The Strangest Cookie Recipe Ever-Rosquillos de Vino - Wine Ring Cookies

I found this to be the strangest cookie recipe I've ever tried. It was given to me by my ex-boyfriend's mother, (we're talking high school here). She made them for a Spanish theme dinner. The cookies are good, although they don't taste as strong as you would expect considering they have 2 tablespoons of anise extract in them. The addition of the wine is interesting. It burns off in the oven- leaving the cookies light and crumbly. I was tempted to use powdered sugar or a larger grained sanding sugar to coat them, but regular sugar works best. The yield is supposed to be 2-3 dozen. But if you make your rope 1/3" thick as suggested, you're going to end up with more.


1 cup white wine
1 cup sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup vegetable shortening
3 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp anise extract
6 cups flour
granulated sugar for topping

This recipe yields 2-3 dozen small rings.

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees.

Using a hand mixer, combine sugar, vegetable oil, vegetable shortening and baking powder together in a large mixing bowl. Add white wine and anise extract and mix well. Add flour a cup at a time. Mixture will seem dry or crumbly. You may want to use your hand to mix together the dough as you add the last 2 cups of flour.

Take out a small amount of dough and roll into a rope about 1/3” thick on an un-floured cutting board. Cut into pieces about 4 inches long and join the two ends to form a doughnut shape or ring.

Carefully place on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake 15-18 minutes or until they become a golden color. Be careful not to burn the bottoms!

Let cool about 10 minutes, so the cookies do not fall apart as you lift them off with a spatula. While still warm, place in sugar to coat the tops.

My Favorite Cake

I made this cake for Abbie's 4th Birthday Party. The theme was "bees". I'm very proud of this creation, although, of course, I learned quite a bit from this experience.

Tomato Sauce

This recipe comes from "On Top of Spaghetti", by Johanne Killeen and George Germon, with a few of my own changes. I remember Ina mentioning their restaurant, Al Forno, in Providence, RI, once on her show. Husband made this sauce when he was making dinner one night. It was a hit with the both us and the kids. Although it's not hard to make, you can easily freeze this sauce and have it for later. I haven't tried making great batches of it, but I'd like to try. It's fantastic over any pasta. And I like how the kids are eating the vegetables hidden in the sauce.

Tomato Sauce

1/4 cup olive oil
3/4 cup finely chopped onion (about 1/2 a large onion)
2 sprigs flat-leafed parsley, leaves only. finely chopped
1/2 cup peeled and finely chopped carrot (1 carrot)
1/2 cup finely chopped celery (2 stalks)
1 large garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (I only put in 1/8 tsp. because I don't want it too spicy for the 4 year old.)
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup dry white wine (I've used red also when I didn't have white)
3 1/2 cups chopped canned tomato pulp and juice (1 28 ounce can)

Heat the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan with the onions, parsley, carrots, celery, garlic, red pepper flakes and 1/2 tsp salt. Saute' over medium heat until the vegetables are very soft without allowing them to brown, 20-25 minutes.

Add the wine, raise the heat, and allow the wine to all but evaporate, stirring often. Add the tomatoes and 1 cup of water. Cover, bring to a boil, then lower heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook for 30 minutes.


Puree' the sauce with an immersion blender. You may use the sauce right away, or cool to room temperature, cover, and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze.

Dried Pears

I got a food dehydrator for Christmas. This opens up a whole dried food world to me. I've been experimenting with canning, and trying to preserve local produce when it's in season. My mother in law has several fruit trees on her property, and has made dried pears for my daughters. They taste like candy, and the kids eat them up.
I bought 4 pounds of pears today at Berkeley Bowl. They were .79 cents a pound- not great, but certainly good for January. I prepped them by peeling, coring, and pulling out the woody stem. I use a melon-baller to core the pears, works really well. I sliced them length-wise into 3/8 in slices, then tossed them with the juice from 1 lemon. Then I laid them on the racks of my machine. Here they are all ready to go.

I set them at a temp. of 135 degrees, then ran the machine for 5 1/2 hours. After about 2 hours, we decided to set up the machine in the laundry room, because it's kind of loud. Here they are all done.

I let them cool a little, then put them into little ziplock bags, then into the freezer. This will help them keep longer. It wasn't until they were done that I thought I should consult my preserved food bible, "Putting Food By", by Greene, Hertzberg, and Vaughn. They advised changing the temperature during the drying process. I'll have to try that next time. I went by the manufacturer's instruction this time. The recommended drying time was "6-16 hours". I think I can do a little better than that.

Christmas 2008

Merry Christmas! Here are the decorated sugar cookies from this year.



My mother in law's Beef Wellington.



The Buche de Noel. This one was much better than last time. I made the traditional chocolate cake with the hazelnut mousse from Ian's birthday cake. It was great.

Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

These are very good. They remind me if the girls scout cookies with the oatmeal cookie and peanut butter filling. I made the cookies thinner than suggested here and had more cookies. I think the suggested thickness would have been too big.

Makes 12 sandwich cookies
1/2 cup (1 stick) plus 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup old-fashioned oatmeal
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed dark-brown sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
Turbanado sugar, for sprinkling
Peanut Butter Filling

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside. Melt 4 tablespoons butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add oats and cook, stirring, until toasted, 5 to 7 minutes. Spread oat mixture onto prepared baking sheet and let cool.
Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat; set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together remaining 1/2 cup butter, granulated and brown sugars. Add peanut butter and mix until well combined.
Add oat mixture and flour mixture; mix on low speed until combined. Turn dough out onto a piece of parchment paper. Cover dough with a second piece of parchment paper and roll out dough, between parchment, to 1/4 inch thick. Carefully slide rolled dough onto the back of a baking sheet and transfer to a refrigerator until chilled, about 20 minutes.
Remove top layer of parchment paper; cut out cookies using a 2-inch round cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on prepared baking sheets; sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
Transfer baking sheets to oven and bake until golden, rotating baking sheets halfway through baking, about 10 minutes. Let cool completely on baking sheets.
When cookies have cooled completely, snip the end of the pastry bag and squeeze filling in a spiral motion on the bottom side of half of the cookies. Top with remaining cookies to form sandwiches.

Filling:
Makes enough for 12 sandwich cookies
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

Mix all ingredients together in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium speed until smooth. Transfer filling to a disposable pastry bag until ready to use.

Graham Crackers #2

I've made graham crackers before, and am still on the lookout for the end all, beat all graham cracker recipe. These were really good, and I think I'm getting closer. These taste very much like honey- there's a lot of honey in them. I tried on a later batch to add some molasses and it helped- I think I did 50/50. I just love making my own s'mores- from graham cracker to marshmallow. I've stopped just short of making my own chocolate.

Graham Crackers
(from Nancy Silverton's Pastries from the La Brea Bakery (Villard, 2000) reprinted from 101cookbooks.
Yield: 24 smaller crackers
2 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons unbleached pastry flour or unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
7 tablespoons (3 1/2 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes and frozen
1/3 cup mild-flavored honey, such as clover (CC note: this is an important element: use high-quality honey)or 50/50 honey/molasses
5 tablespoons whole milk
2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract

For the topping:

3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade or in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. Pulse or mix on low to incorporate. Add the butter and pulse on and off on and off, or mix on low, until the mixture is the consistency of a coarse meal.

In a small bowl, whisk together the honey, milk, and vanilla extract. Add to the flour mixture and pulse on and off a few times or mix on low until the dough barely comes together. It will be very soft and sticky.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and pat the dough into a rectangle about 1 inch thick. Wrap in plastic and chill until firm, about 2 hours or overnight.

Chill cookie sheets with silpats.

To prepare the topping: In a small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon, and set aside.

Divide the dough in half and return one half to the refrigerator. Sift an even layer of flour onto the work surface and roll the dough into a long rectangle about 1/8 inch thick. The dough will be sticky, so flour as necessary. Trim the edges of the rectangle to 3 inches wide. Working with the shorter side of the rectangle parallel to the work surface, cut the strip every 3 inches to make crackers. Gather the scraps together and set aside. Place the crackers on one or two parchment-lined baking sheets and sprinkle with the topping. Chill until firm, about 30 to 45 minutes. Repeat with the second batch of dough.

Adjust the oven rack to the upper and lower positions and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Gather the scraps together into a ball, chill until firm, and re-roll. Dust the surface with more flour and roll out the dough to get about two or three more crackers.

Mark a vertical line down the middle of each cracker, being careful not to cut through the dough. Using a toothpick or skewer, prick the dough to form two dotted rows about 1/2 inch for each side of the dividing line.

Bake for 25 minutes, until browned and slightly firm to the touch, rotating the sheets halfway through to ensure even baking.

Strawberry Ice Cream

So I know this doesn't look too appetizing. But it tastes very good! To get that pink color, some people add some food coloring, or you could add some raspberry sauce. I actually have some in the freezer. This was made using the vanilla ice cream base from Lindsey Shere (Chez Panisse), and adding Rose Levy Beranbaum's Strawberry Sauce.

Vanilla Ice Cream

4 inch piece of a vanilla bean (or 1 tsp. good vanilla)
1 cup half and half
2 cups whipping cream
2/3 cup sugar
6 egg yolks (at room temperature)

If using a vanilla bean-Split the vanilla bean in half lengthwise and scrape the fine black seeds into a saucepan. Add the vanilla bean pod, half and half, cream, and sugar, and warm the mixture, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved.

If using good vanilla- Combine good vanilla, half and half, cream, and sugar in a saucepan. Warm the mixture stirring occasionally, until the sugar is dissolved.

Whisk the egg yolks just enough to mix them and whisk in some of the hot misture. Return to the pan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the custard coats the back of the spoon. (Drag your finger down the back of your wooden spoon. It should leave a clear trail.)

If using a vanilla bean-Strain through a medium-fine strainer to remove any lumps that may have formed, scraping as much of the vanilla through the strainer as you can. Return the bean pod to the mixture, put in a container, seal and store in the refrigerator until completely chilled.

If using good vanilla-Strain through a medium-fine strainer to remove any lumps that may have formed. Add fruit sauce. Put in a container, seal and store in the refrigerator until completely chilled.

Freeze according to instructions on your ice cream maker, (removing vanilla bean first). Store the ice cream in a plastic container.

Strawberry Sauce

20 ounces fresh strawberries
2 tsp. lemon juice
1/4 cup sugar

Freeze the berries. Thaw them in a collander or strainer suspended over a bowl. (This could take several hours.) Pres them to force out their juice. There shoould be close to 1 1/4 cups of juice.
In a small saucepan, boil the juice until reduced to 1/4 cup. Pour it into a glass measuring cup.
In a food precessor, puree the strawberries. You should have 1 full liquid cup of puree. Stir in the strawberry syrup and lemon juice. Add the sugar and stir until dissolved.
(I added 1/4 cup of this to the base mixture.)

S'more Pie

We weren't going to do anything on the 4th of July this year. It was too close to coming back from our trip to Connecticut, and we didn't want to go through the hassle of trying to keep the kids up to watch fireworks. Until- husband called me on Thursday- July 3rd- and said, "Hey, the B's aren't doing anything tomorrow either. Do you want to have them over?" I said, "Sure. I know just what I'll make for dessert!". I've been holding on to this recipe for a couple of years. It appeared in the November 2006 issue of Gourmet. I thought it was a really strange thing to make for Thanksgiving, although the reviews indicate that many people had it for their Thanksgiving dessert. So how was it? It was good. Sweet, very sweet. Be careful with browning the top. It can go from yummy brown goodness to black disaster in a heartbeat. I used semisweet chocolate instead of the bittersweet it calls for.

S'more Pie

Active time: 45 min
Start to finish: 7 hr (includes making crust and chilling pie)
Servings: Makes 8 servings.

For crust
1 graham cracker crumb crust, baked and cooled completely (recipe below)

For chocolate cream filling
7 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not more than 70% cacao; not unsweetened), finely chopped
1 cup heavy cream
1 large egg, at room temperature for 30 minutes

For marshmallow topping
1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin (from a 1/4-oz package)
1/2 cup cold water
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Vegetable oil for greasing

Special equipment: a candy thermometer.

Preparation:

Make graham cracker crumb crust and reserve.

Make chocolate cream filling:
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Put chocolate in a large bowl. Bring cream just to a boil in a 1- to 1 1/2-quart heavy saucepan, then pour hot cream over chocolate. Let stand 1 minute, then gently whisk until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Gently whisk in egg and a pinch of salt until combined and pour into graham cracker crumb crust (crust will be about half full).

Cover edge of pie with a pie shield or foil and bake until filling is softly set and trembles slightly in center when gently shaken, about 25 minutes. Cool pie to room temperature on a rack (filling will firm as it cools), about 1 hour.

Make marshmallow topping:
Sprinkle gelatin over 1/4 cup cold water in a large deep heatproof bowl and let stand until softened, about 1 minute.

Stir together sugar, corn syrup, a pinch of salt, and remaining 1/4 cup water in cleaned 1- to 1 1/4-quart heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil over moderate heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved, then boil until thermometer registers 260°F, about 6 minutes.

Begin beating water and gelatin mixture with an electric mixer at medium speed, then carefully pour in hot syrup in a slow stream, beating (avoid beaters and side of bowl). When all of syrup is added, increase speed to high and continue beating until mixture is tripled in volume and very thick, about 5 minutes. Add vanilla and beat until combined, then immediately spoon topping onto center of pie filling; it will slowly spread to cover top of pie. Chill, uncovered, 1 hour, then cover loosely with lightly oiled plastic wrap (oiled side down) and chill 3 hours more.

Brown topping:
Preheat broiler.
Transfer pie to a baking sheet. Cover edge of pie with pie shield or foil and broil 3 to 4 inches from heat, rotating pie as necessary, until marshmallow topping is golden brown, about 3 minutes. Cool pie on a rack 10 minutes. Slice pie with a large heavy knife dipped in hot water and then dried with a towel before cutting each slice.

Cooks' notes:
• To take the temperature of a shallow amount of syrup, put bulb in saucepan and turn thermometer facedown, resting other end against rim of saucepan. Check temperature frequently.
• Pie (before browning topping) can be chilled up to 1 day.


Graham Cracker Crust

Active time: 10 min
Start to finish: 1 1/4 hr

Servings: Makes enough for a 9- to 9 1/2-inch pie.

ingredients

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus additional for greasing
1 1/2 cups cookie crumbs (10 graham crackers or 24 small gingersnaps; about 6 oz)
2 tablespoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt

Special equipment: a 9- to 9 1/2-inch pie plate (4-cup capacity)
preparation

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly butter pie plate.

Stir together all ingredients in a bowl and press evenly on bottom and up side of pie plate. Bake until crisp, 12 to 15 minutes, then cool on a rack to room temperature, about 45 minutes.

Cook's notes:
• To make cookie crumbs, break up crackers or cookies into small pieces, then pulse in a food processor until finely ground.

Christmas

Late, yes, but here are the Christmas creations. This year I made a Croquembouche instead of the traditional Buche de Noel. A Crouchembouche is a traditional French cake/dessert, usually served at weddings. I made it beacause it looks like a Christmas tree. A Croquembouche is made with puffs filled with pastry cream, then bound together using caramel. It was a little awkward to serve, but it was very pretty, and tasted delicious. I filled the puffs with a chocolate pastry cream.

Pumpkin Indian Pudding

What a strange thing this was. I have a memory of my mother making indian pudding for Thanksgiving dessert one year. In my memory it was sweet and velvety, like the filling for pumpkin pie. Of course it couldn't have really been like that. Indian Pudding is a sort of New Englander's polenta. It's cornmeal mixed with milk and stirred on the stove for a very long time. Then you bake it in the oven for even longer. I found this to be very sweet, almost too much the flavor of molasses. It also is not the prettiest dessert I've ever made. But it is a New England treat, dating back to pilgrim time.

Pumpkin Indian Pudding

1/4 cup coarse-grind cornmeal
1 cup water
3 cups milk
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup pumpkin puree, fresh or canned
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 cup molasses
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon cloves

Preheat oven to 325 F. Lightly spray a 1-1/2 quart souffle dish or casserole with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
In a bowl, stir cornmeal into water, mixing well. Transfer to a heavy saucepan and stir in 2 cups of the milk and salt, blending well. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Cook over med-high heat, stirring, 10 minutes longer until thick and smooth. Remove from heat and stir in all remaining ingredients except remaining cup of milk. Pour into prepared dish. Bake in oven for 30 minutes.
Remove and stir in the last cup of milk. Return to oven and bake 1-1/2 hours longer, until thick and bubbly. Serve warm.

Looking Back

I'm so sad that my last post was the Fourth of July berry cake. Here it is November already. In the past few months I've done quite a bit of baking, and had baby Violet! I'm looking forward to getting going again. But I've also been looking back. Last week was my daughter's school's Spaghetti Carnival. I volunteered to do some baking. I went back into the archives and made the cute sugar cookie pumpkins from last year, as well as some ghosts and cats, which were really cute. I wish I had taken some pictures! I also made the popcorn balls. I love that recipe. It's so much fun to make. I added a little salt this time- maybe 1/4 tsp. and it made a big difference. I found out that one of Abbie's teachers has a baking company and makes the most beautiful cakes, cookies and cupcakes. Their website is fantastic. So I started going back into my photos of cakes and cupcakes I've done- before the blog started. Here are some of my favorite projects.


This is a baby block cake I did for a friend's baby shower. It was the first time I used fondant. I really liked it. I got the recipe from Martha. I thought they were really cute.

Abbie was totally into Elmo around her second birthday. I did these for her birthday party. The kids loved them, although they looked pretty gruesome covered in red Elmo frosting. I did these again for a friend- my first paying "baking- gig".

Husband's birthday cake from this past year. It was an Ina recipe- chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate. That chocolate buttercream was amazing. I had extra and froze it- it defrosted beautifully and I used it for cupcakes.

This was the cake for my mother's 60th. It was very pretty. I got the flowers from the baking supply store. I baked both these cakes at home (husband's and my mom's), froze them, brought them up to Tahoe, and did the frosting there. Baking at 6000 ft. can be really challenging. When I'm up there, I don't have the benefit of all my cool baking gadgets- like my mixer, so I have to make do with hand mixers. It makes things interesting.

This was the cake for Abbie's second birthday party for family and friends. It was a copy of Sweet Adeline's Bake Shop's Summer Cake. It tasted delicious, but I wish I had done a little better with the writing! I made the little daisies with fondant, then added a little royal icing dot for the yellow center. Looking back at all these, I think script practice should really be in my future!

Summer Berry Cake

Happy Fourth of July!
I was in charge of dessert this year for our Fourth of July celebration at the lake. I really wanted to make the beautiful berry cake with the biscuit crust on the cover of this month's Martha Stewart magazine. So I followed the directions for making the biscuit, and left the dough in my fridge overnight. I baked it the next day. YUCK! It was raw in the center, and done too much on the outside. So I had to throw the whole thing out and start again. I gave up on Martha altogether, and went back to my Ina, who never lets me down. Here is her recipe for Strawberry Country Cake, which was absolutely delicious. I left out the orange zest because I feel that it can be too overpowering sometimes. Two great things about this cake- one, you bake once and get 2 desserts out of it, and two the cake freezes beautifully, so you can make it way in advance, then just defrost it when you need dessert. Whip up the whipped cream, cut up some berries, and you're all set. I added blueberries in mine to set the red,white and blue mood.

Summer Berry Cake

For the cake batter- this makes 2 8 or 9 inch rounds, which will make 2 dessert cakes. Freeze one and save it for later.
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
3/4 cup sour cream, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking soda

For the filling for each cake:
1 cup (1/2 pint) heavy cream, chilled
3 tablespoons confectioner's sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 pint fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
1 pint blueberries

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Butter the bottom of two 8-inch cake pans. Then line them with parchment paper and butter and flour the lined pans.

Cream the butter and sugar on high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy. On medium speed, add the eggs, 1 at a time, then the sour cream, zests, and vanilla, scraping down the bowl as needed. Mix well. Sift together the flour, cornstarch, salt, and baking soda. On low speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and combine just until smooth.

Pour the batter evenly into the pans, smooth the tops, and bake in the center of the oven for 40 to 45 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then remove to wire racks and let cool to room temperature. If using 1 cake, wrap the second well and freeze.

To make the filling for one cake, slice the strawberries and combine with the blueberries in a large bowl. Add sugar to taste, and let sit for 10 minutes. Whip the cream, sugar, and vanilla in a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until firm. Slice one of the cakes in half with a long, sharp knife. Place the bottom slice of the cake on a serving platter, spread with 1/2 the whipped cream and scatter with the berries. Cover with the top slice of the cake and spread with the remaining cream. Decorate with berries.

Whoopie Pies

Oh, whoopie pies. I love them. Whoopie pies are a New Englander treat, rarely heard of in these parts. Two chocolate cake cookies filled with a marshmallow cream frosting in between. It doesn't get any better. I've already eaten 2. Alright, I ate 2, then I ate the cookie part of Abbie's after she licked out all the frosting. I'm pregnant- give me a break.
The recipe I found has you make 8 of these guys, but that would just be too big. Typically, they are about the size of your head- but I think these smaller ones are better. Don't be shy when filling them with frosting. It's supposed to ooze out.

For cakes
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder (I use Droste. It's the best.)
1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 cup well-shaken buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg
For filling
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups confectioners sugar
2 cups marshmallow cream such as Marshmallow Fluff (use what you can find- we can't get Fluff out here.)
1 tsp. vanilla

Make cakes:
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a bowl until combined. Stir together buttermilk and vanilla in a small bowl.
Beat together butter and brown sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes in a standing mixer or 5 minutes with a handheld, then add egg, beating until combined well. Reduce speed to low and alternately mix in flour mixture and buttermilk in batches, beginning and ending with flour, scraping down side of bowl occasionally, and mixing until smooth.
Using a tablespoon size ice cream scoop, scoop the batter onto silpat or parchment lined baking sheets. Bake in upper and lower thirds of oven, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until tops are puffed and cakes spring back when touched, about 8 minutes. Transfer with a metal spatula to a rack to cool completely.
Make filling:
Beat together butter, confectioners sugar, marshmallow, and vanilla in a bowl with electric mixer at medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes.
Assemble pies:
Spread the filling on flat side of half of cakes and top with remaining cakes.
Makes 24 whoopie pies

Blueberry Ice Cream

Years from now we will remember this summer as the summer of ice cream. I started collecting ice cream recipes last summer, determined to try to make my own. Ice cream is very serious business to a New Englander. Growing up in Connecticut I remember ice cream socials and consuming gallons of ice cream over the course of the summer. Everyone has their favorite ice crceam shop. Mine was Dr. Mike's. Their strawberry ice cream was so fantastic. It was full of fat, but airy and just really fabulous. I just can't find that same flavor in California ice cream. So this summer I started by making strawberry ice cream. It was the best so far. I started with a basic recipe from Lindsey Shere (Chez Panisse) that I got at a cooking class a couple of years ago. By the way- the cooking class was really fun, but was cancelled for lack of interest. It was a collection of mothers who would go to the class every other month, prepare a meal, then eat what we prepared. Unfortunately, many of the other mothers didn't have much interest in cooking. One night while we were eating the women around me at the table discussed the lack of variety in take-out food, lamenting that they had to have pizza two nights in a row. I thought this was odd considering this was a COOKING CLASS. Anyway, one of the things we prepared was this ice cream, and it was very good. So I started with the basic recipe, but I didn't have vanilla beans at home. I priced them at Berkeley Bowl- 1 bean was $8.25. The recipe called for 4 inches of vanilla bean, about half of one. So I thought I would just use regular good vanilla instead. After all, this was going to be strawberry ice cream. For the strawberry flavor, I made some of Rose Levy Beranbaum's (Cake Bible) Strawberry Sauce. It was really good. I wanted to take pictures, but we ate it all before I could.
Next I made plain Vanilla ice cream. I found vanilla beans at Williams Sonoma for less- 2 in a jar for $8.50. I followed the recipe, and it was a little too vanilla-y.
The blueberry is good, and I love the color, although it doesn't really knock you over with blueberry flavor. I went back to using good vanilla for this batch.
Why did the strawberry come out best? I still really don't know. I think it's because the eggs in the custard were at room temperature when I started making the base. That, and the strawberry sauce that I used was really great. So here's the basic recipe that I used for the ice cream, and the directions for the strawberry sauce and the blueberry sauce. There will be many more batches of ice cream this summer. I'll keep you posted. Note in the recipe the liquid used. Most recipes call for a combination of cream and whole milk. This uses half and half and whipping cream, substantially raising the fat content.

Vanilla Ice Cream

4 inch piece of a vanilla bean (or 1 tsp. good vanilla)
1 cup half and half
2 cups whipping cream
2/3 cup sugar
6 egg yolks (at room temperature)

If using a vanilla bean-Split the vanilla bean in half lengthwise and scrape the fine black seeds into a saucepan. Add the vanilla bean pod, half and half, cream, and sugar, and warm the mixture, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved.

If using good vanilla- Combine good vanilla, half and half, cream, and sugar in a saucepan. Warm the mixture stirring occasionally, until the sugar is dissolved.

Whisk the egg yolks just enough to mix them and whisk in some of the hot misture. Return to the pan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the custard coats the back of the spoon. (Drag your finger down the back of your wooden spoon. It should leave a clear trail.)

If using a vanilla bean-Strain through a medium-fine strainer to remove any lumps that may have formed, scraping as much of the vanilla through the strainer as you can. Return the bean pod to the mixture, put in a container, seal and store in the refrigerator until completely chilled.

If using good vanilla-Strain through a medium-fine strainer to remove any lumps that may have formed. Add fruit sauce. Put in a container, seal and store in the refrigerator until completely chilled.

Freeze according to instructions on your ice cream maker, (removing vanilla bean first). Store the ice cream in a plastic container.


Blueberry Sauce

2 cups fresh blueberries
3 tbs. sugar
1/4 tsp. lemon juice

Combine berries, sugar and lemon juice in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, and cook down berries about 5-10 minutes. Strain berries, pushing juice out with the back of a wooden spoon. You should have about 1/2 cup of sauce. Cool before adding to base mixture.
(I added the whole 1/2 cup to the base mixture.)

Strawberry Sauce

20 ounces fresh strawberries
2 tsp. lemon juice
1/4 cup sugar

Freeze the berries. Thaw them in a collander or strainer suspended over a bowl. (This could take several hours.) Pres them to force out their juice. There shoould be close to 1 1/4 cups of juice.
In a small saucepan, boil the juice until reduced to 1/4 cup. Pour it into a glass measuring cup.
In a food precessor, puree the strawberries. You should have 1 full liquid cup of puree. Stir in the strawberry syrup and lemon juice. Add the sugar and stir until dissolved.
(I added 1/4 cup of this to the base mixture.)

Cherry Raspberry Crostata

Andronico's had these wonderful bags of cherries for a very good price. Abbie loves cherries, and I thought that it would be nice to bake some in a something other than a pie. I'm not a huge fan of cherry filling, in fact I really don't like that overly red pie filling you can get in a can. I've been reading Alice Waters and Chez Panisse by Thomas McNamee. In it, Lindsey Shere, the original pastry chef, describes how she makes a stone fruit galette. I looked up some other ideas and came up with this crostata. It was delicious, although not as pretty as I would have liked. To make a crostata, you roll out a pate brisee, or other pie crust, then in a bowl mix the fruit together with sugar and maybe a little cinnamon, some lemon juice, then you dump the filling into the center of the crust, and fold the edges up around the filling. Lindsey Shere has you mix the flour and the sugar, then sprinkle it in the bottom of the crust, then put the fruit on top. I thought this was a strange idea, until I made mine the old way. I ended up with cherries covered in a flour-sugar mixture, with the top half of the cherries exposed. This means that the flour and sugar on top of them never got mixed with the juice. I hope this makes sense, but this is such a great discovery for me. So I ended up pulling the crostata out of the oven and trying to roll the cherries to cover them in juice. The other great idea I got from her recipe is to always use my pizza stone. The bottom of the crostata was not soggy at all. I also used it for the Tomato Tart, and I have never had a more crisp crust. I also want to mention that I added raspberries to my crostata, which tasted really good, but the raspberries just fell apart. Here is what I should have done to make my Cherry Crostata.

Pate Brisee
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/2 cups (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold!
1/4 cups ice water
Cut the butter into 1/2 inch pieces, place in a bowl, then in the freezer. Place the flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor, and process for a few seconds. Put the bowl of the food preocessor with the flour mixture into the freezer. Fill a measuring cup with ice water. Take the butter and flour out of the freezer, and add the butter pieces to the flour mixture. Process for no longer than 10 seconds- pulsing 1 second at a time. The butter should be big pea size. Dump the mixture into a bowl, drizzle 1/4 cup ice water over the mixture and using a spatula, press the dough together with the water. (This feels like it takes forever, and it does, but you will be rewarded with big chunks of butter in your crust. Remember- big chunks butter=flaky crust.) Turn out dough onto a lightly floured board, and form into a disk. Wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate atleast 1 hour. You can make this ahead and refrigerate 1 day, or freeze up to 1 month.

Filling:
4 cups pitted fresh cherries
2-4 tbs. each granulated sugar and unbleached all-purpose flour (depending on sweetness and ripeness of fruit)
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon heavy cream for egg wash
2 teaspoons coarse sugar

Put a pizza stone in the oven and preheat the oven to 425ºF for 45 minutes. Remove the dough from the refrigerator about a few minutes before rolling to soften it slightly.

Place the dough round between 2 sheets of parchment paper and roll into a 13-inch round, flouring the round lightly as needed to keep the dough from sticking. Remove the top sheet of parchment. Slide a pizza peel or rimless baking sheet under the bottom sheet of parchment.
In a small bowl, mix the flour, sugar and cinnamon. Spread the sugar and flour mixture over the bottom of the crostata, leaving a border of about 2 inches. Place the fruit in the crostata next. Fold the border up and over the cherries to make a rim. Brush the rim with egg wash, then sprinkle with coarse sugar.

Use the pizza peel or baking sheet to transfer the crostata, still with parchment underneath, to the oven, sliding it, with the paper, directly onto the pizza stone. Bake until the crust is nicely browned and the cherries are bubbling, about 40-45 minutes. Remove from the oven with the peel or baking sheet and let cool on a rack for 15 minutes before serving.

On Again

I feel I owe some sort of explanation for why I haven't posted in so many months. I know that many of you keep checking back to see if there's anything new. I have been in my kitchen, and have made other things since Chewy Cherry Cookies. In my defense, I must say that being pregnant and raising a 2 1/2 year old sucks all the energy out of your body. So I've been cooking and baking, but not as much as I would like, and I haven't had time to post. I hope you will forgive, and keep checking back. I'm posting today some recent recipes- Hot Cross Buns from Easter- They are really wonderful. I'm not a fan of the funny dried/candied fruits that you can get in the grocery store. These have lemon and orange zest and are really fantastic. I used a bit of buttercream frosting for the crosses that I had in my freezer. Buttercream is great that way. If you ever manage to have extra, freeze it. Then you can pull out different flavors for frosting cupcakes. I also have a great hodge-podge salad that I've made with Israeli coucous. The last new post is for some chocolate chip cookies I saw Martha make on her chocolate chip cookie show. They are pretty amazing. I found that they're best right after you make them though. They got a little tough as the week went by. Still, I wouldn't turn down a chocolate chip cookie, regardless. I still love those Chips Ahoy. Anyway- I'm making my Tomato Tart for dinner tonight. The first of the really good heirloom tomatoes have come into Berkeley Bowl. I've got my garlic roasting now. The cherries are especially good right now as well. I got a bag on sale at Andronico's and I'm making up some kind of Cherry Crostata for the moms of playgroup for Friday. I'm also baking up some of Louise's Ginger Crinkles for the kids. So please keep checking back, and I'll try to post on those ever so rare high energy days.
-Me-me

Greek-y Salad

This recipe is a combination of ideas from Ina and Martha. I call it Greek-y becasue it has flavors that remind me of greek food, mint, feta, olives, fresh flavors. It's great with a couple of grilled chicken breasts. It's perfect for summer dinner, not too fussy, light, and lots of flavor. Pound the chicken breasts down to about 1/4 inch, then grill with just salt and pepper. Serve over Greek-y Salad. Israeli cous-cous are big round cou-cous pebbles. I'm trying to incorporate different grains into our meals- I'm sick of noodles and rice. So look for it at the market, or you can use orzo which is great too. This will serve about 4 people. When I make it at home, it's enough for Husband, me and Abbie, with some left over for lunch the next day.

Greek-y Salad

1 cup israeli cous-cous or orzo

1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1/2 pt. cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1/2 cup coarsely chopped kalamata olives
2 thinly sliced green onions
6 oc. good feta, cut into 1/2 " cubes
1 tbs. finely chopped mint

Cook cous-cous or orzo in boiling salted water 9-10 minutes.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Drain the cous-cous or orzo, then add it to the bowl with the dressing, stirring to coat. Let it sit to soak up the dressing, and cool to room temperature. Add the other ingredients to the bowl, and mix gently. Taste for salt and pepper.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes twenty-six 5-inch cookies or 8 1/2 dozen 1 1/4-inch cookies
1 pound unsalted butter
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
2 1/4 cups packed light-brown sugar
4 large eggs
3 cups plus 2 tablespoons pastry flour
3 cups bread flour
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2 pounds Jacques Torres House (60 percent cocoa) Chocolate or other best-quality semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats; set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugars. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Reduce speed to low and add both flours, baking powder, baking soda, vanilla, and chocolate; mix until well combined.
Using a 4-ounce scoop for larger cookies or a 1-ounce scoop for smaller cookies, scoop cookie dough onto prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Bake until lightly browned, but still soft, about 20 minutes for larger cookies and about 15 minutes for smaller cookies. Cool slightly on baking sheets before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Hot Cross Buns

Makes 2 dozen
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus more for bowl, pan, and knife
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup granulated sugar
4 1/2 teaspoons (2 packages) active dry yeast
1 tablespoon coarse salt
Zest of 1 lemon
Zest of 1 orange
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
5 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 1/3 cups currants
Bun Crossing Paste
1/2 cup apricot jam
Directions

Generously butter a large bowl; set aside. Place 1 cup milk in a small saucepan, over medium heat. Heat until milk reaches 110 degrees on a candy thermometer. Pour milk into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. With machine on low speed, add granulated sugar, yeast, salt, butter, lemon zest, orange zest, and eggs. Add flour, and mix on low speed until a soft, slightly sticky dough forms around dough hook. Continue kneading, scraping down hook and sides of bowl as necessary, until smooth, about 4 minutes more.
Add currants; knead, with dough hook, to incorporate. Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead briefly to evenly distribute currants in dough. Shape into a ball. Place dough in prepared bowl. Turn to coat with butter. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour and 20 minutes.
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. Turn dough out onto work surface. Knead briefly and roll dough into a log. Cut log in half and cut each half into 12 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a tightly formed ball. Place on prepared baking sheets 2 inches apart. Cover baking sheets with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until buns are touching and doubled in size, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees with racks positioned in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Place bun crossing paste in a pastry bag fitted with a small plain tip or a paper cornet with a 1/8-inch opening. Pipe crosses over the surface of each bun. Transfer buns to oven and bake until golden brown, 18 to 25 minutes, rotating baking sheets after 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and cool to room temperature.
Meanwhile, place apricot jam in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook until heated through; strain through a mesh sieve set over a bowl. Brush heated jam over buns.