Oh, Brioche

Brioche has been on my "hit list" of must bakes for awhile now. I've surprisingly only had brioche once (made into French toast...fabulous!) but it seems like something that is just a baking staple.

When looking for recipes, I stayed away from all of my bread books thinking they would give me the harder way to make this, they always do. And it does turn out that there are more streamlined ways to make brioche. I was happy to see that La Tartine Gourmande had a very down to earth, dare I say easy, brioche recipe. But for my first time, I wanted the full experience.

I found a recipe through Epicurious that seemed like the real mccoy. Let's see - beat in a lot of butter (check). Let is slow rise in the refrigerator overnight (check). Stir the dough once every 30 minutes for 2 hours while slow rising (check). There seemed to be enough hours of both work and waiting to make this recipe feel authentic enough for me.

The experience was awesome, if you can say that about making bread. This dough was one of the best I've ever worked with, probably because of the butter to flour ratio (my flab would rather not think about this). The dough was silky smooth and yet elastic at the time time. I loved it!

I loved the dough, until I baked it and was able to eat it.

OH MY SWEET GOODNESS. Is it a croissant? Or a loaf of bread? This crazy hybrid butter-fest was so light on the tongue and yet so rich. It was worth every minute of prep, and all three sticks of butter (don't think I'm joking!). Maybe next time I'll go for an easier version if I'm in a time crunch, but the process to make this was too much fun.

Golden Brioche

Recipe from Epicurious

1/3 cup warm water (105°F to 115°F)
1/3 cup warm milk (105°F to 115°F)
2 envelopes dry yeast
3 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
3 large eggs
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, each stick cut into 4 pieces, room temperature
1 egg, beaten to blend with 1 tablespoon water (for glaze)

Place 1/3 cup warm water, warm milk, and yeast in bowl of standing heavy-duty mixer; stir until yeast dissolves. Fit mixer with dough hook. Add flour and salt to bowl; mix on low speed just until flour is moistened, about 10 seconds. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl.

Beat in 3 eggs on low speed, then add sugar. Increase speed to medium and beat until dough comes together, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low.

Add butter, 1 piece at a time, beating until each piece is almost incorporated before adding next (dough will be soft and batter-like). Increase speed to medium-high and beat until dough pulls away from sides of bowl, about 7 minutes.

Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rise at room temperature until almost doubled in volume, about 1 hour. Lift up dough around edges and allow dough to fall and deflate in bowl. Cover bowl with plastic and chill until dough stops rising, lifting up dough around edges and allowing dough to fall and deflate in bowl every 30 minutes, about 2 hours total. Cover bowl with plastic; chill dough overnight.

Butter and flour three 7 1/2x3 1/2x2-inch loaf pans. Divide dough into 3 equal pieces. Cut each dough piece into 4 equal pieces. Roll each into 3 1/2-inch-long log, forming 12 logs total. Arrange 4 logs crosswise in bottom of each prepared loaf pan. Place loaf pans on baking sheet. Cover pans with waxed paper. Let loaves rise at room temperature until dough almost fills pans, about 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 400°F. Gently brush top of loaves with egg glaze. Bake until loaves are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped, about 30 minutes. Cool in pans on racks 15 minutes.

Turn loaves out onto racks; cool at least 1 hour. (Can be made ahead. Cool completely. Wrap loaves in foil; place in resealable plastic bags and store at room temperature 1 day or freeze up to 1 month. Rewarm room-temperature or thawed loaves wrapped in foil in 350°F oven about 15 minutes, if desired.)

Chocolate Peppermint Pinwheels

Hello baking blog, I've missed you.

It seems like time in the new year has been passing me by and I haven't had time to set foot in the kitchen to get any baking done. Fortunately I have a back log of baking goodness from December, I just...well...have to blog everything!

During the holidays I was watching the Food Network special on holiday cookies, where all of my favorite (and not so favorite) Food Network personalities shared their favorite holiday cookies. Alton Brown (along with Santa!) made these chocolate and peppermint pinwheel cookies, and the process was so simple. Sugar cookie dough. Crushed up candy canes. Peppermint extract. Chocolate. Easy peasy!

Oh Alton Brown, I'm a little disappointed in you (but I still love you!!). Why did you tell me to only refrigerate the dough for 5 minutes before I rolled it?! A sticky, sticky mess. But once I soldiered through it and got everything rolled, the process was a cinch and the cookies were fabulous. I'm definitely putting these on the list for next year - in theory, a cookie easy to make and quick to impress.

Chocolate Peppermint Pinwheels
Recipe from Food Network

1 batch Sugar Cookies, recipe follows
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
1/2 cup crushed candy canes or peppermint candies

Divide the dough in half and add chocolate and vanilla to 1 half and incorporate with hands. Add egg yolk, peppermint extract, and crushed candy to other half of dough and incorporate with hands.
Cover both with plastic and chill for approximately 5 minutes (note: I would refrigerate longer until dough is firm). Roll out doughs separately to approximately 1/4-inch thickness. Place peppermint dough on top of chocolate and press together around the edges.
Using waxed paper or flexible cutting board underneath, roll dough into log. Wrap in waxed paper and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Remove dough from the refrigerator and cut into 1/2-inch slices. Place cookies 1-inch apart on greased baking sheet, parchment, or silicone baking mat and bake for 12 to 13 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through cooking time.
Remove from oven and let sit on baking sheet for 2 minutes, then move to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Sugar Cookie Recipe:
3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar 1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon milk
Powdered sugar, for rolling out dough

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. Place butter and sugar in large bowl of electric stand mixer and beat until light in color. Add egg and milk and beat to combine. Put mixer on low speed, gradually add flour, and beat until mixture pulls away from the side of the bowl.

Peppermint Pretties

I decided last week that I really needed to get myself into the holiday spirit. With Thankgiving being so late, they didn't really give us a whole lot of time to prepare ourselves for the onslaught of holiday festivities. This year is really quite lax for Steve and I, as we just bought our condo, new furniture, and are planning our wedding, so buying piles of presents wasn't really on the agenda. Fortunately we've both been able to do all of our shopping online (thank you, work, for letting me have box after box sent to me at the office!) and stayed away from the madness...but that means we've also stayed a little bit removed from the whole holiday thing.

Joy the Baker really inspired me to make her Peppermint Meringues. Each one just looks so precious, and with the primary ingredients being sugar and eggs, who could really mess this one up? So I thought, anyway.

I've never had meringue cookies before, so I didn't really know what to expect from start to finish, although Joy's instructions were quite straightforward. Obviously the "wow" factor for these is how she painted the inside of her pastry bag so that when the meringues are piped out, they're striped with color. Easy enough.

I think I must have had a combination of the wrong size of star tip that I used to pipe these out with, and maybe meringue that wasn't quite stiff enough, because mind ended up looking more like chocolate kisses and less like cute little stars. Also, the first half that I piped bore almost not color at all, so by the time the color was really pulling through, the bag was almost empty! I had ok luck with refilling the bag, but wow this stuff gets messy! Definitely a one shot deal in my book.

So how did they taste, you ask? Quite minty! And airy. I'm not a crazy-for-mint person, but these were delicious and light on the tongue. And oh, how good would these be to accompany a mocha or hot chocolate?!

It's hard to believe the Christmas countdown is here...time to get wrapping...and hang some decorations (wherever they might be, hmm)!

Brownies to Save the Day

Last weekend I was struggling with the snow, and in turn, Steve was struggling with me. I was bound and determined not to leave the house on Saturday. I was in for the day and night, and that was that. Steve, on the other hand wanted to go out for dinner at one of the great Middle Eastern joints in our neighborhood. Date nights are great and all, but nothing makes me feel less attractive than trudging around in my snow boots with a red nose.

We went back and forth on options, where we could go, what we could pick up as take out, what could be delivered. Finally, I found that I had won the battle of the dinner! Spicy Thai it would be. After almost two hours spent debating, we weren't prepared for all of the hold ups once we had finally decided. However, every Thai place that we wanted to try kindly told us that they "didn't deliver that far west." Hmph. So we called our old stand by that we knew would deliver to us. Which would have been fine...if they had decided to answer their phone!

Midly worried that the one decent Thai place that doesn't consider us to be inconveniently located might have been shut down (therefore making them not quite as decent as we thought), we were still stuck, now three hours into our predicament and no closer to dinner.

I went and heated up leftovers, abandoning the effort. Steve followed suit and made some oatmeal. Finishing up our sad Saturday night dinner while watching the tacky holiday decorations for sale on QVC, we decided we needed a little pick-me-up.

Baking Bites yet again saves the day with her Peanut Butter Chocolate Brownies. I could have eaten that entire bowl of batter, but I restrained myself and decided to bake it instead. Phenomenal! There's still nothing better to me than peanutbutter and chocolate and these brownies give you the perfect dose of both. And the reassurance that even if Steve and I can't decide on where or what to eat, he's still by my side to gobble down brownies on a Saturday night.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Brownies
Recipe by Baking Bites

1/4 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup all pupose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F and line a 9×9-in square pan with aluminum foil. Lightly grease the foil with cooking spray.
In a large bowl, cream together butter and peanut butter until smooth, then beat in sugar until light and fluffy. Add in eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla.
In a small bowl, sift together cocoa, flour, salt and baking powder. Mix in to peanut butter mixture at a low speed, stopping when just combined. Stir in chocolate chips and scrape batter into pan, spreading into an even layer.
Bake for 26-29 minutes, until set. Edges should feel slightly firm and the center should not look wet or jiggly.
Cool on a wire rack and lit brownies out with the foil when ready to slice. Makes 16 brownies.

Beginning of the Winter Blues

Oh, Chicago, why are you so cold and pummeling us with rain, sleet, snow and ice?! It's all just too much, especially when it happens all within a 24-hour period! To beat the blues over the weekend, Steve and I teamed up for some good old fashioned comfort food.

He threw a whole lot of things into a pot, let it simmer for a couple of hours, and voila! We had chili. And really good chili to boot. I'm not usually a big chili fan (I have faint memories of being "forced" to eat it as a child, but that's not an uncommon experience for such a picky eater), but it really enjoyed what Steve made. It was warm, hearty and just a little bit spicy.

To excentuate the spice of his chili, I decided to make a jalapeno cheddar cornbread. I just love cornbread - the texture, it's ability to be sweet or spicy or even a little of both. Since I decided to pull this together last minute, I had to really work with what I had in the kitchen. With no creamed corn, buttermilk or sour cream at hand, my choice of recipes was limited.

I kept on coming back to Ina Garten's recipe - practically a million hits when you search for "jalapeno cheddar cornbread." I fought this recipe for as long as possible. As great as the Barefoot Contessa might be, she does love her butter! The recipe called for 2 sticks which seemed so excessive...but then I saw the quantity - enough for a 9 x 13-inch pan. Split it in half, and it was the perfect amount to fill my 9-inch round cake pan and with only 1 stick of butter! And...worth EVERY buttery bite! This is, hands down, the best cornbread I've ever had.

One-Pot Chili
Recipe by Steve

Part 1:
1T extra virgin olive oil
2 medium white onions, chopped
1/2 cup carrots, finely chopped
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
1 chipotle chili in adobo sauce, seeded and minced

Place these ingredients in your pot under very low heat for 5-10 minutes. If the onions start browning, then your heat is too high.

Part 2:
Next, add the following to your pot. The dark chocolate helps give a richness to the chili and counters whatever acidity may be in your tomatoes. The beer helps adds juiciness and a meaty flavor to your protein, which you'll add later. Bring the broth to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Let the mixture simmer for approximately 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3 cups chicken stock
2 28oz cans no-salt-added diced tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
6 T chili powder
1 T brown sugar
1 T cumin
2 oz dark chocolate (60%)
8 oz of a dark beer of your choice
1 teaspoon dried oregano

Part 3:
1.5 pounds of protein of your choice (ground beef, ground turkey, ground bison, venison, etc)
4 15oz cans of beans of your choice (kidney, pinto, or black)
1 T chili powder
Salt
Pepper

Next, brown 1.5 pounds of the protein of your choice. We used 93% lean ground turkey this time, but you can also use lean ground beef, sirloin, bison, venison, or any combination of proteins.Lightly season with salt and pepper. Add the browned protein, along with the beans, the additional chili powder, and salt and pepper to taste. Let this mixture simmer on low heat for approximately 1 hour.

After this 1 hour, let the chili sit for approximately 7-10 minutes to cool slightly and thicken. Enjoy!


Ina Garten's Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread
Recipe from Food Network

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons baking powder
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 cups milk
3 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted, plus extra to grease the pan
8 ounces aged extra-sharp Cheddar, grated, divided
1/3 cup chopped scallions, white and green parts, plus extra for garnish, 3 scallions
3 tablespoons seeded and minced fresh jalapeno peppers

Combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the milk, eggs, and butter. With a wooden spoon, stir the wet ingredients into the dry until most of the lumps are dissolved. Don't overmix!
Mix in 2 cups of the grated Cheddar, the scallions and jalapenos, and allow the mixture to sit at room temperature for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 by 13 by 2-inch baking pan.Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top, and sprinkle with the remaining grated Cheddar and extra chopped scallions.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool and cut into large squares. Serve warm or at room temperature.

*Note: I cut the recipe in half to fill a 9-inch round cake pan and also eliminated the scallions because I didn't have any in the kitchen.

Back to the Breakfast Basics

Breakfast has just gotten a little crazy these days. Don't get me wrong - I love going out for breakfast, and of course it's fun to see the wild variations of classics - pancakes with oreos and creme anglaise, french toast made with brioche, piled high with some sort of fruit compote and ice cream. It's all very delicious, indulgent and chock full of creativity (and I won't even begin to think about the calories!).

It's kind of nice, though, to get back to the simple breakfasts of your childhood, where your mom wasn't worried about trying to impress you with what she could pile on and into the pancakes, she just wanted you to have a good, hot breakfast.

Steve and I like to make pancakes every once in awhile, made from scratch (no mixes in our house!) and topped with pure maple syrup. Served with sides of scrambled eggs and fruit, this can feel just as indulgent as the sugar laden variations you'll find in the brunch place down the street. This also happens to be the breakfast that Steve made for me the morning he proposed, so it's sentimental and incredibly tasty all at the same time.

Pancakes

recipe from Betty Crocker's Cookbook: Bridal Edition

1 large egg

1 C all-purpose flour

3/4 C milk

1 T granulated sugar

2 T vegetable oil

3 tsp baking powder

butter for greasing the pan/griddle

Whisk the egg, then add in the milk and vegetable oil and whisk. Combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl and then add to the wet ingredients. Whisk until combined. You may need to add a little more milk depending on how thin you want the batter. Heat a griddle or skillet over medium heat or to 375 degrees. Grease the griddle with the butter. Pour about 1/4 of a cup of batter onto the pan for each pancake. When the pancake starts bubbling furiously and looks cooked around the edges, it's ready to be flipped. Cook the other side until golden brown.

Note: to keep your pancakes from getting cold if you're making them one at a time, turn a large bowl upside down over the plate of pancakes. This will keep them nice and toasty until you're ready to dig in!

Check out my review of the Betty Crocker's Cookbook: Bridal Edition on Sazze.com!

Make it a Souffle Sunday

Before Steve and I moved, my bus to and from work would pass by the Blommer Chocolate Company located on Chicago's west side. Most days there would just be an intoxicating smell of chocolate wafting through the air. A great pick-me-up at any time of the day. However, on some days it would be more of a savory, cheesey smell. It always reminded me of a cheese souffle, and of course would make me start craving one.

Souffles are tricky. Not so much because they're hard to make (because they're really not). They just take a lot of planning, because once they're out of the oven, their minutes are numbered before they deflate and lose their dramatic effect. Planning a souffle for a special occasion - as an appetizer or dessert at a dinner party - is not always the best choice. However, whipping up a souffle on a Sunday morning for no other reason than just because you want a souffle? A perfect idea! With the ingredients for a basic cheese souffle being not much more than eggs, cheese, and milk, almost anyone can have on hand what they need for a souffle in a moment's notice.

Some important things to remember if you're planning on making your first souffle. Make sure that you grease the souffle dish well and chill it. This will help ensure your souffle rises easily and doesn't get stuck along the way. Also, make sure that you have all of your ingredients out and as much prepared and mixed ahead of time before you begin. The process moves fast and you almost need to have everything going at once. If you have an extra set of hands available, have him or her get the egg whites and egg yolks going while you start making your based.

And finally, keep the oven door shut until you're ready to take the souffle out of the oven! I mistakenly put my souffle on the top rack of my oven, and with the oven door closed I could not see the top of my souffle, so I had to simply hope that it was rising. I fought the urge to open the oven door to check on it, and when the timer buzzed, I went on faith that it was doon. Thankfully it was perfect, but don't leave yours up to luck!

Cheese Souffle
reciped adapted by Lazy Susin from Alton Brown

Butter, room temperature, for greasing the souffle dish
3 T unsalted butter
3 T flour
1 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp kosher salt
1 1/3 C milk, hot
4 large eggs yolks

6 ounces Cheddar, mild or sharp (whatever you have on hand)
5 egg whites plus 1 T water

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

Use room temperature butter to grease an 8-inch souffle mold. Place in refridgerator for about 30 minutes before using.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
In a small saucepan, melt the butter.

In a separate bowl combine the flour, dry mustard, garlic powder, and kosher salt. Whisk this mixture into the melted butter. Cook for 2 minutes.
Whisk in the hot milk and turn the heat to high. Once the mixture reaches a boil, remove from the heat.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks to a creamy consistency. Temper the yolks into the milk mixture, constantly whisking. Remove from the heat and add the cheese. Whisk until incorporated.
In a separate bowl, using a mixer, whip the egg whites and cream of tartar until glossy and firm. Add 1/4 of the mixture to the base. Continue to add the whites by thirds, folding very gently.
Pour the mixture into the souffle. Fill the souffle to 1/2-inch from the top.

Bake in the oven for 35 minutes.

Check out my review of my souffle dish on Sazze.com!

Bring on the Orange

I've been getting jealous of all of the great food that people have been posting lately...involving all of the fabulous produce that's in season right now! So this weekend Steve and I finally decided to get with the program and make up some fun fall food, taking advantage of some great veggies.

Steve gets all of the credit for his butternut squash risotto. I was a little bit skeptical of of this stuff only because I'm more of a picky eater and squash isn't the first thing I would grab for dinner. But this was fabulous! I'm so proud of him and how great this turned out, and thank goodness it was good because he made A LOT of it! Steve pulled his recipe off of Simply Recipes. I couldn't tell you anything about the process for making this, but I can vouch for the fabulous taste.

Since I knew Steve was going to be focusing on his butternut squash, I thought I'd make something that "felt fall" to accompany his dish. Also, since it was a first for me with butternut squash, I thought I'd go for another first and work with sweet potatoes, a vegetable I've never really had either. So I found a recipe for sweet potato biscuits.

After hunting around online, I ended up using a Paul Deen recipe. I know what you're thinking, "You must have used a pound of butter, right?" Wrong! Of the many recipes I came across, this actually took the least amount of butter and did not take Bisquick - score! My only complaint is that Paula instructs you to roll out the dough to 1/2-inch thick and claims you'll get 15-18 biscuits. Umm, no. Unless you're making mini biscuits this probably won't work. So I rolled mine out a bit thinner, so they weren't the big fluffy biscuits I would have liked. Next time I'll definitely double the recipe, but otherwise wouldn't change a thing - the taste was fabulous!

I'm so excited that I tried two new vegetables this weekend and loved 'em both! I can't wait to bust out a lot of cranberries and get some yummy pies made!

Sweet Potato Biscuits

by Paula Deen

1 1/4 C all purpose flour

2 T sugar

4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 C mashed cooked sweet potatoes

1/4 C softened butter
2 to 4 T milk (depending on the moisture of the potatoes)

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Sift together the dry ingredients. In a separate, large bowl, mix the sweet potatoes and butter. Add the dry mixture to the potato mixture and mix to make a soft dough. Add milk a tablespoon at a time and continue to work together. Turn the dough onto a floured board and toss lightly until the outside of the dough looks smooth. Roll the dough out to 1/2-inch thick and cut with a biscuit cutter. Place the biscuits on a greased or lined cookie sheet and coat tops with melted butter. Bake for about 15 minutes. If the biscuits are browning too fast, lower the oven temperature.

Since I don't have a biscuit cutter, I used my scalloped circle cutter from my Wilton 101 piece set. Check out my review of this cookie cutter set on Sazze.com!

Black & White...and Sweet All Over

A little market in our old neighborhood always had black and white cookies...all individually packaged and just waiting for us to buy one. When we felt super indulgent we'd pick one up and then race home to gobble it down, passing it back and forth until the last black and white bite was gone.

Since we've moved, we don't have an outlet for these cakey cookies. I mean, Starbucks sells the little packs of mini black and whites, but I'd rather have 'em fresh. These have been on my list for ages to make but I've always avoided attempting it because I thought it would be a big, sticky mess.

My oh my, how wrong I was! These were sooo easy to decorate. The frosting sets up enough that it's pretty easy to keep a clean center line, and using a pastry brush makes it a super simple process. My only regret is that I made a smaller batch of frosting than I should have, so I didn't "paint" these quite as thick as I would have liked to. Didn't want to end up with any naked cookies!

I had randomly searched around for a recipe online, and ended up using a cookie recipe from one site, and a frosting recipe from another. The cookies weren't quite as "cakey" as I would have liked, so I'll probably try another recipe the next time around. I also did these as minis, and used a spoon to portion out the dough. Well, more like batter. It's really quite runny, so I reccomended using a large pastry bag and piping out your cookies. Not only will this make the process go much smoother, but you'll probably end up with more uniform circles.

Black & White Cookies

cookie recipe from All Recipes

Cookie Ingredients

1 C unsalted butter
1 3/4 C white sugar
4 eggs
1 C milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp lemon extract
2 1/2 C cake flour
2 1/2 C all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line two baking sheets.
In a medium bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in the milk, vanilla, and lemon extract. Combine cake flour and all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt; gradually blend into the creamed mixture. Drop tablespoonfuls of the dough 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets or use pastry bag to pipe the dough.
Bake until edges begin to brown, about 20 to 30 minutes. Cool completely.

icing recipe from Epicurious

Icing Ingredients

1 1/2 C confectioners sugar
1 T light corn syrup
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp vanilla
1 to 2 T water
1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

Make icings while cookies chill:

Stir together confectioners sugar, corn syrup, lemon juice, vanilla, and 1 tablespoon water in a small bowl until smooth. Transfer half of icing to another bowl and stir in cocoa, adding more water, 1/2 teaspoon at a time, to thin to same consistency as white icing.
Ice cookies:

Turn cookies flat sides up, then spread white icing over half of each and chocolate over other half using a pastry brush.

Can't get enough of the stuff...

We're peanut butter people in our house (creamy, not chunky please, and to be more specific, Whole Foods 365 Creamy Organic Peanutbutter). I can't recall ever fiending for peanut butter sandwiches as a kid, but they're definitely a staple in my life now. Every morning at work I mentally count down until I can allow myself to bust out the sandwich...I usually don't make it past 10am before the sandwich is gone. Yes, I've realized that I have no self control. I even cut it into 3 even pieces in a sad attempt to make the highlight of my lunch for as long as possible.

Since we've also been on an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie kick this year as well, and we'd already tried every other combination with peanutbutter (adding it to the batter, gluttonously smearing it on top of oatmeal chocolate chips fresh outta the oven), we decided to do a little reversal. Oatmeal peanutbutter cookies drizzled with chocolate? Niiice. Compared to their chewier counterparts with the chocolate chips, these were a little bit on the crispier side. Delicious and giving the perfect chocolate-peanutbutter combination, I wish I could exchange a handful of these for my peanutbutter on whole wheat any day of the week.

Peanut-Boatmeal Chocolate Drizzle Cookies

Recipe by Lazy Susin

1 C all purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 C butter, room temperature

1/2 C peanut butter

1/2 C white sugar

1/2 C brown sugar

1 large egg

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 C quick cooking oats

1/2 cup chocolate chips, melted

Preheat oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and the sugars. Beat in the egg, followed by the the vanilla extract and the peanut butter.
Working by hand, stir in the flour mixture and the oats until just combined and no streaks of flour remain. Use hands to portion out and shape the cookies (somewhere between 1/4 - 1/8 of a cup). Flatten the cookies slightly.

Bake for about 10-12 min. Cookies will be light brown at the edges when done.

Let cool on sheet for 3 or 4 minutes and drizzle with the melted chocolate, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes about 2 dozen cookies, depending on the size.

Check out my review of Jiff peanut butter on Sazze.com!

Try, try again...

I entered this month's Daring Bakers challenge with some trepidation...last month's challenge was a rocky road for me as I struggled to make something that in some way, somehow resembled a delicious dessert that others would want to eat.

When the August challenge was announced, I thought how wonderful this challenge would be. Who doesn't love eclairs? And even if only one of the two dozen turns out well, I can still have a picture perfect baking moment. Things started off smoothly until my perfect puffed eclairs came out of the oven and...de-puffed. Yep. Completely flat and unappetizing, slightly eggy smelling and soft in the center. I hadn't gotten a start on the chocolate pastry cream or the chocolate glaze, so I tossed the flopped desserts into the garbage and stayed away from the kitchen for a week.

I did my research before my next attempt and learned that if your eclairs fall after being removed from the oven, they weren't baked long enough, and it's almost impossible to over bake them. So on my second attempt I left them in as long as I possibly could, certain that my careful and meticulous efforts this time around would ensure that the puffs would stay puffed.

Yet again, almost all of these deflated within moments of being removed from the oven. So I cut my losses and moved forward, whipping together the yummy chocolate pastry cream, the laborious chocolate glaze, and put the whole mess together into a dozen or so chocolate eclairs.

The result? A somewhat picture perfect chocolate-filled moment and a fabulous sugar high Sunday. This time around I confirmed that it is always better to have plenty of extra ingredients on hand, to step away from the oven when verging on insanity, and that there's absolutely nothing better than chocolate pastry cream.

I'd include the recipe, however, it is rather long...it's from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Herme, so check it out when in need of some chocolate goodness.

Bagels Abound

Steve strongarmed me into making bagels over the weekend...his argument went something to the tune of "my old co-workers got bagels but my new co-workers haven't had any yet." Hmm. Somehow this new job of his is causing some repeat performances in the baking department. I can't say I complained too much, though. There's something completely satisfying when you boil up the bagels and they actually look like...bagels! So perfect, yet so very easy. And it makes me feel kind of like a baking badass. Most people I know would shudder at the thought of spending a day off of work boiling bagels.

Last time I went with Asiago, a personal favorite of mine. This time around I decided to do cinnamon raisin...well, half cinnamon raisin. The other half were, of course, Asiago. Right now we're trying to save money on groceries (ha!), so buying a $10 hunk of Asiago at Whole Foods wasn't a top priority for me, but the end result is too good to resist. Again I used the Nigella Lawson recipe that Confections of a Foodie Bride had adapted, except I eliminated the maple extract and threw in raisins until I was satisfied (just keep on adding until it looks good!) for the cinnamon raisin batch. For the Asiago batch, again, no cinnamon or maple, shredded Asiago on top of the egg wash before baking. The cinnamon raising were amazing.

To keep on top of things when portioning out the dough, I used my handy kitchen scale, weighed the entire ball of dough, and then divided it up from there (each bagel was around 100-110 grams). This is much easier than going by site alone.

Now I just have to work things out so these bagels actually stay with me for enjoyment instead of trotting off with Steve to be devoured at work, and all will be good.

Easy Crab Dip

We finally had nice weather this weekend (unfortunately the good times didn't last - it's in the 50s today!), so Steve and I decided to make one of our favorite, easy summer treats. This crab dip is quick to make and perfect to have with a bottle of wine in the afternoon. Serve on crackers or, if you really feel like indulging, slice up an Asiago baguette - yum!

Crab Dip

Recipe by LazySusin

Real or Imitation Crabmeat (I prefer imitation)

Veggie Cream Cheese

1 or 2 tsp of milk, more or less as needed

A few drops of Tabsco, to taste

Combine all ingredients, determining quantities based on need. Stir vigorously. Enjoy!

Check this recipe out on The Back Burner

Celebratin' Good Times

This weekend our friends Stacey and Brian hosted a celebratory barbecue for our friend Joe, who recently gradated from UIC. What better way to celebrate Joe's graduation than with Greek Celebration Bread? There are many different versions of this bread from what I've seen, I chose to make the Christopsomos, using raisins and toasted walnuts. The bread was devoured, a good time was had by all at the party, and I was finally able to work from Peter Reinhart's Bread Baker's Apprentice, which Steve gave me for Christmas.

Christopsomos - Greek Celebration Bread
Recipe adapted from the Bread Baker's Apprentice
1 C poolish
1 1/4 C unbleached bread flour
3/4 C water, room temperature
1/8 tsp instant yeast
Dough
3 1/2 unbleached bread flour
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp instant yeast
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp orange zest
1 tsp almond extract
2 large eggs, slightly beaten
1/4 C honey
1/4 C olive oil
3/4 C whole or low-fat milk, lukewarm
1/2 C raisings
1/2 C chopped walnuts, lightly toasted
Glaze
2 T water
2 T sugar
2 T honey
1 tsp lemon or orange extract
1 tsp sesame seeds

Combine ingredients for the poolish until it looks like pancake batter. Let it ferment at room temperature for 3-4 hours and then put into fridge for up to 3 days. Make at least 1 day in advance.
Combine flour, salt, yeast, spices in mixing bowl. Add the poolish, extracts/zest, eggs, honey, olive oil and milk. Stir with spoon or on slow speed with mixer using paddle attachment, until forms ball.
Knead teh dough on the counter or use dough hook at medium speed. Use extra milk or flour as needed to form soft ball. Knead for 10 minutes, adding in raisins and walnuts.
Oil a bowl and place dough in, oiling all sides. Cover and let rise for 90 minutes, or until doubles.
Divide the dough into two pieces, one twice the size of the other. Take the smaller piece and place in a plastic bag and put in fridge. With the large piece, form into a boule. Place on parchment-lined baking pan, mist with with olive oil and lightly cover with place wrap. Let rise for 60-90 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
When loaf has doubled in size, take the smaller piece of dough from the fridge and divide into two pieces. Roll each piece into a 10-inch long rope. Cross the two ropes over the top of the boule. Split the ends of each rope and coil them.
Bake for 20 minutes, rotate the pan 180 degrees and then bake for another 20-25 minutes, until the loaf is golden brown and makes a hollow sound.
To make the glaze, combine the water and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the honey and extract, turn off the heat. Immediately glaze the loaf after removing from the oven, sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Cool bread on a wrack for at least an hour before serving.
CELEBRATE!

Check out my review of Peter Reinhart's Bread Baker's Apprentice on Sazze.com.

Cherry, Chocolate & Almond Cookies

I'm not usually a big fan of making chocolate chip cookies - don't get me wrong, I love to eat them, but making them? It seems like there are so many other recipes to try, I usually don't touch on this classic.

Steve wanted me to do something with chocolate chips and almonds so we found Baking Bites' Chocolate Chip and Almond Cookies - a great recipe from a few years back. I can't resist cherries, chocolate and almonds, so we chopped up some dried cherries and added those to the batter as well.

These baked up golden brown and delicious, and I'll definitely be using versions of this recipe in the future - whenever I decide I need to get back to the classics.

Lemony Gingerness

I haven't sent any baked goods to work with Steve recently, so hopefully they will enjoy seeing some cookies in the office tomorrow morning.

I've worked out of Elinor Klivans' Big Fat Cookies before with mixed results. Her Butterscotch Marble Blondies I blogged earlier this winter were tasty and easy to replicate. But I had some messy results with her Chocolate-Chip Stuffed cookies, where a mound of chocolate chips were sandwiched between chocolate chip cookie dough, to bake up with gooey chocolate in the center. Against my better judgement I followed her recipe exactly and did not refrigerate the dough, so it was way too sticky to work with and the cookies were flat, sad  pancakes (on the upside, the dough was phenomenal). 

So, with a little bit of hesitation I pulled out Big Fat Cookies again today to make Lemon-Ginger Cookie Sandwiches. The dough was incredibly easy to work with and everything was perfect from start to finish. I was able to find every single ingredient in my pantry, but was still able to make a fabulous cookie with unique flavors. 

Lemon-Ginger Cookie Sandwiches

from Elinor Klivans' Big Fat Cookies

Cookie

2 C unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

2 1/2 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 C unsalted butter, room temperature

1 C powdered sugar

2 tsp finely grated lemon zest

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 C (4 oz) whole blanched almonds, toasted and finely ground

Filling

1/2 C unsalted butter, room temperature

1 1/2 C powdered sugar

2 tsp finely grated lemon zest

1 T fresh lemon juice

Sift the flower, salt, ginger and cinnamon into a bowl. In a large bowl, beat the butter and powdered sugar in a mixer until smooth. On low speed, mix in lemon zest, vanilla, almonds. Mix in the flour mixture until the flour is incorporated and the dough holds together and away from the side of the bowl.

Divide the dough in half and form two 6-inch disks. Wrap each one in plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough until it is cold and firm enough to roll, about 40 minutes.

Preheat the over to 325 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Unwrap one piece of dough. Flour the rolling surface and roll out dough about 1/4 inch thick. Use a round cookie cutter with scalloped edges, 3 1/4 to 3 1/2-inch circles or smaller, depending on how many cookies you want. Unwrap the other piece of dough and cut out remaining cookies, to have an even number. Cut a circle or other shape from the center of half of the cookies.

Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, until the edges are light brown and tops firm, about 20 minutes. Cool the cookies for 5 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to cooling racks.

In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter, powdered sugar, lemon zest and lemon juice until smooth. Spread the frosting onto those that do not have the holes in the center and make sandwiches with those that do have holes.

Store  in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

*Makes 9 cookie sandwiches with 3 1/2-inch circle cookies, makes 15 cookie sandwiches with 2 1/2-inch circle cookies.

A Twist on Turkey Burgers

We alway have a package of extra lean ground turkey in the freezer. Usually we cook it up to add to our spaghetti, or when we have enough time on our hands, we make meatballs (my favorite!). But after awhile, the extra lean turkey begins to feel just that - extra lean and extra boring.

Ellie Krieger, yet again, has saved the day with her recipe for Stuffed Turkey Burgers. Steve and I have modified the recipe just a little bit, with extra-delicious results. This is a perfect way to spice up the ground turkey and these can all be cooked up ahead of time and then reheated during the week for easy dinners.

Mozzarella & Red Pepper Turkey Burgers

Reciped adapted by Lazy Susin

1 1/4 pounds lean ground turkey breast
1/2 cup chopped red pepper
1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/4 teaspoons salt

Crushed Red Peper
Freshly ground black pepper
Mix all of the ingredients together in a big bowl and form 6-8 equal patties. Grill or broil until cooked through, about 5 minutes per side.

See my review of my Global knife on Sazze.com!

Mac'n'Cheese...'n'Cauliflower?

Steve continues to keep me good, which of course means that I've long ago given up one of my great foodie loves, macaroni and cheese. One of the best comfort foods out there, it's a little lacking in the health food department so it doesn't make its way into our house very much.

Last week I caught the end of an episode of Healthy Appetite with Ellie Krieger as she was making classic dishes just a little bit healthy. I decided to make Ellie's version of macaroni and cheese, but substituted her choice of squash for cauliflower in hopes of drowning out as much of the vegetable taste as possible.

The end result was good, but not great...it wasn't nearly as cheesy as I would have hoped, so next time around I think I would use a little less ricotta and sprinkle some of the shredded cheese into the mixture rather than melting it all beforehand.

So, my hankering for macaroni and cheese wasn't quite satisfied, but I do feel good that I was able to hide some vegetables into my dinner - if I hadn't been the cook I would have never known :)

Ellie Krieger's Macaroni and 4 Cheeses
adapted by Lazy Susin

Cooking spray
1 pound elbow macaroni (I used whole wheat)
1/2 c cauliflower puree or 2 10-ounce packages of pureed winter squash

2 cups 1 percent lowfat milk

4 ounces extra-sharp Cheddar, grated (about 1 1/3 cups)

2 ounces Monterrey jack cheese, grated (about 2/3 cup)

1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon powdered mustard
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons unseasoned bread crumbs
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
1 teaspoon olive oil

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Coat a 9 by 13-inch baking pan with cooking spray.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the macaroni and cook until tender but firm, about 5 to 8 minutes. Drain and transfer to a large bowl.

Meanwhile, place the frozen squash and milk into a large saucepan and cook over a low heat, stirring occasionally and breaking up the squash with a spoon until it is defrosted. Or steam cauliflower for 8 minutes, puree in a food processor until smooth and add to the milk. Turn the heat up to medium and cook until the mixture is almost simmering, stirring occasionally. Remove the pan from heat and stir in the Cheddar, jack cheese, ricotta cheese, salt, mustard and cayenne pepper. Pour cheese mixture over the macaroni and stir to combine. Transfer the macaroni and cheese to the baking dish. Add more shredded cheese if looking for a cheesier dish.

Combine bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese and oil in a small bowl. Sprinkle over the top of the macaroni and cheese. Bake for 20 minutes, then broil for 3 minutes so the top is crisp and nicely browned.

Scraping the Bean

The lure of baking products is always high for me, from intricate cake pans to gadgets and extracts. I generally manage to control my spending and buy just a few things at a time. This weekend I picked up a "vial" of bourbon vanilla beans and decided to make some vanilla bean cupcakes, topped off with cherry blossoms I made out of gum paste.

I've admired Cake Journal's cupcakes covered with poured fondant, and since she gives such a great tutorial on the process, I decided to give it a try. I used Chockylit's basic vanilla cupcake recipe, with the addition of my vanilla bean and a little extra vanilla extract to give them a little more vanilla-y oomph, and used the following pour fondant recipe (although there are a lot of variations out there):

Pour Fondant
1/4 c water
1/8 c light corn syrup
2 1/2 c powdered sugar
Combine the water and corn syrup in a sauce pan and heat over medium/medium high heat until it comes to a boil. Whisk in powdered sugar, cup by cup, until mixture is smooth. Add food coloring if desired.

If making a large batch of cupcakes I would double or triple the recipe (I made a small batch because I only baked up a dozen cupcakes).


These were an amazing sugary treat for a Sunday afternoon, and I would definitely give this a try again. I think the trick to the fondant is getting the right temperature and consistency. Amazingly, one kitchen gadget I haven't purchased (but is next on the list) is a candy thermometer, which will help me pinpoint correct temperature. At the right temperature I think it will be easier to cover the cupcakes more evenly.

Oh, if only I weren't on a diet...

Check out my review of bourbon vanilla beans on Sazze.com!

Cheesy, easy pizza

Steve and I love to make pizza at home, but we're always struggling to get the crust "just right." We prefer whole wheat for health reasons, but 100% whole wheat pizza crust tends to fall flat. A basic white crust is great, and there's no question of its ability to puff up beautifully in the oven, but it's not the healthiest alternative. Last night, I think I unlocked the secret of a great semi-whole wheat pizza crust that delivers the best of both worlds.

I topped my pizza off (above) with roasted garlic, sundried tomato and basil chicken sausage, part skim mozzarella, fresh basil and a drizzle of olive oil (Steve also added fresh mushrooms and onion to his) - phenomenal! Honestly beats out ordering out pizza any day of the week, because not only was it tasty, I didn't feel full, fat, 'n guilty afterwards.

Perfectly Puffy Wheat Pizza Dough

by Lazy Susin

1-2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 package rapid-rise yeast
1 tbsp honey
2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup 100 deg. water
coarse cornmeal
toppings for pizza

Add 1 cup whole wheat flour and 1 cup all purpose flour, salt and sugar to large mixing bowl. Mix together.

Add yeast to warm water, stir with a fork and let yeast proof. Add yeast mixture, honey, and olive oil to dry ingredients. Either mix by hand (with hands or spatula) or using stand mixture with dough hook. If sticky add 1/2-1 cup whole wheat flour as needed. If mixing by hand knead lightly on a floured surface. If using dough hook, dough is ready when it comes away from the side of the mixing bowl.
Cover with a dishtowel in a warm spot and let rise for 45 minutes-hour in a bowl lightly greased with olive oil. Divide into two parts. If making up a day ahead of time do not allow dough to rise. Place dough into a well-oiled Ziploc bag and place in fridge (can divide into two parts if making 2 pizzas).

If refrigerating overnight, remove dough from fridge about an hour before planning to bake and place in oiled bowls and allow to rise in a warm place.

Whichever method you are doing, after about an hour of rising time the dough is ready to go. Each half makes approximately a 12" pizza. Stretch out onto a pizza pan or sheet pan that has been generously sprinkled with coarse cornmeal.

Bake each crust at 450 degrees for about 5 minutes. Remove from oven and add toppings and return to oven and bake for another 8-10 minutes, until crust is brown and toppings are fully cooked and cheese is starting to brown up.

Cut and enjoy!