The Pastry Chef's Baking

Monday, December 3, 2012

Chocolate Turtle Cookies

Chocolate Turtle Cookies - made dough November 28, 2012 from Pixelated Crumb

I love "thumbprint" cookies for holiday parties. They're cute, little and tasty. I was already making the Peanut Butter kiss cookies for my dessert party so I went with this as a different cookie option. Instead of Hershey kisses in the middle of the cookie, this held a well of caramel. Caramel, chocolate and toasted almonds (or pecans). You can't really go wrong here. I made these ahead of time and took it up to the step of rolling the cookie dough balls in the egg white and chopped nuts then making the well in the center. After that I put them in freezer bags and stashed them in the freezer until baking time.

Let me just say this cookie is the reason I can't stop trying out new recipes. Because, even though I have a veritable treasure trove of tried and true cookie recipes I could make, you just never know when you're going to discover another gem. And this is a gem. I'm so glad I found it and tried it because it's going to have a regular place in my holiday baking from now on. This is a seriously good cookie.

The texture is like a chewy, fudgy cookie, the nuts provide a nice crunch and the caramel was divine. Seriously. Plus they're cute, right? My only issue with it is my cookies spread more than I would've liked even though I baked them from frozen dough and on the convection setting in my oven. There wasn't a "well" for the caramel as much as a "little dip". I did re-impress the center with a half teaspoon to make it more well-like but the cookie still had a little spread. But that's not enough of an issue to stop me from making these again (and again). I will just need to play with the ingredients a bit to see if I can have it spread less, perhaps add a smidge more cocoa.

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1 large egg, separated, plus 1 egg white
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups pecans, chopped fine
14 soft caramel candies
3 tablespoons heavy cream

Combine flour, cocoa, and salt in bowl. With electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 2 minutes. Add egg yolk, milk, and vanilla and mix until incorporated. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture until just combined. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, 1 hour.
Adjust oven rack to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk egg whites in bowl until frothy. Place pecans in another bowl. Roll dough into 1-inch balls, dip in egg whites, then roll in pecans. Place balls 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Using 1/2-teaspoon measure, make indentation in center of each ball. Bake until set, about 12 minutes, switching and rotating sheets halfway through baking.
Microwave caramels and cream in bowl, stirring occasionally, until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Once cookies are removed from oven, gently re-press existing indentations. Fill each with 1/2 teaspoon caramel mixture. Cool 10 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Linked to Crazy Sweet Tuesday

Sunday, December 2, 2012

Dessert Party 2012

Here's the dessert spread I had this year - some standbys (click on recipe title to go to recipe) and a couple of new ones (those recipes to follow)

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Kisses

Holiday Caramel Treats

Chocolate Turtle Cookies (recipe to follow in a future post)

These are my new favorite this year

Buttery Tea Balls

I always have to make "snowballs" since I have mitten serving dishes

Lemon Bars

Instead of powdered sugar, I glazed with powdered sugar and lemon juice

Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies

Ferrero Rocher Brownie Bon Bons with Nutella Buttercream Frosting (you're going to want to wait for this post)

Saturday, December 1, 2012

Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies

Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies - made November 29, 2012 from Sweet Pea's Kitchen

I had my holiday dessert party last night and had a few friends over. I think I've given up on sticking to tried and true recipes during the holidays. There are just too many great recipes out there to try and having people over gives me an excuse to not only try out new recipes but to provide them with new ones to sample. I still made a couple of stand-by recipes but I also compromised to work in a few new recipes. I did mini-taste tests of some new recipes before the party and if they passed muster before the big day, I kept them in. And if a picture was alluring enough to persuade me to take a risk on it, I did. This recipe falls into that category. It's hard to go wrong with brownies and 'tis the season for red velvet. I'm not a cheesecake fan but I have friends who are so they could taste test these with me.

Mine didn't turn out quite as alluring-looking as the picture that drew me in from Sweet Pea's Kitchen. In the time it took to bake the red velvet brownie part, the cheesecake part started to turn a little brown. It looks better when it isn't browned but I didn't want the brownie part to be raw as opposed to fudgy. Still I thought it tasted pretty good. This is about the only way I'll eat "cheesecake" - when it's marbled or swirled into a brownie and this is also a seasonal-appropriate option for Christmas or Valentine's Day.

1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoon red food coloring
2/3 cup all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
8-oz cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8 x 8" pan with foil and spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray.
In a small, heatproof bowl, melt butter and chocolate together. Stir until combined and very smooth. Set aside to cool for a few minutes.
In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, eggs, vanilla extract and red food coloring. Add chocolate mixture and stir until smooth. Add flour and salt and stir until just combined and no streaks of dry ingredients remain.
Pour into prepared pan and spread into an even layer.
To prepare cheesecake mixture, beat cream cheese, sugar, egg and vanilla extract in a medium bowl until smooth. Distribute the cheesecake mixture in 8 dollops over batter in the pan. Swirl in with a knife or spatula.
Bake for 35-40 minutes, until brownies and cheesecake are set. A knife inserted into the cheesecake mixture should come out clean and the edges will be lightly browned.
Let cool completely in pan on a cooling rack before lifting out the foil to remove the brownies.

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Chicken Pad Thai

Chicken Pad Thai - made November 19, 2012 from Prevention.com

The last of a "real food" blog post for a bit since my dessert party is tomorrow and I took the day off so I could bake all day - woot! Lots of pictures and some new recipes to come. I have a planned and semi-planned list of things to make; we'll see how it goes tomorrow.

I found another pad thai recipe to try, this one with a few more ingredients so it seemed a little more authentic. Plus, let's be honest, I wanted those brown rice flour noodles again. I adapted and simplified this recipe from Prevention.com as I omitted the tofu and bean sprouts called for in their recipe. I also didn't have any cilantro on hand (the remnants of the last bunch had already wilted) and didn't bother with the peanuts so perhaps this still isn't very authentic pad thai. But it's easy to make, quick and (to me) tasty so I was happy with this. The sauce is so easy and I love the noodles so I can see this being an easy staple to fall back on when I'm too ~~lazy~~ tired to cook after work.

8 ounces rice flour noodles (I used pad thai noodles I found at Target)
1/4 cup reduced-sodium fish sauce (can be found at any Asian grocery store)
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 egg + 2 egg whites, lightly beaten
8 ounces chicken, cut into chunks (I used chicken breasts), cooked
4 medium scallions, green tops, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons chopped peanuts
1 cup cilantro leaves

1. Cook noodles according to package directions; set aside.
2. Whisk together fish sauce, brown sugar, soy sauce, lime juice, rice wine vinegar, pepper and 1 teaspoon sesame oil in a small bowl; set aside.
3. Heat remaining 2 teaspoons sesame oil in wok or nonstick skillet and add garlic, stirring until lightly browned, 1 to 2 minutes. Add eggs and stir until gently set. Add chicken, noddles and scallions then add sauce mixture. Simmer until mixture thickens just slightly. Serve garnished with peanuts and cilantro.

8 oz rice-flour noodles
1/4 C reduced-sodium fish sauce
3 tbsp brown sugar
2 1/2 tbsp reduced-sodium soy sauce
Juice of 1 lime (about 2 Tbsp)
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1/2 tsp ground red pepper
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil, divided
4 oz firm tofu, cubed
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 egg + 2 egg whites, lightly beaten
1/2 lb ground chicken
4 C bean sprouts
4 med scallions, including green tops, thinly sliced (1/2 c)
2 tbsp roughly chopped roasted, unsalted peanuts
1 C cilantro leaves
Directions:
1. SOAK noodles*. Set aside.
2. WHISK together fish sauce, sugar, soy sauce, lime juice, vinegar, pepper, and 1 teaspoon of the oil in small bowl. Set aside.
3. HEAT remaining 2 teaspoons oil in wok or large nonstick skillet over medium heat. When oil is hot but not smoking, add tofu and cook, turning once, until light brown, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 to 2 minutes. Add eggs. When just set, stir and gently push to side of pan.
4. ADD chicken to pan and cook until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Add sprouts and stir gently until all ingredients are barely combined. Stir in drained noodles, scallions, and fish sauce mixture and simmer just until liquid thickens slightly, 5 to 10 minutes. Serve garnished with the peanuts and cilantro.

Read more: http://www.prevention.com/food/cook/diabetes-friendly-chicken-dishes/quick-and-light-pad-thai#ixzz2DMalQrm7

8 oz rice-flour noodles
1/4 C reduced-sodium fish sauce
3 tbsp brown sugar
2 1/2 tbsp reduced-sodium soy sauce
Juice of 1 lime (about 2 Tbsp)
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1/2 tsp ground red pepper
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil, divided
4 oz firm tofu, cubed
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 egg + 2 egg whites, lightly beaten
1/2 lb ground chicken
4 C bean sprouts
4 med scallions, including green tops, thinly sliced (1/2 c)
2 tbsp roughly chopped roasted, unsalted peanuts
1 C cilantro leaves
Directions:
1. SOAK noodles*. Set aside.
2. WHISK together fish sauce, sugar, soy sauce, lime juice, vinegar, pepper, and 1 teaspoon of the oil in small bowl. Set aside.
3. HEAT remaining 2 teaspoons oil in wok or large nonstick skillet over medium heat. When oil is hot but not smoking, add tofu and cook, turning once, until light brown, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 to 2 minutes. Add eggs. When just set, stir and gently push to side of pan.
4. ADD chicken to pan and cook until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Add sprouts and stir gently until all ingredients are barely combined. Stir in drained noodles, scallions, and fish sauce mixture and simmer just until liquid thickens slightly, 5 to 10 minutes. Serve garnished with the peanuts and cilantro.
*There are 3 ways to soak rice-flour noodles:
Easiest: Soak in enough cold water to cover for 40 to 50 minutes.
Quicker: Cover with boiling water. Let stand 20 minutes.
Our favorite: Barely cover with water in a shallow dish. Microwave 3 to 4 minutes.
Nutritional Info Per Serving 493.1 cal, 26.1 g pro, 69.9 g carb, 5.6 g fiber, 14.2 g fat, 2.9 g sat fat, 972.3 mg sodium

Read more: http://www.prevention.com/food/cook/diabetes-friendly-chicken-dishes/quick-and-light-pad-thai#ixzz2CageP4Pi

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

White, Dark and Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies

White, Dark and Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies - made November 24, 2012, adapted from Culture Espresso's recipe

I can never resist trying a new recipe for chocolate chip cookies. I have perfectly good recipes I like to use but my recipe ADD always kicks in when I see a variation of it and I always want to try it. I veered off the reservation from the original recipe in that I didn't have European butter on hand but I did have a triple chocolate slab of chocolate as the last of my European stash from my summer travels so I went with that. It had a solid milk chocolate base, topped with triangles of white chocolate, topped with dark chocolate. I chopped the whole slab into chunks and added them to this cookie dough.

I originally made this dough because I thought I was seeing my friends, Todd and Rob, for dinner and Todd's favorite is chocolate chip cookies so whenever I meet with him, it gives me an excuse to try out a new chocolate chip cookie recipe. Our dinner got canceled but I already had the dough in the freezer so when my nieces were visiting over Thanksgiving weekend, I baked these for them. One of them was meeting with her friends when she got back to school so I gave her the batch to take for their dinner. Friends and chocolate go well together, I always say.

This recipe is a little different than the usual chocolate chip cookie recipe in that it only has granulated sugar and no brown sugar. The brown sugar is what gives chocolate chip cookies more of a caramel flavor. With just white sugar as the sweetener, these cookies were still good and reminded me of a Pepperidge Farm Sausalito cookie (but better tasting). It was more crisp throughout but not hard, a texture you usually only get with shortening in the dough but this was all butter. Mine spread more than the picture that showed the original recipe. I wonder what the difference would be if I had used European butter? That might have to be a future experiment.

2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 sticks (16 tablespoons) European-style unsalted butter, room temperature
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups dark chocolate chunks

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt until well combined.
In a stand mixer, using the paddle attachment, cream the butter with the sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing between additions and scraping down the bowl as needed. Add the vanilla extract and mix. On low speed or by hand, stir in the dry ingredients until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips, mixing until just incorporated. Do not over-mix. Scrape down the bowl as needed.
Using a cookie scoop, ice cream scoop, or two spoons, form dough balls and place on prepared cookie sheets with a few inches of room in between. Refrigerate overnight.
Preheat the oven to 375 F with rack in the center. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Place dough balls evenly spaced on cookie sheets.
Bake for 10-13 minutes (depending on the size of your dough balls), until they are golden brown around the edges and puffy in the center. Let cookies cool a few minutes on baking sheets before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Monday, November 26, 2012

Coconut Chocolate Chip Bars

Coconut Chocolate Chip Bars - made November 21, 2012 from Chocolate by Nick Malgieri

This is one of the desserts I made for Thanksgiving and a recipe I've had in my Still Need to Make file for sometime. It's one of those recipes where you can tell by looking at it that it would probably turn out so I felt safe in trying it out for the dessert spread. Worst case scenario, if it failed, I had other desserts to serve as backup. Fortunately, it didn't fail. If you like coconut and chocolate, this is a pretty easy dessert bar to make. I used my scallop-edged pan to make it a little pretty. The dough is easy to work with and the filling is very simple. I used mini chocolate chips since I knew I would be cutting it into small pieces and I didn't want big chocolate chunks to get messy in the cutting.

The original recipe calls for making it in a 10 x 15" pan but I don't like my bar cookies to be that thin. If I hadn't had my scallop-edged pan, I would've made it in a 9 x 13 pan, which I recommend if you don't like thin bar cookies either.

Crust

16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

½ cup granulated sugar

2 cups all-purpose flour

Topping

4 eggs

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup light brown, firmly packed

1 teaspoon baking powder

One 7-ounce bag (2 2/3 cups) shredded sweetened coconut

2 cups (about 8 ounces) pecan pieces, coarsely chopped

2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

One 10 x 15 x 1-inch pan (or 9 x 13 pan) lined with foil and sprayed with nonstick cooking spray

1. Set a rack at lower third of the oven and preheat to 350˚F.

2. To make the crust, use a rubber spatula to beat the butter in a mixing bowl. Beat in the sugar. Fold in the flour to form a crumbly dough.

3. Turn the dough out into the prepared pan and, using the floured palm of your hand, pat and press the dough out into an even layer over the bottom of the pan. Bake for 15 minutes, until crust begins to color. Remove to a rack and prepare the topping.

4. To make the topping, whisk the eggs together, then whisk in the granulated sugar. Whisk in the brown sugar, then the baking powder. Add the coconut, pecans, and chocolate chips and fold them in with a rubber spatula.

5. Distribute the topping all over the dough and spread it even with a small metal offset icing spatula or the back of a spoon. Bake the bars for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the topping is firm and golden. Cool on a rack.

6. Trim away 1/8 inch of the edges of the bars and cut into 2-inch squares. Lift them from the pan with a spatula.

Storage: Keep the bars between sheets of wax paper in a tin or other container with a tight-fitting cover.

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Thanksgiving 2012

The pictorial of our Thanksgiving feast - kudos to my cousin Elinor who put on most of the spread from scratch - all delicious. I think the only dish I didn't get a close up shot of was the crab-stuffed mushrooms. Otherwise, here's a feast for your eyes