit of vanilla bean and it gets even better!
For more of a vanilla flavor kick, I used pure vanilla bean paste. This is the first recipe I’ve used it in and I have to say, I’m a fan! I love this stuff! It has a thicker consistency and is flecked with vanilla bean seeds. You can use it 1:1 in place of vanilla extract or vanilla beans.
I had originally planned to use vanilla beans for these cupcakes, but I just couldn’t justify spending around $7 for two beans. Thankfully, I stumbled upon vanilla bean paste. It is much more economical and much easier to use!
To shred the pears, I first peeled them using a veggie peeler. Then, after slicing the pears in half lengthwise, I used a melon baller to scoop out the seeds. And finally, I coarsely shredded them using a box grater.
The Bosc pears I used were very juicy, so to avoid a gushy mess of what was supposed to be cupcake batter, I added a touch more flour to even out the moisture.
To top off these babies, I frosted them with Cupcake Project’s Vanilla Bean Buttercream. Just a note, the recipe only made enough frosting to frost about 6 cupcakes, so you’ll have to up the amounts to frost all of the cupcakes.
Had a slight wrapper malfunction. I was trying these new (to me, anyway) greaseproof cupcake liners but when they came out of the oven they had completely separated from the cupcakes. They looked odd, so just took them out. Less work to do before they get eaten!
Pear Vanilla Bean Cupcakes
adapted from Martha Stewart
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla bean paste
4 cups coarsely shredded pears, such as Bosc (about 1 3/4 pounds)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 standard cupcake tins with paper liners.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt; set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix butter and sugar on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy. Add in vanilla paste and eggs. Reduce speed to low; mix in shredded pears. Add flour mixture, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Mix until just combined.
Divide the batter among lined cups, filling halfway. Bake cupcakes at 350 degrees F for 18-20 minutes or until the tops are springy to the touch. Remove cupcakes from the tins and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Frosting: Vanilla Bean Buttercream (from Cupcake Project)
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We have a winner!
Thank you to everyone who entered the Kneadlessly Simple giveaway! I really enjoyed reading all of your comments!
So what is the consensus of the favorite breads? The clear favorite is sourdough, followed closely by french bread. There were 20+ different varieties of bread mentioned. Challah, focaccia, rye, baguette, pumpernickel, whole wheat and cinnamon raisin were some of the other favorites.
And…now…. the winner is….
#64 – Bree – “Yum, I’m definitely going to try out that recipe Thanks for sharing! I absolutely love sourdough bread. I’m drooling right now just thinking about it!”
Congratulations, Bree! I know you’ll love the variety of bread recipes in the book
Keep an eye out for more giveaways in the the coming months! I love giving away free stuff! It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
Happy Baking!
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Daring Bakers: Mini Tiramisu!
Another month, another great Daring Baker challenge! I’ve only been a Daring Baker for a few months now and each challenge has been a wonderful, educational experience! This month was no exception.
The February 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen and Deeba of Passionate About Baking. They chose Tiramisu as the challenge for the month. Their challenge recipe is based on recipes from The Washington Post, Cordon Bleu at Home and Baking Obsession.
The challenge included making all of the components of tiramisu from scratch. Mascarpone cheese, savoiardi biscuits (ladyfingers) and Zabaglione to be exact. Plus whipped cream and a vanilla pastry cream. So, yeah, I’d call that a challenge since the only part I had experience with was the whipped cream.
Getting back to my “bite-size” roots, I chose to make mini tiramisu using a removable bottom mini cheesecake pan
I’ve detailed my experience making the mascarpone cheese, savoiardi biscuits (ladyfingers) and the assembly of my mini tiramisu below. Unfortunately, I didn’t get step-by-step photos of the zabaglione or the creams.
Homemade Mascarpone Cheese
Recipe source: Vera’s recipe for Homemade Mascarpone Cheese
Makes 12oz/340gm of mascarpone cheese
474ml (approx. 500ml)/ 2 cups whipping (36 %) pasteurized (not ultra-pasteurized), preferably organic cream (between 25% to 36% cream will do)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (I used lime juice)
Directions:
Bring 1 inch of water to a boil in a wide skillet (I used double boiler). Reduce the heat to medium-low so the water is barely simmering. Pour the cream into a medium heat-resistant bowl, then place the bowl into the skillet. Heat the cream, stirring often, to 190 degrees F. If you do not have a thermometer, wait until small bubbles keep trying to push up to the surface.
It will take about 15 minutes of delicate heating. Add the lemon juice and continue heating the mixture, stirring gently, until the cream curdles. Do not expect the same action as you see during ricotta cheese making. All that the whipping cream will do is become thicker, like a well-done crème anglaise. It will cover a back of your wooden spoon thickly. You will see just a few clear whey streaks when you stir. Remove the bowl from the water and let cool for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, line a sieve with four layers of dampened cheesecloth and set it over a bowl. Transfer the mixture into the lined sieve. Do not squeeze the cheese in the cheesecloth or press on its surface (be patient, it will firm up after refrigeration time). Once cooled completely, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate (in the sieve) overnight or up to 24 hours. Keep refrigerated and use within 3 to 4 days.
Vera’s notes: The first time I made mascarpone I had all doubts if it’d been cooked enough, because of its custard-like texture. Have no fear, it will firm up beautifully in the fridge, and will yet remain lusciously creamy.
My notes:
- I was unable to find pasteurized cream and had to settle for ultra-pasteurized.
- It works best to use a stainless steel bowl when making the mascarpone.
- While making the cheese, I was quite worried that it would ever thicken up. Eventually, it did thicken but not as much as I had imagined it would. When I poured it into the cheesecloth lined sieve, it started draining more than it should have. So, to keep it from draining the actual cheese, I added a thin cotton towel. That did the trick. You should only find a small amount (few spoonfuls) of whey that drained. I let mine drain a little longer than 24 hours to help firm it up more. After that, I transfered it to a airtight container and refrigerated it for another day until I was ready to use it. The end result was softer than store bought, but as far as taste, I couldn’t really tell any difference. Pure creamy goodness!
Zabaglione, Vanilla Pastry Cream and Whipped Cream
Recipe source: Carminantonio’s Tiramisu from The Washington Post, July 11 2007
For the zabaglione:
2 large egg yolks
3 tablespoons sugar/50gms
1/4 cup/60ml Marsala wine (or port or coffee)
1/4 teaspoon/ 1.25ml vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
For the vanilla pastry cream:
1/4 cup/55gms sugar
1 tablespoon/8gms all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon/ 2.5ml vanilla extract
1 large egg yolk
3/4 cup/175ml whole milk
For the whipped cream:
1 cup/235ml chilled heavy cream (we used 25%)
1/4 cup/55gms sugar
1/2 teaspoon/ 2.5ml vanilla extract
Directions:
For the zabaglione:
Heat water in a double boiler. If you don’t have a double boiler, place a pot with about an inch of water in it on the stove. Place a heat-proof bowl in the pot making sure the bottom does not touch the water.
In a large mixing bowl (or stainless steel mixing bowl), mix together the egg yolks, sugar, the Marsala (or espresso/ coffee), vanilla extract and lemon zest. Whisk together until the yolks are fully blended and the mixture looks smooth.
Transfer the mixture to the top of a double boiler or place your bowl over the pan/ pot with simmering water. Cook the egg mixture over low heat, stirring constantly, for about 8 minutes or until it resembles thick custard. It may bubble a bit as it reaches that consistency.
Let cool to room temperature and transfer the zabaglione to a bowl. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight, until thoroughly chilled.
For the pastry cream:
Mix together the sugar, flour, lemon zest and vanilla extract in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan. To this add the egg yolk and half the milk. Whisk until smooth.
Now place the saucepan over low heat and cook, stirring constantly to prevent the mixture from curdling.
Add the remaining milk a little at a time, still stirring constantly. After about 12 minutes the mixture will be thick, free of lumps and beginning to bubble. (If you have a few lumps, don’t worry. You can push the cream through a fine-mesh strainer.)
Transfer the pastry cream to a bowl and cool to room temperature. Cover with plastic film and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight, until thoroughly chilled.
For the whipped cream:
Combine the cream, sugar and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl. Beat with an electric hand mixer or immersion blender until the mixture holds stiff peaks. Set aside (I stored in the fridge while waiting to assemble).
Keep scrolling for assembly instructions.
Savoiardi Biscuits / Ladyfingers
Recipe Source: Le Cordon Bleu at Home
This recipe makes approximately 24 big ladyfingers or 45 small (2 1/2″ to 3″ long) ladyfingers. (Made about 38 roughly 2-inch round ladyfingers)
Ingredients:
3 eggs, separated
6 tablespoons /75gms granulated sugar
3/4 cup/95gms cake flour, sifted (or 3/4 cup all purpose flour + 2 tbsp corn starch)
6 tablespoons /50gms confectioner’s sugar
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), then lightly brush 2 baking sheets with oil or softened butter and line with parchment paper.
Beat the egg whites using a hand held or stand electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Gradually add granulated sugar and continue beating until the egg whites become stiff again, glossy and smooth.
In a small bowl, beat the egg yolks lightly with a fork and fold them into the meringue, using a wooden spoon. Sift the flour over this mixture and fold gently until just mixed. It is important to fold very gently and not overdo the folding. Otherwise the batter would deflate and lose volume resulting in ladyfingers which are flat and not spongy.
Fit a pastry bag with a plain tip (or just snip the end off; you could also use a Ziploc bag) and fill with the batter. Pipe the batter into about 2″ thin circles leaving about 1″ space in between the biscuits.
Sprinkle half the confectioner’s sugar over the ladyfingers and wait for 5 minutes. The sugar will pearl or look wet and glisten. Now sprinkle the remaining sugar. This helps to give the ladyfingers their characteristic crispness.
Hold the parchment paper in place with your thumb and lift one side of the baking sheet and gently tap it on the work surface to remove excess sprinkled sugar.
Bake the ladyfingers for 10 minutes, then rotate the sheets and bake for another 5 minutes or so until the puff up, turn lightly golden brown and are still soft. Use circle cutter approximately the same size as the mini cheesecake cup and cut edges off while the biscuits are still warm.
Allow them to cool slightly on the sheets for about 5 minutes and then remove the ladyfingers from the baking sheet with a metal spatula while still hot, and cool on a rack.
Store them in an airtight container till required. They should keep for 2 to 3 weeks.
My notes:
- I ended up making two batches of the ladyfingers. The first, I mixed with a hand mixer. Not only was it tiring, but the biscuits didn’t turn out “right”. Something was off. They weren’t even spongy. So for the second batch, I turned to my trusty kitchen aid mixer. It cut down on mixing time, the egg whites held stiffer peaks and the biscuits came out more like traditional ladyfingers/savoiardi biscuits. Perfection!
- To get the biscuits perfectly round, and the exact size I needed to fit in my mini cheesecake pan, I used a circle cookie cutter
to trim off the edges immediately after they came out of the oven. I discarded (read: ate) the scraps and transfered them to a cooling rack.
Assembly of the Mini Tiramisu
Directions:
2 cups/470ml brewed espresso, warmed
1 teaspoon/5ml rum extract (optional)
1/2 cup/110gms sugar
1/3 cup/75gms mascarpone cheese
about 36 savoiardi/ ladyfinger biscuits
2 tablespoons/30gms unsweetened cocoa powder
Mix together the warm espresso, rum extract and sugar in a shallow dish, whisking to mix well. Set aside to cool.
In a large bowl, beat the mascarpone cheese with a spoon to break down the lumps and make it smooth. This will make it easier to fold. Add the prepared and chilled zabaglione and pastry cream, blending until just combined. Gently fold in the whipped cream. Set this cream mixture aside.
To assemble the tiramisu in mini cheesecake cups, working quickly, dip the top of 12 of the round ladyfingers for 1 second in the espresso mixture (they should be moist but not soggy) then place one in the bottom of each of the cups. With a pastry bag fitted with a medium round tip (I used a Wilton 2A), or ziploc with corner cut off, pipe a layer of the tiramisu filling. Dip another 12 ladyfingers in the espresso and place on top of the first layer of filling. Pipe another layer of cream mixture. Dip 12 more lady fingers and place on top of second layer of cream. Pipe the final (top) layer of filling on top of the biscuits. Note: Be careful how thick you pipe your cream mixture. I started with too much in the bottom layer and ended up having to shy the top two layers so that the tiramisu weren’t rounded on the tops. They still were to some extent but that’s okay.
Clean any spilled cream mixture; cover carefully with plastic wrap (I used foil) and freeze the tiramisu overnight or until ready to serve.
To remove and serve the mini tiramisu: Carefully remove the plastic wrap or foil. Gently push up on the bottom of each cup. Try to push them up uniformly and not more towards one side to avoid it toppling out of the pan. If you have one, a wooden dowel about 5/8″ to 3/4″ around (or something of similar shape, such as a cannoli form) works perfectly.
Sprinkle the tiramisu with cocoa powder using a fine-mesh strainer or decorate as desired.
My notes:
- I kept my tiramisu cream mixture in the fridge between layering the biscuits and cream. It kept it from getting soft or difficult to pipe neatly.
- At the end of dipping the ladyfingers, I was left with an insane amount of espresso. Not sure why the recipe calls for 2 cups as it didn’t take near that much. You may want to scale that down to minimize waste.
- Since the tops of my mini tiramisu cups were slightly overfilled, I created a foil “tent” to cover them while they were in the freezer.
- Ideally, they should be thoroughly frozen before trying to remove them. That way, you get the cleanest possible edges.
- The patterns on the tops were created with cupcake and cookie stencils from Martha Stewart. I picked them up at Macy’s last year and unfortunately, I can’t find them online. The back of the packaging says they are exclusive to Macy’s.
- If you don’t have a mini cheesecake pan but still want to make round tiramisu, you could try assembling it in a shallow dish, freezing and then cutting with tall biscuit cutters
.
In the end, I’m happy that everything came together so well. It was challenging to get everything together and there was a lot to do, but isn’t a challenge kinda the point?
A big thanks to Aparna and Deeba for such an awesome challenge!
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